Carl wakes in Louis’s arms as the group runs through the burning city. Donut rides the badly injured Mongo, and Carl immediately realizes Shi Maria, while controlling Carl’s body, burned off Mongo’s wing and hurt allies. The crawlers survived, though some strippers and slug allies died, Tran lost his wheelchair, Li Jun lost an eye, and Carl lost his hair.

Donut explains that the group escaped the collapsing building with her Hole spell and that Carl and Donut gained levels from the city’s destruction. Samantha announces she is returning to her king, while Donut reveals she ripped Shi Maria’s card so Shi Maria cannot hurt Mongo again. Donut then shows Carl Paz’s upgraded card, now labeled a former crawler and god predator; after the group agrees Paz wanted release, Donut destroys the card.

As the Sheol fire dies down, the system announces that Ysalte is dead, Amayon is free, and Amayon has already cast his spell. A thirty-minute timer appears: when it reaches zero, the portal over Cuba will suck up all living things, items, and structures. The system clarifies that crawlers can survive by positioning themselves beneath sealed stairwell chambers, which will let them strike the stairwell as they are pulled upward.

With little time left, Carl reflects on Katia’s unresolved Crown problem and the dangerous bargain involving Huanxin Jinx. Carl then uses one of the Princess Posse’s emergency Faction Wars action items to ask the AI to resolve pending votes through the viewers or by AI decision, because other factions have refused to vote. The AI accepts immediately, pushing numerous pending rules to audience votes and changing the shape of the coming war.

The votes produce major consequences: celestial summoning limits remain high, artillery range expands, pet leveling accelerates, faction sponsor safety protections are removed by an overwhelming audience vote, and an NPC Home Team based in Larracos is added with Juice Box and Sir Ferdinand as co-warlords. Seeing that more than thirty-three thousand crawlers have survived the eighth floor, Carl realizes the floor failed to break them and publicly threatens the factions and sponsors awaiting them in Faction Wars.

Carl, Donut, and Imani take their positions beneath the stairwell chamber. Donut worries about Katia leaving and notices that Shi Maria’s quest remains because Shi Maria is still somehow bound to Carl through the tattoo. Imani thanks Carl and Donut for not abandoning her, and just before the portal opens Donut sees Carl’s jacket glowing with a centipede image. A voice in Carl’s mind warns that he failed to diffuse his Scavenger’s Daughter soul power, then the portal tears Cuba clean and pulls Carl, Donut, and Imani upward into the ninth floor and Faction Wars.