There may be some inquiry later on, but as these things go, it wil probably die in a subcommittee somewhere. Remember when that swamp-demon stampede in the Year of the Half-Broken Sword had not negotiated the date with the authorities for the provision of appropriate victim unsafety? Merely a slap on the tentacle, if memory serves.
A show-stopper!! A phenomenal performance of protesting contestants all around! Bodies are only things for us to inhabit, yet they mean so much to us. To be left a husk is both freedom and damnation.
Jeeze now -that- is a blast from the past. The first Hadouken strip of 8-bit Theater was the first webcomic strip I ever read, back when it was first uploaded *erherhm* years ago
I don’t think it’s the same here. When Juggernaut’s armor was cut before, it was just the armor that was damaged, and her soul flame burst out in a massive explosion. Since she had another shell to go to, she ended up injured, but largely unharmed. 10 Vigilant Gaze’s attack was so powerful that it didn’t just melt Juggernaut’s armor, but it burned away her soul. Her essence was so depleted that rather than exploding, it can only sizzle into the void. It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t Juggernaut’s “real” body; there’s nothing left to put in the other one.
I dunno, I wouldn’t count out Juggernaut Star just yet, not until we have proof that she has gone into reincarnation hibernation mode. It’s like the whole ‘did you see the dead villains body?’ trope.
My read on it from the creaking and shaking in the 3rd panel is that 6 Juggernaut Star is alive but their metal armor had all its joints flash welded together rendering it unusable forcing them to abandon it.
Doesn’t mean that her True Form didn’t take damage. The holes in the armor aren’t glowing like they were before, which could mean that they took damage, but it could also be similar to the trick WC pulled earlier. We won’t know until the next time we see Juggernaut Star.
The wisp of her soul flame left in a controlled fashion, and the crackle of lightning seems to mark its transit away. Her essence is very much intact, though ostentatious depleted. She yielded the field, at least for now.
I do hope to see a more thorough rematch between them in the future.
It’s been some time since I’ve had devil’s through my gardens, so pardon if the cant is a bit off.
*ahem*
Thums truths bout yon spikeyarse summat yawping hereabouts ud do well to spend time ponderly. This hoofsome fourarms is dead hard, of surety, but got his kicks in safewise when spikeyarse was voidside. Flipsome, see how it fares when spikeyarse comes sneaking.
Cultivated Lady, tha be caresome o devils in tha gardens! An wakeful tha carrots disappearin likesome.
Yesterleft us if’n peekin yon sneakisome spikyarse, nae gawktime. Dustyarse watchit, spikybum be a comin nextertime.
My suspicion, given the flow of Narrative, is that Vigilant Gaze, the only Angel to accept White Chain as a sister, will be forced to fight Solomon and defeated so utterly as to need to reincarnate, thus resetting its memories and causing it to fall in line with the rest of the angels again regarding White Chain’s femininity. The rule of Universal Linkages often does not The Narrative’s Setting change so fortunately.
Yes, but: VG doesn’t want anything that Solomon can give, so doesn’t need to fight him. He can reach heaven through non-violence. He has inspected the terrible blade of want and lobbed it in the recycling.
One hell of a good way to thin out the pretenders to the throne, so to speak. For the grand finale, will there be time for the sub-tourney “winner” to recover a bit?
Naewithstandin thae black holes nae be stars. If’n it formed from un stellar remnant an then grew an grew, that still make it one?, thon stellar remnant bein un neutron star, which en’t a star no mores, spite tha name, havin no fusin. Aswise un white dwarf’d be nonesuch star no more neither as no fusin – but un brown dwarf is bein starsome, even if it dun’t be fusin hydrun gen an can’t, an feeblesome thum.
Sarcasm is the eighth, scorn is ninth. (I always recall because they are alphabetically ordered in the common tongue) Though it could be argued this is the fourth way: appreciation for a well-wrought ending. Solomon of all the seven great beasts is the noblest, and freest with praise.
Okay, but who’s still in the tournament?
Did Allison’s surrender get her kicked out?
Did White Chain’s little jaunt into the void get her kicked out?
Is Cio goin’ be allowed to stay?
Well it’s hard to say. The only rules given were “battle royale” and “any one still alive after 10 minutes goes to the next round”. If we take those rules at face value then neither offering surrender or leaving the arena would be disqualifying. And since Solomon David threw out the old rule book it’s not certain if new entries would be allowed or not during the battle royale. The only person who can say for sure is Solomon David so we’ll have to wait for him to decide.
Given the episodic nature of how we view the fight, it is impossible to judge how long it has been since Solly announced battle royale. But I would suggest that it’s been a lot longer that ten minutes. Seems like all the rules been tossed through the purple flames.
This was a great match cant wait for the final match! What? just because it was cool doesn’t its the end of the tournament we still have the reigning champion to fight. Hope they can escape cause these guys are great at causing chaos.
