Chapter Summaries

Arthur resumed the Swordsmanship Tournament and used his public instruction to build his reputation and promote his future Swordsmanship Club. Meanwhile, Gale Sword De'erqiao concealed his interest in the Tower of Mist ruins, and Arthur asked Malinda if she was ready after they left the crowd.

• Arthur agreed to the female Chief Swordsman's visit, and she left to report to the Countess and prepare a gift for him.
• Gale Sword De'erqiao worried that attention on the Medium would prevent him from searching for the Tower of Mist ruins, while Whale-Slaying Sword Kang Si'ang watched him suspiciously.
• Arthur returned to the platform, resumed his instructional bouts, and continued guiding spectators long after his matches ended.
• Arthur called to Malinda about dinner, and they played an affectionate couple in front of the crowd before entering the carriage.
• Malinda began dry-heaving in the carriage, and Arthur asked her softly whether she was ready.

Lord Lissop negotiated with Arthur over Young Lissop and the South Town mining business, offering information in exchange. Arthur already knew the details of the Death Poetry Society’s hidden pawn and its plans, leaving Lissop unsettled as Arthur realized what the lord intended.

• Lord Lissop arrived at 2 Kirk Street to discuss Young Lissop and the iron and coal mining business in South Town.
• Arthur agreed to exchange Young Lissop for information, and he and Lord Lissop signed a contract.
• Lord Lissop began revealing that the Death Poetry Society’s hidden pawn was working with nearby pirates, but Arthur said Bloody John had already appeared in coastal waters.
• Arthur inferred that Lord Lissop had a close connection to the hidden pawn and that an intermediary linked them.
• Lord Lissop revealed that the Grand Duke of Inner Bay was backing the hidden pawn, but Arthur already knew, leaving Lissop stunned and restless.
• Arthur realized what Lord Lissop intended to do.

Arthur saw through Lord Lissop’s attempt to use Mother Tiger to pressure Old Lion and realized he was willing to risk his son for a hereditary title. Lissop offered Arthur a share of his iron and coal business in exchange for Young Lissop, and they ended with a deal at twenty percent.

• Arthur concluded that Lissop was using Young Lissop’s dangerous plan and information to bargain with Mother Tiger and Old Lion for a hereditary title.
• Arthur questioned why Lissop had made no moves for decades after the Seven-Year War and suspected something had occupied him.
• Lissop offered a share of his iron and coal mining business in exchange for Young Lissop.
• Arthur demanded thirty percent, and Lissop angrily rejected the offer before proposing twenty percent as his limit.
• Arthur accepted Lissop’s offer and held out his hand to seal their partnership.

Arthur secured a contract granting him twenty percent of Lord Lissop’s coal and iron mining business, but he sensed something was wrong after the lord left. He then asked Malinda about acquiring South Town and tossed the contract to her as he entered the Medium’s Hall.

• Lord Lissop signed a private contract with Arthur, pledging twenty percent of his coal and iron mining business, then left with Young Lissop and Edwin.
• Arthur sent Fuginn after Lissop’s carriage and asked Malinda whether Young Lissop was the lord’s only son; she said that was what her information indicated.
• Arthur asked Malinda whether ten percent of South Town’s mining business could persuade the Count of South Los to agree to a transfer, and she estimated that fifteen to twenty percent would be safer.
• Malinda warned Arthur against murdering a noble and privately resented that he seemed to be pursuing South Town for himself.
• Arthur denied intending to kill Lord Lissop, traded barbs with Malinda, then tossed his signed contract behind him and told her to catch it.

Malinda and Arthur negotiated a trade involving South Town’s iron and coal mining business in exchange for Cat Faction and Cat Cave resources, then shared tea and snacks in the Medium’s Hall. Arthur suddenly looked genuinely astonished, and Malinda asked what had happened.

• Malinda reacted emotionally to Arthur’s Contract scroll before mistaking his offer for a romantic advance, and Arthur clarified that he wanted a trade.
• Malinda proposed treating Arthur’s twenty-percent stake in South Town’s iron and coal mining business as a joint venture and promised to repay the remaining value with interest once she found suitable resources.
• Arthur and Malinda entered the Medium’s Hall together, where Malinda prepared tea and served snacks.
• Arthur praised the tea and Miss Mary’s pastries, then asked Malinda to have the cook copy out her recipes.
• Malinda noticed Arthur’s unusually genuine look of surprise and asked him what had happened.

