Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Severely Wounded”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner realizes that the mayor is hiding the truth about Lansell Town and does not genuinely intend to renew the town’s contract with the God of Seasons. The mayor also has no intention of releasing the outsiders, fearing they would expose the town to the Church.
• Rather than confront the mayor immediately, Abner pretends to cooperate so he can investigate the changes within the Blood Emperor’s divine kingdom and uncover the true nature of the God of Seasons.
• The mayor reveals that a special saber, preserved from Hunter Alex’s ancestor, is needed to kill High Priest Enbuliou, the representative of Summer. Abner recognizes that the weapon’s power belongs to a high-level version of the same Pathway as the “Spellbreaker” Beyonder characteristic Bernadette gave him.
• From the saber and the mayor’s explanations, Abner deduces that the being behind the seasonal cycle may be the Monarch of Decay, whose objective involves manipulating the death and rebirth of the seasons. Abner realizes that this plan must be stopped and summons Vincent Miranda to Lansell Town.
• In the villa’s Inner Layer, High Priest Enbuliou boasts that he cannot be killed within the town and attempts to coerce Gwen, Fors, and Lydia into serving him. He claims that hunger will eventually force them to obey.
• Gwen wounds Enbuliou with the Dawnsilver Sword, but he initially appears unaffected because ordinary attacks cannot overcome his “Immortal Body.”
• Under the influence of an unclear mental alteration, Gwen invokes the power of the Lord of the Dead, the King of Conquest, and the God of War and Destruction. The sword becomes imbued with the power of “Red of War.”
• Gwen then severs Enbuliou’s arm. The enhanced attack surpasses his defensive limit, causing him immense pain and preventing him from regenerating the limb.
• Fors reveals her true identity after dismissing the Faceless disguise she had been using. She explains that she is Abner and Xio’s ally and has created a hidden space that prevents Enbuliou’s screams from being heard outside.
• Fors concludes that Enbuliou must remain alive for now. When Summer dies, Autumn will be born, and Autumn’s association with withering may be essential to the God of Seasons’ larger plan.

Character Developments

• Abner: Becomes increasingly suspicious and perceptive, connecting the saber’s Pathway to the possible identity and ambitions of the Monarch of Decay. Rather than act impulsively, he adopts a deceptive strategy and secretly summons Vincent to interfere with the enemy’s plans.
• The Mayor: Reveals himself as an accomplice or at least a willing participant in Lansell Town’s hidden system. He possesses the weapon needed to kill Enbuliou but attempts to delay Abner and maintain control over the outsiders.
• Gwen: Shows courage and decisiveness by confronting Enbuliou. After discovering that her normal attacks are ineffective, she uses a powerful divine invocation and successfully inflicts a severe, seemingly unprecedented injury on him.
• Fors: Demonstrates her skill with Faceless abilities and Recorded powers. She hides her identity while gathering information, then calmly explains the situation and offers cryptic guidance based on Abner’s instructions.
• Enbuliou: His arrogance collapses once he realizes that he can be hurt. His supposed immortality is revealed to be conditional rather than absolute, leaving him terrified and helpless.
• Lydia: Remains present with Gwen and Fors, but has little direct involvement in the chapter’s events.

Significant Themes

• Hidden truths and manipulation: Both Abner and Fors conceal their identities and intentions while investigating Lansell Town, while the mayor and Enbuliou mislead the outsiders about the town’s rules.
• Conditional immortality: Enbuliou’s invulnerability is exposed as a limitation of insufficient attack power, emphasizing that apparent supernatural absolutes often have concealed conditions.
• Seasonal death and rebirth: The transition from Summer to Autumn represents more than a natural cycle; it appears to be part of a dangerous ritual or scheme involving decay, withering, and possibly reincarnation.
• Resistance to coercion: Enbuliou attempts to control the women through hunger and fear, but Gwen and Fors reject his authority and turn his confidence against him.
• Strategic cooperation: The protagonists rely on deception, concealed abilities, and carefully timed actions rather than direct confrontation.

Important Character Interactions

• Abner and the mayor: Abner questions the mayor about the key to the divine kingdom while concealing that he has already begun to understand the mayor’s motives.
• Gwen and Enbuliou: Enbuliou tries to dominate Gwen, but she reverses the power dynamic by severely wounding him.
• Gwen and Fors: Gwen initially treats Fors as a suspicious stranger, but Fors reveals her identity and clarifies that they share the same objective.
• Fors and Enbuliou: Fors explains the limits of his “Immortal Body” and mocks the superiority of the God of War and Destruction over the God of Seasons.
• Abner and Vincent Miranda: Abner secretly summons Vincent, indicating that a larger counterattack or investigation is about to begin.

Chapter Summary: “The Effect of Liu Bo”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, Klein finishes a simple meal and prepares to test whether spoken names can produce supernatural effects in the region.
• He sends a Historical Projection of himself into the gray fog and attempts to speak the names of various powerful beings:
  • Saying “Leodero” summons hundreds of lightning bolts, destroying the projection.
  • Beginning “Ouroboros” causes transparent flames to erupt and burn the projection to ashes.
  • Names such as Herabergen, Badheil, Omebella, Medici, Sasrir, and others produce no noticeable effect.
• Klein concludes that the Forsaken Land of the Gods responds to certain divine names, but not necessarily to the names of former Kings of Angels or beings who lack a direct connection to the region.
• Out of curiosity, Klein has his Historical Projection recite “Liu Bo,” Abner’s name.
• This triggers an extraordinarily dangerous reaction: Klein’s past, present, and future become filled with fatal attacks. His true body survives only because Sefirah Castle and his status as a Beacon of Destiny protect him from having his entire fate occupied by death.
• Abner detects the event through the Land of Unknown and realizes that Klein has inadvertently provoked the power of the Circle of Inevitability.
• The chapter ends with several strikingly beautiful women passing through the city wall and entering Lansell Town, suggesting a new development in the Four Seasons region.

Character Developments

• Klein remains curious, experimental, and willing to take significant risks to test supernatural principles. He methodically uses Historical Projections and Marionettes to limit the danger, but his curiosity still leads him into a near-fatal encounter.
• He gains a better understanding of the Forsaken Land of the Gods: divine names connected to active powers can function almost like forbidden spells, while other names have no effect.
• Abner demonstrates his growing ability to observe and analyze events across distant locations. He immediately recognizes the danger to Klein and identifies the deeper source of the phenomenon as the Circle of Inevitability.
• Abner also develops a theory about the God of Luck, suggesting that the god may have accessed authority stolen from the Circle of Inevitability through the Land of Unknown and the domain of Fate.

Significant Themes

• The danger of names and authority: Speaking a powerful being’s name can invoke its associated authority, divine power, or curse, especially in a region saturated with remnants of ancient forces.
• Curiosity versus self-preservation: Klein’s careful preparations cannot eliminate the danger created by his desire to investigate unknown powers.
• Fate and inevitability: The “Liu Bo” reaction demonstrates that the Circle of Inevitability can influence not only the present but also a person’s past and future, making ordinary forms of escape nearly meaningless.
• The limits of power and identity: Even beings as powerful as Kings of Angels may leave no detectable influence if they are not true gods or lack a direct connection to the local authority.
• Hidden remnants of the Great Cataclysm: The chapter hints that the Forsaken Land of the Gods and the Land of Unknown still contain dormant or redirected powers left behind by ancient cosmic events.

Character Interactions

• Klein’s main interaction is indirect: by reciting Abner’s name, he inadvertently exposes himself to the Circle of Inevitability’s power and alerts Abner.
• Abner observes Klein’s dangerous experiment through the Land of Unknown, mentally criticizes his recklessness, and analyzes the implications of the attack.
• In Lansell Town, the mayor continues training Alex to use the special long saber and explains that Summer can only be killed at a precise time and ritual site. Abner listens and quietly prepares his own arrangements while waiting for the town’s transition to its surface layer.
• The townspeople’s loyalty to the Great Priest creates a conflict between the local believers and the outsiders whom the mayor and Abner hope to unite.
• The arrival of several beautiful women at the end of the chapter introduces a potentially important new group or threat.

Chapter Summary: “Disguise”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner assembles several powerful Demonesses in Lansell Town to confuse the enemy: Medea, Margaret, Katarina, Aglaia controlling Natalia’s body, and Ignacia. The Blue Saintess is unavailable because Monica is reclaiming her Beyonder Characteristic, while the Gray and Purple Saints remain Abner’s puppets.
• Lansell Town’s abnormal “summer” environment suppresses Beyonder abilities and carries the aura of Fallen, Greed, and Indulgence. Medea can resist it, but Margaret and Katarina are severely weakened.
• Aglaia orders the two struggling Demonesses to pray to Abner’s newly established object of faith, the intended Demon Emperor representing Fallen, Shadow, and Catastrophe. Their prayers grant them protection from the town’s influence.
• In the mayor’s villa, Gwen, Fors, Lydia, and their companions confront the wounded High Priest Enbuliou. Killing him would risk provoking the townspeople and patrols.
• Fors summons an Historical Image of Abner. Abner uses the severed arm of Enbuliou, along with the Authorities of Wisdom and Creation, to create a perfect duplicate of the High Priest.
• The Historical Image disappears because maintaining it is exhausting Fors, but the newly created “Enbuliou” remains as an independent avatar of Abner.
• Abner traps the real Enbuliou in a ritual on the main altar and plans to extract his essential traits continuously. This will make the duplicate nearly impossible to distinguish from the original, even to the powerful being hidden in the attic.

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates the breadth of his abilities, combining historical projection, creation, forgery, and ritual techniques to construct a highly convincing replacement. His plan reveals his willingness to manipulate both people and supernatural identities.
• Fors gains Gwen’s trust by successfully summoning Abner’s Historical Image, though the exertion leaves her nearly exhausted.
• Gwen remains cautious toward Fors but becomes more accepting after witnessing her useful connection to Abner.
• Aglaia continues to act as an authoritative senior figure toward Margaret and Katarina, directing them without hesitation.
• Margaret and Katarina show their continued submission to Abner by immediately praying to the Demon Emperor when ordered.
• Enbuliou is horrified to discover that Abner’s artificial duplicate possesses his defining characteristics, threatening to erase his uniqueness and replace him.

