Kill Six Billion Demons IV: King of Swords (part eight)

Where we left off, Team Killy - minus Cio - had gone through the gate to Rayuba to sign Killy up for Solomon David's tournament. Gog-Agog may or may not be fixing the matches in Killy's favor once she confirms Killy's presence. Mottom may or may not be waiting to nuke Solomon David's entire capital city when she confirms Killy's presence. Nyave is hoping to use this event to cause some disruption. White Chain is hoping Killy doesn't die. Princess is hoping to get to kill something. Gog-Agog is probably hoping to infest the entire multiverse using this somehow idk. Killy...I'm not really sure if SHE knows what she hopes to get out of this.

In any case, it's not an optimistic start. The image of them marching through the gate is a triumphant, adventurous one, but the vibe underlying it is one of ominous dread. A sense that they've already failed before even getting to the arena.

Let's see just how badly this goes.

The chapter opens with a panning shot of the freshly built Circle of Power arena. Curiously, though the names of the planet and arena are both provided by caption despite us already knowing them, the comic doesn't seem to think the name of the city worth providing. This is Solomon's capital city, right? It seems like it should be a pretty important place even without the arena being built just off its waterfront. I'll just call it Rayuba City for now I guess. Or...Celestial City? Celesity? Celesity.

Anyway, this is all a preface to me wanting to say that we have an aerial view of the completed arena, and its design is absolutely fucking insane.

Like, what the hell are those random branches in the causeways for? How are those sailboats even getting into the spaces between them if there aren't any bridges or archways taller than the masts; are they just there to go back and forth between island and coast for people who are too lazy to walk or something? How much work did Solomon - despite his pretensions of being an approachable down-to-earth ruler - have his men put into those several dozen gigantic-ass statues of him MOUNTED KNEE-DEEP IN THE FUCKING BAY? That fog bank seems to only exist around the island itself, implying that it's artificial, but if Solomon is already controlling the weather around the arena why bother putting that overcomplicated geodesic roof-thing over it?

Those causeways in particular are bothering me. The WTF branching one at the bottom left especially. You've got two walkways extending from the waterfront right next to each other and running parallel to each other before randomly connecting halfway across the channel.

I guess we'd have to ask whichever of his brainlet princes Solomon had handle the architecture this time. Well, anyway, enough talk about the literal first panel of the chapter already, let's move on.

Team Killy makes it through the ridiculous causeway system and queues up at one of the enrolment offices built into the outer building. Killy informs the clerk that she's the only entrant, the others are just here with her. And, apparently she's so butthurt about Cio doing what she clearly needed to do for her own sanity's sake that she can't shut up about it even to random bureaucrats.

Killy, why do you think the clerk cares? You worked at Starbucks, Killy, you know that this bottom rung service agent doesn't need to hear your unsolicited whining about your relationship troubles.

Yisundamn you, Incubus, you really did steer her down the path to Karenhood. She hasn't fallen all the way into that abyss yet, but the warning signs are visible.

The clerk snarkily discards her tangent about people caring and not caring, and hands her a gigantic stack of paperwork. Like, it's taller than her head. On one hand, I'm not sure why the tournament would need quite that many forms and disclaimers - it's not like anyone is going to file a lawsuit against the Celestial Empire lol. On the other...if Solomon David believes that a hypothetical winner of the tournament is likely to ask for his empire, then making sure they can handle soul-crushing amounts of boring paperwork and bureaucracy is actually a pretty good barrier to entry.

If it turns out that there are other qualifying steps for tournament competition that all require you to demonstrate good leadership qualities while the tournament still markets itself as a brute "i's the biggest so i's the boss" warrior king contest, that would be pretty cool. It would definitely raise my opinion of Solomon David a little bit. That would also be very much in character for his biblical namesake, now that I think about it.

From what we see in the next page or so though, the qualifying exams other than filling out paperwork are just physical fitness stuff. Ah well. Anyway, Killy performs much better than anyone expects a normal-looking human to perform; she's keeping her Key well hidden, of course.

