Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins examines Mani’s abilities and learns that she is an ancient, cursed child with a mental age of nine. Her powers grant her extraordinary luck, allow her to locate wealth and predict the fate of rich people, and provide an unlimited treasury capable of purchasing almost anything.
• Mani’s curse prevents her from learning from mistakes or maturing, while prolonged contact with her makes others feel protective of her, explaining Maning’s “big sister” relationship with her.
• Hawkins absorbs all the treasure in the treasury into his storage space. Mani panics, clings to his leg, and cries for her money, but Hawkins refuses to return it.
• Hawkins takes Mani back to Eternal Space at Maning’s request. Maning angrily scolds and lightly hits Mani for causing trouble, though it is clear she cares deeply for her.
• Hawkins offers to contract Mani into the Chat Group, explaining that the contract could neutralize her curse and provide benefits such as resurrection, increased strength, and access to Eternal Space. Maning agrees, but only if Mani consents.
• Before the contract can happen, Mani wanders off, forgets where she is, and breaks into a house after sensing valuable objects inside. She steals Gold Coins, triggers the security system, and is captured and teleported to a plaza.
• Hawkins finds her and jokingly threatens to chop off her fingers as punishment for stealing, even drawing a knife.

Character Developments

• Hawkins recognizes Mani’s immense usefulness as a treasure-finding companion and begins viewing her as a valuable asset. He also shows unexpected compassion, understanding that her childishness and memory problems are consequences of her curse rather than deliberate behavior.
• Mani remains impulsive, greedy, fearless, and mentally childlike. She quickly shifts from panic to scheming, forgets punishments almost immediately, and continues stealing despite repeated danger. Her inability to retain memories or learn from consequences is emphasized.
• Maning appears harsh and easily angered, but her reactions reveal strong affection and protectiveness toward Mani. Her hesitation over the contract shows that she is wary of Hawkins but sincerely wants a way to help her sister.
• Hawkins and Mani’s relationship develops into a comical dynamic in which Hawkins acts like a manipulative guardian, exploiting Mani’s greed while also protecting and attempting to discipline her.

Significant Themes

• Curses and arrested development: Mani’s curse grants her survival and luck but prevents genuine growth, leaving her trapped emotionally and intellectually as a child.
• Greed and wealth: Mani’s abilities revolve around money, and her endless desire for treasure reflects the idea that wealth can become an insatiable obsession—even when it can supposedly buy anything.
• Protection versus exploitation: Hawkins wants to help neutralize Mani’s curse, but he is also eager to use her as a living treasure detector. His care for her exists alongside his willingness to profit from her abilities.
• Family and affection: Maning’s anger masks genuine sisterly love, while Mani’s dependence and provocations reinforce their dysfunctional but affectionate bond.
• Memory and identity: Mani’s unstable memory causes her to forget people, punishments, and events, highlighting how her curse has damaged her ability to develop a consistent understanding of herself and the world.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins reads Mani’s information and realizes why Maning considers her a younger sister.
• Mani protests when Hawkins takes her treasure and insults him when he refuses to return it.
• Maning threatens Hawkins and demands that Mani be sent to Eternal Space, then disciplines Mani after she arrives.
• Hawkins tries to make Mani apologize and later offers her the possibility of joining his group.
• Mani wanders away, forgets Hawkins almost entirely, steals from a house, and is recaptured by Hawkins, who uses the incident to frighten her into obedience.

Chapter Summary: “Spending Money Feels Good for a Moment”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins offers Mani two choices: face his knife or sign a contract joining his group. Without reading the contract, Mani eagerly chooses the second option after learning she will receive one Gold Coin each month.
• The Chat Group members reveal that almost none of them read the contract carefully. Maning then helps Mani learn how to order food through the Chat Group’s livestream system.
• Mani receives a home in House Town next to Maning’s and quickly begins plotting to steal Hawkins’s wealth. Ignoring Maning’s warnings, she goes treasure hunting.
• Hawkins transports Mani to a cave filled with treasure chests. When she finds the gold, the chests vanish, leaving her confused and angry.
• Hawkins asks Maning for permission to temporarily remove Mani’s hereditary curse. He chooses a one-minute trial because Mani’s true condition and power are unknown.
• Once the curse is removed, Mani transforms into a vast, terrifying being whose Curse Power distorts space, destroys the surrounding island, and summons or compresses Dream Realm creatures.
• Hawkins estimates that Mani possesses billions of units of Curse Power—enough to affect reality and potentially destroy the world. He waits for the curse-removal period to end rather than risk confronting her directly.
• When the minute ends, Mani collapses, her destructive power disappears, and Hawkins catches and dresses her before returning her to Maning.
• Mani later awakens and discovers that her entire accumulated fortune has been spent. Her Little Treasury had converted all her savings into Curse Power while the curse was removed, causing her immense transformation. She breaks down in grief over losing her money.

Character Developments

• Mani remains impulsive, forgetful, greedy, and easily manipulated, but the chapter reveals that her apparent weakness is entirely caused by her curse. Without it, she possesses extraordinary, world-threatening power.
• Maning acts as Mani’s caretaker and protector, teaching her how to order food and warning her not to provoke Hawkins. Despite constantly insulting Mani, Maning clearly cares about her and willingly agrees to the curse-removal experiment.
• Hawkins demonstrates caution and curiosity. He studies Mani’s abilities rather than attacking her, limits the experiment to one minute, and recognizes the danger of her power.
• The Chat Group members are shown to be careless and trusting, since most of them signed or accepted the contract without fully reading it.
• Mani’s emotional priorities are emphasized: even after displaying enough power to devastate reality, she cares most about recovering her lost money.

Significant Themes

• Greed and consumption: Mani’s lifelong desire to accumulate wealth prevents her from using the power her money could provide. Her hoarding ultimately causes her greatest emotional loss.
• The danger of unchecked power: Removing Mani’s curse reveals how catastrophic hidden strength can be when released without control.
• Appearance versus reality: Mani appears to be a foolish, helpless child, but beneath the curse is an ancient and overwhelmingly powerful entity.
• Money as power: The chapter literalizes the idea that money can buy anything. Mani’s savings can purchase lifespan, luck, time, and even tremendous supernatural strength.
• Trust and exploitation: Mani signs an important contract without reading it because of a small financial reward, highlighting her gullibility and Hawkins’s ability to manipulate her.
• Comedy amid horror: Mani’s childish greed, insults, hunger, and obsession with her savings contrast humorously with the terrifying destruction caused by her unleashed power.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins and Mani: Hawkins manipulates Mani into signing the contract, later tests her curse cautiously, and catches her when she collapses.
• Maning and Mani: Their relationship is hostile but affectionate. They insult each other constantly, while Maning guides, feeds, houses, and protects Mani.
• Hawkins and Maning: Hawkins consults Maning before removing Mani’s curse, showing respect for her connection to Mani and involving her in the experiment.
• Mani and the Chat Group: Mani’s arrival exposes the group’s carelessness about contracts and creates comic friction, especially through her aggressive exchanges with Maning.
• Mani and her wealth: Her savings function almost like a character in their own right—her greatest possession, source of confidence, and ultimately the cause of her despair.

Chapter Summary: “Mani Wants You Dead by Three in the Morning”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yukterashir and Sephiroth investigate the theft of the treasury. They identify Hawkins’s aura but conclude that Hawkins is dead and that an unknown accomplice looted the treasury and took his corpse.
• Through linked divination, Yukterashir discovers that someone connected to Hawkins is on Hard Biscuit Island. He and Sephiroth split up to capture separate suspects.
• Sephiroth finds Maning fighting Dream Realm creatures. Although she is not the thief, she admits to being Hawkins’s crew member.
• Maning uses her abilities, First Love and Slave of Love, to make Sephiroth fall in love with and obey her. He reveals the reason for their search and Yukterashir’s plans.
• Maning relays the information to the Chat Group, while Mani immediately recognizes that Maning has manipulated another man.
• Meanwhile, Mark battles monsters near the growing whirlpool on Hard Biscuit Island while Hawkins observes from Eternal Space. Hawkins is deliberately waiting for Jabus and the other Lords to reveal the location of the Sword of Judgment.
• Yukterashir pursues Mark, hoping to recover the stolen treasures, especially the God-Given Stone. Mark lures him toward the whirlpool and escapes through a spatial ripple.
• The King of Extreme Bliss emerges from the whirlpool and traps Yukterashir. Yukterashir transforms into a massive tree-like form and fights back, but the King overwhelms and kills him within a minute.

