Chapter Summaries

Toliado reunited with Talia and Lanchi, revealed his plans to help them rescue Duke Migaiya, and agreed to support Lanchi's use of Landry's identity. After learning Ifatia was nearby, Toliado opened a portal to her hideout and startled her.

• Toliado revealed his demon identity to Talia, and they recognized each other as old companions from the Old Demon Realm.
• Lanchi explained how he and Talia had encountered Landry and how Landry's death was tied to the vampires' plot against Hughberlian and Elsa.
• Toliado said he would help rescue Duke Migaiya and deal with Somerset, while Abigail agreed to assist Lanchi as he built influence in the Empire.
• Talia told Toliado that Ifatia was hiding in the Mafia's underground palace, and Toliado opened a portal there.
• Ifatia dropped her potato chips in fright when she saw Toliado watching her through the portal.

Iftia reunited with General Yabo, now Cardinal Bishop Toliado, at Abigail’s opera house, where the group discussed the Silver Moon Restoration Society’s role in their plans against Blood Moon City. They identified Barton as Number Three and learned that Princess Alexia was Number Five, though she could only contact the society when it was safe.

• Iftia recognized Toliado as General Yabo and reunited with her sister Talia at Abigail’s opera house.
• Lanchi asked whether Toliado was Number One of the Silver Moon Restoration Society, and Toliado confirmed it while explaining Abigail’s communication magic.
• Iftia brought Barton through the spatial gate, and Barton confirmed that he was Number Three of the society.
• Talia asked about the society’s other members, and Abigail explained how Numbers Four through Nine had been assigned.
• Abigail revealed that Princess Alexia, the Third Princess of Krui Di, held the Number Five card, Struggle.

Lanchi learned that Princess Alexia was working to protect the Krui Di Empire from the Blood Race, while Barton identified several War Gods who might have been mentally controlled. Lanchi and Talia planned to enter a Shadow World the following week, leaving Toliado to arrange a fake fiancée for their infiltration mission.

• Lanchi recounted meeting Alexia in a Shadow World, and Toliado explained that he had donated Abigail's missing twenty thousand pounds to Iketerite Academy after learning Lanchi had tricked the Holy Son of Destruction to death.
• Barton explained Alexia's connection to the Ceros Spirit Sword and said she had detected blood-colored evil shadows near the imperial palace, while Lanchi suspected the sword might be a Red Legend device.
• Abigail said Alexia had stopped contacting the Silver Moon Restoration Society and remained in the imperial palace, where Barton believed her imperial protections kept her relatively safe.
• Barton named the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Ninth, and Twelfth War Gods as likely controlled by the Blood Race, and discussed the uncertain loyalty of the First War God Hycintos.
• Lanchi told the group he and Talia would enter a Shadow World next week, then asked Toliado to help with another matter; Toliado promised to find Lanchi a fiancée for the infiltration mission.
• Talia and Lanchi left the Bulida Opera House, and Toliado assured them he would arrange the fiancée before they returned.

Lanchi and Talia traveled to Saint Krui Di Monastery’s Void Gate to begin their Shadow World challenge while the Empire’s spy hunt and Mana Fission research continued around them. They entered the Blood Moon Ruined World’s final node, “Tear Rain Eternal World.”

• Lanchi discussed how his Mana Fission theory had spread and how Duke Dikes, Nikola, and Maquire were watching him amid the Imperial Special Operations Division’s spy hunt.
• Lanchi and Talia left for the Void Gate, and Talia reassured him that she would help him if his fiancée Unity refused his proposal.
• Talia explained that eighth-tier Shadow Worlds could last from less than a month to several months, while Ifatia waited for Lanchi to bring her an antidote.
• Lanchi passed the monastery’s security checks and approached the Void Gate with Cat Boss and Talia.
• Lanchi, Talia, and Cat Boss entered the Shadow World and arrived at the final node, “Tear Rain Eternal World.”

Twelve years after the war, Lanchi awakened in the Shadow World as the white-robed Pope Lan Keluos and reunited with Empress Kexiya, who feared for his failing health. The delayed Shadow World prompt revealed his objectives and hinted that his Mental Rift could distort what he saw as the new endgame began.

• Lanchi learned that the northern nations had defeated the Honing Empire and formed the Holy Plant United Religious Nation, with him serving as its masked Pope.
• Empress Kexiya met Lanchi at Shaleim Palace, spoke of his past as Lan Keluos, and promised to protect his secrets as he faced the end of his life.
• Lanchi left the palace and returned to Papal Hall, where Talia identified his Epic Mental Rift status as an aftereffect of battling Duke Raschal.
• The Shadow World prompt appeared, confirmed nine challengers, and listed objectives to read Kali Yella's letter, understand Lan Keluos's state of mind, and keep all challengers alive for 21 days.

