Chapter Summaries

Vera learned that Jon had defected and was suspected of serving an evil god, then took Beyoncé to Saint Samuel Cathedral and proposed to her. Beyoncé accepted, and the pair left the cathedral together, with Vera unsure whether she was angry.

• The Deputy Director told Vera that Jon had defected, killed two Interrogators, and was on the run, and warned Vera not to meet him if he made contact.
• Vera denied knowing Jon’s whereabouts, left MI9, and went to the Kingdom Theatre to meet Beyoncé.
• Vera accompanied Beyoncé to Saint Samuel Cathedral, where they prayed before he prepared to propose.
• Vera nervously proposed to Beyoncé in front of the worshippers, and she accepted his ring.
• Vera and Beyoncé left the cathedral and stopped beside a flower bed, where Vera cautiously asked if she was angry.

Vera proposed to Beyoncé at church, and she accepted after teasing him and making him promise to respect her independence and charitable donations. Later, Lorry visited Vera to deliver the Sealed Artifacts he had gathered and heard Vera offer him extra contribution credit in exchange for a favor.

• Beyoncé briefly removed her ring and made Vera think she had refused before telling him to put it on her finger and accepting his proposal.
• Beyoncé made Vera promise not to look down on her, bully her, or stop her from donating part of her salary to the Goddess's orphanage.
• Lorry waited outside Vera's residence, then followed him inside and learned that Vera had proposed to Beyoncé and she had accepted.
• Vera told Lorry to stop the investigator he had hired to follow him and Beyoncé, and Lorry said she had already stopped investigating.
• Lorry handed Vera several Sealed Artifacts he had acquired, including Warrior's Glory, the Secret Prayer Ring, and the Clown Mask.
• Vera offered Lorry extra contribution credit for Warrior's Glory and said Lorry would have to do him a favor in return.

Lorry learned that Altair had left Backlund and returned the White Bone Ring to Vera, then adjusted to life without the artifact. He worked on a new Sherlock story and began researching how to summon a messenger to carry his Sealed Artifacts and deliver letters.

• Vera told Lorry that Altair had left Backlund and warned him to stay alive until he advanced to Sequence 6.
• Lorry returned the White Bone Ring to Vera, and the ring encouraged him to keep studying ancient languages and Ritual Magic.
• After losing the ring and Warrior's Glory, Lorry struggled to maintain his routine until Albert's return to normal habits spurred him on.
• Lorry planned the third volume of Great Detective Sherlock around factory pollution and corruption, but had only completed half after several days.
• Lorry began studying messenger-summoning incantations so he could store and transport Sealed Artifacts and deliver letters.
• At dusk, Lorry locked himself in his office and began attempting to summon a messenger.

Lorry summoned several Spirit World creatures while searching for a suitable messenger, then contracted with a mysterious woman calling herself “The Exiled.” After sending her away, he wondered whether he had indirectly fleeced the Goddess, while Vera walked home after the successful theater performance.

• Lorry tried summoning Spirit World creatures, but a Treasure Chest Monster could not store his vase and a fast Bone Creature warned that anything in its stomach would be digested within three days.
• After several failed attempts, Lorry used Klein’s incantation and summoned a blonde woman who sensed the Goddess’s aura on him and offered to store items and deliver letters.
• The woman agreed to become Lorry’s messenger on the condition that he pray to the Goddess in her name whenever he commanded her; Lorry changed the contract’s witness from Death to the Evernight Goddess and signed it.
• The woman signed the contract as “The Exiled,” explaining that she was unworthy of a name until she received the Goddess’s forgiveness, and quietly hoped the contract might help her return.
• Lorry sent The Exiled away, considered studying the Goddess’s Holy Bible to learn her identity, and wondered if signing the contract counted as fleecing the Goddess before praising Her.
• Vera left the theater’s celebration banquet route on foot and headed home, checking contact points along the way.

Vera spotted Jon’s secret contact signal and, doubting that his former informant had betrayed MI9, went to meet him. Jon explained that he had killed two Interrogators because of what he discovered in a missing persons investigation, then struck his own head as Vera watched.

• Vera recognized the emergency signal known only to him and Jon, and chose to follow it rather than report it to MI9.
• After consulting the White Bone Ring’s aged voice, Vera decided Jon was unlikely to have killed his colleagues without cause and went to his apartment.
• Jon admitted killing two Interrogators and said they were not worthy of being his colleagues.
• Jon reminded Vera of the missing persons case and accused him of delaying justice by waiting until he was powerful enough to investigate.
• Jon said he had decided to give the last of his strength to the cause, then struck the crown of his own head with his palm.

