LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 37 – Assault on Atlantis Part 1
Jayr POV - Atlantis, Poseidon's Temple - 1987
After Kanon, disguised as Sea Dragon disappeared, Georg, turn around and asks to Tethis in a calm tone "So... How can we save Athena?", Tethis looks at us for a few seconds then let out a sigh and says "Ha... I'll now tell you, Athena is imprisoned within the Mainstay, having sacrificed herself to delay the destruction of the earth, when the chamber inside fills with water, Athena will die, to save your Athena, you must destroy the mainstay, but you'll never be able to do that... Here surrounding Poseidon's Temple, are the pillar that supports the seven seas of the world, unless you destroy those seven pillars first, you can't put so much as a crack in the mainstay, which is the heart of Poseidon's Temple".
Hearing that I think while hiding my grin 'Yes everything is like I remember... And using the Crateris Cloth's ability, I confirmed that the other Marinas General are the same too, the only one that changed is the Kraken one, as Isaak is now on our side...', meanwhile, Tethis continues "Of course, each of the pillars is guarded by one of our invincible Generals, obviously, you must take them down before you can destroy the pillar... That's why I told you to bring the Gold Saints, you Silvers don't stand a chance against the Generals... But it's too late to bring them here now, the water inside the Mainstay is already up to Athena's knees, ha ha ha ha!".
Seeing that she finished with her explanation, I turn to the others and says "Well you heard her... We have to divide, Georg, you go to the Pillar of the North Pacific", Georg nods and says "I'll destroy the pillar for sure...", then I say "Juan, the Pillar of the South Pacific is yours...", and Juan says "Yup, it will be a walk in the aquatic park...", I then look at Rigel and say "Teacher Rigel..." but he stops me and says "I'll take the Pillar of the Indian Ocean...", and I nod while thinking 'He already understood my plan...', then I continue "Agol, you go to the Pillar of the Antarctic Ocean...", and I add "Be careful...", Agol remember the info I gave about the abilities of the General I knew and understand about what I was talking about, and after nodding a scowl appears on his face, appearing displeased with about his opponent.
I continue by looking at Isaak, who beats me to it and says "I know, the Pillar of the Arctic Ocean, right?" and I simply nod, then I say "And I'll go to Pillar of the South Atlantic...", and after everyone nod, Rigel says "After having destroyed the Pillars we'll meet back here, but be ready to give support to the others if needed...", and Agol adds "For some strange reason everyone thinks that the Gold Saints are the only dangerous one, it kinda annoys me so it's time to show everyone the might of Athena's Silver Saints!", then I yell "Let's go!!", and we all disperse, quickly moving toward our objective at our fasted speed allowed while still conserving the energy to fight.
And after running for 20 minutes, I finally see the huge Pillar of the South Atlantic, it is located on top of a hill to the west of the Temple of Poseidon, in an area apparently submerged, it is an area especially rich in corals that form violet barriers up to six feet high and substantially surround the Pillar's area, anchoring to the base on both sides, and covering a small part, these corals are the only visible walls to the right and left of the Pillar.
Other coral formations flank the marble staircase leading to the square where the Pillar is located, composed of a central corridor of square and blue slabs, and on the sides of the same color but with irregularly cut slabs.
At the end of this open space, about twenty meters wide, is the complex of the Pillar, it is very simple compared to those I have seen in the other oceans, but no less elegant and sculpted in white marble with lilac reflections, the Pillar rises on a base of a height of five or six meters, and connected to the ground by, surprise, another long flight of stairs without handrails 'For the love of Athena! Just how much did the author of Saint Seiya love long-ass stairs he puts them everywhere...!'.
I look more closely at the Pillar and notice that the base is not perpendicular but oblique, and is divided into two or three tiers, each about one meter high, each tier is recessed half a meter with respect to the one below, a bit like in the pyramids, and decorated with rectangular grooves aligned with those of the others, at the top, right in the center, there is a column flanked by two other columns parallel to each other, to form aisles.
The columns of the inner colonnade are circular, and of a height of five or six meters, each covered by a square abacus, flat and with a thickness of a few centimeters, those of the outer colonnade are visibly lower and lack an abacus.
(Image Here - Pillar of the South Atlantic)
As I stand in front of the huge Pillar, I once again hear the familiar sound of a flute, and turning around, I see Siren Sorrento calmly walking toward me, then he stops playing his flute and says "You and Athena were right... There is definitely something wrong with Sea Dragon, we Mariners did indeed gather here on Lord Poseidon's will, his Divine Cosmo is empowering us... But it is Sea Dragon who is calling all the shots in Lord Poseidon's name, and I saw how he easily let you go and even ordered Tethis to explain how to free Athena so that the conflict would escalate...", hearing that I smile and say "Yes, this is all Kanon plot, he awakened Poseidon before the destined time, and he is now keeping him in a half-awaked state so that he can easily control you, the Mariners... He hopes that Athena and Poseidon destroy themselves so that he can rule over the world, he is quite ambitious...".
