Chapter Summaries

Millennium Witch
316 summaries

Ch. 121The Hive

Chapter Summary: “The Hive”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ivette informs No. 0, Liana, and Firefly that the Holy Spirit Cult, the Rustbone Government, Black Tower Pharmaceuticals, and possibly other powers are searching for them. Since the authorities are already approaching Shalin Town, Ivette proposes relocating to a safer hiding place.
  • No. 0 refuses to consider retreat and repeatedly insists that they should simply kill everyone who comes after them. Ivette warns that attacking the search parties would provoke even greater military responses from New Eden, Black Tower, the Scale Shedding Organism, and possibly the Black Tide Federation.
  • Firefly hacks into the network and confirms that police forces will reach their location within half an hour. Realizing they have no time, Liana agrees to leave and carries No. 0 out, while No. 0 passively allows herself to be transported.
  • Ivette leads the group to a hidden rental property in The Hive, a densely packed, poorly maintained slum filled with criminals and gray-market workers. She believes the neighborhood’s lack of surveillance and resistance to police scrutiny will help them remain concealed until the search dies down.
  • The group cleans the filthy apartment and begins preparing for a long stay. Ivette calculates that she can remain in the dream for roughly another five and a half months, giving them time to outlast the authorities’ investigation.
  • Ivette and Liana go to a convenience store to buy cleaning supplies and food. No. 0 insists on accompanying Liana and physically positions herself between Liana and Ivette.
  • While waiting outside the store, Ivette asks No. 0 about her past and why she wants to kill Ivette. No. 0 refuses to explain, instead teasing Ivette with the revelation that her hostility has a specific, undisclosed cause.

Character Developments

  • Ivette acts as the practical strategist. She prioritizes concealment and survival over confrontation, accepts responsibility for the crisis, and works to understand No. 0’s hostility and violent nature.
  • No. 0 is shown as fiercely protective of Liana but openly antagonistic toward Ivette. She displays extreme confidence in her own power, believing she can destroy any force sent against them. Her refusal to explain her hatred suggests a deeper connection to Ivette and possibly to the origins of the dream’s central mysteries.
  • Liana demonstrates loyalty and emotional maturity. Although she recognizes No. 0’s dangerous tendencies, she tries to calm and physically manage her, ultimately choosing to follow Ivette’s plan. Her relationship with No. 0 is affectionate but not entirely submissive.
  • Firefly remains direct, helpful, and somewhat socially inexperienced. She provides crucial intelligence by monitoring official communications and participates enthusiastically in establishing their temporary home.
  • The group begins functioning like a makeshift household, despite tensions and No. 0’s refusal to contribute meaningfully to the chores.

Significant Themes

  • Survival versus violence: Ivette advocates hiding and waiting out the threat, while No. 0 believes overwhelming violence is the only answer. Their disagreement reflects different approaches to power and danger.
  • Found family and protection: Liana, No. 0, Firefly, and Ivette are forced into cooperation. Liana’s bond with No. 0, especially, reveals both deep affection and the burden of managing someone dangerously powerful.
  • Identity and hidden history: Ivette questions whether No. 0 may be connected to the destruction of Origin Civilization and wonders whether the Witch of Finale merely took control afterward. No. 0’s unexplained hatred implies that Ivette’s identity or past may be more significant than she realizes.
  • Authority and persecution: The impending search by multiple governments and organizations emphasizes the group’s precarious position and the immense power arrayed against them.
  • Domestic normalcy amid danger: Cleaning the apartment, shopping for supplies, and assigning chores create an ordinary household routine that contrasts sharply with the military pursuit outside.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette attempts to reason with No. 0, but No. 0 responds only with threats to kill their enemies. Liana supports Ivette’s plan and tries to restrain No. 0’s extremism.
  • Firefly bluntly points out that No. 0 becomes more irritable whenever Ivette appears, revealing the tension between them. She also confirms that No. 0 used to be more normal.
  • Liana physically carries No. 0 away from danger, demonstrating both their intimacy and Liana’s willingness to take responsibility for her.
  • At The Hive, No. 0 orders Ivette to clean while claiming she will sleep, reinforcing her spoiled and domineering behavior.
  • No. 0 repeatedly seeks proximity to Liana and excludes Ivette, including by linking arms with Liana and pushing Ivette aside.
  • Ivette directly asks No. 0 why she wants to kill her. No. 0 refuses to answer, turning the exchange into a psychological provocation and leaving the central reason for her hatred unresolved.
Read chapter

Ch. 122Hunting

Chapter Summary: “Hunting”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ivette, No. 0, and Liana return to their rented room in The Hive after buying supplies. Firefly remains constantly connected to the network, monitoring local activity and police and military operations.
  • During dinner, Ivette questions Liana about their escape from Black Tower. Liana recounts traveling through Agasha, Renor, White Maple City, and the border before entering the human traffickers’ compound.
  • Ivette realizes that the cities No. 0 traveled through may be connected to the appearance of Dream Mist in reality.
  • Liana reveals that the experiments performed on them were overseen by an old scientist named Dillon Dempse, who used Divine Molt to create Mutated Creatures. Many of these creatures were buried in the forest near the Ish Mountains.
  • Ivette connects Dillon’s experiments to the unusually powerful Mutants in the Corrupt Forest, suspecting that the forest was used as a dumping ground for failed experiments.
  • Firefly explains that Dillon had once been a respected scholar and opponent of unethical experimentation and the Holy Spirit Cult, but later began conducting human experiments himself. Ivette concludes that Black Tower Pharmaceuticals and other organizations may also bear responsibility for the apocalypse.
  • Ivette attempts to expose Cycle Master Priest Linde Benedict as the “General” of the Ghost Hand Society. However, the Rustbone Free State suppresses the information, blocks posts, and issues denials. The news spreads more effectively outside the firewall, increasing public anger.
  • Abandoning her attempt to win through public opinion, Ivette focuses on locating Linde’s true body. She contacts the Firekeeper for help.
  • The Firekeeper offers to find Linde’s exact location without payment, proposing instead a deeper alliance: future mutual assistance in missions dedicated to preserving civilization. Ivette agrees.
  • Over the next month, the scandal gains momentum. Public hostility toward Rustbone increases, Federal President John Tito Rockyverde pressures the state to lift martial law, and Soul Requiem Priest Hoyle expresses dissatisfaction before taking sick leave.
  • After roughly a month, the Firekeeper identifies Linde’s hiding place: a mansion on a wealthy street near Soulfire Church. Ivette prepares to begin hunting him.

Character Developments

  • Ivette becomes increasingly investigative and strategic. She links scattered evidence about Divine Molt, Mutant creation, and the apocalypse, while shifting from information warfare to a direct assassination attempt.
  • Liana provides important details about her escape and the experiments, showing growing trust in Ivette by answering questions she had previously avoided.
  • No. 0 remains protective and suspicious, particularly when Ivette considers sharing food with Liana, but his past and possible role in the apocalypse continue to trouble Ivette.
  • Firefly demonstrates the Mechanical Race’s strengths: tireless surveillance, network monitoring, and advanced rune hacking. Firefly’s knowledge also helps reveal the history of Dillon Dempse.
  • The Firekeeper moves from being a distant information broker to a potential long-term ally, emphasizing cooperation for the survival of civilization.
  • Dillon Dempse is revealed as a morally contradictory figure: once an ethical scholar and critic of human experimentation, he eventually became an experimenter himself.
  • Linde Benedict remains hidden but increasingly pressured as his identity and connection to the Ghost Hand Society become public.
  • Hoyle appears to be under internal or political pressure, while his decision to take sick leave may also suggest complications surrounding his possible possession.

Significant Themes

  • Corruption and hypocrisy: Dillon’s transformation from opponent of unethical science into a human experimenter reflects the recurring collapse of moral principles under the pursuit of power or survival.
  • Shared responsibility for catastrophe: Ivette recognizes that the apocalypse may not be attributable to No. 0 alone; Black Tower and other organizations likely contributed through their experiments with Divine Molt and related substances.
  • Information control versus truth: Rustbone’s censorship prevents Ivette’s accusations from spreading domestically, but the information still creates pressure beyond the firewall.
  • Cooperation for civilization’s survival: The Firekeeper’s proposed alliance introduces a broader cause that transcends individual conflicts and factions.
  • The limits of technology: Even Firefly’s surveillance and Ivette’s hacking cannot easily locate Linde, showing that hidden supernatural or magical forces can evade technological methods.
  • Hunting and patience: Ivette must wait, gather intelligence, and exploit political and social pressure before she can make a direct move against her enemy.

Important Character Interactions

  • Ivette and Liana: Ivette questions Liana about her past, and Liana responds openly about the escape from Black Tower and Dr. Dillon’s experiments.
  • Ivette and No. 0: No. 0’s hostile look discourages Ivette from accepting Liana’s offer to share bread, reflecting his possessiveness and continued caution.
  • Ivette and Firefly: Ivette consults Firefly about Dillon Dempse, while Firefly provides historical information and continues monitoring the surrounding area.
  • Ivette and the Firekeeper: Their exchange establishes a new alliance. The Firekeeper offers intelligence in exchange for future cooperation rather than money.
  • Ivette versus the Holy Spirit Cult: Her attempt to expose Linde provokes censorship, public backlash, political pressure, and internal dissatisfaction within the Cult.
  • Rustbone Free State and outside powers: Public outrage and diplomatic pressure from President Rockyverde weaken Rustbone’s ability to maintain martial law without consequences.
    The chapter ends with Ivette finally receiving Linde’s location, turning her prolonged investigation into an imminent confrontation.
Read chapter

Ch. 123Soul Brain

Chapter Summary: “Soul Brain”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Linde, a wealthy businessman secretly serving as a necromancer and general of the Ghost Hand Society, receives a communication from the Soulfire Holy Judge, one of the Holy Spirit Cult’s three most powerful figures.
  • The Holy Judge demands an update on the search for Black Tower’s two escaped test subjects. Linde has found no leads, but is warned that New Eden’s government may invade the Rustbone Free State within half a month to recover them.
  • With time running out, Linde requests permission to use the Soul Brain, a forbidden Holy Spirit Cult artifact capable of amplifying mental power and enabling large-scale soul manipulation. His request is approved.
  • The Soul Brain is revealed to be a soul-based Magic Guide Terminal made from countless human souls. It can enhance spellcasting and control bodies, but its accumulated memory fragments gradually corrupt the user’s personality, making it extremely dangerous.
  • Before Linde can activate it, Ivette ambushes him. Using a White Tentacle, she steals the skull-shaped container holding the Soul Brain.
  • Linde loses control in fury and attacks Ivette directly instead of using his usual summoned forces. Ivette easily catches his bone blade, kicks him away, and uses it to severely wound him.
  • Linde retreats outside and summons a massive army of skeletons hidden beneath the residence’s grounds. Driven by fear of punishment from the Holy Spirit Cult, he decides he must kill Ivette and reclaim the Soul Brain.
  • Ivette pursues him into the open gardens and golf course. When the skeleton army surrounds her, she summons twelve Rune Rings, astonishing Linde, who can cast only five spells simultaneously at his maximum.

