After a few days of brief rest and emergency recovery at Kido Saori's manor, the group finally welcomed the moment to set out on their return journey and reclaim the Sanctuary.
Kido Saori was dressed in a long white dress, her entire being radiating an increasingly obvious majesty belonging to a goddess.
Beside her were Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga, and Shun, who had just pulled through from their heavy injuries—only four of the 'the bronze five' had arrived, as Ikki's whereabouts remained unknown.
But no one worried that this phoenix-like man would be absent from the final stage; as long as his brother Shun called out, he would surely appear.
Hiroki brought his core team: Isayama Yomi, whose aura was restrained but hidden with spiritual pressure, and the elite of the Uchiha Clan led by Fugaku, Shisui, Itachi, and Izuna. Having experienced Saga's surprise attack and Dohko's outburst, these Ninjas from another world had eyes that were more profound, and their tactical movements were more efficient and vigilant.
What was striking was the force guarding Saori's side: three Gold Saints.
libra Dohko, who had regained his youthful appearance, had eyes like torches. As an elder and authority who had experienced the last Holy War, his presence itself was a massive bargaining chip;
leo Aiolia, with a resolute gaze, stood by the goddess's side once more after clearing the shadow of his brother being a traitor to the Sanctuary;
And Mr. Mu of aries, whose temperament remained gentle, but whose hands that repaired gold cloths were also ready to fight for the goddess. This powerful guard lineup signaled that they were not launching a hasty counterattack.
However, after stepping onto the land of the Sanctuary, the atmosphere felt eerie. The expected layers of obstruction and fierce resistance from the Sanctuary warriors... none of it happened.
It was too quiet!
The steps along the way, the temple squares, and even the necessary path to the Zodiac's Twelve Temples were empty; not even the shadow of a patrolling grunt could be seen.
The the bronze five walked at the very front to clear the way with nerves tensed, making Shiryu's shield seem a bit redundant.
Alarm bells rang in Hiroki's mind as he furrowed his brows and whispered, "Izuna, focus on sensing. Fugaku, Itachi, lock onto high points and possible ambush spots! Pay special attention to long-range hidden arrows!"
He clearly remembered that sinister arrow from Sagitta in the original story and did not want Kido Saori to repeat that mistake.
His Mangekyo Sharingan vigilantly scanned the surroundings, as the Sharingan's dynamic vision was sufficient to capture any minute energy fluctuations.
But there was nothing; Sagitta was nowhere to be found.
Thus, in a state of near-absurd calm, this massive team gathering the Uchiha, the Saint Seiya elite, and the Goddess Athena arrived grandly and without hindrance at the foot of the mountains of the Twelve Temples, stepping directly into the first temple—the Aries Temple!
Everyone entered the first temple.
The Temple Master, Lord Mu, was following beside Saori... Mr. Mu merely gave a polite nod to everyone (especially Hiroki and the Uchiha and Yomi beside him), and naturally, this pass was unobstructed.
Passed the Aries Temple!
Entered the second temple—the Taurus Temple.
The massive taurus Gold Saint, Aldebaran, did not stand guard or obstruct as was traditional.
He was already kneeling on one knee in the center of the temple, his massive frame bowing respectfully to Kido Saori: "Lady Athena! The truth is clear; you have finally returned! Please accept my, Aldebaran's, loyalty."
His words were sincere, without even a redundant test of strength.
After the ceremony, he stood up decisively and walked directly to the side of Dohko, Mu, and Aiolia, becoming a member of the guard army.
Hiroki's mouth twitched as he complained wildly in his mind: 'Wait, Old Bull?! Could you at least symbolically block us? You just knelt? Where are your principles?'
"However, I heard that Old Bull and Mu have a good relationship, so Mu probably gave him a heads-up in advance."
But seeing Aldebaran's frank and somewhat relieved expression (which seemed to say: 'Do you think I'm stupid? Three Gold big shots are on the other side, plus a group of unfathomable outsiders. Me, fight? Do I have a death wish? Anyway, following Master Dohko and the Goddess can't be wrong!')...
Hiroki could only swallow his words.
Passed the Taurus Temple!
Third Temple—the Gemini Temple.
The temple was completely empty.
The expected illusions created by Saga's residual Cosmo, the automatically worn gold cloth clones... there was nothing.
Saga hadn't even left a cloth to guard it!
"Hmph, he's probably afraid the cloth would really be left behind for Athena to reclaim."
Hiroki curled his lip, recalling the views on the ownership of the cloths from the plot he had seen.
(The cloths belong to Athena; the Saint Seiya only have the right to use them).
He guessed Saga was afraid that if he just put the cloth out there, Athena might reclaim it.
Gemini Temple passed!
Fourth Temple—the Cancer Temple.
