Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Who Else but Her!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ivette and Bingyu relocate their discussions about the “Silver Witch Church Development Guide” to a garden pavilion on Ish Island.
• After hearing about Ivette’s adventures in the Snow Kingdom, Bingyu proposes more effective ways to increase the number of devout believers:
  • Staging crises in which Ivette and Frost Hua alternate as villains and saviors.
  • Creating large-scale “encounter ruins” or dungeon-like Divine Realms.
• Ivette assigns Bingyu responsibility for developing these systems. In return, she promises to:
  • Give Bingyu a dedicated interface within the Silver Witch’s faith system.
  • Turn a Divine Realm into Bingyu’s workspace.
  • Arrange meetings with Frost Hua and Tertia for additional assistance.
• Bingyu begins implementing the plan and discovers that it is far more complicated than expected:
  • First-tier encounters provide practical benefits, such as supplies delivered by invisible Shuttlecraft.
  • Second-tier encounters alter people’s lives and require monitoring, moral evaluation, and decisions about who deserves further blessings or punishment.
  • Third-tier encounters involve designing large, reusable dungeon-like Divine Realms restricted to devout believers.
• Bingyu finds the dungeon design especially difficult and studies game design, engineering, psychology, and archived knowledge.
• Scripted religious performances prove somewhat easier because Bingyu discovers Abera’s detailed creative notes, which teach her how to create suspense, oppression, and despair.
• Meanwhile, Ivette continues studying the Divine Realm and the Faith Method while staying in Frost Hua’s private room at the Hot Spring Annex.
• Ivette realizes that Divine Realms can serve as storage spaces, escape routes, and portals. Her main goal is to connect two Divine Realms, creating a permanent corridor between Ish Island and the Mortal Realm.

Character Developments

• Ivette remains intelligent and strategic but openly displays her laziness. She has already imagined Bingyu’s proposed solutions but avoids carrying them out because she considers the necessary writing, planning, and design work too troublesome.
• She also becomes more practical about the uses of Divine Realms, focusing less on religious power and more on transportation, storage, resource acquisition, and escape.
• Bingyu shifts from boredom to genuine purpose after receiving a major assignment. Her devotion to Ivette motivates her to endure difficult research, even when the project becomes overwhelming.
• Bingyu’s innocence and childlike enthusiasm remain intact, but her intelligence and sense of responsibility become more apparent. She accepts the role of evaluator and designer despite lacking prior experience.
• Frost Hua is not directly present for most of the chapter, but she continues experimenting with her Divine Realm and the Faith Method. She also supports Ivette by securing continued access to the private room.
• Abera’s influence continues through her creative notes, which become an important resource for Bingyu’s scripted-event project.

Significant Themes

• The burden of implementation: Grand ideas about miracles, faith, and divine intervention become difficult when translated into practical systems.
• Faith as a managed system: The chapter treats religion through planning, data collection, algorithms, staged events, and reward structures.
• Responsibility and moral judgment: Second-tier encounters require deciding who deserves blessings, punishment, or advancement, raising questions about the ethics of divine intervention.
• Technology and divinity: Divine Realms, Shuttlecraft, artificial intelligence, and faith mechanics blur the line between supernatural power and technological infrastructure.
• Loyalty and purpose: Bingyu finds meaning through serving Ivette, reinforcing the idea that devotion can provide identity and direction.
• Humor through contrast: Ivette’s immense abilities and ambitious goals are repeatedly undercut by her unwillingness to do tedious work, while Bingyu—despite her childlike appearance—ends up handling the difficult labor.

Character Interactions

• Ivette and Bingyu develop a playful, cooperative working relationship. Ivette praises Bingyu’s ideas while deliberately shifting the difficult work onto her.
• Bingyu enthusiastically offers increasingly ambitious plans, only to realize that she has volunteered herself for an enormous amount of research and administration.
• Their relationship is built on mutual trust: Ivette relies on Bingyu’s intelligence, while Bingyu is eager to prove herself as Ivette’s most loyal helper.
• Ivette’s indirect connections with Frost Hua and Abera also shape the project: Frost Hua provides logistical support and divine experimentation, while Abera’s notes supply the creative foundation for staged encounters.

Overall Significance

The chapter establishes the practical foundation for Ivette’s plan to expand the Silver Witch Church. Bingyu becomes the main architect of its encounter system, while Ivette works toward linking Divine Realms into a permanent bridge between Ish Island and the Snow Kingdom. This could transform the Snow Kingdom’s religious and economic life—and potentially begin its transition toward a technologically advanced society.

Chapter Summary: “Go Wherever She Wanted”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ivette is awakened by Frost Hua, who informs her that High Prophet Esviya wants to meet her.
• The meeting is important because Ivette hopes to establish the Silver Witch Church in the Snow Kingdom. The Snow Emperor Temple’s support is necessary, especially since the Ancestral Rite Society currently controls most secular religious authority.
• Ivette meets Esviya at Snow Smoke Manor. He explains that the Snow Emperor Temple has intentionally relinquished much of its authority to preserve its religious purity and avoid being corrupted by political power.
• Rather than reclaiming the Ancestral Rite Society’s influence himself, Esviya asks Ivette’s Silver Witch Church to enter the Snow Kingdom and compete with it. He believes competition will force the Ancestral Rite Society to reform and prevent further abuses.
• Esviya offers to publicly legitimize the Silver Witch Church by introducing Ivette at the Snow Emperor Festival as the Snow Emperor Temple’s sole allied church. Ivette accepts.
• Ivette spends the rest of December researching a way to connect multiple Divine Realms. She envisions creating a central Divine Realm linked to subsidiary realms through teleportation gates, allowing her to travel freely across the world.
• Meanwhile, the Silver Witch Church gains attention through adventurer rumors and the healing power of its holy statues. Sara successfully secures Ice Stone Valley as the Church’s first stronghold.
• The Ancestral Rite Society remains unconcerned, believing the new church poses no real threat because even the established True God Church failed to gain influence in the Snow Kingdom.

Character Developments

• Ivette continues to display her relaxed, practical, and somewhat lazy personality. She dislikes unnecessary effort and privately suspects Esviya may be trying to offload the burden of governing the Snow Kingdom onto her.
• She also shows strategic ambition, recognizing that cooperation with the Snow Emperor Temple can give the Silver Witch Church legitimacy and access to secular religious authority.
• Frost Hua acts as Ivette’s trusted intermediary, arranging contact with Esviya and helping advance the Silver Witch Church’s interests.
• Esviya is portrayed as a deeply principled but pragmatic religious leader. He understands the corrupting nature of power and believes the Snow Emperor Temple must distance itself from political authority to remain spiritually pure.
• Esviya also reveals a practical side: rather than undertaking the difficult task of reclaiming authority himself, he prefers using the Silver Witch Church as a reforming force.
• Sara makes tangible progress by establishing the Church’s first settlement, demonstrating the effectiveness of its healing ministry.

Significant Themes

• The corrupting nature of power: Esviya argues that even sincere believers can become corrupted once they gain political authority.
• Religious purity versus political control: The Snow Emperor Temple deliberately surrendered secular authority to preserve its sacred image, though this allowed the Ancestral Rite Society and the clans to grow powerful.
• Reform through competition: Instead of directly destroying the Ancestral Rite Society, Esviya hopes the Silver Witch Church will pressure it to improve.
• Delegation and responsibility: Both Esviya and Ivette prefer efficient solutions that avoid unnecessary work, though Esviya frames his decision as religious humility while Ivette views it with amused suspicion.
• Expansion and connectivity: Ivette’s Divine Realm research reflects her desire to create a global network of teleportation points and make travel unrestricted.

Character Interactions

• Frost Hua respectfully informs Ivette of Esviya’s request, reinforcing their cooperative relationship.
• Ivette and Esviya engage in a cautious but frank negotiation. Esviya offers official support, while Ivette evaluates both his motives and the risks of entering the Snow Kingdom’s religious power structure.
• Esviya explains his philosophy of relinquishing power, while Ivette challenges him on why he trusts her to wield authority responsibly.
• Their agreement establishes a political and religious alliance: Esviya will introduce the Silver Witch Church at the Snow Emperor Festival, while Ivette will help create competition for the Ancestral Rite Society.
• The chapter ends with the Silver Witch Church quietly gaining influence while its established rival remains dismissive, setting up future conflict.

Chapter Summary: “Church Alliance”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Sara successfully establishes the Silver Witch Church in Ice Stone Valley. During worship, the Silver Witch’s statue visibly responds, convincing local believers that the goddess is real and capable of protecting them.
• Over the two months since Sara returned home, the church has gained substantial support and funding through donations of Tower Coins, food, fur, and other goods. The goddess’s healing miracles prove more effective than the services of the local witch priests.
• The Ancestral Rite Society’s declining reputation greatly aids Sara’s success. Its religious offices are monopolized by the four great clans, its priests have become incompetent and arrogant, and it continues demanding heavy tributes while providing increasingly poor protection and medical care.
• The villagers, long resentful of this monopoly, rapidly embrace the Silver Witch Church. They continue to worship the Snow Emperor, since the two faiths are doctrinally compatible, but now see the Silver Witch as an alternative source of protection and divine assistance.
• The local witch priests report Sara’s activities to Ice Hammer City. The Icehammer Clan sends people to arrest her for “illegal preaching,” despite there being no such law and despite the Snow Kingdom’s religious system not being strictly monotheistic.
• The people of Ice Stone Valley defend Sara and outnumber the Icehammer representatives, forcing them to retreat. The clan then plans to obtain a ruling from the High Prophet, believing he will condemn the Silver Witch Church as a threat to the Snow Emperor’s faith.
• During the Snow Emperor Festival in Ice Hammer City, High Prophet Esviya unexpectedly invites Frost Hua, representing the Silver Witch Church, to the central altar. He publicly announces a formal alliance between the Snow Emperor Temple and the Silver Witch Church.
• Esviya declares that the two churches will henceforth share honor and disgrace and stand together. His announcement is accompanied by a massive snowflake-shaped divine emblem appearing in the sky, apparently demonstrating the Snow Emperor’s approval.
• The event shocks the entire city and reveals to the Ancestral Rite Society’s shamans that the Silver Witch Church has received official divine and political protection. The chapter ends as they recognize that the situation is far more serious than they had assumed.

