Chapter 82: Beyond the Battles of the Twelve Palaces

Cancer Temple

In the Cancer Temple, Cancer Deathmask was locked in combat with Shiryu of the Dragon. He unleashed his Praesepe Underworld Wave, ripping Shiryu's soul straight into Yomotsu Hirasaka. There, Deathmask seized Shiryu—who was on the verge of death—and prepared to hurl him into the bottomless abyss.

At that critical moment, Shiryu's cosmos erupted, unmatchable in its intensity. With a mighty punch to Deathmask’s chest, he regained his vitality and composure in an instant. Shiryu's impassioned words struck home, and to Deathmask's utter shock, the Cancer Gold Cloth abandoned its master.

Seizing the opportunity, Shiryu resolved to deliver the final blow. His cosmos surged to its utmost limits, and in that moment, he vaguely grasped the Seventh Sense. He poured this newfound power into his ultimate technique.

As Shiryu executed the Rising Dragon Supreme, Deathmask, disbelieving, cried out in protest. Suddenly, a figure appeared before him, catching Shiryu’s ultimate attack single-handedly.

“Alex?!”

“Feng Zhe?!”

Both men stared in disbelief at the newcomer—the former acting Pope, Feng Zhe, absent for some time.

Shiryu’s shock surpassed Deathmask’s; he could hardly believe his strongest technique had been caught with one hand by Feng Zhe, who seemed not even to be exerting himself.

“You have already awakened the Seventh Sense. This battle is yours—you may proceed to the next temple,” Feng Zhe said gently.

In a blink, Shiryu found himself back in the Cancer Temple, with no memory of what Feng Zhe had done.

As Shiryu departed, Deathmask glared at the Cancer Gold Cloth, his expression sour. In a low voice, he muttered, “Is this the power of a god?!”

Even Deathmask, dull as he was, now realized he had been toyed with by a deity—the true master of Sanctuary, Athena herself.

Feng Zhe patted his shoulder. “What will you do now?”

Deathmask hesitated, then sighed. “Where else could I go? I’ve long since regarded this place as my home.”

“Very well. On behalf of Lady Saori, I welcome you to Sanctuary.”

Deathmask stared at Feng Zhe in astonishment, but as Feng Zhe gestured, the Cancer Gold Cloth reassembled and donned itself once more upon Deathmask.

Clad again in the golden armor, Deathmask felt an inexplicable desolation. He turned to Feng Zhe and said, “I shall await the goddess’s arrival at the Cancer Temple.”

With that, he stepped into the darkness. Feng Zhe knew this knot in Deathmask’s heart would not be easily untied; perhaps it would require some effort from that cunning goddess.

In the next temple, the Lion Temple, Aiolia had fallen under the Pope Arvid’s Demon Fist, turning him into a frenzied foe for Seiya. The conclusion came swiftly: Shaina’s disciple, Cassios, sacrificed his own life to free Aiolia from the spell.

By the time Feng Zhe arrived at the Lion Temple, Seiya was long gone. Shaina cradled Cassios’s lifeless body, weeping bitterly, while Aiolia sat despondent upon the steps, his face awash with grief.

“You are…the acting Pope?” Shaina, the Ophiuchus Saint, gazed dumbfounded at the newcomer, while Aiolia looked on in shock.

“May I have a look?” Feng Zhe asked gently.

Shaina nodded and released her hold on Cassios.

Sacrifice!

Heal!

A gentle sacred flame kindled on Cassios’s chest, transforming into a warm light that enveloped him. Miraculously, Cassios opened his eyes and murmured, “Am I dead?”

“Cassios!” Shaina, forgetting all decorum, threw herself upon Cassios’s chest, sobbing uncontrollably—her affection for her disciple evidently genuine.

Cassios scratched his head awkwardly. “Teacher, the acting Pope is here…”

Though clumsy with words, Cassios was like a warm-hearted giant, always defending his mentor and friends.

“Thank you, acting Pope!” Shaina expressed her deep gratitude, and even Aiolia rose to offer his sincere thanks.

Feng Zhe observed the Ophiuchus Silver Cloth Shaina wore—a distinctly feminine armor, difficult to reconcile with the legendary Thirteenth Gold Cloth.

“May I examine your Cloth?” he asked.

Hearing his request, Shaina didn’t hesitate. With a shout, she removed the armor.

The purple serpent Cloth was revealed before Feng Zhe.

“This isn’t a regression; it’s an entirely different Cloth!”

Although Feng Zhe had never seen the mysterious Gold Cloth, he was certain that the Ophiuchus Cloth before him was Silver, with no trace of having degenerated from gold. He felt a pang of disappointment, suspecting that the Gold Cloth had been lost to the river of time. How this Silver Cloth had come to be remained a mystery.

A thunderous sound echoed from the Virgo Temple. Bidding farewell to Aiolia, Feng Zhe hurried onward.

Virgo Shaka, it seemed, had no intention of letting them pass and aimed to kill Shun of Andromeda. At the critical moment, his valiant brother Ikki, wreathed in Phoenix flames, appeared in the Virgo Temple.

Yet this battle filled Ikki with despair, much like the hopelessness he had felt when fighting Feng Zhe. Shaka, the merciful-faced devil, unleashed a blinding light. One by one, the senses were stripped away, leaving Ikki crawling helplessly on the ground.

At the brink of death, Ikki succeeded in awakening his Seventh Sense, unleashing his ultimate technique—Phoenix’s Wings Ascend to Heaven.

But this, too, was futile. Ikki was ultimately defeated.

As Shaka prepared to finish him, a sudden burst of light scattered. There stood Feng Zhe, unseen for so long.

“Ikki has attained the Seventh Sense. This battle is pointless,” he stated.

As the one closest to divinity, Shaka could see this was merely a test. Yet, recalling Arvid’s words, he shook his head. “All may go, except Ikki. He cannot.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Because Ikki is the reincarnation of the Demon Star—destined to betray Sanctuary!”

Few knew that Ikki was once Kagaho, but Feng Zhe was among them.

Gazing at the fallen Ikki, Feng Zhe thought: the one who most wished to kill him was himself. Were it not for this man, he would still be living peacefully with Saori in a parallel world. Why had he become entangled in this chaos, forced to match wits with that scheming goddess?

Still, since he had chosen to cooperate with her, saving Ikki was now imperative.

“It’s been a long time since we sparred. Let’s stretch our limbs a bit,” he declared.

In an instant, Feng Zhe’s cosmos blazed. Shaka, too, grew serious.

Sacrifice!

Ghostly Azure Flame!

Heavenly Tyrant!

Phantoms and Specters!

Monsters summoned from another dimension and countless sacred flames erupted in a cataclysmic explosion that shook the entire Virgo Temple!