Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Green’s forces encircle the wounded Assassin, combining attacks from Death Angel and Flame Angel with rifle fire from the Anomalies Bureau and City Guard.
• The Assassin repeatedly evades their attacks, but Aliotega charges him from behind while Frio reveals his hiding place with a precisely timed Floating Cannon shot. Aliotega’s lance pierces the Assassin’s heart, and a burst of Psychic Energy destroys his organs.
• Green tries to seize the dead man’s soul, but Holy Light envelops the body. The Assassin revives and vanishes in a sphere of light, leaving the assembled forces unsettled.
• Green returns in person to the Bureau headquarters steps. Recognized as commander, he orders the troops to arrest the city’s traitors, killing anyone who resists.

Character developments and interactions

• Green shows strategic ruthlessness: he coordinates a large force to overcome a vastly powerful opponent, then quickly turns the victory into action against the broader conspiracy. He does not pursue the revived Assassin, judging it unnecessary and potentially futile.
• The Assassin remains calm and professional even while gravely wounded and outnumbered. He bears Green no personal grudge, regarding killing as work, and acknowledges Green’s strength—though he resents the unfairness of being surrounded.
• Aliotega demonstrates disciplined caution, confirming the kill rather than assuming the lance strike was enough. Frio, the least powerful combatant, proves valuable through patience and observation, waiting for the right moment to expose the Assassin.
• The four Legendary fighters—Death Angel, Flame Angel, Aliotega, and Frio—work together with the Bureau and City Guard. Their victory initially inspires the troops, but the Assassin’s Holy Light revival dampens morale.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and preparation overcome individual power: Green’s coordinated encirclement defeats an enemy who could not easily be beaten one-on-one.
• Power does not guarantee control: The Assassin is killed, yet Holy Light restores him and allows his escape.
• Duty without personal hatred: The Assassin treats violence as a profession, showing respect rather than vengeance toward Green.
• Authority and loyalty: Green’s command is accepted because Cyrabelle formally appointed him and the troops remain loyal to her; he uses that authority to move immediately against the traitors.

Plot points and events

• After an assassination attempt, Green declares that anyone who resists the authorities’ operation will be killed. He sends the Anomalies Bureau and City Guard to arrest people on Cyrabelle’s intelligence list: nobles and capitalists suspected of colluding with the Revolutionary Army.
• Green deploys his full force to support the purge: a Dragon Lich, a Shadow Red Dragon, several powerful undead commanders, and vast undead armies. Their arrival terrifies Stinnard, while their disciplined ranks reassure the public that they are not attacking civilians indiscriminately.
• Green’s show of force also advances his larger goals. He wants to demonstrate his power and honor Cyrabelle’s trust, establish Military Administration, and seize factories and supply warehouses—not the nobles’ fortunes. He also sees the operation as a chance for his undead to gain experience and collect Psychic Energy.
• The display leaves the city’s power brokers stunned. The Little King is frightened and enraged; Prime Minister Carpson realizes he has lost control of the capital.
• Carpson decides to resist by gathering the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Armed Police and the Palace Guard, then asks Revolutionary Army leader Sebolutes to join them. Sebolutes receives the proposal and proposes a joint defense of the Royal Palace, though Carpson has exaggerated his forces’ numbers.

Character developments and interactions

• Green reveals his willingness to use overwhelming force and pursue political and material advantage, while framing the operation as a response to rebellion and a demonstration of loyalty to Cyrabelle.
• Carpson shifts from shock to desperate resistance. He contacts Covens, who uses a costly communication artifact to reach Sebolutes.
• Sebolutes recognizes that Green’s sudden offensive has ruined her plans. Though she asks her companions for their views, she has already decided to consider Carpson’s offer.
• Suzune and the other Revolutionary Army members are forced to confront how powerless they are against Green’s dragons and armies. Carpson’s proposal creates an unexpected possibility of cooperation between the government and the rebels.

Significant themes

• Power and political control: Green’s military display is as much a bid to take over Stinnard as it is a crackdown on alleged collaborators.
• Fear as a tool of rule: The dragons and undead intimidate enemies and bystanders alike, reshaping the city’s balance of power before dawn.
• Shifting alliances: The crisis pushes former opponents—the government and Revolutionary Army—toward cooperation.
• Loyalty and self-interest: Green acts to honor Cyrabelle’s trust, but also pursues authority, resources, and growth for his forces.

Plot points and events

• Marquis Carpson proposes that Sebolutes’s Revolutionary Army cooperate with the Palace’s five thousand Armed Police and Guards. Sebolutes considers the force militarily weak, but accepts because the alliance could get her people inside the Royal Palace.
• Suzune sees the plan as a chance to reach the Little King past the Palace’s powerful Defensive Magic Circle and avenge the murder of her family. Sebolutes privately warns her that killing him or Marquis Belon would endanger their alliance.
• Suzune agrees to hold back once inside, acknowledging that she owes Sebolutes for saving her. But she sets a three-month limit before she will pursue revenge, prompting Sebolutes to suspect Suzune may soon leave.
• Beneath the Palace, Marquis Belon stops the frightened Little King from fleeing to the Main World with the royal Signet Ring. The ring conceals that Grand Duke Mora has nearly depleted the Void World’s World Origin; taking it away would expose the truth and ruin Mora’s plan.
• The King fears Green’s Undead Army and Suzune, while Belon reminds him that the Holy Light Church’s Saintess, Xiweina Ye, may be a potential ally. Belon suspects the Church wants a share in the Void World’s coming defeat and urges the King to help it at a decisive moment in exchange for support.

