Chapter Summaries

Somla learned that the enemy forces had retreated and sought confirmation while Kraun returned to the Church District, where he treated the wounded and prepared to hunt the Evil Beasts. In the underground passages, Kraun killed several beasts and defeated the Hound of Tindalos, though the creature’s strange time-based defenses made the fight dangerous.

• Somla ordered continued scouting and sent Solo to confirm reports from the enemy city, while reflecting on the Kurud Tribe’s disastrous losses.
• Kraun returned to the Church District, learned that Fland and Plinton were badly injured, and supplied Water of Life to aid their recovery.
• Fland warned Kraun that Evil Beasts grew quickly and could multiply if any escaped, so Kraun vowed to eliminate them.
• Kraun entered the underground passages alone, used Time Regression to track the Evil Beasts, and killed several with his attacks.
• The Hound of Tindalos ambushed Kraun, but he overcame its Time Turbulence with repeated Palm Thunder strikes and cut it into pieces with Thunder Wrath.

Kraun killed the Hound of Tindalos and tracked down the Evil Beast Queen, which attacked the Temporary Settlement Camp before he destroyed it. After reporting the casualties and threats to Fland, Kraun prepared to lead the fight against the Cultists, while news from Blei City revealed that a powerful enemy had taken Sinsaro.

• Kraun salvaged the Hound of Tindalos and followed the Evil Beast Queen after learning it was recovering by devouring its offspring.
• The Evil Beast Queen reached the Temporary Settlement Camp, where it attacked residents and implanted embryos in women.
• Kraun confronted the Tier 5 Evil Beast Queen, wounded it with an explosive spear, and killed it with spells after it tried to flee.
• Kraun told Fland and Plinton that he had killed both the Evil Beast Queen and the Hound of Tindalos, then agreed to lead the fight against the Cultists.
• Kraun checked his improved skills and resumed training, while Theo reported missing Transcendentalists to Osman in Blei City.
• Moon informed Osman that Sinsaro had fallen to an enemy at least as powerful as a Tier 5 Transcendental creature.

Osman investigated Sinsaro’s fall and concealed the mutations caused by his attempt to repair his Life Essence, while Sako resolved to investigate him. Kraun’s forces returned from Zack Town after the Cultists retreated, and Kraun told Fland he planned to visit another Alienated Land.

• Osman suspected that an Evil God’s pawn had caused Sinsaro’s destruction and sent away the Storm Church’s messenger while he considered what to do.
• Osman revealed that his Life Essence repair was causing dangerous mutations, and Sako decided to investigate the pope’s movements to protect the church.
• Somla ordered the Cultists to retreat into the Andes Mountains, and Kraun sent Fugin to scout their movements from Zack Town.
• Kraun practiced Healing Wind and his other abilities while Fugin confirmed that the Cultists were withdrawing.
• Kraun returned to Rhine City and discussed Sinsaro’s fall with Fland, then announced that he planned to travel to another Alienated Land.

Kraun returned to Hamers City after purifying the last Color Out of Space in the Faruk Kingdom, then prepared to attend Cavendi’s funeral and strengthen his allies. He gave Audrey’s family a powerful Crystal Core for their new residence, began planning a Moon Soul Spirit Light Array, and ended by deciding to practice Healing Wind on a live chicken.

• Kraun learned that the Moon Soul Spirit Light Array could protect a residence, purify corruption, and nourish the soul, and he planned to build one outside Hamers City.
• Audrey surveyed land near Hamers City with Eliza, Freya, and Plinton, and decided to establish the McLean Family branch there despite its limited resources.
• Kraun learned from Nick that the Sith Family had reclaimed the loan Nick had repaid with Fanny’s money, gave Nick a Golden Light Dao Seed, and asked him to find Cold Jade Veins.
• Kraun offered Audrey his Crystal Core to support a residence as large as Hamers City, and she accepted it as a loan to repay in Gold Spirit Coins.
• After learning his business had little cash left because funds were tied up in inventory and Grey Spirit Coins, Kraun ordered the coins sent to the Alchemy Laboratory and planned to practice Healing Wind on a live chicken.

