Chapter Summaries

Lumian asked Ludwig to appraise Ombella’s umbilical cord and blood from an Evil Spirit, then gave him the Deprivation Bullet. Unable to sleep, Lumian tried to summon Aurora’s Contract Creature, White Paper, without success, before Madam Magician’s messenger delivered a coin pouch and a letter.

• Ludwig explained that Ombella’s umbilical cord could disguise Lumian’s aura and bloodline, but using it risked attracting the Great Mother’s attention, so Lumian decided to consult Madam Magician first.
• Ludwig tasted the powdered blood from the Evil Spirit Aden and identified it as coming from a man whose traits and condition matched the Devil Warlock Bourman, leading Lumian to suspect the spirit was Bourman’s own imprint from the depths of death.
• Lumian gave Ludwig the Deprivation Bullet, which Ludwig ate and praised, then agreed to look for the organization that had made it.
• Unable to sleep, Lumian recalled Aurora and attempted to summon her Contract Creature, White Paper, but nothing appeared.
• At six in the morning, Madam Magician’s Doll messenger delivered a coin pouch and a folded letter, then chided Lumian for smelling of alcohol.

Lumian examined his rewards, including the Iron-Blooded Knight formula and two dangerous weapons, then shared the items with Franca, Jenna, and Anthony. After they divided the rewards, Madam Magician ordered Lumian to go to the Blue Avenger.

• Lumian read the descriptions of the Chilling Blade and Winter Is Coming, learning their effects, limits, and dangerous drawbacks.
• Lumian studied and memorized the Iron-Blooded Knight potion formula, whose ritual required a tightly coordinated team of at least thirty people.
• Lumian showed the formula and rewards to Franca, Jenna, and Anthony, warning them that reading the formula caused intense mental influence.
• Jenna chose the Traveler's Bag, Anthony took Winter Is Coming, and Franca claimed the Chilling Blade.
• Madam Magician appeared and bluntly ordered Lumian to go to the Blue Avenger.

Lumian explored the Blue Avenger with the Blood Emperor’s residual aura and found a hidden hall beneath the ship. There he saw a figure resembling Alista Tudor on an Iron Throne, and the figure slowly raised his head.

• Lumian activated the Blood Emperor’s residual aura and searched the Blue Avenger while Alger and the Magician watched.
• Lumian descended the stairs to the lower cabins and realized they stretched far beyond the ship’s apparent dimensions.
• Lumian stopped a barrage of blazing white flame spears by thrusting forward his sealed right palm.
• Lumian entered a hidden hall and saw a figure resembling Alista Tudor seated on an Iron Throne, surrounded by damaged stone chairs representing the five great noble houses.
• As Lumian studied the hall and approached the throne, the figure slowly raised his head and revealed cold, iron-black eyes.

Lumian was nearly controlled by the Blood Emperor’s residual influence inside a strange starlit space, but the Underworld Daoist’s brand helped him escape the Silver Full-Length Mirror’s reflection. He concluded that the mirror might enable Alista Tudor’s revival and turned to investigate the Starlight Gates.

• Lumian was compelled toward an Iron Throne and fought the Blood Emperor’s influence as his appearance began changing to resemble Alista Tudor.
• On the Blue Avenger, Alger noticed Lumian’s stiffening movements and lengthening, blood-tinged hair, while Madam Magician prepared a Sealed Artifact to locate him.
• The Underworld Daoist’s brand inflicted deathly cold and decay on Lumian’s right palm, restoring his will before he reached the Silver Full-Length Mirror.
• Lumian saw his reflection transforming into Alista Tudor, rolled out of the mirror’s range, and endured a frenzied scream and pounding from within the mirror.
• Lumian recognized the starlit corridor and reasoned that the mirror and the Blood Emperor’s residual aura could be part of a revival scheme; he then examined the Starlight Gates.

Lumian explored a Starlight Gate, defeated a powerful suit of armor, and recovered three unusual items before Madam Magician warned him away from the other rooms. Back aboard the Blue Avenger, Madam Magician identified the sword as being made from an Iron-Blooded Knight Beyonder characteristic.

