Alice often said that when she was alone, she had to rely on herself for everything. Now that she had a man, why should she still have to do everything herself? If she did, having a man would be pointless. With that logic, Alice simply let herself go.
"Let's go." Riku found it amusing.
Alice naturally took Riku's arm, and the two were about to leave.
However, Riku suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" Alice tilted her head and asked.
"Is it such a coincidence?" Riku turned his head to look at the location of the [Universe Gate] and said with a chuckle, "It just so happens to have connected to two universes. Alice, do you want to go play, or..."
"To the banquet, of course!" Alice said without hesitation. "We can go see the excitement in other universes anytime. Naturally, we should go to the banquet first and see what is happening over there. I have wanted to go for a long time."
Riku had no objections and led Alice away.
As for the two universes that had just been connected, based on the feedback from the [Universe Gate], they were not particularly powerful. Since that was the case, he would just notify Rhinedottir.
Once the matters in the [Saint Seiya] Universe came to a temporary close, they could go take a look.
***
[Saint Seiya] Universe.
The Sanctuary was undergoing massive changes.
Under Shoko's command, matters were being handled rapidly.
At the same time, people were returning one after another.
Olivia, who had disappeared fifteen years ago, had returned and was appointed by the Goddess as the new Pope of the Sanctuary.
"What exactly happened?"
"This feeling..."
"It is not just a simple Holy War."
Various peculiar sensations echoed in everyone's hearts, and many were deep in thought.
Inside the Goddess's Temple, the figures of Riku and Alice emerged as phantoms.
There was no other way. The two of them could not yet truly manifest in this universe. Otherwise, if they were detected by anyone, while there might not be any real danger, at worst they would just leave, the arrangements and schemes of the past decade would be a complete failure.
It was better to be safe than sorry, especially during such a period.
"Saori Kido, long time no see." Riku still looked at that familiar figure with a smile.
Saori was silent for a brief moment, then said coolly, "Just call me Saori."
"You have discovered it." Riku seemed to be asking, yet his tone held no hint of a question.
A cold light flashed in Saori's purple eyes as she said icily, "I should say, as expected, it was him. It makes sense, he arranged everything for this Holy War, intending to eliminate Hades. How could he not come to watch in person?"
Mitsumasa Kido.
Zeus.
That is right. Mitsumasa Kido was the human vessel chosen by Zeus.
'It is just as I predicted...' Riku had a smile on his lips, appearing unchanged on the surface, but he understood clearly in his heart.
When he was making his arrangements over a decade ago, he had also discovered some clues. A bit of investigation had revealed the issues involved.
As expected.
In the original plot line, the core reason Saori was able to lead the five Bronze Saints to slaughter their way through was because Zeus was pushing things along from behind the scenes.
Otherwise...
The Saints of Andromeda, Cygnus, Phoenix, and Dragon, who had never been awakened since the first generation of Saints in the Age of Myth, were all awakened. And as for the great demon king Seiya, there was even less need to explain.
Furthermore, even with the protection of the Eight Great Prisons, the Wailing Wall, the Hyperdimension, and Elysion, layer upon layer...
The fact that they entered Elysion so easily and managed to slay Hades's Divine Body was inherently riddled with problems.
Where were the gods of the Underworld? Where were the gods of dreams?
One could say there were far too many issues here, so many that they truly could not be explained in just a few words.
Unless... the one pushing everything from behind was Zeus, and he was aiming for Hades. Then everything would make sense.
"No!" Saori looked at Riku, who remained silent, but then she contradicted herself. "It is not just this Holy War. To be precise, it is every Holy War. Ever since the Age of Myth when the management of the Earth was handed to me, through the attrition of one Holy War after another, Poseidon permanently lost his Divine Body in a Holy War, and the power of the Underworld was weakened time and again. Finally, it is Hades's turn."
Inside the Goddess's Temple, a dining table had already been set.
Mmm... rather than a dinner banquet, it was more like a tea banquet.
Riku sat down with Alice, one arm around his own Great Witch who seemed ready to cause trouble, while saying, "It is not surprising. I have investigated some interesting things. Saori, are you interested in hearing them?"
"Please, speak." Saori rose from her divine throne, the sound of her high heels clicking crisply against the floor.
She walked with elegant strides and sat down before Riku and Alice.
"Gods are divided by their divine power and the forces they master. There is no need to mention the lower ranks, but starting from Major Deity, God King, Primordial God, Creator God, and Absolute God, the divisions are as follows."
"Correct." Saori nodded at Riku's words.
As one of the Twelve Olympians and the Goddess of War, Victory, and Wisdom, she was among the strongest of the Twelve Olympians.
Otherwise, did anyone truly think that just because Zeus handed the Earth to Saori, she would be able to hold it? That would be a joke.
As the Earth among the realms of Heaven, Sea, and Underworld, it contained abundant resources. No matter the myth, the pantheon, or the god, who would not want it?
"However," Riku continued, "within this classification, there is also a special title."
"Supreme God!"
Riku's words caused Saori's purple eyes to contract.
Uranus, Cronus, Zeus.
These were the three generations of God Kings, and they were all referred to as Supreme Gods.
However, compared to Uranus and Cronus, Zeus as a Supreme God seemed somewhat unworthy of the name.
"The division of the God King's Authority..." Saori was the Goddess of Wisdom; with just a small hint, she reacted immediately, murmuring, "Poseidon and Hades are being cleared out one by one... Zeus wants to become a true Supreme God?"
Riku snapped the fingers of his left hand and continued, "Uranus was a Primordial God, yet he could rival the Creator Gods who made the world. Cronus, as a Titan, could even defeat Uranus in a head-on confrontation."
"So..."
"Does the problem not lie right here? Why is Zeus, as the third-generation God King, also honored as a Supreme God, yet he is so weak?"
These words made Saori even more certain of her guess.