Saint Seiya, but Athena who disobeys?

“Let those witches go back. Don’t worship me like a god. Erica, stay here. Book me a plane ticket. I want to go back to Sardinia.”

On the flight to Italy, Seiya navigated the slightly cramped cabin and settled into a window seat in the business class section ahead of him. Coincidentally, this flight belonged to Skymark Airlines, Japan's third-largest airline, which operates on a low-cost model; the affordable fares meant more passengers.

There was no private jet, no guards; Seiya simply had Erica book a regular business class ticket.

It wasn't that he wanted to dress as a white dragon fish, he just wanted some peace and quiet.

No one noticed the girl sitting next to the Saint Seiya; it was Stella. Seiya refused to let the others come along, but Stella had to come. As a fellow Earth Mother, and even as adversaries from opposing factions in mythology, she might play a crucial role.

Seiya first looked at the feedback on the victory after the battle ended.

Although Metis temporarily seized the power and the Saint Cloth through the Prometheus Tablet, the second effect of the Warrior God's power continues to take effect. Perhaps because Perseus's performance was truly outstanding, the gains from this battle far exceeded those of the past.

The first benefit is still related to combat skills and tactics.

[Proficiency in related combat techniques has increased, including mastery of techniques such as Pegasus Meteor Kick, Pegasus Flying Kick, Pegasus Light Speed ​​Kick, and Pegasus Spinning Kick.]

[New combat techniques added: Sunburst Blaze, Hellfire Whirlwind, Karmic Fire Whirlwind, and Aura Pressure.]

Perhaps due to a rare correlation, the techniques of the other five Bronze Saints finally appeared. Oh, they had previously mastered Hyoga's Ice Fighting Technique, but because it wasn't as easy to use as Pegasus Meteor Fist, they never used it.

The second level is the enhancement of power and authority.

The sun's shadow is inextricably linked to the earth itself. In the Honshu region, local residents regard the paths of light created by the sun on the sea or in the morning mist at dawn as the tracks of dragons, snakes, and foxes.

[The third effect of "The Great Power of the Sun" is activated—gain the ability to command Yin-type dragons and ley line incarnations.]

The third gain is related to the God Armor, which is also the biggest gain in this battle.

【God Suit: Vereslana】

[Effect 1: Strong luck for victory. You will gain overwhelming good fortune in the process of achieving your goals through struggle—I am the strongest one who holds all victory in my hands; whether human or demon, I will defeat all enemies!]

[Effect Two: The victor is always right; victory guarantees rewards.]

[Effect Three: The victor is omnipotent. When aiming for victory, one's skills will rapidly improve. Radiant me, invincible me, created by Ahura! Anything you excel at is possible. Games, martial arts, strategy, horseback riding—anything is acceptable. Challenge me!]

[Weapon: The Golden Sword of Victory, a weapon symbolizing the warrior's very nature. This sword can cut through enemies on the battlefield according to his will, and, after fulfilling innate conditions, can seal and cleave the enemy's divinity—fear my name, for I am the one who breaks all obstacles; neither the strong nor the unjust can defeat me—fear me, Golden Sword of Victory!]

[Fighting Techniques: Empty Punch, Boar Charge, Boar Charge Punch, Destroy Boar Transformation, Wheel Tornado, Fighting God Pressure (Wrath of the Gods)]

[New Effect 4: Unstoppable, rebuilding from the ashes, continuously breaking through in battle, and gaining corresponding adjustments and enhancements against enemies. I am the strongest, and hold all victory in my hands. Annihilate all enemies who dare stand before me! Crush all obstacles!]

When Seiya's gaze fell upon the fourth effect, it suddenly shone with a sharp light!

The fourth effect is actually the life essence contained within every true Saint Cloth! Like living things, each damage and repair is an opportunity for evolution. Its weight and shape will change as a result; minor damage can heal itself over time, and it can even adjust its form. Through countless battles, the Saint Cloth will ultimately achieve self-growth and transformation.

