Chapter Summaries

Saigō confined Kaling and sent Shandora Teldoreik to bring her food and company, hoping to win her over. At the Halloween Queen’s residence, White Night Yaksha demanded to know what had happened to Kaling and revealed that she had come to the Lower Layer using only her Buddhist Yaksha Divinity.

• Saigō told Kaling that serving as his mount could save her and her Elder Sister Saint, then left her bound in the hall.
• Shandora visited Kaling with fruit and told her that Saigō was her father and had treated her kindly.
• Kaling listened to Shandora’s stories and became confused by the contrast between Saigō’s gentle behavior toward the child and his coercion of Kaling.
• Saigō arrived at the Halloween Queen’s residence, where White Night Yaksha was tied up and watched by the Queen.
• White Night Yaksha asked Saigō about Kaling and said the little bird mattered more to her than her own predicament.
• White Night Yaksha explained that she had entered the Lower Layer with the Divinity of a Buddhist Yaksha, leaving her true Divinity at Spirit Mountain.

Saigō warned White Night Yaksha against reclaiming her Spirit, then helped the Halloween Queen humiliate her with a whip while Argol watched. The Queen also whipped Argol after she mocked her, leaving the rivals and Demon Star bound and marked inside the palace.

• Saigō told White Night Yaksha that the Six Great Devils and the Mother of Evil Gods would make sacrificing herself useless, and she chose not to act.
• The Halloween Queen ordered Fes. Les to bring her a whip and began humiliating White Night Yaksha while Saigō summoned Argol as a witness.
• The Halloween Queen whipped White Night Yaksha, leaving red marks across her skin as White Night Yaksha cursed and trembled with shame.
• Argol laughed and urged the Queen to continue, so the Halloween Queen struck her and began whipping her too.
• Argol continued boasting about her beauty as she argued with the Queen, while White Night Yaksha secretly welcomed the distraction.

Saigō restored the Spirit of Treason and combined the Five Great Devils’ Spirits to awaken the Spirit of Destruction, advancing his plan to inherit the Mother of Evil Gods’ power. He considered how to repay the Halloween Queen and then approached the restrained White Night Yaksha, leaving her wary of his intentions.

• The Halloween Queen chose to stay with Saigō while they dealt with threats from the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven and Athena, and gave him the Spirit of Treason.
• Saigō reunited the Five Great Devils’ Spirits, causing the Spirit of Destruction to emerge, and planned to restore the remaining incomplete Spirits before pursuing the Mother of Evil Gods’ power.
• Saigō resolved to help the Halloween Queen find a world for rebuilding the Celtic Pantheon and to fight a Second Solar Sovereignty War with her.
• After the Halloween Queen went to rest, Saigō found White Night Yaksha and Argol still restrained in her bedroom; Argol turned away to doze again.
• Saigō forced cold tea into White Night Yaksha’s mouth, then touched her as she questioned what he intended to do.

Saigō kept White Night Yaksha captive and used her concern for Little Garden to discourage her from reclaiming her Divinity. When he threatened to humiliate her to draw out the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, she appeared but refused to help, calling it a matter between White Night Yaksha and the Halloween Queen.

• Saigō tickled White Night Yaksha’s feet, mocked her, and offered his arm for her to bite, but her sealed powers left her unable to hurt him.
• Saigō urged White Night Yaksha to reclaim her Divinity and seal them both away, making her worry that doing so could endanger Little Garden.
• Saigō noticed the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven hiding nearby and threatened to put on a live sex show with White Night Yaksha unless she revealed herself.
• The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven emerged from an insect and asked Saigō where her younger sister, little Kaling, was.
• The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven dismissed White Night Yaksha’s plight and said her affairs were between her and the Halloween Queen.

Saigō revealed that he could potentially free the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven from Buddhism’s control and used Kaling’s devotion to her elder sister to draw her into the bargain. Kaling offered to serve Saigō if he could restore the Great Sage’s freedom, while the Great Sage resisted the idea of sacrificing her sister.

• The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven demanded that Saigō return Kaling, but Saigō summoned Kaling and proposed that they discuss the Great Sage’s own situation.
• Saigō asked whether the Great Sage wanted to defect from Buddhism and explained that Buddhism had bound her as the Victorious Fighting Buddha, restricting her freedom and true nature.
• The Great Sage rejected Saigō’s attempt to use her freedom to force her to abandon Kaling, while Kaling grew interested in his offer.
• The Great Sage warned Kaling not to trade away her freedom, but Kaling argued that she was willing to do so to free her elder sister from Buddhism’s control.
• Kaling told Saigō she would willingly serve as his mount or slave if he could truly free the Great Sage, but demanded proof that his method would work.

