Chapter Summaries

Cheng Tian welcomed Ciel and the investigation team while arranging to meet Touko Aozaki, who wanted to discuss their different approaches to making dolls. Before they could talk, Utan reported that an Orochi Cells clone had developed self-awareness, as black mud stirred beneath Enzou Mountain.

• Ciel joined Cheng Tian at the Tohsaka residence and turned the hotpot broth into extra-spicy curry.
• Cheng Tian introduced Touko, Eileen, and Bazett, and Ciel questioned him about his vampire nature and simulated Ancestor-like power.
• Touko Aozaki called Cheng Tian, agreed to meet him near Hammond Innovation Laboratory, and hung up.
• Cheng Tian invited Ciel to accompany him to the laboratory, where he met Touko Aozaki and could not tell whether she was human or a doll.
• Utan reported that an Orochi Cells clone had developed self-awareness while black mud stirred beneath Enzou Mountain.

Cheng Tian learned from Gaia that the black mud in the Holy Grail was drawn to the rapidly developing Orochi Clone, which could become a pseudo-UO and threaten more than Fuyuki City. He ordered Utan to destroy the clone, but she awakened and addressed him as her father.

• Cheng Tian reviewed the Portable Laboratory's shared research and prioritized cultivating Yugi Muto, the Qin Brothers, and Orochi clones.
• After the laboratory opened a branch in Fuyuki City, the Orochi Clone's growth accelerated and unusual brain activity appeared.
• Cheng Tian equipped the title Earth God Has Resigned and contacted Gaia for help understanding the clone's condition.
• Gaia explained that the Holy Grail's black mud could possess the Orochi Clone and turn her into a dangerous pseudo-UO, a Lostbelt BOSS.
• Cheng Tian ordered Utan to destroy the clone before the black mud could take her over, but the clone opened her eyes and asked, "Is this your decision, Father?"

Cheng Tian confronted the nameless Orochi, his newly created clone, when she craved the black mud in central Fuyuki City. As he stopped time and prepared to destroy her, she awakened Star Platinum and resisted the World's Time Stop, revealing that she had inherited his Stand ability.

• The nameless Orochi escaped the shattered incubation tank, developed a consciousness, and called Cheng Tian her father.
• The clone yearned for the black mud beneath central Fuyuki City but sensed it was dangerous, while Cheng Tian warned that he would destroy her if she tried to eat it.
• Cheng Tian stopped time across the Dungeon World and moved to kill the nameless Orochi before she could reach the black mud.
• The nameless Orochi began moving during Time Stop as Star Platinum appeared and struck the World's fist.
• Cheng Tian learned that the nameless Orochi had inherited his Stand traits and could resist Time Stop by consuming MP.

Cheng Tian named the Orochi clone Qiu, awakening a choice that would determine whether she became a Lostbelt BOSS or joined Chosen Space. As Qiu and Cheng Tian tested their Stands, their clash sent Qiu flying into the snowy forest.

• Cheng Tian withdrew The World's time stop, and Qiu's Star Platinum showed it could resist the effect.
• Cheng Tian named the nameless Orochi clone Qiu, and Chosen Space activated a mission centered on her choice about the contaminated black mud.
• Chosen Space informed Cheng Tian that his Portable Laboratory could no longer clone Orochi-related beings or himself unless he refused compensation and waited until Gold Rank.
• Cheng Tian and Qiu descended together, and Qiu walked toward him with newfound resolve.
• Qiu's Star Platinum attacked Cheng Tian, but The World countered with a low kick that sent Qiu flying into the snow-covered forest.

Cheng Tian overwhelmed Qiuqiu in a fight, using teleportation, his Flame Dragon Sword, and spatial interference to defeat her. He left her buried in a crater with one leg sticking out.

• Cheng Tian used teleportation and the NESTS Battle Suit’s Chain Blade Slash to intercept and send Qiuqiu flying.
• Qiuqiu and Star Platinum traded a barrage of punches with Cheng Tian and The World in midair.
• Cheng Tian grabbed Qiuqiu’s ankle and shattered her attempt to escape through a spatial tunnel.
• Cheng Tian hurled Qiuqiu into a crater, leaving one dust-covered leg sticking out.

Cheng Tian subdued Qiuqiu after she stubbornly fought him, while Touko Aozaki and Ciel witnessed the laboratory’s unusual capabilities. The chapter left Kirei Kotomine, who had faked his death, arriving at the foot of Enzou Mountain.

