Chapter Summaries

Angel investigated the snake symbol and hired the retired tutor Du Shan to teach Dodolo, then went to the count’s banquet after receiving an invitation. The chapter ended as Angel arrived to a formal knightly welcome, while Magda’s parents ordered her to apologize and return to her room.

• Bal told Angel that a clinic’s snake-and-staff banner led him to an old medical symbol, possibly recorded in a book sealed in the Central Library’s Ancient Text Vault.
• Angel asked Bal for prominent Enlightenment tutors, reviewed a list of retired candidates, and hired Du Shan to teach Dodolo.
• Du Shan taught Dodolo through outings, stories, and everyday conversation, and Angel approved of her methods after observing her.
• Leonrick and Magda waited anxiously at the manor for Angel’s arrival, while Cindy urged Leonrick to stay calm.
• Leonrick ordered Magda to apologize to Angel and return to her room, but she protested as the knights welcomed Angel into the hall.

Angel, using the name Mask, met Count Leonrick and learned that the count wanted his help investigating a mysterious illness in Watergrass. Leonrick revealed that every afflicted person had lost their shadow.

• Angel introduced himself as Mask, accepted Leonrick’s apology, and watched as Cindy promised to keep Magda under strict supervision.
• Angel dismissed the attendants and confirmed to Leonrick that he was a wizard.
• Leonrick offered to show Angel the Griffin Family’s secret histories if Angel would hear his request, and Angel agreed to let him state it.
• Leonrick described a strange illness that had afflicted more than a hundred people in Watergrass, leaving them like living corpses despite examinations finding nothing wrong.
• Leonrick explained that all the patients had lost their shadows.

Angel discovered that Magda had lost her shadow and that a strange black creature had appeared in her room before escaping through a door. Unable to determine whether he could save her, he asked Leonrick to take him to others who had lost their shadows.

• Cindy found Magda unconscious, and Leonrick hurried to her room with Angel after Angel heard eerie laughter from the corridor.
• Angel and Leonrick discovered that Magda had no shadow, and Leonrick begged Angel to save his daughter.
• Angel found a small black shadow hiding behind a doll, but it escaped through a door after Toby tried to catch it.
• Angel sensed that Magda's body and soul seemed intact but admitted he did not know how to restore her shadow.
• Angel asked Leonrick to take him to other people who had lost their shadows, and Leonrick agreed.

Angel observed Golden Cross Medical Academy’s consultation on Magda’s Shadowless Syndrome, then asked to visit former patients with the disease. Leonrick brought Hedrick and the national-treasure physicians to Ward No. 0, where Angel prepared to investigate the illness.

• Angel admired the academy physicians’ medical knowledge and asked Leonrick to take him to see former Shadowless Syndrome patients.
• Tyrell blocked Hedrick from leaving the consultation and rebuked the count’s butler for interrupting the doctors’ discussion.
• Leonrick entered the conference room, ordered Hedrick to accompany him, and agreed to let Tyrell come along to examine former patients.
• At the ward entrance, Angel played with his bird while Tyrell and Caroline mistook him for a frivolous Court noble.
• Angel had Hedrick lead the group into Ward No. 0, the academy’s Shadowless Syndrome ward.

Angel investigated the Shadowless Syndrome ward and discovered that every patient lost their shadow at night, while their condition gradually reduced them to living dead. Tyrell angrily demanded that Angel leave after learning he had come from curiosity rather than to treat the patients.

• Caroline questioned Leonrick about Angel's identity, and the group entered the Shadowless Syndrome ward.
• Angel spoke with Magda and learned she had lost her shadow at night after fainting while caring for her husband.
• Leonrick recalled seeing something flash past during the moonlit night Magda fell ill, the same night Angel arrived in Watergrass.
• Angel examined the patients and learned that they all lost their shadows at night, then returned to the first patient's room after noticing an interesting detail.
• Angel told Tyrell he had come out of curiosity, prompting Tyrell to accuse him of obstructing treatment and desecrating medicine.
• Tyrell ordered Angel to leave, and Leonrick silently feared Angel would become angry.

Angel refused to treat Magda and the other Shadowless Syndrome patients, but agreed to investigate if Leonrick uncovered the secret behind their shadows. He left the physicians with a clue about patients’ hair and eye colors, while Caroline suspected Angel was a wizard.

