Chapter Summaries

Nathanael investigated a request for High-Concentration Element Bottles and the disappearance of the mage known as “Philly,” while trying to protect the mysterious mage’s identity. His inquiries were interrupted when he learned that Number Three Floating City had lost contact with the outside world, as the deities’ proxies used Divine Descent beyond the city.

• Nathanael traced the Battle Mage Corps’ bottle request through its disbanded Tower corps, past exchange records, and the Elemental School emblem, then refused to allocate more bottles.
• Nathanael learned that “Philly” had vanished and that the contestant using her identity was actually a twenty-year-old First Order Felistin Family member; investigators had found no trace of her in Number Nine Floating City.
• Nathanael concluded the disguised mage had performed Elemental Conversion twice and ordered investigators to look into the mage who had accompanied the real “Philly”; he also told his assistant to put his theories in the newspaper.
• A mage reported that contact with the outside world had been lost, and Nathanael found that the Mage Tower’s functions were partly severed and could not connect outward.
• Outside Number Three Floating City, the deities’ proxies used Divine Descent under a concealment barrier, leaving the Black Mage Tower glowing alone as the deities acknowledged that The Stars had done well.

Fran prepared to move a packed Sun Block toward the Sun Domain as the Alliance went on alert after an attack on Number Three Floating City. Meanwhile, Tobias and two Third Order mercenaries received the God of War’s blessing and arrived at a scorched battlefield, where Fran appeared.

• The Lord of Radiance packed the Sun Block into a portable Miniature Model and told Fran it had to be unfolded within about twenty-four hours.
• After Number Nine Floating City declared an alert over an attack on an Alliance facility, Fran confirmed her surroundings were safe and set out with the packed block.
• Tobias led Gray Dragon Hart and Image of the Void Holden through a God of War prebattle banquet, empowering them and revealing that their target was the Lord of Radiance’s Proxy.
• Hart and Holden agreed to confront the Proxy, while Tobias warned them not to assume she had the same abilities as earlier Proxies.
• Tobias transported the group to scorched red land, where Holden spotted Fran appearing with the packed block.

Lai fought Tobias, Hart, and Holden after reaching the outskirts of the Sun Domain, using spells and swordsmanship to hold off the three Third Order opponents. As Hart prepared to unleash his Breath, Lai launched herself toward him to test whether Broken Wing Sword Art could bring down a flying target.

• Tobias recognized Lai's crimson sunflame and wondered whether she was the newly born Sunflame Knight, while Lai identified him and the two Spirit Realm lords pursuing her.
• Lai threw her miniature model into the air, revealing a burning red island, as Holden summoned an iron hand and Tobias invoked the God of War's battle drums.
• Lai used Mental Contest to interrupt Holden's summoning, then slowed Hart with Wide-Area Vibrating Adhesive Wave and wounded him with Phantom Swings Its Claws, Accompanied by Water Element.
• Tobias pressed Lai in close combat, but she parried his attacks with a dagger and held her ground through superior swordsmanship while preparing another spell.
• Hart took to the air to unleash his Breath, and Lai stopped controlling the earth element and charged toward him with Steam Concerto to test Broken Wing Sword Art.

“Lai” fought Hart, Tobias, and Holden, using her sword arts and Proxy healing to knock Hart from the sky and disable his flight. After Hart’s allies strengthened him and he charged again, “Lai” stopped him with one hand and shattered the scales between his eyes.

• Hart struck “Lai” with his Breath, but her Sunflame and Proxy ability healed her shoulder as she attacked his wounds.
• “Lai” used Blood Law Sword Art and Wing Break to make Hart fall, disabling his flight ability.
• Tobias’s flying blades and Holden’s blue flames interrupted “Lai” before she could press her advantage against Hart.
• Holden arrived and revealed that “Lai” had interrupted his Golem summoning with Mental Contest, leaving him wary of trying again.
• Hart activated a silver ability while Tobias blessed him and Holden cast Haste, then charged “Lai” with renewed strength.
• “Lai” stopped Hart’s charge with one hand and crushed the scales between his eyes.

After becoming a Sword Saint, Lai overwhelmed Hart and defeated the three opponents before the Sun Domain finished assimilating the block. She reflected that her new strength had made the time-related Alchemy Devices unnecessary.

• Lai gained the Sword Saint Profession and used her increased Constitution and Mental Power to stop Hart's charge and overpower him.
• Lai used her blood-red sword and control over blood to lift Hart into the air and slam him into the ground, leaving Tobias and Holden stunned and injured.
• Holden summoned the Golem to escape while Tobias broke free and tried to flee, but Lai tore into the Golem and turned Tobias into a puddle of blood.
• Lai killed Holden with her scarlet palm and the Sunflame, then noted that her new strength meant she had not needed her time-related Alchemy Devices.

