LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 57 – *Title at the End*
Jayr POV - Underworld, Elysion - 1987
Hades slowly moves closer to the urn and unsheathes his sword, then he raises it, and as a malevolent red Cosmo envelopes it, in an instant, I understand what he is about to do and on instinct, I rush forward as he swings his sword down, and put myself between Hades and the urn, while at the same time, I use the Dark Resurrection, and yell "Stop it!!".
And for an instant, I felt myself being cut in two half by Hades' dreadful sword while I hear Ikki shout my name in worry, but luckily the Sagittarius God Cloth soaked and endured most of the damage, and the Dark Resurrection regenerated my body from the wounds I received, but the force behind his attack is so much, that I can clearly feel the urn behind me cracking, and with my senses, I notice that a small linear crack appeared in the middle.
Hades then points his sword at me and calmly says "Saint, if you truly love Athena cease your struggle... Can you not sense it? Inside that urn, Athena is writhing in pain, unable to die even though her blood has been drained, I will mercifully end her suffering with my own hand... Now step aside!", and again he attacks, but this time, I'm ready for it, and clapping my hands together I catch his blade and stop his attack and say "No way! I won't let you... Kill her...."
Even so, the power behind Hades' attack is strong, and I'm struggling to hold him in place, and the next moment from his sword a blast of red Cosmo comes out that hits me with unrelenting force and blows me away like a ragdoll, and as I feel my bones breaking and regenerating, at the same time, Ikki attempt to attack Hades, but he too is easily sent flying by Hades' Cosmo, but he brought enough time for me to recover and get up to face Hades again.
Hades looks at me for a few seconds then he says "How sad... You mortals... You are always flinging yourself into the most audacious acts, with no regard for your human limitation, not satisfied with the world the Gods granted you, you reach out to corrupt the rest of the Universe... And challenge the Gods themselves... Mortal are meant to fear and revere the Gods, when you forget that your place is on your knees, you are not only heretical but pitiable".
I look at him straight in the eyes and say "I admit that some of what you said is true, we mortals are always greedy for more and do not appreciate what we already have... But you as a God of such immense power also have your faults, you too are greedy for more than what your power has already granted you, and you want to annihilate all life on earth for it... Moreover, instead of guiding and leading us toward a better future for everyone, like Athena is trying to do, you just judge us from your ivory tower and enjoy tormenting the soul of the departed... Such a hypocritic God isn't worthy of being revered!".
It seems that my words hit some nerves as I can clearly feel the rage hidden in his voice as he says in an apparently calm tone as he raises his sword to attack "I will not ask you to move again! I'll split you in two along with Athena! Die!!", but just as he was about to attack, a mighty mixed Cosmo comes from behind me and hits Hades, forcing him to defend himself as he is assaulted by the combined attack of Seiya, Shun, Hyoga, and Shiryu.
And the next moment, they arrive running, Shun runs toward Ikki who is already getting up, while Seiya, Hyoga, and Shiryu stand in front of me, and Seiya asks "Jayr-san! Are you okay?", I nod and say "Just some scratches and broken bones that are already healing..." then I look at Hades, who is strangely staying still in shock as if he is surprised that mortals were even able to hit him, and say "... Looks like Hades wasn't ready for a surprise attack!", and Ikki together with Shun moves closer and says "Yeah, this is our one chance, if we don't go for it, we're toast".
We look at each other and nod as Seiya says "Let's go guys!", we all extend our fists forward at the same time, and start igniting and merging our Cosmos together as I yell "Time to unite our lives and Cosmos and strike at Hades!!", and as our Cosmos explodes at the same time, we all start to release our attack and merge them.
Seiya yells "Combust!! Pegasus Ryuseiken!!" and a bright light blue Cosmo appears in front of him, followed by Shun "Elevate! Nebula Chain!!", and his pink Cosmo joins, next is Shiryu "For Justice on Earth!! Rozan Shoryuha!!", and his emerald Cosmo merges the other two, and soon after Hyoga yells "For our loved ones!! Diamond Dust!!", and his white Cosmo joins and the power of our attack is increasing exponentially, then Ikki shouts "Our Cosmos are now merged into one!! Ho Yoku Ten Sho!!", and I gather all our Cosmos and direct them toward Hades and yell "Strike Hades down and tear him apart!! Tidal Wave Punch!!".
