Sanctuary Battle Part 2

Saga? POV - Greece, Sanctuary - 1986

With a smirk on my face, I look at those pathetic Bronze Saints, plus Athena and that traitor Crateris Jayr, as they are about to be engulfed by my technique, their pathetic struggles are useless as I can easily snap those chains holding them, as I did for one of them just a moment ago, when all of the sudden I felt a strong Cosmo clashing with mine and interrupting my meditation and stopping my technique, in fact, it almost broke my Empty Gemini Cloth technique.

Enraged I stood up and yell "Who did that!? Who dares to disturb my meditation and deliver a jolt directly to my Cosmo!? Preposterous! Who could do such a thing? Athena!? N-no not her, she is still in the embrace of Crateris Jayr calmly looking as the situation unfolds...", I then expand my senses and search for the culprit, 'Mu is in the Aries Temple, but he didn't act... Aldebaran in the Taurus Temple is calmly sitting on the ground... Could have it been the Old Master...? No... Not Dohko either... Then who was it!? What Saint but Mu or Dohko could have enough power to jolt my Cosmo!?'.

After a few seconds, I finally realize, who was it "Crateris!! That bastard he awakened his 7th sense, and was able to conceal it until now!! This means that as long as he is there I won't be able to hurt Athena from the distance as he will always be able to interrupt me!!!", then all of the sudden, a crack opened in the space, and a chain came out of it, and taken by surprise, I just have the time to move my head enough to dodge the fatal blow, but I still take a glancing blow that makes my helm and medallion fall on the ground before the Chain disappears and the crack closes.

Surprised I say "N-no! It crossed interdimensional space to strike me!", this distraction is enough to stop my technique, and enraged I yell "Before this, I dismissed them as just a little obstacle to me, but now I'll show them no mercy!" and I stand up about to teleport and deal with them personally when my others self's voice says 'Stop!! You lost this battle, don't be a poor loser!'.

As much as I hate him, he is right, I can't lose my calm, not when I'm this close to my goal 'Very well, I'll let them pass through the Gemini Temple... But from that point on, I won't hold back! I'll use all my powers to slaughter them, now they've angered me! I'm deadly serious now... I'll enjoy seeing them struggle against the Gold Saints, ha ha ha!', and I once again, sit on my throne looking over the situation and notice that they are about to reach the Cancer Temple 'Good Deathmask is one of the most ruthless Saint under me... Hell, he barely qualifies as a Saint, if it wasn't for his strong sense of justice behind his ruthless mask I'll mistake him for a psychotic murderer, but his belief is that "Absolute strength is the key to absolute justice", that is why despite finding out the truth about me he still chooses to follow my orders, just like Aphrodite'.

Jayr POV - Greece, Sanctuary - 1986

We finally are about to stand in front of the Cancer Temple, the whole temple is supported by Greek columns all around and is composed of a huge building that saw from the air resembles a cross or an X, in the center of there is a dome and in front, a relief that resembles the shape of a crab, under it is the symbol of the sign, the whole temple is supported by Greek columns all around.

Seeing the temple in the distance, I'm lost in thought 'This is one of the places that worries me the most, and not because of Deathmask's strength, while he is powerful, that's not the thing I'm worried about, with I'm worried about is if I can truly save him from himself, right now he is so fixed on his idea of absolute justice that he lost the sight of what it means to truly be a Saint of Athena, so proud of his victories in its name that he doesn't even care about the collateral damages, so much that his idea of justice become corrupted and twisted, turning him in the evil he has sworn to fight, and so he is a step away to be abandoned by his Cloth'.

'Can I really save him, and how? I'm not Naruto, I can't Talk-No-Jutsu my opponent so he becomes my ally or he regrets his action so much that he kills himself... Hell my objective is to save him not kill him...', and at the last step of the stairs I ask myself a question 'Will I be able to make him change his mind? Well, I have to try no matter what, even if I have to break his body, and mind, I can't let him turn into a completely evil person, not when I know how much good he can do!'.

And so before Seiya and the others could rush inside, I stop them and say "Stop, I will enter the Cancer Temple alone and deal with him myself, you guys wait outside", and at the same time, I put down Saori who looks at me, while Seiya asks "Why!? We can deal with him ourselves, you have to conserve your strengths for Saga!", I stretch my limbs as I explain "You see, the Cancer Saint, Deathmask, lost his way and is on the thin line between good and evil, if he fights against you with his superior strength, it will likely push him further into his evil tendency, making him lose his qualification as a Saint and also his life... But I know, there is still good, love and justice inside him, and I want to try to bring it out".

Hearing that, the Bronzes recognize my intentions and make way for me, while Saori looks at me with a calm face and says "You have my trust, I know that you will be able to bring him back to the light! I will wait for your good news!", and so I slowly move walking inside the Cancer Temple, still knowing what to expect inside, and seeing first hand are two different things, so much that I almost scrapped my plan of saving him and wanted to give him a slow and agonizing death.

