Recaps

Hao Ren helped Heiserana and the witches escape the Demon Hunters’ attack, then disguised himself as a Demon Hunter to approach the hunters and investigate why they had come after Vivian. He ended the chapter claiming to be a Wanderer Hunter whose half-month pursuit of the witches had been ruined.

• The Demon Hunters destroyed the witches’ defenses, and Heiserana concluded that the group needed to break through and leave someone behind to cover their retreat.
• Hao Ren armed Lily with two Gatling Guns and ammunition, then sent her to lead Heiserana, Madam Mary, Barn, and the witches out of the cemetery.
• Hao Ren stayed behind, changed into Demon Hunter equipment, and activated a Demon Hunter insignia to make the hunters mistake him for an ally.
• Hao Ren confronted the approaching Demon Hunters and claimed he was a Wanderer Hunter who had been following the witches for half a month.

Hao Ren posed as a Wanderer Hunter and convinced Lockheed that the Demon Hunters had ruined his investigation into an ancient ruin tied to their mission. The Demon Hunter elder arrived, and Hao Ren recognized him as someone who could see through Hassu’s disguise equipment.

• Hao Ren introduced himself to Lockheed as a former member of the Norse Battle Group who had hunted alone for several thousand years.
• Lockheed explained that his Hunt Group had come to deal with an ancient nonhuman who might awaken, and a Demon Hunter reported that the witches had escaped with help from a Werewolf.
• Hao Ren claimed the witches had been seeking an ancient ruin connected to the Hunt Group’s target and scolded Lockheed for interrupting their gathering before they revealed its location and seal-breaking spell.
• Lockheed admitted his unit had acted impulsively and insisted on confessing the mistake to the elder, who was already on his way.
• When the gray-haired elder arrived, Hao Ren recognized him and hurriedly hid his short sword and emblem because Hassu knew the disguise equipment.

Hao Ren joined Hassu’s Demon Hunters after they mistook him for a Wanderer Hunter, then learned they had come to contain the danger around Vivian’s long slumber. As Hassu prepared to lure the awakening threat away from human settlements, Hao Ren realized the negative energy came from Vivian’s forming Evil Spirit, not Vivian herself.

• Hao Ren recognized the arriving elder as Hassu from six hundred years earlier and tried to conceal his connection to Hassu’s equipment.
• Lockheed explained the clash with Hassu’s Hunt Group, and Hassu apologized to Hao Ren before proposing they cooperate to pursue the escaped witches.
• Hassu’s hunters camped in the abandoned cemetery and planned to track the witches to an ancient castle where Vivian Ancestor was resting.
• Hassu told Hao Ren the Demon Hunters were not there to hunt Vivian but had investigated her two-century slumber and detected powerful negative energy nearby.
• Hao Ren concluded that Vivian’s Evil Spirit was taking shape, while Hassu revealed his plan to draw the berserk awakening away from human habitation and endure it until it passed.

Hao Ren learned that Vivian’s Evil Spirits were drawn to Korperos, likely because of the Godslayer Sword, and discovered that attacking Vivian while she slept would trigger the Red Moon. Before leaving to warn Heiserana and Lily’s group, he lured Hassu away from the graveyard and struck him with a metal brick.

• A Demon Hunter explained that Vivian’s rampages had once threatened Korperos, so hunters redirected her excess strength to protect their headquarters rather than the nearby humans.
• Hao Ren concluded that Vivian’s Evil Spirits were drawn north by the Godslayer Sword, and that its purification explained why the little weakling did not share that urge.
• Hassu told Hao Ren that attacking Vivian in her sleep would automatically summon the Red Moon and expose intruders to her Soulless Guards.
• After the Demon Hunters finished planning their operation against the witches, Hao Ren decided he needed to warn Heiserana and Lily’s group and revise their awakening plan.
• Hao Ren led Hassu to the opened graves under the pretense of showing him a strange ritual, then hit him with a metal brick.

Hao Ren captured Hassu and reunited with the witches at their hidden refuge in a haunted ruin. With Hassu restrained and unconscious, Hao Ren turned his attention to the possibility that someone was missing.

