After learning of Abel's sudden assault on the Sanctuary, a vague unease had risen in Meruem's heart. Saori sensed it and told him to go on ahead alone.
Meruem genuinely liked the Gold Saints of the Sanctuary. He admired their loyalty—how, for Athena's sake, even after dying, they would rise again if there was still some way they could be of use.
In the original Hades Twelve Temples arc, the fallen Gold Saints climbed from their graves once more just to deliver the message about the God Cloths to Athena. Deathmask's scornful smile at Hades, the way he and Aphrodite cast aside their pride for Athena's sake and behaved in such a disgraceful way…
The Wailing Wall in the original, the World Tree arc in Asgard—whenever Athena needed their power, even as souls they would still unhesitatingly offer their lives for her. In the Heaven Chapter, they were eternally sealed and damned by the gods, yet never regretted their choice.
You could kill them, but never insult them or trample them.
"Lord Meruem!" Seeing the man in white at the entrance, the Gold Saints seemed to find their backbone again.
At some point, Meruem had become irreplaceable in their hearts, though perhaps even they had not realized it.
Meruem had no time to greet them. He went straight to Shion, whose life force was nearly exhausted and flickering like a dying candle.
"Was it worth it?" It sounded like a question for Shion, but also for all the Gold Saints. Meruem could not understand why they had to cling so desperately to the Sanctuary. Wasn't staying alive what mattered most? As long as the people remained, the Sanctuary could always be reclaimed.
"Heh…" Shion gave a faint chuckle and, with effort, raised his head to look at Meruem. His gaze was unwavering. "The Sanctuary is what the goddess Athena entrusted to me. As Pope, my duty is to protect it for her."
That one short sentence shook Saga and Kanon beside Meruem even more than it did Meruem himself. One was the current Pope, the other had once seized the Popedom by force, yet neither believed they could do what Shion had done. Kanon in particular felt a new sense of duty stir in him. Maybe his desire to be Pope had started as nothing more than a rash line, but seeing Shion now, he felt a mission he had never known before.
They might one day die for Athena as well, but they knew they could never reach Shion's level.
"But you're no longer the Pope."
"I am still the goddess's Saint." The reply was firm and powerful.
"Heh… hahahaha." For a brief instant, a flicker of jealousy toward Saori rose in Meruem's heart, but it vanished as quickly as it came. Having warriors this loyal was Saori's blessing.
And what was Saori's… was his as well.
"Good. Don't worry—I won't let you die like this. Saori still needs you." Meruem felt oddly elated in that moment. Even the anger he'd felt upon seeing the scene when he arrived dissipated. He took a small bottle from his clothing and poured out something like a broad bean.
He held it to Shion's lips. "Eat it. It can't restore the life you've already burned away, but it's enough to bring your strength back."
It was a Senzu Bean, a miraculous healing item from the Dragon Ball world—enhanced with Chimera Ant genetics, no less. Even so, it could not bring back Shion's lost lifespan, but it could at least save his life.
Shion, without suspicion, swallowed it in one gulp.
The bean melted the moment it entered his mouth, and a warm current rose from Shion's stomach. To his astonishment, the strength in his body rapidly returned. In just a few seconds, his stamina was completely restored, though his burnt‑out life force did not come back. But that was already enough.
"What a remarkable thing." From the moment Meruem arrived to the completion of all this, Abel had simply watched quietly, like a man enjoying a show, amusement in his eyes.
Seeing Shion take the bean, Abel was somewhat impressed by its effect—but only somewhat. As a god, he had seen countless treasures.
To say nothing of others, Mount Olympus itself was full of items with effects similar to the Senzu Bean. Relics that could heal mortal wounds and restore flesh to bone were not in short supply.
But what he did not know was that the Senzu Bean could heal all physical injuries and completely restore spent stamina and energy. That was its true broken power.
"Is the farce over?" Abel laughed softly. "Mortal, who are you? You seem to be the pillar these Gold Saints rely on; they trust you greatly. But before me, you are still an insect. If I kill you, it will be a fine blow to these insolent Gold Saints who dared defy me." In a god's eyes, it was indeed a farce.
Gods did not care what humans thought or did. Whether humanity grieved or rejoiced meant nothing to them; it was all just a trivial play.
"Noisy. And what exactly are you supposed to be?" Meruem glanced at Abel and spoke in a flat tone, as if asking directions from a passerby.
"Mortal! How dare you show such disrespect to a god! Who gave you the courage—wait. Why can't I read your thoughts?" Abel stared at Meruem in surprise. Even some gods could not block his mind‑reading, yet for some reason he could not read this mortal at all.
Interesting.
"Mortal? To me, you so‑called gods are just monsters with more power than humans." Meruem sneered at Abel's baseless sense of superiority.
"Impudent!" From Abel, an overwhelming pressure swept outward in all directions, engulfing the entire Sacred Mountain of the Twelve Temples in an instant. The Gold Saints in the Goddess Temple were crushed under the godly aura, struggling even to breathe.
Only one man remained utterly unfazed. Not Abel's pressure, not even Zeus's, could affect Meruem in the slightest.
He was the king of the Chimera Ants, the one who had slain even the galactic tyrant Frieza. Gods? They were nothing.
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