Character Developments

  • Linde is shown as cautious and politically pressured, but the approaching deadline and fear of the Holy Spirit Cult drive him into desperation. His normally strategic necromancer style collapses when Ivette steals the Soul Brain, causing him to fight recklessly and emotionally.
  • The Soulfire Holy Judge is established as a terrifying, nearly godlike authority figure. His control over Linde is reinforced by the fact that Linde has sacrificed part of his soul to him.
  • Ivette demonstrates overwhelming confidence and combat ability. She is physically powerful enough to defeat a high-level mage in close combat and technically skilled enough to bypass the Soul Brain’s security system through Rune Hacker techniques.
  • Ivette’s ability to manifest twelve Rune Rings suggests that her magical capacity far exceeds Linde’s and may place her among exceptionally powerful mages.

Significant Themes

  • Power and control: Linde is controlled by the Soulfire Holy Judge, while the Soul Brain itself can control bodies and potentially alter its user’s identity.
  • The danger of forbidden technology: The Soul Brain combines advanced magical technology with necromancy, but its power depends on the exploitation of human souls and carries severe psychological consequences.
  • Identity and corruption: Memory fragments stored in the Soul Brain can merge with the user’s mind, threatening personality, self-perception, and individuality.
  • Desperation versus discipline: Linde abandons the cautious tactics expected of a necromancer because fear and desperation overwhelm his judgment.
  • Unequal strength: The confrontation highlights the vast difference between ordinary elite combatants like Linde and Ivette, whose abilities appear far beyond conventional limits.
  • Political conflict: The search for the escaped test subjects is connected to a larger struggle among Black Tower Pharmaceuticals, the Holy Spirit Cult, and the New Eden government.

Character Interactions

  • The Soulfire Holy Judge intimidates Linde while giving him a strict deadline and conditional permission to use the Soul Brain.
  • Linde’s relationship with the Holy Spirit Cult is shown to be based on obedience and fear rather than loyalty.
  • Ivette’s theft of the Soul Brain immediately turns her into Linde’s highest priority and exposes how vulnerable he becomes when personally threatened.
  • Linde attempts to fight Ivette at close range, but she dominates the encounter, turning his own bone weapon against him.
  • The chapter ends with a tense magical standoff: Linde commands an enormous skeleton army, while Ivette reveals an unprecedented twelve Rune Rings, leaving him uncertain whether her display is genuine power or intimidation.
Read chapter

Ch. 124Soulfire Holy Judge

Chapter Summary: “Soulfire Holy Judge”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ivette confronts Linde and proves the gap between them by unleashing twelve powerful elemental spells simultaneously. Her magic annihilates his skeletal army and forces him into retreat.
  • Linde’s mana barrier eventually fails, allowing Ivette to pursue and pierce his artificial Mana Core with Pure White Tendrils. Without it, he is reduced from a powerful necromancer to an ordinary, helpless man.
  • As Ivette prepares to deal with Linde, the Soulfire Holy Judge appears through a holographic projection. He demands that she spare Linde, return the Soul Brain, and publicly deny what she has discovered.
  • Ivette refuses to submit. The Holy Judge challenges her, but she immediately kills Linde with a wind blade before the projection can intervene.
  • To prevent resurrection, Ivette destroys Linde’s head, biological brain, and remaining spirit. She then searches his corpse and obtains his high-grade Magic Guide Terminal.
  • Ivette returns to The Hive, worried that her conflict with the Holy Spirit Cult may prevent Hoyle from paying her the rest of her promised reward.
  • At The Hive, she encounters No. 0 awake on a rooftop, staring at a solitary cross-shaped star. No. 0 appears unusually calm, lonely, and exhausted. She asks Ivette to escort her to her room, but Ivette refuses.
  • Ivette decides to maintain the status quo while spending the next two days breaking into the Soul Brain and Magic Guide Terminal. She hopes the necromantic knowledge inside them will help her resist the Soulfire Holy Judge.

Character Developments

  • Ivette: Demonstrates overwhelming combat ability, tactical decisiveness, and confidence in confronting powerful organizations. She refuses to be intimidated by the Holy Spirit Cult and takes precautions to ensure Linde cannot be resurrected. At the same time, she remains pragmatic and slightly self-interested, worrying about payment and considering whether her recent actions have created an unavoidable enemy.
  • Linde: His intimidating image as a general and necromancer collapses once Ivette reaches his true body. He becomes frightened and helpless, revealing the vulnerability of necromancers when deprived of their summons and magical protections. His death also exposes the limits of the Holy Spirit Cult’s ability to protect him.
  • Soulfire Holy Judge: Appears cold, domineering, and certain of his authority. His demand that Ivette rewrite the truth shows the Cult’s desire to control information, while his failure to save Linde highlights the limits of acting through a remote projection.
  • No. 0: Briefly reveals a softer, more isolated side. Her quiet attention to the stars contrasts with her usual madness and malice, suggesting hidden emotions or memories. Her exhaustion and possible awareness of Ivette’s battle add mystery to her character.
  • Hoyle: Does not appear directly, but his promised payment becomes uncertain because of Ivette’s confrontation with the Cult.

Significant Themes

  • Power versus vulnerability: Linde’s enormous undead army and necromantic façade cannot protect him once Ivette reaches his real body and destroys his artificial Mana Core.
  • Defiance against authority: Ivette refuses the Soulfire Holy Judge’s attempt to command her, choosing truth and independence over safety.
  • Control of knowledge and information: The Holy Judge demands that Ivette “debunk” her discoveries, showing the importance of secrecy and propaganda to the Holy Spirit Cult.
  • Death and resurrection: Ivette’s thorough destruction of Linde’s body and spirit emphasizes the persistent danger of necromancy and the need to prevent death from being reversed.
  • Isolation and loneliness: No. 0’s solitary stargazing and unusual calm introduce a more vulnerable dimension to her character.
  • Pragmatism and consequences: Ivette wins the battle and gains valuable technology, but her victory creates political danger and may jeopardize her payment and future safety.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette and Linde’s confrontation shifts from a long-range magical battle to a stark reversal of power when she disables his Mana Core.
  • The Soulfire Holy Judge attempts to negotiate through threats and authority, but Ivette challenges him and kills Linde in direct defiance.
  • Ivette and No. 0 interact tensely at The Hive. No. 0 asks for help returning to her room, but Ivette refuses, maintaining distance because she does not trust her behavior.
  • Ivette’s thoughts about Hoyle and the Holy Spirit Cult connect her immediate victory to the broader political and financial consequences of the encounter.
Read chapter

Ch. 125Necromancy

Chapter Summary: “Necromancy”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Back at the apartment, Firefly keeps watch while No. 0 and Liana sleep. Ivette questions Firefly about their identity as an artificial lifeform and whether they have met other AIs or wish to become human. Firefly admits to hiding from potential authorities but shows no real desire to become human.
  • Ivette unlocks Linde Benedict’s magic ring after working through its advanced security until dawn. Inside, she discovers Linde’s personal Necromancy notebook and numerous unencrypted rune arrays.
  • Linde’s theory divides Necromancy into three interconnected branches:
    • Soul, the foundation
    • Bone, built upon soul
    • Flesh, built upon bone
      Evil spirit mages use soul-based techniques, skeleton mages use soul and bone, and zombie mages master all three.
  • The Three Holy Offices have surpassed ordinary third-tier Necromancy and specialize in one branch each. Linde theorizes that the Soulfire Holy Judge may be the strongest because soul is the foundation of all Necromancy and connects to Soul Magic.
  • Ivette realizes that the enemy she has provoked may be the world’s strongest necromancer, despite her having studied Necromancy for only a short time.
  • The chapter explains that Concept Magic is poorly understood. Unlike the systematic Elemental Magics, it consists largely of techniques discovered through archaeology and the reconstruction of magical beasts’ ancient genetic abilities.
  • Ivette identifies six techniques she can use effectively:
    • Bone Armor
    • Bone Sword
    • Soul Refining
    • Soul Pact
    • Soulflame
    • Soul Descent
  • She then examines the Soul Brain, discovering that it amplifies mental power and improves magical precision but may cause cyberpsychosis. Ivette appears unusually resistant to its harmful effects, though she remains cautious.
  • Over the next two days, Ivette concentrates on mastering Soulflame, hoping it will be effective against the Soulfire Holy Judge.
  • Firefly monitors events near the Fos River and reports that the lockdown has intensified, authorities are conducting door-to-door investigations, and an important Holy Spirit Cult figure may have secretly arrived. The city begins to feel the pressure of an impending confrontation.

Character Developments

  • Ivette becomes more knowledgeable and strategically prepared after studying Linde’s theories and acquiring his techniques. She approaches Linde’s work with humility while immediately evaluating how it can help her survive.
  • She also becomes increasingly aware of the danger posed by the Soulfire Holy Judge and recognizes that she may soon face an overwhelmingly powerful opponent.
  • Ivette demonstrates strong technical ability by breaking into both the magic ring and the Soul Brain. Her unusual resistance to the Soul Brain suggests that her spirit body may provide significant advantages.
  • Firefly reveals a cautious, self-preserving personality. They distrust the possibility of surveillance and conceal their identity from other AIs, but also display playful humor when pretending to desire humanity.
  • Linde Benedict, though dead, continues to influence the story through his research. His scholarship gives Ivette access to powerful knowledge and provides a framework for understanding the Holy Spirit Cult’s strongest figures.

