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.

78. 3A: Matters of Pride

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 betaread by Jenny DeVic, author of "Love You, Kill Me" and "More than Gold";

-Happy Holidays to all my readers! December 25th is the anniversary of the very first publication of LR-V1 in 2010, so it is a double-special date for the fic;

-I changed the title of chapter from "Roar of the Lion" to "Matters of Pride" because the importance of a particular character in it kind of ended up overshadowing the "lion" part.

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Please enjoy and review ^_^

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The Next Morning,

Andromeda Island

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A creepy shiver went up Shinta's spine.

It was do-or-die.

However, Albiore's hands flung forward the last few feet of the chain tightrope, clasping tightly despite the weights tied to his body, before leaping onto the hill opposite Shinta. The young blonde boy cried out triumphantly, his face beaming, and he took off the hundred and sixty pounds of water satchels tied to his waist.

"I d-did it!" he cried out, collapsing on the shadow of a rock to rest. "Oh my god, I did it…."

The green-haired Master's smile beamed as he registered the physical trial's success on his clipboard, just like Master Guardnia used to do with him. Albiore was creeping closer and closer to a Bronze-Rank exam, to the point he was starting to look as beefy as Elda.

He smiled at the boy but held back the commentary. For some reason, it seemed enough for Albiore, who beamed proudly. It was still so counterintuitive for Shinta, who was always a very hug-y guy, but holding back affection seemed to have a positive effect on Al's respect for his teacher. The boy seemed to look more to him now for approval, as if withholding it magically raised the value of the few things Shinta now had to say.

"Master, did I do well?" Al asked.

Shinta nodded.

Albiore examined his chains. "I was wondering if you could… help me with a technique I have been thinking about, Master. I don't mean to take your time, but…."

Shinta stopped himself from saying 'of course'. "Not until you finish the runs around the Cetus Crater tomorrow."

The boy nodded anxiously, and he cast his chain down the cliff to climb down to the Living Area. He liked this new Master Shinta who didn't do embarrassing things like hugging him all the time.

Once he reached the bottom, Albiore looked up northwest as they crossed the lower terrain, where a vast dark-blue structure of towers and battlements poked out from behind the shadows. "That's where my future Cloth is, right, master?"

"Yes," Shinta drily confessed. To him, it was the place where he had to fight Guardnia. Twice. Thankfully, getting the Cepheus Cloth didn't require you to fight your Master; only the Andromeda Cloth did.

Albiore studied his teacher. "Why did you never pursue it? You're a Gold Rank, right?"

Shinta paused his march, alerted. "Well, I… was going to, but I decided against it."

Albiore blinked and flatly asked. "Why?"

Shinta frowned. What should he say? That he was sticking with the Andromeda Cloth because it was likely keeping his latent Specter Prince alter-ego suppressed?

Before Shinta could answer, though, Al' frowned, seeing the Master was upset. "I'm sorry I asked, Master. That was probably rude."

Andromeda Shinta did not consider it rude at all, but 'Master Shinta' had to make it a clear boundary, so he refrained from denying it. They kept walking. Master Guardnia's last words rang in his head, though.

"I was never pure enough to change the Cepheus Cloth, to resist the changes it caused in me, but you…If you get Cepheus, you could fight Cetus and the madness in Sanctuary itself!"

"You, of all people, can stop these damn prophecies!"

"Do your best. I love you. Goodbye."

Shinta's eyes briefly welled, but he sucked his breath and toughened himself up. Six months had passed since that horrible, horrible day, and he still had the image of his blood-soaked Master over himself, drawing his last breaths before being vaporized by Cetus for 'treason.' Six months had passed, and Shinta still barely had a clue what Guardnia meant.

Yet, Shinta's heart was full of darkness. It wasn't just the memory of his teacher tormenting him but Daemon Lucifer's words about his spiritual ancestry. It was easy in the heat of battle for Shinta to cry and shout that it was all lies and focus on stopping the Pride Star from brainwashing the Cloths of Athena, but as time passed, logic prevailed over emotion and certain cogs in his brain, whose patterns he never quite understood, started spinning with new sense.

He stared at his hands, remembering the moment he first used Nebula Storm and comparing it to the one when he reflected Eternal Darkness at its caster. Was this massive Cosmos he possessed, whose source he never thought too much beyond a mixture of cosmos and his love for others, of a much more sinister origin than Shinta ever assumed? What if it was the force of a Dark Prince, even more, powerful than Daemon Lucifer, carried on through the Wheel of Life unto Shinta?

He supposed it was all the more reason to keep the Andromeda Cloth close to his chest, literally.

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Sanctuary Town

Ophiuchus Hospital

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Pegasus Lance waited patiently outside the emergency rooms of the hospital along with Olivia. He was trying to stay and look calm despite the terrible circumstances, folding arms reservedly and resting back against the wall. It was a far more stoic demeanor than her, who was sitting in the corridor seats trying not to panic. Lance eyed the door nearby occasionally, waiting for someone to come out and give them an update on Cerah.

After the convoy ambush in the Alps and the triumph over Alraune Queen, the group had successfully made it back to Greece, where they went straight to get Cerah medical attention. She hadn't awoken, and everyone feared that her battle with Queen may have been her last. Somehow Suisho managed to convince the Mission Center to let him handle all the reports so that Lance and Olivia could accompany the blonde girl to care. Fortunately, to their surprise, it seemed that Saint Ophiuchus Iaso knew her personally, and he expedited attention to the Saintia girl.

Or was she a 'Knight'? Lance didn't know what to think about this matter anymore, and Olivia seemed to be struggling to understand the situation herself, despite owning her own cloth stone. This was something Lance would have to straighten out with AG when things were a bit more under control.

They had arrived at midnight. It was almost five am, and they were still waiting for news.

During this, every time he looked at Olivia, she looked like a bigger mess, sinking her head deeper and deeper and looking like she was about to cry. Lance couldn't blame her. She probably blamed herself for what was going on.

The door finally sounded open! They perked up, when Saint Iaso came out of the room with a group of nurses. The Silver Saint looked exhausted and distraught, like anyone would be after hours of operation.

Olivia snapped up, and Lance approached him. "Well?"

Doctor Iaso took out his mask and gloves, revealing his half-shaven, exhausted face. His eyes were bagging an his breath was deep and tired. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I managed to heal her bones and organs. She is now physiologically stable."

Olivia covered her mouth to contain a gasp of relief. "Oh, thank the Goddess!" and stepped in. "Thank you, doctor –"

Iaso held her back politely and dumped the blood-soaked equipment away. "Don't do that yet, not until you hear the rest. The situation is quite serious. You said a Celestial Star did this to her, correct?"

They both nervously nodded. "Y-Yes."

"Mm, if that's the case, I'd say it's nothing short of a miracle that a girl without armor didn't just get ripped in half." The Ophiuchus Saint confessed. The doctor paused and stared them down. "You didn't lend her one of your Cloths, did you?"

Olivia froze and gulped. She and Lance exchanged a guilty look. Cerah's Corvus Cloth saved her? The metal likely stopped the Mandrake Spear technique from striking deep enough, but if they told Sanctuary about it, it would just put Cerah in danger with the authorities.

Lance stepped in to cover it. "We were fighting a sadist who insisted on trying to hang us by our necks. I think he might have purposely held back."

A brief flash of horror, disgust and anger went through Iaso, who looked away briefly to dispel it and look more professional.

"It figures, considering how ugly some of the wounds looked… I won't have to read the report to know it was Alraune. I remember my Specter classes well." He then eyed them sternly. "You three could have suffered a much worse fate. I want you to burn that into your skulls. Understood?"

Olivia held her arms to calm her nervousness shivering at how close they all came to being tortured to death. "I still can't believe what they tried to do to us… It was like capturing me was just a bonus to them. I understand how lucky we were…"

The doctor scoffed. "Lucky doesn't cut it, Saintia Equuleus. If you had been caught, no force in Sanctuary would have rescued from the Judge's clutche-"

Lance saw Olivia stagger and get upset by the doctor's rambling. "Doctor Iaso!" he interrupted. "What is the bad news?"

The Ophiuchus Saint glanced at Cerah's room and frowned. "The bad news is that her cosmos burnout was worse than we thought. Cerah will have to stay here for a while longer under intensive care... If not, she might fall into a coma."

Olivia's eyes burst in alarm. "What?! A coma?!"

The doctor nodded. "You two said she tried to fire an attack ten times over lightspeed force, correct? Normally cosmos burnouts can be recovered with rest, but considering the extreme circumstances of Miss Cerah's reckless overburn, a collapse of cerebral activity has become a real risk. In addition, … I happen to know that this patient has a history of falling into deep sleep."

Stunned, Lance saw Olivia suck her breath, stiff up, and walk away briskly, looking like she was about to have a panic attack. He grumbled at himself, realizing he had just made things worse for her.

"Goddamn it!" he thought. Lance squinted in frustration at the blunt doctor. "Iaso, what do you mean by that?! This has happened before?"

Iaso eyed him intensely. "It's a long story. I'll discuss that later with you when I'm not about to keel over. For now, let's say this isn't the first time Cerah's life has been in my hands." Iaso saw how distraught he was. He took out a small pager and put it in Lance's hand. "Here, keep this for now. I'll ring you if I have more news on Miss Heloise."

Lance looked it over, having never seen one from up close. Lance knew doctors in Sanctuary used it to avoid crisscrossing mental messages, which could get messy at the worst of times in a hospital environment. "Is this really okay for me to take? Don't you need this?"

"Yes, it's fine; I got a million lying around! That idiot Aiolos keeps leaving them behind when he goes to do volunteer work! You should go too, Pegasus." Iaso insisted. Honestly, if the damn intern from the 9th Temple weren't so enthusiastic about work, Iaso would have slammed the box of pagers he was collecting over Aiolos' head. "You came here straight after your mission, right? Get something with sugar at the bar before the nurses catch you passed out on the patient corridors. Chop-chop!"

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Waiting Room

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After buying a Snickers bar, Lance put the drachmae into the machine. As it popped a plastic cup before dripping hot tea into it, he breathed out deeply, feeling the weight of the mission he just went through press down on him, along with the lack of sleep in-between.

What a fucking night. Roshi was right that the mission would give him a shot at fighting Specters, but neither Lance nor his teacher expected such a vicious ambush. Plus, Lance didn't even get to exercise Chi in any way. Well, at least he got to debut the upgraded Pegasus Cloth. He still felt some residual excitement from how good it looked now. And no one died.

He looked over at a pair of hoplites chatting nearby while waiting for their turn. Well, no one in Lance's convoy died. Who knew how it went with these guys stationed up north.

"Were you in Germany with Saint Sagittarius?" one that appeared Northern-European asked.

The second one, a tanned Greek native, nodded somberly. "Yeah… Wish I hadn't gone, though. Goddess, what a nightmare… that fucking Wyvern Judge…."

Pegasus Lance frowned. He had his issues with the footsoldiers, true, but ultimately, they were just regular guys in the end. They had friends and family to protect, and most of them, if not all, didn't even have lightspeed to save them from Celestial Stars.

The second, however, suddenly clicked his tongue. "What a bunch of pussies I got signed up with. Seriously, Sanctuary is going to shit under these new Gold Saints. I felt like tossing my spear at that golden-winged prick if he told us to help the bystanders one more goddamn time!"

Lance perked up. "What?"

The first nodded in exasperation. "I know what you mean. We're there for combat, not charity. They just don't respect us, hoplites, as warriors. Sometimes the Saints, especially the really high-up ones, seem to think all we are good for is cleaning up after their heroism."

"Exactly! We're goddamn adults! We don't need some prick in gold telling us how to use our Cosmos!" the second agreed. He looked around to check if any Gold Saint was listening before whispering. "Don't tell the captain, but I think I'm gonna take my girl and elope to one of the Allied Armies. That 'Pact of Seven' group lets you do whatever you like."

The first widened eyes. "Seriously? I've been thinking the same! Which one?"

"Well, not New Lalibela, I'll tell you that! Cetus in charge or not, it's still fucking Africa."

The first scoffed. "Damn straight. I thought about the 'Lost Legion' for a bit, but I don't want some murderous psychopath as a drill sergeant, either. Plus their pre-requisites are kind of crazy."

