Chapter Summaries

Angel discovered that Lady Despair planned to accelerate the Demoness Sect’s operation involving Trissy Cheek, and she warned Mr. Fool. Klein realized that 0-08 might silence him, but the story left him facing a meteor shower as a scripted rescue brought him toward Ince Zangwill, while Audrey urged her mother to report the threat to the Goddess Church.

• Lady Despair grew suspicious of Angel’s flawless divination answers, ordered Sevillea to take Trissy from Edessak, and summoned Mr. A to accelerate the plan.
• Angel memorized the ruins’ location and warned Mr. Fool that Trissy Cheek was likely the Primordial Demoness’s Divine Descent Vessel.
• Klein warned Justice about Trissy and considered escaping Red Rose Manor, but 0-08 scripted a meteor shower to kill him.
• 0-08 crossed out its account of Klein’s death and wrote that Azik Eggers would rescue him, though a traversal error would bring them near Ince Zangwill.
• Audrey told her mother Caitlyn that she was a Beyonder and relayed the threat, then urged her to report it to the Goddess Church.

Klein escaped into underground ruins, where Azik faced Ince Zangwill and a masked man, then discovered a plot to set fires in Backlund and summon the True Creator. After warning Angel, Klein heard the sacrifice begin and chose to confront Mr. A rather than flee.

• Azik carried Klein through the void, but they landed in underground ruins as Ince Zangwill emerged from Bronze Double Doors and a Golden Masked man forbade teleportation.
• Angel watched meteorites pass over Backlund and hurried toward North Borough, but worsening smog slowed her carriage before a patch of Gray Fog appeared.
• Klein disguised himself as Ince Zangwill and used a Teleportation Gate, then overheard Mr. A and Lady Despair discuss their plans to summon the True Creator and start a fire in East Borough.
• Klein prayed to Mr. Fool, then sent Angel a warning through the Grey Fog Space.
• Mr. A sacrificed four attendants as Lady Despair’s attack in East Borough killed people whose souls flowed into the True Creator’s ritual.
• Klein recognized that he could escape but chose to charge toward Mr. A with his revolver.

Angel discovered that Lady Despair, Panacea, had begun a large-scale Sacrifice Ritual in the East Borough and rushed toward the deadly smog’s center. As the Great Smog spread through the East Borough, Docklands, and Factory District, Sherman and Xio tried to save those around them while Panacea surveyed the death she had unleashed.

• Sherlock Moriarty told Angel that Lady Despair was holding a large-scale Sacrifice Ritual in the East Borough, and Angel realized Panacea had deceived her before starting the plan.
• Angel used Flaming Jump and raced across rooftops toward the iron-black smog, praying to the Evernight Goddess as residents and sanitation workers collapsed and died below.
• Sherman sensed danger, sealed his windows, and brought Liv and Freyja to shelter in his attic after warning them that the smog was poisonous.
• Xio ordered Flagg and the survivors to flee south upwind, while the Great Smog spread through the East Borough, Docklands, and Factory District.
• Lady Despair, Panacea, strolled through the scene of death with a faint smile.

Panacea spread the Mist of Death through East Borough while the churches mobilized to stop the disaster. Angel confronted Panacea and briefly halted the poisonous mist, but Panacea counterattacked with a powerful wave of ice.

• Panacea let the poisonous mist spread through East Borough, expecting the deaths to aid Mr. A's ritual and help her escape Backlund.
• Saint Anthony ordered the awakening of Grade 0 Sealed Artifact 0-17, a living Angel held beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral.
• Angel attacked Panacea with her Good Luck pistol, shattering Panacea and her ice wall before the Demoness re-formed.
• Angel used a Prohibition to halt the spreading disease and recovered from the poisonous mist with the Rose Necklace.
• Panacea stomped the ground, sending a surge of ice toward Angel as the chapter ended.

Angel fought Panacea in the iron-black fog, using her abilities and a carefully timed ambush to wound the Sequence 4 Demoness before succumbing to the poisonous smog. As Panacea moved to kill her, a mysterious hooded woman appeared and made the ice spear vanish.

• Angel realized Panacea’s fog was part of a large-scale ritual and attacked her with the Desire Apostle’s abilities.
• Panacea cursed Angel through her mirror-like eyes, while the spreading diseases weakened Angel and made her attacks increasingly difficult.
• Angel lured Panacea close and fired an amplified Storm Convergence bullet, striking her through a Magic Mirror Substitute.
• Panacea approached the collapsed Angel and raised an ice spear to kill her.
• A hooded woman appeared in the fog, making Panacea’s ice spear disappear.

