Chapter Summaries

Merlin entered the battle and used her cards to heal and strengthen Caroso and his followers, while equipment prepared by the Netizens helped counter the God of Wisdom. A Tempting Tear Mole card then made the God of Wisdom, Messiah, and Bai feel unusually attracted to Caroso, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Bai was shocked to see Merlin enter, and Caroso told her he would explain later.
• Merlin healed the Giant God Soldier with the Sacred Sword of Light and strengthened it with cards, allowing it to break free of the ice.
• Merlin equipped Caroso with Frost Armor and Arcane Boots designed to resist the God of Wisdom’s ice and magic.
• A Tempting Tear Mole card made the God of Wisdom, Messiah, and Bai find Caroso more appealing.
• Caroso and his Blue-Eyes White Dragon prepared to attack as the gods and Bai struggled with their sudden attraction to him.

Caroso fought the God of Wisdom with Merlin’s support, using his ninth-tier strength to injure Her and create an opening for a close-range attack. Just as he struck, the God of Wisdom revealed that she had taken control of the Mage Tower and crushed part of his soul through his soul imprint.

• Caroso wounded the God of Wisdom’s shoulder, and a sprite’s head emerged from the gash before She counterattacked with cold.
• The Giant God Soldier struck the God of Wisdom, but She summoned the Ice Titan and cast Extreme Deep Cold, freezing Bai’s White Desert scene.
• Caroso rode the Blue-Eyes White Dragon toward the God of Wisdom, but Her magic circle trapped the fighters and Nimel.
• Caroso used the Blue-Eyes White Dragon’s roar to break through the magic circle, then abandoned the dragon and rushed toward the God of Wisdom.
• Caroso attacked with the Sea of Stars and Void-Cleaving Slash, but the God of Wisdom crushed part of his soul through the imprint branded on the Mage Tower.

Caroso fused his memories with the Corrupted Card’s and used Messiah’s divine power to battle the God of Wisdom. After surviving the God’s ultimate attack, Caroso pierced Him through the chest, revealing that the threatened soul imprint of his teacher had been an illusion.

• Caroso’s reason collapsed as the Corrupted Card’s memories merged with his, awakening a new law and transforming him into a ferocious fighter.
• Caroso drained Messiah’s divine power and used it to fight the God of Wisdom while the Giant God Soldier battled the weakened Frost Titan.
• The God of Wisdom unleashed Cosmic Annihilation: Song of Ice and Fire, apparently killing Caroso and destroying Merlin and the Giant God Soldier.
• Caroso emerged alive through a spatial passage and advanced on the God of Wisdom, who threatened his teacher’s soul imprint in an attempt to stop him.
• Caroso pierced the God of Wisdom’s chest and revealed that the soul imprint had been a dream, recalling whose blood he had drunk.

Caroso defeated and annihilated the God of Wisdom, but the dungeon began collapsing while his unstable powers threatened to tear him apart. Tom rescued Caroso, Bai, and Nimel, exposing his location to the starry sky as Surtur sensed Caroso’s unusual laws and decided to help him grow.

• The God of Wisdom admitted defeat, and Caroso used the Law of Death to destroy Him in Nimel.
• Caroso collapsed after the battle, and Bai discovered that his class mark had vanished while many conflicting powers surged through him.
• The dungeon began collapsing, and a black hole pulled Bai, Nimel, and Caroso toward it while Bai was unable to resist.
• Tom threw a card that protected the three of them, but using his power exposed his coordinates, so he called Diana and Leona to prepare for battle.
• Surtur sensed Caroso’s mixture of laws, recognized him as a possible opponent, and chose to help him grow.

Nimel returned from the dungeon nearly drained of divine power, then broke through as red and blue runes appeared around her. Elsewhere, Messiah returned to her main body battered and reported that Anduin had nearly drained her using the Lord of Eternal Life’s power.

• The cardinal blamed Jaina and Anduin for Nimel’s disappearance, while the governor and church members clashed over who mattered more.
• A spatial-temporal rift opened, and Nimel fell out unconscious; the cardinal confirmed that her divine spark remained.
• Anduin explained what had happened inside the dungeon, leaving everyone unsure how Bai, Caroso, and Teresa had entered.
• Jaina noticed that Nimel had broken through, and the cardinal interpreted her recovery as deliberate training.
• Messiah returned to her main body battered, and she told the Goddess of Dawn’s avatar that Anduin had nearly drained her with the Lord of Eternal Life’s power.