When first introduced he asked any new characters he met “Coming or going?” asking if they were headed to the Void or to return to their armor. A very long callback indeed.
I am surprised. No, more than surprised that the thorns are so easily shorn from these proceedings. I can only imagine that Juggernaut Star will not be pleased upon her next appearance.
All credit to Vigilant Gaze for that sendoff line.
Or we’ll see the result of her training with White Chain, in that she retreats. I do not believe that Alison can take Solomon right now; not could she, at this stage, if she were fresh and rested. Alicio might have done it, but I think Cio is too drained to remake the meld.
Looking back, Allison hasn’t beaten any Demiurge, except Hastet Om. She ran away from Mottom, got a pat on the head from Mammon, and was indulged by Incubus and Gog Agog, who wanted to use her. Perhaps the story develops with all the Seven active until the end? Perhaps she saves the multiverse by reconciling the Seven rather than by killing them? Perhaps that’s why Zoss chose a philisopher to carry the key?
Found myself drawn to sister White Chain’s look, almost of despair I thought. Then noticing the slightly shaking hands, complete with broken fingers. The trio don’t quite look up to an apocalyptic prophesy at this moment in time, it has to be said.
I think that’s the Hearth Stoker’s guild rep from ALL THE WAY back at KSBD 3-50. Except that the missing arm and the horn are on the wrong side. If we were looking at the front, it’d be correct, but we’re looking from behind.
It’s either artist error or a different, if similar looking, individual.
Edit: Actually, I just realized that the Hearth Stoker guild rep back there doesn’t have the same gold neckwear as that individual and has a gold bandolier like thing, which this individual doesn’t. So, most likely a different individual of the same race.
Good spot, I think you were right the first time. It is the hearth-stoker Krismayana, a one-eyed one-horned walking purple fire-eater and one of the Persuers. I wonder why he’s standing so far from the others? Sure looks strange to me.
To be fair, the only Pursuers we see and can directly identify are Hirotomos and Krismayana. The rest are likely scattered around among the random clusters.
True, but the Persuers do tend to stick roughly together. I just thought Kris might have been someone new and important because he was so prominent in the foreground and doing that Ominous Gaze thing.
Although, if they stuck closely together, they’d end up having to fight each other once the arena started getting smaller. However, I suppose there’s nothing stopping them from working loosely as a team.
42 Fragments the Universe Beyond All Reintegration
I appreciate that the pursuers/contestants are now sitting on the sidelines watching. The general sentiment I feel from them is “NOPE, don’t want any of that.” I cannot fault them.
A most sardonic answer to his own refrain –
“Ho there! Coming or Going?”
‘It’ is also quite a strong word to be using for a sibling,
even a Thorny one.
In this case ‘It’ refers to the action being taken/chosen not the person taking it. For example consider the following exchange between two kings.
King 1: “Shall we have peace or war?”
King 2: “I shall turn you’re skull into a cup and drink from it the blood of your people!”
King 1: “So. It’s war then.”
The ‘It’ clearly refers to the action in a bit of rhetorical flourish, not the other king.
Actually, that should be “your” skull. The word “it” is also used in a place where it refers to the skull, or cup, rather than the war-like king, but this is only a minor quibble with what is otherwise a commendably pellucid bit of explication.
As a mendicant instructor in language arts my fees are quite reasonable, as I hope you will concur.
Hrrm… the approval of a Demiurge is less an honor and more an insult. In the case of Solomon David, this is doubly true. As far as traditional tyranny goes, he is the worst of the Seven; even Jagganoth is less tyrannical.
Far more destructive and hate-filled, which is a type of tyranny in and of itself, but far less interested in dominating others for the purpose of ruling them.
A different flavor of tyranny is still tyranny, no? Anyways, they’re all tyrants in some form or another and all of their worlds are screwed up in some way or other.
Jadis’s worlds are techno-theocracies (headcanon is that her worlds are more technologically advanced than the average).
Incubus: Probably keeps his worlds in a sort of controlled anarchy with possibly (going by that one woman acting like an addict) a side of addiction.
Mottom: Probably more traditional tyrant than Solomon, rules by fear. Wouldn’t be surprised if every world under her sends maidens.
Mammon: Capitalism run amok maybe? There’s also that cult of his.
Gog Agog: Probably less messed up in the governing sense and more in the ‘throbbing mass of worms’ sense. I remember an Abbadon tumblr post saying that she basically has no interest in governing and lets her worlds do their thing.
Jagganoth: I don’t remember what Abbadon had said, but possibly violent?
Solomon: Seems the most normal on the surface (we’ve only seen the capitol on his homeworld) but there’s plenty of hints that it’s oppressive in some way or other.
smjjames “A different flavor of tyranny is still tyranny, no?”
Absolutism is the realm of angels, who have been correctly dealt with by Zoss.
So there’s not “anyways”, unless you’re one of those losers that don’t care about death yet still think to tinker with it. Angel, demons, or mindless servants: Which are you, that needn’t care?