Inside the temple, I can see the faces of all the people that died at the hands of Deathmask, men, women, children, all their souls still haunting this place, as he keeps them trapped here as some kind of medals for his victories, not only that, but I can feel the feelings of the souls trapped here, their rage, helpless, anguish, and enraged I can't help but think 'Ok maybe the meme was right... sometimes Violence isn't the answer, it is the question, and the answer is yes! I'll make sure he repents for everything he has done!!'.

My musing is interrupted by Deathmask's voice full of arrogance that after a creepy laugh says "Heh, heh, heh, heh! Shocked, girl?" and I see him slowly coming out of the shadow with a smile on his face, Deathmask is a tall person, and of medium build, he has an athletic body but is not very muscular, his eyes are shaped like cat's eyes, they are purplish-blue just like his hair.

At the same time I study his Cloth, the Cancer Cloth is quite unique, it is beautiful and very delicate, it has a particularly sharp style, simple lines but with incredible sharp ends, its pointed ends give it a distinctive look, its forms are stretched and angular, with many colored motifs, it is very striking at first sight for its clearly aggressive shapes, with shoulder pads, arms, waist, legs, and pointed heels, the pieces perfectly mimic the physiognomy of the shell of the crustacean.

The Cloth has splendid blue motifs or markings on the bust, is completely smooth, and has 2 rubies embedded in the metal, one at the neck and another in the center of the headpiece, which although it does not seem very useful to protect the head of the Saint, and it recreates the limbs of the crab.

(Image Here - Cancer Deathmask)

I raise my guard ready to act at any movement, and say "Salve tu (Hello there)", it seems that Deathmask recognizes me, as he replies "Crateris Jayr, you are a bold one, heh heh heh...", at the same time I think 'The fuck!? did we really recreate that scene?', but as I was musing, Deathmask continues "Your death mask will soon be added to my collection!".

Then he explains with his arms spread open to show all the masks around us "These are the death masks of all my victims, their souls can't rise and find rest in the heavens, so they wander the Cancer Temple, which I guard, some are resentful, others sorrowful, and some wear an expression of torment, but these death masks are proof of my victories and trophies to my strength, do you understand boy? This is why I'm called Deathmask! Heh heh heh heh...".

Once again looking at the mask around and seeing the faces of the children, I can't help but ask "You killed all these kids too?", and he replies remorselessly "Who knows? Maybe a few brats got splattered in the crossfire when I was destroying my enemies, collater damage in my war on evil, as in any war, a few civilians get killed, bombs go awry, heh heh heh heh...".

I start burning my Cosmo, and prepare for his attack as I yell "A Saint doesn't keep the faces of children on his wall as trophies! A true Saint of Athena protects the weak and innocent! I will show you that if continue with your evil ways, you will lose your qualification as a Saint! I will show you the true power of a Saint following Athena and take you down!!", and I feel Deathmask raising his Cosmo as he says "Very well, Jayr, show me your supposed power, I'll settle it right here and now!"

Deathmask concentrates his Cosmos on the tip of the index finger of his right hand, from which a white aura gushes forth and yells "I'll send you to the land of the dead boy! Onde Infernali Spirituali (Spiritual Infernal Waves)!", then send out a strange energy radiation in the form of white rings that expands, to try to coil around my body to separate the soul from the body and suck it into the realm of the dead.

But I'm already prepared for it, as no way that I'll let that technique hit me, so gathering my Cosmo into my fist, my fist starts shining and a clear blue orb of water gather around it, and yelling "Pugno Onda Anomala (Tidal Wave Punch)!", with a punch I shoot it straight towards Deathmask's move, and the two soon clash, canceling each other, enabling me to block the deadly move.

Then I quickly move closer to the stunned Deathmask, and punch him in the face, with so much power that he spits blood and crashes against the temple wall, 'Good grief, it worked like expected! I was able to block that technique, especially because after someone is caught by this attack, it is equivalent to being dead as his soul cannot escape from the Underworld Hills, the most superficial part of the Underworld, and his body becomes lifeless and soulless on earth, moreover in the series, no one has been able to stop the technique once one was hit by it, and only Mu was able to block it before he was hit using his techniques, I just had to copy him!'.

Deathmask, stood up and spits some blood then looking at me with a shocked expression he yells "W-What!? The Cosmo you are emitting is as strong as a Gold Saint... You have awakened the 7th sense!!?", and taking advantage of his stunned state, I rush at him and start hitting him continuously with fierce punches and kicks, while yelling "Did you not notice that the less you care for the innocent life you took, the weaker your Cosmo becomes, and the more the Cloth starts fighting you!! These are clear signs that you are making a mistake!!!", and with a final punch to the face, I sent Deathmask flying once again, but this time he broke through the wall.

