Chapter 867 - It could have been much worse
"Have it your way,” Ruby says, and she swings the hand of the body she is possessing, causing a great rift to tear open in space. From inside of it, a pair of hands pierces through, grabbing the edges of the rift and spreading it wide open so the herald of destruction can pass through.
The Ruler of Wrath looks around. A huge, muscular velnar wearing white, Greek toga-like clothes that reveal a large part of his upper chest and arms. Everyone in the place seems to freeze, and even the Elf stops for a moment.
Meanwhile, Ruby’s presence disappears, and Yvaine shakes her head, clearly strained from her master creating a portal to teleport someone as powerful as Wrath, though it seems like Ruby has to do something else now.
Seeing the man covered in the fragments, as well as feeling the incredible, unnerving power coming from him, the Ruler of Wrath growls. His body grows further in size, getting covered in black fur as he turns into his Lycan form.
Then, from the silver diadem he was wearing, a metal of that same silver color flows as if it were molten. It burns him, releasing steam and heat, and the Lycan grows further as the armor covers his body. It is a beautiful, pure silver-colored metal that is the best work of art I have seen as of yet, yet it remains completely functional.
“So they gave him materia, how crazy. Envy, call upon our friend, we need to slow down Wrath,” the elf says, raising a barrier around us.
And even under the barrage of attacks beginning to rain on him, Envy finds the time. Smiling, he takes down one of the crowns over his head and breaks it, funneling all of its mana into a portal that opens in front of him.
A demon steps out similarly to how Wrath stepped out of the rift. He has no horns, as they seem to have been sawed off, and inside of his chest, five powerful Demon hearts beat.
With a swing of his hand, a release of a huge amount of kinetic energy blasts the Ruler of Envy away, and then the Hornless Demon, without hesitation, charges the Lycan. Their first clash almost breaks the barrier the Last Elf made as they move like unpredictable lightning trailing across the sky, and their attacks push away the clouds and light up the dawn.
An attack that entirely destroys the area around us thunders, only to be blocked by the barrier the Last Elf raised and further strengthened. It is perfectly spherical and covered in what seems like incredibly dense rivers of random lines that pass through each other, twisting and covering the entire surface.
Another attack clashes against it, but then Yvaine moves back as Envy attacks her. Immediately, Bant and Oant move to help her, with the three of them facing the Ruler of Envy in a clash so fast that it takes them dozens of miles away in a mere moment, covering the horizon in attacks reaching high toward the sky.
Ignis frowns, and behind his back, four wings of fire manifest. From his forearm, he pulls out a sword made of rusted red metal. The heat around that sword is much higher than the heat around the wings, and droplets of molten metal begin to drip off it as he prepares to attack the barrier. But at the last moment, he turns around and blocks as a beam made of pure mana crashes against him and sends him crashing down to the broken ground.
Adrian floats there in the air, his red figure covering the sky behind him as it holds a staff and a sword.
Flames blast from Ignis like a river crashing towards the sky, and Adrian faces it all directly.
Out of nowhere, Yvaine appears in front of the barrier and slams her palm against it at the exact same moment that the elf notices her and slams his palm against the same spot, but from the inside.
Reality itself around the barrier seems to crack, with rifts appearing all over the place as Yvaine attacks the barrier again and again, but she fails to break it. Before she can do more, Envy reaches where she stands and, with much higher speed, kicks her away, sending her flying in a loud sonic boom. He launches himself to follow her, and behind him, Bant follows, with Oant nowhere to be seen.
A huge explosion brings my attention to the other side, and I watch a chunk of the planet we are on explode, sending hundreds of pieces of debris and rocks rising so high that they fly straight into outer space. Another clash over there turns half of that debris to dust just from the shockwave that washes over the barrier, blowing all the sand away under a force like a hurricane that blocks the entire view and erases whatever is standing nearby.
Four kinetic hearts beat in unison as the Hornless Demon faces the Lycan, but he is clearly getting pushed back and is unable to do anything against the materia armor the Lycan is wearing. Meanwhile, the Ruler of Wrath grows stronger, with each of his attacks actively destroying the planet we are standing on.
Yvaine’s voice spreads through the area, calling upon the Ruler of Wrath, and he glances our way. In reaction to that, the Last Elf presses both of his hands against the barrier just as the Lycan, in his werewolf-like, pitch-black fur form, reaches us. His golden eyes glow as he slams against the barrier, and everything beyond the barrier is instantly gone. A shockwave with the force of a hurricane blows everything away, and a clear ring vibrates through the air as the shockwave also blows away all the clouds.
