Chapter Summaries

Kallen learned that Derius had secretly remained loyal to the God of Order despite becoming the Pamireth Church’s Divine Son, and discovered that Derius was raising a Space Worm-Semes inside his body. After Neo treated the worm’s awakening, Kallen suspected Derius had known the hotel food was drugged and had deliberately tested him earlier.

• Bishop Byrne told Derius that the Pamireth Church’s inheritance ritual would erase his identity, and instructed him to continue negotiations while acting as its loyal Divine Son.
• Kallen received Derius’s meal trolley and later told Fanny and Peige that Derius was secretly one of their own; Peige explained that the squad’s contact with the outside world had been cut off.
• After waking before dawn, Kallen answered Derius’s call and helped him open a protected medicine bottle so Derius could eat a black pellet.
• Neo arrived and suppressed a Space Worm-Semes inside Derius, who revealed he had swallowed it to become Divine Son but refused to change his faith.
• Neo explained that the evening meal had contained a harmless drug that stimulated Space Worms, and said he would report that Derius had not formed a Spiritual Bridge with his worm.
• Kallen told Neo he suspected Derius had known the food was drugged because he had deliberately invited Kallen to drink wine earlier.

Kallen weighed suspicions about Derius and heard Richard’s observations before attending a welcome banquet and the heated negotiations over the Pamireth Church joining the Order God Church. As the delegations clashed over sweeping demands, Kallen wondered what Old Saman was doing.

• Kallen stayed awake through the night, ordered breakfast, and spoke with Richard, who reported that Bishop Byrne seemed increasingly uncertain and that the captain had appeared to laugh.
• Kallen ate breakfast with Richard and promised to assign him to his side on a future mission; Peige and Fanny woke, traded teasing insults with Kallen, and prepared for the welcome banquet.
• Kallen, Peige, and Fanny attended the banquet, where they had no seats or food, then joined the negotiations after they were moved forward from the afternoon.
• Derius presented the Pamireth Church’s terms for affiliation, while the Order God Church demanded control of Pamireth’s mission stations, administration, and spatial institutions.
• The delegations argued fiercely, with Pamireth clerics threatening to die rather than submit and Order Law Expounders threatening to invade Messenger Space.
• Watching Derius fight for Pamireth’s interests, Kallen remembered Derius’s earlier declaration of loyalty and wondered if Old Saman was discussing his funeral with Alfred.

Kallen endured the exhausting negotiations and helped Fanny and Peige get food, while Leon revealed that he welcomed rumors derailing his arranged marriage. The next morning, Derius turned the Order God Church’s threat into a standoff by revealing that Elder Xidi and the Seventh Knight Order had entered a trap, and he refused to back down despite threats of death.

• Kallen noticed Order God Church clerics making frequent restroom trips and found Leon distributing bread and milk, which he shared with Fanny and Peige.
• Leon thanked Kallen because rumors linking him to Ophelia had disrupted a political marriage alliance Leon did not want.
• After the negotiations dragged on until one in the morning, Kallen ate with Derius, who said the following day would be easier.
• The Order God Church announced that Elder Xidi and the Seventh Knight Order had reached the Messenger Space, pressuring the Pamireth Church to concede.
• Derius revealed that Elder Xidi had been given false coordinates and that her forces were trapped in an unstable prison space.
• When Woforen threatened that the Pamireth delegation would not leave the hotel alive if talks failed, Derius said his church had already prepared for its own funerals.

Kallen observed the Order God Church and Pamireth Church negotiate a merger while sharing food and gossip with Leon and Laure. After the preliminary agreements were finalized, Bishop Byrne praised Derius, then told him and Kallen to listen for the sound of a brick hitting the ground.