• Lumian entered a Starlight Gate despite receiving no warning from Termiboros and was attacked by an iron-black suit of armor wielding a flaming sword.
• Lumian used Teleportation and repeated strikes with Harvest to shatter the armor, then found a strange candle and a piece of human skin bearing a Sequence 4 formula.
• Lumian stored the candle, the skin, and the sword in his Traveler's Bag without testing them.
• Madam Magician warned Lumian that the other rooms were too dangerous, so he stopped exploring and left a Mirror Image Mark on the Silver Full-Length Mirror.
• Lumian returned to the Blue Avenger, where Madam Magician said the three items were closely related to Hunters and Witches and identified the sword as made from an Iron-Blooded Knight Beyonder characteristic.

Lumian examined the Sword of Courage, a Witch of Despair potion formula, and a Corpse Oil Candle with Madam Magician and The Hanged Man. When he lit the candle and meditated, he saw a misty street and a strange train resembling a scene he had witnessed in Fourth Epoch Trier, connected to the Second Layer of the Special Mirror World.

• The Hanged Man warned Lumian to accept that he could not escape every arrangement, make use of gifts from destiny, and stay alert to plans for the Blood Emperor to revive within him.
• Madam Magician examined the black sword and explained its powers, its dangerous effect of inflating courage, and its need to be sealed among at least thirty ordinary swords.
• Madam Magician identified the pure white leather as an ancient Witch of Despair's potion formula and warned that it carried mystical pathogens.
• Madam Magician identified the candle as a Corpse Oil Candle made with the corpse oil of an Iron-Blooded Knight and a Witch of Despair, and Lumian decided to test it while they watched over him.
• Lumian lit the Corpse Oil Candle and meditated, then saw a black-tinged mist, a dim street, and a strange two-carriage train reminiscent of Fourth Epoch Trier and the Second Layer of the Special Mirror World.

Lumian’s meditation with the corpse-wax candle connected him to a mist-shrouded city and nearly caused him to lose control. Madam Magician and Mr. Hanged Man explained the candle’s risks and the possible benefits and dangers of using Ombella’s umbilical cord remnants, leaving Lumian considering their connection to an ancient Harvest Goddess.

• Lumian saw a strange train, a fan-wielding lady, and a dark tower during meditation before Madam Magician forcibly woke him.
• Madam Magician explained that the candle had connected Lumian to a real city and identified Fourth Epoch Trier and Bansy as places where its effects could intensify.
• Madam Magician told Lumian to use the Sword of Courage as a Sealed Artifact for now and said she would restore it when he needed to make the Iron-Blooded Knight potion.
• Lumian asked whether he should eat Ombella’s umbilical cord remnants, and Mr. Hanged Man and Madam Magician warned him about the risks while describing potential benefits.
• Madam Magician said the remnants could help Lumian approach a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact formed from Ombella’s remains, and Lumian asked whether she meant the ancient Harvest Goddess.

Lumian shared the Witch of Despair potion formula with Franca and Jenna after exploring the Blue Avenger, while Madam Magician warned him about the risks of acquiring Ombella’s remains and discussed Resurrection Island. The formula’s advancement ritual required causing a plague among more than thirty thousand people, leaving Franca and Jenna horrified as Lumian suggested they switch pathways instead.

• Madam Magician confirmed that Ombella’s remains were a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact and said Lumian would need to be female and betrayed by a direct relative to consume the umbilical-cord remnant; doing so would make the Pride Armor target him permanently.
• Lumian told Madam Magician and Alger that Bourman had been influenced by Harrison and had killed an evil spirit suspected to be himself; Alger asked Lumian to report anyone of unknown origins found around death, darkness, twilight, or decay.
• Lumian returned to Franca and Jenna and described his preliminary exploration of the Blue Avenger, including finding the Witch of Despair formula and a corpse oil candle.
• Franca and Jenna read the formula and learned that its ritual required engulfing more than thirty thousand people in a severe plague, with greater death and suffering improving the results.
• Franca and Jenna objected to carrying out the ritual, and Lumian suggested switching to the Iron-Blooded Knight pathway after Sequence 5 and possibly returning to the Witch pathway later.

