Recaps

Luther confronted a disguised Beyonder who had come after Ciel, surviving repeated gunlike attacks and using his Sequence 5 abilities to drive the man away. Luther then used the fleeing Beyonder’s blood in a curse and made him scream in agony, leaving his fate unresolved.

• The disguised Beyonder demanded that Ciel return what he had taken and attacked him, but Luther protected Ciel with a wall of fire.
• Luther recognized the attacker’s paper and flame abilities and decided to capture and Graze him, while Cecilia approached through the shadows and stabbed him with a dagger.
• The attacker escaped the dagger by turning into paper, then shot Luther through the chest, but Luther survived and burned the attacker’s substitute.
• The attacker fled after Luther struck him with Language of Foulness, and Luther collected his blood and performed a curse ritual.
• Luther stabbed his own arm as part of the ritual, causing the fleeing Beyonder to howl in pain nearby.

Luther defeated an unknown Beyonder who was hunting Helmosuin’s manuscript and Grazed his soul. He learned that the man worked for the Intis ambassador and had been fighting MI9, then began choosing which of the Faceless’s abilities to keep.

• An unknown Beyonder suffered Luther’s curse and the Language of Foulness, but shifted his spreading wound onto his arm and tried to escape the alley.
• Luther appeared at the alley’s mouth, recited a prayer in the Language of Foulness, and caused the Beyonder’s body to collapse.
• Luther used Grazing to pull the Beyonder’s soul and Beyonder Characteristic from the corpse, then questioned him about his mission.
• The Beyonder revealed that Beckland Jean Madan, the Intis ambassador to Backlund, commanded him and that he was tracking Helmosuin’s manuscript, which contained the design for the Third-Generation Differential Engine.
• The Beyonder identified MI9 as his opponent, and Luther Grazed his soul, learning that he was a Sequence 6 Faceless of the Divination pathway.
• Luther considered which three of the Faceless’s abilities to choose, beginning with Appearance Modification.

Luther chose the Faceless’s appearance-changing ability, Flaming Jump, and Paper Figurine Substitute, then discovered that Phantom Tide let him Graze two souls at once. After defeating a Beyonder, he searched the corpse and turned to Ciel for news of the spreading conflicts.

• Luther selected the Faceless’s Mimicry, Flaming Jump, and Paper Figurine Substitute while rejecting the other available abilities.
• Luther tested Flaming Jump by leaping to the spot where he had thrown a fireball.
• Phantom Tide flowed through Luther and let him use the Pyromaniac’s flames while Grazing the Faceless’s soul.
• Luther combined the fireball and Flaming Jump without switching souls, then realized simultaneous Grazing consumed Spirituality.
• Cecilia arrived and asked Luther whether the fight was over, while Ciel and his men approached and reacted to the corpse.
• Luther searched the corpse, found coins and divination tools, and prepared to question Ciel about the other conflicts.

Luther learned that the manuscript was sought by Intis spies and MI9, then tracked the people who stole it. He found two groups of Beyonders fighting over a package and watched a golden-masked Beyonder confront Rosago.

• Luther cleaned up the dead Sequence 6 Beyonder's remains and told Ciel that the manuscript could endanger the Lyman Gang.
• Ciel and Luther reached the gang's headquarters and found the boss dead and the safe open, with the manuscript missing.
• Luther used Spirit Channeling on a corpse to learn which way the manuscript thieves had gone, then pursued them in Shadow Stealth.
• Luther found two groups of Beyonders battling over a dark package, with a black-iron-masked man carrying it away.
• A golden-masked Beyonder used Exile to scatter attackers and challenged Rosago, whose marionettes had been destroyed.

Luther watched MI9 and Intis agents fight over a manuscript until Rosago revealed Luther as a third party and a red-haired girl appeared to seize it. The girl escaped by flying, but Gold Mask forbade flight and sent her falling near Luther.

• Luther identified the masked fighters as MI9 and the shadowy group as Intis agents, who were battling over a manuscript.
• Rosago admitted that his mission had failed, then used his powers to target Luther and suggested giving the manuscript to a third party.
• MI9 agents exposed a red-haired girl, who broke through their attack with a burst of light and rushed for the manuscript.
• Gold Mask used his iron-black glove to immobilize Rosago's marionettes and restrict the girl's movements, but her brooch disrupted his power and she took the manuscript.
• Rosago escaped as the red-haired girl used a cloak to fly away; Gold Mask forbade flight, causing her to fall near Luther.

