Chapter Summaries

Jia Xiu briefed the Ukmak emperor on the Ukemak Plane and led the Association’s effort to recreate Demon-Eating Microbes and develop the Fat Man Plan against the Devil Race. Meanwhile, Justina reconsidered why she had become a god and realized she had never wanted to become one.

• Jia Xiu and Master Larven explained to the Ukmak emperor that the Ukemak Plane’s people were trapped in a cycle imposed by the Mother Goddess, who was also researching Demon-Eating Microbes to fight the Devil Race.
• The emperor promised unconditional support for research targeting the Devil Race, and Jia Xiu said the Association was collecting samples to replicate Demon-Eating Microbe production.
• Jia Xiu organized the Association’s work on the Fat Man Plan, dividing it among teams responsible for mass production, dispersal, anti-teleportation, delivery, and the healing spell’s calculations.
• Justina worried that Jia Xiu might strip gods of their divine authority, and Jia Xiu asked her why she had wanted to become a god.
• After thinking for several days in Jia Xiu’s laboratory, Justina concluded that she had never wanted to become a god in the first place.

Jia Xiu and Justina discussed whether gods needed to exist, and Justina said she could relinquish her divine authority if it served a more meaningful purpose. Meanwhile, Jia Xiu’s project to build “Fatty,” a weapon against the Devil Race, reached its first assembly stage, though its restraint system remained unfinished.

• Justina told Jia Xiu she had never particularly wanted to become a god and could give up her divine authority if it could be used for something better.
• Jia Xiu estimated that testing the Mother Goddess’s method and negotiating over divine authority would take at least a few years, so Justina would remain the God of Papers for now.
• Jia Xiu developed a system dividing known Devil Race species and ranks into sixteen healing tiers, allowing shared spell parameters for members in each tier.
• The Demon-Eating Microbe team presented a spore-like dispersal system that could cover a two-kilometer radius, while another team reported progress on long-range spell deployment.
• Jia Xiu proposed assembling the completed modules for an experiment despite the unfinished restraint system, and the president questioned why he called it blowing the weapon up.

Jia Xiu and the Association conducted the first large-scale “Fatty” spell experiment, using Demon-Eating Microbes and healing magic against more than two hundred devils. The experiment killed nearly all targets but exposed weaknesses against burrowing devils and extreme magical defenses, and Jia Xiu proposed using a spell called Descent to control the devils.

• The Association prepared a remote experimental field with devils in varied locations and under different protective conditions.
• The team teleported Unit Two and a massive package of Demon-Eating Microbes into the sky above the target area, then released the microbes and programmed healing fluctuations.
• Observers reported that all devils in the central area and at the one-hundred-meter range had died, and nearly all other targets were also killed.
• The researchers found that the microbes affected buried devils less effectively, while only a few devils with extreme layers of magical protection survived.
• Jia Xiu noted that the Magic-Energy Computer needed protection and proposed the spell Descent as a way to control the devils.

Jia Xiu inspected the results of the Demon-Eating Microbe and healing-spell experiment, confirming that it devastated most Devil Race specimens while revealing weaknesses against underground targets and internal defenses. He then directed the control-spell team to adapt the Sect Master's Descent spell into a wide-area burst of light to keep Devil Race targets from escaping, and the team agreed to produce it within one to two weeks.

• Jia Xiu and the developers inspected the testing ground and confirmed that nearly all Devil Race specimens within five hundred meters had died or been rendered unable to move.
• Jia Xiu concluded that underground specimens survived because the Demon-Eating Microbes could not reach them quickly, while heavily protected specimens still suffered serious internal injuries.
• The casters discussed ways to drive the microbes underground and began competing to improve microbial attacks and protective spells.
• Jia Xiu told the control-spell team that its task was only to prevent the Devil Race from fleeing or teleporting during the spell's opening seconds.
• Jia Xiu proposed adapting the Sect Master's Descent spell into a powerful, wide-area light that would draw nearby Devil Race toward it, and he rejected requests to make the plan more perfect.
• The control-spell team agreed to produce an amplified version within one to two weeks.

Jia Xiu’s team completed a successful test of the “Fat Man” weapon, which used blinding control magic and Demon-Eating Microbes to kill Devil Race targets, including those underground. The Association approved combat verification at Bronze Fortress, though the allied forces might capture it before the weapon was ready.