And then the Lycan punches again, and cracks finally appear on the barrier. The sheer force of the attack melts the area under the friction caused by his absolute strength, and the tectonic plates under us begin to move.
Another strike gets a lot of its force redirected upward, displacing enough atmospheric pressure to instantly create a localized supercell storm. Heavy rain and lightning begin to fall under a violent downpour as the Lycan reaches out to punch again, but the Hornless Demon reaches the place just in time and slams against him, pushing the Lycan's face straight into the ground.
The demon is already heavily wounded, missing chunks of his chest, neck, and arm, yet he is still smiling. For a while, he continues to use all his strength to press the Ruler of Wrath into the ground until the Lycan roars, his form growing even further, and the materia armor shifting to contain that massive form, once again burning him, and steaming as it does so.
With a smile, the Hornless Demon disappears, and the Lycan follows right behind him, completely ignoring the barrier behind them.
The rain wets the craters around us as the elf slides to the ground, seemingly barely having any strength left after defending against just a few attacks from the Ruler.
I step toward Victoria, both of us reduced to mere spectators. There is not the slightest thing we can do to change the outcome, only watch and take it in. Feeling something being pressed into my hand, I look down, only to see the glowing red dagger.
“I have no need for it,” she says.
“Thanks,” I reply.
And then, from the stormy sky, straight from under the dark supercell storm, a figure begins to float down. A high-pitched noise fills the air as a halo woven from the purest form of light floats over his head, expanding in size until it is a mile wide. Underneath that light, Felix Maro floats.
No, it is not him this time, but his master finally. The Ruler of Temperance, Feroy. He lifts his hand, and a bright light that does not burn the eyes fills the area, pushing away the darkness and turning the scene into broad daylight as he lands in front of the barrier.
First, he looks at me and Victoria, then at the elf, and lastly at the older man with pure Empyrean Ichor and fragments of the Starless Sky imbued all over his body.
“What a mess you made,” he tells the Elf, and then, with a single tap on the barrier, he entirely shatters it into a myriad of particles reminiscent of glowing stars.
Before he can take a step, something falls onto the ground in front of him, and I track his eyes only to recognize Yvaine’s head.
“I got rid of the pests so they can't interrupt us anymore,” Envy says, landing nearby with a smile. Dusting off his damaged clothes and ignoring his wounds, he glances into the distance where Adrian is still holding off Ignis.
Temperance simply lifts his arms, and a brilliant light explodes from them. It moves too quickly even for someone like the Ruler of Envy to avoid, erasing everything in the direction where it explodes. The next moment, Envy reappears further away. Having barely escaped with almost the entire left half of his body missing, he collapses to the ground, chuckling.
“It is too late. It has been for a while,” the replica of the Last Elf says.
“I know,” Temperance nods, his eyes fixed on the man holding all the fragments. “We underestimated your ability to keep Patience and me from helping earlier.”
Without saying anything else, he swings his arm and, in a flash, entirely erases the body of the replica of the Last Elf in a pillar of light.
Turning to me and Vic, he says, “The two of you should be gone already.” Under his gaze, I feel as if someone has strongly pulled on a rope tied to my waist, and I feel myself falling until I land on the ground somewhere entirely else.
The last thing I see is all the fragments of the Starless Sky melting and covering the man in what seems like liquid darkness, possessing a velvety texture with a hint of indigo color. His shape changes entirely, becoming longer, bigger, and less reminiscent of a human.
In a blink, all the light disappears from the sky as far as I can see, even suffocating the light that Feroy brought. Instead, it is replaced by a velvety indigo veil void of stars, and the planet begins to freeze.
What I see next is Ruby in front of Victoria. The Ruler stands in such a way that I immediately push myself back to my feet and walk closer, causing Ruby to shift her eyes and look at me.
"Why?" she pushes through her teeth as she asks my sister.
“Starless Sky will protect Earth for a hundred years from any outside forces, be it invaders, Rulers, Gods, or Corporations, leaving us to deal only with internal strife. That will give Nathaniel and me a safe base to grow stronger until we're ready to handle those threats ourselves or create a permanent solution,” Victoria says simply.
"You did it for that? If you only knew who you just helped to bring back, you would realize you are lucky I won't destroy you where you stand," Ruby says. She then does not even wait for Vic to answer and waves her hand, sending my sister away.
