Chapter Summaries

Luther attacked the Black Death and overwhelmed its crew, but stopped himself from corrupting Tracy without restraint. As M searched Tracy’s memories, she discovered that Tracy’s mother was a Sequence 3 Demoness, and a broken mirror began bleeding behind them.

• Luther flew to the Black Death, deflected its gunfire, and killed the pirates who rushed to defend the ship.
• Luther tore apart the Black Death’s upper structure and found Tracy amid the wreckage.
• Luther’s shadows corrupted the surviving crew, but Tracy resisted, and a blonde maid shielded her from him.
• Luther recognized that he had nearly lost control of his Acting and summoned M to search Tracy’s memories.
• M warned Luther that Tracy’s mother was a Sequence 3 Demoness as blood spread from a cracked mirror and formed a strange symbol.

A white-robed Sequence 3 Demoness arrived to save Tracy and petrified Luther, but Luther broke free as the Demoness took him away. Elsewhere, the Blood Pirates fought the Vice Admiral of Ailment’s ships while a strange man flew toward the enemy, and a black-armored figure confronted the Demoness on the ice.

• A white-robed Sequence 3 Demoness emerged in the Black Death’s captain’s cabin and petrified Luther and part of the ship.
• The Demoness scolded Tracy for failing to contact Mother sooner, then tried to take Luther with her.
• Luther’s stone shell cracked, and dark shadows surged out as Tracy warned that he was moving.
• On the Doe, Philia helped the crew battle two pirate ships while Rube steered through incoming fire.
• A strange man used a metal sequin and a gust of wind to fly toward the opposing pirate ship as the sea froze near the island.
• The white-robed Demoness faced a black-armored miniature giant on the ice after Luther resisted her petrification.

Luther fought Katarina Pellé, the Sequence 3 Demoness known as the White Saint, and endured her mirror magic, black flames, and curse. He countered by invoking pain through a rib, leaving Katarina screaming in agony as their battle continued.

• M explained that Katarina Pellé was Tracy’s mother, a Sequence 3 Demoness skilled in charm, mirror magic, and curses.
• Katarina attacked Luther through ice mirrors, but Luther unleashed his Fallen Shadow and summoned storms to shatter the ice and disrupt her illusions.
• Katarina dodged Luther’s lightning and cut him with a dagger, then used his blood to curse him with black flames.
• Luther tore out flesh as a substitute for the curse and grabbed Katarina’s hair, but her curse burned him despite his attempt to divert it.
• Luther bit Katarina’s hair and stabbed himself with a Pain rib, causing Katarina to scream as his curse inflicted overwhelming pain on her.

Luther used his Sequence 4 Sun abilities to cure the plague Katarina inflicted and destroy her physical body, but she escaped through a mirror. When Katarina tried to return through the shard in Tracy’s cabin, a red-haired man trapped her in illusory worlds, and she emerged into reality with a wicked smile.

• Katarina’s ice-mirror decoys hid her from Luther while her plague made him cough blood and struggle to breathe.
• Luther invoked the Sun Pathway’s Unshadowed Domain, purifying the plague and forcing Katarina to appear.
• Luther hurled a spear of sunlight at Katarina, and its blast burned away her body over the sea.
• Katarina appeared inside a mirror shard in the Black Death’s ruins, but a rusty red layer blocked her passage into reality.
• A red-haired man trapped Katarina inside illusory worlds, and blood poured from the mirror as she screamed.
• Tracy rushed to the mirror, where the red-haired man appeared before Katarina rose into the cabin with a wicked smile.

Luther and Medici captured Katarina, but she used a hidden curse to kill herself before Luther could question her. Klein and Azik Eggers arrived on the damaged Black Death, where Azik recognized Medici and struggled to remember him.

• Luther revealed that Medici had captured Katarina by ambushing her through a mirror, then asked how to kill her.
• A powerful figure appeared in the distance, distracting Luther and Medici as Katarina broke free long enough to unleash a Black Snake hidden inside Tracy.
• Katarina burned to ash despite Luther's attempt to stop her, and Medici admitted she had concealed her curse-killing weapon in her child.
• Klein, disguised as Gehrman Sparrow, arrived with Azik Eggers and asked whether Katarina had escaped.
• Azik stared at Medici and struggled to recall his identity, while Medici recognized Azik and laughed scornfully.