Character developments and interactions

• Sebolutes balances political necessity against Suzune’s desire for vengeance. She understands Suzune’s promise may be temporary and worries that their paths will soon diverge.
• Suzune remains consumed by grief and revenge, but temporarily restrains herself out of gratitude to Sebolutes and concern for the alliance.
• The Little King is exposed as both cowardly and cruel: he panics at the prospect of death, yet speaks bitterly of Suzune and once plotted to kill the family whose daughter he replaced.
• Marquis Belon acts as the King’s pragmatic adviser, stopping his impulsive escape and steering him toward a new political bargain. Their relationship rests on mutual use rather than affection.
• The King’s history explains why he resents his throne: becoming ruler of the Void World traps him there and costs him years of life. His royal authority—and the secret at the center of Grand Duke Mora’s plan—rests on the Signet Ring.

Significant themes

• Revenge versus political necessity: Suzune’s personal justice threatens the Revolutionary Army’s strategic alliance.
• Power and entrapment: The King’s ring grants authority but also binds him to the Void World.
• Manipulation and self-interest: The King, Belon, Mora, and the Holy Light Church all treat alliances as bargains, while the Church’s promises are viewed with deep suspicion.
• A looming struggle over the Void World: The Lorenzo Kingdom’s position is deteriorating, and rival powers seek to exploit its eventual defeat.

Key plot points

• The Little King rejects Marquis Belon’s argument that they should let the Holy Light Church enter the crisis. He reasons that the Church might blame him for the Grand Duke’s trap, leaving him powerless and exposed. He heads instead for the underground Space-Time Gate, where he can escape quickly if necessary.
• At the Gate’s guarded transfer depot, the Little King claims he will shelter there because the Royal Palace is unsafe. Captain Dica Anges accepts this and, unaware of the full situation, assumes the king is simply frightened.
• Belon privately questions the king’s intentions. The Little King reveals that he knows Belon has prepared a double to impersonate him and insists the double be used so he can protect his own life.
• Belon briefly lets his Legendary power show, frightening the king, but agrees to the plan. He requests the authentic royal Seal and Scepter—and the king authorizes him to take those, along with other regalia, from the royal safe.
• Aboveground, the night’s purge continues into dawn. Nobles and capitalists, realizing that submission will not save their estates or families, begin secretly forming a coalition. Green allows—and quietly encourages—their organizing, hoping to provoke a resistance that will provide experience for his undead and Psychic Energy for his Graveyard.

Character developments and interactions

• The Little King shifts from seeming confused to acting as a calculating survivor. He distrusts Belon’s advice but avoids openly breaking with him, recognizing that he still needs the marquis’s abilities. Though frightened by Belon’s power, he stands his ground and makes clear that survival is his only priority.
• Marquis Belon appears to serve the king while pursuing other loyalties. His alarm at the king’s decision gives way to a flash of murderous intent, then to cooperation. He claims some affection for the king and reluctance to be remembered as a regicide, but his demand for genuine royal symbols shows that the impersonation must be convincing.
• Captain Dica Anges treats the king respectfully but misunderstands the danger, trusting that the situation is manageable because he considers himself aligned with Grand Duke Mora and Cyrabelle.
• Green demonstrates strategic patience: rather than suppressing the opposition’s communications, he engineers conditions in which the nobles may unite and fight.

Significant themes

• Survival and self-preservation: The king abandons political appearances when his life is at stake; Belon, too, admits he wants to survive.
• Betrayal and unstable loyalties: The king, Belon, and the factions around them cooperate out of necessity rather than trust.
• Manipulation and power: Green turns the nobles’ resistance into a resource, while the king uses a double to evade danger.
• Fear as a catalyst: The threat of death pushes both the king and the nobles to act decisively.

Key plot points and events

• As Stinnard City descends into crisis, nobles and capitalists who had secretly cooperated with the Revolutionary Army flee to Edis Prison, a former fortress, hoping to use it as a stronghold against the Anomalies Bureau, the City Guard, and Green’s undead.
• More than 100 lineages gather there with over 10,000 private soldiers, while their retained Transcendents number more than 2,000. By dawn, the prison and its grounds hold roughly 25,500–26,000 people.
• During one noble family’s escape, an Early Legendary swordsman kills a 200-person purge force but draws the attention of Frio and Aliotega. Frio’s cannon fire and Aliotega’s charge leave him mortally wounded; Frio finishes him with an arcane ray.
• Killing the swordsman restores some of Frio’s lost power, advancing him from Early to Mid-Level Legendary and sharply increasing his assessed combat strength. Aliotega remains weakened and would need a suitable wyvern to recover his former rank.
• Green’s forces surround Edis Prison. He arrives at daybreak, takes command, and hears a major general recommend attacking the prison’s less-defended administrative building.
• Instead, Green summons 24 Undead Cannons through portals. Their Psychic Energy-charged shells rapidly destroy the prison’s magical defenses and batter its gates, horrifying the trapped defenders.

Character developments

• Green remains outwardly unreadable and decisive. He accepts the general’s assessment but reveals that he has a far more overwhelming plan than a conventional assault.
• Frio gains confidence and recovers a level after defeating a Legendary opponent.
• Aliotega helps defeat the swordsman but remains constrained by his lost strength and the need for a wyvern mount.
• The major general is competent and cautious, but his deference to Green reflects Green’s authority and the fear inspired by his undead forces.
• The nobles, capitalists, and their soldiers shift from confidence in Edis Prison’s defenses to mounting panic as the fortress is breached with startling speed.

Significant themes

• Power and desperation: Elites who once relied on wealth, guards, and influence are reduced to fleeing together for survival.
• The changing balance of power: Green’s undead army and summoned artillery overturn conventional expectations about fortress defense.
• The limits of individual strength: Even a Legendary swordsman is defeated when confronted by coordinated, powerful opponents.
• Fear and collapse: The defenders’ confidence crumbles as the prison’s supposedly impregnable protections fail.

