Chapter Summaries

Mayer traveled to Lungmen to find out who had built the Guard Department’s advanced machinery, but her reckless driving got her arrested and her explosives confiscated. After Ch'en confirmed Heavy Bunny’s cooperation with the Guard Department, Hoshino received a mission to show Rhodes Island the Yae Shrine’s industrial strength.

• Mayer asked Amiya about the mechanic connected to the Guard Department, then set off for Lungmen with her mechanical otters.
• Mayer sped through the Outer Ring, ignored a drone’s orders to stop, and had her car flipped by its rockets before the drone arrested her.
• Mayer was brought to the Guard Department, where an officer credited Heavy Bunny with its mechanical renovations and Ch'en released her under diplomatic immunity.
• Ch'en confiscated Mayer’s explosives, found two implanted in her body, and told her that Heavy Bunny had a cooperative relationship with the Guard Department.
• Ch'en contacted Yae Sakura after Mayer left, while Hoshino received a mission to let Rhodes Island witness the Yae Shrine’s scientific and industrial strength.

Hoshino claimed the Heavy Bunny 19C laser cannon and arranged an engineering contest to keep Mayer from meeting Bronya right away. Mayer accepted the challenge, and Ch'en brought her to face Heavy Bunny, which proposed she compete against a machine made by Bronya’s machine-making creation.

• Hoshino claimed the Heavy Bunny 19C reward and told Ch'en to send Mayer to the shrine.
• Mayer went to Yae Shrine, where Hoshino refused to let her meet Bronya unless she first proved herself in an engineer's field.
• Mayer stayed at a hotel and discovered that her mechanical otters had been returned with their explosive modules removed, prompting her to declare she was angry.
• A patrolling officer summoned Mayer to the Guard Department at Ch'en's request.
• Ch'en translated Heavy Bunny's proposal that Mayer compete against a creation made by Bronya's machine-making machine, then warned Mayer not to expect too much.

Ch'en organized a motorcycle-modification contest to keep Bronya company, with Heavy Bunny and Mayer competing through their drivers. Heavy Bunny's anti-gravity bike carried Swire to victory, while Mayer's explosive modifications sent Hoshiguma crashing into the mud.

• Ch'en registered the mission with Wei and explained that the bonus depended on the size of the Catastrophe crater outside Lungmen.
• Mayer chose Hoshiguma to drive, while Heavy Bunny selected inexperienced Swire.
• Bronya built an anti-gravity motorcycle with automatic navigation, while Mayer left her motorcycle looking unchanged.
• Ch'en started the race, and Swire sped ahead silently as Mayer's motorcycle propelled Hoshiguma forward with repeated explosions.
• Hoshiguma crashed into the mud, and Swire taunted her from atop Heavy Bunny's motorcycle.
• Hoshino heard the explosions at the shrine and imagined the commotion in Lungmen.

After Swire won the motorcycle race, Ch'en arranged a second contest: Mayer and Heavy Bunny would compete to catch three jewelry-store robbers. While Mayer headed to the crime scene, Heavy Bunny used the Guard Department’s records and surveillance footage to identify a suspect and set off after them.

• Swire crossed the finish line first despite being a lap behind, and Hoshiguma asked Ch'en for extra pay for her injuries.
• Hoshino called Ch'en and asked her to recount the race so she could cheer up Bronya.
• Ch'en proposed that Mayer and Heavy Bunny compete to catch three masked jewelry thieves, and Mayer left for the crime scene with officers.
• Swire returned in a cheerleading outfit, while Heavy Bunny stayed behind to search the Guard Department’s database and archives.
• Heavy Bunny analyzed surveillance footage and offender records, narrowed down the suspects, and flew toward its target after two minutes and twenty-six seconds.

Heavy Bunny swiftly captured a crew of jewelry thieves, while Hoshino kept Mayer competing against it until she brought Mayer to meet Bronya Zaychik. Hoshino’s revelation that Bronya was self-taught completed the quest, though the chapter left the consequences of that meeting unstated.

• Heavy Bunny broke into an abandoned factory, defeated the thieves, and delivered them and the stolen jewelry to Ch'en in under ten minutes.
• Ch'en and Hoshino discussed Mayer’s repeated defeats, and Hoshino told Ch'en to continue the tests.
• Hoshino reasoned that Mayer needed to meet Bronya Zaychik after losing every competition against Heavy Bunny.
• Heavy Bunny led Mayer to the shrine, where Mayer asked Bronya why she had agreed to meet her.
• Bronya said she was self-taught, and Hoshino heard the quest-completion signal.

