The outskirts of Sanctuary at night. Cold winds howled.
The Wolf Saint and Young Lion Saint were conducting routine patrols.
"So boring." The Young Lion Saint yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Wish something exciting would happen. Like a dark creature invasion or something…"
He waved his fist, looking eager. "Just right for me, Young Lion Saint Orson-sama, to save Sanctuary."
The Wolf Saint glanced at him, snorting coldly. "You really don't appreciate your good fortune. Before Setsuna-sama swept the dark creatures from the earth, Sanctuary's outskirts were attacked almost every few days. Nothing like the peace now. Besides, what dark creatures are left now?"
"Not necessarily." The Young Lion Saint pouted defiantly. "Maybe tonight we can…"
Before his words finished, the ground beneath their feet suddenly twisted. The surrounding scenery abruptly changed.
The two felt the world spin. Opening their eyes again, they found themselves in an ancient, dilapidated arena. The air was filled with the smells of decay and rust.
"Haha! See!" The Young Lion Saint shouted excitedly. "I said there'd be enemies!"
However, his smile soon froze on his face.
Ahead, countless figures emerged from the darkness.
They had burly builds, emanating suffocatingly violent Cosmos. Even more bizarrely, they had no heads.
"These guys… what kind of monsters?" The Young Lion Saint's voice trembled slightly.
The Wolf Saint didn't hesitate. Silver Cosmos gathered on his fist.
"Death Howling Fist!"
Yet, the fist wind capable of smashing atoms slammed into the headless warriors, sinking in like mud, leaving not a single mark.
"These are all Silver Saint-level enemies?" The Wolf Saint's heart kept sinking.
Especially when he saw the two obviously the leaders surrounded by the headless warriors. Their powerful aura made his soul tremble.
"Gold Saint-level enemies? And two!" The Wolf Saint felt he was suffocating.
The Young Lion Saint gritted his teeth, suddenly blocking in front of the Wolf Saint. "You go find reinforcements! I'll hold them off!"
The Wolf Saint was slightly startled. He never expected this usually frivolous newcomer to have such courage in danger.
But he quickly shook his head. "Useless. This place is very close to Sanctuary. Logically, the Gold Saints should have detected the Cosmos fluctuations here long ago."
His expression turned grave. "No one has come yet, meaning someone isolated the space. Us getting dragged in likely means that person isolated the entire Sanctuary outskirts!"
The headless warriors advanced step by step. The shadow of death loomed over them.
Just as the two were about to be overwhelmed by the enemies, a blazing white fire phoenix descended from the sky.
BOOM!
The violent flames forced the headless warriors back. A golden-red figure landed before the Wolf Saint and Young Lion Saint. Phoenix tail feathers gently swayed amidst the lingering flames.
"Setsuna-sama!" The Wolf Saint shouted joyfully.
Then, Aspros's figure walked out from the shadows.
"Excellent!" The Young Lion Saint exclaimed excitedly. "With Setsuna-sama and Gemini Saint Aspros-sama here, these monsters definitely—"
"Step back!" Setsuna interrupted coldly. "Aspros is controlled by the enemy. He is no longer a Gold Saint."
"What?" Both the Wolf Saint and Young Lion Saint widened their eyes, looking at Aspros in disbelief.
The Gemini Saint hailed as 'Light' had betrayed Sanctuary?
"Defteros!" Setsuna said gravely. "Your brother is controlled. If you want to save him, you absolutely cannot be soft-hearted!"
Defteros gritted his teeth. The struggle in his eyes gradually turned to resolve.
He looked at that familiar yet strange figure opposite him, thinking inwardly, "Brother, I will definitely bring you back!"
On the other side of the battlefield, the headless warriors of the Flame Army surged forward like a tide.
They wielded various weapons, their bodies burning with the battle flames granted by Ares. Even without heads, their fighting spirit didn't diminish in the slightest.
"Incineration Storm!"
The Flame Army's vice-captain, Emma, struck first. A scorching fire tornado rushed straight at Setsuna.
The flames contained the War God's savagery. Even space twisted from the burning.
"Hoyoku Tensho!"
A golden-red fire phoenix spread its wings. The moment the two flames collided, the entire arena was illuminated as bright as day.
Ultimately, Setsuna's Klesha Fire proved superior, completely devouring Emma's flames.
"Impossible!" Emma staggered back. "This is the divine fire granted by Ares-sama!"
"Ares?" Setsuna sneered. "That God of War defeated by Athena in the Holy War, who then scurried off to Hades like a stray dog?"
The flames in his palm grew even fiercer. "Coincidentally, this fire of mine is Klesha Fire tainted by Hades's divine blood. Being stronger than Ares's flames is only natural."
Emma roared in unwillingness, joining dozens of headless warriors to besiege Setsuna.
Yet even with numerical advantage, they were suppressed and forced back by the Phoenix's Klesha Fire.
"So strong!" The Wolf Saint watched excitedly. "Even opponents comparable to Gold Saints are no match for Setsuna-sama. Is this the strength of the Sanctuary's hero?"
The Young Lion Saint was dumbfounded. "We're both Bronze Saints. The gap is actually this huge?"
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
A savage head burst from the earth, streaking across the sky to land on the tallest headless body at the battlefield's center.
"I, captain of the Flame Army, [Battleaxe Bone] Gagaro, have finally awakened!"
"Brother!" Emma was overjoyed. "We can finally fight side by side aga—"
Before he finished, Gagaro's great axe cleaved heavily onto his brother.
"Useless!" Gagaro's voice was like muffled thunder. "Can't even handle a Bronze Saint? You disgrace Ares-sama's glory!"
"Glory?" Setsuna's laughter was particularly piercing on the battlefield. "A coward who went to Hades begging for mercy after defeat dares speak of glory?"
Gagaro's eyes instantly filled with blood. Violent Cosmos formed tangible shockwaves as he swung his battle axe down. "You seek death! Carnivorous Lava!"
Setsuna's fist coiled with crimson lotus Klesha Fire, punching upward to meet it.
"Klesha Fire Judgment!"
The moment the battle axe and fist collided, a deafening roar erupted.
The surrounding ground instantly turned to dust. Even atomic forms were smashed.
Gagaro stared with blood-red eyes, looking at the scene before him in disbelief. "How…? A mere Bronze Cloth can block my God of War's axe?"
"It seems Ares's warriors are nothing special." Setsuna's tone was calm. His Phoenix Cloth was essentially just a Bronze Cloth. Its defense indeed couldn't compare to Gagaro's Berserker Armor.
But he had wrapped his Phoenix Cloth with dual-colored Haki. Moreover, his Cosmos was stronger than Gagaro's, weakening the opponent's attack.
With one diminishing and the other growing, naturally, he came out on top.