Chapter Summaries

The training ground fell into darkness as Raven unleashed the Maypros Family’s Dark Steel Sword Skill and gathered its power for a devastating strike. Riezel recognized that most Breathing Techniques no longer strengthened him at Lv.7, then prepared to reveal a new form.

• Raven’s Dark Steel Sword Skill absorbed the light and other forces around the training ground, plunging it into darkness.
• Kaz, Axel, Diego, and Nibod calmed the panicked knights and explained that Raven had used the Maypros Family’s inherited sword skill.
• Raven rose and concentrated the dense dark light into the Rebel’s Sword as Riezel watched with Clear World.
• Riezel realized ordinary Breathing Techniques could no longer noticeably strengthen his Lv.7 body, though their sword forms still retained their distinctive attacks.
• Riezel closed his eyes and announced that he would show Raven a new form no one had seen before.

Riezel and Raven unleashed their full power inside the training grounds as the spectators fled. Riezel revealed Thunder Breathing’s seventh form, Fire Thunder God, and its impact devastated the arena while the barrier contained the destruction.

• Riezel surrounded himself with dense lightning that turned golden as Raven continued charging the Dark Steel Sword Skill at the cost of harming his body.
• Raven declared that he would not lose because he had to protect his people, while Master Nibod warned everyone to evacuate and prepared a Magic Item to suppress their abilities.
• Riezel confronted Raven over his nephew’s misconduct and vowed to cut down the path Raven claimed to follow.
• Raven charged with his Dark Steel Sword as Riezel transformed into a golden thunder dragon and unleashed Thunder Breathing: Seventh Form—Fire Thunder God.
• The clash shattered the training grounds and shook Besare, while the tactical-scale Magic Barrier contained the destruction and trembled under the strain.

Riezel used his enhanced Golden Thunder Slash to defeat Raven’s attack, but the collision left him trapped inside a living being. He fought off giant beetle monsters and then encountered the heartless figures who had attacked Liz.

• Riezel unleashed Golden Thunder Slash, shattered Raven’s armor, and sent him crashing underground while Meloy God protected Riezel from the Rebel’s Sword.
• Riezel discovered that the cave around him was made of living flesh and realized he was inside a living being.
• Riezel used Flight to avoid the shaking cave’s ceiling and Cocoon of Life Rejection to repel a swarm of giant beetle monsters.
• Riezel blasted the beetles with Negative Burst and prepared to escape with Teleportation Magic as the swarm kept growing.
• Riezel spotted several heartless figures who had attacked Liz and stopped to confront them.

Kaz, Master Nibod, Liz, and the knights searched the ruined training ground but could not find Riezel Brihaut or Lord Raven. Master Nibod suspected they had been swept into an unknown place or taken by the people behind the disappearances, and the searchers found evidence that the Underground Beast Alakron had come to the site.

• Kaz, Master Nibod, and the knights searched the ruined training ground, but found neither Riezel Brihaut nor Lord Raven.
• Master Nibod said Liz’s Retainer Contract sense and his life-detection Magic Item could not locate them, and he believed they had entered an unusual place with powerful interference.
• Master Nibod theorized that Spatial Transfer magic or the force of the duel had swept the two Sword Saints somewhere unknown.
• Master Nibod told Kaz that the disappearances across Maypros Territory might be connected to the heartless attacker and Ofilit.
• The searchers found a dark underground corner coated in eerie mud, and Master Nibod and Kaz recognized signs that the Underground Beast Alakron had come there.

Riezel fought the Mindless Ones inside the living cavern, learning that they meant to kill him because he threatened their great undertaking. After damaging the cavern and provoking its inhabitants, he was caught in the Mindless Ones’ frigid chains.

• Riezel used Fool and Open Wound Damage to severely injure one Mindless One, then teleported away from the others’ counterattack.
• The Mindless Ones identified Riezel as a threat to their plans in Maypros Territory and retreated as Beetle Monsters swarmed him.
• Riezel teleported through the swarm and struck the fleeing Mindless Ones with Moon Breathing attacks, damaging the cavern’s flesh-like walls.
• The Mindless Ones realized Riezel had wounded Lord Sacred Beast and attacked him with chains infused with frigid energy.
• Riezel’s Blade Winds failed to stop the chains, which wrapped around his body.

