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.

42. 2A: The Two Towers - Part 2 of 2

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:

-Nine years ago to this day, LR was published in its second edition, which was eventually reformed into this third one, so HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY, Lance's Role;

-We now also officially pass the 800,000 words milestone, continuing the fic's record as the longest English SS story online;

- January broke the fic's record for monthly views, shattering the 500 hits milestone around the 16th of the month and going past the 700s O.O!

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Please enjoy and review (^_^

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There are few wars in Sanctuary's history as well documented as the Lost Canvas conflict. In most cases, we only have a general idea of the order of events, the fighting, the names of the fallen and whatever plot the evil God used to commit genocide, be it a flood or a meteor. This is because it used to be that Sanctuary relied on the Houses to pass down the story of their feats and they had a vested interest in either omitting embarrassing details or making a particular Gold Saint look more heroic than the others.

For some reason, Pope Arles III was particularly inspired by the art of record keeping and made sure that many of the new Gold Saints, such as Taurus Teneo of the first generation of the Third Arles era, wrote in-depth accounts of the wars they witnessed. This resulted in a wealth of detailed, but sometimes contradictory, statements about the events of the 18th century Holy War; from claiming that it was fought by the Cain Generation of Gold Saints that Arles the Third was initially a part of (instead of the Sisyphus Generation he later joined) to accusing the Ophiuchus Saint of the time to be the primary cause of conflict (rather than the obvious answer, Hades).

As a result, His Holiness' best intentions resulted in a Rashomon Effect in Sanctuary's 18th Century history, which to this day is difficult to explain to our children. The Pope himself and the Libra Gold Saint both claim that most of what is accounted for is true, but this is hard to believe considering some of the wild claims made by Taurus Teneo and his contemporaries, such as the odd-shifting interference of five Bronze Saints in the prolonged war.

A big example of this discrepancy is the ultimate fate of Teneo's predecessor, Taurus Rasgado, also codenamed Taurus 'Aldebaran' after the biggest star of his constellation. The Pope, as well as most historians, claim Rasgado was murdered by two lowly Terrestrial Star assassins in an underhanded attack, but this goes against documents uncovered from Teneo's transplanted tomb, words that he literally took to the grave; that his Master was not made to fall by two of Pandora's killers, but rather by a monstrously powerful Specter commander of which there's no record of.

Considering that it's the word of a Taurus against that of the Pope and that Specters lack such sophisticated military hierarchy, to begin with, we almost have to immediately cite Teneo as an example of how far new Gold Saints are willing to twist historical records just to give their Houses good publicity.

-Aquarius Malta, on his historical thesis' preface

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Rodario Outskirts,

Solo Fields

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Being famously located in a mountainous region with only two ways in, as well as its fancy for infantry tactics, Sanctuary wasn't well known for its horsemen, much less its horse fields. While a number of constellations, like Centaur and Sagittarius, were associated with the animals and even had historical Saints like Gestalt who went down in memory for their affinity for horseback riding, the dwellers of Sanctuary obtained the horses used in sports and patrols primarily from their estates away from Greece, rather than within it. Some came from the lands anciently part of Greek Macedonia, which was a better fit for having such beasts, but all in all, it wasn't an animal commonly kept in large enough numbers around Sanctuary itself.

Occasionally, thanks to the wealth and diversity of Sanctuary's people, someone would get in their stupid heads the idea to try to have a riding range close to Rodario, and the land was enclosed not too far from it so that well-off people wouldn't have to travel to Thessaloniki. This wasn't seen as a popular move as most of the people of Rodario and the land in its umbrella were shepherds, fishermen, and farmers. They neither felt they had the land to spare nor the inclination to enjoy having such a big closed-off space for horse bred for entertainment instead of rural work.

Such unpopular vapid self-interest was the case of the Solo family. They were known for their distinguished upbringing, Atlantean bloodline made obvious by their light blue hair and investments made in the Sanctuary Music School of Delphi, where young kids like Orpheé learned to play an instrument using the rhythm and notes of the Cosmos itself. The Solos were also big fans of equestrianism, a hobby they popularized among Sanctuary's elite for its grace and association to traditional European nobility habits.

However, while the Solos were popular among the wealthy, they were not so beloved by Rodarians. These would see the fenced-off pasture fields, made more ostentatious by its neoclassical main building with marble walls and a statue of a prancing horse, with a mixture of class and religious nausea. Not only was there a social divide between the two groups, but Sanctuary dwellers disliked horse breeders in general because they had the rather problematic habit of worshipping Poseidon, one of Athena's worst enemies. All for the tradeoff of the "God of Seas, Earthquakes and Horses" to bless their new stocks all the way from the amphora he was likely sealed in. It was an example of the frictions of Sanctuary's syncretism that ran parallel to social lines.

The three disguised Gold Saints moved past the metal gate guarded by the hoplites. Lance never felt so out-of-place since the party at Kastoria. One day he had been a vandal in Sanctuary Town getting into fights with the foot soldiers, and now they were letting him into these high-class reserved places with all the pomp and honor because he would have to kiss the butt of rich people occasionally if he wanted to get anything productive done in Sanctuary; in this case, getting Aphrodite to feel less alienated in the Zodiac and more at ease with what the Pope expects him to do.

Aphrodite's eyes immediately started looking around, searching for the horsies. Lance couldn't say he shared the enthusiasm. The association with the animals made by his Cloth was merely coincidental as far as his taste for them went and had only earned him awkward stares from people because of his ridiculously-shaped (yet vital) combat helmet. Not only this, but Lance saw little use for having horses outside of farming; not when he could move at the speed of light and had cars and bikes to travel around in emergencies.

Perhaps this was just another example of how poorly educated he was in Sanctuary, or perhaps he had much to catch up on regarding just his basic Bronze Cloth. In either case, Shura seemed more than happy to show off how comfortable he was with Bucephalus, dandily guiding the two Saints inside the premises until he saddled off, opened the fence gate, and allowed the beast to join the other pasturing horses in the gently sloped grass field.

Shura, despite his initial reluctance, seemed now inspired by the idea of sharing his hobby with them. "You know, this might not be such a bad afternoon, after all. Master Kirin has always taught me that men grow better bonds when they are training together."

"Pfft, you're not a man yet." Aphrodite bit.

Something twitched on Shura's eyebrow but he tried to ignore it. "I think you'll see there are few more honorable activities for warriors than learning how to bond with our biggest partners in war, horses. And this should be a special experience for you, Lance, considering you're the Pegasus Saint on the side."

Oh, sure, the idea of being around manure just absolutely elated the older teenager. "Yes… I'm so grateful." He politely said, making the cyan-haired Pisces beside him chuckle.

Aphrodite climbed on the fence and surveyed the many horses, trying to decide which one he would like to own best. "You know, Shura does raise a good point about your armor. How come you never took me here, Lance?"

"I didn't even know this fancy place existed, okay? I thought it was where they kept the ones used to pull plows," assured the red-eyed Bronze Saint. "So how does this work? Do they take payment for letting you in?"

Shura looked at him like he was crazy. "This isn't a tourist attraction. It's a private equestrian school with contracts with the army. You can pay, sure, to watch, and probably not with what we can afford." The black-haired boy snorted. "I'm only allowed cause of me being the Capricorn Gold Saint and Master Kirin having been gifted a lifetime membership. This has the only quality stable around, though, so I've been accompanying the rich people so they can let me keep Bucephalus here longer."

Lance blinked, noticing a hint of sadness in him. "Oh, wow,... so what happens if they get bored with you and decide they don't need to let you in anymore?"

The Capricorn shrugged shoulders somberly. "I'd have to keep Buceph' much further away, probably at Master Kirin's fields all the way in Thrace. I won't have time to spend with him, then."

Aphrodite snorted mockingly. "You call him Buc-?"

Lance covered the Swede's mouth. "That's unfortunate, sorry to hear that, Shura. So where's the person you have to spend the day with?"

His finger pointed at the stables. "She should be coming out now."

Just as predicted, Lance saw the familiar fair-skinned face with blonde hair throttle out to the field on her brown horse. She was wearing the riding apparel consisted of tall saddling boots, long-tailed jacket, buttoned shirt, and the black round safety helmet underneath where her usually loose, wavy blonde hair was tied, but the Pegasus Saint would still recognize Adriana Ghisi's smug smile and shiny silver ring anywhere. It also seemed that even in such a relaxed place, she wouldn't leave her rapier at home, keeping it holstered by her waist.

With a sharp whistle, she guided Bucephalus back to Shura and joined the Saints. "Well, good day to you, Saint Shura. You brought company?" she happily asked, surveying the two strollers. Her tone then seemed disappointed. "...How unexpected."

Shura politely took her hand and saddled back on his horse, which happily neighed in anticipation for an afternoon of stretching its legs. "I apologize for the surprise, Miss Ghisi, but you're always saying how you'd like to meet my Gold Saint brothers. Well, the Pope insists us new Gold Saints spend more time together."

Surveying them, pretending that she had never even met Lance, the young elegant woman covered her gasp when she saw the Pisces-engraved gold pin on Aphrodite's small belt. "Oh Athena, you're… forgive me for asking, but are you the Pisces Gold Saint?"

The boy rolled eyes and folded arms. "No, I'm not." And he would never be if he had a say in it.

Before either Shura or Lance could give him a 'be-nicer' shove, Adriana humbly lowered her head and continued. "Forgive the assumption, then. I just… thought the new rose batches to be so extraordinary that they could only have come from the Gold Saint himself."

This got everyone's sudden attention, especially Aphrodite's, who seemed taken aback by the compliment. "Um… really?"

The silver-ringed woman smiled elatedly. "I've been told incredible things about you, Lord Aphrodite. I take a special personal interest in the Pisces temple. Nothing makes me happier than to see it thrive, other than a well-played contract, perhaps," she swooned. "I even sent a bouquet of your flowers to an old business rival at the hospital recently."

The Capricorn Gold Saint raised his brow. "Miss Ghisi, you do know his plants are toxic, right?"

The gardener himself was skeptical, too. "Yeah, I sell them to people with rat problems."

The female rider blinked as if she missed the issue. "They seemed quite excellent to me." Her eyes disinterestedly looked away before giving the boy a quick wink. "The guy's a pest, after all..."

The message made the boy's eyes widen. "Oh, I like you," he commented, chuckling.

The Pegasus Saint frowned suspiciously. "Why, exactly? You never like anyone I introduce you to."

His shoulders shrugged mischievously. "Cause I get the feeling neither does she."

Seeing the two hit it off, Capricorn Shura saw this as an opportunity to make their request. "Aphrodite would you like to get a couple of hours of riding lessons on one of the younger buckos? If that is okay with you, Miss Ghisi."

She hesitated, prancing her horse around as if walking in a circle herself. "Mm, it would really be up to the Solos to make a fuss about it…"

The cyan-haired boy practically climbed up the palisade. "Oh, please, please! Just for a couple of hours!" Aphrodite pleaded. Lance could swear he saw the woman smirked darkly for an instant and immediately got a bad feeling about this. The boy tugged the mentor's jeans. "Hey, come on, you're buddies, right? Talk her into this, Lance!"

Shura was surprised to hear this. "You two know each other?"

His arms folded. Lance already guessed where this was going. "Yeah... we do!"

But the young woman blinked disinterestedly and stared at the Pegasus. "Do we? Mmm… You'll have to pardon me, Saint Capricorn, but I really can't say I've met Pegasus." she denied, making the Saint roll his red eyes. "Forgive me, Bronze Saints are not… the crowd I usually have to interact with." Lance produced a glare and she rolled her eyes. "Okay fine, I did meet him… in a Gold Cloth."

"Thank you," Lance grumbled.

"I merely wished to respect your discretion, Lord Cancer." She then thought the request over and decided to smooth things over. "There will be trouble for this… but I don't see why not. I'd love to spend time making friends with the twelfth house, especially with such a well-groomed young gardener taking care of it," she flattered, making Aphrodite practically squeal in delight. She turned to one of the caretakers and gave a nod.

"Of course, Lady Ghisi." the horse breeder with the seahorse badge obeyed, going inside and came out with two young horses to choose from, making Aphrodite beam with glee at the choice between the smaller, white one with wavy neck hair and the larger, black one that seemed to be struggling a bit against the breeder's pulling.

Lance instantly recoiled and cursed the Pope; this already looked as much like a bad idea to him as he imagined it would.

But Aphrodite's eyes practically crossed from shifting between the two so fast. "OH, MY GOSH!... I can't decide, they're both so awesome!"

The Capricorn youth by his side smiled. He had never seen his upstairs neighbor like this. Maybe this could really be a chance to get to know the most feared of their group better. "Take your time picking. The first horse you bond with is the most important one."

The Pegasus Saint frowned. Why were some people so in love with beasts that did nothing but fill the road with crap all day? The black one, in particular, looked like a lot of trouble. "They both look like a lot for a young boy. Shura, could you recommend one for him?"

The Spanish boy hummed but quickly reached a conclusion. "For Aphrodite, Sophie, the white one, is probably better. She's well-behaved and came with some training from France. The other one hasn't been broken in yet and might throw him off. It's best if we avoid incidents, though I doubt a gold-rank like 'Dite would get hurt." The Capricorn helped Aphrodite up the palisade, gave him the safety attire to wear and then offered his hand to help the future Pisces up the horse. He chuckled when Aphrodite seemed unable to keep his balance on the horse and his cyan hair disciplined inside the black helmet. "Careful, ah-ah, don't slouch and hold the reins gently."

The two older figures couldn't help but smile at the happy face that the Swedish boy made as he gradually got used to being on the back of such a heavy creature. "Ah, look at me! I'm doing it!" he squealed.

Ghisi beamed in delight. "Aw, you look so gallant, young lord!" The noblewoman complimented, guiding her own horse next to his to help the boy steady himself and his posture. She held his reins so he wouldn't accidentally make Sophie run off. "Follow my movements, okay? I can teach you the fine art of horseback riding and you'll have Sophie do jumps across the fences in a second."

While the offer elated him for a second, Aphrodite's suspicious nature rose to the surface to such generosity. The boy pouted and squinted at her. "Oh yeah? At what cost?"

Her blue eyes looked away again. "I can't lie, young lord, I would appreciate an expedited delivery for me of your flowers...my mother's birthday is coming up, after all."

As the Pisces chuckled and gave Sophie a few playful rein tugs, the Cancer Gold Saint stared at his joy in genuine amazement. He had never seen the boy like this. It seemed as if the noblewoman's surreptitious behavior had a positive effect on Aphrodite's opinion of her, rather than negative, if his increasingly relaxed mood around her was anything to go by.

Lance wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. Maybe Aphrodite secretly missed Elisa. Maybe when the Maiden wasn't planning to slit his throat for the Gold Cloth she had been a good older sister figure. Or maybe Aphrodite just distrusted people so much that two-faced business crazes like Adriana made him feel relieved, instead of on edge.

"Isn't this a good thing?" asked the Pegasus armor on his box.

"Not when it's Aphrodite." Lance clarified.

She saw Saint Lance still standing by the palisade. "What about you, Lord Cancer? Won't you join your friends?"

"Pfft, of course not." he rather bluntly answered.

"Lance never rode on a horse before, Adriana." Aphrodite mocked. "He's a horse virgin!"

His face went red at the ensuing laughter from the two riders. Those two were getting along a bit too well for his taste.

The noblewoman pranced around the Bronze Saint with the sliest squint and smile on her face. "By Athena, I thought I'd seen it all, but a Pegasus Saint who had never ridden a horse?" she asked, a burst of laughter clearly fighting to leave her dignified throat. She even closed her eyes to keep her cool and placed her hand on her forehead as if ashamed for him. "Oh, the inadequacy! We cannot let this be!"

"Mount Olympus had packs of wolves, not horses!" he sharply defended, face turning into a tomato. "Also, what the fuck am I even arguing this for, I don't CARE what you think!"

Shura squinted at how red he looked, especially as Adriana gracefully contained more laughter with her hand. "You clearly care…"

Her hand extended diplomatically. "I'd be willing to endure the brunt of the Solo' indignancy if you would join us, Saint Lance. I can't bear the thought of such a dear friend live so limitedly," she worded. "The Pope would surely be elated if he knew you three spent a wonderful afternoon together bonding."

"Oh yeah? Why?" the Pegasus Saint asked.

