Recaps

Hobart protected Xue and Fors from Qilingesi’s attack by using the Order Wood to distort incoming assaults, forcing the Hurricane Lieutenant General to retreat. After the Psychological Spoon’s effect made Xue and Fors laugh uncontrollably, Hobart led them toward a Goddess of the Night Church through crowded streets.

• Hobart sensed an attack at DakHorm’s home and used the Order Wood to shield himself, Xue, and Fors.
• Qilingesi appeared and attacked them, but Hobart distorted the attacks and bluffed that the tree made him untouchable.
• Qilingesi used Frenzy on Xue and Fors, and Hobart held them back and used Hypnosis to restore their reason.
• Qilingesi sensed he could not quickly overcome the Order Wood and left the scene.
• The Psychological Spoon’s negative effect made Xue and Fors laugh, and Hobart distorted their urge to laugh before taking them toward a nearby Goddess of the Night Church.

After escaping Qilingesi, Hobart arranged for Xue and Fors to stay at his home while the Nighthawks investigated the encounter. He then persuaded Daly to wait for the crisis in Tingen City to unfold before intervening, hoping to save Dunn and thwart Ince Zangwill’s plan, and left for Tingen.

• Hobart reported his encounter with Qilingesi to Captain Thomas, who praised his actions and sent Daly to escort him, Xue, and Fors to safety.
• Hobart advised Xue and Fors to stay at his home and told them to avoid returning to their rental apartment while Qilingesi remained at large.
• Hobart asked Daly to delay the Nighthawks’ intervention in Tingen City until the enemy made its move, warning that Dunn and the other Nighthawks were in danger.
• Daly agreed to cooperate with Hobart and conceal his source if his warning proved true.
• Hobart mailed a letter to his mother and bought a train ticket to Tingen City.

Hobart traveled toward Tingen after hypnotizing himself to forget what he knew about 0-08, then joined the Tarot Club from the train. The gathering ended with Hobart asking whether Silver City’s records described the domain of the Omniscient and Almighty God.

• Daly wondered how Hobart knew about Evil God Descends and her feelings for Dunn.
• Hobart hypnotized himself to forget everything he knew about 0-08 until he encountered Megose and the Spawn of Evil God, then traveled by train from Backlund.
• At the Tarot Club, Audrey recounted how Hobart, Xue, and another companion survived their encounter with Qilingesi, and she arranged a new deal with Alger to find him.
• Hobart explained to Audrey that the Extraordinary Characteristic Conservation Law meant other materials could replace depleted ones.
• Derrick said Silver City’s people still believed in the Omniscient and Almighty God, and Hobart asked what their records said about that deity’s domain.

Hobart used Silver City’s descriptions of the lands ruled by the Omniscient and Almighty God to estimate the geography of the Land Abandoned by God. He left the group with an offer to explain why the Soniya Sea and Stormy Sea were dangerous for 20,000 Pounds.

• Derrick described the five lands where the Lord had believers, and Hobart questioned him about their directions from Silver City.
• Hobart compared Derrick’s answers with modern geography, placing the Land of Elves near the islands and Dixi Bay and the Land of Dragons around the Northern Continent.
• Alger said the eastern Soniya Sea was extremely dangerous, and that most explorers never returned while many survivors became mad.
• Hobart offered to explain the advanced secrets behind the Soniya Sea and the Stormy Sea for 20,000 Pounds, startling Audrey and Klein.
• Hobart told Derrick not to worry about the information yet and advised him to continue exploring with Mr. Fool’s protection.

At the Tarot Club, Hobart connected the Southern Continent to territories once ruled by Ancient Gods, while Klein questioned Derrick about Silver City's sacrifices. Hobart arrived in Tingen City, where Ince Zangwill saw 0-08 write about his arrival and Ulysses met him at the station.

• Hobart inferred that the Southern Continent might have belonged to territories ruled by three unmentioned Ancient Gods.
• Derrick said Silver City still sacrificed to the Omniscient and Almighty God and described the ritual at Klein's request.
• Hobart arrived in Tingen City and greeted it as the place where everything began.
• Ince Zangwill interrupted 0-08 after it wrote that Hobart had come to Tingen City and might save it.
• Ulysses met Hobart at the station and invited him into a carriage, where Hobart took out Christine's personal letter.

Hobart settled into Ulysses's villa in Tingen City, then took on Dominic's commercial dispute case while Klein received a letter from Ms. Daly about Spirit Communication. After meeting Dominic's daughter, Elizabeth, Hobart recognized her as Melissa's friend.