• Angel rejected Tyrell’s claim that the patients’ condition belonged to medicine and walked away from the consultation.
• Leonrick knelt and begged Angel to save Magda, but Angel said he could not cure her and refused to treat the patients.
• Angel sent Nightmare Illusion aura into Tyrell, who screamed at Angel and Hedrick before fainting.
• Angel demanded the case files by the next day, told Leonrick to discreetly investigate the black shadows, and advised him to compare patients’ hair and eye colors.
• Angel vanished using Boundless Silence, while Caroline questioned whether he was a wizard and Leonrick denied that he was behind Shadowless Syndrome.

Angel read the Griffin Family’s secret records, found a clue linking a vanished wizard-princess to Heaven Sea, and began studying the Voice Transmission spell. The Magician visited and accused Angel of conspiring with Leonrick, ending their meeting in a dispute over whether wizards were still human.

• Angel read the Griffin Family’s dossier and learned that a wizard-princess had departed for Heaven Sea three hundred years earlier.
• Angel began calculating a model for the Voice Transmission spell while Granny Du Shan took Dodolo for a walk.
• The Magician visited Angel and questioned him about the formulas on his papers, but Angel refused to reveal the trick he was deriving.
• Angel offered to exchange knowledge on fair terms, while the Magician resisted giving up anything valuable.
• The Magician accused Angel of conspiring with Leonrick, and Angel challenged his claim that wizards had transcended humanity.

Angel traded the Water Delivery Spell to a magician for information about Shadowless Syndrome. The magician suspected that Shadow caused the condition because its victims shared blond hair and blue eyes, and Angel decided to watch for Shadow at the next Mortal Gathering.

• Angel asked the magician what he knew about Shadowless Syndrome, which Leonrick had brought to him.
• Angel rejected the magician's attempt to trade vague information for a level-one spell and offered the Water Delivery Spell instead.
• The magician revealed that everyone he had observed with Shadowless Syndrome had blond hair and blue eyes.
• The magician connected the victims' shared appearance to Shadow, who favored blond-haired, blue-eyed people such as Kabasha and John.
• The magician predicted that Shadow would sit beside Angel at the next Mortal Gathering if John and Kabasha were absent, and Angel decided to wait and see.

Angel completed the Voice Transmission cantrip, punished Tyrell for disturbing him, and traveled to the Central Library to search its Ancient Text Vault for an image of a snake coiled around a staff. Meanwhile, a mysterious man entered Taro Harbor after destroying a patrol ship, and learned that someone nearby could sense Kula Kuka.

• Angel finished constructing the Voice Transmission model, then turned to the Healing Spell before Caroline asked him to forgive Tyrell for his actions.
• Angel refused to forgive Tyrell, set up a fear-filled illusion around his home, and went to the Central Library to search the Ancient Text Vault.
• Angel used Magic Hands to rapidly search the vault's books for the image of a snake coiled around a staff.
• At Taro Harbor, a night-shift worker discovered a patrol ship broken in half and burning as its crew struggled in the water.
• A man in leather boots arrived in a canoe, met three tiny black shadows, and continued into the city with wriggling cloth bags.
• A small black figure told the man in leather boots that someone had seen it, and he realized that someone capable of sensing Kula Kuka was nearby.

Angel found only an ancient legend about the Serpent-Wrapped Staff and no answers about Axo or Pokladi. On a snowy night, he took shelter in Shelly’s clinic and learned that healers’ oaths included a vow to reject theology.

• Angel read Oath of the Healer and found illustrations linking the Serpent-Wrapped Staff to healers’ rituals, but discovered no information about Axo or Pokladi.
• Angel left the Heart Library and walked through the snowfall, thinking of his family, Leon, Jon, and his uncertain return.
• Angel entered Shelly’s clinic, where Shelly offered him Wymton Milk Tea and let him shelter from the snow.
• Angel asked Shelly about medical academy oath ceremonies, and Shelly recited the healer’s oath, including its vow to reject theology.
• Angel questioned Shelly about theology and extraordinary things, and Shelly said she did not think extraordinary things existed.

Angel investigated Pokladi and the mysterious Kula Kuka, then encountered a powerful apprentice who warned him to keep Kula Kuka secret. The next morning, a scarred man approached Angel’s villa, panicked at an unseen presence, and fainted.