In the peaceful Shadow World, Lanchi received Kali Yella’s farewell letter and relived the memory of her death at the hands of Raschal Duke. Her letter gave him a blessing and an invitation to Purgatory Corridor, and Lanchi decided to return to the Demon Realm, beginning by seeking out Sigrid.

• Lanchi met with High Judge Elm, received Kali Yella’s mysterious letter, and learned of an invitation to a peace anniversary in Seville Land.
• Lanchi read Kali Yella’s letter, which recalled her defeat by Raschal Duke, her final gift to Midnight Lord Esmod, and her hope that Lanchi would return to the Demon Realm.
• Lanchi briefly experienced Lan Keluos’s memory of Kali Yella’s death and realized that Raschal Duke had left him with a lingering mental condition.
• Kali Yella’s letter vanished after revealing an appointment as principal of Purgatory Corridor Academy and granting Lanchi the Final Gentle Land blessing.
• Lanchi decided to return to the Demon Realm and asked Elm to find Sigrid, who was staying at an orphanage outside Jerusalem.

Pope Lanchi traveled to a church outside Jerusalem to reunite with Sigrid, who had returned safely to the Plant Empire. Sigrid mistook Talia for Kali Yella and embraced her, while Lanchi and Talia realized she believed Kali Yella had died; the chapter left them reunited and seemingly at ease with one another.

• Lanchi learned from High Judge Elm that Sigrid had returned to the Plant Empire and set out to visit her at a church outside Jerusalem.
• Lanchi found Sigrid praying in the chapel, and she recognized him as Luo Qi and embraced him after their long separation.
• Talia appeared, and Sigrid released Lanchi to hug her, believing Talia was Kali Yella and joyfully declaring that she was glad Kali Yella was alive.
• Lanchi explained that Sigrid had likely mistaken Talia for Kali Yella because of their similar aura and appearance, and Talia discovered she had gained Kali Yella's Fallen Heavenly Kingdom Veil ability.
• Talia comforted Sigrid and let her embrace her, while Lanchi told Cat Boss that he had expected Sigrid and Talia to get along.

Lanchi asked Sigrid to guide him through the Land of Eternal Night to the Demon Realm, and she eagerly agreed. As they began their overnight journey with Talia and Cat Boss, Lanchi grew concerned that Sigrid was paying more attention to him than to the route.

• Lanchi asked Sigrid to take him through the Land of Eternal Night, and she agreed after boasting that she was a master at finding her way.
• Sigrid changed into traveling clothes, and she and Lanchi reminisced about their first journey together twelve years earlier.
• Sigrid drove Lanchi, Talia, and Cat Boss across the snowy plains toward Small Stone City while Lanchi checked their route on a map.
• Sigrid ignored Lanchi's warning that they were heading toward a cliff, so Lanchi offered to take over driving.
• Sigrid let Lanchi drive and privately imagined that the spendthrift young master might eventually have to marry into another family.

Lanchi drove Sigrid and Talia through the snowy plains toward Pasquale while Sigrid comforted Talia and grew closer to him. The journey continued as Sigrid realized she loved even the things she disliked about Lanchi, though she still hoped he would return her feelings.

• Sigrid offered Lanchi wine, but he refused to drink while driving the deer carriage.
• Lanchi set off again, while Talia woke and shared a blanket with Sigrid in the rear.
• Sigrid reassured Talia that she did not owe the Demon Realm anything and praised her appearance and worth.
• Lanchi proudly navigated a winding road beneath a cliff and talked about making a map for a directionally challenged person.
• Sigrid asked about the person Lanchi had wanted to make a map for, then blushed and wished he would tell her he loved her too.

Lanchi, Sigrid, and Talia returned to Small Stone City after twelve years, reminiscing about their past and settling in for a rest. As their carriage toured the rebuilt city, Lanchi and the others sensed that something about it felt strangely out of place.

• Lanchi, Sigrid, and Talia entered Small Stone City and left their deer and sleigh at the Post Station.
• Sigrid offered to buy local dishes, and Talia promised to cook for her and Lanchi while they rested.
• Sigrid recounted how she had predicted the vampires’ wartime strategy and revealed that she was wolfkin.
• Talia comforted Sigrid by promising to protect her from vampires, and Sigrid affectionately called her “my demon mother.”
• Lanchi, Talia, and Sigrid noticed an unexplained incongruity in the city before taking a carriage to the Snow Bear Hotel.

Lanchi and Talia arrived in Small Stone City and learned that the Bearmen had been exterminated six years earlier, prompting Lanchi to visit their cemetery. As he mourned their sacrifice, Talia worried that understanding Black Sun Lan Keluos might draw Lanchi toward becoming the Black Sun.