Saigō secured Kaling’s agreement to serve as his mount for ten thousand years in exchange for her freedom and help freeing the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven from Buddhism. The Halloween Queen arrived to find the Great Sage aligned with them, while White Night Yaksha remained imprisoned and humiliated.

• Saigō proposed using the Treason Divine Status and an unobserved version of the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven’s legend to let her break free from Buddhism.
• The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven objected to Kaling sacrificing herself, but Kaling agreed to serve Saigō for ten thousand years if he would later free her and help her sister.
• The Great Sage accepted Kaling’s decision, and Saigō welcomed her into his alliance while reminding her that they were now family.
• The Halloween Queen arrived, and Saigō told her that the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven had joined their side.
• White Night Yaksha was left bound and forced to swallow foul-tasting food while Argol mocked her and threatened to expose her humiliation.

Saigō created and sent invitation letters into the void to find suitable worlds for the Halloween Queen and the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven. After returning, he found Argol and White Night Yaksha biting each other, then reminded White Night that the Halloween Queen—not he—had captured her to humiliate her.

• Argol mocked White Night Yaksha for becoming a prisoner, and the two traded insults about their humiliating fates.
• Argol provoked White Night Yaksha into biting her, and they fought with their teeth while bound.
• Saigō created several invitation letters and cast them into the void in search of worlds suitable for the Halloween Queen and the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.
• Saigō returned to find Argol and White Night Yaksha biting each other, and they stopped when they noticed him watching.
• Saigō inspected White Night Yaksha's mouth and teased her before warning that he would not hesitate to play a Paradox Game with her.
• Saigō told White Night Yaksha that the Halloween Queen had captured her and wanted to humiliate her, prompting White Night to realize who her true enemy was.

Saigō discussed his plans with the Halloween Queen while playing chess, and she agreed to trust him as they prepared for the Second Solar Sovereignty War. The Queen sensed Athena’s arrival and Saigō calmly invited her to come find them.

• Saigō admitted that he had captured Argol to draw Athena out, while Argol eagerly offered to help capture her.
• Saigō met with the Halloween Queen and the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, who explained that she had stayed in the Lower Layer to watch over Kaling.
• Saigō held Kaling in his arms as the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven watched with frustration, and the Halloween Queen continued their chess game.
• Saigō told the Halloween Queen he was exploring new worlds and would seek one that suited her needs, and she affirmed that she trusted him.
• Saigō proposed that they consider holding the Second Solar Sovereignty War after restoring the Six Spirits, and the Halloween Queen agreed to follow his lead.
• The Halloween Queen sensed Athena’s arrival, and Saigō told her to let Athena come find them.

Xing Lejia oversaw Ouroboros’s ritual to bring down the Tenth Incarnation and discussed how its arrival would set the conflict between good and evil in motion. Kurma then explained to the Bull Demon King why she had allowed the incarnation’s premature descent, leaving the danger to the Era of World Preservation unresolved.

• The Alliance Leader warned Xing Lejia to complete the ritual that would summon the Tenth Incarnation and keep Ouroboros’s plans secret.
• The Alliance Leader told Xing Lejia to destabilize the Lower Layer and prepare the Tenth Incarnation to face Kari. Yuga, while warning him not to provoke the Zoroastrianism Demon King.
• After the Alliance Leader departed, Xing Lejia told the silent vampire maid she would have a chance to see her former master and the enemy who had nearly exterminated vampires.
• Kurma awoke from her slumber, took human form, and found the Bull Demon King waiting on a cliff.
• The Bull Demon King told Kurma that the Tenth Incarnation would soon be born and that its early arrival could end the Era of World Preservation.
• Kurma said she had permitted the early descent because the Indian Pantheon had to face Kari. Yuga before the Decadent Wind, though she was unsure she could defeat it.

Kurma discussed the Indian Pantheon’s karmic cycle with the Bull Demon King, while Athena went to confront Saigō over Argol and the destruction of Perseus. Athena entered Saigō’s palace expecting a confrontation, but found herself facing Saigō, the Halloween Queen, and the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.

• Kurma explained to the Bull Demon King that the Indian Pantheon’s Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages were a karmic cycle whose final age brought hardship.
• Kurma teased the Bull Demon King about his reluctance to avenge his wife, Princess Iron Fan, and he tried to learn more about the Demon King of Newborn Zoroastrianism.
• Athena arrived at the Northern District headquarters to confront Saigō over Argol and the destruction of Perseus, and found Argol and White Night Yaksha bound inside.
• Athena learned from Argol that Saigō was in the rear palace, then threatened Argol and went to confront him.
• Athena accused Saigō of taking Argol and destroying Perseus, but her anger faded when she saw Saigō, the Halloween Queen, and the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven waiting inside.

Athena realized Saigō had summoned her to reach Zeus and discuss the Human Original Text Candidate, hoping to secure the Greek Pantheon as an ally. She understood his plan, but the chapter ended before she gave her response.

