Chapter Summaries

Russell and the Gray Robe Priest fought while White tried to capture Sophia, and Teresa ordered her troops to retreat from the battle. Caroso used a rocket launcher to kill people hiding in a house, including Locke and a child, then declared that he was a child too.

• White fled to capture Sophia, but Russell’s attack blasted him away, and mercenaries pursued him through the ghouls.
• Russell, the Gray Robe Priest, the burly axeman, and White’s regiment commander fought as Teresa and Caroso prepared to withdraw.
• Teresa ordered her troops to retreat toward the edge of the gray magic barrier while White led ghouls and soldiers toward Caroso.
• Caroso fired rockets into the house where Locke and others were hiding, killing several people and then destroying Locke and the survivors.
• Caroso fired another rocket that killed the candy-stealing boy and said, “I’m a child too.”

Caroso led the retreat while Teresa’s force fought through the monsters, and Nimel warned that black threads were gathering around Sophia. At the government building, Celica faced Frank and the Black Robe Priest until Red and a burly man arrived, then the Black Robe Priest learned Sophia was with Caroso and rushed to support her.

• Caroso pulled Jenny and Sophia back as Teresa ordered the units to use cover and resupply ammunition.
• Caroso and Teresa reached the struggling vanguard and fought back the high-tier monsters while White pursued them.
• Nimel told Caroso that black threads converged on Sophia, though Caroso could not see them.
• Celica killed the mayor but faced Frank and the Black Robe Priest after they completed their advancement to the eighth tier.
• Red and a burly man arrived, and the burly man asked whether anyone had seen his princess.
• White told the Black Robe Priest that Sophia was with Caroso and Teresa, prompting him to leave with Frank to support them.

Caroso and his dwindling forces fought to hold back the ghouls while trying to understand why the monsters wanted Sophia. When Nimel reported that the line beneath Sophia had turned red, Caroso threw her into the horde.

• Caroso and Teresa ordered their outnumbered troops to form a defensive line and fight the advancing ghouls.
• Teresa suggested killing Jenny and Sophia, but Caroso refused because he feared the consequences and believed they might know nothing.
• White ordered his forces to charge while Caroso asked Nimel to watch the line beneath Sophia's feet.
• Jenny used Holy Heal on Will, restoring his strength so he could cut down the ghouls breaking through the line.
• Nimel reported that the line beneath Sophia had turned red, and Caroso grabbed Sophia and threw her into the monsters.

Sophia was shot after Caroso threw her from the camp, but she awakened an overwhelming divine power that shattered the barrier and restored everyone nearby. As the gray-robed man prepared to use a nine-star card, an unseen attacker approached him with a dagger.

• Caroso threw Sophia toward the battlefield, where White's soldiers accidentally shot her, and White charged at Caroso in fury.
• Sophia erupted in white light, destroyed the gray barrier, and healed and restored the strength of living creatures within a kilometer.
• The gray-robed man realized his ritual had failed because Sophia's awakening differed from what he expected.
• Caroso urged Sophia to release her excess divine power, while Nimel began eating the white mist and absorbed its power.
• The gray-robed man summoned black energy and raised a nine-star card, but a dagger drew close to his throat.

Minette killed Gray Robe and the Eternal Life Church’s knight captain while Sophia unleashed the ritual’s power through a flood of cards and summons. The ritual’s mist vanished, Free City’s defenders prepared to clear the remaining ghouls, and White fled before a strange man confronted him.

• Minette killed Gray Robe before he could use his counterattack, then killed Russell’s opponent, the captain of the Church of Eternal Life’s knight order.
• Blank and Kong gave Sophia eighth-rank cards, and she used summons and spells to destroy the ghouls while wearing layers of enchanted armor.
• Black Robe summoned an undead legion near the government hall as Red, Herman, and Celica held him and Frank back.
• The ritual’s mist dispersed, Nimel burped after absorbing its last wisp, and Bai told Caroso that five divisions had arrived to help secure Free City.
• Kong questioned Sophia, who explained that Caroso had thrown her into a monster horde after Teresa saw red threads connected to her.
• White fled from the purifying holy light, but a tall-hatted man with a small mustache confronted him.

Caroso’s army bombarded the Free City while Kong and Sophia led her followers to destroy the Underworld Flower. As Frank and the black-robed man faced their enemies, Bai blamed the Goddess of Dawn Church for disrupting the ritual.

