Chapter Summaries

Lake went to the Magic Dimension to claim Darley Dursley, then forced Harry Potter to choose between killing himself and letting Lake act. After Ron and an Auror died, Lake drove Mephisto back to Hell, leaving Harry’s choice unresolved.

• Lake appeared in the Magic Dimension’s assembly hall and demanded that the 63rd Generation Merlin hand over Darley Dursley.
• Lake seized Darley Dursley, threatened him and his family, then offered Harry Potter the choice of killing himself or being killed by Lake.
• When Ron spoke up, Lake threw Hermione into his Chaos Universe and shattered Ron, whose soul was swallowed by Hell.
• An Auror attacked Lake after Ron’s death, but Lake killed him and again demanded that Harry kill himself.
• Mephisto appeared over the assembly hall, but Lake blasted his projection apart and threatened to consume the Hell origin he had brought.
• Mephisto withdrew his projected Hell origin and raged in Hell, blaming his Second Son, Witchcraft Demon, for his eldest son’s death and the loss of Hell’s origin.

Lake forced Harry Potter to kill himself in exchange for sparing the Magic Dimension, then told Hermione that Anna had been saved by the Fates and explained why he had killed Harry. Hermione learned the truth but asked Lake to leave her alone for a while.

• After driving Mephisto away, Lake threatened the Magic Council and demanded that someone die, warning that Mephisto would benefit if the conflict continued.
• Harry Potter agreed to die in exchange for Hermione's release, but Lake refused to release her and counted down.
• Harry Potter killed himself, and Lake left his body intact at Ginny's request before departing as the Gemini Saint Kanon.
• In the Chaos Universe, Hermione confronted Lake about killing her friends, and Lake explained that the Fates had taken over Anna's fate line and that Anna could remain on Earth for at most another year.
• Lake showed Hermione his memories of the negotiations with the Fates and Anna enduring Harry's Cruciatus Curse; Hermione then asked to be alone.

Hermione left Lake after sharing an intimate moment and saying she needed time to think. Days later, Andy confronted Lake over handing Darley Dursley to the military, but Lake took her and Maria Hill to a hidden prison he had built in San Lorenzo.

• Hermione told Lake she no longer blamed him, said she needed to think through her feelings about Harry and Ron, and left after kissing him.
• Five days later, Hill and Andy returned to Gardiners Island with more than thirty rescued Midgardians.
• Andy demanded to know why Lake had handed Darley Dursley to the military, and Lake explained that the military needed him as evidence against London.
• Lake told Hill and Andy that Hermione had taken an extended leave, then promised Andy she would see the results of his actions.
• Lake, Hill, and Andy flew to San Lorenzo, where Lake revealed a hidden mountain facility he had named God's Might Prison.

Lake showed Andy the imprisoned Darley Dursley and Merrick Bio-Medical Group executives, and Andy declared him the undisputed King of Midgard. He appointed her to manage the arriving Midgardians, gave her and Maria Hill the Cosmo cultivation method, and left with Hill as Andy began preparing for their future.

• Lake led Maria Hill and Andy to an underground chamber where Darley Dursley and the Merrick Bio-Medical Group executives were held in cages.
• Andy called Lake the undisputed King of Midgard, and Lake asked her to manage the place as his prime minister.
• Lake explained that Seifer would help Andy after all the Midgardians arrived, while Maria Hill had to return to her other duties.
• Lake gave Andy and Hill the Cosmo cultivation method and urged them to gain the strength to protect their immortality.
• Lake left with Maria Hill aboard the Kwon Fighter Jet, telling Andy he looked forward to the Midgardians becoming stars across the cosmos.

Lake discussed Maria Hill’s missing mother and the Midgardians who had vanished while seeking the Origin Land, then Hill agreed to investigate as she took charge of organizing the Supervisory Bureau. Five days later, Hill presented a management proposal to Lake, Tony Stark, and David Bass, revealing the Bureau’s extensive network and nearly thirty thousand agents.

• Lake told Hill that his awakened Cosmo was not Gemini and explained that his clones followed the Cosmo cultivation method while he followed the Great Cosmos cultivation method.
• Hill said she had no leads about her missing mother, and Lake suggested the Origin Land might be an isolated dimension that Midgardians could enter but not leave.
• Hill decided to investigate the Origin Land, then agreed to organize the Supervisory Bureau’s internal management within five days.
• Five days later, Hill brought her management proposal to Lake, and Tony Stark arrived to take part in establishing the Bureau’s rules.
• Hill, Lake, Tony, and Bass prepared to review the proposal as Lake noted the headquarters had 341 agents and the Bureau had nearly thirty thousand agents across its offices.

