Lance's Role

by Thrudgelmir2333

A 'shonen' fic that sequels Next Dimension and Lost Canvas. In 1960, the Pope of Athena receives three prophecies from an old enemy that irremediably set the course of his reign over Sanctuary's tragic history and almost two decades later a Saint of Pegasus finds himself put through the unfolding of a new age of violence caused by the Pope's actions. Please enjoy and review.

39. 2A: The Exodus - Part 3 of 3

Notable OCs: Pegasus Lance's Saint Generation, Civil War Saint Generation, World War Saint Generation, Daemon Lucifer's Specters, Maiden Elisa, Priam's Black Saints; Cyrulian Refugees;

Notable Original Concepts: Mount Olympus Training Ground, Sanctuary Court, Teos Cloth, Athenian Empire mythology, Isle of Gardens; Stardust Prison; Hades' Dark Princes; Desert Beyond; Sanctuary Town Layout & Buildings;

Recurring/Cameo OCs of Jenny DeVic: Mrs. Schafurwatt, Cyrus

Recurring/Cameo Concepts of Jenny DeVic: Great Bodyguard Legend, Golden Line Heritage, Sanctuary Orphanages, Andromeda Island's Geography & Tests, Sanctuary Nobility, 88 Knights Festival

Author Notes:

-I want to thank my readers for the hundreds of hits you've given this story this month, despite no chapter being posted in September till now : ) You'll find more pertinent commentary at the bottom of the chapter.

-I realise it's a bit janky to follow the Quote section, which is in italics, with a flashback section, which is in centered italics, but please bear with me just this once DX

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Please enjoy and review (^_^

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"While training to understand my Surplice better, I decided to go and pay a visit to Sanctuary, maybe even kill a Saint or two to silence my frustration for missing out on the Holy War. It was surprisingly easy to infiltrate; given that my family used to serve that wretched place, I knew the customs and ins-and-outs enough to pass by as a commoner. Having the fallen Gold Saints in the arena to squeeze information out of helped as well. I just made sure to dye my hair and wear thick glasses for the occasion.

I doubt anyone in Rodario would be cultured enough to infer the meaning of silver and red in these particular body traits, especially when half a millennium has passed since the Emperor's days, but why risk it?

Just like I thought, the place is dull, obsessed with Hellenistic garbage and the worship of Athena. I saw sites of worship to other Gods of the Pantheon, as well as crosses, but for the most part I felt like I was visiting Athens itself in antiquity. Pandora was right; they're not any different than the people who burned my parents in the pyre.

And speaking of Pandora, I passed by her on my way back. After all the courteous hellos she doesn't deserve, she demanded to know where I had been. What an infuriating girl. Does she realize how useless she is, now that the war is over? What's stopping me from getting back on that daltonic bitch for how much she tortured me in that jail, wondering what Thanatos would do to me for losing to Michael? The most infuriating part is that she makes me side with Rhadamanthys, of all people, in despising her. Maybe if she acts like this in the next War, she'll give me a good enough excuse to smash her face on the wall a couple of times or ten.

A fun thought, but Lord Hades would never let me get away with it. I'll just focus on the Daemon Surplice… I sense the dark demon stirring within its cosmos. I can tell the secret to unlock its true power is within reach!

-Ninth entry from Daemon Lucifer's first journal, dated September of 1503

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1751 (Lost Canvas Holy War)

Sanctuary, at the (newborn) Ladon River

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The sun was close to setting down on Sanctuary. After the sudden earthquake and the many panicked inhabitants screaming about the mountains guarding Sanctuary to the south being 'split open', a company of foot soldiers rushed to the lake's side to investigate.

"Spread out and search," ordered the captain. "They last saw Lord Libra around this place. There could have been a battle against a Specter."

The foot soldiers nervously obeyed, forming pairs and looking around the margin of the lake for signs or tracks. They sensed indeed the lingering trail of the cosmos of a Gold Saint, as well as that of a Bronze. "Why is it so cold in here?"

His friend looked for clues near the lake's edge. Some onlookers claimed that the large waterbody that existed in Sanctuary's valley since its inception, in the midst of the earthquake, seemed to have suddenly depressed, which was a normal tectonic occurrence, but now it seemed back up to normal levels once more, as evidenced by the measuring mark fishermen would use on a tall pole by the water.

He found a dead fish and grabbed it. It was rock solid and traces of an unusual cosmos were felt. "Either winter is coming early or someone used ice powers around here."

This got the other's attention. "I thought Mystoria was dead."

"Does it matter?! He got replaced or did you forget?! Pope Sage was pretty quick to replenish the Gold Saints killed during Suikyo's attack. Heck, I bet he'll reward us if we find Libra's body and replace the guy and not think twice about it."

"Is that really his name? I thought the Popes baptized themselves with codenames like Arles-"

"Shh! Don't say that name! It's cursed!" his friend yelled. "Do you want to be haunted by the Emperor's ghost?!"

"Speaking of things that might not be real –" another called out, pointing his spear southwards. "Was this river always here or did I have too much to drink?"

The foot soldiers gathered up by him, seeing the lake's previously still waters now coursing downwards towards two of Sanctuary's southern mountains, which had been seemingly moved apart slightly by a brute force, allowing the lake to empty through the new crevice.

"Damn… that explains the earthquake, I guess we can sound a false alarm."

"Is it really fine like this?" another wondered. "What if Sanctuary is found by some fucking 'normy' peasant looking for fish up the wrong river? And aren't we about time to have war with Poseidon, too?!"

These were all good points and the captain could see the sudden panic in their faces at the thought of Mariners having a field advantage road right up to the heart of their Athenian homeland, so he kneeled down and dipped his hand in the water to measure the force.

He frowned. "The current is picking up ferociously… but I doubt this will stop it from being navigable…This is a problem a bit above our paygrade, but don't worry, I bet those dotted freaks that work for the Pope will come up with some alchemic witchcraft to conceal us. The last thing we need is explorers and Mariners walking in on us in the middle of a war with Hades."

One of the grunts tugged the shirt beneath his armor. "Damn, it's getting warm…"

Another shoved him. "Are you stupid?! It's freezing out here!"

"Don't push me, and I told you, I'm hot!" he snarled back, bashing shield back.

"QUIT IT!" The captain shouted, though he did suddenly feel beads of sweat around his temples. "We're gonna find Libra's corpse and report the appearance of the fucking river, or I'll have you do push-ups with boulders on your back till morning!"

A third grunt looked down. "Uh, captain?!"

"WHAT IS IT?!"

He just pointed at the rocky margin they stood on suddenly fizzling and growing orange bright. The foot soldiers barely had time to react before the ground erupted.

THOOOM!

Everyone was sent flying! A huge light beam shot had blasted its way from underneath their feet, sending them screaming and landing around the lake field and thundering another blaming sound across the valley that Sanctuary stood on. When the pebbles quit dropping and the ashy smoke cleared away, the few grunts that gathered the strength to look back up awed at the sight of a huge, wooden trireme bow poking out of the enormous hole it created, gently floating up out of the flooded underground cavern complex.

The Cygnus Saint, riding it by the mast, dropped down along with Libra Dohko while the ship gently landed on the ground with a careful lowering hand by Haisaku.

"Alright, we made it!" the blonde celebrated, ignoring the pack of complaining grunts littered everywhere.

Phoenix Haisaku, Dohko's long-lost teacher, looked around and saw the fallen foot soldiers. They seemed okay, but she still felt awful. "Oh, no, I'm so sorry… How did I not detect the cosmos of these poor guys?"

Dohko scoffed . "Yes, how could you ever forget to keep someone important in mind?"

The orange-haired, headbanded woman of sword and cane stared at him with her mask hurtfully.

Sensing the tension back up, Cygnus took her hand and helped her down. "That was an incredible blast, what kind of weapon was that?"

The masked Amazon shook her head. "A story for another day, surely. It wasn't easy to uncover the ship's secrets, and it still isn't. I 'did' find a BIG cannon full of alchemic glyphs and a glowing green battery inside it in the deck, ah, ah!"

The male Bronze Saint marveled at it. Perhaps their quest to fetch the ship would yield more fruits than he thought. He then noticed Dohko walking off in silence, barely reacting to such an important thing. "Roshi, are you okay?"

But the young tiger then turned back to them. His eyes were teary. "I… just got a message from Shion. He says Yato and Yuzuriha made it back…. Shiryu is still fighting back in Jamir, but Tenma is here in Sanctuary. He's alive!"

Even the stoic Bronze Saint couldn't help but beam in happiness, especially with the relief in the breath of the Gold Saint. "Ah, ah, yes, Shiryu did it! Of course! I knew he would succeed." A doubt then plagued his mind. "But… who could have made him stay behind to fight?"

The Amazon, too, was heartwarmed by the happiness in her student's face. "See, Dohko? I told you he was okay. The Cosmos does not lie." She reached over to touch his shoulder. "I'm so happy for you-"

But Dohko's arm suddenly snapped, brushing her hand aside. He seemed self-conscious of what he had just done, but stuck to it. "…No, don't…. touch me, Haisaku." He then walked off again. "Come on, Hyoga, let's get these guys back up and head to the Aries Temple. I want to see my 'little brother' again."

The Bronze Saint squinted. "Lord Dohko!"

Even though she was the most hurt, Haisaku halted him with her cherry cane. "It's alright, Cygnus. He's going to be like this for a while…" Her chin lowered in shame. "I let him down pretty badly."

The Bronze Saint was hesitant, but nodded. He just didn't expect to see Dragon's beloved teacher, usually a symbol of nonchalant wisdom about life and the world, get lost in resentment. On the other hand, Cygnus could hardly blame the Gold Saint. In fact, what Haisaku did, reminded him a bit too much of grandmaster Camus.

He just wished such things wouldn't get in the way of raising their spirits in the middle of the war. "Yes, Libra Dohko is wise, I'm sure he won't let these hard feelings get in the way of doing what's best for Athena."

The Libra Gold Saint somberly walked up to a large rock, his heart split in two. On one hand, he was absolutely elated, and impressed, that those three rascals had saved his student, but, on the other, he couldn't get the feeling of the weight of Suikyo's body off his arms. While Master Haisaku was not the type to use her Phoenix Saint abilities for harm, Dohko couldn't stop wondering if her Genma Ken could have made the difference in snapping his best friend out of the shadow of the Garuda Surplice back to their side. The fact that he was teaching Tenma partly to redeem himself for Suikyo only served to tie the two conflicting thoughts together.

And then there was Shion; what was the urgency in that message of his? Why was he and Andromeda still back in Jamir with Dragon? Who were they fighting?

And how come he could no longer sense Asmita's cosmos anywhere?

Cygnus hand suddenly grabbed his arm when he thought they got another piece of good news. "…Is that Ikki? Lord Dohko, look!" he shouted, pointing at the sky by the Golden Zodiac.

Dohko's eyes squinted. Far up in the setting sun to the East, the direction of Rodario, a speeding, black winged shadow seemed to be flying right above the mountains. Libra's eyes narrowed. "That cosmos…. That dark, burning cosmos! That's not Ikki, Hyoga!" it was painfully familiar to him from the day he and Shion faced Alone and the painter initially killed Tenma. His fists curled. "That's Bennu Kagaho!"

Cygnus gasped. The energy he was sensing was too familiar. It couldn't be? He, Dragon and Andromeda had arrived to the Lost Canvas War after Tenma was killed, and Andromeda's brother had yet to show up, but why did this Bennu Kagaho's cosmos feel so similar to that of their Phoenix friend?

Suddenly, the dark, flying man sped right towards them, circled around and then came crashing straight down, cratering the area even further. Black metal wings unfurled as the three Saints staggered. The Celestial Violent Star was a bloodied mess with his Surplice cracked all over.

These signs of battle only made Dohko's face turn further into that of an angry tiger. "Kagaho… who did you hurt?!" he growled, stepping forward.

The dark-blue haired youth looked up, shocking Cygnus with how much he resembled Andromeda's brother. "Dohko… s-so you were around here all along?" as he stood up, pieces of metal fell off his armor and crumbled into shadows. Blood dripped down his mouth. "C-could have saved me the trouble of finding you… I had to fight that horn-head Rasgado in the meantime."

A furious golden aura erupted and the roar of a Dragon was heard. "YOU!"

Kagaho chuckled. Should he tell Dohko how badly the fight went for the Saint? Should he tell him Rasgado was now blind of one eye? No, it was more fun to let him imagine what he had done, though, much like the Princes, the Bennu would not lie. "You should be thankful, Dohko… I had the decency of putting my battle off with him… Those kids of his got in the way."

Dohko was stunned. His aura even fluttered down, making the dragon illusion vanish. "… What?"

Kagaho clicked his tongue. "He was a preachy son of a bitch… talking about me having no malice! So I got fed up when his little trainees started saying the same!" He smirked again, though. "Once I heal and return, I'll kill every last one of'em just for the fun of making him bite his tongue! But what is this?" his eyes wandered towards the 'Argo' with a lick of his lips. "A battleship? A trireme? How quaint! Were you planning on using that ugly husk against us?"

Dohko inflated his chest. "Hmpf, perhaps! What of it?!"

Bennu smirked and walked up to him, matching his proud stand-off. "I was thinking it would look better in Alone's fireplace!"

The Cygnus Saint both raised his guard, charging their cosmos. "No, you won't!" Hyoga warned, the echoes of a chanting swan heard in the background. Maybe it was Ikki's face on this guy, or maybe it was the fact that even back in the present Specters liked to talk shit they couldn't back up, but Cygnus had the feeling Kagaho didn't mean any of this. "And even if you try, I'll have you locked in a coffin so cold that no amount of fire will set you free, Bennu!"

Phoenix Haisaku tucked her cane and sword behind the two Saints. Something wasn't right with the Cosmos. She felt like a big shadow was tearing through all around them right towards Sanctuary.

Kagaho chuckled. "Funny…" he provoked. Laughing made his injured lungs hurt. "Do you three really think you can afford to spend your attention on me? I'm not the main event today."

And before the Saints could respond, a third, thunderous sound that day was heard when, far off, in the sky above the tall Fire Clock that overlooked Sanctuary, as the sun finally set down behind the mountains to darken the valley, the clouds amassed suddenly burst open like a whirlpool and a deep, dark cosmos was sensed by all of them, as if ambushing their dimension. Cracks in the air began appearing, as if made of a glass dome, and, as if a hammer struck, it shattered!

Pieces of the sky fell down all around the Fire Clock. To keen senses, a black-dressed young figure was spotted descending down on the clock and the 7th sense of every Saint in the area screamed like a hated enemy had just invaded their home.

The Cygnus stared in shock. "…Is that… Alone?!"

Kagaho laughed hysterically. "The Emperor has come to pay a visit! Alone and Sasha will soon reunite! And you foolish Gold Saints are scattered throughout the world, putting out fires everywhere!"

Dohko lost focus and rushed up towards Sanctuary. "NO, ATHENA!"

"But don't worry, I won't return to the Underworld without my compensation!" screamed Kagaho, leaping towards the distracted Dohko with shocking speed, given his injuries, his hand immersed in black fire like an infernal bird talon. "DIE, LIBRA!"

Cygnus' fist immersed itself in ice. "ROSHI, WATCH OUT! DIAMOND -"

Dohko's foot screeched on the floor, alerted! Kagaho roared and his hand thrust towards his neck, but a sudden force halted him by the wrist, causing a shockwave in the air.

Kagaho grunted, growled and sneered at the woman holding him back. "What do you think you're doing, you BITCH?!"

