Chapter Summaries

Grisha returned to Blood Port with the Expeditionary Force and struggled to feel at home after the war left him grieving his comrades and missing parts of himself. When Bettis told him that Count Bazel would be burned as fuel at the new energy hub’s ignition ceremony, Grisha began to look forward to the event.

• Bettis learned that Grisha had secretly returned to the Northern Territory to fight alongside his compatriots and understood why he had received a medal.
• Bettis guided Grisha and the Expeditionary Force through a transformed Blood Port, where Grisha felt detached from his new home.
• Grisha asked about the towering structure under construction, and Bettis explained that it would become Blood Port’s future energy hub and hold an ignition ceremony the next day.
• Grisha reacted with fury when Bettis mentioned Count Bazel, then regained control of himself.
• Bettis told Grisha that Bazel would be burned as fuel at the ceremony, and Grisha asked when and where it would happen.

Theus checked preparations for the ignition ceremony, where the prisoner Bazel was to be burned in the energy hub’s furnace. After learning Bazel might revive because he refused to accept the Empress’s death, Theus faced Bazel’s accusation that he, too, feared death.

• Theus reviewed the ceremony preparations with Erwin and Tata, who reported that the energy hub and security arrangements were ready.
• Erwin told Theus that the prince had refused to attend and sealed off his manor, but Theus dismissed the concern.
• Theus learned the Banshees wanted him to choose a name for the second furnace and that Bazel was the only one objecting to the ceremony.
• Theus visited Bazel in his cell and learned Bazel might revive if his refusal to accept death continued for centuries.
• Bazel raged that the Empress Isabella was still alive, then asked Theus whether he was also refusing to accept his own death.

Theus questioned Bazel about Lina and learned that she was a [Named One] whose confusion deepened after she noticed Theus. He decided to proceed with Bazel’s execution by fire the next day while strengthening security against Lina.

• Bazel claimed that Theus might survive because he believed he would, unsettling Theus and Erwin.
• Theus asked Bazel about Lina, and Bazel revealed that Lina was a [Named One].
• Bazel said Lina had seemed confused about her mission and had begun directing him to oppose Theus after noticing him.
• Theus ordered Ash to bring the Banshees and strengthen security for the next day’s ceremony, while warning Castel’s Transcendents to watch for Lina.

Grisha and his companions went to Blood Port’s ignition ceremony, where Bettis brought them breakfast and the crowd gathered to witness Bazel being put into the energy hub. Seeing the uncovered structure, Grisha thought it resembled a coffin and regarded it as sacred, while Theus found the shape fitting for the furnace.

• Grisha woke after a night of nightmares and remembered he was looking forward to seeing Bazel meet his end at the ignition ceremony.
• Bettis brought Grisha and his companions fried fish and led them toward the ceremony, mentioning the Lord’s plan to create a food delivery platform.
• Grisha and his companions joined the immense crowd, which Night Watchers and Mystic Society volunteers guided to viewing spots.
• The crowd saw the uncovered energy hub, whose square shape reminded Grisha of a coffin.
• Theus considered the coffin-like design fitting because Bazel, a skeleton, would be burned inside the furnace.

At Blood Port’s energy hub ignition ceremony, Theus described how the Holy See had strangled industry in Rhine and argued that parasites like Count Bazel kept ordinary people from advancing. He condemned Bazel before the crowd, setting the stage for the ceremony’s reckoning.

• Grisha watched Nora and Gwen speak at the ceremony and recalled their days with the Resistance Army.
• Theus addressed Blood Port, recalling its ruin and praising the people who had rebuilt it through industry.
• Theus contrasted Blood Port with Rhine, where the Holy See had suppressed technological improvements and turned the city into a church.
• Theus explained how Bazel’s provocation had shifted his view from pursuing development alone to confronting those who blocked progress.
• A Banshee dragged Bazel before the crowd, and Theus declared that he had caught one of the parasites holding people back.

