Chapter Summaries

The Sanctuary Gold Saints learned that Northern Europe’s World Tree was suppressing their Cosmos and draining the life force of its people. As they gathered to address the danger, Deathmask received Meruem’s encouragement to pursue Helena while remaining focused on his duty; elsewhere, Meruem revived eleven previous-generation Gold Saints.

• The Sanctuary team arrived in Northern Europe and learned that the World Tree was weakening Saints and slowly draining the lives of the region’s people.
• Deathmask returned to the Gold Saints’ gathering, where Aphrodite teased him about visiting Helena and Saga reminded him of his mission.
• Saga relayed Meruem’s message that Deathmask could pursue Helena but had to protect the land and keep his duty in mind.
• Saga redirected the Gold Saints to discuss their task in Northern Europe.
• Meruem used Sage Art: Rinne Rebirth to revive eleven previous-generation Gold Saints, while noting that Shion and Tong Hu were still alive and Sage and Hakurei’s souls had been lost.

Meruem revived eleven Gold Saints of the previous generation, and they agreed to fight for Athena against the gods. Meanwhile, Helena left with Fafner to receive free treatment from Lord Andreas, forgetting her planned meeting with Deathmask, who arrived soon afterward.

• Meruem explained that earlier Gold Saints such as Rugonis could not be revived because their souls had already reincarnated, then welcomed the eleven former Gold Saints he had brought back.
• Saori arrived, learned the circumstances, and bowed to the former Gold Saints for asking them to fight again.
• Asmita questioned Meruem about opposing the gods, then agreed to join after sensing that Meruem spoke truthfully and possessed power surpassing Athena's.
• The other former Gold Saints also pledged to serve Saori, including the Dove brothers, who still wanted to settle their score with Yoma.
• Fafner told Helena that Lord Andreas would treat her for free, and she left with him after telling her younger siblings to lock the doors and windows.
• Deathmask arrived at Helena's home with a group of Gold Saints, but Helena had forgotten their planned meeting.

Fafner tried to sacrifice Helena in his laboratory to further Andreas’s plan, but Aphrodite and Deathmask stormed in to stop him. With Helena near death and the World Tree suppressing their Cosmo, Deathmask claimed the fight as his own.

• Fafner prepared to absorb Helena into a green crystal and revealed that Andreas’s plan depended on collecting Life Energy from captured children.
• The laboratory shook as enemies attacked, and Fafner killed a subordinate who rushed in to report the breach.
• Aphrodite entered the laboratory and confronted Fafner over his slaughter of innocent people.
• Deathmask burst in, found Helena barely alive, and handed her to Aphrodite before vowing to defeat Fafner himself.
• Fafner dismissed the two Gold Saints, confident that the World Tree’s influence would suppress their Cosmo.

Deathmask and Aphrodite confronted Fafner, whose attacks failed against the Gold Saints despite the World Tree's supposed suppression of their Cosmos. Deathmask sent Fafner to the underworld and the Saints prepared to report their victory to Saga.

• Fafner attacked Deathmask with his metal whip, but Deathmask caught it and injured him with Cancer Light Speed Fist.
• Aphrodite explained that the World Tree had not suppressed their Cosmos, then used Piranha Rose to melt Fafner's God Robe and stop his escape.
• Deathmask angrily confronted Aphrodite after he interfered with his prey, and Aphrodite teased him about Helena.
• Deathmask gathered the villagers' lights and used Sekishiki Meikai Ha to drag Fafner into the underworld.
• Deathmask said Fafner could not escape without his Underworld Wave, and he and Aphrodite set off to report to Saga.

After learning that Andreas had imprisoned Hilda and was using innocent people to fuel the World Tree, Saga led the Gold Saints toward it. Andreas prepared to confront them there, while the altar held Julian, Sorento, and Krest.

