Recaps

No. 945 realized he had been treated as a disposable pawn and unleashed Mirian Walker’s phantom against Greg and Isadora. Olivia arrived and challenged the phantom, leaving the battle between their domains underway.

• No. 945 feared the black Magic Power and concluded that the people who sent him from the Dungeon had used him as an experiment.
• No. 945 summoned Mirian Walker’s phantom and ordered her to destroy everything, unleashing a storm domain against Greg and Isadora.
• Isadora asked Greg to help break the domain, but Greg stayed silent because he had nearly exhausted his Magic Power.
• Olivia struck Mirian’s phantom with lightning, creating an opening for Greg and Isadora to escape.
• Olivia stopped Luna from joining the fight, spread her own lightning domain, and fired two lightning bolts at Mirian’s phantom.

Olivia defeated Miriam's phantom in a fierce battle between their lightning and storm domains. With No. 945's strongest weapon destroyed, he was left helpless before his attackers.

• Miriam's phantom blocked Olivia's lightning attacks and countered with wind blades, tornadoes, and spears as their domains collided.
• Olivia broke through Miriam's defenses with a lightning torrent, then bound her phantom in a net of lightning.
• Olivia called down two massive barrages of lightning that shattered Miriam's storm domain and annihilated her phantom.
• No. 945 cried out in despair after losing his strongest trump card and realizing he had no way to fight back.

After No. 945 died under a mysterious curse, Greg completed the third phase of his quest, gained five levels, and discovered changes to his status and talents. He left the scene, while Melina watched him disappear and continued her plan to gather intelligence on the Dungeon.

• Luna stopped No. 945 from escaping, but his body rapidly aged into bones before he could reveal what he knew.
• Greg received notice that the third phase was complete, gained enough experience to reach level 48, and found a question mark beside his race on his status panel.
• Greg saw that his Dungeon talents had improved, including Dungeon's Favor becoming an aura that benefited nearby allies.
• Greg dispelled the Black Sun and vanished with Shattered Shadow Step, while Olivia prevented Isadora from pursuing him.
• Olivia told Isadora that she and Luna had been drunk and had woken up in a park, and Isadora reluctantly accepted the explanation.
• Melina suspected the black-armored figure was connected to her failed opportunities and realized the unrest had helped her subordinates infiltrate the Dungeon.

Rose led a Demon King Cult team into the Dungeon to investigate and found a path marked by the corpses of powerful monsters. In the abandoned town on the Third Floor, a white mist rapidly aged the group, leaving Rose unable to warn the Goddess Princess to stay away.

• Rose ordered the cultists to investigate the Dungeon while avoiding fights and led them past rows of monsters killed by precise attacks.
• The group crossed the First and Second Floors and reached a ruined town on the Third Floor, where Rose sensed they were being watched.
• Rose and the cultists found an unwounded Crystal-Spined Beast, an overlord-class monster, dead in the street.
• White mist enveloped the group and rapidly aged the cultists as they tried to flee.
• Rose attempted to send the Goddess Princess a warning, but she collapsed before she could write it, and the mist left the group dead.

After surviving the battle, Greg destroyed the overloaded Abyss-Edge Armor’s Magic Device and reunited with Wendy and Ellie. Wendy asked Ellie to accompany her for one last thing, while Greg was left trying to manage their tense relationship.

• Greg deactivated the Abyss-Edge Armor, then watched its Magic Device and two High-Grade Gems burn out and become worthless.
• Greg found Wendy safe and reassured her that he was uninjured.
• Wendy began asking Greg if she could always stay with him, but Ellie arrived before she could finish.
• Greg embraced Ellie and Wendy together, prompting Ellie to press her bloodstained sword to his neck and mock him.
• Wendy apologized to Ellie for the Demon King Cult’s opening, and Ellie said she did not blame Wendy but warned Greg against attracting more girls.
• Wendy asked Ellie to come with her because she had one last thing to do.