Character interactions

• Frio and Aliotega cooperate to kill the Legendary swordsman, with Frio delivering the fatal blow.
• Green gives the major general room to speak, then chooses a more forceful course than the general’s proposed entry strategy.
• The general and the assembled Bureau and Guard personnel react with astonishment as Green’s cannons appear and begin firing.
• The fleeing nobles and their armed followers crowd into Edis Prison, but their shared refuge quickly becomes a trap under Green’s bombardment.

Plot points and events

• Green’s undead army demolishes Edis Prison’s gates with artillery. After a brief, tense silence, he signals the assault.
• The Great Dragons Hill Morleti and Alshfaro devastate the prison’s defenses: Hill kills defenders with shockwaves and Death Breath, while Alshfaro’s Explosive Flame destroys the gatehouse.
• Nearly twenty thousand undead charge through the breach. Zombie Kobolds overwhelm the entrance, while Gun Skeleton Soldiers suppress defenders with accurate fire. The prison’s noble-house guards prove unable to respond like a disciplined army.
• Kobolds pile up into a living ladder against the walls. Construct Skeleton Soldiers use it to reach the ramparts, where three Angels—two lightning-wielding sword fighters and Shield Warrior Angel, alongside Hill the Ice Angel—help secure footholds.
• Within twenty minutes, the undead establish positions on both sides of the entrance. More troops pour over the walls, and Cyclops Warriors use a hammer as a springboard to vault onto the ramparts and join the fighting.

Character developments and interactions

• Green remains controlled and deliberate, halting the bombardment before signaling the full assault.
• Hill Morleti and Alshfaro demonstrate the overwhelming power of the Great Dragons, clearing and breaking the prison’s defenses.
• The Angels act as the assault’s spearhead, working alongside the Construct Skeleton Soldiers to seize the walls.
• The defenders’ fear and lack of coordination contrast with the undead’s disciplined advance and willingness to sacrifice themselves.

Significant themes

• Discipline versus disorder: Trained troops and coordinated tactics outperform the individually capable but unorganized guards.
• Fear and overwhelming force: The dragons’ attacks and the undead horde shatter the defenders’ morale before the assault is fully underway.
• Cooperation and adaptation: The undead use their different units’ strengths creatively—from Kobold ladders to grappling hooks and Cyclops-assisted leaps—to overcome the prison’s defenses.

Key plot points and events

• Green’s undead forces overwhelm Edis Prison. Cyclopes smash through its defenses, and the slaughter generates a huge surge of Psychic Energy for the Graveyard.
• Major Bolton, secretly an Anomalies Bureau officer and Cyrabelle’s informant, reveals that Marquis Bell hid much of his fortune in secret warehouses. In exchange for the information, Bolton asks Green to help bring several people to the Main World beyond his family’s allotted places.
• Green agrees to discuss the request later but suspects Bolton’s offer may conceal another motive.
• After nearly two hours of killing, Edis Prison falls. More than twenty thousand people have died, including a large share of Stinnard’s nobles and capitalists.
• At the Royal Palace, Marquis Carpson learns of the massacre and recognizes that ordinary military plans cannot stop Green. Revolutionary Army representatives arrive, and Carpson asks whether their leader, Sebolutes, has come in person.

Character developments and interactions

• Green remains composed and pragmatic. He welcomes the Psychic Energy gained from the battle, weighs Bolton’s proposal, and agrees cautiously rather than showing excitement over the hidden wealth.
• Major Bolton presents himself as a deferential, shrewd operator. His anxiety over Green’s reaction gives way to relief when Green agrees to hear him out; his real purpose remains uncertain.
• Marquis Carpson shifts from fury at the massacre to grim recognition that Green has made resistance futile. He continues dealing with the Revolutionary Army despite the disastrous turn of events.
• Green and Bolton’s exchange is polite but unequal: Bolton carefully seeks a favor, while Green tests his intentions and keeps control of the conversation.

Significant themes

• Power and helplessness: Edis Prison’s fortifications and defenders prove meaningless against Green’s overwhelming forces.
• Ambition and opportunism: Bolton uses the chaos to bargain for his own interests, while nobles and revolutionaries pursue their plans amid the collapse.
• The cost of war: The battle becomes a mass slaughter, and its consequences reshape Stinnard’s ruling class.
• Uncertainty and hidden motives: Bolton’s request seems straightforward, but Green’s suspicion leaves its true purpose unresolved.

Plot points and events

• Marquis Carpson agrees to meet Sebolutes, who is sheltered with her followers in a secluded courtyard inside the Royal Palace. He reflects that Green’s violence and control of the capital have frightened him into retreating to the palace, where he could escape through its Space-Time Gate if necessary. He recognizes that his fear of death began when he sealed away his supernatural abilities to prolong his life.
• Green learns that the rebel Assassination Unit has entered the palace and appears to have made an agreement with the Little King and Carpson. An intelligence major proposes intervening, but Green refuses: his orders are to purge collaborators, not use his power for personal ambition. He orders the major to keep watch without acting rashly.
• At the Red Fortress, Grand Duke Mora and Cyrabelle discuss Green’s strength and the worsening situation in the Main World. Mora explains that the Void World is doomed to decline after he drew too much World Origin to help the king advance. They decide to begin a six-month withdrawal, with Cyrabelle holding the fortress and overseeing the evacuation.
• Mora advises Cyrabelle to cultivate Green’s friendship sincerely and not fixate on his mysterious identity. He dismisses the idea that Princess Mulesina could have created Green’s immense Undead Legion. Cyrabelle remains uneasy about Green, but accepts that his actions matter more than uncovering his origins.