Character Developments

• Hawkins remains strategic and patient, using the conflict over the whirlpool and the Sword of Judgment to manipulate his enemies. He also continues seeking a way to persuade Mani to store her enormous Curse Power.
• Maning demonstrates how effectively she combines charm and coercion. Her romantic abilities allow her to turn Sephiroth from an enemy into an obedient servant.
• Sephiroth is revealed to be vulnerable to Maning’s manipulation. His confidence in his combat ability disappears once affected by First Love, and he willingly divulges sensitive information.
• Yukterashir shows determination and speed but becomes reckless because of the stolen God-Given Stone. His desperation leads him directly into the King of Extreme Bliss’s trap.
• Mark acts as bait for Hawkins’s scheme, successfully evading Yukterashir and drawing him into danger.
• Mani continues to be blunt and antagonistic toward Maning, openly accusing her of seducing men and irritating her.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and deception: Hawkins, Maning, and Mark all use deception to control stronger opponents or redirect danger.
• Power versus strategy: Raw strength is not enough; Yukterashir is defeated because he is strategically outmaneuvered, while Maning conquers Sephiroth without a physical fight.
• Obsession and control: Maning’s abilities turn love into enslavement, presenting affection as a weapon rather than a genuine emotion.
• Greed and desperation: Yukterashir’s fixation on recovering the God-Given Stone overrides his caution and causes his downfall.
• Waiting and long-term planning: Hawkins avoids direct confrontation, allowing his enemies to expose themselves while he prepares for a larger conflict involving the Sword of Judgment and the King of Extreme Bliss.

Character Interactions

• Yukterashir and Sephiroth: They cooperate as father and son, but Yukterashir worries that Sephiroth may once again be outwitted.
• Sephiroth and Maning: Maning seduces and enslaves Sephiroth psychologically, extracting information and ordering him to eliminate monsters.
• Maning and Mani: Their hostile banter highlights their contrasting personalities—Maning is manipulative and image-conscious, while Mani is direct and mercilessly mocking.
• Hawkins and Mark: Hawkins directs the broader strategy while Mark serves as the visible bait near the whirlpool.
• Yukterashir and the King of Extreme Bliss: Yukterashir realizes too late that Mark was bait. The King captures and kills him in a brief, overwhelming battle.

Summary: “Developments on All Sides”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Yukterashir’s death, the Tentacle Whale breaks free from his control. Enraged and in pain, it violently smashes the rocks surrounding the Deep Sea Canteen.
• The destruction causes the Deep Sea Canteen to collapse, killing several people trapped inside. Fu Yanjie escapes first, using her immense heat to melt falling rocks.
• The injured Tentacle Whale surfaces and is burned alive by Fu Yanjie’s heat, while she emerges into the sunlight.
• In Eternal Space, Hawkins plants the seed he acquired from Yukterashir’s Vegetable Garden. It sprouts into Romeo, who has escaped his long imprisonment and expresses gratitude for his freedom.
• Romeo’s former loyalty to Yukterashir is revealed to have disappeared long ago. He had helped Hawkins and tested his strength before choosing to join him.
• Hawkins learns from Victor that multiple unidentified ships are approaching Eternal Space. He expects the attack and orders Victor to wait for the enemy to act first.
• On the Seven Seas, Dempsey leads a fleet toward the Black Knife in an attempt to seize the Sword of Judgment and preserve his rule over Hard Biscuit Island.
• First Mate Marius secretly controls the fleet’s movements under orders from Aldrich, while pretending to follow Dempsey’s commands.
• Instead of fighting, the Black Knife flees. Dempsey assumes Hawkins may have been weakened and becomes confident that the plan will succeed.
• Marius is frustrated because the lack of a naval battle makes it difficult to fulfill Aldrich’s secret order to force Hawkins and Dempsey into conflict.
• After a day of pursuit, the Black Knife reaches Hard Biscuit Island. The fleet drives it toward shore, where Victor and the others flee into the forest. The next stage of the conflict will depend on whether the pursuers can control events on land as effectively as they did at sea.

Character Developments

• Fu Yanjie becomes increasingly alert and proactive as she senses danger. She acts decisively during the Canteen’s collapse and demonstrates the destructive power of her heat domain.
• The Tentacle Whale regains its free will after Yukterashir’s death, revealing that its previous obedience was forced rather than loyal. Its grief, rage, and pain lead directly to the Canteen’s destruction and its own death.
• Hawkins remains confident and strategically composed. He welcomes danger because it may allow him to obtain the Sword of Judgment, and he is willing to manipulate the enemy’s expectations rather than fight directly.
• Romeo joins Hawkins after escaping his centuries-long imprisonment. His gratitude and desire for freedom suggest that he may become a useful ally, though Hawkins expects him eventually to accept missions and Exchange Points as well.
• Dempsey is weakened politically and physically after losing an arm, but he remains determined to retain control of Hard Biscuit Island. His confidence grows when Hawkins appears to retreat.
• Marius is revealed to be more capable and influential than Dempsey realizes. Though outwardly obedient, he is secretly pursuing Aldrich’s agenda and carefully evaluates the situation.

Significant Themes

• Freedom versus forced loyalty: The Tentacle Whale and Romeo both demonstrate how obedience imposed by power differs from genuine loyalty. Once control is removed, both seek independence.
• Strategic deception and misdirection: Hawkins uses retreat to manipulate Dempsey, while Marius conceals his real orders and intentions.
• Power and political instability: Yukterashir’s death, Dempsey’s declining status, and Aldrich’s hidden maneuvering show how quickly authority shifts when powerful figures fall or weaken.
• Survival amid destruction: The collapse of the Deep Sea Canteen and the pursuit on Hard Biscuit Island emphasize the danger facing all factions.
• Freedom versus purpose: Romeo escapes an empty, repetitive existence, but Hawkins’s organization may replace imprisonment with missions and obligations, raising questions about what true freedom means.

Character Interactions

• Fu Yanjie and the Tentacle Whale: They do not directly converse, but their powers collide when Fu Yanjie’s heat burns the Whale as it surfaces.
• Hawkins and Romeo: Hawkins offers Romeo a new life in Eternal Space, while Romeo thanks him for ending his long confinement. Their relationship begins as one of mutual trust and usefulness.
• Hawkins and Victor: Hawkins gives Victor strategic instructions to remain passive and let the approaching enemies reveal their intentions.
• Dempsey and Marius: Dempsey publicly commands the operation, but Marius secretly directs the fleet according to Aldrich’s orders. Their apparent cooperation masks a significant power imbalance.
• Dempsey and Hawkins: Dempsey believes he is successfully forcing Hawkins toward the Sword of Judgment, unaware that Hawkins may be deliberately allowing the pursuit.

Chapter Summary: “Metabolite Manipulation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Marius’s forces land on an uninhabited island and divide into six teams to encircle and locate Victor’s group.
• Marius secretly instructs his trusted subordinates—Tom, Jerry, and Pikes—to create conflict between Hawkins and Dempsey, hoping the two leaders will fight and weaken each other.
• Victor leads his pirates through the forest, trusting that a guide will eventually direct them to their destination. Hawkins orders them to stop and wait after confirming that the pursuing forces have not yet caught up.
• Tom’s group launches a poisoned blow-dart ambush against Victor’s pirates. Victor is grazed but survives after taking an antidote, while several of his men are injured.
• Tom falsely reports to Dempsey that Hawkins’s forces attacked them. Marius reinforces the deception, convincing Dempsey that Hawkins intends to lure them onto land and destroy them.
• Dempsey orders his forces to advance and fight. Victor’s pirates counterattack because retreat would leave them vulnerable.
• Dempsey arrives suddenly, searching for Hawkins, but attacks Victor after mistaking him for the group’s leader. He kills Victor by stopping his bullet with a fingernail and piercing Victor’s forehead.
• Hawkins then emerges through spatial ripples, revealing that he had been nearby. The fighting immediately stops as everyone focuses on the confrontation between Hawkins and Dempsey.
• Hawkins analyzes Dempsey’s ability: he can control bodily matter—such as fingernails, hair, skin, blood, teeth, and other metabolic waste—after it leaves his body.
• Dempsey forms armor and enormous clawed arms from his metabolites, attacking Hawkins with tremendous force. Hawkins initially relies on his Electromagnetic Field to repel the attacks.
• When Dempsey challenges Hawkins to fight directly, Hawkins accepts. He expands his Electromagnetic Field around Dempsey and begins breaking down the metabolite armor covering his body.

Character Developments

• Marius demonstrates his manipulative and strategic nature by deliberately misleading Dempsey and using Victor’s group as bait to provoke a battle.
• Dempsey is shown to be confident, prideful, and easily provoked. Despite his injuries and missing arm, his metabolite-based power gives him devastating offensive potential.
• Hawkins remains calm and analytical throughout the crisis. Rather than reacting emotionally to Victor’s death, he studies Dempsey’s power and confidently accepts the duel.
• Victor proves loyal and protective toward his pirates. Although he is willing to risk his own life, he is distressed by the possibility of his subordinates being permanently killed.
• Vanessa quickly recognizes the larger scheme, correctly identifying that someone is trying to use Hawkins to eliminate Dempsey.
• Tom, Jerry, and Pikes carry out Marius’s orders, acting as covert agents who manipulate events from within the scouting operation.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and political intrigue: Marius engineers a conflict by spreading false information and exploiting existing tensions between Hawkins and Dempsey.
• Weaponizing others: The plot centers on using Hawkins’s power and reputation as a “borrowed knife” to eliminate Dempsey.
• Pride versus composure: Dempsey’s arrogance drives him into open combat, while Hawkins’s restraint and confidence give him control of the encounter.
• The cost of power: Victor can revive, but the pirates under his command cannot, highlighting the difference between personal survival and the irreversible loss of others.
• Transformation and bodily decay: Dempsey turns the body’s discarded materials and natural metabolism into weapons, making biological waste a source of immense power.
• Deception versus perception: Marius’s lies succeed because Dempsey interprets events through his own assumptions and confidence in land combat.