The stern, red-lined mask's porcelain eyes stared him down. Her thin looking hand somehow, with some struggle, held his powerful arm at bay. "I may not be carrying my armor,… but I'm still the Phoenix Saint! And I know fire like no one! Don't you DARE touch my student or I will show you TRUE HELL, Specter!" she turned to the Gold Saint. "Dohko, go to Athena, she needs you! I'll protect the Argo, GO!"

Kagaho struggled, but all the fire cosmos that he pumped into his fist just seemed sucked off his gauntlet by her hand somehow, making the ruby in her arm's golden bracelet shine as if his strength was getting flown through it. "GET OFF ME, YOU OLD HAG!"

The Libra hesitated, not being one to abandon a fight, especially against Kagaho, but the revolting presence of Alone he sensed sitting at the top of the clock tower took priority so he took off. "Hyoga, don't underestimate Kagaho! I'll go to Sasha!"

The Specter's eyes squinted hatefully as they saw his prey running away. Kagaho shook his tense wrist and charged his cosmos, summoning the image of the Bennu. "Who the hell are you, woman?! The Phoenix Saint?! Don't make me laugh!" A round fireball then formed in his free hand, which he charged up, causing it to gently swell in size. "Gold Saints couldn't stop me! So you Bronze Saints shouldn't even think of getting in my way! No matter what your rank or Cloth is!"

Cygnus's energy also emerged, cladding them in the protection of his gentle, icy aura, but Haisaku shook her head. "Not YET, Hyoga!"

While the half-Russian hesitated, he obeyed, lowering his energy, but he still looked at her wondering why. Dohko just contemplated Kagaho's foolishness for attacking Haisaku in ignorance as an answer.

Kagaho waved his arm to prepare to throw his attack. "DIE! CORONA BLA-"

But the woman's aura blazed out, unleashing the Phoenix's scream. She dropped her cane, suddenly rushed in, blocked off his arm as it waved down for the throw, and swung up "ROZAN;HOYOKU TENSHO!" and she struck his armored chest with a strange, flame-clad punch at point blank range, barely blasting him back a short distance and singeing his armor.

Kagaho stepped back, coughing and stumbling. He looked down, confused, and saw a red burning scar shaped like a bird in his black segmented chestplate, but felt otherwise completely unharmed. He spat some blood off, but he was fine. "Heh, heh, heh… was that all you had?! Barely felt that."

The white-clad Bronze Saint made his icy cosmos burn, also puzzled. Not only did Haisaku shout out Ikki's move as if it were one of Shiryu's martial arts moves, but it didn't look like it did more than scald Kagaho's armor. His fist tightened, compressing the ice flakes. "Saint Haisaku, stand BACK, I'll take care of this!" He then punched the air above, shooting a current of cold blizzard that then fell down and dressed his Cloth up in refined frozen energy. His hands clasped above head. "AURORA…"

The Celestial Violent Star charged Corona Blast in his hand again, illuminating the area. "I'LL BURN YOU with that ship like the WITCH YOU ARE! CORONA BLAS- GYAAHHH!" he screamed falling down to his feet and hand, the orb of fire extinguishing into embers, startling the Cygnus in the midst of his attack and halting Dohko's run.

Kagaho gasped for air and grabbed his singed armor. He tried to recoup his strength, but he felt like something inside him had collapsed. The fleeting universal power he would focus on to fight seemed to escape his mind, no matter how hard he tried to focus.

"My c-cosmos… why c-can't I burn it?! Gahh! What did you DO to me?!" Eventually, in his struggle, a little bit of back-up black fire he would store beneath his skin for sneak attacks managed to ignite in his fingers and, with a mighty roar and thrust, Kagaho tossed his deadly technique. "CRUCIFY ANKH!" and five darts of dark flame flew right at the woman, intent on carving her against the Egyptian cross manifested behind her.

Haisaku gasped and stepped back, taken by surprise! Dohko shouted her name!

But a freezing air wave suddenly washed her feet over before instantly rising up like a shielding geyser, and the darts, as they struck it, fizzled loudly and dissipated into embers. Hyoga stepped forward protectively, hands clad in frost, and brought them down like a righteous hammer. "AURORA THUNDER ATTACK!" he completed, shooting a massive twister of cold cosmos that pummeled Kagaho straight against a far off cliff, crashing through rocks and freezing half the lake behind them.

The squirming Specter struggled among the frosted boulders, coughing out blood, and painfully got back up with a series of stumbles. Falling on his hands, he felt his insides grow ice cold and pieces of his armor breaking off.

His hateful gaze looked up with a shakey sight at the three Saints. "D-Damn you…!"

"Enough!..." warned Hyoga, tense like a creaking glacier. "Normally I would not hesitate to annihilate a Specter, but I'm a Saint of Athena, and you just barely survived your encounter with Saint Rasgado. I won't dishonor my Cloth with the blood of an unfair fight! So I'm giving you this mercy; walk off now, Kagaho, and you won't die!"

The Violent Star still straightened himself up, dusting off pieces of ice and gritting teeth menacingly. His wings resisted the damage, but his headpiece still fell off, broken in two, unfurling his blue hair.

The Cygnus couldn't help but think of Ikki once more. Even their hairdos were alike. What could it mean for Specter Kagaho to be so identical to Andromeda's brother? Was it possible that the Phoenix Saint of his time was somehow connected to this Specter, whether by blood or something deeper? Tenma alone resembled his Pegasus comrade too much as it was, and now they faced a second look-alike, on Hades' side no less? The idea that Kagaho would likely die in that war and reincarnate as Ikki was provocative, but also would explain his absence in the war Cygnus fought against the Specters back home.

Shaming himself by being unable to aid Alone in his attack on Sanctuary drove Kagaho mad, but he wasn't going to repeat Minos' mistake, even if to just avoid infuriating the Princes. "This isn't o-over! I'll be BACK!" he then pointed at Haisaku and Dohko. "And you TWO will pay!" Then, with an ember-spreading flap of his wings, the Specter took off at lightspeed, retreating to Alone's castle in Italy.

Dohko was bewildered. He had always heard that the mythical Cygnus Saints were as cold as Degél and Mystoria, but here he was, witnessing the Bronze Saint spare a hated foe. Unfortunately he had an inkling as of why. "…Usually I would criticize someone for letting the enemy go like this, but something tells me, Hyoga, that you, me and your friend Ikki, whenever he decides to show up again, have something to discuss about Kagaho."

"As long as Shun isn't around for it…" Cygnus asserted, already guessing what reservations Andromeda would have about fighting a look-alike of his brother. He then turned to Haisaku. "But you, what in God's name did you do to him? Fire isn't my element, but that's not how Hoyoko Tensho works!"

Her head tilted up at him. "Oh-oh, interesting, and how 'would' you know? I" she mused out loud, clearly intrigued by the mystery of the whit-armored Saint. She already suspected Dohko was hiding something from her about this pretty young man, and now the hints kept dripping out the glass to her right from the source. She picked up her cane and waved her hair, showing off her golden bracelets once more. "I'm not very strong in a fight, but we are not made just of the physical, Hyoga. What I hit in Kagaho hurt far more than simply punching his armor."

His skeptic brow raised. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"We'll discuss this later, Hyoga! If we can get to Sasha's side before Alone offs her I'll give you all the explanations you want!" Dohko lambasted, practically dragging the two of them out of there by the wrists and getting the injured foot soldiers littering the field up on their feet as well. "You LOT TOO, GET UP! Sanctuary is under attack!"

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Present,

Rozan

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Libra Dohko sat by the waterfall, watching it roar down as rain poured heavily on him, eyes focused on the rushing liquid. Lighting cracked in the sky, illuminating the valley and making the shadow silhouette of Seiryu, the dragon god, visible in the falling water, staring back at the Master.

Tucking the cherry cane that Haisaku passed down to him two centuries earlier, the purple plump rose his eyes up to meet the Dragon's. "Seiryu, why are you showing me these memories?" he asked, another bolt accentuating his request. "I don't care for old stories, I asked how you were doing on this fine rainy day."

A voice emanated between the roaring and the splashing. "I know what you 'really' asked. What you voiced out that hole on your face is irrelevant. The seal grows weaker by the year, Dohko, does it not?" it provoked, reptilian eyes of glowing green squinting. "You fear it, the return of the Specters, so you seek comfort from me."

While the thought of the return of his enemies certainly haunted him, but the Libra Saint chuckled. "Yo-oh-oh, trying to scare an old frail mortal with his insecurities is a bit low, is it not? I'm too old for that, I don't have many years left anyway."

"For a human, you've had, and you 'will' have, far more than was ever your birthright." The deity responded, having no patience for his jests. He had never been in favor of Athena granting Misopheta Menos on her Saints, regardless of the purpose. It was against the laws of nature that he and his brethren laid out.

Moreover, Seiryu was the true source of the strength of her seal. It was his water in the blood of the Underworld's rivers that bathed the tree that gave Hakurei and Asmita their precious beads. It was his power of life which held the Specters at bay. Therefore, he had no need for a 'watchman', even if that watchman was the cocky runt Haisaku left him and Byako with.

"I didn't ask for a lecture, I just wanted to know one thing." Dohko asserted. "What is the terrible disturbance I've been sensing from the Underworld? The Specter attacks have been on the rise for some years, but now it's like my 7th sense feels a miasma puke out of Pandora's ugly castle. I'm sure Shion senses it even more, being back in Greece and all…"

"The seal is weaker, but alive. All 108 Specters remain bound by 'my' rules. It will be yet years before their stars shoot through the sky from Mount Rozan. I am the true master of the Specters right now!" the Dragon God assured. Hades called himself Emperor, but he did not rule like Seiryu did. The true emperor was still the azure dragon of the East, the ruler of water. As far as he was concerned, Olympians were but lesser kings who claimed the throne of the Cosmos that Seiryu and his brethren couldn't bother themselves with. "Your arrogance is the only thing putting it in doubt, Dohko. You call yourself a Master, but you would dare to assume you have nothing left to learn about this place."

The old man shook his head. "Oh, no, not at all, Seiryu, I merely enjoy the comfort that your… confidence gives me." He worded, containing a chuckle. After two centuries, it was easy to brush off the God's veiled insults.

And then, although the Dragon was merely projecting a scary shadow of himself on the waterfall, it seemed to wave its body down on the water wall as if to move its serpentine head closer to Dohko. "Or perhaps, an old doubt plagues you? A doubt about a Specter you may have neglected to seal?" it questioned. "A doubt about a man you still fear today, the killer of your student? A Star of Pride that may have gone unattended?"

While Dohko did his best to stay calm, his soul felt a shiver inside it as another bolt accentuated Seiryu's shadow. "The Star of Pride… is no more."

Seiryu rose back up. "I showed you those particular memories to remind you of something vital, Old Tiger." it said. "To remind you that you Saints still know very little about what Hades is capable of, or who he is willing to use to further his goals. That was the first moment that confirmed to you, was it not, that the Specter Kagaho had more to who he was than just his Surplice and Star? The look of recognition on Cygnus eyes…" A draconic chuckle was heard. "In spite of their ignorance, mortals have good instincts. They tell you everything you need to know about what's around you, should you just listen."

The old master raised his brow irritatingly so high that his Chinese hat nearly tipped up. Sometimes it was best to just let the Rozan Gods run their beastly mouths.

"What did Cygnus' instincts about Kagaho tell you, Dohko?" And then Seiryu made the most provocative suggestion of all. "That maybe, perhaps, someone else in your life could have been different? Someone you held in your arms as his life flickered away like a vanishing star? Someone who also turned to Hades to heal the despair in his heart that Athena could not?" he asked, testing the dam in the old human's eyes. "Do you ever even wonder if he's already down 'there', right now, wearing that ugly bird armor? Do you ever even wonder who else in your life other than Kagaho and Suikyo could go down the same path?"

Dohko got up, respectfully bowed his head and wished his goodbyes. "Thank you for the audience, Seiryu, it is always a pleasure to bask in your wisdom, yo-oh-oh." he pretended to laugh. As he turned his back, though, tears wetted his cheeks amidst the rainwater.

Seiryu watched him leave for a while before he shut down his shadow projection and rested back in his favorite spot at the bottom of the lake, nestling the Dragon Cloth. He snorted, making huge bubbles flow up the water. There were few humans he liked, one being Dohko, but this didn't mean he would treat them much differently than the dumb bald monkeys they truly were. Dohko showed true strength, though, in resisting the God's provocations, and this would allow him to filter in the wisdom in the God's words about the incoming times of war.

This would be far better than letting him run, unprepared, into Garuda Aiacos in the Underworld once more. "One more thing, Dohko." He called out, giving the old man pause. "Remember what your teacher taught you; the Cosmos does not lie, even if you want it to lie to yourself. The 'teacher' of your student Tenma may already be in the Underworld…. but so may be his 'killer'."

Dohko looked over his shoulder in amusement. "Oh, oh, finally, a real answer."

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Andromeda Island

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In the volcanic core area of the Indian Ocean Island, the two Saints of Athena climbed up the side of one of the two twin burning mountains which characterized the old homeland of the lost kingdom. Even at night, when the deserts of Andromeda dropped to freezing temperatures, the heat next to the volcanoes could become unbearable. Sometimes punished students would get sentenced to gather rocks littered by eruptions for hours, usually to then cart them off to Sanctuary's alchemists. Some had lost their lives doing so due to the exhaustion, the heat, the suffocating air and the scalding surface of the black pebbles.

Fortunately, both Shinta and Cynthia were heavily trained in this environment, and even without their Cloths, they could more or less travel through it comfortably. Throwing back her chain, the masked Amazon let Shinta ties his to hers to get pulled up a steeper slope, from where they then climbed up to a flatter high rise where they would be far enough away from the Living Area but still close enough to see it from their high altitude.

The green-haired boy looked up at the glowing tips of the mountains. The last time he had been so close to this place, it was when he and Lance stalked and ambushed the Minotaur Specter, an idea that, while well-intended, went terribly wrong once they realized they were up against a Gold-Rank who could slice through lava. It had barely been a year, but it felt like much more.

"Saint Cynthia…" he called out. "We're far enough, aren't we?"

The Amazon hesitated. She kind of hoped the trip there would have given Shinta enough time to think about backing out from this.

He sensed her reluctance through her still mask. "I'm not a kid anymore, I want to know!" he demanded, memories of meeting Cetus assailing him. "I can tell the Saints have hid things from me about Sanctuary… I can tell you didn't want me to lose faith… but you'll be putting my life in danger if-"

"Why?" she interrupted, freezing him. "Why would it be in danger, unless you want to fight? That's not in you, Shinta. You're a pacifist, not a warrior. The only thing you do is defend."

The Japanese boy bit his lip. While it hit home, this was just a test. "What good is that if I can't help others?" he pointed out. He's had these discussions with people far harsher than Saint Cynthia, namely his old teacher and his old partner. "Master Guardnia left me with parting words… he told me he wished me to know there's something dark about Sanctuary, and to fight it."

"….Guardnia was a fool," she said, stunning him. Cynthia had never insulted the Cepheus Saint to Shinta's face, especially because he was Shinta's teacher and it would set a bad example. "Ever since we were kids, he always thought he knew best. I thought he knew best, too. Then he would go on and do stupid things… like running for the Cepheus Cloth. Look where it got him..." Cynthia's mask turned to him. "You're right, though, Shinta. We have been coddling you. We didn't want you on this side of the line."

