บท 33: Sanctuary Battle Final

Jayr POV - Greece, Sanctuary - 1986

We reach the Pope's chamber just in time to see the Cosmo of Seiya explode as he reaches his 7th sense once again, so I hide with Saori behind the door, and we observe the situation, and see as Seiya gets up, at the same time his Cosmo continues expanding, and the phantom image of the pegasus appears behind him, he then unleashes the light speed version of Pegasus Ryuseiken, taking Saga by surprise and finally hitting him, making him fall on the ground.

But Seiya is still without his senses and didn't notice that he didn't damage Saga, who got up without a problem and moved next to him hitting him in the stomach making Seiya crumble on the floor, then he says "Fool! You were naive to think that a few lucky light-speed punches would be enough to finish me... Still, you've done well for someone in your condition, but I won't toy with you anymore... It's time to finish you! Die, Seiya!!".

Saga is about to finish off Seiya, but before I could move, he stops and looks at the headpiece of his Cloth in surprise "What? The Cloth! It's weeping... Gemini's good face is crying !!", indeed, I too notice that the helm of the Gemini Cloth on the floor is now crying as tears are running down the side where the good face is engraved.

Saga then yells at his Cloth "Ridiculous! What are you crying for? What are you so sad about? Why shouldn't I conquer the earth!? Shouldn't the powerful rule the sky and the earth!? If not for the strong, this world would've fallen long ago!! Since the sky and the earth were born, countless evil beings, and even Gods... Zeus of the sky, Poseidon of the seas, and Hades of the underworld... Have tried to subjugate this world at every opportunity! Unless someone with strength rivaling their own rules the Earth... They will invade and destroy it!! That little wench Saori Kido cannot protect it!! It is I who will be the savior of this era!! And I will kill anyone who tries to thwart me!! No matter who is it!!".

Hearing this I whisper to Saori "See, even when possessed and corrupted by an evil spirit, even if twisted, his major desire is to protect humanity...", Saori nods and says "Un, my Saints will always fight for justice, peace, and love... They will always be warriors of hope...", then I notice that Saga is about to kill Seiya, and this time I finally act, with a punch I send a light speed Cosmo blast that hits Saga's hand stopping him from killing Seiya.

He then looks around enraged and yells "Who dare to interfere!?", and he finally notices me and yells "Crateris Jayr!! How many times do you want to stop me! It's enough I will kill you now!!", and so I raise my guard and prepare for my toughest fight yet, and while I seem calm on the outside, inside I'm so nervous that I'm about to shit myself, 'If you ignore the Gods, and those with plot armor, he, his twin Kanon, and Shaka are the strongest human beings of this world... Hell, Saga basically killed himself but until that moment, he was kicking everyone's ass, his brother Kanon, basically waked through the Underworld like it was his playground and then killed one of Hades' strongest Specter without his Cloth in a suicide attack, and Shaka fucking fought 3 Gold Saints, with Saga among them, and only died because he chooses to do so...'.

And it seems that he noticed too as he says "Heh, such bravado is laughable at this point, you are doomed!", but I steel my nerves, and resolve myself to fight 'This time, I can't hold back... In fact, I have to use everything in my arsenal to even have a chance to win this... Let's do this!!', and so I make my Cosmo explode, and as a Gold Aura envelopes my body, my fist starts shining and a clear blue orb of water gathers around it, then I yell "Tidal Wave Punch!!", and with a punching motion, I shoot it straight towards the Saga, but even if it moves at the speed of light, Saga was ready for it, and he grabs the water-like orb in his hand, and the force behind the blow is only able to push him back slightly.

With an evil smirk on his face, he says "This is it? While this is fast enough... I have to say that I'm disappointed by the power behind this technique... Maybe it is better that you stick to healing as it seems that fighting isn't for you!", but all I say in response is "Boom!" and from the water-like orb in his hand, hundreds of delayed strong impacts came one after another, that slowly push him back and as the number of impact increases, it raises him from the ground sending him crashing into various columns, then into the ground creating a big crater, and one impact after another the crater created grows bigger and bigger, and when the last impact happens the shockwave generated is so strong that blows all the dust generated away and causes the whole Sanctuary to tremble, in fact, it caused a strong earthquake that was felt all over Greece.

