Chapter Summaries

Lasha had Lilith crush a strange shadowy evil god, which hinted that it would return. Shien reached the royal palace and reflected on the destruction of the temples and the schemes that had enabled Danas's traitors to act across the three worlds.

• The shadow mocked Lilith and threatened Lasha, but Lilith's presence kept it from attacking.
• Lasha signaled Lilith to erase the intruder, and Lilith crushed the shadow with her evil aura as it rejoiced in the pain.
• The shadow dispersed into smoke-like magic power after promising to return, and Lasha suspected it had survived.
• Shien arrived at the royal palace and considered how the recent battles had devastated it and destroyed the temples that connected to the Divine Realm.
• Shien concluded that Hermes had not known about the traitors and that Danas had recruited them in advance.

Shien visited Roxie in her bedchamber and found her asleep after a night of work. As he leaned in to kiss her, Lidas appeared and confronted him.

• Shien passed the temple ruins and treatment center, where Ria was helping heal the wounded with advanced Recovery Magic.
• Shien Teleported to Roxie's bedchamber and learned that the Sacred Sword Knights and House Poztut's knights were working together on the city's defensive lines under Tier's command.
• Shien entered Roxie's room and found her sleeping after staying awake all night.
• Shien watched over Roxie, smoothed her hair, and praised her dedication while she slept.
• As Shien leaned toward Roxie to kiss her forehead, Lidas appeared and asked what he was doing.

Shien was mortified when he discovered that Lidas and Anima had secretly watched him fuss over the sleeping Roxie. After the Goddesses explained that contact with the Divine and Demon Realms remained impossible, they revealed that they had found the whereabouts of the hostages.

• Shien discovered that Lidas and Anima had been hiding in Roxie's room and had witnessed his actions beside her bed.
• Roxie murmured in her sleep that Shien had treated her like a beast, leaving Lidas and Anima with suspicious impressions.
• Anima explained that she and Lidas had come to discuss matters with Roxie and had stayed to guard her while she rested.
• Shien learned that contact with the Divine Realm and Demon Realm had not been restored and that little progress had been made rebuilding the passageways.
• Lidas and Anima said that Danas had become a major threat and that their forces were searching for ways to contact the Divine Realm.
• Lidas and Anima told Shien they had found the whereabouts of the hostages.

Anima and Lidas explained why the God Race had not moved against the traitorous Beastmen and Dwarves, whose civilians and unusual territories made direct action dangerous. They revealed that Geura had taken Iris and the others into the World's Crevice, a place that suppressed the God Race’s power, and had come to discuss the problem with Roxie.

• Anima told Shien that Geura and the traitor Beastmen had captured Iris, her Priestly Corps, and the Goddess who had gone to support them.
• Anima explained that Geura had forced many scattered Beastmen tribes into obedience by taking their leaders and heirs hostage, while Lidas explained that the Dwarves had sealed their underground kingdom’s entrances.
• Lidas and Anima said they had avoided attacking because the Beastmen were scattered and many were victims, while fighting underground could bury innocent Dwarves alive.
• Anima revealed that Geura had taken Iris and the other hostages into the World's Crevice.
• Lidas explained that the World's Crevice was the place where Lilith’s Dark Temple had once been exiled, and that its environment suppressed most of the God Race’s power.
• Lidas said the Goddesses could not act there and that they had come to discuss the situation with Roxie.

Roxie proposed rescuing the Goddesses and other hostages held by Geura in the World's Crevice, where the Goddesses’ powers were suppressed. Shien rejected plans that put Roxie, Yulin, Merika, or a large Kingdom force at risk and decided to lead the operation himself, leaving the royal capital guarded by Lidas, Anima, Lilith, and Roxie.

