Recaps

Iver and his companions endured a wave of Death Qi that swept over Eagle Cape Village and left the village sealed in amber-like stillness. After discovering that the ground had solidified, Iver decided to replenish his mana before investigating the swamp and the Giant Prince’s fate.

• The ground beneath Eagle Cape Village trembled, and a vast tide of Death Qi swept in from the horizon.
• Iver used Holy Radiance and Hai Na’s holy sword to shield himself, Hai Na, and Lily until the Death Qi faded.
• Hai Na discovered that a dusky yellow shell had frozen the village, and Iver found that suspended rain melted when touched.
• Iver had Hai Na punch the solidified ground, then healed her injured fingers with the Illumination Spell.
• Iver suspected the phenomenon might be connected to the Giant Prince or the amber’s power, so he took a candle to pray and recover his mana before investigating.

Iver learned that Wolfram sought the Book of Law and resolved to claim it himself. At the dried swamp, Merlin restrained Wolfram and confronted Ye Zhi, who revealed how Jacob had brought him into the Golden Dawn and how he had led Jacob to Eagle Cape Village.

• Iver reasoned that the Giant Prince had learned about the Book of Law from the Eye Demon and decided to take it, even if he had to confront the Grand Wizard.
• Wolfram remained bound by Merlin’s magic as he recognized the purple radiance beneath the dried swamp as the Book of Law.
• Merlin questioned Ye Zhi after binding him, and Ye Zhi said he had come on his master’s orders to keep people away from the swamp.
• Ye Zhi explained that Jacob had introduced him to the Golden Dawn, where he gained supernatural knowledge through Mathers’s Grimoire.
• Ye Zhi revealed that he had brought Jacob to Eagle Cape Village, a hidden village near Bagpipe Town.

Iver rescued Sherlock from a shelter built to escape the Twilight Wind and learned that the village-wide solidification was caused by a vast Fifth Level ritual connected to his grandfather, Jacob. The group met Merlin and Ye Zhi, whom Iver recognized as the elf werewolf Dark Cloud, while the strange purple Fairy Hole drew Iver’s attention.

• Iver found Sherlock trapped beneath an amber-crystal grate and freed him with the Red Hilt Sword, which absorbed the crystal’s power.
• Sherlock identified the solidification as a large-scale Fifth Level ritual rather than a curse from the Amber God, leading Iver to suspect it was connected to Jacob and decide to investigate.
• Merlin released the giant wolf, who transformed into Ye Zhi, and Iver, Sherlock, Lily, and Hai Na arrived to meet them.
• The swamp vanished and left a purple-lit Fairy Hole; Iver felt a familiar connection to it while Lily recognized Ye Zhi as a werewolf.
• Iver questioned Ye Zhi about his presence in Avalon and bluffed that Bishop Mathers had mentioned him, recognizing him as the distinctive elf werewolf known as Dark Cloud.

Iver recognized that Merlin was hiding knowledge about the older generation and the Sacred Entity, then learned that Merlin had identified him as one. The chapter ended with Merlin revealing that the glowing gem in the pit was the remains of a young Dream Demon named Daya.

• Iver pieced together clues linking Merlin, Ye Zhi, Vivian, Jacob, Mathers, and others to a shared past and future.
• Iver asked Merlin to let him kill the Giant Prince, and Merlin agreed, saying he had saved the giant for him as a gift and payment for his information.
• Merlin said Iver no longer needed to hide his secret because Jacob’s seal had opened for him, and explained that a Sacred Entity grew stronger by defeating powerful opponents.
• Iver, Merlin, and Sherlock looked into the purple-lit pit and saw a glowing gem that Merlin identified as the remains of a newly hatched Dream Demon: Daya.

Iver awakened the Book of Law through the Dream Demon crystal and received a vision of a mysterious Sacred Entity tied to Jacob. The Book of Law revealed itself as a growth-type weapon, while its pages contained only half of each ritual, leaving Iver with more questions about its missing card slot.

• Iver connected with the purple gem, saw a vision of Jacob worshipping a mysterious Sacred Entity, and heard its message about the Ouroboros Ring.
• Iver awoke with knowledge of the Ouroboros Ring ritual and realized the Dream Demon crystal had been consumed to create the vision.
• A book called the Book of Law appeared, and Iver recognized that Merlin and Sherlock were the people beside him as Ms. Mina had predicted.
• Iver touched the book and saw that it was a growth-type weapon whose Great Sin Grimoire module could log Phantom Demon Cards and improve his spell range.
• Iver questioned why the Grimoire had only twenty-one slots instead of twenty-two, then found that every ritual in the book was missing its crucial half.

