Chapter Summaries

Joshua asked Grand Duke of Blood to help find Demon Realm players for a professional Holy Spirit team, rejecting the idea that Foya should become a singer and actress to save the realm. After Joshua left the Hall of Edicts, Grand Duke of Blood sought a private conversation with Elder Enya, revealing they had known each other since Aserkelo fell millennia ago.

• Grand Duke of Blood urged Joshua to make Foya a singer and actress, believing her performances could restore the Demon Realm.
• Joshua said he planned to make Foya a professional Holy Spirit player and asked Grand Duke of Blood to find players among the Blood Clan and other Demon Realm leaders.
• Grand Duke of Blood doubted his descendants would play, but followed Joshua out of the Hall of Edicts after Duke of Bones gave him a dangerous look.
• Grand Duke of Blood asked to speak alone with Elder Enya, and she recognized him as Yulias.
• Yulias and Elder Enya recalled that they had last met around the time Aserkelo fell, millennia earlier.

Elder Enya confronted the Grand Duke of Blood about Aserkelo’s destruction and learned he remained in the Demon Realm to guard a final line of defense. Back in his territory, the Grand Duke summoned his clan to ask who played Holy Spirit, and their ranked ratings surprised him.

• Elder Enya recognized the Grand Duke of Blood as the former head of the Yulias Clan and questioned how he survived Aserkelo’s catastrophe.
• The Grand Duke of Blood said he had accepted a monster’s power and stayed in the Demon Realm to guard a final line of defense.
• Peste gave her father scarlet liquid to ease the distortion on his face, and he ordered the carriage back to the Blood Clan’s territory.
• The Grand Duke summoned the clan members who used the magic net and asked which of them played Holy Spirit.
• Several Blood Clan members admitted they played Holy Spirit and began boasting about their ratings, including scores of 2,100 and 3,700.

Grand Duke of Blood tried Holy Spirit and was moved to play alongside an old friend before repeated deaths and a teammate’s insults enraged him. He mistook the player’s offer of an in-game duel for a real challenge and ordered Peste to prepare a trip to the human world.

• Peste helped Grand Duke of Blood install Warcraft and start matchmaking in Holy Spirit.
• Grand Duke of Blood recognized Guardian Samatar Anoroth and selected him, remembering the hero’s past and wishing they could fight together again.
• Grand Duke of Blood died repeatedly to Swordbreaker Gemail, while his kin tried to guide him through the match.
• Wall of Ossenburg mocked Grand Duke of Blood’s poor play, and Grand Duke of Blood furiously challenged him to take back his words.
• Grand Duke of Blood mistook Wall of Ossenburg’s offer of an in-game duel for a real one and ordered Peste to notify the guards so he could go to the human world.

The Grand Duke of Blood lost badly to Wall of Ossenburg in Holy Spirit, where Swordbreaker Gemail repeatedly killed his Guardian Samatar Anoroth. After watching a guide showing how Foya controlled the hero, he realized her Magic Web Vision account had grown popular and hurried to find Prince Joshua.

• Wall of Ossenburg repeatedly killed the Grand Duke of Blood's Guardian Samatar Anoroth, then quit after taunting him in all-chat.
• A Blood Clan member found a guide demonstrating how Guardian Samatar Anoroth could counter Swordbreaker Gemail.
• The Grand Duke of Blood watched Foya's video and recognized that her skillful control made the hero nimble and lethal.
• The Grand Duke of Blood saw that Foya's account had over a hundred thousand followers and realized her videos had no sound or visual record.
• The Grand Duke of Blood ordered his Blood Clan members to find Prince Joshua, then decided to go himself.

Joshua helped High Elf priests treat civilians affected by the gray mist in the Demon Realm Royal City before the Grand Duke of Blood arrived with the kin who used the Magic Web. Joshua gathered them to form a professional Holy Spirit team, and the chapter ended with the Grand Duke discovering that Foya was live on Magic Web Vision.

• High Elf priests treated civilians for the gray mist, and Cecily thanked Joshua for the help he had brought to the Demon Realm.
• Joshua left Cecily and discussed his lack of interest in politics with Ciri as they headed down from the castle wall.
• The Grand Duke of Blood arrived with his kin, prompting Cecily to guard Joshua until the Grand Duke explained he had come at Joshua's orders.
• Joshua invited the Grand Duke and his kin into the castle to discuss forming a professional Holy Spirit team.
• The Grand Duke opened Foya's live broadcast on Magic Web Vision and saw a cluttered room with a quilt wriggling beneath it.