After the dungeon vanished, Messiah and the Goddess of Dawn feared Bai had died alongside Caroso. Teresa found Caroso’s records, took on his identity to continue his plans, and Kong sensed Bai’s death as his spiritual potential surged to EX.

• Messiah told the Goddess of Dawn that humans had resolved the crisis, but she did not know whether Bai had survived after absorbing several powers.
• Teresa returned to Caroso’s encampment and found his notebooks, orders, and a message asking whoever discovered them to finish what he had begun.
• Teresa disguised herself as Caroso and told Isis Pre to keep their strategy unchanged while concealing Teresa’s condition.
• At Mal Magic Academy, Kong’s spiritual potential suddenly rose to EX, and he broke down as he realized Bai was dead.

Teresa revealed to Kong that Bai and Caroso had died in the dungeon, prompting Kong to seek answers from Nimel. Emperor Orsay contacted Teresa, then died the following day, leaving the Presia Empire to face the war under Isli.

• Teresa met Kong, who had reached the ninth rank and attacked the fortress while demanding Caroso come out.
• Teresa told Kong that Caroso and Bai had died in the dungeon and that the God of Wisdom was responsible; Kong vanished to confront Nimel.
• Emperor Orsay contacted Teresa, learned that Kong had become a ninth-rank cardmaker, and spoke with her about her life and the war.
• The next day, Emperor Orsay questioned Isli about taxes, factory closures, and the war before asking whether Isli could govern the empire.
• Emperor Orsay fell asleep and never woke again; he died on September 16, Year 994 of the Dawn Calendar.

After Emperor Orsay died, Isli tried to secure the palace and conceal his father’s death, but newspapers had already reported it and circulated scandalous claims. Peter explained that prophets had divined the death and that Presia lacked strong defenses against divination, leaving Isli unable to stop the news from spreading.

• Isli sealed the palace, ordered anti-magic arrays activated, and told the public that Emperor Orsay had been assassinated and only slightly injured.
• Isli summoned the Minister of Internal Affairs and Peter, Emperor Orsay’s trusted secretary, and confirmed that his father had died.
• Peter gave Isli newspapers announcing Emperor Orsay’s death and spreading sensational allegations about his private life.
• Isli demanded to know how the newspapers had learned the truth, and Peter explained that prophets had divined the death and Presia lacked powerful anti-divination measures.
• Peter told Isli that the newspaper staff had already fled, making it too late to arrest them.

Isli agreed to use the Puppet Stone to make Emperor Orsay appear alive, despite the cost to his corpse and soul, and asked Peter about his brothers, Teresa, and what his father had left him. Emperor Orsay then appeared publicly to suppress the First Prince’s challenge and attended the international conference, where he threatened anyone responsible for the assassination attempt.

• Peter gave Isli a Puppet Stone and explained that Emperor Orsay had agreed to use it, and Isli accepted after learning what it would do to his father’s remains.
• Isli asked Peter where his eldest brother, third brother, and Teresa were, and what else Emperor Orsay had left him.
• The First Prince gathered ministers and generals and confronted Isli at Winterhold, but he and his followers fell to their knees when Emperor Orsay appeared.
• Emperor Orsay ordered the First Prince to spend two months at the Winterhold Training Ground and confined the others to their homes while the assassination attempt was investigated.
• Emperor Orsay passed authentication and attended the international conference, where he questioned Donald about the rumors of his death and threatened war against whoever had arranged the attack.

Kong confronted Xulos over the Church of the God of Wisdom, but their battle ended with Kong unconscious and Isli carrying him to Winter City. Hercules then blocked Church investigators and misled them about the clash, insisting they follow the proper procedures.

• Kong arrived above Presia and demanded that Xulos let him question the Church of the God of Wisdom, but Xulos refused because Presia was allied with the Church.
• Kong equipped his Blue Dragon gear and used dragon spells to fight Xulos, who overwhelmed him with Frost's Wrath and knocked him unconscious with a Shield Bash.
• Isli grabbed Kong and flew with him toward Winter City.
• Church members arrived to investigate the ninth-rank battle, and Hercules confronted them.
• Hercules claimed that an unidentified mage had attacked the Church and been captured, then rebuked the investigators for failing to obtain the required joint investigation order.

