Chapter 1 (manga)

Book of Soul Exchange
Chapter 1
Japanese Name	換魂の書
Romanized Name	Kankon no Sho
Volume	1
Release Date	October 26, 2010
Pages	122
Adapted from	Introduction: Chapter 2 (light novel 1) Main story: Chapter 1 (light novel 3)
Anime counterpart	Introduction: N/A Main story: Episode 4

"Book of Soul Exchange" is the 1st chapter of The Mystic Archives of Dantalian manga. It's divided into four parts, including an introduction to the manga adaptation.

Hugh decides to check a letter recently sent to his late grandfather. The novelist Lenny Lents affirms that he's imprisoned by a Phantom Book. However, the author is supposed to be dead.

Summary

Part 1

Hugh finds Chez Hurston in the form of a beast.

Hugh wakes up with a kick from Dalian. He prepares to use his revolver against a monster, but Dalian stops him. She affirms that the creature is in fact Chez Hurston. The beast is supporting the collapsed ceiling. Someone throws a torch from above. Roy Hurston, Chez’s brother, is trying to kill them. He throws gasoline and lets out a malicious laugh. The cellar is about to be completely destroyed. However, Dalian grants Hugh permission to open the Labyrinth Library.

From far away, hunting dogs act strange. The Hurston estate is seen on fire. A huge winged object appears above the house, born from a Phantom Book. Later, policemen are investigating the destroyed place. Roy's body is found. Previously, an unusual couple was witnessed entering the Hurston estate. One of the officers suspects them, yet his superior decides to register the case as an accident. They shouldn’t interfere in the case, since it involves the Black Biblioprincess.

A man is killed by the short-haired woman.

A book called “Ras Alhague” is seen. Then, a short-haired woman is shown holding a knife. She had just decapitated a man.

One week later, news about the fire at the Hurston estate still circulate around the city. A kid goes to the Disward estate to deliver the newspaper. He runs in fear when Hugh shows up. The latter was working on his car, covered in oil. Hugh enters the mansion. After reading the newspaper, Hugh notices a letter sent to Wesley.

Dalian is shown reading a book ordered by Hugh. She’s mad, looking for the last volume of The Castle of Wolves. Hugh affirms that only the first two volumes exist. Dalian is very interested in the love story described in the novels. Hugh shows the letter to Dalian. Apparently, Wesley and the author Lenny Lents were acquaintances. Something is strange about the letter recently send by the writer. Meanwhile, Lenny is seen showing his work to a short-haired woman. Unsatisfied, she attacks him with a knife.

Hugh is driving to Lenny’s residence while Dalian is reading the letter. The author asks for help, mentioning a Phantom Book. Dalian wants to see his trilogy finished. Hugh affirms that the man supposedly died half a year ago. When they arrive, Hugh and Dalian meet the short-haired woman.

Part 2

Hugh and Dalian meet Paula.

A long-haired, naked woman is lamenting over a body with no head. She wonders how long they have been imprisoned by the Ras Alhague.

Hugh and Dalian notice that the short-haired woman’s cloth is stained with blood. She’s also holding a knife. Hugh introduces himself and mentions the rumor about Lenny’s death. However, Hugh is glad that the rumor is false. Hugh can see the author through a window. The woman affirms that Lenny can't have visitors while he's secluded, working on a manuscript. Dalian wonders if Lenny is working on the last volume of The Castle of Wolves trilogy. After seeing Dalian’s passion for the novel, the short-haired woman decides to arrange a meeting the next day. Before leaving, Hugh notices a barn locked from the outside. The woman introduces herself as Paula Lents, the novelist’s wife.

Latesha's body, moments before she comes back to life.

Hugh watches Lenny’s house from the distance. He gives a cup of tea to Dalian. Hugh wants to sneak into Lenny's residence. He mentions his investigation on Lenny. Apparently, the latter was killed by an unknown assailant. His wife was also supposed to be dead after falling ill. Hugh wonders about Paula’s real identity.

Under the full moon, they start the infiltration. Dalian is only tagging along to find something to eat. She slips on the snow. Hugh covers her mouth. They see Paula leaving the barn. The knife she’s holding is dripping blood. Inside the barn, the long-haired woman is seen lying on a pool of blood coming from the headless corpse. It seems as if life has returned to her body. After meeting Hugh and Dalian, she introduces herself as Latesha, Lenny’s wife.

Part 3

Hugh covers Latesha while Dalian investigates the place. Dalian learns that Lenny’s face was ripped off and hanged on the wall. Countless bloodied handprints are seen, as if many were slaughtered there. Latesha holds the author’s dismembered body. She asks them to save her husband. They should return tomorrow and take him away from Paula and her Phantom Book.

Paula is seen burning the second volume of The Castle of Wolves. Soon, she will have what she desires. She laughs in a maniac way.

The next day, Hugh collects a message from the post office. Dalian tries some of Hugh’s biscuits. She doesn’t like it. She slaps Hugh when he appears with better snacks he had just purchased. After that, Hugh drives to Lenny’s residence. He wants to call the authorities to apprehend Paula. However, Dalian reminds him of their true purpose. Paula seems like she's a thrall to the Phantom Book. Their sacred duty is archive it.

