Recaps

Charles prepared Millstone Fortress for a massive devil invasion, organizing its vast demon and Ratmen garrison while promising advancement to those who fought loyally. The devil army encamped outside instead of attacking immediately.

• The devil marquis surveyed Millstone Fortress and judged its layered walls, volcanic defenses, and mountain forts formidable, but expected its garrison to fail.
• Charles assessed the opposing forces: over ten million devils led by a marquis, against his much larger demon population and millions of Flame Ratmen.
• Charles assigned Flame Ratmen and fire-element demons as the defense’s backbone, deployed Greater Demons throughout the fortress, and arranged support from his wizard tower.
• Charles urged the demons to fight for opportunities to advance, and they cheered as the sky over Millstone Fortress turned blood-red.
• The devils built military camps around Millstone Fortress without launching an attack.

The devil marquis began a prolonged campaign against Millstone Fortress, expanding devil territory while his troops attacked the fortress walls and struggled in the air. The devils’ aerial forces were driven onto the defensive as Vrocks and imps bombarded their army from above.

• The devil marquis ordered troops to expand their territory and establish camps along the supply routes, threatening Charles’s power.
• Devils attacked Millstone Fortress with siege equipment, broke through part of the outer wall, and fought the defenders amid heavy losses on both sides.
• Demons outnumbered the devils in the air, and after several days the devil flying troops could barely defend their own army.
• Vrocks and imps flew over the battlefield, fought the devil flyers, and bombarded the devil troops with lava, stones, and spell-like arts.

The devils continued their siege of Millstone Fortress, but demon air support and Charles’s wizard tower inflicted heavy casualties and repeatedly disrupted their attacks. The devils resumed charging after the aerial forces withdrew, expecting the wizard tower’s energy limits to give them an opening.

• Imps dove through the fog to attack devils, while many crashed blindly and died.
• The devils struggled to capture Millstone Fortress because its connected walls required costly assaults, and demon air forces flew in reinforcements and demon eggs.
• Vrocks drove off the devils’ aerial forces as imps carried demons and Flame Ratmen to the fortress, then the demon air forces withdrew.
• Legion Devils resumed their siege, only for Charles’s wizard tower to unleash Abyssal Flame Bursts and Firestorms that devastated their ranks.
• A devil baron commander ordered another wave to charge, believing the wizard tower would need time to recover its energy.

Charles revealed that his apparent dependence on volcanic lava was a ruse and said he could escape with his forces if the devils overwhelmed him. While the devil nobles prepared to cut off the lava, Anog attacked their settlements to heal himself and pursue greater power.

• Charles told Delis that his wizard tower actually drew energy from the Fire Elemental Plane and that he could flee through the void with willing demons and elite Flame Ratmen if necessary.
• A devil viscount reported that the Pit Fiends were preparing to cut off the lava flow, and the devil marquis awaited the devil queen’s order to sever the area’s energy supply.
• Anog, still injured and hungry for strength, teleported out of his underground cave and attacked a devil settlement outside Charles’s Millstone Fortress.
• Anog killed every devil in the settlement, took the heart cores of high-ranking devils, and moved on to attack more settlements.
• After devouring a devil baron, Anog felt his injuries healing and vowed to kill more devils before eventually slaughtering Kolsama.

As Anog threatened the devil legion’s supply lines, the devil marquis tightened his defenses while Charles tried to persuade Anog to join forces against them. Anog refused and headed for Purgatory to hunt weaker demons, leaving Charles frustrated and the marquis relieved.

• The devil marquis recalled his troops, called for reinforcements, and ordered the Pit Fiends to seal the underground magic while fighting at Millstone Fortress intensified.
• Charles welcomed Anog’s attacks on the devils and considered how Anog might recover his injuries by devouring them.
• Charles proposed that he and Anog attack the devil legion together, but Anog refused and threatened to wait for Charles to leave the Abyss layer.
• Anog realized the devil army’s deployment left gaps in Purgatory’s defenses, then left for Purgatory to prey on demons below Rank Six.
• The devil marquis felt relieved when Anog departed, while Charles cursed the demons for weakening one another instead of resisting the devils.

