[375] : Transcendent State—the Ninth Sense of Cosmo!

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Long chapter!!

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In the millennia-long Holy Wars, Poseidon had crossed blades with the Saints countless times.

He knew that whenever a new Gold Saint achieved the Eighth Sense, they became a significant threat to him. It was a pattern as old as their conflict.

At first glance, this seemed unbelievable.

After all, Poseidon currently battling Mika—and was paying almost no mind to Shaka, Saga, and Mu. His earlier concern had stemmed purely from the precarious stalemate he was in with Mika, where any outside interference could tip the scales.

If he were facing any one of them alone, he could crush them with ease. The difference between the legends and this reality was staggering.

So why the discrepancy? The answer, of course, was Athena.

As the reincarnated Goddess of War, Athena rarely fought on the front lines herself. She entrusted the fighting to her Gold Saints.

This stood in stark contrast to Gods like Hades and Poseidon, who often led their armies personally. Athena's role in Sanctuary was one of support. Under the blessing of her Cosmo, the Saints could unleash power far beyond their normal limits.

A Saint with Athena's blessing was a true Saint.

Why, then, had the Gold Saints been defeated by five mere Bronze Saints during the battle of the Twelve Temples? Aside from some of the Gold Saints deliberately holding back, the most crucial factor was that they had lost Athena's divine protection.

Seiya and the others, however, had not.

That, combined with their extraordinary talent, was what had allowed them to perform a miracle. Such was the importance of Athena.

As for why she chose this method of warfare, one had to look at her greatest adversary—Hades, the King of the Underworld.

Hades was a powerful God who had battled Athena for eons, his gaze constantly fixed on the mortal realm from the shadows. After his first great battle with Athena—where the Pegasus Saint managed to wound his cherished divine body—he never again descended to Earth in his true form.

Since then, it was always his reincarnation who led the armies of the Underworld.

This reality robbed Athena of any chance to defeat Hades permanently. No matter how many times she killed his reincarnation, the true God remained unharmed. Meanwhile, his Specters would simply resurrect after death, their peak strength only growing with each Holy War.

The Saints, however, were mortal. When they died, they were gone for good.

If this war of attrition continued, Sanctuary would inevitably be exhausted.

Hades could afford to fail countless times, but Athena could not fail even once. If Sanctuary ever suffered a generational gap, failing to train worthy successors, it would face utter annihilation.

Athena knew she couldn't protect the world alone; she needed humanity's help.

Thus, she abandoned the role of the supreme commander leading the charge and became a pillar of support, nurturing and empowering her Saints from the rear.

This was how she had secured victory through generations of Holy Wars. This was how she protected the Earth from the prying eyes of other Gods.

A Saint with Athena's blessing was a true Saint.

————

But now, Poseidon couldn't sense a trace of that blessing on Mika or the other three. They were fighting entirely on their own power.

Where is Athena and her divine protection?

Poseidon was certain he had felt her presence earlier; she had to be in the Sea Realm. But even if she weren't, her blessing should have been present.

Where had it gone? What was she plotting?

As these questions swirled in his mind, Poseidon's focus fractured. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was all part of some elaborate scheme by Athena.

He couldn't trust anything. His nerves frayed. The world around him felt menacing, as if Athena could be lurking in any shadow.

In a battle of this caliber, such a lapse was a death sentence.

Mika seized the fleeting opening. His spear lashed out like a whip, cracking across Poseidon's face and sending him flying.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!"

The kinetic energy from the blow was immense.

Poseidon's body tore through everything in its path, including his own temple. In the blink of an eye, the grand structure that had withstood their battle until now was reduced to a pile of rubble.

"After him—" Mika said simply to Shaka, Saga, and Mu. His figure flickered and vanished, in hot pursuit of Poseidon.

Seeing this, the three Gold Saints followed without hesitation. They had finally adapted to this level of combat; there was no way they would back out now.

The battle spilled out from the ruined temple and into the open Sea Realm, instantly drawing the attention of every combatant in the vicinity.

By now, the fights between the Saints and the Sea Generals were drawing to a close. The Gold Saints and the five Bronze Saints had defeated their opponents with relative ease.

Only Seiya had been through a grueling fight, barely managing to defeat Kanon and achieving significant growth in the process.

As for the other battles? It was a complete rout.

The Saints, especially after being personally trained by Mika, were leagues above the Sea Generals' forces.

So, when the cataclysmic duel between Mika and Poseidon erupted across the open waters, it easily captured everyone's attention...

————

The Saints on the ground below roared with excitement, watching the four Gold Saints take on Poseidon. Seiya and his friends, seeing the celestial clash, felt a familiar fire ignite within them, a desire to join the fight.

But Aiolia stopped them.

"Stop. That's not a battle we can interfere in." He shook his head, his expression grim. As the strongest among the spectators, he could clearly sense the terrifying level of the fight above.

Even at the peak of the Seventh Sense, on the verge of touching the Eighth, he knew he was no match. Even if he broke through to the Eighth Sense right now, he felt he still wouldn't be able to join that fight.

I'm still too weak.

Gazing up at the battle, Aiolia and the five Bronze Saints were all struck by the same humbling thought.