Lissop told his son that the Grand Duke had agreed to make the title hereditary, but the family would surrender half the mine revenue. When the old steward became the scapegoat for the tournament scandal, Young Lissop stabbed him, and Lissop revealed the killing was meant to make the dying man answer for something.

• Lissop told Young Lissop that the Grand Duke had agreed to make South Town's title hereditary after Young Lissop became the Medium's follower.
• Lissop said the family had to give up fifty percent of the iron and coal mine revenue, and warned Young Lissop not to seek covert revenge against the Medium.
• Lissop and Young Lissop recognized that someone had to take the blame for the Swordsmanship Tournament incident, and the old steward was the likely scapegoat.
• Young Lissop covered the old steward's mouth and stabbed him in the heart with a concealed dagger.
• Lissop laughed and asked the dying old steward, whom he called Hill, how it felt to be killed by his own son.

Lissop revealed that he had raised Young Lissop to take revenge on Steward Hill, his biological father, and then killed Hill and the coachman to conceal his plans. After imprisoning Young Lissop in a cellar, Lissop left him in despair until a mysterious hand appeared and asked if he was sure.

• Lissop confessed that Steward Hill was Young Lissop’s biological father and that he had planned to make Young Lissop kill him as revenge for Hill’s affair with Jenny.
• Lissop revealed that Young Lissop was his own son, born after he raped Hill’s wife, and said he intended to have him kill Hill before killing him in turn.
• Steward Hill died, and Lissop knocked Young Lissop unconscious before killing the coachman who had overheard the confession.
• Young Lissop awoke in a cellar, realized he had killed his biological father, and tried to hurt himself until Lissop shackled and tethered him.
• Young Lissop gave up struggling in despair, but a hand rested on his head and a gentle voice asked, “Are you sure?”

After Arthur comforted Young Lissop and helped him choose to live, Young Lissop faced Lissop and Tell in the cellar. When Tell attacked him, Young Lissop took him hostage and cut his throat.

• Young Lissop broke down in remorse, and Arthur comforted him until he chose to live.
• Arthur unlocked Young Lissop’s shackles with a strand of hair, then vanished as Lissop and Tell approached.
• Lissop brought Tell to the cellar and ordered him to chop Young Lissop apart.
• Tell attacked Young Lissop, but Young Lissop seized his shortsword and took him hostage.
• Young Lissop ignored Lissop’s plea to talk and slashed Tell’s throat.

Young Lissop believed Lord Lissop’s promise of a test and killed Tell, then accidentally stabbed his father when the lord attacked him. Arthur watched as Lord Lissop died, while death remained despite the fading of misfortune.

• Lord Lissop claimed Young Lissop’s ordeal had been a test and offered him the South Town iron and coal mines for one gold coin.
• Young Lissop believed the violence had been fake and killed Tell with his shortsword.
• Young Lissop turned to Lord Lissop for approval, repeating his father’s lesson about keeping dangerous subordinates from knowing too much.
• Lord Lissop attacked Young Lissop, who raised his sword on instinct and fatally stabbed him.
• Young Lissop held his dying father as Arthur watched from the shadows and noted that misfortune had faded but death remained.

Arthur watched Young Lissop break down after Lissop’s death, then helped him take advantage of the situation to implicate others. Back at 2 Kirk Street, Julie gave Arthur a warning wind chime, which rang as soon as she hung it above the Crimson Painting.

• Young Lissop broke down over his conflicting memories, and a new Young Lissop emerged who believed Arthur was his father.
• Young Lissop wrote a blood-stained message suggesting Steward Hill and Tell had been bought off by the Death Poetry Society, then gave it and the one gold coin Contract to Arthur.
• Young Lissop told Arthur to leave the rest to him, and Arthur agreed to stay out of the matter directly.
• Arthur returned to 2 Kirk Street, where Malinda and Julie discussed gunpowder and mystic arts.
• Julie gave Arthur a Warning Wind Chime and hung it above the Crimson Painting, where it immediately rang.

Arthur’s warning revealed a Death Poetry Society Hidden Pawn disguised as a guard, whom Julie attacked outside 2 Kirk Street. Recognizing a chance to exploit the growing divide between the Death Poetry Society and the Old Lion of the Inner Bay, Arthur rose into the air and pointed at the enemy.

