Chapter Summaries

At the Great Barrier’s activation ceremony, Yargard and Duanmu Huai discovered that the Magical Elves were manipulating the nobles through elven power. When the nobles began transforming into monsters, Duanmu Huai attacked.

• Yargard told Duanmu Huai he would renounce his Elf Contract at the celebration banquet and asked him to help force through reforms if the nobles resisted.
• Viscount Julius reported that the Great Barrier’s formation had been repaired, and Yargard went to activate it.
• Lumiel warned Duanmu Huai that the elves’ magic was growing unusually active as Yargard offered royal blood to the altar.
• Magical Elves emerged from the flames and entered the nobles, who celebrated as their power increased.
• The nobles began mutating into monsters, and Duanmu Huai recognized the elves’ influence and swung his warhammer.

Duanmu Huai destroyed the Great Barrier altar as the Magical Elves turned nobles and soldiers into monsters, then learned the linked barrier might have affected the Royal Capital too. Anisphia arrived with news that the Demonic Army had appeared outside the Northern Fortress.

• Duanmu Huai smashed the altar and fought the mutated guards while True Clever helped the others retreat.
• Anisphia flew over the Northern Fortress and saw that nobles and soldiers across the camp had become monsters.
• Yargard told the Adventurers Association that the Magical Elves had caused the disaster, and Duanmu Huai arrived to explain they had fallen into a trap.
• Lumiel revealed that activating the Northern Fortress's Great Barrier had briefly linked it to the Royal Capital's barrier, potentially exposing its people to the Magical Elves.
• Anisphia burst into the room and reported that the Demonic Army had appeared outside the Northern Fortress.

Duanmu Huai and Yargard revealed their alliance against the Magical Elves, while Yargard explained that he wanted to dismantle Paretia’s oppressive aristocratic system. When Anisphia opposed their approach, Duanmu Huai’s allies knocked her unconscious, leaving the group to face the immediate crisis at the Northern Fortress.

• Yargard revealed that he had broken his Elf Contract and had worked with Duanmu Huai to sever it and destroy Elf Magic.
• Yargard denounced the nobles and the Elf Faith, explaining that he intended to reform Paretia by force and take responsibility as its heir.
• Duanmu Huai killed several people who blamed Yargard and urged him to renew his contract with the Magical Elves.
• Yargard and Anisphia argued over whether forceful reform was necessary, with Yargard condemning her for tolerating the nobles’ abuses.
• Duanmu Huai sided with Yargard and declared that he would remove anyone obstructing their campaign against the Magical Elves.
• Okegis bound Anisphia with invisible threads, and True Clever struck her unconscious before Duanmu Huai turned back to the immediate problem.

Duanmu Huai silenced witnesses to the truth about the Magical Elf and sent his allies to secure the Northern Fortress before flying out to confront the Demon Race’s army. After destroying its Headless Knights, he faced Aura the Guillotine, who planned to use magic to capture him.

• Duanmu Huai ordered Okegis to help Yargard clear the fortress and told True Clever to gather survivors and blame the Demon Race for the ritual’s corruption.
• Duanmu Huai left to confront the invading army, while True Clever went to gather the survivors.
• Duanmu Huai found an army of Headless Knights in the snowy wilderness and smashed through them with his warhammer.
• Duanmu Huai triggered an avalanche and then blew it back with a mighty swing, wiping out the Headless Knights.
• Aura the Guillotine appeared and revealed her intention to capture Duanmu Huai with magic, believing his strength could not protect him from it.

True Clever fought Solitair while Duanmu Huai confronted Aura on another battlefield. Duanmu Huai killed Aura, and True Clever used the M-920 Cain to defeat Solitair, leaving the battlefield cleared of both Great Demons.

• True Clever rescued retreating adventurers, then fought Solitair, who attacked her and tried to capture her for questioning.
• After running out of submachine-gun ammunition, True Clever used her Multi-Tool to turn invisible and fired a sniper rifle at Solitair, but Solitair survived and blasted her down.
• Aura used the Obedience Scale against Duanmu Huai, but his overwhelming soul power shattered the scale, and he killed Aura with her own horns.
• When Solitair looked away after sensing Aura's death, True Clever fired her M-920 Cain and blasted Solitair into a crater.
• Solitair pleaded for her life, but True Clever shot her with a shotgun, and Solitair's body turned to black dust.

