Chapter 53 of 89 · Book 7, This Inevitable Ruin

Chapter 53 — Super Heavyweight Temple Battle Grudge Match Extravaganza

Book: This Inevitable Ruin · Part: The Ramp-Up · Previous: Chapter 52 — The Temple of Khepri · Next: Chapter 54 — The Waffle Maker; Hellik's message · Floor: Floor 9 — Faction Wars · Series: the series

Opening

Behind us, the door slammed closed on its own.

Summary

The door slams and the wire is cut. Six nagas, not seven: Vinata, white and six-armed, spitting orders even frozen, with an Immortal tag at 63 seconds — twenty-seven fewer than Carl's; a purple-and-red cousin and a small obsidian one, Rishi's wife; three riflemen guards; all with aura protection. Vinata worshipped Khepri herself, against tradition — the trap: she expected them to find her hiding place, summoned the god into his own temple when they did, and let them storm into his lap as trespassers. Li Jun, Bautista and Zhang are frozen outside; Li Na is not. Carl tells everyone to run; 'I did not come this far to run'; 'Me neither, Carl. God or not.' Donut: 'THERE AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE GODS YET!' The AI, shrieking, runs the boss battle by hand with fireworks over thousands of frozen bugs: 'Super Heavyweight Temple Battle Grudge Match Extravaganza.' Breaking news for the galaxy: Vinata is about to inherit a solar system, her kingdom has feigned poverty for centuries, her secret husband is dead and her plan to seize the shipyards 'to pull a Fred Johnson' is leaking; the cousins are a graphic designer and a PR agent; 'Every pawn still on the table is a danger. That's another lesson I need to keep in mind.' Three top crawlers — one for revenge, one to save herself, and Carl, 'who'll do just about anything to protect those he deems worthy' — plus three 'mid crawlers' as cannon fodder and a 2X Jackpot if Zhang lives ('Hey! What the fuck?'). Betting opens for three minutes; deity summoning does not count against limits in temples. Portraits, a flaming sun, and the card: God of Rebirth and the Sunrise, Khepri, level 250, locked, a retainer of Adrasteia, invulnerable, in his own temple; ignored by the big players 'because he's a goddamned weirdo'; 433 kinds of bug on the endless table the AI resents generating (its original writer 'long dead in a refueling platform accident'); once a retainer of Khnum, who 'mysteriously dropped dead a few days back' like others in the sub-pantheon, so he serves Adrasteia for protection; he chitters and eats disgustingly; 'in about thirty seconds […] he's going to go absolutely bugshit on everyone in the room.' Katia: 'No way, Carl. That's insane, even for you.' Prepotente: 'I'd be quite curious to see if it works.' Admiral Corinne Whimpleshin, the Sultanate's adjutant, a heavyset camel in a sundress with a martini, calls foul — the summoning of the gods, and Carl did it, he knew; the timer pauses at 19 to read 'Go Be Smelly Somewhere Else'; Victory: temple rules apply, your team summoned the god. 'I haven't summoned shit.' The bug god chitters, confused like the Vinegar Bitch was. No more bets. Go.

Characters

• Princess Vinata — Set the trap; worshipped the god herself; immortal for 63 seconds.
• Khepri — Level 250, a retainer of Adrasteia since Khnum died; 'bugshit' imminent.
• Carl — A plan Katia calls insane; accused of a summoning he has not done.
• Katia Grim — 'God or not. I'm staying.'
• Prepotente — Curious to see if it works.
• Admiral Corinne Whimpleshin — A camel adjutant with a martini, calling foul.
• Li Jun and Zhang — Zhang, 2X Jackpot if he lives.
• The System AI — Runs the fight by hand and takes bets.

Locations

• The Temple of Khepri — Six nagas, one god, and 433 kinds of bug.

Motifs

• The Blood Sultanate — A kingdom of feigned poverty about to seize the shipyards; a trap sprung on schedule.
• The gods — Gods dropping dead 'a few days back'; retainers of retainers; Adrasteia.
• The show — Betting open; a jackpot on a crawler's life.
• The Crown of the Sepsis Whore — 'Will Vinata escape, which will damn both Katia and Princess Donut?'