Character Developments

• Sara grows from a newly appointed priestess into a capable religious leader. She successfully organizes a functioning church, earns the trust of her hometown, and becomes the central figure of a rapidly expanding faith.
• Sara remains cautious and anxious despite her success. She respects the authority of the Ancestral Rite Society and fears condemnation from the Snow Emperor Temple, showing that she is still deeply loyal to her original faith.
• Frost Hua, identified as the girl representing the Silver Witch Church, gains formal legitimacy through her public appearance at the Snow Emperor Festival. Her church is no longer merely a local movement but an institution recognized at the highest level.
• Esviya, the High Prophet, demonstrates political boldness by forming the alliance. His decision overturns the expectations of the Ancestral Rite Society and prevents the Silver Witch Church from being suppressed.
• The Ancestral Rite Society and the four great clans are portrayed as increasingly entitled and disconnected from ordinary believers. Their confidence turns into alarm once the alliance is announced.

Significant Themes

• Religious monopoly versus competition: The chapter argues that monopolized institutions become corrupt and ineffective when they face no competition. The Silver Witch Church succeeds because it offers better healing, protection, and spiritual care.
• Institutional corruption and class privilege: The four great clans control the Ancestral Rite Society’s leadership, preventing ordinary people from advancing and turning religious authority into hereditary privilege.
• Faith and political legitimacy: Sara’s church initially survives through popular support, but the alliance shows that official recognition and divine endorsement are equally important in determining a religion’s future.
• Compatibility between religions: The Snow Emperor and Silver Witch are not presented as mutually exclusive objects of worship. This allows ordinary believers to adopt the new faith without abandoning their traditional identity.
• Divine will versus human power: The Ancestral Rite Society claims to act for the Snow Emperor, but its motives are largely driven by clan interests. The divine manifestation and alliance expose the difference between genuine religious authority and institutional self-interest.
• Reform through disruption: The appearance of the Silver Witch Church threatens the established order but also offers the possibility of reforming a stagnant religious system.

Important Character Interactions

• Sara and the villagers: Sara leads them in worship, while the miraculous response from the goddess inspires their belief and encourages them to donate to the church.
• Villagers and the Ancestral Rite Society: Their relationship is defined by resentment. The villagers depend on the witch priests for healing and protection but despise their arrogance, poor service, and excessive demands.
• Ice Stone Valley residents and the Icehammer Clan: The villagers unite to defend Sara, directly resisting the clan’s attempt to arrest her and demonstrating the strength of popular support.
• The Ancestral Rite Society and the High Prophet: The society expects Esviya to condemn Sara and legitimize its attempt to suppress the new church, but this expectation proves disastrously wrong.
• Esviya and Frost Hua: Esviya publicly recognizes Frost Hua as the representative of the Silver Witch Church and establishes an official alliance, transforming the relationship between the two faiths.
• The Snow Emperor and the Silver Witch Church: The appearing divine emblem confirms, at least publicly, that the Silver Witch Church has the Snow Emperor’s approval, neutralizing the Ancestral Rite Society’s intended accusation of heresy or unlawful preaching.

Chapter Summary: “Rapid Development”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Ancestral Rite Society is shocked to discover that the Silver Witch Church—apparently supported by the Snow Emperor’s own deity—has become a genuine religious rival.
• Faith in the Silver Witch spreads rapidly through holy icons distributed by the Snow Witch. Believers travel to Ice Stone Valley to meet Sara, copy the church’s doctrine, and bring it back to their settlements.
• Ivette visits Sara, promotes her from priest to Divine Priest, strengthens her with an Active Rune Group, and orders her to train early believers as missionaries.
• By the time the four great clans return to their main cities, Silver Witch missionaries have already spread through surrounding settlements. The Ancestral Rite Society is alarmed but has no experience competing with another major faith and initially chooses to wait and observe.
• The Silver Witch Church continues expanding because of the Snow Emperor’s endorsement, the effectiveness of its holy icons, and its extremely low operating costs. The icons can heal, exorcise, bless, and protect believers, allowing minimally trained missionaries to perform the work of entire religious institutions.
• Ivette and Bingyu create a staged crisis to increase public faith in the Silver Witch. Bingyu designs a gigantic tentacle-covered monster capable of releasing highly corrosive acid. The acid is magically adjusted to destroy clothing without harming people, ensuring the crisis produces fear but no real casualties.
• Ivette releases the monster in a remote ravine. It quickly becomes a national threat after adventurers and warriors are defeated and humiliated by its clothes-melting attacks. The Adventurers’ Guild eventually classifies it as a Self-Gold Tier threat.
• The Ancestral Rite Society prepares to defeat the monster and restore its reputation, but the Silver Witch Church’s Throne intervenes first and burns it to ashes.
• This rescue further strengthens the Silver Witch’s reputation and deprives the Ancestral Rite Society of an important opportunity to win public support.
• By February, Ivette has resumed her quiet routine at Snow Smoke Manor when Frost Hua informs her that Tertia is about to arrive.

Character Developments

• Ivette: Demonstrates strategic skill in building the Silver Witch Church. She strengthens Sara, organizes missionary efforts, and plans a carefully controlled monster crisis to gain public trust. Her concern about avoiding innocent deaths shows her moral limits, though she is increasingly willing to manipulate public perception.
• Sara: Rises from the Silver Witch Church’s lone priest to Divine Priest and becomes the organizer of its first missionary network. Her devotion and the believers’ trust in her make her central to the church’s expansion.
• Bingyu: Displays eccentric scientific and creative enthusiasm while designing the monster. Her fascination with grotesque tentacles and “oppression” produces an absurdly indecent-looking creature, though she successfully incorporates safeguards to prevent genuine harm.
• The Ancestral Rite Society’s leaders: Their confidence gives way to anxiety and confusion. They underestimate the Silver Witch Church because of past failures by foreign sects and lack an effective response once the new church proves successful.
• The four great clans: Their upper ranks become increasingly alarmed as the Silver Witch Church spreads beyond their control and gains popular approval.

Significant Themes

• Technological and organizational superiority: Holy icons allow the Silver Witch Church to bypass traditional religious infrastructure, functioning like automated religious services. The chapter compares this advantage to a technological “dimensional strike” against manual labor.
• Institutional complacency: The Ancestral Rite Society assumes the Silver Witch Church will fade like previous foreign sects, revealing its inability to adapt to an unfamiliar kind of competition.
• Faith and public perception: Religious authority is shown to depend not only on tradition but also on visible acts of protection and practical benefits.
• Manipulation versus genuine benevolence: Ivette engineers a crisis to make the Silver Witch appear heroic, yet she also carefully prevents deaths, creating tension between staged miracles and sincere concern for people.
• Modernization and disruption: The Silver Witch Church’s low costs, efficient services, and decentralized structure threaten an old institution in much the same way new technology disrupts outdated systems.

Character Interactions

• Ivette and Sara’s relationship develops through Ivette’s promotion and guidance, with Ivette turning Sara into the foundation of the church’s missionary expansion.
• Ivette and Bingyu discuss the monster’s design, contrasting Ivette’s practical and ethical concerns with Bingyu’s bizarre enthusiasm for grotesque aesthetics.
• The Silver Witch Church directly challenges the Ancestral Rite Society through missionary work, while the two institutions’ conflict intensifies after the Silver Witch’s Throne claims the victory over the monster.
• The Ancestral Rite Society’s shamans and clan leaders respond collectively to the threat but remain reactive and uncertain, highlighting their disadvantage against Ivette’s planned, efficient strategy.

Chapter Summary: “What Should I Do?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tertia, headmistress of the Academy of Truth, arrives in Ice Hammer City during the Snow Kingdom’s harshest winter. She is formally welcomed by Chief Tult, the elders, and shamans of the Icehammer Clan.
• Tertia recognizes the political significance of the elaborate reception. During trade negotiations, Tult repeatedly hints that she should intervene against the rapidly expanding Silver Witch Church, which is unaffiliated with the Academy.
• After negotiations, Tertia meets privately with her junior sister, Frost Hua, atop the sacred mountain behind the Snow Emperor Temple.
• Frost Hua reveals that their long-absent grandmaster has returned and is staying at Snow Smoke Manor. The news deeply shocks Tertia.
• Tertia hesitates to accompany Frost Hua because she fears the grandmaster’s opinion of her. She confesses that six months earlier, unaware of the woman’s true identity, she had attacked her while testing her suspicions.
• Tertia worries that this offense may have damaged their relationship and asks Frost Hua how she should make amends. Neither sister knows how to apologize appropriately, leaving them both uncertain.

