Recaps

Herbert dreamed that he had become a Dragon, devoured a vast expanse of fire, and encountered the enormous Dragon King called the Destroyer, who crushed him. He woke with his memories still missing and tested whether he could eat a candle flame, only to cough up wax.

• Herbert found himself in a world covered in flames, discovered they tasted delicious, and ate them until his Dragon body grew enormous.
• A one-eyed Dragon King emerged from beneath the earth and questioned Herbert about his name and bloodline.
• The Dragon King named himself the Destroyer, then stomped Herbert into the ground and said they would meet again.
• Herbert woke from the vision, touched a candle flame, and tried to slurp it, but coughed after sucking wax into his mouth.

Herbert learned that the Dragon King's bloodline inheritance made him immune to fire and stronger when exposed to flames, and that he could gain further inheritances from Dragon materials. Nenasya told him the Dragon King had been betrayed and killed, and the chapter ended with a red-haired Dragon in a cage asking to smell him.

• Herbert tested his new fire immunity by holding his finger in a flame, and Nenasya explained that heat could no longer burn him but impacts could still hurt him.
• Nenasya revealed that Herbert had received the Dragon King's bloodline inheritance, which let him draw strength from flames and could grant him more abilities through additional Dragon materials.
• Herbert asked Nenasya about the Dragon King, and she recounted how he had killed a god, attempted to ascend, and was betrayed and slain by a fellow Dragon and three true gods.
• Nenasya promised Herbert that no one would hurt him once she broke free of her seal.
• The next day, a red-haired Dragon in a cage called Herbert over and asked to smell him, making him wary.

Herbert cleaned Valentina’s greasy hands and face while reflecting on how dangerous the powerful dragon was, though her goofy behavior undercut his caution. When Valentina sensed an ancient scent on him, Herbert dodged her attack and left the cage, then encountered Freime, who also wanted to examine him.

• Herbert teased Valentina until she reached for his arm, then caught her hand and wiped away the grease.
• Herbert cleaned Valentina’s face as well, despite reminding himself that she was a powerful magical beast.
• Valentina said Herbert carried a familiar, ancient scent and tried to investigate it more closely.
• Herbert joked that Valentina could call him Father, dodged her furious swipe, and left for the Deepwater Prison.
• Herbert realized Valentina might have sensed the lingering effect of his dragon king inheritance, then found Freime beckoning him over for a closer look.

Herbert confirmed that Freime only found him annoying, then used his new sense of direction to reach Svannie Moore’s cell in Lightless Prison. He found her sealed inside a black iron coffin and heard a faint click when he asked if she was there.

• Freime rejected Herbert’s attempts to talk and sealed herself inside her water sphere, while Herbert realized she could sense something about him but could not identify it.
• Herbert left Deepwater Prison and returned to Lightless Prison, where the Sea Monster Queen’s Longing kept him from losing his way.
• Herbert recognized that Archmage Svannie was changing the terrain beneath his feet and warned her he could interfere with the sealing formation too.
• Svannie stopped altering the path, allowing Herbert to find her cell.
• Herbert knocked on the black iron coffin and asked if Svannie was there, and a faint click came from inside.

Herbert discovered that Eliza Fatt, a vampire imprisoned in a black iron coffin, could not get out and offered to help her. When Eliza tried to hypnotize him into giving her blood, Herbert resisted and stabbed her through the coffin instead, then grabbed his sword blade.

• Herbert realized the tapping came from Eliza Fatt, the Vampire Prince trapped inside the coffin.
• Herbert tried to move the heavy coffin lid but managed to open it only by a few millimeters.
• Eliza begged Herbert for blood and used her voice to try to compel him to obey.
• Herbert drew his sword and thrust it through the gap, striking Eliza in the chest.
• Herbert told Eliza he would give her blood and grabbed the blade wedged in the coffin.

Herbert tricked Elisa into drinking holy water made from his blood, severely weakening her and forcing her to expel most of it. He widened the coffin’s opening, introduced himself as a Holy Knight, and left their future relationship uncertain.

• Herbert cut his palm and offered Elisa his blood, which she eagerly licked.
• The holy properties of Herbert’s blood burned Elisa, and he revealed that he was a Holy Knight.
• Elisa tried to purge the holy blood but weakened herself further, suffering a complete defeat.
• Herbert widened the gap in Elisa’s coffin and introduced himself, saying he hoped they would get along.
• At dusk, a trembling black-robed figure was interrupted by a voice asking whether someone was there.