Vera told Beyoncé about the orphan boy who had once saved fish and shrimp after a village flood threat, then used his friend’s death as a reason to postpone their engagement until New Year’s Day. After Beyoncé left, Vera went to the Tussock River, where an unseen speaker said he had been given two chances.

• Vera told Beyoncé his friend had died and recounted how they met during an investigation into a plot to destroy a village embankment.
• Vera described the orphan boy rescuing stranded fish and shrimp, explaining that he could save the lives directly in front of him even if he could not see far ahead.
• Beyoncé said the boy had been right to focus on what he could do, and Vera suggested postponing their engagement until New Year’s Day.
• After Beyoncé departed, Vera wrote a letter, left it in a mailbox, and vanished using the White Bone Ring.
• Vera appeared on the banks of the Tussock River, where an unseen voice told him, “I gave you a chance... Vera. Twice.”

Vera confronted Lieutenant General Bendit, who suppressed his Beyonder abilities and defeated him in combat. After Bendit let him choose whether to accept Secrecy, Vera escaped into the Spirit World, only to arrive at Parliamentarian Begat’s Manor.

• Lieutenant General Bendit claimed he had protected Vera before and urged him to return and accept Secrecy, but Vera questioned his account of Jon’s actions.
• Bendit declared that Vera had betrayed MI9 and used an Imperative Mage decree to suppress Vera’s spirituality and abilities.
• Bendit fought Vera hand-to-hand, broke his right hand, and overwhelmed him despite Vera holding out for more than three minutes.
• Vera asked whether he could still accept Secrecy; Bendit let him sit and did not cast it after the decree’s effect ended.
• Vera escaped through the Spirit World, but Parliamentarian Begat greeted him at his Manor and welcomed him as Colonel.

Altair wrote Jon and Colonel Vera into a Book of Dimensions story that led from Jon uncovering Qonas Kilgor’s crimes to Vera being trapped by Parliamentarian Begat. After the book’s pages settled, Lorry finished writing in his office at the Posner Face Mask Factory.

• Altair’s Book of Dimensions described Jon discovering MI9 colleagues trafficking captives and identifying Major General Qonas Kilgor as the mastermind.
• Qonas Kilgor branded Jon a traitor and enlisted Lieutenant General Bendit to hunt him, while Jon sought help from his former superior, Vera.
• After Jon sacrificed himself, Vera used Spirit Channeling to find the convoy’s location, but Bendit defeated him and he later fell into Parliamentarian Begat’s trap.
• Altair concluded that Vera’s story had ended and that he would continue his revenge.
• At the Posner Face Mask Factory, Lorry stopped writing, stood, and stretched with relief.

After learning from the Curse of Knowledge that Vera had died, Lorry prepared documents and instructions in case he failed to return within three days. The White Bone Ring asked what he planned to do as Lorry faced the danger Vera had left behind.

• The Curse of Knowledge arrived and told Lorry that Vera was dead, explaining that Altair was involved and that Vera had sent a report to a bishop of the Church of Evernight.
• Lorry grieved and angrily blamed Vera for leaving him exposed to Altair, Parliamentarian Begat, and a Demigod from MI9.
• Lorry wrote authorizations for the Publishing House and transferred ownership of the Posner Face Mask Factory.
• Lorry summoned his lady messenger and instructed her to deliver the documents and manuscript to Fors if he did not summon her within three days.
• The White Bone Ring asked Lorry what he planned to do.

Lorry discovered that Altair’s influence made the Spirit World dangerous, but decided he would rather face the consequences than leave and live with regrets. As MI9 began killing Vera’s former followers, Lorry followed his sense that someone was waiting for him into the woods outside Backlund.

• Lorry briefly entered the Spirit World, spotted a dangerous Hunter, and returned to the factory office after the White Bone Ring warned him that the creature could pursue him into the Real World.
• Lorry fed Albert and said he preferred to face a deadly confrontation rather than leave and carry more regrets.
• An MI9 captain killed Sharp in the lounge and claimed Colonel Cezanne had ordered it because Sharp worshipped an evil god.
• A team member returned from checking with Colonel Cezanne and confirmed that Vera’s former subordinates and informants were to be killed on sight.
• After a series of mishaps took him out of Backlund, Lorry sensed someone waiting for him and walked toward the evergreen woods.

Lorry confronted Altair at an altar, but his first attack passed through him as though he were an illusion. Altair summoned a fake Vera and tried to break Lorry’s resolve by blaming him for the deaths around him, leaving Lorry’s emotions wavering.

