Chapter Seven – Through the Underworld Once Again
Calmly strumming the cords on his lyre, Hypnos continued the beautiful tune he was playing though he could sense the irked cosmos emitting from the person approaching him. Unlike him, the nymphs sitting by Hypnos immediately became frightened as they fled when the source of the angered cosmos approached them.
"Look at what you have done," gently resting his lyre beside him, Hypnos, the god of sleep let out a sigh. "You have scared my nymphs away."
"Tsk," Sitting down at the chair opposite his twin, Thanatos, the god of death muttered in irritation. "Well, I can't believe you could still sit here enjoying music and songs when destruction would soon come upon us."
"Destruction?" Contrast to his agitated twin, Hypnos calmly picked up the stunning teacup before him while he elegantly took a sip of the herbal tea. "I thought we have already met destruction. If it weren't for Zeus and the gods of Olympus, we were long gone."
"Fine, we lost the battle. That I get, because we were at war, I willingly accept the outcome. But can you believe what Lord Hades just made me do?"
"Didn't he just requested for more herbal and rose tea from Elysium?" Savouring another sip of the tea, Hypnos knew only the herbs and flowers grown from utopia can taste like this. Indeed, a most perfect blend, suited for the gods.
"Yes, he asked for more tea, but it was for a human!"
Human? Hypnos frowned a little with what Thanatos said.
"Apparently, Lord Hades has gone and made friends with a human, and not just any human, but a saint of Athena!" Crossing his legs in anger Thanatos groaned. "Can you imagine, me? A god delivering tea for a human!"
"Well, we are no longer at war with Athena. Lord Hades is free to do whatever he wishes."
"That's the thing, Hypnos." Resting his chin against his hands, Thanatos leaned forward and whispered. "We decided to serve Lord Hades because he is the King of the Underworld, one of the most powerful and ambitious gods of Olympus. But ever since he was forced to sign this peace treaty with Athena, I felt he has gotten weak. That is why…" a smirk crept onto the death god's lips as he stated. "It's time we remind him what type of god he once was…"
Clothed in her Libra gold cloth, a mocking smile came onto Miyabi's face realising even on her last mission, she had not adorned her gold cloth, yet in order to attend a tea party, she had chosen to attend in her Libra gold cloth. Because she knew, though she was invited to the Underworld as a friend of Hades, she must not forget she too is a saint of Athena.
Coming out of her Libra temple, she saw her companions Shaka and Kanon both also in their respective gold cloths waiting for her. A sense of pride and honour filled her when she was reminded of the strength and abilities the gold saints of Athena inherit. Even if there were 108 spectres in the Underworld, Miyabi knew she needn't be afraid.
Not long after the three stepped out of the barrier seal of Sanctuary, they found the usher of the Underworld already waiting for them.
"Aiacos?"
To Miyabi's surprise, the usher was no ordinary spectre, but one of the Three Judges, Garuda Aiacos.
"Good day, Miyabi. Lord Hades has sent me here to guide you to the Underworld. And must I say, you look stunning in your Libra gold cloth!" Moving his eyes onto the two other gold saints beside Miyabi Aiacos tilted his head. "Though I am sure, Kanon and Shaka were not on the invitation list…"
"Cut the crap, Aiacos." Kanon said with his arms crossed. "You know we will never let Miyabi head to the Underworld alone. Not to mention the stalkerish behaviour of a certain Griffon spectre…"
"Haha, no, I agree with you. That is why Lord Hades has sent me instead of Rhadamanthys or Minos. Rhadamanthys, because he has no manners, Minos, because most likely Miyabi will never make it to Giudecca…" Aiacos shrugged his shoulders feeling pity for Minos, for despite being such a powerful spectre, it seems like he was surprisingly not so good with the ladies. "Sure, you guys can come along, though I don't think it will make a difference because," a smirk on his face, Aiacos added. "I alone can take you both out."
"Ho…" Kanon's perfect eyebrows lifted against the spectre's taunt. "Says the person who got defeated by a bronze saint."
