Chapter Summaries

No. 03 fused with the Mechanist Core to resist Feiluo’s Flame Lawfield, while Angel and the others investigated the laboratory and the recurring airwaves. Feiluo revealed that a mysterious stranger had warned him away from the area producing the waves and called it a “nest.”

• No. 03 entered the Flame Lawfield and merged with the Mechanist Core inside the burned mechanical head, where its water power resisted Feiluo’s flames.
• No. 03 told Feiluo she would remain inside the Mechanist until No. 01 and No. 02 returned, while Nis suspected she had concealed the Core’s true capabilities.
• After another airwave failed to force No. 03 out, Angel asked Reynolds about the laboratory, and Reynolds described its five floors and the residences of No. 01, No. 02, and No. 03.
• Nis speculated that the laboratory had a hidden area where No. 00 might reside, while Reynolds said he could not sense his body until they opened the laboratory.
• Feiluo told Angel and Nis that a strange person had warned him not to approach the source of the airwaves, called it a “nest,” and then disappeared.

Feiluo described memories of a mysterious person that became hazy and difficult to examine, while Nis found no evidence of a curse. Angel inspected the laboratory entrance and found a complex magic pattern that might allow them to enter if they could crack part of it.

• Nis used Soul Voice to clear Feiluo’s confusion, and Feiluo explained that recalling the person made his memories feel like a fake photograph.
• Nis speculated that the person might have a transcendent standing, while Angel noted that the effect resembled but differed from Soul Script.
• A blast from the nest swept over the group, and Angel and Nis wondered whether it carried the power of laws.
• Nis examined Feiluo and found no curse or other negative effect, leaving open the possibility that the person caused the memory problem.
• Angel inspected the steel bunker entrance and discovered a complex magic pattern that could potentially be cracked to create a way inside.

Angel, Nis, and Feiluo considered the danger surrounding the laboratory and the mysterious nest, then decided to avoid investigating the matter directly. Nis left with Nausicaa to seek advice in the Dream Wilderness, while Angel prepared an escape route and continued studying the fortress; the chapter ended with Nis returning after another airwave passed.

• Feiluo and Nis feared that the mysterious person Feiluo had encountered might be an existence beyond Legend, and they agreed to avoid speaking about him rashly.
• Angel and Nis suspected that the nest might belong to the purple giant beast, possibly one of Xizi's Descendants, and concluded that the laboratory might be pursuing it.
• Nis decided to seek outside help in the Dream Wilderness and left with Nausicaa, while Angel prepared the Planar Corridor as an escape option.
• Feiluo reported that No. 03 refused to discuss the nest and only repeated her promise to compensate them after No. 01 and No. 02 returned.
• Another airwave passed, carrying what Angel thought might be faint beast cries, and Nis later returned as a soul aura appeared above the mist.

Nis failed to recruit the True-Knowledge Wizards he first approached, so he summoned Kant as outside help. Kant arrived through a Planar Corridor just as a law-bound shock wave hit, and after surviving the collapse and falling onto Nis, he reunited with Angel and demanded compensation from Nis.

• Nis told Angel that Nausicaa was safe with Cindy and the others, then explained that Sanders and the other potential helpers were unavailable.
• Nis said Tree Spirit Lord had introduced him to Kant, who used Nis's blood as a beacon to open a Planar Corridor above them.
• A shock wave from the nest struck while Kant was halfway through the corridor, so he used a Life-Saving Paper Double to escape as the corridor collapsed.
• Kant fell into a crater and landed on Nis, then accused him of setting him up and demanded compensation for the lost paper double.
• Kant recognized Angel's Transformation Spell, and Angel realized Nis had recruited the head of House of Lilith.

Angel learned that Kant had come to Savage Cave as Nis’s hired escort, and Kant forced Nis to compensate him with access to his treasure chamber before signing their contract. After a new blast wave interrupted Kant’s attempt to discuss Qili with Angel, Kant explained that the repeated waves were likely dispersed power of law, though Angel remained concerned about the person Feiluo had encountered.

• Angel realized the Tree Spirit Lord had contacted Kant while Kant was in Savage Cave, and Kant revealed Nis had paid heavily to hire him.
• Kant demanded compensation for losing a trump card in the Planar Corridor, then insisted on choosing one item from Nis’s secret chamber before signing their contract.
• Nis agreed to let Kant choose an item under conditions, and the two signed the contract; Kant then corrected Nis for addressing him too casually.
• Kant told Angel he had come to discuss Qili, but another blast wave interrupted them, and Kant urged Angel to focus on his more pressing concerns.
• Kant explained that waves of law were dispersed power of law, most likely leaking from a special item, while Angel wondered who Feiluo had encountered.

