[328] : Mika vs. Shaka

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Wielding a Gold Weapon significantly enhanced a Gold Saint's combat power.

According to Sanctuary's rules—these weapons—entrusted to the Libra Gold Saint, could only be used in dire situations, with his permission—a testament to their ability to turn the tide of a battle.

Facing Gold Saints armed with these Divine weapons—Mika finally felt a sense of challenge.

While the Gold Cloths were said to be indestructible—the Gold Weapons could still penetrate their defenses.

For Instance, The Sagittarius Gold Arrow was a powerful—armor-piercing weapon.

And for a Gold Saint, their Cloth was essential...

While their attacks could slay even Gods, their physical bodies were still human, vulnerable to powerful attacks—The Cloths provided the protection they needed.

The same applied to the Gods of this world.

While most Gods possessed a balance of offensive and defensive capabilities, the Gods of the Saint Seiya world, their destructive power far surpassing that of other Pantheons, were surprisingly frail, their physical resilience below average.

They relied on their God Cloths for protection, having never developed their own defensive abilities.

It was pointless.

It was this vulnerability that allowed the Gold Saints, at the peak of their power, to challenge and even defeat Gods—Both were glass cannons, but the Saints had the advantage of Athena's Divine protection, her blessing imbued within their Gold Cloths.

The Evil Gods they often faced lacked such Divine patronage.

While other Pantheons existed, the Olympian Gods were the dominant force in this world—And Athena, as one of their chief Gods, could easily provide her Saints with power far surpassing that of their enemies.

It was this combination of Athena's blessing, the Gold Cloths' protection, and the Saints' mastery of [Cosmo], that allowed them to achieve such extraordinary feats. This highlighted the importance of a Gold Cloth.

Although the Gold Saints, armed with the Divine Weapons, now posed a greater threat, Mika, with his exceptional Skill and Control over his [Cosmo]—still managed to defeat them, though the battles were more challenging.

And finally, having defeated all the others, he faced Shaka.

Mika's earlier playful demeanor vanished as he faced this formidable opponent.

All Gold Saints were prodigies.

And through their battles with Mika, they had all grown stronger, Shaka especially.

He had been at the cusp of the Eighth Sense during their first duel... But now, he had delved deeper into that realm—Combined with a Gold Weapon, he now posed a Greater threat than any of the other Gold Saints.

———

———

"Let's begin, Shaka—"

"I, too, am looking forward to this, Mika—"

Shaka, who had created the Pocket Dimension for their duel, hadn't chosen a location that favored him, but a peaceful field of flowers, with two ancient trees standing at its center.

"The Twin Sala Trees…?" Mika murmured, recognizing the location from the Hades arc, where Shaka had faced Saga, Shura, and Camus.

It was the place where Buddha had achieved Nirvana—a place Shaka had chosen for his own final battle, though he hadn't actually died there, having secretly entered the Underworld.

"What a beautiful place— It seems…a shame to destroy it." He raised his hand, pointing at Shaka.

"Sekishiki Meikaiha——!" He unleashed the Cancer Gold Saint's signature Technique, refined and perfected through generations.

However, Deathmask hadn't been able to unleash its true power.

This Technique, manipulating both space and souls, two fundamental laws of reality—now reached its full potential.

Space distorted...

Souls wailed...

As the Ghostly Flames flickered at his fingertips, and the Jishi—Accumulated Corpse Energy—flowed outwards—Shaka had nowhere to escape. His body and soul were trapped, frozen in place, facing imminent death.

"You're not holding back, are you?"

Shaka's lips curved into a subtle smile as he felt the chilling touch of death—then he opened his eyes, and his Cosmo erupted, an immense power compressed and unleashed, pushing back against Mika's attack, distorting the very fabric of space itself.

"Tenbu Hōrin (Treasure of the Heavens)!" The surrounding space shifted, changing, as Shaka unleashed his ultimate Technique.

"He's using Tenbu Hōrin… differently..." Mika was both surprised and excited, recognizing the change in Shaka's Technique.

He, too, was growing stronger.

Such growth wasn't unique to Shaka, but his transformation was the most pronounced—After all, Mika had just fought him a few weeks ago, and his Tenbu Hōrin hadn't been this powerful.

"Come on, Shaka! Show me what you've learned!" He charged towards him, his voice filled with excitement.

However, despite his enthusiasm, he lost.

While he could defeat a normal Shaka, armed with a Gold Weapon, even Mika, at the peak of the Eighth Sense, was no match.

This defeat highlighted not only the power of the Gold Weapons but also Mika's own limitations.

"It seems the Eighth Sense isn't as powerful as I thought," Mika muttered, lying on the ground, bruised and battered.

"You're right. We haven't unleashed its full potential," Shaka said, sitting beside him.