Azik learned that he was the son of Death, but he still could not recall the most important parts of his past. After Tracy's escape was stopped, Luther began purifying her and expelling her Beyonder Characteristic.

• Azik and Medici exchanged insults while Medici revealed that he and the other two spirits had remained trapped underground for a thousand years.
• Medici recalled that Azik's father, Death, had joined forces with a Demoness to unleash the Pale Disaster across the Southern Continent, but the Seven Gods and a newly advanced figure had defeated them.
• Azik admitted that Medici's words had brought back memories, though he still could not remember something important, and Medici withdrew into Luther.
• Klein explained that he had brought Azik to help Luther and asked what would happen to Tracy; Luther asked her what she knew about Katarina.
• Tracy said she had been a child Katarina created to preserve her youthful state of mind, and Luther dismissed her attempt to evoke sympathy.
• Luther used Purification of the Unshadowed on Tracy, forcing the Beyonder Characteristic out of her body as Klein retreated.

After defeating Tracy, Luther celebrated with his crew, used her intelligence to plan a campaign against the Demoness Sect’s trafficking network, and narrowed his search for the Black Throne. Elsewhere, Admiral of Blood Senor learned that Lord Shanks’s ritual had succeeded and awaited the god’s response.

• Luther declined Klein’s invitation to the victory banquet, and Klein left with Azik while Luther dragged the Black Death’s wreckage back to his fleet.
• Luther reunited with his crew, confirmed they had captured Tracy’s pirates, and ordered the loot divided and the prisoners held for sale.
• Luther’s crew celebrated aboard the Doe while he studied Tracy’s intelligence and planned to target Demoness Sect traffickers and their transport captains.
• Luther recorded another direction from the black key on his sea chart, narrowing the search area for the Black Throne, and remembered the Queen’s request to meet before his journey.
• Senor asked Lord Shanks whether the ritual had succeeded, and Shanks confirmed it had and said they were waiting for the god’s response.

The Rose School of Thought sought the Mother Tree’s help to heal the injured Lord Suah, and its ritual produced a writhing ball of flesh. At Symeem Island, the Blood Bishop’s fleet arrived with the captured Vice Admiral of Ailment, Tracy, leaving the dock stunned.

• Senor watched as Shanks performed a ritual to ask the Mother Tree for a way to heal Suah.
• The altar transformed into a flesh-and-blood tree, which collapsed into a living ball of flesh after tormenting Senor.
• The Mother Tree answered Shanks, who declared that the ritual could help Suah.
• The Blood Bishop’s pirate ships appeared at Symeem Island’s harbor, and the dock workers froze in confusion and fear.
• Anderson led the bound Tracy and her captives ashore, and the crowd recognized her as the Vice Admiral of Ailment.

Luther identified a likely location of the Black Throne’s flagship in the Fog Sea and prepared to leave the fleet in Anderson’s hands. He gave Anderson the Sequence 4 Iron-Blooded Knight formula and left him a powerful Flesh Puppet and mystical items to help protect the fleet.

• Walter freed islanders from a pirate ship and told them that Luther’s fleet would take them home and recruit new crew members.
• Luther plotted the bearings he had gathered and located their intersection between Aroca Island and Easter Island in the Fog Sea.
• Luther gave Anderson the Iron-Blooded Knight Potion formula and Advancement Ritual as an advance payment.
• Luther told Anderson he would leave the fleet and ordered him to continue freeing islanders and recruiting crew members.
• Luther tore off his arm and turned it into a Flesh Puppet to impersonate him, then gave Anderson mystical items and a charm to summon him in an emergency.

Luther flew from the Rorsted Archipelago into the Berserk Sea, where storms and Death’s lingering power had distorted both the waters and the Spirit World. After following a safe route past twisted creatures, he spotted a steamship trapped outside it.

• Luther crossed the Rorsted Archipelago and reached the boundary between the calm sea and the Berserk Sea.
• Luther recognized the Berserk Sea as a region warped by the aftermath of Death’s fall and consulted his nautical atlas for a safe route to Midway Island.
• Luther entered the Berserk Sea and used an air-current shield and the Phantom Tide to endure its physical and spiritual shocks.
• Luther flew along the safe route past ships and watched distorted Spirit World creatures that avoided the route and regarded him with aversion.
• Luther heard people pleading for help and saw a steamship trapped among fleshy arms after straying from the safe route.

