Chapter Summaries

Elsa and Cat Boss fled assassins in the Bulida Mafia stronghold, only to be confronted by Viscount Carmel, a Blood Clan member who had learned about Elsa’s Eye of Judgment. As Carmel approached Elsa, someone appeared behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

• Elsa and Cat Boss escaped a transparent magic capsule and raced through the Bulida Port District while Mafia assassins pursued them.
• Elsa realized the pursuers were acting without their leader’s permission and deliberately headed toward the Mafia’s central district, using Cat Boss’s magic to create enough noise to expose their operation.
• Viscount Carmel slaughtered the pursuers, revealed that he had arranged the attack to silence Elsa, and demanded to know how many people he had killed.
• Elsa’s Eye of Judgment showed Carmel a seven-digit death count, and she called him a demon as he cornered her.
• A warm hand suddenly pressed onto Viscount Carmel’s shoulder from behind, revealing another presence in the alley.

Lanchi, posing as Professor Landry, rescued Elsa and Cat Boss from Viscount Carmel and revealed overwhelming strength while making the battle look evenly matched. He captured Carmel before the Blood Race member could escape, leaving the group with a dangerous prisoner in Mafia territory.

• Elsa warned Lanchi that Carmel had killed at least seven figures' worth of people, while Lanchi saw him as a valuable target to turn into a merit-making machine.
• Carmel attacked Lanchi, but Lanchi repeatedly outmaneuvered him and staged their fight as a close Tier 6 battle.
• Carmel tried to escape with Stealth Magic, but Lanchi seized him and stopped him from turning transparent.
• Carmel realized Lanchi had concealed transcendent power and feared the Blood Race Marquis would come after him and Elsa.
• Lanchi told Ursula that they had been evenly matched, while Elsa and Ursula questioned how effortless the battle had looked.
• Cat Boss shouted, "Take me as your apprentice!" after Lanchi captured Carmel.

Lanchi and Talia subdued Viscount Carmel and learned that Elsa’s danger may have begun at a Roland Family banquet, where her brother Ryan failed to pursue a suspicious intruder. As Lanchi prepared to take Carmel back to Saint Krui Di Monastery, Bulida Mafia leader Barton Hall confronted them and demanded that they leave the vampire behind.

• Lanchi comforted Elsa after she worried he might lose to Viscount Carmel, while Ursula urged him to show his sister more affection.
• Lanchi asked Elsa why the vampire had targeted her, and Ursula explained that Elsa had identified a suspicious banquet guest with her Eye of Judgment.
• Lanchi questioned whether Ryan’s investigation had failed and asked Ursula whether her brother’s temperament had changed over the past two years; Ursula reacted with shock.
• Lanchi told Ursula they would discuss the matter after returning to the academy, but Barton Hall appeared in the alley and blocked their way.
• Barton reached for Viscount Carmel, and Lanchi stopped him; Barton recognized Lanchi as a professor from Krui Di Academy and demanded that they leave the vampire behind.

Lanchi negotiated with Barton over custody of Viscount Carmel and agreed to meet the Bulida Mafia’s mysterious boss to discuss an alliance against the Blood Race. The boss welcomed him with the promise of dissecting his brain and taking control of him.

• Lanchi refused to surrender Viscount Carmel until Barton warned that handing him to the Empire would put Lanchi and the Landry siblings in danger.
• Lanchi agreed to leave Viscount Carmel in the Mafia’s custody under terms that let him continue his research, but Barton said only his boss could approve cooperation.
• Barton warned Lanchi that meeting his boss could be deadly, and Lanchi chose to go anyway while Elsa and Ursula waited with Barton.
• Barton contacted his boss, who ordered him to bring Lanchi to her.
• In her underground laboratory, the silver-haired Mafia boss picked up a Willow Leaf Blade and declared that she would dig into Lanchi’s brain and control him.

Lanchi entered the Bulida Mafia’s underground palace to persuade its boss, but their confrontation stopped when Talia and the silver-haired boss recognized each other as long-lost sisters. The boss, Ifatia, embraced Talia, leaving Lanchi’s mission overtaken by their reunion.

• Barton led Lanchi into the hidden underground palace beneath the Hassel Building while Elsa and Ursula stayed behind.
• The silver-haired Mafia boss attacked Lanchi with powerful magic, and Talia prepared to fight her in response.
• Talia and the silver-haired woman recognized each other, and the woman revealed that she was Ifatia.
• Ifatia embraced Talia and tearfully said that she had missed her sister.

