Recaps

Roland destroyed the Soma Familia’s stronghold, transformed its members into obedient servants, and took control of its God Wine production. He then offered Lili a place in his new [Shendu] Familia, which she accepted by drinking the altered wine.

• Roland unleashed flames on the Soma Familia’s stronghold and confronted its captain, Zanis Lustra.
• Roland subdued Zanis and transformed him and the other Soma Familia members into servants who obeyed his commands.
• Roland visited Soma, drank genuine God Wine, and ordered Zanis to expand its distribution by diluting it for wider consumption.
• Roland offered Lili a place in the [Shendu] Familia and told her that joining meant belonging to him.
• Lili drank the altered God Wine and welcomed Roland’s [Shendu] Familia.

After Roland's Status exceeded the known limit for a Level 1 adventurer, he sought a great feat so he could level up. He joined the Loki Familia's expedition and asked to face a floor boss alone, leaving the group stunned.

• Hestia saw that Roland's abilities had surpassed S rank, congratulated him, and explained how great feats could qualify him to level up.
• Roland decided to earn fame by defeating a floor boss and encountered the Loki Familia preparing to depart on an early expedition.
• Ais greeted Roland warmly, and Riveria introduced him to Finn, Gareth, Tiona, Tione, and Bete as the hero who had obtained a Xianjing's Contract and defeated Ais before receiving Falna.
• Roland told the Loki Familia that he had reached the limit of Lv.1 and asked to fight a floor boss; Bete doubted him, while Ais said she believed in him.
• Roland insisted on facing the floor boss alone, declaring that it would be no harder than sweeping away a speck of dust.

Roland summoned Aestus Estus and swiftly destroyed a mutated Goliath, whose purple crystals remained after its body vanished. When the crystals turned to dust, the Horse Talisman's divine power activated to repel an ominous force.

• Roland entered Goliath's chamber alone as the Loki Familia noticed purple crystals on the floor boss and suspected it had mutated.
• Finn held the Loki Familia back while Riveria prepared True Magic, and Roland summoned Aestus Estus to face Goliath.
• Roland severed Goliath's arm and then cut the giant into pieces with the Sacred Sword, stunning the watching Adventurers.
• Roland examined the purple crystals left behind after Goliath's body turned to ash, but they dispersed into dust before he could study them.
• The Horse Talisman's mark shone in Roland's eyes and drove out an ominous external force as the crystal dust touched him.

Roland and the Loki Familia discovered that the purple crystals were infectious and headed to the eighteenth floor, where Ais asked him how to become stronger. The chapter ended with Ais revealing that her growth had stalled and asking Roland to guide her.

• Roland used the Horse Talisman and Aestus Estus to destroy the poisonous purple dust, then discussed the crystals with Finn and learned similar growths had appeared on an injured Adventurer.
• Roland stored the Goliath's Magic Stone and joined the Loki Familia on their way to the eighteenth floor.
• Roland admired the crystal-lit safe floor, and Ais impulsively led him away from Tiona to a secluded alley.
• Ais asked to see Roland's Status, then asked how she could become as strong as him.
• Roland advised Ais to find an aspiration and pursue leveling up, and Ais revealed her attributes had stagnated before asking him to guide her.

Roland and Ais investigated a murder in the Stronghold, where Ais uncovered a conspiracy involving an embryo orb, Man-Eating Flowers, and the red-haired Revis. Roland arrived to confront Revis, who revealed a soul-made weapon called Void.

• After Roland helped Ais with her sword techniques, they found the streets deserted and went to the square, where Tiona told them a level 4 Adventurer had been murdered.
• Ais chased a fleeing Beastman girl and obtained a green embryo orb, but Revis attacked her and summoned Man-Eating Flowers to distract the other Adventurers.
• Ais recognized Revis as the killer and activated her True Magic, but Revis called her Aria and offered to recruit her before preparing to escape.
• Roland arrived with his Sacred Sword, forced Revis back, and asked to examine her soul; Revis drew a weapon formed from the light of the soul, and Roland named it Void.

Roland confronted Revis, who revealed her devotion to a being behind the Book of Revelation and unleashed the Bead Infant as a monster. After Roland killed it and helped Ais regain her composure, Revis absorbed its Magic Stone to strengthen her Void, and Roland prepared to fight her.