• The Warning Wind Chime rang, and Arthur and Malinda realized that someone outside harbored malice toward Julie.
• A guard from the Countess of South Los arrived with a message, but Julie struck him with her greatsword and exposed him as a Death Poetry Society Hidden Pawn.
• The disguised guard abandoned his disguise and revealed his deathly aura, prompting Julie to recognize the Death Poetry Society and attack with greater force.
• Arthur realized that the Death Poetry Society might be acting independently of the Old Lion of the Inner Bay and saw an opportunity to turn them against each other.
• Arthur climbed into the air before Malinda’s astonished gaze and pointed at the Death Poetry Society member.

A Death Poetry Society member revealed his Ghoul Ritual and Major Arcana Rank power, prompting Malinda to study him and the Chief Swordsman to suspect the Pale Hand was involved. The Chief Swordsman watched as Arthur confronted him, then reacted with shock at what she saw.

• The Death Poetry Society member transformed through the Ghoul Ritual and revealed a powerful death aura that Malinda recognized as Major Arcana Rank.
• Malinda identified how he had used the Contract's death power to transform himself, while the Chief Swordsman suspected the Pale Hand had helped conceal his nature.
• The Chief Swordsman recalled the Pale Hand's suspected role in the Primo Family's deaths and feared the organization had targeted her Count again.
• The Chief Swordsman kept her attention on the exposed Death Poetry Society member, hoping to gauge Arthur's true strength.
• The Chief Swordsman watched Arthur's confrontation and was left stunned by what happened.

Arthur destroyed a Death Poetry Society member with what Malinda and the female Chief Swordsman believed was a Creados family mystic art, then let them keep that mistaken impression. After the member died and the women reconsidered their dealings with Arthur, he warned that they were in big trouble.

• Arthur made the Death Poetry Society member’s ghoul ritual collapse with a silent attack, causing the member to rot while Malinda and the female Chief Swordsman watched in shock.
• Arthur called the attack “Dark Echo. Silent Burial!” and allowed the women to believe it was a secret Creados family mystic art.
• Arthur absorbed the member’s deathly aura as the dying member called him the Death Saint, then shriveled and died.
• The female Chief Swordsman decided to keep Arthur from meeting the Count, while she and Malinda grew more wary of his power.
• Arthur credited his grandfather, Mr. Charlie, for the mystic arts, exchanged pleasantries with the female Chief Swordsman, and then said they were in big trouble.

Arthur, Malinda, and Julie discovered that an attack had been meant to distract them while targeting Julie, and South Town had stopped responding. They prepared to investigate the town and use Malinda’s conspicuous carriage to lure out the hidden watchers.

• Malinda said that a peak Major Arcana Rank attacker could not have overcome Arthur, Julie, and her at 2 Kirk Street, so the corpse had been intended as a distraction.
• Julie contacted the Countess of South Los’s vassals and found that South Town had not responded, then arranged for a hundred cavalry to investigate.
• Arthur said he owned thirty percent of South Town’s coal and iron mine revenue and insisted on going, while Malinda suspected his earlier meeting with Lord Lissop was connected to the trouble.
• Malinda summoned her undead-guarded carriage, but Arthur warned that its conspicuous arrival could alert their enemies.
• Arthur carried explosives from 2 Kirk Street as Malinda loaded them into the carriage, and he told Julie that Lord Lissop had struck a deal with him earlier.

Arthur and Malinda left South Los while the Chief Swordsman went ahead with the cavalry, and they discussed Young Lissop’s apparent death. Malinda realized that the Death Poetry Society, the Old Lion of the Inner Bay, and the Countess may have sent agents who intervened at the same time, then stopped when she noticed a further possibility.

• The Chief Swordsman split from Arthur and Malinda, leaving with the cavalry while they proceeded ahead.
• Malinda used smoke to conceal the ghost carriage and its undead, then followed Arthur through the night.
• Arthur silently told Malinda that Lissop was dead, and she concluded Arthur had not killed him himself.
• Arthur suggested that the Death Poetry Society, the Old Lion of the Inner Bay, or the Countess might have been involved in Lissop’s death.
• Malinda inferred that agents sent by all three powers had acted without coordination and abruptly stopped as another thought occurred to her.

