After that night, the relationship between Meruem and Saori became even closer. When only Meruem was around, Saori was just like the girl next door—she would be willful, act spoiled, and play cute. But if there were Saints nearby, she was still that incomparable Valkyrie of the battlefield.
"Little Saori, let's go. It's time to return to the Sanctuary. There's this bad feeling that just won't go away." After thoroughly looting the War God Temple inside and out, Meruem was ready to lead the troops home in triumph.
Speaking of the spoils of the War God Temple—what kind of junk did this so‑called great war god hoard, anyway? For example, some half‑broken, shapeless Cloth that supposedly had belonged to some Eighth‑Sense Saint in a past Holy War. But what was the point of collecting that scrap? Then there were the fangs of some unknown magic beast—that at least had a bit of use. The rest was nothing but rags, rusty weapons, and trash like that, completely filling the temple's treasury.
Who knew why Ares spent his time collecting so much garbage. In this vast War God Temple, aside from the shield and spear he actually used, there was not a single decent artifact to be found.
As for Aphrodite's collection, all that could be said was "heh." It was even worse than Ares's: a pile of pretty but utterly useless trinkets with no practical value at all.
When Saori heard Meruem's words, her expression dimmed slightly. Truth be told, she was reluctant to return to the Sanctuary. Here, at least, Meruem was by her side every day.
Once she went back to the Sanctuary, she would have to think twice about many things. Saori now was no longer that aloof goddess in the original story, high above all mortals. The Saori of the present acted much more on her own impulses.
As if sensing what was on her mind, a large hand gently settled on her smooth hair and softly stroked it. "If you want, we can still watch the stars together after we return to the Sanctuary."
Saori's eyes lit up at his words. "Mm. If you don't come, I'll just drag you back to my temple."
As she spoke, she even raised her soft little fist at him.
The three Gold Saints beside Saori immediately pretended they'd heard nothing and tactfully turned their heads away, as if studying the geomancy and terrain around Sparta.
"Heh…" Just as Meruem was about to say something to tease Saori, a disturbance broke out in the Saints' ranks ahead.
A moment later, Zhaka came hurrying over to Meruem and Saori in a panic.
"Reporting, my lord!" Reaching them, Zhaka dropped to one knee at once.
"Zhaka, what's happened? Why are you so flustered?" The unease in Meruem's heart grew even stronger. It felt like something had been forgotten.
For the Sanctuary's strongest Silver Saint to show such an expression, the matter was clearly not simple. Could the Underworld Army have awakened early?
Meruem glanced over at Shun—not likely; Hades's reincarnation was still right here.
"Goddess, Lord Meruem, this is bad. The former Sun God Abel has suddenly descended upon the Sanctuary. For some reason, he ignored the Goddess's barrier and appeared directly in the Pope's Hall, attempting to seize control of the Sanctuary. Right now, His Holiness the Pope and the former Pope are leading the Gold Saints in a fierce battle against Abel's Corona Saints in the Twelve Temples. The Sanctuary is in grave danger…" Zhaka spilled out everything he knew in one breath.
At this, even Meruem was shocked. "What? How could Abel possibly find the Sanctuary's location? I clearly hid it with sealing techniques. Not even Zeus himself would necessarily be able to locate it. And even as a god, he shouldn't be able to ignore Saori's barrier."
"The former Temple of the Sun God!" Saori cried out, losing her composure. "It's the ruins of the previous Sun God Temple. He must have used that to find the Sanctuary—there's still some of his divine power left there. But wasn't he supposed to have been sealed away by my brother Apollo? Why is he here?"
Once she finished, Saori glanced at Meruem, a bit worried, as if afraid he would blame her—for leaving the ruins of the Sun God Temple standing.
Aside from that initial shock, however, Meruem showed no hint of reproach. Actually finding it a little amusing, he glanced at Saori and then, from behind, took her small hand. He gave it a few light squeezes to reassure her that he was not blaming her.
Of course, Meruem took advantage of the chance to cop a feel—and had no intention of letting go of her hand.
The Sanctuary, as Athena's main base, was certainly of utmost importance, but to Meruem it was not strictly indispensable. The Gold Saints, however, absolutely had to be preserved.
Gold Saints were the backbone of a Holy War, so at Meruem's order, the War God Suppression Squad immediately increased its speed on the return to the Sanctuary.
Sanctuary.
With a casual sweep of his hand from the divine throne, Abel sent several arrogant Gold Saints flying.
Abel's Corona Saints were strong, but at best they were only on par with typical Gold Saints.
Even all three together could not necessarily match three Gold Saints fighting in concert. In the end, once Saga and Shaka personally joined the fray, the three haughty Corona Saints were all slain inside the Pope's Hall.
But the matter was far from over. The Corona Saints were defeated, yet there still remained the overwhelming presence of the former Sun God, Abel.
In the end, Shion had brought out the Altar Cloth, the one that had shone in the last Holy War and was said to be capable of sealing gods. He intended to personally seal Abel.
Unfortunately, Abel was not some non‑combatant goddess like Aphrodite, and his divine power far surpassed that of First‑tier Gods like the Twin Gods of Sleep and Death. The Altar Cloth could seal the Twin Gods, but absolutely could not seal Abel.
That was how things had reached this point: seven Gold Saints still in the Sanctuary, plus two Popes, all besieging Abel together.
"I'll say it once more. I'm willing to overlook the fact that you killed my warriors. All you have to do is swear fealty to me. Otherwise, today will be the day of your sacrificial deaths. The might of the gods is not something mortals like you can fathom." Seated on the divine throne that should have belonged to Athena, Abel looked down calmly at the Gold Saints below.
With his Corona Saints dead, he had turned his thoughts to recruiting the Gold Saints instead. Even a god could not go to war as a one‑man army.
The trouble was, these Gold Saints did not seem very appreciative. A god's favor should have been an honor to them, yet instead of gratitude they dared to refuse. Unforgivable.
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