Chapter 109: Athena Exclamation

Feng Zhe’s eyes ignited with two holy flames. An altar appeared behind him, glowing with a brilliant golden hue that even transformed his Altar Cloth into a suit of gold. In this moment, the Altar Cloth was no longer a silver vestment, but had attained a status comparable to a Gold Cloth.

As the Twelve Temples Holy Flame Sealing Array activated, the sacred flames of the twelve temples combined with an indescribable surge of Cosmo, enveloping Alone entirely. Writhing in excruciating pain, Alone erupted with the purple aura of the King of the Underworld, pitting two overwhelming powers against each other.

This was power far beyond that of any mortal. Pope Sage’s expression shifted from shock to joy. He flicked his hands, releasing countless blood talismans that wove together into a massive, intricate pattern. The golden light coalesced into a towering, magical pagoda—the Five Old Peaks, where the Specters had been sealed for aeons. Pope Sage knew that in every Holy War, Hades preserved his true body while only his soul reincarnated; if he could seal the god’s soul here, the war would end.

Suddenly, the sky distorted and a bolt of lightning struck down toward Sasha. Pegasus, quick to react, scooped her up and scrambled away. A carriage pulled by three headless horses galloped forth, driven by none other than the Behemoth Specter, Cheshire.

"You suddenly vanished, leaving me so worried!" Cheshire hissed. "It seems that deep within your heart, you still cling to the human, Alone. Then let me, Pandora, sever that attachment for you."

Landing on the ground with her long legs, Pandora brandished her trident and swung it viciously toward the assembled Saints. Instantly, a barrage of lightning descended, launching an indiscriminate, wide-range assault. Every Saint winced in pain under the onslaught. Pandora gnashed her teeth, harboring a deep resentment toward Sasha. In every past cycle, it had been her role as the older sister to protect the vessel of Hades, the very purpose of her existence—but now, Sasha had taken that place. Pandora cursed Athena for her shamelessness, while Sasha stared back at the woman she despised, her brow furrowed in defiance as she began to recount the beautiful memories of their childhood at the orphanage.

Incensed, Pandora raised her hand to strike Sasha across the face. But before the blow could land, a hand caught her wrist. No matter how hard she struggled, she could not break free. Furious, she glared at the man before her and lunged with her trident.

*Clang!*

The Shield of Athena blocked the strike, and Feng Zhe backhanded her across the face. A vivid handprint appeared on Pandora’s cheek, leaving everyone stunned.

"You... you dare strike me?!" Pandora trembled, feeling utterly humiliated, and swung her trident down once more.

*Boom!*

The Shield of Athena held firm, absorbing the impact without a ripple. At that moment, Alone let out a sharp cry, shattering the golden threads of the Twelve Temples Holy Flame Sealing Array, and raised his sword to strike. This was a blow fueled by the resentment of the Underworld King, containing a seemingly infinite amount of divine power. Had it landed, the entire Sanctuary would have been reduced to ashes.

Just then, Sasha swung the Staff of Nike, parrying the Underworld King's blade. The collision was earth-shattering; the resulting shockwave sent countless Saints flying. Alone clutched his head, overwhelmed by a sudden, maddening pain. Desperate to leave, he turned, stepped into the air, and boarded the carriage. Pegasus, refusing to give up, reached out for him, only to be thrown to the ground by a surge of Alone’s divine energy.

As if bidding farewell to his friend, Alone waved his hand, and a massive canvas stretched across the sky. Using human souls as paint, he created a giant oil painting of a "Lost Paradise." As the painting draped over the heavens, all human souls would be sealed—neither existing on earth nor returning to the Underworld.

The moment Alone boarded the carriage, a furious Pegasus threw another punch, but was repelled by Alone’s shadow. The attacker was revealed to be the Heavenly Isolated Star, Byaku, a top-ten Specter whose power could not be underestimated. Taurus Hasgard stepped in, eagerly taking over the fray and trading blows with Byaku. Seizing the moment, Pegasus chased after the carriage again, but was struck down by Pandora’s trident as she drifted toward the vehicle.

"You want to leave? Not a chance!" Feng Zhe turned to Pope Sage and shouted, "Lend me the power of your Cosmo!"

As Feng Zhe performed a specific gesture, the holy flames within the magic circle converged once more. He fully ignited his Eighth Sense Cosmo. The Virgo Saint, Asmita, appeared calmly at Feng Zhe’s left, and Pope Sage smiled, stepping to his right. All three raised their Cosmo to the peak; they were Saints who had attained the Eighth Sense, and they were about to unleash an unprecedented power. Sasha watched their stance, her mouth agape in astonishment.

The three shouted in unison:

"Athena Exclamation!!!"

Three Gold Saints who had mastered the Eighth Sense fully released their ultimate Cosmo. The destructive force, comparable to a localized Big Bang, manifested as a beam of light that slammed directly into Hades’s carriage. The "Shadow Strategy of the Trinity," a forbidden technique banned by Athena since the Mythological Era, reached temperatures exceeding ten trillion degrees. It destroyed not just atoms, but subatomic protons, creating a force capable of reaching the scale of the Big Bang. Such power, wielded by three who had attained the Eighth Sense, was enough to harm a god.

Under the beam of light, the three-headed carriage vanished into nothingness. Even Pandora, trident in hand, screamed in shock, unable to stop it. After a cataclysmic explosion, Hades and Pandora had completely disappeared from the sky.

"Is it over?" Pope Sage murmured.

As a user of the Trinity Shadow Strategy and one endowed with divinity, Feng Zhe had witnessed it all. He shook his head, saying with a hint of regret, "No, he escaped."

"We couldn't kill him even with that?" Even Pope Sage, who had survived a previous Holy War, felt a splitting headache. This ambush had been meticulously planned, with Feng Zhe leading the assault. They had deployed a magic circle capable of imprisoning gods and concluded with the forbidden Athena Exclamation. Yet, they had still failed. The gloom hanging over everyone’s hearts grew heavier.

...

Upon returning to the Lost Canvas, Alone collapsed into Pandora’s arms, exhausted. The Twin Gods, Hypnos and Thanatos, appeared instantly. "Pandora, you are truly damned!" they roared. "If we hadn't intervened, the vessel of the Underworld King would have been destroyed!" The two gods, filled with malice, unleashed a divine punishment, subjecting Pandora to agonizing torture.