"Are you Hades… or Alone?!" From the very beginning, you've always been Alone, haven't you?!
At the heart of this final, decisive battle, the most mysterious figure was not the severely wounded Sasha, nor the feuding best friends Alone and Tenma, but Pandora, who desperately held on to her collapsing Cosmo and let out a heart-rending cry at the incarnation of the Underworld King.
"Answer me! Alone!" Pandora's voice, filled with despair, pierced through the battlefield's echoes.
Alone turned to face the mysterious woman behind him, the castellan's daughter he once looked up to. "Pandora, you're just like the humans you so despise—the most self-righteous of fools."
Within the ruined Sanctuary, a purple space of death rapidly consumed the mortal realm, its target being Pandora as she walked toward Alone.
This place, filled with the light of annihilation and the concept of death, destroyed every object in the vicinity. The Twelve Houses of the Zodiac, caught in the blast, were all turned to ash.
All who witnessed this solemn and tragic sight gasped in unison. The deep purple light filled a space that seemed to herald the end of the world.
But all things must come to an end. The ever-expanding light gradually subsided, vanishing like dust. The ground where Pandora had stood was a catastrophic sight, a concave crater visible even from high above.
Yet, she was surprised to find herself still alive, held securely in someone's arms high in the air. A familiar profile appeared before her.
"Tenma, my son…!" Pandora instinctively called out his name.
"Don't be a fool. Since you know he's not your Hades, just back off obediently," Seiya said, frowning at Pandora.
"Besides that, I think you should get a pair of glasses. Don't assume every man you see is your brother or your son."
Before his voice faded, Seiya flicked his arm, and Pandora was tossed downward like a kite with a broken string. A familiar chariot dashed out of the void, precisely catching her falling body. The figures of Seiya and Tenma then shot down like a golden meteor, landing instantly before the gravely injured Sasha.
"You must be careful, Tenma."
Sasha looked at the sturdy back of her childhood friend, and then at Alone, who was slowly walking toward them, Sword of Hades in hand. She instinctively grabbed the hem of his clothes.
"He's completely different now. If before he was only crudely wielding that terrifying power of Hades, now he has truly mastered it. He's on a completely different dimension now!"
In response to Sasha's concern, Seiya simply patted the back of her hand and walked toward Alone as well.
The two men, once the closest of friends, now walked toward each other across the devastated landscape. With smiles that cursed and taunted each other's fighting spirit, they, at almost the same instant, pushed their Cosmos to an unprecedented peak without reservation!
A phantom of the Celestial Pegasus appeared before Seiya. With the Aries Cloth, Pegasus Cloth, Leo Cloth, and the Verethragna God Robe all having been destroyed, the first and final Cloth once again answered his call.
"You're next, Tenma!"
"Hmph, Alone!"
The red-and-white Pegasus Cloth and the purple-and-gold Hades's Surplice instantly materialized on them. Amidst the deafening roar of thunder and wind, the two best friends, like two mortally wounded beasts in a cage, roared at each other with fury.
"BOOM—!"
No probing, no hesitation! The two figures collided violently like comets tearing through space-time! The savage shockwave, like two primeval dragons crashing head-on, completely pulverized the remaining boulders and architectural ruins!
The terrifying recoil from the first clash sent them both flying back, but without a moment's pause, they pushed off their feet, cracking the earth, and launched another death charge at each other with even more ferocious speed!
"SCREEECH—!" The deafening sound of scraping metal and tearing energy exploded!
The Sword of Hades traced an ominous purple arc. One moment its tip was a meter away, the next it had ignored the spatial distance to slash directly at Seiya's neck!
Blood splattered instantly! The wound, imbued with Hades's power, even managed to briefly suppress Seiya's Covenant of Decay and Revival!
Seiya was not to be outdone.
Power as blazing as the sun's core erupted from the depths of his body, instantly adding a layer of a burning solar corona to his Pegasus Cloth!
His entire being became a humanoid sun as he fearlessly used his shoulder to block Alone's charge, pushing him with a terrifying force capable of shattering continental plates, and slamming him deep into the Sanctuary!
"RUMBLE—!!!"
The very earth of the Sanctuary screamed as it sank violently, forming a massive crater.
For some reason, as Pandora watched the crumbling, otherworldly demonic realm before her, she felt that the damage this guardian Saint of Earth inflicted upon the land was perhaps even worse than that of her Specters.
The disparity between the two was evident from their initial exchange. In terms of pure combat sense, Alone was inferior to Seiya. However, now armed with Hades's Surplice, he completely overpowered his nemesis, who had once brought him humiliation, in sheer performance.
From just the first clash, the Pegasus Cloth was dented and cracked. Bright, star-like fragments flew from the damaged areas, only to be swiftly healed by the Covenant of Decay and Revival.
"You're weaker than I imagined, Tenma."
Alone broke free from the pressure with his astonishing Cosmo, fully recovered by the time he returned to the ground. Though he had been in a tight spot, his stance was still elegant.
If the power progression of all warriors, including the Specters, was a gradual upgrade, then a few warriors like Seiya and Kagaho had erratic, cheat-like power spikes.
Hades Alone, however, had directly inherited a max-level account; he only needed to familiarize himself with its weapons, equipment, and skills to reach the top of the server.
"You've gotten stronger, but that doesn't mean I've been standing still," Seiya squeezed the words through his teeth.
"Is that so? Then let me test your current abilities!" Alone declared.
The next moment, Hades Alone leaped up like a savage dragon, accompanied by ominous purple lightning. His steps shook the earth, his dashing speed breaking physical barriers.
Such movement was a power held only by the highest-tier gods; he had no need to study any combat techniques. By instantaneously unleashing his inherent power, he could charge with the force of a meteor, effortlessly slaying any opponent.
With Alone's awe-inspiring battle cry, Seiya in his Sun Scorpion stance took several steps forward. The Incarnation of the White Horse and the Authority of the Sun's Illumination were fully activated. Facing his opponent charging at super-high speed, he did not hesitate, swinging down his raised Golden Sword.
If the attacking Alone was an invincible, savage dragon, then the Golden Sword that met him was a high-speed guillotine. God and man clashed, and the aftershock brought an exaggerated level of destruction to the surrounding space.
Suddenly, the world froze. Neither weapon was shattered, neither body was blown apart. Exhibiting an artistic state of equilibrium, the two entered a static state of combat confrontation.
"What's wrong?" Pandora's heart tightened, but she soon realized that the two before her were just afterimages; they had already left this space.
As if countless giant crystal mirrors were shattering at once, the sound echoed unpredictably throughout this world.
This otherworldly demonic realm that had sealed off the inside from the outside, this Sanctuary that had stood for millennia, could finally no longer withstand the aftershocks of a clash that transcended all limits.
The earth, the sky, and even space itself began to collapse and disintegrate!
____
Our community goals are in full swing!
🎯 100 Powerstones unlocks +1 bonus chapter for all readers!
🚀 Once we hit 55 SUPPORTERS, I'll drop +5 extra chapters for every story!
🎉 There's a special welcome rate for all newcomers!
👻 Want in? Find Walnutchan on the (P) platform. You know which one! 😉