Avange... Saints Assemble!

Sorrento POV - Japan, Kido Mansion - 1987

I had thought that the mission that Sea Dragon gave me under Lord Poseidon's order, would have been an easy one, after all from what we have heard, the Sanctuary was weakened by its civil war, and there were rumors of the deaths of many gold Saints, and my only job was to grab Athena current reincarnation, a weak small girl without protection, and take her at the presence of Lord Poseidon.

But I couldn't be more wrong, the girl in front of me is anything but weak, her Cosmo and her presence are so strong and huge, that they terrify me, but paradoxically, I don't sense any malice toward me in her Cosmo, instead, it is full of love and hope.

Then she surprise me when she starts to talk about the fact that Lord Poseidon is still in a half-awakened state, and everything that is happening is caused by Sea Dragon, and that his true objective is to use the current state of Lord Poseidon, to make him and Athena fight and kill each other so that he can rule the world, she also told me that he isn't the real Sea Dragon Marinas, but an impostor and his true identity is that of Gemini Kanon.

And after this surprising reveal, she told me that she wants to negotiate with Lord Poseidon so that they can reach a peaceful accord, one that will spare the lives of countless innocents, and also told me her plan to put her life in danger to temporarily stop the damages that Julian-Poseidon is causing, then she asks for my cooperation, swearing that she won't fool or hurt Lord Poseidon, then she tells me to take her to temple, and I can only meekly, nod at her request and lead the way, 'If this is true, and is all a plot of Sea Dragon and not the will of Lord Poseidon, then all of this is a meaningless fight and it is better for it to end!'.

Saori POV - Atlantis, Poseidon Temple - 1987

Following the lead of the Marine General Siren Sorrento, I finally can see in the distance Atlantis, the realm of the God Poseidon, ruler of the Seven Seas, the kingdom once was a continent situated above the water, but after a Holy War between Athena and Poseidon, it was submerged and became a lost continent.

It is an idyllic and quiet place, full of rocky waterfalls, coral reefs, staircases, columns, and paved stone paths, what quickly caught my eyes are eight giant pillars that support the dome that holds the bottom of the oceans above, this place is huge and covers two-thirds of the world, it is clear by the fact that each pillar is situated under one of the seven ocean, the North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Antarctic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, and South Atlantic Ocean.

There is also another huge pillar located beyond Poseidon's temple in the Mediterranean Sea, the Main Breadwinner, also known as the Mainstay, the place where Kanon hid the Urn of Athena that can seal once again Poseidon's Soul, our last trump card if everything else fails, anyway, these pillars, along with Poseidon's Cosmo, keep the undersea realm from flooding.

And quickly, Sorrento leads me toward the central point of Atlantis, the Temple of Poseidon, located under Cape Sounion, in Greece, it is a multi-story building surrounded by stairs, featuring classical Greek architecture and ornamentation, the temple is symmetrical, with its entrance located at the center, on either side, two ships that stretch to the corners and in them, two smaller ships that look rather advanced.

There are several rows of columns with decorated friezes at the top and the entrance gable roof and sculptures on the pediment, it also has 4 winged sculptures at the entrance which represent sea creatures like sea horses and mermaids.

Inside, the temple includes private apartments, long stairways, and relaxing walks surrounded by water, we pass through the hall of the Scales, a large chamber in which the armors of the God and his Generals were displayed on golden pedestals, arrayed around a central urn, but now is totally empty as all the Scales have their owner now, and Kanon hid the urn.

Soon we reach Poseidon's Throne Room, which is located opposite the entrance of the temple, against the back wall. It can be reached by climbing a long stairway outside, crossing double doors decorated with a relief of Poseidon's trident, and climbing a second steep staircase.

The interior is vast and spartan, as Poseidon's throne seems to be the only piece of furniture present, and right now is full of Marinas kneeling in front of the throne yelling "Lord Poseidon has donned his Scale and been splendidly resurrected in the current age!! We Mariners pledge our lives to the fight for our Lord Poseidon's Supremacy!!".

