Chapter Summaries

Shael used Kindler of the Flame’s sound imitation to expose and kill eight Inquisitors who had replaced Bastion Fortress’s generals, then learned that Holy Church Country had infiltrated Frost Country. She rallied herself to resist the infiltrators and took command of the fortress alongside the real Marshal Amut.

• Shael unleashed a Banshee’s wail through the magic web, freeing herself and incapacitating the disguised Inquisitors.
• Shael and the Frost Spirit killed the eight Inquisitors and froze the priest who had orchestrated the deception.
• Shael feared that Holy Church Country had taken control of Bastion Fortress and replaced nobles across Frost Country, then told Kindler of the Flame that her friends had all been Inquisitors.
• Kindler of the Flame urged Shael to keep fighting, and Shael resolved to drive Holy Church Country’s Inquisitors from Frost Country.
• The real Marshal Amut arrived after escaping the dungeon, and Shael took the commander-in-chief’s seat and declared that the fortress must purge Holy Church Country’s traitors.

Joshua encouraged Frost Owl to resist the Judges and began trying to change her prejudice against demons through entertaining Magic Net stories. At the Demon Realm’s border fortress, Nogs learned that humans had entered the royal city and decided to investigate in person.

• Joshua learned that Frost Owl had many friends who might be Judges in disguise and urged her to oppose them, while she remained wary of demons.
• Joshua offered Frost Owl entertaining Magic Net material and began his plan to win her over.
• Nogs questioned five captured human soldiers and was surprised when one woman claimed she had met and shaken hands with a Sin Demon in Nolan.
• General Worth reported that Nogs’s younger sister had brought humans into the royal city to help with famine supplies, and that the humans admired demons.
• Nogs decided to return to the royal city and ordered General Worth to shackle the female soldier and bring her along.

Nogs questioned his captive Agatha about the Sin Demon Zennas in Nolan, but her account and a song that eased his recurring headaches left him more puzzled about Nolan and the human world. As they traveled, a steel bird flew overhead, and Nogs pulled Agatha into hiding beneath a tree.

• Nogs asked Agatha about Zennas, and she said he held an important position in Nolan and attracted many visitors.
• Nogs suffered a severe headache and collapsed, but Agatha played a Tylinn song from a Source Crystal Stone that soothed his pain.
• Agatha told Nogs that some Frost Country soldiers, including herself, had experienced headaches and hallucinations, and that she had wanted to see the Demon Realm after watching movies in Nolan.
• Nogs heard something overhead and pulled Agatha beneath a tree as a monstrous steel bird flew across the sky.

Nogs confronted a human patrol in the Demon Realm, only to discover that the group consisted of frail girls and was connected to Joshua. He reunited with his younger brother and asked him for an explanation, leaving Joshua about ten minutes to clarify the situation.

• Nogs activated Agatha’s Source Crystal Stone and charged toward the nearby human patrol, but an illusion briefly made the forest seem to split apart.
• Nogs dispelled the Mental Magic and found a patrol of thirteen human girls, then lowered his sword when he saw how weak they appeared.
• The girls discussed having to reshoot a scene and mentioned Joshua, prompting Nogs to recognize the name.
• Joshua appeared behind Nogs and greeted his elder brother, whom he had not seen in nearly a year.
• Nogs questioned Joshua about the humans in demon territory, and Joshua asked for ten minutes to explain.

Bone Duke’s orchestra practiced the music Joshua had given her, and she went to meet humans arriving in the Demon Realm. Meanwhile, Joshua’s attempt to discuss peace with his eldest brother Nogs failed, leaving Bone Duke to appear as Nogs confronted him.

• Bone Duke stopped the orchestra after a ghost made a mistake and gave him three more days to practice.
• The ghosts discussed how Joshua’s sheet music had changed Bone Duke, while their butler heard that humans had arrived in the Demon Realm.
• Bone Duke left the castle to greet the humans and entrusted it to the butler.
• Nogs told Joshua that peace with humans was impossible, citing the deaths of his comrades and mentor.
• Joshua refused Nogs’s demand to return to the royal city, and Bone Duke emerged behind him in a torrent of dark magic.