Sorrento nods, but he doesn't lower his guard, instead, he burns his Cosmo and says "And what it that you and Athena want?", spreading my arms wide I reply "Simple we want peace and to save as many lives as possible, since the fact that he wants to purge the whole humanity just because of a few rotten ones is too much of a drastic measure... But since Poseidon himself isn't an evil God, we think that we can find a way to make Poseidon change his stance... And if it doesn't work, we will just seal him back...".
Sorrento nods and says "Very well, since this war isn't Lord Poseidon's will, I will help you guys stop it", I nod at him and send a telepathic message to Kiki, and soon he teleports next to me with the Libra Pandora Box on his shoulders saying "Jayr here is the Libra Cloth!" then he notice Sorrento and hiding behind me he says "Oii! The enemy is still fine, why did you call me so soon!?", but I calm him down by explaining that he is on our side, then the Libra Pandora Box opens, and the Libra Cloth reveals itself, and the next moment, the golden nunchakus, fly toward me.
I grab them and soon feel the immense power contained in them 'Yup... Made of the same materials as the Gold Cloths... Almost indestructible, and able to easily destroy a star or a planet!', I then ignite my Cosmo and make it explode to the max possible, and as a bright golden aura envelopes my body, I send my Cosmo into the nunchaku and run toward the Pillar, once close enough I swing it with all my strength, and as soon as the nunchaku hits the Pillar it explodes in a blinding golden light, with a loud sound akin that of a nuke exploding, the recoil of the impact alone would have pulverized the whole body of a normal man.
Then once I can see again, I notice the cracks expanding all over the Pillar, then with a loud rumble it starts to crumble into many pieces, at the same time I look at the totally undamaged nunchaku in my hand and say "Holy shit! That was crazy... No technique, just pure violence, and it works like charm...", at the same time I hear Kiki yells "You did it! You destroyed the Pillar of the South Atlantic!! Now only six remains!", then the Nunchaku flies back on the Cloth on it own and the Cloth reseal itself into the Pandora Box once his job is done, at the same time Sorrento asks "Now, what are you gonna do?", and I reply with "Now I'll go to the Pillar of the North Atlantic, that is where Sea Dragon, Kanon is, right?", and he nods then he says "Then I'll make sure that to prepare the rest of the Mariners for the eventual collapse of Atlantis...".
Georg POV - Atlantis, Pillar of the North Pacific - 1987
After separating from the group, I move in the direction of my objective, the Pillar of the North Pacific, without stopping even for a moment, and quickly dealing with all the rankless Mariners I met on the way in the most effective way, while still trying my best to keep them alive 'I have no time to lose here, Athena is still in danger!'.
And as the environment around me changes, and the Pillar grows closer, from the distance I hear a loud rumbling sound, and at the same time, I feel the ground shaking, looking at the origin of this sound, I see the Pillar of the South Atlantic crumbling in the distance 'Jayr already destroyed his Pillar... Good! This is a good start, the faster we finish this, the more lives we are able to preserve!'.
With renewed vigor, I once again run toward the Pillar that grows closer and closer, but I also look around and notice that now I'm surrounded by a great quantity of vegetation, it is some kind of algae there are also some other similar marine species in orange and golden tones, and soon I can clearly see the Pillar in the distance.
It is located in a strip of land bounded by a kind of pit or ravine, to reach it I must pass over a small bridge of stone and coral, the area before it is composed of a blue-gray stone slab, mostly covered by bluish coral, and on both sides of this area in a vaguely rectangular shape, about a 100 meters wide and 70 meters high, there are two colonnades that limit it, formed by only three columns each topped by a horizontal block, of a height close to 10 meters high, these columns are cylindrical, with the bases covered with coral and located at a distance of a few meters from each other.
Behind the columns, I can see clusters of corals and, in the distance, submerged mountains, and a few meters beyond the columns is the area where the Pillar that supports the North Pacific Ocean is located, it is an open square, marble area, raised some three or four meters above the ground, which is connected by a flight of stairs without handrails, with each side covered with corals.
On either side of this square, perpendicular to the Pillar, are two large staircases 15 meters high, vaguely similar to those of classical amphitheaters, surmounted by a series of circular columns, and about 3 meters from where the end of the staircase can be seen there is a colonnade that surrounds the Pillar on three sides, leaving only the front open.
In the center of this colonnade, exactly in front of the stairs that lead to the elevated floor, is the huge Pillar of the North Pacific, it is tens of meters high, with the upper part almost invisible as it plunges into the waters, and it consists of four sections, the first three are square, each narrower than the lower one, separated by a sort of cornices of fine stone, the fourth is cylindrical and forms the bulk of the Pillar.
