The two most iconic weapons of Athena, the Golden Staff of Victory, appeared in her hand.
No more words were needed. Marin of Aquila and Shaina of Ophiuchus were the first to release the power in their hands, kneeling on one knee.
Following them, Arachne of Tarantula, who could see through to the essence of things, and the Saints of Vela, Puppis, Pyxis, Lupus, and Leo Minor also knelt down.
From the very beginning, the Saints have sworn allegiance to the principles of the Saints and to the goddess Athena.
In this Sanctuary, a world tainted by five defilements, if the goddess before them was indeed Athena, then there was no need for confusion. Naturally, they would prostrate themselves at her feet.
"Don't be deceived! Even if she possesses such a Cosmo, she could still be a Heretic God in disguise! Are you going to betray Lord Pope?!" roared Ptolemy of Sagitta.
"The only one speaking of betrayal is you! Things have come to this, and you still insist on following the Pope down a dead-end road?" Chameleon June, a female Saint also wearing a silver mask, rebuked the Sagitta Saint.
And there were not a few Saints like Ptolemy, including the disciple of Shaka of Virgo—Agora of Lotus and many others.
But faced with the current situation, they could only shout threats, saying the Pope would not spare traitors, before turning and fleeing deeper into the Sanctuary.
"Are such Saints truly the warriors of our goddess today?" Daidalos of Cepheus spoke softly beside Seiya.
He was a Saint who had been revived by Seiya's Flower's Praise Rose, and out of respect for this Pegasus, Daidalos had taken it upon himself to act as his guard.
"Daidalos, it was because you held onto unrealistic expectations that Andromeda Island was destroyed. It's not that they can't recognize the magnificent Cosmo before them, but for all these years under Pope Arles, they have unleashed their natures and committed evil deeds. Of course they wouldn't hope that the Pope they serve is actually the evil mastermind," Seiya said with a smile, looking at the First House of the Zodiac, Aries, which glowed with a faint golden light under the sun.
"Let's go. We will completely shatter their pathetic illusions."
The Aries House.
The handsome Gold Saint, Mu of Aries, opened his eyes and looked at the Pegasus striding towards him.
"Descendant of Jamir, Mu of Aries. You heard what was said just now, didn't you?" Seiya looked at the Gold Saint before him, with his shoulder-length pink hair and platinum-green eyes.
"What is your choice?"
As the guardian of the first house, and a Gold Saint possessing supreme psychokinesis, he was aware of everything that had happened outside.
"As the Gold Saint of Aries, I should obey the Pope's orders, which is why I answered the call to this holy war and came here. But more important than the Pope is the goddess Athena, and more important than Athena is the justice in my heart." After saying this, Mu of Aries took the initiative to step aside.
However, to his surprise, the Pegasus Saint before him did not walk straight through the path he had cleared.
Was he worried about a trap? Just as Mu was thinking this, he saw Seiya raise both hands towards himself.
"Since I'm already here, let me experience the ultimate technique of this generation's Aries House." Seiya's hands traced a spiral trajectory in front of his chest.
As he pressed his hands down, a shattered layer of starlight, incredibly familiar to Mu, manifested between his palms—
Aries Secret Technique—Stardust Revolution!!!
Stardust Revolution, a galactic cataclysm that only an Aries with extremely strong psychokinesis could bring to its peak.
It enhances fists moving at the speed of light by hundreds of billions of times to create a galaxy, from which a meteor shower descends, forming a high-speed rotating cosmic cluster that would make any enemy tremble in fear.
Mu of Aries was no exception.
A massive Crystal Wall erected itself before Mu, but one wall after another shattered amidst the light.
The cracking shards reflected countless images of Mu's figure. He seemed to be everywhere, gazing at the imposing figure of Pegasus Seiya standing in the center.
That unwavering, mountain-like posture, for some reason, reminded Mu of Shaka from the Virgo House.
But it wasn't just a resemblance. Upon obtaining the Victorious Fighting Buddha Authority, Seiya had already attained the state of an enlightened one, a Buddha, and had acquired a learning talent on par with Regulus the Lion Cub.
Any combat technique, even the most profound, he could understand its principles, imitate it, and surpass it after seeing it just once.
"I understand. I will respond to this power with the respect it deserves," Mu said, gathering a similar mass of light in his own hands.
