Chapter Summaries

As the Spirit Tower’s necromancers evacuated in bone-built buses, Adolf von Menzel stayed behind and freed Prince Heinrich from the ice. Adolf threatened to revive the Child of the Moon and feed him demons, leaving Heinrich trembling as Adolf reflected on their relationship.

• The Spirit Tower’s students boarded animated bone buses that smashed through demons on the way to the port.
• Adolf walked alone through the deserted Spirit Tower and decided to create a final work that would preserve his name in history.
• Adolf freed Prince Heinrich, whom he had frozen and left behind.
• Heinrich demanded to know what Adolf intended and threatened him with the Child of the Moon’s wrath.
• Adolf said he wanted to revive the Child of the Moon and feed him demons, frightening Heinrich.

After the demons withdrew from Styrbourn’s streets, Fallen Angel consolidated control of the city while Louise’s surrender disrupted the Children of the Moon’s plans to prey on demons. The chapter ended with Fallen Angel ordering the demons to hunt down the fleeing Children of the Moon.

• The demons withdrew from Styrbourn’s streets, while Greater Demons occupied the royal palace and nobles’ residences and dealt with the nobles according to whether they surrendered.
• Queen Louise pledged allegiance to Fallen Angel and became a succubus, causing the Red Fort’s forces to collapse.
• The Children of the Moon considered fighting the demons and advancing by eating them, but Louise’s surrender undermined their plans.
• The fleeing Children of the Moon vowed to eat Louise, and she reported their demon-eating ability to Fallen Angel the next day.
• Fallen Angel ordered the demons to hunt the Children of the Moon at night and kill them all, refusing to intervene personally.

The demons used holy-water weapons and war machines to wipe out the Children of the Moon in Stibnite while the Fallen Angel gradually conditioned the remaining population to accept demonic rule. After he destroyed a refugee convoy to halt the evacuations, Iver returned to Avalon to begin arming the Griffin Legion.

• The demons used captured holy water, blessed bullets, and war machines to kill nearly all the Children of the Moon in Stibnite, leaving only those who had defected with Louise.
• The Fallen Angel exploited the end of the campaign and the killing of public resisters to make Stibnite’s residents adapt to demonic rule.
• Iver called on other nations to shelter Stibnite refugees, and the Theocracy, Narcissus, Iris, the Goblin Merchant Guild, the Southern Continent’s troll tribes, and the Black Eagle Principality agreed to help.
• The Fallen Angel attacked the Black Eagle Principality’s second refugee convoy and burned the ships and buses, warning that he would destroy any further rescue efforts.
• On April 25, the eighteenth day after the Fallen Angel’s descent, Iver returned to Avalon after completing his preparations in the Theocracy to try to arm the Griffin Legion.

Iver returned to Avalon openly, where Queen Isabel and the people welcomed him with great excitement. After briefly sensing the crowd’s prayers, Iver reunited with Isabel in a public embrace and kiss.

• Iver’s Elven warship arrived at Glass Island, where the Griffin Legion and reporters had gathered to receive him.
• Queen Isabel arrived in her carriage and stepped out in a ceremonial gown to welcome the distinguished guest.
• Iver emerged from the warship wearing his Cardinal Bishop’s robes and the antlers of the great Candlebearer, prompting the crowd to celebrate his return.
• As Iver walked toward Isabel, the crowd’s voices briefly sounded like prayers to him before the sensation disappeared.
• Isabel rushed into Iver’s arms, and they kissed as he told her he was back and thanked her for working hard.

After returning to Avalon, Iver reunited with the pregnant Isabel and then explained to Ligeia how his new armor could transform the Griffin Legion into a force against demons. He named the revived elite formation the Holy Griffin Knight Order.

• Iver returned to the Silver and Tin Palace and reunited with Isabel, who had spent two months missing him while pregnant.
• Ligeia entered their bedroom and asked Iver about the equipment he had brought back on his ship.
• Iver explained that griffins’ lightning could critically damage demons, but the griffins needed protection from demonic attacks.
• Iver described how consecrated Holy Griffin Armor would resist curses, reduce profane damage, and provide healing and warding abilities.
• Iver declared that the armored griffins would become the Holy Griffin Knight Order.

Iver found Yulia absorbed in building a machine and learned she wanted strength to protect herself and help him. Yulia revealed she was pursuing the Trailblazer class through a world-changing invention: an improved Difference Engine.

