Chapter Summaries

Raphael investigated Sophia and warned Leonard that he knew Pallez Zoroast was hiding within him, while Leonard arranged to sell his Beyonder characteristics to the Church. Meanwhile, the escaped Pain's Hand reached a village and stole farmer Sack's head, leaving with Wilbert's body.

• Raphael asked Carter and Wagner to investigate Sophia, then sent Leonard a letter through the Blue Parrot Bar warning that he had seen a hand emerge from Leonard's chest.
• Leonard watched Archbishop Anthony Stevenson collapse the castle ruins, then visited the bar to tell Raphael that the Church wanted to buy his Beyonder characteristics.
• Leonard read Raphael's letter and spoke with Pallez Zoroast, who explained that he had intervened because Leonard was in danger.
• Leonard wrote a reply for Raphael and gave it to the bartender to deliver.
• Sack encountered the Iron Corpse Wilbert in the fog, and Pain's Hand took Sack's head and attached it to Wilbert's body before leaving.

At the Tarot Club gathering, The World asked Cattleya and Alger to track the Vice Admiral of Ailment while Leonard reported on Raphael’s potion digestion and their expedition together. Leonard concluded that Raphael was dangerous but might be best left free to target secret organizations, and hoped Mr. Fool could keep him under control.

• The World asked Cattleya and Alger to watch for the Vice Admiral of Ailment so he could pursue Katarina Pelle and investigate the royal family’s conspiracy.
• Leonard described two strange Beyonder incidents linked to Raphael, and the Tarot Club members discussed his unusually purposeful potion digestion.
• Leonard recounted his expedition with Raphael and said Raphael’s calm indifference to life and death seemed mad.
• Leonard said he no longer wanted Raphael eliminated immediately and hoped Mr. Fool would keep the dangerous criminal under control.

Raphael strengthened his Zombie forces and prepared to target Sophia after receiving Leonard’s response confirming their transaction. He sent a letter to Dwayne Dantès through Gehrman Sparrow’s messenger, while planning to infiltrate Sophia’s banquet and attack her.

• Leonard returned to the Red Gloves’ lounge after the Tarot Club meeting and left Raphael a letter acknowledging that they both had secrets and confirming their transaction.
• Raphael inspected his four Iron Corpses and eight Copper Corpses, then went to the Blue Parrot Bar and read Leonard’s letter.
• Raphael received dossiers on Sophia and learned she would hold an open banquet the following evening, so he planned to infiltrate it and attack her.
• Raphael summoned Gehrman Sparrow’s four-headed messenger and paid her to deliver a letter to Dwayne Dantès.

Raphael attended Sophia’s ball to get close to the social butterfly, but hid in a wardrobe with a masked woman who appeared to be targeting Sophia. After a brief fight interrupted by Sophia’s return, Raphael remained concealed and suspected the woman had come to kill her.

• Raphael attended Sophia’s ball in disguise and watched her charm the guests with a speech.
• After eating, Raphael slipped into a second-floor suite and hid in a wardrobe, where he found a masked woman already concealed.
• Sophia kissed a man in the bedroom, then questioned him about the front lines and coaxed out Loen’s military plans.
• Once Sophia and the man left, Raphael and the masked woman attacked each other in the wardrobe without using Beyonder abilities.
• Sophia returned with another man, interrupting their fight, and Raphael continued hiding while suspecting the masked woman planned to kill Sophia.

Raphael hid in a wardrobe while investigating Sophia and learned she had gathered sensitive information about the royal family from her guests. After leaving the villa, he was followed by the masked woman, who was discovered by a burst of black flames.

• Raphael watched Sophia question a gentleman and learned that the royal family had secretly assembled several Beyonder units.
• Raphael and the masked woman fought inside the wardrobe, each restraining their Beyonder Abilities to avoid detection.
• Sophia brought a noblewoman into the room, and Raphael learned that she was a lady-in-waiting who revealed recent movements of royal family members.
• Raphael and the masked woman agreed to investigate separately, but Raphael left the villa and abandoned the investigation for the night.
• The masked woman remained in hiding until black flames appeared where she had stood, and she suspected Raphael had exposed her.

