The Interstellar War of the Hunter
(ハンターの恒星戦争)
After the Saints passed the first Garden, the next test would be for the champion hunter himself.
"Cosmic Collision!"
Stars, collection of atoms and burning gas combined to form light, further illuminated the 2nd Garden of Catasterismi. After appearing, all of the stars dove down upon its intruders like a blinding meteor shower. It felt like facing one's demise without escape; in a flash, Kouga and Eden were caught in the falling flurry of stars, vaulting them in dizzying directions. Their ears roared. In space, meteorites or shooting stars couldn't be heard; only in the atmosphere and by spacecraft radios, these "sonic meteors" broke the sound barrier and imitated jets at full burn.
Before they could recuperate, Eden and Kouga noticed a large, bright sphere launched towards their way. Their retinas burned from the giant star's pulsing halo akin to a galactic neuron beam. It looked like it could swallow them whole. Eden stood on his feet and prepared to counter. He then gasped.
He heard a scream; the large cosmic ball was caught in front of him, held by his friend Kouga.
"No!" Eden obviously objected. Kouga was still without his Cloth, but because he rose from the initial attack, it gave him the spur to defy the odds. He pinned his hands against the star, which was formed by Ginga's Cosmic Synthesis. Rather than exploding upon impact, it was palatable.
"Are you a fool, Kouga?!" Ginga cried out. "You will die!"
"Kouga stop! Your Cosmos hasn't returned yet!" Even at Eden's banter, Kouga kept his arms up and pushed against the bright, hot sphere. He squeezed his teeth against the furious burning he felt welling up in his palms. Eden could see a simmering glow breaking through the dorsal side of Kouga's hands.
"I know," Kouga's words leaked through low, weak rumbles, indicating his pain. "But I am still alive. Therefore, my Cosmos can return. They have to burn. While I'm standing, I can't watch you fight for me."
As if he held the sphere himself, Ginga felt a tremble through his entire hand, a force defying his control. He pressed his arm forward, and the giant spherical star slid right down the Garden court. To his expectations, he heard his targets scream. Kouga, held by Eden, were being pushed back; next, the ball expanded and swallowed them both. Reaching the entrance, it imitated an explosion in the vacuum of space.
Seconds after, the bright glare that filled the Garden of Catasterismi cooled.
Eden had nearly collapsed, but held himself up by hands and knees. It took him a moment for him to get back onto his feet. His breathing was heavy and his Orion Cloth was cracked in places. After fighting Pan, he dealt with another opponent whose offense was not only forceful, but swift and pervasive. He felt it in his Cloth, and in his bones, that he couldn't endure too much.
"Kouga…" Eden saw Pegasus on the ground, unmoving. Filled with anger, he shot a glower at Ginga, who had his head lowered.
It's like the Cosmos within him are literally used as a weapon, such a thought occurred to Eden after hearing Ginga ramble about meteors and comets. Despite that, he made up his mind to continue fighting. Having felt the attacks with his own body, he suddenly had a recollection. The golden fangs of his master – anyone who had faced that luminosity could not forget it. Perhaps he felt like he was facing a Gold Saint or near that capacity.
Not the shock of the strength, but more importantly, the speed.
"I am the Bronze Saint, Orion Eden." He had showed his manners before engaging. "About your Goddess's goal. You can tell Demeter to prioritize Earth's safety after her goal has been fulfilled. Isn't that what she would do?" Orion gave Kouga's bookworm friend one last chance. He spread out his fingers, tensing them as tendrils of lightning wrapped around them. It was suspected that whoever was the fastest hitter would win. There should be no resistance.
"To be honest," Ginga began, his voice sullen, "because she has a faithful attachment to nature and family, if she felt that was trampled upon, Lady Demeter would release a fury that may unleash a great suffering upon the world or even its destruction. It's really not that surprising. She has been abstaining from such punishments…until now."
"I see."
"Lady Demeter is the type of person who will descend into madness if anything happens to her family, by her hand or others. Period. I can't change that. I wonder if she'll blame herself for this fighting? Furthermore, I want to see my friend again."
"Don't be sentimental! Not when the world is at stake!" After his shout, the room lit up; Eden suddenly faced thousands of stars and was in another barrage. His eyes whitened, but he kept his footing, crossing his arms in a defensive stance. He lost the initiative; the attacks could be described as an inescapable flash and an unseen enemy letting off hundreds of strikes at one time. After the wave passed, Ginga looked at the motionless Kouga. He still hadn't moved.
A rare vexation appeared. "Maybe I should blame Athena!"
