Zealot's Eleventh Crusade: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure

Divine Apostasy #11

by A.F. Kay

In the depths of the Destruction Realm, Ruin Val’dor rises from the ashes of his former life, bound to a destiny of chaos and power. Once Ruwen Starfield, he now wields the legacy of a noble bloodline—a path that leads straight into the heart of the Realm’s deepest secrets. Desperate to reclaim his humanity, Ruin must unravel the mysteries of his transformation and find a way back to who he once was.


But the Destruction Realm has its own plans. As Ruin battles to master the powers thrust upon him, an ancient enemy manipulates the very fabric of magic, threatening to shatter the universe. To stop them, Ruin must navigate the Destruction Realm towers, unlock forgotten paths, and unite forces he barely understands—all while holding onto the hope that his humanity can still be restored.


As time runs out and enemies converge, Ruin faces the ultimate will his desire to reclaim his human form cost him the universe he’s sworn to protect? Or will he embrace his new identity to confront a destiny, and enemies, far greater than himself.


Book 11 of the Divine Apostasy series, Zealot's Eleventh Crusade examines the complex relationships between loyalty, identity, and the relentless pursuit of balance. The stakes have never been higher, and the cost of failure is not just Ruin’s life—but the collapse of existence itself.

Genres: Fantasy

652 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 2025

About the author

AFK is the pen name of Ripht, a monk still wandering the Crypt of Dalnir looking for the Lumpy Goo that refuses to drop his Fighting Baton. Some of AFK's best memories happened online, and the Divine Apostasy, a LitRPG series, is his attempt to relive those days in some small part. He hopes you find a piece of yourself in this series and join him on the journey.

Reviews

[Tony Hinde · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 67%

I really wanted to finish this series. Great characters slowly becoming caricatures of themselves.

The amount of exposition in this book should be criminal. Hours of explanations without respite. Everything, even the plot, was explicit. I was forced to wade through so many descriptions of powers and loot drops. It's a good thing I like the metaphysics, because there's a tonne of it as well.

You'd think being nerfed back to level one would be a challenge but nope. Everything is still super-easy. In the end, this novel consists of 90% chaff. Where's the wheat?

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

An unfortunately muddled entry into an otherwise great series. This book expands upon the new magic systems introduced in the previous book, but with too much focus on jamming in new layers of complexity, and not enough on telling a story or making me care. And so we have a long exposition arc extolling the new pile of systems, a power-up arc that's mostly about making newly introduced numbers go up, and then a single fight at the end with meaningful stakes (though still pretty muddled in actual flow).

The main piece of feedback I can give is that there's no sense of connection or pacing anymore. Systems are introduced and mastered in almost the same breath. Prophecies are largely understood a few chapters after they're introduced, instead of providing meaningful foreshadowing. New characters are 1D caricatures with no interesting struggle or growth. It's getting really hard to care enough to follow along.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

+1 for a recap

[Michael Schwartz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good try but disappointing

Honestly it's like trying to put 12 gallons of paint into a 10 gallon bucket . Too many concerts shoved into this one book. I believe that it was very slow going and had many plot holes the size of the Grand canyon. Some of these concepts could have been a whole book and this book doesn't even have a real ending.
Very disappointed ☹️☹️☹️☹️

[Fernando J. Roman Corujo · Rating 1 out of 5]

bad

Half the book is an information dump or item/power descriptions. It’s like the author didn’t know what to do so just distracted us with information that means nothing to the reader. It’s too bad because this is one of my favorite series.

[Arthur King · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zealots Eleventh info-dump. If this was the first or second book in the series, I might be more generous, but as the 11th (twelfth) book in the series and the penultimate book at that, this book should be a setup for the last book. Building tension, setting up the chess board, pushing the plot hard. None of that happens. In fact, just the opposite happens.

Ruewen goes harring off on a side quest because he literally has nothing better to do than bully some alchemists, fights a couple of gods with one hand behind his back and accidentally discovers that EVERYTHING that we've learned about cultivation; harmony; the various realms; and the system is wrong. Tear it down and start over from square one wrong.

Also, ruwen dies like 5 times in this book. Just in case the fact that his complete disrespect and disregard for every opponent didn't lower the stakes and tension enough, you might as well make the MC actually unkillable and give him multiple zenkai boosts while you're at it. Brings new meaning to the phrase 'plot armor.'

[Glenn S · Rating 1 out of 5]

So glad

For some weird reason. I'm forced to complete a series once I start. Maybe it's the hope it will improve as the author expands and "settles into" the story. This one was painful to read from the outset and never improved. I'm so glad it's over....despite not really ending.