The dodging of the subject pushed Shinta's patience. "What line?!" She shouted, feeling the curtain deepen. "Lance always told me Sanctuary was a harsh place, but I could tell on that terrible day that even he didn't realize how deep it went!

This intrigued the Amazon, who had her suspicions about the Pegasus Saint's true position in the Cancer Temple. "Really? How so? What makes you so sure of his thoughts?"

"Because of how honest they felt!" he bit back, shaking ever so slightly. In fact, Shinta would probably never forget the sight of his best friend so angry at him. "I saw in his eyes how confused he was as me as he shouted at me!" What kind of line is there in Sanctuary between people trying to do good and horrible people like Ce-"

She then whipped her chain, startling Shinta and loudly slashing a straight, deep line in the ground between them, spreading black dust everywhere and leaving behind a crevice between the two.

"This line…. Cross it, and here there be monsters," she warned, tense, stepping back as if to accentuate on which side she stood herself. "Saints have a long, long tradition, Shinta. We've had to live without Athena for very long periods and we haven't always had the best Popes to guide us. As far as I'm concerned, you are an intruder in all this. You wouldn't understand our culture, what we have to do. Do you understand what I mean with this?"

But Shinta shook his head. "No, I don't… Is it that I'm from Japan, and therefore I wouldn't understand Greek customs? I don't believe you think that!"

Her head shook in agreement. "Greece has nothing to do with this, Shinta. The vast majority of our elites come from various European countries. Many of them watched real Greeks live and die under the rule of foreigners, like the Romans and the Ottomans, and did nothing." Cynthia explained, touching her mask as if to point to herself as an example. "The positive bias for Greeks is a myth, a lie we tell even to ourselves. It clouds a much worse problem underneath."

Shinta's eyes reddened in frustration. Then there was only one choice left. "So it's Sanctuary itself…" he concluded, reliving Guardnia's intense questioning of its morals back at the Castle of Cepheus.

The volcanoes of Andromeda Island rumbled, sensitive to the emotions of the powerful Saints.

"This… isn't exactly a secret to who is born, raised and buried in Sanctuary's domain. I'm sure you've seen the villages like Arcadia, which the two of us saw burn. The people there, like that girl Alexis, would have told you that life in Sanctuary is no paradise." She then apparently switched the topic. "You never been to the orphanages for long, have you?"

Shinta shook his head.

"It starts there," Cynthia said, waving her head. "Kids are encouraged and taught to be ruthless because we can only give out so many Cloths, and we have to send many to die in risky training grounds so the odds will give us a steady replenishment. Some of them even trick and kill their friends in their sleep for a better spot. These are six, seven, maybe eight-year-olds, Shinta." She walked around a bit, pondering the rest of the typical life in Sanctuary. "Then, if you do get through all the gruesome training, chances are that you'll be a foot soldier. Bronze Saints aren't treated much better and most don't make the history pages even though they manage to impress Cloths like yours. And then it goes on and on, across the segments of Sanctuary, the suicide rates, the vicious rivalries, the anxiety of war…"

"I know these things!" Shinta interrupted, eyes tearing up. He had heard this thousands of times.

"Yes, Shinta, these are the things you know, the things from your side." Cynthia pointed out, and then she tapped the ground of her side of the line with her foot. "And then there's mine…"

The green-haired boy looked up at her. "And what's in there?"

Her chin lowered. "That depends… do you have the courage to live with it?"

Shinta walked up to the line, staring at its width. All the bad thoughts he had ever suppressed about Sanctuary's reality, about the bad things hiding in its shadows, suddenly came to him, as if Saint Cynthia had put some sort of spell in the carved crevice. From the pain of losing his master to the terrified screams of Andromeda when Cetus arrested her will to the horrible sensation of having his own hands forced to mortally injure Guardnia, everything seemed reflected back to him in that simple line.

She saw him halt for a good half a minute and looked away. "Let's go back to the Living Area, Shinta, we have much-" But a sudden gust of wind hit the area, somehow glowing with pink cosmos amid the darkness of the volcano's rise at night, and struck the ground next to her in a burst of black dust. Cynthia gasped and looked back to see the line erased down the middle.

Shinta stared at her determinedly. "I saw Master Guardnia ruined by his armor, but he still entrusted that I could become his successor… a line on the ground doesn't frighten me at all compared to that!" he assured, gulping ever so slightly. "I want to know the madness he spoke of! Now!"

She patted the dust off her. It was foolish to think she'd be able to deter someone who found a way to get Andromeda without killing anyone. "Alright…but don't shed any tears for the illusion of the home you will now lose."

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Underworld, Giudecca

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Back at the entrance of the palace of Hades, Daemon Lucifer's body recovered from the burning nerve attack and got to his feet and faced the two enraged Judges before the whirling dome of pure darkness that trapped the two Gods. The Celestial Star of Pride stored the ripped page of the False Specter condemnations and his Yours Ever pendant inside his chest plate again, having no way to channel Thanatos' power through it anymore without the Book, and rushed his mind to the next step of his plan.

He glanced at the dome. "I only have a couple of minutes. Hypnos will surely find a way out of his own spell!" He returned his gaze back at the Judges. "I'll have to get rid of these two and join my army before he does! With lightspeed battling, I'll surely save time," he then clenched his armored fists tensely, gritting his teeth and letting out a chilling roar and burst aflame his purple aura of cosmos, making it crackle with blue electricity. "Come, you two! Let's see if the wrath of the Judges of the Underworld is anything to fear after all!"

Gryphon Minos groaned and tossed the Book of the Dead all the way to the Dome, setting it away from Lucifer, and with a setup step and a unison shout, Minos and Aiacos charged their auras alight as well. The three powers rose like pillars in the staircase, letting out faint emanations of energy and lightly trembling the palace itself. The two Judges assumed their poses, making their wings unfurl in the air and projecting the images of the frightful bird beasts they were cursed with, their hybrid screeches deafening the battlefield.

"Rhadamanthys always said you were up to something, Lucifer. It seems he was right all along!" commented Minos, resetting his strings in preparation for an attack. "I just never imagined you'd commit such level of sacrilege!"

The Prince scoffed. "What is 'sacrilege' to a lying God?!" argued Lucifer, slowly tensing his body and resting hands aside, exposing his chest invitingly. His red eyes then shone and his aura inflated, projecting the illusion of a red-skinned, bat-winged demon facing off against the griffin and the bird monster. He then smirked at Aiacos. "Though I suppose Suikyo there will learn pretty soon just how deep the rabbit hole goes with Hades!"

This made Aiacos snap! "ENOUGH OF YOUR GARBAGE! I'll send you to the stars themselves!" he screamed, transforming his aura into a multicolored, blazing wrap of light and charging straight ahead with a hand reaching for Lucifer's collar at the speed of light. "GARUDA FLA-!" But just as Garuda's hand lunged at him, it penetrated an afterimage and his wrist was grabbed from the side and pulled over Lucifer's shoulder with a roar from the Daemon, tossing the speeding Judge right back at Minos with a scream!

The Gryphon barely had time to widen his eyes before the launching rocket of Garuda's speeding body collided with him like a huge cosmos shot and bashed him straight through Guidecca's staircase and through the marble to the other side, hitting and dragging through the far off floor till they crashed into the mountainside.

Minotaur and Basilisk shouted their names and Lucifer immediately leaped down the staircase to the open field, facing off the Skeleton Soldier army they commanded. His rising visage contemplated the enemy army mass, who rattled their swords, grasped their scythes, pointed their crossbows and made their prayers.

Even Sylphid and Minotaur sweated for a moment, about to order their forces to fight the most powerful Specter of all.

The red-eyed Specter surveyed them, not insensitive to the meaning of the moment. "You have all vague memories of me, do you not, memories of me leading you in the battle against Saints, destroying everyone foolish enough to stand in my way?!" Lucifer shouted them, body brimming with energy. "I will therefore not waste a second reminding you of the price of standing in my way. Move aside or prepare to DIE!"

Minotaur swallowed his fear and raised his hand. "MEN, OPEN FIRE!" he commanded, pointing finger at Lucifer. "KILL THE PRINCE!"

"SHOOT HIM DOWN!" the order relayed, causing lines of poisoned-bolt arbalests to reel and countless metal triggers to be pressed, firing off a black, rising wave of toxin-tipped bolts that engulfed the sky.

Time seemingly slowed down in Lucifer's perspective. His red eyes observed the attack, reflecting on how pointless it was. The stardust-reinforced steel of the bolts could use the kinetic energy to penetrate minor armors, making Skeleton Soldier battalions deadly to the likes of Silver Saints.

But to people like him?!

The black mass of bolts curved and gently lowered towards him, accelerating again, and, with a body swing and a roar, his black cape swept the hair, enlarged by the darkness of his Cosmos, and lashed the whole mass of bolts like a massive whip, sweeping them aside and making them puncture the ground helplessly like a shattered wave. With a brief blue crackling of electricity, Lucifer then sprinted from his spot and charged straight at the Skeleton Soldiers.

Minotaur shouted another command. The scythe-men and swordsmen roared, many of them grasping their weapons in prayer, and charged back, surrounding and closing in on the speeding locomotive going their way. Lucifer could almost count the micro-seconds till the first impact when he approached the first row of attacking soldiers when, with a burst of cosmos, he sped up to light speed and lunged his foot, turning it into a huge blue lightning bolt-shaped like a screeching devil that punched right through the mass of metal and flesh with a body-shattering force, sending countless enemies flying everywhere.

With the impact slowly absorbed by the stardust of their armors, the lightning bolt dispersed and Lucifer landed dragging somewhere in the dispersed middle of the army, another wave of men already blindingly swinging swords and scythes. A series of brutal physical impacts, however, broke poles, shattered edges, crushed armor and spit bone apart, all in fractions of seconds, with a black and red blur striking back and forth, left and right between the fighters, practically traveling across the valley of Giudecca with these successive blow flows.

In the meantime, fallen Skeletons got back up, feeling shock and pain reeling in their bodies but revived by the undying will of Hades, borderline immortal without a refreshed seal to keep them down.

Lucifer rushed up to a captain, caught his sword edge, twisted his arm and shattered his neck with a jump kick instantly. Spotting the enemies getting back on their feet, his hands sprouted a long spear of purple cosmos, one of his Dark Spear Barrage missiles, and he punctured the leader in the crown, filling the air with his tortured screams and splashing his body with blood. Another tried to grab him and the back of his fist swung so hard that the attempter's head was twisted by the bash one eighty degrees, followed by another Dark Spear impalement. When the rest of the mob jumped on him, a shattering burst of cosmos took them all out instantly before Dark Spears sprouted from the ground, piercing their hearts and pulling them up.

Catching two of their falling scythes, the Daemon leaped through another battalion and started spreading death, bloodshed, and dismemberment everywhere, strengthening the edges of the blades with his electrical cosmos to bind his reviving victims and tearing right through the closed-in groups like a raging wolverine. Some tried to close in with crossbow bolts, but close fighters were kicked towards them, knocking them out. Another giant Skeleton tried to catch the devil but instead, a scythe was buried with a spin kick deep into his forehead like a pickaxe, silencing him instantly. More fanatic Skeletons threw themselves on the unstoppable Prince but were only met with accelerating counters, slashes, and blows, the Pride Star blasting straight through the battalions like butter.

Sylphid and Minotaur watched the whole thing with fury. The soldiers couldn't do anything; not only was Lucifer vastly more powerful as a Gold Rank, but he knew their tactics better than anyone. His blitzing moves were preventing the organization tight formations and the repetition of mass fire.

Snorting out with rage, Minotaur Gordon's arm was immersed with black Cosmos. "GRAND AXE CRUSHER!" and he swept it down, crushing the floor and firing off a trailing shockwave.

It tore right through his own men and struck Lucifer's body, blasting him off against the side of the battlefield with the force but otherwise only able to tear his cape. Lucifer rolled through the ground and groaned. "Ugh… time to deal with you!"

The bull-armored man laughed and super-sped right at him and went for a close descending slash blow "HA HA! TAKE IT AGAIN! AXE CRUSHER!"

But Lucifer roared and bashed his arm down with his remaining scythe, pinning it to the ground.

Gordon huffed and puffed, but couldn't pull it off. He saw Lucifer's fist immersing with energy. "S-SHIT!"

"DARK SPEAR BARRAGE!" the Daemon screamed, swinging his arm up to Gordon's torso blasting Gordon's body all over with a barrage of armor-penetrating blows, shattering his Minotaur Surplice with countless round presses and making his mouth gasp out blood.

For the first time, the berserking Skeletons hesitated. "L-LORD GORDON!"

But the Victory Star flew past them with a fist immersed in the wind. "OUT OF MY WAY! ANNIHILATION FLAP-" But Lucifer sped right at him and struck his young face with his elbow, shattering the nose with the force of his own charge's impact. "GHAA!

His hand then sprouted a large orb of blinding purple light. "I have no time for you children! DARK REVENGE BLAST!" and he fired the orb at point-blank range which swallowed up the screaming young Specter with an explosion of electrical darkness cosmos which span and swelled into a huge, blinding orb of light.

It exploded, shattering the battlefield and smoke-screening the entire area, leaving behind a crater with the two collapsed Specters and countless fallen and shocked Skeletons. Wasting no time, Lucifer's aura burst and he sped way out of there, running straight towards the 7th Prison.

And so he drove like a meteor on his cosmos through the Underworld, appearing to onlookers like a blazing trail of light going through the hills at devastating speed. He left behind the plains of Giudecca and entered the frozen terrain of Cocytus. "I have to hurry! I have to get to Pandora's castle now!" he looked up ahead. "With all the prisons straightened by the False Specters, all I have to do is charge straight ahead!"

The 7th Prison Skeletons stood on the frozen hills overlooking the wasteland and pointed at the blazing shooting star. "SOUND THE ALARM! He's about to enter the 6th Prison!"

"YOU MUST STOP HIM AT ALL COSTS!" a Skeleton captain screamed mentally to his comrades afar.

"WE CAN'T! EVERYTHING HERE IS IN CHAOS!"

The captain widened his eyes. "What the hell do you mean?!"

"The dead are roaming everywhere! Someone booby-trapped all the locks and chains in our Prisons!" the 6th Prison Skeletons responded.

"COCYTOS; this is the 5th prison! The zeds are spilling through the cauldrons! Our position is completely compromised, over!" another mental messaged screamed.

"SHIT!" the captain shouted, kicking a nearby cart. "Those blasted False Specters! Someone has to stop Lucifer!"

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Chapter 39

Second Arc

Episode 6

The Exodus - Part 3 of 3

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Andromeda Island

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Bringing Shinta further within the premise of the volcanoes, the Queen of Andromeda Island thought about how to give this difficult lesson. She wished Guardnia was still there to give it personally; not only did she never ask for Shinta's head to get turned upside down by this nonsense, but he was better at handling students. Cynthia was only good at coordinating teams, maybe take care of one trainee at a time, like Elda, at best.

So just like she had done to Saint Pegasus back at the Festival over his treatment of Orpheé, she just used her severe trainer tone. "There's a couple of things you need to understand about Sanctuary as of late, Shinta, the first being that the definition of Black Saints we taught you very recently."

The green-haired boy's eyes perked up. Saint Cynthia was referring to how anyone who used Cosmos clandestinely was a Black Saint rogue. "How so? How recent is it?"

"The modern definition was established and adopted by Sanctuary during the Third Civil War, at the counsel of Saint Gemini, then being Lord Akassius. Have you heard of him?" she asked.

