Recaps

Reporters livestreamed the UNSC and Umbrella fighting the Giant Beast Species around Fuji City, while five days later humanity assessed the immense global losses and began rebuilding. The chapter ended with William, Mike, Andre, and senior officials meeting aboard the Infinity to discuss whether to reveal the existence of anomalous phenomena to the public.

• Yuri Keiko and her cameraman livestreamed the battle from a mountaintop park as Mylon's battle body destroyed several giant beasts near the shore.
• Reporters around Fuji City and Odawara City broadcast the fighting while the UNSC and Umbrella evacuated civilians and attacked the monsters.
• On June 7, governments estimated around forty million deaths, hundreds of millions to billions of refugees, and severe damage to cities and economies.
• The UNSC and Umbrella began postwar reconstruction with help from humanity's unaffected colonies.
• William, Mike, Andre, and senior UNSC officials met aboard the Infinity to consider whether to disclose anomalous phenomena to the public.

After the giant-beast attack killed forty million people and exposed Umbrella’s secrets to the world, William and government officials debated whether to reveal the existence of abnormal phenomena. William proposed publicizing humanity’s past war against the Reaper Civilization and blaming the attack on hostile aliens, leaving the officials to consider a cover story that would conceal the truth.

• Serena showed the officials news coverage and online arguments about Umbrella’s giant mecha, the giant beasts, and other abnormal phenomena.
• A Japanese Foreign Minister argued that the public deserved the truth, but Mike and Andre warned that revealing some phenomena could make them grow and cause further disasters.
• Serena reported that disclosing the full truth carried a seventy percent chance of plunging society into twenty years of chaos, and most officials agreed to keep it secret.
• When officials questioned how they could conceal the attack from eight billion people, William suggested creating a topic that would draw public attention.
• William proposed releasing footage of Umbrella’s past battle against the Reaper Civilization and blaming the giant-beast attack on hostile alien forces.

Serena showed videos presenting Umbrella’s Super Soldier program and its recruitment of children, followed by Spartans preparing to defend Earth from giant attackers. The final video revealed that the boy who had volunteered to fight had grown into a Spartan.

• Serena showed a video of Umbrella examining enhanced Second Batch Spartans and claimed the Russell Family had perfected Super Soldier technology.
• An Umbrella Agent told Mr. and Mrs. Smith that their son was suited for the program and explained the training, risks, and benefits of joining.
• Little Smith pleaded to become a Super Soldier, and his parents agreed after hearing that humanity faced hostile forces.
• Serena played footage of Spartans preparing to pilot giant machines against attackers threatening civilians on Earth.
• The conference attendees recognized one Spartan as an adult Little Smith.

William arranged for Umbrella to release footage of the Reaper battle and the Spartans, while officials focused on rebuilding Japan and stabilizing its economy. Alone with the system, William learned that some anomalous phenomena came from an “Another World.”

• William explained that footage showing the Spartans’ voluntary participation and their role in protecting humanity would accompany the battle footage, and officials approved the plan.
• William assigned Andre to host Umbrella’s press conference and ordered Mike to deploy the Marine Corps to help Japanese residents rebuild while enforcing discipline.
• Serena told William she had already located people spreading posts about Manhattan, the Middle East, and Egypt and had sent the USS to perform Memory Wipe Measures.
• After Serena left, William asked the system why it had been silent, and it explained that he had lacked permission to learn the details of anomalous phenomena.
• The system told William that anomalous phenomena included those already present in the world and those originating from an “Another World.”

William learned that from after May 31, 2023, rifts could bring creatures from other universes into his world and allow his forces to travel into theirs. The System explained that he would need to stop hostile invasions at their source, while William considered Umbrella and the UNSC’s growing strength.

• William asked the System how anomalies from another world differed from those native to his world, and it explained that The Thing and the Godzilla creatures came from other universes.
• William asked whether a catastrophic anomaly would appear in 2023, and the System said it could not predict the next anomaly but warned that situations like Kepler-22b would begin occurring throughout the universe.
• The System told William that rifts and channels would allow creatures from other worlds to invade and let his forces travel to those worlds.
• William questioned why he should send troops into other universes, and the System said he could stop invasions at their source, protect humans there, and gain resources and personnel.
• The System said the first rift or channel could appear after May 31, 2023, and William judged that Umbrella and the UNSC would be ready to handle most threats.

