Chapter Summaries

Klein received Sno’s help modifying the Admiral of Blood marionette, while Sno prepared to leave Backlund with Lily and Helene. Sno planned to travel to Intis as war threatened, leaving Klein a way to contact the Enthusiasts for intelligence.

• Sno demonstrated a Kamen Rider armor that used Beyonder Characteristics as discs and could neutralize one fatal attack.
• Sno transferred musical notes from the armor into the Admiral of Blood marionette, leaving it with an eerie chill that resembled the internal guards.
• Sno refused payment from Klein and gave him a sealed card to use when seeking intelligence from the Enthusiasts in the Eastern District.
• After Klein left, Sno concealed the visible cracks in his body and told Lily and Helene he was leaving for several months.
• Sno told Helene they were going to her hometown of Intis, where he hoped to find bargains as war approached.

Sno arrived in Trier with Iliyan, who explained the city's districts, customs, and cathedrals. After hearing that Saint Gustav Cathedral had recently drawn attention for a bishop's notorious visit to White Little Flower, Sno was left with a fresh glimpse of local gossip.

• Sno arrived at Trier East Station with his manservant, cat, and Iliyan, who described the city's districts and their residents.
• Iliyan explained Intisian attitudes toward the entertainment district and why most people did not live there.
• Sno asked about renting a home near Holy Light Cathedral, and Iliyan said there were no residential areas nearby.
• Iliyan described Saint Gustav Cathedral's importance to the Church of Steam and Machinery and its connection to Roselle's descendants.
• Sno and Iliyan overheard passersby gossiping about a bishop from Saint Gustav Cathedral who had spent two days at White Little Flower, and Lily called Iliyan's information outdated.

Sno arrived in Trier and relied on Mr. A, Trissy, Adelina, and Huang Beibei’s connections to establish himself without building a social persona. After renting a villa, he learned Intisian customs and walked through the city with Iliyan before deciding to visit the Holy Light Cathedral.

• Sno relied on Mr. A’s influence among the lower and middle classes, Trissy and Adelina’s standing among the upper class, and Huang Beibei’s connections at the top.
• Sno rented a villa near the Holy Light Cathedral for 500 Gold Feir a year and suggested visiting the neighbors, but Iliyan explained that doing so would be considered improper.
• Sno and Iliyan went for a stroll, where Sno saw Trier’s busy streets, beggars, vagrants, streetwalkers, and thugs.
• Sno criticized Trier’s inequality and, losing interest in the walk, asked Iliyan to take him to the Holy Light Cathedral.
• Iliyan mocked Sno for visiting the cathedral after sunset but led him there anyway.

Sno surveyed the Serenzzo River and Holy Light Cathedral before attending Councilor Patrick's ball, where he used an Angel's phantom to conceal Lily's transformation into a black cat. He left the gathering with another Sno in his place, while the chapter ended with Lily demanding sweet-and-sour fish.

• Sno and Iliyan observed the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun's clergy collecting taxes from street performers along the Serenzzo River.
• Iliyan explained the Daywalkers' commercial duties and distinguished them from the Church's combat-focused Order Keepers.
• Sno and Iliyan went to Councilor Patrick's ball in the Versailles District using an invitation obtained by Mr. A.
• Sno danced with Madam Mored, then excused himself to go to the restroom.
• Sno's Angel phantom appeared and merged with Lily, who turned into a black cat as another Sno took her away.

The Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun investigated attacks on its Order Keeper patrols and debated whether to rebuild The Illuminators, while Sno counted the Beyonder Characteristics he had stolen. Meanwhile, Klein escaped Panatiya and discovered a living old man beside a statue resembling the Eraser Angel in the church.

• Archbishop Peter questioned the senior members about three Order Keeper squads whose members had been robbed of their Beyonder Characteristics and hung upside down.
• Light urged the church to rebuild The Illuminators, and the senior members voted with most agreeing.
• Sno counted the Beyonder Characteristics he had extracted from Low Sequence Beyonders and teleported them to Black Swan Castle.
• Klein escaped Lady of Despair Panatiya and entered a church filled with humans hanging from the ceiling and chanting ravings.
• Klein used divination to investigate the church, found a demonic-wolf statue like the Eraser Angel, and spotted a living old man standing behind it.