• Revis recognized Roland’s knowledge of the Void and transformed her weapon with Magic Stones, declaring that the Book of Revelation’s descent was inevitable.
• Revis awakened the Bead Infant by fusing it with Man-Eating Flowers, creating a giant monster that attacked Roland and Ais.
• Roland destroyed the Bead Infant with a single sword strike, and its final cry left Ais overwhelmed until Roland comforted her.
• Revis absorbed the Bead Infant’s Magic Stone into her Void, which grew into a massive sword and empowered her body.
• Roland welcomed Revis’s challenge and ordered Aestus Estus to kill.

Roland defeated Revis after she fused with her Void and transformed into a living blade, then searched her memories for the Contract Spirit. He found the Spirit sleeping inside a crystal on the Dungeon’s fifty-ninth floor, and she opened her eyes.

• Roland overwhelmed Revis with his sword and flames, shattering the Magic Stones and vines supporting her Void.
• Revis stabbed her Void into her own Magic Stone and transformed into a powerful living blade.
• Roland revealed his dragon form, seized Revis, and used the Sheep Talisman to strip away her consciousness.
• Roland searched Revis’s memories and discovered the Contract Spirit on the fifty-ninth floor, inside a vast purple crystal chamber.
• The sleeping Contract Spirit, a pink-haired girl with crimson eyes, sensed Roland and opened her eyes.

Roland recognized the attacker’s power as the Apocalypse Virus and concluded that its threat had spread beyond Orario, while resolving to investigate the 59th Floor. After reaching level 2, he chose the mysterious Development Ability {World}, whose expanded perception let him sense the world around him.

• Roland identified the Contract Spirit as the Apocalypse Virus and the Virus Queen, then considered whether its power could complete his own nature as a Beast of Revelation.
• Roland told Finn that the infection had likely spread across the world, and Finn asked him to report to the Guild while the Familia continued preparing to defeat the floor boss.
• Hestia updated Roland’s Status, confirming that he had reached level 2 and gained the Development Ability {World}.
• Roland explained that leveling up had increased his capacity and brought him closer to merging with the essence of his power.
• Roland realized {World} gave him an expanding awareness of magical energy, underground veins, and changes in his surroundings, then greeted the world.

As Orario braced for monsters migrating upward through the Dungeon, Roland told Eina he had reached level 2 after only six days and argued that the Guild would present him as a hero. At Denatus, Freya stopped the gods from probing his abnormal growth, and they gave him the title Sword Hero.

• Eina worried about Riveria and the Loki Familia’s investigation as adventurers crowded the Guild over reports of monsters migrating upward.
• Roland visited Eina and revealed he had leveled up after six days in Orario; he said Hestia had agreed and that his reputation could reassure the city.
• Hestia attended Denatus and grew anxious as the gods assigned titles to adventurers, while Hephaestus said her support would not determine the result.
• Loki questioned Hestia about Roland defeating the seventeenth-floor boss and reaching level 2 in six days, prompting the gods to scrutinize his rapid growth.
• Freya persuaded the gods not to pressure Roland, noting that the Guild wanted him to become a symbol of hope for Orario.
• The gods chose Sword Hero as Roland’s title.

Hestia feared Freya would try to claim Roland, but he reassured her that he would stay with the Hestia Familia. After reaching S-rank abilities, Roland met Finn, who revealed the Guild had officially given him the title Sword Hero and brought troubling news about the Dungeon.

• Hestia told Roland that Freya had openly asked her to give him up, and she admitted she feared he might leave for another Familia.
• Roland reassured Hestia that he would not betray their bond and had no intention of joining another Familia.
• The next morning, Hestia updated Roland's Status and discovered that all his abilities had reached S rank and his development ability had reached A rank.
• Roland met Finn at the Hostess of Fertility, where Finn told him the Guild had officially bestowed the title Sword Hero on him.
• Roland asked Finn about the Dungeon's unusual developments, and Finn said the Guild had dismissed concerns by claiming Orario was thriving.

