SailorStar9: With Chapter 19 uploaded, this is Chapter 20 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.
Disclaimers: Nothing here are mine, well, except the plot.
Chapter 20: Eris' Envoy, Saranbo
"Whiteblaze?" the suddenly awoken Ryo turned to the white tiger that had licked his cheek in comfort, the Wildfire warrior having recurring dreams about his last fight with Talpa. "Where am I?" he looked around at his room. "That's right." he recalled. "I defeated Talpa." drawing strength from his kanji orb, he got out of bed and drew the curtains. "You're sure going at it." he looked down at Cye and Kento who were sparring with each other.
"You sure you should be up, Ryo?" Kento asked their de facto leader.
"Yeah." Ryo answered. "It's been a while since I've slept so well. I'm okay now."
"Now's the time to get yourself some rest." Cye advised.
"We may have defeated Talpa, but who knows when the netherworld will strike again." Kento agreed.
"To think this city was frozen in the netherworld." Rowen gawked at the blustering city when he and Sage took a quick visit "It's hard to believe looking at it now."
"But even Talpa himself was blown away by the secret power of his armor, wiping out his castle and everything."
"An awesome power." Rowen concurred. "There's a mysterious power within Ryo."
"Yeah," Sage nodded. "I wish I knew the whole story behind that power. The white armor, huh?"
"Let's go, Sage." Rowen walked off.
Unbeknownst to the two Ronin Warriors, high in the air, a pair of eerie purple metallic gates slid open to reveal a male in armor and holding a shiny golden apple. "I have sense it; it is all because Athena appeared in this world. Your pathetic human world will eventually be in our Goddess, Eris', hands. And the Ronin Warriors' armor, which has the power to defeat even Talpa, will surely become Eris-sama's."
"The city sure has revived quickly." Sage noted, the two Ronin Warriors were now standing on a building frame in a construction site.
"It's all thanks to Athena-sama." Rowen stated. "I'll like to think we're finished with fighting now. But we're still going to have to figure out Ryo's new power."
"Even Mt. Fuji has stopped erupting." Sage noted, looking in the distance at the silent volcano. "Though we have no clues about the white armor, at least there seems to be no sign of the netherworld." he remarked, the pair making a quick pit-stop. "Maybe they really were all destroyed."
"Let's check around again tomorrow." Rowen suggested.
Just then, a gust of evil wind churned.
"A gate!" Sage gasped as a pair of eerie purple metallic gates manifested before them, announcing Saranbo's arrival.
"A gate to Mount Olympus." Rowen recognized the gates' design. "But that color... does that mean that there are other Gods that have been reincarnated, like Athena?"
"That's right." Saranbo droned. "My master, the Goddess Eris-sama, seeks a new body, a body with a soul bursting with vitality. I, Saranbo, have been tasked with the sacred duty to obtain Eris-sama's new vessel." holding out the Golden Apple that Eris' soul had been sealed in, he unleashed a wave of evil Cosmo at the two Ronin Warriors. "I am not like those spinless Soldiers of Doom Talpa used to sent at you." the Cosmo ripple had forced Sage and Rowen into their undergear. "Prepare yourself. Let me see the power of your armor." he demanded, fighting the two Ronin Warriors back. I want to see with my own eyes the power of the armor that destroyed Talpa. That armor is the only armor suitable for the mighty Goddess Eris-sama. Which one was it?"
"I hope you realize that Eris will share the same fate as Talpa." Sage warned.
"Eris-sama is not like Talpa." Saranbo retorted. "She is going to use the power of the armor as her own."
"We don't allow that." Rowen snapped. "You don't have a chance."
"Which armor is it?" Saranbo demanded, de-materializing himself to avoid getting punched by Rowen. He then trapped both Ronin Warriors within two Cosmo energy spheres using the Golden Apple and forcing their armors to materialize. "It seems neither of your armors is what I'm after." he noted. "It's another one."
"There's a demon working to revive Eris?" Kento echoed, after Sage and Rowen returned.
"So, this time, it's a battle between two Goddesses." Mia noted.
"They're after another thing." Sage added. "They're after the owner of the white armor that defeated Talpa."
"So, they're after Ryo's new armor?" Kento gasped.
"Yeah." Rowen nodded. "They want to give that armor to Eris and enable her to conquer the human world."
"The only term we've learned is the proper term for the armor power." Kento reminded.
"But all that ballistic power is in all of our armors, right?" Cye asked.
"That's right, but Ryo doesn't have the strength right now to use it." Mia protested.
"Ryo has to rest more." Cye insisted.
"Ryo's not going to listen to what we say." Kento reminded.
"This time, we'll just have to deal with it without telling Athena or Ryo." Rowen stated.
"We'll be the decoys." Cye agreed.
"And we haven't met the guy yet." Kento added.
"We'll have to defeat him before he gets near Ryo." Sage agreed. ""If I recall correctly, the previous Athena sealed Eris' soul into the Golden Apple. If we can get the Golden Apple, then Eris will have no chance of being revived."
"That might be tough for the four of you guys." Mia reminded. "You'll just have to believe in the power of the armor."
Later that night...
"So, this is where the demon appeared, right?" Cye inquired, the four having returned to where Sage and Rowen had fought Saranbo.
"So they think they can challenge me, huh?" Saranbo chuckled. "They underestimate me. I'll show them."
"Rowen." Sage's senses were on high alert.
"Now then," Saranbo presented himself. "Which armor was able to crush Talpa?"
"Why don't you try and find out?" Kento snapped.
"Behind you!" Rowen warned, already decked in his Strata armor as he and Sage ran towards the other two.
His warning came too late when Saranbo emerged from the shadows and attacked Cye and Kento.
"Arrow Shockwave!" Rowen wasted no time in firing off his attack.
"Thunderbolt Cut!" Sage, too, released his attack.
"It didn't work." Rowen gasped when Saranbo used the Golden Apple to diffuse the two attacks.
Using a clone of himself, Saranbo then struck the four Ronin Warriors with lightning. "In the world of darkness, I can multiply myself into shadows of myself." he explained, his clone was reflected on the moon. "No, it's not here." he witnessed Cye's and Kento's armors manifesting. "There's only one left."
"You're not getting near Ryo." Rowen swore.
"Pathetic creatures." Saranbo rebuked, reinforcing his power to stop Rowen. "You shall writhe in pain until you die in that light storm. The remaining one is the one I seek Impossible!" he was taken aback when a powerful golden aura descended from the air. "Athena has come to the front-line herself?" he took a step back when the outsurge of Cosmo freed the four Ronin Warriors from their prison.
"Athena-sama, it's too dangerous..." Sage tried to warn the younger girl.
"That form..." Rowen gasped as the four weakened Ronin Warrior watch Athena, decked in her Divine Cloth, face off against Saranbo. "Athena... she's serious."
"Do you think I'll let you?" Saranbo roared, raising his ax to strike.
Athena merely lifted her Ages Shield to fend the attack; with Saranbo's weapon out of the way, she struck, thrusting the Nike Staff at Saranbo's other hand and forcing him to drop the Golden Apple.
"No!" Saranbo watched as the vessel of his master cluttered to the ground.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Rowen pulled out an arrow from his quiver. "Arrow Shockwave!" this time, the attack hit home, disintegrating Saranbo.
"Eris, the time for your revival has not come." Athena disengaged her Divine Cloth and walked towards the discarded Golden Apple. "And it will never come." raising the Nike Staff, she sent it hurling into the depths of space.
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.