She easily qualifies. And also demonstrates a persistently bad attitude throughout the whole process. After she beats up another entrant in the boxing ring in a manner that's clearly just venting her frustration (and then talks down to the defeated opponent in a pointlessly mean way), White Chain tries to take her to task. And, this leads to something that could fairly be called a blowout. One that threatens to lead things in a very bad direction. When White Chain asks her if she's really forgotten the basic points of the mantra she always makes her repeat as part of the Empty Palms training, she tells White Chain that the mantra is fucking stupid and she's not going to repeat it again, much less follow it.

That's...insane and asinine, even by the standards of Killy's well-established pattern of questionable judgement. Or at least...hmm. Okay, this next exchange makes me see where Killy is coming from. She's still obviously going off the rails, but it's more understandable why she's going off the rails and what all contributed to it happening.

Ignoring how disappointing it is to see that kind of schoolyard racism coming from Killy in the last panel, especially after having just been on the other end of it from that muppet priest back on Throne, there's a genuine and well-justified sense of grievance, disappointment - maybe even betrayal - here. Remember, Killy didn't say "fuck you all, ACAB" and kill Oman Vash when she found out what all the pain and violence White Chain had her inflict was meant to accomplish. But you can bet she almost did. You can bet she's been thinking about it ever since then. It's coming out now, and really, let's think about this from Killy's perspective.

Who the fuck is White Chain to lecture her about what type of violence is necessary and appropriate, or when?

What reason does Killy have to take any of the "wisdom" of angelic martial arts and social philosophy seriously?

White Chain can't teach her how to right wrongs. White Chain doesn't know how to right wrongs. Killy would be entirely justified in thinking that White Chain doesn't even know what right and wrong are. And, frankly, Killy might just be correct in that assessment. White Chain was first introduced in book one in a somewhat antagonistic role, and frankly she hasn't really changed her ethics or beliefs very much since then.

Killy is being stupid and pigheaded. She's making the same mistakes she did in book 3. She needs to be dressed down. But, she needs to be dressed down by someone she has reason to respect. Someone whose opinions and philosophy she has reason to treat with any faith or charity. White Chain *is* giving her good advice in this scene, but Killy can't recognize it as good advice because of who it's coming from. Killy needs a teacher who she can respect, and its White Chain's own damned fault that she has lost the ability to be that for her.

Again, what I'm saying here isn't so much a defence of Killy as it is a takedown of White Chain. Killy IS being stupid and immature, full stop. But she needs someone whose opinions are more reliable than White Chain's to tell her that.

As White Chain fumes at Killy's retreating back, a ghostly hand suddenly grabs White Chain's spirit form and yoinks her right out of her avatar and into some kind of interdimensional angelic fuge-state. White Chain, now in her winged blue lady spirit form, turns around to see who just yoinked her, and-Oh hey, speaking of stupid and immature, look who it is!

I'm sort of confused at what just happened here. I don't thiiiiink Juggernaut Star can just reach across the multiverse and pull any angel out of its avatar and into the void at will. Maybe this is a backdoor that Michael installed in White Chain's synth specifically? Or maybe this is just Rayuba's "ethereal plane," and the Thorn Knights are actually right here in the room in spirit form. The Thorns seem to have trained themselves to hold their spirit forms in a shape that closely resembles their synths, so it's hard to tell by looking if they're currently sleeved.

Hmm. A lot of those thornies appear to be *headless* in a manner reminiscent of that one Concordant avatar we saw creeping after White chain before. Probably hinting that that was a Thorn Knight hopping into the cockpit back there as I suspected, or maybe just the author flashing a red herring.

White Chain expresses disbelief that Michael and Metatron are still trusting her with even the simplest of tasks after her random murder-impulse back on Mottom's ship. Juggernaut assures White Chain that she is a loyal and obedient slave of the Prime Angels, and that her completely temporary and highly uncharacteristic lapse in judgement back there was beaten out of her.

Oh my god White Chain how are you not just busting a gut right now, how is it possible to have a conversation with this person without laughing, holy shit.

Seriously, I'm starting to think that those other Thorn Knights standing around them aren't soldiers awaiting JS' command, but overseers watching to see if she can get through the simplest fucking work conference without screwing it up.

...also, it looks like when Juggernaut Star said they beat the insubordination out of her, she was being literal.

Not literal in the sense that I think it actually worked, but you know what I mean.