• Kallen listened as negotiations resumed, then shared food with Leon and Laure, who discussed church troubles, Vicolai, and rumors of the gods awakening.
• Leon and Laure returned with Kallen to the Conference Hall, where Derius agreed to put the Messenger Space teleportation formations under Order God Church control.
• Kallen, Leon, and Laure discussed the church’s concessions and decline after negotiations continued until midnight and the representatives exchanged preliminary agreement drafts.
• Bishop Byrne arrived to see Derius and praised his performance, leaving Derius confused and anxious.
• Bishop Byrne told Derius and Kallen to listen, then announced that they should hear the sound of a brick hitting the ground.

Bishop Byrne revealed that he had arranged for the cage space to collapse and gave Derius until the next morning to warn the Pamireth Church before the bricks were pulled out. After Kallen reported the confrontation to Neo, Neo recalled his own early days on elevator duty and mocked Richard as he left.

• Bishop Byrne defeated Derius, restrained his Space Worm, and confirmed that the cage space had collapsed.
• Bishop Byrne reprimanded Derius for becoming attached to the Pamireth Church, then gave him until the ten o’clock demolition to send a warning.
• Kallen cleaned Derius’s blood, then told Neo what had happened and described the Ankara Hotel as a prison.
• Neo told Kallen to take the hotel’s secrets calmly and said the Order God Church was not as dark as he imagined.
• Neo gave Richard a silver mask and recalled standing elevator duty for a month ten years earlier, then laughed and wondered if he had been as stupid as Richard.

During the negotiations, Derius warned the Pamireth Church Venerable that an infiltrator planned to sabotage the Cage Space holding the Seventh Knight Order, and urged the Church to withdraw its maintenance squad. The Cage Space collapsed anyway, and the Order Senate declared the Pamireth God an evil god and the Pamireth Church an evil cult before declaring war on Pamireth.

• Derius met the Church Venerable through a communication formation and persuaded him to withdraw the Formation Maintenance Squad and let the Seventh Knight Order escape.
• Kallen told Leon and Laure about Derius's warning while sharing food with them, and they speculated about the infiltrator's identity.
• Letters arrived reporting that the Cage Space containing the Seventh Knight Order had collapsed, leaving the Order God Church furious and the Pamireth delegation stricken.
• Woforen accused the Pamireth Church of using its Spatial Divine Artifact, [Silence], to destroy the space holding the Seventh Knight Order.
• Woforen read the Order Senate's divine decree, which condemned the Pamireth God and Church and declared war on Pamireth.

After the Order God Church declared war on the Pamireth Church, Neo used Kallen to warn several colleagues who sold information to other churches, then took Kallen to Green Vine Cemetery. Old Saman learned of the war and offered to destroy the new church administration building, while Neo told him to keep preparing for his funeral.

• Chief Bishop Woforen read the Order Senate’s decree naming the Pamireth God an Evil God and the Pamireth Church an evil cult, and Order’s forces arrested the Pamireth Church delegation, including Derius.
• Neo dismissed the squad after the security assignment, then ordered Kallen to knock Peige down and make her bleed; Kallen obeyed, and Neo took him to a bowling alley.
• At the bowling alley, Kallen beat Gerui and Marlow until they bled, and Neo explained that the warning would discourage them from talking out of turn or selling information.
• Neo told Kallen that the Order God Church had moles and that the delegation’s loose selection process had allowed spies and other people with church connections to join.
• Kallen and Neo visited Green Vine Cemetery, where Old Saman learned the Order God Church had declared war and offered to tear down the new church administration building again; Neo told him to keep preparing for his funeral.

Neo took Kallen to a concealed Order God Church military base, where they watched the Third Knight Order assemble and discussed the church’s military strength. The chapter ended as the Pamireth Church’s Executive Director emerged through a Blue Light Gate and declared that her church was prepared.

• Neo warned Old Saman not to ruin his carefully prepared funeral, and Old Saman believed him before returning to his conversation with Alfred.
• Neo drove Kallen north, followed a flock of crows, and used the VIP Carriage’s formation to cross a cliff onto a hidden military road.
• Neo showed Kallen the Third Knight Order assembling, including its infantry, siege weapons, cavalry, and coffins used to awaken the dead.
• Neo raised the question of who had caused the Cage Space to collapse, concealed himself and Kallen with Order Black Mist, and watched the Legion Commander arrive.
• A platform rose from the sea and formed a Blue Light Gate, through which the Pamireth Church’s Executive Director appeared and told the Legion Commander that the Pamireth Church had made all preparations.

