[ As a god, yet sealed by humans he had always looked down upon, Thanatos felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation, roaring in endless fury.
"In that case, I'LL COMPLETELY DESTROY YOUR SOUL FIRST! WHAT CAN TWO OLD GEEZERS' COSMOS DO?!"
As his voice fell, Sage's body began to splatter with blood, his body continuously being destroyed by the God of Death, attempting to break the seal. Even the Pope was tormented by the pain, letting out a muffled groan.
But... having come so far, how could the Pope give up so easily?
"It's not just the two of us; behind me are former comrades and the flowers of the next generation."
As the Pope placed his hand on the Altar Cloth on his chest, a dazzling golden light burst forth from it. Accompanied by golden lightning, a box was pulled out.
"It is for them... THAT I AM WILLING TO GIVE MY LIFE!!"
Thanatos visibly panicked. Having always utterly disdained humans, Thanatos finally felt fear this time: "What?! There's actually something like this in a Cloth."
"This is the Holy Ark Athena gave me in this life. If you are sealed by this, you won't escape even in a few hundred years."
The Pope's words, however, were met with Thanatos's rage. His whole body began to crack, wounds appearing, and blood constantly gushing out.
"BASTARD!!! I am the God of Death; humans cannot control me."
The Pope, who had no more strength to stand, knelt on the ground. Facing Thanatos's fury, the Pope instead smiled.
"Game over, God of Death!"
"Stop—!"
The Pope slowly placed his hand on the Holy Ark: "My plan this time might not be perfect, Manigoldo; it also cost you your life."
As the Holy Ark was opened, a dazzling golden light shot up into the sky. Accompanied by the God of Death's screams, the God of Death's soul was successfully sealed inside the Holy Ark, and then the Pope slowly closed the lid.
"Lady Athena, brother, I leave the rest to you."
With the Pope's dying words, in an instant, the world suddenly fell silent. The Pantheon channel dissipated, and the Pope looked up, quietly gazing at the clear blue sky. The Gold Cloth transformed into a golden light and shot straight into the firmament.
The Pope's body was also buried as the Palace collapsed. In the Sanctuary, at the cost of the Pope and Manigoldo's sacrifice, the Holy Ark, sealing the God of Death, returned to the Sanctuary.
"Sage, you've worked hard." Athena, somewhat sadly, stepped forward and cupped the Holy Ark in her hands. Her Cosmos covered it, thoughtfully locking it.
Shion looked at the Holy Ark before him and also felt Sage's Cosmos disappear: "Finally, my long-cherished wish has been fulfilled." ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"OLD—POPE—!!! Suddenly feels like I got bricks in my eyes... He's already so old, why be so hot-blooded! It almost made me cry."
"This can no longer be called Cancer; both master and disciple are king crabs, truly strong!"
"How ironic, Thanatos, the God of Death, was sealed by the humans he always looked down upon.Even in his final moments, all he could do was rage helplessly."
Carrying the regret of not being able to save his comrades in the previous Holy War, Pope Sage relied on this regret to sustain himself and live for over 200 years.
To prevent the same events from happening in the previous Holy War, he took one of the Twin Gods, the God of Death, with him before he left. For the flowers of the next generation, he was willing to sacrifice himself, forging a brand new path.
Everyone in other worlds couldn't help but sigh, these master and disciple are truly remarkable, or rather, humans are truly remarkable. The resilience and courage of humanity will be etched beneath the stars.
.....
〜Bleach World, Karakura Town〜
"Is this the Holy War?!..."
The Saints are truly fighting for their beliefs, wielding their fists. Even with gods before them, Ichigo Kurosaki never saw any fear in their eyes.
Pisces with shattered bones, Virgo with self-sacrifice, Taurus with self-destroyed ears, Cancer with a broken leg... the brutality of war, coupled with unstoppable sacrifices.
"Eh... I hope the remaining Gold Saints all have a good ending."
As Ichigo sighed, he could only silently pray for them to win this Holy War. They had paid enough.
Meanwhile, from the depths of Hueco Mundo, Aizen observed the scene, a faint, calculating smile gracing his lips.
"How intriguing... Athena proves herself a worthy equal to Hades. That she could bestow upon a mere human an artifact capable of sealing a 'God of Death'... It seems even gods are not above using pawns to transcend their own limitations."
He paused, eyes glinting with cold amusement.
It seems she even added another layer of sealing. Does that count as an alternative way of adding a lock?! But just this alone shows that Athena is no ordinary person.
It's just a pity that the old Pope and Manigoldo died here; otherwise, with their techniques, they would have been a great weapon against the Hades Specter army.
.....
〜Delicious in Dungeon World〜
"Phew—it's finally over."