William watched Umbrella’s “Truth” livestream as it revealed the Reaper war and the Spartan-II program, then followed Andre’s press conference in Tokyo. Andre disclosed humanity’s first contact with the Reaper Civilization and blamed the giant beasts on hidden Reaper remnants experimenting on Earth’s animals.

• William returned to his office and opened Umbrella’s livestream, which showed footage of the fleet’s battle against the Reaper mothership.
• The broadcast showed Spartan-II recruitment, training, and combat footage, prompting viewers to argue over the ethics of turning children into soldiers.
• The livestream switched to a Tokyo press conference attended by reporters and representatives, where Andre spoke for Umbrella and the UNSC.
• Andre said Umbrella had fought the Reaper Civilization on February 22, 2011, and that this encounter had led to the UNSC’s establishment.
• Andre claimed Reaper remnants had secretly experimented on Earth’s animals and insects, creating the giant beasts that attacked cities.

At a press conference, General Andre answered questions about Umbrella Corporation’s Giant Mecha, military power, and Spartan soldiers. He defended the company’s relationship with the UNSC and its training of children, then accused a reporter of meddling in other people’s affairs.

• Reporters questioned Andre about the Reaper Civilization and Umbrella Corporation, and he restored order before taking questions.
• Andre told a reporter that the Giant Mecha belonged exclusively to Umbrella Corporation and could be operated only by its Super Soldiers.
• Andre rejected concerns that Umbrella Corporation might establish a dictatorship, citing its history of selling technology and cooperating with the UNSC to protect humanity.
• A reporter accused Umbrella Corporation of separating children from their parents, training them as soldiers, and performing surgery on them.
• Andre said the children and their parents had consented, that the soldiers were adults when they underwent surgery, and that the reporter was meddling in their affairs.

Andre defended Umbrella’s Spartan program at a press conference, then revealed that the company would publicly recruit Astartes on a large scale. William watched public attention shift toward enlistment and, believing the crisis was mostly contained, left his office to look over the Infinity.

• Andre silenced a reporter who accused Umbrella of violating God’s will, arguing that Spartans had saved humanity from the giant beasts and the Reaper Civilization.
• Andre confirmed that Umbrella was still creating Super Soldiers, explaining that older youths could become the less powerful Astartes through a new process.
• Andre announced that Umbrella would recruit Astartes publicly and on a large scale, a plan brought forward because of the giant beast attack.
• Viewers shifted from arguing about Umbrella’s ethics to discussing whether they could join the Astartes, while the Spartan-I program remained secret.
• William closed the livestream, left his office compartment, and watched the crew and Marines aboard the Infinity as he hoped the near future would be calm.

William approved Rebecca’s week of leave so she could visit Li Mu and check on the Astartes Project on Minos Island. Serena then reported that the Female Angel had become agitated and wanted to see William, so he went to meet her.

• Rebecca told William that research on the giant beasts had stopped because their remains offered little value and the surviving Godzilla was humanity’s ally.
• Rebecca asked William for a week off to visit Li Mu on Minos Island and check on the Astartes’ drug-injection progress, and he approved her leave.
• William decided to discuss a trip to Minos with Halsey and check on the Astartes’ progress himself.
• Serena told William that the Female Angel had learned to speak in short phrases and had grown agitated since he returned to the Endless.
• Serena reported that the Female Angel nearly injured a researcher while insisting on seeing William, and he ordered Serena to take him to her.

William met the Female Angel after she injured a researcher while demanding to see him, and he calmed the tense USS personnel. He discovered she could learn and began testing the limits of her defensive barrier, which expanded beyond the garden chamber.

