Chapter 87

Carl and his companions escape the ninth floor as the volcano erupts and Emberus destroys the world around them. Meanwhile, Justice Light secretly triggers a legendary trap that breaks the Nothing and releases trapped bijous and demons, awakening Scolopendra and causing catastrophic consequences across multiple planes.

Carl retrieves the severely burned Samantha from the xistera after she was thrown into a volcano by Emberus. The group gathers in the saferoom as the floor becomes dangerously hot, with only three minutes before the ninth floor is destroyed. Katia's card of Annie and a novelty bra with Carl's face are left behind on the table. Donut expresses regret about previously defiling Mordecai's mother's ashes with cat poop, and Louis laments losing the Party Planner airship, though Carl notes they have a replacement plane stolen by Florin. Samantha teases Louis about his divorce and makes advances toward him. Bautista apologizes to Carl for nearly acting on jealousy and warns him about the Kimaris figure, explaining it has a summoning duration of the entire floor. Samantha suddenly remembers Kimaris as an old friend who helped her conceive her child and grows angry about his mother. Mordecai, grieving his losses, thanks Donut before entering the stairwell. Carl and Donut escape down the stairs as red comets from the volcano streak overhead.

In a separate scene, Justice Light reveals he remained on the ninth floor and has not actually traveled to the Nothing with Juice Box, having lied about his departure. He prepares to activate an elaborate trap. Justice Light triggers a legendary trap that causes a bijou fairy trap and a demon trap to fall through the permanent portal to the Nothing. This releases thousands of trapped bijous and demons into other planes—the Halls of the Ascendency, Sheol, and Scolopendra's Lair. The Nothing begins draining into these planes as the portal breaks. Scolopendra awakens, and system messages warn guests at the Scolopendra Club to evacuate, directing them to the sixteenth floor (a mundane motel room) while noting that the seventeenth floor, the Backstage Death Maze, remains operational and must be traversed to reach safety.