Chapter Summaries

After Aldrich’s defeat, Elsa collapsed from exhaustion while the surviving adventurers recovered and explored Anor Londo restored to its radiant former glory. Yorshka thanked the group, gave Fingel her chime, and departed, while the adventurers prepared to return and report their victory.

• Aldrich’s Soul split among the surviving adventurers, and Sid healed Elsa and the other wounded after Matilda diagnosed Elsa with mental exhaustion from overusing Hell March.
• The adventurers emerged to find Anor Londo restored beneath a bright sun, where Silver Knights saluted them and the castle’s inhabitants welcomed them.
• Elsa woke, brought her greatsword to the giant blacksmith, and stayed with Lu Lu Wo while the blacksmith offered the group a free weapon reinforcement.
• Fingel and the adventurers visited Yorshka, who thanked them for defeating Aldrich and invited them to join the Dark Moon Knight Order if their journey became too difficult.
• Yorshka disappeared after giving Fingel her chime, and Matilda dragged him away when he admitted he was thrilled to have received the captain’s personal equipment.

Dark Moon Blade supporters celebrated Fingel and his companions’ victory over Aldrich, while Yorshka’s words inspired devotion and alarmed a Holy Light priest. At the Holy Light Church, Albuquerque’s report led the bishop to decide that Li Ka would enter the Underground Labyrinth’s Lightless Area.

• Dark Moon Blade members watched new footage of Yorshka at a tavern until news arrived that Fingel and his companions had returned victorious.
• In Bede City, Food Street merchants challenged the Holy Light parade, but news of Aldrich’s defeat drew the crowd away to celebrate the adventurers.
• Fingel displayed Aldrich’s soul as proof of victory, and Lu Lu Wo showed footage of Yorshka that won her respect as a goddess in her own right.
• A Holy Light priest recognized the sincerity of the crowd’s devotion to the Dark Moon and realized that he, too, followed his faith for personal gain.
• Albuquerque reported the results of experiments in the Lightless Area, and the bishop decided to send Li Ka there to demonstrate the Blessed’s steadfast faith.

Albuquerque sabotaged the Holy Light Church’s expedition into the Lightless Area while concealing his alliance with the Shadow Brotherhood. The team’s protections faltered when a Terror Screaming Demon and a Noisy Prophet attacked, and the invisible royal-city expert fell into danger.

• Albuquerque agreed to help the Shadow Brotherhood disrupt the church’s expedition, motivated by resentment toward Had and his blocked hopes of promotion.
• After three days of training, the Holy Light Church entered the Lightless Area with Li Ka, Had, Albuquerque, and an invisible expert from the royal city.
• The invisible expert repeatedly used magic to suppress the team’s psychological pressure as they traveled through the dark labyrinth.
• A Terror Screaming Demon attacked the team and inflicted a horrific wound on a priest, while Had ordered the others to fight the surrounding Limping Ones.
• The Noisy Prophet predicted disaster for a blond-haired man and a brown-haired woman, and falling rubble injured a Holy Light Knight.
• The ground split beneath the Terror Screaming Demon, and Albuquerque realized the invisible expert had fallen as the Noisy Prophet grinned in the darkness.

The Holy Light Church party battled monsters in the Lightless Area while staging footage, as several members succumbed to the dungeon’s psychological pressure. Beacon, the invisible expert, fought Formless Flesh deeper underground until the Blood Moon disrupted her faith and awakened her.

• Had ordered the church party to distract the Terror Screaming Demon and focus their attacks on the Limping One, but a priest succumbed to brutality and attacked Nun.
• The wounded party restrained the priest and Nun, then filmed Li Ka purifying the Limping One; the monster lunged at Li Ka before an invisible expert killed it with a blade of light.
• Had continued organizing promotional footage, while the invisible expert took the Image Stone and the party set off to find more monsters.
• Albuquerque wondered how the expert had returned from the collapsed floor as the party traveled through the Lightless Area.
• Beacon fought the regenerating Formless Flesh deep underground and drew strength from her faith until the Blood Moon appeared and disrupted her magic.
• Beacon’s negative emotions erupted under the Blood Moon’s pressure, and she awakened with resentment toward the Holy Light.

