Völundio Divergent Sword Saga Manga by Helck Creator Returns December 8
Manga artist Nanaki Nanao has announced that Völundio ~Divergent Sword Saga~ will resume serialization on December 8, 2025. The manga went on hiatus in May after Nanao stepped back to protect the quality of the work and take care of their health. An earlier update in August confirmed that Nanao was feeling well and writing at a comfortable pace, but the December return date was chosen to allow time to build up a sufficient stock of manuscripts, coordinate with compiled volume releases, and keep the health situation stable.
Völundio’s first part concluded in November 2023, when Nanao announced a longer break to prepare the second part and address physical health concerns that had been building. The second part launched in December 2024 but paused again in May 2025 after just a few months.
The manga launched with a prologue on Shogakukan’s Manga ONE service in August 2020. It has eight compiled volumes in Japan, with the most recent released in March 2025. The series ranked 18th in the web manga category of the 8th “Next Manga Awards” in 2022. Comikey publishes it digitally in English.
The story follows Cleo, a mercenary whose only ambition is to earn enough money to buy a home and live quietly. His plans are complicated when he encounters a demi-human girl named Kohaku, who has foreseen his death and made it her mission to keep him alive. Nanao is also the creator of the fantasy manga Helck, which ran from 2014 to 2017 and received a two cour anime adaptation in 2023 that streamed on HIDIVE.
My take: It is genuinely nice to see an artist prioritize their health over a publication schedule, especially when the readers clearly want more. Fans of Helck already know that Nanao builds worlds with real warmth and care, so a rested and ready return for Völundio is worth the wait.
