Just as Hippolyta was about to lose her composure, a sudden thought flashed through her mind, instantly calming her down.
“???”
Wait…
That’s not how the Lasso of Truth works!
The Lasso of Truth forces people to tell the truth—it doesn’t punish them after they tell a lie.
When someone is bound by the lasso, they simply cannot speak falsehoods.
If they try to resist its power, the lasso burns them.
The harder they struggle against it, the more intense the pain becomes.
But it doesn’t burn someone because they lied.
Instead, it makes lying impossible.
Then…
Could the Lasso of Truth be malfunctioning?
That seemed impossible.
Meanwhile, Duke was still happily playing around with it, seemingly enjoying himself.
“My name is Duke… Hmm, that one’s fine… I’m twenty years old this year… Ah! Damn it! That’s hot! So hot!”
Smoke rose from the lasso again.
Although it looked like smoke, Duke’s hand wasn’t actually burned.
It felt more like the rope itself had heated up enough to start smoking.
“What part of that was a lie? I’m talking about you, rope… You’re not very reliable, are you?”
The Amazon warrior holding the lasso rolled her eyes.
She had lived for a long time, but this was the first time she’d ever encountered someone this bizarre.
After a moment of thought, Duke seemed to realize what the problem was.
“So… am I… negative eighty years old? Huh…? Holy crap!”
This time, the lasso didn’t react at all.
A black line appeared across Duke’s forehead.
So this rope is a science nerd too?
Since the current year was 1918, and he hadn’t even been born yet, he was technically negative eighty years old.
Now it was the Amazons’ turn to be confused.
Negative eighty years old?
What did that even mean?
Hippolyta frowned.
Could something really have gone wrong?
“I’m done playing. This is boring.”
Hippolyta felt her eyelids twitch.
“Escort our guest to his quarters.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Oh…
It was Venelia.
She reminded Duke so much of supermodel Du Chen that he couldn’t help staring.
“Sir, please follow me.”
Duke nodded toward Diana before following behind Venelia.
From the back…
Those legs are seriously long.
“Beautiful lady, may I know your name?”
“Venelia.”
“Ve… that’s a bit hard to pronounce. Can I just call you Du Chen Carlos instead?”
Venelia blinked.
“Why would you call me that?”
“It’s strange… I feel like I’ve known you for a long time. In my dreams, that’s what I always called you.”
“Are you trying to flirt with me?”
“Cough… No… absolutely not.”
Duke blushed instantly.
Being transported to another world, receiving a system, becoming the protagonist, suddenly growing absurdly powerful…
All of it had gone to his head.
But…
He was still a virgin.
A simple tease from the Amazon warrior completely shattered his confidence.
More importantly, reality was finally sinking in.
This was Paradise Island.
A world over a hundred years in the past.
The realization filled him with confusion once more.
Even with a woman who looked almost identical to his favorite supermodel walking beside him, his earlier excitement had completely faded.
Seeing the sadness in his eyes, Venelia fell silent.
She didn’t know what had happened, but she could tell something was weighing heavily on him.
“You can call me whatever you like.”
“Names are just labels to us.”
“Huh?… Oh.”
Duke paused.
He didn’t know much about DC lore.
He only vaguely remembered that the Amazons were said to have been formed from clay.
Hippolyta had once told Diana she was made from clay, only for Ares to later reveal the truth—
Diana was actually the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta.
If that were true…
Didn’t that mean Zeus had…
…slept with a lump of clay?
(⊙o⊙)
Never mind.
Zeus was infamous for exactly that kind of thing.
Still, Paradise Island had no men.
No fathers.
So names really were just labels.
The Amazons didn’t even have family names or surnames.
“This is your room.”
“If you need anything, just use that.”
“Oh… alright.”
Duke noticed she was pointing at something resembling a conch shell.
A communication device?
Meanwhile, after Duke left, the Amazons erupted into discussion.
“Are we really going to let that soldier leave?”
“So he can bring even more men here?” Hippolyta replied.
“We can’t keep him imprisoned forever, Your Majesty.”
“Mother, please listen.”
Diana stepped forward.
“That man said this is an endless war. Millions have already died.”
“I’ve never heard of such horror.”
“Only Ares could be responsible for something like this.”
“I’m sorry, Senator, but I truly believe this is Ares’s doing.”
She continued,
“We can’t simply let him leave.”
“We have to go with him.”
Hippolyta immediately rejected the idea.
“This isn’t mankind’s war!”
Diana argued passionately.
“The humans Zeus created were meant to be righteous, wise, strong, and passionate…”
“That’s only a story, Diana.”
“There are many things you still don’t understand.”
“Human beings are easily corrupted.”
“Yes—but that’s because of Ares!”
“He’s the one who manipulated the Germans into starting this war!”
“Stopping the God of War is our duty.”
“We are Amazons. This is our responsibility.”
At that moment, Diana herself embodied everything she described—
Justice.
Strength.
Passion.
“But you’re different from the rest of us.”
“So you will do nothing.”
“As Queen, I forbid it.”
Hippolyta’s voice left no room for argument.
“If you truly wish to help…”
“Then find out who this Duke really is.”
“Duke?”
Diana hesitated.
He certainly was mysterious.
“I suspect…”
Hippolyta raised the Lasso of Truth.
“…that he is a fallen angel.”
The entire hall fell silent.
“What?”
“A fallen angel?”
“How could that be?”
“What would a fallen angel be doing here?”
Angels were not exclusive to the Christian God.
The word angel came from the Greek angelos, meaning messenger.
In nearly every mythology, angels or similar beings served as divine messengers, attendants, or agents of the gods.
Even Zeus had celestial messengers.
“But… a fallen angel?”
Diana looked utterly unconvinced.
She knew about them—
At least from the stories she’d read.
Hippolyta held up the glowing lasso.
“The answer lies here.”
“That man…”
“He resisted the power of the Lasso of Truth.”
“What?!”
“That’s impossible!”
“The Lasso of Truth was forged by Hephaestus using Gaia’s Golden Girdle, then tied to an arrow by Artemis herself before being shot down from Mount Olympus.”
“If he truly resisted it…”
The senator’s expression slowly turned to horror.
Hippolyta’s face was equally grim.
“If he truly is a fallen angel…”
“Then before his fall…”