Maria Hill presented a five-level ranking system for the Supervisory Bureau, separating ordinary investigations from supernatural operations and setting clearance rules. Lake was designated Level Six, and Tony Stark tried to recruit Hill to Stark Industries, prompting Lake to object.

• Maria Hill gave David Bass and Tony Stark her draft structure and argued that investigation agents and field agents needed to be separated because supernatural cases had caused heavy casualties.
• Hill outlined five agent levels, from ordinary employees and investigators to supernatural agents and branch directors, and explained their duties and clearances.
• Hill said Lake was Level Six, above the five-level system, and Lake approved of the distinction.
• Tony Stark discussed the structure with Hill and offered her a position at Stark Industries with whatever salary she wanted.
• Lake rebuked Tony for trying to poach Hill instead of discussing the Supervisory Bureau.

Lake and Maria Hill discussed reorganizing the Supervision Bureau and responding to its widespread leaks by gradually letting the public learn about the supernatural world. Lake also considered the Bureau’s future growth and planned to involve Tony Stark in its projects, leaving Tony about to inspect a secret base.

• Maria Hill outlined her plans for taking over the Supervision Bureau and identified its poor confidentiality as the most urgent problem.
• Lake argued that the public should gradually discover the supernatural world, while the Bureau neither confirmed nor denied what people learned.
• David Bass celebrated Hill’s appointment by taking leave and booking a flight to typhoon-hit Hawaii.
• Tony Stark asked about the Midgardians, and Lake offered to show him a secret base after mentioning Tony’s recurring nightmares.
• Lake suggested that Tony might invest in future Bronze Cloths and the San Lorenzo project, and Hill agreed to take him to see the base.

Lake welcomed Skye home after her month-long graduation trip and offered her a future role managing magical creatures and Pokemon. The chapter left Skye cautiously asking Lake about Hermione.

• Lake left Gardiners Island while Director Hill showed Tony Stark the underground facility.
• Skye, Gwen, and Alexis returned to New York after traveling through the eastern country and Moscow, and Lake welcomed Skye home.
• Lake teased Skye about gaining weight and offered her a future job if she could help Eevee lose weight and use Thunder Shock repeatedly without tiring.
• Lake explained that he no longer trusted the Magic Dimension to manage Fantastic Beasts and wanted Skye to take charge if she proved capable.
• Skye asked Lake for time to consider the job, then cautiously asked him about Auntie Hermione.

Skye asked Lake about his conflict with Hermione and offered to help them as a marriage counselor. Lake recounted the events that had driven Hermione away, leaving Skye to absorb the story and Lake to wonder if his actions made him sound like the villain.

• Skye told Lake that Hermione had visited her at the Afterlife and said she did not blame him.
• Skye offered to hear Lake’s side and joked about charging him for marriage counseling.
• Lake agreed to pay Skye and began recounting the events that led to Hermione’s departure.
• Lake described the abuse and slaughter of the Midgardians, Anna’s near-fatal injury, and his retaliation against Darley Dursley, Ron, and Harry Potter.
• After finishing the story, Lake wondered whether his actions made him seem like a villain.

Lake suspected Skye was hiding something after she lied about meeting Gwen, so he followed her to Times Square. He discovered she was with Hermione, whose shopping spree included a costly newborn blanket, leaving Lake wondering whether a baby was on the way.

• Skye claimed she was meeting Gwen and left home with Eevee, while Lake canceled his meetings and followed her.
• Skye drove to Times Square and met Hermione, who gave her luxury gifts and invited her to shop.
• Lake noticed extensive charges on his additional black card and asked Red Queen to identify the user.
• Red Queen showed Hermione buying a fifty-thousand-dollar blanket at a baby and maternity store, prompting Lake to wonder whether a child was coming.
• Lake asked Red Queen where Skye had parked and learned her car was in Times Square's B2 underground lot.

Lake visited Hermione to reconcile, and she reflected on how their relationship had changed the fate of Harry Potter and the London Magic Dimension. Hermione made a decision, but the chapter ended before she revealed it.