Hoshino and Yae Sakura apologized to Mayer after Bronya’s age and abilities shattered Mayer’s confidence, then Bronya tested her newly acquired laser cannon over Lungmen. The test impressed Hoshino, but Ch’en called after seeing the shrine’s nighttime beam, and Hoshino ended the call after comparing its danger to the Falling Black Star.

• Hoshino told Mayer she was fourteen, crushing Mayer’s hope that she might be much older, and Yae Sakura apologized for the trouble she caused.
• Hoshino let Mayer pet her head to restore Mayer’s confidence, then caught Swire’s hand when she tried to pet her at the Guard Department banquet and charged her for further touching.
• Hoshino mounted the laser cannon on Heavy Bunny 19C and fired it into the sky, lighting up Lungmen without harming anyone.
• Hoshino tested the cannon’s cutting, welding, and precision capabilities and was satisfied with its power and accuracy.
• Ch’en called Hoshino after seeing the shrine’s beam and asked whether the high-energy particle fireworks were safe; Hoshino said they were safer than the Falling Black Star and hung up.

Ch'en worried that Bronya’s particle beam could destroy Lungmen, and Hoshino reassured her from the shrine before leaving her unable to sleep for a different reason. Meanwhile, Swire brought Nearl to her manor, where a Kazimierz tournament replay and news of a new worldwide knight league stirred Nearl’s memories.

• Ch'en feared the particle beam and stayed awake after Hoshino called to reassure her that the shrine was still in Lungmen.
• Swire invited Nearl to her manor, and Nearl carried the modified motorcycle inside with ease.
• Swire played a replay of a Kazimierz knight competition, prompting Nearl to react with grim intensity.
• Nearl told Swire that she had competed in the tournament and had been its champion.
• A breaking-news banner announced that a new knight league would recruit competitors from around the world.

Hoshino accepted an event mission to register as Durandal for the Kazimierz Knight Tournament and expose its hidden conspiracy. After making a dramatic entrance and insisting on the Infected selection despite her test results, she began planning how to attract attention to herself.

• Hoshino accepted the mission to register for the Knight Tournament and chose to travel to Kazimierz as Durandal.
• In Ursus, W told FrostNova that Mephisto had awakened, and the two watched footage of Hoshino descending toward Kazimierz as an azure comet.
• Hoshino landed at the registration site, introduced herself as Bianca Durandal Ataegina, and listed her weapons as two chess pieces, her bare hands, and a knight's lance.
• Hoshino presented a report showing unusually low blood concentration but insisted on taking the brutal selection alongside the Infected.
• Hoshino noticed a paid-subscription barcode at a newsstand, while Heavy Bunny completed a crack that could flood the news with coverage of Durandal's arrival.
• Hoshino decided to take attractive pictures of Durandal before using the cracked system to publicize her arrival.

Hoshino sought W to narrate a biography of Durandal, while news of Durandal’s arrival in Kazimierz reached FrostNova, Ch’en, and Nearl. Yae Sakura urged Nearl to follow the news, and Nearl returned to the shrine to continue disrupting the knight tournament, still needing a commentator.

• Hoshino decided she wanted W to read Durandal’s biography and wondered where to find her.
• FrostNova recognized Durandal on a broadcast and persuaded W to go to the Kazimierz Knight Arena.
• Ch’en told the shrine maiden that Swire had seen a blonde knight arrive with a comet, and the shrine maiden left to question Swire.
• Nearl stayed at Swire’s estate, where Yae Sakura arrived and confirmed that Durandal had gone to Kazimierz.
• Yae Sakura told Nearl to watch the papers for news of Durandal, and Nearl returned to the shrine to continue her plans for the knight tournament.

Hoshino publicized her account of the Rose Daily incident to draw Kazimierz's corporations into action, then encountered commentator W and asked her to narrate Durandal's story. W recognized Hoshino's offer as unpaid work and demanded to know her payment.

• Hoshino wrote three articles about the incident and had Heavy Bunny publish them across every newspaper before they were deleted.
• Hoshino learned that a new mission stage had unlocked, requiring her to meet commentator W.
• W criticized Kazimierz's knight system and its prosperity while a young Forte knight defended it.
• Hoshino arrived at the bar, joined W, and asked her to read Durandal's life story and commentate on her journey.
• W asked Hoshino what she would pay her and accused her of wanting the work for free.

