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.

76. 3A: A Series of Foreboding Encounters

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; Kido Mount; DQI Geography;

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

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Author Notes:

-This chapter has been beta-read by Zebullon_Wallace;

-To commemorate Jenny Devic's birthday, I've released a map of Andromeda Island, according to "Love You, Kill Me", which I will (attempt to) link in my profile. Be sure to check it out, it's full of love and references to Jenny's most popular novel, which has influenced this fic very much. If you're having trouble finding it, you can look my DA account up under Thrudgelmir2333, where I post all my map creations, including Death Queen Island and Sanctuary Town;

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Please enjoy and review ^_^

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Japan, Tokyo

Marunouchi District, KidoCorp Building

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The sun was rising in Japan and the large helicopter coming in from Kido's private residence descended on the skyscraper's rooftop with a deafening flap, welcomed by the building's crew. Mitsumasa Kido was already known for taking a liking to the air commutes, but after the Mitsubishi bombings three years prior (1974), the corporation made it into an official safety protocol.

As the flapping ceased, Tokumaru Tatsumi, the 20-year old security chief, was the first to exit the vehicle. He was a tall, proud-looking youth who was famous for his attractive mane of black hair tied into a ponytail during work, his imposing stature, his impeccable posture and manners, polite demeanor, and kind attitude towards the employees and visiting children. Having made to his position thanks to his mix of loyalty and an incredible talent in Kendo, a passion he shared with his dojo-owning brother, as well as having bodyguarded Mr. Kido during the Mitsubishi bombings, Tatsumi was always present wherever Kido himself was.

"Welcome, Mr. Kido!" he wished, grinning loyally.

The sixty-year-old playboy billionaire nodded with a confident smile and they entered the helipad's welcome lobby. He was nearly as tall as Tatsumi, had a grey-tinted black beard, perfectly combed hair, a sharp business suit and the stride of a man who felt nothing in the world could stop him.

Inside, rows of employees in sharp suits flanked him with sharp bows. "Good morning, Mr. Kido!"

"Thank you! It's a wonderful morning and I just finished reaching my 100th billion Yen. Let's have another fantastic day of work!" he roused, giving a short bow himself and sweeping his gaze through each of their faces.

"Mr. Kido, your coffee!" an intern handed him, which Tatsumi held for a quick safety sniff.

"Mr. Kido, let me get you the elevator!" a secretary abided, calling the lift for him and Tatsumi.

"Mr. Kido, please, come in!" a lawyer wished, welcoming him in and pushing the CEO office floor for him.

Kido laughed as the lift descended. "Thank you, thank you! Does anyone have the report on Unimark?"

An accountant rifled through a stack of papers he carried around. "Yes, Mr. Kido, I left a summary at your desk, but we are absolutely tearing through their market. The company is trying to hide it, but we are confident they are about to file chapter 11 bankruptcy, guaranteeing an easy purchase."

"Excellent, excellent…" Kido muttered, gaining a sycophantic nod from Tatsumi as well. They had to puncture through the Chicago market as ferociously as possible, if they wished to rival Ford by the end of the decade, and purchasing the toxic assets of failing American businesses was a way to infiltrate an otherwise very protectionist market. Unimark was a corporate identity and branding specialist used by many of them and could be Kido's path to ninja a way into the Great Lakes.

Tatsumi chuckled. "They don't stand a chance, Mr. Kido. You are both making more money and growing faster than all your adversaries combined."

Kido knew better. "Only for as long as I'm allowed to, Tatsumi. My success will cast a long shadow, after all. I will make as many enemies as I'll make dollars. Have my lawyers stay in touch with the government, plus Washington. We need to delay protectionist legislation as much we can."

"Of course, Mr. Kido!"

Mitsumasa rubbed his beard pensively as the elevator door opened and he walked into his office's hall. Having just finished buying out half the competition in the market for his telecommunication and weapon industries and starring on the cover of every business magazine as the "Japanese Rockefeller", Kido had reason to appear so triumphant to others like Tatsumi. As soon as he made it into his office, he would have heads of state ringing to get contracts with him, old rivals begging him to save their companies from bankruptcies, and countless bachelor magazines asking for interviews. Life was good for the magnate, and the future was bright.

Yet, such tremendous success sometimes concerned him; it was almost too much in too little time and he secretly feared that at some point, the Japanese market would crush itself with the force of its own growth. Precautions were necessary to guarantee the long-term prosperity of KidoCorp. Kido, however, wanted more than just avoid a market crash; he wanted his company to transcend petty market forces and become a corpus too big to fail, no matter what the fickleness of the world's finances dictated.

This was why his next meeting would be critical.

His secretary, a beautiful black-haired young lady who scored the highest grades in Tokyo Business universities in her year, stood by the door, hands folded at waist and gave a deep bow. "Welcome back, Mr. Kido."

"Miss Izo." he quickly nodded.

"Mr Kido, I have an urgent message from the government. The Prime Minister has called asking if you could participate in the fundraise for-"

"No." Kido flatly rejected.

The secretary staggered at such respite denial. Izo really thought he'd spend at least a minute thinking about it.

She adjusted her glasses and moved on to the next item. "We also got a letter from Ms. Sakaya, asking about her husband's business. I believe it's another request for renegotiating prices."

Once again, the billionaire shook head. "Not a yen more. She and her husband should be lucky that I'm willing to buy their useless company out. Tell her I want to sign the contracts now or I'm suing for what's left of their patrimony."

Iso exchanged a look with Tatsumi, but the toady security chief only chuckled, admiring his boss's ruthlessness. She wouldn't have asked, but Ms Sakaya said they were about to lose their house as well. She even sounded like she was sobbing on the phone.

The young secretary just nodded obediently and took notes "One more thing; the tourism ministry from Algeria called." Maybe this one would alarm mister Kido. "They say they are extremely upset at the reports we filmed at the archeology sites. They are even threatening to file complaints with the UN."

"This again?" Kido sighed exasperatedly. It was fine for the London Museum to take coffins of Egypt's old rulers to Britain, but he, a paying man, couldn't have a few measly rocks? "Tell them I paid for full access ahead of time and that it's too late to take it back. They never said I couldn't take samples of the unicorn statues back home. If they disagree, they can talk to my lawyers. Anything else?"

"Yes, lastly, the representative of your new client is here. I've already let him inside since he seemed to know you'd be here soon."

Kido raised a brow. "Really? Mm, he's early, but I like that. Well, let's see what Aries Industries is all about."

Miss Iso returned to her desk to give the Algerian Government the bad news while Kido walked inside his office by Tatsumi.

The CEO's office was enormous, befitting one of the richest men in the world, easily occupying a third of the entire floor's reserved area. Reared by massive windows displaying the Tokyo skyline in all its glory, including a view to the far-off Mt. Fuji, it made the desk meant for Kido and his guests look truly tiny. This effect was especially strong with the walls lined up with countless books displaying the billionaire's many eccentric interests, from archeology, to business, to war strategy, to even media and historical television shows. Trophies of his journeys were displayed everywhere, like a massive golden astrolabe in the corner, pictures of his safaris in Africa, portraits of his meetings with famous world figures from East to West, and rare artifacts imported directly from European and North African dig sites.

Beautifully adorned sheathed katanas lined a wall section in order of length, an autographed picture of Marylin Monroe with lipstick marks sat on a shelf, and a set of boxing gloves from the shooting of Rocky hung from another.

These were just to name a few. The artifacts went on and on, but the set of red couches in the center around a round depression with an abstractly-shaped table also drew attention. Usually, his guests would be sitting on these while Miss Iso called for sake to celebrate new business deals.

Today's guest, however, seemed more interested in Kido's trophies. He was a young, silver-haired man, perhaps younger than Tatsumi himself, with blue eyes protected by glasses that looked absolutely entranced by Kido's vast collection of memories. In particular, he studied at a map of the world Kido possessed that had his many business ties displayed, all networked back to Tokyo.

Tatsumi sidestepped to present the guest. "This is, um…"

The silver-haired youth turned to them and bowed. "My name is Gin Naiporo. I represent Aries Industries in Japan. Mr. Kido, it's an honor to meet you."

"Likewise." Kido smirked and pointed coyly. "Do I detect a northern accent? And that name... you must be from Hokkaido!"

Gin's blue eyes looked stunned and he smiled in awe. "Yes! Very good, Mr. Kido! My grandparents from my father's side hail from the north. How could you tell?"

"I own a couple of power plants in the area, nothing major, so I'm used to the accent." Kido humbly listed. "I hope I didn't make you wait too long."

Gin adjusted his glasses and shook head. "Not at all! Time just flew by while I admired your collection. You have fascinating items on display. I've heard you were adventurous, but this is all beyond anything in the magazines."

Loving nothing more than talk about his collectibles, Kido joined him. "Let me show you a couple of my favorites, Mr. Naiboro." He pointed at a manuscript of Buddha unearthed in Afghanistan which, interestingly, was written in western script. "Do you like it? This one is particularly priceless AND curious. It's a 2000-year-old translation of the Buddha's teachings into Macedonian Greek, which proves the fusion of East and West cultures in the Persian Empire's lands in Central Asia. I obtained it at an auction in Iran back in the day. Wonderful, isn't it? Imagine old Greek warriors studying the Buddha in such a remote land!"

Gin nodded. "Curious indeed. It makes me picture blonde western warriors becoming monks in India. I've noticed a lot of the objects in your collection come from the West, actually."

Kido rubbed his chin with an excited smirk and pointed at film reels he owned of Fistful of Dollars. "Yes, I love both sides of the world very much, from our good old Samurais to crazy gun-toting American cowboys! Speaking of Greece, though, my other most recent favorite-" He reached for a higher shelf and took a small statue of the Greek Goddess Athena, complete with staff and shield. "I bought this off the most curious boy in a village called Rodario a year ago. Do you notice anything in particular?"

Gin adjusted his lenses, as if he wasn't seeing right. "Interesting, the hair is painted purple? An odd choice. I also thought all Greek statues were white?"

"Yes, but it's always been my theory that the ancients in the West did paint their statues, but overtime the paint faded, leaving them naked marble." Kido put the statuette back. "Isn't it interesting how we might still be misunderstanding so much of how the old world worked? There could be a whole world lost in the past to uncover, just as fascinating as the technologies my company pursues…"

Gin silently stared at him, noticing the old man lost in some dream.

Kido laughed and put the statuette back. "But let's get down to business. I understand you had to wait quite a bit for this appointment, right?"

"Yes, a month, Mr. Kido." Gin admitted. "I've also been told, though, you usually make others wait a year, so I feel quite privileged."

Kido smirked. Making his rivals wait was a domination tactic that particularly amused him, but this guest was different. "Yes, well, when I was told you were from Aries Industries, I sped it up, shall we say."

Gin hummed to himself. "Hm, really? Why so, Mr. Kido?"

"Well, I want to make my first headway into Europe, and I think Greece is a good starting point." Kido confessed. He tensed his brows and folded arms reservedly. "I was surprised, though… at how difficult it was to get in contact with your company… and then all of a sudden, you contact us. It took me by surprise, which doesn't often happen."

Gin paused for a bit, looking away. "My employer noticed your efforts, Mr. Kido. Well, I suppose it's more accurate to say that I noticed them, and it's my job to act as my employer would…"

Kido nodded, silent, studying the silver-haired youth top to bottom. His lips tensed.

He then turned to his security chief. "Tatsumi, please give us some privacy."

The bodyguard noticed his boss' discrete signal to stay close to the door. "Y… Yes, of course, Mr. Kido. I'll be right outside." And left, closing doors behind him.

Gin blinked at this. "Mr. Kido, that was unnecessary."

Kido studied him top to bottom. "Yes, well,…. I insist on your comfort, Mr. Naiporo. Tatsumi is also quite bored by my business matters. I also get the impression that despite your initiative in contacting my company, you're under orders not to divulge too much about Aries Industries."

The silver-haired youth frowned. "Oh. What gave it away?"

Kido chuckled confidently, raising a brow at the naïve young man. "You never refer to your employer by name, for example, even by business titles. This not to mention the way you describe your responsibilities. You come across more like an attorney than a representative, Mr. Naiboro, if you pardon the slur."

"How observant, Mr. Kido." Gin noted.

The millionaire noticed the loss of friendliness in his tone. "I'm just getting started, you punk." Kido walked over and took a bottle of sake from Saga prefecture. "How about some drinks, then? This is the best my country has to offer."

Gin Naiboro nodded and took a dish.

As he poured himself a cup, Kido made his next move. "So, your employer… how did I gain his interest? Aries Industries are famously reserved in the stock market."

Gin chuckled and gently danced the sake in his hand. "Why, Mr. Kido, you're practically a supernova in the business right now. How could my employer NOT notice you?"

Kido poured some for himself and sipped it. Good; Aries Industries understood he wasn't screwing around. Now to make his first offer. " Then how about we talk prices? I would love to form a partnership on that lovely port in the Corinth Gulf that your company-"

"In fact…" Gin interrupted. He laid down his dish without even tasting it. "-it was when I discovered that you were making business with my employer's competition that I decided that I simply had to get to you. Aries Industries are very proud of the friends they make, but there are those who seek to take my employer down. It's my job here to not only defeat the enemy, but turn their allies into ours, especially phenomenal ones such as yourself."

While a bit offended at the interruption, Kido chuckled. "Excellent, then I'm sure you'll love my first off-"

Gin's hand shook in disbelief. "Oh Mr. Kido, you can stop. I'm not here to sell any of my employer's assets to you. In fact, I'd like to buy some of yours."

The business mogul raised his thick brow. "How so? Which ones?"

Gin chuckled. "Well, at first, I was thinking of the rest of the video footage you've been taking of my employer's private properties." he then pointed at the big atlas map on Kido's wall. "You know, the ones you have marked on your world map over there."

Kido froze in place, his aged face paleing.

Gin hesitated, as if embarrassed. "However, I'm afraid to say that, well,… when I was walked in…" he adjusted his glasses and sighed as if he made a big blunder. His blue eyes then looked at the world map Kido had on his wall "I was too embarrassed to say it at first, but…I just had to check that map of yours. I wanted to figure out just how much you've been trying to steal from my employer."

Kido sweated, nearly dropping his glass and feeling his heart beat fast at the thought of his inner sanctum uncovered by these people.

The silver-haired youth continued. "I touched some of the odd details, like those strange islands near Socotra, and suddenly your entire wall flipped! It was quite amazing!"

He set the sake down and acted stoic. So he found it. "You… did?"

Gin nodded. "Yes. Gods forgive me, but.. Those silvery rocks you have there. Mr. Kido, I've never seen anything like them! They reminded me of stories my nana up north would tell me about the dust of stars…"

The fifty-year-old now felt his stomach in a twist, but concealed his discomfort with a turn of face. They knew. Gods save him, but Sanctuary knew.

He stepped back in fear. "Y-yes, I wish you hadn't been so clumsy, Mr. Naiboro."

Gin stepped forward, his smile curving up more and more.. "How did you get them?"

Kido gulped and stepped closer to his desk, where he had his emergency button that would lock the entire building down, including his office. He pretended to lean on it so he could reach down to the button.

"Well, I…well….I searched the market and…"

Gin watched him doing all of this very closely, but stayed polite and on-topic. "I would hate to suggest…it was contraband? These governments… they put so many restrictions on honest businessmen like you."

Kido adjusted his red tie with one hand and searched for the button with the other. "N… No… of course not. I acquired them through… a private contract, a decent man who needed my help desperately. He and his folk lost their patronage and came to me."

Gin tensed, transfixing Kido with his blue glare like the business man just insulted a God of his. "A decent man? Perhaps a former employee of Aries Industries, someone who might have had a gold pass? What was his name?"

Kido shook head. He promised Priam he wouldn't reveal him. However, he also didn't want his building bombed to dirt by these Saint cultists.