Taking advantage of this gap, I rush to Seiya's side, and quickly check on him. 'Damn, he has broken bones all over his body, and also his internal organs are damaged, moreover Saga blocked all his senses, in fact, he is knocked out... The only thing I can do now is, bring his senses back, and hope he wakes up soon!', and so I hit Seiya's acupoints one by one carefully inserting my Cosmo, and restoring his senses one by one, just as I finished restoring Seiya's senses, I felt Saga's Cosmo explode and expand.

To my immense horror, Saga gets up and calmly walks out of the crater laughting, he would appear totally uninjuried if it wasn't for a small trickle of blood coming out of his mouth, but with my medical experience, I can tell that I didn't hurt him much, in fact, at most the only damage I dealt was a little shook to his internal organs, then he says "Ha ha ha! I take back what I just said! You can fight!! I felt that one, now it's my turn!!", and he moves at light speed, and sends a punch aiming at my face, but I dodge and counter with a kick, But he is able to easily follow my movements and grabs my leg, but his hand is shaking under the power of my kick, so he comments "Not only good technique and mastery of the 7th sense, but also incredible phisical strength comparable to Aldebaran... You are really full of surprises Crateris Jayr!!", and he punches me on my chest with an uppercut.

And the next instant, I felt a strong impact on my chest, and the shockwave generated made me cough some blood, and at the same time, I'm sent flying, and a few moments later, I crash against the ceiling, then fall to the ground spitting some blood once again, 'Goddamit! That hurt!! And it is only a simple punch! It's almost like fighting with Aldebaran all over again', while I was thinking that, Saga looks at my Cloth, and comments "Hmm... Your Cloth is also stronger than a normal Silver Cloth... In fact, it almost felt like punching a Gold one...".

Then he appears next to me and while I'm still down trying to recover my breath, he starts to stomp on my back with ever-increasing strength as he says "But it doesn't matter, you interfered back at the Gemini Temple as well Crateris, I won't make your death an easy one, I'll see that you suffer before you die!", then as he raises his foot, to stomp on me once again, I roll out of his way, and get up once again.

Seeing me still standing, he smiles and says "Interesting! You are really sturdy, but his you psyche and will as strong as well...? Let's put it to test!!", and understanding what he is about to do, I brace myself and check once again my countermeasures for what is to come, at the same time, Saga's Cosmo flares, then with a quick movement of his hands, he shoots a beam of light at the speed of light, yelling "Demon Emperor Fist!!", it is so sudden and fast that I'm unable to dodge and the beam of light goes through my brain.

But luckily Saga's Cosmo clashes with the one I put into my brain and reinforced throughout the years, rending his technique useless, but I still act like I'm affected by it, meanwhile, Saga move closer confident of his victory, and says "He, he... You're trapped, the Demon Emperor Fist has taken over your brain, you have no free will, you must do whatever I say, now.. Stab yourself in the arm... Do it...", and I go through the motion, while appearing to struggle against his order, 'Those acting lesson I took last year are useful now...'.

Saga sees this and once again commands "Why do you hesitate? Do it!", and right at this moment I flare my Cosmo and punch Saga in the face with all my strength yelling "Surprise Motherf***r!!" sending him crashing against another column of the Pope's Chamber, but Saga quickly recovers and stands up, then after spitting some blood, he says "So you were fooling me! You were able to defend against my Demon Emperor Fist!! It seems that you really have reached the Gold Saint level, right now we could be in the state of Thousand Day War... do you know what this means?".

Getting ready for his next attack, I reply "When two Gold Saints with equivalent forces confront one another, it is said that their battle will inevitably reach a stalemate, and this confrontation is referred to as a "Thousand Day War" since the Saints can both die or fight forever without a winner...", Saga smiles and says "That is right... but we aren't equal... I have another weapon I have yet to use, consider this your reward for having fought me until now...".

