Saint Seiya: Heretic Athena?

This is the realm of life and undeath, where humanity cannot dwell. A world where the soul is more important than the body.

There, three old figures were holding a meeting.

The place where they gathered was a pavilion built in a beautiful garden. There were no servants present, yet the area was impeccably tidy. But this was nothing strange; the realm of life and undeath was constituted of multiple, overlapping spaces.

"Well then, is it time to pass judgment on that Rakshasa Lord? You intentionally caused this commotion just to see how that person would treat Ena... didn't you?" the archmage in black, the first to speak, said. He had achieved Buddhahood in the flesh, a man who had shed the shackles of the body at the end of his ascetic practices to approach immortality.

"I have been watching this child for a long time. He is a Paladin of good character. I believe he will certainly become a guardian of the Earth."

The one who offered this opinion was the Glass Princess. A beautiful princess with glass-colored pupils and a face that could topple cities, her age far surpassed that of the archmage. Incidentally, this elegant garden was a space she controlled.

"A guardian of the Earth, a Paladin of good character, that sounds wonderful. It's clear he is someone who can shoulder a great responsibility."

"Mm, so, Susanoo, what are your thoughts?"

"I naturally have no problem with it. After all, wasn't it my idea to have him come to Japan in the first place? Hehe," the eldest of the gods said in a peculiar tone.

"Although I intend to bestow the miko upon him, I never said I would give him the sword as well. He is reckless, but I appreciate the side of him that cannot be underestimated. In any case, our goal is to have the God-slaying Rakshasa kill the deity from across the ocean."

"So it's decided that it will be him?"

To the princess's question, Susanoo-no-Mikoto gave a generous nod.

"Then what about those controlled subordinates? How shall we deal with them?"

"Do we need to hesitate when dealing with subordinates who have raised the flag of rebellion? The rebellious will be beheaded, the participants will have their hands cut off. If we do not kill, how can we display the side of Susanoo!"

The princess was stunned, only then remembering that this Susanoo's personality was fickle—at times ferocious, at times heroic. Although for the past several hundred years he had been respectfully called the "Old Gentleman" by the world, his violent personality was also seen as that of a god of destruction.

"But they occupy forty percent of the key positions. If we wipe them all out, won't it cause major problems?"

"This world is never short on talent. If there's a deficit, we just need to promote from the lower ranks. It will just require you all to put in the effort to train them." The leading Old Gentleman revealed a chilling authority. "So, can we reach a consensus? Ame-no-Murakumo, my avatar, is still awaiting my final command."

The archmage in black and the Glass-Eyed Princess exchanged a silent glance. Everything was understood without words.

"Then it is decided. Let that young God-slaying Rakshasa begin. The Far East, Japan... this land, in the end, is still our country," the Old Gentleman finally declared.

Ena Seishuin felt as if she were lying in a hot spring, warm from the inside out. It was just that her cheek was a little sore.

Her last memory was of being ordered to go and subjugate the Heretic God who was trying to take all of Japan into her grasp. But all she remembered was seeing an incomparably bewitching face, and in the next instant, she lost consciousness. It seemed her mission had failed. Was she in the spirit world now, or had she fallen into the enemy's hands?

The air was filled with the scents of bellflower and ginkgo, medicinal herbs commonly used in secret rituals. A spasmodic pain radiated from her lower abdomen to her navel, but at the same time, a force that made her entire body comfortable emanated from her chest... Ena had been awake for a while, but just in case, she had waited until she had gathered enough spiritual power to resist before suddenly opening her eyes.

What came into view was a youth with brownish-black hair. He looked at her with a somewhat puzzled expression and raised his hand. For some reason, in that instant, Ena Seishuin felt that she was going to be alright.

"Miss Ena, you're finally awake," a familiar, joyful voice came from the side.

Ena Seishuin turned her head. "Chief Sayanomiya, it's rare to see you in miko attire." Seeing a familiar face, Ena Seishuin was finally certain that she had not fallen into the hands of that Heretic God. But her gaze, from beginning to end, was fixed on the brown-haired youth before her.

Several tens of minutes later, sipping tea, Seiya finally understood the whole story.

That is to say, six months ago, a god from across the ocean had arrived in Japan. She possessed a madness completely different from other Heretic Gods. She did not challenge the Old Gentleman who ruled this land, but instead used methods of control to bring most of Japan's high society under her command. Among them, even the Seishuin family, one of the four great families that formed the Old Gentleman's power base, had fallen.

Now, the Official History Compilation Committee, which was originally the official organization, could barely control the Osaka metropolitan area, the region from Nagoya to Kanagawa Prefecture, and finally, the districts of Taito, Arakawa, Katsushika, Meguro, Nerima, and Suginami within Tokyo's 23 wards, as well as Bunkyo. They had even lost Chiyoda, where the Emperor resides. Eighty percent of Japan's spiritual ley lines and onmyoji were now controlled by the organization known as the Onmyo Agency.

Today, this organization called the Onmyo Agency was the uncrowned king of Japan.

After listening to Sayanomiya Kaoru's introduction, Seiya was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but say, "You guys are pretty pathetic, aren't you?"

Sayanomiya Kaoru didn't blush in the slightest, but respectfully knelt on the ground. "Facing a true deity, we mortals, no matter how hard we try, cannot contend with divine might. Only a God-slaying Rakshasa such as yourself is an existence equal to it."

Seiya turned his head and looked at the Hime-Miko who had been staring at him since she woke up, Ena Seishuin. "And you? How do we know each other?"

As the command was given, Ena Seishuin naturally felt a force she could not resist compelling her to answer. But she had never intended to refuse in the first place.

"Because when I was very young, I once witnessed the sight of you throwing your punches." Without the influence of madness, Ena Seishuin, kneeling on the ground, was like the most traditional of Japanese women, a Yamato Nadeshiko.

"Spirit vision?" Seiya raised an eyebrow.

Spirit vision, a special talent similar to a combination of perception and clairvoyance, could occasionally glimpse fragments of the past and future.

"Precisely, spirit vision." Ena Seishuin stole a glance at the powerful man before her, an image surfacing in her mind: a youth standing before a cliff, throwing ten thousand punches, splitting the ocean waves.

That figure, throwing ten thousand punches with unwavering determination, was engraved in her heart. In moments of laziness, she would always recall it, urging herself forward.

The image from the past and the present overlapped. This man was Seiya.

But this loyalty was not perfect. There was still another oath left in her body, as if she had another master. This was something that Ena Seishuin, who had always studied the path of loyalty and filial piety, could not accept.

Seiya, who had become her master through the Kotodama Binding of the Lord of the Spoken Word, naturally sensed the anxiety in her heart.

The Official History Compilation Committee and the Onmyo Agency. Susanoo and the deity from across the ocean.

Seiya's fingers tapped lightly on the table. In this civil war in Japan, what role was he supposed to play?

But at this very moment, a knock came from the side. Sayanomiya Kaoru's gaze sharpened, and Ena Seishuin gripped her divine sword even tighter. In this shrine, which was practically the headquarters of the Official History Compilation Committee, why would a strange aura appear at the door?

Seiya waved for Sayanomiya Kaoru to open the door. She was stunned to find a man in a white kariginu and a black eboshi hat standing outside. He respectfully presented an envelope to her. It was an invitation.

She passed it to Seiya, watching as he broke the seal.

It was an invitation from the master behind the Onmyo Agency, the deity from across the ocean.

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