Chapter Summaries

Yi Chen fought Garp, whose survival instinct let him rapidly learn new combat skills, while William watched and waited for the right moment. Just as Yi Chen was about to kill Garp, William stepped in and offered to teach him.

• Garp escaped Yi Chen’s beheading by creating a new body from the gap between his thighs, then learned to run faster and headed for William and Lainey.
• William used Abyssal Concealment to pull himself and Lainey out of Garp’s reach, leaving Garp to face Yi Chen.
• Garp learned to create and wield a Thorn Sword, and the two fought as Garp adapted to Yi Chen’s attacks and wounded him.
• William explained to Little Grape that Yi Chen was allowing Garp to learn one-handed weapon use so Garp would overlook Yi Chen’s free hand.
• Yi Chen used his left hand to trap Garp’s sword arm, severed it, and moved in for the killing blow.
• William stepped between Yi Chen and Garp, blocked the slash with his White Gloves, and offered to teach Garp.

William pulled Yi Chen out of his primal state and helped him regain consciousness, then revealed that Gapp had become a student and that the final stage pillar was in place. William planned to secretly redirect the coming invasion of malice and asked Yi Chen to support him and spend time with the Ninth Calamity.

• William trapped Yi Chen in an aquarium through the Vortex Mark, where Yi Chen returned to his coffin and slept until his primal state faded.
• Director Cao restored Yi Chen's consciousness and warned him that William was beyond her ability to predict and should be watched carefully.
• William woke Yi Chen in a theater and explained that he had successfully indoctrinated Gapp, who had become a student.
• Yi Chen confronted William, who said the final stage pillar was set and he would intervene if anyone tried to destroy the stage.
• William said he planned to secretly redirect the coming invasion of malice and asked Yi Chen to support him, accompany Lainey to the City of Evil, and spend time with the Ninth Calamity.

William and his companions returned to the City of Evil after defeating the Fourth Calamity, Gape, and reflected on what they had gained from the battle. Yi Chen and Lainey returned to the hotel, where the manager invited them to an intercontinental banquet and quietly considered the implications of their victory.

• William brought everyone back to the City of Evil and explained that he had chosen Gape because his malice and gaps could reach across the plane.
• Yi Chen reflected on gaining Experience Against Evil and finding the strength to contend with a Calamity, while William praised Lainey's role in the battle.
• Yi Chen and Lainey left the café, passed the Video Store without detouring, and returned to their hotel suite.
• The manager told Yi Chen that he and Lainey could attend the Intercontinental Hotel Joint Banquet and confirmed that NO. 4 had been controlled rather than erased.
• After Yi Chen and Lainey took the elevator, the manager looked out at the night sky and wondered whether there was hope after the Fourth Calamity's defeat.

The First Calamity arrived in Gapp’s world, discovered Gapp’s experiments with the Fatal Video Tape, and tested him before leaving. Gapp emerged from the seams determined to grow stronger, while Lainey accidentally reached a hidden hotel arena and found Yi Chen sparring with the manager.

• The white-hooded First Calamity entered the Fatal Video Tape’s domain, where Gapp admitted he was spreading its influence and cultivating a new kind of deadly malice.
• Gapp broke the First Calamity’s choking hold with a blade of malice, then endured an examination before the First Calamity left.
• After the First Calamity disappeared, Gapp developed a desire to resist, left the seams, and contacted the Fatal Video Tape theme laboratory to strengthen himself.
• Lainey woke alone in the hotel and followed the elevator instructions, but the elevator took her to a dark, forbidden floor instead of the gymnasium.
• Lainey’s beastly form led her to a wire-mesh arena, where she found Yi Chen and the manager sparring with combat daggers.

Yi Chen trained with Lainey, who used Kin Reproduction to create a powerful offspring tailored to fight him. After six hours of combat, they were both exhausted, and Yi Chen carried Lainey back to rest before the next calamity.

• The manager explained that most hotel guests had become too lazy to need a gym, then sparred with Yi Chen until Lainey arrived.
• Lainey asked to train with Yi Chen and used the Newborn Forest’s forbidden Kin Reproduction technique to create a Sheep Head Person.
• Yi Chen fought Lainey’s offspring, which countered his abilities and repeatedly recovered as long as Lainey remained alive.
• After six hours, Lainey recalled the offspring and told Yi Chen that her mother, the Plague Lord of the Sheep Pen, could also reproduce tailored offspring, though Lainey alone could create ones stronger than herself.
• Yi Chen found Lainey too weak to move and carried her back over his shoulder.

