Assault on Atlantis Part 3

Isaak POV - Atlantis, Pillar of the Arctic Ocean - 1987

The loud rumbling sound in the distance, and the fact that the ground is shaking once again, tells me that another Pillar was just destroyed, and I say "This is the 5th one... Damn, I'm the slowest! Maybe, I shouldn't have lost time killing every Mariners in my way...", then I look at the area where my objective stands.

The Pillar of the Arctic Ocean is located in a rather remote area of Poseidon's Realm, at the end of an uphill path carved directly into the seabed, the area is devoid of the corals seen until now all over Atlantis and is dominated by strong blue color, to the point that the sea surface above it appears darker than that of other zones, clearly caused by the environment of the ocean above.

In fact, in the seawater, about halfway down the Pillar, I see the submerged part of two gigantic icebergs floating on the surface, while the floor is composed entirely of rocks covered with blue ice, and the whole Pillar is surrounded by huge ice mountains several hundred meters high.

The area of the Pillar itself, has a single level quite high with respect to the ground, and to reach it I must climb a huge stone staircase of large dimensions in width and length, and soon I stand in front of the Pillar of the Artic Ocean, that is flanked on both sides by two rows of obelisks or small pillars of square section and grayish tones, and the Pillar is the square base of about 20 meters high plus a combination of 4 smooth columns until its termination.

(Image Here - Pillar of the Arctic Ocean)

As I was studying the terrain, I also think about what Jayr said about me and the future he prevented, 'To think that I could've been the guardian of this place now if Jayr didn't act... Resentful and angry against the whole world, denying my master and father-like figure's teaching only because I saved Hyoga and almost died in the process... Well probably it also helped that, in the moment of need, it was Poseidon's Will that saved me, and as Jayr repetitively said, Poseidon, isn't evil himself, but he just doesn't care much about the mortals' lives, as he can easily replace them once he restores the world, you can say that his objective is just, but his methods are too drastic... So I can imagine such a version of myself swearing his loyalty to him...'.

But my thoughts are interrupted by a cold female voice that says "I've been waiting for you Saint of Athena... This is the place where you all will die and finally stop to desecrate Poseidon's Realm... By my own hands, Kraken Elizabeth!", at the same time a strong cold aura can be felt, that lowers the temperature, even more, turning the droplets of water around us into ice crystals.

Looking at the point of origin of the voice, I finally see my opponent, a beautiful young woman, with a pale complexion, luminous long cerulean hair tied in a ponytail, and light blue eyes, wearing the Kraken Scale, that strangely reminds me more of a manta ray than a titanic octopus, at the same time I'm once again surprised by the ability of these armor to perfectly adapt to their wearer, as her chest piece perfectly adapts to her bountiful bosom, while the rest of the Scale protects most of her body, but what characterizes this Scale the most, is wing-like fin at its back.

(Image Here - Kraken Elizabeth)

Then I take my fighting stance, and burning my Cosmo I take control of the phenomena that she generated, and lower the temperature even more while saying "I don't think I'll die here... As I Dorado Isaak will defeat you!", then I move closer to her and throw a kick, aiming at her face, but she ducks and dodge the blow, then she says in a calm tone "If this is your best... then, you will die here, Frozen Fangs!", and as her Cosmo explodes, she gathers the energy around her hands, and generates around them sharp ice blades, and quickly moves to pierce my head with her right one.

I tilt my head to the side and barely dodge her attack, but she is still able to make a cut on my left cheek, at the same time I turn around and with a back kick, I hit her in the stomach, pushing her back by a few meters, then burning my Cosmo, I gather the cold air around my fist, instantly condensing the surrounding moisture into pure ice which then shatters and manifests itself in the form of countless sharp and cutting snow crystals that are hurled through a powerful cold wind generated by my punch "Take this! Diamond Dust!!".

But at the same time, she understands my intention, burning her Cosmo, she traces a circle in front of her with both her hands, one placed above, the other below, and once the circle is complete, the Cosmo rushes inside generating a crystal clear ice mirror, and she yells "Taste your own technique! Frozen Mirror!!", and my Diamond Dust is then absorbed by her ice mirror, and the next instant, is reflected back at me, but that isn't the only thing that takes me by surprise, as now, I can clearly feel that the power and speed of the technique are doubled, and so I'm hit by the strong cold wind and countless cutting snow crystals and hurled in the air until I painfully crash into the ground.

Still feeling the pain and the biting cold all over my body, and with a trace of frost all over my body and Cloth, I slowly get up a mutter "G-goddamit! It's like being hit by master's Diamond Dust... I-I hold back to test her... but the reflected attack is already close to the absolute zero!!", then I hear Elizabeth's cold voice that says "Give up! My Frozen Mirror will reflect back every attack, doubling its power, you can't win! Just give up and I'll give you a painless death! I can clearly feel that you aren't one of those filthy corrupt humans... Who knows, once Lord Poseidon has purified this world from its corruption and restored back to its pure state, maybe you will reincarnate in it, and happily live in peace for the rest of your life in a perfect world!".

