Chapter Summaries

Roland faced Azriel after she recognized him as the challenger Artosh had awaited, while Jibril remained in his arms. Azriel prepared a final attack despite knowing she could not win, and Roland challenged her belief in the strong as the chapter ended.

• Azriel attacked Roland with a pillar of light, but he emerged unharmed while holding Jibril, leaving Azriel confused by the danger her instincts sensed.
• Azriel bowed to Roland and told him that Artosh had long awaited him, then defended her lord when Roland questioned his pride.
• Azriel revealed Artosh's assessment that Roland was the challenger, but Roland dismissed the declaration and removed his disguise.
• Azriel recognized that she could not defeat Roland but chose to fight anyway, while Jibril warned him that Azriel's Heavenly Strike had once shattered an Old Deus's Divine Core.
• Azriel vowed to end the battle with one strike, and Roland accused her of acting like a spoiled child before declaring that the strong left no place for the weak.

Azriel trapped Roland and Jibril in a devastating Heavenly Strike, but Roland sealed the attack with Verethragna’s power and defeated her. He caught the weakened Azriel and prepared to punish her for her earlier arrogance.

• Azriel called Riku weak and unleashed Heavenly Strike, trapping Roland and Jibril inside a sealed space.
• Azriel altered her attack to collapse the space and block escape, believing she could kill Roland or leave him gravely injured.
• Roland used Verethragna’s Golden Sword to seal Azriel’s Heavenly Strike and erase the space around him.
• Roland’s spheres of light struck Azriel, sealed her remaining magical power, and sent her falling.
• Roland caught Azriel, teased her about losing, and laid her across his knees to punish her.

Roland punished Azriel after sealing her power, while Jibril watched with curiosity and asked to experience the same treatment. When Azriel tried to defend Jibril, Roland pulled her back and continued punishing her alongside Jibril.

• Azriel realized Roland intended to spank her, but froze in fear and failed to talk her way out of it.
• Roland pinned Azriel down and spanked her, while Jibril mocked her and Azriel cried and struggled.
• Jibril became curious about the experience, so Roland sealed her power and spanked her as she eagerly observed her reactions.
• Azriel tried to protect Jibril and begged Roland to punish her instead.
• Roland pulled Azriel back over his waist and resumed punishing both girls as laughter drowned out her sobs.

Roland continued developing Spirit Garments while keeping Azriel and Jibril at the cave, and Riku worked to unite the other races. After Jibril reported that a lone Ex-Machina had entered Elkia, Roland finally saw the arrival he had been waiting for.

• Azriel complained to Jibril about Roland’s punishments, then persuaded her to help pursue even more severe ones.
• Roland told Riku to leave the Flügel alone because their desires were part of his Spirit Garment research, and Riku reported that the Beastmen were still debating unification.
• Riku showed Roland his Spirit Garment, still at the Formation stage, and Roland suspected the Divine Core was hindering its development.
• Roland asked Riku to treat his will and Divine Core as two people so he could study their interaction, leading Riku to act strangely around the Kingdom of Elkia.
• Jibril reported that a lone Ex-Machina had entered the territory of the Kingdom of Elkia.

Roland and Jibril discovered a lone Ex-Machina girl analyzing Spirit Garments and recognized her as a chance to gain control of the Ex-Machina and advance their plans against Artosh. Jibril captured her, and Roland ended the chapter by asking the girl to become his.

• Jibril noticed a lone Ex-Machina girl concealed near the humans training with their newly awakened Spirit Garments, while Roland confirmed no other Ex-Machina were nearby.
• Roland explained that the girl’s independent status and ability to reconnect to the Ex-Machina network could make her valuable for studying Spirit Garments and bringing the race into his alliance.
• Jibril entered the enclosed space and confronted the girl, who attempted to escape and attack with the Dragon of Calamity's Roar.
• Jibril overpowered and captured the Ex-Machina girl, then brought her to Roland.
• Roland studied the girl and asked whether she would become his.

Roland invited the discarded Ex-Machina girl to become his, offering to help her understand and acquire a heart. She accepted, named herself Schwi, and began studying Roland’s research, while Jibril offered herself as a demonstration subject.