• Lake left a traffic light after holding up traffic, and veteran officers explained why they respected his car and his benefits to the NYPD.
• Lake called Rachel to say he would not be home for dinner that evening.
• Hermione returned home to find Lake waiting, and she asked what he had done to Krukkshan.
• Lake sent Pikachu to chase Krukkshan around the backyard, then told Hermione she had won.
• Hermione said she no longer blamed Lake and asked how events would have ended if they had never known each other.
• Lake said Harry and Hermione would have died and he would have destroyed the London Magic Dimension; Hermione agreed that their version was better and announced she had made a decision.

Hermione told Lake she planned to return her magic to Hogwarts and leave witchcraft behind, hoping to escape feeling caught between Lake and the Magic Dimension. After spending the night with him, she flew to London to carry out her decision, while a wisp of crimson smoke appeared aboard the plane.

• Hermione criticized Lake’s temper and possessiveness, and Lake admitted he might have spared Harry Potter and Ron if Hermione had asked Karen to intervene.
• Hermione told Lake she would return her magic to Hogwarts and become an ordinary person, and he agreed not to oppose her decision.
• Hermione said she would leave for London the next day and hoped to attend university afterward, with Lake’s support.
• Lake accompanied Hermione to Kennedy International Airport, and they departed for London on his private plane.
• As Hermione looked out the window during the flight, a wisp of chaotic crimson smoke appeared across from her.

Hermione rejected Wanda’s account of the future and challenged her to a contest over who would become Lake’s Goddess Queen. After Ginny blamed her for Harry and Ron’s deaths, Hermione left the Magic Dimension, surrendering her magic and riding Arceus away.

• Hermione and Wanda discussed the future Wanda remembered, and Hermione challenged her to prove who would become Lake’s Goddess Queen in the changed timeline.
• Days later, Hermione visited Harry and Ron’s graves, where Ginny accused her of helping the King of Midgard and demanded to know why she had survived.
• Hermione told Ginny she would leave the Magic Dimension and leave her magic behind with Harry and Ron.
• Hermione removed her cultivated magic seed before the Magic Council and gave it to Arceus.
• Hermione mounted Arceus, told it to take her home, and disappeared from the Magic Council Hall.

Lake suggested that Hermione become Supreme Merlin after she gave up magic and fell ill. Meanwhile, the 63rd Generation Merlin and the Weasleys prepared to open a gate to Hell and bring back Harry Potter and Ron.

• Hermione told Lake she did not regret giving up magic, and Lake asked whether she wanted to become Supreme Merlin.
• Lake explained that Supreme Merlin's power could be inherited and said he had been searching for the missing Supreme Dragon Ring; Hermione agreed to consider the offer with a smile.
• The 63rd Generation Merlin emerged from a fireplace in Fort William and asked Ginny whether everything was ready.
• Ginny's family showed the 63rd Generation Merlin Harry Potter's body and a Ron lookalike, then presented the rare ingredients they had gathered.
• The 63rd Generation Merlin inspected the ingredients, intending to use them to open a Hell Gate and bring Harry Potter and Ron back.

The 63rd Generation Merlin tried to use Dark Magic to open the Hell Gate and retrieve Harry Potter and Ron, risking Mephisto discovering the breach. When the sacrifices turned unwilling and the ritual went wrong, Ginny used Mind Control to force Merlin to continue opening the gate so she could save Harry.

• The 63rd Generation Merlin prepared a Dark Magic ritual to retrieve Harry Potter and Ron, relying on blood from four cancer patients who had agreed to sacrifice themselves.
• Ginny's family explained that the patients had agreed in exchange for compensation, and Merlin confirmed they understood the price their souls would pay.
• Merlin opened the Hell Gate, but the four patients began screaming and resisting as their blood ignited in the gate's veins.
• Mephisto sensed the summoning from Hell and headed toward the volcanic mountain, while Witchcraft Demon considered escaping to Earth.
• Ginny cast Mind Control on Merlin when he tried to stop the ritual, forcing him to keep opening the Hell Gate as she insisted she wanted to save Harry.

Ginny and her family opened the Hell Gate to rescue Harry and Ron, but Mephisto arrived and killed the 63rd Generation Merlin. Mephisto revealed that the Wizarding World's immunity to death had vanished, then seized part of Harry's soul.