Deathmask, slowly gets up again, in pain, yet not hurt as the Gold Cloth protected him from most of the damages, then he says "Haa... Haa... Are you upset because some kids died in the crossfire? All this fuss over something as inconsequential as a life, you sentimental fool", and trying to keep my calm I reply "Something inconsequential? We Saints of Athena fight to protect life, for justice, and for hope! That is what gives us the power to even fight against the Gods!".

He looks at me like he is looking at a fool and loudly laughing he says "Fight against the Gods? Really? Someone as weak as you!? You can't even hurt me, no matter how many times you hit me, because I wear the ultimate Cloth, as long as I'm wearing the Cancer Gold Cloth, you couldn't hurt me if you threw 10,000 blows!!" and he tries to hit me with a light-speed uppercut, but I easily see his move, dodge it by leaning my body back, and counterattack with a spartan kick, making him slide back until he hit the temple wall once again, increasing the distance between us.

Then I start burning my Cosmo to the max possible, and the next moment a gold aura surrounds my body, I hold my hands out over my head, pointing towards Deathmask with open palms, quickly gathering the Cosmo needed as the phantom image of the cup appears behind me, and I yell "I fight to purge the evil that lurks in the Sanctuary and bring on the era of true Saints under Athena! So it's time that I show you the true power of a Saint and make you see what are you really fighting against! White Ice Spears!", I throw my hands down and cross them, my energy solidifies into numerous solid spears of ice, that move at the speed of light so fast that the stunned Deathmask can't react,

The ice spears pierce through his armor, making him grunt in pain, and crash through the wall looking like a hedgehog, he is now laying on the ground still alive but unable to move as the ice spears are quickly freezing his body, but I made sure to avoid any vital point, shocked by what happened he slowly raises his head and yells "H-h-how is this possible!!? Nothing can break a Gold Cloth, only a power comparable to that of a big bang is able to damage the Gold Cloths... Y-you are only a Silver Saint, even with the 7th sense, it is impossible for you to reach such power!! Not even Saga can do it!!!".

I slowly walk next to him and looking down at him, I say "This is the true power of a Saint of Athena! The power to bring forth miracles when fighting for the right reasons... Think about it, there is a reason for Athena being still undefeated since the Age of Myth, no matter how many Gods and their follower she fought against, she and her Saints always won in the end, no matter how slim the odds were or of dire was the situation, they always fought for justice, love, and hope and always won...".

Raising my voice, and using JoJo's pointing pose for flair, I continue "And you, a Gold Saint, who should protect life, casually take it away and even take pride in it! You don't realize that you are about to throw away that gift and honor, lost in your power thinking that as long as you are strong then you will always be in the right, no matter how many mistakes you make!! Well Cancer Cloth, show him what you think about the current state of your wielder!!".

And as if listening to my request, under the wide open eyes of stunned Deathmask, the Cancer Cloth, with a flash of golden light, free itself from my ice spears leaving them still inside Deathmask's body, and unequip from itself, and appears in its Constellation Form next to me.

The Cloth represents a fiddler crab, to make it most of the pieces have been arranged horizontally, the head of the animal is formed by the headpiece, the back by the shoulders pieces, the chest, and waist pieces the body, and the limbs are lengthened and folded to form the legs of the crustacean, at the same time, as I look at the Cloth, and tracing my finger on the hole I made with my technique, I notice what happened 'The Cloth itself lowered its defense allowing me to easily harm him...', so I whisper "Thanks! And sorry about this, after I'm done with this mess, I'll fix you with my own hands I promise you it'll be as good as if Mu himself did it...".

(Image Here - Cancer Cloth)

Meanwhile, still on the ground, Deathmask looks at the Cloth in shock "The Cancer Cloth removed itself and took its Constellation Form... Impossible...", I shook my head, I stop to check the damage, and say "Did you forget? The Cloths aren't tools they are alive and have a will on their own...", hearing that Deathmask asks "Then what about Shura, Aphrodite, and Saga!? Their belief is similar to mine why aren't their Cloth rebelling like mine!!?".

I let out a sigh and explain "Well Shura is still very loyal to Athena, only he is under the effect of Saga's Demon Illusion Fist and is forced to follow his orders, about Aphrodite, while it's true that his belief is similar to yours, and he can be pretty cruel and sadistic, but his sense of justice is just as strong and he is only cruel toward his enemies and he never hurt the innocents like you, and Saga, well he is right now being possessed by an evil spirit that created a second evil personality in him that is the cause of all this shit, but the true Saga is still the most loyal Saint of Athena after Aiolos, and the Cloth itself can feel it, this is why it doesn't reject him... Now stay here and reflect on your actions while I and the rest go and free Saga from his nightmare that is lasting over 13 years!".