Character developments and interactions

• Carpson shows regret and self-awareness, recognizing how fear and his pursuit of longevity diminished the courage he once valued.
• Green demonstrates discipline and loyalty to Cyrabelle’s orders, restraining both his own forces and an ambitious subordinate despite having the power to act.
• Cyrabelle feels humbled by Green’s talent and worries about his unknown background. She also accepts the necessity of abandoning the Void World.
• Mora is affectionate and teasing toward Cyrabelle, briefly urging her to marry before turning to strategic advice. His final, regretful reference to Cyrabelle’s mother hints at painful past experience.

Significant themes

• Fear, mortality, and lost courage: Carpson’s reflection links his fearfulness to choosing prolonged life over his former strength.
• Power and restraint: Green’s refusal to exploit authority shows that discipline and loyalty matter as much as force.
• Secrets and trust: Mora argues that judging people by their words and deeds is wiser than prying into their origins.
• Sacrifice and decline: The withdrawal from the Void World reflects the cost of pursuing power and the need to recognize when a situation cannot be salvaged.

Plot points and events

• While Green continues confiscating and dismantling factories around Stinnard, Major Bolton grows anxious after Green fails to respond to his offer of Marquis Bell’s hidden fortune.
• Bolton visits Green, who rejects the proposed private deal. He says the assets should be taken into the Anomalies Bureau’s custody for Lady Cyrabelle, then offers Bolton a face-saving explanation and promises him credit for turning the fortune over.
• Green already suspects Bolton is part of a larger scheme and has him watched rather than following him into a possible trap.
• When Bureau agents arrive to claim the supposed warehouses, Bolton asks for time and privately weighs whether to use a scroll or confess to Green. He ultimately goes with the agents to a house on Rosscott Street.
• Armed Transcendents storm the house, and a Legendary-Rank figure bursts out. Frio attacks but cannot stop the figure, who escapes. Green then emerges, revealing that the operation was likely meant to draw out the hidden opponent.

Character developments and interactions

• Green remains controlled and strategic. He refuses the apparent bribe, frames his decision as loyalty to Cyrabelle, and chooses surveillance and patience over walking into a suspected ambush.
• Bolton shifts from confident manipulator to anxious, cornered participant. His fear of Green and his uncertainty about whether to confess show the pressure of being caught between his own scheme and whoever is behind it.
• Frio demonstrates restored power after reaching Mid-Level Legendary rank, attacking the escaping figure with cannons and Arcane Rays. He recognizes the opponent’s superior strength but remains confident in Green’s broader advantage.
• Green and Bolton’s conversation is a contest of concealment: Green offers Bolton a way to preserve his standing, while Bolton struggles to understand Green’s refusal and decide how to proceed. The Bureau agents, unaware of the trap’s deeper purpose, follow Bolton’s lead.

Significant themes

• Power and control: Green’s authority lets him dictate the terms rather than accept another person’s plan.
• Trust, loyalty, and corruption: The fortune tests Bolton’s motives, while Green invokes loyalty to Cyrabelle to reject personal gain.
• Patience versus desperation: Green waits for his suspected enemy to reveal himself; Bolton, under pressure, makes increasingly risky choices.
• Deception and exposure: The warehouse operation turns a scheme into a confrontation, forcing the hidden threat into the open—though the chapter ends before its outcome is known.

“Steam Power” — Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Green arrives at a house after a battle between the Anomalies Bureau and a rebel-linked group. More than a dozen attackers are dead, and three survivors are captured.
• Using his Eye of Spirit Sight, Green detects a dangerous Spatial Magic trap in the basement. The attack was intended to kill or displace him, but Major Bolton’s last-minute defection prevented it from being activated.
• Green gathers the dead attackers’ souls and learns they were Spatial Mages from Ruen, sent in connection with Sebolutes. He suspects, however, that the failed operation may have been engineered by Sebolutes’ rivals—or designed to benefit her whatever the outcome.
• Green orders Bolton to secure the basement and bring the captives in for interrogation.
• On the way back, Green reflects on Cyrabelle’s revelation that the Void World is nearing its end because it has lost too much World Origin. He recognizes that her disclosure is also a loyalty test: betraying the secret to the Rune Federation would be lucrative, while keeping it would earn the trust of Cyrabelle and Grand Duke Mora.
• A sudden explosion at the Royal Palace interrupts his return. Green senses at least four Legendary-level Psychic Energy signatures and sends an underground vine and Selina’s magically controlled crows to investigate.
• Through the crows, he sees a black-robed mage commanding two massive, steam-powered golems. The golems attack Suzune, who is already badly wounded and struggling to defend herself.

Character developments

• Green shows caution and political insight. He avoids the Spatial trap, questions the apparent explanation for the attack, and begins to see the failed plot as part of a larger power struggle. He also understands the significance of Cyrabelle’s confidence in him and chooses to protect the secret.
• Major Bolton has switched sides and now acts eagerly under Green’s command. His defection was crucial to foiling the house attack.
• Cyrabelle and Grand Duke Mora, though absent, emerge as strategic figures: they are testing Green’s loyalty while balancing the impending collapse of the Void World.
• Suzune is revealed to be pursuing a personal vendetta against the Little King and Marquis Belon. Her injuries—especially a Psychic Energy-infested burn—leave her far weaker than usual.
• Selina’s improved Raven Summoning allows Green to use her crows as effective, discreet scouts.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and trust: Green’s handling of Cyrabelle’s secret may determine whether her faction trusts him.
• Political manipulation: The house attack may have been a false-flag operation or a move in a factional struggle within Ruen.
• Sacrifice and strategy: The plot’s apparent author may have treated its agents as expendable, hoping to gain from either success or failure.
• A world nearing its end: The Void World’s dwindling World Origin makes the conflict more urgent and explains the kingdom’s seemingly unusual response to invasion.
• Technology and magic: Steam engines give enormous golems the strength and mobility to challenge Legendary opponents.