Also, it looks like at least some of the other thornies have seen JS girlmoding. Is this the first time she's slipped up and let other angels see this? I kind of doubt it. My guess is that they just see her fem-form and her impulsiveness and stupidity as symptoms of the same fundamental problem, and see the resurgence of either as evidence of the other. The question of why Juggernaut Star seems to have relatively good status among the Thorn Knights despite this...well, it could mean a couple of things. Option A is that she *doesn't* actually have relatively good status, and dealing with people in White Chain's situation is actually bottom-rung gruntwork (though I have trouble believing they'd send someone that untrusted to conduct a point insertion into Mottom's damned palace...). Option B is that...this is normal. Every Thorn Knight is like this. They're all constantly being punished for failings of this kind and degree.

The latter makes me wonder if half of them are just in it for the BDSM. After all, how often are Thorn Knights actually expected to go out and *do* anything besides ritualistic flagellation? It seems like their hands are usually tied in most of the multiverse, after all.

Well, enough angel sociology, it's time to get back to angel cringe comedy. Juggernaut Star tells White Chain that time is running short; the final war is coming soon, and the True Heir must be found and empowered. White Chain seems to have been paying too much attention to Killy and acting as if she might actually be the true heir rather than Zaid, which is stupid. Killy couldn't be the heir, she sucks.

Ohhh boy. Okay. There's a lot to unpack here.

First of all, and most obviously, Juggernaut Star has just been forced to admit - within this conversation - that she herself is all of those things. Rash, impulsive, emotional. She literally couldn't get through a simple delivery mission without letting her murderboner run away with her and trying to kill the VIP in a time and place that risked bringing the fucking Black Kings down on the Thorn Knights. These aren't human failings. They're also not failings that JS of all fucking people can judge anyone for. I'm continually impressed by White Chain's ability to not die laughing whenever JS opens her stupid spike-filled mouth.

Second, if the Thorn Knights hate humans so much, why do they give two shits who Zoss' chosen heir is? Zoss is a human. In fact, he's probably the one, single human who they should logically have the biggest beef with. He's the one who set the multiverse on the path to ruin. He's the one who invaded Throne and destroyed angel society (at least, that's how the angels seem to remember it; as I mused in book 2, the Servants might tell the story very differently). I guess there's the prophecy they need to plan around, but if the prophecy says that a human heir will fix everything and the angels are taking that pronouncement seriously then that means the problem ISN'T with humans as a species after all, doesn't it?

Third...what is she even telling White Chain that she should be doing more of? This whole tournament enrollment thing was Killy's idea, not White Chain's. Hell, it was actually Gog-Agog's idea, not even Killy's lol. What had White Chain even been doing up until now? What was she *supposed to* have been doing?

Seriously White Chain, just shove this dweeb in a locker and wait for 2 Michael to send you an actual adult to get your mission briefings from. If this actually matters to him, he'll do it.

Back on Rayuba, Killy seems to be regretting that outburst, and is pacing around in a hallway practicing different versions of an apology for her to give to White Chain. They seem like sincere, well-considered apologies that show that Killy understands why and how she was wrong and why it's important for her to keep White Chain as a mentor no matter what frustrations she might have with her organization.

Unfortunately, when White Chain returns to her avatar and comes within sight of Killy again, the damage has been done. Juggernaut Star has used the opportunity to turn White Chain further against Killy, and White Chain has had her own immense lapse in judgement in taking JS' words to heart instead of stealing her diary and reading it with her Concordant Knight friends. White Chain tells Killy that she's enrolling in the tournament herself now; after all, their odds are better with two competitors than with just one, and Killy has proven that she isn't a basket worth putting all of one's eggs in.

Hmm.

On one hand, the shoe is sort of back on the other foot here. Killy is kind of being stupid by taking this so harshly; if she and White Chain end up facing each other in the tournament, obviously the thing to do would be for them to decide between themselves which of them is more likely to win the rest of the tournament at that point and then have the other one throw the match. That's common sense. Hell, if Killy really wants to rescue Zaid, she'd have proposed this from the beginning. As I inferred before, rescuing Zaid ISN'T actually what she cares about at this point. She doesn't even know what she's trying to do right now, and she's starting to default to egotism once again. I still don't know how much of this is really her fault and how much is residual Incubus pollution, but either way, not a good look Killy.

