Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction / Saint Seiya Fan Fiction ❯ The Intense Clash of the Gods ❯ Tale 73 ( Chapter 73 )

The sun was slowly rising, Aiolos breathing slowly as he considered his options. With Sylphid here... the Pentrine would be much more dangerous and difficult to overcome. Thankfully, their remaining matches would pit them against teams entirely formed by Gold Saints... no more "just one hard-as-hell fight" and then the rest being those pushover Silver Saints...

The invaders would fail... they would lose, and in doing so, Sanctuary's honor would be restored after so many humiliating defeats.

"Pope Aiolos."

He turned, seeing Athena standing there... the girl's light-blue hair and red eyes contrasting with each other to an unnerving degree... causing him to shiver slightly. "Goddess..."

Rei clenched her fists as she looked at him, "I want to know... why nearly every single Saint here despises those five more than they would Hades during one of the previous Holy Wars."

Aiolos stared at her, his headpiece hiding away the look of hatred he had for her. "They are invaders... believing themselves worthy of the Kamui, only to lock them away never to be used."

"A selfless reason, one I am impressed with."

"In case you fail to remember, the Sea Dragon Mariner tried to kill you not too long ago! If it had not been for Kanon, you would have died!"

"At that time I was merely a pawn of Nerve," Rei said. "In hindsight, I would have embraced and loved the destruction brought by the blade she wields."

"You mean stole-"

"She earned Gram... Tiamet has suffered much in her life, and yet she still fights and lives her life. How would you feel if your own brother died, Aiolos? Would you continue living, as he would expect you to? Or would you do as I expect, cry and be engulfed in feelings that you are pathetic and insignificant?"

Her words struck a cord as Aiolos glared at her... doing his best not to clench his fists or give any visible sign of his rage at her. She walked away, infuriating him with every step. You... you goddamn doll!

As soon as the words reverberated in his heart, Athena snapped around, glaring at him, those red eyes being an embodiment of pure hatred. "I am not a doll!" The sheer force behind those words, although as quiet as the others she walked away, broke Aiolos like he never imagined possible...

He sank to he knees, gritting his teeth in the process, watching Athena's figure leave. Your days are numbered... my goddess...
_
"It's getting late... and it'll start warming up here again in a few minutes. We need to leave," Shaina said as Cecil looked around the beach, as if sensing something on Death Queen Island that had escaped him the first time. Then again, last time he didn't have Combat Awareness. But there was something... or someone here that Cecil realized was under ground.

What's more... there was- "Finally!" Cecil brushed some sand off the ground and found a small handle. He pulled back on it, pulling up a hatch as Shaina walked over to him.

"What's down there?" she asked, confused.

"Dunno... my Combat Awareness isn't too good at long ranges. But..." he jumped into the darkness. "Yep! Only about a five foot drop... nothing serious."

Debating whether or not to leave the Alcor Zeta God Warrior to his own devices and leave him on the island, Shaina initially disregarded this hidden part of the island. But then she realized something... more precisely remembered something...

Ikki Phonis had not taken part in the siege of Death Queen Island, although he had spent some time there beforehand. His egotistical attitude had made him be considered as a potential Black Saint, although he returned not long after going to the island.

But he had spoken about a girl there, with blonde hair and slightly resembled his younger brother. When Shaina had come here last, however, she had not seen a girl like that among all the Black Saints... she wondered what had happened to her.

"Oh god..."

Cecil's voice held shock and disgust... he had finally gotten in range to know what had been down there. Shaina impulsively jumped down after Cecil, looking around and seeing he had already scavenged around to make a torch from the nearby materials. In spite of the decay on the body lying on a table, a large ceremonial stone dagger having pierced through her heart, Shaina still recognized her...

"This..." Shaina blinked as she looked around the table... "This was a sacrificial alter!"

"Well yeah, you don't need anything other than your eyes for that..." Cecil said as he noticed a small lock-box nearby the body. He smashed it open, finding a letter relatively preserved inside. It had only been a few years anyways... and in the torchlight, Cecil's eyes scanned the note. "But..." His mouth went dry...

"What's it say?" Shaina asked, confused as to all of this. Why had there been need of a sacrifice like this? It made no sense at all...

He shook his head. "This... this would explain it..." Finishing up the note, and visibly shaken, he passed it off to her.

My dearest Ikki,
I regret our time together was so short. In spite of what the others say about you, I see a man that does not hesitate to do the right thing. That is why I am returning the favor now. The Saints will soon reach the Phoenix Cloth... and I can only watch from the sidelines. These deaths appall me... why can't we just hand the armor off and leave it at that?!? I don't understand... and I'm frightened. If you're reading this, I am most certainly dead, right here in front of your eyes.

