Recaps

Allen used the Trolls’ failed assault on the fortress to persuade the nobles to join a raid on the Withered Tree Tribe’s vulnerable families in the Hinterlands. While the Trolls prepared another siege, Soladin marched to the battlefield with Artoria and the imperial army.

• The Trolls charged the fortress but lost thousands without reaching the walls, and their Warlord ordered them to withdraw.
• Allen told the nobles that the Withered Tree Tribe’s elderly, women, and children were guarded near a Hinterlands basin and proposed raiding them for slaves and treasure.
• Allen had Al Barrowf explain a plan to wipe out the Withered Tree Tribe’s men and enslave its women and children, and Ignatius joined the venture.
• The Withered Trolls began building siege equipment while their Warlord worried that Allen’s Horse Archers would attack again.
• After learning that the Trolls had surrounded the fortress, Soladin ordered the imperial army to march, with Artoria leading the vanguard.

Artoria considered a political marriage with Allen to stop the nobles’ advances, while High Elf Rangers watched Allen’s battle against the Trolls and decided to approach him as a potential ally. The Rangers secretly entered his fortress and headed for his study after dinner.

• Soladin told Artoria that he was arranging a banquet for Allen to meet noblewomen, and Artoria insisted that Allen would prefer High Elves from the north.
• Aliya and the other knights suggested that Artoria marry Allen, leading Artoria to consider proposing a fake marriage after the Trolls were defeated.
• The Trolls launched a full assault on Allen’s fortress while two High Elf Rangers observed the humans’ defense and praised their tactics.
• The Rangers agreed to contact Allen and secretly entered the fortress that night, avoiding the guards despite alarming a dog.
• After eating food from the nobles’ dinner, the two Rangers made their way toward Allen’s study.

Allen’s experiments on two Trolls revealed a spellcaster’s thalamus could remain active beyond the limits of the body, until a High Elf ranger stumbled into his study. After they cleared up the misunderstanding, she identified herself as an envoy carrying a personal letter from the Sun King and asked Allen to arrange a meeting with the human emperor.

• Two High Elf Rangers infiltrated Allen’s fortress, and the female ranger entered his study alone.
• The ranger discovered Allen experimenting on a Troll Witch Doctor and a Troll warrior, whose brains and bodies reacted differently to a black liquid.
• Allen knocked the ranger down as she tried to flee, then restrained her and discovered she was a High Elf.
• The ranger mistook Allen’s experiments for a demonic ritual, but relaxed after he explained that he was studying spellcaster brains.
• The ranger introduced herself as an envoy from Anasterian Sunstrider and described the Amani Trolls’ escalating attacks on the High Elves.
• The ranger showed Allen a sealed personal letter from the Sun King and asked him to introduce her to the human emperor.

Allen hosted two High Elf envoys seeking an alliance against the Amani Trolls, but told them the Arathor Empire would not enter the war yet. As Soladin’s arrival approached, Allen prepared a night operation to threaten the Trolls’ rear while the Troll warlord devised a costly plan to breach the fortress.

• Allen told the female elf envoy that humans needed time to recover and would not fight alongside the High Elves until they were ready.
• Allen discovered the male elf ranger hiding near the study, and he and his companion accepted rooms at the fortress while they waited for Soladin.
• Allen told Lyle that Silvermoon City was nearing defeat and ordered him to notify Ignatius about a nighttime operation as Al Barrowf and the nobles prepared to depart north.
• The Troll warlord gathered the Witch Doctors, arcanists, and priests and presented a plan to break through the fortress, despite the many Troll lives it would cost.

Allen led a nighttime raid that sent an expeditionary force toward The Hinterlands to attack the Withered Tree Tribe, then used the threat to divide the Trolls. As the warlord and priests prepared a sacrificial witchcraft counterattack, two High Elf envoys recognized the danger and went to warn Allen.

• Al Barrowf sent Ignatius, Allen, and the expeditionary army through the fortress gates, and they overwhelmed the sleeping Troll camp before heading north toward The Hinterlands.
• Allen told the Trolls that the humans were going to massacre the Withered Tree Tribe’s people, provoking its warriors to demand that the warlord retreat and protect their homeland.
• The warlord and the priests resisted the warriors’ demands, and the Withered Tree Tribe’s leader threatened to act on his own if no better plan came before dawn.
• The warlord and the high priest decided to advance their plan and used the power of faith to deceive the Troll warriors as they prepared large-scale witchcraft.
• Two High Elf envoys saw a fiery magical shadow over the Troll camp, recognized it as a sign of impending witchcraft, and went to Allen’s bedroom to report the danger.