After saying this, I notice that he is seriously reflecting on his actions, so I walk back out of the temple, and see Saori, Seiya, and the others waiting for me, and with a smile on my face I say "I hope you didn't wait too long, the road is clear now! Let's go, the Leo Temple is the next one, and I have no idea of what Aiolia is planning to do", hearing that Seiya asks "Will he really test us before allowing us to move forward? After all he is our ally, why would he do this?".

I shrug my shoulders not knowing the answer, and reply "I know a bit about the future, but I don't read the other's mind..." at the same time I lead them inside the temple and quickly notice the difference, right now all the mask of Deathmask's victim are gone, in fact even the presence of the trapped souls disappeared, right now the only souls here are those still angry at Deathmask, but they are free to go now and find peace if they want, at the same time as we walk through the temple I feel Saori's Cosmo doing its best to bring peace to these remaining souls as their number is decreasing at any step we take.

As we move Ikki asks "So where is the Gold Saint guarding this temple", and pointing at a hole on the wall in the distance I reply "He is over there reflecting on his mistakes, with the Cancer Cloth watching over him", and to satisfy their curiosity I explain to them how did my fight with him go, they were shocked to find out how dangerous his technique really was and impressed by the fact that I was able to dominate him in such a short time, but I explained to them that his Cloth fought against him rending my fight a lot easier than it should.

And once we are on the other side of the temple, and in front of the damned stairs leading to the Leo Temple, the Cancer Temple is finally free from those souls' influence, I pick up Saori and we start our climb once again.

Hyoga POV - Greece, Sanctuary - 1986

I don't know what happened, one moment I fell victim to my enemy's technique and was floating in the void of a strange space or dimension, the next I crash face first into the floor of what appears to be a temple of the Sanctuary, but this one is different from all the temples I saw before, and nothing inside seems to hint at who's temple is this, as I get up and look around, and quickly notice the presence of my master behind me, and yell "Master Camus!!?".

I also notice that he is wearing his Aquarius Gold Cloth, the headpiece frames his face, with a curved triangular piece on both sides and an emerald in the middle, the shoulders pieces are quite unique even if simple in design, they are rounded with a pointed end, the chest and the waist piece have a simple form too, the only detail is another emerald on the neck, the arms pieces are cylindrical in shape and simple in design, and the legs pieces are simple too and cover the whole leg leaving very little unprotected.

(Image Here - Aquarius Camus)

Camus POV - Greece, Sanctuary - 1986

'Luckily Jayr, warned me that this could happen...' I think, as I look at the confused expression of my disciple Hyoga after I saved him from Saga's dreadful technique, and bring him here, to the Libra Temple, finally, he notices my presence and says shocked "Master Camus!!?", to which I reply "It's been a long time, Hyoga".

Hyoga looks at me and asks "Are we in the Aquarius Temple", but I quickly correct him and then say "I'm here to test you, it's time to see if you are ready to save your mother and protect her, and this world as a Saint of Athena!", I gather the cold air on top of my palm, 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 using my Cosmo, hitting Hyoga and sending him crashing face first into the ground once again, then I say "Stand up and attack me Hyoga!".

Under my command Hyoga stands up and burns his Cosmo, he gathers the cold air around his fist, 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 at me with a powerful cold wind through his fist, as he yells "Diamond Dust", but I easily block his move using only my right hand.

Clasping my hand I crush his technique and say "You're foolish, Hyoga, it was me who taught you that trick, you'll have to do a lot better than that, or you'll be killed for sure! If that's the case, as your master, I'll prepare yours and your mother's requiem!", then I decide it's time to show him my ultimate move, I gather my Cosmo, making sure to not reach the absolute zero, I place my arms in a jug position pointing upwards, at the same time the phantom image of the Aquarius appears behind me, lowers my arms pointing at Hyoga, yelling "Aurora Execution!", I discharge all the Cosmo in the form of a glacial stream, concentrated and deadly, blasting off Hyoga and almost freezing him to death.

Looking at him laying on the ground almost dead, I say "Poor Hyoga, the Icy blast has almost killed you, but if I didn't do this you would be able to learn my ultimate technique... You were only 8 when you arrived in Siberia to train to become a Saint, for 6 years, I raised you and trained you on those frozen plains... You earned the Cygnus Cloth and became a strong Bronze Saint, but it isn't enough... You have to get stronger if you want to survive what is to come!".

I raise my right arm then as I burn my Cosmo enough to use Freezing Coffin, and as my Cosmo explodes, I point at Hyoga, and he is quickly encased in a big block of clear ice of -273.15°C, then I say "Rest for now, my disciple and let your body feel and learn about the absolute zero, I'm sure that the next time we met you'll have already awakened your 7th sense", after ensuring his survival sure of the fact that Jayr will be able to heal him back, I get out of the Libra Temple and move back to my own, waiting for Athena and her Saints to come.