Raphael watched two Sequence 6 assassins attack Sophia and intervened when she was near death. He carried her out of the villa, leaving the Judge and masked woman behind.

• Raphael warned Sophia of the masked woman and watched her gain the upper hand in their fight.
• A Judge arrived and joined the masked woman, trapping Sophia in a two-on-one battle.
• The assassins wounded Sophia with Beyonder attacks until she collapsed near death.
• Raphael used Combat Hypnosis on the Judge, endured the masked woman's attacks, and carried Sophia through a hole in the wall.

Raphael rescued Sophia from the masked woman and hid her in a secret apartment, where he contacted Dwayne Dantès to discuss a new plan. After learning the Fool’s honorific name, Raphael began treating Sophia’s wounds, and she woke as he stitched her up.

• Raphael used Frenzy on the Judge and escaped with Sophia, outrunning the masked woman through the streets.
• Raphael carried the unconscious Sophia to his secret hideout in Cherwood Borough and summoned Dwayne Dantès’s messenger.
• Dwayne spoke to Raphael through a rat and agreed to give him a discreet way to make contact.
• Dwayne told Raphael the Fool’s honorific name, which Raphael memorized.
• Raphael stitched Sophia’s wounds, and she woke to find him treating her heart.

Raphael treated the badly wounded Sophia and let her stay at his home while she recovered, but neither revealed their motives. He knew she was following him when he went to the factory district, where he repaired zombies and rehearsed formations, then returned at dusk to find her waiting.

• Raphael finished stitching Sophia's wounds, gave her water, and rested beside her while she recovered overnight.
• Sophia woke to Raphael's breakfast, ate to regain her strength, and learned he planned to let her leave once she could walk.
• Raphael invited Sophia to return after she recovered, and she decided to stay until she understood why he had saved her.
• Raphael and Sophia talked about morality and Beyonders, while Raphael privately discussed his plan with the Killer Personality.
• Raphael went to the factory district, where he repaired zombies and rehearsed formations as Sophia secretly followed him.
• Raphael returned home at dusk with dinner, and Sophia greeted him from the bed.

Raphael and Sophia grew closer as they shared their pasts and spent a day shopping, then slept together. Raphael told Sophia to leave the day after tomorrow and admitted that he had saved her for a reason, leaving her curious but wistful.

• Raphael comforted Sophia as she shared her difficult childhood, and they fell asleep holding each other.
• Raphael spent the next day caring for the zombie and practicing ritual formations before taking Sophia shopping for clothes.
• Raphael and Sophia returned home after he changed their transportation and covered her with a veiled hat to avoid attention.
• Sophia joined Raphael in bed that night, and afterward he reassured her that he did not judge her past.
• Raphael asked Sophia to leave the day after tomorrow and revealed that he had saved her for a reason.

Sophia questioned Raphael after they slept together, and he claimed his organization had sent him to rescue her as part of an investigation into the Royal Family and the Demoness Sect. He urged her to flee before either side killed her, while Sophia began to feel reluctant to leave him.

• Sophia questioned Raphael about why he had rescued her and learned that his assignment had changed from an assassination to saving her.
• Raphael said his superior was investigating a conspiracy involving the Royal Family and the Demoness Sect and hoped to use Sophia to find a higher-Sequence Demoness.
• Sophia confirmed that the Royal Family had tried to kill her and said she knew little about the sect's cooperation with them.
• Raphael warned Sophia that her own organization or his superior might kill her, and urged her to leave early the day after tomorrow.
• Raphael told Sophia that his organization had at least one demigod, one Sequence 5, and two Sequence 6s, but claimed he did not know its name.
• As Raphael fell asleep, Sophia held him and realized she was reluctant to leave.

Sophia contacted the White Saint and learned that the Demoness Sect’s cooperation with the Royal Family had ended, then spent what she believed was her final day with Raphael. The next morning, Raphael detected a nearby Sequence 3 Beyonder and realized someone had taken the bait.