Allen learned that the Trolls planned to summon the Dragonhawk God, Gayle, and vowed to face the threat himself. At dawn, the Trolls sacrificed three thousand mutineers and their High Priest, whose body merged with Gayle’s projection to become a giant Dragonhawk.

• Two High Elf envoys warned Allen that the Trolls intended to summon Gayle and offered him two enchanted arrows, but Allen sent them away and said he would deal with the threat himself.
• The envoys speculated that Allen was hiding a way to fight the Dragonhawk God, then decided to wait and see what he would do.
• At sunrise, the Troll Warlord and the High Priest prepared a ritual using three thousand captured mutineers as sacrifices.
• The Trolls killed the captives over two hours, and their blood and flames formed Gayle’s powerful projection.
• The High Priest stabbed himself in the heart, and his body merged with Gayle’s projection to transform into a Dragonhawk over thirty meters long.

Allen ordered the fortress’s civilians and soldiers into shelter, then faced the Dragonhawk God’s incarnation and the Troll High Priest alone. He severed one of the Dragonhawk’s wings but was caught in a fiery crash that destroyed the fortress gates, while the High Elves recognized that he seemed able to command or repel elemental fire.

• Allen realized the Troll High Priest had merged Gayle’s power into his body and ordered Ignatius to evacuate everyone into the cellars.
• Allen leaped from the wall to confront the Dragonhawk incarnation as the High Priest flew toward him and attacked with a torrent of fire.
• Allen used the moat’s steam as cover, leaped onto the Dragonhawk’s back, and drove his Thorium greatsword into its body.
• Allen endured the Dragonhawk’s fiery transformation and cut off one of its wings, sending the injured High Priest crashing into the fortress gates.
• The Dragonhawk’s impact unleashed flames that destroyed the nearby wall and buildings, while an unseen force kept the fire from touching Allen.
• Ya and her companion suspected Allen could command elemental forces, and the male elf proposed reporting him to the Silvermoon council and Sun King.

Allen fought off the Troll army after severing the Dragonhawk God High Priest’s wing, but the Trolls wore him down until the High Priest and Warlord attacked together. Two High Elf Rangers intervened, and one was poisoned and captured as the battle continued.

• Allen’s attack severed the Dragonhawk God High Priest’s wing, forcing him to change into a half-man, half-eagle form, while Allen’s greatsword began absorbing the Dragonhawk God’s fire energy.
• The High Priest sent a sea of flames at Allen and ordered the Troll warriors and spellcasters to attack him; Allen cut down and burned many of them with his flaming sword.
• The Trolls surrounded Allen and used hexes, lightning, venom, and poisoned attacks to exhaust him while the Warlord and High Priest waited for an opening.
• As Allen weakened, the Warlord and High Priest joined the fight, and two High Elf Rangers emerged to shoot down Trolls and wound the Warlord.
• The Warlord ordered his Berserker Hunters to capture the elves alive, and the female elf was struck by a poisoned arrow that left half her body numb.

Emperor Thoradin’s reinforcements arrived just as Allen’s forces were on the verge of defeat, and Artoria joined Allen in fighting the Troll Warlord and the Dragonhawk High Priest. After the High Priest sacrificed himself to unleash the true Dragonhawk God Gayle, Allen struck a deep wound in the god’s neck and held on as his sword absorbed its blood.

• A poisoned female elf asked her companion to kill her, but Emperor Thoradin’s cavalry arrived before he could deliver the blow.
• Allen revealed that he had volunteered to serve as bait, and Artoria rode into battle and struck the Troll Warlord with overwhelming strength.
• Artoria attacked the Warlord and High Priest while Allen warned her about their weapons and the High Priest’s fire powers.
• The High Priest sacrificed himself to release Gayle’s Incarnation, and the Dragonhawk God healed its wounds and unleashed devastating fire attacks.
• Allen resisted Gayle’s flames, leapt into the air, and cut deeply into its neck with his greatsword, which began absorbing the god’s blood.

Allen survived his battle with the Dragonhawk God by absorbing its blood, while Soladin's forces defeated the invading Trolls. Artoria found Allen alive in a blood-formed egg after the battle, and he emerged healed with a flaming greatsword.

