Recaps

Black Fu Hua embraced Amiya in a dream before her body vanished into a plume, then linked Talulah’s dream to Ch’en’s and dressed the child Talulah as a bride. She prepared the dreamscape for Ch’en to find Talulah, leaving the rainbow bridge stretched toward the horizon.

• Amiya embraced Black Fu Hua, who burned away and left behind a black-and-red plume.
• Black Fu Hua watched Hoshino accompany Ch’en through the dreamscape and decided to link Ch’en and Talulah’s dreams.
• Talulah awoke in a dream as her childhood self inside Duke Koschei’s castle, remembering how afraid she had been.
• Black Fu Hua entered and told Talulah she would dress her as a bride for Ch’en to receive.
• Black Fu Hua transformed the castle into a colorful fairy-tale scene and dressed Talulah in a white wedding gown, then extended a rainbow bridge toward the horizon.

Hoshino and Ch'en confronted Black Fu Hua in a dream, where she forced Ch'en to choose between two dreams centered on important people in her life. Ch'en refused to give either up and declared that she wanted them all.

• Hoshino kept Ch'en close and warned her to stay alert as Black Fu Hua appeared on a rooftop and teased them.
• Black Fu Hua mocked Ch'en about marriage and domestic life, then offered her a choice.
• Hoshino suspected Black Fu Hua's fixation on marriage revealed her own longing for it.
• Black Fu Hua transformed the dream into a surreal scene with a falling castle and told Ch'en to choose between two dreams.
• Hoshino recognized child Talulah in a wedding dress on the castle terrace, while Ch'en struggled to choose.
• Ch'en declared that she would not give either one up and wanted them all.

Hoshino fought Black Fu Hua in Talulah’s dream while Ch'en reunited with Talulah, then woke in the Rhodes Island dormitory. Amiya advised Hoshino to meet the person they had been discussing and simply give her a hug.

• Talulah dreamed of reuniting with Ch'en, and Hoshino playfully tossed Ch'en into the sky by her tail.
• Hoshino confronted Black Fu Hua, who summoned her other self, the Red Kite Immortal, to fight with the Taixu Divine Sword.
• The swords clashed twice, shattering the dream and waking Hoshino in the Rhodes Island dormitory beside Talulah and Ch'en.
• Talulah and Ch'en spoke about returning to Lungmen, while Black Fu Hua complained that they would not hug.
• Hoshino visited Amiya, who told her to give the person she had met a hug.

Amiya and Hoshino entered the dream world to confront Black Fu Hua, who was watching Ch’en and a childlike Talulah together. Amiya approached Black Fu Hua with open arms, while Talulah considered what she felt as she watched.

• Hoshino explained that Black Fu Hua wanted something simple and brought Amiya along to the dream world.
• Hoshino made Amiya fall asleep so they could travel into the dream.
• Black Fu Hua watched Ch’en hold childlike Talulah on her lap and realized Amiya had arrived.
• Amiya walked toward Black Fu Hua with her arms open, while Hoshino, Ch’en, and Talulah watched.
• Hoshino asked Talulah if she was jealous, and Talulah found that she no longer was.

Hoshino watched Talulah and Ch'en part in the dream, then stayed with Amiya after she awoke and accepted her hug. In Chernobog, Talulah also awakened, confused and enraged, and unleashed a pillar of flame into the night sky.

• Talulah warned Hoshino that dream experiences would fade after waking, then said goodbye to Ch'en as she began to disappear.
• Hoshino ended the dream by snapping her fingers, and Amiya awoke to find Hoshino still in the dormitory.
• Amiya told Hoshino she had accepted the figure from the dream, and Hoshino agreed to hug her.
• Talulah awakened in Chernobog, reached for her greatsword, and slashed wildly, sending a pillar of flame into the sky.
• Talulah's flames burned across Chernobog's night as the moon watched.

Amiya met Cang Xuan's Book, a sleeping divine weapon sent by the Immortal to observe her and the potential she saw in her. After Talulah woke from exhausting herself, she asked Rozaliya whether she wanted to learn to read.