She smiled gently. "Nothing gets by you, does it? You must understand; I can't pass this opportunity of having three whole Gold Saint houses owe me a favor. The thought of the added soft power excites me greatly."

While the Pegasus Saint seemed more hesitant than ever, the Pegasus Cloth was intrigued. "You have to admit she's being straightforward with you, Lance," the armor argued. "Maybe this-"

"Oh please, not you too!" the owner responded. He honestly thought he would get at least his Cloth's backing. "Look, she's clearly got some fucked up angle with all this that she isn't telling us about and I don't like the idea of owing favors to her type!"

At this moment, the wilder black horse by the caretaker kicked up a fuss. This seemed to prompt the armor's next line. "She just told you what her angle is… and I was going to say that maybe this could be an opportunity for us to bond together, too.Like you said, Mount Olympus is barren of horses nowadays, but in regular training, you'd have to keep one there and protect it from the elements. Tenma used to take care of a white steed he named after me before Suikyo… left." While the memory was vague and painful to Pegasus, it made a sure-fire-win argument then occur to the armor. "Don't let Kastiel's mistake bar you from growing, Lance."

A frustrated growl was audible in the Bronze Saint. He jumped over the palisade, rolled his eyes and gathered the guts to say to Adriana "Alright, you win… but no funny business, Adriana."

She made her horse clop around him in mocking triumph and curved her lips mischievously. "Why, Saint Lance, you should know by now… business is always the most serious of things to me.

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Chapter 42

Second Arc

Episode 8

The Two Towers

Part 2 of 2

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Meanwhile,

Romania, Crow's Nest Fortress

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As of Sanctuary's conquest of Crow's Nest, the former Cyrulian fortress had become governed the same way as every other one in the Pope's vast demesne, inhabited by hoplites and a small group of Saints who could make effective use of its specialized defenses against enemies like the Specters. As such, it was administered by a Fort Commander with a small number of Saints of Athena under his directive. One such Saint was the Fornax Bronze Saint, wielder of the Cloth also known as Ennetsu, which controlled the power of fire at its bluntest. Trained since birth to be a defender of the fortress, he led the hoplites of Crow's Nest on patrols and was expected to be the first line of defense in case of an attack.

While not the Fort Commander himself, Fornax rarely got called by the big man to the tower from where their old Cyrulian Saint counterparts used to rule from. This gave him a rather comfortable life at the Nest, despite being in such a strategic-looking geographic position, as the fortress was no longer as critical as it used to be. This was mostly because it was no longer part of an elaborate triple border between Specters, Sanctuary, and Cyrulia.

It was a completely natural loss of importance; castles that were once positioned to be fought over could easily become an afterthought by slight changes to map lines and Crow's Nest was now so deep into the controlled territory since the fall of Cyrulia that it became a very unlikely target for Specters. Fornax only thanked the Gods for this, as it meant he was likely to live out his career in peace and, so long as he stayed disciplined about his tasks, he was unlikely to draw the ire of his boss.

As such, when he got a sudden unexpected call to come to the big tower keep, Fornax walked up the spiral stairs with apprehension, wondering what the commander could possibly wish for. He knocked at the large wooden door and they were opened from the inside by the keep guards. Awaiting inside was not only the Commander but the other Bronze Saint present at the castle, the sniper Octans.

A big map of the surrounding area was displayed on the large wooden table and the Fort Commander frowned, holding a piece of paper in his hand. "You took your time, Fornax."

"I was by the outer walls as I'm expected to be," he explained. "Is something the matter, Fort Commander Lacaille?"

The aged warrior snapped his fingers and Octans came over to hand him the object that flew by the window that morning. "We received a threat of attack today. An arrow was shot through my window and pinned the apple I was slicing to the wall… with this paper on it." he announced, making the room tense and unrolling the parchment on top of the map.

Three sentences lied above a signature.

Specters are here. Leave the castle or much blood will be shed. You have until nightfall.

-An old friend

The fire-armored Saint scoffed. "Is this a bad joke?"

"If it's a joke, it's a well-executed one." the Octant Saint commented, equipped in his black Bronze Cloth with straight surfaces and a round lens mounted on his eye from his headpiece, meant to help with sniper blasts. "I don't know many pranksters who can make the shot from outside our control range to the Commander's room window. Hell, I don't know many old contenders to my Cloth who could."

"Get me the secure line to Peloponesia. They're supposed to be on watch for Specters in Austria." Commander Lacaille ordered to a nearby hoplite, who began dialing the coded numbers on the black telephone. "If this is a false threat, the Sagittarius House is gonna get an earful! I heard it has a new kid in it and the Pope won't tolerate Gold-Rankers abusing their powers for giggles."

Fornax sweated, wondering if it was really possible they were getting an honest threat. "Hold on, let's think about this, what if it's serious? Who would warn us like this? Who's the 'old friend'?"

Octans shrugged. "Who the heck knows, but we have to stay watchful in the meantime. I don't know what kind of force large enough to take us would be able to hide from me so well. This entire castle is marked top to bottom with Cyrulian seals. Some of them blow up the bottleneck sectors just from smelling the sulfur off a Specter's worthless Damascus hide. There are also space loops just making travels here difficult. They would be nuts to try to attack this place so suddenly, even with just us Bronzes defending it."

The phone was put on speaker when the connection was established. "*gsshhh* is Peloponnesian Fort Commander, Ionia. Who am I talking to? *gshhh*"

Lacaille cringed. He knew Ionia from previous training and combat shared between them and the man wasn't a pleasant fellow, even to direct colleagues. He was sharp, though, and that was what Lacaille should focus on. "This is Commander Lacaille, from Crow's Nest, fellow Commander Ionia. I'd like a status update on Pandora's Castle."

"*gsshhh*-at the hell for, may I ask? *gsshhh*"

It sounded like the man did not enjoy having his vigilance questioned, but Lacaille overlooked it. "We got an attack threat with some credibility. A message saying Specters will strike us by nightfall."

"*gsshhh*-amn amateurs… Ahem, you have nothing to worry about, Commander Lacaille. You should see the stack of reports I had on my new desk when I first arrived here. *gsshhh* I would go through your men and see which ones have been getting too much time on their hands if I were you. *gsshhh*"

The Bronze Saints looked at one another. "So it's our fault?! What's his damn problem?" Fornax asked.

Lacaille put his finger on the phone mike. "He's not wrong about the possibility. Saint Octans, I want you to stay here in the tower's roof and keep a lookout. Fornax, you're doing inspections this afternoon shift. I want all bases covered."

Fornax grumbled and cracked his knuckles. "Damn it, if I find whoever wrote this notice…"

"We don't have a choice. This is what we do." Octans reminded, more disciplined.

The Fort Commander ignored their frustration and readdressed Ionia. "Commander Ionia, I have reason to believe this particular threat may have some validity," he argued, agreeing with Octans about how unlikely it was a simple prankster would make such a good shot on his breakfast. "Can you just give me the update anyway?"

There was a thinly veiled sigh of annoyance on the other side and the sound of papers being pursued over the transmission. "*gsshhh* - you insist!... Recently an outpost was constructed by the edge of Pandora's Castle barrier, but yesterday it was dismantled, probably because they realized it was a pointless provocation at my guard. Saint Aguilon is present at Peloponesia and his personal guard scouted the area. They risked their lives by entering the barrier and searching it up and down and found only brick and cement. Whatever Specters were there have wisely fallen back to Pandora's skirt. I don't have any other events to report."

The mention of the famous Silver Saint's name got everyone's attention. "Aguilon?... The Herakles Aguilon?" Fornax questioned.

It was easy to question Ionia's enthusiasm, but not so much to do the same for the word of the fabled Saint Herakles. Still, it was odd that an outpost would be erected only to be unceremoniously abandoned little time afterward.

Preoccupation made new wrinkles appear on Lacaille's face. He had a feeling he knew how well Ionia would take his next question. "Is there any chance the Specters from it departed through your territory?"

This was a polite way to ask if Ionia had missed a whole battalion moving past his tenure.

"NO, there's NOT! *gsshhh*" the Commander in Austria answered. "Light speed or not, they wouldn't be able to get past me and my men undetected. There's Gold-Ranks stationed here and I keep them busy making sure the Specters don't."

Putting some distance between himself and the speaker's loud voice, Lacaille measured his options. It was indeed unlikely a force strong enough to overwhelm him would be able to sneak past Peloponesia, especially with someone as overbearing as Ionia stationed there. His instinct, however, told him to call up Greece for help.

"Alright, thank you, Commander Ionia, I appreciate the cooperation." Lacaille politely said, shutting down the line after getting a begrudging acknowledgment from his colleague. "Damn it… I don't like this one bit."

The red-armored Fornax had a thought. "Maybe we can ask Greece for some Gold Ranks, just for today."

The commander hesitated. It wasn't so much that he disagreed with his subordinate, it was just that he suspected Sanctuary would never entertain manning a hinterland fort with precious Gold Rank manpower when they had more important borders to keep secure. Calling in favors for this threat could cost him some respect back home, but then again endangering the fortress he was supposed to watch over was much worse. What should he do?

Praying to Athena he wasn't wrong, he turned to one of the guards. "Get me Sanctuary now. I'll ask for a couple of lightspeed hands for the night and just bear the fallout afterward," he decided.

Octans raised a brow. Spending so many hours at the tower per day made him skeptical the night would be any less boring than the previous ones. "Are you sure, commander? This could be just a bunch of Black Saints trying to intimidate us."

Lacaille shook his head. "No, I'm not sure of anything, but if I remember correctly, the massacres in Ismara and Arcadia from a year ago started with strange reports like this, too. Now go!"

Octans folded arms. "It's too bad the Corvus Cloth is still missing. Half the protections the Cyrulians built in this place were meant to be operated by its Saint." He then climbed onto the window's edge. "Don't worry, though, Commander, I won't let any bone-armored freak get within a hundred feet of the fortress. Their brains will wet the grass before it."

Lacaille nodded as the Bronze Saint climbed out to go and assume a sniper position above the ceiling on their heads. The good thing about Crow's Nest was that the tower was so high it was nearly invulnerable to surprise assaults. Hopefully this would be enough to deter any provocateur until the area was less hot.

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Sanctuary, Golden Zodiac

The Pope's Chambers

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Sitting at his throne room, Pope Arles III seemed as if in deep silence to onlookers. His arms were neatly laid and his mask seemed transfixed forward, but the man chosen by Athena was actually engaged in mental conversation with a faraway friend, one who served under him for many years.

"I fear for him, Akassius. He came to me and I knew not what to tell him," he confessed to the other. "Sometimes I wish you had stayed in Sanctuary till he was here, so Saga could have had some guidance from someone who actually knew what he was talking about."

But the other person was resolute. "Geminis are proud, Your Holiness, and the path to our Cloth is vexing. He would not have accepted my teachings lightly. To him, I'd be a dictator, someone who would demand from him terrible things." Akassius, the retired war-hero, responded. "Your words surely must have done much more good than mine could; I could tell from our brief times together that Saga looks at you for guidance."

And this was the answer the Pope was worried about receiving. Even the mighty Akassius assured Shion that he needed no outside advice, that his wisdom was unquestionable because of the simple fact that he was only two people Sasha could have possibly chosen from to be Pope. The fact that the other candidate was to be stuck in China guarding her seal never set Shion's mind at ease about Sasha's choice.

To aggravate things, little was known about how Gemini Akassius mastered his Path of the Cloth. It was an uncommon development in the Third House and Shion would have paid dearly as Pope to have the Greek war hero's secret. It could even save much misfortunate in the future. However, every Saint knew the Path's secretiveness was vital to ensuring its validity, as it was hard to tell who had the mettle to pass the test if all the cheats were known beforehand.

In the Pope's opinion, though, Saga's situation was especially dire. "Are you aware of the nature the Cloth's trials took in Saga's case?"

"Yes, Your Holiness, vaguely. Some superficial signs… were familiar." the hardened voice responded, a sigh somehow transmitted through the message. "It seems the days of simple schizophrenia, like the one which afflicted my ancestor Cain, are long gone. The Gemini Cloth has gained a twisted imagination over the centuries."

"Then can you not think of something I could do to ease his pain?" the Pope begged.

There was a pause. "Not for lack of sympathy, your Holiness… but you can just have patience. Saga's trial, and my own, are much like a coin flip; chances are that if you try to push one side up, the other will flip over." Akassius analogized.

"But I feel so powerless!" the Pope growled, fingers sinking into the throne's arms. "How can you ask me to be patient when it's my duty…"

Akassius seemed startled in his response. "...Why not? Your Holiness, we have plenty of time. Hades won't return for another decade. There is enough time to prepare a whole new Gemini Saint if we have to. Your duty is well underway," Akassius argued, freezing the Pope from hundreds of miles away. The last thing Shion wanted was to give Akassius further impressions that he had special favoring for this generation. "Saga's pain will only temper him. His brilliance will only attract shadows and those, in turn, will make him seem like an even brighter star. Not even the Pope has the right to interfere in a Saint's holy path. Imagine if you had tried the same with me."

The elder Lemurian forced himself to calm down. In normal circumstances, Shion would have seen the wisdom in Akassius' words rather quickly and easily, especially as Arles was a member of the race that created the Cloths, one capable of speaking with them to boot, and ought to see the silver lining in them.

He could not give a contrary behavior to this. "... Thank you, my boy. As always, I appreciate your objectiveness. Give Cecilia my regards."

"It's always a privilege, Lord Arles." the mental voice finalized.

With a head full of stress worms, Shion got up from his throne and walked up to the stained-glass windows. Sometimes he wished he had gotten clear ones so he could see Sanctuary Town from his throne room whenever he wanted to take a deep breath from his worrying. This was the part about Dohko's side of the deal that the Lemurian envied; the Libra could always count on nature as a soother of the spirit.

This situation was Shion's fault, though; juggling Hecate's prophecies with the old Gold Saint generation, then with the new generation and finally with Sanctuary entirely had left Shion in his most recent years increasingly doubting his own judgment and capabilities, a confidence that had never been stellar to begin with. If only his Lemurian genes had given him the gift to survive this too, rather than just a long life and great intellect. This was one thing he envied in Taurus Saints; the ability to endure pain and frustration as a vital part of life, like the breakfast of Saints.

Shion still remembered the first man he knighted as a Gold Saint; Taurus Teneo, a brave young boy among the three of Rasgado's students who fought by his teacher's side to protect Sanctuary. The Lost Canvas Generation had tragically left virtually no students to replace them with the exception of Rasgado's kids, a loss in blood that plagued Arles III's early years of tenure. This was because the Lost Canvas Gold Saints themselves were already filling in for the ones that were killed by Suikyo and Odysseus nearly a couple of years earlier.

Ever since then, Shion had always made sure to keep the Second House occupied and always hoped Taurus Saints would rule long and prosperous; their ability to give big laughs in the face of certain catastrophe was a balsam. While the new Aldebaran will certainly become a great Gold Saint, Daniel's departure had still been painful to him, having been with him for several decades.

If only Rasgado himself had not been so shamelessly lost...

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

"NIGHTMARE SONAR!"

The flutter of wings was heard all across the large camp by the amphitheater ruins, but the bats let out an imperceptible screech to the human ear that was causing eyelids to grow heavy and people, from villagers to Saints, collapsed on the ground and their tent beds. What was a crowd previously panicked by Hades' sudden arrival at the Fire Clock was now becoming a silenced population, unmanning the valley's defenses entirely.

Bat Wimber and Dullahan Cube casually strolled among the sinners up to the amphitheater ruin, chuckling to themselves. "Lady Pandora will be very pleased; Prince Lucifer's strategy worked like a charm! The Gold Saints created a huge opening for us to walk inside like we own the place!" Bat Wimber mocked.

Looking around, Dullahan saw a young teenager with tied black hair and horned shoulder pads struggling to resist his drowsiness. "Look, I think it's one of Taurus' disciples. He was at Lord Kagaho's battle site." he noted, lifting up the Sanctuary punk by the mane. "So how's it gonna be, kid, you're gonna cooperate?"

All Teneo could see was a blur, but he could tell it was one of the Specters talking. "F-fuck you!" he then gasped when an armored foot kicked him right in the stomach.

"Tell us where Pegasus is! It's his head or yours, boy!" Dullahan Cube insisted. The Specter cursed Persephone herself, though, when the teen fell right to sleep. "Damn it, Wimber, couldn't you have told your flying rats to scale it down?! How are we supposed to interrogate anyone when you always send everyone to their seventh sleep?!"

