[Athena's Cloth]

Dopo aver atterrato i Bronze Saints, Shion decide di svelare tutta la verità:
"Now listen up, now I will tell you the meaning behind Athena and Shaka's death. The truth."
"The truth?" ripete Seiya.
"What.. is it?" chiede Shiryu.
Shion si china piangendo sopra la pozza di sangue.
"Athena... why did you choose death... could it be that... Only you could truly undestand the agony that burns within our hearts"
"What are you crying for...?" chiede Shiryu, rialzandosi.
"You're the traitors who are to blame for her death!" dichiara Seiya, in procinto di attaccarlo.
Shion lo interrompe, proseguendo il discorso:
"Let me tell you this! Even after death, I will always be a Saint loyal to Athena. How could anyone swear allegiance to Hades? Like me, Saga and the others are still Saints of Athena, even if Hades granted us eternal life. We still wouldn't harm Athena!"
"What is this?! If that was the case, then why were you acting as if you were going to kill Athena?" lo interrompe Shiryu.
"That's because... We'll never forgive you!" esclama Seiya, in procinto di sferrargli un pugno alle spalle.
"Wait, Seiya. Then, what are you saying?" lo ferma Shun.
"Tell us!" ordina Seiya.

"Unforgivable... Perhaps... it's all because of that, that glorious armour! After 240 years, it will awaken once again! Oh glorious goddess, with this sacrifice of blood... awake once again!"
Shion raccoglie del sangue con le mani e lo fa schizzare sulla statua di Athena, che si illumina, fino a scomparire.
"Athena's statue..." commenta Hyoga stipito.
"...Gone..." prosegue Shun.
"It hasn't disappeared. Look down there." spiega Shion.
Al posto della statua, c'è una sua miniatura splendente.
"Thi... this is... That giant statue of Athena..." esclama Seiya.
"This is the glorious armour that belongs to Athena!" spiega Shion.
"Athena's armour?"
"Just as your armour requires the blood of mortals to be revived, Athena's glorious armour is revived every 200 years: to do so, requires Athena's blood."
"Athena's... blood?"
"But this thing... only I, the old pope Shion knows this. If Athena doesn't get her armour, she'll stand no chance against Hades."

C'è un flash back di quanto i Gold Saints e i Silver Saints deceduti vengono resuscitati da Hades.
Si vede un uomo incappucciato e Shion che si alza dalla sua tomba, vestendosi con la surplice. Attorno a lui ci sono Death Mask, Aphrodite, Saga, Camus, Shura e i Silver Saints. Shion parla loro telepaticamente:
"No matter what, we must get this armour to Athena. Back then, from our eternel slumber... Hades summoned us. Hades sayd to us: If we could bring him Athena's head, then we'd be liberated from the eternal slumber and granted eternal like. We pretended to accepts his proposal, and then came to the 12 houses. We will be branded as the worst kind of beings to have ever existed. Knowing that, is this alright with you?"
Tutti annuiscono, anche se non si può sapere quanti siano sinceri. Armatura oppure no, l'importante era andare al Santuario a fare un po' di casino, per avere la gratitudine di Hades. Probabilmente è stato quello che hanno pensato Death Mask, Aphrodite ed altri Silver Saints, gli unici che non hanno mai versato una lacrima in tutta la storia e che sono sempre stati contenti di massacrare qualcuno.
"Thank you all." risponde Shion credulone.
Ritornando al presente:
"All this, for Athena cloth." finisce di esporre Shion.
"Death Mask, Aphrodite, even them..." riflette Seiya ingenuamente.
"That's why they used Athena Exclamation which was forbidden by Athena... That is to fool Hades. Saga and the others, and the agony and pain that they must've been experiencing." spiega Shion.
Tutti piangono commossi.
"Do you understand now?" chiede Shun agli altri.
"So that's it... It was all for Athena." risponde Hyoga.
"We didn't know anything. No, we didn't even try to understand at all." commenta Shiryu.
"Tell us Shion, what are we to do now?! Now Athena's dead... we... What are we to do?" chiede Seiya isterico.
"These last words from the old pope, listen up, now... It is time to smash Hades's wild ambitions once for all. Go forth to Hades castle and defeat Him!" ordina Shion risoluto.

