Recaps

Luther accompanied Dunn to investigate Madam Sharon’s corpse and steered the team toward suspecting the Aurora Order. The chapter ended with Luther suggesting that Madam Sharon herself had likely been a Demoness.

• In the carriage, Dunn told Luther that he had fully digested Sleepless and resumed Acting as a Midnight Poet, but expected Sequence 7 to take him years longer than usual.
• At the Tussock River, Klein and Frye reported that divination and Spirit Channeling had yielded no useful clues and that Madam Sharon’s organs had been removed before she died from a gunshot wound.
• Luther examined the corpse and claimed that it bore signs of degenerate madness and Flesh and Blood Magic associated with the Aurora Order, concealing that he himself had performed the ritual.
• Klein said an invisible disturbance had disrupted his divination, reinforcing Luther’s suggestion that the Aurora Order was involved.
• Luther said Madam Sharon’s corpse carried an aura similar to Trissy’s and suggested that Madam Sharon had likely been a Demoness herself.

Luther helped the Nighthawks confirm that Madam Sharon was a Demoness, then returned home to prepare an Assassin Potion for Cecilia. The Potion appeared to succeed, but Cecilia had not yet consumed it.

• Luther told Dunn that Madam Sharon's aura resembled Trissy's, and Dunn ordered the Nighthawks to retrieve her body and search her residence.
• Dunn admitted he had forgotten Klein had advanced to Sequence 8, and Klein explained that Dunn's Nightmare abilities affected his memory and sense of reality.
• The Nighthawks found a bone statue of the Primordial Demoness in Madam Sharon's safe, and the case was classified as an internal conflict between cultists.
• Luther visited the underground market to buy advancement materials for Cecilia, then returned home to wash off the smell of Madam Sharon's corpse.
• Luther mixed the Assassin Beyonder Characteristic with the supplementary ingredients, producing a transparent pale-blue Potion that appeared to have succeeded.

Luther watched Cecilia drink the Assassin Potion and helped her adapt to her new Beyonder abilities. Ms. M then asked Cecilia to help with some tasks, and Luther demanded the Shepherd Potion formula, only for Ms. M to ask whether he wanted the formula or the ritual.

• Cecilia drank the Assassin Potion despite Luther's doubts and emerged with the ability to hide in shadows and move quickly.
• Luther taught Cecilia to meditate, and she tested her new speed and practiced striking with a fork.
• Ms. M congratulated Cecilia and said she wanted the new Beyonder to help with some minor tasks.
• Luther asked Ms. M for the Shepherd Potion formula, and she asked whether he meant the formula or the ritual.

Ms. M explained the Shepherd advancement ritual to Luther, including the need for willing sacrifices, then suggested that Cecilia could be one of them. Luther rejected the idea and reaffirmed that he would never trade his sister for advancement.

• Ms. M told Luther that a Shepherd had to consume seven willing people after drinking the Potion, or four Beyonders, to replenish the body and resist losing control.
• Luther questioned the ritual and mocked its suitability for the Aurora Order, while Ms. M said he could gather people willing to die for him over time.
• Ms. M pointed out that Cecilia was already willing to die for Luther, prompting him to angrily tell her to shut up and insist that his family mattered more than advancement.
• Ms. M went upstairs to rest, leaving Luther and Cecilia alone in the living room.
• Cecilia began to offer herself as a sacrifice, but Luther firmly stopped her and said he would never allow her to do that.

Klein learned that Qilangos had appeared at Duke Negan’s ball and divined the true culprit behind Madam Sharon’s murder, while Luther discovered that Qilangos had been killed and Azik was wanted in connection with the assassination. The chapter ended with Luther trying to comfort Klein, unaware of why Klein looked so troubled.

• Klein persuaded Benson and Melissa to attend a popular play before Audrey prayed to him with news that Qilangos had appeared at Duke Negan’s ball.
• Klein relayed Audrey’s information to Alger, then attempted a divination about who had killed Madam Sharon.
• Luther planned to protect Cecilia from her curse and went to work the next morning.
• Newspapers reported that Qilangos had been shot dead in Backlund after an attempted assassination of Duke Negan.
• Luther read an official wanted notice naming Azik as a suspect and worried that he could no longer ask Azik for help.
• Luther found Klein and tried to reassure him about Azik, but Klein responded with a bitter, helpless smile.

