Chapter Summaries

At the Tarot Club, Angel negotiated with Alger over the Ocean Singer formula and characteristic while the members discussed Gehrman Sparrow, Disease Lieutenant General Tracy, and the Demoness Sect’s plans. After the gathering ended, Angel discovered that she, World Klein, and Mr. Fool had remained in the gray fog palace.

• Angel offered Alger the Ocean Singer formula and characteristic for 12,000 pounds, and they agreed on a deal involving 6,000 pounds, expedition profits, and investigations into Sona Island and human trafficking.
• Hermit Cattleya reported that Gehrman Sparrow had drawn the attention of Blood Admiral’s people and the military, prompting Klein to decide to leave Bayam after completing his transactions.
• Cattleya said Disease Lieutenant General Tracy had reappeared near the Fog Sea and was spreading rumors about Gehrman, while Mr. Fool warned that the Demoness Sect still had plans of its own.
• The Tarot Club members departed, but Angel found herself still in the palace with World Klein and Mr. Fool, and asked what was happening.

Klein and Angel entered The Travels of Grosell through the gray fog and explored a city from an earlier era, where figures from the book appeared alive. Angel found Mobet and began questioning him about the Fourth Epoch Tamara family, while Klein went to meet Grosell.

• Klein explained that he and Angel would enter The Travels of Grosell as Spirit Bodies and used Angel’s blood to open the book.
• Angel and Klein arrived in a snowy landscape, confirmed that a massive Double Door might be an exit, and entered a walled city after disguising their clothes.
• Klein identified the city’s era and discovered that its inhabitants had controllable Spirit Body Threads.
• Angel recognized Mobet Soroyasde in a tavern and approached him, while Klein headed toward Grosell.
• Mobet recognized Angel as Shatas’s friend and agreed to talk with her.
• Angel asked Mobet whether he knew of the Tamara family from the Fourth Epoch.

Angel entered Mobet’s dream to learn about the Fourth Epoch’s Demoness Family, while Klein explored Grosell’s memories of the Giant King’s Court. They returned to the Gray Fog with new historical clues and suspicions about the Primordial Demoness, and Angel discovered Klein’s motionless body standing beside his bed.

• Klein used a Slumber Charm to help Angel enter Mobet’s dream, where Mobet remembered the Tamara Family and described its marriages with the Demoness Family.
• Mobet told Angel that the Demoness Family controlled much of the Demoness pathway and sent female descendants back to the family, prompting Angel to wonder how the group became the modern Demoness Sect.
• Shatas woke Mobet and dragged him from the tavern, while Angel and Klein left the dream world and shared what they had learned about its characters and history.
• Klein reported seeing murals of the Giant King Olmir, Omebella, and Bardhiel in the Giant King’s Court, but said a dangerous force prevented him from exploring farther.
• Klein returned to the Gray Fog as the Fool, and Angel went back to the Azure Wind Hotel to prepare Shatas’s characteristic and Potion formula for a trade.
• Angel checked Klein’s bedroom and found his body standing rigidly beside the bed with his feet twisted and his eyes vacant.

Angel realized Klein’s motionless posture resembled his earlier reaction to Sealed Artifact 2-049 and suspected he had encountered Mr. Fool before joining the Tarot Club. Klein delivered the final material for Angel’s Despair Potion, while Rose School members in Bayam received a divine gift to track their targets; the chapter ended with Blood Admiral Senior reporting that Turani von Hermosuin’s location had been exposed.

• Angel recognized Klein’s stiff posture from the time the Antigonus Puppet had controlled him and wondered whether he had contacted Mr. Fool before she recruited him into the Tarot Club.
• Klein distributed the Tarot Club’s sacrificed items and sent Angel the Poison Needle of the Black-Striped Shadow Scorpion, completing her Despair Potion materials.
• Angel inventoried her ingredients but postponed brewing the Potion because she still needed to prepare for its advancement ritual.
• Jacks and Zatwin performed a ritual that produced a grotesque gift from the Mother Tree of Desire, which they hoped would help them find and capture their targets.
• Blood Admiral Senior arrived and told Jacks and Zatwin that Turani von Hermosuin’s location had been exposed.

Angel and Klein learned that Turanney von Helmholtz was being hunted in Bayam, then met him as he identified himself as Orange Light, Hilarion, and warned them about the Mother Tree of Desire. After Hilarion left, a telegram arrived with a chilling message: “We’ve caught you!”

• Dominic warned Angel not to pursue Turanney von Helmholtz, and Angel left with the Spiritual Materials.
• Angel returned to the hotel, where Klein explained that he had located Hermosuin and reported his whereabouts to Mr. Fool, triggering the citywide broadcast.
• Klein and Angel prepared to leave Bayam, but Hilarion arrived and revealed he was Orange Light, one of the Seven Lights of the Spirit World.
• Hilarion warned Angel and Klein to beware of the Mother Tree of Desire, urged them to advance to Demigods, and relayed Yellow Light Venitan’s prophecy about Angel.
• Hilarion left to die elsewhere, and a telegram arrived telling Angel and Klein, “We’ve caught you!”