• Sigrid arranged an apartment-style suite at Snow Bear Palace Hotel and went to buy food while Lanchi and Talia stayed behind.
• Lanchi and Talia discovered that the Bearmen had gone extinct after the Honing Empire and Blood Race invaded Small Stone City six years earlier.
• The hotel clerk told Lanchi that the Bearmen's dead were buried in a cemetery where the Pope had carved gravestones for them.
• Lanchi hurried to Small Stone City Memorial Park and mourned the Bearmen, realizing their resistance had helped Black Sun Lord reach the Demon Realm for reinforcements.
• Talia noticed the mission objective to understand Black Sun Lan Keluos had progressed to 2.71% and feared Lanchi might become the Black Sun.
• Talia tried to comfort Lanchi, but he assured her he was all right.

Hughberlian awoke in Demon King City Nekaris twelve years after the war and learned that the blood races had surrendered, Kali Yella was gone, and Melo Gas had become regent. As Melo Gas threatened to keep Hughberlian under her control, the Shadow World assigned her a task to protect the little spark Kali Yella left behind and investigate Black Sun Lan Keluos.

• Hughberlian woke on the Demon King's throne with Antanas and the other Great Demon Races, but found Kali Yella, Midnight Lord, Mist Lord, and Lei Mingqing missing.
• Melo Gas told Hughberlian that the blood races had surrendered three years earlier and urged her to forget the past.
• The Shadow World revealed that the war had ended in victory for the Northern Nations, Kali Yella had died, and Hughberlian was the little spark she had left behind.
• Hughberlian learned her objectives were to protect Kali Yella's legacy, understand Black Sun Lan Keluos's state of mind, and keep all challengers alive for twenty-one days.
• Melo Gas declared herself the demons' regent, threatened Hughberlian for grieving Kali Yella, and demanded that she obey her as her aunt.

Hughberlian endured Melo Gas’s violent takeover announcement and returned to her room, where she found a wounded demon child disguised as a gray kitten. Recognizing Kali Yella’s power in the Little Grey Cat, she decided to take it somewhere safe, but it resisted her and guarded Kali Yella’s treasure.

• Melo Gas declared herself regent, condemned Kali Yella’s rule, and killed two demons who challenged or praised her while asserting control over the hall.
• Hughberlian concealed her anger and left the Throne Hall without seeking out Planai and Antanas, avoiding Melo Gas’s suspicion.
• In her bedroom, Hughberlian found a scarred gray kitten with a pendant bearing the name Tamisha and sensed Kali Yella’s power within it.
• Hughberlian tried to treat the kitten’s wounds, then decided to take it to the Demon Race Ancestral Land for safety.
• The Little Grey Cat rejected Hughberlian’s comfort, pushed her away, and refused to reveal its true form or surrender Kali Yella’s treasure.

Hughberlian escaped from the Demon King's Palace, and Melo Gas ordered a search while considering how to keep the Holy Plant Religious Nation hostile to the Honing Empire. Meanwhile, Planai and the other Great Demons stayed in Nekaris and pretended to support Melo Gas, leaving Hughberlian to travel alone.

• A spy told Melo Gas that Hughberlian had escaped with the Little Grey Cat, and Melo Gas ordered her found and the routes to Purgatory City and Pasquale searched.
• The spy reported that the Pope would attend a peace commemoration in one month, and Melo Gas agreed to attempt to invite him to meet a demonic envoy.
• Planai reassured Almirs that Hughberlian had a safe route and explained that the group would stay behind to avoid being treated as dangerous accomplices.
• Antanas and Planai said that appearing to support Melo Gas would help them stay close to the enemy and restrain the other Great Demons.
• Planai cited Luo Qi McCarthy's deception of Askesang as an example, prompting the Ice Witch to reflect on how much Planai, Antanas, and Sinora had changed.

Antanas, Sinora, Planai, and Almirs discussed their low-key approach to the Shadow World while Hughberlian traveled toward Purgatory City carrying Tamisha, Kali Yella’s Little Spark. Hughberlian continued toward the ancestral land, determined to reunite with Lanchi and help him.

• Antanas questioned Planai about Talia and the dangers Hughberlian might face, while Planai reassured the group and spoke cryptically about sisters.
• Antanas, Sinora, and Almirs agreed to rest in Nekaris and muddle through the Shadow World, while Planai noted that their group might only be involved in the third task.
• Hughberlian worried that understanding Black Sun Lan Keluos could draw Lanchi toward the Black Sun, but resolved to support him.
• Hughberlian stopped on the route to Purgatory City and tried to feed the wary Little Grey Cat, Tamisha, goat’s milk.
• After Tamisha ate and fell asleep against her chest, Hughberlian continued toward Purgatory City, hoping to bring Kali Yella’s Little Spark there and meet Lanchi.

