Chapter Summaries

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.

Raphael fought Bennett with hypnosis, Wolf Poison, and improvised weapons, exploiting the damage Sunwater had caused to the Zombie’s back. Bennett lost control and transformed into a monster, and Raphael drove an iron pipe through his skull.

• Raphael used the Hypnosis Ring to put Bennett to sleep, then stabbed his eyes and released Wolf Poison before retreating.
• Raphael activated Frenzy, prompting Bennett to tear apart the zombies around him before he regained enough reason to flee.
• Raphael dodged Bennett’s feigned stumble and counterattack, tearing flesh from his burned lower back.
• Raphael ripped gas pipes from a wall and hurled them into Bennett’s lower back, worsening his pain and loss of control.
• Bennett transformed into a monster, and Raphael pierced the back of his skull with an iron pipe.

Raphael killed Bennett’s mutated monster by dissecting it and obtained a Sealed Artifact in the form of a baton. He returned to the Harvest Church, helped Emlyn and Bishop Utravsky defeat the Wraith, and asked Emlyn to exchange spoils.

• Raphael seized an opening to drive an iron pipe through Bennett’s monster head, then used the Surgical Ring to cut out its organs and free himself.
• Raphael used the Spirit Channeling Bracelet to gather the monster’s Beyonder characteristic into a short baton, then left the remains and returned to the Harvest Church.
• Raphael found Emlyn and Bishop Utravsky still fighting the Wraith, so he used Hypnosis to daze it and let Emlyn restrain it.
• Bishop Utravsky dragged the Wraith from the Mirror World and pinned it down while Emlyn helped separate its Beyonder characteristic.
• Utravsky returned to the church, and Raphael thanked him and Emlyn before asking Mr. White to exchange spoils.

Raphael exchanged the Living Corpse Sealed Artifact for the Devil characteristic Emlyn had won, then reflected on surviving the battle and planned to finish digesting his Werewolf potion. At the Mafia headquarters, Raphael met Bella, who asked him to help her befriend—and possibly marry—Dwayne Dantès.

• Raphael proposed exchanging the Living Corpse Sealed Artifact for the Devil characteristic, and Emlyn agreed because he could arrange to have the artifact sealed.
• Emlyn and Raphael cleaned up the battlefield, and Raphael returned to his apartment with the Devil characteristic secured behind a Wall of Spirituality.
• Raphael reviewed the battle, celebrated his strength with his dolls, and decided to act as a Werewolf again to finish digesting his potion.
• The next morning, Raphael learned from Carter that police patrols had increased because people were anxious about Werewolf sightings.
• Bella visited Raphael at the Mafia headquarters and asked for help befriending Dwayne Dantès, whom she hoped to marry.

Raphael agreed to investigate Dwayne Dantès as part of his final act, then met Audrey Hall, who confronted him about killing Kaven Thomas. As Raphael argued that the strong could decide the fate of the weak, he realized that challenging Audrey’s conscience was digesting his Unwinged Angel potion.

• Raphael learned that Bella wanted to marry Dwayne Dantès and arranged to visit him under the pretext of investigating his home.
• After Bella left, Raphael practiced the Demon Source Scripture and received a letter from Audrey asking to meet.
• Audrey accused Raphael of being the Werewolf appearing around Backlund and asked why he had killed Kaven Thomas.
• Raphael compared Audrey’s carriage to the poverty of East Borough residents and argued that the strong controlled the weak.
• Raphael sensed his Unwinged Angel potion digesting as he tried to undermine Audrey’s conscience and defended his killing of Kaven Thomas by criticizing the privileges of nobles.

Raphael challenged Audrey’s defense of the nobles, causing her to question her assumptions and helping him finish digesting the Unwinged Angel Potion. He then offered to trade a Spirit Body and Ether Body training method for the Zombie Beyonder Characteristic, and Audrey accepted the first part before asking about the Aurora Order.

• Raphael argued that nobles harmed ordinary people indirectly through their rule and challenged Audrey for judging him by standards she did not apply to them.
• Audrey defended the possibility of light and kindness, but Raphael’s arguments helped him complete digestion of the Unwinged Angel Potion.
• Raphael offered Audrey the first level of the Heart-Congealing Great Method in exchange for the Zombie Beyonder Characteristic.
• Audrey recognized the method’s value, accepted it for study, and asked Raphael whether the Aurora Order had provoked the Church of Storms with a recent retaliation.

Raphael finished recounting his mission to Audrey, who reflected on his criticism of a world ruled by the strong. He then met Dwayne Dantès and discovered that the wealthy gentleman was a demigod, while Klein recognized the meeting had been arranged through Viscountess Matilda.

• Raphael told Audrey he had angered the Church of Storms by calling them cultists, and he left out that he had killed the Mandated Punishers.
• Susie comforted Audrey, who concluded that Raphael seemed to hold a different set of values from the world's rule by the strong.
• Raphael returned to the Mafia headquarters pleased that he had digested the Unwinged Angel potion, but he still lacked a Serial Killer Beyonder characteristic.
• Carter arranged for Raphael to meet Dwayne Dantès, and Raphael accepted the appointment at 160 Böklund Street.
• Klein divined that Viscountess Matilda had helped bring Raphael to him, while Raphael used the white jade orb and discovered that Dwayne Dantès was a demigod.
• Raphael regained his composure after his shock and continued speaking with Klein.