Recaps

Rimuru told Pepper about his safe journey to Asgard and his appointment as an official god, then admitted to Tony that he had brought back no souvenirs. He used his knowledge of Asgardian runes to make Tony a returning dagger and Pepper a protective bracelet.

• Rimuru told Pepper that Odin had appointed him a registered god of Asgard and that he had become an Ultimate Demon Lord.
• Pepper asked Rimuru to warn her before leaving on future journeys, and he quietly agreed.
• Tony asked Rimuru whether he had brought back any souvenirs from Asgard, and Rimuru admitted he had not.
• Rimuru made Tony a rune-imbued dagger that returned to his hand when thrown.
• Rimuru gave Pepper a silver bracelet with a protective blessing, and she felt its warmth and appreciated the gift.

Rimuru, Tony, and Pepper shared a relaxed dinner with wine Rimuru had taken from Odin’s private vault until Rhodey arrived and vented about the military’s post-invasion workload. The chapter left Rhodey complaining that Tony had failed to help while Tony and Rimuru listened in silence.

• Rimuru brought out Asgardian wines he had secretly stored, and Tony and Pepper sampled them over dinner.
• JARVIS announced Rhodey’s arrival, and the exhausted colonel entered the villa and joined the meal.
• Rhodey ate and drank rapidly, then complained about clearing alien wreckage, black-market scavengers, and disputes with S.H.I.E.L.D. over alien technology.
• Rhodey accused Tony of leaving him to handle the mess alone, while Tony explained inwardly that he was caught between the military and the Avengers.
• Pepper and Rimuru quietly watched Rhodey continue his complaints without interrupting.

Rhodey visited Tony and Rimuru, complained about the military’s reduced recovery potion supply, and asked Rimuru to sell or lease robots to the military. Rimuru opened a portal and presented several Terminator models, leaving Rhodey stunned.

• Rhodey drank Asgardian liquor that Rimuru had brought and relaxed after his demanding work.
• Rhodey complained that the military’s recovery potion quota had been cut and said the higher-ups had confiscated Tony’s secretly supplied potions.
• Rhodey told Rimuru that the military had considered requesting potions and Transformers but that its requests had been canceled.
• Rhodey asked Rimuru to sell or lease the military a batch of robots, and Rimuru asked which model it wanted.
• Rimuru opened a spatial portal and brought out several Terminator models, including the T-800, T-850, T-888, T-1000, and T-X, leaving Rhodey astonished.

Rimuru showed Rhodey several Terminator models and explained their abilities and weaknesses as Rhodey assessed their military value. The chapter ended with Rhodey considering how the military might procure and deploy them.

• Rhodey examined the T-800, T-850, T-888, TOK-715, T-1000, and T-X, surprised by models absent from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records.
• Tony approached the TOK-715, but Pepper's warning made him quickly act serious, and Rimuru cautioned him not to get strange ideas about her.
• Rimuru explained the models' capabilities, including the T-800's 120-year operating life, the T-850's battlefield learning, and the T-888's infiltration role and vulnerabilities.
• Rimuru described the TOK-715's social-learning strengths, the T-1000's liquid-metal abilities, and the T-X's combination of combat and disguise features.
• Rimuru withheld higher-tier Terminators because he would not sell individuals with minds close to living humans, while Rhodey began considering military procurement and deployment plans.

Rhodey agreed to buy all six Terminator models, and Rimuru proposed exchanging them for land rather than cash. Rhodey took the initial machines for military trials, but Rimuru’s no-cash offer left him wondering what help Rimuru wanted.

• Rhodey chose to buy all six Terminator models and offered either an outright purchase or a long-term lease.
• Rimuru rejected leasing and decided to seek the land he wanted in exchange for the Terminators, with safeguards against the military turning on him.
• Rimuru quoted prices ranging from twelve million for each T-800 to one hundred and eighty million for each T-X, and Rhodey judged them reasonable.
• Rhodey received approval for an initial bulk purchase of twenty units of each model, with larger orders depending on trial results.
• Rimuru offered the Terminators in the living room as test samples and said he would accept no cash for future orders.
• Rhodey grew alarmed and wondered what kind of help Rimuru intended to ask for instead.

Rimuru asked Rhodey to help secure S.H.I.E.L.D.'s application for a tract of land where he planned to build Metropolis, a city under his independent control. The military agreed to support the application in exchange for a batch of Terminators and five years of maintenance, and Rimuru accepted the deal.