Character interactions

• Green gives Bolton direct orders after assessing the scene, while Bolton responds with conspicuous loyalty.
• Cyrabelle’s disclosure places Green in an unspoken test of allegiance; Green recognizes the trust and the risk involved.
• Green uses Selina’s crows to observe the palace without exposing his own forces.
• The black-robed mage directs two steam golems against Suzune, forcing the injured woman to evade rather than fight effectively.

Key plot points

• Suzune discovers that her younger sister, Ivanka, is alive in the Royal Palace. Ivanka does not recognize her, however, and much of her body has been replaced with Alchemical Constructs.
• While Suzune is stunned, Marquis Belon ambushes and severely wounds her. Ivanka, now an apparently emotionless puppet, controls two giant Steam Golems and fights against Suzune.
• Suzune cannot bring herself to hurt her sister, so she retreats. Belon orders Ivanka to pursue and kill her.
• Green intervenes through the Anomalies Bureau, warning the Royal Palace that sending combatants beyond its grounds will be treated as a declaration of war. Belon recalls Ivanka, ending the pursuit.
• Suzune had intended to lure Ivanka away from the palace, where she hoped to subdue her without interference. Unaware that Green stopped the pursuit, she abandons the plan and tends to her wound.

Character developments and interactions

• Suzune shifts from an assassin focused on her targets to a distraught older sister. Her concern for Ivanka prevents her from fighting effectively, while the discovery also makes her suspicious of Sebolutes.
• Ivanka is revealed as physically transformed and seemingly stripped of independent feeling. She obeys Belon’s orders even when they mean hunting her sister.
• Sebolutes admits to Xika that she knew Ivanka was beyond saving and had hidden her condition from Suzune, intending to keep the truth secret. She accepts that Suzune may now hate her.
• Marquis Belon underestimates Suzune’s strength and responds to her escape by ordering a pursuit, but backs down when Green threatens intervention.
• Green reinforces his authority with a calm, direct warning. He also recognizes Captain Kingsco’s courage for obeying orders despite the danger and summons him to the Secretariat.
• Marquis Carpson, observing the alliance unravel, privately decides the Royal Palace is no longer a safe refuge.

Significant themes

• Family and loss: Suzune’s reunion with Ivanka becomes a painful confrontation rather than a joyful homecoming.
• Humanity and transformation: Ivanka’s mechanical body and lack of visible emotion raise questions about how much of her remains.
• Trust and secrecy: Suzune’s suspicions toward Sebolutes deepen the fractures among the palace’s uneasy allies.
• Power and authority: Green’s intervention shows how his reputation and the Anomalies Bureau’s strength can control events without a battle.

Key plot points and events

• Wounded and pursued, Suzune avoids a direct fight with the unseen trackers. She hides her Psychic Energy and slips past an Anomalies Bureau patrol unnoticed.
• She briefly controls the patrol’s major, directing him toward the crows following her. Frio intervenes, restores the major’s awareness, and identifies Suzune’s route.
• Green realizes Suzune is badly injured and launches a large-scale search: patrols seal nearby streets while more than a thousand crows scout from above.
• Although Suzune conceals her own Psychic Energy, traces left by Marquis Belon’s lingering venomous energy reveal where she has been. Green uses the Undead Devil Vine to track those traces and sends forces to converge.
• Seeing the search closing in, Suzune abandons her safe house and heads for central Stinnard. She reaches a bridge by a noble’s mansion, approaches a sewer access point but does not enter, and instead places her hand on a stone pier. The chapter ends there.

Character developments

• Suzune has become cautious and determined to survive. Learning that her sister Ivanka is alive—and captive—has given her a purpose beyond revenge.
• Her wound and Belon’s persistent Psychic Energy have significantly weakened her, forcing her to rely on concealment and misdirection rather than strength.
• Green is calculating and opportunistic: he treats the pursuit as a test and a possible way to force Suzune into his service, while preparing to exploit her vulnerability.

Significant themes

• Survival and changed purpose: Suzune’s need to rescue Ivanka reshapes her willingness to risk her life.
• Cunning versus force: Both Suzune and Green use surveillance, deception, and tactical choices rather than confronting each other directly.
• The lasting cost of violence: Belon’s attack continues to endanger Suzune even after the original encounter.

Character interactions

• Suzune manipulates the Bureau major to divert the patrol toward the tracking crows.
• Frio checks the major’s mind-altered state, then follows Suzune’s trail on Green’s orders.
• Green coordinates the patrols, crows, and Undead Devil Vine from headquarters, turning the pursuit into a contest of concealment and detection.

Key plot points and events

• Wounded Suzune escapes into Stinnard’s Underground Black Market through a concealed entrance in a bridge pier. The hidden city is a haven for criminals, officials, spies, nobles, and Revolutionary Army members, where power and profit matter more than allegiance.
• Green traces her route to the market using the map Cyrabelle left behind, then enters through another entrance. He is puzzled that his Undead Devil Vine never detected the underground city, suggesting its senses are somehow blocked.
• Green resumes tracking Suzune through the poisonous Psychic Energy Marquis Belon left on her. Frio and Aliotega accompany him as guards.
• In a district where Green’s Anomalies Bureau uniform is unwelcome, a gang led by a scar-faced Transcendent confronts him. Green signals Frio, whose Floating Cannon kills the gang in seconds.
• Green continues after Suzune and calls in Bureau and City Guard patrols to search the market. The large-scale sweep throws the underground city into chaos, but fear of Green’s power prevents anyone from resisting.
• The market’s residents wonder whether Green’s actions mean he is turning against Cyrabelle, who also has interests there.

