Koudelka Manga

Released before Shadow Hearts, a manga sidestory, written and illustrated by Yuji Iwahara, was published in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Ace Next. Despite the story being written as direct sequel to the Koudelka game, the events that occur in the manga are no longer canonical, having been invalidated by the later Shadow Hearts franchise.

It does however, follow explore similar themes, and the Émigré Manuscript, and Roger Bacon both make appearances. Even Koudelka herself had references the events of the game's climax, when she warns the antagonists about the incident that killed Patrick Heyworth due to meddling with the Émigré Manuscript.

Set little after a year since the events of the game, and Koudelka Iasant, has just escaped from being incarcerated in a lunatic asylum. Meanwhile, elsewhere, in the fog covered streets of London, a mysterious society has been kidnapping pregnant prostitutes for some insidious purpose...and it's up to Koudelka to find out why.

Volume 1[]

Part 1: "A Beautiful Fugitive"[]

The story begins with Koudelka, being chased by dogs who belong to the Newton Asylum. Following closely behind them is the head of the Asylum, Dr Hans, who is desperately trying to recapture Koudelka.

Meanwhile, not far away, young Joshua Vermont, is tending to his mother's grave. With the grave taken care of, Joshua saddles up his horse and cart, and begins to make his way home.

Still being chased by the dogs, Koudelka manages to buy some time by hypnotizing them, before being forced to jump off a cliff.

Luckily for her, she lands into Joshua's cart which leaves her alive, but unconscious. Taking her back to his home, Joshua takes care of the still-unconscious woman.

Dr Hans, still searching for her, reports to the Royal Medical Society, to tell of her escape. He is told to find her, and if she proves to difficult to capture, to kill her.

Awaking in a strange place, and without her clothes, Koudelka struggles to remember how so got to the place. Meeting Joshua, he brings her a change of clothes and asks why she jumped off the cliff. Koudelka realizes that she cannot recall even her name. The chapter ends with Dr Hans going to visit the house on the suspiscion that Koudelka is inside.

Part 2: "Lost Memories"[]

Joshua worriedly tells Koudelka that she is before searched for by men with dogs and guns, accused of murder. Koudelka is alarmed by this, but Joshua doesn't believe it.

They are interupted by the approach of Dr Hans and his associates, and flee through a passage into the ruined chapel. Koudelka experiances a sense of Deja Vu, and suddenly sees the spirit of Joshua's mother, Mary, cradling him protectively.

The vison vanishes, showing only a seagull, leaving her unsure of what she actually saw. Dr Hans emerges from the shadows, gun drawn, demanding that she come quietly, or he will shoot Joshua. Koudelka reluctantly agrees, but confuses Hans with her amensia.

Fortunately, a flock of gulls attack Hans, and at that moment, Koudelka can clearly see the angel-like spirit of Mary, who protected them by summoning the gulls.

They flee back down the passage, while Hans shoots at the birds in frustration before they fly away, chasing after the pair with dogs.

Koudelka, again, briefly hypnotizes the dogs, but becomes distracted leading them about to attack. She is saved by Joshua's horse, and the pair ride off towards the coast, leaving Hans to futilely curse in the dust.

She and Joshua board a passing steamship bound for the city of Joshua's birth; London...

Part 3: "Club Mary"[]

Back at the Newton Asylum, having failed to capture Koudelka, Dr Hans is severely beaten by M. De Gaulle, and reprimanded by Lord Leslie, before being imprisoned in a cage as punishment.

Meanwhile, Koudelka and Joshua arrive in London, and head towards Club Mary, a pub/brothel formerly owned (and named for) his mother, and other prostitutes.

Entering the rooms, they are attacked by Pacey, Timmy, Becky, and Nene in a misunderstanding. The situation is calmed, however, when they realise it's Joshua.

Pacey explains that she is pregnant, and there has been a series of mysterious abductions of pregnant prostitutes in the area, and mistook Koudelka for a kidnapper. Mrs Rosanna Trelawny, the madame of the brothel, and Kitty return from a police appeal regarding the abductions, and are surprised to see Joshua, and his new friend.

Despite the lack of success with the police, the inhabitants of Club Mary warmly welcome Koudelka, and invite her to share their lodgings for a while.

Unbeknownst to them, a masked, enigmatic figure is lurking in the night, striding towards the Club, using a strange concotion to generate a fog-like knockout gas.