Talia reunited with Ifatia after a century apart, and the sisters embraced and caught up on the hardships that had separated them. Ifatia asked about Hughberlian and her romantic life, leaving Talia insisting she would personally vet any suitors.

• Talia recognized Ifatia, and the sisters wept and embraced after a hundred years apart.
• Ifatia teased Talia about being married, then noticed her scars and said she would explain her experiences later.
• Lanchi reassured Talia that protecting Hughberlian in Ikelite had helped their cause, and Ifatia agreed that her sister had carried important responsibilities.
• Ifatia asked about Hughberlian, and Talia and Lanchi described her while telling Ifatia that she still thought about her mother.
• Ifatia asked whether Hughberlian had a boyfriend or love rivals, and Talia said she would vet any suitors herself.

Lanchi and Talia reunited with Ifatia in the underground palace, where they explained how they had reached the Krui Di Empire and become entangled with the Bulida Mafia. Ifatia accepted Lanchi as someone who had helped her sister and teased him about becoming her brother-in-law, while Talia insisted they were peers.

• Ifatia picked up Cat Boss and learned it was Talia’s landlord in Ikelite, then explained that marrying Mi Gaiya had made her an Ikelitean.
• Talia kept Lanchi from speaking freely until he described how he had taken Professor Landry’s identity after the real Landry was killed.
• Ifatia invited Lanchi and Talia to sit, lit the underground palace, and listened as Lanchi recounted their journey through the Bosen Kingdom and Flower Capital Pariel.
• Lanchi explained that he had joined the Imperial Special Operations Division, pursued Elsa’s attackers, and been brought to the Mafia base by Barton.
• Ifatia apologized for the demons’ habit of fighting before talking, thanked Lanchi for helping Talia, and asked him to take care of her sister.
• Ifatia teased Lanchi about becoming her brother-in-law, and Talia tapped him on the head while insisting they were of the same generation.

Talia and Lanchi reunited with Ifatia and shared what they knew about the situation on the Southern Continent. After learning that Ifatia was badly wounded from her failed attempt to rescue Mi Gaiya, Lanchi promised to help rescue the duke and destroy Blood Moon City, leaving Ifatia eager to join them.

• Talia and Lanchi discussed their relationship and exchanged playful banter while Ifatia and Cat Boss watched.
• Ifatia asked about their allies, and Talia explained that they could count only themselves as friendly forces for now.
• Ifatia praised Talia for becoming a Demon King, prompting Talia to tease Lanchi when she noticed him trying not to laugh.
• Ifatia revealed that the Blood King Divine Fire had injured her during her attempt to rescue Mi Gaiya from Blood Moon City, and Lanchi explained how the barrier worked.
• Lanchi promised to rescue Mi Gaiya and told Ifatia that he intended to destroy Blood Moon City; Ifatia offered to help and called him big brother with Talia's approval.

Lanchi, Talia, Ifatia, and Cat Boss discussed Ifatia’s wounds and learned that powerful wolf blood could cure the Blood King Divine Fire. Lanchi decided to approach Violet for blood when she returned, while Ifatia accepted calling him Big Brother.

• Ifatia insisted that Lanchi was her Big Brother because he was dating Talia, and Talia explained that her sister had driven her former tutors crazy.
• Ifatia said that the Blood King Divine Fire could be dispelled by the blood of a peak eighth-tier Wolf Warrior, while her ability to fall asleep let her endure the burning.
• Cat Boss revealed that Lanchi and Talia shared a private soul-linked channel and had only held hands, embarrassing them both.
• Ifatia explained that Violet’s Moon God blessing had awakened her wolf bloodline, while Lanchi and Cat Boss mentioned a powerful wolf in the Northern Continent who was too far away to reach soon.
• Lanchi decided to ask Violet for blood as an experimental sample after she returned, offering a valuable bargaining chip if needed.
• Ifatia thanked Lanchi and urged him not to take risks, and Lanchi stopped objecting to her calling him Big Brother.

Lanchi and Talia learned that Ifatia had rapidly grown stronger after taking a lifespan-shortening secret medicine, and Lanchi promised to help her dispel the Blood King Divine Fire. They left the underground palace with Barton’s help and planned to seek out Abigail, the Empire’s spatial Magic Artisan and a potential ally.

• Ifatia told Lanchi that she could barely fight a Blood Race Marquis after taking the Godly Curse Potential Secret Medicine, and Talia realized her sister had surpassed her by a wide margin.
• Talia cried over Ifatia’s shortened lifespan, and Lanchi comforted her while Ifatia explained that she had chosen the medicine’s human-like lifespan.
• Lanchi and Talia learned that Abigail had built the Silver Palace and that Barton knew her; Lanchi decided he wanted to meet her for his research project.
• Barton opened the palace door, and Ifatia told him to support Lanchi as their new partner.
• Lanchi promised to find medicine to dispel the Blood King Divine Fire and return to free Ifatia, then left with Talia and Barton.