Lumian, Franca, and Jenna discussed advancing through the Hunter and Witch pathways, preparing for their rituals, and investigating the Moses Ascetic Order. After checking a mirror mark and warning Franca about the Witch Sect, Lumian returned home and asked Ludwig what was needed to cook the Umbilical Cord Remains Father Montserrat had carried.

• Lumian suggested Franca and Jenna could switch pathways and take turns forming Iron-Blooded Knight squads, and Franca and Jenna considered the idea.
• Franca asked Lumian to investigate the Moses Ascetic Order and help find Lugano’s Harvest Sacrifice Priest formula; she also offered to sell Jenna’s Dream Thief Beyonder characteristic.
• Lumian sensed a clear mirror mark in Moran Avigny’s study and an indistinct one in the Blue Avenger’s treasury, but his intuition warned him not to teleport to the latter.
• Jenna left to search hospital morgues for Witch opportunities and corpses of plague victims, while Lumian told Franca she might have to become a Witch of Despair.
• Franca said she would ask Madam Judgement to end her Witch Sect mission if she could not find a substitute for the despair ritual.
• Back at his apartment, Lumian asked Ludwig what seasonings were needed for the third method of cooking Father Montserrat’s Umbilical Cord Remains, shocking Lugano.

Lumian ate Ludwig’s Source of Life and dreamed of a child crying “Mommy,” waking with an unfamiliar change but no sign that he had become the Great Mother’s Divine Child. He then staked out the Trier Catacombs, where he recognized an aged administrator he had seen before.

• Ludwig explained how to prepare the Source of Life, and Lumian ate the finished dish before going to sleep.
• Lumian dreamed of a little girl crying for her mother and woke feeling changed, though he found nothing unusual on his body.
• Lumian reassured Lugano that he was neither carrying the Divine Child nor becoming it, then went to the Trier Catacombs to look for Harrison.
• Lumian entertained a group of university students at the Catacombs entrance with frightening stories and startled them with a skeletal hand.
• An aged Catacombs Administrator appeared, and Lumian recognized him from the tomb chamber containing the Samaritan Woman Spring.

Lumian followed an elderly Catacombs Administrator to the fourth level and destroyed a giant mutated skeleton with the Sword of Courage. After Lumian asked about visitors to the Samaritan Woman Spring, the administrator told him to put out his candle, and darkness swallowed Lumian when his own candle went out.

• An elderly Catacombs Administrator found Lumian at the Old Ossuary Entrance and asked him to deal with mutated remains on the fourth level.
• Lumian followed the administrator to the Catacombs' southwest corner, where a seven-headed skeleton was gathering bones for a giant sword.
• The skeleton attacked, and Lumian used the Sword of Courage to defeat it in a series of clashes.
• Lumian asked whether anyone had visited the Samaritan Woman Spring in recent months, and the administrator told him to put out his candle.
• The administrator's candle went out without erasing him, then darkness enveloped Lumian and extinguished his candle.

Lumian used the Underworld Daoist's seal to survive the Catacombs' darkness and learned that an outsider resembling someone from Franca's former world had approached the spring. After deciding to continue investigating despite the danger, he returned to Franca with questions about the People in the Mirror still ahead.

• When the White Candle went out, Lumian relied on the Underworld Daoist's seal instead of teleporting and found that it let him endure the Catacombs' darkness temporarily.
• The elderly Catacombs Administrator told Lumian that he had stopped three people from approaching the spring, including a blessed of darkness and death with a Hunter and an outsider who felt similar to the administrators.
• Lumian concluded that the outsider was likely Harrison and might be the man Franca had encountered, leading him to suspect that Resurrection Island connected two worlds.
• Lumian decided not to abandon the search because of danger, but the darkness began eroding his thoughts and memories, so he relit his White Candle and left the Catacombs.
• Lumian returned to Apartment 702, where Franca questioned why he had come back while she was preparing to investigate the People in the Mirror.