Eden, a bit surprised at Ginga's raised voice, was wondering what he was going on about. He said nothing in response.
"Being her Saint, Kouga pushed himself to death, just for one woman. Is this pointless nobility worth fighting for?"
Eden could've answered his question, but he found an opening and quickly closed in. "Hillia Mastia!" His fist slammed right into Ginga, and a web of lightning sprang on the Terrae like a net.
"Guuuah!" Ginga took a direct strike; his body shuddered from the violet lances biting against his Stole. He stayed on his feet and his instincts moved his arm, throwing aside Eden's fist and countering with his own punch. Eden swerved out the way and the heaviness of the swing left Ginga open. Boron turned quick and his face folded in; a wet gurgle left Ginga as Eden shoved a punch against the bridge of his nose. Eden threw another punch but it slid against the Boron Stole's arm guard. Eden felt his knuckles shake and a ring chimed in Eden's ear. The Stole felt like refined metal. A lashing kick caught Eden in his stomach, bending him over, and without a gap in time, Ginga punched Eden's face. Retracting a few fumbling steps, Eden, who was a bit dizzied, missed the anger that sparked in Ginga's eyes.
"By the way, I am the Terrae of Universal Supernova, Boron Ginga! The stars serve the Mother Goddess perfectly, accurately." Long after the Saints stepped foot into the 2nd Garden, the man from the bookstore finally introduced himself.
"Maybe if Lady Demeter brought destruction upon the world, she'll place the Goddess of War and Justice into the Damned and the fires of Phlegethon, to cleanse Earth into something better!" Being the bookworm that he was, did he not know what he was saying? To erase all of history, the passions of authors and scientists, risk the lives of those from Naxos and abroad, everyone he met since he was born, would he accept such a radical outcome?
"I'll show you. Now I must become Iago!" Ginga rambled again. For seconds, the two exchanged punches and blocked each other's strikes.
"Tonitruī Saltan!"
"Cosmic Synthesis!"
At such close proximity, their fists decided the outcome. It became a street battle between friends, or who was the better friend to Kouga? Rather, who was the better warrior to the best goddess? Both Saltan and Synthesis were spheres that materialized in thin air, serving as barriers by batting away attackers with shockwaves. The Saint and the Terrae were in a stalemate.
Until, they both were thrown back by a blast. The spheres of Saltan collided with the propagated stars and popped them like bubbles. Once Ginga got back up, he noticed that he widened his distance. A chance was given to him to summon more tiny stars.
"Give up and go home! Cosmic Collision!" The air blazed and the stars fell upon Eden like a hail of bullets. Because of their smaller size, they were faster to create and faster than the eye.
Ginga had Eden in midair, pelted in all directions; to Eden, it felt non-stop. Since the walls, floor and ceiling of Catasterismi projected a visual constellation akin to a planetarium, Eden imagined floating in a vacuum. Nothing but fixed stars around him. It felt beyond imagination as no one in the world has physically reached a star. Instead, Ginga called the particles of his attacks "comets" or "meteors"; humans haven't touched those either. Whether it was burning gas or ice, the attacks felt like they had substance and the Orion Cloth was building pressure from each hundredth hit.
Once the Collision wave passed, Eden shook off the attack and flipped, landing on his feet, aiming.
"Fera Caelos!" Following Ginga's attack was Eden's large lance of lightning that flew across the court like a dashing animal. Ginga was forced to spring himself out of the way, but he then careened into a pillar—his arm caught Eden's spinning kick, but the force of it he could not suppress. Ginga slid down the pillar, ungracefully landing on his rear. It took a groan out of him.
"I guess you are quick and strong too," said Ginga as he rose back up, far from done. He smiled to commemorate the Bronze's strength, but that only lasted for a few seconds.
"To handle Collision and Synthesis so many times. What could be the excuse for that? What are you made of?"
Eden managed, but his Cloth looked more damaged than before. If they were nearly equal, it was Orion who looked the more worn out. It was evident that the Boron Terrae stood against a so-called Bronze who reached his Seventh Sense, faced Gods and experienced Omega. In fact, Eden was astonished that Demeter, being a so-called peaceful Goddess, had such fighters under her wing. Athena was peaceful too, but her sense of justice was well-known for being a magnet to various battles. In other words, her humans or her Saints were predominantly prepared for combat. In fact, it's been said that she stood on par with the butchering war siblings Eris and Ares.
Ginga also knew this and it was a little vexing.
According to the poems, the Boron Stole was blessed by the universe as Demeter is a descendent of the Titans. If anything, stars precede the flora and fauna of Earth, and can read our fates. Athena can't be so superior, Ginga's eyes narrowed at his thoughts.