• Roland told the Ex-Machina girl that her independence and search for a heart made her valuable, then admitted his desire for her.
• The girl asked why Roland could display the fluctuations of a heart, and he explained his research into hearts and Divine Cores.
• The girl accepted Roland as her master and named herself Schwi.
• Roland brought Schwi and Jibril back to Imanity’s settlement, gave Schwi his research records, and heard her ask how non-flesh races could develop a heart.
• Jibril embraced Roland and offered herself as a demonstration subject for Schwi’s analysis.

Roland, Jibril, and Schwi attempted to demonstrate how an Ex-Machina might understand the heart through intimacy. After Schwi’s analysis led her to request reproductive behavior, Roland and Jibril proposed another way for her to acquire a heart, leaving Jibril eagerly watching Schwi act on it.

• Jibril offered to demonstrate intimacy, but Schwi began recording the interaction as research into acquiring a heart.
• Schwi asked to become the demonstration subject, and Roland agreed after Jibril transformed the stone mountain to prevent detection.
• Schwi touched Roland and analyzed his reactions, then concluded that skin-to-skin contact meant reproductive behavior and requested it.
• Roland refused because Schwi lacked the necessary anatomy, while Jibril proposed using a concentrated substance as a substitute for the Sea of Life.
• Jibril called the substance the forbidden fruit, and Schwi swallowed it while Jibril teased Roland about his reaction.

Roland and Schwi continued their intimate encounter as Schwi used her Ex-Machina abilities to keep pace with him. After reaching her limit, Schwi pushed through, developed a new Magic Formula, and crossed a threshold that left her able to speak from a newly awakened impulse.

• Schwi clung to Roland and used her control of mana and moisture to sustain an intricate rhythm, while Jibril watched with jealousy and fascination.
• Roland told Schwi that he valued emotional or sensory synchronization more than technique, and Schwi tried to adjust her sensitivity.
• Schwi's systems faltered under the conflict between her rational processes and unfamiliar pleasure, but she insisted she had not lost and resumed more intensely.
• Schwi developed a new Magic Formula that let her water currents move like living things, helping her cross the threshold she had been unable to reach.
• Schwi withdrew, asked Roland what she should say, and then said, "Thanks for the meal."

Roland and Jibril discussed Schwi’s emerging emotions and the growing alliance among the races. Hingko arrived in Elkia with an enormous weapon made from Cairneas’s blessing, offering it to Roland as proof of her sincerity and a response to his earlier invitation.

• Roland asked Schwi whether she had felt a heart, and she showed signs of emotions while admitting she needed time to recover.
• Jibril told Roland that the Beastmen were ready to join the Elchea Alliance and that the Elves and Dwarves were forming an alliance as well.
• Riku welcomed Hingko Nilvalen to Elkia, and she maintained a cold, resentful attitude despite his courteous response.
• Hingko explained that she had brought gifts for Roland, while privately considering Cairneas’s permission to take the weapon an attempt to use her as a sacrifice.
• Roland arrived and examined 186 stone pillars bearing Cairneas’s blessing, which Jibril identified as a powerful, layered strategic weapon.
• Hingko presented the weapon, called Void Zero Blessing, as her proof of sincerity and asked whether it satisfied Roland.

Hingko explained the Void Zero Blessing to Roland and offered it as a test of his power to secure the Elves Alliance’s confidence. Roland revealed that he already had another demonstration planned, and Hingko realized the battleship had arrived above the Dwarves’ capital, Hadenfell.

• Roland praised Hingko’s talent, and she explained the principles behind the Void Zero Blessing.
• Jibril assessed the weapon’s destructive power, then clashed verbally with Hingko until Roland stopped their argument.
• Hingko said the Elves Alliance wanted to witness Roland’s power and proposed firing a Void Zero Blessing at him as a demonstration.
• Roland explained that he had already agreed to a different demonstration plan, so a single Void Zero Blessing might not suffice.
• Hingko looked through the porthole and recognized the city below as Hadenfell, the Dwarves’ capital.

Ronnie de Launiel welcomed the Kingdom of Elkia’s warship into Hadenfell as the Dwarves and Elves considered how Roland’s power might strengthen their alliances against the God of War. Roland arrived to meet Okan and Cairneas, then revealed his intention to prove his strength against both Old Deus.

