Recaps

Trigger remembered the loss of her former squad and the duel in which Zoe died, then recalled playing “Homecoming” at Port Elpis while grieving for her teammates. Griseo brought her back to the present by asking whether she was sad.

• Trigger hid in Griseo’s studio after encountering Victoria Housekeeping and waited until they had left.
• The story recounted how Trigger’s advance force was abandoned in Limbo Hollow and how Zoe later became consumed by revenge.
• Zoe challenged Trigger to a duel, but Trigger survived when her harmonica stopped Zoe’s bullet, and Zoe died.
• More than half a year earlier, Trigger took Griseo to Port Elpis and remembered meeting Wise and Belle there.
• Trigger played “Homecoming” on her damaged harmonica and cried because she could not forget her fallen teammates.
• Griseo asked Trigger whether she was sad, drawing her out of her memories.

Griseo took Trigger into Hollow Zero and used her painting to bring Trigger’s memories of her fallen comrades into view. Trigger reunited with painted versions of her old team and wept in Captain Charon’s embrace.

• Griseo showed Trigger a painting of them together and asked to enter Hollow Zero with the mementos Trigger had been grieving over.
• An officer inspected Trigger’s belongings at Scott Outpost, then let her and Griseo pass after learning the keepsakes belonged to Trigger’s fallen comrades.
• At an abandoned warehouse, Trigger told Griseo about Captain Charon, Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, and Styx, then played their birthday song, “Homecoming.”
• Griseo awakened Discipline and Wisdom through the Stars Signet and painted as the keepsakes dissolved into light.
• Trigger saw painted versions of her old friends, and Captain Charon embraced her as she broke down in tears.

Trigger received Griseo’s painting of Lila Squad, which let her reunite with her fallen friends through their memories, and learned Griseo had strengthened its powers. Back at the video store, Trigger asked Griseo to join Belle on the upcoming Outer Ring investigation, hoping to set up a date with Wise.

• In Hollow Zero, Griseo gave Trigger a painting of her and Lila Squad and explained that Trigger could use it to see Charon and the others again.
• Trigger warned Griseo to keep her unusual ability secret until she could protect herself, then played a new, unnamed tune on her harmonica before they left the Hollow.
• Back at the video store, Griseo returned the painting with renewed powers that let Trigger see her old friends in dreams and use it outside the Hollows.
• Griseo demonstrated that she could briefly conjure Ether Energy outside the Hollows, though it dissipated quickly.
• Trigger asked Griseo to request to accompany Belle on the upcoming Outer Ring investigation, planning to use the opportunity to go on a date with Wise.

Belle, Billy, and Griseo traveled into the Outer Ring to meet the Sons of Calydon about Perlman, but an out-of-control tanker nearly sent their truck over a cliff. Griseo summoned Mr. Knight by drawing Ether Energy from a nearby Hollow to stop the tanker, then sensed two hostile figures in the distance.

• Belle teased Billy into promising to waive Nicole's commission if he failed to protect the team, and she pulled out one of his hairs to seal the bet.
• Griseo showed Belle a message from Trigger asking her to choose a romantic date, revealing why Belle had taken Wise's place on the trip.
• A runaway Dayun tanker crossed the highway's center lines and charged toward Billy's truck.
• Griseo summoned Mr. Knight, who struck the tanker into the cliff while Billy braked and narrowly kept the truck from going over the guardrail.
• Griseo landed in Mr. Knight's palm and sensed two hostile figures near the distant cliffs.

Belle and Billy arrived at Blazewood with Griseo and met Caesar and the Sons of Calydon. Caesar offered to give Belle the injured, unconscious Perlman in exchange for her help, and Belle asked to hear the details.

• Caesar and the Sons of Calydon waited for Phaethon, while Lucy tried to keep Burnice and Piper behaving like proper hosts.
• Billy drifted the truck to a stop outside Blazewood, and Belle hit him with his gun for showing off without warning her.
• Belle introduced herself and Griseo to Caesar and the Sons of Calydon, and Burnice eagerly took Griseo to look after her.
• Caesar offered Perlman, who was badly hurt and unconscious, in exchange for Belle's help.
• Lucy scolded Caesar for revealing their offer too quickly, but Caesar insisted a leader needed boldness, and Belle asked her to explain further.