William woke Yi Chen and Lainey, then took them to Heretic Food Street to help them adapt to the foul stench they would face when visiting Aunt Mei. He used Little Grape to show them Aunt Mei cooking, leaving Lainey vomiting, Yi Chen struggling to hold back, and William drooling.

• William found Yi Chen hanging in the bathroom and woke him, then led him and Lainey out to get food.
• William explained that they needed to adapt to Aunt Mei’s intense smell before visiting her so they would not vomit in her home.
• William brought Yi Chen and Lainey to a grease-serving dining hall on Heretic Food Street and used Social Phobia to drive out the diners occupying its private room.
• William released Little Grape and projected a view of Aunt Mei cooking in a house beyond the wall.
• Lainey vomited a pile of goat embryos, Yi Chen fought back nausea, and William watched Aunt Mei with drool at the corners of his mouth.

William explained Aunt Mei’s Evil Fetus cuisine and why the Sixth Calamity was too dangerous to target, then led Yi Chen and Lainey to her restaurant. Aunt Mei greeted Lainey and guided her upstairs, her scent strangely fragrant instead of foul.

• Lainey watched the Evil Fetus through Little Grape’s x-ray vision, vomited, and asked William what it was.
• William explained that Aunt Mei processed Evil Fetuses into powerful food and said killing her would expose them to the other calamities.
• Yi Chen and Lainey spent five hours adapting to the sight and smell before William led them through the foggy streets toward Aunt Mei’s restaurant.
• The group passed Phenomenon-Level customers and illusions of evil babies as William described Aunt Mei’s ingredient exchange and the stench left by anyone who ate her food.
• Aunt Mei came down to greet Lainey, ignored William and Yi Chen, and led Lainey upstairs while giving off a fragrant incense scent.

Yi Chen, William, and Lainey visited Aunt Mei, who asked Lainey to help restore her Palace Body in exchange for food. Lainey agreed but let William choose a revised payment, and his request for a bowl of Dumplings visibly unsettled Aunt Mei.

• Yi Chen restrained his urge to attack Aunt Mei after William assured him that she was only holding Lainey's hand and urged him to follow her lead.
• Aunt Mei brought the group to her home, where she explained that she wanted Lainey to help restore her lost fertility by reconstructing her Palace Body.
• Aunt Mei offered Lainey a bowl of food each month and threatened an organ transplant if Lainey failed to restore her body; Lainey agreed to the deal but asked to change its terms.
• Lainey let William choose what he wanted in exchange, and William asked Aunt Mei for one bowl of Dumplings.
• Aunt Mei's scent turned foul as she stood and beckoned William to follow her for a private conversation.

Lainey agreed to create a Palace Body for Aunt Mei so William could obtain a bowl of Dumplings, trusting that he had a reason for arranging the deal. William secured Aunt Mei’s agreement with a Soul Contract, and the chapter ended with Yi Chen asking what William intended to do with the Dumplings.

• Lainey told Yi Chen she had agreed to Aunt Mei’s terms to repay William for helping her and because she suspected he wanted something valuable from Aunt Mei.
• In the back kitchen, Aunt Mei confronted William, who explained how he had brought Lainey to her and arranged the deal.
• Aunt Mei killed William, but his Malignant Tumor regenerated his body, and he negotiated the bowl of Dumplings as payment for the Palace Body.
• William and Aunt Mei signed a Soul Contract, and William emerged to tell Lainey to create the Palace Body.
• Yi Chen asked William what he wanted the Dumplings for, but William refused to discuss it there.

The First Calamity arrived while Yi Chen and William waited at Aunt Mei’s house, searched their minds, and ordered William to investigate a mysterious group. After it left, William revealed that he had hidden memories of Gap from the search, and Aunt Mei emerged carrying an unconscious Lainey.

• William waited with Yi Chen at Aunt Mei’s house, and the First Calamity appeared to question them about their activities and inspect their brains.
• The First Calamity asked whether William had seen Gap, then assigned him to investigate a mysterious group that had made the malice of several Phenomenon Levels vanish.
• William agreed to report back within three days and asked to bring Yi Chen along.
• After the First Calamity left, William explained that he had altered their memories of Gap to conceal their actions, and Yi Chen recovered the hidden memories when William snapped his fingers.
• Aunt Mei came out of the kitchen carrying the unconscious Lainey and placed her on the sofa.