Bone Duke arrived at Joshua’s camp, where Nogs prepared to fight until Joshua revealed that he and Bone Duke were allies. After Joshua shared intelligence about the Holy Church Country and the Hall of Inquisition, Nogs left for the royal city, warning Joshua not to abandon the Anoroth name.

• Bone Duke’s sudden arrival put the camp on alert, and Nogs stepped between her and Joshua as the Teleportation Portal was destroyed.
• Joshua showed Nogs the pact mark and explained that he had invited Bone Duke, then persuaded Nogs to hear his intelligence about the Holy Church Country and the Hall of Inquisition.
• A captured Frost Country soldier interrupted Joshua, but Nogs silenced her with a rune-marked chain.
• Joshua credited the Magic Web for his intelligence and told Nogs that General Filis could explain how it worked.
• Nogs departed through a rift with the prisoner, urging Joshua to keep the Anoroth surname, and Joshua said he had no plans to change it.

After mourning the generals murdered by the Inquisitors, Marshal Amut found the surviving generals divided over whether to purge the corruption in Frost Country. Xie Yier recovered from an emotional breakdown and told Marshal Amut he had an idea about the demons.

• Marshal Amut and thirty-seven knights scattered the ashes of the generals murdered by the Inquisitors beneath the Heroic Spirit Monument.
• Marshal Amut entered the War Room, where the surviving generals argued over whether to challenge Frost Country’s king and cleanse the country of Inquisitor influence.
• The generals asked Marshal Amut to bring Xie Yier to decide the matter, and Marshal Amut found him crying after watching the movie "Leon: The Professional" on the Magic Net.
• Xie Yier composed himself and told Marshal Amut that he had an idea regarding the demons.

Shael rallied Bastion Fortress against the Holy Church Country and used the Frost Spirit’s power to keep the blizzard in place as she prepared to begin the civil war. In Nolan, Joshua learned that Frost Owl was setting out and decided to make the conflict the subject of a new Nolan’s Voice program.

• Shael accused the Holy Church Country of betraying its alliance and urged Bastion Fortress’s generals and soldiers to punish the impostors threatening Frost Country.
• Shael summoned the Frost Spirit, which intensified the blizzard, and the generals and soldiers knelt in loyalty to her.
• Joshua reviewed Hearthstone’s sales at the tavern in Nolan while Ciri rested nearby.
• Joshua received Frost Owl’s message that she was setting out, and he and Ciri celebrated the success of their plan.
• Tylinn told Joshua that listeners wanted more Nolan’s Voice programs, and Joshua began planning coverage of Frost Country’s civil war.
• Joshua messaged Thousand Faces, the Chief Reporter, to ask her to come over.

The Dark Elf managed the Black Pigeons’ growing news operation in Nolan until Joshua assigned her to document a looming uprising in Frost Country. She accepted the long-term reporting mission, and Joshua planned to ask Peste to oversee the Black Pigeons while she was away.

• The Dark Elf reviewed the Black Pigeons’ news leads, including a noble duel and an explosion at an Alchemy Factory beside Gear River.
• Joshua asked the Dark Elf how the Black Pigeons were doing and warned that their work might suffer if she left.
• Joshua told the Dark Elf that Prince Shael was preparing an uprising in Frost Country against the great nobles, tied to the actions of the Heretic Inquisitors.
• Joshua assigned the Dark Elf to film the uprising, interview local residents, and possibly speak with Shael for an ongoing documentary.
• The Dark Elf accepted the assignment, and Joshua considered asking his elder sister to send Peste to Nolan to help manage the Black Pigeons.

The Dark Elf visited Fourth Princess Foya and found her absorbed in Minecraft, despite worrying that she remained isolated in her tower. Joshua sent the Dark Elf to Frost Country with recording equipment and a Lava Orb, hoping to spread the Magic Web through a new program.

• The Dark Elf returned to the royal city and brought gifts to Fourth Princess Foya, whose room was messy and whose appearance suggested she had barely slept.
• The Dark Elf found Foya playing Minecraft beneath her blankets and offered to bring her friend Galolie to visit, but Foya declined.
• The Dark Elf told Joshua she was worried about Foya, and Joshua said games might give his sister a sense of belonging and eventually bring honor to the Demon Realm.
• Joshua gave the Dark Elf recording equipment, a television, and a Lava Orb to help her cross the storm-ravaged plains of Frost Country.
• The Dark Elf accepted the package and entered Zennas's Teleportation Portal to travel to Frost Country.