Angel, Nis, and Kant concluded that the mysterious person Feiluo encountered might be beyond Legendary rank, after Kant recounted similar encounters with powerful beings in other worlds. They prepared to explore the laboratory, and Kant revealed that Angel's Gravity Veins could let him move briefly within the waves of law.

• Nis explained why he suspected Feiluo's mysterious encounter was caused by someone beyond Legendary rank, and Angel described the incident to Kant.
• Kant recounted his ancestor's account of a man who became an abomination after trying to remember an evil god, and said powerful beings in several worlds shared an ability to resist scrutiny.
• Kant warned Feiluo not to try to remember the mysterious person and urged Nis to prepare to explore the laboratory before that person appeared.
• Kant examined the laboratory's shape, and Reynolds explained that its mechanical limbs let it move and formed passages when it stopped.
• Kant decided the group should meet No. 03, but another wave of law swept over them before they could proceed.
• After the wave receded, Kant explained how stronger energies could resist its suppression and identified Angel's Gravity Veins as a power that could briefly help him move.

Angel and Kant used Law Veins to withstand the law shockwaves, then questioned No. 03 about the Machinist and the mysterious person Feiluo had encountered. Kant grew wary of No. 03’s increasing strength and the unknown figure as he and Angel prepared to enter the laboratory with Nis.

• Angel had Toby spread the Gravity Veins around the group, confirming that Law Veins could block law shockwaves.
• Kant examined the Machinist and concluded that its water film and core were likely made by an existence above the legendary realm, so he stopped trying to damage it.
• Kant used Sanders’s appearance and voice to question No. 03, who answered under the pressure of his convincing imitation.
• Kant left Feiluo near the Flame Lawfield with a black crystal that could help suppress No. 03 and locate Angel and Kant if trouble arose.
• Kant told Angel that No. 03’s aura was growing stronger and that the person Feiluo had encountered remained an unknown concern.
• Angel and Kant returned to the fortress, where Nis finished preparing alongside an armored skeleton knight, and Kant led them toward the laboratory.

Angel used a magic-pattern board and the Void Illusion Gate to enter the laboratory without damaging its array, while Reynolds, Nis, and Kant explored the facility and Angel studied its magic patterns. Angel sensed waves of law reaching inside the laboratory and reopened the Mind Tether to hear Nis report on them.

• Angel induced spatial energy from the fortress's Partition node and opened a Void Illusion Gate, allowing himself, Nis, Kant, and Reynolds to enter without damaging the magic array.
• Reynolds sensed a faint call from his body below, and Nis lent him soul power to strengthen his perception.
• Nis, Kant, and Reynolds set out to explore the laboratory while Angel stayed near the entrance to study its magic patterns.
• Reynolds explained that the left passage served researchers and the right one served combat personnel, and Nis chose the left route.
• Angel blocked the Mind Tether to concentrate, then sensed waves of law entering the laboratory and reopened the link to hear Nis.

Nis and Reynolds reached the laboratory’s first-floor display room, where an Authority Eye recognized Reynolds’s soul imprint and unlocked the doors. Inside, they found preserved organs for transplantation, but Nis learned that taking too many exhibits could trigger an alarm and alert the staff, so he left the pigman head behind for now.

• Nis insisted that Reynolds lead him to the first-floor display room, and they navigated the laboratory’s narrow, trap-filled corridors safely with Reynolds guiding them.
• Reynolds touched the sealed doors, and the Authority Eye verified his soul imprint and unlocked the display room.
• Nis and the others entered the frost-filled room and saw transparent containers holding what appeared to be transplantable organs.
• A nearby container revealed a preserved half-head belonging to a pig-like humanoid, which Kant identified as a baptized follower of an outer god from the Druna Plane.
• Reynolds warned Nis that taking too many exhibits could trigger the Authority Eye and alert the remaining staff, so Nis decided to inspect the other displays before choosing what to take.

No. 03 watched the Wave Mechanist core deteriorate under Feiluo’s Flame Lawfield and considered using a mysterious fruit seed if she had to confront Sanders. Meanwhile, Nis selected three Soul Armaments in the laboratory display room, where an alarm suddenly sounded.

• No. 03 saw the water region shrinking as the Flame Lawfield damaged the Wave Mechanist core, and she wondered whether Sanders and the others would return in time.
• No. 03 questioned Feiluo through the water mirror, suspected Sanders might be preparing to breach the laboratory, and kept a bottle containing a strange fruit seed close at hand.
• A loud, beastlike cry sounded through the water mirror, prompting No. 03 to hope that No. 01’s choice would serve the Laiyi ambition.
• Nis and Kant teased each other while Angel explained that Nis had once offered him Succubus bloodline.
• Nis searched the display room for Soul Armaments and chose three exhibits, including a mermaid woman's left breast, a foot, and a giant crab's claw.
• An urgent alarm rang out and the display room's mechanical eyes flashed red, leaving Nis wondering why taking three items had triggered it.

