Chapter Summaries

Arthur ate roast pork with Jacqueline and Catherine while the Inner River God Cult's Crimson Sword drew out the Marquis of West Berlin's Golden Bow. As Dale Bock claimed victory, Arthur calmly summoned a White Giant Bird, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Jacqueline and Catherine recognized the Crimson Sword as a threat aimed at their father and decided to watch the clash.
• Catherine questioned Arthur about his plans while serving him roast pork, but he said he would eat and then sleep.
• Arthur saw through the Crimson Sword's illusion and realized it had prompted the Marquis of West Berlin to reveal the Golden Bow.
• Arthur pointed out the fight overhead, and the twins watched the Golden Bow's arrow tear through the Crimson Sword.
• Dale Bock declared that he had won, and Arthur waved his hand, summoning a White Giant Bird.

Dale Bock used [Blood of the Night] to empower [Death Abyss], causing the people of Dordot Harbor to fall into a blood-draining trance as a White Giant Bird approached. The Marquis of West Berlin planned to use the chaos to capture Yura, but the collision between the bird and the Crimson Sword left him stunned.

• Dale Bock recognized the White Giant Bird's [Swiftbird Swordsmanship] as the work of an Ascendant and suspected Arthur, though he refused to believe the South Los Medium could have surpassed Joel Coleman.
• Dale Bock wielded [Blood of the Night] to strengthen [Death Abyss], making over a thousand people near Dordot Harbor stare at the Crimson Sword as blood streamed from their faces.
• The spreading panic drew more of Dordot Harbor's people into the trance, and Dale Bock realized the ritual could potentially destroy the entire city.
• The Marquis of West Berlin judged that Arthur could buy him time and prepared to capture Yura, whom he tracked with [Ironblood Slaughter].
• The White Giant Bird collided with the Crimson Sword, and the Marquis of West Berlin exclaimed in shock.

Arthur Credos defeated Dale Bock, disrupted the Death Abyss ritual, and saved the residents of Dordot Harbor. The Blood Scion claimed Blood of the Night and thanked Arthur, while the Marquis of West Berlin withdrew and Arthur watched him leave.

• Arthur’s white giant bird shattered Dale Bock and his crimson sword, while the death aura went out of control and destroyed the rituals sustaining Dale’s recovery.
• Dale realized Arthur was Death and begged him for forgiveness before shattering completely.
• The rescued residents of Dordot Harbor chanted Arthur’s name as their blood returned and the ritual ended.
• The Blood Scion took Blood of the Night, thanked Arthur, and bowed to him.
• The Marquis of West Berlin abandoned his attempt to claim the orb, thanked Arthur, and vanished from the air.
• Arthur followed the Marquis with his eyes, hoping to learn how he dealt with powerful beings, then narrowed his eyes.

Yura, controlled by the entity, fled through Dordot Harbor’s sewers while the Marquis of West Berlin pursued her with [Ironblood Slaughter]. After the Marquis unleashed the Mystic Art again, a longsword from the square box pierced his back.

• Old York took his two nephews into the sewers, where they killed him to claim his death benefit and search for Boss Shawke’s thirty-gold-coin prize.
• The older nephew stabbed his younger brother, but the dead uncle and younger brother attacked and killed him after he found a square box hidden under rubble and moss.
• Yura devoured all three men, healing her injuries and regrowing her hair.
• The Marquis of West Berlin tracked Yura into the sewers and opened a lead box to unleash [Ironblood Slaughter] at full power.
• A longsword from the square box pierced the Marquis of West Berlin in the back.

The Marquis of West Berlin survived a poisoned, cursed ambush and fled to the heart of his castle, where he blamed Severus Hamlet. After the Lady of Pain argued with her collaborator, the box shattered under his power, and Malinda appeared to slap the Lady of Pain for threatening to test Arthur Credos.

• The Marquis of West Berlin realized the sewers were a trap and was stabbed with a poisoned, cursed blade by Severus Hamlet.
• The Marquis of West Berlin used scrolls to escape to West Berlin Castle and activated its highest protection.
• The Lady of Pain confronted the voice inside the box, accusing him of failing to kill the Marquis and questioning his change of plans.
• The voice inside the box unleashed a powerful roar that shattered the box when the Lady of Pain proposed testing Arthur Credos herself.
• Malinda emerged from smoke and slapped the Lady of Pain, shouting at her for threatening to test Arthur Credos.

