Chapter Summaries

At the Izeluma banquet, Lord Barueretta and Lord Wujianxin Gelei took an interest in Reta and Aozaki Aoko, while Olga Marie navigated the tense exchange. The guests retired to Sun Tower afterward, but Olga Marie sensed the evening’s tensions might lead to trouble.

• Lord Barueretta greeted Olga Marie and asked about Lady Sajo and her sisters, while Olga explained that Wujian was her brother’s disciple.
• Lord Wujianxin Gelei questioned Reta about her background, making Reta uncomfortable with her penetrating gaze.
• Lord Barueretta introduced herself to Aozaki Aoko and invited her to explore Wujianxin Gelei’s art, but Aoko responded casually.
• Lord Barueretta asked Aozaki Aoko to show mercy to her foolish disciple if they met, and Aoko accepted Reta’s offered hand.
• After the banquet, Olga Marie and the others stayed overnight in Sun Tower, where its spacious Roman-style bath impressed them.

Aozaki Aoko proposed that Gray join her in the bath, but a visitor interrupted them. Ruan Ya Carina Tiadra asked Olga Marie to help her join Animusphere, leaving Olga to consider the political consequences of the request.

• Aozaki Aoko invited Gray to relax with her in the bath, and Gray wondered how to refuse.
• Ruan Ya Jun arrived at Olga Marie’s room and identified herself as Carina’s attendant.
• Carina Tiadra asked to speak privately with Olga Marie, and Olga sent Ruan Ya Jun away.
• Carina asked to join Animusphere and admitted that doing so would betray Ruan Ya Aoko.
• Olga Marie warned that Carina’s defection could provoke conflict between the Clock Tower’s factions, then let her explain her reasons.

Tiadra sought Olga Marie’s help defecting from Retza Izermar, explaining that her father’s increasingly extreme bodily alterations threatened her and her sister. Olga Marie recognized that Tiadra had prepared a transaction and left its terms unresolved as Tiadra departed.

• Tiadra told Olga Marie that she and her sister were leaving because their father’s experiments could kill them, and she explained that her deafness was a side effect of bodily alteration.
• Olga Marie deduced that Tiadra’s face imitated Aika’s and that Tiadra faced a greater danger than deafness, while Aozaki Aoko used magecraft to discern that Tiadra’s desire to leave and receive compensation was genuine.
• Tiadra argued that Lord Barelgma would not protect them because Barelgma supported Retza Izermar’s work, and she said she had prepared something of equal value for a deal.
• Olga Marie recognized that the sisters’ defection could damage Barelgma but questioned what Tiadra had prepared and noted that Retza Izermar’s methods could not reproduce Aika’s beauty.
• Tiadra left without securing Olga Marie’s agreement, and Aozaki Aoko warned that Tiadra was not simple.

Olga Marie and her companions found Golden Princess Tiadra murdered in her room in the Sun Tower. Recognizing that the killing implicated Animusphere, Olga Marie chose to stay and investigate rather than flee.

• Olga Marie, Aozaki Aoko, Gray, and their companions entered the Sun Tower through a back door and made their way toward Tiadra's room.
• Olga Marie knocked on Tiadra's door, and when no one answered, a click drew the group's attention.
• Olga Marie opened the door and found Tiadra's body dismembered, with her head placed on the bed and blood covering the room.
• Gray reacted with physical revulsion, while Aozaki Aoko examined the scene and Olga Marie concluded Tiadra had been killed recently.
• Olga Marie decided that fleeing would worsen the situation and accepted the murder as a provocation against Animusphere, choosing to investigate.

After Golden Princess Tiadra was found dead at Twin-Faced Tower Izermar, Olga Marie and the others faced suspicion as they investigated the scene. Aozaki Aoko claimed Carina had planned to defect to Animusphere, while Olga Marie grew suspicious of how calmly the Golden Princess’s people reacted to the deaths.

• News of Tiadra’s death drew Byrn, the Silver Princess, Rinnes, Olga Marie, and other guests to the scene.
• El-Melloi II noted that the reactions of the Golden Princess’s head and the Silver Princess seemed strangely vacant, while Olga Marie said Tiadra’s killer was likely among those present.
• Aozaki Aoko explained that Carina had visited the previous night intending to join Animusphere and said she had fled Lingbangli because she could no longer endure the Golden Princess ritual.
• Olga Marie questioned why the Golden Princess’s people seemed to know of Carina’s death already and connected their calmness to the suddenly opened magecraft lock.
• Byrn remained silent as Aozaki Aoko acknowledged that she was the primary suspect but insisted that Animusphere knew nothing about Carina’s death.

