(L) Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? [WN]

[kari-no-sugata II]

(I started typing this out about 2 hours ago but then my computer died... this is a shorter version...)

I don't know if we'll get a new chapter today and even if so there's no guarantee it'll be from Shiro's POV... but anyway, I thought I'd write up a few ideas on what could happen.

Shiro is hard to predict... and there could be surprise events too. But it's fun to speculate.

I don't think it'll be a big deal about what actually happened to Shun (Taboo 10). Shiro could guess or Wrath/Sophia could tell her. Shiro doesn't seem to have noticed Oka-chan sensei or Yuri (they should both be nearby and unconscious). With all the robots around, it'd probably be safer to toss everyone into another dimension.

I don't think Shiro will want to hang around for a long conversation. There's a war going on after all. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she quickly tosses Sophia and Wrath back to the Demon King's Army, with a warning that she'll punish them later. Wrath might request to be able to stay and talk to his friends but I'd be surprised if she allows that. I guess it's possible that she could manipulate time in the dimension to allow more time for discussion though.

Hard to say how she'll react to seeing sensei. I'm sure she'll want to check her condition at least. Would she want to talk to her at all or will taking care of the robots take priority? Shiro does want the Ruler Authority from Oka-chan but she probably doesn't need it immediately.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Originally Posted by Tcol

She somehow really similar to Sena a certain blonde girl with a butterfly on her head from a certain novel/manga/anime about a club for making friends, has good knowledge in school but being a baka to social common stuffs... or so i thought.

Trying to explain Shiro is a tricky one. I feel that she's somewhat predictable on the more "primal" things (flee, kill, eat, sleep) but on more complex/advanced things she's a bit trickier to explain by way of comparison since she is so out there at times.

I think this is mostly down to her background. I don't think the scale of her "human" (Wakaba Hiiro) memories has ever really been established but I don't remember any indication that she has "real" memories outside of her time at high school. She doesn't even remember the last time she had an actual conversation with somebody. D somewhat sloppily (apparently) filled in the gaps and papered over the cracks and otherwise setup "Kumoko" to ignore the holes in her memory, which then became all too apparent when she became god.

It would be interesting to know just where D and Shiro diverge. D seems perfectly capable of talking to random people but it feels like she doesn't make any effort/attempt to actually meet people or talk to them unless there's a reason. Shiro seems to have problems with "the other" (everyone except her or almost her) in general. Not just talking with them but simply being around them. That seems to be a side-effect of her "feelings" as a spider (big scary humans, terrified spider). Things that are traumatic for her definitely have a long term impact - hence she doesn't feel inclined to fly because of falling into the deep pit in the labyrinth all those years ago.

It would be interesting to speculate how she would have developed had she been born in this world as a human instead of a spider. That would likely have forced her to learn more normal human interactions - I suspect she still would have been "weird" but not nearly as much as she is now. Since she only gained a "human" form once she became god she had no real requirement to interact with more normal people, so mostly just avoided it.

I could go on and on about this but it's highly speculative anyway...

[K2Grey]

My speculations are that there will be a big deal about what happened to Shun (but maybe not immediately). Ariel will die, but in the process Potimas will be forced to play one of his biggest cards (e.g. his anti-Gyuriedistodiez weapon).

I also think that the elf village battle isn't the end of the story, although we are definitely beginning the endgame. It would be anti-climatic if Shiro dismantles the System 5 years later at her leisure, so most likely, the technology that Potimas will use to defend himself will cause critical drain on the MA area, and Shiro will have to destroy the System on the spot. If Kuro hasn't shown up with his army of dragons yet, he'll do so at this point and it'll be Ragnarok, although not necessarily in the form of an apocalyptic battle (it could just be Kuro sacrificing himself to prevent death by skill deprivation, and Sariel dies with the System).

[kari-no-sugata II]

Originally Posted by K2Grey

My speculations are that there will be a big deal about what happened to Shun (but maybe not immediately).

How do you expect it to make a big deal? If Shun accepts the contents of Taboo, it might help with convincing Oka-chan to hand over Ruler Authority rights to Shiro. That's about all I can think of right now. It might possibly avoid some bad scenarios too, depending on what opportunities come Shun's way.

Ariel will die, but in the process Potimas will be forced to play one of his biggest cards (e.g. his anti-Gyuriedistodiez weapon).

He has multiple anti-Gyuriedistodiez weapons, remember. He considered using one on Ariel as a warm-up / test run, pretty much. So if he nukes Ariel and Kuro, it's possible he'll have more left to potentially use on Shiro.

I also think that the elf village battle isn't the end of the story, although we are definitely beginning the endgame. It would be anti-climatic if Shiro dismantles the System 5 years later at her leisure, so most likely, the technology that Potimas will use to defend himself will cause critical drain on the MA area, and Shiro will have to destroy the System on the spot. If Kuro hasn't shown up with his army of dragons yet, he'll do so at this point and it'll be Ragnarok, although not necessarily in the form of an apocalyptic battle (it could just be Kuro sacrificing himself to prevent death by skill deprivation, and Sariel dies with the System).

