Pansy was very happy at this moment—extremely happy.
Yes, this was all her handiwork.
These days she had been tormented to the brink of collapse by that lunatic senior brother.
Now that Shaina had returned, she not only had her backer again, she'd also thought up a way to punish Damian.
The Cloth battle.
Don't be fooled by Damian's crazed babbling. He often spoke nonsense, but his attitude toward Shaina was somewhat ambiguous—he seemed to care about her.
So she simply used hypnosis to convince Shaina, then hypnotized Cassios too, all so she could watch Damian make a fool of himself on stage.
She was betting that he wouldn't let Shaina lose face in public and would step up to face Seiya.
As long as he stepped up to face Seiya, then she could just sit back and enjoy the show.
A lunatic who only knows how to build muscle would never be a match for Seiya, who had awakened his Cosmo.
Damian would surely lose, and get a brutal beating.
Maybe even crippled! Killed!
Anyone who crosses me, Pandora, is doomed.
Look!
He really went up, didn't he.
Hee-hee-hee…
Crash!
Damian ripped off his black cloak.
Under it he wore no shirt at all—only a pair of golden trunks.
His musculature was even, with distinct blocks of muscle—very aesthetic, much better-looking than Cassios's bulk.
"Hey, this guy's pecs are huge!"
"Yeah, and his whole build's pretty compact."
"How does a mere gravekeeper have a body like that?"
Many voices rose in surprise.
Seeing Damian's physique, Marin couldn't help but speak: "Ridiculous. Shaina's disciple has done nothing but manically train muscle. No matter how sturdy those muscles are, once they meet the Cosmo they're no better than paper."
Not far away, Shaina clearly heard and puffed her cheeks a bit. "Marin, Seiya is far too young. Even if he's sensed a tiny bit of Cosmo, it won't change much."
"Hmph. So it's you. I have no intention of giving the Pegasus Bronze Cloth to anyone."
"That Cloth belongs to me, Seiya."
Seiya recognized him. He hadn't expected this gravekeeper to step into the arena and compete with him for the Pegasus Cloth. He'd heard this man was Shaina's senior disciple and had issues, so he stayed in the graveyard all the time.
The guy had even sought him out to chat last time.
He never imagined the man would come out to fight him for the Cloth, while Cassios gave up competing with him.
As long as he took the Pegasus Bronze Cloth, he could become a Saint and return to Japan.
Seiya was determined to get the Pegasus Cloth.
He had no intention of holding back. Whoever it was on the platform, he would hammer them hard.
"I'm not planning to snatch your Pegasus Cloth."
Watching Seiya's fighting spirit rise, Damian was thinking through his approach.
How do I lose without anyone noticing? Lose with dignity, lose with dignity.
He was no longer the dreamer who wanted to put Athena on maternity leave. He just wanted to lie low in the graveyard, slowly grind attributes and skills—ideally max out all twelve Gold Saints' techniques before leaving.
Yes, he didn't want to end his gravekeeper's life.
The Pegasus Cloth was the protagonist's exclusive—let Seiya have it, so the main plot wouldn't derail again.
"Quit dawdling and take a punch!"
Seeing that he hadn't moved, Seiya attacked first.
A steel-hard fist slammed into Damian's abs.
Thud!
A dull thump answered him.
What was that feel?
It was like hitting a slightly springy hunk of steel.
Seeing one punch do nothing, Seiya threw several more in quick succession.
His punching power had long surpassed a thousand kilos. Each strike slammed like a sledgehammer—hard enough to shatter boulders.
With his Cosmo awakened, his physique had improved drastically.
Only then did Damian move.
He merely slipped lightly past the blows.
His training path differed from normal Saints. Other Saints burned their Cosmo with will and soul.
He, however, merged the Cosmo into, and stored it within, his muscles.
That not only concealed his Cosmo strength from others, it made his body sturdier.
