Chapter Summaries

At Hugues Artois’s banquet, Valentine received a warning that Evil God Followers were planning a disaster. Meanwhile, Lumian-na was attacked by Charlotte at the Golden Rooster Hotel, then found herself facing a supernatural tree that had appeared in Trier.

• Nimrod, disguised as Hugues Artois, reassured the chemical factory explosion victims while Purifiers monitored the banquet and the Campaign Team.
• Hugues Artois slipped Valentine a message warning that Evil God Followers were planning a disaster and had coerced him.
• Charlotte disguised herself as one of Lumian-na’s squad leaders and attacked her with a dagger, but Lumian-na used Mr. K’s flesh and blood to protect herself.
• Charlotte revealed that the followers had planned to sacrifice Lumian because of his Angel-level status, then vanished after Lumian-na wounded her.
• Lumian-na recognized Charlotte as an actress from the Old Dovecote Theater and prepared to exchange fates and curse her using Fallen Mercury.
• A supernatural tree appeared around the Golden Rooster Hotel, and Lumian-na found herself standing among its roots, with scenes from the hotel and elsewhere caught in its branches.

Lumian-na fought her way through the strange Shadow Tree realm and killed Charlotte Calvino while trying to escape toward the illusory Golden Rooster Hotel. Elsewhere, Nimrod exposed the Outer Deity followers in Hugues Artois’s campaign team, then kept the politician’s identity and taunted the real Hugues as his Spirit Body weakened.

• Lumian-na realized the Golden Rooster Hotel was her likeliest escape route, summoned Godfather for help, and began climbing through the roots.
• Charlotte Calvino tried to stop Lumian-na, but Lumian-na killed her with Fallen Mercury after Charlotte’s injuries interrupted her attempt to become incorporeal.
• Suzanne Mattis attacked Lumian-na from the canopy, and Lumian-na challenged her while continuing toward the hotel’s image.
• Nimrod presented himself to Angoulême as Hugues Artois and claimed he had only recently discovered that members of his campaign team were Evil God Followers.
• Angoulême took Cassandra Sauron, Margaret, and the other followers into custody while Nimrod agreed to cooperate with the Church and retained Hugues Artois’s trust.
• Nimrod taunted the weakened Hugues Artois inwardly, then drank champagne and turned his attention to his other body.

Lumian-na and her allies tried to stop Suzanne from bringing the Archangel Abomination Suah into the world, while Termiboros urged Lumian-na to give in to fate. Her godfather summoned the Fool into Nimrod’s body, and the Fool erased the Shadow Tree and part of the sky.

• Lumian-na fought Suzanne while ignoring Termiboros’s hints, and Mr. K and Franca Roland arrived through the starlit opening to help her.
• Suzanne invoked the honorific name of Abomination Suah and sent the Shadow Tree’s vines toward Market District residents to drain their vitality.
• Mr. K transformed into a Devil and prepared to attack Suzanne, while Termiboros tried to convince Lumian-na that everyone would die unless she released him.
• Lumian-na’s godfather appeared and used the Dancer’s Dance of Summoning to call the Fool into Nimrod’s body.
• The Fool took Nimrod’s starlit walking stick and swung it, erasing the Shadow Tree and the upper half of the sky.

After Lumian-na escaped the otherworldly space, Madam Magician discussed her godfather’s possible connection to the Fool and asked what she wanted to do next. Meanwhile, Anthony Reed helped rebuild the Market District, and the Tarot Club discovered a new chair marked with a clocklike pattern as the Fool revealed the Lovers card.

• Franca recognized Lumian-na as a Minor Arcana under the Fool, then left with Judgment’s Minor Arcana, Two of Cups.
• Madam Magician told Lumian-na that her godfather might be an incarnation of the Fool and agreed to analyze the events connected to the Aurora Order’s revelation.
• Lumian-na said she wanted to advance her Sequence, find her sister’s killers, and hunt evil god followers; Madam Magician warned her to prepare to leave Trier.
• Anthony Reed organized compensation for the dead and planned to expand the Passion Organization into legitimate businesses while cooperating with the Church’s investigation.
• At the Tarot Club gathering, the members noticed a new empty chair beside the Hanged Man’s seat, and the Fool revealed the Lovers card after describing a forgotten friend who had helped him.