Intanto, Saga e gli altri sono arrivati al castello e sono al cospetto di Pandora, che sta suonando l'arpa. Saga porta in braccio il cadavere di Athena, interamente avvolto da un lenzuolo bianco.
"I can see why you're said to be the strongest among the Gold Saints. Having brought with you Athena's corpse within 12 hours, I'm impressed. Now, take off that cover. Let me see Athena's corpse." si complimenta Pandora con loro.
"Before that... As long as we kill Athena, we'll be granted eternal life, yes? This is what Hades promised us, yes?" chiede Saga.
"Mm... well... Hades has a heart of gold. He wouldn't lie you, if that's what you're worried about." risponde Pandora sorridendo.
"Then... We request that you let us see Hades, so we can show him Athena's corpse."
"In person? Lod Hades is a god! He can't possibly grant audience to mere mortals. Let me, Pandora, have a look. Take off the cover." ordina Pandora, ma i tre restano fermi, con aria di sfida.
"Zeros, go and take off the cover." ordina quindi Pandora.
"Yes, of course."
Improvvisamente, Saga lancia il lenzuolo a Zeros, mentre Shura cattura Pandora alle spalle, minacciandola con Excalibur. In realtà, il lenzuolo è vuoto.
"This..." commenta Zelos.

Dato che Athena è morta, il Santuario sta iniziando a tremare e si rompono alcune colonne.
"The palace is crumbling as Athena's cosmos faded away. Like I said, the real battle as just started." spiega Shion.
"The real battle?"
"Athena and Shaka haven't given up yet."
"Athena and Shaka who have already passed away." commenta Hyoga.
"That..."
Shion ha un improvviso malore e cade dalle scale. I Bronzi corrono preoccupati da lui.
"Shion! Shion! Shion!"
"The short life that Hades granted us, it only lasts till dawn. 12 hours. Soon our bodies will fade away into star dust... Back to the eternal slumber once again..."
In realtà, sono ancora accesi due fuochi della meridiana.
"How can this be..." esclama Shun.
"But... Before that happens... There's something that I need to give you. With Athena's blood, they will also be revived. Bronze armours!"
Shion lancia il sangue di Athena sulle armature rovinate di Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga e Shun. Le armature si illuminano e si rigenerano potenziate cambiando leggermente forma: ora sono armayure divine!
"This..." esclama Seiya stupito.
"To think that they were beyond repair..." commenta Shun.
"Our armours!" esclama Hyoga.
"Yes... Thanks to Athena's blood, they have been revived. Now full of life and powerful as ever." spiega Shion affaticato.
"Shion!"
"Hurry and get to Hades castle! Now you should be able to catch up to others by Aioria and the others's cosmos. Athena... Must deliver the cloth to Athena."
"We understand. You can rest assured now that Athena's cloth is in our safe hands along with your wishes." conferma Seiya, prendendo la statuetta con l'armatura.
"Alright... There's no time. Hurry! To Hades castle!"
I quattro Bronzi si guardano negli occhi e si teletrasportano simultaneamente.
"Thank you. The new generation of Athena's saints." sorride Shion, rimasto al Santuario.

