After the defeat of Mandrake Fyodor, Yato introduced Yuzuriha and then quickly went over the basics of the current situation with Tenma, although he didn't have a lot of time to go into detail.
"So yeah, that flower bangle Lady Athena gave you when you were kids. That's the only reason you're not gone right now." Said the unicorn saint, as he patched up his wounds from the previous battle with a couple bandages. "But once all those flowers dry up, you'll die for real."
"So it was because of her…" Tenma was deep in thought after hearing that, looking at his bangle and thinking about how lucky he'd been. If Sasha's divine cosmos hadn't protected him, Alone would've killed him. And that would've been the end.
He, however, wouldn't have a lot of time for self reflection.
"I hate to interrupt, but we don't have time to lose." Yuzuriha said as she walked up to the men, crossing her arms.
Tenma took a deep breath.
"You're right, according to that specter, the sanctuary is likely under attack as we speak." Tenma sounded concerned. "And one of the three great judges is leading the charge. We gotta go back to the world of the living right now!"
"Not right now." The female saint answered, cutting him off, making both guys raise their eyebrows instantly. "Actually, there's one more thing for us to do here in the underworld before going back."
"You can't be serious!" Yato's jaw dropped. He didn't like that place, and it was safe to say that he really wasn't looking forward to staying for much longer.
"I am." Her tone was resolute." According to master Hakurei, it's something that can help break the cycle of holy wars. Something that'll help us defeat Hades and the specters for good. I don't have time to give the full story, so I'll have to ask for you guys to just trust me for now."
Tenma and Yato were left speechless as they heard Yuzuriha's words. It seemed like they had quite the responsibility on their hands, and the pressure they felt just by hearing that was quite overwhelming. Staying in that place for much longer was a tall order, but Yuzuriha had really helped them so far, especially Yato, so it was only fair they gave her the benefit of the doubt this time.
"Follow me." She asked, turning her back and walking towards the exit of the torture room they were in. Without much choice, Tenma and Yato followed suit, although they still had a lot more questions than answers at that point.
The trio was now outside once again, in the desolate wasteland at the margin of the styx. That landscape was the stuff of nightmares, and all the sound they could hear was the water running in the river and their own footsteps. Other than that it was complete, morbid silence.
"Hey Yuzuriha, where exactly are we going?" Tenma asked, after all it didn't seem like there was anything else on that side of the styx. "Can you at least tell us what even is this thing that can end the cycle of holy wars?"
The pegasus was really getting impatient at that point. "I can't stop thinking about what Mandrake said, there's an attack on the sanctuary and Sasha could be in danger. Maybe knowing what exactly we're looking for could put my mind at ease a little."
Yato then smacked him right on the back of the head as he heard those words, making them both stop walking.
"How many times I'm gonna have to tell you!?" The unicorn saint barked at his rival. "It's lady Athena, and you, as a mere bronze saint, need to show her the proper respect!"
"The hell's wrong with you!?" Tenma fired back. "It's just a name, who cares?" For better or worse, that'd snapped him out of his thoughts.
Now even more annoyed, Yato grabbed him by the collar.
"Listen up, dumbass!" The pressure was really starting to mount on the unicorn, manifesting itself as annoyance. "I didn't come here because I wanted to!"
Yato knew he was also under a time limit due to the sword's protection not being perfect, it was safe to say he was getting really stressed."This whole situation is already bad enough and I really don't want to have to put up with your lack of self awareness on top of everything!"
"Oh yeah? Then why did you come here in the first place!?" Tenma asked, pushing him off.
"Well, it was all pretty much an accident!" The unicorn saint yelled back. "See, back in that town, after Hades squashed you like a bug…"
"Like a what!?" Tenma interrupted him, his face got red with anger as soon as he heard his rival's comment.
"Dude, I'm gonna squash *you* like a bug if you keep saying that!"
After noticing that the boys had stopped walking and were now bickering like a couple of small children, Yuzuriha had to turn back and walk up to them. "Look, I know you guys are buddies and all, but can't you save it for later?"
"I'm not buddies with him!" The both answered at the same time, equally offended at the female saint's assumption.
Yuzuriha let out a deep sigh as she heard that. This was gonna be a long mission, she thought, resigning herself to having to babysit those two on top of everything else.
-x-
…
The cathedral in the forest had a balcony near the bell tower, right next to Alone's new atelier.
He enjoyed being there late at nights, playing with his little canine friend when he wasn't working on his paintings. And that night wasn't different, the emperor of the underworld enjoyed feeling the cold breeze of the night as his pet ran around chasing its own tail. Alone simply watched him, amused. The ruffling of the forest's trees helped create a bit of a relaxing atmosphere in that creepy place.
The door that led inside then suddenly opened, and from it came Pandora, his attendant. A young woman with long jet black hair and dressed in a funeral gown.
"Lord Hades." She bowed her head, greeting her lord as she made her way into the balcony. "I didn't want to interrupt you in your time of leisure, but I have an important update that couldn't wait."
"Very well." Alone answered. "Proceed."
"The specter Mandrake Fyodor has died suddenly." She revealed. "What makes this strange is the fact that he was stationed in the margin of the styx, in between the world of the living and the underworld."
"That's odd." Alone answered, without even a slight hint of worry in his voice, merely entertaining his human attendant. "What do you think could've gotten to him there?" They both knew that there was nothing in that area other than dead souls in line to ride Charon's ferry, it was hardly a dangerous outpost.
The fact that a specter had died there out of nowhere was not normal.
"We haven't been able to figure this out yet, my lord." She continued. "What are your orders? Should I send out a squad to investigate?"
"There's no need." The god replied. "Even if it was an enemy attack, there's nothing of value to anyone in that area. That's why we left it so lightly defended in the first place."
"As you command." Pandora bowed once again, acknowledging her lord's wishes.
"And what of the specters that we sent to the sanctuary?" Alone asked.
The woman in black let out a smirk as she heard that.
"You don't need to worry, my lord." She explained. "Minos is one of the three great judges, the sanctuary will not get out of this unscathed."
"And even if by a miracle the attack gets completely repelled and the specters we sent all die, well, there won't exactly be an issue…" Pandora's tone was full of malice. "After all, death is completely meaningless for the servants of a god that can raise them from the dead."
Alone chuckled, nodding to her right afterward.
"Indeed."
He then got up, turning his back on the women and heading into the balcony's railing, looking at the starry sky, his eyes staring at a particular constellation that shone brighter than any other that night: pegasus.
"Meaningless it is…"