• Isabel told Iver that Yulia had secluded herself for half a month to work on an experiment, so he went to check on her.
• Iver found Yulia in an expanded room beside a large brass machine, and he comforted her and restored some of her energy.
• Yulia asked Iver to give her Lily's ability and explained that the war over Antimony had convinced her she needed strength of her own.
• Yulia said she wanted to advance as a Trailblazer so she could genuinely help Iver, despite the difficulty of the path.
• Yulia showed Iver a Difference Engine built from Mr. Babbage's discarded manuscripts and said she planned to modify and optimize it.

Iver learned that Yulia had rebuilt Charles Babbage’s abandoned Difference Engine and was optimizing it into a more powerful machine. Yulia described plans to use electricity and binary input, while Iver realized her invention could make her a Trailblazer and wondered whether his grandfather Jacob had been involved in Babbage’s death.

• Iver recalled how Avalon’s first alchemist, Charles Babbage, had developed a mechanical Difference Engine before dying under mysterious circumstances and leaving his work unfinished.
• Yulia explained that she had discovered Stibnite’s Automatic Tabulating Machines relied on magic, unlike Babbage’s purely mechanical blueprints, and had taken it upon herself to complete his work.
• Yulia demonstrated her metal-transmutation skills and said she had used Babbage’s Analytical Engine principles to improve the machine.
• Iver suspected that the Ring Angel had controlled alchemical development and considered that Jacob might have killed Babbage as a member of the Scaleless Hand.
• Yulia described using electricity and binary signals to improve the machine’s input and said she hoped it could eventually calculate answers to all problems through the Equilibrium Path.

Yulia’s calculating machine led Iver to explain why humans alone could invent a demystified device that might transform civilization, and he predicted that Yulia could become a Trailblazer and even an angel. As Yulia embraced the possibilities inspired by his vision, Iver questioned whether he was merely a tool, and she challenged his fixation on what was real.

• Iver told Yulia that her Analytical Engine could become a quantum leap for the era because only humans, with their balanced adaptability and lack of racial Extraordinary Abilities, could conceive of a calculating device without magic.
• Iver predicted that Yulia’s invention could lead to cheap, portable computing and enable automation, wireless communication, remote shopping, and delivery.
• Yulia embraced Iver, called him a genius, and began considering ways to apply magic and banking systems to make some of his ideas possible sooner.
• Iver dismissed his insight as knowledge borrowed from another world and wondered whether he was a tool whose apparent resistance had already been planned.
• Yulia told Iver that his words were real and meaningful to her regardless of their source, then asked why he seemed to pursue reality so intensely.

Iver asked Yulia how she would regard him if memories from another world had shaped who he was. Her reassurance helped him accept that he was Iver through the bonds he shared with others, and Yulia embraced him.

• Iver realized that his fear of revealing his otherworldly memories came from worrying that Yulia and Isabel might no longer see him as themselves.
• Iver asked Yulia how she would see him if he had memories from another world that let him foresee the future.
• Yulia said she had recognized his powers came from those memories and reassured him that she would always know him as her Big Brother.
• Yulia revealed that she also hid parts of herself, and Iver understood that he would not mistake her for someone else when she showed them.
• Iver accepted that he was the Iver known and loved by Yulia, Isabel, Edward, Sherlock, Lily, and others.
• Yulia hugged Iver and told him she loved him as always.

Iver spoke with Yulia and Lia about their separate identities and Lia’s wish to use her sacrificial power. Yulia and Lia accepted each other as sisters, and Iver left to prepare a ritual while they talked.

• Iver considered Lia the only possible obstacle to Yulia moving forward, but Lia explained that she no longer saw herself as Yulia’s enemy.
• Lia told Iver she wanted him to use her Dedication Path power rather than keep her protected from sacrifice.
• Yulia said she understood Lia’s desire to be able to act, and the two touched wings and felt an unexpected closeness.
• Yulia asked Lia if she could call her by that name, and Lia agreed.
• Iver went to prepare the ritual and asked Yulia and Lia to talk about their experiences.

Iver performed the Essence Shepherding ritual for the Paradox Flame Butterfly, making Yulia its new shepherd and forging a powerful bond between them. After the ritual, Iver summoned the Shadow Demon and realized the Paradox Flame Butterfly had not disappeared from Yulia’s head.