Overcome by a sudden sleepiness, everyone passes out, while the intruder picks up Pacey and sets to head off back into the night.

In her unconscious state, Koudelka again sees a vision of Mary, telling her to wake up and save Pacey.

Fighting against sleep, she awakens and confronts the intruder, pulling off his mask, revealing him to be Asian in appearance. He pulls a smoke grenade and escapes with Pacey - the commotion waking everybody up from their drug-induced sleep.

Part 4: "The Witch of Covent Garden"[]

Having kidnapped Pacey, the Asian man meets with a hooded figure in his carriage. Pacey is drugged by the man, while the Asian man informs him of his encounter with Koudelka - and how she saw his unmasked face.

The hooded man infects the Asian man with the Black Fever - a deadly disease, for which he'll provide the antidote if he kills Koudelka.

Meanwhile, the tenants of Club Mary are trying to convince Inspector Dickens to investigate the kidnap, while he unconcernedly dismisses them. Presenting him with the mask Koudelka pulled from the kidnapper, which he tosses aside, before departing.

Before he can get far, he is almost run down by the carridge of Dr Horn - a young physician, who has worked frequently with the women of Club Mary, who is concerned about Pacey's kidnapping. Unable to rely on the police, the women and Koudelka vow to search for Pacey, and to stop the mysterious kidnapper.

Elsewhere, in China Town, Soho, in the store of an Asian shopkeeper, the Asian man asks for anything that could possibly cure his now fatal disease - which the shopkeeper is unable to. The Asian man puts on a new mask, and sets off to kill Koudelka, albeit reflecting that he didn't before because of a sense of something about her eyes.

In Covent Garden, whilst searching, Koudelka bumps into an old gypsy woman, who offers enigmatic information, and directs her to the gaze of the Asian man, who has managed to track her.

She chases after to him, Joshua intow, ending up at a cemetary...

Part 5: "The Broken Soul"[]

Seperated from Koudelka, Joshua is found by the Asian man who uses him as bait to lure her out. Koudelka encounters three ghosts who direct her towards Joshua, where she is attacked by the man, armed with a sword.

They fight, heading deeper into a crypt, where they accidently uncover a sarcophagus. A nun rises from the opened grave and tries to convince Koudelka to accept her aid. To their horror and surprise, snakes emerge from the nun's corpse, and from them, the three ghosts from earlier. They possess Koudelka and fling the Asian man aside, shattering his mask. The fight is observed by the hooded man, who watches at a distance.

The Asian man protects Joshua, and again fights with the demon-possessed Koudelka.

De Gaulle appears beside the hooded man, and informs him that Koudelka is the woman who put a stop to the goings-on at Nemeton Monastary, and must be contained, or otherwise.

Koudelka's psyche floats lost through in soul, before she encounters the mysterious gypsy woman again, who reveals herself to be Mary. Apologising, she pulls a knife and stabs Koudelka...

Volume 2[]

Part 6: "Recovered Memories"[]

The stab to her heart opens a flood of memories inside Koudelka's soul, as she and Mary float over her memory of the Nemeton Monastary, as Mary promises to guide her, and open up more memories.

In Soho, in the store of the Asian shopkeeper, Kitty and a companion question him for any information about a masked man under the pretense that he's a client. Initially asking them to leave, the shopkeeper relents and promises to tell them all he knows, as long as they deliver a medicine to him, although he is unsure of its effectiveness.

Back in the cemetary, the fight between Koudelka and the Asian man continues, appearing to do impossible damage to the graves and trees. Observing from afar, De Gaulle explains to the hooded man that the actual power of the demons is a form of illusion - they can attack the soul, but not the body, but can induce illusions of physicality, and make people believe what they do has an actual effect.

The Asian man manages to bind Koudelka, but is psychically assaulted by one of the demons, who reaches into his mind to dredge out his hidden guilt and thoughts before bursting out his back, seemingly killiing him, leaving Joshua alone against them.

Koudelka and Mary, meanwhile, continue through her memories; seeing herself and her lonely childhood in London, and the day her father died; crushed by a falling horse and carridge - which she had premonitions of in dreams, before seeing her father crushed before her eyes.

Mary reveals that the reason Koudelka lost her memories, was because as she fell from the cliff escaping the Newton asylum, the mental and physical shock made her confuse the events of her father's death, with her plummet into Joshua's carridge, making her amnesiac as a mental defense. And that she was pushed by Mary's spirit.