• Rimuru told Rhodey he wanted the military to help get S.H.I.E.L.D.'s application for a large tract of land approved so the Avengers could establish a headquarters and logistics base.
• Rimuru explained to Tony and Pepper that he wanted full control of land the size of a small or medium-sized city and planned to name it Metropolis.
• Rhodey returned with the military's terms: it would help secure the land if Rimuru sold the Terminators outright without backdoors and provided five years of routine maintenance.
• Rimuru agreed to the terms, and Rhodey said the legal department would draft an agreement for S.H.I.E.L.D., the military, and Rimuru to sign.

After the Terminator samples were examined, Tony proposed building a mechanical legion to protect Earth, and Rimuru warned him about the dangers and political consequences. Tony remained deep in thought, while Rimuru decided to prepare a backup of JARVIS as a safeguard.

• Rhodey, Pepper, and Tony examined the Terminator models, with Tony eagerly inspecting their designs and mechanisms.
• Tony asked Rimuru whether he could build an intelligent mechanical legion to defend Earth against future crises.
• Rimuru warned Tony that an autonomous army could go out of control and that governments would fear a private person holding such military power.
• Tony fell silent and continued considering the idea, while Rimuru concluded that the warning would only delay his plans.
• Rimuru decided to quietly preserve a complete backup of JARVIS and reflected that he had already prevented several events that could lead to the Ultron Crisis.

As Rhodey tested the T-1000’s disguise abilities, Rimuru remembered the Skrulls’ planned infiltration of Earth and resolved to eliminate the threat before it could take root. The chapter ended with Rhodey mistaking Rimuru’s grim expression for fear, unaware that Rimuru had already condemned the Skrulls.

• Rimuru ignored Tony’s brainstorming, confident that Black Dragon could stop any rogue artificial intelligence.
• Pepper admired the TOK-715 while Rhodey tested the T-1000’s transformations and suggested improving its facial expressions.
• Rhodey’s talk of perfect disguises reminded Rimuru of the Skrulls and their history of replacing people and infiltrating Earth’s institutions.
• Rimuru recalled the Skrulls’ role in future betrayals and deaths, then resolved to kill them before they could threaten Earth.
• Rhodey noticed Rimuru’s somber expression and apologized, mistakenly believing that his imitation of a Terminator had frightened him.

Rimuru realized the Skrulls had been secretly infiltrating Earth for twenty years and became consumed by suspicion and killing intent. As Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey grew concerned, Rimuru struggled with whether to reveal what he knew.

• Rimuru's thoughts turned to exterminating the Skrulls until Rhodey's voice pulled him back to reality.
• Rimuru considered how many Skrulls might have infiltrated Earth and whether they had replaced people he knew, including Coulson, Tony, and Natasha.
• Rhodey apologized, assuming his expression had frightened Rimuru.
• Pepper and Tony noticed Rimuru's distress and asked what was wrong.
• Rimuru wondered whether to tell them about the Skrulls' long-term infiltration of Earth.

Rimuru revealed that the Skrulls had secretly infiltrated Earth and explained how Nick Fury and Carol had helped them settle there. Tony and Rhodey confronted the danger and Fury’s role, but Rimuru clarified that Fury had also been targeted by the Skrulls and had acted to shelter refugees.

• Tony and Rhodey urged Rimuru to share what was troubling him, so he told them that the Skrulls could perfectly mimic humans and had infiltrated Earth for decades.
• Rhodey was shaken by the possibility that a Skrull would capture and replace him, and Rimuru reassured him that the future could still be changed.
• Tony and Rhodey questioned Rimuru about the Skrulls, and he explained that Project Pegasus, the conflict between the Skrulls and the Kree Empire, and Carol’s sympathy had led to the Skrulls being sheltered on Earth.
• Rimuru revealed that Nick Fury had been involved, prompting Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper to question why Fury had allowed the Skrulls to remain on Earth after the Hydra infiltration.
• Rimuru told them that the Skrulls had also targeted Nick Fury and said Fury had sheltered them for Carol’s sake and hoped to make use of the refugees.

Tony, Rhodey, and Rimuru planned how to find and remove Skrull infiltrators without provoking widespread chaos. Rimuru headed to S.H.I.E.L.D. to obtain a Skrull sample while Tony began preparing to build a detection device.

