Chapter Summaries

Fang Li noticed something wrong with Rem and warned her to have the spirit in the Forbidden Library examine her if she did not want to die. After Rem told Ram what happened, Ram confronted Fang Li and demanded an explanation.

• Fang Li spent several days training, speaking with Emilia, and reading books about magic at Roswaal Mansion.
• When Rem came to summon him for dinner, Fang Li looked at her with his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and asked where she had gone and whether anything unusual had happened.
• Rem said she had visited the village and been bitten by a puppy, and Fang Li warned her to have the spirit in the Forbidden Library examine her if she did not want to die.
• After dinner, Rem told Ram what had happened, and Ram went to Fang Li's room to demand an explanation.

Fang Li deflected Ram’s attack and went with Roswaal to find Rem, whom Beatrice was examining in the Forbidden Library. Beatrice found that Rem’s many curse formulas could not be removed and concluded that the curse caster was in the village.

• Ram attacked Fang Li with wind magic, but he blasted the blades aside and warned that he could keep fighting.
• Roswaal calmed Ram, apologized to Fang Li, and asked him to come see Rem.
• Fang Li entered the Forbidden Library, where Beatrice was using magic to examine Rem as Emilia and Puck watched.
• Beatrice said Rem’s curse formulas could no longer be removed, and Roswaal recognized the magic as Curse Arts.
• Ram explained that Rem had been visiting the village three times a day to gather supplies, and Beatrice concluded that the curse caster was there.

With Rem dying from an active curse that Beatrice could not remove, Fang Li offered to intervene using his ability to kill curses. He awakened his Ice-Blue Demon Eyes and saw Death Lines across Rem’s body.

• Ram questioned Beatrice’s certainty that Rem’s curse caster was in the village, and the others considered whether Fang Li might be responsible.
• Beatrice, Puck, Emilia, and Roswaal rejected the suspicion that Fang Li had cursed Rem.
• Beatrice said Rem would die by dawn unless they found and defeated the curse caster, and she could not dispel the active curses in time.
• Fang Li asked whether the others wanted him to make a move, and Ram pleaded with him to save Rem.
• Fang Li placed his hand over Rem’s, opened his Ice-Blue Demon Eyes, and saw Death Lines across her body.

Fang Li used his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to look deeper into Rem and was pulled into a vision of a burning mountain village. There, he saw a young, horned Ram slaughtering cultists with overwhelming power, as Rem appeared beside him and called it her sister’s power as an oni.

• Fang Li focused his Mystic Eyes on Rem to find the curse within her body.
• Fang Li’s consciousness was pulled into a vision of a village engulfed in flames and a battle between horned villagers and fire-wielding cultists.
• Fang Li saw a young Ram use her white horn and a massive gale of Sickle Weasel Blades to destroy houses and cultists.
• Rem appeared beside Fang Li and told him that the scene showed her Big Sister’s power as an oni.

Rem recounted how she and Ram survived the Oni tradition of killing twins, and described Ram’s overwhelming power as she fought the Witch Cultists. Rem revealed that when Ram lost her horn protecting her, Rem had secretly felt relief, and her self-loathing manifested as a curse.

• Rem explained that Oni twins were considered ill omens and that she and Ram survived because newborn Ram subdued the Clan Leader who meant to execute them.
• Fang Li and Rem watched young Ram tear through the Witch Cultists and village with devastating wind magic as she rushed to save Rem.
• Rem described herself as an untalented bottom-ranker who admired and loved Ram, while feeling inferior to her prodigious sister.
• Ram slaughtered the cultists surrounding Rem, but a surviving attacker sneaked up and severed Ram’s horn.
• Rem confessed that she had thought, “It finally broke,” when Ram’s horn was cut, then blamed herself for taking one of her sister’s horns.
• Black mist rose from Rem as a curse manifested from her self-loathing.

Fang Li entered the depths of Rem’s soul and freed her from the curses by breaking the painful memory she was trapped in. He showed Rem happier memories of her life with Ram and challenged her to speak honestly with her sister about her guilt, leaving Rem silent.

• Fang Li cut through the curses surrounding Rem and shattered the memory of the Oni village’s massacre.
• Fang Li led Rem through memories of her childhood with Ram and their life together at Roswaal Mansion.
• Rem said she blamed herself for Ram losing her horns and believed she was only a weak replacement for her sister.
• Fang Li accused Rem of wallowing in guilt without ever talking properly with Ram and told her to apologize to her sister.

Fang Li confronted Rem about her guilt over Ram losing her horn and urged her to seek forgiveness from her sister rather than let others decide what was right. Rem woke after Fang Li cut away the black mist from her body, and Ram welcomed her back with joy.

• Fang Li pointed out that Ram’s peaceful expression beside Rem showed that she did not truly hate her, and he told Rem that only her sister could decide whether to forgive her.
• Rem realized she had long wished to be scolded for her mistake and asked whether she could truly be forgiven.
• In the Forbidden Library, Fang Li cut across Rem with his dagger, releasing black mist that vanished from her body.
• Rem woke in Ram’s arms and smiled at her sister, while Ram, Emilia, Puck, and Beatrice expressed relief.
• Roswaal recognized Fang Li’s remarkable talent.

