Chapter Summaries

Aleister performed a Revenant Ritual to return a girl's soul to her body, using her Ritual Material Exemption to replace the usual ritual materials. The girl revived, leaving Honey Badger stunned by the miracle.

• Aleister placed the girl's spirit over her body and used an old gold coin to begin the ritual.
• Aleister explained to Honey Badger how circulating wealth could weigh down a soul and how the ritual's steps purified and anchored the girl’s spirit.
• Aleister told the girl to clench her fists so she would actively reunite her soul with her body.
• Aleister tapped the coin while summoning the girl's soul in several languages, stirring spirits and causing objects in the room to move.
• Aleister transformed into Iver's male form and commanded the soul to return to the Human World, and the girl opened her eyes.

Aleister resurrected Christina Weber after Earl Dawn killed her, then offered to place Alice inside Christina’s body to help stabilize her and advance along the Path of Twilight. Christina agreed, and Alice was released from her card into Christina’s body.

• Aleister explained that Christina had not fully died and that the Revenant Ritual had returned her soul to her body temporarily.
• Christina saw the trapped spirits on the bed, remembered what had happened, and learned that she was still technically dead.
• Aleister offered Christina a deal: Alice would share her body, help her control it, and protect her in exchange for Christina’s service.
• Christina agreed without hearing the details, and Aleister released Alice from the Follower Card into her body.
• Alice spoke through Christina and thanked Aleister.

Aleister freed Alice and Christina from her authority, asked them to call her Mentor, and advised Christina to pursue necromancy. She arranged for the Mirror Demon to leave Christina 3,000 gold coins, while Christina reflected on her failed alchemical training and lack of resources.

• Aleister told Alice she was free and asked her to call her Mentor, then gave her advice about protecting Weber and seeking help when needed.
• Aleister told Christina to call her Mentor and recommended that she leave alchemy for necromancy.
• Christina asked for money to replace a borrowed dress, and Aleister admitted she had brought none.
• Aleister directed the Mirror Demon to leave 3,000 gold coins at Christina's home and to arrange the count's funeral.
• Christina considered how poverty had kept her from buying alchemical materials and preparing useful potions for Promotion Rituals.

Iver enjoyed watching over the Children of the Giant Tree from his new existence between the Material Realm and the Dream Realm, then used the Most Holy Crown to answer Aleister’s request for support in Astyn. He assigned Bishopess Mia Muller a sacred mission, and she vowed to carry it out even if it meant opposing the academy.

• Iver watched over the people of the Theocracy and used an invisible force to prevent an old man from falling.
• Iver received Aleister’s memories and worried that she would grow overconfident while acting in Astyn.
• Iver used the Most Holy Crown to locate nearby bishops and entered Mia Muller’s dream.
• Iver told Mia about Aleister’s request and assigned her the mission of putting a soul to rest.
• Mia accepted Iver’s mission with reverence and vowed to complete it even if she had to oppose the academy.

Aleister arranged for a bishop-level priest to preside over a funeral while discussing the Mirror Demon’s plans to return to the Dream Realm. She pressed the demon to sign a temporary contract so they could learn each other’s true names, and it finally agreed.

• Aleister told the Mirror Demon that Bishop Mia Muller would arrive within an hour to preside over the funeral and warned it to leave before she discovered it was a demon.
• The Mirror Demon praised Aleister’s ability to persuade devotees, and Aleister explained how glory, honor, and promises of helping others could win their loyalty.
• The Mirror Demon described its hope of meeting Aleister again in the Dream Realm and offered to guide her through Xing Antimony in the future.
• Aleister proposed a temporary contract to learn each other’s true names so she could locate the Mirror Demon later.
• The Mirror Demon hesitated over the contract, but Aleister insisted it was blank and let it set the terms, so it finally agreed to write it.

Aleister returned to Prince Siya Erduo’s residence with Christina and secured a strange flesh fragment from Earl Dawn’s belongings. After learning the earl had obtained it shortly before beginning his killings, she prepared to bind the Mirror Demon as the earl’s soul was sent to the Dream Realm.