Whether by bravery or pride, he chose to protect Priam. "I'm contracted from saying it, unfortunately…"

The attorney sighed sadly. "That's too bad. My employer is also an avid enthusiast of these kinds of rocks. He's a bit of an amateur chemist and he finds such things nostalgic. I suppose it cannot be helped. Do you have a price for them? Perhaps it can be part of our business arrangement?"

Feeling his fingers reach the plastic circle under the table, Kido breathed a sigh of relief, finding the button. When he tried to press it, however, the silent vibration that should signal a successful alarm didn't happen.

His heart skipped a beat. Someone had disabled it!

Gin raised chin. "Is something the matter, Mr. Kido? You look disconcerted. Did you lose something?"

Kido took a handkerchief and wiped his sweat.. "N-no… I had a difficult night of sleep. I'll just… go get an aspirin."

Gin's stare seemed to get sharper and sharper. "I can imagine. Your reputation as a billionaire playboy is well known, after all. You have everything a man could desire. Fortune, fame, the respect of politicians, women… and men. But you know, Mr. Kido, there is such a thing as too much of it. Greed has the tendency to make men overstep their bounds… and letting it be the end of you."

Kido stepped past him carefully. "Is… that so?"

"I don't pretend to teach a veteran like you a lesson, but I know a thing or two about envying the things of others. Like their secrets." Gin continued, cryptic. "Long ago, I made a mistake over it that made my employer and his friends very… very angry with me. A Pandora Box I was told to keep closed... I've been paying the price of that disobedience ever since."

…

Kido gulped at the silent stare, wondering in terror what would happen to him now.

"You can relate, can you not? The temptation of opening that Pandora Box?" Gin asked him, pinning the nervous old man with his eyes. "You've been snooping your dirty nose into my employer's affairs so much, after all? You know how powerful he is, or you have an inkling from his enemies, and you can't stand it, because no matter how many yens you get, how many people you ruin and how many wives you steal from your rivals to pack your suite with… You're still just a man. Pushing into his sixties. With no children. And your big, beautiful building that you've built on the exploitation of so many is nowhere near in splendor next to the mountain of marble that my employer lives on. And it never will. Especially with those ugly suicide nets over them."

The business mogul stopped entirely, slumping his head down with a look of horror stamped in his face like he just encountered a terrifying colossus.

Seeing the old man slump in defeat, Gin smiled and leaned in. "A word of advice, Mr. Kido, from one greedy mind to the other? Think less of what you can steal from others, and more of what you can gain from what you give them. I know I'm insisting, but I think you should give me your contact for all those wonderful rocks. It would be a wonderful gift to my employer that would certainly open his mind to doing business with you in the future?"

Kido gritted teeth. He was being threatened by these Saints, and now strong-armed into making business with them anyway? And he couldn't do a damn thing about it! Still, his life and his shareholders were more important than his agreement with Priam and his faction. He'd rather make some good out of this awful situation.

"Forgive me, Mr. Priam…but your fight isn't mine. I'm just doing business…" He pulled out an agenda filled with his personal contacts. He flipped through until he found his notes on the Black Saints and handed it over. "Hopefully your employer will see this as a gesture of good faith?"

Taking the info, Gin studied it thoroughly, likely comparing it to intel he already possessed. "We'll see."

Kido awaited his response in abject terror. His mind wondered what kind of insane weapon this youth would pull out, should he find the info unsatisfactory or simply decided to go back on their deal. Perhaps he would blast Kido to smithereens with his fist, or tear his building in half with a stomp.

Gin, however, smiled happily. "Hey, look at that, Hokkaido, my grandparents' home! Who would have thought!" he flipped it closed and tossed it back. "I suppose I can't excuse my way out of paying a visit to them now, can I? Well, I won't keep you, Mr Kido."

Kido caught the agenda and saw Gin leave. "W-What?! Wait, don't you need this?!"

Gin smiled, opening the door. "No, the info looks true and my memory is pretty good. 43.660278°N, 142.858056°E, correct? Also known as Mount Daitetsu National Park. Besides, if I don't find your man, I can always ask you again in our next business meeting."

Goodness, this horrible punk was going to come back anyway?! "Next? But!... Won't your employer at Sanctuary….?!"

Gin blinked, confused. "Sanctuary? No, I work for Aries Industries, Mr. Kido." Leon then smirked at the look on the cruel old pig's face and closed the door politely. "Until next time."

Miss Iso was standing in the hall and bowed as protocol. "Thank you for your visit."

Tatsumi was sitting there with his newspaper and saw how pale his boss was. "Hey, did you do something to Mr. Kido?!"

"Not at all, I assure you." The silver-haired mercenary then turned to the secretary. "However, Miss Iso, would you get Mr. Kido some nice tea? He isn't feeling well."

She turned worryingly at the door of her boss and nodded. "Y-yes, of course, Mr Naiporo!"

Leon then left the building with a whistle. Before heading north to Hokkaido, he should stop by the Tokyo commercial sector and get something nice for the wonderful girl he met in Sanctuary Town, miss Cerah (*). He tried to think of what she would like. Leon met her staring at that jewelry store next to the Rodario guards, so maybe a silver pendant or bracelet to match the cosmos he sensed in her would do nicely. Or perhaps he should try something more modest and surprising, like a cute green headband for her blonde hair that accentuated the earnest bravery he saw in her eyes.

(*) Lance Vs The Volcano

So many options. Maybe he could ask his grandparents about it. Well, in last resort, he could always get an Ikebana that she could throw away later, perhaps something from the north with a snowy mountain theme to it. Cerah didn't come across to him like the type that enjoyed flowers, but Leon knew enough to tell it was the thought that mattered.

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Switzerland,

Saintia Academy

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Aquila Daese stood there in the chapel, staring at the collapsed Cerah as the fires from Cerah's battle with Worm Raimi grew around them. Daese had been surveying the grounds for a while, suspecting that Sanctuary had hidden her younger sister among the Saintias, and then the battle at the chapel erupted. The Aquila Paladin had her full armor on, having been prepared to save Cerah, but the fighting was already over.

Her blue eyes shook with tears, seeing her sister for the first time in years. She was so grown-up now. Last time Daese saw Cerah, she was easily half her height and her curls half as long. Now she was almost an adult woman and even defeated a real Specter of Hades.

Most importantly, Lucian spoke the truth and hadn't laid a hand on Cerah other than training. That was one big crow Daese would have to swallow now from Priam. Daese knelt down and gently stroked her sister's hair. Priam had warned her against leaving Cosmos traces for Sanctuary to detect, but she wanted to touch her sister anyway, even if only this lightly.

Daese saw Cerah squirm unconsciously. "You idiot… you used too much Light and had a burn-out, didn't you? You could have died! But… you saved those girls. I'm… I'm so proud of you." She leaned in and kissed Cerah's temple. She then felt the cosmos of all the Saintias closing in. "I want to be with you so badly… I want to ask for your forgiveness so much. But I can't stay here… They'd kill the both of us. The Saintias will take care of you for now. When the time is right… Yes, we'll be a family again. We'll bring the Knights back from the grave and make Arles pay!"

Hesitantly, the Diamond Paladin stood up and turned, forcing herself out before she wept again.

"Quick, she's over here!" Olivia's voice was heard, calling the medics.

The Aquila Knight turned head in alarm! She turned into a flash of blue light and vanished before Olivia walked in. She'd let Sanctuary keep Cerah for now. Her chance to take her sister before Priam returned would come soon.

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Meanwhile,

Austria, Fort Peloponnesia

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At the war room of Fort Peloponesia's main keep, a huge map of the region between Peloponnesia and Heinstein Castle was laid at the table, with 'Holy War' pieces being used to represent forces and players, such as Pandora.

Kirin pointed at the Capricorn and Aquarius pieces on Peloponnesia and added a Gemini one. "Three of us, here." Then pointed at the Pandora piece surrounded by many black knight ones in the castle to the southwest. "And this is Heinstein."

Malta showed Akassius the path between the two fortresses, which went through many different terrains like hills, plains and forests, and pointed at a black curve marking a radius around Pandora's position. "This is as far as we've measured their barrier."

Akassius noticed all the black pieces were inside that radius. "Brave, aren't they? Still, that barrier's range is frightening…"

"And it's been gradually growing ever since." Malta revealed, pointing at eraser lines left on the map of old barrier marks. "At its current pace we predict the barrier might reach us here within the next… five months."

"At which point this position will, regrettably, become indefensible." Kirin had to confess. "We're pretty strong… but we can't fight Judges of the Underworld with one-tenth of our cosmos, Akassius."

"Then we cannot let things reach that point." Akassius asserted. "Hades' plan will be defeated before then, or not be defeated at all."

Kirin sweated. "But… how?"

Akassius sat back, sighing and closing his eyes pensively. "I will think of something…" he assured. "I have to!"

Malta felt his throat tighten, seeing the concern in their eyes. Maybe his promise to Pegasus had second priority to Sanctuary's safety. Maybe he should really tell them that Libra Dohko's student, trained in assault, the Underworld Wave and the arts of the God Seiryu, planned to invade the Underworld. While he doubted the chances of such an idea, at the very least it was a way to widen their options.

Akassius continued. "Have there been any more sightings of the Valiant?"

"Fortunately, no, nothing since their first assault a month ago. My Excalibur sunk deep into its hull and they pulled it back for now." Kirin assured. His mouth scoffed. "Though… a part of me wishes it would show up, so your Hellfire Cannon could blow it to ash!"

While the Gemini shared the sentiment with a nod, his face tensed into its known pensiveness. "I doubt even the Specters would make the same mistake twice. They must be preparing it for our presence, Kirin. Something tells me your blade won't pierce it quite as easily the next time it appears in the sky."

"Will Daniel come here eventually?" Malta queried. If they had the WW2's veteran strength on their side, then maybe…

Akassius shook his head. "No. I asked him to stay in Romania for now, that I needed someone trustworthy to keep pursuing Daemon Lucifer's remnants. Herakles Aguilon, however, will come, and bring his Herculean Guard."

Kirin blinked. It wasn't like Akassius to exclude Daniel for such a small reason, especially if he's bringing in Aguilon in his stead. "Was that the only reason, Akassius?"

The retired Gemini gulped. Kirin was too sharp to let anything by. "Well, no. Let's say that the situation here will soon become more explosive for everyone." Akassius confessed, looking away worryingly. "Other than Saint Herakles, there's going to be some sorely needed reinforcements to this area whose leaders Daniel wouldn't like to be around, such as King Cetus… and Legate Menelaus."

The two names made the stoic Aquarius Malta recoil visibly.

The former name was of one who tormented and ultimately killed one of Daniel's students, while also being an installed foreign tyrant in an African realm.

The latter was a whole other mess that involved their entire generation of Gold Saints. Menelaus, after all, wasn't just one of the Allies, but originally was going to be Taurus of their generation, hence the Trojan codename. In days past, Malta and Kirin shared just as many happy moments with the Legate as they had with Akassius, Paris and Priam.

In said happy days, Menelaus had been trying to do their part to become a member of the Gold Saints, but was stonewalled off the role in 1960 by Taurus Daniel. Daniel insisted he sensed an imbalance in Menelaus, that the candidate was focusing on less positive aspects of being a Taurus Saint, such as building strength to dominate others instead of guarding them. To all the others like Malta, they couldn't picture their diligent (albeit aggressive) friend Menelaus seeking to dominate people. It often felt more like Daniel was being stubborn and holding on to his Gold Cloth, rather than cautious.

However, this was all before 1964, when Menelaus deserted Sanctuary and headed for the Alps in a fit of rage at being denied the Gold Cloth a 4th time. There, Menelaus embraced the cult of Ares and rose to the role of Legate of the Lost Legion. Now the disgraced bull guarded the mountains, living a fantasy of being a Taurus Gladiator, drilling the Legionaries with an iron fist and protecting the world from Specters in Sanctuary's name, albeit for Ares and not Athena.

Needless to say, class reunions were tense between them, even before Priam ever decided to punch the Pope.

"I can't say I'll be comfortable around Menelaus, either, Akassius, or any worshipper of Ares for that matter." Kirin commented, scowling. Out of everyone, the Capricorn had the tensest relationship with Menelaus. "Are you sure this is a wise idea?"

"No, Kirin… but an Ally is an Ally, and the Lost Legion hates Hades even more than they hate Athena." Akassius argued. "The worshippers of Ares hold an advantage over Specters, for they above all fear not death. They've demonstrated that still holds true when they stopped Wyvern's incursion into the Alps last year (*)."

(*) "Revelations" Storyline

Kirin, however, hesitated in agreeing. "Akassius, I have to ask… Are you relying on Ares' worshippers because-"

"No, it's not because of my zodiac." The Gemini interrupted, his black eyes sharpened on Kirin.

Kirin held tongue for a beat. Akassius' authoritative glares, firm as that of a fiery dragon, were a good reminder of why he was the leader. "I'm sorry, you know I don't mean anything. I just have to ask."

Akassius relaxed, shook his head and patted Kirin's shoulder comfortingly. "Of course, and you should always ask,... but Ares has never held any power over me. I've sacrificed too much to allow him to." the former Gold Saint then thought to himself "What is left to see is if Saga can say the same…"

Malta raised his hand. "I've done my part gathering allies as well. The Solos, along with the other Mariner families, have pledged their cavalry to us. Nearly three hundred Contarius will join our Hetairoi horsemen. Menelaus' equites should bolster it as well, followed by New Lalibela."

Akassius nodded somberly, knowing the fighting that awaited them all. "Three hundred? I was hoping for more of Poseidon's horses, but it's a decent number, regardless. Not many in the world know the Cosmos, after all."

It was Kirin's turn. "Unfortunately, I have bad news on my end; Elder Yuzuriha has kept her support shy since the False Specter attack on Tibet. We cannot really blame her, not after Saint Saga had to save her people when our stationed nobles would not. I would have called Castellan Aezrel, but, as you all know,... he has no army but himself."

Akassius nodded and added more pieces on the map accordingly.

Kirin observed Akassius' reaction to this carefully; the former Capricorn Gold Saint knew Akassius made a call for military aid to Fortress Peloponnesia, but one detail that caught Kirin's attention was the call for a cavalry force as well, which anyone with minimal tactical knowledge knew that amassing it on a fortress wasn't useful outside of pursuing a defeated siege force.

This implied, therefore, that Akassius intended to do far more on the battlefield than hold a red line.

Akassius dusted hands. "Well, your hands are tied, and I'm sure Aezrel will support us in his own way. In any case, a grand force is forming at this fortress, the like of which hasn't been seen since Priam's fall. The coalition of Sanctuary's Allies continues to honor its vows to Athena… for now."

A hoplite rushed in, panting. "Lord Duke! Forgive me, but I have news!" he shouted, getting their attention. The Hoplites all revered the three of them too much to approach, so this must be important. "There was an attack!"

The Gemini veteran gasped. "What?!" Where?!"

"The Saintia academy! It's been repelled already, but we don't know if anyone got hurt, yet." the hoplite said. "Oh goddess… my sister and my cousin, they both study there…"

Kirin rested his gauntlet on the soldier with a comforting smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure your family is fine." And guided him out while messaging Malta and Akassius. "I'll go organize the men."

Malta frowned in concern, turning to Akassius after they left. "Things keep getting worse and worse… Now we have another front to protect."

The Gemini frowned and paced around the room frustratedly. "I know, but we don't have the manpower to spare out of here to keep a constant vigil in Switzerland, too."

"Then what do we do?"

The black-haired Gemini paused to think, his eyes narrowing like daggers in the direction of the Heinstein grounds.

It then came to him. "We'll remove the Specters' object of interest out of the Academy. Notify the MMC; I want an escort mission to take the girl to Greece. And someone please convince His Holiness to station a Gold Saint there from now on!"