Character Interactions

• Marius and Dempsey: Marius manipulates Dempsey into believing Hawkins launched the ambush, persuading him to attack.
• Victor and Hawkins: Victor reports the ambush and later seeks an explanation, while Hawkins remains uncertain until Vanessa identifies the likely scheme.
• Vanessa and Victor: Vanessa explains the conspiracy, while Victor worries more about the safety of his men than his own survival.
• Dempsey and Victor: Dempsey kills Victor almost instantly while searching for Hawkins.
• Hawkins and Dempsey: Their encounter becomes the chapter’s central conflict. Dempsey attacks with powerful metabolite constructs, while Hawkins studies and neutralizes the ability with his Electromagnetic Field.

Chapter Summary: The Sword of Judgment That Bore Hope

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins defeats Dempsey and Marius by expanding his Exclusive Weapon’s electromagnetic field, immobilizing everyone nearby.
• Vanessa identifies Marius as Aldrich’s right-hand man and suggests that he may know the truth behind the attack on Dempsey.
• Hawkins interrogates Marius and Dempsey, revealing that the assault on Dempsey was likely a political conspiracy. Dempsey realizes he was being used as a target for someone else’s plan.
• Both men beg for their lives. Marius refuses to cooperate and is killed painfully by Hawkins. Dempsey eventually gives up the Sword of Judgment’s location but is executed as well.
• Hawkins sends Victor’s pirates back to Eternal Space, recruits Marius’s surviving subordinates, revives Victor, and travels to the hidden valley where the Sword of Judgment is buried.
• The Sword of Judgment does not initially react to Hawkins, despite being a Death-grade Cursed Relic that should detect evil. Hawkins speculates that either his outsider nature or his own conscience prevents the sword from judging him as evil.
• The sword later awakens on its own near the Blood-Red Vortex, transforming its power into an angelic figure that annihilates Dream Realm Creatures with golden light.
• Hawkins considers using the sword as a powerful weapon but worries about storing it safely because many beings in Eternal Space are evil.
• Before he can make plans, a gigantic arm emerges from the Blood-Red Vortex, seizes the Sword of Judgment, and breaks it in half.

Character Developments

• Hawkins displays overwhelming power and ruthlessness, executing both Dempsey and Marius while remaining focused on the larger threat facing the Seven Seas.
• Dempsey loses his earlier arrogance and becomes terrified, pleading for mercy and attempting to bargain with the Sword of Judgment’s location. His betrayal by the conspirators is revealed before his death.
• Marius is exposed as a key subordinate of Aldrich but proves unable—or unwilling—to reveal the full plan. His panic and desperate excuses show his cowardice under pressure.
• Vanessa continues acting as Hawkins’s intelligence source, identifying Marius and helping uncover the conspiracy.
• Mark, Vanessa, Ai Miye, Arthur, and Anna debate whether Hawkins is truly good. Their loyalty contrasts with Maning’s suspicion that Hawkins may possess a way to deceive the sword.
• Maning remains wary of Hawkins, especially because she knows about his past and doubts that the Sword of Judgment’s verdict reflects his true nature.
• The Sword of Judgment is established as an exceptionally powerful weapon, capable of independently targeting and destroying Dream Realm Creatures.

Significant Themes

• Moral ambiguity and judgment: The sword’s failure to condemn Hawkins raises questions about whether morality depends on actions, intentions, identity, or the perspective of the judge.
• Power and fear: Dempsey and Marius quickly abandon pride and loyalty once faced with Hawkins’s superior strength.
• Political betrayal: The attack on Dempsey appears to be part of a larger struggle among the Lords, with individuals manipulating one another for advantage.
• Hope versus destruction: The Sword of Judgment represents a possible weapon for saving the Seven Seas, but its sudden destruction emphasizes how fragile that hope is.
• Identity and conscience: Hawkins’s mysterious status as an outsider may separate him from the original Hawkins’s crimes, while his own belief that he has a clear conscience complicates the meaning of “good” and “evil.”

Important Character Interactions

• Hawkins interrogates Marius and Dempsey, forcing them to reveal their fear and conflicting loyalties.
• Dempsey angrily accuses Marius and Aldrich’s faction of attempting to kill him through manipulation.
• Vanessa provides information through the livestream, while the others react to the sword’s unexpected judgment of Hawkins.
• Mark offers to test the Sword of Judgment himself, but Hawkins prevents him from risking his life.
• The group argues over whether Hawkins deserves the sword’s favorable judgment, with Ai Miye, Arthur, and Anna defending him and Maning remaining doubtful.
• The chapter ends with the Sword of Judgment being destroyed by the Blood-Red Vortex, abruptly ending Hawkins’s hopes of using it as a trump card.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The King of Extreme Bliss reveals that it is acting under the name and “skin” of Deng Jiesi, using the power of Deng Jiesi’s name to enter and operate in the Seven Seas.
• Hawkins points out that Deng Jiesi’s revenge—killing Dempsey—has already been fulfilled. This causes the King of Extreme Bliss to recognize that its contract is technically complete.
• Freed from the restrictions imposed by Deng Jiesi’s identity, the King of Extreme Bliss changes form, unleashes its full power, and kills Hawkins’s current body.
• It then destroys Hard Biscuit Island and spreads a massive Sea of Blood across the surrounding waters. Sailors and civilians are dissolved into blood mist, while black flames are launched toward Yazhong, Vitalia, and Ironcloth Islands.
• Aldrich realizes that the Seven Seas face an unprecedented crisis. He descends beneath his castle and awakens the ancient yin-yang beings preserved in stone coffins, calling on them to help determine the fate of the Seven Seas.
• Hawkins reappears through the Mother in Eternal Space. He explains that he shut down the livestream because witnessing certain methods or entities could cause severe harm.
• Mark confirms that the King of Extreme Bliss is deliberately attempting to destroy the Seven Seas. Since Curse Casters can resist the red mist by using Curse Power, Mark remains in the Seven Seas to observe the situation.
• Maning identifies a possible weakness: Dream Realm creatures require a medium to remain in the real world. Since the King of Extreme Bliss should have been expelled after completing Deng Jiesi’s revenge, something connected to Deng Jiesi must be sustaining it.
• The group concludes that locating and destroying this medium may force the King of Extreme Bliss back into the Dream Realm.

Character Developments

• King of Extreme Bliss: Becomes even more dangerous after fulfilling Deng Jiesi’s revenge contract. Its disguise had both protected and constrained it; once the contract ended, it was able to unleash far greater power and pursue indiscriminate destruction.
• Hawkins: Demonstrates the ability to return through the Mother after his body is destroyed. He remains calm and strategic, warning others about the dangers of perceiving certain supernatural powers directly.
• Aldrich: Reveals his connection to the history of Yazhong Island and his desire for revenge against those who once invaded it. His decision to awaken the ancient beings shows that he is willing to mobilize his deepest resources to protect or reshape the Seven Seas.
• Maning: Displays extensive inherited knowledge about the Dream Realm and becomes central to developing a plan against the King of Extreme Bliss.
• Mark: Acts as the group’s representative in the Seven Seas, gathering information and remaining behind despite the danger.
• Mani and Maning: Their familiar, almost parental relationship is highlighted. Mani’s memory problems remain a burden, but Maning continues caring for and protecting her.

Significant Themes

• Names, identity, and contracts: The King of Extreme Bliss exploits Deng Jiesi’s name as both a disguise and a source of power. However, the identity also imposes rules and limits, showing how names can provide protection while restricting freedom.
• Rules and loopholes: Even powerful supernatural beings are bound by contracts and metaphysical laws. The group’s hope lies in exploiting the rule that a completed medium should no longer sustain a Dream Realm creature.
• Revenge and inherited hatred: Aldrich’s actions are motivated by the historical suffering of his ancestors, paralleling Deng Jiesi’s revenge and showing how old grievances continue to shape the present.
• Destruction versus protection: The King of Extreme Bliss seeks total annihilation, while Hawkins, Mark, Aldrich, and the others search for ways to preserve the Seven Seas.
• Perception and danger: The chapter emphasizes that simply seeing or encountering certain supernatural forces can be harmful, suggesting that knowledge itself may carry danger.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins and the King of Extreme Bliss verbally spar over whether it can still act in Deng Jiesi’s name after Dempsey’s death.
• The King of Extreme Bliss responds to Hawkins’s challenge by killing him and beginning its assault on the Seven Seas.
• Aldrich independently reacts to the crisis by awakening the ancient yin-yang beings, who acknowledge that the fate of the Seven Seas is at stake.
• Hawkins reassures Mark and explains his actions to Ai Miye and the others after returning to Eternal Space.
• Anna and Ai Miye express envy toward Maning’s inherited knowledge, while Qiao Si urges everyone to let Maning explain her theory.
• Maning and Mark work together to identify the King of Extreme Bliss’s sustaining medium and formulate a potential method of forcing it back into the Dream Realm.
• Maning continues to manage Mani, whose confusion and faulty memory provide a brief personal contrast to the chapter’s catastrophic events.