Rem realized that Ram had always cared for her and apologized, allowing the sisters to reconnect. In Roswaal’s study, he asked Fang Li to investigate the Curse Arts caster in a nearby village, but Fang Li questioned whether the culprit was connected to the Witch Cult, and Roswaal refused to let Emilia go.

• Ram helped Rem back to their room, where Rem noticed her sister’s concern and began to cry.
• Rem apologized to Ram for failing to understand her, and Ram comforted her by stroking her head.
• Roswaal asked Fang Li to deal with the Curse Arts caster suspected of harming Rem and targeting villagers.
• Fang Li said the caster might be unrelated to the Witch Cult and might instead be trying to obstruct Emilia’s Royal Selection bid.
• Emilia offered to go to the village with Puck, but Roswaal refused because she might be walking into a trap.

Fang Li accepted Roswaal’s request to investigate the Curse Arts practitioner operating in the Mezas Territory, triggering a Rank B Side Mission. Before leaving to scout the village, he reassured Emilia, who wished him the spirits’ blessing.

• Emilia worried about the villagers and Fang Li agreed to look into the problem, though he made no promise to complete Roswaal’s request.
• Fang Li received the Rank B Side Mission to locate and eliminate the Curse Arts practitioner in the Mezas Territory for 20,000 Exchange Points.
• Emilia caught up with Fang Li and offered to have Puck accompany him, but Fang Li explained that Puck needed to stay with her.
• Fang Li told Emilia about his former work as a combat detective and assured her that he could handle the danger.
• Emilia placed her hand on Fang Li’s chest and prayed, “May the spirits bless you,” before he left and she hoped he would return soon.

Fang Li discovered that Rem and Ram had grown closer after Rem’s emotional recovery, and he discussed the curse user still active in the village. Rem and Ram decided to accompany Fang Li to deal with the threat.

• Fang Li noticed that Rem and Ram seemed closer and received their thanks for helping Rem.
• Fang Li reminded the sisters that the curse user in the village remained active.
• Ram guessed that Roswaal had assigned Fang Li to resolve the curse because the mansion depended on Roswaal for most of its combat strength.
• Rem asked to accompany Fang Li, explaining that her close contact with the curse user could help them.
• Ram decided to go with Rem and Fang Li, and Fang Li considered their offer.

Fang Li investigated the barrier around Aram Village and found that a Demon Beast had damaged it, likely as part of the plot to curse Rem. He led Rem and Ram into the forest, where they sensed wild beasts approaching.

• Fang Li used his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to spot the barrier around Aram Village and followed its lines toward a damaged section.
• Rem told Fang Li that the puppy that had bitten her had disappeared, while Ram deduced that a Curse Arts user had damaged the barrier.
• Fang Li, Rem, and Ram found a dimmed crystal embedded in a tree beside the village, confirming that part of the barrier had failed.
• Fang Li climbed over the fence and entered the forest, telling Rem and Ram that the Curse Arts user was likely hiding there.
• Rem and Ram followed Fang Li and smelled wild beasts approaching.

Fang Li led Rem and Ram through the forest while Demon Beasts surrounded them, and Rem began to trust and admire the resolve in his back. When the beasts attacked, Fang Li killed the entire pack in an instant with Flash Sheath—Instant Prison.

• Rem and Ram sensed Demon Beasts stalking them through the grass and realized the group was surrounded.
• Fang Li kept walking without revealing a destination, while Rem trusted him and compared his resolve to Ram's.
• Ram warned Fang Li that she would not let him die, and Fang Li replied that he would not let her die either.
• The Demon Beasts burst from the grass and lunged at Fang Li, Rem, and Ram.
• Fang Li used Flash Sheath—Instant Prison to kill every attacking Demon Beast in less than a second.

Fang Li continued slaughtering Demon Beasts as Rem and Ram searched the forest for their target. Rem’s Oni instincts nearly activated her horn, but Fang Li’s strength made her submit and regain control; the three then continued deeper into the forest.

• Fang Li’s bloody slaughter stirred Rem and Ram’s Oni instincts, and Rem’s horn began to manifest as it absorbed nearby mana.
• Rem recognized Fang Li as the stronger Oni and submitted to her instincts, causing her horn to disappear and her awareness to return.
• Fang Li told Rem she could return to Aram Village if she could not continue, but Rem insisted on accompanying him.
• Fang Li killed the Demon Beasts while Rem used her sense of smell and Ram used Thousand Mile Eye to guide him through the forest.
• Ram suddenly opened her eyes while using Thousand Mile Eye.

Ram located the puppy that had bitten Rem, and she, Rem, and Fang Li fought through the Demon Beasts to reach it. Fang Li drew out Meli, the Beast Tamer, who revealed that Elsa had told her to kill him and claimed she was invincible in the forest.

