With twenty-one minutes remaining before Emberus destroys the ninth floor, the Sledge says goodbye to Donut and begins casting Zerzura. Rosetta confirms that the spell includes both Larracos and Shanty Town, meaning the combined city and its eligible inhabitants will be transferred to the twelfth floor, the Court of the Ascendency. Carl reflects that the plan is dangerous, but it preserves the NPCs, changelings, Semeru dwarves, and others who can be moved there.

Carl considers the cost of the war. More than fifty thousand former crawlers came back to help, but only about twenty-eight thousand remain, and just over twenty thousand current crawlers have survived to reach the tenth floor. Carl watches Louis emerge from the hospital tent after the transplant, while Juice Box speaks with him and then turns away. Lucia Mar sobs nearby as Florin, Jurgen, and Imani try to convince her to take a deal.

Carl sees enemy mercenaries, including Corporal Pillbox, and feels the temptation to use the Ring of Divine Suffering to mark and kill them for power. Remembering Li Na and recognizing the moral danger of that path, Carl rejects the ring. Carl gives the ring to Donut, who swallows it, removing its temptation despite briefly gagging on it.

Ferdinand arrives with Drick to say goodbye before transferring to the twelfth floor, joking crudely with Donut, who thanks him for trying to rescue her in the tower. Milk then announces a gift from the crawlers taking deals and the former crawlers leaving the dungeon: they have transferred skills and spells into books for Carl and Donut, creating Carl’s Book of Boom and Donut’s A Banquet Fit for a Princess. The gesture gives Carl, Donut, and the crawlers who stay behind a large reserve of temporary abilities, along with personal messages of gratitude and donated gear.

The departing crawlers and former crawlers shower Larracos with flowers and streamers while Donut tearfully says goodbye. Milk explains that the former crawlers are not truly going home because the embargo remains, then says goodbye to Carl and urges him to burn everything down. Carl sees families and allies preparing to separate, including Kiwi with the children, Mordecai holding Ruby, and Mongo and Rend staying behind.

As the Sledge’s spell finishes, the Sledge asks whether he made a difference, and Carl confirms that he did. Juice Box privately tells Carl that she and Justice Light are taking a different route to the twelfth floor, leaving moments after everyone else. Just before the transfer, Carl notices a rebuilt statue of Ysalte, Larracos’s dead goddess, and her pickaxe. After a pause, system messages announce that both Warlords Ferdinand and Juice Box have left the realm, forfeiting their posts; Team Retribution is defeated, and the Princess Posse wins Faction Wars.