{======================|A3|======================}

Chapter 76

Arc 3

Episode 4

A Series of Foreboding Encounters

{======================|A3|======================}

The Next Morning,

Switzerland,

Saintia Academy Nursery

{======================|A3|======================}

Between dazed dreams of an eagle rescuing her from dark worms trying to eat her alive, Cerah slowly awoke, feeling herself laid on a soft bed under a thin sheet. The window's sunlight broke her morning drowsiness and she rose on the bed, rubbing her eyes. "Ugh… Good morning, Diana."

"...Good morning." A friendly female voice of someone sitting nearby wished her.

Cerah winced. Her head hurt at the thought of an Alchemic Basics class first thing after such a terrible night of sleep. "Is it class time yet? Goddess, I had an awful dream…and my whole body hurts. I wish I could just stay in bed."

She chuckled. "I believe your teachers will let you off class for today. It's not everyday the academy is saved from a Specter attack by one of their students."

Cerah gasped and awoke fully, turning to the voice to find Adriana sitting there with an expectant smirk. "Miss GHISI! Oh, I t-though-" but as she tried to get up, a flash of pain went through her side, freezing her in place, at the same time she bumped her head on something hanging over her bed. "A-Agh! O-Ow…!"

Adriana's silver-ringed hand gently pushed her down to rest. "Easy. I came as soon as I heard what happened."

The blonde girl panicked though, looking up at the noble. "I-Is everyone okay? Oh dear Goddess, I can't believe what happened! Everything was so peaceful and suddenly that Specter… just burst out of the ground! Where's Katya? And Miss Olivia?! And Diana, and-"

"Cerah! Yes, everyone is okay." Adriana assured, smiling and holding her bruised face comfortingly until Cerah's breath calmed down. Zeus almighty, what an anxious girl. Was this the blood of Cyrulians urging her to put her life in front of others, or personal valor, or something else? "You're the only one that got hurt. Now relax. That's an order."

The Academy's nurse, Mrs. Poppy, also standing there, held her down reprovingly. "You're recovering from a healed broken rib, miss Heloise. The Golden Touch fixed most of it, but you should still rest, not rush off the bed like you were a made-Saintia."

The strawberry-blonde young noble nodded in agreement with the nurse. "You also don't have to worry about the Academy." Adriana walked over and pulled the window curtains open. "Sanctuary has already sent… reinforcements."

Cerah blinked, alarmed. Reinforcements? From Sanctuary? Was there an investigation going on? Was she in danger of getting found out?

Adriana saw the fear flashing through her face. The noblewoman turned to the nurse, who excused herself with a nod and left the room.

Finally feeling some privacy, Adriana elaborated. "Don't worry, I went ahead and talked with Director Albus and they think you just got lucky, not that you're a Knight. I managed to convince everyone you were just a budding talent with the 7th sense. You have nothing to fear… yet."

Cerah breathed out in relief. "Oh, thank goodness…" she eyed the noblewoman who had once again rescued her. "Thank you. That is… the third time you've protected me."

Adriana folded arms with a concerned frown. She was used to lending her name to shield others, but Cerah was a bit of a problem-finder, wasn't she? "It helped that you were already enrolled in here with that excuse, so don't worry about it…"

The blonde girl looked up with guilt. It was a good thing miss Ghisi was her ally or the chance she took would have landed her in some serious trouble. "I just had to do something. They were just going to take miss Olivia away or…" Cerah then remembered all those metal worms flapping about everywhere, wrapping around the class president, and shivered. "… or worse."

Adriana gestured at the window. "Come take a look."

Getting up slowly and with trepidation to join her at the window, Cerah widened eyes at he sight of a gold-armored youth down at the yard being greeted by the teachers and students. "Is that… the Cancer Gold Saint?!"

{======================|A3|======================}

Down at the courtyard, the crowd of Saintia candidates and their teachers gathered around the bench where Saint Cancer and Saint Pisces stood on top of. Both their faces were hidden inside big black balclavas, the type one wore to rob a bank.

"Alright, listen up, y'all!" the surprisingly short Cancer Gold Saint made himself heard. His voice was being magnified by a small lapel mic on his collar. "Sanctuary has heard that you students have been… 'attacked'! By a Specter, no less! Truly awful. As a result, I, Cancer Deathmask, have decided in my magnanimous-mous-ness to come personally put your minds at ease until this dark, dark period is over."

The Pisces Gold Saint palmed his face exasperatedly. The teachers and students exchanged all sorts of reactions and looks, some looking starry-eyed that a Gold Saint had come to personally guard them, while others, especially professor Severus, stared at the half-pint in gold armor in nothing but contempt and suspicion.

The Gold Saint pointed a finger up dramatically, causing many familiar with his techniques to recoil. "You may rejoice, for you are now protected by Sanctuary's greatest Gold Saint, Cancer Deathmask, defender of the 4th House during the False Holy War! Not only will there not be any further Specter attacks, but the very presence of the great Deathmask will cause the dark tides of Hades to retreat in terror back to their tacky castle in Germany! From now on, any Specter who intrudes on this sacred ground will have their souls sent straight back to the Underworld!"

The audience nodded along and clapped, some out of genuine relief, others out of ceremony. Pisces only folded arms and shook his head discreetly.

Cancer Deathmask turned in an over-theatrical way so as to make his oversize blue cape flutter. "Am I done with this stupid speech? Can I go now? I'm starving and haven't had breakfast yet."

"Saint Cancer, your microphone!" Ms. Dolores pointed.

"Ah, shit, right!" Deathmask muttered, struggling to get the lapel microphone off his gold collar.

"You idiot! Can't you do anything right?!" Pisces lambasted.

"Shut up, Miss Sweden! I got this!" Deathmask struggled against it. "Shit, How do you get this stupid thing of-" there was then a screeching sound as the Pisces Saint ripped the microphone in twain off of Cancer.

{======================|A3|======================}

Adriana shut the curtains off to spare her Knight protégé of further Golden Zodiac embarrassment. "Do you feel better about your friends?"

Cerah nodded hesitantly. "Well, yes… sort of. I've heard of the Cancer Saint before, during the war. I just didn't expect him to be so… umm…"

The noblewoman raised a coy brow. "So tiny?"

Cerah covered an embarrassed laugh with her hand. "Yes, I'm just surprised. I once overheard Saint Andromeda and Saint Gemini talk about him and they made him sound reliable, though. Besides, there's also Saint Pisces."

"Overheard?" Adriana could only imagine that when Cerah was sneaking around Sanctuary Town during the False Holy War, she overheard the two Saints talking about Lance. "The Pope means well, but if you ask me, Saint Deathmask is a bit too young for these PR tasks. His teacher who would be furious that he's being given these responsibilities already. I know I am about Saint Pisces…"

Cerah sweated. What kind of codename for a Saint was 'Deathmask' anyway, especially for a Gold one? She also remembered the Royal Demons back in Adriana's house and that she likely had a personal relationship with the Pisces Gold Saint. "Are you friends with the other one, miss Ghisi?"

"Mm…'Friend' is a strong word for our type. Let's say instead that we relate to each other." Adriana cryptically answered. Her lips curved upwards. "Let's just say Saint Pisces and I are both like gardeners, tending to some… very unpleasant roses that talk and do silly things."

Cerah left it at that. "Maybe Sanctuary can't spare anyone else."

"Perhaps." The noblewoman commented. Her tone sounded skeptical, though. She then smiled proudly at Cerah. "Can I just say, though? I was stunned when I heard what happened. I knew you had fought the Cyclops Specter already, but saving Olivia Iraklidis from Worm Raimi without your armor?... I can't imagine it must have been comfortable, fighting a Terrestrial Star in your pajamas. You truly are a Knight of the Zodiac."

Cerah felt her cheeks warm at the honors and looked away humbly. "T-thank you. I… I only did my best!"

Adriana then sighed in regret. "It's just a shame that the Specter didn't get captured, but saving yourself from a burning chapel takes precedence."

Cerah perked up. "W-wait, what?" The Knight shook her head, trying to recall the hazy last moments before she lost consciousness. "They found me outside the chapel? I… don't remember getting out."

The noblewoman looked away, bewildered and trying to recall every detail she was told. "Well, from what I was told, I assumed you saved yourself. Unless, of course, the Worm Specter had a strange moment of kindness before scurrying back to Pandora."

With suspicions rushing through her brain, Cerah's green eyes darted aside, recalling her dream of getting taken by an eagle out of danger. No, it couldn't be…? Had Daese really shown up to rescue her? Her small hands clenched on the nursery sheets tightly.

She let go of the thought and breathed sadly. "No, nevermind, they must be right. I probably just don't remember…"

Adriana stood quiet, her amber eyes studying Cerah's melancholic mood. She definitely wasn't sharing some kind of realization, but moving on "Do you mind if I ask… what do you remember? Of the battle itself, I mean?"

Cerah nodded and made the effort to recall as much as he could for her sponsor. She detailed how she was taking a walk outside at night, felt the tremors of Worm Raimi's underground tunneling, ran into miss Olivia's conversation with Katya, and then all three were surprised by Worm Raimi bursting out of the ground. All the while, Adriana seemed to pay most attention to Cerah's comments about her sensing the impending danger as well as her battle performance, particularly when she fired the multiplied Prismatic Storm and sensed the cosmos of Raimi's attacks in great detail.

"…and that's how I defeated him. Sort of. I passed out shortly after." Cerah recollected.

The Silver Ring held chin in fist, observing Cerah pensively. "This is remarkable growth. Could she be unlocking the 7th sense already? Saint Iaso did give her those strange waters…Maybe I should contact Lance…"

The fact that Adriana was prioritizing the details about her fighting over Raimi's accusations towards Olivia wasn't lost on Cerah. "Miss Ghisi? Do you think the things he said are true? That miss Olivia…?"

"That the class president of the Saintia Academy is our Goddess' future mother? No." Adriana flatly denied, who tensed at the notion, looking around the building as if the idea that the Academy had been hiding something from them all disgusted her. "I've known Olivia Iraklidis and her family for a long time. She's a talented star reader and an extremely gifted Saintia candidate. Calling her the Goddess' harbinger is going too far, though."

"But what does that mean?" Cerah asked. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what a star reader is."

Adriana's head shook. "That's quite alright; in Sanctuary, Cerah, there are people, including the Pope, who can… divine fate through the stars. This, however, isn't the same as *seeing the future* like the prophets of old. Rather, star readers, or seers, claim to be able to sense in your Cosmos what sort of destiny awaits you."

Cerah hummed pensively. "My… destiny?" Was this why Olivia sensed Katya's secret, and was watching Cerah the other day?

Adriana gently took her hand and pressed a finger on Cerah's palm, following its soft lines. "It's similar to palm reading; they can't tell if you'll win the lottery, but maybe if you'll have a healthy life or what sort of constellation might be good for you." She let go. "Predictably, most end up helping Sanctuary pick students for Cloths and little else. It hardly makes them Athena's mother."

Cerah frowned in concern. "Miss Ghisi, maybe you're right, but… that Specter…"

Adriana nodded. "I understand your fears. It matters little who Olivia really is, if the enemy believes she's of interest, they will come after her again." The Silver Ring smiled. "However, seer or not, what you did for her was no less amazing, Cerah. In fact,… I think it's time."

Cerah stared quizzically. "Time? For what?"

"For you to meet our third partn-"

*knock-knock*

The two turned to the door. Adriana gestured Cerah to stay in bed and opened the door herself, revealing a pair of figures.

Cerah eep-ed at the presence of the two celebrities. "Saint CANCER!… and Miss Olivia?"

Indeed, the Gold Saint of Cancer himself and the much taller class president stood there, dignant and hands humbly held at waist. While the Gold Saint was still masked, the seer eyed Adriana and Cerah expectantly, like she couldn't wait to get in. Cerah also saw several of the academy students peeking over the far corner and talking about their presence.

"Miss Ghisi, my apologies, I wouldn't have bothered you and your sponsored student, but… " the black-haired girl begged. "I asked the nurse to inform me as soon as Miss Héloise awakened. I wanted to extend my personal thanks and as-"

"Yeah, whatever, can we get in? There's a ton of fangirls outside shrieking at me and we got important junk to discuss." Deathmask interrupted, his tone being much crasser. He practically forced his way into the room past Adriana. "Ahh, silence! Much better."

Olivia, by contrast, didn't set a foot in until Adriana gave a permission nod. "Excuse me."

While Adriana was impassive, used to the jet-set of Sanctuary, Cerah felt her heart in her throat at the proximity to the youth in splendorous golden armor, the first Gold Saint she had seen ever outside the False Holy War, much less within speaking distance. "Oh my Goddess! What does he want? Does he know I'm a Knight?! Is he here to arrest me?! No, miss Ghisi is sure they don't know! Or…" and a much more likely, but still frightening possibility popped in her head. "Is he here to… congratulate me for defeating a Specter? Holy cow!"

Seeing Cerah muted by the stars in the room, Adriana spoke for her. "Saint Cancer, what is this about?"

Miss Olivia, however, stepped forward. "I can explain everything; Saint Cancer has been sent here by the Pope to guard the academy, but in light of the Specters'… suspicions about me, Sanctuary feels the Academy will be safer if I stay in Greece for the moment." She then turned to Cerah. "Miss Heloise, I would like very much for you to accompany me."

Cerah gasped out loud. "What?! Me?!"

The class president nodded calmly. "I realize it's a burden, especially after you already saved my life, but…" her lips quivered imperceptibly in fear. "I'm very… worried right now… and you would make me feel much safer."

The secret Knight stood in stunned silence, looking in between the three interlocutors to check if she heard right.

"Princess Olive here won't be just with you." Saint Cancer misnamed, pointing thumb at her derisively. The slight Italian accent made him sound even blunter, somehow. "Sanctuary is gonna get a group of Saints to pick the two of you up and escort you to Greece. If you agree, I can take both of you to the rendez-vois point. So, what's it gonna be? I have to let them know and I ain't got all day."

Cerah calmed herself down and thought about it. Accepting the task seemed like the natural choice, but she had to think about the risks this imposed on her own affairs. If she had to protect Olivia for some reason, the chances of Cerah having to resort to her Silver Cloth and expose herself would rise exponentially. This wasn't like with Saint Crane Yushira, whom Cerah could convince not to prod into her past. If Olivia and the Saints saw Cerah with a Cloth, she was done.

Yet, the older black-haired girl's expectant stare upset Cerah. Somehow Cerah felt that, underneath Olivia's dignant pose and calm expression, Olivia was truly frightened by what happened the previous night. There was a slight shaking of her hands and firmness in her stare, like the words Cerah held in her mouth would determine if a blade would fall on Olivia's neck.

As such, Cerah turned to Adriana. "Miss Ghisi,… is it okay if I go?"

Adriana raised a finger. "I will authorize you to take my academy goddaughter on one condition. I want to recommend a Saint to be part of this escort. I'd feel better if he was involved in this."

Cancer Deathmask cleaned his nails distractedly "Yeah, sure thing, who?"

Adriana smiled. "Why, the Bronze who has recently trained at your House, Pegasus Lance."

The Cancer Saint snapped a nail and gagged.

{======================|A3|======================}

The Next Day,

Greece, Sanctuary Town

Mission Management Center

{======================|A3|======================}

Having returned to Sanctuary Town in a hurry with his Bronze Cloth box, Pegasus Lance rushed inside the two-storied building, dodging his many colleagues checking for assignments on the boards, bitching to the bureaucrats about schedules or fruitlessly asking for more supplies. He headed directly to Sagitta Nam's desk with the letter he got in Rozan in hand, half pissed, half intrigued.

He still couldn't believe Roshi had convinced him into this.

{========|A3|=========}

"What's that?" Dohko asked, peeking over Lance's shoulder at the letter they got.