Klein and Angel learned that the Mother Tree of Desire was behind the threat and planned how to escape Bayam, but Klein was captured by a Wraith and taken to Senior’s ship. As Senior began possessing him, Klein’s expression suggested he was preparing to resist.

• Klein and Angel discussed Hilarion’s warning that the Mother Tree of Desire was targeting them and decided they could neither stay in Bayam nor escape by sea.
• Klein avoided boarding his passenger ship and headed for the cliffs, intending to leave Blue Mountain Island underwater with a Sea God Charm.
• A Wraith attacked Klein in the woods, and Klein ignited his smoke-filled suitcase to alert Sea King Jahn Kottman before fleeing toward the cliff.
• The Wraith possessed Klein and ordered pirates to take him to the Flesh and Blood Tree, where Senior treated the possessed Klein as Lord Zatwin.
• Zatwin told Senior that Shanks had gone after the woman and that they would perform a sacrifice aboard the ship once Shanks succeeded.
• As Senior began possessing Klein, Klein’s eyes cleared and his expression shifted into hatred and a faint sneer.

Angel escaped Zatwin’s possession by impersonating Klein and fleeing into The Travels of Grosell, then activated a Betrayal Charm that turned the Flesh and Blood Tree’s artifacts and crew against themselves. She returned to the real world near Bayam, where Klein was running from two pursuing demigods, and appeared beside him.

• Zatwin possessed Klein, but Angel used the Falsehood ring and the Substitute Doll to escape into The Travels of Grosell.
• Angel activated the Betrayal Charm, causing Zatwin’s glove, Senior’s Lucky Coin, and the Flesh and Blood Tree’s crew and Mystical Items to turn against their owners.
• Zatwin and Senior fled the doomed ship using Mirror Flash as betrayal spread across the vessel.
• Angel headed for the Double Door and prepared to return from The Travels of Grosell to the real world.
• Near Bayam, Klein ran from two demigods through a forest and reached a cliff, where Angel appeared beside him.

Angel and Klein used an identity-swap plan to escape Bayam, but discovered the Rose School had two demigods. They reached the Red Haired Woman with Helene, though a demigod’s horrific howl struck the fleeing crew as their ship sped away.

• Angel proposed swapping identities and Mystical Items so the Rose School would pursue Klein first, while she used The Travels of Grosell and a Betrayal Charm to ambush them.
• Klein, disguised as Angel, reunited with Angel at the cliff, where a hidden Rose School demigod possessed her and Reinette Tinekerr pulled the spirit from her body.
• Angel and Klein ran to the cliff and jumped toward the Red Haired Woman, where Helene and her crew waited.
• Helene turned the Red Haired Woman north, and Klein used Sea God Charms to speed the ship away.
• A Rose School demigod appeared above the cliff as an oversized black infant and unleashed a howl that badly affected Angel, Klein, Helene, and the crew.

Angel and Klein fled the battle between Reinette Tinekerr, the Rose School demigod, and a monstrous entity summoned from the Spirit World, but Zatwin and Senior caught up with their ship. As Angel turned back toward the shore and called on Lovely Anne Gustav for help, the demigods and Sea King Yarn Courtman sensed a new, overwhelmingly majestic aura emerging.

• A monstrous black hand emerged from the Spirit World above the cliff, and Sea King Yarn Courtman and Reinette Tinekerr attacked it while she fought Shanks.
• Angel and Klein urged the Red Haired Woman away from the danger as the spreading terror and thunder reached the ship.
• Zatwin and Senior approached the Red Haired Woman aboard an ice boat, leaving Angel facing the two enemies while the battle raged behind her.
• Angel ordered Helene to turn toward the beach, sent the crew belowdecks, and called on Lovely Anne Gustav for help.
• The giant hand, Reinette Tinekerr, Shanks, and Sea King Yarn Courtman all paused as an aura of overwhelming majesty emerged nearby.

Angel and Klein fought Blood Admiral Senior and Zatwin aboard the Red Haired Woman while trying to survive until help arrived. Angel forced Zatwin out of Klein with an Arbiter’s prohibition, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Angel ordered the Red Haired Woman toward the shallows and exchanged weapons and Mystical Items with Klein as the enemy ship closed in.
• Zatwin’s possession reached the ship, but Angel and Klein escaped it and attacked Senior as he appeared through a puddle.
• Angel cursed Senior through his blood, driving him into a frenzy, while Klein used the Rose Necklace’s Desire Apostle ability to worsen his desires.
• Zatwin possessed Klein, and Angel hesitated between shooting Senior and the possessed Klein.
• An Arbiter’s voice declared possession forbidden, forcing Zatwin out of Klein and leaving him confused.

