Chapter 32: Chapter 32 – Sanctuary Battle Part 6

Aphrodite POV - Greece, Sanctuary - 1986

As I look down at the Andromeda Saint's bleeding and defenseless body, as he lays on the floor about to die from both the wounds he received from my Piranha Roses, and the poison of the Royal Demon Roses, I notice his body twitching, as he struggles to stand up once again and say "You are still alive? Your strength is finished, so lie there and wait for death, I don't want to see any more blood...".

But then I sense something I thought impossible from someone in his situation "What!? A Cosmo!? Impossible! I sense a mighty Cosmo emanating from Andromeda! Could there still be strength left in this man even now that his chains have been destroyed!?".

To my shock and surprise, Andromeda's Cosmo keeps expanding and getting stronger with each passing moment, "N-no! Not only have the Nebula Chains been destroyed,  he even lost his Cloth, how can such awesome power emanate from a man who's so close to death? What... What lies hidden within Andromeda?", then as his Cosmo grows even stronger even equaling my own, the Andromeda Saint slowly gets up and says "Unh... I prefer not to use my fist... But in a few minutes, I'll probably be dead... Aphrodite, you drove me to this".

And now his Cosmo surpassed even my own, 'How can a simple Bronze Saint reach such an absurd level of power!!?', at the same time, the now on his feet Andromeda Saint, creates with his Cosmo a pinkish colored vapor or air that invades the entire battlefield, the moving air takes the form of whirlwinds, similar to nebulae, and Andromeda yells "Once and for all, take this, Aphrodite! My, Andromeda Shun's true power!!" and pointing at me with his hand he yells "Nebula Stream!!".

The pink moving air, then surrounds, and envelops, my body and sends me crashing against the ceiling, and while the impact itself hurts, I'm not injured by it, thanks to my Gold Cloth, 'So... This is it? I got worried over nothing..." and as I fall toward the ground I say "Heh... Nebula stream? Big deal, no move your puny arms can unleash will work against me...", but as I try to maneuver to land on my feet, I find myself unable to move "What?", and crash head first into the ground.

Trying to get up, but finding it incredibly difficult I say "Impossible... I can't move... What's happening? Huh? What is this!?", and once I'm on my feet, I finally notice the pinkish current of air still surrounding my body, not only that but I feel their power increasing each revolution they make, and the pressure on my body also increases, and the same is happening to Andromeda Shun's Cosmo, who says "Yes, Aphrodite, the stream is holding you, fast, with one move, you're at my mercy, however, if you give up, and choose to side with Athena as you, as a Gold Saint should, I'll spare your life!".

But I don't want to give up, in front of an opponent weaker than me, so I bring out my trump card, the Bloody Rose, a pure white rose as beautiful as it is deadly, and say "You're so naive, Andromeda!! Don't applaud yourself for producing this trickle of a stream, I can still move a little", then as he asks the meaning of the white rose, I explain as I gather my Cosmo for this one last attack "My red Royal Demon Rose kill slowly, while my black Piranha Rose kills quickly, I'm surprised you are still alive after being hit with both, now you've left me no alternative but to unleash this white rose, it's called the Bloody Rose, the instant it leaves my hand, it will pierce your heart, no matter what you do, and when it has sucked all of your blood and turned bright red, you will finally die...".

Just as I'm about to move, Andromeda Shun yells, and his Cosmo and the nebula-like air holding me grow even stronger, blocking my movement, then he says "I can make the Nebula Stream infinitely stronger if I want until it transforms into something more deadly! Aphrodite before that happens..." but I stop him and say "I said you were naive, Andromeda, I don't regret taking the Pope side..." and he yells "But he tried to murder Athena and usurped the control over the Sanctuary! You're a Saint, you have sworn to defend justice! Why would you side with evil!?".

With a chuckle, I reply "That's why I said you were naive, you don't even understand what justice and evil are, you pup! But I'll enlighten you before you die, strength is the only justice! Only the Pope, by virtue of his enormous strength, deserves to rule the Sanctuary!", hearing that the young Saint asks "You think strength is justice? What about children and old people and the weak? Are they supposed to be at mercy of the strong? Is everything the strong chose to do justified?".