Nis, Kant, and Reynolds were attacked by the display room’s Hunting Sequences after exceeding its ten-minute limit, but Nis’s bone-armored knight and Kant destroyed them. They left for the second underground floor, while Angel later tried to contact them through the Mind Tether and found them silent after they had discussed conduct rules and punishments.

• The Authority Eye flashed red, and Hunting Sequences No. 18 and No. 19 emerged to hunt Nis and Kant.
• The bone-armored knight deflected No. 18’s mental wave and destroyed it, while Kant annihilated No. 19 as it attempted a spatial assassination.
• Nis learned from Reynolds that staying in the display room for more than ten minutes triggered the Hunting Sequences, and he discarded No. 18’s damaged mechanical core.
• Nis, Kant, and Reynolds left the first floor and headed toward the second underground floor while discussing the laboratory’s rules.
• Angel emerged from studying the magic patterns and tried to reach the others through the Mind Tether, but Dangros said they had gone silent after discussing conduct rules and punishment.

Angel searched the first level of the laboratory for the sub-control node and found a way to investigate the barrier blocking the Mind Tether. On the second level, Nis and Kant dealt with a Phantom Shadow Demon, and Angel’s voice reached them again.

• Angel learned from Toby that Nis and the others had gone to the second level, then set out to find the first level’s sub-control node.
• Angel crossed a dangerous corridor by calculating safe footholds and disabled a trigger point at the door.
• Angel found Hunting Sequence Number 5 asleep in a Frost Mark chamber and began searching the room’s magic-pattern blocks for the information barrier.
• Nis reproached Kant for killing the Phantom Shadow Demon, but Kant explained that it had been necessary to save Reynolds.
• Angel’s voice came through the Mind Tether, and Nis asked whether it was really Angel.

Angel disabled the information Partition effect in the laboratory’s magic energy array and helped Nis and Kant investigate whether their infiltration had been detected. They concluded that a Phantom Shadow Demon had been set to target Reynolds, and the group reached the second-level display room without another attack.

• Angel explained how he located the array’s sub-control node and confirmed that Nis and Kant had not triggered the first-level magic energy array.
• Reynolds recounted how a Phantom Shadow Demon had ambushed him on the second level, and Kant and Nis deduced that it had targeted him specifically.
• Kant and Nis reasoned that Reynolds’s unusual luck might have drawn the laboratory’s attention, and Kant suggested No. 03 may have been meant to capture him on the first level.
• Nis and Kant placed Reynolds between them as they headed toward the second-level display room, but they encountered no further ambushers.

Nis and his companions searched the second-floor display room while Angel used an Authority Eye to observe and guide them. After they retrieved two exhibits, Kant entered the Forbidden Corridor with Angel’s guidance and reached the second-floor magic energy array’s sub-control node.

• Nis struggled to identify the second-floor exhibits, and Angel revealed that the gray tendril was a Veiled Demon's tentacle and that they could take only two items.
• Angel explained that he had taken control of the second-floor Authority Eye, using its vision to observe the room and the magic patterns.
• Nis selected the Veiled Demon's tentacle and a yeti arm, then took the Authority Eye out of the display room as the time limit expired.
• Angel directed the group to the Forbidden Corridor, and Kant volunteered to enter with the Authority Eye despite Reynolds warning that the corridor was forbidden.
• With Angel guiding him around dangerous magic patterns and a hidden trigger, Kant reached the door at the corridor's end and entered the second-floor sub-control node.

Angel confirmed that the second-floor sub-control node could help locate the laboratory’s main control node, so the group descended to the third floor to gather more evidence. On the way to its sub-control node, they encountered three surviving experimental subjects: Fang, Rin, and Scythe.

• Kant examined Hunting Sequence No. 4 and determined that the mechanical puppet had wizard-level combat power.
• Angel found magical-pattern paths linking the second-floor sub-control node to the main control node and asked the group to inspect the third-floor node as well.
• Kant suppressed the information Partition between floors, and the group traveled through a moving passage that Angel identified as a tentacle connecting the laboratory’s independent floors.
• Angel guided the group across the third floor toward its sub-control node while they ignored the rooms along the way.
• Reynolds recognized three men blocking their path as Fang, Rin, and Scythe, whose uniforms marked them as surviving experimental subjects X5, X9, and X2.

Reynolds and his companions captured and interrogated three brainwashed experimental subjects, learning that No. 03 had sent them to seize him and that X3 was missing. As they continued searching for the third floor’s sub-control node, Nis explained how Angel could use certain Soul Armaments without risking bloodline contamination.