Klein met a dead man's Historical Projection in the God War Ruins and learned how to escape, while the Night Watchers discovered Gehrman Sparrow had entered behind St. Samuel's Cathedral's Chanis Gate. Leonard suspected the incident might be part of a deal between the Fool and the Goddess, then decided to contact someone he trusted.

• Klein met an old man who explained that he was a Historical Projection and asked Klein to scatter his ashes in the Serenzo River near Trier after opening the door.
• The old man began explaining how Klein could leave the ruins.
• Night Watchers searching behind the Chanis Gate found the missing attendant and discovered the name Gehrman Sparrow.
• Leonard questioned Pallez about Klein's actions, and Pallez suggested the incident might involve an agreement between the Fool and the Goddess.
• Leonard decided to write to someone he trusted because he could not ignore his doubts about Klein.

Leonard learned that Klein’s infiltration of St. Samuel’s Cathedral had the Goddess’s tacit approval, then discovered Sno expected payment for the information. At Audrey’s birthday preparations, Sno revealed Leonard had questioned him about Audrey, and she pressed him to explain Ms. Integra.

• Leonard asked Sno why Klein had infiltrated the Chanis Gate, and Sno said the Goddess had approved the action and provided help as a trial.
• Sno told Leonard that an Angel called the Mother of the Heavens was beneath St. Samuel’s Cathedral, and Pallez said the information supported the idea that Klein had acted under the Goddess’s instruction.
• Leonard prepared to leave, but Sno demanded five twelve-ring Worms of Time for the consultation, and Pallez agreed to pay later.
• While Audrey prepared for her birthday ball, Sno appeared and said Leonard had visited him before she returned to Backlund.
• Audrey blushed when Sno mentioned Leonard had pointed out she had just come of age, then asked Sno what was happening with Ms. Integra.

Sno gave Audrey a powerful folding fan for her birthday, then returned to Intis to plan a strike against the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. He agreed to help Mr. A block reinforcements while Mr. A pursued his trial of advancing to demigod, and Sno declared that war was about to begin.

• Sno gave Audrey an Extraordinary folding fan that regulated the air around her and could create wind blades, while warning her about its side effects.
• Audrey thanked Sno, hung the fan from her chatelaine, and joined Earl Hall and the Countess to greet the birthday guests.
• Sno returned to Intis and asked Mr. A about the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun's movements and possible targets.
• Mr. A chose Lasvikto, an Unshadowed Order Keeper, but planned to wait for war with the Kingdom of Lenburg before attacking Holy Light Cathedral.
• Sno agreed to stop reinforcements while Mr. A faced Lasvikto, then declared that war was about to begin.

Intis declared war on Lenburg after Councilman Casimir survived an assassination attempt, while the Solen Family sent troops south. In Tingen, Klein prepared to attend a wedding disguised as Tifa Lily, accompanied by Leonard.

• The Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun struggled to protect its clergy after losing dozens of Low Sequence Beyonders and suspected a traitor despite notarized denials.
• Councilman Casimir was assassinated but survived, and Intis blamed the Aurora Society as hawks and the Solen Family pushed for war.
• Intis declared war on Lenburg on June 12, 1350, and a War Bishop led Solen Family forces south along the Serenzo River.
• Leonard found Klein dressed as Tifa Lily at the Aromatic Tree Hotel and listened as she recited her detailed cover identity.
• Leonard linked arms with Tifa, and they left for the wedding.

Klein, disguised as Tifa, attended Dunn and Daly’s wedding at Saint Selena Cathedral with Leonard. After the couple exchanged vows and kissed, Rozanne asked Leonard when he and Tifa would get married.

• Klein transformed into Tifa, and he and Leonard arrived at Saint Selena Cathedral for the wedding.
• Rozanne greeted Leonard and learned that his companion was Tifa Lily, a devout follower of the Goddess.
• Leonard and Klein joined Dunn, Daly, and their former colleagues as the wedding ceremony began.
• Daly and Dunn exchanged vows and rings, and the bishop declared them husband and wife.
• Daly took the initiative and kissed Dunn, while Klein watched with emotion.
• Rozanne asked Leonard when he and Tifa would get married.

After the wedding, Klein reassured Leonard that he still believed in the Goddess and said he would need Leonard’s help. Back in his room, Klein observed Mr. Devil using five Worms of Time to make a charm and considered how he might obtain some himself.