The second hoplite scratched his chin pensively and then said. "I've had my eyes set on Bluegrad… They say the Baron's forces make tons of money in the new weapon factories. He's also fighting some sort of terrorist group so that it won't be boring. Plus, you know, it's in Siberia, so far away from any goddamn Pope or Gold Saint telling you what to do."

"Is Susanna okay with it?" the first asked, apprehensive. "She's from the isles, right? She might not like the cold."

The second scoffed. "No… but honestly, fuck her. I can find someone in Bluegrad that doesn't have a goddamn mask to withhold sex with." He tossed Lance a dirty look. "Hey, Pegasus, are you gonna let that thing get cold or what?! You're holding up the line!"

Lance took the cup "…Sorry, go ahead." and left, frowning in disgust.

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Passing through the groups of men returning from the mission, Lance looked for Olivia, keeping the cup in his hand warm by burning his fire cosmos extremely lightly. However, having eavesdropped on this hoplite conversation, he wanted to find someone first.

Indeed, he came across Shura and Milo, still in their Gold Cloths and balaclavas, being treated by none other than Aiolos at the waiting room's edge. Perfect! Not so greatly, they had minor wounds, and in fact Aiolos looked pretty beat up. Perhaps this was just because the Sagittarius Saint had discarded his armor for now so he could do work healing everyone without having the soldiers demand he gave special priority to them, so he just showed off more of the same wounds as the other two.

The Sagittarius teen saw him and smirked welcomingly. "Fancy meeting you here."

Lance half-smiled. He was happy to see them, but their wounds concerned him. "Hi, guys. How are you doing? Heard you fought a Judge."

Milo's masked face nodded. "Yup."

The Pegasus Saint felt his chest lighten. Despite the injuries, they seemed chipper. "Was it fun?"

Milo's masked face shook. "Heck no. The dude was a big unibrowed ass. He kept shouting about how the Specters were fated to win, and we were all doomed prifligates, even when Aiolos punched him in the teeth."

"Profligates." Shura corrected, annoyed with Milo's lax vocabulary. "It means 'sinner' or decadent."

Milo shrugged. "Whatever. Point is, he's a jerkwad. A Judgewad, you might say?"

Lance chuckled, though. He kind of missed the kids' antics. "I can't believe I missed the three of you having such an epic battle."

Shura rolled his eyes and took over the conversation. "The battle was harsh, Saint Pegasus, but the forces of evil can't hope to prevail against the Gold Saints, especially the ones trained by the Civil War generation. Aiolos also directed the Saints to the front so that the Specters couldn't target vulnerable hoplites, so the enemy was pushed back before we had casualties."

The Pegasus Saint nodded, already accustomed to tales of the Sagittarius' selflessness, which rivalled Shinta's. It was so typical of Aiolos to be so protective of everyone around him, and it paid off, making him angrier about the hoplite conversation he had just overheard.

"Does Iaso suspect anything of your absence, Aiolos? Or why you're covered in wounds?"

The Sagittarius Saint smiled, touched one of his many bandages, and shook his head. "No, I told him I volunteered as a healer for the mission. He thinks I fell down a river in Germany while trying to rescue villagers and that the Scorpio Saint pulled me out."

Milo cringed. "Saint Iaso is so harsh. He said Aiolos just wasted our time and that I could have saved dozens of others during the time I took to rescue him. These secrecy rules about our identities suck so much. I wish Aiolos would tell him he was fighting a freaking Judge."

Aiolos' humility seemed unshakeable, though. "That's alright, Doctor Iaso is just concerned about how many hands he can spare. Our resources are more limited than they look, hence all this chaos around here." He turned to Lance. "From what we've been told, you saw your share of fighting, Pegasus? In fact, it was precisely when the Judge got word of your triumph in the Alps that they pulled back."

Lance frowned sternly. The enemy was making decisions based on how the attack on the Alps convoy went. "Funny, isn't it, Aiolos? It's like they knew my convoy had Olivia ahead of time and they just sent Wyvern to your end to throw sand at our faces."

A certain darkness crossed Aiolos' face. "Indeed. Poor Saint Suisho's careful planning went to waste. I spoke with Saga already, and he's convinced he can find the mole." Aiolos assured. Secretly, he hoped it wasn't Kanon again. "All a matter of crossing out suspects, Saga says…I don't know how they could have learned of it, though…"

Lance was agape. "Crossing out suspects? Suisho told me they discussed the plans at Circe's Grove, for God's sake. Anyone could have been listening in." Lance said, exasperated. "Could it be one of the Saints?"

Shura cringed his fists loudly, unable to imagine a more disgusting possibility. "If it is… heads will roll. Mark my words."

A part of Lance was glad he was no longer in the middle of these Zodiac issues, but he felt for the kids, who had to work so hard on what was ultimately a Specter trap. "Can you tell me something? I know I'm not privy to these things anymore, but what did the Pope say about this mission? I mean, the Specters forced us to mobilize half the Zodiac for this."

Aiolos sighed. "…We didn't get to talk with him much."

"Yeah, ever since the Teos Cloth showed up, the Pope has been locked in his halls most of the time." Milo added.

Lance widened his red eyes. "Wait, say that again?!"

"Milo!" Shura warned.

Milo shrugged. "Look, Lance deserves to know, okay? He got the damn armor for us!" the boy argued. "The Pope has been acting strange ever since you left, Lance. He cut down on his meetings with us, and Ms. Shafurwatt says he has mountains of correspondence piling up outside his desk. I asked Mu, and he said he hasn't spoken with the Pope since you left with Shaka. Saga and Aiolos have been working overtime managing stuff because Lord Arles keeps telling important visitors he's busy. I've never seen him like this. I think… it might be the armor."

The Pegasus Saint gawked. Could it be? Was the armor that Lance made a pact with to defeat Daemon Lucifer hypnotizing the Pope?

Shura rolled his eyes and threw hand dismissively. "Look at what you're doing, Milo! You're spreading rumors. Lord Arles is the Pope. He has more important things to do than just stare at that piece of metal all day."

"How do you know that?" Milo questioned.

"I just do!"

"Guys. Come on, calm down." Aiolos whispered, and as if an enchantment, the two boys immediately stopped bickering. The Sagittarius turned to Lance. "Lord Arles has indeed been preoccupied, but we can't make any judgments on it. Besides, he took the time to welcome the nobles into Sanctuary Town for my duel with the Steiner son."

Lance staggered. "Wait, that guy? You mean…I thought that wouldn't be for months!"

"We all did," Shura confirmed, sounding tense.

Aiolos nodded. "It's today, yes. It was marked for ten-thirty at the Coliseum. The date was advanced when they heard I got sent to fight a Judge. Perhaps Gigars thought I wouldn't be coming back."

Lance looked the Sagittarius over, seeing his bandaged wounds. "But you just got done fighting a Judge! You're in no shape to defend yourself against another Gold Rank!"

"That's what we told the Pope!" Milo chirped, pouting and folding his arms. "But he says that it's out of his hands! How can it be out of his hands?! He's in charge of Sanctuary!"

"It's not His Holiness' fault, Milo." Aiolos taught him. "Without him, the duel would have occurred right after the court of Aestrea session was held. We've been trying to postpone the date so far so I could prepare for it…but that became hard to defend when I was sent to head such a big operation. Now the council is arguing that the Pope is playing favorites."

The three Saints around him all had a mixture of concerned reactions, from frowns to glances to exasperated breaths. If Aiolos lost this duel, Aiolia would become more dependent on him without being allowed to stay at the Sagittarius House, and this could lead to further problems for an older brother trying to keep two mouths fed without a home outside of the Zodiac.

"First Shaka, then Lance, and now this. It's not fair." Milo whispered, rocking his legs in frustration.

Lance was afraid to ask, but he messaged Aiolos "How bad are things…? If you lose, I mean?"

Aiolos frowned grimly. "I'm not going to lose. However…. I did get a letter from the golden rings. They were offering to adopt Aiolia. I'm not going to have a place to keep my brother outside of the Zodiac, so… if the unthinkable happens… they might call Sanctuary's orphan services on me."

The Pegasus Saint gulped. He hadn't even considered the obvious possibility Aiolos might lose his little brother entirely.

Aiolos smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Lance… You've been training with me for the past few months, and my Lightning Bolt is stronger than eve-"

"AIOLOS!" Ophiuchus Iaso shouted, arriving at the waiting room and making all of them jump. "Are you done currying the Gold Saints for autographs?! We have patients to heal!"

Aiolos was irked, realizing he had wasted too much time. "Welp, I have to go, guys. Please tell Aiolia I'll come to see him in the morning." and headed off, nodding his head in an appeasing manner at Iaso's irascible rants.

Shura shook his head in awe. "A Gold Saint, an overworked intern for Saint Iaso, AND an older brother in the land of orphans… By Chronos, sometimes I wonder how he has the time."

"I guess when you have lightspeed, time is relative?" Milo jokes, raising a brow.

Shura frowned sourly. "I think you dialed up my age by at least forty years with that one, Milo."

Spotting Olivia sitting at the end of the room and reminded by Shura that the Capricorn Saint worked with older warriors around Sanctuary, Lance asked, "I have to go too, guys, but Shura, can you explain something to me? You train with the hoplites, right?"

The Gold Saint reacted with surprise at the topic shift. "…Occasionally, yeah?"

Lance's red eyes darted to make sure they weren't around. "I just overheard a pair of them talking about leaving Sanctuary. All casual, like they were discussing college options. What the heck is that about?! Shinta has always told me his Master would say you can only leave it in a coffin!"

Shura looked away and grumbled like he already knew of this. He shook his head. "You do only leave in a coffin, but not when you enlist for the Pact of Seven. It's part of our… relationship with them. If you fight for one of them, you're still considered to be… fighting for Athena."

Lance gawked. "What?!

The Capricorn nodded. "I know, it's gross. That kind of conversation you overheard has been a big problem for years in the ranks, and I can name ten other ways people in Sanctuary keep taking advantage of this place and then dump it when it's convenient for them if you want!"

The Pegasus Saint stuttered, stunned. "W-well, fuck…! So we've been bleeding guys to pricks like Cetus all this time?"

Shura folded his arms angrily. "Where do you think they get their armies from? When it's not Asgard or the Lemurians who have their own? They take it from soldiers who don't believe in Athena and her mission. And want just to use Cosmos for… for whatever."

"Okay, okay! Relax!" Lance begged, gesturing with his hands for a ceasefire. "I was just asking! It's kind of fucked up, so I wanted to know."

Shura, however, eyed him reprovingly. "Pegasus Lance, don't act like you weren't about to blame the Pope. You may be older than us, and I appreciate what you did during the war greatly… but we know you."

Lance looked at Milo, but the young Scorpio boy could only shrug. "He's kind of right, Lance. You do blame the Pope a lot."

"Well, look at what's happening!" Lance confronted. "Hoplites talking about selling their war services to the highest bidder! I just want to know what Shion is doing about it!"

Shura folded his arms defensively. "Lord Arles tries to put limits on it, but the more he does, the angrier the Allies gets. The more he negotiates with the Allies for compromises, the angrier the Nobles get for showing weakness. And the angrier the Nobles get, the harder life becomes for everyone else." The boy gritted his teeth to himself, feeling the Pope's frustration. "What would you do in his shoes?"

The Pegasus Saint sweated, alarmed by the ferocity of Shura's argument. "Alright, I'm sorry. You're right. I won't blame Arles for this." He ceded. He struggled to pinpoint what was so revolting about it and could only think of one analogy. "But goddamn it… you should hear the shit they were saying. They sounded like… like a step above Black Saints. It just shocked me."

The Capricorn Gold Saint sighed. "I know. It's… wrong all around. As I said, I also hate it." He eyed the former Cancer Saint. "If you want to help, come show your support for Aiolos, okay? The guy he's fighting may be the son of Akassius, but we don't know what this Galan guy is like. The fewer insiders they put in the Temples instead of principled Gold Saints, the better."

To Lance, this was never even in doubt. "Of course."

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Chapter 78

Arc 3

Episode 6

The Matters of Pride

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Waiting Room

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Heading for Olivia, Lance handed her the cup of lukewarm chamomile tea. "Here, you looked exhausted, so I went to the snack bar. Sorry, I took a while. I ran into the Gold Saints."