Angel and Klein fought Zatwin and Senior while the Black Giant Hand threatened them, but a mysterious black warship arrived and blasted the hand back. The battle remained unresolved as the warship continued its attack.

• Angel shot Senior with Good Luck and attacked him with the Sword of Lava, while Klein prepared to use Death Knell.
• Zatwin struck Klein and Angel; Angel escaped his attacks, and Klein used The Travels of Grosell to remove Senior from the battlefield.
• Zatwin possessed Klein, but Angel shot him with a Purification Bullet, freeing Klein to escape into the woods.
• The Black Giant Hand descended toward Klein and Angel as Reinette and storm clouds rushed to help, but neither could arrive in time.
• A black warship emerged beside the Red Haired Woman and fired two broadsides of golden beams, driving the Black Giant Hand back toward the Spirit World.

After the Black Giant Hand withdrew with Shanks, Angel and Klein turned on Zatwin, who had been left behind. Angel defeated him and drank the Despair Potion, revealing that the battle had formed part of her promotion ritual.

• Queen Anne's Revenge and Reinette drove the Black Giant Hand away, but it seized the unconscious Shanks and escaped into the clouds.
• Angel recognized Zatwin as a possible target for her promotion ritual, and Klein helped her launch a surprise attack.
• Angel stole Zatwin's Mirror Flash with the Parasite glove, while Zatwin's attempt to reclaim the glove failed to restore his escape ability.
• Zatwin fought back and stole Creeping Hunger, but Reinette silenced his Shriek as Angel's Dissolving Ray struck him.
• Angel combined her Beyonder ingredients into the Despair Potion and drank it as Zatwin realized the attack had served as part of her ritual.

Angel advanced to Sequence 4 as a Demoness of Despair, using the despair and concern around her to reclaim herself before losing control. After she and Klein escaped the battlefield, Sea King Yarn Courtman arrived and identified Angel as the wanted Beyonder Angelica Zaki.

• Angel felt the Despair potion pull her Spirit Body away from her flesh and resisted by drawing on Zatwin's despair and Klein's concern.
• Klein watched Angel complete her advancement and helped her regain her footing.
• Angel warned Klein that Sea King was near, and Reinette reminded them of her ten-thousand-gold-coin fee before vanishing.
• Angel and Klein searched Zatwin's ashes, collected his Beyonder Characteristic, a strange scale, and Creeping Hunger, then fled aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge.
• Yarn Courtman arrived after the ship disappeared into the Spirit World and reviewed the battle's aftermath.
• Yarn Courtman recognized Angel as the wanted Beyonder Angelica Zaki.

After advancing to Sequence 4, Angel explained her new demigod abilities to Klein and revealed that she had obtained the Demoness and Red Priest Cards of Blasphemy. In Bayam, Alger learned that Angel had taken part in the battle and received a provisional bounty of one hundred thousand pounds.

• Angel told Klein that her advancement had granted her divinity, strengthened abilities, and new powers involving mirrors and the Mirror World.
• Angel revealed that she had taken the Demoness and Red Priest Cards of Blasphemy from the ruined city amid the Apocalypse.
• Alger returned to Bayam, saw the destruction and forces gathered near the city, and docked at a private harbor to avoid drawing Sea King Jahn Kottman's attention.
• Bishop Jogoli ordered Alger to assist Sea King and gave him wanted notices for Gehrman Sparrow and Angelica Zaki.
• Alger learned that Angel was suspected of killing a High Sequence Beyonder and had a provisional bounty of one hundred thousand pounds.

Leonard and Soest’s Red Gloves returned to Backlund, while Angel and Klein captured the wounded Pirate Admiral Senior in the book’s world and made him Klein’s marionette. They then traveled by ship toward Damir Harbor, where the damaged Red Haired Woman arrived at the pier.

• Soest led his Red Gloves team, including Leonard, to Saint Samuel Cathedral, where Leonard questioned the Old Man about the Tinder glove and was urged to advance his Sequence.
• Angel and Klein found no sign of Senior near the doorway in the book’s world, so Klein used a blood-stained piece of deck timber to locate him outside the city.
• Angel pulled the unconscious Senior from a snow-covered pit, and Klein turned the Sequence 5 Wraith into a marionette.
• Klein concealed Senior in a gold coin, and he and Angel left the book’s world before they could become part of its story again.
• Anne brought Queen Anne’s Revenge and the ruined Red Haired Woman through the Spirit World to Damir Harbor, where the damaged ship nearly struck the pier.