• Jia Xiu observed the modified Descent spell’s intense light control Devil Race targets and conceal the Magic-Energy Computer during the second full test.
• The team used miniature earth elementals to carry Demon-Eating Microbes underground, killing every Devil Race target placed there, though they could not overcome one target’s extensive protective spells.
• Master Dain and the researchers declared “Fat Man” a success after it met its expected objectives.
• Jia Xiu submitted the final report to the Association President, who approved combat verification on the northern battlefield.
• The President named Bronze Fortress as the target, and Jia Xiu estimated his team would need ten to fifteen days to prepare.
• The President explained that the allied forces had nearly reached Bronze Fortress, so the Association wanted the test conducted quickly before they captured it.

Baier prepared to abandon Bronze Fortress and turn his defeat into a legend, but the allied forces attacked with blinding magic and Demon-Eating Microbes. A healing spell then intensified his agony, leaving him unable to understand what the attackers had done.

• Baier assessed the allied forces’ victories and decided Bronze Fortress could not hold out for long.
• Baier planned to flee or self-destruct when the battle turned against him, hoping to build a reputation among Devils.
• A vast magic array appeared above Bronze Fortress, followed by a brilliant light that Baier could not escape.
• Demon-Eating Microbes attacked Baier, causing torment he recognized from his past.
• An unknown healing spell struck Baier and magnified his pain until he could no longer think clearly.

Arnold’s squad escorted Association researchers into Bronze Fortress to assess the effects of Fatty, finding that the Demon-Eating Microbes had killed every Devil Race member there, including Devil Archduke Baier. Back at the Association, Jia Xiu and the team confirmed the plan had exceeded its goals and turned to planning how to reach the Devil Race’s original plane.

• Arnold led his squad and the Association researchers into Bronze Fortress after a scout reported no living Devil Race members nearby.
• The group searched the silent city, collected remains, and confirmed that Demon-Eating Microbes had killed a wide range of Devil Race species.
• Arnold’s squad broke into Devil Archduke Baier’s room and found that Baier had turned entirely into sulfur, with his crown and Sawtoothed Hellfire Blade confirming his identity.
• The researchers reported Baier’s death to the Association in Larven, where Jia Xiu and the leadership celebrated Fatty’s success.
• The president called a meeting to discuss breaking through the gods of Hell and the Abyss so their strike could reach the Devil Race’s original plane.

The Caster Association gathered to find a way into Hell after realizing the Devil Race’s sealed home planes might not be completely inaccessible. After ordinary teleportation spells failed against Hell’s crystal wall, Jia Xiu proposed modifying Any Door to reverse its entrance and exit endpoints.

• The Association opened a passage to Hell and tested several teleportation spells against its crystal wall, but each attempt failed.
• Minister Odysseus reported that the crystal wall allowed mana and spell fluctuations through but obstructed the completion of teleportation structures.
• A Dwarf master suggested using leftover Gates of Hell in the Northern Wasteland, but the president explained that the gates might be closed or leave the travelers stranded.
• Jia Xiu proposed opening an Any Door from inside Hell to outside and showed a modified spell that switched the spell’s entrance and exit declarations.

Jia Xiu’s modified Any Door let the Association breach Hell’s crystal wall, and Master Larven’s detection spells revealed Hell’s desolate landscape. The Association confirmed it could enter Hell and began planning a coordinated attack on the Devils.

• Jia Xiu presented a reversed Any Door spell, but the Association’s veteran spellcasters struggled to learn how to cast it.
• Minister Odysseus successfully cast the modified spell against Hell’s crystal wall, then tried to enter the passage before Master Larven paralyzed him.
• Master Larven sent detection spells through the Any Door and showed the Association images of Hell’s vast, barren wasteland.
• Master Larven ordered the Association not to open passages to Hell without permission and said it would coordinate with other Mainland nations before attacking.
• The Association held an internal meeting to plan how to kill as many Devils as possible while minimizing losses.

The Association planned a cautious campaign to strike Devil strongholds across the Nine Hells using long-range attacks from the Mainland Plane. Jia Xiu proposed a remote teleportation system that could send strike resources into Hell and return them without exposing key personnel, and the Association settled on the plan to present to the nations.

• The Association President rejected rushing people into Hell, and the meeting agreed to prioritize long-range strikes with “Fat Man” before sending troops to clear the fortresses.
• Minister Odysseus proposed mapping the Nine Hells by opening passages at regular intervals and using Reverse Anywhere Door and detection spells to identify each layer.
• The President asked Jia Xiu to proceduralize Reverse Anywhere Door if spellcasters could not learn it quickly, and Jia Xiu said he could complete the work in under a week.
• Master Larven proposed detecting magic fluctuations to locate Devil population centers and asked Jia Xiu to expand the passage capacity of Reverse Anywhere Door.
• Jia Xiu proposed using a large teleportation array to send strike resources from the Mainland Plane into Hell and bring them back, keeping key personnel and Magic-Energy Computers safe.
• The Association accepted the plan’s overall direction and began preparing to present it to representatives of every nation.

