Chapter Summaries

Shafiya and the Moriartys planned how to restore Avalon and counter the Stibnite People, while Iver proposed a ruthless alternative to the Shadow of Avalon ritual. After Isabel gave Iver her life-saving necklace and Old Moriarty approved the plan, Iver left to act, having learned more about his adoptive father’s principles.

• Shafiya reasoned that Avalon could be stabilized by separating Lloyd's supporters from those loyal to the Stibnite People and restoring Isabel’s authority through Iver.
• Iver warned Shafiya that she could not obtain the Queen’s Blood before a necromancer corrupted the remains, then proposed drawing the enemy’s attention to the remains while he killed the infant Prince John to activate the ritual.
• Iver offered to bear the guilt and asked Shafiya to rescue Sherlock, while Isabel pledged to stand by him and gave him Isolde’s Tears.
• Old Moriarty called John’s death a Necessary Evil, ordered Shafiya to leave with Oswald, and trusted Iver to act alone.
• Iver realized that Old Moriarty’s response revealed both that he did not regard Iver as a mere tool and that he considered premature death an acceptable cost.

Diomedes reflected on Charles Drost’s corruption and his own quiet efforts to undermine him as he realized Iver had come willingly to negotiate. Iver persuaded Diomedes to take him to the Silver and Tin Palace, hoping to trade his cooperation for Sherlock’s life and leave both of them alive.

• Diomedes recalled Charles Drost’s transformation from a cheerful young man into a corrupt traitor and Kingslayer, and remembered how he had secretly protected Drost’s illegitimate daughter and warned the Moriartys.
• Iver asked Diomedes to take him to Charles Drost and assured him that Drost would not be able to kill him.
• Iver explained that he wanted to save Sherlock, whom he suspected Drost was holding and questioning.
• Iver offered to act as a hostage and trade information, evidence, and Professor Moriarty’s support for Sherlock’s release and both their lives.
• Diomedes accepted Iver’s plan and escorted him to the Silver and Tin Palace as a companion rather than an abductee.

Shafiya and Oswald planned to recover the Queen’s remains, with backup missions to collect her blood or rescue Sherlock and protect Iver. At Moriarty Manor, Professor Moriarty revealed secret knowledge about Ouroboros to Isabel, leaving her to decide what to tell Iver.

• Shafiya assigned Oswald a sequence of missions to reclaim the Queen’s remains, collect her blood if necessary, or rescue Sherlock while protecting Iver.
• Shafiya resolved that if Iver could not kill Prince John, she might arrange his death herself and take responsibility.
• Isabel stayed at Moriarty Manor and concealed her identity and knowledge while speaking with Professor Moriarty.
• Isabel heard the Death Knell and mocking laughter, signaling deaths and an exposed ascender identity, then worried that Iver might be in danger.
• Professor Moriarty explained that Ouroboros once belonged to the Equilibrium Path and was known in ancient times as the Reincarnation Angel.

Iver entered the ruined Silver and Tin Palace and assessed which surviving knights had truly supported Drost and which had been swept into the rebellion. Drost invited Iver to talk in Queen Sophia’s bedchamber, unaware that Iver intended to use the meeting to gather information.

• Iver saw the bloodied and wounded knights scattered through the palace, and Minister Drost approached him while the others hurried away.
• Iver concluded that many knights had joined Drost through coercion, opportunism, or group pressure rather than conspiring to kill Queen Sophia, and he mentally sorted potential allies from suspects.
• Iver considered how the Promotion Ritual revealed the knights’ loyalties and could provide useful information to him, Isabel, and the Stranger.
• Iver greeted Drost with a friendly expression and planned to interrogate him for information while Drost was alive again in the ritual.
• Diomedes told Drost that Iver had come willingly after the attempted kidnapping, so Drost invited Iver to discuss matters in Queen Sophia’s bedchamber.

Iver brought Minister Drost to Queen Sophia’s bedchamber and used its hidden Truth Fire to make Drost believe he was tied to Countess Emma and the Stibium conspiracy. Drost confessed that Sherlock was alive and begged for help, but then suspected that the man before him was not really Iver Moriarty.

