Chapter Summaries

Angel, Xio, and Sherman divided the spoils after killing Baelen and Harras, while Angel warned them to keep the operation secret. Back home, Xio asked Fors to help sell the Criminal Characteristic as she resolved to investigate the military and royal family’s connection to her father’s death.

• Xio chose Baelen’s Criminal Beyonder Characteristic as her reward, and Angel gave it to her after deducting the 25 pounds Xio owed.
• Angel praised Sherman’s role in the operation, warned him to relocate, and Xio took him to a safe house to lie low.
• Angel left to report the discoveries to Mr. Fool and the Hanged Man and consider informing the official Beyonders about the trafficking case.
• Fors explained to Xio that she was rushing her manuscript to earn money for the Trickmaster potion materials and described a powerful Beyonder who inspired her new protagonist.
• Xio showed Fors the Criminal Characteristic and asked her to help sell it, resolving to investigate the military and royal family’s role in her father’s death.

Angel received Mr. Hanged Man’s response to her report about Baelen’s human trafficking operation and learned that a fire had already destroyed the scene. She consulted Sherlock about how to proceed and learned they had earned a large reward for helping track the Desire Apostle.

• Mr. Hanged Man thanked Angel for finding Baelen, promised her 500 pounds, and warned her to be cautious before reporting the trafficking operation because powerful Loen figures might be involved.
• Angel read that a fire had broken out at the East Borough residence where she had interrogated Baelen and channeled Harras, and suspected the golden-mask group had destroyed evidence.
• Angel avoided meeting Machinery Hivemind deacon Ikanser outside Sherlock’s house, then went inside to speak with Sherlock.
• Sherlock told Angel that Ikanser had offered them 1,300 pounds for helping track the Desire Apostle, with 800 pounds going to Angel.
• Sherlock said he had found the Faceless potion formula and expected to obtain its ingredients, and that selling the gold bars could bring them about 2,800 pounds; Angel was surprised when he said a woman was handling the sale.

Angel told Sherlock about killing Harras and uncovered a connection between the human trafficking operation, Prince Edessak, and the Demoness Sect. They planned to report the matter through noble rivals, and the chapter ended with Sherlock awkwardly offering to help Angel continue her potion role-playing.

• Angel recounted tracking Baelen, killing Harras, and using Spirit Channeling, then explained why she suspected royal and military involvement in the trafficking.
• Angel revealed that Prince Edessak had fallen in love with Trissy, a former male Instigator who had become a Sequence 6 Demoness of Pleasure, and Sherlock suspected an item had manipulated their relationship.
• Sherlock advised reporting the affair through noble rivals to turn it into an internal royal struggle, and Angel decided to seek help through Audrey before notifying the Three Great Churches.
• Sherlock said his potion was nearly digested after role-playing and then awkwardly offered to help Angel continue hers that night.
• Angel left Sherlock's apartment in a hurry as Landlady Sommer saw her and remarked on the young people's energy.

Angel identified Kaliwa Dupont as the source of Lily Granger’s threatening letters, but her divination suggested someone was interfering to protect him. After escaping a dream attack in Kaliwa’s home, she vanished as Nighthawks broke in, only for their Phantom Phosphor Powder to reveal her hiding place.

• Detective Raymond told Angel that Kaliwa Dupont, a lecturer at Backlund Technical College, had been seen leaving a threatening letter at Lily’s home.
• Angel ended the detectives’ commission and searched Kaliwa’s house, where she found threatening letters matching those at Lily’s home.
• Angel used Magic Mirror Divination to ask why Kaliwa threatened Lily, but the visions showed misleading scenes from his ordinary life.
• Angel realized a skilled Beyonder might be interfering with divination and protecting Kaliwa, then felt herself pulled into a dream.
• Angel used the Hidden Holy Emblem to return to reality and vanished as Lorotta and Borgia stormed into the study.
• Borgia fired Phantom Phosphor Powder across the room, revealing Angel’s silhouette in a corner.

Angel escaped a Nighthawk attack at Kaliwa Dupont’s home, while Lorotta questioned Lily and revealed that Dupont had been sending her threatening letters. The chapter ended as Lily saw another version of herself approaching her home.

• Lorotta used a Slumber Charm against Angel and Borgia, but Angel escaped through the window and fled invisibly.
• Angel suspected the Nighthawks had been misled into following her to Kaliwa Dupont’s residence.
• Lorotta visited Lily and told her that Kaliwa Dupont was the sender of the threatening letters found at his home.
• Lily connected the threats to Sherick Madan and the box he had left behind, which she believed the police had taken.
• As Lorotta prepared to leave, Lily and Lorotta saw a golden-haired figure dressed differently from Lily approaching the house.