Kallen and Neo discussed the Order God Church’s plan to use its conflict with the Pamireth Church as cover for a surprise attack on an Orthodox Church, then visited a Black Market bank. When news leaked and Spatial Gem Vouchers began plunging, Kallen proposed buying them, while Neo revealed he planned to short-sell after learning the true target.

• Kallen and Neo concluded that the Order God Church had secretly allied with the Pamireth Church and was using troop movements and public hostility as a smokescreen for an attack on an Orthodox Church.
• Neo explained that the Pamireth Church’s Messenger Space could speed up the transport of knight orders and make the large-scale magical disturbances appear normal amid the staged conflict.
• Neo took Kallen to a Black Market bar and bank, where Kallen examined the falling value of the Pamireth Church’s Spatial Gem Vouchers.
• After the bank crowd saw the vouchers plunge, Kallen suggested buying them before they rebounded once the war’s real target became clear.
• Neo lent Kallen twenty thousand Order Vouchers for the trade and said he was waiting to learn which Orthodox Church the Order God Church would target before short-selling.

Richard returned home after his first mission and found his family gathered, while Neo and Kallen prepared to profit from Order’s impending strike against the Reincarnation Church. Derius learned that the war had been planned around evidence of Reincarnation’s attack, and that the Church Venerable who supported him was his grandfather.

• Richard reunited with Kaixi and spoke with Delong, who worried about Eisen’s withdrawal and asked Richard to find a psychologist for his father.
• Richard noticed his family leaving together, then called Neo and reported that Delong had reacted to his warning about the secret mission.
• Neo explained to Kallen that Order’s target was the Reincarnation Church and predicted a coordinated attack on its York City sites; he placed a large wager on Reincarnation Vouchers.
• Derius met his father, Bishop Byrne, who revealed that Order had controlled the Pamireth Church and would use evidence against Reincarnation to declare war.
• Byrne told Derius that the Church Venerable who had supported him was his grandfather.

Byrne revealed that Order had secretly controlled the Pamireth Church’s succession for generations and expected Derius to lead the church while remaining loyal to both Order and Pamireth. Meanwhile, Neo and Kallen watched Order seal the Reincarnation Church’s administrative building as the Seventh Knight Order arrived at Maima Island to attack a core holy site.

• Byrne told Derius that the Church Venerables’ infusion in the Messenger Space made them loyal to Order, and explained that the Order God Church intended to restore the Pamireth Church under Derius’s leadership.
• Derius accepted his role, though Byrne said he would remain bound to Order and would enter a marriage alliance whose child would inherit Byrne’s position.
• Neo and Kallen watched the Throne of Order formation descend and seal the Reincarnation Church’s administrative building in Vien.
• Balo led the Seventh Knight Order through a blue gate onto Maima Island, accompanied by Elder Xidi.
• Balo ordered his troops to attack the island, which he identified as the birthplace of the God of Reincarnation.

Talina and Bersha discussed their searches and the Reincarnation Church’s role in the destruction of the prison space before the Order God Church sealed the Church Administration Building with the Throne of Order. As Talina prepared to escape with Bersha, Kallen and Neo watched from nearby, and a sudden breach in the formation gave them the unexpected opening they had hoped for.

• Talina and Bersha talked about Bersha’s search for a man and Talina’s search for her brother, whose secret technique used other women’s minds to recreate his first love’s memories.
• Talina told Bersha that the Order God Church had lost a knight order in the collapsed prison space and that the incident would strengthen an alliance against the Pamireth Church.
• The Throne of Order sealed the Church Administration Building, prompting Talina to order Loton to use the Reincarnation Crystal to open an escape route and to bring Bersha with her.
• Kallen and Neo waited nearby while Neo prayed for the sealing to remain undisturbed, and Kallen worried that Neo’s changed demeanor reflected an awakening consciousness.
• A black vortex opened on the rooftop, allowing figures to escape through the Throne’s formation, and Neo remarked that God liked to hear things backward.