• Hao Ren struck Hassu with an alloy brick, then trapped him in his pocket dimension and escaped the Demon Hunters.
• Hao Ren followed secret marks through the medieval wilderness to the witches' hideout, where he found Lily and Heiserana.
• Hao Ren released Hassu only partway from his pocket dimension, and Lily knocked him unconscious with the brick.
• Hao Ren secured Hassu with restraints and told the witches he needed the Demon Hunter alive for his plans.
• After reassuring the witches that Hassu was under control, Hao Ren realized someone was missing.

Hao Ren and Heiserana realized that Barn had taken the Shadow Key and was likely heading for Vivian’s resting place. After learning that a berserk Vivian avatar lurked in the Shadow World, they revised their plan to keep the witches outside and use Heiserana’s shadow magic to control the soulless guards.

• Madam Mary said Barn had become separated from the group, and Heiserana realized he still had the Shadow Key.
• Hao Ren asked Heiserana about Roan’s Night Watch Knights and learned they had once guarded Vivian’s resting place.
• Hao Ren concluded that Barn knew about the knights and had likely come for Vivian’s resting place, prompting Heiserana to move to stop him.
• Hao Ren warned Heiserana that Barn would likely encounter a berserk Vivian avatar inside the Shadow World.
• Heiserana decided the witches should remain outside and planned to use her shadow magic to control the soulless guards without the Shadow Key.

Hao Ren and Heiserana opened the passage to Vivian’s Shadow World through a pool in Haraon Castle. The group crossed into the reflected castle, uncertain whether its defenses or Soulless Guards awaited them.

• Hao Ren’s group entered the ruined Haraon Castle, where Heiserana explained that its eerie phenomena came from shadow power.
• Lily knocked the waking Hassu unconscious with a brick after he tried to reach for his weapon.
• Heiserana used her blood, moonlight, and an incantation to fill the dry garden pool with a reflection of the castle’s intact past.
• Heiserana warned that Baarn might have activated the Shadow Stronghold’s defenses, then entered the Shadow World through the pool’s surface.
• Hao Ren and the witches followed Heiserana through the pool, and Lily jumped in last despite disliking water.

Hao Ren and the witches entered Vivian’s Shadow World, where Heiserana explained that it was shaped by Vivian’s dreams and warned that its power could absorb them. As Soulless Guards awakened and attacked, the group fought toward the North Tower to seize control of the world.

• Hao Ren and the witches emerged into a vast black-and-white version of Roan Ancient Castle, and Heiserana explained how Vivian’s dream shaped the Shadow World.
• Heiserana sent shadow bats to scout and discovered that Barn had entered the Shadow World while Soulless Guards began awakening.
• Hao Ren spotted the guards approaching, and gargoyle statues around the square shattered to reveal smoke-like monsters.
• Hao Ren used his plasma gunblade and graviton grenades against the gargoyles while Lily protected Hassu with a greatsword.
• The group realized that the Soulless Guards kept returning and multiplying, so they retreated toward the North Tower under Heiserana’s guidance.

Hao Ren's group fought through Vivian's awakened Soulless in the Shadow Stronghold while Demon Hunters arrived at her real-world estate. After defeating the Head Butler, Heiserana suspected the Evil Spirit had begun stirring in the cemetery.

• Heiserana led Hao Ren's group through the Shadow Stronghold as Soulless guards emerged from its paintings and attacked them.
• Heiserana explained that the Soulless came from Vivian's dreams and grew stronger the longer she slept.
• Three bodies of the Head Butler appeared in the Crossroads Hall, and Heiserana told the group they had to destroy all three at once.
• Lockheed and the Demon Hunters found Vivian's estate and entered the castle to search for the Elder and hold Vivian back until she woke.
• Hao Ren's group defeated the Head Butler, and Heiserana concluded that something had changed in the cemetery and said they had to split up.

Hao Ren and Lily headed for the cemetery while Heiserana went to the North Tower and the witches went to the Shadow Cellar. They reached the Wall of Thorns and Roses, the illusion blocking the way to the cemetery.

• Heiserana divided the group, assigning herself to regain control of the Soulless Guard, the witches to monitor the castle from the Shadow Cellar, and Hao Ren and Lily to investigate the cemetery.
• Hao Ren handed out communicators, which Heiserana and the witches accepted for keeping in contact.
• Lily struck the recovering Hassu with her alloy greatsword, and Hao Ren took her toward the cemetery with Hassu in tow.
• Hao Ren and Lily raced through the silent castle, avoiding strange rooms that Heiserana warned led to nightmares or deeper layers of the Shadow World.
• Hao Ren and Lily reached the foyer before the Wall of Thorns and Roses and reported their location over the communicator.