Character Developments

• Tertia: Although normally confident, decisive, and accustomed to intimidating others with her unmatched strength, she reveals an unusually vulnerable and anxious side. She regrets her impulsive attack and is genuinely concerned about earning the grandmaster’s forgiveness.
• Frost Hua: She remains quiet and reserved but demonstrates loyalty and affection toward both her senior sister and their grandmaster. Her happiness at the grandmaster’s return contrasts with her uncertainty about how to advise Tertia.
• Chief Tult: His concern over the Silver Witch Church’s growth shows that the church is creating political pressure within the Snow Kingdom. He attempts to use Tertia’s influence against it.
• The Grandmaster: Though absent from the chapter, her return becomes its central revelation. Her power and mysterious status command Tertia’s respect and apprehension.

Significant Themes

• Power versus vulnerability: Even the strongest figure on the Eastern Continent becomes nervous when facing someone she may have offended.
• The consequences of acting rashly: Tertia’s habit of using force to resolve uncertainty has finally created a personal problem she cannot solve through strength.
• Political and religious influence: The Icehammer Clan’s concerns about the Silver Witch Church reflect shifting power structures and the complicated relationship between religious organizations, political leaders, and the Academy.
• Family and reconciliation: The reunion between the sisters and their grandmaster raises questions about forgiveness, respect, and repairing damaged relationships.
• Uncertainty before the unknown: The grandmaster’s mysterious identity and immense reputation make even experienced figures unsure how to behave.

Character Interactions

• Tult respectfully welcomes Tertia while subtly pressuring her to oppose the Silver Witch Church.
• Tertia and Frost Hua reunite warmly after five years, with Tertia affectionately brushing snow from Frost Hua’s hair.
• Frost Hua informs Tertia of the grandmaster’s return, triggering Tertia’s hesitation and anxiety.
• Tertia confesses her past mistake to Frost Hua and asks for advice, but Frost Hua has no clear solution. The chapter ends with both sisters silently struggling to decide how Tertia should apologize.

Chapter Summary: An Anomaly in the Path to Godhood

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tertia struggles with nervousness over meeting the Silver Witch, her long-admired grandmaster. Frost Hua helps her prepare, revealing that she experienced similar anxiety when she first met Ivette.
• Ivette unexpectedly finds the two sisters discussing her. Tertia awkwardly apologizes for failing to recognize and previously offending her, but Ivette immediately forgives her and tells her not to dwell on it.
• Ivette brings Tertia and Frost Hua into Frost Hua’s Divine Realm, where Tertia explains the history of the Silver Witch Church in the Snow Kingdom and the truth behind the Cold Mist Barrier.
• Ivette confirms that she is not a True God, despite possessing considerable power and several hidden abilities. Frost Hua’s magical strength is also revealed to be substantial, though she remains among the weaker beings of the Divine Realm.
• Tertia raises a deeper question: cultivation alone seems incapable of transforming a Divine Realm into a Divine Kingdom. She suspects that the path to becoming a True God is governed by an external force or deliberate will.
• Tertia proposes that the existing True Gods may control access to godhood. She believes Rosaline became a True God only because the Day of Ending and the War of Divine Judgment created the necessary opportunity.
• She further suggests that the True Gods may have deliberately delayed Rosaline’s ascension and possibly manipulated events so that Rosaline and the Witch of Finale would perish together.

Character Developments

• Tertia reveals a more vulnerable side beneath her normally forceful personality. Her childhood idealization of the Silver Witch has faded into cautious respect, but meeting Ivette resurrects her old admiration and uncertainty.
• Frost Hua acts as Tertia’s emotional support, demonstrating empathy and a more confident willingness to guide her senior sister despite her own timid nature.
• Ivette is shown to be gentle, forgiving, and pragmatic. She understands Tertia’s embarrassment and avoids treating the past offense seriously. She also remains humble about her own status, rejecting the idea that she is a True God.
• Tertia’s view of Rosaline becomes more complex. Rather than seeing her teacher’s downfall as a simple consequence of war, she begins interpreting it as part of a larger conspiracy involving the True Gods.

Significant Themes

• The difference between idealization and reality: Tertia’s imagined grandmaster was shaped by stories and childhood admiration, while the real Ivette is more ordinary, approachable, and forgiving.
• The limits of knowledge and cultivation: The chapter questions whether personal effort is enough to achieve godhood or whether advancement is controlled by hidden laws or higher powers.
• Institutional manipulation and divine conspiracy: Tertia suspects that the True Gods regulate who may ascend, potentially sacrificing others to preserve their own authority.
• Grief, guilt, and historical interpretation: The chapter revisits Rosaline’s death and the War of Divine Judgment, suggesting that the official narrative may conceal responsibility or deliberate interference.
• Vulnerability beneath strength: Both Tertia and Frost Hua are powerful figures, yet their anxieties and emotional uncertainty humanize them.

Character Interactions

• Tertia and Frost Hua share a quiet, sisterly conversation in the snow, with Frost Hua helping Tertia rehearse how to address Ivette.
• Ivette catches them discussing her, creating an awkward but ultimately gentle first meeting.
• Ivette reassures Tertia directly, easing her guilt and reinforcing the image of the grandmaster as compassionate.
• During the discussion in Frost Hua’s Divine Realm, Tertia serves as the main source of historical knowledge, while Frost Hua listens in shock.
• Tertia’s theory about the True Gods challenges Ivette’s assumptions and forces both Ivette and Frost Hua to reconsider the official history of Rosaline’s ascension and death.

Chapter Summary: “I Have It at Home”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tertia concludes that godhood is achieved through an external Divine Realm rather than through personal cultivation. Ivette realizes that, by using her Devouring and deconstruction abilities, she might be able to create or obtain a Divine Kingdom.
• Ivette proposes using a church to draw the Primordial Ancestor Spirit out of its Divine Kingdom by taking control of believers and weakening its faith.
• Tertia agrees that the plan is broadly feasible but warns that a holy war against Xite Kingdom will be necessary. She suggests training clergy in divine arts to strengthen Snow Kingdom’s military.
• Tertia explains that Snow Kingdom can avoid appearing to start the war by secretly preaching in Xite Kingdom. If the Crimson Holy Temple loses believers, it may pressure Xite’s royal family into declaring war, allowing Snow Kingdom to fight defensively and claim the moral high ground.
• Ivette rejects the need to rely on traditional clergy training. Instead, she reveals that she possesses advanced alchemical technology capable of compensating for Snow Kingdom’s limited manpower and combat strength.
• She brings Tertia and Frost Hua to an industrial facility on Ish Island, where AI skeletons operate a massive automated factory producing Cloaked Shuttlecraft components.
• Ivette explains that the factory’s output is currently limited by its energy supply. Once she connects the Divine Realms and establishes a spatial corridor to Snow Kingdom, Snow Kingdom’s magic-crystal resources can power the industrial zone at full capacity.
• Tertia warns that Divine Kingdoms may suppress Sacred Domain abilities, potentially preventing Ivette from escaping after entering one. Ivette reassures her that her Flesh Beacon teleportation does not depend on domain abilities.
• Tertia agrees to organize the Silver Witch Church, coordinate with the temple in Adlock, and establish a church network in the Free Alliance. This will allow Xite Kingdom to be attacked from both the north and south if war begins.
• Ivette also asks Tertia to protect Lucia, her new half-demon student at the Academy of Truth. Tertia readily agrees, noting that the Academy is relatively tolerant of demonkin and may even support renewed relations between humans and demons.

Character Developments

• Ivette reveals the enormous scale of her resources and strategic planning. Her “home” contains an industrial system far more advanced than anything available in the Mortal Realm, making her approach to war fundamentally different from Tertia’s traditional military and religious strategies.
• Tertia shifts from confidently presenting her own plan to being stunned by Ivette’s technological capabilities. Despite her shock, she quickly adapts and takes responsibility for developing the church network and preparing the political groundwork for war.
• Frost Hua struggles emotionally with the prospect of war and the suffering it may cause. She initially feels guilty about supporting the plan but gains some relief when Tertia explains that Xite Kingdom will likely initiate hostilities.
• Lucia, though absent from the chapter, is established as an important protected figure because of her mixed demonkin heritage.

Significant Themes

• Faith and divine power: The chapter explores the dependence of True Gods on mortal belief and suggests that controlling religious networks may be a way to challenge divine beings.
• War and moral responsibility: The characters wrestle with the ethical consequences of provoking or preparing for war. The distinction between invasion and self-defense becomes important to Frost Hua’s willingness to support the plan.
• Technology versus tradition: Tertia imagines strengthening Snow Kingdom through clergy and divine arts, while Ivette intends to use industrial alchemy, automation, and advanced weapons to transform the balance of power.
• Preparation and strategy: Victory depends not only on military strength but also on energy infrastructure, church organization, political positioning, and control of territory.
• Tolerance and reconciliation: Tertia’s acceptance of Lucia reflects the Academy of Truth’s comparatively open attitude toward demonkin and hints at future cooperation between humans and demons.

Important Character Interactions

• Ivette and Tertia: Tertia acts as a strategic and political adviser, while Ivette repeatedly surprises her with resources beyond the Academy’s understanding. Their exchange establishes mutual respect and a division of roles between planning and execution.
• Ivette and Frost Hua: Ivette’s plan forces Frost Hua to confront the realities of ruling during wartime. Frost Hua’s hesitation reveals her compassion and moral conflict.
• Tertia and Frost Hua: Tertia reassures Frost Hua that Snow Kingdom will not initiate the war, helping ease her guilt and gain her implicit support.
• Ivette and Tertia regarding Lucia: Ivette entrusts Lucia’s safety to Tertia, and Tertia’s immediate acceptance demonstrates both loyalty to Ivette and the Academy’s relative tolerance toward demonkin.

