Chapter Summaries

Lanchi brought Hughberlian to meet Sigrid, who introduced herself as Sid Novia and hinted that Hughberlian’s political support could help secure votes. When Hughberlian recognized the Ba Tian Holy Seal and tried to pull Lanchi away, Sigrid seized her wrist, leaving the three on the verge of a fight.

• Hughberlian questioned Cat Boss about Lanchi and Sigrid’s closeness, but Cat Boss fled beneath a sofa rather than explain their northern journey.
• Lanchi told Hughberlian that he and Sigrid had survived repeated life-or-death encounters with the Nirvana Branch on their way north and back.
• Sigrid thanked Lanchi, introduced herself as Sid Novia, and asked Hughberlian whether she had secured votes from Milford Territory and part of the Northwest Province.
• Sigrid asked Gloria for a spare Grand Priest Holy Seal, and Hughberlian recognized its purple Ba Tian insignia.
• Hughberlian grabbed Lanchi’s arm and tried to leave, but Sigrid seized her wrist and ordered her to let go.
• Hughberlian refused after realizing Sigrid belonged to the Rebirth Church, while Cat Boss watched from beneath the sofa.

Sigrid and Hughberlian argued over Lanchi after Sigrid revealed that he had joined the Ba Tian Branch and sworn loyalty to the Ba Tian Sect. Hughberlian rejected cooperation with the Rebirth Church, and both women demanded that Lanchi choose whom he would protect.

• Sigrid demanded that Hughberlian let go of Lanchi, while Hughberlian challenged Sigrid's claim over him.
• Lanchi told Hughberlian that he was allied with the Ba Tian Branch to save the Protos Empire, and Sigrid said he had joined voluntarily.
• Hughberlian realized that Lanchi had not denied Sigrid's account and swore she would never cooperate with the Rebirth Church.
• Sigrid recognized Hughberlian as a member of the Goddess of Fate Church and declared that they had no grounds for cooperation.
• Sigrid and Hughberlian argued over who Lanchi would protect, then both turned to him and demanded that he choose.

Sigrid and Hughberlian demanded that Lanchi choose whom he would protect, but his wounded, bewildered act made both women reconsider their fight. The confrontation eased as each woman privately concluded that she was Lanchi’s most important person.

• Cat Boss hid beneath the sofa as Sigrid and Hughberlian argued over Lanchi’s allegiance and demanded that he choose whom he would protect.
• Lanchi stayed silent and looked bewildered while Sigrid and Hughberlian pressed him for an answer.
• Gloria expected Lanchi’s attempt to look pitiful to anger the two women, but Sigrid and Hughberlian instead wondered which of them he considered important and which he wanted to protect.
• Sigrid and Hughberlian felt guilty for not letting Lanchi explain and began to calm down, while Cat Boss marveled at how he had soothed them both.

Lanchi showed Hughberlian evidence of the Nirvana Branch’s atrocities in the northern city-state and brokered a trade between her and Sigrid. The negotiations ended in awkward silence when Hughberlian offered help breaking someone out of prison, only for the others to reveal they were planning the same prison break.

• Sigrid apologized to Lanchi, and she and Hughberlian stopped arguing and took seats on opposite ends of the sofa.
• Lanchi played footage showing the northern city-state’s residents’ corpses beneath a black fog, then showed Hughberlian Sigrid fighting Nirvana Bishop Askesang.
• Hughberlian agreed that the Goddess of Fate Church would act against the Nirvana Branch to stop Askesang from taking control of the Protos Empire.
• Sigrid asked Hughberlian to state her terms for a trade, and Hughberlian offered information about Helrom Prison in exchange for recruiting a Great Demon Race member to help fight Askesang.
• Gloria revealed that Lanchi and Sigrid also intended to break someone out of prison, leaving Hughberlian and Sigrid embarrassed.

Lanchi brought Sigrid and Hughberlian to agree to cooperate in rescuing the Great Demon Race and preventing war between the Protos Empire and the Northwest countries. He laid out the Ba Tian Branch’s prison-break plan, leaving Hughberlian stunned by his apparent expertise.

• Lanchi confirmed that the Goddess of Fate Church wanted to rescue the Great Demon Race and align it with the Aetherland Kingdom, and he explained that the Ba Tian Branch shared that goal.
• Hughberlian agreed to connect the Ba Tian Branch with the Goddess of Fate Church, while Sigrid allowed Lanchi to decide whether they would assist.
• Lanchi identified Hughberlian as the candidate to bring the Great Demon Race out of Helrom Prison, and Hughberlian agreed to take part.
• Gloria produced Helrom Prison’s architectural plans, and Lanchi outlined how he would keep Warden Bakas occupied while a Ba Tian Branch subordinate switched places with the Great Demon Race.

