HIGH TIDE, HIGH TIME.It is revealed that Toboe attacks Darcia the moment he pulls the trigger on Quent, causing the bullet to miss. Bitten by Toboe, Darcia declares that he can no longer feel any pain because of Jaguara's poison, and flings the wounded wolf away. Quent pulls out a pistol and shoots Darcia, but Darcia mortally wounds Quent with his next shot. The gravely-wounded Toboe staggers over to Quent, and Quent pets Toboe as he realizes that the wolf kept him warm when he was freezing. Hubb, separated from the pack, encounters Darcia who slowly begins to strangle him, but Kiba interferes and asks why Darcia doesn't just use the stone that he possesses to open Paradise. Darcia laughs and declares "Paradise is right under your noses" before disappearing. Hige and Blue rejoin the pack, only to discover Quent and Toboe have died. As the pack continues on towards the Tree of All Seeds, Tsume remains behind to talk to Toboe, and reveals that his scar is a reminder of his cowardice, resulting in his banishment from his previous pack, and that it was Toboe who motivated him to pursue Paradise. The pack reaches the Tree of All Seeds, and Hubb, reading from the Book of the Moon, reveals this is the site of the Tower of the Seal the Nobles built to seal off Paradise. When asked by Blue how Paradise is described in the Book, Hubb reveals the last few pages are blank. Kiba explains Darcia is trying to become a wolf so he can open the true Paradise himself, and not a pale imitation like the one Jaguara attempted to open. The pack continues onward to the summit of the First Mountain, which is the gate to Paradise, but Hubb falls to his death in the attempt to scale it. It is then that Darcia (in wolf form) reappears as "the wretched beast" as mentioned in the prophecies of the Book of the Moon.