The Dark Elf left the Demon Realm Border Fortress to investigate Frost Country and discovered that Twelfth Prince Xie Yier’s forces had seized Saint Sos Fortress. After recording soldiers capturing a preacher who accused Xie Yier of demonic influence, she sent the footage to Joshua and began preparing a report.

• Nogs sent the Dark Elf into the blizzard with Joshua’s Lava Orb to gather intelligence from Frost Country.
• The Dark Elf noticed Agatha planting flowers at the fortress, while Nogs told Filis that Agatha’s record could suppress the Chaos Demons’ headaches.
• Three days later, the Dark Elf reached Saint Sos Fortress and found its streets deserted and its banners replaced by the Frost Country Royal Family’s.
• Disguised as a civilian, the Dark Elf recorded a preacher claiming that Twelfth Prince Xie Yier had been bewitched by demons and seized the city.
• Bastion Fortress soldiers captured the preacher, and the Dark Elf recorded their faces before sending the footage to Joshua through the World Tree’s Leaf and the Magic Net.

Joshua introduced Feimesi to television and showed her Nolan’s Voice’s first documentary, “Frost Civil War,” which revealed growing conflict between Frost Country and Holy Church Country. The actors in the Avatar Tavern watched in shock as soldiers arrested a preacher and demolished a church, while Joshua received new reports from the Dark Elf.

• Mrs. Si turned the film set’s rest area into the Avatar Tavern, where Na’vi and human-soldier actors socialized between takes.
• Feimesi arrived at Joshua’s suggestion to learn how to run a television station, and Joshua told her to begin by watching programs.
• Joshua showed Feimesi the new documentary “Frost Civil War,” based on the Dark Elf’s report and a script by Pruke the Fraudster.
• The documentary showed a preacher denouncing Prince Xie Yier and Frost Country soldiers arresting him, then depicted soldiers tearing down a church in Saint Sos Fortress.
• The actors debated why Frost Country had broken its alliance with Holy Church Country, while Joshua received fresh material from the Dark Elf.

The Dark Elf infiltrated the White Frost Deer Family estate disguised as Valenava and recorded Prince Xie Yier exposing the family head as an impostor Judge. After Xie Yier killed another Judge and left the family divided and fearful, the Dark Elf prepared to interview him.

• The Dark Elf overheard Valenava arguing with a middle-aged man, then put her to sleep, tied her up, and took her appearance.
• The middle-aged man escorted the disguised Dark Elf to Stag Hall, where she recorded Xie Yier telling the family that a Judge had replaced their head, Mr. Skovky.
• A hidden Judge tried to assassinate Xie Yier, but the prince trapped him with prepared runes and shattered him into fragments.
• The White Frost Deer Family members reacted with disbelief, grief, anger, and fear as the Dark Elf interviewed them and recorded their disputes.
• After gathering information while posing as Valenava, the Dark Elf prepared to interview Prince Xie Yier.

After Marshal Amut and the White Frost Deer Family pledged their support, Shael returned to his quarters to study Frost Country’s nobles but was distracted by a film sent by the Kindler of the Flame. As he prepared to focus again, the Frost Spirit warned him that a stranger was approaching his room.

• Marshal Amut and the Bastion Fortress soldiers celebrated Shael and pledged their loyalty to him.
• Shael returned to his quarters, considered the threats and alliances ahead, and began studying the Frost Country Noble Registry.
• The Kindler of the Flame sent Shael messages and a copy of Hachi: A Dog's Tale, tempting him to watch instead of study.
• Shael told the Kindler of the Flame he would watch the film later and closed the Magic Net interface.
• The Frost Spirit warned Shael that a stranger was approaching, and he grabbed his longsword to prepare for battle.

A Dark Elf reporter arrived in Frost Country and killed the three judges who had come for Shael. She explained that she had come from Nolan to interview Shael about her actions and views on the judges and the Holy Church Country.

• Shael prepared to fight the three approaching judges but heard an archer and assassin ambush them outside her room.
• Shael found a black-robed woman finishing off the judges and cautiously asked who she was.
• The Dark Elf identified herself as a reporter, and Shael mistook her for an elf who had come to help fight the judges.
• The Dark Elf asked Shael about Nolan's Voice, and they discussed programs including Tylinn's singing and Daytime News.
• The Dark Elf explained that she had traveled from Nolan to interview Shael about her deeds in Frost Country and her views on the judges and the Holy Church Country.

