There were Archons . . . EVERYWHERE! And they just kept spawning—and spawning more Archons.

      After a shortish while, my pet (invisible) giant, carrying a stack of my gems (I don't know HOW peeps get giants, to carry their stuff.  I never seem to be able to.  (And they DROP it, too. (!!))) bit the dust.  So, I figured I'd just snarf the gems, after. . . .

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the MAP:

                                               ^    AT    A qYT V H@ g DqN   A
           A}}            }              ^A       }}}  w A@ ^ @ qc  TTAH N AD
  ^^         ^ A     ^    }                     A}}}} N D   B DHAU A }}g  A
     }             }}}}   }}    }A         H     }}}}}  AYAw  H H@wg}AT xA x
     }}                    }     }}}              }}}} H UNT @YD  T JAAAAx
  ^         }}}}        ^  }}    }}}      }        }}}}    }A zwqHgD@}}}ANNNg@
         A      }  ^}}            }  ^   }}         A} V g  DDgqqg OA AD gB}AD
     A    }}  A        A           }}}}  }         }} A D  }J}@ TU  @ADDA g} T
      }  }}    }}A}}             ^     }}}}}       }  DD  }DT @c gwA cA gA}D}}
      }  }     }} }}}}       }           ^      A  }}}}} }}gAcg g}DDUD@cNAwHg}
      }}   A^ & }   }}      }}         ^    A      }   }}}DT qg@qDgDHA A D@A x
           }}       ^}       }}}             }x   }}   } }}} ^cAHwDg}D}DD    A
  ^                    ^    }} }             }^   }   }}     c TDD}}@ ADDADwNq
                       ^    A                }}   } A }g    U AJA}} DDD}DVgDNA
           ^^                                       A x  }}}g OcDDDNVD}DDAAw D
     A          ^ ^              ^           AA    qAgTAAA AJ @AD @DV}VXDVXHgJ
                             A      ^               A   DA  c^ DA DJDA0AHHX AX
                                      A           V     D^ }gwzHADADDD@TDA.gc
      ^             ^            V        A      & }}Y A}AD}N U D X@AADDADAcA
        A                          }}   ^    ^      A ^O }}w@c @Az@XXADDw@AcA
********** the Adventurer   St:18/** Dx:23 Co:18 In:23 Wi:23 Ch:18  Neutral
End Game $:0 HP:777(2216) Pw:2564(2564) AC:-43 Exp:30 Burdened Blind Lev T:170453

      And I couldn't fight as effectively as usual (Usually, I had on +15 in rings, of increase damage.)—as I didn't want to risk, NOT having levitation, with that much lava around (Lost a kickin' character that way–once–when I lived in England. . . .), and I needed the conflict.

      Even then, they couldn't kill me.  –Just be immeasurably annoying.

      The only option I was left with—was to fight them, to extinction (which, I–technically–did). (See the dump file.)

      The only trouble was. . .  Things were SOO annoying, I was just attempting to move/attacking, then hitting (esc), attempting to move/attacking, then hitting (esc). . .  Rinse; wash; repeat.  So . . . I wasn't paying attention, really.  Then, one of the beggars, started turning me to stone. . . .  It must have been a chickatrice corpse (more rarely is one left)—as I had already hunted cockatrices, to extinction.

      As mentioned above, whilst new to me, this is–apparently–a well documented phenomenon:

https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Archonstorm

Discussion 1

Discussion 2  (Plane of Fire (i.e. like mine. . . .))

      This is why, one is warned against genociding a large number of monsters.  I hadn't; however, I hunted to extinction, a great many. . . .

      But it was worse than this—as I had to drop my bag, with an almost surrealistic amount of gems in it.  (The beggars had driven its beatitude to curse–from blessed–making me overloaded; so I HAD to drop it. . . .  No big deal, I thought—I'll just zap it with my wand of cancellation later. . . .  (Little did I know.))  Still a . . . respectable score.

I haven't played since.