• Tony and Rhodey realized powerful officials had helped Nick Fury conceal the Skrulls, and Rimuru reassured them that the infiltration was not yet as extensive as it would become.
• Tony proposed scanning for the biological differences between Skrulls and humans, but admitted he needed a Skrull sample to build a detector.
• Rimuru offered to persuade Nick Fury to provide a sample, and the three assigned Tony to build the device, Rimuru to get the sample, and Rhodey to keep the military calm.
• Rimuru reassured Pepper and left several Terminator robots to guard her.
• Rimuru set off for S.H.I.E.L.D. while Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper waited for the next development.

Rimuru confronted Nick Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters about the Skrulls, accusing them of plotting to overthrow humanity and demanding that they be removed from Earth. Fury initially dismissed the warning, but Rimuru’s accusations left him shaken and uncertain about the Skrulls’ intentions.

• Rhodey prepared to take Terminators to the military while Tony stayed at the villa to warn the Avengers about the Skrull crisis.
• Rimuru went to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, where Nick Fury worried that he had come to demand progress on the plot of land.
• Rimuru told Fury that the Skrulls had been hiding on Earth for twenty years and had ulterior motives.
• Rimuru accused the Skrulls of planning a rebellion to take over the human world and criticized Fury for trusting them.
• Fury denied that the Skrulls would rebel, but Rimuru challenged his confidence and warned that they could replace human officials.
• Fury fell silent and began to doubt his assumptions about the Skrulls, wondering why they would risk the safety of their entire race.

Rimuru demanded that Nick Fury summon the leaders who could decide the Skrulls’ fate, insisting they must be wiped out to prevent their infiltration from destroying humanity. After revealing the Skrulls’ future plans to provoke civil war and create Super-Skrulls, Rimuru left Fury to decide whether he was a madman or a genius.

• Nick Fury relented and asked Rimuru how he wanted to deal with the Skrulls, and Rimuru demanded their complete extermination.
• Rimuru argued that Skrull infiltration could replace people close to him and eventually threaten human civilization, leaving Nick Fury unable to defend them.
• Rimuru ordered Nick Fury to summon everyone with a say in the decision, including Carol, Captain Marvel, and declared that the Skrulls were his to deal with.
• Nick Fury compared Rimuru’s ruthless resolve to a notorious historical figure, and Rimuru acknowledged the resemblance while saying he had no choice but to stop the threat.
• Rimuru told Nick Fury that Skrull radicals would infiltrate human institutions, provoke a civil war, and use Avenger genes to create Super-Skrulls.
• Rimuru asked Nick Fury whether he saw him as a madman or a genius.

Rimuru explained the Skrulls’ violent history to Nick Fury, challenging Fury’s belief that the refugees on Earth were innocent allies. Fury was left shaken by the possibility that the Skrulls could threaten humanity, while the choice about their fate remained unresolved.

• Rimuru told Fury that Tony had informed the Avengers about the Skrulls and that Rhodey was monitoring the military.
• Fury pleaded for the Skrulls to be spared, arguing that they had helped Earth for twenty years and should be expelled rather than killed.
• Rimuru recounted how the Kree slaughtered the Cotati, rose to power, and eventually defeated the Skrull Empire.
• Rimuru revealed that the Deviant Skrulls had slaughtered the other Skrull branches after aliens transformed their species.
• Fury realized that the Skrulls he had trusted were capable of exterminating their own kind and feared what they might do to humanity.

Rimuru persuaded Nick Fury to approve a secret operation to eliminate Skrulls hiding on Earth, but learned that their numbers had grown to at least hundreds of thousands. He ended the chapter stunned and furious at Fury for concealing the scale of the threat.

• Rimuru reassured Nick Fury that eliminating the Skrulls on Earth would protect humanity's future, and Fury agreed to cooperate.
• Rimuru proposed using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence to target known Skrulls and giving Tony biological samples to build a detection device.
• Rimuru rejected involving S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, saying the Avengers and his Ultimate Nullifier Legion could handle the operation quietly.
• Nick Fury warned Rimuru that the Skrulls numbered at least hundreds of thousands, as exiled and scattered Skrulls had gathered on Earth over the years.
• Rimuru reacted with disbelief and accused Nick Fury of failing to reveal the enormous scale of the Skrull presence.