• At the wedding banquet, Klein and Leonard were pestered by guests asking when they would get married, while Sno secretly watched and then vanished.
• Leonard asked Klein why he had entered St. Samuel’s Cathedral’s Chanis Gate, and Klein said he still believed in the Goddess.
• Klein told Leonard he planned to handle matters in Backlund before traveling to the Southern Continent, and accepted Leonard’s offer of help.
• After returning to his room, Klein sensed Mr. Devil’s prayer and went Above the Gray Fog to watch him make a charm using five Worms of Time.
• Klein realized he could learn an advanced charm-making method and considered trading with Leonard’s old man for Worms of Time.

At a Tarot Club meeting, Klein read new diary pages that linked Roselle’s writings to a strange theory about compatible Beyonder Characteristics. Perrdax’s notes proposed that matching Spirituality Wavelengths might let someone create a New Pathway, leaving Klein with an unsettling possibility to consider.

• Madam Hermit and Mr. Devil gave Mr. Fool four pages of diary entries, and Klein found Roselle’s early writings about giants, elves, the Western Continent, and Bernadette’s protective charm.
• Klein read Perrdax’s diary and reacted to the senior’s account of an intimate encounter with a Spirit Warlock from the Church of Evernight.
• Perrdax’s notes listed nine groups of Adjacent Pathways and questioned a hidden connection between the Demoness-Hunter group and Death God Battle.
• Perrdax described comparing Spirituality Wavelengths and finding compatible potions across different pathways.
• Perrdax conjectured that compatible Beyonder Characteristics might once have belonged to the same existence and wondered whether they could be used to create a New Pathway.

At the Tarot Club, Klein answered Cattleya’s question about the meaning of two symbols, while members arranged trades and commissions. Audrey hired someone to investigate Kidd Robin, and Mr. World volunteered before Fors could reveal what she already knew.

• Klein read Senior Perrdax’s notes about creating a new Pathway and answered Cattleya that two symbols together meant “hometown.”
• Alger asked Sno to fuse an Astronomer Characteristic and a Six-winged Stone Gargoyle core crystal into one powerful Mysterious Item, and Sno agreed.
• Sno told Mr. World that the Ocean Songster Characteristic was ready, and Audrey confirmed she would buy the item he had forged for her.
• Emlyn offered Derrick an Artificial Vampire Characteristic in exchange for a Sequence V Sun Pathway formula, and Mr. World offered the Priest of Light formula for 6,500 pounds.
• Audrey commissioned an investigation into Kidd Robin, a wealthy merchant connected to two incidents in Backlund, and Mr. World raised his hand to take the job before Fors could speak.

At the Tarot Club, Klein revealed that Kidd Robin was a shared disguise, while the members discussed unrest in Backlund and the Fate Hermit Society’s connection to an Ammon trap. The gathering ended with news that war had begun between Intis and Lenburg, potentially drawing Hunter Pathway Beyonders into danger.

• Justice asked Mr. World about Kidd Robin, and he explained that it was an identity shared by his companions and himself.
• Justice decided to accept her father’s proposal to join the Loen Charity Education Fund as members discussed turmoil among Backlund’s upper class.
• Devil warned that the treasure Fors had asked about was an Ammon-related trap, and Star explained the Fate Hermit Society’s connection to it.
• Hermit promised Mr. World the information he wanted about the Fate Hermit Society later that week.
• Derrick reported that the six-member council wanted to open the former Chief’s mausoleum and recover its Characteristics.
• Devil announced that war had begun between Intis and Lenburg, warning that Hunter Pathway Beyonders could be affected by the gathering of Extraordinary Characteristics.

Trissy and Adelina prepared to advance toward the Iron-Blooded Knight ritual amid the war between Intis and Lenburg. In Backlund, Sno disrupted the city’s spiritual structure after Pallez opened a treasure, while Leonard endured the pressure of Sno’s presence.

• Trissy led her surviving soldiers through a raid and organized their retreat, having prepared them through enchantment and battlefield pressure.
• Trissy had completed the Pleasure acting and digested the Potion of Agony, then began preparing for the Iron-Blooded Knight ritual.
• Adelina commanded mercenaries while disguised as a man and believed Shang Da Feng’s help would make her a better candidate for the Iron-Blooded Knight goal.
• Sno concealed his presence with the Holy Emblem of Night and began disrupting Backlund’s spiritual structure after Pallez opened a treasure.
• Leonard relaxed after Sno vanished, and Pallez explained that Sno’s strange curse had unsettled Leonard’s Nature Spirits.

