Chapter 97 - 49: The Goddess’s Agreement, Countdown, Twelve Hours! (Part 1)

Chapter 97: Chapter 49: The Goddess’s Agreement, Countdown, Twelve Hours! (Part 1)

The golden glow of the setting sun plated the sacred mountain in a warm hue. Alex stood at the peak, the golden light of his Aquarius Cloth flowing within the afterglow.

He gazed as far as his eyes could see. At the end of the mountain path, several stumbling dark silhouettes appeared. Five Bronze Saints, carrying a stretcher, were running toward the Sanctuary with all their might.

On the stretcher, Saori Kido’s white robe was soaked with blood. The fletching of the golden arrow embedded in her chest trembled gently with her weak breaths, glaring piercingly in the twilight.

’Have they finally arrived?’ A complex light flashed through Alex’s eyes.

The Statue of Athena at the summit suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden light. A golden torrent cascaded down like a waterfall, completely shrouding the mountain peak.

A gentle female voice resonated directly in his mind, carrying divine majesty.

"Alex, I will have the five Bronze Saints storm through the Twelve Zodiac Temples fair and square to save Saori. After this matter is concluded, I hope you and I will unite our hearts and fight against Hades together!"

Alex turned slightly, gazing at the compassionate face of the statue.

’Having lost the Pope as a medium, can the Goddess only transmit her will through the statue now?’

He pondered for a moment.

"Acceptable! If they can make it through the Twelve Temples, everything that happened before will be written off!"

Among the Twelve Olympian Gods, Athena was indeed the one who protected humanity the most.

Furthermore, Saori Kido’s divine blood was still of use to him. He had never intended to let this reincarnation perish here anyway.

"But I have one condition," Athena’s voice carried a trace of hesitation. "I hope you will not intervene personally. Otherwise, I fear they will never make it past the Aquarius Temple."

Alex couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Rest assured, my student Hyoga is among them. I am not so cold-blooded as to deal a lethal blow to my own student."

"That is for the best."

The Goddess’s voice gradually dissipated, but from the corners of the statue’s eyes, two trails of golden tears slowly seeped out.

The teardrops slid down the cold stone surface, dragging long trails of light under the setting sun, resembling a solidified galaxy.

Alex gazed at those tear tracks, his eyes dark and profound. Even a goddess sheds tears...?

At the foot of the sacred mountain, Seiya leaned on his Pegasus Cloth Box, panting heavily as he looked up.

The Twelve Zodiac Temples stood upon the mountain path like twelve towering fortresses. Every single temple exuded a suffocating, oppressive aura.

Hyoga, Shiryu, Shun, and Ikki stood beside him. Their Bronze Cloths were still stained with the blood and grime of battle, and their faces were written with absolute resolve.

"So these are the Twelve Zodiac Temples?"

As a Saint who had been raised and trained by Dohko at the Five Old Peaks of Mount Lu, this was Shiryu’s very first time coming to the Sanctuary. He was utterly astonished by its majestic grandeur.

Words that Dohko had spoken to him echoed in his mind.

"Gold Saints... they are a group of people standing at the absolute pinnacle of this world!"

"I am also one of the Gold Saints!"

Shiryu tightened his grip on his nearly shattered Dragon Shield, his heart filled with apprehension. He had once made defeating a Gold Saint his lifelong goal.

But at this moment, truly facing this mountain-like oppressive pressure, his heart pounded wildly in his chest.

’Can I really defeat them?’

Shun’s eyes were full of worry as he looked at the stretcher beside them.

Saori Kido lay upon it. The golden arrow embedded in her chest had sunk more than halfway in, its fletching trembling gently with her every breath.

In truth, if Athena hadn’t used her divine power to protect Saori, the girl would have long since journeyed to the Underworld.

The God-Killing Arrow was inherently designed to slay deities, let alone the fact that Saori Kido had not yet fully awakened as a god.

Looking at her pale face and feeling her life force on the verge of extinguishing, everyone clenched their fists tightly.

Through their time together these past few days, they had long since come to view this young lady as a treasure even more precious than their own lives.

On Death Queen Island, in a state of extreme fury, Seiya had slain Ptolemy with a single Pegasus Meteor Fist!

But when they saw the extent of Saori Kido’s injuries, everyone instantly found themselves entirely at a loss for what to do.

_____

T/N:

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