At the Hundred-Demon Banquet, Jason returns to jeers as other attendees call him a "useless fish" and claim the one who saved them couldn't be him. Jason brags he's reached the seventh rank, but rivals dismiss its value and predict he'll be the first to die. The banquet's first trial, Bear the Queen's Might, is announced. Linda steps forward to shield the group and people hide behind her; someone whispers "Thanks, Linda." The trial begins and proves terrifying, leaving Jason facing public doubt and his survival hanging unresolved.