• Ulysses arranged a villa and carriage for Hobart after learning he had come to defend Dominic in a commercial dispute.
• Klein received Ms. Daly's letter through his Messenger and read her guidance on Spirit Communication, including a warning to seek help from Backlund if needed.
• Hobart met with Dominic, the plaintiff's lawyer, and Claude, but made little progress toward resolving the dispute.
• Dominic introduced his daughter Elizabeth to Hobart, who realized she was Melissa's friend.

Hobart learned that Elizabeth had disappeared and offered to help Dominic search for her. He took Elizabeth’s friends home and discovered they were Melissa Moretti and Selena Wood.

• Elizabeth left Dominic’s office and planned to accompany Selena to the cemetery the next morning.
• Hobart warned Dominic that Claude might act irrationally, but Dominic dismissed the concern because of Ulysses’s influence.
• Audrey showed her mother paintings inspired by the work injury compensation case and learned she would attend Duke Negan’s ball.
• Hobart visited Dominic and learned that Elizabeth had vanished after failing to meet her friends.
• Dominic chose to contact Ahovah Security Company rather than Blackthorn Security Company for help finding Elizabeth.
• Hobart offered to take Elizabeth’s two friends home and recognized them as Melissa Moretti and Selena Wood.

Hobart escorted Melissa and Selena back to school after Elizabeth disappeared, but the girls returned with a clue and insisted on helping search for her. They brought Hobart to the powerful mystic Mr. Achilles to divine Elizabeth’s whereabouts.

• Hobart persuaded Melissa and Selena to return to school while Elizabeth’s family continued searching for her.
• Selena mentioned Elizabeth had planned to meet them along the road, but Hobart could find no clues and planned to seek help from Blackthorn Security Company.
• Melissa and Selena came back out of school, saying they had a new clue and wanted to search for Elizabeth themselves.
• Melissa suggested the kidnapper might be hiding Elizabeth in an unoccupied or isolated place near the route, while Selena proposed consulting a Seer.
• Hobart agreed to visit Mr. Achilles, intending to report the Aurora Society member to the Nighthawks afterward.
• Hobart, Melissa, and Selena arrived at Achilles’s dark, herb-scented room, where Selena asked him to divine Elizabeth’s whereabouts.

Hobart, Selena, and Melissa followed Achilles’s divination to an abandoned villa where Selena’s missing friend might be held. On the way, Hobart warned Selena about Mysticism and Achilles, then prepared to investigate the villa alone.

• Achilles divined that Selena’s friend was in an abandoned villa in the east outskirts, and Hobart paid him five Sule before reclaiming Selena’s hair ornament.
• In the carriage, Hobart warned Selena that Mysticism services were never truly free and that personal items could be used to locate or curse people.
• Selena explained that her recurring dreams of Heinas Vincent’s grave began after she met Achilles, and Hobart told her to avoid the grave and cut contact with Achilles.
• Hobart suspected Achilles was an Aurora Society investigator and warned Selena not to seek Mysticism teachers without trustworthy guidance.
• When the coachman spotted an abandoned villa, Hobart told him to drive past and ordered Selena and Melissa to remain in the carriage while he investigated.

Hobart stormed the abandoned villa, defeated the kidnappers, and rescued Elizabeth, but Achilles revealed himself and attacked them with a shadow ability. The chapter ended with Hobart shielding Elizabeth as Achilles’s unseen grip began choking her.

• Hobart left the carriage and entered the villa alone, knocking out several kidnappers and killing one with a thrown axe.
• Hobart found Elizabeth tied up on the second floor and caught a swinging log before smashing her attacker through a wall.
• Hobart freed Elizabeth, but Achilles revealed that he had planned to ambush Hobart after learning about him from Hayman’s memories.
• Hobart used the Teleport Stone Statue to move Elizabeth outside, but Achilles reached her with a shadowy hand and began choking her.
• Hobart moved Elizabeth behind him as she appeared confused by suddenly being transported back into the room.

Hobart fought Achilles, whose shadow attacks and borrowed Divine Kingdom Creature power threatened both Hobart and Elizabeth. Hobart used the Teleport Stone Statue and Psychological Spoon to disrupt Achilles's transformation, but Achilles escaped into a shadow after being wounded.

