Hades Arc — Inferno Chapter

The Bronze Saints cross the rivers of the Underworld and battle the 108 Specters of Hades through the eight prisons of Inferno, racing to reach Hades' true body in Elysion before Athena is killed.

The Inferno Chapter pushes [Saint Seiya](/manga-series/saint-seiya) into a Dante-influenced cosmology: eight prisons of Inferno, the Acheron crossing, the judges Minos, Aiacos and Rhadamanthys, and a host of 108 Specters whose stars echo the heroes of the Suikoden. Kurumada uses the architecture of the Underworld as a structural backbone for what is essentially a long, brutal sequence of one-on-one duels. Each Bronze Saint receives an extended showcase against the Three Judges and the strongest Specters. Shun's arc takes the most disturbing turn — Andromeda is revealed as the chosen vessel for Hades' soul, and the trauma of carrying a god inside his body becomes the chapter's emotional spine. Hyoga's farewell with Camus, Shiryu's stand against Rhadamanthys, and Ikki's confrontations with Pandora and the judges all play out as variations on the chapter's central question: what does loyalty to Athena cost a mortal Saint? The chapter ends at the gates of Elysion, the heaven where Hades' true body sleeps. To open them, Athena pierces her own throat with the dagger meant for her — a sacrifice that grants her Saints passage but leaves her body dying on the chapter's final pages. The Inferno Chapter closes the descent and stages the final confrontation as a sprint against Athena's hourglass.