Chapter Summaries

At the Tarot Club, Angel recounted the Bansy Harbor incident and Mr. Fool linked its mysterious rune to Medici and the Rose of Redemption. In Bayam, Alger revealed that Iron Maviti was searching for the Key of Death, and Klein prepared to begin the hunt that night.

• Angel told the Tarot Club how a blood-stained rune sent her and Bishop Miller from Bansy Harbor to Trier, where she spent three days before returning.
• Mr. Fool identified the rune's connection to Medici, a King of Angel who created the Rose of Redemption, and the members recognized the danger of the power in Bansy.
• Alger warned that Backlund's Great Smog had led officials to restrict underground gatherings and offered Emlyn a Blood Clan Baron's Beyonder Characteristic for 4,500 pounds.
• Alger contacted Mr. Fool to report that Danitz was acting as bait in Bayam and that Iron Maviti had arrived seeking the Key of Death.
• Danitz confirmed that he had exposed himself to Maviti's men, and Angel told him the plan could advance sooner than expected.
• Klein announced that Gehrman would join the hunt that night.

Angel and Klein ambushed Steel Maviti’s crew in Bayam after luring them to Danitz’s safe house. The trap left Maviti slowed and exposed to Klein’s mental attack as Angel turned on the other pirates.

• Steel Maviti’s crew waited above Xiangshu Avenue until Danitz entered No. 15, then watched local bounty hunters rush into the house.
• When Maviti ordered his crew to descend, Angel recited an Ancient Hermes command that made the Flying Carpet fall.
• Angel slowed Maviti and killed Mad Dog Dali with the Good Luck pistol, then used her control of ice and disease to hinder the crew.
• Scaul identified Angel as an Ailment Maiden, while the crew’s Zombies and puppets were drawn to a copper whistle and destroyed by holy light.
• Danitz emerged disguised as Gehrman Sparrow, and Klein struck Maviti with Mental Piercing as Angel attacked the remaining pirates.

Klein and Angel defeated Steel Maviti, Calm Skaal, Huntley, and the remaining pirates in Bayam, then escaped with Maviti’s corpse as the Mandated Punishers arrived. Danitz was left behind without his cloak and fled on his own.

• Calm Skaal’s Wraith Charm unleashed a Shriek that wounded Angel and the remaining pirates, but Steel Maviti shook off its effects and attacked Klein.
• Klein planted a bottle of Sun Holy Water inside Maviti’s chest and ignited its attached bullets, purifying Maviti from within until he died.
• Angel escaped Skaal’s crushing attack with a mirror-like substitution, bound him with invisible threads, and killed him with the Sword of Dawn.
• Klein let Creeping Hunger devour the dying frozen pirate, and Danitz arrived with a warning that the Mandated Punishers were close behind.
• Klein and Angel used Danitz’s cloak to escape as shadows with Maviti’s corpse and Huntley’s body, while Danitz was left behind and ran for safety.
• The Mandated Punishers arrived at the devastated street and began surveying the scene.

Alger escaped after learning that Angel and Klein had defeated Iron Maviti and his crew, and he calculated his share of the bounty. Danitz chose a Flying Carpet as his reward and left to spread the news, just as Azik Eggers appeared in Angel and Klein’s suite.

• Alger used a Silver Charm and a Wrathful Strike to escape Iron Maviti’s hideout, then killed the remaining guards and Lao Kui.
• Alger found Iron Maviti and Huntley dead and calculated that his share of their bounties could nearly cover a main ingredient for a Wind-blessed Potion.
• Angel told Alger that the rest of Iron Maviti’s pirates were already dead, but their bounties were too low to collect.
• Danitz chose the Flying Carpet over the Warlock Beyonder Characteristic after Klein told him the carpet was worth at least two thousand five hundred pounds.
• Danitz left to spread the story of Flame killing Iron Maviti, while agreeing not to mention Angel’s name.
• Azik Eggers emerged from the void into Angel and Klein’s suite.

Azik told Klein and Angel about his journey to Bansy Island and Trier, where he recovered memories of ancient catastrophes and uncovered clues about the Underground Catacombs. He warned them away from investigating further until they became Demigods, taught them to make Calamity Charms, and left to continue his search for memories.