• Amiya discovered Cang Xuan's Book, who described herself as an ancient Shenzhou divine weapon and said the Immortal had sent her to observe Amiya.
• Rozaliya found Talulah asleep amid a forest of melted metal and shook her awake, fearing her planned play would lose its audience.
• Talulah woke exhausted, realized the Black Snake's periods of control had changed, and felt relieved that she was still alive.
• Talulah learned Rozaliya had memorized her play instead of writing it down, then asked if she wanted to learn to read.

Talulah tried to teach Rozaliya to read, while the little emperor pondered Rhodes Island’s ability to summon Durandal and the origins of Originium. Amiya asked Cang Xuan's Book about her assessment and continued overseeing Rhodes Island’s daily operations.

• Talulah persuaded Rozaliya to accept reading lessons, though their lessons often ended with Rozaliya knocking Talulah down.
• The little emperor reviewed Rhodes Island’s summoning of an executor of the Immortal Blades and considered seeking Durandal’s help to secure Ursus.
• The little emperor questioned the meaning of Ursus’s unity and division, then asked a piece of ultra-pure Originium where it came from.
• Amiya asked Cang Xuan's Book what her assessment involved and when it would end, and learned it concerned her conduct and Rhodes Island’s operations.
• Amiya supervised the secretariat’s staffing, explaining how PRTS and the Doctor helped coordinate employees’ shifts.

Amiya worked alongside Cang Xuan's Book, who made her fall asleep and then joined her for sweets in the cafeteria, where Nian became curious about the mysterious weapon. Cang Xuan's Book later attracted the Engineering Department's attention, leaving Kal'tsit alarmed by the engineers' sudden devotion to her.

• Amiya fell asleep at her desk after Cang Xuan's Book's peaceful snoring lulled her, then returned to work after waking to the weapon's teasing.
• Cang Xuan's Book accompanied Amiya to the cafeteria and demanded an assortment of sweets, where she exchanged taunts with Nian over their opposing tastes.
• Amiya told Nian who Cang Xuan's Book was, and Nian became fascinated and wary of the weapon she could not understand.
• Nian brought Cang Xuan's Book a plate of traditional Yan Kingdom sweets to get closer to her, despite disliking them.
• Kal'tsit noticed that the Engineering Department had begun obsessively eating sweets, then saw its operators following Cang Xuan's Book and marveling at her eyes.

Cang Xuan's Book wandered around Rhodes Island before secretly leaving, while Amiya arranged a commission to investigate unusual volcanic activity in Siesta. Hoshino saw a chance to use the assignment to introduce Argent Knight: Artemis, and planned to keep Eyjafjalla safe during the trip.

• Dr. Warfarin examined Cang Xuan's Book, who then roamed Rhodes Island while Amiya worried about whether she would be judged.
• Amiya told Kal'tsit about the Siesta commission, and they considered Eyjafjalla and Yae Sakura for the assignment and security.
• Hoshino struggled to design Argent Knight: Artemis as a Memory Battlefield boss without making her another tragic villain.
• Amiya noticed Cang Xuan's Book had left without giving her an evaluation, unaware that Hoshino had secretly switched off her companion function and awarded her a perfect score.
• Amiya handed Hoshino the Siesta commission, inspiring Hoshino to bring Argent Knight: Artemis into the story.
• Hoshino decided to delay telling Eyjafjalla about the trip while still allowing her time to prepare.

Rita arrived at Siesta’s volcano and unleashed a supernatural cold that spread across the city, while Eyjafjalla eagerly prepared for the upcoming volcanic expedition. Hoshino offered to protect the expedition, and Eyjafjalla asked her to avoid damaging the terrain.

• Amiya told Hoshino that the expedition would depart in a week and went to inform Eyjafjalla.
• Rita reached Siesta’s volcano, froze an Originium slug, and calmed the rumbling volcano as she walked toward it.
• Volcanologists and Catastrophe Messengers observed their equipment readings go haywire as snow and bitter cold spread from the volcano across Siesta.
• Rita summoned MoonSilver and looked down over the city, saying she was looking forward to what came next.
• Eyjafjalla celebrated the expedition news until Hoshino lifted her and spun her around.
• Hoshino told Eyjafjalla she would provide security and could freeze a volcano during an eruption, and Eyjafjalla asked her not to damage the terrain.

Hoshino brought Eyjafjalla to Siesta for a volcano survey, only to find that the volcano had been frozen and the city had become an ice festival. At the glaciers, Rita faced the enormous Originium slug Pompeii, which was close to death.

