Chapter Summaries

Fang Li refused to join Shana after a strange search wave spread across Misaki City, leaving Shana feeling abandoned as she rushed to investigate. At Misaki Grand Bridge, Margery finished using her Inherent Skill and Shana arrived.

• A search-type Inherent Skill swept across Misaki City, and Alastor warned Fang Li and Shana that its user could be dangerous.
• Shana decided to investigate, but Fang Li refused because he saw no reason to fight unless the threat concerned him.
• Shana left alone, angry and hurt, and told Alastor that she really was alone after all.
• Margery recalled her Inherent Skill at the top of Misaki Grand Bridge and replenished her Power of Existence from several Torches.
• Shana arrived at the bridge and landed on a pylon near Margery.

Shana confronted Margery Daw, who had come with Machias to hunt Rami, the Bone Collector. Shana challenged Margery to stop her from killing him, and their battle began inside a sealed barrier with two unseen spectators present.

• Margery Daw arrived on the bridge and was recognized as the famous Flame Haze Warrior known as the Mourning Bard, while Machias eagerly welcomed the prospect of fighting her.
• Margery challenged Shana, then revealed that she and Machias had come to hunt Rami, the Bone Collector.
• Alastor questioned why they would target Rami, who collected Power of Existence from dying Torches and posed little threat to the world.
• Shana warned that Rami's stored Power of Existence could run wild if he were killed and declared that she would defeat Margery and make her listen.
• Margery and Shana prepared to fight as the Sealed Heaven barrier formed, unnoticed by the two spectators nearby.

Margery Daw and Machias merged into Toka and overwhelmed Shana with deep-blue flames. Shana lost control of her own fire and fell, but a spinning dagger arrived just before Toka’s attack struck her.

• Margery Daw and Machias transformed into Toka, a powerful Flame Garment, and attacked Shana with Slaughter Improvisations.
• Shana shielded herself with Night Cape, but the explosions shattered the bridge and sent her flying.
• Shana tried to use her flames to form wings, but without Fang Li’s guidance she lost control and was blasted away by her own fire.
• Toka mocked Shana and sent a pillar of deep-blue flame plunging toward her.
• A spinning dagger struck the descending pillar of flame just before it hit Shana.

Shana returned to battle Margery Daw after Fang Li’s Moon Blade gave her a chance to fight with renewed strength, and she began to overpower her opponent. As Fang Li watched with a mysterious old gentleman, he recognized him as the collector who had been hunting him.

• Fang Li’s Moon Blade collided with Margery Daw’s pillar of fire, and the shockwave sent Shana crashing onto Misaki Grand Bridge.
• Shana recognized Moon Blade, took up the dagger alongside Nietono no Shana, and faced Margery Daw with crimson flame wings.
• Shana resumed the fight and began suppressing Margery Daw, deflecting her fireballs and cutting through her fiery shell.
• Fang Li explained to the old gentleman that Shana’s new control over her flames let her overcome Margery Daw’s vengeance-fueled attacks.
• Fang Li revealed that he knew the old gentleman was the Bone Collector or Corpse Collector who had been hunting him.

Fang Li learned from Rami that Bal Masqué had commissioned an automatic Inherent Formula in Misaki City that could drain Fang Li’s Power of Existence when a condition was met. Rami vanished, leaving Fang Li to consider that Bal Masqué’s trap was still being laid.

• Fang Li recognized that Rami was possessing a Torch and revealed that he could see another existence within it.
• Fang Li recalled that Rami, known as the Bone Collector and Spiral Lute, collected Torch Power of Existence to restore an item from his former lover without harming humans.
• Rami told Fang Li that Bal Masqué’s Chief of Staff had commissioned him to set up an Inherent Formula in Misaki City.
• Rami warned that once the Formula’s activation condition was met, it would draw the required Power of Existence directly from Fang Li, potentially killing him.
• Rami explained that he warned Fang Li because he wanted to avoid offending either Bal Masqué or someone it treated cautiously, then transformed into birds and disappeared.
• Fang Li watched Rami leave and realized he had likely fallen into a trap that was still being laid.

Shana defeated Margery Daw in their aerial battle and held her at swordpoint, but a calm voice interrupted before the confrontation could end. The chapter left Margery Daw and Shana facing an unknown speaker who asked to be heard.

• Shana unleashed a massive torrent of Crimson Flame, and Margery Daw used her Inherent Formula to defend herself as it began to crack.
• Shana threw a spinning dagger that made Margery Daw dodge, then followed with a direct strike from Nietono no Shana.
• Margery Daw fell badly burned, and Shana declared herself the winner and demanded that Margery Daw listen to her.
• Alastor said there was no point in continuing the battle, while Margery Daw challenged Shana for protecting a Guze no Tomogara.
• An unidentified speaker asked everyone to hear them out before the confrontation ended.

Fang Li arrived at Misaki Grand Bridge during Sealed Heaven and asked Margery Daw to help locate an Inherent Formula carved into the city. He threatened that dying would rob her of her chance for revenge, and Margery agreed to help once she recovered.

