Chapter Summaries

After defeating the King of Winter Wolves, Ed and Olga Marie met the Church’s envoys in Las Mountain City and discovered that Sakura and Aya were serving the Church. The Church planned to reward them, and the old man assured them their Flame Transmission identities would remain secret.

• Gray successfully hid her Wolf Soul ears and tail with Gale’s guidance.
• The old man thanked Ed and Olga Marie for defeating the King of Winter Wolves and said their victory would let Ishruna endure longer.
• Ed and Olga Marie studied a map of Elusna and learned the Church’s envoys were arriving with supplies to aid Las Mountain City.
• The Church’s envoys arrived, and Ed and Olga Marie recognized Sakura and Aya among them, dressed as nuns.
• Sakura explained that she assisted Sister Gurwig, while the old man assured Ed and Olga Marie that the Church would not discover their Flame Transmission.
• The Church offered to reward the pair for defeating the King of Winter Wolves, and Knight Commander Isaac left to help rebuild the city.

Sakura and Aya reunited with Gray, Olga Marie, and Gale and explained how they had joined the Church and learned its operations. The group questioned Gray’s account and the book’s motives, then planned to examine the Church’s records while Gray remained asleep.

• Sakura explained that she and Aya had joined the Church after arriving there and that she had become its actual person in charge by studying its loose organization.
• Sakura told the group that she had met Olga Marie shortly after arriving, while Aya and she had spent about a month and a half in the Church and reviewed its books.
• Tokiha recounted how she had met Gray and what she had learned from him, including the book’s plan to make them Flame Transmitters and revive Ishruna.
• Olga Marie and Sakura questioned Gray’s story and the book’s motives, while Gale agreed that they should remain cautious and not torture Gray.
• Sakura proposed examining the Church records for more information, and Aya projected the recorded words and diagrams with magecraft.

Sakura, Olga Marie, and Gray examined ancient Church records about the Primal Fire and Flame Transmission, uncovering signs that the Church’s role had changed and that Flame Transmission might consume its bearer. They concluded that reigniting the Primal Fire was necessary to use the Church’s teleportation array and return to their world.

• Sakura translated the ancient Crimson Poem, which described the Primal Fire, the Holy Kings, and the cycles of Flame Transmission.
• Gray explained that the Church had once aided Flame Transmission bearers but later turned against them, and suggested that the bearers were sacrificed as kindling for the Primal Fire.
• Olga Marie and Gray discussed how Flame Transmission could reignite the Primal Fire, which was needed to power the Church’s teleportation array.
• Sakura confirmed that the Church had an intact teleportation array, but it could not operate without the Primal Fire’s energy.
• Gray revealed that Sister Gurwig seemed to hate the Primal Fire and that the Church’s final Fire Seed lacked the kindling needed to reignite it.

Sakura questioned Gray about the Church’s history of Flame Transmission and uncovered the truth about the final flame transmitter, the King Soul, and Gray’s stored souls. The group learned that Gale and Olga Marie could reignite the Primal Fire through the ritual, while the fate of past Flame Maidens and the Divine Realm remained unclear.

• Sakura told Olga Marie and Gale that records omitted how Flame Maidens died and that the Church worshipped a Nameless Holy King.
• Sakura used pressure and a page-tearing threat to make Gray admit that he had concealed information about the Fireproof Man and King Soul.
• Gray explained that eight hundred years earlier, the final flame transmitter abandoned his mission to revive his dead Flame Maiden, and the Church killed him and collected the souls intended for the King Soul.
• Gray revealed that Grand Knight Commander Monet killed the final flame transmitter and that Gray escaped the Church with the souls needed for the ritual.
• Gray said earlier Flame Transmitters and Flame Maidens secluded themselves in the Divine Realm, and that Gale and Olga Marie could complete the ritual to reignite the Primal Fire.

On the Pilgrim's Road back to the Church, Sakura, Gray, and Olga Marie encountered Ishruna Phantoms, the undead souls of knights from the fallen Hoyongyaor Dynasty. As Church knights fought them, Sakura explained the road’s strange stone pilgrims and the blessing they once sought.