• Lorry found Altair beside a huge altar and fired at him, but the bullet passed through without harm.
• Lorry put on a golden mask and an iron-black glove, then fought the fake Vera Altair had created from a page of his book.
• Lorry used the White Bone Ring to counter the fake Vera’s power and beat him until he dissolved into light.
• Altair accused Lorry of causing Vera’s and others’ deaths, then urged him to serve the Supreme Being.
• Lorry remembered an angry policeman’s accusation, and his emotions began to waver as Altair continued to blame him.

Lorry fought Altair’s illusions while Altair used the Book of Dimensions to exploit Lorry’s grief and drain his strength. Lorry destroyed the illusions by inferring Altair’s limits, but ended the chapter exhausted as Altair approached, confident he could kill him.

• Lorry shattered Altair’s illusion of Vera with the Sure-Hit Revolver, while Altair taunted him about his limited spirituality and continued creating illusions.
• Altair wrote that Lorry’s grief would make him fight poorly, causing Lorry’s shots to miss as he battled illusions of Perry, Vera, and Miles.
• Lorry used the Curse of Knowledge and his abilities to fight the illusions, destroying a White Wraith and a Flesh Giant that soon reassembled.
• Lorry realized Altair was controlling the illusions and that their power depended on him, then used Death and Wind Blades to eliminate them.
• Lorry sat down exhausted and touched the money pouch at his waist as Altair approached and declared that killing him would be effortless.

Lorry suppressed Altair with an amplified Decree, then defeated him with help from a black dog. After killing Altair, Lorry Spirit Channeled his corpse and learned that a divine oracle had led him to collude with Parliamentarian Begat.

• Lorry used the White Bone Ring to weaken mysticism, amplified the Decree, and prevented Altair from escaping through the Book of Dimensions.
• Altair fled toward the valley’s exit, but a black dog attacked him and dragged him back to Lorry.
• Lorry outmaneuvered Altair in a fight and beat him to death while naming people harmed by the ritual.
• Lorry prepared a Spirit Channeling ritual and questioned Altair’s spirit about his collusion with Parliamentarian Begat.
• Altair’s spirit said a divine oracle had directed him to seek help from Parliamentarian Begat, who came from the Rose School and had been ordered to lie low in Backlund.

Lorry questioned Altair’s spirit and learned the powers of the Book of Dimensions, along with new information about Parliamentarian Begat. He disguised Altair’s corpse as himself to mislead MI9, then headed to Saint Samuel Cathedral in the North Borough.

• Altair revealed that he and Begat had secretly worked together on political schemes and described Begat as a Sequence 5 Wraith with a powerful Sealed Artifact.
• Altair explained that the Book of Dimensions could write events into reality, create temporary fantasy characters, and let its owner travel between dimensions.
• Altair said Begat had mentioned Percival Family loyalists returning to Backlund to seek revenge, but Altair had planned to sacrifice Lorry instead of killing him.
• Lorry snapped Altair’s neck, used False Face and a blood ritual to make the corpse point mystically to himself, and destroyed the altar.
• Lorry took the corpse and Albert to the Face Mask Factory, then teleported to Saint Samuel Cathedral in the North Borough.

Lorry prayed at Saint Samuel Cathedral, then told Arianna about Altair’s crimes and accused Begat, MI9, and the Demoness Sect of plotting a catastrophe in Backlund. Meanwhile, Fors looked forward to receiving the materials needed for her advancement and persuaded Xio to go shopping.

• Lorry entered Saint Samuel Cathedral to fulfill his agreement with the lady Messenger by praying to the Evernight Goddess.
• Arianna appeared beside Lorry, and he explained that he had killed Altair and discovered the man’s secret plans.
• Lorry told Arianna that Begat, Qonas Kilgor, and others were involved in human trafficking, Colonel Vera’s murder, and a planned catastrophe in Backlund.
• Lorry said Altair had received a revelation naming the Black Emperor, then asked Arianna for help restoring Colonel Vera’s reputation and avenging his death.
• Fors learned that Sun expected to sacrifice the Beyonder Characteristic within three to five days, bringing her closer to advancing and Lorry closer to receiving his awaited material.
• Fors urged Xio to stop reading and go shopping for ingredients with her.

Nighthawks raided Parliamentarian Begat’s residence, but the coachman escaped after realizing Begat was only a puppet and the real target had been missed. Later, Lorry consumed an expensive Marauder potion with his Parasite ring, and Ma'am Arianna arrived as he wondered whether his report had led to results.

