Recaps

Chen Qingzhi completed a ritual that brought Zheng Yunhai to the Ji Province branch, where he prepared to escort the Otherworldly Demon Lord to Headquarters. Meanwhile, in Backlund, Raphael received Caven Thomas’s request to persuade a villa owner to rent him a property for a brothel and learned that Caven’s family was close to losing its title.

• Chen Qingzhi used a ritual and the blood pool to summon Zheng Yunhai, who recovered before planning to leave for Headquarters with Raphael.
• Dark Hut disciples escorted Raphael by automobile from the underground chamber toward Headquarters, and he saw sunlight and a distant city for the first time.
• Caven Thomas arrived at the Backlund Mafia headquarters and asked Raphael to persuade a villa owner to rent him a property for a brothel.
• Raphael agreed to visit the villa owner, then sent Carter to investigate Caven and the property owner.
• Raphael learned that the Thomas Family was impoverished, selling its land, and at risk of losing its viscountcy.

At the Tarot Club meeting, Audrey and Xio sold Beyonder characteristics and discussed ways to obtain information from Raphael, who had infiltrated the Aurora Order. Xio then revealed that the Feysac Spy Case differed from the newspaper reports.

• Raphael considered handling the Thomas Family's villa problem himself after a member of parliament's cousin refused to rent it to Kaven Thomas.
• Xio joined the Tarot Club meeting and watched Audrey sell a Werewolf Beyonder characteristic for 1,200 pounds to Miss Sharron.
• Audrey asked the members to help find a Mystical Item that could control a target, and Cattleya agreed to look for one.
• Xio offered a Conspirer Beyonder characteristic, and Cattleya bought it for 2,500 pounds.
• Audrey said Raphael had joined the Aurora Order and could earn rewards for valuable information, while Alger asked him to investigate Lady D.
• Xio said the Feysac Spy Case had not happened as the newspapers described.

At the Tarot Club, Xio described Raphael’s battle with the Feysac Embassy’s military attaché, prompting the members to discuss Raphael’s strength and how Xio could contact him. Raphael secured Councilor Booker’s approval for Caven Thomas to rent a villa for a brothel, then received an invitation to Caven’s engagement ceremony.

• Xio told the Tarot Club that Raphael had killed the Feysac military attaché, and Audrey recognized the man’s Beyonder characteristic as the one she had sold.
• Alger suggested that Xio establish contact with Raphael, and Audrey agreed that Xio and she should exchange updates about him at future Tarot Club gatherings.
• Xio recalled that Raphael had wounded the Sequence 6 attaché before their fight and had used unusually precise footwork and claw attacks without relying on mystical items.
• Raphael pressured Councilor Booker with knowledge of a fatal incident involving a prostitute, and Booker agreed to rent his villa to Caven Thomas for a brothel.
• Booker abandoned his plans for revenge after learning what had happened to Wood and Holm, while Caven thanked Raphael and invited him to his engagement ceremony.

Raphael traveled with Zheng Yunhai and the Dark Hut when the Luo Sect’s Saintess, Yan Ruobing, ambushed them and demanded that they hand over Raphael. As the battle began under a red moon, Raphael calmly watched from the convoy.

• Raphael noticed that his new body resembled his counterpart from another world, then returned to the dining hall as Zheng Yunhai ordered the group to leave.
• Zheng Yunhai changed the convoy’s route after sensing danger near the airport, but Yan Ruobing of the Luo Sect soon confronted them on the road.
• Yan Ruobing revealed that the Unborn Venerable Mother had ordered her to take Raphael, and Zheng Yunhai prepared to fight rather than surrender him.
• Yan Ruobing summoned the red moon, causing vegetation to grow wildly, while Zheng Yunhai transformed and fought off the vines with blue fire.
• The Luo Sect’s Ironclad Army emerged from the vegetation, and Yan Ruobing appeared above the trees to attack.

Yan Ruobing defeated Zheng Yunhai with her talismans and supernatural abilities, then invited Raphael to the Luo Sect’s Main Altar on the Holy Mother’s command. Raphael accepted and found himself attracted to the holy maiden.