Significant Themes

  • Knowledge as power: Ivette turns the remnants of a defeated enemy into new tools and information, emphasizing learning as a means of survival.
  • The danger of confronting superior forces: Understanding that the Soulfire Holy Judge may be the strongest necromancer raises the stakes and highlights Ivette’s disadvantage.
  • Science and magic intertwined: Magic is treated as a field of technological research, involving rune systems, genetic archaeology, artificial intelligence, and experimental investigation.
  • Uncertainty and incomplete understanding: Concept Magic functions despite lacking a clear theoretical foundation, showing that practical results can precede explanation.
  • Identity and artificial life: Firefly’s discussion of humanity raises questions about whether artificial beings need to imitate or desire human existence.
  • Power and risk: The Soul Brain offers greater magical control but threatens psychological damage, reflecting the costs of acquiring strength.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette and Firefly share a relaxed but revealing conversation about artificial intelligence, humanity, secrecy, and the desire to become human.
  • Ivette treats Linde’s notes as those of a serious intellectual opponent, learning from him despite having defeated him.
  • Ivette’s study of Soulflame is directly motivated by the threat of the Soulfire Holy Judge, linking her new abilities to the anticipated conflict.
  • Firefly supports Ivette indirectly by gathering intelligence online, while Ivette relies on them as both a lookout and an information source.
Read chapter

Ch. 126Do You Want to Eat Me?

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

  • On a rainy night, the Guardian Order violently searches The Hive for two escaped test subjects, No. 0 and No. 1. A white-robed, mechanical-bodied priest breaks into homes without warrants, arrests a fugitive, and ransacks rooms.
  • Ivette, Liana, Firefly, and the sleeping No. 0 hide with a large crowd in an underground passage connected to The Hive’s sewers.
  • Ivette explains their escape plan: if discovered, she will draw away the Guardian Order and powerful pursuers while Liana and Firefly take No. 0 through the sewers to a safe location. She intends to remain behind because she is capable of escaping on her own and wants to protect the others.
  • After many hours, the search ends and the group returns to The Hive, finding their homes destroyed and belongings scattered.
  • While helping restore the room, Ivette asks Liana whether she wants to learn magic. Liana admits she previously tried but could not memorize the many symbols.
  • Ivette then questions No. 0 about how she learned magic, since the Abyss Base could not have taught her and she has had little opportunity to study it. No. 0 teasingly refuses to answer unless Ivette calls her “sis.”
  • No. 0 later suggests that Ivette might want to eat her in order to gain knowledge and power. Ivette realizes this may reveal No. 0’s own belief that people are potential food, explaining her hostility and emotional distance. No. 0 denies wanting to eat Ivette, saying she was only warning her, then falls asleep.

Character Developments

  • Ivette: Demonstrates her willingness to sacrifice herself for Liana and No. 0. Although she once hoped to avoid interfering with events, she accepts that circumstances have changed and commits to protecting the others. She also becomes increasingly suspicious of No. 0’s motives and nature.
  • Liana: Shows loyalty and affection toward Ivette, calling her “sis” and worrying about her safety. She is practical and capable, helping repair the damaged room, but lacks the ability to learn Ivette’s magic.
  • No. 0: Reveals a more active, teasing, and psychologically unsettling personality. Her hostility toward Ivette may stem from seeing her as a possible predator or source of danger. Her knowledge of magic remains mysterious, and her final warning hints at a disturbing ability or worldview.
  • Firefly: Provides reconnaissance and occasional comic commentary, but also recognizes the frightening power and ruthlessness of the cults.

Significant Themes

  • Oppression and abuse of power: The Guardian Order uses religious authority to conduct violent searches, destroy homes, and arrest people without due process.
  • Sacrifice and protection: Ivette prioritizes the safety of Liana and No. 0 over her own, presenting herself as their shield.
  • Trust and suspicion: The characters depend on one another while remaining uncertain about No. 0’s intentions and past.
  • Humanity versus monstrosity: No. 0’s “eating” metaphor raises questions about whether she views people as companions, threats, or resources.
  • Family and belonging: Ivette and Liana’s affectionate sister-like bond contrasts with No. 0’s emotional alienation and antagonism.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette reassures Liana that she can handle the danger, while Liana begs her to escape with them.
  • Liana instinctively protects No. 0 by covering her eyes when she wakes and later scolds No. 0 for speaking rudely to Ivette.
  • Firefly and Ivette speculate that No. 0 may resent Ivette for failing to save her in the past, prompting No. 0 to reveal the disturbing “eat me” idea.
  • No. 0’s final exchange with Ivette deepens the mystery surrounding her motives, abilities, and relationship with the group.
Read chapter

Ch. 127Is This Still Human?

Chapter Summary: “Is This Still Human?”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Soulfire Holy Judge leads a mass spiritual search across the city, using thousands of spirits to invade ordinary people’s homes and memories. The Holy Spirit Cult is racing to find Liana, No. 0, and Firefly before its agreement with President John expires.
  • When the spirits approach The Hive, many suddenly disappear, alerting Soulfire Holy Judge that the fugitives are hiding there.
  • Ivette warns Liana that the cult, police, Guardians, and military Magitech Soldiers are closing in. Liana, No. 0, and Firefly escape through a secret passage into the sewers while Ivette stays behind to draw the pursuers away.
  • Ivette deliberately exposes herself in The Hive, then attacks a Magitech Soldier. Despite an overwhelming barrage of cannons, bullets, and magic, she reaches it and cuts the billion-dollar war machine in half with a flame-enchanted bone sword.
  • Her display of power terrifies the surrounding forces. Neither the soldiers nor the evil spirits dare attack her effectively; her Soulflame burns the spirits, causing pain to the necromancers controlling them.
  • Soulfire Holy Judge eventually appears through what Ivette recognizes as a specially prepared avatar. He tests her with spiritual attacks, beginning a fierce battle that moves from the streets to the rooftops.
  • Ivette fights carefully, switching her sword’s fire into lightning and Soulflame to conserve mana and increase its effectiveness against undead enemies.
  • Legendary reporter Cromwell witnesses the battle and enthusiastically begins livestreaming it, ensuring the confrontation will become a public spectacle.

Character Developments

  • Ivette demonstrates that her strength far exceeds what the authorities expected. She remains calm under pressure, deliberately turns herself into a distraction, and defeats a Magitech Soldier single-handedly. Her mastery of Soulflame allows her to damage spiritual beings, while her tactical judgment helps her conserve mana against a much stronger opponent.
  • Liana shows concern and emotional attachment toward Ivette, briefly questioning whether they should escape together. Nevertheless, she accepts the plan, protects the sleeping No. 0, and takes responsibility for leading the escape.
  • No. 0 remains asleep throughout the escape, preserving the group’s carefully maintained control over her dangerous power. Ivette continues to regard waking her as a last resort that could cause the situation to become uncontrollable.
  • Firefly acts as the group’s alarm system and lookout, monitoring the approaching forces and helping Liana flee, though it remains visibly nervous.
  • Soulfire Holy Judge is revealed as cautious and methodical. Rather than risk his true body, he confronts Ivette through an avatar and uses summoned spirits and probing attacks to assess her abilities.
  • The authorities and soldiers shift rapidly from confidence to fear after witnessing Ivette’s destructive power, questioning whether they are capable of capturing her at all.
  • Cromwell embraces the danger as sensational news, treating the battle as a historic opportunity for worldwide attention.

Significant Themes

  • The meaning of humanity: The chapter repeatedly questions whether Ivette’s overwhelming power still qualifies as human, especially after she destroys a military weapon designed to defeat elite threats.
  • Power and perception: The authorities expect to hunt vulnerable criminals but discover that one of their targets is vastly more powerful than the forces sent to capture her.
  • Sacrifice and protection: Ivette risks herself so Liana, No. 0, and Firefly can escape, while Liana’s worry shows the emotional cost of that sacrifice.
  • Control versus chaos: Keeping No. 0 asleep symbolizes restraint. Waking her could unleash power that even Ivette fears cannot be controlled.
  • Spiritual violence and its consequences: The cult’s invasive search harms innocent people, while Ivette’s destruction of evil spirits inflicts pain on their necromancer masters.
  • Spectacle and public truth: Cromwell’s livestream transforms a hidden pursuit into a public event, potentially exposing the church’s actions and changing how the world views Ivette and the fugitives.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette and Liana share a protective sisterly bond; Liana urges Ivette to be careful before reluctantly leaving her behind.
  • Ivette coordinates the escape with Liana and Firefly, taking the dangerous surface route while they use the sewers.
  • Ivette confronts the soldiers and Guardians directly, intimidating them into inaction after destroying the Magitech Soldier.
  • She and Soulfire Holy Judge engage in a tactical duel, each testing the other through summoned spirits, elemental attacks, and close combat.
  • Cromwell watches the confrontation from afar, turning Ivette and Soulfire Holy Judge’s battle into a dramatic public broadcast.
Read chapter

Ch. 128Escape

Chapter Summary: “Escape”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Liana, Firefly, and No. 0 flee Abyss Base through the sewers using a prearranged escape route.
  • No. 0 awakens during the journey but remains unusually sleepy and weak. Liana insists that she conserve her energy rather than fight.
  • At a sewer exit, the group encounters three Guardian Order members. Liana silently kills them with her Shadow Tendrils, demonstrating the growing lethality and precision of her powers.
  • Firefly hacks the dead guards’ communications, allowing the fugitives to continue moving while deceiving the Guardian Order into believing the patrols are still active.
  • The group reaches an abandoned industrial district and heads toward a steel mill safehouse stocked with supplies.
  • Before they can reach safety, they encounter a powerful zombie. Firefly’s advanced weapon requires several shots to destroy it, suggesting that a highly skilled necromancer controls the area.
  • Hundreds of zombies emerge from the ground and pursue them. Liana and Firefly flee while fighting their way through the horde, with Liana using her Shadow Tendrils to clear a path.
  • Just as they near an escape route through the factory, a gigantic, intelligent zombie blocks them. The surrounding undead stop attacking and form a perimeter.
  • The giant introduces himself as Ducha Besme, a Cycle Master Priest of the Holy Spirit Cult, revealing that the group has encountered a major enemy.