She looked up and nodded, taking the cup. She had seen him with them. "Don't worry, it's totally fine. Were they asking about… the mission?"

"Yes." Lance confirmed, sitting next to her. "They're not suspicious about Cerah, so I think she's in the clear."

She nodded and sighed, relieved. "That's good…that's good."

Lance observed her, wondering if he could ask a bit more about Cloth Stones, given Olivia owned one herself. However, behind her calm appearance, he detected a nervous panic. It was in the shake of the cup and the stillness of her eyes on it. It reminded him of Shura, frankly, and how the Capricorn boy tried to stay calm and focused even in the direst of situations, like a statue of steel, but underneath was as frightened as everyone else.

She took a small gulp, bringing it to her lips with both hands, afraid to drop it with her nerves. The sweet, warm taste calmed them a bit. "It's good, I feel better now…."

The Saint looked away. "You do?"

…

Olivia felt them jolt back up, electrifying her fingers and sides with panic. Images of Cerah, the first-year Saintia who protected her, broken and bloody on the snow, assaulted her mind. She stared at the water. The warmth against her fingers through the cup was such a contrast to what she felt in her throat. She remembered the sight of Alraune hoisting Cerah by the neck into the air with his stem. Cerah, who wouldn't be there, were it not for Olivia.

The Equuleus felt she could drown herself in that tiny cup. Her face locked onto it, wishing to the bottom of her heart it was true.

"I did nothing." Olivia finally whispered, more to her reflection than to him. Her eyes became heavy with water. "I just stood there and watched the two of you save me."

"That's not true. I think you taught that Gorgon Specter a pretty good lesson," he remarked, genuine. "That was a very impressive Kornephoros you threw. The Specters won't be screwing with you or your classmates for a long time."

She only sniffed quietly. Rationally, she understood his compliment, but her heart felt shut to it.

Respectfully he glanced and saw the tears threatening to stream down her face. Lance could probably point out the wounds that Iaso treated in her as proof of her contribution or how he liked how she told off the Specters, but he knew that wasn't the point. Pegasus Lance had suffered hundreds of injuries during combat, and that never made him feel better about his failures, either.

This wasn't about what Olivia had accomplished or not, but what she could have done, in her head. It was a kind of regret he related to a lot. "Do you think it's your fault Cerah is in that bed?"

"Yes." She straightly put it. She thought back to all those girls at the academy who waved goodbye on her way out. "People tell me I'm some kind of idol to the Saintias because… because I have high grades and…because…I read the stars, and because…because…."

"Because people know your grandfather? And because you're hot?" Lance thought to himself. He wished such a nasty thought didn't pop into his head, but it was likely the truth, and something told him, based on her fearful stutters, that she understood it on some level, too. "I'd probably be voted class president too if I lived in some kind of Sanctuary high school in the mountains and looked like a teenage magazine model."

"Even if Cerah is a Zodiac Knight, she's… she's still of the academy. She looked up to me! I could see it in her eyes that she did. And she got hurt because of me. Twice!" Olivia's shook more and more, feeling the dams in her eyes about to break. "The first time, she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, but now… I asked her to come. Now Saint Iaso says she already got out of a coma once. What if… what if she goes back again?"

This last detail still seemed wild to Lance. Cerah definitively had more to her than it looked on the surface and perhaps her unlocking the 7th sense is no coincidence.

Olivia looked away from her cup, sickened by her reflection. "Yet, despite all that…a first-year girl did something that I could never imagine myself doing! She took on the Celestial Demonic Star… and even unlocked the 7th sense! What kind of lie am I living?"

Lance simply kept quiet. He didn't presume to know the right thing to say, even if he understood these feelings.

She scoffed, and her head rose to him. "Ah, do you know what's amazing? Now even to the Specters, I'm a fraud."

Lance nodded. "Yup."

Something about his dry response made Olivia snap into laughter. Her hands instinctively covered it, trying to keep it in. It was rather uncomfortable to look at them like she was terrified of showing happiness or relief to others.

Then the laughing started sounding like uncontrollable sobbing, and her hands became drowned in tears flowing out of her eyes.

Lance saw her grasp slipping and rushed in, catching the cup in her hands before she dropped it. "Okay, calm down…Take a deep breath."

She held onto him, shaking like a leaf. "I d-don't know what to do! I feel like a coward! Like a failure! I had armor, and I could have fought to save her!"

Lance's eyes softened, and he set the cup down. He felt her trying to hide her crying face in his chest from the hospital people. He pulled her close to protect her dignity.

He saw some hoplite dude from another chair staring. Lance sent him a mental ping. "The fuck are you looking at?! Go take a piss or something!"

"Hey, it's the waiting room, Pegasus! Fuck you!" he responded, giving him the finger.

"Fucking Christ!" Groaning, Lance looked down at Olivia. "Let me take you out of there, okay?"

She nodded frantically and followed him out.

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

Outside

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

It was a cold morning outside the Hospital, forcing Lance and Olivia to get their jackets. Leaving the premise of the temple-like building, Lance and Olivia moved away from the big movements of people and headed down the Herculean Road.

"H-How do you know?" she asked, sniffing and facing away sadly. Her face was still red, and her breath's exasperation was visible in the cold. She looked at the Saint, knowing he was experienced in combat. "H-how do you know… she's not going to die because of me?"

"She'll be fine. You're the type that overthinks their responsibility, aren't you? I'm the same." Lance looked to the north, towards the mountain with the temples beyond Sanctuary Town. "During the False Holy War, things got pretty ugly at one point. The enemy was practically knocking at the Pope's door, and I and a couple of others were the only ones holding it shut. I kept thinking that, even though I was surrounded by Gold Ranks, I had to do something to stop it, matter how extreme, so that I wouldn't walk out of that mountain regretting the death of someone dear. I barely recognized myself because… I didn't know I could think of doing such things."

Finding something deeply familiar in this, Olivia's curiosity grew. "…Doing what?"

Lance scratched his head, thinking to the moment he decided to rocket Daemon out of the Earth with no plan to come back down, and answered. "I don't know. Of sacrifice?…. Usually, it's my friend, the Andromeda Saint, who is all about it. Not me. I've always just wanted to do my best within reason. However, that kind of caution has cost me a dear friend from Heart of Sasha."

Olivia frowned sympathetically. This was exactly what she feared. "Can I ask what happened to him?"

Lance thought of Guifi's fake grave in Sanctuary Town's cemetery. "He lost everything he cared about. He even got to shout at me about it. And then he died. I've blamed myself for his pain ever since. I know what it feels like to ask yourself if there was more you could have done…"

The Saintia felt her throat dry at this, imagining the same could happen between her and Cerah. It was such an earnest and direct confession that she couldn't help but believe it really did happen.

Was this why the Pegasus Saint was so reserved, unlike Suisho? Was it the sheer pain?

The Saint continued. "It's a horrible burden to have that guilt weighing down on you, but you're not blaming yourself because she got hurt. You know as well as I do that a Specter did that to her, not you. You're blaming yourself because you feel safe now, so you don't have your mind in that scary place where a Specter is in front of you, threatening to kill us all. All that means is that you're not perfect. Is that really what you're blaming yourself so hard for?"

She staggered at this framing. Not because it was wrong but because she felt it touching on something she intimately felt about herself. Her frown cracked, curving upwards in a shy smile, and she shook her head at the feeling of her stupidity.

Lance smiled, happy to see her lift her seeing reason. "Suisho must be off the MMC by now. We'll meet up with him and ask how the Zodiac wants to handle your affairs after the mission. Saint Iaso gave me a pager to let me know when Cerah wakes up."

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

Sanctuary Town

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

The morning sun began to climb over Greece. A small line of people formed around a tent by the Shrine to Hera, near the MMC. A Silver Saint had gone inside, though, and many were surprised, as the Crateris Saint was believed to be able to read the future in his armor should he fill its cup with water. What need would he have of a fortune teller?

Sitting at his tarot reading table in the street outside the Ophiuchus Hospital, Hypnos, the God of Sleep, shuffled his deck and took three cards off the top, smiling at his client. "Shall we see what the Arcana says of you, Suisho?"

Suisho, sitting on his Crateris Cloth box, nodded nervously, watching a trio of cards being set face down on the table.

Hypnos flipped the first, showing a crowned woman with a trident and snake ring upside-down- "The Reverse Empress…."

Suisho knew the meaning immediately. "The wrath of nature."

"Exactly, very good, Aiacos. Pandora is very upset at you and Rhadamanthys. You were supposed to capture the icon girl and kill whatever Saints you could. Instead, Reaper had to save Queen's party from capture against a trio of Silver and Bronze Saints. I think very violent thunderstorms await you on the horizon, Suisho,… after our dear Wyvern gets his share, of course."

Were it not for his faith in the Gods' wisdom, Suisho would suspect that Lord Hypnos simply enjoyed going through this little theater with the cards. After all, if he wanted to, Lord Hypnos could just speak plainly.

The Judge tread cautiously in his words. "Lord Hypnos, if I may make my case… I did everything in my power to facilitate the mission."

Hypnos flipped the second card, revealing an Alraune Specter born under a naked, hanged sinner.

"Well, look at that, the Hanged Man. How appropriate, given this is Queen's favorite card." The blonde god smiled coyly at the Judge. "Normally, the meaning of the Tarot is emotional, Aiacos, but my expert opinion is that you take this one quite literally, as well."

Suisho felt his nerves fray. He knew there was no randomness to Hypnos' deck. The God sitting in front of Suisho knew exactly what cards he wished to show him and if they'd be upside down or not. Thus, everything was an explicit, direct communication in response to what Suisho said. With the Hanged Man, he interpreted that Lord Hypnos meant no excuses would be tolerated.

"Our dear Rhadamanthys has spoken to Alraune after Reaper Grim dragged him back," Hypnos said, folding his fingers on the table. "Queen says the girl you were with is the Cyrulian who stopped Raimi, Aiacos. She used the Corvus Silver Cloth to battle him, matching Worm Raimi's description of the Knight to a tee. I am inclined to believe him, given his wounds and the consistency of the two stories. You, however, claim that another one was the culprit,… an Aquila."

Suisho nodded. "That is correct. I believe she has a secret association with the Saint I am observing."

The God of Sleep smiled menacingly, his fabled patience tested. "Two conflicting accounts of a Silver Cloth Knight wearing bird armor…. Are the Emperor's Specters in need of ornithological advice? Or are you telling me that not one but two members of an extinct Saint Order are the reason for your failure?"

The Crateris Silver Saint, however, was adamant about this. "Yes. You will find Skeletons who rendezvoused with me killed by Light cosmos blasts. This Knight of the Zodiac remnant issue is bigger than we had initially imagined."

Hypnos tapped the Hanged Man card with his finger warningly, his glasses shining with the cosmos in his eyes. "Are you suggesting I get on my knees and look through the leaves in that mountain for your innocence, Aiacos?"

Suisho gulped. Who guessed that the pacific God of Sleep could be the more terrifying of the two twin god brothers under the emperor? Yet, while Thanatos promised an end to life itself when angered, that was a relief compared to the punishment Hypnos reserved for those who failed him. Suisho saw an eternity of tormenting darkness awaiting those who achieved to anger his blonde brother. A darkness you would swim in for eternity, powerless to resist the terrors clawing at you.

The Judge steeled his breath. "This is my truth, Lord Hypnos. I do not tolerate excuses from my men, so I do not tolerate them in myself, either."

"You will be held to your word, Aiacos. Hopefully, you won't regret them. And next, we have…." Hypnos flipped the third card, revealing a picture of a Skeleton holding a bannered scythe. "Mm, the Page of Wands! Fascinating… This suggests a subtler change of pace is required to set up a more bountiful future."

Suisho bowed his head obediently. "I see… I will keep to the shadows then, Lord Hypnos."

The God of Sleep stored his cards. "Remember, Aiacos, that more than the Emperor's glory hangs in the balance…Fail him again, and I fear Violate will not join you in Elysium when our triumph inevitably comes."

A deep coldness of fear, like a shard of ice, penetrated Suisho's heart with these words. No, he would not allow this to happen! He stood up and bowed. "Yes, Lord Hypnos."

The evil God guided him out of his tent. "By the way, that will be twenty drachmae, Saint Suisho."

The Silver Saint widened eyes, but the God stood expectantly anyway. Suisho searched his pocket and handed him a handful of coins. He then let the next customer take their turn, a nervous-looking housewife tugging her purse close to her chest.

