Chapter Summaries

After the paladins defeated an Abomination, Li Lin manipulated a young knight’s desire for Mina and fed his despair to the banshee. The group rested with Mina maintaining Fina’s protective aura, while Li Lin vanished into the mist after killing the knight.

• The paladins brought down the Abomination and cut off its head, then continued through the ruins as Fina maintained her aura against the poisonous gas.
• Li Lin discouraged Mina from spending more divine power and later assured the banshee in his ring that it would get the knight it had chosen as prey.
• Duncan halted the exhausted group for a night’s rest, and Mina took over maintaining the aura while Fina fell asleep with Angela in her arms.
• The young paladin followed Mina from the carriage and saw an illusion in which she appeared to seduce Li Lin and invite the knight to join them.
• Li Lin used the illusion to fill the knight with despair; the knight dropped his sword and collapsed, and the banshee devoured his soul.

A group of paladins, priests, and other allies entered the mist-shrouded ruins of the Magic Empire and headed toward the Summoning Hall, while Li Lin watched their progress. Angela used her power to enthrall Fina, leaving the priest under her control.

• A mixed group of paladins, priests, and other allies approached the ruins, and the angel raised a protective halo to shield them from the mist.
• Li Lin questioned Angela about her plan to subdue a woman, then studied the map and realized the group appeared to be heading for the Summoning Hall.
• Fina wandered outside the carriage, troubled by her growing desire for Angela and the pleasure she had experienced with her.
• Duncan asked Li Lin for directions after the group found their path blocked, and Li Lin sent them down a route to the right.
• Angela hypnotized Fina and told her to become Angela's slave, and Fina agreed.

Duncan’s exhausted party reached the ancient sanctuary, where he revealed their mission to destroy traces of the evil gods. Li Lin unsettled the paladins by revealing that Duncan’s companions had died on his previous expeditions, then began drawing a young paladin toward him with hints of a hidden truth.

• Li Lin led Duncan’s party to the enormous sanctuary after days of undead harassment, and the horses left outside died in the poisonous mist.
• Duncan ordered the party to rest inside the sanctuary and explained that they had come to destroy the evil gods’ lingering traces.
• Angela challenged Duncan’s explanation of why the gods were evil, and Duncan changed the subject before asking Li Lin to locate a place described in his papers.
• Li Lin told Duncan that he had been the only survivor of previous expeditions with the same team, alarming the other paladins.
• A young paladin approached Li Lin to ask what he meant, and Li Lin hinted that the paladin did not know the truth.

Li Lin led Duncan’s group into a preserved hall, where he revealed that he was the last Arcane Mage and the master of the ancient place. He trapped the group in a magical cage, but the arrival of several gods—including the Elf Goddess—interrupted his confrontation with Duncan.

• Li Lin explained how Arcane Mages had served the gods and pointed out a statue of the God of Justice, prompting Duncan to angrily denounce his account.
• Li Lin identified the hall and approached its platform while Duncan held the others back until he had checked for danger.
• Magical writing appeared on the floor, and lightning trapped the group as Li Lin took the central stone chair and declared himself the last Arcane Mage and master of the place.
• Duncan attacked the lightning cage with holy fire, but Li Lin said it could withstand even the God of Justice.
• A succubus, an angel, and an elf arrived; the elf bowed to Li Lin, who recognized the Elf Goddess and greeted the divine visitors.

Li Lin learned that the gods had been driven from the Divine Realm by the God of Justice, who used Duncan to force a Divine Descent into Mina. As Li Lin and Angela fought the god’s incarnation, Fina took Mina’s sword strike and fell bleeding between them.

• The Goddess of Dawn and the other gods told Li Lin that the God of Justice had driven them from the Divine Realm.
• Duncan killed two paladins and tried to make Mina surrender herself as a Divine Chosen to the God of Justice.
• Li Lin released the Thunder Net, but Duncan stabbed Mina before the angel could reach her, allowing the God of Justice to descend.
• The God of Justice drained Duncan and his second-in-command to ash, while Fina fell unconscious; Li Lin and Angela then attacked Mina’s possessed body.
• Mina emerged from Li Lin’s deathly mist and charged Angela, but Fina suddenly stepped between them and took the sword strike.

