Saint Seiya: The Legend of Seiya

25 - The Silver Saints

The billows of the sea invading the strip of sand; the foaming waves crashing against the stone wall. An oceanic dance of the sea repeating over and over again. A makeshift grave in the sand. Two figures posted.

"Pegasus Seiya." Misty's voice began, his hand on his chest. "For engaging in personal battles and violating the Sanctuary Oath, you are relieved of your duty as an Athena Saint."

Marin beside him, her silver mask showing no emotion. Her hand also on the chest.

They made a slight bow of respect and finally turned to the sea.

"My compliments, Marin." said Misty. "I didn't think you would be able to kill your own disciple."
"We should go, Misty. The others are waiting for us and there are four other punishments we need to do."
"Go to them, Marin." said Misty. "I have one more mission in the mountains."
"In the mountains?"
"Go, Marin. The others need you." he said only.
"We'll wait for you at sunrise at the agreed place."

And Marin disappeared down the sand path.

Misty turned away, where that short stretch of beach ended in rocks and rose through valleys and woods until it stretched across the mountains beyond.

Before he finally left, however, Misty sensed a cosmos closing in. A strong cosmos.

"Who's there?" he asked.

Seiya's tomb blew sand everywhere, revealing him safe and sound, without any chest wounds, but pulling in air with difficulty.

"What does that mean? Don't tell me..." Misty looked forward to the footprints in the sand. "Marin..."

A trick. Marin had used a fake blow with her cosmos, making Seiya, at most, unconscious so the burial would feel real. And there he was. Alive.

He got to his feet, gathering strength, and when he saw Misty in front of him, he put himself back on guard.

"This is ridiculous. You've just come back from a grave and really think you stood a chance?" "You leave me no choice."

Misty laughed and showed him his index finger.

"One finger." he said. "It's all I need to beat you, Seiya."

And that finger pushed the air so that the boy couldn't even see or feel, as he flew through the night, plunging violently into the sea.

Underwater, Seiya reflected that the power difference was indeed immense. If Misty could do what he did with just one finger, there wasn't any chance for him to win. And yet, staggering, he came out of the waterlogged sea. He stumbled, fell to the ground, but again rose to his feet.

"This is pathetic." said Misty. "There's nothing more ridiculous than having this kind of power. It is said in the Sanctuary that the Pegasus Saint defeated his enemies one after the other, but what I see here is a pathetic little man. Covered in wounds, bleeding, his body all covered with dirt. That's what you are. That's what Bronze Saints are."

He straightened his folded cloak over his shoulder.

"Let me explain to you what true power really means. A real winner achieves its victories without shedding a drop of his blood. Without getting hit or having any injuries."
"Does that mean you never got hit, Misty?"

He just smiled.

"If that's how it is, then even if I lose, I swear I'll punch you in the face."

Seiya tore the sand with his fists in the form of meteors in thousands of violent beams of light. And they stopped in front of Misty without him having to do anything at all. Seiya noticed, however, that the sand near the enemy receded as his blow was repressed. An air barrier.