Beacon’s faith collapsed after a Brain Sucker heightened her insight, while pressure drove Had’s Church expedition into chaos in the Lightless Area. Albuquerque and the others escaped to Lake Liurnia, where a Church staff member warned Had that he had caused a huge disaster.

• Beacon questioned why she had to serve the Holy Light and obey the archbishop, but her faith temporarily regained strength.
• Formless Flesh let a Brain Sucker inject insight into Beacon, and she rejected the Holy Light and vowed to bring her sisters into the Lightless Area.
• Had ordered the exhausted expedition to leave, but Formless Flesh surrounded the group and pressure triggered panic, violence, and despair.
• Albuquerque passed the pressure’s trial through fearlessness and led the group against Formless Flesh before the monsters swallowed them.
• Albuquerque woke in Lake Liurnia the next day, where Had said an invisible expert had taken both Image Stones to report to the bishop.
• As Had and the others headed for the teleportation bonfire, a Church staff member arrived and warned Had that he had caused a huge disaster.

The Holy Light Church’s staged videos were exposed when behind-the-scenes footage aired across Bede City, forcing the church into a public-relations crisis. As Gong Qiying considered what area to open next, adventurers’ wish to save Gwyndolin inspired him to consider Archdragon Peak.

• Albuquerque led the church group out of the dungeon, where they discovered the finished and behind-the-scenes videos playing from a Shadow Brotherhood airship.
• The exposed footage humiliated Had, enraged the Holy Light Church’s believers, and left the church mages unable to destroy the airship as Sid returned to the dungeon.
• The Holy Light Church struggled to manage the scandal, and its bishop later admitted that the church had acted too hastily.
• Gong Qiying considered opening new areas and wondered whether the Warrior Country’s War Festival could lead to a Starscourge Radahn storyline.
• After hearing Dark Moon Blade covenant members wish they could save Gwyndolin from Aldrich, Gong Qiying considered opening Archdragon Peak next.

Gong Qiying began building new Dark Souls maps while adventurers trained in the Painting World and uncovered a secret of the ancient dragons. Klan accepted Hawkwood’s Dragon Head Stone and emerged with a strange dragon-like head, leaving Da Er and Fingel to deal with his transformation.

• Gong Qiying planned to add Archdragon Peak, the Profaned Capital, and Smouldering Lake to the dungeon, deciding to let adventurers discover the way to Archdragon Peak through hints.
• Klan fought Hawkwood in the Painting World, lost, and listened to him speak about ancient dragons and their desire to survive the darkness after the flames went out.
• Hawkwood showed Klan a Dragon Head Stone and offered him the chance to experience a dragon’s power, and Klan accepted.
• Da Er and Fingel discussed their demon subjugation and the demons that had fled into the neighboring Warrior Country before a Farron Guard reported Klan had been captured as a monster.
• At the royal city prison, Klan rejoined Da Er and Fingel with a shriveled, dragon-like head, and Fingel learned that Klan had chosen to use the Dragon Head Stone.

Klan struggled with his new dragon head while the group discussed a legend about a nameless god and a great bell. Meanwhile, Iliphis considered a demon priestess’s offer of powerful Fallen Devil Eggs, and the chapter ended with her messenger mistaken for a spy in Warrior Country.