A Hooded Woman killed Panacea and gave Angel Trissy’s Sapphire Ring and an Affliction Beyonder Characteristic, which eased Angel’s disease. Learning that Klein was still fighting and that she could help stop the smog, Angel advanced to Sequence 5, Demoness of Affliction.

• Panacea fled from the Hooded Woman, but the woman immobilized and erased her.
• The Hooded Woman approached the dying Angel and gave her Trissy’s Sapphire Ring and a dark green Beyonder Characteristic.
• Touching the Characteristic stopped Angel’s diseases from spreading and began to heal her.
• The Hooded Woman told Angel that he was still fighting and instructed her to wear the ring and consume the Characteristic to stop the smog.
• Angel put on the ring, consumed the Affliction Characteristic, and advanced to Sequence 5, gaining Disease Control.

Angel used the sapphire ring and her new Affliction abilities to make the East Borough’s lethal smog less dangerous, then asked the hooded woman to let her die as a human. Klein escaped after the Master Key destroyed Mr. A’s descent ritual, while Edessak and Sevillea each began their own escape from the fallout.

• Angel replaced the lethal pathogens in the spreading smog with bacteria that caused only itching and coughing, then removed the sapphire ring as her body neared loss of control.
• Angel asked the hooded woman to let her die like a human, and the woman agreed and pointed at her chest.
• The Master Key’s explosion wrecked the altar and interrupted Mr. A’s ritual; Klein fled while Mr. A climbed from the rubble.
• Edessak’s bullets all misfired, and he transformed before plunging the sunroom into darkness.
• Sevillea loaded valuables into a carriage and left her estate, planning to flee Backlund for Intis.

Angel awoke powerless in a strange land and discovered two Tarot Cards revealing the Sequence 0 Demoness and Red Priest. As she studied the Demoness Pathway’s Potion information, the strange world pulled away and she glimpsed a pale, ravaged moon before losing consciousness.

• Angel awakened in darkness without her Beyonder Abilities, climbed out of a dirt pit, and found herself amid volcanic mountains and ancient-looking buildings.
• Angel approached a figure that looked like her with blood-red eyes, then an invisible force hurled her through streets of different architectural styles and back into darkness.
• Angel found Tarot Cards labeled “Sequence 0: Red Priest” and “Sequence 0: Demoness,” realizing the evil spirit possessing Rafte Pound had lied about owning the Red Priest card.
• The Demoness card revealed the Pathway’s Potion names, characteristics, and formulas to Angel as her spirituality ran low.
• Angel saw a star-filled sky and a pale moon split by a vast ravine before darkness overtook her.

After the deadly smog devastated Backlund, Xio and Sherman carried the ill Liv toward help while survivors mourned the dead. Klein and Azik found Angel’s body and took her home, confirming her fate when Azik found an Affliction Demoness Beyonder Characteristic nearby.

• Xio found Sherman, Freyja, and the critically ill Liv sheltering in an attic and decided to take Liv to a North Borough hospital or church.
• Xio and Sherman carried Liv out on a makeshift stretcher as Freyja joined them, while residents across the city helped smog survivors and mourned those who had died.
• Klein and Azik searched the smog’s center for the strongest death aura and found a cloaked woman’s body.
• Klein discovered the body was Angel, removed her Madness Ring and Faceless Beyonder Characteristic, and held her against his chest.
• Azik recognized a dark green Affliction Demoness Beyonder Characteristic nearby, then accompanied Klein as they left to take Angel home.

Klein brought Angel’s body home after Azik rescued him from the aftermath of the battle, believing she had died and grieving beside her. Angel unexpectedly revived, and she, Klein, and Azik began discussing her unexplained return and the danger that awaited them in Backlund.

• Azik carried Klein and Angel to Klein’s home, explaining that Ince Zangwill and 0-08 had likely left Backlund to recover and that Klein should leave the city soon.
• Klein laid Angel’s body on the bed, and Azik gave him the pure Beyonder Characteristic of a Demoness of Affliction that had been separated from her.
• Klein sat beside Angel, mourned her, and spoke of taking her to Desi Bay or northern Feysac; Angel opened her eyes and asked about Desi Bay.
• Angel told Klein and Azik that she had awakened after losing consciousness in a dark street, while Azik said her described surroundings did not match the Underworld.
• Klein asked whether Angel remained a Beyonder, and she confirmed she was still a Demoness of Pleasure as the Affliction Characteristic floated into her hand.