After retrieving a Sun Domain block, 'Lai' learned that a dark red block containing a special advancement trial could qualify her for the Sunflame Knight’s Third Order promotion, though Zali could not tell her where to find it. She left the domain with new combat experience, valuable spoils, and a mysterious Blood-Red Longsword bearing the God of War’s divine grace, which she set aside until she could confirm it was safe.

• Zali told 'Lai' that she only needed to find the dark red block containing the Sunflame Knight advancement trial, but he did not know where it was.
• 'Lai' left the Sun Domain and reflected on her improved Sword Saint constitution and the Blood Law Sword Art’s strength against weaker, blood-rich enemies.
• 'Lai' collected the bodies of two Third Order Professionals, including a damaged dragonkin body she estimated could sell for thirty to forty thousand gold coins.
• 'Lai' examined Tobias’s longsword and discovered that it transformed into a Blood-Red Longsword containing the God of War’s divine grace.
• 'Lai' realized the sword could grant battle blessings and empower weapons, then drove it into a rock in the Sunflame Domain until she could verify it was safe.

Tobias returned from the Spirit Realm after failing to stop the sun block, endured the God of War’s trial, and reported his defeat to Amelia. His account left Amelia uncertain about the Lord of Radiance’s role and the Sunflame Knight’s extraordinary strength.

• Tobias woke on the God of War’s scorched battlefield and endured its needle-like pain for a day and night as penance for his failure.
• A barefoot follower summoned Tobias to meet Amelia, whom he found badly wounded after escaping a battle with Alliance mages.
• Amelia asked Tobias what had happened in the Spirit Realm, and he admitted that a Sunflame Knight had killed him and his two mercenaries without the Lord of Radiance’s Proxy appearing.
• Amelia questioned whether the Sunflame Knight was a survivor of the purge, then decided to report Tobias’s account because the Lord of Radiance’s role remained unclear.
• Amelia told Tobias to pay the mercenaries if they were still alive, and Tobias agreed.

After Number Three Floating City was attacked and crashed into the Alliance heartland, Harbos told Fran that the Council was considering retaliation and that her White Dragon Port project would soon end. Fran secured permission to go to the Ocean for research, concealing that she intended to hunt an adult Deep Sea Golden Dragon, and learned they could return to Crescent Bay in three days.

• Harbos told Fran that Number Three Floating City had been attacked, crashed onto the continent, and lost over a hundred confirmed residents.
• Fran kept her earlier vision of the attack to herself, while Harbos explained that the Council suspected Deity Sects and was weighing a purge or an expeditionary retaliation.
• Harbos warned Fran that the Lohan Archipelago attack would move onto the Council's agenda and that the White Dragon Port project would probably end soon.
• Fran told Harbos she wanted to conduct research at the Ocean, concealing her plan to hunt an adult Deep Sea Golden Dragon, and Harbos agreed she could go.
• Harbos told Fran they could return to Crescent Bay in three days, after Number Nine Floating City lifted its emergency and they passed through the military location.

Felicity pressured the Half-Dragon ruler into lowering his domain barrier, then stole a Block and returned to Brilliant Dream Domain. There she discovered that the Lord of Radiance had taken nearly half her Blocks and damaged her domain, leaving Felicity swearing revenge.

• After three fruitless days searching for Lyle, Felicity demanded that the elderly Half-Dragon lower the barrier so she could leave.
• Felicity threatened to break through the barrier, and the Half-Dragon agreed to deactivate it, a process that would take about half a day.
• Once the barrier faded, Felicity attacked the Half-Dragons and escaped with an entire Block, despite suffering several wounds.
• Felicity returned to Brilliant Dream Domain and found followers of the God of War barbecuing on the passage she had opened; one told her Tobias had left and urged her to inspect her domain.
• Felicity found damaged stone pillars, traces of radiance, missing iridescent clouds, and nearly half the points of light representing her Blocks gone, then vowed revenge on the Lord of Radiance.

Fran returned to White Dragon Port as the Alliance prepared to attack the Lohan Archipelago within a month. Harbos explained that Number Three Floating City had been sabotaged and that the Astrology School’s prophecy of a floating city falling had come true, while Fran’s Territory Mage Working Group prepared for its final assessment.

