Chapter Summaries

Michael brought Gray and Aoko to his manor at the Clock Tower, where Aoko began settling into her new life studying magecraft with him. She met Michael’s wife, Sajo Aika, and was welcomed into the Animusphere household ahead of a social gathering with its other students.

• Gray admired London’s unfamiliar sights as Michael explained the Clock Tower and became her magecraft teacher.
• Michael brought Gray and Aoko to his manor in the Celestial Department, where they learned that Little Raphael was asleep and the welcome banquet would wait for Kir to finish class.
• Aoko nervously called Michael her master, and Michael teased her until Gray stepped in to defend her.
• Sajo Aika welcomed Aoko, introduced herself as Michael’s wife, and offered to show her around the manor.
• Aika and Gray warmly reunited, and Gray assured Aoko that she was part of the family and could come to her for protection.

Gray toured the Animusphere manor with Sajo Aika and met Olga Marie, the young heir who had been asked to show her around. Aika left the two girls to get acquainted, and they headed toward the garden together.

• Gray admired the manor's starry corridor and learned that its identical maids were homunculi created by Animusphere.
• Sajo Aika introduced Gray to Olga Marie Asmirett Animusphere, Animusphere's adopted daughter and heir.
• Olga Marie formally greeted Gray, then struggled to speak with her because she rarely interacted with girls her own age.
• Aika placed Gray's hand in Olga Marie's and asked Olga Marie to show Gray around the manor.
• Gray and Olga Marie awkwardly set off toward the garden together.

Gray met Sakura, Aya, and Kischurche in the garden, where a strange painting drew her into a trance. Meanwhile, Talia and Michael discussed a letter from Ashborn and postponed responding to his request.

• Sakura introduced herself, her sister Aya, and their teacher Kischurche to Gray, then linked arms with her and led her toward the garden.
• Gray showed Sakura and Aya the sentient Mage's Garment in her left hand, which identified itself as Add.
• Gray noticed a painting of a snowbound mountain and church, became entranced, and touched its icy surface.
• Michael delivered a letter from Ashborn to Talia and discussed the request it contained.
• Talia decided they should wait before answering Ashborn and told Michael he had chosen a gift for him.

Gray was pulled into a frozen ruin after touching a painting and found herself alone in a snowbound castle. As she searched for shelter and heard a voice reciting a prophecy, she encountered Ishruna and learned that the painting’s world was a gathering place for drifters.

• Talia asked Gray what she thought of the painting, then sent her into the World in the Painting to join the Animusphere gathering.
• Gray awoke in a ruined, freezing place and found that Olga Marie, Sakura, and Aya were missing.
• Gray explored the castle corridor, listened to a voice reciting the prophecy, and tried touching another painting to see if it would take her home.
• Gray transformed Add into a scythe and followed the voice through the ruined corridors.
• Gray encountered Ishruna and learned that the place was the Holy King’s final Eden, where drifters converged.

Luweng questioned Gray, a talking book, about Bedibuna and learned that the Church governed the world before Yinshulugexiu Nan devoured its fire. Gray urged her to reignite the flame and save Ishruna, while Luweng tried to make sense of his claims and Add’s bickering.

• Gray introduced himself by the long name Darandandandandandanddabi-gale, also calling himself the Book of Eternity and Time, while Add challenged him.
• Gray explained that Bedibuna meant Eden and had once been a flourishing sanctuary created by the Holy King, but had become a frozen wasteland.
• Gray said the Church had administered Bedibuna since the world’s birth, but changed after Yinshulugexiu Nan arrived and devoured the fire.
• Gray told Luweng that outlanders had once come to Bedibuna, but the isolated Church now hunted their descendants and treated outlanders as a threat.
• Gray urged Luweng, an outlander, to transmit the flame and renew Ishruna, while Add and Gray continued arguing until Luweng forcibly silenced them.

Gray accepted Gale’s proposal to make the Flame Transmission journey and relight the Life Furnace on Mount Edolas, learning that the Church guarded the last Fire Seed and that the Night Wanderers hunted flames. As Gray and Gale set out through the blizzard with an Ember Stone for warmth, a Night Wanderer detected her fire and began tracking it.