Hoshino invited W to witness her plans, then entered the Infected trial and used her Bright Knight: Excelsis armor to clear the course in seconds. She rescued her teammates and destroyed the arena, earning the name “Catastrophe Knight.”

• Hoshino invited W to witness the glory of Dawn, and W agreed to take a look after reading Durandal’s life story.
• Hoshino signed up for the Infected trial and learned that spectators paid to watch contestants risk being torn apart by pincers beasts.
• The audience recognized Hoshino as the Blue Comet and watched as she summoned her armor and took flight.
• Hoshino raced through the swamp, carried her frozen teammates to the finish line, and overturned the caged pincers beasts in barely six seconds.
• The shockwaves from Hoshino’s run collapsed the arena, and the contestants called her the Catastrophe Knight.

After Hoshino’s arena stunt made the news, W warned that Kazimierz’s investors might sideline her, but Hoshino trusted Yae Sakura to help. Nearl arranged for Hoshino and W to stay at Zofia’s estate, where Hoshino began preparing for her next match.

• Hoshino corrected W about Yae Sakura’s fox ears, and they left the ruined arena together.
• W predicted Kazimierz’s officials would keep Hoshino out of the competition and suggested she challenge and defeat every contestant.
• Hoshino decided to wait for Yae Sakura’s support and visited Nearl and Swire with footage of the arena collapse.
• Nearl agreed to let Hoshino stay with her, and Zofia took Hoshino and W to her estate.
• The next morning, Zofia recorded Hoshino training as she shouted, “Awaken, Defender of Glory!”

Hoshino practiced with a summoned phantom while Zofia, W, and Maria watched, and Nearl later viewed footage of her sparring. Meanwhile, Yae Sakura traveled to Kjerag to advise its supreme god about Karlan Trade’s image.

• Hoshino sparred with a holy phantom, shaking the mountains as Zofia and W watched and Maria asked to practice with her.
• Hoshino introduced herself to Maria as Bianca Durandal Ataegina and explained her connection to Margaret Nearl and Rhodes Island.
• Nearl watched footage of Hoshino defeating Maria and fighting amid earthquakes, then planned to show the recording to a dragon while keeping Maria out of sight.
• Yae Sakura traveled toward Kjerag’s snowy mountains with a logistics driver after Emperor rejected her offer to represent Penguin Logistics.
• Yae Sakura said she intended to advise Kjerag’s supreme god that Karlan Trade might need an image spokesperson.

Yae Sakura traveled to Kjerag to ask for help while Hoshino prepared for her first Kazimierz tournament match. Hoshino defeated the Paper-Folding Knight in a single blow, leaving the arena badly damaged.

• Yae Sakura and Texas drove through Kjerag as Yae Sakura explained that she was seeking help and planned to contact several groups.
• Hoshino trained at Zofia’s manor while W watched and plotted ways to make Hoshino and Talulah fight.
• Hoshino went to her opening match and announced that she would defeat her opponent in half a second.
• W hijacked the match broadcast and commentated as Hoshino charged the Paper-Folding Knight without a weapon.
• Hoshino struck the Paper-Folding Knight down, cracking the arena floor and collapsing the first three rows of spectator seats.

Hoshino, wearing Durandal armor, defeated Origami Knight in less than half a second and advanced toward the championship, leaving the arena and its organizers scrambling to limit the damage. Afterward, Maria invited Hoshino to a tavern, where the sixteen-year-old ordered lemonade and explained that her victory had relied mostly on her own strength.

• Hoshino charged at Origami Knight and defeated him with a single strike, collapsing part of the arena.
• W mocked Origami Knight over the speakers while Hoshino told him to leave and introduced herself as Durandal.
• The chamber of commerce discussed disqualifying Hoshino and counted the financial losses caused by her brief, destructive match.
• Maria watched the match from the stands and regretted being unable to donate before the payment channel closed.
• Maria invited Hoshino to Old Martin's tavern, where Hoshino ordered lemonade and described the armor's Bright Knight: Excelsis feature.

Hoshino won her second arena match in seconds after agreeing to make fights more entertaining, while W’s commentary and the crowd’s betting frenzy drew attention to her growing success. The chapter ended with SilverAsh meeting Yae Sakura and agreeing to go to Kazimierz to repay her help, asking about Bianca Durandal Ataegina.

