Against the Sword of Hades, the blade Seiya had materialized was as brittle as a tender bamboo shoot in spring, shattering on impact.
This Sword of Hades, which could sever all things in the world, could easily pierce even a God Cloth. Furthermore, anyone struck by it would be cursed, utterly reduced to ash.
Even an existence with an eternally indestructible soul, if run through by the sword wielded by Hades, would be exiled to a world of nothingness beyond the cycle of rebirth, with no possibility of escape.
And this one with the eternally indestructible soul was Seiya.
At this moment, Hades looked at the Saint before him with some lingering fear. After so many years, he still couldn't adapt to this illogical style of combat.
His Lost Paradise, the crimson red written with his own blood, was clearly corroding Seiya's life, yet his combat prowess grew more ferocious as his life faded, ultimately even cracking his own unbreakable Surplice.
"It's all about to end."
Merely killing Pegasus, even using the power of Hades to erase his soul, was not enough to truly kill him.
Long ago, Hades had devised a special technique specifically for these unique life forms: to banish them to the world of nothingness outside of reincarnation.
In a world beyond the multiverse, because it is nothingness, time does not flow. Having departed from the cycle of rebirth, even an eternally indestructible existence like Pegasus can only drift endlessly in this place where it is impossible to even find a soul.
Hades raised his hand once more. A dark and profound light gathered, condensed, and extended in his palm, finally forming into the Sword of Hades that symbolized finality, its edge swirling with a cold light that devoured all things.
"Pegasus, I will probably never forget you for my entire life." It was now unknown whether it was Hades or Alone who spoke the final words of parting.
He was preparing to completely end this long-cherished wish that had persisted through countless cycles of reincarnation.
In the next instant, the Pegasus Saint before him vanished from his sight. But his aura was now flowing from behind him.
It was that divine Authority that traversed distance. Hades instantly recognized the existence of the Strong Wind Authority, but he was not afraid, because his sword had already locked onto his opponent as well.
Combat Technique — Sword of Hell!
An absolute killing blow, a combat technique to utterly finish his nemesis.
Just as a look of joy appeared on Hades' face, a golden radiance likewise emerged from his opponent's palm, piercing through his own chest with an identical posture.
"Ugh…!"
Hades stared in astonishment at his own chest. That golden blade, unfamiliar in appearance but unchanged in essence, had easily pierced through his Surplice, annihilating his physical body along with it.
"Can't be helped. Some things are just a hassle. I can't use it unless my health is critically low." Seiya, who had also been run through the chest, revealed a smile, but his hand mercilessly twisted the golden blade within him.
Screeech————!
A sound like the snapping of invisible chains rang out. The golden blade erupted with an even more brilliant light, and a majestic, irresistible power of destruction surged from the blade into Hades' body!
This power was not a physical impact, but a special attack aimed directly at the very source of a god's existence! It raged, tore, and annihilated within Hades' body!
The reason Pegasus was called the God-Slaying Pegasus was not because he killed gods, but because of this God-slaying Power.
Seiya was a god-slaying warrior who could infinitely increase his power.
Before Seiya's God-slaying Power had matured, it manifested as: the stronger the opponent, the greater the power Seiya could unleash. And when facing an evil god who brought calamity to the land, upon meeting certain conditions, he could transform this God-slaying Power hidden within his body into a tangible form.
Even the Surplice, said to be an absolute barrier, could not defend against it, and even a god's Cosmo was destroyed.
But at the same time, Hades had also run Seiya's body through with his Sword of Hades.
The intense pain and the terror of his very source being torn apart made Hades let out a low growl.
However, the Sword of Hades in his hand had also plunged deep into Seiya's body, its curse spreading wildly, attempting to drive his opponent's soul into nothingness.
"Then… let's fall into Avici together!" Hades Alone, now grinning savagely, embraced the nemesis before him and then plummeted into a deeper dimension of space.
Except for a very few observers, no one knew their fate.
Half a day later, Sasha, holding her golden scepter, finally arrived at this final battlefield. She looked at the terrifying scene before her, a landscape of doomsday under a setting sun, and said nothing for a long time.
Protecting her at her side were Dohko and Shion, the two Gold Saints who had survived the bloody battle. They remained by her side without straying, also maintaining their silence.