Character developments

• Suzune uses her familiarity with the Black Market to disappear into a place where her injuries are noticed but not challenged. Her trail remains difficult to follow.
• Green acts with growing confidence and authority. He recognizes the market’s danger but shows little concern for its powerful factions, and his swift, brutal response to the gang reinforces his fearsome reputation.
• Frio demonstrates how well he understands Green’s orders, attacking immediately without needing an explanation. His restored strength makes his cannon a decisive weapon.
• The Black Market’s residents shift from curiosity and hostility to fear once they realize who Green is.

Significant themes

• Power and intimidation: Green’s reputation and overwhelming force shape how others behave, even before he reaches them.
• Pragmatism over allegiance: The Black Market brings opposing factions together through business, while its residents avoid taking sides unless forced.
• Hidden worlds and unseen forces: The market’s concealed entrance and ability to evade the Undead Devil Vine suggest secrets beyond Green’s current understanding.
• Authority and control: Green’s use of Bureau and City Guard patrols turns a private pursuit into a sweeping show of power.

Character interactions

• Suzune avoids direct confrontation, relying on her knowledge of the market to evade Green.
• Green, Frio, and Aliotega operate as a coordinated group: Green gives a minimal signal, and Frio responds instantly while Aliotega stays close as protection.
• The scar-faced gang tries to intimidate Green, but the encounter ends in an immediate massacre rather than negotiation.
• The underground residents watch Green’s actions with alarm and speculate about the consequences for his relationship with Cyrabelle.

Key plot points and events

• Green tracks the wounded fugitive Suzune through the underground black market using traces of Psychic Energy left by Marquis Belon. Knowing the trail will soon fade, he expands the search with over a thousand crows, Bureau and City Guard patrols, and more than ten thousand Kobold Zombies.
• At the market’s center, Green’s force encounters more than three hundred Transcendents, led by two Early Legendary fighters. Their steward, Deidara, warns Green that the property belongs to Grand Duke Mora and tries to deter him from searching it.
• Rather than risk provoking the formidable Grand Duke, Green contacts Cyrabelle. She authorizes the search and says the market and auction house are not important enough to protect.
• Deidara immediately changes from confident obstruction to eager cooperation, and his men clear the way.
• In a secret room, Suzune uses Psychic Energy to erase the trace on her wound, hoping to escape Green’s tracking. Green’s forces soon enter the intelligence market and seal its exits. The frightened crowd stays quiet rather than risk challenging the surrounding guards and zombies.

Character developments and interactions

• Green shows urgency and strategic judgment: he mobilizes overwhelming resources, but pauses to confirm Cyrabelle’s authority before confronting a property tied to Grand Duke Mora. Once cleared, he proceeds decisively.
• Suzune remains resourceful and focused, recognizing the source of her vulnerability and trying to erase the Psychic Energy trail. Her refuge offers only a brief delay.
• Deidara begins by leaning on his connection to Grand Duke Mora, but Green’s reputation and Cyrabelle’s response convince him to cooperate. He is also stung when Cyrabelle barely remembers him.
• Cyrabelle gives Green broad discretion, demonstrating her trust in him. Her dismissal of the market’s importance removes Deidara’s leverage.
• The two Legendary leaders and the market’s patrons are intimidated by Green’s force and the apparent threat posed by his allies, Frio and Aliotega.

Significant themes

• Power and political influence: Grand Duke Mora’s name initially restrains Green, but Cyrabelle’s authorization and Green’s own strength determine the outcome.
• Adaptability and self-preservation: Deidara quickly revises his approach, while the crowd avoids provoking a force it cannot overcome.
• Pursuit and limited refuge: Suzune’s attempt to hide in a powerful patron’s territory buys time but does not stop the search.
• Information and uncertainty: The intelligence market sells unverified claims, while its most sought-after subject—Green—is himself a feared and influential figure.

Key plot points

• Green orders a thorough search of everyone in the Intelligence Market, keeping Death Angel, Frio, and Aliotega nearby in case Suzune attacks. No one matching her is found, but Green remains convinced she is still inside.
• He sends the patrols out and searches the building again with his companions. Meanwhile, Deidara—who had pretended to be cooperative—quietly seeks help, hoping Green will not uncover his illicit dealings.
• Green finds a faint trace of Psychic Energy near a hidden chamber. After cautiously sending a Skeleton Soldier ahead, he discovers the concealed room and confirms Suzune used it to treat her wounds and purge poison.
• The chamber also shelters former Stinnard dignitaries accused of collaborating with the Rebels. Green turns them over to the Anomalies Bureau, exposing Deidara’s secret arrangement and damaging his standing.
• Deidara asks Green to spare the detainees. Green does not agree outright, instead asking what Deidara is willing to offer.
• The chapter reveals that Suzune was never trapped in the market. She appears aboveground near a bridge, having escaped through a teleportation circle she secretly established before entering. By breaching the market’s barrier at one location, she created a hidden “back door.”

Character developments and interactions

• Green is methodical and cautious, maintaining the possibility of an ambush and testing the hidden chamber with a skeleton before entering. His confidence that Suzune remains inside proves mistaken.
• Deidara shifts from deferential compliance to covert self-interest, then reluctantly confronts Green when his reputation and private arrangements are threatened. Another of Mora’s butlers refuses to support him and warns him not to provoke Green.
• Suzune proves resourceful and prepared: she anticipated the need to escape and secretly set up her own route out. Her brief use of the chamber leaves behind the trace that leads Green to the hidden occupants.
• Green’s imposing presence frightens Deidara, while Green’s willingness to negotiate gives Deidara a narrow chance to protect the people he had hidden.

