Chapter Summaries

Fafnir sensed a familiar aura in the void and spoke with Odecras about Angel, whom she believed had survived but had not come to see her. Odecras returned to Unmelting Ice Valley, leaving Fafnir behind, and wondered whether the distant fluctuation meant the white Abyss Dragon would return.

• A ram-horned demon reached Fafnir’s forest clearing and discovered that she was not there.
• Fafnir sensed a familiar aura and spoke with Odecras, who confirmed that it came from the Abyss.
• Fafnir admitted that the aura reminded her of Angel and complained that he had not come to see her.
• Odecras explained that Angel had not known where to find her and said he was returning to Unmelting Ice Valley.
• Odecras gazed at a mural of a white Abyss Dragon and wondered whether the fluctuation came from it, saying it would return one day.

At the Resting Place, Balalaika welcomed Orucia, an old acquaintance who had arrived without the Grave Knight noticing him. Orucia asked her about Asgard, leaving his reason for the question unexplained.

• The Grave Knight awakened and warned Balalaika that a guest was approaching the Resting Place.
• Balalaika sensed a familiar ripple and recognized that the arriving guest was an old acquaintance.
• The Grave Knight learned that the ripple belonged to a former lord-level existence that had become a guest's magical pet.
• Orucia entered the shop, and Balalaika greeted him as a former descendant of the Lord of No Flame.
• Orucia explained that he had changed bodies and thanked Angel for helping him live freely.
• Orucia told Balalaika that he wanted to ask about Asgard.

Toby emerged from his advancement as a Snakebird, prompting Gloria and Sanders to worry that his growing aura might connect him to a legendary Demonic Beast. Angel reassured them that Toby’s experiences and feelings made him himself, while Toby played in the void and failed to notice a crack opening nearby.

• Toby emerged from his cocoon as a Snakebird, celebrated his advancement, and flew through the void to test his new body.
• Gloria told Angel that Toby’s aura had grown closer to that of a legendary Demonic Beast.
• Sanders suggested that Toby’s id consciousness might have originated from the legendary Demonic Beast and urged Gloria to consider the possibility.
• Angel argued that even if Toby shared the Demonic Beast’s id, his emotions and experiences still made him Toby.
• Toby played in the void, unaware that a crack was slowly opening beside him.

A group from the Profound Alchemy Society arrived through a spatial rift to sacrifice Toby, drawing Angel, Gloria, and Sanders into a concealed watch. Toby sensed their hostility, and Sanders chose to wait and see how Toby handled the threat.

• Sanders sensed the newcomers beyond the spatial rift and hid himself, Angel, Gloria, and the others with a Concealment Illusion.
• Hailey and her black-robed followers emerged from the rift, and Gloria identified Hailey as a Fallen One of the Profound Alchemy Society.
• Hailey revealed that the Lord of Profundity had ordered Toby sacrificed, and her followers prepared to claim him.
• Angel and Gloria grew concerned about the Lord of Profundity's interest in Toby, but Sanders said they should not overestimate the threat.
• Toby noticed the Society members' hostility, while Sanders told Gloria to wait before intervening so they could gauge Toby's strength.

Hailey and her fellow wizards launched a coordinated assassination attempt on Toby, using discs marked with the Lord of Profundity’s true name to enhance their spells. Toby’s resistance threatened to break their spatial restraint just as Motuo'er prepared a spell to pierce his scales.

• Hailey warned her group to kill Toby quickly before others arrived, and Toby realized they meant to sacrifice his flesh.
• Toby’s cold gaze stirred uncontrollable anger in the attackers, but Hailey recognized its influence and ordered them to act.
• The wizards deployed spellcasting discs that enhanced their magic, and Angel explained their purpose to Gloria.
• More than ten wizards began their coordinated attack, restraining Toby’s movement, draining his energy, and striking him with fire.
• Toby struggled against the spatial prison until its caster began vomiting blood, while Motuo'er prepared a pattern to break through Toby’s scales.