It was not Stardust Revolution, but an ultimate technique born from it, one that belonged only to him—
Starlight Extinction!
A net-like structure that warped space-time covered the spiraling stardust fragments, and the mass of light pulsed violently.
Then, these two similar-looking combat techniques clashed, and in the upheaval, blasted open the true path forward.
As the brilliance faded, the Aries Saint, Mu, stood to the side, his eyes closed.
"Please, pass through. Although I may not have the right to say this, I still hope that you all can spare the lives of the Gold Saints. At the very least, most of them have also been deceived by the Pope."
Seiya nodded in acknowledgment, then arrived at the second house, the Taurus House, and saw Aldebaran standing guard.
Without any unnecessary words, the moment he saw Seiya, this burly Gold Saint, built like a small mountain, broke into a heroic smile.
The golden bull charged towards Seiya in the form of light, carrying the full might of his Taurus Tyrant Body, and threw a punch at Seiya with absolutely no reservation.
Fist met fist, and an explosive shockwave erupted between them.
Despite their completely mismatched physiques, the smiles on their faces were similar.
"Whether an enemy or a friend, a Specter or a brother, as long as we clash with our fists, I will know what kind of person you are!" Aldebaran laughed heartily, once again striking with his fists at full power.
The Taurus close-combat light-speed fist could accelerate all four limbs and the entire body to the speed of light for a heavy blow.
But what delighted Aldebaran was that his opponent also did not dodge or evade. A similar golden light appeared on his fists as he fearlessly met his blows.
On the first strike, his own steel arms were suppressed.
On the second, cracks appeared on his Taurus Tyrant Body.
On the third, the bones in his arms groaned... But the more severe the damage to his body, the more ferocious the Taurus Saint's laughter became, until he completely disregarded the cracks on his chest, and his blood-soaked arms transformed into a golden horn rocketing towards the heavens.
"Roar to the heavens, Great Horn!"
The signature skill of the Taurus Gold Saint, renowned for its power and speed.
At this moment, from within Aldebaran's crossed arms, the entire power of his Cosmo was gathered.
Unlike the ultimate techniques of other constellations, this was a physical attack with immense destructive force.
But at this very moment, a situation similar to that in the previous Aries House unfolded again.
A platinum radiance mixed with a streak of crimson light was born from within Seiya's arms—Tartarus Nova!!!
At this moment, all the Saints within the Sanctuary felt this fluctuation.
The ground beneath their feet trembled, as if some power had briefly brought the entire land of Sanctuary under his will.
Another ultimate combat technique belonging to the Taurus constellation, its more condensed wave of destruction crushed Aldebaran's Great Horn and simultaneously destroyed his left arm along with his shoulder.
Aldebaran fell to one knee.
Despite suffering such a grievous wound, the Taurus Gold Saint looked up at Pegasus Seiya before him with his one remaining left eye.
"What... what technique was that?"
"Tartarus Nova! Want to learn it? I'll teach you." Seiya placed his index finger on Aldebaran's forehead.
A scene that was almost miraculous appeared in the Taurus House.
The shattered palace seemed to rewind time, returning to its original state.
Flesh and sinew grew from Aldebaran's severed limb, and in an instant, he was fully healed.
And the memory of how to perform Tartarus Nova was imprinted in Aldebaran's mind.
But the only thing that felt strange to him was why the figure performing Tartarus Nova in the vision was not Seiya or the previous Taurus Saint as he had expected, but a woman who looked remarkably like Saori Kido.
"I surrender." Aldebaran lowered his head.
"Although Mu already sent me a message, your actions have confirmed for me that you are on the side of justice."
"However, you must be careful in the next house, the Gemini House. The most fearsome Saint resides there."
The Gemini House.
Seiya looked at the deep and vast palace before him.
The space here was layered upon itself, like an infinitely extending labyrinth.
But as he took a single step, his figure crossed all these obstacles, arriving before a golden figure in the very center of the maze.
It was a dark shadow wearing the Gemini Gold Cloth.
The helmet of the Cloth had two faces, one in front and one in back, representing good and evil. One was crying, and the other was laughing cruelly.
The space around it warped and rippled like waves.
In the next instant, Seiya had already grabbed its helmet, faintly hearing the sound of it cracking.
"If you want to fight me, have the real one come. What are you?"
