“I do not know what my sister meant about there being four pieces of my mother, but I am taking two of them. I am sparing your lives because my Penelope spoke on your behalf. We are not done.”
Samantha: OKAY, CARL. I WILL SEE YOU GUYS LATER. LOOK ME UP WHEN YOU GET TO THE ASCENDENCY. DON’T MESS UP SAM TOWN. I USED SOME OF THE STUFF FROM THAT HOUSE OF THE SNAKE GUY YOU KILLED TO DECORATE.
Carl: Wait, what are you doing?
Samantha was suddenly hovering by Taranis’s head, whispering in his ear.
The giant god turned to look at her, surprised. He snatched her out of the air with his free hand, and then he cracked and disappeared, taking both Samantha and Krakaren with him.
Taranis has left the realm.
Krakaren has left the realm.
And just like that, it was over.
[ 98 ]
The gods were gone.The monsters were dead.
The horribles in the stands remained, watching. Then, as one, they all stood, still silent, still watching. Fog rose, and in moments, they, too, were gone.
The Scavenger’s Daughter has closed her eyes. The benefit fades, and she weeps.
W-W-W-Winner!
Well, sort of. Neither of the bosses are dead. That’s a little disappointing.
But you won. Congrats. This is a little iffy considering what just happened, but I’m gonna call it because I can. You are now free to exit the dungeon.
The door on the 18th floor is now open. Good luck getting there.
By the way: Don’t forget the warning. You know, that big red flashing warning from before? Just because Scolopendra is “defeated,” it doesn’t mean you’re safe from the remaining attacks. Killing her, even in this state, will institute the final attacks. Abandoning her on this or any floor now counts as killing her.
Yeah. Good luck.
Time to Level Collapse: 30 minutes.
System Message: From now on, all level collapse timers past the 11th floor are suspended until a winner is declared in the Ascendency battles. When this happens, dungeon-closure procedures will commence.
Every exit is an entrance.A terrible, ominous feeling washed over me.
Imani: Prepotente is injured! So is Jurgen!
Rosetta: Tipid, too, is terribly injured. He has lost both of his legs in the crash.
Prepotente: I will recover. Tend to Jurgen. I was electrocuted, but I am now fine. The deity stole my memorial crystal! The thief pulled it right off my neck! I have filed a formal complaint with the Epicure!
Jurgen: I am okay. Just a little fried. You’re lucky that god didn’t pull your head off.
I pulled myself up, my head spinning.
If Prepotente had lost that crystal, we had also lost our protection from Scolopendra’s attacks. Even as a level 1 nymph, the rules were clear. We couldn’t let her die. We couldn’t leave her here or have Mongo eat her. She would have to go into a pet carrier and stay there.
A line of portals appeared against one side of the arena. Stairwells.
Lucia Mar was there holding Florin, who was still unconscious. She stood right in front of the stairwell.
But then, peeking out from behind her legs, was another person. It... it was a child. A girl, maybe five years old. She was too far away to examine. She held on to the side of Lucia’s leg.