Riezel used Time Stop to escape the Mindless Ones’ chains and investigate the strange beings, then defeated their group and the Beetle Monsters. He captured the weakened Mindless Ones and began probing one of them for memories.

• Riezel stopped time to escape the chains and assessed the Mindless Ones as powerful, unusually durable foes whose nature and sinister energy remained a mystery.
• Riezel used Energy Absorption on all four Mindless Ones, dropping their levels from Lv.6 to Lv.1 while greatly increasing his own strength.
• Riezel restrained the weakened Mindless Ones and killed the attacking Beetle Monsters with Banshee's Wail.
• Riezel stored the fallen chains in the Dimensional Cube and used Memory Manipulation on one of the captured Mindless Ones.

Riezel used Memory Manipulation on a Mindless One and discovered that the creatures were Magic Dolls made using technology from the Ancient Magic Civilization, with living people sacrificed in their creation. After confirming the dolls had been sent to kill him and rendezvous with a Sacred Beast, he flew deeper into the cave to investigate.

• Riezel forcibly read a Mindless One's memories and learned that it had been created as a Magic Doll by people attempting to reproduce Ancient Magic Civilization technology.
• The memories revealed that the Magic Dolls obeyed orders delivered directly to their minds and had been instructed to eliminate Riezel, obtain chains, and meet a Sacred Beast.
• Riezel read the other Magic Dolls' memories and confirmed that their creation required many living human sacrifices.
• Riezel learned that the dolls' chilling energy and weapons called Sacred Relics could severely weaken even a Sword Saint, but their memories revealed nothing about the energy's origins.
• Riezel concluded that the people behind the Magic Dolls had targeted him to keep him from interfering, then flew toward the other side of the cave in search of the Sacred Beast.

Riezel explored the enormous cavern inside the Sacred Beast, unable to contact Liz and avoiding the swarms of Beetle Monsters. He rescued Raven from the insects and discovered that the Marquis was in a badly wounded state.

• Riezel realized the Sacred Beast had carried him away from Besare and planned to investigate before returning to Liz.
• Riezel used Complete Unknowability to fly unseen through the cavern, where Beetle Monsters filled the air.
• After hearing explosions ahead, Riezel found Raven fighting a swarm of Beetle Monsters with his greatsword.
• Raven faltered from his injuries, and the Beetle Monsters swarmed over him.
• Riezel appeared and used Magic Area Expansion: Banshee's Wail to kill the Beetle Monsters around Raven.
• Riezel recognized the wounded swordsman as Marquis Maypros, and Raven confirmed that he was there too.

After healing Raven, Riezel learned that the Beetle Monsters were parasites of the legendary Underground Beast Alakron. He realized that he and Raven had been swallowed by Alakron during their duel beneath Besare.

• Riezel criticized Raven for being helpless without his armor, and Raven accepted that he had lost their duel.
• Riezel healed Raven with Major Healing, restoring most of his strength and closing his severe wounds.
• Riezel asked Raven where they were, and Raven identified the Beetle Monsters as parasites of the Underground Beast Alakron.
• Riezel recalled Alakron's legends and realized that he and Raven were inside the world's largest monster, which had passed beneath Besare and swallowed them.

Riezel and Raven encountered an artificial Wild Giant inside Alakron that devoured the Monster Worms, then attacked them when its food ran out. They fought back together, but the giant was still engulfed in flames at the chapter’s end.

• Raven refused Riezel’s offer to send him out because he wanted to protect Maypros Territory from the Monster Worms, while Riezel chose to search Alakron for traces of certain people.
• A five-meter-tall, eyeless Wild Giant appeared, slaughtered and ate the Monster Worms, then devoured the corpses scattered across the cavern.
• Riezel discovered with Clear World that the giant was artificial, with an empty metal interior and a crystal that absorbed energy from the Monster Worms it consumed.
• After the giant turned on them, it broke through Riezel’s Cocoon of Life Rejection and struck both Riezel and Raven, who recovered without injury.
• Riezel blasted the giant with an enhanced Fireball, Raven stabbed its chest with the Rebel’s Sword, and Riezel followed with three more enhanced Fireballs that engulfed it in flames.