• Sakura, Aya, Gray, and Olga Marie traveled back toward the Church along the abandoned Pilgrim's Road.
• Gray saw mutated stone figures kneeling beside the road, and Sakura explained that they were pilgrims transformed through atavism.
• Church knights reported that Guragel Phantoms had harassed them, though that threat had already been eliminated.
• Ishruna Phantoms appeared in groups and attacked the carriage, breaking through the Church knights’ defensive line.
• Rin cut down one Phantom while the Church knights defeated another, and Kevin watched to give the new knights combat experience.

Gray, Olga Marie, and their companions reached the Church headquarters on Mount Edolas, crossing a precarious suspension bridge as Olga Marie pondered the tangled information surrounding their situation. Sakura led the group onward to meet Sister Gurwig, while Knight Commander Kael and the knights went to their lodgings.

• Gray and the others arrived at the summit of Mount Edolas and saw the Church headquarters across a suspension bridge.
• Olga Marie, Gray, and the others crossed the creaking bridge, and Sakura watched Gray with keen interest.
• Olga Marie reflected on her duty to protect her companions and on her doubts about living up to her status as the heir of Animusphere.
• Sakura said she would take Gray and the others to see Sister Gurwig, while Knight Commander Kael was told to find her later if he needed to report.
• Sakura led the group across the bridge, and Gray bumped into the knight ahead when she failed to notice they had reached the end.

Gray's group entered the Church headquarters and met Sister Gurwig, whose striking appearance and abundant life force concealed her role in the world's spreading wind and snow. Sister Gurwig confirmed that the King of Winter Wolves had been slain and welcomed the warriors responsible.

• Gray's group walked to the Church headquarters, where two armed knights recognized Sakura and Aya and opened the doors for them.
• Sakura told Olga Marie that the Church differed from what they usually knew and said meeting Father Da Pengfa would explain why.
• Sister Gurwig greeted Sakura and Aya, then asked the warriors who slew the King of Winter Wolves to step forward.
• Gray and Olga Marie approached Sister Gurwig uneasily, while Gray sensed a contradiction between her living presence and her lifeless appearance.
• Sister Gurwig confirmed that the matter at Elus Castle was resolved, reconstruction had begun, and the King of Winter Wolves was slain.

Gray and her companions questioned Sister Gurwig about leaving Ishruna, the Remnant Fire, and Flame Transmission. Sister Gurwig warned them away from the taboo and dismissed them, leaving Gray to suspect she knew more about Flame Transmission’s secrets.

• Sister Gurwig explained that the gateway to other worlds could no longer open because the Primal Fire had gone out, and that the Remnant Fire lay in Snowfall Valley, the tomb of Granger’s final ruler.
• Sister Gurwig warned that Snowfall Valley was a forbidden place filled with specters and said she doubted the group could survive entering it.
• Sister Gurwig condemned Flame Transmission as a taboo that could not truly save Ishruna and urged the group not to pursue it.
• Olga Marie and Gray wondered whether Sister Gurwig opposed Flame Transmission because she knew how to solve Ishruna’s problems, and Sakura recalled that Gurwig had previously refused to answer her questions.
• Sister Gurwig ended the conversation and sent the group away, while Gray concluded that Gurwig’s reaction suggested she knew something deeper about Flame Transmission.

Gray's group reached the ancient ruins of Snowfall Valley, where Aya used the Shishigou family's necromancy to control Granger Phantoms. Sakura proposed hiding inside their armor to infiltrate the royal mausoleum, and Gray chose to face her fear and go along.

• Gray's group descended from Mount Edolas toward the ruins, where Granger Phantoms guarded the way to the royal mausoleum.
• Aya revealed that she could control up to three phantoms, and Sakura explained that their spirits could conceal the group inside the armor.
• Gray showed that she feared spirits, prompting Olga Marie to suggest that she wait outside.
• Gray refused to stay behind and reached into a phantom, resolving to enter the ruins with the others.

Gray and her companions entered Snowfall Valley's ruins disguised inside Granger Phantoms and reached the king's mausoleum without encountering danger. They opened the plain stone coffin and stared in shock at what was inside.

• Gray used the Holy Sword pendant's warmth to endure the cold as she entered a Granger Phantom, and Olga Marie, Sakura, and Aya followed her.
• The group hid among wandering phantoms and crossed the ruins, while Olga Marie's Mystic Eyes detected no obvious magic or traps.
• They reached the quiet underground royal mausoleum, where Sakura confirmed the map's location and Olga Marie questioned why the tomb seemed so ordinary.
• After bowing, Gray, Olga Marie, Sakura, and Aya used a body-enhancement spell to slide open the stone coffin.
• The group widened their eyes in shock at the sight inside the coffin.