Rimuru blamed Nick Fury for creating the Skrull crisis with decades of broken promises and decided the Skrulls on Earth had to be purged. He ordered Fury to summon Carol, declaring that he would fight her if she opposed him and would only relent if she defeated him.

• Rimuru condemned Fury for promising the Skrulls a new homeworld and stringing them along while they protected Earth.
• Fury admitted the crisis was his fault and said he had found a habitable planet, but Earth lacked the technology to transport the Skrulls there.
• Rimuru rejected Fury's excuse, concluded that the conflict could not be reconciled, and decided to eliminate the Skrulls on Earth.
• Rimuru told Fury to contact Carol and bring her back to Earth so the matter could be settled face-to-face.
• Fury warned that Carol would oppose a purge because she had rescued the Skrulls, but Rimuru vowed to defeat her if she stood in his way.

Rimuru reconsidered his plan after learning that hundreds of thousands of Skrulls had infiltrated Earth, including its power structures. He proposed secretly converting them into controllable T-3000s and took Fury to Virtual Planet Kuscia to discuss the operation securely.

• Fury guessed that Rimuru's extreme response came from witnessing an alien catastrophe in his parallel universe and decided to help him unwind afterward.
• Rimuru learned that hundreds of thousands of Skrulls were known to be on Earth, with an unknown number still hidden.
• Rimuru realized that killing the Skrulls outright could trigger worldwide chaos and destabilize Earth's institutions.
• Rimuru planned to use T-5000s to transform Skrulls into controllable T-3000s while preserving their roles until the people they had replaced could return.
• Rimuru opened a portal to Virtual Planet Kuscia and told Fury they would discuss the plan there to prevent anyone from overhearing.

Rimuru gathered the Avengers and revealed that hundreds of thousands of Skrulls had infiltrated Earth, proposing to eradicate them and provoking fierce objections. He then disclosed the future threats awaiting Earth and stood by his resolve to act, leaving the Avengers silent and shaken.

• Rimuru brought Fury and the Avengers to his estate, where they saw the enormous protective device guarding his artificial intelligence.
• Rimuru explained that hundreds of thousands of Skrulls could imitate people, prompting the Avengers to condemn Fury for concealing the threat.
• Rimuru proposed eliminating every Skrull infiltrator, but Tony and most of the Avengers objected to killing so many beings; Steve and Bucky remained silent.
• Rimuru explained that the Skrulls intended to replace humanity and revealed the future involving Thanos, the Avengers' decline, and Earth's lack of successors.
• Rimuru declared that he would pursue what he believed was best even if the world opposed him, and the Avengers offered no further objections.

After hearing Rimuru’s account of civilization-ending disasters, the Avengers accepted that the Skrull threat could destroy humanity and backed his plan. Nick Fury pledged S.H.I.E.L.D.’s full cooperation, and Rimuru began explaining what he intended to do.

• The Avengers reconsidered their objections as they weighed the Skrull invasion against the possible destruction of human civilization.
• Nick Fury accepted responsibility for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s failures and promised to cooperate with Rimuru’s decisions.
• Rimuru recalled the ruined Earth left by Skynet and the devastation of Cybertron, explaining why he feared civilization’s collapse more than the guilt of killing invaders.
• Steve, Bucky, Tony, Banner, Hawkeye, and Black Widow abandoned their resistance and approved Rimuru’s plan.
• Fury and the Avengers united behind Rimuru, who began to explain his plan.

Rimuru explained a plan to use T-5000 nanobots to replace Skrull impostors, but the method was too slow for the hundreds of thousands of infiltrators on Earth. After Tony's alternative was ruled out, Rimuru asked the Lord of Wisdom for a solution and received a proposal to create a new Terminator model that could infiltrate the Skrulls.

• Rimuru explained that T-5000 nanobots could transform Skrull impostors into T-3000s while their imprisoned human counterparts were restored to their identities.
• Rimuru said the precise transformation method was suitable only for high-ranking Skrulls, while hundreds of thousands of ordinary infiltrators would have to be eliminated quickly.
• The Avengers and the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. recognized that a slow purge would expose their plans, while a rapid purge could trigger a Skrull uprising.
• Tony suggested using transformed Skrulls to spread the nanobot process, but Rimuru explained that T-3000s could not transform others, could not disguise themselves, and might not survive the process.
• Rimuru asked the Lord of Wisdom for a reverse-infiltration plan, and it proposed analyzing Skrull genetics, combining their shapeshifting ability with living metal, and creating a specialized Terminator model.