In the distance, Koudelka sees a fabricated memory of her with her father, before her "father" transforms into one of the snake demons and attack them...

Part 7: "New Developments"[]

In the real world, the snake demons continue to harass Joshua, and wish to dive into his soul to uncover his "secret". Nearby, the Asian man twitches showing that he is not quite dead.

In her soul, Koudelka is attacked by another of the snake demons, who summons the dead of the carridge accident to drag her and Mary underwater. Koudelka realises that by running away from her fate made her weak, and that only by confronting that destiny could she hope to regain her true strength.

She and Mary float to the surface, to the shock of the snake demon who tries to smash her with its tail. Koudelka, with a mere touch of her hand disintigrates the tail, to the snake demon's horror.

Utterly furious, the snake demon transforms into a hulking gorgon-like creature, as Koudelka calmly tells it that it has no place in her soul. The memory of young Koudelka glows and obliterates the demon, merging with the other Koudelka.

Back in the cemetary, the demons are ejected from Koudelka's body, revealing their true forms; sprite-like creatures inhabiting the bodies of regular snakes. The Asian man rises and binds the creatures with his chain-sword, beheading the snakes, forcing the sprites to flee. The illusions are undone, and the cemetary returns to its normal, undamaged state.

Watching from a distance, De Gaulle and the hooded man discuss what they should do now; De Gaulle suggest that Koudelka be left alive, as she could be potentially useful, but the hooded man was free to do what he wished with the Asian man.

The hooded man sets off towards the cemetary, as De Gaulle quietly mocks him. The three sprites float up beside him as he thanks them for awakening Koudelka's true potential, before crushing them, feeling that their usfulness was at an end.

Relieved that Koudelka is back to her normal self, and with her memories back, Joshua attempts to return her pendant. She stares at it for a moment, recalling how it had saved her life on many occasions, before entrusting it to him again.

Struggling to stand, the Asian man collapses, succumbing to the Black Fever. Joshua runs over to him, as the Asian man vomits a black blood over him. Koudelka senses that he is about to die, and asks him to tell them where Pacey and the other missing women are.

He tells them that it was a young doctor who arranged it, but before he can reveal any more, Koudelka and Joshua are chased away by the hooded man, pretending to be a cemetary guard. He pours vodka on the Asian man intending to set him alight - with a calm determination, the Asian man tears the cables on his fog canisters, determined to create an explosion and take the man down with him, as he throws down a lit lamp.

The Asian man is killed, but despite the size and intensity of the explosion, the hooded man's clothes burn away, revealing a protective suit impervious to fire and disease. Pulling back the faceplate showing that he is Dr Horn.

Back at Newton Asylum, Lord Leslie departs with a large group of men with shovels, leaving Dr Hans supervised only by a single guard. Continuing with his work as a psychotherapist, he requests seeing Swinny - an severely intellectually disabled patient with violent tendancies. He manipulates Swinny into murdering the guard, and freeing him from the cage, as he heads outside...

Part 8: "The Prostitutes' Anguish"[]

Koudelka, her memories restored, reveals the reason that she fled from the Newton asylum; the Royal Medical Society were planning to use the Émigré Manuscript and ressurect someone from the dead, questioning her knowledge of it.

The spirit of Mary appeared before her, and pleaded that she intervene and stop them. Koudelka, bluntly refused, sick of having to save a society that continued to push her aside. Mary pushed her off the ledge, leading her plummeting into the events of her first meeting with Joshua.

She questions when the other prostitutes started to disappear, and realizes that the time coincides with when Patrick Heyworth - the now deceased owner of Nemeton Monastary - began his ritual to bring his late wife back from the grave. An act that required human sacrifice, which he fufilled by abducting prostitutes and later murdering them.

She vows that no more women will go missing, and they will find Pacey, whom Koudelka can sense is still alive. The spirit of Mary appears, begging forgiveness for involving Koudelka. She forgives her, and thanks for.

Elsewhere, on a cliff-edge nearby the Newton Asylum, Lord Lesie approaches Mary's grave, spied on by Dr Hans, and tells his men to start digging.

Koudelka is startled awake by Mary, whose spirit is disintigrating into feathers before vanishing into nothing, screaming for her to help.