I look at her and reply "While that does sound nice... I won't be able to live happily in a world built on the deaths of countless innocent people! It's true, this world is full of corrupt and evil people, and I too want to kill and exterminate every last one of them, to bring justice and peace to this world, this is why I chose to become a Saint of Athena!", hearing that, Elizabeth says "Then why don't you join us? Together with Lord Poseidon, we will build a utopia together!".

I shake my head and say "But no matter how much I want to exterminate the evil, I won't sacrifice the innocents to do so! My first duty as a Saint of Athena is to protect, and bring hope and peace! What Poseidon is doing now is only a senseless massacre, that is why I, together with my fellow Saints and the Goddess Athena, will stop him!", Elizabeth looks at me in silence for a few moments, then she says "Very well, let's see who is on the right side once and for all... You foolish Goddess that wishes to protect those too far gone for a handful of good people, and simply look as they destroy this beautiful world, or Lord Poseidon, who choose to act to restore this world to its prime state and build a perfect world!".

After she said this, Elizabeth's Cosmo explodes once again, and as the phantom image of the Kraken appears behind her, she raises her hands pointing at the sky and yells "Take the strongest move of the Kraken! Frozen Catastrophe!!", then she creates a gigantic ice block above her head, and as she joins her hand together and lowers them pointing at me, the ice block breaks into countless sharp pieces, transforming into a violent and deadly ice storm, that quickly moves toward me.

Seeing this, I too decide to use my strongest technique, and yell "Behold my greatest move!", I make my Cosmo explode to the max level possible, raise my two arms up in a triangular position, and begin to concentrate my Cosmo when I reach the desired limit, the image of a swordfish appears behind me, then I lower my arms, placing them horizontally, open my hands and create a small sphere of electric and ice Cosmo in each of them, finally, I join my hands at chest height and joins both spheres creating a bigger one, yelling "Aurora Borealis!!", then release all the energy gathered, into a deadly tornado of ice and electricity.

Our techniques clash, merging together, generating an even stronger cataclysm that devastates everything around us, it is so strong that in fact, it starts to affect even the surface of the Arctic Ocean, at the same time, our Cosmos clash to gain dominance over it, but no matter how much I try, she seems to always keep up with me, and at times even overcome me, then while I was struggling and pushing myself to not be defeated, something clicks in me, a new awareness about everything, a feeling that I was able to grasp many times before, but never fully able to master, the 7th sense, now clearer than ever, and with it, I fully grasp this opportunity and push through with my Cosmo and gain control over the monstrous disaster that we have created, and direct it towards her resulting in an explosion of ice and electricity so strong that parts of the area start to collapse, and the whole realm starts to shake.

After a few seconds, the aftermath of the clash finally stops, and I, totally spent, slowly move closer to the crater where my enemy lies, while at the same time, admiring the durability of the Pillar, as even with all its surroundings devastated it still stands tall, and totally unscratched in pristine condition, not even a small crack can be seen on it, then I focus on Elizabeth, she lies on the ground motionless, her Scale is a mess destroyed, frozen, and with burnt marks in many places, but luckily her private parts are still covered, moving closer I also notice that she is still barely alive but nonetheless badly wounded and out of combat and say "It seems I was able to control the storm enough to not kill her... Well, anyway she isn't a threat anymore, it's time to focus on destroying the Pillar of the Arctic Ocean".

But before I could call for him, I hear Kiki's voice in the distance "Isaak, I'm here!", and see him running and huffing toward me with the Libra Pandora Box on his shoulders, confused, I ask "Why are you running? Shouldn't you teleport to our location for your safety?", stopping in front of me, he puts down the Pandora Box, and tries to catches his breath as he slowly replies "D-do you... know... how hard... is... to teleport in an area protected by the Cosmo... of a God? And only I and my master are able to do so as we Muvians are especially gifted in this area... anyway, after two or three times, I'm totally spent... so the only way is to run from one area to another... luckily only yours and the Pillar of the North Atlantic are left".

And only as he said this did I realize that this kid in front of me is able to do such a feat impossible for me, and sensing his Cosmo, I'm surprised to find that even if exhausted, he is already as strong as a mid-level Silver Saint, then remember that when Jayr introduced him he said that Kiki would be able to become a Gold Saint and take his master place when the time will come for a new generation to take the reins.