Chapter Summary: “Lords”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins theorizes that King of Extreme Bliss’s Medium may not be a physical object but a contract connected to the living Deng Jiesi. If true, the contract would be difficult or impossible to destroy.
• Although Mark suggests abandoning the Seven Seas, Hawkins decides that confronting King of Extreme Bliss is still worth attempting. Escaping across the Mist Sea remains their final option.
• Aldrich leads the other Lords—Mallory, Jabus, Liam, and Conrad—to confront King of Extreme Bliss, who is destroying islands with falling black flames.
• King of Extreme Bliss arrogantly allows the Lords one minute to attack him without retaliation.
• Aldrich, Liam, Conrad, and Mallory unleash powerful attacks, but none can injure King of Extreme Bliss. His black flames burn Liam and Mallory, while Conrad’s ice and Aldrich’s sword prove ineffective.
• Liam invokes the power of Madness, transforming into a grotesque mass of limbs and launching a horrifying assault. Even this attack merely feels like an itch to King of Extreme Bliss.
• Aldrich unveils his ultimate technique, Two Heavens Return to One, producing numerous copies of himself and transforming into the powerful Taiji Aldrich.
• Taiji Aldrich creates a black-and-white formation designed to strike King of Extreme Bliss. Sensing the danger, King of Extreme Bliss uses Liam as a shield.
• The attack hits Liam instead, erasing his enormous body completely.

Character Developments

• Hawkins demonstrates caution and strategic thinking. He recognizes the possible nature of the Medium and refuses to take unnecessary risks, though he remains willing to confront King of Extreme Bliss.
• Mark reveals his loyalty and concern for Hawkins, prioritizing the captain’s safety over continuing the battle.
• Aldrich emerges as a determined leader. Despite the overwhelming odds, he urges the others to use their full strength and ultimately reveals a powerful hidden form.
• Liam undergoes the most dramatic transformation. Previously viewed as cowardly and insignificant by his allies, he embraces Madness and reveals terrifying latent power. However, even his ultimate ability fails against King of Extreme Bliss.
• Conrad displays immense destructive power through his black ice, but his confidence is shaken when King of Extreme Bliss remains unharmed.
• Mallory realizes the vast gap between the Lords and their opponent after his strongest physical attack leaves him badly burned.
• King of Extreme Bliss is portrayed as overwhelmingly powerful, sadistic, and amused by the Lords’ efforts. He treats their strongest attacks as entertainment.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power and despair: The Lords’ combined attacks cannot even injure King of Extreme Bliss, emphasizing the hopelessness of their situation.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: The characters fight because abandoning the Seven Seas would mean allowing countless people to die, while Mark’s concern shows the personal cost of such resistance.
• Hidden potential: Liam, long underestimated by his allies, reveals frightening strength when pushed to the brink.
• Strategy versus brute force: Hawkins searches for the nature of the Medium, while Aldrich and the others rely on direct combat. The chapter suggests that understanding the enemy may be more important than simply overpowering him.
• Dehumanization and monstrosity: Liam’s transformation and King of Extreme Bliss’s casual cruelty blur the line between power and monstrosity.
• The recurring destruction of the Seven Seas: Taiji Aldrich implies that King of Extreme Bliss has destroyed the region repeatedly, suggesting a larger cycle or history behind the conflict.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins and Mark debate whether to fight or flee, with Hawkins reassuring Mark that he will not act recklessly.
• Aldrich confronts Jabus’s hope of drawing the battle to Vidalia Island, bluntly explaining that any battlefield would likely be destroyed.
• King of Extreme Bliss mocks the Lords throughout the battle and even invites Conrad to become his subordinate because of their compatible abilities.
• Aldrich repeatedly commands the others to stop holding back, trying to coordinate them despite their fear.
• Mallory and Conrad are shocked by Liam’s hidden strength, forced to reconsider their dismissive view of him.
• King of Extreme Bliss exploits Liam’s size and uses him to disrupt Aldrich’s formation, ultimately sacrificing him as a shield against the final attack.

Chapter Summary: “Twin Flame Children”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The King of Extreme Bliss defeats Taiji Aldrich’s forces. Aldrich realizes that his loss was caused by an unexpected change in the reincarnation cycle: Hawkins killed the Pirate Queen, preventing Liam from escaping with her as he had in previous cycles. This small alteration allowed Liam to unleash unprecedented power and defeat Aldrich.
• Aldrich accepts his defeat and vanishes, warning the King of Extreme Bliss that he will not lose again in the next cycle.
• Conrad, Jabus, and Mallory are left facing the King of Extreme Bliss. Conrad chooses to surrender, believing it is the only way to survive. Jabus and Mallory reject submission, but Conrad attacks them to prove that resistance is futile.
• A mysterious woman, Fu Yanjie, arrives seeking revenge. She has learned that the King of Extreme Bliss killed her father, Yukterashir, and decides to hunt him down.
• The King of Extreme Bliss grants Conrad part of his power, transforming Conrad’s abilities into black ice surrounded by black flames. Conrad attacks Fu Yanjie, initially gaining the upper hand by striking her with a concealed black-ice attack.
• Fu Yanjie’s body is engulfed in black flames, apparently killing or incapacitating her. However, she transforms into a crystalline skeleton with a red flame burning inside her chest. Two beads revolve within the flame, revealing that she is one of the mysterious “Twin Flame Children.”
• The King of Extreme Bliss recognizes Fu Yanjie’s true nature and suppresses both her and Conrad, intrigued by the discovery.

Character Developments

• Taiji Aldrich: Shifts from confidence to reluctant acceptance after recognizing that minor changes in the reincarnation cycle can create enormous consequences. He vows to prepare more carefully in the future.
• The King of Extreme Bliss: Remains arrogant, sadistic, and playful, treating the conflict as entertainment. He casually recruits Conrad, empowers him, and dominates the battlefield. His recognition of the Twin Flame Children suggests deeper knowledge of powerful beings and hidden forces.
• Conrad: Reveals himself to be pragmatic and self-preserving rather than loyal. He immediately surrenders when defeat seems inevitable, then attacks Jabus and Mallory to secure his own survival. Empowered by the King of Extreme Bliss, he becomes overconfident after wounding Fu Yanjie.
• Fu Yanjie: Develops from a grieving daughter into an aggressive avenger. Her determination to kill the King of Extreme Bliss drives her into battle despite the danger. Her transformation reveals that she possesses a hidden, far more powerful form.
• Jabus and Mallory: Remain suspicious of the King of Extreme Bliss and recognize the danger of surrendering to him, though their resistance leaves them isolated.
• Liam and Hawkins: Though absent from most of the chapter, their actions are crucial. Liam’s unexplained burst of power defeats Aldrich, while Hawkins’s killing of the Pirate Queen creates the key divergence from previous cycles.
• Yukterashir: His death motivates Fu Yanjie and Sephiroth. His destruction also marks the collapse of the Lineage of the Divine Tree.

Significant Themes

• Small changes causing major consequences: The Pirate Queen’s death, seemingly a minor deviation, completely alters the outcome of the reincarnation cycle.
• Fate, cycles, and variables: Aldrich’s reflections emphasize that repeated cycles are never perfectly identical. Outside influences and hidden variables can disrupt even the most carefully predicted future.
• Survival versus loyalty: Conrad chooses submission over solidarity, while Jabus and Mallory prioritize resistance. Their conflict demonstrates how desperation fractures alliances.
• Revenge and inheritance: Fu Yanjie’s pursuit of the King of Extreme Bliss is driven by her identity as Yukterashir’s daughter and her obligation to avenge him.
• Hidden power and transformation: Fu Yanjie’s apparent defeat conceals her true form, reinforcing the chapter’s focus on powers that remain dormant until extreme circumstances reveal them.
• Entertainment and cruelty: The King of Extreme Bliss treats battles, betrayal, and death as amusement, highlighting his overwhelming power and monstrous personality.

Character Interactions

• Aldrich and the King of Extreme Bliss: Aldrich admits defeat but promises revenge in the next cycle; the King responds with amusement rather than concern.
• Conrad, Jabus, and Mallory: Their alliance collapses when Conrad surrenders and attacks the others. Jabus and Mallory accuse him of falling for the King’s manipulation, while Conrad argues that survival is their only realistic goal.
• Conrad and the King of Extreme Bliss: Conrad submits, and the King rewards him with supernatural power, treating him as a disposable weapon.
• Conrad and Fu Yanjie: They engage in a fierce battle between Conrad’s freezing black flames and Fu Yanjie’s heat-based power. Conrad briefly appears victorious before Fu Yanjie transforms and reverses the situation.
• The King of Extreme Bliss and Fu Yanjie: Their confrontation is only beginning. He recognizes her as one of the Twin Flame Children, suggesting that her arrival may be far more significant than an ordinary revenge attack.