At the scene of the Golden Princess’s death, Tōko Aozaki and the El-Melloi faction defended Animusphere, while the gathered magi hesitated to take sides. Mike Guragire questioned whether Animusphere had killed the princess after failed defection talks, and Olga Marie pressed him to stand by his accusation.

• Tōko Aozaki dismissed the murder accusation against Aoko and argued that any magus present could be responsible, while admitting she favored Animusphere because she owed Michael money.
• Rinnes declared that El-Melloi believed Animusphere was innocent, despite El-Melloi II’s reluctance to get involved.
• The crowd hesitated as the dispute became a struggle between the Aristocratic and Democratic Factions, and Byron recognized Animusphere’s influence.
• Mike Guragire suggested that Animusphere might have killed the Golden Princess after failing to secure her defection.
• Olga Marie asked Mike whether he was accusing Animusphere and her of murder, leaving him sweating and unable to answer.

Olga Marie, Touko, and Aoko investigated Tiadra’s murder but found no spiritual traces in the room. Examining the cuts on Tiadra’s reconstructed body, they concluded that she had likely been killed earlier and used to frame them, though the real culprit remained unknown.

• Lord Barueretta arrived and sent the onlookers away, leaving Olga Marie’s group, Inorai, and Touko to investigate.
• Aoko used Add to search Tiadra’s room, but found no spiritual traces; Add’s outburst suggested the room yielded no clues.
• Olga Marie returned with the others to the White Whale and recreated Tiadra’s body from memory, counting fourteen pieces.
• Touko pointed out that the cuts on Tiadra’s body were the key clue, while Olga Marie confirmed the placement held no mystical meaning.
• Touko concluded that Tiadra had probably been killed long before and her body used to frame them, leaving them under suspicion until they found the real killer.

Olga Marie suspected that Tiadra had been dissected after her death and proposed that the Golden Princess seen the previous night might have been a substitute. Meanwhile, Rinnes persuaded El-Melloi II to investigate Tiadra’s murder and showed him a mysterious ash-like substance from her room.

• Olga Marie pointed out that Tiadra’s precise cuts indicated she had been dissected, likely after returning to her room the previous night.
• Aoko joked that the Golden Princess might have been a fake, and Olga Marie realized that none of them had ever seen the real Tiadra, making a substitute possible.
• Olga Marie decided to investigate Tiadra’s corpse and stored limbs secretly that night because she suspected Izeluma might be involved.
• Rinnes praised Animusphere’s response and urged El-Melloi II to help investigate Tiadra’s death, noting Animusphere was El-Melloi’s largest creditor.
• Rinnes showed El-Melloi II black powder from Tiadra’s room that had triggered her Mystic Eyes and suggested it might help Animusphere.

El-Melloi VII became separated from Rinnes in the forest, where a dense fog and disorienting bounded field concealed him. Rinnes and Trimau followed fresh footprints into the woods, suspecting they might uncover something significant.

• Rinnes and El-Melloi II left the Moon Tower for the White Whale, hoping to earn Animusphere's goodwill before the princess found her own clues.
• A figure moved near the woods, and El-Melloi VII suddenly vanished from Rinnes's side.
• Rinnes asked Trimau to track the freshest footprints, and Trimau found a trail left by a slender girl about seven minutes earlier.
• El-Melloi VII fell down a slope, then realized a dense fog and magecraft interference had separated him from Rinnes.
• Trimau followed the footprints through the undergrowth as Rinnes said she felt they might make a major discovery.

El-Melloi VII encountered Mike Guragire while secretly watching Carina and Mao Brissigton Clainers by the lake, and learned that Mike was a spy seeking a cursed object containing dragon blood. Mike proposed that they work together to bring down Izeluma, but the chapter left their cooperation unresolved.