• Aleister had the Mirror Demon gather valuables and clothing for Christina before returning to Prince Siya Erduo’s residence with her group.
• Honey Badger left Aleister to rest, and Aleister searched Earl Dawn’s belongings for treasure.
• The Mirror Demon found a pulsing piece of flesh sealed inside a crystal ball, which made Aleister’s eyes turn scarlet when she touched it.
• The Mirror Demon said Earl Dawn had obtained the crystal ball around a week before New Year, shortly before beginning his ritual killings.
• Aleister sealed away the crystal ball and learned from Iver that the Bishop had sent Earl Dawn’s soul to the Dream Realm.
• Aleister warned that Earl Dawn could become a powerful demon and asked the Mirror Demon to sign its contract for protection.

Aleister signed a contract with the Mirror Demon, whose revelation of Iver’s former name left it alarmed by her identity. After calming the jealous Night Demon, Aleister set out with both demons for Alphons von Piloty’s house to surprise him.

• Aleister signed a lenient contract with the Mirror Demon, and the contract revealed Iver’s former name, Iver Alexander Moriarty.
• The Mirror Demon recognized Iver as the new Eternal Pope and became afraid of Aleister’s power and future prospects.
• After sunrise, Aleister recovered her once-a-day abilities and returned from Selene’s room, while the Mirror Demon offered her mouthwash.
• The Night Demon grew jealous and distrustful of the Mirror Demon, and Aleister comforted her as the two demons’ jealousy fed off each other.
• Aleister told the Mirror Demon and Night Demon to open the door and take her to Alphons von Piloty’s house, where she planned to surprise him.

Alphons dreamed of his father berating him, but Anna Kingsford appeared in the nightmare and helped him face his lingering shame. He reaffirmed his desire to gain power with her help, agreeing to repay her as before.

• Alphons dreamed of his father scolding him for making a foolish suggestion while his siblings mocked him.
• Anna Kingsford revealed herself after Alphons recognized that the figure wearing Earl Leipzig's appearance was not real.
• Alphons told Kingsford that he did not hate his father and believed his mistake had come from inexperience.
• Alphons said he did not regret helping Kingsford and asked her to help him gain the power to earn his father's respect.
• Kingsford promised to help Alphons and said she would collect a reward, which he accepted.

Alphons prepared to use a Foul Blood Angel to gain an apostle’s power, while Anna Kingsford arranged to rescue him if Aleister came after him. When Aleister confronted him, Alphons used Anna’s password, triggering a hidden trap that ended in a massive explosion over Leipzig City.

• Alphons told Anna Kingsford that detonating the Wrath Brand had made the corpse react, and she asked whether he would leave Antimony before explaining that Earl Dawn had been murdered.
• Anna explained that Alphons could mix his ashes into a sanctity-stripped Blood Angel corpse to become part of a Foul Blood Angel, then gave him the password “I surrender!” to summon her for help.
• Alphons woke in his bedroom to find Aleister there, and she questioned him about the ritual and his connection to Anna Kingsford.
• Aleister threatened Alphons, who immediately said, “I surrender!” and triggered a scarlet magic circle and a screaming necklace.
• The Night Demon spread its wings around Aleister as foul wind and bloody rain fell, and an explosion sent a mushroom cloud over Leipzig City.

An enormous explosion destroyed Piloty Manor, leading Leipzig’s observers to suspect that Anna Sprengel and the Rosy Cross Society had attacked the Red Minister’s family. Aleister survived the blast with Viennes, who explained that the Night Demon’s power had blocked it, while Anna’s identity and history remained the focus of speculation.

• The destruction of Piloty Manor and the blood rain alarmed Leipzig’s residents and fueled rumors that the Red Minister’s son Alphons had been targeted in retaliation for Earl Dawn’s death.
• Inspector Frank Schumacher told Inspector Vena that Anna Sprengel was a powerful Imperial half-elf, a Rosy Cross founder, and a Night Demon wielder.
• Frank recalled that Anna had once drawn black clouds like demonic fire from her enemies’ corpses, and he suspected she had caused the explosion.
• Aleister woke amid the ruins with Viennes and the Night Demon unharmed, then praised Viennes for surviving the blast.
• Viennes explained that the attack had activated a Night Demon lineage skill planted in advance and could not have harmed her because its curse could not pierce the Night Demon’s defenses.
• The Night Demon worried that Aleister might think it would use the skill against her, and Aleister reassured and soothed it.

Aleister and the Mirror Demon discussed who had attacked Alphons and why, concluding that the blast was probably not an assassination attempt but a deliberate gesture from someone who knew the Night Demon was protecting Aleister. Aleister left the encounter suspecting the explosion was a peculiar welcome gift.