Back in Covent Garden cemetary, Inspector Dickens is assessing the severely burnt remains of the Asian man, watched on by the ladies of Club Mary, with Koudelka (in disguise). Dr Horn appears, and is told to see if he can offer any clues on the remains; age, race, sex, homicide or suicide. Joshua considers the Asian man's final warning - that it was a young doctor - and suspects Dr Horn. Though the others remain unsure.

Inspector Dickens finds the broken mask fragments from earlier, reflecting on the ladies' earlier proof of Pacey's abductor, and asks Dr Horn the race of the remains. Horn suspects they belong to an Asian. Dickens quietly pockets the mask fragments, and walks away, pondering.

Later, Dr Horn is conversing with a shadowed figure discussing the results of his autopsy of the remains of the Asian man, before the shadowed man departs, and is revealed to be the brother of Dr Horn. In a cell, the captive Pacey sings a song to her swollen belly, as the hooded man suddenly appears and tells her that it is her turn...

At Club Mary, Koudelka and the ladies discuss a possible plan of action, and how to identify members of the Royal Medical Society - they tend to wear a small ring, or medallion emblazoned with a ""℞"".

Suddenly, Dr Horn rushes in carrying an shocked and bloodied Pacey. He yells at them to get hot water and blankets, while Pacey shockingly reveals that her baby has been stolen.

Part 9: "A Little Carelessness"[]

Pacey faints, while Koudelka ponders why they are stealing newborns. Joshua, however is furious at Dr Horn, believing him to be the one who did this to Pacey.

Dr Horn manages to stop the bleeding as Koudelka tries a psychometric reading on him, to see if he was guilty. She is interrupted by Joshua attacking the doctor, accusing him of attacking Pacey, while he tries to explain that he just found her in the street. Joshua is reminded of the doctors failing to save his mother's life, and grows angrier, whilst Koudelka tries to calm him down and explain that he isn't the person behind this, as she couldn't find anything when she read mind.

Dr Horn places a hand on Joshua's chest trying to shove him off, and is shocked to discover that Joshua has breasts, and is acutally a girl.

Taken aback, Josuha recoils, and Koudelka gently asks if it's true. Joshua runs away crying. Mrs Rosanna explains that it was what Mary wanted, while Kitty elaborates that society views the daughters of prostitutes as prostitutes themselves, a fate which Mary wanted to avoid for Joshua, which was also the impetus for leaving London, so they could live a normal life.

Inspector Dickens appears, having surveilled the Club with a policeman, and demands information, trying to get to the bottom of things. Dr Horn informs him that Pacey wasn't stabbed, but underwent a forced Caesarean section - which was performed and sutured perfectly, and that she bled only after trying to move.

He had recieved a telegram to come to the Club, and came across Pacey on his way. Koudelka suspects that this was part of a plan, and that the Royal Medical Society know where she is. Noticing her for the first time, Dickens asks her who she is, and why people have such interest in her.

She recounts the events at Nemeton, and the recent events, which he mockingly disbelieves, accusing her of being a murderess.

Koudelka brushes him off, while Dr Horn tells them that he's never heard of the "Royal Medical Society", and he must dash off as he's late to see his other patients.

As he leaves he is watched from afar by the shadowed man from earlier. He puts on some glasses, now bearing an uncanny resemblance to Dr Horn.

Joshua, sitting alone, cries over the picture of her mother, remembering how they left London, and her eventual illness and death, questioning why she had to die.

Dickens announces that he'll leave them for now to investigate the theft of Pacey's child, but is still convinced that Koudelka is the murderer of the Asian man.

As he leaves, he is surprised to see Dr Horn returning again so soon, who excuses himself saying that he forgot something and requests Koudelka's help in finding it. Joshua stares out the window, seeing Dr Horn walking away with Kitty, but overhears people greeting him again, downstairs, and is immediately alarmed.

Inspector Dickens finds the policeman limp and unresponsive - having been drugged by the shadowy figure from earlier - and pulls out his gun, warily.

As he walks with Kitty, Dr Horn tells her his past; how he was disinherited by his father for wanting to work as a doctor in the West End, which his father saw as lowly. And how he was supported by his brother...his twin brother.

Back at Club Mary, Dr Horn, the twin brother, silently pulls a syringe from his sleeve and prepares to stab Koudelka in the back...

Part 10: "Chains of Sacrifice"[]

Joshua tries to warn Koudelka that the Dr Horn behind her is a fake, but before she can react he tries to plunge the syringe into her exposed neck.

