Following a narrow triumph against the Sun God Inti, Haruyuki and company are immediately faced with a new The Deity of Demise, Tezcatlipoca, whose appearance heralds the ends of the Accelerated World as they know it. To stand a chance, Haruyuki will once again have to dig deep and discover new reserves of untapped power. At the same time, the battle against White Cosmos and her Legion enters the endgame. As the Burst Linkers fall one by one to these mighty foes, Haruyuki makes his most difficult decision yet...
25 novels in and the craziest cliffhanger in a series of insane cliffhangers hits - what in the Sam Hill is Kawahara going to do with this one? I can't even comment without it being a huge spoiler.
just going to put this on my bookshelf and walk away, clear my mind and hope I don't lose my shit waiting for volume 26.
The Deity of Demise offers one of the most surprising lore drops in the world of Accel World thus far finally returning us to the same lore that Haruyuki had a part of seeing, being a part of, and also hearing before (this is regarding the origin and potential termination of Brain Burst 2039, Accel Assault 2038 and Cosmos Corrupt 2040). Ultimately, what Haruyuki hears here makes one wonder about the originators and lore surrounding them. Alas the White King didn't choose to say everything that she knew and left us dying to know more.
What I also want to know more of is the missions to rescue Graphite Edge. Considering Haruyuki's inability to play a direct role in those happens, we didn't get to re-experience the fun of rescuing Aqua Current, Arden Maiden, or journeying through the castle with Trilead Tetraoxide. I really love Trilead's character and would have loved to see him and his response to getting his master/parent. In any case, perhaps this story will be told in full in the future.
I thought the previous volume offered one of the most intense conclusions in all of Accel World, but Vol 25 easily topped it. I won't spoil but wow. I found myself crying considering how tight Haruyuki Arita and Takumu Mayuzumi are. Aw.