To which Shinta gave a hesitant nod. "He saved me from Cetus…" Wondering where this was going, Shinta then asserted "He looked like a good man. I wasn't wrong… was I?"

Cynthia sighed, putting a hand on skirted hip. This was another hard lesson she would have to give Shinta. "He is,kiddo. That's the problem."

The Andromeda Saint blinked. "Uh? How could that be a problem?" he asked, genuinely irritated. Sometimes it felt that figures like Lance and Cynthia would say silly things just to act tough and demoralize him.

The Amazon looked up at the volcanoes. "Andromeda Island was once ruled by Cepheus, the King. By the standards of his day, he was a good man. He was willing to sacrifice his daughter to drive off the monster Cetus, save the realm and calm the mob. Nowadays he would be seen as a brute who jumped the gun and didn't try hard enough to find a third way." She then pointed her thumb at the far off Living Area. "I'm sure you've heard his voice sometimes, asking you to 'test' Albiore… to 'test' yourself."

Shinta shivered. "He's…he's not nice. He keeps asking me to use the training dagger in ways I don't want to. It's not the same. Mr. Akassius was different, he-"

"What in Akassius makes you think that, Shinta?"

He set his foot down. "Obviously he intended to help me!"

But as if playing into her lesson, Cynthia just shook her head further. "The Underworld is full of good intentions, Andromeda," she responded before clearing her throat. "I want to be clear because this is a difficult matter… In Sanctuary, just like in Lallybelle back in the Myth Age, terrible things are asked of Kings, Popes, and Princes. The Third Civil War may as well have brought us back to the Myth Age because it has changed Sanctuary in a way that it hasn't been seen in a long time."

This got Shinta's full attention. Was this what Master Guardnia was referring to? "Tell me more!"

Her hand raised to halt him. "If I do, what will you do with the knowledge, Bronze Saint?"

The question took him by surprise. "I… I don't know…" His eyes narrowed. "I'll help fix it! I'll find a way to help Sanctuary go back to the way it was! I just know I'm no good to you all in the dark!"

There was a beat in which the volcanoes of Andromeda Island rumbled slightly, responding to the emotions of the strongest being present on the island. The light and the heat grew more intense, intimidating the Queen.

But still, she shook her head. "That response… is exactly what I was afraid of," she confessed. "What if there's nothing to fix, Shinta? What if I told you that if you walked off this island and started helping Sanctuary, only to get the door slammed right on your nose?"

Feeling confronted, the younger Saint took a step back. Was he really that visibly out of focus? Of course, his cosmos alone should be enough for others to sense the conflict inside him. Needless to say, ever since the 88 Knights Festival, he had not felt the same. Shinta often got distracted by bad thoughts, ranging from Guardnia's death to Lance's fight with him. While the letter he got put some water on the scalding, Shinta still felt like his life had been broken to pieces and he could barely keep it straight sometimes.

"Saint Guardnia, he told me…" Shinta muttered, looking utterly lost. His eyes looked like they would tear up with the mess inside his head. "He told me I had to!"

The Cassiopeia Saint sighed. She had a bad feeling about this from observing the kid lately and now it got proven right. "I knew something was distracting you, Shinta… I was certain that by now you ought to have figured out how to break Albiore's shell, but you haven't been thinking straight, have you?"

This was probably affecting his duties as a teacher. "I… I haven't, have I?" His hands covered his face, realizing the damage he caused. "N-no, I… I wanted to do my best, I swear!"

The older Saint carefully took his arms and hugged him closely. Immediately she felt the panic in his shaking body. "It's okay."

"I m-miss him so much!" Shinta wailed, fingers tightening against palms so furiously he could tear through flesh. "I don't know what to do! I want to lash out and fix things. Why can't I?"

She patted his head and then cursed both Guardnia and Nam to herself, the former for putting these thoughts in poor Shinta's mind and the second for putting Albiore in his care. When he initially suggested sending Albiore to Shinta, Cynthia had protested, feeling like it was too much of a burden to put on the boy right after losing his father figure.

When she sensed that his breathing was calmer, Cynthia let go and tried to make her point, hoping it would drive into his head easier now. "I'm gonna tell you who you're up against, Shinta." Cynthia suddenly said. She then rose all her fingers. "Everyone, literally everyone…."

Andromeda wiped his eyes. "E-Everyone?"

She nodded. "Yes, from the lowest villager who resents Pope Arles for taxes, to the most powerful aristocrat who wants the Pope to form closer ties with Cetus. From the foot soldiers who think Lemurians with unfair advantages should get barred from service to the Saintias who look down on Amazons for being brutish, unrefined ogres who don't care about their femininity. Everyone in Sanctuary has a reason to hate each other, do you understand?"

Beads of tears formed in the corners of Shinta's eyes. "W-why? Just because of some war?!"

If only it were this simple. "Not just 'some war', Shinta, but the war! Everything changed when your grandmaster betrayed the Pope. Everyone picked a side and got very vocal about it."

Still, the pacifist had the instinct to protest this notion. He didn't want to go against her word, but his principles forced him to. "How so? I don't understand that. All my life I've been told that Saints shouldn't even fight each other, so how could everyone be on opposite sides?"

"We weren't…. not right away." she twisted. Cynthia saw how distressed he got and wanted to hug him again, but Shinta needed to know the unadulterated truth. He crossed the line, after all. "I and my friends all had to fight the war… Kassius got bitter, Nam got cowardly, everyone else learned to be paranoid and hateful…And I gained a little poison of my own. It brought the worst in all of us. To help us focus and stop fighting each other, Akassius understood that someone had to be blamed for it all."

The Andromeda Saint took this in, reflecting back on everything he had ever seen in Sanctuary about its people and problems. It made some sense what Cynthia said; he had spotted those people that one time in Sanctuary Town just glaring at the Pope, shopkeepers acted bizarrely with him, like that one who kept overcharging him, and Saints like Lance seemed convinced that everyone was out to get them. Ionia had tried to drag that poor girl Alexis into the army with no concern of what had just happened to her. Someone tried to kill the Pope and kidnapped Shinta's teacher. Saint Kastiel refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing in abandoning Lance in Mount Olympus.

"Then the war ended… it had to, after all, Priam and his goons were killed at the Battle of the Spire, or so we thought." Cynthia resumed. "But as the dust settled and the wounds closed… I think everyone realized that we were still angry and afraid. All of our problems came back to haunt us again. And then Akassius retired… All of a sudden our scapegoat, our target, was gone, and we had no one to turn against but each other."

The green-haired boy was distraught. "So everyone became even crazier…" he concluded.

Her hand laid out. "I always thought you were right about one thing, Shinta; violence does do nothing but breed more violence. We have the past ten or so years of tense, paranoid peace to prove you right," she pointed out. "But that begs the question; what would break said escalation? Would you go out there and beat up everyone who ever mistreated you for being Japanese? What about everyone who has ever mistreated a trainee unnecessarily, like Kastiel?"

Needless to say that Shinta was shocked by the notion. "Of course not, I'd never do such a-" he then bit his tongue. "… You're saying that normal people would, right?" His eyes then teared up again at this great frustration he always felt in life. "I know I'm the odd one out about pacifism, I just thought…"

She could see the effects that being around Saint Pegasus had on Shinta. Back in the day, the bright, optimistic Shinta would never question his own faith that the world could be improved if everyone just wished it so and if he gave his best example to others. Now he was hesitating in it, biting his tongue and giving pause to his own thoughts. This wasn't just the effect of Guardnia's death, this was also two years of seeing for himself what Saints going out there on missions like herself and Pegasus Lance had to witness every day.

"I know you're not the type to fix every bent nail with a hammer, Shinta -" confessed Cynthia "But I don't see how else you'd go about it, and 'fixing' his problems with Kastiel brought your friend nothing but trouble for years, remember? The Bronze and Silver Saint Orders still despise Lance after all this time. I've heard people say that someone saw a foot soldier just sock him right in the middle of the street when he was with that Gold-rank trainee kid from the Gemini House. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Andromeda hesitated. Something told him he already knew where this line of argument was going. He, therefore, had nothing but silence as a response.

"Shinta, we only are the way we are because we are humans. Sanctuary is a reflection of the best and the worst we got to offer on this planet. The fact we have cosmos is just an accelerant to our morality, not a cure or disease. If you force Sanctuary to be the way you like if you choose to have that arrogance… would you afterward topple countries, nations, empires?" she asked. "Would you go house to house and fix everything recurrently wrong with the world? When would your 'pacifism' end?"

These words struck like a hammer on Shinta. After a brief beat where he attempted to say something, his head lowered in defeat

She sighed. "I know this is hard for you accept… especially because your teacher never really did, either, but our neutrality, our passivity even… is there to protect us from ourselves." She then grasped her chains, thinking about her Cassiopeia armor and the problems it brought her, and how many times she wished she could just smash its stupid obligations to pieces. "If I can do that, you can too."

The Bronze Saint paced around, considering all these factors, seemingly unsure what to say. He understood deep down, despite being a pacifist, why all of this mattered. He knew, after all, how dangerous people with cosmos are, and how crazy the world could get if people like him would just go around imposing their views on everyone.

However, without the guiding hand of Athena, and therefore without Sanctuary being a good example, Shinta doubted he could expect the world to get any better. Though he had never seen or particularly believed in the absent Goddess' influence in everyday life, he identified a lot with her ideals and what she urged Sanctuary to uphold, like using force strictly to defend oneself, using wisdom to better the world and reconciling with the enemy.

A question, therefore, popped to his head. "How do you do it, then? How can we be 'Saints'… and yet not do what we vowed to do?" he punctured. "What is the point of all this?"

It was Cynthia's turn to express distraught, in her case by the laying down of arms "I wish I knew." she confessed. "People are more xenophobic than ever. Pope Arles isn't trusted anymore. Even I have to accept Cetus' sick presence because we need to stay united in these difficult times. I mean… just imagine; if instead of a little village like Arcadia, tomorrow the Zodiac got attacked by Specters, a full invasion? Some people say it is impossible because of the seal, but many also thought something like Ismara and Arcadia couldn't happen for the same reason. What if instead of focusing on our mission we were acting self-righteous and judging each other?"

He looked back at her. "What did King Cetus do to you? What does he mean to your Cloth? And to mine?"

And the Amazon's whole body suddenly shook, taking a step back, as if struck by a punch. "It… it doesn't matter right now." Her chains ruffled, denouncing the tension in her hands. "He has power over us, that's all you need to understand why you must avoid him."

Shinta understood this was somehow a touchy topic for Saint Cynthia, so he instead moved to his final question. "Saint Cynthia, we've been at peace for a long time, right? War with Hades won't come for another seventeen years… how can we heal from all this fear?"

She took a deep breath. "I think that in the end, fear is a lot more powerful than anyone gives it credit for... but were you ever really afraid yourself?"

Shinta blinked. "I… of course not, but that's because-"

"That's because Guardnia knew well enough to put that aside, even when administering False Freedom to you, is that what you were going to say?" Cynthia guessed, shocking Shinta. "Kids… can sense when their parents and teachers are hiding something, Shinta. They can tell when you're confused, afraid, second-guessing yourself. That's your answer. Don't poison Albiore's mind with our crap… It is our problem, and just be the best Master you can be."

Visibly stunned, the green-eyed boy faced away, rethinking everything he had been musing about for the past few months. Unable to blame him, Cynthia gave him some space.

Seeing how late it was getting from her pocket watch, however, the Amazon lambasted herself. "Shinta, I need to know if you're going to focus on your task. I'm not sure exactly what Guardnia told you, but I don't want you thinking you should run back to Sanctuary and follow his and Priam's footsteps in taking on the entire status quo for such stupid reasons."

His expression saddened, not consoled.

She tapped her foot loudly. "Answer me!"

But the Bronze Saint shook his head. "I understand now. I'm going to do what's best for Albiore… but I'm not going to turn my back on anyone who needs help, especially you."

She watched him turn his back on her and grasped her chains. Seeing him unmoved, Cynthia whipped her chain at him!

But the green-haired boy's body bobbed at the speed of light, dodging the lunge, and made a sweeping turn, countering with his own chain launch with wrapped around Cynthia's, arresting it with a sudden tense pull. The links tugged and cringed like two powerful machines pulled them, and the wrapping point crackled with clashing cosmos, and Cynthia's whole body went whiter, haunted by the strength and speed felt in the frail-looking boy.

In that very moment, within a brief instant even, perhaps due to a personal connection or perhaps simply because of powerful exchange of energy between the weapons, the Amazon felt the incredible power behind his constellation. It was like a vast galaxy hiding behind a beautiful, far off shine. Within it, a determined passion to help others was sensed, even at the cost of itself, and Cynthia was reminded of the deeply rooted values behind the Princess of the island, who despite her immaturity and spoiled attitude, accepted her father's demand to sacrifice herself for her people.

With constellations blazing in the background, he stared at her, arm barely bothered by the strength she tried to wrestle, his pink cosmos burning and contesting with her light blue. He let her feel for a bit how much stronger he had gotten in the war tugging before gently and respectfully unwrapping his chain from hers, jerking it around his forearm like a coiled cord.

The Amazon trembled in shock. She only intended to catch his arm and drag him back a bit to test his feelings. This couldn't be the gap between them? Did the Taurus House training make that much of a difference?

He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Saint Cynthia, I didn't mean to disrespect you." He apologized, nodding head. Seeing she couldn't speak, he frowned disheartened, having not meant any of this. It was hugely shameful to affront upper-ranked Saints by showing how much stronger you were.

Her arm rested aside slowly, her pride completely shaken. "That's… that's alright. I know you understand what I mean to say. You're a good person, Saint Andromeda."

But the boy made a vow. "Saint Cynthia, I promise I will focus on Albiore, you don't have to worry about a thing." He guaranteed, soothing her. "But I also need you to understand I'm not going to stop helping people and believing we are better than our hate and fear. It's what I became a Saint for. And no Specter threat or old war is going to make me think otherwise… I will see you back at the Living Area. I'm deeply sorry about all of this."

Cassiopeia then watched the boy leave, paralyzed by what just happened. "You fool… you sweet fool…." she thought to herself. Idealistic people like Shinta and Guardnia were always the first to suffer and do folly in Sanctuary. "I hope the Specters really do lay dormant for seventeen more years…and maybe we'll heal just enough that you'll be proven right."

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Underworld

The 5th Prison

The Walls of Dis

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

The purple meteor of cosmos that was the speeding Daemon Lucifer now blazed through the fields of the burning tombs. Defeating Minotaur Gordon back in Giudecca had allowed him now to move straight through the magic twists and turns of his Labyrinth and the roaming undead were now everywhere, attacking the True Skeletons and wrecking the Underworld, spreading chaos all around the Underworld. ~

Soon he would get past the Walls of Dis, which he could already sense at the distance, after which point he would be able to cross the Prisons much faster and join the False Specters. They were built out of white stone brick like old Mediterranean cities, and they rose high with battlements to look down on the 4th and 5th Prisons it separated so the Skeletons could shoot down any incoming rafts from the Styx from afar, but they could do little against a committed Gold-rank assault, much less Daemon Lucifer himself.

"THERE HE IS!" The guards screamed, lowering the ballistae built on top of the battlement. "SHOOT HIM DOWN! NOW!" The ropes were cut and the levers were pulled, releasing dozens of crossbow arrows and a wave of huge, chained ballista bolts which the charging purple bullet easily dodged with a lightning fast zigzag and deflection.

