Chapter Summaries

Angel tested the Teacup Band and Block Soldiers, discovering that their abilities were greatly weakened in the Wizarding World. Twilight confronted him at the Wizard Market, but Flora intervened and Angel escaped; after watching part of a disappointing performance, he left the theater and was stopped again outside.

• Angel tested the Teacup Band and Block Soldiers for over two hours and found their defensive and reflective abilities limited by the Wizarding World's laws.
• Twilight confronted Angel at the Wizard Market and pinned him with her wizard-level pressure, but Flora stepped between them and let him flee.
• Flora warned Twilight that killing Angel would risk Sanders's retaliation, and Twilight left while vowing not to abandon her grudge.
• Angel recovered in Night Demon City, then went to the Fragrant Charm Grand Theater to watch "Feast of Dance and Desire."
• Angel left the performance before it was halfway over and headed toward the train station, but someone stopped him outside the theater.

Anada asked Angel to save Huibidon from being sacrificed to Lady Red Lotus, but Angel initially refused because he could not risk opposing her. After learning Huibidon hoped to reach his great-grandfather Gude, a servant of a great wizard who had once helped Angel, Angel agreed to pay for Huibidon's airship ticket and left Anada's fate unresolved.

• Anada and Huibidon stopped Angel as he left Night Demon City, and Anada begged him to save Huibidon from being offered as a sacrifice to Lady Red Lotus.
• Huibidon explained that he had overheard his father and brother discussing the sacrifice, and said he planned to find his great-grandfather Gude at Savage Cave.
• Angel refused to confront Red Lotus, but changed his mind when Anada explained that Gude served a great wizard and had once helped him.
• On the train to Pamiji Plateau, Angel offered to pay for Huibidon's airship ticket, while Anada asked whether she had the potential to become a wizard.
• Angel bought Huibidon a ticket at the airship platform and ran into David, who teased him about helping Anada.

Angel and David recalled their shared dreams aboard the airship as it traveled away from Dusk Deep Well. At the Twilight Auction Hall, Womason and Dedewiya investigated an immense magical reaction and discovered a strange melody before learning that the little lioness was dead.

• Angel and David reminisced about promising to encourage one another and discussed their dreams while Huibidon secretly listened.
• David warned Angel that Huibidon hated him for leaving Anada behind, but Angel said he would still help the child.
• Womason revealed that he had helped Twilight track Angel and had supported the attacks against Sanders' disciple.
• Womason received an alert about a huge magical reaction at the Twilight Auction Hall and hurried there with Dedewiya and other wizards.
• Womason and Dedewiya entered the eerily silent auction hall, heard a bizarre melody, and were told that the little lioness had died.

Little Lioness died after entering the inner hall, where a deadly force also shattered magic rats and Dedewiya’s right hand. Twilight suspected the music and strange events were connected to Angel, while Angel returned to the Mirror World and headed to Demon Illusion Island with a terrified Huibidon.

• Ford told Dedewiya that Little Lioness had shattered in the inner hall and her soul had vanished, so Dedewiya gathered the wizards in Dusk Deep Well.
• Thousand Cranes tried to retrieve Little Lioness’s head with mental tendrils, but the inner hall’s barrier shattered them.
• Dedewiya sent magic rats into the inner hall and then tested it with his right hand, which was sliced apart before he severed his arm to stop the force spreading.
• Dedewiya ordered a three-party meeting, and Twilight told him that the music came from inside the inner hall and that Angel might be connected to the strange events.
• Sanders summoned Angel to Demon Illusion Island, and Angel took Huibidon across the Sky Bridge toward Butler Gude despite Huibidon clinging to his leg in fear.

Angel brought Huibidon to Demon Illusion Island, where Sanders granted him entry and Butler Gude recognized him as a relative. Angel then recounted to Sanders how he had learned to control the passage to the Nightmare Realm, and Sanders listened with grave attention.

• Angel found that Huibidon lacked permission to enter Demon Illusion Island and waited for a way to bring him inside.
• Sanders arrived, examined Huibidon's emerald ring, and granted him temporary permission to enter the island.
• Angel brought Huibidon to Butler Gude, who recognized him and took responsibility for him; Huibidon asked Angel to tell him Peter Pan's story.
• Sanders asked Angel to recount every detail of how he had closed the passage to the Nightmare Realm, and Angel explained how he had tricked Aoli into teaching him to control it.

Angel told Sanders how he closed the Nightmare Realm passage and described the Demonic Beasts who mistook him for Shava, prompting Sanders to suspect a projected double. Sanders then revealed that Demonic Beasts had attacked the Dusk Auction House, and concluded that the fox lutenist and frog singer were Wizarding World projections with strength comparable to the Path of True Knowledge.