Belle and Phaethon accepted a commission from the Sons of Calydon to help them win Inferno Rider, while Belle uncovered a possible plot by Lucius to seize power from Pompey. The group ended the night in Blazewood, readying themselves for the race and the dangers ahead.

• Belle pieced together the deal and accepted the Sons of Calydon's commission, and Lucy agreed to the arrangement.
• Lucy explained that The Victors had been giving the Sons of Calydon poor transport routes, while Billy described Lucius as ruthless and ambitious.
• Belle theorized that Lucius planned to use Inferno Rider and Pompey's possible death to seize the Overlord position, and Lucy and Caesar realized the race could provide an opportunity for betrayal.
• Caesar, Lucy, and Belle agreed to focus on winning Inferno Rider and raised their drinks with the others.
• Belle helped Griseo pack away her painting of Blazewood's night sky and took her back to camp to sleep.

Lucy told Belle and Griseo how she left the Montef Family and met the Sons of Calydon. She ended the story furious at Caesar, who had ruined Lucy’s staged kidnapping plan.

• Lucy’s father forbade her from investigating Hollows, and Lucy refused to live as a protected family ornament.
• Lucy’s mother persuaded her father to let Lucy go, and he remembered his own rebellious youth as Lucy rode away from the estate.
• Lucy hired Outer Ring men to stage her kidnapping so she could get money from her family and leave on her own.
• Caesar crashed into the staged kidnapping and beat the hired men, believing she was rescuing Lucy.
• Lucy berated Caesar for destroying her plan and costing her all her money.

Lucy told Belle and Griseo how Caesar brought her to the Sons of Calydon, then recalled struggling to adapt to life in the Outer Ring and becoming the gang’s second-in-command. After losing her temper over the gang’s chaos, Lucy rode away, declaring she would not look after them again.

• Lucy remembered how Caesar found her performing piano in an Outer Ring bar and offered to take her home.
• Lucy stayed in the Outer Ring, rode with Caesar, and joined the Sons of Calydon despite fearing she might not survive there.
• Lucy became the Sons of Calydon’s second-in-command and scolded Burnice, Lighter, Piper, and Caesar for their reckless behavior and repeated mishaps.
• Lucy threw Caesar’s comic aside, declared she would never look after the gang again, and sped away on her motorcycle.

Lucy told Belle and Griseo how Big Daddy helped her reconsider her father’s love and how the Sons of Calydon surprised her with a birthday party. She stayed with the group, claiming she did so to protect the Outer Ring.

• Lucy ate Outer Ring specialties with Belle and Griseo while recounting her story.
• On her birthday, Lucy sulked alone by a campfire until Big Daddy brought her a strawberry cake sent by her father, Mr. Montf.
• Big Daddy told Lucy about her father’s past and suggested that his gifts showed he loved her, even if he expressed it poorly.
• Piper and the three little Boar Thirens brought Lucy to the camp, where Burnice, Lighter, Caesar, and Piper celebrated her birthday.
• Lucy told Belle and Griseo that she had stayed with the Sons of Calydon to protect the Outer Ring.

Belle received the HDD equipment and Carrot Data Recorders she needed to demonstrate Phaethon’s skills in the Hollow. As Caesar showed Griseo around Blazewood, she explained the Outer Ring’s dependence on oil and the origins of the Inferno Rider tradition.

• Billy returned with the HDD equipment, and Belle praised him for helping retrieve it with Lighter.
• Lucy encouraged Belle to go all out, while Caesar brought Belle the requested Carrot Data Recorders.
• Belle set up the HDD equipment and left Griseo with Billy as Caesar took over showing the visitors around Blazewood.
• Caesar explained that residents were making Sun Mirrors to earn money while the Outer Ring’s oil pipeline remained broken.
• Caesar told Griseo that Brimstone Lake’s burning gas kept Ether Corruption from the deeper oil reserves, and that Inferno Rider began as a way to clear the Ether Crystals threatening the lake.

Griseo used Nangong’s money to arrange a large purchase of Sun Mirrors, giving Casa and Caesar timely support for Blazewood and the Sons of Calydon. The group then headed to meet Phaethon about the Inferno Rider and the missing Hollow data.