"Hey," Pointing his finger at Kanon, Aiacos objected. "Phoenix Ikki is an exception, okay? He is like a coding bug in the Athena saints' program! How do you defeat someone that just won't die? Besides, if I remember correctly, you were defeated by him too, weren't you?" Directing his finger to the Virgo gold saint who kept silent the entire time, Aiacos mocked. "Oh, I remember Ikki defeated him too!"
Upon Aiacos' words, the three immediately discovered, this was indeed a gathering of the warriors who were defeated by Phoenix Ikki. Clearing his throat, Kanon said. "Well, in all honesty, it's pure bad luck when you were placed to fight against that guy…"
"To be fair," Shaka finally opened his mouth and interrupted. "Unlike you two, I technically didn't lose to him…"
Seeing how Shaka successfully made him self a common enemy to Aiacos and Kanon, Miyabi squeezed out a smile and cut in. "It's good isn't it now the war is over? Let's head to the Underworld and not keep Hades waiting."
"Very well," ensuring calm returned once again to him, Aiacos opened a portal underneath them. "Welcome to the world of the dead, make sure you won't die by the time you reach there." Hopping in first, Aiacos disappeared into the portal.
"You have the necklace from Hades, right?" Kanon checked with Miyabi before they joined Aiacos into the portal.
Shaking her head, Miyabi replied. "No, I left it back in the Libra temple."
"What?" Kanon called in shock.
"You're trying to see if you can enter the Underworld by awakening your Arayashiki?" Shaka asked understanding after days and days of training with the girl, she wasn't the type to take shortcuts.
Nodding, Miyabi took another look at the portal. "Majority of the gold saints were able to do it right?"
"I think in the last moment when we gathered to destroy the Wailing Wall, everyone managed to awaken their Arayashiki." Shaka explained. "Or else, it wouldn't have been possible with simply the gathering of 12 gold cloths."
"In that case," Looking up at both Kanon and Shaka in pride, the Libra gold saint declared. "I do not wish to be the only one not able to do it."
Letting out a sigh, Kanon knew there was no talking Miyabi out of it. Despite deep within he was worried to death with what Miyabi was about to do, at the same time, he knew he must believe in Miyabi's true strength. She didn't become a gold saint because of luck, so if he was to truly protect her, he must first trust her.
"We have done numerous trainings together already," Shaka said to the girl. Though similar to Kanon, Shaka knew Miyabi was running a huge risk, but like how he awakened his Arayashiki, if he didn't force himself to go through the life and death situation, he would have never been able to realise such power. "Remember to burn your cosmos, and I will see you on the other side."
With that, Shaka stepped into the portal after Aiacos.
"Here," reaching out his hand, Kanon said to the girl beside him. "Hold onto my hand, I will enter the portal with you. Now close your eyes and focus on burning your cosmos."
Nodding, Miyabi did as the senior companion told her. Sensing the enormous cosmos increasing next to him, Kanon warmly gave a smile knowing, there probably was nothing to worry about. Taking the lead to head into the portal, Kanon ensured the warmth in his hand was still there while the dimensions transitioned.
"Okay, so the next person is here." Aiacos said when he saw after Shaka, the Gemini saint came though.
"Kanon, where is Miyabi?" Aiacos asked when he noticed no more sign of anyone else coming through the portal after Kanon.
"Has she not come through yet?" Kanon asked in shock upon Aiacos' question. He was sure Miyabi was still holding onto his hand when they passed through.
"Okay, she is wearing the necklace Lord Hades gave her, right?" Aiacos gave a frown.
Shaking his head, Kanon replied. "No, she insisted on doing it the right way, by awakening her eighth senses."
"What?" Aiacos held onto his head. "Oh my god, if she died Lord Hades will have my head on a stick!"
"Don't worry," Shaka interrupted. "I can sense her cosmos, though for some reason she is not here with us."
Closing his eyes, Kanon felt his heart relaxed a little for he too sensed Miyabi's presence here in the Underworld. Though, the location of her whereabout was concerning. Opening his eyes, Kanon glared at Aiacos. "Why is she at First Prison?"
"First Prison?" Aiacos rolled his eyes with the realisation when he heard what Kanon said. "Damn you, Minos!"
Slowly opening her eyes, Miyabi moaned when a severe headache hit her unexpectedly.
