Chapter Summaries

Hoshino and Jiushi prepared the haunted house to repel the newcomers, relying on Seele and Jizo Mitama to intensify their fear. Seele’s appearance and a real cut sent the second, much larger group of Mafia fleeing, leaving their leader furious and frightened.

• Hoshino persuaded Jiushi to drive away the people who had intruded on her island, and Jiushi went to prepare the haunted house.
• Hoshino told Shamare to keep her distance while she helped the blood demon girl, and reflected on the curse Shamare had cast on her.
• A second wave, ten times larger than the first, entered the fog-covered island as Jizo Mitama heightened their fear.
• Seele appeared among blue butterflies, walked toward the intruders, and cut a man’s cheek with a butterfly wing.
• The wounded man fled, panic spread through the Mafia force, and one-sixth of its members ran for the nearest ship as their leader protested.

Jiushi watched the haunted house’s visitors flee as Hoshino and Seele staged increasingly frightening attractions. After Hoshino’s fiery Goushinnso Memento appearance sent even more people running, the remaining onlookers wondered about the shrine maiden’s powers and Shamare worried that Little Morte could not compete with the ghostly armor.

• Jiushi watched the crowd through binoculars, while Lappland carved tally marks for the assassins who had fled and planned to settle scores with their leaders.
• Hoshino praised Seele for frightening visitors, then told her to hide again after Seele asked to deliver her remaining line.
• The assassin team entered a realistic battlefield attraction, where Jiushi pointed out weapons from her own experience and Lappland noticed a bloodstained Tang saber.
• Hoshino changed into Goushinnso Memento and descended from the mountaintop amid a crimson glow, scorching heat, and the imposing Jizo Mitama.
• More visitors fled from Hoshino’s display, while Feater teased Jiushi, Lappland wondered about the shrine maiden’s other forms, and Shamare asked whether Little Morte could compete with the ghostly armor.

Hoshino’s haunted-house trial ended when Jiushi accidentally ignited a brief flash of alcohol vapor, frightening the last killer unconscious before Lappland could fight him. Hoshino then questioned Shamare about Little Morte and Terror Island, but Shamare warned her that she could not understand their relationship.

• Hoshino’s haunted house frightened every group except one killer, who charged onward despite his subordinates fleeing.
• Lappland prepared to draw her blade, but Jiushi’s burp ignited alcohol vapor; the harmless flash startled the killer into fainting, and Jiushi fell asleep.
• Hoshino asked Feater to watch over the sleeping Jiushi, and Feater mistakenly thought Hoshino was her fan.
• Hoshino asked Shamare whether Little Morte had cursed her and whether keeping Terror Island was Shamare’s or Little Morte’s choice.
• Shamare said Little Morte’s curses had been eaten and warned Hoshino to stop asking about their relationship.

Hoshino negotiated with the god inside Shamare’s plush toy, Little Morte, and learned that Terror Island had remained unchanged because Shamare wished it so. After Shamare reassured Little Morte, Lappland began investigating who had bought Terror Island and who had sold it.

• Hoshino asked to speak with Little Morte alone and drew her blade until Shamare agreed to let them talk.
• Little Morte revealed that she was a nameless god born from Shamare’s Originium Arts and an innocent child’s call, and that Shamare—not the god—wanted Terror Island left unchanged.
• Little Morte feared that changing Shamare’s wish would cost her her only believer and cause her to perish.
• Hoshino unlocked White Night Butler and considered how to introduce Fu Hua into the world.
• After Shamare returned to herself, Hoshino told her what Little Morte had said, and Shamare encouraged the plush toy to do its best.
• Lappland asked Lady to investigate the recent sale of Terror Island and identify its seller, explaining that she was acting on a friend’s request.

Lappland tracked down a man who had stolen money and cut off his left hand, then returned to find Qiaodisi sober and worried about the island she had bought while drunk. Qiaodisi learned the sale could be reversed and offered Lappland a cup of her awful wine.

• Lady criticized Lappland for helping others instead of seeking revenge, and Lappland took a dossier before leaving for Milan.
• Lappland followed the thief to a restaurant and cut off his left hand after confronting him about his theft.
• Hoshino waited for Jiushi to wake, and Jiushi discovered she had been drunk for eighty-three days and had bought an island with a haunted house.
• Lappland returned with the thief's severed hand, but the others barely reacted as she explained her mafia code.
• Qiaodisi asked if she could return the island, and Lappland said regulations made the prohibited mining land impossible to sell.
• Qiaodisi poured Lappland a drink, and Lappland recognized its smell as liquid fuel.