Standing there, she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes in a way that makes it clear she is already dealing with something else. It is likely the distraction that did not allow her and Diligence to come here in the first place. When she looks at me, I return her gaze without looking away.
"Do you not trust me, Nathaniel?" she asks me.
"Ruby, you allowed Adrian to return to Earth," I remind her.
That causes her to stay quiet, so I smile weakly. "Tell me, would you protect Earth the same way Victoria just made a deal to have it protected? Or would you possibly allow things to become worse just to force me to grow stronger, to become a better weapon?"
Even then, she stays quiet, and I nod slightly. "I don't blame you, truly I don't. Such is your greed. But don't expect me, or us, to adapt to your needs and goals. I care very little for them."
"And what will you do if your sister makes a mistake? What if it only makes things worse?" she asks.
"I will support her even then."
"There is something deeply twisted about your attachment to her. That sick, blind devotion where you would surrender your entire free will just for her."
"Victoria sacrificed herself for me. She became who she is now just so I could grow up as myself. This is a debt I will never be able to repay, and it's the exact reason I will never again be as weak and helpless as I was back then."
"...Do whatever you want."
"I will. And Ruby, don't you ever threaten my sister again."
POV The Warden of Parallax Eyes, Kyralon
The warden sits on his tower, taking notes for his records with his eyes hazed over as he watches through the galaxies. Next to him, an unmoving projection of the Ruler of Greed sits, shut off because she does not even have the mental capacity to talk due to what she is dealing with. Kyralon knows this, so he patiently waits and observes.
He watches as Lissandra Hawthorne steps onto the surface of the planet, holding the Labyrinth of Xyphos, and with a single step that shrinks space in front of her, she reaches one of the many entrances to it.
Before entering, however, she looks up.
Her eyes perfectly line with the gaze of the Warden of Parallax Eyes, and she gives a smile. "Honestly, I find your gaze annoying, curious one, but I do feel a sense of familiarity from you. Your technique and the way you use your mana. I'm curious if you aren't perhaps a disciple of my original self."
She takes another step, and right before entering the Labyrinth, she says, "Though I have to say that I find your use of my techniques very lacking."
And then she is gone, at the exact same time that the planet begins to be enveloped by the white domain of a one-winged wyvern, and thousands of tutorial attendees begin to appear all over the surface.
The velnar stops his scribing for a moment and examines his own technique, even giving a little chuckle before continuing to write.
Finally, the Ruler of Greed’s projection begins to move, and she lets out something between a long groan and a sigh. "This almost killed me and Diligence, Kyralon. I tire of all this crap."
"I can imagine," he says, before asking with genuine curiosity, "I have caught up with most of it, but can you tell me the details I was unable to comprehend fully?"
She looks at him with a gaze that threatens to turn into anger, but in the end, she just shakes her head. "One of the Godkings, Starless Sky, is back. I knew the elf always wanted to awaken one of the gods the elves worshipped, and even I wanted to try something similar to throw one of the stronger ones against Pride, but the elf got to it before me. Now the system has adapted to it, so that is that."
"Yvaine... I'm sorry for what happened to her," Kyralon says.
Ruby nods solemnly. “She knew the risks, and I told her to leave, but she was always stubborn. But… yes. I will mourn her later, just as Diligence will mourn his vessel.” I also already found the hole where Envy went to hide, and you can be sure I will avenge my disciple. But the exact moment Victoria Gwyn handed the fragment to the elf, it was already too late to stop the awakening. They all should have escaped and let Wrath cover their exit." She rubs her eyes and sits there quietly.
The velnar nods and does not ask any more for a moment, giving her time to mourn.
He had already witnessed Starless Sky's awakening, the reincarnator's battle to hold off Ignis, and Envy’s bloody retreat. He saw the Hornless Demon vanish from sight and watched the Rulers of Temperance, Patience, and Wrath clash with the godking, only for the deity to break away entirely unscathed.
"Victoria Gwyn bears the stigma of Starless Sky now," Kyralon says.
"She does."
"Nathaniel Gwyn used the opportunity to gather blood samples of that extremely pure Empyrean Ichor from the descendant the Last Elf found."
"He did. As angry as I am with him, I almost admire that greed. Little fucker."
"And her imitation?"