Klein reconsidered Luther’s actions after witnessing his killing of Madam Sharon, while Dunn asked Klein to report his connection to Azik. Luther returned home to find Ms. M waiting with a book she said was related to the Lord’s Scripture.

• Klein followed Luther to the Blackthorn Security Company and wondered why Luther had killed Madam Sharon alone and removed her organs.
• Luther and Klein met Dunn, who asked Klein to write a report about his connection to the wanted Azik.
• Dunn told Luther to look for Aurora Order members while patrolling, and Klein decided to investigate Luther after the following week.
• Luther returned home and found Ms. M, who had gone out and brought him an undecorated book related to the Lord’s Scripture.

Ms. M forced Luther to read the Aurora Order’s Holy Bible, threatening his sister and demanding he digest the Listener potion within a week. As the scripture’s words battered his mind with pain and hallucinations, Luther suspected Ms. M wanted him to advance so she could take his body.

• Ms. M handed Luther the Holy Bible and ordered him to read it to accelerate digestion of his Listener potion.
• When Luther refused, Ms. M threatened to have his sister killed and gave him one week to digest the potion and continue advancing.
• Luther asked why Ms. M was so intent on his advancement, but she inflicted pain through the flesh and blood inside him instead of answering.
• Ms. M ordered Luther to read the scripture aloud, and he noticed that her wounds seemed to be tearing and healing again.
• Luther began reciting the creation story in Ancient Hermes, and the words caused a roar in his head, a nosebleed, blurred vision, and strange hallucinations.

Klein took a day off for Luther, whose sister Cecilia was upset about being singled out at school, while Melissa went to Lower Street with her friends and became trapped by thugs. Cecilia appeared just as the thugs closed in, and they suddenly collapsed, leaving her fate unclear.

• Klein told Dunn that Luther had taken a week off to stay home with Cecilia, and Dunn asked Klein to keep an eye on his neighbor.
• Melissa went to Mrs. Rochelle’s apartment with Selena and Elizabeth to order a dress and found thugs extorting the tailor.
• Melissa intervened and injured the thugs’ leader, so the gang demanded money and threatened the three girls.
• The thugs cornered Melissa, Selena, and Elizabeth in an alley, and Melissa clutched Klein’s protective charm as they reached for the girls.
• Cecilia arrived, and the thugs collapsed after they moved toward her.

Cecilia Rondal rescued Melissa Moretti and her friends from thugs on Lower Street, then killed the gang leader who had attacked them. At No. 6 Daffodil Street, Luther recited from the Holy Bible while enduring pain, mad voices, and bizarre visions.

• Cecilia Rondal swiftly defeated the thugs surrounding Melissa Moretti, Selena, and Elizabeth in an alley.
• Cecilia escorted the three girls out of Lower Street and warned them not to return because it was dangerous.
• Melissa introduced Cecilia to Elizabeth and Selena, then wondered why Cecilia herself had been on Lower Street.
• Cecilia ambushed and killed the gang leader with a dagger after he struggled home alone.
• Luther recited a prayer from the Holy Bible in Ancient Hermes Script while suffering intense pain, mad voices, and strange visions.

Luther endured Ms. M’s forced Potion-digestion session and realized her supposed healing ritual was intended to consume his flesh, blood, and Spirituality. With Ms. M’s body deteriorating and a confrontation likely within days, he assessed their strengths and prepared for a final battle.

• Luther recited the Holy Bible until Ms. M stopped him, and he reported that more than half of his Potion had been digested.
• Ms. M told Luther to return early so he could advance and help complete the ritual she claimed would heal her.
• Luther recognized the ritual array as an evil rite that would make his body and Spirituality nourishment for Ms. M.
• Luther assessed his Beyonder Items, abilities, and Sage’s Enlightenment charm against Ms. M’s powers and weaknesses.
• Luther left home prepared for a final battle, while considering how to free Cecilia from Ms. M’s control.

Luther returned to Blackthorn Security Company and agreed to attend a play with Klein and Melissa, then seized a brief gap in Ms. M’s surveillance to begin a ritual that could free Cecilia from her control. The Witch’s Heart began beating inside a flask, but the ritual’s outcome remained unknown.