Our attack becomes a rainbow-like Cosmo blast that moves so fast that Hades barely has the time to put up his defenses before he is struck by it "Unh!!", but to my surprise, we were only able to push him back a few meters and make him stumble, as he looks at us with pure rage and says "Grr... Petty mortals... You can combine all your strength, but you'll never strike down a God like me...".
Then he yells "Fools!!" and swings his sword letting out countless Cosmo slashes that hit us with such force and speed that not only send us crashing on the ground bleeding, but even the God Cloths are unable to withstand his power and start cracking under it, but as I'm facing the ground, I hear the sound of something else breaking, then I hear Hades' surprised shout "Impossible! This cannot be! How could they have injured me?".
I look up and notice that our attack did indeed hurt him, his Surplice is also full of cracks, and Hades is now clearly bleeding, so seeing that, I get up again as I continue to use the Dark Resurrection to heal my wounds, and see Hades looking at me as he says "Argh!! And this one is trying to stand! Absurd! I've struck him again and again! And yet he still dares to stand against me...".
Then Hades looks at Seiya on the ground who is also slowly trying to get up and with a confused expression he says "This one too... But now that I look at him, this Pegasus seems vaguely familiar...", and as he realizes something, Hades exclaims "Aha! That's it! I'll never forget that face! He looks exactly like the only man who ever wounded my flesh back in the Age of Myths!! I believe that he too was a Pegasus Saint!!".
He then ignores me and focuses all his resentment on Seiya as he yells "You! Have you been reborn from the Age of Myths to wound me again? How dare you? I must bury you so that you can never be reborn!!", and confused and in pain, Seiya asks "What are you muttering? We'll bury you first, Hades!! Take this! Pegasus Suiseiken!!" and attacks Hades, who yells "Fool!! Have you not learned that mortal strength cannot affect me?", and with a strong blast of Cosmo erupting from his body, he sends Seiya crashing on the ground.
I was about to use this opening to attack him again, but with a simple gaze, he holds my body still with his Cosmo and Divine Will, and at the same time, stabs Seiya's hand pinning him to the ground and says "Be still, mortals, flail about all you like, but it's too late, let me show you the end of the world", then he pulls out his sword and raises it pointing at the sky, and the next moment, on the sky of the Elysion the images of what is happening on Earth are shown, "Look upon the earth", I look up and see the image of the sun being blocked by the moon.
Hades seems to enjoy the reaction of Seya and the others as he declares in a prideful tone "That's right! The moon has totally covered the sun's face!! The Greatest Eclipse is complete!! The nine planets shall never budge from their perfect alignment!! Now the Earth will be a world of eternal darkness!!", then Hades prepares to swing down his sword as his Cosmo gathers in it to finish us off, and yells "Your last hope has been extinguished!! Now go meekly to your deaths!! It's an honor to be dealt death by Hades himself!! Die!!".
But just as he is about to release his attack, the sword he was using is repelled by a translucent barrier in the form of a sphere, and surprised Hades exclaims "What? My sword is repelled!! Some power is protecting the Saints!! Hmph!! What is this!?", and inside the barrier, I smile, as I feel the warm familiar Cosmo getting stronger, and as the barriers start floating away from Hades, I think 'Yes! She did it! The damaged urn can't hold her anymore!'.
Hades is clearly confused about what is happening and says "All these obstinate Saints are enveloped in strange spheres!! No mortal could perform such a feat! The only one capable of this is... Athena!!", and as he realizes this, he looks at the urn and noticer that the crimson urn is turning back to its pristine white color, and at the same time, Saori's voice is heard "Jayr!! Seiya! Shiryu! Hyoga! Shun! Ikki! As long as you are encased in these spheres of life, Hades cannot touch you! They will carry you safely to the mortal world, thank you for all you have accomplished, now go home to the world of the living...".
At this point, Hades realizes what is going on and yells "The blood is returning to Athena's body!! The urn is losing its bloody hue!! No! I won't let you revive!! I'll split you into two, urn and all!!", and swings down with his sword, but I'm ready for this, I pull out Athena God Cloth from my Territory and throw it at Saori yelling "Saori, your Cloth!!".
