In this chapter, we are introduced to a new character, the young woman from the previous chapter. We learn that she is the love interest of the old man, and that she has been in love with him since the beginning of the novel. The two of them discuss the three tricks that shundo uses to defeat the immortals. The first trick is to leave the world behind and gain the greatest velocity. The second trick is when you hold the ground and return all the power to the earth. The third trick is that you stand alone. The young woman says that she does not stand alone, but that she will meet again. The old man says that they only needed to make sure that the "immortals" were kept in check until the job was done. He then apologizes for his rudeness to the young lady. He tells her that he felt his sword cut her, but he does not know what the call was about. He says that he saw a "divine wonder curse" on her face, but does not believe it to be a curse on him. He adds that he is scared of fighting because he is too "unevenly matched" . He compares the two swordsmen to each other, saying that they are too "matched" to fight each other effectively. He also says that if he were to rank the different types of immortality, hiss would be the swordsman type, not the iai swordsman like the one he is fighting.