Chapter Summaries

After Wendy’s power awakened Greg’s dark skills, he realized she might be connected to the Mother of the Clepsydra and prepared to face the crisis outside. Greg unleashed his once-only trump card, plunging the Imperial Capital into darkness beneath a black-red sun, while Wendy recognized the scene from her dreams.

• Greg saw that Wendy’s power had advanced his World-Devouring Black Flame and Dark Abyss Demon Armor, and he suspected her connection to the Mother of the Clepsydra.
• Wendy explained that déjà vu had led her to help Greg, though she did not understand its source.
• After hearing calls from outside, Greg told Wendy to remain hidden and left the secluded corner.
• Under the full moon, Greg donned his Abyss-Edge Armor, equipped the two gems, and activated Seed of Eternal Darkness.
• Greg used Black Radiance: Final Embers, darkening the Imperial Capital and transforming the moon into a black-red sun as he declared himself the Dark Sun Sovereign.
• Wendy watched Greg hover beneath the Dark Sun and recognized the scene from her dreams.

Marcus tried to exploit the crisis to strengthen his political power, but Olivia and Luna overcame his gravity domain and knocked him unconscious. As the phantoms repeatedly re-formed after being destroyed, Olivia prepared to unleash her domain before the light around her suddenly dimmed.

• Marcus planned to use the rebellion and Finn's poor performance to consolidate his influence over the Empire.
• Phantoms surrounded Marcus, and he expanded his gravity domain to pin them down while the capital descended into chaos.
• Luna and Olivia stood unharmed despite Marcus's gravity, and Olivia struck him unconscious with a Thunderbolt.
• Olivia and Luna destroyed the phantoms with magic, but the creatures re-formed soon afterward.
• Olivia removed her mask and prepared to release her domain, but the light around her suddenly dimmed.

Greg revealed his power as the black-armored figure beneath a Black Sun, stopping the phantoms attacking Olivia, Luna, and the others. Veronica recognized the power as Nightmare’s authority and wondered whether Greg knew the Goddess of Night’s followers still existed.

• Olivia noticed the light and her magic power being drained as the phantoms stopped and stared at a Black Sun in the sky.
• Luna prepared to attack the black-armored figure, but Olivia revealed that he was Greg.
• Victoria, Vivian, and Lilith watched the phantoms freeze as Greg appeared above the slums.
• Victoria recognized Greg and resolved to keep up with his growth, while Vivian felt pleased by his strength and Lilith was unsettled by his magic.
• Veronica recognized the Black Sun’s power as Nightmare’s authority and connected Greg’s warning about the Returning Night to the surviving faith of the Goddess of Night.

Greg used his enhanced Abyss-Edge Armor to halt the phantom enemies and address the Imperial Capital, declaring himself an envoy of Nightmare, the Goddess of Night. He publicly defended Wendy and confessed that he had his eye on her, leaving Isadora and the city stunned.

• Greg’s empowered armor stopped the phantom enemies and drew the Imperial Capital’s attention.
• Greg announced that he had descended as Nightmare’s envoy, prompting some elderly people and secret believers to worship him while others questioned the goddess’s existence.
• Isadora flew up to confront Greg and demanded to know what he wanted.
• Greg declared that Wendy had never colluded with Demons and that the evidence against her was fabricated.
• Greg said Wendy was the woman he had his eye on, leaving Isadora and the Imperial Capital in stunned silence.

After Greg publicly declared his love for Wendy, the women across the Imperial Capital reacted with tears, jealousy, envy, and confusion. Greg then used the Seed of Eternal Darkness to consume the spectral enemies, leaving a black-uniformed steward exposed.

• Wendy heard Greg’s declaration and wept with joy, wondering how she could ever leave him.
• Ellie accepted Greg’s public defense of Wendy, while Sylvia grew jealous as she continued helping the injured.
• Victoria called Greg a scumbag, Vivian trusted he would defend her too, and Lilith feared Wendy had been abducted by the terrifying figure.
• Isadora found Greg’s declaration unexpectedly direct and asked him for the second thing.
• Greg unleashed the Seed of Eternal Darkness and devoured tens of thousands of spectral enemies across the Imperial Capital.
• With the specters gone, a black-uniformed steward was exposed and looked up at Greg with grave solemnity.

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.