• Caroso ordered airstrikes and artillery fire, and his army seized more than half of the Free City while searching the ruins for civilians and spoils.
• Kong brought Sophia to the Underworld Flower and ordered her followers to attack it.
• Sophia’s followers broke through the Underworld Flower’s barrier and tore the monster apart, easing the threat to the civilians.
• Frank and the black-robed man faced Blank, Red, Herman, Celica, and Sophia after the failed ritual.
• Bai covered Sophia’s mouth and told the black-robed man that the Goddess of Dawn Church had interrupted the ritual.

Bai, Sophia, Kong, and Celica fought off the Black Robe Priest, while Grand Duke Osiris refused to withdraw his troops from the Free City. Emperor Orsay agreed to pull back the Presia Empire’s army within three days, leaving the Perus King furious and unable to challenge him.

• Bai pushed Sophia forward, and Sophia destroyed the Black Robe Priest’s black-card attack with a storm of golden light.
• Celica said her mana had fully recovered and prepared to capture the two enemies alive.
• Grand Duke Osiris refused Grand Duke Morgan’s demand to withdraw his army from the Free City and told him to negotiate with Emperor Orsay.
• The Perus King accused Emperor Orsay of violating Perus territory, but Orsay defended the intervention as international aid and promised to withdraw his troops within three days.
• The Perus King angrily accused Orsay of exploiting the crisis and warned him to wait.

Caroso recounted how he and the others survived the Free City ritual, and Celica explained what the ritual had done to Sophia. Celica said the Goddess of Dawn Church, the Mage Association, and the Alchemy Alliance would examine Sophia, leaving Jenny worried about what would happen to her.

• Caroso told Celica and the others how Nimel heard Elizabeth's true name, how they uncovered the Free City's abnormalities, and how they tried to save themselves.
• Celica believed Caroso's account of his and Nimel's inexplicable actions, explaining that God's Chosen sometimes acted on instinct without understanding why.
• Celica said Sophia's eighth-rank power came from the ritual and that the churches and associations would examine her condition.
• Celica explained that the ritual had been meant to summon the Lord of Eternal Life into Sophia and create a divine spark, but Sophia's death interrupted it.
• Jenny asked whether the factions planned to dissect Sophia.

Celica told Sophia the church would help her control the divine power she had absorbed, while Caroso learned that Nimel had also absorbed some of the mist. Messiah sang on the hotel rooftop and discovered that two people had absorbed the ritual.

• Celica warned Sophia that she would need years to digest her power and said the church would help her control it.
• Bai and the branch masters agreed to reimburse the cards Sophia had used, and Celica said the church would handle Free City's ritual magic.
• Nimel told Caroso she had eaten some of the mist, and he agreed to discuss it after they returned to Azure Wolf Province.
• Nimel bathed and slept in Caroso's room, while Teresa arrived to speak with him about a problem.
• Messiah played her accordion on the hotel rooftop and realized that two people had absorbed the ritual.

Caroso became trapped in a dream where his memories were altered, but the bullet comments helped him recover and wake. He rejoined Celica, Bai, and Kong in the hotel’s dream space, where they planned to search for a way to awaken Sophia and Nimel.

• Caroso woke in a false life where he was married to Elena, remembered the bullet comments, and strangled her after realizing his memories had been altered.
• Caroso learned from Grand Duke Osiris that the Iberia Empire had attacked him, then sent Shadow Guards to find his father and summoned his brothers while preparing to seize power.
• Messiah and Surtur discussed the mysterious force protecting Caroso’s memories, and Surtur warned that Caroso was an unusually interesting follower before vanishing.
• The bullet comments returned and drove the false memories from Caroso’s mind, allowing him to wake in the hotel’s black-and-white dream space beside Nimel.
• Celica, Kong, and Bai arrived carrying Sophia, and Bai explained that Caroso should not have been able to awaken without a powerful anchor or outside intervention.
• Celica explained that the group had been drawn into layered dreams and said she would enter Sophia’s and Nimel’s dreams to wake them.

Caroso, Celica, Bai, and Kong divided into pairs to enter the dream and rescue Sophia and Nimel. Nimel awoke in a dream of her return to Azure Wolf Province, where Caroso’s elder brothers were taking her to Kolia Manor amid a succession crisis, and she began to sense that her memories were wrong.

