The Black Wyverns, Gino, Sideswipe, Strongarm, and Grindcore head to Egypt to secure the Iacon Relic located there. But they'll have to contend with not only Steeljaw's Pack as competition, but also a cybernetically-enhanced Shin Hyuga Shang, who is equipped with a horrific new power at his disposal.
- Adaptation Expansion: The relic of this chapter, The Enigma of Combination, wasn't one of the Iacon Relics in the Prime cartoon.
- Artistic License – History: Leila says that Alexander the Great was Mesopotamian. In actuality, he was Macedonian. This was a mistake on the author's part and has since fixed it.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Sideswipe and Strongarm do this while fighting Thunderhoof and Fracture.
- Badass Bookworm: Strongarm shows to have a deep knowledge of The Enigma of Combination, to the surprise of her teammates. She explains that while she was training to be an Elite Guard she would study Cybertronian lore and history in her free time.Ayano: We really need to get you a hobby, Strongarm.
Strongarm: (confused) Reading is my hobby. - Big Damn Kiss: Akito and Leila share one after a hard-fought battle. After Akito promises Leila he will never leave her and will help her defeat the Decepticons, rebuild the world, and stay with her long after that, Leila starts crying Tears of Joy before pressing her lips against his, and Akito, though surprised at first, quickly pulls her in closer to deepen and return the kiss.
- Crush Blush: At the end of the chapter when Akito gently but firmly grabs hold of Leila's shoulders and looks her deeply in the eyes, her cheeks turn pink. Both of them are blushing pink after sharing a deep kiss together.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The fight between Shin and the Hercules doesn’t last long, as it slices his newly acquired Knightmare, the Thanatos, in two.
- Deus ex Machina: The Enigma of Combination activates to help turn the tide in the good guys' favor. Lloyd even refers to the relic as such.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Shin is enraged when Akito says he pities him.
- Foreshadowing: Beleth tells Shin that there is a great evil that sleeps, and that should it awaken, it’ll destroy everything. While it isn't specified who or what that evil is, readers will clearly recognize it as Unicron.
- From Bad to Worse: If Shin wasn't bad enough with his omnicidal tendencies (since he's not only augmented with Cybertronian technology, equipped with a new Knightmare called the Thanatos, and infused with Dark Energon), he's now granted a Dark Geass.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: The Thanatos, Shin’s new Knightmare given to him by Shockwave, is sliced in half at the waist by the Hercules.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Realizing that they stand no chance against the Hercules, Steeljaw and his pack, along with Shin, pull out from Egypt.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Steeljaw and his pack all have this reaction when the newly formed Combiner Knightmare appears.
- Meaningful Name:
- The Thanatos that Shin now pilots is named after the Greek personification of Death, reflecting how Shin is an Omnicidal Maniac.
- The combining Knightmare that the Alexanders become is named the Hercules, a demigod from Greek Mythology who was hailed as the strongest man on Earth.
- No More for Me: When the Hercules is first formed, Claus, while watching the visual feed back at the base, looks at his flask and remarks he's been drinking too much.
- Relationship Upgrade: Akito and Leila get together at the end of the chapter.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After their Knightmares combine into the Hercules, Akito and the Black Wyverns all give one to Shin before slicing his Thanatos in two:Shin: No! No! I will not lose to you children! Not again!
Akito: You want to know why you keep losing, brother? Because I think that's what you want.
Shin: What?
Ayano: You heard em. You think this world is a dark and miserable place.
Yukiya: And you're not wrong, it's got some shitty people in it, with you near the top of it all.
Ryo: But this world's also got a lot that's worth fighting for.
Leila: We have friends, family, people that we love, with many more families out there hoping for a better world for their children. And that is a future that's worth fighting for.
Akito: But all you see is pain and darkness. That's all you've ever seen, isn't it? It's all you really can see. You don't want to live in this world, so you want to die… but you want to take everyone else with you, thinking it'll save everyone from this pain. To be honest, I pity you, brother. - The Reveal: Beleth/the Skull confirms that he gave Megatron his Dark Geass.
- This Cannot Be!:
- The Black Wyverns and Autobots' reaction to Shin's survival.
- The Pack's reaction to the Black Wyverns' Knightmares turning into Combiners.
- Wham Episode: Shin gets a Dark Geass from Beleth/the Skull, who confirms that he's also responsible for Megatron's. The Black Wyverns' Knightmares (except for Gino's Tristan Divider) are turned into Combiners by the Enigma of Combination.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Yukiya's reaction to the Pack showing up in Egypt.
