Chapter 82

Carl and his group arrive at a saferoom entrance in former Reaver territory while transporting the unconscious Louis. Prepotente arrives with news that three of Li Na's marked targets escaped to the 18th floor via King Rust's harem members, leaving Li Na unable to complete her condition and permanently unable to heal. Meanwhile, Kiwi gives birth to twin legendary creatures—hybrid offspring of Mongo and herself—while Tipid regains consciousness with severe memory loss.

The group reaches an ash-covered espresso stand saferoom entrance buried in dirt, which the party digs out manually. Prepotente arrives on his familiar Bianca to deliver a pet carrier for Gonk. Li Na appears floating with ethereal chains and a new dark aura, still marking Louis. Bigs expresses distrust of Li Na after learning she sent Sneaky Tyler C to his death via a tied potion. Prepotente reveals that three of the eighteen people Li Na marked originally survived and fled to the 18th floor via the Cosmic Lounge. They had been part of King Rust's harem—non-combatant outworlders brought into the dungeon through individual AI agreements. When the Battle Formation spell broke, they escaped into Larracos and eventually reached the Desperado Club. With them gone, Li Na's condition can never be fulfilled, and despite her massively increased stats, she will never be able to heal. Carl is relieved she has no reason to kill Louis now.

The group rushes Louis to the medical tent where Kiwi is in labor. Tipid is also there, having suffered complete memory loss from brain scrambling during his crawl; his repairs were damaged in the recent blast, leaving him aware only that he was once a game guide. Rosetta attempts to comfort him while he grapples with the loss of his key home.

In the medical tent, Imani assists Kiwi while Samantha, Edgar, Florin, and Britney attend. Juice Box places the unconscious Louis on a nearby cot and confesses to Carl the nature of her feelings. She explains she took the form of a Dewi to mimic a mythological hero when with Louis, drawn to his genuine nature and purity. She reveals the curse of the Inevitable Ruin inflicted upon the Hunter Wraith form she assumed—a curse that shows harsh truths. The truth it showed her: Louis is terrified of her and doesn't truly love her; he believes he has a special ability causing NPCs to fall in love with him. Though heartbreaking, she says this knowledge will be her anchor, keeping her from darkness while protecting him from afar. Carl argues that hopelessness is bullshit and that nothing is truly hopeless until death. Juice Box responds that she's far from hopeless and hints at something Justice Light has prepared.

Kiwi successfully delivers twins—two female legendary creatures (Newborn Ursensus) that are hybrid abominations combining raptor, bear, Mongo-like features, bulbous misaligned eyes, four legs with wing stubs, brown fur, beaks, and mammalian vocalizations. The party's reactions range from Donut's delight to Elle's horror, while Mongo stands confused by his offspring. Samantha expresses desire to claim one as a pet to replace her lost robot dog Buster.