Angel and Klein examined the strange scale that had influenced their battle against Zatwin and suspected it carried the power of Ouroboros, the Angel of Fate. After tallying their spoils, they planned to abandon their exposed identities and return to Backlund, but Mr. Azik suddenly appeared.

• Angel and Klein discussed the danger facing Helene and her crew while Angel examined the battle spoils, including a mysterious scale left by Good Luck.
• Klein and Angel connected the scale's effect on luck to the Monster Pathway and the Snake of Fate, then considered whether Ouroboros had left power on Angel's revolver.
• Angel and Klein counted their valuable spoils, including Zatwin's Beyonder Characteristic and a powerful Marauder Pathway glove with a dangerous side effect.
• Klein concluded that they had to abandon their current identities and return to Backlund to investigate ways to obtain the Sequence 4 Trick Sorcerer potion formula.
• Mr. Azik stepped out of the Spirit World and appeared beside Angel and Klein.

Azik warned Angel and Klein about the dangers of the recovered items and agreed to help destroy a corrupted Characteristic, while Klein revealed that a ring linked to Ancient Death could still be found. After Azik left, Angel and Klein discussed adopting new identities for their return to Backlund, and Angel woke from a disturbing dream that might have been a prophecy.

• Azik explained that the recovered scale, Parasite gloves, and Cards of Blasphemy could attract related Beyonder Characteristics, and he warned Angel not to use the gloves unless necessary.
• Azik agreed to try destroying a corrupted Death-related Characteristic and said he would retrieve the ring linked to Ancient Death after attending to other matters.
• Azik congratulated Angel on advancing to High Sequence, then departed through the Spirit World.
• Klein told Angel he planned to return to Backlund, and they agreed they would need new identities because their old ones had become dangerous.
• Angel dreamed of a ruined city, her past in Tingen, Adam, and Klein falling into a deep sleep, then wondered whether the dream was a prophecy before embracing Klein.

Angel and Klein left Damir Harbor under false pretenses, discovered that both had enormous new bounties, and traveled to Conot. After Klein informed a dead Nighthawk’s family of his fate, he and Angel prepared to return his Beyonder Characteristic to the Church before going to Backlund.

• Angel told Helene to let the Church and military believe she and Klein had gone south, gave her the Conspirer formula, and asked her to watch Tracy and the Demoness Sect in exchange for the Hunting Black Spider Compound Eyes.
• At the dockside notice board, Angel and Klein found fresh bounties of 100,000 pounds for Angel and 45,000 pounds for Klein, and Angel tore her warrant down with invisible threads.
• In the ruins of Bansy Harbor, a black-robed man examined a crude painting of a lightning-wreathed octopus-headed monster, heard a mad whisper about the Lord of Storms, and briefly took out an oddly shaped card.
• After reaching Conot, Angel watched Klein leave the home of a dead Nighthawk’s family, and he told her they would return the man’s Beyonder Characteristic to the Church before going back to Backlund.
• Angel and Klein set out to create false identities for their return to Backlund.

Klein and Angel planned layered false identities to return separately to Backlund, where Klein intended to pursue the Antigonus Family Notebook and investigate Ince. After establishing her new identity in Masik, Angel summoned Black Cat Wensa to question her about the Demoness Sect and her past.

• Klein explained that he would pose as a wealthy man and use Angel's layered identities to approach Backlund's upper circles while concealing their pasts.
• Klein proposed that Angel's final cover identity be a Demoness who had fled the Demoness Sect's purge, and they agreed to return to Backlund by separate routes.
• Angel crossed from Desi County into Masik and left clues and witnesses to support her new identity.
• Angel altered her appearance so she could maintain her disguise without relying on the Deception ring.
• Angel summoned Black Cat Wensa and said she had advanced to Despair and wanted to discuss the Demoness Sect and Wensa's past.

Wensa answered Angel’s questions about Katarina, the Demoness Sect, and its trafficking collaboration before raising the possibility of a less extreme Demoness family. In Backlund, Klein received Angel’s warning and offer to trade a corrupted Night Emblem for access to the Antigonus Family Notebook, then studied the Demoness Unaging ritual.

• Wensa told Angel that she was Katarina’s blood relative and said Katarina wanted Angel to become a true Demoness of Unaging so they could speak as equals.
• Wensa explained that the Demoness Sect had concealed the human-trafficking operation and handled the Great Smog, while Loen military figures and some royals were its main partners.
• Wensa asked whether Angel would join a less extreme Demoness family, then disappeared before Angel could answer.
• Angel studied the Unaging advancement ritual and prayed to Mr. Fool, asking him to give the corrupted Night Emblem to Mr. World and pass on her warning about Katarina’s arrival in Backlund.
• Klein received Angel’s message and considered using the Night Emblem to negotiate access to the Antigonus Family Notebook, then examined the Unaging ritual on the Demoness card.