• Hobart studied Achilles's shadow abilities and resisted his attempt to strangle him by strengthening his neck.
• Hobart deliberately wrestled with Achilles's shadow to tire him, then struck when Achilles emerged from the shadows.
• Achilles transformed into a black, bull-headed figure with golden antlers, and Elizabeth began growing horns as maddening Whispers filled the room.
• Hobart covered Elizabeth's eyes, used the Teleport Stone Statue to cut off Achilles's sight, and made the horns on Elizabeth's head disappear.
• Hobart used Frenzy and Distortion to break Achilles's mental control, causing Achilles to injure his own eye and revert to human form.
• Hobart used Frenzy again, and Achilles leaped into a corner's shadow to escape.

Hobart rescued Elizabeth from the Aurora Society member Achilles, who escaped while showing signs of Loss of Control. Hobart then reported Achilles to Dunn at Blackthorn Security Company and urged the Nighthawks to find and restrain him.

• Hobart used the Psychological Spoon to overcome his sorrow, rescued Elizabeth, and carried her out of the kidnappers' hideout.
• Hobart sent Elizabeth, Melissa, and Selena home with the coachman and asked him to notify the police that the kidnappers had been caught.
• Hobart hired a carriage to the Goddess of the Night Church and found Blackthorn Security Company.
• Rosanne led Hobart to Captain Dunn, who welcomed him after inspecting his External Staff identification.
• Hobart told Dunn about Achilles's Loss of Control and the clues he had left for divination, urging the team to find and restrain him.

Hobart joined Dunn, Klein, Leonard, and Fry to track down Achilles, who was losing control and serving as a vessel for Bull-headed Deer Antlers. The team found Achilles at a farmhouse, and Hobart spotted the black ribs gathering the creature’s power as he rushed in to attack.

• Hobart gave Klein a banknote fragment from Achilles to use for divination, and Klein guided the team to a farmhouse outside the city.
• The team sensed danger at the farmhouse, and Hobart warned them that Achilles could transform into a creature radiating madness and degeneration.
• Dunn began pulling Achilles into a dream, but Hobart used the Teleport Stone Statue to move him into the yard.
• The team shot Achilles, and Dunn realized Bull-headed Deer Antlers was descending through Achilles’s body.
• Dunn and Leonard slowed Achilles while Hobart found a patch of exposed flesh and shot it, revealing black ribs drawing in the black mist.
• Hobart recognized the ribs as the key to the descent and leaped into the yard, telling the others to cover him.

Hobart and the Nighthawks defeated the monster Achilles, which they discovered was Mr. Z of the Aurora Society, and recovered the Black Rib and Golden Antlers. On the ride back, Klein grew suspicious of Hobart after he hinted that he was a Barbarian.

• Klein stopped Achilles from using Verbal Abuse by throwing a stone into its mouth and pinning it shut.
• Hobart removed the Black Rib, resisted its vision of the Giants, and took the rib and Golden Antlers as spoils.
• Fry found two mangled corpses and a letter that identified the monster as Mr. Z of the Aurora Society.
• Dunn arranged a celebratory meal and said the battle participants would receive bonuses.
• Klein studied Hobart during their ride back, and Hobart hinted that he was a Barbarian before getting out of the moving carriage.

Hobart defended himself against Sergeant Jared’s arrest attempt after killing two kidnappers, then joined the Nighthawks for dinner. When Klein left for the restroom, Hobart recalled that Great Pirate Qilingesi was supposed to die that night.

• Hobart sent the Golden Antlers to the Country of Disorder, bathed, and went to Mr. Dominic’s company after lunch.
• Hobart argued that he had acted in self-defense, and Jared took his statement instead of arresting him.
• Hobart learned Old Neil had taken leave and worried that his dangerous ritual might not have been stopped.
• Hobart joined the Nighthawks for dinner and noticed Klein leave for the restroom.
• Hobart remembered that Great Pirate Qilingesi was meant to die that night.

After Audrey warned the authorities about Qilingesi, the Pirate General’s assassination attempt failed, and he was killed by a powerful, unseen attacker. Meanwhile, Hobart reflected on his Mystical Items and became more eager to advance to Sequence 7.

• Klein relayed Audrey’s report about Qilingesi to the Hanged Man and sent Mr. Azik a letter about Qilingesi’s appearance at the ball.
• Audrey informed Earl Hall about Qilingesi, causing the assassination attempt on Duke Negan to fail as Qilingesi fled.
• Qilingesi recognized Hobart and his companions as the people who had exposed him, then was ambushed and killed by a force of enormous skeletons and dark water.
• Alger found Qilingesi dead, and Audrey later received his bounty and a gift from Duke Negan worth about Forty Thousand Pounds in total.
• After dinner, Hobart reflected on the control abilities of his Mystical Items and resolved to advance to Sequence 7 so he could use the Psychological Spoon more fully.