• The Mirror Demon reappeared through the shattered mirror fragments and apologized to Aleister, then resumed flattering her.
• Aleister and the Mirror Demon debated whether Anna Kingsford or the Night Demon had attacked Alphons, and the Mirror Demon argued Kingsford was unlikely to have used the Kiss of Betrayal.
• Aleister reasoned that the attack made little sense as an attempt to silence Alphons or frame someone, since it only strengthened suspicions about Kingsford.
• Aleister pointed out that the explosion had caused little damage because the Night Demon absorbed its force, suggesting the attacker knew she was guarding Aleister.
• Aleister concluded that the blast was more likely a deliberate test or a gift than an assassination attempt.

Aleister concluded that Anna Kingsford and the Ring Angel were behind the Ouroboros Ring conspiracy and the attack on her. After containing the blast site, she planned to keep Alphons from reviving normally and fuse his remains with ritual materials to turn him into an ally.

• Aleister traced the links among Kingsford, James Moriarty, Jacob, and the Ouroboros Ring, and suspected Kingsford had arranged the conspiracy with the Ring Angel.
• The Nightmare Demon warned that police were delayed, and Aleister sealed the ruined house inside an invisible barrier.
• Aleister told Viennes to gather ashes bearing traces of the Path of Love, explaining that Alphons could revive if the remains were not purified.
• Aleister refused to destroy Alphons completely and decided to search the basement for materials to fuse with his remains.

Police officers stationed outside Piloty Manor debated why they could not intervene in the attack on Alphons von Piloty, while Jack recounted how goblin merchants’ canceled orders had ruined his family and town. Their conversation ended with doubts about Star Antimony’s rulers and a hope that the human Pope would not let the country collapse.

• Liz questioned why the police were waiting outside Piloty Manor, and her senior explained they could not act without orders amid a possible conflict involving the Red Chancellor and the society.
• Jack described how goblin merchants canceled contracts for his family’s brick factory, leaving it bankrupt and leading to his father’s murder and his brother’s suicide.
• The officers discussed the poverty and human trafficking spreading through Star Antimony, with some defending Earl Leipzig for paying more to clear poor people’s debts.
• A young policeman asked why Star Antimony did not take over goblin banks, but the officers could offer no clear answer.
• The oldest officer said he believed the Church would not abandon Star Antimony because the Pope was human and merciful.

Aleister discovered a sealed ritual site beneath Alphons’s basement and found a contaminated relic Iver had sought: Offer Mercy’s Eye. The chapter ended with the relic’s effects revealed after Aleister freed it from its crystal orb.

• Aleister descended into the destroyed basement, where she found Alphons’s Blood Slaves dead from the explosion.
• Aleister recognized the protected metal door’s seal as similar to one she had encountered before and opened it with her mana and the word “Rebirth.”
• Aleister entered an intact ritual site and discovered two eyeballs trapped inside a damaged crystal orb, which stirred an intense desire in her.
• Aleister smashed the orb and freed the eyeballs, revealing that the liquid inside had been contaminated liquor.
• Aleister touched one eyeball and identified it as the contaminated Offer Mercy’s Eye, part of Sister Sasha’s Holy Banquet set that Iver wanted.

Aleister traced the Foul Blood Angel ritual to Sister Sasha’s remains and realized the sealed liver might also belong to her. She considered using Iver’s authority to create a Pure Blood Angel, then resolved to make herself the material instead.

• Aleister recognized that Sister Sasha’s contaminated eyes had drawn Children of the Moon into obsessive fascination, explaining the Perfect Being Embryo’s attack on Iver’s lower back.
• Aleister connected the Sasha Set and the Narcissus Territory instance to Lucia Tepes and inferred that the Foul Blood Angel ritual used Sister Sasha’s corpse as its material.
• Aleister concluded that the ritual’s creators had fused with Sister Sasha’s remains to steal the Blood Angel’s power through their symbolic bloodline connection.
• Aleister suspected that the sealed, still-vibrant liver belonged to Sister Sasha and decided to break its seal.
• Aleister considered creating a Pure Blood Angel with Iver’s help, then declared that she herself was the most suitable Child of the Moon to use as material, as Little Crow sensed her Jealousy imprint.

Aleister realized that her newly awakened Child of the Moon instincts and overlapping Paths had made her want to preserve her own existence alongside Iver. She decided to collect the complete Sister Sasha Set and consider using Isabel’s stored soul to help achieve that, then left after cleaning up the ritual site and tending to the dead girls.