Delong and the Order God Church sealed the Reincarnation Church’s administrative building, but Talina escaped using a Reincarnation Crystal as Neo’s Hound Dogs Squad pursued her. Kallen saved Richard’s parents during the chase, while Talina and Bersha reached a hidden teleportation point and found a silver-masked man waiting inside.

• Delong maintained the Throne of Order around the administrative building until a Reincarnation Crystal tore open a breach, and he sent Eisen’s team after the escaping guards.
• Eisen and Kaixi pursued the guards, but their self-detonations and Rodon’s attack left Kaixi gravely wounded and Eisen fighting for his life.
• Neo ordered the Hound Dogs Squad to pursue Talina, the high-ranking Reincarnation Church member who had broken out with the crystal, while Kallen worried about Eisen and Kaixi.
• Neo allowed Kallen to help Richard’s parents, and Kallen killed Rodon before Eisen began treating Kaixi’s injuries.
• Talina and Bersha entered a concealed teleportation chamber beneath Gels Photo Studio, where they discovered a silver-masked man who said he had set up the formation.

Neo defeated Talina and took her armor, daggers, and boots, then let her leave while telling her to kill his devoted Order teammate outside. Bersha agreed to resume investigating the old notebook and hidden formation beneath the photography studio.

• Neo pierced Talina's shoulder with a beam of light, and she surrendered her leather armor, daggers, and boots after he threatened to take them from her corpse.
• Bersha explained that she had found the hidden formation through an old notebook, and Neo urged her to resume investigating its author and friends.
• Neo told Talina that Order had declared war on Reincarnation and was attacking its holy sites, then refused to escort her out of York City.
• Neo opened the studio entrance and let Talina go, warning her that his handsome, greatsword-carrying teammate was outside.
• Neo told Talina to kill his teammate, claiming that the man had been only a Divine Servant when Neo assessed him two months earlier.

Talina tried to escape after leaving Neo and Bersha, but Kallen stopped her and revealed his loyalty to Order. Their fight exposed a Reincarnation Contract with a Raymond Church figure, who had returned from death inside Talina; Kallen faced the revelation as she broke free of his cage.

• Bersha chose to stay with Neo, who warned her not to overstep and then let her watch an image of the photo studio.
• Talina left the studio and met Kallen, who refused to let an enemy of Order go despite her attempts to persuade and bribe him.
• Talina revealed a dark red bead and attacked Kallen, but he trapped her in an Order-Cage.
• A figure appeared through the bead and helped Talina escape the cage with an assassination technique.
• The figure identified itself as a Raymond Church member who had enabled Talina to return from death through a Reincarnation Contract.

Neo explained to Bersha why he despised the Reincarnation Church and began to understand why Order would attack it. Kallen defeated Talina’s contracted souls by freeing them from her control, then declared that the Reincarnation Church had disrupted the Order between life and death.

• Neo told Bersha that Order’s awakened dead were willing participants, unlike the souls imprisoned by Reincarnation, and condemned the Reincarnation Church’s teachings.
• Bersha said some leaders at the Central Hub wanted to use Reincarnation’s strength to revive the Church of Light, and Neo connected their plans to the rumored return of the gods.
• Kallen fought Talina, surviving her dagger attacks and countering her summoned soul creatures with Order and Light powers.
• Kallen’s black chain reached Talina and turned white, stripping the Reincarnation Contracts from her three bound souls and freeing them.
• Talina panicked as her faith in Reincarnation collapsed, and Kallen said the church had disrupted the Order between life and death.