However, different Saint Cloths emphasize different aspects, and their potential performance varies greatly.

For example, Ikki's Phoenix Cloth, one of the five Bronze Saints, is hailed as a Bronze Cloth with the potential to surpass most Gold Cloths. This is because this Cloth maximizes the ability to be strengthened after being damaged and rebuilt, just like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

At this moment, however, this divine battle armor has a similar effect.

Of course, the effectiveness of a Saint Cloth depends on the will of the Saint wielding it. However, Seiya is the only one with a Cosmo possessing limitless potential, allowing him to maximize this characteristic.

Seeing this effect, Seiya's worries subsided somewhat. He sensed that he was getting closer and closer to regaining his stolen powers and Cloth. At this moment, Seiya clenched his fists. No matter the reason, he had to find Athena and get to the bottom of it.

But thinking about this, Seiya still felt a pang of pain in his heart.

"But why is it like this... I have a goddess to follow, I have something to defend, these two pleasant things are intertwined. And these two joys bring me so much joy. I should have had this dreamlike happy time. But why has it turned out like this..." Seiya frowned as he looked at the goddess Stella, who was making a strange sound beside him. Seiya didn't have much patience for this goddess who belonged to him but was so obnoxious, so he slapped her on the forehead.

If she hadn't been sitting next to him, the slap would have landed on his butt.

"Ugh!" The mischievous goddess instantly became obedient, covering her forehead and shrinking back into her seat.

At this moment, the hazy outline of Sardinia could be seen through the porthole. However, Saint Seiya, whose mind was filled with the image of Athena (Metis), overlooked a crucial fact—

He once made an unfinished battle pact with a god-king.

The god-king is currently living in seclusion on this island.

The aura of Seiya's arrival was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake; the God King also sensed the arrival of the enemy as promised.

Chapter 78: Ancient Rome and the Pantheon

Holding the complimentary tourist guide map from the airport once again, Seiya, wearing a sun hat, returned to the old street.

Sardinia now sees far fewer visitors than before. The mythical war in the underworld is ultimately a matter for the underworld itself. For the secular world, it is Sardinia experiencing the most severe typhoon and earthquake in centuries. Many buildings are still under reconstruction, including some historical sites left over from the ancient Roman Empire.

Upon seeing the bakery owner again, he was delighted to see the Asian boy once more. "After seeing you chase after the wind, I checked the municipal announcements and was relieved to find out you weren't there." The incredibly clever, bald owner looked at Seiya and suddenly remembered something.

"Didn't the Middle Eastern boy who was with you before come?" He cautiously observed Seiya's expression. He was deeply impressed by the boyish incarnation of Veleslana and was afraid of getting bad news from Seiya.

"He went home first. Maybe he'll come back in a while," Seiya explained with a smile.

Seiya held Parthenope's hand, and a figure-sized Spring Breeze Goddess sat on Seiya's shoulder; her power of love made everyone ignore her presence. Stella looked curiously at Pegasus and Dragon, who seemed to be wandering aimlessly. "This doesn't look like you're looking for anyone at all. You don't seem to be in a hurry at all."

"If being anxious would have helped, I would have started to feel anxious long ago. But victory is like the wind, and I will always find what I want." The Saint bent down, picked up Parthenope, and strode forward along the route on the map.

Stella was right. Seiya wasn't worried at all; he had a naturally strong heart. Or rather, most Saints who could challenge gods possessed a strong heart to some extent, while those who killed gods were all self-centered, delusional individuals. For example, "This world is saved by me," "White stockings are stronger than black stockings," and "Even gods will only dare to take a punch from me..."

Seiya happens to possess both of these traits, making him appear to those around him more like a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) pretending to be a normal person. He even strongly believes that as long as he searches diligently, Athena will inevitably appear before him.