• Lidas and Anima explained that Geura had moved his headquarters and the captured Goddesses into the World's Crevice, where the Demon King’s power suppressed the God Race.
• Roxie woke and urged the others to organize a rescue, arguing that freeing the hostages could undermine Geura’s faction and help the Kingdom and God Race strike back.
• Lidas and Anima warned that the Kingdom would struggle against Geura and his forces, while Roxie volunteered to go herself.
• Shien refused Roxie’s offer and rejected sending Yulin and Merika or launching a large-scale attack, citing the dangers of the Crevice and the Beastmen army.
• Shien decided to go rescue the captives himself, reasoning that his Holy Sword and Supreme God’s Blessing would help him in the Crevice and that the capital could hold without him.

Shien planned to secretly leave the royal capital to rescue the Beastmen hostages, but first learned that an evil god had infiltrated House Poztut and tried to take Lilith. He left his household on alert as he prepared to warn the others and begin his counterattack against the New Primal Demon.

• Shien, Roxie, Lidas, and Anima agreed that he would secretly leave the royal capital to rescue the hostages, while Lidas concealed his departure.
• Shien returned to House Poztut to tell Lasha about his mission, but she reported that an unknown evil god had infiltrated the home and tried to take Lilith.
• Shien confirmed that Lasha and Lilith were unharmed, and Lilith indicated that she had killed the intruder despite sensing something strange about it.
• Shien suspected the New Primal Demon was preparing hidden plans and told Lilith to capture or kill future intruders and Lasha to avoid going out alone.
• Lasha reminded Shien that he usually bit people after giving instructions, and he was left speechless.

Shien left the Royal Capital for the World's Crevice in Cosmos, trusting his allies to defend the city. Meanwhile, Geura tried to force himself on Iris, but the chaotic magic power in the World's Crevice blasted him away again.

• Shien reflected on his attachments in the Royal Capital and left for Cosmos, where the World's Crevice was located.
• Geura entered Iris's room and told her he intended to make her his companion and use her status to secure the Beastmen Race's obedience.
• Iris resisted Geura, and the atmospheric magic power suddenly surged and hurled him into the wall.
• Geura blamed the World's Crevice for repeatedly protecting Iris, unaware that the world itself was opposing him.

Geura explained to Iris how Danas had recruited rebels across the races and planned to seize the Human Realm, while the protection on Iris came from Shien’s blessing and the Supreme God’s lingering power. Geura left to prepare an engagement ceremony, and Iris was left hoping Shien would rescue her.

• The Supreme God’s lingering power protected Iris from Geura because Shien’s blessing carried the world’s favor to those he cherished.
• Geura told Iris that Danas had recruited factions among the God Race, Demon Race, Human Race, and Grand Spirits, and planned to eliminate threats in the Human Realm.
• Geura explained that Danas feared Shien’s Holy Sword, especially if it transformed after Shien transcended, and wanted to finish his plans first.
• Geura said he would hold an engagement ceremony in a few days and threatened Iris’s priests if she refused to cooperate.
• After Geura left, Iris collapsed in tears and pleaded for Shien to come save her.

Shien crossed the ruined Duke Streim's Territory, rescuing refugees while refusing to protect them beyond immediate danger, and reached Cosmos before nightfall. He found the rebuilt city occupied by beastfolk and dwarves, where many beastfolk seemed unwilling to join Geura's war but were kept under watch.

• Shien killed alchemized demons that were pursuing refugees, then sent the group on toward a nearby city without agreeing to escort them.
• Shien reflected on the cruelty and desperation he had witnessed among refugees and continued north toward Cosmos.
• Shien arrived above Cosmos and saw that it had been rebuilt as a city occupied by beastfolk and dwarves, with a strange barrier and spatial pulses at its center.
• Shien entered Cosmos under concealment and heard beastfolk complain about the dwarves' weapons and the prospect of war against humans and Elves.
• Shien observed armed beastfolk monitoring the streets and realized that many residents appeared uneasy and opposed to the war but were afraid to speak openly.

Shien witnessed the imprisoned Nobu fighting his younger brother Note, who had seized the Tigerfolk Tribe and pledged loyalty to the New Primal Demon. As Note tried to kill Nobu to suppress the growing resistance among the Beastfolk, an unidentified figure rushed in to intervene.

