"As expected, something is off in the north. That World Tree is a real problem—it can actually suppress Cosmo. Fortunately, Lord Meruem gave us those miraculous tools. Otherwise, our strength would have been cut by thirty or forty percent." Meruem's deal with the Underworld had not taken long—only a single night—and the Sanctuary's northern squad had only just reached Asgard and linked up with Deathmask.
Arriving while Deathmask was out, they had to learn the recent situation in the north from the Silver Saints. To an ordinary person living there, the changes would seem wonderful. Thanks to the new climate, the once-barren north was becoming more prosperous. But in the eyes of Saints from the Sanctuary, it was another story.
Things in the north looked grim. Not only were the Saints' Cosmos being suppressed, but even the Silvers could sense what was happening to the people. Beneath the prosperity, the life force of all the northern folk was slowly draining away.
The loss was so gradual that normal people would never notice, chalking it up to their bodies reacting to rapid changes in the weather. In reality, every day—every moment—the lives of the northern people were quietly being consumed. If this went on long enough, the entire region would become a dead land.
As guardians of the earth, the Sanctuary could not ignore this, even if these people worshiped Odin instead of Athena.
Just then, the door of the room where the Gold Saints had gathered swung open. Deathmask walked in, wearing a sleeveless shirt and radiating washed-up middle-aged energy, yawning as he came. Clearly, he had not slept well.
"Yo, you're all here." Bleary-eyed but calm, he glanced at the casually dressed Gold Saints, offered a lazy greeting, and headed straight for the bed.
Veins popped across the foreheads of the Gold Saints in unison.
So completely ignoring their presence.
"Deathmask, you looking to rebel?" Aiolia snapped. "Or do you need my roses to wake you up?" Aphrodite added.
"You really haven't changed at all," Saga said with a small laugh and a shake of his head. As Deathmask's former "boss" (during the Saga incident) and one of his closest friends (Deathmask was one of the few who knew Saga's identity and still supported him), he knew the man's nature well.
Rather than a bloodthirsty sadist, he was basically a lazy shut-in who liked to hole up at home. The "corpses" in Cancer's temple had mostly been souls he'd grabbed from who-knew-where to train his Sekishiki techniques. The man had barely killed anyone himself.
Hearing Saga and Aphrodite's voices, Deathmask finally lifted his head, eyes dull. "Oh, it's the boss and the dead rose. You guys came too."
"Boss" was his nickname for Saga. "Rose" was for Aphrodite. Among the twelve Gold Saints, these were the only two he was really close to, just as Aiolia was especially close to Mu and Shaka, and Milo to Camus. Comradeship did not mean everyone was equally tight.
"Heh, dead crab, judging from that face you went to that girl's house last night, didn't you?" Aphrodite somehow produced a rose, bringing it to his lips with a teasing smile.
At that, Deathmask bolted upright like someone had lit a fire under him. "Damn rose, don't talk nonsense! Helena and I are clean—no, I mean, yes, I went to her house, but it's not what you think, it was her little brother—"
Despite his unshaven face, Helena was in fact his first love. The moment the topic touched her, he turned into a stammering mess.
The more he explained, the less clear it became.
"Listen, Death, none of us are here to meddle in your private life. But I hope you haven't forgotten the mission Lord Meruem gave you. Don't forget: first, you are a Gold Saint; only after that are you Deathmask." After everyone had had their laugh, Saga clapped a hand on his shoulder and spoke earnestly.
"Relax, boss. I know what I'm doing. I won't let feelings get in the way. I'm a Gold Saint—I never know when I might die in battle. I—"
"No, that's not what I meant." Seeing his words misunderstood, Saga cut him off. "When we left, Lord Meruem stopped me and asked me to pass something on."
"If you like her, then go after her. Bring her back, and I'll officiate your wedding myself. But don't forget your duty; only by guarding this land can you protect the ones you love. Seems our lord already knew about you back then. Keep your public and private lives separate, Death."
"…My lord…" Deathmask's voice grew thick.
"A grown man, sniveling like that—what a sight. If Athena sees you, you're done." Aphrodite smacked him hard on the back. "Still, you two really got that far already? Never would've guessed."
"Heh." Deathmask did his trademark move, lightly rubbing the tip of his nose with a finger.
"All right, that's enough. Time to talk about why we're actually here in the north." Ever the organizer, Saga promptly dragged everyone back to the topic at hand.
"Immortal Art: Samsara of Heavenly Life!" With the souls of the former Gold Saints in hand, Meruem did not even need Impure World Reincarnation anymore.
He grabbed a few random scrubs from some unknown constellation, suppressed their minds, slapped counterfeit Rinnegan on them, and cast the ultimate resurrection technique.
Eleven powerful Cosmos flared, and eleven mighty warriors appeared before him.
Why eleven, and not twelve? Because in the last Holy War, two Gold Saints had survived: Aries Shion and Libra Dohko. Meruem had also hoped to revive White and Sage, the two venerable, monstrously strong elders. Unfortunately, Sage's soul had been completely scattered by his Soul Burial Wave, and White's had burned out using Tenryōha.
A real pity.
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