• Angel explained that he had coaxed Aoli back into the Nightmare Realm, then shut the passage and claimed it had closed by mistake.
• Angel told Sanders that the Demonic Beasts had called him Shava, and Sanders suggested that he might have a shadow double projected into the Nightmare Realm.
• Sanders recorded Angel as a participant in research on Nightmare Realm projections and learned that Angel had noticed no other abnormalities.
• Sanders told Angel that Demonic Beasts had attacked the Dusk Auction House and that the fox lutenist, frog singer, and possibly a strange clown card were responsible.
• Sanders explained that the fox lutenist and frog singer had not lost their strength because they originated in the Wizarding World, and warned that they might rival the Path of True Knowledge.

Sanders warned Angel against releasing the Queen and showed him the devastation caused by the Sunrise Demon God to persuade him to take responsibility rather than risk catastrophe. He took over the Dusk investigation but ordered Angel to repay 250,000 magic crystals, leaving Angel to consider earning money by selling his alchemical work.

• Sanders warned Angel that the Queen could devastate the Wizarding World before the world's will expelled her, and Angel inwardly dismissed the danger to himself.
• Sanders explained that Frog and Fox had likely returned to Dusk's auction inner hall and said Dedewiya expected Angel to compensate the dead and accept punishment.
• When Angel agreed to handle the matter, Sanders showed him an illusion of the Sunrise Demon God's destruction and persuaded him not to release the Queen.
• Sanders told Angel he would handle the Dusk matter, then ordered him to repay 100,000 magic crystals to Dusk and 150,000 to Sanders on a deadline.
• Angel despaired over the debt and considered finishing the Energy Stabilizer and selling Overture of Annihilation, while Sanders explained that wizards from the Source World had killed the Sunrise Demon God.

Sanders gave Angel a copy of the Nightmare Domain research compilation in exchange for a promise to contribute research within fifty years, then warned him to stay home while he handled the auction. Angel asked about his debt and the lack of illusions after inheriting a Nightmare Domain, learned about the shadow servants’ concealing robes, and returned home at dawn, where two people stepped out to meet him.

• Sanders showed Angel the sole copy of "Mystery of the Nightmare Domain," a collection of research he had compiled with Flora.
• Sanders required Angel to promise to contribute a Nightmare Domain research subject within fifty years, and they signed a contract under the Great Will.
• Angel asked Sanders about cultivation, how to earn money, and why he had experienced no illusions after inheriting a Nightmare Domain; Sanders ended the conversation by throwing him out of the study.
• Angel questioned Gude about the shadow servants’ masked robes and asked to borrow one to study its protection from scrying spells, but Sanders refused.
• Angel returned home at dawn after staying awake all night, and two people emerged from the trees and called his name.

Angel reunited with Serum and Nausicaa after surviving the Dusk Auction, then learned that Nausicaa had lost her right arm. Her plans to find a replacement or wear an iron hook gave Angel an idea for a mechanical prosthetic limb.

• Serum and Nausicaa found Angel, and he reassured them that Toby was alive and recovering.
• Angel invited them inside and explained Toby’s connection to Gloria and the Barbie Restaurant.
• Serum demonstrated his improved Water Delivery Spell, and Angel teased him about using an unwashed cup.
• Angel noticed Nausicaa favored her left hand and discovered that she had lost her right arm at the Dusk Auction.
• Nausicaa discussed seeking a transplanted arm or wearing an iron hook, prompting Angel to consider a mechanical prosthetic.

Angel proposed making Nausicaa a mechanical prosthetic to replace her missing arm until she found a compatible organ, and she accepted his offer to forge it. After his friends left, Angel drew up a priority list of alchemical projects, led by an Energy Stabilizer and work to repay his debts.

• Angel sketched a mechanical prosthetic for Nausicaa and offered to forge it as a temporary replacement for her missing arm.
• Nausicaa accepted Angel's offer, and they agreed to discuss the design and materials in half a month.
• Serum concealed from Angel that he had bid on the dangerous Azure Bloodline at the Dusk Auction, while Nausicaa kept his secret.
• Serum and Nausicaa invited Angel to their housewarming feast before they left at sunrise.
• Angel made a list of projects to pursue, prioritizing an Energy Stabilizer, an enchanted alchemical weapon, spatial tools, Nausicaa's prosthetic, and a music box for Toby.