At the same time, I see Julian standing in front of the throne, wearing Poseidon's Scale, it is in the image of the mighty ruler of the seas Poseidon, wielding a trident, a great symbol of his power and dominion, the armor itself has no known particularity and in its object form resembles a bearded god protecting his whole body, it imprints an image of power, and even from here, I can feel that this Scale is stronger than everything I have ever seen before.

(Image Here - Poseidon)

As we are moving closer, I hear Julian, talk with a female, and he asks "Mermaid Tethis? How long before my rain covers the surface of the earth entirely?", and a beautiful 15 years old girl, with a well-endowed body, long, blonde backcombed with cerulean-colored eyes, donning the Mermaid Scale, which has a very nice design and is simple but very attractive, and his kneeling behind him replies "Your majesty, the earth will probably be completely submerged in another 30 days or so... But we mustn't take success for granted, Lord Poseidon, Since the Age of Myth, every time your legion tried to conquer the world, Athena and her Saints have thwarted them".

(Image Here - Marmaid Thetis)

Right at that moment, Sorrento moves forward and stands in front of Julian, he still seems uncomfortable with my presence as he says "If Athena has her Saints... Lord Poseidon has us Mariners... And while we do not need to fear her Saints, however..." and finally everyone notices my presence behind him and a little of unrest unfold between the Marines lines as someone yells "Athena!! What audacity! Athena dares to brave Poseidon's Sanctuary alone?", and Sorrento continues "...However, she is truly fearsome, she talked and asked me to bring her to you, Lord Poseidon, I was unable to refuse... She did not threaten me, yet her mere presence cause me immense dread... the like of which I've never felt before...".

Julian finally looks at me, and recognizing me he says surprised "Saori!!? You are Athena!?", at the same time, the other weaker Mariners, finally awake from their stunned state, move to attack me, but Julian commands them to stop and order everyone to leave, and once we are alone he says "Now, I understand the feeling I had when I first met you at the manor... We are sworn enemies who have waged unending war over the millennia... Since the Age of Myth".

Looking at him like this I think 'It seems that the Crateris Cloth's visions and Jayr's knowledge are once again right, there is still Julian in control, and he only has a fraction of Poseidon's true powers, and while his thoughts and action are influenced by Kanon... right now in front of me there is a mix of Poseidon and Julian, the power of the God and the will of a human, and even worse, the human right now is being manipulated to act in such a way, he is merely a puppet... Anyway, I'll still try to wake him from this...', then I say "Now, it isn't the time to discuss such things, you must stop the rain immediately... You mustn't kill any more innocent people!".

Julian replies to my plea with "Unfortunately that can't be helped... 30 more days, this rain will not stop until every foolish human has been washed from the earth", hearing that, even knowing that it is useless I can't help but try to rouse his will to break free from Kanon's technique once again "That's insane! Not all humans are wicked! It's true, the hearts of many are indeed tainted, but I believe that, deep down, even evil people have some good in them... You're using your Divine Powers to commit wholesale murder, and that will not go unpunished, and you have killed many innocent children and newborns, as well".

But Julian totally ignore my words and says "Once I asked you to be my wife, my feelings have not changed, join forces with me and we will rule the world together! These humans never deserved to have dominion over the earth in the first place", listening to his word I realize 'It looks like that he lost himself in the overwhelming power of Poseidon, but in fact, he is being skillfully manipulated... In the end, we have to fight once again... I just hope that the plan works and this is the last time I have to face Poseidon...', and steeling my resolve I reply "You already have my answer".

Julian let out a sigh a says "In that case, I'm sorry, you are my ancient enemy, and I must destroy you...", and I say full of conviction "Go ahead and try, I have no fear of death, and I won't watch in silence while innocents are slaughtered! To stop your madness, I, Athena, shall fight!", at the same time, I feel my Cosmo, explode in power, and at the same time, I feel many other Cosmos, join mine, to support it and strengthen it, and in an instant, I recognize them, those are the Cosmos of all my Saints.

It seems that Julian, is feeling it too, as he whispers in shock "Those fiery shapes behind Athena...", and I explain to him "They are the Saints of Hope who appear whenever evil threatens the world, they too are ready to fight by my side... Together we will crush your evil designs once again, Poseidon!!".