• Fang Li walked into Sealed Heaven, surprising Margery Daw and Machias, while Shana greeted him impatiently.
• Fang Li remarked on Margery’s figure after her clothes burned away, then dodged Shana’s angry slash and asked Margery for help.
• Fang Li revealed Moon Blade and admitted he had helped Shana attack Margery, then explained that he needed Margery’s expertise to find an Inherent Formula in the city.
• Margery accused Fang Li of trying to coerce her while she was injured, but he threatened that she would never avenge herself if she died.
• Margery agreed to help Fang Li after recovering her injuries and strength, and Fang Li accepted.

Margery Daw and Machias recovered and turned on Fang Li and Shana, attacking Misaki Grand Bridge with a colossal fireball. Fang Li rose to meet it and split the falling mass of flame with a single slash.

• Fang Li told Shana and Alastor that Rami had revealed Bal Masqué hired him and that Rami might be the Spiral Lute.
• Margery Daw spent half an hour recovering with her Inherent Formula, then returned with Machias and Toka, claiming they were ready to fight.
• Margery Daw and Machias gathered their power into a massive dark-blue fireball and sent it falling toward Misaki Grand Bridge.
• Fang Li charged into the sky and slashed the fireball in two with his crescent-shaped dagger.

Fang Li defeated Margery Daw by exposing her fear of death with his Magic Eyes, forcing her to surrender. Margery Daw agreed to help find the Inherent Formula hidden in the city, but refused to take on anything beyond that.

• Fang Li emerged from the fire and confronted Margery Daw, whose exhaustion left her unable to resist his Magic Eyes.
• Fang Li pointed his Moon Blade at Margery Daw and declared his victory, making her realize she feared death.
• Fang Li told Margery Daw he was a freak who had forgotten what death felt like, and Shana assured her there was no shame in surrendering to him.
• Margery Daw let Toka's flaming garment disappear and surrendered, asking Fang Li to stop looking at her with his Magic Eyes.
• Margery Daw agreed to help Fang Li find the city's Inherent Formula but warned she would retaliate if he threatened her again.

Fang Li, Shana, and Margery Daw found the Hunter’s lair in an abandoned department store and recovered the Glass Jar, a Treasure Tool that could monitor Misaki City. Margery activated it and began a wide-area search for the Inherent Formula hidden in the city.

• Fang Li, Shana, and Margery Daw entered the Hunter’s lair, a dim room filled with lifelike dolls.
• Fang Li explained that they had come to use the Hunter’s Treasure Tool to locate Bal Masqué’s hidden Inherent Formula.
• The group found the Glass Jar, a miniature landscape representing Misaki City and its people.
• Margery stepped into the miniature landscape, activated the Glass Jar, and began a wide-area search with her Inherent Skill.

Margery Daw scanned Misaki City and found Rami’s Inherent Formula outside Fang Li and Shana’s apartment, revealing that it had been placed to affect Fang Li. Fang Li and Shana decided to inspect it, while Margery Daw refused to help further and left.

• Margery Daw used her Inherent Skill to scan Misaki City and reveal the Torches left by Fariagani.
• Margery Daw’s scan located an Inherent Formula in front of Fang Li and Shana’s apartment.
• Fang Li and Shana realized the formula was likely a trap set by Rami to affect Fang Li.
• Fang Li asked Margery Daw to inspect the formula, but she refused and left.
• Fang Li and Shana decided to return to their apartment and examine the formula.

Fang Li and Shana found a hidden Inherent Formula and tried to destroy it, unaware that its activation condition was its destruction. When Shana shattered it, the formula surrounded Fang Li and vanished with him.

• Shana raised Sealed Heaven around the area, and she and Fang Li located the hidden Inherent Formula.
• Shana injected a small amount of Power of Existence into the ground, revealing the formula without activating it.
• Fang Li, Shana, and Alastor could not identify the formula, so Shana decided to destroy it with Nietono no Shana.
• Fang Li remembered that the formula required a certain condition to activate and shouted for Shana to stop, but she had already struck it.
• The shattered formula released blinding light, surrounded Fang Li with tiny Inherent Formulas, and vanished along with him.

Fang Li awoke chained to an altar in a void temple, where the Three Pillars of Bal Masqué had captured him. Belphegor questioned how he had survived her Inherent Formula, and Fang Li said he had prepared in advance.

• Fang Li regained consciousness on an altar, restrained by chains infused with Power of Existence.
• Fang Li recognized Shudenan, Belphegor, and Black Catty—the Three Pillars of Bal Masqué—watching him.
• Belphegor explained that her plan had been to drain Fang Li’s Power of Existence and transfer Reiji Maigo to Bal Masqué.
• Belphegor asked how Fang Li had survived the Inherent Formula, and Fang Li replied that he had made preparations beforehand.

Fang Li explained how he used Power of Existence gathered by Shana to survive the Inherent Formula’s drain, then learned that he had been transported to Bal Masqué’s hidden headquarters, the Starry Sky Palace. Belphegor planned to have Black Catty assimilate with him to uncover where he had stored Reiji Maigo, but Fang Li warned her not to proceed.