Lumian told Franca that Harrison had been seen near the Samaritan Woman Spring, prompting her to plan a cautious search while confronting her fears about what she might learn. Two days later Franca received ingredients for the Pain potion from Clarisse, and the chapter ended as Angoulême and several Purifiers uncovered a mysterious bed in an Underground Trier quarry.

• Lumian told Franca that the Catacombs Administrator had stopped an outsider matching Harrison's description from approaching the Samaritan Woman Spring.
• Franca suspected Resurrection Island was connected to her world and planned to alert the Society while warning members not to approach Harrison or the island recklessly.
• Franca admitted she feared the truth might not match her hopes, and Lumian offered to drink with her.
• Franca met Clarisse and received the main ingredients and most auxiliary ingredients for the Pain potion, while learning that the Witch Sect would share more secrets after her advancement.
• Angoulême and several Purifiers brought a covered object into a quarry cavern, revealed an alluring classical bed, and saw a figure in a black nun's habit emerge.

Franca and Angoulême completed the exchange for the Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, and Lumian learned that its former identity, Clemence Atana, had contained two minds. At the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society gathering, Franca announced that Resurrection Island might connect their two worlds and urged the members to find Harrison.

• The Humanoid Sealed Artifact fell asleep on the antique bed, and the Purifiers carried both artifacts away while Franca collected the gold, potion ingredients, and dossiers.
• Franca met Lumian in Underground Trier and gave Jenna the Pleasure potion ingredients while Lumian read Clemence Atana's dossier.
• Lumian reflected that he might one day meet Clemence's fate, and Franca encouraged him to focus on what they did before death.
• Angoulême told Franca that his reward allowed him to take charge of a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, while Franca prepared to make an announcement to the Society.
• Franca told the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society about Harrison and proposed that Resurrection Island was where their two worlds intersected, urging them to find him.

Franca organized the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society’s search for Harrison and shared more evidence linking the worlds with Gandalf and 007. Lumian asked the Academy group for help reaching the Moses Ascetic Order about a traitor, then agreed to attend an in-person gathering in Trier.

• Franca told the society that searching for Harrison and investigating Resurrection Island were voluntary, warned everyone not to seek out the island, and displayed Harrison’s portrait.
• Franca shared information about the Samaritan Woman Spring, Underworld Daoist, and Celestial Master with Gandalf, who speculated that the worlds were more closely connected than they had thought.
• 007 told Franca he wanted to return to their original world but feared the passage of time and the rules of returning; he also resolved to seek access to the Churches’ records as a senior Deacon.
• Members of the Academy group discussed whether they would return home, and Lumian said he longed to go back but wanted to bring people close to him.
• Lumian told the Academy group he wanted to alert the Moses Ascetic Order to a traitor named Griffith, a Person in the Mirror who had replaced an Order member.
• Professor invited Lumian to an in-person gathering for Trier members, and Lumian agreed to attend.

Lumian sought a Harvest Sacrifice Priest potion for Lugano and arranged a purchase from Master Breeder, while Franca sold a Dream Thief characteristic to Someone and gave Jenna part of the proceeds. Back in his apartment, Lumian was surprised when three messengers appeared at once, apparently bearing letters.

• Lumian found no Harvest Sacrifice Priest formula or ingredients in the Academy group, then approached the Farm group and checked its members for signs of Great Mother worship.
• Master Breeder agreed to sell Lumian a prepared Harvest Sacrifice Priest potion for 20,000 Gold Riso, and 007 notarized their agreement.
• Franca negotiated the sale of a Dream Thief characteristic to Someone for 120,000 Felkine up front and 60,000 Felkine in gold later, with 007 notarizing the contract.
• Lumian spent the following days investigating People in the Mirror and searching for Harrison, while continuing to put off collecting his reward from Mr. K.
• Franca gave Jenna 15,000 Felkine and arranged for Jenna to receive the final payment from Someone, leaving Jenna with substantial savings.
• When Lumian returned to his apartment, his Penitent, Hella's silver-skull messenger, and the messenger Doll appeared together.