In a sense, that corded muscle was like a Cloth. To truly hurt him, you had to break through the defense of his muscles.
He didn't want to reveal that yet, so he began dodging Seiya's punches.
"I'll stick it out for another hundred punches, then find a chance to hit the deck and stay down."
Bored, Damian slipped away from Seiya's fists.
To others, Seiya's punches were fast and fierce, the wind whistling. If anyone took a shot, there'd be a crater in their body.
In Damian's eyes, those punches were in slow motion.
"Left hand, right hand, do the slow move with me, right hand, left hand, slow move roll…"
Watching Seiya keep throwing punches, Damian almost started to sing.
Too slow—much too slow!
Right now Seiya's regular blows couldn't hit supersonic speed. Only the Pegasus Meteor could reach it.
"Hey, use the Pegasus Meteor Fist!"
Damian urged in a low voice.
Yes—time to lie down.
"H-How do you know I'm going to…"
Seiya blinked, then sped up his attacks, fists and feet trailing afterimages.
He was baffled. No matter how he went all out, he couldn't touch the opponent.
It was as if his every move had been seen through.
Impossible!
Was this gravekeeper Damian actually very strong?
On the other side, Marin was displeased. "Shaina, is this the disciple you turned out? A coward who only knows how to dodge?"
"At this rate, Seiya's going to win sooner or later!"
Shaina beat her chest in frustration. "Damian, hit him hard—attack Seiya!"
Indeed, Damian was all guard, no offense—a turtle tactic.
Even she found it too turtle-like and simply gave him the order.
"How boring. I didn't expect this guy to hold out this long."
Pansy was losing patience.
She'd gone to all this trouble just to watch Damian get pummeled.
And yet, after all this time, the top contender for the Pegasus Cloth—Seiya, who had awakened the Cosmo—had landed only one punch and couldn't touch him anymore.
"Hurry up and use the Pegasus Meteor Fist!"
Damian reminded Seiya again.
To lose with dignity, he planned to take a few shots the instant the Pegasus Meteor Fist launched, then drop flat.
That way he could answer to Shaina, and he wouldn't bump the main plot—Seiya would snag the Pegasus Cloth with ease.
Perfect!
"Hey, hey, hey, are you kidding me?"
"What are you two even doing?"
"Seiya, finish him already!"
"Aren't you tired? It's been fifteen minutes and there's still no winner."
The crowd was getting restless.
"Fine—see my fists, then!"
Seiya stopped dragging it out.
This gravekeeper Damian was slippery as a loach.
He'd give everything to close in and attack, but every strike was dodged. His fist clearly almost grazed the skin—
And still the man slipped away.
Infuriating!
"Ha!"
Seiya planted his stance and recalled the Cosmo Marin had him sense, and the power of the guardian constellations.
Yes—by borrowing his guardian constellation's star power, he could throw supersonic punches with ease!
He slowly raised his Cosmo, tracing the thirteen-star technique of his guardian constellation in the void. This was his own guardian constellation, granting him strength.
"It's here! The classic Pegasus Meteor Fist!"
Damian was overjoyed.
At last, the cockroach's finisher. That surging, roiling Cosmo brimmed with infinite possibility.
This was the protagonist's aura?
He could lie down in peace.
Uh… the start-up on this move was really too long—too much winding up. Could you hurry it up?
"Pegasus Meteor Fist!"
After brewing it up, Seiya finally unleashed the Pegasus Meteor Fist.
At the instant of the strike—
Damian suddenly felt an evil Cosmo flare.
Its source was His Holiness seated in the chief box.
That evil Cosmo made Damian's skin crawl. Instinctively, he flung up one hand, directly blocking Seiya's Pegasus Meteor Fist, and slapped him.
At the same time, he turned to look up at the Pope.
He found Dark Saga, disguised as the Pope, had locked his Cosmo squarely onto him.
Saga, why are you staring so hard at me?
Awkward!