Warning: Short,crappy chapter ahead. Proceed with caution.

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Yours Ever

Chapter 6

The Reunion

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A loud cracking sound pierced through the night as the transparent barrier surrounding the Sanctuary shattered under an unexpected onslaught.

Shards of the shattering barrier rained on the whole Sanctuary, parading as the welcoming backdrops for the descending figure with flowing black robe.

"It has been a long time, Athena."

"Brother…"

"No, Athena. I'm Hades, King of the Underworld."

And with that trails of destruction befall on the Holy Ground.

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There was resounding clang as the Sagittarius' arrow suddenly dropped short before reaching the God of the Underworld.

A pair of dark blue eyes twinkled in amusement as all the existing saints held back a gasp of surprise.

Hades had made no move whatsoever to protect himself. And inside this seal, his ability would be limited to an extent that he could not make any barrier to reject their attacks. So how...?

"I would like you to meet my new Knight," the Emperor flared his robe in grand gesture of exhibition. Sasha's eyes widen in disbelief as she looked directly at the person that now stood behind Hades. She would recognize that auburn eyes everywhere, "No..."

Hades smiled a smug and dangerous smile, his voice dropped into a satisfied purr as he introduced his newest acquisition, "Meet my knight, Pegasus no Tenma."

There was a collective gasp as everyone got a good look at the said Knight of Hades. The knight who surely had protected him from the Sagittarius arrow and any of their attacks…

"Tenma..."

But her childhood friend wouldn't meet any of their gaze; the brunet had simply looked at her briefly, eyes wide and pained, before focusing his gaze on the floor.

What happened next was a flurry of actions as attacks and shouts of outrage flew through the field. It actually was amazing to see a bronze-level saint, albeit a traitorous one, capable of holding his ground against the Gold Saints, even to the point of countering the attacks with blows of his own.

"Have you gone mad?"

"Those aren't the power of Bronze saint."

"Why do you possess such power?"

Then, they caught a glimpse of not a familiar pure white armor but a dull purple-white one.

"No way…is the Pegasus cloth shining like underworld jewels."

Just like surplices.

"That's right. He's no longer Athena's saint. He has become my loyal knight."

He, who was killed by the hands of his vessel, was resurrected once again by Hades.

"What…the honorable Athena's saint, the Pegasus, has submitted to Hades!"

"Of course, I'm the one that saved him from the horror of death—" The emperor then circled his hands around his said knight's neck, softly nuzzling the spiky brown hair in uncharacteristic display of affection, "—in exchange of his loyalty."

"Tenma..."

"I...no longer have place by your side." He looked at the young female that was staring at him in disbelief and concern. Another person that he had promised but failed to protect—Sasha, no, Athena.

The purple-haired Goddess was shaking her head slowly as in denial, "Why...?"

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For I have sinned against everything you sought to protect.

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"Kill him."

"What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Pegasus. I have no need for soldier who can't obey my orders."

"But he—" the brunet looked at the shaking skeleton he just ordered to kill before turning back to his new 'Lord', "—he hadn't done anything wrong." Except questioning your order to retreat at Sanctuary. And it was all his fault for requesting the said order in the first place.

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I'm sorry…

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Before the man could react, the blade had stabbed through his heart, killing him in an instant. The skeleton-ranked soldier looked at the sword protruding from his body before a sickening realization of what happened hit him. He raised his now bloodied hand in an attempt to reach for his killer before his eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head and he fell right onto the pool of his own blood.

Dead.

Tenma's eyes were wide with disbelief as he looked at the mirroring amused ones. Long, black hair obscured his vision as the Emperor gave him a fanged smile before finally releasing his embrace. The obsidian blade dissapeared in a whizz as soon as its owner let go. However, the warm, crimson liquid of the Specter's precious life blood remained on his hand.

His body shook slightly as he felt tears prick his eyes. He had never...ever...killed someone. Regardless of the fact he was a saint, a warrior, it had been another human being! He had just killed another human and watched him die before his very eyes!

And he had done it with no hesitation.

What did…that make him then?

Still a saint? Still a honorable warrior of love and justice? Was he even human anymore?

"My loyal knight," the evil incarnate spoke up, placing a hand on Tenma's shoulder.

The brunet remained frozen as Alone-Hades-Alone-Hades-Hades ran his bloodied hand onto the side of his face, idly stroking his hair. Those bottomless eyes glowed pleasingly as the Lord hummed a happy sound, "You look so good covered in red, Pegasus."

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I'm sorry…

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Even as the carriage had become nothing but a small dot in the distance, Sasha could not tore her gaze from the vehicle that had carried her brother and her best friend away.

Out of reach.

Out of mind.

Unreachable.

"This is a pity, Athena. We have lost the chance for Alone to become human again."

"I know." The girl turned her gaze back to the direction of the departing carriage before giving a sad, determined smile. "I guess we'll have no choice but to fight them now…"

The Goddess of War and Wisdom suddenly turned her head up as she heard something.

"Is something wrong, Athena?"

Taking another moment to stare at the distance, Sasha shook her slowly and offered the Pope a small smile, "No. It's nothing." She stared into the direction she heard the voice coming before slowly closing her eyes, "Nothing at all."

She must have imagined it.

A soft whisper of her name carried by the wind and an unbidden apology.

"I'm sorry, Sasha...Athena."

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End of Chapter 6

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Notes: That was it I guess. Sorry if it's crappy and way below your expectation. I have a bad case of writer's block and I feel like I'm slowly losing my motivation for writing this. I see so many people are reading and/or putting the alerts on but so little review. Sorry for being so demanding, everyone. I'm kinda disappointed since I really did my best on writing this. But maybe my best is not enough… Hence, I didn't put the usual 'to be continued to chapter xxx' in the end of this chapter. Even though I have some future chapters and rough drafts on my computer, this might be the last time I update this story. In that case, I would like to apologize beforehand if it does happen. I hope I can see you again, guys. Thank you for reading, reviewing, and staying with me so far! Love you all (〃・ω・〃)