Lance tossed the letter out derisively to the breakfast table. "A messenger was here this morning. Sanctuary called me for a dumb escort mission. Apparently, the Academy with all the Saintias got attacked and they want one of their rich girls brought home safely. I was asking why an assault Saint like me was called, but apparently my friend Adriana co-signed it and told them to get me to help."

Dohko took the letter and read it quickly as he drank his tea. "Mmm, Olivia Iraklidis? … Iraklidis…" He lowered the letter and seemed to think about the surname, rolling eyes in recollection. "Interesting…"

Lance folded arms skeptically. "What's interesting about putting up with some mean high school bitch through the Balkans?"

"That's a good question. I suppose you'll be finding out."

Lance gawked. "What?! Forget it, Roshi, I have WAY too much training to do!" he pointed at the calendar full of Xs for failure to achieve Chi. "Do you see that?! We're way behind schedule on the Life Sense and this isn't even-"

Dohko practically smacked the letter in Lance's hands. "Consider it practice, then! Besides, if you're going to insist on premiering your new Pegasus Cloth only when you first really need it, then you might as well go find some danger and get it over with. That makes sense to you, doesn't it?"

The student staggered, caught off guard. "Uh… well… Yeah, I guess it does. But it doesn't change the fact that there's something strange about this mission. Why would Sanctuary want ONE teenager escorted by Gold Ranks?"

Master laughed at his face, folding arms. "Why don't you ask her yourself? You want to take on Hades, don't you? Well, the letter says she's being targeted by Specters. Maybe this is your chance to get some practice fighting real Celestial Stars for your REAL mission."

Lance blinked, having not seen it from this perspective. He took another look at the letter. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least pass by the MMC. With lightspeed, travels to Greece and back were now so much faster after all.

{========|A3|=========}

Lance stood there disgruntled, impatient with the gigantic line of hoplites and Saints that had been gathered for this.

"Ugh, Roshi's so full of shit!" Lance groaned out loud, earning some head turns that made him quiet down in embarrassment. "There's no way this mission is just some regular escort task, especially if both AG and Roshi, the two people who know what I'm doing, are pushing me into this! Fine, I'm not one to shy away from a dangerous job. Where's Nam anyway?"

Looking around for the Sagitta Silver Saint towards his usual office, Lance widened his eyes, finding a different Silver Saint.

Seemingly checking the very same assignment Lance was on, Crateris Suisho, the dark-blue haired youth that Pegasus met by Shamballa's border watch, looked up and widened his eyes. "Pegasus!"

"You… Suisho, right?" Lance asked, hoping he remembered right.

The Silver Saint nodded. "Oi, Pegasus! That's right. Are you here for this escort mission? I heard you got called."

"Yes, but…" Lance then looked around and saw a bunch of Saints were examining similar papers. Apparently, Nam was handing them out en masse. "Hey, what's going on here?! Is everyone getting this assignment?"

Suisho nodded and pointed discretely to the figures in golden armor at a corner of the building. "More or less, yes."

Lance then widened his eyes, seeing no more and no less than Capricorn Shura, Scorpio Milo and even Sagittarius Aiolos off to the end of the MMC, also studying papers for this mission. He sent them a mental ping. "Guys?! What are you doing here?!"

All three of them briefly looked up at Lance but turned away, having to pretend they didn't know him. "Hi. We can't talk, but we're all part of this operation… Saint Pegasus." Aiolos messaged back, acting overly formal. "Good luck, though. Oh, and please come see me later Saturday for training. I made some improvements on my Thunderbolt. I want you to give me notes on it, okay?"

While bewildered, Lance nodded in agreement. It was still a bit strange he was no longer allowed to approach the gang whenever he liked. "Yes, of course…Good luck as well."

The older, blonde Silver Saint of Sagitta approached them, handing them the rest of his mission papers. "Pegasus, long time no see. I didn't expect you to heed the call for this."

"Hey, Nam." Lance greeted back as he signed the stack of red tape. "Yeah, me neither. I got… encouraged to accept, though."

The blue-armored Sagitta smiled with a bit of surprise, detecting none of the standoffish tone he had grown accustomed to with the Pegasus. Judging by his more confident and relaxed posture, it seemed to Nam that the time the Pegasus Saint was spending at the Golden Zodiac was doing him some good. Hopefully he was making good progress in his trauma from Mount Olympus and Death Queen Island and Kastiel's mistakes could be fixed.

"Nam, what's going on? Is this an escort mission or a call to the war front?" Lance asked, handing the papers back.

The Silver Saint took them, glanced around and rubbed his nose meaningfully. "A bit of A, a bit of B…While it was Duke Akassius that called for it, this operation's scale was actually Suisho's suggestion. I see you've met already, though."

The Crateris cleared his throat. "Long story short, Pegasus, we have been called to escort miss Olivia Iraklidis back to Greece, yes, but we have reason to believe that Hades' Specters are overestimating her importance and will seek to pursue her with extraordinary aggression." Suisho calmly explained. "Last night at the Grove, I suggested to the Silver Saint Order we mobilize the Saints heading to Peloponnesia to take part in a decoy operation. Groups of false escorts will leave Switzerland towards Peloponnesia, while one of us takes miss Iraklidis herself in a secret route through Italy."

Lance grumbled to himself; as far as he was concerned, Rodario's "Bed & Breakfast" was no place for the Silver Saints to be talking about their secret missions outloud, but their group apparently just couldn't resist the drinks.

"You've probably seen the Gold Saints?" asked Nam, earning a nod from Lance. "Lord Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Scorpio will all personally lead different detachments, further misleading the Specters away from the real one."

Alarmed by the number of resources being mobilized for this, the Pegasus Saint scratched head. "This sounds like a lot to protect one girl. What's the deal with her? Why are the Specters after her?"

Suisho and Nam both seemed nervous at this, with Nam in particular tugging his metal collar.

It only made Lance more aggravated by the secrecy. He folded arms. "Come on! What does Sanctuary care that the Specters are after her, when I've seen it not give a damn about whole villages getting burned down? There's no way she's just a girl."

Nam tapped his pen anxiously. "There is something to this, but we can't discuss it openly in front of everyone, Pegasus. Miss Iraklidis is in danger precisely because a wrong impression has been created about her and we have orders not to make it worse by spreading misinformation. In any case, this is an opportunity to defeat Specters outside their home field."

Lance nodded with a half-appeased frown. So long as he got to test out Pegasus, it should be fine. "Alright… that makes sense. So, which group will I be in?"

Crateris Suisho smirked and pointed thumb at himself.

"Oh." Lance muttered.

"I hope you don't mind. Circumstances have just conspired in that direction." Suisho added. "Since I suggested the plan, I volunteered to lead the real escort; you, me and the girl who saved our escorted person, will be working together."

"Feeling up for it, Lance?" Nam asked. He was genuinely curious if the solitary Bronze would accept working with someone other than Shinta, who had also been practically forced upon him "Considering the risks, the pay will be the same as for a G-grade mission."

Lance stepped back, unsure. Suisho sounded like a decent guy, based on their last encounter, but it was true Lance had a badly deserved reputation of working by himself. He always considered his partnership with Shinta a fortunate fluke, the kind of lightning-in-a-bottle that wouldn't happen with any other regular Saint.

"Won't such a large operation draw attention?" Lance asked. He wasn't sure if he asked this out of concern for Specters attacks or to resist the offer.

"Let me worry about that, Pegasus." Suisho assured, smirking like someone absolutely sure they thought of every contingency. "I've made sure all groups of escorts are of three, and there will even be other decoys taking bizarre routes, so our group wouldn't stand out."

Lance clicked tongue hesitantly. He supposed he had no way out.

"What am I doing? I'm trying to form a private team myself, aren't I? Maybe this would be a good thing. I can't rely on Adriana entirely for this. It's time to take a chance." With this he turned to Suisho. "Alright, then… It's gonna be weird working with someone other than Shinta, but I guess we're partners."

Suisho laughed. "I've read your mission reports. The two of you made a good team. I hope I get the same out of you. Anyway, we're leaving in thirty minutes, Pegasus." Suisho then headed off. "Nam will give you the rendezvous point. Don't be late!"

Lance waved back. He then handed Nam his confirmation that he was taking part in this operation and grumbled anxiously. "I hope I don't regret this…"

Nam took the signature and raised a brow. "You have nothing to worry about, you know? Suisho is nothing like Kastiel and the others. He has an excellent standing with the Bronze Saints… even if he's a bit of a control freak."

The Pegasus Saint scoffed, looking around. "I'd say so, if this whole mobilization and secrecy was his idea."

The bureaucrat laughed pathetically. "Hey, I did my part too…. Someone has to sign all the papers for this. I guess."

The subdued tone in Nam's joke would usually make Lance cringe, but the Bronze Saint let it go and instead nodded along. He's matured enough to realize the Sagitta Saint didn't deserve to be called a coward just because he wasn't fighting.

"Hey, Nam, can I just ask? I know I don't hang out with the Saints, but if Suishi's so popular, why have I never so much as heard of that guy?" Lance questioned. "I might have had a better opinion of you guys if you had partnered me with him earlier."

Nam blinked. "Oh, you don't know?"

The Pegasus grumbled, irritated. "Don't know what?"

The blond Sagitta looked around before leaning in to whisper. "That's the Crateris Cloth he has. People think Suisho can read their future on it, so he keeps away from the capital, just like Saint Noah. The guys tend to respect that since a lot of them sympathize with their armors giving them a reputation of having superpowers."

Lance staggered. "Oh…!"

Nam nodded with a concerned grumble.. "If you think you have it rough because you beat up Kastiel, imagine how bad the harassment gets when people think your armor can help them win the lottery. He's also Asian, so… some people think he shouldn't have a Cloth to begin with."

This made the Pegasus Saint scowl, remembering some of Shinta's stories about the way he got treated around Sanctuary Town after earning the Andromeda Cloth, especially after people got to know him as a pacifist. Even when they wouldn't start fights with the green-head, knowing Shinta wouldn't punch back, they would do dickish things like treat him with slurs or overcharge him for stuff.

Some fucking people.

{======================|A3|======================}

Later,

Italy, South Tyrol Region

{======================|A3|======================}

The midday sunlight dimmed in the snowy mountains of Italy as thick winter rain clouds moved between them and the sun, darkening what was left of the day, but there were still enough beams peeking through the peaks to illuminate the white-dressed mountain grounds. With a sonic boom of minimal cosmos, Lance arrived near the rendezvous point; a chilly, forested mountain rise close to the Italian border with Austria and Liechtenstein.

His strong landing made the snow on the floor burst all over his boots, making him irk and gasp unpleasantly. He breathed out. It was just regular snow. Cold, but not Mount Olympus cold. He frowned and put on his thick black jacket, re-belting his Cloth box straps around it, and shoved his hand-wrapped hands inside gloves.

"Of course, the coordinates take me to the fucking cold-as-Hades Alps! In freaking February, too!" and then rushed westwards, trying to not think about the snow beneath his feet. "Maybe it won't snow even more… Yes, not every mountain in the world sucks as much as Twin Peaks-"

A thundering sound was heard above as the dark clouds collided, indicating the weather was about to get worse.

He frowned. "Great…" and rushed off even faster.

Eventually he found Suisho at the arranged spot; a tourist trap lookout in the mountains where they could pretend to be Greek visitors with big travel backpacks, should any normal person spot them.

The Crateris Saint looked to be arguing with someone on his radio. "No, Yushira, look-" but the Crateris Saint was interrupted by radio squeals and someone arguing with him back. Suisho saw his underling arriving and looked embarrassed "Yushira, would you please not interrupt me? I know you're mad, but- …Look, I can't talk about this right now, my partner is here!"

For some reason, the person on the radio seemed only more furious at this, shouting right in Suisho's ear, making him wince. Lance realized it was a female voice, someone comfortable enough with Suisho to just shout at his face through a radio. He stood back and gave Suisho his time.

Eventually, the Crateris Saint lost patience. "Yushira, I promise I'll pick you to join me for my next assignment, alright? I didn't have a choice for this one! I'll see you… Yes, yes, a big hug to you, too." and then shut off the radio. "Hera save me…How did she get my frequency anyway?"

"Sorry. Was that your girlfriend or something?" Lance guessed, genuinely curious. He didn't know too many couples in Sanctuary.

Suisho rolled eyes. "Worse; family. My ambitious younger sibling to be precise. She had a decent performance during the False Holy War by taking out the Cyclops and ever since then has been pushing me to let her into the Gold-Rank assignments." The Crateris then shrugged. "But you know family; they all think they're your buddies, when they're really… just your family."

Lance frowned, though tried to be patient. "I'm a single child in Sanctuary, so I really wouldn't know."

"S…Sorry, Saint Pegasus, I didn't mean anything by it." The Crateris Saint apologized, looking genuinely regretful. Suisho tilted head, though, examining Lance's thick winter garments as well as his shivering. "Umm…. Feeling cold, are we?"

"I'm just weird with the cold." Lance bitched, tucking hands deep into pockets. "Besides, it's the Alps, for crying out loud, not the beach!"

Suisho scratched head, distinctively remembering in the papers that Saint Lance was a Fire-user. "Can't he just burn his cosmos?" but he shook head, shrugging it off. "Nervous?"

Lance huffed. He would be lying if he wasn't. "Like I said, first time working with anyone but Shinta."

"I'm sure it will be a breeze. However, I do have one thing to ask of you." Suisho stipulated. He stiffened his pose, like he was about to address an employee. "Since I'm the highest-ranking Saint between us two and the person from the Academy we'll join up with, Nam has put me in charge of our group. I've collaborated with assault Saints before, so I don't mind giving you autonomy in combat, Saint Lance, but when deciding strategy, I have to ask complete obedience from my operatives. Is that okay with you?"

Lance hesitated a bit at this strange request, but he didn't mind it terribly. "Well…sure, so long as we don't let people get hurt or anything..."

Suisho smiled happily and shook his head. "No, not at all. I'm just a meticulous guy. The other Saints keep saying you're a bit… uncooperative? I want to work the best I can with you, though."

Lance folded arms, exasperated. "I'm not gonna do anything bad. They only say that about me because the entire Silver Saint order hates me."

The Crateris Saint chuckled and headed off with him, charging his blue cosmos. "Well, let's change that, shall we? Our next destination is the Swiss border, where we'll pick up something I ordered for the mission. We're keeping our speed at sublight. Ready?"

Lance nodded. "Lead the way."

With a duo of orange and blue blurs, the two Saints then blitzed off westwards, towards the higher peaks of the Swiss border.

{======================|A3|======================}

Nearby, among the snowy trees, a duo of Italian Black Saints clad in leather armor underneath winter fur coats rushed down the mountain slope to reach a large cabin hidden in the forest.

They banged at the door decorated with a skull furiously "Boss, BOSS!"

The door opened with a rusty creak and a pair of eyes squinted down on them in the dark. "What is it?"

"You were right, boss! Some of those armored freaks from Greece were up there on the tourist trap!" one Black Saint said. It was the spot where they commonly ambushed people with their Universe Power.

The man inside rubbed chin. "Switzerland?... Why Switzerland, I wonder? Did they have armor boxes with them?"

The second Black Saint nodded. "Yes, boss. Two of them. One was colored silver."

A look of greed flashed through the man's eyes and he stepped out their hideout, revealing to the sunlight his huge body full of tattoos of calendar-like scratches, numbering hoplites and marks that he had murdered over the years.

"A silver one? Then we won't let this change pass!" he laughed, clenching his fist to make his Universe Power glow with a white shine. "I, Baddub the Conqueror, will claim those magical armors for my own with my Universe Power, along with everything else their corpses carry!"