Finn told Roland that the Guild was preparing a Great Expedition to find the source of the purple-crystal disaster and asked him to hunt the mysterious Shendu Familia, whose members stole Adventurers’ experience points. Roland accepted for a fee, while the chapter ended with a monster being infected with purple crystals during preparations for Monsterphilia.

• Finn told Roland that the Guild planned to screen and isolate infected people, then launch a Great Expedition after Monsterphilia to investigate the disaster’s source.
• Finn revealed that the Shendu Familia had been attacking Adventurers, stealing their experience points, and leaving them unconscious; one captured attacker had looked like an intelligent monster and bore a coiled-dragon emblem.
• Finn asked Roland to hunt the Shendu Familia, and Roland agreed after confirming the Guild’s payment.
• After Finn left, Roland considered the spread of Soma’s God Wine, the progress in unsealing the Talismans, and the Virus Queen’s plans for Monsterphilia.
• A Ganesha Familia beast tamer inspected a monster for purple crystals, but the monster was infected with them while being transported in its cage.

Roland spent Monsterphilia’s festival with Hestia and Aestus Estus while remaining wary of the spreading Apocalypse Virus. At the Hostess of Fertility, Syr gave him a Mage Book, and reading it revealed a path tied to the world itself.

• Roland explored the crowded festival with Hestia and Aestus Estus, and Hestia encouraged him not to shoulder humanity’s safety alone.
• A Ganesha Familia Tamer was injured by a restless monster and failed to notice purple crystals spreading from his wound.
• Syr apologized to Roland and presented him with a Mage Book she had kept for years.
• Roland opened the Mage Book and saw countless paths of power, including one that came from the world itself.

As monsters escaped during Monsterphilia, Roland used the grimoire’s vision of the world’s rules to reach beyond the powers he had gained from Contract Spirits. He returned to the present having apparently stopped time through his own power, just as danger reached the others.

• A Ganesha Familia messenger told Ganesha and Shakti that crystal-covered guards had turned against them and released the monsters, prompting them to evacuate the arena and prepare for the attack.
• Roland examined his abilities in the grimoire’s Mind World and chose to seek command over the world’s underlying rules rather than pursue the other powers within reach.
• Roland unleashed his magical power and burned away the Mind World, returning to Syr, who asked whether the grimoire had taught him magic.
• Roland touched the mysterious gears he sensed and froze the room, then moved freely and returned a falling fork to the table.
• Lyu shouted that something had happened at the entrance, and Roland realized he had commanded time without relying on his Stand or Contract Spirit powers.

Roland awakened the ability to stop time and used it to kill a crystal-covered monster, then discovered that the Apocalypse Virus had turned Adventurers and civilians into zombie-like infected throughout Orario. He led Syr, Lyu, and the Hostess of Fertility staff toward the Guild to rescue Hestia and the other gods, leaving them to drive their carriage through the infected hordes.

• Roland stopped time for longer than five seconds, summoned Killer Queen, and punched through a charging monster’s chest before time resumed and it crumbled to ash.
• Lyu warned Roland that the crisis was a catastrophe, and Roland saw infected Adventurers attack a resident and spread the purple crystals and mindless infection.
• Roland concluded that Orario was falling and ordered Syr, Lyu, and the Hostess of Fertility staff to come with him to the Guild, where Hestia and other gods were likely trapped.
• Roland cut through a shop and nearby zombies to reveal a horse and carriage, then led the group onto a main thoroughfare filled with infected.
• When Lyu said the horde blocked the carriage, Roland told them to drive along the sidewalk while he cleared the way.

Roland led Lyu and the Hostess of Fertility women through Orario’s infected dead, explaining that a virus from the Dungeon was spreading across the world. After reaching the Guild, he entered alone to protect the gods inside and unleashed his power against the zombies.

• Roland cut through the zombie horde while Lyu and the tavern women rode toward the Guild, and Syr watched him with excitement.
• Roland told Lyu and Mama Mia that Dungeon monsters had spread a virus that turned infected people into attackers, and that the gods’ safety was the immediate priority.
• The group reached the Guild, where infected Adventurers crowded the building, and Roland told Mama Mia to guard the entrance while he went inside alone.
• Roland slaughtered the zombies in the Guild hall with Aestus Estus, then called on his malevolent power and swept the area with sword light and flames.