• Luther returned to work and told Dunn that Cecilia was feeling better and would rest a few more days.
• Klein invited Luther and Cecilia to see The Return of the Earl after Cecilia rescued Melissa from thugs, and Luther accepted.
• Luther noticed Ms. M had left and used his black ring to block her surveillance of himself and Cecilia.
• Luther brought Cecilia upstairs, explained that he could use a ritual to remove the flesh and blood Ms. M had fed her, and cut her arm to collect her blood.
• Luther invoked the Hidden Sage and carved forbidden patterns into Madam Sharon’s preserved heart, which wriggled into the flask and began beating.

Luther removed Ms. M’s surveillance from Cecilia and prepared to face her, while a new Beyonder Item formed from Madam Sharon’s characteristic. The chapter ended as Ms. M summoned Luther to leave with her, suggesting their confrontation was imminent.

• Luther extracted Ms. M’s ominous aura from Cecilia and placed it in a bottle, freeing his sister from surveillance.
• Cecilia refused to leave Luther and pledged that they would live or die together.
• Luther discovered Madam Sharon’s Beyonder characteristic had fused with her dagger, creating a Beyonder Item, and gave it to Cecilia.
• Luther and Cecilia concealed what had happened and returned downstairs as the Goddess’s protective threads faded.
• Ms. M returned to No. 6 Daffodil Street, asked about Luther’s Potion digestion, and ordered him to come with her.

Ms. M took Luther to a secluded house to force him through a ritual, intending to take his body. Luther used a Hidden Sage talisman to incapacitate her, tore the flesh she had planted inside him from his abdomen, and vowed to kill her.

• Ms. M used her voice to make Luther leave 6 Daffodil Street, while he and Cecilia secretly planned for her to follow and attack Ms. M.
• Luther accompanied Ms. M to a ritual room in East Borough, where she ordered him to drink a potion and tortured him when he refused.
• Ms. M threatened Cecilia and coaxed Luther into opening his mouth, but Luther spat out a Hidden Sage talisman and activated it against her.
• While Ms. M screamed under the talisman's effects, Luther stabbed into his abdomen and ripped out the piece of flesh she had implanted in him.
• Luther crushed the wriggling flesh beneath his foot and declared that he was going to kill Ms. M.

Luther fought Ms. M with the Hidden Sage’s rune, his revolver, and Language of Foulness, but she kept healing and using substitutes. As the ritual array lit up, Luther suddenly fell ill, leaving him in danger while waiting for Cecilia.

• Luther used the Hidden Sage’s rune to wound Ms. M, then shot her apparent paper substitute and found her still standing in the ritual array.
• Ms. M threatened Cecilia, but her attempt to harm Luther’s sister failed, and Luther mocked her before she poured the ritual liquid onto the array.
• Ms. M healed by kissing the Rose Ring and attacked Luther with invisible bullets, but he dodged and used Language of Foulness to force her into another paper substitute.
• Luther foresaw Ms. M emerging from flames, dodged her attack, and shot her, while worrying that he had little ammunition left and Cecilia had not arrived.
• Luther began coughing and developed a fever as the ritual array glimmered beneath Ms. M.

Luther fought Ms. M while Disease weakened him, then set a trap by releasing gas into the room. Ms. M used Flaming Jump near the gas, triggering an explosion that shook the East Borough.

• Luther tried to escape Ms. M’s Disease ability, but she blocked his way with Flaming Jump.
• Luther shot the gas valve and summoned a monster with Azik’s White Bone Flute to hold Ms. M back.
• The monster attacked Luther and Ms. M, but Luther wounded it and used Ancient Hermes to leave Ms. M vulnerable to its bite.
• Ms. M dissolved the monster, while Luther drew her toward the gas-filled room’s window.
• Ms. M used Flaming Jump beside the window, and the gas ignited in a powerful explosion.

Luther survived the explosion and fought Ms. M as she tried to take his body and complete her ritual. He killed her with Cecilia’s dagger, but he still sensed that something was not over when Dunn Smith and other black-coated figures arrived.