After Finn’s failed ally lost, Finn tried to summon his army and seize the throne, but Wendy stopped him and killed him. His body landed on the throne he had believed he was destined to claim.

• Finn sent a signal summoning his army and declared that he was destined to rule the Empire.
• A woman beside Wendy severed Finn’s right hand before he could finish speaking.
• Wendy reunited with her father, the emperor, and told Finn that his troops had been incapacitated with food poisoning.
• Wendy used wind magic to hurl Finn into the palace, where he crashed through the great hall roof and died on the throne.

After Wendy defeated Finn, the emperor invited her to return as the Empire’s first Empress, but she refused and chose to leave with Greg and Ellie. The emperor granted the Night Church permission to operate in the Empire, and Wendy and Ellie reconciled as they headed back to the Base.

• The emperor stopped the guards from attacking Wendy and offered her the chance to become Empress, but Wendy refused and said she had given her heart and body to Greg.
• The emperor accepted Wendy’s choice and granted the Night Church permission to operate in the Empire as an apology to her.
• Wendy left with Greg and Ellie, while the emperor arranged the aftermath of the coup and worried about Ellie’s relationship with Greg.
• Greg explained to Wendy that the emperor’s permission would help protect and expand the Night Church, then went to help the Magic Academy students rescue civilians.
• Ellie invited Wendy to return to the Base and cook for her as punishment, and Wendy gladly took her hand.

After the Imperial Capital’s disaster, Greg let Alice believe the Demon King Cult had stolen the Magic Device he had taken, easing her guilt by blaming the cult with her. A Sister summoned Greg to meet the Saintess, and he went to see the plans he had laid at the Magic Tower come to fruition.

• Students from the academies helped rebuild the damaged Imperial Capital, while the Final Defense was postponed and the Research Results Presentation was canceled.
• Alice apologized to Greg for losing the Magic Device and blamed the Demon King Cult for stealing it.
• Greg went along with Alice’s belief, joined her in cursing the Demon King Cult, and reassured her that the canceled presentation made the loss less serious.
• Alice thanked Greg, apologized for misjudging him, and went to rest; Greg privately vowed to make her a famous scholar.
• A Sister told Greg that the Saintess wanted to see him, and Greg followed her toward the upper floors of the Magic Tower.

Greg met Veronica privately, where she thanked him for helping her complete her mission and asked how he had known about the Night Church. He revealed that he had joined the Night Church before recovering memories of his previous life, and Veronica was shocked by the holy object he showed her.

• Greg entered Veronica's room and found her kneeling to thank him for helping expose the Night Church's enemy.
• Greg credited Veronica and Olivia, the Academy Head of Glory Kael Magic Academy, with forcing the enemy to reveal his trump card and killing him.
• Veronica asked Greg how he had known about the Night Church, and he said his previous life had taught him about Nightmare, the Goddess of Night.
• Greg reminded Veronica of the shackle he had mentioned and unfastened his belt to show her what he had meant.
• Veronica saw a cylinder radiating holy light, and Greg explained that he had joined the Night Church before recovering his previous-life memories.

Greg convinced Veronica that his curse mark resulted from his two lives and faiths merging, then persuaded her to offer to remove it. Veronica agreed to perform the secret method because she believed Greg was a devout believer whose soul was a woman.

• Veronica recognized Greg's curse mark and asked why he bore it.
• Greg claimed the mark appeared when his past-life memories and his current faith in the Goddess of Night merged with his former devotion to the Goddess of Light.
• Veronica accepted his explanation and reassured him that he deserved to return to Lady Seraphina's embrace.
• Greg feigned shame about the mark until Veronica offered to remove it using a method no previous Saintess had been willing to perform.
• Veronica said she was willing to remove the mark because Greg was devout and his soul was a woman's.

Veronica removed Greg’s curse mark, but he refused to return to the Church because he intended to remain undercover in the Night Church and watch its dangerous leader. Veronica agreed to help conceal his identity, leaving Greg’s mission unchanged despite his newfound freedom.