Luther took the manuscript from the red-haired girl and fought off MI9 agents who mistook him for Mr. A of the Aurora Order. He escaped when powerful reinforcements arrived, while the girl pursued him to reclaim her manuscript.

• The red-haired girl crashed onto a townhouse roof, where Luther emerged from the shadows and took the manuscript.
• MI9 agents surrounded them, and the Gold Mask attacked Luther with Mental Piercing, which barely affected him.
• Luther used a severed finger to unleash corrosive Blood Fog, then defeated the Gold Mask and set a Silver Mask ablaze.
• The Gold Mask identified Luther as Mr. A of the Aurora Order, and Luther decided to use the misunderstanding to cover his escape.
• Luther vanished in an explosion of fire as MI9 reinforcements arrived, and the red-haired girl took flight after him.

Rosago recovered evidence of his subordinate Andol’s death and decided to kill Sherlock Moriarty before returning to the Intis ambassador. Meanwhile, Luther agreed to let Sophia arrange a sale of the stolen manuscript, leaving with her under an alias.

• Rosago used a perch to retrieve flesh from Andol’s corpse in the Tussock River and suspected an Aurora Order Beyonder had killed him.
• Rosago concluded that the manuscript mission had failed and planned to report to Bakerland before killing Sherlock Moriarty at 15 Minsk Street.
• Luther confronted the red-haired girl who had followed him and admitted he had not considered how to sell the manuscript.
• Sophia offered to introduce Luther to a Beyonder Gathering and an interested buyer, and they haggled until she secured a thirty-percent share.
• Sophia gave her name, and Luther introduced himself as Kafka Anderson.

After securing a Contract with Sophia, Luther returned home with the Third-Generation Differential Engine manuscript and later read that the Aurora Order had claimed responsibility for Ambassador Bakerland’s murder. In Backlund, Leonard advanced to Sequence 7 Nightmare and passed Old Neil without speaking, though Neil finally wished him well.

• Luther and Sophia signed a Contract governing their share of the proceeds and agreed to meet at the entrance to Backlund Bridge the next night.
• Luther returned to his apartment, found Cecilia safe, and slipped into madness; the next morning, fresh meat restored his clarity.
• Luther read that the Aurora Order had claimed responsibility for the murder of Intis Ambassador Bakerland and decided the blame would draw MI9 away from him.
• Luther found no gathering clue in the Backlund Morning Post, noted Sherlock Moriarty’s advertisement at 15 Minsk Street, and cut newspapers into paper Substitutes.
• Leonard, now a Sequence 7 Nightmare and a Red Gloves candidate, saw an illusion of Dunn, Klein, and Luther before encountering Old Neil at Saint Samuel Cathedral.
• Leonard and Old Neil passed without speaking until Neil quietly told him to take care.

Luther followed Sophia to a secret gathering reached by a magical yellow-brick road and discovered that its host was the Queen. After Sophia announced that they had obtained the Queen’s requested item, their basket carried them toward her, and vines separated them from the other attendees.

• Luther met Sophia at Backlund Bridge after disguising his appearance with Flesh and Blood Magic.
• Sophia used a magical pea to summon a yellow-brick road, and she and Luther followed it away from Backlund.
• They arrived at a palace woven from pea vines and entered its gathering hall in a hanging basket.
• The Queen began the gathering, where invisible servants recorded requests and facilitated transactions.
• Sophia told an invisible servant that they had obtained the Queen’s requested item, and the vines isolated them as their basket approached the throne.

Luther and Sophia presented Helmosuin's manuscript to the Queen, who offered them a reward. Sophia traded her share toward Hunter Pathway materials, while Luther sought a Spectator Pathway Beyonder Item to treat his unstable mental state without revealing too much about himself.