• X9, X5, and X2 fled from Reynolds but were defeated and captured by Nis’s bone-armored knight.
• Nis sealed and interrogated the three subjects, learning that No. 03 had stationed them to ambush Reynolds three days earlier; Reynolds also asked about Song, whom X9 identified as X3.
• Reynolds asked Nis to spare his former companions, and Nis imprisoned them in his Exile Space to study their Soul Armaments.
• Reynolds told Nis and Angel that X3 had once shared his ideals but had been brainwashed and could control sea beasts; the group continued searching for the sub-control node.
• The group passed the third-floor Exhibition Room, and Kant asked Angel about obtaining a Soul Armament.
• Nis explained that external organs driven by energy, such as phantom tendrils, could be attached without contaminating Angel’s bloodline and suggested one could protect his soul.

Nis, Kant, and Reynolds entered the medical center and found the laboratory’s preserved test subjects, where Reynolds recounted how he had named Ya before her death. They discovered that No. 23 was alive, but he died resisting Kant’s hypnosis; Kant then warned that the team had to reach the third-floor sub-control node before the laboratory learned of their presence.

• Angel considered studying Soul Armament after Nis warned that his unusual soul remained vulnerable and might benefit from protection.
• Nis opened the medical center and found nearly a hundred corpses in glass cylinders, including Ya, whom Reynolds had named as she died.
• Nis discovered that No. 23 was alive, and Reynolds recognized him as a laboratory doctor who had once been designated Serial Number 23.
• Kant identified No. 23’s signal switch and cut off its transmission, but No. 23 triggered a mark that broke Kant’s hypnosis and killed him.
• Kant explained that his temporary suppression of the message could fail soon, so he and Nis hurried to find the sub-control node and stop information from reaching the other floors.

Angel and Kant entered the Mirror Corridor, used Angel’s understanding of light and mirrors to reach the secondary control node, and stopped No. 23’s message from spreading. Nis then considered whether No. 00 was the sleeping powerhouse and searched the medical center for records before the group headed to the exhibition room.

• Angel studied the Mirror Corridor’s reflections and guided Kant safely through its magic patterns to the secondary control node.
• Kant brought the information transmission sector under control, preventing No. 23’s message from reaching the other floors.
• Nis wondered whether No. 23’s sleeping powerhouse was No. 00 and urged the group to find the records and leave quickly.
• Kant confirmed that the node held the sleeping No. 3 Hunting Sequence, and he and Nis returned to the medical center.
• Reynolds led Nis to medical and experimental records that included Soul Armament research and showed No. 23 had entered recuperation after a Demonic Beast attack.
• The group collected the relevant records and reached the exhibition room without obstruction.

Angel and the others searched the laboratory for its main control node while No. 03 debated leaving the Mechanist Core to activate the laboratory’s greatest mechanism. Angel’s investigation pointed toward the first floor, but No. 03 remained unsure whether Sanders and the others were inside or waiting to ambush her.

• Kant and Angel inspected the third-floor showroom, but Angel rejected the Eight-Legged Multi-Bone Mother Spider exoskeleton and Dread Demon fingernails as unsuitable organs.
• Angel ruled out the second and third floors as the main control node’s location, then found no core magic patterns extending to the fourth or fifth floors and concluded that the first floor was the likeliest place to search.
• Nis and Kant headed toward the fourth-floor entrance while Angel began tracing the first floor’s main magic patterns to locate the main control node.
• Kant warned that No. 03 might soon leave the Flame Lawfield, and the group agreed they needed to find the node and leave the laboratory quickly.
• No. 03 worried that Sanders and the others might have entered the laboratory and debated leaving the Mechanist Core to contact its researchers and activate a powerful mechanism.
• No. 03 considered swallowing the tempting fruit pit if Sanders was waiting in ambush, but hesitated over its unpredictable consequences.

Nis, Kant, and Reynolds explored the fourth level, where researchers had activated the magic energy array and a possible Demonic Beast intrusion had driven people from the upper floors. Meanwhile, Angel searched the first level for the main control node and detected an unexplained energy fluctuation.

• Kant concealed Nis, Reynolds, and the bone-armored knight in shadows as they approached researchers No. 61 and No. 62.
• No. 61 and No. 62 said the fourth level was secure, while Reynolds explained that the activated magic energy array required individual authority to enter protected areas.
• Nis found No. 23's medical record describing a Demonic Beast attack, and the group suspected it might explain why the laboratory's upper levels had been abandoned.
• Nis, Kant, and Reynolds continued gathering information and set out to find a route to the fifth level.
• Angel searched the first level for the main control node and detected an abnormal energy fluctuation that did not come from the magic energy array.