• Ram found the puppy’s location and led Fang Li and Rem toward it.
• Ram and Rem used magic while Fang Li cut down the Demon Beasts that got past them.
• The group reached a clearing where the puppy that had bitten Rem lay on a rock.
• Fang Li called out the hidden Beast Tamer, and Meli stepped out of the brush.
• Meli said she belonged to the same assassin organization as Elsa, who had ordered her to kill Fang Li, and claimed she was invincible in the forest.

Meli surrounded Fang Li, Rem, and Ram with a vast horde of Demon Beasts and challenged him to fight. Fang Li destroyed the attacking herd with one sword strike, then noticed Meli had fled and set off after her with the twins.

• Meli revealed that she had controlled the Demon Beasts and retreated behind the herd.
• Fang Li reassured Rem and Ram with teasing remarks that calmed their nerves before the beasts attacked.
• Fang Li unleashed Flash Sheath—Ten Lives, cutting through the Demon Beasts and the surrounding trees in a single strike.
• Fang Li told Rem and Ram that Meli had run away and walked off to pursue her.
• Rem and Ram recovered from their shock and hurried after Fang Li.

Meli fled through the forest after Fang Li destroyed her Demon Beasts, but he and Rem and Ram caught up with her. After Fang Li killed the giant Demon Beast she unleashed, Meli collapsed, leaving him ready to question her.

• Meli recalled her plan to curse Rem and target Emilia, then ran into the forest after her curses on Rem were removed.
• Fang Li tracked Meli with Rem and Ram, using the puppy Demon Beast’s scent to find her.
• Meli ordered the puppy Demon Beast to attack, and it transformed into a giant vicious dog.
• Fang Li cut the giant Demon Beast into pieces with Flash Sheath—Hell Gate.
• Meli collapsed in terror, and Fang Li pointed his dagger at her and said they could talk.

Fang Li interrogated the captured assassin Meli about her employer and the Witch Cult, then struck a deal with her. The group left the forest with Meli bound, while Fang Li remained short of the Exchange Points needed for Main Mission Three and had two other main missions unfinished.

• Fang Li held Meli at dagger-point after defeating her Demon Beasts, while Rem and Ram urged him to kill her.
• Meli said she did not know who hired her and revealed rumors that the Witch Cult had entered the kingdom and was targeting a silver-haired Half-Elf.
• Fang Li asked Meli whether she wanted to live and proposed a deal.
• Rem carried the bound Meli out of the forest, and Fang Li received 20,000 Exchange Points for completing a Rank B Side Mission.
• Fang Li noted that he was still 10,000 Exchange Points short of his goal for Main Mission Three, with Main Mission One and Main Mission Two still incomplete.

Fang Li asked Roswaal to spare Meli after resolving the curse incident, and Emilia supported his request. The mansion agreed to keep Meli under house arrest as they waited for the Witch Cult to appear.

• Fang Li reassured Emilia that helping with the incident had benefited him, since Roswaal would pay him and Meli had agreed to do something for him.
• Fang Li asked Roswaal to keep Meli alive, offering to count her survival as part of his reward.
• Emilia backed Fang Li's request, and Roswaal ordered Ram to have Rem place Meli under house arrest while treating her as a guest.
• Roswaal wondered when the Witch Cult would come, and Fang Li realized he would have to wait for them to make their move.

After nearly a month of collecting Demon Beast horns for Meli, Fang Li returned to Roswaal Mansion and handed her the day’s haul. As Fang Li and Rem watched a luxurious Dragon Carriage approach the mansion, the chapter ended with an unexpected visitor arriving.

• Fang Li cut a Demon Beast’s horn in the forest, gathered it with the others in his backpack, and headed back to the mansion.
• Fang Li gave Meli the collected horns so she could use them to control more Demon Beasts, while Rem warned Meli that she was still a prisoner.
• Meli assured Fang Li and Rem that she would not act recklessly, then took the backpack inside.
• Rem remained wary of Meli, and Fang Li said he was confident he could keep her under control.
• A luxurious Dragon Carriage rolled toward the mansion, drawing Fang Li and Rem’s attention.

Fang Li met the Carsten family’s visitors, including the renowned swordsman Wilhelm, who recognized him as an extraordinary talent. After leaving the meeting, Fang Li went to Beatrice in the Forbidden Library and told her he might soon leave, asking her to do something for him.

• Rem welcomed a flaxen-haired cat-eared Demi-human and the elderly swordsman Wilhelm, who had arrived to discuss the Royal Selection and request Lady Emilia’s attendance.
• Fang Li and Wilhelm recognized each other’s formidable swordsmanship, and Wilhelm praised Fang Li’s talent.
• Fang Li left the visitors to proceed with their business, while Rem clarified that Fang Li was a guest of Lady Emilia and Lord Roswaal rather than their servant.
• Fang Li went to the Forbidden Library and told Beatrice that he might be leaving, then asked her to do something for him.