Neo investigated the hostility between the God of Order and the God of Reincarnation, while Kallen defeated Talina and freed the dead souls bound to her. The Order God Church prepared to take the Reincarnation Church’s headquarters, and Delong read the Divine Edict declaring war over the disruption of the order between life and death.

• Neo questioned Bersha about the gods’ relationship and learned that the God of Order had once asked the God of Light to oppose the Gate of Reincarnation, but the God of Light had refused.
• Kallen freed the three dead souls from Talina, and they killed her; Neo burned her body, then agreed to sell Kallen’s contract pearl and equipment.
• Neo told Kallen that the garrison had surrounded the Reincarnation Church’s Church Administration Building and that their squad would continue guarding the Pamireth Church’s Divine Son.
• The garrison negotiated with Sako, who prepared to surrender as a prisoner of war, while Eisen and Kaixi watched from nearby.
• Delong read the Divine Edict declaring war on the Reincarnation Church because its existence had disrupted the proper order between life and death.

Kallen questioned Neo about his strange, unresolved inner life, and the two agreed to exchange secrets in stages. Neo took Kallen to Lemaire Pottery Gallery and revealed that the face beneath his mask was raw flesh because he had given his own facial skin to make Kallen’s mask.

• Kallen and Neo met at a café, where Kallen questioned Neo about what had changed after Elisa’s death and concluded that Neo was knowingly exploring something within himself rather than losing control.
• Neo and Kallen discussed the risks of change and agreed to exchange secrets gradually, with each revealing information of equal value.
• Neo told Kallen that Bersha, a Divine Envoy of the Church of Light, was alive and investigating matters for him, and warned Kallen to wear a mask on future missions.
• Neo drove Kallen to Lemaire Pottery Gallery, where Mr. Lemar let them enter the basement collection room after Neo threatened to abduct Selena’s soul again.
• Before the portraits, Neo removed his mask and revealed that his face was raw flesh, confirming that the skin Lemar had used to make Kallen’s mask had been Neo’s own.

Kallen and Neo traded secrets, and Neo explained how he survived a shipwreck, was polluted by Light, and reclaimed himself by switching identities with the being inside him. Kallen then revealed that he was an Immoreles and that his grandfather had blown up the Order Temple.

• Neo showed Kallen how his ring turned his face into a mask, and Kallen said an evil god had modified his body.
• Kallen identified Raniedal as the evil god and described him as a pet dog whose nature remained dangerous beneath his friendly appearance.
• Neo recounted how a sea eye wrecked his ship, leaving him stranded in an undersea cave, where he ate a preserved corpse and survived while the other members of his squad died.
• Neo explained that the corpse's Light gradually polluted his body and soul, so he used his mask to let the being take over while he tried to convert it to Order.
• Neo said he eventually killed the part of the being that had awakened, then revealed that Elisa had shared her Bloodthirsty Otherworldly Demon bloodline with him after saving him.
• Kallen told Neo that his surname was Immoreles and that his grandfather had blown up the Order Temple.

Kallen told Neo that his grandfather, Dis Immoreles, had destroyed the Order Temple with one of his three godhead fragments and now slept at home to protect their family from the Order Church. Neo revealed that the man he had eaten bore the Phileas surname, and the chapter ended with Kallen insisting his own Mask could not be removed.

• Kallen explained that Dis Immoreles detonated a godhead fragment inside the Order Temple, surrendered another to its elders, and fell into a deep sleep with the third to keep the Order Church from interfering with the Immoreles Family.
• Neo told Kallen that the man he had eaten had shouted the Phileas surname, and Kallen linked the family to the Church of Light's last Pope as Neo began investigating the man's influence on himself.
• Neo asked Kallen to use his judgment if he ever stopped being himself, and Kallen said his goal was to meet the God of Order.
• Neo warned Kallen not to get too close to his Mask, then drove away after dropping him at the Funeral Society.
• Kallen returned home, spoke with Puer and Alfred, and went to shower before concluding that his own Mask could not be taken off.