Nimrod returned to the world of Mystery by taking over an Amon body in a tomb, where he collected Beyonder Characteristics and valuables before escaping. Meanwhile, Klein and Dunn agreed to investigate Prince Edessak and the Demoness Sect, with the Church preparing to support their inquiry into Ince Zangwill.

• Nimrod and the Celestial Worthy reasoned that Nimrod's Spirit Body would probably enter an Amon avatar in Backlund when he returned to the world of Mystery.
• Nimrod took over a Worm of Time that became an Amon body inside Amon's Mausoleum and escaped its coffin.
• Nimrod removed Amon's portrait from the burial chamber, accelerated the tomb's decay, and gathered its Beyonder Characteristics and valuable items.
• Nimrod sent a note into the mausoleum, then summoned the Animated Void to take him back to Dionysus's residence.
• Klein told Dunn about his recent encounters with Prince Edessak and the Demoness Sect, and proposed investigating Edessak to provoke Ince Zangwill into acting.
• Dunn agreed to Klein's plan and went to report it to the Church, which would assign High-Sequence Beyonders to the investigation.

Nimrod warned Edessak and Trissy about the coming Backlund Great Smog and gave them charms to help them escape. Later, Nimrod confronted Hazel after she returned from a secret nighttime excursion, leaving her unconscious and warning her about trusting her demigod Swindler teacher.

• Nimrod told Edessak and Trissy that the Demoness Sect’s catastrophe was imminent and that seeking the Church of Evernight’s protection would not keep them safe.
• Nimrod gave Edessak and Trissy charms to crush when the East Borough smog changed rapidly, promising that help would take them to the harbor when the storm arrived.
• At Mori Macht’s banquet, Nimrod noticed Hazel and considered using her to approach the Jacob Family’s rat demigod.
• Hazel sneaked through the sewers at night and returned to her bedroom, where she encountered an identical version of herself.
• Nimrod knocked Hazel unconscious and warned her that trusting a demigod Swindler had put her life at risk.

Nimrod arranged for Hazel to reach Dunn Smith and infiltrated Flora Jacob’s household while the Demoness Sect and Aurora Order prepared the Great Smog. As the smog began, Klein and Leonard confronted a Beyonder in a slave-trading gang’s hideout, and Nimrod’s true body awakened amid a spreading aura of death.

• Nimrod sent Hazel and a letter to Dunn Smith, then planned to impersonate her and steal Flora Jacob’s demigod characteristic.
• Panatiya told Ince Zangwill that the Demoness Sect would attack Anthony and unleash the Great Smog, with Mr. A helping bring her into Backlund.
• Medici assured Mr. A that the True Creator would protect civilians and said he would stop the angel of Storm.
• Klein and Leonard raided slave-trading hideouts, where Klein subdued a Beyonder attacker and Leonard heard a warning that catastrophe was imminent.
• Nimrod posed as Hazel while waiting for Edessak Augustus to use his charm, but Flora Jacob sensed danger and told him to stay home.
• The Great Smog spread over Backlund as Nimrod closed his eyes in his Hazel guise and his main body awakened beside the rotting gang member.

Klein and the Tingen Squad confronted Ince Zangwill as the Backlund smog crisis began, while Demoness Sect Saints and Anthony Stevenson arrived and clashed. With Ince transforming into a Mythical Creature, Nimrod began the trap designed to push him toward losing control.

• Daly Simone contested Ince Zangwill's Underworld Gate while Klein warned that the Demoness Sect's Demonesses of Unaging had arrived.
• Anthony Stevenson fought Katarina Pelle, the Silver Demoness, and the Green Demoness, while Azik Eggers appeared beside Klein and drove them away.
• Azik weakened Ince's gate before leaving to deal with an MI9 pursuer, and Dunn Smith used a Calamity Charm against Ince.
• Ince transformed into a Mythical Creature and threatened to slaughter the Nighthawks and their families.
• Klein targeted Ince with sunlight and the Iron-Black Glove while Nimrod used gray fog to give Ince more than a dozen Beyonder characteristics.