On their resolute faces lingered the fatigue of battle, while deep in their eyes was a clear understanding and solemn mourning. No words were needed; they had already reached a conclusion in their hearts: Pegasus Seiya, just as fate had dictated in countless past reincarnations, had perished together with Hades.
This was the glory of Pegasus, and also the inescapable fetter of his destiny.
For Athena, the Goddess who presides over victory, this was undoubtedly the glorious end of the Holy War. Hades had fallen, and even the Underworld had been conquered by the Saints. For at least several millennia, the Underworld would be powerless to start another Holy War, and the Earth would welcome a long-awaited peace.
However, for Sasha—the girl who grew up in the orphanage with Seiya and Alone…
In the short span of a single day, she had lost the only two family members she had left, forever.
"You must still be alive, right?" Sasha lowered her head, clutching the withered flower crown in her palm.
The petals on the flower crown scattered with the wind. Sasha gazed at the vast, yellow, sandy scene before her, watching the withered petals being swallowed by the boundless world.
The world of nothingness was not entirely unfamiliar to Seiya.
Just as Seiya arched his entire body and turned his gaze directly upwards—
He saw the massive hole he had smashed through the world's membrane just a few dozen seconds ago, and then he saw a small yellow light in the distance of this dark and profound space. It was a corridor leading to a distant sky.
Someone is calling me.
A throb from the deepest part of his soul transcended the cold nothingness and the bone-gnawing curse. Unconsciously, Seiya began to move.
He laboriously and slowly raised his left hand—its bones shattered from battle and its form barely maintained by his Cosmo—as if to touch that unreachable light.
At the same time, his relatively intact right arm slowly drew back to his waist in a fighting stance etched into his very instincts.
I can feel it!
Deep within his body, in the blood nearly frozen by the curse of Hades' sword, a warm and tenacious power was stubbornly reawakening! That is… Sasha!
It is the power Athena injected into his body at the very end! Like a spark, it ignited the flame of his life that was about to be extinguished, and more importantly, it awakened his strong response to that distant call!
"I am the strongest, and he who holds all victories! Call my name often, and only victory, never defeat, shall you know! I am the breaker of obstacles, the strongest and most victorious of guardians! O Strong Wind that guides the traveler forward, I command you, take me to the side of those who need help!"
The True Words were the switch.
The Wheel of Friendship materialized its outline behind him, and the Strong Wind propelled the gradually dimming Pegasus God Cloth, carrying him in a great leap, disappearing completely from this universe cluster.
For Stella, these past six months were the happiest six months of her life.
The old maiden was nowhere to be found, and Seiya had also disappeared. All the glory belonged to the great Her Majesty Stella.
And this happy and blissful time was shattered not long ago.
A familiar rhythm echoed by Stella's ear, and the fear from years ago struck again, reminding her that she was, in fact, the target being hunted by the White-Armed Goddess and her pack of bitches.
But before she could prepare for a strategic retreat, a meteor accurately plunged into a small town in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
Stella's heart nearly leaped out of her throat. She subconsciously took half a step back, her divine power gathering around her, ready to activate the Wheel of Friendship and flee at any moment.
However, when the dust settled slightly and she saw the figure kneeling on one knee in the crater—body wreathed in wisps of white smoke, armor shattered beyond recognition, yet still exuding a familiar aura—the string of her heart, stretched to its absolute limit, suddenly slackened.
It's him! Seiya! He's finally back?!
A wave of emotion—it was hard to say if it was relief or something else—surged through her.
On Stella's exquisitely beautiful face, she almost instinctively and with incredible skill began to manipulate her facial muscles, trying to squeeze out her signature, flawless, ice-meltingly sweet smile.
"Oh my, my Lord Go— Huh?"
The figure in the crater seemed to have exhausted his last ounce of strength. He swayed violently, his body tilting forward completely out of control, like a puppet with its strings cut, and toppled straight towards her!
Stella's smile instantly froze on her face, her mind a complete blank. She even forgot to dodge, or perhaps, the angle at which he fell was so cunning that it made her feel he did it on purpose.
That man, covered in wounds and exuding a terrifying aura, just like that, without any buffer, plunged headfirst into Her Majesty Stella's lofty, soft, alabaster-like, and gorgeously robed—bosom.
____
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