• Zheng Yunhai attacked Yan Ruobing with flaming arrows, but she dodged and used a talisman to make him give birth to a four-armed monster.
• Yan Ruobing struck Zheng Yunhai with rosy light, while his Seduction Technique briefly affected her before she vanished and his chest was badly damaged.
• Yan Ruobing’s chanting empowered the monster, which trapped Zheng Yunhai beneath red moonlight and drained him until he became a dried, plant-covered corpse.
• Yan Ruobing approached Raphael’s carriage and invited him to the Main Altar for a conversation by the Holy Mother’s command.
• Raphael accepted Yan Ruobing’s invitation and asked her to raise her head.

Yan Ruobing tried to take Raphael away, but Divine Monk Huiyuan intercepted them and used the Flower-Picking Finger to thwart her attacks. Yan Ruobing fled, leaving Raphael with Huiyuan, who called their meeting a fortuitous opportunity.

• Yan Ruobing carried Raphael away from the poisoned battlefield and explained that holy maidens were chosen for their connection to the secret realm.
• Divine Monk Huiyuan appeared and asked Yan Ruobing to hand Raphael over.
• Yan Ruobing threw Raphael toward Huiyuan and attacked, but the attack missed and Raphael landed safely behind the monk.
• Huiyuan used the Flower-Picking Finger to strip away Yan Ruobing’s good luck, forcing her to retreat after a talisman let her escape its effects.
• Raphael asked whether Huiyuan intended to take him to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, and Huiyuan described their meeting as a fortunate opportunity.

After escaping the Luo Sect, Raphael reached Backlund and attended Caven Thomas and Estella’s engagement banquet, where he uncovered the couple’s affairs and Caven’s disturbing request. He left his subordinates to seek a doctor and began preparing to digest the Werewolf potion, while a werewolf appeared before a police officer in Backlund.

• Huiyuan freed Raphael and told him that he would find the middle way upon encountering water, and Raphael fled the woods while evading the Luo Sect and Dark Hut.
• Raphael arrived in Backlund and attended Caven Thomas and Estella’s engagement banquet, where he observed the impoverished nobles’ pretenses and the couple’s apparent infidelities.
• Viscount Thomas announced that Caven and Estella would marry in a week, and Caven privately asked Raphael to find a doctor for a twelve-year-old girl with a venereal disease.
• After the banquet, Raphael delegated the search for a doctor to his subordinates and began preparing to digest the Werewolf potion.
• Morne drove homeless people from the streets of Backlund and saw a fur-covered, wolf-headed figure emerge from the fog.

Raphael used werewolf appearances in Backlund to digest his potion, frightening people while avoiding killing or stealing. After two incidents drew the Mandated Punishers’ attention, he planned his next act carefully and accompanied Kaven Thomas to a doctor.

• Raphael frightened Morne and the homeless people by appearing as a werewolf in the fog, then vanished.
• At Perrick’s banquet, Raphael terrified the guests, ate pudding offered by Harrison, and escaped through a window.
• Mande and Simeon investigated the incident with another Mandated Punisher and decided to report the repeated werewolf appearances and seek help.
• Raphael sensed that his acting had digested about a third of his potion and considered staging an act in front of official Beyonders.
• The next day, Raphael rode with Kaven Thomas to visit Doctor White, who treated venereal diseases.

Raphael accompanied Caven Thomas to Doctor White’s home, hoping to learn about the Aurora Order, but discovered Caven wanted him to join a scheme trafficking vagrants. There he met Emlyn White, a Sequence 5 who recognized Caven’s illness and offered medicine for the infected girl, and Raphael seized the chance to befriend him.

• Raphael learned from Caven that Aurora Order members in Backlund were expected to know one another, then heard Caven propose that they capture vagrants to sell.
• Raphael rejected Caven’s proposal and secretly began planning to send him to his death.
• At Doctor White’s home, Raphael recognized Emlyn White as a Sequence 5 and Emlyn warned Caven to stop abusing the infected girl.
• Emlyn offered to prescribe medicine for the girl, and Raphael accepted the offer to make an acquaintance of him.

Raphael visited Emlyn White to buy medicine for a frightened girl, clashed with Caven, and accepted Caven’s wedding invitation. At a salon, Glaint recounted a werewolf’s strange appearance at Perrick’s villa, and Audrey suspected Raphael was behind it.

• Raphael paid Emlyn White for the medicine and told Caven to stop threatening the girl.
• Raphael and Caven returned to the Mafia headquarters, where Caven invited Raphael to his wedding and Raphael said he would attend.
• At Glaint’s salon, Glaint told Audrey and the other young nobles that a werewolf had visited Perrick’s villa, eaten two puddings, and escaped.
• Audrey suspected Raphael had been the werewolf and wondered whether to write to him for an explanation.

