A downpour fell on the Netherworld for some time. The rain was welcome. The water washed away the miasma, turning the packs of Varmints back into Mandala minerals. Eventually, the bright sunlight shone. Judgment Day had been avoided. The Holy Church leadership declared that the belt monster that had rampaged near God Slayer Tower was the Devil and canonized the girls who defeated it, Spica La Gemini and Terakomari Gandesblood. The people shook with joy. The warring stopped, and the dark clouds cleared away. Order returned to the Netherworld. Perhaps this was but a part of the Fools’ plan. The Netherworld needed stability to be protected from Star Citadel. The group’s attempts to brand Spica and Terakomari as villains had failed, and as a result, Star Citadel became the symbol of evil instead; they had to be defeated. “The truth God only knows… A difficult question.” In the desert, Charles the camel sighed. The Netherworld’s two suns shone in the sky, with not an eerie star in sight. There was too much to deal with now. The unification of the Netherworld under the Holy Church, the newly established communication bridge between the Foreworld and Netherworld, the escaped members of Star Citadel, the remnants of the Fools, and the disappeared boss of Full Moon: Yulinne Gandesblood. “Umm…” The girl holding Charles’s reins, Kilty Blanc, asked, “Wh-what should we do now? Look for Ms. Yulinne…?” “Hmm. She should’ve taken us with her…” Yulinne Gandesblood had vanished without saying a word. That vampire was foolhardy and capricious. She thought she could solve everything herself. “Maybe she thought we’d get in her way…” “We have to look for our boss. She followed Star Citadel into another world, Kilty. Your home world.” “…” Kilty stiffened. The third world. A dark hellscape devastated by Star Citadel. “Don’t worry.” Charles soothed her while eating grass. “The boss will find them. Maybe she’s defeated them already. That could be why the miasma disappeared.” “Right.” “Being pessimistic isn’t good for your mind. Our path should be bright. Even in the middle of the desert, we can overcome anything by working together.” “…Thank you, Ms. Charlotte.” “My name’s not Charlotte.” In any case. Let us appreciate the Netherworld’s newfound peace. Bless the girls who saved the world. Some time passed since Spica and Terakomari had defeated the Devil. Thanks to the Holy Church, the Netherworld had regained a degree of stability. Word spread that God had averted Judgment Day, and the people began looking to the Holy Church as force for peace. The Holy Lehysian Empire took this opportunity to order a stop to the war in the name of the pope. Conflicts stopped everywhere. Clenent DIV was a prodigy capable of hearing the voice of God. The little girl had been a pariah before all this, but now everyone admired her as a symbol of global unity, and the people cheered her name. “Her Holiness’s prayers defeated the Devil!” “Her Holiness was trying to defeat the Devil from the very beginning!” “She’s such a hard worker! Her Holiness Clenent DIV will be the greatest pope in history!” Everything would be peaceful with Clenent DIV around. There would still be conflict, of course, but a degree of order could be obtained under the glory of God. However, as for the girl at the head of it all… “……………………………………………………How did it come to this…?” Four people were gathered in the Candlestick Hall of the Holy Lehysian Empire’s Cathedral, the little pope’s office. A small girl cringing on a stupidly huge chair, Clenent DIV. A Peace Spirit crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, Kakumei Amatsu. A Warblade lying on the sofa and staring up at the ceiling, Lonne Cornelius. And a Sapphire reading documents with a neurotic frown on his face, Tryphon Cross. “Hmm.” Tryphon closed the book. “Everything is going perfectly. The armies have been disarmed, and there is no sign of rebellion. The people’s faith is skyrocketing, and there are bigger and bigger crowds pilgrimaging to Lehysia by the day… Soon enough, the Netherworld will become a peaceful kingdom of God if things keep moving without a hitch.” “E-excellent! Good job!” “Your Holiness Clenent DIV, please refrain from acting rashly. The Netherworld is coming together through the power of faith. You must act in a manner worthy of heading it, or the Devil will take over the world again. Not that the Devil really exists, but people’s hearts will break, and war will return.” “Eep,” Clenent DIV yelped. Tryphon’s face was scary. The fact a mistake of hers could end the world was also scary. She couldn’t snack and nap comfortably like this. If the people found out the Holy Church’s head led such a slovenly lifestyle… As Tryphon said, Judgment