• Minister Drost took Iver to Queen Sophia’s bedchamber, where Iver recognized the disguised Truth Fire and understood how Drost planned to use it.
• Iver told Drost that the Stibium people intended to eliminate him after using him, and the Truth Fire confirmed his claim was true.
• Iver claimed Countess Emma belonged to him, and Drost concluded that Iver was a powerful superior connected to Stibium.
• Drost lied that Sherlock was dead, but the Truth Fire flickered, so he admitted Sherlock was imprisoned in the Underground Ritual Room and pleaded for help.
• As Drost asked what Iver wanted, he reconsidered the clues and realized the man might not be Iver Moriarty at all.

Iver interrogated Minister Drost with the Truth Fire and learned how Drost contacted Blood Diamond and poisoned Queen Sophia. After Iver explained how Curse Poison Goodnight worked, Drost realized the Stibnite People might have intended to kill him before his awakening extended his life.

• Iver threatened Drost and used the Truth Fire to make him answer questions without lying.
• Drost revealed that Blood Diamond was his regular witch contact, that he hid her blood at Lloyd's headquarters, and that she had supplied Curse Poison Goodnight.
• Iver learned Drost had put the poison in the Holy Tree Number One wine, which would kill Queen Sophia because of her remaining lifespan.
• Iver explained that Goodnight was an old curse poison that acted according to the drinker's lifespan, and Drost recognized that the Stibnite People might have targeted him before his awakening.

Iver uncovered how Drost’s gift to Queen Sofia had delayed Stibnite’s plans and changed the fate of Avalon and Stibnite. He revealed himself as Aleister Crowley, then persuaded Drost to transfer Diomedes to him in exchange for protection.

• Iver explained that Drost’s lifespan-extending potion had kept Sofia alive, disrupting Stibnite’s plans and contributing to Avalon’s recovery and Stibnite’s eventual division.
• Iver let Drost ask one question, then identified himself as Aleister Crowley, and Drost accepted the answer as proof of his connection to the Crowley Family.
• Drost begged Iver to save him, and Iver offered protection in exchange for Diomedes and Drost’s agreement to adopt him and transfer the family headship.
• Drost agreed to the deal and went to fetch ritual paper while Iver prepared to dictate the contract.
• Iver privately recognized Diomedes as the highest-level resource available from Drost during the Promotion Ritual.

Minister Drost saw Aleister Crowley reveal her true form and became convinced that Iver Moriarty had been replaced, then decided he could use the contract and Diomedes to turn her against Professor Moriarty. He signed a binding agreement with Aleister, confident that the Silver Crowned Dragon would prevent her from lying.

• Drost returned and found Miss Crowley in her noble form, deciding she could not be Iver Moriarty's disguise because she was a Child of the Moon and an heir to the demon family.
• Drost concluded that the real Iver had been replaced and feared how many people in Avalon might have suffered the same fate.
• Drost recalled Professor Moriarty's influence over Lloyd's and his own past efforts to conceal the murder of his illegitimate daughter from Moriarty.
• Drost decided to use Diomedes as bait to make Aleister fight Professor Moriarty and eagerly asked her to sign a contract.
• Aleister read the binding contract aloud as Drost signed it, and he felt reassured that the Silver Crowned Dragon would prevent her from lying.

Aleister and Minister Drost signed a contract that made her his adopted heir and transferred Mr. Diomedes’s service to her. After Diomedes recognized Aleister as Duchess Bayard, she exposed Drost’s attempt to bind her and prepared to confront him.

• Minister Drost authenticated a contract adopting Aleister and arranging for her to inherit the Drost family headship, while concealing that the agreement would transfer Mr. Diomedes to her.
• Mr. Diomedes discovered that his master had changed and learned from Drost that Aleister was his new master.
• Mr. Diomedes recognized Aleister as Duchess Bayard and recalled meeting her on Glass Island centuries earlier.
• Aleister accused Drost of deceiving her with the contract and revealed that she was not a Stibnite Person by transforming into Bishop Iver.
• Drost tried to flee, but Mr. Diomedes blocked his way while Iver challenged him to fight.

Mr. Diomedes froze Drost in time and cut him in half, but Iver summoned the awakened Paradox Flame Butterfly to take revenge. After healing and burning Drost repeatedly, she killed him, and Iver welcomed her back as someone distinct from Yulia.

