Chapter Summaries

Kelunduo III defended sending the Black Swan Troupe to the Demon Realm despite Falosi nobles' fears and concerns about Frost Country. The meeting's debate ended with the arrival of Joshua Anoroth and the Blackwood Elves, who introduced themselves to the court.

• Lord Ximeide objected to sending Falosi's finest actors to the Demon Realm, but Kelunduo III refused to change his plans and allowed Ximeide's grandson to withdraw from the mission.
• General Locke Meng warned that the visit could harm Falosi's diplomacy with Frost Country and bring little benefit beyond completing Avatar.
• A messenger announced that the Blackwood Elves and an envoy from the Demon Realm had arrived to meet Kelunduo III.
• Zennas entered the court with Joshua Anoroth, whose presence alarmed the assembled nobles and Spellcaster Feidoli.
• Joshua identified himself as the third prince of the Anoroth royal family, and he and Elder Saifaan saluted Kelunduo III.

Joshua visited King Kelunduo III of Falosi with Zennas and Elder Saifaan to sell new communication and performance technologies. Kelunduo welcomed the Magic Web and received a World Tree's Leaf from the Blackwood Elves, while Joshua prepared to demonstrate his wares.

• Kelunduo III calmed his ministers and welcomed Joshua, praising his films and denouncing the Holy Church Country's lies about demons.
• Joshua explained that he had come to promote two products: a new method of communication and a new viewing experience for performances.
• Kelunduo ordered the larger Source Crystal Stone appraised and gave the smaller one to General Locke Meng, then identified the Magic Web as Joshua's first product.
• Kelunduo described his frustration at losing access to the Magic Web when he could not keep a World Tree Leaf nearby.
• Elder Saifaan presented Kelunduo with a World Tree's Leaf in gratitude for Duke Blackwood's protection of the elves.

Joshua demonstrated television to Kelunduo III and his ministers, explaining how it could bring performances to viewers wherever they were. The emperor understood its appeal through his experience listening to Nolan's Voice and promised to have Tylinn retell The Merchant of Venice.

• Kelunduo III recognized Pruke from Leon: The Professional and asked Joshua whether the broadcast was a movie.
• Kelunduo III told Joshua that he had heard Tylinn narrate The Merchant of Venice on Nolan's Voice but had missed the story's ending.
• Joshua confirmed that he helped create Nolan's Voice and promised to ask Tylinn to tell The Merchant of Venice again.
• Kelunduo III connected television to the stories he had heard and explained it to Locke Meng and Ximeide as a private theater.
• Joshua showed the ministers how the television's image disappeared and returned when he used magic power, then described it as a mobile theater anyone could watch with a Source Crystal Stone.

Joshua secured a preliminary alliance between Falosi and the Demon Realm, along with a contract for a television station, while the Frost Country’s envoys arrived to press Falosi to join a war against the demons. He remained confident that his film Avatar could challenge the propaganda behind the campaign.

• Joshua received the preliminary alliance agreement guaranteeing non-aggression and free movement between Falosi and the Demon Realm, as well as a contract for a television station in Falosi.
• Joshua told Mrs. Si that he would advise on the station’s operations while continuing to film Avatar.
• Ciri hid her ash-white hair when Frost Country knights passed the carriage, and Mrs. Si explained that they had come to renew their invitation for Falosi to join a campaign against the Demon Realm.
• Joshua reassured Ciri and said Falosi’s alliance showed that the Demon Realm could gain more friends, while Mrs. Si promised Kelunduo III would not join the war.
• Joshua said Avatar and his other entertainment could counter the Holy Church Country’s scriptures and missionaries’ lies.

On his twenty-third birthday, Prince Xie Yier received command of the United Army Second Legion and prepared to fight demons, though he remained uncomfortable with Frost Country’s customs. A gift from his mentor introduced him to the Magic Web, where he registered as “Frost Owl” and saw glimpses of Nolan.

• King of Frost Country appointed Xie Yier Legion Commander of the United Army Second Legion and ordered him to seek glory on the Endless Ice Field.
• Xie Yier hid from the birthday banquet and told a mage he wanted to protect Frost Country’s people from demons, not become king.
• The mage delivered a sealed box from Lu'ersike, containing a Source Crystal Stone, a World Tree’s Leaf, and instructions for using them.
• Xie Yier activated the Magic Web, registered for the Spellcaster Forum as “Frost Owl,” and saw posts and images that reminded him of Nolan.