Slowing down by the massive garrisoned wall encirclement ahead, Lucifer's hand charged another blast and fired it at the gates. "OUT OF MY WAY!" The lightspeed energy blast shot like a cannon and blasted the reinforced gates, sending Skeletons flying and screaming everywhere. He then dashed through the portcullis corridor, effortlessly dodging more crossbow bolts. "I don't have time for any of this! At any minute those two will break free!"

The silver-haired man had to screech to a halt, however, when he reached the margin of the dark river Styx, which would allow him to get to the 4th Prison. It's swampy, bubbling waters could swallow up someone as strong as even him if he tried to cross by swimming, but with Lycaon Coronis already moving up to Pandora's Castle with the rest of the False Specters, Lucifer would have to improvise.

At first, he considered transforming the Daemon Surplice, unleashing its true winged form, but he decided to simply take several steps back, dash ahead and leap off the ground, using his powerful cosmos to bolster his jump across the vast river. For a flying moment, all he saw was himself catapulted over the long, dark expanse of the Styx, seeing the struggling undead howl and raise their arms everywhere in its surface. Eventually, just when he thought he had miscalculated the distance, the other margin appeared on the horizon and his body landed like a comet on the shores, spreading black mud everywhere.

He was now in the 4th Prison, the filled-up Dark Swamp of the Styx, raised up by the quay of the Dis Walls. His red eyes raised determinedly at the distance, intent on making it to Acheron next.

So focused he was that he barely had time to notice the two trails of light which blindsided and crashed on him, impacting the devil with such force that he got sent screaming and dragging through the mud, crashing through naked trees and boulders, all the way to the other end of the Prison. Fingers grasping the ground to make him stop, the Specter hissed like an angry, adrenaline-pumped cat and he got up to watch the two Judges of the Underworld land before him, blazing their auras of cosmos.

Aiacos didn't even hesitate, dashing at Lucifer and attacking him with a series of mad swings. Lucifer bobbed left and right and leapt back, trying to defend himself, but the infuriated Garuda attacked with such ferocity he landed a rising knee blow on Lucifer's stomach and then bashed him off with a sidekick.

Aiacos' cosmos then burned and he crossed his hands above his head. "TAKE THIS! GALACTIC ILLUSION!!" and the trio of nerve-striking blasts were again fired. The Prince acted preemptively, though, striking his own senses while still in the air, blocking off his own sight. Garuda gasped and watched the dark attack hit Lucifer's body helplessly, failing to connect with his nervous system. "What?! He blinded himself?!"

"COSMIC MARIONATION!" Gryphon shouted, catching Lucifer and pulling him back at them. Launching forward like rockets, the two Judges attacked the Daemon in combination, taking turns with punch and fist assaults that were somehow struggled and fought off as if the man's sight had not been taken at all.

The two heavily armed judges, frustrated, hit Lucifer with a air-blasting combined punch, which still got hampered by a cross guard, and Lucifer got shot through the ground, trailing through it all the way almost to the edge of the passageway to the Third Prison.

Minos landed. "Just keep the pressure on! I have him on my cords!" he shouted at Aiacos, jerking his fingers to pull Lucifer's body back up. With erected wings, the Gryphon then launched to their and swept his arm, steeling his strings into bladed weapons. "ROARING TALON!" But with another strike on his own eyes, Lucifer seemingly reactivated his sight, and he narrowed them furiously at the incoming slice strings. His body, in momentum, summoned a large orb of blue electricity in his hand and his other one rushed through Minos's sweeping arm, catching him by the neck and colliding him against the floor. "G-GAH!"

"LIGHTNING FANG!" Lucifer screamed, smashing the orb of lighting against Minos core, pinning him with the blow on the ground and unleashing a massive electrical pulse which not only struck the Judge directly but had its residual energy conducted back to the Norwegian Specter through the attached strings. The Judge screamed in horrible pain, flailing around, and the shockwave eventually pulsed out, shattering the ground and convulsing the Judge, his heavy metal armor fuming.

Aiacos hesitated. "That… that was a Leo Saint move!" he realized. He charged on regardless and pulled Lucifer off his brother-in-arms with a lariat strike to his neck, using the weight of his Garuda Surplice to his advantage but barely harming the Prince, who brushed him off with a body twist and almost landed a devastating kick which Aiacos had to leap away from, dragging heels back on landing.

He saw Lucifer's eyes bleeding slightly from having temporarily shut off his sense. Intent on keeping the advantage their surprise attack had granted them, Aiacos launched himself, knowing they simply had to hold off the Prince until Lords Hades and Hypnos woke up. "WE'LL MAKE YOU PAY, LUCIFER! WE'LL STRING YOU UPSIDE DOWN THE STYX and watch the DEAD EAT YOU ALIVE!"

The Celestial Pride Star charged up his battle aura, gritting teeth. "Come and get me, you failures! I'll be happy to vent five centuries of frustration on you!"

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Surface

Pandora's Earthly Castle

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Pandora ceased to play her harp as Valentine and his Skeletons assumed battle poses behind her, staring at the black doors and patiently awaiting for the battle to come to them. Many furious steps climbing the staircase to Hell could be heard from the other side, making the floor vibrate and small pebbles to fall from the old, decayed stone ceiling. It was doomed to happen sooner or later, but that didn't mean that they would let them get past the first room.

The Celestial Wailing Star, Valentine, turned to her. "Milady, you should run! They'll be here any second!" he then ordered his men around. "Arm your arbalests! I want those bastards skewered like pigs as soon as they break down the door!"

But the girl eyed him, affronted. "I refuse… Run from these fake Specters? Who do you think I am? I'm the sister of Hades!" she boasted. The door suddenly shook with a blow it took from the other side and the Skeletons gasped and trembled, but Pandora stayed resolute. "And this is my home, my castle! I won't move a single inch. So fight for your lives, you miserable rabble, because if you let these traitors through, I will be the first to recommend to Minos for your next vacation to take place in the boiling blood cauldrons!"

"BUT Lady-"

The large, twin, dark doors standing tall between the harp room and the staircase to Hell burst open, spreading metal and wooden fragments everywhere, and a mass of dark-armored men quickly entered the room, confronting the defenders.

"Fire, FIRE!" screamed the Skeletons, shooting their bolts.

The Mandrake False Specter leaped forward and unleashed the metal face in his cuirass. "STRANGLE SHILL!" it then shouted out, to the shock of the onlookers, a soundwave so powerful that it completely deflected the missiles, tore the furniture and carpet, blasting away several True Skeletons.

But Harpy bashed his wing against it, protecting Pandora and severing the sound wave. He then jumped and kicked Mandrake back to his friends with a light-speed blow, brandishing his claws menacingly at them. "BACK OFF, TRAITORS! The first to try to touch Pandora will have his heart ripped out– GAAHH!" he screamed, and the white-haired youth fell to the ground, grasping his chest.

Sphinx Neferti took the lead of the mob, playing the bass tunes of her harp. "Balance of Curse!" she chanted, making Valentine squirm further as he felt his core wanting to tear out his chest as if a heavy rock was inside pushing it out. The rest of the guards also held to their beating hearts and collapsed, afflicted by the technique.

The False Specters and Skeletons cheered, feeling their superiority.

Some of them helped Mandrake back up to his feet and pointed at the enemy skeletons. "Take them out, take them out now before they recover!"

Amid the chaos, Pandora remained calm. She scoffed, "What a terrible tune… I see that in two years your skill hasn't improved at all."

As the room filled up more and more with entering False Specters, the tanned Specter sneered at her. "Then maybe I should play it to you next, you bitch!"

Pandora snapped her fingers. Neferti then barely had time to look aside when a gigantic fist swung right at her and exploded on her face, knocking her back with a pained scream, shattering her nose. The False Specters gasped and rushed to her. "LADY NEFERTI!"

Harpy and the True Skeletons gasped out in relief, the curse lifted and their heartbeats returned to normal. Upon looking at who attacked her, however, the whole room went silent.

Armored with the most terrible Surplice of all, Wyvern Rhadamanthys, the Celestial Star of Fury, glared at the mob of traitors who dared to affront all the God of the Underworld, freezing them in place with a fanged sneer emanating a fog hungry for blood. Even the arrival of the rest of the False Specter Elites didn't calm the group before this sight.

"It's… it's Rhadamanthys…!" muttered Troll Grendel.

Ainsel's arm held the men back. "Everyone stay relaxed…"

Pandora chuckled. "You never did like her music either, did you, Rhadamanthys?"

The Judge stepped forward, his presence inspiring Harpy and the others back on their feet. "I knew it… I knew something was going on…so I decided to stay by your pathetic campaign's exit point to make sure you didn't try anything." He explained, his low, growling tone more dragon than human. "But never in my life did I imagine that creatures as pathetic as you all would dare to betray the Emperor in such a disgusting fashion!"

Valentine was visibly more nervous than the Wyvern, sweating and charging his cosmos beforehand. "W-What is going on in the Underworld with the rest?" he wondered. "How did these guys make it so far here in open revolt?!"

Wyvern's aura manifested, unleashing a blunt pulse which battered everyone's hair, intimidating the enemy. "We'll have plenty of time to torture the answer out of them! For now, I only have one question to them…" he then raised chin, confident in victory. "Will you surrender and beg for Hades' mercy, you dishonorable cowards, or will you resist and be annihilated first?!"

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

2nd Circle, 4th Prison

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Garuda Aiacos roared, charging on the Daemon, and swinging his fist in the air, but Lucifer's punch bashed his face straight across, blasting him back. Giving chase, the speeding Devil was about to kick and stomp down the Valiance Star when Gryphon blindsided and struck him back, stunning him. With a burst of his aura, Lucifer struck in return, bashing Minos' guard with a powerful heavy blow that shook his whole armored body, then swung left to pummel Aiacos, and then right back with an elbow to Minos' raised forearm, each blow thundering in the battlefield with such force that the ground shook, the air split into currents and sparks of electricity flew everywhere. The exchanges sped up, with the Pride Star throwing punches and kicks back and forth with the two Judges, seamlessly moving across the dark swamp with the momentum and force like a trio of clashing electrodes.

Shockwaves battered the air over and over. Blood spattered on the trees and rocks when metal hit flesh, pained grunts were heard and vengeful roars accompanied physical attacks going all over the place, further damaging the landscape. All around the chaotic clash of forces, more and more undead broke free of the swamp, infesting the place, and bystander Skeletons rallied around to try to cut them down.

The two flying Judges viciously pressed on, throwing fists at the devil with such fury that the Prince's body was slowly pushed back in mid-air in attempts to guard against the attacks. Gryphon's wing suddenly flapped forward, striking him with a Gigantic Feather Flap wave, hitting Lucifer head-on and shooting him back towards the edge of the Prison, before Aiacos blitzed around him with a hand immersed in cosmos to try a second Garuda Flap.

But the blow had not stunned the Daemon hard enough. He dragged his foot back, dodging the back attack, and his body flipped over to kick Aiacos' side, staggering him. The reeling of cords was heard and Lucifer was forced to roll over so he wouldn't get caught or sliced up, and the ground was cut apart in perfect edges, erupting large sections of the floor up to the skies. Dashing onwards like two purple blasts, the screaming Judges tried to capitalize on the Prince's reaction time, but the Left Hand of Hades, narrowing crimson eyes, foresaw their intentions and counter struck with an electrified blow to Aiacos's chest which shocked and bashed him off away from his partner.

Bobbing his body to then dodge Minos' powerful swing, Lucifer's knee struck his lunging body, making a massive counter force explode on Minos' chest which made him gasp out and step back. Fueled by the fanatic rage of a wronged Specter, though, Minos' cosmos-immersed hands reached out and tried to cast another attack, but Lucifer caught them, grasping fingers with the Judge in a power lock.

The pale-haired Gryphon gritted his teeth in fury and sweated bullets, feeling the strain of the attack he just took but refusing to manifest it, and he pushed against Lucifer with only the thought of avenging the Emperor's honor in mind. Much to his shock, the Celestial Star of Pride proved to have even more brute strength than he thought; as Minos' heels dragged back through the floor and the muscles in Lucifer's arms bulged, two clashing orbs of cosmos formed in their hands, making darkness collide with darkness. Above them, the image of Gryphon contending with a demon's hands appeared and a mist of shadows seemed to ooze from the Prince's body and Surplice, making him look inhuman.

Lucifer chuckled. "Did you think me weak, perhaps?!" he then tightened his grasps, making even Minos' strong hands cringe with pain like pressed steel. An electrical aura appeared once more and Lucifer prepared to shock the Gryphon a second time. "You Judges know nothing of this world's adversaries yet! Allow me to drive that lesson for good inside your brain first, Minos!"

But the Gryphon suddenly let go and flapped his wings, taking off to the air, eyes on Lucifer and teeth-gritting in frustration. His wind-elemental cosmos was summoned, showing off the incredible force of a Judge with currents flowing around him like a huge hurricane, and the metal feathers on his wings glowed with blue light, ready for an attack. "LUNATIC SHOWER!" and with a flap-down of his wings, Minos unleashed a rain of dagger-edged missiles of bright blue light.

Lucifer squinted and leapt straight towards the attack. He was not able to fly, but this move was too similar to Michael's Infernal Cascade to work on him! With his body moving through the rain before the missiles split enough times to cover it, his hands pointed at the Judge and charged a large orb of gravity-twisting, electrically charged cosmos of purple darkness. "DARK REVENGE BLAST!" it then screeched as it reached its full size, larger than Lucifer himself. "FIRE!" and shot off straight at the suspended Judge.

With a graceful twirl, Minos dodge the huge blast, which flew off towards the Underworld Sky and exploded, unleashing a shockwave which disoriented him. Just as his senses recovered, though, the leaping Lucifer finally got past his height and came down on him with a hammer grasp blow, bashing him with such force that the Gryphon got sent straight down the floor, colliding with the boulders at the edge of the entrance of the Third Prison.

Before he fell, Lucifer made his aura charge out and unleashed a demonic screech. A sparking ball of cosmos formed in his hands. "GREATEST CAUTION!" and he fired off Rhadamanthys move, figuratively shocking Minos as a demon-shaped version of his peer's technique descended straight down on him and then swallowing him up in a beam of darkness which dragged the Judge straight into the valley of rolling boulders.

The Celestial Star of Pride landed on it, seeing already countless undead throwing off their shackles and dropping off the boulders to attack the nearby Skeletons. They even tried to mob the fallen Gryphon, who, while stunned at first, eventually recovered from the powerful move and blasted off the undead with a wind current.

Garuda Aiacos finally caught up, stepping behind Lucifer, and tried to catch him by surprise with a dash elbow blow, but Lucifer parried it with his arm, caught his wrist and twisted it aside, bending Aiacos down to his knee with a yelp.

The Nepalese sweated, feeling his body arrested. "D-damn you!" he struggled to break free, but the Prince was far more physically stronger than they had expected. His free hand burned its cosmos until it turned blue, summoning his secondary water element, and humidity began to gather around him like satellite orbs till it solidified and sharpened into glass-like shards.

With a roar and hurl of his body, Aiacos launched his free hand at Lucifer. "WHITE LOTUS ICE SPEAR!" and his palm commanded the shards to shoot. But Lucifer let go of him and tossed his own body aside, dodging the slicing throws which impaled a far off cliff and sliced it apart, loudly collapsing rubble down to the ground, only scratching a thin graze on the Prince's face. Aiacos, charging his cosmos, stumblingly got up and the three crystal eyes in his helmet blinked like stars with his next move. "GALACTIC ILLU-"

Daemon Lucifer suddenly stepped in and shoved his index, middle and ring finger like Cosmos-boosted daggers into his helmet's focusing crystals, shattering them and then blasted the Judge's chest with a side kick so powerful that the teenager got tossed and dragged through the ground, his cuirass cratered and cracked.

