Chapter 48 of 89 · Book 7, This Inevitable Ruin

Chapter 48 — Colonel Prepotente

Book: This Inevitable Ruin · Part: The Ramp-Up · Previous: Chapter 47 — Tattoos, and a flower offered · Next: Chapter 49 — Bijou, Theia and Khepri · Floor: Floor 9 — Faction Wars · Series: the series

Opening

Prepotente, upon the back of his hellspawn, landed on the ground in front of us, crunching

Summary

Bianca lands, level 70 and full size, four-winged now, glowing rocks under her feet; Prepotente, level 99, the strongest crawler in the dungeon, sniffs at Katia and glares at Carl. Victory appears. 'Recruit me […] Do it now before I change my mind.' Behind his back Carl puts away a potion of Conscription, and the moment he does, clarity: 'No. Not like that. Never like that' — the river grows a little at the edges. Katia's hand on his shoulder. Colonel, not Legionnaire. Then the goat hugs him and sobs: 'You're my best friend, Carl. I've been so lonely'; he waited at the Bahamas on the last floor; he has enhanced pet biscuits and is afraid after what happened last time; Bianca is fine company but does not speak; 'You can't help how stupid you are.' Rend cries too. Then he screams in Carl's face. Samantha on Bianca's back — 'Kiss! Kiss!' — then at his feet: 'Make me.' Katia claps a hand over her mouth: never mention his mother to him. 'Just because your man is in love with me now doesn't mean you can tell me what to do.' 'But you promised, Carl. How is it my fault that someone else got to his mother before I could?' Everyone is lashing out in their own way. 'Is your family this dysfunctional?' Carl asks Victory, and regrets it; she grins. Elle: the guess was right, the NPC guards worship Emberus; a big naga who worshipped no god went down hard — the head of the guard, Vinata's lover, and Katia and Donut both get the notification. 'The bigger the universe, the smaller it becomes.' Three left. Edgar: 'Non-corporeal, Coming from below and moving up.' Relief. Li Na climbs the tower. Rosetta: 'Carl, it's up to you now.'

Characters

• Prepotente — Recruited; sobbing; screaming; a colonel.
• Carl — A Conscription potion put away; 'Never like that.'
• Samantha — 'Make me'; a promise about a mother.
• Katia Grim — Silences Samantha; a hand on Carl's shoulder.
• Baroness Victory — 'The bigger the universe, the smaller it becomes.'
• Edgar — Sees a fairy's light leave the ground.
• Elle McGibbons — Kills the head of the guard.

Locations

• Shanty Town — Gravel glowing under a hellspawn's hooves.

Motifs

• The river in Carl's head — Grows a little when the temptation passes.
• Staying human — 'No. Not like that. Never like that.'
• The Blood Sultanate — One of four dead; the escape triggered on schedule.