Iver discovered that his grandfather’s Book of Law was a powerful grimoire that expanded his card abilities and contained ritual knowledge. After adding five cards, it completed part of an Undead Resurrection ritual, and Iver hoped to unlock the book’s remaining effects before traveling to the Theocracy.

• Iver identified the Book of Law’s first effect as card burning and found that it increased his casting range to sixty meters.
• Iver told Sherlock that the book was his exclusive weapon and summoned five cards into it.
• The Book of Law absorbed the cards, reached a count of 5/21, and gained one daily card burn from the Paradox Flame Butterfly.
• Iver discovered that the book had completed the second half of the Undead Resurrection ritual and supplied more than twenty ritual spells.
• Iver became curious about the book’s three locked affixes and expected to collect seven cards before heading to the Theocracy.

Merlin asked Iver whether he had seen the Sacred Entity, and Iver used the question to explain his mysterious knowledge as memories of a prophetic encounter. A fragment of the Entity’s words led Iver to realize that, in the original timeline, he had obtained the grimoire before discovering the Great Sin Scholar and Great Beast Master classes.

• Merlin examined the grimoire and asked Iver whether he had seen the Sacred Entity in the Dream Demon’s remains.
• Iver told Merlin that he had seen his grandfather receive rituals and future knowledge from a mysterious entity.
• Iver repeated the Entity’s words about the Great Beast’s Sacrificer and suddenly understood their meaning.
• Iver deduced that the original Iver had gained the grimoire before obtaining the Great Sin Scholar and Great Beast Master classes.
• Iver realized that the grimoire’s cause and effect had been reversed: he had obtained the book first, then gained the classes.

Iver connected his origins and powers to Jacob, the Sacred Entity, and the Ring Angel, concluding that he might be a fragment of the Ring Angel. He resolved to pursue the Pillar God position and reclaim the Path of Metamorphosis.

• Iver realized Jacob’s ritual could explain his ability to create cards and his early craving for demonic knowledge.
• Iver recalled that Jacob had summoned the Sacred Entity, which may have created Iver from one of its fragments.
• Iver reasoned that he and the player might be separate parts of the same entity, and guessed that the player was a fragment of the Ring Angel.
• Iver understood the Sacred Entity’s words about the numbers 9, 8, and 1 as references to Transcendence, the Ouroboros Ring, and desire.
• Iver accused the Ring Angel of intending to use him to disrupt the world’s balance and resolved to ascend as a Pillar God and reclaim the Path of Metamorphosis.

After realizing the Ring Angel’s plans, Iver secured Merlin’s support and prepared to use the Book of Law’s ritual on Giant Prince Wolfram. The chapter ended with Wolfram hanging upside down as Iver began a ritual meant to destroy his body and soul.

• Merlin inferred that Iver had uncovered a connection to the Ring Angel and offered him support, which Iver accepted.
• Merlin concluded that the Ring Angel sought to claim the position of a Pillar God, but chose not to side with either Him or the Serpent Father.
• Iver explained how Wolfram and Cassiem had missed their chances to gain the Book of Law’s recognition through their choices of advancement.
• Iver opened the Book of Law to the Hanged Man ritual and asked Merlin to suspend Wolfram upside down.
• Iver prepared to use the ritual to kill Wolfram’s body and soul, fearing he might otherwise return as Bear Angel’s apostle.

Iver used Odin’s Trial to force Wolfram to choose between death and a dangerous chance to gain wisdom, but Wolfram failed and was erased. Merlin confirmed that the Eagle Cape Village would recover by morning, then departed after hinting that he had witnessed the contract binding the people of Beheading Valley.

• Iver explained Odin’s Trial and offered Wolfram the chance to undergo it, with Merlin confirming that the ritual was real.
• Wolfram blinked to accept the trial, and Iver began the ritual using the Book of Law and Sherlock’s mana.
• The Great Sage’s power flooded Wolfram with knowledge, but he resisted the ritual and was erased after only two minutes.
• Iver gained Free Experience from Wolfram’s death and confirmed that Merlin could not see the motes of light.
• Merlin assured Iver that Eagle Cape Village would return to normal by morning, then told Hai Na he had witnessed the contract binding the people of Beheading Valley and vanished.