Saga's Cosmo explodes once again, as he yells "Before you die, you shall witness my greatest attack!!", knowing what is about to come, I only have the time to think 'Oh Shit!!', and use all my Cosmo to brace for the impact, meanwhile, Saga concentrates all of his Cosmo energy to the maximum in between his hands, then yelling "Galaxian Explosion!!", he releases it in the form of a gigantic shock-wave capable of obliterating nearly anything in its path.

To me, the attack looks like a myriad of galaxies and planets come crashing into me, and at the same time I'm blown away like a ragdoll crashing and bouncing on the ground multiple times, I feel all the bones in my body break, and even my Cloth has cracks all over its structure, I also feel the whole Sanctuary shaking once again, and I'm on the brink of losing consciousness feeling immense pain all over my body.

'What... the... fuck... Did I... just got nuked... I knew he was strong but this...', in fact, unknown to me the Greek Government is on alert as the aftermath of the Galaxian Explosion was like a small tactical nuke has been set off in Greece.

As I'm struggling to find the strength to get up and fight one again, I hear Saori's voice yelling "Saga, stop! Don't let the evil spirit control you... Fight it!", then I hear Saga struggle for a few moments as he whispers "Go-Goddess Athena..." but then he starts laughing manically as he yells "Ha ha ha! Thank you for coming here! You spared me the time to come and search for you... Now, I'll only have to kill you... And I'll become the ruler of this world once and for all!".

Hearing this I struggle even more but my body doesn't follow my command 'Come on! Move!! Shit! Shit! Shit! Come on I can't let her die! Where the fuck is my plot armor!?', but as I'm starting to panic, I hear Ikki's voice as he yells "I won't let you harm Athena! Ho Yoku Ten Sho(Flaming Wings of the Phoenix)!!", then I feel the hot winds generated by Ikki's attack, but I don't relax 'Ikki is not strong enough to really harm Saga...', at the same time, Saga's voice says "Phoenix you too dare to interfere with me now!!?".

And indeed, the next moment, I hear Ikki's shocked voice "Incredible! The Ho Yoku Ten Sho isn't doing anything to him!!" and Saga calmly says "Your moves are useless against me... Now let's see how you fare against the power of your own attack", then I hear Ikki's scream and the sound of his body crashing against something and falling on the ground.

Luckily Ikki doesn't give up, and he says "If I can't break your body with the Ho Yoku Ten Sho, then I'll shatter your mind with the Hoo Genmaken(Phoenix Phantom Fist)!", and now Saga's voice seems almost amused as he says "You're going to shatter my mind, you say? Mine? Intriguing, then I'll attack yours with my legendary Demon Emperor Fist! So which of us will conquer the other's mind? It's a race, Ikki!!".

Meanwhile, their exchange makes me calm down, and I try to gather my strength to overcome the wall in front of me 'Calm, Jayr! Calm! Not all is lost you are only hurt a little... You always knew that this Universe was full of bullshit strong characters... And I'm going to become one of them too... I don't want to lose against Saga, the Gods... And not even against the other Champions... think of all the people you are fighting for... my family mom, dad, Shaina, Geist, grandpa Jayr, and the others... my friends, Aldebaran, Aiolia, Milo, Camus... Seika! Saori! I'll protect them! Burn! Burn my Cosmo let my enemies truly feel the power of Crateris Jayr!!'.

And as I feel my Cosmo answering my plea burning stronger than ever before, the clash between Saga and Ikki ends up in a draw, but just as they were about to restart their fight, they stop, as I'm standing up, and hear Ikki and Saori ask at the same time ""Jayr! Are you alright?"", while Saga exclaims "Impossible! He got hit by my Galaxian Explosion! It's already a miracle that he is still alive, much less still standing! And his Cosmo is growing stronger each passing second!!".