Rimuru reassured the Avengers that Earth held the advantage against the Skrulls and proposed building a new Terminator model to infiltrate and quietly assimilate their population. The Avengers understood that the plan could replace the Skrulls from within without exposing the operation or disturbing human society.

• Rimuru argued that billions of humans had the advantage over the hundreds of thousands of Skrulls, though the Avengers struggled to follow his speech about cosmic history.
• Rimuru explained that he would build new Terminators by combining Skrull genes and shapeshifting abilities with his living-metal technology.
• Rimuru said the new Terminators would perfectly imitate Skrulls, retain their ability to assimilate others, and pass those abilities on to converted Skrulls.
• The Avengers realized the new models could infiltrate Skrull ranks and replace the population layer by layer without violence, exposure, or unrest.

After the group agreed on a plan to replace and purge the Skrulls hiding across Earth, Tony mocked Nick Fury for the old problems tied to Carol and the Skrull crisis. Rimuru realized Fury had stopped worrying because Rimuru was taking on the operation’s biggest risks, and left expecting the trouble to fall on him.

• Banner explained the Skrulls’ unusual biology, and Tony and Rimuru discussed the alien material.
• Banner asked how powerful Carol was to have driven the Skrulls into hiding, prompting Tony to connect her to Fury’s old claims about a hidden superhero.
• Tony ridiculed Fury for bringing unresolved Skrull problems to Earth and leaving others to clean them up.
• The group left to prepare for the operation, while Fury stayed behind to pet the orange cat instead of reviewing the plan.
• Rimuru realized Fury had given up worrying because Rimuru had taken responsibility for the dangerous parts of the mission, and resigned himself to handling the trouble.

Tony and Banner built a device that identified Skrulls by their life-frequency, and its first field test revealed far more infiltrators than expected. After Carol Danvers returned to Earth, the Avengers gathered at Rimuru’s manor, where Fury withheld details about the crisis and left Carol fearing the situation had spiraled out of control.

• Tony and Banner developed a device that detected Skrulls by their unique life-frequency, and the team tested it in a suspected infiltration zone.
• Rimuru saw numerous Skrull signals on the device and concluded that the infiltration was much more widespread than expected.
• Nick Fury informed Rimuru and the Avengers that Carol had returned to Earth.
• The Avengers gathered at Rimuru’s manor and met Carol, who noticed the serious, distant atmosphere.
• Carol questioned Fury about the Skrull crisis, but he refused to explain its scale or the planned purge, leaving her uneasy.

Rimuru gathered Carol and the Avengers in a virtual meeting room to discuss the Skrull infiltration of Earth. She told Carol that the plan was to eliminate all Skrull forces on Earth, leaving Carol to learn the full scale and severity of the threat.

• Carol and Nick Fury followed the Avengers to Rimuru's manor, where Carol realized that Rimuru was directing the group.
• Rimuru opened a portal to the virtual planet, and everyone entered a round-table meeting room.
• The group sat in tense silence over the prospect of dealing with hundreds of thousands of Skrulls living under human identities.
• Rimuru asked Carol what she knew, and Carol said Fury had only told her the Skrulls were involved.
• Rimuru told Carol that the goal was to eliminate every Skrull force infiltrating Earth because they threatened humanity's survival.

Rimuru and Carol clashed over whether the Skrulls should be allowed to remain on Earth, with Carol arguing for their protection and Rimuru insisting their infiltration threatened humanity’s survival. The debate ended with Rimuru choosing humanity’s future over mercy, while Carol recognized the conflict had no easy resolution.

• Carol rejected Rimuru’s claim that the Skrulls planned to replace humanity, arguing that they were refugees and that only a few individuals could be responsible for wrongdoing.
• Rimuru explained that the Skrulls were secretly taking human identities and resources, and asked Carol who would protect humans from being displaced.
• Carol argued that the Skrulls’ instinct to survive did not justify punishing hundreds of thousands of innocent people.
• Rimuru said the Skrulls’ population tacitly accepted and benefited from the replacement plan, making their survival incompatible with humanity’s.
• Rimuru acknowledged the cruelty of killing the Skrulls but chose it over the peaceful extinction of human civilization, leaving Carol speechless.