Chapter Summaries

Li Wei opened the Book of the Dead and experienced visions of Deans Cront’s past, learning how Harold manipulated him into spreading the Divine Water and serving an otherworldly fiend. The book burned away, but Li Wei had already obtained the information he needed.

• Li Wei entered the Cront Family library despite Katie and Sophia’s warnings, and the Book of the Dead unlocked when he touched it.
• Li Wei saw Deans meet Harold, learn that the Divine Water transformed people into monsters, and discover that Harold had made him the fiend’s puppet.
• Li Wei witnessed Deans use the book to spread worship of the fiend and persuade a headmistress to accept its power at a terrible price.
• Li Wei saw Deans turn against Harold, reveal that he knew the fiend’s plan, and declare that it would remain sealed in the city.
• Li Wei returned to himself as dark green flames consumed the book, having already learned what he needed.

Li Wei learned the hidden history of the world from the Book of the Dead and concluded that supernatural power might be returning as the flames rekindled. He identified the Outer Fiend sealed beneath the castle and prepared a plan with Katie and Sophia.

• Li Wei learned that the Elder Ones, Immortal Ancient Dragons, and Golden Gods had ruled the world before humanity, and that humans had once been called dwarves.
• Li Wei concluded that the Holy Lord had taken the remaining flames into the mist, leaving humanity without divine protection or supernatural power.
• Li Wei wondered whether the recent rise in supernatural phenomena meant the flames had been rekindled and the gods would return.
• Li Wei told Katie and Sophia that he knew what the Outer Fiend beneath the castle was, then whispered a battle plan to Katie.
• Li Wei handed Katie a Flare Gun and instructed her to fire one shot upward, then three shots in a row to mark the position.

Li Wei opened the sealed chamber with Sophia and helped Harold awaken the creature beneath the city, then revealed that modern weapons could defeat it. The monster was destroyed by a coordinated bombardment, the darkness lifted, and Li Wei prepared to leave with Katie.

• Li Wei and Sophia placed the Holy Relics in the stone door, and Sophia used her blood to open it.
• Harold led Li Wei through the tunnel and killed Lord Deans, breaking the seal and awakening the creature below.
• The creature escaped through the earth toward the surface while Harold celebrated, but Li Wei pointed out that sixty years had changed what humans could fight.
• Li Wei teleported to Katie at the castle, where she reported that the creature had emerged and been attacked by the waiting forces.
• Li Wei fired a flare to signal another bombardment, and incendiary bombs destroyed the creature as sunlight returned to the city.

Li Wei killed the Bandaged Man and considered how humanity might fare if the gods returned and took the flame. He then learned Military Intelligence Section Seven planned to turn the abandoned city into a base for a new supernatural military unit, while the old butler pressed him to continue his unexpectedly popular comics.

• Li Wei explained that modern weapons made the giant monster less formidable than it would have been in the past, then shot the mortally wounded Bandaged Man.
• Li Wei wondered whether the gods might seize the flame and weaken humanity’s technology, but set the theory aside for lack of evidence.
• The old butler arrived with Military Intelligence Section Seven and discussed the monster’s arrival from beyond the sky with Li Wei.
• The old butler revealed plans to buy Mericia and use it as a training base for a new supernatural military unit, and said Sophia had agreed in exchange for a weapons factory.
• The old butler told Li Wei that his dog comic had become a huge hit, and urged him to draw more installments.

After completing his mission, Li Wei returned to Fog City and discovered that his comic, Betty the Puppy, had become a sensation. He learned that the story had inspired many people to get dogs and prepared to test whether its popularity could bring Betty to life as a fantasy construct.

• Li Wei reviewed his mission rewards, rejected the Book of the Dead's corpse-consuming and dangerous summon skills, and raised his Occultism and Puppeteer skills while gaining the Bullseye trait.
• Li Wei and Katie returned to Fog City by airship, then parted ways after landing.
• Li Wei saw crowds of dog owners and learned Betty the Puppy had sold out, and reporter Frank Bell asked him about the comic's sudden popularity.
• Kane explained that Betty the Puppy's gentle story and cute art had attracted readers, boosted subscriptions to The Explorer, and encouraged many Fog City households to buy dogs.
• Li Wei learned that Alice loved the comic and went to the practice room, planning to test whether public impressions could summon Betty the Puppy into reality.