{======================|A3|======================}

Germany, Heinstein Castle

{======================|A3|======================}

Wyvern Rhadamanthys, Celestial Star of Fury, opened the door to the castle keep's top room to enter Pandora's private hall, where she played her blasted harp. Its notes, called beautiful by everyone in the Underworld but him and Zelos, filled Heinstein's shadowy corridors with music in honor of Lord Hades' impending glory. They were dreary and gloomy, speaking of an incoming tide of darkness that would wash away the abhorrent offense that was life on Earth and replace it with the black light of death, eternal and perfect.

With forced reverence, the winged Specter knelt before his Emperor's sister. "Lady Pandora, you summoned me?"

Without pausing her playing, she nodded. "Yes… Aiacos' has fulfilled his mission, Rhadamanthys. We know now where the Whore of Athens is heading."

The golden eyes of the Judge widened. "What?! Already?!"

Pandora scoffed. "You seem shocked. Is that much of a surprise? Aiacos commands our airforce, after all. He has a vision over Sanctuary's movements that we do not.1"

"Then where is she?! Is it the blasted fort in Austria?! Or the patrols we spotted in Czechoslovakia? I knew it! Sanctuary has filled that area with Gold Saints!"

Her pale, thin fingers held a single, finishing note to her melody. "…. It's none of them." She revealed, releasing the string.

"What?!"

"After surveying all the areas you detected Saints gathering at, Aiacos's battleship has discovered those are all decoys created by Sanctuary. The Greeks seek to deceive us by taking Olivia Iraklidis through the home of Lord Hades' last vessel. We're not sure exactly where, yet, but Aiacos is confident they intend to take her through the lands protected by Ares' barbarians. That only increases the urgency of your task. You must find the Saints that carry that woman, kill them and bring her to us."

Rhadamanthys stood up. "Very well."

As he prepared to leave, Pandora warned him. "Rhadamanthys… do not fail the Emperor. If I discover that Olivia has gotten away and you wasted the intel Aiacos got… I will personally punish you."

Pure hatred for the woman flashed through the Judge's eyes, but he quickly buried it. "… Of course."

{======================|A3|======================}

Stomping down the keep's staircases more than walking, Judge Rhadamanthys' sharp teeth grinded furiously. "That detestable crow! How did she and Aiacos get this information?! My reconnaissance has been watching the Saints non-stop! Could it really be just that airship? But why did Lord Hades entrust it to Aiacos and not me?"

In any case, he would be a fool to let it go to waste. However, the lack of precision in Aiacos' intel concerned him. Even if they knew Sanctuary would go through Italy, that was still a large area to cover for what would undoubtedly be a small group of Saints guarding a teenage woman.

Reaching the barbican gate, he waved his arm aside, making his wing flap out imposingly, casting a huge shadow over the long brick wall. "ALRAUNE!"

Out of the shadow, a body of darkness came poking out through the magic of the castle. It shaped itself quickly, sprouting arms, legs, a metal armor with leaves of metal and stems and a smile anxious for blood beneath light-red hair.

Holding his round helmet aside, Alraune Queen knelt before the Judge "The Celestial Demonic Star, at your service, Lord Rhadamanthys."

The Judge folded arms "Victory is at hand, Queen! Me and Sylphid will head east and attack the Saints there to give Sanctuary the impression we fell into their pathetic trap. Meanwhile, you will go to Italy and find the Whore of Athens!"

"Of course, your Honor."

"One more thing; I cannot afford to give Sanctuary the impression we are on to their ridiculous plan! There's also Worm's testimony that a Knight of the Zodiac may be with the Whore, strange as that might be." the Judge warned. "You will then take the Terrestrial Grim Star with you. Use his abilities to hide your assault and neutralize the Saints."

Queen grimaced. "…It pains me to be accompanied by that ghoul, but I wouldn't dream of disobeying you, Rhadamanthys. Very well. Would you like the Whore alive… or hanged?"

The English dragon scowled. "What do you think?! Mount her head on a damn pike and put it on Heintein's walls for all the Saints to see! It's the least she deserves! As for the Saints protecting her,… kill everyone you find! Especially if that Knight of the Zodiac is with her!"

{======================|A3|======================}

Tibet, Shamballa

{======================|A3|======================}

The golden roofs of Shambala, the hidden city of the Muvians in Tibet, adorned many temples to the Buddha and the Hindu Gods, as well as their western defender Athena. None, however, were so great as the Sun Palace, the towering building in the center of the citadel to which all roads, sector walls, temple doors and houses were pointed at. Also called "The Palace of the All", it was a towering structure of nine floors, each representing one of the eight consciousnesses (or senses) leading to Nirvana, with a gigantic golden halo of linked, spherical vigils that symbolized both the Wheel of Darma and the Sun beloved by Muvians.

An outer ring of white walls with red-skirted golden roofs guarded access to the Eye Floor, known for its two elliptical gates. The Ear, Nose, Tongue and Body floors followed upwards, forming apartments of dignitaries, alchemists, priests, and star readers linked by external staircases of architecture evocative of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. The Mental floor roof-skirted over these with its dark blue tiles, seemingly forming a separation between the five lower floors and the two that would follow. The 7th floor, known for its golden walls lined with stardust, was inhabited by Muvians endowed with the Cosmos that wished to study it in peace, but also was the floor that supported the foundation of the palace's famous halo.

Finally, flanked by said halo, was the 8th floor; a gigantic, silent, golden-roofed chapel of white walls and wooden interior that housed a great statue of Buddha.

In this chapel, there was no talking or walking around with footwear. Only meditation.

The many Muvians using the chapel for their daily rituals or maintenance bowed, welcoming the Elder in. There was a smell of incense burning in the room and a scent of flowers brushing in from an artificial lilypad pool next to the main altar. The silence and hygiene were remarkable.

Yuzuriha looked around and took off her sandals. It wasn't often that she visited the top of the building, since she never personally cared for religion or anything more mental than the leadership of her people, but as the Elder she had to show respect for what was a major pillar of modern Muvian culture. With light 'thumps' on the wooden floor, she walked to the child in front of the Buddha statue.

"Saint Shaka?" she mentally called, respecting the room's silence.

The boy of ever lengthening blonde hair was sitting in meditation. He only reacted to the Elder's presence with a slight nod, as he was trying very hard to communicate with Buddha.

The Elder noticed how thin he was getting under his mantle. "I don't know much about the proceedings of Virgo Saints, but it seems to me that your starvation isn't bearing much fruit." She punned. "You have been here for a month, Saint Shaka, and you've only ever eaten as much as we've forced you to. Saint Mu is quite concerned."

"…Mu is a good friend." Shaka spoke back. "I hope his sadness hasn't grown so great that it brought you here personally, Elder."

The bi-centenarian woman rested hands together within her long sleeves. "I'm no babysitter of Shion's children, but he would be quite upset if we found out you starved to death in the Sun Temple. I am also not as soft as he is; I will bluntly say that it seems this pilgrimage of yours is doing little to nothing to restore your almighty powers."

Shaka's head lowered sadly. "Yes… I know."

Her eyes sterned. Many would criticize her for saying these things to a young boy, but she couldn't help but see Asmita himself returning to the world in this child and, therefore, knew he would likely reduce himself to bones before dislodging himself from the 8th Floor. "Do you fear, perhaps, that Sanctuary will fall unless you can guide its warriors to the 8th sense? A heavy burden for a six years old boy to put on himself, if you ask me."

Shaka turned his head, opening his eyes. "Will it not, though?" he confronted, his mental tone anxious. "Long ago, Lord Asmita sacrificed himself to create the 108 beads, but the warriors of that era still went on to need his teachings on the 8th sense to win. Without the 8th sense, our Gold Saints cannot enter the Underworld or fight the Specters in fair odds. We will lose the war… no matter how powerful we become."

She scoffed lightly. "I don't need history lessons on the Lost Canvas Holy War, young Shaka. I fought it myself." she reminded him, though it remained to be seen if she would live to see a second one. "Even if you can't become the prodigy you were again, you can still train… the old-fashioned way, like everyone else. There are still a few Bronze and Silver Cloths available to get. Climbing the ladder of Sanctuary could even give you the perspectives you need to reacquaint yourself with Buddha."

"Perhaps... but what if I don't?" Shaka asked her. "I owe a responsibility to Pope Arles. I haven't announced it publicly yet, but I have informed His Holiness that I have picked my replacement candidate."

The Elder quirked her eyebrow. "Oh? Do you mind if I ask…?"

The blonde boy shook head. "Not at all; I believe you've met him, after all. It's Saint Shinta. He will still need formal training for the Virgo Cloth, but I believe the armor has already… taken a fancy for him." Shaka worded, remembering the ease with which Shinta picked it up during the War. "The Pope hasn't responded yet."

A sudden shocked darkness came over the Elder's face, like she had been told of a murder.

Shaka irked, unnerved. "Um… Is something the matter? Do you disagree?"

The Elder sat there frozen, her old heart beating fast. Yes, she remembered Saint Shinta well from their encounter in Rozan. He seemed like a wonderful young man, who went on to fight well to stop Daemon Lucifer, and for as long as he stayed as the Andromeda Saint, wearing a Cloth that was a powerful seal in and of itself, Yuzuriha had no qualms, especially after Saint Shinta helped stop the False Holy War.

However, her old mind also remembered something else when she met him at Rozan. Something buried deep in her memory from two centuries prior. A connection based on physical appearance that she dared not voice without confirmation.

{======================|A3|======================}

Flapping open a pair of armored wings made entirely out of very realistic-looking black feathers, the man in black and grey Surplice, golden hair and cursed red eyes set foot on the bridge, facing off its defenders with a deadly look that froze their souls into place. Yuzuriha was shocked and grew pale, having never felt a Cosmos as terrifying as this one in a human, not since their run into Alone in the Underworld. It felt like falling into a fiery pit of darkness where one's skin would burn off, and one's very spirit would be clawed at by the stretch of a burning abyss.

Even his fallen Specter allies shook with fear, swallowed up in an atmosphere whose temperature seemed sucked into the beautifully carved angel armor plates to feed an invisible, all-consuming fire. This was their version of the man closest to God, the Right-Arm of Hades.2

{======================|A3|======================}

Elder Yuzuriha stood there in horror at the memory of Hades' Right Hand.

He burned down her home and school, and then murdered Lord Asmita. And now that Dark Prince's reincarnation was poised to take his Cloth?

Yuzuriha's breath slowed and a rare, faint curve appeared in her pale lips. "No, Lord Shaka, I think it's a wonderful choice." she lied, standing up. Gods, what was Shion thinking?! Once again, he played with fire beyond his ability to control. Did his idiocy have no limits?! "…if you excuse me, I must take my leave. An important meeting awaits me."

Shaka stared at her leaving with great doubt in his heart about her reaction. "Yes, of course…"

{======================|A3|======================}

Switzerland,

Saintia Academy

{======================|A3|======================}

"Goodbye, miss Olivia!" the girls in the classroom windows above them cried out.

"Come back safe!" they waved their hands.

Olivia waved back as she carried her bags down the hall stairs. Her famously beautiful black hair was cut short and she was wearing much simpler clothes than the academy suits she was used to; namely a set of jeans and a hoodie with the academy logo to keep her warm in the Alps. It made her feel rather normal, as opposed to the skimpy sailor outfits styled after Japanese schools, but that was frankly a relief for her.

"Thank you, I'll miss you all very much!" she wished, rubbing a tear off her eye. Olivia realized that she was very popular among the girls somehow, so much she became class president, but this was way beyond what she imagined. There were girls from almost every year and class waving at her.

And now she had to go to Sanctuary, a mountain inhabited by silent Papal Guards, a reclusive Pope and people that would keep her in a room alone most of the day for fear of Specter assassins…

As Olivia entered the ground floor, Katya rushed out of her classroom and hugged the class president's waist. "Miss Olivia!"

Gasping in surprise, Olivia hugged the Russian girl back and petted her shaking blonde head, feeling the moistness of her eyes in her clothes. "Don't cry, Katya… I'll be back."

A teacher came out to drag Katya back into class but the girl still reached out. "D-Don't die, please!"

Olivia made sure to hold her fleeting hand for an instant before professor Severus yanked her right back into the classroom. She stood there hesitantly for a bit, before turning away again. Her heart beat warmly and Olivia's stoic blue eyes felt moist and red. She would thank Athena from the bottom of her core for the rest of her life for such friends.

"Miss Iraklidis." someone called. "Are you leaving already?"

Olivia turned and gasped. "Director Albus!" It was the Academy director, a wonderful aged man of half-moon glasses, long white beard, and a long history of both counseling her and getting her out of jams with Professor Severus in her early years of study. "You came to see me go?"

"How could I bear not to? Especially since I welcomed you in when you first arrived?" he pointed out, smiling warmly.

Olivia chuckled and tilted her head. "Professor, you welcome everyone in! It's part of your year starting speech to new students!"

The old man nodded. "I very well might, yes. Though I am firmly convinced you will return someday, despite what Dolores and Severus say, so a proper, preceding goodbye is owed. More importantly -" the old man then reached for his pocket and pulled a shiny object out, which he gently rested in Olivia's hand. "I spoke to the cabinet and decided to entrust you this for your journey."

Olivia gasped, seeing the soft sapphire stone in a chain. "But this is…!"

"The Equuleus Bronze Cloth Stone, yes." The director confirmed. "One of the many armors of Athena recovered by Saint Capricorn's war with the Knights of the Zodiac. This one belonged to their Sapphire Paladin, some poor soul who lost his life in the war. Unfortunately, we've never really found out how to turn this one back into a normal Cloth, but the Academy kept it as a gift from the Pope for the Saintias who died in the Civil War."

Olivia stared at it, seeing the spirit of a horse prance inside the gem. A great power was in her palm, one that could likely save her life during the journey. However, this was also a compensation for the suffering and bloodshed of many Saintias, and even some Saintias-to-be like Katya.

She politely offered it back. "Professor…, I cannot carry this. I have no right."

The director looked aghast."No right?! Pish posh! Have you forgotten whose granddaughter you are, Olivia? And who your brother is?!"

Olivia shook her head. "I haven't, but that doesn't make me a made Saintia."

The director gently took her hand and closed it around the gem. "Olivia, armors are meant to protect people, not stay in a safe in my office! I'm sure Athena will forgive us all, if you take this armor for but a simple journey. Since I know the Saintia Order is important to you… I will allow you to return it, once you are safe in Greece. My window will be kept open for your owl to send it in."

Olivia's hands clenched on the gem, muted by this gesture of trust. She bowed her head at the Director, who smiled in acknowledgement. Picking up her bags again, she turned and went down the stairs to her fate.

{======================|A3|======================}

Down at the Academy courtyard, Cerah stood straight before the two Gold Saints, gulping and panicking at their drilling. After Miss Ghisi had to leave, poor Cerah was left to the wolves with these two and they were taking the chance to psychologically prepare her for being part of the escort.

"You will follow every order given to you by the Saints! Understood?!" Pisces affirmed. "Have no doubt, girl, that Saintia or not, you are dead weight in this mission for as long as you can't move at lightspeed, so you will do everything in your power to lighten the load!"

"Y-yes, sir! I mean, yes, Lord Pisces!" Cerah vowed. She did her best to look straight, as the two Gold Saints seemed to get upset whenever her body language reacted to their short sizes. "I'll put my life on this, I promise!"

"Your life… Pah! Do you even know what that means?!" Pisces challenged her. He took out a rose and made it zip at lightspeed past Cerah's face, startling her with the speeding dart's beam. It went on to blast a hole through the burnt down chapel ruins and blow up, making Cerah yeep in fear. "THAT is what it means! Will you put yourself between the star reader and a Specter fist coming at that velocity?!"

Unbeknownst to Aphrodite, Cerah had battled lightspeed users like Gryphon Urial, so she unfortunately had experience of this. A whole coma year worth of it. "Y..Y..YES!"

Aphrodite scoffed at how much the girl shook after that little test. "This mission is doomed. Thank Hera that Lance was called for this."