• Deathmask rescued Helena, warned her to stay safe, and returned to report to Saga.
• Aphrodite hypnotized Fafner and uncovered his crimes and Andreas’s plans, prompting the Gold Saints to act.
• The Gold Saints left two Silver Saints behind to guard Helena and set out with Saga toward the World Tree.
• Aiolia met Lifya, who guided the Gold Saints and revealed more about Andreas’s rule and the imprisoned Hilda.
• Andreas watched the Gold Saints approach and ordered the God Warriors to kill them inside the World Tree.
• Andreas turned to the altar, where Julian, Sorento, and Krest lay.

The Gold Saints split up to fight the remaining God Warriors while Andreas prepared to obtain Gungnir by draining Julian and the others. Shaka exposed Loki inside Andreas, starting a battle at the central temple, as Surtr appeared to defeat Deathmask with flames.

• Saga assigned each of the six Gold Saints a different God Warrior to confront as they entered the World Tree.
• Andreas watched the battles and continued draining Julian and the others to nurture Gungnir.
• Shaka saw through Andreas's disguise and nearly drove Loki from his body before Loki counterattacked the Gold Saints.
• Surtr trapped Deathmask in a fiery vortex and left him lying on the ground as blue sparks began falling toward Surtr.

Deathmask defeated Surtr, and Aiolia defeated Flody as the Gold Saints fought their way toward Loki. Loki claimed Gungnir and prepared to use it, but Saga revealed that Meruem had equipped the Saints with divine weapons to oppose him.

• Deathmask trapped Surtr in Demon Blue Flame and defeated him.
• Aiolia overwhelmed Flody with Lightning Plasma Light Speed Fist, shattering his God Robe.
• Aphrodite and Utgard joined Saga, Shaka, and Aiolos as Loki revealed his power and the temple began to collapse.
• Loki escaped to the World Tree’s central branches, claimed Gungnir, and declared that no one could stop him.
• Saga took out a divine spear and shield from his Space Pocket, explaining that Meruem had anticipated Loki’s plan, and the Gold Saints prepared to fight.

The Gold Saints struggled against Loki and his divine spear, Gungnir, until Saga summoned a Meruem clone to confront him. Meruem stopped Loki’s attack, but Loki withdrew the spear and promised to kill them next time.

• Loki’s Gungnir overwhelmed the Gold Saints’ attacks, while Saga and Shaka relied on divine artifacts to hold him back.
• Utgard appeared with Odin’s sword, but Loki killed him instantly with Gungnir.
• As Loki charged an attack to destroy the Gold Saints, Saga summoned a clone of Meruem.
• Meruem took the God of War’s divine artifacts and blocked Loki’s Modified Gungnir with the divine shield, then used his Source and Nen to stop it from breaking through.
• Gungnir returned to Loki, who warned that he would take their lives next time.

Meruem pressed his advantage over Loki, whose limited divine power kept him from unleashing Gungnir’s full strength. Meruem gathered the souls of the Norse people and used a technique he had learned from Deathmask’s predecessor, leaving Loki to face their fury.

• Meruem’s God of War shield nearly broke in its clash with Gungnir, and he coveted Loki’s spear.
• Meruem attacked Loki and taunted him about his weak divine power, interrupting his attempt to charge Gungnir’s devastating technique.
• Meruem overwhelmed Loki with attacks using the God of War’s spear and told Deathmask he would demonstrate a move learned from his predecessor.
• Meruem gathered the souls from the World Tree and unleashed Sekishiki Konsōha against Loki.

Meruem defeated Loki, sealed him away, and took Gungnir before the Gold Saints left Asgard. Back in Sanctuary, he added the spear to his treasury and fed Loki’s God Cloth to the evolving Taotie Ferocious Garment.

• Meruem defeated Loki, seized Gungnir, and sealed him rather than killing Odin’s son.
• Odin resumed ruling Asgard, with Lifya serving as his representative in place of Hilda.
• Deathmask took Helena and her siblings to Sanctuary, while Aiolia reluctantly said goodbye to Lifya.
• Meruem told the Gold Saints that surprises awaited them in Sanctuary, then returned ahead of them with Gungnir and Loki’s God Cloth.
• Meruem added Gungnir to his treasury and watched the Taotie Ferocious Garment devour Loki’s God Cloth.