Character Developments

  • Liana becomes more protective and responsible, especially toward No. 0. Although frightened by the zombies, she maintains leadership and uses her abilities decisively.
  • Her Shadow Tendrils have grown powerful enough to kill cybernetically enhanced Guardian Order soldiers instantly and repel groups of zombies.
  • No. 0 remains mysterious and carefree despite the danger. Her persistent sleepiness suggests a physical or supernatural problem, but she refuses to explain it. She agrees to conserve her strength unless absolutely needed.
  • Firefly proves useful through its marksmanship, technological skill, and ability to imitate the dead guards’ communications. However, it lacks confidence and combat experience, frequently panicking when faced with overwhelming danger.
  • The group’s dependence on one another becomes clearer: Liana provides combat leadership, Firefly handles weapons and communications, and No. 0 remains their strongest but least active member.

Significant Themes

  • Escape and survival: The group must rely on planning, stealth, and cooperation to evade the Guardian Order.
  • Growing power and responsibility: Liana’s increasingly formidable abilities are accompanied by a stronger sense of duty toward No. 0 and Firefly.
  • Vulnerability beneath strength: Despite No. 0’s overwhelming abilities, her unexplained exhaustion suggests that even the strongest character has limits.
  • Technology versus supernatural power: Firefly’s advanced firearm and hacking skills contrast with Liana’s magic-like Shadow Tendrils and the necromancer’s undead army.
  • Fear of the unknown: The abandoned industrial district initially appears to be a safe refuge but becomes another supernatural threat zone.

Character Interactions

  • Liana gently but firmly prevents No. 0 from fighting, emphasizing her concern for No. 0’s health.
  • Firefly admires Liana’s growing strength and compares her potential to No. 0’s, while Liana responds with hope that she may one day become stronger.
  • No. 0 impatiently urges Firefly to keep moving, maintaining her detached, almost playful attitude.
  • During the zombie attack, Liana grabs No. 0 and drags her to safety while Firefly covers their retreat.
  • The chapter ends with Liana confronting the intelligent zombie Ducha Besme, shifting the escape from a simple pursuit into a direct confrontation with a powerful Holy Spirit Cult leader.
Read chapter

Ch. 129Bone Dragon

Chapter Summary: “Bone Dragon”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • High above the clouds, the Bone Dragon serves as a hidden command post for two Church figures: the square-faced priest Ducha Besme and the long-haired Soulfire Holy Judge.
  • They discuss the Church’s operation to capture Liana and No. 0, two test subjects connected to Divine Molt. They believe Divine Molt is more significant than the comparable powers of Scale Shedding Organism and Black Tide Company, making the girls extremely valuable.
  • Soulfire Holy Judge remains occupied fighting the silver-haired girl, apparently Nameless, and admits that she is powerful enough to require his full attention.
  • Ducha locates Liana, No. 0, and Firefly at an abandoned steelworks. He threatens to take them alive and destroy the Mechanical Puppet if they resist.
  • Liana volunteers to fight Ducha alone while No. 0 and Firefly hold back. Although Ducha possesses overwhelming durability and physical strength, Liana uses her speed, Shadow Tendrils, and evasive movements to avoid his attacks.
  • After repeatedly targeting the same location, Liana pierces Ducha’s chest and destroys his artificial Mana Core and several Magic Energy Cores. His combat strength falls to less than one-tenth of its former level.
  • Ducha’s defeat immediately causes the surrounding zombie army to collapse, since the undead depend on his magical energy.
  • Exhausted, Liana asks Firefly—whom she calls Ivette—to finish Ducha. However, before Firefly can attack, the Bone Dragon descends from the clouds, dramatically changing the situation.

Character Developments

  • Liana demonstrates major growth in combat ability. Though her technique remains rough, she combines extraordinary speed, strength, and tactical precision to defeat an opponent far more durable than herself.
  • Liana also shows courage and protectiveness by taking responsibility for confronting Ducha so that No. 0 and Firefly can remain safe.
  • No. 0 remains calm and confident throughout the confrontation, trusting completely in Liana’s ability to win. However, her comments reveal a troubling awareness that she may not always be able to protect Liana and Firefly, hinting at an approaching separation or crisis.
  • Firefly continues to act as the group’s observant and supportive companion. Her concern for Liana and reliance on No. 0 contrast with her confusion about No. 0’s increasingly mysterious behavior.
  • Ducha Besme is established as a powerful corpse-ghost necromancer rather than a fragile summoner. His pride and confidence are undermined when Liana exploits the weakness in his artificial magical body.
  • Soulfire Holy Judge is portrayed as an elite combatant who recognizes the silver-haired girl as a serious threat, despite maintaining a relaxed appearance above the battlefield.

Significant Themes

  • Power and vulnerability: Ducha appears nearly invincible because of his reinforced corpse-ghost body, but Liana wins by identifying and repeatedly attacking his internal magical weaknesses.
  • Trust and dependence: No. 0’s unwavering faith in Liana strengthens her resolve, while Firefly depends on No. 0’s judgment. Their teamwork is built on mutual reliance even amid uncertainty.
  • Hidden purpose and experimentation: The Church’s pursuit of Liana and No. 0 reveals that the girls are not merely test subjects; their connection to Divine Molt may hold secrets important to several powerful organizations.
  • Mortality and future separation: No. 0’s remarks about not being able to protect the others forever introduce a sense of impending loss and suggest that her current role in the group may not last.
  • Control and collapse: Ducha’s zombies are entirely dependent on his magical control. Once his core is damaged, his entire army falls, emphasizing the fragility hidden beneath apparent strength.

Character Interactions

  • Ducha attempts to intimidate Liana, No. 0, and Firefly into surrender, but Liana answers by challenging him directly.
  • Liana orders No. 0 not to intervene, and No. 0 obediently respects her decision.
  • Firefly asks whether they should attack the surrounding zombies, but No. 0 advises waiting until Ducha is defeated.
  • No. 0 reassures Firefly that Liana will win, while cryptically admitting that she cannot protect them forever.
  • After Liana disables Ducha, she relies on Firefly to deliver the final attack—but the sudden arrival of the Bone Dragon interrupts them and leaves the outcome unresolved.
Read chapter

Ch. 130A Single Glance

Summary of “A Single Glance”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • A massive Bone Dragon, one of the Holy Spirit Cult’s rare and powerful war creatures, arrives at the abandoned steel plant carrying two Holy Judges: Will Leopold, the Ghoul Holy Judge, and the Soulfire Holy Judge.
  • They discover that Ducha, the Cycle Master Priest, has been badly weakened and turn their attention to Liana, Ivette/No. 0, and Firefly.
  • The Holy Judges recognize Firefly as a possible awakened AI with a spiritual body. They intend to capture and study her, viewing her as an important breakthrough for undead magic technology.
  • Liana tries to protect No. 0 and Firefly by holding a Rune Firearm to her own head and threatening suicide if the Holy Judges do not release them.
  • The Ghoul Holy Judge psychologically manipulates Liana. He claims that death will not save her because necromancers can resurrect her as a zombie, and threatens to torture her friends if she kills herself.
  • Liana becomes overwhelmed by his cruelty and loses hope. No. 0 comforts her, embraces her, and urges her to survive rather than sacrifice herself.
  • When the Ghoul Holy Judge mockingly interrupts them, No. 0 turns her attention toward him. With what appears to be a single glance or mental attack, she violently overwhelms his consciousness and transforms his body into a grotesque mutated creature.
  • The Soulfire Holy Judge realizes the danger and orders the Bone Dragon to flee, but the transformed Ghoul Holy Judge attacks him, opening his head into a monstrous, tooth-filled maw.

Character Developments

  • Liana: Begins as frightened and stunned by the Bone Dragon’s arrival but demonstrates courage and self-sacrifice by attempting to trade her life for her companions’ freedom. The Holy Judge’s manipulation exposes her innocence and limited experience with the world’s cruelty, while No. 0’s intervention helps her regain the will to survive.
  • No. 0: Reveals a much more terrifying and powerful side. Despite maintaining a gentle, reassuring relationship with Liana, she can instantly overpower a Holy Judge through an unexplained mental or psychic ability. Her attitude emphasizes survival over heroic self-sacrifice.
  • Firefly: Is identified by the Holy Judges as an awakened AI, making her a valuable target for experimentation. Her unusual nature places her in immediate danger.
  • Ghoul Holy Judge: Is introduced as cold, powerful, and confident, but his behavior reveals him to be cruel and manipulative. He attempts to break Liana psychologically by threatening her friends, but his arrogance leaves him unprepared for No. 0’s power.
  • Soulfire Holy Judge: Initially shares the Ghoul Judge’s confidence and interest in Firefly, but quickly becomes frightened once No. 0 attacks. His attempt to escape shows that he recognizes the threat before the others do.
  • Ducha: Appears weakened and submissive after his defeat, apologizing to the Holy Judges for failing.

Significant Themes

  • The value of survival: No. 0 insists that staying alive is the first priority, rejecting the idea that noble self-sacrifice is always meaningful.
  • Innocence confronted by cruelty: Liana’s idealized view of the world collapses when she encounters the Holy Judge’s sadistic manipulation.
  • Power hidden beneath gentleness: No. 0 appears affectionate and calm, but her sudden attack reveals overwhelming and frightening abilities.
  • Dehumanization and control: The Holy Spirit Cult treats Firefly and the girls as objects to be captured, studied, resurrected, or tortured rather than as people.
  • Psychological warfare: The Ghoul Holy Judge uses threats and guilt to control Liana, while No. 0 defeats him through a direct assault on his mind.
  • Arrogance before reversal: The Holy Judges assume their Bone Dragon and status guarantee victory, only to lose control of the situation almost immediately.

