Saintia Sho volume 4 - Masami Kurumada and Chimaki Kuori

 So, time for some french reading this time round, as the volumes are either difficult to find, or sheer ridicilous in price, for the english tomes.

Guess that's a benefit of being belgian then...

We ended volume 3 with the threat of Eris being overcome thanks to Scorpio Milo, but something bigger looms behind the scenes.  While Xiao-ling receives her cloth of Ursa Minor, Saori goes to visit Shoko in the hospital at the eve of the Galactic Wars tournament.  Here she tells her she no longer needs to fight for her, and says her farewells to Shoko, as she tells her the tournament is a rouse to pull out a bigger evil out of the shadows.

She confers with Mi about this, telling her that Shoko suffered to much pain with the two-times loss of her sister Kyoko to be clear of mind to fight for the peace on Earth, just as Xiao-ling arrives at the mansion.  Sanctuary has heard of the Galactic Wars tournament, and send agents to stop it, with Silver Saints Yuan of Scutum and Georg of Southern Cross, together with one of the saintia, Katia of Corona Borealis.  

Outside the hospital, Shoko meets Seiya, the Pegasus saint, who tells her he fights to find his lost sister back.  She attends the tournament, seeing him win (his epic) battle against Shiryu of Dragon.  As Katia and the Silver Saints arrive in Japan, they go to the Colloseum where they confront Saori and her maidens Xiao-ling and Mii.  Xiao-ling quickly attacks Katia, but proves no match for the ice saintia, and is quickly frozen in the spot.  As she explains to Saori her loyalty to the Grand Pope comes from him saving her life, she challenges her to show her cosmo, but still recovering from the fight with Eris Saori is unable to.

Shoko intervenes, having decided that she will put her life on the line to defend Athena at all costs, like she did for her.  She blocks Katia's attack, but as she wants to retaliate the Silver Saints step in, having far greater power then Shoko.  But just as they are about to attack, Saori and the girls are whisked away thankt to Peacock Mayura, the blind woman that trained Shoko before and the strongest of the female saints.  She easily brushes the other Silver saints aside, as in anctuary the Grand Pope has a bout of inner turmoil.

Shoko needs to restart her training as her cloth is being restored, as she is told the story of the struggle between Athena and the Grand Pope, but as they are about to return to the city, Pisces Aphrodite arrives to take Athena back to Sanctuary.  Awakening there, she is met by a crying Grand Pope at her side...

So that was a volume with a lot of explanation, especially if you haven`t seen the original OR the Saintia Sho animes, this clears up already a lot of things, without the major plot twist being revealed yet.