• Veronica asked Greg to sit in her chair and removed his curse mark before a worried nun entered the room.
• Greg told the nun that Veronica had climbed out the window and claimed he was resting because he felt unwell.
• After the nun left, Veronica confirmed that Greg’s curse mark would never return, and Greg thanked her.
• Veronica asked Greg to return to the Church, but he refused so he could keep watch on the Night Church’s leader.
• Veronica agreed to help hide Greg’s identity and urged him to stay safe.
• The nun returned with water and pills, found Veronica back in the room, and heard Greg say that he felt better.

Greg returned to his dorm after recovering his lost ability, then encountered Sarah, who mistook his exhaustion for heartbreak over Wendy and offered to help him. Back in his room, Nightmare wondered whether a pocket watch connected to the Mother of the Clepsydra had been deliberately placed to draw her in, and Greg realized that might be true.

• Greg left Veronica's room in high spirits after testing that his recovered ability worked, but he still planned to rest before returning to reconstruction work.
• Sarah saw Greg looking exhausted and assumed he was grieving because Wendy had been taken away, so Greg played along with her misunderstanding.
• Sarah clasped Greg's hand and promised to help him, then considered introducing him to the Emperor as a potential recruit.
• Greg returned to his dorm, where Nightmare opened the door and went back to studying a pocket watch she believed held the Mother of the Clepsydra's power.
• Nightmare suggested someone might have placed the pocket watch to lure her, and Greg stopped dismissing the idea when he realized it could be true.

Greg suspected Wendy was connected to the Mother of the Clepsydra and kept his theory from Nightmare, while questioning whether the Outer Gods were truly enemies. He told Nightmare he would use his new role as a spy for the Church of Light to control its operations against the Night Church, but she noticed he smelled strongly of Seraphina.

• Greg suspected Wendy had used the pocket watch to lure Nightmare away and decided not to tell Nightmare, recalling that the Broken Mother had forbidden him from revealing her gift.
• Greg questioned whether the Outer Gods were truly bent on destroying the world, since the Broken Mother had saved him and given him power.
• Nightmare asked Greg what he planned to do after publicly proclaiming their name, and Greg said he had become a spy for the Church of Light.
• Greg explained that he would use Saintess Veronica's requests for his advice to keep the Church of Light's operations under control, easing Nightmare's anger.
• Nightmare approved of Greg's plan, then noticed he smelled strongly of Seraphina and began pawing at his pants.

Greg, Lilith, Victoria, and Vivian helped rebuild the slum district ahead of the Empire's festival, where Lilith and Victoria bickered and Vivian showed Greg unexpected tenderness. Vivian left to mediate a dispute over work assignments, while Victoria grew more suspicious of her closeness with Greg.

• Greg turned away the children who wanted to help and told them to stay with Lilith.
• Lilith and Victoria argued until Greg called them sisters from both districts, and both told him to shut up.
• Lilith blushed as she remembered fighting alongside Greg, while the children teased her about it.
• Vivian wiped sweat from Greg's face, prompting Victoria to question how close they were.
• Yelina summoned Vivian to settle an argument over work assignments, and Victoria watched Vivian and Greg with growing suspicion.

Victoria struggled with an unexplained heaviness that eased when Greg was away, but his attempt to cheer her up improved her mood. As they returned to repairing a house, Victoria helped Greg onto the ladder and blushed when he took her hand.

• Victoria tried to avoid Greg after recalling his declaration that Wendy was his, but Greg caught up with her as they carried repair materials.
• Greg guessed Victoria felt slighted after Vivian wiped his sweat and covered Victoria's head with his towel to reward her hard work.
• Victoria tossed the towel back and denied needing Greg's reward, though her mood improved.
• Greg asked to use the ladder, and Victoria made room and offered him her hand to help him climb.
• Greg took Victoria's hand, and she turned away with a faint blush.