Malinda realized the Death Poetry Society was targeting South Los and sent warnings, while Arthur trusted the Countess to protect the city. At the Worry-Relief Grocery, Maltz and the others prepared for an attack, and Cook's unusual weapons helped turn the fight against an intruder.

• Malinda deduced that South Town was a decoy for a Death Poetry Society attack on South Los and sent messages to protect her businesses.
• Arthur had Muninn tell Maltz and the others to hide safely, confident that the House of South Los could defend the city.
• At the Worry-Relief Grocery, Haywood watched Bob, Scott, Wiggins, Cook, and Maltz prepare for danger, then realized Cook's dagger was a weapon when it began to hum.
• Bob detected an intruder and leaped out the window to take the fight outside, while Maltz shot two concealed enemies through the wall.
• A second attacker lunged at Maltz, but a broad-bladed sword cut the attacker’s neck, and an eye began opening on its hilt.

Maltz resisted an Evil Entity’s offer of power by using holy water and fire, then absorbed its power and awakened his old companions. He returned to the room transformed and ravenously hungry as Wiggins’s explosives and weapons flew toward him.

• Maltz was drawn into a frozen wasteland by an Evil Entity, which healed him with sunlight and offered him power.
• Maltz attacked the radiant being with holy water, then burned it with kerosene and a match, destroying it in golden flames.
• Maltz absorbed the Evil Entity’s power and sensed joy and surprise from his old companions, realizing they had come alive and he had changed.
• Maltz returned to his senses with his weapons merged into his body and the faded medal beside his cheek.
• Maltz craved Wiggins’s explosives, and the explosives and other weapons in the room rushed toward him.

The Old Chief absorbed weapons into his body and transformed his hand into a gun, convincing those around him that Arthur’s teachings had prepared them for extraordinary abilities. As the Old Chief checked outside, someone spotted the Dawn Green Mechanical Gunpowder Church and reacted in disbelief.

• The Old Chief swallowed explosives and flintlocks that Wiggins brought him, while the others watched his transformation.
• The Old Chief reshaped his hand into gun barrels and an ammunition belt, then explained that Arthur’s teachings had helped him unlock his ability.
• Haywood, Scott, Cook, and Wiggins each reflected on how Arthur might have chosen or prepared them for abilities of their own.
• The Old Chief approached the window to honor his agreement with his old friend, while someone outside exclaimed at the sight of the Dawn Green Mechanical Gunpowder Church.

Amuel explained the history of the Dawn Green Mechanical Gunpowder Cult and warned that its Aberration power should kill Maltz, but Maltz survived and Bob overwhelmed the attackers outside the Worry-Relief Grocery. The battle was interrupted when a towering figure appeared to taunt Arthur Credos’s subordinates, drawing the attention of a raven watching from Rat Street.

• Amuel told Freeman that Dawn Green founded his Mechanical Gunpowder Cult using part of Geppetto’s legacy, and that its power came from the Aberration.
• Amuel predicted Maltz would die within ten seconds, but Maltz’s vitality continued to flourish, confounding her.
• Bob endured a barrage of bullets and bolts, then charged the attackers and cut down many of them with two swords.
• Freeman became exhilarated by the violence and prepared to join the fight, but he leaped aside when Amuel vanished.
• A towering figure appeared and mocked Arthur Credos’s subordinates, while a raven on Rat Street turned its gaze toward the scene.

Greta, the Scorching Wind, overwhelmed Bob and the others, revealing herself as a Major Arcana Rank threat and tormenting Amuel after she called for Lord Credos. Just as Greta prepared to kill them, a forty-meter streak of pale sword energy descended in response.

• Greta blocked Freeman’s attacks, crushed his fist, and forced Amuel to drag him away before Bob intercepted her.
• Amuel recognized the attacker as Greta, the Scorching Wind, and threw potions to help Bob as Greta caught his sword and prepared to kill him.
• A gunshot pierced Greta’s hands and forehead, but she revealed her Major Arcana Rank power and destroyed Amuel’s attempt to poison herself.
• Greta taunted Maltz, Bob, Wiggins, Scott, Cook, and Haywood, while Amuel shouted for Lord Credos to save her.
• Greta laughed at Amuel’s plea and said she would die if Arthur Credos answered, but pale sword energy suddenly descended from the sky.