Herbert found Grass Carp growing increasingly violent and went to report him, but discovered a murdered clergyman in the Tribunal. As the clergy vowed vengeance, they surrounded Herbert, leaving him to fear that they suspected him.

• Herbert found a third badly mutilated grass carp and worried that Grass Carp was losing control of his urges.
• Herbert decided to report Grass Carp to the Tribunal for desecration.
• Herbert arrived at the Tribunal and found more than a hundred clergy gathered around the body of a murdered young clergyman.
• A Penitent Sister called on the clergy to find the murderer and avenge their fallen brother.
• The clergy silently moved away from Herbert and watched him with cold eyes, making him fear they were coming for him.

Herbert faced accusations that he had murdered Frank and committed blasphemy, but refused to defend himself on their terms. He revealed his Mark of Purity and challenged his accusers to explain whether they were questioning the god who bestowed it on him.

• Herbert endured the monks’ suspicion and hostility, fearing that the Tribunal would torture him if he cooperated.
• A bald nun accused Herbert of blasphemy, claiming she had seen him near the kitchen when the grass carp were tampered with.
• Brother Jeffs added that he had seen signs of blasphemy near the Well of Mourning when Herbert passed by.
• The monks’ hostility surged as they treated Herbert as a heretic, while the disciplinary nun calmly asked whether he had anything to explain.
• Herbert asked Sister Ivanka and Brother Jeffs whether they were challenging his purity, then revealed the Holy Mark on his hand.
• Herbert challenged the crowd by asking whether they were questioning the god who had bestowed the blessing upon him.

Herbert defended himself against accusations of blasphemy by displaying the Holy Mark and accusing Ivanka and Jeffs of having fallen. Priest Kaplan declared Herbert innocent and ordered the two accusers to undergo baptism and interrogation, leaving Herbert to accept her ruling.

• Herbert displayed the Holy Mark to prove his purity and challenged Ivanka and Jeffs by accusing them of falling to an evil god.
• The clergy accepted that Herbert was innocent, and most turned to Priest Kaplan to resolve the uproar.
• Kaplan declared Herbert was not a blasphemer and asked Ivanka and Jeffs to explain their accusations.
• Kaplan judged that Ivanka and Jeffs showed no signs of lying but ordered them to undergo baptism in the Confession Pool and then her personal interrogation.
• Kaplan asked Herbert whether he was satisfied with the outcome, and he respectfully accepted her arrangements.

After Herbert’s blood revealed the Tribunal hall’s hidden patterns, Kaplan healed his hand and granted him access to sanctuary resources. Worried about the higher-ups’ plans for Grass Carp, Herbert chose to spend the night with Valentina.

• The Tribunal sent the two monastics who accused Herbert to the Confession Pool for twelve hours of confession and interrogation.
• Herbert reflected that he needed to grow stronger and reach Lava Hell so he could use the Dragon King Inheritance.
• Herbert’s blood revealed the great hall’s patterns, and he explained that he had created holy blood to survive an attack in the Foreign Races' Prison.
• Kaplan realized Herbert had been excluded from using sanctuary resources, healed his wound, and told him he could take whatever he needed.
• Kaplan told Herbert that the Chief Inquisitor already knew about Grass Carp and warned him not to tell others.
• Herbert avoided returning to his room and told Valentina he had come to sleep with her.

Herbert used a heartfelt confession to ask Valentina if he could touch her tail, leaving her stunned after she mistook his request for a declaration of love.

• Valentina suspected Herbert was hiding something and pressured him to reveal what he wanted.
• Herbert warned Valentina not to blame him, then grabbed her hand as she tried to retreat.
• Herbert earnestly asked Valentina to let him touch her tail.
• Valentina began refusing what she thought was a romantic advance, then froze when she heard his actual request.

Herbert deliberately provoked Valentina by asking to touch her tail, then explained to Nenasya that her anger was mostly embarrassment and that he had left to give her time to cool down. He reached Freime in the central area of the Deepwater Prison as she finished singing the ballad of the Sea Monster Queen and the human prince.