"Whatever the reason, it looks like it's all over, but I can't let my guard down until I see you on the ground completely defeated." Ginga said, and then crouched. "This next move, this fist, will seal your warmth and sizzle your soul. Right?"
After his words, the air roared. Eden watched as Ginga entered close from a jet-like dash; whatever poetic drivel Ginga was saying, he didn't want to find out. He couldn't find out. His elbow caught a low straight punch.
"Tch!" Eden felt his back buckle from explosions. Two of them – where did that even come from? Boron's stars could materialize anywhere. The blows were weak, startling pats on the back, but that's all Ginga needed. One stagger and Eden dropped his guard. One arm swing from Ginga, and it was from below. Eden's neck stretched as he felt a large blow against his chin. His feet left the ground.
"Cosmic Chuukanken (中間拳)!" A new attack from Ginga!?
Eden groaned; the punch felt heavy for some reason. He expected to get back and engage in another tiresome melee, but that was not the case. His entire body, from one simple uppercut, was thrown high into the air. He was too confused to be shocked; he crashed right through the temple roof of Catasterismi and at a gut-wrenching speed, a force sent him hurtling towards the sky. Ginga raised his head and brought a hand over his eyebrows to watch.
"There he goes. I really sounded like a bad guy, huh? But maybe an antagonist wouldn't say "Iago', since he was very jealous. He or she would probably say, "I'll rip you to shreds."
Now that he was to himself—with Kouga unconsciousness or dead— Ginga again rambled about books and strolled around. He rubbed his chin to think; he suddenly remembered Demeter's dignity.
"'You will now feel my divine rage!' or 'I'll deliver you pain tenfold!' Something like that. That might work."
While Boron was thinking up some line fitting for a supreme malefactor, Orion Eden was still flying. Whether due to the attack or his injuries, he was unable to move. The flight felt like a jet engine in his ears. When he did stop, he turned his head only once to see where he was, and he suddenly couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak. "Ah-!" He caught a glimpse of a new atmosphere, a mix of night black and sky blue at dusk, but then his entire body chilled white. Crystals formed around him, trapped him; a white haze suffocated his vision, and then a sharp surge passed through him. When he blacked out, Eden wouldn't notice that he felt right back into Castasterismi— minutes later.
"Did you like it up there, Orion Eden?" Of course, Ginga was there to poke fun at his opponent.
If anyone were to witness from afar, they would say that Eden looked like a meteor falling from the sky.
"We all would like to go up and reach space personally," Ginga said, "but not without protection. My Chuukanken (中間拳) is a punch that sends you over eighty kilometers (over fifty miles) into the air. A little play on the term for the 'mesosphere' (中間圏; chuukanken)."
Once again, Ginga would prance around and go on his rambles again. Eden was motionless like a dead whale on its belly, scorched and bruised.
"It's the coldest layer of the Earth at ninety degrees below Celsius (-130 ° F)," he continued, "and that beats Siberia! Electrical discharges were also spotted in the Meso as well. I invented the technique to damage everything, even all kinds of armors. After you're launched up so high, you suck up both these electric sprites and the immediate cold. Not only that, your body heats up from coming back down. Pretty nasty!"
He then stopped moving around and pointed a finger at the downed Eden. "With that, the Saints of Athena are done! As for the others, there's no way you're beating Megaera." Ginga did not know the defensive miracles of the Bronze Saints Cloths. They had the ability to withstand a chilling temperature of -150 Celsius (-238 ° F). However, Eden was exhausted from both Pan and Ginga's attacks, and the Chuukanken simply compromised his Cloth's weaknesses. The charged particles that went through his body rendered him immobile, and flying back down from the Mesosphere, the friction from the fall was enough to break him.
Eden let out a cough. If he were a Gold Saint, he might've been far safer; if it weren't for his Cloth, he probably would've dissolved completely. Still, the Orion Cloth was turned into cracked ceramic. Ginga watched the two Bronze Saints for a moment, just to ascertain himself that the fight was over, before turning away.
"I wonder if Lady Demeter will let me return to Astoria." He led himself for the back exit to make way for the 3rd Temple. He wanted to check the status of the other Saints, and then head for the Goddess Temple for this report. When one is so full of confidence in an achievement, they won't notice small details. Such as the sound of something dragging or scrapping against his court floor.
A voice rose. "Eden? Eden!"
Ginga nearly slipped spinning back around. First, he could not believe his ears, and then even his eyes tossed him out from reality. He saw Eden leaned against one of the pillars, and a distressed Kouga on his knees next to him.