Lanchi and Hughberlian prepared to move up the prison rescue, and he drew portraits of the three Great Demon Race members she was sent to find. Hughberlian identified Guardian of Antanas as the intended rescue target and said her connection to her aunt Talia would help her persuade Antanas to cooperate.

• Hughberlian confirmed she had memorized Lanchi's prison layout and operational plan, though she felt uneasy about completing her church assessment with the Rebirth Church's help.
• Hughberlian named Guardian of Antanas, Law-Breaking Sinora, and Truth-Seeking Planai as the three sealed Great Demon Race members.
• Lanchi sketched the three members from Hughberlian's descriptions, and she matched the portraits to their names despite struggling to identify them.
• Hughberlian described their strengths, saying Antanas was the weakest, Sinora was stronger, and Planai was slightly stronger still but not a direct fighter.
• Lanchi concluded that the Ice Witch intended to rescue Antanas, and Hughberlian said her mother's family connection to Antanas would let her persuade her to help.
• Hughberlian kept her identity as the Demon Race's Last Princess secret and hoped to meet her aunt Talia, whom she believed had been close to Antanas.

Lanchi arranged to use Poet of Great Love as a clone so he could accompany Hughberlian to Helrom Prison while his main body distracted the warden at the academy. He planned to begin the mission in three days, after preparing his new disguise as the Demon Race’s Last Princess.

• Lanchi offered to handle Law-Breaking Sinora and Truth-Seeking Planai while Hughberlian dealt with Guardian of Antanas, and Hughberlian reluctantly trusted him.
• Hughberlian unsealed Poet of Great Love, who complained about being bullied before taking a human-form skin card from Lanchi.
• Poet of Great Love agreed to lend Lanchi her body in exchange for the chance to observe several Primordial Slabs.
• Lanchi possessed Poet of Great Love, creating a clone who could accompany Hughberlian to Helrom Prison while his main body controlled the warden’s movements at the academy.
• Lanchi told the group to begin the mission in three days and planned to use Talia’s face, his own hair and eyes, and his soul for his disguise.

Lanchi met Warden Bakas at Protos Royal Magic Academy and discussed the upcoming Bishop Election, advising him that Askesang was the candidate he favored. Bakas then revealed that Duke Morodian Berenhard wanted to meet Lanchi privately, leaving Lanchi surprised by the powerful duke’s unexpected request.

• Warden Bakas apologized to Lanchi for arriving late amid the disturbances surrounding the approaching Bishop Election.
• Lanchi said he favored Askesang, noting that the northern nobles and Imperial Army supported the Nirvana Branch, and Bakas agreed.
• Bakas praised Lanchi’s artistic work and asked whether he could meet an important person later that day.
• Bakas named Duke Morodian Berenhard as the person who wanted to speak with Lanchi privately.
• Lanchi questioned why the duke needed Bakas to relay the message and reacted with solemn surprise.

Lanchi agreed to meet Duke Morodian Berenhard after first discussing cooperation with Warden Bakas, while he secretly divided his attention between two bodies. At Helrom Prison, Hughberlian and four other students completed the entry checks and reached the portal leading to the dangerous underground levels.

• Lanchi agreed to make time for Duke Morodian Berenhard after his discussion with Warden Bakas, and Bakas accepted the arrangement.
• Lanchi wondered whether Duke Morodian Berenhard was genuine while he focused much of his attention on Helrom.
• Hughberlian and four other students passed Helrom Prison's security checks and entered its Basic Level.
• Hughberlian helped the distracted Poet of Great Love, controlled by Lanchi, avoid stumbling during the journey.
• Hughberlian's group reached the deep-purple mirror that connected the Basic Level to the prison's underground floors.

Hughberlian led the Poet of Great Love and three Ba Tian Direct subordinates through Helrom Prison’s final checkpoint and into the Negative First Floor for their mission. Meanwhile, Loren observed a cleric’s assessment from afar, grew alarmed by the black-and-green color scheme of the masked woman beside her, then reassured himself that he had mistaken her for Lanchi.