The Celestial Star of Pride couldn't help but laugh at Aiacos' misery. "The Surplice didn't teach you that move, did it?" Minos also got back up and confronted him, both seething with rage. The Daemon put a hand on his hip. "You two won't give up? Haven't you noticed this little fight hasn't been as easy as you presumed?" he mocked, seeing them panting and covered with wounds. Minos, in particular, had his helmet knocked off for good by Greatest Caution and was bleeding from gashes on his head.

Aiacos was bewildered. "I don't understand! We are the Judges of the Underworld and fighting him two to one!" His damaged fists clenched furiously in frustration.

Lucifer stood aside from them to not have his back to either. He wasn't exactly undamaged, with a few cuts and bruises here and there, but his Daemon Surplice was intact compared to the cracked up mess that Garuda and Gryphon looked now. "Hm, do I need to remind you of my rank, Suikyo?…. I was never on the same level as you two!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

But the Prince scoffed. "I will call you what I wish… It's actually amusing that you're after me like this, Suikyo. After all, you have as little reason to stay loyal to Hades as I do."

"WHY?!" the Judge demanded to know. "You were the Prince! Hades' Left Arm! You were supposed to be our champion, our general, our leader!"

But Lucifer just ignored his tantrum. "I still AM the PRINCE… just not of Hades anymore, nor of anyone else ever again! The Princes of the Underworld were born to kill the Godslayer. We have done nothing in our lives but prepare to be Hades' ultimate warriors. While you three contented yourselves with inheriting the power of your previous lives through the memories of your armors, Michael and I trained!" he then chuckled and laid out his hands. "And now here's the result…"

Seeing that Aiacos was foolishly taking Lucifer's words as fact, Minos was quick to argue back. "Stop listening to this traitor, AIACOS! You being so gullible is what got us in this mess!" he then smirked at Lucifer psychotically. "He's just bluffing… even if he got the drop on us, we don't have to beat him. All we have to do is hold him off here for a while until the Gods break free or Thanatos realizes what's happening!"

Lucifer irked. This was technically true. He would love to stick around and get his fists wet with ungrateful Judge blood, but he had to get going. "You're right, Minos… it's about time, I finish this." His fingers then tensed into fists and his aura charged once more.

The battered Gryphon readied his strings, filling the air with invisible cords. "Ah, can't wait to watch you try! Even if you somehow got past us, I can sense Charon on the other side of his river already! What would you do, Lucifer?! Would you swim across?!" he pointed out, smiling with the thought of it.

"LOOK! THEY'RE OVER THERE!" someone shouted, and the three looked over to see the Skeleton Armies of the 2nd Circle enclosing on them, taking down the roaming undead and surrounding the battlefield. "Lord Aiacos, we're here to support you!"

"My men…" Aiacos recognized. "Cover all the exits! We have to prevent Lucifer from escaping!"

The Daemon cursed his luck. Concentrating on his energy, he made his darkness cosmos focus even more. He feared no Skeleton, but now the clock was ticking faster.

Minos knew this and laughed out loud. "A wingless bat is what you are! This little betrayal of yours was doomed from the start. By now, I bet the replacements have been slaughtered in Pandora's Castle!" he gloated. "Charge all the power you want… you will never reach them in time!"

Instead of faltering, however, Aiacos only saw Lucifer's aura rose up instead, acquiring a strange new flow. "Something isn't right… Minos has a point, the Daemon Surplice lacks wings to cross over the Acheron independently… even disregarding how he would get lost in the mist, how did Lucifer plan to…" he then widened his eyes and gasped. "Unless….!"

Lucifer smirked, stood up straight, and allowed his aura to flow so sharply that it peaked in height while narrowing in width, like a roaring blowtorch flame. "Hm, hm, hm… you can always count on a Specter to underestimate their enemy… that's what that crow Haisaku used to say…"

Minos squinted. "What?!"

Taking a deep breath, Lucifer closed his eyes and collected his dark thoughts, his negative emotions and every shadow that lurked in his heart which made him the ferocious devil he was. From his beloved pride, to his manipulative scheming, to his mercilessness, everything that made him evil was gathered in Lucifer's heart, making it beat with an alien pulse.

"It's time…" he calmly muttered, almost hypnotizing the two Judges with the soothing whisper. His hand reached inside his collar and carefully grasped his Yours Ever pendant. "Time for you two to learn true terror… and how powerful the Archdevil of Despair really is!"

Aiacos summoned his cosmos and charged. "MINOS, WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!"

But the Daemon Specter's aura then burst into a huge pillar of purple light tearing through the starry sky. His red eyes then opened and froze them with a deep chill, streams of black blood teared down from them, filling Lucifer's face, and the lighting around them in the Third Prison went red like blood! "FLAP YOUR WINGS… DAEMON!"

A huge shockwave burst from the pillar, struck the two Judges with a cloud of dust and dark mist, pushing them off and making the entire Prison shake. The pillar of light slowly thinned itself as Aiacos and Minos heard the Surplice disassemble, clanking on the ground like shed metal skin, before lifting up and place itself back on Lucifer, whose silhouette inside the pillar seemed to be getting larger, metamorphosing. A huge, cavernous roar was heard as Lucifer screamed to the skies as if he was transforming into a monster!

The pillar crashed into a shard of cosmic glass, dissipating into specks as they hit the ground, and a second shockwave was unleashed, finishing the process and resonating the earthquake to an end.

Aiacos gasped. Minos gawked. Both their faces paled and their 7th senses told them to run away right now. Even the far off Skeleton soldier regiments muttered and shook in terror at the man they surrounded.

Before them stood Lucifer, the avatar of Pride, with his Daemon Surplice shining under the 108 Evil Stars with a new and more violent shape. A pair of huge, purple, horned, dragon-like wings with red membranes was now on his back, unfurling in the air to show off their large span and metal scale fibers. His fingers, previously left out in the open, were now encased inside silver-colored, sharp claws that were sectioned at the finger joints for maximum flexibility, looking like they could tear a throat out with a thought. The red ornaments, including the red monster jaw on the chest, on the entire purple Surplice, were now edgier and more violent in their patterns and his forearm caps now extended into pointy elbow guards and were reinforced by secondary bicep guards. Only his headpiece and greaves seemed unchanged aside from minor tweaks and size adjustments on the leg protections.

Letting out a final wave of power like an exhalation, the Archdevil of Despair stood between the two Underworld Judges, eternal youth shut off temporarily to give access to the Surplice's true power. His deadly red stare, somehow rid of the black tears of blood smearing it, now fixated on the two of them with an unnatural glow, like a predator. He had no time to lose, and they pushed him too far.

Now the Archdevil of Despair was there, before them.

And he would destroy them all.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Pandora's Castle

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Back in Pandora's castle, the False Specters continued their confrontation with Pandora and the remaining True Specters. A multitude of fallen men now surrounded Pandora and Valentine, as Wyvern Rhadamanthys lifted up the False Specter Dullahan Hedron by the throat. "Is this all you can do?!"

"G-gahh, damn you!" Hedron gasped. An orb of cosmos formed in Rhadamanthys hand and was smashed in Dullahan's stomach, blasting him across the room.

"D-damn it, he's so strong!" Cait Sith Palug whimpered. "Where the hell is Torak and the others?!"

"They are down below to get rid of those berserking undead on our tail!" said Golem Treble. "We just have to hold on here for a bit!"

Alraune Lemon, in the meantime, crossed fists with Valentine. His tendrils whipped around but the Celestial Wailing Star maneuvered between them with his high speed. "OUT OF OUR WAY, you bastards! I'm not staying here to wait for Hades to wake up!" Alraune screamed.

Valentine laughed and flapped his heart-shaped wings to raise himself up to cross his wrists. "Hm, hm, hm, with the Judge by our side, your revolt is finished." Purple cosmos flourished around him and intersected in his wrists. "GREED OF LIFE!" he then fired off the powerful blast.

Alraune let it impact in his crossed hands and his tentacles pierced the ground, but his whole body still dragged back with the force, creating trails in the harp room, before he managed with a roar to lift it up to the skies so it would blast through the ceiling, leaving dust and rockfall everywhere.

Troll Grendel shouted in charge. "You won't stop us now, WYVERN! GREATEST THE PE-"

But Wyvern immediately countered. "GREATEST CAUTION!" and his hands unleashed a screeching burst of laser lights, shooting Troll back and forcing the False Specters to erect a common protective barrier, which was barely strong enough to protect them and keep them from being pushed down the stairs to the Underworld.

Pandora's hair fluttered with the force. "Mm, will you be careful? If my harp gets knocked down, you two will be the first to be punished after these rebels."

Harpy sweated, landing beside her. "Y-yes milady."

"Oh shove it, you bitch! I'd be doing this castle a favor!" roared Wyvern, crossing his arms. The two-winged Specters stood strong before the mob. "How pathetic. Would your champions bother to appear and give me a challenge?!" lamented Rhadamanthys.

"Be careful what you wish for, Rhadamanthys." someone declared, coming up from behind the False Specters. "It may be granted, after all."

The False Specters gasped and scurried, picking up their fallen brethren. Alraune Lemon irked in fury.

Harpy Valentine widened his eyes. "That voice…!"

Wyvern squinted furiously. "I knew it! Show yourself!"

Pandora looked up, appalled. "It's the Prince?"

The large False Specter and False Skeleton group split down the middle, each half hugging the curved walls, to create a middle path for the newly arrived to move through. First, it was Behemoth Torak, who was covered in undead flesh and blood from top to bottom, and took place forward by one side, and then Nasu Erika, Lucifer's agent, who took the other. Finally, coming up from behind, none other than Daemon Lucifer, Celestial Star of Pride, Prince of Darkness and the Left Arm of Hades marching up, with all eyes locked on him.

His Surplice was back to its regular form, but it wasn't like anyone was aware enough of his secrets to question it.

Instead, the True Specters and Pandora were more baffled by not just his presence as the leader of this revolt, but by the two men he dragged by the collars in his hands.

With a powerful toss, Lucifer put Garuda Aiacos and Gryphon Minos at their feet, making Pandora gasp. The two men were unconscious, eyes whitened, jaws agape, covered with wounds and blood. Their Surplices were gone, blasted to pieces and left somewhere behind in the Third Prison. Lucifer himself looked barely harmed, sporting just a few cuts here and there, as he stood before the three defenders with a victorious smirk.

"L-lord Lucifer?!" gasped Harpy Valentine. "Why… what did you do to Lord Minos and Aiacos?! What is all this?!"

"Lucifer..." muttered Pandora, a hint of melancholy in her eyes. "Why are you here...?"

He laid out arms. "Isn't it obvious, Pandora?" he asked, ignoring the gawking True Specters. "I have made my decision. I'm leaving and taking the replacements with me."

"What?" asked Valentine, revolted. "What do you intend to do with a bunch of false servants of Hades?!"

His chin raised proudly. "Fulfill my destiny!" Red eyes then narrowed on the Wyvern Judge. "Well, Rhadamanthys, here we are… I apologize it took me a bit to join you all, as you can see, I was taking care of something." He pardoned himself, pointing at the two collapsed Judges. "So, Fury Star… have you thought about my question?"

"QUESTION?!" roared Wyvern. "I SHOULD TEAR YOUR GUTS AND HANG YOU FROM-"

"Enough of that!" roared Lucifer back, silencing him, a dark pulse of cosmos accompanying his voice like a command from hell. "I've had enough of your blindness! I'm extending you my hand in mercy, you fool… and I gave you plenty of time to think! I always thought you were nothing but a beast, Rhadamanthys! Your unrefined methods cost us a victory against Gold Saints more than once!-"

Everyone stood in disbelief at the Prince finally letting his honesty spill to the Judge, especially Valentine, who had even been complimented by Lucifer as a possible confident after the affair with Pandora at the Desert Beyond. He, least of all, could believe what was going on.

Lucifer continued, "-but during the last war, at the Lost Canvas, you showed me something. Me, LUCIFER! When disgrace was falling upon the army as Alone showed us his true colors, you, Rhadamanthys, showed a greater moment of bravery than I ever thought you capable of, and you stood up to Hades for your honor, so I ask you, boy!... Are you capable of it in this life?!"

This gave pause to everyone, even Pandora. The blonde English Specter couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How dare you insinuate… that I would ever do such a thing?!" Rather than his fanatic armor breaking, he stepped forward in pure rage. "I don't care how much stronger you think you are for betraying Lord Hades, I am going to destroy you!"

Lucifer scoffed with a hand on the hip. "Well… I tried!..."

Wyvern Rhadamanthys' teeth gritted with rage burning inside him and veins popped in his forehead. Another ball of white light outlined by purple darkness formed in his hand. "DIE, TRAITOR! GREATEST CAUTION!" The lasers fired off again, this time focused on a single point in Lucifer's face, unleashing a sound like a screaming dragon.

While the False Specters quivered instinctively before the incoming attack, which swelled and swelled, Lucifer's hand raised up, however, and the blast impacted right at his palm with a loud, room-shaking bang. Lucifer's body shook with the force, but his arm tensed, pushing it at bay. Greatest Caution's dark light emanated in multiple colors all over the room between the gaps of his fingers, like a kaleidoscope, and the energy wyvern screeched louder and louder, trying to overcome the obstacle. Wyvern Rhadamanthys roared furiously, empowering his blast, but the force failed to push Lucifer back.

The Daemon gritted teeth. The Judges had drained him already and he could feel the effects of it as he tried to smash the pathetic technique. With a charge of his dark aura, and a roar to match Rhadamanthys', Pride Star pushed to force back and then smashed it down with his fingers, destroying the blast into speckles of light that sliced through the room's walls, floor, and ceiling before exploding outright into sparks, silencing it.

His smoking hand lowered. The True Specters froze in fear. Valentine, in particular, paled with how the full force of Greatest Caution was so thoroughly defeated.

The sight of this inspired the False Specters, who raised their arms and cheered. "YE-AH! Take that!" one shouted.

"BREAK HIM TO PIECES, Lord Lucifer!" another urged.

"Settle down everyone!" urged Ainsel, though barely able to contain a chuckle himself at the sight of Rhadamanthys' dumbfounded face. "The Prince has the word, I believe."

Wyvern's fist slowly lowered, tensing in yet another humiliation. "Y-you…!"

Lucifer was seriously disappointed. "How many times have I countered your move in training? I suppose I'll add teaching you to my growing list of failures!" he locked eyes with Wyvern once more. "Very well, Rhadamanthys. You made your choice! Now when I return to this place after my triumph, I will see that you will be the first to bend down and kiss my….feet."

Wyvern flew straight at him, hand in chop. "JUST DIE, PRIDE STAR!"

Lucifer snapped his fingers. "TORAK!"

The hulking mass of a man in blue rhinoceros armor leaped straight at the wyvern and immersed his foot in blue fire. "BRUTAL REAL!" and with a background howl of a behemoth, his body spun and delivered a devastating kick right to Rhadamanthys head, shattering his fanged helmet and shooting him off against the wall, breaking it down as well as the room on the other side, all the way to flying off the castle tower.

Behemoth Torak landed on his knee and cracked his neck satisfyingly as pebbles fell from the ceiling. He had waited two whole years to get back on Rhadamanthys for that time he smashed him on the floor, mocking Urial. "Good riddance, you punk!"