Hao Ren and Lily crossed the Wall of Roses into the moonlit grassland where Vivian was sleeping, finding no sign that she or the Evil Spirit had fully awakened. Hao Ren brought Hassu around and tried to persuade him to help stop Vivian from awakening in a dangerous state.

• Heiserana explained that the Wall of Roses only let through those with resolute minds and no malice toward Vivian, and Hao Ren and Lily crossed it safely.
• Hao Ren and Lily found themselves in an endless grassland beyond the castle, but could not see Vivian or the Evil Spirit.
• Lily questioned why Hassu had passed through the barrier, and Hao Ren explained that the unconscious hunter had no active hostility.
• Hassu woke as Lily prepared to strike him, but Hao Ren stopped her and said they needed Hassu's expertise.
• Hassu refused to cooperate, so Hao Ren showed him the grassland and warned that he could either help calm Vivian or face her wrath alone.

Hao Ren persuaded Hassu to cooperate against Vivian and learned how the Demon Hunters planned to stop her awakening. Hassu performed a blood ritual that brought Vivian down from the crimson moon, and Hao Ren prepared to fight with reinforcements.

• Hao Ren explained that he had restrained Hassu to prevent their groups from fighting before they could confront Vivian, then partially restored Hassu's strength while keeping the shackles on.
• As the moon turned red, Hassu revealed that Vivian would awaken first in the dream and then in the real world, and that a Blood Sacrifice could awaken her early before she reached full strength.
• Hassu cut his finger with a holy silver dagger and used his blood to perform the ritual, while Heiserana reported that she had secured control of the soulless guards.
• Vivian's shadow emerged from the crimson moon and descended toward them in a pillar of blood-red light.
• Hassu prepared his hand crossbow and rune cards, while Hao Ren drew two black swords and summoned turrets and Missile Launchers for the fight.

Hao Ren, Lily, and Hassu fought Vivian’s Evil Spirit in the collapsing Shadow World while Heiserana’s Soul-less Guard restrained it. The Evil Spirit repeatedly regenerated beneath the blood-red moon, and the chapter ended with the cemetery shaking for reasons unrelated to the battle.

• Heiserana sent the Soul-less Guard into battle, and the guards attacked the Evil Spirit with aerial strikes and waves of Nightmare Monsters.
• Hao Ren explained to Hassu that the Evil Spirit was an incarnation of Vivian’s negative powers, while the Soul-less Guard recognized Vivian’s true self as its mistress.
• Hao Ren, Lily, and Hassu attacked the Evil Spirit, but its silent shrieks destroyed their attacks and the moonlight restored it after each injury.
• Hassu said the Evil Spirit had no fatal weakness, while Hao Ren worried that the Shadow World would collapse before Vivian awakened.
• The cemetery space suddenly trembled, with the shaking unrelated to the fight.

Hao Ren arranged for Heiserana to lure Lockheed’s Demon Hunter Hunt Group into the cemetery so they could help fight Vivian’s Evil Spirit. After breaking through the Wall of Roses, the hunters found Hassu allied with Hao Ren and joined the battle against the Countess.

• A tremor weakened the Shadow World’s boundaries, and Helen and Madam Mary reported that the Demon Hunters had breached the castle and were destroying their way through it.
• Hao Ren learned that the Rose Barrier could not be shut down, then persuaded Heiserana to lure the Demon Hunters into the cemetery to fight the Evil Spirit.
• Heiserana sent soulless guards to draw Lockheed’s Hunt Group toward the cemetery while Hao Ren and Hassu continued fighting the Evil Spirit.
• Lockheed’s Demon Hunters blasted through the weakened Wall of Roses and entered the cemetery, where they found Hassu fighting alongside Hao Ren and the soulless army.
• Hassu declared a temporary alliance and ordered Lockheed’s forces to coordinate with them and attack the Countess.

Hao Ren and the Demon Hunters repeatedly destroyed Vivian’s Evil Spirit, but she kept resurrecting until she vanished from the moonlight. When the Evil Spirit ambushed Lily, the real Vivian appeared and attacked her, furious over the Evil Spirit stealing her bedroom, coffin, and territory.