Chapter Summary: Domain of Knowledge

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ivette leads Tertia and Frost Hua from the Shuttlecraft factory through Ish City toward the central manor. The restored city combines protected ruins, overgrown vegetation, industrial districts, warehouses, and magical cultivation zones.
• Ivette warns them not to enter the surrounding sea, which belongs to the powerful King of the Sea of Heaven, one of the Nine Monarchs. She recalls her previous humiliating encounter with the Shadow King, Vermes, whose information-blocking Divine Realm made him impossible to fight directly.
• Tertia reflects on Ish Island’s connection to her teacher and grandmaster, who lived and studied there seven hundred years earlier. She asks about the relationship between the Land of Finale and the Ultra-Ancient Civilization, but Ivette admits that she has no confirmed answer.
• At the central manor, Ivette introduces Tertia and Frost Hua to Bingyu, the Mechanical God. Bingyu quickly befriends them, particularly enjoying the respect she receives as their senior. Frost Hua remains extremely nervous and socially overwhelmed.
• Ivette leaves Frost Hua with Bingyu and brings Tertia into the Domain of Knowledge to study and compare their Divine Realms.
• Tertia reveals that the Domain of Knowledge is likely the largest Divine Realm on the Eastern Continent. It contains an enormous, seemingly endless library and houses nearly a hundred Divine Arts through her Divine Authority, the Wordless Book.
• Ivette discovers that the library’s apparent infinity is partly an illusion: many books near the realm’s edges are duplicates intended to maintain the atmosphere of an endless library. Tertia is embarrassed, but Ivette reassures her that this is a natural function of a Divine Realm.
• Ivette challenges Tertia to a full-power sparring match. Tertia accepts enthusiastically and intends to use the Wordless Book and all her strength, hoping to prove that she can overcome even a potentially fallen True God.

Character Developments

• Ivette demonstrates caution and strategic awareness regarding the Nine Monarchs and the dangers surrounding the Land of Finale. She also continues investigating the limits of her own power by comparing herself with powerful Divine Realm experts.
• Tertia displays pride in her immense knowledge and the size of her Divine Realm, but also carries grief connected to her teacher. Her youthful, competitive side emerges as she prepares to fight Ivette, believing she must eventually surpass her to reach True Godhood.
• Frost Hua is shown to be highly socially anxious despite her great strength. Her previous fighting style and abilities are contrasted with Tertia’s broader and more versatile arsenal.
• Bingyu is lonely after spending so much time alone on Ish Island. Meeting Tertia and Frost Hua makes her cheerful, and their respectful treatment boosts her confidence and sense of seniority.
• Ivette and Tertia are revealed to have comparable versatility: Tertia possesses nearly a hundred Divine Arts, while Ivette can deploy vast numbers of spell formulas and create new ones during battle.

Significant Themes

• Reverence for the past: Ish Island and the ruins evoke a pilgrimage-like respect because of their connection to the characters’ teachers and ancient history.
• Uncertainty and incomplete knowledge: The relationship between the Land of Finale, the Ultra-Ancient Civilization, and other historical powers remains unresolved.
• Power versus understanding: Divine Realms are not merely measures of strength; they reflect their owners’ understanding of nature and Divine Arts.
• Appearance versus reality: Tertia’s endless library is partly constructed illusion, showing that grandeur and atmosphere can be as important as literal substance.
• Mentorship and inheritance: Tertia’s desire to defeat Ivette reflects her ambition to live up to her teacher’s legacy and become a True God.
• Technology and magic: Ivette’s Soul Brain and spell-formula system allow her to rival traditional Divine Art users through technological assistance and adaptive combat methods.

Character Interactions

• Ivette acts as a protective guide to Tertia and Frost Hua, explaining the dangers of the sea and the uncertain history of the region.
• Tertia and Frost Hua share a solemn connection to Ish Island through their teacher and grandmaster.
• Bingyu warmly welcomes the two younger women, while Frost Hua struggles with the social situation and Tertia adapts more easily.
• Ivette and Tertia discuss their Divine Realms with mutual respect, though Tertia’s pride and competitive spirit become increasingly apparent.
• Their upcoming full-strength duel is framed as both a friendly assessment and a serious test: Ivette wants to measure her abilities against a top Divine Realm expert, while Tertia hopes to prove that she can stand against a being approaching True Godhood.

Chapter Summary: “Getting Emo”

Plot Points and Major Events

• Frost Hua and Bingyu observe a sparring match between Ivette and Tertia in the Domain of Knowledge.
• Tertia begins the battle enthusiastically, using the Nameless Book, Rune Rings, and a wide variety of elemental and divine spells. She repeatedly adapts the environment of her Divine Realm to favor her attacks.
• Ivette effortlessly mirrors Tertia’s techniques, matching her elemental, Holy Light, Shadow, and other forms of magic. Tertia realizes that Ivette possesses abilities comparable to hers, but with far greater power and mastery.
• Ivette eventually unveils her Shadow Tendrils. Tertia confidently uses every defensive divine spell she knows, but Ivette’s combined tentacle attack destroys all of them and stops just short of striking her. Tertia is defeated almost instantly.
• After the battle, Tertia becomes depressed after having her long-held belief in her own invincibility shattered. Ivette allows the overwhelming victory because she believes Tertia must understand that her grandmaster is someone she can rely on.
• The following day, Ivette teaches Tertia about Faith Magic. Tertia’s enthusiasm for new knowledge quickly restores her spirits.
• Tertia asks whether Faith Magic can extend lifespan, leading to a discussion of the longevity of gods, True Gods, Witches, and other members of the Divine Race. Ivette concludes that “god” may refer more to a race than a realm.
• Life at the manor continues peacefully as the seasons pass. Meanwhile, the Silver Witch Church expands rapidly through the Snow Kingdom, overwhelming the Ancestral Rite Society.
• Tertia returns to the Academy of Truth to handle her responsibilities. Ivette gives her a communication ring made through Flesh Beacon Mimicry.
• By July, Ivette completes a permanent spatial corridor connecting Ish Island and the Snow Kingdom. This removes the need for her to personally transport resources and becomes a major turning point in the Silver Witch Church’s future expansion.

Character Development

• Ivette: Demonstrates overwhelming power, exceptional adaptability, and confidence in her role as grandmaster. She carefully evaluates Tertia’s abilities and deliberately defeats her decisively, believing that Tertia needs to recognize Ivette’s strength. Ivette also continues developing the Church’s infrastructure and thinking about future economic and technological projects.
• Tertia: Reveals a strong love of combat beneath her scholarly personality. She becomes exhilarated by finally finding an opponent who can answer all her techniques, but her confidence collapses after Ivette defeats her with ease. Her passion for knowledge soon revives her, especially when she begins learning Faith Magic.
• Frost Hua: Remains intimidated by Ivette’s frightening tentacle magic but gains a clearer understanding of the immense gap between Tertia and Ivette. She also uses the lessons as an opportunity to avoid Bingyu’s overwhelming extroversion.
• Bingyu: Acts as an observer and gathers combat information for the Church. Her cooking remains so terrible that Ivette refuses to eat it, though Bingyu continues contributing to the Church’s development through practical and technological work.
• Lucia and Anya: Lucia continues her normal life at the Academy of Truth, while Anya successfully recruits promising commoners to become the first clergy members for the Church’s expansion there.

Significant Themes

• Humility and shattered confidence: Tertia’s defeat forces her to confront the limits of her strength after centuries of believing herself nearly invincible.
• Knowledge and growth: Tertia’s recovery shows that her deepest motivation is learning. New knowledge allows her to move beyond emotional defeat.
• Mastery and adaptation: The battle emphasizes the value of countering, flexibility, and understanding an opponent’s techniques.
• The nature of divinity: Discussions of lifespan and divine origins question whether “god” is a level of power or an entirely separate race.
• Building institutions and connections: The permanent corridor between Ish Island and the Snow Kingdom represents the transition from individual effort to large-scale, organized expansion.

Important Character Interactions

• Ivette and Tertia: Their sparring match establishes the enormous difference between them while also strengthening their mentor-student relationship. Ivette’s victory humbles Tertia, and her later lessons help restore Tertia’s confidence.
• Frost Hua and Ivette/Tertia: Frost Hua watches the battle with anxiety and admiration, comparing the two granddisciples and recognizing Tertia’s exceptional abilities.
• Ivette and Bingyu: Ivette rejects Bingyu’s cooking but continues working with her on future products and Church development.
• Ivette and Tertia: Their discussion of Faith Magic, divine longevity, and the origins of gods deepens their intellectual relationship and raises larger questions about Ivette’s own nature.
• Ivette and the wider Church: Ivette’s creation of the spatial corridor enables Bingyu and the Church to transport resources independently, marking a major practical advancement.

Summary of “Taking Leave”

Key events

The author explains the recent gap in updates and reassures readers that the book has not been abandoned. Any interruption would be caused only by technical difficulties, not by a decision to stop writing or disappear with the story outline. The author promises to resume regular updates—approximately 4,000 words per day—before the end of the month.

Character developments

No fictional characters appear or undergo development. The author briefly addresses the readers directly.

Significant themes

The note emphasizes responsibility to readers, transparency, reassurance, and the author’s commitment to completing and continuing the work.

Character interactions

There are no story-based interactions. The primary interaction is between the author and the audience, as the author acknowledges their concern and promises future updates.
Overall: This chapter is an author’s notice explaining the delayed updates and reaffirming that the novel will continue on a regular schedule.