Then my attention is caught by the Libra Cloth which reveals itself and sends flying one of the tridents, which I catch in my hand, I turn my gaze toward the Pillar, and burning my remaining Cosmo to enhance my strength, I throw it with all my power, and it hits the Pillar resulting in a blinding flash of golden light, then as the trident comes back, I admire as the Pillar crumbles, quaking the whole realm once again, and with a smile, I say "With this, only one is left and we can finally save Athena!".

Jayr POV - Atlantis, Pillar of the North Atlantic - 1987

I stop moving, as I hear a loud rumbling sound and feel the whole realm shake once again, then with a smirk on my face, I say "This is the 6th one... Only one remains until now everything is going according to my and Saori's plan...", then I continue toward my objective.

It is located on a nearby hill, northwest of the Temple of Poseidon, in an area not far from the Mainstay, it is similar territory to the South Atlantic one, rich in purple corals that form barriers of up to two meters, but compared to the latter it seems more spacious and orderly.

In the distance I can already see the area in which the set of buildings surrounding the Pillar is located, it is covered with bluestone slabs, square and irregular in shape, and it has a single very high level with respect to the ground, a large smooth stone block with only a decorative border on its top, in front of it three pieces of stone constitute the central staircase, quite narrow and steep to climb.

And the Pillar itself can now be clearly seen, the corals reach the whole of the Pillar base but do not come out on top, acting a bit like occasional sidewalls, and this base, as usual, is connected to the ground by a long flight of stairs without handrails

On top of this large block are the Pillar and two rows of huge plain columns joined at the top by an undecorated entablature, on both sides it is partially surrounded by two colonnades, each with at least four circular columns, deprived of capitals, but equipped with an abacus, a flat slab forming the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, and covered by a lintel that connects them with the wings flanking the column.

(Image Here - Pillar of the North Atlantic)

As I'm moving up the stairs, Kanon, still in his Sea Dragon disguise, appears in front of me and says "As long as I, General Sea Dragon, am still standing, I won't let you near Lord Poseidon!", and I take him by surprise by saying "It seems like everything is going according to your plan, isn't it, Kanon?", hearing that Kanon stood still for an instant, before boldly taking off the helm of his Scale that was covering his face, and says "So you found out, eh... But I'd like to know what betrayed me...".

Looking at him, I have to admit that he is almost identical to his brother Saga, Kanon is also a tall, muscular man with navy blue hair, as opposed to Saga's cerulean blue, and turquoise eyes and pale skin, at the same time I reply "Well for one your and Saga's Cosmo is very similar, almost identical in fact, and having fought him, his Cosmo is something difficult to forget...", then he laughs and says "So you were there when that fool choose to off himself... That pitful brother of mine, was tormented by his good and evil halves, but I'm nothing like Saga, I've never possessed anything but a heart of pure evil!".

But as he starts his evil laugh, I stop him and say "Sorry to disappoint you but your brother Saga is still alive and well...", and Kanon exclaims surprised "Impossible!!", I ignore his outburst and continue "You see his evil half, was created by an evil spirit that possessed him in his infancy... But with the Aegis Shield, we were able to purge it, and save Saga, and yes he tried to kill himself once free, but I and Athena were able to convince him to keep living...".

Then Kanon yells "It doesn't matter! No, this is a good thing! This way I can prove to him that I was right all along! I'll attain total domination over the earth and seas!!", at the same time I look at him with a deadpan expression and say "Dude... You just revealed your grand aspiration and desires... While it isn't a secret for Athena and me, I think the Mariner and Poseidon wouldn't be too pleased with this...".

But Kanon is still calm as he says "Well nobody will know it, as you won't be able to tell it to anyone else!", then Kanon takes a really familiar pose as he concentrates all of his Cosmo energy to the maximum in between his hands, then yelling "Galaxian Explosion!!", he releases it in the form of a gigantic shock-wave capable of obliterating nearly anything in its path.

And once again I'm greeted by the sight of a myriad of galaxies and planets that come crashing into me, but different from the last time, this time, I brace myself, and make my Cosmo explode to the max, withstanding the shockwave that Kanon produced, while everything around me is obliterated, at the same time, Kanon exclaim in surprise "What!? You withstood the force of the explosion!?", and with a smile, I reply "I already survived Saga's Galaxian Explosion, compared to that, yours is a piece of cake, you might be twins, but you're not in your brother's league".

Enraged, Kanon asks "What? Are you saying I'm less than Saga?", and with a calm smile, I reply "You ought to know that better than anyone... After all he always was the more hardworking one, while you just took it easy as you believed in your overwhelming talent...", hearing that, Kanon yells "Absurd!! This time, I'll kill you!!" and moves to once again attack me.