The vampiric Saint hissed. "That's not how it works! It's Cait Sith's fault for losing track of him after he fought Prince Michael, or we wouldn't be here looking for a Bronze Saint, but I'm sure we'll find him cause the guy walks around in pointy white armor that looks like a horse!" the fang-toothed Search Star argued.

Dullahan shivered. "Ugh… just like those Cyrulian Saints. Hey, maybe that's why Pandora wants the guy dead; he must have the Light element and is trained to kill Specters. I did hear he wiped out Mandrake's whole dungeon." He saw Wimber suddenly get even paler than he usually was. "What's wrong?"

Wimber pointed at him and tried to talk. "T… T… It's Ta…"

The alien-helmeted Dullahan raised his brow before he suddenly felt the light of the moon no longer on him. He turned around. His green-glassed visors looked all the way up, looking for the top of the wall of golden metal standing before him.

With arms folded, long white hair, a bull-horned helmet, and an eye closed off by the burns inflicted by Kagaho, Taurus Rasgado stood taller than anyone they had ever met. All the sleeping bodies around them, including Teneo, had been flickered away from the field.

Wimber's voice finally returned. "It's TAURUS!"

Dullahan screamed and stumbled back, falling over Wimber to the ground and crawling away. "You're supposed to be ASLEEP!" his back then hit another pair of metal legs and the two Specters looked up to see a green-haired, pink armored Bronze Saint standing there.

Andromeda frowned angrily, his chains still flickering with the cosmos he spent on Rolling Defense to save himself and Lord Rasgado from Nightmare Sonar's soundwaves. His experience fighting Scylla Io and Siren Sorrento came in handy once again.

Rasgado smirked and pointed a thumb at the Bronze Saint. "I got some help, Specters, but make no mistake! Even without Shun here, I would deafen myself before falling asleep to such a low technique!"

"You two wished to arm our friends, but I'm afraid Atla took Tenma to Athena's side." The Andromeda declared, furious. "You, however, won't get away with this, even with a teleport!"

Rasgado gritted teeth in agreement. "No, Shun,… no they won't!" His whole body then burned with cosmos and a gigantic bull's mooing was heard in the background. "Behold the rage of the BULL! TITAN NOVA!"

The Andromeda Saint instantly jumped away and the last thing the two screaming Specters saw was the ground beneath them growing golden hot with a coming eruption of pure light and the entire ruin exploded in a shower of rock and cosmos, instantly vaporizing the two screaming Specters. The Bronze Saint raised an arm to shield his eyes as he landed behind cover by the edge of the ruins, feeling that the whole area shook with the force of Rasgado's attack. He heard the countless, huge boulders fall back on the ground, cratering it all over, and looked up to see a smoke cloud and dust specks littering the Gold Saint's armor otherwise brilliant surface.

He sweated, seeing the huge, blackened hole left behind in the two Specter's place. It was a shame Lord Rasgado couldn't just capture them, but considering Alone's arrival and Lord Rasgado's injuries, it was perhaps too risky.

The giant Gold Saint folded his arms once more. "I think we're good now, Shun. We'll secure the premises and head right back to the Zodiac. Sisyphus is heading to protect Athena as we speak."

The green head nodded as he leaped off his marble perch. "True, and Hyoga could be back with Lord Dohko already as well." The Bronze Saint was just about to nod but then he gasped when he saw a shadow leap above Lord Rasgado from the blind spot of his right eye. "LORD RASGADO, WATCH OUT!" he shouted, jumping at the attacker at light speed.

Dullahan's body reformed from its ghastly projection and struck "D-DIE, TAURUS! DEATH MESSENGER!" he screamed, startling the Gold Saint and projecting the image of the ghastly headless fairy.

A chain, however, acted faster, wrapping around his body and pulling Andromeda's light body towards him, who then executed a spiraling kick which loudly slammed Dullahan whole body straight to the ground, shattering his already heavily damaged Surplice and breaking half the bones in his body, forcing a scream out of his mouth before silencing him entirely.

Rasgado stood back, touching his pained chest. He felt as if a strange force, like a chilling song, had tried to cause it to arrest, similarly to the powers of the Sphinx Specter. The huge Gold Saint sighed in relief. "... Shun, thank you, you saved me again. I don't know what he was going to do, but it was unlike anything I had ever seen."

The Andromeda Saint smiled and nodded. Back home, Dullahan Cube had been killed and replaced by Saga during their own Holy War with Hades, so the Bronze Saint had never learned of his powers either, but maybe they were better off in ignorance.

"It's okay, though that was close… this must be a specially strong Terrestrial Star." The green head's Andromeda chains wrapped themselves around Dullahan so as to bind the Specter. "We'll take him back to the temples and deal with Alone, Lord Taurus, Dullahan could tell us why this attack is being conducted so strangely."

The Gold Saint grabbed Cube's collar and lifted him up. "He can do that now! So how about it, Dullahan? Would you like to know how many bones can be broken in a Specter before they die?"

The Terrestrial Star squirmed, coughing out blood. "S-screw you, Taurus!... I may die tonight, but Hades will prevail! And I'll be brought back to dance on your grave!"

The threat shocked the Bronze Saint. "Why do you fight for someone who wants to turn the whole world barren?!" Andromeda demanded to know.

The Specter laughed in pain. "H-heh, heh… cause the whole world DESERVES it! H-have you looked around? Have you seen the sinning and the filth?! To me, salting the E-Earth itself is what will SAVE this wretched planet! And you Saints can choke on its evil if you lik-"

Rasgado harshly shoves Dullahan against the floor again and pressed his huge foot on his leg, making him scream. "Tell us where Pandora is! Or do you want to find out what it feels like to have one hundred pounds of pure gold flattening your neck?! If you assassins are here, then surely she's around!"

"A-AAGHH!..." Feeling the nerves around his knee burning in agony and threatening to be crushed, Dullahan conceded. "O-okay, OKAY! I'll tell you! She's coming on Hades' chariot through a pocket dim-"

An alarm went off in Andromeda's head and the two Saints barely had time to look up before a bright, blue javelin of pure electrical cosmos seemingly missed Shun by a hair, only to strike Dullahan's exposed throat directly, ripping off his head. Shun gasped with the blood splatter and stepped away in a stumble, held by Rasgado.

The two looked up to see the new arrival. "WHO DID THAT?!" Taurus roared.

Perched on a surviving pillar ruin and concealed in a cape of shadows wrapped around his body, a figure brimming with blood-red and black cosmos flowing around it gazed down upon them, its exposed, gauntleted hand revealed him as Dullahan's executioner. A pair of red eyes shone in the moonlight and his bat-winged, dragon-horned crown ornamented with a central ruby rested upon a mane of silver. More importantly, a colossal emanation of cosmos was felt, one that seemed second only to the godly figure confronting Athena back at the Zodiac.

Rasgado growled angrily, not recognizing the silhouette of this Specter's armor. "Who ARE you, Specter?!"

A faint chuckle was heard and the cape rested downwards, revealing a brilliantly crafted Surplice with a demonic grin its chest plate and tones of black and blood-red in its double shoulder pads, heavy arm and leg pieces, waist belt and down-horned collar guard. With feet drenched in cosmos, the man leaped down from his perch like a bullet and meteored right before them, cratering the floor and spreading a miasma of dark cosmos all over the ground like a flooding swamp.

He stood up, reveling in the fear he inspired in them, the looks of sudden terror on their faces. "I am Daemon Lucifer, the Celestial Star of Pride…." he began, pacing closer. "…Dark Prince of the Specters and Left Arm of Hades himself."

The Andromeda Saint had ever heard of such a name or title. His grip on his chains intensified.

Taurus Rasgado smirked nervously. "What a mouthful… maybe you'd benefit from rounding it down?"

But the names made Andromeda's memory juggle with the fires of Dark Angel. Was he the one who fought Shiryu and Asmita at Jamir? "Are you here for revenge?!"

The man scoffed at the mention of his equal. "Revenge? For Michael? Mm-mm-mm, no...I engineered this attack especially for you, Taurus." He pointed at the Gold Saint, his blood eyes locked on Rasgado. "And by the end of this, for the shame you and Minos brought on us Specters, you will be the sacrifice of blood at Alone's feet!"

Blue lightning then struck the Specter from the skies, as if purposely summoned, dressing the Prince into an even more terrifying figure of darkness and furious electricity taking the vague shape of a winged devil. Andromeda and Taurus recoiled, faces in shock and fear, and the burning of their cosmos made the figures of the chained Princess and the Cretan Bull appear in the sky looking down on the Specter, only to be countered by that of a draconic devil bursting from the ground at them, claws dressed in lightning.

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

The hand grabbed his arm. "Your Holiness!"

The Pope awakened from his trance and looked over to see none other than the Sagittarius Saint right before him. He had apparently been let in by the guards while Shion was lost in the tales he got from Teneo of Rasgado's last battle. "... Aiolos? Oh, excuse me, I was daydreaming for a second."

The bandana-wearing youth scratched his head. Was the Pope really the type to do this? The archer supposed it was likely that at his age he was getting nostalgic about things. "It's quite alright, Lord Arles. I just came here to ask about Saga. He ran through my House quite upset after seeing you, so I was wondering."

Akassius' advice returned to Shion's mind. He wished to tell Aiolos to help Saga directly, but he could not. "Nothing that a good breath of fresh air wouldn't fix, that young, overworked fool. Make sure to tell him that if you can."

Something told Aiolos that the Pope was being deliberately discrete. This didn't sound like the kind of thing that would leave Athena's boss with the head on the moon. "...Sure thing, of course, your Holiness." He was about to head off but wanted to make sure of one thing. "Was this about the lead he found about the Black Saints? I'd like to know how that went, too."

The Pope thought for a minute on how to respond. "Half and half… Saga may have gotten more new questions to pursue from the soldier Jaki than answers." He then glanced at the throne room, where he had met Leon the night before. "Fortunately, our young Gemini Saint is not the only person I have on the case."

While Aiolos didn't exactly understand what the Pope meant with this, he discarded it for then, more preoccupied with Saga than Priam right then. He headed off to go meet the Gemini and left the Holy Father to his devices.

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

Rodario, Solo Horse Ranch

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

After Shura and Aphrodite got their bearings and made their path up the ranch field with Bucephalus and Sophie, the Pegasus Bronze Saint stood before the only available horse for him to get started; the larger, more ill-tempered black draught horse of white-furred hooves who constantly huffed and puffed at the caretaker. A saddle, reins and stirrups were placed on the beast with some effort and even the experienced worker seemed frustrated with the young steed's regular thrashing.

The blonde, silver-ringed noblewoman watched the Saint work up a nervous sweat and chuckled to her hand in amusement. "Well, what are you waiting for? This should be natural for you."

"Ugh, Aphrodite wanted to see these things, not me."

Her head shook with a smile determined to show him wrong. "Never an hour is wasted that is spent on a saddle, Saint Lance." she worded, finger raised, earning a dumbfounded stare from him. "…Churchill said this. You really ought to spend more hours at the library."

The red-eyed Saint cringed when the caretaker backed off from almost being trampled by the prancing beast. "This is just an elaborate scheme so you can watch me get kicked by a horse through the wall, isn't it?"

She seemed slightly offended. "Maybe… but that won't happen if you do what I tell you and don't stand behind it, Saint Lance. Also, I'm shocked; do you honestly think I have time to spare to concoct such wheedling?"

Was this gal for real? "Yes!"

She patiently shook her head, took the lead rope into the Saint's hand, grasping it tightly. "Here, come with me. I'll help you." Adriana ignored his nervousness and gripped his fingers when the Saint seemed hesitant. "Don't be scared, he's not gonna bite you." she murmured, slowly guiding his approach.

He gulped. "…Okay." Her light touch made the teenage stir. He hadn't imagined someone who carried a sword-like hers around would have such a soft hand.

She then felt a familiar heat of energy in his hand. "Don't burn your cosmos either, it's a mistake few don't regret making." she politely stressed, causing the teenager to lower the defensive energy hardening. "You might feel the instinct to want to shield yourself, but some animals are spooked by our magical superpowers. It makes their fight-or-flight reaction kick in."

The Pegasus Saint gritted teeth as he gradually approached the black, nervous horse from the side. The general idea seemed to be not to startle the animal in any conceivable way, but the youth felt like if anything the huge animal would get the jump on him first. "Are you sure of this?"

She smirked amusedly, reminded of her own initial fears. "Yes, I've literally done this since I was very young, Saint Lance. I know what I'm doing. Don't meet his eye and let me guide your hand." When the beast slowly turned its snout at them, she made sure to keep Lance's hand up and let it sense his scent before letting go of it. "See, he's just frightened…"

For a moment, the red-eyed teenager wasn't sure of which one of them she was talking about, especially not with the hot, animal breath over his fingers. "... You did this stuff as a little kid?"

The thought of it seemed to bring a genuine smile to her face. "I didn't realize the Cancer Saint was capable of calm, reflective interest in others. Yes, I believe I told you that at the Coliseum; my grandfather taught me when I was only a child." After letting the black horse breathe over his hand a few more times, it snorted away in displeasure and ruffled its head, as if allergic to Lance. "Now try petting him a bit."

"What?!"

The harsh reaction made the black horse back off a bit and her blue eyes rolled against her more educated judgment. "Don't be embarrassed, just try it." she exasperatedly insisted, and the late teenager slowly rested fingers on the animal's restless long face and moved his fingers up and down its fur. They watched the animal grow slightly calmer. It still looked so tense that it seemed like it would do a pirouette on Lance's face at the slightest provocation, but at least it wasn't prancing around aimlessly anymore. "How does it feel?"

The sensation was provocative to him, like petting a bee's nest. "It feels that he's got 600 pounds of muscle on me."

"By the Gods, however, will you survive this, Saint Lance? Perhaps we should train you to defeat the horse." she pointed out, resting a hand on her own waist, seeing that the irony was not lost on him. She just couldn't stop finding amusing things about it, though. "I'm sorry, it's just like your brain can't process situations without a frame of fighting to them. How do you get around Sanctuary without punching every door down?"

"...Not on a horse, I'll tell you that." he thought.

"Then maybe with a horse ON you?" the Pegasus Cloth suddenly asked, referring to itself.

Its owner twitched his eyebrows. "Since when do YOU crack jokes at me?"

"I couldn't resist."

After a while of grooming the horse in various ways and getting him comfortable to the Saint's presence, it seemed relaxed enough to indicate the two that it was ready for the next step. "So what now? ...Do I get on it?"

Adriana touched her lips in reflection. "Maybe not yet. Take the lead rope. You can walk it with us until we're absolutely sure he won't toss you over the water stall," she suggested. There was no end to the fun she got from pointing out the Saint's nervousness. To her, horse riding was so natural. "How about naming it for now? It doesn't have a tag yet."

He blinked as he gently pulled the lead rope to guide the horse out the stable. "... I can do that?"

Her impeccably attired shoulders shrugged as she got back on her brown horse. "I don't see why not." Lance looked at the plaque over the ranch's gatehouse, making her notice the issue. "Oh, the Solo family? Don't preoccupy yourself, they won't mind."

Lance knew too well how possessive the people of her class were to believe this. "That doesn't seem like rich people in Sanctuary would do."

She then gave him her all too familiar smirk which just spelled out how this was another one of her webbings. "Tell me, do you have any idea how wealthy the Solos are?"

His brow raised. "I'm guessing very?"

She nodded. "Come on, I'll tell you on the way to the others." They picked up the trail to finally follow Shura and Aphrodite.

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

Meanwhile,

Romania, Crow's Nest

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

As the afternoon rolled through and the sun began moving to the west side of the sky, Priam, the former Gold Saint of Sagittarius, walked through the mobilizing Skeleton Soldiers, who seemed to be checking their crossbows and scythes in preparation for the attack.

The Black Saint had waited patiently for Daese to leave the scene. "Are you back at base?" he asked out in a mental message.

"Yes. We're moving out from Alaska to Japan, just to be safe." The female voice responded. "Priam, be careful; if Lucifer finds out what you're doing…"

The brown-haired burned man smiled instinctively, even though they were no longer next to each other. "Don't worry, I'm the guy who fought Sanctuary for years, remember? The Prince is good, but he has nothing on Malta." He assured her before blocking out communications. It was better if he didn't let any messages get intercepted from then on.

