Chapter Summaries

Lorry considered his need for Spirit Ascension materials and arranged for Fors and the Tarot Club to help him find them before the Golden Dream reached Norgar Island. In Preston City, Pali Beria Lorry used Malice Perception to evade a Rose School ambush while setting her sights on Adrian, the head of the local branch.

• Lorry reviewed his plans to digest the Mystery Pryer potion, make more Worms of Time, and gather Spirit Ascension materials, deciding to prioritize the latter.
• Lorry asked Fors to seek help through the Fool and the Tarot Club, and considered Vice Admiral Iceberg another useful source of materials.
• Lorry hoped to collect enough materials for at least one form of Spirit Ascension before the Golden Dream reached Norgar Island.
• Pali Beria Lorry evaded a Rose School ambush in a native village after her Malice Perception warned her of danger well in advance.
• Pali revealed that she had used her pursuit to provoke Adrian, the head of the Rose School's Preston Branch, into coming out to deal with the chaos.

Pali struggled to contain her bloodlust as the Rose School members stayed at Kang Dun’s villa, where Sai Liwen and Kang Dun argued over the price of a Zombie characteristic. Kang Dun was suddenly struck and hurled back into the hall as a dark figure crashed through the door.

• Pali’s worsening bloodlust pushed her to decide to attack the Rose School members who refused to leave the villa.
• Kang Dun told Sai Liwen that Barn’s group was preparing to hunt the killer, and Sai Liwen criticized the plan while hoping it would end their recent pursuit.
• Kang Dun offered to buy Sai Liwen’s Zombie characteristic, but Sai Liwen demanded six thousand pounds and gave him until that night to decide.
• Kang Dun agreed to fetch the money, then was struck by a shapely figure and sent flying back into the hall.
• Kang Dun’s subordinates watched a dark figure smash through the door and shoot into the villa.

Pali Beria Lorry attacked the Rose School members at the villa, overpowering them with her abilities. She killed the hidden Zombie, Sai Liwen, with lightning and turned to face the survivors.

• Kang Dun warned the villa that they were under attack and healed his fractured chest with his Werewolf abilities.
• Pali Beria Lorry dragged a curious Prisoner outside, then entered the hall and used Corruption to injure the gathered Rose School members.
• Pali killed a charging Lunatic with three pale blue fireballs as Kang Dun and the twin Werewolves advanced on her.
• Pali sensed a hidden threat upstairs and used the Ocean's Heart to strike Sai Liwen with lightning, killing him.
• Pali turned toward the remaining Rose School members and told them it was their turn.

Pali defeated the Rose School members in Devil form, collected their Beyonder Characteristics, and helped Lorry rescue the captive women. After the villa was burned and the women were delivered to a church in East Balam, Lorry returned to the Golden Dream with the spoils and two iron chests.

• Pali transformed into a Devil and killed the Rose School members in the villa.
• Pali recovered two Zombie Beyonder Characteristics and gave the gathered characteristics to Lorry.
• Lorry and Pali searched the hidden basement, then moved the captive women into another dimension.
• Pali destroyed the battle traces and burned the villa while Lorry left to resume his travels.
• Lorry delivered the women outside a church in Gurain City, then returned to the Golden Dream with the characteristics and two iron chests.

Lorry planned to sell the Rose School spoils to the Temperance Faction and arranged a transaction with Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina before the Golden Dream sailed on. In Backlund, Xio waited nervously for her first gathering while Fors wrote about Edwina, and Xio reminded Fors that she had an appointment at the Divination Club.

• Lorry counted the Beyonder Characteristics and valuables recovered from the Rose School outpost and decided to trade the spoils with the Temperance Faction through Sharron.
• Lorry planned to return to Backlund after selling Sea God Kalvetua's scales to Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina, then fell asleep as dawn approached.
• Lorry met Edwina in the Golden Dream's dining room and settled the basic details of their transaction as the ship sailed away.
• In Cherwood Borough, Xio noticed Fors had been writing another piece about Vice Admiral Iceberg and waited through the afternoon.
• Xio woke from a nightmare about being late to Mr. Fool's gathering and declined Fors's offer to interpret it.
• Xio reminded Fors that she had an appointment at the Divination Club, prompting Fors to realize how late it was.