Angel derived a design for an Energy Stabilizer and organized the materials he had brought back from the Dusk Deep Well, but his work was interrupted when Serum invited him to a housewarming feast at Nausicaa’s yard. Over dinner, Serum asked Angel to teach him another trick.

• Angel reviewed the Energy Stabilizer’s principles, derived its formula, and designed a compact device for his underground laboratory.
• Angel sorted the materials from his Dusk Deep Well trip, filling his laboratory with carefully arranged supplies.
• Serum fetched Angel for a feast that Nausicaa had cooked to celebrate their new homes.
• Angel joined Serum and Nausicaa for dinner, and they chatted about food, Barbie Restaurant, and Angel’s hometown cuisine.
• Serum asked Angel to give them a housewarming gift by teaching him another trick, suggesting the Water Delivery Spell.

Angel reunited with Baruba and taught Nausicaa, Serum, and Baruba a composite Fog Spell he had created. The three recorded the spell’s workings after Angel demonstrated it, leaving Nausicaa amazed by how far his abilities had advanced.

• Nausicaa explained that Baruba had saved her from Abyssal Rodent Beasts half a month earlier, and that she had lost her right arm in the attack.
• Baruba said he had gone to see Flora but learned that his mentor had already left, prompting Serum to lament how little Flora had taught him.
• Angel offered to teach Serum the Fog Spell again, then explained that the composite spell required Frostfall Spell and his improved Dust Removal Spell, Dust.
• Angel invited Baruba to learn the spell too, and Baruba accepted, saying he owed Angel a favor.
• Angel taught them the Dust-Haze Spell and demonstrated its obscuring effect before leaving late that night.
• Nausicaa, Serum, and Baruba wrote down the spell’s workings, and Nausicaa marveled at its stability while feeling the distance between herself and Angel.

Angel built an Energy Stabilizer and a music box, then reassured Toby about the Eyeless Man and Gloria before meeting Promi to design a ranged weapon for an alchemical project. Promi was overwhelmed by Angel’s blueprints and admitted he could not bear the title of master beside him.

• Angel finished the Energy Stabilizer after three failures, then spent thirty-seven magic crystals using it to make a music box.
• Angel told Toby he would help recover the Eyeless Man, warned him against acting recklessly, and revealed that Gloria might still be alive.
• Angel visited Promi with David and said he intended to inscribe an alchemical weapon with Overture of Annihilation using the Energy Stabilizer.
• Angel rapidly drafted a variety of ranged-weapon blueprints, impressing Promi with his creativity while keeping the complete designs to himself.
• Promi praised Angel’s talent and said he could not bear to be called his master.

Angel crafted a silver revolver inscribed with the Overture of Annihilation, causing an omen of black clouds over Apprentice Town No. 36. The clouds proved to be vanishing shadows of souls, while Nis recognized that Angel’s weapon restrained the undead.

• Promi told Angel to treat him as an equal, chose a gun as the weapon design, and gave him a movable monocle to help with inscription work.
• Angel refined the gun’s design, drew inspiration from an animation, and spent twenty-six hours and 570 magic crystals inscribing the Overture of Annihilation onto a silver revolver.
• As Angel finished crafting the revolver, howls reached his ears and black clouds gathered over Apprentice Town No. 36, plunging the town into darkness.
• Promi recognized the clouds as an omen of an intermediate-grade or higher alchemical item and traced their center to Angel’s courtyard.
• Promi and David realized the clouds were made of human and beast-shaped shadows that were perishing as the clouds faded.
• In Nis’s Soul Valley, Nis explained to Hukedik that Angel’s item restrained the undead, frightening the souls gathered there.

The Tree Spirit noticed Angel’s alchemical omen and informed Sanders, who learned that Angel had become an intermediate alchemy apprentice. As the meeting at Dusk Deep Well continued, Sanders defended Angel and mocked Twilight, leaving her to conceal her fury.

• The Tree Spirit saw black clouds surrounding the Eternal Tree, traced them to Angel’s alchemy, and contacted Sanders at Dusk Deep Well.
• Twilight and Thousand Cranes demanded accountability for the deaths and losses at the auction, while Hannibal and Dedewiya urged the group to focus on resolving the situation.
• Sanders explained that foreign energy in the auction’s inner hall had the quality of power released by a legendary-level being, and rejected the claim that his apprentice had caused the deaths.
• The Tree Spirit projected Angel’s alchemical omen and congratulated him on advancing to intermediate alchemy apprentice, then asked Sanders to hand Angel over as a student.
• Sanders refused the Tree Spirit’s suggestion, and the wizards congratulated him on Angel’s talent.
• Sanders credited Twilight’s hundred-thousand-magic-crystal debt with pushing Angel to work hard, and Twilight suppressed her anger and accepted his remark.