• The explosion devastated the house, but Luther regenerated from his injuries and found Ms. M badly wounded and still alive.
• Ms. M invoked the True Creator and advanced on Luther, who shot her and tried to defend himself with a silver dagger.
• Cecilia arrived and stabbed Ms. M, but Ms. M threw her aside and continued chanting as she approached Luther.
• Luther stabbed Ms. M with the dagger, then drove it through her heart and burned it with black flames, killing her.
• Luther checked that Cecilia was alive and urged her to leave before the authorities arrived.
• Dunn Smith and several people in black coats reached the house and saw Luther.

Luther surrendered to the Nighthawks after killing Ms. M and was detained beneath Blackthorn Security Company. Dunn then revealed that the corpse’s characteristics showed Ms. M had not been a Shepherd.

• Dunn confronted Luther at the scene, but Luther realized he was trapped in a dream and broke free as Klein and the other Nighthawks surrounded him.
• Cecilia urged Luther to choose whether to cooperate or fight, and Luther raised his hands and surrendered.
• The next day, Luther ate under guard in a cage outside the Chanis Gate while Leonard explained that Dunn was disputing the case with the Mandated Punishers.
• Leonard told Luther that Klein had discovered Ms. M through divination and alerted Dunn, leading the Nighthawks to arrive just after the battle.
• Dunn asked Luther to confirm Ms. M’s identity, then said the characteristics extracted from her corpse showed that she was not a Shepherd.

Luther learned that Ms. M had been a Sequence 6 Hypnotist whose Rose Ring granted her abilities from other pathways. As Dunn prepared to report Luther’s advancement and actions to the Cathedral, Luther convinced the Nighthawks he had not become the True Creator’s servant, and Dunn promised to help protect Cecilia.

• Dunn told Luther that Ms. M was a Spectator pathway Hypnotist, not a Shepherd or a Secrets Suppliant, and explained that her Rose Ring had Grazed a Demoness, a Magician, and a Pyromaniac.
• Luther wondered why Ms. M had acted as she did, but accepted that her purpose might remain unknown after her death.
• Dunn said he would report Luther’s forced advancement to Listener, his pursuit of Madam Sharon, and the night’s events to the Cathedral, while warning Luther that the advancement might have changed him.
• Leonard suggested that Luther curse the True Creator to prove his loyalty, and Luther insulted the evil god, making the Nighthawks laugh and easing Dunn’s doubts.
• Dunn told Luther that Cecilia had tried to take the blame for him, and promised to do what he could to help her.

Klein concealed the Rondal siblings’ departure from Melissa while the Nighthawks prepared to hand Luther over to the Backlund Diocese. As the siblings faced separate journeys to Backlund, Cecilia urged Luther to escape with her.

• Klein told Melissa that Luther’s relative was critically ill and asked her to buy only three theater tickets, while Benson seemed to suspect something.
• Klein learned that the Cathedral had approved the Rondal siblings’ transfer to Backlund, and Rozanne prayed for them.
• Luther asked the Nighthawks to keep renting his house and transfer its ownership to Cecilia if his freedom was restricted.
• Leonard reviewed Luther’s seized belongings, including three Beyonder items, and showed him Ms. M’s Red Rose Ring and Beyonder Characteristic.
• Dunn announced that Backlund Diocese representatives had arrived and that Luther and Cecilia would be escorted separately on different trains.
• After Dunn and Leonard left the siblings alone, Cecilia asked Luther to run away with her.

Luther and Cecilia left Blackthorn Security Company under the escort of Backlund Nighthawks, exchanging farewells with their former colleagues. As Luther realized his human-skin Holy Bible was missing, Al Hasan delivered Ms. M’s regards by shooting Dunn.

• Luther tried to reassure Cecilia about their future in Backlund, then left Chanis Gate with her and the Nighthawks.
• Luther and Cecilia met the Backlund team led by Al Hasan and said goodbye to Dunn, Klein, and the other Blackthorn colleagues.
• Luther noticed that his human-skin Holy Bible was missing and could not remember where he had last seen it.
• Al Hasan returned to Dunn, said that Ms. M sent her regards, and shot him in the heart.

Al Hasan and Borgia were revealed as enemies who trapped the Blackthorn Squad while their allies prepared a ritual to make Luther a Shepherd. Luther drank the potion and the six worshippers sacrificed themselves to him, leaving the ritual at its climax as his body greedily consumed them.