Significant Themes

• Disguise and identity: The chapter centers on the idea that identity can be replicated through appearance, aura, memories, and essential traits—not merely clothing or physical form.
• Control and manipulation: Abner’s followers are bound by faith, puppetry, or dependence, while Enbuliou is forcibly transformed into the source material for his own replacement.
• Power through belief: The Demonesses’ prayer demonstrates how Abner’s constructed faith can provide tangible supernatural protection.
• Forgery versus authenticity: As a Reader-pathway Beyonder, Abner treats reality and identity as things that can be studied, copied, and counterfeited.
• Strategic deception: Rather than confronting the hidden enemy directly, Abner creates a substitute capable of infiltrating the enemy’s plans.

Character Interactions

• Aglaia bluntly instructs Margaret and Katarina to pray, emphasizing her seniority and their subordinate relationship.
• Margaret and Katarina obey without resistance, reinforcing Abner’s control over the Demonesses.
• Gwen observes Fors closely and gradually lowers her suspicion after seeing Fors summon Abner’s Historical Image.
• Fors and Abner cooperate smoothly: she provides the projection and Abner carries out the technically complex duplication.
• Abner taunts and manipulates Enbuliou, politely explaining that his Reader abilities specialize in “counterfeiting” and “forging” before imprisoning him for further extraction.
• The chapter ends with Abner preparing a deception powerful enough to fool even the mysterious entity in the attic.

Chapter Summary: “Inner Town’s Script”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After defeating the so-called High Priest, Abner—still using Enbuliou’s appearance—reunites with Gwen, Fors, and Lydia.
• Fors wishes for her Spirituality to recover, and Abner uses the Authority of Wisdom to restore her completely. Lydia, too exhausted to speak, has Gwen make the request on her behalf.
• Gwen verifies Abner’s identity by asking him to recite the Honorific Name of the Lord of the Dead. Once satisfied, she asks him to remove Lydia’s apparent curse.
• Abner explains that Lydia’s condition is not truly a curse, but agrees to attempt a remedy using the Spellbreaker Beyonder Characteristic and the secret technique Black Domain Art.
• The technique temporarily nullifies Lydia’s Beyonder powers, removing both her abilities and the physical enhancements granted by her Potion. It also eliminates the deathly pallor associated with her Sanguine nature, making her appear healthier.
• Abner explains that Lansell Town suppresses all Beyonder powers below the Angel level. The resulting conflict between the town’s suppressive environment and the Beyonder Characteristics within their bodies causes exhaustion and Spirituality depletion. After several hours or a day, the powers will decay completely, leaving the affected people physically “normal.”
• The group exchanges information and asks Abner what they should do next. He reveals that they must follow the mysterious “Script” governing the Inner Town.
• A patrol captain arrives and announces that four more women have entered the town. Abner declares that the first act of the Script is beginning and orders Fors, Gwen, and Lydia to get into bed and pretend nothing is unusual.

Character Developments

• Abner: Demonstrates his growing mastery of supernatural knowledge and techniques. He successfully restores Fors, treats Lydia, identifies the town’s suppression mechanism, and appears to understand the larger structure of the Inner Town. His confidence and playful willingness to manipulate events also become more evident.
• Fors: Recovers fully after making a practiced wish, showing familiarity with Abner’s ability to grant such requests. She remains wary of his tendency to turn situations into elaborate performances or pranks.
• Lydia: Initially helpless from exhaustion, she regains enough strength to move after Abner’s treatment. She learns that her “curse” is actually the result of the town suppressing her powers, though she is alarmed when Black Domain Art removes her abilities entirely.
• Gwen: Acts as Lydia’s advocate when Lydia cannot speak and remains protective of her. She verifies Abner’s identity cautiously before trusting him and quickly accepts his help once convinced.
• The patrol captain/Enbuliou: His obsequious report reveals that he is under Abner’s control or influence, while the true Enbuliou remains imprisoned on the altar.

Significant Themes

• Suppression versus power: The town’s environment neutralizes Beyonder abilities, emphasizing the vulnerability of supernatural beings when deprived of their powers.
• Identity and trust: Because Abner is wearing Enbuliou’s appearance, Gwen must confirm his true identity through the Lord of the Dead’s Honorific Name.
• Performance and predetermined roles: The idea of a “Script” suggests that the Inner Town operates according to staged rules or a ritualized narrative, with the characters forced to act out assigned roles.
• Knowledge as power: Abner’s understanding of the town’s mechanics allows him to explain the group’s condition and devise an effective treatment for Lydia.
• Control and manipulation: Abner controls Enbuliou’s body, directs the group’s behavior, and prepares to exploit the town’s scripted structure.

Important Character Interactions

• Fors’s wish prompts Abner to restore her Spirituality, while Lydia relies on Gwen to communicate for her.
• Gwen challenges Abner’s identity, and he reassures her by reciting the Lord of the Dead’s Honorific Name.
• Gwen repeatedly urges Abner to help Lydia, highlighting her concern and protective relationship with the Sanguine woman.
• Abner explains the effects of Black Domain Art and the town’s suppression to Lydia, Gwen, and Fors, giving them a shared understanding of their predicament.
• The chapter ends with Abner directing the others to participate in his staged plan, beginning the first “act” of the Inner Town’s mysterious Script.

Chapter Summary: “Reunion”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner, Gwen, Fors, and Lydia stage an elaborate deception to preserve Abner’s identity as the Great Priest Enbuliou. They hide in the bedroom, with Fors reverting to her disguised appearance and Lydia pretending to be weak and incapacitated.
• Abner uses the power of “Creation” to produce suggestive scents and make the scene appear scandalous before answering the patrol captain at the door. The ritual used to imprison Enbuliou and extract his Beyonder characteristics remains concealed inside a Hidden Space.
• The patrol captain reports that four exceptionally beautiful women have entered Lansell Town. Abner recognizes them as Aglaia, Natalia, Margaret, and Katarina—Demonesses under his command—but pretends to be lustfully interested in them.
• Abner also learns that five other outsiders have entered the town and been taken to the VIP building. The captain worries that these visitors might help the mayor oppose the Great Priest, but Abner dismisses the threat while imitating Enbuliou’s arrogance and confidence in his supposed “Immortal Body.”
• Abner orders the patrolmen to prepare for the upcoming opening of the “Surface,” then brings the four Demonesses into the bedroom under the guise of pursuing them for pleasure. Once inside, the group can presumably communicate safely.
• Outside Lansell Town, three powerful figures observe the strange city gate: Einhorn, Red Angel Medici, and Soren, the former three-in-one Angel Evil Spirit and ancestor of the Soren Family.
• The three reveal that their subordinates have lost contact with them after entering the town, and even their connections to their Anchors or divine sources have been disrupted. They suspect something unusually dangerous or significant exists within Lansell Town.
• Despite recognizing the danger, all three decide that they must enter the town, driven by the possibility that it is connected to the remains of Tudor’s Divine Kingdom.

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates greater skill in disguise, manipulation, and improvisation. He convincingly imitates Enbuliou’s arrogance while coordinating the concealment of the ritual and the arrival of his allies.
• Fors shows her precision and adaptability by using “Record” to restore her previous disguise at exactly the right moment.
• Lydia contributes to the deception by acting frail and helpless, helping make the bedroom scene appear authentic.
• The four Demonesses—Aglaia, Natalia, Margaret, and Katarina—arrive as Abner’s allies and immediately cooperate with his performance, using flirtatious behavior to maintain the cover.
• The patrol captain remains loyal and obedient to the Great Priest, though he is clearly intimidated by Abner’s authority and envious of the women in the bedroom.
• Medici retains his provocative, antagonistic personality, deliberately taunting Einhorn and Soren even while discussing a dangerous supernatural situation.
• Einhorn and Soren display caution and awareness of the town’s abnormality, but their ancient obsessions and ambitions override their concerns.
• The reunited trio—Einhorn, Medici, and Soren—are revealed to have a long, complicated history as former companions or allies, with their old habit of bickering still intact.

Significant Themes

• Deception and performance: Abner’s survival depends on maintaining a convincing false identity, while everyone in the bedroom plays a carefully assigned role.
• Power and authority: The Great Priest’s influence has surpassed that of the mayor, allowing Abner to manipulate the town’s patrolmen and control access to its spaces.
• Hidden danger: The town disrupts communication with powerful beings and conceals supernatural rituals, suggesting that its true nature is far more dangerous than it appears.
• Ancient obsession and ambition: Even powerful beings who recognize the risks are drawn toward Lansell Town because of its possible connection to Tudor’s Divine Kingdom.
• Reunion and old rivalries: Medici, Einhorn, and Soren reunite after a long separation, but their relationship remains marked by provocation, distrust, and familiar arguments.
• Appearance versus reality: The town’s residents, outsiders, and Abner himself all operate under false appearances, making it difficult to determine who truly controls the situation.

Character Interactions

• Abner manipulates the patrol captain by alternating between apparent lust, authority, and dismissive confidence.
• The patrol captain’s respect and fear of the Great Priest prevent him from questioning Abner’s behavior too deeply.
• Abner and the four Demonesses use coordinated flirtation to deceive the patrolmen and gain privacy.
• Medici repeatedly provokes Einhorn, mocking his appearance and suggesting that changing form might make him less argumentative.
• Einhorn and Soren share Medici’s concerns about the town but immediately reject the idea of staying outside, united by their desire to investigate or seize whatever remains of Tudor’s Divine Kingdom.
• The chapter ends with the ancient trio preparing to enter Lansell Town, setting up a likely confrontation between Abner’s group and these powerful newcomers.