• Hoshino planned for Rita to be seen as a heroic figure who had frozen the volcano to save Siesta, while keeping Eyjafjalla unaware of the plan.
• Eyjafjalla set out with Hoshino and her observation equipment aboard an aircraft approved by Kal'tsit.
• Kal'tsit received an urgent notice requesting glacial activity experts and heating equipment, and suspected Hoshino had caused trouble in Siesta.
• Eyjafjalla discovered that Siesta's volcano had become an iceberg and learned that the Obsidian Festival had been turned into an Ice and Snow Festival.
• Hoshino learned there were no glacial activity experts in Siesta, while Rita stood over the dying Pompeii in the glaciers.

Hoshino heard Cronin dismiss the danger of a volcanic eruption and left Eyjafjalla to investigate Miss Ceylon’s struggle to expose him. On the way, Hoshino fought Schwarz and discovered that her encounter was advancing Rita, Argent Knight: Artemis’s maid-role scenario.

• Eyjafjalla condemned Cronin’s broadcast as he reassured Siesta City that the volcanoes were not a concern.
• Miss Ceylon tried to enter the broadcasting station, and Hoshino left Eyjafjalla to go help her.
• Schwarz attacked Hoshino with a crossbow and a close-range chokehold, but Hoshino overpowered her.
• Hoshino recognized Schwarz’s attack as a warning to stay away from Miss Ceylon and saw progress in Rita, Argent Knight: Artemis’s maid role.

Hoshino refused Ceylon’s request to escort her into the volcano, while Schwarz asked Hoshino to accept the commission on Ceylon’s behalf. Ceylon set out alone, then encountered Penguin Logistics and made her offer again, as Rita waited above the volcano.

• Hoshino kept Schwarz pinned down and teased her until Ceylon returned and asked Hoshino to accompany her into the volcano.
• Ceylon explained that she wanted to see the volcano’s interior, but Hoshino refused because Rita was already inside and Pompeii had been killed.
• Schwarz told Hoshino that her master had ordered her to protect Ceylon and asked Hoshino to accept Ceylon’s commission.
• Ceylon left alone and ran into Penguin Logistics as they arrived for Siesta’s music festival, then made her offer to them.
• Rita waited above the volcano, bored, and poked Pompeii’s corpse with her scythe.

Rita confronted Penguin Logistics and Ceylon in a frozen lava tube, explaining that she had frozen the volcano to prevent it from erupting. She overwhelmed the group and trapped them in a block of energy ice, then noticed Croissant was missing.

• Exusiai, Texas, Croissant, and Ceylon climbed the volcano and entered a lava tube filled with ice-covered rocks.
• The group discovered the corpse of Pompeii, and Rita appeared, revealing that she had caused the volcano’s sudden weather change.
• Rita effortlessly sliced Exusiai’s bullets and Croissant’s shield, then introduced herself as a maid who had frozen the volcano to save the city.
• As Exusiai entered an overloaded state and attacked, Rita summoned Silver Moon and froze Penguin Logistics and Ceylon in energy ice.
• Rita looked over the frozen group and realized Croissant was missing.

Hoshino learned that Cronin planned to sell illegally mined obsidian during the festival and accepted Emperor’s commission to rescue Penguin Logistics employees frozen by Rita. The employees escaped, but Croissant warned that Rita was a Stand user.

• Schwarz told Hoshino that Cronin planned to secretly sell obsidian and had infiltrated his ranks as an informant.
• Hoshino and Schwarz attended the Obsidian Festival, where they found Emperor performing at the main venue.
• Backstage, Emperor learned from Rita that his employees had been frozen after causing trouble, and Rita challenged him to come rescue them.
• Emperor asked Hoshino to take a commission, and she accepted.
• Emperor scolded the Penguin Logistics employees after they returned from the snowy mountain, while Croissant called Rita a Stand user.

Hoshino learned that Siesta faced a catastrophic volcanic eruption caused by the glacier, then planned to use a railgun-like attack to relieve the pressure. As Schwarz secretly followed her toward the mountain, Hoshino’s transformed Lightning Empress arrived and captured her.