"Simply put, she and the wyvern used the dagger to link into the real Labyrinth of Xyphos. They hooked it up to the tutorial, starting with Group 4's instance, before it bled out into the rest of the tutorial. The 11th floor is now replaced by the real planet with the Labyrinth of Xyphos, which is still in the same place as previously but is now spatially cut off from the real world, sitting right on the brink between the tutorial and reality. The imitation took inspiration from Beyond, and the wyvern created its own version of the Main Defensive Array of Beyond and already spread the domain throughout the planet. Of course, it has already begun to call for more wyverns."
"Oh."
"Yes, oh. All the people and all the Corporations that were on the planet at the time getting talnium to sell to Domus and other worlds or Corporations are now trapped in the tutorial as well."
"OH."
"And all the goddamn tutorial attendees currently on the 11th floor got moved to the real Labyrinth of Xyphos."
"And her replica?"
"Well, she went into the Labyrinth of Xyphos, obviously. She wants to meet the avatar that our master left there before the fall of Eladore and take her heart. You know that, but Xyphos only ever creates one avatar, a single replication of something. But this time it doesn't acknowledge the imitation as the same being as our master. So you know what? It created an avatar of her as well, the moment she entered. Now there are three of them in there."
"And this is what you and Diligence were able to salvage it to?"
"Trust me, Kyralon. It could have been much worse."
Comments (136)
"Trust me, Kyralon. It could have been much worse." This one cracked me up
typo, remove 1st comma He watches as Lissandra Hawthorne steps onto the surface of the planet, holding the Labyrinth of Xyphos, and with a single step that shrinks space in front of her, to He watches as Lissandra Hawthorne steps onto the surface of the planet holding the Labyrinth of Xyphos, and with a single step that shrinks space in front of her,
SO EPIC SO AWESOME
I wonder if Adrian won't get classified as an alien for starless sky?
When she says all tutorials are connected to the real Xyphos, does she mean all of Earth's tutorials, or all of the thousands of instances running? If it is the second one, won't that make it a bit crowded there potentially?
Cray chapter!
Just had a thought, if simply entering the labyrinth of xyphos is enough to create a avatar. Then does the twin now have an avatar he can exploit into becoming his brother?
Very cool chapter! Fights, lore, bunch of stuff going on. Please don't tell me Nathaniel didn't level up with all the crazy fighting he witnessed!
Ooh, things are getting more interesting.
I wonder if "Kevin" will finagle his way into joining them when they move onto floor 12
When did Vic decide to make a deal with the Elf? Did he tell her about Adrian and the shitstorm ahead?
Damn, I need a flow chart to keep up with this chapter!
"And all the goddamn tutorial attendees currently on the 11th floor got moved to the real Labyrinth of Xyphos." ->but that didnt happen to Nate when he was doing the tournament. He wasnt "in" the 11th floor, he was two steps removed, first Beyond and then his quest to the real world. So what happens, does he get sucked back to the 11th floor on the real planet despite the spatial lock? What happened to everyone already in Beyond from the 11th floor? Is all of Beyond spatially locked, too? If someone passes the 10th floor, do they go to the "real" planet? I forget what the quest for the 11th floor is, but if someone completes it, would they go to the 12th floor? There are different iterations of each floor, are hard difficulty and hell difficulty tutorial-ees in the same instance?
Kyralon getting mogged made me giggle
Traditionally speaking, the concept of a powerful entity continues to shift on scale, moving from one beast to the next. However, after 10 books, LissLiss continues to be a monstrosity that the story has been unable to scale to. And THAT is impressive, in my opinion. Not just that she is a monster, but that as soon as we feel like we might grasp it, the context of HER abilities is what moves the scale again!
Ugh. I just checked and it still isn't tomorrow. Can I pay even more for quicker access?