As soon as I said, this I felt a slight change in Julian, he now feels more like Poseidon himself, and in a strangely calm tone, he says "Very well, if you are so determined, I will grant you one chance... Sacrifice yourself... I will allow you to be drowned in humanity's place, by the very rain that now falls upon the world, by doing so, you will delay the flooding of the world for a time", but once again he quickly returns back to normal.

Seeing this as a good sign and at the same time to save more innocents, I accept his proposal by saying "Very well, let the rain fall on me, If that will slow the destruction of the earth for even a little while, I'll gladly do it", and next, the wall behind the throne rises, providing direct access to the paved road leading to the central pillar, and he leads me through a staircase descends to a level below the throne room, to a large open hall flanked by two aisles with columns leading to the central pillar, the Mainstay.

And once in front of it, Julian led me inside it and says "Behold, the Mainstay! also known as the Main Breadwinner! That's right this column is the keystone of Poseidon's Temple, if it were destroyed, my kingdom would fall with it...However, that concern has now been completely allayed", and he shut the door behind me locking me inside, and says "Athena, are you familiar with the term 'Human Pillar'? Long ago, to secure divine protection for a fortress or citadel, a person, usually a beautiful maiden, would be buried alive in its foundation... And who could be a finer human pillar than you? You, Athena, will help protect the Temple of Poseidon, my temple will be eternally indestructible, even if this galaxy comes to an end!".

As he finished speaking, water starts to come down from the mouths of four lion reliefs, on each wall, and as the water slowly start rising, I think 'My Saints, the time has come... The world once again needs you to protect it, I will stay here and buy enough time for you to come... Jayr please be careful...'.

Dohko POV - China, Lushan - 1987

Still sitting, in front of the Lushan Great Waterfall, I feel, Athena's Cosmo flare, and quickly notice that the intensity of the falling rain decreased a lot, 'It seems that the young Athena, already made her move, now it is up to us Saints to follow through her plan...', then I let out a sigh and say "The ferocity of the rain has slackened...", and as expected, a voice came from the water that says "Ho! Leave it to the wise Old Master to notice! Still sitting here beside the great waterfall? It's amazing that you haven't gotten bored after 200 years, ha ha ha...".

And from the waters, a young beautiful young lady came out, and I quickly recognized her for what she is, "Oh ho! A mermaid?", the young mermaid sat on one of the protruding rocks and says "Indeed, the Mermaid Tethis! Old Master, with the passing of the Pope, you now stand at the head of the Saints, to you I bring this message from the Sea God Poseidon... To lessen the force of this rain, Athena has sacrificed herself at Poseidon's Temple, but this respite will only last for as long as she remains alive, when the Mainstay fills completely, the rain will once more fall at full strength until the earth is completely flooded... If you wish to save Lady Athena, you'd better come to Poseidon's temple, that is all".

Hearing that, I know that everything is going according to the plan for now, and say "Ho... A declaration of war", then the young mermaid Tethis says "Of course, we Mariners have our esteemed Seven Generals... So I suggest you bring your Gold Saints", but then the voice of the young Jayr is heard that says "Forget it, the Gold Saints don't need to bother", and soon he appears behind me together with 5 others Silver Saints, and one of them, that I recognize as Perseus Agol adds "That's right, the six of us should be plenty!".

Indeed, behind me appeared, Jayr and the team of Silver Saints that the Sanctuary gathered especially for this occasion, using the info that Jayr and Athena gave to choose the most suitable for the task, while the Mermaid Tethis comments "Really!? Silver Saints? You guys won't be even able to get past the temple's entrance... Athena's death is assured!", and after saying this she jumps in the water and disappears from sight.

And one of the Silver Saints that came with Jayr lets out a whistle and says "Wow... That blond bombshell sure is fast... You guys think she'll agree to go out with me after this is over?", he is a handsome young man in his early 20s, with a fair complexion and brown eyes and hair that he keeps cut to just below the nape of his neck, his face has well-defined and delicate features that give him a good appearance.