• Caroso insisted on entering Nimel’s dream himself, and Bai volunteered to accompany him while Celica and Kong paired up to save Sophia.
• After Celica completed the preparations, the group cast the spell and entered the dream world.
• Nimel awoke older and stronger in a carriage with Kazan and Saya Kolia, who were taking her back to Kolia Manor after their father’s death.
• Saya accused Caroso of plotting against his brothers and privately thought about killing him and claiming Nimel, while Nimel defended Caroso.
• Nimel sensed that her memories were inconsistent, and Saya urged Kazan to bring more troops to face whatever Caroso had prepared.

Caroso and Bai entered Nimel's dream and found the Kolia manor in wartime chaos, so Caroso posed as his own younger illegitimate brother to reach Dream Caroso. The two Carosos met, but Dream Caroso did not believe the story, leaving Caroso surrounded by hidden attackers as he tried to prove his identity.

• Bai pulled Caroso into the shadows to avoid the manor's patrols, and they discussed how to find Nimel in the chaotic dream.
• Caroso walked out openly, claimed to be Bruce Kolia, and persuaded the butler to take him to Dream Caroso.
• Caroso and Bai followed the butler to a meeting room, where Dream Caroso was stunned to see his younger double.
• Caroso identified himself as Bruce Kolia and presented a military seal, but Dream Caroso rejected his explanation and raised a flaming sword.

Caroso persuaded Dream Caroso to meet him under heavy security and claimed he was his counterpart from a parallel timeline. After Caroso revealed private childhood memories only they could share, Dream Caroso believed him, though their conversation left the viewers curious about what they had discussed.

• Caroso proposed strict precautions for a private meeting, and Dream Caroso agreed.
• Dream Caroso had Caroso bound and brought to a hidden room while Bai was invited downstairs for tea.
• Dream Caroso questioned Caroso about personal details to test whether he was really his past self.
• Caroso recalled embarrassing memories from their childhood, convincing Dream Caroso to believe him.
• Caroso turned the comments back on and refused to let the viewers hear what else he had revealed.

Caroso joined forces with Dream Caroso to investigate Grand Duke Osiris’s death and search for Nimel while taking control of Azure Wolf Province. After uncovering possible links to the Presia Empire, Caroso received a call from Kazan Kolia, who recognized that he had regressed.

• Caroso told Dream Caroso that Elena had been plotting with Second Brother, and Dream Caroso confirmed the affair through an investigation.
• Dream Caroso agreed to help Caroso find Nimel, while Caroso offered to help him investigate their father’s death and secure his rule.
• Caroso took command as Bruce, recruited Bai to make cards, and ordered Azure Wolf Province’s resources prioritized for the search and preparations.
• Caroso learned that Emperor Orsay had died and Teresa had been imprisoned, then suspected Presia might have played a role in Grand Duke Osiris’s assassination.
• Caroso ordered an investigation into communications involving Presia and his brothers, strengthened the province’s defenses, and received a call from Kazan, who asked if he had regressed.

Caroso faced Kazan and Saya over their father's death, Elena's murder, and the struggle for control of Kolia Manor. As Saya's forces attacked, Caroso ordered the activation of long-prepared defenses and the X23 group.

• Caroso told Kazan and Saya that he had been mentally controlled, killed Elena, and suspected Saya of involvement, while Saya denied responsibility and accused Caroso of plotting to seize power.
• Kazan stopped the brothers' argument and said he would investigate, but Saya's forces launched an attack on Kolia Manor.
• Caroso rejected Kazan's demand for surrender, inspected the manor's defensive layout, and went to the defense tower.
• Caroso saw a reinforced regiment surrounding the manor and ordered Hunter to activate the tunnels, arsenal, and X23 group prepared in 991.

Old Snow gathered his armed men and led them through a tunnel toward Kolia Manor as Caroso defended the estate from an attacking force. Caroso held off the attackers with the manor’s backup magic array and cannon, while hidden troops emerged behind the besiegers.