While working with Victoria, Greg learned that Sylvia had been helping the Church of Light and then hurried off after hearing the Church of Light and the Night Church might clash. Victoria stayed behind to cover for him, wondering what the Church of Light was planning for Sylvia.

• Greg and Victoria chatted while repairing the building, and Victoria agreed to buy him cold noodles in exchange for a promised meal at the Golden Crucible.
• Greg warned Victoria that the Demon King Cult had stolen the belt-shaped Magic Device and asked her to lie to Alice, and Victoria agreed for a meal at the Golden Crucible.
• Victoria told Greg that Sylvia had declined to help with reconstruction because she had something more important to do, and Victoria suspected the Church of Light was preparing Sylvia to become Saintess.
• Greg heard that the Church of Light and the Night Church might clash, so he left the work site to investigate while Victoria covered for him.

Greg intervened when the Church of Light and the Night Church nearly came to blows over which church deserved credit for protecting the Imperial Capital. Sylvia and Ellie ended the dispute, while Greg left without revealing that he was the Night Church’s Bishop.

• A Sister of the Church of Light and Talaya argued over their churches’ roles during the Imperial Capital disaster, and Talaya defended the Night Church’s Bishop.
• Greg entered the standoff in his work clothes and tried to calm both sides by listing a string of titles without revealing his identity.
• Sylvia and the masked swordswoman Ellie arrived and ordered the groups to stop arguing.
• Sylvia made the Sister apologize to Greg, and Ellie prompted Talaya to apologize as well.
• Greg left the crowd, and Sylvia and Ellie led their respective groups away.

Greg worried that the Church of Light would obstruct the Night Church’s growth, but he postponed dealing with the conflict and joined Victoria, Yelina, Vivian, and Lilith for an unexpected cold-noodle outing. The five headed to a modest shop, while Greg hoped their group would not attract attention.

• Greg concluded that the Church of Light would continue to threaten the Night Church’s expansion, even in places where the Night Church had permission to operate.
• Victoria blamed Greg for letting Yelina overhear his plan to get cold noodles, and Greg denied doing it on purpose.
• Yelina said she enjoyed eating at small local shops, and Vivian agreed to come along, giving Greg a meaningful glance.
• Victoria teased Lilith about eating commoners’ food, and Lilith claimed it was a royal duty before Vivian told her she did not have to come.
• Greg recalled how his planned meal with Victoria had turned into an outing with Yelina, Vivian, and Lilith, and hoped they would not draw attention.

Greg brought Victoria, Vivian, Yelina, and Lilith to Old Tom’s cold noodle shop, where Vivian paid for their meal with a gold coin. As the group sat down under the other customers’ jealous stares, Yelina asked Greg what his relationship with Victoria was.

• Old Tom listened as Magic Academy students discussed the phantom enemies, the Black Sun, and the Goddess of Night while he served noodles.
• Greg entered Old Tom’s shop with Victoria, Vivian, Yelina, and Lilith, drawing everyone’s attention.
• Greg asked Victoria for extra portions, but Vivian offered to pay and handed Old Tom a gold coin.
• Old Tom seated the five at the best table, while Greg noticed the other customers glaring at him enviously.
• Yelina asked Greg what his relationship with Victoria was.

Yelina asked Greg what his relationship with Victoria was, prompting Victoria, Lilith, and Vivian to wonder about the answer as well. Surrounded by four expectant gazes, Greg struggled to respond.

• Yelina noticed Vivian and Greg growing closer, but worried that Greg’s natural closeness with Victoria threatened their relationship.
• Yelina asked Greg what his relationship with Victoria was, and Victoria realized she wanted to know too.
• Lilith recalled Victoria visiting Greg’s Dungeon camp and began to suspect something between them.
• Vivian calmly waited for Greg’s answer, considering what it might mean for her future relationship with the other girl.
• Old Tom delivered the cold noodles and hurried away after sensing the tense atmosphere at the table.
• Greg sweated under the four girls’ gazes and struggled to find an answer that would satisfy them.