Chapter Summary: “Sky Realm”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ivette completes the spatial corridor and anchor entrance linking the Snow Kingdom to the Central Divine Domain. At the top of the Black Tower, she entrusts the Snow Kingdom’s remaining affairs to Bingyu and Frost Hua.
• Bingyu, now disguised as a human-looking Mechanical Saint of the Silver Witch Church, promises to manage the region. Frost Hua, still dressed like the legendary Snow Witch, accepts her grandmaster’s instructions despite being reluctant to see Ivette leave.
• After spending a year in the Snow Kingdom, Ivette returns to Truth City aboard an airship. Her next objectives are to:
  • Contact Rosaline’s holy relic sealed within the Academy of Truth.
  • Establish spatial anchors in Truth City and Adlock.
  • Complete the church’s development arrangements.
  • Travel to the Demon Abyss Continent to check on Mo Jia and Lant.
• Tertia, the headmistress of the Academy of Truth, personally waits at the docking port to greet Ivette. She explains that Rosaline’s relic is located in the Sky Realm and immediately takes Ivette there.
• The Sky Realm is revealed as a massive floating island above the clouds, filled with gardens, roads, magical lamps, and academy buildings. Ivette notices that it is not held aloft by a conventional wind-element magic array.
• Near a large residence, Ivette finds a rune-based statue of herself. Tertia explains that Rosaline personally created it, and that it helped Tertia form her first concrete impression of Ivette.
• Tertia reveals that the Sky Realm floats through the power of an Ultra-Ancient Civilization relic called an Antigravity Engine.
• Ivette recognizes the name from the Civilization Preservation Society’s records. The technology resembles one of the Void Tear Group’s greatest inventions, raising the possibility of a connection between Ultra-Ancient technology and the Void Tear Group’s advanced scientific achievements.

Character Developments

• Ivette moves from her responsibilities in the Snow Kingdom toward broader interregional and technological investigations. Her curiosity is especially stimulated by the Sky Realm’s unexplained levitation and the discovery of the Antigravity Engine.
• Bingyu demonstrates growing independence and adaptability. She has assumed a formal religious identity, disguised her Mechanical Puppet body, and is prepared to govern the Snow Kingdom’s affairs.
• Frost Hua remains loyal and respectful toward Ivette while showing an emotional attachment to her grandmaster. Her acceptance of responsibility marks a step toward greater maturity.
• Tertia reveals a warmer, more personal side. She personally welcomes Ivette, openly expresses her respect, and shares memories of Rosaline and the statue she created.
• Rosaline remains physically absent but exerts an important influence through the relic, the statue, and her discoveries.

Significant Themes

• Inheritance and responsibility: Ivette passes authority to Bingyu and Frost Hua, while Tertia and Rosaline’s legacies continue shaping the Academy.
• Connections across civilizations: The Antigravity Engine suggests that ancient relics, modern magical institutions, and the Void Tear Group may share a hidden technological history.
• Science and magic: Ivette’s inability to explain the Sky Realm’s levitation highlights the limits of current magical knowledge and the importance of lost technology.
• Movement and expansion: The creation of spatial anchors and Ivette’s planned journeys reflect the growing interconnectedness of the world.
• Memory and representation: Rosaline’s statue of Ivette shows how people create lasting impressions of one another and preserve relationships through symbols.

Character Interactions

• Ivette gives Bingyu and Frost Hua direct responsibility for the Snow Kingdom, establishing trust between them.
• Tertia greets Ivette personally and explains that her reception is an expression of genuine respect.
• Ivette and Tertia travel together through the Sky Realm, discussing Rosaline, the statue, and the island’s mysterious technology.
• The discovery of the Antigravity Engine creates a shared moment of surprise and intellectual significance, linking Ivette’s present investigation to the ancient technological records she previously encountered.

Summary

The author explains the recent hiatus and apologizes for failing to reach the planned 4,000-word update. They emphasize that the delay was caused by genuine structural problems with the story rather than abandoning the novel or becoming lazy, and they promise to work toward consistent updates in the new month.
The main difficulty arose during the Snow Kingdom arc. After Frost Hua appeared, the author found it almost impossible to write tense or meaningful events there. Attempts to summarize or quickly cover the church’s development also felt dull, so the author decided to skip that material entirely. However, even moving directly to the next arc did not solve the problem, leaving the author confused and unable to continue.
The author eventually realized that the issue was strategic rather than merely a temporary lack of inspiration. Tertia’s introduction had weakened the tension of nearly every storyline on the Eastern Continent because, with her presence, ordinary conflicts no longer seemed important unless they involved a True God. The story could not effectively shift to commoners or focus on daily life, since such scenes would not advance the central plot.
Looking back, the author identifies a chain reaction caused by revealing too much too early. The clue that Dugrabi had been suppressed led to Frost Hua appearing prematurely. Once Frost Hua and the protagonists recognized one another, Tertia had to be introduced as well. Tertia’s arrival then undermined the tension of many later arcs. The author humorously blames Dugrabi for triggering this domino effect.
The author concludes that the situation is difficult but not hopeless. The planned solution is to accelerate the story and cut unnecessary side plots, prioritizing completion over perfect execution.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Frost Hua appears too early and is recognized by the protagonists, unintentionally forcing major revelations and limiting future tension.
• Tertia becomes an overwhelmingly powerful presence whose existence makes most non-divine conflicts feel insignificant.
• Dugrabi is indirectly responsible for the narrative complications because the revelation about his suppression caused Frost Hua’s premature introduction.
• The protagonists’ recognition of Frost Hua creates the circumstances that require Tertia’s appearance, producing a chain reaction across subsequent arcs.

Significant Themes

• Narrative tension and power escalation: Extremely powerful characters can make ordinary conflicts feel meaningless.
• Consequences of premature revelations: Introducing major characters or clues too early can restrict later storytelling options.
• Strategic versus tactical problems: The author distinguishes between difficulty writing individual scenes and a larger structural problem affecting the entire plot.
• Balancing completeness and perfection: The author resolves to prioritize finishing the novel, even if that requires cutting side stories or accelerating the plot.
• Authorial honesty and persistence: The update directly addresses readers’ concerns and frames the hiatus as part of the struggle to repair the story’s structure.

Chapter Summary: Rosaline’s Diary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tertia takes Ivette into a secret underground chamber beneath the headmaster’s residence, where Rosaline’s possessions are preserved. The chamber contains her alchemical creations, ancient devices, secret files, and a journal written in Black Tide Language.
• Ivette reads Rosaline’s diary, which covers roughly five years after Rosaline became Co-Ruler of Humans and Demons and founded the Academy of Truth.
• The diary reveals that:
  • The Demon God offered Rosaline the Fountain of Youth and a place among the Divine Race, but she refused because it would place her under his control.
  • Demi-human races—including Elves, Orcs, Abyssal Demons, and Dragonkin—already existed during the Ultra-Ancient Civilization.
  • The True Gods’ scriptures may have deliberately concealed or distorted this history.
  • Rosaline initially rejected the Academy of Truth’s restriction on spreading knowledge, but later accepted it after learning that the creation of more Sacred and Divine Realms might drain the Mortal Realm’s resources and damage its magical environment.
  • The Aurora Belt, Remnant Abyss, and unexplored oceans may be connected to the Ultra-Ancient Civilization and the Land of Finale.
  • The Witch of Finale probably did not destroy the Ultra-Ancient Civilization and may have been falsely blamed by the True Gods.
  • The Kraken and Sky Veil Behemoth were extraordinarily powerful beings capable of defeating Rosaline during her Divine Realm period.
  • The Kraken guarded possible Ultra-Ancient ruins in the Bone Conch Sea, and the Bone Conch Sea’s strange ecosystem may be connected to the Demon Abyss Continent.
• After finishing the diary, Ivette realizes Tertia has prepared tea for her. Ivette shares some of the diary’s discoveries, deeply shocking Tertia.
• Tertia explains that she has fought the Kraken twice. She believes she could defeat it in a life-or-death battle, but only at great cost.
• Ivette decides to investigate the Antigravity Engine next. She realizes that the engine’s Rune Arrays may contain written annotations, logs, or messages left by the Ultra-Ancient Civilization’s creators, potentially revealing more about their history.

Character Developments

• Ivette gains important historical insight and begins reconsidering her theories about the Witch of Finale, the Ultra-Ancient Civilization, and the relationship between different civilizations. She is disappointed to learn that she and the Witch may be entirely separate people, since she enjoys the identity of being a great villain.
• Tertia is shown as devoted, attentive, and respectful toward Ivette, serving her tea and caring for her comfort. However, Rosaline’s diary shakes her understanding of her teacher’s world and makes the Antigravity Engine seem temporarily less important.
• Rosaline emerges as a skeptical, inquisitive, and morally conflicted scholar. She questions official religious history, investigates forbidden ruins and monsters, and struggles between supporting the spread of knowledge and protecting the world from magical depletion.
• The Demon God is presented as manipulative, attempting to gain control over Rosaline through immortality and ascension.
• The Witch of Finale is recontextualized as potentially a victim of historical propaganda rather than the destroyer portrayed in scripture.

Significant Themes

• History versus official mythology: The diary suggests that religious scriptures may conceal or falsify the truth about ancient civilizations and the Witch of Finale.
• The dangers and responsibilities of knowledge: Knowledge is portrayed as both liberating and potentially destructive, since expanding higher realms could deplete the Mortal Realm’s magical resources.
• Power and control: The Demon God’s offer of immortality demonstrates how divine power can become a means of domination.
• Civilizational mystery and lost history: The Ultra-Ancient Civilization remains an unresolved mystery, with clues scattered across ruins, monsters, ancient technologies, and forgotten records.
• Identity and temporal uncertainty: Ivette questions whether she and the Witch of Finale are connected across time, ultimately leaning toward the conclusion that they are separate individuals.
• Legacy and mentorship: Rosaline’s diary allows Ivette and Tertia to understand their teacher more deeply, while Ivette begins imagining future expeditions involving her own disciples and granddisciples.