• Herbert asked Valentina to transform and let him touch her tail, making her realize he had intentionally teased her and sending her into a fury.
• Herbert fled to the second area of the Deepwater Prison while Valentina angrily shook and bit the bars of her cage.
• Herbert told Nenasya that Valentina had been more embarrassed than angry and that he had left to let her calm down.
• Herbert heard Freime singing the ballad of the Sea Monster Queen and the human prince and said he understood the song.
• Freime stopped before the final line, lamented the song, and turned in shock when Herbert applauded and approached her.

Herbert visited Freime in her cell while she sang, and her splash soaked his robe. Freime realized her singing had no effect on him, leaving her baffled by his immunity.

• Freime plunged into her water sphere and splashed Herbert when he entered her cell at night.
• Freime examined Herbert closely after realizing he showed no signs of being affected by her singing.
• Herbert mistook Freime's stare at his soaked, transparent robe for an attempt to ogle him, and they argued.
• Freime asked why Herbert was fine and confirmed that he had heard her singing.
• Herbert asked why Freime had left the song's final line unfinished, and she retreated into the water sphere, stunned that her singing had not affected him.

Herbert visited Freime at night, listened to her worries, and persuaded her to let him touch her tail before agreeing to hear her sing again. Meanwhile, the Bishop of Thorns and the Chief Inquisitor realized someone had escaped, as a hunched figure reached the Foreign Races' Prison.

• Freime repeatedly asked Herbert if he was all right, and he jokingly claimed that touching her tail would cure his supposed illness.
• Freime let Herbert touch her tail, but pulled it away when his careful strokes tickled her too much.
• Herbert secured Freime's tacit agreement to let him touch her tail again and accepted her invitation to hear her sing another time.
• The Bishop of Thorns and the Chief Inquisitor concluded that someone had escaped and wondered whether he had fled to the Mist Mountains.
• A hunched figure pressed a hand against the door of the Third Disciplinary Ward, also known as the Foreign Races' Prison.

Herbert wondered whether Freime’s singing had caused the destruction of the ports and tried to learn more about it while bantering with Nenasya. Their exchange ended with Herbert discovering that Nenasya had not bewitched the Penitent, as Valentina noticed a strange fishy smell.

• Herbert suspected Freime’s singing could kill ordinary people and considered whether it explained the destroyed ports.
• Nenasya teased Herbert about Freime, then offered to sing despite warning that people might die if she did.
• Herbert avoided asking Nenasya to sing immediately and urged her to offer on her own when she wanted to.
• Herbert joked that Nenasya had turned a Penitent into Grass Carp, but she denied ever bewitching anyone besides him.
• Valentina noticed a fishy smell and wondered where it was coming from.

Herbert learned that the Fallen could seep through the Endless Maze's walls and was heading toward him. As Herbert tried to leave the darkness near Svanney, Nenasya warned him that the Fallen was charging straight at him.

• The Fallen turned into black, fish-reeking slime and slipped through the Endless Maze's walls toward the next area.
• Herbert argued with Nenasya about whether liking women of different races made him indiscriminate, insisting that he liked them for their looks.
• Herbert realized the Fallen had not been bewitched by Nenasya and concluded that the man might simply like fish.
• Herbert failed to find a path through the darkness around Svanney and decided to check on her before returning to Miss Hungry Dragon.
• Nenasya sensed that the Fallen was covered in slime and reeked of fish, then warned Herbert that he was charging straight toward him.

Herbert fled from an intruder who had seized control of the Sealing Formation and sought help from Elisa. He demanded the Vampire's blood and negotiated over how much of his own blood he would trade, leaving their deal unresolved.

• Herbert realized an intruder had seized control of the Sealing Formation and ran through the prison to escape him.
• Nenasya told Herbert the intruder would reach him in about ten minutes and teased him instead of helping at first.
• Herbert reached Elisa's black iron coffin and woke her by pounding on it and shouting for her to get up.
• Herbert demanded Elisa's blood, startling her with the unusual request.
• Elisa offered to trade her blood for Herbert's at a rate of a hundred drops to one, and Herbert countered by offering five drops of his own.

Herbert secured a drop of essence blood from Elisa before encountering the blasphemer, who turned out to be a dead body driven by an obsession. He followed the blasphemer to a wall, where Svanney revealed a path to her cell and asked the Prison Warden to spare him.