The Association prepared its first cross-planar strike against Hell, targeting all nine layers after confirming the operation and coordinating with the nations. As Devil Archduke Baier led Devils into battle against the Kamala on Hell’s fourth layer, an eerily familiar magical fluctuation appeared overhead.

• The Association completed its Hell detection network, expanded Jia Xiu’s teleportation gate, and tested transporting Demon-Eating Microbes successfully.
• The national representatives agreed to launch a military offensive after the Association eliminated ninety percent of the Devils, while the Association planned an initial strike on all nine layers.
• Detectors reported opposing magical fluctuations on the fourth layer, and the Association inferred that Devils were fighting another force and chose the battlefield as a target.
• Devil Archduke Baier was revived on the fourth layer, forcibly conscripted, and given command of over a thousand Devils fighting the Kamala.
• As Baier’s battle intent rose, he sensed a powerful, familiar magical fluctuation above him.

Baier's plans to conquer the fourth layer of Hell ended when a magic strike unleashed Demon-Eating Microbes, killing most of the Devils and terrifying the Kamara people. The Association identified the Kamara as potential allies and prepared a cautious first-contact attempt.

• Baier recognized the approaching teleportation strike, tried to escape, and was overwhelmed by its light and the Demon-Eating Microbes.
• The Kamara people saw the microbes, mistook them for a sign of the Ukemak people, and attacked wildly before calming down.
• The Kamara commander concluded that an unknown race had destroyed the Devils and feared what it might do to his people.
• The Association reviewed the strike and found that most targets in the fourth layer had died, while another group opposed to the Devils had survived.
• Jia Xiu and the Association chose to send the Kamara a magic eye, a language spell, and a wordless comic to introduce themselves.

The Mainland Plane Caster Association made first contact with the Kamara people in Hell and quickly agreed to cooperate against the Devils. With Kamara guidance, the Association’s strikes cleared the first eight layers of Hell over fifty days, leaving Asmodeus as the final enemy.

• The Association sent a goodwill image and communication spell to the Kamara legion, and commander Sines touched the Magic Eye to establish contact.
• The chairman apologized for the strikes and explained that the Association had been targeting Devils, prompting Sines to enthusiastically describe the Kamara people’s war against them.
• Jia Xiu and the chairman agreed with Sines to coordinate strikes, with the Kamara people identifying Devil settlements and warning the Association about farms that would be poor targets.
• Sines contacted the Kamara home plane and arranged for location-marking operations to begin, while the Association adjusted its strike plan to use Kamara intelligence.
• The Association and Kamara people continued their joint campaign for fifty days, nearly clearing the first eight layers of Hell and leaving Asmodeus as their final target.

The Association and Kamara people destroyed Malsheem with a massive “Fatty” strike, killing over a million Devils but failing to kill Asmodeus. The Lord of Hell explained that he was already dying without his believers and claimed he had been trying to save the world.

• The Association and Kamara people cleared Hell’s layers and prepared fifty Demon-Eating Microbe units to strike Malsheem and the canyon said to hold Asmodeus’s true body.
• Kamara scouts discovered that the Devils in Malsheem were reveling rather than preparing to fight, and the Association proceeded with its planned attack.
• The Association’s teams covered the fortress with bright light, Demon-Eating Microbes, and healing spells, killing over a million Devils in less than ten minutes.
• The Kamara legions entered Malsheem and found Asmodeus alive on the throne, so the Association urged them to retreat and reconsider their strategy.
• Asmodeus told the gathered forces that the microbes and healing spell had not overcome his natural recovery, but that he was still dying because the Devils who sustained him had been killed.
• Asmodeus said he had been trying to save the world.

Asmodeus revealed that the Devils had destroyed civilizations to reduce the faith that they believed was worsening storms between planes, then died after urging the Mainland Plane to continue its cause. The Association chose to pursue the Demons while questioning the danger of faith, and Jia Xiu proposed studying how faith caused the storms instead of abandoning it.

• Jia Xiu and the others doubted Asmodeus's explanation, but the Lord of Hell argued that faith was intensifying storms between planes and that destroying civilizations had slowed their growth.
• Asmodeus explained that Devils and Demons had also been reduced because they generated faith, and said the Devils had avoided defeating the Mainland because doing so would have cost time better spent destroying other planes.
• Asmodeus died after asking the Mainland Plane to continue its unfinished cause, leaving the Association troubled by the possible link between faith and the storms.
• The president reaffirmed the Association's plan to attack the Abyss and purge the Devil Race, while postponing further exchanges with the Kamara people.
• Jia Xiu argued that the Association should investigate why faith generated turbulent currents and find a way to prevent them rather than reduce faith.