The problem is that, as the God of War, the winds of victory that bring him great fortune will truly make his wishes come true.

He opened the Sardinian tourist map given to him by the female flight attendant at the airport and found himself crossing the tower to reach the Gulf of Cagliari in the south.

Thanks to his talent for speaking thousands of words, Seiya quickly learned the local language and script. This Sardinian map, still smelling of ink, is covered with various ancient place names written in tiny print, striving to let tourists understand their history and imagine that hundreds of years ago, with the rule of the Roman Empire, new myths also spread to this island isolated in the Mediterranean.

As Rome conquered the surrounding regions, the local gods were also absorbed. The Romans revered the gods of the conquered territories as much as they revered their own. In many cases, these newly introduced gods were formally invited to the new sanctuaries established for them in Rome in a special ceremony. Around 200 BC, a relic representing Siberia was formally brought to Rome from its original location. Furthermore, Rome's expansion attracted foreigners who were permitted to continue worshipping their own gods.

Vereslana followed Mitra, who came to Rome in this way. He was popular in the army, and thus his cult was carried to Sardinia. Besides Vereslana and Mitra, Diana, the goddess of the hunt adapted from the Greek goddess Artemis, Minerva, adapted from Athena, and even Hercules, Venus, and other minor gods whose names remained unchanged, also arrived in Sardinia with the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean. Some of these gods were Italian inventions, while others originated from Greek culture. Later, each major Roman god found a corresponding, more humanized Greek god, adding their attributes and mythology.

The gods of ancient Greece and Egypt were thus forced to change their appearance and become the gods worshipped by the Romans.

Seiya took a bite of a local specialty—a dessert resembling seadas, crispy on the outside and filled with rich goat cheese, drizzled with slightly bitter strawberry honey. He strolled through the streets, lined with ancient buildings and exquisite replicas. Temples supported by white columns were interspersed among them, dedicated to Jupiter, Juno… Girls in period costumes fluttered their skirts, beckoning tourists. At that moment, time and space seemed somewhat distorted—it felt as if you had traveled through history, carrying the ancient Greek god of love, walking along a fault line in time.

Perhaps thousands of years ago, your beloved goddess was also in this city. She might have been different from how she is now, with flowing purple hair, wearing a simple white robe, and holding a winged staff. She was also strolling through this street. Perhaps you were standing in the same place, but the time was different, and you could only look at each other from afar across history.

Seiya casually stuffed the empty cardboard box into the trash bag held by an Asian tour guide waving a small flag, and before the guide could notice, he turned and squeezed into the busiest part of the Pantheon. This place is dedicated to all the gods; of course, its proper name now should be the Sardinian Memorial.

"Look, Pegasus! This is the symbol of me being the most perfect goddess!" Stella excitedly grabbed his earlobe as she sat on Seiya's shoulder, because Venus was depicted in front of several of the most popular deities.

Those who can afford to travel are naturally families with good living conditions. In an era of material abundance, Venus, symbolizing love and beauty, and even subtly associated with wealth, is naturally more admired by tourists. The Saint Seiya warriors, unable to resist Stella's earnest pleas, followed the crowd and bowed before the radiant Venus statue, then followed the flow of people to a relatively quiet side hall.

This place is dedicated to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom who corresponds to Athena. The Saint Seiya also bowed to the gray stone statue, but neither the statue nor the yawning priestess beside it seemed to Seiya to be the problem.

The distracted priestess seemed to notice Seiya's focused gaze. For some reason, she felt her cheeks flush slightly. But when the pale purple five-hundred-euro banknote was placed before her, she instantly switched to a professional charlatan's expression, skillfully taking out a souvenir from her bosom—a small white stone engraved with olive branch patterns—and handing it to Seiya.

“Thank you for your offering,” she said, her voice trembling with barely suppressed emotion. “May the guidance of wisdom always be with you.”

Chapter 78: Who Brought the Ancient Call?