The entire story from start to finish is a convoluted mish mash of confusing and boring details. The general idea is very good, but the author is a horrible story teller. I'd really like to continue this review, but my brain is exhausted after reading this last book.

My advice is to stay clear of this series. If you fall into the same trap as I did, then you have my condolences.

[Vishal Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read

As always, this series has me eagerly awaiting the next book. If you've gotten this far, just know that you're in for another treat.

This book is juggling a lot of world building topics and it does so well. It balances them well and still manages to include fun times with the main cast and connect back to side stories and side characters from the previous book.

It's book 11, so you know if you want to read it. All we can do is wait for book 12.

[MICHAEL J THIEMAN JR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

If you've never read one of the books in this series, you should. You should read them all. Then read them over again. Superb storytelling, distinct and memorable characters. Real stakes. Heartfelt and at times heartbreaking. Whether you are a young adult looking for something to sink your teeth into, or an adult that's young at heart, looking for something engaging, you will definitely find something worth the read in this series.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of the end, and a beginning

Should you read this book? Yes. Maybe not yet. For me it’s like a soap opera, all the things I want, happen at the beginning and the end. Just when I get truly invested again it’s over. I will continue this series but I’m waiting for a few books to pile up to read all at once.

[William Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

super crunchy, but tasty

There are *so* many items and spells and…the MC’s ‘character sheet’ is ridiculous in its complexity and scope. Multiple sets of armor, with individual piece effects and set bonuses. Core, Meridians, Chakras, Fortification, Gems, Runes,…

And somewhere in amongst the mess is an amazing narrative. With profound statements coated in frosting.

[Shaun Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another masterpiece

Kay has continued this masterpiece. The flip the board cliffhanger from book 10 was explained so wonderfully. He even gave us a good glimpse into the future of this series.

[Josiah Ploeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Solid Entry

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others in the series, but it was still a good read. The destruction realm just wasn’t that interesting to me. That said, it sets us up for the future and I’m excited to see what happens next.

[Joseph Neville · Rating 5 out of 5]

I look forward to book 12

This book helps to flesh out the other realms of existence and it was a very interesting story. I'm looking forward to seeing Ruin's continuing adventures.

[James Thornburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wtf there the next one?? 😂

Excellent. I'm enjoying this series. Moving with the characters through their progressions and being around for the entertaining vastness that is the friendship between sift and ruwen are rare treats.

[David M Drewry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

I have,read,all books in series,and usual this book was,fantastic. It always had,adventure,, changes,to main characters and a poor that you still wonder how things,will go. As,usual can't for next book.

[John Upchurch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another WOW book!!!

I really don’t want these books to end!! They don’t feel to overwhelming similar to each one, they feel like they finish one aspect and then have another new or old aspect to complete!! It is great!!! Please complete a lot more book in this series!!! 😊

[Steven Beverage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Book, Awesome Author, Awesome Narrator

You won’t regret the series. I’ve reread this series multiple times and it just keeps getting better. Looking forward to the next book.

[Gage Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

overall, I enjoyed the story. it did take a bot for it to get up and running, though. there was also a lot of technical talk and going over the skills list, which is fine but maybe a touch overkill. otherwise, I'm still enjoying the banter from the characters, and the story is holding me!

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

as cool as parts of this one was, I felt so overwhelmed with the details of all the magic systems that I found myself losing the thread of the plot. still good, I reallyenjoy this series, but I had a hard time holding onto this one

[Erik Van Norstrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing as always

This book and series are absolutely amazing, the story continues to blow my mind and I can’t wait for book 12!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing as always

As usual he delivers a great story with good pacing. Banter between characters is always fun. Leaves you wanting more

[Matt Hoover · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the weakest entries, with pacing and grammatical/spelling issues.
I had thought that losing all his stuff would have given an opportunity to simplify much, yet Ruin finds a way.

[Richard Kraus · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

Another absolutely amazing installment. This series continues to be a detriment to my sleep, but I wouldn’t have it any other way

[Trax Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you!

A series that's worth every bit of your time. Each next One in the series better than the last one.

[Lorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping

I stayed up way too late to read this and just couldn't stop until I finished it. I really liked the book.

[Shannon Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Another fine escape, now I have to wait for the next one. Thanks for the storytelling, you are creating a very interesting universe.

[Robert C. Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing book to continue the series

Wasn’t sure what to think the way book 10 finished but this one was way better than I thought it would be, again, well done.

[Robert Gene Rosero · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok i like the series again,

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of words and very little actual story unfortunately. While the book itself won't make me drop the series outright, there are some massive problems here and the series is trending downward.