• Gray agreed to travel to Mount Edolas and relight the Life Furnace after Gale explained that Ishruna’s life depended on it.
• Gale told Gray that the Primal Fire’s last Fire Seed was held by the Church and warned that Night Wanderers hunted anyone who used fire.
• A Night Wanderer near the ruined castle detected the flame Gray had summoned and turned north to pursue its wielder.
• Gale gave Gray an Ember Stone, whose lingering warmth protected her from Ishruna’s freezing blizzard.
• Gray, Gale, and Add left the ruined castle and hurried toward Mount Edolas, hoping to reach a Place of Refuge before sunset.

Olga Marie struggled to survive a Winter Wolf pack in the blizzard after being separated from Gray and the others. Gray heard the howls and ran toward them, leaving Olga Marie’s fate uncertain.

• Gray, Add, and Gale heard wolf howls in the blizzard, and a giant white wolf emerged before Olga Marie.
• Olga Marie fought off the Winter Wolves with magic, but the pack chased her across the snowfield as she became exhausted and injured.
• Olga Marie used Magi Release and activated her Mage’s Garments, damaging her Mage Circuits as she tried to survive the wolves.
• Gray heard Olga Marie’s voice and ran toward the howls despite Add’s objections, while Gale followed her.
• Olga Marie collapsed in the snow after her muscles failed, with the Winter Wolves still pursuing her.

Rin and Gray fought the King of Winter Wolves as Olga Marie weakened from the backlash of her attack. The King’s wounds healed quickly, but Rin found an opening and struck its nose with the City Breaker Hammer.

• Gray charged into the wolves’ encirclement and transformed into a scythe for Rin to wield.
• Rin dodged the King of Winter Wolves’ Wind Blades while it healed and its pack closed around her.
• Olga Marie told Rin to call her Marie, then collapsed as the backlash from her attack worsened.
• Gray helped Rin control a surge of magical energy as the King of Winter Wolves charged another attack.
• Rin broke through the wolves, leaped at the King of Winter Wolves, and brought the City Breaker Hammer down on its nose.

Gray and Winter Wolf drove off the King of Winter Wolves, then carried the unconscious Olga Marie to a Place of Refuge as night and the snowstorm fell. There, Gray explained that its blessings came from the fading Primal Fire, while Winter Wolf rested and recovered.

• Gray struck the King of Winter Wolves on its nose, interrupting its Wind Blade and forcing it to flee with the other winter wolves.
• Winter Wolf found Olga Marie unconscious after the battle and carried her toward the Place of Refuge while Gray reassured her about their progress.
• Winter Wolf reached the ruined sanctuary before nightfall and brought Olga Marie inside, where the golden flame’s protection began healing their injuries.
• Gray explained that the sanctuary’s blessings were projections of the Primal Fire and were weakening as the fire faded.
• Winter Wolf rested in the sanctuary as the snowstorm intensified outside and wondered what Master was doing.

Gray, Olga Marie, and Gale traveled toward Elus, where Gray explained Ishruna’s outsiders and the way to leave the world. Olga Marie recovered from her injuries and questioned Gray’s account, while the group continued toward the settlement without reaching it before nightfall.

• Olga Marie woke with her injuries and Mage Circuits healed, discovered she could use the turbulent mana, and thanked Gray for saving her.
• Gray introduced himself as a girl from beyond Ishruna and said he was guiding them to Elus for Flame Transmission.
• Gray explained that Elus had been founded by outsiders and that Rare People had once been prized for their abilities before merging into Ishruna’s population.
• Olga Marie asked whether anyone had ever left Ishruna, and Gray said the Church controlled the way out, which required the Primal Fire’s power.
• Gray warned that Elus was hostile toward outsiders, while the group crossed the forest and mountains toward it without encountering further danger.

Gray and Olga Marie entered Elus through a sewage outlet after Gale led them to a hidden route past the guarded wall. The hostile townspeople refused to help them, but an old man finally invited them inside, leaving them cautiously hopeful of finding shelter and food.