Only dimwits consider the universe in absolute. Juggernaut Star only deserve respect for her might, which is clearly massive. Her soul is otherwise forlorn.
You made yourself clear. Have a nice day. Kindly keep to the void, until the true king come and teach you to reincarnate for a kalpa or two.
Your only saving grace is that Ysun is the biggest liar of all.
SO POSSIBLY? you might have a point?
I am thinking Solomon doesn’t actually want to rule. He’s made an empire where what happened to his wife and daughters and home will not happen to anyone… so long as they obey. (There was that mention by one of the contestants of wanting to hold him accountable for the Peach Orchard Massacre, I believe?)
What he wants is to find a successor as good as he sees himself as, abdicate the throne, and then go off to learn how to be Royalty.
An interesting take… but if true, it only proves my point. Zoss was the greatest tyrant since YIS-UN, and Solomon David would gladly take up that vacant throne. Jagganoth seeks destruction, but the others seek control.
Domination.
Rulership.
Tyranny.
That human mistakenly thought me a Thorn Knight, an all too common mistake. I am the last of the Freedom Knights, a tyrantbreaker. For a thousand lifetimes, I have wielded the Tyrant-Shattering Fist. I exist to stand against any and all who seek to command others… including my wayward siblings who walk the Thorned Path.
Tyranny is rule by personal whim, judgement without law, and absence of a means for removing the tyrant. Solomon has definite (and harsh) laws, which are applied strictly, and has declared the terms for removing himself from power. He is certainly the least tyrannical of the Seven. Whether his reign is better or worse than tyranny is open to question.
Solomon David seems to be inspired by the Old Testament Law of the Jews: as long as you keep the Law you are fine, but no-one is that perfect, the Law is impossible to keep (that was the whole point of it) and it seems SD rules his empire like that: good for those who keep the law, but NO mercy for those who break it. Lawful Neutral is how I would classify him.
Ok I’mma be real with u: kinda lost in the plot at this point (excluding obvious beats) & rereading early parts hasn’t gotten me anywhere. I hope on a second read the nuance of the story is truly understood. But regardless, HOMIE JUST GOT BLAPPED YISUN DAMN
White Chain’s banishment is the relevant part right now; Vigilant Gazes, the one who just pwned Juggernaut Star, was an angel who sorta chilled by the entryway to the void with a few others, but didn’t agree with WC caring about the world or having a human female form. We also briefly saw him rejoin the physical world after Allison captured the gang leader, although we didn’t know his ID until recently. Juggernaut Star offered WC the job of guarding the key and making sure it gets to Zaid, in the hopes that Zaid willl fulfill the prophecy of murdering everything so that the Angels can swoop in and claim Throne once again. WC agreed because she wants the key safe tyrannical owners and because she wants the Rising king (prophesied to be Zaid, but is now probably Allison) to take down the current rulers.
VG popped outta nowhere because he saw WC about to attack Allicio because she was being a bit reckless trashing up the other contestants, which is not at all what WC was teaching. We don’t really know what conclusions were jumped too, but VG poorly worded his sayings and accidentally encouraged the battle. Right after WC beats Allison but doesn’t kill her, Juggers, who was probably watching somehow, swooped in to get her to finish Allison off, since Allison is just a meat vessel for the key to Juggers, and Zaid is nearby. WC got that talking to by VG, so she’d already regretted attacking, and WC’s refusal prompted the current battle.
So… did White Chain win? She was the only one left standing who actually registered for the tournament. Not that she’s in any real fighting shape right now, but I assume they’ll give her some time to rest.
He has returned from the bathroom after washing his hands and is proceeding to dry them off. Praise Solomon David, for practicing such excellent hygiene!
Just found your comic and caught up in two days, my friends will be hearing about this. Your work is amazing and I hope your updates will be swift and fierce!
While my soul flame weeps to see my siblings raise fists against each other, it is also filled with joy to see justice done… and trepidation at the approval of a Demiurge.
I’m so glad he won that fight. I was really worried he would get killed for dramatic effect.
Well, the easy part is over now.
Now, player, we play for keeps.
Lady Redfingers, She who is Bone, Queen of the Calcified Fortress
They can do better.
* Dave: “And now you get the privilege of fighting ME”
* VG: “Naw, I’m done”
* Ally&co: “We’ve stalled enough, whatevs, you win, cya”
* Dave: “But… but… my excuse to dump Rayuba on someone else!”
** Salami Dave has learned “Aesma’s Tantrum” **
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Ki Rata Slow Clap Technique
Tournament over, Vigilant Gaze wins
I would presume Gaze will now concede the whole thing? He is the most sensible of this lot, ain’t he?
Ain’t he?
… So one would hope.
I will note that of the five participants in the last stage of this fight, only two have completed the proper paperwork.
