Saint Seiya Fan Fiction ❯ Kage no Seinto (Saints of the Shadow) ❯ Bloodshed of Martyrs ( Prologue )

Puy-de-Dôme, France. January 4th, 2005.

-Who would've thought he was hiding in Massif Central?
-Well, what we need to do that is find out how to enter.
-That will be even harder, you know.
-Menas is right. He won't let us in so easily.
Thanks to a silver-ranked Shadow Saint, they were informed of his location. He was hiding in a castle, invisible to the common eye. These 10 Shadow Saints have been sent by the Pope of the Shadow Sanctuary with the mission of killing this mysterious being known as the Source. These brave warriors were Seris of Shadow Aries, Nath of Shadow Taurus, Julius of Shadow Gemini, Teressa of Shadow Cancer, Herus of Shadow Leo, Midori of Shadow Virgo, Menas of Shadow Scorpio, Ramu of Shadow Capricorn, Reiko of Shadow Aquarius and Lan of Shadow Pisces. They were the Zodiacal Shadow Saints.

Arming themselves with courage, they ran to the gate. They all stopped when they reached the gate, but Reiko kept walking.
-Don't worry, I will do it.
He launched cold breeze of air to the wooden gate, which began turning to ice.
-Now it's my turn -Menas said-. Blue Devil!
The frozen gate had a huge hole in the middle. The saints entered the castle through that hole. They had to pass through different obstacles throughout the castle. In the first floor, a relatively high number of warriors were expecting them.
-And this is just the first floor -Julius thought.
They defeated them, and the ones after them, until there was no one in the castle who could stop them. They were now in the sixth floor. Some were injured, but all of them were able to fight.
-Finally, the last chamber... He must be here! -Ramu thought.
He stood up in front of the door, but Teressa stopped him.
-Wait, -she said- we must be careful. He must've felt our cosmo, so he should be expecting us.
-Let's just open the door abruptly, but none of us shall enter before we're sure it's safe. -Menas said.
-Are you sure? -Ramu asked- That might get us killed.
-Blue Devil! -Menas exclaimed.

His attack blew up the door. The saints quickly hid, and looked at each other for a while. Nothing seemed to be attacking back, or even moving. They did not feel any cosmo inside the chamber.
-Maybe he's not here, -Herus said in a low voice- maybe he went away after he heard we were coming.
-Do you really think so? -Seris said- I think he's just hiding there, waiting for us to enter.
-No, it can't be, -Nath replied- I sense no danger. I'll enter first.
Nath entered the chamber, while the rest of the saints followed him. The chamber was dimly lit, and it was dusty. It looked empty, with the exception of a desk with lots of books, and an old bed.
-Odd -Reiko said- this doesn't looks like the main operation center of a diabolical being.
Suddenly, everyone began to feel a strange cosmo emerging from a dark corner of the chamber. The shadows started to cover the whole room, revealing its true appearance. There was a shelf with ancient books, possibly from the Middle Ages, and a five-pointed star drawn in the floor. Then everyone saw a being, covered in a dark robe, with a book in his hand.
-Now, -Reiko said- this is more like it.
-Welcome to my inner sanctum, Shadow Saints, I was expecting your visit.
-Then you should expect your defeat! -Lan said.
-We know what you're trying to do, -Menas added- and we won't let you do it.

The Source did not move from his position. The saints seem to be tense, nervous, and perhaps afraid.
-You can't trick me, -he said- I know exactly how you feel.
He laughed in his cold voice. The saints looked at him and frowned, but did not move.
-So many things have changed during the last centuries -he said-. Still, it's a fact: A human cannot defeat a god.
-Lies! -Julius said- A human is very able to defeat a god!
-... Therefore, you cannot defeat me -the Source added.
-You're wrong, -Lan said- and we'll prove that to you right now.
Teressa seems to be worried about Menas, who was beginning to lose his patience.
-Menas, don't commit any--

But it was too late, Menas and Lan were already running towards the Source.
-Blue Devil! -he exclaimed.
-Poison Scarlet! -Lan exclaimed after him.
They shot their attacks with their hands, and the Source stopped their attacks without moving a single finger.
-What?! You stopped them using just your mind?!
-Fools. You have no idea of who are you dealing with.
-We know we're dealing with a monster! -Herus yelled.
The Source did not listen to him.
-This will be your punishment for raising your hands to a god.
-We are not afraid of dying. -Julius said.
Even if we die, warriors like us will come after you. -Midori added.
The Source kept looking at them, and finally spoke.
-Then I will kill them too.
The Source joined the attacks of Menas and Lan, launching them back at them. The impact was so strong that they were stamped to the wall. The saints looked horrified as their lifeless bodies fell to the ground. Herus looked back at the Source.
-Lion Bite! -He exclaimed.

