- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 344
At the top of the grand square stood a man wearing a golden helmet and white robes—the current Pope of the Sanctuary.
Of course, if Leo’s memory was correct, this Pope was actually an imposter, disguised as Saga. The real Pope, Aries Shion, had been assassinated by Saga in a sneak attack thirteen years ago.
Combining Karat’s memories with his own, Leo recalled the main storyline of this world.
The supreme being in this world is the God-King Zeus, under whom there are many gods.
Among these gods, Athena represents justice and regularly reincarnates in the mortal world to help humanity resist Hades, the god of the underworld, who seeks to invade the mortal realm.
Since Athena isn’t skilled in combat, she had 88 Cloths forged from divine copper, Gamma stone, and Stardust, each corresponding to one of the 88 constellations.
She chose 88 of the most talented humans and taught them the gods’ training method, based on Zeus’s imitation of the Big Bang—what is known as the cultivation of the Cosmos.
Athena leads her 88 Saints in battles against Hades, known as the Holy Wars.
Even though Athena’s side may win the Holy War, her divine power can only seal Hades for 250 years. Therefore, the interval between Athena’s reincarnations and the Holy Wars is around 250 years.
The last Holy War took place in 1743. Although Hades was successfully sealed, only two Saints survived: Aries Shion and Libra Dohko.
Shion took over as Pope, managing the Sanctuary and training generations of new Saints in preparation for Athena’s return and the next Holy War.
Meanwhile, Dohko went to Mount Five Peaks to keep watch over the 108 sealed souls of Hades’ Specters.
In 1973, sensing that Hades was about to break free from his seal, the goddess Athena was born in the Greek Sanctuary, and a new Holy War was imminent.
To prepare for the upcoming battle, Pope Shion summoned all the Gold Saints and appointed Sagittarius Aiolos, the strongest and eldest, with unparalleled virtue and strength, as the next Pope, with Gemini Saga as his assistant.
Shion himself planned to focus on helping Athena awaken her divine power.
However, Saga’s evil side took control, and out of jealousy for Aiolos, he ambushed and killed Pope Shion on Mount Star Hill. He then attempted to assassinate the infant Athena as well.
Fortunately, Aiolos arrived in time to save Athena.
But Saga, disguised as the Pope, falsely accused Aiolos of trying to kill Athena and branded him a traitor, sending the other Gold Saints to hunt him down.
Aiolos, mortally wounded, fled the Sanctuary and entrusted Athena and the Sagittarius Gold Cloth to Mitsumasa Kido, the world’s wealthiest man who happened to be traveling in northern Europe. Aiolos then succumbed to his injuries and died.
To prepare for the inevitable return of Hades, Kido adopted Athena and renamed her Saori Kido.
He also adopted over a hundred orphans, sending them across the globe to train and compete for the Saints’ Cloths, hoping to raise a group of loyal Saints to protect Athena.
The protagonist, Seiya, was one of those orphans. He was sent to the Greek Sanctuary to compete for the Pegasus Bronze Cloth.
It was now September 1986, the present time, and the Sanctuary had held a five-day competition to determine who would claim the Pegasus Bronze Cloth.
The two remaining competitors in the arena were Seiya and Cassios—the final two contenders after five days of battles. As for the original Karat, whom Leo had replaced, he had been gravely injured and defeated on the first day.
“Hmm, so this is the power of the Cosmos?”
As Leo recalled the story’s background, the match in the arena began.
At first, Cassios took advantage of Seiya’s distraction with the Pegasus Cloth and attempted a sneak attack. Using his large, powerful body, Cassios grabbed Seiya and tried to snap his neck.
But Seiya easily broke free and even sliced off one of Cassios’s ears with his bare hands.
Unfazed, Cassios got up and charged at Seiya again. This time, Seiya began to use the power of his Cosmos.
It was at that moment that Leo clearly sensed a strong, unique energy from the outside world being drawn into Seiya’s body.
“Sixty punches per second? The Cosmos amplifies strength this much?”
Seeing Seiya unleash a barrage of sixty punches per second, sending Cassios flying, Leo was genuinely surprised.
According to Karat’s memories, during training, most aspirants could throw about eleven or twelve punches per second—close to the human limit.
Even Cassios, the strongest competitor, could only manage about fifteen or sixteen punches per second, though his enormous size gave his punches tremendous power.
Cassios could punch a massive crater into the marble ground with a single strike.
Seiya, being stronger than Cassios, could probably punch at around twenty times per second at most.
But with his Cosmos ignited, Seiya was now throwing sixty punches per second, a threefold increase in speed.
Given that Leo’s pure physical strength already allowed him to punch at supersonic speeds, roughly over one hundred punches per second, if he constructed his Cosmos, he could potentially punch at three hundred punches per second—triple the speed of sound.
Even if he didn’t reach triple the speed, doubling it would still be a huge boost. Adding in Sage Mode and the Eight Gates technique, he might even be able to contend with a Gold Saint.
“Pegasus Meteor Fist!”
Cassios’s body was incredibly resilient. Despite being sent flying by Seiya’s sixty punches, he spat out some blood and charged back at him.
This time, Seiya unleashed his signature move, the Pegasus Meteor Fist, a technique he had developed based on his master, the Silver Saint Eagle Marin’s, Meteor Punch. Seiya’s attack completely defeated Cassios.
“Eighty-five punches per second.”
Leo’s sharp eyes clearly counted Seiya’s punches, which had increased by another twenty-five strikes per second.
“A pure physical limit of twenty punches per second, boosted to sixty punches with the Cosmos, and then up to eighty-five with a special technique. Once he wears the Bronze Cloth, he’ll likely exceed one hundred punches per second, surpassing the speed of sound.
It seems this is the basic strength level of a Bronze Saint.”
As Seiya stepped forward to claim the Pegasus Cloth, Leo stroked his chin, now having a clearer sense of things.
He wasn’t particularly interested in Seiya’s Pegasus Cloth. Although the Cloth would eventually evolve into a God Cloth, it was currently just an ordinary Bronze Cloth.
It only became a God Cloth after being bathed in the blood of Gold Saints, upgraded to a Gold Cloth, and then further enhanced by Athena’s divine blood when Seiya’s Cosmos reached its peak.
If possible, Leo’s aim was to go straight for a Gold Cloth.
“Well, if it isn’t Karat. I thought that kick I gave you left you bedridden, but here you are, alive and well, watching the finals.”
Just as Leo turned to head back to his stone house and try constructing his Cosmos, a large figure blocked his path.
It was a nearly two-meter-tall bald man, one of Karat’s fellow disciples under Sirius of Canis Major. He was Karat’s senior and the one who had gravely injured him during the first match.
(Saint Seiya follows the anime canon, so Mitsumasa Kido adopted 100 orphans, not 100 illegitimate children.)
……