Sno entered the treasure vault, drove off the Fate Hermit Society members, and clashed with an Ammon avatar while posing as the original body. He tricked Ammon into fleeing toward Pallez, whose ancient bell began to toll as Ammon froze in the sewers.

• Sno entered the vault, where the Fate Hermit Society members transformed into worms and fled, leaving behind Beyonder Characteristics.
• Sno collected the treasure and met an Ammon avatar, who realized his connection to the original body had been cut off.
• Sno and Ammon exchanged attacks as Ammon stole Sno’s stamina, lifespan, memories, and thoughts, but Sno reset his self-perception and nullified the effects.
• Sno disguised himself as Ammon and convinced the avatar that he might be the original body while others watched their exchange.
• Sno asked why Pallez had not acted, and the fleeing Ammon froze in the sewers as an ancient bell began to toll.

Sno warned Leonard about Ammon before traveling to Sadden City to assess the war between Intis and Lenburg. There, he learned the Solen Family was exploiting the terrain and wondered when the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun would feel the pressure.

• Sno returned the Thief Pathway characteristics to Leonard, keeping only the Destiny Trojan Horse, and warned him that Ammon's avatars remained in Backlund.
• Leonard said he planned to travel to the Southern Continent, and Pallez urged him to stay at St. Samuel's Cathedral because an Ammon avatar had nearly mistaken Sno for Ammon's main body.
• Sno suspected Klein and Leonard were avoiding the border war because the Russian Priest feared interference from Herabogen and wondered whether Adam would alter the conflict's course.
• Sno used his dangerous self-erasure method to teleport to Sadden City and asked a man there about the battle.
• The man reported that the Solen Family was refusing to retreat, while Sno criticized Intis for failing to respond to the family's tactics and questioned when the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun would feel the strain.

Adwina told Sno that the God of Knowledge and Wisdom had ordered her to give an item to “Paradox,” and Sno helped her inspect it. They opened a box made from the Dragon of Wisdom’s scale and found a strange, slowly straightening curved blade inside.

• Adwina told Sno that the God of Knowledge and Wisdom had issued an Oracle to the Church and bestowed an item for “Paradox.”
• Adwina admitted she feared the item might anger “Paradox,” so Sno sealed the cabin and strengthened its protections.
• Sno saw that the box was made from a scale belonging to the Dragon of Wisdom, and its presence disabled the cabin’s Extraordinary Items and Adwina’s ability to project spirituality.
• Sno released the powers of two gold coins, touched Heavenly Punishment, and opened the box.
• Sno and Adwina saw a floating, haftless curved blade whose distorted form was slowly straightening with a painful scraping sound.

Sno considered the dangerous Red Priest Uniqueness gifted by the God of Knowledge and Wisdom and issued an Oracle to harness its power. Meanwhile, Edmund Soren discovered that Renburg’s infiltrating forces were arranging battles into a suspicious pattern around Sadden City.

• Sno judged that the contaminated Sealed Artifact 0-01 was too dangerous for him to wield directly, but decided to use the remaining embers of the Battle of Sadden to draw on its power.
• Edmund Soren ordered Damian Soren back to the front lines after learning that Renburg had withdrawn troops and several Iron and Blood Cross Order demigods had vanished.
• In Asace, Adelina used her ring to make the spirits of the battlefield’s dead disappear, then led her silent soldiers toward their next location.
• Edmund mapped the clashes involving Renburg’s infiltrators and recognized an irregular circle forming around Sadden City.
• Edmund ordered a messenger to summon two church bishops and request a Beyonder from the Mystery Pryer or Reader Pathway.

Edmund Soren called in the bishops and specialists to investigate the ritual behind Luenburg's attacks around Sadden City. The specialists found that high-level power was involved and asked for corpses to examine, leaving Edmund to summon the dead from the battlefield.

• Edmund Soren received the bishops of the Church of the Sun and the Machinery Church and showed them the map of clashes encircling Sadden City.
• The bishops recognized that the attacks required specialist appraisal, so Edmund brought in a Mystery Pryer and a Reader.
• The Reader could not determine the ritual’s purpose from the map, while the Warlock nearly lost control after sensing the ritual’s high-level power through a crystal ball.
• The specialists asked Edmund for corpses from the battle sites so they could reconstruct events and attempt Spirit Channeling.
• Edmund used his mental link to order troops in the rear to retrieve the dead, and a Summoning Gate brought several fresh corpses into the command tent.