Chapter Summaries

Yoru Machi pretended to join the Diabolos Cult, accepted its Diabolos Essence, and secretly expelled and saved it. As the Martial God Festival reached its semifinals, Gais arrived in the royal capital and was unexpectedly made a marquis and welcomed by the Second Princess.

• Mordred named Yoru Machi the Knights of the Round’s eleventh seat, Galahad, and explained the cult’s plans and Diabolos Essence.
• Yoru Machi swallowed the Diabolos Essence to convince Mordred of his loyalty, then used his magic power to force it out and store it.
• Mordred revealed that the cult wanted Yoru Machi to defeat Alice Midgar at the Martial God Festival and weaken her hold over the people.
• After two days of matches, Yoru Machi, Alice, Jimina Senye, and Mordred reached the semifinals.
• Gais arrived in the royal capital, where the king made him a marquis and invited him to the festival, while the Second Princess attended to him.

Gais arrived at the Martial God Festival and learned that his new marquis title and the nobles’ attention were tied to Yoru Machi’s achievements. As Alice faced the dangerous Mordred in the arena, Mordred planned to kill her and use the tournament to help the cult take control of both kingdoms.

• The King of Midgar named Gais Omega a marquis, prompting nobles and the King of Olliana to welcome him warmly because he was Yoru Machi’s father.
• Megdis explained that Yoru Machi had reached the festival finals, saved a king and princess, helped avert a war, and been publicly betrothed to Princess Rose.
• Gais asked about Yoru Machi’s match, and Megdis told him that Princess Alice was about to face Mordred.
• Gais judged Mordred to be a dangerous, battle-hardened fighter who could put Alice in serious danger.
• Alice faced Mordred in the arena, while Mordred resolved to kill her and use Yoru Machi’s victory and popularity to help the cult control Midgar and Olliana.

Alice fought Mordred at the Martial God Festival but was overwhelmed by his collection of Ancient Artifacts and embedded in the arena wall. Mordred revealed himself as a Knight of the Round serving the Diabolos Cult, and a Shadow Garden woman appeared to stop him from killing Alice.

• Alice attacked Mordred with her crimson Ancient Relic Greatsword, but his arm guard’s Magic Barrier blocked her strike and he kicked her away.
• Mordred used his green Magic Sword’s invisible slashes and his cape’s sudden movement to overwhelm Alice, leaving her coughing blood and embedded in the arena wall.
• Mordred killed the referee, prompting panic among the spectators, while a hemispherical Magic Barrier sealed the venue.
• Alice asked Mordred who he was, and he identified himself as the Diabolos Cult’s Ninth Seat before ordering his Cult lackeys to appear.
• A black-robed Shadow Garden woman blocked Mordred’s attempt to kill Alice, and Mordred recognized her and angrily confronted her.

Mordred’s assault on the arena turned into a battle between the Cult and Shadow Garden, and Shadow arrived to wipe out the transformed Cult soldiers. As he prepared to confront Mordred, Alpha’s aunt attacked him and called him a pervert.

• Beta and Epsilon confronted Mordred as Shadow Garden agents attacked the Cult’s forces and Eta reversed the Ancient Artifact’s barrier.
• Mordred ordered the Cult lackeys to take forbidden magic drugs, transforming them into half-demon, half-human monsters that rampaged through the arena.
• Sid abandoned his Jimina Senye disguise and appeared as Shadow, binding and killing the transformed Cult lackeys with a single attack.
• Yoru Machi watched Shadow take center stage while Beta and Epsilon continued fighting Mordred.
• Alpha’s aunt attacked Shadow with a sword aura, identified herself as Alpha’s aunt, and called him a pervert.

Shadow fought Beatrix after learning she believed him to be a pervert, while Shadow Garden struggled to understand why she looked like Alpha. Mordred received word that Beatrix was a bewitched pawn of the Cult and grew confident that Shadow would fall.

• Shadow denied being a pervert, confirmed he was Shadow Garden’s leader, and clashed with Beatrix when she attacked him.
• Shadow and Beatrix fought with enough force to damage the battlefield, while Shadow Garden’s members retreated from the shockwaves.
• Zeta told the members that the woman fighting Shadow was not Alpha and blamed the Cult for the resemblance.
• Mordred received a message that Beatrix was the Elf Sword Saint and a bewitched pawn who would strike at Shadow if needed, but would not reveal her Cult connection.
• Alice woke and expressed disbelief that Beatrix might be part of the Cult, while Mordred declared the Cult would defeat Shadow and Shadow Garden.