Riezel and Raven defeated the giant in the cave, and Riezel discovered that the crystal inside it was an Autonomous Guard Core. Riezel let the crystal escape and followed it deeper into the cave, with Raven close behind.

• Riezel bombarded the giant with Fireballs while flying backward, and Raven severed one of its legs with Rebel's Sword.
• Riezel used Crimson Nova to burn the fallen giant and its Stone Spear to ashes, leaving only the crystal inside it intact.
• The crystal tried to teleport away, but Riezel caught it and identified it as an Autonomous Guard Core with High-Level Item Appraisal.
• Riezel released the crystal and chased it into the cave, and Raven followed him.

Riezel and Raven followed the glowing crystal through the caverns to a vast underground city of ancient ruins inside Underground Beast Alakron. They found two giant Autonomous Guardians at the entrance and prepared to enter the city despite the danger.

• Riezel told Raven he would not leave the cavern yet, and Raven continued following him while hoping to learn whether the crystal could be taken outside.
• The Monster Worms scattered from the glowing crystal as it led Riezel and Raven through several caverns.
• The crystal stopped before an enormous ruined city, leaving Riezel and Raven astonished by the discovery inside Underground Beast Alakron.
• Raven tried to claim the right to enter the ruins, but Riezel challenged him and pointed out that they were inside the beast, not clearly within Maypros Territory.
• Riezel identified two enormous giants guarding the entrance as artificial Autonomous Guardians and said they would enter the city anyway.

Riezel opened a Gate to Besare after finding the cavern free of Monster Worms, and Liz rushed through to reunite with him. In Besare, the others had concluded that the Underground Beast Alakron might be tied to Riezel and Raven’s disappearance and began planning to track it.

• Riezel found no Monster Worms in the cavern and decided to return to Besare.
• Riezel opened a Gate, restoring his Retainer Contract connection with Liz as she rushed through and threw herself into his arms.
• Master Nibod explained that the muddy geology showed Alakron had passed through recently, while Kaz warned that Riezel and Raven might have encountered it.
• Kaz proposed forming a task force to track Alakron, and the others agreed despite Master Nibod’s doubts.
• Liz sensed Riezel through the Gate and plunged into it before the others could stop her.

Riezel brought the Maypros Family’s main force through the Gate to the ruins inside Alakron, where Nibod and Raven recognized the extraordinary value of his magic. The group agreed that Riezel could claim any useful Magic Items, then began planning their exploration, knowing he alone could take them back.

• Kaz, Axel, Diego, and the Maypros Family’s knights emerged through the Gate and reunited with Raven, while Liz clung tearfully to Riezel.
• Nibod realized the Gate could transport a large force across any distance and concluded Raven had provoked an unimaginable enemy in Riezel.
• The group learned they were inside Alakron and grew excited at the prospect of exploring its untouched Ancient Ruins.
• Raven thanked Riezel for bringing the main force and agreed that Riezel could claim any Magic Items useful to him.
• After the Gate disappeared, Nibod reminded the others that only Riezel could get them out, and Raven asked to buy any items Riezel did not need.
• The group began a strategy meeting to plan its exploration of the ruins.

Raven, Riezel, and the others held a strategy meeting about entering the ancient city and reaching its central temple. They learned the city held at least sixty powerful Giant Guards and possible Magic Traps, leaving the assembled knights outmatched by the threat.

• Riezel joined Raven, Master Nibod, Kaz, and the others as they discussed how to enter the ancient city and recalled planning expeditions with the Loki Familia.
• Raven explained that the Giant Guards could attack intruders, and Riezel confirmed that bypassing them with flight, stealth, or teleportation would provoke them.
• Raven described the strength of the Giant Guard he had fought with Riezel, while Riezel assessed that the two gate guards were stronger still.
• Diego reported that reconnaissance had detected at least sixty Giant Guards and possible Magic Traps, while a central temple resisted magical observation behind a powerful barrier.
• Raven and Kaz chose the temple as their primary objective, and Riezel judged that the Maypros Family's 120 Lv.4 knights would struggle against the Giant Guards.