"Here," Miyabi heard a gentle voice from beside her and the soothing touch of a cold towel against her forehead. Closing her eyes naturally again due to the comfortable feeling of the wet towel, Miyabi realised already the headache was reduced.
"You are really stubborn and proud," Miyabi heard the person gave a sigh. "Lord Hades already gave you the necklace to come through and yet you insisted on using your eighth sense. But that's exactly the reason why I am attracted to you."
Once the headache started to ease, Miyabi returned to her senses immediately and realised the voice was familiar, but definitely not the two companions that came to the Underworld with her. Opening her eyes again, Miyabi sat up quickly from where she was and saw the person dapping the cold towel on her was no one else, but the Griffon spectre, Minos.
"Minos, why am I here? I mean how did you…" Miyabi stopped because the headache hit her again hard.
"Hey, lie back down. Your body need time to adjust to the warp of dimensions." Helping her to lie back down Minos said. His voice surprisingly tender and caring.
"Warping of dimensions…?"
"Yeah," Minos explained while he wet the towels with fresh water again. "If you came with the necklace Lord Hades gave you, it would have been fine. But since you insisted on using Arayashiki instead, your body will need time to adjust since it's your first time crossing to the Underworld without Lord Hades' protection."
Though Miyabi was trying to understand what Minos was saying, still it does not explain how she ended up here with Minos and most of all, where are Shaka and Kanon? If she successfully went through the portal by awakening her Arayashiki, how come she didn't meet up with Aiacos on the other side?
"Where am I?" Miyabi asked again hoping to understand the situation better.
"You are here at the First Prison, Hall of Judgement." Minos replied. "You were warped to a different spot to where Aiacos was, luckily I found you or else the roaming dead would have taken you."
Well, to be exact, Minos was sad Hades picked Aiacos instead of him to usher Miyabi to the Underworld. Hoping to be the first person to welcome her arrival, Minos borrowed the fairies of the underworld from Papillon to track the whereabouts of Miyabi. Sure, it was a bit stalkerish, but Minos was glad he did it. For he wasn't lying about the roaming dead gathered around where she landed, and he was able to rescue her on time.
"Here, have some pain killers and water." Offering the meds and cup to Miyabi, Minos smiled. "This would be the fastest way to get rid of that headache."
Surprised the medicine passed to her was a common pain killer from the human world, Miyabi wondered how Minos managed to get his hands on this. Like reading her mind, Minos laughed. "We get supplies from the human world as well you know. Despite us being spectres, we are normal human beings. We can't exactly eat the food produced in the underworld, not that there're any living things here for us to harvest…"
Taking a look at the spectre next to her, Miyabi found Minos in his Judge's robe. Most likely he was still in the middle of his duties. Yet, it appears he took time to take care of her, and unlike her unpleasant memories of their two encounters, Minos was surprisingly kind and 'normal' today. From the gentle touch when he dapped the cold towel on her to make her feel better, Miyabi realised maybe she should cut him some slack and treat him normal as well.
"Thank you for taking care of me," Saying so Miyabi got off the couch she was lying on and gave Minos a polite bow. "But I must soon join my companions…"
"Don't go," Before the Libra gold saint could even finish her sentence, Minos reached forward and pulled her into his arms. "Stay here with me. I want us to get to know each other more…"
"Galaxian Explosion!"
Upon the familiar voice and destructive power, Miyabi felt her body lifted together with Minos and landed on the beam above when the couch she was lying on was less fortunate and together with the wall behind it blew into pieces.
"Hey Kanon, that was an expensive couch. You better have money to pay for it." Unstirred with the destructive power, Minos provoked.
"Alright, Minos." Letting out a sigh, Aiacos came forward. "Be a good boy and let go of Miyabi."
"No."
"Maybe it's my turn to send this man into different hells." Saying so Shaka was ready to launch his Rikudo Rinnen.
"Wait, wait." Quickly stopping Shaka, Aiacos felt he was the only common logical person here. "Let's do it in a peaceful way." Pointing to the door, Aiacos said. "Kanon, you block the exit, Shaka you take his left and I will go for his right!"