Meanwhile, Airmid and Mellie, watching the same scene from afar, were beaming with joy for Mika.

They could see it clearly.

The scales of victory were tipping in Mika's favor.

————

The other battles in the Sea Realm had concluded.

Only the most crucial one remained.

Mika, Shaka, Saga, and Mu versus the Sea God, Poseidon. This was the fight that would decide the war.

Mika closed the distance in an instant, his light spear thrusting toward the chest of the airborne Poseidon.

But in the nick of time, the Sea God blocked the attack with his trident.

In the realm of divine speed, where their movements were perfectly matched, the two fought like ordinary warriors.

As they clashed, the contest of water and fire began anew.

But this time, Poseidon could no longer maintain the stalemate.

Mika now had backup.

"Galaxian Explosion!"

"Tenma Kōfuku!"

"Stardust Revolution!"

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!"

Unlike Mika, whose Light sword and Spear were his primary techniques, Shaka and the others unleashed their signature moves. Igniting their Cosmos to their absolute limits, they poured everything into their attacks.

Tangled up with Mika, Poseidon was forced to take the full brunt of their assault.

The wounds on his body multiplied. Even as the reincarnation of a Chief God, his vessel was still human. Mika's blow to his head—a strike capable of shattering a planet—had been devastating, even with the protection of his Divine Scale armor.

His injuries were severe.

In a way, this version of Poseidon was even weaker than the nascent Evil Gods of the Ninth Sense. While those Gods had weaker Cosmos, they possessed true divine bodies. The physical enhancement from a divine body was more than enough to close the gap.

If Mika and the others had Athena's blessing right now, Poseidon would have already been defeated.

But even without it, he was losing ground.

While Shaka, Saga, and Mu relentlessly unleashed their ultimate techniques, Mika, the main combatant, was surprisingly silent.

Though he had mastered all the Gold Saint techniques and even created many of his own, he used none of them in this fight.

He relied solely on his sacred sword and divine spear.

He used no flashy skills. It was the pinnacle of control—Mika was deeply absorbing every moment of the fight with Poseidon, every desperate struggle, every last-ditch effort.

From this God, Mika was learning an immeasurable amount of knowledge.

It was knowledge he could never have learned from Athena or Yahweh. Their relationships were different; Mika could never, and would never, push them into a true life-or-death battle.

In this fight, at this very moment, Mika's understanding of the divine beings in the Saint Seiya cosmology was undergoing a constant, profound elevation...

So that's how Laws and Cosmo can be combined?

So that's the kind of Cosmo that makes up divine power?

So Cosmo can be used in this way?

Mika's mind was ablaze with epiphanies.

At that moment, all his knowledge of the Cosmo system began to fuse, to sublimate. He knew so much—what Athena had taught him, what he had discovered on his own—it was a vast library of information.

But simply knowing and learning didn't mean he could truly use that knowledge.

But now, all that information was surfacing in his mind, being completely and utterly understood.

New knowledge, new insights, were being built upon that foundation...

Suddenly, a mysterious and profound feeling bloomed deep within his soul.

It was a higher level of power.

A higher realm of existence.

It was... the Ninth Sense of Cosmo!

In that instant, Mika touched the Ninth Sense. He had reached the realm of the Gods.

"Nngh—!"

As he touched that realm, his Cosmo surged violently, burning hotter and brighter than ever before.

This sudden explosion of power was completely outside of Poseidon's calculations.

Caught off guard, his defenses were instantly shattered, and he was sent flying once again.

"You three, stop. Leave the rest to me," Mika commanded, seizing the brief lull in the action.

He was in a strange, wondrous state. Mika wanted to grasp this feeling, to ride this wave and reap even greater rewards.

So, he cast Shaka and the others aside and chose to face Poseidon alone.

As he charged, he called out to Athena in his mind. "Athena!"

"Don't worry, I know what you mean."

Athena's voice echoed back, and a warm power suddenly enveloped Mika.

It was her blessing.

Athena had been watching his battle all along. When he entered that transcendent state and left the others behind, she understood his intentions immediately.

She granted him her protection in an instant.

Feeling the power surging within him, his Cosmo burned even hotter. With Athena's blessing, and the insight he had just gained, his Cosmo temporarily broke through into the Ninth Sense.

Though it was only temporary, his current power was undeniable.

"Sekishiki Meikaiha!"

He immediately unleashed the technique he had honed the most. Now, with Athena's blessing, Mika no longer feared Poseidon's manipulation of the surrounding laws. He could unleash his ultimate techniques without reservation.

The moment he did, the technique itself was sublimated.

Viewing the intricate laws within his techniques from the perspective of the Ninth Sense was like standing on the shoulders of giants. Aided by his immense intellect and deep foundation of knowledge, the technique evolved in the briefest of instants between its conception and execution.

Once again, Poseidon was caught completely off guard, his soul frozen in place.

Mika knew, with absolute certainty, that he could rip Poseidon's soul from his body.

But he didn't.

Poseidon was a powerful Chief God. Even if he tore out his soul, he couldn't manipulate it as he could a mortal's.

Besides, his current state was a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He had no intention of ending it so soon.

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