Chapter Summary: “Grant Me a Slender Beauty!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Twin Flame Children, also called Twin Playfire, are revealed to be a powerful Secret Treasure from the Dream Realm. They possess many abilities, including heat generation, matter alteration, illusions, and short-range spatial movement, but normally grant only one or two abilities to their host.
• The Treasure is sentient and takes the form of two mischievous children: a blunt, protective boy and a timid girl named Nana.
• When the King of Extreme Bliss tries to seize Fu Yanjie, the Twin Flame Children protect her by teleporting her skeleton away. Their escape is limited because they must carry Fu Yanjie with them.
• The King orders Conrad to pursue Fu Yanjie while he turns after Jabus and Mallory. The two men recognize the overwhelming difference in strength and flee, but the King intends to kill them to prevent the existence of multiple versions of them from attracting outside attention.
• While fleeing, Fu Yanjie learns that the creature they encountered is only a tiny tentacle of the King of Extreme Bliss. Its true body remains in the Dream Realm and is unimaginably vast, grotesque, and powerful.
• Conrad continues chasing Fu Yanjie with black ice attacks. However, the Twin Flame Children are exhausted, and Fu Yanjie’s remaining Curse Power is nearly depleted. Without it, her skeletal body will collapse and she will die.
• The escape route ends at open water because Conrad’s ice sheet has a limited range. Since Fu Yanjie cannot swim, the group attempts a dangerous teleport toward a nearby ship, despite the boy’s poor control over his ability.
• The ship is the Black Knife, where Mark is mourning his rejection by Jennie and drunkenly wishing for a beautiful woman. Fu Yanjie suddenly teleports from the sky and crashes onto him, creating a bizarre first encounter.

Character Developments

• Fu Yanjie becomes increasingly aware of the enormous gap between herself and the King of Extreme Bliss. Her desire for revenge gives way to a desperate struggle for survival, though she remains courageous and willing to risk herself to escape Conrad.
• The Twin Flame Children demonstrate strong loyalty toward Fu Yanjie. The boy is aggressive and protective, while Nana is fearful but compassionate. Their exhaustion reveals the limitations of their many abilities, especially their inability to fully control them.
• Nana is shown to be especially concerned about Fu Yanjie’s survival and afraid of being eaten by the King.
• Conrad continues his relentless pursuit, using the frozen terrain and black ice as weapons.
• The King of Extreme Bliss is established as a horrifying, predatory entity that treats powerful Secret Treasures and living beings as food.
• Mark is revealed to be heartbroken after confessing to Jennie and receiving a polite rejection. His loneliness and self-pity lead him to jokingly pray for a woman, only for Fu Yanjie to literally fall onto him.

Significant Themes

• The difference between knowledge and mastery: The Twin Flame Children possess a wide range of abilities but lack full control, making them versatile yet unreliable.
• Survival against overwhelming power: Fu Yanjie and the children cannot defeat their pursuers and must rely on cooperation, improvisation, and risky escape attempts.
• The cost of power: Fu Yanjie’s continued movement depends on dwindling Curse Power, creating a literal countdown to death.
• Loyalty and protection: Despite their mischievous personalities, the Twin Flame Children risk themselves to save Fu Yanjie.
• Darkness mixed with absurd humor: The grotesque horror of the King of Extreme Bliss is contrasted with the children’s blunt jokes and Mark’s comical romantic misfortune.

Character Interactions

• The Twin Flame Children openly confront the King of Extreme Bliss, insisting that he cannot harm Fu Yanjie.
• Fu Yanjie questions the children about their existence and the King’s identity, learning more about the terrifying Dream Realm.
• The boy and Nana bicker over their past failures, revealing their sibling-like personalities and lack of control.
• Fu Yanjie, the children, and Conrad engage in a tense chase across the melting ice.
• Mark’s lonely wish is humorously answered when Fu Yanjie’s skeleton crashes onto his ship. Shocked by the apparently living skeleton, Mark instinctively punches her, setting up their first interaction.

Key plot points and events

• Fu Yanjie warns Mark that Conrad is pursuing them and urges the Black Knife to escape. Conrad freezes the sea with his Black Ice power, trapping the ship.
• Mark refuses to flee and attacks Conrad, initially mistaking him for Julian. Conrad’s icy wing-blade nearly cuts Mark’s throat, but Mark’s Curse Power limits the injury.
• Mark identifies Conrad through a livestream. Vanessa reveals he is the Vampire Lord of Bottle Island; the group discusses his alliance with the King of Extreme Bliss and whether that entity can be reasoned with.
• Conrad shifts into human form and attacks at close range. Mark counters by unleashing lightning through his Sky-Piercer Halberd. Both are shocked, but Conrad is hurt more severely.
• Mark tries to follow up, but his awkward, showy weapon gives Conrad an opening to dodge. Conrad remains injured and realizes he has no source of blood nearby to recover.

Character developments

• Mark shows improved Curse Power control and sharp instincts under pressure. Though reckless and vain about his flashy weapon, he can adapt quickly and exploit his unusual resistance to electricity.
• Conrad proves far more dangerous than Mark’s earlier opponent, but his caution and self-preservation shape his choices: he has joined the King of Extreme Bliss while keeping his distance from its cause. He is also badly weakened by Mark’s lightning.
• Fu Yanjie is focused on protecting the group and recognizes the danger Conrad poses.
• The Twin Flame Children defend Fu Yanjie, displaying loyalty and childlike indignation at Mark’s apparent aggression.

Significant themes

• Growth through hardship: Mark’s past defeats have sharpened his combat instincts and control of power.
• Caution versus recklessness: Conrad fights strategically, while Mark willingly confronts an enemy he knows little about.
• Power and emotion: Maning distinguishes ordinary anger from the King of Extreme Bliss’s more destructive rage, suggesting that powerful emotions can become monstrous forces.
• Appearance and expectation: Conrad’s bat form disguises his identity and strength; Mark’s impressive-looking halberd is also revealed to be impractical.

Character interactions

• The Twin Flame Children rebuke Mark for hitting Fu Yanjie, while she tries to redirect attention to the immediate threat.
• Mark and Conrad trade attacks and taunts, each trying to assess or unsettle the other.
• Mark consults the Chat Group for information. Vanessa identifies Conrad, and the others debate his alliance and the possibility of negotiating with the King of Extreme Bliss; Maning dismisses that hope as naïve.
• Conrad’s taunting of Mark’s weapon underscores their contrasting priorities: Mark values spectacle, while Conrad focuses on practical combat.

Key plot points and events

• Fu Yanjie tries to escape the Black Knife but realizes she needs a way to sail. Maning catches her and discovers that Little Boy and Nana are the valuable Twin Flame Children.
• Maning tries to recruit the children, but they refuse to abandon Fu Yanjie. Hawkins returns, recognizes Fu Yanjie, and orders Maning to send her and the children into Eternal Space rather than harm them.
• Hawkins flies off to find the King of Extreme Bliss. He finds the King fighting Jabus and Mallory, kills them effortlessly, and agrees to face Hawkins.
• Hawkins invokes a nuclear weapon. Its blast engulfs the King of Extreme Bliss, leaving him burning, while the distant shock wave strikes Mark and Conrad and melts the Black Ice.
• Conrad recovers and attacks Mark, determined to eliminate him and retrieve the Twin Flame Children. Injured and barely able to move, Mark fights back with the Silver Wolf Curse Spirit and then begins a Fusion Transformation.

Character developments

• Fu Yanjie thinks quickly about escaping but is caught before she can find a vessel. Her bond with the children is reaffirmed when they choose to stay with her.
• Maning reveals her ruthless nature and ambition, but also her caution: she obeys Hawkins and conceals her disappointment because she hopes to secure a place under him and protect her sister.
• Hawkins remains calm and strategic, using his knowledge of nuclear weapons to challenge the King rather than acting impulsively.
• The King of Extreme Bliss is powerful and self-assured, treating Jabus and Mallory as toys. His ignorance of nuclear weapons contrasts with his immense strength.
• Mark is badly injured but refuses to give up, relying on his remaining abilities as the fight turns desperate.
• Conrad shows his determination to please his superiors and advances into a demonic, vampiric form to finish Mark quickly.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Even formidable characters can be caught off guard; the nuclear blast disrupts both the King’s confidence and the duel between Mark and Conrad.
• Loyalty and attachment: Little Boy and Nana refuse Maning’s offer because they will not leave Fu Yanjie.
• Hierarchy and ambition: Maning and Conrad both maneuver within systems of authority, trying to satisfy or gain favor with those above them.
• Knowledge as power: Hawkins’s scientific knowledge gives him a way to confront an opponent who seems physically invincible.

Character interactions

• The children protect Fu Yanjie and reject Maning’s recruitment offer.
• Maning obeys Hawkins’s orders despite wanting the children for herself.
• Hawkins and the King exchange questions and taunts before Hawkins unleashes the nuclear attack.
• The blast briefly interrupts Mark and Conrad’s duel; once Conrad recovers, he resumes his assault, while Mark counters with his Curse Spirit and prepares to transform.