Significant themes

• Preparation and deception: Suzune’s escape plan outmaneuvers Green’s search, while Deidara’s apparent cooperation conceals his motives.
• Power and leverage: Green can expose and detain the hidden nobles, but Deidara tries to bargain rather than openly challenge him.
• Corruption and complicity: Deidara’s “gray income” and protection of blacklisted figures show how private profit and influence operate beneath official rules.
• Limits of certainty: Green’s conviction that Suzune is still inside is understandable but wrong; the secret passage exploits a gap in the market’s defenses.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Suzune escapes the underground black market after destroying its teleportation array. Wounded and weakened, she plans to recover at a secret Safehouse before negotiating with Green.
• She decides she can no longer rely on the Revolutionary Army or Sebolutes: Marquis Belon betrayed her, and Sebolutes failed to help. To rescue her sister, Ivanka, she needs Green and the Anomalies Bureau.
• Sensing that someone is following her, Suzune leaves her Safehouse route and draws the pursuer to the abandoned Scotton Steelworks, where there is room to fight.
• Her pursuer reveals himself as the black-clad assassin Green’s forces previously killed. He revived using a Holy Light Church artifact, but now seems dangerously unstable and obsessed with revenge.
• Suzune and the assassin fight at close quarters. Both are exhausted, and Suzune’s recently healed abdominal wound causes her pain. She prepares to use a costly forbidden technique rather than let herself be killed.
• The Dragon Lich and Death Angel arrive, interrupting the duel. The assassin recognizes the danger: this time he has no resurrection artifact to save him.

Character developments

• Suzune shifts her loyalty toward Green, recognizing that cooperation with him is essential to saving Ivanka. Though injured and vulnerable, her determination to survive and rescue her sister strengthens.
• The black-clad assassin has become more feral and unstable after his resurrection. His desire to kill Suzune and later avenge himself on Wood Slater appears to be consuming him.

Character interactions

• Suzune confronts the assassin directly, refusing to be treated as easy prey despite her weakened condition.
• The assassin taunts her and boasts that her injury makes her an easy target; Suzune answers with silent resolve and prepares to fight to the death.
• The arrival of Green’s powerful allies shifts the balance against the assassin and leaves the encounter unresolved.

Significant themes

• Trust and betrayal: Suzune abandons former allies after their failures and turns toward the only force she believes can help her.
• Determination amid vulnerability: Her injury and pain threaten her, but her commitment to saving Ivanka keeps her fighting.
• The cost of resurrection and power: The assassin’s return appears to have damaged his mind, while Suzune considers using a forbidden technique with severe consequences.

Key events

• Green and Suzune join forces against Hegus, the black-clad Assassin. Hegus flees once the fight turns against him; Green judges that pursuing him would be unlikely to succeed.
• Suzune thanks Green and explains how she escaped the underground black market. Green explains that the Anomalies Bureau tracked the battle because its monitoring instruments detected the fighters’ powerful Psychic Energy.
• Back at the Royal Palace, Hegus vents his rage by slowly killing a palace attendant. Marquis Belon arrives, learns the assassination failed because Green intervened, and concludes that Suzune’s side still has several powerful fighters in Stinnard. Hegus asks about Saintess Xiweina Ye’s main assignment—destroying Archbishop Ye Lijin’s soul—and Belon claims they will soon have a lead.
• At a tense palace meeting, the factions receive news from the Red Fortress. The Revolutionary Army’s two-day assault with 200,000 troops and over 100 cannons was repelled by Cyrabelle’s 113,000 defenders. The attackers suffered over 30,000 casualties; the defenders lost more than 10,000, including many Royal Guards. Both armies pause to regroup.
• The Little King at the meeting is revealed to be a double; the real king is hidden beneath the palace. Marquis Carpson passes the military report to Sebolutes without objection, signaling his alignment with the Revolutionary Army and Rune Federation.

Character developments and interactions

• Green and Suzune demonstrate continued cooperation despite their earlier contest; Suzune’s relief at seeing Green appear as Wood Slater confirms their friendly standing.
• Hegus remains dangerous and volatile, but recognizes when a fight is unwinnable and retreats. His cruelty toward the attendant exposes his lack of remorse and the danger he poses even to allies.
• Belon depends on Hegus despite despising his instability, and tactfully keeps him placated because he remains Belon’s only High-Level Legendary fighter.
• Cyrabelle’s defense is effective but costly. She worries that her Royal Guard losses could leave the fortress untenable if the battle continues.
• The political meeting underscores the shifting alliances: Carpson openly shares sensitive military intelligence with Sebolutes, while the concealed king and the factions’ guarded silence point to deeper palace intrigue.

Significant themes

• Power and survival: Hegus’s escape shows how difficult it is to eliminate a powerful opponent once he chooses to flee.
• Cruelty and political expedience: Belon overlooks Hegus’s murder because he needs his strength.
• The cost of war: Both armies suffer heavy losses, and even a successful defense leaves Cyrabelle in a precarious position.
• Deception and divided loyalties: The king’s double and Carpson’s secret allegiance reveal how little appearances at court can be trusted.

Key plot points and events

• Marquis Belon, Sebolutes, and Marquis Carpson meet to discuss the Revolutionary Army’s stalled campaign. The Kingdom Army’s strong defense at Red Fortress—especially Cyrabelle’s leadership—has frustrated them.
• The factions consider disrupting the Royal Capital’s supplies, but fear Green, who now commands the Anomalies Bureau and City Guard. His dragon, Black-Winged Angels, and undead forces have made him a formidable threat.
• The three factions fail to agree on a plan. Carpson urges caution, Belon remains ambiguous, and Sebolutes—under pressure from her superiors—launches several limited attacks that avoid a direct confrontation.
• Nearly half a month later, General James secretly arrives in Stinnard with a convoy carrying over a hundred crates of highly powerful Enchanted Explosives from the Main World.
• The explosives are intended for Cyrabelle’s plan at Red Fortress: withdraw her troops, let the Revolutionary Army enter, then detonate buried explosives to destroy the fortress and the roughly 200,000 enemy soldiers inside.
• Green and Suzune watch the convoy depart. Green considers whether he should go to Red Fortress, where the enormous battle is generating vast quantities of death and psychic energy.