• Shien recognized Nobu as the former Tigerfolk chief as Nobu fought the warriors escorting him.
• Note struck Nobu with a spiked mace and revealed that he had taken over the tribe and intended to send Nobu to the Rift as a prisoner.
• Nobu condemned Note for betraying the Tigerfolk and submitting to the New Primal Demon, while Note argued that surrender was the only way to save their people.
• Nobu invoked the Three Great Goddesses, the Six Great Demon Lords, and the Hero, stirring resistance among the watching Beastfolk.
• Note decided to kill Nobu to intimidate the crowd and swung his mace at Nobu's head.
• An unidentified figure rushed in and arrived before Note as the mace fell.

Shien rescued Nobu from Note and the Beastfolk warriors in Cosmos, revealing himself after teleporting them to safety. Note suspected the rescuer was a Limit-tier expert and left to report the news to Geura, while Shien asked Nobu how he had ended up injured and imprisoned.

• A black-robed stranger blocked Note’s hammer, shattered it, and kicked Note through a building.
• The stranger’s magical power knocked down the Beastfolk warriors, and he teleported away with Nobu.
• Note suspected the stranger was a Limit-tier expert and set off to warn Geura.
• The stranger revealed himself as Shien in a secluded alley, and Nobu asked why he was in Cosmos.
• Shien asked Nobu what had happened to him, and Nobu grew angry.

Shien freed Nobu and revealed that he had come to rescue the people Geura had captured, with dealing with Geura as a secondary goal. Nobu agreed to lead Shien to the rift, whose chaotic space required a special way in.

• Shien cut through the chains restraining Nobu with the Holy Sword.
• Nobu admitted he had wondered whether being a Hero could have saved the Tigerfolk Tribe and won Shafna's attention, and Shien reminded him that he was her brother-in-law.
• Nobu asked whether Shien had come to target the Beastmen Race or Geura, and Shien clarified that rescuing the captives was his main mission.
• Nobu recognized that Shien was the one capable of confronting Geura and the Beastmen forces in the rift.
• Nobu offered to take Shien to the rift, explaining that its chaotic space could not be entered through ordinary teleportation, and Shien followed him.

Shien and Nobu investigated the military camp occupying the former site of Lilith's Dark Temple and discussed Geura's powerful, loyal Beastfolk forces. Their argument over Shafna and their romantic pursuits ended when Geura's soldiers surrounded them and called them intruders.

• Nobu explained that Geura had displaced the tribe guarding the Dark Temple and stationed his own soldiers at the World's Crevice.
• Nobu described Geura's harsh policies for forging his tribe into a powerful military force, and Shien considered attacking the soldiers before Nobu warned him that Geura could threaten the hostages.
• Shien learned that Nobu had a wife and daughter, then teased him for pursuing Shafna; Nobu retorted that Shien coveted the Dragon Demon despite having fiancées.
• Shien and Nobu traded insults and nearly fought before noticing that Beastfolk warriors had surrounded them and shouted that there were intruders.

Shien and Nobu fought their way through the Beastfolk military camp, killing every warrior to prevent word of their infiltration from reaching Geura. With the camp cleared, they were left to continue toward the hostages.

• Beastfolk warriors surrounded Shien and Nobu, and the two attacked, with Nobu using Great Strength to crush the charging soldiers.
• Shien drew his Holy Sword and slaughtered the Beastfolk warriors with swift strikes.
• A camp leader ordered warriors to flee to the rift for reinforcements, but Shien used Starry Arrays to kill them before they could escape.
• Shien and Nobu killed every remaining Beastfolk warrior in the camp, and Nobu panted among the corpses while Shien remained calm.

Shien and Nobu entered the Beastmen Race’s military camp after killing its guards and opened the barrier to the World’s Crevice. After Nobu performed the ritual, the two raced into the crack before it was concealed again.