After accepting the olive branch souvenir stone from the priestess, Seiya didn't forget to pick out a small wooden doll for Parthenope, who was perched on his shoulder. He thanked her and turned to leave, but the priestess's voice called out from behind him:

"By the way, if you are a tourist visiting Sardinia, it's best to avoid the Nunuuri area recently."

"Nunuri?" Seiya raised an eyebrow, he still had some impression of that place. "What happened there?"

"Recently... someone has gone missing." The priestess lowered her voice, a hint of worry in her eyes. "The news is being suppressed, but for your safety, it's best to avoid talking about it."

Seiya paused for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, I understand."

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There exists a group in this world whose presence causes the disappearance of local residents or tourists wherever they go; these are the sorcerers. A large portion of the incarnate gods that descend to earth are summoned by this group through their elaborate schemes.

Sorcerers are not entirely evil, but without exception, they are all sophisticated egoists. They summon disobedient gods only to scrape a meager gift from the gods' fingernails in exchange for a rapid increase in their own power.

But they are utterly indifferent to the destruction that summoning disobedient gods causes to the world. This is the sorcerer, a sophisticated egoist.

At this moment, members of the sorcerer guild, the Tuller Society, are traversing a deep underground tunnel with awe and greed, kneeling at the feet of a majestic giant.

"My servants, how long have I been asleep?" The voice of the god-king Mekal was like muffled thunder rolling over rocks.

“Your Majesty,” the leading sorcerer said, his head almost touching the ground, his voice trembling with obsequiousness, “twenty-eight days have passed since you last awoke. May I ask… do you wish to sink this island into the sea immediately?”

“No need.” Mekal’s gaze seemed to pierce through the rock, looking into the distance. “Because I sense… that our nemesis has arrived.”

Before the sorcerer leader could grasp the meaning of those words, he heard footsteps approaching from behind. Just as he assumed it was one of his ignorant underlings and was about to stand up and reprimand him, he froze in fear.

Because right behind him, the sorcerers who had been kneeling with him before the giant had somehow turned into white pillars of salt, and a gaunt old man was leisurely walking towards him.

Turning enemies into pillars of salt, the sorcerer leader's eyes flashed with unprecedented fear. He remembered whose power this was.

The Eye of Sodom turns any creature it gazes upon, regardless of their number, into pillars of salt. It is named after the divine punishment that destroyed Sodom in the Old Testament. The wielder of this power is none other than the oldest demon lord, Sasha Dejanstad Voban.

This is the power that the Marquis of Voban usurped from the ancient Roman hero Horaceus Cocles, the one-eyed god of war. It is also the most well-known power among the common people of the underworld, and even among ordinary people in Europe. It has become a legend in fairy tales used to frighten disobedient children.

But before he could even utter a word of pleading for mercy, he followed in his companion's footsteps.

The gaunt old man approached Mekal, looking up at the giant god before him, yet his eyes held the unbridled pleasure of sizing up prey.

"You remain unmoved even as I slaughter these followers?" Marquis Voban spoke slowly.

“No matter how many of these petty people who gather around me out of selfish desires are killed, they will continue to flock to my side.” Mekar looked at the god-slaying beast before him. “Would you be someone who boasts about stepping on a few ants, son of a fool?”

Marquis Voban smiled. "Very good. At least this arrogance suits your status as a God-King. I'm curious, will you maintain this arrogance?"

There was no need for further explanation; the moment they encountered their nemesis, both sides' fighting spirit reached its peak. Marquis Voban could also sense the other's surging fighting intent, but what he saw was a sneer on the other's lips.

"Your head, and the heads of all you god-slaying beasts who prey on us, will be taken by me. But before that, I will first engage in battle with my pre-arranged opponent. I can already sense his presence returning to this island."

Without waiting for Marquis Voban's response, He once again wielded the power of the heavens, proclaiming the world's awakening.