There may be some inquiry later on, but as these things go, it wil probably die in a subcommittee somewhere. Remember when that swamp-demon stampede in the Year of the Half-Broken Sword had not negotiated the date with the authorities for the provision of appropriate victim unsafety? Merely a slap on the tentacle, if memory serves.
Lo there namesake. Weeeeell… technically he’s not standing on the arena, the only ones are white chain, cio and Alison
Gladsome us, seein us sister standin, if a bitty knackered.
It is said that with each clap, one lifetime’s worth of happiness is removed from the universe.
How fuqing baddass is that line.
He’s been saving it for 10 kalpas, now.
The No Nut November to end all No Nut Novembers.
i dun’ get it, can someone explain the significance of this one? is it a call-back to something he said earlier?
It’s a response to his catchphrase: “Ho there! Coming or going?”
ahh, gotcha. many thanks! may the moons of happiness shine upon your peoples
And so it is time: to, as the Belligerent Knights say, cut a god to see if he bleeds.
I hope he does not, and that whoever wins will renew my drink contract for the next Tournament. The ice must flow, after all.
“The ice must flow” – the best callback ever! I surrender.
The ice must floe!
A show-stopper!! A phenomenal performance of protesting contestants all around! Bodies are only things for us to inhabit, yet they mean so much to us. To be left a husk is both freedom and damnation.
Even Gog-Agog is agog, and (temporarily) speechless!
This has a real “Laugh is fun” vibe.
I know angels do not easily fear, so I will be scared for 10 Vigilant Gaze Purges the Horizon
Break the chain, and the spirit runs free!
All we can do in the end is our best, and we will all fail this task without exception. Better to pray for forgiveness.
“Now you have to fight against all the winners of the alternate-universe tournaments.”
This is too spectacular for me to attempt to say anything serious, so:
Black Mage would be proud, haduken for the win!!
Jeeze now -that- is a blast from the past. The first Hadouken strip of 8-bit Theater was the first webcomic strip I ever read, back when it was first uploaded *erherhm* years ago
Stop driving up the divorce rate!
Good form, Vigilant Gaze: no harm done to the spectators.
vigilant gaze is kinda hot…
“Kinda?” I think you meant V E R Y
Well, he just fired a gun in the megatron range. Anything that powerful has to be hot right after firing.
And I do mean, since he has four of those guns, H O T.
The letters you are looking for are
D
A
D
D
Y O T H E R E !
It melts the spikes of steel
Banishes angels from their shells
Punches a hole in the Wheel
And like burning soul it smells
So yeah, it’s kinda hot.
Woe be he that mistakes the rider for the steed.
Indeed.
I don’t think it’s the same here. When Juggernaut’s armor was cut before, it was just the armor that was damaged, and her soul flame burst out in a massive explosion. Since she had another shell to go to, she ended up injured, but largely unharmed. 10 Vigilant Gaze’s attack was so powerful that it didn’t just melt Juggernaut’s armor, but it burned away her soul. Her essence was so depleted that rather than exploding, it can only sizzle into the void. It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t Juggernaut’s “real” body; there’s nothing left to put in the other one.
I dunno, I wouldn’t count out Juggernaut Star just yet, not until we have proof that she has gone into reincarnation hibernation mode. It’s like the whole ‘did you see the dead villains body?’ trope.
My read on it from the creaking and shaking in the 3rd panel is that 6 Juggernaut Star is alive but their metal armor had all its joints flash welded together rendering it unusable forcing them to abandon it.
Doesn’t mean that her True Form didn’t take damage. The holes in the armor aren’t glowing like they were before, which could mean that they took damage, but it could also be similar to the trick WC pulled earlier. We won’t know until the next time we see Juggernaut Star.
The wisp of her soul flame left in a controlled fashion, and the crackle of lightning seems to mark its transit away. Her essence is very much intact, though ostentatious depleted. She yielded the field, at least for now.
I do hope to see a more thorough rematch between them in the future.
Ridin an bein un fiery hog o bones mighty ostentatious rightsome. An flamboyant wi thums nails too.
It’s been some time since I’ve had devil’s through my gardens, so pardon if the cant is a bit off.
*ahem*
Thums truths bout yon spikeyarse summat yawping hereabouts ud do well to spend time ponderly. This hoofsome fourarms is dead hard, of surety, but got his kicks in safewise when spikeyarse was voidside. Flipsome, see how it fares when spikeyarse comes sneaking.
Cultivated Lady, tha be caresome o devils in tha gardens! An wakeful tha carrots disappearin likesome.
Yesterleft us if’n peekin yon sneakisome spikyarse, nae gawktime. Dustyarse watchit, spikybum be a comin nextertime.
Thum’s feeling fingerlight round m’gardens should linglerly look abouts afore carrot-hunting. Shardy bits o’masks rightsome good green-markers make, an’ guts an’ gizzards fulsome dirtfeed.
Oh, it is good to see I haven’t lost it entirely. Thank you for permitting me the practice.
There is no metal in angel armor. It is forged from Ash.