Angel and Klein reunited after stopping the Demoness Sect’s plans, and Azik warned them that Ince Zangwill might return to Backlund with 0-08. Azik departed, then reappeared with a Mystical Item and caught Angel and Klein in an awkwardly intimate moment.

• Angel and Klein compared their encounters with the mysterious hooded woman, while Azik identified her ability as likely belonging to an Angel of the Darkness pathway.
• Klein worried that Ince Zangwill might discover his and Angel’s identities, but Azik said 0-08 was unlikely to reveal them and warned that they had about a week before Ince might return to Backlund.
• Azik advised Angel and Klein to leave Backlund and its surrounding areas, then departed to seek his lost memories and evade the Goddess Church’s pursuers.
• Angel and Klein admitted they had feared losing each other, and Klein asked Angel to promise not to risk her life without discussing it with him.
• Azik returned to give Angel and Klein a human-skin glove Mystical Item and found them standing close together, then asked if he had arrived at a bad time.

Klein and Angel discussed their unexplained resurrections, the Cards of Blasphemy, and why they could no longer safely remain in Backlund. Angel agreed to leave with Klein, and their reunion helped her fully digest the Demoness of Pleasure potion.

• Klein and Angel examined Creeping Hunger and wondered how Mr. Azik had obtained it and what his connection to Mr. Fool was.
• Klein described waking in his coffin after Ince Zangwill killed him, and Angel told him about seeing the Demoness and Red Priest Cards of Blasphemy while near death.
• Klein and Angel agreed that staying in Backlund was unsafe and discussed leaving to hide or go out to sea.
• Klein asked Angel to leave Backlund with him, and she agreed before teasing him about his earlier plans.
• Klein embraced Angel, and she stopped resisting as the Demoness of Pleasure potion was fully digested.

Nighthawks investigated the aftermath of Backlund’s Great Smog and found evidence of a large-scale sacrifice, while Leonard wondered about the Church’s Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. The rain cleared the smog, but the death toll and suffering remained immense as Audrey and Earl Hall discussed relief efforts.

• Anthony Stevenson searched the ruined underground site, found four corpses and a destroyed altar, and ordered the Nighthawks to track the missing people with a Sealed Artifact.
• Leonard Mitchell and Soest’s Red Gloves team reached a devastated East Borough street, where they found battle traces and learned that it was the central point of a three-location sacrificial ritual.
• A Nightmare reported that the suspected officiant’s corpse had lost its Beyonder Characteristic, and Soest said the Church had mobilized a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.
• A sudden storm blew away Backlund’s smog and washed the streets, though the dead and suffering remained in the hardest-hit districts.
• Earl Hall told Audrey Hall that the East Borough likely had tens of thousands of casualties and that he had pledged at least 50,000 pounds for relief; Audrey worried that the donations would not be enough.

Daisy reunited with Freyja after believing her mother and sister had died in the plague, while Sherman resolved to become a Beyonder. Angel and Klein visited Harvest Church, where Angel asked Father Utravsky about her new Knight Bracelet as the church treated victims of the Great Smog.

• Daisy found corpses being removed from her apartment and was barred from entering, but Freyja returned and the sisters embraced while Sherman watched from a nearby street corner.
• Angel and Klein visited Harvest Church and saw patients of many faiths receiving aid during the epidemic.
• Angel showed Father Utravsky her Knight Bracelet and asked about the Dawn Paladin abilities it possessed.
• Klein spoke with Emlyn, who said he planned to pray to the Fool for help with his problem after finishing his work at the church.
• Angel helped Father Utravsky distribute Potions to patients, and Klein warned Emlyn off when he remarked that Angel was pleasing to look at.

Angel and Klein sought false identities so they could leave Backlund without attracting attention, but Ian could not help because the Great Smog had triggered a broad search for people with unknown identities. Miss Sharon appeared in their carriage and offered to arrange identities for them, leaving Angel to provide her details.

• Angel told Klein that the Mystical Item summoned a Dawn Paladin’s Sword of Dawn and weakened the effects of many Beyonder abilities.
• Angel and Klein went to Bravehearts Bar to arrange false identities, where they learned that Kaspars had died and Ian had taken over as the information broker.
• Ian warned Angel and Klein that searches after the Great Smog made it too risky to obtain false identities, so they considered using their backup plan to travel separately to Pritz Harbor.
• Miss Sharon appeared in their carriage and offered to arrange false identities within two days for one hundred pounds.
• Klein gave Sharon the name Gehrman Sparrow, and Sharon asked Angel if she wanted to use the identity of a book reviewer.