Joshua explained that the Black Swan Troupe would film Avatar in the Demon Realm’s wilderness and could return to Falosi each night through a Teleportation Portal, urging the nobles to reconsider their fears. The proposed envoy delegation remained unchosen until Heidi volunteered to go, eager to visit Zennas’s home despite her father’s objections.

• Joshua explained that the delegation only needed a few diplomats and guards, and that filming would mostly take place in the wilderness rather than the famine-stricken royal city.
• Joshua said the Teleportation Portal would let the actors travel back to Falosi each night, prompting parents to voice concerns about the Demon Realm’s dangers.
• Joshua asked Madam Si and Kelunduo III who would join the delegation, but the nobles remained silent.
• Heidi asked whether Zennas came from the royal city, and Joshua explained that the Sin Demons gathered in a canyon behind it and lived in the city as well.
• Heidi applied to join the delegation, while General Locke Meng warned her against going near the Sin Demons.

General Worth suspected that the human delegation from Falosi intended to threaten the Demon Realm and its sacred Sin Abyss. He decided to receive the envoys himself and expose their supposed conspiracy.

• General Worth raged after learning that Cecily had ordered the royal city to welcome a human delegation seeking an alliance.
• Worth questioned whether Cecily or even Notlein had been deceived, but learned that the Ruler had approved the visit in a written decree.
• When Worth heard that the humans intended to visit the Sin Abyss, he erupted in anger and damaged the hall.
• Two Overseers arrived to investigate, and Worth asked them to tell Cecily he wanted to join the delegation’s reception.
• Worth said he would not kill the humans rashly but would expose their conspiracy, while his subordinate wondered whether the war might finally end.

Joshua led a Falosi envoy delegation and four noble young women toward the Demon Realm’s Royal City, hoping Zennas could persuade the demons to welcome their human visitors. At the city gates, General Worth mistook the small delegation for a possible elite attack force and was left confused by the visitors’ arrival.

• Joshua explained that demons remained prejudiced against humans, and Zennas offered to persuade his people to accept the visiting girls.
• Joshua learned that Zennas had once defended the Border Fortress alongside Notlein and agreed to leave the girls’ interactions with wild Sin Demons to him.
• General Worth arrived at the Royal City gates in freshly scrubbed fur and uncomfortable new clothes to greet the human delegation.
• Baron Charolais tried to welcome the visitors, but General Worth blocked him and prepared for a possible attack.
• General Worth saw the scarred human envoy, several seemingly weak companions, and a little girl in luxurious clothes, and wondered what the humans intended.

Baron Charolais welcomed Falosi’s delegation to Anoroth, but the human girls ignored him and crowded around General Worth. Joshua recorded the first contact as Worth reluctantly shook hands with them, while Ciri messaged him about Worth’s striking appearance.

• Baron Charolais prepared to welcome the human delegation, hoping to impress the four girls who arrived in the second carriage.
• Heidi Yakmi and the two actresses went straight to General Worth, admiring his white fur and azure eyes.
• Worth raised his claws in alarm until Zennas reminded him of his mission, and Worth reluctantly shook hands with the girls.
• General Locke Meng pulled his daughter and the actresses away, and Baron Charolais escorted the delegation to accommodations prepared by Cecily.
• Joshua filmed the meeting from the back of the convoy and received a message from Ciri about Worth’s appearance.

General Locke Meng accompanied Falosi’s delegation into the Demon Realm and found it far more welcoming than human scriptures had claimed. After Cecily Anoroth hosted a smooth diplomatic meeting, Joshua stayed behind with her to discuss family matters.

• General Locke Meng entered the Demon Realm with the delegation and saw that its landscape and royal city resembled the human world.
• Baron Charolais led the delegation to the embassy, where Cecily Anoroth welcomed them as the Second Princess of the Chaos Demon Royal Family.
• Cecily asked Joshua to join the meeting, and Falosi’s envoys discussed a peace treaty and trade with the Demon Realm.
• General Locke Meng left reassured by the meeting, and Cecily offered the delegation rooms for the night.
• Joshua asked Galolie and the others to wait outside, leaving himself alone with Cecily.