Malinda confronted Mihailo, the Lady of Pain, and struck her twice before Mihailo transformed into a grotesque creature. After Mihailo’s attack began rotting Malinda’s hand, Malinda cut it off and revealed that her voodoo had also wounded Mihailo; she then invoked holy light.

• Malinda emerged from the smoke and slapped Mihailo twice, sending her spinning through the air.
• Mihailo exploded apart and was pulled back together by a tentacle lodged in her brain, leaving her body grotesquely rearranged.
• Mihailo’s power began rotting Malinda’s right hand, so Malinda cut off her hand and forearm with a blade of smoke.
• Mihailo’s own right hand and forearm fell away and dissolved, and she realized Malinda had used voodoo against her.
• Malinda mocked Mihailo for calling herself a witch and raised her left arm, murmuring, “O holy light!”

Malinda defeated the Lady of Pain with smoke, voodoo power, and holy light, then refused Old Lion’s attempt to bargain with her. Arthur watched her leave and prepared to face the events still unfolding at the West Berlin Family.

• Holy light restored Malinda’s missing arm, and she used smoke blades to kill and torment the Lady of Pain before trapping a tentacle fragment in a lead box.
• Malinda searched the sewers for Old Lion’s safeguards, found a hidden pebble, and shattered it before Old Lion could finish speaking.
• Arthur watched Kili urinate on the broken stone and wondered about the source of Malinda’s power.
• Arthur turned toward the panicked twin sisters of the West Berlin Family as approaching footsteps signaled that the night’s events were not over.

After the Marquis of West Berlin was injured, Geerjisi hurried to check his condition, while Jacqueline and Catherine feared the consequences for their family and themselves. Arthur then asked the twins who was watching his ship, the Eastern.

• Geerjisi hurried through the castle to find out how badly the Marquis of West Berlin had been injured.
• Jacqueline apologized to Arthur for Geerjisi's abrupt departure and feared that her father was gravely hurt.
• Jacqueline suspected that both the Marquis and his opponent had been badly wounded, but knew she could not act against her father.
• Catherine vented her frustration by tearing into roast pork and imagined being married off for her father's benefit.
• Arthur asked Jacqueline and Catherine who was watching his ship, the Eastern.

Jacqueline realized Arthur was hinting that Mile and the Eastern could help her break the stalemate over West Berlin, then decided to seek Malinda as her own partner. She left to find Malinda aboard the Eastern and negotiate a Contract that offered her a greater share of the benefits.

• Catherine guessed that Mile was monitoring the Eastern, while Jacqueline apologized for her father's surveillance and Arthur showed no concern.
• After tasting apple juice, Jacqueline deduced that Arthur already knew who was watching the Eastern and was hinting at a path to West Berlin through her and Catherine.
• Catherine asked whether Arthur meant to marry the twins, and he firmly said he loved Malinda and was allergic to women except her.
• Jacqueline stopped Catherine from testing Arthur's allergy, bowed to him, and told Catherine she needed to confirm something.
• Jacqueline left to find Malinda aboard the Eastern and propose becoming partners under a Contract with a greater share of the benefits for Malinda.

Catherine relaxed with Arthur and told him about her eldest sister, while Jacqueline rallied the surviving Church of Pain followers against the Inner River God Cult. Jacqueline led them toward the wharf, where she fixed her gaze on a white passenger ship.

• Catherine watched Arthur lounge casually, then took off her shoes and joined him in defying noble decorum.
• Catherine laughed at the steward’s reaction and, at Arthur’s request, began telling him about her eldest sister.
• Jacqueline sensed Catherine’s happiness through their telepathic link and warned her sister not to fall for Arthur, while struggling with her own attraction to his strength.
• Jacqueline returned as the Church of Pain’s High Priest and urged its surviving congregants to take revenge on the Inner River God Cult.
• Jacqueline led the Church of Pain followers and senior members toward the wharf, then looked toward a white passenger ship.

