"Galaxian Explosion was actually blocked?!" "With just one finger…" "This man… just who is he?"
Under the astonished gazes of all the Gold Saints, Meruem had accomplished the feat of stopping Saga's Galaxian Explosion using only a single finger.
"Impossible…" Dark Saga panted, as if unable to accept this reality.
"Damn you! You think it's over just because of that? Demon Emperor Fist!" Dark Saga swung his fist again, but this time it was not the physically overwhelming Galaxian Explosion.
It was a terrifying mental‑type technique.
"That legendary demon fist!" "Saga, this guy actually—!"
"Using a mental attack in front of me?" Meruem's expression turned mocking.
"These eyes of mine… have long since surpassed the original Rinnegan that could cast the whole world into an illusion."
"A mere demon fist… be bounced back!" If it were just the original Sharingan, even the Rinnegan, or even Kaguya's power, they might not have been able to reflect Saga's demon fist.
But these eyes belonged to Meruem, so…
With a dull thud, Dark Saga suddenly dropped to his knees, his whole body beginning to convulse violently, as if in a seizure.
Sweat poured from his brow in great drops, running down Saga's forehead.
"Hah… hah… hah…" Struggling to wrench himself free from that horrifying world of illusion, Saga gulped desperately for air.
He greedily sucked in the surrounding air, as if that were the only way to ease his suffering.
"Just what… what are you?" Dark Saga once again demanded of Meruem.
"Don't tell me you're Athena's guardian again—I'm asking you one thing… are you even human?"
"Ah?" The question actually stumped Meruem for a moment. Was he, in fact, human?
"Let's say… more or less."
"Human… human, hahahaha. In that case, I, Saga… surrender."
The Saga Rebellion was over.
Saga, who had ruled the Sanctuary for thirteen long years, finally capitulated.
Fortunately, the Sanctuary's losses in this Twelve Temples war had not been as great as one might have imagined. Only a few Silver Saints had died in the conflict, and none of the remaining Gold Saints had fallen.
That was far better than in the original story, where over half the Gold Saints died…
It also meant that when the King of the Underworld awakened and revived Saints to ambush Athena, the number of Saints available for that sneak attack dropped to the bare minimum.
After that, the Sanctuary formally entered Athena's era of rule.
And no sooner had she taken charge than Athena announced sweeping reforms: improved housing, better food, and many other changes to the everyday lives of the Saints. Saori lacked nothing in terms of money; Meruem had even less reason to worry about money.
As a result, all the Saints in the Sanctuary, including those in training, suddenly found themselves blessed. Fine food, apartments, bonuses and salaries, a flood of modern technology, and fully upgraded entertainment facilities—benefits that had only ever appeared in their dreams nearly knocked the Saints senseless.
These reforms immediately won over the lowest‑ranking Saints.
Even the most basic gate guards were replaced. The old sentries, who were always dozing off, gave way to cutting‑edge electronic systems. Ordinary people trying to sneak in unnoticed… well, good luck. This was black technology from Bigao Star.
Oh, right—Saga was not executed. Meruem also helped him restore his former "Blue Saga" state. The other personality was not destroyed but instead was taken away by Meruem, under the lofty pretext of "other uses."
Strictly speaking, two people in the Sanctuary should have felt extremely uncomfortable with Saga still alive: Mu and Aiolia. One's master had died during Saga's rebellion, the other's brother. Of course, as long as Athena kept silent, their loyalty meant they wouldn't say much either…
But that wasn't the outcome Meruem wanted.
So… Meruem had no choice but to steal people from the King of the Underworld.
At the moment, Hades still resided inside Shun's body. In the Underworld itself, only Pandora was really handling affairs, while the twin gods of Death and Sleep usually stayed in Elysium.
If he didn't take advantage of this opening to pull some tricks, it would be too late later.
How to steal them?
The usual method, of course: Impure World Reincarnation plus Samsara Rebirth.
Thus he successfully resurrected Aiolos and former Pope Shion.
By the time Meruem finished all this, the way the Gold Saints looked at him had completely changed. Even Mu, who had previously been convinced that Meruem was Abel, began to waver. The power to resurrect the dead was supposed to be the exclusive domain of the King of the Underworld, Hades. Even if Abel was a previous‑generation sun god, he couldn't do that.
And Hades could not truly resurrect Saints perfectly either. The Saints revived by Hades all came with time limits. Most importantly, Shion and Aiolos both confirmed that Meruem was not Hades, the Sanctuary's greatest enemy. This left the Gold Saints utterly baffled.
Fortunately, the Saga Rebellion and the fact that Meruem had raised Athena all these years made it clear that he stood on Athena's side.
In the minds of the Gold Saints, Meruem had become a figure of unfathomable mystery.
The Sanctuary at present presented a scene of thriving prosperity, utterly unlike the decay that followed the Saga Rebellion in the original story.
Back then it had been a pitiful sight: a couple of stray cats and dogs, all the Silver Saints dead, only a handful of Bronze Saints left, and more than half the Gold Saints killed or wounded.
Now, the Silver Saints still retained the vast majority of their fighting strength, the Gold Saints were all alive and well, nearly every Bronze Saint was on standby, and there were tens of thousands of Sanctuary soldiers and Saint candidates.
Even if Hades were to resurrect right now with the twin gods of Death and Sleep and all 108 Specters in tow, it would not be easy to assault the Sanctuary head‑on.
On top of that, the two Gold ancients Shion and Dohko—each over two hundred years old—were still alive.
"Hey, hey, don't doze off. If the Bronze and Silver lords catch you, there'll be hell to pay." At the Sanctuary's main gate, a patrolling guard soldier shook the shoulder of a sentry who was leaning against a pillar with his head down.
"Cold… it's freezing…" But the moment his hand touched the other man's body, a bone‑chilling cold made him shudder.
"What's wrong with you?" The Sanctuary's grunt soldiers weren't known for their brains, but even he felt a bad premonition at the sight in front of him.
Sure enough, before his horrified eyes, the sentry crumbled into a heap of ice shards.
"Enemy attack! Enemy atta—!" Terrified, the patrolling guard scrambled to his feet and shouted toward the Sanctuary.
But he had barely gotten the first words out when he realized he could no longer move. A biting cold swept over his body at astonishing speed, encasing him completely.
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