• Elisa reluctantly traded Herbert a drop of her essence blood, hoping to receive his blood in return.
• Nenasya warned Herbert that someone was approaching, and he saw the blasphemer walk past him without noticing him.
• Nenasya explained that the blasphemer was already dead and that another soul had taken over his body several days earlier.
• Herbert followed the blasphemer through the darkness until he stopped at a wall and called for Lady Archmage.
• Svanney revealed a path to her cell and asked the Prison Warden not to trouble himself with killing someone who was already dead.

Herbert followed the dying defiler through the Lightless Prison and carried its skull toward Svanney. He reached her glowing underground forest and prepared to enter her tree home.

• Herbert realized Valentina and Freime had weakened the defiler, whose body soon collapsed into a pile of bones.
• Herbert picked up the defiler's skull and promised to take it to see Svanney.
• Herbert hurried through the darkness, trusting Svanney and expecting Nenasya to warn him if danger threatened.
• Herbert discovered a luminous underground forest and found a wooden door in the trunk of a massive glowing tree.
• Herbert remarked that Svanney had made her home luxurious while leaving her roommate in a shabby coffin.

Herbert visited Dark Elf Archmage Svanney in her laboratory and learned that she intended to remain in prison despite a planned rescue by her family. He discovered that the Svanney before him was an avatar and challenged her to meet him in person.

• Herbert entered Svanney’s laboratory and examined its unsettling collection of preserved specimens while the presence influencing his aesthetic sense praised them.
• Svanney appeared, declined to take the skull Herbert delivered, and extracted the soul of a dead Dark Elf messenger from it.
• Svanney explained that she freed the messenger from [Sinful Desire] and relayed that her younger sister had seized control of their family, whose elders planned a rescue.
• Svanney said she would not cooperate with the rescue because she preferred to stay in prison and continue her research.
• Herbert realized Svanney was speaking through an avatar and teased her, asking when she would meet him in person.

Herbert uncovered that Svanney was only a realistic illusion and followed her toward her real body. As they climbed, he told Nenasya that Svanney’s subdued reaction to him and her scent had also given her away.

• Herbert explained that Svanney’s refusal to touch the skull and his intuition led him to suspect she was an illusion.
• Svanney admitted that her real body was upstairs and opened a hidden passage in the treehouse wall.
• Herbert followed Svanney up the long, dark passage despite recognizing the risks.
• Nenasya asked how Herbert had figured it out, and he cited Svanney’s unusually cold reaction to him and her scent.

Herbert entered Svanney’s gruesome laboratory and discovered that his Holy Mark shielded him from the effects of its foul surroundings. After Svanney praised his composure, Herbert told her he respected researchers as long as they did not harm others or cross real boundaries.

• Herbert and the Harmonic God debated whether his natural affinity and alluring fragrance should have affected Svanney.
• Herbert reached the end of the stairs, pushed open the door, and entered a room filled with rotting corpses and scarlet vines.
• Herbert’s Holy Mark glowed and removed his discomfort, leaving him unaffected by the laboratory’s stench.
• Herbert found Svanney on an operating table, where her vines were repairing a prisoner’s severed flesh.
• Svanney explained that an experiment had changed her true body’s appearance, and Herbert complimented her beauty.
• Svanney praised Herbert’s courage, and he said he respected researchers who avoided harming others or crossing real boundaries.

Herbert listened as Svanney described how others rejected her research, and their conversation improved their relationship. He then asked her to agree to the plan to help her escape from prison.

• Svanney led Herbert through her grotesque research space and spoke about how others misunderstood her work.
• Herbert listened and encouraged Svanney, recognizing that her aloofness concealed a desire to be understood.
• Svanney thanked Herbert for hearing her out, and he said he was genuinely interested in her past.
• Herbert judged that his relationship with Svanney had improved and asked her to agree to the plan to help her escape from prison.
• Svanney reacted with surprise to Herbert's request.

Herbert asked Svanney to become his inside source and help him deceive her family, claiming he wanted to prove she could change and help her escape their exploitation. He left her with an invitation to betray her family for his sake.

• Svanney questioned Herbert when he asked her to turn against her family rather than escape with them.
• Herbert explained that his duty as Prison Warden was to reform prisoners and said he wanted to prove Svanney was not evil.
• Herbert urged Svanney to give the Monastery concrete proof of her allegiance by helping him deceive her family.
• Herbert argued that Svanney's family had abandoned and intended to use her, and that betrayal could help her research progress.
• Herbert bowed and asked Svanney to betray her family for him.