William, Yi Chen, and Lainey set out to investigate a mysterious organization after Prison Boss assigned William a mission. They reached a world being consumed by darkness, where Yi Chen spotted a circus poster.

• Aunt Mei gave William a red-jade Dumpling, then weakened and went to rest while William cleaned up the filth.
• William read Prison Boss's mission and prepared to leave with Yi Chen, but he fell asleep in the hotel lobby for half an hour.
• Lainey woke and joined William and Yi Chen as they traveled through an adjacent world after their teleportation attempt failed.
• William, Yi Chen, and Lainey arrived at a world with two-thirds of its surface covered in darkness and landed on an eerily deserted city street.
• Yi Chen saw a poster blown by the wind and recognized the image as a circus.

William explained that the circus was swallowing a small city by drawing people into its shadows, and he proposed entering undercover to discover what it had become. He used his Adaptive Stage to disguise the group, then led them toward the circus for a reunion with his former companions.

• Yi Chen found William hiding in a dumpster, and William revealed that the circus was spreading flyers before drawing people caught in its shadows into its performance.
• William and Catherine concluded that the circus’s world-devouring behavior did not match its former methods and might have a cause unrelated to Boss.
• William told Yi Chen he would first try to persuade the circus to leave, then proposed entering it in disguise to investigate its strength and activities.
• William activated his Adaptive Stage, which made Yi Chen and Lainey see Director Cao and other figures from Yi Chen’s past until William snapped him out of the illusion.
• William explained that the stage disguised anyone within five meters and led Yi Chen, Lainey, and Catherine toward a city being swallowed by the shadows.

William and his companions entered a circus performance by hiding among villagers, then survived a deadly magic-hat game without exposing their identities. After receiving spectator cards, William recognized the magician as the circus’s new deputy commander and revealed that he wanted to find out who had become Head Clown.

• William and his companions disguised themselves as villagers and were swept into the shadows, then grabbed ropes to survive the fall into the circus arena.
• A roulette wheel selected the Magic Hat performance after William’s attempt to influence the result failed, and the magician announced a five-minute head-finding challenge with fatal penalties.
• Yi Chen, Catherine, Lainey, William, and one elderly villager found their heads and survived, while the other villagers died.
• The magician gave the survivors spectator cards, and William secretly endured the strain of keeping his Actor Field active as the magician wiped blood from him.
• In the dressing room, William identified the magician as the newly recruited deputy commander and spoke to the face emerging from his chest about finding the Head Clown.

William, Yi Chen, and Catherine watched the circus’s new clown show after a much larger group of humans arrived. The Skeleton Clown’s depressive aura killed nearly all the participants, and he recruited a trembling volunteer to bring the show up to its required number.

• William and his companions ate a meal from the circus and discussed its expansion and the new Main Clown and Sub-Clown.
• A city’s worth of humans fell into the circus, and a priest-like man spun the roulette wheel until William’s influence stopped it on the clown mask.
• A gaunt, wooden-legged Skeleton Clown took the stage and spread despair among the participants, prompting most of them to kill themselves.
• The Skeleton Clown found only nine survivors and asked for volunteers, offering a job in his department to anyone who survived the performance.
• A black-clothed survivor raised his trembling hand, and the Skeleton Clown eagerly called him onto the stage.

William volunteered for the Skeleton Clown’s performance, hoping survival would earn him a place in the circus and spare him the final selection. After ten minutes of being tossed high above the circus, William and the priest barely survived while most of the other participants died or were crippled.

• William hid a piece of Origin Tumor beneath a seat and volunteered to take part in the performance.
• The Skeleton Clown created a towering building and ordered ten participants to reach its roof and jump down one by one.
• Catherine recognized William as possibly being from Melancholy City and wondered how he could have escaped Yate’s notice.
• The Skeleton Clown tossed the participants into the air, while their fear of heights intensified and a countdown pressured them to jump.
• William survived repeated tosses despite a broken neck, injuries, and losing control of his bladder; most participants were left dead or severely injured.