Lumian received the Harvest Sacrifice Priest potion and hurried Lugano into drinking it in Underground Trier. Lugano survived the transformation and described his new Planter abilities, while Lumian prepared to answer the Knight of Swords’ request for assistance.

• The Pure Silver Skull delivered the Harvest Sacrifice Priest potion, and Lumian paid the remaining 10,000 gold riso; his Doll messenger also gave him a sealed artifact made from Hisoka’s Beyonder characteristic.
• Lumian read a letter from the Knight of Swords, who asked him to meet at specified coordinates and provide assistance, and Lumian agreed to go.
• Lumian gave Lugano the potion and imposed a short deadline, while Lugano contributed his savings of 15,000 felkine toward its cost.
• In an abandoned Underground Trier tunnel, Lugano drank the potion while recalling his role as Ludwig’s nanny and family doctor; his feet sank into the soil and his hair and body hair grew thicker before he regained his composure.
• Lugano explained that his new abilities let him heal plants and farmland, accelerate plant growth and reproduction, create restraining vines, command nearby plants and insects, and perform rituals for rain or clear skies.

Lumian tested Demon’s Whisper and discovered how its Avatar of Desire ability could project the emotions and corruption tied to his unusual nature. After becoming a Deputy Divine Emissary and arranging support for a possible Southern Continent trip, he teleported to meet the Knight of Swords.

• Lumian read Madam Magician’s description of Demon’s Whisper, then tested it and briefly transformed into black liquid that affected Lugano with sinister impulses.
• Lumian realized Avatar of Desire could spread his own externally sourced emotions and corruption to enemies, including potentially a Sequence 4 Saint, and returned the ring to the Traveler’s Bag.
• At the Aurora Order’s headquarters, Mr. K told Lumian he had become a Deputy Divine Emissary and could request local resources and assistance.
• Lumian told Mr. K he might travel to the Southern Continent, learned the church they had visited was the Aurora Order’s first, and left after asking about it.
• After telling Franca and Jenna about the Knight of Swords, Lumian teleported to the location in the Knight’s letter and found the Knight surrounded by pale-faced men and women.

Lumian joined Maric in searching the Lacray Region for Oseto, a half-god of the Primordial Moon faction who possessed an important item. After learning that the search might exploit the Divine Child bloodline Lumian had acquired, he returned to Trier to prepare with his companions, leaving the team’s plans—and Ludwig’s late-night meal—hanging.

• Maric told Lumian that the Temperance Faction was searching for Oseto, a Sequence 4 Witch King believed to be in Lacray City, and showed him Oseto’s portrait.
• Maric described reports of unexplained full moons and a sacrificial site near Darsh Lake where people had been disemboweled, prompting Lumian to recall similar scenes at Madame Pualis’s castle.
• Lumian agreed to study the documents and prepare with his companions, while Maric promised protection for the group if they stayed within five kilometers of one another.
• Franca, Anthony, and Jenna discussed how they could support the search, and Lumian explained that he wanted to train the team in case he had to advance early.
• Franca offered to give Angoulême the method for summoning Jenna’s messenger, and she reminded Lumian not to forget another important team member.
• Ludwig stopped finding his bread appetizing when his godfather entered the room and sat across from him with a smile.

Lumian examined the corpses left by Oseto’s ritual and used Ludwig to learn that their birthdays all carried symbolism tied to the Great Mother. The group headed to Lacray City to search for Oseto, while suspecting his presence there served a deeper purpose connected to the region’s history of Death worship.

• Lumian inspected the decomposed corpses with Ludwig and concluded that burying them may have been part of Oseto’s ritual.
• Ludwig cooked a piece of a corpse and learned that the deceased had been born on the second day of the new year in the calendar they believed in.
• Maric confirmed that most identified corpses had birthdays on January 2 or the equivalent second day in a local calendar.
• Lumian decided to search Lacray City using his Ombella bloodline, Lugano’s abnormality, and the blood ties to the Bird-Clawed Monster Infants.
• Lumian questioned why Oseto remained in Lacray after the ritual, and Maric said the Temperance Faction suspected he had a deeper purpose tied to the region’s history of Death worship.