Character Interactions

• Tertia guides Ivette through Rosaline’s secret archive and asks her to interpret the otherwise unreadable diary.
• Ivette reads privately while Tertia waits outside and prepares tea, emphasizing Tertia’s loyalty and reverence.
• Ivette shares the diary’s major revelations with Tertia, who listens with growing shock.
• The two discuss the Kraken’s strength, comparing Rosaline’s historical defeat with Tertia’s own dangerous encounters.
• Ivette then directs Tertia to lead her to the Antigravity Engine, shifting their focus from Rosaline’s written legacy to the technological remains of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization.

Chapter Summary

• Ivette, guided by Tertia, reaches the dean’s residence and discovers the Ultra-Ancient Civilization’s enormous Antigravity Engine. The engine is housed in a massive metal command center and consists of a rotating sphere made of thousands of glowing hexagonal plates.
• Ivette first attempts to hack the engine through Rune Compilation, but its advanced defenses repeatedly repel her and nearly trigger a self-destruct mechanism. She concludes that the Ultra-Ancient Civilization’s technology may equal or surpass that of the Origin Civilization, making the engine’s firewall nearly impossible to break conventionally.
• She instead uses her Shadow Tendrils to physically devour and deconstruct the engine. Before doing so, she has Tertia store the Sky Realm in the Domain of Knowledge to prevent the island from collapsing if the engine is damaged.
• After absorbing the engine, Ivette examines its embedded rune data. The records are mostly casual “compilation logs” written by different employees, but they reveal fragments of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization’s history and society.
• The logs show that the civilization was divided mainly between two opposing powers: the Federation and the Technological Consortium. Other groups included the independent, scavenging Wanderers and the anti-technology Redemption Cult.
• The Redemption Cult worshipped the Witch of Finale, believing Witches were divine punishments created by nature in response to humanity’s abuse of technology. The cult advocated abandoning advanced civilization and returning to primitive life.
• Ivette confirms that the Ultra-Ancient Civilization itself created a Witch of Finale—and somehow survived the resulting catastrophe. She speculates that they may have been unable to defeat the Witch and sent her through a portal, possibly causing her eventual presence on Origin Star.
• The logs also mention the Federation’s secret research into the “Mythic Factor,” a substance capable of creating or enhancing super-organisms, possibly derived from Giant Dragon genes. Ivette connects this research to the extraordinary power of creatures such as Kraken and Leviathan, theorizing that they may be surviving biological weapons or descendants of Ultra-Ancient experiments.

Character Development and Interactions

• Ivette demonstrates both her technical expertise and adaptability. When hacking fails, she immediately abandons the method and relies on the Shadow Tendrils’ physical abilities instead.
• Tertia acts as Ivette’s guide and support, helping her reach the engine and secure the Sky Realm during the dangerous devouring process.
• Ivette’s interpretation of the logs reveals her growing ability to connect scattered historical clues, linking the Witch of Finale, Mythic Factor, and the current magical beasts to the Ultra-Ancient Civilization.

Major Themes

• The limits of knowledge and technology: Even Ivette’s exceptional Rune Compilation skills cannot easily overcome technology from a possibly superior civilization.
• The dangers of scientific advancement: The Ultra-Ancient Civilization’s creation of Witches and biological weapons suggests that technological progress can produce catastrophes beyond human control.
• History repeating itself: The compiler logs echo the idea that humanity repeatedly fails to learn from past mistakes.
• Conflicting responses to civilization: The Federation and Technological Consortium represent competing technological powers, while the Wanderers and Redemption Cult embody withdrawal from or rejection of advanced society.
• Uncovering hidden history: Ivette reconstructs the past from incomplete personal records, raising important questions about the true origins of the Witch of Finale and powerful magical beasts.

Chapter Summary: “Engine Technology and the Abyss”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ivette finishes devouring and recreating the Antigravity Engine at full scale. Tertia releases the Sky Realm from the Divine Realm, though the people of Truth City do not notice the brief change.
• Ivette explains the engine’s basic principle to Tertia: it relies on Anti-Elements, substances that resemble ordinary elements but cause catastrophic chain annihilation reactions when they interact with them. Their Rune Siphon Effect generates a repulsive force capable of counteracting gravity.
• Ivette begins teaching Tertia the engine’s control algorithms, collection methods, advanced mathematics, and chain-reaction formulas. Tertia quickly becomes overwhelmed by the technical material and realizes that Anti-Elements could function as world-destroying weapons.
• Ivette reminds Tertia that she is not yet prepared to study such advanced technology. Tertia accepts this, but her admiration for Ivette grows even stronger.
• Ivette’s immediate responsibilities include creating a new Divine Realm, connecting it to the Central Divine Domain, opening spatial corridors to Ish Island and the Snowfields, and publicly declaring the Academy of Truth’s support for the Silver Witch Church.
• In the Academy’s garden, Ivette discovers magical maintenance creatures—living scissors, watering cans, brooms, and dustpans—created by Tertia’s former teacher through divine arts.
• Ivette asks about Lucia and learns that Tertia has arranged for the Academy Council to conceal Lucia’s bloodline if necessary. Ivette confirms that she will not reveal her identity to Lucia before traveling to the Western Continent.
• Tertia provides information about Lant Quinn, a legendary First Demon General who helped the Southern Court defeat the Northern Court and unify the Demon Abyss Continent. Afterward, he disappeared, possibly retreating into the mysterious Abyss.
• The Abyss is rumored to contain the ultimate secrets and treasures of the Western Continent and Mortal Realm, but only a Demon King can open it. Ivette begins considering whether she could become a Demon King to gain access.

Character Developments

• Ivette: Demonstrates immense technological and intellectual superiority by quickly understanding the Antigravity Engine and recreating it. She also shows caution, recognizing the dangers of Anti-Elements and refusing to let Tertia study them prematurely. Her curiosity about the Abyss develops into a potentially ambitious plan to become a Demon King.
• Tertia: Her confidence is humbled by Ivette’s advanced scientific knowledge. Although initially embarrassed and overwhelmed, she remains determined to learn and accepts that she must strengthen her mathematical foundation. She also shows loyalty and protectiveness toward Lucia and the Academy.
• Lant Quinn: Though absent, he is characterized as an exceptionally powerful and influential Demon who surpassed even the Demon Kings and Demon Marshals before mysteriously disappearing.
• Lucia: Does not appear, but her hidden bloodline and relationship with Tertia become important political and personal concerns.

Significant Themes

• Limits of knowledge: Even the world’s greatest scholar, Tertia, cannot immediately comprehend Ivette’s technological explanations, emphasizing the vast gap between magical learning and Origin Civilization science.
• Science as both progress and destruction: Anti-Elements represent extraordinary technological advancement but also the potential for planetary annihilation and world-ending weapons.
• Humility and intellectual growth: Tertia must accept her current limitations and prepare herself through mathematics before she can access greater knowledge.
• Secrets and hidden identities: Lucia’s bloodline, Lant Quinn’s disappearance, and the mysteries of the Abyss all reinforce the importance of concealed truths.
• Ambition and exploration: Ivette’s plans for the Western Continent and her idea of becoming a Demon King suggest that she is willing to enter unfamiliar political and supernatural territory to uncover deeper secrets.

Character Interactions

• Ivette teaches Tertia about Anti-Elements and the Antigravity Engine, but the lesson quickly becomes overwhelming. Tertia’s admiration for Ivette deepens despite being intellectually outmatched.
• Tertia explains the history of Lant Quinn and the Abyss, giving Ivette information that may shape her future plans.
• Ivette reassures Tertia that Lucia’s discovery of her identity would not necessarily damage their relationship or determine how they address one another.
• The exchange between Ivette and Tertia highlights their grandmaster–disciple relationship: Ivette is patient but vastly more knowledgeable, while Tertia is respectful, curious, and determined to improve.

Chapter Summary: “Destruction Magic”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ivette returns from the Sky Realm to Scholar’s Haven Apartments, where her apprentice Lucia excitedly welcomes her.
• Lucia updates Ivette on major developments:
  • The Silver Witch Church has received permission to operate in Truth City and has begun constructing a temple.
  • Anya and Parea have become trainee clergy under the Saintess and are overseeing the construction.
  • Adlock’s grand temple is expanding successfully under Ezra and Lailanier.
  • The Sunflare Sect and Cloud Summit Sect, along with other major churches and even Adlock’s city lord, have withdrawn from the region without resistance.
• Ivette suspects this retreat may be strategic but concludes that the Academy’s alliance with the Silver Witch Church will deter hostile action.
• Ivette introduces Lucia to her new instructor: Grand Dean Tertia. Lucia is astonished that Tertia visits her directly and discovers that the supposedly intimidating dean is gentle and approachable.
• Ivette spends the following months studying the Antigravity Engine and experimenting with Anti-Element through Aberration Magic’s Mimicry ability.
• She begins developing a new form of magic—Destruction Magic—based on Anti-Element’s ability to annihilate ordinary elements. Ivette believes this power might eventually allow her to become a True God through legitimate means.
• Through autumn and winter, Ivette establishes additional anchors between the Academy of Truth, the Central Divine Domain, and the Silver Witch Church’s territories.
• The Eternal Green Revelation Society sends an envoy proposing that the entire Free Alliance become the Silver Witch Church’s primary parish, implicitly recognizing it as a fourth True God Church.
• Ivette refuses to negotiate unless the Primordial Ancestor Spirit releases the evil dragon king Dugrabi. She sends this demand to the Tree God, but receives no response by the following spring.
• After securing the necessary anchors, Ivette introduces Bingyu and Frost Hua to Lucia and Ezra as the Mechanical Saint and Saint of Snow, respectively, to assist with the church’s growth.
• In April, Ivette finally leaves for the Western Continent, traveling through the Snow Kingdom’s anchor to the Pan-Human United Front Joint Fortress.