Iver confronted Ye Zhi about his ties to Vivian and asked him to teach Lily the Deceiver’s skills. Ye Zhi began testing Lily’s bloodthirsty nature, and Iver invited her to bite him.

• Iver deduced that Vivian Mathers was Lady of the Lake Vivian and that Ye Zhi sought a more active position in their relationship.
• Ye Zhi revealed that he was a Deceiver and explained that his lies ultimately had to deceive himself.
• Iver asked Ye Zhi to teach Lily, the Gray Angel’s successor, the skills of a Deceiver.
• Ye Zhi warned Iver about the madness of the Path of Love, but Iver said he trusted Lily.
• Ye Zhi transformed into a monstrous werewolf and told Lily to show her bloodthirsty form.
• Lily placed a hand on Iver’s shoulder, and Iver invited her to suck his blood.

Iver and Lily left Eagle Cape Village by train while Sherlock stayed behind to have a custom staff made. During the journey, Iver indulged the Shadow Fiend with his blood after transforming into No. 14.

• Hai Na and Sherlock saw Iver and Lily off at the train station, while Sherlock remained in the village to work with the Magnetic Hammer Master on his staff.
• Iver settled into the First Class Cabin with Lily and reflected on the Isolde’s Tears necklace Isabel had lent him.
• The Shadow Fiend complained that Iver was wasting his blood, and Iver teased it by offering blood without the power of the Shepherding Method.
• Iver transformed into No. 14 and let Miss Bayard lick his ordinary blood before ordering the Shadow Fiend to become a dog.
• No. 14 formed a holy Blood Pool from her blood and let the Shadow Fiend drink it as a gift of mercy.

On the train, Iver discovered a more effective way to Shepherd the Phantom Demon and learned that she had gained the Great Sin Imprint of Jealousy. He returned to Glass Island with Lily and arrived at Moriarty Manor, where he greeted the old gardener.

• Iver Shepherded the Phantom Demon by biting through his wrist and found that the method strengthened her more effectively than using the Ritual Knife.
• The Phantom Demon told Iver that her Promotion Ritual had restored a Great Sin Imprint, but that it was Jealousy rather than Wrath.
• Iver learned that the Phantom Demon was close to the Sixth Level and decided to devote more resources to her and prepare for her evolution and sealing.
• Iver and Lily arrived at Glass Island without anyone there to meet them and returned to Moriarty Manor in the White Queen District.
• Iver greeted the old gardener, Professor Sorenson, as he and Lily walked up to the manor.

Iver returned to the Moriarty residence and met Captain Camus, who brought classified intelligence about Aleister. The revelation that Aleister might be a Stibnite spy left Iver stunned.

• Old Juan told Iver that Edward was home with a young naval officer who seemed to be his friend.
• Iver learned that Yulia was studying alchemy at the Silver and Tin Palace and suggested that she and Mary stay there with Isabel.
• Iver entered the living room and found Edward speaking with Captain Camus beneath the magic painting Golden Dawn.
• After Lily left to protect the confidential discussion, Camus admitted he had lost an intercepted intelligence letter.
• Camus told Iver that Iris's spies in Stibnite had reported Aleister, Avalon’s Royal Agent, was actually a Stibnite spy.

Iver learned that Stibium intelligence identified the nonexistent Aleister as Aleister Crowley, a spy assigned to monitor Chloe in Iris, and the Inspectorate considered the account credible. The chapter left Iver stunned that the fabricated identity’s supposed history matched real events, including Chloe’s apparent return to the Hawkeye Organization.

• Iver questioned whether the intelligence about Aleister was trustworthy, and Edward said the Inspectorate had verified it and found that all Avalonian records of her were false.
• Captain Camus and Edward described Aleister Crowley as a Stibium demon scholar and spy from a trusted family who had been sent to Iris to watch Chloe.
• Edward explained that Chloe had gone to Avalon for the Hawkeye Organization’s Bleeding Action and that Iris had paid a huge political and economic price to protect her reputation.
• Edward said the Iris response suggested that Aleister had returned Chloe to the Hawkeye Organization, and Iver wondered how that could have happened.
• Iver realized that nearly every detail in the fabricated account matched reality despite Aleister herself never having existed.

