"To avenge Shun!" Seiya was the type who could only unleash tremendous potential in the face of adversity. Because of his comrade's death (at least, that was what Seiya believed), the Cosmo within his body erupted once more.
"Pegasus Meteor Fist!" Countless blue shockwaves shot toward Deathmask at incredible speed.
"I already said, with just you Bronze—what? Aaagh!" Deathmask, who had been utterly confident he could dodge Seiya's technique, was struck full on by Seiya's fists.
His body once again slammed into the wall behind him, and a mouthful of blood surged up his throat and sprayed out.
"Why has his punch gotten so much stronger? I should have seen through it already—damn it." Deathmask glared at Seiya in deep unwillingness, forcing himself to stand again through the pain wracking his body.
Fortunately, he was wearing a Gold Cloth. Otherwise, with that moment of carelessness just now, he might very well have met a tragic end.
"If I don't get serious, this won't work!" For once, Deathmask put away his mocking attitude. His entire body blazed with Cosmo; from the look of it, he was ready to fight to the death.
"I'm going to kill you! Phoenix Wing Rise!" At that moment Ikki's attack also arrived, though on the surface he, as always, said nothing.
Aside from Esmeralda, he treated everyone with the same icy cold demeanor. But in truth, Ikki cared about Shun a great deal.
He was the textbook definition of a doting, overprotective big brother.
Now that Shun's life and death were unknown, Ikki's Cosmo had soared to its peak.
The massive Cosmo even forced Deathmask to temporarily drop the idea of "teaching Seiya a lesson" and focus entirely on dealing with Ikki. "Sekishiki Meikaiha!"
Two enormous Cosmos collided, triggering a tremendous shock.
Evenly matched! The two sides actually fought to a complete standstill.
"Heh… looks like your lord here is going to die in this place. Oh, Saga, I'm afraid I won't get to see that world you dream of building." Just one rampaging Ikki alone was already enough to fight him fifty–fifty.
And on top of that, there was the Pegasus who had already shown he could grievously wound him, plus the Dragon and Cygnus whose strength had reached high–tier Silver Saint level. If not for the Gold Cloth on his body, he might have been defeated long ago.
Even with a Gold Cloth, he would probably die here…
But at least he had taken out an Andromeda.
Oh, Saga, your lord here is heading out first.
Feeling the terrible state of his own body—his Cosmo nearly exhausted, his limbs frostbitten, several ribs in his chest likely broken, and heavy internal injuries on top of that—
Deathmask burned what little Cosmo he had left, ready to make one final gamble. Oh, Saga, this is all a brother can do for you.
Yet just then, an extremely strange and unfamiliar Cosmo made everyone in the Cancer Temple jolt, their hands freezing mid–motion as they all stopped in place.
However, that Cosmo came quickly and vanished even faster.
If they hadn't all sensed it, they might have suspected they were just imagining things.
"Seiya… big brother…" Shun's long eyelashes trembled a few times, then he slowly opened his eyes. Though he looked a bit weak, he didn't seem to be in any serious danger.
Shun's awakening cut off everyone's attention from that mysterious Cosmo.
"Shun!" Seiya and the others were overjoyed, and even Ikki—who had been unusually tense and furious just moments before—finally let out a slow breath of relief.
"Impossible. Andromeda was clearly struck by my Sekishiki Meikaiha. I obviously didn't open the gate to the Underworld a second time, so how can he be all right?" Unlike the others, who were just happy, Deathmask was filled more with shock and terror.
The Underworld Wave was, so far, the strongest technique he could use, and once someone was hit by it, no one but him could ever return from that world.
Shun's current state had completely exceeded his understanding.
"Fierce Tiger Gale Fist!" While Deathmask was still in shock, a Cosmo no weaker than that of a Gold Saint appeared behind him.
It moved so fast that no one present could react. In an instant, Deathmask was knocked out cold.
"Who's there?" The sudden attack startled all the Bronze boys. They immediately entered fighting stance, warily staring toward the shadows where the sneak attacker hid.
A black, ornate tiger–type Cloth…
"Brother Wang Hu…" Once they got a clear look at the newcomer, the Bronze boys all let out a sigh of relief.
"Lord Meruem asked me to tell you this—you're too slow. If he reaches the Cancer Temple and you still haven't made it to the next temple… you know what'll happen." As he spoke, Wang Hu shot them a sinister look.
"No way, let's hurry!" The Bronze boys all bolted toward the next temple.
After they left, however, Wang Hu stared thoughtfully at the back of one particular person.
And that person was—Shun.
"That Cosmo…" Saori, who had just left the Aries Temple and stepped into the Taurus Temple, turned to ask Meruem.
Although that Cosmo in the Cancer Temple had only appeared for an instant and hadn't spread beyond the temple at all—
This was still the Sanctuary, Athena's domain.
And after countless years of conflict, when it came to her old enemy's Cosmo, Athena was intimately familiar.
"That's right, Saori, your guess is correct." Meruem's words confirmed Saori's judgment.
He had long known the other party's identity, but Saori did not.
"To think he directly possessed one of the five guardians… As expected of the King of the Underworld, Hades."
After leaving the Cancer Temple, the next temple was the Leo (River Crab) Temple, guarded by the Leo Gold Saint Aiolia.
A temple they should have been able to pass through with ease had now become a serious problem for the Bronze boys.
Because Aiolia had been put under the control of Saga's Demon Emperor Fist.
After returning from District 11 earlier, Aiolia had rushed impatiently toward the Pope's Palace.
Unfortunately, he had been ambushed by Saga.
Although under the Demon Emperor Fist's control he couldn't exert a full one hundred percent of his strength, that was still more than enough to give the Bronze boys a major headache.
Back in District 11 they had already experienced firsthand the overwhelming power of the Lightning Plasma.
Now they had to relive it once again.
Fortunately, by the time they left the Cancer Temple, Ikki had already successfully broken through to the mid–stage of the Seventh Sense.
Although his Phoenix Illusion Demon Fist still wasn't as powerful as the Demon Emperor Fist, he was only facing an Aiolia under mind control.
Difficult as it was, Ikki finally seized the right opening and used a Phoenix Illusion Demon Fist to shatter the Demon Emperor Fist that Saga had placed on Aiolia.
Without taking the time for much explanation with Aiolia, the Bronze boys immediately hurried on toward the next temple.
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