For Concordant Knights this is true but Thorn Knights use metal armor.
Maybe the ash is a required component in order for the angels to inhabit them?
Seems like that if the shells could be made of metal, they would have been.
Please can we keep Vigilant Gaze, he’s wonderful.
My suspicion, given the flow of Narrative, is that Vigilant Gaze, the only Angel to accept White Chain as a sister, will be forced to fight Solomon and defeated so utterly as to need to reincarnate, thus resetting its memories and causing it to fall in line with the rest of the angels again regarding White Chain’s femininity. The rule of Universal Linkages often does not The Narrative’s Setting change so fortunately.
Your suspicion is also my fear, good knight.
Also seeing this. VG, we hardly knew ye.
Abaddon, since we hardly knew him, could we keep’im? Pleeeez
An mebbe meets thums vessel-bro Rusty Buckets somewheres ahead an’ all.
Yes, but: VG doesn’t want anything that Solomon can give, so doesn’t need to fight him. He can reach heaven through non-violence. He has inspected the terrible blade of want and lobbed it in the recycling.
My feeling is he’s going to wrap this up and go back to his post. He is, after all, one of the gatekeepers of the Void.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Two Hands, Three Point Slow Clap Technique :
Smugness from Heaven Halts the Lower Realms
This technique is banned as a war crime in five thousand hundred universes and hailed as divine in a further two hundred thousand.
It levels houses and egos without much effort at all.
One hell of a good way to thin out the pretenders to the throne, so to speak. For the grand finale, will there be time for the sub-tourney “winner” to recover a bit?
Well, there we have the New King, flanked by a white and a black flame.
The 108 burning stars following her, however, seem thoroughly extinguished.
Brown dwarfs and black holes are still stars
Well, a black hole is a stellar remnant, if you want to get precise.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she got more followers after this.
As for the pursuers, it seems to have dwindled to the core that started in Hell 71, with the rest getting bored or leaving for other reasons.
108 is an auspicious number one believes one remembers, and as such it shall always be 108. Those that should die or peel away are always replaced.
Naewithstandin thae black holes nae be stars. If’n it formed from un stellar remnant an then grew an grew, that still make it one?, thon stellar remnant bein un neutron star, which en’t a star no mores, spite tha name, havin no fusin. Aswise un white dwarf’d be nonesuch star no more neither as no fusin – but un brown dwarf is bein starsome, even if it dun’t be fusin hydrun gen an can’t, an feeblesome thum.
OH NO HE’S CLAPPING WITH SARCASTIC INFLECTION!
I believe he is clapping in the eighth way. Or is it the ninth? I always get those two confused – the difference is a subtlety of cadence.
Sarcasm is the eighth, scorn is ninth. (I always recall because they are alphabetically ordered in the common tongue) Though it could be argued this is the fourth way: appreciation for a well-wrought ending. Solomon of all the seven great beasts is the noblest, and freest with praise.
Clap clap clap clap clap. Tries not to snicker.
Ah yes, scorn! It’s my favorite response: clapping in the ninth way followed farting in the twelfth. Gog-Agog is the true master of that combination.
Pseudopod tha’s opened us eyes! Us agog wi Gog an smilin selfwise in un vasterly unappealin fourth. Truesome, naebdy the match o yon worms.
Aaaaand now for the next round of the tournament. Good thing our protagonists are so well rested and mentally composed …
Shang Tsung has entered the tournament.
10 Vigilant Gaze Purges the Horizon is what we call the “hard carry”.
Tank and spaceship cannon all in one.
Looks like the fans got their money’s worth
But can you imagine the amount of Imperial tax dollars it takes to rebuild this arena every year?
Meh. It activates the economy and gives people something to look forward to.
Perhaps the true problem is that we have a king who fancies himself a philosopher lording over the forum, when he looks out at a circus.
Solomon David rules 111,111 universes. I think he must be good for it.
Okay, but who’s still in the tournament?
Did Allison’s surrender get her kicked out?
Did White Chain’s little jaunt into the void get her kicked out?
Is Cio goin’ be allowed to stay?
Well it’s hard to say. The only rules given were “battle royale” and “any one still alive after 10 minutes goes to the next round”. If we take those rules at face value then neither offering surrender or leaving the arena would be disqualifying. And since Solomon David threw out the old rule book it’s not certain if new entries would be allowed or not during the battle royale. The only person who can say for sure is Solomon David so we’ll have to wait for him to decide.
Oh, he’s decided alright. He’s just being a jerk about it.
Given the episodic nature of how we view the fight, it is impossible to judge how long it has been since Solly announced battle royale. But I would suggest that it’s been a lot longer that ten minutes. Seems like all the rules been tossed through the purple flames.
Alas, it looks like their name will soon be 11 Vigilant Gaze Purges the Horizon.
This was a great match cant wait for the final match! What? just because it was cool doesn’t its the end of the tournament we still have the reigning champion to fight. Hope they can escape cause these guys are great at causing chaos.
