The light of the meteor flickered like a breathing flame, pulsing as it slowly rose.
If Aioria was a warrior of ultimate brute force, his Lightning Fang possessing the kingly aura to tear his enemies asunder, then the meteor fist unleashed from the hands of the Saint before him was on another realm entirely.
Its trajectory was impossible to track, yet it contained a terrifying power that gave even Aioria pause, so much so that in his vision, the meteor's brilliance flickered in and out of existence.
Time itself seemed to stretch out once more. Aioria burned his Cosmo to its limit, yet he still could not track the meteor's path.
The next moment, his entire body was struck by countless golden meteors. Golden light splashed with every impact, each blow bringing real, searing pain.
Only then did a deafening roar sweep across the battlefield. The fiery storm and shockwave forced Hyoga and the others back repeatedly. The castle ruins blazed, and the air crackled with tiny arcs of electricity.
The Fist that Surpasses Time... Pegasus Meteor!
In terms of pure mechanics, this Fist that Surpasses Time was the strongest technique in the entire World of the Valkyries. It surpassed time to strike its foe before the attack even began.
Its only drawback was that its originator, Zeus, had a power level that was too low, but Seiya had compensated for this flaw.
Aioria was half-kneeling on the ground, his body wracked with unbearable pain. Yet he still lifted his head to look at the Saint before him.
"Pegasus, the God-Slaying Pegasus... could it be you?"
As a Gold Saint, Aioria knew of this most special of constellations. The Pegasus Saint who reincarnates alongside the goddess Athena at the beginning of every Holy War.
Legend said he possessed an immortal soul that not even Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, could destroy.
"A warrior like you, why would you help these traitors? Or are you the great figure standing behind them?!" Aioria roared.
Pegasus Seiya narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
Instead, it was Andromeda Shun, standing with Hyoga and the others, who shouted at Aioria, "Stop calling us traitors, you deluded Leo! The Pope of your Sanctuary is the real traitor!"
Aioria's gaze swept lightly over the Saints, but it quickly focused back on Seiya.
In his eyes, only this Saint Seiya, the Pegasus so closely tied to Sagittarius, was an opponent who required him to burn his Cosmo to the very limits of his will.
"Do you still wish to fight? Everything you are doing now is futile. Your vision is obscured, the darkness of the Sanctuary has already blinded you..."
Aioria's expression did not change in the slightest. He strode resolutely towards Seiya.
"I was not born a warrior. It is only that within my eyes hides an unyielding lion!"
Watching the brilliant golden aura ignite around Aioria, Seiya pursed his lips.
"A lion in your eyes, too? The last person with that kind of resolve in their eyes was talking about 'for my king's sake'..."
However, out of respect for a Gold Saint, Seiya decided to defeat him completely as an equal. As he raised his arm, preparing to don his Pegasus Cloth, a beam of golden light suddenly shot out from the sea, crossing hundreds of kilometers to land precisely upon Seiya.
"Sagittarius... no, that's Aiolos's Sagittarius Cloth!" Seiya instantly realized what was happening.
He did not resist in any way; in fact, he could find no reason to refuse.
As the light flared brilliantly, the Sagittarius Gold Cloth, which had been passed down through generations in this world, finished assembling itself on Seiya's body.
At the same time, a golden ball of light materialized above his head. Within the ball of light, a figure, also clad in the Sagittarius Cloth, appeared.
The true face of Aiolos of Sagittarius was revealed before everyone.
"Aioria, you can't even distinguish justice! What kind of Saint are you?!"
"Brother...!" Aioria stared at the figure appearing in the light. It was undoubtedly his brother, Aiolos.
[Fourteen years ago, in the Goddess's Temple at the Sanctuary, they had rediscovered the reincarnation of Athena.]
[At that time, I was standing guard before the Goddess's Temple as part of her personal guard. But suddenly, I sensed something was wrong. When I arrived at the temple, I saw him—the man who had recently succeeded the 'former Pope' under the identity of his younger brother, Arles. He was holding a dagger, about to strike the goddess in her swaddling clothes.]
[In that moment of crisis, Aiolos grabbed the dagger aimed at the goddess and used Lightning Plasma to knock off Pope Arles's mask, revealing his true face...]
[His identity exposed, the false Pope flew into a rage and attacked Aiolos, pinning the crime of attempting to assassinate the reincarnated goddess entirely on him.]