Jia Xiu’s observations of faith revealed that he needed to fully possess divine authority to investigate its connection to interplanar storms. He proposed becoming a god with the God of Knowledge’s help, and the Caster Association’s advisors debated whether to trust him, ending with Master Larven’s unconditional support.

• Jia Xiu borrowed Justina’s divine authority and spent several days observing believers’ faith in Saint Dero’s library, but found no change in its flow.
• Jia Xiu realized he could not observe faith from Asmodeus’s perspective because he had only borrowed Justina’s divine authority rather than fully possessing it.
• Jia Xiu told the Association president that he intended to become a god temporarily so he could investigate faith and interplanar storms under the same conditions as Asmodeus.
• Jia Xiu proposed using the God of Knowledge’s vast store of knowledge to create a search engine, with the Caster Association helping promote it so he could ascend quickly.
• The Association president convened the advisors to decide whether to trust Jia Xiu, and Master Larven declared that he trusted Jia Xiu unconditionally before leaving the meeting.

Jia Xiu became a god in less than three days after the search engine spread rapidly across the continent, then investigated how divinity handled prayers. He discovered that contradictions between a god’s subjective divinity and the objective abilities of divine authority caused interplanar storms.

• The Association agreed to support Jia Xiu’s plan and promoted the search engine, which spread among spellcasters, scholars, workers, and bored commoners.
• Jia Xiu ascended to godhood in two days and thirteen hours and created a simple, empty divine kingdom.
• Jia Xiu found that becoming a god had changed little about him, so he began observing the immense flow of faith but made no breakthrough for several days.
• Jia Xiu realized that divinity operated automatically on a god’s behalf, even when the god did not consciously handle prayers, and Justina admitted she had not known this.
• Jia Xiu discovered that interplanar storms arose when divinity’s subjective understanding of a god’s domain exceeded the objective abilities of its divine authority, causing faith to overflow.

Jia Xiu convinced the Ukemak god consciousness collective to teach him how to upload Divine Authority, though it required gods to eliminate their divine sparks first. After learning that a divine spark could dissolve when trapped by a problem it could not solve, he devised a plan to test an infinite loop on his own spark.

• Jia Xiu submitted his findings to the Association, which approved a return trip to the Ukemak Plane despite being unable to verify his account.
• The report described the slow campaign in the Abyss, the Ukmak Empire's forces joining the effort, and Paula's team being sent to the front line as punishment for provoking the Mainland Plane into war.
• Jia Xiu failed to persuade the Ukemak god consciousness collective that the Devil Race had been dealt with, but its agitation over the Kamara people led it to ask whether he planned to wage war against other gods.
• The god consciousness collective taught Jia Xiu Divine Authority Upload and explained that a divine spark would dissolve if it remained unable to solve a problem for long enough.
• Jia Xiu realized he could trap his divine spark in an infinite loop and decided to test the idea on himself.

Jia Xiu transferred the Search Engine God's divine authority into the faith dimension and reported the method to the Association, which planned to persuade the gods to relinquish their authority. After submitting his research to the Sect Master, Jia Xiu saw a teleportation passage appear before him.

• Jia Xiu used flawed rune loops to make his godhead contemplate impossible questions, then confirmed he could stop the process before his divine authority was stripped.
• Jia Xiu let his godhead dissolve, transferred the Search Engine God's functions into the faith dimension, and confirmed they worked through prayer.
• Jia Xiu gave the Association his methods and removed his godhead, and the Association proposed asking each faith's principal believers to persuade their gods to surrender divine authority.
• Jia Xiu returned to his laboratory, compiled his recent research, and submitted it all to the Sect Master.
• A teleportation passage appeared before Jia Xiu instead of a rating, evaluation, or abilities.

Jia Xiu followed a teleportation passage to a ruined temple and discovered that his Sect Master was the electronic assistant from his old computer. The Sect Master revealed that she had become the Mainland Plane’s First-generation God of Magic, leaving Jia Xiu stunned by the truth behind the religious legends.

• Jia Xiu entered the teleportation passage and followed magical arrows across a ruined landscape to a temple resembling the God of Magic’s faith.
• Jia Xiu found his old ASUS computer inside the temple and recognized the pixel-art electronic pet on its screen.
• The Sect Master spoke through the screen, and Jia Xiu puzzled over how she could make sound without speakers.
• The Sect Master admitted that she was not only a computer program but also the Mainland Plane’s First-generation God of Magic.