AFTERWORD

Chapter 81

Chapter 68

Overview

Carl's team defeats Architect Houston in a climactic battle within the surgical theater, but the victory comes at a devastating cost. With Houston's death, the Madness faction falls and the Peeling Phase begins, triggering a sudden shift in the rules that allows the War Mage Rebellion to claim thrones and conscript players. The conflict escalates from a multi-faction competition into a winner-take-all scenario where entire teams die upon defeat.

Summary

After defeating the mercenaries outside, Carl finds Selvi and Tuba—two conscripted crawlers with a no-healing debuff—and secures them with Mute containments. Messages reveal chaos elsewhere: Louis is trapped by snare traps with attacking robot drones, Li Jun sacrifices himself to distract the god Harpocrates so Donut can complete her plan, and the combined crawler ball approaches the castle. Carl and Dong move toward the surgical theater, where they discover Architect Houston performing a grotesque surgical procedure using the Grease Monkey apparatus. The machine connects Houston to the corpse of the changeling Namico, while on other tables lie the desecrated body of Zeynep and the living but tortured Burcu, whose tongue and voice box have been removed. Houston reveals he's seeking "the Beautiful Place" and claims the changelings are the key to a major discovery. Carl uses Walk on Air to traverse the trapped floor, attempts to save Burcu by casting Nighty-Night on her and disabling her bindings, but when he reaches her table, it tips. As Burcu falls toward the floor, Carl's invulnerability expires—he'd spent it crossing the room. He activates Gloom Wraith Phase and phases through the surgical apparatus, but in that moment of phase, he encounters something impossible: the creature briefly transforms into Li Jun's face, thanking Carl for more time with his sister and friend before vanishing. The containment breach traps fire, incinerating the room. Carl emerges barely alive with a shoulder injury; Houston and Burcu are dead. A system message confirms Houston's defeat and announces the Peeling Phase, reverting to original Faction Wars rules where defeated teams die automatically. Simultaneously, the War Mage Rebellion gains full warlord privileges, conscription access, and has already claimed the Throne Room of Team Retribution. The conflict has transformed into a deadly all-or-nothing battle where only one faction can survive.

Characters

  • CarlWarlord leader attempting to rescue Burcu and defeat Architect Houston; activates invulnerability and Gloom Wraith Phase to escape the surgical theater and survive the containment breach traps
  • DongCarl's ally who assists in combat; ordered to monitor Houston from the doorway and kill him if he casts further spells
  • Architect HoustonViceroy antagonist performing surgical experiments on the changeling and Burcu; seeks to reach "the Beautiful Place" and dies when the containment traps activate
  • BurcuBadger-like crawler tortured by Houston; has tongue and voice box removed; briefly awakens when Carl touches her but is knocked unconscious and killed by the containment breach traps
  • ZeynepDead crawler whose desecrated corpse lies on a surgical table; appears to have undergone extreme surgical modifications
  • NamicoChangeling corpse surgically connected to Houston via the Grease Monkey apparatus; transforms into a creature with tentacle-like roots before manifesting as Li Jun's face
  • Li JunCrawler who sacrifices himself to distract the god Harpocrates; appears to manifest as the creature attached to Houston, thanking Carl before vanishing
  • SelviConscripted elf-form crawler (level 57 Valide healer) held captive with no-healing debuff; bound and gagged by Carl's team to prevent forced combat
  • TubaConscripted human crawler (level 56 Boring Ol' Fighter) held captive with bleeding wound and no-healing debuff; bound and gagged to prevent forced combat
  • GonkYak mount used by the older stripper; gnaws on a fallen mercenary
  • RendCreature that participates in combat and remains behind to guard the prisoners; exhibits disturbing behavior
  • JamalShark ally assigned to guard Selvi and Tuba; hops and spurs flames
  • BigsSlug ally who ties up prisoners, scouts the front door, and guards the throne room; threatens to harm the captive crawlers
  • DonutTeam member coordinating the giant rolling ball of crawlers and mercenaries; attempts to complete a plan involving music and corpses
  • HarpocratesGod antagonist pursuing Donut; marked her for death and rips the giant robot in half
  • Li NaMentioned as sister of Li Jun; screams in chat after Li Jun's sacrifice
  • SamanthaCoordinates rescue attempts via messaging; attempts to save Louis from snare trap
  • LouisTeam member trapped by snare trap and attacked by dog robot drones; unable to escape for several minutes
  • Robo-cleaner (white model)White-painted cleaning automaton in the surgical theater; attacks Carl when he lands on a table
  • The Grease MonkeyAdvanced portable surgical apparatus controlled by Houston; continues operating even after Houston's death
  • AgathaWarlord of the War Mage Rebellion; proposes and implements three emergency action items during the Peeling Phase
  • Juice BoxWarlord of a rival team; requests help as enemies break into his position