Raphael accepted an assignment from Xio to investigate the Three Brothers Society, while Xio learned that the official Beyonders were also searching for a Werewolf. Charliwen arrived at the villa where the Werewolf had appeared, and Raphael later met Mr. C to be introduced to important members of the Aurora Order.

• Raphael met Xio, collected 1,600 pounds from the sale of the Beyonder characteristic, and agreed to work for her on assignments while keeping the right to refuse them.
• Xio assigned Raphael to investigate the Three Brothers Society in the Bridge District and arranged regular meetings and a telegram contact.
• Xio met a member of MI9, who tasked her with finding a Werewolf or determining what he wanted.
• Charliwen searched Perrick's villa for traces of the Werewolf and poisoned a servant who discovered him.
• After night fell, Raphael met Mr. C, who planned to introduce him to important members of the Aurora Order in Backlund.

Mr. C introduced Raphael to Backlund’s important Aurora Order members and brought him to a high-level gathering hosted by a demigod. Raphael bought a Hypnotist-pathway Mystical Item with Mr. C’s help, then learned its negative effect encouraged arrogance and reckless behavior.

• Mr. C told Raphael he had been transferred to Backlund after Mr. A’s failure and explained that an important operation had prompted the Order to introduce its members to one another.
• Mr. C introduced Raphael to six mid-sequence members, and Raphael’s conversation with them further digested his Unwinged Angel potion.
• Raphael attended the high-level gathering, where he used the White Jade Orb to identify its hooded host as a demigod.
• Raphael outbid another attendee for a Hypnotist-pathway Mystical Item, and Mr. C lent him 2,000 pounds to complete the purchase.
• The seller told Raphael that wearing the ring made him prone to arrogance and reckless or deranged actions, leaving Raphael stunned by the supposed negative effect.

Raphael used a werewolf attack at a Backlund freight station to continue digesting his potion, then encountered Emlyn White near an Earth Mother church. After escaping and changing back, he took two cloth dolls with him and found that the alley ahead seemed to stretch on endlessly.

• Raphael wrote to Audrey that he had obtained his desired Mystical Item and sent her information about the Aurora Order in hopes of exchanging it for a Living Corpse Beyonder characteristic.
• Raphael realized that rumors about the werewolf were slowly digesting his Werewolf potion and began his third deliberate act at a Backlund freight station.
• As workers fled in terror, Raphael opened a sack, played with two cloth dolls, and left with them.
• Raphael saw Emlyn White emerge from an Earth Mother church, then fled before Emlyn could approach him.
• After changing back on a rooftop, Raphael put the dolls in his backpack and discovered that the alley seemed to have no end.

Raphael met Adam in a small church, received a cross meant to help him during the Aurora Order’s secret operation, and returned to his apartment with no clear memory of the encounter. Later, in the Western Continent, he observed the local culture and recognized a low-status Blood Sect disciple among a group of cultivators.

• Raphael entered a small church and recovered fragmented memories identifying the praying priest as Adam.
• Adam told Raphael that his story had begun and gave him a Silver Cross Pendant for the Aurora Order’s coming secret operation.
• Raphael found himself near his apartment, discovered the cross around his neck, and decided to keep wearing it.
• Raphael placed two Cloth Dolls on his desk and taught them not to investigate strange events without cause.
• In Xingyang Commandery, Raphael watched a group of cultivators arrive at a restaurant and recognized one of them as a Blood Sect disciple.

Raphael confronted a Blood Sect disciple who broke into his room while fleeing after accidentally starting a deadly fire. Raphael subdued him and agreed to help him escape the immediate danger in exchange for the disciple’s cultivation arts and supernatural abilities.

• Raphael noticed a fawning Blood Sect disciple among a group of cultivators at a restaurant and later returned to his inn.
• A Fire-Watching Tower bell rang in the night, and Raphael saw the disciple sprinting through the street near the glow of a distant fire.
• The disciple climbed through Raphael’s window, and Raphael transformed with the Wolf Fang Art and pinned him with a claw at his throat.
• Raphael learned the disciple was a Sequence 7 Pyromaniac who had accidentally started the fire while dazed and feared his fellow cultivators would kill him.
• Raphael agreed to help the disciple through the immediate crisis in exchange for his sect’s cultivation arts and supernatural abilities.

