114 An Uneasy Yet Spirited Reunion

Kurama finally understood the meaning behind the Underworld King’s previously unfathomable gaze and peculiar tone.

As Athena’s “archenemy,” and with a strand of divine consciousness descended into the body of this generation’s “Underworld King,” Aaron, surely Hades could not have been unaware of what the reincarnation of the present goddess looked like.

And yet, seated upon the supreme throne belonging to the goddess in the Sanctuary, there was instead a strange little creature—white, plump, and soft, like a snow-covered daifuku.

One could easily imagine how startled, bewildered, or even horrified a certain sovereign must have felt when he first caught sight of that scene.

And that unfamiliar little fellow had also turned out to be the very person he had been asked to find. No wonder His Majesty’s expression at the time had been so… subtle.

The corner of the fox demon’s mouth twitched faintly. In silence, he withdrew his gaze.

“There must have been some misunderstanding.”

At first, he had probably been too shocked to see clearly. But after his initial astonishment faded and reason returned, Kurama had examined the scene more carefully—and sure enough, he had found enough evidence within the image to let him finally settle his unsettled heart.

For one thing, Mokona’s clothing seemed, at first glance, indistinguishable from Athena’s. Yet on closer inspection, what Kurama had taken to be a “long skirt” was actually nothing more than a white, ancient Greek-style robe tailored to fit Mokona’s shape. The little creature was simply too round, and whoever had made the garment had presumably taken comfort into consideration, leaving the waist extraordinarily loose. At a glance, that made it easy to mistake the robe for a white dress.

For another, although Mokona was indeed surrounded and escorted by the Gold Saints, the sharp-eyed fox demon eventually found, after careful scrutiny, a flash of white among the crowd—almost drowned beneath the towering forms of those handsome young men:

Sasha.

If Mokona had somehow become the “goddess,” then even if Sasha had not been sent away from the Sanctuary, she would surely not have been permitted to appear in such a solemn and formal setting as the one shown in the image.

Since Sasha was still among the crowd, that was sufficient proof that her identity—the reincarnation of the present goddess—had not changed in the slightest.

In that case, Mokona’s position in the Sanctuary was extremely intriguing.

He wore the goddess’s complete regalia: crown, scepter, and shield. Yet he was not the goddess’s reincarnation.

Kurama thought it over again and again. The only conjecture that vaguely emerged in his mind was somewhat astonishing, yet very likely to be the truth—

Perhaps this matter had something to do with the Creator God.

With that thought, the fox demon looked at Hades with a trace of contemplation in his eyes.

“Had Your Majesty ever seen my Mokona before this?”

The Underworld King raised his eyes to him.

“No.”

Kurama’s brows drew together slightly.

Hades should have no reason to lie to him over such a trivial matter. If he said he had not, then he probably truly had not.

This showed that not every high-ranking deity knew of the Creator God’s existence. Even a primordial chief god such as Hades, one who had been born in an ancient age and occupied such an exalted position among the gods, might not understand the true nature of this world.

Yet that only raised another question.

How had the Gold Saints of the Sanctuary—or Athena herself—learned about Mokona?

His own little white ball would never have taken the initiative to tell them anything. And given Mokona’s temperament, he certainly would not have been willing to let a group of people carry him around and worship him like that.

The little fellow was probably enduring his impatience and cooperating with them only because he had no choice.

But what had made Mokona so wary?

With his temperament and abilities, and with Suzu assisting him, he could not possibly defeat a group of Saints whose martial strength was beyond reason in an open confrontation. But slipping away unnoticed from the Sanctuary’s supposedly “impenetrable” defenses would have been effortless.

And yet…

“Is there some reason Mokona would rather remain in the Sanctuary than leave…?”

Kurama murmured to himself.

Hades gave him a deep look.

“Aaron is preparing to go to the Sanctuary.”

He spoke without warning.

Kurama’s movements halted. Across from him, Hades paused briefly before continuing in his cool, clear voice:

“If you wish, you may go with him.”

“…”

This time, the fox demon turned and looked deeply at Hades.

“Is Your Majesty continuing to repay the favor you owe me?” he asked with a smiling air.

The black-haired god glanced at him but did not answer.

Kurama took that as an affirmation and spoke again after a moment’s thought.