In the main hall, when Lune could hear the explosion and ruckus going on from the inner chamber behind him, shaking his head, Lune let out a sigh and carried on with the duties Minos passed to him again.
"What took you guys so long? You know we shouldn't keep Lord Hades waiting." Rhadamanthys frowned when he saw Aiacos finally showed up with the guest, and…some uninvited guests. "Kanon, I am surprised you dared showing your face here again in the Underworld."
"It was nice to be back." Kanon gave Rhadamanthys a smirk in mocking. It's true he was the person that killed the most spectres the last time he was here. He knew also, if Aiacos wasn't with them they might have to fight their way through to Giudecca again.
"We were kind of delayed for a bit at First Prison." Moving his eyes to Minos in blame, Aiacos muttered.
Well, whatever happened at First Prison will stay at First Prison. What matters is now Miyabi has arrived for the tea party with Hades.
"Welcome to the Underworld, Miyabi." Hades got up from his throne and came forward. His beautiful crystal blue eyes gazing at the human girl in warmth. "I am so glad to see you again."
"Thank you for inviting me, Hades." Responding quickly, Miyabi still could not get used to the fact the Greek gentleman that sat with her at the sushi shop was actually the almighty King of the Underworld.
"If I could, I wished to visit you at Sanctuary, but Pandora and the spectres forbade me to…" With a sigh, Hades was genuinely disappointed as the King of the Underworld, he was surprisingly not free to do anything he wants.
In contrast, Miyabi, Kanon, and Shaka started to feel sorry for Pandora and the spectres. For who knows what will happen to the peace treaty if Hades was to rock up frequently at Sanctuary.
"Anyway," Clearing her throat, Pandora gestured towards the dining table set up elegantly with a huge variety of sandwiches, cakes and pastries served on expensive chinaware. "Lord Hades, afternoon tea is ready."
After Miyabi sat down at her assigned seat opposite Hades, Pandora could not help but frown again when she saw like two guardians, the two gold saints standing behind Miyabi. "Umm, should I prepare more chairs?"
"No need. It's faster to act standing up if anything were to happen." Kanon said, his eyes on the Three Judges also standing behind Hades like guards.
"It's fine Pandora." Hades said as he calmly gestured for her to pour them both the tea from the extravagantly engraved teapot. "I want Miyabi to enjoy her time here, so whatever makes her feel comfortable is fine with me."
The moment Pandora poured the tea, Miyabi's eyes opened in astonishment with the fragrance emitted from the blend. "Wow, this tea smells so nice!"
Smiling in pride, Hades explained. "Of course, this is taken from the flowers and herbs grown in Elysium. You might have the knowledge of sushi, but I do know tea." Just like how Miyabi took him through each sushi, explaining in detail, Hades did the same as he recommended the tea pairing best suited to enjoy with the assortments of sandwiches, cakes, and pastries.
As a person who spent most of her life training to become a saint, Miyabi had not known luxury until today. Especially when she watched how Hades eagerly wanted her to enjoy what he has to offer in return, Miyabi was starting to believe the King of the Underworld might genuinely want to be her friend.
Watching how Hades and Miyabi conversed normally smiling and laughing, both the Three Judges and the two gold saints exchanged a look in disbelief. In a way both sides were glad, today's tea party might really end on a good note.
"Miyabi, out of all the teas you have tried so far, which would be your favourite?"
Tilting her head, Miyabi tried to recall the different teas she had today. "Hmmm, I love them all to be honest. But, if I had to choose, I would say the fourth one that I had with the apricot tart."
"I am glad to hear that," Hades' beautiful face brightened up with his friend's answer. "That's the blend mixed personally by Hypnos. He always knows how to prepare the best tea for me."
"Hypnos?"
"Yes, he is one of the twin gods that serves under me. Hypnos and his brother Thanatos usually reside in Elysium."
"Wow, Elysium…" Miyabi could not help but mutter the term. She had heard it was the Utopia where only the purest and kindest souls go to after their deaths. "It must be an astonishing place."
"Miyabi," Standing up from where he was, Hades approached Miyabi and reached out his hand. Standing up quickly in response, Miyabi naturally accepted Hades' hand when she heard Hades spoke directly to her cosmos. "Want to take a look?"
