Pope's Hall, Star Hill.
This was the highest point in the Sanctuary. Dust covered every surface atop the cloud-piercing Star Hill—the tables, chairs, the observatory, even the floor.
Saga surveyed the room. He hadn't come to Star Hill in a long time.
Ever since he usurped the throne and became Pope, the sky above Star Hill had been pitch-black. You couldn't see any omen-bearing constellations from the observatory at all.
Saga didn't care.
Star signs and the future were empty talk.
As long as he was the Pope and his power was strong enough, that was enough.
As ruler of the earth, any enemy—Hades himself included—he would rip to shreds with his own hands.
"Someone's been here."
Saga sensed the floor and detected something amiss.
Though the intruder had suppressed his Cosmo to the bare minimum, he could still feel a trace of anomaly at the scene.
Especially after that battle…
He opened the hidden ladder and climbed to the topmost attic of Star Hill.
One glance—and his pupils narrowed.
Shion's corpse was gone!
"Damn it. That guy actually stole Shion's body!"
"Right under my nose…"
Saga was speechless.
He couldn't fathom what the intruder was after. He'd gone to such lengths to break into the Pope's Hall, and his actions defied understanding.
Did he think merely flaunting a corpse would proclaim to the world and topple Saga's rule over the Sanctuary?
Impossible!
Many Saints in the Sanctuary worshiped strength above all. Even among the Gold Saints, several believed might itself was justice.
Even if the intruder displayed Shion's body to overthrow his rule, a fair number of Gold Saints would stand with Saga.
But such things had to be guarded against.
Stealing Shion's body was assuredly up to no good.
Back in the Pope's Hall, Saga went to the archive.
He found boxes strewn across the floor and many ancient scrolls.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Saga asked.
"Your Holiness, that mysterious man rummaged through the archive. I'm putting it back in order,"
a frail girl's voice answered.
"He searched the archive?"
Saga looked curiously at the little maid Pansy as she emerged from a pile of boxes.
"Yes. I heard a noise, found him rummaging inside, and called for help. That mysterious man completely messed this place up,"
Pansy reported, blinking her big eyes, speaking in a soft, endearing voice.
You'd never guess she was lying and shifting blame.
"Foolish. These scrolls are nothing but ancient-era records. There's nothing important here… perhaps some notebooks left by former Saints,"
Saga said with scorn.
"The important things are all here, and not here,"
he added lightly. "The Sanctuary Treasury isn't so easily opened, idiot."
"Then… may I ask, Your Holiness, where is the Sanctuary Treasury?"
A black gleam flashed in Pansy's eyes as those limpid orbs met the Pope's.
"Hm?"
Saga paused. His aura changed. That broad hand gently patted Pansy's head. "That can't be said, okay?"
A warm big-brother air flowed from him.
Why did the Pope seem like a different person?
Pansy keenly sensed the change in his bearing; even his hair had turned blue.
No doubt about it.
The casket sealing the twin gods of Death and Sleep had to be in the Sanctuary Treasury.
She had to learn where the treasury was.
"Your Holiness, I want to see the Sanctuary Treasury. May I?"
Pansy looked up and cast her Hypnosis God Art again.
The Hypnosis God Art could be used up to three times a day, capable of altering a human's thoughts and will.
No matter how firm someone's resolve, the effect was potent.
The next instant, Saga's black hair streamed as a sharp aura flooded out. He lifted a hand and pinched Pansy's throat.
"Little one, another word and I'll twist off your head. Understand?"
Murder filled the eyes behind his mask, and his hair had turned black again.
Pansy's little legs kicked in the air, her face turned purple, and she was finally tossed to the floor like garbage.
"Clean this up."
Saga dropped the words and strode out of the archive.
"This… this damn Pope is immune to my Hypnosis God Art?"
Pansy wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, rubbed her purpling neck, and frowned.
"How is that possible?"
"The Hypnosis God Art didn't work? My divine art belongs to Morpheus, one of the Four Gods of Dreams, who governs the dreams of all heroes and kings. It's extremely effective on the strong."
"Divine art can hypnotize all strong beings in the world. As long as they're human, it's hard to fully resist—though the very strong can partially shrug it off."
"But it had no effect at all on the Pope?"
"No—the hypnosis worked… There was something strange just now, as if he became someone else."
Pansy was completely puzzled.
His Holiness was gentle one moment and ruthless the next, catching her off guard.
No doubt about it, the archive held nothing she wanted. The holy coffer of Death and Sleep had to be in the Sanctuary Treasury.
No matter what, she had to find it.
As for the Pope… if hypnosis didn't work, she'd have to tread carefully.
Take it slow…
Temperamental as he was, he was still better than staying with that lunatic Ding Li.
That man either told her to train her chest muscles or made her scrub toilets—nowhere near as easy as here.
Right—why has the Underworld army I painstakingly prepared gone silent again?
I'd better return to the Underworld.
…
Pope's Hall, before the throne.
The Sanctuary's chief of staff, Gigas, knelt on one knee.
"Gigas—are these reports true?"
A newspaper lay before Saga.
The English headline read:
"Miss Saori Kido of Japan plans to hold a global tournament in Tokyo. The prize is a Gold Cloth passed down from the mythic age. Invitations have been issued to fighters worldwide."
There were photos as well.
Alongside Saori Kido's picture was the Sagittarius Gold Cloth.
"There's no mistake—absolutely the Sagittarius Gold Cloth,"
Gigas tittered. "With it showing up abroad, that traitor Aiolos might appear too."
"And in the interview this Saori Kido even said the goddess Athena exists."
"Your decision, Your Holiness—shall we send Saints to reclaim the Cloth, or kill this Saori Kido as well?"
Saga gave no immediate reply. After a pause, he spoke slowly:
"Send word: I summon the Capricorn Gold Saint, Shura."
"The Pisces Gold Saint, Aphrodite."
"The Cancer Gold Saint, Deathmask."
"The Virgo Gold Saint, Shaka."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]