• Mr. Diomedes explained that the Pope Guard inherited powers connected to Equilibrium, Dedication, and Twilight before slicing Drost in half with an invisible sword.
• Iver summoned the fully awakened Paradox Flame Butterfly, who had reached Level 47 and taken on an adult form.
• The Paradox Flame Butterfly used her flames to heal Drost and burn him repeatedly, then killed him and reduced him to ashes.
• Iver comforted the Paradox Flame Butterfly, who returned to him as flame butterflies and recognized his affection as meant for her alone.

Iver named the Paradox Flame Butterfly Lia and recognized how deeply she had cared for him and how he had treated her as a weapon. Lia accepted the name, chose to call him Daddy, and greeted him as if beginning their relationship anew.

• The Paradox Flame Butterfly told Iver that she had once been named Yulia Moriarty, and Iver offered to give her a name for her rebirth.
• Iver named her Lia, explaining that she was an equal part of the Yulia he had loved, not her shadow or remnant.
• Iver realized Lia had sealed herself away out of love and apologized for making her use Self-Destruct and for treating her like a tool.
• Lia said she liked the name Lia but wanted a different way to address Iver, and he told her she could call him anything.
• Lia chose to call Iver Daddy and greeted him with, “Nice to meet you.”

Iver learned that a curse on the Moriarty bloodline caused descendants to forget children born to them, potentially explaining Freya’s exile and James Moriarty’s role. After Shafiya returned with Oswald, Sherlock, and Queen's Blood, a Demon Scholar trapped the group inside the Silver and Tin Palace, setting up a three-on-one fight.

• Iver told Diomedes that he had once known Miss Bayard, then asked him about her deal with the Moriarty Family.
• Diomedes explained that the Bayards cursed Moriarty descendants to forget their children after they achieved a certain level of accomplishment.
• Iver realized the curse may have caused the family to forget Freya and suspected that she was James Moriarty’s illegitimate daughter.
• Shafiya emerged with Oswald and the wounded, unconscious Sherlock, and Oswald reported that they had obtained Queen's Blood and rescued Hermes.
• A Demon Scholar sealed the Silver and Tin Palace with blood-colored runes and confronted Shafiya, while Iver realized the attacker did not know Oswald and Diomedes were there.

Iver analyzed the ritual General Karl had prepared to trap Shafiya and realized it silenced everyone while preventing Shafiya from escaping. As Karl flooded the palace with flames and finally broke into the bedchamber, he froze at the sight of the many people waiting inside.

• Iver studied the ritual’s runes and identified its age restriction, flame enhancement, and mass silence.
• Iver realized the ritual was designed to imprison Shafiya, who was over 119 years old, while leaving Karl and the others largely unaffected.
• As the heat spread through the palace, Shafiya used her authority to calm the crowds and direct them away from the Silver and Tin Palace.
• Karl surrounded the bedchamber with flames, destroyed its reinforced wall, and entered with his Flame Demon Power released.
• Karl paused in surprise when he saw how many people were inside the room.

Oswald and Diomedes joined forces to defeat General Karl, but the Flame Demon inside Karl began to emerge as the group escaped through Shafiya’s portal. The chapter left the others fleeing while the Flame Demon rose from the embers.

• Diomedes slowed time as Oswald used his divine arts to wound Karl, triggering the Flame Demon’s automatic counterattack.
• Oswald evaded Karl’s attack and used the force of balance to cleave Karl in half, destroying the seals that enabled his body to heal.
• The red barrier shattered, and the group sensed a new danger as Karl’s remains began to burn and twist.
• Shafiya opened a portal, and Iver carried the unconscious Sherlock through while Diomedes took the weakened Oswald.
• Shafiya followed through the portal just before the Flame Demon rose from the embers.

Moke witnessed the Flame Demon erupt from General Karl’s body and begin destroying the Silver and Tin Palace, killing its inhabitants and turning them into fiery beings. He fled with a knight as the demon’s flames spread and formed a Flame Demon Legion.

• Moke recognized the towering Flame Demon as the demon within General Karl, released when Karl died.
• The Flame Demon struck the ground, sending fiery snakes through the palace that killed knights and servants alike.
• Moke urged a knight to flee with him, and the knight carried Moke toward the palace exit.
• A fiery snake pierced a knight on their escape route, transforming his soul and armor as flames consumed him.
• Moke saw the dead become burning knights, servants, and skeletons, while the Flame Demon shrank and the Silver and Tin Palace caught fire.
• The transformed inhabitants gathered as a Flame Demon Legion.