Joshua joined the Dark Elf’s planned interview with Prince Xie Yier, while Tylinn and Ciri gathered in the Hall of Silence. Xie Yier agreed to appear before Nolan’s viewers and defended her actions against Holy Church Country, leaving the interview underway.

• Joshua woke to the Dark Elf’s message and went to the Hall of Silence to help with Xie Yier’s interview.
• Joshua found Tylinn asleep in the hall and invited her to join the remote interview after she dressed.
• Ciri followed Joshua into the hall, and Joshua sent the Dark Elf questions raised on the Spellcaster Forum.
• The Dark Elf explained that Xie Yier was preparing for the interview and that people in Frost Country would see it too.
• Xie Yier began the interview and said Holy Church Country’s mistake had to be punished severely.

During an interview, Prince Xie Yier condemned the Holy Church Country’s betrayal and revealed her hostility toward its Inquisitors, then said she wanted to visit Nolan to meet a friend. Back in Nolan, Joshua created a Movie Club group chat so Tylinn and Ciri could connect with Frost Owl more naturally.

• Prince Xie Yier told the Dark Elf that the Holy Church Country had sent Inquisitors to replace Frost Country nobles, and vowed to execute those responsible.
• The Dark Elf asked Prince Xie Yier about demons, and the prince described them as dangerous enemies while admitting that the incident had made her question the Holy Church Country’s scriptures.
• Prince Xie Yier said she wanted to visit Nolan and meet a friend in person, then the Dark Elf ended the interview.
• In Nolan, Tylinn told Joshua she wanted to ask Frost Owl about the Frost Elves, and Joshua showed her Frost Owl’s Text Message profile.
• Joshua created a Movie Club group chat and sent its code to Tylinn and Ciri, who joined and began chatting.

Herolia attended a Holy Council meeting about Frost Country’s prince and watched evidence that demons had taken control of Bastion Fortress. While investigating the prince through the Magic Net, she accepted an invitation to a secret Movie Club group chat and discovered Frost Owl was a member.

• Bishops gathered around a Source Crystal Stone and watched Pruke’s documentary about Frost Country, including a missionary being taken away by soldiers.
• Herolia recommended investigating the prince’s actions and sending someone to mediate, while privately suspecting that someone was manipulating him.
• Herolia connected Frost Owl’s forum post about mental magic to the Hall of Inquisition’s mission and suspected Frost Owl was Frost Country’s twelfth prince.
• Kindler of the Flame invited Herolia to the Movie Club group chat, where members agreed not to reveal their real-world identities.
• Herolia found Frost Owl among the Movie Club members, and Frost Owl joined the discussion.

After defeating the Royal Capital's guard army near Siberk Forest, Shael questioned its commander and learned the king had ordered him to fight her. Fearing the Judges had infiltrated the capital and possibly replaced the king, Shael prepared to expose the truth and asked Thousand Faces for help.

• Shael's forces defeated the Royal Capital's guards, and she asked their commander, Monak, who had ordered the attack.
• Monak named the king before Marshal Amut arrived and asked Shael to leave the commander's punishment to him.
• Shael looked toward the Imperial City and feared the Judges had replaced the king, while many nobles still believed she had sided with demons.
• Shael checked the Movie Club messages but chose not to join the discussion about New Movie.
• Shael messaged Thousand Faces, hoping to use the media's influence as her army advanced toward the capital.

Thousand Faces helped Shael confront the inquisitors who had taken over the Frost Country’s Imperial City. Shael struck down the false king and escaped, while the Dark Elf recorded evidence of the takeover.

• Thousand Faces hid in the castle and coordinated with Joshua as Shael entered to confront the king.
• The king called Shael’s claims demonic, and Shael realized that talking would not help.
• Thousand Faces used a Source Crystal Stone to unleash the banshees’ shrieks, broke the castle’s defensive runes, and gave Shael her sword.
• Shael stabbed the false king, then fled the hall after sensing two Chief Inquisitors nearby.
• Thousand Faces met Shael outside and revealed that she had recorded evidence of the inquisitors’ control of the capital.