Chapter 77
Epilogue
Overview
The epilogue reveals the true stakes of the climactic battle: Ysalte, the Goddess of Hopelessness and Insanity, has arrived and seized control of the demon Amayon. A ten-minute hybrid world quest begins, with all crawlers in the Cuba region added to the battle. The outcome determines whether everyone without keys will survive or perish.
Summary
As Sister Ines's corpse transforms into Ysalte, a level-250 goddess in the form of a young-faced dwarf with a pickaxe, Carl and his group retreat into the stairwell. Ysalte confronts Louis for killing her bard, claiming she was not finished with her. Samantha, a demon, attempts to distract Ysalte by reminiscing about past encounters and insulting Ysalte's child, but Ysalte swings her pickaxe at Samantha's face. The world freezes as Amayon, the enslaved Madre de Aguas snake, crashes through the building's roof from above. The collision causes the structure to collapse around them, exposing the sky and revealing multiple memory ghosts. The snake is pulled away by forces below, but when it hits street level as an open-air demon, Amayon transforms into his full power—a massive centaur-like quadruped with a demonic deer head and four horns, standing as tall as the building's upper floors. The world freezes again as the new quest initiates: "The Missing Piece," a hybrid world quest. The goal is to prevent Ysalte from taking Amayon to the Ascendency within ten minutes. If she succeeds, everyone without keys dies. To break her control, Amayon must cast a spell to return home, requiring sufficient strength. The stronger he becomes, the larger his spell will be, potentially granting hope to all. Both Ysalte and Amayon are equipped with card decks for a final card battle. Ysalte possesses an enhanced version of Sister Ines's deck, while Amayon has six totems to play. Ysalte is invulnerable but must be held out against until the timer expires.
Characters
- CarlThe protagonist and crawler observing the unfolding battle; instructs Louis to flee
- LouisA crawler confronted by Ysalte for killing her bard; ordered to run from the goddess
- YsalteThe Goddess of Hopelessness and Insanity who has summoned herself to seize control of Amayon and bring him to the Ascendency
- SamanthaA demon who attempts to distract Ysalte by reminding her of past encounters and insulting her child
- AmayonThe enslaved demon prince of Sheol who transforms into his full power and becomes the central figure of the card battle
- PsamatheA character imprisoned above who cries out to Ysalte demanding release
- ElleA crawler located on the first floor who sends a panicked message confirming everyone has been frozen and added to the quest
- ImaniA crawler on the first floor who reports that their location has also been frozen and added to the battle
- Sister InesA deceased bard whose corpse transforms into Ysalte; mentioned as having been killed by Louis