Hoshino finished the mission in Siracusa and tested the Scythe Lullaby and Fu Hua character cards at Yae Shrine. After Fu Hua’s unrestrained punch knocked an entire cherry tree bare, Hoshino went to find someone immortal to test her strength on.

• Hoshino carried the drunken Lappland away while warning Shamare that people and circumstances could not stay the same forever.
• Lappland woke two days later in Lady’s room, learned that the shrine maiden had spared her an Elizabeth collar, and prepared to eat before returning to her work in Milan.
• Hoshino tested the Scythe Lullaby card, finding that Seele’s scythe could quantumize and unleash powerful sweeping attacks.
• Hoshino transformed into Fu Hua and discovered that she seemed proficient with every weapon and combat skill.
• Hoshino’s light punch blew the blossoms from a cherry tree, so she set off for Emperor’s bar to find someone who could survive a strength test.

Hoshino visited Penguin Logistics to send a message to the fox who had planted the mountain with cherry blossoms, offering one punch as payment. After demonstrating her strength by shattering Emperor’s liquor collection, she left in high spirits and waited for Penguin Logistics to seek her out.

• Hoshino went to Penguin Logistics and asked Croissant to deliver a message that she had come down from the mountain.
• Hoshino ordered sherry and offered Croissant one punch as payment for the delivery.
• Emperor objected to Hoshino drinking from his collectible liquor, and she stopped a punch just short of his face.
• Hoshino’s punch shattered all the liquor in Emperor’s bar and cellar, prompting an unnameable penguin shriek from the cellar.
• Hoshino left with the remaining wine, pleased that she could control her strength, and waited for Penguin Logistics to come calling.

Hoshino staged her disappearance and returned to Yae Shrine disguised as Fu Hua, the drunken Immortal, after Emperor reported that the Immortal had descended and left a message for the shrine maiden. She waited for Lungmen to notice her arrival, and the first visitor came from the Lungmen Guard Department.

• Emperor confronted Hoshino about the gray-haired, blue-eyed woman who had smashed his wine collection and delivered a message for the shrine maiden.
• Croissant clarified that the woman was female, and Hoshino identified her as the Immortal and warned that she had come down to the mortal world.
• Hoshino packed her luggage, told Emperor and Croissant that the Immortal meant no harm, and fled the shrine before secretly returning after Penguin Logistics left.
• Hoshino equipped the White Night Butler character card and, as Fu Hua, questioned shrine visitors about their offerings while news of the shrine maiden's disappearance spread through Lungmen.
• Hoshino waited for someone to investigate, and the first visitor rushed over from the Lungmen Guard Department.

Hoshino met Ch'en at the shrine, dispersed a rainstorm to fulfill her request, and reflected on the meaning of preserving a city. Ch'en persuaded Hoshino to help at the Lungmen Guard Department, where Hoshino completed several minor cases and concluded that Ch'en wanted her to experience mortal life.

• Hoshino mistook Ch'en for Little Fox's disciple and asked whether she had a wish.
• Ch'en asked for an umbrella, and Hoshino cleared the rain clouds with an uppercut.
• Ch'en asked Hoshino to maintain peace in Lungmen, and Hoshino questioned the lasting meaning of protecting a city and its people.
• Ch'en persuaded Hoshino to go to the Lungmen Guard Department and gave her a collection of minor case files to keep her occupied.
• Hoshino returned a missing cat to its owner, predicted its litter, and told Ch'en she understood why she had assigned the cases.

Hoshino tried to find work in Lungmen and began offering her own form of medical treatment by punching people to activate their blood and disperse stasis. After Ch'en and Wei Yenwu experienced the treatment, Hoshino told Wei Yenwu that she had come from Mount Taixuan to find the little fox.

• Hoshino rejected ordinary work and suggested opening a clinic to save lives and heal the wounded.
• Hoshino punched Ch'en to activate her blood and disperse stasis, sending her through the office door and down the stairs.
• Swire photographed Ch'en after the incident, while Hoshino vanished and Ch'en reluctantly contacted the Governor-General's Office.
• Wei Yenwu went to Yae Shrine, where Hoshino was punching passersby into the air; he tried the treatment and found it comfortable.
• Hoshino told Wei Yenwu she came from Mount Taixuan to find the little fox, who had hidden herself away.