Angel stopped a Faceless from abducting Lily Granger and learned that the Secret Order was likely behind the attempt to obtain Xie Like Madan’s box. When Sevillea warned her to avoid the Order and revealed that Lady Despair wanted to meet her, she asked Angel for an update on the organization that worshipped the Fool.

• Angel, disguised as Lorotta, froze a Faceless posing as Lily, but the impostor escaped with Flame Leap before Angel could catch her.
• Angel concluded that the Faceless had lured away the Nighthawks to target Lily and the box left by Xie Like Madan, then watched the Nighthawks take Lily to safety.
• Angel visited Sevillea Landon, who identified the Faceless as a member of the Secret Order and warned that the organization had ties to Intis.
• Sevillea told Angel that Lady Despair would return to Backlund by the following week and wanted to meet her.
• Angel changed the subject to Trissy’s failed escape, and Sevillea said Trissy would soon be free along with the Demoness Sect.
• Sevillea asked Angel whether she had made progress investigating the organization that worshipped the Fool, leaving Angel startled.

Angel learned that the Demoness Sect was searching for Tarot-card clues and grew more determined to advance before facing Lady Despair. Meanwhile, Soest briefed the Nighthawks on a Faceless Beyonder’s attack near Lily Granger’s home and revealed the suspected organization behind the ability.

• Angel told Sevillea that the Aurora Order’s recent crimes might be connected to Ms. D’s death, but Sevillea said the order was innocent this time.
• Angel left Sevillea’s mansion worried that Lady Despair could expose her identity, then decided to visit Minsk Street in Cherwood Borough.
• Soest arrived at the Nighthawks’ records room and told Daly Simone and Leonard Mitchell about threats against Lily Granger and the disappearance of her teacher, Kaliwa Dupont.
• Soest explained that a female Beyonder had escaped the Nighthawks and that she was a Sequence 6 Faceless who could change her appearance.
• Soest linked the Faceless ability to the Secret Order and its successor, the Eighth Bureau of the Intis Republic.

Soest explained the Nighthawks’ investigation into the empty box that drew Bureau 8 and the Secret Order to Lily Granger. After breakfast, Sherlock told Angel that his friend Talim had died mysteriously and that the royal family had taken over the suspicious case.

• Soest said Lily Granger had been targeted because Sherick Madan gave her a box, and two Faceless Ones appeared at her home.
• Soest revealed that the box had been empty after its seal was opened, and explained that the Nighthawks had publicized their custody of it to protect Lily.
• Leonard questioned why Aier Hassen’s team had brought rare anti-invisibility ammunition, and Daly suggested they had originally been waiting for Cole Granger.
• Angel cooked breakfast with Sherlock, and he brought her more bread after she admitted she was still hungry.
• Sherlock told Angel that Talim Dumont had suddenly died at a club, with black aura around his heart visible through Spirit Vision.
• Sherlock said the royal family had claimed Talim’s case despite his Storms faith, and suspected his death was connected to them.

Angel and Sherlock discussed the mysterious curse that killed the riding instructor and their plans for the day, then Angel joined Sherlock’s team to confront a baronet trying to awaken an evil spirit in a Tudor-era ruin. The chapter ended as Barone Rafte Pound secretly entered the tunnel while three figures watched him.

• Angel and Sherlock considered whether a curse killed the riding instructor, but their divination attempts failed to identify the killer.
• Angel told Sherlock she might encounter Lady Despair in Backlund and could report the demigod Demoness to the Orthodox Church.
• Angel and Sherlock discussed their plans, including Sherlock’s attempt to stop a baronet from entering a dangerous ruin in the West Borough.
• Angel asked to join Sherlock’s team, and he agreed after warning her that the evil spirit inside the ruin was dangerous.
• At night, Barone Rafte Pound uncovered a hidden tunnel entrance and crawled inside as three figures watched him from the abandoned church.

Rafte Pound dug into an underground palace and encountered Klein, whom he mistook for an evil spirit, before a sealed presence took control of him. The entity used Rafte’s blood to break through the seal briefly and confronted Klein, mocking his disguise.

• Rafte Pound dug beneath an abandoned church, found a Tudor crest in an underground palace, and fled when he encountered a Faceless figure and a floating head.
• Klein appeared with Angel and Sharon, transformed into a red-haired evil spirit, and let Rafte believe he had found the spirit of the underground palace.
• Rafte urged the supposed spirit to cooperate with him, claiming the Rogue Black Emperor’s appearance foretold the Blood Emperor’s return.
• A presence took control of Rafte and made him repeatedly smash his head against a wall before he rose and tasted his blood.
• The presence said Rafte’s hatred had briefly broken the seal, then criticized Klein’s disguise and left the air around them growing colder.