Character Interactions

  • The Holy Judges interrogate and belittle Ducha after finding him injured.
  • They discuss Firefly’s awakened-AI nature openly, treating her as a scientific specimen.
  • Liana confronts the Ghoul Holy Judge and offers her life in exchange for No. 0 and Firefly’s freedom.
  • The Ghoul Judge attempts to manipulate Liana by threatening horrific punishment for her companions.
  • No. 0 comforts Liana and advises her to survive, then turns against the Ghoul Judge after he intrudes on their conversation.
  • The Ghoul Judge’s mental and physical transformation shifts the power dynamic completely, forcing the Soulfire Judge to flee and setting up a violent confrontation aboard the Bone Dragon.
Read chapter

Ch. 131Another Me

Chapter Summary: Another Me

Key Plot Points and Events

  • No. 0 unexpectedly causes Ghoul Holy Judge to mutate instantly, demonstrating overwhelming control over Mutation Factors. The mutated Ghoul Holy Judge attacks Soulfire Holy Judge, creating chaos.
  • No. 0 says goodbye to Liana, claiming she will return soon. Despite her reassuring words, her forced smile and sadness suggest she knows she may not come back. Liana is too exhausted to follow and watches helplessly as No. 0 leaves.
  • As No. 0 walks through Fos River, anyone who meets her gaze mutates into a monster and joins her growing army. Soldiers, police, church guards, and even three Magitech Soldiers are transformed with almost no effort.
  • Ivette defeats Soulfire Holy Judge’s duplicate but realizes something is wrong when it suddenly stops resisting. She suspects an incident has affected his true body.
  • At dawn, No. 0’s influence reaches Soulfire Holy Judge’s true body. He and Bone Dragon mutate violently while fighting the already mutated Ghoul Holy Judge.
  • The mutation catastrophe devastates Fos River, apparently killing hundreds of thousands and leaving much of the city abandoned and ruined. The fates of Liana, Firefly, and Soulfire Holy Judge remain uncertain.
  • No. 0 approaches Ivette with intense hostility. Ivette’s Pure White Tendrils, normally effective against No. 0 and capable of absorbing Mutation Factors, are themselves infected and transformed into flesh-like tendrils.
  • Ivette manages to neutralize the mutation, but No. 0 overwhelms her with a headbutt, knocking her through a building. However, No. 0 does not seriously injure her.
  • No. 0 calls Ivette “the other me,” asks her to care for Liana, and then falls asleep in her arms. Her body dissolves into starlight.
  • Starlight also surrounds Ivette, causing her body to change. When the process ends, Ivette realizes she has become smaller.

Character Developments

  • No. 0: Reveals unprecedented power, effortlessly spreading mutation and transforming both living beings and machines. Her personality shifts from cruel and mocking to sorrowful, gentle, and exhausted around Liana and Ivette, suggesting hidden vulnerability and a deeper connection to Ivette.
  • Liana: Shows strong emotional attachment to No. 0 and immediately wants to follow her. Her exhaustion leaves her unable to intervene, intensifying her helplessness.
  • Ivette: Moves from confident control of the battle to genuine alarm when her anti-mutation abilities are corrupted. She becomes the recipient of No. 0’s final request and possibly undergoes a major transformation.
  • Soulfire Holy Judge: Loses control of his duplicate and later mutates alongside Bone Dragon, implying that No. 0 can affect him remotely.
  • Ghoul Holy Judge: Is transformed into a powerful mutant and becomes locked in combat with Soulfire Holy Judge.

Significant Themes

  • Identity and duality: No. 0’s reference to Ivette as “the other me” suggests that they may share a body, origin, power, or identity.
  • Transformation and corruption: Mutation spreads beyond ordinary people, affecting powerful judges, machines, magical abilities, and possibly Ivette herself.
  • Sacrifice and farewell: No. 0’s sadness, request that Ivette protect Liana, and disappearance imply that her rampage may have been a deliberate final act.
  • Power and destruction: No. 0’s strength turns an entire city into a graveyard, emphasizing the catastrophic consequences of uncontrolled power.
  • Uncertain reality: Her statement that the world “isn’t a completely false world” hints that the setting may be an illusion, alternate reality, or constructed world.

Character Interactions

  • No. 0 comforts Liana physically and verbally before leaving, though her behavior reveals that the farewell is likely permanent.
  • Ivette battles Soulfire Holy Judge’s duplicate and later confronts No. 0 directly.
  • No. 0’s mutation power turns Ivette’s own tendrils against her, reversing their usual relationship.
  • After defeating Ivette, No. 0 treats her with unexpected tenderness, asks her to protect Liana, calls her “the other me,” and disappears while resting against her.
Read chapter

Ch. 132A Headache Just Thinking About It

Chapter Summary: “Thinking About It Was a Headache”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • After No. 0 vanishes, Ivette awakens wearing No. 0’s clothes and appearing physically younger. She struggles to determine whether No. 0 has died, entered a deep sleep, or somehow been replaced through a correction in reality.
  • Ivette travels through the ruined city using Wind Magic and returns to the abandoned steel mill, where Liana and Firefly have been waiting.
  • She reveals that No. 0 has disappeared and explains that she is both Ivette and No. 0: Ivette is No. 0’s future self, while No. 0 is her past self. However, Ivette lacks the memories of her past.
  • Firefly recounts the events leading to No. 0’s disappearance: Cycle Master Priest Ducha, Soulfire Holy Judge, Ghoul Holy Judge, and a Bone Dragon attacked, but No. 0 effortlessly overwhelmed them and displayed godlike power.
  • Liana is devastated by the possibility that her sister is gone. Ivette reassures her that No. 0 merely said she was going to “sleep,” suggesting she may eventually awaken.
  • Ivette, Liana, and Firefly escape Fos River and settle in a county-town inn. The authorities publicly blame the disaster on a deadly virus and accuse New Eden and Black Tower Pharmaceuticals, concealing the truth about No. 0, the Mutants, and the Holy Spirit Cult.
  • Meanwhile, footage of Ivette’s earlier battle with Soulfire Holy Judge spreads internationally. Because the Holy Judge disappears afterward, the public assumes Ivette—under the identity “Nameless”—defeated her, turning Ivette into a legendary international figure.
  • Ivette worries that the Holy Spirit Cult and Black Tower Pharmaceuticals will join forces to hunt her, since No. 0 killed Soulfire Holy Judge, Ghoul Holy Judge, and the Bone Dragon.
  • Hoyle contacts Ivette and gives her five million digital currency as a personal reward for killing the “General,” secretly using church funds. Ivette’s total wealth rises to over seven million.
  • Considering her future needs, Ivette decides to purchase better system software and AI models for her Soul Brain, since the Holy Spirit Cult’s existing technology is inadequate.

Character Developments

  • Ivette: Becomes more self-aware of her connection to No. 0 and accepts that she is simultaneously No. 0’s future and past. She remains cautious and analytical, but the revelation leaves her burdened with uncertainty and responsibility. She also begins planning practical ways to improve her Soul Brain and prepare for future enemies.
  • No. 0: Her disappearance is reframed as a possible temporary sleep rather than death. Her overwhelming power confirms her as an almost godlike existence and raises further questions about whether she is connected to the apocalypse.
  • Liana: Moves from relief at Ivette’s return to grief and confusion when she learns that the “Ivette” before her is not exactly her sister. Ivette’s reassurance restores some of her hope.
  • Firefly: Quickly processes the revelation because of its mechanical nature. It recognizes the similarities between Ivette and No. 0 and helps explain the recent battle to Ivette.
  • Hoyle: Demonstrates that he remains morally sincere. Despite being unable to officially reward Ivette, he personally arranges payment for her completed commission.
  • Soulfire Holy Judge: Her disappearance after the battle creates the false public belief that Ivette defeated her, increasing Ivette’s fame and danger.

Significant Themes

  • Identity and temporal paradox: Ivette and No. 0 are revealed to be the same person at different points in time, yet neither possesses a complete understanding of the other.
  • Reality versus illusion: Ivette questions whether the events are real, an illusion, or the result of a world-level correction, reflecting the instability of her circumstances.
  • Loss and hope: Liana’s grief over No. 0’s disappearance is balanced by Ivette’s insistence that she may return.
  • Public truth versus hidden reality: Governments and organizations manipulate the Fos River tragedy, reducing a supernatural catastrophe to a fabricated virus incident.
  • Reputation and misunderstanding: Ivette becomes famous because the public misinterprets her battle with Soulfire Holy Judge as a decisive victory.
  • Power and responsibility: No. 0’s immense strength makes Ivette a target, while Ivette must deal with the consequences of actions she did not personally choose.
  • Technology and preparation: Ivette recognizes that survival will require more than magical strength and begins improving her Soul Brain with better software and artificial intelligence.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette and Liana: Ivette gives Liana the painful truth about No. 0 but comforts her by promising that No. 0 can still awaken. Their interaction preserves their sisterly bond despite Ivette’s altered identity.
  • Ivette and Firefly: Firefly questions Ivette about her identity and accepts the explanation more readily than Liana. Its observations help connect Ivette and No. 0’s similarities.
  • Ivette, Liana, and Firefly: The three form a temporary traveling group, escaping Fos River together and hiding from the authorities and the Holy Spirit Cult.
  • Ivette and Hoyle: Hoyle expresses gratitude for Ivette’s earlier work and rewards her discreetly. Their exchange highlights his decency and Ivette’s discomfort with benefiting from events for which No. 0 was responsible.
  • Ivette and the wider world: Through the footage of her fight with Soulfire Holy Judge, Ivette becomes an unwilling celebrity while privately knowing that the public version of events is inaccurate.
Read chapter

Ch. 133Online Invisibility

Summary: “Online Invisibility”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ivette acquires Sage Core, a specialized pharmaceutical AI from Black Tower Pharmaceuticals. Although she already understands advanced Rune Medicine, the AI supplies the basic ingredient knowledge and medicinal data she lacks, allowing her to begin brewing potions, Rune Elixir, and other magical compounds.
  • For two months, Ivette, Liana, and Firefly hide in a small county town near the Fos River. Rustbone authorities and the Holy Spirit Cult continue searching for Ivette because of the catastrophic Fos River Massacre, though public attention gradually fades.
  • Ivette remains near the Fos River to avoid potentially reaching the edge of the Dream World. She spends her time quietly practicing potion-making while maintaining a low profile.
  • Once surveillance weakens, the trio travels across Rustbone toward the eastern coast, using hacking skills and rural roads to evade detection. Ivette confirms that the Dream World extends far beyond the region where she entered it and appears to be a complete, independent world rather than a simple dream or memory.
  • Ivette investigates the blurred, translucent appearance of people in the Dream World. She discovers that this visual effect can be switched on and off through conscious thought and that she can even apply it to herself. This suggests her perception may not distinguish “fake” from “real” people, but instead reflect a form of controllable visual concealment—like “online invisibility.”
  • After reaching a port city, Ivette leaves Liana and Firefly living expenses and instructions, then waits for the dream to end.
  • Upon returning to the post-apocalyptic world, Ivette searches for time capsules she had buried during the dream. Finding none, she concludes that the Dream World is entirely separate from reality and cannot alter the future.