I smile and think 'He finally starts to understand!', then I say "That's right, anyway what could the infant Athena have done? It's the Pope who kept the peace in this world!" and he still seems to refuse the truth as he yells "You are wrong that's not the way of Athena..." but just as I was about to stop him and release my Bloody Rose, I hear a male voice say "You are right Shun! That isn't Athena way of doing things, if it were this world would already have been conquered by the others Gods a long time ago!!".

And soon I feel two incredible Cosmo next to me, one is on par with me and the others Gold Saints, in fact, he feels stronger than me but weaker than the Pope Saga, but the other is so vast, so strong, and at the same time so warm, that I truly feel an ant in front of such a presence, it is something I have never felt before.

Then a hand came and grabbed my bloody rose and before I could do anything,  from the hand I feel his Cosmo explode, and I see the rose freeze and shatter, then the same male voice says "Good job, holding until now Shun, just hold your technique for a few more seconds as I and Saori talk with Aphrodite...", I turn my head and finally look at the newcomer, one is a young man with messy dark blue hair and green eyes with an athletic and muscular body, donning what is clearly a Silver Cloth, but something about it feels slightly off like this Cloth is stronger than it should be, the other standing next to him is a beautiful young woman, with long light violet hair, and greenish blue eyes, she has a lean, curvy body, a delicate face, wearing a simple white dress, but in her hand, there is a golden staff that gives me a dreadful and godly feeling, and feeling her Divine Cosmo, I recognize her in an instant as Athena.

Jayr POV - Greece, Sanctuary - 1986

It seems we made it just in time, as Aphrodite and Shun were about to take each other out, as Aphrodite was about to use his Bloody Rose, capable of killing anything as long as the thing in question has blood, it doesn't matter if the target is immortal or capable of regenerating, once the Rose absorbs enough blood to turn completely crimson red, it kills the victim, moreover the rose itself is not possible to avoid, as it seeks the heart of the enemy, so it has the capability of killing the enemy with 100% effectiveness, as long as a third party does not intervene to remove the rose.

While Shun finally stopped holding back and unleashed his full Cosmo, awakening his 7th sense, and using his strongest technique Nebula Stream, a technique that creates a pinkish current of air capable of sealing all the opponent's movements, at least in its first form, aa Shun can make the air currents so strong that ultimately transforms into the Nebula Storm, which generates a violent storm that wipes out the opponent, and even with his Gold Cloth protection, if Aphrodite is hit by that, he'll die on the spot.

After destroying the Bloody Rose, and telling Shun to hold on to his technique a little longer, I look at Aphrodite and see him looking at Saori with his eyes wide open, so I start to talk "You know Aphrodite, you aren't totally wrong... Strength does matter when talking about justice!" this surprise both Aphrodite and Shun, and Saori continues what I was saying "After all, without strength, you can't protect what you think is right, and you and your dear will be at the mercy of the whims of the strong, that is sadly the truth of this world... But it is also what and who you fight for that gives you the necessary strength to overcome the challenges in front of you!".

And as she says this her Divine Cosmo flares once again "And since the Age of Myth, my Saints and I fought to protect the humanity!! Fought for justice, peace, hope, and love! Always on the front line when the world needed us the most!!", then I add "You asked Shun what an infant Athena could have done... Well, what she has always did and done even when Saga while possessed by an evil spirit tried to kill her... Her Cosmo protected us, led us, and guided us when we needed the most, even when the infant she reincarnated into was clueless".

Aphrodite then looks at me and asks in shock "What do you mean with Saga is possessed by an evil spirit!?", and so I give him a quick summary of the whole Saga deal, 'Really I explained this so many times now, that I think I should just make a few pamphlets and distribute them to the whole Sanctuary', and when Aphrodite asked how did I know about this, I reply "My Cloth allows me to see some instance of the future, and I saw the moment Saga was hit by the light of Athena's Aegis Shield... Something got out of his body and he returned to be the good Saga, the strongest and one of the most loyal Saints of Athena, but he was so devastated by the evil he had done that he choose to kill himself while asking for Athena's forgiveness... This is why we are fighting not only to stop the current Saga but also to save him!".