And before Hades' attack could reach her, the urn explodes in a flash of gold light, and from it, Saori appears donning her God Cloth in all her divine splendor, the armor is of a completely golden tone with purple and white details, its headpiece it is a helm that slightly reminds me of a roman centurion, the shoulder pieces have a shape similar to the Andromeda Cloth's ones, but Athena Cloth's ones are layered, the chest piece covers the whole chest and is connected to the waist piece that is like a long skirt, and with two huge wings located on its back, it completely covers the body of the Goddess and it is also equipped with the Aegis Shield on one hand and Nike in the other.
(Image Here - Athena Cloth)
Hades looks at Saori and yells "Athena!!", but then realizes something and asks "Don't tell me you threw yourself at Hypnos and let yourself be trapped to lure me out of my coffin in my own flesh!!", and Saori simply replies by saying "Hades, our battle has persisted since the Age of Myths, let's end it now", totally enrage by the fact that he playing right in her hand, Hades yells "Grrrr... Insolence!!" and attacks Saori, but she is able to block his attack with the Aegis Shield, but even so, the power behind this clash is so strong that the whole space-time continuum around them start to tremble and crack.
While his sword is still clashing with Saori's shield, Hades asks "Athena, you are a Goddess, why do you defend the mortals? Why do you keep interfering when we try to pass judgment upon those foolish humans?", hearing his question, Saori pushes him back with her shield and denies his claims "You are wrong, humans are not as foolish as you think!".
But Hades ignores shakes his head and says "Of course they are! Foolish and destructive! If left to their own devices, there is no telling how much damage they'll do! That's why they must be taught that if they do evil, they'll suffer for all eternity when they die!! It's only because I gave them the fear of the Underworld that their little world has managed to survive this long!".
Saori again denies his claims and with strong resolve in her eyes, she says "What arrogance, Hades... Could any human live a perfect life? Pass through the world without crushing a single insect or plucking a single blossom? Humans are not Gods, and even the most virtuous mortal will commit some sin, that is what it means to live, it cannot be helped... But I believe that such sins should be absolved after death, good and evil humans alike, and everything else that has life, should be allowed a peaceful slumber... To bestow eternal suffering for sins committed in life, is a mistake, Hades!".
Even more enraged, Hades yells "Silence!!" before attacking Saori with such force that even if she used the Aegis Shield to block it, she was still sent crashing to the ground, then Hades points his sword at her as she is still on the ground and says "Athena... Our views are irreconcilable, a further discussion seems pointless... Now die for the mortal you love so much...".
Meanwhile, seeing Saori on the ground bleeding, makes something snap inside me, and in fury, I yell "Saori!! Nooo!!", and break free from the barrier and blindly rush at Hades, I feel my Cosmo exploding with even more force and power than when I combined my Cosmo with Seiya and the others, and on pure instinct, I use the attack I'm most familiar with and attack Hades but on a level, I have never thought possible.
My fists start shining and a clear orb of golden water-like Cosmo gather around them, I yell "Divine Maelstrom Punch!!", and faster than the speed of light I hit Hades with a quick series of punches all over his body, taking him by surprise, Hades receives my technique head on and soon an infinite number of delayed impacts can be seen happening all over Hades' body, at the same time, Hades starts to bounce around in mid-air countless times, moreover the power of the shockwaves and impact gets stronger each passing moment and soon I see that Hades' Surplice is breaking apart and that he throws up a mouthful of blood over the ever-increasing damage.
Then after a few seconds of bouncing around like a crazy flipper ball, Hades crashes on the column of his crypt with such force that he makes it collapse and then crashes on the ground generating a huge crater, and I see him again spit a lot of blood.
Then clearly in pain he says "Gah!! Ugh... It cannot be... I can't believe... A mortal... Could cause me such pain...", at the same time, I hear the shouts of joy of the others, before they abruptly stop and I hear Saori scream my name "Jayr!!".
All of the sudden, I feel a sharp pain in my chest, and quickly notice that I have Hades' sword impaled in my chest slightly on the left, clearly aimed at my heart, I try to use my Cosmo to start the Dark Resurrection and heal this wound, but soon I find out that I can't use my Cosmo and realize what is going on by remembering what I once read on the wiki 'Shit! It's Hades' Divine Curse used through his sword and his lingering hate that inflicts a spiritual wound, shaped like his sword, that blocks the lifeforce and power of his enemy, induces a coma, and eventually causes death through the sword slowly moving into the body of the victim... Moreover, those killed by this curse can never reincarnate again, forced to wander outside the Cycle of Reincarnation, in the World of Emptiness....'.