Li Lin banished the God of Justice from Mina’s body after Fina’s death disrupted his divine descent, and Angela turned both sisters into undead servants. The gods revealed that the Betrayer had killed the Three Supreme Gods and was stealing other gods’ domains and priesthoods, and Li Lin recognized they wanted him to activate the Great Book of Law.

• Fina’s grief over killing Mina weakened the God of Justice’s hold, allowing Li Lin to cast Banishment and drive him from Mina’s body.
• Angela drank from Fina and Mina, then used her blood to transform the dying sisters; both girls died and became Angela’s servants.
• The angel warned that the God of Betrayers might use Fina’s body to descend again, but the succubus persuaded her to stand aside.
• The angel told Li Lin that the Betrayer had killed the Three Supreme Gods and was stealing divine domains and priesthoods from other gods.
• Li Lin understood why the gods had united against the Betrayer and asked whether they had come to request that he activate the Great Book of Law.

Li Lin agreed to join the gods’ alliance against the God of Justice, while making clear he was pursuing his own revenge and would not act in the Magic Empire’s name. He planned to recover things that once belonged to him and allowed the gods’ hunted followers temporary refuge in the fallen city.

• The Goddess of Dawn confirmed that the God of Justice had taken the Great Book of Law, prompting Li Lin to recognize that the gods wanted his help defeating him.
• Angela objected to Li Lin joining the gods, but Li Lin declared he would not give up and agreed to join their alliance to avenge the Magic Empire’s destruction.
• Li Lin refused the gods’ offer of assistance and said he would search for things that belonged to him; the God of Dwarves and Elf Goddess admitted their peoples had lost the weapons he had entrusted to them.
• Li Lin agreed to let the gods relocate their followers and peoples to the fallen city, keeping its necromantic barrier in place.
• After the gods departed, Angela asked whether Li Lin trusted them, and he suggested she had been waiting for his decision as she voiced her eagerness to witness human suffering.

Li Lin and his companions stopped at a countryside tavern, where he revealed that he planned to visit Wensains and the Magic-Banning Prison to seek a weapon he had left there. After Li Lin said he had just come out of the Mist Forest, a burly man asked him for information about the dangerous place.

• Old Jack welcomed Li Lin, Angela, Fina, Mina, and the other twin into his tavern during a storm.
• Mina asked Li Lin what they should do, and he said he planned to visit Wensains and pointed out the Magic-Banning Prison on his map.
• Mina explained what she knew about the prison, while Angela described its horrors and challenged the sisters’ faith.
• Li Lin said he had once left his weapon in the prison and explained that he had avoided returning to his fallen homeland because he did not want to see it under enemy rule.
• A burly man arrived with his men, stopped them from harassing the women, and asked Li Lin for information after learning he had come out of the Mist Forest.

Li Lin learned that a mercenary company had been secretly funded to monitor the ruins of the Magic Empire, and suspected their mysterious patron was a powerful mage interested in the lost city. After dinner, he returned to his room with Angela.

• Angela prepared herself as Li Lin questioned a mercenary leader about strange activity near the ruins, and the leader said nothing unusual had occurred.
• The mercenary leader explained that a mysterious noble had funded his company for years in exchange for regular reports about the ruined capital.
• Li Lin noticed the mercenaries carried rare enchanted weapons made with Magic Empire techniques and asked Mina and Fina about their scarcity.
• Li Lin suspected the patron was a formidable mage seeking the Magic Empire’s treasures or knowledge, and resolved to speak with him.
• Li Lin and Angela spent the night together, and Angela asked for another round.

Li Lin left the tavern with Angela, Mina, and Fina, then taught Fina magic during their journey to the next town. The carriage stopped when Angela sensed a dangerous group blocking the road.

• Mina and Fina came to Li Lin's room after spending the night listening to him and Angela.
• Li Lin prepared protective spells, and Angela came downstairs with the sisters before they left the tavern.
• Li Lin chose not to investigate the employer behind the previous night's mercenaries and set out for the next town.
• Li Lin began teaching Fina magic in the carriage while Angela trained Mina in physical combat.
• Fina briefly formed a ball of light, but it vanished when she celebrated too soon.
• Angela sensed a pack of dangerous men ahead, and the carriage came to a stop.