• Iver prepared the ritual array and brewed blood-red sherry infused with ingredients suited to the Fire Attribute.
• Iver consumed the Paradox Flame Butterfly and endured its flames while Yulia acted as his believer and received his name written on her forehead.
• Yulia drank the flames and the white flower, and the Paradox Flame Butterfly emerged from a cocoon and settled in her hair.
• The ritual succeeded, connecting Iver and Yulia directly as god and believer, while Iver’s body regenerated with the Rebirth Flame.
• Iver asked Yulia about her new powers, then summoned the Shadow Demon and noticed the Paradox Flame Butterfly remained atop Yulia’s head.

Iver discovered that Paradox Flame Butterfly could manifest through Yulia while Night Demon was summoned, allowing both Great Sin Beasts to exist at once, though Lia’s durability and range were limited. He then fused Lia and Night Demon with the Gospel White Wings using Great Sin Redemption, greatly enhancing Lost Paradise and leaving him with a power resembling the Fallen Angel’s.

• Paradox Flame Butterfly manifested beside Yulia while Night Demon remained summoned, and Lia explained that her manifested form had reduced durability and could not stray far from Yulia.
• Yulia discovered she could shape her own flames into butterflies and other creatures, and Lia explained that the power had originally belonged to her.
• Iver called on Lia and Viennes to test Great Sin Redemption, and his white wings absorbed both Night Demon and the Paradox Flame Butterfly attached to Yulia.
• Great Sin Redemption enhanced Lost Paradise with a threefold increase to its power and range, and gave it the ability to reduce all-attribute resistance and dispel up to eight buffs.
• Iver realized his new ability could rival the Fallen Angel’s Lost Paradise, and wondered if he was becoming more like a boss.

Iver tested the Wind Attribute enhancement to Lost Paradise and devised a plan to defeat the Fallen Angel by wearing him down, luring him out of his Taurus armor, and striking decisively. He began considering allies for the battle, but was left wondering how to mobilize a legion of Children of the Moon.

• Iver discovered that the Wind Attribute enhancement granted Judgement Light, whose marks boosted damage and prevented targets from teleporting.
• Iver concluded that his traits and Gospel Wings could give him a chance to penetrate the Fallen Angel’s defenses while he was still at the Fifth Level.
• Iver planned to weaken the Fallen Angel and provoke him into removing his Taurus armor before using enhanced Lost Paradise for a decisive attack.
• Iver considered recruiting Ligeia, the Insect Amber Master, the First Black Prime Minister, Master Agnes, Zhu Tang, Mu, and available Cardinal Bishops, while noting the dangers and limits of the mission.
• Iver considered using the Land of Paradise Light to make an ideal battlefield for the Children of the Moon, but could not see how to mobilize enough of them.

Iver planned to rally the Children of the Moon against the Fallen Angel by promising them the benefits of a Perfect Being’s Land of Paradise, while overseeing military preparations and Yulia’s research in Avalon. After performing another Shepherding Ritual on Lily, Iver received a visit from Bishop Mathers.

• Iver decided not to enter Antimony to retrieve the item needed to resurrect Aleister because doing so could alert the Fallen Angel or prevent his return.
• Iver planned to send Pope Guards to Iris and the Narcissus Principality with news that the Theocracy could create a Perfect Being’s Land of Paradise for the Children of the Moon.
• Iver stayed in Avalon to supervise the Holy Griffin Armor fitting as Yulia moved her research team to the Royal Alchemy Factory.
• Iver performed another Shepherding Ritual on Lily, synchronizing the power bound by her shadow demon contract with her night demon contract and strengthening her abilities.
• Bishop Mathers visited Iver, who greeted him in surprise.

Iver reunited with Bishop Mathers, thanked him for his help, and offered him a role spreading the Lightbringer inheritance in Avalon. Mathers gave Iver the key to St. Genevieve Chapel, and Iver accepted it as a way to obtain the sealed Red Hilt Sword fragment and prepare for future battles beyond the war against the Fallen Angel.

• Bishop Mathers knelt before Iver and called him the Child of Candle Holder, but Iver helped him up and asked him to use his name.
• Iver offered Mathers the chance to study Advanced Divine Arts in the Theocracy and entrusted him with spreading the Lightbringer inheritance in Avalon.
• Mathers declined to leave Avalon, choosing to keep guarding the royal family's Holy Sepulcher and suggesting that his younger sister take the opportunity instead.
• Mathers handed Iver the key to St. Genevieve Chapel, hoping it could help in the coming war against the demons, and Iver accepted it.
• Iver recognized that the key held the sealed soul of a Nameless Round Table Knight and planned to summon Merlin to remove the seal and explain how to repair the sword.
• Iver resolved to gather more power because he expected the war against the Fallen Angel to be followed by further battles against descending Angels.

