Chapter Seventy-Nine: Within the Twelve Palaces (Part Two)

“Hmph!” Disma Mask snorted coldly, speaking without restraint: “Aiolia, you’d better mind your own affairs! Everyone still remembers what happened more than ten years ago…”

Hearing this, Aiolia in the Leo Temple widened his eyes in anger, and a wave of furious cosmos energy radiated from within the sanctuary.

Sensing that the situation was about to erupt, the Pope interrupted Cancer’s words with a thunderous shout.

“That’s enough!”

“Mind your station and your words, Disma Mask!”

At the Pope's command, Cancer immediately wiped the frivolous smile from his face and responded solemnly, “Yes, Your Holiness!”

In that instant, a tremendous crash echoed from the Leo Temple.

Boom!

Aiolia had shattered one of the temple’s pillars. After casting a lingering glance in the direction of the Sagittarius Temple, the angry cosmos enveloping the Holy Mountain finally subsided.

In the other zodiac temples, the Gold Saints pretended not to have heard anything, keeping silent.

For a long moment, the Twelve Temples were eerily still.

At last, Aldebaran of Taurus broke the silence. “Your Holiness, I heard that the evil god causing trouble in North America calls himself the God of Light. I imagine his power must be related to the sun, fire, or light, correct?”

“Indeed,” the Pope replied gravely from the Hall of the Pope. “According to the Crater constellation, he glimpsed a blinding solar radiance on the battlefield through the river of fate. I believe there is little room for mistake.”

Aldebaran pondered as he spoke: “Since this is the nature of the evil god, then the power of water should be particularly effective against him. Aquarius Camus, master of absolute zero, would you accompany me to North America on this mission?”

As he spoke, he gazed toward the Aquarius Temple.

Among the Gold Saints of the Zodiac Temples, each had their own specialty, and Camus of Aquarius was a master of ice.

Where ice melts, water follows. Inviting Camus would greatly aid the coming campaign.

“As a Saint of the Goddess, it is my duty to purge evil gods from the earth,” Camus answered solemnly from the Aquarius Temple.

“Thank you so much for your help! I was worried—if you refused, what would I do?” Aldebaran scratched his head, delighted as a child.

“You have one more choice to make. Who is the second?” the Pope asked telepathically.

Aldebaran composed himself, sat cross-legged, and asked, “Your Holiness, aside from this so-called God of Light, are there any other evil gods?”

“No,” the Pope replied with a shake of his head, frowning. “The evil gods of the Americas are strictly controlled. By the time they move to the surface, their forces are already established.”

“I once sent three Bronze Saints to gather intelligence, but they were all intercepted at the outer reaches of the god’s domain and found nothing more detailed.”

Even so, from their scant reports, the Pope could deduce the presence of a formidable evil god’s power.

This was no mere outpost, nor a problem a few Saints could solve, but a divine kingdom that would require the Sanctuary to send a great force to eradicate—an existence akin to the Sanctuary itself!

“I see. That is truly troublesome,” Aldebaran sighed, troubled.

Without sufficient information, it was hard to devise a strategy or choose suitable companions.

Seeing Taurus hesitate, Disma Mask of Cancer could no longer contain himself and once again sent a telepathic message.

This time, however, he had learned his lesson and sent it only to Aldebaran.

“Brother Aldebaran, give your little brother a chance! It’s been so long since I left the Sanctuary—I’m practically rotting away in the Cancer Temple!”

“Let me serve the Goddess and prove myself for once!”

…

Still struggling to choose a second companion, Aldebaran could no longer stand the incessant pleas.

“All right, all right, stop pestering me! I’ll take you, I’ll take you—happy now?” Taurus replied in exasperation.

“Really? It’s a promise, you can’t go back on it!” Disma Mask was overjoyed.

“Mm.”

Aldebaran grunted his assent, then spoke telepathically to all: “Let Camus and Disma Mask accompany me on this mission.”

“Do either of you object?” the Pope asked again for confirmation.

“No,” Camus replied coldly.

“No problem! I’ll make sure those evil gods witness the glory of the Gold Saints!” Disma Mask answered, full of confidence.

With the situation settled, the Pope said no more, and peace returned to the Twelve Temples.

Meanwhile, Yin Seventeen and his companion had just descended from the Holy Mountain when they spotted the limping Crow constellation in the distance.

“Hey, Gamian!”

Yin Seventeen called out, hurrying over with Ruolan.

“How is your injury?” he asked, looking at the man whose upper body was swathed in bandages.

Were it not for his exposed head, Yin Seventeen would hardly have recognized Gamian.

“I’m all right—thanks to Oth’s healing, I’ll be fine after a month’s rest! By the way, I haven’t thanked you for rescuing me yet!” As Gamian spoke, he started to bow in gratitude.

Yin Seventeen quickly helped him up, saying, “Don’t bother! It’s not necessary!”

“I just have something to ask you. Answer truthfully, and we’ll call it even.”

“Of course,” Gamian nodded.

“The Pope said the Sanctuary is about to strike at the evil gods in North America. We’ve just returned and don’t know much about it. Could you explain the situation to us?” Yin Seventeen asked earnestly.

“Yes, Lord Gamian, please tell us,” Ruolan chimed in.

Gamian glanced around, then fixed his gaze on a smooth boulder nearby. “Let’s sit over there and talk.”

Yin Seventeen helped him over, and the three sat down on the boulder.

Gamian looked at them seriously. “Just a few days ago, in North America, a faction formed by an extraterrestrial evil god began acting openly and brazenly.”

“So bold?” Ruolan was incredulous.

Most evil gods, fearing the Sanctuary’s wrath, conducted their activities in secret, rarely appearing in public.

Unless, of course, they believed themselves strong enough not to fear the Sanctuary.

Realizing this, Ruolan covered her mouth in shock.

“Could it be that they think themselves strong enough to challenge the Sanctuary?” she gasped.

“Yes,” Gamian nodded gravely. “That’s exactly why the Pope is gathering so many forces and preparing for war.”

“Has the origin of this evil god and the size of his faction been investigated?” Yin Seventeen asked intently.

Gamian recalled, “This evil god calls himself the God of Light. As for the size of his faction, that remains unclear for now.”

“All the Bronze Saints sent to investigate were stopped outside the god’s domain.”