Character Developments

  • Ivette becomes more practically capable by combining her theoretical Rune Medicine knowledge with Sage Core’s database. She also grows more cautious and investigative, testing the limits and nature of the Dream World rather than acting recklessly.
  • Her discovery about her vision gives her a potentially powerful ability: she can disguise herself as a native of the Dream World or alter how others appear to her.
  • Ivette’s relief at failing to affect the future reveals her priorities. She values preserving the present timeline, particularly because changing it might endanger her relationships with Rosaline and Dugrabi.
  • Liana remains dependent on Ivette but shows affection and youthful shyness, especially when Ivette compliments her beauty.
  • Firefly continues supporting the group technologically and mechanically, quietly recharging herself and contributing to their survival.
  • Ivette’s return to the post-apocalyptic world reinforces that she feels more comfortable there than in the suffocating, oppressive Origin World.

Significant Themes

  • Technology and specialized knowledge: Advanced theory is not enough without practical data; Sage Core bridges the gap between intellectual mastery and real-world application.
  • Reality versus illusion: Ivette increasingly doubts the assumption that the Dream World is false, questioning whether its inhabitants are “real” and whether the world is actually a dream.
  • Perception and identity: The ability to change how people appear raises questions about whether reality depends on observation and whether identity can be concealed or manipulated.
  • Survival and concealment: Hacking, smuggling, potion-making, and visual disguise all reflect the characters’ need to remain hidden from powerful authorities.
  • Fate and the preservation of history: Ivette is relieved that the dream cannot change reality, since altering the past could disrupt the events and relationships that shaped her current life.
  • Freedom versus oppression: Despite its dangers, the post-apocalyptic world feels less constricting to Ivette than the technologically advanced Origin World.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette works closely with Liana and Firefly, protecting them while arranging their escape and future living situation.
  • Liana reacts shyly when Ivette calls her pretty, and Ivette responds warmly, demonstrating their affectionate, almost familial bond.
  • Ivette considers whether No. 0 may possess the same ability to alter her apparent form, linking the mystery of No. 0 to the nature of the Dream World.
  • Ivette’s decisions consistently prioritize the safety of her companions, while her reflections on Rosaline and Dugrabi show how important her broader relationships remain to her.
Read chapter

Ch. 134Farewell

Chapter Summary: “Farewell”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ivette confirms that her Soul Brain successfully survived her escape from Agasha’s dream. Unlike living bodies and spirits, the Soul Brain can be brought out of the Dream Mist because it is an artificial construct connected to her spirit.
  • A system self-check reveals an unexpected benefit: the dangerous residual memory fragments inside the Soul Brain were completely filtered out during the transition. This removes the main drawback that normally limits Soul Brain use and greatly increases its safety.
  • Ivette leaves the wilderness and visits the flooded ruins of Water Tower Country before departing. She reflects on how the former city of Fos River has become a vast lake, with only broken skyscrapers, bridges, and walkways remaining.
  • She encounters Aide, the bionic governor of Water Tower Country, and several puppets attempting to grill fish using a technique supposedly taught by Dugrabi. Ivette declines their charred meal and explains that she has come to say goodbye.
  • Ivette entrusts Aide with information and a portrait of Rosaline, asking him to watch for her. Aide agrees to help.
  • Ivette, Bingyu, and Abera leave Water Tower Country on the Magitech Motorcycle. She plans to travel along the entire coastline of Black Tide Continent, searching for Rosaline and surveying cities for Dream Mist, Mutants, and potential allies.
  • Over the next twenty years, Ivette completes a massive circuit of Black Tide Continent, visiting countless post-apocalyptic urban ruins and Puppet Kingdoms.
  • During the journey, she harvests Mutants, searches for Dream Mist, and grows significantly stronger. Her magic power rises to approximately 3,100, surpassing Abera’s, while her Aberration Magic exceeds 200,000.
  • By the end of the chapter, Ivette senses that continued devouring will soon trigger a major transformation in her Pure White Tendrils, though she does not yet know what form it will take.

Character Developments

  • Ivette: Becomes more confident and strategically capable after discovering that her Soul Brain can function without its dangerous memory fragments. She demonstrates patience and long-term planning by committing to a decades-long search for Rosaline rather than rushing to another continent. Her power and abilities increase dramatically.
  • Aide: Continues acting as a responsible and cooperative governor. His puppet society has adopted human customs, even preserving Dugrabi’s grilling technique as a cultural tradition. He accepts Ivette’s request to search for Rosaline.
  • Bingyu and Abera: Remain Ivette’s companions during her departure and extended continental journey. Abera is surpassed by Ivette in magical power, marking Ivette’s advancement.
  • Dugrabi: Though absent, he remains influential among the puppets, who preserve his teachings and remember him through ritualized human practices.
  • Rosaline: Does not appear directly, but her search becomes the central purpose of Ivette’s next stage of travel.

Significant Themes

  • Farewell and impermanence: Ivette leaves behind Water Tower Country and the familiar places associated with her past. The drowned city symbolizes how completely the old world has disappeared.
  • Memory and identity: The Soul Brain’s memory fragments represent both power and danger. Their removal suggests that memory can be burdensome, while also raising questions about what remains essential to identity.
  • Preserving humanity: The puppets’ attempt to grill fish—despite doing it badly—shows their desire to preserve human culture and imitate human life after humanity’s decline.
  • Long-term exploration and purpose: Ivette’s journey expands from immediate survival to a carefully organized, continent-wide mission. Her patience reflects the different relationship with time shared by immortals and puppets.
  • Transformation and uncertainty: Ivette’s growing Aberration Magic and the coming change to her Pure White Tendrils foreshadow a major evolution whose consequences remain unknown.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette and Aide share a cordial farewell, with Aide expressing surprise and regret at her departure but ultimately respecting her decision.
  • Ivette observes and gently rejects the puppets’ burned fish, while learning that the practice originated with Dugrabi.
  • Ivette entrusts Aide with Rosaline’s portrait and information, creating a network of support across the Puppet Kingdoms.
  • Ivette departs with Bingyu and Abera, beginning a long collaborative journey across Black Tide Continent.
Read chapter

Ch. 135Return to the Island and Long Sleep

Summary: “Return to the Island and Long Sleep”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • After returning to the Black Tide Continent, Ivette decides to go back to Ish Island before traveling to the Emerald Continent. She wants to retrieve an untouched letter and, more importantly, undergo Pure White Tendrils’ impending evolution somewhere safe.
  • Bingyu and Abera choose to accompany her. Bingyu is curious about Ivette’s secluded home, while Abera hopes to learn more of Ivette’s magic and eventually discover a way to advance without serving a powerful Divine Offspring faction.
  • They find Ivette’s manor abandoned and overgrown. After confirming that Rosaline has not returned and retrieving the letter, all three spend three days cleaning the house.
  • Ivette prepares for her long hibernation by:
    • Building several medicinal fields and glass greenhouses with different environmental conditions.
    • Developing undead creatures whose spirits are converted into artificial-intelligence-like Soul Brains.
    • Creating over a thousand AI-controlled skeletons to clean, patrol, maintain the manor, tend the herbs, and defend the Central District.
    • Constructing a large magic-energy storage facility to power the undead workers.
    • Equipping skeleton soldiers with Rune Firearms capable of killing weaker Mutants.
  • After more than a year of preparation, Ivette conducts a final inspection of the restored and highly automated Central District. She considers eventually using the medicinal plants to produce powerful Active Rune Group pharmaceuticals.
  • Ivette tells Bingyu and Abera that she is about to enter a long period of evolution and advises both of them to leave. Bingyu agrees reluctantly and plans to meet Ivette later on the Emerald Continent.
  • Abera initially leaves with Bingyu but soon turns back, believing that remaining devotedly by Ivette’s side will demonstrate her sincerity and perhaps earn her recognition as a disciple.
  • Ivette enters her evolution by transforming her hair and body into a jade-like cocoon, which sinks into the snow.
  • Within a mysterious Sea of Consciousness, Ivette encounters a powerful black tentacle emerging from the abyss. Unlike her previous experience, she remains calm, and the tentacle becomes docile before her. She also notices that the black-and-red liquid present during her first visit is now missing.
  • Abera expects Ivette’s sleep to last only several years, but the chapter ends by revealing that her hibernation ultimately lasts one hundred years.

Character Developments

  • Ivette: Becomes increasingly self-sufficient and inventive. She combines magic, necromancy, pharmacology, Rune Studies, and technology to build a self-maintaining home and defense system before entering evolution. Her calm response to the black tentacle suggests significant growth in power and mental control.
  • Abera: Her apparent submission to Ivette is revealed as a calculated form of endurance. She views Ivette’s tutelage and limited consumption of her Mutation Factors as worthwhile investments toward surpassing her current rank. Her romanticized ambition to reverse their master-servant relationship adds both humor and determination to her character.
  • Bingyu: Remains loyal and trusting toward Ivette, accepting her need for rest without demanding explanations. She is curious about Ivette’s life but ultimately respects her decisions.
  • Rosaline: Does not appear, but her continued absence is confirmed by the neglected condition of the manor.