Spotting a pair of chatting False Skeleton Soldiers by the edge of the group, Priam discreetly stood against a tree and listened in.

The first dragged a limestone through his scythe's edge. "Do you think the attack will go well?"

The second nodded. "Yeah, I do. It's Daemon we're talking about. He ran the Underworld all by himself for centuries. If he can pull off the 'Exodus' and live to tell the tale, I'll believe anything he says he can do."

"No, I mean, taking the fortress is one thing… but how is he so sure the Gold Saints won't notice anything afterwards?" the first protested, looking around nervously for anyone that could be eavesdropping on them. "I've seen those guys in action. If Lucifer's attack group gets found out, it won't be just them on the frying pan. This whole area will get literally nuked all the way from Greece."

The second Skeleton staggered. "Literally?" He didn't sign up for this. "Sanctuary has nuclear bombs?!"

The first smacked his head. "No, you idiot, I meant figuratively-literally. Why the heck would they need actual nukes? If one of their Gold Saints even so much as spits around here, the entire area will turn into a hurricane scene."

The second snorted indignantly. "Well, you should have said so! If you were being figuratively-literate about freaking nukes, you should have been, you know, literally-figurative about it, or everyone's gonna think they can mushroom cloud half the Balkans! How am I supposed to tell?!"

The first stopped liming his scythe with how shocked he was by his stupidity. "Why should I need to explain?! Can't you deduce it on your own?!"

The other shrugged. "It's just being considerate, is all!"

The first False Skeleton shook his head. "For crying out loud, man… let the Specters hear you talk like that and see if they get considerate. And get busy, for Daemon's sake, he said we will make our move when darkness comes and you're just standing around with a rusted crossbow!"

The second trailed off to check his weapon. "Whatever, man…"

Peeking out of his hiding hole, Priam broke a sweat. It didn't sound like any of Lucifer's men could tell him anything new about how things would get done. He supposed he had no choice but to get to work.

He leaped onto the branches of the tree he had been hugging and climbed up till he was able to poke his head out of the leaves. His goggled archer eyes immediately spotted Crow's Nest to the east of them. The Specter camp was far away enough that they could reliably mask their presence but deep enough that they could take occasional glances at the target without rescinding the safety of the group.

As always, Daemon Lucifer was hiding right beneath the nose of his enemy.

Priam's 7th sense went into full alarm mode when a cosmos-filled gaze suddenly surveyed the area he was on from the top of the distant tower-keep and he lowered himself until the scanning gaze passed. Looking back, his senses detected the blueish piercing cosmos leering around and traced its origin to a person knelt at the very top of Crow's Nest.

"It's the Octans Saint… he must be looking out for threats, which means my warning worked, thank the Goddess," he concluded, remembering well the powers of the Cloths of Athena. "…but it seems they want to stand their ground, which isn't ideal."

All things considered, though, what could he do, save of teleporting every Sanctuary defender out there one-by-one and endangering all his Black Saint friends by confirming to the world that the hated Priam was, indeed, still alive and possibly conniving with Specters? And all while Lucifer's men flood the fortress? Crow's Nest was also deceptively labyrinthic, with corridors designed by the Knights going deep within the fortress to lure cosmos users in and ambush them, which meant it was hard to determine how many defenders were present and where to get them.

Hard choices would have to be made about how to act, all taking into consideration how he could not afford to let his identity out to whomever he saved.

Thank Athena that, at least, he had a couple of hours to think of it, maybe even get a better window of opportunity for a drastic plan. Even Lucifer wouldn't be so foolish to attack during daylight.

It was then that, from his perch, Priam sensed Lucifer below getting together with his chosen warriors and head off towards the edge of their cosmos-masked ground. "Get together, team, it's time to attack!" he barked.

Priam's eyes widened. "No, he can't be serious!" he rushed ahead between the branches, silent like a hunter, his cosmos perfectly hidden, and positioned himself above the Specters to listen in. The five Specters he picked for the offensive maneuver were indeed getting warmed up and looking at the Prince. "How is he going to take it now in broad daylight?!"

The Prince's red eyes surveyed the gathering. "Where is Priam?!" he demanded to know.

Mandrake Nevil looked around. "I think the girl with him left, but I don't know about that guy."

Deep Amphion gritted teeth. "Has he gone into hiding? It's weird that he would leave without getting the page with our names, not that I'm complaining…" He turned to their leader. "Prince, I can turn this whole area into a poisonous swamp to flush him out!"

The elite, Papillion Ainsel, held the horn-armored Specter back with his arm. "Don't be foolish, brother Amphion. That would give us away to the Saints." The antennas, on his orange helmet, twitched, searching for signs of Priam's cosmos. "I don't think he warped away… but we would have sensed if he left with lightspeed…"

"I'm right here!" Priam declared, emerging from the trees. He walked among the False Specters and faced the Prince. "Lucifer, what is this?! I thought you were going to strike later?"

Lucifer pointed at Priam with the page he promised the Black Saint, as if taunting him. "Oh, good, you're here, I can get started."

Bat Brune followed the Prince, his cosmos burning in the shape of many flapping bat wings. "Lord Lucifer, we're ready, give us the order! We're off of Hades' leash now and I want to shed blood!"

The back of Lucifer's fist stopped just short of the False Specter's face, staggering him. "You will move when I told you to or you'll move straight down to an early grave." He then returned Priam his red attention. "I was just thinking about you, Priam, wondering where my oldest ally has gone. You weren't thinking any stupid things, were you? Like going into that place to rescue a couple of fools?"

The Black Saint stood quiet, sweating.

The tactician Prince didn't like his silence one bit. He was not one for underestimating enemy or ally. "Do you want to be on the other side of those walls, Priam? Is your old Saint blood burning? Or maybe you were trying to get a better view of me slaughtering your old friends?"

His teeth gritted. "Don't test me…"

Lucifer stored the page back inside his cuirass' collar and looked at Torak. "Get it ready." The massive Behemoth Specter nodded and took the large spear spiked on the grass. Seeing Priam's confused look, the devil explained himself. "I'm a harsh discipliner, Priam, but I have a taste for theatrics. It comes with dealing with Saints like you for so long. Asides from the careful plan I drafted from my men, I was going to start off this war with Shion with a bit of a bang, namely having Torak here skewer their commander all the way from our position."

The Black Saint could already tell where this was going. "Which one of you saw me?"

"I did." Lucifer assured, rising chin dignantly. For some reason it seemed to surprise Priam. "What did you think, Priam, that I'm some armchair general? The biggest mistake the Judges ever made was thinking they could fight a war without lifting their useless behinds from their thrones. Can you imagine my surprise this morning, making sure the enemy guard was still lazy and not alert, when a little tiny light broke their window?"

The brown-haired burned man stepped back, feeling his blood go cold as the False Specters surrounded him. His cosmos began to burn lightly, preparing Lightning Arrow. There was no excuse to this in their eyes, so Priam would not argue one. "Despite everything, I'm a man of Athena, Lucifer. What would you have me do?"

"Kill him!" Dullahan Hedron urged. "He endangered all of us!"

"So he has." Lucifer stoically agreed, staring right into the Black Saint's eyes.

"Orders, Prince?" asked Nasu Erika, ready for action.

Priam gulped, his eyes were transfixed in the Nasu Specter. "No, I had it wrong… he won't wait till it's dark!... He'll make the night come to him!" His aura became more visible, brimming with gold and sparks.

"You have twenty seconds, Priam… for old time's sake." Lucifer said, folding arms. As soon as he said this, the former Saint of Sagittarius blitzed away, shooting off the forest in the form of a dart of light. "You couldn't resist, could you?... You stupid pacifist! By the end of today, though, you'll pay the price for your idealism."

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

Fornax pushed his men along the walls, getting them into position. Octans was surveying the area but he didn't want to take chances. "I want a lieutenant in every corner with at least five men rotating schedule. Look alive, people, today will be a bus-"

The thunderous impact then hit right next to him, deafening and pushing back the Saint. The wall defender gasped and shouted alert, but the Cyrulian seal traps didn't go off.

"The hell?!" one asked, looking up.

"Is it a Specter?"

"No, the traps aren't triggered!" a lieutenant warned, looking at the man. "Who the hell are you?!"

Priam stood up from the small, blackened crater he caused and lowered his hood, showing his burned face.

The hoplites stared, many confused. Fornax too, blinked. It didn't seem like any Specter or Gold rank they had met.

His hands gestured peace. "Please listen to me, Saints. I'm here to warn you!"

The eyes of an older veteran, however, shook in recognition. Flashes of the Third Civil War ran through his eyes. "It's… you." He tucked his round shield and aimed spear. "BLACK SAINT! It's Priam, the black saint! The Devil of Sanctuary!"

Many panicked looks were shared and more spears were aimed. The blue laser from Octans' scope aimed straight at Priam's head. "GET DOWN ON THE GROUND, Black Saint!"

The Black Saint brushed them off. "NO, LISTEN TO ME, WE DON'T HAVE TIME! If you don't leave now, the Specters will annihilate you!" Far above the inner walls more soldiers rushed to see what was happening. Priam turned up to them. "Get your commander, call Sanctuary! The Specters are about to begin Holy War!"

Fort Commander Lacaille's face paled, thinking he recognized the man all the way from the inner wall. The mention of the two h and w words made the whole fort go into a loud cacophony of protests and shouts for the Black Saint to shut up. His fingers touched his temple to focus and he tried to mentally locate the closest help. "Sanctuary, this is Crow's Nest!"

"Crow's Nest?" the voice of Sagitta Nam, the head of the MMC responded. "What's wrong?"

"Someone just trespassed us and one of the older soldiers is screaming that he's Priam, of the old war's Black Saints."

The MMC head hesitated to respond. "…Could you repeat that? You said the Black Saint Priam showed up?!"

"Yes, send help immediately!" but he immediately began sensing static, as if his mind tried to penetrate a fog. "Sanctuary?! Can you hear me?! Hades be damned, jamming…?!"

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

"Time's up for Priam, Lucifer." Alraune Lemon called, his snidely smirk on his face. "Are you going to keep risking us all or take action?"

Lucifer ignored Lemon and turned to Ainsel. "What was the last communication?"

The Papillion Specter smirked. "They just told Sanctuary Priam is up there, Lord. I went ahead and jammed them afterwards, just as you said. What a pity… this will make them terribly confused."

"Excellent." The Prince simply answered.

Alraune widened his eyes. "This… will make Sanctuary think they can't act! The damn Pope has been trying to keep the return of the Black Saints under wraps since the festival!" he realised, his blood going cold. More and more he realized how much he had underestimated the Daemon Specter and the guillotine he almost put himself through. "By Persephone, he's got the Saints right under his thumb!"

The dark and red armored Specter Prince ignored the Alraune and raised his hand, on which, with a burning of his aura, a sphere of darkness the size of a basketball sprout out from the fingers, twirling around like woven evil. "This would have been easier with Shaman around and his Black Raven technique… but he went and got himself killed with Yakos, so we'll have to improvise. Erika, take this cosmos, fly up with lightspeed, and do your worst. I want my mind free of having to jam this place."

The Nasu Specter smirked, held out her hands and the ball of energy passed on to her like an electrical charge, immersing her body in an empowered aura of burning energy that made her disheveled wings rattle like an insect leg.

Lucifer then turned to Torak. "Start it, Torak… my False Holy War!"

The huge young man stepped onward, spear in hand. With a headstart and a mighty lunge, he threw the spear.

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

The hoplites pushed Priam against the battlement's edge, arresting him. "STAND DOWN!"

The black Saint tried to reason with them. "LISTEN TO ME! There's hundreds of them standing right outside Crow's Nest! They are led by a very powerful and dangerous man!"

"He's Priam of the Black Saints!" the veteran shouted.

Fornax stared at him in confusion. "What the fuck are you on about, man?! Shut up!" he then pointed at Priam "We are thousands of kilometers inside our own land, there's NO Specters around! Someone take this trespasser to the jail cell!"

The hoplite on his side saluted as the spear flew above their heads. "Yes, Saint Forna-Gah-!" The side of his torso was penetrated and he got pinned straight to the edge of the wall, sending all the guards into a fit of shock!

Fornax staggered, seeing the dangling spear unfold a flag of an eclipse, announcing war. "SHIT! N-NO!"

"LOOK OUT!" another hoplite shouted, pointing outside.

With a mad cackle, a winged woman clad in darkness then flew up above them, blasting through the tree branches and nearly running over the disguised Priam, until she was high in the sky, spreading out her wings.

Spreading out her long wings, Erika laughed like a witch. With lightspeed on her side, all the movements in the fortress were sluggish to her. "It's too late, Saints! IMPURE NIGHT!" and her arms and legs spread out to the sides, causing a gigantic swatch of darkness to belch from her wings all over the fortress. "None of you are going anywhere!"

At Crow's Nest, the Octans Saint sensed the sudden spike of dark cosmos to the west and locked his lensed sight on it. "What the hell?!" The sunlight disappeared behind its mantle, swallowing the entire valley in shadow, and the many defenders immediately illuminated themselves with the burning of their cosmos. Octans was no exception, his Bronze Cloth shining like a blue star in the dark. "WE HAVE AN ATTACKER!" and he touched his temples to magnify a mental message. "Sanctuary, this is Crow's Nest, we are under attack! Send help NOW!"

However, as the darkness vomited by the Specter's wings collapsed over them, Octans merely heard his own message bounce back from the sky-engulfing slime back to him. "Sanctuary, … Nest, we are … attack! Send … NOW!"

His face paled. "Oh no… we're completely blocked off?!"

The Fornax Saint down at the battlements sensed it too. He looked over at Priam and he was gone. "Where the hell did the Black Saint go?!"

"He was just here a second ago, Saint Fornax!" an hoplite answered.

"Fuck, we don't have time for this, man the defenses!" and he raised his arms at everyone in sight "TO THE WEST WALLS, SAINTS! PREPARE TO DEFEND ATHENA'S CASTLE!" He then burned his cosmos and prepared an attack to both signal the position and shoot down the Specter. "FIRE SCREW!" He punched the air in her direction, shooting out a spiraling torrent of flames.

The defending hoplites all saw the origin of the attack and rushed to Fornax, while others observed the huge thrown bonfire head straight towards the source of the sudden darkness.

The flying False Specter, however, merely chuckled and charged a basic ball of purple cosmos in her hand. "Ah-ah. how cute, a Bronze Saint attacking me!" her wing then closed around her and the fire blast struck like water against rock, being slapped away unceremoniously.

Fornax lowered his fist in terror, seeing the Specter then aim her counterblast right at him. "Oh no… Athena help us…"

And with a throw of her arm, an energy blast fired off, blasting straight through and bombarding the entire battlement that Fornax stood on, sending the screaming Bronze Saint and half the defender group with him flying into the bailey, not to mention destroying the top of the reinforced barbican. Screams and command shouts were heard throughout the entire fortress in reaction.

Further outside in the forest, as soon as the Prince was sure that Impure Night's dome touched the floor, encircling the area, as well as the barbican top stones falling everywhere, he raised his hand and sent his next two warriors forward. "The enemy is entrapped. Bat, Deep, it's your move. Make sure no one escapes your attacks."

The two bloodthirsty False Specters licked their lips. "The time of conquest has come, ah-ah." Deep laughed, his dark cosmos already flowing over his body with a black miasma-like texture.

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

Rodario

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

On his strolling steed Bucephalus, the disguised Capricorn Shura turned his head to the north, clad by the hills of southern Greece, upon his 7th sense having detected a strange spike of Bronze Saint cosmos in this direction before it suddenly went away. It seemed strange, for even if several Training Grounds existed in that direction, it did not seem for a moment like the typical sparring of lower Saints.

Aphrodite awkwardly pulled Sophie's reins to make her pause. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Shura shook his head. "Nothing, the 7th sense screws with me sometimes." he explained. Shura had specialized in reading enemy attack patterns, not their far off positions, so sometimes he would misread situations involving the Cosmos, especially far away. "You didn't sense anything in that direction, did you?"

"I wasn't paying attention, so I don't think so." the Pisces half-heartedly said. "Maybe some Bronze loser got snuffed by a Specter."

Shura's eyes widened. "May Athena be deaf, don't even joke like that!"