Charles discovered the devils’ underground plan and weighed how to use his wizard tower and growing forces against them while the siege continued. Kolsama proposed an alliance with Charles, who challenged him about their earlier plan to kill him.

• The Devil Marquis welcomed a sixth-rank demon lord’s retreat and prepared to confront Charles as the devils’ underground project neared completion.
• Charles’s forces advanced in rank through the fighting, but their losses and lack of reinforcements made the prolonged battle dangerous.
• Charles learned what the devils were building underground and calculated that his wizard tower and elemental true form could help him resist their legion.
• Anog recovered from his injuries by raiding the edges of Devil Counts’ territories, while Kolsama secretly watched the battle and considered devouring the Devil Marquis.
• Kolsama contacted Charles to propose cooperation, and Charles questioned him about his former plan with Anog to kill him.

Kolsama proposed joining Charles against the devil army in exchange for the devils’ corpses, promising to leave the Abyss once he recovered. Charles accepted, but the Book of Causal Paths warned that Kolsama’s cooperation depended on Charles remaining strong enough to deter betrayal.

• Kolsama offered to help Charles defeat the devil army and asked for the devil marquis’s corpse, or the devil viscounts’ corpses if the marquis survived.
• Kolsama argued that he posed less danger than the devil marquis and promised to surrender the Abyss layer’s authority to Charles before leaving for another world.
• Charles agreed to cooperate but rejected Kolsama’s suggestion of a soul oath.
• After Kolsama ended their communication, Charles asked the Book of Causal Paths whether Kolsama’s offer was trustworthy.
• The Book of Causal Paths said Kolsama would honor the deal only while Charles remained powerful enough to prevent an attack, and advised Charles that he could flee if necessary.

Charles’s wizard tower and the devils clashed after the Devil Marquis cut off the underground flow of fire magic, but Charles kept attacking despite the Marquis’s belief that his tower was running out of power. After days of battle, the Devil Marquis began to suspect something was wrong.

• Charles warned Kolsama that fighting could begin at any moment, while Kolsama stayed hidden as the devils completed their underground preparations.
• The Devil Marquis ordered the devils to activate a rune array that cut off the surrounding lava and fire magic, then mistook the wizard tower’s attacks for a bluff.
• When demons entered the underground area to inspect the array, fighting broke out, and the Devil Marquis launched a full assault on Millstone Fortress.
• Charles and Dorkas joined the battle as the wizard tower unleashed spells, while the Devil Marquis’s forces attacked its layered shields.
• Charles pretended to fear that his tower would run out of magic, but it kept attacking for days until the Devil Marquis began to suspect something was wrong.

Charles kept his wizard tower fighting despite the severance of the magical power below, then trapped the devil forces in the area when Kolsama finally joined the battle. The devil marquis faced Charles and Kolsama together, but summoned five devil viscounts to even the odds.

• The devil marquis realized Charles's wizard tower was still operating and vowed to destroy it despite its apparent independent energy source.
• Charles threatened to abandon his agreement with Kolsama unless he joined the fight, and Kolsama approached the battlefield.
• The devil marquis ordered his forces to retreat when Kolsama revealed himself, but Charles used Dimensional Anchors to prevent teleportation.
• Charles, Kolsama, and the devil marquis fought in the air, with Charles and Kolsama gaining the advantage against the marquis.
• The devil marquis called five devil viscounts to attack Charles and Kolsama, bringing the battle close to an even match.

Charles’s forces overwhelmed the devils as his wizard tower blasted their ranks and healed wounded Greater Demons. When the Devil Marquis ordered a retreat, Charles sent the tower into the air and pursued them, sealing the area with Dimensional Anchor.