Duanmu Huai sent Yargard and the Kingdom Army back toward the Royal Capital with a one-use Rosary Beads, while he continued north with Okegis and True Clever to confront the Demon King. After learning from Aura’s memories that the Demon King had created the Demon Race and sealed the planet, Duanmu Huai concluded the Demon King served the Deceitful Trickster and headed on toward the Demon King’s Castle.

• Euphilia told Duanmu Huai that Princess Anisphia had left to scout the Royal Capital, and he let her go.
• Duanmu Huai gave Yargard the Rosary Beads and explained that using them at the strongest Magical Elf aura could drive the Magical Elves from the Royal Capital, but destroy the beads.
• Yargard led the surviving Kingdom Army and adventurers back toward the Royal Capital, while Duanmu Huai continued toward the Demon King’s Castle with Okegis and True Clever.
• Duanmu Huai recalled Aura’s memories: the Demon King had transformed monsters into the Demon Race and sealed the planet to prepare for leaving it.
• Duanmu Huai suspected the Demon King had made a pact with the Deceitful Trickster and continued north toward the Arctic Circle.
• Okegis told Duanmu Huai that True Clever sang better than he did, so he asked True Clever to sing.

Duanmu Huai, True Clever, and Okegis reached a hidden underground city in the Northern Lands, where adventurers waited out the deadly blizzards. After learning how the settlement operated, Duanmu Huai entered City Hall to find out more about it.

• Duanmu Huai flew through the Northern Lands with True Clever and Okegis and was shot at by an archer guarding a cave.
• The Archer let them into the cave after confirming they were humans, then led them through a hidden passage to an underground settlement.
• The Archer explained that about three hundred adventurers lived in the former Dwarf settlement and waited for the brief yearly travel season to resume their attempt to reach Demon King's Castle.
• Duanmu Huai told the Archer that Paretia's attack on the Northern Fortress had failed and that the Royal Capital might be in danger.
• The Archer explained that adventurers earned Contribution Points by completing commissions, then left Duanmu Huai and his companions at City Hall.
• Duanmu Huai approached a Counter Lady, who explained that adventurers usually entered the Northern Lands during the Snow Melting Period.

Duanmu Huai learned how adventurers in the Northern Lands lived and accepted a request to explore the Great Labyrinth, which was rumored to lead to the Demon King's Castle. He set off with Okegis and True Clever, refusing a timid novice priest who asked to join them.

• An old adventurer told Duanmu Huai that many parties tried to reach the Demon King's Castle, and some who could not continue stayed in the city to support other adventurers.
• Duanmu Huai examined the city's work requests and chose the Great Labyrinth investigation, receiving a badge to enter.
• Duanmu Huai told True Clever they would explore the labyrinth and suggested finding weapons to replace her dwindling ammunition.
• Duanmu Huai, Okegis, and True Clever reached the labyrinth entrance and saw adventurers gathering to form temporary parties.
• A golden-haired novice priest offered to join Duanmu Huai's group, but he refused and led his companions inside.

Duanmu Huai and his companions explored the Great Labyrinth, where he smashed through its traps but got lost at a dead end. While they rested in the Wizard's Mansion, Okegis's scouting dolls found someone in the labyrinth.

• Duanmu Huai destroyed a rolling boulder, a spiked ceiling, and an iron gate, then escaped a pit trap with his Jetpack.
• Duanmu Huai reached a dead end, turned back, and asked his companions for help navigating the labyrinth.
• Okegis sent dolls down different corridors to scout, and Duanmu Huai took the group into the Wizard's Mansion to rest.
• Duanmu Huai relaxed with Okegis and True Clever until Okegis reported that her dolls had found someone.

Duanmu Huai and his companions met Hero Himmel’s party in the Great Labyrinth and traveled together until Himmel turned back to thoroughly explore the first level. Duanmu Huai went downstairs on his own but got lost, and Himmel’s party found him waiting on the second level after ten hours.

• Himmel and his companions rescued a white-haired girl from a Treasure Chest Monster and introduced themselves to Duanmu Huai’s group.
• Duanmu Huai agreed to travel with Himmel’s party, but insisted that his group lead while Himmel’s party guided them.
• Duanmu Huai triggered a spear trap, but his armor protected him, and the groups talked as they crossed the level.
• Himmel turned back to explore the entire first level, while Duanmu Huai went downstairs with his companions.
• After more than ten hours, Himmel’s party reached the second level and found Duanmu Huai there because he had gotten lost.

Duanmu Huai and the other adventurers explored a trap-filled labyrinth that seemed deceptively easy, then split up at a fork. Duanmu Huai’s group encountered magical copies of the hero’s party and destroyed them, after which he decided they should turn back.