It just made Aphrodite's eyes roll. "Why not? It's not like anything interesting ever happens around here."

The Capricorn went back to leading the horse stroll. "Boredom is no reason to root for fellow warriors' misfortune."

Aphrodite growled to himself and pointed at the Gold Saint with scorn. "Okay, then let's talk about that, instead, then!" he challenged, confusing Shura. "I mean your little sense of responsibility for others; do you realize that half the Zodiac thinks you're a big tool?"

While it was a hurtful fact, it wasn't news to the black-haired boy, who turned the other cheek. "It's fine, I do my part in the Temples, that's what matters." but he then didn't resist taking a shot back when he saw Aphrodite gesturing a puking motion. "Don't give me that look, just because I spend more hours training and learning good behavior, it doesn't mean I'm some sort of jerk missing out on the fun. And the whole Zodiac thinks you're a psycho, Aphrodite, so I guess the conclusion to take is to 'live and let live', no?"

If anything, Aphrodite's shrug was even more pronounced than Shura's. "Sure, but being a psycho at least makes me not-boring," the Swedish boy bragged, unfurling his hair with his hand in a very vain way. "Also, the last thing the Pope does is 'live and let us live'. He and Shaka constantly shove their noses in everyone's business, especially my own."

"So? I don't see the problem with it." Shura casually remarked. "Shaka is diligent and faithful, I admire his sense of virtue. And the Pope is Athena's Chosen; we would all be doing our best in listening to what he has to say."

It was Aphrodite's turn to be stunned. This was a whole new level of lame. "So it doesn't bother you at all that we can all pretty much move at the same speed but, for some reason, those two get to act like our parents?" And in response, all Aphrodite got was a quiet blink. "Goddess, you really are a tool."

The blatant narcissism in it all made the squire get tense at last. "I help you get inside this ranch by giving my word to Miss Ghisi, and your idea of repaying me is to talk to me like this?" he confronted. "What's your problem with me, Aphrodite? Why do you think you're more special than everyone else? We all have to do what's expected of us, even your guardian."

Aphrodite stopped once more, eyes squinting. "Why is anything expected of me at all?"

But Shura put his foot down, at least figuratively. "Because you are blessed, Aphrodite; I'm not sure if you've realized, but you get to live in one of the Twelve Temples." Shura confronted. This was something that personally bothered him about more Gold Saint candidates than just Aphrodite, namely the way none of them seemed to notice how important an opportunity they were being given. "Yet, half the staff is terrified of passing by Pisces now. Some have asked me and Camus to escort them when they had to get to the Pope!"

Normally he would laugh, but the rising tension between the two made Aphrodite squint instead. "So? If they want to get through, they can just get through. All I want is for people to leave me be with my gardening, and Lance understands that, why can't anyone else?"

This got to the heart of another problem Shura had been detecting. "You are a knight! You're supposed to be obedient and kind! Why are you upset with the Pope after he kindly gives you a home?!"

Teeth gritted viciously. "You wanna know why?! Because the last person who expected obedience from me in return for her kindness tried to kill me over one of these stupid Gold Cloths!" the cyan-haired boy shouted, startling the Capricorn right back. The Twelfth-Houser made the white horse approach Shura's so the boy could look the Capricorn closer in the eyes. "So you can take that gratitude logic and shove it up the Pope's butt!"

The Spaniard was genuinely surprised. "… What?... I…" He started feeling a bit bad. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

How typical of them. "All of you are so happy-go-lucky, it makes me sick!" the Swede ranted, looking away from the Capricorn. His face was becoming red. "You all get such a beam in your faces when you talk about your teachers, while my first one did nothing but trying to figure out how to murder me without getting caught!"

Shura took a brief moment to reconsider things. It was true that he had the kind yet demanding Master Kirin to take comfort with. He would still call him up with mental messages whenever he had a big problem he couldn't handle. It was the same case with Aldebaran, Mu, and Camus, while Aiolia, like Aphrodite said, had one of the most admirable teenagers Shura had met as his sibling.

"I don't get it… you hate Sanctuary but you still listen to Lance?" Shura questioned.

Aphrodite took a breath to calm himself down. "I do! He gets me, okay?" he confessed, not big on admitting this. "I had a shitty teacher and so did he, plus he doesn't try to change who I am. Just because they are in charge and have a position here, doesn't mean they should be trusted. But you wouldn't know this since people like you only know conformity!"

And he then turned his back and signaled Sophie with his small legs to speed a bit ahead, not wanting to spend more time next to the Capricorn, who was left agape.

Further behind on her brown horse, Adriana blinked worriedly as she saw Aphrodite get away from the rest of the group. "I wasn't under the impression those two didn't get along."

On his feet, Lance struggled to get the riley black horse to follow him properly by the rein. He looked at his protégé off on his own again. "Damn it, I'll probably need to have a talk with him later again…and apologize to Shura, too." Then he answered her. "Aphrodite doesn't get along with anyone. It's why I thought it was weird he was receptive to you earlier."

She rested a hand on her chest as if hurt, lips curving upwards amusedly. "Well, I try very hard to make good first impressions… especially with potential Gold Saints."

"Yeah, I've noticed." the Gold Saint bemusedly responded. "So you were saying about the Solos?"

The blonde young woman recollected her thoughts. "Correct… as I was going to elucidate, it's a well-known perk of being an Atlantean noble house that your fortune exceeds that of most Sanctuary families put together. The Solos, in particular, are the envy of the high court. They could buy out my family's patrimony ten times over if they so wished. I should know because the offer has extended itself to me more than once, so the Solos don't really see me as someone who could cause them headaches."

Something about her tone didn't seem entirely in jest. "That seems a bit ridiculous. So what you're saying is that they are literally too rich to notice this one transgression from someone they trust?" and she just looked away with mischief in her smirk. "You really do get a kick out of this sort of networking, don't you, Ghisi?"

She tilted her head slightly at him. "I look at it as networking, Saint Lance. It's what I love to do and what I do best." When she saw the Saint look straight forward as if ignoring her, though, her smile vanished. "You probably are thinking now 'and it's why I don't trust you, Ghisi', correct?"

He snorted as if impressed. "Pope be praised; mind reading must be your second talent."

A moment of awkward silence followed, where only the clopping of horses was heard. Adriana's fingers gripped her reins tightly, wondering to herself how honest about this she should be. "You don't look at what I do very kindly, do you, Saint Lance?"

The red-eyed teen sighed and recalled experiences, thinking of snakes like Elisa and Gigas. "Everyone I've ever known like you, Ghisi, has been manipulators, tricksters, and backstabbers. I don't speak just for personal history, you can look at our beloved Pisces candidate over there for someone who secretly thinks the same of you." he elaborated. "He might enjoy that ruthless part of you that talks about how you delight in seeing your enemies lose, but as soon as you keep pretending you're interested in him for any more than the Cloth he's destined to get, Aphrodite will turn on you like a dime."

The young woman stared at him, this time genuinely stunned. It took a second for her to form words in her mouth. "Why do you call me by my last name like that?"

His eyes snapped on her. "I think it's fair. You enjoy the formalities, don't you? You call me Saint Lance all the time, even though you know it drives me nuts."

Her chin rose, eyes freezing on the horizon to try to seem unhurt, and Adriana then extended her usual olive branch. "Ah, I see it now. You think I'm interested in just your status, but-"

"Yup." Lance interrupted.

The blunt reaction made her thoughts stop and rewind once more. Even the black horse seemed to resist the Saint's tugging less as if sensing the coldness in the Saint's blood.

What was going on just now? Instead of disarming the Saint, it seemed her usual coyness with which she eased tensions with difficult people in court had, in this case, merely warranted the cold truth out of the Pegasus Saint. Did she employ the wrong words? It couldn't be just because she addressed him too rigidly, right?

She bit her upper lip, a subtle giveaway of frustration she thought she had been rid of in years. Her mind searched for all the tricks she could employ. She rode back a bit so as to stay side-by-side with the Saint and tried to make eye-contact. "Sain-…. Lance, perhaps you're right and I've been careless. Maybe I can make things better by help-"

His eyes rolled. "Argh, quit with that bullshit, Ghisi, I know what you're doing, okay?"

She blinked. "What I'm doing?... Lance, I'm just trying to-"

"I told you to quit it; the little psychological tricks, the careful speech patterns, trying to wear down my barriers by sharing all these little secrets and doing all these little favors, telling me about how bad the whole system is so I'll run scared to you, and about political bullshit I couldn't possibly understand so you can get my stupid little head to nod along," he sternly affirmed, making her mouth drop.

She stood aback in her saddle, honestly startled. The silver-ringed girl didn't seem to know what to say; part of her was stunned at the amount of things he had noticed in her behavior and another part of her mind searched for what misstep she took and how she could remedy the situation.

Lance went on. "Just come out with it, okay? You're a manipulator-type. It's simpler and it won't make me want to make me feel more nauseous about this sick fucking Sanctuary and its networking as you call it." Lance continued, trying to sound stern without being loud enough to get Shura's attention. "Tell me what you want!"

The dignity trained in her demanded her silence.

It, therefore, surprised her that she felt the need to put out something stuck in her throat. "I didn't want anything... Perhaps you think I'm incapable of friendship with you?"

His arms folded without letting go of the lead rope. "What option do you leave me with? Do you think friends talk like you do? Would you even notice who I am were it not for my armor?"

She recoiled a bit. "What? Of course I would. What makes you think otherwise?"

His shoulders shrugged. "Oh, I don't know, Ghisi, maybe it's how everytime we talk you got some angle to what you say that wouldn't be present without my rank. First the ball, then Syracuse, then the library… Tell me honestly since you're such a intrigue-savvy gal, would you trust someone who just sees your armor as a friend?"

Her head shook. Of course, how could she have been so blind? Every time they have met, their conversations have been colored by their privileged positions. "…I suppose I wouldn't." she worded.

Lance sighed through his nose and kept quiet. He had no desire to rant, much less continue this conversation, since it was just a waste of energy. It was good enough if Adriana understood why she made him uncomfortable. Hopefully this afternoon would be the last he would see of her. The last thing Lance needed in his life was people whose intentions he couldn't count on.

Then, with great hesitation, the young woman took her silver ring with her fingers.

Lance raised a brow. "What are you doing?"

Adriana just went on with taking the ring off. She then also took her sheathed sword and offered both objects to him. "I'm evening our standings. You're not wearing your armor because you don't want to be treated like the Saint you are, right? Well, Lance, these are precious objects in any household… No one would trust them in the hands of a lowborn Greek, Saint or not, and I don't want you to see me as what I am through them, either."

With hesitation, Lance stared at the two silver objects. He had never seen Adriana go anywhere without these.

"If you don't take them, I will drop them," she warned. "And I won't stand a good chance of finding the ring in this ranch grass. Please don't make me try."

The Saint wasn't a bit happy about this. It sounded like another trick.

"Just take them, Lance." Pegasus pushed.

When he saw her hand loosening the grip, he rushed ahead and grabbed both artifacts, tucking them to the waist. "Okay, fine, but this proves nothing!"

Adriana rubbed her ring finger, looking at it as if it was naked. Lance saw a truly upset look on her face, marked by a vexed frown as if she was challenging herself to face the strain of trying to be honest. "Well… this is better, isn't it?" she asked, trying to smile but looking like she figuratively wanted her clothes back.

Lance strapped the sword by his waist so he wouldn't have to hold it around. "Okay, now explain to me what you want from...this!"

They resumed their horse stroll. She seemed unsure where to start her explanation, perhaps rethinking the way she approached the topic.

"Well, at first you were, shall we say, a curiosity?... Everyone in the last three generations or so have been some sort of public figure or, in Akassius' case, a descendant of a former family of renown, and there you were, a new Cancer Saint born out of a rejected lowborn student… I wanted to learn your story."

Lance gestured with a hand wave to get on with it. "Sure, but you got my sappy background already, so what's with recently?"

Her blue eyes turned to the far off kids. "Aphrodite's roses aren't the only thing I've heard about him. I keep a close eye on the Pisces House and I know about the trouble he causes." She then turned her face back to him. "So I also know that the Cancer Saint has been going around defending his less pleasant tendencies… his sociopathy, if such a term can be forgiven by the Gods to describe him. When I met him and saw the viciousness in his eyes, I knew my instincts weren't wrong."

The red-eyed warrior steeled himself for the revelation to come. It seemed obvious Adriana was steering the conversation towards some sort of confession about how out of place she was in the world. Lance knew all too well for this to be another manipulation trick, to establish something in common with the person you wanted to control.

She eyed him sadly as if contemplating a foggy horizon, something he had never seen in her. "I don't want anything from you, Lance, safe of someone I can be honest with."

Gulping his defensive pride down, he asked "So you just want to… hang out? You know how ridiculous that sounds, right?"

Her small nose snorted gently. "That's it" she asked, chuckling.

This wasn't enough, it couldn't be. "Why me?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Because, Lance, I don't see you as someone I'll have to eliminate." she worded, stunning him. "Everyone I meet is always someone who will become my enemy, or in the pocket of one. I've lost count of the people I thought I could be open with only to have to suffer the consequences later later… But you've made it clear that you're not interested in my world, are you?"

The Saint thought back, disgruntled, to the number of nobles that have already tried to influence him. "Am I just not getting into your pocket?"

Her expression lightened instantly into a friendly smile. "It's a pretty cozy one, wouldn't you say?" she asked, scratching the neck of her brown horse as if to remind him who got the group in the ranch.

"She reminds me of Princess Andromeda," Pegasus commented to its owner.

"That just makes me worry MORE, Pegasus. Shinta's Cloth spends half its time trying to mess with me." Lance responded.

The armor had a different point, though. "I meant in the sense that they seem both unable to express care normally, Lance, just like Aphrodite," it argued. "Adriana says she has been trained since birth to handle a business and aristocratic life, right? I don't think she can act anyway else. What if you were treating Aphrodite like you treat her?"

The former rogue Saint gave it some thought. It would be awfully inconsistent of him not to heed Pegasus' advice on this, but what interest could he have in following this route? He glanced at Adriana, who seemed to be entertained maneuvering her horse up the slope as if it was some sort of art form. Even in the rider attire, she seemed impeccably groomed, with a perfect riding pose and well-rested hands on reins like it was impossible for her to look any less well educated. Perhaps it was truly difficult for her to be normal.

He gazed at her eyes, which, like out of a deep dream, carried a soft blue that appeased him, similar to well-rounded sapphire gems. Lance realized how she was one of the few people whose eye contact he sought, instead of avoid.

"You think she's pretty, don't you?" asked Pegasus.

The owner didn't respond. He felt a tug in his stomach preventing him. "Hey,… Adriana?"

She turned her face to him making him gulp again, upon confirming with the new eye contact how he felt. "Yes?"

It was strange, like the blue made him feel as if into an all-accepting sea, casting out all his usual defenses against people, finally going back on their previous discussion. "I… what do you think I should name this guy?" he asked, tugging the black horse closer.

Still a bit elated, she touched her chin in thought, wanting to give the Saint a thoughtful answer. "How about… Alastor?"

Red eyes blinked. "Alastor?"

She nodded. "The God Hades owns a chariot of four headless horses. One of them, Alastor, was branded with the mark of Dis, making him black as the night." she romanticized. Perhaps she really liked Greek mythology. "Given that you are the guardian of the 4th House, Lance, I think it's a good match."

The option was indeed interesting. "Well, yeah, but it's not like he's mine."

"Mm-mm. We will worry about that later."

The Pegasus Saint watched the black horse moved closer to its guide. A strange thought then suddenly came to Lance. Reaching for his Cloth box, lance took out the armor's gauntlet and, wearing it like a glove, his armored hand slowly rested on the black horse's nose. "Do you like it? Alastor?"

It simply snorted in peace with it. Even Adriana sensed something strange about what was happening and approached the two with her own brown horse. "What are you doing?"

Lance's eyes closed. He wasn't sure about it, either. It just seemed right all of a sudden to let Alastor feel the surface of his Cloth, even if just the glove. Without even realizing it, his white cosmos began to burn. Adriana's first thought was to warn Lance about it again, but she halted herself when she realized Alastor didn't seem frightened. After about ten seconds of this, Lance let go of the horse.

