Chapter 131: Saori's Self-Sacrifice

Ophiuchus Odysseus began another surgery, though this time, he was transfusing Athena’s blood into Aicara’s body.

Suddenly, a misty white snake emerged. This snake was the soul of Asclepius.

"Do not even think about performing surgery on him!"

The white snake lunged forward, reeking of a dark, bloody stench that could be detected even from a distance. Feng Zhe instantly teleported into mid-air, fixed his gaze upon the misty serpent, and shouted a command.

"Altar Seal!"

Countless holy flames erupted around Feng Zhe, converging from all directions to surround the white snake. Sensing the threat, the serpent’s pupils glowed with a dark, spectral light, and it attempted to shatter the seal by force.

The white snake collided with the holy flame seal, triggering an explosion of dark radiance. The resulting shockwave cleared the surrounding air entirely. Though the snake was left dazed by the impact, it successfully broke the seal and returned to the sky.

Feng Zhe watched the serpent silently. It was the first evil god he had encountered capable of breaking the Altar Seal; clearly, the power of Asclepius was far beyond that of Eris.

"Even with the holy flames of Olympus, you cannot stop me!"

The white snake dived again, but this time, Feng Zhe whispered a single phrase.

"Time Severance!"

In an instant, the entire space began to move like frames of a film, with the white snake stuttering in its movement. Feng Zhe’s holy flames struck every node of the serpent’s trajectory. When time returned to normal, the white snake had suffered grievous damage, barely able to maintain its form. With a loud pop, the snake dissolved into thick mist and vanished into Odysseus’s body, concealing itself.

Odysseus, having finished the surgery, looked at Feng Zhe with a strange expression and chuckled.

"To think that a blasphemer would appear in the Sanctuary once more. Altar, I shall await you at the Ophiuchus Temple."

Without looking back, Odysseus proceeded toward the next temple. Feng Zhe knew the final battle was ahead, at their destination: the Ophiuchus Temple. He glanced at the unconscious Aicara, then, holding Sasha, teleported directly to the Pope’s Palace.

Inside, Pope Mustafa sat upon his throne. When the sleeping Sasha appeared, a look of joyful surprise crossed his face.

The Pope received Sasha with trembling excitement, his eyes fixed solely on the girl. Feng Zhe walked to the statue of Athena and knelt in silent prayer. Sensing his heart, the jewel on the forehead of the statue released a soft glow and fell into his palm. A divine will flooded Feng Zhe’s mind; he paused, then sighed, "So that is how it is."

In the next moment, Feng Zhe teleported to the Ophiuchus Temple.

In the center of the temple, the young Athena Saori lay on the ground, surrounded by the twelve Gold Cloths. The armors resonated with one another, arranged in a circular formation identical to the sequence of the Fire Clock. This was the Sanctuary’s ultimate barrier; anyone who stepped inside would be annihilated by the collective Gold Cosmo. Because the Sagittarius Gold Cloth was missing, the barrier had been incomplete, allowing Odysseus to force his way in and scatter the armors.

Odysseus raised a golden dagger, preparing to kill Athena. Just then, Tenma arrived at the Pope’s Palace and donned the Sagittarius Gold Cloth. The golden arrow in his hand was the fabled Arrow of the Goddess, passed down since the age of myth.

At that moment, the will of Athena Sasha descended upon Tenma, guiding him as he drew the golden bow. It turned out that Sasha had been there all along, watching from the shadows. Her true target had never been the Athena of the future, but Asclepius of Ophiuchus.

With the aid of Sasha’s Cosmo, Tenma unleashed power far exceeding his own. The Arrow of the Goddess, fired at this moment, surpassed even the Eighth Sense. It struck Odysseus just as he was about to kill the future Athena.

Odysseus was initially dismissive, but soon realized something was wrong. He felt as if his body were being consumed by flames. He remembered this sensation—it was identical to when he had been cast into Tartarus.

"Athena, you cannot kill me!"

Scales began to fall from Odysseus’s body, like a snake shedding its skin, as he pulled the golden arrow out bit by bit. Once the arrow was removed, Odysseus returned to his senses and raised the dagger again.

However, the discarded Arrow of the Goddess completed the barrier of the twelve Gold Cloths. This was Athena’s true trap. Caught within the golden barrier, the immense pressure forced the soul of Asclepius out of Odysseus’s body.

Though the soul of the great serpent had been expelled, it warned that the future Athena must die, or else the Earth—and indeed the entire universe—would collapse. Odysseus then awakened Saori and asked if she was prepared.

Saori, now conscious, understood everything. She replied that she had known all along that traveling through time would affect the laws of the universe, and that she would not allow space-time to crumble.

She placed the golden dagger against her own throat.

"Sigh, has it really come to this?"

Feng Zhe arrived at the Ophiuchus Temple just in time to witness Saori’s sacrifice. Saori was happy to see him, but seemingly guessing his thoughts, she said playfully, "The Athena the Pope truly protects has never been me. I am curious, though—what makes that other Athena better than me?"

"Miss Saori, is this worth it?"

Feng Zhe knew that by traveling through time, Saori had thrown the universe into chaos. The gods of Olympus would never forgive her, and she faced an eternity of suffering.

"The Pope cannot understand. I have fought many battles with the Saints. I never saw them as mere followers, but as companions protecting love and justice on Earth—they are my irreplaceable friends."

Feng Zhe realized that at this moment, Saori was less a goddess and more a human.

"She has truly become human."

Is humanity the final evolution of a god? Feng Zhe did not know; he could not grasp such a truth.

Saori plunged the golden dagger into her throat. Blood splattered, and the Cosmo of the future Athena began to fade rapidly. Perhaps to repay a debt, both Saori and the hidden, unconscious Sasha used their divine power to shatter the Hades Sword in Alone's hand. Far away in the modern era, the sword vanished from Seiya’s body.

A wreath of flowers released a brilliant light that reached toward the heavens. The four Bronze Saints felt its power. Feng Zhe’s voice echoed: "Shiryu, Hyoga, Ikki, Shun! Follow the light of the wreath back to the present immediately! If you miss this chance, you will never leave."

"Pope, what about you!"

"I have matters to attend to. Go!"

The four did not hesitate; they grabbed the wreath and departed the world. Feng Zhe turned to Odysseus and spoke.

"Let’s go. Take me to see Asclepius."