Chapter Summary: “Prelude and the Real Monster”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The three-in-one Evil Spirit—Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici—approach Lansell Town after its protective “city wall” weakens. Sauron urges caution, secretly trying to delay the Red Angel and prevent interference with Abner’s plans.
• Inside the town, the mayor tells Alex that the Surface town has reopened and that the High Priest’s forces are temporarily weakened. He proposes a coordinated assault:
  • Abner will contact the outsiders imprisoned in the Guest Building and eliminate patrols.
  • The mayor and his loyal followers will capture Enbuliou, the High Priest.
  • Alex will restore the ritual site in the attic so the seasons can be returned to their normal cycle.
• Abner agrees outwardly but suspects the mayor is deliberately sending him away. He believes the mayor is concealing a deeper objective, possibly because he is an avatar of a god seeking to change the seasons and eventually seize Abner’s Key to Tudor’s divine kingdom.
• Rather than contacting the imprisoned outsiders, Abner strengthens the protections around the Guest Building. He intends to let the mayor reveal his true motives before acting against him.
• Abner, disguised as Enbuliou, briefs Gwen, Fors, and four Demonesses on the next stage of his plan. He arranges for his apparent death by sword to trigger a trap: the Demonesses will use four ritual longswords and their powers of chaos to seal the area and prevent escape.
• Gwen and Lydia are instructed to await an oracle from the God of War and Destruction before killing the High Priest with the Dawnsilver Sword. Fors is told to move through the town while remaining alert to hidden dangers.
• The patrol captain remains behind to guard the attic and watch the mayor. A subordinate, Jack, betrays and murders him, claiming that the mayor offered a better reward.
• Dying, the captain warns that although the High Priest is terrible, the mayor is far worse. He calls the mayor “the real monster” and says he has personally witnessed the mayor’s true nature.

Character Developments

• Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici: Their old rivalry continues, but they cooperate as they approach the town. Sauron has become unusually cautious because of past trauma involving Tudor and because they remain connected to Abner’s broader strategy.
• Abner: Demonstrates increasing distrust and strategic sophistication. He recognizes the mayor’s plan as potentially manipulative, secretly protects the outsiders instead of following instructions, and prepares a complex trap involving his supposed death.
• The Mayor: Presents himself as a leader trying to restore the seasonal cycle, but his actions and hidden agenda suggest he is far more dangerous than the High Priest. His apparent plan to separate Abner from the central events reveals his caution and ambition.
• Alex: Eagerly accepts the mayor’s plan and is assigned responsibility for restoring the ritual site, though he remains unaware of the mayor’s deeper motives.
• Gwen, Fors, Lydia, and the Demonesses: Become active participants in Abner’s counterplan. Their roles are carefully divided between surveillance, assassination, spatial sealing, and reacting to divine instructions.
• The Patrol Captain and Jack: Their interaction exposes the town’s unstable loyalties. Jack betrays the captain for personal gain, while the captain dies still believing that the mayor poses the greater threat.

Significant Themes

• The danger of hidden motives: The mayor’s public goal of restoring the seasons conceals a likely plan for power and control.
• The “real monster” behind the visible villain: The High Priest is openly depraved, but the chapter suggests that the mayor’s calculated evil is much more terrifying.
• Strategic deception: Abner and the mayor both manipulate appearances, construct false narratives, and use others as pieces in larger plans.
• Betrayal and divided loyalties: Jack’s murder of the patrol captain demonstrates how quickly alliances collapse when power and reward are involved.
• Control versus freedom: The ritual, the sealed spaces, the seasonal cycle, and the Key to Tudor’s divine kingdom all reflect struggles over who has the authority to control reality.
• The lingering influence of Tudor: Even after the Evil Spirit’s separation, Tudor remains central to Sauron’s hatred, the mayor’s ambitions, and Abner’s possession of the Key.

Character Interactions

• Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici bicker over how cautiously to approach the town, revealing their longstanding rivalry and differing temperaments.
• The mayor cooperates with Abner and Alex while subtly attempting to direct and isolate them.
• Abner privately analyzes the mayor’s behavior but continues pretending to cooperate, creating a tense hidden contest between them.
• Abner gives Gwen, Fors, Lydia, and the Demonesses coordinated instructions, establishing a unified counterattack against both the mayor and High Priest.
• The patrol captain and Jack’s final exchange transforms a seemingly routine interaction into betrayal and reveals the captain’s conviction that the mayor is Lansell’s ultimate threat.

Chapter Summary: “Opening and Secrets of the Past”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The patrol captain reveals that the supposedly deceased High Priest was not the true “Monster.” Although the High Priest was cruel, selfish, and abusive with his authority, the captain argues that he still desired to become human—even if only a flawed or immoral one.
• The captain then exposes himself as a Monster as well. After being stabbed through the chest by a team member, he survives due to an unusually rapid recovery ability and spares the shocked assailant.
• The captain realizes that the mayor has been observing the confrontation and calls him out. The mayor descends from the upper floor, where he had been preparing the Seasonal Change ritual with Alex.
• Their conversation reveals a history of betrayal and manipulation:
  • The mayor commissioned the captain to indulge the High Priest’s desires and make him dependent on pleasure.
  • The captain claims he fulfilled that order but later helped the High Priest use the power of the God of Summer against the mayor.
  • He explains that the mayor had previously turned him into a puppet, but that the God of Seasons later redeemed him.
• The captain accuses the mayor of being a genuine Monster who never made a Contract with the God of Seasons. He also reveals that Enbuliou is the last “Summer” and possibly the final surviving season.
• The mayor admits that he has anticipated resistance. He has arranged for a Demigod ally of Enbuliou to be trapped and suspects that outsiders are preventing the other patrol members from returning.
• Rather than immediately attacking, the mayor claims that the High Priest cannot escape and suggests allowing him to experience the last pleasure of his human life.
• Meanwhile, Gwen, Fors, Lydia, Medea, and the Demonesses watch the confrontation through Abner’s Insight projection. Abner’s ability reveals that the patrol captain is vastly stronger than the mayor in direct combat, despite the mayor’s intimidating performance.
• Abner concludes that the mayor is compensating for his weakness by manipulating corruption previously planted in the captain’s body. He decides not to intervene yet, instead preparing the women for the next stage of their plan.

Character Developments

• Patrol Captain: Revealed to possess a Monster nature and enhanced recovery, but unlike the mayor, he retains loyalty to the God of Seasons and a desire to protect the High Priest’s humanity. His past as both an accomplice and a manipulated servant becomes clear.
• Team Member: His certainty that the High Priest was the true Monster collapses when he discovers the captain’s survival and the deeper moral complexity of the situation. Terrified, he flees after being spared.
• Mayor: Exposed as a calculating, manipulative Monster rather than an omnipotent ruler. His threatening demeanor masks his inferior combat ability and reliance on hidden corruption and psychological intimidation.
• High Priest: Although absent from the scene, he is recontextualized as morally corrupt but still capable of longing for humanity, distinguishing him from the mayor’s completely monstrous nature.
• Abner: Demonstrates strategic restraint and uses Insight to assess the combatants’ actual strength. He recognizes the mayor’s bluff and prepares to let events unfold for tactical reasons.
• Fors and the Others: Their role shifts from passive observers to participants preparing for the next planned “scene,” with Fors openly mocking the mayor’s theatrical behavior.

Significant Themes

• Humanity versus monstrosity: The chapter distinguishes between immoral behavior and a fundamentally monstrous nature. The High Priest is a “bad person” who still wants to be human, while the mayor has abandoned humanity entirely.
• Appearance versus reality: The mayor presents himself as an overwhelming final enemy, but his true combat strength is much lower than the captain’s. Psychological influence and reputation make him seem more powerful than he is.
• Manipulation and free will: The patrol captain’s past enslavement to the mayor complicates his actions. His apparent betrayal may have been coerced, while his later allegiance to the God of Seasons represents an attempt to reclaim agency.
• Betrayal and divided loyalties: The captain has served the mayor, aided the High Priest, and later protected the God of Seasons’ incarnation, showing how alliances have shifted throughout the town’s history.
• Performance and staged reality: The observers treat the confrontation as a “show” or “filming,” emphasizing the deliberate theatrics of the mayor’s behavior and Abner’s larger strategy.

Important Character Interactions

• The patrol captain and team member clash over the High Priest’s nature, ending with the team member realizing that the captain cannot be killed normally.
• The patrol captain and mayor confront each other over their former agreement, the High Priest’s corruption, the God of Summer’s power, and the mayor’s status as a true Monster.
• The mayor and captain engage in a psychological battle: the mayor relies on menace and hidden schemes, while the captain responds with direct accusations and armed defiance.
• Abner and the watching women analyze the encounter from safety. Fors criticizes the mayor’s bluff, Gwen explains why the captain was intimidated, and Medea asks whether they should intervene.
• Abner’s decision to withhold assistance preserves the unfolding plan and sets up the next phase of the conflict.

Chapter Summary: Apostle of the “Monarch of Decay”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The mayor activates a hidden contingency inside the patrol captain, causing his body and organs to rapidly fail.
• Before dying, the captain reveals that he had warned the High Priest Enbuliou about the mayor’s possible attack. However, Enbuliou ignored the warning, trusting in his “immortal body” and continuing his debauchery.
• The dying captain asks the mayor to light his cigarette. After taking one final drag, he dies peacefully, leaving the mayor puzzled by his apparent satisfaction.
• The mayor’s loyal armed men report that the patrol members inside the villa have been eliminated. He orders them to capture the fallen High Priest and gives them permission to abuse the four demonesses afterward.
• The men seize Enbuliou, but when they return to the bedroom, the demonesses unleash a fatal disease. The attackers rapidly develop severe illness and die. Medea burns their corpses, while Aglaia notes that the disease was likely caused by one of them.
• Aglaia and the other three demonesses—Margaret, Katarina, and Medea—disappear to carry out Abner’s instructions. Fors also leaves the villa to explore the area as Abner suggested.
• In the attic, the mayor begins a ritual intended to “change the seasons,” while Alex prepares to use a special blade to kill the person representing “Summer.”
• Enbuliou argues that killing him will not stop the seasonal cycle or make it accept the mayor’s power of decay. The mayor counters that the town—and its inhabitants’ hearts—have already decayed, including Enbuliou and his true body.
• Rather than wait for Abner to return, the mayor manipulates Alex into attacking Enbuliou by reminding him of how the High Priest mistreated Alex’s captain and friends.
• Alex strikes Enbuliou with the blade, causing him to wither and collapse into dust. The mayor then loses his composure and laughs wildly as his aura grows stronger.
• Abner arrives and identifies the mayor as “Mr. Lancer,” the first mayor, and more importantly, as an apostle of the “Monarch of Decay.”

