Chapter Summaries

Chinese cultivators launched an attack in Japan, where the fighting quickly overwhelmed the Japanese officials and supernatural forces. Yun Jinshu’s group was mistaken for saviors by local villagers before a monstrous wheel with a bald head attacked them.

• Chinese cultivators disembarked and used the Five Elements Escape Technique to evade Japan’s land mines and surveillance.
• General Zhang’s Bandit-Quelling Golden Halberd killed an evil ghost and carved a huge ravine through the Yasukuni Shrine, alarming Minister Sugawara.
• Minister Sugawara secretly contacted Abe, who prepared to act after learning the war had begun.
• Yun Jinshu’s group killed attacking monsters, and local villagers mistook them for rescuers and kowtowed to them.
• Yun Jinshu’s Crimson Flame Flying Trident struck a gigantic wheel with a bald head, which resisted the attack and charged at the Shushan disciples.

Japan’s military detonated bombs across its major cities while Chinese cultivators battled throughout the country, causing devastating casualties. As Yun Yanhu and Yun Jinshu headed into Osaka’s ruins, Xiao Hei reached Japan and flew toward the scent of plentiful food.

• An old monk killed the demonic beasts and corrupt monks at a temple, then told Daoist Jingxu that Japan’s Ministry of Magic might be on Mount Fuji.
• Minister Sugawara told military officers to do as they pleased, and they ordered bombs detonated across Japan’s major cities.
• Yun Jinshu and Yun Yanhu saw Osaka reduced to ruins and learned that explosions had struck nearly all four main islands, killing and injuring Chinese cultivators as well.
• Yun Yanhu headed into Osaka to look for survivors from their group, and Yun Jinshu followed him.
• Xiao Hei reached Japan, sensed abundant food, and flew toward the nearest fragrant source.

Xiao Hei retaliated against wizards who attacked his eyes, then turned toward Mount Fuji and the source of their aura. At the Magic Institute, General Zhang broke through the illusory defenses, and Jingxu joined the assault as the battle intensified.

• Wizards attacked Xiao Hei’s eyes with Eye-Blurring Curses, and he unleashed a storm that killed or maimed many of them as they fled.
• Xiao Hei soothed his eyes, sensed the wizards’ aura near a snow-capped mountain, and flew toward Mount Fuji in anger.
• General Zhang repeatedly struck the Magic Institute’s illusory defenses with the Bandit-Quelling Golden Halberd until the elderly woman’s Cloud Mirror cracked and she withdrew.
• General Zhang shattered the Institute’s gates, and his forces charged inside as a white dragon swept buildings into the air.
• Jingxu entered the Institute, struck down an attacker with lightning, and then told everyone to hold their breath.

Jingxu’s cultivators fought through the Magic Institute while Adam assessed Japan’s dwindling defenses and Xiao Hei arrived to destroy the illusions concealing the Japanese wizards. General Zhang escaped the Mirage Tower, and Xiao Hei flew toward Mount Fuji’s summit.

• Jingxu split the cultivators, then led one group into the Magic Institute as the white dragon wrecked its defenses.
• Silent corpses attacked the cultivators, who burned them away, while Jingxu wondered why General Zhang was missing.
• Adam concluded Japan’s defenses could only stall for time and watched Xiao Hei arrive at Mount Fuji.
• Xiao Hei’s heavenly fire killed the concealed demons and destroyed the Soul Return Incense, dispelling the illusion and revealing the Japanese wizards.
• Jingxu exposed the Mirage Tower with the white dragon, and General Zhang severed his way out and rejoined the battle.
• Xiao Hei roared over the battlefield and flew toward Mount Fuji’s summit.

Adam noticed signs of Yamata no Orochi within Mount Fuji as Japan’s generals debated whether to attack the Chinese cultivators with missiles. Xiao Hei transformed and triggered a volcanic eruption that sent a pillar of lava skyward, leaving Japan’s main islands and surrounding waters in danger.

• Adam recognized clues of Yamata no Orochi inside Mount Fuji, while the Japanese generals argued over whether bombing the mountain would cause a catastrophic eruption.
• The generals decided to attack before the remaining Magic Institute wizards were wiped out, and missiles were deployed toward Mount Fuji.
• Mount Fuji began shaking before the missiles were launched, and Xiao Hei revealed its new lava-like form above the mountain.
• The Chinese cultivators and Japanese wizards fled as Mount Fuji continued to tremble.
• Xiao Hei caused Mount Fuji to erupt, sending a pillar of lava into the sky and putting Japan’s four main islands and nearby waters within its reach.

