Life and Death Struggle! Terror of the Black Death Fist

is the eleventh episode of the Saint Seiya anime. It was released on December 27, 1986 on TV Asahi.

Summary
The Pegasus Cloth is returned ready for battle against the Black Saints, but Shiryu does not. Seiya is told that Shiryu sacrificed himself for it.

Plot
The Saints are on their way to the location of the battle, Murder Valley in the Tateyama Peaks of the Northern Alps. The valley is of folklore to the locals, it is the place that all living things die. Turns out the area is volcanic, sulfur ushering from cracks in the ground and animal remains scattered about, explaining it's nickname.

Ikki's voice echoes around Shun, Hyoga and Seiya, telling them to meet him at Shishigabana Stone. Shun recalls it from when he was a child, a place where the stone resembles Chinese Lion-Dogs; his parents took him there.

They each dawn a bell at their wrist to prevent losing one another. They split up immediately.

Seiya is greeted by a visage of Shiryu, rushing toward him with the Pegasus Cloth at his back. Seiya is elated, gushing about how happy he is to see Shiryu return safely. Shiryu's humanoid form phases out into a dragon before disappearing, leaving the Pegasus Cloth to descend to the ground on its own. The Pegasus Cloth presents itself to Seiya, but it is not the same one as before.

Since Shiryu is unable to bring the cloth to Seiya, Kiki delivered it in his stead. Kiki informs Seiya that Shiryu voluntarily offered his blood to revive the cloths. It was a test by Mu to see if Shiryu was true to his word. Once Shiryu was on the verge of death, Mu healed his wounds and repaired the cloths. Shiryu barely makes it and all that Kiki knows is that when he last saw Shiryu, he was sleeping. Seiya gives Kiki a bell to relay to Shiryu so that Seiya will know Shiryu returns alive.

Black Pegasus confronts Seiya. They fight with a flurry of kicks and punches, both struggling to dodge one another. Seiya takes a number of punches, but dodged most of them. His resilience is astounding, according to Black Pegasus. Seiya finds that his cloth is better than ever, deflecting most damage inflicted upon him. He internally thanks Shiryu, considering Shiryu to be part of Pegasus now. Beyond what meets the eye, the cloth is now a delicate, yet powerful fusion of Dragon and Pegasus.

Seiya knocks Black Pegasus down, assuming victory and retrieving the waist piece to the Gold Cloth. However, he took a large hit to the gut. Black Pegasus warns him of the true power of his punch. Black Death. Black Pegasus loses consciousness before he can explain its effects.

Seiya's body is getting heavier, harder to move and engulfed in a scalding sensation, suffocating. Seiya frantically tries to eat snow, wallowing in it to subdue the fire in his veins. He's stripping himself of his armor, finding black splotches forming under the skin. In his state, he slips down a cliff and slams into a cluster of rock.

Cygnus and Black Swan collide again. Cygnus is not inclined on beating Black Swan again, but Black Swan refuses to permit his ego to be soiled. Hyoga's ability has advanced in the short time from his last battle. Black Swan is struggling against him. Black Swan refuses to accept mercy, demanding Hyoga kills him to end the battle for good. Hyoga accepts and says he will grant Black Swan a death deserving of a Saint. He uses his most powerful attack, Aurora Thunder. It encapsulates Black Swan in a pillar of ice, but dealt with such precision that Hyoga permits Black Swan's shoulders, right arm and up to dangle free. This provides Black Swan to prove that he is a true Saint, if he wants to live.

Black Swan promises that Hyoga will not stand against Ikki and that everything he learned from battling Hyoga has gone to Ikki for reference. His cosmo burns up more than his body can handle, annihilating his own existence to teleport the decorative swan head of his circlet to Ikki with his memory inside.

Seiya regains consciousness, pulling himself up the edge he fell down. Hyoga passes by above, hearing the faint jingle of the bell at Seiya's wrist but dismisses it in haste to face Ikki. The two arms and waist parts of the Gold Cloth remain at the original spot Seiya plummeted to.

Techniques

 * Black Meteor Punch
 * Pegasus Meteor Punch
 * Black Death
 * Black Blizzard
 * Freezing Ring
 * Aurora Thunder Attack