"Eh?" Before Miyabi knew what Hades meant, she sensed the scenery around her warped suddenly. Instead of the Giudecca guest hall she was in, she had found herself in the middle of a stunning flower field.
"Welcome to Elysium, Miyabi."
Unable to believe what just took place, Miyabi was shocked to find herself at Elysium. The realm of beauty, tranquillity, and grace. When she took a look at the sceneries surrounding her, the girl's eyes widened in amusement upon the astonishing surroundings. This was indeed paradise.
"Here," Kindly leading the way, Hades indicated to the field of flowers next to them. "The tea that you liked the most was taken from these flowers." Continuing the tour, Hades indicated to the crystal-clear river before them. "And water from the streams of Elysium…"
The more Hades explained, the more Miyabi found her jaw dropping with the amount of work put into providing her an enjoyable tea party. Looking up at the deity before her, Miyabi couldn't convince herself to believe this was the enemy the saints of Athena fought throughout the ages.
"Hades," Miyabi finally took courage to ask when they both sat down by the stream enjoying the soft breeze while listening to the singing of the nymphs in the fields. "Will you truly remain at peace with Athena and never try to take over the earth realm again?"
"From the beginning of times, when we won the battle of the cosmos against the elder gods and started ruling, unlike my brother Zeus and Poseidon who ruled over realms that could see the light, I was given the realm of darkness and death." Hades frowned when he could still recall the frustration he had when he felt like he drew the short end of the stick. "Thus, the desire to take over the earth realm became my only aim and goal."
"Is that still your desire?"
"When I was forced to sign the peace treaty with Athena and Poseidon, to be honest somewhere inside me wasn't going to sit back and wait quietly." Noticing the fear in Miyabi's eyes, Hades responded with a calm smile. "However, during the time of waiting, I have had the chance to see for myself what earth realm was like under Athena's protection. What greatness mankind can produce under the sun. It made me realise, maybe it is better the way it was…"
"So that means…?" Upon what Hades revealed, joy and hope returned to Miyabi.
"Yes, thus our friendship is genuine." Hades patted the girl's head. "Will you continue to be my friend?"
"Of course!" Miyabi felt her heart finally at ease, understanding the true meaning of her visit to the Underworld. She will be the testimony of the peace that was established based on the lives that were lost, and a true happy ending.
"That is disappointing to hear."
Coming from behind them, a cold voice remarked.
Getting up from where she was, Miyabi turned around and saw two people standing there, their faces identical, one with golden hair and eyes, the other in silver.
"Lord Hades, did you mean what you just said?" The man in silver asked, irritation shown through his voice. In contrast, the man in gold kept quiet while his eyes simply studied the girl before him.
"Miyabi," Instead of replying to Thanatos, Hades gestured to the man in gold. "This is Hypnos, the god of sleep, the person that created the blend of tea you like the most."
"Hi, nice to meet you." Giving Hypnos a polite bow, Miyabi greeted. "Your tea was amazing, the best blend I have ever encountered!"
A little surprised with the girl's reaction, Hypnos observed Miyabi for a bit before he chuckled. "I see now why Lord Hades wanted to be friends with you, and most of all bring you to Elysium." His golden eyes fixed on Miyabi, the god of sleep remarked. "For indeed, with such soul of purity, Elysium would be the place you go after death."
"Wait, Hypnos. You are not suggesting it is acceptable for a human to be here in Elysium, and not just any human, a saint of Athena?" The only person not blending into this peaceful friendly atmosphere was the god of death Thanatos. Turning to Hades again, Thanatos insisted. "Milord, were you serious just now when you said you were happy to leave the earth realm in the hands of Athena?"
"Thanatos," Hades calmly replied. "The age of war is over. We have been battling since the beginning of ages, I believe it is time for us to finally enjoy life, enjoy what was given to us." Pausing, his eyes on Miyabi, the gentle kindness displayed while he continued. "You two should visit the earth realm and see for yourselves what mankind can offer."
"I was afraid you would say that…" Thanatos muttered as he lowered his head. Taking in a deep breath, lifting his head again, a gleam of scheming evilness replaced the death god's expressions. Holding forth a seed before him, roots shot out from it and headed straight for Hades.