• Gale led Gray and Olga Marie to a sewage outlet beneath the city wall, and they crawled through it to enter Elus.
• Gray and Olga Marie saw the contrast between Elus’s ancient ruins and its crude stone buildings as they explored the nearly deserted streets.
• Olga Marie knocked on several doors to ask for information, but the residents cursed them and refused to let them in.
• Gray and Olga Marie realized they needed food and shelter before continuing their journey through the snow.
• An old man invited Gray and Olga Marie inside, and they prepared themselves before opening his door.

Gale, Olga Marie, and Gray met Monet, a former Grand Captain of the Church’s Knights and an elderly pure-blooded Rare Person living in seclusion. Monet recognized their role in Flame Transmission, offered them shelter and advice, and fed them a deeply unsettling meal.

• Gale and Olga Marie sensed the old man’s immense magical energy as he recognized them as Rare Persons from the Outer Village.
• Gray identified the old man as Monet, the former Grand Captain of the Church’s Knights and Ishruna’s last pure-blooded Rare Person.
• Monet explained that he had left the Church centuries earlier and would not reveal their whereabouts, then invited them to stay and rest.
• Monet connected their arrival to Ishruna’s prophecy that the extinguished flames would reignite when people from the Outer Village returned.
• Monet served the group a murky soup filled with pale worms, leaving Olga Marie horrified and determined not to eat it.
• Monet advised Gale and Olga Marie to keep moving forward without doubt as they carried the burden of Flame Transmission.

Gray and Olga Marie ate the local bug stew while the old man explained the history behind Ishruna’s distrust of outsiders. Olga Marie learned that recent outsiders joined the Church and plundered the region, and she wondered what had become of Sakura and Aya; the chapter ended as screams sounded outside.

• Gray and Olga Marie hesitated over the bug stew, but Gray closed her eyes and tried one, finding it less unpleasant than she expected.
• After dinner, Olga Marie asked the old man why Ishruna’s people rejected outsiders, and he explained that Rare People had once been treated as prey.
• The old man described how the Golden People unified Elusna and founded the Golden Dynasty before disappearing after its collapse.
• He said recent outsiders had joined the Church and plundered Ishruna, giving its people reason to hate outsiders.
• Olga Marie thought of Sakura and Aya and questioned what she had heard about the Church, then screams outside interrupted her thoughts.

Gray and Olga Marie left the old man’s house to investigate a scream and encountered a Night Wanderer hunting them in the blizzard. They faced the armored magecraft user in the streets of Elus, with the fight underway as the chapter ended.

• Gray sensed that danger was approaching and went outside with Olga Marie to investigate the scream.
• Olga Marie and Gray spotted a Night Wanderer near a brutally murdered victim and moved to fight him away from the old man’s house.
• The Night Wanderer ambushed Olga Marie and Gray with three ice blades, but their autonomous defensive barrier blocked them.
• Olga Marie attacked with a Vacuum Blade, but the Night Wanderer cut it apart with his strange weapon.

Gray and Olga Marie fought the Night Wanderer, whose strength increased each time it was killed as the blessing of the Primal Fire remained. After they learned it needed to be killed twice more, a shadow rushed from around a corner and knocked Gray down.

• Gray blocked the Night Wanderer's attack with Add transformed into a scythe while Olga Marie restrained it with shaping magecraft.
• Gray explained that the Night Wanderer could be killed permanently by exhausting its blessing, but each death brought its strength closer to what it had been in life.
• Gray severed the Night Wanderer's head, but it picked the head up and placed it back on its neck.
• Olga Marie suggested a strategic retreat, and the group began withdrawing while discussing how many times the Night Wanderer still had to be killed.
• A half-human-height black shadow rushed around a corner and knocked Gray to the ground.

Winter Wolf and Olga Marie fled through Elus as Night Wanderers pursued them and King of Gray smashed through the city’s ancient barrier. Olga Marie realized the Night Wanderers and Gray were enemies and tried to divert the disaster by drawing them toward King of Gray.