Kraun increased his strength by consuming Hound of Tindalos remains, trained Healing Wind, and gave Fland a Golden Light Dao Seed that rapidly advanced his visualization. Meanwhile, Sako discovered Osman had killed Charles Wood and was pursued by the Pope, while Rivigaz arrived at Kraun’s manor with Bright Yellow Stone for Solar Thunder Seals.

• Kraun purified Grey Spirit Coins and ate Hound of Tindalos bones, increasing the Time Hourglass’s capacity and accelerating his Flame Dragon Breath progress.
• Kraun fed the remaining broth to Fugin and Bastet, then trained Healing Wind on chickens with Billy and learned that injured targets increased his proficiency gains.
• Kraun gave Martin and Julia Dao Seeds, then gave Fland a Golden Light Dao Seed; with Kraun’s help, Fland raised his Golden Light Incantation to Tier 3 in half a day.
• Sako found Charles Wood dead with his heart missing and suspected Osman, who confronted him and chased him after luring him out to obtain the Silver Heart.
• The McLean Family spotted a Good Luck Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce airship near Dwarf Mountain, while Rivigaz arrived at Kraun’s manor with high-quality Bright Yellow Stone for making Solar Thunder Seals.

Kraun struck a long-term deal with Rivigaz for Bright Yellow Stone and agreed to forge two Soul-Infused Weapons, then prepared to attend a Church meeting with Fland. On the airship, they discussed Kraun’s unusual bloodline and the suspicious disappearance of two Silver Rank Transcendentalists from the Holy See.

• Kraun negotiated with Rivigaz to buy high-quality and ordinary Bright Yellow Stone at a discounted price, while William handled the bargaining.
• Kraun agreed to make Soul-Infused Weapons for Rivigaz and Riviks for twelve hundred Gold Spirit Coins each, guaranteeing success within three months.
• Audrey met Rivigaz at Kraun’s residence and arranged to buy goods for a castle and McLean Family branch near Hamers.
• Two months later, Kraun reviewed his progress, including his growing Golden Light Incantation proficiency and stock of Solar Thunder Seals, before leaving for the Holy See with Fland.
• Fland said Kraun’s bloodline was mutated and discussed the upcoming Church meeting, while Kraun suggested the pope’s inaction over two missing Silver Rank Transcendentalists involved an exchange of benefits.

Kraun arrived at St. Peter’s Cathedral, rejected Osman’s efforts to make him a cardinal, and failed to access the church’s Tier 6 secrets. Meanwhile, the Church of the Lord of Storms approved a plan to open its defenses to neighboring kingdoms, and Kraun again refused a promotion at the Cardinal Conference.

• Kraun and Fland arrived at St. Peter’s Cathedral, where Osman proposed appointing Kraun a cardinal, but Kraun refused.
• Osman led Kraun to the Sanctuary’s secret Library, where the array denied him access to Tier 6 knowledge and Kraun borrowed a Tier 5 secret art instead.
• After Kraun left, Osman’s shadow sprouted tentacles, and he said Kraun was destined to merge with him.
• At the Storm Spire, Andre Williams and the cardinals voted unanimously to open the passage so the evil god’s forces would threaten neighboring kingdoms.
• At the Cardinal Conference, Osman proposed making Kraun the red-robed archbishop of Portu Province, and Kraun firmly refused.

Osman oversaw a secret renovation of the Sanctuary’s formation array and tested it against the Faceless One, confirming it could contain Tier 5 attacks. During the Cardinal Conference, a sudden attack near St. Peter’s Cathedral sent Osman out to confront the creatures, leaving the archbishops behind.