Fortunately, the spectre of the Asian man holds him back, freezing him in place. Koudelka spins around, to see the departing spirit of the Asian man give a small grin, having saved her life.

The ladies of Club Mary appear to find out the cause of the commotion, while Joshua yells that Dr Horn is a fake. The fake Dr Horn tries to attack Koudelka again, and flees across the rooftops, noticed by Inspector Dickens.

Koudelka asks Joshua for her pendant back, as she can trace him with it. Joshua angrily demands to be taken along too, and not be dismissed just because she is a girl, stating that she's the same person as she was before.

Koudelka agrees, and allows Joshua to continuing wearing the pendant - using her powers so the pendant will point in the direction of Dr Horn, in the manner of a compass.

Inspector Dickens sees the fake Dr Horn escape into a building, and is startled by the appearance of Dr Horn and Kitty walking by - confused by the two doctor Horns - just in time for Koudelka and Joshua to catch up with them.

Joshua explains that the Dr Horn who went into the building was the one responsible for kidnapping Pacey and others.

Inside the cellar of the building , the twin of Dr Horn stuffs books and important documents inside a case, seeking to flee and believing that the Royal Medical Society will assist him. He is interupted by Koudelka and the group as they enter the cellar, and investigate the boxes, and jars lining the shelves, as well as an operating table where Pacey's Caesarean took place.

Peering into a jar, Koudelka recoils in horror at the sight; still alive newborn babies - the result of other forced Caesareans.

Dr Horn's brother reveals himself, and explains that they are sleeping in a serum of his own creation, and that they are due to be sacrificed, and that he used his brother's medical records of the prostitutes to choose his victims; either women who are pregnant, or those who want to have an abortion.

Unconcerned at admitting his crimes, he pulls one jar off the shelf - the jar containing Pacey's stolen baby - and tosses it at them as a distraction, and pulling a switch, locking everyone in the cellar.

Sliding on his protective suit, the twisted Dr Horn mocks them, as he plans to release a swarm of mosquitos to fatally infect them with the Black fever.

Dr Hans appears by his side with a pair of scissors, unlocks the doors and tells everyone to run. The twin of Dr Horn is shocked, and angrily calls Hans a traitor. As everyone flees, the canisters containing the deadly mosquitoes open, with Hans revealing that he cut open Horn's protective suit, before running away and trapping him in the room.

Panicked, Horn looks for the antidote, only to find a small, pixie-like moth creature sitting on a bomb - sent by De Gaulle - winking at him before it detonates.

Koudelka angrily confronts Dr Hans, reminding him that there were newborn babies in the building, questioning his loyalties.

During their argument, Joshua begins to bleed black blood from the nose, before collapsing to the ground in agony...

Volume 3[]

Part 11: "The Royal Medical Society"[]

At Club Mary, Pacey is reunited with her stolen baby, while Joshua is diagonosed with the Black fever - having caught it from the black blood vomited on her by the Asian man. Koudelka furiously demands that Dr Hans help them find an antidote.

He agrees to take them to the Royal Medical Society HQ, and assist them, but that they would have to take Joshua with them, as they would not be able to return in time. Dr Horn angrily insists that trying to move Joshua would potentially kill her, before Kitty remembers that she was given a medicine by the Asian storekeeper, which could potentially slow down the effects of the fever.

Dr Hans throws Koudelka her old clothes he took from the asylum, and tells her to change quuickly. Due to his interest in her unqiue psychic powers, he makes a deal with her; he'll help them if Koudelka agrees to help him with his research while alive, and if she dies, he gets to examine her body. Agreeing, the two set off with Joshua to the society's HQ - the Tower of London.

Elsewhere, Lord Leslie stands watching a storm, as De Gaulle emerges from the shadows and tells him that it's time for their work to begin.

Koudelka and Dr Hans enter the Tiger Tiger pub, which contains the secret entrance to the headquarters, with Dr Hans quickly shooting all the guards there, to Koudelka's displeasure.

As they enter the passage under the tower, Koudelka catches a glimpse of the innumerable ghosts that haunt the site, as they head deeper into the complex.

At Scotland Yard, Inspector Dickens tries to convince the Commissioner of the existance of the Royal Medical Society and of the babies in jars, which the Comissioner dismisses, casually calling for the Inspector to be arrested and detained. As Dickens is dragged away, the Comissioner implies that he already knew the of existance of the society, and was under their influence, to Dicken's fury.