• Cheng Tian’s strength and Qiuqiu’s unusual clone nature and limits were explained as the others approached.
• Qiuqiu refused to give in, then punched Cheng Tian in the face and declared she would correct him.
• Cheng Tian trapped Qiuqiu in a spatially restrictive Binding Barrier and pushed her back toward the laboratory.
• Touko Aozaki and Ciel reassessed Cheng Tian and his laboratory after witnessing Qiuqiu’s rampage and capture.
• Kirei Kotomine, having faked his death, appeared at the foot of Enzou Mountain.

Lord El-Melloi II and Flat arrived in Japan to investigate the corrupted Holy Grail and found that the crisis in Fuyuki was still unfolding. As Cheng Tian waited for professionals to handle the danger beneath Ryuudou Temple, Artoria arrived at his door, reacting to him and the glowing Strawberry Underwear he had inherited from Arthur.

• Waver and Flat found no one waiting for them at Haneda Airport and decided to take the Shinkansen to Fuyuki, where they met Bazett.
• Rin struggled to manage Fuyuki’s aftermath while Bazett handled the visiting magi’s pickup and Cheng Tian monitored the Masters and Servants.
• Cheng Tian learned that Sasaki Kojirou and Medea had disappeared and suspected Kirei was hiding in the cavern beneath Enzou Mountain, where the corrupted Grail could descend.
• Cheng Tian confirmed that Gilgamesh, Sasaki Kojirou, and Medea’s souls had been recovered, making the cavern a potential magical-energy bomb.
• Artoria arrived with her Master, recognized something in Cheng Tian, and caused the Strawberry Underwear he inherited from Arthur to glow.

Cheng Tian met Shirou Emiya and Artoria Pendragon at Hammond Laboratory, where his links to other King Arthurs triggered a quest to gain Type-Moon Arthur’s recognition. As Shirou eagerly approached Cheng Tian’s extraordinary mounts, Artoria wrestled with her desire to connect with him and her instinct to maintain a king’s distance.

• Shirou Emiya arrived at Hammond Laboratory with his Saber, Artoria Pendragon, after spending days helping Rin Tohsaka.
• Artoria sensed an uncanny connection with Cheng Tian and demanded to know who he was.
• Cheng Tian’s links to three other King Arthurs triggered the side quest Three in a Million King Arthur, which required him to gain Artoria’s recognition.
• Cheng Tian described the other Arthurs he had met, while his Dragon Elephant Knight title summoned his gigantic elephant and dinosaur mounts.
• Shirou asked to touch Cheng Tian’s mounts, and Cheng Tian agreed.
• Artoria considered drawing close to Cheng Tian but held back because of her memories of the other knights and her kingly dignity.

Cheng Tian warned Artoria that the Holy Grail was irreversibly contaminated, but she remained determined to use it to change her past. He also learned about Sakura Matou’s twisted satisfaction at caring for her crippled brother, while Touko Aozaki revealed an unexpected detail about her Blank Dolls.

• Cheng Tian told Artoria that the Holy Grail was contaminated and warned that the black mud could corrupt her, but she refused to give up on her wish.
• Artoria left, and Cheng Tian contacted December Dicapry for an update on the Matou Family.
• Dicapry reported that Shinji Matou had survived after losing his lower body and that Sakura Matou seemed to take perverse pleasure in caring for him.
• Touko Aozaki said the Matou Family had asked her to make a custom lower-body doll component for Shinji, but she had refused.
• Cheng Tian asked whether Touko’s Blank Dolls had reproductive capabilities, and Touko hinted that they did and needed magical energy.

Cheng Tian, Waver, Rin Tohsaka, and their companions investigated the curse spreading through Fuyuki City's leylines and learned that it was already affecting the whole city. At the Enzou Mountain cavern, Orange sent in Bio-mechanical Doll 2.0 disguised as Qiuqiu, but the black mud erupted and attacked it.

• Cheng Tian urged the group to begin investigating the Holy Grail-level curse immediately, and Waver agreed.
• Flat sensed that malice had permeated Fuyuki City's leylines and was subtly influencing the entire city.
• Waver asked about King Arthur, and Cheng Tian confirmed that he was still alive and lingering near the Holy Grail.
• The group arrived at the Enzou Mountain cavern, where Eileen, Orange, Ciel, and Cú Chulainn were waiting.
• Orange presented Bio-mechanical Doll 2.0, which transformed its face into Qiuqiu's likeness.
• Black mud surged from the cavern entrance and targeted Bio-mechanical Doll 2.0.

Cheng Tian contained the polluted Holy Grail’s black mud while sending Bio-mechanical Qiuqiu to experience it firsthand. As black figures emerged from the mud, he recognized Angra Mainyu, the source of the corruption.