Luther saved the Golden Lamb from Spirit World creatures in the Berserk Sea and continued on to Midway Island. He entered a local bar and ordered food and drink, with Luna peeking out from his arms.

• Captain Kost watched the Golden Lamb sink under the pull of invisible creatures and ordered the crew to fight back.
• Luther used the Sun Pathway's power to destroy the creatures gripping the ship, freeing it to return to the safe shipping lane.
• When hostile Spirit World creatures approached Luther, he amplified the sound of the tide within him, causing them to retreat.
• Luther flew to Midway Island, landed, and entered a bar under Psychological Invisibility.
• Luther soothed the angry bartender and ordered lemonade and fresh fish while Luna poked her head out and meowed.

Luther met with Queen Mystic Bernadette and told her he had located the Black Throne’s approximate route through the Fog Sea. He planned to search for it alone, while Bernadette revealed that the Aurora Order’s Rose Saint was a Sequence 3 of the Secrets Suppliant pathway whose whereabouts were unknown.

• At a bar, Luther heard that Tracy had been captured by Blood Bishop, then taken from Symeem Island by the Intis Embassy after the Sauron Family intervened.
• Luther left town with Luna and climbed the pea-vine staircase to meet Queen Mystic Bernadette on Midway Island.
• Luther showed Bernadette the Black Iron Key and described his plan to search for the Black Throne between Aroca Island and Easter Island.
• Bernadette declined to accompany Luther, warning that her presence might interfere with his chance of finding the Black Throne.
• Luther asked Bernadette about the Sequence 3 Secrets Suppliant potion formula, and she told him the Aurora Order’s Rose Saint was a Demigod whose whereabouts were unknown.

Luther learned that Roselle’s Black Throne had vanished after Roselle modified it and suspected it might contain a hidden backup plan. Bernadette agreed to let Luther claim the ship, provided she could board it to discover what her father left behind, and offered him a one-use ritual item that might draw on the evil spirit within him.

• Luther asked Bernadette what she knew about the Black Throne, and she recounted how Roselle had used it before his coronation and later modified it before it disappeared.
• Luther suspected the Black Throne might hold a secret reserve or backup plan, but Bernadette said she would not contest his ownership and only wanted to investigate what Roselle had left behind.
• Luther asked Bernadette for a reliable Artisan and a powerful item for his upcoming journey, and she offered him a single-use ritual item.
• Luther recognized a Fool emblem among the item’s runes, then asked whether its ability to borrow power from his past self was meant for the evil spirit inside him.

Luther accepted Bernadette’s powerful item after discussing how it might restore Medici’s strength, then concealed his connection to the Fool when she questioned him. After Luther warned the Fool that Queen Mystic seemed to suspect their connection, Klein suspected Cattleya had leaked the information.

• Bernadette offered Luther an item that could temporarily restore Medici’s power, and Luther accepted it after confirming he could stop feeding it spirituality if Medici became dangerous.
• Luther suppressed Medici with the Phantom Tide and kept the evil spirit from overhearing his conversation with Bernadette.
• Bernadette asked Luther whether he had heard of the Fool, and Luther gave her only vague information while concealing his connection to the deity.
• Bernadette told Luther to focus on finding the Black Throne and promised a reward for clues about the Fool; Luther agreed but decided to report her suspicions.
• Luther prayed to the Fool and warned Klein that Queen Mystic might know of their connection.
• Klein suspected Cattleya had told Bernadette about Luther’s connection to the Fool.

Klein learned that the King of the Five Seas was holding a Pirate Assembly and considered sailing with Cattleya, despite the risk of drawing Queen Mystic Bernadette’s attention. Meanwhile, Anderson told the Doe’s sailors that the captain would not attend, and Luther continued west until he reached the Fog Sea.

• Klein overheard people in Bayam discussing the Pirate Assembly and its possible attendees, including the Blood Bishop and the King of the Five Seas.
• Klein recalled that the Hanged Man had been assigned by the Church of Storms to attend the assembly, leaving Cattleya as the only person he could hire to take him toward the God War Ruins.
• Klein considered the benefits and risks of sailing with Cattleya, including the chance to meet Bernadette and confirm that she had leaked information.
• Anderson brushed off the Doe’s sailors by pretending to consult the absent captain, unaware that the King of the Five Seas’ invitation was glowing in a drawer.
• Luther reported to Mr. Fool, left Midway Island, and flew west through the stormy sea region until he reached the Fog Sea.