• A Night Watch officer summoned Shelly to treat casualties after a patrol vessel broke apart and caught fire at Taro Harbor.
• Shelly remembered that Professor Caroline had linked Pokladi to a holy land and the Physician’s Entry Oath.
• Angel suspected a wizard apprentice had caused the patrol vessel’s destruction and met a stranger whose magic distorted the snowy street.
• The stranger recognized Angel’s sound-based illusion, mentioned Kula Kuka, and warned Angel not to tell anyone about it.
• Angel returned home and found Du Shan and Dodolo waiting for him; the question of Kula Kuka kept him awake through the night.
• The next morning, a scarred man walked toward Angel’s villa, cried out about a ghost, stumbled in circles, and fainted.

Bal delivered Leonrick’s message about the Kula Kuka legend, prompting Angel to investigate whether it explained the little black shadow. After confirming Shadow’s identity with Magician, Angel went to Leonrick’s estate, where Magda remained isolated after losing her shadow.

• Bal woke from a nightmare and told Angel that Leonrick had sent him with a message about a race called Kula Kuka.
• Angel connected the Kula Kuka legend to the little black shadow and hurried to question Magician.
• Magician confirmed that the man in Angel’s illusion was Shadow and described his distinctive clothing and past behavior.
• Angel left to visit Leonrick, while Leonrick and Caroline discussed Magda’s distress and Cindy feared that Angel would refuse to help.
• Angel arrived at Leonrick’s estate as Leonrick prepared to welcome him.

Angel investigated the shadow theft and heard Leonrick recount an old legend about the Kula Kuka, tiny fairies who once lived in homes in Xipolak, now called Watergrass. He suggested Leonrick seek him out if he dared face a wizard’s wrath, then returned to the villa and assigned Bal to protect Du Shan and Dodolo while learning from Du Shan.

• Cindy begged Angel to save Magda, while Leonrick told him of an urban legend about the Kula Kuka and their betrayal by humans after a war.
• Angel and Leonrick connected the legend’s Xipolak to modern Watergrass and the ancient war to the founding of the Warmglow Court.
• Angel said the Kula Kuka might have stolen the shadows, then used Voice Transmission while invisible to tell Leonrick he could seek him out if he dared face a powerful wizard.
• Angel returned to the villa and heard Bal describe being trapped in an illusion outside and then lectured by Du Shan.
• Angel told Bal to protect Du Shan and Dodolo for the next few days and learn from Du Shan, and Bal reluctantly agreed.

Angel tested how Dodolo responded to illusions, gave Bal an earring enchanted to protect him from the Heart Demon Illusion, and prepared for the Transcendent Gathering. He hoped to learn how to return to Savage Cave or Sky Mechanical City and planned to seek materials for building a vehicle.

• Angel learned that Dodolo had led Bal out of the Heart Demon Illusion, then enchanted a rose earring and forced Bal to wear it so he could safely visit in the future.
• Angel tested an illusion that hid Dodolo’s sense of space, but Dodolo ignored the fog and followed Angel’s voice; when Angel appeared as a Four-Eared Cloud Leopard, Dodolo dodged its attack.
• Angel failed to explain Dodolo’s unusual resistance to spatial illusions and returned to studying the Healing Spell.
• Angel reflected that his main priority was finding a way back to Savage Cave or Sky Mechanical City, while he remained only casually curious about Leonrick’s troubles and the mysteries of Pokladi.
• Angel prepared a list of materials to seek at the Transcendent Gathering so he could build a vehicle for his eventual departure.

Magician brought Angel to a supernatural gathering at Corpse-Hiding Cave, where Shadow revealed that he had been stealing shadows and turned Magician into his puppet. Angel vanished before the trap closed, leaving Magician captive with his shadow controlled by Shadow.

• Magician received a note naming Corpse-Hiding Cave as the gathering place and brought Angel to Grudgeful Forest.
• Angel and Magician entered the corpse-filled cave, and Angel used Light Spell to illuminate their way.
• Michelle dragged Magician into the gathering room, where Shadow and the other attendees trapped him and shut the door.
• A small black creature tore Magician's shadow from him and handed it to Shadow, while Angel disappeared from the room.
• Shadow controlled Magician's stolen shadow with white threads, forcing Magician to move like a puppet.

Angel entered the Corpse-Hiding Cave and discovered that Shadow had arranged the gathering, then concealed himself inside his Nightmare Domain. After the Kula Kuka people escaped through a door, Shadow attacked Angel, but the Teacup Band reflected much of the blow and injured Shadow even more severely.