The whole Pillar has a salmon pink color and the only ornament is on the last square and cylindrical section, it is an eagle with wings spread and head cocked, surrounded by four crouching lions, and seeing up close I can't help but say "It is almost a shame that I have to destroy this magnificent structure...".
(Image Here - Pillar of the North Pacific)
But then I hear a voice that says "I can't let you do that, if you so much as scratch this Pillar, you will die, no matter how many lives you have", and finally I see my opponent, he is a young man with blue-green eyes and a peach complexion, with light brown, long, tousled hair, reaching past his shoulders, wearing what is clearly the Scale of the Seahorse, an armor with many features of the Hippocampus, such as the fins on the arms, legs, and the entire top and back of the helmet like headpiece and like all the Scales, the armor cover most of his body.
(Image Here - Sea Horse Baian)
Getting ready for the fight I ask "So you must be my opponent? I'm Southern Cross Georg, to who I have the pleasure to talk?", and my opponent replies "I'm the guardian of the Pillar of the North Pacific, one of Poseidon's Seven Generals... Sea Horse Baian!!", then I feel his Cosmo raising as he says "If you want to destroy this pillar...", but I finish the sentence in his place "I have to defeat you first, right?", and Baian asks with a confident smirk on his face "You think you can, Southern Cross?".
I do not reply, and decide to test the water using one of my weaker moves, I gather my Cosmo in my right fist and generate real lightning, then I throw an uppercut aiming right above my opponent yelling "Wild Thunder!", sending an orb of lightning right above my opponent head from which many thunderbolts rains down the area around Baian, but I notice that there is some kind barrier around him defending him from my attacks.
But I quickly realize the secret behind it, as it is the same technique as my fellow Silver Saint Misty, he is basically using the air current around him to generate a shield of wind currents, but since he is a lot faster than Misty, in fact, he is moving at near-lightspeed, his Wind Shield is also stronger and so able to easily withstand this level of attack, 'The Seven Generals are indeed almost comparable with the Gold Saints... But the keyword here is almost...'.
While I was thinking that, Baian come out of my attack unscratched and quickly moves behind me, he says "Don't you understand? Your moves are ineffective against me... Let me show you the difference in our abilities!", he then concentrates his Cosmo as he bends his elbows and touches his shoulder pads with clenched fists while inhaling a large breath of air.
Then with a blow powered by his Cosmos he creates a gust of hurricane wind, "God Breath!", with which he hits me and lifts my body into the air until I'm about to hit a wall, but I was already prepared for this, and so turning my body around, I use my legs to break the impact and kicking the wall, I lightly land on the floor and ask "What are you the big bad wolf from the fairytales?", at the same time I think, 'This is bad... Juan's habit of saying silly things is rubbing off on me...'.
While Baian still appears calm, his Cosmo says otherwise, and with a cold expression on his face, he says "I see... So you want to die so badly, well if that is what you truly want, then you shall have it... I'll give you death! Take this, Southern Cross! Sea Horse greatest move!!", Baian then opens his arms in a cross and begins to concentrate his Cosmo.
Soon after, the image of a Hippocampus appears behind him and two walls of salt water emerge at his sides, and next, Baian raises his right arm and the walls of water become torrents that completely surround my body, then, he opens his right hand and gives a powerful blow to the air yelling "Rising Billow!!", generating a strong current that when joining with the water creates a violent tornado with which he lifts me to the skies.
I feel my body impact the water above, that at this speed is like impacting hard concrete, but my body doesn't stop and keeps rising at tremendous speed, and at the same time, the pressure of the water damage both my body and my Cloth, until I jump out of the water and lose all the momentum making me crash in the water once again, and as I floating on the water, looking at the gloomy sky above and noticing the crack on my Cloth while feeling pain all over my body, I say "Whoa, that hurts! He blasted me out of Poseidon's Realm, through the ocean, and all the way to the surface... That is some serious power... Still, it isn't enough!".
And after taking a deep breath, I once again dive into the water, and go back to the square of the Pillar of the North Pacific, surprising Baian, who exclaims shocked "Southern Cross!! You! How did you get back here? I hit you with the Rising Billows and yet you live! How?", I burn my Cosmo to the max and say "You are not nearly as strong as a Gold Saint, Sea Horse Baian! And I'm going to prove that to you right now!".
Baian notices that my Cosmo is surpassing his, but he still keeps calm and says "No matter how high you elevate your Cosmo to penetrate my defensive wall, you won't be able to inflict damage on me, not as long as I'm wearing this Scale, whose defensive power rivals that of the Gold Cloths...For you victory is impossible!", but I smile and say "I wonder..." then I make my Cosmo explode, and as the image of the Southern Cross appears behind me, I concentrate all my Cosmo to create an aura of electric energy around my body, after which I raise my left arm in the direction of Baian and yelling "Geistig Blitz!!", I release in front of me several electric beams by extending my hand in his direction.