Significant Themes

  • Preparation and self-reliance: Ivette refuses to enter hibernation until every aspect of her home, resources, defenses, and future needs is secured.
  • The fusion of magic and technology: Undead servants become AI-like workers, magical energy powers infrastructure, and Rune Firearms protect the island, showing Ivette’s increasingly hybrid approach to survival.
  • Loyalty and ulterior motives: Abera’s devotion is genuine but also strategic, as she hopes to gain knowledge, power, and eventually a closer position to Ivette.
  • Evolution and transformation: Ivette’s cocoon and return to the Sea of Consciousness symbolize a major stage in her development, while the altered condition of the black tentacle hints at deeper changes in her Mutation Power.
  • Time and unexpected consequences: Abera’s belief that the sleep will last only a few years contrasts sharply with the eventual century-long absence, emphasizing the unpredictability of Ivette’s evolution.

Important Character Interactions

  • Ivette, Bingyu, and Abera cooperate in restoring the manor, demonstrating their functional companionship despite differing motives.
  • Ivette and Abera maintain a humorous master-servant dynamic. Abera offers Mutation Factors in an intentionally suggestive manner, while Ivette bluntly rejects the ambiguity.
  • Ivette gently informs Bingyu that they may not meet again until the Emerald Continent, and Bingyu accepts despite her reluctance.
  • Ivette advises Abera to leave as well, but Abera interprets staying behind as a way to prove her loyalty and secretly hopes to become Ivette’s disciple.
  • After parting from Bingyu, Abera returns to Ish Island alone, committing herself to waiting for Ivette—far longer than she could have imagined.
Read chapter

Ch. 136Abera's Hundred Years of Solitude

Chapter Summary: Abera’s Hundred Years of Solitude

Key Plot Points and Events

  • While returning to Ish Island, Abera is caught in a battle between the Northern Abyssal Sea and Abyssflow South Sea. The commanders are the Steel Sea Dragon Beast and the Nightmare Tentacle Spirit, both connected to figures from Ivette’s past. The conflict damages Abera’s Magitech Motorcycle.
  • The motorcycle breaks down upon reaching Ish Island, stranding Abera in enemy territory. With no way to leave, she returns to Ivette’s manor and waits for her master to awaken from the White Cocoon.
  • Over the next several years, Abera restores herself to peak Fifth Stage strength, hunts Divine Offspring, and investigates Abyss Base and Ivette’s former residence, but discovers nothing useful.
  • After ten years, Abera becomes increasingly aware of her isolation. She has no companions, no master, and no way to advance beyond the Fifth Tier because Ish Island lacks the resources and Mother Nest needed for further growth.
  • Another twenty years pass. Her loneliness worsens, especially because she realizes how social she actually is compared with the silent creatures around her. She becomes desperate to escape.
  • Twenty-five years after Ivette’s transformation into the cocoon, Abera attempts to study Magitech engineering so she can repair the motorcycle. She quickly falls asleep while reading and eventually abandons the effort, convincing herself that escaping just before Ivette awakens would make her years of waiting meaningless.
  • She also rejects the idea of studying magic seriously, preferring to receive completed knowledge directly from Ivette rather than develop it herself.
  • At the fiftieth year, Abera’s mental state has severely deteriorated. Disheveled and desperate, she attacks the White Cocoon with her Corrosive Magic, believing Ivette may be trapped and need rescuing. The attack has no effect.
  • Convinced that she has exhausted every option, Abera resigns herself to waiting. She begins writing elaborate fictional scenarios in which she becomes Ivette’s ruler and turns Ivette into her servant. Her stories become a form of escapism and psychological self-preservation.
  • Over the decades, Abera continues patrolling the island, maintaining its systems, bullying newly appearing Divine Offspring, and using those experiences as material for increasingly extravagant stories.
  • More than a century after Ivette entered the cocoon, Abera has settled into a reclusive, shut-in existence. While she naps beside the fireplace during a snowy afternoon, the White Cocoon finally begins to crack.

Character Development

  • Abera: Initially confident and carefree, Abera gradually changes under the pressure of isolation. Her strength remains formidable, but her emotional stability deteriorates as she loses social contact and purpose. She moves from hunting and idleness, to frustrated self-improvement, to desperation, and finally to obsessive creative escapism. Her neglect of her appearance and increasingly bizarre fantasies reveal how deeply solitude has affected her.
  • Ivette: Though absent for the entire chapter, Ivette’s presence dominates Abera’s life. The mystery of her prolonged transformation creates both hope and resentment in Abera. Abera alternates between loyalty, dependence, fear of punishment, and fantasies of reversing their master-servant relationship.
  • The Divine Offspring: They function mainly as silent victims and reminders of Abera’s isolation. Her attempts to bully them no longer provide meaningful satisfaction because they cannot communicate or respond emotionally.

Significant Themes

  • Isolation and psychological decline: The chapter explores how even an immortal, powerful being can be damaged by prolonged loneliness and lack of meaningful interaction.
  • Dependence and resentment: Abera’s identity and future remain tied to Ivette, producing simultaneous devotion, frustration, and fantasies of rebellion.
  • Purpose in an endless life: Without a goal beyond waiting, Abera struggles to find meaning. Her writing eventually becomes a substitute purpose.
  • Escapism and self-invention: Abera’s stories allow her to construct an alternate world where she has control, ambition, and emotional stimulation.
  • The limits of power: Despite being a peak Fifth Tier Overlord, Abera cannot repair the motorcycle, escape the island, or damage the cocoon, emphasizing her helplessness in practical and emotional matters.
  • Suspense and delayed transformation: The chapter ends with the long-awaited change in the White Cocoon, suggesting that Ivette’s awakening may finally break Abera’s century-long stagnation.

Character Interactions

  • Abera briefly encounters the two opposing sea commanders during the naval battle but avoids direct involvement.
  • Her primary relationship is with the absent Ivette. Abera’s waiting, failed rescue attempt, imagined revenge, and fictional domination all reflect the complicated bond between master and servant.
  • She occasionally torments weaker Divine Offspring, but their inability to speak or react meaningfully only intensifies her loneliness.
  • Her imagined future interactions with Ivette—often casting herself as ruler and Ivette as a reluctant servant—become the closest thing she has to genuine companionship for much of the century.
Read chapter

Ch. 137Awakening

Chapter Summary: “Awakening”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • After a century of hibernation inside a giant white cocoon, Ivette awakens in the snow.
  • She calculates the length of her sleep through the growth of her Mana Core and confirms that exactly one hundred years have passed.
  • Ivette worries about Rosaline’s survival but reassures herself that Rosaline, as an immensely powerful being, should still be alive.
  • She examines the changes to her abilities. Her former Pure White Tendrils have evolved into gray tendrils with a new power called Mimicry.
  • Mimicry allows the tendrils to transform into different shapes and materials, such as blades, claws, shields, whips, and saws.
  • Her Devouring ability has also advanced. She can now deconstruct the rune structures of organic and inorganic matter, effectively recording their properties and reproducing them through Mimicry.
  • This allows Ivette to imitate biological organs and use abilities associated with them, as well as recreate materials, ingredients, clothing, and equipment.
  • These powers are limited by their enormous consumption of Aberration Magic, forcing Ivette to choose carefully what she records and reproduces.
  • Ivette discovers that the villa has remained occupied and finds Abera sleeping by the fireplace.
  • Believing Abera may have loyally guarded the villa for a hundred years, Ivette becomes touched and considers promoting her from maid to official disciple.
  • Ivette notices a large collection of manuscripts and assumes Abera has spent the century seriously studying magic.
  • Her admiration collapses when she reads the manuscript’s title: “Ivette’s Fallen Erotica 503: Futanari and Seedbeds.”

Character Development

  • Ivette awakens with greatly enhanced abilities and a more versatile understanding of her powers. She is now capable of copying and reproducing both living traits and material substances, though she must manage her limited Aberration Magic.
  • Despite her immense strength, Ivette remains emotionally affectionate and somewhat naïve. She worries about Rosaline, misses her disciples, and is easily moved by what she believes is Abera’s loyalty.
  • Abera is presented humorously as apparently unchanged in her eccentricity and inappropriate interests. Ivette initially interprets her presence and manuscripts as evidence of dedication and intellectual growth, only to discover that Abera’s “research” is erotic fiction centered on Ivette.

Significant Themes

  • Transformation and evolution: Ivette’s hundred-year sleep results in a major evolution of her powers, emphasizing the theme of supernatural growth through time.
  • Power and limitations: Although Ivette’s abilities seem nearly limitless, their high magical cost forces her to make strategic choices.
  • Time and separation: Ivette awakens to a world changed by a century and immediately reflects on the fate of those she left behind.
  • Expectation versus reality: Ivette repeatedly forms idealized conclusions about Abera’s loyalty and scholarly development, only to have them overturned by reality.
  • Comedy through contrast: Ivette’s dignified, powerful awakening is contrasted with Abera’s absurd behavior and the embarrassing contents of her manuscript.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette’s thoughts repeatedly return to Rosaline, showing lingering concern and emotional attachment despite their separation.
  • She remembers Abera and Bingyu fondly and wonders how they have fared during her absence.
  • Upon finding Abera asleep, Ivette affectionately rubs her head and interprets her dreamlike murmurs as signs of devotion.
  • Ivette considers rewarding Abera with official discipleship and access to powerful grimoires, but the manuscript’s title abruptly undercuts this sentimental moment.
Read chapter

Ch. 138Is This Reasonable?

Chapter Summary: “Is This Reasonable?”

Plot Points and Events

  • After awakening from her hundred-year sleep, Ivette investigates Abera’s notebooks, expecting research on Rune Studies or Magic Engineering. Instead, she discovers that the notebooks contain enormous amounts of erotic fiction, much of it featuring Ivette as the protagonist.
  • Ivette samples several notebooks and confirms that the entire collection appears to consist of similar material. Horrified, she uses wind magic to scatter the writings through the room, creating an overwhelming “storm” of obscene literature.
  • Abera, sensing danger even while asleep, eventually kneels in a formal dogeza apology. Ivette reprimands her, but ultimately allows her to keep the writings on the condition that Abera never again makes Ivette a character in them.
  • Ivette then asks whether Abera truly waited for her for a hundred years. Abera admits that she had intended to return to the island but became stranded after her vehicle was damaged during a battle.
  • Ivette inspects the estate after her awakening. She samples mature magical herbs using Gray-White Touch, deconstructing them for future replication, though the process consumes a large amount of Aberration Magic. She stores additional herbs in cold storage.
  • She checks the AI skeleton soldiers in the Central District and finds that they have survived the century with only minor losses, bone deterioration, and rune-weapon malfunctions. Her magic rings, however, have all failed, leaving the Soul Brain as her main source of preserved data.
  • Because the Soul Brain cannot provide enough mental enhancement for high-specification spells, Ivette plans to rely on layered, linked, and fused low-level magic. With more than seven thousand mana and her combat experience, she believes she could now defeat the late Soulfire Holy Judge.
  • Ivette begins preparing to leave for the Emerald Continent. She intends to reunite with Bingyu, whom she had asked to wait for her, and investigate why her eldest disciple, Rosaline, has not returned in a hundred years.
  • While designing a new travel vehicle, Ivette is interrupted by Abera, who points out a brilliant aurora appearing and rapidly fading on the horizon.