Deathmask irked, seeing the poor girl shake. "Yesh, Aphrodite, do you want to give her a panic attack?"

"Quiet, you sloth! I have to walk down all of the stairs for a mission! If I'm going to wear this gaudy thing on my body, walk all those stairs and do work for stupid Sanctuary, then I'm doing it WELL!" Aphrodite vowed. He turned. "Speaking of it."

Everyone saw miss Olivia arrive at the court and Cerah gasped. "Miss Olivia! You… look different."

The older girl touched her shortened hair, which now only reached her shoulders, and looked down what her friends had rudely called 'stoner student outfit' "Yes, I thought I should do something to at least not make myself such an obvious target to the Specters. They'll be looking for a fancy, long-haired girl after all."

Cerah smiled. "You look great! You're more… approachable?" she worded, hoping it didn't sound bad.

Olivia blinked, looking herself over. She supposed it was true everyone was used to seeing her dressed for meeting royalty. "Thank you, Cerah."

Deathmask pointed at her bags. "Wait a second, what are you bringing in those?"

She nodded to reassure them. "Nothing heavy, Lord Cancer, just some personal things to stay in Greece, plus my books and some of my writings."

Cerah blinked and smiled curiously. "Oh, I didn't realize you write, miss Olivia?"

The class president smiled proudly. "Yes, I got to the head of class through the Drama and Novel clubs. A lot of it is simple things like stage plays for the girls to enact, plus some rewrites of Greek classics for the amphitheater."

Cerah's eyes were full of fangirling stars. "Ah, you're so cool! And the rest?"

Olivia gulped. She smiled, flustered. "Just… some things." And turned to the Gold Saints. "Shall we go?!..."

Deathmask finished picking his nose through his socket mask and shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

Olivia took a breath of relief, holding chest as she and Cerah held on to his gold-plated shoulders. The rest of her writings were her private fiction stories about the Civil War's Saints of Gold, like Lord Malta. She would throw herself to the Specters before any of them saw the light of day.

"I've been here for four wonderful years…Now Arles will put me in his bird cage for what could be another four, just like he did to my brother." She lamented, taking one last look at the snowy roofs of the school. She shook her head regretfully. "No, I can't think like this. This is for my safety… and for Athena. Leon,… at least I'll have a chance to see you again."

{======================|A3|======================}

Northwestern Italy,

Sanctuary Supply Depot

{======================|A3|======================}

Entering a secluded mountain location by the mountain roads of the Italian Alp rises, Lance was guided by Crateris Suisho to a camouflaged spot, where the Silver Saint removed a bunch of large bush branches piled over a large rock. Then, with a slight cosmic push, Suisho removed the boulder, revealing a hidden garage. With a pass of a card given by the MMC, the garage was unlocked and the Silver Saint pushed up the door excitedly, revealing the contents.

He moved aside and smirked. "Well, what do you think?"

Lance's eyes widened at the large all-terrain, dark green Wagoneer vehicle. "You got us a jeep?!"

Suisho smirked. "We need a reliable vehicle that doesn't run on Cosmos, so I called the Academy and pulled a few strings, before they saddled us with something ridiculous like a carriage coach. Impressed?"

The Pegasus Saint chuckled, studying the large dark green vehicle all around. Judging from the paint, it looked like some kind of army surplus.

He thought about all the missions with Shinta that this thing would have been helpful in. "You bet I am! You have no idea how often I wished I had access to one when infiltrating an area. This will make things much faster."

"And here's another cool thing." Suisho opened up the trunk to show Lance the wide, deep space of the wagoneer with a luggage rack, to which he shoved his Crateris Cloth box inside. "We can keep our boxes here. It'll be more comfortable for everyone, but it will also shield our escorts in case we get attacked from the rear."

Lance scoffed to himself, awed. This guy really did think of everything. He unstrapped his box and slid it inside, right next to Crateris, forming a solid wall of stardust-reinforced metal that would take a meteor for them if needed.

He closed the trunk and dusted hands. "I'm starting to wish you had coordinated some of my missions with Shinta, Saint Crateris."

"Well, I may be a hardass, but I take care of my guys." Suisho noticed the fed-upness in his tone. "Not a fan of these escort missions?"

"Not really. In these Sanctuary usually had the two of us protect rich pigs, instead of actual people in need, and then we'd have to sit in some slow carriage for days through Germany, doing nothing but hearing them complain about the road bumps." The worst of it was when it was old Sanctuary ladies that requested it. They all thought they were entitled to harassing him and Shinta. "It got to a point I took a stand when one solicited my mission partner out in the open, like it meant nothing... I can stand taking abuse, but I don't like when people mess with Shinta."

"Mm, why keep taking them yourself, then?" Suisho asked. "You could have stuck to assault missions. Your records listed some pretty impressive ones."

Lance sighed, thinking about his old vandalized hut in the Winged Slopes. "Because I needed the money…"

"Oh,… right." The Crateris Saint thought. Sometimes he forgot that with salaries being tied to rank and armour, a Saint as unpopular as Pegasus would have felt it extra difficult to make ends meet, since he'd be given all the dangerous, low paying jobs no other Saint wanted. "I see. I'm sorry you got sucked up into this one."

Lance groaned and shook his head. "I didn't. My Master convinced me to do it. I'm actually wondering what kind of hag Arles has us cover for…"

Suisho blinked. "Master? You mean…Saint Kastiel?"

"Shit, I forgot!" Lance lambasted himself. People in Sanctuary weren't supposed to know about Roshi. "Sorry, I misspoke. I meant Saint Cancer at the Zodiac."

Suisho eyed him for a second, but then moved on. "Right, well, I've also prepared passports for all of us for when we have to cross the ferry from Puglia to Albania. If the Italian police stop us, we're just taking our girlfriends home to Greece for Carnival. You'll do the talking since your accent is better."

Lance took his fake passport. The plan sounded perfect. Again, Suisho was going above and beyond to make everything run smoothly, a welcome departure from having his missions overseen by the well-meaning, but distant Nam. He also was treating Lance the whole way not like a Bronze Saint underling, but as an equal, which by itself was a big change from the rest of the Silver Saints Lance had had to deal with.

He stood there with a regretful frown, wishing this guy had been his first experience with the Silver Saint Order after Noah, and not Kastiel.

The alarm on Suisho's watch began ringing, alerting the Silver. "It's almost time, let's drive this thing down. Wait, before I meet them… do I need to clear up anything with you about Saintias?"

Lance shook his head as he entered the side seat. "No, I have the gist of it; basically Amazons, but no mask or frontline duties, right?"

"More or less. Sorry, I have to ask." Suisho clarified, putting his seatbelt on and turning on the engine. He frowned at the memory of some past experiences. "You have no idea how many of our guys don't know how to behave around the army women. Many think Saintias are just Amazons in the market."

Recalling some really hostile hoplites like Jaki, Lance nodded in understanding of Suisho's concerns. Seriously, some fucking people.

{======================|A3|======================}

Time passed as they drove to the Rendezvous spot. Even though they were going through steep, narrow roads in the mountains, Suisho was a pretty good driver, making every single careful gesture to avoid putting the wheels through harsh tumbles or too close to the vertiginous drops to their flank.

Despite their good start, the journey was quiet, thanks to both passengers' serious and focused personality. Again, a welcome change to Lance, who was so used to Shinta pestering him with questions about everything, from the mission to his personal life. He could stay in the passage seat for hours like this and consider it at the end to be the perfect trip.

Yet, curiosity drove Lance to speak first. "So…. What is the girl about anyway? The one we have to protect?"

Suisho suddenly chuckled, looking away in disdain without losing focus on the road.

Lance squinted at the strange reaction. "Did I say something funny?"

Suisho shook his head. "Not at all, Pegasus. In fact… I think you asked the perfect question. Now that we're out here, and not at the MMC or the supply depot, let me tell you a secret. That girl, Olivia?" He then gave him an exasperated glance. "She's not important. At all. This entire assignment is a waste of time."

….

…. What?!

Lance gawked. "Wait, what do you mean? How can that be?! So the Specters are attacking some random girl?!"

Suisho nodded, much to Lance's incredulity. "They're grasping at straws, Lance. The Specters have gotten into their skulls somehow that Olivia Iraklidis is the harbinger of Athena, and not just some star reading seer like dozens of others in Sanctuary. And because of that, Sanctuary has to expect a serious attack and mobilize to protect her."

"What the hell?!" Lance protested. "So this whole operation is due to a case of mistaken identity?!"

Suisho just casually drove on, taking a turn down a slope. "That's right."

Lance's eyes rolled and he folded his arms. "Unbelievable! I was wondering to myself if she was Athena reborn or something!"

The Silver Saint couldn't help but snicker. "Well, she's not no one. You don't know who her sweet grampa is, do you?"

Lance struggled to remember the files, but the surname Iraklidis didn't sound familiar. "Not really?"

The dark-blue haired Silver contained a laugh. "I figured. He's very famous, but usually people only know him by his first name. However, you have met him. Publicly, too."

Lance raised a brow. Now he was really curious. Was it one of the Civil War Gold Saints, like Malta? No, they were too young. He knew Akassius had a son, Galarian Steiner, that Aiolos was training with Lance to fight, but no grandchildren. He also couldn't imagine it was Daniel, given that Lance was told his only child died during the Cancer Saint incident of '63. Plus, Daniel was such a huge guy and so fatherly towards Aldebaran and Shinta that it made it difficult to believe he didn't have grandchildren to take care of himself already.

But that left… who else? "Well, hell, who is it, then?"

"How about we keep it a surprise for you?" Suisho provoked, smirking. He wanted to see the look on Pegasus' face, since he seemed to be a skeptical type. "Besides, even if she was nobody, what matters in the end is that a Specter attack will happen… which means we can fight a Judge outside of their damn barrier."

This, Lance had to agree with. If the Saints could fight a Judge without being at 10% of their strength, that meant they could capture them without big losses, so yeah, this could turn out to be a pretty good opportunity for Sanctuary in the long run.

A worried look flashed through Suisho's eyes. "Don't tell the men, though, everyone's annoyed they've been mobilized for this as it is. Turns out getting Saints off their schedule to protect one teenage girl doesn't earn Sanctuary a lot of love from its Bronze Saints."

No kidding. "Are the Specters insane?"

Suisho scoffed. "It's possible, yes. Think about it, Pegasus; the Gold Saints just repelled a massive invasion from them with no major casualties and the Specters probably have no idea how, so they're just assuming we already have our Goddess helping us out somehow. They're going back to their old textbook tactics of trying to assassinate Athena, instead of dealing with her Army."

Lance blinked, the cogs in his brain realigning at this. "But there is no Athena right now…"

"Exactly." Suisho lamented, shaking his head. "I feel bad for Miss Olivia, actually. She's being made the target of some Judge's obsession through no fault of her own. They're desperate and they don't understand Sanctuary, despite what they think, so they believe they can get an upper hand by chasing ghosts in Switzerland. If they really wanted to hurt us, they would innovate and focus their efforts on the Gold Saints, the real danger to them."

While he couldn't agree more, Lance was starting to find Suisho's confidence in this assessment a bit too impressive. "You seem to know a lot about them, the Specters."

There was a somber pause. "Mmm… Yeah. I guess I do." Suisho eyed Lance tensely, like he was personally re-living a painful memory. "I didn't fight in the False Holy War, but me and my sister Yushira… we grew up very close to the Lemurians. They tell all sorts of stories about Specters,… and they even got attacked by the False ones recently too."

Lance frowned regretfully. So, this was why. He remembered Saga telling him about this attack, which the Gemini stopped. "Sorry."

Hesitantly, Suisho smiled and patted his arm strongly. "Don't worry, let's just focus on the job."

Lance had one last question though. "Hey, wait… if you knew this was a waste, why did you go so far to arrange everything for everyone?"

Suisho smirked. "Cause I'm a professional, Pegasus. Why else?"

Lance hummed to himself, impressed.

{======================|A3|======================}

Rendezvous Point

{======================|A3|======================}

The meeting point arranged by Sanctuary was an Alpine park station with a spot for vehicles to park, not too far from the Matterhorn mountain. There were mountain pine trees all around them packed with snow and the remote location limited public presence, which made it ideal for a Sanctuary rendezvous, but also meant they were in a pretty inhospitable place that only a few roads had access to. As they were told the two Saints were coming in in a jeep to avoid Specter detection of cosmos movements, this meant that Cerah and Olivia had to wait for hours along with Saint Deathmask.

"Brrr… it's so cold here! Ahh!" Cerah gritted teeth, hugging herself tightly and breathing into her palms. The cold win cut right through her yellow and black jacket into her slender body, chilling her very bones. It had been years since Lucian trained her in the Cocytus and she had grown unaccustomed. "I wish I could burn a bit of cosmos…" Cerah steeled herself in determination. "No! The mission is important! I will endure!"

"If you're so cold, then go back, we don't need you here." The Cancer Gold Saint mercilessly chided. For such a short guy, he was really mean. "Or I can show you the Yomotsu Hirasaka so you can see what real cold is? Mm, mm, mm…"

She yelped. "N-no, thank you, Saint Cancer!" and rushed away to Olivia, who was taking warm beverages out of a snack machine. "What a creepy guy…"

"Saints of Cancer often have to act mercilessly, Cerah, because of the nature of their jobs among the Saints. They and the Virgo Saint have very important tasks during Holy Wars with Hades as they both work to undermine the enemy's barriers and gates." ." Olivia taught her, before handing a cup of warm Swiss coffee. "Here, this will make you feel better."

"Thank you!" Cerah took it. She then gasped, seeing that the class president didn't shake at all despite her white hoodie being slimmer than Cerah's jacket. "Miss Olivia, aren't you cold?!"

She widened her eyes, like she hadn't even noticed yet. "Oh, no, me and my brother were raised in a very cold region, so I'm used to it. In fact, I love the mountains." She then gazed at the snowy peaks with nostalgia in her blue eyes. "…They remind me of a happier time."

Cerah smiled in realization and sipped the delicious beverage. "Ah, I see."

"What about you, Cerah? Do you miss home?" Olivia asked.

The Knight paused her drink, caught by surprise. "Ah, well, I…" What could she say, though? That her home was the Underworld? Or that it was the castle of a dead race of warriors? Or a sister that she hadn't seen in a decade? "I moved around a lot growing up, so no."

There was an awkward look of surprise from Olivia, like she couldn't have pictured such a response. Cerah couldn't blame her.

Deathmask tapped his foot, watching the jeep arrive. "About goddamn time!"

"Oh, thank Athena…" Cerah sighed in relief.

The dark green jeep pulled over. Cerah and Olivia closed in, curious about what kind of Saints would come out. Two, as expected, emerged from the doors.

The first was the Silver Saint, based off him taking the lead towards Deathmask; a very attractive, Asian young man with a confident posture and smile and long, flowy dark hair. His rigid muscles, tanned skin and training wristbands made him look quite adventurous and his outward personality was immediately shown as he excitedly announced himself to the Gold Saint.

"Saint Cancer, I'm Crateris Suisho, reporting for duty!"

Cerah smiled. What a confident guy, just walking up to a Gold Saint like this.

Suisho saw her staring and discretely winked at her.

Cerah froze in place. "Eep!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! What took you so long?!" the Gold Saint asked.

"We are right on time, sir." Suisho politely pointed out, dealing with this with the grace of someone used to putting up with unfair bosses. "Four o'clock on the dot."

But the Cancer Saint showed him his own watch. "Mine says five!"

The other Saint came in and folded arms. "That's because it's on Greek time, you idi… Sir!"

Deathmask checked his watch in shock, making Olivia chuckle into her hand discreetly. Cerah studied the second Saint; the slightly taller Bronze accompanying Suisho was a black haired youth with a thick winter jacket, jeans and hand wrappings from severe martial training. By contrast with Suisho, he had a reserved atmosphere about him, ranging from his tense stare at the Gold Saint, the lower and more aggressive tone of his voice and the defensiveness with which he spoke. Hopefully they could get along.