• The Female Angel frightened the researchers and shoved one of them away after they refused to let her see William.
• William and Serena entered the garden chamber, and William ordered the USS personnel to lower their weapons.
• The Female Angel rushed toward William for an affectionate embrace, but he stopped her at a safe distance.
• William learned from the system that the Female Angel could learn to communicate through instruction and considered how to arrange her future.
• William asked the Female Angel to demonstrate her Defense Barrier, and she expanded it until it passed through the chamber walls and covered the surrounding area.

William named the angel Kesha and took her to Infinity’s Hangar Bay One to meet the crew and join the Task Force. The chapter ended as Kesha prepared to introduce herself to her future friends.

• William stopped Kesha from expanding her Defense Barrier and offered to take her somewhere with friends so she could join the human community and use her abilities to protect people.
• Kesha asked William to give her a name, and he named her Kesha.
• William led Kesha, Serena, and several USS out of the cabin while the researchers returned to analyze Kesha’s blood.
• In Hangar Bay One, the crew trained and relaxed as William arrived with Kesha, Serena, and the USS.
• Carter asked whether Kesha was a new Task Force recruit, and William confirmed it before asking her to introduce herself.

Keisha joined Carter’s Containment Task Force aboard Infinity, while William reorganized his forces and company operations after the Giant Beast crisis. He then asked Halsey to accompany him and the five Primarchs to Minos to inspect the Astartes’ training progress.

• Keisha introduced herself as William’s master, and William assigned her to Carter’s Task Force for her powerful Defense Barriers.
• Carter showed Keisha her teammates, including the Water Sprite, the Nine-Tailed White Fox, Elizabeth Green, and 049.
• William ordered the Second and Third Fleets to return to Reach, kept Fleet Zero and the First Fleet over Japan, and moved several teams and Containment Objects aboard Infinity.
• William directed Umbrella to assist disaster-stricken cities, buy land in heavily damaged areas, and support UNSC recovery efforts.
• William told Halsey that Rebecca had requested leave to go to Minos, then proposed that Halsey and the five Primarchs accompany them to inspect the Astartes’ training.

William arranged to visit Minos Island with Halsey and Rebecca, and arrived with Robert as the island’s students underwent intensive training. As the Phantom carrying William approached, Hunk and Kent prepared to receive him.

• William asked Serena to notify Robert and bring him aboard the Infinity for the trip to Minos.
• Minos Island’s former facilities had been converted into a city-like base, training grounds, and a large camp for recruits and Astartes candidates.
• Thousands of USS and Ghost Agent reserves and Astartes candidates trained on the beach under USS instructors.
• Hunk and Kent oversaw the island’s training program and supported giving Astartes candidates time to grow up before their modification surgeries.
• A communications officer told Hunk and Kent that the Phantom carrying William would reach Minos airspace in twenty minutes.

William arrived at Minos Island with his family, Sparta Blue Team, and other personnel, where Hunk and Kent greeted him. He introduced them to the newly established Damocles Containment Task Force and asked to see the trainees.

• Hunk and Kent left the watchtower, changed into officer uniforms, and went with Li Mu to the landing pad to meet William.
• The Phantom appeared above Minos Island, and instructors fired warning shots to make the students stop talking and resume their training.
• William, Serena, Rebecca, Halsey, Sparta Blue Team, Robert, Kolax, and the Water Sprite landed in two Pelicans.
• William allowed Li Mu to take Rebecca aside for a private conversation and told her she did not need to join the Astartes project.
• Kent asked why the Water Sprite was on Minos, and William explained that Serena had sent the colonels information about the Damocles Containment Task Force.
• William asked Hunk and Kent to take him to see the future USS personnel, Ghost Agents, and Astartes.

William visited the Minos training grounds, assessed the growing USS, Ghost Agent, and Astartes programs, and decided to address the recruits. The trainees ended their beach training and prepared to hear him speak at the Underground Facility.