[The result was that Aiolos fled the Sanctuary, which was under the Pope's control, carrying the infant Athena. On the brink of death, he entrusted Athena and the Gold Cloth to Mitsumasa Kido.]
[And the soul that has been supporting them from behind the scenes... has been me.]
[Will you not awaken, Aioria?!]
With Aiolos's sharp rebuke, Aioria stumbled back, his face pale.
And then, from the forest, a Cosmo that surpassed everyone else's radiated outwards. A golden light shimmered, revealing the figure of Saori Kido.
"Everything Aiolos said is true. That is what happened back then."
A divine radiance that did not belong to her flowed around Saori Kido's body.
"Saori Kido? No, Athena...!" Aioria's eyes were glazed.
Although this grand Cosmo that surpassed any Saint's could have been the disguise of an evil god, Aioria, as the Leo Saint, could see the statue of Athena within her Cosmo.
This person before him was, without a doubt, the true reincarnation of Athena.
Then between Pope Arles of the Sanctuary, his own brother Aiolos, and Athena, one of them must be lying.
If it had been Aphrodite of Pisces, who was more inclined towards world peace and stability, he might still have chosen the false Pope Arles. If it had been the infamously exquisite egoist, Deathmask of Cancer, he would have also pledged loyalty to Arles.
But Aioria of Leo, who along with Sagittarius was entrusted with a special duty by Athena, in the moment he cleared his thoughts, knelt on one knee without the slightest hesitation, his Gold Cloth striking the ground with a crisp echo.
"Lady Athena, I was deceived by the Pope, failing both your trust and the duty of Leo. Please allow my fists and my will to be wielded for you. I swear in the name of Aioria, I will become your strongest shield."
At that moment, high in the sky, a star lit up within the Twelve Houses of the Zodiac.
This signified that the first Gold Saint had returned to the correct path.
And it was at this very moment that Seiya's eyes shot up. Immediately after, so did Leo Aioria's.
The reincarnated Goddess Athena, Saori Kido, also felt it. "There's nothing there, but an immense sense of threat has already enveloped my entire body."
A sudden downpour began, the sky heavy as an iron curtain.
A single streak of golden light carved a great parabola through the air. It was utterly silent, yet it made all of creation tremble.
Wherever it passed, light distorted, birds fell from the sky, and death spread like a decree in the arrow's wake.
This was a god-slaying weapon; even the reincarnation of a god would perish. By the time Aioria realized this, it was already too late. The arrow had already locked onto Saori Kido's chest.
With a clear hum, an explosion of light and heat surged across the battlefield.
Golden blood dripped onto the ground, carrying an unbelievably fragrant scent.
As if time had reversed, Seiya, clad in the Sagittarius Cloth, once again grasped the fatal weapon.
The golden arrow spun in Seiya's hand, piercing his palm, but it could advance no further.
The power of Pope Arles coalesced upon the golden arrow, continuing to surge.
Seiya snorted coldly, and the weapon folded beneath his golden wings transformed into a massive bow.
"Aiolos." Seiya slowly spoke the name.
A name is the shortest of spells. The Cloth crossed the boundary of life and death, linking the wills of two people.
Without any need for superfluous words, two generations of Sagittarius Gold Saints drew the bowstring at the same time—
"The time has come to declare war on the Sanctuary. Let's go, Seiya!"
Aiolos's translucent figure overlapped with Seiya's.
Their Cosmos resonated as one, and a pillar of golden light that reached from heaven to earth converged on the golden arrow in his hand.
"My blade can be my eyes, My blade can be my eyes, help me cleave the darkness before me!"
Propelled by their dual Cosmos and Authorities, the god-slaying golden arrow flew from Seiya's fingertips.
In the span of a breath, it crossed mountains and seas to reach the Sanctuary of Athena, far away in Greece.
The Saints still stationed at the Sanctuary, whether they were meditating, on guard, or deep in thought, all looked up at the same instant.
A torrent of light powerful enough to slay gods and extinguish souls was tearing through the sky!
At that very moment, the bell of the Sanctuary's clock tower tolled melodiously. It was Oumagadoki, the twilight hour, in Japan, which was precisely twelve noon in Greece.
The hour and minute hands overlapped, their chime merging with the sound of the approaching golden arrow. With every inch the arrow advanced, another bell tolled.