Character Developments

• Ivette becomes increasingly focused on developing a personal divine path. Her research into Anti-Element gives her a possible alternative route to godhood if she cannot invade or consume a True God’s Divine Kingdom.
• She remains protective of Lucia and confident in her ability to handle threats against the church.
• Lucia has grown considerably during Ivette’s absence and becomes more mature and responsible, though she remains easily surprised by her teacher’s revelations. Her loyalty and affection toward Ivette are clear.
• Tertia is introduced as Lucia’s temporary mentor in Elemental Magic and combat. Her kind, gentle behavior contrasts sharply with her intimidating reputation as Grand Dean.
• Ezra and Lailanier continue managing the Silver Witch Church’s expansion in Adlock, though they are confused by the lack of resistance from rival factions.
• Bingyu and Frost Hua take on formal leadership roles in the church as the Mechanical Saint and Saint of Snow.

Significant Themes

• Destruction as a path to transcendence: Ivette’s new magic represents both literal annihilation and a possible route to True Godhood.
• Strategic expansion and political power: The Silver Witch Church’s growth increasingly resembles the rise of a major divine institution, while rival churches retreat or negotiate rather than fight.
• Trust versus reputation: Lucia’s assumptions about Tertia are overturned when she meets the dean and discovers her warmth beneath the rumors.
• Teacher-student bonds: Ivette and Lucia’s reunion emphasizes their affection, mutual trust, and continuing personal connection despite long separation.
• Diplomacy and hidden agendas: The rival churches’ withdrawals and the Eternal Green Revelation Society’s proposal suggest broader political calculations that remain unclear.

Character Interactions

• Ivette and Lucia reunite warmly, with Lucia embracing her teacher and sharing a year’s worth of news.
• Ivette reassures Lucia that the Academy’s alliance protects the Silver Witch Church and promises to intervene if necessary.
• Lucia meets Tertia and gradually realizes that the Grand Dean is far more personable than rumors suggest.
• Ivette negotiates indirectly with the Eternal Green Revelation Society by responding to its Pope’s proposal with a demand directed to the Tree God.
• Ivette later introduces Bingyu and Frost Hua to Lucia and Ezra, strengthening the church’s leadership before departing for the Western Continent.

Summary of “Mudmouth Town”

1. Key plot points and events

• Ivette enters the Demon Abyss Continent and spends three days traveling through poisonous yellow miasma, acid rain, dead forests, dried riverbeds, and desolate terrain.
• The miasma improves mana adaptability but gradually increases aggression and irritability. It does not affect Ivette, though it severely limits her visibility.
• She discovers Mudmouth Town, a squalid settlement built beside a bubbling basin of dark green mud. The town is inhabited mostly by Goblins and Slimes and uses a large purification device to reduce the surrounding miasma.
• Two Goblin guards attempt to exploit Ivette by charging her ten Silver Crowns—an outrageous entrance fee. Because she does not know local prices, she pays without protest, causing the guards to view her as wealthy and vulnerable.
• The guards begin plotting to report her to the town’s ruler, the Nest Lord Charulu, hoping to profit from capturing her.
• Ivette visits a tavern and meets Slippery Jim, a Slime bartender. She learns that she has been overcharged and pays him for information.
• She asks about Mo Jia, the Wind Ranger, and Lant, an ancient demon general, but Slippery Jim has no useful information about either of them.
• Slippery Jim explains the current political crisis: the former Night Demon King betrayed the Demon God and lost his throne. The Demon Angel has declared that whoever conquers over half the Demon Abyss Continent will become the next Demon King.
• Because previous Demon Kings came from the Demon Race, other demon races are now persecuting, enslaving, and massacring Demon Race communities. Slippery Jim warns Ivette—especially because she appears young, attractive, and alone—to avoid Nest Lord Charulu.

2. Character developments

• Ivette: Remains calm, detached, and highly capable. She effortlessly eliminates hostile creatures in the wilderness and shows no concern about the dangers of the continent. Her unfamiliarity with local customs and currency reveals a rare vulnerability, though her wealth and confidence make her an even more tempting target.
• The Goblin guards: Their greed and predatory instincts become clear when they realize Ivette has money and appears to be an ordinary, unmarked demon. They quickly shift from extortion to planning her capture.
• Slippery Jim: Acts as a pragmatic but relatively kind informant. Although he accepts payment eagerly, he warns Ivette about the political upheaval and Charulu’s danger.
• Mo Jia and Lant: Neither appears directly, but their reputations establish Ivette’s goals and connect her journey to the larger mysteries of the Demon Abyss and the legendary Abyss.

3. Significant themes

• Corruption and exploitation: The Goblin guards take advantage of Ivette’s ignorance, reflecting the lawlessness and predatory nature of the region.
• Political instability and persecution: The vacant Demon King throne has triggered a continent-wide power struggle, with the Demon Race suffering retaliation because of its association with former rulers.
• Survival in a hostile environment: Acid rain, poisonous fog, scarce clean water, and violent creatures make ordinary life extremely difficult.
• Appearances versus true strength: Ivette looks like an ordinary, vulnerable demon, but she possesses overwhelming power and composure. Others repeatedly underestimate her.
• The double-edged nature of power: The miasma strengthens the Demon race while also worsening their aggression, symbolizing how the continent’s advantages are inseparable from its dangers.

4. Character interactions

• Ivette silently intimidates or eliminates creatures in the wilderness without showing emotion.
• The Goblin guards attempt to deceive her with an inflated entrance fee, then privately scheme to involve Charulu after seeing her wealth.
• In the tavern, Ivette questions Slippery Jim about prices, local conditions, Mo Jia, and Lant. He responds with surprise, accepts her payment, and offers warnings about the dangers facing the Demon Race.
• Their conversation introduces Charulu as the immediate local threat and establishes that Ivette’s search for Mo Jia and Lant will take place amid a dangerous struggle for control of the Demon Abyss Continent.

Chapter Summary: “Flower Protector”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ivette reflects on how the Eastern Continent’s isolation from the West has produced outdated and demonized ideas about Demon race society. Her conversation with Slippery Jim confirms that the Western Continent is not the primitive wasteland Eastern scholars imagine, though much of its former civilization has decayed.
• She asks for directions to Demon King’s Castle but learns that even locals often lack accurate maps because poisonous miasma makes exploration difficult. Slippery Jim offers to guide her from Mudmouth Town to Riftback City the following week, warning that the journey may be dangerous and attempting to sell her additional protection.
• Slippery Jim explains the Demon Abyss Continent’s political structure: forty-nine Grand Overlords govern semi-autonomous regions under the Demon Kings. Mudmouth Town belongs to Lord Charulu, who answers to Iron Wall Vief of Riftback City and ultimately to Grand Overlord Heralith.
• Ivette decides to travel first to Riftback City, locate Iron Wall Vief, and use him and Heralith to discover the route to Demon King’s Castle. Her larger goal is to contact the Demon Angel who selects Demon Kings and eventually negotiate with the Demon God.
• As evening arrives, Ivette attracts the attention of several Beast Demons and Goblins because of her appearance and apparent vulnerability. A black Dogman named Bobo awkwardly offers to protect her without charge, calling himself a “gentleman.”
• Lord Charulu, the powerful Goblin ruler of Mudmouth Town, arrives with armed followers after hearing about Ivette. He intends to abduct her, treating her as a valuable female and believing the decline of the Demon King dynasty has made such crimes safe.
• Charulu mocks Ivette and assumes she has come seeking his protection. When she asks Bobo whether he still wishes to be her “flower protector,” the Dogman immediately abandons her out of fear.
• Ivette calmly raises a hand and uses her magic on Charulu. Black, sand-like particles begin dissolving his body until a gust of wind scatters him completely. The tavern’s laughter abruptly stops in shock.

Character Developments

• Ivette: Becomes more informed about Western society and its political history, recognizing that the Eastern Continent’s image of the West is deeply distorted. She demonstrates patience, strategic thinking, and confidence in her ability to handle danger alone. Her casual destruction of Charulu reveals that she vastly exceeds the local powers who underestimate her.
• Slippery Jim: Establishes himself as a relatively honest and helpful local guide, though he is also opportunistic, repeatedly trying to sell Ivette bodyguard services. He provides crucial political and historical information about the region.
• Bobo: Initially presents himself as a chivalrous protector, but his courage collapses when confronted by Charulu. His retreat exposes the weakness behind his romantic “gentleman” persona and prompts Ivette’s sarcastic reference to him as a flower protector.
• Charulu: Is portrayed as cruel, entitled, and predatory. He takes advantage of the Demon race’s political decline and assumes he can act without consequences. His arrogance prevents him from recognizing Ivette as a threat, leading directly to his effortless death.