“Strictly speaking, Your Majesty helped me find Mokona. That alone would already be the greatest return favor you could have given me. Now you are allowing me to travel to the Sanctuary with Aaron as well, presumably to spare me some of the trouble I might encounter if I went alone. Even if this is meant as repayment, you have already done more than enough.”

“However…”

“I do still have one small request. I wonder… whether Your Majesty might grant it?”

At his words, Hades’s deep emerald eyes calmly turned toward Kurama.

“Speak.”

Accustomed to His Majesty’s sparse and taciturn manner, the fox demon did not take the brief command as an offense. His face still wore a gentle, refined smile.

“After I bring Mokona back, may I return to the Underworld together with Aaron?”

A flash of unexpected astonishment crossed Hades’s face. The smile in Kurama’s eyes deepened.

“You saw the scene just now as well, Your Majesty. I have no idea what great personage the Sanctuary has mistaken my Mokona for, but they are treating him with such reverence and care that they have even given him Athena’s Scepter of Victory and the Golden Shield to use.”

“Even if I manage to take Mokona out of the Sanctuary with Your Majesty’s and Aaron’s help, it is easy to imagine that we will have no shortage of trouble pursuing us afterward.”

“In that case, we might as well remain here in the Underworld for a while. Although the scenery around the Slope of Hades is admittedly somewhat disagreeable, this Pure Land…”

“I would be quite willing to accept an invitation to stay for a time.”

As he spoke, the fox demon lifted his eyes and smiled at the black-haired Underworld King, who—though Kurama could not understand why—had shown him an astonishing degree of tolerance, even going so far as to indulge him.

“I only wonder whether I might have the honor of receiving Your Majesty’s invitation.”

Hades stared at him for a long while.

“…As you wish.”

At last, the black-haired god looked away and dropped those two words in a flat voice.

Kurama seemed to have expected that answer all along.

“Then thank you, Your Majesty.”

—Whatever your reason for doing this may be…

***

Greece, the Sanctuary.

Sasha sat quietly on the cold stone steps before the Temple of the Goddess, her arms wrapped around her knees.

Beside her sat Mu, the young disciple of Shion, the present Gold Saint of Aries. The two of them held exactly the same posture, resting their chins on their knees like children as they stared blankly at the small white figure not far away.

He said his name was Mokona.

Several days earlier, he had suddenly appeared inside the barrier surrounding the Sanctuary. As the sacred object at the center of the barrier—the “formation core”—he had caused the artifact that reduced the amount of cosmos Sasha needed to burn continuously in order to maintain the barrier to erupt in dazzling radiance.

Mu had not witnessed the scene himself.

But his most beloved teacher, Shion, had told him that amid the brilliant light released by the sacred object, Athena’s Scepter of Victory and Golden Shield had simultaneously flown away from Sasha’s hands and from the statue concealing the shield. They had shrunk to precisely the size suited to the little creature’s body, then bowed toward him again and again as if submitting in worship, eager to be held in his grasp.

Everyone, including the Pope, had been stunned by the sudden and wholly unexpected development.

Fortunately, for reasons no one understood, the barrier above the Sanctuary had not vanished when Sasha lost hold of the scepter. Instead, it had grown considerably stronger. The barrier’s range, which had gradually contracted as Sasha’s strength waned, had consequently expanded once more to its original scale.

His teacher said it was all thanks to that little creature.

The Grand Elder Hakurei of Jamir, who arrived soon afterward, had brought with him a scroll that had been secretly sealed away in the Sanctuary since ancient times. It recorded supposedly astonishing secrets of the divine realm, including what seemed to be a description of the little creature.

From the sound of it, Mokona appeared to have some connection with an indescribably powerful and exalted being. That connection had not only caused the mysterious sacred artifact suppressed within the Sanctuary’s star-gazing tower for thousands of years to resonate in response, but had also compelled divine objects that had previously obeyed only the goddess to bow their heads and submit of their own accord.

Judging by this, that being seemed like a terrifying figure of immense danger to the Sanctuary. After all, without the Golden Scepter and Shield, Athena’s strength would surely be weakened by far more than a third.

And yet, it had to be admitted that his arrival at such a sensitive and perilous moment had, paradoxically, eased the Sanctuary’s predicament.