Vigilant Gaze doesn’t know what it’s like to hit someone twice.
Ironic for a creature with four gauntlet-clad arms, no?
Vigilant Gaze: One Punch Angel
What is he talking about when he says “So, it’s going then”?
I went back some pages but I still don’t know what he is referring to.
When first introduced he asked any new characters he met “Coming or going?” asking if they were headed to the Void or to return to their armor. A very long callback indeed.
Oh, thanks! I didn’t know what it meant either.
He asked that of Juggernaut Star back then and she never answered. Guess he’s answered for her now.
I am surprised. No, more than surprised that the thorns are so easily shorn from these proceedings. I can only imagine that Juggernaut Star will not be pleased upon her next appearance.
All credit to Vigilant Gaze for that sendoff line.
Elder brother only makes it *look* easy.
To witness such a display is humbling. Also inspiring.
Cio and White Chain look exhausted, but Allison looks pissed.
Could be mentally facepalming at how corny the sendoff sounds out of context.
I also notice that her master key is shining, could be a sign of regenerating strength.
That was my thought as well. Plus I doubt Clio and White Chain are feeling too fond of Solomon David.
Look at that glint from the Key of Kings. Now we’ll see the results of her training with Incubus.
Or we’ll see the result of her training with White Chain, in that she retreats. I do not believe that Alison can take Solomon right now; not could she, at this stage, if she were fresh and rested. Alicio might have done it, but I think Cio is too drained to remake the meld.
Looking back, Allison hasn’t beaten any Demiurge, except Hastet Om. She ran away from Mottom, got a pat on the head from Mammon, and was indulged by Incubus and Gog Agog, who wanted to use her. Perhaps the story develops with all the Seven active until the end? Perhaps she saves the multiverse by reconciling the Seven rather than by killing them? Perhaps that’s why Zoss chose a philisopher to carry the key?
That looks says more worried to me. Concern.
“Oh boy, here we go.” + “THIS fucking guy.”
Found myself drawn to sister White Chain’s look, almost of despair I thought. Then noticing the slightly shaking hands, complete with broken fingers. The trio don’t quite look up to an apocalyptic prophesy at this moment in time, it has to be said.
Hey! There she (Cio) is!
Thank god karate baby is unharmed that’s literally all I care about
But the battle isn’t over yet? Vigilant Gaze and White Chain are both still in the fight.
Oh wait I forgot it was just a ten minute endurance thing.
Oh gods, you’re right. The last 36 pages took place in 10 minutes, unless salami man lost track of time in all the excitement.
Solomon will now stroll into the arena and disintegrate Vigilant Gaze with a passing glance, just to flex.
Who is that purple guy in the first panel?
Salami Dave?
I think he’s the vendor for cured meats and sarcastic clapping.
I think that’s the Hearth Stoker’s guild rep from ALL THE WAY back at KSBD 3-50. Except that the missing arm and the horn are on the wrong side. If we were looking at the front, it’d be correct, but we’re looking from behind.
It’s either artist error or a different, if similar looking, individual.
Edit: Actually, I just realized that the Hearth Stoker guild rep back there doesn’t have the same gold neckwear as that individual and has a gold bandolier like thing, which this individual doesn’t. So, most likely a different individual of the same race.
Good spot, I think you were right the first time. It is the hearth-stoker Krismayana, a one-eyed one-horned walking purple fire-eater and one of the Persuers. I wonder why he’s standing so far from the others? Sure looks strange to me.
To be fair, the only Pursuers we see and can directly identify are Hirotomos and Krismayana. The rest are likely scattered around among the random clusters.
True, but the Persuers do tend to stick roughly together. I just thought Kris might have been someone new and important because he was so prominent in the foreground and doing that Ominous Gaze thing.
Although, if they stuck closely together, they’d end up having to fight each other once the arena started getting smaller. However, I suppose there’s nothing stopping them from working loosely as a team.
Standing on a rock for a better view. Also, at a safer distance from the explosions.
Act quickly, White Chain. We are soon headed to a grand finale.
Oh no, VG is going to nobly sacrifice himself to allow our protagonists to escape, isn’t he? ;_;
if Allison isn’t ready for this, she’ll never be
I appreciate that the pursuers/contestants are now sitting on the sidelines watching. The general sentiment I feel from them is “NOPE, don’t want any of that.” I cannot fault them.
DEATH SPORE IS STILL ALIVE ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD
Was a touch worried about the murderous little squidgy blob =)
I feel like I missed a line. What does “It’s going then.” mean?
A most sardonic answer to his own refrain –
“Ho there! Coming or Going?”
‘It’ is also quite a strong word to be using for a sibling,
even a Thorny one.
I don’t think that word was being used to refer to anyone, just the situation.
Nobody made a fair point of the ambiguity of utterance. The skill of reading in the second way also has been gained.