Iver learned that a missing letter could expose Aleister as a Stibnite spy and threaten his appointment as Minister of Everything. He volunteered to help Captain Camus recover it, preparing to use the scheme against his political enemies.

• Edward told Iver that an Iris spy's letter identifying Aleister as a Stibnite spy had disappeared from Captain Camus's possession.
• Iver suspected Earl Leipzig had arranged the scheme to undermine Iris's Hawkeye Organization and weaken Iver's position.
• Iver realized that the Round Table Hall could use the letter to drive Aleister out and challenge the Moriarty Family.
• Iver offered to help Captain Camus retrieve the letter while Edward agreed to let him investigate.

Queen Sofia recognized the missing-letter crisis as an opportunity to draw her political opponents into a premature attack on Iver, hoping his response would strengthen his position before she died. Iver returned to the palace and, after telling Isabel about his journey, heard her ask whether his Path alignment had noticeably deviated.

• Ligeia asked why Sofia would not reveal that Miss Aleister was Lily Drost, and Yanis explained that keeping Minister Drost officially alive preserved leverage for Iver.
• Sofia recalled her earlier plan to use weakness as bait and decided the crisis could expose her opponents’ flaws and let Iver retaliate.
• Ligeia offered to warn Iver, but Yanis said he had already returned and was speaking with Isabel.
• Iver postponed investigating the missing letter until the next morning and went to the palace to see Isabel.
• After hearing about Iver’s journey, Isabel worried that his Path alignment had noticeably deviated.

Isabel noticed that Iver’s Path of Transcendence had become dangerously dominant and took him to Queen Sofia’s bedchamber to consult Ligeia. Sofia gave Iver a handmade sweater, and as he accepted her affection, the imbalance in his soul began to recede.

• Isabel saw that Iver’s soul was overwhelmingly purple and warned him that his Path of Transcendence might be unbalanced.
• Iver realized his recent indulgence of Lily and his unusual treatment of the shadow demon might have been caused by the Path of Transcendence’s influence after contact with a Sacred Entity.
• Isabel pulled Iver to Queen Sofia’s bedchamber to seek Ligeia’s advice, and Iver noticed that Sofia’s health was near its end.
• Iver picked up Sofia’s knitting and learned that she had finished a handmade sweater for him, which moved him deeply.
• Ligeia watched Iver’s eyes as the purple glow in his soul visibly shrank and his purple and red aspects returned toward balance.

Isabel watched Iver share a warm, quiet visit with Queen Sofia, whose energy briefly seemed restored. After Sofia went to sleep, Iver realized her vitality was nearly gone, while he and Isabel were left wondering why she had summoned them and said nothing about what lay ahead.

• Isabel reflected on Iver’s lonely past and noticed how relaxed he seemed while keeping Queen Sofia company.
• Iver and Isabel stayed with Sofia for nearly two hours as she chatted, ate a meal, and then went to bed.
• Iver used his holy vision and sensed that Sofia’s vitality was exhausted and that ordinary treatment could not sustain her.
• Yanis led Iver and Isabel to the study, where Ligeia spoke about Sofia’s habit of quietly shaping Avalon to her wishes.
• Iver recalled how Sofia’s sweater had made him want to preserve Avalon, but Sofia fell asleep without making him any request.

After Queen Sofia fell unconscious, Iver rejected a gentler response to the plot against him and explained his plan to Ligeia and the others. Reflecting on Sofia’s kindness, he understood more deeply the Path of Dedication and the love that had helped steady him.

• Yanis wondered whether Sofia had spent her final clear moments chatting with Iver because she felt sorry for him.
• Iver refused to go easy on those targeting him and asked Ligeia to help purge them and change Avalon.
• Iver outlined a plan to expose the supposed Miss Aleister as having colluded with the knights by producing evidence that he could verify himself.
• Iver recalled considering a takeover that would let him control Avalon, but rejected it because it would betray Sofia and amount to stealing the country.
• Iver realized that his Path of Transcendence had briefly pushed him toward extreme thoughts, while Sofia’s kindness helped him regain balance.
• Iver understood that the Path of Dedication required accepting love as well as giving it, and saw Sofia’s warmth as a gift he had never received before.

Iver investigated the disappearance of Captain Camus's confidential documents and letter, questioning Camus and his wife and examining the study. After learning that the documents vanished while Camus was alone and that Lord Shelton had ordered the letter copied, Iver offered to try a ritual.