Still no one.
But the environment here was still uncomfortable.
The walls were densely covered with the face masks of the dead, emitting a cold aura that gave Hiroki and the Uchiha members goosebumps as they stepped in for the first time.
Deathmask was nowhere to be found.
"Did Saga abandon this line of defense? Or did his die-hard followers also... shrink back?" Hiroki speculated privately.
Passed the Cancer Temple!
Fifth Temple—the Leo Temple.
There was no suspense.
The Temple Master, Lord Aiolia, was leading the way at the front of the group.
Passed the Leo Temple!
Sixth Temple—the Virgo Temple!
Finally, they saw someone! The man closest to God—the virgo Gold Saint, Shaka, sat like a Buddha on a lotus throne in the center of the temple, his eyes tightly closed.
Everyone's pace slowed down unconsciously.
Dohko and Mu stepped forward to engage in a dialogue with Shaka.
The voices weren't loud, but every word was precious, involving faith, truth, the essence of Cosmo, and the future of the Sanctuary.
After a moment, Shaka slowly opened those eyes that seemed to see through everything. His gaze swept over the resolute Aiolia, the young but powerful Mu, the rejuvenated and legendary Dohko, and finally landed on the pure and profound Cosmo on Kido Saori.
He nodded slightly.
There was no battle, no confrontation; he chose to join the Goddess's camp.
Shaka's joining undoubtedly added a massive weight of power to the team.
Looking at this harmonious scene, Hiroki's brow furrowed tighter:'Something's wrong, something's very wrong! We've already walked half the way, and not a single fight has happened?! Even the talk-no-jutsu only happened once (and it was successful)?! Is Shaka that easy to talk to? Or has Saga's prestige collapsed that completely?'
Passed the Virgo Temple!
Seventh Temple—the Libra Temple.
Just like the first and fifth temples... Temple Master Lord Dohko was leading the way.
Passed the Libra Temple!
Eighth Temple—the Scorpio Temple.
When the scorpio Milo saw the massive lineup entering the temple, especially seeing the leaders Dohko, Mu, Shaka, Aiolia, Aldebaran, and Saori herself, a look of surprise and a "game over" expression appeared on the red-haired youth's face. He decisively chose to be a man who understands the times.
After a few sentences stating his position, he quickly joined the team.
The process was so smooth it lacked any drama.
Passed the Scorpio Temple!
Ninth Temple—the Sagittarius Temple. Hiroki looked at the Sagittarius emblem in front of the temple gates, thinking with a strange mood about his Zanpakuto asauchi, which was soul-bound and fused with the core power of the sagittarius gold cloth.
Now, in a sense, he was the temporary "Temple Master" of this temple. One of their own walking through their own territory... it was naturally unobstructed.
Passed the Sagittarius Temple!
Tenth Temple—the Capricorn Temple. Shura of capricorn stood in the hall with a complex expression.
When Aiolia mentioned the truth about his brother Aiolos being framed and hunted, and the infant Athena being forced into exile, Shura's face instantly lost all color, a mix of shock, regret, and shame.
He even painfully raised his Excalibur, almost attempting to commit suicide on the spot to atone for his sins! Kido Saori stepped in at the right time to stop him (a soft Cosmo force held his arm), her voice carrying the mercy and majesty unique to a goddess: "Shura, the past guilt stemmed from lies. The Sanctuary needs your strength now; the gates of the Underworld are still watching greedily, and the true battle is not yet over.
Pick up your sword and fight for justice!" Choking with emotion, Shura lowered his Excalibur and knelt on one knee to swear his loyalty.
However, what Hiroki was thinking was: 'You want to kill yourself? Athena won't let you die that easily until she's squeezed every bit of value out of you.'
Passed the Capricorn Temple!
Eleventh Temple—the Aquarius Temple.
aquarius Camus watched the team filing in—led by Saori, followed closely by Dohko, Mu, Shaka, Aiolia, Aldebaran, Milo, Shura... as well as the silent but chillingly-auraed Isayama Yomi, and the watchful Uchiha group.
Faced with such absolute power suppression and the mass defection of his own Gold comrades (including his best friend Milo, whom he knew best), the habitually calm and rational Camus hardly hesitated and chose to join directly.
Resistance was meaningless.
Passed the Aquarius Temple!
Twelfth Temple—the Pisces Temple.
Empty and deserted.
Even the faint trace of Aphrodite's residual aura was extremely weak, as if he had already departed long ago.
Passed the Pisces Temple!
With that, the Zodiac's Twelve Temples were completely traversed!
Not a single battle had occurred!
The final path leading to the Pope's Chamber at the summit was covered by dense, thorny poison roses—the last trace of Aphrodite.