• Ginny took control of the 63rd Generation Merlin and persuaded her family to channel their magic into opening the Hell Gate.
• Harry and Ron ran toward the open gate, but Mephisto's arrival collapsed the house and crushed Harry beneath a demonic foot.
• Mephisto recoiled from Supreme Merlin's contract, but the 63rd Generation Merlin severed his own soul and died.
• Mephisto told the arriving great mages that the Wizarding World's immunity to Hell's summons had vanished, and he devoured the dying mages' souls.
• Mephisto tore the part of Harry's soul that belonged to Harry away and swallowed it, leaving the other part behind.

Voldemort revived through Harry Potter as Mephisto unleashed giant demons through Hell Gate in Scotland. Lake learned that the 63rd Generation Merlin had died after Ginny and her family ambushed him and opened the gate, while Hell reclaimed the souls of nearly a thousand old mages.

• Voldemort revived in Harry Potter's body, knelt before Mephisto, and was ordered to find the Supreme Dragon Ring.
• Mephisto sent giant demons through Hell Gate, and they rampaged through Fort William as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Hellboy responded.
• Lake sensed that Hell had withdrawn its exemption for the magical world and reclaimed the souls of thousands of old mages.
• Lake told Hermione that the 63rd Generation Merlin had annihilated himself after Ginny, her parents, and Ron ambushed him and opened Hell Gate.
• Hermione explained that the old mages had stayed hidden during past crises because they feared death.

Lake realized Mephisto could reclaim Hell unless Hermione became Supreme Merlin, while thousands of Hungry Giants escaped into Scotland and prompted London to request U.S. aid. At the White House, American officials debated whether to help despite the recent conflict with London.

• Lake concluded that Mephisto might regain control of Hell and urged Hermione to become Supreme Merlin so he could pursue the Hell Dimension.
• Hellboy killed Ginny, causing the Gate of Hell to close after thousands of Hungry Giants had escaped into Scotland.
• SHIELD agents ordered Scotland sealed off and called for reinforcements to contain the Hungry Giants.
• Lake and General Ross went to Washington after receiving calls about the crisis, and Lake learned that Secretary Kelly had arranged for him to become Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.
• The President told officials that London had requested assistance, while Pentagon leaders weighed the request against the recent dispute between the Federation and London.

Lake learned that the Federation would wait for its new president before intervening in Scotland, where Giant Demons had appeared, and later oversaw new funding for the Supervision Bureau. After London publicized Hellboy as a weapon against the demons, Lake warned that S.H.I.E.L.D. must not interfere in Federation affairs.

• The Federation postponed sending troops to Scotland until the new president took office and considered using the crisis to negotiate benefits from London.
• Jean invited Lake to a dinner hosted by the vice president, but Lake declined and asked Adam to pass along his regards to the incoming president.
• Lake told Rachel about the Giant Demons in Scotland and showed her photographs, warning her that Beyond Media could not be the first to report them.
• After attending the new president's inauguration on January 20, 2008, Lake returned to New York and later recalled all his scattered clones.
• Lake learned that Skye planned to accompany the pregnant Hermione to apply for a university auditing permit, then reviewed Supervision Bureau operations at its completed Gardiners Island headquarters.
• Lake explained that the Supervision Bureau had received a thirty-billion-dollar allocation after London publicized Hellboy fighting a Giant Demon, and warned that he would destroy any S.H.I.E.L.D. operations that reached into the Federation.

Lake learned that the Supreme Dragon Ring remained missing and traced a lead to an old Brooklyn antique shop, where he unexpectedly encountered Joe and Henry Morgan. The chapter ended with Lake recognizing Henry as Joe's companion and teasing her about him.

• Lake let S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra expand their influence elsewhere while warning that he would stop them if they meddled in New York State.
• Maria Hill told Lake that the Department of Magical Operations had withdrawn, and Lake explained that the Wizarding World planned to return after the Hell invasion crisis.
• Lake searched for the Supreme Dragon Ring and learned that Mephisto had sent a Hell creature toward New York before suppressing Lake's authority again.
• Red Queen found a Brooklyn antique shop that had been repossessed by City Hall, and Lake went there to investigate where its contents had gone.
• Joe arrived after receiving a report about the break-in, hugged Lake, and was joined by Henry Morgan, whom Lake recognized and teased her about.