His attack was about to reach the Source, but something had stopped him.
-... What?
It was Nath. He had grabbed his arm.
-Nath, what is wrong with you? Let me go!
-White Bull! -Nath exclaimed.
The saints could not believe what they were seeing: Nath, the kind Nath, one of the most honorable Shadow Saints, had killed his friend and fellow saint. Their anger was beyond imagination.
-How… How could you?! -Teressa yelled- Motive Explosion!
Teressa makes her attack explode in the middle of Nath's chest armor, breaking parts of it. Nath was alive, though. Midori, Seris, and the rest of the saints start attacking Nath with physical hits, forgetting about the Source. Nath could not resist all the pain anymore and fell to the ground. Now that he couldn't move, the saints noticed something strange in him. His eyes seemed to have changed its color to red, and his skin was a little bit paler. His cosmo was not glowing light blue anymore, it was brown.
-Look at his cosmo -Seris said-. It's the cosmo of a traitor.

Seris was about to kill him, when the Source shot a huge black sphere at him. He did not even notice, and the saints watched how he fell to the ground dead. They look at the Source.
-You shouldn't have given me so much time to prepare such a lethal attack.-He said, laughing.
-You bastard! -Ramu yelled- I am bringing you down!
-Right. Do you really think you would've reached me without me wanting to?
-What do you mean? -Midori asked.
-I just wanted to watch how you get killed by your friend. And, of course, with the help of his new friends.
-New friends?! Are you talking about the--
-Yes, them.

Suddenly, eleven figures entered the chamber through the door.
-Just in time.
-Demoniac Spirits, -the Source said- meet the second generation of Shadow Saints.
-Alright, we've been waiting for something like this for a long time...
-Yeah, well, keep waiting -Reiko said.
-Ah, so lovely.
-Oh, by the way, -the Source added- meet your new partner, Nath of Taurus Demoniac.
Nath stood up and walked towards them. His eyes seemed to be bright red. His Shadow Taurus cloth left his body and it was replaced by the Taurus Demoniac cloth the Demoniac had brought with them.
-So, five against twelve? Fair enough for me!

Reiko, Julius, Midori, Ramu and Teressa fought until they could not move anymore. They knew they would not leave the room alive.
-Motive Explosion!
Teressa was weak, so her attack was not able to injure Scorpio Demoniac, who killed her  with minor effort.
-Bending Light!
Midori's attack was blocked by Pisces Demoniac, who attacked her at the same time other Demoniac did, ending her life.
-Another Dimension!
Gemini Demoniac was his adversary. Julius stood no chance against him; in a matter of minutes, Julius lied on the floor, dead.
-Frost Shattering!
Reiko's attack was evaded by Aquarius Demoniac, who, with the help of other Demoniac, killed him.
-Ah, -the Source said, while looking at the scenery- I will definitely remember this day.
The last saint, Ramu, looked at Nath from the ground. He had most of his bones broken due to him, and blood was coming out of his mouth. He could hardly breathe. It was quite obvious that he was going to die soon.
-Nath…
Nath seemed to realize he was being named. He looks at him, with apparent hatred. Suddenly, he lets a tear come out of his eye. Ramu, surprised, looked at him with his eyes wide open.
-Nath… You…!
But it was too late for him. He died, like the rest of the Shadow Saints.

The Source instructs the Demoniac to leave his chamber with the bodies.
-Do as instructed with the bodies of the saints.
-Yes, Master -the Demoniac responded.
-Also, alert my surviving warriors that we are leaving to my real castle. You will have a special assignment.
-What is it, Master?
-I will explain the mission later on, but... Let's just say that it is time for you to pay a visit to an old friend.

This is a work of fiction. Original story by Masami Kurumada. Copyright 1986 Saint Seiya. All rights reserved.