Significant Themes

• Prejudice and misinformation: The chapter contrasts Eastern stereotypes of the Western Continent with the reality of a decayed but once highly advanced civilization.
• Civilization and decline: The Supreme Demon King’s reforms created equality, education, public institutions, and economic development, but the sixty-year struggle between the Arcane and Chaos Demon Kings shattered that progress.
• Power and political legitimacy: The collapse of the Demon dynasty has weakened laws and encouraged local rulers to abuse their authority, especially against Demon race members.
• Appearance versus reality: Ivette appears to be a defenseless young woman, while Bobo appears heroic but proves cowardly. Charulu appears dominant but is completely powerless against her.
• Survival in a brutal society: The tavern patrons recognize Charulu’s behavior as wrong but do nothing, reflecting a world where people rarely risk themselves to help others.
• Ivette’s larger ambitions: Her willingness to consider becoming a Demon King shows her pragmatic approach to power and her determination to protect Lant and Mo Jia while uncovering the secrets of the Mortal Realm.

Character Interactions

• Ivette and Slippery Jim develop a practical information exchange: she questions him about geography, politics, and travel, while he offers guidance and tries to profit from additional services.
• Bobo attempts to court and protect Ivette, but their interaction becomes ironic when he abandons her at the first sign of real danger.
• Charulu’s confrontation with Ivette highlights his predatory arrogance and her controlled indifference. Rather than argue with him, she responds with a simple gesture that annihilates him.
• The tavern patrons serve as a collective audience, first encouraging mockery and amusement, then falling silent when Ivette reveals her overwhelming power.

Chapter Summary: “Nest”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Charulu, the Goblin Nest Lord of Mudmouth Town, suddenly vanishes after Ivette points at him, revealing her use of Destruction Magic. The witnesses panic and brand her a “Witch.”
• Ivette remains calm while the tavern empties in fear. The bartender recognizes her power, and Bobo, a dog-headed man, immediately begins flattering and serving her.
• Bobo tells Ivette that Charulu’s nest contains treasures and two captured Demon Race women. Concerned for their safety, Ivette agrees to follow him.
• Ivette travels through the acid rain to Charulu’s nest on the town’s northern heights. The surviving Goblins flee, potentially carrying news of Charulu’s death to Riftback City and its ruler, Iron Wall Vief.
• Rather than worrying about retaliation, Ivette enters the nest and goes directly to the underground prison. She finds two Demon Race cousins, Shana and Mira, living in relatively clean but forced confinement.
• Ivette cuts through their iron-barred cells, informs them that Charulu is dead, and declares them free to remain in the nest, which she now controls.
• Shana explains that she and Mira became slaves after the Night Demon King lost her throne and the Demon Race’s status collapsed. Although Charulu exploited them, he also provided basic necessities; compared with their earlier suffering, their imprisonment had seemed relatively bearable.
• Ivette promises that the Demon Race’s situation may improve when a new Demon King eventually rises. Privately, she plans to protect the women through the Silver Witch’s faith and possibly make them followers.
• Bobo leaves after trying to attach himself to Ivette. She considers making him the first priest of the Silver Witch Church in the Western Continent, though she does not want him as a personal follower.
• While inspecting the nest, Ivette discovers a room filled with dark-green “filter cores,” devices used to maintain Mudmouth Town’s Purification Tower. Their unfamiliar rune structure suggests they are artifacts of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization.

Character Developments

• Ivette: Demonstrates overwhelming power and emotional composure, openly accepting the title of Witch. She shows a strong moral opposition to slavery and exploitation, choosing to rescue Shana and Mira despite the political danger. Her ambitions also expand: she begins considering the establishment of the Silver Witch Church in the Western Continent.
• Bobo: Reveals himself as cowardly but highly opportunistic and shamelessly flattering. He quickly shifts allegiance from fear of Charulu to devotion toward Ivette, hoping to gain status by serving her. His knowledge of local politics and Charulu’s nest makes him useful despite his lack of strength.
• Shana: Emerges as mature, practical, and emotionally hardened by years of enslavement. Her reaction to Charulu’s death is complicated rather than celebratory, reflecting trauma and resignation.
• Mira: Is portrayed as younger, quieter, and more introverted, sharing Shana’s history of forced servitude.
• Charulu: Though absent after his death, his influence remains central. His rule is shown to have been exploitative but structured enough that his captives received food, shelter, and clothing, illustrating the morally complex conditions of the Western Continent.

Significant Themes

• Power and fear: Ivette’s mysterious magic transforms her from a stranger into a terrifying political force. The townspeople’s fear demonstrates how reputation and the unknown can magnify power.
• Freedom and survival: Shana and Mira’s situation highlights how enslaved people may accept abusive conditions when those conditions are less dangerous than their alternatives.
• Moral complexity: Charulu is clearly predatory, yet his treatment of the women is not presented in simplistic terms. Their survival required compromise, and Ivette must understand their experiences rather than impose an idealized view of rescue.
• Political authority: Killing a Nest Lord threatens the hierarchy controlled by Riftback City and the Great Overlord. The chapter challenges the idea that the Western Continent is lawless, showing instead that it possesses rigid political structures.
• Restoration and hope: Ivette’s belief that a future Demon King could improve the Demon Race’s position contrasts with the despair of its current status.
• Ancient technology: The filter cores introduce a mystery connected to the Ultra-Ancient Civilization and suggest that Ivette’s investigation may uncover important lost knowledge.

Character Interactions

• The tavern patrons react collectively to Ivette’s power, fleeing after Charulu disappears.
• The bartender trembles before Ivette and accepts her claim that she is a Witch.
• Bobo repeatedly praises Ivette, attempts to kiss her boot, and offers his services; Ivette rejects his excessive flattery but recognizes his usefulness.
• Ivette questions Shana about Charulu’s behavior, allowing the women to explain their survival rather than assuming their experiences.
• Ivette frees Shana and Mira, reassures them, and gives them control over their future within the nest.
• Ivette’s final discovery of the filter cores shifts the chapter from rescue and political upheaval toward investigation of the Western Continent’s ancient technological heritage.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ivette investigates the Purification Tower in Mudmouth Town after discovering that it originated from the Ultra-Ancient Civilization.
• She stays overnight in the Goblin Nest, choosing to experience the local environment rather than returning to Ish Island.
• The next morning, she gives Shana and Mira money for food and living expenses and instructs them to collect Mudmouth Town’s taxes.
• Ivette also introduces them to the Silver Witch’s doctrines, asking them to adopt the Silver Witch as their faith and study the teachings.
• At the decaying Purification Tower, Ivette accesses its Rune Array and reads historical compilation logs from the Ultra-Ancient Civilization.
• The logs reveal that the Western Continent’s environmental devastation was caused by the Ultra-Ancient Civilization’s own industrial pollution. The Purification Towers were largely a temporary and inadequate solution, built to suppress pollution rather than eliminate its source.
• The records also mention corporate negligence, the growth of Wanderer settlements, malfunctioning purification systems, and rumors that the Consortium was using missing Wanderers as test subjects.
• Ivette is left questioning why the Ultra-Ancient Civilization never properly restored the Western Continent. She wonders whether its destruction interrupted the process or whether the continent’s ruin served some unknown purpose.
• Meanwhile, in Riftback City, Lord Vief hears reports that Ivette killed Charulu by transforming him into black smoke.
• Vief’s adviser, Logro, suspects Ivette may be an agent of a Demon Race Overlord faction testing Riftback City’s strength.
• Vief decides that Ivette must be punished for killing a subordinate within his territory and orders Pigolu, his second-strongest fighter, to capture her.
• Pigolu gathers nearly fifty troops and marches toward Mudmouth Town.

Character Developments

• Ivette becomes more determined to investigate the Ultra-Ancient Civilization and the true history of the Western Continent. Her discoveries deepen rather than resolve her suspicions.
• Shana and Mira begin a closer relationship of dependence and loyalty toward Ivette. Their acceptance of the Silver Witch’s teachings marks the beginning of their religious conversion and integration into Ivette’s worldview.
• Lord Vief is shown to be proud, politically conscious, and concerned with maintaining authority. He sees Charulu’s death as a challenge to his reputation and regional influence.
• Logro acts as a cautious and analytical adviser, recognizing that Ivette may be connected to larger political conflicts, though he underestimates the reliability of the Goblins’ account.
• Pigolu is eager to prove himself and treats the mission as an opportunity to gain favor with Vief.

Significant Themes

• Environmental exploitation and corporate negligence: The historical logs reveal that the Western Continent’s ruin resulted from the Ultra-Ancient Civilization’s irresponsible industrial practices and refusal to address pollution at its source.
• History hidden beneath technology: The Purification Tower’s Rune Array preserves voices and records from a lost civilization, showing how ancient technology can expose truths that later societies have forgotten or distorted.
• Political power and reputation: Vief’s response is driven less by justice than by the need to demonstrate strength and prevent other demon tribes from viewing him as weak.
• Faith and influence: Ivette’s effort to convert Shana and Mira suggests that religion is also a means of building loyalty and spreading the Silver Witch’s influence.
• Miscommunication and unreliable testimony: The Goblin survivors exaggerate or misunderstand Ivette’s abilities, leading Riftback City’s leaders to form an inaccurate assessment of the threat.
• Unresolved historical mystery: Ivette learns who caused the pollution but not why the Western Continent was never restored, preserving a larger mystery about the fall of the Ultra-Ancient Civilization.

Character Interactions

• Ivette treats Shana and Mira generously, giving them money and responsibilities while guiding them toward the Silver Witch’s faith.
• Shana and Mira respond with intense gratitude and obedience, reinforcing their loyalty to Ivette.
• Ivette’s interaction with the Purification Tower is indirect but investigative: she uses her spiritual power to access its Rune Array and reconstruct the past through its annotations.
• In Riftback City, Vief consults Logro about the threat posed by Ivette. Logro offers a political interpretation, while Vief focuses on defending his authority.
• Vief then delegates the confrontation to Pigolu, who eagerly accepts the order and leads the attack force toward Mudmouth Town.