• Azik said that traveling to Bansy Island and Trier had helped him recover memories, and described a power of extreme change beneath both places.
• Azik explained that tourists who extinguished their candles in Trier's Underground Catacombs vanished, and he believed the catacombs concealed a seal through sacrifices.
• Azik recognized Marian, Krismona, and Liers from the letter and recalled that a battle involving Angels and Gods had destroyed Fourth Epoch Trier.
• Azik guessed that the Night Pillars were made from fallen Angels' corpses to conceal the ancient ruins, then warned Klein and Angel not to investigate further before becoming Demigods.
• Azik taught Klein and Angel how to make Calamity Charms using Angel's blood, promised to share any new clues, and departed after wishing them a happy New Year.

Azik taught Angel and Klein how to summon messengers, and Angel tried several descriptions in search of a suitable creature. Her final ritual summoned a large black cat beneath her feet.

• Azik explained the two ways to obtain a messenger and recommended that Angel summon a Spirit World Creature using a tested description.
• Angel summoned a thumb-sized white bird, but dismissed it because it was too small to carry letters safely.
• Angel summoned a friendly armored giant, but dismissed him after discovering that he responded with a delay of over a minute.
• Angel tried a broad description for a messenger, and a large black cat appeared beneath her feet.

Angelica successfully formed a messenger contract with the black cat Wensa, then reviewed the rewards from defeating Steel Maviti’s group with Klein. The chapter left Angelica resolved to digest her Affliction Potion by inflicting suffering only on pirates and Beyonders who had harmed innocents.

• Angelica summoned a black cat from the Spirit World, secured its consent, and formed a messenger contract with Wensa.
• Angelica dismissed and resummoned Wensa to confirm their connection, while Klein declined to summon a messenger of his own.
• Azik left to search for his memories around the Rorsted Archipelago and said Wensa could deliver letters to him.
• Angelica and Klein assessed their spoils from defeating Steel Maviti’s group, including a Wizard Beyonder Characteristic, pirate bounties, and Maviti’s abilities added to Creeping Hunger.
• Klein planned to release the Grazed Nightmare soul, and Angelica resolved to target only guilty pirates and Beyonders while acting as an Affliction.

After creating her first Calamity Charm, Angel discovered Danitz asleep in a dream and entered it to meet Edwina Edwards, the Iceberg Admiral. She questioned Edwina about a mysterious rune and the missing Admiral of Blood, but Gehrman Sparrow appeared with a warning about the bounty on his head.

• Angel used her blood and a rune from Bansy Harbor to create a Calamity Charm, then fell asleep exhausted.
• The Hidden Holy Emblem warned Angel of a dream, and divination led her to the suite where Danitz was sleeping.
• Angel used a Dream Charm to enter Danitz's dream and met Edwina Edwards, who thanked her for saving Danitz and avenging her crew.
• Angel showed Edwina the Bansy Harbor rune, and Edwina interpreted it as depicting opposing powers, change, and destruction.
• Angel asked whether the missing Admiral of Blood might seek revenge for Steel Maviti's death, and Gehrman Sparrow emerged to say someone else might claim the bounty on him.

Klein and Angel formed a partnership with Edwina to hunt the Admiral of Blood, while Klein reflected on his Faceless acting and gained new insight from a farewell to a sailor’s family. The chapter ended with Klein and Angel joining Bayam’s New Year crowds together.

• Edwina confirmed that the Admiral of Blood was backed by the Rose School and agreed to share his fleet’s location with Klein and Angel.
• Klein and Edwina arranged cooperation, with Danitz left behind as their liaison and Klein offering radio codes to monitor the Admiral of Blood.
• Klein told Angel that his farewell performance for a dead sailor’s parents had greatly advanced his Potion digestion and taught him to balance emotion while acting.
• Klein explained that Edwina wanted their help to eliminate a rival Pirate Admiral, while they stood to gain the bounty and fame.
• Klein and Angel joined Bayam’s New Year crowds, and Angel’s company helped lift Klein’s mood.

Klein and Angel celebrated New Year in Bayam, where a rigged-looking lottery game unexpectedly won Angel a gold pen and a favor from her. Klein used that favor to arrange a private fireworks display for her, and they welcomed the new year together.

• Klein and Angel ate an Intis-style feast and drank Sonia Blood Wine before heading to City Hall Square.
• They found the New Year celebrations at City Hall Square too crowded and chaotic, then left and avoided entering the Red Theater.
• Klein persuaded Angel to try a street lottery, and she won a gold pen as the second grand prize.
• Klein revealed that he had used Angel's favor to arrange a private fireworks display, with Danitz setting off the fireworks.
• Angel embraced Klein as they wished each other a happy New Year and heard the Wave Church bell ring.