Theus had Bazel prepared for execution as Blood Port braced for Lina’s expected attack. When Bazel’s bones suddenly grew flesh, Theus recognized the figure emerging as Isabella, the Empire’s assassinated Empress.

• Theus denounced Bazel’s crimes and ordered the Banshees to throw him into the furnace.
• Bazel tried to resist, but the Banshees shattered his gathered power and carried him over the firebox.
• A white bone arm shot from Bazel toward Theus, prompting the prepared Banshees, Ash, Gaia, and Gwen to protect him.
• Mystic Society believers and the Faithguard Army deployed weapons across Blood Port, while Granny searched for Lina with Dragon Breath Cannons.
• Bazel’s shattered bones grew a rapidly forming body, and Theus stopped the airship’s attack after recognizing Isabella, the Empress assassinated in Rhine.

Theus realized Isabella had appeared during the ignition ceremony and leaped into the furnace, while the gathered crowd believed the ceremony had simply succeeded. After the new Prince arrived, Theus remained uncertain about what Isabella was doing and whether she had been burned.

• Theus connected the Prince's recent absences and behavior to Isabella, then watched her pull a bone spike from her chest and leap into the furnace.
• The ignition ceremony succeeded, and the workers sealed the furnace while Theus ordered them to add an observation port.
• Theus told the Banshees to keep the incident confidential and maintained armed security because Lina had not appeared.
• Ewan brought the Prince to Theus, who wondered whether Isabella was inside the furnace before agreeing to hear the Prince's explanation.

Theus confronted the Prince and learned that Isabella had faked her death and was using a ritual intended to make the Empress a god. Isabella explained why she had told him the truth and declared that she wanted to remain mortal.

• Theus questioned the Prince about what was happening, and Isabella revealed herself to him.
• Isabella explained that she had used the Prince's assassination to fake her death and escape to the Duchy of Tis.
• Isabella told Theus that the royal family's ritual sacrificed willing followers to gain strength and ultimately become gods.
• Isabella offered Theus the ritual, but he refused, and she said she did not want to become a god either.
• Isabella showed Theus the bustling city of Blood Port and said she believed mortals could do what gods could not.

Isabella revealed herself to Theus and allied with him, declaring that she would go to war against the Empire and the Holy See. After she returned to the furnace to recover, Theus caught Nini spying and proposed sending her to Rhine to gather intelligence and contact Frey underground.

• Isabella told Theus she would declare war on the Empire and fight the Holy See, then asked him to join her; Theus clasped her hand and agreed.
• Isabella explained that she had revived through Bazel and would gradually recover in the furnace before returning the prince's body to him.
• The prince left, Isabella returned to the furnace, and Theus relaxed after learning the prince had not betrayed him.
• Ash caught Nini spying outside the window, and Theus offered her a chance to make up for her mistakes by working as a reporter.
• Theus asked Nini to travel to Rhine, enter its underground section, and use Mind Link to contact Frey because they could not reach Aksa.

Theus proposed using a Tsunami Generator to force seawater into dried river channels, creating a waterway from Castel toward Rhine so Banshees and ironclads could travel there. The plan remained untested, and the unexplained disappearance of the rivers left a lingering question.

• Nini asked how Theus planned to overcome the Banshees’ Symbiotic Pact when sending them to inland Rhine.
• Theus showed Nini and Ash old river channels on a map and explained that he intended to refill them with seawater.
• Theus revealed that Castel had modified the Storm Generator to control ocean tides and planned to use it to push seawater inland.
• Nini became so excited that she jumped into the ceiling, while Theus described sending ironclads and Tata’s ram ship toward Rhine.
• Ash questioned why the river channels had dried up, and Theus decided to test the generator by flooding channels in the Duchy of Tis.

Blood Port expanded its literate armies and prepared for the Great Expedition against Rhine while Castel pushed its factories and military recruitment. In the Northern Territory, Alexei’s railway-building campaign drew locals away from the nobles with paid work, and an injured worker marked the start of a turning point.