• El-Melloi II hid near the lake and saw Carina and Mao Brissigton Clainers speaking together.
• Mike Guragire approached El-Melloi VII and explained that he had followed him out of curiosity while acting as a spy.
• Mike said his original target was a valuable cursed object believed to contain dragon blood.
• El-Melloi VII questioned whether Mike had killed Golden Princess Tiadra, and Mike avoided a direct answer.
• Mike proposed that he and El-Melloi work together to bring down Izeluma.

El-Melloi II refused to approve a deal with Mick, while El-Melloi VII and Shu Jing uncovered the truth behind the Izeluma incident. As Mick and Shu Jing turned on their childhood friends, a shadow killed them, leaving the observers with a clearer picture of Tiadra’s death and Lord Byron’s plans.

• El-Melloi II told Mick that only the head of the El-Melloi family, Rinnes, could decide the deal, and Mick agreed to wait until he met her.
• Mick strangled Carina, then killed Shu Jing after Shu Jing refused to help him flee Izeluma with Aistella and accused him of pursuing the Silver Princess’s research.
• Mick panicked over Carina’s death and planned to disguise it and blame Animusphere, but a shadow stabbed and beheaded him.
• El-Melloi VII and Shu Jing watched the killings from hiding, concluding that Tiadra had likely died earlier and that Animusphere had been framed.
• El-Melloi VII judged that Lord Byron would make Aistella follow Tiadra’s fate and recognized the need to escape with her.

Mick fought a metal puppet that had killed Mao while El-Melloi II took cover and struggled to help. Mick damaged the puppet’s furnace core with his Golden Body and Tremor techniques, but the fight left him badly wounded and exhausted.

• The puppet attacked El-Melloi II and Mick with a Wind Blade, and Mick blocked it with a wall of wind.
• Mick fought the puppet with his Golden Body technique while El-Melloi II remained behind him, unable to assist.
• Mick used Tremor to strike the puppet’s internal Mage Circuits and furnace core, eventually hearing the core break.
• The puppet’s red eyes went dark, but Mick’s injuries and fatigue caught up with him as he examined his swollen, bleeding hand.

Mick and El-Melloi VII were overwhelmed by a puppet wielding a poisonous blade and a gun, while Rinnes raced toward the source of the blood and mana disturbance. The puppet withdrew after detecting two high-risk mana reactions, leaving the fight’s outcome uncertain.

• The puppet rose again after one of its two cores was destroyed and poisoned Mick with its blade.
• Mick’s mana and strength failed as the poison spread, and the puppet stabbed El-Melloi VII and pinned him to a tree.
• The puppet blasted Mick apart with a gun, then vanished into the shadows after reporting its cleanup progress.
• Rinnes hurried through the forest toward the scent of blood as Trimmau detected a mana reaction.
• The puppet sensed two high-risk mana reactions, declared its identity unknown, and temporarily withdrew.

Rinnes tried to save the gravely wounded El-Melloi II from a mysterious poison as Lord Byrn arrived at the massacre. Elsewhere, Inorai captured a deadly black doll, while Rinnes blamed Izeluma for the attack and threatened consequences.

• Trimau found El-Melloi II gravely wounded, and Rinnes gave him a rare spiritual medicine that briefly healed him before the poison consumed the restored flesh.
• Rinnes used every antidote she had, but none worked, and Trimau warned her that Lord Byrn of Izeluma was approaching.
• Inorai confronted a blood-scented black doll, bound it with sand chains, and sealed it inside a sand painting.
• Lord Byrn arrived and examined the dead Mao as Rinnes demanded that Izeluma take responsibility for the attack on El-Melloi II.
• Rinnes warned Byrn that El-Melloi would consider the attack an act of hostility by Izeluma if the family failed to accept responsibility.

Tōko Aozaki met Atlas Galiasta in her guest room, where he asked her to help clear obstacles before the attack on Izeluma. She agreed to hold off her sister, the Fourth Mage, in exchange for a Curse Body and Renaissance artworks, while Atlas revealed that his attack on Animusphere was a test connected to the Holy Grail War.

• Tōko Aozaki spoke to an old projector in her room before noticing Atlas Galiasta’s mechanical bird Familiar outside the window.
• Atlas told Tōko that he planned to attack Animusphere and wanted her to hold off the Fourth Mage.
• Tōko refused to help for the price of one Curse Body and demanded additional pieces from Galiasta’s collection.
• Atlas agreed to Tōko’s terms, and explained that he was testing Animusphere.
• Atlas began to explain his reason by bringing up the Holy Grail War.