Wei Yenwu assigned Jingzhe to investigate Hoshino, who began searching for Yae Sakura with her. Meanwhile, Lungmen’s syndicate leaders learned that Hoshino had taken over Yae Shrine and considered paying their respects.

• Wei Yenwu reviewed what he knew about Hoshino and chose Jingzhe of the Dali Temple Supervisory Division to investigate her.
• Hoshino told Wei Yenwu that she had burned down Fuyun Temple on Mount Taixuan herself.
• Jingzhe arrived at Yae Shrine, where Hoshino recognized her and examined her White Thunder Orthodox Technique.
• Hoshino explained that Jingzhe’s connection to Little Fox could help her find her, and the two obtained the Yae Sakura case files to begin their search.
• Lungmen’s struggling syndicate leaders heard that Hoshino had taken over Yae Shrine and discussed visiting her while disparaging the shrine maiden.

Hoshino searched Lungmen for Yae Sakura, using her loneliness and old acquaintance with the fox to coax information from Rope and Jingzhe. At Yae Shrine, she staged an immortal’s awakening, blasted away a crowd accusing the shrine maiden of misdeeds, then transformed into Yae Sakura and pretended not to know what had happened.

• Hoshino questioned Rope, who refused to reveal Yae Sakura’s whereabouts, and Jingzhe recorded Hoshino’s brief moments of disorientation and staged sorrow.
• Jingzhe suggested checking Yae Shrine, and Hoshino hurried there before dawn.
• Hoshino found a crowd accusing the shrine maiden of wrongdoing and listened as its leader and members shouted their complaints.
• Hoshino performed an ethereal awakening and used White Night’s ultimate to scatter the crowd, knocking Jingzhe down as well.
• Hoshino activated Yae Sakura’s transformation card, then claimed the immortal had left and that she had been sleepwalking.

Jingzhe reported Hoshino’s supposed departure to Wei Yenwu, who was relieved that the immortal would no longer affect his affairs. At Rhodes Island, Specter briefly regained her lucidity and asked Pramanix to observe her before allowing her outside.

• Jingzhe left Hoshino’s shrine after reflecting on the immortal and recorded what she had witnessed for herself.
• Hoshino shut the shrine gates and admitted to herself that her grand display had been a risky act.
• Jingzhe reported the events to Wei Yenwu, who felt relieved that Hoshino had supposedly departed.
• Specter awakened in a Rhodes Island therapy room and recognized that she was in a medical ward.
• Pramanix arrived for Specter’s psychological evaluation, and Specter condemned the Church of the Deep before asking Pramanix to observe her longer.
• After four hours, Pramanix opened the door and took Specter outside.

After Specter awakened with a new personality and her memories cleared of black fragments, Kal'tsit linked the change to an immortal's sunrise appearance at Yae Shrine and sent Specter and Pramanix to investigate. At the shrine, Specter found that touching Hoshino's Jizo Mitama calmed her mind, and Pramanix said the blade's god might have driven away the fragments for good.

• Specter changed into a white cloak, told Pramanix that black fragments had vanished from her memories, and asked about Skadi.
• Kal'tsit connected Specter's sunrise awakening to an immortal's appearance at Yae Shrine and decided they should go there immediately.
• Hoshino served tea to Specter and Pramanix, while Specter revealed that she had smuggled her circular saw out of Rhodes Island.
• Specter examined Hoshino's Jizo Mitama and felt her mind gradually calm as she touched the blade.
• Pramanix explained that the god sealed inside Jizo Mitama had authority over the mind and might have frightened away Specter's black fragments.

Hoshino agreed to help Specter destroy a Church of the Deep stronghold, taking a touch of Specter’s hair as payment, and the two set off while Pramanix stayed behind at the shrine. At Rhodes Island, Amiya correctly guessed how they had split up, and she and Kal'tsit considered how to learn where the pair were headed.