Toby endured the wizards’ coordinated assault with only superficial marks, leaving them shaken by its overwhelming defenses. Gloria compared Toby to the Leviathan from the Silver Palm Island incident, while Sanders cautioned that Toby’s true strength depended on whether its defenses had weaknesses.

• Motuo'er dodged the incoming attacks, and the wizards struck Toby where Motuo'er had supposedly broken through its defenses.
• Toby emerged from the dust nearly unharmed, with only scorch marks and scratches on its scales.
• The wizards realized Toby’s defenses had exceeded their attacks, and fear and self-doubt spread among them under the influence of the Nameless Fire.
• Gloria compared Toby’s defenses to the Leviathan that had guarded Silver Palm Island, and Angel acknowledged knowing about the incident.
• Sanders said Toby’s defenses might rival the Leviathan’s if they lacked weaknesses, and suggested the Snakebird incarnation could be dangerous for more than its defenses.

Toby attacked Hailey and the black-robed members of the Profound Alchemy Society, discovering that its power let it sense and manipulate certain negative emotions. It magnified one victim’s rage and another’s terror, while Hailey remained focused on Toby and refused to order a retreat.

• Hailey searched for Toby’s weakness as Toby destroyed the candle-lit disks and charged the black-robed group.
• Toby used its body to crush those who failed to escape, while the others gathered around Hailey in fear.
• Toby realized it could sense which people were nearing emotional collapse and began testing its ability to control negative emotions.
• Toby magnified Lai Yi’s rage, causing him to attack recklessly, then struck him into the void with its tail.
• The black-robed members asked Hailey whether they should retreat, but she stayed silent as Toby turned toward the person whose terror it had magnified.

Toby tested its ability to manipulate the Profound Alchemy Society's emotions while Hailey identified its eyes as its weakness. Before the group could attack, the Snakebird appeared through transcendent speed, leaving them overwhelmed by despair.

• Toby's pressure and emotional manipulation drove one man into terror so profound that he seemed unable to advance again.
• Sanders and Gloria suspected Toby was manipulating emotions, while Hailey tried to rally the Profound Alchemy Society's faltering members.
• Toby failed to manipulate an old man's anger toward Hailey, but continued stirring fear and hostility among the group.
• Hailey realized that the Snakebird's eyes were its weakness and urged everyone to target them.
• The Snakebird appeared beside the group at transcendent speed, killed the old man and another follower, and left the survivors despairing.

Hailey tried to use a thrown comrade to catch Toby off guard, but Toby blocked her attack with the Gravity Veins he could project beyond his body. Hailey realized Toby possessed Law Veins, and jealousy consumed her as she faced him.

• Hailey rejected a black-robed man's suggestion to retreat and hurled him toward Toby as a distraction.
• Hailey emerged from the man's shadow and struck for Toby's eye, but an outward force stopped her attack just short.
• Hailey recognized the force as a Law Vein, while Angel realized Toby could project the Gravity Veins around his body.
• Hailey grew jealous that Toby possessed the Gravity Veins, and Toby used his control over jealousy to turn her envy into a raging inferno.

Toby refused to chase the fleeing black-robed people through the rift and prepared to find Angel and Gloria, but Hailey returned to challenge it. Toby activated the red light from its crown, trapping Hailey in a strange vision where figures from her past confronted her with hatred.

• Toby realized the black-robed people had fled through the open spatial rift and chose not to pursue them into Sky Mechanical City.
• Toby decided to reunite with Angel and Gloria, then encountered Hailey, whose bloodline had fully activated.
• Toby prepared to test its Snakebird abilities against Hailey as she flew toward it.
• A brilliant red light from Toby's crown surrounded Hailey with a blood-red world and shadowy figures.
• Motuo'er appeared in the vision, accused Hailey of causing the woman he loved to join Misaro, and threatened to kill her.
• Hailey cut Motuo'er in two with a Black Feather, realized he was an illusion, and saw more of her former followers appear with hatred in their eyes.

