"So as long as we each defeat the God Warriors and statues guarding different parts of the World Tree, we can reach the central temple? That man called Andreas should be there." As soon as Saga stepped into the World Tree, he laid out the plan. "Well then… see you all at the central temple."
The six Gold Saints then scattered in different directions, each one going after a different God Warrior.
Saga faced Sigmund, known as Asgard's foremost God Warrior. Shaka took on the immortal Baldr. Aiolia went up against Frodi, leader of the God Warriors. Aiolos confronted Heracles. Aphrodite faced the mysterious "undercover" God Warrior Utgard, and lastly, Surtr fought Deathmask.
A great battle was about to explode.
At the very heart of the World Tree temple, Andreas stared anxiously at the crystal ball's image. Even after he'd taken over their minds and poured his own power into them, his two proudest God Warriors, Sigmund and Baldr, had still been defeated.
Those Gold Saints called Saga and Shaka were simply too strong, completely out of their league. With no World Tree suppressing their Cosmos, and their stamina and condition nearly at peak, the power those two could unleash would astonish even ordinary gods—let alone mere God Warriors. Soon after, Aiolos followed up by defeating the giant Heracles.
Though his Cosmo was not as outrageous as that of the twin "S-class" Saints after over a decade without training, Aiolos was still far from weak.
The fight between Aphrodite and Utgard, on the other hand, was baffling. It looked fierce on the surface, blow for blow, but anyone watching closely would notice that both men were holding something back, as if wary of something. Neither was truly fighting seriously.
In fact, the only pairs going all out were Aiolia versus Frodi, and Surtr versus Deathmask.
Aiolia was not the strongest of the Gold Saints, but he was exceptionally brave. As leader of the God Warriors, Frodi naturally had his own strengths. With the boost of Odin's Sapphire and Loki's divine power, he could fight Aiolia to a standstill. Surtr's opponent, Deathmask, was a notch below Aiolia in pure strength, but Surtr was also weaker than Frodi, so the two sides were roughly evenly matched.
"Just a bit more. Just a little more. If I can buy a bit more time, I'll get that divine spear. Then, whether Gold Saints or Athena, they'll all kneel at my feet." Andreas's eyes burned as he stared at Julian and the others on the altar, their life force constantly being drained.
Finding a divine reincarnation vessel to use as a substitute had taken some luck. Especially one whose body still held remnants of divine power, plus two powerful Mariners still badly wounded. Together, their lives and power were just enough to nurture the Eternal Spear.
"Andreas, your ambition ends here." With a roar, one wall of the temple was smashed to rubble. Three Gold Saints in gleaming armor stepped into Andreas's view.
"So you're that priest Andreas? No… you're not human. What are you really?" Shaka, whose eyes were usually closed, suddenly opened them wide at the sight of Andreas. A powerful Cosmo erupted from his body. "Show your true form, creature of the dark!"
Worthy of the one called the Buddha reborn—Shaka saw through Loki's disguise at a glance. Holy power surged from his hands toward Loki. Caught off guard, Loki almost had his soul knocked out of Andreas's body.
But he was still a god and quickly steadied himself, roaring at Shaka, "Gold Saint, how dare you!"
The voice that answered was a strange blend of male and female, clearly not human.
"So it is you—the evil god Loki of the Norse pantheon. What is your goal?" Aiolos drew his unique golden bow and nocked an arrow as he demanded.
"Hmph. Want to know? Defeat me and I'll tell you. Not that you'll get the chance!" Andreas threw out his hand, hurling wave after wave of divine power at the Gold Saints as if it cost him nothing.
In an instant, the three top-tier Gold Saints were locked in a bitter fight.
"No one can withstand my flames! Golden crab, I, Surtr, will turn you into roast crab. Flame of Hateful Green!" Wielding a flaming sword, Surtr launched relentless attacks at Deathmask.
Up against this sort of elemental assault, Deathmask had no good way to respond at first—especially since Surtr also had a weapon.
"Looks like Meikaiha doesn't work on this guy. Fire, huh… then I'll have to use that move." Deathmask swept his arm toward Surtr, and countless tiny blue flames like starlight began drifting through the air.
"Hahaha! I'm a God Warrior who specializes in flames, and you think you can beat me with these little sparks? Gold Saint, did the flames fry your brain?" As a professional fire‑user, Surtr could easily sense that those blue sparks carried almost no heat and posed little threat.
"Or is this just a bubble a big crab blows before it dies? Die now, Gold Saint—Blazing Flame Vortex!"
Flames erupted beneath Deathmask's feet, curling into a ring that trapped him in the center.
A moment later, an extremely intense surge of fire engulfed Deathmask. Even through his Gold Cloth, he let out a scream of pain.
When the flames died down, Deathmask lay on the ground, motionless, white smoke curling from his body.
"Done. No one survives my flames. Even a Gold Saint is no match for a God Warrior." Surtr let out a long breath. The battle had cost him a great deal of Cosmo.
Just then, the blue flames still drifting in the air began to fall like rain, all descending toward Surtr.
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