• Allen drove his greatsword deeper into Gayle, the Dragonhawk God, and its blood rapidly healed and transformed his body as the wounded god crashed into a valley and died.
• Soladin calmed himself and led the human army against the Trolls, whose resistance was crushed by the coordinated Arathor forces.
• Artoria defeated the Troll Warlord with Holy Light after Allen had weakened him, then rode to the burning valley to check on Allen.
• The Trolls lost their will to fight, and the humans killed the last of them and began dealing with the battle's aftermath.
• Artoria found Allen enclosed in an egg of the Dragonhawk God's blood, and Allen emerged naked, healed, and holding a flaming greatsword.

After killing the Dragonhawk God's incarnation, Allen gained fire powers and a transformed body before learning that the Azerath Universe was nearing a New World. He advised Soladin on exploiting the conflict between the Amani Trolls and High Elves, then prepared to leave as Al Barrowf's expedition returned with spoils and captives.

• Allen absorbed the Dragonhawk God's blood, gained control over flames and greater physical strength, and turned his greatsword into a Divine Artifact.
• Edna Bevin told Allen that the Azerath Universe had broken free from its previous universe and would reach the New World in two or three months, so Lady Sakura wanted him to return to Sky City.
• Soladin arrived, and Allen warned him that the Dragonhawk God he had defeated was only an incarnation; Soladin explained that he had kept the High Elf envoys hopeful without committing to an alliance.
• Allen urged Soladin to exploit the war between the Elves and Trolls, use captured Trolls to build the Wall of Soladin, and encourage raids to weaken the Amani Empire.
• Allen and Soladin returned to the ruined fortress, and Allen helped rebuild villages and towns over the following weeks.
• Al Barrowf's expedition returned with large quantities of Mithril Ore, Titanium weapons and armor, and a long line of captives, exciting Soladin and the people.

Al Barrowf reported the conquest of the Witherbark Tribe, and Allen persuaded Soladin to use a Pioneer Order to direct human expansion against the Trolls. After returning to Sky City, Allen integrated Azerath with a new world and set out with Artoria to investigate its mysterious city.

• Al Barrowf reported capturing the Witherbark stronghold and described the remaining Troll tribes in The Hinterlands, recommending a fortress and raids against them.
• Allen explained that a Pioneer Order could channel ambitious nobles and commoners into expanding against the Trolls, and Soladin agreed to consider issuing it after the western City Wall was complete.
• Soladin invited Allen to his wedding, and Allen suggested inviting the High Elf Kingdom as a gesture of goodwill.
• Allen and Artoria returned to Sky City, where the Guardians examined a projection of an unidentified world and reported detecting unfamiliar energy.
• Allen integrated Azerath with the new world, then challenged Artoria to investigate its secrets; Artoria entered the wilderness while Allen arrived in a city alley.

Allen recognized that he had arrived in the world of Claymore and found Teresa, then proved impervious to her attack. After Teresa fled, Allen ordered his guardian to keep the world’s events largely undisturbed and went after her.

• Allen learned that the city was Holy City—Rapona and recognized the world of Claymore after hearing about Yoma.
• Allen located Teresa and crashed into the town where she was preparing to hunt Yoma, killing the monsters and greeting her as Smiling Teresa.
• Teresa attacked Allen, but her sword shattered against his neck, so she fled into the forest.
• Allen told his guardian not to capture the powerful creatures yet and allowed it to investigate the other continent while keeping its actions discreet.
• Allen instructed the guardian to warn Artoria not to destroy the Organization, then pursued Teresa.

Allen followed Teresa and offered to help her when she eventually opposed the organization, then examined her Yoma-altered body and repaired her broken Claymore. After Allen vanished, Teresa misled the Abyssal One about his appearance and strength, and the organization’s interest in him grew.

• Teresa asked Allen why he kept following her, and he discussed her emotional defenses and predicted she would one day stand against the organization for someone she had yet to meet.
• Allen offered to examine Teresa and repair her Claymore, and Teresa agreed in exchange for his help and to keep the Abyssal One uninformed.
• Allen studied a piece of Teresa’s Yoma flesh, repaired her broken Claymore, and vanished before the Abyssal One arrived.
• Teresa gave the Abyssal One a partly false description of Allen and said that no Claymore could cut his skin or muscles.
• The Abyssal One ordered Teresa to hold Allen if he returned, but she refused and warned that capturing him would require a stronger weapon.
• The Abyssal One hurried off to report Allen’s strength while someone watched him from the darkness.

Artoria nearly killed Riful for massacring a village, but Allen stopped her to preserve the region’s balance and explained how lasting change would require transforming human society. Artoria set out to pursue that change while Riful and Dauf escaped, shaken by their near-death experience.