• Osman urged Kraun to take on greater Church responsibilities, but senior archbishops disputed whether Kraun was suited to become a Red-Hat Archbishop, so Osman postponed a vote until the conference’s final day.
• The archbishops debated the danger posed by Fishmen and Deep Ones traveling through rivers from the Hinterland Kingdom, while Kraun quietly considered how to advance his swordsmanship.
• After the conference, Osman supervised artisans as they replaced the Sanctuary’s formation array, then secretly tested it by containing the Faceless One’s attacks and found the walls unharmed.
• Kraun practiced the Golden Light Incantation in his guest room while Fland praised the effects of his Visualization Method.
• Theo interrupted a later conference to report that mutated creatures were slaughtering people near St. Peter’s Cathedral and had overwhelmed the Holy Flame Guard.
• Osman refused the archbishops’ offers to handle the attack, ordered them to continue discussing aid for the Hinterland Kingdom, and hurried out with Theo.

The cardinals discovered they were trapped inside St. Peter's Cathedral’s Sanctuary, and Kraun led their effort to break its inward-facing formation. Outside, Theo and Moon were killed by a Faceless One, while Kraun weakened the formation but had to pause to recover.

• Drage tried to open the Sanctuary door, and Fland suspected someone had deliberately altered the formation after finding it could not be opened from within.
• Fland struck the wall with Thunder Wrath, revealing that the formation had been turned inward, and his later attack failed to damage it.
• Theo and Moon regrouped with fewer than thirty soldiers, but a Faceless One burst through a wall, killed Theo, and crushed Moon’s head.
• The cardinals spent hours attacking the formation while Kraun rested and recovered; when he began striking it with war hammers, its spiritual light gradually dimmed.
• Kraun exhausted most of his Life Qi after several powerful blows, so he paused to recover as Fland noted that the formation had weakened.

Osman turned Blei City into a slaughterhouse to create Alchemy Beasts and planned to use Kraun’s bloodline to cleanse his Spiritual Pollution. Kraun broke the Sanctuary’s formation and led the Archbishops out, where Drage encountered something ahead.

• Osman used the hearts of victims and the life essence of captured Transcendentalists to create Alchemy Beasts, while plotting to capture Kraun and advance to Tier 6.
• Kraun prepared for four hours, replenished his power, and shattered the Sanctuary’s Defensive Spiritual Light with his hammers.
• The Archbishops broke through the stone door and followed Kraun into the empty passageway, staying together as they headed out.
• Drage and Ahe led the group through the Sanctuary, and Drage shouted at beasts as his shield struck something.

Kraun and the Cardinals fought their way through St. Peter's Cathedral as powerful Evil Beasts swarmed them, and Kraun confronted Osman after discovering him at the cathedral. The chapter ended with Kraun activating Solar Thunder and Lunar Thunder Seals against Osman.

• Kraun emerged from the Sanctuary and found Drage and Martin fighting two Tier 4 Evil Beasts among the cathedral's slaughtered inhabitants.
• The Evil Beasts escaped through a corroded wall and summoned more than forty powerful companions, so Kraun led the Cardinals toward the cathedral entrance.
• Kraun killed the two pursuing Evil Beasts in moments, then flew ahead to cover the Cardinals while they moved toward the exit.
• Osman, having reached the peak of Tier 5 by consuming spiritual items, sensed the fight and hurried toward it with three Tier 5 Evil Beasts.
• Kraun and Osman recognized each other, and Osman attacked with five spears of flame as Kraun activated Solar Thunder and Lunar Thunder Seals, opening a black hole before the Pope.

Kraun pursued Osman through St. Peter's Cathedral, but Osman escaped through a blocked secret passage after unleashing the Divine Stone Statue against him. Kraun learned that Osman had been corrupted and reached the wounded Church survivors, while Fland urged him to help stabilize the Church and choose a new pope.

• Osman cut off his corrupted arm, regenerated it, and activated the Divine Stone Statue and a hidden passage before escaping underground.
• Kraun destroyed the Divine Stone Statue, then told Fland that Osman had been corrupted and had reached the fifth tier under suspicious circumstances.
• Kraun and Fland found that the secret passage was blocked, preventing them from pursuing Osman.
• Fland reported that four people had died and two were badly wounded, and Kraun agreed to help treat them with Healing Wind and Water of Life.
• Fland urged Kraun to help rebuild the Church and elect a pope, but Kraun refused to take the position.