• A prison guard warned Hughberlian’s group that interns could be seriously injured or killed without rescue, and Hughberlian confirmed that they understood the risks.
• The three Ba Tian Direct subordinates unnerved the prison guard by staring at him when he questioned the Poet of Great Love, and Hughberlian led the group through the checkpoint.
• Hughberlian, the Poet of Great Love, and the three subordinates entered the Void Teleportation Gate and arrived on the Negative First Floor of Helrom Prison.
• In Iketerite, Loren watched a female noble student take an assessment and recognized that it was connected to Helrom Prison.
• Loren saw the masked woman beside the cleric and panicked at her black-and-green appearance, fearing another corrupted cleric, before deciding she was not Lanchi.

Hughberlian and the Poet of Great Love arrived at Helrom Prison’s Negative First Floor and reviewed the rules for their trial assessment. They learned that they needed to complete an assignment, earn enough Service Points, and gain the warden’s approval to descend further.

• Hughberlian helped the Poet of Great Love up after she fell in the Teleportation Hall and urged her to stay close in case they encountered danger.
• Hughberlian considered the trial assessment’s rewards and requirements, including the chance to earn a higher diploma and choose an item from an ancient treasury.
• Hughberlian checked her Student Bracelet and learned that they had to obey prison regulations and earn Service Points through labor assignments.
• Hughberlian read that her team needed to complete a Negative First Floor assignment, earn more than 1,000 team Service Points, and obtain the warden’s permission and evaluation before proceeding to the Negative Second Floor.
• Hughberlian recalled that Service Points could potentially be used to select a prisoner and attempt to form a lifelong Slave Contract.

Hughberlian led Poet of Great Love and three Ba Tian Priests through Helrom Prison toward the Warden's Office, while trying to keep the priests from exposing her examination. The observers grew suspicious of the three priests' fanatical loyalty as the group continued toward the next stage of the mission.

• The Ice Witch warned Hughberlian that the imprisoned Great Demon Race members would likely kill anyone who tried to negotiate a contract with them, except possibly Ifatia's daughter.
• Poet of Great Love ordered the three Ba Tian Priests to follow Milian's directions, then returned to standby mode.
• Hughberlian led the group toward the Warden's Office on the Negative First Floor to accept its commissioned task.
• Hughberlian worried that the Ba Tian Priests' loyalty to her would make her look like a Rebirth Church superior and jeopardize her priest examination.
• The three Ba Tian Priests swore their loyalty to Hughberlian, making the observers in the high-dimensional viewing space suspect something was wrong.

Hughberlian brought the intern prison guards to Warden Colendan’s office on Helrom Prison’s Negative First Floor to receive their assignments. After Colendan reprimanded her for entering without knocking, he assigned tasks to the group through their bracelets.

• Hughberlian led the intern prison guards through the Negative First Floor to the Warden’s Office.
• Hughberlian asked Warden Colendan to assign them their internship duties, but he continued processing documents without responding.
• Colendan questioned Hughberlian for failing to knock, and she apologized and promised to follow the rules.
• Colendan used the central Magic Device to assign tasks, and the interns’ bracelets displayed their new duties.

Hughberlian and the other interns discovered that their assigned prison tasks were dangerous and paid poorly, so she tried to persuade Warden Colendan to give them better work. She realized she would need to negotiate with him, but stopped the three Rebirth Church members from confronting him as the Goddess of Fate Church’s Decision Makers watched.

• The five interns compared their assignments and saw that most had received risky, exhausting tasks that offered few Service Points.
• Hughberlian asked Warden Colendan for more difficult, higher-paying tasks, but he rejected her request and told the newcomers to prove themselves first.
• Hughberlian invoked her connection to Earl Milford, but Colendan dismissed the appeal and said the veteran guards would object to giving the interns preferential treatment.
• Hughberlian realized that valuable Magic Cards might help her bargain with Colendan for better assignments.
• The three Rebirth Church members began cracking their knuckles, and Hughberlian quickly warned them not to use their usual methods while the Goddess of Fate Church’s Decision Makers were watching.

Hughberlian tried to keep the Ba Tian Priests from attacking Warden Colendan, but he mocked her and dismissed her appeal to Principal Luo Qi McCarthy. When the Poet of Great Love noticed Hughberlian’s predicament, she eagerly offered to handle the social niceties.

• Hughberlian suppressed her anger and decided not to use force against Warden Colendan during their first day in the prison.
• Hughberlian told Colendan that she and the other guards were trained by Principal Luo Qi McCarthy and asked him to show them consideration.
• Colendan mocked Hughberlian, saying that even Luo Qi McCarthy had to bring him two cartons of cigarettes and that his students’ abilities meant nothing on this floor.
• The Poet of Great Love came to her senses after hearing Luo Qi McCarthy’s name, saw Hughberlian’s troubled expression, and offered to handle the social niceties.