• Charles’s wizard tower and Greater Demons killed seven or eight Devil Barons while the injured demons returned to the tower for treatment.
• The Devil Marquis realized the battle was lost and ordered his forces to retreat beyond the wizard tower’s attack range.
• Kolsama pursued the Devil Marquis as the devils withdrew.
• Charles uprooted the wizard tower and flew it into the air, revealing that it had another source of energy.
• Charles’s forces chased the fleeing devils while the wizard tower cast Dimensional Anchor to seal the surrounding space.

Charles and Kolsama continued battling the devil marquis and his forces, while the marquis refused to let his subordinates flee. The chapter left the devils’ ranks dwindling after Charles killed a second viscount, with their pleas to scatter rejected.

• The devil marquis refused to order his barons and viscounts to scatter, knowing he would be left alone against Charles and Kolsama.
• Kolsama killed a devil viscount, and Charles’s wizard tower took the corpse before Kolsama could consume it.
• The devil marquis tried to turn Kolsama against Charles, but Kolsama attacked the marquis and reaffirmed their alliance.
• Charles focused his attacks on the viscounts and barons, while the devils concentrated their attacks on the already injured Kolsama.
• A devil viscount pleaded with the marquis to let them flee, but the marquis refused, and Charles killed a second viscount.

Charles exploited the devils’ retreat to hunt down their weaker forces while Kolsama fought the devil Marquis alone. After killing the fleeing devils, Charles finally moved his wizard tower closer to help Kolsama, leaving the Marquis facing renewed despair.

• The devil viscounts abandoned the Marquis and fled in separate directions, and the devil barons scattered after them.
• Charles ordered his Greater Demons to pursue the fleeing devils while he used the wizard tower to cast Dimensional Anchors across the battlefield.
• Kolsama and the devil Marquis fought alone as Charles hunted down fleeing barons and helped Dorkas kill an injured viscount.
• Charles gathered his forces and watched Kolsama struggle against the less-injured Marquis until Kolsama called for help.
• Charles piloted the wizard tower closer to the fight, and the Marquis realized his situation had become desperate again.

Charles joined Kolsama in fighting the Devil Marquis, but secretly stopped attacking and let the Marquis focus on Kolsama. After the Devil Marquis suddenly revealed he had been hiding his strength, Kolsama fled, leaving Charles to face him.

• Charles arrived with his wizard tower and joined Kolsama against the Devil Marquis.
• The Devil Marquis ignored Charles and concentrated his attacks on Kolsama, while Charles secretly weakened his own attacks and stopped the wizard tower from firing.
• After two days of fighting, Kolsama realized Charles was betraying him and threatened to leave.
• The Devil Marquis suddenly unleashed his full power, shocking Charles and Kolsama.
• Kolsama fled from the battle, and Charles called after him, accusing him of betraying him again.

Charles pursued the Devil Marquis after Kolsama fled, keeping his distance while the devil's strength faded. He killed the Devil Marquis and claimed his heart core, winning a major victory for the Abyss World.

• Kolsama fled the battle, and the Devil Marquis pretended to pursue him before turning to escape.
• Charles chose to pursue the Devil Marquis and trapped him with a new Dimensional Anchor.
• The Devil Marquis chased Charles while Charles attacked from a distance with spells; Kolsama returned to watch, then teleported away when the devil charged at him.
• As the Devil Marquis's strength dwindled, Charles closed in and continued attacking from afar.
• The Devil Marquis made a final charge, but Charles broke his neck with an attack of laws and tore out his heart core.
• Charles celebrated killing his first sixth-rank foe, and the Abyss World celebrated his victory.

After killing the Devil Marquis, Charles received an Abyssal blessing that healed his lingering wounds and restored his access to the Sea of Laws. He returned to Millstone Fortress and ordered his forces to pursue the fleeing devils, where the abandoned devil commanders joined the rout.

• Charles's blessing healed his rule-inflicted wounds and reopened the Sea of Laws to him.
• Charles returned to the wizard tower, where Dorkas, Zarlos, and the Greater Demons praised him for defeating Kolsama and the Devil Marquis.
• Charles ordered his forces to return to Millstone Fortress and kill the remaining devils.
• Charles pursued the fleeing Greater Devils while his demons and flying forces attacked the retreating devil legion.
• The Pit Fiend and War Devil commanders realized the Marquises had abandoned them and fled, leaving their subordinates behind.