After the attack on St. Peter's Cathedral, Kraun treated the wounded while the Church searched for survivors and prepared to elect a new Pope. At Hatfield Manor, King Arthur Saxon decided to gather troops and send Lexis to investigate the Holy See, while Kraun and Fland planned the Church's next steps in Blei City.

• Kraun treated two seriously wounded cardinals with Water of Life and Healing Wind, then practiced the Golden Light Incantation.
• King Arthur Saxon summoned the Saxon Family's Senate, and the members debated exploiting the Church's crisis to reclaim the papacy while Fishmen threatened River Valley Province.
• Arthur agreed to gather troops and send Lexis to the Holy See to collect intelligence without provoking the Church.
• Fland reported that no one had survived at the Grand Cathedral and that Osman's trail had vanished; Kraun explained that Osman had escaped through the river.
• Kraun refused the papacy, and the Church leaders agreed that the Royal Family would likely need their support against the Evil Gods.
• Fland proposed that the Church clean the cathedral, search for survivors, and comfort the people the next day.

Five days after the massacre, Kraun met King Arthur as the Saxon Family arrived in Blei City with relief supplies and troops. While Arthur considered the Church’s weakened position and the Pope’s likely fate, Kraun and the surviving Church leaders agreed to form an alliance rather than contest the Royal Family for power.

• Kraun trained the Golden Light Incantation and treated wounded survivors as order returned to Blei City.
• Kraun flew to meet Arthur and Leirole as the Saxon Family’s airships arrived, then welcomed Arthur and discussed the city’s condition.
• Arthur noticed Law Power concealing something in the cathedral and suspected that Osman had died in the recent violence.
• Kraun treated Drage and discussed repayment for the Water of Life with Drage and Leo.
• Fland gathered the Church leaders, and Leo and Ivan proposed an alliance; Kraun agreed to cooperate rather than fight the Saxon Family for influence.

Arthur became Pope after the Royal Family and Kraun reached an agreement granting the northern dioceses autonomy and access to Church secret arts. Kraun returned to Rhine City, discussed sharing Golden Light Dao Seeds with allies, and flew toward Hamus City as Fland prepared to announce his wedding and bloodline-seed power.

• Arthur crowned himself Pope and publicly portrayed Osman Deluke as a martyr who had died fighting Cultists.
• Arthur issued transfer orders for Fland and the other cardinals, offered Kraun a cardinal’s post, and distributed Water of Life to the gathered Transcendentalists.
• Arthur and the Saxon Family decided to leave the northern dioceses under Fland’s leadership for now because the Church lacked the strength to reclaim them and the region faced threats from Haka and Cthulhu.
• During the airship journey, Kraun and Fland practiced the Golden Light Incantation and discussed giving Dao Seeds to Ivan, Drage, and other allies.
• Leo offered Kraun two bottles of Water of Life in gratitude, and Kraun accepted before flying toward Hamus City.
• Fland told Ivan and the others that Kraun would soon marry and could condense Bloodline Power into a seed.

Kraun returned to Hamus City and told Nick and Fanny that Osman had become a hostile Tier 5 monster, then prepared defenses and planned a trip to Rubia. He began crafting cornerstones for the Moon Soul Spirit Light Array and warned Audrey of the danger before leaving to improve his Golden Light Incantation.

• Kraun flew back to Hamus City, killed a frightened Ogre, and told Nick and Fanny that Osman had been corrupted, escaped, and been succeeded by Arthur Saxon as Pope.
• Kraun ordered the Shelter Array activated around the Inner Ring, warned Fland to protect his sister and her family, and said he would travel to Rubia to purify an Alienated Zone.
• Nick reported that the Mining Area had yielded over seven hundred pounds of Cold Jade and an unformed ore seam, so Kraun made two cornerstones for the Moon Soul Spirit Light Array.
• Kraun reviewed his increased mastery of the Golden Light Incantation and other techniques, then visited the McLean Family castle construction site and agreed with Audrey on a wedding date.
• Kraun warned Audrey that a powerful evil creature might follow him, and he left without seeing Eliza.