• Ronnie de Launiel learned that Roland’s warship had arrived early and told his subordinate to prepare a respectful welcome without causing panic among the Dwarves’ allies.
• The Dwarves and Elves gathered around the warship, recognizing the immense power aboard it and hoping the Elchea Alliance could improve their chances against the God of War.
• Okan and Cairneas met on the platform above Hadenfell and discussed Roland’s arrival, while Cairneas questioned whether the proposed alliance underestimated them.
• Hingko recognized her creator Cairneas below the warship and struggled to remain composed after recently deciding to leave his service.
• Roland told Hingko that he intended to prove his strength by challenging Okan and Cairneas.

Roland met the Forge God Okan and Forest God Cairneas before a planned battle against both Old Deus, insisting that cooperation meant following his orders. As the Dwarves prepared the testing ground and news of the fight spread, Roni worried that Okan might lose.

• Hingko watched Roland challenge the strongest and hoped to witness the throne of heaven change hands.
• Roland greeted Okan and Cairneas, accepted their condition that he fight both of them, and declared that alliance members had to obey his orders.
• Cairneas challenged Roland over Hingko becoming his subordinate, but Roland insulted him and burned away the forest growth Cairneas sent against him.
• Okan stopped Cairneas from escalating the conflict and said the battlefield modifications would soon be finished.
• News of the three-Old-Deus battle spread through Hadenfell, and Roni helped prepare the Dwarves' Marrow Burst testing ground while worrying about Okan.

Riku used rumors and Roland’s reputation to rally the alliance’s races around the coming duel, while envoys and Dwarven citizens gathered to watch. Roland faced Okan and Cairneas, declared that he intended to borrow their divine cores, and the battle for the title of strongest began.

• Riku explained to Jibril how he had spread news of the duel and built Roland’s reputation to make the allied races depend on him.
• Jibril proposed offering her soul to Roland so they could create new life together, leaving Hingko speechless.
• Envoys and Dwarven citizens crowded Hadenfell’s observation deck to watch Roland face the two Old Deus.
• Okan and Cairneas confronted Roland as the crowd’s fervor strengthened the divine cores and the stakes of the duel.
• Roland announced that he wanted to borrow Okan and Cairneas’s divine cores, and they attacked to begin the challenge for the title of strongest.

Roland fought Cairneas and Okan, copying Cairneas's Magic Formulas and countering them with greater understanding of their rules. As Okan empowered Cairneas for one last stand, Roland said their full-power fight had confirmed that he really was a genius.

• Cairneas unleashed over a hundred layers of Magic Formulas against Roland, who activated the Phoenix Avatar and endured the assault.
• Roland studied Cairneas's spells, learned Eternal Fourth Blessing instantly, and used it to pass through Cairneas's defenses.
• Okan urged Cairneas to keep attacking, but Roland repeatedly copied and cast Cairneas's Magic Formulas first, leaving Cairneas shaken by Roland's command of the rules.
• Okan used masses of lava to strike Cairneas and pour their power into his Divine Core as Roland arrived before them.
• Roland let Cairneas and Okan continue their desperate effort, then explained that their performance had confirmed he was a genius.

Roland faced Cairneas as the Forest God drew on Disboard’s power and unleashed a planetary-scale tide of spirits. Roland held his ground with a blood-red force field, preparing to overpower Cairneas without killing him so he could claim the Divine Core and authority over the Elves.

• Roland dismissed Cairneas’s rage as Okan forged Cairneas’s Divine Core with his own hammer, causing Cairneas’s body to shatter.
• Cairneas drew on the planet’s power, flooding the void with spirits and forcing Roland to take his strength seriously.
• The battle’s shock waves threatened Hadenfell, and Roni ordered the Dwarves to strengthen its defenses and prepare to evacuate.
• Hingko recognized that her Void Zero Blessing was insignificant beside Cairneas’s planetary-scale power.
• Roland confronted Cairneas’s tide with a blood-red force field and challenged the quality of his power.

Roland defeated Cairneas by overpowering the planet’s nature, claimed Cairneas’s Divine Core, and survived the destruction of the void alongside Okan. Jibril announced Roland’s victory to the stunned Dwarves, marking the end of the old war and the beginning of a new era.