Teresa returned to Presia after losing contact with the Emperor, while Caroso awoke with his memories gone in the Nether Sea beside Bai. As Bai tried to lead him away, a pirate ship spotted them and Tig ordered his crew to capture them.

• Teresa handed her duties to Isli and set out alone for Presia, claiming Caroso had gone to handle other matters.
• Caroso awoke on the blood-red shore of the Nether Sea with no memory of who he was, and Bai told him they had been unconscious there.
• Bai called herself Caroso's teacher and promised to help him, while Caroso said strange things were moving inside his body and read the viewers' comments aloud.
• Bai led Caroso away from the sea, but a black pirate ship arrived and its lookout spotted them.
• Tig emerged from the captain's cabin, declared his hatred of gods, and ordered his crew to bring Caroso and Bai to him.

Bai and Caroso fled from pirates in the Underworld, but Bai’s strength was restricted and the pirates caught up. Caroso drew a flaming magic sword from a pocket dimension, while Pope Krosh Mohan witnessed the statue’s stone sword being taken from the church.

• Bai struggled to run from the pirates, so Caroso carried her and raced across the shore.
• When the pirates nearly caught them, Bai ordered Caroso to put her down and fight.
• Caroso reached into a pocket dimension and pulled out a flaming magic sword as the pirates charged.
• At the Presia branch of the Church of the Blazing God of War, Pope Krosh Mohan saw a hand emerge from a black hole and snatch the stone sword from Surtur’s statue.

Caroso and Bai fought the undead pirates in the Nether Sea, where Bai awakened the Card God's rule while Caroso faced Tig. Tig recognized Caroso as resembling Jack, and Caroso began to discover a sword style that impressed Tig.

• Caroso used Laevateinn and black aura to destroy and absorb the pirates, but ignored Bai when they took her hostage.
• Bai broke free, captured pirates and their weapons in her card, then scolded Caroso for leaving her in danger.
• Tig attacked Caroso, while Bai realized she could use the Card God's rule to seal undead into her card and defended herself against a barrage of undead bullets.
• Caroso fought Tig, who recognized his resemblance to Jack, and struggled against Tig's overwhelming speed and strength.
• Caroso abandoned the sword styles he had copied from Teresa and Celica, then found a slower, commanding strike that caught Tig's interest.

Tig defeated Caroso and Bai, then brought them aboard his ship and recognized the divine powers within Caroso. Bai tried to scare Tig off by warning that powerful gods would retaliate if he harmed Caroso.

• Caroso recalled a possible past as a sword-wielding soldier before Tig cut his neck and knocked him unconscious.
• Bai detonated her saturated card, killing nearby pirates, but Tig suppressed the blast and restored the pirates he had killed.
• Tig ordered Caroso and Bai brought aboard, where his crew demanded revenge and threatened Bai.
• Tig questioned Bai about her relationship with Caroso, and she insisted he was her student and begged Tig to release him.
• Tig recognized powers associated with several gods in Caroso and suggested he shared a continent with Bai.
• Bai warned Tig that the Card God, the Goddess of Dawn, Surtur, and the Lord of Eternal Life could punish him if he harmed Caroso.

Tig revealed that the Flying Dutchman was a ferry ship and threw Caroso into the Nether Sea, while Bai was captured and left hoping Caroso would survive. Beneath the sea, Caroso fought through the undead soul fragments, then began devouring them to ease his hunger.

• Tig dismissed Bai’s threats, explained that gods and powerful beings could be hunted, and identified himself as a pirate forced to serve as a ferryman.
• Tig cut Caroso’s ropes and dropped him into the Nether Sea, then stopped Bai from jumping after him and ordered the pirates to take her below.
• Tig’s first mate warned that some people survived the Nether Sea, and Tig privately decided Caroso would have to recover there to prove himself as Tig Sparrow’s descendant.
• Bai heard that Caroso might survive and insisted that he would return after successfully slaying a god.
• In the Nether Sea, Caroso’s ropes dissolved as undead soul fragments attacked his spirit, and he used the Flame Magic Sword’s phantom to fight them.
• Exhausted and hungry, Caroso stopped swinging his sword and began devouring the soul fragments.