One detail caught Cerah's attention. "His eyes… are cursed red like Lucian's!"

Deathmask chuckled and pranced around the Bronze Saint. "Well, well, well… look who it is!"

Lance groaned, already seeing where this was going. "Fucking Christ…"

"If it isn't my House trainee, Pegasus Lance!" Cancer Deathmask gloated, prancing up and putting hands in waist as if to show up to the Bronze Saint. "Who has to obey my every order as the commanding Saint of this operation?"

"Saint Sagittarius is the commanding Gold Saint,… sir." Lance pointed out, narrowing eyes.

"Irregardless!" Deathmask completely misspoke. "I am the top ranked here, so I am in charge…isn't that right? Which means you, and you in particular… have to do what I say?"

Lance sighed. "… Yes, sir."

Olivia joined hands at waist reservedly, feeling horrible for the Bronze Saint. Saint Deathmask was really bullying a Bronze Saint in front of everyone just for calling him out on the clock? Even Cerah and Suisho looked uncomfortable.

Deathmask rubbed chin. "So… if I tell you to do this mission standing on one finger, or tied hands and knees to the roof of that jeep in clown make up, shouting 'I'm gay for Saint Shinta', you have to do it? Isn't that right?"

"What?!" Olivia gasped, horrified. "Lord Cancer, you can't do that!"

Suisho was outraged, stepping between the Bronze Saint and their superior. "She's right! Lord Cancer, with all due respect, this is completely inappropriate! You can't order-"

"No it's not, I'm in charge. So shut up!" Deathmask warned them. Before such a commanding armor of gold, they could do little but back off in fear. "Well, Saint Lance?"

The Pegasus groaned. This was clearly payback for their trip to Andromeda Island. If Deathmask thought he could get away with this, he was dead wrong, though. "Yes, Lord Cancer, I do. And I will. However, I do feel sorry for you."

Deathmask cackled. "Ha, ha, ha, oh yeah? Why is that?"

"Because I'm going to have to answer for what you order me to do at the MMC. The Silver Saints are going to want to know why Saint Suisho arrived in Sanctuary with me tied to the roof of the car and yelling about such silly things. And those reports get to the Pope."

…

Deathmask felt something cold creep up his soul. "…What?"

Lance folded arms. "Yes, that's right. And the Pope is VERY strict about the conduct of Saints on the missions. He's not going to like me clowning around on such an important mission and he'll want to personally find out why I did such an irresponsible thing. Especially one that embarrasses a fellow Bronze Saint. He's going to want to punish someone. And I'll just have to say 'your Holiness, I was simply following orders from our wise Saint Cancer'."

Deathmask's hands paled visibly, making Cerah and Olivia grin. "Uh… umm… uh…"

"I'm sorry, Lord Cancer, but I won't have a choice. The chain-of-command is clear. I'm afraid you're just gonna have to face that dragon." Lance flatly continued, narrowing eyes on the short Gold Saint. "This, of course, without mentioning what your teacher might say about this later. I can only imagine he'll be quite sad. You only just got the armor after all…"

Deathmask gulped loudly, picturing a fist coming straight at his eye.

He stepped forward and presented his wrists. "So, how big a rope do you want?"

"NEVERMIND! Just carry on as normal!" Deathmask panicked, backing off. "Don't you dare report this to the P… I mean, I was never here! I mean, these two are now in your hands! Just get them to Greece! Goodbye!"

There was then a loud shockwave and a blunt blitz that left nothing but a dust cloud in the Gold Saint's place, who headed back to the Academy.

The other three stared at Lance in amazement. Lance just scoffed and shook his head in disappointment. Who in God's name gave Deathmask the armor?!

"Saint Pegasus, that was incredible!" Cerah praised, wide-eyed.

Suisho also stared, stunned. "Yes… it was."

Lance blinked, a bit surprised at the praise. He then widened his eyes, realizing that he's completely forgotten what it was like not to know that half the current Gold Saints were just a bunch of kids that scare easy. "Oh!.. Oh, not at all, it wasn't that big a deal."

"No big deal?! I could never do that to a Gold Saint!" Cerah dotted, her green eyes went completely starry. The only person with this kind of bravery she had met was Saint Yushira. "You chased him off in such a cool way! Like you weren't even scared!"

The Pegasus became flustered. This was bad. "Thanks, but... I just know from training at his house what kind of punk that one is." Lance brushed it off. He liked the compliments but he had to play the part of ignorant Bronze Saint. He irked at Suisho. "Hey, I hope I didn't cause you problems?"

Suisho shook head. "Not at all, he was being abusive to you and you only complied. If Nam gets a complaint, I'll back you up."

"Me too," Olivia added. "I'm not sure the worth of our words against a Gold Saint, but what he was telling you to do was awful!"

The Pegasus Saint widened eyes at her. "Wait, this is the girl?! I thought…"

Olivia noticed his pause. "Saint Lance?"

Lance shook head. He expected a harrowing cat lady like the one that used to read his palm at Heart of Sasha. He faced both girls.. "I suppose I should introduce myself as well. I am Saint Pegasus Lance."

"Corvu…Cerah Heloise!" The blonde girl smiled, shaking his hand. "It's great to meet you!"

Lance nodded, though a bit surprised at the firmness and force of the short girl's shake that made him stagger slightly. Cerah was way stronger than she looked and apparently didn't really know it herself. Frankly that relieved him a bit, as she was technically their third mission partner.

If only she had a Cloth, that would be perfect. "Likewise."

It was Olivia's turn. "Olivia Iraklidis." Her shake, by contrast to Cerah's, was much softer despite her larger hand. "I suppose I'm the reason you're all here, unfortunately…"

"That's quite alright, miss Iraklidis." Suisho assured, shaking his head. "It's every Saint's mission to protect the weak against injustice. None of this is your fault."

Pegasus Lance folded arms. "The circumstances are a bit shocking to me, but yeah, I agree with Saint Suisho; this wouldn't be happening if the Specters weren't fucking nuts."

Olivia breathed out in relief. She had read old war accounts that Saints often hated escorting Athena herself into needlessly dangerous missions, especially when the Goddess went on peacemaking meetings with the enemy, so she could only imagine how they'd feel protecting her, a regular girl, during a war.

Lance tensed his eyes studiously. "Miss Iraklidis?"

She smiled at him. "Please, call me Olivia."

He tried to. "I'm sorry, Olivia, I just wanted to ask… You wouldn't happen to have relatives in Sanctuary Town? Saint Crateris told me I knew your family?"

The black-haired girl hummed. "You do? Well, that depends. My brother comes and goes out of Sanctuary, but I do have a grandparent."

Suisho smiled anticipatingly while Cerah drank the rest of her warm coffee.

"Do I know him?" Lance asked.

Olivia frowned nervously. "You probably do. My grandfather from my mother's side. He's…umm…He's Saint Aguilon of Herakles."

Cerah spat out the rest of her drink to the snow and coughed out, while Lance's jaw dropped. Suisho laughed so loud at their reactions he probably echoed from there to Austria..

Realizing he was making her uncomfortable, Lance collected himself. "W-wow, I'm… surprised. You're so…umm…."

"P-Petite?" Cerah asked, cleaning her mouth and completing Lance's attempt at saying it nicely.

"It's alright, a lot of people don't realize the… giant gene is recessive. My brother doesn't have it either." Olivia explained, self-conscious that a lot of people knew her grandfather to be so different from her.

Indeed, it wasn't just the size difference that shocked Cerah and Lance; Olivia's polite demeanor, fixed posture and kind smiles made her a complete contrast to Herakles Aguilon; a Silver Saint that both Lance and Cerah knew to be abrasive, blunt, competitive and outright bloodthirsty in battle. It was difficult to picture Olivia as the direct descendant of such a famously boisterous larger-than-life Saint. They could only imagine she fell off more on her dad's side of the tree.

Suisho took a handkerchief and politely handed it to Cerah to clean her coffee spit. "Aguilon, as most Saints, doesn't go calling himself anything but his Saint name, so it's normal for people outside the Silver Saint order not to know he's an Iraklidis. I knew immediately when I read the name of miss Olivia, though, but I wanted to see your reactions."

"Very funny!" Lance mock-laughed, squinting.

"Saint Lance, how do you know my grandfather anyway?" Olivia asked. "I thought he mostly worked with his personal guard?"

Lance hesitated to answer. "He… well…"

"She's going to find out anyway, Pegasus. You know Aguilon is the type to tell her the whole damn story." Suisho advised him.

Lance grimaced. This was a good point. "Aguilon administered a test to me for the Centaur Silver Cloth. He beat the crap out of me, so I failed. (*)"

(*) Upgrade to Silver

Cerah, who had met the Saint as well, dropped her jaw. "He beat you up?"

Suisho laughed again and patted the annoyed Pegasus' back. "Nothing like a good beatdown to make you mature a bit, right? He'd probably say that!"

Cerah shook her head in horror. "No, he seemed like such a nice man when I met him!"

Lance scoffed and chuckled. "I don't know which Aguilon you've met, Cerah, but he wasn't gentle to me."

Olivia covered her gasping mouth. "Oh… Goddess Hera, I'm so sorry! Grandpa, he…" she then sighed, imagining it was probably way too late to ask for forgiveness, and even frowned angrily.. "He's always way too serious about the Coliseum. I can't believe he did that to you for a test!"

"We've worked together since, so it's alright." Lance assured her. "I don't think the Centaur Cloth was right for me anyway. Besides, compared to some of the tests my old mission partner went through to get his Cloth? I feel like I got off easy."

Olivia nodded in relief, but she still felt horrible. "If you say so, Saint Lance."

Suisho looked at this watch. "Alright, everyone, time to go." Suisho went for the jeep and pointed at the girls. "You two stay in the backseat so our Boxes will shield you. I'll bring the car over and hand you your passports."

As he did, Lance found himself alone with the two girls.

He saw them blinking at him and was suddenly unsure how to act or what to say.

….

A cold breeze went by.

"Fuck, it's cold as Hades! Maybe I should just say anything!" He shrugged. "Umm… You two ever been to the capital?"

Cerah nodded, almost relieved at the awkward silence being broken. "Yes! Well, sort of. I've lived in Rodario. I…" Maybe she could talk about Eurydice instead. "I'm kind of happy I'm going back. I actually miss my friend there…"

The older girl turned to her. "Oh, I see… so you have someone to come home to in Rodario?"

Cerah smiled excitedly. "Yes! Eurydice is like…" but she stopped. Daese had suddenly flashed in Cerah's mind, like a haunting ghost, creating a clash with Eurydice and making her frown. "… She's like an older sister to me. She loves me very much."

The flash of sadness was caught by Olivia, though. "Mm, poor Cerah must have her own problems. I won't prod." And then gave her own answer. "My grandfather has shown me Sanctuary many times, but I've stayed at the academy ever since I was twelve. I… don't really have anywhere to stay. My father used to own a place but he sold it off to the Zodiac to pay for my enrollment. I would ask my grandfather, but I think the Pope will likely keep me at the Temples, though…"

Cerah and Lance both noticed the sad tone at the end. Lance in particular, who knew the reality of living in Sanctuary, sympathized. "I've lived at the Cancer Temple for a year, it's not so bad… if you can get used to the stairs, of course."

She laughed. "Ah, ah, that's true! And yes, I noticed your gold pin. But… I'll just miss the mountains and the theater… plus the classes." she then smiled at him. "Maybe they'll allow visits?"

The Pegasus smiled back. What a relief; both of them, even Olivia, seemed like really nice girls, not the stuck-up high school snakes he feared. Maybe this mission would go smoothly after al-

BAM!

The Saint's senses felt the high-speed projectile aimed at Olivia and he shoved himself in front of her! The missile struck the upper left side with a loud thunk, bursting the stuffing of his jacket.

He screamed and Olivia caught him. "SAINT LANCE!"

Cerah rushed around her to cover her dead angle. "Miss Olivia, stay between us!"

Suisho gasped, rushing in. "WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Lance held his injured shoulder. "S-SNIPER!"

Lance, Suisho and Cerah all felt it immediately afterwards and reacted by instinct, burning their cosmos back and putting themselves around Olivia. They barely had time to form a triangle before the trees surrounding them flared with light as numerous beams of cosmos came shooting out of the forest from every direction. The three raised their arms, layering them with energy, and took the blasts on, searing the beams apart away from Olivia.

They instead blasted trees and rocks apart, as well as the building with the coffee machine, and the mountain quaked briefly with the force of the successive impacts.

The black-haired girl panted in fear, grasping the Equuleus Cloth Stone around her neck. "W-what's happening?!"

"Are you okay?!" Lance asked, holding his shoulder.

She was shocked that he'd ask such a thing. "Me?! You just got shot!"

Cerah turned on her Emission Lenses, detecting bodies of energy trying to hide themselves all around them in the snow and trees. "We're surrounded! Are they Specters?!"

Suisho shook his head and squinted. "No!"

The shadows came out of the encirclement in the snowy forests, revealing themselves as leather and fur clad Black Saints. One held a big rifle with a thick barrel, likely the one that shot Lance, that he kept trained on them.

"Shit, I got the Bronze one instead of the Silver!" he complained, lowering his elephant gun to get a better look. "That explains how they survived the rest of our beams."

"That's fine…" another one with a machete said, closing in. "We got them surrounded, they're not going anywhere!"

Cerah clenched fists and gritted teeth, ready to pull out her Corvus Cloth should the worst come to pass. "WHO ARE YOU?!"

A huge one came out of the forest. He had tanned skin, a gigantic, muscled body, and a crossbow mounted on his wrist, as well as several big, crude swords on his waist. "Let me introduce myself; I am Baddub the Conqueror! The new owner of your magical armors!"

Cerah staggered. "W… What?!"

Suisho stared quizzically. "Bad…dub the Conqueror?"

Lance got up, having seen this type a thousand times. "T-They're ignorant fucking Black Saints who don't know what the Cosmos they unlocked is! A-Agh…"

"Cosmos? Is that what it's called?" Baddub asked, raising a brow. "Mm, mm, I see. You mean Universe Power."

Cerah, Olivia and Suisho stared silently.

"U… Universe Power?" Cerah muttered.

Lance groaned. "Holy s-shit, really?! You don't even have a good name for it!"

The Black Saints surrounding them muttered angry threats. "Shut up, armor man! Give it to us! Your backpacks!"

"It's a CLOTH! And these are Boxes!" Lance roared.

The sniper cocked his rifle and aimed it at the girls. "Whichever, Sacred Land man! Give them to us or you can pick which of your girls gets their heads blown off first!"

Cerah was stunned. "Sacred Land? You mean Sanctuary?"

"Knowing how these guys usually operate, they probably took one off some hoplite they've killed." Lance added.

Suisho gritted teeth, trying to figure out how many of them are, but even though they were terrible at understanding the power they had, these Black Saints seemed good enough to conceal it.

Noticing his efforts to survey their numbers, Cerah messaged them. "There's twenty!"

The other three blinked. Olivia asked. "What? Cerah, how do you know that?"

She just tensed her battle pose. "It's a technique of mine. Emission Lenses. I can 'see' the shine of people's cosmos, even if they're trying to hide it in the 7th sense! The three in front of us are just decoys. They have three groups of six at ten, two and six o'clock. Judging from their shine… I'd say they're all between Mach 1 and 5 and they are all holding large objects, likely weapons or guns."

Lance blinked. Her technique reminded him of Shinta's chains, only far more precise and sight-based. "W… wow, that's amazing."

Suisho squinted at the enemy, charging his energy discreetly, making a light blue aura brim emerge around his body. "Can you shoot guidance shots to target them?"