• Fran heard Alliance staff discuss the urgent attack on the Lohan Archipelago and rumors about Number Three Floating City’s fall.
• Harbos told Fran that the Astrology School had prophesied a floating city’s fall, that Number Three Floating City had been sabotaged, and that other prophecies remained confidential.
• Fran returned to White Dragon Port, where Harbos said he would remain and offered to help if she needed anything.
• Eleanor told Fran that her working group was ten places ahead of the others but could no longer find mages willing to convert into Territory Mages.
• Eleanor joked that Fran’s return made it seem as though she had gone to Number Three Floating City to do something dangerous, and Fran agreed it might look that way.

After the Territory Mage assessment, Fran considered her next assignment and decided to go to the Lohan Archipelago. She rejected the Elemental School’s invitation to join a project, while Aolain left still brooding over his defeat.

• The assessor confirmed the reported number of converted Territory Mages and left, while Eleanor told them the Command Council would decide their assignments later.
• Willow planned to become an Investigator in River Valley Province after advancing, while Erwin intended to go to the war in the Lohan Archipelago.
• Fran told Eleanor she planned to go to the Lohan Archipelago, and Eleanor mistakenly suspected she wanted to obtain Battle Mage Corps spells there.
• Aolain invited Fran to join an Elemental School project, but Fran declined because she already planned to travel to the Lohan Archipelago.
• Aolain reminded Fran that they were both young before leaving, still unable to let go of his defeat in the Territory Mage Working Group.

Eleanor became head of the Territory Mage Department after the assessment, but the Law School’s pressure kept her from leaving. Fran arrived at a temporary logistics inspection office, where she reunited with Bela and revealed she had come to be its group leader.

• Eleanor received most of the credit after Fran for the assessment’s success and was appointed head of the Territory Mage Department.
• The Law School’s Fourth Order Mages pressured Eleanor to stay in the post, and she watched Fran and other group members move on.
• Fran entered the Third Temporary Inspection Group’s office and met its deputy leader, Zane, who mistook her for an ordinary new member.
• Bela arrived at the office, and Fran recognized her as her old friend from Loderis.
• Bela explained that she had joined the Battle Mage Corps after being called up from the Sword Chant School’s Reserve Force.
• Fran pulled out a silver-patterned document and told Bela she had come to be the group leader, surprising Zane.

Fran led the Third Temporary Inspection Group efficiently, hoping to gain experience and secure a position in the Wartime Supply Department while preventing accidents or theft. In her laboratory, she developed an imperfect time-acceleration spell and realized it might help 'Lai' when she returned to the Alliance.

• Fran managed the Third Temporary Inspection Group, organizing its inspections carefully and using Phantom-Expelling Element to reduce the risk of accidents.
• Fran warned her group, including Bela, to count inspected goods again and prevent anyone from stealing or misplacing the valuable magic devices.
• Fran's assembly-line workflow let the group finish its daily assignment by two in the afternoon, and she declined Bela's invitation to go out so she could work on experiments.
• Fran tested Time passes rapidly on mice and plants, observed that its affected area stayed fixed in place, and developed the beginnings of a third-order spell called Localized Time Acceleration.
• Fran realized her spell might help 'Lai' avoid a lengthy Investigator's investigation or imprisonment after returning to the Alliance.

Nathanael struggled to get the Alliance Council to approve preparations for war against the Lohan Archipelago while searching unsuccessfully for the mysterious Philly. He learned that Fran had declined Aolain’s invitation to join the Frost Elemental Cannon Project and planned to meet her in White Dragon Port.

• Nathanael’s war proposal remained stalled because the schools needed time to decide which High-Order Mages they would send to battle.
• Nathanael’s assistant reported that investigators had found no clues about Philly beyond her departure by airship, and Nathanael ordered them to keep searching.
• Nathanael learned that Fran had declined Aolain’s request to join the Frost Elemental Cannon Project because she had gone to the Law School’s Territory Mage Working Group.
• Nathanael recognized Fran from her file, wondered whether she fit the prophecy about Philly, and planned to meet her in White Dragon Port in a month.

Fran paid Iris for information about the Deep Sea Golden Dragon and learned it had been seen in the Bottomless Sea fighting a Third Order demon. During Iris’s blessing ceremony, Fran sensed that her connection to the Goddess of Magic had weakened and suspected it was related to the gods’ actions on Number Three Floating City.

• Fran asked Iris about the Deep Sea Golden Dragon and agreed to pay at least five hundred gold coins for the information and to take part in a ritual.
• Iris recounted seeing a Deep Sea Golden Dragon battle a charred-black Third Order demon in the Bottomless Sea.
• Fran considered whether a hidden Abyss Mouth in the deep sea might offer a way to advance to the Fourth Order.
• Iris led Fran to the Divine Statue and placed a red seal stone ornament on her during a blessing ceremony.
• Fran sensed that her connection to the Goddess of Magic had weakened and suspected the gods’ actions on Number Three Floating City were responsible.