"Eden, are you okay?! Answer me! I don't want to lose you like Haruto!"
Ginga could only watch in awe as he was frozen in disbelief. Mostly stripped down to his under garments, Eden saw Kouga through half lidded eyes and managed a smile. His body was heavy and somehow, Kouga spruced back to life and dragged him over to the pillar. Eden only mouthed softly that he needed some rest; he told him to not start crying and "could he feel it?"
"Kouga!" Boron returned to reality. "You're alive? You shouldn't–" Ginga took a step forward and just lost his words. Stalled in place, his shiny diadem suddenly ripped off his ears and head. One thought was imbued into him – what was that power? Did his Cosmos return?
Kouga lifted his arm and closed his hand into a fist as if he had launched a strike. A warm, white halo formed around him and the collapsed Orion.
"It looks like I got you worked up," Eden mumbled and closed his eyes.
"Ginga, it looks like I got to thank you too." Kouga stood back onto his feet as if he had a full day's rest. A convalescence from a grave injury, crushed and blown back by a Cosmic Synthesis, and somehow his body shined. Literally. What he even hurt at all?
The same shine touched the Pandora Box of Pegasus, and it broke apart. Rays of light swiveled into the air, towards Kouga and surrounded him. Confused, Ginga looked around and noticed his entire Garden interior swelling in charged particles. The illusionary universe that paved the court was further discerned thanks to the new incandescing of Cosmos.
The Pegasus Cloth was rejuvenated.
Kouga smiled at Ginga, who looked impressed beyond words. "Because Eden is unable to fight, it looks like the Pegasus Cloth and I was able to perceive his Cosmos, and not only that, yours as well."
Ginga was put into a fluster. "What are you saying? Are you saying that I helped you regain your powers? What the hell are you, Kouga?"
Kouga said nothing, and the glow calmed. His body was covered in the silver Pegasus Cloth with lengthened wing primates and a cuirass with new highlights. The shoulder guards were more rounded.
"Are you saying it's because of Athena!?" Within his mind, was Ginga frustrated that there was more defiance against him?
"I am the Bronze Saint of Athena, Pegasus Kouga. It's time to do my part!"
Pegasus Kouga and Boron Ginga, the latter having a maddened face, dashed towards each other. They were locked in an interstellar space projected by their Cosmos. Two fists collide, and the fighters felt no distance between them in terms of strength.
"Even with powers beyond human, even with nine lives, we are still mortals!"
"Yo Ginga I got a question for you," said Kouga, who spoke with confidence. "Who is your friend?"
"Jorie. You know that."
"No, the one that 'you want to see' again." It was those words that made Ginga's face soften. He broke away from Kouga's fist and lifted his hands, summoning more floating photons around him. They were in a variety of sizes.
"Julia. Julia Baer. Well, that's what most people know her by."
"I think you want to fight me as a friend. Both of us pulse with a desire to protect someone."
"I said it before – I will protect my mother and see my friend again. That is the Goddess Demeter's goal, and I am her warrior, the Terrae of Universal Supernova (普遍超新星のテラ), Boron Ginga! If I beat you, Athena's miracles will become a hoax!"
"Pegasus Ryu Sei ken!" Kouga leapt and threw a punch, his attack appearing as flurries of light. At Ginga's scream, Cosmic Collision was launched; he then appeared in front of Kouga to ascertain the effectiveness of his attack with a high punch.
In a flash, Kouga saw a scene – two women and Ginga, all smiling warmly like a family. The stars quickly fell on him; Collision was always an efficient attack, and it was enough to batter him around, giving Ginga the moment to connect his punch.
"I'm not being surpassed by you Kouga!" Boron's punch flared. "Divine intervention is responsible for everything!"
"What is happening? That fire—" Ryuho had said.
Yuna was approached by the slow, predatory saunter of the 3rd Garden's Terrae. She could barely move, and more importantly, she couldn't hear the Terrae who mocked her helplessness.
"Fools. Do you not feel it?" The 3rd Guardian's voice – her words seeped out her lips in an insipid calming tone; by its mystic delivery, further apprehension brimmed inside one's heart.
"My hatred? It wills you to die." Her voice barely hid, sent forth without deception, this implacable malice.
"I will you die."
Souma and Ryuho were already unconscious. The blow felt like a bullet; Yuna took one punch and lost her breath, falling over. Tendrils of smoke hissed from her body, and the clawed gauntlet that struck her.
What happened in the Third Temple?
When Ginga went on a tirade about Athena and the destruction of the world, perhaps his thoughts went not only to his friends, but also his older sister.