Angel, Sherlock, and Sharon confronted the evil spirit possessing Raft, which offered occult knowledge and potion formulas in exchange for help breaking its seal. It gave them a method to free it and a lead to the hidden Redemption Rose before returning to the seal.

• Sherlock questioned the spirit, which claimed Alistar Tudor had wronged it and offered knowledge and rewards for its release.
• The spirit revealed a Card of Blasphemy showing the Red Priest Sequence 0 and offered Sharon and Angel potion formulas and advancement options.
• Angel asked how to release the spirit, and it demanded blood from descendants of the Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici families mixed with holy water.
• Sherlock connected the Medici family to the Redemption Rose and the True Creator, while the spirit suggested searching for Bensi Town and warned them not to kill Raft.
• Raft collapsed unconscious, and Angel found that the evil spirit had returned to its seal.

Angel, Sherlock, and Sharon discussed whether to trust the ancient evil spirit trapped beneath the Pound estate and agreed to monitor Rafte Pound rather than free it. After Sharon warned them that a demigod had arrived in Backlund, Angel and Sherlock split their earnings and discussed their plans, ending with Angel suspecting Sherlock had sought out an apothecary.

• Angel corrected Sherlock by confirming that the evil spirit's information about her potion sequences and the Wraith pathway seemed accurate, and she revealed her true face to Sharon.
• Sherlock concluded that the sealed evil spirit was likely a demigod or stronger, but explained that reporting it would expose his earlier visit to the underground ruin.
• Angel, Sherlock, and Sharon agreed to keep watch on the passage and Rafte Pound, who had been injured while trying to release the spirit.
• Sharon gave Sherlock 2,800 pounds from selling their gold bars, then vanished after warning that a demigod had come to Backlund.
• Angel and Sherlock divided the money, discussed buying Mystical Items and Sherlock's potion ingredients, and Angel suspected he had visited an apothecary.

Angel told Lola about the East Borough deaths, Trissy’s failed escape, and her suspicions about the royal family, military, and Demoness Sect, then sought advice about facing Lady Despair Panacea. Lola warned her to protect herself and suggested Angel’s unusually rapid Pleasure potion digestion might come from an intense emotional change or a special acted object.

• Angel used a communication potion to contact Lola and reported Baelen and Harras’s deaths, Talim’s suspected curse, and Trissy’s failed escape.
• Lola linked Talim’s death to his closeness with Prince Edessak and said the prince’s apparent lack of activity did not rule out a secret plot.
• Angel told Lola that Sevillea had arranged for her to meet Lady Despair Panacea, and Lola warned that the Sequence 4 Demoness could easily overpower her.
• Lola advised Angel to conceal her thoughts from Panacea and said she would investigate Edessak and the military’s ties to the Demoness Sect.
• Angel asked why her Pleasure potion had digested so quickly, and Lola proposed that intense emotions or a special acted object could cause stronger feedback.
• Angel suspected that recognizing his identity had triggered the emotional change behind her rapid digestion, then noticed Lola had disappeared from the mirror.

Angel exchanged two pages of Roselle's Diary for Mr. Fool's protection before her expected confrontation with Panacea, then asked Justice to discreetly investigate allegations involving the royal family. The Tarot Club arranged new transactions and discussed accumulating Beyonder Characteristics, ending with the Hanged Man recommending that Miss Magician have more descendants to reduce Potion residue.

• Angel gave Mr. Fool two pages of Roselle's Diary and requested protection from a Demigod's scrutiny, which He granted.
• Angel privately told Justice about Prince Edessak's alleged crimes and urged her to investigate cautiously through her family and social connections.
• Angel commissioned the Hanged Man to arrange a Sequence 6 Mystical Item using her Dawn Paladin Beyonder Characteristic and 500 pounds, agreeing to pay the remaining fees.
• The Hanged Man reported that people were disappearing in large numbers across colonial islands and suspected evil rituals, then settled transactions with World.
• Miss Magician asked how to resolve the problem of accumulating too many Beyonder Characteristics, and the Hanged Man suggested having more descendants to reduce Potion residue.

The Hanged Man explained how Beyonder Characteristics could pass to descendants, while Angel prepared to confront the Demoness Sect’s conspiracy and managed her allies in Backlund. At 15 Minsk Street, Sherlock turned to greet Angel as Klein Moretti, revealing his true face.

• The Hanged Man explained that Mid Sequence Beyonders could pass small amounts of Beyonder Characteristics to descendants, and told Miss Magician that having children might help dispose of her excess characteristics.
• Angel accepted the Fool’s promise and an Angel’s blessing, deciding that meeting Panacea was necessary to learn more about the Demoness Sect’s conspiracy.
• Angel continued preparing in Backlund, supporting Sherman’s work, coordinating with Xio Derecha, and learning from Lola about missing MI9 Beyonders and Prince Edessak.
• Audrey planned to reveal her Spectator Sequence to the Psychology Alchemists and seek the next Potion, while Angel avoided drawing the Nighthawks’ attention during her search for Lily Granger.
• Angel struggled with acting as Pleasure alongside Sherlock, then accepted his invitation and arrived at 15 Minsk Street.
• Sherlock turned from the dim living room and revealed himself as Klein Moretti.