Arl mistook Foya’s quilt and bedding for a magical seal and tried to free her, causing Foya to fall from the bed and unleash her dangerous magic. Foya returned beneath the quilt and asked Joshua to remove Arl, while Joshua suggested that she try livestreaming.

• Arl tried spells and then brute force to tear away the fabric covering Foya, while Foya’s attempts to use her magic on Arl failed.
• Arl began lifting the bed, and Foya contacted Joshua for help before she fell onto the floor and unleashed a vast magical field that killed the birds on the tower.
• Foya noticed that Arl had survived her magic, but Arl hugged her, making Foya regret thinking they might become friends.
• A Daytime Banshee appeared, and Foya returned to her bed beneath the quilt before Arl could find her.
• Foya asked Joshua to make Arl leave, and he replied that he had told Arl not to lift her quilt and asked whether Foya wanted to try livestreaming.

Joshua’s attempt to livestream Foya drew thousands of viewers, while Grand Duke of Blood revealed that most demons’ souls were forged. The stream finally showed Foya’s face, and Grand Duke of Blood saw a patch of land slowly returning to normal.

• Joshua tried to explain Foya’s livestream to Grand Duke of Blood as viewers flooded the stream with questions about the blanket.
• Thousand Faces warned Joshua that too much stimulation could worsen Foya’s condition, but Grand Duke of Blood claimed the viewers’ faith could nourish her.
• Joshua asked why Grand Duke of Blood did not gather believers among the demons, and Grand Duke of Blood revealed that most demons’ souls were counterfeit and unrecognized by the world.
• Arl broke Foya’s seal, fell out of the camera’s frame, and exposed Foya’s face to the livestream audience.
• Grand Duke of Blood stopped watching and saw a gray-white patch of land on the map slowly returning to normal.

The Grand Duke of Blood hoped Foya’s popularity on Magic Web would provide enough faith to contain the corruption threatening the Demon Realm. Joshua convinced him that Holy Spirit’s growth required a Nolan-wide competition, leaving the Grand Duke with renewed ambition.

• The Grand Duke of Blood saw the corruption on his map begin to recede as viewers watched Foya’s livestream, but he wanted more viewers to revere her.
• The Grand Duke urged Joshua to have Foya play Holy Spirit, but Foya broke the camera and ended the livestream.
• Joshua showed the Grand Duke that the corruption had stopped spreading and explained that Foya’s fans already admired her gaming skill.
• Joshua asked whether the Grand Duke was satisfied with Holy Spirit’s roughly one hundred thousand players, prompting him to rediscover his ambition.
• Joshua announced that Nolan would hold a Holy Spirit competition in one month.

Joshua explained that Holy Spirit tournaments had drawn professional players from Frost Country and Steel Country, making the next competition a matter of national honor. He began assembling a Demon Realm team around Foya and learned that an Overseer under Cecily had a score above 5,000.

• Joshua showed Grand Duke of Blood the ranked ladder, where players from Silver Frost Fox and Iron Forger factions filled the top ranks.
• Joshua explained that Frost Country and Steel Country trained professional Holy Spirit players and that the nations had already faced off in a tournament.
• Grand Duke of Blood agreed that Foya would represent the Demon Realm and looked forward to the next tournament.
• Joshua checked messages from the dark elf and Dorothy, then asked the bloodkin to report their ladder scores so he could form a team.
• Peste told Joshua that an Overseer under Cecily had a score above 5,000.

Elder Enya treated residents of the Demon Realm while a Chaos Demon named Monet secretly gathered information for the Holy Army alongside his dead sister, Clairely. When Peste announced she was coming to find them, Clairely concealed herself and Monet prepared to face multiple approaching visitors.

• Elder Enya treated a Chaos Demon Overseer, who stopped the treatment early and hurried back to his hidden base.
• Monet removed his Overseer uniform in the basement, where Clairely scolded him and reminded him they had come to the Demon Realm for revenge.
• Clairely contacted Gaineko Bishop through an altar and reported that Divine Punishment had corrupted all cultivable land, while Gaineko ordered them to remain concealed.
• Monet logged into Holy Spirit and revealed that Peste had messaged him that she was coming to find them.
• Gaineko Bishop calmed Clairely, who dissipated, while Monet sensed multiple people approaching and armed himself with a longsword and Rune-inscribed Source Crystal Stones.