Definitely feel like Vic fucked up a bit, since while the whole 'external protection' thing is good, the biggest problem for Nat and Vic is Adrian (who showed up to fight basically on the same side), which means that he's probably not covered by the agreement - and currently demonstrating strong Absolute power levels. Plus 'stigma' indicates some sort of system black mark which... could be bad. That said... if / when Nat takes the Absolute spot, this would allow him to leave Earth while holding the title of Absolute much more 'cleanly' rather than having to stay home to protect it. Which is huge for his development, since once of the relative advantages of a Champion is the ability to wander around more freely. Xyphos 2.0 (All tutorials + true Labyrinth + Wyvern infestation edition) admittedly sounds like the kind of deathtrap / trial grounds to push Nat farther right after this really nice relaxing vacation of a 1000-year Beyond Quest. Truly a scenic resort destination Lots of fun speculation material: What is Envy's Envy? His motivations are really unclear. (In the sense that Ruby's Greed is to kill Pride, etc). Gotta be something more than being a cartoon villain there. Why did Adrian show up, and what did he get out of it? What is the Elf plotting / what is his motivation here (beyond his general meglomania). So many highlights in this fun chapter Wrath in Materia Armor being so terrifying he just deletes the planets he's fighting on Return of the Hornless Heartmaxxer (ok, he's mostly getting bodied by Wrath), is great to see, but it does feels like Ruby upsold 'almost became Ruler of Wrath' when he seems to primarily function as a punching bag. Then again the Materia armor might be that big of a game changer. Off-screen Ruler of Patience! Ruler of Temperance nearly one-shotting Prime Envy via a Vessel is very funny Starless Sky not even getting scratched by a combo of *three* Rulers including Prime Wrath is some System War shit fr fr Lissandra once again making us feel how most current Absolutes are barely at the level of a noble ladys pet
Pride definitely had a hand in all this and I'm guessing his motivation is either boredom or an opportunity to take out the system because he is a descendant or disciple of who opened up that pandora box or something. Adrian I am guessing is involved because of Vic pitching the protection of earth thing and the demon is there because what else do demons want to do but fight people that can kill them. Elf is also easy to understand as usual. What I don't get is why Envy is involved. Did Pride force him into it or is there something other than him being envious of other rulers or the system in play?
What are the odds Pride is the original clone or Avatar of Liss and why she was so dead set on killing em' originally. Demon liss.
0. Liss was born after the system war; Pride seemed to be alive during it.
Tyftc
I hope this also ends up being to solve the Aaron/Dennis problem and getting him another body
It wasnt petty revenge. I was off the mark...or was I? It still seems to fit. To fuck them all up for what they made poor Nattie go through
Best chapter so far!
It feels like Vic is playing for the wrong team rn
It could have been worse, there could be a certain Corgy on that planet as well.
How can the ruler of diligence keep getting away with these things?
Now, will Kerim "revive" the characters? Expand the group to four? Will Liss escape the labyrinth with Kevin and the others?
I love how liss is literally Darwins law incarnate.
Mexican!!!! STANDOFFFFF!!!! HITMAN SHIT !!!💀🤣
I bet Nat's preeminence eyes got a feast of cool stuff for him to analyse and incorporate into his own techniques
GAS GAS GAS IM GOING TO STEP ON THE GAS TONIGHT! TFTC
What poor bastard beside nat would run into three lassandra's at once and also Victoria just protected earth from all of nats enemies lmao
Since the 11th floor is now linked to Beyond, are all tutorial participants now in Beyond?
Poor Ruby, that mess sounds like a typical Monday morning.
TFTC. Just wow!!
Every planet has a world dungeon that makes you absolute. Beyond is the first dungeon, so beating it probably gives you some authority over the system. The system probably put a bounty on Pride because he is getting too close to doing that.
Thank you!
I would have loved to seen much worse! TFTC!
So did everyone, even normal level and such, who were on floor 11 basically get thrown into a Beyond level shit storm?
Whats the red dagger Vic gives Nat ? I might be dumb, but I couldn't find any mentions of it in the previous chappy.
The shadow contestant had it in the first game. It just seems to be powerful, as it was a signature weapon of an absolute candidate
My guess for what she was getting was pretty close. It was that the last elf would kill the champions on the paired planet. Getting a godking to defend earth for 100 years is much better but with potentially worse conssquenses.
I feel like Victoria character is being wasted she needs to become a villain or die to motivate nat.
MUWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Tri-fusion of handnatsandra avatar oh handnatsandra and Lissandra of Eladore
Power Puff Cockroach Sandras - GO!!!
Thanks for the chapter. I didn't even come close to predicting Victoria's chosen allies, because i honestly wouldn't have expected Victoria to be willing to stay part of any deal involving envy after he started trying hurting Nathaniel and legitimately caused him emotional distress.
Long-game stuff here. This deal prevents interference from all outsiders, including Envy. By the time that protection drops Nat will be strong enough to get his revenge. And considering Nat’s view of pride, I’m sure he’d be fine with it.
Gg to all the spectators😂😂😂, Love that the lore of the series deepens, tftc!!!
Feroy? Why do I know that name?
Champion Feroy from the mimic floor, the guy using mecha armors
So if the Planet the games was at ends up being destroyed by Wrath then that Absolute who ran away will lose his Absolute status right? With the world spark being destroyed.
Will the Godking protect Earth from Adrian?