He is donning the Scutum Cloth, which is made up of four shoulder pieces a pair located in a superimposed way on each shoulder, plain arms and legs pieces that reach the elbows and the upper thigh, a plain chest piece that covers only the upper part of the chest with a small purple gem in the middle, a waist piece made of a belt and protection to the side, and the headpiece is a simple tiara with two horn-like extensions, and obviously, it has a shield which has a design similar to a Scutum used by the ancient Romans on his left arm.

(Image Here - Scutum Juan)

But young Jayr says with a smile on his face "Sorry to break your dream Juan... But she is in fact a fish, her current appearance is thanks to Poseidon's powers... But if you have that kind of fetish you are free to try...", and Juan quickly shakes his head and replies full of rightfulness "No, thanks... It isn't going to work even if she is really beautiful, as a Saint of Athena I can't fraternize with the enemy!" and walking next to him Jayr put his hand on Juan's shoulder and says "Don't mind, there are many fishes in the ocean...".

Jayr then decides to introduce them to me, first by pointing at the Scutum Saint, and says "Master Dohko, let me introduce my team, the one that wants to sleep with the fish, is Scutum Juan, despise the appearances he is one of the strongest Silver Saint almost equal in power with the Gold Saint, and was Shura's disciple", and Juan says "Hey! I don't want to sleep with the fish! Only with that mermaid babe!".

Jayr ignores him and points at the one with the appearance a little more mature than his companions, he is a man of fair complexion with blond hair kept short to almost his shoulders, blue eyes, and a small but short beard saying "He is Southern Cross Georg, he is the guardian of the training ground in Mt. Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, and trained together with Aiolos in his youth...", he is donning the Southern Cross Cloth, it headpiece is of similar shape of the Gemini's one, but it has a green cross in the middle, the chest piece like all the silver one, protect only the upper part of the chest, and is joined with the waist piece, that is a plain belt, and has another green cross in the middle, while the design of the shoulders, arms, and legs pieces is simple, he simply respectfully nod at me, he seems like a quiet man.

(Image Here - Southern Cross Georg)

Pointing at a young man with a serious face, green eyes, and tousled, shoulder-length, warm green hair and long sideburns, donning the Dorado Cloth, Jayr says "He is Dorado Isaak, Camus's first disciple, an expert at controlling ice", and young Isaak, bow and says "It's an honor to make your acquaintance Master Dohko...", then pointing at Perseus Agol, Jayr adds "And I think you already know of Agol... As he and Shiryu trained together a lot, especially in the usage of the shield...", I nod and says "Yes, Shiryu told me about him...".

Then he point at the last one, a young man whose age does appear to be around 20 years old, with a fair complexion and spiky silver gray hair that he keeps short to just below the nape of his neck and grey eyes, "And last, but not the least, Orion Rigel...", and at that point, I say "I see that you finally decided to don your Cloth once again...", Rigel slightly nods and says "I had lost faith in the justice of the Sanctuary... But it seems that we were simply misguided..."

Then he adds, simply refuting to continue with the issue, "Let's stop talking... Lady Athena is waiting for us...", his Cloth is one of the complete among the Silver Cloths, the shoulder pieces have a plain design, with a horn located at its ends, in the right knee pad also have one of these horns, the arms pieces have a unique design mad up of two layers and the second one has a horn at the height of the elbow, the chest piecehas an almost "simple" design that arrives until the mouth of the stomach, below it extends a union that allows to unify with the waist piece that presents four protections two to the sides of the same one that protects the pelvis of the Saint, the protection in the later part of the same one allows to unify with the lateral protections of the waist, the helmet possesses in its center three united tips through the front part of the helmet, the lateral horns possess a greater size than the center horn, and last the legs are the most plain.

(Image Here - Orion Rigel)

Jayr then says "Wait a moment Sir Rigel... We miss one last member of the group, he won't be fighting but will act as a support...", and the next moment, a youthful voice is heard "Jayr, I'm here! And I have the Libra Cloth with me!", and a boy of short stature, possessing tousled, reddish-colored hair that he keeps down to just past the nape of his neck, with the Libra Pandora Box on his shoulders teleported next to me.