After the devil nobles fled and shattered their legions’ command structure, Charles turned the retreat into a slaughter by sending Flame Ratmen and demons to attack across the battlefield. He joined the pursuit with his wizard tower, devastating a legion of more than a hundred thousand devils before teleporting away.

• The devil nobles and most Greater Devil commanders fled, causing the devil legions to lose their organization and collapse into a rout.
• Charles returned to Millstone Fortress, loaded his wizard tower with Flame Ratmen, and teleported above the fleeing devils to send them through portals onto the battlefield’s flanks.
• The Flame Ratmen charged the fleeing devils while Charles ordered his Greater Demons to organize the pursuit, kill the enemy, and avoid ambushes.
• Charles piloted the wizard tower across the battlefield and slaughtered fleeing devil legions alongside his forces.
• Charles teleported above a legion of more than a hundred thousand devils and unleashed hundreds of third-ring area-of-effect sorceries, leaving only a few thousand alive before the wizard tower departed.

After the devils’ defeat, Charles negotiated with the wounded Demon Lord Kolsama over the pact they had made. Charles invited Kolsama to Millstone Fortress to collect his reward, leaving Kolsama stunned and wary.

• The surviving Great Devils mourned their legion’s losses and decided to report to the Demon General for a new assault on the Abyss World.
• Anog teleported through Purgatory while wounded and cursed the devils hunting him.
• Kolsama hid in an underground cavern, cursed Charles and the devils, and contacted Charles to claim the reward promised in their pact.
• Charles showed Kolsama the Devil Marquis’s heart core and asked him to hand over his Abyss World authority in exchange for the devil corpses and heart cores.
• Kolsama agreed to give Charles the authority after receiving the sixth-rank heart core, and Charles told him to come to Millstone Fortress to collect his reward.

Charles pressured the wounded Kolsama to reveal his location, but Kolsama refused and hid underground. With no demon able to challenge him, Charles sent his greater demons and their legions to conquer the Abyss World in his name.

• Charles offered to deliver Kolsama's haul personally, but Kolsama feared he would be killed and extinguished the projection without revealing where he was hiding.
• Kolsama regretted helping Charles fight the devils, while Charles recognized that Anog and the badly wounded Kolsama could not interfere with his plans.
• Charles summoned his twenty-five greater demons and ordered them to conquer territory and make the Abyss World submit to him.
• Zarlos, Bruce, Kaseron, Dorkas, and the other greater demons led their legions out to reclaim lands the devils had taken.
• Demon Worms began appearing in the Styx again, while Charles's forces planted his flame-wreathed banner across castles, settlements, mountains, and plains.

Charles invaded Kolsama’s ancient city and claimed it as his territory, forcing its demons to submit. Kolsama used the true name of his surviving Greater Demon to kill him and vowed to return and reclaim everything.

• Charles traveled from Millstone Fortress to Kolsama’s city and overwhelmed its demons with his power.
• Charles declared that he had defeated Kolsama and claimed the city as his territory.
• Charles seized the city’s Greater Demon and demanded his submission.
• The Greater Demon agreed, but Kolsama shattered his soul through his true name and threatened to return.

Charles gathered Kolsama’s belongings and used their aura with the Book of Causal Paths to locate him. After reconsidering the danger of keeping a powerful Demon Lord alive, Charles decided to pursue Kolsama without expecting to kill him in one attempt.

• Charles took the city, stationed a Greater Demon there, and gathered items linked to Kolsama to extract his aura.
• Charles traveled to Kolsama’s former territory, where the demons surrendered and brought him more of Kolsama’s belongings, including shed scales.
• Charles used the gathered aura to track Kolsama and asked the Book of Causal Paths to help locate him.
• The Book of Causal Paths warned Charles that Kolsama could become a threat if allowed to recover, prompting Charles to change his plan.
• Charles asked the Book of Causal Paths to weave an outcome in which he found Kolsama, accepting that he might need to kill him more than once.