Then shocked Aphrodite asks "So what about all have I done until now!?" but Saori calms him with her Cosmo and says "Do not worry about that... After all Saga, good side always fought with his evil side, and the other Gold Saints who knew the truth helped in the shadow preventing you and the others from truly committing really evil act...".

Then I sign to Shun to release his technique, and as soon as he did so he falls to the ground, and I quickly move next to him and use my Cosmo to purge the Royal Demon Roses' poison, and treat the other wounds on his body, at the same time I say to Aphrodite who is still unsure on how to act now that he knows the whole truth "Aphrodite let me remind you something you forgot... I told you that your belief that strength is justice isn't totally wrong... So remember this, since the Age of Myth no matter who stood in her way of justice, in the end, Athena and her Saints always won! When she and her Saints fight together, they are the strongest!!".

Then as if a veil that clouded Aphrodite's eye is removed, his eyes regain light and resolute conviction, as he gets on his knee and greets Saori "Pisces Aphrodite greet the Goddess Athena and asks for her forgiveness for what happened until now!", and Saori replies "Rise Aphrodite, you did nothing wrong, you fought for what you thought was right and the fact that you are still able to wear this Cloth means that your heart was in the right place the whole time! Now rest and recover, as this is only the prelude, the real fight didn't even start yet!".

Seiya POV - Greece, Sanctuary -1986   

Once outside of the Pisces Temple, I find myself in front of the set of stairs leading to the Great Temple of Athena, behind with is the Athena Colossus, whose shield we need to purge the evil spirit from Saga, but the stairs are covered by crimson red roses and a thin mist obscure the view "The path that wind up to the Great Temple... Roses! It's completely blanketed in thorny roses!", but before I take another step forward, I remember Jayr-san's warning, "Wait! These are the Royal Demon Roses!! They are extremely poisonous!! This means that this is the Path of the Roses!".

I take a step back, hold my breath, and make my Cosmo explode, then I unleash my Pegasus Ryuseiken to clear the Path of Roses "I... I did it! My Ryuseiken blasted away the Royal Demon Roses!! They were so many, and with that mist, I couldn't even see the stairs!" after making sure that it is safe, I rush up the stairs, and finally reach the Great Temple.

I run inside and move toward the central hall, the Pope's Chamber, but I find the door of the chamber closed, and as I try to open them, I find them too heavy "Unh... The door's heavy, it won't budge! In that case...", taking a step back, I once again use the Pegasus Ryuseiken to open and rush inside, and what greets my sight is the Pope sitting on his throne and it seems he is waiting for me.

The Pope stands up, and as he removes his helm, he says in a calm and peaceful voice "Hello, Seiya, I'm impressed that you made it this far...", and he finally reveals himself, he is a tall man with a muscular, elongated build,  he has long bristly violet-blue hair, his eyes are viridian, and his skin is pale, while his eyebrows are pronounced, of a darker shade of blue.

(Image Here - Saga Good)

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Finally seeing the men behind the mask I yell "Saga!!", but he is still calm and he says "So you know my identity, probably Master Dohko told you about me... Well, Seiya, I really am impressed that you and your friends made it through all of the 12 Temples, you are truly brave and powerful Saints of Athena".

Looking at him like that I finally realize, 'This is why something felt off! I sense no malice or evilness in him! So right now in front of me, there is the true Saga, not the personality created by the evil spirit!! Maybe this will be easier than I thought!', and not knowing how much time I have before Evil Saga makes his appearance, I say "We have no time! Quickly tell me where is the way for the Athena Colossus, we need the Aegis Shield to free you from the evil spirit influence!!".

Hearing that Saga is stunned for a moment before asking "What are you talking about? Evil spirit? Aren't you guys here to stop me once and for all?", and seeing his confusion, I explain " I do not know the whole story, but from what Jayr-san and Saori-san said, when you were just born, one of Hades' subordinate implanted an evil spirit in you that as you grew up fed of your Cosmo and created your evil personality... All of this was a plot to weaken Athena's forces for the coming Holy War... In the end, we are here to free you and regain control of the Sanctuary!!".