• Duanmu Huai noticed the labyrinth’s floors sloped upward despite seeming to descend, and the group suspected the easy passage was a trap.
• At a fork, Duanmu Huai’s group took the left passage while the hero’s group took the right.
• Duanmu Huai’s group found four doll-like copies of the hero’s party blocking the way and attacked them.
• True Clever shot the copied priest, while Duanmu Huai and Okegis defeated the copied Dwarf warrior, hero, and Magic User.
• Duanmu Huai realized the enemies were magical false bodies and decided the group should turn back.

Duanmu Huai and the Hero’s party discovered that the Great Labyrinth’s Water Mirror Devil created reviving copies of those who entered, but Duanmu Huai defeated the copies and destroyed the Devil. At the far gate, he questioned whether the labyrinth’s history matched its apparent purpose, then chose to continue onward while the Hero’s party returned to report their success.

• Duanmu Huai reunited with the Hero and his companions, who had fled from powerful copies of themselves.
• Frieren identified the Water Mirror Devil as the monster behind the copies, and Duanmu Huai realized they could revive.
• Duanmu Huai fought the copies of himself, Okegis, and True Clever, defeating them with ease before smashing the Water Mirror Devil.
• The Hero’s party caught up with Duanmu Huai after battling their own copies, including one of Frieren.
• Duanmu Huai questioned why the labyrinth seemed designed to stop adventurers rather than the demon race, then continued onward as the Hero’s party went back to report that the area was cleared.

After Frieren explained that human magic depended on a caster’s conviction, Duanmu Huai recognized similarities to the Greenskins’ “I Think” Power and grew eager to study the system. He arranged to travel with Frieren and planned to test whether his experience defeating powerful enemies could let him kill even greater foes with magic.

• Frieren explained that human magic could not pierce Duanmu Huai’s armor because she had come to believe it was impossible.
• Duanmu Huai asked the Hero to let Frieren accompany him, and Frieren agreed in exchange for his collection of magic scrolls.
• Duanmu Huai compared human magic to the Greenskins’ “I Think” Power, noting that human magic relied on individual conviction and magical power.
• Duanmu Huai reasoned that his experience defeating Evil Gods of Chaos and Greater Daemons might let him imagine their deaths as a certainty.
• Duanmu Huai decided that learning human magic could allow him to test whether he could defeat powerful enemies with a single spell.

Duanmu Huai mastered a form of Human Magic that let him destroy a mountain by imagining its destruction, astonishing Frieren. After the hero’s party and a group of adventurers prepared to advance on the Demon King’s Castle ahead of schedule, Duanmu Huai agreed to accompany them.

• Duanmu Huai studied the Human Magic System and developed a spell that shattered a boulder with Psychic Power.
• Duanmu Huai destroyed a distant mountain range by imagining it collapsing, leaving Frieren stunned by the scale of his power.
• Duanmu Huai and Frieren decided not to attack the Demon King’s Castle from afar because the Demon King might escape.
• The hero returned with adventurers who planned to use a newly found route to reach the Demon King’s Castle sooner.
• Duanmu Huai warned the adventurers that the castle’s forces might investigate the destroyed mountain, but agreed to go with them when they chose to proceed.

Duanmu Huai led the adventurers toward the Demon King's Castle before the Snow Melting Period, where Livalai ambushed them and challenged him. Duanmu Huai killed Livalai instantly, while his claim that the Demon King was Sage Aivehi remained unshared with the group.

• The Dwarf warrior explained that the Demon King would not recall his army before the Snow Melting Period, making this the adventurers’ best chance to attack.
• Duanmu Huai’s party advanced through the snow-cleared Northern Lands, surviving monster and Dragon Group attacks as they hurried toward the castle.
• Frieren sensed a powerful mana presence, and Livalai struck Duanmu Huai, sending the surrounding adventurers flying while Duanmu Huai remained unharmed.
• Livalai identified himself as one of the Seven Great Sages and revealed that he knew the adventurers had broken through the Great Labyrinth.
• Duanmu Huai concluded that the Demon King was Sage Aivehi, taunted Livalai, and killed him by exploding his head.

Duanmu Huai sent the adventurers ahead while he drew the Demon Army to Demon King's Castle and slaughtered thousands of Monster Soldiers. Miracle Gulaosam tried to kill Duanmu Huai and his companions with dream magic, but his attack failed and he died in madness as Duanmu Huai prepared to face the army on the castle walls.