• Klan discovered that his dragon head enhanced his senses and strength and let him breathe fire, but doctors and a priest could not change it back.
• Klan told the others that Hawkwood had spoken of ancient dragon seekers searching for a nameless god who could be reached by ringing a great bell.
• Matilda delivered Fingel a Royal Palace commission, while Iliphis struggled to activate his Fallen Devil Egg and prepared to accompany Princess Serena into Zane Dungeon.
• A demon carrying Lady Ounuo La’s offer presented Iliphis with Fallen Devil Eggs, including one that seemed to call to him, but admitted he did not know her demands.
• The demon explained that the Farron Guard had killed most of his group, while the surviving messenger reached Warrior Country and was arrested after asking where the Light Eagle Legion was stationed.

After surviving the priest massacre, Ounuo La became obsessed with finding the Jet-black Abyss and dismissed the Demon King Bloodline she had chosen to support. Meanwhile, Fingel and the Hasawi Squad escorted Princess Serena into Irithyll, where she revealed her Ornstein-obsessed true self and announced her goal of taking a picture with Lord Ornstein.

• Ounuo La sent disguised demons to search the human world for information about the Abyss and privately scorned the young Demon King Bloodline she had encouraged.
• Fingel agreed to escort Princess Serena into the dungeon to repay Iliphis for a past favor, and the palace attendant said Serena had arranged for them to enter Irithyll without fighting Overlord Wolnir again.
• Fingel recognized Serena as possibly the woman he had encountered sneaking out at night, while Serena worried that he would expose her secret.
• After reaching Irithyll, Serena changed her armor into golden gear covered with carvings of Ornstein and dropped her composed princess act.
• Serena told the Hasawi Squad that their goal was to take a picture of her with Lord Ornstein, surprising the group.

Serena entered the Painting World with Fingel possessing a rare ghost, then indulged her admiration of Ornstein by posing for pictures before being killed by the boss. After visiting Gwyndolin’s Tomb, Fingel was confronted by Gwyndolin, who recognized a gift he had bestowed upon his sister.

• Serena used a rare ghost to bring Fingel’s consciousness into the Painting World despite the one-person entry restriction.
• Serena used spells and Bewitching Branches to evade Giant Guards, but they killed her when the branches failed to control them again.
• Fingel guided Serena to Gwyn’s castle, where she posed with a bouquet of Bewitching Branches before Ornstein impaled her and Smough finished her off.
• Serena said admiring Ornstein helped her cope with the pressure and isolation of life as a Princess, then joined Fingel in visiting Gwyndolin’s Tomb.
• Gwyndolin spoke to Fingel as they left the tomb’s Fog Gate and asked why he possessed a gift bestowed upon his sister.

Fingel told Gwyndolin about the future, but Gwyndolin accepted his fate rather than trying to change it, leaving Fingel determined to seek a way to prevent the tragedy. After Serena brought Fingel out of the Painting World, the group agreed to stay longer and head for Irithyll Underground Jail.

• Fingel told Gwyndolin how Sulyvahn and Aldrich would lead to his death, and Gwyndolin said he would accept that fate.
• Gwyndolin explained that he would keep guarding the First Flame even if he knew what awaited him, then fell silent before finishing his thought.
• Fingel argued with Serena that Gwyndolin’s tragic end was forced upon him and that Zane Dungeon might offer a way to change it.
• Serena read the Court Magician’s book to leave the Painting World, bringing Fingel out with her after little time had passed outside.
• Aleya and Matilda gave Serena recovery potions and magic, and the group chose to stay longer by visiting Irithyll Underground Jail.

Fingel and the Hasawi Squad escorted Serena through Irithyll Underground Jail, where she resisted Fingel’s pranks and discovered an unexplored path leading outside. When Fingel recorded her among the Dragon Men, Serena vanished and found herself in an unfamiliar mountain region filled with strange buildings and distant dragon roars.