Mr. A began the True Creator’s descent ritual while Panatiya escaped Backlund, and the ritual’s arrival sparked a clash among powerful beings above the city. Edessak and Trissy fled toward the Southern Continent as Amon investigated their connection to the Angel of Time.

• Mr. A sent Panatiya to the outskirts of Backlund, then prepared to begin the True Creator’s descent with Medici and Megose.
• Mr. A led the bishops and missionaries in prayer as the Shadow Lantern, Megose, and Mr. A formed the ritual’s three focal points.
• Trissy and Edessak shattered their charm and saw the True Creator’s descent transform the sky, while Amon’s avatar confronted them and learned they had received the charm from the Angel of Time.
• The Lord of Storms struck Amon with lightning, freeing Edessak and Trissy from his parasitism.
• Edessak and Trissy invoked the Celestial Worthy, and the Animated Void carried them toward the Southern Continent instead of the docks.

Nimrod hunted the demigod Flora Jacob, using the True Creator’s gift and corruptive knowledge to drive her into a desperate escape. After Flora fled toward the East Borough and tried to parasitize another Beyonder, Nimrod trapped her again and welcomed her back.

• Flora Jacob saw the gray fog in the sky and warned Hazel that powerful figures were clashing in Backlund, but Nimrod revealed himself as Amon’s avatar and sealed the room around her.
• Flora tried to evade Nimrod’s theft, but he called on the True Creator for the Black Knight gift and attacked her with the Blade of Spirit and Flesh.
• Flora stole Nimrod’s thoughts and was driven toward madness by poisonous knowledge, while her own attack made Nimrod bleed and lose his lower-level abilities.
• Nimrod empowered the Sun Scythe and struck Flora until she abandoned most of her Beyonder characteristics and escaped as a Parasite toward the East Borough.
• Flora entered Nimrod’s masked body while he performed a strange dance, but a terrifying aura appeared and Nimrod greeted her with, “Welcome back.”

Nimrod killed Flora Jacob and was confronted by Amon, who tried to identify the being Nimrod worshipped and take him as a Chosen. Nimrod revealed that he knew the name Grisha, prompting Amon to isolate him in a snow-covered ruin as a countdown began.

• Nimrod overcame Flora Jacob's parasitism, killed her, and sent her Beyonder characteristic to Sefirah Castle.
• Amon used a rat avatar to confront Nimrod, freeze him in place, and question him about his identity and patron.
• Amon discovered that Nimrod's Beyonder powers had been reclaimed, guessed that a being above Sefirah Castle was involved, and tried to persuade Nimrod to become his Chosen.
• Nimrod stayed silent until he asked Amon why he had helped Adam instead of Grisha, changing Amon's expression.
• Amon transported Nimrod to a snow-covered ruin and prepared to read his memories while a countdown reached its final minute.

Nimrod lured Amon’s avatar above Sefirah Castle and used his newly gained demigod powers to defeat and parasitize him. After collecting the monocles in the One of a Kind bar, Nimrod manipulated the countdown on his hand, leaving his return uncertain.

• Nimrod pulled Amon’s avatar, still parasitizing Hugues Artois’s spirit body, above Sefirah Castle and severed its connection to Amon’s main body.
• Nimrod swallowed Flora Jacob’s Sequence 4 Beyonder characteristic, and the Celestial Worthy stood with him against Amon.
• Nimrod used Theft and other abilities to strip Amon of his powers until Amon’s Worms of Time submitted and re-formed as Nimrod’s avatar.
• Nimrod told the new avatar to disguise itself as Hugues Artois and took the three avatars to the One of a Kind bar, where they stole everyone’s monocles.
• Nimrod stretched the blurred countdown on his hand into a clock face and moved its hour hand to the end.