Caroso recovered his memories and soul in the Nether Sea, while Nimel awakened and used Great Prophecy to search for him. Teresa returned to Winter City, learned Emperor Orsay had died, and left after Isli urged her to help protect Presia.

• Caroso recovered his memories and soul in the Nether Sea, then swam toward the outside to find his teacher as a giant shark pursued him.
• Nimel woke at the Church of the God of Wisdom headquarters, learned Caroso was supposedly active in Laria, and realized Teresa was likely using his identity.
• Nimel performed Great Prophecy and traced a path through the vanished dungeon toward Caroso.
• Teresa arrived in Winter City and found Emperor Orsay’s state funeral underway, then learned from Xulos that Orsay had died on the sixteenth and used the Puppet Stone to conceal his death.
• Teresa attended the funeral in a daze as memories of her father overwhelmed her.
• Isli asked Teresa to stop traveling with Caroso and help secure Presia’s future, and Teresa left to clear her head.

Caroso fought the Nether Sea’s sharks and used Death God's Favor to absorb their decayed souls, strengthening and purifying his power. He traced Nimel’s voice to Winter City and reassured her that Headmistress Bai was safe before returning to his work in the Nether Sea.

• Caroso killed a small shark, then sensed a swarm of larger Nether Sea sharks rushing toward him.
• Caroso used the dungeon reward card to claim Death God's Favor and heard the Death God offer him a deal to harvest decayed souls.
• Caroso accepted the deal and slaughtered sharks, absorbing their souls and purifying his magic power and soul.
• Caroso combined multiple laws as he fought, while his Eternal Blazing Sun power scorched the souls in the sea of blood.
• Caroso followed Nimel’s voice through Mirror World power and appeared as a phantom before her in the Mage Tower in Winter City.
• Caroso told Nimel not to use divine power recklessly and assured her that Headmistress Bai was safe.

Caroso learned that Emperor Orsay had died and the Second Prince had taken the throne, then decided to remain in the Nether Sea to train despite the war in Laria. Nimel revealed that she had deciphered the God Slaying Array, and Caroso chose firearms as its power source, believing the discovery could transform the balance of power.

• Nimel told Caroso that Emperor Orsay had died, the Second Prince had become emperor, the First Prince was in Winterfort, and Teresa was missing.
• Caroso asked Nimel to leave him a coordinate in the square before Winterfort so he could return after training in the Nether Sea.
• Caroso said he would try to complete his training quickly and return to help limit the war's impact on civilians.
• Nimel told Caroso she had deciphered the God Slaying Array and wanted to adapt it so ordinary people could use it.
• Caroso chose firearms as the Array's power source, citing his and Teresa's access to guns and the possibility of narrowing the gap between ordinary people and professionals.

Donald Trump mourned Orsay’s death while considering how the Ig Empire could profit from Presia’s turmoil. In Yellman, Adolf rallied people to take up arms against the foreign powers, revealing another crisis taking shape.

• Donald Trump drank heavily in his office and lamented that Orsay had died before their rivalry could continue.
• Joseph visited Donald and urged him to act after Presia’s ruler died and a coup began.
• Donald said the Ig Empire should seek wealth and resources by attracting wealthy people amid the coming conflict.
• Adolf delivered a fiery speech in a Yellman tavern, calling on the people to fight for freedom and living space.
• The crowd roared in support as Adolf urged them to take up arms against the foreign powers.

Bai tried to paint Tig while he explained how the Card God’s domain had severed people’s connection to the gods and shaped the continent’s cultivation system. Tig gave her an old book to teach her how to depict a god’s incarnation, while Caroso emerged from the Nether Sea and pursued the Flying Dutchman.

• Caroso emerged from the Nether Sea with his soul restored and his foundation strengthened, then chased after the Flying Dutchman.
• Tig taunted Bai for failing to paint him and explained that people below the eighth tier could go mad when seeing a god’s true body.
• Tig told Bai that the Card God’s domain had cut off divine revelations and that the current cultivation method made people safer but less connected to the gods.
• Tig explained that card makers and practitioners were effectively followers of the Card God, whose path granted power while feeding back to It.
• Tig gave Bai a tattered book about painting and sculpting gods’ incarnations, and Bai grew angry when he called her useless.