Klein reunited with Angel after advancing to Sequence 6, and they discussed their abilities and Angel’s progress digesting her Potion. They uncovered that Trissy likely killed Talim Dumont, while Prince Edessak’s motives remained uncertain, before Klein raised the matter of Lady Despair.

• Klein demonstrated his Faceless abilities by changing his appearance and partially imitating Angel’s body, then Angel welcomed him back and they reunited.
• Klein and Angel discussed his advancement and Angel’s rapid progress digesting her Pleasure Potion after acting toward people of higher Sequences.
• Klein revealed that Prince Edessak had hired him to investigate Talim Dumont’s death and that divination pointed to a Demoness wearing a Sapphire Ring.
• Angel recognized the ring as Trissy’s and reasoned that Talim had died after trying to help Trissy escape the Demoness Sect’s arrangements.
• Angel warned Klein to avoid getting entangled with Prince Edessak’s conspiracies, and Klein planned to submit a report claiming Talim had died normally.
• Klein and Angel avoided discussing the commission further, and Klein turned to the subject of Lady Despair.

Angel prepared to meet Lady Despair, accepting Sherlock’s Sun Brooch while leaving behind the dangerous Master Key. After returning home, she received a warning that Sevillea had cursed her, confirming Lady Despair was back in Backlund.

• A beautiful woman compelled a railway staff member to carry her suitcase and then ordered him to kill himself; he hurried back to the tracks to obey.
• Angel told Sherlock she was prepared to meet Lady Despair, and Sherlock lent her the Sun Brooch while asking her to leave the Master Key behind.
• Sherlock revealed that his teacher might be in Backlund, though the military wanted him, and offered to contact him for help.
• Angel left Sherlock’s home considering moving in with him and decided to end her lease with Mrs. Wallis the next morning.
• A warning from Angel’s mystical substitute alerted her that Sevillea had cursed her, revealing that Lady Despair had returned to Backlund.

Angel prepared for Sevillea’s summons and traveled with her toward Backlund’s eastern outskirts, where Lady Despair was expected to meet them. Meanwhile, Klein ended his investigation for Prince Edessak, but Trissy appeared in his carriage and urged him to report her for Talim’s murder.

• Angel gathered her Mystical Items and Storm Convergence Bullets, then prayed to Mr. Fool for a blessing before leaving home.
• Sevillea met Angel at Baron Landon’s Residence and took her by carriage toward the eastern outskirts of Backlund to meet Lady Despair.
• Klein told Prince Edessak that he had found no evidence beyond heart disease in Talim’s death and handed over his report.
• Prince Edessak released Klein from the investigation and arranged for a carriage to take him back to the city.
• Trissy appeared in Klein’s carriage, admitted to killing Talim, and urged him to alert the authorities so they would arrest her.

Angel traveled with Sevillea to a hidden Demoness Sect base in an ancient ruin in the East Borough suburbs to meet Panacea, Lady Despair. Panacea exposed Angel’s disguise and asked where she had obtained the complete Pleasure potion formula.

• Angel’s carriage wheel came off near the East Borough, and Sevillea transferred her to another carriage before leading her on foot to a hidden cave.
• Angel and Sevillea passed through an ancient ruin and reached a windowless room without encountering any guards.
• Panacea finished communicating through a mirror and recognized Angel as Irene Watson, a newly advanced Demoness of Pleasure.
• Panacea ordered Angel to remove her disguise, and Angel took off the Madness Ring to reveal her constructed appearance.
• Sevillea apologized for failing to see through Angel’s disguise, and Panacea asked Angel where she had obtained the complete Pleasure potion formula.

Angel passed Lady Despair Panacea’s questioning about her Potion formula and learned that Trissy would be renamed Cheek. After Angel left, Panacea revealed to Sevillea that Angel was not truly one of the Demoness Sect.

• Panacea used divination to test Angel’s account of buying the Pleasure Potion formula, and Angel’s half-true story passed.
• Panacea asked Angel what she thought of Trissy Cheek, and Angel realized the Sect might be preparing to bring the Primordial Demoness Cheek into the world through Trissy.
• Panacea praised Sevillea’s work and said the Sect’s long-planned operation would begin after the New Year.
• Sevillea sent Angel back to her home, where she planned to confront her about advancing to Demoness of Pleasure without telling her.
• After Angel left, Panacea told Sevillea that Angel was not one of them.