Back under the tower, Koudelka and Hans find the medicine, but before it can be administered, De Gaulle appears. Using his powers, he flings Hans aside. Koudelka reaches for the syringe containing the antidote, but her hand is stepped on by Lord Leslie.

Pulling out her knife she slashes at him, before she is knocked unconscious by De Gaulle.

Lord Leslie tells him to take her to Nemeton Monastary, and eyes Joshua suspisciously, before picking up the syringe...

Part 12: "The Beginning...and the End"[]

Dr Hans, heavily bleeding, but having managed to escape, holds up a horse and carridge, demanding to be taken to the Nemeton Monastary, in Wales.

At Nemeton, Lord Leslie and De Gaulle open up the caged cart containing Koudelka, who immediately attacks them. De Gaulle, however, expects this, and taunts her reluctance to use her full powers, and if she recognises where she is. Koudelka is alarmed at returning to Nemeton, but more concerned about Joshua's wellbeing.

Unimpressed, De Gaulle uses his powers to teleport her into a prison cell.

Joshua dreams of Koudelka, and his mother, although her dreams soon turn to nightmares, and she is startled awake, realising she is dressed in girls bedclothes, and with a drip in her arm, in an unknown location.

Lord Leslie checks in on her, to her confusion, and asks how old she is. Joshua sees his signet ring with the symbol of the Medical Society. Lord Leslie leaves to ensure final preperations for his plan, and locks Joshua in the room.

De Gaulle meets with Lord Leslie and the pair discuss that they were able to ship some of the stolen babies to use in their plans, before they blew up Dr Horn's lab, and that Koudelka will be key to their plan.

Koudelka awakens in the prison cell, frustrated at her helplessness, and kicks an object, which starts speaking to her.

Joshua climbs out of the window, and clambers onto a nearby balcony. Entering the room she is greeted with a strange container, with numerous pipes leading into it...

Part 13: "Survival of the Fittest"[]

Lord Leslie enters Joshua's locked room to find her missing. Peering out the window, he notices a nearby window open, and fluttering in the breeze. He hurriedly heads off to the room.

The object Koudelka kicked berates her for kicking it. In better light Koudelka sees that it is infact, the bodiless head of Roger Bacon - an immortal alchemist that previously aided Koudelka during her last visit to Nemeton. After the events of last time, he had gone back to sleep in his coffin, but had woken up sans body.

He asks if it is to do with the Émigré Manuscript once again - a manuscript he once transcribed. She confirms it is, and notices both the keys to her cell hanging up just out of reach, and the new addition of electric light bulbs, making her ponder the location of the generator.

She hypnotises a rat to snatch the keys off the hook, and takes Roger with her to find his body, comically kicking his head rather than carry him. However, they are observed by De Gaulle, who merely watches them with a swarm of moth-demons.

Back in the room with the strange container, Joshua hears her mother's voice calling to her. Curious, she peers into the glass, to be met with the horrifying sight of her mother's eyeless rotted corpse.

She falls back in shock, as Lord Leslie enters the room. Demanding an explanation, Lord Leslie tells her of his daughter, Violet.

He and his wife loved their daughter dearly, however, when she grew up, against his wishes, she ran off with an Italian painter. Joshua is confused at to why he is telling her this.

Roger finally reunites with his body, so he and Koudelka go down into the generator room, where Roger scares away all the workers by summoning a swarm of bugs and vermin. Koudelka picks up a can of oil and throws it up towards one of the generators, before igniting it with her pyrokinesis, exploding the generator.

Lord Leslie hears the explosion, and demands that his staff move everything to the monastary chapel and activate the back-up generators.

As they blow up more equipment, amid raging fires, Roger and Koudelka are stopped by De Gaulle's demon-moths, as they deliberately burst overhead pipes to put out the flames.

Before Koudelka can attack him, De Gaulle reveals that he has kidnapped all the women and children of Club Mary, as they are lead in by Society members. He forces them all to head towards the chapel to the heart of the complex.

Koudelka is horrified to see the dessicated remains of Mary floating in a tank above a giant mystic cauldron, and both she and Roger can see her spirit which is bound to her physical corpse.

Lord Leslie and Joshua appear on a gantry. Koudelka demands to know why they chose Mary. Lord Leslie admits that Mary was actually his beloved daughter, Violet.

As the Nemeton monastary looms in the ditance, Dr Hans wakes up from a sleep, as his carridge approaches...