Lanchi left the Mafia’s underground headquarters with Talia after entrusting Barton with the captured Blood Race Viscount, then asked Barton to help him meet Abigail. Barton suggested they find Abigail at the Bulida Opera House, where she was directing Holy War Romance, and Lanchi realized Elsa’s unused tickets could let them attend that night.

• Lanchi entrusted Barton with the Blood Race Viscount and said Ifatia could interrogate him while Lanchi avoided the Bulida Mafia for now.
• Lanchi asked Barton to introduce him to Abigail, and Barton explained that she was difficult to meet but lived above the Bulida Opera House.
• Barton advised Lanchi and Talia to attend Abigail’s opera as ordinary guests and suggested they use an acquaintance’s introduction to speak with her privately.
• Lanchi remembered Elsa had bought tickets for that night’s performance of Holy War Romance, which she and Ursula would miss after returning to Saint Krui Di Monastery.
• Lanchi invited Talia to the opera, and she agreed to go with him.

Hughberlian and the Great Demon Race companions settled into a merchant-guild villa in Nistero, where Antanas and the Ice Witch urged Hughberlian to rest and blend in while the adults handled the mission. The group prepared to watch a live broadcast of the stage adaptation of “Holy War Romance,” leaving them gathered around the screen as the show was about to begin.

• Hughberlian and her companions arrived in Nistero and checked into a secluded villa arranged by Planai.
• Hughberlian worried about the mission and wanted to become stronger, but Antanas and the Ice Witch told her to relax and let the adults handle the allied forces’ work.
• The Ice Witch privately wondered whether Loren might be in Bulida, where she planned to investigate during their stay.
• Hughberlian found a broadcast preview for the stage adaptation of “Holy War Romance” and hid the embarrassing story about Talia from the Ice Witch.
• Antanas invited Sinora and Planai to join them for the broadcast, and the group prepared to watch while eating dinner.

Lanchi and Talia went to the Bulida Opera House to meet Abigail, hoping to discuss working with her, but she mistook them for emergency replacement actors. With the performance about to begin, they agreed to take the roles, leaving their original plan behind.

• Lanchi and Talia disguised themselves and hurried to the Bulida Opera House, where they searched the VIP section for Abigail.
• Talia spotted Abigail anxiously speaking through a Communication Magic Card, and Lanchi approached her as a friend introduced by Barton.
• Abigail eagerly led Lanchi and Talia backstage and had the makeup artists prepare them for the performance.
• Lanchi and Talia realized Abigail believed they were replacement actors, but they agreed to take the roles when she pressed them for an answer.

Lanchi and Talia struggled to memorize their lines while Abigail’s Cinderella opera unfolded onstage, where Cat Immortal’s failed transformation exposed their delay. Abigail finally forced Talia toward the stage, leaving Lanchi backstage still trying to learn his lines.

• Lanchi and Talia reviewed their scripts backstage, anxious about performing the roles of the governor and Gray Princess.
• The first Cinderella actress sang of her hardships, received a banquet invitation, and was forbidden by her stepmother and sisters from attending.
• Cat Immortal appeared to help Cinderella, but the planned actor change failed when the Gray Princess did not appear after his transformation spells.
• Lanchi and Talia kept memorizing backstage while Cat Immortal improvised onstage and the audience watched in silence.
• Abigail found Talia still backstage and shoved her toward the stage, while Lanchi stayed behind to memorize his lines.

Lanchi and Talia performed Cinderella at the Bulida Opera House, improvising through forgotten lines as the audience mistook their mishaps for compelling acting. Their increasingly intimate banquet scene left Hughberlian wondering whether the play reflected a romance between them.

• Talia forgot her lines as Cinderella and improvised excuses to delay going to the ball, while Lanchi kept the performance moving as Cat Immortal.
• Lanchi played the Demon Governor and spotted Talia eating desserts as Cinderella; their improvised dialogue led him to invite her to dance.
• Talia asked to finish eating first, and Lanchi improvised a way to keep the scene going while the actors and audience waited.
• When Talia struggled to eat under the audience's gaze, Lanchi fed her a piece of chocolate and turned the awkward pause into a crowd-pleasing moment.
• Watching the performance in Nistero City, Hughberlian noticed the actors resembled Lanchi and Talia, while Antanas teased her about becoming suspicious.