I think when Vic said it gave them time to handle internal matters, she meant Adrian in particular
I don't know what the hell is going on lol.. I feel like I missed a chapter
I lost
Bruh… what is happening?! I love it!
Im having a hard timevremembering who Feroy is again. Can someone jog my memory please?
He is the Gundam champion from the floor with the mimics invasion. 7/8 ? He and his disciples were giant armor specialist, and Sophie and nat worked for them as technicians.
TFTC!!!
I'm inclined to believe the rulers are not the most powerful as there are some that are like lissandra, the hornless demon who went kind of toe to toe with wrath, so he would definitely destroy envy So, what makes someone a ruler? I know you have to kill the current one to become a ruler, but there are rulers who are still weak as hell as compared to what a ruler should be like envy. I know he is strong but he really seems weak till now for what should be a rulers strength. And don't get me started on godkings. Three rulers attacked it and he just shrugged it off?? Damn, they really seem to be downplaying rulers... All I see them doing is being able to manipulate the system somewhat lol
You don't have to kill the current one. Someone else can kill them, then you just have to win against all the other Masters/Candidates.
How did Nathaniel follow everything that happened? Even if he entered the deepest level of Thought Acceleration, I feel it should be impossible. Interesting
Nat's going to kill the new avatar isn't he
There is no way. Avatars are as powerful as their originals. Liss killed old Envy in a few seconds.
I love it whenever we get a warden POV. It only happens when shit goes to hell in a hand basket
I’m interested why there is no system quest against the Starless Sky…
There will be in the future, for sure.
So, there will be the Nameless Tree under the Starless Sky on the Earth. 😉 I wonder who the ultimate Absolute of the Earth will be in the future: Adrian, Victoria or Nathaniel? Maybe they will create something like Triumvirate against their enemies under the Starless Sky protection. 🤔
Now there's THREE OF THEM!
Are only hell difficulty participants on the real Xyphos now or also all the other difficulties? How crowded is this world now if all participants of all tutorials are on it? Or did everyone skip directly into the infinitly scaling labyrinth and nobody is on the planet itself anymore? And could the people from real Xyphos be maybe really happy to get all the 'opportunities' of the tutorial?
If every tutorial instance leads to the real Xyphos, then all lower difficulties lead to the same place. So Easy mode attendees are in for a rude awakening. This seems like the largest concern at least from a loss of life standpoint. Curious if the clear conditions remain the same by difficulty since they are still integrated w/ the tutorial in a way. Maybe that will help the Easy mode guys. Though the clear conditions likely need to change because they usually revolved around scripted events for higher difficulties, like surviving the destruction of the floor, etc. Do we know what it was for Hell mode here?
so f******* good
I guess that, untill the 11th floor situation is fixed, the tutorial will deliver less but stronger attendies from now on
Way less people, Normal and Hard difficulty attendee will just straight up die when they get to that floor
Wait so Adrian is already back to being a strong absolute?? This is gonna be a bigger hill to climb then i thought for nath. Though a question, why does adrian at all care for Earth any way. He could just use any planet to become a absolute, even his old one. Like does he really need to stay at Earth at all? I dont see the point, he just wsnts to beat pride right and get stronger, what does being the absolute of Earth help with that better than any other place.
He's spent 70+ years on this planet so he knows Earth's history, has connections there, etc. The fact that he had returned before other hell diff attendees means he comfortably set himself up (those towers for example) while he was still weaker. Other planets already have their own absolutes, champions, so he wouldn't have as much of a free reign. Now that he is strong why would he leave what he has already established. Even the fact that Earth has a lot of abnormally strong people is beneficial for him with his Possession skill. In his head he is growing Nat, Vic and the rest like pokemons. Here he has a free absolute title whereas otherwise he would have to fight for it or make some deals. Finally bro is pathetic. On Earth he can play a king and keep smurfing to boost up his ego.
Soooo does that mean earth wont have to deal with a pairing anymore? She says starless sky will protect them from “invaders,” does a pairing count? I’m leaning more towards them having to fight the other planet still, as pairings are a function of the system? But then again we know absolutes+ level people can fuck with the system somewhat and from ruby’s reaction starless sky is one of the more powerful godkings so I don’t doubt he has the ability. Also would make sense plot wise to get an arc of it since it’s been built up since near the beginning with the sparse pov we have of the other planets absolute. Even then I cant really imagine Nat and co will struggle that much since he’s like 99% of the way to being a champion already with more than a year and a half left in the tutorial. And even if we all hate him, there’s still Adrian. Honestly I’m just imagining the pairing is just going to be the casual backdrop while Nat is just duking it out with Adrian. If anything, the pairing would be the perfect way for Nat to avoid destroying/damaging earth while trying to kill Adrian 🤣
Does Adrian count as an "invader" too?