Chapter Summary: “Mutual Disgust”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Conrad attacks Mark with his sword, but Mark activates the Sky-Piercer Halberd, transforming into a heavily armored Mechanical Werewolf. The weapon’s biological components rapidly heal his injuries.
• Mark crushes Conrad’s Black Ice Longsword and forces him into retreat. Their fight continues across the unstable ice sheet, with Conrad repeatedly transforming into a bat to evade Mark’s attacks.
• The ice has been weakened by Hawkins’s earlier nuclear explosion. When Conrad lands, the ice collapses beneath him, giving Mark an opening.
• Mark uses powerful electricity and concentrates his Curse Power into a single finger, piercing Conrad’s defenses and electrocuting him unconscious. Rather than killing him, Mark captures him in one of Hawkins’s containment spheres for possible use as a captive or saleable Dream Realm Creature.
• Elsewhere, Hawkins confronts the King of Extreme Bliss, which survives a nuclear blast that leaves it charred and temporarily blind. Its regeneration restores it almost immediately.
• Hawkins realizes ordinary attacks cannot kill the creature. He summons Mother, an indescribably grotesque entity, but the sight of Mother causes both Hawkins and the King of Extreme Bliss to vomit uncontrollably.
• Overwhelmed by disgust, the King of Extreme Bliss retreats into the vortex, while Mother drags Hawkins back into Eternal Space. Their confrontation ends through mutual psychological revulsion rather than combat.
• The Blood-Red Vortex begins shrinking, restoring the areas it had swallowed, though the returned regions are left as enormous flooded pits. Mark returns to the Black Knife to investigate what happened.
• In the Dream Realm’s Realm of Extreme Wrath, the King of Extreme Bliss sinks into the Sea of Blood and falls into a temporary sleep, tormented by memories of Mother’s disgusting appearance.

Character Developments

• Mark proves himself far stronger and more adaptable than Conrad expected. His transformation grants him armor, healing, enhanced physical ability, electricity, and sharp mechanical claws.
• Mark’s attitude toward enemies has shifted: instead of automatically killing them, he considers whether Hawkins might be able to capture or sell them. This highlights his growing alignment with the Blackblade Pirates’ methods.
• Conrad realizes he badly underestimated Mark after focusing too much on Hawkins during his investigation of the pirates. Although agile and difficult to hit, he is ultimately defeated by Mark’s superior durability and concentrated Curse Power.
• Hawkins demonstrates both immense destructive power and unusual survivability, having been killed multiple times yet continuing to return. However, he admits that the King of Extreme Bliss’s regeneration and defense exceed his expectations.
• The King of Extreme Bliss is shown to possess extraordinary resilience, regeneration, and Curse Power, but its confidence collapses when faced with Mother. Its extreme sensitivity to disgust becomes a decisive weakness.
• Mother remains so alien and repulsive that even powerful supernatural beings cannot endure witnessing her. She causes severe mental and physical distress without directly attacking.

Significant Themes

• Underestimation and hidden strength: Conrad’s fixation on Hawkins causes him to overlook Mark, whose capabilities turn out to be highly dangerous.
• Adaptation and survival: Both Mark and the King of Extreme Bliss survive through transformation, regeneration, or unusual defensive abilities.
• Practicality over brutality: Mark captures Conrad instead of killing him, reflecting the pirates’ pragmatic interest in exploiting powerful enemies.
• Disgust as a weapon: The chapter turns revulsion into a force more effective than physical violence. Mother’s appearance overwhelms both sides and ends the confrontation.
• The limits of power: Even nuclear-level attacks and Curse Power cannot easily defeat the King of Extreme Bliss, while Hawkins’s most effective “weapon” is ultimately something psychologically unbearable.
• Mutual suffering: The title is reflected in Hawkins and the King of Extreme Bliss sharing the same reaction—both are forced to vomit and endure severe mental trauma after seeing Mother.

Important Character Interactions

• Mark vs. Conrad: A fast-paced battle in which Mark’s mechanical transformation and electrical attack eventually overpower Conrad’s agility and shapeshifting.
• Hawkins vs. the King of Extreme Bliss: A tense confrontation between Hawkins’s overwhelming destructive power and the creature’s near-unbreakable body and regeneration.
• Hawkins and Mother: Hawkins reluctantly summons Mother despite knowing how unpleasant the encounter will be, revealing his dependence on her as a last-resort weapon.
• Mother and the King of Extreme Bliss: Their brief encounter causes the King to flee in horror, establishing disgust—not strength—as the decisive factor in the confrontation.

Summary: “A New Order in the Seven Seas”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After confronting King of Extreme Bliss, Hawkins is left mentally and physically exhausted. Although he does not kill the terrifying entity, he somehow drives it back into the Dream Realm, causing the vortex to disappear.
• The other members of the Blackblade Pirates are shocked by the outcome. Hawkins reveals that the Seven Seas’ Lords are probably dead, including Jabus and Mallory, whom he personally saw crushed.
• With the Lords gone, the Blackblade Pirates decide to seize their wealth. Hawkins orders the treasure divided among the crew, himself, and a central treasury.
• Over the following month, the pirates raid the Lords’ strongholds. Their deaths create a power vacuum: cities form armies, declare independence, and fight one another for control.
• The destruction of Hard Biscuit Island leaves a huge sea-filled pit, but the land lost is effectively balanced by previously submerged land emerging around other islands.
• One year later, the Seven Seas remain in chaos. Numerous city lords wage war, while ordinary people suffer displacement and starvation.
• The Blackblade Pirates have become the dominant maritime power, commanding sixty ships and more than ten thousand members. Rather than preying on civilians, they hunt criminals and pirates, functioning as a form of sea-based law enforcement.
• Hawkins, still suffering from the psychological effects of King of Extreme Bliss, remains lethargic aboard the Black Knife. He forces himself to stay active through reading, fishing, and occasionally defeating pirates.
• Old Bull, Maris, and other displaced former civilians become amateur pirates after war destroys their livelihoods. Mistaking the Black Knife for an undefended merchant vessel, they board it intending to seize the ship.
• Hawkins truthfully tells them that he is alone, then falls asleep. Maris decides to kill him and take the vessel. Old Bull attacks Hawkins with a blade, but the strike fails to injure him, leaving Hawkins to awaken and confront them.

Character Developments

• Hawkins: Although he has become the strongest figure in the Seven Seas, Hawkins is emotionally drained and apathetic after encountering King of Extreme Bliss. He remains responsible enough to direct the redistribution of wealth and maintain order, but he increasingly relies on Mother to force himself into action.
• The Blackblade Pirates: Their power and influence expand dramatically after the Lords’ deaths. They evolve from a pirate crew into a massive organization that polices the seas and becomes capable of ruling the entire region.
• Mark and the other crew members: They take responsibility for expanding the Blackblade Pirates’ wealth and influence while Hawkins withdraws from active leadership. They also continue seeking opportunities to grow stronger.
• Old Bull and Maris: Once ordinary working men—a pig farmer and pig breeder respectively—they become pirates because war destroys their homes, livelihoods, and faith in society. Their transformation shows how desperation and violence reshape civilians.
• The Lords and city rulers: With the established Lords eliminated, power fragments among ambitious city leaders who compete violently to become the new rulers.

Significant Themes

• The collapse and reconstruction of power: The death of the Lords destroys the old political order, but does not bring peace. Instead, it creates a chaotic struggle among new rulers.
• The social consequences of war: Civilians are displaced, starve, and lose their livelihoods, while former farmers and workers are pushed into piracy.
• Order versus lawlessness: The Blackblade Pirates remain technically pirates but act as enforcers, targeting criminals rather than civilians. This blurs the distinction between pirates, soldiers, and government.
• The burden of overwhelming power: Hawkins has the strength to dominate the Seven Seas, yet his encounter with King of Extreme Bliss leaves him apathetic and unable to pursue conquest.
• Moral degeneration: Old Bull’s willingness to kill innocent people for profit illustrates how prolonged violence erodes ordinary people’s morality.
• Changing geography and social structures: The destruction of Hard Biscuit Island and the resurfacing of submerged land symbolize the broader transformation of the Seven Seas.

Character Interactions

• The crew questions Hawkins about the vanished vortex and King of Extreme Bliss, but they accept his evasive answer because of the danger involved.
• Hawkins and his crew agree on the division of the Lords’ wealth, reinforcing their loyalty and shared understanding of his authority.
• Hawkins’s relationship with Mother shows that she helps regulate his behavior and prevents his apathy from becoming complete inactivity.
• Old Bull and Maris cooperate as amateur pirate leaders, using their past practical experience to organize raids.
• Their interaction with Hawkins begins as a robbery attempt: Maris orders Old Bull to kill him, but Hawkins’s impossible durability turns the encounter into an impending confrontation.

Plot points and events

• Exhausted Hawkins sleeps through Maris and his pirates repeatedly hacking at him; his Curse Power makes their attacks harmless. When they try to carry him off and dump him in the sea, they wake him.
• The pirates flee to their own ship. Hawkins calmly asks the Black Knife to defend itself, and a giant tentacle rises from the water and smashes their ship in half. Hawkins returns to sleep, treating the incident as trivial.
• In the Dream Realm, the Aldriches mourn another failed attempt to save the Seven Seas from the King of Extreme Bliss. They recognize that they underestimated Hawkins as a factor.
• An Aldrich brings in a butcher’s knife carrying a fresh aura from the Seven Seas. Taiji Aldrich uses Soul Interrogator to summon Old Bull’s spirit from it.
• Under threat, Old Bull confirms that he is from the Seven Seas and recounts the past year. He claims Hard Biscuit Island alone was destroyed, while the rest of the Seven Seas survived. The Aldriches are astonished and wonder whether they should return.

