Hello, everyone! This will be the final post for this story before I officially close off this chapter of my life. I don't have too much to say this time around regarding the story, but I did promise the rest of the power levels for the rest of the characters, so, here's the full list now.
Dark lord suit: 4000
Dark lord: 5500
Doom slayer: 700
Doom slayer DLP: 4200
Doom slayer w/spirit marauder: 6500
Tanjiro: 20
Tanjiro demon slayer mark: 80
Tanjiro (TAG 2): 300
Tanjiro demon slayer mark (TAG 2): 1000 to 4000
Xernex: 100
Marauder: 130
Marauder (dark lord buff): 300
Cultist marauder: 700
Cultist marauder (overdrive): 1400
Akaza: 125
Akaza (TAG 2): 250
Akaza w/spirit (TAG 2): 400
Super doom Hunter: 200
Valen: 150
Doomguy (argent d'nur): 100
These aren't 100% accurate to begin with, but this does help give you a general idea of where everyone is in relation to each other.
Reflection
Secondly, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the story and how it's evolved, a little behind-the-scenes if you will. From the very beginning the plan was to kill off Doomguy, I wanted to try something bold. However, how and and the development leading up to that point were not yet decided. For those of you who've been around since the first draft of the first arc, you guys remember how rough it was. I didn't really have a super clear direction of where I wanted to go. I had a very vague ending in mind. It's not like I wasn't planning ahead, but there was still a lot left to be desired and planned out.
The backlash surrounding chapter 15's ending was a significant wake-up call to me that I desperately needed to change my approach at the story. I have my problems with Demon Slayer, and my objective was to clear up those mistakes throughout the process of writing this story. In a sense, I was, arrogantly, trying to "surpass" Demon Slayer while trying to put Doom's lore and narrative at the forefront of the story. I got caught up on trying to be better than Demon Slayer. It was around the mid-way through the second arc where I stopped trying to surpass Demon Slayer and just focused on telling my own story.
There was a lot more I wanted to do, being honest. I originally had a character arc planned for Giyu to make him more relevant. However, as the story went on, I just found no place to put him in. I ultimately decided not to involve Giyu as his contribution to the story would've been minimal and didn't mean anything to the theme of legacy I was trying to portray in this story.
Speaking of which, for those who haven't caught on, the primary theme of this story is that of legacy and acceptance. That's why you're always seeing legacy this and legacy that. Everything in the narrative is about those two themes and it all culminates in the form of Tanjiro. Tanjiro is the culmination of everything that's happened as a story and he's dramatically transformed because of it. This was the story I was trying to tell now, I no longer focused on trying to surpass Demon Slayer and, instead, did my own thing. I hope all of you really enjoyed this journey, my co-story writer and I had a blast!
What's next?
Well, uploading on a weekly basis without missing a beat for over a year has left me a little burnt out and exhausted. I was feeling the effects of being burnt out by Chapter 50-51. It became a slug fest of me trying to crank out the chapters and force myself to write them. The last few chapters were dreadful for me to write, but I managed to rekindle my motivation for the last two chapters and give you the peak of my writing.
So, what is next? The two projects my co-story writer and I have planned for the future are two separate crossovers:
Highschool DxD x Naruto: Though my co-story writer and I are still on the planning phases (and I'm still reading the light novel right now to catch up), the general premise will be that Naruto, during his final battle against Kaguya, has his soul ripped out of his body near the end and his body is transferred to one of the characters of DxD. In a new body and world, Naruto has to come to terms with his situation and figure out how to get back to his own dimension, if it's even possible. The explanations for how this is possible will come with the story. And if you want to try predicting who Naruto will accidentally assimilate, I'll just tell you this now: It's not any of the primary characters.
Halo Infinite x Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: We are also planning this one out as well, but I can give you the general idea. This will take place before Kotor 1. Specifically, after the Mandalorian War Revan battled in. This takes place during that period of time where Revan and Malak have disappeared into the unknown region. However, they're not our stars for the story. One of the two main characters (besides the Master Chief) will be a Mandalorian that survived the old war. Dishonored, defeated, and with no work to do, our Mandalorian protagonist is desperate for any opportunity to regain his honor which leads him to accepting a special assignment that takes him to the unknown regions where he is discovered by the Banished and gets caught up in their battle against humanity. How will Master Chief's selfless quest to defend humanity clash with our Mandalorian's selfish sense of self and honor? Read to find out more.
These are the two projects my co-story writer and I have planned for the future. I have no estimated release dates, just know that they are currently being worked on. Which leads me to my next point. For those of you who would like more experience writing or really like the crossover ideas, I present all of you an offer. For those of you who want to become a part of the process and help us write these stories, you can add me on Discord where you can help us write these stories. For those of you who haven't written a whole lot of stories or want some experience, this is a chance for you to get your feet wet. For experienced writers reading this story who like these ideas, your help will be greatly appreciated!
My Discord is Rexreal42#3111, shoot me a message explaining where you came from and what project you would like to participate in and we can get the process started! I can't wait to work with you guys!
With that aside, that's all I've got to offer now. Thank you all so incredibly much for your support. You've been with us through the highs and lows of the story and stuck through. For that, you have my unyielding respect and appreciation. I hope you guys stick around for these next two projects! I'm looking forward to seeing y'all then. Until that time comes, this will be the final post for this story, it's been an honor. Stay safe and have a good day.