Jayr greets the youth and introduces him to the team, "He is Kiki, Aries Mu's disciple, future Cloth repairer, and Aries Saint, he will be the one to lead us to Poseidon's Temple and will teleport next to us with the Libra Cloth when we need to destroy the seven pillars... Of course, we have Master Dohko's permission to use the weapons of the Libra Cloth...".

The young Kiki quickly moves near the rock's edge and sniffing the air he says "That mermaid lady's scent is faint but I can smell it, I should be able to follow it to the Temple of Poseidon, hurry! Follow me! Before the scent fades!", and soon he jumps into the waterfall water, and Jayr says "Okay, let's go! See you later Master Dohko!" and follow after the young boy, and next one after the other the Silver Saints jumps into the water.

I look at the gloomy sky with dark clouds full of water as the rain keeps falling and say "This is a battle that must be fought, they are fighting for us all... These rain clouds have blotted out the sun for many days now, but the Silver Saints will chase the dark clouds away, then sunshine and hope will return...".

Jayr POV - Atlantis, Poseidon's Temple - 1987

Following Kiki's lead that has a nose so powerful that in some way he is able to follow the scent of someone for kilometers underwater, after a few hours in the distance at the bottom of the sea, we finally see the huge underwater realm of the Sea God Poseidon, Atlantis, an idyllic and quiet place, full of rocky waterfalls, coral reefs, staircases, columns and paved stone paths so big that is connected with all the oceans of the world by eight giant pillars that support the dome that holds the bottom of the oceans above.

As soon as we enter the perimeters, we land on the floor and are able to breathe once again, but we are soon surrounded by dozens of rankless mariners, who yells "What do you think you are doing, this is Poseidon's Realm! Let's kill them guys!", all of them are wearing a mass-produced and weaker version Scale.

These Scales have protections for the hands, arms, elbows, waist, and legs, in addition to having a breastplate that protects almost completely the chest of its wearer, showing as if they were scales, and also have knee pads, shoulder pads, and helmet, it has three shoulder pads that are located two semicircular on the right shoulder and a longer one on the left shoulder, the helmet seems to represent the head of a creature, in the center of the same one is a small horn and to the sides of the helmets are two species of fins of a fish similar to those that are in the feet, hands and the left shoulder.

(Image Here - Rankless Marina)

But we are able to simply deal with them using only our martial arts, Juan uses his shield to protect the group against the Marinas' weapons, while Isaak is the most ruthless he uses the most barbaric form of Vale Tudo, with his knees and elbow strikes, but also grabs and throws moves, basically using everything to demolish and kill everyone in his way in the fastest way possible, while I, Agol, Greog, and Rigel, use our mastery of Pankration to knock down our opponents without killing them, and after we dealt with everyone here, we keep moving forward following Kiki's lead, and soon we find ourself in front of the Poseidon's Temple, and see the mermaid Tethis kneeling in front of the main antagonist, the Marina General Sea Dragon, who is, in reality, Gemini Kanon, who asks "Thetis, where have you been?".

Right now he is wearing the Sea Dragon Scale in such a way that we are totally unable to see any of his characteristics, and the Scale itself already covers most of its body, and it is vaguely in the form of Nessy, the "Loch Ness monster", with fin-like appendages on the limbs and the helm as the only distinctive figure.

(Image Here - Sea Dragon)

Thetis replies with "Lord Poseidon sent me to Lushan..." but he stops her as he notices our presence and says "Fool, what's your excuse for being followed?", Tethis turn around and shocked, she says "Oh, no! From Lushan to the Mediterranean Sea? But How?", and Juan pointing at Kiki says "Thanks to this shark-like kid we were able to follow your scent... By the way after this are you free?".

Tethis and Kanon ignore Juan, and Kanon looks at us for a moment before turning around and says "You may be Saints, but you are only Silvers, you're beneath my contempt... But if you really want to save Athena, Tethis will explain to you how to do it..." then he turns to the surprised mermaid and says "Tethis, tell them... Explain to them how they can save the earth and Athena's life, I shall await them at my pillar... If they can get there, that is...", and disappears inside the temple, as he probably teleported next to the Pillar of the North Atlantic.