Lanchi used a friendly meeting with Warden Bakas to raise an allegation that Warden Colendan had demanded cigarettes even from Luo Qi McCarthy. Bakas called the prison to confront Colendan, leaving him to answer the accusation.

• Lanchi and Warden Bakas discussed prison reform and cooperation at the Redmond Building.
• Lanchi recalled a student's report that Warden Colendan had demanded two cigarettes, even if Luo Qi McCarthy visited.
• Warden Bakas agreed to investigate and used the meeting room's Communication Terminal to call Helrom Prison.
• Bakas reached Warden Colendan on the Negative First Floor and demanded to know whether he had made the remark about Luo Qi McCarthy.

The Poet of Great Love exposed Warden Colendan’s disrespect toward Luo Qi McCarthy during a call with Warden Bakas, leaving Colendan desperate to appease them. After Bakas threatened him with the Negative Sixth Floor, the Poet of Great Love showed Hughberlian how the incident could help them reach the inner Negative Fourth Floor and find the Great Demon Race.

• Warden Colendan denied insulting Luo Qi McCarthy when Warden Bakas confronted him by communication terminal.
• The Poet of Great Love told Bakas that Colendan had said even their principal would need to bring him two cartons of cigarettes.
• Warden Bakas demanded to know whether the Poet of Great Love was an intern and warned Colendan that he could be sent to the Negative Sixth Floor.
• Luo Qi McCarthy told Bakas that the incident would not affect their friendship, and Bakas ended the call after giving Colendan a final warning.
• The Poet of Great Love indicated to Hughberlian that they could use Colendan’s authority to skip to the Negative Fourth Floor and seek the Great Demon Race.

Lanchi reassured Warden Bakas and resumed discussing prison programs and policy with him, while Warden Colendan tried to soften his treatment of the Intern Prison Guards. Lanchi’s companions then confronted Colendan over an alleged debt, leaving Hughberlian startled by their threatening behavior.

• Lanchi accepted Bakas’s apology, thanked him, and asked him to continue explaining Helrom Prison’s operations.
• Bakas described vocational training and education programs that helped prisoners prepare to reenter society and lowered recidivism.
• Warden Colendan changed his attitude toward the Intern Prison Guards and offered to assign them more suitable tasks.
• Hughberlian realized Lanchi had likely complained to Bakas, and the Poet of Great Love told the three Ba Tian Priests to discuss arrangements with Colendan.
• The Male Priest confronted Colendan over what he supposedly owed, and Hughberlian questioned what Lanchi meant by calling them worldly.

Lanchi and the other Intern Prison Guards intimidated Warden Colendan into paying them Service Points, giving them special-grade evaluations, and sending them directly to the prison’s inner levels. Hughberlian feared their ruthless conduct would make the Goddess of Fate Church brand her a fallen priest.

• The three Ba Tian Priests cornered Warden Colendan and demanded compensation for Luo Qi McCarthy’s reputational harm and the students’ emotional damages.
• Colendan backed down after realizing he could not safely resist the three Resurrection Cultists without angering Warden Bakas.
• Hughberlian asked Colendan to award each of the five Intern Prison Guards 1,000 Service Points, write their evaluations as requested, and send them directly to the inner levels.
• The Poet of Great Love demanded that Colendan double the payment, and he granted each guard 2,000 Service Points while writing special-grade evaluations.
• Hughberlian watched the group’s demands succeed and worried that the Goddess of Fate Church would sever ties with her and certify her as a fallen priest.

Hughberlian and the Intern Prison Guards secured Warden Colendan’s approval to enter Helrom Prison’s inner levels, and he led them to the Teleportation Hall. As they prepared to descend, Colendan warned them about the lethal dangers below, while Hughberlian recalled how the prison’s Great Demon Race Trials could grant powerful imprints and titles.

• Warden Colendan signed the documents, gave the Intern Prison Guards exceptional evaluations, and approved their request to enter Helrom Prison’s inner levels.
• The three Rebirth Priests presented the documents to Hughberlian for confirmation, then ordered Colendan to register them with the prison’s barrier device.
• Colendan led Hughberlian and the others through the prison to the Teleportation Hall, where he activated the Void Teleportation Gate with his Key Crystal Key.
• Colendan warned the group that entering Negative Fourth Floor meant they would have to reach Negative Sixth Floor to leave safely, and recorded his warning.
• Hughberlian recalled that the bottom three floors contained Great Demon Race Trials, whose imprints could grant demon-race members Great Demon Race status and the potential to approach the Demon King.