"Umm… I think so?" she confirmed, wondering what the Silver Saint was planning. She could probably fire some really basic Prismatic Shots to do it.

The Crateris stepped forward. "Good. I'll need it to know where they are. Fire when I give the signal. I'll handle the rest. Lance, Cerah, keep Olivia shielded."

The two nodded, keeping the seer between their backs.

Crateris then stepped straight towards Baddub, the Black Saint leader. "I'm going to give you and your men to the count of three to lay down your weapons. If you don't, I will eliminate your entire group. Got it?"

Baddub laughed, confident this guy had no idea how many of his men surrounded them. "That's a lot of talk for a pretty Chinese boy, but let me let you in on a secret; I'm not a regular silver fighter myself. My Universe magic is, at least, rocket level! And it will have no mercy for you."

Lance groaned. "UGH, this guy has the worst names for Cosmos!"

Olivia stared in fascination. "...It's like someone gave them a really poorly translated Saint Manual."

"So you all better give your armours, and the car, and the girls, if you want to go back to the Powder Keg with your testicles attached." Baddub threatened, aiming his crossbow at Suisho's face. "Capiche?"

"One!" Suisho asked.

The Black Saints cocked their guns and aimed them at the Saints.

"Two!" the Silver Saint warned, tapping his foot and brimming his blue aura thicker.

Baddub laughed and burned his own Cosmos, activating his green super aura. The second this silver guy made a move, he'd twist his fucking neck and shoot his friends to shit.

Suisho's eyes narrowed. "Three…!"

Cerah focused, charging yellow cosmos in her hand and mentalizing all her targets. Lance tensed his fists and Olivia grabbed her Cloth stone, ready to charge her cosmos into it.

Baddub sweated, seeing the Silver Saint not budging, and decided to take the initiative and pull his crossbow trigger!

"NOW!" Suisho ordered Cerah.

"FLASH BANG!" Cerah shouted, tossing a ball of yellow cosmos into the air above them that burst into a white flare, blinding the Black Saints and flaring the area with such intensity that the hiding enemies gasped, screamed and had their cosmos auras seared like shadows into the mountains behind them, revealing their positions.

"AGH!" Baddub screamed, backing off and covering his face. "M-My eyes! Y-YOU BIT-"

Suisho's blue aura exploded, his arms raised to the sides and then executed a crossing descent. "WHITE LOTUS HURRICANE!"

Exploding an aura of water and wind cosmos, the Silver Saint's attack burst out in the form of a winding shower of ice javelins circling outwards in all directions, puncturing the Black Saint bodies in multiple spots, from their shoulders to their thighs, paralyzing most and instantly killing others.

Baddub screamed, covered in large shards of glass-thin ice, and his huge body fell down, stunned.

Cerah and Olivia awed, seeing the entire enemy group instantly eliminated by the power of a Gold-Rank fighter, which neither had seldom seen. Lance, despite being more experienced, was still stunned, noticing the flawless precision with which the explosive attack targeted all the enemies that Cerah's flash grenade denounced. He touched his cheek, which felt cold, and realized that several of Suisho's missiles had flown past him to target the Black Saints further behind, as there was a slight graze on it.

"Phew…" Suisho breathed out, hand resting in waist.

Cerah shook like a leaf. Between the Silver Saint and his Pegasus friend, she almost felt useless, but she supposed this was what it meant to be a Gold Rank. All she felt were razor sharp javelins flying around her in an instant. "T… That was incredible, Saint Suisho!"

"Thank you. You helped out with the targeting, though, miss Cerah." He looked over and saw all of them alright, but staggered when he saw the cut on Lance. "Oh, sorry, Pegasus…"

Cleaning the cut with his thumb, Lance sweated, wondering if he would have detected such an attack if it had been hostile to him. Frankly, though, he was more startled by the fact his mission partner had Camus powers.

Bad news for a cryophobe like himself. "It's alright, I kept my defensive cosmos up."

Suisho laughed. "Is that a Zodiac habit? It's a good thing, too! You stopped that bullet aimed at Olivia so fast, I can only imagine you never really lower it."

This made Olivia check Lance's wound again and she realized that the bullet had only impacted the surface of his clothes. "Wait, you were okay after all?!"

Lance's fingers dug a hot metal scrap off the hole in his jacket and showed it to her. "Yeah, I was. I didn't mean to worry anybody."

Olivia held it in her hand, seeing the pointy rifle bullet smashed into itself like it collided with a titanium wall. She tried to imagine it going into her skull, like the Black Saints intended.

It made her gulp anxiously. "You… saved me."

Lance shook his hand. "Don't sweat it; when you have the 7th sense, it makes Cosmos so abundant to you that it's not that straining to keep defensive layers up 24/7. Those guys never stood a chance to get you."

Cerah couldn't stop feeling diminished by all this. Her head lowered in shame. "W-wow… it really does let you do incredible things. I didn't even sense that attack coming. If Miss Olivia had been just with me, she would have…"

"I'll radio Sanctuary to come pick these gentlemen up for the can." The Silver Saint then opened the jeep doors and gestured invitingly. "Shall we go?"

The three of them nodded, now fully confident that everything would go great in the mission, and headed inside.

Taking a seat behind Suisho and fastening her seatbelt, she saw Saint Lance take a shotgun and noticed him wince when he fastened his seatbelt around his shoulder. She looked at the smashed bullet in her hand again and noticed how large a caliber it was. "Saint Pegasus, are you really alright? That bullet…"

He widened his eyes, surprised that she'd ask. "Yeah, I'm okay. They brought that thing to shoot through Bronze Cloths, so I'm a bit rattled, but my cosmos burned in time. At worst I have a bruise. I would have punched that sniper myself if Suisho hadn't wiped them out so thoroughly."

She smiled, relieved that he was in good spirits, but did notice a pattern about him. "Is it just me, or do you seem to diminish everything you do?"

The Saint thought about it, taken by surprise. "Mm… I guess you could say that, yes. Aren't you the same, though?"

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"When the shot fired, they weren't aiming at you. They were aiming at Suisho. They wanted to take you alive." Lance pointed out. He suspected because the bullet hit him towards his side, rather than the chest with which he guarded her with, but then the Black Saints confirmed it outloud. "But you stood in the way of your bodyguard. Why?"

Her tongue held and her eyes glanced at the Silver Saint. "…I don't think that just because he's here to protect me that I should just do nothing."

"He has a rank above you." Lance calmly pointed out. "Even if it caught him by surprise, it wouldn't have hurt him anymore than it hurt me."

She clenched the smashed bullet, thinking about how close she got to doing something so dangerous. "Saint Lance, in this mission, you probably see me as someone who needs protection, but I'm still a Saintia in the making. It's my duty to protect others, just like all of you. I didn't say anything,... bec-"

"Alright." Lance nodded, admiring her bravery.

She blinked, feeling his resistance disappear. "That's it?"

"Yeah. It's a perfectly good reason for me. No need to explain it." He had no room to judge her when he had literally rocketed himself into space with a Dark Prince of Hades for the same reason. In fact, he kind of liked how she didn't see herself as any less than the Saints. "Just please promise me you won't do it again if Specters show up, alright? We're supposed to get you alive to Greece and Aguilon will probably snap me in half if he finds out you got hurt on my watch."

Olivia breathed out, feeling a great wash of relief in her chest, and chuckled. "Okay, I promise."

{======================|A3|======================}

Far up above, the battleship Valiant swam through the Alpine sky, hidden in the rain clouds. Yet, while the massive bird of steel was unseen from the surface, its many, many eyes were all-seeing.

Alraune Queen stood with his men on the top deck patiently. "Well?"

Gorgon Ox, the Terrestrial Race Star, lowered his binoculars. "Judge Aiacos was correct; there's a group of people down there in a vehicle who just used the Cosmos to fight. It could be the escort containing the 'Whore'."

"Mm, Lord Rhadamanthys will not like this; he'll have to admit someone was right. A fellow Judge, too." Queen mused. "Perhaps if I get him the woman, however, it will soothe his anger."

"The vehicle is driving away quickly, Lord Queen." Gorgon added. "If it reaches the urban areas of the Po river valley, we may never find it again."

Queen laughed out loud. "Dear Ox, you speak as if there's any chance of them leaving the mountains at all!" he then turned to the gun platform. Where many Skeletons awaited orders. "Ready the launch catapult. We'll use it along with Reaper's abilities to launch our assault. Sanctuary will never even know what happened… all the Pope will get is the heads of his Saints, with the name of Emperor Hades carved on their foreheads!"

{======================|A3|======================}

Meanwhile,

Death Queen Island,

Beach of the Black Sands

{======================|A3|======================}

Watching the waves crash on the island, Phoenix Guilty sat on a rock, tapping his foot impatiently. Four dead bodies in leather armor surrounded him.

"Four million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety eight…. Four million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine …"

His disfigured prisoners, defeated Black Saints for the most part who tried to take the island for him, watched him. "L… Lord Mara… what are you counting?"

"He's just been sitting there for two months…" another whispered, too terrified to ask.

"Five million!" Guilty whispered in his low, subtly angry tone. His head rose in amazement. "Five million seconds! A new record…"

The Black Saints exchanged nervous looks. He was counting seconds? "N… New record of what, lord Mara?"

With a swipe of Guilty's fingers, the Black Saint's throat was struck, bursting the larynx with such force that the entire neckline ripped apart, separating his head from his body. Geysering blood off its open neck, the body collapsed, making it five corpses around the Master.

The head circled in the air over and over until it candidly landed in Guilty's hand. The act of sadism was enough to break the bravery of the Black Saint slaves, who screamed in terror and ran off into the island, tripping over the sand and clawing at the hill slopes.

Guilty washed his mask with the blood in his fingers and breathed its irony stench in. "Ahh… you're making me angry, best friend. Very angry…! You haven't come out to play with me in two whole months. Will you make it three? Don't you feel sorry for me? For my other friends? No, you don't care anymore, do you? You now have that dragon watching your back, don't you? Literally, ha, ha, ha, ha…"

The waves didn't respond, merely washing rotten body parts and bones into his naked feet.

Guilty dropped the head in his hand over his feet and brutally punted it into the air, sending it flying high over the waves. He watched it splash far off in the ocean lazes, fantasizing it would instead land on a cruise boat and sink it, forcing its fat, wealthy passengers to swim to his shores and become his new friends. However, as per the agreement the Queen had with Lance, Guilty knew that the forces of fate would send no victims other than Sanctuary's evil men to him.

How boring.

He was in a limbo.

Was this part of Lance's plan? His ultimate trap? To have Guilty unable to seek out any but those who deserved it, preventing him from sinking further into being Mara, frozen in time on that island, unable to make Lance suffer with the prospect of Guilty killing innocents?

How clever! Guilty had to confess it was far better than closing him inside a volcano. Lance had such a smart little brain! Maybe Guilty should make a hole in his skull and pour boiling water inside it. The ultimate afternoon tea!

He turned to go hunt those Black Saints. The poor idiots still thought they could run from hi-

Guilty stopped, finding a hooded, burned man standing there in front of him. The Phoenix Saint tilted head to see his face better, making his thick leathery skin crack.

The man's eyes squinted, half in the focus of his task there on that island, half in horror at the creature in front of him. "You're the new Phoenix Saint, aren't you?"

Guilty chuckled. "Yes. I am the Master of Death Queen Island, Phoenix Guilty. Did you come here to train? Those are some nice burns you got… but I don't remember making them on you."

"…You poor soul. I'm so sorry." the man regretted, frowning. He wondered what name he had before Guilty and wished he could help, but saving a soul from the Phoenix was beyond a former Sagittarius Saint's powers, especially this far into their transformation.

"If you're a pacifist, spare me the pity." Guilty cut. "Missionaries bore me. All they do is beg their stupid God for mercy and make me want to rip their lips off!"

Priam took off his hood. "I'm no missionary, but I'm no longer a Saint, either. I didn't come here to make you feel patronized, just to ask you about something."

Guilty's fingers cracked and tensed like bird claws, his bloody nails growing hot. "And that something is…?"

"The armor that came flying out of this island two months ago… the Teos Cloth." Priam demanded, narrowing his eyes. "You're going to tell me everything about it."

Guilty chuckled. Finally, some real fun!

{======================|A3|======================}

Chapter End

{======================|A3|======================}

Next Chapter: Chapter 77 – Third Arc – Episode 5: A Most Alraune-ing Flower

Release Date: November 25th

Description: The Saints take Olivia through Italy, feeling confident in their success after Suisho's demonstration, but the Specters of Hades are powerful as well, and their cunning great.

Author's Comments:

There's a number of things to go through today in these author comments.

Let's begin with Olivia, who is a character from Saintia Sho. While she has appeared in this story three times already (and some old readers will remember a much brattier version of her in Arc 1), there's a couple of things unique to my portrayal of her right now.

Number 1, she was not the Equuleus Saint in Sho, but merely a star-reader/maiden. I'm not even sure if it's ever even explicitly said that she was ever a Saintia. However, since her daughter Kyoko becomes the Equuleus Saintia, it seemed fitting for me to have her entrusted with the armor, currently in Cyrulian Cloth Stone form. The reason why I made it a Cloth stone was two-fold; to start with, I realized there weren't that many armors associated with that faction in the story other than Corvus and Aquila, and to end with, Olivia doesn't look like she can pull off a Cloth Box look when you see her pictures.

Number 2, she also does not have an official surname in Saintia Sho, so I quickly went online and picked Iraklidis, which means "pride of Hera". Given Eris and Ares are Hera's daughters, and Olivia is the mother of Eris' vessel, I figured it would be appropriate. There's also the fact I made her Herakles Aguilon's granddaughter (yes, I know, Arc 2 Aguilon tells a different story about his family, but frankly, things change and I'm probably at some point going back to revise that, now that I have a much more solid idea of the family lineage) and Herakles himself, despite his famous animosity with Zeus's wife, is named after her (HERAkles). And yes, if the writing didn't make it clear, Leon is her older brother, which means Olivia has Lucian's imperial lineage as well.

On that note, no, Gin isn't Leon's real name, it's just a fake title he uses while in Japan. Gin means 'silver' in Japanese (and yes, it sounds like the drink, I know), while Naiporo is a Ainu surname, which is the real surname of Leon and Olivia's paternal grandparents.

The second element I wanted to talk about are the 'Contarius' cavalry mentioned by Malta to be the term used for the horsemen of the Mariners. RTS video game fans know exactly where this is coming from, but for those of you who have lives, 'Contarius' cavalrymen are the horsemen units you can recruit for the Atlantis faction in Age of Mythology, specifically the Titans Expansion. While there's some lore contradictions in that game (such as implying the Atlanteans only ever worshiped Titans, and not Poseidon) I still always thought it was a very cool dive into Greek myths and lore writing and I love referencing it.

Finally, there's Baddub, the Black Saint leader. You know, Bad… dub. I wanted a minor threat to attack the characters, both to give this chapter a little action but also establish Suisho's abilities (show, don't tell), but at the end I didn't want to just use a generic Fist of the Northstar gang and I decided to turn the group into a gag on crappy Saint Seiya dubs, specifically what I call the "You Boob" subtitles. Why not call him Badsub, then? Well, cause I get the impression the fandom seems to have bigger gripes with weak dubs than subs, probably cause it's harder to ignore audio annoyances than text ones.

Anyway, be sure to leave a review or share the story if you enjoyed this chapter, or if you want to criticize it even. Like it on Twitter/Tumblr/Reddit and generally support this project if you enjoy it. You can find me in all those places under the Thrudgelmir2333 name.

Also, make sure to check out the Saint Seiya Reddit Discord server, where I'm currently one of the co-admins. Other writers like Jenny DeVic also can be found in it. You can hang out with the rest of the English-speaking SS community and we host several weekly events, like episode streams, live streams and games.

See ya \owo