Fran investigated why Iris could sense the Goddess of Magic only weakly and concluded that the fall of Number Three Floating City may have severed the Goddess’s connection to the continent. She began suspecting that the Gods had targeted the city because of the Goddess of Magic, but stopped before pursuing her theory further.

• Fran asked Iris to pray to the Goddess of Magic, and Iris discovered that the presence she sensed had changed.
• Iris explained that other mages had failed to sense the Goddess, while Fran admitted she could faintly sense her and noticed the connection had weakened since a month earlier.
• Fran returned to her laboratory and speculated that the Gods had deliberately caused Number Three Floating City’s fall to weaken the Goddess of Magic’s connection to the continent.
• Fran reasoned that the Goddess of Magic must be unusually connected to the Alliance and wondered why the Gods feared her enough to expend so much divine power.
• Fran connected Iris’s mentor, the Abyss Walker, to the Goddess of Magic and wondered whether that allegiance explained his remaining in the Abyss.
• Fran tried to activate the Star Gazing Art but could not, then decided to stop investigating her unsettling theory for the time being.

Gareth and the Bohan project group returned to Alliance territory, where Investigators ambushed them and arrested “Lai” while searching for Mage Philly. The Investigators also detained Philly, Aurora, and many nearby mages, leaving the group confused about the reason for the arrests.

• Gareth hurried his group back toward the Alliance after receiving an order to return because Number Three Floating City had collapsed.
• On the journey, “Lai” told Philly they could meet again, and Aurora asked to seek her alchemy guidance.
• The convoy crossed into Alliance territory as an alarm sounded, the sky darkened, and the mages found their defensive spells difficult to cast.
• Alliance Investigators arrived, including Roderick and Alva, and Gareth learned they were not there to investigate his smuggling.
• The Investigators subdued “Lai” and demanded to know where she had taken Mage Philly.
• The Investigators recognized Philly and detained her, Aurora, and many other mages near them as possible accomplices.

Fran, posing as Lai, was interrogated over suspected involvement in the Champion Mage Challenge impersonation but maintained her innocent act. She remained in indefinite detention, hoping her mailed papers would reach the Alchemy School's journal distribution office while she looked for another way to submit one.

• The investigator found Lai's profile too clean and redacted to interrogate effectively, then left to consult his superior after confirming she disputed none of its details.
• Fran endured spell-disrupting substances inside an iron restraint and worried that Roderick and another Fourth Order Mage might reveal her identity to Iris.
• Roderick told Fran he had not informed Iris, then questioned her about the Champion Mage Challenge; she feigned confusion and denied knowing anything.
• Roderick said her detention had no time limit, and Fran asked whether she could notify Iris, but he left without answering.
• Fran recalled that she had sent three letters containing papers through passing caravans and asked an investigator to help submit another paper from her luggage, but he refused.

Alwen questioned Aurora about the major Alliance case, then reviewed her account and kept her under suspicion while exempting her from Magic Interrogation because of her Silver Alchemy Award. Philly, lacking comparable protection, was subjected to an excessive interrogation that left her unconscious, and Alwen ordered the restraints removed.

• Alwen reassured Aurora that her Silver Alchemy Award protected her from Magic Interrogation, then asked her to explain what she knew about the case.
• Aurora described the academic project and the strange events in Bohan, prompting Alwen to suspect Mage Gareth had been smuggling and to investigate what had happened there.
• Alwen wrote that Aurora might have been an accomplice in the impersonation operation, but barred magical interrogation because of her award.
• An Investigator told Alwen that Philly had been interrogated with an excessive dosage after staff mistook her for a powerful Second Order Mage.
• Philly's interrogation record showed that she denied ever visiting Number Three Floating City and said she had been in Bohan before passing out.
• Alwen criticized the Investigators' errors and ordered them to turn off the Light-Effect Stasis Field restraining Philly.

Fran learned how to navigate the Alliance’s appointment procedures and sought Monica’s approval for a position in the Wartime Provision Ministry. Monica faced a flood of applicants and resorted to choosing among those who had given her gifts, while Fran left her a present.

• Fran learned from Eleanor that her appointment required approval from the ministry head, the Personnel Appointment and Removal Office, and the Command Council mage on duty.
• Eleanor offered to help Fran contact Kavendi at the Personnel Appointment and Removal Office and advised her to give the ministry head a gift.
• Monica learned that about 1,258 mages had applied for six permanent positions and decided to choose from applicants who had given her something.
• Talia told Monica that two applicants had offered to send noble girls as gifts, and Monica rejected the offers.
• Fran arrived at White Dragon Port, gave Monica a gift wrapped in green silk, and left after briefly explaining why she had come.