I don't know if "Elf Village Battle" will turn out to be the final (significant) fight of the series. It's quite possible, particularly if Kuro dies. If Kuro survives then maybe "Kuro vs Shiro" will be the last battle (something I'd like to see, currently). It's probably worth mentioning that killing Potimas is not Ariel's ultimate goal - that's to "save" Sariel.

Whatever happens, I hope we get a proper epilogue. Whether dismantling the System takes 1 day or 10 years, it doesn't necessarily have to take up a lot of text - and can be interwoven with the characters making their final decisions (that are relevant to the series).

[kari-no-sugata II]

"293 - Elf Village Battle 3" is out in raw. Are we going to get 2 releases today...?

Spoiler for thoughts:

Hmm. Was hoping for a bit more than this.

Was a bit surprised that Shiro started getting worried that the others might realise that she's ultimately responsible for Shun collapsing (since she's done the most to raise his Taboo level). Seems to be more so that she doesn't get shown to be blaming others for something she caused herself (I'll need to read it more carefully to be sure).

So basically, the reason for Shun's collapse is figured out... but Wrath is angry (hah) that Kanata panicked so much and blames her for not being prepared for all eventualities when coming onto the battlefield. He basically coerces her into surrendering.

Just Hyrinth / Kuro left... what now?

[cabman11]

Reminder that if it wasn't for Ariel and Shiro both oni and vampire girl would be your average Demon Lord. Also spewing out Demon Lord level intimidation

[kari-no-sugata II]

I think Wrath and Sophia would be well above your typical Demon King - they should be both above ancient dragon level. They might even be able to take on a Queen Taratekt. I'm guessing Mera would be more typical for Demon Kings.

[Hokoga]

^ Without Shiro I doubt Sophia would be on that level, Wrath maybe.

[cabman11]

^^ I'm talking your average Demon Lord in your common stories. They're powered over with put them in that position hard. Hack even Mera too

^ she could if she went full edgelord if her parents abandoning her and shit. She's a vampire remember.
With enough motivation she's almost guaranteed to be strong

[Obstendro]

for them to defeat a queen taratekt they need to use there ruler skill without them I don't know if they could defeat one

[cabman11]

Originally Posted by Obstendro

for them to defeat a queen taratekt they need to use there ruler skill without them I don't know if they could defeat one

They could both both defeat one easily. Sophia with her blood acid and wrath with max rage and sword god skills

[kari-no-sugata II]

Originally Posted by cabman11

They could both both defeat one easily. Sophia with her blood acid and wrath with max rage and sword god skills

Definitely not easily. The Divine Dragon Barrier they have is bad news - would invalidate most magic attacks. Sure, Sophia could counter with Envy and Wrath could counter with Wrath skill... but Queen Taratekts are no pushover. In LN4, "Kumoko" suffered a lot by taking "Mother" too lightly.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Well, seems like no 2nd release today....

I wonder if Shiro might drily comment to Wrath something like this: That's all very well (what you said to Kanata/Katia/Ooshima-kun), but you're the one who just deserted his position to come play with friends...

Actually, will Shiro say anything at all? She's not said anything yet...

[Breimn]

I think she will probably just leave and go to play with elves.

[erneiz_hyde]

I really want a K side story now, to see what it's like from Kanata's perspective.

[kari-no-sugata II]

"Pessimistic Duke's Daughter and the Oni" or something huh

Shiro compared it to what it was like for her meeting Alaba the first time.

[EvilSociopath323]

Originally Posted by erneiz_hyde

I really want a K side story now, to see what it's like from Kanata's perspective.

I agree. I want him to tell us how it feels to be a bitch

[Gerard07]

Finally we enter unknown history, I want to read soon the reaction of the "reincarnated" when they tell the truth of everything.
By the way, who do you think is stronger, Sophia or Oni-kun?

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Gerard07

Finally we enter unknown history, I want to read soon the reaction of the "reincarnated" when they tell the truth of everything.
By the way, who do you think is stronger, Sophia or Oni-kun?

Sophia-chan

Sophia-chan has better stats and skills and can outlast Oni in a drawn out battle. Oni-kun has a more explosive and flashier skill but in a drawn out battle he will lose.

[Okashira]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Sophia-chan

Sophia-chan has better stats and skills and can outlast Oni in a drawn out battle. Oni-kun has a more explosive and flashier skill but in a drawn out battle he will lose.

There is also the fact that Oni-kun is in a high ranking evolved state, so he probably needs a large spoonful of exp to level up, while Sophia was "even" with him at her level 1.

We never heard how much her stats grew since Shiro made her death march levels at the elf bases; I wouldn't be surprised if the current her was over twice as strong stat & skill wise compared to Oni-kun...... Interestingly enough, since Kyouya has been getting way more practice with his development skill due to supplying armies; he might still be "equal" to her via having custom made gear with h4x speculations; even if his levels and skills have practically remained almost unchanged since their fight.