• William and his group traveled to the beach, where Hunk reported that the first batch of USS and Ghost Agent recruits would graduate in two months.
• Kent criticized the third-generation Astartes candidates’ lack of battlefield experience, while Halsey explained how greater numbers and limited resources reduced their quality compared with the first generations.
• William accepted that the larger force would compensate for the candidates’ lower individual quality with numbers, ceramite armor, and Bolter Weapons.
• William asked Hunk to prepare the Underground Facility’s auditorium so he could explain the recruits’ purpose to them.
• The USS instructors received orders and ended the trainees’ beach training early so they could attend William’s speech.

Trainees at the Minos Island facility watched footage of soldiers facing an anomalous creature that tore through blast doors and slaughtered them despite their gunfire. As the trainees absorbed the soldiers’ desperate last stand, the projector began playing another video.

• The instructors seated the trainees throughout the auditorium and allowed them to talk while they waited for a presentation.
• A USS major told the trainees to quiet down as a holographic projector began showing first-person footage from an old individual camera.
• The footage showed soldiers preparing to defend a command center’s final line of defense while gunfire and screams sounded behind blast doors.
• A gray-skinned creature forced its way through the doors and killed the soldiers despite their concentrated fire.
• The video ended with the trainees shaken by the soldiers’ deaths, and the projector started another video.

William showed Umbrella’s trainees how five newly augmented Spartan I Warriors contained Anomaly 096, then explained that becoming a Super Soldier meant accepting responsibility for protecting others. He introduced several Anomalies already fighting alongside humanity, leaving the trainees with examples of both dangerous and cooperative beings.

• The trainees watched footage of John, Mylon, Carl, Daisy, and Kage containing Anomaly 096 after it slaughtered soldiers at Camp Lemonnier.
• William told the trainees that 096 had killed 1,996 members of an elite Joint Task Force and had been classified as Euclid.
• William revealed that the five Spartans in the footage were fourteen-year-old Spartan I Warriors who had just undergone augmentation, with the Master Chief leading the operation.
• William told the trainees that extraordinary combat power meant shouldering responsibilities ordinary people could not bear, and they rose to salute him and the Spartans.
• Serena projected information about 049, Elizabeth Green, the Nine-Tailed White Fox, Angel Keisha, and the Water Sprite, and William explained that some Anomalies fought on humanity’s behalf.

William showed the trainees how the Water Sprite had helped B019 Korax defeat three giant beasts, then sent them to meet the five Spartan Primarchs and hear their experiences. He and Serena went to the lowest level of Minos Island’s vast underground facility, where the doctor was examining Achilles, the demigod Umbrella had contained more than ten years earlier.

• William introduced the Water Sprite and showed footage of her helping B019 Korax defeat three giant mantis-like beasts near New York.
• William warned the trainees that not every anomaly was hostile and told them to judge each encounter for themselves.
• John, Carl, Mylon, Robert, and B019 Korax shared their experiences with the trainees before William dismissed the gathering.
• William arranged for the five Spartans and the Water Sprite to meet the trainees, then asked Serena where the doctor was.
• Serena told William that the doctor was examining Achilles on the lowest level, so he went with her to explore the facility and see the demigod.

William and Halsey visited Achilles’ tomb beneath Minos Island and discussed reviving him to train Astartes candidates. They agreed to ask Athena whether retrieving Achilles from the Greek underworld was possible and safe.

• William and Serena descended to Minos Island’s lowest level and found Achilles’ tomb in an underground tropical garden.
• William and Halsey looked at Achilles’ body and discussed how his arrogance had led to his death and how he later became a true hero.
• Halsey proposed reviving Achilles to teach Astartes candidates humility and discipline.
• William questioned how Achilles could be revived and considered the risks of entering the underworld.
• William and Halsey agreed to consult Athena about the Greek underworld before deciding whether to retrieve Achilles.

William ordered Athena to lead an expedition into the Greek Underworld to retrieve Achilles’s soul, and she selected John and Mylon to accompany her. The team reached the secured entrance beneath Santorini volcano, ready to begin its investigation.

• Athena explained that entering the Underworld required Hades’s permission and that Cerberus guarded the gate where Achilles’s soul was believed to be.
• William ordered Athena to lead a team into the Underworld, and she agreed despite uncertainty about whether Hades remained there.
• Athena prepared for the expedition and selected John and Mylon as her companions.
• Athena, John, and Mylon flew to the military outpost on Santorini Island and traveled by Warthog convoy to Achilles’s tomb.
• The convoy reached the entrance, which Umbrella’s Engineering Team had fortified with a Titanium Alloy gate.