Hobart recovered from his fight with Qilingesi, while the family elders in the Town of Nonexistence decided to contact the Hidden Being. After completing Dominic’s case, Hobart attended to other business, and Klein discovered Old Neil on the verge of Loss of Control.

• Hobart realized he needed a life-saving Mystical Item and resolved to seek more commissions to earn money.
• Calvin told the family elders that the Hidden Being had interrupted an enemy angel’s descent and warned them not to test the gods, so the Clan Head proposed making contact.
• Hobart learned that Claude had confessed to masterminding Dominic’s kidnapping, received his fees, and accepted an invitation to Ulysses’s welcome banquet.
• Klein paid a gang to monitor Mrs. Sharon, then visited Old Neil after remembering he had been away sick.
• Klein broke into Old Neil’s home and found him circling an altar with emotionless eyes on his cheeks, apparently close to Loss of Control.

Klein tried to save Old Neil from losing control by appealing to the Goddess of the Night, but Old Neil destroyed his altar and attacked him. Hobart answered Klein’s prayer with the power of the Country of Disorder, restoring Old Neil’s body and mind before a living black eye appeared on the altar.

• Klein found Old Neil performing a ritual around a blood jar and secretly prepared an altar to beseech the Goddess of the Night.
• Old Neil noticed Klein, confessed that his research came from the Hidden Sage, and transformed as extra eyes appeared on his body.
• Old Neil destroyed Klein’s altar and attacked him, trapping Klein in the room as Klein dodged and hesitated to use his gun.
• Klein prayed to the Creator in the Shadow of Order, and Hobart sensed the prayer, entered the Country of Disorder, and sent the Psychological Spoon and its power to Klein.
• A throne of Sharp Swords appeared, and Hobart’s powers removed Old Neil’s mutations and restored his mind, causing him to faint.
• Klein turned toward the altar and saw a living black eye trying to jump into the blood jar.

Hobart used the Power of Order and hypnosis to restore Old Neil and suppress his obsession, then took a strange eye tied to the hidden being watching the Ritual. After the eye nearly killed him by exposing him to a flood of knowledge, Hobart contained it and began learning potion recipes from the knowledge he had gained.

• Hobart restored Old Neil’s body, concealed the infected part of his Spiritual Body, and used Hypnosis to make him forget his Ritual and obsession.
• Hobart sensed the eye on the altar had come alive and ordered Klein to sacrifice it to him.
• Klein performed the sacrifice, sending the eye through the Bronze Gates and making the Creator disappear from Old Neil’s room.
• Ince Zangwill recorded Klein’s unexpected survival and restoration of Old Neil, then grew furious at the quill mocking him.
• Hobart looked through the eye into an unknown land and nearly died when the gaze of a flame-like eyeball filled his mind with knowledge.
• Hobart placed the eye in a Stone Box and uncovered potion recipes, including those for Mystery Pryer, Savant, Combat Scholar, and Wizard.

Hobart recovered from the dangerous ritual that revealed new Potion Recipes and signs that the seal on the Western Continent had loosened, then attended a welcome banquet at Ulysses's villa. After making final preparations for an operation to save Tingen City, he arrived at Blackthorn Security Company and found Leonard speaking awkwardly with a woman.

• Hobart learned the advancement ritual for the Sequence 5 Astrologer and obtained Potion Recipes for the Mystery Pryer and Savant pathways.
• Mr. Fool told Hobart that the next week's gathering was canceled.
• Hobart met Elizabeth and her family at Ulysses's welcome banquet, where the military guests joked with him and Ulysses offered support for his plans.
• Hobart spent Friday conserving his strength and adjusting the negative-effect avoidance periods for his Sealed Artifacts and Mystical Items.
• Hobart arrived at Blackthorn Security Company on Saturday morning and found Leonard talking awkwardly with a woman in a wide-brimmed hat.

Hobart recognized Megose’s arrival as part of Ince Zangwill’s plan and urged Dunn and Klein to seek reinforcements from Saint Hall. As Ince decided to attack despite Hobart’s unexpected interference, Hobart revealed his abilities and proposed drawing Megose underground.