Iver summoned Merlin to remove the seal on the Red Hilt Sword, which he hoped to repair for the fight against the Fallen Angel. Merlin explained the sword’s power came from a fragment of the Beast Lord and warned that only pure love could restrain its beast nature.

• Iver used Merlin’s prayer and a ritual to summon Merlin, who appeared among the flowers.
• Merlin teased Iver about their relationship and mentioned he had been on his way to a date with a shepherdess.
• Iver asked Merlin to remove the seal on the Red Hilt Sword, and Merlin recognized the key and its purpose.
• Merlin warned Iver that the sword’s power could magnify evil desires and drive its wielder mad.
• Merlin explained that the sword’s ruby hilt held primordial power from the Beast Lord and that he had broken and imprisoned the weapon rather than simply sealing it.

Merlin revealed the Red Hilt Sword’s history and explained that the Sun Knight’s remnant soul had been moved into another holy sword. Iver learned that the soul was in Mordred’s former Clarent Sword and asked Merlin to undo the Red Hilt Sword’s seal.

• Iver asked Merlin about the holy knight’s remnant soul, and Merlin recounted how Balin drew the cursed sword and later fell to its curse.
• Merlin explained that he sealed the Red Hilt Sword, later used by Galahad, and that its power formed a balance with the Sun Knight.
• Iver connected the sword’s powers of light and fire to the shattered sun Tai Yi and asked how to awaken the Sun Knight.
• Merlin said the Red Hilt Sword could be unsealed but was broken, and revealed that he had placed the Sun Knight’s soul inside Mordred’s former Clarent Sword.
• Iver recognized the Clarent Sword’s location from Lord Red Moon’s information and told Merlin to undo the seal first.

Iver considered using Arondight to complete the incomplete Holy Sword, but chose not to destroy Hai Na’s treasured dagger and recalled that Clarent was the only Holy Sword that belonged entirely to him. Merlin unsealed the Red Hilt Sword, transforming it into a ruby weapon that revealed new powers and a cryptic message about sunset.

• Iver rejected using Hai Na’s Arondight as material because it was her precious childhood keepsake.
• Iver recalled how the Bayard Family had built its fortune through curses, deception, potions, and other extraordinary powers.
• Iver remembered that Clarent had been given to the Bayard Family in connection with a curse that made accomplished Moriartys forgotten by their living relatives until the seventh generation.
• Iver thought he should ask the Night Demon where the Bayard Family’s treasury was.
• At Iver’s request, Merlin unsealed the Red Hilt Sword, revealing a ruby weapon with Holy Sword modules and a message suggesting it could be heard at sunset.

Iver tested the transformed Short Spear as a powerful Light Sword and discussed the Bayard Family’s collateral with Viennes. After recalling Landon Viennes von Bayard, he decided to summon him to pay his respects the next morning.

• Iver channeled Light Attribute mana into the Short Spear, transformed it into a Light Sword, and tested its cutting power in the garden.
• Iver combined the weapon with an ice-forged blade and considered using it as a flexible greatsword despite its Curse Vulnerability.
• Iver asked Viennes about the Moriarty Family’s collateral, and Viennes explained how Curse Masters used collateral to maintain and monitor long-term curses.
• Viennes suggested that Landon Viennes von Bayard might know where the Bayard Family’s treasures were hidden.
• Iver remembered Landon and decided to summon him to pay his respects the next morning.

Landon Viennes von Bayard recalled surviving the demon attack on Asty, losing his family and home, and being rescued to Avalon by the Church. After the Pope summoned him, Landon feared it was because he had once tried to chat up Aleister Crowley, whom he had heard was the Pope’s lover.

• Landon remembered demons attacking Leipzig City while he was in a tavern, where he survived alongside Supernatural Beings who held the doors.
• Landon returned to his family home and found his father, a Fourth Level Curse Master, and nearly all the servants dead, while the house’s defenses and contents had been destroyed.
• Landon tried to care for the surviving maid and rebuild the defenses, but she fled, leaving him to hide alone beneath a bed for three days.
• The Church rescued Landon and other refugees from Asty and brought them safely to Avalon.
• Landon recalled Janet Platinumman telling him that Aleister Crowley seemed to be the lover of Eternal Pope Iver, who had ordered the Paladin Legion to rescue refugees.
• After the Pope summoned him, Landon worried that he would be punished for his past behavior and decided to kneel immediately when they met.