Li Lin slaughtered the paladins who confronted him over his undead horses, leaving one alive for Angela’s vampire servants. Mina and Fina drank human blood for the first time, and Angela watched them give in to its pleasure.

• A group of paladins stopped Li Lin and accused him of desecrating the dead by using undead horses.
• Li Lin killed the paladins’ horses, deafened and drained one knight, trapped the others, and burned them alive.
• Li Lin froze the last surviving paladin, and Angela ordered Mina and Fina to drink his blood.
• Angela hypnotized Mina and Fina into approaching the paladin, then released the spell as they bit his neck.
• Mina and Fina continued drinking the paladin’s blood after regaining consciousness, while Angela observed their growing delight.

Angela insisted that Mina and Fina belonged to her after forcing them to become vampires, while Li Lin investigated the dead paladins and discovered they were Knights Templar who hunted mages. After Li Lin performed a spell on a knight’s soul and the carriage departed, an elderly mage watched from afar and decided Li Lin might help him achieve his goal.

• Angela told Mina that she had given the sisters a second life and commanded them to obey her, while Mina struggled to accept what had happened.
• Li Lin examined a paladin’s holy emblem, and Fina identified it as the emblem of the Knights Templar, an order tasked with guarding and judging mages.
• Fina explained that Templars earned their title by killing mages and were stationed at mage towers and Magic-Banning Prisons.
• Li Lin stabbed the wounded knight and performed an incantation that made the knight’s soul emerge, wail, and disappear.
• Li Lin boarded the carriage, and Mina followed Angela and Fina aboard as it set off again.
• An elderly mage in a black robe watched the carriage leave and decided Li Lin might help him achieve his goal.

Li Lin and the sisters reached a city near the Magic-Banning Prison, where he used the captured knight’s soul to learn about the prison and arranged for Mina and Fina to practice controlling their hunger. The sisters drank blood from a woman Li Lin had summoned while he studied the soul’s memories and considered whether the prison would obstruct his objective.

• Li Lin sealed the dead Templar knight’s soul inside his dagger so he could use it as a guide to the Magic-Banning Prison.
• Li Lin destroyed the carriage and horses, then used a charm spell to get the group admitted to a city controlled by the Knights Templar.
• Angela left after spotting someone she wanted to feed on, while Li Lin took Mina and Fina to an inn and asked the innkeeper to find him a woman.
• Li Lin brought the woman to his room, rendered her unconscious, and told Mina and Fina to practice drinking blood without draining her.
• Li Lin read information from the knight’s soul and learned that the Magic-Banning Prison deprived imprisoned mages of their ability to cast spells.
• Mina and Fina drank from the woman’s wrists as Li Lin watched and continued studying.

Malin found Angela disguised as a lost girl, but Angela drank her blood and carried her back to Li Lin. Li Lin explained the history of Wensains, the Magic-Banning Prison, and suspected that his weapon had failed to destroy its magic restriction.

• Malin comforted the apparently lost Angela and carried her toward a church, but Angela bit her neck and left her unconscious.
• Angela healed the bite marks, praised Malin's blood, and carried her away in a swarm of bats.
• Angela returned to Li Lin, who said the sisters had gone back to their room after indulging in blood-drinking.
• Li Lin told Angela that Wensains had once been a place where Arcane Mages punished low-level students by suppressing their magic.
• Li Lin said the prison's devil-summoning array had likely been destroyed, but its magic restriction remained active despite his weapon having been sent to handle it.
• Angela approached Li Lin after drinking blood, and they began their nighttime entertainment.

Li Lin and Angela approached the Magic-Banning Prison, where Li Lin exposed a mage who had been following them. The mage, Sest, introduced himself and asked them to help him with a task at the prison, suggesting they shared a goal.

