[ At this point, Pope Sage, facing the pressure of the God of Death, spoke of his long-planned chess game!
"As early as the Holy War two hundred years ago, we Saints were attacked by unknown Twin Gods, and the regret of not being able to save our companions cannot be forgotten even now."
From that time on, Pope Sage had already set his sights on these two arrogant gods.
"And this time, having Cancer serve as Pegasus's escort, in addition to protecting Pegasus's safety, was also to find your Cosmo, which would one day interfere with it~."
Thanatos, the God of Death, indifferently surveyed the Pope who had lived for over two hundred years below him.
"Are you saying that everything is within your expectations-?"
Pope Sage's mouth curved slightly upward.
"To be one step ahead of the gods is what a Pope is-."
As they spoke, Manigoldo slowly came to Sage's side. Even he felt a lingering fear; honestly, he almost lost his life just now.
Then he twisted his body somewhat awkwardly, as if dissatisfied with the current inconvenience of his body.
"Tsk... the burden on my body is great. As long as there's no Hades' barrier, I'd instantly kill that kind of trash."
Hearing this, the Pope unhesitatingly exposed Manigoldo.
"You're wrong, Manigoldo! This seems to be outside the barrier, above Hades Castle!"
Exposed, Manigoldo could only silently reach out and scratch his head, looking around somewhat awkwardly, indicating that the floor was indeed very floor-like. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"POPE! He's incredibly reliable, always strategizing in the command tent. With you here, there's no need to worry about the great cause thriving—oh, I mean, the Holy War."
"Who would have thought that an old man harbored two hundred years of regret? Perhaps that's the reason that sustained his life."
Everyone listened to the Pope's words and suddenly realized, could the current situation still be within his expectations? The sense of security this gave was simply too strong.
But is it really okay for the Pope to dismantle his own disciple's stage like that...
Now everyone felt embarrassed for Manigoldo. Manigoldo had just set down a ladder, only for the Pope to kick it away, leaving him unable to get down.
"Face reality, Manigoldo... losing to a god is not shameful, it's just a simple difference in power, and has nothing to do with the barrier."
Everyone from other worlds was somewhat dumbfounded. So Manigoldo always thought his power was restricted within the barrier, which made the power gap seem so large?
.....
〜Saint Seiya Shioriverse, The Lost Canvas timeline〜
"Master, next time, can you save your disciple some face? Just let me go down the stairs."
Manigoldo looked at the Pope with a wronged and bitter expression.
At this moment, even the straightforward Manigoldo felt that he couldn't maintain his composure. He never expected the ladder he found for himself to be kicked away by his master.
It would have been fine if no one else was around, but the current situation was that even he himself felt embarrassed.
"I just hope you don't get too careless, MANIGOLDO!"
The Pope shook his head upon hearing this. If one faced the God of Death with such naive thoughts, they would truly die.
.....
〜KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!〜
"Damn it... my habit of feeling awkward for others has returned, help, someone quickly break this awkward atmosphere!"
Kazuma shouted with both hands on his head, twisting his body in a rather grotesque manner.
One could only say they were truly master and disciple; when it came to dismantling each other, they were incredibly fast.
"Wait, since he wasn't suppressed by the barrier, even if the gods' Pathway was forcibly closed, the current situation hasn't changed."
Kazuma, coming back to his senses, immediately stopped moving. The Pope's appearance didn't seem to change the current situation, only delaying it. Manigoldo was still in big trouble.
.....
[ Facing the sudden appearance of the Pope, in the arrogant eyes of Thanatos, the God of Death, there was no difference.
"What if one more old man joins the battle?"
"TARTARO'S PHOBIA—!!"
As the words fell, the dark domain unfolded again, and the gloomy hell was summoned. Tens of thousands of spirits surged from behind Thanatos, pouncing and biting at the two below.
The moment he was bitten, Manigoldo understood that these were not ordinary spirits; both his body and soul would be harmed.