• Casa thanked Caesar for helping the Sons of Calydon through difficult times, and Caesar vowed to become Overlord and stop Lucius.
• Griseo photographed the Sun Mirror and called Nangong, who agreed to buy ten thousand and sent her five million Dennies.
• Griseo asked Caesar whether 500 Dennies per Sun Mirror was enough, leaving Caesar and Casa stunned by the donation.
• Casa picked Griseo up and thanked her, relieved that the money would let her refuse a request.
• Lucy arrived and told Caesar that gaps in the Sons of Calydon's Hollow data meant Phaethon had to work overtime to complete the Carrot Data for the Inferno Rider course.

Lucius ordered Mors to ambush the Sons of Calydon in the Hollow, while Caesar and her crew collected data stakes with Belle and Griseo assisting remotely. When a large swarm of Ethereals attacked, Griseo destroyed them with an Ether net, leaving the group safe for the moment.

• Lucius confirmed the Sons of Calydon's key members were traveling together and ordered Mors to make sure none of them left the Hollow.
• Caesar and the others planted and activated data stakes while Lighter and Piper fought off a few low-level Ethereals.
• Lucy became suspicious of how smoothly the mission was going, and Griseo warned her that danger had arrived.
• A large swarm of Ethereals, including nearly ten Dullahans, approached the group as they protected the data stakes.
• Griseo used her Stars Signets to form an Ether net that sliced the swarm into cubes and cleared the area.

Griseo defeated the Ethereal swarm, and the Sons of Calydon faced an ambush led by Mors and a challenge from Baroum. Baroum asked Griseo and Billy not to interfere as he prepared to settle his score with Lighter.

• Belle finished copying the data and called for Caesar and the others to withdraw, while Griseo revealed that more people were approaching.
• Caesar, Lucy, Lighter, Piper, Belle, Billy, and Griseo waited as motorcycle engines drew near.
• Baroum arrived with his crew to challenge Lighter, while Mors and his attackers emerged from the mist and threw daggers at the Sons of Calydon.
• Caesar blocked the daggers with her gear shield, and Griseo explained that she had let Billy take the spotlight by not warning him about the ambush.
• Mors admitted that he had arranged the Ethereal swarm and ambush, while Baroum angrily confronted him for nearly harming Lighter.
• Baroum asked Griseo and Billy not to interfere, and Billy agreed as Baroum challenged Lighter to settle their old score.

Pulchra attacked Belle in Blazewood to disrupt her connection to Eous, while Griseo and Billy realized Belle was in danger and summoned Hua to end the fight in the Hollow. The chapter left Belle facing Pulchra and Burnice, while Hua defeated Mors and Baroum fled with his crew.

• Pulchra shot at Belle and Burnice in Blazewood, severing Belle's connection as Burnice charged at her.
• Lighter defeated Baroum, while Caesar, Lucy, Piper, and Billy fought Mors and The Victors without using lethal force.
• Griseo and Billy suspected Belle was in danger and Griseo summoned Hua to help end the fight.
• Hua drove back the fighters with her palm strikes and knocked Mors out with Inch Force—Heaven-Splitting.
• Baroum made an excuse and fled on his motorcycle with his underlings.

Caesar rushed Griseo back to Blazewood, fearing Lucius had harmed the Proxy, but found Burnice and Belle tormenting the defeated Pulchra instead. Caesar took Griseo away while the two continued their playful assault on Pulchra.

• Caesar drove Griseo to Blazewood after the Sons of Calydon split up, leaving Lucy and the others to deal with Mors and the captives.
• Pulchra tried to escape after destroying the HDD connection equipment, but Burnice attacked and overwhelmed her with her flamethrower.
• Burnice taunted Pulchra about a past romance, distracting her long enough to grab her tail and knock her down.
• Belle joined Burnice in stroking Pulchra's tail and ears while Pulchra protested and whimpered.
• Caesar and Griseo arrived, saw Burnice and Belle tormenting Pulchra, and left so Griseo would not have to watch.

Belle told Caesar that the Cat Thiren had damaged the HDD connection equipment, and said Wise could bring a replacement. Griseo planned to investigate whether Lucius had helped cause the tanker crash and to protect Pompey, while Belle arranged for Trigger to accompany her.