• Hoshino told Schwarz that Rita belonged to the Immortal Blades and that Miss Ceylon was likely trapped in an ice prison.
• Magallan warned the Volcano Research Institute that melting ice and volcanic debris could surge into Siesta in a disaster like an ice jam flood.
• Hoshino proposed piercing the mountain to release volcanic pressure and decided to use electromagnetic force to fire a coin through it.
• Hoshino split into Yae Sakura and Lightning Empress, sending Yae Sakura toward the mountain while she transformed into an oni-like form.
• Schwarz secretly left the Obsidian Festival to watch Hoshino, but Lightning Empress descended in a storm and seized her.

Hoshino kept Schwarz airborne above the volcano while using her to unlock Argent Knight: Artemis, and Goushinnso Memento entered the lava cave to confront Rita. The chapter ended with their blades and phantom spirits clashing as the frozen Penguin Logistics members and Ceylon watched.

• Hoshino carried Schwarz above the volcano, shocked her, and pressed her to choose where to strike while keeping her from the ground.
• Adam and Cronin’s bodyguards traveled up the mountain, and Goushinnso Memento encountered them on her way to the cave.
• Goushinnso Memento entered the cave and found the Penguin Logistics members, Ceylon, and Adam frozen in an ice prison by Rita.
• Rita summoned Silver Moon as Goushinnso Memento called forth Jizo Mitama, and the two fighters exchanged blows.
• Rita claimed Silver Moon had the advantage in speed and strength after their phantoms clashed.

Goushinnso Memento drove Argent Knight: Artemis back while Texas and Exusiai escaped the lava cave with Ceylon. Hoshino unleashed a beam one thousandth the speed of light, helping secure the subjugation and unlock Argent Knight: Artemis, while Adam remained trapped with Rita.

• Goushinnso Memento overpowered Rita in the lava cave, and her attacks melted the ice prisons holding the Penguin Logistics crew.
• Texas and Exusiai broke free, rescued Ceylon, and drove toward Siesta after knocking out two guards outside the cave.
• Hoshino fired a beam one thousandth the speed of light through the volcano, striking Rita during her battle with Goushinnso Memento.
• The system announced the subjugation was successful, and Hoshino unlocked Argent Knight: Artemis.
• Black headed toward the Obsidian Festival backstage area, while Adam crawled out of the rubble and encountered Rita.

Rita used her new armor to stop Cronin from escaping and ensure he would face the mayor, fulfilling Ceylon’s request. She then returned to the Obsidian Festival, where she told Ceylon that Cronin was imprisoned and would be thawed when her father arrived.

• Rita transformed into Argent Knight: Artemis, questioned Adam, and let him flee while she went after Cronin.
• Rita reinforced the karst cave and headed down the mountain to fulfill Ceylon’s wish.
• Cronin tried to flee Siesta with his money, but Rita trapped him in an ice prison for four days.
• Emperor took over the Obsidian Festival’s opening remarks while the Penguin Logistics members recovered from their colds.
• Rita visited the group, explained that she had imprisoned Cronin, and told Ceylon that her father would likely arrive before he was thawed.

Rita helped Ceylon resolve her long-standing goal, while Hoshino and the researchers found that a strange tunnel had greatly reduced the volcano’s eruption risk. After the trial of Cronin, Ceylon wondered whether she could join Penguin Logistics, but Schwarz refused.

• Ceylon thanked Rita for her help, then fell asleep on Schwarz’s lap while Rita chatted with Exusiai about her supposed Stand.
• Hoshino learned that Eyjafjalla had skipped buying new clothes because she was busy monitoring the volcano with Magallan.
• The researchers discovered a hard, three-meter-radius tunnel penetrating the volcano and concluded it had become a pressure-release valve that greatly reduced eruption danger.
• Emperor visited the recovering Penguin Logistics crew, and Exusiai eagerly asked when they could return to delivering packages.
• Ceylon held a public trial for the mayor’s assistant, Cronin, and he was sent to prison after the evidence proved conclusive.
• Ceylon asked Schwarz whether she could join Penguin Logistics, and Schwarz immediately said no.

Ceylon chose to join Rhodes Island after her father agreed to let her go, while Schwarz remained suspicious of the organization and Hoshino. After a half-month research trip, the group returned with two new Operators, and Ceylon chose frontline medicine as Silence dealt with an unsettling gift from the Logistics Department.