Character developments and interactions

• Sebolutes remains determined to seize the Void World, but Green’s arrival has undermined her confidence and forced her to act without reliable support from her allies.
• Carpson takes a cautious approach, preferring to wait rather than provoke Green.
• Belon continues to maneuver ambiguously, leaving Sebolutes to shoulder the Revolutionary Army’s pressure.
• Cyrabelle chooses a devastating, morally ruthless strategy after the siege’s mounting casualties make holding Red Fortress seem futile. Her priority is saving her trusted Royal Guard, even as her plan would annihilate a vast enemy force.
• General James personally escorts the secret cargo and treats Green with respect, recognizing his exceptional power and standing.
• Green cooperates in the covert operation but remains uncertain about intervening directly. Suzune acknowledges the audacity of Cyrabelle’s plan.

Significant themes

• Political self-interest and distrust: The three allied factions share goals but avoid taking risks, each hoping others will act first.
• The cost of war: Red Fortress has become a slaughterhouse, with ordinary soldiers treated as expendable by the Revolutionary Army’s leadership.
• Desperation and ruthless choices: Cyrabelle’s plan turns retreat into a trap, raising the stakes from military defeat to mass destruction.
• Power and uncertainty: Green’s presence reshapes the balance of power, making even his enemies hesitant to act.

Plot points and events

• Green decides to leave Stinnard and head south to join the crisis at the Red Fortress. Cyrabelle’s plan to use enchanted explosives could kill over a hundred thousand people, creating an enormous amount of Death Psychic Energy for the Graveyard.
• He asks Suzune to guard Stinnard in his absence. Though she questions his trust, Green believes their agreement—and her goals of rescuing her sister Ivanka and confronting her enemy—will keep her loyal.
• Green renews his promise to help Suzune rescue and cure Ivanka, adding that he intends to employ her afterward. Suzune accepts this arrangement.
• Meanwhile, General James escorts the explosives convoy toward the Red Fortress. Troubled by a returning premonition of danger, he worries about the mission and his estranged eldest son, Modi.
• The convoy is stopped by a hooded figure. James orders the Royal Guard to fire, but the figure’s magic shield effortlessly halts their enchanted bullets, revealing them to be a Legendary-rank Transcendent.
• The figure reveals himself as Modi. His hair has turned completely gray, and dark circles surround his eyes: he has aged dramatically and appears deeply altered.

Character developments and interactions

• Green shows calculated trust in Suzune, treating their alliance as a mutual-benefit partnership rather than a matter of sentiment. He is eager to pursue the immense Death Psychic Energy at the Red Fortress.
• Suzune remains guarded but agrees to protect Stinnard. She feels reassured that Green has a concrete incentive to help Ivanka, unlike her former superior, Sebolutes.
• General James is torn between military duty and paternal concern. He remains anxious about Modi despite having angrily disowned him, and his instincts warn him that the explosives mission is dangerous.
• Modi’s unexpected appearance and aged appearance suggest a major transformation, setting up a confrontation with his father.

Significant themes

• Trust and mutual interest: Green and Suzune’s alliance rests on shared goals and reciprocal benefit.
• The human cost of war: Cyrabelle’s plan could cause mass death, which Green views partly as a source of power.
• Family and unresolved conflict: James’s concern for Modi persists despite their estrangement.
• Foreboding and transformation: James’s revived danger sense and Modi’s altered appearance signal an imminent threat.

Key plot points and events

• General James confronts his son Modi, who blocks a military convoy and accuses his father of failing to save his mother when she was taken hostage and killed by the Revolutionary Army.
• Modi blames the Kingdom’s oppression for the violence and declares that he will overthrow it and establish a “holy nation.” He claims God chose him and that his father must die as part of his divine mission.
• General James suspects Modi has been possessed. Modi insists he is acting with God’s blessing, then attacks with Holy Light.
• James withstands Modi’s first blast with his magical gauntlets and counters with a series of increasingly powerful punches. Modi’s Holy Light shield cracks and breaks, revealing how inexperienced he is in combat.
• James hesitates at the last moment, unable to strike his son. Archbishop Ye Lijin then reveals himself: he had been hidden within Modi, and the strain of containing the Holy Light has weakened Modi’s soul enough for Ye Lijin to take control.
• Ye Lijin thanks James for the body and swiftly stabs him in the chest with a sword of Holy Light. James tries to seize him, but Ye Lijin retreats before he can be caught.

Character developments

• Modi has changed from an atheist with idealistic political grievances into a fanatical believer convinced he is God’s chosen agent. His certainty masks both his vulnerability and his lack of fighting skill.
• General James is torn between his duties and his love for his son. Though he defeats Modi’s defenses, he cannot bring himself to land the final blow.
• Archbishop Ye Lijin is revealed as the real force behind Modi’s transformation. He exploited Modi’s desire for power and now takes over his body, showing himself to be a skilled and ruthless fighter.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and corrupted faith: Ye Lijin uses religious conviction and promises of power to control Modi.
• Ideals turned to fanaticism: Modi’s anger at injustice becomes a justification for violence and “divine” judgment.
• The cost of power: The Holy Light damages Modi’s soul, ultimately leaving him vulnerable to possession.
• Family versus duty: James’s hesitation shows how personal love can conflict with a soldier’s need to act.

Character interactions

• Modi and James argue over their mother’s death, the Revolutionary Army, and the Kingdom’s oppression, exposing their sharply opposed interpretations of the past.
• James fights to stop Modi but holds back when he sees his son’s fear.
• Ye Lijin exploits that hesitation, takes control of Modi, and turns the confrontation into a direct attack on James.