Tōko Aozaki discussed the Holy Grail War and agreed to kill her younger sister for the offered payment. Inorai refused Atlas Galiasta’s proposal to protect Izeluma directly, but agreed to investigate his target if he attacked the tower, leaving Atlas to begin the final assault himself.

• Tōko Aozaki said Lord Animusphere had won the Holy Grail War ten years earlier and agreed to kill her younger sister for the payment.
• Atlas Galiasta contacted Inorai through a bird-shaped Familiar after his puppet contact died.
• Inorai rejected Atlas’s request to ignore an attack on Izeluma but offered to investigate if he attacked according to plan.
• Atlas accepted Inorai’s terms and prepared to assault Izeluma, intending to test Animusphere and plunder the tower.
• Atlas announced that he would lead the final assault and declared his love of war.

A lightning strike severed Izeluma’s connection to its Ley Line, and black combat dolls attacked Rinnes and Byron while El-Melloi II remained unconscious. The two joined forces to fight back as Atlas Galiasta watched from afar and celebrated the attack.

• Black clouds covered Izeluma, and a lightning strike damaged the land’s Ley Line, weakening its defenses.
• Pitch-black dolls surrounded Byron and Rinnes, who agreed to cooperate against their attackers.
• Trimau sliced apart a charging doll, while Byron destroyed others with explosive bubbles.
• Rinnes worried that her combat skills were limited and looked toward the Moon Tower, hoping Animusphere could turn the battle.
• Atlas Galiasta watched the damage from a distant hill, boasting to his maid that his grand magecraft had crippled Izeluma.

Atlas Galiasta prepared to join the battle after completing weather-controlling magecraft, while Olga Marie and the others responded to an attack on Astama by hostile Dolls. The attackers closed in on the White Whale as Olga Marie prepared to act and Atlas made his entrance.

• Atlas Galiasta completed a weather-control ritual that took advantage of the Lake District's conditions, paid a price, and prepared for war at twilight.
• Pale white Dolls surrounded the White Whale, and red lights advanced toward it as hostile targets were detected.
• Olga Marie recognized that the Magecraft Workshop's connection to the Ley Line had been cut off and questioned the attack's true target.
• Aoko reacted angrily to the Dolls, while Olga Marie ordered Ypsilon to handle the cleanup.
• Olga Marie rose and looked toward the Moon Tower as Atlas Galiasta prepared to enter the battle.

Astama faced a large-scale assault by Jiawai Yipsi while its head of house was away, and Baibaluye and Rinnes struggled to hold the attackers back. After they returned to the Moon Tower and Byron took command, Astama launched a counterattack.

• Maid Chief Ypsilon and the maid corps destroyed the intruders’ dolls, and Olga Marie ordered Ypsilon to join her group.
• Baibaluye and Rinnes fought through the encirclement as Jiawai Yipsi’s forces attacked Astama, while El-Melloi VII remained unconscious after being poisoned.
• Geyou Xin and Baibaluye learned that Jiawai Yipsi had launched the assault and questioned the head of house’s absence.
• Baibaluye read the letter left by the head of house and returned to the Moon Tower with Rinnes.
• Byron issued orders after Astama’s people regrouped, and Astama began a powerful counterattack.

Olga Marie, Aoko, and Gray arrived at Spheran Izelu during the attack and examined El-Melloi VII, whose injuries had been stabilized but who remained unconscious. Rinnes gave Olga Marie ashes from Golden Princess's room as a clue, while hoping the Animusphere visitors could help her brother and clear Spheran Izelu's name.

• An attendant told the lord that the Animusphere princess and the Fourth Mage had arrived, and he decided to meet them himself.
• Olga Marie assessed the battlefield and concluded that Izeluma's lack of Ley Line support had left it at a disadvantage.
• Rinnes explained that the pale-white dolls had attacked her brother and killed the others, then showed Olga Marie ashes from Golden Princess's room that still held traces of magical energy.
• Olga Marie examined El-Melloi VII's chest wound and learned that toxins and a curse had left him unconscious and weakened.
• Rinnes asked Olga Marie to examine El-Melloi VII and said she hoped her brother would wake and uncover the truth about the attack.