The Hunters approach and breach the cult's Victorian manor. Arthur enters through the front as a diversion, killing multiple cultists. He confronts a demon in the ballroom but breaks past it when he hears a child screaming, pursuing deeper into the manor where the real ritual is taking place.

Arthur Vangeest, grief-stricken after his wife Eleanor and daughter Grace were murdered by the Ninth Circle cult two weeks ago, prepares for a raid on the cult's manor stronghold. He meets with Council mentor Frieda and fellow Hunters (Charles, Mildred Greathouse, Dexter Colson).

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Gregory arrives in Marisburg, endures the heat, and overhears tavern talk about magic purges, void walkers sealed beneath the mountains, and the prince's disappearance. He recalls a stonemason in another town who showed him a humming crack in a cellar wall that ran deeper than bedrock.

Fifty soldiers including Squad Two launch a night raid on a Karthian scout camp. The raid is brutal and successful—forty-two return, eight are killed, and approximately twenty Karthians are slain. Cael kills his first enemy: a young, terrified Karthian soldier.

Wilson Hayes receives an unexpected job offer for Aurora Station, an Arctic research facility with six-month isolation. Despite colleague warnings about the extreme isolation, Wilson accepts the position seeing it as his dream research opportunity.

Lyle and Peter discuss finding a backdoor in Markwell code. Peter reveals the code author Hyderi was based in Lahore and has disappeared. Peter mentions his wife Rachel and their Sunday dinner tradition with Lyle, showing the personal bond between friends before Peter's death in Ch 4.

Petro Marok, a ten-year-old orphan in Ashwick mining town, endures abuse from his drunken miner father and bullying from Hank, the Guard Captain's son. The Church of the Lord of Light controls the mines and ignores the suffering of the poor.

Marcus witnesses the death of Robert Cardelli in an alley behind St. Adalbert's. His blessed rosary burns both the victim and himself. Enochian symbols spelling INNOCENT are carved into the dead man's chest. A homeless woman watches from across the alley and vanishes.