Chapter 34: The Betraying Saint

"This place belongs to the goddess of strife, Eris. Trespassers in this forest shall die!"

As soon as the four reached the forest entrance, a voice echoed all around them—sometimes distant, sometimes near—like a faerie from the abyss, sending chills down their spines.

"Who’s playing tricks here?!"

Without hesitation, Tiger leapt forward, his shout erupting like a waterfall as he unleashed a wide-range technique.

Mount Lushan’s Hundred Dragon Barrage!

In an instant, Tiger’s cosmos surged from his hands, transforming into countless divine dragons soaring through the heavens, bent on destroying everything in their path.

The dragons tore through the surrounding trees, leaving a vast open space in their wake.

At the center of this clearing now stood three female warriors, adorned in resplendent, ornate battle garments, resembling bewitching dancers.

Sisyphus stared, stunned, his mouth agape as he pointed at them. "You are…"

The leading woman wore a sinister armor strikingly similar to the Queen Cassiopeia Saint Cloth, while the other two donned dark armors reminiscent of the Little Bear and Dolphin Saint Cloths.

"I am Androk, the Tormenting Dark Saint, daughter of Lady Eris!"

"I am Laila, the Plundering Dark Saint, daughter of Lady Eris!"

"I am Patty, the Deceitful Dark Saint, daughter of Lady Eris!"

The three posed dramatically, exuding an air of formidable strength.

But Sisyphus’s expression grew ever darker. Though Tiger was too young to recognize them, Sisyphus certainly did.

"When did the Black Saints of Death Queen’s Island become daughters of a dark goddess? What a joke!"

Upon hearing this, both Tiger and Regulus were startled. They now regarded the trio with grave seriousness.

Feng Zhe, too, gazed in shock at the three female Saints before him. Their gaudy, sinister armors and seductive manner bore no resemblance to the Saints of legend.

"Hmph! Athena abandoned us long ago! Even our Saint Cloths were denied to us. Lady Eris’s radiance is destined to blanket the world!"

Seeing that the three remained stubborn, Sisyphus’s face turned cold.

By now, the three dark Saints had surrounded Sisyphus and his companions, forming a perfect triangle.

The three shouted in unison, "Saints of Athena, perish!"

Death Queen Triad Strike!

This was their ultimate technique: they would encircle their foe and launch a simultaneous, concerted attack.

Since becoming dark Saints, their cosmos had grown even stronger; the might of this move now rivaled the Golden Saints’ techniques.

Yet they had forgotten—they faced not just anyone, but the man soon to become Pope: Sisyphus.

Chiron Tempest!

Sisyphus flung the feathers of the Sagittarius Gold Cloth, creating a raging tempest centered on himself.

The storm, imbued with the power of his cosmos, tore through the air, sending the three dark Saints hurtling backward.

Then, with a burst of light-speed punches, Sisyphus pierced through the three female warriors.

So powerful! Incredibly powerful!

Feng Zhe stared at the three defeated, disheveled women lying on the ground, their evil armor shredded by the force—proof of Sisyphus’s overwhelming strength.

"You are destined for defeat. We’ll be waiting below!" the three dark Saints cried, refusing to yield even in death. Instead, their laughter rang out, wild and tragic.

Then, their bodies dissolved into dark spirits, drifting away on the wind, as if to prove they had once existed.

"Let’s move on," Sisyphus said, without the slightest hesitation, not sparing them a single glance.

Feng Zhe, however, regarded the Saints’ coldness with caution. In this era, Saints showed warmth only to the faithful of Athena; to heretics, they were merciless.

Of course, Feng Zhe had no desire to play the saint himself. In this era, he was but a passerby.

...

The deeper they ventured into the dense forest, the more their hearts pounded, as if an overwhelming, mournful cosmos lingered around them.

After some time, Sisyphus stopped and called into the jungle, "Who’s there? Show yourself!"

A man in Silver Cloth emerged calmly.

Feng Zhe felt no malice from this man’s cosmos—rather, a sorrow so profound that it seemed to draw tears just by looking at him.

Once more, Sisyphus was taken aback, scarcely able to believe his eyes.

Beside him, Tiger’s eyes widened as he shouted, "Rigel! You dare betray Sanctuary?!"

If the appearance of the three female dark Saints—unrecognized by Sanctuary—had not greatly troubled Sisyphus, the arrival of Rigel now filled him with uncontainable rage.

Feng Zhe and the five-year-old Regulus, not knowing this man, exchanged awkward glances.

"Scoundrel!"

Mount Lushan Rising Dragon!

Tiger roared, unleashing his signature technique. All his power erupted at once, enough to make the great waterfall of Mount Lushan reverse its flow. His surging cosmos pushed the technique to its limits.

But Rigel made no move to defend himself. Eyes closed, he seemed merely to await death.

Just as the Rising Dragon was about to engulf him, a single snowflake crystallized in the air.

The temperature dropped visibly; in less than a second, the surroundings began to freeze.

The dragon’s head, formed by Tiger’s attack, froze solid. A single snowflake descended, shattering the dragon into fragments.

Silent Snowfall!

A woman’s gentle voice spoke, and the snowstorm surged violently, hurling back at them.

Caught off guard, Tiger raised his Dragon Shield to withstand the onslaught of ice and snow.

The freezing attack swept a wide area. Feng Zhe struck out with his fist, igniting a blaze of Saint Fire that formed a protective dome, instantly raising the temperature around them.

A stunning female Saint appeared at Rigel’s side. Her cherry lips parted in a smile as she said, "So, that old man Bailey gave you the Altar Cloth, did he?"

Tiger, recognizing her, grew even angrier. "Rigel of Orion! Maria of Corona Australis! Have you both betrayed Lady Athena?!"

Feng Zhe, hearing these names, turned to look at them as well.

Both Orion and Corona Australis bore Silver Cloths, but the power radiating from them rivaled the Gold Saints.

Maria of Corona Australis laughed merrily. "I never liked fighting. I was defeated in Sanctuary, and if not for Lady Eris, I would never have received this Cloth."

Sisyphus turned his gaze to Rigel. "And you, Rigel—Sanctuary’s foremost Silver Saint—why have you betrayed the goddess?"

Sisyphus’s anger, mingled with Rigel’s silence, cast a suffocating stillness over the scene.