During a year of peace, Meruem had the previous-generation Gold Saints train their juniors and made twelve powerful black Cloths for them, settling them in the Sanctuary. The calm ended when a mysterious new Sanctuary appeared and its leader declared the Greek Sanctuary a fraud.

• The previous-generation Gold Saints trained their juniors, with Manigoldo defeating Deathmask and making him follow his instructions.
• Meruem created twelve black Cloths with power comparable to the Gold Cloths and publicly called them Black Iron Cloths.
• The previous-generation Gold Saints donned the new Cloths and settled in the Sanctuary alongside the current Gold Saints.
• A year later, a mysterious ruin formed a place resembling the Twelve Palaces, where warriors wearing Gold Cloth-like armor appeared.
• The suspected leader of the new Sanctuary declared it the true Sanctuary and called the Greek Sanctuary a fraud.

Meruem investigated the Little Sanctuary, a mysterious faction led by Mars that claimed to possess Athena and Gold Saints. Uneasy about its power and its ties to the Omega storyline, he decided to test it, while Saori approached him and asked if it had given him a headache.

• Meruem read a report about the Little Sanctuary rising beneath the Tower of Babel and promoting Attribute Cosmo.
• Meruem questioned how Mars had gathered twelve Gold Saints, including figures whose histories did not match those he knew, and worried that the faction was abnormally powerful.
• Meruem weighed the Little Sanctuary’s strength against the Sanctuary and other forces, then decided to test whether it matched the Omega Sanctuary from his memories.
• Saori embraced Meruem from behind and asked whether the new faction had given him a headache, and he admitted he was a little worried.

Meruem and Saori decided to send Saints to investigate the Little Sanctuary, while Mars ordered a group of Saints to scout the Sanctuary in this era. The New Sanctuary’s delegation encountered Black Iron Saints, including Nidagorea of the Dark Phoenix.

• Meruem and Saori agreed to send several Saints to the Little Sanctuary to learn who its fighters were.
• Mars condemned humanity’s technological advances and said the era differed from the one he had come from, though it contained greater power.
• Mars ordered Medea to send Gold Saints and Silver Saints to gather intelligence on the Sanctuary of this era.
• Sonia, Schiller, Mycenae, Miguel, Pavlin, and John traveled toward the Greek False Sanctuary, with Schiller flattering Sonia.
• Mycenae struck at figures hiding in the woods, and Nidagorea of the Dark Phoenix identified himself as a Black Iron Saint.

Black Iron Phoenix Nidagorea confronted Mycenae and the other Gold Saints, while Schiller challenged him and was badly outmatched. After Schiller revealed that he had turned Saints into zombies, Nidagorea attacked him with Black Phoenix Wings Soaring.

• Nidagorea and his Black Iron Saints mocked Mycenae’s group and questioned them to gather information about the Little Sanctuary.
• Mycenae recognized Nidagorea as a dangerous opponent, but Schiller stopped him and claimed the fight for himself.
• Nidagorea dismissed Schiller’s Underworld Withering and tore through the attack with Deep Black Phoenix Cry.
• Enraged by Nidagorea’s scorn, Schiller summoned coffins containing Saints he had turned into zombies.
• Nidagorea condemned Schiller and launched Black Phoenix Wings Soaring at him.

Nidagorea’s scouting party defeated Mycenae’s team from Mars’s New Sanctuary and captured three Gold Saints. Meruem ordered Sonia kept alive while the other captives were killed, ending the first clash between the sanctuaries.

• Nidagorea defeated Schiller, while Sonia and Mycenae watched without intervening.
• Mycenae fought Nidagorea evenly with their Light Speed Fists as Sonia observed.
• The Dark Phoenixes defeated the three Silver Saints accompanying Mycenae and Sonia.
• Nidagorea returned to Meruem with intelligence and captured members of the opposing scouting team.
• Meruem ordered Sonia held and the other captives killed.

Meruem concluded that Yoma had likely escaped his seal and began considering how to draw other enemies of the heavenly gods into the conflict. As Greek Sanctuary and Little Sanctuary’s forces clashed, Mars’s attack on Asgard led Meruem and Saori to formally declare war on Little Sanctuary.