Angel completed the Overture of Annihilation, triggering an alchemical omen that drew attention across Apprentice Town. Bais visited Angel to discuss him, and the meeting revealed that Angel’s Milk Baron identity had been exposed.

• Angel finished enchanting his silver revolver, tested its group and single-target attacks, and decided to let Promi assess it.
• An alchemical omen appeared over Apprentice Town, and Angel found a crowd watching his courtyard when he left his laboratory.
• Bais Edward introduced himself and asked to speak with Angel, who invited him inside; Nausicaa and Serum joined them for support.
• Promi arrived with David, and the gathering learned that the omen had revealed Angel’s name to people across town.
• Bais showed Angel information from Butterfly Bar identifying him as the Milk Baron and linking him to the deaths of Red Butterfly and Dog Shepherd.

Bais asked Angel to craft a ranged weapon capable of destroying large numbers of undead, offering fifteen thousand magic crystals and an additional material. In Angel’s underground laboratory, Bais revealed that the weapon was crucial to his chance of becoming a wizard and identified the material as a magical plant from the interplanar passage.

• Bais reassured Angel that his mentor and alchemy would protect him from threats to Sky Tower’s reputation, then explained that he wanted a weapon to restrain undead.
• Promi described Bais’s demanding weapon requirements and helped negotiate a price, while he and Angel pretended that crafting the weapon would be difficult.
• Bais offered Angel fifteen thousand magic crystals, and Angel prepared to accept before Bais added a material as a deposit.
• Angel took Bais to his underground laboratory, where Bais acknowledged their earlier performance and said he would pay any price because the weapon concerned his chance to advance to wizardhood.
• Bais revealed that his additional material was a magical plant obtained from the interplanar passage.

Angel received Promi's alchemy notebook and other annotated books as thanks, then forged Bais's custom bronze revolver. When Bais arrived after another alchemical phenomenon, he noted that Angel had completed the weapon despite claiming the work would be difficult.

• David entertained Serum and Nausicaa with stories about Angel, and both friends left after expressing their concern for him.
• Angel told Promi that he had settled things with Bais, then showed him the silver revolver engraved with Overture of Annihilation.
• Angel found Promi's spatial pouch beside Toby and discovered that it contained alchemy books and Promi's personal alchemy notebook, which Promi had left as a gift.
• Angel considered ways to earn one hundred thousand magic crystals and began forging Bais's custom area-attack weapon with heat-resistant materials.
• Angel completed a bronze revolver during another strange phenomenon, and Bais arrived, remarking that the forging seemed effortless despite Angel's earlier claims.

Angel traded a bronze revolver to Bais for 1.5 magic crystals and Void Algae, then agreed to take over Bais's extradimensional laboratory as he prepared to leave Savage Cave. As Angel researched spatial items, news of his alchemy and reputation spread through Savage Cave and the underground market.

• Bais tested Angel's bronze revolver on a bound undead, confirmed its infrasound attack worked, and exchanged it for an unregistered Bone Card containing 1.5 magic crystals and a tube of Void Algae.
• Bais offered Angel his five-year rental of an extradimensional laboratory in the Source of Flow, and Angel agreed to pay the original price of 250 magic crystals.
• Bais told Angel he had warned Bolangke not to trouble him, then left Savage Cave, hoping to return alive.
• Angel examined the thirteen grains of Void Algae and began researching how to refine a spatial item that could sustain living things.
• Bobota identified Angel as Sanders's disciple to a group discussing the black-cloud omens, while a White Bear-costumed man at Sky Tower hoped to follow Angel's footsteps to find his sister.

Angel refined five Butterfly Heart spatial items to ease his debts, then prepared to make a superior composite-effect spatial item for himself. He studied an interlocking inlay technique and began planning its refinement.

• Angel failed at refining a spatial item several times before successfully making a three-cubic-meter black marble, which he mounted in a butterfly-wing necklace and named Ink-Colored Butterfly Heart.
• Using the recording of his successful process, Angel refined a second spatial item, Gray Butterfly Heart, with five cubic meters of internal space.
• By the tenth day of the latter half of the Month of Rest, Angel had refined five Butterfly Hearts and decided they could repay one hundred thousand magic crystals of debt.
• After resting for a day, Angel returned to the underground laboratory to plan a high-capacity spatial item with an additional magic effect.
• Angel studied an interlocking inlay technique from his Nightmare Realm alchemy records and concluded that the Holographic Tablet could help him coordinate its precise, simultaneous steps.