Pansy's scream was still echoing, her little short legs still kicking frantically.
Damian wanted to step in and finish the job, but that overwhelming Cosmo suddenly appeared in the Pope's Hall out of thin air.
It locked onto him instantly.
There was no mistaking it. Saga!
His space art was so strong he could blink across space?
That's not how this is supposed to work!
Damian really wanted to gripe. This world's Saga was absurdly strong—able to jump space just like that.
Got the cheats on, bro!
He had the corpse in hand—and a black scroll.
He had planned to swipe the box sealing the twin gods of Death and Sleep to bury it in the graveyard, and send Pansy back to the Underworld while he was at it.
You can't be too greedy.
Pull out first!
That lunatic's power was the Sanctuary's ceiling.
If he fought head-on, it would likely turn into a death match that rocked the Sanctuary.
He was here to fish, not to die.
Wearing a Cloth was just in case. If he could avoid a fight, he would.
In a blink, Damian stuffed the black scroll away, hefted the sack with Shion's corpse, and ran.
He no longer cared about hiding his Cosmo or presence.
He bolted for the exit of the Pope's palace.
"No lightspeed movement!"
Just as he went to accelerate, Damian's body hitched, and he had to slow down.
Right—the Zodiac in the Sanctuary had restrictions, and the Pope's Hall and Goddess's Hall were the same. Lightspeed movement was forbidden. Try it, and your body would grow unbearably heavy—even immobile.
It was a ward meant to restrain trespassers. Within the Sanctuary's barrier, even Gold Saints—and Athena—had to walk like mortals.
So unfair!
Saga gets Another Dimension, and all I've got are two legs.
Ban lightspeed, may as well take my life.
Slowing for a moment was all it took. That surging Cosmo closed in at once.
In the next moment, Saga appeared before Damian.
His black papal robe billowed. His mask was icy. His whole frame radiated a Cosmo of absolute command, its massive waves saturating every inch of space.
"The corpse is too cumbersome. Can't run fast with it."
Damian dropped the sack with Shion's body and rolled his shoulders.
Warm-up time. Ready for a brawl.
"I sensed an intruder in the papal palace earlier—and it turns out there really is a rat."
"Hm? You're a Saint?"
"Why hasn't this seat seen that Cloth before?"
Saga couldn't help asking.
The silver‑white Cloth looked familiar—like he'd seen it somewhere—but he couldn't place it for the moment.
"You can call me Kui-ye."
Damian folded his arms, voice flat.
"Kui-ye?"
Saga's voice held doubt—then his frame jolted. "Wait. Your Cloth looks like the previous generation's Pegasus Cloth!"
No mistake. The Goddess's Hall bore portraits of the goddesses through the ages, and the Cloth beside her—the Pegasus Cloth—looked just like the one the man wore now.
Was he a Saint from the previous generation?
The mask clearly meant he was hiding his identity.
Did he know this man?
"Whoever you are, trespassing in the Pope's Hall is a dead end."
Without hesitation, Saga's Cosmo surged, and he raised a hand to unleash his finisher.
Another Dimension!
Space rippled violently at his fingertip and engulfed the mysterious man, to cast him into Another Dimension.
"Whoever you are, die slowly in Another Dimension."
Saga hadn't planned to kill him outright—he chose to trap him first.
If he wanted, he could let the thief out anytime to question him.
The man's identity—and how he'd infiltrated the Pope's Hall—had to be made clear.
Pansy hurried up, playing the frightened girl. "Your Holiness is amazing. That man was stealing just now…"
Before she could finish, a person appeared out of nowhere and slammed down in front of them, making her jump back.
What?
Saga was shocked as well.
His Another Dimension had been shrugged off.
An ordinary Saint would have been gone in one move.
Even a Gold Saint wouldn't break free so quickly from Another Dimension.
What was this guy's deal?
"Surprised?"
"The same move won't work twice on a Saint."
"That's a Saint's Second Law."
Damian dubbed it silently in his head.
He did want to flex and say the line out loud—but he had to keep merit hidden, name concealed.
Now then—time to face the strongest lunatic in history head-on.
"Interesting guy—wearing a Pegasus Cloth, coming to steal from this seat."
Saga spotted the sack by the man's side. His voice grew colder.
Whoosh!
He merely raised his hand, and a lightspeed punch fired with a shrill crack.
But the man flicked a punch in the same instant—not only breaking Saga's lightspeed punch, but countering with one of his own.
Fast fists!
Saga blocked the blow one‑handed. His body gave the slightest tremor.
"You can stop my lightspeed punch… and use a lightspeed punch."
"I didn't expect it—you have a Seventh Sense Cosmo?"
Saga could clearly feel the man's strength.
No mistake—the thief possessed a Seventh Sense Cosmo, which was why he could take a lightspeed punch so easily.
And that arm‑folded pose from before was familiar, too.
"Who are you, really?"
"One of the Twelve Gold Saints?"
Saga asked, putting away his earlier disdain.
If a Gold Saint had come to the Pope's Hall to steal, that was a different matter altogether.
"You'd better let me leave."
Damian said evenly, "Otherwise your Pope's Hall might collapse completely."
"Hahahaha. What are you even thinking? In my Pope's Hall, even if you are a Gold Saint, you'll face heaven's punishment. There's only one end—death."
Saga laughed.
A mere Seventh Sense Gold Saint—so what? Besides, the man wasn't wearing a Gold Cloth. He was no match.
"Then I'll just… Plasma Lightspeed Punch!"
Damian's Cosmo flared and climbed; the Cloth flushed gold.
His muscles swelled and bulged—blocky masses surfacing beneath the armor—though hidden by the plates.
He had no intention of giving Saga any chance to attack. He struck before the words even finished.
Saga wasn't wearing his Cloth—a perfect opening.
A golden net engulfed Saga in an instant.
"That's Leo's Gold Saint's…"
Before Saga could finish, the golden net wrapped him. His body—and the black papal robe—were pierced by countless fist‑lights, reduced to powder in a heartbeat.
But Saga wasn't there. The Plasma Lightspeed Punch had struck only the papal robe.
In the next instant, a bare‑chested Saga was on him, swinging a fist at Damian.
Damian wasn't about to back down.
Lightspeed punches on both sides—who's afraid?
And I'm armored—you aren't. Trading fists, let's see who loses out.
Take this!
(End of Chapter)
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