Beatrix used the False Command Spell Yoru Machi had given her, unleashing overwhelming magic power and knocking Shadow into a crater. As she moved to press her advantage, Alpha appeared to block her.

• Shadow matched Beatrix's strength throughout their duel, while Beatrix gradually used more of her own.
• Beatrix unwound her bandages and activated one segment of the False Command Spell, restoring her magic and greatly amplifying her power.
• Shadow sensed that Beatrix's magic control resembled Yoru Machi's handiwork, then lost focus as he wondered if Yoru Machi had set him up.
• Beatrix struck Shadow with a powerful two-handed slash, sending him crashing into the ground.
• Mordred stopped Beta and the others from reaching Shadow, while Beatrix advanced and Alpha appeared to block her path.

Alpha chose to side with Shadow despite discovering that Beatrix was her aunt, and Yoru Machi stepped in to fight Shadow. Yoru Machi launched Shadow into the sky, where their battle intensified as the people of King of Midgar began evacuating.

• Alpha recognized Beatrix as her relative but attacked her and chose to support Shadow, the man she loved.
• Yoru Machi arrived and told Beatrix to leave Shadow to him, while Alpha and the others trusted his intentions.
• Shadow emerged unharmed from Beatrix's attack and immediately charged at Yoru Machi, whose Holy Sword of the Lake blocked his strike.
• Yoru Machi blasted through Shadow's magical threads and punched him, encased in Liquid Slime, into the sky.
• The fight continued above the clouds, while energy waves panicked King of Midgar's residents and guards and knights began evacuating them.

Yoru Machi and Shadow argued over Yoru Machi’s relationships and Shadow’s incriminating Memory Projection Magic, then fought above the royal capital. Their clash sent Shadow crashing into the city and ended with Yoru Machi deflecting Shadow’s atomic beam into the outskirts, where it detonated.

• Yoru Machi and Shadow accused each other of romantic entanglements, and Shadow showed Yoru Machi a Memory Projection Magic recording of his conversation with Senior Rose.
• Yoru Machi demanded that Sid hand over the recording, but Sid refused, so Yoru Machi punched Shadow out of the atmosphere and sent him crashing through a clock tower into a massive crater.
• Shadow climbed out with only minor injuries and fired an atomic beam at the pursuing Yoru Machi.
• Yoru Machi caught the beam’s trajectory and swung it away, causing it to explode beyond the royal capital and form a huge mushroom cloud.
• Alpha and the others watched the distant blast and wondered whether Night Lord and Shadow Lord had taken their act too far.

Yoru Machi abandoned Mordred during the battle, but Mordred mistook his escape for loyalty and entrusted him with the Rose Ring. After Shadow Garden captured Mordred, Alice clashed with Beta and Epsilon over who should take custody of him, leaving her powerless against Shadow Garden’s authority.

• Yoru Machi told Mordred he was fleeing and could not rescue him, while promising to seek a way to save him later.
• Mordred accepted Yoru Machi’s explanation and secretly threw him the Rose Ring, the artifact needed to open the Black Rose.
• Yoru Machi caught the ring, escaped through the barrier, and fled as Shadow pursued him.
• After Yoru Machi signaled that the battle could end, Beta and Epsilon defeated Mordred and captured him alive.
• Alice demanded that the royal knights take custody of Mordred, but Epsilon rejected her demand and challenged Midgar’s ability to defend itself.
• Alice recognized that Midgar was too weak to resist either Shadow Garden or the Diabolos Cult.

After the Martial God Festival disaster, Alice recognized Midgar’s weakness while Alpha and her allies regrouped and captured Mordred. The chapter revealed that Yoru Machi’s apparent betrayal had been a plan to obtain the Rose Ring, though Beatrix’s attempt to take Alpha away was unexpected.

• Alice concluded that Midgar needed to replace its corrupt leaders with capable people like Yoru Machi and Gais, then left the venue.
• Alpha rejected Beatrix’s offer to return with her, and Beta and Epsilon joined Alpha when Beatrix prepared to take her by force.
• Beatrix withdrew after realizing she could not defeat the three Shadow Garden members, while Mordred remained their prisoner.
• Mordred threatened Shadow Garden and expected Yoru Machi to rescue him, unaware that Yoru Machi had arranged the apparent betrayal to gain his Rose Ring.
• Alpha ordered Mordred handed over to Lambda for interrogation and reflected that Beatrix’s arrival had not been part of Yoru Machi’s plan.