• Aleister calmed down after losing control and recognized that touching Sister Sasha’s corpse had awakened her Child of the Moon trait and the Path of Love.
• Aleister considered preserving part of her consciousness through fusion with Iver and realized Isabel might still carry a portion of Iver’s soul that could help.
• Aleister decided she would collect the complete Sister Sasha Set, while the Night Demon felt a strange jealousy toward her master.
• Aleister put away the polluted Offer Mercy's Eye, destroyed the remaining ritual traces, and covered and cleaned the dead girls before leaving.

Aleister learned of Stibnite’s suffering and received Iver’s approval to use the Church’s power to help its civilians. When she touched the mysterious liver from Earl Dawn’s crystal orb, its power stirred a worldwide drunken frenzy, and Iver announced the birth of a Banquet Angel.

• Aleister used Wind Listening to overhear the Stibnite officers’ callous response to starving civilians, then sent the memories to Iver.
• Iver ordered Aleister to help Stibnite’s civilians and said she could use the Nine Pillars God Church’s resources.
• Aleister returned to Prince Siya Erduo’s residence and planned to prepare an action report and investigate the Church’s response to the crisis.
• Aleister opened Earl Dawn’s crystal orb and touched the liver inside, releasing a powerful force of the Path of Love that made her collapse into sleep.
• Iver briefly lost control when he sensed the force, causing a blackout in the Theocracy, while drinkers around the world fell into a drunken frenzy.
• Iver sent the Cardinal Bishops a Holy Word announcing that the Banquet Lord had ascended and the Banquet Angel had been born.

The king of Stibium judged Si Yardo unfit to inherit the throne and discussed the mysterious Aleister with Jester Laro. He concluded that Aleister had disrupted Pengbo Naqi’s plan to use Dionysus’s hidden liver, and ordered Laro to spread word of her appearance to the Rosy Cross Society.

• The chapter explained that Stibium’s throne could pass to anyone recognized by the Red Chancellor and Black Chancellor, leaving Si Yardo under pressure to prove himself worthy.
• The old king asked Jester Laro what he thought of Si Yardo, and Laro described him as weak and untalented in alchemy but compassionate enough to become a good king.
• The old king decided Si Yardo was a mediocrity and considered whether the mysterious Aleister was connected to the Pope Your Majesty’s glove.
• The old king ordered Laro to tell the Rosy Cross Society that Aleister had appeared in Leipzig, hoping to observe their reaction.
• The old king suspected Lady Kingsford had helped Aleister learn that Earl Dawn possessed Dionysus’s hidden liver and had thwarted Pengbo Naqi’s attempt to use it to complete the Banquetor’s ascension.

Valentine VII revealed to Jester Laro his plan to provoke a disaster in Stibnite, kill Louise, and awaken with her in new bodies to rebuild the kingdom. He left Laro instructions to hold the King Selection Ritual if he failed and choose an outstanding Balancer as Valentine VIII.

• Jester Laro mocked Lucian as a possible heir, but Valentine VII said he had never considered him.
• Valentine VII ordered Laro to inflame the conflict between the Academy, the Red Fort, and the Association, saying Stibnite needed a disaster.
• Valentine VII explained that he planned to kill Louise and awaken with her, then purge the factions of Transcendence and Love and rebuild Stibnite under Balance.
• Laro asked what to do if Valentine VII failed to awaken, and the King told him to preside over the King Selection Ritual and choose an outstanding Balancer.
• Laro suggested Lady Freya as a possible heir, but Valentine VII rejected her and declared that Valentine VIII should lead Stibnite to greatness again.

Aleister met Isabel in Morgan's Funhouse and explained why she had avoided her, believing herself to be a temporary illusion who should not become Iver's replacement in Isabel's heart. Isabel sensed Aleister's loneliness and panic, then began telling her how she had come to love Iver.

• Aleister awoke in Morgan's Funhouse and found Isabel waiting for her after many nights apart.
• Aleister told Isabel she was Aleister Crowley, not Iver, and proposed keeping their meetings infrequent and focused on important matters.
• Isabel embraced Aleister and recognized her fear of becoming attached and causing grief when she disappeared.
• Isabel asked Aleister to hear the story of how she came to love Iver, beginning with her memories of his calm and godlike bearing.