• Duanmu Huai ordered the adventurers to infiltrate Demon King's Castle while he stayed behind to draw the Demon Army's attention.
• Duanmu Huai destroyed thousands of Monster Soldiers with his warhammer and flew to the castle, where he killed demons by the thousands.
• Miracle Gulaosam introduced himself as one of the Seven Great Sages and used Paradise Transference Magic to put Duanmu Huai, Okegis, and True Clever to sleep.
• Gulaosam cut down the three apparent sleepers, but their bodies melted into eyeball-covered masses that infected him and drove him to tear himself apart.
• Duanmu Huai watched Gulaosam turn to ash, then snapped his fingers and challenged the Monster Army gathered on the castle walls.

Duanmu Huai and his companions attacked the Demon King's Castle, where he unleashed his awakened Destruction Magic against the defenders and destroyed the walls. He then shattered the golden barrier enclosing the planet, revealing the outside universe and a familiar warship as Ann found him.

• Duanmu Huai, Okegis, and True Clever slaughtered the forces gathered before the Demon King's Castle while the Hero and his party headed for its undefended rear.
• A Demonic General ordered the castle gates shut and the drawbridge raised, but Duanmu Huai used Destruction Magic to annihilate a demon and collapse the city walls.
• Duanmu Huai killed a demon girl who pleaded that the Demon King wanted coexistence with humanity, then flew upward with True Clever and Okegis.
• Duanmu Huai smashed the golden barrier surrounding the planet, breaking apart the darkness that had concealed the universe.
• A familiar warship appeared beyond the shattered barrier, and Ann called out that she had finally found Duanmu Huai.

Duanmu Huai returned to the Inquisition after helping the local adventurers defeat the Demon King, then began organizing a purge of the Demon Race and coordination with the Systems Alliance. He learned how Paretia survived the Magical Elves’ uprising and told Yargard the Demon King was dead, before preparing to explain difficult news about the planet.

• Duanmu Huai returned to the Inquisition, where Ann and the others revealed they had bet on how many girls he would bring back.
• Duanmu Huai confirmed that the Hero and the adventurers had killed the Demon King, then ordered the castle scanned and the Demon Race’s remaining life signs located for the Night Watch to purge.
• Duanmu Huai told True Clever to contact the Systems Alliance about the isolated planet and went to meet Yargard in Paretia.
• Yargard explained that Anisphia had rescued the royal family from the Magicology Province’s ritual, and Lumiel had used Duanmu Huai’s Rosary Beads to destroy the Magical Elves at the cost of her life.
• Yargard said the king had agreed to abdicate, and that he had dissolved his engagement to Euphilia and become engaged to a common-born priest who had nursed him.
• Duanmu Huai told Yargard that adventurers had killed the Demon King and that the Inquisition would help eradicate the Demon Race, then said the bad news might be difficult to understand.

Duanmu Huai warned Yargard that the Systems Alliance was too powerful to resist and advised him to offer the Human Magic System in trade. After the Alliance and the planet’s rulers reached an agreement, Duanmu Huai returned to hunting demons and demonstrated his destructive magic to Ann with a humiliating prank.

• Duanmu Huai explained the Systems Alliance’s strength and suggested that Paretia trade the Human Magic System for favorable terms.
• The Systems Alliance sent a delegation, and the planet’s rulers agreed to a hundred-year quarantine, a Space Elevator, and gradual technological exchange.
• The planet’s kings began discussing how to rebuild the Unified Kingdom to negotiate with the Systems Alliance as one nation.
• Duanmu Huai challenged Ann to test his Destruction Magic, which destroyed her Fireball Spell and clothes, prompting her to call him a pervert.

Duanmu Huai experimented with Destruction Magic until the system offered him an advancement quest and sent him into a randomly generated challenge world. He found himself cast as a monk in Journey to the West and set off toward Western Heaven, planning to test his magic on its demons and monsters.

• Duanmu Huai discovered that Destruction Magic consumed more divine power as the scale of destruction grew, with Warp Space costing especially much.
• The system detected his new skill and opened an enhancement quest, generating a challenge world tailored to him.
• Duanmu Huai appeared in a monastery wearing a monk's robe, where Emperor Tang sent him west to obtain the scriptures.
• Duanmu Huai accepted the mission, took a Khakkhara, and left the pass while vowing to seize the scriptures by force if necessary.
• Duanmu Huai decided to find Five Finger Mountain and meet Sun Wukong.