• Hobart recalled his plan to earn the Nighthawks’ trust, save Leonard, and help without risking his life.
• Megose identified Hobart as the “Order” who had once peered into the True Creator’s kingdom, and Hobart joined Dunn and Klein in the back room.
• Hobart warned Dunn and Klein that “0-08” had planned an evil god’s descent and told them to request a Saint from Saint Hall.
• Ince used “0-08” to conclude that Hobart would not disrupt his plan, then learned a detailed second telegram for aid had been sent and resolved to act.
• Dunn introduced himself to Hobart, who described his Sealed Artifact and Mystical Item and suggested luring Megose underground toward Chanis Gate.

Hobart and the Nighthawks fought Megose and the Spawn of Evil God after the infant was born early in Blackthorn Security Company. Hobart invoked the Creator’s figure and used the Black Eyes and Chaos Power to kill the Spawn, leaving the battle won but the team badly wounded.

• In Backlund, Daly received a telegram warning that an Evil God was descending in Tingen City and rushed to ask the Archbishop for support.
• Hobart lured Megose toward the basement, but she saw through the trap and attacked him before he returned upstairs to help Dunn, Klein, and Leonard.
• Dunn used Saint Selena’s Ashes while Hobart’s Order Wood and the others’ attacks weakened Megose, but the infant was born and Megose died.
• The Spawn of Evil God overwhelmed the team, injuring Dunn and Leonard and breaking Klein’s ribs, while Hobart retreated into the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart summoned the Creator’s figure, used the Black Eyes to stun the Spawn, and destroyed it with Chaos Power.

Klein was killed by Ince Zangwill, and Captain Dunn died as Hobart struggled to save him. With Ince escaping amid a clash between Anthony Stevenson and a Madness Magician, Hobart changed his Ritual and prepared to call on the Creator in the Shadow of Order.

• After the Creator vanished, Ince Zangwill appeared and pierced Klein through the chest.
• Hobart threw Saint Selena's Ashes to Ince, who took them and fled as Archbishop Anthony Stevenson arrived.
• The feather pen wrote a story that brought a Madness Magician to the reception hall, and the two Saints' powers forced Hobart to offer him the Order Wood.
• The Madness Magician took the ebony tree and left, while Anthony pursued Ince amid the chaos.
• Hobart saw that Dunn had died, then changed the altar's symbol to the Creator's and placed the Spawn of Evil God's Umbilical Cord before it.
• Hobart began the Ritual by addressing the Creator in the Shadow of Order.

Hobart preserved Dunn's spirit and hid his chance of revival, then collapsed after warning Leonard not to reveal the Creator. After waking, Hobart learned Ince had escaped and faced Daly, who grieved over Dunn's apparent death.

• Hobart sealed Dunn's spirit and Extraordinary Characteristics in a Stone Coffin in the Country of Disorder, then stored the Spawn of Evil God's Umbilical Cord nearby.
• Hobart warned Leonard about the monocle before passing out, and Leonard awoke to find Dunn and Klein apparently dead.
• Leonard learned from the voice of the old man that Klein could not be revived, while reinforcements arrived at the reception hall.
• After Old Neil performed a healing Ritual, Hobart woke and realized his actions had greatly digested the Barbarian Potion.
• Leonard told Hobart that Ince had escaped, and Hobart learned that Ms. Daly had arrived.
• Daly confronted Hobart over Dunn's death, then sobbed as Hobart comforted her and said Dunn had protected Tingen City.

After the battle in Tingen City, Hobart spoke with Leonard and Captain Thomas, then rested before returning to Backlund. He arrived with a box from Ulysses for Officer Christine, but realized he had forgotten to buy gifts for Donna and the others.

• Daly told Hobart to tell Captain Thomas that Zachary had supplied the information, while Leonard vowed to find Ince Zangwill after taking the Red Gloves assessment.
• Hobart told Thomas that he had received only fragmented information during Spirit Communication and that Dunn and Klein had stopped the Spawn of Evil God; Thomas confirmed Hobart's membership in the Backlund Nighthawks Squad.
• Hobart worried that the Madness Magician who took the Order Wood might pose a threat, then returned to the villa and slept from exhaustion.
• Hobart rested in Tingen City, wrote Leonard that he would leave, and prepared to return to Backlund the following morning.
• Ulysses gave Hobart a box to deliver personally to Officer Christine, and Hobart arrived in Backlund by train before remembering that he had bought no gifts for Donna and the others.