• The Queen recognized Luther as a lucid Sequence 5 Shepherd, and he denied being Mr. A or a believer in the True Creator.
• Sophia presented Helmosuin's manuscript, and the Queen confirmed it was authentic and offered 5,000 pounds, equivalent Beyonder materials, or help.
• Sophia requested Hunter Pathway Sequence 7 and Sequence 6 formulas and ingredients, then agreed to pay an extra 500 pounds for the Sequence 7 formula and materials.
• After Sophia left to collect her items, Luther weighed asking the Queen for help with his mental state against risking exposure and chose to request a Spectator Pathway Beyonder Item.
• The Queen immediately asked Luther if he wanted the item to treat his mental state.

Luther received the Suggestor Mirror to treat his mental instability and learned about the powerful but dangerous Beyonder Item Pain. Unable to afford it, he heard the queen offer it in exchange for helping her prevent a coming Catastrophe in Backlund, which might be connected to human trafficking.

• Luther asked the queen for a Spectator Pathway Beyonder Item, and she gave him the Suggestor Mirror while warning him not to use it too often.
• The queen offered Luther Pain, a dagger with disease and charm auras and a curse that made people nearby share the holder’s self-inflicted pain.
• The queen explained Pain’s drawbacks, including constant pain, daily self-stabbing, dangerous effects on others, and a curse risk during a Crimson Moon.
• Luther learned Pain cost 10,000 pounds, then heard the queen offer it outright if he completed a commission.
• The queen said she had come to Backlund to stop an approaching Catastrophe that might be linked to human trafficking, and Luther reacted with a tightened gaze.

Luther accepted Queen’s commission to investigate a prophesied catastrophe in Backlund connected to human trafficking, with the Beyonder Item “Pain” as payment. He returned from the gathering with a pea that could summon him to Queen or rescue him from danger, then parted ways with Sophia and set out to begin the investigation.

• Queen told Luther that her prophecy foresaw trafficked civilians being brought to Backlund as part of an impending catastrophe, and explained that earlier investigators had failed or disappeared.
• Luther agreed to investigate the trafficking in exchange for the Beyonder Item “Pain,” suspecting the case might connect to the trafficking he had encountered before and to the strange interference surrounding Azik.
• After Sophia returned, Queen gave Luther a magical pea that would guide him to future gatherings and transport him to safety if crushed.
• Luther and Sophia returned to Backlund Bridge, confirmed their contract was settled, and argued briefly about Sophia’s desire to prove herself to her family.
• Sophia left, and Luther headed home, eager to begin investigating the trafficking case.

Luther used the Suggestor Mirror to ease his mental condition, but the Phantom Tide in his mind injured the mirror when it tried to control him. Meanwhile, Xio and Fors tracked Lanevus to East Borough, where they found him pregnant and were trapped by the sinister pressure emanating from his belly.

• Luther asked the Suggestor Mirror to restore his mental health while Cecilia watched over him.
• The mirror entered Luther’s Mental World and tried to control him, but the Phantom Tide repelled it and cracked the mirror.
• The mirror agreed to treat Luther and eased his condition, though it could not cure him completely.
• Xio and Fors searched East Borough for Lanevus but discovered that their informants had disappeared.
• Lanevus appeared in an alley, asked Xio and Fors if they wanted to be mothers, and immobilized them with the pressure from his pregnant belly.

Isengard Stanton treated Xio Derecha after she and Fors Wall escaped Lanevus, but the curse of the True Creator remained and spread to Fors. He gave them Sun Holy Water and explained that only a powerful Beyonder could cure them completely, while Luther considered writing to Detective Sherlock.

• Fors Wall and the unconscious Xio Derecha appeared in Isengard Stanton’s home after escaping Lanevus, and Fors begged him for help.
• Isengard used a ring to suppress the cursed wound on Xio, but the curse of the True Creator resisted his efforts.
• Isengard made a Contract that transferred part of Xio’s curse to Fors and gave them Sun Holy Water to manage their symptoms.
• Isengard told Fors that a Sequence 6 Rose Bishop or a Sequence 5 Sun Pathway Beyonder could cure the curse, and Fors resolved to seek help from Miss Audrey.
• Luther picked up a pen and wondered what to write to Detective Sherlock.

Luther wrote a probing letter to Sherlock under the name James Holmes, then asked Ciel and the Lyman Gang to investigate people going missing. The next morning, Klein Moretti found the letter in his mailbox and reacted with shock.

