Moonlight, thick as ink, reflected the figures of the Three Goddesses.
Although the original work allowed for the summoning of Medusa and Gzirgon as manifestations, the Three Goddess avatars now acquired from Alexander using the black eyes were presented before Seiya in an even more perfected form.
A more profound domain of darkness was descending. It was the same Ancient Night as before, but perhaps Athena had realized that only by defeating Pegasus could she secure her future. The power she wielded from shattering the world was even more terrifying, a domain of greater potency that utterly consumed this land.
Seiya's gaze fixed on the moon behind the Goddess, and he resolutely stepped into its midst.
Luminous gazes collided, and a symphony of battle erupted.
Four figures intertwined at this moment. Both sides, with Athena wielding a shield and spear, collided with immense kinetic energy. Under the impact of explosive sound waves, flesh and blood flew. The Saint, at this moment, was an invincible warrior; Athena was suppressed, forced to retreat rapidly. Gzirgon raised her spear, thrusting it at Seiya's neck, but he caught the spear and then punched clean through her chest.
Immediately after, he launched an aerial kick at Metis, who was striking from the side. This Master of Night, however, was now glowing all over, crashing into the earth like a cannonball. He turned to look at the mangled and contorted monstrous Mother Goddess, then with an expressionless face, advanced further.
—Combat Technique: Pegasus Light Speed Fist!
Blazing light enveloped her body. This ancient Goddess was utterly annihilated in the light at that moment.
Immediately after, a Pegasus Spinning Kick sent the half-human, half-ant Athena bouncing towards distant Ireland. He forcibly endured the spear and lance Metis thrust, snapping them easily. Then, in her soaring flash, he grabbed her ankle and violently pulled her down.
Seiya grabbed Metis's lower leg, smashing her forcefully into the ground. Her nostrils were filled with the acrid scent of earth. Before even a hundredth of a second passed, with heaven and earth spinning, she was once again violently slammed down.
"Oh, Night, this is the hour for the Queen of the Underworld to reign! Respond to my invitation, draw down the celestial curtain!" Metis spoke rapidly, uttering divine words.
An overwhelming host of shadows, riding the darkness that swept through all creation, like a raging wind tearing through towering buildings, and even riding the desperate sighs of those cruelly devoured, closed in on Seiya.
And these beings, shrouded in darkness, if one were to slow down dynamic vision a thousandfold, one would see that they were a multitude of tawny owls and colorful poisonous snakes.
Although the Ancient Night before had embodied a darkness like distorted mud, twisted by the extinction of all colors, the shadows pursuing him now were a completely different manifestation of darkness.
But it was all useless; they turned to ashes and vanished in a flash upon approaching the Saint.
The defensive effect of the Solar Receptor form meant that the Cloth was enveloped by Solar Scorpion Flames reaching a temperature of 1 million degrees Celsius. This was a wall of desperation that ordinary Saints could absolutely not penetrate.
The tawny owls consumed by the Solar Halo Flames all turned into brilliant golden flames, and after a brief glide, dissolved into a showering rain of light. The swarms of snakes lost their colors, evaporated and disintegrated by the sun.
As for Metis, Seiya grabbed her by the head, then forcefully pulled her into his embrace.
—Combat Technique: Atomic Thunder Bolt!
Without any vitality, without any room for maneuver, Metis likewise completely dissolved and vanished in the light and radiance.
Seiya gazed at Athena, who had reappeared from the sky. At this moment, he suddenly understood that this realm was now dominated by Athena.
Yet, without a word, this last Goddess resolutely raised her spear and charged at Seiya.
Perhaps, if even Alice could glimpse the future, how could Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, not see it? Yet she still resolutely gambled everything. Just like Achilles in the Trojan War, who knew his future, resolutely took off his boots and stepped into a fate that beckoned.
"Entrusting myself to the crystal, I sing the hymn of the Triune Goddess. Connecting sky, earth, and darkness, for cycles and wisdom.
The ultimate Authority, the ultimate secret ritual, the ultimate power – at this moment, Athena staked everything.
"I chant, chanting through the crystal the song of the Goddess subjected to low status. As queen, yet viewed as a forbidden blight – this is the queen's sigh. My pure self chants through the crystal, singing the poem of the Goddess whose body and mind were torn apart. Subjected to plunder by the lofty patriarchy – this is the compassionate mother's plundering. My name is Athena, daughter of Zeus, the Guardian Goddess of Athens, the eternal virgin. In the past, I was the Mother Earth who gave birth to all things! In the past, I was the Lord of the Underworld who controlled the black eyes! In the past, I was the Queen of Wisdom who understood the scattered wisdom of the heavens! I swear, I shall surely triumph!"
Above the celestial vault, a deep rumbling flash erupted, like thunder echoing from afar, or like the sound of unimaginably colossal objects rubbing together.
At the edge of the battlefield, the Witch Queen Guinevere looked at the dazzling moon overhead. She could faintly perceive the majesty emanating from the sacred object that struck fear into the world. That was the world-destroying Savior God Blade, the final sword of the Last King, the embodiment of the strongest steel.
The incomplete secret ritual for wielding that Savior God Blade, and the places where it might appear, were all told by her to Athena; she did not hide anything. Because whether Athena became the darkness that devoured the world, or whether this would summon the Last King, the slayer of fox Gods, both these outcomes were acceptable to her.
And what Alice wanted to tell Seiya was that Athena's descent here was precisely to summon that God-weapon that had slept for a thousand years. Then, after Ancient Night fully manifested, she would use this sword to carve out a new world.
Even if, hypothetically, everything went as Athena wished, the question remained: was there still enough time?
The Witch Queen Guinevere, revered by all witches, gazed at the sun that utterly shattered the dark expanse – the sun, embodiment of light and law. A smile, which even she hadn't noticed, appeared at the corner of her lips. The night wind ruffled her hair; she turned her head to look at the last remnants of darkness: "Farewell, Metis."
History was repeating itself at this moment.
Just like the scene that unfolded this spring in Sardinia.
"Oh, Athena, please witness this body and grant me victory!!" The Saint also uttered his Kotodama at this moment.
In an instant, a blazing light that made even the Gods turn their heads shone within Seiya's body. His fully burning Cosmo transformed into a radiant, swirling vortex that enveloped Seiya's body.
Next, the Cosmo used the Athena before him as its core, transforming into a Solar Scorpion Halo that pierced heaven and earth.
—Combat Technique: Pegasus Solar Receptor Fist!
In the instant she was swallowed by the light, what did Athena think? Was it, as she had said before, the mother's sigh, the queen's plundering of dignity, the old woman's hindered wisdom? The answer was: none of those. She looked at the Saint before her and revealed a heartfelt smile.
The light of dawn rose from the east, and Christmas Eve drew to a close.
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