Hypnos eyed her with disdain. "Yes, may I help you?"

The Greek woman stuttered as she took a seat on a chair. "Y-yes… I'd like to know if my husband is cheating on me. I found lipstick remains on his lips, and…and he had glitter on his collar! I know something is wrong! Can you tell me what the cards say about it?"

Hypnos sighed and pretended to shuffle his deck. His vast sight already knew this human woman's husband was simply a secret crossdresser who threw parties to his fellow soldiers. Just another decadent practice that proves Athena's misguidedness in protecting this filthy species.

He had to play his part if he wanted to avoid suspicion in Sanctuary, though. "Very well, let's see what the cards say."

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

Scorpio-Aquarius District,

Second Acropolis Entrance

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

Rushing ahead to the Second Acropolis steps for a better view, Lance surveyed his surroundings, failing to detect Suisho anywhere. They were almost at the Golden Zodiac, and Lance needed someone who still had official clearance to take Olivia to the Pope. A security person standing by the steps politely approached. "Saint Pegasus, please step off the ascent. This Acropolis is a gated community."

Lance grumbled but acquiesced peacefully, jumping off the stairs to the lower, common streets when he found Olivia asking another guard.

"Excuse me, have you seen Saint Crateris?"

For some reason, the guard laughed. "Ah, that guy? What's his name…Sui…kyo?"

Her head shook patiently, though she wondered why people kept mixing it up like this. "It's Suisho."

"Ah, I see. Sorry, no, but hey, maybe he read his cup and already knows you're looking for him."

The Equuleus Saintia gave him a perplexed look. "… What?"

The guard saw Pegasus, of all people, approaching and gritted his teeth fearfully. "Um, look at the time! Gotta go!" and took off in a hurry.

She blinked. Olivia turned to Lance. "Mm, you seem to scare many hoplites off, don't you?"

The Bronze Saint shrugged and played it off, not wanting to come across like a feared vandal to her. "It's just… rank rivalries. Anyway, I have no idea what's taking Suisho so long. I can only imagine the MMC is still chewing him for what happened. He should be here soon, though…."

She frowned lamentingly. "Poor him. It's been all night and dawn. Will they get you in trouble, too?"

Lance could fortunately say no to this. "The good thing about me not being the head of my own missions anymore is that I don't have to be Sanctuary's scapegoat anymore."

The Equuleus Saintia perked curiously. "Oh, so you weren't always with Saint Suisho?"

Lance chuckled, wondering what she'd think of seeing him with Shinta. "No, my first partner was my best friend, Saint Andromeda." Olivia gasped visibly. He perked a brow. "What? What is it?"

Her blue eyes widened in remembrance. "Wait, that's right, you mentioned… you don't mean… Andromeda Shinta? Green hair, puppy eyes…?"

He squinted suspiciously. "Yes, I do. You've heard of him?"

She widened her eyes, alarmed at his obliviousness. "If I've heard of him? Artemis' bow, Saint Lance, I think every Saintia in my class has pictures of him at school! Your best friend is a huge idol at the academy! If they knew, they'd be clawing at you to ask him to pay a visit to the school!"

Lance went agape. He then rolled his eyes, feeling stupid. "Oh, why am I even surprised? Of course he'd be popular with that baby face of his!"

She laughed, and her head shook. There were some friends of her where this was definitely the case, but a cute face only carried you so far. "It's not just that. He's been famous ever since he won the Sisyphean trainee tournament at the Coliseum. The Academy posts bulletins of Sanctuary events like that. He was a celebrity by the time I enrolled."

To Lance, the fact Shinta won a Coliseum game was the wildest part about his past from before they met. "Every time someone mentions that to me, I just can't picture him doing it. Shinta hates the Coliseum. To this day, he hasn't explained how he got wrapped up in its most violent trainee event."

Olivia rested a finger on her lip reflectively. "Mm, so it's true? He is a pacifist?"

The Pegasus Saint irked, realizing he exposed something of Shinta he wasn't admired for and tried to protect his friend. "Yes, but frankly, I'm not a big fan of that place either, so don't judge him too hard." To Lance, the Coliseum was where Shion caught him dueling Kastiel and where other Saints would deny him chances to get extra income. "I know it's where your grandfather made his fame, but…"

Her head shook. "No, not at all, Saint Shinta is fine, I… dislike that place, too. I don't like its prominence on everyone's lives here." She looked eastwards. The two could see the top floors of the Coliseum over the house roofs, many blocks away. "I believe in fighting for others, but that place… It does it for sport."

He ohed bemusedly. "That's surprising, coming from Aguilon's granddaughter, if you don't mind me saying."

Olivia hesitated a bit. Should she share this? They had saved each other's lives a couple of times already, so she supposed he deserved her trust. "Well,… Sanctuary took a lot of my family away because of war. You already know my grandfather. My father, however, was a Saint serving the Leo House and my mother… She was a Saintia. She died in the war with the Knights."

Lance frowned and whispered. "The Knights? You mean, like Cerah?"

Olivia nodded sadly. "That's right. They even took her armor to make it into a Cloth Stone…No one has seen it since."

Seeing everyone pass by them, the Bronze Saint walked with her away from the crowd. He tried to imagine what he'd feel like if a close friend turned out to be a Specter, like the ones he fought at Arcadia or during the mission.

His blood heated at the very idea of such a betrayal. "If that's the case, I have to say I envy your calm about Cerah, Olivia."

"They're all dead, so what can I possibly feel like?" she rationalized. "Besides, Cerah didn't murder my mother. She saved my life twice as of now, and I wear a Cloth Stone of my own. What right do I have to judge her? To me… she's a friend, not an enemy."

The intelligence in this stunned Lance, who had to ask "You wouldn't happen to be a Virgo, would you?"

She squinted coyly at him; her star reader senses tingling. "Mm, I'm a Capricorn."

Lance gulped. Her tone sounded slightly ticked. "Sorry. Hanging out with the Gold Saints… created a couple of zodiac stereotypes in my head."

She leaned her head, stepping closer. "I see. Perhaps I should try to guess your Zodiac, as well?"

This sounded very suspicious to Lance, but he signaled her to go ahead, mildly curious about what she'd guess. Olivia went quiet, taking a finger to her lip and studying him rather intently. It was such a focused look, too. Lance sweated, feeling like her eyes were piercing his soul somehow. He saw her lips mumbling very quietly as if she was recounting details to herself she had noticed during the mission and the Pegasus Saint began wondering how much he had given away in just the twenty hours they had known each other.

Well, at least she wasn't burning his palm like those 'Heart of Sasha' seers.

"I think you might either be a Pisces… or a Cancer!" She saw him recoil in shock at the last one, gasped and smiled triumphantly, pointing at him. "That's it! You're a Cancer, aren't you?!"

He gawked. "What the…?! How would you even guess?!"

She clenched her fists happily. "Yes! I got you!" Olivia laughed and explained herself. "I was undecided. I thought you might be a Leo because of how you fought, but, well,…." She looked away, trying to think of how to word it politely. "…I know a Leo, and you don't smile nearly as much."

The Saint squinted skeptically. "I don't smile as much? What the heck kind of metrics are these? It's just a birthdate zodiac, right?" He folded his arms, curious. She had guessed correctly, so her methods had some legitimacy. "Alright, you got me. What gave it away?"

She gestured a zip through her mouth. "Star reader's secret."

"…You can't be serious?!"

She held her hand proudly over her chest. "Yes, I am! Star readers take their practice very seriously. One bad reading can land someone in the wrong Training Ground, after all."

Reminded of how he almost landed on Death Queen Island in Guifi's place, Lance had to concur, but he was still wondering what the heck did she see in him that confirmed his zodiac so strongly.

"Perhaps you're just easier to figure out than you think?" the Pegasus Cloth said.

Lance grumbled.

Olivia observed his body language. The tensing of his brows made him look like he was talking to someone privately. "You're talking to your armor, right? Do you mind if I ask, what does Pegasus sound like?"

The Saint thought about it. "It's hard to say. It's like…a foreign voice sounding in your head, without pitch or volume. Sometimes it's hard to tell it's not my own thoughts." He then grumbled. "He's gained a lot of sass since I got him fixed up and upgraded, though."

Olivia chuckled. She could tell they were having some kind of altercation just off the tensing in Saint Lance's face. "I've read that the personality of Cloths is fluid, that it changes from their birth spirit with every blood repair and takes on some of each donor's traits."

Lance thought back to Daemon Lucifer's traits, namely his obsession with pride and revenge, his arrogance and his cruel cunning. "God, I hope you're wrong..."

"I don't recall being any other way."

"Well, no shit, Pegasus! That's because you armors lose memories every time you get broken!" This reminded Lance of something important. "Wait, why do you ask, anyway?"

Olivia took out her Cloth Stone that looked like a sapphire engraved with a fowl head. "I can't hear the voice of mine. It might be because it's inside a Stone instead of a Box. I was curious."

"Maybe you just need to spend some time with it? I couldn't hear mine for months after getting it. Shinta had to teach me all about it." Lance suggested. He then saw a shine going through her eyes that unnerved him. "Hmm, what is it?"

The black-haired Saintia held her chin and smirked. "Practice, uh? How about we have that spar we talked about in the mission, then?"

Lance gawked. "What?!"

Her arms folded. "It's a good idea, right? We'll find a sparser spot by the Golden Zodiac and set up some safe rules. If you win, I'll tell you how I guessed your zodiac."

The Saint narrowed his eyes, both determined to meet the challenge and curious about her. "Uh, alright then! Don't think I'll hold back, though."

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

Mission Management Center

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

Sitting at his desk, Sagitta Nam stamped the mission papers with a green 'Success' and handed it over to Suisho. "There you go, Saint Crateris. Congratulations! How do you feel?"

The Silver Saint and secret Judge sighed exasperatedly, still feeling Lord Hypnos threats in his head. Being a spy made it really difficult for him to know how to feel to which side sometimes. "Good…"

The Sagitta Saint blinked. "You don't look like it."

Suisho tossed the papers into his box and pretended he didn't rat the whole operation to Pandora. "That's because this whole mission was a catastrophe for me, Nam. I spent a week planning it and someone just leaks it to the Underworld."

Nam looked nervous. "Yes, this mole situation is becoming a real problem…"

The secret Judge scoffed discretely. What a pathetic reaction from what was supposed to be the Saint in charge of all of Sanctuary's operations. Sagitta Nam treated him well, but his indecisiveness exposed once again to Suisho the terror of doing the right thing that being able to die created in humans. This is why Specters were superior; even Frog Zelos wouldn't be traumatized into a hollow shell of himself by some 'civil war'.

Yet, somehow, they had been losing to these people for millennia.

Still, all the better for Suisho, who didn't have to worry about being caught. "What do you think of my offer regarding Saint Pegasus?"

Nam nodded pensively. "I think it's very positive. Lance may not like it, but he needs someone to work with to bring out his full potential as an operative. You might be the ideal man for that, Suisho. However, do you really think it's such a good idea right now?"

Suisho raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

The Sagitta Silver Saint looked over him to the person who walked up to their desk and was tapping her foot. "Um, well,… I just figured you oughta talk to the person that's been asking this of you for years first."

The Crateris Saint scoffed. "Why would I ask Yush-" but then he noticed the direction and tension in Nam's eyes. He glanced over and found a very upset looking Amazon folding her arms and tapping her foot like she wanted to smash his chair over his head. "Oh… hi, sis."

"Hello, dear brother!" Crane Yushira asked, sounding right ticked off. "So, back from your very important mission? And you're opening slots for a squad, uh?! Oh boy, I bet I can make it into that!"

Nam shrugging helplessly. "Sorry, Suisho. She's been waiting here since you called her off on the radio."

The Crateris Saint covered his face. It wasn't that Yushira was a bad operative, but he really didn't want family around his work. "Damn it… Alright, I'll see what I can do…."

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

Golden Zodiac Outskirts

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

Having headed out to the stream coursing between Sanctuary Town and the Golden Zodiac, the two Cosmos fighters clashed, flaring orange and pale blue auras together.