• Angela explained that the newly turned sisters had not completed their Coming-of-Age Rite, so Li Lin left them behind while he went to the Magic-Banning Prison with her.
• Li Lin assessed the prison’s defenses and sensed someone watching him as he and Angela walked nearby.
• Li Lin used a spell to reveal an elderly man who had followed them, and Angela warned the man to respect her master.
• The man introduced himself as Sest and said he had witnessed Li Lin kill Templar Knights; he had come to kill them himself.
• Li Lin and Sest exchanged greetings, and Sest pointed toward the prison and asked for their help, saying they had a common goal.

Li Lin refused Sest’s request to help rescue his imprisoned disciple and warned him not to interfere with their visit to the Magic-Banning Prison. After Sest left, Li Lin revealed his True Name to Angela and led her toward lunch and sightseeing.

• Sest asked Li Lin to help investigate the Magic-Banning Prison and hinted that its restrictions did not affect intermediate-rank mages or higher.
• Li Lin said they already knew about the prison’s restriction and refused to help rescue Sest’s disciple.
• Sest recognized Li Lin’s Magic Empire-era gesture and wondered whether he was one of the thirteen Arcane Mages or a survivor of the Magic Empire.
• Li Lin warned Sest that interfering could cost him his True Name, and Sest backed away into the darkness.
• Li Lin told Angela his True Name and explained that she could use it to summon him if she was in danger.
• Li Lin and Angela headed toward the white building to eat and go sightseeing.

Li Lin posed as adjudicator Akt Lannis to tour the Magic-Banning Prison and investigate its ancient magical restriction. He found a half-finished destructive rune array in a corner and recovered information from its creator’s traces, then left with Angela.

• Li Lin used an illusion and mental charm to pose as adjudicator Akt Lannis, while Angela pretended to detect evil mages, and a templar guided them through the prison.
• Li Lin examined the prison’s work area, praised the statue of the God of Justice, and noticed several mages react nervously.
• Li Lin entered the sacred judgment chamber and had Angela hypnotize the templar while he investigated its magical restriction.
• Li Lin found a half-completed destructive rune array and used a spell to probe the memories left in its runes.
• Li Lin returned to Angela, said he had obtained the information, and told her they would leave.

Sest hesitated to rescue his disciple from the prison after Li Lin explained that doing so could endanger the other imprisoned mages. Before Li Lin left, Sest sent him toward Yinkalan to meet an unknown person who might help him, and the town’s ancient name caught Li Lin’s attention.

• Sest prepared to infiltrate the prison to rescue his disciple, but Li Lin warned that the rescue could ruin the imprisoned mages’ plans and put them at risk.
• Li Lin explained that the mages had hidden Animation Runes in the statues they carved, with secret passwords that could make the statues move.
• Sest decided not to act immediately and told Li Lin that an unnamed person in Yinkalan might be able to help him.
• Li Lin agreed to visit Yinkalan after learning that its ancient-language name meant “wait, until forever.”

Li Lin trained Fina in spell chanting while Angela taught Mina vampire combat, but memories of a woman grieving his death left Li Lin troubled. As he spoke with Angela by the fire, she sensed something approaching through the woods.

• Li Lin stopped Fina's spell practice and told her to work on tongue twisters because her chanting remained weak.
• Angela repeatedly sent Mina flying while teaching her the direct, resilient fighting style expected of vampires.
• Li Lin recalled a memory from a rune showing a woman in anguish when he cast the Undead Barrier shortly before his death a thousand years earlier.
• Li Lin told Angela that discovering the woman had grieved his death unsettled him, and they joked about vampires, death, and their relationship.
• Angela noticed something approaching through the woods and called it annoying.

Li Lin and his companions were drawn into a fight when a swordsman pursued three men to their camp. Angela fought the swordsman to test his technique, and Li Lin stopped him as he tried to leave, asking to examine his sword.

• Li Lin told Angela to ignore the fighters in the woods, but an explosion of magic and flames soon broke the camp’s quiet.
• Three fleeing men rushed toward Li Lin’s camp, and the black-armored swordsman pursuing them killed them while demanding a magic core.
• Angela asked to fight the swordsman, and Li Lin let her go after noticing the speed of his glowing red blade.
• The swordsman attacked Angela with his blade’s flames, but she overcame him with her fan and left him badly injured while proudly telling Li Lin she had learned his technique.
• As the swordsman tried to leave, Li Lin stopped him and asked to borrow his sword for a look.