Athena, John, and Mylon traveled through the underground catacombs beneath Santorini in search of the Underworld’s entrance. Athena revealed a hidden platform beneath a lava fissure, where they opened a massive door and entered Hades’s realm.

• Athena, John, and Mylon crossed the ancient chambers beneath the volcano, reaching the end of the catacombs without finding an entrance to the Underworld.
• A UBCS lieutenant told John that researchers had found no entrance, though soldiers heard crying sounds underground at night.
• Athena jumped into a lava fissure and called for John and Mylon to follow, revealing a hidden platform below.
• John and Mylon used their jet systems to descend to the platform, where Athena warned Mylon against suggesting she could drown.
• Mylon activated his camera, and John and Mylon helped Athena open the door into the Underworld ruled by Hades.

Athena led John and Mylon through the Greek underworld, where they crossed a plain crowded with spirits and reached Charon's dock. Charon demanded a coin for each passenger before agreeing to take them to the Elysian Fields.

• Athena led John and Mylon into a dark passage and ordered them to stay close and fire only on her command.
• Mylon discovered they could no longer see the entrance, and Athena explained that the underworld prevented visitors from leaving without its ruler's permission.
• The three emerged onto a barren plain surrounded by flowing lava, where Athena warned John and Mylon not to speak to the wandering spirits.
• Athena led John and Mylon across the plain to a dock and greeted Charon, the ferryman of the Styx.
• Athena paid Charon one gold coin and asked to be taken to the Elysian Fields, but Charon demanded one coin per person.

Athena led John and Mylon across the Styx to the Land of Everlasting Flowers, where she explained the routes to Elysium, Tartarus, and Hades’ palace. A howl from ahead suggested Cerberus was still there, and the three hurried toward the palace to continue their search for Achilles.

• Athena paid Charon to ferry her, John, and Mylon across the Styx, and the two Spartans nearly capsized his boat.
• After reaching the far shore, the group left Charon behind and traveled through the Land of Everlasting Flowers.
• Athena found ruined marble pillars and worried that Hades and Persephone might have left the Underworld.
• Athena pointed out the paths to Elysium and Tartarus, then identified Hades’ palace as their destination and said Achilles should be nearby.
• A howl sounded from ahead, and Athena identified it as Cerberus before leading John and Mylon toward Hades’ palace.

Athena, John, and Mylon reached Hades’s palace in the Underworld, where Cerberus recognized Athena and Hades welcomed his niece. The group discovered that Hades and his divine servants had adopted modern technology and clothing.

• Athena explained to Mylon that humanlike divine servants had built the Underworld’s gardens, palaces, and roads.
• The group met Cerberus, who wagged his tail when he recognized Athena, and Hades explained that it knew her by her scent.
• Athena identified Hades’s voice and led John and Mylon toward his palace after he welcomed them.
• The divine servants opened the palace gates and escorted the visitors into a reception hall furnished with modern technology and served them tea and desserts.
• Hades came downstairs dressed casually and greeted Athena, who stood and respectfully greeted her uncle.

Athena visited Hades in the Underworld and asked him to help revive Achilles so she could inspire humanity’s fighters. Hades agreed and set off with Athena, John, and Mylon for the military camp.

• Hades welcomed Athena and explained that he enjoyed human entertainment technology, while Persephone joined them in the hall.
• Hades mistook John and Mylon for Athena’s children, and Athena clarified that they were human companions.
• Athena asked Hades to let Achilles return to the human world, explaining that she hoped he would inspire and teach humanity’s fighters.
• Hades agreed to help revive Achilles and ordered attendants to prepare a vehicle for the journey to the military camp.
• Persephone asked John and Mylon if either wanted to become her son-in-law, and both declined.
• Athena, Hades, John, and Mylon left the palace while Persephone watched them go.