———

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Saints were incredibly powerful, capable of slaying even Gods with their [Cosmo].

However, there was a fundamental principle of physics: for every action, there was an equal and opposite reaction.

To unleash such power, one needed a vessel capable of containing it. And the Saints' bodies, though enhanced by their [Cosmo]—were still fundamentally human. They couldn't withstand their own power.

This was the purpose of the Cloths.

While different power systems in other worlds had their own versions of protective gear, their function was the same: To channel and contain the immense power their users wielded.

This was why Cloths were so prevalent in the Saint Seiya world, every God and Saint possessing their own unique armor—It was a necessity, a crucial component of the Cosmo system—And it was because of this need that the art of Cloth creation had reached such extraordinary levels.

For example, the Bronze and Gold Cloths, while fundamentally similar, both capable of channeling Sixth Sense level [Cosmo]—differed in their upper limits.

The Silver Cloths could temporarily withstand the power of the Seventh Sense, allowing a Saint to briefly access its power.

The Gold Cloths, however, could channel the Seventh Sense's full power. However, they couldn't handle the Eighth Sense.

Therefore, while Gold Saints who achieved the Eighth Sense did become significantly stronger, the increase wasn't as dramatic as the jump from the Sixth to the Seventh Sense.

This limitation stemmed from the Gold Cloths themselves.

Therefore, while Eighth Sense Gold Saints were incredibly powerful, they weren't millions of times stronger than their Seventh Sense counterparts.

This was why the difference between Mika, at the peak of the Eighth Sense, and Shaka, a mid-level Eighth Sense Saint, could be so easily negated by a single Gold Weapon.

"I see…" Mika said, finally understanding.

While he had sensed that the Eighth Sense's power wasn't as significant as he had expected, he hadn't asked Saori.

Then he had been distracted by the Counter Force's knowledge.

And he hadn't realized this limitation earlier because his own physical abilities, enhanced by his Falna, had always been far greater than those of ordinary humans. While other Saints needed their Cloths to unleash the full power of the Seventh Sense, he didn't.

This had masked the Cloth's limitations.

As for why Saori hadn't explained this to him? She had noticed, during their earlier conversations, that he seemed to know a great deal about things he shouldn't, and since he never explained the source of his knowledge, she had decided to simply answer his questions directly, refraining from offering unsolicited information.

After all, if he already knew everything, it would diminish her image as the Goddess of Wisdom. How could she maintain her authority if he was seemingly omniscient?

It was this combination of factors that had led to Mika's misunderstanding.

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———

"It seems my understanding of Cosmo is still incomplete," Mika muttered, He sought out Saori, who was surprised by his question.

"You didn't know? I assumed you did, since you never asked."

Mika sighed. He had made a fundamental error: he had been analyzing his power solely from his own perspective.

With his diverse abilities, the potential synergies between them were incredibly complex. Some were obvious, while others were hidden, subtle interactions he had overlooked, assuming they were simply normal.

And these overlooked synergies could lead to miscalculations, potentially putting him in danger.

He began re-evaluating his abilities, analyzing them from different perspectives, searching for any flaws in his understanding...

And he found several, a discovery that…concerned him.

"I'm glad I realized this now, during my battle with Shaka. If I had discovered it later, during a crucial fight…it could have been disastrous." He wiped the sweat from his brow, relieved.

After spending some time correcting his understanding, he turned his attention back to the Cloths. He had learned something new from Saori:

To fully utilize the Eighth Sense, one needed a God Cloth.

And to create a God Cloth, one needed to imbue a Cloth with Divine blood. All twelve Gold Cloths had once been imbued with Divine blood, possessing the potential to evolve into God Cloths. Whether they could achieve that form depended on the Saint themselves.

"However, I could also use my power to elevate your Cloth to God Cloth level," Saori had offered.

But Mika had refused. He wanted to discover that path himself. He believed it would deepen his understanding of Cloths, essential knowledge for his own God Cloth project.

And speaking of God Cloths, just as the Eighth Sense required a God Cloth to unleash its full power, so too did the Ninth Sense.

However, in this world, God Cloths were rare.

The twelve Olympian Gods had each possessed one, but with Zeus's disappearance, they had vanished as well.

Athena, Hades, and Poseidon had created their own Sacred Cloth, Surplice, and Scale, respectively. However, these were merely enhanced versions of Gold Cloths, unable to channel their full Divine power.

This was why Saori was so eager to create a true God Cloth. Only then could she unleash her full potential.

"I see…so that's why…" Mika nodded, understanding now.

"It makes sense. Such a powerful system…there had to be a catch." The Saint Seiya power system, with its immense destructive potential, was practically a cheat code, but it came at a price.

It was a path few could truly walk...

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