Olivia's armored fist rushed in, striking the Saint's palm with a multitude of star shots that he had to block with a reinforced layer of cosmos. The Pegasus Saint staggered and stepped backward with the ferocity of the impacts and was assaulted by a series of skillful combos of kicks and punches by avoiding all of his most well-practiced blocking patterns.

It was strange but effective, and the Equuleus Saintia's Shooting Star Fist's tight angles reminded him of Shinta's Thunder Chain, favoring disorientation and aiming over force. His 7th sense even had a tough time reading its movements since their cosmic burns in the air seemed disassociated from their actual attack patterns.

In a frightening dash, she feinted the Saint with a left punch into blocking her attack, baiting him into countering with a powerful side kick. She bobbed downwards, practically dropping to the ground to sweep her leg into his, tripping him.

Albeit startled, Lance stopped his drop and supported his massive counter kick, blasting her back. Her heels screeched on the ground to stop herself but she gasped when Lance gave chase, and she saw a powerful punch thrust at her face.

The fear of hitting her made Lance hesitate at the last second, dropping his speed!

This was a mistake; her arms wrapped around his punching arm and she tossed him over her shoulder with a yell, smashing him down on the ground and pinning him.

They panted, pausing the spar.

Her blue eyes stared with incredulity. "You… hesitated. Why?"

His head shook, and he picked his words carefully. "We agreed to no blows above the neck, and I lost focus. It's my mistake."

She gulped, having sensed the force with which that attack would have struck. She caught her breath and punched his shoulder harshly. "Okay, you're forgiven."

He took her hand to get himself up. Dusting himself, he studied her. "Herakles style grappling, Wind element, and a variation on the Meteor Fist… It's not a bad combination."

With a flash of light, she made the Equuleus Cloth return to its sapphire stone. Her head shook. "Let's be honest…All those things would be more effective with my grampa's body mass."

Wiping his sweat and rubbing the spots she struck, Lance thought her punches hurt plenty, even if she had Shinta's frame. "Yeah, but Aguilon is way taller, too. He hardly uses Kornephoros anymore because he can never find someone whose weight difference he can make use of against them. He just resorts to tossing them to the air with it at this point, which doesn't accomplish much."

She tossed him a water bottle and squinted analytically. "You have a good eye for moves, don't you?" she pointed playfully. "That's a Pegasus trait."

Lance shrugged and fired back his own question. "You said your mother was a Saintia? Was that why you joined?"

"It's one of the reasons, yes. My mother was always this missing piece in my family because I never got a chance to know her very well. I think I've spent half my life trying to solve that mystery." She scoffed self-consciously. "Believe it or not, I named my owl familiar after her. I bet she would love me for it… Her daughter giving her name to a rat-eating bird."

The usually reserved Lance had to scoff out a laugh. He immediately covered his mouth. "…Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."

She smiled. The Saint was so introverted that it actually made her happy that she managed to poke through his armor. It kind of made her yearn for more of it.

"What was the other reason?" he asked. "Let's face it, you could have become an Amazon and skipped half the requirements, plus get equal treatment to the men. I know the mask is shitty to wear, but…."

She paused, thinking about it seriously. It's been a few years since she enrolled and she almost forgot why. "I think because I thought I could change things better through it. I just believe in it more. It's more honest."

The Pegasus folded his arms, intrigued. He didn't know much about Saintias "Why's that?"

She paused to think of how to explain it to a guy. "I respect the Amazons greatly, but… the world of Sanctuary doesn't respect them. I always thought it was something to give the women the fantasy, not the reality, that they have a voice in Sanctuary. As an Amazon, I'd be a real Saint, yes… but only because I'd be a fake man. I didn't want to live that lie, even if it was the simpler path. Or even if a lot of people think Saintias are just decorative."

Seeing a sudden concern in her eyes, Lance nodded, imagining the dark thoughts in her head about what she was really seen as. "You fight very well for an Order that's just decorative. How many Saintias are active out there?"

Olivia paused to remember. "Good question. It's difficult to say because a lot are in line for the same Cloth, while others like me are just honorarily holding on to one, but… hardly more than five. Including me. Approximately one per three Amazons… and per thirteen Saints."

A somber realization came over Lance. "A whole academy, and it only contributes five out of eighty-eight warriors? What Holy Wars can you even win with just five people, none of them Golds?" He frowned tensely. "The only way it would make sense to exist was if… it was just to 'shut people up' like she says."

She frowned sadly, seeing the pensiveness on his face. This was not something she could get others to understand easily. "Perhaps I am using the Order for my own benefit, to make me feel better as an Iraklidis, but people have wanted to fight for this world since the dawn of time. Even if it's just because of who my grandfather is, I wanted to join it… In fact, I wanted to become exemplary because those who become an example can inspire others to their way of thinking. I think... that's the best contribution I can make to peace."

Lance nodded. This sounded just like his own motives for wanting to attack the Underworld, only more peaceful. "Contribution by example. I can see Shura acting that way… until he pulls out that sword of his." He then addressed her. "Sorry that I called you a Virgo. You're definitely not a tree-sitter pacifist, especially considering how hard you kicked my ass."

She smiled, knowing he was just being nice. "It's alright. And I definitely didn't peek at your badge to guess your zodiac, either."

Lance staggered, and he looked down, turning red, when he realized he forgot he had his Gold Pin on his belt again. He saw Olivia smirk and whistle away.

DOON!... DOON!...

Suddenly, the Fire Clock was heard as the short hand reached the Capricorn sign, indicating ten am.

"Aiolos' dueler should be at the arena any moment…I should head to the Coliseum soon to show my support." He looked in the direction of the Aries Temple and saw a familiar teenage figure heading out, dressed in light blue trainers and sandals. "That must be Saga heading for it. He's probably the most worried out of everyone other than Aiolia." He turned to Olivia. "Listen, Olivia, I know Suisho is still doing whatever the fuck is keeping him so busy, but… a friend of mine from the Zodiac has an important match I promised I'd attend."

"You said you were going to support your friend at a duel, right?" she asked. "I know I said I don't like that place, but do you mind… if I tag along? I'd like to be around if Saint Iaso calls you."

There was no need for her to ask. "Of course."

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

The Coliseum

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

Making their way into the auditorium stairs, Lance showed his badge to a guard so the two of them could get in. Aiolos' duel wasn't supposed to be of Aiolos', but of the Sagittarius Saint against the Leo Cloth incumbent, so it was all considered a private affair of the Zodiac.

This was why Olivia gasped, seeing the Gold Saint getting prepared in the arena along with a small boy encouraging him. "That's… Saint Sagittarius!"

Lance waved at the winged Gold Saint, who nodded back discreetly. "That's right. I wasn't kidding about it being important. I'm no VIP, though. The Sagittarius Saint is just particularly friendly, and we did some practice together for this duel of his."

The Equuleus squinted skeptically. "Saint Lance, that is still quite the connection. Even my academy teachers don't know the Gold Saints this personally. You're closer to the VIPs than I could ever dream of!"

The Bronze Saint scratched his cheek in embarrassment. He was so used to hanging out with Aiolos that he sort of forgot how amazing it could come across to third parties. "Ah, well, yeah, um…."

"OI, LANCE! Up here!" Milo called from stairs off to the side, almost by the ring, sitting by Saga and Shura. He and Shura had ditched their Gold Cloths at the Zodiac and had come to support Aiolos and Aiolia. "Come sit with us!"

Olivia widened her eyes, recognizing the aristocratic prince. "Hera save me, isn't that… that's Saint Paris's nephew! I know him from his retirement ceremony my grandpa took me to." She covered her face in utter shame. "Oh my goddess, I can't face them, Pegasus! I'm the reason their Houses got involved in that attack!"

He gently pushed her along "Come on, if you're that ashamed, you can ask them for forgiveness or whatever! Trust me, they won't bite."

Milo gasped at the beauty Lance brought over. "Hey, who is that?!" He rushed down to them. "Hello-hello!"

Olivia drew her breath so strongly at their proximity that she nearly fainted. "S… Salutations!"

The young Gold held his hand on his hip and gave his most charming smile. "My name is Milo, a humble servant of the House of Scorpio. And who might you be?"

Olivia stiffened up, activating her etiquette protocols, causing her head to bow in deep respect. "I am Honorary Saintia Equuleus Olivia, Young Lord Milo. It's an honor to meet you." She then turned to the other two and bowed once for each. "I… I want to beg all of you for pardon! Because of me and me alone, your masters risked their lives against a Judge of the Underworld. Could you ever forgive me?"

Shura oh-ed in realization, remembering her at the hospital as a sobbing mess. "I see. You must be the one that was conveyed here." Shura guessed. His smile was contrasted by a permanent sharpness in his eyes. "I am Shura, a squire of the 11th temple. My Lord Capricorn and Milo's Master were indeed involved in the Specter fighting, but you have nothing to feel indebted to."

Feeling her eyes turn to him, the Gemini stood up and nodded. "And I am Saga, councilor to the Pope and servant of the Gemini House. I received your owl with the little ice statue for His Holiness, Miss Iraklidis. The Pope was busy, but I wrote back to Miss Katya in his name immediately."

Olivia paled. "You… you are His Holiness' councilor?"

The blue-haired youth smiled. "Quite proudly so. As such, I assure you, everyone at the Golden Zodiac blames the Specters for this battle, not you. Along with the rest of the Saintias, including the girl I was told is at the hospital, I assure you, in the name of the Pope, that you have nothing to beg pardon for."

Olivia slowly uncovered her face. "R… Really?" Her chest exhaled deeply. "T… Thank you so much."

"See? I told you." Lance messaged her.

Milo held his chest, feigning hurt. "Speak for yourself, Saga. I was heartbroken to see my Master return, wounded by that cursed Rhadamanthys!" The eight-year-old ignored his message and feigned a tear. "Saint Sagittarius himself had to heal him; he almost died…I was so frightened."

Lance folded his arms. "Milo, what are you doing?!"

Olivia saw something was up, though. "Wait, let me handle it." And turned to the boy. "I'm so sorry, Lord Milo. Is there anything I can do to make up to you?"

Milo's foot innocently scrubbed his arena step seat. "Well,… perhaps." He then looked up with the most enchanting smile. "How about a date? I know the chef at Mithaecus' Island?"

Olivia laughed bemusedly and kissed the boy's forehead, making him beam. "Okay, on one condition; call me only when you turn eighteen."

The boy raised his fist triumphantly. "Yes! Score!"

Taking a seat by Saga, Lance shook his head with a chuckle. "That little sneak...I can't believe him."

"Let's see if he remembers her promise ten years from now." Saga joked. Then again, this was the Scorpio Saint they were talking about.

Lance looked around the Coliseum seats, but there was barely anyone else. "Did anyone else come?"

Saga pointed at Gigas and a couple of fancy-looking people on the other side of the arena. "Just the Nobles involved in the matter. I thought Akassius might come since it's his son challenging Aiolos, but I was told he went to Fort Peloponesia to help hold the front. The others wanted to come, but with Aiolia also here, your two protégés in Switzerland, and Mu and Shaka still in Tibet, I didn't want to leave the Zodiac empty of guardians, so I asked Aldebaran to hold the fort for me."

Lance tensed. "Yes, speaking of Mephisto and Aphrodite…."

Saga sweated, knowing this was coming. "I'm sorry, Lance… When you and Shaka got kicked out, the Pope felt it was best to give them the Cloths, at least for now."

Lance grumbled, clenching his hands on his knees. "Saga, I know I don't have a word on it anymore… but I promised Aphrodite he wouldn't get pushed into the Gold Cloth. They're not ready. At such a young age, this kind of position might… go to their heads. They didn't get prepared for it by their families like Milo or had a teacher like Aldebaran, Camus, and Shura. I disagree with this."

Saga tried to picture the situation as if it were Kanon they were talking about and could feel nothing but sympathy. "I will talk to the Pope, though that has become a bit difficult as of late... Maybe we can make it temporary only." He promised. "If it makes you feel better, I don't think Aphrodite is angry at you… anymore."

Lance sighed. He appreciated it but doubted Saga would have much success. "How are things at the Zodiac, otherwise?"

Saga tensed his lips. "Busy, especially with all these leaks." First, Kanon involves himself with those Black Saints, and now someone gives the Specters intel. "I can't believe we have another one to worry about! It's driving me crazy!"

Lance's red eyes looked up. "Wait, how do you know it's not the same?"

