Recaps

Qiji defeated Charles and the other Kalentia contestants in the Tide Grand Competition, avenging Suyo while displaying overwhelming control of his power. With the City of Kindling’s place in the finals nearly secured, the crowd celebrated as Qiji continued tormenting Charles with arithmetic questions.

• Qiji drained Panyan’s Heart Essence, leaving him collapsed, but expected the Sea of Spirit Matter to restore him after the team advanced.
• Qiji used Piercing Rainbow to eliminate Dorothy, Dorian, and Rina in one strike, leaving Charles as the last opponent.
• Charles activated his Concept Armament and Overload Core, but Qiji’s Piercing Rainbow shattered the Armament and left Charles unable to resist.
• Qiji cut Charles’s ankle and quizzed him on arithmetic while the crowd cheered and celebrated the City of Kindling’s likely place in the finals.
• Suyo wondered whether Qiji was avenging her, then concluded he was simply enjoying himself, while the little maid called him a monster.

Charles reappeared in Losers' Square after Qiji's attack, where he found Sibel and the other members of her squad among the injured. Maya briefed Kalentia's finalists on the upcoming matches and claimed she had found a sure way to defeat Qiji.

• After answering another question incorrectly, Charles slit his own throat with a dagger made from Heart Essence.
• Charles opened his eyes in Losers' Square and saw the other nine members of Kalentia injured and wrapped in healing bandages and casts.
• Charles spotted Sibel's squad among the injured and concluded that Qiji had defeated them too.
• Maya gathered the injured Kalentia contestants and explained that twenty people had advanced to the finals, including ten from the City of Kindling.
• Maya told her students that Qiji was their only serious threat and announced that she had figured out a sure way to defeat him.