"Hades!" Miyabi called in shock when she saw the roots went through Hades and in an instant the roots continued to grow and formed a cage and trapped the King of Underworld inside.
"What is the meaning of this?" Hades asked, his voice calm despite the situation he was in. Studying the roots, Hades discovered a seal that prevented him from using his powers. "I see, you borrowed this from Persephone…"
Persephone? Miyabi recalled the name to be the goddess of vegetation, Hades' wife, the Queen of the Underworld.
"Yes, milord." Thanatos said as he crouched before Hades in respect though his action was the opposite. "Lady Persephone also agreed it is time we remind you of the true King you once were. You are Hades, the older brother of Zeus, the leader of the underworld."
"What would you have me do?" Hades asked.
"We need you to lead us once again to war against the Sanctuary. To prove to us you would bring us to the land above, where you were the rightful owner instead of Athena."
"And if I was to refuse?"
"Then I am afraid, you gave me no choice." With that, Thanatos released more power into the seed. Upon the power received the roots that were inside Hades started glowing and like sourcing its life from the King of the Underworld, a massive tree started to grow and gradually started to metaphorically consume Hades into it.
"Stop it!" Horrified with the scene before her, Miyabi immediately released her attack at Thanatos.
Unmoved with the attack, Thanatos simply put up his hand and blocked it out. "Don't worry, I will deal with you soon." Obviously not considering the human a threat at all, Thanatos continued to infuse more of his power in order to completely immobilise Hades.
Understanding the situation to be dire, if Thanatos successfully trapped Hades and started a war against Athena once more, more lives would be sacrificed and they would lose this beautiful future they were finally able to achieve.
Closing her eyes, instead of rushing into battle with Thanatos, Miyabi chose to remain calm. Focusing on increasing her cosmos, Miyabi knew Thanatos is a deity and would be the most powerful enemy she will have to fight. Luckily for her, Thanatos did not take her seriously and therefore she must use this to her advantage.
Not expecting an enormous cosmos to form from the human beside him, Thanatos turned around in surprise when Miyabi at the same time cried. "Rouzan Hyakuryu Ha!" Together with it, an unbelievable destructive attack was released from the girl, coming straight at Thanatos.
Putting up his hand once again to block it, to his horror, the power was stronger than he anticipated as with a cry, Thanatos flew off upon the impact when he failed to block it.
Rushing over to the tree immediately, Miyabi sent her attacks against it, attempting to free Hades when she felt Thanatos' presence behind her. "Damn human! How dare you injure me? Even with your life you will not be able to repay the sin you have just committed!"
"Terrible Providence!"
Unable to defend against the death god's raging attack, Miyabi took on the damage and crashed into the distance. Struggling to get up, Miyabi coughed out a mouthful of blood horrified to find that with the impact, her Libra gold cloth was destroyed, and it appears also, several bones in her body were broken.
"I guess if you weren't wearing the Libra gold cloth you would have died with that hit." Thanatos leered as he came up to Miyabi, watching her struggle as if she was a bug. Raising his hand, the god's silver eyes displayed nothing but cruelness. "Are you in pain? Good, because that would have broken a few of your bones and caused some major internal bleeding. But since I am a kind god, I will put you out of your misery…"
"Wait." Hypnos, who had watched from the side the entire time interrupted.
"Why did you stop me, Hypnos. Don't tell me you have mercy for this human."
"I think you keep forgetting this is Elysium. The realm of peace and tranquillity. Shedding blood here will only ruin it." Saying so Hypnos raised his hand. "Eternal Drowsiness."
Upon the sleep god's skills, Miyabi felt her consciousness leaving gradually as she slowly closed her eyes. However, before Miyabi fell completely into eternal slumber, an orb of darkness appeared and surrounded the girl.
"What the…"
Before the two gods could act further, the orb continued to glow when together with it, the girl vanished before their eyes.
"One last time, where did you guys take her?" With the infused cosmos of destruction in his palm, Kanon threatened.
Unaware Hades had warped Miyabi to Elysium with him on a whim of course, Kanon and Shaka and the Three Judges were on edge with each other.