• Hao Ren’s Demon Hunter allies joined the battle, and Lockheed, Hao Ren, Lily, and Hassu each struck down the Evil Spirit as she resurrected beneath the Red Moon.
• The Demon Hunters believed they had killed Vivian, but Hassu told them the enemy had only been one of her maddened incarnations.
• Hao Ren warned Hassu that the real Vivian had not appeared, and the group realized the Shadow World and red moonlight remained unchanged.
• The Evil Spirit suddenly reappeared and lunged at Lily from behind, leaving her unable to dodge.
• Black-haired Vivian crashed into the Evil Spirit, dragged her across the ground, and beat her while shouting about her stolen bedroom, coffin, and territory.

Vivian woke and destroyed the weakened Evil Spirit, then rewarded warlock Barn for helping her. As the Shadow World collapsed, Lily recognized Barn’s true name and asked if he was Baptiste.

• Vivian beat the weakened Evil Spirit to death and asked what had happened.
• Hao Ren greeted Vivian, who said someone had awakened her and pointed out the missing warlock.
• Barn knelt before Vivian, and she gave him a Blood Drop to help him find her other followers.
• Heiserana clung to Vivian, and Vivian learned that Barn had stolen the Shadow Key but had helped her wake and reach the battlefield.
• Lily asked Barn whether his true name was Baptiste.

Hao Ren and Lily exposed Baptiste’s plan to open a gate to Purgatory, then used a key to awaken Vivian from the false spacetime. Vivian recognized them as the dream faded, leaving Hao Ren to explain what had happened.

• Lily guessed that Barn was Baptiste, and Hao Ren explained that he knew of the wizard’s future connection to Purgatory.
• Baptiste revealed his intent to open the gate to Purgatory, and Heiserana restrained him as Vivian reconsidered their agreement.
• Vivian failed to recognize Hao Ren and Lily, so Hao Ren offered her a door key as proof of their identities.
• Vivian took the key, causing the false spacetime to fade and its inhabitants to turn gray-white.
• Vivian recognized Hao Ren and Lily, noticed Heiserana, and asked where she was as Hao Ren began to explain.

Vivian briefly awakened in the frozen Moonlight Grassland, reunited with Hao Ren and Lily, and then vanished as the unstable sandbox moved on. Hassu and Heiserana entered the scene and recounted how the Evil Spirit escaped in the original history, while Hao Ren resolved to find Vivian across the ages without repeating Baptiste’s path.

• Vivian described her dream of immense wealth, learned about the crisis, and trusted Hao Ren to find all her historical selves.
• Vivian joked with Lily, admitted she had sleepwalked into her Shadow World, and said she could not remember the events involving Baptiste and the Evil Spirit.
• Vivian faded from the frozen space, and Hassu and Heiserana appeared, complaining about the blows Hao Ren and Lily had dealt them.
• Hao Ren asked how the six-hundred-year-old incident had ended in the original history, and Heiserana and Hassu explained that the Evil Spirit’s escape let Heiserana flee while the Demon Hunters suffered heavy losses.
• Heiserana speculated that Baptiste had contacted Vivian and possibly helped the Evil Spirit escape, and Hao Ren silently vowed not to follow Baptiste’s path.

After the Gate of Roses left a rift to the next spacetime, Lily briefly lost her connection, prompting Raven 12345 to explain that the companions would become harder to project as Hao Ren traveled beyond their historical baselines. Hao Ren accepted that they would eventually have to leave, and the four companions stepped through the rift together.

• Lily froze near the spacetime rift, then returned to normal and said she had briefly seen May and the others in the real world.
• Raven 12345 possessed Lily and explained that the companions’ connections would weaken as Hao Ren regressed past their historical baselines.
• Raven 12345 estimated the companions could remain active for another one or two thousand years beyond their baselines and said she would try to improve the sandbox system’s tolerance.
• Hao Ren explained the situation to Lily, who said her previous life as the Demon Hunter leader did not count as her current historical baseline.
• Hao Ren, Lily, Heiserana, and Hassu entered the rift to continue their journey.

Hao Ren and his companions continued their journey through history, arriving in Ancient Rome, where Heiserana remembered first meeting Vivian. They began searching for the place where they had lived, hoping to find Vivian still awake.