Clairely, a human infiltrator reborn as a Chaos Demon, faced an unexpected visit from Second Princess Cecily and the Grand Duke of Blood. When Cecily checked the Holy Spirit account of Clairely’s body, Monet revealed his high ranking, and Cecily ordered him to join the Demon Realm’s professional team.

• Clairely recalled her death in battle after a demon killed her younger brother, Monet, and her years of infiltrating the Demon Realm.
• Clairely answered the door for Peste, Cecily, and the Grand Duke of Blood, then tried to maintain her Chaos Demon Overseer disguise.
• Cecily asked Clairely to show her Holy Spirit account, and Clairely let Monet take control because she did not know how to open the game.
• Monet displayed his account as White Goat, ranked seventeenth on the ladder, and nervously told Cecily he had not played during work hours.
• Cecily ordered Monet to join the Demon Realm’s professional Holy Spirit team.

Joshua discovered that the High Elf World Tree and the two cats could turn his spoken design ideas into game content inside their shared consciousness. After testing an undead-themed Illusionist Melrose skin in Holy Spirit, he decided to ask the Purple-robed One before releasing it and considered using their help for future games.

• The High Elf World Tree explained that it and the cats could convert Joshua’s thoughts into Runes, though they could not create ideas of their own.
• The white bird brought Joshua into a forest made from Holy Spirit models and showed him the game’s twenty-five heroes.
• Joshua directed the white bird to create a Frost Wraith skin for Illusionist Melrose, changing her appearance, effects, and movements.
• Joshua tested the skin in Holy Spirit and confirmed that it worked, then decided not to release it until he had asked the Purple-robed One.
• Joshua asked whether the World Tree and cats could help build other games, and the white bird agreed to try.

Joshua woke from a dream of building a virtual world and learned that creations in Consciousness Space might affect reality. Meanwhile, Clairely waited inside the Demon Realm’s royal castle as Monet played Holy Spirit with the Grand Duke of Blood, delaying her chance to investigate.

• Joshua stored the city he had created in Consciousness Space and asked the World Tree whether such creations could interfere with reality.
• Joshua woke with his face against Ciri’s chest, teased her, and prepared to meet his sister.
• Clairely entered the royal castle under the Second Princess’s invitation to join a Holy Spirit team.
• Monet kept Clairely’s body at the gaming table for four hours while he played Holy Spirit with the Grand Duke of Blood.
• Clairely urged Monet to leave after the match so they could resume their investigation, but someone opened the hall doors.

Clairely tried to make Monet stop playing Holy Spirit when Cecily arrived, but Cecily allowed the Blood Clan and Monet to continue. Joshua assessed the players for the Demon Realm’s tournament team and said he had contacted another candidate, leaving Cecily to wonder who could join Foya.

• Clairely urged Monet to put down his Source Crystal Stone mouse and greet Cecily, but Cecily stood behind the players and told Monet to keep going.
• Joshua watched the Blood Clan play and praised White Goat’s skill while noting that the Watcher, who was Peste’s father, was inexperienced.
• Joshua judged four players besides the Grand Duke of Blood qualified to serve as three main players and one substitute.
• Cecily asked Joshua whether he had another suitable candidate besides Foya, and Joshua said he had already contacted someone interested in the tournament.

Bone Duke and the Purple-robed One discussed undeath and the new reasons that had given them a will to live, before she returned to Nolan. Meanwhile, Joshua met the undercover Overseer Clairely, whose attempt to kill him faltered when he noticed something unusual about her soul.

• The Purple-robed One admitted that undeath had cost her touch and taste, while Bone Duke warned that her body would fail within ten years.
• Bone Duke said Joshua's books and movies, the magic net, and her other pursuits had given her reasons to keep living, and she sent the Purple-robed One back to Nolan.
• Clairely recognized Joshua Anoroth as one of the two targets she had been ordered to kill during her undercover mission in the Demon Realm.
• Joshua praised Kelo's performance in a match and shook hands with him while Clairely controlled the Chaos Demon through Monet.
• Monet sensed that Joshua had the same aura as the elves, and Joshua told Clairely that her soul looked different before leaving her worried that she had been exposed.