• Isabella recruited literate soldiers in Blood Port, where free schooling had made literacy widespread among refugees and residents.
• Theus organized Castel’s Expeditionary Force, combining army, naval, and air units for the Great Expedition against Rhine.
• Alexei focused on roads, railways, and shipping in the Northern Territory, with Hunter, Alvarez, and others helping manage the region.
• The Expeditionary Force used armored locomotives and airships to deter nobles from attacking its construction crews.
• Local people began taking paid jobs on the railway, prompting Northern Territory nobles to attack the workers and face the Expeditionary Force’s response.
• A hired worker was injured at a construction site, bringing the campaign to a turning point.

After Vance was impaled by rebar at the railroad construction site, the doctor arranged to take him to Blood Port for free treatment. Vance’s family and fellow laborers joined him aboard the armored locomotive, whose movement shocked them as it carried them away.

• Vance fell while carrying a rail, and a reinforcing bar pierced through his body.
• The doctor said Vance could not be treated at the site, while his wife and daughter feared they could not afford care.
• The doctor said Vance could be taken to Blood Port for treatment and promised that it would be free.
• Vance’s fellow laborers joined him on the locomotive, and the train began moving.
• The passengers panicked when they realized the steel structure was a moving vehicle, and a soldier stopped one man from climbing out the window.

Old Vance and the hired workers traveled by train to Blood Port, where the immense city overwhelmed them with fear and wonder. At the Expeditionary Force’s base, Nini removed the rebar from Vance’s wound and quickly treated him.

• Old Vance worried that the trip to Blood Port would cost his family money while Rebecca tried to comfort him.
• The train entered Blood Port, and the hired workers stared in stunned silence at its towering buildings, factories, and busy roads.
• Old Vance recognized that the buildings’ scale and construction seemed impossible, while Rebecca marveled at the city.
• At the station, Nini calmed the frightened Old Vance, melted the rebar embedded in him, and stitched his wound.

After Nini saved Old Vance with a swift operation, the Expeditionary Force’s free treatment and wages won the trust of Northern Territory workers. The chapter ended with a city guard secretly approaching Hodge to ask about future paid work, suggesting the lord might also seek a partnership.

• Nini operated on Old Vance in under two minutes, astonishing the workers and the military doctor.
• Old Vance mistook Nini for a six-handed monster, but Rebecca explained that the doctor had saved him, and said she was more human than the noble lords.
• Old Vance returned to the Northern Territory after receiving free treatment, and the Expeditionary Force kept him in its infirmary while he recovered and paid him a base salary.
• News of the treatment and wages spread, prompting many townspeople to seek long-term work with the Expeditionary Force.
• A young man representing about a hundred city guards approached Hodge and offered to establish contact for possible paid work, saying the lord might also approach them.

Hodge heard rumors of Blood Port spreading through the Northern Territory as Castel prepared for war and expanded its industry. Theus and the Banshees began a Tsunami Generator test at evacuated Gem Bay, and the experiment started with all teams reporting normal.

• Hodge learned that the lord connected to the distant city was related to Duke Alvaray and grew more eager to attack.
• Old Vance returned from the hospital and attracted crowds eager to hear about Blood Port, while young men asked Hodge for tickets there.
• Gaia took charge of Castel’s industrial production, and Theus and Isabella deepened their cooperation through standardized military supplies.
• Theus’s team prepared to test the Tsunami Generator at Gem Bay, using Banshees to plant beacons between Castel’s Stellar Furnace and the bay.
• After confirming that Gem Bay was evacuated and all systems were normal, Theus ordered the teams to begin generating the tsunami.

Tata’s first test of the Tsunami Generator produced a tsunami too powerful to control, while the Stellar Furnace’s pressure rose beyond safe limits. Beatrice was overwhelmed by the evil god’s presence, but as she drifted toward destruction, she saw its eyes react with shock to her.