Roland rescued the gods from the Guild and led them through the devastated Orario to Babel Tower, where survivors began gathering. After Finn reported that an immense, unusually powerful zombie horde threatened to spread beyond the city, he asked Roland whether the Loki Familia should destroy it with a spell that could kill trapped survivors.

• Roland arrived at the underground hall after clearing the zombies outside the Guild, and Hestia checked that he was unharmed.
• Roland led the gods through Orario and chose Babel Tower as a stronghold, while suspecting a second Contract Spirit had used the Apocalypse Virus to create the outbreak.
• At Babel Tower, Roland's group cleared the remaining zombies and sent signals that brought surviving Adventurers, including the Loki Familia's core members.
• Finn reported that the outbreak began near the Arena, where the Ganesha Familia had failed to contain a powerful horde, and warned that it could spread beyond Orario.
• Finn proposed using the Loki Familia's mages and Riveria's magic to destroy the horde, but worried that the attack could kill survivors in nearby buildings, and asked Roland for advice.
• Roland called Finn's proposed choice too extreme.

Roland rejected Finn’s proposal to sacrifice adventurers and went to rescue the survivors himself. At a sealed tavern, he saved Eina and Bell from abusive adventurers, then killed the thugs who had threatened them.

• Roland told Finn that the disaster was beyond the adventurers’ abilities and said he would act, insisting that heroes were those who brought hope and miracles.
• Eina watched over the survivors in a sealed tavern, where Bell told her he had come to Orario hoping to meet the Sword Hero.
• A group of adventurers forced Bell to go outside to scout and shoved Eina toward the door when she tried to protect him.
• Roland burst into the tavern, stopped an adventurer from striking Eina, and killed him with Aestus Estus.
• Roland refused to spare the remaining thugs and killed them as Bell watched, answering the last man’s question about how many people he had killed by asking how many slices of bread he had eaten.

Roland rallied the survivors of Orario around him, declaring that those who followed his authority would find safety as they made their way to Babel Tower. As the survivors hailed him as their hero, Roland destroyed the remaining zombie horde with Aestus Estus and achieved the great feat required to advance to level 3.

• Roland led Eina, Bell, and the other survivors out of the tavern and gathered them with those he had rescued across Main Street.
• Roland told the survivors to follow his command, abandon their divisions, and contribute their talents, promising protection to those who accepted his rule.
• The survivors declared their reverence for Roland and stood firm as the zombie horde approached.
• Roland struck the horde with Aestus Estus, unleashing a sword light that erased the zombies in its path.
• Roland recognized that his feat had fulfilled the requirement to advance to level 3 and resolved to become more than a hidden emperor.

Roland led the cleanup of Orario and used his growing public support to press ahead with a Great Expedition, while a god’s return signaled trouble elsewhere. In secret, Dionysus experimented on Filvis until the Apocalypse Virus’s hidden force consumed them both and caused his fall.

• Roland organized Adventurers into spear formations to clear zombies from Orario, and the crowd’s worship of him grew as the cleanup advanced.
• A crowd beat a cautious Adventurer for questioning the expedition, and Roland told Finn that the disaster and public support made the Great Expedition inevitable.
• Roland and Finn saw a pillar of light rise as a god was returned, and Roland suspected a god had faced a mortal threat.
• Dionysus repeatedly infected and cured Filvis with his superior God Wine to study the virus, while Filvis’s mind deteriorated despite her body recovering.
• Dionysus used Filvis’s duplicate to push the experiment further, and the reunited Filvis dissolved into orange liquid that consumed Dionysus and triggered his return.

After being appointed leader of Orario's temporary Guild, Roland learned that the Apollo Familia had exploited the disaster to coerce Adventurers and oppose the Great Expedition. Finn warned him that Apollo might have taken an interest in him, leaving Roland uneasy about the upcoming God Meeting.

