Beyond the Gate

Deep in the dungeon, the Investigation Team (including Abel's party and court magicians) gets snatched by a teleport trap after examining a mysterious black square set into the wall. They suddenly find themselves relocated to an unknown place. Clive makes a rough guess that they are on the 38th floor, and the gate they found may be the source of the recent monster outbreak.

Up on the surface, the other Investigation Team finds that the reading shows Abel's group has been teleported to the 40th floor, and then loses all signal after that. At the same time, someone from College of Magic named Christopher Blatt, who also went down into the dungeon, reports that his team, along with a group of local adventurers, also disappeared upon entering the dungeon. It's known that the deeper you go in the dungeon, the stronger and more dangerous the monsters become. Even adventurers higher than B-rank are advised against venturing this deep. The last time adventurers went this deep, they never returned.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Natalie went off to find Ryo for help, remembering Abel's advice that Ryo is the one to turn to in a crisis. On the other hand, Christopher decides to report to Guildmaster Hugh about the current situation. Hugh, informed by Nina, immediately goes to the dungeon checkpoint, where he will meet up with the liaisons.

Meanwhile, Ryo is neck-deep in rare books at the library, researching the link between past solar eclipses and monster tidal bores. He conveniently runs into Sera, the Elf girl. They instantly hit it off, and Ryo shares his theory connecting eclipses and monster surges. Sera, who has studied this herself, confirms that every tidal bore has been preceded by an eclipse, though this last one was unusual because it was a full eclipse. They also discuss the shocking discovery that the magic stones from the recent outbreak were pale, suggesting the monsters were newly spawned, contradicting the belief that old, powerful monsters resurface.

Down in the abyss, Abel's team figures out they are trapped inside an enormous magical barrier, resembling the powerful ultimate defensive magic, "Sanctuary Square". This barrier seals them off from outside help. Lyn uses her magic to scan the area and detects around 50 unfamiliar life forms alongside a large group of Clive's researchers.

Things immediately turn bloody as the enemy, identified as devils (sometimes confused with demons in translations), ambushes the humans with purple hellfire. Devils are supposedly immune to magic, but the court mages and Harold discover that sustained, coordinated spells can actually injure them, though their mana reserves quickly drain. Abel's famous party, the Crimson Sword, bravely joins the fray.

The real threat arrives next: a towering figure with mismatched eye colors recognized as a Demon Prince—the immature form of a future Demon Lord. Rihya, one of the Crimson Sword members, grimly warns that only a hero has ever been recorded defeating such a creature. Abel charges forward, using skills like Perfect Shadow and Zero Turn, but the Prince is overwhelmingly fast and strong. Abel is knocked down, injured, and staring death right in the face.

Just when all hope is lost and the Demon Prince raises its sword, Ryo comes crashing down like the hero he is, breaking through the roof of the 40th floor. Ryo tells Abel he came to save them, glances at the powerful enemy, and dismisses the Demon Prince as a "baby demon lord" because its power felt incomplete. Ryo then casually annihilates the remaining lesser devils with his powerful skill "Water Jet" and the episode ends with him ready to fight the Demon Prince.