Virgo Shaka.
Among the Saints, the man closest to God.
Legend says he is the reincarnation of the Buddha and one of the strongest among the Gold Saints.
Never thought while I was grappling with the crab, Shaka would be behind it all—completely out of left field.
"Shaka, save me..."
Seeing Shaka appear, Dismask seemed to meet a Buddha who saves the suffering, so moved he nearly burst into tears.
Yes, Shaka is different from ordinary Gold Saints, an exceptionally powerful Gold Saint.
He and I both serve under the Pope.
He won't just stand by.
At last, I won't be ravaged by this gravekeeper.
"Who are you, really?"
Shaka stood in midair like a deity, his whole body shrouded in a ring of golden Buddhist light.
"I'm just an ordinary gravekeeper."
Damian smiled, eyes solemn.
Don't be fooled by him being the Buddha's reincarnation—he doesn't have much mercy to speak of, especially toward enemies. He's a qualified, formidable Gold Saint.
Him showing up here means I slipped somewhere.
"Ordinary? The Cosmo in you is a genuine Seventh Sense Cosmo, brimming with aggression."
Shaka stated it outright.
"Then how did you find me?"
Damian didn't argue and asked directly.
Shaka spoke: "Before the crow threw those papers, you spread a pulse of thought power into the sky. That pulse was indeed faint, and no other Gold Saint could have sensed it, but I, Shaka, still caught a trace."
"His Holiness sent Dismask out, and I felt a vague unease, so I followed..."
Damian spread his hands. "Truly the man closest to God. You even caught me on that. I'd guess your mind power attribute is at least over 200."
"Mind power attribute—what are you talking about?"
Shaka was puzzled.
"Shaka, don't waste words with him!"
Dismask reminded him, "He's the one who tried to assassinate the Pope. He's strong!"
"Oh? Someone who can assassinate His Holiness?"
Shaka's expression grew grave. He had been floating in midair, but now he dared not be careless and set both feet on the ground.
Yes, this gravekeeper before him was absolutely not to be taken lightly.
The Pope's strength is beyond doubt, one of the strongest in the Sanctuary; otherwise I wouldn't support him.
But this gravekeeper not only infiltrated the Pope's Hall with Athena's barrier, he even wounded the Pope.
Before such a being, he could not be careless.
"Shaka, are you going to kill me?"
Damian looked at him, a flame seemingly burning in his eyes.
"Of course. Someone like you lurking in the Sanctuary is truly alarming. You're most likely an agent of the Underworld. Today I will perform your passing on behalf of the Sanctuary, to eliminate future trouble!"
As Shaka spoke, golden radiance rose from him.
"Pass me on?"
"Come forth, my Cloth!"
Damian pointed to the sky, and spatial ripples appeared.
A Pegasus-shaped Cloth descended from thin air. In an instant, it split and fitted itself to Damian's chest, head, arms, legs, and waist.
The Pegasus Cloth was donned.
This was the extradimensional Cloth descent he learned from Saga.
Practical and stylish!
Shaka is very strong, on par with Saga.
Though gaining the Holy Sword has pushed my strength further, I must be cautious against Shaka, or I could get overturned.
So the dual protection of the Pegasus Cloth and the Muscle Cloth will prevent any leaks.
"Is that the Pegasus Cloth?"
Shaka seemed to sense something odd about this Cloth as well.
Meanwhile, Damian's muscles swelled and bulged again, crackling like thunder. His height and musculature surged together.
In an instant, the originally silvery Cloth turned golden, exactly the same color as a Gold Cloth.
"The aggression in that Cosmo is so strong!"
It was Shaka's first time seeing such an aggressive Cosmo. Amazed, he couldn't help focusing his mind and treading carefully.
The other's Cosmo was incomparably vast, faintly above his own.
Unbelievable that I was fooled by him back then.
He hid it too well.
Dismask struggled to his feet and ran into the distance. Because his body was numb, he was terribly slow—like a crawling turtle.
He had a hunch this place would soon be razed to the ground, so better to run first.
"Samsara Mudra!"
Shaka didn't hesitate. He formed a hand seal: the index fingers and thumbs of both hands touching, the other three fingers slightly bent, held before his chest.
It's said this was the Buddha Shakyamuni's hand gesture when he first preached in ancient times: index fingers and thumbs touching, the other three fingers slightly bent, held before the chest.
When Shaka forms this mudra, it allows him to focus his mind to a high degree and enhance his Cosmo, imbued with the Buddha's power."
Don't give Shaka any chance to cast!
Virgo Shaka is different from Gemini Saga. Saga may have that heavy-artillery finisher, the Galaxian Explosion, but he still basically counts as a warrior-type Saint who emphasizes close combat.
Shaka is clearly not a warrior-type Saint.
He's a mage-type Saint.
Shaka commands far too many peculiar arts—very strange and very potent—covering illusions, space, mind power, and more.
My Muscle Cloth and most of my finishers don't have much to do with sorcery; they're mostly physical, a warrior's kit.
A warrior fighting a mage starts at a disadvantage.
Unless I open with a Titan Nova and nail Shaka.
But that trump card only comes out in a life-and-death gamble, and Titan Nova might not hit Shaka.
If I whiff and he seizes the opening, I'll be in a very bad spot.
He could even flip the fight.
"Plasma Light-Speed Punch!"
Before Shaka could gather his Cosmo, Damian launched his attack.
The light web formed by the Plasma Light-Speed Punch enveloped Shaka in an instant, but the golden glow around him turned out to be a protective membrane, blocking the attack of the light rings.
Hundreds of millions of punches landed, only cracking that membrane into fine fissures, like an eggshell on the verge of shattering.
As expected, he had his defenses up in advance.
"Giant Holy Sword!"
Damian folded his arms and suddenly struck. Two immense, rapid golden sword auras shot straight at Shaka.
The sword aura directly shattered the protective membrane around him, then blasted toward his body.
However, the sword aura passed through Shaka's figure and cleaved the mountain behind him apart.
An illusion!
He's behind me?
Damian whirled and slashed, unleashing a crimson Scarlet Holy Sword.
"Om!"
Shaka behind him suddenly raised a hand to block the strike, and the Cosmo he'd been priming flared to life.
"Buddha Kingdom in the Palm!"
Endless golden Buddhist light burst from Shaka, and a Buddha's phantom appeared behind him.
In the blink of an eye, Damian felt heaven and earth transform.
It was as if the entire world had mutated: time and space twisted, the world overturned.
The mountains around him turned into Buddhas one after another, the surroundings into solemn temples, the sky into a temple vault, and countless monks' chants resounded all around.
Looking down, Damian found himself standing on a colossal palm. Looking up, a sky-filling Buddha was gazing down at him.
This was the Buddha Kingdom in the Palm.
A grain of sand, a world; a palm, a Buddha-kingdom. Shaka layered space upon space in his hand, extending endlessly up and down. The whole cosmos was filled with glazed Buddha-light and scripture.
Under such divine art, distance—and even the boundary between inside and outside of space—ceased to have meaning.
Once an enemy enters, there is no escaping Shaka's Five-Finger Mountain.
So annoying!
Damian was speechless. Looks like I still got caught.
I really hate fighting mages—it's all these flashy tricks.
You think I'm Sun Wukong, going first to take a leak, then carving "was here," then somersaulting around for fun, yet never getting out from under your Five-Finger Mountain?
What a joke!
Watch me lop your Buddha head off...
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]