Inca is faced with the decision of whether to go with Shinra and the Fire Force, or to go with Charon and side with the Evangelist. Fed up with always being a step behind the Evangelist’s men, the 8th launches a research expedition to find answers.

The task force arrives on the Chinese Peninsula, and sets off through inhospitable territory toward a spatial rift that they hope will provide the answers they seek. They pick up an unexpected companion along the way who agrees to be their guide.

Maki returns home for a family dinner, where her brother, Takigi, a criminal investigator with the Armed Forces, asks her about her time in the Nether. When Takigi is injured in a White-Clad attack, Maki’s father recalls her to the military.

Arthur leads the party into unexpected territory in the search for metal to reforge Excalibur.

The members of Company 5 and 8 get together for a cookout, ostensibly to celebrate a successful nighttime training exercise. Using the bylaws of the Special Fire Force, Obi gets Shinra and Arthur temporarily assigned to the 1st to investigate it.

Viktor Licht is assigned to Company 8 as its forensic scientist, but he is viewed with suspicion, since the assignment came from Haijima. Obi sends Shinra, Arthur and Iris to speak to a man named Vulcan about joining the 8th as its engineer.

A routine trip to the Baptism Church to bless the 8th’s equipment reveals the crisis of faith that Iris and other Holy Sol Temple clergy are facing. Assault is back and ready to take on Tamaki, who stands in his way of exterminating the 8th.

After a glimpse via an Adolla Link, Sho decides to see his brother one more time before the Great Cataclysm.

Arthur Boyle, the self-professed “Knight King,” arrives at Company 8, and immediately, there are tensions between him and Shinra. With the Rookie Games coming up, Hinawa wants to see what the two new recruits are really capable of.

A call mistakenly comes in to Company 8 to rescue a dog out of a tree, to which Shinra and Arthur respond. However, when an Infernal suddenly appears at the district courthouse, the two must play catch-up to join the rest of the company.

A captains’ conference is convened to allow the Special Fire Force to discuss the situation with the Evangelist and the White-Clad. Shinra once again has an encounter with Joker, in which startling information about Shinra’s brother is revealed.

Vulcan gets settled in at the 8th, while Captain Obi meets with Hibana, Konro, and Karim to exchange data on the White-Clad matter. Konro proposes that Shinra and Arthur be given combat training in Asakusa to improve their fighting skills.

Shinra hears a voice via an Adolla Link. Scop tells the team about a mysterious woman in black robes that taught him how to speak, and who repaired the Tabernacle. The team’s mission takes a turn when intelligent Infernals show up at the Oasis.

At Licht’s signal, the rest of the 8th breaks into the Haijima compound, where Vulcan and Maki confront an overpowered puppeteer. The rest of the company meets up with Shinra and Licht, who are facing Kurono, when a third party shows up!

The three-way battle between Haijima, the White-Clad, and the 8th continues, but when Ritsu and Haumea both use their unique abilities, everyone involved is placed in imminent danger. It’s up to Vulcan and Arthur to turn things around.

As Shinra and the others take a break, an alarm sounds. Soldiers interrupt Obi's report to the Fire Chief.

The 8th takes action to rescue Obi. Labeled as traitors, they go on the run, then Joker appears before them.

Obi is trapped in Fuchu Penitentiary. Shinra and Joker arrive before Hinawa and the others. The battle begins!

Company 8’s junior crewmen take in a day of shopping for some new clothes for Lieutenant Hinawa, but their excursion is interrupted by the appearance of a giant Infernal. The 8th prepares for the annual Special Fire Force beefcake calendar shoot.

The 8th struggles to find a way to counter Gold's powers. And then, someone unexpected steps up to fight.

While jogging, Shinra inadvertently disturbs Iris’s purification rite, and sees that she is troubled. When Iris later turns up missing, the other members of Company 8 rally to Company 5’s compound, to which Iris had secretly slipped away.

While Company 8 searches for clues about the Evangelist, Hinawa recounts the tale of how the company originally came into existence. A lead prompts the crew to pay a visit to Company 7’s jurisdiction in Asakusa, and its captain, Benimaru.

Shinra and Arthur compete in the Rookie Fire Soldier Games, a contest to test the abilities of each year’s newest recruits. However, they are interrupted at the goal by the mysterious man who created explosions at their last fire scene.

Shinra confronts Hibana in an attempt to rescue Iris, and must once again deal with her ability to make his body shut down. The story of Hibana and Iris’ youth as orphans, as well as Hibana’s rise to prominence, is revealed.

Vulcan teaches Yu a lesson in the importance of forging things that cannot be broken, and his hope to create similarly unbreakable family ties. Sensing a threat to Vulcan, the members of Company 8 take up positions to keep him safe.