• At Fors’s home, Xio persuaded her to eat, believing that he would not come that evening.
• At Parliamentarian Begat’s ball, Begat arranged to help an older guest pursue a wealthy businessman’s daughter as several Nighthawks arrived to question him.
• The coachman sensed danger, while Begat left the ballroom and tried to stab himself; Leonard and another Nighthawk found him unconscious and suspected he was involved in something suspicious.
• The coachman escaped using Spirit World Traversal after an aged voice warned him that Begat was only a puppet and that the Nighthawks had missed the real target.
• At the Posner Face Mask Factory, Lorry used his Parasite ring to absorb the Marauder potion, losing more than four hundred pounds’ worth of ingredients without gaining enough characteristics to form a Worm of Time.
• Ma'am Arianna visited Lorry, who asked whether she had come with news about his earlier report.

Lorry learned that MI9 had cleared Colonel Vera and his associates of wrongdoing, and he donated his death benefit before persuading Arianna to remove the Book of Dimensions’ connection to the evil god Altair. Arianna left Backlund under an agreement between the Three Great Churches and the Royal Family, and the next morning Klein read a newspaper naming Vera, Lorry, and others as heroes who had died serving the Kingdom.

• Arianna told Lorry that the operation against Parliamentarian Begat had failed, while MI9 had blamed Colonel Cezanne for framing Colonel Vera and agreed to restore the dead men’s reputations and compensate their families.
• Lorry asked that his and Colonel Vera’s death benefits be donated to charity, then learned that Begat’s controller had fled to the Southern Continent.
• Arianna explained that the Book of Dimensions attracted the gaze of the evil god Altair, and Lorry promised to donate at least twenty thousand pounds to the Church in exchange for her removing the connection.
• Arianna said she was leaving Backlund under an agreement between the Three Great Churches and the Royal Family, then vanished.
• On Thursday morning, Klein read a newspaper report naming Colonel Vera, Lorry, and others as heroes who had died serving the Kingdom.

After MI9’s obituary identified Raven as Lorry, Lorry used the public statement to merge his two identities and fully digest his second Swindler potion. He then used the Parasite ring’s Teleportation to reach Harbor Borough, where he spotted and followed a suspicious man boarding a ship.

• Klein, Detective Isengard, and Kaslana read Raven’s obituary and discussed the danger posed by the Desire Apostle.
• News of Raven’s death spread across Backlund, prompting reactions from Viscount Glaint, Audrey, and Xio.
• Lorry drank the Swindler potion and used MI9’s statement to merge the identities of Raven and Lorry, completing the potion’s digestion.
• Lorry discovered his spirituality was now sufficient to use the Parasite ring once and Teleported to Harbor Borough.
• Lorry waited under Psychological Invisibility, spotted a man hurrying aboard a ship, and followed him.

Lorry used concealment to parasitize Pari Beria, twin sister of the assassin Jason Beria, and gained access to her memories, combat abilities, and the siblings’ wealth. As Pari prepared to return to Backlund, Lorry considered his next steps, while Fors told Xio she had obtained Beyonder materials.

• Lorry recalled that Patrick Jason Beria was involved in Duke Negan’s assassination and knew the assassin’s escape route.
• Pari Beria discarded her disguise and belongings into the river, then asked an attendant to arrange a ticket back to Backlund.
• Lorry revealed that he had never boarded the ship and had made Pari his first avatar through Deep-Level Parasitism.
• Lorry learned from Pari’s memories that she was a Sequence 6 Devil, that the siblings had been ordered to assassinate Duke Negan for an Abyss Card, and that she carried thirty thousand pounds in wealth.
• Lorry planned to use the money Pari would bring back to pay for Arianna’s help and reflected on the Lieutenant Colonel’s unspoken favor.
• Fors told Xio she had acquired the materials he needed and a Spirit Eater’s stomach pouch, then asked whether Xio had brought home the newspaper.

Fors learned from a child that newspapers had announced Raven’s death, and Xio had to explain the news to her. Fors then summoned the Tarot Club for an impromptu gathering, leaving Klein stunned to hear that he was supposedly dead.

• Xio repeatedly tried to stop Fors from delivering materials, but Fors noticed her strange behavior and followed her when she went out to buy sweet iced tea.
• Fors overheard a woman tell a child that Raven had died and that his final Great Detective Sherlock story had already been written.
• Xio returned with the drinks and found Fors waiting in an alley, then offered to explain Raven’s reported death.
• Klein heard Fors’s prayer at the Quelaag Club, went above the gray fog, and convened an impromptu gathering.
• Fors explained the reason for her request, and Klein was shocked to learn that Raven had been reported dead.