• Al Hasan shot Dunn while the disguised enemies attacked Leonard and revealed their true faces.
• The tattooed man used his glove to seal the Blackthorn Squad and Luther inside a transparent enclosure, where the enemies restrained Luther and exposed Ms. M's face fused to his chest.
• The enemies drained a wounded companion's blood to draw an inverted cross and mixed Ms. M's Rose Ring into a mysterious potion.
• Dunn ordered the civilians to evacuate and decided to retrieve Saint Selena's ashes, while Klein and the others prepared to stop the ritual.
• The middle-aged man forced the potion into Luther, and six worshippers chanted a prayer before stabbing themselves and walking toward him.
• Luther's melting body swallowed the six worshippers as they declared themselves Shepherds for their Lord.

Luther awakened beside a strange, illusory sea and confronted Ms. M, who revealed that its power had freed her from the True Creator’s control. Ms. M summoned the six people who had sacrificed themselves to her, and they attacked Luther as she prepared to take everything he had.

• Luther opened his eyes beside a black, illusory sea whose familiar tides had protected him from evil gods’ corruption and Mental Shock.
• Luther attacked Ms. M with his silver ritual dagger, but she healed from his repeated stabs and calmly spoke with him.
• Ms. M explained that a trace of the sea’s aura entered her through Luther’s cane wound in Enmat Harbor and freed her from the True Creator’s control.
• Ms. M revealed that she had schemed to possess Luther’s body and reach the sea, believing it offered a path to the peak of the Sequences or beyond.
• Ms. M asked Luther to give everything to her, and the six distorted people who had sacrificed themselves to her surged from the water and began devouring him.

Dunn, Klein, and Leonard confronted the monster formed from Luther and the bodies it had consumed, while Ms. M’s followers tried to sacrifice Cecilia. The monster escaped their attacks, and Cecilia killed Ms. Lorotta and the coachman before running toward Zouteland Street.

• Luther’s flesh mass consumed six bodies and began reforming into a humanoid monster with Ms. M’s face on its abdomen.
• Dunn returned with Saint Selena’s ashes, ordered Kenley to help Siga, and used the urn as black threads restrained the monster.
• The monster’s flames broke free of the threads, and Klein used his precognition to save Leonard from its attack.
• The monster escaped again and began healing as Ms. M’s face moved to take control of Luther’s body.
• Ms. Lorotta tried to stab Cecilia in the carriage, but Cecilia killed her and the coachman before rushing toward Zouteland Street.

Ms. M completed her transformation into a Shepherd and overwhelmed the three Nighthawks with flames, but her attempt to claim Luther’s power exposed her to the horrifying truth behind the sea and caused her to collapse. As she lost control, the faces of Luther and the people whose bodies she had taken emerged, giving Klein and the others hope.

• Ms. M became a Shepherd, and the black threads retreated from her as her shadow and crimson flames spread.
• Ms. M unleashed a mass of fire crows that devastated the front of Blackthorn Security Company, while Dunn shielded himself and the others with the urn and black threads.
• Ms. M noticed her flesh falling away and watched Luther sink beneath the illusory sea as she claimed his power.
• Ms. M realized the sea was a hellish mass of suffering and glimpsed a vast outline beyond the mist, then screamed and exploded into blood mist.
• Ms. M’s body collapsed outside Blackthorn Security Company, and Luther’s face and the faces of the bodies she had taken emerged, leading Klein to suspect the potion had lost control or Luther was resisting.

Ms. M battled Klein, Dunn, and Leonard after losing control, while they tried to restrain her with Saint Selena’s ashes and their abilities. Luther awoke from the illusory ocean after remembering Cecilia, and returned to the real world to save her.

• Ms. M used Luther’s Sequence 8 ability to attack the others, but Dunn warned Klein to dodge her charge.
• Leonard stole Ms. M’s Language of Foulness, and Dunn used his blood to strengthen the black threads that bound her.
• Ms. M released poison, broke free, and charged Leonard, who used Language of Foulness to make her collapse before she knocked him aside.
• Luther remembered that Ms. M’s subordinates had taken Cecilia, woke from the illusory ocean, and returned to the real world.