And soon I fall powerlessly on the ground and find myself in Saori's embrace, and as my vision starts to darken and I lose the feeling of my body, I hear Saori yell "Jayr!! Hang in there, Jayr! Your sisters and Seika are waiting for you! Don't die! You can't die!! You must stay alive for those who love you! Please, Jayr!!", but soon I feel the sword being pulled out of my body, but even so, I still feel the presence of the sword's edge in still my body, and hear Hades' voice "Heh... It seems the foolishness of mortals has rubbed off on you, Athena".
And I Saori gently laying my body on the floor and as I feel her tears falling on my face, then I can't feel anything anymore, but I use all my remaining willpower and force to try to take something out from my Territory, and luckily it seems that the gift of the Concepts can't be blocked by Hades' Divine Curse, and using everything I can to keep going, I focus and open a hole directly inside my mouth, making me drink my last hope to come out of this desperate situation.
Saori POV - Underworld, Elysion - 1987
I lay Jayr's body on the ground and focus on Hades's hateful but heavily wounded figure, at the same time, I feel Jayr's Cosmo growing weaker and weaker and I feel his life slipping away something that truly breaks my heart, meanwhile, Hades continues his monologue as his sword slowly returns back to him "You've squandered your only opportunity to strike me a fatal blow... Wasted the infinitesimally small chance that Sagittarius sacrificed his life to give you... With your emotional blubbering".
Hades then grabs his sword and pointing it at me, he says "So Sagittarius died in vain, what a consummate fool, leaping back into the fray to be slaughtered", his word further enrage me, but I force myself to be calm and with tears falling on my face from my eyes, I ask "Hades, do you even know what love is?", seeing him confused by my question I continue "To the gods, human life surely seems wretched and piteous... But, they know what love is... For that love, humans can become kinder than any other creature! And they can become more powerful than anything!! Even if you are a God, if you do not have love, you have no right to judge humans!!".
My words enrage Hades even further, so much that I feel all his Divine Will and Cosmo focus on me as he rushes at me and yells "Is that all you have left to say? Then die with the knowledge that love has no value or power!!", but before he could get even closer, Seiya and the others break out from the Spheres of Life and yell together, "Stay away from Athena!!", at the same time, their Cosmos combine once more with even more force than before and start to push him back, preventing him from moving further and attack me.
Stunned by what is happening, Hades exclaims in shock "What!? Their Cosmos!! Unbelievable!! Their spent Cosmos regained their power and are now pushing me back!! It's even stronger than mine!!", meanwhile, I raise Nike, which starts gathering my and everyone else Cosmos and lights up in a golden light, and yell "Hades this is love! The mystical power that humans possess! It comes from the very source of their life, their hearts!!".
All of the sudden, a pair of arms wraps around my waist, and I clearly feel the familiar and comforting heat coming from the body behind me, and the Cosmo that was so weak that seemed about to die off, springs back to life with even more force than before, it joins the other into powering Nike, and with a small smile on my face, I look at the stunned expression on Hades' face and say "The power of love cannot be defeated by anyone or anything!!, then I twirl Nike and throw it at Hades.
The thrown Nike transforms into a lance of pure golden light that moves faster than the speed of light and quickly pierces Hades' body right in his chest, before turning back into its staff form, and the next moment, I see Hades' eyes open wide in shock and pain as he mutters "Impossible... How could this be? It's absurd... That I, who control death... I who am a God... Could be defeated in my own domain... It's beyond belief... Beyond...".
Then Hades lets go of his swords, which fall on the ground and start to disintegrate, and soon Hades' body starts to disintegrate too, and he says "But if I fall, the Underworld I created will disappear along with me... Underworld, Elysion, all of it... Athen you and the Saints will be swept away in my realm's destruction... And shall perish too... Do you see? There is no perfect victory for mortals...".
And now Hades' body is no more, and Nike falls on the ground, but his voice still persists for a few more moments, as the realm around us starts crumbling "Athena... You're a Goddess... And one day you must finally realize... that love is a meaningless fancy thing invented by humans... A fantasy, thin as air, that no one really believes... No one... No...", then all is left is silence and the sounds of the Temple of Hades crumbling, while the whole Elysion shakes.