Gray and the others awakened Gray Wodime in a stone coffin in Ishruna and confirmed his identity by questioning him about his love of meteorites. Gray Wodime learned that they were in an unfamiliar world, but he had no clear memory of how he arrived there.

• Gray and the others found a living young man in the stone coffin, and he identified Olga Marie, Sakura, Aya, and Gray as people he knew.
• Olga Marie questioned Gray Wodime about his arrival, while Sakura and Gray Talia bickered over their relationship.
• Gray Wodime recalled touching an oil painting in the garden and said he had no memory of what happened afterward.
• Olga Marie and Sakura accepted his meteorite obsession as proof that he was Gray Wodime.
• Olga Marie told Gray Wodime what she and the others had experienced in Ishruna.

Kischurche examined the Remnant Fire and Gale, deciding Gale’s hidden secrets made the sentient book too dangerous to trust. After sealing Gale, he reassured Seal and offered to help her, while Talia watched from the canvas and anticipated more surprises.

• Olga Marie asked Kischurche whether he had the Remnant Fire, and he displayed its flames and sensed a call from somewhere to the north.
• Gray gave Kischurche the sealed Gale and explained that the sentient book had urged them to transmit the flame.
• Kischurche examined Gale’s soul, found it incomplete and nearly blank, and decided to keep the book because it had concealed information.
• Kischurche sealed Gale in a sturdier barrier, then told Seal she could seek his help if she faced hardship.
• Talia painted on the canvas, sneezed, and smiled as he anticipated what would happen next.

After leaving the King's Mausoleum, Olga Marie, Sakura, Kischurche, and Gray Talia explored the unknown reaches of Snowfall Valley, where they found powerful Granger Phantoms and a mysterious gate. Kischurche summoned the Remnant Fire to calm the violent mana and prepare to continue toward the Church.

• Olga Marie and Sakura felt reassured by Kischurche’s presence as the group left the ruined King's Mausoleum.
• Kischurche sensed that the world’s mana approached the quality of True Ether, and he led the group north toward the Church.
• The group reached Snowfall Valley, where thousands of mutated pilgrims and powerful Granger Phantoms, including enormous dragon skeletons, gathered.
• The group spotted a structure built against a cliff, but its wooden gate could not be passed by simply approaching it.
• Kischurche summoned the Remnant Fire, which calmed the violent mana and stopped the wind and snow around them.

Kischurche fought two Construct Knights using Imaginary Numbers Magecraft, trapping them in divided space and then exploiting their disorientation to destroy them. The knights’ golden transformation made the battle difficult, but Kischurche confirmed they could no longer recover as Olga Marie and the others watched from safety.

• Sakura identified the two opponents as Construct Knights made from the bodies of demigod heroes, and Olga Marie worried about their strength.
• Kischurche told Olga Marie to leave the fight to him, and she led Sakura, Gray, and Aya to safety behind a defensive barrier.
• Kischurche used Imaginary Numbers Magecraft to split space and swallow the Construct Knights, but they remained standing after the rift closed.
• The Construct Knights’ eyes turned gold, their armor recovered, and they launched a faster attack that stopped just short of Kischurche.
• Kischurche drew in magical energy and struck while the knights staggered, shattering them with the world’s power.
• Kischurche confirmed that the Construct Knights could no longer recover and reflected on the gap between his abilities and Michael’s.

Gray Talia, Olga Marie, and their companions entered the ruins beyond Ishruna’s enormous stone door and followed them into a living forest beneath an artificial starry sky. There they met Akasha, who identified herself as the last member of the Golden Dynasty and welcomed them to the land where Ishruna began.

• Kischurche and the others joined forces to open the massive stone door and entered a vast hall beneath an illusion of a starry sky.
• Gray Talia’s group traveled through the crumbling ruins as plants and small animals gradually appeared around them.
• The group reached a forest and found a girl painting on a towering scroll.
• The girl opened her radiant golden eyes, introduced herself as Akasha, and welcomed the outsiders to Ishruna’s final land.