While staying in Little Night City, Lanchi reminisced about his earlier journey there and learned how the vampires had repaid the rabbitfolk’s kindness by slaughtering them. Sigrid recognized how deeply the story affected him and promised to accompany him even if his path led to hell, while Lanchi dismissed his sense that she resembled someone from the Real World as wishful thinking.

• Cat Boss complained that Lanchi had been talking less during their journey, and Lanchi denied the change while reading in their hotel suite.
• Sigrid woke, teased Lanchi in her nightdress, then changed and recalled staying in a similar room with him on their earlier visit to Little Night City.
• Lanchi remembered how the city’s old lord had sheltered vampires, including Somerset Marquis, who later slaughtered the rabbitfolk despite having promised to repay their kindness.
• Sigrid noticed Lanchi’s smile fade and told him she could read his eyes; she understood that this peaceful era made him feel helpless about the suffering he could not prevent.
• Lanchi joked that Sigrid should beat him awake if he changed, but she solemnly promised to face hell with him and support his decisions.
• Lanchi briefly felt that Sigrid’s purple eyes belonged to someone he knew in the Real World, then decided he was imagining it because he missed her.

Sigrid comforted Lanchi in Little Night City as he rested before their journey to the Demon Realm, where a vision of a masked man’s devastation left him questioning the black sun and the enemy beyond the sea.

• Sigrid teased Lanchi about marrying the strongest woman, then asked him to help her.
• Talia brought out food, and Sigrid encouraged the tired Lanchi to rest while she stroked his head.
• Lanchi dreamed of a masked man commanding black-mist creatures as they destroyed a city and slaughtered its people.
• Lanchi woke on Sigrid’s lap as brief daylight arrived in Little Night City, then told her he had dreamed of something unpleasant.
• Sigrid urged Lanchi to continue to the Demon Realm and promised to accompany him as he sought answers about the black sun.
• Lanchi gazed south and wondered whether the enemy was on the other side of the sea.

Lisandra discovered that the disguised Princess Hughberlian had entered Purgatory Corridor Academy while fleeing Profane Lord Melo Gas’s forces. Lisandra agreed to hide her as a student, leaving Hughberlian waiting for Lanchi to arrive.

• At a conference, the deputy principal warned the academy leaders to avoid mistakes when the new principal arrived and ordered Lisandra to tell everyone to stay away from the Inverted Mirror Corridor.
• Lisandra reflected on the missing Kali Yella, the princess’s flight, and the academy’s efforts to support the search for her.
• Hughberlian approached Lisandra in disguise, revealed she had entered the academy using her retained student status, and asked for help hiding.
• Lisandra agreed to give Hughberlian the identity of a student who had been eliminated during exams and told her to pass herself off as a student.
• Hughberlian agreed to take the exams and planned to hide near the Principal’s Office while waiting for Lanchi.

Hughberlian completed a Demon Magic Text exam at Purgatory Corridor Academy and vanished before the Demon King Army could inspect the classroom. At the Principal's Office, Profane Lord Melo Gas threatened Lisandra until Lanchi arrived and demanded that Melo Gas leave his seat.

• Hughberlian used the formulas behind Lanchi's Elegant Styling card to answer the exam's final question and finished her paper early.
• An emergency notice ordered everyone at Purgatory Corridor Academy to remain in classrooms for inspection by the Demon King Army Special Operations Unit, and Hughberlian disappeared before the officers could search her classroom.
• Profane Lord Melo Gas entered the Principal's Office with Lisandra and questioned her about her ties to Hughberlian.
• Melo Gas threatened to break Lisandra's will and make her serve, while Lisandra endured the threat to protect the promise she had made to the princess.
• Lanchi entered the Principal's Office, pointed at the principal's seat, and told Melo Gas to move.

Lanchi, newly appointed principal of Purgatory Corridor Academy, faced Profane Lord Melo Gas without fear and drew her interest before she left to pursue Princess Hughberlian. After learning Hughberlian was in danger, Lanchi revealed his identity to Lisandra and went to stop Melo Gas.

• Lanchi asked Profane Lord Melo Gas to move aside, then calmly endured her threats until she decided to leave and return to speak with him later.
• After Melo Gas left, Lanchi noticed Sigrid was missing in the academy's shifting corridors and reassured himself that she could handle the danger.
• Lisandra told Lanchi that Melo Gas planned to capture Princess Hughberlian and warned that the Profane Lord was near the peak of the eighth tier.
• Lanchi set out to stop Melo Gas, then revealed to Lisandra that he was McCarthy; Lisandra returned to the Principal's Office, trusting him to save the princess.