• A professional manager asked Hoshino to avoid damaging the public arena, prolong her fights, and accept sponsorship offers, and Hoshino agreed to the first two requests.
• Zofia rejected Maria’s suggestion to tell Młynar Nearl about sponsorships, and W reminded Hoshino that her second match was approaching.
• Hoshino faced the Iron Sheet Knight, who mocked her and boasted about his powered armor before she defeated him with a single blow.
• W commentated on Hoshino’s victory as the crowd celebrated their successful bets and the bookmakers faced losses.
• SilverAsh met Yae Sakura, offered to attend in person as a return gift, and asked whether the Kazimierz knight was Bianca Durandal Ataegina.

After three easy victories, Hoshino learned that the Chamber still saw her as a threat but believed her show of strength had not lasted long enough to inspire fear. She faced an Originium-burning war machine in her fourth match and unleashed a volcanic display of power, ending poised above the arena as she addressed the camera.

• Hoshino won her third match quickly and noticed how her opponents acted like gentlemen until their interests were threatened.
• Uncle Młynar warned Hoshino that the Chamber had asked him to challenge her and advised her to display power for long enough to make them afraid.
• Hoshino saw news that Blacksteel, Beatrix Swire, and Kjerag's young king had arrived in Kazimierz.
• Hoshino entered her fourth match in military-green armor with a lance and warned spectators to move back from the arena.
• Hoshino unleashed heat that liquefied the earth and spread lava, then balanced atop her lance and asked the crowd if they were having fun.

After defeating her opponent, Hoshino waited alone at the manor while the merchant association gathered troops to attack her. Jessica, Swire, and SilverAsh arrived in turn, forcing the association to withdraw, and the four spent the night talking.

• Dawn's Glory defeated the machine opponent and left the arena with W, revealing her cold, proud knightly nature.
• The merchant association panicked over the Radiant Knight's victory and ordered troops to surround Hoshino's manor.
• Hoshino sent Zofia, Maria, and W away, then sat alone at a mahjong table while the armored knights gathered outside.
• Jessica arrived at the manor, and the merchant association reconsidered its planned charge.
• Swire entered the manor, and the merchant association ordered its troops to withdraw after learning that SilverAsh and Kjerag Trade's president had left the embassy.
• SilverAsh arrived and joined Hoshino, Swire, and Jessica at the table, where they talked until sunrise.

Hoshino advanced to the semifinals as Yae Kasumi stole Ursus’s plan to transform Kazimierz and occupy its highlands, bringing the annexation plot to an end. As Rita Rossweisse’s character card finished unlocking, she was poised to arrive in this world.

• Hoshino’s opponent surrendered, and she advanced to the round of sixteen as the mission shifted to stealing Ursus’s execution documents and proposal.
• Yae Sakura transformed into Yae Kasumi and infiltrated a guarded Ursus archive to search for the documents.
• Yae Kasumi found a twenty-year plan to weaken Kazimierz’s knights and occupy its highlands, then escaped with the plot exposed.
• Hoshino’s next opponent also surrendered, advancing her to the semifinals while W announced that nearly every bettor had backed her.
• Jessica told Swire she admired Hoshino for protecting the knights who had prepared to attack her, then showered Hoshino with flowers.
• Rita Rossweisse’s character card reached full unlock progress as Hoshino continued stroking W’s horns.

Yae Kasumi delivered a document about Ursus's strategic history to Kazimierz, where Rita arrived at Zofia's estate while Hoshino prepared to challenge the country's complacent beliefs. The chapter ended with Rita and W meeting and trading sarcastic remarks about Hoshino's replacement adjutant.

• Yae Kasumi transformed into Sky Ranger, teleported to Zofia's estate, and left the document pouch before transforming into Rita.
• Hoshino won her semifinal match and asked the audience to send flowers to the defeated knight.
• Maria and Zofia explained that contestants were leaving early because of Chasing Dark Starlight, while W wondered what Hoshino planned to overturn.
• Hoshino said she intended to puncture Kazimierz's expanding illusion and show the weak a way forward.
• W and Hoshino reached the estate's ruined fence, where Rita greeted them with a scythe and the document pouch.
• W teased Rita about Hoshino finding herself an excellent replacement.