Saga staggered and bit his lip. "I don't… It was a figure of speech. I was thinking back to when we interrogated Jaki about Priam, remember?(*)" he lied. "I doubt that one has contacts in the Underworld, is all…"

(*) "The Two Towers" Storyline

The Pegasus Saint eyed him strangely. The incident with Jaki was a while ago already; why would Saga be thinking of it? "One more thing, Milo told me earlier he was concerned about Shion. He says it's the Cloth of Teos…Was he right?"

Saga frowned, feeling his mind wind back to his last conversation with Arles just that morning. "Don't pay Milo attention. He's… imagining things. The Pope is just busy with the coming war. Remember, he promised us after Daemon's attack that he would involve himself more in our protection."

The Pegasus Saint gave a skeptical frown, but tried to keep an open mind. He didn't want to get chewed on by another Gold Saint for having a bad attitude about Shion.

The Coliseum sprouted out flags and sounded trumpets as the iron gate opposite Aiolos reeled up, announcing the arrival of the challenger.

Saga irked. "Here he comes…."

Olivia noticed that every single one of the boys immediately went tense. She looked at the arena and saw nothing less than the Gold Cloth of Leo on display at the arena's Papal stands. "That's… a Cloth of Gold! Saint Lance, what is going on? What will happen if Sagittarius loses?"

Lance pointed to Aiolia, who was hugging his older brother. "Do you see that little boy? He's a candidate for the Leo Temple, but some people want him out before he gets the armor to bond with him. If Sagittarius loses, his claim to the House is lost to the other guy."

Her eyes widened. "Which means…"

Squire Shura folded his arms. "Which means he might get separated from his brother unless our side wins."

All Olivia could do was widen her eyes, stunned. The boy didn't look over five or six years old. He was so tiny that Sagittarius had to kneel down to hug him back.

"Good luck!" Milo shouted with both hands over his mouth. "KICK HIS ASS!"

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

Looking up to Milo's encouraging cheer, Aiolos smiled, seeing all his friends that could attend wave at him, including, surprisingly, the girl that was conveyed to Sanctuary. The teenager felt his spirit double in strength, relieving the exhaustion from the mission.

He smiled at Aiolia. "See, Aiolia? All of our friends came to support me. I will win. So don't cry, okay?"

Aiolia wished he could glue himself to his brother's Cloth, as hard as he wanted to hug him. However, he nodded obediently. "O-Okay, I won't cry…."

The Sagittarius Saint felt a darkness come over his chest. During the False Holy War, when Lucifer's men were about to reach his Temple, Aiolia had to practically get dragged out of the fighting by the Papal Guards even though he couldn't operate the Leo Cloth (*). From the moment he could ask for food and other necessities by talking, Aiolia had only cried for two reasons; because someone had said something horrible about Aiolos or because a truly threatening Cosmos war around, usually attacking Aiolos.

(*) "House of the Dead" Storyline

Seeing a silhouette of a tall adversary approach from the shadows of the opposite arena entrance, Aiolos knew what was driving Aiolia astray. He had felt it when he went to see his adversary in Bulgaria, the incredible Lightning cosmos that emanated from his challenger. It was like a walking thunder charge, the powerful presence that made the tips of one's hair stand up before you even noticed the person was in the room.

Aiolia had always been incredibly sensitive to the Cosmos, even as a baby, but one didn't need his talent to feel this. What kind of monster would Aiolos face?

The man stepped out of the shadows to the winter sun. Silence came over the arena.

He was tall, at almost six and a half feet. His dirty blonde hair formed straight tips that covered his ears and reached his neck. This mane, combined with a sharp, black-eyed look, gave his tense face a chiseled nose that bore the semblance of a lion. Unlike Aiolos, who wore his Gold Cloth, he came completely unarmored, sporting only a green jean jacket, black pants, and thick travel boots filled with mud like he had walked into the Coliseum as soon as he arrived from Bulgaria.

To everyone's surprise,… he carried a small, meowing calico cat. Aiolos and his friends all widened their eyes at such a surprising contrast.

Gigas leaned down on the edge of his arena seat, tucking his toga. "Galan, finally! Where have you been?!"

The young man looked up, presenting the calico cat to him. "Here."

The noble frowned at the furry creature. "… What? What am I supposed to do with that? Feed it to my dogs?!"

Galan frowned at his tone. "I found her in the Coliseum contestant corridor. She's hungry and cold and probably got lost and stuck inside the last time they shut the gates. Keep her out of the arena until I can take her to a shelter."

Gigas looked at his aristocratic friends like he couldn't believe what was happening. Seeing them shrug, he reached down and took the feline, who instantly began hissing at his face and scratching him. "AH, help! It's ATTACKING me!"

Galan shook his head reprovingly. He'd take the poor animal out of there himself, but he had wasted his adversary's time enough.

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

Olivia gasped when the challenger's face became discernable in the arena's sunlight. "Galan?!"

The Saints of Athena turned to her. "You know him, Olivia?"

The Equuleus Saintia nodded frantically. "Yes, he's a childhood friend. My older brother was raised along with him. I… haven't seen him since he went to train."

"What can you tell us about Galarian Steiner?" Saga asked her. He had been trying to get information on Akassius' son for months, but all he had was Aiolos' testimony from when he went to find him.

She frowned sadly. "He's… a good person, Lord Saga. I have nothing but happy memories with him. I don't want to believe he would fight a little boy's guardian, much less want to separate him from his brother. That's not Galan at all!" she assured. Yet, there he stood, walking up to Sagittarius. "He must be pressured into this, somehow…."

Pegasus Lance squinted skeptically at this. Galan, as she called him, didn't look at all like the type that would let a smarmy snake like Gigas tell him what to do. Something told him the guy had his own reasons.

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

Kissing Aiolia's forehead and gently sitting him aside, Aiolos went to face his adversary in the ring. The letter he got offering to adopt the little boy weighed on his heart, making his breath quicken, but he steeled his focus in this time of need.

Galan Steiner met him in the middle and bowed his head. "Saint Sagittarius."

Aiolos bowed back, a bit impressed at the height difference between them. He lambasted himself for not saying anything back, but he felt too tense like he stood before a beast rather than a man.

Galan looked him over, seeing Aiolos' bandages. "…You look like you just walked out of a big fight, Sagittarius. Are you sure you want to go through this? We can call it off right away."

Aiolos' head shook, noticing the recent scars on Galan's hands and neck, indicating he had been training intensely recently. "You talk as if it's not a forfeit. Besides, you don't look too well-rested yourself, Galarian Steiner."

Galan looked over himself and chuckled. "Mm, good point. It has been a long trip, yes. I blame myself for coming on foot. Sometimes my rugged habits come back to bite me. I figured, however, that with everyone pushing the date so soon that someone was trying to catch you at your weakest… so I took my time."

Aiolos' eyes widened, surprised at his consideration. He clenched fists, though, keeping in mind that he shouldn't let Galan's unexpectedly admirable attitude from seeing him as any less of a threat to Aiolia. He reached over to find his Cloth' disassembly button.

Galan raised his hand. "No, keep it on."

Aiolos, and all his friends for that matter, staggered. "What?! But-"

A golden brim began emerging around Galan, who narrowed his amber eyes in focus. "Anyone who wishes to challenge the Golden Zodiac should expect to be able to fight a Gold Saint at his best. Fight me with your Cloth, Saint Sagittarius, or don't fight me at all."

Everyone on Aiolos' side, especially Aiolos himself, was stunned at this. The Sagittarius Saint breathed out and made his Cloth disassemble anyway, causing the pieces to fly off and go into its box.

"I didn't bring that armor to fight, only to prove my identity to the duel witnesses. Just as you don't need me to take pity on you, I have no need to fight unfairly."

Galan, however, then tensed again. "Fine, but I am going to win,… so I wish you'd reconsider."

Aiolos growled at the provocation, activating his Cosmos alongside Galan. The burst of golden aura flaring everywhere caused a dueling ring to take shape in the sand around them by the force of its burst, and the audience had to shield their eyes.

Sided by his witnesses and holding the feisty calico cat, Gigas stood up and tapped his staff with the other hand. "As the challenger's representative, I declare the duel officially in 3…!"

Both participants assumed their poses and charged their Cosmos into lightspeed, causing even the dust and pebbles raised by their aura flares to rise in the air. Aiolos' pose leaned his side forward, which would normally emphasize the wide flank of his armor wings, and positioned one hand over the other arm as if mimicking an archer's nock position. Galan, on the other hand, closed his fists one before the other in a street fighting stance akin to Lance's, indicating a less sophisticated but hardened spirit. His hair bangs rose slightly with his aura to keep the vague appearance of a flowing lion mane. Both their Zodiacs' stars shone in their auras.

At his seat, Aiolia winced, feeling a terrible clash of cosmos rising before him to decide his fate and that of his older brother.

Gigas tapped staff. "2…!"

Aiolos felt his cosmos reach its peak, preparing himself for what would be a fulminant assault on Galan. His adversary's body looked strong, but Aiolos was pretty sure he had enough control of his force to strike Galan just hard enough to knock him out but just soft enough not to penetrate his flesh. His sharp eyes pinpointed the Leo Constellation star points in Galan's body, indicating where Aiolos should aim.

Another staff tap from Gigas. "1…!"

At this point, everyone in the audience with an unlocked 7th sense had their perception following every microsecond individually, knowing missing even a single frame of action would mean missing the critical moments of the fight. Olivia's Mach 5 senses would barely be able to follow, but she still tried, feeling invested by both the strange stakes and her old friends' involvement.

Aiolos' blue eyes glanced between his adversary and the movement of Gigas' staff as it finally hit the ground, sounding the match to begin.

"G-"

Aiolos' cosmos exploded; a capsule of light formed in his fist, and he shot it forward with a swing. "LIGHTNING-"

"- BOLT!" Galan barely sounded, dash-punching forward and turning into a blinding, golden thunderbolt of Olympic proportions that instantly tore across the arena, blasted Aiolos' whole body with an incomprehensible amount of electrical cosmos, exploded the arena's sand into a rising cloud of dust, shook the Coliseum and landed Galan past his adversary.

The pain caught up with Aiolos, and he screamed, spiraling through the air, his body splashing blood all over the dueling ring.

"-O!" Gigas finished before gasping at the sight of Sagittarius crashing down on the cracked arena ground. "What?!"

"AIOLOS!" Saga screamed and rushed down the arena instantly.

"B-BROTHER!"

Lance, Milo, and Shura gawked, horrified by what they just witnessed. Olivia covered her mouth, stunned by the fulminant turnout.

Galan's arm crackled with residual sparks, and he clicked his tongue, seeing a gash of blood on his wrist. "Blast, he grazed me… my bolt layer lacing isn't perfect yet."

Gigas recovered from his shock and rose staff triumphantly. "S… Sagittarius is out of the ring bounds! The winner and new Saint of Leo is… young lord Galarian Steiner!"

The witnesses all nodded and clapped, confirming the turnout.

Saga and Aiolia, the latter of which wept uncontrollably, shook Aiolos' fallen body, both shouting his name. With a simple telekinetic pull, Galan made the Leo Cloth fly off the Papal stand into his hand, wrapping it around his back like a simple backpack he had forgotten at school.

He walked up to them and was surprised at the wounds in Aiolos, but that wasn't his problem. "He's alive. I avoided striking him in the heart so as not to cause cardiac arrest. Still, he took a lot more damage than I thought he would. I suggest taking him to the hospital."

Saga growled at Galan, seeing that Galan hadn't even waited to confirm this before getting the damn armor! "You…!"

"I HATE YOU!" Aiolia screamed. "Why d-did you hurt my brother?!"

Galan folded his arms. "You're just frustrated by this loss. If you want to blame anyone, little boy, blame the Pope. He put your brother in this position, not me."

Both the five-year-old and Saga gasped at this callousness. "W-what?!"

"I don't take pleasure from hurting an honorable Saint, but Lord Gigas is right that someone your age shouldn't be occupying the Leo House, especially when you can't defend it from fake Specters." Galan argued, his tone firm. "Now your brother had to pay the price of correcting a mistake that should never have been made, but fret not. The Leo House will be a Trojan Wall to ward off all evil now, and not another neglected temple for the enemy to take over."