Clairely saw a chance to approach Foya by joining the Holy Spirit Tournament team, but the arrival of the Grand Duke of Bones put her and Monet under pressure. Meanwhile, Joshua suspected that Kelo was a spy whose soul had been altered by a Heretic Inquisitor, and Cecily agreed to watch him quietly.

• Joshua told the group they would remain comrades, and Clairely realized the tournament would take place in Nolan with Foya leading the contestants.
• The Grand Duke of Bones arrived as the sixth teammate and demanded that the others prove they would not hold him back.
• Monet joined the Bone Duke's team and entered matchmaking, only to find that every enemy name began with “Iron Forger.”
• Joshua reunited Ciri with the Purple-robed One, then told Cecily that Kelo carried the aura of a Heretic Inquisitor and had an abnormal soul.
• Cecily decided to have Kelo watched rather than arrest him, and warned Joshua to stay safe.

Joshua and Cecily discussed his future in Nolan, and Cecily learned that he and Ciri planned to marry in about two months. Back in the main hall, Joshua found the Demon Realm team demoralized after a crushing defeat by the Iron Forgers, and the Bone Duke took command of their training.

• Cecily asked Joshua how long he had been seeing Ciri, then asked about their wedding and told him to inform her when it was scheduled.
• Joshua told Ciri he would buy a separate wedding ring, and the two blushed as the Purple-robed One watched them fondly.
• Joshua returned to the main hall and saw that the Iron Forgers had defeated the Demon Realm team by thirty-seven kills to eleven.
• Joshua explained that the Iron Forgers had far more experience and practice, while the Grand Duke of Blood promised each player a wish if they won the championship.
• The Bone Duke demanded command of the team and ordered the players to train without rest for a month.

Joshua organized the Demonic Realm National Team and announced a high-stakes Holy Spirit Tournament, then prepared to return to Nolan with the High Elves. Elder Enya stayed behind to seek out the Black Dragon Duke, whom she believed might once have guarded Aserkelo.

• Joshua assigned the Grand Duke of Blood to logistics and announced that the tournament would begin in a month.
• Joshua posted tournament rules requiring each summoner to have a ladder score of at least 4,500, with 300,000 gold coins and a World Tree crystal for the winner.
• Joshua left the Demon Realm with the High Elf priests after their visit to the Sin Abyss.
• Elder Enya asked to remain in the Demon Realm to meet the Black Dragon Duke, whom she suspected had once been Aserkelo's guardian.
• Joshua asked an Overseer to inform his sister so she could protect Elder Enya, then led the other elf priests through the Teleportation Portal.

Reyek was offered five thousand gold coins to let three Yevirk Serpent members join the Coastal Country’s Holy Spirit tournament team, but Luo Na initially declined to protect their work on “Monster World.” Reyek accepted after showing the group that the tournament champion would receive 300,000 gold coins.

• A representative of the Coastal Country’s king offered Reyek five thousand gold coins for three Yevirk Serpent members to train for a month and enter the Holy Spirit tournament.
• Reyek identified Top Lane God of Slaughter, White Sword, and the alchemist as Ke Ya, Morris, and Luo Na through the mercenary group’s Text Message council.
• Luo Na rejected the invitation because the group needed to keep producing episodes of “Monster World.”
• Reyek accepted the task and showed the group the tournament announcement, revealing a 300,000-gold-coin reward for the champion.

Reyek agreed to enter the Holy Spirit championship despite Luo Na’s warning that their team had almost no chance of winning. In Ossenburg, Earl Cruz captured his son Etke at Dorothy’s Magic Web Hall, prompting Dorothy to consider banning minors.

• Reyek accepted the championship task, and Luo Na predicted that Steel Forger or Silver Frost Fox would win because they treated Holy Spirit as a profession.
• Reyek insisted that his team would enter the competition.
• In Ossenburg, Dorothy heard that Earl Cruz had arrived at the Magic Web Hall and learned that his son Etke was hiding inside.
• Earl Cruz’s knights blocked the hall’s exits, caught Etke as he tried to flee, and pinned him down.
• Dorothy told her attendant she would make a blacklist and considered following Joshua’s advice to bar anyone under eighteen.