• Sophia summoned the White Saint, reported that an organization planned to use her to find Demonesses, and was told to stay put the following day.
• Sophia worried that the White Saint’s intervention would get Raphael killed, then spent the day and night with him as they went out, watched an opera, and shared their farewells.
• Raphael told Sophia to leave before he woke, but she stayed beside him through the night and quietly made her decision.
• After Raphael got up to buy breakfast, he sensed something amiss and used the White Jade Orb to detect a nearby Sequence 3 Beyonder.

Raphael and Sophia said goodbye, but Sophia pushed him out the window and urged him to run as Klein and the White Saint confronted each other. Raphael returned to save Sophia, then fled with her before they parted, and he realized a Demoness of Affliction was nearby when he caught a cold.

• Raphael recited the Fool’s honorific name and briefly saw a fog-shrouded castle and a mysterious being.
• Sophia stayed for breakfast with Raphael, confessed her feelings, and pushed him through the apartment window so he could escape.
• Klein attacked the White Saint, who fled into a trap laid by the Red Angel’s evil spirit in the Mirror World.
• Raphael overcame his urge to flee, returned to the apartment, and carried Sophia away from the demigod confrontation.
• Raphael and Sophia kissed in the street, exchanged a way to sense each other, and ran off in different directions.
• Raphael headed toward the factory and began coughing, realizing a Demoness of Affliction was nearby.

Raphael lured Belin into revealing herself and fought her while weakened by her Disease ability. He pinned her against a wall, where his waiting Zombies seized her from behind.

• Belin followed Raphael through the Factory District and used her Disease ability to give him a worsening cold.
• Raphael feigned weakness as he ran, and a carriage struck him, but he got up and continued toward his rented factory.
• Belin ended her Invisibility with a Fatal Strike that tore open Raphael’s chest and shoulder, but he used Combat Hypnosis to break her left arm.
• Belin escaped the Hypnosis and attacked with black flames and an Ice Crystal Spear, but Raphael kept pressing her and bound her hand with frost.
• Raphael drove Belin against a wall, and one of his waiting Zombies punched through it, grabbed her hair, and yanked her backward.

Raphael used zombies, spider silk, hypnosis, and his Falling ability to defeat Belin, a Sequence 5 Demoness of Affliction, in a brutal fight. He survived but was gravely wounded, and Klein arrived as Raphael was stitching his lungs back in.

• Raphael trapped Belin with zombies and spider silk, then used Combat Hypnosis to crush her liver.
• Belin escaped with Mirror Substitute and stabbed Raphael in the neck, while Raphael cut out his lungs and windpipe to counter her disease ability.
• Raphael used Falling to crush Belin’s internal organs, but she broke free and tried to flee.
• Raphael caught Belin by standing on her trailing intestines, knocked her down, and beat her until she died.
• The zombies tended to Raphael and cleaned up the battlefield, while Raphael reflected that killing a Sequence 5 had nearly cost him his life.
• Klein, wearing Dwayne Dantès’s face, found Raphael stitching his lungs back in.

After Raphael completed his mission despite severe injuries, Klein rewarded him with the ability to call on the Fool in danger and demonstrated Damage Transfer. Raphael destroyed the medicinal pool and returned to his apartment, where he found the Assassin Company’s first order.

• Raphael reported that he had completed the mission, and Klein promised to help him obtain the characteristic he needed.
• Klein granted Raphael permission to recite the Fool’s Honorific Name whenever he faced danger.
• Klein transferred Raphael’s wounds from his neck and chest to his arm, impressing Raphael with the Damage Transfer ability.
• Klein warned Raphael that the Royal Family might soon make a major move, but Raphael said he would be curious about their plans once he became an angel.
• Raphael ordered the Zombies to destroy the medicinal pool and carry away the Demoness of Affliction’s corpse, then took them to his apartment.
• Raphael found a letter from Wagner announcing the Assassin Company’s first order.

Raphael prepared the Assassin Company for its first contract and traded Beyonder characteristics with Leonard Mitchell for 8,200 pounds. After giving Wagner funds to build an intelligence network, Raphael rested and then began handling the assassination job.