Just as Seiya was about to destroy it, he thought of something.
As the Wheel of Friendship behind him turned, the figure of Andromeda Shun suddenly appeared here.
"Lord Seiya." Andromeda Shun saw the scene before him, his eyes quickly clearing.
The Gemini House was the catalyst for Andromeda Shun to awaken his Seventh Sense.
Realizing this, Seiya was unwilling to waste this opportunity.
"I am giving you a mission now. Go and take care of it. Can I trust you, Shun?" Seiya asked, his gaze gentle.
Meeting Seiya's gaze, feeling the warm and encouraging power, Andromeda Shun nodded without hesitation.
"Lord Seiya, leave it to me!" After saying this, Andromeda Shun bravely charged towards the Gemini Cloth before him.
--The Fourth House, the Cancer House.
This place was a domain like the Underworld.
The palace walls were all dark and gloomy in color, and underfoot were countless weeping human faces.
Among these weeping faces were even children; all were composed of the souls of people killed by the Cancer Saint, Deathmask.
If there was anyone who least wanted to see the Pope overthrown, it would be this Deathmask.
"Pegasus Seiya, you actually made it to my palace." Deathmask looked at the Saint before him with a grim expression.
"Damn it! Are Mu and Aldebaran both useless?! How could they let you get to me?!"
But in the next moment, he flashed a smile.
"I acknowledge your strength. We are both Saints. Right now, I will take you to the Pope's Palace. There's no need for us to fight to the death."
Just as Deathmask of Cancer walked smilingly towards Seiya, an ominous fluctuation suddenly erupted from his palms.
"Fool, you fell for it! Prepare to go to hell—Sekishiki Meikai Ha!"
This soul-targeting combat technique successfully enveloped Seiya's body.
Just as Deathmask was laughing with immense joy, a hand suddenly reached out from the mass of souls and grabbed his head.
"My life, spare... I'm actually an undercover agent, I... I was infiltrating the Pope's side, just to guide you all... ...Let me go...!" Deathmask struggled desperately.
But the hand clutching his head didn't budge an inch.
As it gradually tightened, he could even hear his own skull groaning as it warped.
The Saint's gaze before him was as cold as if he were looking at a corpse.
"Anyone can be forgiven, but you... you worthless dog who has no honor and defiles the name of Cancer, you can only die here!"
"Hmph!" With a single, pure punch, Seiya knocked him to the ground.
Just as he was about to kill the Cancer Saint, he paused again.
Just as Deathmask thought Seiya was hesitating and began to beg for mercy, the Wheel of Friendship behind him turned, and the figure of the Dragon Saint, Shiryu, appeared here.
Seiya said, "The task of cleaning house should have been given to Dohko, but he is old. This piece of scum, you will deal with him, Shiryu."
Shiryu's eyes were closed.
Although he still had many doubts in his heart, such as why the overwhelmingly strong Pegasus Saint didn't just kill this Deathmask himself, he still nodded his head.
"I understand."
But at the same time, Deathmask, gasping for air, threw his head back and laughed.
"You're letting a little brat like this kill me?! Hahaha, Pegasus, you will regret this!"
Seiya ignored his shouting and strode into the fifth house, the Leo House.
There were no obstacles; in fact, the entire palace was providing Seiya with warm power.
He continued to advance, to the sixth house, the Virgo House.
This was a simple palace, completely different from the ones before it.
Green brick walls, a clean palace hall, with only the man sitting cross-legged on a lotus throne emitting a seven-colored light.
"Shaka of Virgo." Seiya walked forward slowly.
"It seems you have been waiting for my arrival."
"Pegasus Seiya." Shaka also called out his name.
"The path that belongs to you is destined to be difficult and arduous. I understand your intentions, but to pass through here, you still need to prove your will."
In this palace, there was also no unnecessary exposition.
The moment they met, both sides understood that the other knew the truth of the matter.
So now, all that remained was—
"—Tenma Kofuku!"
A giant Bodhi tree emerged above the head of Shaka, who sat cross-legged on the lotus throne.
Beneath that Bodhi tree, a scene of the Buddha's teachings appeared.
It ultimately transformed into Shaka's pose, one finger pointing to the sky, the other to the earth.
"In the heavens and on the earth, I alone am the honored one!"
_____
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