• Caesar returned to Cheesetopia and heard Belle explain that the Cat Thiren seemed to be a mercenary who had not intended to hurt anyone, though the damaged HDD equipment could have been part of Lucius's plan.
• Belle told Caesar that Wise could bring a replacement connection module, and Caesar went to check on Burnice.
• Griseo told Belle she had sensed Mors and another person near the tanker truck, and wanted to find out whether the other person was Lucius.
• Griseo said she wanted to protect Pompey until the Inferno Rider so Caesar could challenge him fairly, and Belle agreed to ask Trigger to accompany her.
• Belle called Wise while he was at Lumina Cinema, then the chapter ended with a humorous author note about being short on money.

Trigger and Griseo secretly met Pompey to warn him about Lucius and the danger surrounding Inferno Rider. Pompey recognized them after they subdued him, while Lucius left believing his poison would kill the overlord the next day.

• Belle dodged Wise’s questions about Trigger and Griseo’s whereabouts as Caesar and the Sons of Calydon prepared for their day’s errands.
• Pompey questioned Lucius about Mors and his squad, gave him updated transport-route documents, and asked about companies from New Eridu approaching him.
• Lucius claimed he was handling a supplier problem, then left believing Pompey had drunk the poison he had administered.
• Pompey revealed that Trigger and Griseo were hiding in his room and called them out.
• Trigger and Griseo had beaten Pompey after he mistook them for assassins, and Griseo used a Discipline to immobilize him until he agreed to listen.

Trigger and Griseo exposed Lucius’s plot to poison Pompey and seize power by sacrificing the Outer Ring’s residents to mine Flame Lake. Pompey recovered temporarily with Griseo’s help and vowed that Lucius would die.

• Griseo discovered that Lucius had poisoned Pompey’s water, and Trigger explained that the drug would make Ether exposure fatal.
• Griseo summoned Ether Energy, and Pompey confirmed the danger when it burned his finger and coated it in Ether Crystal.
• Trigger told Pompey that Lucius had also ordered attacks on the Sons of Calydon and tried to kill Belle and Griseo.
• Pompey reviewed Trigger’s evidence showing that Lucius had conspired with Ether corporations to seize power and mine Flame Lake at the cost of the oilfield district’s residents.
• Griseo temporarily restored Pompey’s bodily functions, and Pompey swore that Lucius must die.

Trigger, Wise, Belle, and Griseo prepared with Pompey and Caesar to expose Lucius during Inferno Rider by broadcasting his confession live. Pompey left to compete, while Caesar vowed to challenge him fairly.

• Trigger told Wise and Belle that Pompey would pretend Lucius's poison had worked before springing back up and exposing him.
• Pompey met Caesar, Belle, and Griseo outside Blazewood and explained that Lucius planned to cut the livestream during Inferno Rider.
• Belle said Fairy could restore the signal, and Fairy proposed routing a zero-delay live broadcast through the HDD system.
• Pompey planned to draw a confession from Lucius on camera and punish him after the Motor League heard his crimes.
• Caesar agreed to help Pompey but vowed she would not lose to him in Inferno Rider.

Sons of Calydon and The Victors began the Inferno Rider finals as Wise guided Caesar, Lighter, and Lucy through the course. The race continued after they evaded a suspected ambush, while Fairy effortlessly repelled a network attack on the camp.

• Wise connected Eous and coordinated the team’s race support, while Piper carried Eous to Caesar at the starting line.
• Burnice went to mix fuel cocktails after Belle told her Caesar had given her Big Daddy’s prized barrel.
• Caesar and Pompey faced off before the race began, and the teams sped away at the starting signal.
• Wise detected life signs on the original route, so Caesar, Lighter, and Lucy followed his instructions and turned onto a new road through the Hollow.
• Caesar accelerated and showered Lucy and Lighter with sand, prompting Lighter to ask if he could defect.
• Fairy reported a network attack and revealed that its remaining 21,294 firewalls were already built, leading Belle to suspect it had been using electricity unnecessarily.

Pompey exposed Lucius’s plot to destroy Flame Lake and arranged for Caesar and the Sons of Calydon to share authority over the Old Oilfield District. Caesar lit the lake’s flint, while Pompey began preparing her to succeed him.