• Monica and Beatrice watched as Tata activated the prayer module connected to the Stellar Furnace.
• Theus noticed the ritual circuits resembled circuit boards and imagined miniaturizing the generators onto Ash’s armor.
• The Tsunami Generator raised a towering wall of water, and Ash moved to protect Theus while ordering the crew to redirect it away from Castel.
• Tata reported that the ritual had gone out of control as the Stellar Furnace’s chamber pressure climbed toward its safety threshold.
• Beatrice sensed the evil god inside the furnace, lost control of her body, and watched herself pray to an unknown presence.
• Beatrice looked toward the furnace as the evil god’s cold eyes stared at her in apparent shock.

Beatrice’s encounter with the eye in the Stellar Furnace coincided with the furnace returning to normal, prompting Tata to suspect she could stabilize it. Theus redirected the tsunami toward a test site and measured the Tsunami Generator’s destructive impact, then ordered an inundation test.

• Beatrice stared at the eye in the observation window without suffering the madness she had feared, and the eye fled back into the furnace as its pressure and output stabilized.
• Monica claimed credit for restoring the Stellar Furnace, while Tata noticed the furnace had calmed after Beatrice’s gestures and wondered if she was the Machine Soul’s reincarnation.
• Theus sensed he might control the tsunami, but realized the connection pointed toward Worker Theus’s shell and decided to investigate later.
• Theus directed the tsunami toward Test Site Three, where it overtopped the breakwaters and destroyed most of the simulated buildings, though a reinforced bunker survived.
• Theus concluded that the generator’s current impact was limited to nearshore targets and ordered the Banshees to continue testing its inundation effect.

Theus tested the Tsunami Generator and planned an investigation into where the region’s river water had gone. He then entered the Golden Throne’s fog and discovered that Little Gwen’s true body was an enormous Bone Colossus.

• Theus ordered Tata to test the Tsunami Generator, which gently flooded the testing grounds while sweeping away nearly all the buoys in its path.
• Theus asked Tata to take the Banshees to the coast to investigate where the river water had gone, and planned for Tata and Ken to investigate the Stellar Furnace’s abnormal activity.
• Theus returned to his office, entered Worker Theus, and found himself in a tundra with the white fog gone and ice surrounding him.
• Theus discovered that Little Gwen’s true body was a massive Bone Colossus and learned that she had transformed after entering the fog.
• Theus told Little Gwen that he thought her Bone Colossus body looked cool and asked whether it could move.

Theus met little Gwen at the Temple of the Forgotten, learned that Lina was obstructing her efforts to control it, and rode the Bone Colossus toward the sea. As he sensed a mysterious connection with the water, he reached toward it and raised his hand.

• Theus admired the Bone Colossus and urged little Gwen to seek goodwill with Lina and exchange information.
• Little Gwen asked Theus to bring her fried fish made by Bettis, then asked him to take her to the sea.
• The Bone Colossus carried Theus and little Gwen across the tundra, where they discussed the Northern Territory's railways and its future.
• Little Gwen and Theus reached a view of the sea, and Theus sensed a strange force connecting him to it.
• Theus followed his intuition, extended his hand toward the sea, and slowly raised it.

Theus raised nearly the entire Storm Ocean, but the power caused Worker Theus to die and sent him back to the Throne Room. White-Robed Theus briefly moved and shook his head, leaving Theus wondering if it had been a warning as he descended into Worker Theus again.

• Theus lifted the sea into a vast vertical wall, and Little Gwen realized he was controlling the seawater.
• Theus's vision went black, and he awakened in the Throne Room, shocked that Worker Theus's shell had died.
• White-Robed Theus raised his head, met Theus's gaze, and shook his head before becoming motionless again.
• Theus descended into Lord Theus several times and confirmed that his body and the Banshees were safe.
• Theus returned to the Throne Room and began descending into Worker Theus, then suspected White-Robed Theus had been warning him about the shell's death.
• Theus tried to stop the descent, but his vision went black before he could.