Blessings of a Prince? The Strength of Chivalry Part 2
"That's right, Chivalry. The reason why we Terrae are first-rate warriors. We respect and protect all life because of holy Chivalry." Arion construed that word, and with cool confident reason, as some form of edict among his people. "The Mother Goddess Demeter blessed us with great power after all, and you are people of a War Goddess after all. Creatures of emotion who grow through fighting."
"So what?!" Was the only retort Kouga could muster.
"Still standing Pegasus? Why? Were you too touched by God? I will see to it that it won't last." The fact that four Saints made it to his Temple made Arion reflect on his battle with Souma and Yuna, despite having defeated them. Maybe the defeat will eventually come and there will be no defiance. Even Kouga wasn't sure himself. But he knew to always continue fighting.
Pegasus's leg reached out, his foot lunging into the Stole's lower trunk. Arion felt a shake and was momentarily shocked for a couple of seconds. When he regained focus, he threw a punch at Kouga again.
"Are you being presumptuous, Pegasus!?" Arion bit his lip as his haughty words left a silent trail; his punch was caught in Kouga's hand. Anger bubbled inside the so-called Strongest Terrae—did the enemy dare to fight toe-to-toe with him as an equal? Arion felt the Bronzes' punches and kicks before, and it was0 like a true battle that he hasn't experienced in a long time. People of Naxos hailed him as a hero, a sorcerer with infallible magic. Because Naxos hardly faced threat, were there a few times when he could invite his "magic" to protect his island and Goddess?
Before The Saints, there were the cursed ocean nymphs called Oceanids. Fifteen years ago—it may have been Orphne that emerged from the sea in an uncomprehending frenzy. Because it was a Divine Spirit, Arion struggled, but it was said that his powers and his courage emerged the greatest at that time. He was a young boy, took it all to heart, but after that, did he strive to be a warrior? Demeter insisted that her Terrae learned how to battle even in present-day just like back in Mythological Era. She made them local police and even sent them around the world to handle threats to the growth of Earth, usually evil spirits. However, the Swithen Terrae rarely had an owner and was rarely sent out; when it did, he or she faced terrorists that caused war crimes. Was their pride truly strong?
Arion threw out his hand and Kouga, with no room to escape, was captured in a vortex that had him frozen on his toes. His techniques were efficient so why?
"You will pay Pegasus!" With Kouga in place, Arion shoved a punch in the Pegasus Cloth.
"You instill fear and sorrow within my Goddess."
Another punch, swinging against the face; with that furious attack came the anger that emerged from Arion's stomach, entering his voice.
"Because of you, Megaera is dead!" Another swing against the head again.
"Pan is devastated!" Kouga gasped as Arion struck his gut.
"And Ginga has disappeared!" After that, the vortex released Kouga and the Saint fell against the ground again, catching himself with his hands and knees. The marbled path that cut through the temple chamber blurred before Kouga's eyes. Hit after hit, he felt like he would pass out. He would not notice Arion's exasperated face.
"Your Goddess started everything! You are a poison to this island, Pegasus!" Hardly anyone witnessed venom radiating from Arion. Getting back onto his feet, Kouga's standing body convulsed, nearly a dead man walking. Arion could turn his back on him.
"My passion to protect my Goddess is stronger, is it not? Do you now understand that you don't stand a chance?"
"I won't…" Words slowly sipped from Kouga's pants, "give up." He looked up and Arion shook before him like an illusion. Was his reaching his limit? Could he burn his Cosmos with his senses in disarray? In the back of his mind, he wondered just how to win.
Arion's eyes narrowed. "Are you stubbornly standing out of concern or regret for your friends?" From such words, Kouga's eyebrows bucked. Did it come as a shock?
"Are you angry with me?" That question seemed plausible, but did anger ignite the willpower of a Saint? There was also another notion that came to Arion, but it never left his mouth.
Fear? Such thoughts are plucked up like flowers as ideas. He became more impressed by his enemies, but he never applied the thought that Pegasus was stronger. Nor "could get stronger". Kouga took a slow heavy step forward.
"Pinpoint," he uttered low. "She said…focus."
Arion stood unworried, ruffling his wings. He thought of a way to break apart his enemy's body and was going to suggest it openly, but he watched the Saint with interest.
"My Cosmos…explode. She…said…" Another step forward. Then, his eyes wavered. It shined with recovered stamina.
Many years ago, there was a time when Kouga couldn't walk. He had to remain wrapped in a blanket, but he could not cling to a mother. There was no mother or father; Kouga was abandoned at ruins, the site of a legendary battle against Saint and God. Maybe he fell from the sky? Saori Kido, the vessel of Athena, would raise Kouga at both Sanctuary and at her secluded home after repelling Mars.
"Make him a Sanctuary child?" Someone told Athena. Someone who was too familiar with Athena's magnanimity…a silver-masked Saint. The Goddess said it was fate from the stars; with much regret, the boy called Kouga would not grow into an ordinary boy, but contained an intense warm Cosmos. She had wondered why? As Kouga grew, taking steps, Seiya disappeared after another battle with Mars and the stars had yet to choose a new Pope. Since the death of Saga, and other Gold Saints from the Sanctuary war, the highest authority remained vacant. The gap stretched more so after the war with Hades. Athena was too aware of the dwindling of power.
She turned to the masked Silver Saint. "Shaina, there was a message in Sagittarius temple. Etched on the ground."
"He's alive?!"
"He must be. It states 'Show the path of the constellations. The path of light.'"
"Sounds like something he would say. But for it to appear-"
"Shaina, I have a request. The boy in my care, Kouga, when he is of age, teach him the way of the Saint."
Kouga would scorch the memories of the training in his mind, especially with Shaina's aggressiveness. When an energy burst from his body, it completely startled him. He didn't realize its importance, having not seen war himself; how his life would change so much. As he remembered his teacher, Kouga wondered if he was about to die. He remembered those days: Cosmos were like a constellation born in his body, he had to concentrate it on one part and unleash it. "Feel it burn inside of you" and "everything is made up of energy" she used to say.
"Focus where you want to strike! Turn your fist into a Meteor!" If anything, Kouga wished he would completely apologize for each time he complained.
"Arion…" Another heavy step, and the two propelled towards each other. Their thoughts were simple: Arion would finish it and Kouga wouldn't yield. Arion wanted to plunge his hand into Kouga's body and take out his heart.
But a fist then pummeled against his head guard. Wallowing in confusion, he heard Kouga's scream.
"You live, therefore, I can defeat you. God or man! Do not underestimate the courage of humans!"
Another flurry of Pegasus Ryu Sei Ken entered Arion's vision; for some reason, his mind recalled something completely different.
"Read this story yet, Arion? You got to appreciate them—the courage of human beings."
Ginga?
"Arion! This Cloth and this fist is used for righteousness!"
