The Autarchy has fallen but its hunger endures. When Lee Chungho uncovers the archives of the Citadel, he discovers a truth older than the Furnace itself: the world's faiths didn't die-they were devoured. Across centuries, an invisible parasite called Ba'aal has corrupted every creed, wearing belief like a mask and feeding on humanity's need for meaning. Armed with the cursed ax Ashen Steel and the ghost of his own redemption, Chungho leads the Remnant into the heart of the Tower to free the last captives. But every swing of his blade feeds the same hunger he's trying to destroy. Every act of resistance risks becoming the next sermon in Ba'aal's endless gospel of self-hate and erasure. As monsters rise from the Furnace's depths and miracles turn to poison, Chungho must face the most terrifying revelation of all-that the parasite's final refuge is not in temples, towers, or machines, but in the human heart itself. The Duck that Kicked the Serpent's Nest is a devastating final movement in the saga-part apocalypse, part prayer-for a world still learning that even truth can be weaponized, and even hope can be a contagion.