Malinda realized Arthur had arranged for Jacqueline, the High Priest of the Church of Pain, to come aboard, while Achisto’s hopes collapsed as the Inner River God Cult lost the battle. The chapter ended with someone stabbing Achisto from behind as he gloated over Toran.

• Malinda studied the Lead Box containing the Lady of Pain and wondered what Arthur’s plan was.
• Malinda recognized Jacqueline at the wharf and invited the High Priest of the Church of Pain aboard.
• Achisto fled toward the wharf with Toran after the Inner River God Cult’s forces were routed.
• Achisto blamed Toran for the cult’s losses and revealed that he had lied about the Inner River God Cult’s origins and its deity.
• A longsword thrust out of the empty space behind Achisto and stabbed him.

Greisa Hamlet killed Achisto and threatened Arthur Credos, while Grindelwald approached the shaken Toran and offered to show him the truth about the Inner River God Cult. On the Eastern, Malinda arranged for the Church of Pain to withdraw and asked Jacqueline to become her sworn younger sister.

• Greisa Hamlet killed Achisto, blamed him for his failed plans, and threatened Arthur Credos with a future confrontation.
• Toran's faith collapsed as he witnessed Achisto's death and questioned whether the priest had told the truth.
• Grindelwald approached Toran, invited him to gather the Inner River God Cult members, and promised to show them the truth.
• Toran recognized Grindelwald as the South Los Medium and began hoping the rumor about him was true.
• Malinda asked Jacqueline to withdraw the Church of Pain, then invited her to become her sworn younger sister.

Jacqueline became Malinda’s sworn younger sister, and Malinda’s escort fleet entered Dordot Harbor to search for two missing guests. Malinda revealed her Ascendant power by knocking out Mile, then summoned thousands of undead as she moved to aid Arthur’s plan.

• Jacqueline accepted Malinda’s proposal and became her sworn younger sister after affirming her trust in Arthur.
• Malinda, Jacqueline, Old John, and the twenty-ship escort fleet traveled to Dordot Harbor under cover of night.
• Malinda confronted Mile, the Marquis of West Berlin’s Chief Hunter, and announced that two guests from the Eastern had gone missing.
• Mile attacked Malinda with transparent threads, but she transformed into smoke and knocked him unconscious with a smoke-formed fist.
• Malinda looked toward a part of Dordot Harbor and summoned thousands of undead from smoke and mist.

Arthur and Catherine discovered that the West Berlin Marquis’s eldest daughter had hidden weapons and possibly recruited informers for her own force. A secret passage opened beneath her chair, revealing her voice calling for someone to charge into burning Dordot Harbor.

• Catherine complained to Arthur about the castle’s rules and described how her eldest sister intimidated her.
• Arthur and Catherine found the eldest sister’s study empty, with three hundred weapon racks stripped of their weapons.
• Arthur asked whether the informers had disappeared after the eldest sister took them into her service, and Catherine realized they might have been hidden among the weapons and books.
• Arthur found a mechanism beneath the chair’s armrest and opened a secret passage.
• A woman’s voice from the passage called for someone to charge into Dordot Harbor, where evil cultists and foreign enemies were rampaging.

Yekaterina prepared to lead three hundred loyal fighters to Dordot Harbor, but Arthur arrived and used his Ascendant presence to calm and sway the force. Yekaterina challenged him with [Ironblood Slaughter], and Arthur answered by summoning countless undead.

• Yekaterina rallied her three hundred fighters and prepared to ride out to Dordot Harbor, where cultists and foreign enemies were causing havoc.
• Arthur emerged from the hidden passage and used his Ascendant presence and [Lionheart King] traits to make the fighters dismount and listen.
• Arthur showed Yekaterina his Contract and said the Church of Pain had been driven out, the deceived Inner River Church's ringleader had been executed, and his fiancée was pursuing the mastermind.
• Yekaterina doubted Arthur's fiancée could command the operation and unleashed [Ironblood Slaughter] to regain control of her subordinates.
• Arthur remained calm as countless undead came howling forth.

Yekaterina apologized to Arthur after Malinda’s Army of the Dead surrounded West Berlin Castle, then tried to learn more about Arthur and his fiancée. As Yekaterina asked whether they could pursue the mastermind’s ship, Arthur asked whether the Marquis of West Berlin was ready for all-out war with the Old Lion.