Then to my surprise, tears come out of Saga's eyes as he says "Seiya even under this influence the things I've done are unforgivable... No... This is no time for that... Behind my throne, you see those curtains... Behind them, you will find the way to the Temple of Athena, and nearby you will find the Athena Colossus, the... Aegis Shield... Is... There..." and as he trembles and struggles to say those, I ask worried "Are you okay?", but seemingly in pain, he says "H-hurry! Forget about me! Go Seiya!".

And listening to him I walk toward the throne, but then he says "W-wait", and turning around a dreadful feeling invades me as I see Saga's hair turn light grey as he says "I-I won't... I won't let you near Athena's shield", he turns around, and I notice that his eyeballs acquire a fiery pink color indicated that they are injected with blood, likewise, his skin in this state becomes paler and from the lower part of his eyelids, shadows descend and become thinner until they reach his chin, then without giving me any time he rises his and attack me yelling "Die, Seiya!".

(Image Here - Saga Evil)

"Urg!!", I feel strong impacts all over my body and as I feel my bones cracking, I'm sent flying and then crash headfirst into the ground, then I hear his voice now full of malice say "He, he, he... Fool! I'm not going to stand back and allow you to enter Athena's Temple! He, he, he... Once I destroy Athena and obtain Nike that Aiolos stole, nothing can stop me... With Nike and the Aegis Shield, I can withstand any attack from god or demons! Then I will be the equal of Poseidon, Hades, and even Zeus! I will rule the world! And I will no longer have to act in Athena's name, but will rule this planet in my own right!! He, he, he...".

Slowly getting up, I finally realize what is going on 'It's clear now, the evil side took over! The only way to move forward is to defeat him!', and so I once again unleash my technique yelling "I won't let you succeed! Pegasus Ryuseiken!!" but the only thing I did was destroy the robe he was wearing without dealing any damage.

At the same time, the now naked Saga says "Ha ha ha!! Don't you see? No attack of yours can stop me! And I have no more need for that uncomfortable robe" pointing his finger at the sky he commands "Come and sheathe my body! Come my Cloth!!" and under his order, the Gemini Cloth appears behind him and equips on his body.

(Image Here - Gemini Saga Evil)

Saga then raises his hand and from it lets off a bolt of powerful lightning saying "Fly into some other dimension!! Another Dimension!!" and a crack in space opens behind me, leading towards the alternative dimension between time and space that, with great power, absorbs me, and soon I find myself floating in this dimension made up of a spatial void filled with planets.

As I'm floating unable to do anything I hear Saga's malicious voice "Seiya, you are going to spend eternity drifting in a dimension from which there is no escape! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!!", but after a few moments of drifting in this limbo between time and space with no opportunity to return, all of the sudden, I crash head first into the floor of what I recognize as the Pope's Chamber and looking around I see Saga that is doubling over in pain again as he mutters "Urg... Fool... Interfering...".

But he seems to recover as he yells "Silence! If it hadn't been for you, I'd have taken over the world long ago!! But YOU always interfered at a crucial moment! If not for that... Aaargh!!", it seems that he is talking with his other self, totally ignoring my presence, then he says with an evil smile on his face "Very well! If you want to save Pegasus's life so badly, I won't insist on killing him, instead, I shall merely deprive him of his five senses and turn him into a human vegetable! Ha, ha, ha!".

Then before I could react, Saga hits me with his finger yelling "First... Taste!", and I don't feel anything in my mouth anymore, at the same time my mouth went numb, "Touch!", another hit and now I'm unable to feel my body, "Hearing!", and this was the last thing I heard, then I quickly lost my sense of smell and my sight one after another, and I find myself in total darkness not feeling anything all my senses lost, the only thing that keeps my calm is the fact that I can still feel my own Cosmo, so I try to burn it and make it explode so I can reach my 7th sense once again.

Mu POV - Greece, Sanctuary - 1986

Right now, I'm using my Cosmo to check the current situation, 'Among the Gold Saints only Deathmask, and Camus are wounded, and only Camus's life was in danger but Jayr rescued him, Hyoga is knocked out with his Cloth destroyed, and Shiryu is still recovering from his fight with Shura, his Cloth too was cut to pieces, Shun was truly a surprise, who would have thought that he had already awakened his 7th sense, different from the others he used his Cloth to control and limit his Cosmo, instead of enhancing it, but now he too is out of combat, Aphrodite techniques are some of the most deadly among us, and his a proof of Shun's strength that was able to hold long enough so that Jayr could save him...'.