Xiao Hei’s lava attack destroyed most of Japan during the assessment, while the video conference’s representatives considered the dragon’s power and Japan’s defeat. After the Chinese cultivators returned, Japanese citizens erupted in anger at their government and praised the invaders who had saved them.

• Cultivators retreated as Xiao Hei’s lava encircled Japan, consumed its land, and engulfed the nuclear power plant while Xiao Hei ate its reactors.
• Yog arrived too late to join the action and lamented that he needed to study geography.
• The representatives watching the assessment recognized that Japan had failed and questioned whether conventional weapons could hurt Xiao Hei.
• Japan’s restored citizens protested the government’s sacrifice of its people, while some credited Barbecue Immortal and other invaders with saving them.
• Yun Jinshu and Yun Yanhu watched Japanese news and online reactions, including citizens discussing surrendering to a more reliable power.

Adam dealt with the aftermath of the assessments while Vatican leaders struggled with the consequences of opposing the Human Alliance. He continued suppressing magical violence around the world, leaving Earth in an unprecedented period of peace.

• Japanese netizens argued that Japan should join China, while Chinese netizens rejected their claims and urged them to stay away.
• The Pope and Cardinals worried about Vatican's weak defenses and the believers demanding an explanation, as one Cardinal pointed out that the remaining population was devout.
• Adam had someone compile charges against Vatican while he focused on the assessments' aftermath.
• Adam teleported the Hanging Gardens above sites of magical violence and used a spell to seize perpetrators while leaving victims behind.
• Adam reviewed the declining number of violent incidents on Earth and concluded that the world had never been this peaceful.

Adam visited Merlin to discuss the stranger from another world who had helped the Human Alliance, and explained how he had recognized Merlin’s identity. Merlin tacitly admitted the truth, leaving Adam to wonder at Merlin’s reaction to the explanation.

• Adam decided to speak with Merlin after reflecting on the remaining threats to the Human Alliance.
• Adam found Merlin lounging at his desk, watching a movie about Merlin, and asked what he thought of it.
• Adam revealed that he knew Merlin came from another world and asked why he was watching a distorted movie instead of speaking with this world’s Merlin.
• Merlin asked how Adam had identified him, and Adam explained that Merlin had used the unfamiliar concept of familiars.
• Adam showed Merlin how his carefully crafted magic circle differed from the crude circles used by wizards in their world.
• Merlin realized Adam had pressured him into completing the elegant spell on a deadline and wondered if it had all been part of Adam’s calculations.

Merlin’s cover was exposed when Adam revealed that he had recorded their first conversation, and Merlin explained that he had come to help another-world Merlin. Worried about the consequences of his identity being known, Merlin traveled to Avalon, but Adam followed him and marveled at its powerful Ancient Magic.

• Adam played a recording of Merlin’s first meeting with him, confirming that he knew Merlin’s identity.
• Adam questioned why Merlin had come to help the Human Alliance, and Merlin said he was helping Merlin.
• Merlin tried to teleport away, but Adam blocked him and then allowed him to leave after asking to come along.
• Merlin traveled to Avalon, and Adam followed him there.
• Adam examined Avalon’s magical defenses and followed Mei Tianli toward the castle.

Adam and Mei Tianli reached Merlin’s castle in Avalon, where Merlin took Mei Tianli aside while Adam explored Camelot’s recreated castle. Merlin later showed Adam the Round Table and conjured images of its meetings, leaving Adam focused on King Arthur.

• Adam and Mei Tianli approached Merlin’s castle, and Adam wondered whether it had been built from Camelot.
• Merlin greeted Adam, said he knew why they had come, then took Mei Tianli away to speak privately.
• Adam explored the castle and copied it into a crystal ball.
• Adam found the Round Table, and Merlin explained that every knight who followed King Arthur could attend its meetings.
• Merlin conjured figures of the knights around the table and described their debates over the affairs of Britannia.
• Adam watched the figures and noticed that all the knights’ attention centered on King Arthur.

Merlin recounted how he raised Arthur and watched his prophecy of Arthur’s tragic fate come true, then explained that he wanted Adam’s help creating a new timeline. He left Adam weighing Merlin’s plan to give Arthur a glorious life, even if it would not change the present.