Part 14: "Because of Helplessness"[]

Taken aback by Lord Leslie's revelation, the ladies of Club Mary realise that it makes him Joshua's grandfather. And are puzzled as many of them who became prostitutes did so because they had no family. Lord Leslie angrily tells them to not denigrate his daugter's memory, while they furiously respond that it was Mary who taught them not to be ashamed of themselves.

During this conversation, Dr Hans sneaks into the room.

Lord Leslie recounts the full story of his lost daughter, Violet Leslie; after she ran off with the Italian painter, the family tried to search for her, in vain. Two years later, during which his wife, Lady Leslie, died, Violet returned one night, cradling a baby in her arms - Joshua.

Lord Leslie was furious; riven by grief for his late wife, and the knowledge that Joshua's father was unknown - despite running off with the painter, he had pimped her out to other men. Lord Leslie struck her across the face, and despite her pleading, told her that he wanted nothing to do with her; a daughter that abandonded her sick mother was no daughter of his. Violet left, leaving Lord Leslie to his solitude.

Years later, at a chance enounter at a masquerade, he was introduced to "Mary Vermont" - the most highly regarded, and highly paid, prostitute in London. They recognised each other, but could not match the others' gaze. He strode off trembling, whilst De Gaulle watched from a distance.

To him, the most unforgivable thing wasn't her running away, or his abandoment of her, but his failure to recognise that she was slowly dying of an illness. Following her death he swore to fix what he saw as the limitations of medical science, regardless of how many lives it took.

Koudelka reminded him of the tragedy of the events that transpired because of Patrick Heyworth's attempt to bring his wife back from the dead. Lord Leslie admitted that, though he first though it a joke, when Patrick presented it to him, he assisted him in his research.

Koudelka again tried to warn of the impending disaster, that although Patrick had reanimated his wife's body, it was a soulless monster. Lord Leslie dismissed her argument, stating that they had the means to correct the flaws in his attempt. and presented her with the original Émigré Manuscript.

Roger was surpised that it still existed in the world, while De Gaulle explained that it was bound in chains to protect it, as the book itself was falling apart, which is why the Royal Medical Society convinced Patrick to steal Roger's copy, which had been hidden away in the Papal Library in the Vatican. However, there had been a deliberate mistake in Roger's copy.

Amused, Roger chuckled, stating that if they couldn't read the orignal, how would they know? De Gaulle explained that this is where Koudelka would play her part. They would not need to read the original text, when they could summon forth the spirit of The Author itself, using Koudelka as the medium.

Roger angrily claimed it had been attempted before, and was impossible. De Gaulle responded by punching a hole through his chest, prompting an unimpressed Roger to smirk that he was immortal.

Unconcerned, De Gaulle's hand detached itself, warping into binding tentacles trapping Roger, before regrowing his hand, to the amazement of everybody. To Roger's surpise he asked him if he remembered his long-forgotten pupil.

He demanded that Koudelka perform the ritual, as Roger tried to warn her that the Author would end up possessing her.

Quietly confident, Koudelka reassured him that she would be fine, before asking Joshua if she still had her pendant, and that she must keep it safe and close for her. With that, she began the ritual.

With everyone distracted by the ritual, Dr Hans took out some of the guards and handed Kitty a pair of scissors to help free the other captives.

Koudelka focused her energies, and in a blazing rush of light invoked the goatish Author. However, as she had been warned, she had been possessed by it. With De Gaulle please with the result.

The giant spirit asked why it had been summoned, as Lord Leslie requested that it grant him the knowledge of what was contained in the Émigré Manuscript...

Part 15: "The Wings of the Future"[]

The Author began the ritual, causing a supernatural storm above the area. However, Lord Leslie's joy soon turned to confusion as the cauldron began to absorb the souls of the gulls outside, and the rats inside, overloading the scientific equipment.

Lord Leslie demanded that the experiment be continued, while Roger explained that this was the true power of the ritual; it drained all life in the area and if unchecked could do so to the whole world.

Gritting his teeth, Lord Leslie again demanded that it continue, regardless of the cost. When Joshua objected, Lord Leslie struck her aside, revealing Koudelka's pendant.

De Gaulle laughs, revealing that just as he tricked Patrick into attempting to bring back his wife, he tricked Lord Leslie, as he wanted to use the ritual to achieve his own ends, before summoning one of his moth-demons to shatter Mary's container, plunging the body into the cauldron below to be absorbed like all the other souls.