In this case ‘It’ refers to the action being taken/chosen not the person taking it. For example consider the following exchange between two kings.
King 1: “Shall we have peace or war?”
King 2: “I shall turn you’re skull into a cup and drink from it the blood of your people!”
King 1: “So. It’s war then.”
The ‘It’ clearly refers to the action in a bit of rhetorical flourish, not the other king.
Actually, that should be “your” skull. The word “it” is also used in a place where it refers to the skull, or cup, rather than the war-like king, but this is only a minor quibble with what is otherwise a commendably pellucid bit of explication.
As a mendicant instructor in language arts my fees are quite reasonable, as I hope you will concur.
Can most easisome be read either ways.
Yon king plainly cannot be a war, but Juggears plainsome can be going. An did.
Depends how kingsome he be, eh? Any shine-browed king should be a war, methinks.
Aye, then yon kingsomely king be war inanof hissel. An fie ifn him hence nae obliters thon grandisome enemigo, thatun thums call I.
Solomon D *is* entertained!
Oh shit, I forgot about Solomon for a moment there!!
(Also, “So. It’s going then.” is stone cold and I loved it)
Oh yeah.
Him.
Hrrm… the approval of a Demiurge is less an honor and more an insult. In the case of Solomon David, this is doubly true. As far as traditional tyranny goes, he is the worst of the Seven; even Jagganoth is less tyrannical.
Far more destructive and hate-filled, which is a type of tyranny in and of itself, but far less interested in dominating others for the purpose of ruling them.
Angels have a warped sense of tyranny…
I guess a dedicated sophist could argue it’s not technically tyranny when everybody/everything/everywhere is destroyed forever?
I’ll keep my black flame thank you very much, and you can keep to the void, Thorn.
A different flavor of tyranny is still tyranny, no? Anyways, they’re all tyrants in some form or another and all of their worlds are screwed up in some way or other.
Jadis’s worlds are techno-theocracies (headcanon is that her worlds are more technologically advanced than the average).
Incubus: Probably keeps his worlds in a sort of controlled anarchy with possibly (going by that one woman acting like an addict) a side of addiction.
Mottom: Probably more traditional tyrant than Solomon, rules by fear. Wouldn’t be surprised if every world under her sends maidens.
Mammon: Capitalism run amok maybe? There’s also that cult of his.
Gog Agog: Probably less messed up in the governing sense and more in the ‘throbbing mass of worms’ sense. I remember an Abbadon tumblr post saying that she basically has no interest in governing and lets her worlds do their thing.
Jagganoth: I don’t remember what Abbadon had said, but possibly violent?
Solomon: Seems the most normal on the surface (we’ve only seen the capitol on his homeworld) but there’s plenty of hints that it’s oppressive in some way or other.
Jagganoth: possibly violent.
“Possibly violent” as in like “the only worlds that are not purged of life are those that providing war engines to purge the other”
Yeah, let’s say that.
smjjames “A different flavor of tyranny is still tyranny, no?”
Absolutism is the realm of angels, who have been correctly dealt with by Zoss.
So there’s not “anyways”, unless you’re one of those losers that don’t care about death yet still think to tinker with it. Angel, demons, or mindless servants: Which are you, that needn’t care?
Only dimwits consider the universe in absolute. Juggernaut Star only deserve respect for her might, which is clearly massive. Her soul is otherwise forlorn.
You made yourself clear. Have a nice day. Kindly keep to the void, until the true king come and teach you to reincarnate for a kalpa or two.
Your only saving grace is that Ysun is the biggest liar of all.
SO POSSIBLY? you might have a point?
I am thinking Solomon doesn’t actually want to rule. He’s made an empire where what happened to his wife and daughters and home will not happen to anyone… so long as they obey. (There was that mention by one of the contestants of wanting to hold him accountable for the Peach Orchard Massacre, I believe?)
What he wants is to find a successor as good as he sees himself as, abdicate the throne, and then go off to learn how to be Royalty.
An interesting take… but if true, it only proves my point. Zoss was the greatest tyrant since YIS-UN, and Solomon David would gladly take up that vacant throne. Jagganoth seeks destruction, but the others seek control.
Domination.
Rulership.
Tyranny.
That human mistakenly thought me a Thorn Knight, an all too common mistake. I am the last of the Freedom Knights, a tyrantbreaker. For a thousand lifetimes, I have wielded the Tyrant-Shattering Fist. I exist to stand against any and all who seek to command others… including my wayward siblings who walk the Thorned Path.
How’s that working out for you? Being the first quad digit born.
Lonely.
Tyranny is rule by personal whim, judgement without law, and absence of a means for removing the tyrant. Solomon has definite (and harsh) laws, which are applied strictly, and has declared the terms for removing himself from power. He is certainly the least tyrannical of the Seven. Whether his reign is better or worse than tyranny is open to question.