• Shadow used white threads to make the Magician and a pink-haired girl dance, then asked whether the hidden observer was satisfied.
• Angel suspected Shadow had organized the gathering and stayed hidden in the cave under Boundless Silence.
• Shadow searched the room with his threads, so Angel expanded his Nightmare Domain into a vast banquet hall.
• Shadow pretended to negotiate while secretly releasing three Kula Kuka people, who opened a door and escaped after Angel tried to bind them.
• Shadow charged at Angel with an area attack, but Angel summoned the Teacup Band, which blocked and reflected much of the attack, leaving Shadow badly injured.

Angel and Toby fought Shadow, whose transplanted Magma Salamander bloodline and spell slot made him a dangerous opponent. Angel trapped Shadow in a Nightmare Illusion Realm, where Shadow discovered his Puppet Threads could not find any illusion nodes.

• Angel recovered from Shadow’s attack and realized Shadow had a transplanted bloodline and a spell slot, suggesting he belonged to a wizard organization.
• Toby attacked Shadow, but Shadow’s Magma Salamander bloodline restored his strength and pushed Toby toward defeat.
• Angel ordered Toby to keep Shadow occupied, then used the Five-Colored Dragonfly and his Nightmare Domain to restrain Shadow.
• Angel blocked Shadow’s senses and formed a Nightmare Illusion Realm around him.
• Shadow fought apparent enemies in the white mist, recognized that Angel was mixing illusions with real attacks, and searched for illusion nodes with his Puppet Threads.
• Shadow found no illusion nodes and wondered why the Nightmare Illusion Realm had none.

Angel trapped Shadow in a difficult-to-break illusion in the Nightmare Domain and wore him down with repeated attacks. Their negotiations revealed that Angel was in the Fairy Tale World, and Shadow offered information and a way out in exchange for his release.

• Angel abandoned his plan to use the parasite and created an illusion in the Nightmare Domain, then ordered Toby and the Demonic Beasts to attack Shadow while he recovered his magic power.
• After an hour of alternating ambushes, Shadow was badly wounded and nearly out of energy, but he threatened to use a final trump card and offered Angel compensation.
• Shadow mentioned that his mentor was a guest at Angel’s organization, but Angel’s questions revealed that he did not recognize Silent Hill or the surface world.
• Shadow identified their location as the Fairy Tale World and explained that Fairy Tale Town was an alliance of wizard organizations that included Black Castle.
• Angel realized he did not know how to leave the Fairy Tale World, and Shadow offered to provide a map or help him leave, proposing an oath or short-term equal contract to prove his sincerity.

Angel and Shadow signed Kurna's Draft Contract, binding them to an equal partnership for a year, and Shadow began answering Angel's questions. Shadow could provide a map of the Fairy Tale World but lacked the large quantities of materials Angel wanted, leaving Angel's plans unresolved.

• Angel chose Kurna's Draft Contract and used precious Chaos Drum Beast Hide Paper to write it.
• Shadow and Angel each sealed the contract with their blood essence, and the World Will completed the agreement.
• Angel and Shadow returned to the room, where Shadow healed his wounds and resumed controlling the unconscious apprentices.
• Angel gave Shadow the code name Mask, then asked for a map of the Fairy Tale World and directions beyond it.
• Angel showed Shadow a list of materials he wanted, but Shadow said he did not have the large quantities available.

Angel learned that leaving the Fairy Tale World and reaching wizard markets would take months, so he planned to travel to Silent Hill and use its resources and teleportation array. At three in the morning, the Kula Kuka brothers emerged through a door in Angel’s body, leaving him gravely wounded as Shadow watched and Toby tried to help.

• Shadow gave Angel a map marked with Silent Hill and explained that the nearest Wizard Market and the Fairy Tale World exit were months away by vehicle.
• Angel asked how to reach the Black Demon Kingdom, and Shadow warned him that returning to Savage Cave would take seven or eight years without teleportation.
• Shadow told Angel that Silent Hill had a teleportation array and revealed that he was from Sky Mechanical City, while warning that long-distance teleportation could kill an apprentice.
• At exactly three in the morning, a bloody door opened beneath Angel’s heart, and three Kula Kuka brothers stepped out, causing Angel to collapse from pain and blood loss.
• Shadow blamed Angel for staying in the seat, while Toby tried to bandage Angel with gauze from Snow-Kissed Feather and Shadow became interested in the bird’s apparent spatial item.