Li Wei discovered that Betty the Puppy’s soul core could be bestowed on a living animal, letting it take on her traits without costing him lifespan. He gave the core to a starving stray puppy and brought the transformed Betty home as a gift for Alice.

• Li Wei used [Actor Designation] to manifest Betty the Puppy and discovered she had a golden soul core.
• Li Wei realized soul cores had to attach to something real to manifest their powers and that bestowed cores did not consume lifespan.
• Li Wei found a starving stray puppy and used [Core Bestowal] to give it Betty’s core, transforming it into a healthy white puppy.
• Li Wei returned to the Tower and presented Betty to Alice, who recognized the puppy from the comic and happily accepted her.

After realizing soul cores could empower inorganic objects, Li Wei planned to design robots through comics while continuing to study Betty the Puppy. When Betty reacted fearfully to a shop across the street, Li Wei suspected it was connected to the Alien Monsters and went to investigate with Alice.

• Li Wei conceived a plan to create soul cores for robots by drawing them in comics and building physical shells for them.
• Li Wei observed that Betty behaved like a clever, protective dog but still had her own mind and personality.
• Alice grew attached to Betty and took her for their usual afternoon walk while Li Wei watched.
• Betty arched her back and barked at a shop across the street, prompting Li Wei to suspect a connection to the Alien Monsters.
• Li Wei told Alice to be careful, and they approached the shop to investigate.

Li Wei investigated a murder at an antique shop, where a puppy’s reaction led him to take a suspicious jar for further examination. Alice spotted green blood near the door, leaving Li Wei convinced the case warranted a deeper investigation.

• Li Wei entered the antique shop with Alice and the puppy after learning its owner had been murdered during a robbery.
• Li Wei examined the crime scene and taught Alice how bloodstains could reveal what had happened.
• The puppy barked at a brass-and-glass jar containing dark green liquid and a black shape, so Li Wei took it to investigate.
• Alice noticed green blood splattered near the door, and Li Wei recognized it as evidence that the case was more unusual than it first appeared.

Li Wei questioned the thugs who robbed Finest Antiques and learned that they had been hired to steal a brass jar with three holes. Their testimony revealed that a suspicious customer had been with the shop owner before the murder, and Li Wei decided to investigate him.

• Li Wei visited Inspector Lestrade to ask about the murder at Finest Antiques, and Lestrade explained that incompetent thugs had been caught at the scene.
• Li Wei questioned one of the thugs, who said a cloaked outsider had hired them to steal a jar and that Blacknose had killed the owner when he returned early.
• The thug revealed that the owner had returned with a wealthy-looking man in a black trench coat and top hat, who escaped after being slashed at without seeming injured.
• Li Wei noticed that the man had falsely claimed to be a passerby and told Inspector Lestrade he would investigate the suspicious customer.

Li Wei traced the antique shop owner’s mysterious companion to a guest at the Rabbit Inn. When Li Wei entered the guest’s room, he found it empty and realized the man had escaped through the open window.

• Li Wei questioned park vendors and learned that a top-hatted man in a trench coat had met old Robert and left the park with him.
• The bread vendor spotted the same man entering the Rabbit Inn and brought Li Wei there.
• The inn proprietor confirmed that the man had rented a private room for a month, rarely ate at the inn, and usually went out in the afternoon.
• Li Wei went to room 203, found no response, and entered with the proprietor’s master key.
• Li Wei saw the room’s open window and concluded that the mysterious man had escaped.

Li Wei and Benjamin activated strange devices connected to a jar and discovered a talking brain that claimed to be a scholar targeted by monsters from beyond the heavens. Benjamin identified the brain as Edward Draco, and Li Wei decided they had to report the discovery to Military Intelligence Section Seven.

