"How many years has it been… how many years since I last came back here?" While Meruem and Athena were locked in their decisive battle against the war god in Sparta, a man in red clothes and a white cloak, radiating boundless divine power, appeared behind Athena's Temple in the Sanctuary, in that place that had been a forbidden zone for thousands of years.
The former Temple of the Sun God.
"Who would've thought… that useless little sister of mine actually left these ruins standing." Stroking a palace pillar that had already begun to rot, Abel seemed to fall into reminiscence. "If this temple hadn't still existed, I might not have been able to walk in so directly. My sister's barrier still has its uses; even for me, the only way in was to climb step by step from the foot of the mountain."
"But since I've returned, the Temple of the Sun God should reveal its true face." Divine power poured out from Abel's body into the temple. At once, the earth shook and the mountains trembled.
All the decayed structures sank into the ground, and in their place a brand‑new temple slowly emerged before Abel's eyes.
The commotion Abel caused was anything but small. Since the temple sat on the Holy Mountain of the Twelve Temples, the entire sacred peak began to shake.
"Someone! What on earth is going on?" Sitting in the Pope's Hall reviewing documents, Kanon sensed that something was wrong and shouted for the nearby guards.
No sooner had Kanon spoken than several guards immediately replied to his question. "Reporting to Your Holiness, a massive Cosmo has appeared atop the Holy Mountain. And… and that Cosmo… it's coming from the Sun God Palace that has not appeared for thousands of years."
"This is bad!" At the guards' answer, Kanon's expression changed drastically. He had felt this level of Cosmo once before, from the Sea Emperor.
Thinking of the Temple of the Sun God, could it be… could it be that one has returned?
"Go at once and invite former Pope Shion here! And sound the alarm bell; summon every Saint in the Sanctuary!"
A terrible sense of foreboding rose in Kanon's heart. Of all times, Athena and Lord Meruem had gone off to battle the war god right now.
"Come forth, my warriors." As the new Temple of the Sun God finished emerging, Abel flicked his cloak, and three men in Corona Cloths dropped to one knee before his feet.
"Carina Adoras." "Coma Berenices Berenice." "Lynx Jao." The three of them radiated astonishing Cosmo.
Corona Saints truly lived up to their name. While their strength did not quite reach that of the Heavenly Warriors who guarded the heavens, they were far beyond ordinary Gold Saints.
At that moment, a cloaked man behind Abel spoke. "Lord Abel, the entire Sanctuary will soon fall into your hands. While Athena and the others are away, you should seize the Sanctuary as quickly as possible."
"How dare you! Who do you think you are, to speak to Lord Abel in that tone?" Before Abel could say a word, the Lynx Corona Saint at his side could no longer hold back. He shouted and struck out in an instant, intending to give the other man a lesson he'd never forget.
Yet the cloaked stranger simply watched Lynx's attack without moving at all, as if scared stiff. Only when Lynx was just about to reach him did the mysterious man reveal a pair of blood‑red eyes. A flash of crimson shot through them, and Lynx suddenly spewed blood and was hurled backward as if struck by a heavy blow.
"Jao!" The other two Corona Saints were shocked. Not even they had seen what attack the stranger had used. They knew very well how strong Jao was as a fellow Corona Saint, and yet he had been defeated without the slightest chance to fight back.
"Lord Abel, what is the meaning of this?" The mysterious cloaked man did not so much as glance at the three Corona Saints, his burning gaze fixed only on Abel, the former Sun God. In his eyes, no matter how powerful the warriors around a god might be, they posed no threat to him. The only one present who could truly harm him was this former Sun God before him. "I still have to report back to that lord. Please don't forget our agreement—seizing the Sanctuary as soon as possible is what matters."
Abel's expression remained cool and detached, but when the mysterious man mentioned "that lord," Abel's face shifted slightly, and a hint of fear that should never have appeared on his face flickered across it. "Understood. Give that lord my regards."
"Yes, Lord Abel. Then I shall take my leave… May victory be yours, and may you soon rule the earth." With that, the mysterious man's body faded like foam and vanished before Abel's eyes.
"Cain." Staring at the spot where the mysterious man had disappeared, Abel spat out two words in hatred.
This mysterious man was actually Cain, the one who had previously released Abel from his seal. Just what had happened to change Abel's attitude toward him so drastically?
Abel then turned his gaze on his three Corona Saints. "If you're not dead, then hurry up and get up. Useless trash."
It seemed he had shifted the anger from moments ago entirely onto the Corona Saints.
"Come with me and wipe out the Saints my useless little sister left behind. The Sanctuary is mine, and so is the earth!"
"Master Shion, what exactly has happened with that Temple of the Sun God? That isn't Lord Meruem…" In the Pope's Hall, the seven Gold Saints remaining in the Sanctuary, former Pope Shion, and current Pope Kanon were discussing the sudden change that had occurred today at the long‑abandoned Temple of the Sun God.
The first to speak was Mu of Aries. He had always mistaken Meruem for Abel, and since Meruem had never explained, he was the first to express confusion over the temple's change.
"No, Lord Meruem is not Abel." Before Mu could finish, Shion cut him off. "You haven't read as many ancient texts, so you may not know. Although Abel once served as the Sanctuary's guardian god, countless years ago he tried to become king of the gods and sought to start a war among the gods. For that, he was sealed by them. From that moment on, he was no longer the Sun God, and that was also when the Temple of the Sun God became the Sanctuary's forbidden land."
Shion slowly began to recount the story from a thousand years ago.
"Before the gods sealed him, the former Sun God Abel had already fallen. In the end, he even tried to seize the earth itself, to draw from it power surpassing that of all other gods. By then, Athena had already broken with him."
"Athena was also one of the gods who personally took part in sealing Abel, so Abel absolutely cannot be Lord Meruem. But how did Abel break the seal? That was a seal forged by the gods themselves, working together."
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