Team Sandra in the Labyrinth will go crazy, why even go to the 12th and 13th floor now when you can learn from Lizzy in the real Labyrinth. TFTC!
The best chapter of 2026 for me, Epic as always, Cerim always works wonders, I wasn't even expecting this.
Oh boy 3 cockroach Queens 🤣
This is the shit lissandra can do without a mana heart and as a replica, meaning not her full power. Meaning she was freaking monster when she was alive and pride killed this freaking monster. I can't wait for pride to appear
I mean, we all knew Lissandra was the second strongest person in the Universe, just after Pride, to the point that people actually thought they were equals (till she lost). Nowadays, the gulf between Pride and Number two is bigger than the Marianna Trench lol
All the big players basically treating Envy like a lil bitch…. The horned dragon, Liss, Temperance….
I love this dialogue: "And what will you do if your sister makes a mistake? What if it only makes things worse?" she asks. "I will support her even then." "There is something deeply twisted about your attachment to her. That sick, blind devotion where you would surrender your entire free will just for her." "Victoria sacrificed herself for me. She became who she is now just so I could grow up as myself. This is a debt I will never be able to repay, and it's the exact reason I will never again be as weak and helpless as I was back then." Nat puts all his money on Victoria and sort of abandons his bid with Ruby. I can't imagine how they will work together after that. I agree with Greed here. There is something deeply twisted about Nat's attachment to her sister and being in debt does not explain it entirely nor is it a reasonable justification for such complete abandonment of self-realization. I hope that part of Nathaniel's growth as a character is letting go of his attachment to Victoria. The way he puts himself in a subservient position to her makes me uncomfortable. I think his understanding of what such debt entails is twisted and it can't end well. Psychologically, research-wise, forfeiting agency does not end well for anyone in any relationship (romantic or otherwise). I hope Nat grows enough to realize that and listens to Ruby telling him that, but I have little hope - his arrogance rarely lets him accept what others suggest. For what it's worth, I hope the story does not go into the direction of this idealistic sibling love that surpasses the usual means of communication, needs for clarity, needs for agency, needs for privacy, is effortless, without conflict, without disappointment, etc. It's a fantasy as toxic as the idea of romantic love being this feeling that never goes away, is based on finding the one and once the one is found, there is no need for any effort, the conflicts are non-existent, etc. I am saying this because the story has had VERY believable characters and behaviours and their trajectories have been quite convincing. And I believe that the fairy tale of Gwyn siblings goes unfortunately against this. I would question Victoria's motives altogether - her willingness to sacrifice without complaints, the way she's pushy with anyone but Nat directly, she is not forgiving but with Nat. Their bond also does not have good basis - the girl went to prison for him when they were very young and since then they had barely been in contact. It does not feel as a real relationship when there's barely any history, it does not feel as real people in this context. And transforming that into this fairy tale sibling love feels forced and without merit in the writing. Relationships, if they are to be as strong as Cerim wants us believe Nat x Vic is, require hard work, good communication, good conflict resolution, disappointment, compromise. It's not voiced anywhere in the story so far. And being in debt is not good enough. Where's Victoria's regret of taking the fall, where are her doubts if she really did the right thing, where is her feeling of being abandoned, where is her loneliness? It should all be there and unless really well handled it should encourage a feeling of resentment towards Nathaniel. But apparently, no such things are there, which is not realistic when talking about actual human beings. Writing-wise the dialogues in this chapter are absolute cinema. The characters have clear, distinct personalities, which bleed into their voices. If anything, I'd say there was a little bit too much exposition in terms of Ruby x Kylarion dialogue - I felt it was a bit too much tell, not enough show. I don't think we needed this, but we'll see what Cerim is cooking for next chapters. Maybe we need that context for something.
He did not abandon his bid with Ruby. Ruby fucked him over with letting Adrian back to Earth. So why should he be her slave and follow all of her bidding. He is just selective.
so Adrian cannot get back to Earth now for 100yrs or can he?
ig he counts as "internal affairs"
What does Vic holding the stigma for starless sky rebirth even mean? Also, I think Victoria made the right call here.