Character Developments

• The patrol captain demonstrates loyalty and courage to the end. Despite recognizing that he has been outmaneuvered, he takes satisfaction in completing his mission and dies after enjoying one final cigarette.
• The mayor/Mr. Lancer reveals increasing ruthlessness and emotional detachment. He treats the captain’s death as insignificant, exploits his followers’ desires, manipulates Alex, and appears to gain immense power through the ritual.
• High Priest Enbuliou is exposed as arrogant and careless. He ignores the captain’s warning because of his confidence in his “immortal body,” leaving him vulnerable to capture and destruction.
• Alex is manipulated into killing Enbuliou. His grief and anger toward the High Priest overpower his caution, making him an instrument of the mayor’s plan.
• Aglaia and the other demonesses act in accordance with Abner’s commands, showing their obedience through brainwashing, control, or contractual bonds. They efficiently eliminate the armed men who threaten them.
• Abner returns at a crucial moment, immediately recognizing the mayor’s true identity and supernatural affiliation.

Significant Themes

• Decay of the body and soul: Physical deterioration mirrors the moral corruption of the town and its inhabitants. The captain’s organ failure, Enbuliou’s withering, and the attackers’ disease all reflect the chapter’s emphasis on decay.
• Manipulation and betrayal: The mayor controls Alex through emotional manipulation, while Enbuliou’s arrogance and the captain’s failed warning demonstrate how misplaced trust leads to ruin.
• Moral corruption: The mayor’s followers eagerly anticipate abusing the demonesses, revealing how the town’s apparent religious order has collapsed into cruelty and depravity.
• Death and final dignity: The captain’s final cigarette contrasts with the brutality surrounding him. His last moment of happiness suggests that even in defeat, he retains personal meaning and dignity.
• Hidden identities and rising power: The mayor is revealed to be far more than a local authority—he is an ancient figure and an apostle of the Monarch of Decay, suggesting that the ritual is part of a much larger supernatural scheme.

Character Interactions

• The mayor and the patrol captain engage in a final verbal confrontation, with the mayor revealing that Enbuliou ignored the captain’s warning.
• The armed men act under the mayor’s orders, capturing Enbuliou and attempting to claim the demonesses as their reward.
• The four demonesses retaliate collectively, killing the men through a rapidly spreading disease.
• The mayor psychologically pressures Alex into killing Enbuliou instead of waiting for Abner.
• Enbuliou challenges the mayor’s ideology of decay, but the ritual silences him before he can finish explaining what he has realized.
• Abner confronts the transformed mayor at the end, publicly naming his true identity and connection to the Monarch of Decay.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner confronts the mayor in the attic and reveals that he knows the mayor is not merely a town official, but an apostle of the Monarch of Decay.
• The mayor delays attacking because the power of Decay has not yet reached its peak. He intends to wait until it can summon the Monarch’s power and make him invincible.
• Abner stalls for time while the Demonesses prepare a ritual elsewhere. He also uses the opportunity to explain his deductions and observe the mayor’s reaction.
• Abner identifies several inconsistencies in the mayor’s story:
  • The mayor knew far too much about the ruins and Tudor’s Divine Kingdom to be an ordinary caretaker.
  • He deliberately misled Abner into believing that he himself was the original mayor who contracted with the God of Seasons.
  • His apparent confusion and melancholy were part of a calculated attempt to manipulate Abner’s deductions.
• Abner reveals the mayor’s true plan:
  • He became an apostle of the Monarch of Decay long ago.
  • He guided the Soren Family’s exploration team to the Scarlet Plains.
  • He later became mayor in order to corrupt the Scarlet Plains and turn Tudor’s former Divine Kingdom into a medium for the Monarch of Decay’s descent.
• The plan was obstructed when the Scarlet Plains developed its own consciousness and gave rise to the God of Seasons, an entity capable of using the Divine Kingdom’s remaining power.
• The mayor then created a new scheme involving the “change of seasons” ritual:
  • The failure of the sealing ritual over a thousand years earlier was intentional.
  • Earlier sacrifices were designed to create believers in the God of Seasons.
  • By allowing the Divine Kingdom’s power to leak out, the mayor lured the God of Seasons into reality.
  • Alex, Tudor’s descendant, was manipulated into using a sword of Decay to kill the God of Seasons’ seasonal avatars repeatedly.
• Each death weakened and corrupted both the God of Seasons and the Scarlet Plains. The mayor intended to destroy the deity through every cycle of decay and rebirth, eventually transforming it into a perfect vessel for the Monarch of Decay.
• The plan was disrupted when Alex fled before killing the final Summer avatar.
• Because the ritual was nearly complete, the Summer avatar gained control over the accumulated power of Decay and became more powerful than the mayor.
• The mayor then manipulated a patrol captain, causing him to lead the Summer avatar into pleasure and complacency. However, the captain eventually escaped the mayor’s control, creating yet another setback.

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates exceptional intelligence and confidence. He uses deduction not only to expose the mayor’s identity and plan but also as a deliberate tactic to waste time and unsettle his opponent.
• The mayor is revealed as a long-term conspirator and apostle of the Monarch of Decay. Although he remains outwardly calm, his unease grows as Abner exposes more of his plan and the power of Decay fails to develop as expected.
• Alex is shown to be powerful but naïve and confused. He does not understand the larger conflict or even the identity of the Monarch of Decay, highlighting how thoroughly he has been used in the mayor’s scheme.
• The God of Seasons develops from a possible accidental deity or manifestation of the Scarlet Plains into an independent force capable of resisting Decay and threatening the mayor’s control.
• The patrol captain emerges as an unexpected source of resistance by breaking free from the mayor’s manipulation.

Significant Themes

• Deception and deduction: The mayor attempts to control events through carefully planted information, while Abner counters him by exposing contradictions and hidden motives.
• Decay and rebirth: Decay is presented not as simple destruction but as one stage in a cycle of reincarnation. The mayor seeks to exploit this cycle by repeatedly killing the God of Seasons until no vitality remains.
• Manipulation versus free will: Alex, the townspeople, the patrol captain, and even the God of Seasons are drawn into the mayor’s schemes, yet several characters resist or develop beyond his expectations.
• Unexpected consciousness and resistance: The Scarlet Plains and the God of Seasons demonstrate that places, powers, or divine remnants can develop independent will and disrupt carefully designed plans.
• The danger of overconfidence: The mayor assumes that every obstacle can be neutralized once the Monarch’s power descends, causing him to underestimate both Abner and the unpredictable resistance of his victims.

Character Interactions

• Abner positions himself between the mayor and Alex, subtly protecting Alex while taking control of the conversation.
• He answers Alex’s confusion while continuing to address the mayor, emphasizing the contrast between Alex’s ignorance and Abner’s understanding.
• The mayor praises Abner’s detective abilities and encourages him to continue, but this apparent cooperation is actually another attempt to stall for time.
• Abner’s deductions gradually force the mayor from amused confidence into visible concern.
• The mayor’s past interactions with the patrol captain and Alex reveal how he manipulates others into acting as tools in his ritual, though both ultimately become sources of failure for his plan.

Chapter Summary: “Gradually Coming to Light” (Bonus Chapter)

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner reveals the mayor’s past actions in detail, explaining how Mayor Lancer manipulated Summer’s incarnation and attempted to exploit the weakened Divine Kingdom of the God of Seasons.
• A contaminated patrol captain eventually broke free of Lancer’s control and helped the last Summer resist him. He taught Summer how to use the Divine Kingdom’s power after it had been eroded by Decay.
• This weakened Lancer to roughly Sequence 7, forcing him to rely on manipulation rather than overwhelming strength.
• Lancer created seasonal regions by releasing the Scarlet Plains’ remaining vitality, rapidly consuming the Divine Kingdom’s resources and driving it toward Exhaustion.
• He also replaced the Fate of Summer—and possibly the God of Seasons—in order to become the vessel for the Monarch of Decay’s descent and merge with his master.
• Abner reveals that he arranged a sealing ritual using four phantom longswords, created through a reenactment involving four High Sequence Demonesses.
• Lancer attempts to stall for time and accumulate power. Abner manipulates his emotions by questioning whether his repeated failures were truly “accidents.”
• The psychological pressure causes Lancer to lose control. His body transforms into a mass of withered branches infused with Decay.
• Abner protects Alex, confines him in a Hidden Space, destroys the attacking branches, and uses simulated Spectator and Doctor abilities to stabilize Lancer’s mind.
• Abner explains that Lancer only destroyed one of Summer’s arms. Summer himself survived and began the process of New Life.
• Rather than passing through Autumn—the season most closely associated with Decay—the God of Seasons moved directly into Winter, preventing Lancer from fully decaying Him. As a result, the Monarch of Decay’s power could not descend, and Lancer’s accumulated strength quickly ran out.
• Through a Magic Mirror, Abner shows Lancer Miss Gwen using the Dawnsilver Sword to kill the True Embryo, confirming the failure of Lancer’s plan.
• Lancer, now weakened, agrees to answer Abner’s questions in exchange for the possibility that Abner may confront the being responsible for his misfortune.
• He reveals that the God of Seasons was originally an apostle of Decay, rather than someone Lancer personally corrupted. However, the God of Seasons refused to obey Lancer’s master, prompting Lancer’s involvement.
• Abner realizes that the Decay worshipped by the God of Seasons may not have been the Monarch of Decay, raising new questions about the true identity of that power.
• The chapter ends as Abner asks why Lancer arranged for Gwen, Lydia, and the others to arrive together instead of luring Alex alone.