At Audrey Hall’s coming-of-age party, she called on Backlund’s nobles and wealthy guests to establish a Relief Fund for victims of the Great Smog. As the New Year ended, Fors completed a Tarot Club transaction, and Benson and Melissa moved into Backlund, where Melissa glimpsed a woman who reminded her of someone she had lost.

• Audrey Hall asked the party guests to establish a Relief Fund, and the Queen, Earl Hall, and other prominent attendees led the applause.
• Audrey accepted a nonalcoholic drink from the Queen and wished the guests a happy New Year as fireworks lit the sky.
• Fors sacrificed a Radio Telegraph to Mr. Fool and received 15 pounds, while Xio described her work maintaining order in East Borough.
• Benson and Melissa arrived in Backlund and moved into their rented house as displaced people returned to East Borough and factory work resumed.
• Melissa saw a pale-haired woman with violet eyes who reminded her of Klein, then went inside with Benson.

The Tarot Club began its New Year gathering, where Mr. Fool warned its members about dangerous entities in the Mirror World. The members arranged several trades, and Angel discovered that a costly ingredient for her future potion was available through the City of Silver, leaving Alger to suspect she was preparing to become a High Sequence Beyonder.

• Mr. Fool read three pages of Roselle's diary and warned the Tarot Club that mirror-related abilities could lead into a dangerous Mirror World.
• Audrey arranged to buy a Mystical Item worth 5,500 gold pounds, and Angel agreed to have her Faceless Beyonder Characteristic made into one for a production fee and commission.
• Emlyn arranged to buy a Blood Clan Baron's inheritance for 4,500 gold pounds plus the Hanged Man's commission.
• Derrick shared a list of goods and monsters from the City of Silver, and the Hanged Man arranged trades involving a Spirit Eater's Stomach and a Sun High Priest potion formula.
• Angel found the Poison Needle of the Black-Striped Shadow Scorpion on Derrick's list and learned it cost about as much as a Sequence 6 Beyonder Characteristic.
• Alger inferred that the poison needle was an Auxiliary Material for a Sequence 4 Potion and concluded that Angel was gathering materials to advance.

Angel worried about the ingredients and deadly ritual required to advance to Sequence 4, while Klein arranged for Danitz to monitor the Blood Admiral’s radio frequency. The telegraph unexpectedly connected Danitz to Arrodes, which exposed his embarrassing feelings before Klein and Angel caught him.

• Angel reviewed the Sequence 4 Despair formula and feared she could not defeat a Demigod alone, but Klein joked that capturing the Blood Admiral would pay for the ingredients.
• Klein showed Angel a Radio Telegraph that could monitor a frequency obtained from White Shark, and they assigned Danitz to operate it.
• Danitz assembled the telegraph and fell asleep, but it began printing messages without his input.
• The telegraph introduced itself as Arrodes and asked Danitz questions that revealed his feelings for the captain and his dreams of rescuing her.
• Danitz tried to destroy the telegraph, but Angel restrained him with invisible threads as Klein warned him that his bounty had risen to 4,800 pounds.

Danitz learned that his bounty had risen after he publicized the fight with Steel Maviti, while Klein and Angel encountered Arrodes inside the telegraph machine. Arrodes revealed clues about living mermaids and Gazers before its power faded, leaving Klein and Angel to continue their search and Danitz to monitor the Blood Admiral’s signal.

• Danitz recalled that his bounty had risen after he publicized the killing of Steel Maviti and his men.
• Arrodes recognized Angel and Klein, answered Klein’s question with locations of living mermaids, and warned him that the Church of Evernight guarded against Faceless.
• Klein let Angel ask one final question, and Arrodes revealed that a small number of Gazers remained on an island near Midway Island.
• Arrodes asked Angel whether they would meet again, then exhausted its energy and fell silent.
• Klein told Danitz to keep monitoring the Blood Admiral’s signal and to consider telling Iceberg Admiral Edwina, then left with Angel.
• Danitz picked up the telegraph machine and went into his bedroom, where he began cranking its generator.

Angel decided to travel alone to Midway Island to investigate clues about a Gazer and seek a way to advance, despite Klein’s concerns. She departed Bayam on January 6, leaving Klein behind as rumors about Danitz’s increased bounty and Disease Lieutenant General Tracy’s arrival circulated aboard her ship.