• Malinda unleashed an enormous Army of the Dead, convincing Yekaterina to abandon a direct fight and apologize to Arthur for underestimating her.
• Yekaterina and Arthur agreed that the powerful, cunning mastermind would require more people to keep in check, while her cavalry secured the area.
• Yekaterina questioned Arthur about Malinda, and he declared that he loved her; Catherine, Jacqueline, and Yekaterina each felt like a third wheel.
• Yekaterina asked whether they could win by pursuing the Secret Art Ship, and Arthur responded by asking whether the Marquis of West Berlin was prepared for all-out war with the Old Lion.

Arthur deduced that the Marquis of West Berlin was seriously injured and used the revelation to take control of negotiations with Yekaterina. Yekaterina failed to gain leverage over Jacqueline and Catherine, and footsteps sounded in the Hidden Passage as Arthur waited for someone who could give him a definitive answer.

• Yekaterina insisted that the Golden Lion Family of the Inner Bay should answer for the losses at Dordot Harbor and the damage to the West Berlin Family's honor.
• Arthur inferred from Yekaterina's sudden appearance and decisive response that the Marquis of West Berlin had been injured and she had stepped forward as his heir.
• Arthur explained his reasoning, then unsettled Yekaterina by suggesting he might have learned her thoughts through divination.
• Yekaterina proposed adding clauses about Jacqueline and Catherine to the Contract, but Arthur said they had already accepted Malinda as their sworn elder sister.
• Yekaterina realized she had lost the upper hand as footsteps sounded in the Hidden Passage.

Arthur refused to negotiate with Geerjisi and started to leave, forcing the Chief Guard to reveal that the injured Marquis of West Berlin wanted to speak with him. Arthur accepted the Communication Crystal after Geerjisi humbly pleaded, preparing to negotiate with the Marquis.

• Geerjisi emerged from the hidden passage and saluted Catherine while Yekaterina remained in the shadows.
• Geerjisi approached Arthur with a courteous greeting and planned to steer their discussion toward Jacqueline and Catherine.
• Arthur declined to talk with Geerjisi and headed for the hidden passage to preserve his negotiating advantage.
• Geerjisi stopped Arthur and said the Marquis of West Berlin wanted to speak with him.
• Geerjisi explained that the Marquis was gravely injured and bowed humbly, so Arthur accepted the Communication Crystal and activated it.

Arthur secured a deeper alliance with the Marquis of West Berlin, bargaining for a forty percent share of Dordot Harbor’s revenue while agreeing to let West Berlin family members accompany Jacqueline and Catherine to South Los. As Catherine embraced her freedom and rushed to collect her belongings, Arthur prepared for what he considered the most crucial moment.

• Arthur negotiated with the Marquis of West Berlin and won a forty percent share of Dordot Harbor’s revenue by stressing their shared enemy and the risks of bringing in other allies.
• The Marquis asked for members of the West Berlin Family to accompany Jacqueline and Catherine to South Los, and Arthur agreed while suspecting the marquis had plans there.
• Yekaterina told Arthur that her eldest sister had set her sights on him, while Catherine warned him to be careful of her sister.
• Arthur told Catherine she was free from the West Berlin Family and could take her personal belongings under the terms of his contract with her father.
• Catherine cheered and ran to gather everything that belonged to her, while Arthur prepared for the most crucial moment.

After the Dordot Harbor attack, the Marquis of West Berlin tried to shape public opinion and conceal his true condition while investigating Sweet’s death. The chapter ended with him discovering that someone had stripped the plaster from his castle walls.

• West Berlin blamed the dead tax collector Beiretz for the attack, released Chet, and appointed him the new Harbor District Tax Collector.
• The Marquis learned that Arthur Credos’s companions had made the Medium of South Los the talk of Dordot Harbor, so he publicly called Arthur a close friend of the West Berlin Family.
• The Marquis revealed that his wounds had mostly healed and concluded that the Old Lion’s eldest son had killed Sweet with Sweet’s own sword aura.
• Mile led the Marquis toward Jacqueline and Catherine’s rooms, where the Marquis discovered the castle walls had been stripped of plaster and roared in anger.