• The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven took Kaling away, and the Halloween Queen sent Fes. Rees out so Saigō and Athena could speak privately.
• Athena deduced that Saigō had captured Argol to draw her and Zeus into his plans.
• Saigō told Athena his name was Zarathustra and revealed that he wanted to meet Zeus to discuss the Human Original Text Candidate.
• Saigō explained that he was a candidate's candidate and knew where the true candidate was.
• Saigō proposed an alliance between the Greek Pantheon, Zoroastrianism, and the Celtic Pantheon, and Athena said she understood his meaning.

Saigō sought the Greek Pantheon’s support for the Human Original Text Candidate, and Athena agreed to report his proposal to Zeus before returning Argol to him. After Athena left, Saigō and the Halloween Queen discussed the possibility of Zeus refusing, and the Queen revealed that her incarnation would stay with Saigō in the Lower Layer.

• Athena agreed to convey Saigō’s proposal to Zeus, while warning that only Zeus could decide whether the Greek Pantheon would support him.
• Athena dismissed the destruction of the Perseus community as unimportant and asked about Indra; the Halloween Queen said Indra would be bedridden and might not recover his Spirit’s power.
• Athena refused to take Argol back and gave her to Saigō to dispose of as he wished.
• The Halloween Queen warned Saigō to prepare for Zeus refusing, and Saigō acknowledged that recent success had made him less vigilant.
• The Halloween Queen said she would flee with Saigō if necessary, while her true form returned to the Upper Layer and her incarnation stayed beside him.
• The Halloween Queen explained that Descent from Heaven to Man let her remain in the Lower Layer, where Gods and Buddhas had once been separated from it to keep the Decadent Wind from reaching the Upper Layer.

Athena reported Saigō’s plans to Zeus, who agreed to support the successor of Zoroastrianism and foresaw a major upheaval in Little Garden. Outside Little Garden, Saigō returned to the world of his birth and headed toward an orphanage.

• The Halloween Queen decided to release White Night Yaksha, saying their priority was uniting the Divine Groups rather than pushing White Night further.
• Athena visited Zeus at the Sky Temple and told him she had met the successor of Zoroastrianism and learned about the Human Original Text Candidate.
• Zeus inferred that the Halloween Queen was backing Saigō to restore the Celtic Pantheon and Solar Sovereignty, and predicted that Little Garden faced a major Historical Transition Period.
• Zeus agreed to support the Human Original Text Candidate and asked Athena to arrange a meeting with Saigō.
• Saigō returned to the world where he had been born and followed his phone’s navigation toward an orphanage.
• Saigō reflected that the Third Star Particle was really the Third Perpetual Mechanism, a perpetual-motion machine that violated the laws of thermodynamics.

Saigō, Zeus, and the Halloween Queen discussed the Third Perpetual Mechanism and the Third Star Particle, which could give humanity a path to overcome its Final Trial. Zeus revealed that Saigō’s survival as Subject Zero had altered a fate that was meant to end with his death.

• Saigō and Zeus spoke about the rare world where past, present, and future overlapped, and Zeus agreed that Saigō had acted to protect himself and their shared interests.
• Zeus asked Saigō to become his son, but Saigō refused, and the Halloween Queen also rejected Zeus’s familiar offer to adopt her.
• Saigō, Zeus, the Halloween Queen, and Fes. Reis left the dessert café to meet the true Original Text Candidate.
• Zeus explained that Saigō’s parents had been destined to die after discovering the Third Perpetual Mechanism and developing the Third Star Particle, a mass-producible energy source derived from an Original.
• Saigō recounted how his parents injected him with the first Original to save him, making him Subject Zero, and how the experiment was expected to kill him.
• Zeus said the Mother of Evil Gods had saved Saigō, allowing him to survive the Historical Transition Period and disrupt fate’s inevitability.

Saigō visited the Canary Welfare Institute with Zeus and the Halloween Queen to meet his younger brother Saigō Homura, a Human Original Text Candidate whose future remained uncertain. The visit ended with Saigō asking about a mischievous boy named Sakamaki Izayoi, who had not joined the other children.

• Saigō explained that two portions of The Original were tied to him and his younger brothers, and that he had come to meet them at the welfare institute.
• Saigō, Zeus, and the Halloween Queen recognized Saigō Homura as the human vessel of the Great Demon of Malice, whose future could lead him to become humanity's savior or Humanity's Final Trial.
• Zeus declined to adopt Saigō Homura, saying his position as a god king meant he could not interfere too deeply in the Historical Transition Period.
• At the Canary Welfare Institute, Saigō met Saigō Homura and told him to remember the name Zarathustra, while the Halloween Queen told Feis Reis to remember Homura and Sairi Suzuha.
• Zeus greeted the children as his own, and Saigō asked the director about the child who had not come to meet them.
• The director told Saigō that the absent mischievous boy was named Sakamaki Izayoi.