Character developments and interactions

• Hawkins remains unbothered and sleepy, relying on his protection and the Black Knife’s power rather than personally confronting the pirates.
• Maris is initially ruthless and confident, but loses his nerve when the pirates cannot harm Hawkins. He orders a retreat, which comes too late to save their ship.
• Old Bull shifts from attacking Hawkins to panicking during the escape, then appears before the Aldriches as a frightened spirit. He lies about his past, portraying himself as a harmless, charitable commoner.
• Taiji Aldrich takes charge of questioning Old Bull and presses him for reliable information. Lord Aldrich admits he failed to anticipate Hawkins’s importance and later raises the possibility of returning to the Seven Seas.

Significant themes

• The limits of force: The pirates’ repeated attacks are useless against Hawkins, while the Black Knife’s single retaliation destroys their ship.
• Unforeseen variables and fate: The Aldriches’ plans repeatedly fail because events do not unfold exactly as expected; Hawkins becomes a major factor they neglected.
• Hope and uncertainty: The discovery that the Seven Seas may still exist offers the Aldriches a possible escape from the Dream Realm, but they do not yet know why this cycle differed from previous ones.
• Self-preservation and deception: Maris retreats when danger becomes clear, while Old Bull invents a virtuous identity to protect himself.

Chapter Summary: “Book Spirit”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After six months recovering on Jade Island, Hawkins returns to full health and issues a decree across the Seven Seas banning forced conscription and harm to civilians. Violators are executed.
• Several rulers secretly disobey him, but Hawkins destroys them, causing many regional wars to end. Without forced recruitment, the warring cities can no longer easily replenish their armies.
• Hawkins’s reputation as the Pirate King spreads, attracting people who wish to join the Blackblade Pirates. Criminals are sent to Eternal Space for labor reform, while innocent applicants are rejected after being beaten and driven away.
• Mark questions why the Blackblade Pirates do not rule the Seven Seas outright. Hawkins explains that he is preparing for a future departure and wants to ensure he can return whenever he wishes.
• Hawkins plans to travel through the Mist Sea rather than using Mani’s ability to move between sea regions. Mani has become a major source of Curse Power, exchanging it for coins and greatly increasing the Curse Power Bank’s reserves.
• With more than ten billion Curse Power available, Hawkins attempts to resurrect his old comrade Pei Jin using the Eternal Sea Chart.
• Instead of Pei Jin, the ritual summons an injured female elf from another world. Hawkins initially mistakes her for Pei Jin because the resurrection produces a woman, but quickly realizes she is unrelated.
• The elf attacks Hawkins with a blast of light, though he remains unharmed. Unable to understand her language, Hawkins communicates through drawings and eventually helps her join the Chat Group.
• The elf identifies herself as Olivia. Through the Chat Group, she explains that she comes from a world of elves, humans, orcs, dragons, demons, and other races. Her homeland, Peaceful Forest, was conquered by orcs, and she was in danger of being enslaved.
• Hawkins learns that Olivia’s light manipulation is an innate racial ability rather than magic. He tells her she may not be able to return home and begins showing her around Eternal Space.

Character Developments

• Hawkins: Recovers physically and asserts his authority as a protector of civilians. He becomes more focused on long-term plans, particularly leaving the Seven Seas, preserving the option of returning, and resurrecting lost comrades. His reaction to the unexpected elf shows both his lingering attachment to his former companions and his ability to adapt to the unknown.
• Mark: Regains his confidence after a long period of weakness and begins acting boastful after recording videos of himself defeating enemies. He now believes the Blackblade Pirates are strong enough to rule the Seven Seas.
• Mani: Remains connected to Eternal Space because of its free food and resources. Her enormous Curse Power makes her essential to Hawkins’s resurrection efforts, though supporting her has drained much of his wealth.
• Olivia: Introduced as frightened, defensive, and traumatized by enslavement and war. Once Hawkins establishes communication, she becomes more trusting and accepts his protection.

Significant Themes

• Power and responsibility: Hawkins uses overwhelming strength not to conquer the Seven Seas but to end conscription, protect civilians, and discourage war.
• The cost of peace: Ending forced recruitment weakens the city-states’ ability to wage prolonged conflict, showing how political systems depend on expendable people.
• Loss and resurrection: Hawkins’s attempt to restore Pei Jin reflects his grief and desire to reclaim the past, but the failed ritual instead opens contact with an entirely new world.
• Communication across differences: Drawings and the Chat Group bridge the language barrier between Hawkins and Olivia, emphasizing empathy and creativity over force.
• Freedom and exploitation: Olivia’s account of elves being captured and sold highlights the dangers of slavery, racial conflict, and the abuse of vulnerable populations.
• Exploration and uncertainty: Hawkins’s plans to cross the Mist Sea and the accidental arrival of Olivia suggest that the wider universe contains worlds and possibilities far beyond the Seven Seas.

Character Interactions

• Mark challenges Hawkins about the pirates’ limited territorial control, while Hawkins responds indirectly by emphasizing patience and future plans.
• Hawkins and Mani maintain a financial arrangement in which she supplies Curse Power for payment, making her both a valuable ally and a major expense.
• Hawkins confronts Olivia after her arrival but does not retaliate when she attacks him. Instead, he patiently searches for a means of communication.
• Through drawings and the Chat Group, Hawkins gains Olivia’s trust, learns about her world, and offers her safety in Eternal Space. He also avoids pressing her when she begins describing the traumatic circumstances of her capture.

Key plot points

• Hawkins returns to the Isolated Island Laboratory after introducing Olivia to Qiao Si and the others. His attempt to resurrect Pei Jin instead brought Olivia from another world, costing billions of Curse Power but revealing that resurrection between worlds is unpredictable—and may require far more energy.
• The Aldriches reappear on Yazhong Island, relieved to find the Seven Seas intact. After investigating, they learn Hawkins and the Blackblade Pirates were central to its survival. Though Hawkins is already the region’s powerful “uncrowned ruler,” Taiji Aldrich insists their ancestors’ command to claim the Seven Seas still stands. The Aldriches begin planning a surprise attack on Hawkins, knowing they may get only one chance.
• With Hawkins’s authority ending the fighting, the Seven Seas settle into a patchwork of largely independent towns and nations.
• On Vitalia Island, Mark and Arthur visit the newly thriving House Town. At a tavern, Mark approaches Unia, a former Aldrich interrogator who has been hiding since fleeing Yazhong Island. She is secretly eager to torture someone, but plays the part of a shy, flirtatious woman. Mark is immediately smitten.

Character developments and interactions

• Hawkins reflects on the limits and risks of resurrection, and views meeting Olivia as valuable despite its cost.
• Taiji Aldrich and the Aldriches shift from relief to ambition: they recognize Hawkins’s power but remain committed to taking the Seven Seas.
• Mark is still recovering from Jennie’s rejection and has been drinking and pursuing women. Unia’s attention makes him believe he has found genuine romance.
• Unia is beautiful but dangerous: a fugitive former interrogator with a sadistic desire to torture, concealing her intentions behind a seductive persona.
• Arthur encourages Mark’s approach and watches as Mark confidently tries to charm Unia.

Significant themes

• Power and legitimacy: Hawkins’s role in saving the Seven Seas puts him in conflict with the Aldriches’ inherited claim to rule.
• Uncertainty and unintended consequences: Hawkins’s resurrection experiment shows how little is known about crossing worlds.
• Appearance versus reality: Unia’s coy performance hides her cruel nature, while Mark mistakes flirtation for a meaningful connection.
• Recovery and vulnerability: Mark’s longing for affection makes him especially susceptible to Unia’s charms.

Summary

• Plot and events: Arthur initially doubts Mark’s chances with Unia, a powerful and suspicious woman he meets in a tavern. However, Mark unexpectedly charms her. Arthur livestreams their interaction to the group, whose members quickly become fascinated and concerned. Maning, Ai Miye, and the others sense that Unia is not genuinely attracted to Mark and may be targeting him for his money or life.
• Mark and Unia leave the tavern holding hands. Mark becomes carried away by fantasies of marriage and children, then confesses his feelings. Unia accepts, kisses him, and brings him home. Arthur follows under an Optical Invisibility Cloak after being ordered to intervene if necessary.
• Inside, Mark and Unia kiss passionately while the group watches through the livestream. Aldrich unexpectedly enters and calmly observes them without being noticed. The group assumes his appearance may be part of an ambush, but Aldrich is actually retrieving Unia, one of his skilled interrogators, because he needs her help gathering intelligence on the Blackblade Pirates and Hawkins.
• When Mark and Unia finally notice Aldrich, Mark instinctively protects her and demands to know who he is. Unia panics and addresses Aldrich as “Master,” revealing their relationship. Mark immediately realizes that Unia has been deceiving him and, after mentally imagining disturbing possibilities about their master-servant connection, abruptly loses interest in her.