After the Cult and Shadow Garden left the royal capital, Alice demanded that the King of Midgar abdicate, arguing that his failures and the kingdom’s corruption threatened its survival. The king refused and ordered her arrested, but the guards hesitated as Alice challenged his right to rule.

• The King of Midgar ordered Alice to summon the knights and hunt down the Cult and Shadow Garden, while nobles urged him to strengthen the capital’s defenses.
• Alice walked up to her father and demanded that he abdicate for the good of the Midgar Kingdom.
• The King of Midgar called Alice a traitor and ordered the guards and knights to seize her, but they did not move.
• Alice argued that the kingdom faced destruction from powerful organizations and needed a ruler willing to act.
• Alice condemned the king and nobles for their cowardice during the attack, their failure to reward capable people, and their misrule.

Alice took the throne of Midgar and began reforms to strengthen the kingdom, while Alpha learned that Princess Rose’s royal blood was the price of an old agreement between Olliana and the Cult. Yoru Machi headed to Olliana, with Shadow following after learning about the Demon Realm, and Alpha sent Yoru the intelligence about Rose.

• Alice defeated her father in the struggle for the throne, spared him, and arranged for him to live in luxury.
• Alice purged corrupt nobles and created new military, training, research, and intelligence organizations, while promoting Gais Omega and Yoru City Omega.
• Alpha and Gamma discussed Yoru Machi’s journey to Olliana and learned that Shadow had followed him after hearing about the Demon King and Demon Realm.
• Gamma revealed that the Black Rose was a passage to another world and that Olliana had once paid the Cult with royal blood in exchange for closing it.
• Alpha concluded that King of Olliana had concealed the agreement and ordered the intelligence sent to Yoru Machi, leaving him to decide what to do.

Yoru Machi ordered the Cult to kill the former queen after she asked them to avenge Du'aim, then heard Epsilon’s report about Shadow and the Black Rose. The chapter ended with Yoru Machi irritated that Shadow had followed him to the Olliana Kingdom despite his efforts to keep the trip secret.

• Yoru Machi, now called Galahad by the Cult, ordered Gado to kill the former queen and cover up the deed.
• Gado told Gara and Gami that Yoru Machi had ordered the queen’s death, and the three Named Children praised their new leader.
• Epsilon objected to Yoru Machi giving names to Cult members, but he dismissed her concern and asked about Mordred.
• Epsilon reported that Shadow had brought Delta to the Olliana Kingdom and explained the truth behind the Black Rose.
• Yoru Machi learned Shadow had come to the kingdom and complained that Epsilon had not kept his presence secret.

King of Olliana announced that Du'aim had been executed, that Rose would inherit the throne, and that Yoru City Omega was her intended fiancé, drawing objections from Olliana's nobles. Sid interrupted Rose's defense with a piano performance dedicated to the couple, leaving the gathering applauding.

• King of Olliana told the nobles that Du'aim had been a traitor and had been executed in the Midgar Kingdom.
• King of Olliana announced that he would hand the throne to Rose and named Yoru City Omega as her intended partner.
• Olliana's nobles objected to Rose's engagement, questioning Yoru City Omega's status and suitability.
• Rose prepared to defend Yoru City Omega by recounting his achievements and rescue of her and her father.
• Sid played an unfamiliar piano piece, then dedicated it to Rose and Yoru City Omega as a fairy-tale romance.

Sid disrupted Yoru Machi’s engagement proceedings by appearing at the banquet, where nobles challenged Yoru Machi to prove his artistic talent. Yoru Machi impressed the Olliana court with a Xiao Flute performance and sword dance, leaving the king eager to welcome his parents.

• Sid came out to play a wedding march and used Memory Projection Magic to record Yoru Machi’s engagement to Princess Rose.
• Epsilon defended Yoru Machi’s reputation, but a young noble challenged him to demonstrate artistic talent.
• Yoru Machi formed a Xiao Flute with magic and played The Smiling, Proud Wanderer while performing a sword dance.
• Princess Rose, Epsilon, and the assembled nobles admired Yoru Machi after his performance.
• The King of Olliana praised Yoru Machi and decided to invite his parents to the kingdom.

Yoru Machi told Princess Rose about the Cult's plans for the Black Rose and promised to help protect Olliana, while Rose realized she still hoped to win his affection. After Margaret warned that the nobles planned to pit Sid against Yoru Machi, he once again wondered why he kept clashing with Sid and being pushed into the role of a hero.

