Back at the villa, Cain collapsed onto the sofa. Only heaven knew how badly he had wanted to keep the little fool he had protected for more than ten years from leaving.
"But if I did that, Eris would probably hate me..."
"There, there~ You did well, Cain. You said a proper goodbye to Eris~"
Roxy wrapped her arms around Cain's head and gently stroked his hair.
"Thank you, Roxy. But I'm going to bring Eris back in three years. No, make that two."
Roxy pinched Cain's cheek with an amused smile.
"If you can't stand it, why not visit Eris once a month?"
Cain looked at the letter Nanahoshi had written to alert him. It told him Eris wanted to go to the Sword Sanctum.
"I can't, Roxy... I can't go back whenever I like. If I did, Master wouldn't be able to hold his place at the Sword Sanctum..."
"I see..."
"Yeah. At the Sword Sanctum, the rule is that the winner takes everything..."
A week later, Eris and Ghislaine arrived at the Sword Sanctum and entered the Sword God Style Dojo.
"Hey, Ghislaine. Long time no see."
Gall, the Sword God, sat in the center of the Dojo's main hall. He greeted Ghislaine, whom he had not seen in years, with a curl of his lips.
"Master." Ghislaine knelt on one knee. Beside her, Eris did nothing of the sort. She folded her arms and gave a little snort.
"You're the Sword God? You're too weak!"
"What did you just say?!" The two Sword Emperors beside Gall gritted their teeth and glared at Eris.
But Gall cut them off.
"Oh? You're calling me weak? Why?"
"Because your Battle Aura is nowhere near as strong as my master's."
Eris's unwavering words sent Gall's mind back to the