Amon withdrew from Backlund after losing an avatar to Nimrod, while the Lord of Storms’ forces fought to stop the True Creator’s descent. Mr. A offered himself as the vessel for the True Creator, but a glimpse of gray-white light interrupted the god’s influence as the Mandated Punishers stormed in.

• Nimrod sealed Hugues Artois’s soul after an Amon avatar stole it, and the possessed Hugues Artois avatar lost control before returning.
• Amon realized his avatar had vanished along with the secret knowledge it had read, then withdrew from Backlund and recalled his other avatars.
• Medici fought Gade II beneath the bloodred sun while Ace Snake and Radar Valentine battled Aurora Order demigods and the Church of Storms advanced toward the descent ritual.
• The Mandated Punishers learned that the Church of Evernight was under attack by three Demonesses of Unaging and that MI9’s demigods were unavailable, then set out for the ritual site.
• Mr. A changed the ritual’s target from Megose to himself and began receiving the True Creator’s will, but gray-white light cleared his consciousness before the Mandated Punishers broke through the door.

The True Creator and Evernight Goddess descended on Backlund, while Klein and the Tingen Squad killed Ince Zangwill. The True Creator withdrew to the south, and Nimrod reflected on the humanity that could shape a new world.

• The True Creator appeared in Backlund, forgave the Mandated Punishers, and clashed with the Lord of Storms as Evernight Goddess Amanises erased the battle’s destruction.
• The Demonesses of Unaging fled, but the True Creator captured two of them while White Saintess Katarina escaped by destroying her body.
• The True Creator withdrew with Medici and named the Promised Land in the south as their next battlefield, while the Lord of Storms ended his attack on Backlund.
• Klein, Dunn Smith, Daly Simone, Leonard, and Nimrod subdued Ince Zangwill, and Klein shot him dead before Adam collected the Quill.
• Adam spoke with Nimrod about his identity and offered psychological treatment before disappearing, while Nimrod sealed away the memory of their conversation.
• Nimrod watched Backlund’s lights return as the Celestial Worthy urged him to preserve his humanity and spoke of a new world.

Nimrod explained the True Creator’s protection of the East Borough’s poor to Audrey and began revealing the truth behind the descent, starting with Ince Zangwill. After discussing his plans with the True Creator, Nimrod left to meet the Fool, leaving Medici confused about who the Fool was.

• A staff member and a medical worker discussed rumors that the Church of Storms had dismissed the True Creator’s descent as a collective hallucination.
• Nimrod met Audrey at the Fried Poorhouse and told her that the True Creator had protected those willing to accept his protection, though some people had died praying to other gods.
• Nimrod sealed his office from eavesdroppers and confirmed to Audrey that he had become a demigod.
• Nimrod began telling Audrey the truth about the descent, starting with Ince Zangwill.
• Nimrod told the True Creator that George III’s people wanted him to help relocate poor residents from the East Borough, and he described his plans to travel to the Berserk Sea and seek a Sequence 3 characteristic.
• The True Creator decided to reclaim the Profane Presbyter power from Nimrod, who then left to meet the Fool, prompting Medici to ask who the Fool was.

At the Tarot Club, the members learned that the True Creator had descended in Backlund and that two Demonesses of Unaging had died there. The World recruited teammates for a long expedition to the Southern Continent, and Audrey left the gathering considering whether to join.

• The Fool introduced the World as one of his Chosen and said the World had slain a demigod with Nimrod's help.
• Nimrod told the Tarot Club that the True Creator had descended in Backlund after clashing with the Lord of Storms and the Eternal Blazing Sun, and that two Demonesses of Unaging had fallen.
• The World offered a joint commission with Mr. Lovers to cross the Berserk Sea and track evil-god followers, seeking two more teammates.
• Alger declined the expedition because he could not leave the Azure Avenger or allow an avatar to take his place, while Audrey asked the World for more details.
• The World explained the mission and said Mr. Lovers could disguise himself as Audrey using his Nighthawk identity; Audrey asked for time to decide and could reserve a place before the next gathering.