• Iver met Captain Camus at Moriarty Manor and accompanied him to his home to investigate the missing letter.
• Iver questioned Mrs. Camus, who confirmed that she had traveled to Bagpipe Town with Vivian and Maya Mathers.
• Iver inspected Camus's study and learned that the letter, confidential documents, identification, pistol, wallet, and other desk items had all disappeared.
• Camus said he had left the study briefly to prepare tea and snacks, but had seen nobody enter or leave the house during that time.
• Iver learned that Lord Shelton had ordered Camus to copy the letter, though Camus had not yet opened his case or made the copy.
• After Camus said he had avoided rituals to preserve the clues, Iver offered to try one himself.

Iver recognized that the Minister of the Navy was behind the effort to undermine him and used the Centipede's Gait ritual to fabricate a divinatory trail. He told Captain Camus that the letter was with the Minister, who seemed familiar with Miss Aleister.

• Iver deduced that the knightly lords of the Path of Authority were manipulating events to discredit him and the Sofia Policy.
• Iver prepared ritual materials in Captain Camus's study and performed the Centipede's Gait ritual, which hid his true movements from prophecy and divination.
• Iver wove a false account in which Aleister attacked and abducted him after he left Captain Camus's study.
• Iver told Captain Camus that he had found the letter with the Minister of the Navy, who seemed familiar with Miss Aleister.

Iver revealed that the Minister of the Navy had framed Captain Camus and used the Silver Crowned Dragon’s acknowledgment to rally him against the oathbreakers. He left Camus ready to fight and planned to be taken to the Minister’s residence so Ligeia could rescue him and remind the conspirators that Meg was still present.

• Iver explained that Camus had been framed because of his habit of taking documents home, while warning that divination could not serve as courtroom evidence.
• Camus worried that the letter could be destroyed, but Iver challenged him to fight for the Queen and justice rather than surrender.
• Iver showed Camus the Silver Scale, and Camus swore under the Crown Lord’s gaze to fight the oathbreakers.
• Iver promised to recommend Camus for a vacant ministerial position if he fought bravely, and Camus pledged to give his all for the Queen.
• Iver concluded that the ministers had acted before Sofia’s funeral because they believed Meg was dead and Isabel could not punish them through the Path of Authority.
• Iver planned to let Aleister take him to the Minister of the Navy’s residence, where Ligeia would rescue him and make the conspirators remember Meg.

Minister of the Navy Dewis Ramos weighed his past dealings with the Stibnite People and the danger of being exposed after Charles Drost’s arrest. He considered abandoning his allies and giving Iver Moriarty their intelligence, but remained uneasy about what would happen next.

• Dewis Ramos told Sheldon that he regretted looking down on Tommy and Charles Drost, and explained that he had kept Charles’s recruitment attempt secret as a way to change sides if needed.
• Dewis reasoned that Charles’s capture and cooperation had forced the Stibnite People to improve their diplomacy and might expose their intelligence network, putting Dewis and other collaborators at risk.
• Dewis explained that he could neither safely surrender power nor let another general take over the Navy, since he feared the Ramos Family would lose its military influence.
• Dewis said the ministers planned to publish evidence identifying Aleister as a Stibnite spy during the mourning period to weaken Iver Moriarty, but he doubted the plan would stop Iver.
• Dewis proposed giving Iver the intelligence directly while keeping one copy and betraying the other ministers involved in the scheme, then asked Sheldon what he thought.

Minister Ramos considered destroying evidence of his dealings with Stibnite, but Aleister confronted him and exposed his plans before reporters and the Grand Arbitrator. Ligeia’s scepter confirmed Aleister’s claims as true, leaving Ramos unable to deny his betrayal.

• Minister Ramos decided it was too late to betray his allies and agreed to see their plan through after Sheldon advised him to destroy the evidence.
• Aleister appeared in the garden, revealed she had Minister Moriarty’s blood, and gave Ramos a bloodstained letter.
• Ligeia arrived with the Silver Scepter and used its authority to silence Ramos while reporters gathered.
• Court Ritualist Ibn declared that the ritual had tracked the culprit who attacked Minister Moriarty to the garden and that Iver had disappeared there.
• Aleister claimed responsibility for attacking and abducting Iver, declared herself an Imperial noble, and asked Ligeia to judge her statements.
• Ligeia declared Aleister’s words true, and Minister Ramos lowered his head in resignation.