Chapter 25: The Golden Apple Seeks to Seize a Host

Feng Zhe let out a cold snort. “Have you never been taught that one may not don the Sacred Cloth except in the face of a great enemy?”

Hearing this, Seiya’s anger flared. “Bastard! How dare you insult my sister Marin! Take this!”

Pegasus Meteor Fist!

Countless fists, like meteors falling from the heavens, surged toward Feng Zhe. With each strike, the brilliance of the Pegasus constellation blazed around him, illuminating his form with the power of a meteor shower. Behind Seiya, the constellation of Pegasus appeared, radiating strength.

But Feng Zhe merely feinted a few times and easily evaded the barrage. He frowned. The force behind Seiya’s blows was merely at the Bronze level, not even close to Silver. He wondered just how much the Gold Saints must have held back during the battles of the Twelve Palaces.

“You are not fit to wear the Pegasus Cloth!”

Sacrifice!

Deprivation!

With a slight twitch of Feng Zhe’s fingers, a blaze of light burst forth and swept toward Seiya. In the next moment, the Pegasus Cloth disassembled itself from Seiya’s body and reformed in midair, taking the shape of a majestic Pegasus.

“What?!”

With just a touch, he had stripped Seiya of the right to use the Pegasus Cloth. No matter how Seiya called to it, the Sacred Cloth remained motionless.

The five young warriors were all stunned, even Miss Saori, seated above them, looked on in shock.

Feng Zhe shook his head. “Is this truly the level of strength you offer to protect Miss Saori? Pathetic…”

“Damn you!” Seiya, now stripped bare, lunged at Feng Zhe with his fist.

But Feng Zhe caught him and tossed him aside with ease.

At that moment, the other three young warriors surrounded Feng Zhe.

Sacrifice!

Deprivation!

With not a hint of hesitation, Feng Zhe unleashed his secret technique again, instantly stripping the Dragon, Cygnus, and Andromeda Cloths from their bearers. The three Sacred Cloths floated in the air, each taking on their constellation’s form.

“What?!”

How could they fight like this? With a single move, their Sacred Cloths were taken from them. Never before had the five young warriors faced such an opponent.

Just as they prepared to fight on, even without their armors, Miss Saori’s voice rang out.

“That’s enough. Cease this at once.”

Her words restored some sense to the five.

“High Priest, for what purpose have you come to Japan this time?”

Feng Zhe smiled. “Honored Miss Saori, given your noble status, I must ask you to return with me to Sanctuary at once. These Bronze Saints are insufficient to protect you.”

“No! We can protect Miss Saori!” Seiya shouted, clenching his fists.

Feng Zhe glanced at him, chuckling lightly. “Though my technique can strip away your armors, the more powerful the Saint, the harder it is to deprive them. As you are now, it takes me no effort at all.”

“So long as I will it, you can’t even sense your Sacred Cloths. Pathetic!”

His deliberate taunt only angered Seiya further. He looked up at the Sacred Cloths floating in the air, sweat pouring from his brow, but he could do nothing. As Feng Zhe said, they could not sense their armors at all.

“High Priest, perhaps you could grant them some special training, to help them improve their strength?” Miss Saori’s proposal brought a faint smile to Feng Zhe’s lips.

“I can, but during this period, Kyouko must remain at your side to protect you.”

“Me?” Kyouko, suddenly called upon, was caught off guard. Her strength was not even on par with the five young warriors, something Miss Saori saw at a glance, but she did not object and agreed.

In truth, the way to raise the five’s strength was simple: push them into endless battle, and bring them to the brink of death each time, the better to spur their awakening.

During the intervals of the five’s training, Feng Zhe found time to purchase a fifteen-day tour of Europe for everyone at the kindergarten. Eri led the students onto the plane, happily setting out for Europe. It remained to be seen whether Hyoga would be upset at losing a little admirer.

“I doubt it. His heart belongs to his mother alone.”

With this private jest, Feng Zhe turned his attention back to tormenting the five young warriors.

…

A few days later, a comet approached the Earth. From it fell a golden apple, which entered the planet’s orbit and landed in Japan.

Suddenly, on a desolate mountain, there erupted a cluster of ruins styled after ancient Greece, drawing Kyouko’s attention at once.

She had been plagued by nightmares lately, as if a voice were calling to her.

Kyouko ventured alone into the woods and, within an abandoned ship’s cabin, discovered a shining golden apple. The instant she touched it, a powerful consciousness descended upon her.

At that moment, a blood talisman infused with Athena’s divine essence adhered itself to the golden apple. Instantly, two divine lights intertwined, but the golden apple was overpowered and withdrew.

With the divine radiance gone, Kyouko collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

“A second-rate god, nothing more.”

It was Feng Zhe who had trailed Kyouko here. When he picked up the golden apple, now sealed by the blood talisman, a deep malice seemed to pulse within it, threatening to burst forth at any moment.

“I think you ought to put that down.”

Feng Zhe turned, surprise crossing his face.

Standing there was the resurrected Dark Saga, though his gaze was vacant, as if he had only just awakened and was not yet accustomed to his own body.

“Are you Saga of Gemini, or a Saint of the Dead?”

Feng Zhe had expected Saga, if revived, to return only after the Discord Goddess’s possession, but here he was, revived ahead of schedule. Interesting.

Saga’s resurrection was not due to the Discord Goddess’s power, but to another, hidden god.

“I said, put her down—or else… die!”

Seeing Dark Saga’s imposing demeanor, Feng Zhe set down the golden apple.

Mach Five Sonic Fist!

Feng Zhe’s attack was at the very peak of Silver Saint level; with his current strength, there were few Silver Saints who could match him.

But before Dark Saga, it was nothing.

With a casual motion, Saga deflected the blow without even moving, neutralizing it completely.

Galactic Explosion!

Countless stars seemed to pour from beyond the dimensional barrier, crashing down upon Feng Zhe.

This secret technique concentrated the cosmos to a single point, shattering the atomic wall, and, in concert with Gemini’s other secret—the Another Dimension—possessed the power to smash the stars themselves.

The entire forest was instantly engulfed in blinding light, a terrifying power spreading outward. Soon, a massive crater was all that remained, the surrounding trees utterly vanished.

Ignoring the devastation, Dark Saga took up Kyouko and the golden apple and flew away.

After a time, a golden shield emerged from the rubble. Then, with a punch, Feng Zhe burst forth from the earth.

He brushed the dust from Athena’s Shield, murmuring, “Dark Saga’s strength is only that of a lower-tier Gold Saint. It seems his resurrection is incomplete.”

“A pity about that divine blood talisman…”

Shaking his head, Feng Zhe, too, departed.