Sanctuary.
In a vast ancient Greek coliseum, a group of youths were throwing punches and kicks nonstop, sweating buckets.
Kicks!
Straight punches!
Hooks!
Elbows!
Under the lead of a middle-aged Saint, over a hundred boys executed various fighting moves in perfect unison, fists and legs whipping, sweat pouring, working hard.
Ever since the Pope announced the Cloth battles would begin in half a month, the Sanctuary's candidates had been training even harder.
They toiled relentlessly for the day they could become Saints.
Everyone wanted to shine in half a month and become the goddess's Saint.
"Muscle is king!"
"Strength is everything!"
"I can master the supersonic punch too!"
Under the blazing sun.
At a secluded training ground outside the Sanctuary graveyard, Cassios was wildly punching at a stone pillar, roaring nonstop.
His fists blurred in succession, each punch not only leaving afterimages but also cracking the air with sharp, popping bursts. Surging fist pressure slammed the hard marble, breaking its surface and leaving a distinct knuckle print.
"Ugh… only one or two supersonic punches out of a hundred?"
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Cassios looked grim.
For now, he still wasn't proficient with the supersonic punch. In a string of punches, not every strike would succeed; often he had to throw over a hundred to land one or two supersonic punches.
Without awakening his Cosmo, managing a supersonic punch at all was already tough.
This was the limit of his flesh.
"This kid's not just musclebound, he's single-minded too. No special talent, but he can grind."
Watching Cassios, Damian couldn't help a jab.
No wonder Shaina had only made Cassios train strength and physique.
He was robust, a small giant in raw power and build, but his talent for the Cosmo was abysmal.
It was as if he was born out of sync with the Cosmo.
By Damian's original plan—
Since the Saint story was veering off, he might as well test Seiya's strength.
Among those who could slay gods with a mortal body, only the Saint Seiya fit the bill.
He wanted to see whether, faced with a powered-up Cassios, Seiya would still burst forth with his protagonist's aura.
Let him observe, from the side, what was special about Seiya's Cosmo.
And confirm the main plot hadn't changed.
Kill two birds with one stone!
By now, Seiya had surely awakened his Cosmo and even learned the Pegasus Meteor Fist, able to link with the Pegasus constellation.
But Cassios couldn't summon the Cosmo at all, so he basically had no hope.
Even if the two faced off, the result would likely follow the main line: Seiya crushing Cassios, winning with the Pegasus Meteor Fist, gaining the Pegasus Bronze Cloth, and becoming the Pegasus Saint.
There was no helping it. The Cosmo depended more on innate talent; training was secondary.
Even with Damian's instruction and oversight, Cassios's talent could never catch up to Seiya, who would one day slay gods.
After careful thought, Damian decided to force his growth.
"Cassios, do you know what the Cosmo is?"
Damian spoke up: "The Cosmo is the cosmic energy that exists deep within the soul. By igniting the Cosmo within, you destroy matter at the atomic level, wielding power to cleave heaven and earth and shatter stars."
"The so-called 'Cosmo,' even if described in words, cannot give birth to the act itself, nor can it truly be captured by language. It is the root from which great power is born—the energy that can open up the universe."
"Each person's Cosmo differs with the soul!"
"Your Cosmo is awakening too slowly!"
"At this rate, you'll never be a match for Seiya."
Cassios listened to the lecture, his face bitter.
"So… I've decided to directly boost your Cosmo."
"What? Directly boost my Cosmo?"
Cassios was horrified. He'd never heard of such a method.
Awakening the Cosmo is extremely difficult. If one out of a hundred candidates awakened the Cosmo, that was already rare.
Even the Pope couldn't do that, right?
"I'll ask just one thing. Do you want to win? Win without paying the price?"
"I do!"
Cassios burned with a desire for victory.
As soon as he spoke, Damian tapped a finger to Cassios's forehead. "Then take this seed of telekinesis!"
He planted a telekinetic seed into the other's mind—into his very soul. This seed carried Damian's intent and could awaken a person's potential, including the Cosmo's potential.
This move used the reverse application of Scarlet Needle.
It was a bit strong and would hurt; anyone without a base couldn't handle it.
It was a bold attempt by Damian.
Using his own Cosmo, with the reverse Scarlet Needle toxin as primer, he would trigger the Cosmo deep in the other's soul.
"Ah!"
Cassios felt pain again—an extreme pain that made his whole body shudder, agony lancing even through his soul.
But he endured, and sensed Cosmo ripples gradually filling his body. He felt like he'd been injected with pure adrenaline.
He could clearly feel a mysterious power he'd never had before.
"Hah!"
With his next punch, that mysterious power ignited. The boulder ahead was blasted apart by a single strike, earth and stone flying, dust billowing.
"I… I really awakened the Cosmo?"
Cassios had no words and was on the verge of tears.
"You've only initially sensed the Cosmo. Keep training!"
Damian reminded him: "Also, keep it secret—same as before!"
Cassios nodded in excitement, gazing at his senior brother with firm, worshipful eyes.
In his mind, Damian was stronger than the Pope.
Damian was the goddess's true proxy—the embodiment of justice.
…
Time flew.
These days, if he wasn't eating or sleeping, Cassios was practicing the supersonic punch, drenched in sweat every day, training until total exhaustion.
This nearly nonstop training regimen was brutal and grueling—not something most people could endure.
Cassios endured it.
Just as he had endured that telekinetic seed.
Now he was far more robust than before. Corded muscle covered him head to toe, every fiber charged with explosive power. His endurance, burst, and stamina had all grown by leaps and bounds.
These were boosts from triggering the Cosmo; the Cosmo enhances the user's physical strength to varying degrees.
Cassios's grasp of the supersonic punch also advanced rapidly.
At full force, each single punch was now guaranteed to be supersonic; in flurries, one out of every ten strikes would break the sound barrier. His technique was improving by the day, by the hour.
With the sun slanting, the day drew to a close.
Cassios was still sweating through practice, one supersonic punch after another, as if he knew no fatigue.
Damian lay on a flat slab of stone, contemplating life.
Cassios was set. With the moves Damian had taught him, he should be able to go three hundred rounds with the present Seiya.
Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Pansy or Shaina in a long time.
Over ten days ago, after asking Damian to oversee Cassios's training, Shaina had gone off to train Pansy herself.
No doubt Pansy was clinging to Shaina just to avoid him.
Forget it. That little girl won't find it so easy to open the casket of the twin gods of Death and Sleep.
Even if she has hypnosis, he had ways to deal with it.
There was time. They'd take it slow and play it out.