"Already told you a million times, we have no idea either where they went!" Aiacos glared back at Kanon. "Unless you haven't noticed, our god likes to act on impulse."
"You want to fight, Kanon? Sure, I have been waiting for a rematch for ages. This time I will crush you like a bug!" Irritation hitting max, Rhadamanthys stepped forward.
"Shaka, are you ready to kill some spectres?" Turning to his comrade, Kanon asked.
"Sure." Simply saying so, opening his palm, an enormous cosmos started to form on his hands too.
"Wait, stop!" Stepping in was Pandora. "Without permission from both Hades and Athena, we mustn't attack each other." Turning to Kanon and Shaka, Pandora said in all seriousness. "No one was as excited about Miyabi's visit to the Underworld as Lord Hades was. In order to prepare for her visit, he had me start preparing a week ago, and he personally tasted each dish and tea to find the best for his guest. Do you think it is possible for him to do her harm?"
Pandora's words reminded Kanon and Shaka of the odd yet genuine warm friendship between Hades and Miyabi they witnessed. With that, Kanon finally put away his attack and asked. "Then where would he take her without telling anyone?"
Pandora gave a sigh when she recalled what Miyabi and Hades last talked about. "I can only assume he took her to Elysium."
"Elysium?" Everyone including both the saints and spectres called in shock.
"I thought it's a place only gods can reach?"
"That's why Lord Hades took Miyabi with him isn't it?"
"Kanon, the Wailing Wall." Shaka reminded his comrade the path to Elysium.
"Wait, don't even think about it." Rhadamanthys stopped the two gold saints. "Because you guys destroyed it last time, you have no idea how long it took us to fill that hole up. Can you imagine how many dead tried to climb through the hole to get to paradise?"
While the two sides were going at it, a dark orb suddenly appeared above them. Immediately recognising the familiar cosmos of Hades and the Libra gold saint, the Three Judges and the gold saints looked up above them to find Miyabi inside.
As if whatever power that was protecting her had reached its limit, the orb vanished together with Hades' cosmos. Leaping forward immediately, Kanon caught the girl's body in his arms. However, the moment he saw the horrible condition she was in, in rage Kanon turned to the spectres. "What did you guys do to her…!"
At the same time, a huge burst of cosmos occurred around them when the Virgo gold saint opened his eyes and released a domain that trapped all the spectres inside.
"Tenbu Horin…!" Recognising it to be Shaka's most powerful move, Rhadamanthys became alert.
"That is correct, you have all fallen into my matrix of illusions, where you will no longer be able to flee nor fight." His stunning blue eyes glanced over at the lifeless body of the girl in Kanon's arms before he once again looked back at the spectres. For the first time, anger was shown in the almighty gold saint's forever proud confident voice. "I shall start to strip you all of each of your senses until you can explain the reason you did this to her."
"Don't be ridiculous," Minos finally spoke up despite he had remained quiet during the whole argument for he was too concerned with the whereabouts of Miyabi. However, when he saw how wounded Miyabi was, he felt as if his own heart was yanked out of him. "I could never hurt her!"
"That aside," Aiacos raised his hands too as he challenged in pride. "Shaka, aren't you a bit too full of yourself when you think you can trap the Three Judges in this illusion of yours? Must I remind you I am also a master in such technique?"
"Very well, show me what you've got." Saying so, raising his hand without hesitation, Shaka declared, "First sense…"
"Shaka…no,"
To Shaka's surprise a soft familiar voice stopped him before he casted his first attack. Turning to the voice, he saw Miyabi looking at him in plead. "Save…save Hades," Suddenly coughing out another mouthful of blood, the Libra gold saint finally closed her eyes and sank into Kanon's arms.
"How's Miyabi doing?" Running through the door was the Scorpion saint Milo who had just returned from his mission.
Shaking his head, Camus gave a sigh. "Athena and Saga are still in the chamber trying to save her."
"How did this even happen?" Milo held onto his head. The moment he returned to Sanctuary; he was informed of Miyabi's visit to the Underworld gone south. How she had received such serious injuries that Athena had returned to Sanctuary in order to save her.