Luther crossed into the Fog Sea and flew west toward Aroca Island, where he spotted an armored warship in the mist. In Nas, Klein met with Cattleya through a crystal ball to arrange their journey to the God War Ruins.

• Luther consulted his chart and chose to fly west toward Aroca Island instead of northwest toward the Fog Sea Archipelago.
• Luther flew into the Fog Sea, navigated by chart and compass, and ignored the unsettling presence he sensed in the mist.
• Klein arrived in Nas, walked through the rough port city, and contacted Cattleya from the Frenzied Whale Dance general store.
• Klein and Cattleya began discussing the arrangements for traveling to the God War Ruins.
• Luther heard an engine, caught up with a vessel in the fog, and realized it was a heavily armed warship.

Luther spotted an Intis warship protected by a contract-like membrane while flying toward Aroca Island to find the Black Throne, and chose not to approach it. Elsewhere, Senor arrived at Agalito’s harbor to propose cooperation with the King of Immortality, but refused to board the Death Announcer.

• Luther saw Intis sailors and clergy studying the mist aboard a warship and sensed that its appearance was suspicious.
• Luther detected a faintly golden membrane around the warship and realized touching it could alert the powerful Beyonder behind its Contract.
• Luther left the warship alone and continued toward Aroca Island to search for the Black Throne.
• Agalito’s pirates absorbed crimson mist in silence as their harbor resupply unfolded around the Death Announcer.
• Senor arrived and offered Agalito cooperation on behalf of the Rose School of Thought, promising sacrifices and souls if its scheme succeeded.
• Agalito invited Senor aboard to explain, but Senor declined, wary that the Death Announcer could turn him into its servant.

Luther followed Intis warships to Aroca Island and discovered that the navy, the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and a powerful Beyonder were gathering there to pursue Roselle’s flagship. After entering an inn to avoid the dangerous presence, he was suddenly struck by an icy gust as he opened his room.

• Luther spotted Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun clergy aboard Intis warships and suspected the church was cooperating with the government.
• He followed a fleet of intercepted ships to Aroca Island, where the Intis Navy forced passengers ashore and confined them.
• Luther noticed a specially modified warship and sensed a powerful Beyonder, leading him to conclude that Intis was searching for Roselle’s flagship.
• He avoided the powerful presence and entered an overcrowded inn, where travelers protested the inflated room prices.
• Luther took a room on the second floor, entered it, and felt an icy gust sweep toward him.

Luther learned that the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun had sent a Sequence 3 carrying a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact to find the Black Throne. On Aroca Island, Archbishop Jean-Pierre ordered Rear Admiral François to act against a tracked ship the next day, while Luther sought information and heard local rumors about the Ghost Ship.

• Queen Mystic Bernadette sent Luther a warning that Intis and the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun were searching for the Black Throne and that the church had deployed a Sequence 3 with a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.
• Luther destroyed the note after learning of the danger posed by the unknown artifact.
• Jean-Pierre received a report that the church had tracked a ship and ordered Rear Admiral François to act the next day.
• François questioned the haste, but Jean-Pierre declared that he had received the Lord's revelation and condemned the ship as a remnant of Roselle's rule.
• Luther went downstairs to gather information and heard fishermen discussing the navy and church's search for the Ghost Ship, along with local tales about it.

Luther learned that the Intis fleet planned to depart the next day in search of the Black Throne, so he decided to infiltrate it and follow their pursuit. He used Flesh and Blood Parasitism to merge with an officer aboard an escort ship, leaving himself hidden inside the man.

• Luther identified the locals’ Ghost Ship as the Black Throne and wondered whether it had a Lawyer Pathway ability that prevented pursuers from approaching.
• Luther entered a room where Intis sailors were assaulting a Loen woman, and M searched the officer Philip Tasini’s memories.
• M discovered that Philip had orders to join the fleet’s departure the next day, and Luther realized the fleet was preparing to pursue the Black Throne.
• Luther decided to infiltrate the fleet by parasitizing Philip, an officer aboard the warship Paz.
• Luther dissolved into flesh and blood, entered Philip’s body, and took control while leaving the officer alive and outwardly normal.