• Fingel repeatedly tried to trick Serena into approaching dangerous monsters, but she used adventurers’ information about the Zane Rule to avoid his traps.
• Serena told Fingel that Iliphis had sent her magic book pages, and she admired his efforts to learn spells and Weapon Skills.
• Matilda and Fingel noticed fresh wind in the deep levels of the Underground Jail, and the group followed it to a sunlit path leading outside.
• The group found misshapen Dragon Men sitting in meditation, and Serena posed among them while Fingel prepared an Image Stone recording.
• When Fingel activated the Image Stone, Serena tilted her head and became motionless; she then awoke amid towering mountains and strange buildings with dragons roaring in the distance.

Serena was transported to Archdragon Peak while posing with the little Dragon Men and explored the dangerous mountain alone. After fighting and fleeing Snake Men, she entered a fog-sealed arena, where an Ancient Flying Dragon landed before her.

• Serena woke at Archdragon Peak while her body remained asleep among the little Dragon Men, and Fingel’s group feared moving her might trigger a curse.
• Serena left the bonfire, fought a Snake Man with spells and a flaming dagger, and was overwhelmed by more Snake Men before reappearing at the bonfire.
• Serena sneaked deeper into Archdragon Peak, but picking up an Ancient Dragon Greatshield exposed her to a group of Snake Men.
• Serena fled through an open gate into an empty arena, where a Fog Gate blocked the Snake Men and a summon sign for Hawkwood appeared.
• An Ancient Flying Dragon roared and crashed down in front of Serena.

Serena explored the vast area of Zane Dungeon, where an Ancient Flying Dragon killed her during her first attempt to fight through the snake-men. After summoning Hawkwood, she watched him nearly defeat the dragon, but he used a Black Separation Crystal and left her alone with it.

• Serena fled the Ancient Flying Dragon, lured it into a building, and tried to push past a group of snake-men before the dragon burned her and them to ashes.
• Serena revived at the bonfire, recoiled from the pain of dying, and continued exploring toward the Fog Gate.
• Serena summoned Hawkwood, who swiftly killed the surrounding snake-men while she contributed nothing and received few souls.
• Hawkwood entered the Fog Gate, climbed onto the Ancient Flying Dragon’s head, and struck its weak point with the Farron Greatsword.
• After the dragon lost much of its life, Hawkwood used a Black Separation Crystal and returned to his world, leaving Serena alone with it.

Serena failed to defeat the Ancient Flying Dragon after Hawkwood left, but she gathered information about Archdragon Peak and its Nameless King. She reunited with Fingel and summoned the Hasawi Squad to face the dragon together.

• Hawkwood abandoned Serena at the Ancient Flying Dragon, and the dragon flung her from the sky when she tried to attack it.
• Serena returned to the Fog Gate, summoned Hawkwood, and questioned him about the Farron Undead Legion and Archdragon Peak.
• Hawkwood told Serena that the Nameless King might be Sun's Eldest Son, who had been exiled by Gwyn and was rumored to have come to Archdragon Peak.
• Fingel found Serena, and she explained what she had learned before returning to Irithyll to gather the other two members of the Hasawi Squad.
• Serena led the Hasawi Squad back to Archdragon Peak, and the adventurers agreed to slay the Ancient Flying Dragon.

The Hasawi Squad fought the Ancient Flying Dragon, and Serena helped Fingel land a decisive strike that earned her a Dragon Head Stone. Meanwhile, Iliphis experimented with the green Fallen Devil Egg before learning that the minister had accused him of colluding with demons.

• Hawkwood led the Hasawi Squad into battle against the Ancient Flying Dragon, and they used Aleya's grease-soaked Straw Man and Fingel's Night and Flame Sword to set the dragon ablaze.
• Serena guided the squad toward elevated platforms, hoping they could use them to attack the dragon from above.
• The Ancient Flying Dragon pursued the squad through the platforms, and Serena used Chaotic Magic to slow its charge, though the dragon's flames engulfed her.
• Fingel pierced the Ancient Flying Dragon's skull with the Night and Flame Sword and unleashed Comet Azur, while Serena received a Dragon Head Stone before losing consciousness.
• Iliphis used the green Fallen Devil Egg to devour a red one as Dorian worried about an absent demon ally.
• Sally told Iliphis that someone from the minister's side had arrived and accused him of colluding with demons.