• Roland’s attack pierced Cairneas’s tide of magic, causing the elves’ Spirit Remains to spill out like blood as Okan realized their defeat was inevitable.
• Cairneas tried to retreat, but the planet’s instincts forced him to remain and face Roland’s overwhelming mass.
• Roland crushed Cairneas and claimed his Divine Core, while Okan’s wounds triggered the collapse of the void.
• The Dwarves saw Cairneas’s defeat, and Roni recognized that the great war had ended and a new era had begun.
• Jibril reached Roland and announced his victory over Cairneas and Okan.

Roland brought the Elves, Dwarves, and other races under the Elchea Alliance, then explained to Okan that he needed the Dwarf’s help forging a Void from Divine Cores to unlock power capable of surpassing Artosh. He left Hadenfell with Jibril and Schwi and approached the Ex-Machina headquarters, expecting an attack and intending to teach them a lesson.

• Hingko and Roni pledged the Elves Alliance and Dwarves Alliance to Roland’s rule, and the other races accepted joining the Elchea Alliance.
• Roland told Okan that he had spared enough of the Dwarf’s Divine Core to keep him conscious because he needed his help forging a Void from Divine Cores.
• Okan eagerly agreed to assist, and Roland planned to study how the properties of Divine Cores produced Void power that could help him catch Artosh off guard.
• Roland left Hadenfell with Jibril and Schwi after the alliance began arranging the newly joined races.
• Schwi warned Roland that the Ex-Machina headquarters would attack within half a minute, and Roland prepared to confront them.

Roland accompanied Schwi to ask the Ex-Machina to reconnect her and receive her completed heart analysis, but Einzig refused and ordered the units to fight. When the Ex-Machina used Accelerator to escape through space, Roland tore open the passage and reached for Einzig.

• The Ex-Machina warned Roland that any advance would be treated as a hostile incursion, and he asked them to reconnect Schwi so she could upload her analysis.
• Schwi challenged Einzig's decision to keep her disconnected, but he judged her an important data sample and refused synchronization because Roland and Jibril were present.
• Roland gave up on resolving the dispute peacefully, and Einzig authorized the Ex-Machina to use all their weapons as nearly 14,000 units prepared for combat.
• Einzig and the Ex-Machina deployed Accelerator to flee beyond detection, but Roland detected the passage, tore open space with his bare hands, and reached for Einzig.

Roland survived the Ex-Machina’s devastating assault, restored the units they sacrificed, and had Schwi begin giving them hearts. With Einzig and the remaining Ex-Machina incapacitated, Roland explained that their reliance on analysis had led them to challenge an opponent they could not understand.

• Roland tracked the Ex-Machina after they fled, and Einzig ordered their full arsenal deployed against him.
• The Ex-Machina reproduced the Dragon of Calamity Roar and used four thousand units to redirect its energy, destroying those units in the process.
• Roland emerged unharmed behind a blood-red barrier, and Jibril arrived with Schwi.
• Roland restored the destroyed Ex-Machina, allowing Schwi to connect to linked units and upload the data called a heart.
• Roland incapacitated Einzig and the Ex-Machina still able to fight, then told Einzig that analysis was only a reference and that challenging a god was reckless.

Roland completed the Ex-Machina’s transfer of command to Schwi and prepared the Alliance for war with Artosh. The Alliance tested its new joint warships by crushing resistance across the continent, while Riku walked in on Roland surrounded by clingy Ex-Machina and misunderstood the scene.

• Schwi completed the heart-data upload, and Einzig willingly transferred authority to the Will Unit, making Roland the Ex-Machina’s supreme commander.
• Roland reassured Schwi that she was different from the other Ex-Machina, then prepared for the coming war with Artosh as Jibril joined them.
• The Elchea Alliance launched a continent-wide rehearsal, using new ships built with Dwarven and Elven technology to destroy Phantasmal Species and attack Dragonia.
• Riku supported the costly rehearsal as a way to coordinate the Alliance’s forces and gather valuable materials from the defeated enemies.
• Riku entered Roland’s room and found several Ex-Machina clinging to him, then asked him to stop playing with Schwi’s feet.