In the dark and distant future, Armageddon has given rise to an eternal war between the humans, lead by the Vatican, and the Methuselah Empire, the domain of the vampires! A plot to assassinate the Methuselah Emperor is revealed at last, but it's not Radu who is accused of the crime-Ion, Esther and company are suddenly the main suspects! Astharoshe struggles with her own immortality, and how feelings of loyalty and love can change over the course of centuries. Meanwhile, Deitrich has yet another cruel twist of fate in store for his beloved Esther... -- VIZ Media

In the dark and distant future, Armageddon has given rise to an eternal war between the humans, led by the Vatican, and the Methuselah Empire, the domain of the vampires! When Abel and Esther arrive at Istvan, they are shocked to find the paparazzi descending on Esther. The Church has made her a "Lady Saint" for having saved Istvan from vampires a year ago. On this, the one-year anniversary of Esther's battle against Gyula Ka'Da'r, the town is staging an opera in her honor. But just as Esther is about to give the opening speech, she's kidnapped by an unexpected friend turned foe... -- VIZ Media

Sister Esther joins forces with the warriors of the Vatican, but begins to suspect the relationship between Cardinal Caterina and Abel is not on the up-and-up.

All roads lead to Rome and the Vatican, as Abel, Tres, and Esther set off to meet up with the rest of AX after the death of Gyula and the destruction of Esther's home church in Istavan. Esther's on a new mission, seeking to find herself and the source of her suffering, and new orders from the Vatican may lead to the answer. But the journey is filled with many twisted turns, including a formidable vampire, a bloodsucking tree, and a dangerously beautiful mermaid! In these original, never-before-told stories - which you will not find in the Trinity Blood novels or anime - all's fair in blood and war! -- VIZ Media

In the first major book in four decades on Caterina Sforza (1463-1509), Joyce de Vries investigates the famous noblewoman's cultural endeavors, and explores the ways in which gender, culture, and consumption practices were central to the invention of the self in early modern Italy. Sforza commissioned elaborate artistic and architectural works, participated in splendid civic and religious rituals, and collected a dazzling array of clothing, jewelry, and household goods. By engaging in these realms of cultural production, de Vries suggests, Sforza manipulated masculine and feminine norms of behavior and effectively promoted her social and political agendas. Drawing on visual evidence, inventories, letters, and contemporary texts, de Vries offers a penetrating new interpretation of women's contributions to early modern culture. She explains the correlations between prescriptive literature and women's actions and reveals the mutability of gender roles in the princely courts. De Vries's analysis of Sforza's posthumous legend suggests that what we see as "the Renaissance" was as much a historical invention as a coherent moment in historical time.