Hailey’s mental defenses collapsed as the red-light world turned her colleagues’ grievances into a trap, and the Lord of Profundity’s response drove her to despair. Angel and Sanders investigated Toby’s fleshy crown and concluded that its illusion manipulated negative emotions drawn from different people.

• Hailey’s colleagues’ accusations overwhelmed her, and black ribbons from the figures entered her brow to break down her mental defenses.
• Hailey called on the Lord of Profundity, who told her that other offerings could be used if she could not obtain this one.
• Hailey collapsed into despair and screamed, with her cry reaching Angel and the others.
• Angel and Sanders discussed the red-light world and considered how Toby’s fleshy crown produced its illusion.
• Sanders concluded that the illusion resembled Mind Illusion but was rooted in negative emotions gathered from different people.

Toby defeated Hailey after overcoming his tribulation, but she recovered using the Lord of Profundity’s power and attacked him while he was changing back into his seabird form. Toby unleashed an unused Snakebird ability as Angel and Gloria rushed to intervene.

• Toby left Hailey mentally shattered, and Angel, Gloria, and Sanders recognized how greatly his strength had grown.
• Toby sensed Angel and the others nearby and began changing back into his seabird form so he could reunite with Angel.
• The Lord of Profundity’s power revived Hailey enough for her to attack Toby while his body was dispersing.
• Angel and Gloria rushed to help, but Hailey completed her attack before they could reach Toby.
• Toby spat dark black mist from his remaining Snakebird head to counter Hailey’s strike.

Hailey failed to kill Toby and escaped through a dangerously unstable Planar Corridor after his petrification toxin stopped her attack. Angel and Gloria arrived as Toby prepared to tell his grievances, but they decided to leave the unsafe area first.

• Toby's petrification mist froze Hailey's hand and began turning her body to stone, leaving her unable to defeat him head-on.
• Hailey used a magic-patterned scroll to open a Planar Corridor and escaped before Toby could pursue her.
• Hailey glimpsed Angel beside a familiar woman and considered seeking Angel out if she wanted revenge on Toby.
• Hailey heard signs that the Planar Corridor might collapse and resolved to remove the toxin and find a way out.
• Toby transformed into a small bird, put on his red cape, and prepared to recount his grievances to Angel and Gloria.
• Gloria urged everyone to leave the unsafe area before hearing Toby's story, and Angel agreed.

Butler No. 1 tended the garden while Azaz asked Sebastian about the powerful aura in the void and worried about Toby’s tribulation. Gloria returned through a strange door with Angel, Sanders, and Toby, leaving Azaz relieved to see Toby safe.

• City Lord Rosen sent a message saying a Demonic Beast had appeared in the void but had already left.
• Azaz asked Sebastian about the aura, and Sebastian said it had drawn the attention of powerful beings from the Abyss.
• Sebastian demanded Toby as a sacrificial feast, so Azaz refused and cut off their conversation.
• Gloria arrived through a door with Angel, Sanders, and Toby perched on Angel’s shoulder.
• Azaz saw Toby had returned and inferred that Toby had successfully passed its tribulation.

Gloria confirmed that Toby had advanced, and Azaz felt the full weight of Toby’s new aura. Back in the hall, Toby began recounting his tribulation, but he was still describing its earlier trials when the chapter ended.

• Gloria confirmed to Azaz that Toby had advanced, and Azaz addressed him as Lord Toby and bowed in a half-kneeling salute.
• After Gloria and the others left, Azaz confronted Sebastian, who admitted he knew Toby had advanced and urged Azaz to work harder.
• Angel and the others returned to the hall, where Butler No. 1 served tea and Gloria provided pastries.
• Toby complained that he had been wronged, then began recounting his tribulation by describing the traps and dangers he had overcome.

