All I can say is, SHEESH. Damn, this was tough to write! Though they're most probably the most important Volumes, I really hate writing Volumes that combine tons of the story aspects together. Tying it up neatly into a bow whilst trying to make it presentable is just way too difficult! I'm pretty on the fence regarding whether or not this one is any good, but eh, if it ends up being bad I'll just fix it later in life.

Seeing Nelly gradually start to warm up to Olyahim, Showa and the islanders was the calm before the storm you could say. It also served as a way to better describe the passage of time while Lem was unconscious. Olya taught Nelly how to write in the Book, in spite of being the one who did this to Lem and kidnapped them in the first place. The question soon becomes what Olya has to gain from tricking her, and if Nelly should even trust him to begin with. Every time she would begin to let her guard down, Nelly would get reminded by Showa or the sleeping Lem not to trust Olya, so there's also that aspect of not knowing who's in the right and who's in the wrong as well.

In the end, we see this was all part of Olya's plan. When he had just taken her to the island, Olya had written into the Books that Nelly will wholeheartedly see him as a redeemable soul with a noble heart. He also taught her how to use the Books because he needed someone to help him revive Schnell, but knew Shaid wouldn't allow it. Olya then waited patiently for either Lune or Meil to show up. The latter of which could, as one of the Five Gods, provide him with divine permission, whilst the former could help give valuable firsthand knowledge as someone who died and revived against the Gods' will. In the end, it seems Meil was the one who showed up first, so they did it this way.

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Now, the hard part—Smash Bros Ultimate style... Everyone is here. Just writing these last few chapters where practically all the characters show up for one last brawl was tough as is, now just imagine how it's gonna be to write the next two Volumes! I'll have to give everyone their flashy screentime without ignoring their role here, so that's my current biggest worry. It's a really thin line to walk on, and what ends up happening is I have to spent almost triple the time and brain power just to squeeze out one chapter, whereas before I could almost turn my brain off when writing them. Hopefully, this added effort will have not gone to waste...

That's about all I have to say this time. There weren't any differences from the original draft cause, well, there was none for Volume 25. Not to say I was winging it, but due to having all these characters and events going on at the same time, I kind of have to carefully weave all the plotpoints together on the spot so as not to mess anything up. Next up, we'll have hopefully shed some more light on how all these people suddenly met up in the same spot on the Vast World.

Until then, though, this is Mikan Akai signing out!~