Riezel proposed defeating the two powerful Giant Guards at the City Gate before drawing out the weaker ones inside the ancient city, and Raven agreed to the plan. The forces took up their positions and Riezel and Liz approached one gate guard while Raven and Master Nibod approached the other, just as the Giants began to move.

• Raven rejected Kaz's suggestion to summon more knights, since Besare still needed protection, and decided their current forces had to capture the city.
• Riezel explained that he had scouted the city with Eye of God and proposed that he take one gate guard while Raven and Master Nibod dealt with the other.
• Raven and Master Nibod agreed to eliminate their target quickly, then help Riezel if he had not finished with his Giant Guard.
• Kaz spread out the Knight Order into a battle formation, and Riezel and Liz approached the left Giant Guard while Raven and Master Nibod approached the right one.
• Both Giant Guards roared as the four approached.

Riezel empowered Liz with a vast array of support spells, and she fought a Giant Guard with startling speed and strength. As Liz kept the giant occupied, Riezel began casting Fimbul's Winter.

• The Giant Guards' roars overwhelmed the gathered knights, but Liz resolved to stand in front of Riezel and fight for him.
• Riezel cast numerous enhancement spells on Liz and urged her to remember the breathing style he had taught her.
• Liz used Love Breathing to wound a Giant Guard and evade its punches and Stone Spear as she continued attacking it.
• Riezel began chanting the spell Ecstasy: Fimbul's Winter.

Riezel used Ecstasy: Fimbul's Winter to freeze a Giant Guard while Liz and the others fought the remaining guards. After seeing Liz's enhanced combat prowess and exceptional compatibility with Love Breathing, Riezel wondered if she secretly liked someone.

• Riezel cast Ecstasy: Fimbul's Winter, freezing one Giant Guard into an iceberg and forcing the knights, Raven, and Master Nibod to retreat.
• Liz charged toward the ancient city's entrance as two more Giant Guards emerged, while Riezel ordered Raven and Master Nibod to attack the remaining gatekeeper.
• Master Nibod weakened the gatekeeper with Interference System magic and sent two summoned wyverns to attack it as Raven slashed it with the Rebel's Sword.
• Riezel flew toward Liz and watched her fight the two Giant Guards without falling behind, aided by his enhancement spells and her Love Breathing.
• Riezel realized Liz's compatibility with Love Breathing was exceptionally high and wondered if she secretly had someone she liked.

Riezel and the others fought off the Giant Guards attacking the city gate, while Riezel secretly captured their cores for himself. The battle left the gate in ruins, and Riezel ended the chapter with several cores stored in his Dimensional Cube.

• Kaz ordered the Maypros Family's twenty magic knights to bombard the Giant Guard Raven and Master Nibod were fighting.
• More Giant Guards emerged from the city and attacked Liz and Riezel, but Riezel teleported Liz away and used Nuclear Explosion to blast the attackers apart.
• Riezel finished the damaged Giant Guards with Crimson Nova and Severance, then captured their escaping cores and stored them in the Dimensional Cube.
• Riezel stopped time and used a delayed Reality Slash to kill the gatekeeper Giant Guard, then stopped time again to seize its core.
• Raven and Master Nibod defeated the other gatekeeper Giant Guard, and Riezel caught its core as it fled toward the city.

Riezel and the others fought through the giant guards emerging from the ancient city, with Riezel destroying them using enhanced Nuclear Explosion magic. After explaining that the guards’ cores could regenerate them but their purpose could not be changed, he urged the group to continue the raid.

• The Maypros family knights and the adventurers coordinated to hold off the weaker giant guards while Liz, Raven, Nibod, and Kaz wounded them with powerful weapons and magic.
• Riezel repeatedly teleported among clusters of giant guards and destroyed them with Magic Super-Enhancement · Nuclear Explosion.
• Riezel considered whether his enhanced magic could reach strategic-class power and glanced toward the cavern’s earth and ceiling.
• Riezel collected the giant guards’ cores and explained to Nibod that they could regenerate guards whose fixed purpose was to protect the ancient city.
• The Maypros family members lost interest in using the guards as battlefield weapons, and Riezel urged everyone to press farther into the city.