Harpy stepped back, horrified by the sudden disadvantage. He saw Nasu Erika smirk and approach him, a black aura of flies threatening to gulp him up, and he wondered if he was next on the guillotine.

Pandora eyed him harrowingly. "Stay where you are!" she hissed, petrifying him in place.

But as the hulking mass of dark cosmos enveloped the body of Daemon Lucifer approached him as well, and the Specter and Skeleton mob all laid eyes on him, Harpy became unsure who to fear more. He gulped and clasped his clawed fists. "Of course, my lady!" his aura then charged, emanating pink-tainted purple energy.

Lucifer calmly walked up to him, stepping over the two defeated Judges rather loudly as if to remind Harpy of those that had fallen before him. The False Specters, too, reinvigorated in their faith and loyalty, accompanied him, adding to the mass of angry darkness about to envelop the two.

But the Celestial Wailing Star did not waver. "I, in the name of all the Specters of the U-Underworld, in the name of Lady Pandora and the Emperor," he then pointed finger at the Prince. "I DECLARE YOU A TRAITOR, PRINCE LUCIFER, AND I WILL END YOU!" his claws then immersed in purple light. "GREED OF LIF-"

Lucifer suddenly sprinted at him and clasped his throat, silencing him. Harpy Valentine felt his feet raise off the ground by the steel grip. "I like you, Harpy…you lifted some aches off my head these past few weeks and gave me enough time to focus on the Exodus by watching after Pandora." He admitted, revealing how he manipulated Valentine. "As a proper thank you, I will spare your life, but get in my way now, and I'll snap your stupid neck!" he then tossed the Wailing Star aside to the wall and faced the person he came there to see.

The tension in the room immediately grew. Standing before the Prince was the most dangerous person the Underworld to him, the beautiful liason of Hades, Pandora Heinstein. Her poisonous glare pierced his soul even in a situation like that, surrounded by dozens of enemies, and her index finger rested on the harp as if on a gun of sorts, ready to fire.

Neferti sneered. "Lord Lucifer… let's just leave!"

Ainsel nodded, though he preferred not to draw the man's wrath. "Sphinx is right, Prince… Hypnos is likely not long to awake."

"Quiet!" snapped Lucifer, focused on the woman before him. "Well, Pandora… I suppose we should have a talk."

With but a beat of furious silence, she then squinted like a snake. "A 'talk'?...Who do you think you are? Valentine! Get up and rid me of this man!" she demanded.

But while Harpy did obey, leaping from the corner to lunge at Lucifer with his claws, the Prince just back-fisted the Wailing Star back to the ground and then stepped on his back, pinning Pandora's bodyguard. "No more distractions! I don't have any more time to lose! Pandora…" he appealed, offering his ringed hand. "You don't have to stay here… Come with me! Leave Hades' web of lies before it's too late!"

Neferti was shocked by the notion. "WHAT?!"

Alraune Lemon sneered and shook his head. "Arrogant bat, I knew he would do this, hmm, hmm!"

Pandora stared at his hand. "Is this a joke?"

Five centuries of manipulation by Hades, however, crossed Lucifer's mind. "Not at all… Pandora, when you came into my life, I deeply, deeply despised you." He confessed, remembering his days as a normal person, when he began to see the purple-haired girl stalking the corridors of his parent's home, enticing him towards the shadows. "But a long time has passed… and I made a promise to save you."

She was sickened by the notion. "Promise?! Save me?!"

Lucifer's eyes closed.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

They were in Giudecca. Lucifer had Hades' Sword in his right hand. Michael stood before him, neck chained up to the wall, wrists bound, and his body tortured by the Prisons he had spent the last month in, blood dripping from all over his half-boiled, half-frozen body.

The blonde, red-eyed man with much effort spared his rival one last look. "You will save her, right?"

Lucifer's cold heart could spare no sympathy for Pandora. "I don't even know where she went…"

"She'll be back for the next war… somehow. Hades will need her to handle the Silver Star, after all. And the cycle of lies will restart." Michael pointed out.

It took a lot of effort from him, but Lucifer nodded. "Even if you're a traitor, I have… I 'will' honor your last wish."

Michael smiled in comfort. He could die in peace now. "Give me your dominant hand." He was then approached by Lucifer's free left and Michael slowly held it. Suddenly, Dark Angel's last speck of cosmos manifested in the form of an aura of black fire that then traveled entirely to Lucifer's arm, immersing and energizing it. "Take my 'blade', the Dark Angel Flaming Sword…"

Lucifer was stunned. "Michael… why?! Why did you do all of THIS?"

"I have faith that one day you will understand what I saw as well… when that time comes you will need every bit of strength I can spare to save the Specters… and punish Hades for his crimes." Michael then lowered his head in defeat. "Goodbye, Lucifer… I know we've always had to be rivals,… more than once we even had to be enemies, but I always wanted to see you as a close friend instead. I hope we meet in another life."

The Daemon's red eyes teared up and he grasped Hades' divine weapon, lifting it into the air. With a roar enraged at fate itself, the Prince of Hades then beheaded the blonde traitor, honoring the Emperor's sentence.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

The False Specters stared at their master in anticipation. "Lord Lucifer?" Torak called out.

The silver-haired man focused back on Pandora. "Throughout my life, I've been blessed with great strength, Pandora, but with a poor perception of people. Obeying Hades for half a millennium has been proof of it. I, therefore, believe without a doubt I was wrong about you, too." He started. He knew chances that Pandora would accept his offer at this stage were slim to none, but he had to ask before he left. "Pandora, I ask of you, open your eyes… see the light, see the colors of life again! Don't let Hades' curse turn your life into a living hell once more!"

But the liaison was indignant, not moved. "My life?! A living hell?! How dare you?!" the woman screamed, pointing her snake-ringed finger at him. She raised chin proudly. "I am the sister of Hades, the righteous Emperor! I could not have asked for a better life! And I will stand by his side as he rids the Earth of the filth smearing it! Filth like you!" she boasted, smiling in elation at the notion. "Hmm, hmm, hmm…you concocted a rather clever plan, Lucifer. You preyed on the weaknesses of my lords to get here, but to me, that just proves what a snake you are. You had my brother's trust…" her expression then darkened. "And you tossed it in the bin. To me, that's the most despicable thing possible!"

Torak shook his head, feeling the clock ticking inside it. "This isn't good."

"Prince, maybe we really should just forget about this…" urged Nasu Erika, sweating.

Lucifer stared at her silently, absorbing the blind determination on Pandora's face as she rested hercase. He then looked at his hand, where the Dark Knight ring was. The hand clenched tightly. "You're right, Pandora… it's not fair to expect you to understand this so suddenly." he admitted. "But tell me… if you have such faith in your brother, why did he let your family die?"

Nobody was able to tell if this shook her in the least, given the woman's sudden snort. "My family?!"

Lucifer pointed at the painting on the harp room's wall. It showed a happy young girl sitting on the lap of her mother by the instrument, sided by her father. It was painted without outlines, meaning that to a daltonic person it was likely a blur of grey tones. "Why do your parents rot in the Prisons and are not in the Elysium? What crime did they commit?"

The young girl bit her lip. What was the traitor talking about now? "Humph! My parents sacrificed themselves grandiosely for the resurrection of Thanatos and Hypnos. It was a righteous death, all for the beauty of death!"

The Daemon stepped towards her, releasing Valentine. "What about your home, the lands surrounding them? Why has your once bright castle and your lush fields been turned into a mansion worth of Nosferatu, a swamp filled with nothing but burning death?!" questioned Lucifer, and then, just on time, the chasms surrounding the castle erupted one of their familiar green geysers, the gasps of the Underworld, just outside the hole Rhadamanthys got kicked through. "What kind of beauty-loving God would do this gothic horror?!"

The faith of the girl was unshaken. "Fool… the melancholy of Lord Hades simply manifests itself. He cries with the sins of the Earth, and so the Earth will be as dark as his tears!"

The False Specters were suddenly unnerved.

The injured Troll Grendel stared at Pandora. "Ya know… I remember being whispered these things she says in dreams…"

Golem Treble nodded. "Me too… now it all just feels like a ghost was putting nightmares in my head instead."

Deadly Beetle Gauromydas folded his arms. "Lord Lucifer has brought us the light, so now we see through those lies. This girl, however, is sunk deeper into that narrative than we've ever been."

Pandora's hand summoned her trident and pointed it at the Prince, smiling triumphantly. "Mmm, mmm, you've fought so many wars against the Saints, have you not, Prince? Do you regret those now, perhaps? Has Athena's pathetic siren song gotten to your head?"

But the Prince was unmoved. "Of course not… I despise Athena and her Saints as I've always had. Me and my men will crush them just like we would have under Hades."

"Aha, so this is about greed!" she concluded. "You want the glory, the treasures of Sanctuary for yourself, and you'll even use my brother's armors for it…how pathetic!"

It was Lucifer's turn to scoff. This was a weak point, even for someone as hypnotized as Pandora. Men who lived a life like his cared little for gold. "Hades chose to give them to the False Specters so he could control them better. He is merely now reaping the storms he sowed." Lucifer pointed out. He then brushed her trident aside gently. "What about you, Pandora? What 'Surplice' did he put on you?"

The girl quivered. "Surplice?!"

"You've watched your brother manipulate these men for as long as you've been here. You've known about the False Specters." Lucifer reminded her. "Did it ever occur to you that if Hades was capable of lying to them so profoundly… why would you, who don't even have a Surplice and Star, be guaranteed his word?"

She hesitated, taken by surprise for the first time. "I…"

The Daemon's head shook. "You were just about to remind me of the Evil Stars, right? How the True Specters like myself have that special, visible bond? How the traitors behind me can't even call themselves Terrestrials and Celestials because they are merely borrowing the Surplices of others, the proofs of vassalage of others? But what about you?!" He gritted teeth, raising his tone to try to penetrate through her shell. "Pandora, if Hades lies to everyone, why are you special?!"

And Pandora visibly struggled to think of an answer. "Proof?! Special?! Him his sister?!" she exclaimed, half-asking.

"And what the hell do you think that means?!" Neferti suddenly screamed. She had no desire to help Pandora, but they had to get out of there and the woman's self-kidding sickened her. "His sister? Hades is an Olympian, you are nothing to him!"

"Hades despises all humans, Lady Pandora," pointed Papillon Ainsel out, polite even before an enemy. "If his mandate is to end mankind, we are all included in it."

"SILENCE, you LOT!" Pandora screamed. "I refuse to endure the words of ghosts like yourselves!"

The False Specters all looked at each other and had multiple differing reactions of skepticism, shaking their heads, folding their arms or just staring in a baffle. None of them could believe they had once bought into all of this nonsense, and now watching Pandora live in this lie more strongly than they ever had almost made them pity her.

And the proud woman could see said pity in their eyes. "Do you think you can lecture me?! All of you will not take a step further!" she stood guardingly next to the harp. "You will go back to the Prisons and pay for your disgusting crimes, even if I am the one to stop you!"

The Prince sighed. "This is not the right time, I can see it." He then walked towards her. "Out of my way, Pandor-!" but he then froze insight of where her hand was.

Pandora smirked, letting her finger caress the strings of her harp. "I told you; I won't let you take another step..." she warned, causing Lucifer to shiver even more as she continued to run her finger through that single string. "If you do, hmm, hmm… I think you know what's next."

Sphinx Neferti went pale, memories of that day Lucifer was zapped in her place assaulting her. "Prince, don't!"

Lucifer ignored both women and took a step forward.

Tlink!

A purple shockwave of electricity swallowed the Specter. "AAAAAAAAARGHHHHHH!" roared Lucifer, grasping his heart as he fell on his knees, causing the Specters to widen their eyes in shock. Drops of sudden sweat fell on the floor and Lucifer gasped for air in relief when the vibrations stopped.

Pandora laughed. "See?! You are nothing before me! I am the Sister of Hades, and this is what that means!" She then fluttered her hand through the strings, unleashing a multitude of shocks that made the Prince convulse like a possessed person on the floor, screaming and howling right in front of his men.

Daemon gasped for hair when it stopped again, eyes shaking at the ground. Carefully, he stood up once more, though.

He then took another step.

Tlink! Tlink! Tlink! Tlilink!

"YEAAARGHHHHH!" Lucifer continued, falling once again on the floor. The False Specters gasped, some widening their eyes in shock while others closed them, horrified by the pain Pandora was able to cause on their leader.

She laughed triumphantly. "Have you learned your lesson, Prince?!" asked Pandora, looking down on the fallen demon. When she received no answer from the floored, hard-breathing Lucifer, she took it as a 'yes' and smiled "Good. Let's clean this mess and-" Suddenly, Pandora widened her eyes in shock when she saw Lucifer crawling past her towards the stairs, his body shaking. "Lucifer! Lucifer, stop!"

He kept crawling.

"I command you to stop!" she ordered. "STOP!" Pandora screamed, moving her hands through the harp's strings to cause them to release a multitude of torturing notes.

Lucifer's body almost jumped into the air, his limbs suddenly stretched and his mouth releasing an almost demonic scream of pain, much to his followers' horror.

"STOP!" continued Pandora, as she kept on playing more notes "STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP IMMEDIATELY! Why won't you OBEY?!"

Lucifer just kept on crawling towards the stairs, electrical shocks and strokes filling his body with every 'stop' and every inch he covered. Each peak of intensity forced his mouth open to let out yet another cry of despair but he would not relent! Not now! The pain was enormous, nearly inconceivable, and his vision was a blur...but he would not relent!

"Why?" Alraune asked himself, horrified with the torture and Lucifer's endurance "Just punch the bitch off her blasted harp!?" Another cry of agony then caused them all to stagger. "WHY won't he fight back?"

"STOP, YOU TRAITOR!" Pandora ordered, feeling the situation out of her control. "STOP! PLEASE, STOP! PLEASE!...Just l-listen to me already!..."

Reaching the door with a body and armor smoking with the potent zaps, Lucifer loudly wheezed. In just those few seconds, more damage had been inflicted to him than when Aiacos and Minos fought him. His hand rested on the wall and he got up.

Wheezes of pain were let out of his mouth. "You… don't control me, … Pandora. I told you that!" He grabbed the handle. "I'm goi-"

Suddenly, the stone brick floor erupted and winged mass of purple metal came out. "DIE, LUCIFER!" roared Rhadamanthys, lunging at the injured Prince, body immersed in cosmos.

The False Specters, separated from their master, screamed his name!

A fist engulfed in screeching, spinning cosmos of darkness swung and the image of an armless dragon of long neck reaching to bite the demon's neck manifested. "WYRM SCREAM!"

But the silver-haired man roared back and, possessed by fury as he had never shown, he tackled the charging Wyvern and wrestled him onto the floor. Lucifer's metal fist then smashed on Rhadamanthys face. It smashed again. It hammered again, again, again and then once more with howls of demonic rage, not putting down the struggling Wyvern but turning his face into a bloody pulp. The merciless beatdown continued, with all the frustration and rage put out by the Daemon on the young Judge, cratering the ground beneath his head with each blow and soaking the gauntlets with red liquid.

With a grander, clasped hand blow hammered down on his face, Lucifer finally silenced Rhadamanthys, the blunt sound echoing in the room. Lucifer gasped, severely tired, and got up. He stared down at the fallen Judge, anger subsiding. He saw the blood on his fingers. It was rare that he lost control like this.