Cecily checked Joshua for harm from the Bone Duke and acknowledged his success in winning a human nation’s acceptance of demons, while Joshua urged her to keep pursuing the Demon Realm’s leadership. Meanwhile, Zennas addressed his Sin Demon clan, claiming humans admired them and describing the gifts and attention he had received in Nolan.

• Cecily touched Joshua with harmless magic to check whether the Bone Duke had harmed him, then asked about his childhood alchemy experiment and the Bone Duke’s soul contract.
• Cecily told Joshua he was qualified to rule the Demon Realm, but Joshua said he would support her instead; Cecily insisted she would not give up because Nogs’s radical plans could lead to war.
• Zennas read Joshua’s speech script and brought General Worth through a portal to the Sin Abyss to gather the clan.
• Zennas told the assembled Sin Demons that he had brought humans into the Demon Realm because they admired Sin Demons, then described their excited attention and lavish gifts.
• The Sin Demons reacted with astonishment to Zennas’s stories, and General Worth began to doubt his hostility toward the humans.

Joshua helped four human tourists bring offerings to the Sin Demons and urged General Fisili to beware of the Holy Church Country before returning through the portal. A day later, Prince Xie Yier and Marshal Amut’s armies faced the Ice Dragon Musk, whose arrival triggered an avalanche.

• Joshua guided Galolie and three other noblewomen through the outskirts of the Sin Abyss, where their sea-fish offerings helped the Sin Demons grow more comfortable around humans.
• General Worth joined the gathering and accepted a human girl’s touch as a ritual, while Fisili arrived to collect supplies for the front line.
• Joshua warned General Fisili to watch for manic symptoms among the Border Fortress soldiers and gave her a Source Crystal Stone.
• Prince Xie Yier and Marshal Amut marched with their armies along a dangerous road beside the Endless Ice Cliff.
• The Ice Dragon Musk descended near the armies, its roar panicked the horses, and its landing triggered an avalanche.

After an ice dragon’s breath triggered an avalanche, Shael rescued Marshal Amut and uncovered soldiers suffering terrifying mental symptoms. Unable to calm them or find help on the Spellcaster Forum, Shael received a new reply from “Kindler of the Flame.”

• Shael crawled out of the snow and used magic to uncover Marshal Amut, who had survived the avalanche but suffered severe frostbite.
• Shael cleared the snow from the buried soldiers, many of whom woke in terror and became increasingly frantic.
• Shael found that calming spells had no effect, while the freezing night left him little time to establish a camp and save the soldiers.
• Shael asked for help on the Spellcaster Forum; Yellow Robe suggested magic addiction, but Shael denied the soldiers had used Magic Addiction Stones.
• As the soldiers’ cries grew louder and Shael’s hope faded, a new reply appeared from Kindler of the Flame.

Joshua finished filming Act Two of the movie in the Demon Realm and learned that Frost Owl’s friend was suffering from frightening illusions caused by a Heretic Inquisitor. He sent Frost Owl a song by Tylinn to help ease the victim’s mental corrosion.

• Joshua finished filming Act Two, and the actors discussed the futuristic scenery and Magic Automatons.
• The Purple-robed One began teaching Ciri illusion magic while Joshua checked the Spellcaster Forum.
• Joshua read Frost Owl’s post about a friend plagued by terrifying illusions and recognized the signs of a Heretic Inquisitor’s attack.
• Joshua added Frost Owl on Text Message and sent him a song by Tylinn, telling him it could help save his friend.

Shael used a song sent by the Kindler of the Flame to calm the berserk knights and uncover signs of a planned attack. After the soldiers thanked him for saving them, the Kindler offered to explain why his friend had fallen ill.

• Shael's unconscious friend, Knight Lola, woke and attacked him with unnatural strength as other affected knights turned on their comrades.
• Shael downloaded and broadcast the song "Homecoming Poem," which helped the berserk soldiers regain control of themselves.
• Shael froze an unknown creature near the canyon, but it shattered, leaving traces of a magic array beneath the ice.
• Marshal Amut and the recovered soldiers thanked Shael, while he privately credited the Kindler of the Flame for the song's help.
• Shael thanked the Kindler through the Magic Web, and the Kindler offered to explain why Shael's friend had fallen ill.