• Merlin told Adam how he first helped Vortigern, later served Aurelius, and prophesied that Uther Pendragon’s son would rule Britannia.
• Merlin explained that he took Arthur away, raised and trained him, and tried to prevent his prophecy, but Arthur still approached the tragic fate Merlin had foreseen.
• Merlin said he had failed to intervene because he expected Arthur to win, and that prophecy’s weight made the past impossible to change without collapsing the timeline.
• Merlin revealed that he wanted to create a new timeline so Arthur could enjoy a glorious life as king, rather than watch his kingdom fall apart.
• Adam recognized that Merlin’s plan would create a separate timeline, but considered observing it because he was emotionally invested in Merlin and Arthur.

Merlin revealed that Mei Tianli had proposed Adam’s plan to overwrite the timeline, prompting Adam to ask about the Type-Moon World’s magic. Mei Tianli explained how Mystery faded from the Age of Gods through the rise of magecraft, ending with the fall of Ancient Britain.

• Merlin dismissed Mei Tianli’s complaint about being left out of his agreement with Adam and sent him out of Avalon.
• Merlin went to the Hanging Gardens and explained to Adam that Mei Tianli had devised the plan for Adam to overwrite Merlin’s influence and create a new timeline.
• Adam asked Mei Tianli to explain the magic of his world, and Mei Tianli described how magic became magecraft as humanity developed.
• Mei Tianli recounted how Gilgamesh’s defiance and Solomon’s creation of magecraft accelerated the decline of Mystery and brought the Age of Gods to an end.
• Mei Tianli identified the fall of Ancient Britain as the key turning point for Mystery in that region.

Adam discussed Merlin’s world and a possible visit to help with Merlin and Artoria’s wish, while weighing the risks of creating a new worldline and leaving Earth behind. After Merlin estimated the journey would take two to four hundred years, Adam planned to visit once he had dealt with major threats, then considered how to manage Earth’s conflicts without handling them all himself.

• Adam worried that Merlin’s plan to create a new worldline might produce a Singularity and attract Chaldea, Alaya, or Gaia.
• Merlin explained that Artoria was a Heroic Spirit and that he could be summoned despite not having died.
• Adam said they should seek Artoria’s opinion and agreed to visit Merlin’s world after matters at home had settled.
• Merlin estimated that traveling to his world would take roughly two to four hundred years by the time of Adam’s world.
• Adam returned to his office and used the Hanging Gardens to resolve conflicts appearing on Earth’s projection.
• Adam realized he needed a way to delegate handling Earth’s conflicts so he could have more free time.

Adam reassigned the Hanging Gardens wizards to oversee the teleportation system before a special-event alert drew his attention to Vatican. There, the Pope and Cardinals struggled to respond as Vatican’s influence collapsed and the Human Alliance’s allies turned against them.

• Adam agreed with Merlin that the teleportation system needed oversight and assigned the Hanging Gardens wizards to take shifts.
• A green alert appeared on Adam’s Earth projection, and he recognized the location as the site of a long-awaited event.
• The Pope demanded that the Cardinals find a way out as Vatican’s believers grew impatient and its leaders faced mounting pressure.
• Vatican’s attempts to incite believers abroad failed as countries suppressed the unrest, sent agitators to Vatican, or interrogated them with Veritaserum.
• The Cardinals admitted they could not challenge the Human Alliance, while believers in Britain, Egypt, and America were imprisoned or aligned with Vatican’s opponents.

The Human Alliance summoned Vatican’s leaders to stand trial, but the Pope and Cardinals refused to go, so Adam brought the Hanging Gardens above Vatican to deliver the verdict himself. As the city protested, Adam said the case involved multiple nations.

• The Human Alliance published its charges against Vatican’s upper ranks and summoned them to a trial in three days.
• The Pope and Cardinals decided not to attend the trial and waited for the Human Alliance’s representatives in Vatican City.
• Adam told Bernard that the case would be decided by law, then moved the Hanging Gardens from Geosynchronous Orbit to hover above Vatican.
• Adam emerged from the enormous black structure and announced that he had come to deliver the verdict.
• A Cardinal accused Adam of trampling on another nation’s sovereignty, and Adam suppressed the crowd’s uproar before saying the case involved multiple nations.

Adam announced that the Human Alliance would charge the Vatican with crimes against humanity after an investigation uncovered more than ten million victims of clergy sexual abuse across over twenty-seven countries. He rejected calls for an ordinary trial and began to impose a punishment suited to the circumstances, leaving Bernard wondering what that would entail.