The Stranger escaped the burning Silver and Tin Palace and joined Bishop Samuel Mathers, who planned to find Princess Isabel at Moriarty Manor. Meanwhile, Sherlock woke in Iver’s arms and resolved to sabotage the Promotion Ritual by secretly killing Isabel, though he learned she was already with Iver and heading toward his house.

• The Stranger warned his knight that the Balrog could split by devouring souls and explode when killed, then ordered him to keep running from the Silver and Tin Palace.
• Bishop Samuel Mathers found the Stranger and Arun Carter, identified himself, and decided to gather survivors and search Moriarty Manor for Princess Isabel.
• The Stranger reflected on how this world line differed from his own and told Mathers that he had seen Isabel flee with Ms. Shafiya.
• Sherlock woke as Iver carried him away from the palace and concluded that Karl had exploded, leaving a Balrog behind.
• Sherlock considered the Promotion Ritual’s rules and planned to kill Isabel so the other participants would waste time searching for her.
• Iver told Sherlock they were heading to his house, while Shafiya explained that her teleportation had fallen short and said she feared an attack on Isabel.

Iver deduced that the injured Sherlock was actually the Stibnite Consultant in disguise and decided to keep his discovery secret so he could feed the Consultant false information. He enlisted Isabel to help deceive him, while Isabel grew wary that other Stibnite agents might be impersonating people she had yet to meet.

• Iver tested Sherlock's reactions and concluded that the man was the Consultant, a Third Level mage from Stibnite.
• Iver brought the Consultant, disguised as Sherlock, back to Moriarty Manor and planned to use him to spread false information.
• Isabel welcomed Iver back after the Silver and Tin Palace exploded and understood that he wanted to speak privately.
• Iver told Isabel to help him fool Sherlock, and she followed him to his bedroom.
• Isabel suspected that Yulia's mentor and the two Court Ritualists might also be Stibnite agents in disguise.

Iver questioned Isabel about whether she was a Doll, and she revealed that she had hidden her true nature for years to survive Avalon’s royal curse. After learning Isabel knew of the Shadow of Avalon Ritual, Iver apologized and she ordered him to heal Hermes before taking her to the Theocracy.

• Iver pretended to suspect Isabel was a Doll while Sherlock listened from the bed.
• Isabel said she had acted weak and useless to survive the royal curse, while Queen Sophia had placed her hopes in her.
• Iver told Isabel that Queen Sophia had informed him about the Shadow of Avalon Ritual and entrusted Isabel to him.
• Isabel dropped her timid act, challenged Iver’s assumptions about her, and told him to heal Hermes.
• Isabel chose to go to the Theocracy before deciding whether to activate the Shadow of Avalon Ritual.

After Sherlock awoke, the consultant considered Iver and Isabel’s abilities and the political stakes of the ritual. He decided the Spirit Tower should move to Avalon and realized Starny’s army would reach Glass Island within three days.

• Iver finished treating Sherlock and helped him and Isabel continue their act for the consultant.
• The consultant doubted that Iver had advanced to the Third Level on both the Paths of Dedication and Transcendence, despite believing him a remarkable genius.
• The consultant considered moving the Spirit Tower to Avalon and pledging allegiance to Iver, then resolved to warn his companions and urge them to flee.
• The consultant reasoned that Starny’s army would arrive on Glass Island within three days and destroy everything.

The Consultant weighed the Ascension Ritual’s dangers and decided to cooperate with Isabel to complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual while seeking out Olive and his students. When Court Alchemist Nobel arrived at Moriarty Manor looking for Isabel, Bishop Mathers and Iver realized Nobel’s actions could expose him and put the group at risk.

• The Consultant concluded that completing the Shadow of Avalon Ritual with Isabel was his best way to survive the ritual and outlined plans to find Olive, persuade Isabel to share the ritual’s details, and eliminate another Ascender if necessary.
• After using Super Intelligence, the Consultant’s weakened body forced him to rest.
• The Consultant overheard that Court Alchemist Nobel had arrived at Moriarty Manor and feared that Nobel would be imprisoned or expose his identity as an Ascender.
• Bishop Mathers told Iver that Nobel had recognized Isabel as the real Princess and explained that he had brought Nobel to the manor to investigate his suspicious behavior.
• Bishop Mathers explained that he had not known Isabel was at the manor and had only invented a lie that accidentally revealed her location.