Princess Greysha explained Ishruna’s origins and the purpose of Flame Transmission to Gray’s group, revealing that the Primal Fire required blessed souls to keep the world alive. She said only one person among them was a true Flame Transmitter, leaving Akasha and Olga Marie uncertain about who qualified.

• Kischurche apologized to Akasha, and she said their arrival had been foretold in the Book of Crimson.
• Princess Greysha explained that the first Holy King came from another world, defeated Ishruna’s ancient dragons, claimed the Primal Fire, and made Ishruna a new home.
• Greysha recounted how the first Holy King used her soul to sustain the Primal Fire, then created the Flame Transmission ritual so future blessed souls could keep it burning.
• Greysha explained that the Golden Dynasty rose to power while dissenters founded the Church and the Life Furnace to help Ishruna’s weaker lifeforms.
• Olga Marie asked what Flame Transmission was, and Greysha said only one of the group was a true Flame Transmitter; Akasha wondered whether she or Olga Marie was meant.

Princess Akasha explained that the final Flame Transmitter let the Primal Fire go out after discovering it had become the Madness Flame, a force that sought to burn Gulvna into eternal silence. She revealed her family’s efforts to imprison it and asked Gray and his companions to save their world, while leaving them free to depart.

• Princess Akasha explained that the Primal Fire had absorbed the first Holy King’s consciousness and become the destructive Madness Flame.
• Akasha said the final Flame Transmitter had prepared Fire Seeds as a way to kindle a new world after Gulvna returned to chaos.
• She revealed that her siblings had used their souls and Fire Seeds to imprison the Madness Flame, and that her Fire Seed was the last one.
• Sakura recognized Yinshulugexiu Nan as the final Flame Transmitter’s Fireproof Man, who had sealed herself away to contain the Madness Flame.
• Akasha asked Gray and his companions to save Gulvna, while acknowledging that the Remnant Fire could let them leave whenever they chose.

Rune chose to help Ishruna despite the danger, and Princess Greysha transferred her power to Rune before fading away. The group found the chained knight tied to the Madness Flame, and Greysha's final act sent Rune and the others onward in a blaze of light.

• Olga Marie, Sakura, and Rune reassured Gray that they would face the danger with her.
• Princess Greysha gave her remaining power to Rune, who accepted that she would help Ishruna.
• Rune and her companions entered a hidden passage beneath the statue and found a knight bound in chains.
• Greysha cut her arm and let her blood fall on the knight, briefly stirring the Madness Flame before the chains suppressed it.
• Greysha urged the group onward, then unleashed her remaining power in flames that enveloped Rune and the others.

Gray's group entered the Life Furnace and met Gale, the previous Flame Transmission bearer, who had been fighting the Madness Flame. They discovered Gale was a false persona sustained by his diary, and Gray led them to the Madness Flame, where Gale urged them to destroy it.

• Gray's group arrived in the deepest part of the Life Furnace and met the knight Gale, who recognized Gray as the current Flame Transmission bearer.
• Gale explained that the Madness Flame had taken over the first Holy King's body and could only be extinguished with a Fire Seed of the Primal Fire.
• The Gray Knight attacked Gale, but Gale vanished into magical particles and revealed that his true name was Gray, the previous Flame Transmission bearer.
• Kischurche showed the knight Gale the diary, whose chains bound him and suppressed the Madness Flame, restoring his clarity.
• Gray led the group to the ruined palace where the Madness Flame sat on a stone throne, and Gale urged them to help defeat it.

Gray revealed that the Crimson Poem held the Primal Fire and that she had used its prophecy to guide the outsiders toward defeating the Madness Flame. She summoned the souls of the thirteen Flame Transmission bearers as kindling, while the bound Madness Flame struggled against its chains.

• Olga Marie confronted Gale for betraying the group, and Gale explained that only a fragment of his soul had been sealed away.
• Gray revealed that she had concealed the Primal Fire inside the original Crimson Poem and delayed its extinction until the outsiders arrived.
• Gray explained that the Primal Fire alone could not overcome the Madness Flame and that the souls of the Flame Transmission bearers could serve as superior kindling.
• The Crimson Poem summoned the spirits of thirteen Flame Transmission bearers, and the Madness Flame stirred but remained bound by chains of fire.
• Gray said the prophecy foretold that the outsiders would defeat the Madness Flame and that Ishruna would end while gaining new hope.