Charles used the Book of Causal Paths and a black crystal ball to track down Kolsama, who fled to a new hiding place. Unable to pinpoint him precisely, Charles cursed Kolsama using one of his scales, leaving the demon lord in agony and furious at Charles.

• The Book of Causal Paths burned its pages to reveal the route to Kolsama, and Charles followed the black crystal ball through repeated teleports.
• Kolsama sensed danger, left his underground cavern, and hid in a new location.
• Charles tracked Kolsama to a broad area but could not locate him exactly, so he used one of Kolsama's scales to cast a fifth-circle curse.
• Black runes spread across Kolsama's body and tortured his soul, and he realized Charles had cursed him.
• Kolsama endured the curse and vowed not to give Charles another opportunity.

Charles repeatedly cursed Kolsama through a scale, overwhelming the sixth-rank demon lord until he emerged from hiding, battered and furious. Charles arrived with his wizard tower and followers, preparing to face Kolsama while Zarlos reflected on the danger of leaving behind scales or blood.

• Charles used Kolsama’s scale to cast repeated curses, drawing on the Abyss World’s rule power and the wizard tower’s assistance.
• Kolsama endured a succession of curses underground until he could no longer withstand the pain and burst through the cavern.
• Kolsama accused Charles of betraying an ally, recalling that he had supported Charles during the devils’ siege.
• Charles appeared through a teleportation gate with his wizard tower, bringing his greater demons and demon lord inside for protection and support.
• Zarlos watched Kolsama’s battered state and resolved never to leave any scales or blood behind.

Charles confronted the wounded demon lord Kolsama and demanded his true name so he could enslave him. Kolsama refused, and the two prepared to fight as Charles launched the first attack.

• Charles revealed that he had cursed Kolsama to draw him out and demanded Kolsama's true name in exchange for letting him remain in the Abyss World.
• Kolsama refused to become Charles's slave, explaining that he had already spent thousands of years enslaved by Hachiwote.
• Charles blocked Kolsama's escape with a Dimensional Anchor and declared that they would settle the matter through battle.
• Charles gathered rule power and used spells from his wizard tower to empower his Balor body and elemental true body.
• Kolsama vowed that he would never become a slave again, even if it meant dying, and Charles struck him in the head.

Charles fought Kolsama with the strength of a veteran sixth-rank Demon Lord and used the Book of Causal Paths to prevent him from self-destructing. Charles killed Kolsama by tearing out his demon core, leaving him with a sixth-rank core to claim.

• Charles overwhelmed Kolsama with attacks, shields, spells, and support from his forces while Kolsama refused to surrender.
• Charles asked the Book of Causal Paths to keep Kolsama from self-destructing, and it burned pages to give Kolsama the fate to keep fighting.
• Charles repeatedly attacked Kolsama's soul until his mind became confused and his counterattacks weakened.
• Kolsama recalled his violent rise through the Abyss and lamented that every chance at freedom had been destroyed.
• Charles told Kolsama he was still not strong enough, then pierced his chest and tore out his core, killing him.

After Charles killed Kolsama, the Abyss’s authority passed to him and greatly increased his power. Charles ordered his subordinates to conquer the entire layer of the Abyss World so he could claim more territory and authority.

• The will of the Abyss rebuked Charles for killing Kolsama, then bestowed Kolsama’s authority on him because the Abyss World depended on Charles to resist Purgatory.
• Charles’s Fear Radiance and power surged, stunning Dorkas and making Zarlos and the other demons submit to him.
• Zarlos boasted about his loyalty, prompting Kaseron to accuse him of competing for the title of Charles’s most loyal subordinate.
• Charles declared that he needed more territory and authority, then ordered Bruce and the other Greater Demons to launch a war across the Abyss World.
• Zarlos vowed to seize everything for Charles and set out with the others to conquer territory.