Saga felt his blood boil, feeling implicated. "Neglected… temple?! How dare you judge those who fought the False Specters like that?! The current Gold Saints may be young, but they train every day to match and surpass the expectations of their age! They fought and bled like everyone else! And they stopped the Specters before they hurt any civilians!"

Galan's eyes narrowed, sensing the softness in who was likely his father's successor at the Gemini Temple. "Had I been there, I would have stopped the Specters before they made it past Aries. I certainly wouldn't have abandoned my House, as Aiolia did, but you will see the difference in competence with your own eyes soon... Saint Gemini."

The mocking tone made Saga's eyes sharpen in fury, and his cosmos heated up. He stepped forward, feeling a dark anger funnel his sight on this man and his arm muscles tightening his fist! A red tint filled his otherwise golden cosmos with the desire to teach this bastard a lesson!

Appearing out of nowhere, Lance shoved himself between them, stopping the Gemini by the chest. "Saga, don't!"

Saga gasped, feeling the fury inside him subside as water poured over fire. The darkness in his sight vanished, and felt suddenly aware of everyone around him again. "P-Pegasus!"

"Get the two of them out of here, please! Don't give Gigas and his people more fuel!" Lance mentally begged, pointing at the brothers. "Don't use the hospital, either. Aiolos works there incognito, so take him to the damn Pope instead! Drag him out of his seat if you have to!"

Sweating at how close he just got to losing control, Saga nodded and burned his cosmos, taking Aiolos and Aiolia away with a blinking Cosmos jump.

"You did the right thing, Pegasus." Galan complimented. "Saint Saga may be inexperienced, but my father trusts him. It would be a shame if he made the same mistakes as Sagittarius did with the Court."

Seeing the guy up close, Lance thought he'd be more intimidated by his stature and lion-like gaze, but at that point, he was just pissed off.

He held the anger check. "…Congratulations on your victory. That was an incredible Lightning Bolt. I've never seen anything quite like it." he overscored, making an exception for Daemon Lucifer's lightning techniques. He saw the ease with which he carried the box. "Even the Leo Cloth is making itself light for you already. Incredible."

Galan smirked as if he already expected such conclusions. "Thank you very much; that's what I trained for, to be the best Leo I could be from the minute I earned it."

"Perhaps you are correct that the Zodiac will be safer this way." Lance admitted, tense. "I rest a little easier knowing Gigas isn't just putting some useless prince in Aiolia's place."

Galan put his hand on his hip. He appreciated that the former Cancer Saint was more level-headed than the rest of Arles' children, as Gigas called them, but he read an upcoming 'but' in Saint Lance's thoughts. "But Aiolos is your friend, correct? I can see why you're upset he'd lose… and that his little brother would be out of the palace."

"Aiolos is a made warrior, he doesn't need me to protect his honor." Lance assured, surprising the Gold Saint.

Galan scoffed "Then why do I detect the burning wrath of a fire Saint in you, Pegasus?" He folded his arms, seeing what was going on; ego. "Or is it fear?"

Lance's face became stern. It was true that having now seen Galan's true power level, Aiolos' story of him obliterating a huge cube of stardust in Bulgaria now felt very much less like a worried older brother's exaggeration to Lance. Galarian Steiner wasn't just strong; he was likely one of the most powerful people Lance had ever met. Lance could only imagine the terrifying reality behind the power of Galan's father, Akassius, as unlike the relatively unheard-of Galan, Akassius Steiner was constantly everyone's reference to Sanctuary's mightiest Saint.

But the Pegasus Saint shook his head and watched Aiolos being taken away. "No, I'm just shocked at the overkill. Perhaps my Master just taught me differently."

Galan put hand in waist. "Mm, trying to hide your judgment? I was taught to win, Pegasus. And I certainly wouldn't hold back in a duel for a Gold Cloth. Would you?"

Lance widened eyes, truly alarmed. "…Yes, I would if I thought I could get someone killed."

Galan kept quiet, tensing.

"You must have an amazing confidence in your precision, Saint Galan, because you pounced on Aiolos with all your strength. Even after you could tell he was no match for you." Lance pointed out. He wanted to accuse this asshole of the truth, that Galan wanted to show off, stun the Gold Saints with his amazing strength, like a lion walking into a new prairie and asserting his territory, but Lance had no proof. "I just find that confidence… curious."

"A curiosity that I fear will have to go unquenched, Saint Pegasus. Now, if you excuse me- " Galan responded, turning back. "- I am going to my House. I want to show the Pope my respects and then deliver my family the good ne-"

"Galan!" Olivia called, arriving at the arena in a rush, catching up with Pegasus.

The new Leo Gold Saint stopped, surprised, and confirmed who it was with a glance over the shoulder. Lance stepped back, letting them have their moment.

"Olivia…I didn't expect to see you here," Galan confessed, his tone suddenly subdued. "Leon told me you were at the Academy."

"I am… I mean, I was." she nervously explained. She wasn't sure how to confront him now that they were face-to-face. She just wanted to see her childhood friend, and now… "They've entrusted me with a Cloth. I'm a Saintia now."

The Leo hesitated. "You should return the armor… Holy Wars are coming, Olivia. Our generation will not see peace."

Her head shook. He was still quite protective of her, it seems. "I have the Cosmos, don't I? Then I'm going to fight, just like you, Leon, and my fellow Saintias."

Finally turning, the new Leo Saint took a good look at her. She had become both beautiful and strong, more than he could have imagined three years earlier, yet her words carried a confidence he admired most. He privately messaged, "…You've grown up a lot, Olivia. I think I will miss the days when you'd ask me to carry you over my shoulders to your grampa's house."

Her face saddened. "I will too, Galan… but not more than the days when you wouldn't hurt someone like this just to prove your strength to strangers."

"I'm… sorry you think that way." Galan suddenly spoke. He walked away. "But I have a duty to my family now, Olivia… Goodbye."

The Equuleus stood there, watching him leave. "… Goodbye."

Gigas climbed down the steps of the Coliseum. "CONGRATULATIONS, my boy! You did wonderfully!" he handed Galan over the calico cat. "And here's your… little friend."

Galan's face softened, feeling the little creature purr and meow at him for food. Maybe the Leo House could use a new pet.

"Your father will be very proud of you!" the dwarf assured. "Imagine; Gemini Akassius' son now the Leo Gold Saint! This is a triumph to all of Sanctuary as it once again proves that Cosmos burns in the blood. Soon, the rest of the Golden Zodiac will be filled with proper warriors like yourself!"

Galan, however, walked past the exit with the cat, ignoring him and looking like someone had just spoiled his milk.

Gigas staggered and looked at his aristocratic sponsors and witnesses. "Was…was it something I said?"

The Saints of Athena, too, stared, stunned, as the new Leo Saint distanced himself into the Coliseum's darkness with a stern pace. Whatever Olivia did, it cut deeper into Galan than any of their words.

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

Leaving the Coliseum, Shura and Milo met up with Lance outside.

"I can't believe what just happened!" Milo gawked. "I wasn't expecting a long fight, but… that was…."

"Humiliating." Shura completed folding his arms seriously. "Aiolos didn't have a teacher, but he was still one of our best. If Gigas has candidates for our houses like that guy, we are in big trouble. Well… except for Milo. They already like him where he is."

"You should be fine, too, Shura." Lance commented to him. "I get the feeling they don't mind the ones raised by their war heroes. In any case, do everything Saga says and be prepared for anything."

Shura scoffed bemusedly. "I always am, Pegasus."

Milo rolled eyes. "Show-off."

"It's Iberian confidence." Shura argued. "Showing off is bringing a lion to an ant fight, as those nobles did…Though I will not lie; having a guy like that on our side relieves my nerves about the Holy War."

The topic seemed to set over their moods like a sobering cloud. Shura had a point.

"I'll see if I can get Aiolia to feel better," Milo offered, feeling kind of terrible. "It's gonna suck around the Zodiac without him; Deathmask will become my closest downstairs neighbor. I wonder what's going to happen to Aiolia now?"

Lance groaned, thinking about how hard Aiolos fought to prevent this. If he didn't think of something, who knows where Aiolia could wind up? He hated the idea of watching Aiolos having to give away his tiny little brother to some noble family with suspicious intentions. The house Shion gave to Lance popped to mind, though. He held his chin reflectively, formulating a solution. Or perhaps the start to one.

"Shura, Lord Milo?" Olivia called, coming out of the Coliseum looking like someone died. "Once again, I'd like to apologize for Galarian. He… didn't use to be like this. Please send my wishes to Lord Sagittarius."

The incognito Capricorn Gold Saint nodded, though it was hard for him to imagine their new Leo Saint as such. "We will; worry not."

Milo waved as the two headed off. "Goodbye! Remember our date ten years from now!"

She laughed and waved back. "Of course."

Meanwhile, Lance searched his pockets for his keys. He found them along with the pager Iaso had given him earlier. He focused on the keychain. Aiolos would certainly be too proud to accept this idea, but Lance wasn't the type to give him a choice.

Seeing him with these, she asked about the pager. "Any news on Cerah?"

Lance shook his head. "Sorry, nothing. Suisho won't show up either."

Olivia sighed, nodded, and walked off to wipe her face on the nearby fountain on the Coliseum wall. Lance saw her do it slowly and thoroughly like she was trying to calm herself more than getting the grime of a friendly spar off her face.

He waited until she returned. "Are you alright?"

Her head shook. She felt enough at ease with him, to be honest. "No. Between her and what Galan did, I… just can't be alright."

"It's not your fault, Olivia. You know that." Lance pointed out. He folded his arms but tried not to sound reprehensive. "Is that a Capricorn trait? To always feel responsible for others?"

She smiled sadly at this reference to their earlier talk. "It's an Equuleus trait… I think Capricorn just makes me stubborn about it." Again, it made the stoic Lance laugh against his will, which made her feel happy as well. It was a kind of embarrassed laugh that she related to. "Ah, ah, it's possible that if I found out Cerah was the vessel of Eris herself, I'd probably find a way to feel responsible for that, too."

Lance felt himself laugh further, something quite rare for him, which made him stop and look away embarrassedly. He just wasn't used to it. "Well, if you can laugh about it, you'll probably be okay."

The Equuleus Saintia exhaled. "You sound so sure. I suppose you must know what this feels like, right? You've been a Saint for…a while, I assume?"

"Barely three years, actually."

Her eyes widened. "What?!" He had only been a Saint for as long as she had been at the Academy? Yet, he had earned training at the Zodiac and had missions with Saint Andromeda and Crateris. "That… can't be! I thought that, with your experience…."

"Well…they were a very busy three years." the Saint underscored, reminded of the horrors of Death Queen Island and the False Holy War. "That's why I know you're not responsible for every other Saintia's life, including Cerah's. That's not fair to you or her. You may have brought her along, but you didn't force her to, and you certainly didn't put her in front of that Alraune Specter." Lance narrowed his eyes in certainty of what he was going to say. "All you have to do from now on is make sure you never let fate put you in that position again."

The black-haired girl felt difficulty seeing this, though. His confidence in these words made her feel like asking him if he felt nothing about what happened, but Olivia knew this wasn't true; every time Cerah's name was mentioned, the Bronze Saint had flashes of anger and worry go through his eyes like he wished he could go back and smash the Pegasus Cloth Box on that Alraune Specter's face a couple more times. Such stark difference made her feel frankly pathetic like he was capable of taking action and she wasn't.

She stood up straight, raising her face at him as proudly as she could. "Saint Lance?"

Lance took note of the tension in her voice. Olivia probably hated him for saying such insensitive things and was just trying to stay polite. He knew Shinta did. It's what caused their first serious fight. Some people just preferred that you lied to them, but having experienced so much disappointment from people like Kastiel, Lance believed a healthier path lay in the truth.

Yet, her head bowed slightly. "Thank you… for everything. You're right. I feel foolish if I ever thought otherwise."

The Saint grumbled, flustered. "I don't mean to make you feel like an idiot. I'm not that wise, either, Olivia, I just make for an awful friend who doesn't hold back at all. Plus, it's probably what my teacher would tell me,…." He looked away. Dohko would actually be blunter. "Well, minus a 'wuss' or two being thrown in there."

The tension in her face snapped, and she laughed for a good bit. She cleaned the last tear marks on her face and breathed out her pain, feeling it disappear and be replaced with hope. It was such a good feeling.