• Old Snow received an urgent signal, armed himself, and summoned thirty-three people who followed him into a tunnel.
• Caroso activated Kolia Manor’s magic cannon with his blood and aimed it at the attacking force’s commander.
• The manor’s first magic array vanished, but a second array stopped the incoming shells after Caroso had arranged for Nimel’s teacher to improve the defenses.
• Caroso fired the magic cannon at a seventh-rank fighter, then called on the manor’s retainers to surrender.
• The bullet comments revealed that a family traitor had exposed the manor’s weaknesses, and Caroso questioned how the attackers knew about them.
• Old Snow’s troops emerged from holes behind the besieging army as trenches and machine guns appeared and aimed at the attackers’ backs.

Caroso held off Kazan and Saya’s forces at Kolia Manor, and President Bai arrived to support him while insisting they investigate Nimel’s disappearance. The confrontation paused as both sides agreed to investigate together, but Nimel’s unexplained absence left Caroso and Bai unsure how to end the dream.

• Caroso used Demon-Breaking Rounds and the manor’s defenses to stop the initial attack and encircle the attackers.
• Kazan and Saya arrived with elite reinforcements, and Saya urged Kazan to assault the manor while Caroso called for a mutually acceptable solution.
• Caroso threatened to release an eighth-rank prisoner from the dungeon if Kazan and Saya attacked.
• President Bai joined Caroso and revealed that he had high-level support, prompting Kazan to propose that they investigate together.
• Caroso asked where Nimel was, and Kazan said she had disappeared; Caroso and Bai realized they did not know whom to find to break the dream.

Nimel entered the dungeon beneath Caroso's home and absorbed divine power from the God of Wisdom, draining Messiah's power in the dream. Dream Caroso rescued her and stopped the God of Wisdom from taking over her body, while Caroso and his allies later confronted Kazan and Saya over evidence of Saya's dealings with Elena.

• Nimel reached the God of Wisdom's statue, agreed to gain power, and began absorbing divine power through the stone embedded in her body.
• Messiah realized Nimel was draining her divine power and tried to reclaim control of the dream, but Caroso's actions had opened the dungeon to other forces.
• Dream Caroso defeated the black-robed man, learned from the statue that Nimel was in danger, and hurried to her room.
• Dream Caroso severed and crushed the God of Wisdom's statue, stopping Nimel's trembling, then carried her out of the dungeon.
• The statues of the Lord of Eternal Life and the God of Wisdom discussed the dream and Caroso's altered fate after Dream Caroso left.
• Caroso, Saya, and Kazan's group avoided a fight, searched for traps, and examined evidence of Saya's exchanges with Elena; Kazan and Caroso proposed punishing Saya.

Kazan exposed Saya’s treason and ordered his arrest, triggering a battle at Kolia Manor as Saya and Herman tried to escape. Their flight was stopped by a second Caroso, leaving Saya bewildered by what seemed to be a God Card clone.

• Kazan rejected Saya’s plea for more time and ordered his punishment, but Saya’s forces attacked and he fled with Herman’s help.
• Kazan and Caroso mobilized their forces while Herman’s allies shut down some magic arrays and attacked Kolia Manor with a meteor.
• Kazan destroyed the meteor with a magic cannon as Caroso’s troops encircled Saya and Herman, while Shuya fought Bai and Maiyi in the air.
• Saya and Herman reached the edge of the manor, where Dream Caroso appeared with Nimel as the real Caroso watched from inside.
• Saya stared between the two Carosos in confusion, and Dream Caroso smiled at Herman’s dismissal of his Rank Seven strength.

Dream Caroso used powerful cards and divine power to overpower Herman at Kolia Manor while Caroso comforted Nimel. Herman recognized the blood energy gathering around Dream Caroso and accused him of being a cultist of the Lord of Eternal Life.

• Dream Caroso returned Nimel to Caroso and caught the cards Bai threw him, including a seventh-tier Hero Card.
• Dream Caroso summoned Emperor Gufu and Flowing Light Meteor, then fought eighth-tier Herman without falling behind.
• Bai and Maiyi blocked Shuya while Dream Caroso ordered the others to handle the enemy mages and charged Herman.
• Dream Caroso forced Herman back and battered him with his sword and a meteor, while Saya was knocked away by the battle's aftershock.
• Herman saw blood energy gathering around Dream Caroso and called him a cultist of the Lord of Eternal Life, but Dream Caroso dismissed his understanding and challenged the others to attack.