• A Black Wolf attacked Gray, and Olga Marie killed it with a Vacuum Blade while the Night Wanderers closed in.
• Gale said there was no chance of defeating both the Night Wanderers and the wolf pack, and warned that the disaster had to be diverted or Elus would be destroyed.
• King of Gray broke the old contract by attacking Elus’s weakening wall, and Gray poured into the city through the breach.
• Olga Marie noticed the Night Wanderers and Gray were not allied, then told Winter Wolf to head toward King of Gray and make them fight each other.
• King of Gray charged into Elus toward Winter Wolf and Olga Marie as Olga Marie gathered her remaining magic and unleashed a torrent of azure light at it.

Gray and the King of Winter Wolves diverted the Night Wanderers, giving Olga Marie and Winter Wolf time to recover and discuss their Holy Swords. The two watched the battle continue as Olga Marie discovered the Animusphere mark on her sword and explained its connection to her brother Michael.

• Gray used the King of Winter Wolves as cover while the Night Wanderers attacked the beast, leaving it badly wounded before it healed through Chai Yong’s pendant.
• The King of Gray fought the Night Wanderers, keeping them from focusing on their mission while Olga Marie and Winter Wolf hid nearby.
• Olga Marie healed Winter Wolf’s arm and reassured her that she could learn basic Healing Magecraft.
• Olga Marie and Winter Wolf discussed their Holy Swords, and Winter Wolf revealed that King Arthur had given her the Sword of Failed Vows.
• Olga Marie spotted the Animusphere mark on her Holy Sword and explained that Michael had forged the family’s Holy Swords and left his mark on each one.

As the Night Wanderers fell, the old man prepared to face the wounded King of Winter Wolves while Gray and Olga Marie watched with the holy sword. The old man charged into battle, intent on exposing the beast’s Soul Core so Gray could finish it.

• Olga Marie sent out her Familiar and decided to wait for the battle’s victor before using the holy sword, while Gray focused on earning its permission to unleash its power.
• The King of Winter Wolves killed the Night Wanderers, then turned its attention toward Gray and Olga Marie.
• The old man reassured Gray and Olga Marie that Elus’s destruction was not their fault and said the beast had to be killed before they discussed anything else.
• The old man revealed the flames on his greatsword as a purer blessing of Primal Fire and charged the badly wounded King of Winter Wolves.
• The old man said he would expose the King of Winter Wolves’ Soul Core and leave the rest to Gray.

Gray and Olga Marie defeated the King of Winter Wolves with the Holy Sword, while Gray confronted the burden of its hopes and found resolve in her own identity. After the battle, Gray lost consciousness, and the survivors celebrated their victory.

• The old man and the King of Winter Wolves collapsed after the old man’s slash left the creature’s heart exposed and shattered.
• Olga Marie enhanced Gray and poured magical energy into the Holy Sword as Gray drew strength from the hopes it carried.
• Gray accepted that she was not King Arthur but Gray, and she unleashed the Holy Sword’s Torrent of Light against the King of Winter Wolves.
• The King of Winter Wolves fell and vanished, leaving a dark-gold flame that passed through Gale and flew toward Gray.
• Gray thanked Olga Marie, then collapsed from exhaustion as the survivors celebrated the victory.

Gray woke with magical wolf ears and a tail after absorbing the King of Winter Wolves’ Wolf Soul, while Olga Marie and Gale tried to understand the change. Gray’s senses and strength had improved, and Gale assured her there would be no harmful side effects.

• Gray woke in a simple house with Olga Marie asleep on her lap and discovered furry ears and a tail.
• Olga Marie examined Gray’s new ears and tail, whose magical forms felt warm and unusually sensitive to Gray.
• Gray asked whether absorbing the Wolf Soul had caused side effects, and Olga Marie checked her condition.
• Gale explained that Gray had absorbed the King of Winter Wolves’ soul after her Holy Sword killed it, leaving her in a state of Wolf Soul possession.
• Gray reported increased strength, faster magical energy flow, and sharper senses, while Gale said the change would bring her benefits without side effects.
• Olga Marie teased Gray about her new appearance as Gale protested losing the Wolf Soul he had hoped to absorb.