"Will you be heading back to the Academy now that the Specters are laying off of you?" he asked.

She thought about it. "Not with Cerah like this. I think I will stick around a bit more, at least until I know I can bring her back with me."

That was perfectly logical to him, honorable even. "Oh, I see. What will you be doing in the meantime, then?" Suddenly, he felt her blue eyes on him at this.

She smiled brightly at his hesitation, wondering if he was the shy type who didn't know what to do. "…You don't know?"

Her gaze felt expectant, leaving the Saint unsure how to react. He felt something in the air. Something invisible, warm and tense that made his chest tighten. Something compelled him to act, to say anything, no matter how stupid. "Uh… no?"

She stepped towards him, locking eyes with him, leaned up and planted a deep kiss on the taller Saint's lips His eyes widened and his heart beat like a quake at the sweet touch.

When her lips broke, taking it away, he almost sought them out. He instead petrified instantly, turning red and touching his warm lips to understand what just happened. "… OH!"

She held hands behind her back. "Do you now?"

An uncontrolled flurry of warm-blooded thoughts coursed through his brain, making him unable to think.

"Thank you for saving my life." Olivia said. Between almost falling down a cliff and the Specters, it happened more than once in just a few minutes, but more than anything, she was glad she could count on him for treating her honestly. Hopefully, she'd be able to return the favor someday. "I'd like it if we got to know each other better in the future… if that's okay?"

Lance just widened his eyes more and more.

He gagged for a second but shook his head to dispel himself. "Not at… I mean YES! Of course!" She seemed to breathe out in relief at this, as if she was scared he'd say 'no'. Lance was just so bewildered, though. Even though he said something that would probably make Shinta yell at him, not only she responded positively but even kissed him?! "I…I don't think I understand this one at all."

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

Hours Later

Sanctuary Town

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

Having broken ways with Olivia for the day, Lance headed back to the hospital, hoping to learn more about Cerah's condition. Unfortunately, doctors and nurses kept shaking heads at him when her name was brought up, and Saint Iaso, the only one other than Aiolos he knew personally, only gave him a beeper and told him to be patient.

Lance sat on his Cloth Box by the entrance, away from the people moving in and out, staring at the white-cased electronic device, half impatient for it to make a noise, half intrigued by it. Electronics weren't typically used in Sanctuary, which meant Lance found the object a curiosity in that town, but exceptions were made for medical care and logistics.

He stared at it, losing himself in thoughts…

He saw her step towards him, locking eyes, causing him to be lost in a tiny moment of frozen time. Without him realizing it, she then leaned up and planted a deep kiss on the taller Saint's lips. He felt her sweet, warm touch and by it a jolt went through him, making his eyes widen, and his heart beat like a quake.

He was so shocked he didn't even react.

His face went red again, and he gripped the pager tensely, feeling the memory of that moment fire up in his brain like a flare. He got kissed! By Olivia! A beautiful, smart, strong Saintia that shared an adventure with him! What did this mean?! Were they… more than friends now? Was this how it happened? Did people just click together like this and start a relationship? Or was she just signaling that she was open to it? Even as they parted ways, she left him this longing look that made him want to stay with her for another day.

He sunk his face into his hands, trying to think of what to do. By the Greek Gods, should he tell Roshi about this?! Maybe he could advise Lance. His Master seemed to be very successful at romance, or at least in… sex. In any case, maybe he knew what to do. Or maybe Roshi would make things worse and tell Lance something reckless that would jeopardize all of this. It all happened so naturally, after all, just an innocent moment between the two that blossomed into an intimate touch of lips, without any of Master's dirty tips.

"Don't worry, you'll hear it when it beeps. Those things are loud."

Lance looked up, seeing his mission partner. "Suisho." He realized the Silver saw him crushing the beeper and put it in his pocket embarrassedly. "I was just thinking…"

The black-haired, Asian Silver Saint dropped his Cloth box next to Lance's to sit on. "I'm sorry for taking so long. You know what the MMC is like when you're just a participant in the mission. Imagine how bad it gets when you set it up yourself."

The Pegasus Saint was irked at the thought of the reports Suisho had to write. "I can imagine, actually. Were they mad about the car?"

Suisho sighed, scratching his head. "They weren't happy. I think it will be a while before they trust me with another one." In fact, the secret Judge swore he heard some rather uncouth comments from these Sanctuary rats when they heard the Asian guy ruined the jeep. He presented his fist to Lance. "But hey, mission accomplished; we brought Olivia to Sanctuary and defeated a couple of incompetent Specters. Cheers?"

Calling the Specters incompetent instead of 'fucking evil' was a bit of a weird understatement to Lance, but he smiled and fist-bumped it. "Cheers."

Suisho took the chance to catch his hand and slapped a wad of bills onto it before the Pegasus could refuse.

Lance staggered, feeling its weight. It was easily thrice what he used to get in missions with Shinta. "…What? What the hell is this?"

"Your bonus. That's the Gold-rank payment plus compensation for the mobilization. Do me a favor, and don't refuse it. I'm too tired to argue with a Pegasus Saint." Aiacos pressed, already figuring out what kind of guy Lance was about compliments and rewards. "Remember, pride is a sin."

Lance gawked. It was easy enough to pay the bills on the home Shion gave him in First Street, plus some. Hesitantly, he took it to his pocket. "… Okay, thank you."

The Judge shook his head. He wished his Specters worked as hard as this Saint did to stop them. "You took out a Celestial Star, Lance. If you ask me, Sanctuary is being stingy. When Alraune ambushed us, I thought the mission was completely compromised," This was technically true, as Aiacos never imagined Rhadamanthys' men would make such a big mess when they had such a huge surprise advantage. He looked at Lance, trying to be happy about the turnout, and smashed his own hate deep inside. ", but you pulled it out of the grave, didn't you? Nice job. I was right about you being a good addition."

Lance smiled. This was another good thing coming out of this mission mess; he met a decent Silver Saint. "Thank you, Suisho. I appreciate it."

Aiacos noticed his mood. "What's wrong? Worried about Cerah? I hate to be blunt, but it's off our hands and… well…"

"We've only known her for a day?" Lance completed.

The disguised Judge agreed with a nod. "Sorry. I just know it's definitely not your first time dealing with collaterals."

Lance kept his guard up, knowing he couldn't let slip what he and Olivia discovered about her, not until he knew he could trust Suisho a bit more. "It's not. I spent the day trying to convince Olivia she wasn't responsible, but the truth is, I do feel a little responsible myself, considering how much she contributed… and how much it cost her."

Frankly, Cerah's resistance was the part that infuriated Aiacos the most. He could understand Queen screwing up against a gold-trained Pegasus, but some blonde first-year Saintia, too? Inexcusable. Hopefully, Queen was being properly disciplined in the Circles.

He sighed, pretending to be sad. "Yup."

"I'm sure she'll pull through, especially with the 7th sense. Women are surprisingly strong." Lance said, remembering Saint Cynthia in particular. "More than some guys, in fact."

Suisho scoffed in agreement. His biggest dream as a Judge was to have a whole company of servants as strong and dedicated as Violate. "You can say that again. A long time ago, I fell in love with one that was stronger than any Saint I've ever met."

The Pegasus Saint perked up. "Oh?"

Aiacos froze. "By the fucking Circles, why the hell did I just tell him that?!" He was just frustrated by how he couldn't get anyone as dedicated and brutal as Violate and just let it out. The Judge played it off. "Eh, it's a long story. We aren't… together anymore."

Lance felt his chest tighten, remembering that such a thing, if it existed with Olivia, could, in fact end. "What happened? Things didn't work out?"

Aiacos' thought about that crystal floating in his private chapel. His expression darkened, and his voice tensed. "No, she was taken away from me...but I'll get her back."

The Pegasus Saint widened his red eyes, amazed by the Silver Saint's determination. "I feel like there's a story behind that, but he doesn't look like he thinks it's any of my business."

Suisho stood up. "Well, Saint Lance, to turn to happier topics; after our little adventure, I have an offer for you. How would you like to become part of my squad?" he presented. "You can clearly pull your weight, even against Specters of the Underworld. I have a couple of missions scheduled for the near future with my sister that might involve gold-ranked threats, and you'd do me a huge honor if you accepted."

Lance staggered. He had never been asked this before. The only partner he ever had was Shinta, and the only one he had ever considered having was Guifi. Immediately, his training with Dohko and his future crusade sprung to mind as obstacles.

Suisho saw him hesitate. "I can see why it would be a big decision. You said earlier you were still training with your Master, correct?" Suisho assured. He then smirked confidently. "We can work a schedule out, I'm sure. You know how well-organized I am."

Lance let out a chuckle. This was quite an understatement to him. Suisho surprised him multiple times during the mission with how much forethought he put into every aspect of it, frankly going above and beyond what he had to. He had also done quite an impressive job taking out Baddub's Black Saint gang, which sat in jail at the Stardust Prison as they spoke. In fact, the Pegasus Saint felt all he contributed was a bit of muscle while Suisho had done all the hard mental and social work.

However, while this meant nothing but positives, Lance's reserved nature made him ask "Why me?"

Suisho put his hands on his waist like it was obvious. "You saved this mission, Pegasus."

"So did Cerah. And she's even unlocked the 7th sense." Lance pointed out. "You said you've met a woman that was stronger than any Saint, and Nam also told me you are well-liked in the Order. You can get anyone. So why me?"

"You cheeky Sanctuary bastard…using Violate's name against me?!" Aiacos thought, hiding the hatred behind his smile. Even if Lance didn't realise it, it was unforgiveable. "If you were a Specter, I'd have you hung by your legs and cut in half!"

The truth was, Lance's performance in the mission was worrying to Aiacos and the Judge was no longer unconvinced he had a bigger role in Lucifer's defeat than Pegasus admitted to. Moreover, there was the matter of that Cyrulian Paladin he fought sharing a technique with him, which implied some sort of connection between the two. Aiacos wished to stay close to the Pegasus because, at best, he could uncover some Sanctuary secret, and, at worst, he'd be in a position to eliminate him at Aiacos' leisure.

Lord Hypnos had ordered him to stay low for now, after all, so it was time to strengthen his position among key Saints for later operations.

"Do you want the truth? You kind of saved my ass with the MMC by beating the Specters." Suisho lied. "I organized the biggest operation in months and I had to answer Sanctuary some very uncomfortable questions about why it almost went to shit. You're a good operative and I'd like you close to me in future missions. Please say yes."

Lance thought about it. While he didn't get a chance to practice Chi, working with Suisho would likely give him more opportunities than not. And he did promise himself he'd do his part in finding new Saint partners for his big quest. Plus, Suisho was being honest with him about why he was interested in the Pegasus Saint.

What the hell? "Alright. Let's be partners."

Suisho smirked, clenching his fist in triumph. "Great! I'll sign us up together right away! Be ready for our next job soon, though." He pointed warningly. He then grabbed Pegasus by the arm and pulled. "In the meantime….let's go to the bar. We're gonna spend some of this bonus forgetting about this last mission's ails. What do you say?"

Lance stood there, bewildered. Had he gotten a kiss and a friend?

He smiled in happiness, thinking of how proud Noah would be of him now. "… Okay, but you're not gonna get me drunk this early in the morning."

The Silver Saint laughed, vowing to himself that, one day, he'd make this pathetic Bronze Saint pay for the humiliations he inflicted on the Specters. "We'll see, you Bronze newbie."

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

Chapter End

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

Next Chapter: Chapter 79 – 3rd Arc – Episode 7: The Copycat Saint

Release Date: January 25th

Description: Pegasus Lance joins Suisho at the Mission Center, where he explains the details of their next mission, including that he'll be working with his sister, Saint Crane Yushira. Lance is quite nervous, as he's never worked with an Amazon before

Author's Comments:

Happy Holidays, everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter with a big mistletoe moment for the main character! Finally. It only took me exactly 12 years to publish something with a romantic moment. Wow. It's like I'm writing some kind of fanfiction.

This chapter was initially going to be much more focused on introducing Galan as a character. Believe it or not, this duel between him and Aiolia was the next thing I was going to write for Version 2 of Lance's Role before the "Big Reboot", 9 years go, and it happened after the end of the next storyline (so we are not at the point we ended V2 yet, but we're about to).

On the etymology of Olivia's family name, Olivia 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.

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 on 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