Kraun traveled to a contaminated valley in Rubia Kingdom and killed two Color Out of Space creatures, gaining a large amount of proficiency. He then visited Fland to offer new Golden Light Dao Seeds, while the Cardinals remained concerned about Osman’s fate.

• Night patrols on the Taina River were attacked by unseen creatures that overturned boats and killed the soldiers who fell into the water.
• Kraun assessed the contaminated valley near Angolo, prepared his defenses, and waited until morning to attack its Color Out of Space inhabitant.
• Kraun lured two Color Out of Space creatures from the polluted pool and destroyed them with four Solar Thunder Seals while using Time Stop and Void Rifts.
• Kraun gained more than 45,000 Golden Light Incantation proficiency and raised his Flame Dragon Breath proficiency above 80,000.
• Kraun returned to Fland and said he could offer Golden Light Dao Seeds again, and Fland agreed to notify the Cardinals.
• Kraun and Fland discussed the Cardinals’ concerns about Osman, who had not been heard from since becoming a monster.

Kraun returned to Hamers City and prepared for his wedding to Eliza while Osman traveled toward the Rubia Kingdom to grow stronger. After the wedding, Kraun gave Eliza a Mind-Clearing Pendant and a Golden Light Dao Seed, explaining that it could grant her spellcasting abilities.

• Kraun returned to Hamers City, where Tiffany and William rushed to organize his wedding preparations.
• Osman recovered his severed arm, traveled down the Taina River toward the Rubia Kingdom, and planned to build an army before returning to challenge Kraun.
• Anthony Bond learned that Osman Deluke had died and Arthur Saxon had become Pope, then ordered a discreet operation to drive Fishmen upstream.
• Kraun raised the Golden Light Incantation to Tier 4, joined the wedding procession to the McLean Family residence, and married Eliza at Hamers's Central Cathedral.
• Kraun gave Eliza a Mind-Clearing Pendant and a Golden Light Dao Seed, demonstrated his spells, and told her the seed could grant her similar abilities.

Eliza swallowed the Golden Light Dao Seed, and Kraun learned the McLean Family’s Silver Wolf Howling at the Moon Breathing Technique while the newlyweds settled into managing their household together. A month later, Kraun had advanced the technique to Tier 4 and neared Tier 6, but Osman remained missing in the Faruk Kingdom.

• Eliza swallowed the Golden Light Dao Seed and received its knowledge, while Kraun promised to help her improve the Golden Light Incantation Visualization Method.
• Eliza gave Kraun the first three stages of the McLean Family’s Silver Wolf Howling at the Moon Breathing Technique, and he learned its first stage.
• Kraun urged William to find a successor and learned about his nephew Lord Morrison, whom Eliza approved as a potential replacement butler.
• Kraun asked Eliza to manage the household’s business and proposed building a new castle near the city as the Moya Family’s headquarters.
• Over the next month, Kraun raised Silver Wolf Howling at the Moon to Tier 4 and Eliza raised her Golden Light Incantation to Tier 4.
• Kraun remained wary because Osman had disappeared in the Faruk Kingdom, though he was close to advancing to Tier 6.

Kraun finished two Soul-Infused Weapons, then learned that a Cold Jade Vein had been found and began planning a castle. At dinner, Fanny asked him to provide Mithril for her advancement, and Kraun promised to refine enough in about two and a half months.

• Kraun completed Rivigaz's weapons, including the wolf-souled Sun Chaser, and planned to make himself a Soul-Infused Weapon with an Evil Extermination Talisman seal.
• Del told Kraun that Nick was waiting for him, and Nick reported the discovery of a Cold Jade Vein at the Mining Area.
• Kraun and Eliza discussed buying Cold Jade, commissioning castle plans, and starting preliminary castle work.
• Kraun hosted dinner for the Dao Seed holders, cooking four dishes before Nick and Fanny stayed to talk with him.
• Fanny told Kraun she was nearing the Silver Rank and needed twenty pounds of Mithril; Kraun promised to refine it within about two and a half months.
• Eliza warned that Mithril would become scarce as more Golden Light Dao Seed holders sought advancement, then said she had no Mithril of her own.