Greg reassured Yelina that his relationship with Victoria was innocent, and the group relaxed over cold noodles. Vivian then revealed that Catherine Roman and her family would arrive at the Academy the next day, leaving Greg curious about their visit.

• Greg told Yelina that he and Victoria had become close friends and that nothing romantic was happening between them, and Lilith accepted his explanation.
• Lilith enjoyed the cold noodles, while Yelina privately decided she did not consider Lilith a romantic rival to Vivian.
• Greg told Victoria she was the only friend at the Academy he could completely relax around, and Victoria blushed and hid her smile.
• Vivian considered Victoria a possible future younger sister, and the group began eating after Greg urged them to start before the noodles clumped.
• Yelina reminded Vivian that Academy members were expected to welcome someone the next day, and Vivian said Catherine Roman and her family were coming.

Catherine Roman traveled to the Imperial Capital aboard a Roman Merchant Guild airship, where her siblings mocked her business and discussed the Night Church’s powerful leader. She planned to approach the Night Church despite doubting she could secure a partnership, and thought of an interesting man who might still be in the city.

• Catherine Roman watched the airship approach the Imperial Capital and went to the lounge for fresh air.
• Catherine’s second brother and third sister mocked her merchant guild and praised their own businesses, but Catherine calmly refused to merge hers.
• Catherine privately reflected that she had developed the Screech-Type Magic Device and released it through covert channels.
• Catherine’s siblings discussed the Imperial Capital disaster and the Night Church’s powerful leader, and her second brother suggested investing in the organization.
• Catherine decided she would try to contact the Night Church and thought that the man she had in mind might still be in the Imperial Capital for the Exchange Meeting.

Sarah brought Greg Sass from Glory Kael Magic Academy to an imperial banquet to introduce him to her father, the emperor. When the emperor recognized Greg as the masked man who had created the Black Sun above the Imperial Capital, he realized how extraordinary his guest was.

• Sarah had Greg taken from the construction site, dressed in formal clothes, and brought to the palace banquet to make new connections.
• Greg ignored the attention of several noblewomen and focused on the buffet while waiting at the banquet.
• The emperor arrived, and Sarah led him through the crowd to introduce Greg Sass as a gifted student from Glory Kael Magic Academy.
• Greg nervously greeted the emperor, who found him familiar and remembered him standing beside Wendy as the masked man who had created the Black Sun above the Imperial Capital.

The emperor recognized Greg as the likely savior of the Imperial Capital but kept his identity secret and warned Sarah to treat him only as a friend. After the emperor left, noble ladies approached Greg at the banquet before the Roman Merchant Guild’s arrival drew attention.

• The emperor privately recognized Greg as the young man who had saved the Imperial Capital, but concealed his knowledge and invited him to pursue a future in the Empire.
• The emperor told Sarah that Greg was beyond her ability to handle and instructed her to associate with him only as a friend.
• The emperor decided to prepare a future gift for Greg as a dowry for Wendy, while Greg felt relieved that his identity had not been discovered.
• Lina von Klein and several other noble young ladies approached Greg to introduce themselves and ask about his family.
• The guests noticed the Roman Merchant Guild arriving, and Greg wondered whether Catherine, Vivian, and the other Student Council members were at the banquet.
• A bone-chilling sensation swept over the noble young ladies just as they turned back toward Greg.

At a banquet, Catherine Roman approached Greg after seeing other guests avoid her and asked him to dance, citing their shared contract. Vivian watched them with a possessive glare, making Catherine even more curious about Greg.

• Catherine Roman was ignored by the Empire's elite and declined a young nobleman's invitation to dance.
• Catherine spotted Greg and used their contract as an excuse to leave the nobleman and approach him.
• Greg refused Catherine's invitation before recognizing her and asking why she had come over.
• Catherine saw Vivian watching them with an icy, possessive gaze and found Greg even more interesting.