Paula greets them. She takes Hugh and Dalian to see Lenny Lents. Hugh is surprised to see the man alive. During the exchange, the author pretends to work on the ending of his trilogy. In fact, he writes a message of help, requesting them to save Latesha. His wish is to have his wife taken away from there that same night. They shouldn’t trust Paula. In exchange, they can have the manuscript of his last book.

Hugh and Dalian leaves. At night, Lenny appears begging for mercy. Paula keeps ordering Lenny to rewrite his story. The eerie woman threats him with a knife. When it’s midnight, Hugh and Dalian prepare to sneak in again.

The walls of Lenny's barn are covered in blood.

Hugh and Dalian meet Lenny.

Part 4

Hugh sees Paula's true self.

Hugh draws his revolver before entering the house. Paula is somewhere else, pointing a rifle at Lenny, who is covered in blood. When they hear a gunshot, Hugh and Dalian run towards the barn. Dalian points out that they should obtain the final part of The Castle of Wolves. At the door, they are almost shot by Paula. Hugh drops his gun and surrenders. Lenny is on the ground, with a bag covering his head. Hugh calls her Paula Dickinson. She’s a stalker famous in the publishing industry, suspected to be the assailant that attacked Lenny half a year ago. She also has mutilated the body of Latesha. The police will be there in the morning. Paula affirms that she and Lenny love each other. She even allows him to have Latesha. Paula kills Lenny with an axe.

The Ras Alhague carried by Paula revives Latesha. The blood returns to her body. Her head is also recovered. Dalian explains that the Phantom Book brings the dead back to life. Paula made a pact with the underworld to have such a power. Lenny and Latesha can't be alive at the same time. Their souls are being used as sacrifices for each other. Paula uses the axe again, this time to kill Latesha. Questioned by Hugh, Paula affirms that she is doing that to obtain a better novel from Lenny. Paula can't accept the ending he originally wrote. She prepares to kill Hugh and Dalian, but Lenny stops her. She lets out an evil laugh while shooting the author dead. Dalian mentions how Lenny and Latesha are developing resistance to death. After many deaths, they evolved into a creature that crushes Paula under its huge fist. Dalian gives Hugh permission to open the Labyrinth Library. However, he affirms that there is no need for that. Fused into one body, the couple slowly disappears. Hugh picks the Ras Alhague from the floor.

Paula’s remains were soon found by the authorities. Everyone was informed about how she imprisoned the Lents. The last volume of The Castle of Wolves was found under floorboards and then published. Dalian is frustrated after reading the ending. She wants to read about two men in love. Paula thought the same, and that’s what she was making Lenny write. Dalian decides to write a satisfying story herself.

Paula uses the Ras Alhague.

Paula is killed by the monster born from the couple's soul.

Light novel-manga main differences

Light novel	Manga
-	The adaptation is more gruesome in general.
Dalian slaps Hugh to bring him to his senses.	Dalian kicks Hugh to bring him to his senses.
Hugh uses a Phantom Book to move instantaneously in space.	When that happens, a huge caduceus-like object appears in the sky.
-	The police decide not to investigate the events at the Hurston estate since it involve the Black Biblioprincess and her key-keeper.
-	A paperboy delivers a newspaper at the Disward estate.
-	Hugh is fixing his car.
Hugh breaks into an empty villa to wait for the night before exploring Lenny's house.	Hugh waits in the open, using binoculars to watch the house from a distance.
Leticia is Lenny's lover.	Latesha is Lenny's wife.
Lenny's head was crushed against a wall, his legs were broken.	Lenny is decapitated, his face is flayed, his limbs were cut.
-	Latesha holds Lenny's disfigured body.
-	Dalian slaps Hugh because he bought tasty snacks for himself.
Hugh and Dalian go straight to the barn.	Hugh and Dalian enter the house to rescue Lenny. They go to the barn when they hear a gunshot.
Hugh and Dalian enter the barn, then Paula and Lenny show up.	Paula and Lenny were already inside the barn when Hugh and Dalian show up.
Paula shoots Lenny twice in his leg, then she shoots through his heart.	Paula uses an axe to split Lenny's head open.
Paula shoots Leticia through her heart. Paula destroy her body with a poker.	Paula uses an axe to kill Latesha and destroy her body.
Paula breaks Lenny's neck with a swing of a poker.	Paula shoots Lenny's head.
Paula dies when her broken ribs puncture her lungs.	The Ras Alhague monster crushes Paula to death with its fist.
Dalian forces Hugh to help her write the ending to Lenny's story.	Dalian decides to create her own ending to Lenny's story.

Trivia

• The ladyfinger biscuits Dalian tries while Hugh is at the post office are manufactured by Lefèvre-Utile, a real French biscuit company founded in Nantes in 1846. The art seen in the box was design by Czech painter Alphonse Mucha around 1900.
• The first part of the chapter has two panels resembling the illustrations from the light novel stories Pedigree and Book of Soul Exchange.

Dalian and the blue petals, light novel version.

Dalian and the blue petals, manga version.

Dalian's frustration, light novel version.

Dalian's frustration, manga version.

References

Previous N/A	Manga	Next
Chapters Book of Soul Exchange - Turn-Up Book - Book of Lifetime - Book of Gap - The Dictator's Book - The Perfumer - The Beautiful Woman's World - The House-Elf - Book of Wisdom - Timetable - Book of Wisdom II - Epilogue Dan-sho Extra