I reply to the worried Ikki and Saori with "Some broken bones and ruptured organs... But overall I'm fine..." at the same time, I notice Seiya getting up and slowly walking toward the curtains behind Pope's throne, trying to reach the Athena Colossus, and Saga notices too as he says "Pegasus has risen to his feet again too!! This can't be! His senses are gone, he can't see, or hear, or even feel anythi..." but then he looks at me and realizes what has happened, so he yells "Crateris!! You restored his senses!!! Now he is moving toward Athena's Temple! He's trying to get the Aegis Shield! I won't let you do it! I'll finish you before you can get to that shield!".

But I move in front of him to stop his advance and as he yells "Jayr!!", I send a telepathic message to both Seiya and Ikki, to Seiya I say 'Seiya hurry... I'll hold him here... take the Aegis Shield, and point it at Saga to purge the evil spirit!, while to Ikki 'Ikki, retreat with Saori and protect her I'll stop Saga!', while I say to Saga "I... I won't let you pass, not until Seiya has the Aegis shield...".

Hearing that, enrage Saga so much that yells "You fool, do you really think you can bar my way? I'll Blast you both at the same time!!", and he starts concentrating all of his Cosmo energy to the maximum in between his hands, but so do I, and since I was gathering my Cosmo since I stood up to unleash my strongest technique, my process is faster then his one, then as my Cosmo explodes with a force comparable to that of the Big Bang, I twist my arm and release all Cosmo yelling "Hundred Roaring Ice Fangs!!", and generate a powerful and turbulent wave-like vortex of Cosmo with countless ice spears within, all of them with the temperature at the absolute zero, that hits Saga and pierce throughout the whole body, with his Cloth unable to protect him.

The massive and turbulent wave-like vortex keeps pushing Saga's body while continuously hitting him with ice spears, blowing him through the temple wall and outside making him crash into the mountain's wall, after releasing this technique, I fell on my knees totally exhausted, and trying to regain my breath I say "Haa... That... Haa... Should have... Haa... been enough...", then I hear Saori and Ikki footsteps as they came next to me, then I hear Saori's worried voice that asks "Jayr... Are you alright...the whole Sanctuary shook once again!", and Ikki add "I thought that Saga released another Galaxian Explosion, but we didn't hear the loud explosion noise it makes... So we came to check...".

I turn to Ikki and ask him "Ikki can you go through that hole and check on Saga... He should be still alive as I made sure to not hit any vital point, but I used my strongest move, and I'm worried about him...", Ikki nods and go to check and soon come back saying "He is out cold with many ice spears impaled all over his body... but he is still alive...", and as he was talking, Seiya comes back with a big completely round shield with several touches and ornaments on its surface and in a golden coloration.

(Image Here - Aegis Shield)

Then Seiya gives the shield to Saori, and together we all move toward Saga, but I'm moving with Ikki's help as I'm still wounded by Saga's fearsome Galaxian Explosion, and weakened by unleashing the Hundred Roaring Ice Fangs, a technique I come up with by combining the principles of the White Ice Spear and Naruto's Rasengan.

Soon we find ourselves in front of Saga still out cold and pinned on the mountain wall by hundred of ice spears, the Gemini Gold Cloth is damaged almost beyond recognition, and I'm sure that if this mountain wasn't protected and reinforced by Athena's Cosmo, my technique would have obliterated it 'Dear Athena! I almost killed him...it is easier to say what isn't wounded or damaged... Hell, the fact that I was able to damage a Gold Cloth to this extent is already scary, after all, as said many times, to destroy them you need the same level of power needed to destroy a universe, and only the Gods can easily use that level of power...'.

While I was winching about the damage I caused, Saori lift her shield and points it in Saga's direction saying "Aegis Shield, please save this Saint!", and under her plea, the shield lits up in a pure golden light, that moves faster than the speed of light, lighting up Saga's body, for a few seconds before stopping, then a lot of things happens at the same time, the ice spears melts away, and his wounds close, his hair turn back to their original violet-blue color, and some kind of black shadow is purged out of his body with an anguished scream, then with nothing holding him, Saga's body falls on the ground.