• Cheng Tian sealed Enzou Mountain’s cave with a Binding Barrier as the black mud surged against it.
• Rin Tohsaka told Lord El-Melloi II that the curses had likely swallowed two Servants and that Gilgamesh had also died; she said Cheng Tian’s group was responsible for his death.
• Rin ordered Archer to watch the cave and prevent the curses from escaping or harming allies, while Cheng Tian continued blocking the black mud.
• Cheng Tian sent his consciousness-transferred Bio-mechanical Qiuqiu toward the mud to test her craving for it, accepting that the doll might be destroyed.
• Bio-mechanical Qiuqiu teleported, and black human-shaped figures rose from the mud, prompting Cheng Tian to identify Angra Mainyu as the source of the Holy Grail’s pollution.

Cheng Tian used the King's Armory to unleash a massive bombardment against the black humanoid figures pouring out of the contaminated Grail's black mud. The shelling devastated Enzou Mountain as Cheng Tian's artillery multiplied through malicious information conjured from the citizens' imaginations.

• Cheng Tian recalled how Angra Mainyu's contamination had transformed the Grail into a machine that twisted wishes and created Bazett's looping Night Holy Grail War.
• Cheng Tian opened the King's Armory, revealing the artillery and weapons stored in his Void Garage, while Waver recognized the golden ripples as Gate of Babylon.
• Cheng Tian ordered a full salvo as the black mud and humanoid figures surged forward, and his barrage shattered large numbers of them while devastating Enzou Mountain.
• Cheng Tian reloaded the Night of Walachia template and used malicious information inspired by the bombardment to make more artillery appear across the sky.
• The black humanoid remains dropped heart-shaped Innocent Souls and low-grade Black Iron Treasure Chests as Enzou Mountain was visibly blasted away.

Cheng Tian used King's Armory and a Red Shock Orb to kill Angra Mainyu’s black humanoids, collect Innocent Souls, and force the black mud to retreat. He entered the cavern beneath Enzou Mountain, where Qiuqiu revealed that she had eaten Kirei Kotomine and become the black mud’s vessel, and Cheng Tian prepared to activate two abilities against her.

• Touko Aozaki admired Cheng Tian’s artillery while Rin Tohsaka despaired over the cleanup and Cú Chulainn complained that the fight was unfair.
• Cheng Tian bombarded the black humanoids in the mountain tunnel, collecting Innocent Souls and treasure as the attacks weakened Angra Mainyu’s black mud.
• Cheng Tian found that Innocent Souls could replenish King's Armory’s ammunition, and the black mud withdrew into the mountain.
• Cheng Tian recognized the black mud’s retreat as an invitation and vanished into the cavern beneath Enzou Mountain.
• Qiuqiu told Cheng Tian that she had eaten Kirei Kotomine and had become the black mud’s new vessel.
• Cheng Tian acknowledged Qiuqiu as qualified and activated Dominance and Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

Cheng Tian used Qiuqiu’s merger with The Evil of This World as an opportunity to make the curse vulnerable to his Player abilities. After his Domination attempt failed, he used Night Parade of a Hundred Demons to change his template, leaving him with a dual vampire template.

• Cheng Tian recognized that Qiuqiu’s absorption of the black mud had made her a humanoid target he could try to eliminate.
• Cheng Tian used Domination Lv4 on Qiu Huo, but the check failed and sealed her innate skill, The Evil of This World, for 30 seconds.
• Cheng Tian used Night Parade of a Hundred Demons so its backlash would make Qiuqiu feel a rusty taste and believe he was responsible.
• Cheng Tian burned his Night of Walachia template and loaded the dual villain template Vampire Earl/Dracula Vlad Tepes + Shouma Kuresu.

Cheng Tian loaded the Vampire Earl template, unleashing a dark aura that drew The Evil of This World away from Qiuqiu. He claimed Enzou Mountain and raised Castlevania from within it, while others rushed in or moved toward the Matou Family.

• Cheng Tian's new aura overwhelmed Flat and alarmed Ciel, who charged into the cave with Touko Aozaki and Cú Chulainn.
• Cú Chulainn realized his Contract Authority had transferred again, while Bazett and Eileen left together for the Matou Family and Waver prepared protective magic.
• Qiuqiu sensed The Evil of This World trying to abandon her for Cheng Tian, whose Dracula template embodied humanity's malice and made the black mud both eager and afraid.
• Cheng Tian claimed Enzou Mountain, and Castlevania rose through the mountain from Fuyuki City's polluted ley lines.

Cheng Tian transformed Ryuudou Temple into a real Castlevania, while Qiuqiu inherited Cú Chulainn’s Command Spells and set out to challenge Cheng Tian. Cheng Tian prepared Shedinja as the castle’s first-floor boss.