• Schwarz warned Ceylon that Penguin Logistics was dangerous, but Ceylon dismissed the rumors and decided to leave for Rhodes Island despite her father's objections.
• The mayor explained to Schwarz that he had approved Ceylon's departure because he feared Hoshino's interest in young, beautiful girls.
• Hoshino passed the time at Siesta's music festival, refused Exusiai's request to show her Stand, and waited for Eyjafjalla's research to finish.
• After half a month, Eyjafjalla's group departed Siesta with two new Operators, while Schwarz stayed wary and Ceylon looked forward to joining Rhodes Island.
• The Logistics Department gave Silence a down vest made from feathers she had shed, and Silence confronted Warfarin about the insulting note.
• Ceylon chose frontline medicine after learning how Rhodes Island's Medical Department was organized.

Ceylon joined Rhodes Island's Medical Department and toured its divisions, discovering that the frontline medical team was far more chaotic than she expected. The chapter ended with her meeting Shining and becoming captivated by the mysterious doctor.

• He Chou reviewed Schwarz's extensive résumé, declared her record ordinary, and assigned her a shared dorm room with Ceylon.
• Warfarin bit Ceylon to taste her blood, found it too ordinary, and led her away from the Blood Analysis Department.
• Ceylon chose to visit the frontline medical division and met Ansel and the talking medical cart Lancet-2.
• Hibiscus offered Ceylon a nutritious meal, while Ansel silently warned her not to eat it.
• Gavial arrived dragging an injured Eunectes and demanded that the staff treat her.
• Ansel introduced Ceylon to Shining, whose black eyes left Ceylon speechless.

Ceylon adjusted to life at Rhodes Island and reflected on her bond with Schwarz, while Hoshino struggled to find a safe way to use Jizo Mitama. A letter from Leithanien’s younger twin princess arrived as a plea for help, apparently intended for Hoshino.

• Shining met Ceylon before leaving to see Liz, and Ansel advised Ceylon to treat her Rhodes Island colleagues less formally.
• Ceylon reviewed Rhodes Island’s departments while Schwarz explained that she worked in the Sniper Department and believed the Special Operations Department was stable because its leaders were hard to assassinate.
• Ceylon remembered that she had studied Originium applications to find a cure for Originium Infection, and looked to Schwarz as the reason behind that goal.
• Hoshino considered how to use Jizo Mitama without losing control or damaging her reputation, but found no good way to provoke a suitable opponent.
• Doctor Kal'tsit showed Hoshino a plea for help from Leithanien’s younger twin princess, which had been sent to Rhodes Island but was meant for Hoshino.

Hoshino traveled to Leithanien to investigate its history and seek an audience at the High Tower palace. After the Ministry of Foreign Affairs debated whether to receive her, she entered the tower and met one of the twin princesses behind a gauzy curtain.

• Hoshino discussed the lack of an official invitation with Kal'tsit, who advised her to scout the surrounding villages before approaching the royal capital.
• Hoshino arrived in Leithanien and explored its fog-shrouded towers and the campus of William University.
• Hoshino searched the university library for Leithanien's history but found the account of the twin princesses' overthrow of the Witch King vague and incomplete.
• Hoshino applied for an audience at the High Tower palace, prompting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to escalate the decision through its ranks.
• The voice at the top of the tower approved meeting Hoshino but insisted on keeping a veil between them.
• Hoshino entered the tower and discovered that only one person sat behind the curtain, despite expecting the legendary twin princesses.

Hoshino met Leoni of the True History School and heard her suspicions about the hidden history of the Witch King and the twins. As necromancers prepared to help the Witch King return, crystal giants attacked Hoshino and Leoni in the moonlit streets.

• Hoshino spoke with the princess, who said her younger sister was sick and noted that letters from her had caused concern.
• Leoni introduced herself as a member of the True History School and said the group was investigating the concealed history of the princess and the Witch King.
• A gathering of necromancers declared that the Witch King would return and vowed to clear the way for him, even at the cost of their lives.
• Hoshino questioned whether the True History Association had more members, then shielded Leoni when a crystal giant appeared and attacked.
• Hoshino cut down the crystal giant and carried Leoni away from the flying shards as more giants emerged and she fought through them.