It was high-octane throughout, and Laios and the others, who had been holding their breath, finally relaxed after the Pope successfully sealed the God of Death.
"To seal the God of Death, Manigoldo's sacrifice was unavoidable..."
The experienced Laios immediately replayed the events in his mind.
Marcille nodded:
"That's right, one of the essential conditions for the plan's success was to destroy the God of Death's physical body."
And the second essential condition... was that only the Pope's body remained in the space for the God of Death to choose, and Manigoldo had to be there.
Because without Manigoldo, the Pope alone couldn't pull out the God of Death's soul.
This might be one of the imperfections in the Pope's plan; Manigoldo's sacrifice simply couldn't be prevented.
.....
〜Type-Moon World, Fifth Holy Grail War Worldline〜
"Two people put their lives on the line just to seal the God of Death; they couldn't even manage to kill a god..."
Rin Tohsaka couldn't help but wonder if human power truly couldn't reach the gods. A plan thought out for over 200 years only managed to seal him, and it still took two lives to do so.
Illya shook her head:
"Rin, don't overthink it. If human power could kill gods, then so-called gods would just be powerful humans."
Archer, beside her, frowned.
Just one God of Death costs a Gold Saint and the Pope. What about the other God of Sleep?!
Eh... how many more Gold Saints' lives would it take to seal him? This Holy War is too difficult.
.....
〜Saint Seiya Shioriverse, The Lost Canvas timeline〜
"Finally, my long-cherished wish has been fulfilled."
The Pope, seeing that the God of Death was truly sealed, felt both joy and sadness.
He couldn't save his disciple. To seal the God of Death, he caused Manigoldo to lose his life.
"TRULY WORTHY OF POPE-SAMA—!!!"
"POPE-SAMA, YOU ARE AMAZING!!!"
The Saints outside the Sanctuary continuously cheered for the Pope, who had paved the way for them. The achievement of sealing the God of Death was enough for them to be proud.
And in the Pope's Chamber, Manigoldo walked up to the Pope, putting his hand on his shoulder like two brothers. This seemingly disrespectful act was not stopped by anyone.
"Master, although the God of Death is truly sealed, your plan is useless now."
Manigoldo, with his arm around the Pope's shoulder like a brother, seemed slightly worried. The appearance of the video might disrupt his master's plan.
The subsequent action to seal the God of Death would not be so easy.
The Pope smiled calmly:
"Didn't I say? Perhaps my plan isn't perfect, so why not just think of a perfect one!"
The God of Death's abilities have also been mostly exposed. At this moment, he might utterly hate himself and Manigoldo. In the upcoming Holy War, he might even come looking for them to take advantage of this.
.....
[ And in Aries Temple, Shion noticed the change in the Pope's Chamber and was about to investigate when he met Manigoldo there.
The other party was holding the Pope's helmet, leaning against a stone pillar, but at this moment, there was no shadow on the ground.
However, he was still him, still as free-spirited and rebellious as ever, throwing the Pope's helmet to Shion.
"This is something from my old man for your old man; I'll leave the rest to you."
After Manigoldo finished speaking, his figure dissipated, leaving only a still-glowing Cancer Cloth in place.
Watching Manigoldo dissipate, Shion was somewhat stunned, standing there blankly against the blowing wind. He didn't linger too long and continued towards the Pope's Chamber.
And Tenma, far away in the Forest of Death, also encountered the deceased Manigoldo.
Tenma, realizing what had happened, sadly turned his head away.
"Manigoldo? You're safe?"
"Sorry, but I can't babysit you anymore—goodbye..."
"You....."
Seeing Tenma like this, Manigoldo was the first to tease,
"What, are you still a kid?"
"See you."
Facing the sad and reluctant Tenma, Manigoldo didn't say much, just a free-spirited wave of his hand as he turned and completely left the place, turning into specks of golden light. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"No shadow, the broken leg was also intact. The one who appeared before Shion was Manigoldo's lingering soul on the Cloth."
"My Manigoldo! This farewell without tears, without many words, so free-spirited even in death."
Big brother, you're already dead, just be serious, stop messing with Tenma...
Manigoldo truly lived a free-spirited life, seeing through life and death with utmost clarity. In the end, he still had to meet everyone in Yomotsu Hirasaka, jumping into that deep pit, falling into hell.
Shion once again witnessed a comrade die before him, not knowing what to feel. But this is war; there isn't even time to grieve. It's helpless.
Everyone in other worlds also liked Manigoldo's personality. Although seemingly rebellious on the surface, his actions were truly cool. In the Forest of Death, he told Tenma he would return, but unfortunately, only his lingering soul returned.
And he didn't expect that this return was for a farewell...
.....