• Cheng Tian used Fuyuki City’s corrupted spiritual veins to create Castlevania, whose graveyard spawned zombies that began eroding the world.
• Touko Aozaki, Ciel, Cú Chulainn, and Qiuqiu 2.0 appeared outside the castle, where Cú Chulainn recognized Qiuqiu as his new Master after she showed him her Command Spells.
• Ciel attacked Qiuqiu, but Qiuqiu evaded her and decided to enter Castlevania and fight her way to Cheng Tian.
• Cheng Tian remained trapped in Dracula’s chamber until intruders reached him, died, or demolished the castle, so he chose Aibo as the first-floor boss.
• Shedinja appeared in the depths of Castlevania’s first floor and encountered Qiuqiu.

Cheng Tian established a Castlevania at Enzou Mountain by seizing Fuyuki City's polluted spiritual veins, then filled its stages with altered monster and Servant templates. Qiuqiu's forces began challenging the castle, where Ghost Cicada stalled them before a fearsome Animated Armor appeared.

• Cheng Tian used the spiritual vein core at Enzou Mountain to summon a Castlevania Gen 1, gaining free monster refreshes and template changes from Fuyuki City's spiritual veins.
• Cheng Tian replaced the first stage's guarding BOSS, the Great Bat, with Ghost Cicada and equipped it with moves designed to delay invaders.
• Qiuqiu sent a degraded Black Mud Sasaki Kojirou to attack Ghost Cicada, but his sword strikes missed because Ghost Cicada could only take super effective damage.
• Ghost Cicada blinded and stalled Black Mud Sasaki until it fell, revealing the door to the chapel.
• An Animated Armor appeared as Qiuqiu entered its range, roaring as red patterns spread across its purple armor.

Cheng Tian’s Castlevania turned its monsters into weakened versions of familiar Servants, forcing Qiuqiu and the other intruders to fight through the chapel. As Masters and Servants entered the castle, its parody rules made outsiders compete as challengers, and Artoria and Grey drew the Animated Armors’ attention.

• Cheng Tian’s Animated Armors used a weakened Lancelot template and raised an alarm by shouting “Arthur,” but Qiuqiu easily removed their helmets.
• The chapel’s flying Heads of Medusa gained Petrifying Magic Eyes, while the Great Head of Medusa became a powerful Rider Medusa who delayed Qiuqiu until she summoned Black Mud Medea.
• Surviving Masters arrived at Castlevania and were drawn into exploring it, with outsiders turned into challengers competing to speedrun the castle.
• Illya rode on Brother Herc and delighted in fighting through the castle as a challenger.
• Artoria and Shirou Emiya entered the chapel, where the Lancelot armors swarmed Artoria; Grey, Waver’s guard, received the same treatment.

Waver realized Castlevania was absorbing Fuyuki City's curse and suspected the castle had a destructible core, while Cheng Tian filled its halls with bizarre monsters. Qiuqiu cleared the first three acts, but the fourth act presented a powerful new enemy.

• Waver learned from Flat that Castlevania was drawing the curse out of Fuyuki City, and he concluded that demolishing the castle might stop it.
• Cheng Tian replaced Castlevania's monsters with living corpses, Xenomorphs, plesiosaurs, and other creatures to torment the challengers.
• Artoria saw Grey reveal her face and mistook the resemblance for another shocking sight in the castle.
• Qiuqiu defeated the twin Mummy bosses, and the big dog was transformed into a Mummy Dog after blocking shots for her.
• Qiuqiu reached the fourth act, where Cheng Tian's replacement enemy, Raptor Warrior + Six-Machine Combination! Hundred Dragon King, made the advance much harder.

Cheng Tian’s mechanical units fought Qiuqiu in Castlevania, while she used the castle’s connection to the black mud to capture Sakura Matou. Qiuqiu pulled Zouken Matou from Sakura’s heart and crushed him, earning Cheng Tian a share of the kill and a treasure chest.

• Cheng Tian transformed Gates into the Hundred Dragon King, and the mechanical duo attacked Qiuqiu, freezing and destroying Black-mud Sasaki while driving back Black-mud Medea.
• Qiuqiu sent black mud through Castlevania and used it to draw Sakura Matou from the chapel into the boss room, despite Rider’s attempt to protect her.
• Qiuqiu reached into Sakura’s chest and pulled out Zouken Matou in the form of a grotesque worm.
• Qiuqiu crushed Zouken Matou, and Cheng Tian received notification that he had earned at least half the kill contribution and would receive the treasure chest after the battle.