"S-stay down, you insecure fool! For your sake,… I hope we never meet again!" He then took the Dark Knight ring off his finger and tossed it in Harpy's direction, making it tinkle on the floor. "T-take care of Pandora, Harpy. If you don't… when I come back you'll be the first to suffer my wrath after this fool!"

The petrified Harpy could barely react, merely reaching out for the ruby-encrusted ring and treasuring it on his hand.

Pandora couldn't help but watch the False Specter and False Skeleton mob move past her. When her hand rested helplessly on the harp, it just made the ring in Harpy's hand crackle out. Even if she took out her trident and used it to strike the Specters instead, how many would she take out before they ripped her to pieces?

"Stop..." Pandora asked, her voice apparently weak. The False Specters just ignored her and began walking down the tower's steps to the castle's lower floors. Her teeth gritted in frustration and tears formed in her eyes. "…Just… just stop!"

The Prince waited until everyone was out of the room, though it took a bit given the close to three hundred Skeletons that had been piled up in the passage from the Underworld. He looked back and saw her dropping to her knees, trident clanking to the ground.

The injured Harpy stood up and tried to console her. "M-milady… don't worry… I'll avenge your honor!"

Lucifer, however, had a different take. "Why do you cry, Pandora? No harm came to you today," he questioned, but she refused to answer. Deep down he knew the answer, though. "Don't forget this day, Pandora. Today was the first true sign you had of how little control you really have of your life."

Her hands clasped on her skirt furiously, tears dripping down to it. "You… you traitor! I H-HATE you! HATE Y-YOU!"

Lucifer was stunned. "Pandora..." he muttered to himself, eyes never looking back at the girl "Are you...starting to feel again?" he then closed eyes, realizing what the key to helping her had always been. Of course, he was a Specter. Hate, not love, would be his weapon.

"Why?!" asked Pandora in despair, hands trembling as she tried to force herself to continue to play the harp, yet failing. "W-why are you doing this? Why are you betraying Lord Hades? He has d-done so much for you...He's our God! He's our reason to live!"

The False Specters, finally feeling that was safe to walk past Pandora and the unconscious Specters, crossed the room and, one-by-one joined their new Master. Lucifer took the first step of the stairs, feeling pain all over his body, but before he left, he looked back one last time to see Pandora crying as she gazed upon him.

He then answered. "Hades...Your God, Hades -" he started as the False Specters walked past him, pronouncing the name of the eldest Olympian with a voice so full of hatred and anger that one could say it came from the very depths of Hell "- has never done for me anything that I've asked of it...or that it wouldn't serve his own purposes in the end...And I do this for Michael...I, Daemon Lucifer, Celestial Pride Star, do this for Dark Angel Michael, Celestial Absolute Star, who has betrayed us and was executed for it. I do this...for my best friend...whom I promised that I would protect you! Even though I know you probably will never understand, I'm also doing this for you."

"For me?!" asked Pandora as she gazed in Lucifer's eyes, tears of pure anger falling down. "Y-you traitor! How could you be doing this for me? How could opposing Lord Hades be doing anything in my favor?"

The Prince of Darkness walked away to rejoin his men. "Don't worry, Pandora… one day you will see the colors of life again, I promise. Goodbye." He then disappeared into the shadows of the staircase.

Pandora screamed, grabbed her trident and tossed it at him, but the wooden door suddenly was shut by a strange force and pierced by the object, the pole dangling tensely in the air. "D-DAMN YOU! YOU WILL PAY! C-COME BACK HERE!"

Harpy stepped back, frightened by the wailing woman. The spectacle of fallen Judges they stood in didn't make things any better.

She rushed at the door and banged on it, but it suddenly locked itself. "You t-traitor! Come back, you traitor! TRAITOR! COME BACK!..." Pandora accused, falling on her knees, hand trailing down. "Please come back, L-Lucifer! Please..."

Harpy Valentine knelt by her side and held her hand, but for some reason, even though her heart had pushed off all emotions but her devotion to Hades, she felt like her vision had cracked like a mirror, the blood on her hands prickled and the grey tones of the room flurried uncontrollably like paint dropped on a canvas. Flashes of thoughts about her family went through her head, confusing her further.

The Exodus finally occurred, and her faith had been shaken, leaving Pandora with little more left than a sudden hole of emptiness in her heart.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Underworld

4th Circle, Giudecca Palace

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Back by the Palace of Hades, the Skeleton Soldiers, picked themselves back up from their defeat. They carefully approached the dome of darkness that rested at the staircase, crackling with black sparks of power. They were all a shambled mess, with cracked armor, covered in blood and some missing limbs, but all alive thanks to the Emperor's reviving power. Many now cursed Lucifer for his treason and wondered what to do.

The group approaching the dome, was unsure. "You touch it." one ordered.

"No way! There are two angry Olympians inside." another roared. "YOU touch it!"

Sylphid came up to them. "You idiots better do something useful or I'm throwing you all at it!" he screamed, causing the Skeletons to disperse, pick up their spears and poles and get ready to poke the Eternal Darkness dome with it.

But just as they were about to do something stupid, the mass of coiling darkness suddenly began spiraling faster until it then dispersed in all directions like brushed off mist, revealing a gasping Hypnos and an exhausted Hades inside, startling the Skeletons and Specters.

The golden-haired Sleep God coughed and sweated after finally dispelling it. "Lucifer, … you miserable, arrogant rat!" he then saw Lord Hades collapsed. "Oh, no, Emperor!"

Sylphid and the Skeletons bowed. "My Lords!"

Hypnos ignored them and held the puppet, whose pale face sweated and eyes stared off into the distance, so he held its cheek. "Lord Hades, speak to me. It's me, your servant Hypnos!"

But the puppet wheezed uncontrollably, almost hyperventilating. "P-Persephone… Persephone, no, don't go away!" it muttered, unable to register Hypno's words.

With this, the God of Sleep then realized the depth of Lucifer's betrayal."The only way he could have harmed Hades was through his mind… he used my own spell against me with both the purpose to arrest us while he got away and injure the Emperor by forcing him to relive his worst nightmare. When in Zeus's name did he get Michael's moves?!" his teeth gritted and his body was overcome with a darkness Cosmos so deep, it seemingly turned him to the eyes of the terrified Specters into a ghost of pure blackness, like a deep slumber of a creature. "Lucifer… Daemon Lucifer… for preying on the Emperor's weakness… for stealing from my brother… for turning your back to your MASTERS, I will make sure you and everyone you love rot in Cocytos for all eternity!"

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Meanwhile,

Point Barrow, Alaska

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

The rocky peaks of Point Barrow raged with a late autumn storm, the snow pummeling heavily on the landscape and the cold reaching incredibly low temperatures. Above the rocky slopes, there rested a small building painted white for camouflage with small windows and a radar dish for communication, a couple of vehicles parked outside.

Inside, a small group of men worked with coffee cups in hand by the communication stations, supervised by a man with a pair of goggles resting on his neck, curly brown hair and many body burns. There was a sudden beeping on one of the machines and the person in charge of it took out a print of the signal and showed it to their leader.

Priam stared at it. "Are you sure?" he then got a nod from his follower. The former Gold Saint of Sagittarius rubbed his chin and called his friend. "Daese, you should come see this!"

The blonde, Cyrulian young woman who owned the Aquila Cloth hidden within her diamond pendant Cloth Gem came into the room. "Yes?"

"Our guys at the Austria front sent a communication through." He said, catching her attention immediately. "They say they spotted a large group of Specters storming Pandora's castle from within and are now sallying out at night."

Daese's eyes glassed. "You mean…"

Priam nodded, eyes narrowing. "Lucifer has made his move. His Holy War has begun!"

Daese froze for a second, thinking of the repercussions. "By Cyrul's sword… he really meant it." But then a vital realization made her gasp and grab Priam by the arms. "WAIT, what about Cerah?! Was she with him?! What happened to my sister?!"

Priam was unsure what to say. "Calm down… we don't know yet, but we'll keep following him."

But the Cyrulian's mind went completely paranoid. "No, no, no, no! I knew it! I knew it was an awful idea to leave her with him! I have to find her, I have to know if she's safe!" the Eagle panicked.

"I'm sure she's with him, Lucifer wouldn't backstab us like that!" Priam urged.

"How do you know, Priam?!" she demanded. All of her instincts had been trained to kill the warriors of Hades, not count on their good-will. "He's a SPECTER, so how can you tell?!"

He grabbed her by the arms and his expression darkened. "Because he STILL needs us… he still wants to keep us in check. Remember, Daese, he's not just after Sanctuary and Hades… he's after the Teos Cloth, as well."

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

The next morning,

Andromeda Island

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

"Albiore, come on." urged Shinta, smiling. "We're gonna get some practice with the combat chains done today, and then I can teach you some tricks for sharpening your carving tools I learned over the years."

"Yes, Master," obeyed the Argentinean boy, rushing to his side. "Can we then go swim around the island?"

The green-haired Master shook his head. "No, only if you finish your rock lifting practice! Doing a full swim-around is dangerous unless you develop your cosmos enough to sustain yourself." He sternly reminded, something he wasn't used to, but when Albiore nodded obediently, the Andromeda Saint felt a touch of happiness inside himself at finally being in sync with him.

Both Cynthia and Elda stared at the sight of the student nodding determinedly. Elda puffed her cheeks and poked Albiore. "Hey, what's the deal?!"

The blonde boy looked aside. "What?"

"What do you mean, 'what?' I thought you were pissed at Saint Shinta." she mocked.

Albiore was truly unsure what to say. "I don't know, he seems… different today, less confused. We had a talk last night after he and Saint Cynthia went for that long walk and said something about getting off on the wrong foot. Now he's not BSing me as much with that kindness crap or giving me so many warnings about how dangerous everything is all the time, and he's taking time to teach me some cool techniques to improve my moves."

"And that made the difference?!" she tapped her foot.

Albiore shrugged, checking over his chains like it wasn't a big deal. "Look, I like him better this way…. I didn't trust that 'just trying to help you' nonsense and I want to get my training scores up to apply for better ranks, not coast on soft love."

"And why is that, you paranoid freak?!" Elda practically screamed. Albiore was so infuriating sometimes with how guarded he was. "Alright, whatever, it's your problem, gosh."

Cynthia patted her trainee's shoulder. "Come on, Elda, you got your share of things to do." She then took out a pile of books on Advanced Greek and martial art theory.

Elda stared at it. "Oww…." Her brain already hurt from looking at the thickness of the pages. "Does every Saintia have to study all of this to enter?"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "Not really, but you won't last a second in their school if you don't get used to it, much less three years."

"AWWWWW!" she pouted harder.

Cynthia patted her shoulder comfortingly. Every Saint knew how boring topics were, but you didn't get to have a Cloth without a mask if you were female unless you went above and beyond to prove yourself as a good representative of Athena. Putting aside how much this personally chided her as an Amazon, who chose to fight as a full army member, Cynthia instead tried to focus on how Shinta seemed to be getting along better with Albiore.

It looked clearly like the result of a more concerted effort from his part to earn the kid's trust, which relieved Cynthia after the clash they had last night. Given that her little green-haired soft heart was taking her words in mind, Cynthia decided to give him a little surprise.

She touched her forehead. "Hey, Nam, you there?" she pinged, and eventually got a ping back all the way from Sanctuary Town, in Greece. "Is that problem with Crane Yushira still in need of help? I heard she nearly got caught by the Black Saints yesterday."

"Yeah, she made a big mess," confirmed Nam. "Honestly, she's a skilled fighter and undercover agent, but her weirdo attitude gives the MMC such trouble sometimes."

"I'll head to where she is and give her a good reminder of Saint discipline, but I'll need a substitute for Elda."

"Sure, do you have someone in mind? I can call Kastiel."

She shook her head to herself, a bad habit that mental communicators had. "Close, but no cigar. I have another idea."

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Hours Later,

Rozan Mountain

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Morning had risen in China, and Lance tightened his Pegasus Cloth Box's buckles around his arms. He walked out the house and saw Master still sitting by the waterfall.

He climbed up to it and joined the old purple dwarf. "Roshi, I'm going out for today. I got a sudden mental call relayed to me by the Zodiac from Saint Cynthia of Cassiopeia that I wasn't expecting." But the old man didn't even react, "HEY, Roshi, seriously, are you listening?"

"Something terrible has happened…" Dohko muttered, staring at the waterfall.

Lance widened red eyes. "What?" he walked up to him. "Roshi, what's wrong?!"

But Dohko blinked and snapped his head at him as if startled. "Uh? OH! Lance, my dear student… ah, I was so enraptured I didn't… Yo-oh-oh… Perhaps I'm mistaken, but my attention has really been drawn here lately like you said the other day."

The Greek youth sat by his side. "I can stick around if you want. What did you sense?"

The disguised Libra Gold Saint shook his head. "I had the sudden sensation something incredible happened in the Underworld. Call it an old instinct gained from staring at the seal behind the waterfall for too long. I asked Shion mentally if everything was okay, and he insists his men at Peloponnesia report nothing."

Lance clicked his tongue and got back up. "You need to drink less, Roshi. You had me worried for a second." he poked. "Anyway, I'm off, but I'll be back soon enough. See you later."

"Yo-oh-oh, have fun." wished Dohko, focusing back on the waterfall. "Shion tells me everything is quiet, but I can't shake this terrible sensation. Seiryu, what about you? You who cradle around the souls of the Specters… does a terrible conflict awaits us soon?"

But while no audible answer was heard, the dark clouds above the Rozan Mountain did grumble and thunder ominously, filling Dohko's heart with concern.

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Chapter End

{======================/Ξ\.◊./Ξ\\======================}

Next Chapter: Chapter 40 - Second Arc – Episode 7 – Lance vs The Volcano

Description: The False Specters begin to make their first moves in their campaign. Meanwhile in Andromeda Island, Saint Cynthia has to leave for a while and leaves to help Shinta be in charge of the kids. She invites a certain Bronze Saint to help out, but there's the slight problem of the volcanoes that erupt at the slightest sign of rage of powerful Saints nearby.

Author's Note: Several phases of beta-reading were undergone to perfect this chapter, to which I thank Jenny DeVic for. I also want to thank my readers again for the attention and support they've been giving me this month in the form of hits and reviews. It was truly unexpected for a month without posting till today.

From this point, I think it's become clear that I also want to take the opportunity to use my chapters to retell Lost Canvas through the lense of Next Dimension and Lance's Role. I won't change Shiori's excellent work too much, just enough to 'Arc Weld' the franchises best and most important spin offs into one cohesive story. I will also gradually reduce the necessary framework to add the flashbacks in, since I won't always be able to find a way to bend the chapter to trigger them.

To my reviewers, keep in mind I will no longer write review answers on the chapter itself, since it will cause wordcount inflation, but instead I will respond either directly (in case you have an account on this site which allows me to) or through Twitter (in case you do not), so remember to keep checking Thrudgelmir2333 for responses to reviews, updates on the progress of the next chapter, or just updates on me in general : )

That being said, I'm pretty nervous about next chapter. I have all the ideas laid out and even already finished the starting scene, but I'm not used to goofy slice-of-life stuff. I still think it's important to give you guys a 'breather' chapter before we get to the meat of the Arc's conflict.

Finally, make sure to check out Hitagi Gahara's SKD scanlations of Next Dimension, Saintia Sho and others. The writer of this fanfic is proofreader of Saint Seiya Next Dimension's English releases and they're your current top source for high quality scanlations in English. Also, if you're interested, contact me through PM and get an invitation to the new SKD Discord server, where you can get updates on Sho and ND directly, not to mention chat with me and many other english-speaking SS fans.