Xio hurried to a nearby inn to join the Tarot Club while Fors stayed home, and she arrived at the gathering as a new member. After studying the other attendees, Xio recognized the woman in familiar-looking pajamas as Fors.

• Fors declined to attend the Tarot Club gathering, while Xio told her she was meeting someone from MI9.
• Xio hurried to a nearby inn, changed into forged identity documents, and entered the Gray Fog World at three in the afternoon.
• Justice Audrey noticed a new woman beside Ma'am Hermit and guessed that Miss Xio had joined the Tarot Club.
• Xio studied the members and wondered whether the red-eyed young man had issued her earlier commission.
• Xio recognized the brown-haired woman in familiar-looking pajamas as Fors when their eyes met.

At the Tarot Club gathering, Xio discovered that Fors was a member and watched her handle numerous expensive transactions for a mysterious client. Fors issued a long-term request for materials, prompting Alger to question whether she could afford to pay for them.

• Xio recognized Fors at the gathering, and Audrey welcomed her as the new member, Judgment.
• Derrick offered Fors two Spirit Eater's Stomachs, Emlyn offered her materials for three thousand pounds, and Alger said he had obtained what he had promised.
• Xio watched several other members approach Fors with transactions, learning that the purchases were for the person Fors had pinned beneath her and wondering how a Sequence 7 could afford them.
• Fors distributed a list of materials she wanted to buy through a long-term commission and said members could request pounds or other payment.
• Alger warned Fors that she would owe at least fifteen thousand pounds after the gathering and asked what would happen if she could not pay.

Fors arranged for Mr. Fool to hold a £15,000 deposit as security for her purchase of the requested Beyonder materials, and Tarot Club members offered to help find them. Cattleya explained that the materials belonged to the Marauder pathway and revealed that its Sequence 4 was called Parasite.

• Fors offered to deposit £15,000 with Mr. Fool to secure the transaction, and he agreed to hold it without interest for a safekeeping fee.
• Emlyn, Derrick, Audrey, and Cattleya each offered to help locate the materials through their own contacts or resources.
• Audrey asked why Fors was gathering the materials, and Fors admitted she did not know because she was simply helping someone who needed them.
• Audrey noticed Cattleya seemed to know the reason and asked her about it; Cattleya sought Fors's permission before answering.
• Cattleya said the Beyonder Characteristics belonged to the Marauder pathway and revealed that its Sequence 4 was called Parasite.

At the Tarot Club, the Hermit's explanation of Marauder Demigods' parasitism led the members to mistakenly believe the Magician's friend was a Demigod, while Fors struggled to correct them. The World asked Fors to learn how to distinguish and treat parasitism, and the Hermit offered to obtain listed materials in exchange for a drop of Mythical Creature blood.

• The Hermit explained that Marauder Demigods could split off Worms of Time, parasitize others, create avatars, and replenish their Worms by absorbing Beyonder Characteristics from the same pathway.
• Klein checked the Magician with Spirit Vision and divination, confirmed she was not parasitized, and relaxed.
• Xio realized that her supposed Sequence 7 acquaintance had influenced her memories, while Fors insisted he was not a Sequence 4 and had collected the characteristics for another reason.
• The World asked Fors to find out how to distinguish shallow from deep parasitism and whether a deeply parasitized victim could be saved; Fors agreed to ask her friend.
• The Hermit offered to obtain most of the listed materials in exchange for a drop of Mythical Creature blood.

After the Tarot Club meeting, Klein considered his plans and handled members’ ritual requests. Aboard the Golden Dream, Lorry prepared to perform the secret art of Spirit Ascension with Sebastian’s guidance.

• Klein ended the Tarot Club gathering and reflected on his plans to digest his potion, search for mermaids, and investigate whether Leonard had been parasitized.
• Klein responded to a series of ritual pleas and noticed the fifteen thousand pounds he was holding as a guarantor.
• Madam Messenger gave Lorry a large collection of Beyonder Characteristics worth nearly fifteen thousand pounds and told him to remember to pray.
• Sebastian told Lorry that he had invested at least thirty thousand pounds in the secret art of Spirit Ascension and directed him to prepare an altar.
• Lorry completed the altar, arranged the Beyonder Characteristics, and followed Sebastian’s instruction to pray for divine assistance.