• After the banquet, the King of Olliana warned Yoru Machi and Princess Rose that the nobles might rebel against the weakened royal family.
• Yoru Machi explained the Cult's intentions and the danger surrounding the Black Rose, and promised Rose he would return it after dealing with the hidden threat.
• Rose asked Yoru Machi whom he truly liked, then concluded that she still had a chance to become his partner.
• Margaret reported that the nobles planned to use Master Epsilon's disciple, Sid, to undermine Rose's marriage prospects by challenging Yoru Machi.
• Yoru Machi suspected that he and Sid were destined to clash, and wondered why the world kept turning him into a hero.

After nobles opposed Yoru Machi and Rose’s engagement, Yoru Machi sent Gado and his men to intimidate them, but their raids collided with another group’s break-ins. The chapter ended with Epsilon’s black-clad operatives watching the Order raid more noble houses and asking whether to attack the Order’s people.

• Gado and the other two asked Yoru Machi whether they should punish the nobles opposing him, and he ordered them to give the nobles a warning.
• Gado’s men found that another group had already tortured the noble households, so they looted the homes and tortured the family heads again.
• The king ignored the nobles’ demands for an explanation and announced Yoru Machi and Rose’s engagement date, leading the previously robbed nobles to suspect Yoru Machi and fall silent.
• After other nobles opposed the engagement, Gado led the Order’s men to raid their homes that night.
• Epsilon’s black-clad operatives watched the raid, and one asked whether they should attack the Order’s people.

Yoru Machi and Rose’s engagement ceremony opened the Black Rose passage, unleashing monsters into Olliana’s royal capital. As Rose defended her father, she told him Yoru Machi had come to save the kingdom, while he feared they underestimated the Black Rose’s power.

• Epsilon saw the Cult’s lackeys looting nobles’ homes and decided Shadow Garden would let them do the work, expecting the spoils to become Shadow Garden’s wealth.
• Three days later, Yoru Machi and Princess Rose exchanged rings at their engagement ceremony as the Cult and Shadow Garden prepared for the Black Rose to open.
• The ring triggered a vast black rose pattern in the sky, and a clawed monster flew out of the passage toward King of Olliana.
• Rose blocked the monster and told King of Olliana to retreat, explaining that Yoru Machi would help defeat the Cult and save Olliana.
• King of Olliana realized Rose knew about the Black Rose through Yoru Machi, but feared they did not understand its full danger.

The Black Rose unleashed hordes of Demon Realm monsters on Olliana’s royal capital, where Shadow Garden and the Diabolos Cult unexpectedly fought side by side against them. The Fourth Demon King Ragnarok shattered Shadow Garden’s barrier and unleashed a devastating barrage, but an unknown defender protected everyone with Dankū.

• The King of Olliana watched monsters pour from the Black Rose as Rose led the kingdom’s knights in rescuing people, while Shadow Garden raised a barrier to contain the attack.
• Yoru Machi ordered the cult members to fight the monsters, use them as research material, and summon reinforcements, while Shadow Garden followed Beta and Epsilon’s orders to let the cult take the front line.
• A massive half-dragon emerged from the Black Rose, and its first blast killed fighters and shattered Shadow Garden’s barrier.
• Beta ordered Shadow Garden to retreat as Ragnarok sent dense beams of Magic Power raining across the battlefield.
• An enormous transparent shield appeared and protected everyone from Ragnarok’s barrage, leaving the survivors unharmed.

Yoru Machi blocked Ragnarok’s attack and pierced the Demon King’s chest with Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō, stunning everyone who witnessed the fight. Believing Ragnarok was holding back or had another form, Yoru Machi confronted him and demanded that he show his true strength.

• Gado and the other Cult fanatics praised Yoru Machi for protecting them and urged the grunts to fight.
• Yoru Machi judged Ragnarok’s magic power to be weaker than he expected and suspected the Demon King had another form.
• Ragnarok gathered magic in the crystal on his chest and fired a destructive beam at Yoru Machi.
• Yoru Machi countered with Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō, shattered Ragnarok’s beam, and pierced his chest.
• King of Olliana watched Yoru Machi overpower Ragnarok and realized his daughter’s fiancé was far stronger than he had believed.
• Yoru Machi appeared before the still-living Ragnarok and told him to reveal his real strength, but Ragnarok grabbed him instead.