Character Developments

• Abner: Demonstrates extensive preparation, strategic foresight, and mastery of manipulation, sealing, combat, healing, and investigative abilities. He remains calm and confident while forcing Lancer to reveal information.
• Mayor Lancer: His apparent control collapses as his plan fails. He becomes physically and mentally unstable, loses control, and is forced to cooperate with Abner. His repeated complaints about his “bad luck” also expose his growing awareness that something deeper may be sabotaging him.
• Alex: Is protected by Abner during Lancer’s transformation and removed from immediate danger, emphasizing Abner’s caution and concern for him.
• God of Seasons: Is revealed to have a complicated connection with Decay. Rather than being a simple victim, He may have been an original apostle who later rejected the will of the power He served.
• Summer: His survival and transition toward New Life undermine Lancer’s assumptions and become the direct reason the Decay ritual fails.

Significant Themes

• “Accidents” versus hidden causality: Abner challenges Lancer’s belief that his repeated failures are mere bad luck, suggesting that a deeper force or pattern is influencing events.
• Control and resistance: Lancer’s attempts to control Summer and manipulate fate are opposed by the patrol captain, Summer’s survival, the God of Seasons’ refusal, and Abner’s own countermeasures.
• Decay and renewal: The chapter contrasts Decay with New Life. Summer survives destruction, while Winter becomes a period of dormancy rather than decay, showing that apparent death can conceal renewal.
• Fate and substitution: Lancer’s attempt to replace Summer’s Fate and become a vessel for a higher power highlights the dangers of manipulating divine identities and cosmic roles.
• Knowledge as power: Abner’s understanding of the past allows him to expose Lancer’s plan, while Lancer’s answers reveal that the true nature of Decay remains more complicated than expected.

Character Interactions

• Abner and Lancer: Their conversation is a psychological battle. Abner controls the discussion, exposes Lancer’s scheme, and provokes his emotional collapse before offering treatment and demanding answers.
• Abner and Alex: Abner immediately shields Alex from the destructive transformation and sends him into safety, showing his protective instincts.
• Lancer and the patrol captain: The captain initially falls under Lancer’s influence but later regains his sanity and helps Summer oppose him.
• Lancer and Summer: Lancer exploits Summer’s desire for power and pleasure while trying to use him as part of a larger ritual, but Summer ultimately survives and defeats the plan indirectly.
• Lancer and the God of Seasons: Their relationship is revealed to be one of conflict rather than simple domination: the God of Seasons had ties to Decay but rejected Lancer’s master.
• Abner and the unseen power behind Lancer: Abner positions himself to confront the mysterious entity responsible for Lancer’s actions and apparent misfortune.

Chapter Summary: “Entering the Divine Kingdom”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner interrogates the mayor about why outsiders were lured into the town and how to enter the Scarlet Plains. The mayor admits he has forgotten who arranged the trap, suggesting manipulation by a powerful hidden entity.
• The mayor explains that the town’s “inner layer” is itself the entrance to Tudor’s Divine Kingdom. By using Spirituality to activate the Key within the town, the town can overlap with the Scarlet Plains.
• Before disintegrating, the mayor warns Abner to “be careful inside the Divine Kingdom,” but dies before explaining what he meant by saying, “It can’t be like that.” His Beyonder Characteristic remains behind.
• Abner suspects that the entire situation is being guided by a predetermined “Script,” possibly connected to the mysterious being manipulating events. He reasons that the plan is unlikely to directly harm him, since powerful allies such as the Goddess and Lilith would have intervened if necessary.
• While preparing to enter the Divine Kingdom, Abner observes Fors fighting a weakened Shaman King, formerly connected to the God of Seasons’ Summer avatar.
• Fors uses Lyman’s Travel Notes and abilities provided by the Tarot Club, while Xio’s Historical Projection restricts the Shaman King’s escape techniques. Fors then destroys him with Abner’s recorded “Little Boy” spell.
• Impressed by Fors’s strength, Abner considers her possibly the strongest Sequence 5 and wonders whether the Shaman King’s appearance was deliberately arranged as a “gift” to aid her advancement.
• Abner decides to enter Tudor’s Divine Kingdom rather than merely escape the town, believing that leaving would not prevent the hidden enemy from drawing them back later. He gathers Gwen, Lydia, Tran, Alex, Fors, and the Demonesses, who agree to follow Gwen’s decision as captain.
• Abner activates Tudor’s Key, transporting the group into a blood-red Divine Kingdom.
• Elsewhere, Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici investigate the surface town but find no evidence that their believers or dependents ever disappeared. A sudden crimson light then sweeps them away and draws them inside.
• Upon arrival, Abner’s companions see what appear to be distorted versions or projections of themselves struggling across the plains below. Abner is missing from this apparent group, and Fors notices that their personalities differ significantly from the originals.

Character Developments

• Abner: Becomes more cautious and analytical, recognizing that he may be moving within a larger predetermined scheme. Despite his suspicions, he chooses to investigate the Divine Kingdom directly to eliminate the threat rather than repeatedly retreat from it.
• The Mayor: His memory and body collapse under supernatural pressure. Even while dying, he manages to reveal the entrance mechanism and issue a cryptic warning.
• Fors: Demonstrates exceptional combat ability by helping defeat a weakened Demigod. Her use of multiple recorded abilities shows her growing versatility and suggests she is close to fully digesting her Potion.
• Xio: Her Historical Projection plays a crucial tactical role, suppressing the Shaman King’s defensive and escape abilities so Fors can deliver the finishing blow.
• Gwen: Acts responsibly as captain, weighing the wishes and safety of her team before agreeing to enter the Divine Kingdom.
• Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici: Their investigation fails to uncover the truth, and they are unexpectedly pulled into the Divine Kingdom, placing even powerful former Archangels in a vulnerable position.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and predetermined fate: Abner repeatedly questions whether events are following a hidden Script and whether apparent opportunities or dangers have been deliberately arranged.
• Layers of deception: The chapter emphasizes that powerful schemers may reveal certain truths to conceal more important ones, making it difficult to distinguish genuine clues from manipulation.
• Danger beneath apparent safety: Even escape from the town may not provide lasting security, leading Abner to confront the source of the danger directly.
• Identity and distorted reality: The appearance of alternate versions of the characters raises questions about projections, copies, or altered realities within the Divine Kingdom.
• Growth through danger: Fors’s battle serves both as a major victory and as an opportunity for her Potion advancement, showing how peril can accelerate character development.
• Power and uncertainty: Even formidable beings such as the Archangels are vulnerable to forces they cannot immediately perceive or understand.

Character Interactions

• Abner questions the mayor, who provides incomplete but vital information before dying.
• Fors and Xio coordinate closely in battle: Xio limits the Shaman King’s abilities while Fors uses recorded spells to destroy him.
• Abner evaluates Fors’s performance and reflects on her growing strength, while also suspecting that her opponent may have been intentionally placed in her path.
• Gwen consults her team before accepting Abner’s plan, and Lydia, Tran, and Alex affirm their willingness to follow her leadership.
• Fors and the others react with confusion upon seeing apparent versions of themselves inside the Divine Kingdom, especially because Abner is absent and the copies behave differently from the originals.

Summary of “Dimensional Interference”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In a bloodstained wasteland, a parallel-world version of the adventure party—led by Fors and Gwen—fights more than a hundred armored soldiers.
• Although the soldiers are ordinary humans, they fight with remarkable coordination and can regenerate after being killed, reforming from grains of sand. This makes them extremely difficult to defeat.
• The parallel party is gradually overwhelmed. Some members are injured despite Gwen’s protective abilities.
• Gwen loses control of her emotions and unleashes a powerful Light Storm. Lydia is alarmed and uses a mystical item to calm her with Soothing.
• Fors supports the group with large-scale attack spells while loudly encouraging and organizing everyone, displaying a leadership style unlike the Fors observing the scene.
• The observers realize that the people below resemble them physically but possess different personalities and abilities. Fors notices that her counterpart behaves more like Xio, while Lydia thinks her counterpart resembles Tran.
• Gwen asks whether the scene is a staged “Drama” within a divine kingdom. Abner explains that the theater is likely connected to the High-Dimensional Overseer rather than simply to the Red Priest’s Authority.
• Abner and Aglaia conclude that the scene may depict a genuine parallel world rather than recorded history. The High-Dimensional Overseer may have created a new timeline branching from their own world.
• Abner explains that such parallel worlds can contain alternate versions of familiar people whose destinies, personalities, and powers develop differently. However, because the Overseer cannot fully reproduce beings tied to Uniqueness, these counterparts have limitations.
• Abner suspects that the God of Seasons may belong to another parallel world and that the Monarch of Decay and its followers could be decoys designed to distract the gods of the main world.
• Although the observers cannot directly intervene because the parallel world exists in a lower dimension, Abner believes they can transmit hints or information to help the trapped party.
• He begins to suspect that the observers were deliberately brought to this location so that different-world versions of themselves could communicate, creating “interference” between timelines.

Character Developments

• Fors: Gains a clearer understanding of herself by recognizing that her parallel counterpart is much more commanding and inspirational. She also becomes curious and dissatisfied with Abner’s cryptic explanations, actively demanding answers.
• Gwen: Shows a fierce and potentially dangerous emotional side when her companions are threatened. Her violent reaction suggests that her protective instincts can overwhelm her normal restraint.
• Lydia: Demonstrates quick judgment and concern by calming Gwen with Soothing. She is also perceptive about the unusual similarities and differences between the two groups.
• Abner: Acts as the primary interpreter of the phenomenon. He uses his knowledge of the Memory Theater and dimensional structures to explain the parallel world and begins forming a larger theory about the High-Dimensional Overseer’s plan.
• Aglaia: Quickly understands the implications of Abner’s explanation and connects the theater to parallel timelines. Her knowledge of the Memory Theater allows her to follow his reasoning.
• The parallel Fors and Gwen: Their contrasting behavior highlights that alternate timelines can produce radically different personalities. Parallel Fors is an effective leader, while parallel Gwen is more emotionally volatile and aggressive.