William revealed himself to Skeleton Clown as the former Chief Actor of the circus, surviving the clown’s attacks and escaping his restraints. Just as Skeleton Clown recognized him, a powerful figure wearing Rabbit Headgear descended into the venue and pinned them under its pressure.

• Skeleton Clown noticed that the headgear-wearing participant had survived the dangerous performance and tried to remove the headgear for employment authentication.
• Skeleton Clown recognized the participant’s grotesque mouth as resembling A Ter, entered a manic state, and attacked William with powerful gravity-based jumps.
• William survived Skeleton Clown’s attacks, while the circus’s upper-level members watched and the magnetic male voice said William was special.
• Skeleton Clown stopped a devastating final dive, realized the participant was William Berens, and helped him remove the headgear.
• A figure wearing Rabbit Headgear crashed into the venue, forcing William and Skeleton Clown down with its overwhelming pressure.

William returned to Fear Circus after the World Infection and was attacked by Mr. Rabbit, whose strength had grown to Plague Lord level. He reunited with the circus members and learned that Mr. Gian had become Boss while the former Boss was sealed away.

• Yi Chen felt Mr. Rabbit’s overwhelming physical pressure from the audience platform but restrained his urge to fight.
• William revealed his identity and tried to stop Mr. Rabbit’s punch without harming the audience, but Mr. Rabbit’s sudden burst of power sent him crashing into the venue’s edge.
• William emerged from the crater and asked how Mr. Rabbit had grown so strong, just as Fear Circus’s current members arrived.
• William recognized the circus’s departments and learned about their new members, including Teacher Zed as Fourth Troupe Leader, the Zion magicians Martin and Marco, and the clown Thomas Jumper.
• William asked Mr. Gian whether he was the new Boss and learned that the former Boss had been isolated and sealed deep within subspace.

William returned to the circus with a way to restore the former Boss, but the remedy would transform the Boss with evil. He asked Gian to accept the risk and help the circus confront the eighth Calamity, then revealed that he and Yi Chen would face the first Calamity at a separate stage.

• William asked to see his former Boss and said he had found a way to restore him, but Gian refused to let him meet the Boss until he explained the method.
• Catherine vouched for William, though Gian recognized that she and William had transformed in essence and remained wary of them.
• William produced a box containing an original fetal body of evil that could heal the former Boss, and Yi Chen recognized the Dumplings inside.
• William explained that the remedy would make the former Boss a fusion of malice and the abyss, then asked Gian to help lure the eighth Calamity into a circus performance during the final war.
• William said he would stage his own performance against the first Calamity with Yi Chen, whose gaze made Gian feel threatened.

Yi Chen and William reunited with Mr. Gian and the circus, and William agreed to report his mission complete if the circus left the evil-occupied lower plane. At the Demon Feast, William’s dish was replaced by a cassette that promised the food was inside, leaving the gathered members to decide whether to play it.

• Yi Chen greeted Mr. Gian, and the two discussed William and the limited information about the Eighth Calamity.
• William told Mr. Gian that he would not destroy the circus and could report his mission complete if it left the lower plane.
• Mr. Gian invited everyone to gather for a Demon Feast, and Catherine and Mahat joined the circus members.
• William learned that Chef Timmy was recovering from his injuries and that Mr. Grim had taken charge of the expanded back kitchen.
• As the Demon Feast began, Thomas reported that William had gone into the back-kitchen bathroom without preparing a dish, then an unmanned dining car arrived carrying a television and a cassette claiming William’s food was inside.

At the Demon Feast, William used an eating-stream video to make the circus crave octopus, while Catherine served matching octopus dishes. Catherine won first place, and Gian quietly assessed William’s ability to threaten the circus alongside Yi Chen.

• The circus members sampled the dishes, including Clown Thomas’s Diving Fish and Adam Frost’s Magic Meatballs, before turning their attention to William’s Video Tape.
• Gian had a Poker Face attendant play the tape, where William performed an eating stream featuring a live octopus and an enticing pepper-oil sauce.
• William’s performance made the diners hungry again, and Gian realized Catherine’s food had not been served.
• A trembling Poker Face attendant brought Catherine’s Dining Car, revealing a box of octopuses prepared to match William’s recipe, and the diners eagerly ate them while repeating his chant.
• Gian privately asked William how long he would need to purge the circus with Yi Chen’s help, and William said three days would barely suffice.
• Catherine won first place and embraced and kissed William.