Ora, il castello di Pandora è attraversato periodicamente, ogni tot minuti, da uno strano fascio di luce verde. Nel cartone non viene spiegato di cosa si tratta. Nel manga è un campo protettivo creato da Hades per indebolire gli invasori.
Rhadamantis si fa strada nel cortile esterno, tra i cadaveri di soldati/spectres uccisi. Davanti a lui ci sono Aioria, Mur e Milo.
"Ah... more mortals seeking an early grave." commenta Rhadamantis.
"Let us in." risponde Aioria.
"And where are you going?"
"I'm sure you already know. To protect Athena." risponde Milo, mostrando l'unghia.
"I feel sorry for you saints." gnigna Rhadamantis.
"What?!" chiede Aioria.
"You saints are nothing but pathetic weaklings when compared to Hades's warriors here in Hades' domain. Ignorant fools, even though you are the enemy, couldn't help but feel sorry for you."
"All this talk... You're going to regret it." risponde Aioria.
"Regret what? I, Rhadamantis, have never been harmed before, not even once."
"Then let this be your first then. Now you're going down. Lightning Plasma!"
Rhadamantis si lascia volutamente colpire, rimbalza contro la parete e atterra in piedi, illeso.
"What?"
"Pathetic."
Ora è il turno di Milo e Mur:
"Scarlet Needle!"
Rhadamantis sembra inchiodato alla parete.
"Starlight Extinction!"
Ma il fascio luminoso ri affievolisce fino a scomparire sotto il piede di Rhadamantis.
"Still don't get it, do you? This domain belongs to Hades now. That cliff over there, beyond that is the sea of death that no one can escape from, gateway to hell. You no longer have the power to put a fight. Just like children..."
Rhadamantis apre le ali e sferra un pugno contro Aioria, atterrandolo. Poi si muove molto velocemente verso Milo, atterrandolo con un attacco aereo. Ora è il turno di Mur:
"Crystal Wall!"
Ma Rhadamantis spezza la sua difesa infilando una mano.
"Is this the power of spectres?" si chiede Aioria, rialzandosi.

Intanto, anche la stanza di Pandora è attraversata dal fascio di luce verde.
"You know that I have the power of Excalibur, one move and it's your head on the ground." illustra Shura.
"Get lost! What are you going to do with Lady Pandora?" interviene Zelos, poco deciso.
Camus lo zittisce con del ghiaccio.
"Even if you are the enemy, we do not wish to harm a woman. Now take us to Hades without delay." ordina Saga.
"To see Lord Hades, and why would you want to do that?" chiede Pandora senza scomporsi minimamente, pur essendo sotto scacco.
"To take his head, of course. This is waht we're really after."
"Is that so? How heartwarming. You impress me, saints of Athena... But haven't forgotten something?"
Ad un tratto, i tre ex Gold Saints vengono colpiti da un fascio di luce solare e cadono a terra privi di forze.
"Fool! You're still alive and well all this time... was it not thanks to Lord Hades who gave this short yet new life to you? Ungrateful mortals like you deserve nothing but to suffer at the depht of hell... for an eternity!"
"Our remaining strenghts... all but gone. What... what have you done?" chiede Saga.
"I didn't do anything. It's just the skylight. The rays of the sun shone through it. The 12 hours of your new life that Hades gave to you... Now it's time that short life of yours comes to an end once again. Painful? Is it that terrifying to go back to the underworld once again?"
"No way..." constata Saga.
"Answer me this one question, then I'll go and talk to Lord Hades to extend your short lives a bit further. Athena, where has Athena's corpse disappeared to?"
"Even though Athena is a god, but her body is still of a mortal. And mortals after death head straight towards the underworld."
"A lie... No... If Saga said was true... Athena chose death in order to get to the underworld... Could it be... that Athena is going to face off with Lord Hades?" riflette Pandora, fregandosene della promessa fatta.

"Ignorant fools like you, I will throw you all into the gates of hell alive! Have fun regreting taht you aver met me there." augura Rhadamantis, facendo ciondolare Aioria sopra la voragine.
"I... why am I so weak and foolish... I..." constata Aioria, completamente inerme.
"Aioria." esclamano Milo e Mur.
Aioria cade senza opporsi nella voragine, dalla quale proviene il fascio di luce verde.
Ad un tratto, una catena tira in salvo Aioria, mentre dei fulmini vengono rivolti contro Rhadamantis, che para prontamente.
"This cosmos..." osserva Mur.
"Could it be..." spera Milo.
"Who is there?" chiede Rhadamantis seccato.
Sono i quattro Bronze Saints, appena teletrasportati.
"Why are you so surprised? Athena's saints, of course!" risponde Seiya.