• After Allen left Teresa alone, Artoria attacked Riful in the west, destroying most of her body and leaving Dauf close to death.
• Riful challenged Artoria’s talk of justice and blamed the Organization, but Artoria prepared to kill her for the massacre.
• Allen intervened before Artoria’s final strike and explained that killing the Abyssals could destabilize the region and expose villages to greater human violence.
• Allen urged Artoria to educate people or rule a territory and guide change from within; Artoria accepted his advice and planned to seek a settlement.
• Allen warned that the Organization might test Artoria and shared his theory about its experiments with Dragon’s Descendants before departing.
• After Artoria left, West Fū regained consciousness and fled with Dauf, terrified of facing her again.

The Organization’s leaders discussed Allen and Artoria’s strength and chose to keep their presence from the mainland while observing them. Teresa then slaughtered the Yoma in Teo City and arrived just as Allen appeared, leaving young Clare to meet the warrior who had saved her.

• The Abyssal Ones reviewed reports about Allen’s immense power and Artoria’s defeat of Riful, then agreed to avoid contacting the mainland and to limit Warriors’ missions while they watched the outsiders.
• Teresa reached Teo City and swiftly killed the Yoma hiding among its residents, frightening the civilians with her cold and violent methods.
• Allen appeared behind Teresa, denied following her, and urged her to finish her mission after noticing young Clare.
• Teresa killed the final Yoma that had hidden behind Clare, covering the girl in blood.
• Clare stared up at Teresa, the warrior who had saved her, as their meeting began to shape their fates.

Allen challenged Teresa to a bet that Clare would cling to her despite being rejected, offering to undo the Organization’s bodily modifications if Teresa won and asking for her trust if she lost. The next morning, Clare repeatedly sought Teresa’s protection, and Teresa tried to push her away while keeping her unharmed.

• Allen entered Teresa’s room through the wall and demonstrated his Hollowfication ability.
• Allen questioned Teresa about Clare and wagered that the girl would refuse to give up on her; Teresa accepted the bet the next morning.
• Teresa and Allen left the inn, and the mayor offered Teresa the reward for driving off the Yoma.
• Clare grabbed Teresa’s cloak, and Teresa threw her to the ground after the mayor explained the girl had been abused by the Yoma.
• Clare stood up and clung to Teresa’s thigh again, and Teresa threw her off once more without seriously injuring her.

Teresa tried to make Clare give up following her, but Clare persisted through a punishing journey. After Allen killed a gang of bandits who threatened them, Teresa continued onward with Clare still determined to stay by her side.

• Teresa repeatedly kicked Clare away and left town, but Clare followed her through the wilderness despite exhaustion and injuries.
• At dusk, Clare reached Teresa's campsite, and Allen pointed out that Teresa had been slowing down because she cared about the girl.
• Teresa protected Clare when bandits appeared, but accidentally severed one man's hand while defending her.
• Allen revealed a chest of treasure, then killed the attacking bandits by making their bodies explode and sending their leader falling into a ravine.
• Clare clung to Teresa's arm, but Teresa denied having lost and set off again; Allen followed and cleared a path for Clare.

Teresa accepted Clare’s unwavering determination and decided to take her along, while Allen healed Clare and restored Teresa’s body. Allen then revealed that the Organization treated Claymores as expendable and explained how some warriors escaped its control.

• After Clare followed Teresa off a cliff and survived, Teresa accepted that the girl would not give up and carried her to a riverside camp.
• Teresa fed Clare, promised not to abandon her, and watched her fall asleep after eating her fill.
• Allen healed Clare’s wounds with Holy Light, then Teresa agreed to let him restore the altered parts of her body.
• Teresa questioned Allen’s motives but trusted him, and he removed the implanted cells that had changed her lower body.
• Allen told Teresa that the Organization periodically sacrificed or drove away its warriors, and explained the options available to defectors.

Allen warned Teresa that the Organization would eventually purge her, while Artoria established a chapel and trained apprentices in holy light after defeating West Fū. Riful fled to Isley's territory after Artoria nearly killed her, and Isley anticipated that the Organization would soon test Artoria's strength.

• Allen told Teresa that the Organization eliminated Warriors who learned too much and warned that it might target her after the bandits' deaths.
• Teresa resolved not to let the Organization dispose of her easily as Allen covered the sleeping Clare with a blanket.
• Artoria denied being a Claymore, taught the townspeople about holy light, and accepted their request to establish a chapel and train twelve apprentices.
• The Organization secretly sent people to observe Artoria's chapel and learn about holy light, while Artoria chose not to expose them.
• Riful reached Isley's territory with Dauf after fleeing Artoria and warned Isley that her sword could kill even an Abyssal.
• Isley allowed Riful and Dauf to recuperate and predicted that the Organization would soon launch a probing attack against Artoria.