• Shien and Nobu reached the platform where the World’s Crevice was hidden, and Shien sensed that chaotic spatial fluctuations prevented teleportation.
• Nobu explained that the crack was the Demon King’s scar on the world and that a ritual offering to Anima could open its barrier.
• Nobu performed the female priestesses’ offering dance, leaving Shien horrified, until a crack appeared in the sky.
• Shien recoiled from Nobu, and Nobu chased him around the platform as they argued.
• The crack’s darkness faded, so Nobu and Shien launched themselves into it before the barrier closed again.

Shien and Nobu reached the world's inner side, where Geura's town held Nobu's wife and daughter captive. Shien sent Nobu to draw the defenders' attention while he began a stealthy rescue, leaving the operation underway.

• Shien and Nobu entered the world's inner side and spotted the town where Geura had settled his tribe.
• Nobu admitted he did not know the town's terrain, and Shien decided to use him as a distraction.
• Shien told Nobu to charge the town gate and draw the defenders away while he searched for the hostages.
• Nobu reminded Shien that his wife Lilime and daughter Lalame needed rescuing, then charged toward the town as Shien vanished.

Nobu attacked the Beastfolk town to draw Geura’s forces toward him while Shien pursued another objective. Geura recognized Nobu as bait, ordered Note to kill his brother and gave him Nobu’s wife and daughter, then went to investigate the mysterious powerhouse himself.

• Nobu broke through the town’s main gate and attacked its warriors, calling for Geura and drawing the Beastfolk forces into chaos.
• Nobu deliberately kept fighting so Geura’s forces would focus on him and give Shien an opening elsewhere.
• Geura and Note discussed Nobu’s attack and concluded that Nobu was bait for a mysterious powerhouse trying to rescue the hostages.
• Geura ordered Note to kill Nobu and allowed him to do as he wished with Nobu’s wife and daughter.
• Geura left to investigate the mysterious powerhouse.

Shien infiltrated Geura’s palace to find the captive hostages while Nobu’s attack drew attention elsewhere. Geura reported the assault to Danas, who warned him not to underestimate the Hero.

• Shien entered the town unseen and reasoned that Geura would keep powerful guards near the hostages despite Nobu’s attack.
• Shien sharpened his senses and slipped into the palace without being noticed.
• Geura contacted Danas through a concealed Magic Item and reported that the expected attack had begun.
• Geura dismissed the Hero as less dangerous than Moon Demon Sela, but Danas warned that the Demon King had died from underestimating a Hero.

Geura and Danas agreed to use a dangerous trump card against whoever infiltrated the palace, hoping the intruder was Shien. Unaware of the conspiracy, Shien reached the heavily guarded lowest floor, convinced it held the hostages.

• Danas told Geura that Shien was the likeliest rescuer, though other elite experts might come instead.
• Danas ordered Geura to use the borrowed weapon against any intruders and warned that it could go berserk without the Queen Consort.
• Geura accepted the plan and hoped Shien would be the one to arrive so he could make him despair.
• Shien infiltrated the palace, found a guarded treasure vault and grain storehouse, and continued downward in search of the hostages.
• Shien reached the lowest floor and found it guarded by Beastfolk warriors, including three experts above level eighty.

Shien broke into the guarded chamber and found Iris imprisoned nearby, then calmed her panic by revealing himself and promising to take her home. Iris reunited with him in tears, while Shien resolved to kill Geura for what he had done to her.

• Shien killed the Beastfolk guards, dispelled the magic protecting the iron door, and opened it.
• Shien sensed Iris nearby, broke into her room, and found her terrified and trembling.
• Iris panicked when Shien touched her, mistaking him for Geura and crying that she did not want to marry him.
• Shien revealed his face and told Iris he had come to save her, and she recognized him and threw herself into his arms.
• Iris told Shien how Geura had frightened and threatened her, and Shien comforted her and promised she could marry the bad guy she wanted.