The battle with the Specter bearing a dead man's face had been raging on endlessly. At the edge of Yomotsu Hirasaka. Right beside that bottomless black chasm, Seiya was juggling three Specters at once. He'd taken down one. But the remaining two wouldn't stop moving. Every time a fist wrapped in Thanatos Wave came flying, all he could do was burn his Cosmo to deflect it. His Cosmo had dropped below 5%. It was falling even lower now. He could feel it being scraped away from deep within his body. (This is bad. I'm getting worn down too fast.) He dropped to one knee. The sound of cracks running through part of his holy cloth echoed out. The Pegasus Cloth, already scarred from the Poseidon Sea Battle, groaned further. The numbness from when a Specter's kick had connected with his fractured right arm still lingered. But he stood up. (I've got no choice but to do this.) The moment that thought crossed his mind—— *Kiiin!!* A sharp metallic ring cut through the air. A streak of light shot through Seiya's blind spot, sending the Specter's arm flying. Another flash followed. The remaining one was sent flying, tumbling down from the edge of Yomotsu Hirasaka. A distant scream fading away. Then, silence. Seiya turned around. Silver braided hair swayed in the cold air blowing up from the chasm. Eyes that gleamed with an icy purple light gazed quietly at Seiya. In her scarred left hand, she held a sword. The silver holy cloth—the mark of a Silver Saint—glimmered dully in the sub-zero air. It was Signum. "[serious]……You came," "[cold]You disappeared alone, so I followed," She sighed. Her expression remained serious. Arms crossed, she stared at Seiya intently. "[angry]Why'd you come?! I was fine——" He didn't finish. One of the Specters he'd thought he'd defeated was crawling along the ground, landing a kick at Seiya's flank. It was still moving. A grunt escaped him. He staggered, taking a step back. Signum moved swiftly, grabbing his arm to steady him. "[sarcastic]You didn't look fine to me," She said only that, then returned to her serious expression. Seiya had no words to return. He felt his face grow slightly warm, but now wasn't the time for that. "……Athena didn't give any orders, right?" "[serious]She didn't. I made the judgment myself and came. I couldn't let you die alone," Her answer was short and clear. There wasn't a shred of hesitation in it. She came not by order, but by will. Just like Seiya. Seiya looked at Signum's face for just one second. Then he turned forward. "……Got it. Then let's go together," --- The two of them stood at the edge of Yomotsu Hirasaka. The inside of the chasm was complete darkness. No bottom in sight. No matter how hard he strained his eyes, he saw nothing. Yet it was there. Sub-zero cold air blew upward. His breath turned white. The stones around the chasm's edge were covered in frost—so cold that touching them would freeze you solid. "[serious]The concentration of Thanatos Wave is high. Just breathing the air here will scrape away your Cosmo," "[surprised]……Just breathing?" "[serious]Yes. You'll be worn down before the battle even starts. Honestly, it's the worst possible environment," As she spoke, Signum remained oddly composed. There was no sign of fear. She was analyzing. He thought she was reliable, but also wondered what was wrong with her. As a test, Seiya burned his Cosmo just a little. ——It was cold. The opposite of the sensation he'd felt in the first episode—like his insides were burning. This time, he was being chilled from within. A sensation of being frozen. The moment his Cosmo's flame touched the Thanatos Wave, it was scraped away with a sizzle. (So this is the Underworld.) "Let's go," "[serious]Understood," The two descended into the chasm. --- The Corridor of Lamentation——the moment they stepped into the first layer of the Underworld, the quality of the air changed. The walls were faces. Stones carved in the shape of human faces lined both sides of the passage. As they drew near, the faces moved. Mouths opened. No sound came out. Silently, they reached out their hands. White fingers sprouted from the walls, extending slowly toward the passage. A sound came from beneath their feet. White fingers jutted out from the cracked ground. "Whoa!" He leaped back. He was about to burn his Cosmo. "[cold]Don't be emotional. That's a waste of Cosmo," "I mean, if hands suddenly pop out, anyone would be surprised!" "[sarcastic]I wasn't surprised," "……You're kinda scary, you know that?" "[serious]I'll take that as a compliment," He thought she shouldn't, but didn't say it. The passage was long. They advanced while avoiding the hands extending from the walls. The spirits only reached out—they didn't attack. But when touched, Seiya felt his Cosmo being slowly drained away. "Don't let them touch you, whatever you do," "[serious]Understood. Also, if you focus too much on the left wall, the right opens up. Check them alternately," "Got it," A rhythm was being born. Though they exchanged few words, their movements meshed perfectly. --- At the midpoint, it came. The wall ahead melted. More precisely——the faces embedded in the wall all began moving at once. They crawled out of the stone surface, entire bodies emerging. One, two, ten, a hundred. Uncountable. The passage ahead filled with white bodies. Phantom Legion——the swarm of spirits drifting through the Corridor of Lamentation. Individual ones were weak. But the numbers were different. "[scared]……There's too many," "[serious]Look at the passage on the left. The miasma is thinner there. We can detour through it," "But there's more of the swarm on the right. I can——" "[angry]Don't do anything reckless——" Before she could finish, Seiya had already charged forward. "[excited]Pegasus Meteor Fist!!" A barrage of consecutive strikes erupted from his right arm. Supersonic punches numbering in the dozens per second scattered the swarm of spirits into light. *Dododododo!!