Character Development

  • Ivette: Reemerges as practical, commanding, and emotionally restrained, but also displays humor and disbelief in response to Abera’s writings. She resumes responsibility for her estate, resources, magical systems, and long-term plans. Her confidence has increased substantially: despite losing her magic rings and some magical support, she believes her current strength is enough to defeat a powerful former enemy.
  • Abera: Revealed to be extremely prolific, eccentric, and sexually imaginative, having filled countless notebooks with erotic fiction. Despite her embarrassment and fear of punishment, she remains deeply devoted to Ivette. Her explanation about being stranded also clarifies that her failure to return was circumstantial rather than disloyal.
  • Ivette and Abera’s relationship: Their dynamic combines master-and-servant hierarchy with teasing, trust, and mutual familiarity. Ivette maintains authority through sternness, while Abera responds with exaggerated submission and enthusiastic loyalty.

Significant Themes

  • The passage of time and the consequences of long sleep: Ivette must confront how the world, her equipment, her followers, and her relationships have changed during her century-long absence.
  • Loyalty versus circumstance: Abera’s apparent hundred-year wait initially seems uncharacteristically loyal, but the truth reveals that she was trapped rather than voluntarily remaining behind.
  • Preparation and resource management: Ivette carefully evaluates herbs, magical energy, weapons, soldiers, and transportation before beginning her next journey.
  • Memory, preservation, and decay: The Soul Brain preserves important data while the magic rings fail; the skeleton soldiers endure but deteriorate; and Ivette records plant information so it can be recreated later.
  • Comedy and contrast: The absurdity of Abera’s secret writings contrasts with Ivette’s serious concerns about magical research, military readiness, and missing companions.

Important Character Interactions

  • Ivette and Abera: Ivette confronts Abera over the erotic notebooks, accepts her apology, and sets boundaries about being included in future stories. She then questions Abera about her century-long absence, prompting Abera to explain that she was stranded after a battle.
  • Ivette and her former allies: Although Bingyu and Rosaline do not appear directly, Ivette’s thoughts show her concern for both and motivate her planned journey.
  • Ivette and the estate’s systems: Her inspection of the medicinal fields and AI skeletons demonstrates her renewed role as the estate’s administrator and protector.
  • Ivette and the approaching mystery: The sudden aurora at the chapter’s end interrupts her preparations and foreshadows a new event or threat connected to her journey.
Read chapter

Ch. 139Lant and the Silver Witch

Chapter Summary: Lant and the Silver Witch

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ivette sees a faint, unstable aurora appearing over the sea, suggesting the opening of another interworld passage. She flies toward it, but it vanishes before she arrives.
  • Searching the ocean, Ivette discovers an unconscious, severely wounded boy floating on the water. His pale purple skin and dark markings identify him as a member of the Demon Race.
  • Despite knowing that the Demon Race is opposed to the human-led Pan-Human Alliance, Ivette chooses to rescue him rather than harm him. She carries him back to her manor for treatment, hoping he can provide information about the other world, including possible news of Rosaline and Dugrabi.
  • The boy, Lant, awakens from a nightmare about the massacre of his family by an Abyssal Demon. He finds himself in a warm, unfamiliar room, completely healed and dressed in clean clothing.
  • Lant realizes he entered the mysterious Remnant Abyss after seeing the aurora and believes he may have reached the legendary Land of Finale. He is confused because the land appears beautiful and habitable rather than ruined.
  • Exploring the manor, Lant encounters undead skeletons patrolling outside. Terrified, he decides that remaining inside is safer.
  • Ivette appears, and Lant immediately kneels before her. He asks whether she is the “Silver Witch,” a legendary figure whom he worships.
  • Lant explains that the Silver Witch was supposedly the teacher of the Previous Demon King, a reclusive deity of the Land of Finale, and a silver-haired, red-eyed girl. He has seen her statue and considers himself one of her followers.
  • Ivette is bewildered because she has never visited the other world or established a religion, raising the mystery of how her image and legend came to exist there.

Character Developments

  • Ivette: Demonstrates compassion and independence from the political prejudices of the other world by saving a Demon Race child. Her curiosity about the wider world and her possible connections to Rosaline and Dugrabi remain central motivations. She is also deeply confused by the revelation that she has followers and a religious identity she never created.
  • Lant: Introduced as a traumatized but resourceful survivor of a demonic massacre. Though frightened and physically young, he cautiously investigates his surroundings and recognizes the danger of his new environment. His fear changes to awe and devotion when he believes Ivette is the legendary Silver Witch.
  • The Silver Witch’s legend: Though Ivette does not recognize the identity, the legend portrays her as a powerful, divine, and influential figure connected to the Previous Demon King and the Land of Finale.

Significant Themes

  • Compassion beyond racial conflict: Ivette rejects the expected hostility between humans and demons, choosing to save Lant despite his race and political allegiance.
  • Legends versus reality: Lant worships a mythologized version of Ivette, while Ivette has no knowledge of the legend. This contrast suggests that events in the other world have transformed her actions or existence into religious history.
  • Trauma and refuge: Lant’s nightmare and his reaction to the undead emphasize his devastating past. The manor becomes a temporary sanctuary from the violence he has endured.
  • Mystery and interworld connections: The unstable aurora, the Remnant Abyss, Lant’s arrival, and Ivette’s unexplained statue and followers all point to hidden links between worlds and possibly to the passage of time or altered history.
  • Appearance versus danger: The beautiful, peaceful manor and snowy landscape conceal supernatural threats, including undead patrols and the unknown power of its inhabitants.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette rescues Lant without speaking to him while he is unconscious, establishing a protective relationship.
  • Lant wakes and cautiously investigates the manor, while Ivette remains unaware of his fears and beliefs.
  • When they finally meet, Lant treats Ivette as a sacred figure and kneels before her, while Ivette finds his reaction excessive and confusing.
  • Their first conversation reveals a major misunderstanding: Lant believes Ivette is the Silver Witch, while Ivette insists she has never been to the other world or earned such a reputation.
Read chapter

Ch. 140Rosalyn's Death

Chapter Summary: “Rosalyn’s Death”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ivette learns from Lant Quinn, a young member of the Demon Race, that her former student Rosaline Sien is no longer the reigning Demon King because she died a century earlier.
  • Lant recounts the War of Divine Judgment, in which Rosaline fought alongside the gods against the Witch of Finale. When the Witch opened the Gate of Doom, Rosaline broke through to true godhood and sacrificed herself, destroying the Witch and saving the Mortal Realm.
  • Ivette asks Lant to tell her about Rosaline’s life and legacy. She learns that Rosaline:
    • Rose from a military leader in the Pan-Human Alliance to the slayer of the First Generation Demon King’s agent.
    • Became the Second Generation Demon King and the co-ruler of humans and demons.
    • Promoted racial equality, trade, education, and economic development.
    • Used Nature Magic to improve food production and living conditions for the Demon Race.
    • Founded the Academy of Truth, making education available to all races.
  • After her death, Rosaline was worshipped across both continents as the God of Truth and Magic.
  • Lant then reveals that, after Rosaline’s death, the Abyssal Demons attacked the Demon Race, seized its territory, and massacred civilians. His parents and younger sister were killed.
  • He begs Ivette to give him the power to avenge his family. After assessing his hatred and sincerity, Ivette concludes that the Abyssal Demons are the enemy and asks whether he is willing to study magic under her.

Character Developments

  • Ivette: Her belief that she has become emotionally detached is shattered by Rosaline’s death. She grieves deeply, but also feels pride in Rosaline’s achievements and finds some comfort in the meaningfulness of her sacrifice. Her judgment remains analytical, allowing her to distinguish personal grief from the political realities of the Demon Race’s conflict.
  • Rosaline: Though absent, she is revealed as a transformative ruler, reformer, educator, and eventual god. Her policies elevated the Demon Race and challenged the privileges of the Abyssal Demons.
  • Lant: Introduced as respectful and devoted to Rosaline’s memory, Lant is also traumatized by the massacre of his family. His grief has hardened into an intense desire for revenge, motivating him to seek magical training from Ivette.
  • The Abyssal Demons: Their opposition to Rosaline’s reforms and subsequent persecution of the Demon Race establish them as the chapter’s principal antagonistic force.

Significant Themes

  • Sacrifice and legacy: Rosaline’s death saves the world, while her reforms continue to shape history after her passing.
  • Grief and emotional vulnerability: Ivette discovers that centuries of experience have not erased her capacity for attachment and sorrow.
  • Justice versus revenge: Lant seeks revenge for his family, while Ivette must decide whether to empower that hatred or guide it through disciplined training.
  • Equality and social reform: Rosaline’s rule challenges racial hierarchy by promoting coexistence, education, and equal opportunity.
  • The consequences of leadership: Rosaline’s death creates a power vacuum, allowing suppressed resentment among the Abyssal Demons to erupt into violence.

Character Interactions

  • Ivette questions Lant about Rosaline and reacts with shock and grief upon learning of her death.
  • Lant reverently recounts Rosaline’s achievements, giving Ivette a perspective on her former student’s life that she never knew.
  • Lant kneels before Ivette and pleads for power to avenge his murdered family.
  • Ivette examines his character and hatred before making a decisive offer: she asks him to become her student and study magic.
Read chapter
Show
Page 7 of 16