Ah...(｀Д)!!
Damian turned to stone, his mouth hanging open and not closing for a long time.
Hey...
Seiya, you've really let me down.
Where's the promised Pegasus Meteor Fist?
Where's the promised burning Cosmo?
He turned his head and only then saw Seiya lying on the ground like a dead pig, and he felt like going crazy.
Right—just as he launched the Pegasus Meteor Fist, Seiya suddenly fainted and completely lost consciousness, so the Pope ruled Damian the winner.
Looks like that Great Horn was too powerful. Seiya is just a fledgling. I clearly didn't even use my Cosmo, and yet he couldn't take a single Great Horn.
When he stood up just now, it was only a last gasp!
"Beautifully done!"
"Can anyone tell me what just happened?"
"How is Seiya so fragile!"
"Was it just one move and Seiya was done?"
"Unbelievable!"
Some onlookers were baffled, some cheered, some were speechless.
"Seiya!"
At Marin's shout, the fallen Seiya was carried out of the arena.
Shaina clapped and cheered, over the moon.
Moments later, Damian too received thunderous applause and cheers.
This was an honor for the strong!
"Damian, you have become a Saint of the goddess Athena."
"Remember, a Cloth possesses great power. You may only wear it to uphold justice."
The Pope proclaimed the catechism loudly.
Staring at the Pegasus Cloth casket, Damian fell silent.
Damn it!
He hadn't wanted to meddle with the main plot, and yet now he'd personally scrambled it. You could even say he'd single-handedly cut the main plot off.
What now?
Was he going to be Damian, the Pegasus Saint, from now on?
Replacing Seiya to fight in the Galactic Tournament, take the Twelve Gold Temples, fight Poseidon, fight Asgard, then fight Hades?
Steamrolling with Cosmo all the way?
What a joke.
Truth be told, someone else was even more dumbfounded—Pansy.
She had never expected Damian to win, much less so decisively. That seeded candidate who had awakened his Cosmo—Seiya—had proved so powerless.
She thought he would lose, but he'd directly become a Saint.
A total slap in the face!
Aren't Saints supposed to take pride in their Cosmo? Since when is muscle king?
She had no choice—she couldn't show any dissatisfaction. She had to look as overjoyed as Shaina.
Enough already!
"I don't want the Pegasus Cloth!"
Damian simply barked out loudly.
His voice was strong and powerful, echoing across the vast arena.
The rolling sound instantly drowned out all others.
The arena, lively to the extreme just a moment ago, seemed struck by lightning and fell silent in an instant.
The Pope and the two Silver Saints were about to leave but found they couldn't move their feet.
"The Pegasus Cloth is just a mere Bronze Cloth!"
"How could such a Cloth be worthy of me?"
"I don't want such an ugly Cloth…"
Damian's voice echoed across the arena.
It left everyone at a loss.
"What is he saying?"
"He doesn't want the Pegasus Cloth?"
"The Pegasus Bronze Cloth isn't worthy of him?"
A sea of question marks filled the crowd.
A Pegasus Cloth countless candidates dreamt of was being dismissed as ugly?
"Crap, this brat's brain is acting up again."
Shaina clenched her fists, itching to rush up and beat Damian.
He'd finally earned the Pegasus Cloth, and now the brat rejected it in public.
His brain was definitely broken again!
Pansy was even more dumbfounded.
"I'd heard the Sanctuary's gravekeeper was odd before—today I've seen it for myself."
"Not odd—sick!"
"Is the Pegasus Cloth really that ugly? Isn't it quite nice?"
The scene was a mess; nearly everyone was questioning whether Damian was crazy.
What was going on?
Did this gravekeeper Damian really have a screw loose?
The Cloth was in hand, and he said it wasn't worthy of him.
"Boastful brat—he dares say a Cloth isn't worthy of him?"
Misty frowned slightly, displeasure in her eyes.
Beside her, Algol was even more puzzled. "I'd heard the Sanctuary gravekeeper had mental issues, but I didn't think he was this far gone."
The Pope's voice rang out, quickly suppressing the surrounding objections: "Damian, why do you reject the Pegasus Cloth?"
"This is an honor bestowed by the goddess and a reward granted by me."
"You may not refuse lightly."
The Pope's tone brooked no defiance, with a hint of threat.
Indeed, a Cloth is the symbol of a Saint and an essential piece of armor.
Without a Cloth, can you still be called a Saint?
No one would have imagined someone would dislike a Cloth for being ugly and toss it away as soon as he got it.
Was his brain fried?
Damian said nothing more. He walked to the Pegasus Cloth casket, reached out, and pulled the ring in the Pegasus statue's mouth.
Clack-clack…
With the rattle of chains, the casket fully opened.
The Pegasus Cloth appeared before them, gleaming silver in the sun.
Swish, swish, swish!
Damian stripped the Cloth out and put it on piece by piece.
"Heavy—like wearing a metal shell. It's got to be at least a hundred pounds."
He felt the weight.
Cloths are very special; they can change size with the user, and it fit him snugly.
Only when the Cosmo is driven will the Cloth become light and its defense maximize. Otherwise, it's a metal suit of armor—especially a Bronze Cloth—which requires Cosmo to drive it.
"Do you see this chestplate?"
Damian pointed at his bulging pecs. "Why is there armor only over the left pec—what about the right?"
"I have two pecs. The left is protected—what about the right?"
"Who designed this Cloth? Let me beat him to death!"
Many people nodded at that.
Say what you will, the Pegasus Cloth's design was a bit unreasonable. With pecs this massive, to only protect the left truly was asymmetrical.
"Your Holiness, if this Cloth can't even cover my pecs, what good is it to me?"
Facing the Pope, Damian jiggled his two massive pecs, wearing a pained expression: "Everyone can see it—only one pec is dancing. It's hideous. Either both are dancing, or both are fully covered."
"Even bras come in pairs—why is the Cloth made like this?"
"I can't accept a Cloth like this."
"Your Holiness, please take it back."
Right. I'm not taking the Pegasus Cloth!
It reeks of cockroach protagonist—whoever wants it can have it!
Silence fell again.
An unassailable reason.
It did make sense—and left everyone stunned.
Just because the chestplate is asymmetrical, you don't want the Cloth?
Clearly, such a remark only a lunatic would make also left Pope Saga bewildered, at a loss for words.
After a moment's thought, Saga finally declared, "Everyone must abide by the rules of the Cloth battles!"
"If you don't want the Pegasus Cloth, then fight for another Cloth."
"This Pegasus Cloth is still yours."
"If there's a Cloth you want to fight for, I can arrange it."
Arrange?
Saga!
Lunatic, why make things hard for a fellow lunatic?
You just had an episode that made me slip up—now I'll have one for you.
Gazing up at the Pope, Damian smiled, his pecs rippling:
"All right—then I want to fight for the Cloth of Gemini Gold Saint Saga!"
As soon as the words fell, the Pope's body jolted, and a powerful Cosmo swept forth…