Iliphis faced a trap at the Royal Palace after Warrior Country accused him of ties to demons, while Serena’s group fought endless summoned Dragon Blood Knights in Zane Dungeon. Iliphis’s Crystal Ball turned red, and Fingel confronted a heavily armored Havel Warrior upstairs.

• Sally told Iliphis that Warrior Country had accused him of ties to demons, and Iliphis decided the minister’s summons was a warning rather than an arrest.
• Iliphis went to the Royal Palace and realized Minister Aoluo had broken free of his mind control and was using the Crystal Ball test to pressure him.
• Iliphis activated the Crystal Ball, which turned red and indicated utmost danger.
• Serena’s group fought Heroic Spirit Dragon Blood Knights that kept appearing inside a two-story room at Archdragon Peak.
• Fingel found the Snake Man summoning the knights and encountered a powerful Havel Warrior upstairs.

Fingel and his companions struggled to escape the seemingly indestructible Havel Warrior as they crossed Archdragon Peak. After fleeing toward a mountain summit, Fingel discovered a second Havel Warrior beside a slain flying dragon.

• Fingel fought the Havel Warrior, was badly injured, and ordered Matilda to pursue the snake-man summoning Dragon Blood Knights.
• Matilda killed the snake-man, but the Havel Warrior smashed Fingel; Serena and Aleya also failed to stop him, so the group fled.
• Fingel led everyone through Archdragon Peak, where they tried to use a flying dragon's fire against the Havel Warrior; the dragon attacked them instead.
• Serena gave Fingel her Bewitching Branch bouquet, which made the flying dragon fight the Havel Warrior, but the Havel Warrior killed it with his Great Dragon Tooth.
• Fingel led the group toward a mountain summit, hoping to drop the Havel Warrior from a ladder, but found a dead flying dragon and a second Havel Warrior.

At Archdragon Peak, Fingel's party fought two Havel Warriors, and Serena's attempt to drag one off a cliff failed. After the group was defeated and revived, Fingel insisted on returning to fight again, persuading Serena to stay by saying Ornstein might be nearby.

• Serena tried to cut the rope ladder, then leaped off the cliff while holding a Havel Warrior's arm, but he kept hold of her and climbed back up with her dangling from him.
• Fingel noticed that his Softening Potion made a Havel Warrior cough and falter, then called to Aleya for help before the other Havel Warrior charged him.
• The Havel Warriors defeated Fingel and Serena, while Matilda and Aleya escaped and later reunited with them at the Archdragon Peak Bonfire.
• Serena said she wanted to return to the Royal Palace, but Fingel insisted on going back to fight and revealed that Ornstein might be nearby.
• Serena eagerly asked Fingel whether Ornstein was really there.

Fingel and the Hasawi Squad defeated the Havel Warrior at Archdragon Peak and claimed the Great Dragon Tooth and Stone Greatshield. Hawkwood then judged them strong enough to join him in facing the final trial.

• Fingel and Serena deduced that Ornstein had gone to seek Sun's Eldest Son, who was likely the Nameless King at Archdragon Peak.
• Fingel's group killed the Serpent Man Summoner, then found the Havel Warrior and prepared to fight him with poison and other items.
• Fingel tried to persuade the Havel Warrior to join them in killing dragons, but the warrior attacked, forcing the group into battle.
• The Havel Warrior cured the poison with a Purple Moss Ball, so Serena gave Fingel an Undead Hunter Charm to block his ability to recover with an Element Bottle.
• The group defeated the Havel Warrior, and Matilda collected the Great Dragon Tooth and Stone Greatshield; Serena summoned Hawkwood just as the warrior fell.
• Hawkwood congratulated Fingel and his companions and said they had earned the strength to join him in facing the final trial.