• Luther chose the name James Holmes for a letter designed to alert Sherlock if he was a fellow transmigrator without revealing anything to an ordinary person.
• Luther and Cecilia traveled to the Lyman Gang's headquarters, where Ciel welcomed Luther as the gang's new leader.
• Luther asked Ciel to have the Lyman Gang watch for cases of people disappearing from the streets.
• The next morning, Klein Moretti found a letter addressed from James Holmes at 221B Baker Street and dropped his breakfast in surprise.

Klein received a letter from a fellow transmigrator proposing a meeting, but his attempt to divine information about the writer triggered a violent reaction from the Gray Fog. The chapter ended with Luther sensing the Tide in his mind surge.

• Klein discovered a letter addressed to James Holmes and cautiously sacrificed it Above the Gray Fog.
• Klein read the letter’s hidden Chinese message, learned the writer was another transmigrator, and found a proposed meeting place beneath Backlund Bridge.
• Klein attempted to divine information about the writer, but blood-red mist and the sound of the Tide filled his vision.
• Klein’s body rejected the sound, his head burst apart, and the Gray Fog churned violently as he recovered.
• Klein reconsidered meeting the writer, while Luther sensed the Tide in his mind surge for several seconds.

Klein received Justice Audrey’s report that Lanevus was pregnant with a sinister fetus and that Xio had been cursed, then decided to meet the letter’s author in Backlund. Luther set out to meet the recipient, but Ms. M tried to stop him and vanished after he attacked her.

• Justice Audrey told Klein that Xio and Fors had encountered Lanevus, who was pregnant with a fetus likely connected to the Fallen Creator, and that Xio had suffered a curse.
• Klein considered ways to help Xio and decided to deal with Lanevus after meeting the possible fellow transmigrator the next day.
• Luther prepared to go to Backlund Bridge, bringing the Mirror of the Hypnotist in case the letter’s recipient was not a fellow transmigrator.
• Ms. M appeared at Luther’s doorway and tried to prevent him from leaving, but Luther demanded information about a human trafficking case and broke her neck, causing her to disappear.
• Luther changed his appearance and left his apartment to head for the meeting.

Luther and Klein recognized each other beneath Backlund Bridge after both believed the other had died. They shared how they had crossed into this world and learned what had happened to each since their apparent deaths, leaving the mystery of their resurrections unexplained.

• Luther met the masked man beneath Backlund Bridge and recognized him as Klein from the yellow crystal pendant.
• Klein and Luther revealed their identities and asked each other why they were still alive.
• Klein sensed danger as Luther became frenzied and accused him of having a role in the incident that killed them.
• Luther calmed down after Klein denied involvement and pointed out that Luther had also survived.
• Luther and Klein confirmed they came from another world and exchanged their former names and how they had arrived.
• Klein told Luther that Ince Zangwill had caused Luther's death with a peculiar quill, while Luther learned Klein had returned to Backlund to pursue Ince and grow stronger.

Klein and Luther reunited, vowed to kill Ince Zangwill, and discussed Lanevus and the Evil God's Offspring he carried. Lanevus escaped an Aurora Order guard with the fetus’s help, killed him, and began consuming his remains.

• Klein and Luther shared news of their survival but kept their secrets hidden from each other.
• Klein and Luther vowed to kill Ince Zangwill for Dunn’s death.
• Klein told Luther that Lanevus was alive and carrying an Evil God's Offspring, and Luther said he already knew Lanevus was a threat.
• Lanevus sensed that people were looking for him and decided he could not wait for them to find him.
• An Aurora Order guard ordered Lanevus back, but the fetus used mysterious authority to make the guard’s body disintegrate.
• Lanevus laughed, stomped the guard’s head to pieces, then crouched beside the corpse and began swallowing it.

Luther and Klein reunited in Backlund and discussed their escapes from burial, their work, and their shared pursuit of Lanevus. After parting, Klein considered bringing Luther Above the Gray Fog to help stabilize his mind, while the moon overhead turned an intense blood-red.

• Luther and Klein met at a café, where they compared how Cecilia had dug Luther up and how Klein had escaped his coffin.
• Klein described his work as a detective, and Luther said he was an underground doctor in the East Borough while keeping his investigation into disappearances secret.
• Luther gave Klein his contact address, and they agreed to share any clues they found about Lanevus.
• Luther left as his hallucinations began to affect him, and Klein considered inviting him Above the Gray Fog to stabilize his mental state.
• The moon rose through the clouds and rapidly turned blood-red.