• Hoshino accepted Specter’s plan and asked to touch her hair as payment, which Specter agreed to.
• Hoshino and Specter rented an off-road vehicle and left for the seaside, while Pramanix was left to cover for them at Yae Shrine.
• At Rhodes Island, Kal'tsit handled Medical Department paperwork caused by Warfarin and discussed the group’s departure with Amiya.
• Amiya reasoned that Hoshino and Specter had gone together while Pramanix stayed behind, and she and Kal'tsit considered asking an enthusiastic operator for help locating them.
• Grani sneezed while patrolling Rhodes Island and worried aloud that she might have caught a cold.

Hoshino and Specter entered a coastal city while investigating the Church of the Deep, and Specter tracked down a suspected cult member. After the man transformed into a creature corrupted by the Deep, Hoshino cut it apart, and Specter explained the nature of the mutation.

• Hoshino and Specter entered the coastal city after Specter explained that she had escaped the chapel where the Church of the Deep had performed a ritual on her.
• Specter and Hoshino passed the guards by claiming the iron coffin carried instruments for their band, the Abyssal Hunters.
• Specter spotted a man in the crowded district and followed him into a secluded alley with Hoshino.
• Specter crushed the man beneath her coffin, but the coffin began to tremble as something stirred inside.
• Hoshino severed a tentacle and then cut apart the half-human, half-ghost creature that emerged from the coffin.
• Specter explained that the Deep corrupted the minds of its devout followers and that the spiritual change could mutate their bodies.

Hoshino learned that killing a Deepsea cultist had marked her and would draw further attacks, while Specter explained the Hunters’ struggle against the Deepsea. Grani followed Specter’s scent to the coastal city and found her beside a pink-haired, rabbit-eared woman.

• Specter told Hoshino that Deepsea cultists shared a memetic connection and would recognize her after she killed one.
• Hoshino reasoned that the Deepsea’s influence came through cultists’ distorted thoughts and transformed their bodies, and Specter agreed.
• Specter warned Hoshino that she had been marked, so Hoshino prepared to leave for a less populated place.
• Grani followed the scent of an Abyssal Hunter from Lungmen across the wilderness toward a coastal city.
• A concert security guard mistook Grani for a devoted fan and let her into the city.
• Grani searched the streets until a pink-haired, rabbit-eared woman greeted her beside Specter.

Hoshino, Specter, and Grani fought their way through a street encircled by Abyssal cultists as the cultists drank blood and began transforming. After the enemy and its sea mist withdrew, the group was left to consider how the mist had reclaimed the power it had given its followers.

• Grani tracked the group by Skadi's scent while Hoshino realized cultists were closing in around them.
• A horn sounded, and the surrounding cultists drank dark red blood and began mutating as sea mist gathered over the street.
• Specter killed a transforming cultist and urged Hoshino and Grani to attack before the others finished changing.
• Hoshino cut through the enemies with her blade, then summoned Jizo Mitama to destroy the fully transformed figures.
• After the fighting, the sea mist swallowed the corpses and departed, while Grani kept Specter's white cloak clean.

Hoshino, Specter, and Grani faced a lull in the attacks as Aldrich prepared to exploit Specter’s buried darkness. After a bell-driven assault briefly overwhelmed Specter, Hoshino used Jizo Mitama to restore her and bluffed that she had to remain still while Hoshino dealt with the threat.

• Hoshino, Specter, and Grani continued through the city after defeating a basic enemy, while Specter praised Hoshino’s attacks.
• Aldrich discussed the hunters with the souls inside its body and split itself in two to carry out separate plans.
• Aldrich rang a holy bell and vanished into the black mist as Specter realized that the pause in attacks meant something powerful was coming.
• A cloaked figure used wind chimes and a swarm of voices to overwhelm Specter with darkness.
• Hoshino planted Jizo Mitama to suppress the darkness, restored Specter’s senses, and told her to stay still while she went to deal with the threat.

Hoshino left Specter and Grani behind, then hunted down and killed an avatar of the Deep Saint in a rain-soaked alley. She waited for Aldrich to arrive and set him ablaze as he descended on her.

• Hoshino asked Grani to stay with Specter, then raced through Lungmen to find the black-robed figure.
• Hoshino pinned the figure to the ground and discovered it was a mass of flesh that called itself the Deep Saint.
• Hoshino mocked the Deep Saint and killed it, then changed character cards and waited for Aldrich to come.
• Aldrich arrived as a mass of black fog, but the sky turned crimson and he began burning as he fell toward Hoshino.