To their surprise, Alastor seemed suddenly much more at ease next to the two humans, not pulling away from Lance's rein as roughly and breathing more calmly. It even tried to smell Lance's hand again as if meeting him anew. The Bronze Saint took out his glove and put it away in its box, done with the strange ritual. "I think he's okay with me now."

The noblewoman stoically observed the scene, believing she should keep her distance. "Did I just witness a small step in a Bronze Saint's Cloth Path?" she wondered. "What did you just do?"

"I'm not sure." the young man answered. "I do feel, however, like I understand something new and strange about my Bronze armor. I can't put it into words, though. Hopefully it's got nothing to do with cleaning horse crap."

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

Romania

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

The cries of battle echoed in the air.

"FORNAX IS DOWN! SAVE HIM!"

"ARM THE DEFENCES, HOPLITES!"

With darkness all around their fortress, the hoplites rushed to the walls and battlements, spears and shields in hand, taking a position in its stairs so as to stay behind the cover of the walls as the Nasu Specter gleefully flew around and blasted random parts of the lower defenses. Raising their shields at her, the Greeks covered for their friends aiming javelins and arrows at her, but the False Specter seemed to simply let the missiles go through her body as if she was a mirage.

Nasu Erika laughed, mocking the foot soldiers with her light-speed. "You grunts really don't get it, do you? Ah-ah" another dark orb formed in her hand, sizzling with energy. She would have her fun before Bat Brune made his move. "Here's another reminder-"

"LENSED SHOT!"

Suddenly a blue laser blast struck her from the side like a bullet, nearly knocking her off her flight and getting a scream out of her. "A-AGH! What?! Who hit me?!"

From his perch, the Octans Saint sweated as he got her attention, charged another energy dart into his wrist-mounted short bow and took aim. "She doesn't even look damaged, but my Cloth's target locking powers can hit her even with light speed, so I have to do something, even if it just buys micro-seconds at best!"

She sneered and took aim with her huge blast of cosmos. "DIE, BRONZE SAINT!"

Octans smirked and held up his other arm. "REFLECT HORIZON!" A large octant mechanism in his wrist plate caused a lense-tipped segment to protrude up, presenting its looking-glass at the incoming blast just as the light-speed user's cosmos flared the most, the only indication he would get with his Bronze reflexes of the timing of her attack. All he saw was a bright flash of light before feeling a huge force battering his arm, making his feet drag back in the tower keep's ceiling.

The rush of energy filled his Cloth, which redirected the power back into his other arm, whose bow dart expanded into a large arrow of flaming blue light immersing his arm.

"TAKE THIS, SPECTER! Your own medicine! OCTANT BATTERY!" and his wrist-bow catapulted the energy blast right back.

Staggering, Erika swerved around to dodge the missile, which struck Impure Night's darkness, nearly penetrating it. Her fist tightened at the Bronze Saint. "W-why you!"

Before she could get retribution on the sniper, however, a shout was heard from outside the walls. "NIGHTMARE SONAR!"

Erika irked. "Damn it! Out of time already?!" and flew down below, wings slicing the air like a bad spirit's contours.

Octans blinked, confused by the retreat, and walked up to the edge of his perch to analyze the battlefield. All he saw were his comrades below helping Fornax get back on his feet. "Are you okay?! We're just getting started!"

Fornax looked up, armor singed and cracked by the blast. "Y-yeah!" he lied. "Just keep looking for the bitch and lock on to her!"

"WATCH OUT, MEN! There are bats!" someone shouted from the walls.

Both Saints looked at the blasted west barbican and, to their shock, saw the man panicking at the sight of a huge cloud of big, black vampire bats that suddenly flew out of the forest. Octans was shocked. "What in the name of Zeus?!"

Fornax wasted no time, charging his fire cosmos. "TAKE COVER! It must be a special attack!" With erupting aura that turned him into a living blaze, he then leaped high in the air and shot his move once more. "FIRE SCREW!"

Everyone watched the spiraling torrent of flames fly above their heads and wash over the bat cloud, letting out a series of countless screeches from the burned creatures. The faint screeching seemed to soften immensely at this and Fornax breathed in relief as he fell back down.

Still, many surviving flank colonies flew on, infesting the fortress top to bottom, the sound of small flapping wings filling Crow's Nest. Upon landing, Fornax charged another round, but he saw the wall defenders beginning to shake, struggle around and scream.

"AHHGHH!"

"IT'S IN MY H-HEAD!"

"What is t-THIS?!"

Fornax sweated, seeing some of them drop to the floor like nothing and the rest grabbing their heads and fling around like in pain. His training immediately warned him that the castle was under sensorial attack and, with supersonic reflexes, the furnace Saint leaped back into the inner walls faster than the speed of sound, recoiling his arms like loading guns and firing back new rounds of Fire Screw that incinerated the air, killing countless bats.

His head sweated. "I have to work fast before the sound waves catch up with my super speed!" Before too long, though, he too began hearing, one by one, the soundwaves filling the air, his brain tracing their origin to the many bats he missed. "D-damn it!"

The Bronze Saint covered his ears, eyes widened as the screech intensified in his brain like electronic static. His knees weakened and he dropped on them, refusing to uncover his lobes, but his body seemed to get heavier and heavier by the fraction of a second.

"S-shit... it must be some Specter dirty trick! They're gonna take the whole fortress without resistance if this goes on!" His sight started darkening as he struggled to stay awake. "What can I do?! D-damn it! Even if I deafen myself, the other guys…"

The sound of someone landing by his side was detected and the sweating Bronze saint looked up to see Nasu's greaves walk up to him. "Well, what do we have here? A cute Bronze Saint trying to stay awake?"

His orange gauntlets reached up and grabbed her legs, shaking as his muscles fell asleep. "D-damn you!"

Her foot kicked his face, shattering his headpiece instantly and bashing him against the inner wall's battlement edge. A psychotic giggle followed before the blonde woman turned him over and produced a wrist blade on her Surplice drenched in black poison from the Styx Swamp.

"N-NO!" Fornax screamed.

She licked her lip. "Mm-mm. Don't struggle, little baby, momma will make it bett-"

The draining grate by their side was suddenly flipped over by a hooded body, startling the two of them, and its golden-laced fist swung down on her head, bashing Nasu Erika straight to the floor with a thunderous impact, knocking out the False Specter instantly.

Fornax gasped out in shock, seeing the man's shadowed and burned face. "W-what? It's you again!"

Priam grabbed him by the metal collar. "Don't worry, Bronze Saint. Old friends don't abandon the men of Athena." Suddenly, just as he Fornax was about to fall asleep, golden, electric energy seemed to envelop the both of them before swallowing the two entirely and zipping out of the bailey, disappearing completely.

Far up above, away from the reach of the soundwaves just enough to resist their effect, Octans struggled to stay awake and burned his cosmos intensely, shooting out countless missile barrages from his wrist-gun that petered the countless rodents into black stains on the mountain and castle walls.

"K-keep FIGHTING. D-DON'T GIVE UP!" he shouted aimlessly, trying to inspire the hoplites. Almost stumbling over the edge, he tried to search for Fornax. "Where did he go?! Damn it!"

The trapdoor behind him opened and commander Lacaille came to the ceiling. "O-Octans, what sort of nightmare is this?! The men can barely fight back!"

"I don't know, sir, they're using waves of strategic attacks to weaken us phase-by-phase! We'll lose the whole fortress and our cloths to the Specters if it gets worse!" the Bronze Saint warned.

The fort Commander cursed himself, seeing from their vantage point his entire battalion disorganized in just a few fighting seconds. "I should have demanded the bloody Zodiac to send the Gold Saints themselves! Stay here and keep supporting us on the ground! I'm going to help the men!" he ordered before literally leaping off the tall tower keep, feet and hands immersed in cosmos to handle the drop.

The hoplites by the walls fought to stand back up as the soundwaves ceased. "Ugh, w-what happened?!"

"Stay alert, help your brothers back up!" a lieutenant roared, having barely held on himself.

Another walked up to the lieutenant, a shadow leaping above them without them noticing. "Did any Specter get past, sir? We all nearly got knoc-" Two green armored hands then grabbed his face from behind out of nowhere and jerked his neck around, snapping it instantly.

"NO!" the lieutenant screamed, seeing the amphibian-armored Deep Specter standing over his friend's corpse. He raised his spear and thrust it forward. "DIIEE! MINERVA V-VICTRIX!"

The Specter showed off his fanged teeth, swept the spear aside and countered with a flying kick that smashed the man's throat in. "AH-AH-AH! Pathetic! Come, hoplites! Meet your destiny!" Deep Amphion laughed, standing on the walls with them and raising up the impaled soldier before tossing him to the side. Taking several small balls of cosmos, he tossed them all over the battlement. "GHAST GRENADES!" they burst into ground-lurking clouds of dark cosmos which filled the walls.

The hoplites tried to organize themselves and recoiled in sight of the strange slime sticking to their feet. "Don't breathe it in! Form phalanx now! SPECTERS are at the wall! K-KILL HIM!" one shouted, inciting several to get together. "Burn your cosmos, friends, together!"

The wounded lieutenant, stuck in the darkness, tried his luck against Deep Amphion by taking out his side sword and swinging at him. "Y-You bastard, DIE!"

The False Specter parried the blade with his gauntlet, broke the man's leg by smashing the knee with his foot and then conducted a leaping, spiraling slash slaughter, going through the armored man like a metal hurricane, leaving the pieces of metal-covered flesh to collapse on the ground. More and more soldiers came at him and Amphion halted his rampage with a screeching foot, darkness cosmos already burning all over his amphibian armor. "AH, AH, AH, is that all?! Come at me, weaklings of Athena! Answer the call of the Underworld!"

The surviving hoplites got into formation, uniting their raised shields and aiming their spears in the bottleneck wall top floor. "CHARGE!" and the makeshift phalanx pushed ahead, denying Deep his movement space and threatening to skewer him with stardust-reinforced iron.

His green-armored hands simply thrust at them. "DEEP FRAGRANCE!"

And a purple mist of poisonous, ground-lurking air was expelled like a blast, immersing the phalanx hoplites, sending them coughing to the ground and then coursing all through the outer wall like a biological weapon.

"AH, AH, AH! DIE, Saints! Time to take your wall – GYAHH!" he screamed, feeling his whole body shocked. The False Specter collapsed on his knee and hand, feeling white sparks of energy coursing through his body. Looking down, he saw himself standing on top of a bright encirclement of sorts filled with runes drawn on the brick floor which wasn't visible earlier. "D-damn it, these must be that anti-Specter crap from the Knights that Lucifer talked about!"

In the inner walls, the ballistae were ready and its operators aimed down at Deep. "The Cyrulian seals trapped him! Fire on him now before he fights it off!" the engineer ordered, and the hoplites pulled the levers, letting the gigantic bows shoot off the huge, chained arrows which crossed the entire inter-bailey. With a feat of gymnastics, the False Specter curved his body to dodge the huge missiles, which struck the ground all around him.

Deep growled at them as javelin throwers joined the fray, trying to skewer him from out of his cloud range. "Blasted ballistae! Ainsel, do something, damn you!"

Before they could pull the missiles back and reload through the chains, some new threats flew by the inner, clad in orange armor. "Silky Thread!" and large, gold-immersed nets of silk were successively shot, striking each ballistae operator with such force that whole groups of men were lifted off the ground and harshly pinned against the main tower keep. "We'll take those big bows, thank you."

"Papillion, I can't contact Nasu, where is she?!" Lucifer's mental voice was suddenly heard, furious.

The Papillon landed on the floor and touched his forehead, pinging the woman. "I don't know, either, Prince. Perhaps she's having fun with one of the Saints? Gods know she gets too exci-" His instincts then flared up and Ainsel bobbed his body aside to dodge the Fort Commander's sneak sword attack, which cleaved a whole side of the inner wall battlement. "Oh-oh, Prince, I'll report back… I found their leader."

Lacaille gritted teeth and stood his ground before the powerful Specter. "You blasted killers! I'll make you pay for setting foot in my castle!" his aura burned menacingly, acquiring a silver-colored texture.

The blue-haired Specter prepared his cosmos for another round of Silky Thread, but he found himself charging his energy rather slowly. He looked all over and saw the entire floor of the inner wall burning with bright white runes like the ones arresting Deep. "Oh, interesting. This must be the power the Prince seeks against our old masters."

Lacaille made his energy peak like a bonfire before he charged at the moth-armored Specter. "You'll regret underestimating Crow's Nest! MINERVA VICTRIX!"

Meanwhile, far up above, the Octans Bronze Saint did his absolute best to support the men down below, taking potshots at the Deep Specter as he struggled to get free from the sealing confines and trying to stay alert to where the Nasu Specter could be. He looked up and saw a black-armored figure rush at the western portcullis while the defenders were busy fighting off Deep's mist.

His headpiece made a scope lower onto his left eye so he could zoom his sight and he saw what looked like the Mandrake Specter going up to the gate. Taking his wrist blow, he aimed at him. "Everyone, watch out, one of them is going for the gate!" he mass-pinged before firing a warning shot above the barbican.

Aware of the sniper, though, Mandrake Nevil leaped over the blue dart, letting it patter the floor and setting up his launch at his target, the iron fence gate. Ripping a piece of metal off his chest plate, he revealed the carving of a screaming face. "STRANGLE SHRILL!" he announced before the armor fired off a huge soundwave blast which battered the reinforced gate, cratering it and nearly snapping it inward with a metallic screech of its bolts. "Ah, ah, once more into the breach!"

Hoplites rushed to the bailey, trying to defend the passage. "DON'T LET HIM THROUGH! Barricade the gate!" They picked up their javelins and tossed them through the iron fence's holes while others dragged huge pieces of equipment and lumber with their cosmos to fill up the opening.

The mist of Deep Fragrance, however, began dropping down from above. "Watch out, poison!" they shouted, trying to stand clear but unable to rescue the ones that tried to barricade the gate, who all got showered with the black gas, causing them to convulse into frightened coughing fits.

Mandrake finished charging a second round, the face on his chest sucking up the air around, closing its mouth and then unleashing another ear-splitting scream of 'Strangle Shill'. This time the blast broke through the undefended iron gate, blasting pieces of rubble and metal into the bailey.

And with this triumph, a roar of celebration was heard from the inside. Many of the defenders looked out and saw, finally, the scores of Skeleton Soldiers watching the Specter assault like an audience, now raising their scythes, spears, and banners at the sight of the destroyed gate, having waited for this moment.

The Octans Bronze Saint gawked, seeing their numbers. "How… that's not possible… a whole army?!" he muttered. Even if they beat the Specters now by some miracle, all those numbers would overrun them. "…Athena help us."

At the inner walls, Lacaille thrust his sword diagonally, only to get parried by Ainsel's rust-colored arm guard, but he struck the Specter with an overhead punch from the other angle kicked his armored stomach to push him off. With this bit of breathing space, the gold-ranker Fort Commander looked down the bailey to see the escalating chaos as Deep Amphion got finally free from the seals and Mandrake Nevil casually walked inside the castle, fighting off the first defending waves of hoplites.

He felt his heartbeat in fear, seeing the huge waves of Skeletons outside preparing to join the fray. They would all be slaughtered. "D-Damn it, NO… I have to do something!"

"Mm, lowering your guard definitely isn't it, though." He heard Ainsel say, who lunged around him, confusing the Gold Ranker, before going for a finisher "FAIRY THRON-" Lacaille gasped and another golden thunder collapsed before him, smashing Papillon into the ground, revealing a hooded man pinning the winged Specter to the floor. Ainsel shook with rage. "A-Agh… Priam?!"

Before the Fort Commander had time to recognize the name, the Black Saint's elbow bashed the Specter unconscious. Having gold-level reflexes, the aged warrior had time to step back and analyze the newcomer. "You… that name… it really is you!"

The burned face looked up at him. Lucifer's attack was going sublimely, disarming the defenders of every possible means of defending themselves with these specialized attack waves. He didn't pick these particular False Specters at random, after all. "Don't worry, I'm here to help."

Lacaille's face paled. He stepped back further and even stumbled over a fallen subordinate, terrified.

The Black Saint couldn't blame him. To veterans like Lacaille, Priam was the devil incarnate. "Don't be afraid. Take my hand before their gold-rankers see us. I'll get you out of here!"

The Fort Commander pointed over Priam's shoulder. "N-NO, SPECTER!"

