"Who dares intrude upon the Sanctuary?" As the Sanctuary's final line of defense and ultimate power, the Gold Saints guarded the Twelve Temples, the last barrier on the path to Athena's temple. Normally, aside from a very small number of special missions, they remained within the Twelve Temples.
The Sanctuary, of course, was far more than just the Twelve Temples. All the other buildings and key routes outside the Twelve Temples were defended by the Silver Saints, whose strength was second only to the Golds, while the Bronze Saints usually assisted the Silvers in their defensive duties.
Naturally, the so‑called Bronze Saints here did not include the familiar group of "Bronze punks."
Not far from the Twelve Temples, the Colonnade was guarded by a powerful Silver Saint: Centaurus Babel.
At this moment, he was facing off against a mysterious black‑clad figure.
For someone to slip past the Sanctuary's main gate, cross the first defensive line, and infiltrate this deeply without a sound clearly meant they were no ordinary opponent.
Although the main gate of the Sanctuary was packed with surveillance and high‑tech defensive systems, that didn't mean absolute security. Saints were monsters who could not be measured by common sense.
Fortunately, the Colonnade was defended by a formidable Silver Saint. Even if the intruder wasn't simple, this was still the Sanctuary.
"Tch, so I've been found. I thought the Saints of the Sanctuary were all a bunch of pushovers, but it seems someone can at least sense my presence. Are you a Gold Saint? You don't feel that impressive. Never mind, I'll take you out first and then go kill Athena." The black figure showed no trace of stealth befitting an infiltrator; instead, he openly mocked Babel. A man who was never exactly mild‑tempered to begin with, Babel immediately saw red.
"Sorry… I'm not a Gold Saint. Truly, terribly sorry about that. But even if I'm just a lowly Silver Saint, getting through here won't be that easy for you." It was a wonder the character "井" wasn't literally popping out all over Babel's forehead.
"Silver… Saint? Isn't the Sanctuary supposed to have only Gold Saints and Bronze Saints? Since when was there a 'Silver' rank?" At Babel's words, the black‑clad man actually seemed confused.
He could hardly be blamed. The land where this man came from had enjoyed peace for a very long time, and it lay in a bitterly cold, remote region of the Earth. Very few Silver Saints ever went there on missions. Aside from knowing tales of the Sanctuary's Gold Saints, he only knew that Bronze Saints existed.
"Damn you, are you looking down on me? Flame Storm Fist!" But in Babel's ears, the man's words had a completely different flavor—he took them as mockery. Rage surged through him.
Are you making fun of me for losing to a Bronze on the Galaxian Wars arena?
"Hmph, that level of flame isn't even half as powerful as Hagen's! Viking Tiger Roar Fist!" A dark green armor appeared within Babel's field of vision.
The enemy's technique was ice!
Babel's flames were fierce, but compared with the other's freezing cold, they still fell slightly short. In their first clash, Babel was a bit outmatched.
The index and middle fingers of his right hand were frostbitten by that icy Cosmo.
"Is that all you've got? Die, Blue Pulse Fist!" The opponent excelled not only in Cosmo but also in speed, moving incredibly fast. For a power‑type fighter like Babel, there was no way to match the other man's rhythm.
He was completely suppressed.
As time passed, more and more wounds appeared on Babel's body. At this rate, the one who would be killed was almost certainly going to be him.
"Damn it… where did this monster come from? His strength is above high‑tier Silver. Among the Silver Saints, only a few could defeat him."
"This fighting style… it's just like those Vikings… Could it be…" Something seemed to click in Babel's mind, and a bad feeling rose in his chest. Weren't those guys supposed to be… staunchly peaceful?
"Hahahaha, an opening! Viking Tiger Roar Fist!" The enemy once again unleashed that powerful freezing technique, and Babel answered with his own flames.
The chill struck Babel, and Babel's fire struck the enemy.
But sadly, in the end, Babel was the one who fell. His body was covered in ice crystals as he lay on the ground, twitching.
Even so, before going down, Babel had carved several wounds into his opponent. The man's left hand had been burned by Babel's searing heat.
"Tch… never thought just one Saint could injure me. Looks like coming to the Sanctuary to test the Saints' strength was the right call. Hm? Someone's coming." Sensing someone approaching, the black‑clad man immediately slipped into the nearby shadows.
A short figure in a red tank top stepped into the Colonnade from another direction.
"Babel~ I came to see you. Huh? What's going on?" The newcomer was none other than Seiya, one of the familiar Bronze punks. His Cloth had been shredded during the Twelve Temples battle.
Pegasus's Cloth was currently with Mu for repairs. With Saori's identity misunderstanding resolved, Seiya often dropped by. In the Galaxian Wars, Babel, a Silver Saint, had actually been his opponent—proof that some friendships really begin with a good fight.
Seiya had taken quite a liking to this straightforward, boisterous Silver Saint.
After the Twelve Temples battle, the two stayed in frequent contact, so it was hardly the first time Seiya had come to the Colonnade to look for Babel.
"Babel? Who did this to you?" Seiya hurriedly helped the grievously injured Babel up, asking anxiously.
"Watch… out…"
"Viking Tiger Roar Fist!" The powerful freezing Cosmo surged forth again—this time in a sneak attack.
"Pegasus Meteor Fist!" In fact, the moment Seiya saw Babel wounded, he had already been on guard. Hearing Babel's warning, he didn't hesitate to counterattack at once.
But without his Cloth, how could Seiya possibly withstand such a ferocious cold? Sadly, he too was instantly frozen into a solid block of ice.
"Tch, I don't know where you crawled out from, kid, but… sorry." The black‑clad man emerged beside the two. Under the moonlight, his true form was finally revealed to the world.
His body was over ninety percent covered in armor, and on his head sat a huge, dark green saber‑toothed tiger helmet.
He was Dubhe Beta Siegfried's fellow Norse God Warrior? No—this one was Megrez Delta Thor's comrade—no, more precisely:
Norse God Warrior, Dubhe Epsilon Syd, and also the twin brother of Bud.
"Pegasus Comet Fist!" Just as Syd turned to leave, Seiya, who had been encased in ice, suddenly burned with a fierce Cosmo and shattered the ice in one burst.
"Compared to Hyoga's cold air, you're still a long way off," Seiya said, still shivering violently but refusing to back down.
"I was going to give you a quick death…" Syd muttered.
"You're… Brother Bud. Why?" Seiya stared at that face—almost identical to Bud's—and was struck dumb with shock.
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