• Fang Li explained that he had wrapped Power of Existence gathered from Torches in Star Pulse Energy, so the Inherent Formula drained that power instead of his own.
• Belphegor identified their location as the Starry Sky Palace, Bal Masqué’s concealed mobile fortress, and Shudenan told Fang Li he could not escape.
• Belphegor confirmed that Reiji Maigo was with Fang Li but could not find it, and she suspected he had stored it using a special method.
• Belphegor proposed that Black Catty assimilate with Fang Li to search his memories for a way to retrieve Reiji Maigo.
• Black Catty approached Fang Li and placed her hand on him, and Fang Li warned her not to do that.

Black Catty began assimilating Fang Li, confident her infinite capacity could contain him, but the process brought her into his soul: a black ocean recording every death. Overwhelmed by the deaths flooding into her at once, Black Catty vanished.

• Fang Li warned Black Catty not to assimilate him, saying she was too finite to contain everything he possessed.
• Black Catty dismissed his warning and surrounded them both with sky-blue flames to begin assimilating him.
• Black Catty entered Fang Li's soul and found a boundless black ocean containing records of death.
• The ocean's deaths flooded into Black Catty, overwhelming her with fear and despair.
• Black Catty vanished from the black ocean.

Black Catty’s attempt to contain Fang Li ended in terror, revealing that his very essence was far more extraordinary than the Three Pillars had understood. Shudenan and Belphegor chose to imprison Fang Li and reconsider their plans for Reiji Maigo, leaving Fang Li wondering what would happen next.

• Black Catty screamed and collapsed after the sky-blue flames extinguished, trembling and begging others not to enter her body.
• Shudenan seized Fang Li by the neck and demanded to know what he had done, but Fang Li calmly said that death was the cheapest thing to him.
• Fang Li told the Three Pillars that their vessel was too small to contain everything he possessed, making them realize his essence surpassed ordinary humans, Crimson Realm Denizens, and Flame Haze Warriors.
• Shudenan and Belphegor decided Fang Li was too dangerous to leave alive, and Shudenan began to unleash his hidden strength.
• Black Catty warned them not to threaten Fang Li with death, so Shudenan released him and Belphegor ordered that he be imprisoned while they reconsidered Reiji Maigo.
• Fang Li was imprisoned and wondered what would happen next.

Black Catty was left shaken by what she saw in Fang Li, questioning what it meant to be alive, while Shudenan and Belphegor planned to recover Reiji Maigo. Bound in a mysterious temple, Fang Li opened his Ice-Blue Demon Eyes and said it was about time.

• Shudenan and Belphegor watched Black Catty withdraw into herself and discussed how to recover Reiji Maigo from Fang Li.
• Belphegor recalled that Black Catty, Shudenan, and he had once been known as Nuwa, Chi You, and Queen Mother of the West.
• Black Catty wondered why Fang Li could live despite being filled with something unbearable, and questioned whether either of them counted as alive.
• Fang Li lay chained to an altar in a temple in the void, then raised his head and opened his Ice-Blue Demon Eyes.

Fang Li cut through his chains and slashed open the simulated starry sky to escape the Starry Sky Palace. Fekir learned of the escape and ordered the palace’s hunters and patrol officers to pursue him while he notified the Three Pillars.

• Fang Li used the Black Ring to retrieve Moon Blade and cut through the chains binding him.
• Fang Li chose to escape through the simulated starry sky rather than risk encountering the Three Pillars, and slashed it open.
• Fekir noticed an alarm on a globe-like device and realized the human prisoner had escaped.
• Fekir ordered the Searcher Hunters to find Fang Li, nearby Patrol Officers to capture him, and a Rinne to engage him until they arrived.
• Fekir left to notify the Three Pillars.

Fang Li used the airflow in the Starry Sky Palace to find a route toward the outside, but Pheles discovered him and blocked his way. He slaughtered them all and continued through the corridor, leaving the palace’s other guards unaware of what awaited them.

• Fang Li sensed the airflow in the corridors and followed it to find a path toward an exit.
• Pheles spotted Fang Li and attacked, believing they could easily capture the human.
• Fang Li used Flash Sheath—Eight Point Rush and his Ice-Blue Demon Eyes to cut down the Pheles blocking his way.
• The surviving Pheles called for their master, but Fang Li killed them all and charged out of the corridor.

Fang Li was surrounded in a vast hall by Rinne and Patrol Officers led by the Crimson King Libelzard, who dismissed him as an unworthy human. Libelzard ordered one of his men to capture Fang Li alive, and a gorilla-shaped Crimson Realm Denizen stepped forward to take him on.

• Fang Li ran into the hall and stopped as countless Rinne surrounded him and blocked the doors.
• Libelzard introduced himself as a Patrol Officer and asked whether Fang Li was the human Belphegor had brought back.
• Libelzard complained that Belphegor was keeping Fang Li alive and mocked the effort spent capturing him.
• Other Patrol Officers gathered and ridiculed Fang Li, discussing how easily they could capture or devour him.
• Libelzard ordered one of the Patrol Officers to capture Fang Li, and a gorilla-shaped Crimson Realm Denizen volunteered.