A creeping shadow immersed both of them and the Black Saint's blood froze. He turned his body over to see the Prince standing right before him. Priam's eyes bulged and he tried to react in protection of the fort commander, but the Pride Star immediately bashed him aside with his massively strong arm.

The commander roared and tried to strike the Prince, but the last thing he saw was Daemon Lucifer's furious expression and his armored fist exploding on his face.

Priam fell to the floor, panting. The sight of the Prince curling his armored fist and standing over the fallen man froze the Black Saint with fear.

The red stared returned. "How nice to have you by my side again, Priam. I hope you had your fun playing hero. Let's have a talk about our agreement."

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

Hours later, Greece

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

Darkness was arriving in Rodario with the passing of the winter hours. Already turning back to head for the stables, the group of four riders converged together and led their horses as the sun began to gradually move down the western mountains.

Capricorn Shura took the lead, joining up with Lance as he seemed to be having an easier time handling the black horse he was entrusted with. "Alastor? That's a fine name for it. Miss Ghisi has good taste."

"You think so, too, uh? Well, I guess you're the expert on these things between us two at the Zodiac." Lance accepted.

"…Do you mind if I ask why you have her sword, by the way?"

The coal-haired Saint looked down at the elegant weapon holstered to his waist. He still had the ring as well. "It's… a long story. I'm more concerned about Aphrodite. We saw you spatting back there."

The Capricorn irked. The fight they had was still on his mind. "I didn't think getting to know my fellow Gold Saints would be so difficult."

A brow was raised by the red-eyed Pegasus. "What did you expect, exactly?"

Shura looked somber, like a dream of old was escaping him. "We're supposed to be brothers-in-arms, you know? People who would lay down their lives if need be for each other." he argued, remembering the stories Master Kirin taught him about the great feats of Saints. "I keep thinking about how sad Athena would be if she saw us like this. It's not just Aphrodite, you know? I barely see the others working to get along."

What a frightening approach at things. "Shura, who cares what Athena would think? You're all like five to ten. You're powerful, sure, but not exactly adult soldiers with a knight vow." Lance argued. "You're supposed to be playing tag or soccer with each other at this age, not expect others to take a bullet for you or adhere to some absent woman's expectations. Also, it's Aphrodite, he's… different."

This brought to Shura's mind the rant he heard. "That reminds me I wanted to ask you about that. Don't take this the wrong way, but… what's his damn problem?" the Capricorn worded. "He talks like he's growing up to becoming an assassin and says he had a bad teacher."

Lance snorted. "You can say that again."

Shura recalled the moment he sliced up the Pisces Temple to rescue Lance, Aphrodite, and Deathmask. "It was that Elisa woman, right? The one you burned to death?"

"Yup."

The bluntness in this really startled Shura. "You don't think it's sad it had to come to that? She was still his… master of a sort."

The Bronze Saint looked at him weirdly. "What the fuck? Weren't you there? Didn't you see what was going on that island? That witch tried to kill us all."

"Well, yeah, sure, but…"

The Cancer Saint watched the Capricorn hesitate and go over his own thoughts. It really seemed like Shura wanted this romantic idea he had about Saints and Sanctuary to be true at all costs. It was fine to think this way from the outside, but people who lived within the system quickly learned there was a lot more to worry about than 'Athena', especially when the Pope and the nobles were the ones in charge for periods ten times longer than hers.

Shura seemed to finally find words. "Don't you remember growing up and just gasp at how much good you would do as a Saint? Wake up every day and be excited to see what your Master would teach you that day?"

The teenager found himself chuckling. "No, I really fucking don't. I think you have us two confused with Shinta, Shura." The Capricorn scratched his head. Lance couldn't blame him. He probably wasn't used to interacting with less lucky students. "Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be disrespectful, I understand where you are coming from, but it just isn't the reality of most of your brethren."

This truly vexed the Capricorn. "…Why, though? You know, I often talk to Saga about these things…" he revealed. "He is really passionate about doing something to improve Sanctuary for the students. I get that some of us have bad teachers and why he would want such a thing, but I didn't imagine-"

"Imagine what, that some of us would mock you for it?" Lance's hand rose at him in appeal. "Shura, don't take this the wrong way, but don't you think perhaps you too are looking at this too close to the problem?" he asked, remembering the way Shura was raised and captain Maximus' words about Cyrulian culture. "It's fine to expect a couple of things from us as Golds, but you do realize the history of Saints is filled with a lot of romantic bullshit about teamwork and friendship, don't you?"

Being an avid history student, Shura wasn't totally in the dark about this. "Well… yes, but…"

Lance folded his arms, letting Bucephalus' rider take his time to think of an answer. "You know, Shura, this is technically classified, but Elisa, that woman the Pope had me whack, was in line to be the next Pisces Saint until Arles decided to pick Aphrodite before he even had his 7th sense fully awakened."

Shura wasn't the type to buy into this line of reasoning. "That doesn't justify her behavior to Aphrodite."

"Of course not, I agree," Lance admitted. "So tell me, Shura, is Aphrodite wrong? Is every teacher in Sanctuary keeping the well-being of their kids in mind?"

While about to say 'yes', the Capricorn bit his tongue, realizing this entered in conflict with his own earlier point. "I… guess not, but it doesn't mean we should be disrespectful of others, either."

Lance recalled his early days as the Cancer Saint. "You know, Shura, I didn't get to know Kirin, Daniel, and Malta very well before they retired, but now I regret it. Lately, it feels like they had bigger baggage to leave on Saga's shoulders than I thought." He confessed. From Priam's attack to the strange past of the Gold Saints and now the teachings they left Shura, Camus, and Aldebaran with, Lance should have understood at the time they weren't simply old faces close to being done with their careers. "But they seem like they educated the three of you well, so I'm not criticizing them for it. Aphrodite's point is, simply, that not everyone got so lucky."

The Capricorn seemed uncomfortable, shifting his eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

Lance thought really hard on how to put this to good terms. "…I'm trying to ask you, Shura, if you really think this knightly stuff is the best way to approach your friends with?" the loner confronted. "I get it, we are knights of the zodiac, or whatever, but it isn't like Athena is around or we all had the same kind of experience growing up in Sanctuary. You don't really expect everyone to treat each other like we're supposed to be slaying dragons and learning Shakespeare, do you?"

What a ridiculous way to put things. "Of course not, why would I-…" he then realized something important. "…You're trying to say that's how I come across, uh?"

The Cancer Saint didn't go further with this. "Maybe we could all get along better; true, but then again we wouldn't be ourselves, would we? It wouldn't be very honest. I also prefer to hang out with people who aren't half my age. That being said, I wish Aphrodite hadn't been rude to you, Shura. I guess I should apologize in his name, being that I'm his guardian and shit."

Shura shook his head. Maybe the mature thing was really to take his own advice and let live. "Don't… I don't want his apology, either."

Lance scoffed. The idea of Aphrodite apologizing for anything was really comical to him. "Good, cause you won't get one from him."

The black-haired boy nodded. "So Aphrodite just isn't the type to be able to do it… and I guess that's the way it is?" he thought. As strange as it was, he suddenly felt much more at peace with what happened. "Hey, thanks, Lance."

The Pegasus Saint raised his brow. "For what?"

His padded shoulders shrugged. "I didn't know what to think about this and you just gave me a pep talk.

Lance's arms folded so exasperatedly that Alastor felt pulled. "Pep talk? I spent half this conversation berating you!"

Shura's head shook. "No, I think it's going to help me work better with others, despite our differences. I can see why you made yourself our Patron Saint now."

This time the Bronze Saint was truly perplexed. This hadn't been his intention at all; he just wanted Shura to stop taking everything so annoyingly. "I didn't do anything special. Also, I'm the Patron Saint because it was the only way to shut Adriana's people up about how Saga was handling things. I'm not going out of my way to help you."

The knight aspirant smirked. Maybe Lance wasn't the type to take compliments well, either. This was probably the real reason Aphrodite gravitated to him; they're both anti-social weirdos.

Making their way back into the stables, Shura and Lance helped Aphrodite guide the white horse Sophie to her place, where the breeder took it off his hands.

The Swedish boy frowned. "Bye Sophie…" he waved, feeling a tear in his eye when the creature seemed to move its head in the direction of his voice. "I'll miss you."

Adriana paid the breeder with a handful of Drachmas. "Please take 'Debutante back, too." she requested, referring to her own horse. "Is your wife well?"

The caretaker nodded. "Yes, Miss Ghisi. She appreciates the position you got for her at the Zodiac. We are finally making enough money to pay for our house."

"Don't worry." the blonde young woman appeased, making the man smile. Her eyes went stern. "Let her know that if she tries to steal again, especially from me… I'll have her fingers cut off. Personally."

His blood went cold. "Y-yes, anything you say."

Ghisi watched the man hurrying back to work with a sigh. She couldn't help herself but add that last part in, could she? Boundaries were far too vital for people like her to be able to coexist with Sanctuary's masses. Everyone in her pocket had to know she kept a sharp sword in the other or they would bite her leg when she least expected.

Seeing the cyan-haired boy sigh as well, she approached him, gently resting her hands on his shoulders. "Don't worry, young lord, you can ask me to come back here anytime you want."

He looked up at her with a frown. "I don't think the Pope will want me off the Zodiac so often."

She winked. "He doesn't have to know. We'll make it our little secret."

While having his doubts about her ability to keep the mischief out of sight from the mind-reading Pope, this particular kindness still made him smile. "Thanks."

After helping the caretaker make sure all the animals were taken care of, Lance headed back to them. Aphrodite seemed in better spirits so Lance took the snake plush he won from the Cloth box and handed it back to him. "Here, Aphrodite."

Taking Mr. Monty, he grabbed Adriana's hand defensively. "I want to come here more often."

Lance shrugged. "So long as you're not spending your days locked inside your garden, I'll tell the Pope you're doing better. Now head back with Shura."

The Pisces gasped. "What?! You're not taking me?" This is what Aphrodite meant with Lance always ditching him. "And why Shura?!"

"What better way do you want to make the Pope leave you be than letting him see you walk up all those stairs with one of his Gold Saints without threatening each other? I also talked with him and Shura seems to understand now he should have been so critical, so if you happened to apologize to him along the way, it would be nice."

His small jaw dropped. "… UGH, I hate you, you blood-eyed bastard!" he declared, making Adriana chuckle to her hand. Lance just folded his arms and waited for the anger to subside. After pacing around like he wanted to stomp grapes, the swede turned back. "Okay, FINE! I'll do it," he accepted, walking off the building to go join the Capricorn.

Adriana watched how furious his pace was. "Is that really such a good idea?"

Lance grumbled. "No, I get the feeling the next thing I eat next to him, it will be dosed, but it's nothing he hasn't made me go through before."

To her in particular, this was genuinely endearing. "I like that in you, Lance."

His eyes wavered and his face felt slightly warm. "..You do?"

"Yes, Shura was right; if you're willing to be so patient with Aphrodite, then you really are fitter to be the Patron Saint than you give yourself credit for."

"Don't say that in Saga's earshot." Lance tried to joke, but somehow it landed, making her smirk. He guessed she was the type to enjoy power play ridicule, considering her origin. He offered her back her things. "I'm guessing you want your things back?"

With a delighted nod, her hand practically swiped them off his, as if she had been waiting in anticipation for their return. "Yes, thank you!"

The Saint blinked.

She staggered, realizing with a bit of embarrassment at how vulnerable she came off without such mundane objects. Adriana promptly put the silver ring back on, looking her hand over as if she missed it, and holstered her weapon back to waist. "…And I'm guessing this means you trust what I said, Lance?"

He hesitated. "Sort of; I think it's weird, but I've made stranger contracts."

Her interest was perked. "Have you?" she walked along with him towards the building's exit. "I didn't think you were the business type. Maybe you can tell me about some."

"Mm, mm, yes, Lance, tell her."

The Saint stopped. His fist tightened tensely.

The noblewoman blinked. "…What's wrong?"

Lance stared down the illuminated corridor among the horse stalls at the exit, where the sun seemed to hide behind the mountains. The electrical lights above flickered, dipping the two of them into shadows every other instant. The sound of raining was gradually and suddenly sensed by the Saint. When did it start?

His hand rose as he saw drops drip from gaps in the wooden ceiling on them. One landed on his palm and sizzled, burning him with the acid of volcanic toxins.

Adriana wasn't there anymore, nor were Aphrodite, Shura, or even the horses. He was alone in the building and the lights finally went out as a large thunder was heard far off in the sky, nearly deafening him.

The Bronze Saint stood frozen in time, his blood completely cold. He was now with armor on, the box gone. Blood from several people covered it head to toe and Pegasus was unresponsive. Bodies littered the ground, some of them stabbed, some of them hacked, weapons carving the ground all over.

The sound of footsteps came from behind. "Go on; tell her, mm-mm-mm." Guilty mocked Lance. With a joyful leap over a corpse, he presented himself, sitting in front of the Saint on a pile of dead bodies. His head leaned towards Lance's playfully. "You're not having a case of bad memory, are you? Why don't I start?"

The teenager stood quiet, refusing to acknowledge any of this.

The bastard tapped his cracked mask. "Let's see… you had a contract with me, isn't that right? Why don't you start with that one? Ah-ah-AH! And THEN, you went ahead and backed out of it, making a whole new contract with some blasted lizard god in China to keep me off!" he recounted, jumping up, almost in a dance. "You know, I oughta really call my lawyer on you… too bad I have him working on his own testament."

The thunder repeated and the acid rain intensified. The ceiling was now creaking, threatening to collapse on Lance just as the whole world felt like it would. The blood of the bodies kept pooling up, wetting their feet, and faint female crying was heard in the background.

The monster held his mask's chin. "You know, Red, I think she would love to hear about them, being such a savvy and, dare-I-say, Bee-Uuu-Tee-full lady. Everyone would. But you know the funny thing about promise stories, don't you, Lance?... They start making you look really bad when the twist is that you failed them."

The Saint trembled, red-eyes looking down. This wasn't happening. He took measures against this. Roshi!...

Guilty's finger wagged. "I've been watching you all day, going with your friends for a walk, riding some horses, bonding with your Cloth, making new friends! All the wonderful things a Bronze Saint does in their daily lives, that a Bronze Saint deserves after years stuck in a grueling training ground with such terrible masters around, right?" Guilty then clasped hands like a delighted girl. "How wonderful! You were really having some fun today, weren't you? And that day in Andromeda Island, oh, what a hoot! Remember when we almost made that volcano EXPLODE?! PAH! What a laugh! The tv stations were all OVER IT! And those kids of Shinta… so frightened!"

The proud Saint felt tears forming in his eyes and dripping down his cheeks, reliving some of the most horrible days of his life.

Guilty put his masked face right next to his ear. "So much fun, isn't it? What a happy life! Just remember, Lance… you don't deserve any of this! Mm-mm-mm-mm…." and then he walked off, leaving the fool in the dark.

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

Adriana stared at the distracted Lance. She contemplated poking the Saint, but such gesture would be incredibly unbecoming. "Lance?... Saint Lance?!" she worded.

The Pegasus Saint blinked and rubbed his wet eyes, back to reality. "Damn…"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes… Well, maybe I am a bit sick. I might ask that asshole Iaso to take a look at me." he lied.

Adriana stared at him stoically. She probably wasn't buying any of this. Indeed, her hand gripped the pommel of her rapier instinctively, a 'tell' of hers that she felt suspicious. "Then perhaps we can get some tea after this?"

This comment was so jarring it snapped him out of how nauseous he felt. "Thanks, but my teacher already has me drinking enough. I appreciate it, though."

Sensing something was truly wrong underneath, the noblewoman made an extra effort to lighten the mood. "I was merely looking forward to what's already a ritual of mine at the café; you are welcome to just stand there, Lance. Perhaps you can get coffee, instead."

He wasn't sure why he then laughed, but he was just happy not thinking about Guilty. "Ah, sure, maybe I will." They made their way out of the stable. Just as Lance thought, it was still clearly a cloudless dusk, not acid rain. Feeling the sudden urge to continue the conversation with Ghisi, a feeling he wasn't familiar with most people, his mind searched for any loose ends. "You never finished telling me about the Solos."

She let out an 'oh' and chuckled at her own distraction. "That's right!... Well, I guess now it's a late topic, but I was just about to explain that this wonderful place I let your protégé spend the afternoon at isn't their only slice of the pie, so I doubt they'll notice one horse or two being lent or named by strangers, like mine, Debutante."