Raphael, posing as Zhou Fei, traded for Bai Feike’s cultivation methods and persuaded him that the Dark Hut could teach him improved Blood Sect techniques. The two made plans to exchange knowledge, leaving Raphael poised to obtain more sect methods through Bai Feike.

• Bai Feike explained that he knew the first three levels of the Heart-Congealing Great Method and Joyous Union Treasure Canon, as well as an incomplete Fire-Control Art, and recited the two cultivation methods to Raphael.
• Raphael and Bai Feike went to the Fortunate Peace Restaurant, where Raphael claimed to be Zhou Fei, a Dark Hut disciple who researched Blood Sect cultivation.
• Raphael told Bai Feike that the Dark Hut had discovered flaws in Blood Sect methods and suggested he could provide corrected teachings in exchange for other sects’ cultivation methods and supernatural arts.
• Bai Feike admitted he knew only two methods, so Raphael urged him to trade with Blood Sect disciples from other sects while traveling.

Raphael recruited Bai Feike into a scheme to trade help for information, then posed as a Dark Hut disciple to calm Bai Feike’s companions and learned about the Five Lakes Sword Debate. At the Tarot Club, Emlyn attended the gathering as a new Viscount, where Xio reported that a Werewolf had caused panic in Backlund.

• Raphael taught Bai Feike how to obtain information from Blood Sect disciples and promised him a share of future deals.
• When Bai Feike’s companions confronted him about a fire, Raphael introduced himself as Zhou Fei of the Dark Hut and persuaded them that Bai Feike had been discussing cultivation methods.
• Raphael learned that Bai Feike’s companions belonged to the Dongting Heart Sword and Juye Light Sword, and declined their invitation to travel together to the Five Lakes Sword Debate.
• Emlyn joined the Monday Tarot Club gathering, where Justice canceled her previous request for a Mystical Item and the members moved on to discussion.
• Xio told the Tarot Club that a Werewolf had transformed on Backlund’s streets and caused panic in a small area.

At the Tarot Club, the members discussed the werewolf sightings in Backlund and identified Raphael Collins as the werewolf. Klein suggested Raphael might be digesting his potion by cultivating ordinary people’s fear of the unknown, leaving the members to realize they had been drawn into a madman’s plan.

• Xio told the Tarot Club that a werewolf had appeared three times in Backlund without causing casualties, and Alger questioned why the official Beyonders had not caught him.
• Audrey suspected the werewolf was Raphael Collins, and Emlyn confirmed he had recognized Raphael by his scent after encountering him transformed near the Harvest Church.
• Cattleya and Xio reasoned that Raphael’s appearances were carefully planned and likely served an important purpose, while Audrey said he might simply find them fun or be doing something important.
• Klein, speaking as the World, suggested Raphael was digesting his Werewolf Potion, and Alger explained that the sightings could foster ordinary people’s fear of the unknown.
• Audrey, Xio, and Fors understood that Raphael might be maintaining that fear to digest his potion, and the members realized he had been leading them around by the nose.

The Tarot Club shared Raphael’s intelligence about Aurora Order members in Backlund and a possible royal connection, agreeing to pay for it toward the Zombie Beyonder characteristic. Meanwhile, Bennett and another pale-faced man abducted Kos to question him about the Werewolf, and Raphael attended another Aurora Order meeting where Mr. C announced a task.

• Audrey presented Raphael’s portraits of Aurora Order members and his suspicion that the Order had dealings with the royal family.
• Alger, Cattleya, and Leonard agreed to pay three hundred pounds each for Raphael’s intelligence.
• Kos retold his Werewolf story at Bell Bar, then a pale-faced hunter abducted him from the washroom.
• Bennett questioned Kos in an alley about the Werewolf at the Freight Station.
• Raphael attended an Aurora Order meeting where Mr. C announced that he had a task for one of them.

Raphael accepted the Aurora Order’s mission to kill cloth merchant Feodor and the two Mandated Punishers guarding him, then attacked their villa. After killing both Punishers, Raphael confronted Feodor and his family at lunch.