Angel arranged a false identity and contacted Lola Swann to exchange information about the aftermath of the Great Smog. She told Lola she planned to leave Backlund soon and requested ingredients for a Demoness potion, prompting Lola to suspect Angel belonged to one of the Three Great Churches.

• Angel and Klein settled on the false names Gehrman Sparrow and Angelica Zaki, and Angel paid Sharon one hundred pounds to process her identity papers.
• Angel returned to her home on Red Rose Street and used Lola's Communication Potion to contact her before the next Tarot Club gathering.
• Angel told Lola that Panacea had helped unleash the Great Smog, while concealing her own death and resurrection; Lola said an Angel had defeated Panacea and the Demoness Sect's Backlund operation had collapsed.
• Lola reported that Trissy had escaped and that Prince Edessak had died in a fire that was likely arranged to silence him.
• Angel said she might leave Backlund for months or longer and asked Lola for a Two-Tailed Black Snake tail tip or Painted Bat blood; Lola inferred that Angel was preparing to advance to Sequence 5 and might belong to one of the Three Great Churches.

Angel arranged to meet Lola and Vincent to obtain the materials needed to advance, while Lola hinted that her own advancement was difficult. At the Tarot Club meeting, Justice described the Great Smog’s enormous death toll and the political concessions and Church gains that followed.

• Lola recognized that Angel had obtained the Demoness of Affliction characteristic through her role in the Great Smog and agreed to meet her with Vincent in three days.
• Lola asked why Angel had not advanced despite having the formula and materials, then said that advancing further was not easy for her.
• Justice thanked the Fool for helping Backlund, and the Fool credited Empress with making major contributions.
• Justice reported that the Great Smog had killed at least eighty thousand people, with the eventual death toll expected to exceed one hundred thousand.
• Justice explained that the King had made concessions on environmental, labor, and poverty laws, while the Churches gained greater access to the military and reopened Churches of Night in the East Borough.
• The Hanged Man began assessing the aftermath with a cold laugh that lasted twelve hours.

At the Tarot Club, the members discussed who benefited from the Great Smog and the unexplained motives behind the royal family’s actions. Derrick prepared to explore the Fallen Creator’s ruins, while Angel gathered the materials and reviewed the ritual needed to advance to Sequence 5.

• Alger analyzed how the Great Smog and the King’s reforms benefited the Three Great Churches, factory owners, bankers, and surviving workers.
• Angel revealed that Prince Edessak had been silenced, and Alger concluded that the royal family’s true collaborators had been shielded after the beneficiaries gained their advantages.
• Mr. Fool urged the Three Great Churches to keep investigating the disaster’s roots, while Alger, Justice, and The World pursued potion materials and a Beyonder Characteristic deal.
• Derrick told the Tarot Club that his expedition to the Fallen Creator’s ruins would depart the next day under the City of Silver Chief, and Alger and Mr. Fool warned him about flesh, blood, and ravings.
• Angel stored her Affliction Demoness ingredients and recalled the Sequence 5 ritual, which required surviving fifteen minutes of being burned at the stake without going insane.

Angel prepared for her Sequence 5 promotion, arranged for Lola to take over contact with Sherman, and left Backlund with Klein. Meanwhile, Archbishop Anthony Stevenson ordered a new examination of Irene Watson after learning that Sevillea Landon had left her estate to Irene.

• Angel realized the Promotion Ritual’s pain was necessary, planned to endure the burning without avoiding it, and waited for Lola to provide the potion ingredients.
• Angel visited Sherman in the East Borough, told him she was leaving Backlund, and arranged for Lola to guide his future advancement.
• Nighthawks reported their findings to Anthony Stevenson, including Sevillea Landon’s disappearance and her bequest of her estate to Irene Watson.
• Anthony Stevenson ordered another examination of Irene Watson and said he would conduct it himself.
• Angel and Klein boarded a train and said farewell to Backlund.

Angel and Klein traveled from Backlund to Pritz Harbor and booked first-class passage to the Rorsted Archipelago. Angel prepared to complete her Promotion Ritual and advance to Sequence 5 before they sailed.

• Angel and Klein boarded a train south after watching a hopeful pair of passengers leave Backlund.
• They reached Pritz Harbor, checked into an inn, and went to the ticketing company to find a ship to the Rorsted Archipelago.
• A salesman recommended the White Agate, and Klein chose first-class passage for them on its departure the morning after tomorrow.
• Angel and Klein ordered flammable wood and a crude wooden frame so Angel could perform her Promotion Ritual before sailing.