Fors struggled to care for Xio, whose curse worsened after their encounter with Lanevus, while the Crimson Moon intensified the terrifying voice in her mind. She called upon the Fool, who saved her and welcomed her into the Tarot Club as Magician, and she asked him to help Xio.

• Fors poured Sun Holy Water directly onto Xio's cursed shoulder, easing the wound but causing Xio intense pain.
• Fors recalled Audrey's warning not to seek Mr. A's help because he was working with Lanevus, and she waited anxiously for a cure.
• When the Crimson Moon appeared, Fors was overwhelmed by the voice and began losing control despite praying to the God of Steam and Machinery.
• Fors recited the mysterious being's Honorific Name from the slip of paper, and Klein heard her plea after returning home.
• Klein rescued Fors, answered her questions, and invited her to the Tarot Club under the codename Magician.
• Fors asked Mr. Fool to help Xio, who had been cursed by the offspring of an evil god.

Emily struggled to support herself in the East Borough while studying for a better future, and Luther and Cecilia prepared to attend another Beyonder Gathering. The chapter left them arriving at Darkwill’s herbal shop to collect what Luther had requested.

• Emily brought fish home to Cecilia and avoided listening to the terrifying sounds coming from the living room while she studied.
• Luther asked Cecilia to attend the upcoming Beyonder Gathering and offered to help find Potion ingredients for the Instigator.
• Luther read about a memorial exhibition of Emperor Roselle’s inventions and manuscripts planned for the Royal Museum.
• Luther and Cecilia set out to search for clues related to the Queen’s commission and traveled to Darkwill’s herbal shop.
• Darkwill greeted Luther and showed delight when he saw Cecilia.

Luther posed as a Missionary and treated poor residents in East Borough while using a Mirror to question them about disappearances. As he left with Cecilia, he sensed an approaching Beyonder and saw a woman dragging a young girl into the street.

• Darkwill gave Luther the medicines he had prepared, and Luther paid him three gold coins.
• Luther and Cecilia went to East Borough, where Luther treated residents' injuries and handed out medicines.
• Luther questioned patients about disappearances using the Mirror, but learned only vague reports of missing girls and abducted children.
• Luther reflected on his undigested Potions and the Acting principles of a Shadow Ascetic as he left with Cecilia.
• Luther sensed a Beyonder approaching, Cecilia hid in the shadows, and a brown-curled woman stumbled into view dragging a petite girl.

Fors and the badly injured Xio fled fanatical True Creator followers in the East Borough until Luther and Cecilia intervened. After Cecilia killed the pursuers and spared one, Luther offered to treat Xio in exchange for answers, then examined the unconscious follower.

• Fors supported Xio toward a doctor in the East Borough after seeking help from Mr. Fool, but fanatical pursuers attacked them, drawn by Xio’s aura of Degeneration.
• Xio used her Judgment ability to delay the pursuers, but her wounds worsened and she collapsed as Fors tried to escape with her.
• Luther examined Xio while Cecilia swiftly killed the pursuers and knocked one unconscious.
• Luther offered to treat Xio in exchange for answers, and Fors reluctantly agreed.
• Luther recognized the pursuers as followers of the True Creator and began examining the survivor.

Luther questioned an Aurora Order believer and learned that Lanevus had escaped with the True Creator’s offspring, then used Spirit Channeling to discover that Mr. A had ordered his followers to retrieve him. After Luther stopped the dead believers from exploding, he brought Fors and the cursed Xio to No. 8 Hawes Street to treat her.

• Luther hypnotized a surviving Aurora Order believer and learned that Mr. A’s followers were searching for Lanevus and the Lord’s offspring.
• Luther performed Spirit Channeling and saw Mr. A order believers to bring back the escaped Lanevus.
• Mr. A noticed Luther in the vision, and the corpses began swelling as Flesh Bombs.
• Luther used his blood and Flesh and Blood Magic to stop the corpses from exploding and dispose of them.
• Luther introduced himself as Kafka Anderson and brought Fors Wall and the cursed Xio Derecha to No. 8 Hawes Street for treatment.