• At Brimstone Lake, Lucius revealed that he had poisoned Pompey and replaced the flint with a Volatile Ether Aggregator to extinguish Flame Lake for profit.
• Lucius boasted about betraying the Outer Ring and turned to throw the altered flint into the lake, but Pompey struck him with an uppercut and revealed that his apparent illness was staged.
• With Fairy’s drone broadcasting Lucius’s confession, Pompey captured him and declared that the people would judge him rather than Pompey killing him.
• Pompey told viewers he would remain overlord until the next Inferno Rider and grant the Sons of Calydon equal authority with his group.
• Pompey asked Caesar to use her amber flint to ignite Flame Lake, signaling his intention to train her as his successor.

After the Inferno Rider, the Sons of Calydon celebrated their new role in the Outer Ring while Wise, Belle, and Griseo prepared to return to New Eridu. At the Great Rift, Belle revealed the siblings’ connection to Carole Arna, and Griseo hinted that she had come from Hollow Zero as well.

• Caesar welcomed the Motor League leaders as they discussed restructuring the Outer Ring, then gave Griseo Sun Mirrors and promised the Phaethon crew free services in Blazewood.
• Caesar promised to contact Wise and Belle when Perlman woke, and the group saw the siblings and Griseo off.
• Wise drove Belle and Griseo to the Great Rift, where he and Belle remembered their past at the Helios Institution.
• Belle told Griseo that Carole Arna had created Hollow Zero and that she and Wise were the Sinner’s Children, but Griseo calmly called Belle a liar.
• Griseo stepped out of the car and said she had come from Hollow Zero, then raised her hand toward it.

Zhu Yuan and Qingyi investigated Random Play after a report accused the store of distributing obscene videos, but the investigation ended with a misunderstanding and the confiscation of old tapes. Qingyi suspected Wise and Belle were hiding a secret, and Wise warned Belle that Qingyi might have seen through them.

• Zhu Yuan explained that her superior Bringer’s planned celebration performance had led her to ask Belle to arrange a performance by Griseo, even hinting she could arrest Belle over the cereal tapes.
• At the Lumina Avenue Public Security Department, Zhu Yuan mistook Qingyi’s review of an obscenity case file for watching adult videos, and Qingyi traced the reports to Random Play on Sixth Street.
• Zhu Yuan and Qingyi inspected Random Play, where Belle and Wise showed them complete business records and Qingyi searched the store.
• Zhu Yuan found prohibited videotapes in a box beneath the counter, and Wise and Belle argued over how the tapes had ended up there.
• Qingyi concluded that the tapes were likely part of a setup, and Zhu Yuan apologized to Wise and Belle before confiscating them.
• After the officers left, Wise told Belle that Qingyi had probably seen through their secret, but Belle dismissed his concern.

Zhu Yuan and Qingyi visited Griseo to request a script, and Griseo shared a humorous story about Elysia manipulating King Qi into accepting Mei. The script stirred Qingyi’s thoughts about her lost past, and she gave Griseo her memory data to use in a story about her.

• Belle hesitated to help Zhu Yuan until Wise encouraged her, and they learned from Little 18 that Qingyi had gone to Griseo’s third-floor studio.
• Griseo gave Qingyi a script in which Elysia persuaded King Qi to gather Mei for his harem, then took control of the kingdom and the harem herself.
• Qingyi praised the script but fell silent as she wondered when her life began and where it was going.
• Qingyi reassured Zhu Yuan and gave Griseo her memory data, asking her to base a story about Qingyi on it.

In a prosperous Jiangnan city, Qingyi slipped away from her guarded home and joined constable Zhu Yuan in fighting bandits. After they defeated the gang, Zhu Yuan warned Qingyi about the dangers of pursuing justice, but Qingyi insisted on choosing her own future.

• Qingyi's maid Xiaochun discovered that Qingyi had disappeared from her chamber again and alerted the steward.
• Zhu Yuan overheard troubled patrons in a tavern, noticed suspicious newcomers, and followed them into the streets.
• Bandits surrounded Zhu Yuan in an alley, where she fought them off with her saber.
• Qingyi arrived with an oil-paper umbrella and helped Zhu Yuan defeat the bandits.
• When the leader tried to flee, Zhu Yuan shot him in the thigh with an arrow.
• Zhu Yuan cautioned Qingyi against pursuing justice, but Qingyi declared that her future was hers to decide.