However, at the same time...what does she think White Chain would do, if she were to win the tournament? She knows that White Chain is doing some partially-clandestine work for some angel higher-ups after that conversation in early book 3. She can't have forgotten that White Chain tried to (lethally) remove the Masterkey from her head at the end of book 1. And, with her still ostensibly believing that Zaid is the one who needs to be given that key...hmm. Yeah, I can't really blame her for being uncomfortable and defensive about this herself.

Once again. Killy is being dumb, and White Chain is sketchy enough that she can't really explain why she's being dumb and be trusted about it.

...

Between this and the backstory about Meti and her disciples, this book really is taking a critical look at teachers in general. Which I guess is fitting for the general ethos of K6BD but damn, it's just going really, really hard on this.

...

Meanwhile, of course, that headless Concordant synth is watching them serreptitiously in the last panel of the screenshot above. Depending on what exactly happened with White Chain and the Thorn Knights a little while ago, in terms of who went where and how the interaction actually happened, this could be more evidence for a Thorn Knight being in that avatar. I still think Juggernaut Star herself is the most likely culprit, but we'll see.

With these ever-deteriorating conditions made clear to the reader, the day of the tournament dawns. The twin suns dawn over the Circle of Power, and, standing up in the commentator box, your best pal Gog-Agog turns on the microphone and introduces herself, the tournament, and the co-host, her best pal Gog-Agog.

Okay, so those microphones at least LOOK electrical. I'm more confused than ever about what tech is available and who has access to it.

Also, why the fucking hell would Solomon David allow a rival Black King to have this much presence at his tournament? Let alone one whose powerset lends itself as well to underhanded dickery and subversion as Gog-Agog's?

This is making less sense to me the more I learn about it. :/

To get the audience all hyped up and keep them entertained before the tournament begins, they go to their field correspondent down in the pit, Gog-Agog. She cheerfully introduces herself, and takes a minute to explain the rules of the tournament.

So, you can surrender any time, and also lose by being thrown out of the ring. That...definitely makes Killy's refusal to work with White Chain here less reasonable, if there's no actual injury required to allow the match to be thrown.

...in fact. With these rules, and with Gog-Agog of all fucking people as the showrunner, I'm starting to feel like the real purpose of these tournaments is to bait out conspirators and opportunists. Even if someone somehow manages to get to the end without cheating and getting caught, Solomon David is both the final contestant AND the judge, so he can always find a reason to disqualify them and make himself look right for doing so.

I'm still surprised he's allowing multiple human-equivalent masses worth of Gog-Agog into his capital city, though. Seriously, finding those worms anywhere on your planets should be grounds for a declaration of war.

Well. Anyway. Gog interviews some of the entrants. A Jagganath-cultist who's mostly here to kill things and die without any hope of winning. Killy, who she secretly knows all about but isn't telling the camera(?) anything about. A would-be revolutionary who tries to use the opportunity to raise awareness of an atrocity Solomon David committed on her homeworld, but who Gog-Agog cuts off before she can get to the details. Etc.

With those sample introductions made, Gog-Agog tells the audience that to fill the rest of the time until the first round, they can all try out their own combat skills as the commander of potentially thousands of champions from a dozen distinct factions. Raid: Shadow Legends is a free-to-play mobile extravaganza that no multiversal traveller or pilgrim can call their journey complete without experiencing.

Finally, Solomon David steps out onto his own private little balcony-thing. Gog-Agog points him out to the crowd. Everyone claps, cheers, glares, or tenses their fists, depending on backgrounds. Killy stares at him like a mountain climber at a peak they plan to conquer. White Chain just puts her hand together and silently apologizes to the gods for the violence she is about to commit. Killy also gives White Chain a bit of stink-eye from across the pit. Meanwhile, in the audience, Nyave is just folding her arms and looking something between anxious and hostile, while Princess is just impatient for the show to start already.

Solomon David doesn't say anything. Just shoots a purple fireball at the ersatz Olympic Torch to light it up and make the beginning of the tournament official.

That brings us to the next phase of the volume, I suppose. And a good breaking point.

What do they even think they're trying to accomplish, at this point? What kind of disruption do Killy, White Chain, or Nyave think they're going to pull off? I feel like the story has kind of gotten ahead of itself tbh. Well, we'll see what happens next time.