"Hoh! So this is the Sorceress you were talking about, huh?" Paimon eyed Erica from head to foot, looking quite pleased with what she was seeing. "She does have potential."
"Please train her well," Thirteen replied.
"Sure thing." Paimon nodded. "Just rember your promise, okay?"
"Of course, I won't forget," Thirteen answered. "I'll let you take a pick any item from the Fourth Layer of the Treasury."
"Good." Paimon nodded. "Well, then. I'll be taking this girl with to train. If you want to say goodbye, this is the last ti you can do it."
Erica looked at Thirteen with a determined look on her face.
"When I co back, I'll be much stronger," Erica stated. "That way, you won't have to fight your battles alone."
"I don't fight my battles alone, you know?" Thirteen replied. "I have Tiona, Giga, Rocky, and the others with ."
Erica ruffled the teenage boy's hair with a smirk. Even though she couldn't refute Zion's words, the fact remained that he would sotis do everything by himself, especially battles he couldn't afford to lose.
"Take care of Sherry while I'm away." Erica cupped Zion's face. "And don't add any girls to the group without my permission. Tiona, I give you permission to bite anyone who tries to seduce Zion."
Tiona nodded in understanding, making Erica smile in satisfaction.
"Since we won't be seeing each other for a while, here's sothing to rember by." Erica gave the teenage boy a passionate kiss, which made Paimon say "Oh my~" in the background.
When the kiss ended, Erica gave him a soft pinch on the cheek before going stepping into the portal leading to Paimon's domain.
"Don't worry, Thirteen." Paimon winked. "I'll take good care of your sweetheart."
Thirteen watched as the portal disappeared. Although he would miss Erica a bit, he knew that this was for her own good. He was certain that when they t again, Erica would truly beco a powerhouse that would give the Hero Party a boost in firepower during the invasion in the Cygni Continent.
"Now, I wonder if Taiga and that person are getting along," Thirteen muttered before opening a portal that would take him back to Solterra. "Well, I'm sure they will be fine since they have many similarities with each other."
*****
Sowhere in Solterra…
"I… can't… do this…. Anymore."
Taiga leaned on a rock, panting for breath.
Beside him was a handso young man, who was as equally out of breath as him.
"You've only run for ten hours straight in the desert, and both of you are already like this?" A middle-aged Templar said in disdain. "This year's recruits are all sheltered pansies. Just looking at you guys annoys ."
"You… old… geezer should… just shut up!" Taiga complained. "You made… us run… without food… and water… and you expect us… to thank you… for that?!"
"Weaklings," the old Templar spat on the ground before walking away with a dissatisfied look on his face. "When I co back, the two of you should be ready to run again."
Taiga gave their instructor the middle finger in his heart, not daring to do the gesture out in the open, fearing he would get punished again.
The desert marathon that he and his partner had experienced was punishnt for talking back to their superiors who were purposely picking a fight with them.
But since they were new recruits, they didn't have the backing to protect themselves from the bullying of the Senior Templar-in-training like them, who were only a few years older than them.
Taiga, who recovered to a certain extent, cursed out loud.
"Damn it! I shouldn't have listened to that bastard, Zion!" Taiga cursed out loud. "He tricked !"
The young man leaning against the rock beside Taiga reacted to the na "Zion" and looked at his partner with a doubtful look on his face.
"Hey, Percival, are you talking about Zion Leventis?" the young man asked.
"You know him too, Roland?!" Taiga asked. The only one who dared to call him Taiga was Zion, but in the Order of Eae, he used his real na, Percival. "Yes," Roland, who had gone to the Order of Eae to train due to Zion's recomndation nodded. "He's also the one who recomnded that I go to this place."
"… Did he make you suffer too?" Taiga asked. "Like, humiliated to the point that you can't even raise your head high up anymore? Made you suffer inhumane hardships?"
"Yes," Roland replied. "Did he do that to you, too?"
"Bro!" Taiga grabbed hold of Roland's hands with tears in his eyes. "Can I call you Bro from now on?"
Taiga, who had constantly suffered hardships under Thirteen's shadow, felt touched because he finally found a kindred spirit who had gone through the sa suffering as him.
"I understand." Roland nodded, sincerely understanding the suffering the Tigerkin must have experienced since eting Zion Leventis. "I will let you call Brother from now on. In fact, why don't we beco sworn brothers who aim to repay Zion for his 'kindness'? What do you think?"
"Say no more, Brother!" Taiga, who now gained an ally in his fight against Zion's tyranny, agreed without hesitation. "From now on, we are Sworn Brothers!"
"Good. Let's beat Zion to a pulp!" Roland stated. "Let's make him kneel and beg for our forgiveness!" Taiga growled.
"Strip him naked and hang him out to dry!"
"Feed him to the fishes!"
The two Heroes clasped hands because no one understood each other's suffering more than they did.
But just as the two were about to celebrate this newly ford bond of Brotherhood, the middle-aged Templar returned and smacked their heads.
"Since both of you have recovered, go and run in the desert for three more hours!" the Templar ordered. "Don't co back for dinner until you're done!"
Taiga and Roland both rubbed their heads and also added the old templar to the list of people that they would smack in the future. However, they felt a little lighter knowing that they weren't fighting against Zion alone.
They now knew that soone else had suffered the sa terrible fate under his machinations, and they now strived to find more of their fellows to form a group that would stand the test of ti.
"Let's go, Brother," Taiga said before drinking a mouthful of water from his water flask. "Right," Roland replied after doing the sa. "When this training ends, I'll smack Zion for you."
"Hahaha! I look forward to that!" Taiga laughed out loud.
The two then began to run, which now felt more like a mission rather than a punishnt.
Although they understood that this was only the beginning of their suffering, knowing that they weren't alone made the burden they bore much lighter.
anwhile, thousands of miles away from them…
Thirteen, who had just returned from the Order of the Apocalypse, sneezed.
"Are you alright, Zion?" Sherry asked.
"Yes," Thirteen replied. "So stupid heroes might be thinking of just now."
"Stupid Heroes?" Sherry tilted her head in confusion Thirteen nodded. "Well, don't mind them. They still have their uses."
The teenage boy then glanced towards the East with a faint smile on his face. 'I hope they're suffering right now,' Thirteen thought. 'I look forward to seeing just how strong the two of you will be in the future.'
With that thought in mind, Thirteen decided to not return to Pangea for the ti being and headed straight to the location where powerful Beasts congregated.
For the young lady by his side to benefit from her Divine Technique, which was the Beastmaster's Covenant, they would need to hunt powerful beasts that would beco part of her power.
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