Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction / Saint Seiya Fan Fiction ❯ The Intense Clash of the Gods ❯ Tale 22 ( Chapter 22 )

The Odin Robe's circlet clattered on the ground as Hilda looked at the Judge of Hades staring right at her... her mouth dry in horror.

"But..." she eventually stated, "But... BUT THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!" she finally blurted out. She pointed accusingly at Minos, trying to keep her hand from shaking. "Hades and his Specters are specifically forbidden to become involved in the affairs of humanity! Therefor, you have no right to be here! If I were you... I'd leave right now or else I might decide to tell the Gold Saints about you... I hear you have a certain relationship with the Aries Saint."

Minos's face showed the slight hint of a flinch at the mention of the Gold Saint, but he immediately shook his head and grinned. "Wrong, Polaris. There are two reasons why I'm able to stand here and beat you."

"Oh? I'd honestly like to hear them..." she readied Gungnir for the killing blow as soon as the moment would arise.

Minos chuckled and raised a finger up. "First, all Specters reserve the right of having nine months a year on Earth to spend normal lives... only six in the case of the three Judges. That means I'm allowed to actually set foot on Asgard. Second," he raised another finger, "Any person or group that completes the Trial of 108 Fates is placed under the protection of any Specter they defeated. Since Zelos, Valentine, Nike, and Gordon are dead... that just leaves me. And as a result, you must fight against the most powerful Specter in all of history."

"A Specter still wears armor of a man, no matter what animal it symbolizes, Griffon," Hilda shot back as she charged. Gungnir slashes down, but numerous horizontal cords shot out between them, stopping Gungnir as Minos punched her back again.

"True, but although you might happen to be wearing the armor of a god, Hilda, you are still a human as well," Minos shot back. He charged, kicking up into the air and flying over Hilda's attack before readying to return the favor. "Alright... let's get down to business! Labyrinth String!" The faint threads shot from his finger down on Polaris, slashing at her protected body without success, but then one lashed itself around Hilda's wrist and Minos pulled. The Polaris matriarch was thrown into the air above Minos, into a wall as the Specter landed and then looked down at the four who he was charged to protect.

They were unconscious and bleeding, but that quick sewing job he did with some string seemed like it would stop any life-threatening blood loss. He wondered what their reaction would be to seeing him there, hair cut and helmet MIA.

"Dammit..." Hilda snarled as she pulled herself from the rubble, not the slightest sign of damage on the Odin Robe, Gungnir still tight in her hands. "I hadn't expected a Specter, let alone the highest-ranking one, to be so strong..."

Minos looked at her and readied for the next exchange of attacks. "'So strong'... Lady Polaris, you insult me! Each of the three Judges receives a challenge before they assume the position as the Specter of the Wyvern of the Celestial Fierce Star, Garuda of the Celestial Valor Star, or Griffon of the Celestial Noble Star... defeat in battle the previous Judge. As you would expect, this requires somebody stronger each time. I set the record too... won the fight in only ten minutes."

"Very well then, I'll be sure not to underestimate you and your damnable string from now on," Hilda growled, gathering up the energy that the Odin Robe gave her.

Minos winced as he felt a slight tremor in the ground. Shit! he thought, I hadn't expected the Odin Robe's chaotic nature to start showing its effects so soon. I'll have to keep this short. He pointed up at the ceiling... stepping aside when a few large fragments fell a few feet away from him, and let a single strand shoot up around him and then fall to the ground, surrounding him in a length of the string. He then pulled back for a punch, aiming at Polaris's head. "Griffon... Mind Sho-"

Not that again! She thought as she ducked under the attack and charged, ready for another strike. As she pulled back, however, the string around Minos's legs seemed to come alive, shooting at Hilda and smashing into her sides and face, drawing blood from their blunt force alone.

She staggered back, wiping the blood (BLOOD, she thought) from her mouth as Minos still stood there, more or less unharmed.

"It's not that I'm stronger than you," Minos said as he let the string around his feet fade away, "It's I'm more driven. And above all else, I keep hope alive!" He charged, Hilda gritting her teeth before she took a breath.

Calm down, she thought, That's all I need. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath before opening them, feeling her heartbeat slow down as the rest of the world did the same. She saw Minos coming at her... he seemed so slow now...

She lunged, blasting by him and at the same time slashing again and again with Gungnir as Minos stopped cold.

She knew by the way she had attacked that her attacks had been true, and she heard the sounds of pieces of his Surplice falling to the ground. But when she turned around, however, all she saw was the pieces of the armor on the ground. No body, and more importantly...

No blood.

"Looking for me?!?" Minos shouted from behind Hilda. She turned in time to see Minos, shirtless and in nothing but a pair of black pants, ram into her and smash her into a brick wall, which incidentally fell to pieces as well as another sequence of tremors, far more extreme, shaking Valhalla.

He flipped back in the air as Hilda tried to stab him with her spear, and he landed gracefully on the ground. So fast... Hilda thought as she realized she had begun sweating. His speed seemed so much greater now... she wondered if Sylphid had been toying with her earlier in the fight.

"You're acting like you're surprised!" Minos shouted from a distance away. "What happened to the calm and collected Hilda Polaris who had this entire scheme down pat?!? Seems to me like it's gone down the drain. I personally 'retired' every member of Asgard's army, and Volsung and the rest killed your God Warriors. And now here I am... utterly humiliating you."

Hilda shook her head as she felt a smile come on. She let out a small laugh, except it became louder and longer before she looked Minos right in the eyes, a sadistic grin covering her face as she clenched her left hand, the golden ring there giving off a red luster.

"You fool... you still don't know what you're dealing with, do you?!?"

"I was thinking it's the other way around," Minos answered, readying to continue the fight.

Hilda spun Gungnir in her hand, ready for anything. "Oh... you'll find out soon enough. And after that, you'll realize how pointless it is to, as you say, 'keep hope alive'!"

 

A/N: I know some of you are thinking “How can Minos beat Hilda when he lost to the others who she beat instantly?” Hilda has the Odin Robe, her power is off the charts. Fenrir, Cecil, Isaac, and Charybdis used some strategy against Minos and barely scraped out a win while their plan with Hilda was a suicide rush.

 

Minos, as you can tell, is member number five of the group, but like Ikki from the original Saint Seiya, he's not always going to be there.