Toby recounted surviving the Heart House tribulation but remained angry that an unknown creature had defeated the Extreme Grudge Intent before he could. Angel and Gloria concluded that the creature was likely Toby’s next tribulation, one of the Three Tribulations, and Toby resolved to grow stronger before facing it.

• Toby described the traps and Demonic Beasts he encountered in the Heart House, then complained that an unknown creature had defeated the Extreme Grudge Intent first.
• Gloria tried to comfort Toby, and Angel calmed him by suggesting he use his anger to defeat the creature when they met again.
• Angel and Gloria reasoned that the creature behind the vortex was a new tribulation within Toby, likely one of the Three Tribulations.
• Gloria said Toby would need to keep training and face the new tribulation, and Toby agreed without hesitation.
• Angel asked Toby what the creature looked like, and Toby said he had seen only a faintly glowing White Feather.

Angel left White Dove Library after searching its collection for a magical beast matching Toby’s vision of White Feather, but found no definite answer. Little Six hurried after him as he departed, while Toby slept in Angel’s pocket.

• Librarians at White Dove Library discussed the terrifying aura that had recently swept across Sky Mechanical City and learned that its source had left.
• The librarians realized Little Six was watching the Ancient Riverbank section because Angel, the Transcendent Dimension wizard, was there.
• Angel walked out of the library, passing the librarians, who waited until he was gone before gossiping about him.
• Little Six suddenly stood up and ran toward the entrance after Angel.
• Angel recalled that he had searched decades of Where Are the Magical Beasts issues for a creature resembling Toby’s White Feather, but had found only uncertain similarities.
• Toby fell into a deep sleep in Angel’s breast pocket after accompanying him through the library.

After Toby passed his tribulation, Angel set out to explore Sky Mechanical City before leaving, but Little Six stopped him and asked him to help the injured Helen. Angel went with Little Six to Red Sunflower Ward to see Helen.

• Angel gave up searching for records of Toby’s third-tribulation form and decided to walk through Sky Mechanical City rather than fly back.
• Little Six stopped Angel and explained that she had sought him out because Helen was seriously injured.
• Little Six told Angel that she had met Helen at the New Star Tournament and learned of her connection to him.
• Angel agreed to help Helen and followed Little Six to her home in Red Sunflower Ward.

Angel examined Helen and found that her body was recovering, but her spiritual power was severely disrupted after she became a Talented One through external means. He told Little Six that he could stabilize her spiritual power himself, leaving Helen with a chance to recover.

• Little Six brought Angel to Helen, who was resting in her room after briefly waking that morning.
• Angel examined Helen and said her physical injuries were improving, but her spiritual power had been badly affected.
• Little Six explained that Helen could barely sense her mind space and feared her spiritual power might fall below the threshold for a Talented One.
• Angel explained that Helen's unstable spiritual power came from becoming a Talented One through external means and said her injury was still treatable.
• Angel told Little Six he could help Helen by sorting out her spiritual power, making her decision to seek him out a fortuitous mistake.

Angel learned that Helen had been injured when she tried to save Si Man from a group of strangers who abducted her, and he waited for Helen to awaken so he could treat her damaged spiritual power. When Helen finally woke, she saw Angel at her bedside and recognized him as Lord Transcendent Dimension.

• Angel asked Little Six how Helen had been injured and learned that Si Man had disappeared half a month earlier.
• Little Six explained that strangers had tried to abduct Si Man, and Helen had been struck down by a powerful pressure while trying to save her.
• Angel concluded that the pressure of a formal wizard had severely damaged Helen's body and spiritual power, and he silenced Little Six when her speculation became distracting.
• After sleeping through most of the day, Helen woke near dawn and looked toward the window, as she often did while worrying about Si Man.
• Helen noticed Angel's shadow, turned to face him, and greeted him as Lord Transcendent Dimension.