• Li Wei found strange instruments in the fleeing man's suitcase and brought them with the jar to Benjamin at Military Intelligence Section Seven.
• Benjamin connected the devices to the jar and turned them on, revealing a brain suspended in liquid.
• The brain claimed that powerful monsters from other worlds had discovered his research and left him in his current state.
• The brain asked Li Wei and Benjamin to take him somewhere in exchange for his wealth and a secret art for returning from death.
• Benjamin identified the brain as Edward Draco, a notorious nobleman and scholar who had vanished a century earlier.
• Li Wei and Benjamin agreed they had to report the discovery.

Li Wei and the old butler investigated the Brain in a Vat and planned to uncover the identity of the disguised alien and the other party seeking the jar. Li Wei agreed to take the brain to Casablanca, where Military Intelligence Section Seven could support his investigation.

• The old butler assigned Li Wei to find out what the human-disguised monsters were and ordered Military Intelligence Section Seven to investigate the antique shop and the jar’s origins.
• Li Wei asked the agency to identify the escaped alien and watch the antique shop for suspicious people, suspecting another group had sought the brain.
• Benjamin’s investigation showed that the brain could only awaken when all three instruments were connected and switched on.
• Li Wei told the old butler that the brain wanted to be taken to Casablanca, and the old butler offered support from the local office there.
• The old butler asked Li Wei to draw more of Betty the Puppy after the case, leaving Li Wei speechless.

Li Wei arrived in Casablanca, the Empire’s former capital, and reflected on its decline and reputation as a center of pleasure. When he entered The Explorer editorial office, he found blood and corpses inside.

• Li Wei traveled to Casablanca, a city sustained by tourism and entertainment after the Empire moved its capital to Fog City.
• Li Wei noticed the city’s brightly lit nightlife and rode through it in a luxurious horse-drawn carriage.
• Li Wei reached The Explorer editorial office, which served as a branch of Military Intelligence Section Seven.
• Li Wei entered the office after its door opened by itself and found blood across the walls and floor, along with corpses.

Li Wei discovered that monsters and human accomplices had slaughtered the staff of The Explorer, then killed a senior officer who admitted the Casablanca police had been ordered to cover up the crime. He contacted Military Intelligence Section Seven and prepared to use his approved operation against organized crime to crack down on the local authorities.

• Li Wei examined the wrecked editorial office and concluded that monsters had torn the surviving staff's heads off after an initial gun attack.
• Police officers arrived late, and Li Wei confronted them with his gun before their senior officer ordered them to arrest him or shoot him.
• Li Wei killed the officers who fired at him, then forced the senior officer to reveal that the police chief had ordered the cover-up and that the attackers came from the Royal Court.
• Li Wei shot the senior officer and left the crime scene without telling anyone he had killed the police.
• Li Wei called Military Intelligence Section Seven, and he and the old butler agreed to use Li Wei's special operation to crack down on the corrupt Casablanca authorities.

Director Victor decided to stop targeting Li Wei after the detective killed his men, but ordered him watched. At the Diamond Hotel, Li Wei concluded that a Casablanca gang likely stood behind the editorial office massacre and planned to investigate them while awaiting help from Military Intelligence Section Seven.

• Director Victor learned that Li Wei had reached the Diamond Hotel and that everyone at The Explorer's editorial office was dead.
• Director Victor explained that Casablanca's officials and gangs opposed the Queen, but decided not to provoke Li Wei further and ordered his men to report the detective's activities.
• Li Wei relaxed at the Diamond Hotel and reviewed the links between Casablanca, the alien's false identity, and the person who hired the thieves.
• Li Wei reasoned that a gang was responsible for the editorial office massacre, based on the hired thieves and the weapons used.
• Li Wei planned to revisit the editorial office and investigate Casablanca's gangs while coordinating with Military Intelligence Section Seven.

