"That's… the Meikaiha." Shiryu, not yet blind, stared at the ball of light gathering on Deathmask's fingertip.
"Meikaiha?"
"Master Dohko once told me about it. It's a terrifying move that sends people to the land of the dead—Yomotsu Hirasaka. Don't let it hit you, or you'll be trapped in Hades's Underworld forever." Shiryu's expression turned grave.
Dohko had warned him: Meikaiha was part of the Sekishiki series. It was the basic form, but if Sekishiki were honed to its peak, it could fell even a god.
And Deathmask was one of the Gold Saints sure to try to kill them, so Dohko had told him to be extra careful.
"So we just have to keep him from using it, right?" Hyoga wiped a line of blood from his lip.
The boys traded glances—no, Cosmo-laced eye contact.
Golden Saints' senses far outstripped those of Silvers and Bronzes. Best not to talk tactics out loud.
"Ridiculous. Stop me from using the Meikaiha? That's what you Bronze gnats managed to come up with?" Deathmask scoffed.
He couldn't understand why Athena would send a pack of Bronzes to die. True, they weren't like ordinary Bronzes. One of them had even reached early Seventh Sense. But in front of a Gold Saint, even a Bronze with mid–Seventh Sense could never win.
"Whatever. Once I'm done with you brats, I'll go deal with that little girl." If he couldn't figure something out, he didn't think about it. That was Deathmask's way.
Just then a cold wind gusted through. Even in his Gold Cloth, Deathmask shivered.
Something was off. This wind was wrong. He leapt aside—and a thick wall of ice formed on the floor where he'd stood.
"Huh? Ice? That kid from Cygnus, huh? Pity—at that speed, you'll never hit a Gold Saint." Deathmask grinned at Hyoga.
"Nebula Thunder Whip!" Pink Cosmo flared behind him as chains lashed toward Deathmask's back.
"Told you. At that speed, you can't hit a Gold like me." He slipped away again.
"Oh? Take a look at your hands and feet." Hyoga's voice rang out.
"These are… ice rings? When?" Crystal-clear ice shackles had formed on all four of Deathmask's limbs, pinning him.
"Now! Rozan Rising Dragon!" "Pegasus Ryuseiken!"
Hyoga gave no answer. Instead, Seiya and Shiryu's attacks came crashing in.
"Naive! Cancer Light-Speed Fist!" All Gold Saints could use light-speed punches.
Compared to Leo's they were weaker—but still not something you blocked easily.
Golden Cosmo collided with Seiya's and Shiryu's moves. The ones sent flying were Seiya and Shiryu.
Deathmask took two on at once and won.
"Thanks, Seiya, Shiryu. Nebula Thunder Whip!" Pink Cosmo flared again behind Deathmask.
"Ice Crystal!" As Deathmask moved to dodge, the ice rings spread, freezing over him. In a blink, he was fully locked in place, then bound tight by the chains behind him.
"Damn chains. You think this junk can hold me?" Nebula Chains weren't invincible, but in raw toughness they ranked in the top few among the eighty-eight constellations.
They were also the most durable part of the Andromeda Cloth—more reliable, frankly, than the Dragon Shield, famed as the strongest in the Zodiac.
Even Deathmask couldn't break free right away, held fast by Shun's chains.
"We're not done! Phoenix Wings Rise!" A great flaming bird of Cosmo shot straight toward Deathmask.
With his limbs frozen and body bound, Deathmask couldn't move. He could only watch the surging attack slam into him. "You've gotta be kidding—"
The blast hurled him away, smashing several support pillars of the Cancer Temple before finally stopping when his body embedded in a wall.
"Did we get him?" Exhausted, the five boys regrouped, breathing hard.
"Don't know." Even Ikki wasn't sure his strongest blow was enough. After how badly they'd been shaken by Aldebaran in Taurus, they no longer dared underestimate any Gold.
"Wait… my chains are telling me—he's not down yet." Shun cried out.
"Damn Bronzes. First time I've been pushed this far," Deathmask growled as thick miasma from all corners of the Cancer Temple gathered at the hole where he'd crashed.
"These chains won't hold me!" A surge of power ran down the chains. Shun, unsteady, was yanked off his feet.
"So strong!" Shun gripped his chains with all his might, trying to hold them, but the force on the other end was immense, spinning him around in the air.
"Sekishiki Meikaiha!" A gray aura blasted from the shattered wall, streaking straight for the airborne Shun.
"Damn—!" By the time the others realized it, it was too late. The Meikaiha hit Shun dead-on. His body crashed to the floor, eyes losing their light, and his chains slackened and fell away.
"To leave me this battered… For Bronzes, you've done well. But I'm no pushover like the fools guarding the earlier Temples. Today you all die here." Clutching his chest where Ikki had struck, Deathmask hauled himself up against the wall, blood at his mouth.
He looked about as pathetic as a Gold could.
"What did you do to Shun?!" Seiya shouted, cradling Shun and glaring at Deathmask.
"Heh-heh. Sekishiki Meikaiha sends people to the Underworld. What do you think happened? Relax—you'll join him soon enough." Watching the anger-twisted faces before him, Deathmask felt an indescribable thrill.
No one noticed that Shun's arm twitched—just a little.
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