You thought I was just a girl here... but that is not the entire truth... It's called 'Death Queen Island' for a reason... how in times of peril, the sacrifice of a pure maiden can end the pain and death on it. This is my duty... and when my blood spills, the Phoenix Cloth will be sealed away... barred from those that have come here, impossible to be donned.

I love you Ikki Phonis... and I hope that you can continue living after this...

"That would explain it..." Shaina said as she handed the letter back, which Cecil though wise to leave behind. "When we got the Phoenix Cloth... nobody could wear it... a few tried and ended up being killed..."

"The irony of the immortal Phoenix Cloth..." Cecil sighed as he began walking away with Shaina.

"But Ikki... he put it on no problems. I guess her sacrifice didn't stop him from wearing it... I guess her sacrifice ended up being destroyed by the man she loved..."

"Tragic..." Cecil sighed.

"Any other little secret caves you want to dig up?" Shaina asked, turning to him with a raised eyebrow. The God Warrior shook his head. "Good." One moment later, they were standing back at the outskirts of Sanctuary, Shaina smiling once before walking away from Cecil.
_
Isaac didn't know why he was doing this... why he had accepted her challenge. It really seemed quite stupid, when he looked at it without bias. But the minute that Elly had passed the word onto the Coronas that he and Fenrir were back in Japan, Asuka had felt honor-bound to confront him and demand a rematch...

So here they were, fighting on the rooftops like they had when they first battled, the Mariner noting Asuka's fighting style had very much improved since last time... his blood must have done wonders for the Yasakani Magatama... and the fact she was able to predict his moves even better now was something he hadn't yet figured out.

That being said, he had improved a lot too... and it wasn't long into the fight before he almost blew her away with a Kholodnyi Smerch. Asuka flipped out of the tornado as it froze, landed on her feet, and sent streams of purple flames shooting at him.

Isaac bent out of the way of most, blocking the last few with a Freezing Coffin that he promptly shoved at Asuka. Zepplin sprung over it just in time before charging at Isaac and punching full-speed.

"So..." Isaac asked as he went on the defensive, making his actions those that popped into his head split-seconds before he acted on them so Asuka wouldn't have the advantage of predicting his moves, "How are things over here otherwise?"

"Well..." she answered, sweeping at his legs. Isaac jumped, but Asuka then slammed her magatama into his chest, blasting him away with an incredible explosive force. "We had a whole goddamn war on our hands while you were kicking back on that island... but we all made it through okay... Kirishima is going out with Lune now..."

"You mean the cop?" Isaac asked.

Asuka nodded before jabbing out. Isaac ducked, binding Asuka with a Kholiso and hammering her with a flurry of blows. Without anything else to do as she hopped away desperately, Asuka continued. "Yeah... she decided to look into the other half of getting the criminals... she bought the first five seasons of 'Law and Order' a few weeks ago..."

"She's hopeless," Isaac sighed as he snapped his fingers. The fights wasn't supposed to be serious, just something Asuka wanted to do for some fun.

"Aren't we all?" she chuckled.

Isaac sighed, remembering Hyoga all of a sudden. "... yeah..."

"Something the matter?" Asuka asked.

Isaac walked over to her and sat down on the edge of the building. "Lots of things... then again... you probably already know..."

Asuka snorted, sitting next to him. "I don't pry into private lives if I don't have to..."

"You did with Thetis."

"You were also my enemy at that point," Asuka answered. "Don't have to say if you don't want to... I've had hard times myself."

"Thanks... I guess..."
_
"So when do you have to go back?" Elly asked as she cuddled up closer to Fenrir, the God Warrior's eyes trailing off to the nearby calendar.

"Our next round is in two days..."

They were laying on top of her bed... it had been a long day, and Elly found nothing better than just resting next to her only possible peer in terms of psychotic thoughts. Even as they were lying together, she casually realized she could have smuggled a knife along and stabbed him in the back. Not like she'd actually act on the thought... it just had popped into her head.

"You gonna give your all and get back here as soon as possible?"

Fenrir smirked. "Obviously." He kissed her once and closed his eyes... life was good.
_
Minos walked across the field... his target a good one thousand yards away. It was dark... barely a glimmer of light coming from what he would be aiming at in a few moments. Sparring with Hilda had been excellent to get him back into shape... but precision could not be accurately honed against a human-sized target...

Only something small... like a needle, would be appropriate.

"Dohko..." he spoke quietly as he pulled back his fist. "It's obvious you'll want to fight me... and I welcome it." He clenched his fist... seeing the target as if it was directly in front of him. "What do I see in front of my fist? That's easy."

"All is see... is an enemy that must suffer!"

In an instant, a silvery-cord shot out, threading through the eye of the needle, looping around and shooting back straight at Minos's head. The moment before it struck, his other hand shot out, catching it and then throwing the string aside.

"I do not care about past affiliations, Dohko... you showed your true colors that day, and you'll soon see mine!"