Character development

• Mark shifts rapidly from romantic excitement to disillusionment. He becomes deeply invested in Unia almost immediately, imagining marriage and a family, but his attraction collapses as soon as he learns she serves Aldrich.
• Arthur acts as Mark’s observer, supporter, and reluctant protector. Though initially skeptical, he becomes anxious about Mark’s safety and follows him into danger.
• Unia presents herself as flirtatious and romantically interested, but her true loyalty is to Aldrich. Her fearful reaction to him exposes her deceptive role.
• Aldrich is revealed to be alive and strategically minded. He values intelligence gathering and regards Unia as an important tool in his conflict with the Blackblade Pirates.
• Maning and Ai Miye demonstrate strong judgment of character, correctly suspecting that Unia views Mark as prey rather than a romantic partner.
• The group members behave like entertained spectators, gossiping about Mark while also showing concern when the situation appears dangerous.

Themes

• Appearance versus reality: Unia’s seductive behavior masks her true allegiance and intentions.
• Romantic illusion and sudden disillusionment: Mark builds an elaborate fantasy around a relationship that has barely begun, only to abandon it instantly when reality proves unsettling.
• Surveillance and entertainment: The group turns Mark’s private encounter into a livestreamed spectacle, blurring the line between concern and voyeurism.
• Power and manipulation: Unia’s relationship with Aldrich and her interrogation abilities suggest a world in which romance, loyalty, and personal interactions can all be used strategically.
• Intelligence as power: Aldrich’s decision to retrieve Unia emphasizes the importance of information in his planned confrontation with the Blackblade Pirates.

Chapter Summary: “Mark Moves Mountains”

Key Plot Points and Events

• During Arthur’s livestream, observers discuss Mark’s apparent romantic involvement with Unia and Aldrich’s motives. They initially assume the situation involves an affair or political conflict.
• Mark, believing Unia is Aldrich’s maid and lover, decides to leave after feeling betrayed. Unia attempts to keep him in the room, while Aldrich watches with amusement.
• Unia traps Mark inside and suddenly attacks him with a red whip. Mark easily dodges, revealing that he is far more capable and alert than she expected.
• Mark concludes that Unia is using a “honey trap,” though the term is unfamiliar to both Unia and Aldrich. Aldrich realizes Mark has noticed the danger but cannot understand why he remains calm.
• Aldrich orders Unia to interrogate Mark. When Aldrich tries to step on Mark’s shadow, Mark quickly escapes and correctly guesses that the ability would immobilize him.
• Mark realizes that Unia and Aldrich intended to use or kill him. Furious that he had mistaken Unia’s manipulation for genuine love, he summons the Sky-Piercer Halberd and attacks them.
• The halberd severely wounds Unia, slicing through her chest and causing a violent eruption of red magma. Aldrich knocks her unconscious and stops her bleeding. Mark pauses his attack but remains furious and unapologetic.

Character Developments

• Mark: Shifts from hopeful romantic disappointment to suspicion and rage. His emotional vulnerability is exposed when he admits he had imagined marrying Unia, having children, and building a family. Once threatened, however, he demonstrates sharp instincts, quick reflexes, tactical intelligence, and overwhelming combat power.
• Unia: Revealed to be a dangerous and sadistic attacker rather than a sincere lover. She enjoys manipulating and tormenting Mark but becomes cautious after realizing he is not ordinary. Her confidence collapses when Mark seriously injures her.
• Aldrich: Initially treats the encounter as entertainment, but becomes increasingly wary when Mark avoids Unia’s attack and deduces the nature of his shadow ability. He remains cold and practical, prioritizing Unia’s survival only after she is badly wounded.
• Arthur and the livestream viewers: Provide comic commentary and react with shock and amusement. Arthur fears Mark will punish him for secretly livestreaming the incident, while the women watching are horrified by Unia’s injury.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and false intimacy: Mark’s anger stems less from physical danger than from realizing that what he thought was love was merely manipulation.
• Appearance versus reality: Unia’s seductive behavior hides murderous intentions, while Mark’s apparently ordinary demeanor conceals substantial strength and intelligence.
• Romantic vulnerability and wounded pride: Mark’s dreams of love and family make the betrayal especially painful, leading to an exaggerated but genuine emotional reaction.
• Knowledge as power: Mark’s familiarity with abilities from Hawkins’s novels allows him to identify and counter Aldrich’s shadow technique.
• Comedy amid violence: The chapter contrasts Mark’s dramatic heartbreak and brutal retaliation with the livestream audience’s jokes, misunderstandings, and exaggerated commentary.

Character Interactions

• Mark and Unia: Unia repeatedly tries to seduce, trap, and provoke Mark, while Mark politely resists until her attack confirms her hostile intentions. His disappointment turns into open fury.
• Mark and Aldrich: Aldrich attempts to dominate and interrogate Mark, but Mark refuses to reveal his identity and challenges him directly. Their exchange becomes a contest of psychological insight and combat ability.
• Unia and Aldrich: Unia obeys Aldrich as her master and relies on his presence for confidence. Aldrich treats her as a useful subordinate rather than protecting her from danger, ultimately incapacitating her when she is injured.
• Arthur, Ai Miye, and the viewers: Their commentary creates a humorous outside perspective, mocking Mark’s misunderstanding while reacting with alarm to the sudden violence.

Chapter Summary: “Love Is So Hard”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Aldrich finishes bandaging Unia, Mark attacks him with the Sky-Piercer Halberd. Aldrich recognizes Mark as a likely member of the Blackblade Pirates.
• Arthur, who has secretly followed them under Boss Ai Miye’s orders, accidentally reveals his presence. He also admits that he has been livestreaming the entire encounter.
• Aldrich attacks Arthur, but Mark blocks the strike. Arthur escapes back to Eternal Space using the Optical Invisibility Cloak.
• Mark opens the livestream and tries to portray himself as an innocent victim of Aldrich’s schemes, claiming that Unia was sent to seduce him. Aldrich bluntly counters that Unia’s success only proves Mark is naturally lecherous, ruining Mark’s plan to edit the recording favorably.
• Unia awakens in pain while Mark and Aldrich continue fighting. Aldrich uses his superior experience and rapid swordsmanship to pierce Mark through the abdomen.
• Mark struggles in the cramped room, where the long Sky-Piercer Halberd is difficult to wield. Aldrich relentlessly attacks, giving Mark no chance to recover.
• The Blackblade Pirates watch the livestream and anxiously shout advice, despite usually mocking Mark. Mark has muted the audio, however, so he cannot hear them.
• Though badly wounded and losing blood, Mark uses evasive rolls and carefully maneuvers Aldrich into position. He then summons the halberd from behind Aldrich.
• The lightning-charged weapon pierces Aldrich’s back and electrocutes him, allowing Mark a brief moment to rest.
• The chapter ends with Aldrich’s body transforming into a black shadow and dissolving into an ink-like puddle, leaving his true condition uncertain.

Character Developments

• Mark: His confident, flirtatious facade collapses when he realizes the livestream has exposed his embarrassing behavior. Despite his comic personality and poor reputation, he demonstrates courage, tactical thinking, and determination while severely injured. His remark about wanting a genuine relationship reveals a more sincere and vulnerable side.
• Aldrich: He is shown to be an extremely experienced and ruthless fighter. Rather than delivering speeches, he attacks continuously and exploits every opening. His shadow-like transformation suggests that he possesses unusual powers or may not have been physically present in an ordinary sense.
• Arthur: Arthur proves loyal and obedient, warning Mark about Aldrich and escaping when ordered. His accidental livestream exposes the fight and intensifies Mark’s humiliation.
• Unia: She survives long enough to regain consciousness, but remains badly wounded and largely unable to participate in the battle.
• The Blackblade Pirates: Their concern for Mark reveals that, beneath their teasing and criticism, they regard him as family.

Significant Themes

• Public image versus reality: Mark desperately tries to control how others perceive him, but the livestream exposes his true awkwardness and behavior.
• Loyalty and found family: The pirates mock Mark, yet immediately worry about his survival when he is genuinely threatened.
• Survival through adaptability: Mark cannot overpower Aldrich directly, so he relies on improvisation, the environment, and the halberd’s special abilities.
• Comedy amid danger: Mark’s social embarrassment and the pirates’ frantic commentary contrast with the seriousness of his injuries and the lethal battle.
• The difficulty of love and sincerity: Mark’s closing complaint suggests that his womanizing may partly mask a desire for a genuine relationship.

Important Character Interactions

• Mark and Aldrich exchange accusations, with Mark trying to shift blame for Unia’s presence and Aldrich openly insulting him.
• Arthur’s sudden appearance disrupts the confrontation and exposes Mark’s connection to the Blackblade Pirates.
• Mark orders Arthur to escape, prioritizing his safety despite the danger.
• The Blackblade Pirates collectively react to Mark’s peril, offering frantic advice while also criticizing him.
• Mark and Aldrich’s fight evolves from direct combat into a tactical contest, ending with Mark exploiting Aldrich’s positioning and striking him with the summoned halberd.