However, facing the group led by several Gold Saints and Yomi clearing the way, this array of poison roses seemed somewhat pitiful.
Dohko raised a hand, and Mu, Aiolia, Shaka, Milo, Shura, Camus, and others simultaneously surged their Cosmo in unison, with even Aldebaran joining in to release a powerful momentum.
Dazzling light accompanied by matchless momentum swept through; the poison roses beneath their feet were like weeds encountering a hurricane, instantly crushed and blown away, along with the pungent fragrance which dissipated into nothingness.
The road was open and unobstructed.
Passed the Rose Path!
With surging momentum, the group reached the final battlefield—the Pope's Chamber—without breaking a sweat!
The heavy hall doors were slowly pushed open.
Inside... was no one!
The expected gemini Saga, sitting on the golden throne and radiating Cosmo and pressure, was nowhere to be found!
The footsteps of the group echoed in the massive Pope's Hall, making it feel exceptionally empty and deathly silent. The exquisite pillars and hanging banners seemed to silently mock their readiness for a great enemy.
"???"
All the calm and planning on Hiroki's face shattered instantly, replaced by a completely bewildered expression.
He looked around the empty temple, then at the equally surprised people beside him: "Where's my big ultimate boss Saga??? Where's the final battle???"
Kido Saori ignored the vanished Saga and Hiroki's dumbfounded look.
Her expression was calm, even carrying a natural air, as she walked slowly toward the highest Pope's throne in the center and then sat upon it elegantly. The radiance of the Goddess seemed exceptionally dazzling at this moment.
However, the observant Hiroki caught a glimpse that this Lady Athena, sitting on the throne with a majestic and calm face, had a very subtle, hard-to-detect gloom deep in her eyes... as if someone had just lost a huge sum of money (like... someone's two million points).
"Tch, whatever." Hiroki immediately withdrew his gaze because before his eyes, the striking mission status on the system panel had quietly jumped from the persistent 'In Progress' to a delightful [Completed]!
A massive sense of absurdity and hilarity welled up in his heart. Hiroki looked at the huge point reward (2 million points) newly credited to his panel, then at the slightly stiff-faced Goddess Athena beside him, and the 'achievement' of capturing the Twelve Temples like a stroll without shedding blood... "This kind of 'win-by-lying-down' mission..." Hiroki's mouth curled up wildly, almost unable to stop himself from laughing out loud, "is just too great! Please, by all means, bring more like this in the future!"
As for whether that missing gemini Saga would have a shocking counterattack in the future?
Whether Hades, the King of the Underworld, would take advantage of the opening?
That was all for later! At least for now, his, Hiroki's, pocket of points was stuffed full!
But Saga, that dog, sure ran away decisively! Taking Deathmask and Aphrodite with him, running just like that... Tsk, this decisiveness doesn't look like someone whose head was clouded by a blackened personality.
Was it simply because Dohko's momentum was too strong after his seal was broken, making him feel it was more cost-effective to temporarily avoid the brunt? Or... was there really someone behind him giving instructions?
Saga's trajectory of action indeed carried an unusual scent.
Hiroki's brow furrowed slightly. From blocking the door in the novice village... no, from being able to set up a 'decapitation' ambush so precisely at the Kido manor, timing it so perfectly, this whole thing felt eerie.
Saga's grasp of Saori's group's movements and his judgment of the situation after Dohko appeared were all too precise and seasoned.
That calculation felt less like simple mad revenge and more like a long-premeditated, step-by-step conspiracy.
Who gave him the intel? Or did the Pope's Hall itself have some prophetic gadget? Or... was there really some deep-hidden old schemer acting as his strategist? The more he thought, the more suspicious it felt.
"Forget it!" Hiroki shook his head hard, as if to shake out these doubts.
"Why bother with this? Whatever tricks he wants to play, what does it have to do with me? Anyway, Kido Saori, whom I was responsible for protecting, hasn't lost a single hair. The client's core goal was achieved, and those two missions from the system are solidly 'Completed'. A total of 4 million points and the Sagittarius Cloth are in my pocket."
Hiroki's face showed several points of satisfaction from a successful job completion.
All those other convoluted, scheming messes—let Kido Saori, oh wait, let the Goddess of War Lady Athena herself have the headache!
He kept a very level-headed mindset. Anyway, if she really messed up and got beaten until she was screaming, she'd definitely have to look for outside help. When that time comes... hehe.
Hiroki rubbed his hands, his eyes sparkling with the luster of gold coins.
And it starts at 2 million points a pop! This wealth, this generosity! Thinking of this, the smile on Hiroki's face became even more brilliant.
This kind of wealthy friend who is powerful, generous, and practically a walking human (divine) mobile vault—he, Hiroki, was definitely going to keep her!
https://www.patreon.com/c/Bai_Yi