* White bodies exploded. They vanished like mist. In those three seconds, Signum dashed down the side passage. "[excited]This way, hurry!!" Seiya spun around. Signum was waving at the entrance to the side passage, her serious expression intact but moving at full speed. He thought it was rare to see her like that, then ran after her. Both of them dove into the side passage. Behind them, the swarm gave chase. But the passage was narrow, and the swarm got jammed up. Running. Running. A faint light appeared ahead. "[excited]The exit!!" "[serious]Keep running!" They sprinted toward the light at full speed. *Boom!!* The moment the air changed, the two burst out of the first layer's exit. The swarm that had been chasing them was repelled by the light and stopped. Inside the Corridor of Lamentation, it writhed restlessly. But it didn't come out. ——They'd broken through. Both of them dropped to their knees where they stood. Their ragged breathing turned white in the air. "……We did it," "[serious]……Yes. We did," For once, Seiya thought he heard emotion in Signum's voice. --- The hollow space between the first and second layers was quiet. The ceiling was high. The concentration of Thanatos Wave was slightly thinner than in the Corridor of Lamentation. Not completely gone, but here they could breathe a little. The two of them leaned their backs against the walls and caught their breath. "There's one thing I'd like to ask," Signum spoke up. Her serious eyes looked directly at Seiya. "Why do you fight without orders? If there's no directive from Athena, a Saint shouldn't need to move——that's supposed to be the rule," Seiya paused for a moment. It wasn't a strange question. Rather, it was a fair one. "[serious]If I only move on orders, then I'm not a Saint—I'm just a soldier. My heart is telling me to fight. That's all," He said it plainly. Signum didn't answer. For a while, she said nothing. Her eyes were downcast, as if she were thinking about something. Signum had always been a Saint who moved on orders and a sense of duty. "Understood," and she would move. She'd thought that was natural. She'd probably never considered any other choice. And now, words that had never existed for her appeared right here, right in front of her. "……That's a foolish logic," She murmured, her voice without poison. In fact——her lips curved up slightly. "Wait, are you complimenting me?" "[cold]I'm not," She turned away. The tips of her ears seemed slightly red. It could've been from the cold. But it probably wasn't. Seiya tilted his head. Well, whatever, he thought. --- When Signum tried to stand up, she spoke. "[serious]……Show me your right arm," Seiya stopped moving. "It's nothing," "[serious]It's not nothing. You've been favoring your right arm this whole time," She was precise. When he'd fired the Pegasus Meteor Fist earlier, the sensation from his fingertips to his elbow had felt distant. More accurately——it was numb. He could only feel it distantly. The result of burning his Cosmo continuously. His right arm, which had been broken since the Poseidon Sea Battle, was now being eroded by the Thanatos Wave on top of that. "It's a waste of time. Let's just keep moving——" Signum gripped Seiya's wrist firmly. "[serious]Listen," Her voice was clear. Those purple eyes looked straight at Seiya. She wasn't angry. But they wouldn't back down. That gaze, and the warmth of her hand around his wrist, made Seiya fall silent. "The flow of your Cosmo is poor. Thanatos Wave has penetrated deep into your muscles. If we don't treat it here, you won't be able to use it in the second layer," Seiya said nothing. Signum pulled out cloth from her bag and began wrapping his right arm. She burned her Cosmo slightly as she worked, pushing the Thanatos Wave outward from within. Meticulous hands, careful movements. She was in a hurry, but didn't show it. The two of them remained silent during the treatment. In the quiet hollow, only the warmth of Signum's hands existed on Seiya's arm. (She came all the way here for me.) Now, belatedly, it sank into him. Without orders, Seiya had come to this place of death alone, and Signum had chased after him. She'd descended into Yomotsu Hirasaka. She'd sprinted through the Corridor of Lamentation. She'd done it all of her own will. "Thanks," "[serious]Understood," ……Was that her answer? Seiya wondered, but Signum's lips curved up slightly again. The treatment was finished. Signum stood up. "Let's go," For just a moment, Seiya watched her back. The sensation in his right arm had returned, but not completely. Sixty, maybe seventy percent. He didn't know if he could fire the Pegasus Meteor Fist at full power. Ahead, there was a door. The Chamber of Deception——the second layer of the Underworld. A labyrinth where the room's structure constantly changed, and which launched psychological attacks by mimicking the forms of those dear to the intruder, drawn from their memories. A formless heaviness leaked from beyond the door. (Trauma made manifest, huh.) Seiya slowly clenched his right fist once. It wasn't complete. But it moved. I've got no choice but to do this. The two of them stood before the door.