• Hao Ren watched Vivian fade away after their journey through many eras of history.
• Hao Ren and his companions left the frozen scene at Chibi and stepped through a door into an ancient city.
• Hassu used a spell to disperse the curious bystanders who had gathered around them.
• Heiserana recognized the city as Ancient Rome and recalled that she had first met Vivian there after becoming a spirit.
• Hassu estimated that they had arrived around 1 AD, while Heiserana remembered Caesar was still alive.
• Hao Ren proposed that they search for Vivian's former home, where she might still be awake.

Hao Ren and his companions explored ancient Rome near the end of the Mythical Era, learning that the Olympian gods were still fighting the Demon Hunters. He decided to seek answers from them and led the group to the Temple of Apollo.

• Hao Ren, Heiserana, Lily, and Hassu wandered through ancient Rome while searching for clues about Vivian's past.
• Heiserana explained that she and Vivian had once roamed the region around Rome, while Hassu described the Demon Hunters' campaign against Mount Olympus.
• Hassu said the Olympian gods were likely not yet completely fallen, and Lily realized the gods might still be fighting the Demon Hunters.
• Hao Ren proposed finding a temple to ask the gods what Vivian was doing at that time.
• After getting lost for thirty minutes, Hao Ren found the Temple of Apollo.

Hao Ren and his companions entered Apollo’s temple to contact the god while Olympus remained sealed off by the war. The chief priest revealed that contact with the Divine Kingdom had nearly ceased, but Hao Ren activated the temple’s communication badge and prepared to speak privately.

• Hao Ren and his companions entered the temple and demanded that its chief priest help them contact Apollo.
• Lily revealed her wolf ears, and Heiserana summoned a sphere of energy, convincing the priest that they were deities.
• The chief priest led them to a hidden Apollo altar and handed Hao Ren a golden communication badge, warning that Apollo had not answered prayers in years.
• Hao Ren decoded and activated the badge, connecting it to Olympus’s communication hub.
• Hao Ren sent the chief priest away so the group could discuss matters with Apollo in private.

Hao Ren and his group learned that Hassu’s forces had breached Mount Olympus and killed Apollo, leaving the gods unable to help them find Vivian. As they searched for another lead, Caesar appeared in Rome, reminding Hao Ren that the ruler had once encountered Vivian.

• Hao Ren used Apollo’s badge to listen in on Mount Olympus and heard Apollo cry out before the signal went silent.
• Hassu realized that his historical self had led troops through Olympus’s rear defenses, and Hao Ren abandoned plans to seek help from the Greek gods.
• Hao Ren and the others left the temple without telling the old priest that Apollo had died, while Lily and Heiserana discussed what the gods’ disappearance meant for priests.
• Hao Ren decided against going to Mount Olympus because the Demon Hunters and Greek gods were fighting a final, chaotic battle there.
• A crowd welcomed Gaius Julius Caesar in Rome, and Hao Ren recalled that Vivian had once kicked Caesar into a moat.

Hao Ren and his companions questioned Caesar about Vivian Ancestor, and he revealed where she often appeared in Rome. They reached the run-down neighborhood and began searching, where Heiserana recognized a wall from her memories.

• Caesar told Hassu and the others that Vivian Ancestor had stayed in Rome, then revealed that she often appeared in a neighborhood beside the northeastern city wall.
• Hao Ren explained to Heiserana why he had kept her hidden during the meeting with Caesar, and the two bickered on their way to the neighborhood.
• Hao Ren and Heiserana found the impoverished district, where residents discussed recent fires that had damaged two houses.
• Hao Ren assigned Heiserana and Lily to search for Vivian using their connection to her and Lily’s keen sense of smell.
• Heiserana remembered carving something into a stone wall, and Lily spotted marks on the wall.

Hao Ren and his companions revisited the place where Heiserana had spent her childhood and encountered her younger self. Heiserana pretended to be her own older sister, then broke down after Little Heiserana offered her flatbread and brought back memories of waiting for Vivian to return.

• Hao Ren, Lily, Hassu, and Heiserana examined the childhood drawings on the wall, and Little Heiserana appeared behind them.
• Hao Ren and Hassu asked Little Heiserana about Vivian, and she said Vivian was away and told them to leave.
• Heiserana introduced herself as Hathaway, claimed to be Little Heiserana's older sister, and convinced the girl with her bat wings.
• Little Heiserana offered Heiserana a piece of flatbread that Vivian had made, and Heiserana began to cry.
• Heiserana recalled that Vivian had told her to wait at home and promised to return before the flatbreads ran out, but she had waited for years and saved the last one until it crumbled to ash.