• Raphael reviewed Wagner's investigation of the iron ore merchant and ordered further inquiries into the target's health, habits, and family while Wagner concealed the investigators' identities.
• Raphael met Leonard Mitchell at the Blue Parrot Bar, where Leonard put the patrons to sleep so they could trade privately.
• Raphael exchanged Beyonder characteristics with Leonard for 8,200 pounds and gave him the Assassin Company's address for future contact.
• Raphael returned to the Assassin Company and gave Wagner 3,000 pounds to establish an intelligence network and cover expenses.
• Raphael rested for two days, recovered, and began handling the company's first assassination job.

Raphael poisoned Bennett to trigger a heart attack, then discovered documents linking Bennett to a strange mining disaster and two missing MI9 members. He escaped undetected and told Wagner to collect the payment.

• Raphael slipped into Bennett's villa and used a ghost to watch for a chance to poison him.
• Raphael poisoned a teacup in Bennett's study and knocked over another cup so Bennett's eldest son would not drink from the poisoned one.
• Bennett drank the poisoned tea and suffered a fatal heart attack after his son left to fetch medicine.
• Raphael found portraits of two missing MI9 members and a mysterious Beyonder in Bennett's documents, along with reports of a mining disaster.
• Raphael fled when he heard footsteps, and Bennett's eldest son returned, tested the remaining tea on a servant, and took the documents to the hospital.
• Raphael returned to the Mechanic Company and told Wagner to collect the payment, warning him that the client might claim Bennett's death was accidental.

Raphael attended an Aurora Order gathering where Mr. C confined the members to a villa ahead of a major operation and announced that Raphael and Xavier would be tested for Oracle promotion. As Raphael debated whether to leak the plan, he remembered he could contact Dwayne Dantès through the Fool.

• Wagner received payment from Bennett's client, who believed the death had avenged him.
• Raphael read that the king would give a morale-boosting speech in Anniversary Square and decided to focus on practicing corpse refinement.
• Mr. C summoned Raphael to a Beyonder gathering and ordered the five members to remain inside the villa or be killed.
• Mr. C explained that Raphael and Xavier would undergo Oracle testing and that the upcoming operation could affect their promotion prospects.
• The members chose bedrooms and played cards while discussing the mission, and Raphael considered sending information out before remembering the Fool's honorific name.

Raphael reported the Aurora Order’s plans to the Fool, while Klein acknowledged the message and considered alerting the True Gods’ Churches. In Xuzhou, Raphael profited by trading cultivation knowledge and learned that the Five Lakes Sword Sect was transferring two mysterious sacred relics to the Dongting Heart Sword.

• Raphael prayed to the Fool and reported what he had learned about the Aurora Order’s coming operation.
• Klein received Raphael’s message, replied that he understood, and decided to pass the information to the Hanged Man and Leonard at the next Tarot Club meeting.
• In Langya Commandery, Raphael traded potion guidance and advancement methods with Blood Sect disciples for cultivation techniques and divine abilities, then gave Bai Feike the Conspirer potion formula.
• Bai Feike told Raphael that the Juye Light Sword would transfer the Five Lakes Sword Sect’s sacred relics to the Dongting Heart Sword that day.
• The five sword sect leaders witnessed the handover of a corroded cross pendant resembling Adam’s pendant and a bottle labeled “Premium Vodka.”

Raphael learned that the White Jade Orb was entangled in the gods’ plans and would guide him into the Dark Hut when he entered First Epoch ruins. Meanwhile, Klein prepared to oppose George III’s advancement and shared Raphael’s information about the Aurora Order at the Tarot Club.

• The White Jade Orb emerged from Raphael’s forehead, revealed that Raphael would soon enter First Epoch ruins, and promised to take him through the Seal into the Dark Hut.
• The White Jade Orb explained that gods were using Raphael to exploit it, while it was using them to resist the resurrection plans of God Almighty and the Celestial Worthy.
• The White Jade Orb described how the Ancient Sun God’s actions had connected the Five Lakes Sword Sect to the chaos sea, then returned inside Raphael.
• Raphael realized the Aurora Order’s operation in the First Epoch ruins would be dangerous, but decided to turn the people using him against one another.
• Klein decided to sabotage George III’s advancement ritual and convened the Tarot Club.
• Klein used the World to tell the Tarot Club that Raphael had given Mr. Fool important information about the Aurora Order.