But soon, Seiya and the rest, notice Jayr's presence behind me and yell "Jayr-san!! You're fine!?", while Hyoga asks "How could you survive that?", I turn around and look at him, and relieved to find out that he is truly fine, only the damage on the Sagittarius Cloth can tell what he went through, and with a small smile he explains "Yes, that was very close... I almost died there... Luckily, I was prepared for something like that to happen... You see Hades' Divine Curse is one of the strongest curses in this world... And there is only one thing that can remove that Curse, and it can only be taken soon after you're hit by the curse, if too much time passes even that can't save you".
I realize what he is talking about, and at the same time Shiryu asks "What is it?", and Jayr looks at me and as he holds my hand he says "Of course, Athena's blood has the power to remove any curse...", I nod at that, but telepathically I say to Jayr 'That is normally true... But Hades' Curse this time was full of his malice and Divine Will, it was too strong for my blood to purge it!', and soon Jayr's reply almost makes me blush, but I admit that I have never thought of that, 'Your normal blood yes... But the one I use isn't normal... It is your virgin blood... the one you bleed on our first night together... I keep it, in case some of the cultivation crap I read could actually have some reasons... And it's true, that blood truly saved my life...', hearing that I do not know if I should kick him for keeping something like that, or be grateful that he did so.
Hearing that, I let out a smile but before I could say anything else, I feel the Elysion shaking even more, and knowing that we can't stay here any longer or we will truly be destroyed together with Hades' realm, I say while still unconsciously holding Jayr's hand "Let's go back... All of us to a world of light!", and so we start to move to get out of this crumbling realm.
Jayr POV - Japan, Kido Mansion - 1987
A few days passed since the end of the Holy War with Hades, and the Sanctuary under Saga's guide, returned to normality, some of the Saints returned to their duties in the various training grounds, while others were allowed to rest and spend their time with their families and friend, but must report from time to time to the nearest training ground.
Everyone is enjoying this period of peace, and I'm moving toward the Saori's mansion with a skip in my steps, more nervous and excited than I ever felt before, for a very simple reason, yesterday, Saori told me that she and Seika organized a surprise for me, and that can only mean one thing, 'For the first time, in my two lives I'm finally gonna have a threesome!'.
And so, I quickly reach my destination, and in front of the mansion's door, I see a beautifully dressed Seika and Saori waiting for me, I quickly run up to them and say "Good evening, my fair ladies, you are truly stunning today...", and they both greet me back with a kiss on my cheek, and then Saori with a small smile says "Since we almost lost you a few days ago, Seika and I decided to prepare something special for you...", and Seika follow by saying "We promise it will be something unforgettable...".
Seeing them both I loudly gulp before nodding, and with a smile, they both lead me toward the garden in the direction of the planetarium, while Saori explains "I decide to use a special place for such a special occasion...", and after a few minutes of walking, we are finally in front of the door planetarium, and Saori quickly kiss me on the mouth and soon Seika does the same, then Saori moves next to the door and says "I did this under the suggestion of someone, and I thought that he was right...".
Hearing that I think, 'Whoever was that, is worthy of all my thanks and gratitude...', but then a familiar voice in my mind says 'You're welcome!', and instinctively a cold shiver runs up my spine, but before I could realize what is going on, Seika and Saorive opens the door and from the planetarium, a familiar music can be heard, and I can only think, 'No... No... NO!', then a familiar deep voice sings "♪We're no strangers to love\You know the rules and so do I (do I)\A full commitment's what I'm thinking of\You wouldn't get this from any other guy\I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling\Gotta make you understand♪", and inside the planetarium, I see his figure, Rick Astley, as he sings his iconic song with youthful vigor.
And as he starts singing the chorus, "♪Never gonna give you up\Never gonna let you down\Never gonna run around and desert you\Never gonna make you cry\Never gonna say goodbye\Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you♪", I again hear the same voice say 'It's a funny coincidence... Your girls wanted to punish you for being so reckless with your life... and this song just came out this year in this world... So I decided to give them a little hint... I'm angry with you too, after all, if you die I lose this competition, and I've grown tired of losing! So take this Rickroll... The first in your universe! Be proud you are making history here!!'.
And as the song continues while the girls look at me with an amused smile on their faces, I let out a silent scream in my mind 'CULTURE!!', at the same time, I almost feel manly tears of blood falling from my eyes.
Title - Rick Rolled