Significant Themes

• Parallel worlds and alternate identities: The chapter explores how people who look identical can develop different personalities, talents, and destinies in branching timelines.
• Dimensional hierarchy: The observers exist in a higher dimension than the parallel party, allowing them to watch but preventing direct physical intervention.
• History versus reality: The characters question whether they are witnessing a historical record, a staged performance, or an actual world existing elsewhere.
• Manipulation and hidden agendas: The High-Dimensional Overseer may be using parallel worlds and apparent conflicts as part of a larger scheme, with the Monarch of Decay possibly serving as a distraction.
• Fate and scripted interaction: Abner suspects that the observers’ presence—and their desire to help their alternate selves—may itself be part of a predetermined “Script.”
• The limits of identity: The chapter emphasizes that appearance does not determine personality. Alternate versions of the same person can possess fundamentally different temperaments and capabilities.

Character Interactions

• Gwen questions Abner about the nature of the divine kingdom and the possible involvement of the Hunter Pathway.
• Aglaia works with Abner to interpret the scene, helping identify it as a possible parallel-world phenomenon.
• Fors repeatedly presses Abner to explain his “riddles,” representing the group’s confusion and impatience.
• Lydia responds directly to Gwen’s emotional breakdown, using her mystical item to stabilize her.
• Abner reassures the group that while direct rescue is impossible, limited communication and guidance may still be feasible.
• The observers collectively compare themselves with their parallel counterparts, using those differences to understand the nature of the alternate world and the possible purpose behind its creation.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• On the Scarlet Plains, Gwen struggles to maintain a defensive formation against endless soldiers. Her Protection Ability is pushed beyond its limit, causing her Spirituality to bleed from her eyes and nose.
• Near death, Gwen recalls her tragic past: the deaths of her companions to the Dragon-Eyed Giant Python, her failed attempt at revenge, possession by a Demon, and her eventual redemption and rescue by Abner.
• A mysterious “voice”—apparently a miraculous message connected to Abner—reveals that Beyonder abilities decay within the Scarlet Plains and cannot permanently kill the soldiers. Only ordinary physical attacks are effective.
• Fors and Lydia receive the same revelation. Gwen confirms it by killing several soldiers with an ordinary sword, then orders the group to switch to conventional weapons and ammunition.
• The group successfully fights through the battlefield, surviving repeated attacks, harsh weather, and other disasters. They eventually reach the enormous Blood Emperor’s Palace, the center of the Scarlet Plains’ divine kingdom.
• After resting, they enter the palace, only to discover that its exterior was an illusion. Inside is a gigantic gemstone-inlaid throne, with an ordinary-sized man sitting on its edge.
• The man is revealed to be the alternate-world Abner, holding the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact known as the Calamity Seal.
• From this discovery, the observing Abner realizes that the High-Dimensional Overseer’s true objective is likely “Liu Bo,” who is sleeping in the depths of the Unknown. He suspects the Overseer intends to seize the Source that empowered its symbolism.

Character Developments

• Gwen demonstrates extraordinary endurance and loyalty, refusing to abandon her squad or her missing rescuer, Abner. Her memories reveal how trauma, guilt, demonic possession, and Abner’s redemption shaped her.
• Fors and Gwen, despite their strained relationship, immediately cooperate once they recognize that they have received the same miraculous guidance.
• Lydia contributes crucially by recognizing that Beyonder abilities are ineffective against the soldiers, helping confirm the supernatural rule of the Scarlet Plains.
• The alternate Abner is revealed to be far more important than previously understood. He appears to have reached the Blood Emperor’s throne and acquired the Calamity Seal, suggesting that he may be central to the Overseer’s larger plan.
• The observing Abner gains a deeper understanding of the alternate timeline. He reconstructs how different choices—particularly the absence of Xio, the Fool, and the original Abner’s interventions—changed Gwen’s, Fors’s, and Lydia’s lives.

Significant Themes

• Perseverance and sacrifice: Gwen continues fighting despite physical and spiritual collapse because of her determination to save Abner and protect her team.
• The power of ordinary human action: In a realm where supernatural abilities decay, mundane weapons become decisive, suggesting that strength is not always tied to magical power.
• Alternate possibilities and fate: Abner analyzes how small changes in history created entirely different relationships, tragedies, and survivals.
• Trauma and redemption: Gwen’s memories emphasize how past suffering continues to shape her, while Abner’s intervention represents the possibility of recovery and salvation.
• Hidden manipulation and cosmic ambition: The High-Dimensional Overseer appears to be using the alternate timeline for a much larger objective involving Liu Bo, the Unknown, and a powerful Source.

Character Interactions

• Gwen, Fors, and Lydia cooperate under battlefield pressure, combining their observations to uncover the Scarlet Plains’ weakness.
• Gwen and Fors communicate primarily through exchanged glances and shared understanding, showing that their common crisis temporarily overcomes their lack of harmony.
• Gwen’s relationship with Abner is defined by gratitude, trust, and loyalty; his past rescue gives her the determination to risk everything to find him.
• The observing Abner mentally compares the alternate versions of Gwen, Fors, Lydia, Xio, and himself, explaining how their relationships diverged across timelines.
• The chapter ends with the team confronting the alternate Abner, while the original Abner recognizes that their journey is connected to a dangerous plan targeting Liu Bo.

Chapter Summary: “A Dilemma”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner realizes that the High-Dimensional Overseer’s entire plan is aimed at replacing or merging with Tudor’s remnant soul, currently occupied by Liu Bo within the Calamity Seal. By doing so, It hopes to approach the sleeping True Liu Bo in the Unknown and compete for the position of a Pillar.
• The Overseer created a Parallel World on another timeline and manipulated events in both worlds. It used the God of Seasons, Decay, and Tudor’s abandoned Divine Kingdom to create an intersection between the Parallel World and reality.
• Tudor’s Divine Kingdom was chosen because it lacked a master, had previously housed the Calamity Seal, and could serve as a suitable medium for the Monarch of Decay’s power. The Monarch’s interference also distracted the gods from the Overseer’s true objective.
• In the Parallel World, the Overseer impersonated Liu Bo, created avatars with Liu Bo’s personality, contaminated Abner and the Calamity Seal, and scripted a rescue mission centered on the Scarlet Plains.
• It manipulated the Fate of Lansell Town so that people from both worlds—including Gwen, Lydia, Fors, and the Demonesses—would enter the Scarlet Plains simultaneously. Their presence likely served as “Observers” needed to support the Information Overwrite.
• A chaotic battle erupts before the throne. Sauron, Einhorn, Medici, and the four Demonesses reveal their true strength and fight over the Calamity Seal, or more precisely, the Conqueror characteristic it contains.
• Abner concludes that the attraction of powerful Hunter Pathway Beyonders to Lansell Town was also part of the Overseer’s script. The Overseer may have intended to use a contaminated High Sequence Hunter as an independent agent within the Barrier.

Character Developments

• Abner gains a deeper understanding of the Overseer’s scheme and recognizes that the Overseer deliberately left the final decision to him. The Calamity Seal is in the Land of Unknown, so the Information Overwrite cannot succeed without Abner’s consent.
• Abner becomes aware that his choice could determine the balance of power in his future confrontation with Liu Bo. He may gain the Overseer as an ally, but risks empowering Liu Bo instead.
• The High-Dimensional Overseer is revealed as highly calculating and patient, manipulating parallel worlds, timelines, divine kingdoms, fate, and other beings to create a viable path toward Liu Bo. However, Its plan also exposes Its desperation and intrinsic madness.
• Gwen, Fors, Lydia, and the Demonesses are shown to have been drawn into the conflict largely as arranged pieces in the Overseer’s script, rather than as independent participants.
• Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici appear as major contenders for the Calamity Seal and become active forces in the unfolding conflict.
• The Goddess, Lilith, the Traitor Dragon, and other powerful entities appear to have allowed Abner to enter Tudor’s Divine Kingdom because they could not predict whether the Overseer’s plan would ultimately help or harm him.

Significant Themes

• Choice and responsibility: Abner must decide whether to accept a dangerous potential ally or reject the Overseer and create a powerful enemy.
• Manipulation versus free will: The Overseer scripts events, arranges people, and alters fate, yet the final decision remains with Abner.
• Information and identity: The plan revolves around overwriting souls, personalities, memories, and reality itself, blurring the distinction between Liu Bo, Tudor, the Overseer, and their avatars.
• Risk hidden in apparent safety: The Divine Kingdom adventure contains little immediate danger; the real consequences will emerge later in the confrontation with Liu Bo.
• Power and corruption: The Overseer might help remove the Calamity Seal’s hidden dangers, but its attempt to understand or approach Liu Bo could instead strengthen him.
• Uncertainty and cosmic madness: Even a top-tier Great Old One may not fully understand the danger of Liu Bo, making every apparent advantage potentially catastrophic.

Character Interactions

• The Overseer’s manipulation of Abner is indirect but deliberate: It constructs a situation in which Abner must authorize or reject the Information Overwrite.
• The arranged relationships among the Parallel World’s inhabitants—especially the “good friends” gathered to rescue Abner—serve as part of the Overseer’s larger ritual or informational framework.
• Abner’s relationship with the Overseer shifts from simple opposition to a complicated strategic dilemma. He considers cooperation, rejection, and the possibility of a third solution that would restrain the Overseer without allowing Liu Bo to consume or exploit It.
• The current battle over the Calamity Seal places the Demonesses, Sauron, Einhorn, and Medici in direct conflict, while Gwen, Fors, and the others are reduced to observers.
• The chapter ends with Abner still undecided, recognizing that neither acceptance nor refusal is without serious consequences.

