Chapter 141: The Former Pope, Shion

"How could this happen?"

Shaka’s lingering will scanned the surroundings before finally settling in the Twin Sal Tree Garden. He calmly wrote two characters with a petal; the petal drifted away on the breeze, and with it, Shaka vanished into the wind.

Returning to the Virgo Temple, Shion could not believe that the Altar would actually be shattered. Saga, Camus, and Shura shed tears of blood, while that single petal drifted before the statue of Athena and came to rest in Saori’s hand.

The characters written on the petal were: "Arayashiki."

Saori collapsed to the ground, weeping silently.

Leo Aiolia, Aries Mu, and Gemini Kanon also arrived at the Virgo Temple at this moment. Just as the three were preparing to unleash their full power and simultaneously execute the Athena Exclamation, the will of Athena, Saori, descended upon the temple, commanding them to come to the Pope’s Chamber.

"Truly a god with an unyielding will."

Thanatos, the God of Death, watched as Athena’s lingering will enveloped Shaka, who had attained the Eighth Sense, and retreated. He sighed; failing to obtain Shaka’s soul was a source of great irritation. But to interfere now was an impossible task.

"Thanatos, Lord Hades seems to be in trouble. Return at once!"

The voice of Hypnos, the God of Sleep, came through, stopping Thanatos in his tracks. For the twin gods of death and sleep, nothing was more important than Lord Hades. Having no choice, the God of Death muttered to himself, "It seems I shall have to settle the score with them in the Underworld."

With that, the will of the God of Death vanished from Sanctuary.

***

Heinstein Castle.

Upon seeing the God of Death return, Hypnos, the God of Sleep, said with some dissatisfaction, "By secretly manipulating the Specters to attack the Sanctuary this time, many of them have perished, including Minos and Rhadamanthys. You are being far too reckless."

Thanatos replied with indifference, "They were merely common undead; I can simply select another batch."

Thanatos was responsible for selecting the Specters; even the three judges were, in the eyes of a god, nothing more than slightly stronger undead.

Hypnos countered, "Lord Hades once decreed that the Specters may only be selected once during the Holy War. Have you forgotten this?"

Thanatos let out a low scoff, showing no respect for Hades, the King of the Underworld. Hypnos said no more. Although the brothers served Hades, they also viewed him as a dangerous existence. He then added, "Lord Hades has returned, but an accident has occurred during his awakening. Come and see."

Thanatos followed Hypnos to the place where Hades’s physical vessel rested. There, they saw the human form of Hades—the former Andromeda Shun—acting like a walking corpse, utterly devoid of a soul.

Hades cherished his physical body dearly; even in the Age of Myth, he had never participated in a Holy War using his true form. Every body he chose was one with a pure heart, and for this Holy War, he had selected Andromeda Shun.

Upon seeing Shun, Thanatos let out a suspicious sound, astonished to discover that Shun’s soul was missing!

Only when Shun’s soul fully awakened could Hades’s will descend upon his body, consume his soul, and become the vessel for Hades’s will, indistinguishable from Hades’s own avatar. But with the soul missing, Pandora was at a loss and had hurriedly sought out Hypnos.

Seeing this, Hypnos realized the situation was extremely thorny. Even he could not determine where Shun’s soul had gone. Thanatos immediately realized this was yet another masterpiece of Athena.

***

Elsewhere.

Miss Saori, before the statue of Athena, met with Shion and the other three. She ordered someone to bring a box and signaled Saga to open it. Despite his five senses being sealed, Saga relied on his will to pry it open.

When the box was opened, a golden dagger appeared before him.

"This is..."

Indeed, it was the very golden dagger Saga had intended to use to assassinate Athena during his rebellion.

Then, Athena, Miss Saori, took Saga’s hand and pressed the golden dagger against her own throat. At that moment, Seiya and Hyoga rushed up, crying out as they watched Saori fall into a pool of blood.

"No!!"

Athena had fallen. Seiya’s faith seemed to collapse. A specter butterfly watched, satisfied, and relayed the message back.

At this time, Shion stained his hands with Athena’s blood and called out to the statue. Suddenly, the Athena Cloth appeared before them. Shion then cast the remaining blood upon Aries Mu, Leo Aiolia, Gemini Kanon, Pegasus Seiya, and Cygnus Hyoga. Their cloths were instantly transformed, and their Cosmo surged significantly.

"This..."

Shion said with grief, "In the name of the Pope, I command a full-scale Holy War against the Underworld. You must deliver the God Cloth to Athena."

Seiya looked on in shock, while the three Gold Saints knelt before Shion.

***

Elsewhere.

Heinstein Castle welcomed the return of Shion and the others. Saga held Athena, wrapped in a blanket, and approached Pandora, who stood beside her harp. Seeing the four of them returning to report, Pandora was satisfied.

Just as they were about to hand her over, the last of the Three Judges, Aiacos of Garuda, appeared.

"Traitors have no right to hand her over to Lady Pandora!"

Aiacos held nothing but contempt for the four, even feeling disgust, which prompted him to step out and berate them.

"Hand Athena over to me, Byaku of the Heavenly Lone Star!"

The sudden appearance of two more Specters surprised Saga. Just as they reached for Athena’s body, Saga threw the shroud at Byaku and charged directly toward Pandora. The sudden shift startled Byaku and Aiacos, who moved to intercept them.

Shion knew time was running out; he unleashed his ultimate technique immediately, grinding Aiacos into the ground with Starlight Extinction. Saga’s Galaxian Explosion shattered Byaku of the Heavenly Lone Star.

Shura and Camus seized this rare opportunity to attempt an assassination of Pandora. However, Pandora gave a light tug, and the curtains were pulled down. Sunlight flooded onto Shura and Camus. It was as if they were struck by a lethal beam; their strength was drained away, and they collapsed to the floor.

Not only them, but Shion and Saga also fell to the ground, unable to move under the harsh glare of the sun. Aiacos stood up and began kicking Shion’s head to vent his rage. Pandora continued to play her harp, ignoring the four shadow-like Saints.

Suddenly, Shion grabbed Aiacos’s ankle and roared, "Die with me!"

Stardust Revolution!!

The high-speed rotating cosmic cluster struck like a comet, instantly piercing through Aiacos’s body. Then, with a loud boom, Shion perished along with Aiacos.

[Ding! Obtained the soul of Aiacos of Garuda. Automatically decomposed. Gained 100 points of Death Force.] (Current: 900)

[Ding! Obtained the soul of the former Aries Shion. Automatically decomposed. Gained 100 points of Death Force.] (Current: 1000)

Thanatos smiled; two more gold-tier assets had been added to his tally.