These spirits were even lower-grade than ordinary specters, the final form of life harvested by the God of Death, constantly suffering and wandering in Thanatos's mansion, which was connected to Tartarus, the underworld.
Under the siege of countless spirits, Manigoldo was tightly entangled, and at this moment, cold sweat began to stream down his face.
"I'm going to be dragged in!"
"Don't panic, if these are spirits, we won't lose either."
The Pope's extremely calm words also calmed the somewhat flustered Manigoldo.
A black hole appeared in Thanatos's hand, aimed at Manigoldo below.
"You shouldn't have time to look around, should you?"
Caught off guard, Manigoldo was pulled by the specters towards the black hole; it seemed that was their destination.
"Damn it!"
Manigoldo frowned and cursed under his breath, then a strange smile reappeared on his face.
"Just kidding..."
"PRAESEPE SOUL BURIAL WAVES—!!"
The spirits in his limbs were instantly shattered and turned into fuel. Tens of thousands of spirits, like gunpowder in Manigoldo's eyes, enveloped his fist, which was covered in blue-white flames, and he slammed it violently into the utterly black abyss.
"BOOM—!"
The next moment, an explosion swept through the entire detached palace. The blue-white flames incinerated all the spirits, and the entire screen was gradually covered by light.
A small mark, a tiny scar, was left on Thanatos's face by the explosion.
Praesepe Soul Burial Waves, using spirits as gunpowder to make them explode and burn. The stronger the spiritual power, the more terrifying the power. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"The Pope is indeed the Pope. Manigoldo hadn't even reacted yet, and he instantly reminded Manigoldo of the countermeasure."
"Holy cow, they're a perfect match! Praesepe Demonic Blue Flames, Soul Burial Waves detonates. I advise spirits not to appear before Cancer, otherwise, hehe..."
"The stronger the spiritual power, the greater the power of this move. So Thanatos essentially dug his own grave, giving them a powder keg for free."
Everyone from other worlds was deeply shocked by this move. The spirits Thanatos originally used to attack increased the power of this move by more than one level, successfully harming Thanatos, the God of Death.
This move of the God of Death was completely countered by Cancer Manigoldo's technique. In front of them, spirits not only had no effect but would instead become their aid.
.....
〜Saint Seiya Toeiverse, Anime timeline〜
"No... Cancer has other moves?!"
Deathmask only felt indignant. Why do I only have one prerequisite skill, Underworld Waves?
He even once prided himself on the Underworld Waves, only to find out it was just an ordinary, unremarkable move.
These Demonic Blue Flames and Soul Burial Waves are Cancer's killing moves; why didn't you leave them for me, you bastards!
Especially since the power of this move was enough to harm a god of death, it instantly made his eyes red.
.....
〜Bleach World〜
The Soul Society was in an uproar at this moment. How could such a heinous move exist... In the eyes of their Shinigami, who were entirely composed of spiritual bodies, this move was somewhat inhumane.
" Demonic Blue Flames is fine, but facing Soul Burial Waves, the Soul Society is a powder magazine."
Shunsui Kyoraku also murmured to himself. What kind of demons and monsters are these Saints? Their abilities are one more peculiar than the last.
Ukitake added.
"Moreover, the power of this move depends on the number of spirits, which means this move has no upper limit to its power."
It's a perfect match for fighting Specters! No wonder Yomotsu Hirasaka was a playground for him. With this kind of power, who wouldn't walk sideways?
.....
〜Sword Art Online World〜
"Hmph—, this power seems a bit strong."
Kirito was also somewhat dumbfounded, not expecting this move to actually be able to harm a god of death.
Asuna recalled the knowledge she had learned before.
"I remember Tartarus is the name of hell in Greek mythology."
So Thanatos dragged over the wandering spirits from his next-door neighbor's house... and none of them could go back.
But to be able to leave a scar on Thanatos's body is enough to prove the power of this move. Truly worthy of a Gold Saint.
.....