Ryosho did not approach the ring.
After locating Shunrei, he stopped at the entrance, folded his arms, and turned his attention to the match.
Seeing Ryosho stop there, Misty went no farther.
Instead, he doubled back and stood beside him.
By then, the battle between Shiryu and Seiya had reached its climax.
Shiryu had knocked Seiya down several times, leaving him battered and bleeding.
Faced with the strongest fist and the strongest shield, however, Seiya had no way to fight back and appeared to be on the verge of defeat.
“So that’s the Sagittarius Gold Cloth Aiolos took away sixteen years ago.
I never expected it to be here in Japan,” Misty murmured, seemingly speaking to Ryosho and to himself at the same time.
Ryosho ignored him and kept his attention on the ring.
Covered in blood, Seiya rose from the ground once more.
Cheers reverberated throughout the arena.
Misty crossed his arms and sneered at the sight.
“What’s so interesting about a fight between mere Bronze Saints?
A battle at this level is nothing more than child’s play to me.”
“Besides, this duel openly violates the prohibition against Saints fighting among themselves.
Once word reaches the Sanctuary, they’ll be stripped of their status as Saints.”
Ryosho frowned but still did not respond.
Instead, he shifted his gaze away from the ring and surveyed the arena.
His eyes stopped when he spotted Hyoga, Shun, and Jabu.
After lingering on the Sagittarius Gold Cloth for a moment, he finally looked toward the highest point of the arena.
A beautiful purple-haired young woman in a white dress sat there, on a chair shaped like a golden scepter.
She was the organizer of the Galaxian Wars and the reincarnation of Goddess Athena, who descended into the mortal world once every few centuries.
Saori Kido.
For now, however, she was still only Saori Kido.
Athena had yet to awaken.
When Ryosho looked away, he noticed that Misty had abandoned his contemptuous attitude.
He was staring up at Saori Kido with a grave expression.
Ryosho regarded him thoughtfully.
Just then, startled cries erupted throughout the arena once more.
In the ring, Seiya clenched his fists and charged at Dragon Shiryu.
An instant later, Dragon’s Strongest Shield shattered.
At the same time, Seiya’s helmet was smashed to pieces.
Ryosho could not help shaking his head.
Well, that settled it.
Both the Pegasus and Dragon Cloths were ruined.
Not merely damaged, but dead.
This was not something a few repairs could fix.
What a waste.
With his current abilities, there was nothing he could do for Cloths that had already died.
For one thing, he lacked the necessary materials.
For another, he could not guarantee that he could preserve the blood donor’s life the way Aries Mu could.
Could the Divine Water of Crateris be used somehow?
Or perhaps…
He turned to look at Misty, then shook his head again.
Misty had already looked away from Saori Kido.
A moment earlier, however, a sudden chill had run through him, making his skin crawl.
He glanced back at Ryosho and found him staring fixedly at the ring.
He seemed unusually interested in this private duel between Bronze Saints.
Misty looked at Saori Kido, then at the Sagittarius Gold Cloth, before returning his attention to the ring.
As he listened to the commentator, he had to admit that Pegasus had shown some ingenuity by finding a way to break Dragon’s Strongest Shield.
Even so, that alone hardly seemed enough to attract a Silver Saint’s attention.
Then he saw Dragon and Pegasus cast off their Cloths.
“Fools…”
Misty’s expression shifted.
“A Cloth exists to protect the body.
Taking it off in the middle of a battle is practically suicide.”
For once, Ryosho answered him.
“You should watch and learn, Misty.
Otherwise, sooner or later, one of these Bronze Saints will defeat you.”
“Me?”
“Misty?”
“Defeated by a Bronze Saint?”
“Don’t be absurd.
No matter how lacking my abilities may be, I would never lose to a Bronze Saint.”
Ryosho’s words shattered Misty’s composure.
Did Ryosho truly believe he was beneath these Bronze Saints?
His pride had been wounded.
In what way was Misty inferior to any of them?
Apart from his defeat at Ryosho’s hands, Misty had never even been injured in battle.
He could not imagine ever losing to Bronze Saints who emerged from every fight covered in wounds.
The thought alone left him seething.
Ryosho, however, had already stopped paying attention to him.
Pegasus and Dragon were about to stake their lives on one final clash.