Debutante? This time, the Cancer Saint took issue. "What's with you and all these hosh-posh words?"

She huffed playfully. "There's nothing with me, Saint Lance, it's called 'being educated'. I simply make use of what's been invested in me." Adriana then counterattacked. "May I in turn query what's with you and being encircled by children all the time? Your uplifting is recent, but everyone would think the Patron Saint to be among admirers of his age."

Red eyes shifted. "... I think the Saints my age remember my fist in their face better than who I am." he lamented. When he gave honest thought about it, though, he realized something. "Although I can't say I've met more than one or two of them."

This seemed to catch even the well-informed woman by surprise if her blinking was any sign. "Truly?... That's quite odd, given Sanctuary's long-lived traditions of keeping children in the same age groups. I was sure you went through Heart of Sasha?"

Ah-ah, he sure did. Tell her about it.

Lance blinked and shook his head. When he looked at Adriana, it didn't seem like she had been the one to speak. "I need to see Roshi about this as soon as possible…" He coughed to the side to disguise his confusion. "Sorry. I was going to say that, yes, I went through the Heart of Sasha, but I only had one friend there." He turned his face. "And I fought a lot with him anyway, too."

Lance had a feeling that her real interest had been in the status that going through the fancier of three orphanages in Sanctuary provided the Saint's background since she seemed immediately relieved. "Oh, good, for a moment I thought you came from an even bigger rat nest than I thought."

The warrior was bewildered with her. "Adriana…you say the most awful shit sometimes, you know that?"

Another slight smug-rich smile came from her. "And isn't it just fantastic for me that you just stand there and take it? Normally I have to content myself with just thinking about these things. Ah, what a nice change of pace…"

"At least you know she's open with you now," Pegasus commented.

Lance grumbled. He really should be careful what he wished for.

But as if Shaka himself was watching them with a grudge, another pair of ranch-goers, one on horseback and the other on foot, came out from a side path and encountered them by the exit gate, surprisingly sending Adriana's smile all the way upside down. In fact, Lance sensed her energy tense, her pose straightening up and her finger pulls her hair behind ear very annoyedly.

The Saint looked them over; the one on horseback was an impeccably attired young man about their age of short blue hair similar to Saga's in tone, blue eyes, and fair Caucasian skin. His equestrian suit had one of those over pompous white colors, black best of embellished buttons and round black helmet similar to the one Adriana wore that afternoon. His smug smile upon encountering them made Adriana's look mild and a badge crested with the same symbol as the one on the ranch's gate was pinned to his upper left chest.

The other looked much more mundane; a tall muscular young man wearing the typical Saint urban attire similar to Lance's, consisting of a blue shirt, brown jeans and brown shoes, likely being a fellow member of the army accompanying the rich youth. He eyed Lance warningly as if expressing through words that all interlopers should stay a spitting distance away from the magnate. His height was such that he could probably be a Bear Saint and had sideburns the size of his ears, a hairstyle that unfortunately had become in vogue in Sanctuary recently.

"Well, well, well,…" the blue-haired rider murmured, his tone refined. "If it isn't the silver ring of the Ghisis? What pleasure… Hello Adriana."

The vinegar-bitter frown Lance briefly saw on Adriana before it turned all the way into a happy smile made the Bronze Saint shiver a bit. "Lord Patrick. What a pleasure it is to encounter you on this fine afternoon."

The Pegasus Saint watched the man snort slightly at the response. Did these two have some weird court history? He saw an emblem woven into his reddish coat that looked exactly like the one on the field's gate. "Must be one of these Solo pricks."

Patrick Solo closed eyes lamentingly. "I can't say the same, unfortunately. You haven't been answering my letters. Also, what's this?" he asked, eying Lance. "Do my cousins know you are letting paupers inside their ranch? Uncle Arthur founded this field for the elite, not… for tourists and children."

Lance's brow raised; did this guy not know all three of them were Gold Saints or Gold-Saints-to-be? He saw the huge bodyguard that accompanied Patrick and decided to play it cool.

The smiling Adriana's tongue, however, was not so restrained. "Mm-mm, I'm sure he won't mind, Patrick, not after how I helped him drive the Alexopoulos off and bought their share of the field…"

"Very true…, but I think they would lament your choice of amity." He worded, as if seeking to speak in code in the presence of the two escorts. With a provoking pull of the rein that made his horse neigh at the Pegasus Saint. The magnate seemed bent on pissing off Lance and Adriana some more. "You know, Adriana, if you were aching for ties immaterial to business, you could have simply queried them."

Lance's red eyes tensed confusedly. "What the fuck is he talking about?"

"He is saying I'm too good to be around you."

The Saint's eyes bulged. "What the fuck?!"

"I think it's an understandable comment, mm-mm. I'll handle this." she assured. "You were courting the Alexopoulos daughter, were you not, Patrick? I didn't want to get in the way of such a star-studded affair."

Patrick squinted and tisked. Having lost her family's fortune, the girl no longer interested his branch of the Solos, much less himself. Adriana should know this better than anyone. "If by star you mean the gutter, yes… And I haven't forgiven you for that, Ghisi. You forced me to pick a new betrothal."

"What an insipid fucking conversation. At least duel each other or something." Lance messaged, bored out of his mind with these layers of etiquette and seeing the rapier back on Adriana's side.

But the insipidness resumed. "Mmh, perhaps if you pick a capable woman next time, one wise with her financial affairs, you won't lose her well-merited heritage to the Ghisis."Adriana commented. "I wish you good fortune with that, Lord Patrick. A charming prince of the Solos such as yourself deserves not another failed bride."

Lance could swear a vein popped above Patrick's hardening squint, his grip tightening on the pommel of his short-sword. Perhaps the young magnate took his bad luck with women personally. "… Are you suggesting you could be that woman?" Patrick asked.

Her hand covered her mouth embarrassingly. It sounded like she almost laughed. "Oh, excuse me, Patrick…For a second I thought you said something utterly ridiculous!"

The two escorts eyed each other worryingly, wondering if the two nobles would start a fight.

Patrick clearly held back how incensed he was, from the way he then diverted what she meant. "You refer as to how I'd be willing to acquaint myself with a Ghisi, the bloodless of the court?" the Solo cadet asked, referring to how their line, despite being ancient, was seen as lesser. He scoffed. "I assure you, Adriana, I'd be virtuous enough to overlook such diff-"

She chuckled and waved her hand negatively. "Ah-ah, no, Patrick, I meant how you think I would ever be possibly interested in a weasel like you!"

The nobleman's eyes turned to glass and he got off his horse, reaching for his weapon with a maddened grit of teeth! Lance's fist discreetly coursed with electrical cosmos, ready to fire a single first of his new guided technique to disarm the man!

But his large bodyguard, with Saint-like reflexes, saw the dark smile suddenly on Adriana's face and gripped his master's sword handle so it wouldn't be pulled. "No, young Lord, don't!"

"WHAT?! Let go of me!"

The bodyguard sweated, sensing the threat in the woman's cosmos just waiting for an excuse, and Lance stood aback, depowering the Multiple Charge Fist load. The bodyguard had to phrase this in a way that his Master would not be dishonored. "…Not on your uncle's land! Not against an equal."

Patrick stared at his man. "She's NO EQUAL of mine!" he raged, as if wanting to take it out on him, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself. He patted his suit, a strange gesture considering how clean it was.. "…I won't forget those words, Ghisi… nor will the Solos. As Poseidon is our witness, insults from Athenians will not stand…!"

Lance watched her nod and approach him. "Patrick…" she worded, voice like honey. "Forgive me, I misspoke. You know how beloved the Solos are to me, I'd never imply something so offensive." Her hand extended. "Let's talk over dinner tonight. I'd love to hear how Lord Arthur is doing, if you'd grant an Athenian such honor, of course."

Something about this crept up both observers, but both Lance and Patrick's bodyguard kept their distance as Patrick evaluated her offer. With much disgruntlement, he slowly reached up and allowed her to shake his head. "Very well, Ghisi… this is more becoming of you."

Her smile widened delightedly. "Of course, you know I merely mean business is my top priority, not romance. In any other circumstances, I wouldn't hesitate to… get to know you better. " she held his shoulder comfortingly.

As her hands let go of him, Patrick stood frozen, sweating, and containing the urge to rub the spot she held even though it felt cold and prickled. "Yes, of course…the 'Panathenaea' it is, then. Tomorrow, then?" he asked, to which Adriana nodded in agreement. He and his bodyguard then made his way past them and Patrick couldn't resist giving Lance a look. "Good. Make sure this pulling horse isn't there, though, Adriana. I'll want to meet… as equals."

Having some experience dealing with these people by now, Lance stood quiet until he was gone.

Adriana sighed, finally relaxing. "Forgive me for putting you through that."

The Saint shook his head. He now saw that she was indeed not entirely the same as Gigas and the others. They at least didn't seem to treat her as such. "It's fine. I'm on your side on this."

Her eyes shifted. "I'm… pleasantly surprised you didn't feel the need to stomp him, as well."

"And prove his point about me being your pulling horse? I'm good, thank you," he assured. He did feel then, more than ever, the need to get the fuck out of Sanctuary and go back to the place he truly felt at home at, Mount Rozan. Seiryu was enough of a giant talking snake to have to deal with without these poisonous people. "Your way of handling this was better than my idea of dueling him, too."

She eyed him worriedly and her ringed hand clutched her rapier. "...Maybe you could say, Lord Cancer, that my patriarch grandfather, gave the silver ring to me instead of... my parents for more reasons than just being his precious little granddaughter… perhaps to put power away from the hands of temptation and instead on acumen and grace," her chin stayed raised with dignity as if to quiet herself from speaking further ill of others.

"Are all the Solos assholes, though? He talked as if he wasn't one of us."

Her blue eyes shifted. "Well, Atlanteans often do. It's possible their fortune and lineage get to their heads… but I will refrain from commenting further."

Something about this wasn't right. "What are they even doing around here? I thought the Mariners were our biggest enemies?"

The situation was jarring enough to make even Adriana chuckle a bit at it. "Very true. Oddly, enough, though, people tend to not pay mind to that when the last war we've fought was before Christianity was even born," she explained. She saw him eyeing her. "Well, they had to go somewhere after their city sunk, Lance. They are also not the worst people to deal with, these blue-haired men and women of Poseidon… outside the Solos at least. I'm sure you've noticed their descendants around."

Blue-haired men and women? This clicked something important in Lance's head. "You mean… Saga?!... And Milo?!" He grabbed his chin. "Well, I think Milo dyes his hair, so he probably doesn't count."

"It's a popular fad, yes, but if your friend Saga is a natural, then chances are he has Atlantean blood."

Lance was honestly bewildered. He had never looked at Saga in such a way. If it was true what Adriana explained to him once about how bloodlines carry ease with the cosmos, then it would explain a bit why Saga was such a talented person with it. The Pegasus Saint just hoped it didn't mean he had the potential to become the Sea Dragon General or something.

"HEY, LANCE!" Aphrodite shouted from afar, waiting by Shura, who also seemed to wonder what was taking so long. "Come on, we want to go home!"

Adriana chuckled, seeing the Saint pulled from multiple directions just from his disgruntled frown. "I suppose you have to leave… and that you won't stick around Greece?"

"No, I'm heading back to training after this. There's a lot to be done." the Saint confirmed.

Her head tilted slightly, hands joining in back. "Where are you spending all these months at, anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"

This wasn't something he was allowed to share. "This may be a tired phrase, but I can't really talk about it. You know how Gold Saints are."

Her eyes shifted playfully, smiling and tapping her foot on the floor. "…I'll find it out, somehow."

He didn't exactly doubt her ability, but - "Why go through the trouble, Adriana?"

"…Let's say I like to keep my assets almost as close to me as my enemies." she worded, smirking. "We'll see each other later, Lance, unless, of course, you suddenly have to fight some Holy War before it?"

The youth gulped, not really sure why. "Sure. See ya." And he then went off to the two young Gold Saint candidates.

Aphrodite pouted bored, tucking the snake plushy. "Finally!"

While Shura stared at Lance's face. "You look so red. Did you get into a fight with that guy?"

Lance staggered. "Uh? No! I mean…" He kept blushing, think about her eyes. "I'm fine, let's go!"

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

Hours later,

Sanctuary, Pope's Halls

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

Finishing up the day, Pope Arles III met up with his guard to get the final reports. He had anxiously awaited the results of his efforts to help his Gold Saints and hoped for a good turnout. Maximus, who headed the Papal Guard, and Mrs Shaffurwatt, who headed the servants, awaited him by the entrance of the halls.

The Pope greeted them. "Good evening to you two. Maximus, has Aphrodite returned already?"

The aged soldier nodded. "Yes, your Holiness. No reports from the frontiers today as well, though the MMC says they got a strange call from Crow's Nest that they are looking over again."

"Aphrodite was in good spirits, Lord Arles." Mrs. Schaffurwatt, the aged servant of the Scorpio Temple, said. "He spent the last hours of the day outside the garden and even ate the whole dinner plate I made for him. I was getting worried, that boy wasn't eating well at all."

Shion sighed. What a relief, there was hope for the Pisces House. If he could get Aphrodite to not be a recluse like Albafica or a psychopath like Cardinale, the Lemurian would consider it a personal success. "That's fantastic… oh, have a golden pin fashioned for the Cancer Saint. He lost his in Andromeda Island but I think he's earned a replacement. Is he here still?"

Mrs. Schaffurwat shook her head. "Lord Cancer hasn't even dropped by the Cancer Temple, your Holiness. He brought Lord Shura and Aphrodite and asked them to relay instructions to young Mephisto, then departed right away."

"Oh, what a shame." Shion lamented. "I wanted to thank him. Honestly, he doesn't allow himself this enough. Sometimes I think all I do is filling his head with speeches."

Maximus nodded, but then he delivered some unexpected news. "Also, a sudden tragedy…Patrick Solo has been found dead, your Holiness."

The Pope's mask froze. "…What? Arthur's nephew? But he -…."

"- collapsed by his manor's door, your Holiness." Maximus completed, making sure not to interrupt the holy man disrespectfully. "His escort rushed him to Dr. Iaso, who has just pronounced him dead."

The elderly Italian woman covered her mouth. "How terrible, and he's from such nice people. And now of all times, that his aunt is finally expecting..." she mused sadly.

Shion was utterly confused. "He was… young! What did Iaso say about it?"

Maximus cringed. "It's early to say, your Holiness. We only have so much to go by, but Dr. Iaso requested the help of an entomologist. Apparently he found suspicious twin marks on the back of young Patrick's shoulder... the size of human nails."

The Italian woman shivered. "Artemis help us, do we have giant poisonous spiders in Sanctuary, now?" she wondered.

The Pope shook his head. Humans were so fragile comparatively to Lemurians. He couldn't picture the pain of a human mother losing a son like this at his age. "We must send condolences. Arthur is an old friend. He will be shattered by this." Shion just hoped his nephew wasn't another victim of the vicious games of court their families play with the Greeks.

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

Chapter End

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

Next Chapter: Chapter 43 - Second Arc – Episode 9 - A Fated Encounter

(Experimental Deadline) Release Date: March 4th

Description: While Lance passes by Greece shortly to deal with the Pope upset about the eruption he caused, Daemon Lucifer and his men make their first strike.

Author's Note: You may notice I put up a deadline for the next chapter this time around despite it not being the fic's birthday; I want to experiment with setting myself goals to see if it increases productivity. I will try abiding by it but I can't make promises.

The readers of Lost Canvas will recognize the flashback scene as pertaining to Taurus Rasgado's battle with Bat and Dullahan, where he dies. It was always an ending for him I thought was underwhelming (much like Asmita's) so I always wanted to rewrite it along with Virgo's.

As for the characters some of the readers may not recognize; Teneo is canonical in The Lost Canvas, being Taurus Rasgado's oldest student and the first Gold Saint to take up position after the war ends and Shion becomes Pope. As for the characters in Crow's Nest, they are all OC; the Fornax Saint is the predecessor of the character we know in classic SS filler as the Ennetsu/Flame Saint while Lacaille is an original named after the scientist that mapped the Fornax constellation. Octans, on the other hand, is an unused constellation, but it made sense to me that it would be a 'Deadshot'-like warrior, mostly cause octant lenses remind me of sniper eye goggles.

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.