Chapter Summary

• Plot/events: This is a meta, New Year-themed author’s note rather than a story chapter. The author explains Qidian’s reader-interaction event: comments on the special “Easter egg” chapter can enter a draw for up to 6,666 coins. He then reflects on his 2022 writing experiences, memorable reader interactions, and offers New Year wishes.
• Creative journey: The author recalls collaborating with readers late at night to develop the Goddess of Wealth’s Wealth Pathway, including its authorities and sequences. He especially thanks Birdie for providing summaries and additional ideas.
• Memorable reader requests: Foxy’s two Silver League rewards triggered a double-bonus obligation of nine extra chapters. The author spent two weeks building up a backlog before repaying everything on May 15, while jokingly encouraging Foxy to make similar requests again.
• Reader interactions: The author humorously references readers repeatedly asking for “side stories” and praises Kitty’s entertaining demonstrations of special tricks. These exchanges reinforce the playful, close relationship between the author and the fan community.
• Character/author development: Although no fictional characters advance, the author presents himself as appreciative, hardworking, and deeply engaged with his readers. The community is portrayed as an active creative partner in shaping the setting.
• Themes: Community collaboration, gratitude toward readers, the humor and labor of serialized writing, fan participation, and optimism for the coming year.
• Conclusion: The author wishes readers success and fulfillment in the new year, reminds them to join the prize draw, and jokingly asks winners to support him with monthly tickets. The note is dated January 16, 2023, and signed by Ming Huo.

Chapter Summary: “Transaction”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner devises a third option in the conflict involving the High-Dimensional Overseer and Liu Bo. He proposes that the Overseer use an ability similar to Ordination to grant someone under Abner’s or another Pillar’s control advance authority over the corresponding Sefirah.
• This arrangement would provide the Overseer with a potential escape route if Liu Bo devoured Them, much as the Uncertain Mist had previously survived within another consciousness.
• The High-Dimensional Overseer slows time throughout the divine kingdom, apparently giving Abner sufficient time to consider the proposal.
• Although Abner worries that the Overseer might replace Liu Bo and become an even more dangerous Pillar, he ultimately judges this possibility unlikely and accepts Option Three.
• Abner agrees to recognize the High-Dimensional Overseer as the Calamity Seal, provided They accept his conditions. In return, the Overseer grants Abner control over:
  • The Scarlet Plains and its connection to parallel worlds
  • The associated permissions of the Tudor Divine Kingdom
  • The parallel worlds and world lines created by the Overseer
• The struggle for the Calamity Seal ends with the ancestor of the Einhorn family claiming it.
• The High-Dimensional Overseer alters reality’s underlying information, creating the “truth” that They replaced Tudor within the Calamity Seal and fused with Liu Bo’s spirit, while Einhorn obtained the Seal.
• Abner permits this overwrite, knowingly allowing the Overseer to place themselves in danger within the Land of Unknown.
• Abner then sends Gwen, Fors, Lydia, and the others back to their original worlds.
• Upon returning, the women remember their parallel-world experiences as dreams and discover that the Acting experience of their alternate selves has completely digested their respective Potions.

Character Developments

• Abner demonstrates caution, strategic intelligence, and a willingness to accept calculated risks. He chooses a compromise that preserves a backup plan while also gaining control over the parallel worlds.
• He also reveals a pragmatic and manipulative side by deliberately allowing the High-Dimensional Overseer’s altered information to become reality, effectively letting Them “step on the minefield.”
• The High-Dimensional Overseer is shown to be extremely cautious and well-prepared. They had apparently arranged a contingency involving a parallel version of Abner and selected Einhorn as the most suitable vessel or tool.
• Gwen, Fors, Lydia, and the other women benefit directly from their alternate selves’ experiences, gaining complete digestion of their Potions through inherited Acting knowledge.
• Einhorn’s ancestor becomes the apparent holder of the Calamity Seal, though this result is partly shaped by the Overseer’s manipulation.

Significant Themes

• Trust and calculated cooperation: Abner must cooperate with a dangerous entity despite knowing that the agreement may eventually threaten him.
• Identity and information: Reality can be rewritten through the manipulation of information, memories, and alternate-world records. The “truth” of who possesses the Calamity Seal becomes something that can be constructed.
• Risk versus survival: Abner chooses the option that offers the greatest strategic advantage, even though every possible outcome carries catastrophic dangers.
• Parallel selves and inherited experience: The alternate worlds provide genuine growth and knowledge, allowing characters to benefit from lives they did not personally live.
• Power and contingency plans: Both Abner and the High-Dimensional Overseer prepare fallback routes, emphasizing that survival at the level of Great Old Ones depends on layered schemes rather than direct strength alone.

Important Character Interactions

• Abner and the High-Dimensional Overseer engage in a high-stakes negotiation, with Abner setting the conditions for cooperation.
• Abner evaluates the suitability of Medici, Sauron, and Einhorn as potential tools for the Overseer, concluding that Einhorn is the least problematic choice.
• Abner preserves his relationships with Sauron and his companions by excluding Sauron from the Overseer’s plans.
• After returning to the real world, Fors, Gwen, and Lydia compare their experiences and realize that their alternate selves’ lives have completed their Potion digestion.

Chapter Summary: “Transmigrator”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Abner explains that the Tudor Divine Kingdom’s Interference Points allowed characters from different dimensions to communicate informationally, while the Scarlet Plains function as a Connection Point between two worlds.
• Using the Tudor nameplate, Abner gains the ability to arrange transmigration journeys for others, though he first intends to verify that the parallel world is safe.
• He seals the town’s Inner Layer and uses the Pure White Eye, Wisdom’s Authority, the Treatise of Fate, and Memory Theater to make the townspeople complete the sealing ritual and forget the Great Priest, the God of Seasons, and the supernatural world.
• Gwen asks about her missing crew members. Abner discovers that they survived but entered a parallel world, replacing their counterparts there. Although distressed, Gwen is relieved that they are alive.
• Abner sends Gwen’s team back to Andor, dismisses the summoned Demonesses, and returns to Lansell Town. He then prepares to explore the parallel world and obtain that world’s version of his Ordination system, preserving part of the High-Dimensional Overseer’s authority for the future.
• Fors returns to Backlund independently to prepare for her advancement to Sequence 4, Secrets Sorcerer.
• Abner revisits the Scarlet Plains and reflects on how abandoned divine kingdoms can become weaknesses in seals and barriers. He resolves to monitor such locations, including the divine kingdoms connected to the Nation of Disorder, the River of Eternal Darkness, and the City of Calamity.
• To enter the parallel world, Abner simulates the High-Dimensional Overseer’s Sequence 4 Pathway characteristic, becoming a “Transmigrator.” Several Eyes of Wisdom then cross into the other dimension.

Character Developments

• Abner: Demonstrates increasingly powerful control over Wisdom and information. He takes responsibility for containing supernatural dangers and begins actively planning for the long-term preservation of Sefirah-related authority. His transformation into a Transmigrator marks a major expansion of his dimensional abilities.
• Gwen: Learns that her missing crew are alive in another world but cannot return. Her initial shock gives way to acceptance, showing her concern for her crew and emotional resilience.
• Fors: Continues advancing toward Secrets Sorcerer and is now capable of Traveling independently, reflecting her growing strength and autonomy.
• Audrey: Fully digests the Dreamwalker Potion ahead of schedule. Her experiences in layered, corrupted, and Demigod dreams significantly improve her abilities. She develops a new acting principle: when interference is necessary, she should secretly guide events from behind the scenes rather than visibly intervene.
• Audrey’s advancement plans: She has gathered the formula and ingredients for Manipulator and is considering holding her advancement ritual either during a large religious gathering or at the premiere of a peace-themed film.

Significant Themes

• Dimensional boundaries and identity: Travel between worlds generally requires replacing one’s counterpart, raising questions about coexistence, individuality, and the limits of reality.
• Control through information: Abner’s power comes not only from physical strength but from manipulating knowledge, memories, records, and causality.
• The hidden costs of higher powers: The High-Dimensional Overseer has arranged seemingly accidental events to strengthen connections between worlds, showing how ordinary lives can be manipulated by cosmic entities.
• Seals and vulnerabilities: Abandoned divine kingdoms are portrayed as dangerous structural weaknesses that Outer Deities may exploit.
• Guidance versus interference: Audrey’s development centers on subtly shaping others while remaining unseen, balancing morality, influence, and the role of an observer.
• War and social responsibility: Audrey’s thoughts turn to the worsening war, food prices, public morale, and the efforts of Empress Vera to protect Backlund’s population.

Character Interactions

• Abner informs Gwen and the others about the dimensional arrangement and offers to organize future transmigration journeys.
• Gwen confronts Abner about her missing crew, and his explanation provides her with painful but reassuring closure.
• Abner assists Fors indirectly by allowing her to return independently and prepare for her advancement.
• Audrey reflects on her cooperation with Mr. World, little Sun, Mr. Tower, and others as she gathers the materials and ritual conditions needed to become a Manipulator.
• Audrey also considers asking Mr. Tower to help organize a large public film screening, linking the Tarot Club’s activities to broader wartime society.

Chapter Summary: Preparations for Advancement and the Tarot Club

Key Plot Points and Events

• Winter Rite Day, the birthday of the Evernight Goddess, takes place during a difficult year for Loen. War, inflation, and shortages have damaged public morale, but the Church of Evernight offers food vouchers and tickets to an upcoming film premiere, drawing believers to churches.
• At St. Samuel Cathedral, Audrey attends Mass with Susie and prepares for her advancement to the Manipulator Sequence. Rather than exploiting the grief of war victims directly, she has decided to complete the ritual through the emotional response of moviegoers at the premiere. She recognizes that this choice may simply shift her guilt onto “Mr. Tower,” revealing her continuing self-scrutiny and moral discomfort.
• Archbishop Saint Anthony delivers a message emphasizing the Goddess’s compassion for the suffering and promising that hardship will eventually end in silence and peaceful sleep. Abner, preparing to enter the Nation of the Evernight and travel toward Calderón City, silently hopes that suffering will end in the coming year.
• The Future docks on the Loen coast. Queen of Stars Cattleya tells her crew to monitor Frank and prevent his dangerous experiments while she remains in Loen. She is secretly there to seek Mr. Tower’s help in completing her own Sequence 3 advancement ritual, though she conceals this from the crew.
• At the weekly Tarot Club gathering, the Fool announces a new mission: members are asked to investigate ownerless Divine Kingdoms or Divine Kingdom Prototypes. Rewards may include potion formulas or answers to important questions.
• The task is secretly connected to Abner’s investigation into decayed Divine Kingdoms and their possible effects on Seals and barriers. Several Tarot Club members suspect that the Fool may be seeking abandoned divine authorities to strengthen or restore Himself.