Probably a system thing that labels her an enemy. So quests to kill her will probably be coming.
Do we think pride is an ally to the system or an enemy? He has contributed to all this and it has been mentioned before that many people have challenged him. Is that because the system has put a bounty on him like the last elf?
I would imagine Pride did this for the love of the game of finally MAYBE getting someone who he can go all out against... It might even confirm that he has turned against the system with the Last Elf.... For this explicit purpose!
Three Lissandras???? Oh god
Woah, I'm seeing double! Six Lissandras?
Hard to believe everything that happened. Liss cooked, fucked up the tutorial properly (probably the death of many attendees in xyphos then ?) Vic did some shit, but it wasnt a real betrayal at the end Nat didnt show off much BUT got purer blood hahah this fucker Well thanks for the chappie!!
And future lower level attendees that don't get sent to an easier version of Xyphos lol
Kind of disturbing that Nat was basically on the same side as Envy and Adrian.
Its more that Viktoria was and Nat is on her side always.... I never got how Greed can't understand that dynamic... She HAD something similar to the original Lissandra Hawthrone.... Because she has devoted her whole existence to killing the person who SLAYED her....
Tftc who was protecting Nat and Vic?
They were in the elf's bubble.
Have we ever received a good explanation of what the labyrinth of Xiphos is? If so i forgot.
Its a massive spatially compressed labyrinth inside of the planet the 11th floor is simulating. Larger than a galaxy according to recent chapters, and its an impressive enough natural landform of the universe that the system can't properly copy it. The big feature of it is that whenever someone enters the labyrinth, a copy of them made by the labyrinth is spawned in as well. The spatial compression is why Talnium even exists, though we don't know why Talnium is so important yet I think? That's most of what I recall off the top of my head, if someone else has more to add feel free.
"Oh."
"OH."
Great timing Liss! Somehow, the resurrected Godking that ignored 3 Rulers wasn't the most terrifying entity in the chapter
Owww MY GODDDD CERIM .... Jesus fucking christ.... This is so awesome it beggars belief ❗
Vic made a good deal for earth, but there will definitely be consequences. Also wth! How is Adrian going toe to toe with a Ruler’s vessel that might be an absolute! Did I miss something? When did he become that powerful?
I don't think the vessels are absolutes.
3 lines correction : "And her her imitation?" and " ...just as Diligence will mourn his vessel.” I also already found the ..." > 1 " too many. And “I know,” Temperance nods, her eyes fixed > his eyes Amazing chapter. Love the POV, and I love the traitors alliance members. Envy, The Last Elf, Adrian, and the Hornless Demon.... Enemy team is stacked ! The fact that Ruby lost her disciple is saddening, imagine how Nat would feel if he lost Minion. She managed to save the Tutorial for now though, so not all is lost I guess. Anyway what a clusterfuck ! 3 Liss .... 11th floor of the tutorial will be fun xD
"It created an avatar of her as well, the moment she entered. Now there are three of them in there." 11th tutorial floor is Mommysandra's³ floor now. Everyone else is just (trying to) survive in it.
I had the NOW THERE TWO OF THEM going on in my mind for several minutes now xD
Brrrrrrr fuck yeah
Soo cool! I'm amazed Vic didn't receive more of a backlash though. Tftc!
One of the best chapters of HDT
Shit is about to get real. Lis is always casually aura farming. I look forward to her getting her mana heart back, and Envy shitting himself because of that.
Envy won't survive that long. Ruby will take care of that.
One of your stronger chapters. Thank you. Some line edits: "And her her imitation?" -> "And her imitation?" “I know,” Temperance nods, her eyes fixed on the man holding all the fragments. -> Temperance uses male pronouns everywhere else
Let's fuckin goooooooo
TFTC! Vic and Nat against the world, as it should be.
Diligence must be so, so happy with the situation
And Nat is right in the center of it, again. 🤣
Fuuuck I love HDT, that all that I can say right now
Imagine being the poor fucker to run into three instances of Lissandra at the same time.
Min jae POV incoming
Wow. So, where is Pride exactly ? Having a blast on the fifteenth floor of beyond ?
Didn’t he clear all the beyond floors that one time?
oh so will we see liss in nats stage 11? the goat back so soon
If i understand correctly, there's only one 11th floor for everyone now
TFTC
Thank you for the chappie!
Tftc
Thanks for the chapter
Refreshed the evil mirec Patreon page 200 time for this chappy. But tftc !! <3
TFTC!!!