Misty had no choice but to turn his attention back to the ring.
The faint image of a rising dragon appeared behind Dragon, while a neighing pegasus manifested behind Pegasus.
Dragon attacked first.
Like a roaring divine dragon, he charged at Pegasus, who met him head-on like a winged celestial horse.
Fools!
The corner of Misty’s eye twitched as he watched the two bare-chested fighters collide.
They were both madmen.
They were willing to throw away their lives for victory.
In the blink of an eye, Dragon struck Pegasus in the cheek, while Pegasus drove his fist into Dragon’s heart.
Thunderous cheers erupted throughout the arena.
Pegasus had claimed the final victory.
At the same time, however, Dragon’s heart stopped beating.
The doctors who had been standing by rushed into the ring and immediately began examining Seiya and Shiryu.
“Shiryu.”
“Shiryu!”
Before long, Shunrei’s anguished cries rose from below the ring.
Ryosho sighed, left Misty behind, and walked over to her.
Hearing his footsteps, Shunrei looked up, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Ryosho…
Shiryu…
Shiryu…”
Shunrei covered her face and began to cry.
Ryosho crouched beside her and spoke softly.
“Don’t panic, Shunrei.
Have you forgotten?
When a Saint’s fist stops someone’s heart, striking it with equal force from the opposite direction can make it beat again.”
Shunrei looked up.
She clearly remembered Dohko telling her the same thing.
Without another word, she rose and rushed toward Seiya, whom the doctors were carrying away on a stretcher.
Misty walked over and frowned in disgust at the blood-covered Shiryu.
“I’ve never heard of reviving a stopped heart that way.
Besides, with Pegasus in that condition, forget throwing a punch.
Whether he can even stand is another matter.”
“That is the greatest difference between them and you.
They believe in something called friendship, and they believe that friendship can create miracles.”
Ryosho straightened Shiryu’s body.
He extended a hand and activated his Psychokinesis.
A small glass vial appeared out of thin air in his palm.
“What is that?”
“Water purified by the Crateris Cloth.”
Ryosho opened Shiryu’s mouth and poured the Divine Water from the vial between his lips.
The wounds covering Shiryu’s body immediately began healing at a visible rate.
Misty’s eyes widened.
“Is this the healing power of the Crateris Cloth?”
Ryosho did not answer.
He stared at Shiryu, whose heart still had not begun beating.
His brow furrowed, and disappointment showed in his eyes.
Just as he had expected.
The Divine Water could heal physical injuries, but it could not bring the dead back to life.
At that moment, Deathtoll spoke directly to Ryosho through his Cosmo.
“Kid, it seems you know what happens when a Saint’s fist stops the heart, but you don’t understand why.”
Ryosho raised an eyebrow and replied through his Cosmo, “What?
You know the reason?”
“Of course.
Have you forgotten who I am?”
“Kid, use your Cosmo and take a closer look at Dragon’s heart.”
Ryosho closed his eyes and carefully extended his senses.
“What do you feel?”
Ryosho opened his eyes.
“What is this?”
“You feel it now, don’t you?
It’s the Cosmo Pegasus left behind.
That Cosmo is coiled around Dragon’s heart like a venomous snake, effectively forming a seal.”
“The simplest way to break that seal is to strike with the same force and Cosmo from the opposite direction, dispersing it.”
“Of course, that isn’t the only method.
If your Psychokinesis is strong enough, you can erase the remaining Cosmo directly.
Once it disappears, conventional methods can be used to restart the heart.”
“I see!”
Understanding dawned on Ryosho.
“But it looks like you won’t need to help after all.
Pegasus is back on his feet.”
Ryosho turned around.
Amid Shunrei’s sobbing pleas, Seiya had struggled upright from the stretcher.
Ryosho immediately lifted Shiryu into a sitting position.
Shun hurried over as well.
He glanced at Ryosho and Misty, confusion flashing in his eyes.
“Let me do it.
A Saint’s punch isn’t something an ordinary person like you could withstand.”
Ryosho offered no explanation.
He handed Shiryu to Shun, then stepped aside with Misty.
After taking hold of Shiryu, Shun noticed that all the wounds on his body had already healed.
Surprise appeared on his beautiful face.
He looked back at the two men standing off to the side, wondering what they had done to Shiryu and what connection they had to him.