Shael worried that the Holy Church Country’s Inquisition had arranged the ice dragon attack and repeatedly tried to reach the Kindler of the Flame for answers. Meanwhile, Joshua finished filming the third act of “Avatar” and replied to Shael, offering evidence about Holy Church Country.

• Cleric Ode healed Marshal Amut’s frostbitten leg and went to treat other injured knights.
• Shael watched Holy Church Country’s clerics help the wounded and worried that the Inquisition had masterminded the attack.
• Shael sent the Kindler of the Flame several messages but received no reply.
• Joshua ended filming the third act of “Avatar” and reviewed the day’s footage.
• Ciri read Shael’s owl-filled messages and asked Joshua about the sender.
• Joshua replied to Shael that he could provide evidence explaining Holy Church Country’s actions.

Shael investigated the Kindler of the Flame’s claims about the Hall of Inquisition and discovered that members of the organization had infiltrated his army. He confirmed the truth to the Kindler of the Flame after a terrifying encounter during his surveillance.

• Shael read the Kindler of the Flame’s evidence about the Blackwood Forest Fire Incident and began reading Heretic Inquisitor's Diary.
• Shael used the Frost Spirit’s power to scout the camp and observed priests treating wounded soldiers.
• Shael overheard a priest and a knight discussing a ritual that required living sacrifices, a failed Mental Plague, and the ice dragon’s attack.
• Shael recognized the knight’s armor as belonging to a soldier of his Second Army, but the knight spotted his snowflake and sent Shael’s consciousness back to his body.
• Shael messaged the Kindler of the Flame that the warning was true and that people disguised as members of the Hall of Inquisition were among his friends.

Joshua learned that Frost Owl was Xie Yier Leonid, Gray Robe’s former disciple and Frost Country’s twelfth prince, and discovered she was being targeted by the Hall of Inquisition. He sent her advice and an audio file to expose the inquisitors, hoping her troubles might create an opening against Frost Country.

• Joshua asked Gray Robe about the World Tree’s Leaf and learned he had entrusted it to Xie Yier Leonid in Frost Country.
• Gray Robe revealed that Xie Yier had been raised as a man and had become Frost Country’s twelfth prince.
• Joshua confirmed that Frost Owl was targeted by the Hall of Inquisition and offered to help her confront the inquisitors.
• Frost Owl explained that she could not convince her friends that their knights had been replaced by impostors.
• Joshua told Frost Owl how to expose the inquisitors and sent her an audio file that could reveal their true faces.
• Frost Owl thanked Joshua and asked for his real name, but he told her to focus on surviving first.

Shael arrived at Bastion Fortress with Marshal Amut and attended a war council about attacking the demons. Concerned about the judges operating in the Frost Country, she summoned loyal commanders to meet her that night so she could expose the judges’ deeds.

• Shael arrived at Bastion Fortress with Marshal Amut and was welcomed by Marshal Sid Meier.
• Shael entered the fortress as a Legion Commander and joined the commanders for a war council.
• A marshal proposed launching a full-scale attack on the demons, while Shael watched the three Holy Church Country priests in the hall.
• After the council, Shael asked Marshal Amut, Marshal Sid Meier, Lady Luo Na, and other loyal commanders to gather again that night so she could tell them something important.

Shael discovered ominous messages engraved on her sword and went to warn the commanders about the Hall of Inquisition. In the conference hall, she was ambushed by the priest and an impostor, and activated the Kindler of the Flame’s weapon as the Frost Spirit struggled to protect her.

• Shael found the words “Please grant us salvation?” and “Gray gloom has already shrouded Frost and Snow?” engraved on her sword.
• Shael left to meet her friends after the Kindler of the Flame warned her to cover her ears before using the weapon he had sent.
• Shael entered the conference hall and found a priest and a lookalike standing with the eight commanders.
• The priest revealed that Shael would soon become a nameless corpse, and an impostor posing as Marshal Amut attacked her.
• Shael froze the hall with the Frost Spirit, but tentacles trapped her and overwhelmed its defenses, so she activated the Kindler of the Flame’s file.