• Angel questioned intelligence broker Dominic about Midway Island and learned it was a major port on the route between the continents, with many undeveloped islands nearby.
• Angel told Klein that she wanted to search for advancement clues, and he reluctantly agreed after she promised to contact him through Wensa and avoid danger.
• Angel planned to leave Bayam on January 6, using the Madness Ring to disguise herself, while Klein asked about its negative effects.
• Danitz interrupted Angel and Klein to report that the telegraph had received a response from the Blood Admiral.
• Angel hugged Klein at the dock, then boarded the Blue Mountain Rose passenger ship bound for Midway Island.
• Aboard the ship, Angel overheard passengers say Danitz’s bounty had risen to 4,800 pounds after Iron Maviti’s gang was killed, and that Disease Lieutenant General Tracy’s flagship had appeared near Bayam.

Angel traveled from Midway Island to Bayam aboard the Blue Mountain Rose, where she learned that Disease Lieutenant General Tracy’s ship had recently appeared nearby. After a soaked red-haired woman named Helene ambushed her in her suite and demanded food and shelter, Angel concealed that she had already restrained her with invisible threads.

• Angel heard passengers discuss Tracy, her disease-related powers, and the Black Death’s appearance west of Bayam.
• Klein sent Angel a warning through Black Cat Wensa, advising her to watch for Tracy and seek Mr. Azik’s help if attacked.
• Angel unpacked, studied Ancient Feysac, and spent the evening aboard the Blue Mountain Rose under the identity Irene Watson.
• Angel sensed danger outside her suite and found a soaked, armed red-haired woman hiding inside.
• The woman threatened Angel, demanded three meals a day and shelter until the ship docked, and introduced herself as Helene.
• Angel pretended to be frightened while invisible threads held Helene’s dagger in place.

Angel met Helene, a red-haired Beyonder who had escaped from the Disease Lieutenant General Tracy’s pirate ship, and restrained her after Helene tried to order her around. Helene revealed that she belonged to the Sauron Family and had been made a Hunter as part of the family’s arrangements.

• Angel questioned Helene, who claimed that pirates had captured her after looting her family’s ship and that she had escaped by drifting at sea for two days.
• Angel used divination to confirm Helene had not lied, then Helene demanded clothes and food and threatened to let Angel sleep on the sofa.
• Angel bound Helene with invisible threads when Helene tried to take control, and Helene mistook Angel for Tracy before surrendering.
• Angel revealed her true appearance and convinced Helene that she was not connected to Tracy, then asked why Tracy had repeatedly captured her.
• Helene admitted that she belonged to the former royal Sauron Family and had become a Hunter after its powerful members promised to settle her father’s debts.

Angel questioned Helene about her past with Tracy, then sheltered her aboard the Blue Mountain Rose while planning to leave her at Midway Island. The ship was intercepted by Tracy’s warship, the City Breaker, as it approached.

• Helene explained that Tracy had captured her months earlier and used threats to keep her aboard, then described Tracy’s abilities and defensive bracelet.
• Angel made Helene provide a bottle of blood, warned her not to escape, and fed her before learning that Helene planned to return home.
• Angel told Helene the Blue Mountain Rose was sailing toward Midway Island and advised her to find passage home there, away from Tracy’s nearby ship.
• Helene disguised her red hair and accompanied Angel around the ship while Angel searched the horizon for the Gazer.
• Angel spotted a black warship approaching, and Helene identified it as Tracy’s City Breaker, blocking the Blue Mountain Rose’s route.

Angel and Helene faced an approaching pirate ship, the City Breaker, and Angel left their passenger ship to stop it herself. After infecting many of its crew with Disease, Angel confronted Lucky William on deck as he spotted her.

• The City Breaker intercepted the Blue Mountain Rose, and Helene feared its captain, Lucky William, had come to capture her for Tracy.
• Angel transformed into a Wind-blessed Siren, swam to the City Breaker, and boarded it through a porthole.
• Angel spread Disease through the pirate ship, leaving many crew members weak and gasping for breath.
• Angel reached the deck, where Lucky William noticed her and shouted that there was an intruder.

Angel attacked the City Breaker, defeated Lucky William and his pirates, and used the Calamity Charm to destroy the ship. She left the surviving pirates scattered in the sea, shaken by the charm’s devastating power.

• Angel boarded the City Breaker and used disease, invisible threads, and her weapons to overwhelm the pirates.
• Lucky William tried to escape, but Angel bound him and learned that he had been ordered to search for Helene on the Blue Mountain Rose.
• Angel told William that Helene was hers, then burned him alive and collected his Beyonder Characteristic.
• Angel’s fear and despair tactics advanced the digestion of her Affliction Potion as the pirates watched.
• Angel activated the Calamity Charm and leaped into the sea as the City Breaker decayed into scattered wooden fragments.
• The surviving pirates clung to the wreckage and fled from Angel through the water.