Victoria II ordered preparations to move against Casablanca after Count Li Wei reported that the city had allied with alien creatures and harbored a self-proclaimed Royal Court. Li Wei searched the attacked Military Intelligence Section Seven office for records that might reveal who had killed its members.

• Victoria II decided to eliminate the threat in Casablanca and ordered the Special Response Force to conduct a defensive exercise in nearby Crodo as cover for an impending operation.
• Victoria II told the Old Butler to have Li Wei seek pro-Empire factions in Casablanca and investigate the Royal Court.
• Victoria II asked about Katie and told the Old Butler to have Li Wei bring his puppy to the Royal Palace when he returned.
• Li Wei evaded the people tailing him and entered a hidden chamber in The Explorer's office using his Master Key.
• Li Wei began examining the branch's files, reasoning that its members had likely been killed while investigating a mysterious incident.

Li Wei uncovered evidence linking Casablanca’s three crime families and the Royal Court to the attack on the editorial office, then went out at night to draw out the monsters. A woman lured him into an alley, where a huge dark shape attacked him.

• Li Wei read the branch’s files and learned that the Durut, Beredi, and Pasman Families controlled Casablanca’s politics, trade, and muscle, and that their bosses might belong to the Royal Court.
• Li Wei connected the Beredi Family’s weapons, the Pasman Family’s attackers and monsters, and the Durut Family’s aftermath work to the assault on the editorial office.
• Li Wei decided to lure out the people using monsters, returned to his hotel, rested, and went out after midnight.
• A receptionist reported Li Wei’s departure to a laundry worker, who decided not to send anyone after him and to wait and see whether he survived the night.
• A woman asked Li Wei to rescue her sister trapped under a crate in an alley, and he followed her there.
• As Li Wei reached for the crate, a huge dark shape dropped from above and lunged at him.

Li Wei survived an assassination attempt by Pasman Family agents and followed the monster’s tracks to a zoo that appeared to conceal a family base. He decided to cause an explosion and see how the family reacted.

• Li Wei killed the woman, the girl, and the large, beastlike attacker when they tried to ambush him.
• Li Wei examined the monster and used its unusual footprints to track it, with help from his Doll Cat.
• Li Wei followed the tracks to a zoo associated with the Royal Academy of Medicine’s biology department.
• Li Wei used his Doll Bird and Soul Sight to discover that the zoo held more people than animals and suspected it was a Pasman Family base.
• Li Wei decided to blow something up to force the family to react.

Li Wei infiltrated the Pasman Family’s zoo, unleashed its man-eating animals on the guards and gangsters, and searched for a blue soul radiance. He found a girl with emerald-green hair and a scaled tail in an iron tank, confirming she was a legendary creature.

• Li Wei used [Unconscious Control] to move through the zoo unnoticed by its animals.
• Li Wei took the keys and chain from the gatehouse, locked the main gate, and released the animals onto the Pasman Family’s guards.
• The bear attacked the guards as they investigated the commotion, while dogs and wolves rushed the gangsters inside.
• Li Wei entered the inner room and found an iron tank containing the blue, snakelike soul radiance.
• A girl with emerald-green hair and a scaled tail emerged from the tank and watched Li Wei warily.

The leaders of the Pasman Family, Beredi Family, and a third family discussed their missing auction goods and Li Wei’s investigation in Casablanca. They decided to approach Li Wei for help recovering the goods and, if needed, offer him a blessing with their lord’s approval.

• The burly Pasman Family leader blamed the Beredi Family for the stolen goods, but the man in the suit stopped their argument and stressed that they had to recover them before the auction.
• The three men discussed Li Wei’s presence in Casablanca and his pursuit of the people behind the attack on The Explorer’s editorial office.
• The man in the suit decided the Pasman Family should send someone to speak with Li Wei, while the Beredi Family recovered the missing goods.
• The man with glasses proposed hiring Li Wei to find the thief, and the man in the suit agreed after reporting the idea to their lord.
• The man in the suit said their lord would allow them to offer Li Wei a blessing if necessary, angering the burly man before the meeting ended.