For Seiya, the whole day was spent wandering the streets and alleys, taking Parthenope along the paths he had once walked with the young Vereslana, and finally stopping at the southern Cagliari Bay.

The setting sun painted the sea in a magnificent glow. Parthenoppe reluctantly emerged from the Saint's embrace and slowly stood on the shore. The essence of the earth and sea, as if summoned, gathered around her, transforming into sparkling emerald-like flashes of light. She released the primal energy residing within her!

--boom!

Gathering the essence of earth, water, fire, and wind, it reshaped its form. The foundation of that colossal body was a giant serpent, while its head resembled an ancient crocodile dragon, its gaping maw lined with menacing fangs like sharp swords! The original dragon body of the Neapolitan Dragon—Parthenopa—was reborn in the world. But this terrifying behemoth affectionately nuzzled Seiya's hand as he stroked it.

"Now that you've come to Italy, it's time for you to go back." Seiya was also a little reluctant to part with him.

However, it will cause big problems if the dragon of the earth vein is separated from its native land for a long time.

According to Homer's epics, Parthenopa, after failing to seduce Ulysses, drowned herself at sea, her body drifting to the island of Megarid in the Bay of Naples. Her prototype, the Siren, often appears in ancient Greek art as a human-headed serpent. Legend has it that after her suicide, her body transformed into the coastline of Naples, her serpentine tail extending to Mount Posilibo, becoming a "living totem" of the city's geography.

In later legends, it gradually evolved into a sea monster with a human body and bird feet.

Parthenopa let out a long, low roar like the ocean waves. Its huge dragon head gave Seiya a deep look, then turned around, its massive body churning the seawater as it swam towards Naples in the distance, gradually merging into the twilight-shrouded horizon.

Having done all this, Seiya clearly felt that his new power, the Great Manifestation of the Sun, seemed to have undergone some kind of enhancement. This was not a feedback from the battle, but rather stemmed from his own actions—a deeper application and understanding of the power.

Or rather, this is the most normal way to develop powers.

But just then, a familiar, wild wind came from afar.

It is a primal storm, a divine force from the desert and wilderness, the power of wind that brings death and depletion, now covering this island.

After a brief moment of surprise, Saint Seiya remembered something.

It seems that he still has an unfinished battle agreement with a god-king.

Chapter 80: His name is Mekal

The Saint Seiya heard a sound amidst the booming thunder.

"—You've waited long enough, Beast of Godslayers! Come! Come to my side! I will show you the dragon-slayer's prowess of an ancient king in a true battle, with lightning speed. Head east, I will be waiting for you in the ruins of the desolate city to the east!"

The howling wind and thunder spoke in this way, a sound that only Seiya could hear, because God King Mecarto ignored everyone except Seiya.

After sensing the presence of God King Megal, Saint Seiya did not respond immediately.

He first used the powerful winds of the Pegasus Cloth to protect Parthenope as he returned to Naples, because Mecard's title included "King of the Gods, Great Warrior, and Dragon Slayer," so there was no chance he might suddenly appear beside Parthenope in the form of lightning and then completely dry up the ley lines of this land with a single blow.

But just as he finished all this and was about to set off to respond to the God King's invitation to battle, he felt a familiar aura rapidly approaching him.

It was a red figure, and Seiya's gaze softened.

"Erica, you didn't actually have to come."

“The God King is the bond we formed on this island. It would be a dereliction of duty for a knight to leave our lord to face him alone.” Erica knelt on one knee before Seiya. “Please allow me to do my part.”

Although her words were incredibly sincere, Erica's face flushed crimson. Even as a Grand Knight, she was stretched thin trying to intervene in this divine war, but she could certainly offer assistance to Seiya alone. In other words, her extensive knowledge of various mythologies, accumulated over a decade of preparation to become a god-slayer, was a key area where she could provide help.

Because of the Godslayer's magical resistance, the only way to transmit knowledge is through close-range contact.