Then I let out a sigh and say "Meanwhile, Seiya just lost to Saga, it was a one-sided beatdown, and Shaka and Ikki are currently banished in a dimension between time and space... but Shaka should easily be able to return, but I do not know if Ikki survived...", at the same time Kiki returns and reports "Lord Mu! The situation of the Sanctuary is under control, Cassios was able to take control of the guards and soldiers... He also killed some soldiers, and bandits that were taking advantage of the chaos to pillage the Plaka Village, right now he is leading everyone in keeping order... Meanwhile, Shaina was able to convince Altar Nicole, and with his help, she, Marin, Agol, Isaak, and the others, gathered the Saints that are currently in the Sanctuary and told them everything that was going on... At first, some were a little skeptical, but the presence of Shaina, Nicole, Marin, and Agol, plus the name of Jayr, was able to convince them!".

Hearing that I nod and say "Good! Now all that is left is to free Saga from the evil spirit of Hades!", and right at that moment, I receive a telepathic message 'Mu!! Aries Saint Mu!!'. and say "A voice is speaking directly to my Cosmo... Is that you Shaka?", and the voice replies "Yes, Mu, I need your help, I've been cast into a dimension between time and space...', closing my eyes and following the trace of his Cosmo to know his position, I say "You should be able to return without my help".

Shaka then explains 'If it were I alone, yes, using the Virgo Cloth connection to the Virgo Temple I could easily return bypassing Athena's protection, but there is another here I wish to rescue and even among the Gold Saints, you are the most expert in this area...', I find his Cosmo and feel the other next to him and recognize it as Ikki's one, so I say "Very well, I'll return him to the Virgo Temple..." while thinking 'This will take a lot out of me... Teleporting across dimensions is never easy moreover, I have to bypass Athena's protection... Luckily my status as a Gold Saint helps a lot in this case as we are the only ones allowed to teleport in the Gold Zodiac!'.

Shaka POV - Greece, Sanctuary - 1986

I return to the Virgo Temple from the unknown dimension with the unconscious Ikki in my arms, I gently put him on the ground and send my Cosmo into his body I say "Awaken!!", and quickly I sense the young Saint regains consciousness and starts looking around "Huh? The Virgo Temple?".

Knowing that he is awake now, I stand up and say "There is no time to explain, you must hurry to the Pope's Chamber at once! Right now Pegasus is out of combat, and the Crateris Saint and Athena are about to reach him, they will need your help to purge the evil spirit", then I move near the ashes of the Phoenix Cloth, and grabbing a handful I say "Your Cloth has a regenerative ability that even Gold Cloths don't have, if it is destroyed, it will spring back to life from its ashes, and as long as there is even a handful of ash, the phoenix will fly again".

Throwing the Cloth's ashes on his body, I use my Cosmo to start the regeneration process, and the next moment, with a flash of fire, the Phoenix Cloth is once again whole, and stronger than before, and the young Saint feels it too as he yells "The Phoenix Cloth has restored itself!! And its beauty and radiance are even greater than before!! This is a new Phoenix Cloth".

Indeed the Phoenix Cloth evolved, now the headpiece changes form, it changed the size of the central piece, which adopts the shape of a trident, being also longer, pointed, and closed, the shoulder pads are still double but now protrude a little more and are sharper, and the skirt like part of the waist protection is gone and only the belt remains, even the color scheme changes with the pink replace with a dark blue.

(Image Here - Phoenix Ikki 2)

I then say "Go now, Phoenix Ikki! Hurry! This is the last leg of this trial!!", the young Saint lightly bows and soon runs out of the temple, at the same time, sensing him quickly moving out of my temple I whisper "Strange... I feel the fate of the world slowly changing...It's like this event should have gone in a totally different way... But even the Gods are wary of changing something like fate... Will this change be good or bad, only time will tell...".

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