Taunting them, he began to laugh uncontrollably, as did his moth familiar, which Roger eyed carefully, recognising it. De Gaulle coldly informed everyone that they would all die, before he was shot in the head by Dr Hans, his head snapping back and eyepatch flying off.

As Hans approached Koudelka trying to break her out of her posession, De Gaulle's ringing laughter was heard once again, as he got to his feet, a bullet hole in his head, an empty void in his right eye, and a hole in the back of his now-damaged skull, revealing a swarm of the moth-demons lurking inside.

He boasted that he, like Roger, was also an immortal, prompting Roger to realise that De Gaulle was a former pupil of his some five hundred years previously, who had read his writings and allowed himself to become possessed by imps.

He confidently announced his plan to use the power of the Émigré Manuscript to kill everything, and use the enourmous source of power to remake the world in his own image, becoming a god. He dared them to stop him.

Joshua stood before him, hand outstreached dangling Koudelka's pendant, and said she would.

Koudelka had taught her courage. De Gaulle mockingly asked who would save her captive friends, while they took advatange of Joshua's distraction and undid their bounds.

De Gaulle, hwoever, ordered the imps to tear them apart, and they were set upon by a swarm of the demons, as they tried to swat away the vicious creatures.

De Gaulle again mocked Joshua's weakness, stating that everyone's place in the world is predetermined and unchangeable. Women are ruled over by men; humans are ruled by god - him.

Joshua screamed that it wasn't true, as the pendant swung in her hands.

Suddenly, before he could react, the giant fist of the Author smashed into De Gaulle sending him crashing into the equipment and stopping the ritual.

All the imps stopped their attack, dumbfounded at what just happened; Koudelka was herself once again, and had taken control of the Author.

Overjoyed, Joshua ran to her, as Koudelka explained, yes, while she had been possessed by the spirit of the Author, before she began the ritual, she hypnotized herself so that the sight of her pendant would cause her to reassert herself. She hugged and thanked Joshua, as she couldn't have done it without her.

In the nearby rubble, De Gaulle, a bloodied, broken mess, clambered to his feet announcing that he wasn't finished yet, to Koudelka's bored amusment.

With the power of the Author behind her, she pummelled De Gaulle into literal pieces, until he was left as a single eyeball, desperately squirming towards the cauldron to gain some power.

However, Dr Hans stood over the eye, with a manic gleam in his eyes, and began to repeatedly stab the eye into nothingness, finally killing De Gaulle.

Its power spent, the spirit of the Author faded away, as the Émigré Manuscript crumbled into dust.

In an unexpected turn, Mary's angelic spirit ascended from the cauldron, followed by the cherub-like spirits of the sacrificed newborns, and smiled beatifically at everyone, the sight driving Joshua and Lord Leslie to tears.

Mary raised her hands, as the stolen souls of the gulls and the rats returned to their bodies, gave her daughter, Koudelka and her friends once last smile, and disappears into feathers.

Freed from his imprisonment, after beating up his subordinates, Inspector Dickens arrives just in time to see the sight of the gulls returning to life.

Joshua hears Mary's voice that she must believe in herself, prompting Joshua to strive to become a doctor, while Koudelka calmly supports her, saying that she can be anything she wants...

Epilogue[]

Eighteen years later, in a military encampment in Saudi Arabia, Joshua, now a medical doctor, treats a patient. Lieutenant Lawrence walks in and hands her a letter.

Written by a now elderly Mrs Trelawny, she writes that thanks to a large donation of money from Joshua, the ladies of Club Mary were able to open up a girls school, Mary's School for Girls, Becky has become a teacher, and Dr Hans visits them still.

Dr Horn moved to America, while Kitty, in an unexpected turn of events, married Inspector Dickens.

Moved by the letter, Joshua begins to cry, and thanks Lawrence for delivering it. He admits however, that it was given to him by a strange women outside, whom he invited inside, but she declined, merely content to see that she appeared happy.

Joshua asks to borrow his camel and rides out into the desert, where she sees a cloaked figure in the distance and heads towards her, waving...

Book Information[]

The fifteen chapters were collected in three volumes:

ISBN 978-4047133044 (Released on November 1999)
ISBN 978-4047133389 (Released on May 2000)
ISBN 978-4047133617 (Released on September 2000)