After a few seconds, Saga opens his eyes, he gets up and starts looking around, but as soon as his eyes land on Saori's figure, he quickly gets on his knees and says in a voice full of guilt "Goddess Athena, I'm Saga, the man who tried to kill you 13 years ago... I've been waiting for you to return for many years... To beg for your forgiveness...", seeing the resolute gaze in Saga's eyes, I had a hunch on what he is about to do, so with my last strengths I burn my Cosmo once again, and quickly tackle him into the ground stopping him from killing himself.

And not giving him any time, I yell "You idiot!! How can killing yourself atone for the supposed sins you have committed!? We all know that you were possessed by an evil spirit implanted in you by Hades' subordinate, and you fought the evil self that it has generated all your life... Hell, your evil self said the same thing that if it wasn't for you stopping him at the crucial time, he would've conquered the world many years ago!!".

Seeing him stunned in silence, I continue "Moreover, if you really want to atone for your sins! Do it like a fucking Saint and continue to fight for peace and justice for the rest of your life! Athena still got a lot of fights ahead, and she needs all the Saints she can gather to make sure to win and protect humanity once again! Hell, right as we are talking, Athena's enemies are gathering their forces... Athena needs you and your strength to protect this world, we need you!".

At the same time, Saori comes next to us and says "Saga, your fight between good and evil is over, and I believe that the real you is a good man, so please do not give up, and fight for justice once again!", and with tears in his eyes, Saga says "Th-thank you... It is truly my desire to fight for peace and justice...", then I let go of Saga, who this time get on his knee and declare "I, Gemini Saga, pledge my allegiance to you, Saori Kido, the Goddess Athena! to fight at your side to safeguard peace and justice upon the Earth!!".

After this we all start moving down the Gold Zodiac with Saori leading the group and at the same time I send a message to my sister and the others to gather everyone at the foot of the Gold Zodiac, in the Pisces Temple, we find Aphrodite and Shun waiting for us, and while Aphrodite is surprised by the state of Saga's Cloth, he once again pledge is allegiance to Athena and joins us, while Shun is being carried by Ikki, in the Aquarius Temple, Camus with the still knocked out Hyoga in his arms joins the group.

The next one is the Capricorn Temple, where Shura joins and carries Shiryu like a sack of potatoes, in the end, moving from temple to temple, all the remaining Gold Saints join our group, but only Deathmask is absent, it seems that when I was fighting Saga, he freed himself and went somewhere to think about his mistakes and things I told him, I hope that he can recover and become a better Saint, he was able to become a Gold Saint so, at least in the beginning, his heart was in the right place.

In the end, we are joined by the 10 Gold Saints, who now stand in front of the entrance of the Gold Zodiac and find all the other Saints, soldiers, and guards waiting for us or more specifically for Saori, and soon Tatsumi comes running asking "Saori-ojousama are you alright?", to which she replies "I'm fine, there is not even a scratch on me...", then she turns to the group and says "You have all gone through so much for me, thank you... But now, I can say that evil has finally been expelled from the Sanctuary!!".

Then all the Saints, soldiers, guards, and every other person present here, get on their knees and yell at the same time "Athena, we pledge to fight at your side to safeguard peace and justice upon the earth!!", and at the same time, Saori's Divine Cosmo explodes from her body and envelope everyone and everything in the whole Sanctuary and even beyond as she says "And I'll always be fighting at your side as the Goddess Athena!!".

And next everyone starts cheering and celebrating, and for the first time in years, the depressing and oppressive mood that was dominating this place is finally gone, and I can help but say "With this, we'll make the Sanctuary great again!", but as soon as I said this, a cold shiver runs up my spine, and moving next to Saori I whisper "Saori! Please point the Aegis Shield in my direction, I think an orange-skinned evil spirit has just possessed me...".