Solomon David seems to be inspired by the Old Testament Law of the Jews: as long as you keep the Law you are fine, but no-one is that perfect, the Law is impossible to keep (that was the whole point of it) and it seems SD rules his empire like that: good for those who keep the law, but NO mercy for those who break it. Lawful Neutral is how I would classify him.
Somehow, I feel Zaid will enter fight before this is over. How many 11th hour appearances can we fit it, girls?
Zaid is a lover, not a fighter. I hear he is in great demand as an underwear model.
Ok I’mma be real with u: kinda lost in the plot at this point (excluding obvious beats) & rereading early parts hasn’t gotten me anywhere. I hope on a second read the nuance of the story is truly understood. But regardless, HOMIE JUST GOT BLAPPED YISUN DAMN
White Chain’s banishment is the relevant part right now; Vigilant Gazes, the one who just pwned Juggernaut Star, was an angel who sorta chilled by the entryway to the void with a few others, but didn’t agree with WC caring about the world or having a human female form. We also briefly saw him rejoin the physical world after Allison captured the gang leader, although we didn’t know his ID until recently. Juggernaut Star offered WC the job of guarding the key and making sure it gets to Zaid, in the hopes that Zaid willl fulfill the prophecy of murdering everything so that the Angels can swoop in and claim Throne once again. WC agreed because she wants the key safe tyrannical owners and because she wants the Rising king (prophesied to be Zaid, but is now probably Allison) to take down the current rulers.
VG popped outta nowhere because he saw WC about to attack Allicio because she was being a bit reckless trashing up the other contestants, which is not at all what WC was teaching. We don’t really know what conclusions were jumped too, but VG poorly worded his sayings and accidentally encouraged the battle. Right after WC beats Allison but doesn’t kill her, Juggers, who was probably watching somehow, swooped in to get her to finish Allison off, since Allison is just a meat vessel for the key to Juggers, and Zaid is nearby. WC got that talking to by VG, so she’d already regretted attacking, and WC’s refusal prompted the current battle.
In all my many wanderings I have rarely scene such a final blow
A Hush falls over the Arena… the sound of one pair of hands clapping carries throughout.
It seems the Ring of Power has excellent acoustics…!
Solomon can destroy a massive stone table with the touch of his little finger, so I imagine his derisive applause is deadly at thirty paces.
So… did White Chain win? She was the only one left standing who actually registered for the tournament. Not that she’s in any real fighting shape right now, but I assume they’ll give her some time to rest.
Darkness obscures
This is axiomatic.
AYE, YE POXY TIT THA DO NO BE A RHYME
Tenebrous state it does bedim.
To thy taste is this maxim?
Ah, this spectacle has nearly inspired me to action. I sit, excited, watching and waiting. God speed, White Chain.
God speed, Purple Emperor!
Ah yes, that magical moment it dawns on the other contestants that not making it that far in the tournament maybe wasn´t such a bad thing.
What, no one cheers that Giant Murderous Baby lives? Oh well, GIANT BABY LIVES! =D As does Cio :3
Smug Solomon is soddin’ SMUG.
Horizon has been thoroughly purged.
Lets be honest, this is probably the best tournament Solomon has had in centuries
He’s not actually clapping. He’s warming up his hands, because his hands are the only thing he’s going to need to kick their collective arses.
He has returned from the bathroom after washing his hands and is proceeding to dry them off. Praise Solomon David, for practicing such excellent hygiene!
He’s clapping. Why is he clapping? OH GOD HE’S CLAPPING RUN.
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While my soul flame weeps to see my siblings raise fists against each other, it is also filled with joy to see justice done… and trepidation at the approval of a Demiurge.
Rejoice, oh knight of ashen plate. Indulge deeply of this victory, for there are no bread and circuses for the fallen.
I’ll write a prayer strip for your next incarnation’s safety. I dare not bless your current self, for I fear Solomon is about to have his way with it.
Cio’s alive, if naked. Yaay.
11 Vigilant Gaze Jobs for Salami David
I’m so glad he won that fight. I was really worried he would get killed for dramatic effect.
Well, the easy part is over now.
Now, player, we play for keeps.
Can someone please bitch slap Solomon David already?
They can do better.
* Dave: “And now you get the privilege of fighting ME”
* VG: “Naw, I’m done”
* Ally&co: “We’ve stalled enough, whatevs, you win, cya”
* Dave: “But… but… my excuse to dump Rayuba on someone else!”
** Salami Dave has learned “Aesma’s Tantrum” **
The Zenith of Things Tournament is one of the only “tournament arcs” that I’ve ever really enjoyed.
I can see that this one is shaping up to be just as enjoyable.
The remaining contestants suddenly realize that maybe losing isn’t the worst thing possible.
Now would be a good time for an airship-based rescue. They’ve accomplished their goal and all.
I would like to notice, that, from all the contestants (which Cio is not) only Al-Yisun is technically standing. WC is on her knees.
I can hardly stand the suspense.
And so we’ll get another page reminiscent of Mottom’s ticking.
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