Saigō met the young Sakamaki Izayoi at an orphanage, refused to adopt him, but promised to fund the children’s meals. Later, Saigō considered Izayoi’s place in Little Garden’s conflict between Human History and Mythological History, while Canary spent a quiet afternoon at Arcadia’s headquarters with Baron Croa.

• At the orphanage, Saigō encountered Sakamaki Izayoi and learned that Izayoi would agree to be adopted only if the orphanage received yearly funding.
• Saigō declined to adopt Izayoi but promised to support the orphanage, warning that they would meet again and might become enemies or friends.
• Before leaving, Saigō pledged that the Zoroaster Group would cover the children’s meal expenses, and the director gratefully saw the visitors off.
• In the car, Zeus praised Izayoi’s talent and hoped he would survive the contest between Human History and Mythological History, while Saigō resolved not to become anyone’s chess piece.
• At Arcadia’s headquarters, Baron Croa teased Canary as she relaxed and listened to the children playing outside.

Canary discussed the Demon Lord’s rule over the North District and her inability to challenge him, while Baron Croa urged her to compromise. Black Rabbit visited Canary, who admitted she had learned nothing about rescuing Black Rabbit’s family, and Black Rabbit resolved to stay with Arcadia until she could repay its kindness.

• Canary and Baron Croa discussed Kasugabe Takaaki’s absence, the fallen Arcadia Grand Alliance, and the Demon Lord’s hold over the North District.
• Baron Croa told Canary that White Night Yaksha remained withdrawn after returning from the North District and speculated about her experience there.
• Canary lamented that the Great Sage and White Night Yaksha could no longer help Arcadia oppose the Demon Lord.
• Black Rabbit visited Canary, who explained that she had learned nothing useful about the Moon Rabbits held in the North District.
• Black Rabbit said she would not risk entering the North District without certainty and would remain with Arcadia to repay the kindness she had received.

Saigō rejected Ouroboros’s attempt to recruit him and demanded compensation for remaining uninvolved in its planned attack on Arcadia. He ordered Ouroboros to capture Leticia and bring her to him as a slave, and the vampire maid behind Xing Lejia reacted with a faint tremble.

• Canary welcomed Leticia back to Arcadia, and the two shared their worries about an approaching disaster.
• Mandra Teldoreik told Saigō that Xing Lejia had come to see him.
• Saigō recognized Xing Lejia as a figure connected to Leticia’s fall and the destruction of the vampires, then admitted him to the palace.
• Xing Lejia asked Saigō to lead Ouroboros, but Saigō saw through the scheme and refused.
• Xing Lejia asked Saigō not to help Arcadia when Ouroboros attacked it, and Saigō demanded compensation.
• Saigō ordered Ouroboros to capture Leticia and bring her to him as a slave, causing the vampire maid accompanying Xing Lejia to tremble.

Xing Lejia secured Saigō’s promise not to interfere with Ouroboros’s attack on Arcadia, offering Leticia in exchange. After Xing Lejia left, Saigō spoke with Kaling, while Xing Lejia and Kara reflected on their audience with the Demon King.

• Xing Lejia explained that Ouroboros planned to capture and sell Leticia, and Saigō asked what it would cost to obtain her.
• Xing Lejia offered Leticia to Saigō and sought his pledge not to interfere with Ouroboros’s invasion of Arcadia.
• Saigō warned Xing Lejia that White Night Yaksha might oppose the attack, then permitted him to leave and demanded that Ouroboros deliver what he required.
• After Xing Lejia and Kara departed, Saigō asked Kaling what she thought of Arcadia’s fate, and she insisted that he honor his promise to Elder Sister Saint.
• Saigō drew Kaling into his embrace, while Xing Lejia and Kara left the hall and discussed how easily their meeting had gone.

Xing Lejia revealed Ouroboros’s plan to capture Leticia and deliver her to the Zoroastrian Demon King while keeping Kara as a witness. Back at Arcadia, a new Demon King’s Gift Game descended, leaving Canary and the others facing an unknown attack.

• Xing Lejia told Kara that Ouroboros would capture Leticia alive and send Kara to witness her fate.
• Canary, Kasugabe Takaaki, and Baron Croa discussed Arcadia’s losses and reassured Canary that the failed campaign was not her fault.
• Kasugabe Takaaki explained that he had given the Catalog of Life to his daughter, Kasugabe Yō, whose legs could not walk because of the Sealed World’s influence.
• Black Rabbit and Leticia arrived, and Arcadia’s members gathered to welcome Kasugabe Takaaki back.
• Black contracts fell over Arcadia headquarters, and Canary opened a Demon King’s Gift Game bearing an unfamiliar symbol.