During the public performance of Holy War Romance, Lanchi and Talia improvised through their roles as the governor and Cinderella, while Abigail and the audience mistook their mishaps for deliberate acting. The show ended with Lanchi struck by Talia’s shoe, and Cat Boss remained the only one convinced that the performance had gone disastrously off-script.

• Abigail listened as the audience praised the improvised scene and dance between Lanchi and Talia, then watched them perform the banquet scene.
• Lanchi prompted Talia through forgotten lines and fed her desserts in character, while Talia became flustered and eventually fled the stage at midnight.
• Talia rushed backstage to read the script, and Abigail reminded her that Cinderella was supposed to leave a shoe behind.
• Lanchi searched the stage for a clue and prayed to the Goddess, so Talia threw her shoe toward him and knocked him down.
• The audience praised the shoe-throwing as a romantic change, while Cat Boss watched the broadcast and realized Lanchi and Talia might be the leads.

Talia and Lanchi starred in the chaotic but successful curtain call of the Public Release Version of Holy War Romance—Gray Princess Chapter, improvising through the play’s finale. After the performance, Abigail discovered that the actors her bishop had recruited were still on the road, leaving her to wonder who had played the leads.

• The opera followed Cinderella as her stepmother locked her in the attic, but Talia’s heartfelt performance drew the audience into the role.
• Lanchi’s governor rejected the stepmother’s daughters and recognized Cinderella when she arrived, then reunited with her and sentenced the stepmother’s family to prison despite Cinderella’s forgiveness.
• Lanchi and Talia continued the finale over breakfast, with Talia eating a Matcha Cheese Mochi onstage and their romantic exchange leaving the audience cheering.
• In Nistero City, Hughberlian watched the performance and reassured herself that her aunt and Lanchi could not secretly be together, while the Ice Witch wondered whether Ifatia could comfort her.
• The cast received a standing ovation as the play ended, and Abigail learned through her Communication Magic Card that the actors her bishop had found were still stuck on the road.

Lanchi and Talia met Abigail to ask for her help gaining influence in the Empire’s Magical Engineering community, but Abigail recognized Lanchi as an impostor and attacked them. She separated Talia from Lanchi and summoned her teacher to the opera house after concluding that Landry had been murdered.

• Lanchi revealed his identity as Professor Landry and asked Abigail to help draw the Imperial Army’s attention to him.
• Abigail questioned how Landry had developed his recent magical principles, then used a spatial device to isolate Talia and leave Lanchi alone with her.
• Abigail accused Lanchi of stealing her junior fellow apprentice Landry’s identity and murdering him.
• Lanchi denied killing Landry but could not explain who had done so without exposing the Allies.
• Abigail called her teacher and told him to come to the opera house because she had caught a big fish and confirmed that something was wrong with Landry.

Lanchi tried to explain himself to Abigail, but Dimensional Bishop Toliado arrived and demanded to learn the truth about Landry’s death. When Lanchi changed his appearance, Toliado recognized him as McCarthy.

• Abigail revealed that she was the Silver Moon Restoration Society’s Administrator of Truth and a disciple of Dimensional Bishop Toliado.
• Lanchi deduced that Abigail belonged to the Dimensional Branch and that her teacher was the Cardinal Bishop Toliado.
• Toliado arrived through a Dimensional Door, and Lanchi recognized him as Xiduo, an identity he had known before.
• Toliado and Abigail demanded to know what had happened to Landry, explaining that they wanted the truth rather than revenge.
• Lanchi used a Transformation Art card to change into a brown-haired, green-eyed man, and Toliado exclaimed that he was McCarthy.

Six months after the Protos Empire crisis, Lanchi reunited with Toliado at the Bulida Opera House and learned how Toliado had secretly influenced events in the north. Their conversation was interrupted when Talia burst into the room to protect Lanchi, and Toliado recognized her.

• Lanchi, disguised as Luo Qi McCarthy, met Toliado and Abigail at the Bulida Opera House, where Toliado was shocked to discover his identity.
• Toliado revealed that he had known Lanchi was connected to Ba Tian Sect and had helped him ally with Chloris against Askesang and Morodian.
• Lanchi and Toliado discussed Toliado's injuries, his role in drawing Morodian's attention away, and the dangers they had faced in Protos Empire.
• Toliado joked about defecting to the Goddess of Fate Church, while Abigail scolded him for creating trouble and leaving her to worry.
• Abigail's trapped guest broke through the separate space, and Talia emerged, rushed to Lanchi's side, and prepared to defend him.
• Toliado recognized the gray-haired, golden-eyed Talia and shouted her name.