Character Developments

• Audrey demonstrates increasing psychological awareness and honesty with herself. She understands that using public emotion at the film premiere is still a form of exploitation, even if it appears less cruel than manipulating grieving families. Her ability to confront and temporarily control these thoughts shows progress toward the Manipulator pathway, while also exposing her lingering guilt.
• Abner continues preparations for his journey into Calderón City and the Nation of the Evernight. The Archbishop’s words resonate with him, linking his personal mission to the broader suffering caused by the war.
• Cattleya is preparing for a major advancement and has chosen to rely on Mr. Tower’s assistance. Her secrecy suggests both caution and the importance of the ritual. Her relationship with her crew remains authoritative but familiar.
• Klein, acting as the Fool, takes a more direct role by issuing a mission with potentially world-changing consequences. He is also increasingly concerned about the instability caused by ruined Divine Kingdoms.
• Alger and Cattleya immediately begin speculating about the Fool’s motives, demonstrating their awareness of the significance of divine realms and higher-level powers.

Significant Themes

• Suffering and compassion: The Evernight Church’s ceremony frames war and grief within a promise that pain will eventually end. The chapter contrasts institutional consolation with the characters’ ongoing, practical struggles.
• Moral ambiguity and emotional manipulation: Audrey’s advancement requires her to influence powerful emotions. Her internal debate shows that even seemingly benevolent manipulation can involve exploitation and guilt.
• Preparation for transformation: Both Audrey and Cattleya are approaching major Sequence advancements, emphasizing the danger, planning, and personal cost involved in supernatural growth.
• Hidden agendas and divine power: The search for ownerless Divine Kingdoms suggests that abandoned divine territories may contain dangerous opportunities, lost authority, or vulnerabilities in the world’s protective systems.
• Hope amid wartime hardship: Food relief, entertainment, religious ceremony, and the promise of peace all provide limited but meaningful hope during a period of widespread deprivation.

Character Interactions

• Audrey and Susie: Susie accompanies Audrey to the cathedral, carrying her small leather bag and reinforcing their familiar partnership.
• Audrey and the noble families: Other nobles attempt to assist Audrey through the crowded cathedral, but Earl Hall prevents them and ensures that Hibbert looks after her, highlighting the family’s protectiveness.
• Cattleya and her crew: Cattleya instructs Nina and the others to watch Frank. Nina jokes that none of Frank’s experiments are normal, while Jane teasingly compares herself with Nina. Their banter shows the crew’s relaxed familiarity despite Cattleya’s hidden mission.
• The Fool and the Tarot Club: Klein’s announcement immediately changes the atmosphere. The members become alert and uneasy, recognizing that a personal task from the Fool likely has implications beyond an ordinary request.

Chapter Summary: “The Missing Queen Mystic”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Derrick, the Sun, realizes that the City of Silver may possess records concerning the abandoned Divine Kingdom of the Mutant King Kvastir.
• Klein, acting as Mr. Fool, offers the City of Silver access to the Twilight Giant’s Card of Blasphemy in exchange for sufficiently detailed information about Kvastir’s Divine Kingdom.
• Audrey, Justice, plans to advance to the Manipulator Sequence and investigate the Psychology Alchemists for intelligence about abandoned Divine Kingdoms and Divine Kingdom Prototypes.
• Audrey worries that her rapid advancement and Hvin Rambis’s death will expose her, especially if Angels within the Psychology Alchemists investigate her. Klein assures her that they will not detect anything, secretly relying on Old Liu’s influence over the organization.
• Klein asks Leonard, the Star, to search for similar information. Leonard implies that he will consult the mysterious “Old Man,” the ancient Archangel inside him. In return, Klein promises an opportunity to advance to the Nightwatcher pathway.
• The Tower, Abner, subtly acknowledges that Leonard’s promised “opportunity” will likely involve using the Church of Evernight’s ordinary advancement procedures, possibly with Abner’s assistance.
• The discussion then turns to Cattleya, the Hermit. She reveals that she has no formal question, but her concern over the disappearance of Queen Mystic motivates her current actions. Cattleya plans to investigate the Queen’s former residence for clues and has also come ashore to ask the Tower for help preparing a ritual.
• Klein ends the preliminary discussion and formally begins the Tarot Club’s question-and-answer session.

Character Developments

• Derrick demonstrates increasing loyalty to Mr. Fool and eagerness to aid the Tarot Club. The chance to view a Card of Blasphemy gives him and the City of Silver a powerful incentive to investigate their records.
• Audrey shows growing confidence as she prepares to become a Demigod, but also recognizes the dangers of infiltrating or investigating the Psychology Alchemists. Her relief at Klein’s reassurance deepens her trust in him.
• Leonard remains connected to the ancient entity known as the “Old Man,” whose knowledge may provide valuable information about abandoned Divine Kingdoms. He is also positioned to benefit from Klein’s support in advancing his pathway.
• Abner silently understands the true meaning behind Klein’s offer to Leonard, revealing his awareness of the hidden arrangements among the Churches and Old Liu.
• Cattleya appears anxious and unsettled because of Queen Mystic’s unexplained absence. Her decision to investigate the Queen’s residence shows both loyalty and concern.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and repayment: Derrick’s desire to repay Mr. Fool’s help motivates him to risk searching the City of Silver’s records.
• Information as power: Knowledge about Divine Kingdoms is treated as an extremely valuable resource, capable of being exchanged for advancement opportunities and access to the Cards of Blasphemy.
• Hidden identities and manipulation: Klein uses the authority of Mr. Fool and the World to conceal the true nature of his arrangements, while Old Liu’s influence quietly shapes the situation.
• Trust and protection: Audrey’s confidence in Klein increases when he promises to shield her from the Psychology Alchemists’ Angels.
• Uncertainty and disappearance: Queen Mystic’s absence introduces a mystery and creates tension, suggesting that important developments may be occurring beyond the Tarot Club’s immediate knowledge.

Character Interactions

• Derrick pledges to investigate Kvastir’s Divine Kingdom after Klein offers the City of Silver access to the Twilight Giant’s Card of Blasphemy.
• Audrey asks Klein for protection while investigating the Psychology Alchemists, and he reassures her that she will not be exposed.
• Klein, through Gehrman Sparrow, recruits Leonard to search for information and offers him assistance with advancement.
• Leonard’s implied consultation with the ancient “Old Man” links the Tarot Club to a much older source of knowledge.
• Cattleya’s concern for Queen Mystic shifts the chapter’s focus from the broader search for Divine Kingdoms to the personal mystery of the Queen’s disappearance.

Chapter Summary: “Why Not Try Harder?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fors offers Emlyn a Shaman King Beyonder Characteristic, obtained from the Shaman King of Lansell Town, in exchange for an Order Magic Wolf’s vertical eye and 100 milliliters of its blood.
• Emlyn is eager to obtain it because he is one of the few Tarot Club members still lacking a path to Demigodhood. However, Earl-level Sanguine Beyonder Characteristics are extremely scarce, and Emlyn ranks only eighth in the inheritance line.
• Emlyn suspects the transaction may be part of the First Ancestor’s plan to help him fulfill his mission of saving the Sanguine. He stalls while checking whether the Sanguine vault contains the requested materials.
• Fors recognizes Emlyn’s attempt to delay the deal but allows it, amusing herself with the experience of pressuring someone else.
• During the Tarot Club’s regular information-sharing session, Alger reports that the Church of Storms has successfully disrupted Feysac’s naval transport routes. He is reassigned to strengthen the naval forces in the Rorsted Archipelago, traveling under the cover of a recruited pirate.
• Justice and Judgment share information about the worsening living conditions among Backlund’s social classes. Klein is deeply troubled, though he recognizes that Vera’s policies have prevented the situation from becoming even worse.
• At the chapter’s conclusion, Klein asks Liu Bo to use his influence—through the empresses of Loen and Feysac and the major Intis families—to push the nations back toward peace negotiations.

Character Developments

• Emlyn becomes increasingly anxious about his lack of a Demigod pathway and frustrated by the Sanguine’s rigid inheritance system. His determination to acquire the Shaman King Characteristic reveals both ambition and concern for his race’s future.
• Fors shows growing confidence after advancing to Secrets Sorcerer. She also displays a playful, more assertive side by enjoying the ability to make Emlyn wait for her answer.
• Abner observes that his influence—and perhaps the Fool’s—has contributed to Fors and Xio adopting more strategic, manipulative behavior.
• Alger gains political and military credibility through his wartime performance while carefully preserving his future options by operating under a pirate identity.
• Klein is increasingly affected by the war’s human cost. His concern shifts from merely observing political events to actively urging influential figures to pursue peace.

Significant Themes

• Scarcity and advancement: The difficulty of obtaining high-level Beyonder Characteristics highlights how power progression is constrained by inheritance, longevity, and political structures.
• Duty and destiny: Emlyn interprets his obstacles as possible tests or arrangements connected to the First Ancestor’s command to save the Sanguine.
• War’s social consequences: Military victories are contrasted with hunger, poverty, and deteriorating living conditions among civilians.
• Political responsibility: Klein’s final appeal emphasizes that those with influence should make greater efforts to end the conflict rather than passively accept its continuation.
• Manipulation and strategy: Several characters use delay, disguises, alliances, and carefully managed identities to pursue their goals.

Character Interactions

• Fors and Emlyn: Their negotiation combines practical exchange with subtle psychological maneuvering. Emlyn desperately seeks time and certainty, while Fors calmly allows him to stall.
• Fors and Abner: Abner silently recognizes Fors’s changing personality and connects it to the influence of himself and Mr. Fool.
• Alger and the Tarot Club: Alger reports his naval success and new assignment, demonstrating his continued balancing of loyalty, ambition, and secrecy.
• Klein and Liu Bo: Their private discussion ends with Klein directly challenging Liu Bo to use his extensive political connections to help restart peace negotiations.