But I was ready for it, I make my Cosmo explode, and as a Gold Aura envelopes my body, my fist starts shining and a clear blue orb of water gather around it, then I yell "Tidal Wave Punch!!", and with a punching motion, I shoot it straight towards the Kanon, who took by surprise my counter-attack, is it by the water-like orb in his chest, and the force behind the blow is only able to push him back slightly.

Seeing this, with an evil smirk on his face, he says "This is it? How were you able to defeat my brother with a punch so weak..", and with a smirk on my face I say "Boom..." and from the water-like on his chest, hundreds of delayed strong impacts came one after another, that slowly push him back, and as the number and strength of impacts increases, it raises him from the ground sending him crashing into the Pillar, and one impact after another the cracks on his Scale grows bigger and bigger, and when the last impact happens the shockwave generated is so strong that blows all the dust generated away and causes the whole Atlantis to shake once more, at the same time, hi Scale shatters, and form Kanon's mouth spays a lot of blood.

As Kanon slides down the Pillar, I notice that the Pillar itself is still undamaged, I can't find even a small crack on it, then I move closer to Kanon and he says "Damn... That hurts... But even if you defeat me, and destroy this Pillar you won't be able to move past Poseidon himself and save Athena!", I briefly look in the direction of the Poseidon's Temple and feeling that all the others are slowly converging there, I turn to Kanon and say "Yes, it will be hard to overcome Poseidon... But the puppet with only a decimal of his power is a whole other story...".

Hearing what I said, Kanon's eyes open wide as he mutters "You know...!?", I nod and explain "The Crateris Cloth has a really useful ability, it shows you instances of your future... So both I and Athena knew a lot about your plot from the start... How you escaped from the Cape Sunion Prison, freed the sealed Spirit of Poseidon before his time, and how you are now manipulating his host, Julian Solo while keeping Poseidon in a half-asleep state, all so you can use his powers to rule over the planet while deceiving everyone else".

After I finish my speech, I notice Kiki, with Sorrento behind him, quickly coming here, and seeing Sorrento, Kanon slowly gets up and yells "Sorrento, quick stop him, before he destroys the Pillar...!", but once close, Sorrento says "I know everything, Sea Dragon... No, Gemini Kanon...", at the same time, Kiki puts down the Libra Pandora Box, that once again opens up and shows the Libra Cloth.

And the next moment, I see one of the shields fly toward me, then I quickly throw it the Pillar, and after that annoying blinding golden light, that appears every time these weapons hit the Pillars, the shield bounces back, and grabbing it, I think 'God this is so impractical, how the hell does Captain America pulls this off every five seconds!?', at the same time the Pillar of the North Atlantic starts crumbling.

Then I hear Sorrento say to Kanon, while he prepares to use his flute to attack "I plan to take you down, Kanon! I sentence you to death for deceiving all those Mariners who fought and died for believing they were helping Lord Poseidon create a purified world! Apologize to them in the afterlife!!", but I quickly yell "Wait, Sorrento! There is no need to kill him...".

Both Sorrento and Kanon appear confused by this, and I continue by saying "He owns Athena a holy favor!", and surprised Kanon exclaims "What? I owe HER? Yeah, right! What the heck do I owe Athena?", and I reply "Wake up, Kanon! You of all people ought to know!! You must've sensed Athena's Immense Cosmo at least a few times since she came to this underwater realm! I'm not going to let you deny recognizing that Cosmo..." and seeing his stunned expression as realization slowly surfaces on his face, I continue "...That's right, Kanon, that Cosmo that saved you countless times when you swung between life and death in Cape Sunion's stone prison, 13 years ago... That's right! While you were imprisoned at Cape Sounion, your life was saved by Athena's Divine Cosmo countless times!".

And after saying this, I hear Sorrento say to the shocked and still in disbelief Kanon, "Just like you, I didn't want to believe it at first, either... The terror I felt when I first met Athena... It was the unbelievably immense love she possesses... I didn't want to believe in it, if I acknowledged that great love, then the purging of the earth, everything we Mariners were trying to accomplish in the name of justice, would all be a sham... But Athen has willingly sacrificed herself for the people of the earth, how can we not acknowledge her love?".

I take this chance to leave with Kiki moving toward Poseidon's Temple, at the same time, I hear his footsteps as he comes after us and says "The earth is not thoroughly corrupted, like we thought, not as long as there's a single fistful of love remaining...Kanon, if you still don't wish to believe in Athena's Cosmo, that's fine... But you're no longer worth fighting or killing anymore.....".

And together we leave the still Kanon there among the ruins of the Pillar of the North Atlantic while thinking 'I hope that he redeems himself like the original... I did everything I could... But now, I have to focus on Poseidon... And I kind of regret not taking the portable group of plots armor with me, but I need to do this if I want to overcome the challenges ahead of me... And I'm not talking about Hades... but the greater threat that will be coming, the other Champions!'.