"I thought you guys were there to protect her?" Unable to hold in the anger, Aiolia immediately threw his rage at Kanon, who remained quiet the entire time, for the first time not defending himself.
"It's fine, Aiolia…" Calming his brother, Aiolos took a look at Kanon, understanding what sort of blame the proud Gemini saint would have put on himself. For unlike how he usually appears, Kanon was a ridiculously responsible person.
"Where is Shaka?" Aldebaran asked, because compared to Kanon who sat outside the chamber in guilt, the other person have gone missing.
"He is probably feeling responsible too, but I doubt he will let us see it." Mu gave a sigh while his eyes moved onto the destroyed Libra gold cloth on the ground. "I can't imagine what sort of damage Miyabi took on considering how destroyed the Libra gold cloths was…"
"I guess you can say it's a miracle she survived it."
To everyone's surprise, walking through the door were two people who the gold saints have not seen for a while.
"Shion and Roushi!" Immediately standing up in respect, all the gold saints greeted the Pope and the senior gold saint.
His eyes studying the destroyed gold cloths, Shion turned to his friend. "Dohko, are you thinking what I am thinking?"
"Yup," Dohko nodded. "Has to be the twin gods."
In perfect timing, the door to the inner chamber also opened as Saori and Saga came out. Noticing the return of Shion and Dohko, Saori smiled in relief as she walked up to them. "Glad to have you back, Shion and Dohko."
"Athena, how is Miyabi doing?" Dohko asked, concerned for the condition of his beloved apprentice.
"She is stable now," Saori gave everyone the good news. "Though I must say it wasn't me that saved her."
"What do you mean?" Shion asked.
"The attack Miyabi received was a full blast attack from a god, usually it is enough to kill a human ten times over. Aside from being protected by her gold cloth, if it weren't for Hades' cosmos, she would still have died." Saori explained, revealing a least expected name.
"Hades?" Shion frowned upon the name, for he was too familiar with the enemy he fought through two generations of holy war. "Why would Hades do such a thing for her?"
"Actually," Kanon suddenly spoke up while he came forward. "The last thing Miyabi said before she fainted was 'save Hades'."
It was then, a soldier entered the hall and knelt before Athena while presenting a letter before him. "Athena, a message from the Underworld has just arrived."
Opening the letter, Saori read it as her face became more and more concerned. Passing the letter to Shion, Saori asked. "What do you think?"
Reading through it, Shion nodded. "I guess now it all makes sense."
"What did the Underworld want?" Saga frowned. What more troubles do they expect to cause them?
"Pandora has requested a meeting with me to discuss the rescuing of Hades." Saori said.
"What?" Shura called in disbelief. "Why would they expect us to help them? Don't they have spectres to save their own god?"
"I think they must have no choice, or else no way in hell would the spectres ask for help from the saints of Athena." Dohko remarked.
"I will meet with Pandora to find out." Saori replied. "Besides, I believe I owe Hades one for saving my fellow saint."
"Very well," Once the goddess has decided, it is the Pope's duty to follow through. Turning to the two senior gold saints, Shion commanded. "Saga and Aiolos, you will attend this meeting with Athena."
"Understood." Saga and Aiolos both bowed and accepted their mission.
"Mu, Aldebaran and Deathmask, you three will be responsible for the repairing of the Libra gold cloth."
Knowing it means he will have to volunteer his blood for the repair, Deathmask reluctantly accepted the task as he left the hall together with Aldebaran and Mu.
"Aphrodite and Shura, reach out to Poseidon and see if we can arrange the meeting of Athena and Pandora at his place for neutral ground." Proving himself to be an experienced Pope, Shion released orders one after another.
"Camus, carry Miyabi back to her Libra temple and arrange for the medical team to attend to her until she regains her consciousness."
"Understood." Accepting the order from Shion, Camus headed straight for the inner chamber.
"Shion," interrupting, Kanon spoke up. "Please let me take care of her until she recovers."
Studying the proud Gemini saint who for the first time appears to be defeated, Shion let out a sigh. "I guess I won't stop you. But it is only until I find other missions for you."
Giving Shion a bow, Kanon ran quickly into the inner chamber after Camus.