Lorry used a mystic art to extract the spirituality-enhancing parts from several Beyonder Characteristics, but nearly succumbed to the power of appetite before the God of Knowledge and Wisdom’s protection cleared his mind. While the process continued, Sebastian explained the divine origins of some mystic arts and how potions and the cauldron’s extract increased spirituality.

• Lorry prayed to the God of Knowledge and Wisdom for protection, then used the White Bone Ring to begin the mystic art.
• The Beyonder Characteristics shattered and flowed into the altar’s cauldron, releasing an enticing aroma that made Lorry reach toward it.
• The Wall of Spirituality formed a barrier and cleared Lorry’s mind before appetite could control him.
• Sebastian explained that Lorry’s prayer had protected him from becoming a puppet of appetite and described the different origins of Mysticism Mentor mystic arts.
• Sebastian said his Spirit Ascension mystic art came from divine revelation and identified appetite as the power involved in the ongoing ritual.
• Sebastian explained that potions contained different parts of Beyonder Characteristics, including parts that increased spirituality, and that the cauldron’s soup extracted those parts.

Sebastian explained why duplicate potions gave Lorry diminishing benefits and how surplus Beyonder Characteristics could be inherited by children. After revealing his own advancement ritual, Sebastian announced that the mystic art had succeeded, and Lorry drank the resulting concoction.

• Sebastian explained that duplicate potion characteristics repelled one another, limiting how much of them Lorry could use.
• Sebastian told Lorry that surplus Beyonder Characteristics could pass to his children, potentially making them Beyonders from birth.
• Lorry learned that children inherited characteristics only when their Beyonder parent had used characteristics to concoct potions.
• Sebastian described choosing the omniscience ritual to become a Mysticism Mentor and claimed his knowledge surpassed most Church scholars below Demigod level.
• Sebastian announced that the mystic art had succeeded, and Lorry drank the multicolored liquid from the cauldron.

Lorry used the first Spirit Ascension secret art and greatly increased his spirituality, then used the second and gained remarkable physical toughness and strength. After testing his new body by shooting himself and lifting his bed, he confirmed that the secret art’s supposed side effect had transformed him substantially.

• Lorry drank the first multicolored potion and endured intense pain as his spirituality expanded.
• Sebastian estimated that Lorry’s spirituality had reached at least the level of a Sequence 5 Beyonder and urged him to use the second secret art.
• Lorry drank the second potion, suffered widespread bleeding, and survived the secret art’s physical transformation.
• Sebastian said Lorry’s toughness was at least comparable to a Sequence 6 Zombie or Dawn Knight and challenged him to test it.
• Lorry shot himself in the shoulder and forehead without injury, then easily lifted his heavy wooden bed.

Lorry used the Book of Dimensions to create a Marionettist illusion and discovered that his spirituality was unusually strong. Later, aboard the Golden Dream, Edwina prepared medicine for his injuries and told him she was researching reusable Artisan charms, prompting him to ask where she had obtained her Artisan abilities.

• Lorry used the Book of Dimensions to create a lifelike Marionettist illusion modeled on Klein Moretti, spending a little over forty-five percent of his spirituality.
• Sebastian marveled at Lorry’s spiritual strength and credited his lucky item with helping his secret arts succeed on the first attempt.
• Lorry visited Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina aboard the Golden Dream and asked her to prepare medicine for the pain and bruising caused by Spirit Ascension.
• Edwina explained that she was researching reusable Artisan charms to earn contribution credit toward her next potion.
• Lorry asked Edwina where her Artisan abilities came from.

Lorry discussed buying blood for research and planning the Norgar Island exploration with Edwina. Later, he sensed danger aboard the Golden Dream and raised the alarm as the Death Announcer approached.

• Lorry asked Edwina to contact her teacher about selling blood for research, and she agreed to pass on the request despite warning that he might refuse.
• Edwina told Lorry that the Golden Dream would reach Norgar Island in half a month and assigned him to lead the exploration, after which he shared his preliminary ideas.
• Danitz waited anxiously for Lorry to leave Edwina, then approached him and followed him when Lorry asked for help returning to his room.
• Lorry sensed an approaching threat, activated a charm, and shouted for everyone to return to their stations and prepare for battle.
• Danitz spotted the Death Announcer advancing through the darkness.

The Death Announcer, commanded by the Pirate King Agalito, pursued the Golden Dream, and Edwina organized the crew to flee and prepare their mystical defenses. The ship was still chasing them as Edwina assigned Bru Walls to operate the Wind-blessed Sail because she was unwell.