• Meruem suspected that Yoma had broken free and considered Saturn, Apollo, and Zeus as possible enemies Yoma could deploy against him.
• Meruem decided to seek allies among enemies of the gods in heaven.
• Little Sanctuary captured three Gold Saints, publicly executed two fake Gold Saints, and expanded its territory by destroying smaller factions and their minor gods.
• Eden repeatedly tried to lead troops to rescue his sister from Greek Sanctuary, but Mars confined him and allowed only Aria to visit him.
• Greek Sanctuary won nearly every clash between its forces and Little Sanctuary’s lower- and middle-ranked Saints.
• After Mars sent a large force to attack Asgard, Meruem and Saori formally declared war on Little Sanctuary.

After the Sanctuary swiftly destroyed Little Sanctuary’s forces, Mars realized his plan had failed because this Athena and Meruem were unlike those in his memories. Meruem set out to confront Mars and the hidden God of Darkness Apsu, bringing Xiaoqiang, Shaka, Wang Hu, Bado, elite Silver Saints, and three Gold Saints.

• Meruem ordered the Sanctuary and the Black Iron Saints to attack Little Sanctuary, and they wiped out its forces within three days.
• Mars questioned why Athena had chosen war, then suspected Meruem’s strength was comparable to that of a powerful god.
• Medea watched Mars from the shadows and resolved to sacrifice everything so Eden could rule a new world.
• Black Technology from Planet Namek destroyed the meteor Mars summoned before it reached Earth, leaving him prepared to fight directly.
• Saori warned Meruem about Mars, and Meruem decided to seek out Mars and Apsu, whose hiding place remained unknown.
• Meruem gathered Xiaoqiang and others, Shaka, Wang Hu, Bado, elite Silver Saints, and Asura, Aldebaran, and Milo for the expedition.

Meruem led the Sanctuary crusade through Mars's forces and sent his companions to fight the defenders of Little Sanctuary's Twelve Palaces. After reaching Mars, Meruem rejected his offer to join the Mars Legion, saying he wanted Athena herself.

• Meruem's Sanctuary crusade easily broke through the Mars Legion and reached Little Sanctuary's Twelve Palaces.
• Meruem's companions confronted the palace defenders, including Shaka challenging Fudo, a Saint using Aquarius's secret art against a time-wielding opponent, and El Cid's Dragon Saint facing Ionia.
• Meruem left Ikki to fight Amor in Pisces Palace and continued deeper into the palace alone.
• Mars offered Meruem a place in his legion, but Meruem refused because Mars could not give him Athena herself.

Meruem rejected Mars’s offer to give him Sonia and sent a Shadow Clone to fight the War God while he searched the Little Sanctuary for Medea. Mars prepared to pursue Meruem, but an invisible Crystal Wall blocked his path.

• Meruem told Mars that Athena herself was what he could offer that Mars could not, then refused Mars’s offer to grant him Sonia.
• Mars attacked Meruem with Red Star Violent Storm, and Meruem created a Shadow Clone to face him.
• Meruem’s clone fought Mars with Galaxian Explosion and Lightning Plasma Light Speed Fist as their clash shook the Temple of Mars and Little Sanctuary.
• Meruem used Nen to search the Little Sanctuary and found Medea while Mars wondered at the strength of Meruem’s original body.
• Mars tried to pursue Meruem but struck an invisible Crystal Wall.

Meruem confronted Medea in the Little Sanctuary and exposed her plan to use Aria as a host for Apsu, the primordial god of darkness. Medea admitted she had done it for Eden, while Eden tried to protect Aria.

• Medea and Eden watched Mars being driven back by a single avatar and feared the strength of his opponent.
• Meruem appeared, shattered Medea's crystal ball, and sent Eden crashing into a bookshelf when he attacked.
• Meruem dismissed Eden's strength and demanded that Medea reveal the god she was relying on.
• Meruem deduced that Medea planned to make Aria, whose Cosmo had the attribute of light, Apsu's host.
• Eden stepped in front of Aria, but Medea admitted she had acted for her son.