Ever since the little creature appeared, he had replaced Athena Sasha as the source of energy for the Sanctuary’s barrier. What was more, there was no way to reverse the replacement by any means.

For the Saints of the goddess, it was certainly a good thing that Sasha, who had been struggling to hold everything together for so long, had thereby been freed from her burden.

But…

Mokona’s origins were, after all, unknown. Although he did not refuse to speak with them, and had shown neither resistance nor displeasure at becoming the source of energy for the barrier, he simply refused to reveal the slightest detail about his identity or background, no matter how often they asked.

This left Pope Sage and the Grand Elder Hakurei both relieved and troubled, unable to determine his true identity with complete confidence.

Supporting his fair little chin in his hands, Mu turned to look at Sasha.

Athena was probably the most bewildered person in the entire Sanctuary during this period.

Mokona’s arrival had relieved her of the heavy burden on her shoulders, but at the same time, she seemed to have lost her purpose and no longer knew what she ought to do.

Pegasus’s condition remained unknown. Her brother had suddenly turned against her. Pisces Gold Saint Albafica had died a惨烈 death. And the grief and sorrow that had accumulated in her heart over all this time weighed upon her.

No matter how strong and courageous she was, no matter that she was the reincarnation of the goddess Athena, Sasha was still only a young girl.

All the burdens and blows she had accumulated over these days had struck her heart at once after the responsibility she had carried was suddenly lifted. Judging from how pale she looked now—no less pale than when she had exhausted herself completely to maintain the barrier—it was clear that she had not rested well these past few days.

Mu pressed his lips together.

He wanted to say something to comfort the goddess, but instinct told him that whatever he said now, she probably would not be able to take it in.

“Lady Athena must find her own way out of this.”

Mu remembered the Grand Elder Hakurei’s deep sigh from earlier.

So he turned his face back toward Mokona and watched the little creature intently, no longer attempting to speak.

A cool evening breeze drifted slowly through the Sanctuary.

The night was so peaceful. Beneath the glittering stars, Mu quietly gazed at the small white figure. Before he realized it, his thoughts grew hazy, and drowsiness began to overtake him.

Yet in the instant before he sank completely into sleep, a vast and terrifying pressure descended suddenly from above!

Mu and Sasha lifted their heads at the same time. Then both their expressions changed.

Against the pitch-black sky, a gigantic black vortex appeared, as though it might swallow the night itself. The barrier above the Sanctuary, which had already been maintained in considerable stability, shattered piece by piece like a fragile crystal wall.

“It has been a long time, Athena.”

As the barrier was destroyed completely, a beautiful black-haired youth descended gracefully from the vortex. Watching him in astonishment, Sasha saw the curve of his lips form an expression more familiar to her than any other.

“Brother…”

For a moment, the girl lost herself in shock.

But at her words, the gentle, harmless smile on the black-haired youth’s face vanished instantly, replaced by cold indifference.

“You are mistaken, Athena,” he said softly.

“I am no longer… your brother.”

While effortlessly suppressing the resistance of every Gold Saint within the Sanctuary, the youth walked through the air from the distant point where he had first descended until he stood before the girl.

“I am Hades, the Underworld King. I am your…”

“Enemy.”

A flash of sorrow crossed Sasha’s face, but it was soon replaced by strength and resolve.

The girl who had been wandering uncertainly ever since Mokona arrived at the Sanctuary seemed, in that moment, to have found her faith and determination once more.

She stared unwaveringly at the black-haired youth before her and was just about to open her mouth to refute him—

“Mokona!”

A sudden cry filled with excitement and delight rang out from behind the youth.

Sasha and Aaron turned their eyes at the same time.

Only then did they see the white ball, whom no one had noticed since the barrier was broken, rushing toward them with a large golden stone tablet in tow—straight into the arms of a silver-haired young man, who caught him and hugged him tightly.

“Kurama! Mokona missed you so much!”

The dignified white ball who had maintained an imposing, noble image throughout his days in the Sanctuary now threw himself into the fox demon’s arms, squirming and rubbing against him as he wheedled adorably.

“…”

In an instant, every Gold Saint was utterly dumbfounded by the scene before them.