• Danitz and Lorry spotted the Death Announcer, the legendary ship of the King of Immortality, Agalito.
• Edwina ordered the Golden Dream to turn around, rallied the crew, and explained that Agalito might abandon the chase if the risks outweighed the gains.
• Edwina calmed the sailors and led the Beyonders to prepare the main cannon and other defenses.
• Edwina assigned Bru Walls to operate the Wind-blessed Sail and told the others to provide him with spirituality because she was not in good condition.
• Tinplate reported that the Death Announcer was still pursuing the Golden Dream.

As the Death Announcer closed in, the Golden Dream’s crew powered the Wind-blessed Sail and escaped by flying over the sea. Agalito ordered the pursuit to continue and wondered whether the key Edwina had found was connected to the Abyss.

• Lorry offered Edwina Spirituality Restoration charms, but she said her poor condition involved more than her spirituality and trusted Bru Walls to take charge.
• Edwina asked Lorry how much spirituality charms made from Sea God Kalvetua’s scales could restore, and he suggested she research the answer herself.
• Bru Walls ordered the crew to pour their spirituality into the Golden Rudder, then used the helm to make the Golden Dream fly away from the Death Announcer.
• Agalito ordered his crew to sacrifice the prisoners to the Death Announcer and keep pursuing the Golden Dream, insisting that the ship could not fly for long and that he had planted the Seed of Desire.
• Alone on deck, Agalito wondered whether the key Edwina had found belonged to the Abyss rather than Death.
• The Golden Dream landed safely on the sea, and its exhausted crew saw that the Death Announcer had not followed.

The Death Announcer caught up with the Golden Dream, forcing Edwina to organize the crew for battle while she and Lorry considered their options. As the ships closed, Orpheus fired the Purification Cannon and Edwina ordered Agalito to stop advancing.

• The pirates mocked Danitz for boasting, but Lorry spotted the Death Announcer approaching behind them.
• Edwina ordered the sailors and Beyonders to prepare for battle, while Lorry asked whether she could contact a demigod and offered a backup plan if negotiations and combat failed.
• Edwina assigned Bru Walls to organize the Beyonders and Orpheus to operate the Purification Cannon.
• Orpheus fired the cannon ahead of the Death Announcer as Edwina used her conch-shaped charm to command Agalito to stop advancing.

The King of Immortality Agalito demanded that the Golden Dream hand over something he wanted, and Lorry realized Agalito had tracked the ship because of his own aura. As Edwina and Lorry discussed separating to protect the crew, Agalito’s deadline drove two sailors into panic and violence.

• Edwina fired the Purification Cannon at the Death Announcer, and Agalito stopped his flagship several hundred meters away.
• Agalito demanded Death’s Key, then said he wanted something aboard the Golden Dream and gave Edwina three minutes to comply.
• Edwina told Lorry that the key was their only gain from their recent exploration and suspected Agalito wanted something related to his advancement.
• Lorry recognized Agalito as a Devil Pathway Beyonder and realized the aura of the Abyss card Pali carried had drawn him to the Golden Dream.
• Lorry urged Edwina to take the ship and leave without him, but a frightened sailor dropped a cannonball while another prepared to light its fuse, prompting Edwina to shout for someone to stop him.

Agalito’s emotional manipulation threw the Golden Dream’s crew into chaos, but Edwina used a Copper Whistle to incapacitate them and launched a counterattack against the Death Announcer. Lorry fled toward Norgar Island as Agalito ordered his ship to pursue him, and the Death Announcer rapidly closed the distance.

• Agalito’s emotional influence drove Danitz’s sailors into fighting, panic, and despair while Tinplate and Bucket’s crews also lost control.
• Lorry explained the effects of Agalito’s ability and urged Edwina to use Soothing charms and the Wind-blessed Sail before he left to draw Agalito away.
• Edwina blew the Copper Whistle, making the pirates and Beyonders collapse and retch, then Orpheus fired the Purification Cannon at the Death Announcer.
• Edwina ordered the Golden Dream’s Beyonders to prepare the Wind-blessed Sail as black mist from the Death Announcer clashed with the cannon’s white light.
• Agalito ordered the Death Announcer to pursue Lorry and increase its speed with sacrifices, while Lorry saw it gaining on him and took out the Book of Dimensions.