Unlike Gold Saints, who handled relatively little day‑to‑day work, the Pope's duties were immense.
So not long after Kanon took the papal seat, Shion dragged him straight into the Pope's Palace to familiarize him with the job.
The Sanctuary's affairs far outstripped those of Poseidon's sea realm. Before Kanon could even enjoy being Pope, he was nearly reduced to tears by the endless piles of documents.
But whenever he thought about how he could now lord it over his big brother, his energy returned. For Kanon, it was pain and joy in equal measure.
Andromeda Island.
As the training ground of Shun, one of the Bronze Five, Andromeda Island was guarded by the powerful Silver Saint Albiore. It was also one of the Sanctuary's scattered outposts around the world, much like Death Queen Island.
After attending the coronation of the new Pope, Albiore returned here. In addition to Andromeda Saint Albiore himself, the island hosted several Bronze Saints and dozens of Saint candidates, all his disciples.
Lately Albiore had been riding high. Leaving Gold Saints aside, many Silver and Bronze Saints had been deliberately cozying up to him. Even the Gold Saints treated him with marked courtesy.
Why? First, his own strength had broken through to the Seventh Sense—early Gold Saint level. While any of the Twelve Gold Saints were still stronger than he was, that wasn't why he was so sought after.
His disciple Shun was the Andromeda Saint and one of Athena's Five Guardians. Everyone in the Sanctuary knew how highly Athena valued them. They trained daily under Gold Saints.
Then look at the masters of the other Guardians: Gold Saint Camus, Gold Elder Dohko, and Gold Saint Aiolia. The last Guardian had been trained by the Sanctuary's most mysterious man, who called himself Athena's guardian, and had already attained high‑tier Gold Saint strength while still young.
Only Albiore was "just" a Silver.
Second, when Athena returned to the Sanctuary, almost all Silvers and Bronzes had watched and waited. Only Albiore had personally led her in and been first to swear allegiance.
Add those two reasons to his early Gold‑level strength, and Athena naturally valued him highly.
So long as he didn't get himself killed or commit some unforgivable sin, there would always be a place for Albiore in the Sanctuary.
His status was even higher than that of the famous "Twin Silver Stars" of the Sanctuary—Lizard and Perseus. Those two had recently broken through to the Seventh Sense and were younger than Albiore. Their future would clearly reach beyond early Seventh Sense.
The force Albiore had assembled on Andromeda Island was quite impressive. Most were Bronze Saints and candidates, nothing compared to the Sanctuary proper.
But compared with regional outfits like the Valhalla Sect in the North, Andromeda Island was already a respectable power. In a vast northern region, Valhalla was considered a major force, and yet its former leader Doluba had only barely reached the Seventh Sense. Its supporting Ice Saints mostly hovered at Sixth Sense. Stronger than Andromeda Island, yes—but not by a large margin.
Watching his disciples train hard, Albiore felt his blood burn. He still remembered what the goddess had told him when he'd left the Sanctuary: she hoped he would nurture more talented Saints for the Sanctuary, that he was one of its pillars, and that he should not worry about money—so long as he produced talent, the Sanctuary would provide all the funds he needed.
I can't betray the goddess's expectations, he told himself over and over.
What he didn't know was that this was precisely what Meruem had instructed Saori to say to every Saint with their own external forces.
The goal, of course, was to win hearts. Chimera Ants had little use for money; Meruem was practically drowning in it. If gold could win over Saints, he'd spend however much it took.
"Heh heh heh… So these are Athena's Saints? Pathetically weak." A mocking voice drifted across Andromeda Island.
Several unfamiliar yet powerful Cosmos had appeared over the island, in addition to Albiore and his disciples.
Albiore was shocked. Unknown enemies had reached the island without him noticing. Worse, even after one of them spoke, he still couldn't pinpoint their location.
While he stood stunned, one of his disciples reacted first. "Who's there? How dare you insult the goddess, you sneaking coward—"
He never finished. Flames erupted all over his body. Even Albiore had no time to save him; the boy was burned alive.
The surrounding disciples turned pale with terror.
They had never seen such terrifying power.
"Such a merciless technique…" Seeing his beloved disciple die before his eyes, Albiore finally snapped out of it. A veteran of countless battles, including the Saga Rebellion, he pushed his shock aside. Rage rose—but so did his battle calm.
Even at early Gold level, he was no slouch. In the TV original, he had been strong enough to fight Scorpio Milo to a standstill. If not for Aphrodite's sneak attack, Milo would have needed to use Scarlet Needle to finish him.
"Whoever you are, you won't run wild on my Andromeda Island. Saint Cross Bind!" Countless chains manifested behind Albiore and shot toward what seemed to be empty air.
Unlike Andromeda's ability to ignore space, one of Andromeda King's chains bore a Saintly Cross at its tip that could pierce all illusions.
A man in a strange purple armor appeared in Albiore's sight, bound tightly in place by the chains of the Andromeda King.
"It's you!" Behind him, his disciples cheered, but Albiore—who had weathered storms, the Saga Rebellion, and more—could not hold back a gasp when he saw the Cloth the stranger wore.
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