After the Tarot Club, Klein and Nimrod discussed their plans for a sea-going adventure and the members Nimrod was recruiting. Nimrod used his new demigod abilities to seek cooperation with Sharron and Maric, while Klein went with his former companions to receive the Church’s appointment and rewards.

• Klein asked Nimrod about his plans, and Nimrod described an adventure team that included Sharron, a Vampire Apothecary, and a trusted Sequence 7 Hunter.
• Nimrod explained that the True Creator’s Aurora Order was preparing to move its base to the Southern Continent and that he had greater freedom to guide its direction.
• Nimrod used his Spirit World authority to find Sharron and Maric, then proposed cooperating against the Mother Tree of Desire’s followers and pursuing a claim involving the Highland Kingdom.
• Klein spent several days training and dining with Leonard before gathering with Dunn, Daly, and the others at the church to receive their official appointment and rewards.
• After midnight, Dunn told the companions that the Archbishop was waiting for them.

The Church of Evernight rewarded Klein and his companions for killing Ince Zangwill, while Pope Dabomachie revealed that the Goddess was watching Klein and might make him her Chosen. Arianna inspected Klein’s Beyonder items and relayed the Goddess’s revelation, “China,” leaving Klein convinced that the gods knew about transmigration.

• Klein and the Tingen Squad met Pope Dabomachie at the Church of Serenity, where Dunn received a Sequence 5 potion and a bishop appointment, while Daly and Leonard were offered advancement opportunities.
• Dabomachie asked Klein why he had faced a demigod, then said the Goddess was watching him and might soon make him her Chosen.
• The Pope granted Klein potion formulas and materials through Sequence 4, help with his Sequence 5 advancement ritual, and an assignment to track the Aurora Order at sea, where he might find mermaids.
• Arianna took Klein aside, inspected Creeping Hunger and the Iron-Black Glove, and told him the Church knew some of Azik Eggers’s secrets.
• Arianna relayed the Goddess’s revelation, “China,” and Klein concluded that the gods knew about transmigration and that he and Nimrod needed to reach their level to go home.

After advancing to demigodhood, Nimrod tested his new abilities and learned he could control when he crossed back to the world of Mystery. In Trier, he met with Lumian-na, who received a lead from Madam Magician about those responsible for her sister’s death, and Nimrod urged her to request her promised study materials immediately.

• Nimrod reviewed his new demigod abilities, including his control over Spirit World creatures, theft, and avatars, and found that his world-crossing clock would complete its cycle in twenty-four hours.
• Nimrod traveled to Lumian-na’s residence in Trier, intercepted Madam Magician’s messenger, and took her letter without letting the messenger retain memories of seeing him.
• Lumian-na introduced Franca as the Tarot Club’s Two of Cups, and Nimrod temporarily stole Franca’s memory of meeting him before discussing business with Lumian-na.
• Lumian-na read Madam Magician’s letter, which offered her freedom to plan her own actions and a vague lead that some people involved in her sister’s death were plotting at sea.
• Nimrod advised Lumian-na to ask Madam Magician immediately for the promised occult-study materials so that they would not take weeks to arrive.

Lumian-na accepted Nimrod’s offer to parasitize her and learned they would prepare to travel to the Berserk Sea, while Amon investigated the forces and mysteries surrounding Sefirah Castle. Klein returned to Tingen and reunited with Benson and Melissa, and Emlyn received a visitor at the Harvest Church.

• Lumian-na agreed to let Nimrod parasitize her in exchange for time to digest potions and perform rituals, and Nimrod said they would head to the Berserk Sea after making preparations.
• Amon took Panatiya’s Demoness of Despair characteristic in his mausoleum, read a note saying “Borrowing an avatar. Do not disturb,” and began pursuing several investigations.
• Arianna sent Klein back to Tingen, where he returned to his home and called out to Benson and Melissa.
• Benson cautiously checked Klein’s identity before opening the door, and Klein embraced him and Melissa, saying his mission was over and he would stay for a while.
• Emlyn recalled the Sanguine Ancestor’s instruction to pray to the Fool, and Father Utravsky told him to pause his work because a guest wanted to see him.