• Finn told Roland that he had found no survivors or clues at the house where a god had returned to heaven.
• Finn explained that Apollo had used the disaster to force Adventurers whose Falna had vanished to join his Familia and had resisted the Great Expedition.
• Finn described Apollo's captain, Hyacinthus, as the Sun God's Beloved, who was jealous of others around Apollo.
• Roland joked uneasily about Apollo and Hyacinthus, and Finn suggested that Apollo's opposition might be because he had his eye on Roland.

Roland attended the God Meeting with Hestia, where he reunited with Bell and met Hermes, who had taken Bell into his Familia. After seeing Ais and learning the Loki Familia was on his side, Roland prepared for a likely confrontation with Apollo by warning that he would kill anyone who attacked him.

• Roland arrived at the banquet with Hestia, drawing the attention of several goddesses.
• Bell greeted Roland and introduced Hermes, who said he had recruited Bell into his Familia.
• Roland remembered the fall of Zeus and Hera’s Familias and considered Hermes’s ties to Zeus.
• Loki arrived with Ais, and Roland teased Ais until she blushed.
• Loki warned Roland that a fight with Apollo might be unavoidable and said the Loki Familia was on his side.
• Roland told the assembled group that he would kill anyone who attacked him and drive Apollo out of Orario.

At Apollo’s banquet, Freya attempted to win Roland’s affection, but he rejected her advances and threatened her if she caused trouble. Apollo then challenged Roland to a War Game, demanding Hestia hand him over if Roland lost; the chapter ended with Roland preparing to fight.

• Freya approached Roland and begged him for affection, but he refused and said he might consider friendship.
• Freya reacted to Roland’s threat with ecstatic fixation on being killed by him.
• Apollo entered the banquet and argued that Roland was unqualified to lead the Great Expedition without the Xianjing.
• Apollo challenged Roland to defeat his original Familia in a War Game without using the Xianjing.
• Apollo demanded that Hestia surrender Roland if he lost, and Roland answered with a cruel smile and flickering scarlet eyes.

Roland accepted Apollo's War Game challenge and overwhelmed the Apollo Familia with extraordinary powers, killing most of its members. As the gods hailed him as a hero, he claimed the title for himself.

• Bell confronted Apollo for imposing unfair terms, but Roland said he would accept the War Game and welcomed the chance to control the defeated side's fate.
• Roland attacked the Apollo Familia with a crimson beam, then declared that the War Game would end when one side could no longer fight.
• Hyacinthus ordered his familia to attack Roland, but Roland swiftly killed the first attackers and advanced while Hyacinthus prepared his magic.
• Hyacinthus unleashed his fire magic, but Roland stopped the flames, absorbed them, and challenged him to try something else.
• Roland fired golden electricity from his eyes, killed the Apollo Familia members who fled or fought, and left two girls kneeling alive.
• Roland asked who supported the Great Expedition plan, and as the gods applauded and called him a hero, he declared himself the true hero.

After Roland won the War Game, he imposed exile on Apollo and later confronted him outside Orario. Roland revealed his monstrous power and executed Apollo by biting off his head.

• Loki declared the Hestia Familia the winner, and Roland sentenced Apollo to disband his Familia, surrender his property, and leave Orario.
• The Guild expelled Apollo, who made his way through the Zombie-infested streets and out of Orario.
• Apollo vowed revenge on Roland and Hestia, but Roland and the Shadowkhan ambushed him in the woods.
• Roland said the Guild's punishment and his own punishment were different, then revealed a monstrous form and trapped Apollo.
• Roland lifted Apollo toward his jaws and bit off the sun god's head.

Roland faced Apollo’s divine return and absorbed the solar fire, using the power to break open his Talismans and unleash Beast VI’s authority. He erased Apollo’s divine essence completely and named his authority [Anti-Messiah].

• Apollo revived after Roland decapitated him, and his divine power erupted as he began returning to Heaven.
• Apollo blasted Roland with solar flames, but Roland’s Fire Demonic Qi absorbed the fire and drew divine power into his body.
• The influx of divine power cracked the remaining Ten Talismans within Roland and accelerated their recovery.
• Apollo poured out his power in a desperate attempt to destroy Roland, but Roland’s authority began erasing Apollo’s body and divine essence.
• Roland revealed that the erasing power was Humanity’s Evil, Beast VI, and named it [Anti-Messiah] as Apollo vanished from the world’s records.