The beams are too fast for Baian to dodge and hits him in several places, sending him flying and destroying his Scale where he was hit, then he powerlessly crashes into the ground, and with his last strength, he says "It... it's still too early to celebrate...N-no matter how high you elevate your Cosmo, you'll never destroy the Pillar... Even a Gold Saint using all his strength wouldn't put a single crack in it... In the end... We shall still be victorious... Heh...".
But I calmly reply "Yeah, that is true... But we came prepared..." then I send a message to the boy named Kiki and soon he appears with Libra Pandora Box, and under the now wide open eyes of Baian, the Cloth reveals itself, and I explain "The Libra Cloth... Is the only Gold Cloth with weapons... And these weapons are so strong that can only be used when Athena has willed it, and the Libra Saint has deemed that the cause is right... On their own, they have the power to destroy a star or a planet...".
Then from the Cloth, one of the shields comes flying at me, I grab it, and without waiting for another moment, I burn my Cosmo, and use the chain with the handle attached to it, to swing it around and throw it at the Pillar of the North Pacific, then as the shield hits the pillar a blinding golden light explodes, and the loud sound of the impact is heard.
I regain sight just in time to grab the shield that is coming back, but the power behind it is so strong that I skid for a few meters before stopping, then, I notice the expanding crack on the Pillar, before with a really loud rumble, it starts to crumble into dust, and as the whole ground shakes, I also notice that some water is starting to fall from the sky, sign that Poseidon's Realm is weakening.
I move closer to Baian and notice that he is now unconscious, but still alive, so I grab his body and put it on my shoulders, and together with Kiki, we move back to the Temple of Poseidon, waiting for the others to come.
Juan POV - Atlantis, Pillar of the South Pacific - 1987
As I'm about to reach my destination, I hear the second rumbling sound, a sign that another pillar has fallen, then I focus back on my objective 'Really the Crateris Cloth is almost unfair... We already know more or less what to expect, who our enemies are, and what are their techniques... Really the only real problem here is Poseidon himself!'.
I'm finally close enough to see the location of the Pillar in full detail, it is located on a plain, at the end of a road paved with square and irregular blue stones, surrounded by tall corals a couple of meters high that rise above the stairs and above the base of the architectural complex, both the Pillar and the surrounding structures are light green in color.
To reach it, I walk along a road a couple of meters wide, bordered in the last few meters by a portico of six columns on each side, to finally see the Pillar in all its splendor, its base is simple, it has a few steps at the beginning and then three other stairs that converge at the same point, a small patio, towards the top.
On the upper level, there are only two rows of columns on either side of the pillar, all of them plain and simple, the pillar itself has a square section pedestal with a changing profile and then a circular and smooth section until its end with a small decoration in the middle, and the surrounding fauna and flora is no longer so bright, with dark reefs close to the shades of the building.
(Image Here - Pillar of the South Pacific)
Once, I'm close enough to the Pillar, I notice the figure of a beautiful woman, but that only makes me raise my guard, and I'm indeed right as soon I hear a male voice that says "Ho ho ho... Already, prepared to be attacked at any moment... That attitude will keep you alive a little longer...", at the same instant, the figure of the woman change and it become a monster with six wild beasts attached to its lower body, and the next moment, the beasts are rushing at me, so I burn my Cosmo, and raise my shield to defend myself from the attacks.
After feeling 8 heavy impacts on my shield, the woman figure disappears, and I hear the sound of footsteps and the same voice as before that says "Heh... Your instinct sure is good even taken by surprise you are able to defend against all the blows...", lowering my shield I finally see my opponent, he is a young man, with fine, elegant features that can be categorized as handsome, he has tousled pink hair, which appears to be short in the front but shows shoulder-length hair behind his back, and his eyes are an orange tone that creates a play of reddish tones with his pink hair and the gold-orange of his Scale, about his Scale, is asymmetrical and difficult to describe, the parts representing the animals give it a different style from the others, I'm only able to recognize a few like the bat wings on his back, the bear on his legs, and the wolf on his headpiece.
(Image Here - Scylla Io)
Seeing him I clap my hand and say "Bravo! Good entrance, it had a lot of pathos... But why the woman? Do you have some hidden desire? You know if you really want to change, I heard that in Taiwan you can do a little operation for it... By the way, I'm Scutum Juan, here to destroy that Pillar!", then my opponent introduces himself with a little of anger in his voice "I'm the general who guards the Pillar of the South Pacific... Scylla Io! Scutum, this place will become the site of your death!".
