- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 354
What Ikki didn’t know was that from the very first moment he laid eyes on Leo, Leo had already cast an illusion on him using his Sharingan.
So the Phoenix Illusion Fist he had just unleashed didn’t actually hit Leo at all—it had merely struck empty air.
The Phoenix Illusion Fist was powerful enough to affect even Gold Saints. Although Leo considered himself mentally and spiritually strong, he wasn’t keen on testing if he could withstand it head-on.
“I have already been to hell; why would I fear it? I am the immortal Phoenix, Ikki!”
Before Leo could act against the illusion-affected Ikki, Ikki suddenly roared, igniting his Cosmos to an intense level. A fiery phoenix silhouette faintly appeared behind him.
“He managed to forcibly break free from my Sharingan’s illusion.”
Leo was visibly surprised.
The illusion cast by his enhanced Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was usually very effective, yet Ikki had broken out of it so quickly.
It was understandable, though—Ikki’s mind and will were naturally strong, and Leo hadn’t used Tsukuyomi, just a regular illusion.
“Miss Saori, I suggest you leave this place and find somewhere safe, and evacuate the audience as well to avoid accidental harm.”
“Miss, let’s leave this place,” Tatsumi quickly urged.
“Mr. Leo, please be careful.”
Saori Kido nodded, lifting her dress slightly as she and Tatsumi left the scene.
At that moment, Ikki regained his full awareness:
“A man without a constellation or armor, yet capable of such attacks, is indeed worthy of my full strength!”
After a brief exchange, Ikki felt he had roughly gauged the abilities of both Leo and the brother fighting below. Neither of them had displayed a particularly strong Cosmos, but they possessed unexpected abilities.
Against such enemies, brute force would suffice—overpowering them before they had the chance to activate their abilities would be the way to win.
“Phoenix’s Wings of the Sky!”
As Ikki was preparing to unleash his strongest attack, Leo suddenly left a parting remark and vanished.
“Sorry, I need to save someone first!”
It turned out that the battle below had already reached its conclusion.
Hyoga had used his most powerful self-created technique, the Golden Flame Tornado Fist, to defeat the Dark Cygnus, and Shun had narrowly won against the Dark Andromeda with his Nebula Chains.
Seiya, without his Pegasus armor, had fought barehanded against the Dark Pegasus and was being mercilessly beaten. However, through sheer willpower, he stood up time and again, eventually surpassing his usual Cosmos limits and defeating the Dark Pegasus.
But he had also been struck by the Dark Pegasus’ ultimate move, the Black Death Fist, leaving him on the brink of death.
Leo was now rushing to save Seiya. Shiryu had gone to repair his armor and hadn’t returned, so if Leo didn’t act, the future pillar of strength, Seiya, might not make it.
Even though Seiya seemed to have a “never-die” plot armor, that was just a tale. If he really died, things would get troublesome.
“Seiya, hang in there!”
The Bronze Saints, who had each defeated their respective opponents, gathered anxiously around the unconscious and darkened Seiya, unsure of how to help him.
Seeing Leo appear, they all sighed in relief.
“Leave it to me!”
Leo knelt down and began treating Seiya’s injuries.
Meanwhile, Ikki, still furious about being tricked by Leo’s illusion, wasn’t about to let things slide. Just as he was ready to retaliate, Leo had disappeared.
So when he saw Leo next to Seiya, he disregarded the Gold Cloth and leapt toward him.
“You think you can run? Not that easy.”
“Leo, you focus on saving Seiya. Leave this guy to me.”
Hyoga stepped forward, with Geki and the others following behind. Shun, however, looked conflicted—he couldn’t bring himself to fight his own brother.
“Hmph, you weaklings think you can stop me?”
With a look of disdain, Ikki unleashed his ultimate move:
“Phoenix’s Wings of the Sky!”
The powerful air pressure from countless punches formed a whirlwind shaped like a phoenix, and with just one move, Hyoga, Shun, Geki, and the others were all sent flying.
In a single move, Ikki had defeated five people, including Hyoga and Shun. His power at that moment far surpassed any other Bronze Saint in their normal state.
“So strong!”
Seiya, who had just been revived by Leo, looked on in shock at Ikki’s Phoenix’s Wings of the Sky.
He knew that even with his Pegasus armor, he would have fared no better than Hyoga and the others.
“Leo, prepare to die! Phoenix’s Wings of the Sky!”
After defeating those in his way, Ikki did not stop and continued his assault toward Leo and Seiya.
Without his armor, Seiya was about to be hit by the immense force, but Leo quickly pulled him behind.
“Let’s see if your phoenix is stronger, or my peacock.”
Pushing his Cosmos to the limit and activating Sage Mode, Leo, without opening the Eight Gates, unleashed the Morning Peacock.
Numerous powerful air punches, each igniting into fireballs due to the friction from the energy of his Sage Chakra, collided directly with the phoenix whirlwind.
“How is this possible? With such a weak Cosmos, you can launch such a powerful attack!”
In the battle between the Phoenix and the Peacock, Leo’s attack proved superior. The whirlwind dissipated, and the flames from the punches shattered Ikki’s armor, sending him flying as he coughed up blood.
Leo’s base physical strength, without entering his second form, could already unleash supersonic punches, reaching the standard 1 Mach speed of a Bronze Saint burning their Cosmos while wearing their armor.
When he fully unleashed his Cosmos, absorbing cosmic energy to strengthen his body, he could reach 2 Mach, the minimum speed for a Silver Saint.
Finally, when he enhanced his body with Sage Chakra, his punch speed reached 10 Mach. At this level of physical ability, using Morning Peacock without activating the Eight Gates was no challenge.
Except for a few exceptional Silver Saints—like Orpheus of the Lyra constellation, who had awakened the Eighth Sense and could enter the Underworld alive, or Albiore of the Cepheus constellation, who had awakened the Seventh Sense and could battle Gold Saints—most Silver Saints had punch speeds between 2 and 5 Mach.
Ikki, at his peak, had reached a punch speed of 3 Mach, and with his powerful Phoenix’s Wings of the Sky, he had easily defeated Hyoga, Shun, and the others.
But against Leo’s Morning Peacock, which struck at 10 Mach, the gap was far too great.
Not to mention comparing Phoenix’s Wings of the Sky with Morning Peacock—just in terms of punch speed, there was a threefold difference.
“Brother!”
Seeing Ikki lying on the ground with his armor shattered and his body bloodied, a now-conscious Shun immediately rushed over to embrace him.
To the kind-hearted Shun, no matter what Ikki had done to him or how much he had changed, Ikki was still the brother who had always protected him and the person he loved most in the world.
(End of chapter)