Teresa confronted the Organization’s Abyssal One and five Claymore Warriors while Allen protected Clare from Awakened Beings sent to kidnap her. Teresa defeated the warriors and left after warning that Allen had already dealt with the kidnappers, while Allen crushed the attackers into a grotesque mass.

• Allen sent Awakened Beings to gather information on Artoria as the Organization watched the growing conflict, while he stayed with Teresa and Clare.
• Teresa sensed the Abyssal One approaching with five Claymore Warriors and asked Allen to protect Clare; Allen took Clare to a restaurant to keep her occupied.
• The Abyssal One accused Teresa of killing bandits and urged her to return with him, but Teresa challenged the Organization’s motives and revealed its repeated purges of Claymores.
• One warrior attacked Teresa, and she swiftly wounded all five without releasing her Yoki, leaving them unable to fight.
• Teresa told the Abyssal One that Allen had dealt with the people sent to kidnap Clare and walked away as Allen crushed the Awakened Beings into a giant mass of flesh.

Allen gave Teresa a ring to protect her soul before leaving to confront Isley in the west, while Teresa planned to take Clare into hiding. In the Western Lands, Isley’s Awakened Beings began attacking civilians, but a beam of light killed one just as it was about to prey on a girl.

• Teresa returned and learned that Allen had stopped the three Awakened Beings sent to abduct Clare, then asked him to dispose of their flesh.
• Teresa told Allen that she had broken with the Organization and feared it would send its single-digit Warriors after her, but she refused his suggestion to attack the Organization first.
• Teresa planned to leave town with Clare, and Allen gave her a ruby ring designed to preserve her soul before departing to confront Isley.
• Ricarudo and six Awakened Beings surveyed the Western Lands’ largest city, and one Awakened Being leaped down to attack a girl.
• A beam of light struck the attacking Awakened Being and smashed its head apart, leaving the girl unharmed.

Allen returned to his city, destroyed Ricarudo and the other Awakened Beings who had attacked it, and displayed Ricarudo’s head in the central plaza. The people came to regard Allen as their protector, while merchants began considering moving their businesses to the city.

• Allen killed the Awakened Beings who charged him with a single attack, then told Ricarudo he would die for invading the city and killing civilians.
• Ricarudo transformed and attacked at extreme speed, but Allen evaded him, mocked him, and tore out a tuft of his mane.
• Ricarudo unleashed his full power and charged again, but Allen dodged him and removed his head.
• Allen snapped his fingers and caused the remaining Awakened Beings to swell and explode as they fled.
• Allen gave Ricarudo’s head to the city officials to preserve and display in the central plaza, where residents gathered to vent their anger and thank Allen.
• The people’s trust in Allen grew, and merchants began planning to move their businesses to the now-safer city.

Allen left the Western Lands after ordering its mayor to unite nearby settlements and build up the city, then confronted Isley in Pieta over Ricarudo’s attack. The chapter ended with Allen demanding that Isley pay for sending Ricarudo into his territory.

• Allen rejected expanding his hundred-strong Knight Order and told the mayor to unite the Western Lands, using force if necessary, while he handled matters in the north.
• The mayor ordered the city screened for Yoma and began rebuilding, and Allen’s victory over Ricarudo helped spur prosperity across the city and surrounding settlements.
• Allen arrived in Pieta and found Isley with Riful and Dauf, who had been hiding there while Isley pursued his ambitions.
• Riful attacked Allen, but he tore apart her tentacles, frightening her into fleeing with Dauf.
• Allen confronted Isley and demanded to know what price he would pay for sending Ricarudo into Allen’s territory.

Allen confronted Isley in a northern town and overwhelmed him, exposing the gap between their strength and introducing him to life energy. Isley accepted that the wider world held powers beyond his knowledge and planned to unite the Abyssals after learning to use life energy.

• Allen mocked Isley as a frog at the bottom of a well, and Isley transformed into a centaur and charged him.
• Allen stopped Isley's spear with one finger, shattered it, and injured Isley's legs while explaining life energy.
• Allen declared that Isley and the other Awakened Beings were too weak, broke all four of Isley's equine legs, and left the town.
• Isley recognized Allen's strength and resolved to study life energy after returning.
• Riful emerged from hiding, and Isley told her he would share what he learned with her and the southern Abyssal so they could unite.