• Mr. C assigned Raphael a mission to avenge an Aurora Order member betrayed by Feodor, and Raphael agreed in exchange for reducing his debt by 1,000 pounds.
• Raphael killed Gwen in her room and destroyed Joao’s conch before Joao could call for help.
• Raphael killed Joao with a wooden stick and hung him beside Gwen.
• Raphael entered Feodor’s dining room as the merchant and his family prepared to flee, and Feodor said he had expected the Church of Storms’ protection to fail.

Raphael carried out his mission by poisoning Feodor and leaving messages condemning those who served the gods, then realized the act had greatly advanced his Unwinged Angel potion digestion. The next morning, he attended nobleman Kaven Thomas’s wedding to pursue further digestion of his Werewolf potion.

• Raphael made Feodor drink poison, arranged his body in prayer at a crude cross, and wrote messages accusing the Mandated Punishers of serving an evil god.
• Raphael reported to Mr. C, handed over two Beyonder Characteristics, and was told he could keep the remaining thousand pounds.
• Senior Deacon Fabio found the messages at Feodor’s villa, raged against the Aurora Order, and destroyed the wall where one message had been written.
• Raphael realized that defying accepted religious and moral values had digested much of his Unwinged Angel potion, and decided that repeating the same stunt would not work again.
• Raphael attended Kaven Thomas’s wedding the next morning, planning to act as a Werewolf and digest more of that potion.

Raphael disguised himself as a Werewolf and attacked Kaven Thomas's wedding banquet, killing the groom before escaping. He changed back into his formal clothes and rejoined the shaken guests, pretending to comfort them.

• Raphael left the banquet hall, changed into his Werewolf disguise using a backpack he had hidden at Viscount Thomas's residence, and entered the wedding banquet.
• Raphael struck down the bishop who tried to stop him with holy water, while the guests and low-sequence Beyonders panicked and fled.
• Raphael approached Caven, drank a glass of wine, then twisted off the groom's head and placed it atop the wedding cake.
• Raphael dodged a gunman's bullet, kicked him aside, and escaped over the residence's perimeter wall into the woods.
• Raphael changed back into his clothes and returned to the crowd, reassuring a noble that the Werewolf had left.

Raphael Collins killed a groom during his Werewolf appearances, drawing the attention of the official Beyonders and earning a dangerous assignment from Mr. C. After sensing danger near a staged carriage accident, Raphael spotted two zombies among the onlookers.

• Mendes learned that the Werewolf had killed Kaven Thomas at his wedding and hurried to investigate.
• Hanged Man asked Audrey to use her contacts to learn about the Aurora Order's retaliatory operation, and Audrey agreed to contact Raphael Collins.
• Audrey learned that Raphael had killed the groom and postponed sending him a letter so she could speak with him in person.
• Zombie Bennett and Devil Charliwen separately watched Raphael leave the wedding, while officials questioned several other guests.
• Mr. C confronted Raphael over Kaven Thomas's death and assigned him a dangerous, unpaid task as punishment.
• Raphael sensed danger near a carriage accident in the Bridge District and recognized two zombies among the spectators.

Raphael fled a pursuit by Zombies, the Devil Charliwen, and the Living Corpse Bennett as he raced toward Harvest Church to seek Emlyn White’s help. A Wraith possessed him outside the church, but Emlyn appeared and drove it off with Dawnlight.

• Raphael recognized the Zombies following him as likely controlled by the Indulgence Faction and ran toward Rose Street to ask Emlyn White for help.
• Charliwen attacked Raphael with pale blue fireballs, forcing him to transform and flee as the Zombies pursued him.
• Bennett blocked Raphael’s path, but Raphael tricked him and Charliwen by doubling back through a window and escaping down the alley.
• A Wraith possessed Raphael near Harvest Church and made him raise his claws toward his own heart.
• Raphael used Dawnlight to surprise the Wraith, and Emlyn White appeared at the church entrance.

Raphael reached the Harvest Church while fleeing the Rose School, where Emlyn and Bishop Utravsky intervened to fight his pursuers. Bennett escaped the church battle and cornered Raphael in an alley, but Raphael smiled and used hypnosis.

• Raphael ran to the Harvest Church, where Emlyn recognized him and Utravsky stepped in to defend him.
• Utravsky fought the Wraith while Emlyn attacked Charliwen and injured Bennett with Sunwater.
• Bennett escaped Emlyn and pursued Raphael, who transformed into a Werewolf and fled into an alley.
• Raphael fought through Bennett's zombies, then turned to the approaching Living Corpse and used hypnosis.