• Adam described a handwritten complaint that had led the Human Alliance to investigate the Vatican for a month and three days.
• Adam revealed that the investigation had confirmed more than ten million minor victims across over twenty-seven countries.
• Adam announced that the Human Alliance was taking over the case and charging the Vatican with crimes against humanity.
• A Cardinal and others protested that Adam was issuing punishment without a hearing, while Bernard questioned the lack of legal procedure.
• Adam argued that ordinary territorial law could not effectively judge the Vatican and said the accused did not deserve to be heard.
• Adam rose and promised a trial suited to the Vatican's circumstances, leaving Bernard uncertain what kind of trial he meant.

Adam created Hell above Vatican City and sent the believers there to repent for their sins. After they vanished through the Gates of Hell, Adam returned to Geosynchronous Orbit, leaving Bernard unsure how long they would remain imprisoned.

• Adam summoned the nine circles of Hell above Vatican City and made the crowd endure the force of a stampede without dying.
• Adam manifested the Gates of Hell, whose inscription and chants caused the believers to panic, argue over whether he was God or a heretic, and pray.
• A Cardinal recited scripture to strengthen his faith, and Adam told the crowd they would understand their judgment once they entered Limbo.
• Adam sent the believers through the Gates of Hell, leaving only the reporters in Vatican City, while Liao Kong wondered whether Adam had created a Buddhist Pure Land.
• Adam returned to Geosynchronous Orbit with the Hanging Gardens, then confused Bernard by asking what he meant by coming out of Hell.

Adam explained that the Gates of Hell punished believers who failed to meet his moral standards, while heaven remained open to those who lived ethically and lawfully. The fallout weakened some religious groups, and Adam reviewed Wa Nation’s worsening international situation with Kero and Suppi.

• Adam told Bernard that hell was meant to be an eternal place of punishment, where repentance gave its inhabitants something to do and supplied energy to hell.
• The Human Alliance announced that heaven existed but judged admission by standards based on Dante’s Divine Comedy, prompting believers to visit the Vatican and be swallowed by the Gates of Hell.
• Adam clarified that sincere believers who never violated morality or law could enter heaven, and the news drove some believers away from religions and caused cult leaders to flee.
• Adam learned that cults were especially common in Stealer Nation and Wa Nation, where the news could curb leaders who used threats of hell to extort money.
• Adam asked Kero and Suppi about Wa Nation, and they reported that America, Britain, Huaxia, and Egypt were pressuring it over its policies and history.
• Kero wondered why Egypt was involved, and Suppi explained that Yog had arrived too late, then returned to study geography and navigation.

Adam Reed cared for newly arrived magical creature hatchlings while ordering the interrogation room to kill its prisoners without explanation. As factions investigated his influence over the Human Alliance, they uncovered a suspiciously successful past that suggested he had shaped events to advance himself.

• A staff member delivered an interrogation report to Adam, who ordered the prisoners killed and sent back his decision.
• Interrogation room staff questioned whether Adam had really ordered the killings, but the messenger said Adam had laughed while caring for magical creatures.
• The interrogation room staff hesitated because the order lacked an explanation and appeared to violate normal procedures.
• Factions investigated Adam after noticing his unusual place in the Human Alliance and its rapid, unexplained decisions.
• Investigators found that Adam had risen from an apparently unremarkable cook to a powerful British wizarding-world businessman, with a career that seemed to shape the changing times around him.

International think tanks struggled to counter Adam Reed, whose abilities and influence made covert schemes dangerous. After Adam sentenced their planted operatives to death without explanation, they decided to wait for his reasoning and exploit any flaws in it.

• Think tanks reviewed Adam Reed’s dossier and concluded that his Legilimency, Veritaserum, Anubis's Scales, and control over the Hanging Gardens made infiltration and bribery nearly impossible.
• The group argued over a spy’s report and wondered whether Adam knew about their plan, while avoiding his name because they believed he could sense when people mentioned him.
• The think tanks learned that Adam had sentenced all their planted operatives to death without giving a reason, foiling their plan to exploit loopholes in Human Alliance rules.
• One member suggested filing a complaint, but the others warned that doing so would expose their interest in the case and possibly lead Adam back to them.
• The group decided to wait until the case was resolved and archived, then challenge Adam’s explanation and search it for flaws.