First was the House of Aries. With no resistance, it was easily pierced by the golden arrow.
Next was Aldebaran in the Taurus House; his reaction was a fraction too slow, and he could only watch as the arrow pierced the temple he guarded and flew towards the Gemini House behind it. The Gemini Cloth within the temple erupted with a powerful aura, but it was meaningless before the god-slaying golden arrow.
Deathmask of the Cancer House hesitated. The power contained within that arrow was the greatest he had ever witnessed in his life; even a god would not escape unscathed. In the end, he allowed the arrow to pierce through his temple.
The golden arrow then passed through the Leo House, Virgo House, and Libra House.
In the Scorpio House, Milo's Scarlet Needle shattered with ease, and the arrow, its momentum undiminished, pierced through his right shoulder.
The long-vacant Sagittarius House resonated with the golden arrow.
Then, the Capricorn House, Aquarius House, and Pisces House were all unable to stop it.
It had now arrived before Pope Arles.
He burned his Cosmo completely. The flow of time seemed to slow.
He could clearly see the arrow piercing the Twelve Houses of the Zodiac, and he could also see that the unstoppable golden arrow was the very one he had shot.
It now carried a power far more terrifying than when he had fired it, and nothing could stand in its way.
"Heh heh, this was the fate you should have met fourteen years ago."
The irritating laugh from the mirror echoed once more.
The entire Pope's Palace shook violently. Bricks and stones crumbled.
Another Dimension opened up like a web, attempting to devour or deflect the arrow, but it was as fragile as a soap bubble before that pure golden light.
Before the arrow even arrived, its heaven-shaking edge blasted the purple-blue mask from his face, revealing the twisted, ferocious visage beneath.
"No! I will not submit to fate!" Arles snarled.
If he had submitted to fate, he would have listened to that stubborn old fossil's accusations fourteen years ago.
If he had submitted to fate, he would have watched as Aiolos of Sagittarius ascended to the Pope's throne.
It was because he refused to submit that he was the Pope. Things like fate were born to be trampled under his feet!
Arles slowly lifted his eyes. They were golden, and within their depths seemed to flow the light of the stars.
A galaxy seemed to swirl in his palm, binding the unstoppable golden arrow within that three-inch space.
Galaxian Explosion!
The ultimate secret technique of Gemini. As its name implies, it possesses the supreme power to shatter even the stars of the galaxy.
The principle of this technique is to release one's own Cosmo to its absolute limit, forming a massive star-crushing field, and concentrating that energy upon the target. Its power is comparable to the great explosion that destroyed the Milky Way.
It can be used for long-range, cross-dimensional attacks and has an enormous area of effect. It is the ultimate physical attack.
Although it is a large-scale destructive technique, the energy that can destroy a galaxy can also be compressed to destroy only what one wishes to destroy—such as the golden arrow before him.
At this moment, across all of Southern Europe, a pillar of light that connected heaven and earth could be seen, gold and silver light intertwining and reflecting off one another.
After a long time, the light gradually dissipated. The remaining Saints rushed to the Pope's Palace.
The once solemn and majestic hall was now in ruins. The broken walls and rubble spoke of the terrifying collision that had just occurred.
Even the barrier that had protected the Sanctuary for thousands of years seemed dim.
The crowd saw Pope Arles still standing amidst the ruins and felt a slight sense of relief—although the Pope before them had a weakened aura, his purple-blue mask still carried a chilling authority.
However, the Gold Saints turned their gaze to the Pope's throne behind Arles. The golden arrow was embedded in it.
Though nothing was said, the outcome was clear for all to see.
"This golden arrow is the signal. That traitor is actively declaring war upon us. Heh heh...!"
To the surprise of many Saints, the terrifying and majestic Lord Pope actually laughed out loud at this moment.
"Hahaha!"
The Pope laughed naturally and calmly opened his arms—
"If this means we can continue our unfinished duel... that would be quite pleasing, Aiolos." But this sentence was only in his heart, never truly spoken aloud.
His sharp gaze swept over the Saints before him as he issued the Pope's command.
"Summon all Saints scattered abroad, especially the Gold Saints. Tell them the Holy War has begun. If that traitor wants to come, then let him come! I will show these rebels that victory always belongs to justice! And justice... is defined by the Sanctuary!"
_____
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