Day could come again. I must avoid that…! It rests on my shoulders…! Clenent DIV steeled her resolve as she looked at the three people in the room. Spica’s friends—the members of Inverse Moon. In truth, they were pulling the strings of the Holy Church. After Liu Luxmio fell into the pit of hell, these three had shown up out of nowhere before Clenent DIV and put a stop to all the wars. They used the pope’s power to elevate the influence of the Holy Church. Their goal was to maintain stability in the Netherworld (apparently the name of this realm). Clenent DIV had been skeptical of the trio at first, but now that they really had brought peace to the world, she had to believe them. And even if she didn’t, she had no way of opposing them. They were way too scary. They could gobble her up at the slightest show of resistance. “…Things aren’t perfect, though,” Cornelius, the Warblade in a lab coat, said while staring at the ceiling. “Inverse Moon is done for. We were in better shape than this during the aftermath of the Vampire Riots. Now we don’t even have Her Highness…” “She entrusted this world to us.” Tryphon sounded tired, which was because he had been working from morning to night. “She hasn’t disappeared. She’s pushing forward to take hold of the future.” “I guess… But she’s so cold. I wanted to see hell, too.” They had told Clenent DIV about what happened. The Spica God had spoken of was Spica La Gemini, who defeated the Devil and journeyed into the giant chasm. Apparently, she left a letter right where the God Slayer Tower had stood. It read, Take care of the Netherworld until I’m back. Perhaps that terrorist had foreseen everything from the beginning. “We must follow our orders. That’s our job as members of Inverse Moon.” “…Man, I’ve been wondering all along, what’s your endgame? No way you just blindly believe in Her Highness, do you?” “I believe in Her Highness, but it is but a means. My goal is to use the Dark Cores to revolutionize the world, and I can achieve this by blindly trusting Her Highness. Then I’ll teach Ignat a lesson.” “Ignat? Who?” “Excuse me.” Tryphon walked to the door of the Candlestick Hall. “Hey.” Kakumei Amatsu spoke. “Where are you going? I hope you’re not up to something again.” “…I’m going to Neoplus. There’s a Gate in the city now, so it will only take a minute.” “Why?” “The fox worked under my supervision. As her comrade, I think it’s my duty to tell her about the state of the Netherworld—to tell her the fighting has stopped for now.” “…” Amatsu did not hold back Tryphon any further. He watched Tryphon step outside before sighing. “…Everything’s a mess without Spica La Gemini around.” “Well, what can we do but follow her orders? In the meantime, I’ll make the Holy Church my base. There’s still some research worth doing in the Netherworld.” “What a nuisance. Nothing went like it did in the prediction. There’s Full Moon… There’s this Clenent DIV girl…” Amatsu glanced at the pope. She trembled. “Wh-what?! I’m doing my job!” “…It’s nothing. I’ll get Karla and Terakomari later.” “Huh…?” “They’re worried about you. You should hang out with them.” “Yippee!” She was tired of being surrounded by dicey individuals. It was a shame she couldn’t see Spica, but getting to talk with Karla and Terakomari would be great. And they could bring snacks… Clenent DIV clenched her fists. They had worked together to defeat the Devil. Now she had to do her job as pope to make sure their efforts didn’t go to waste. “Komarin! Komarin! Komarin! Komarin!” The Holy Lehysian Empire. Cracks were gouged into the earth, rubble lay everywhere, and the tower was in shambles. The square was terribly scarred from the battle and enveloped in the abnormal fervor of the believers. They all stared at the stage. A vampire in a red military uniform was shouting like a sly salesman. “Feast your eyes! This is the hero who banished the Devil and brought peace to the world! Behold—Commander Terakomari Gandesblood’s official portrait! You may hang it on the wall, worship it, and prostrate yourselves before it! All for the low, low price of one hundred thousand nekas!” “HAAAIIILLL!!!” “Komarin! Komarin! Komarin! Komarin!” The believers raced to take out their wallets. The vampire, Caostel Conto, held up a painting of a girl with white wings on her back. Terakomari Gandesblood (angel version). As she had been canonized by the Holy Church, the Netherworld believers, and even nonbelievers, all worshipped her. “Heh-heh… It’s selling like hot cakes. Finally, prosperity comes to the Seventh Unit’s pockets.” “Caostel,” said dog-faced Bellius anxiously from behind the painting. “Don’t you think this is wrong? Profiting from religion…” “What are you saying, Bellius?! We’re only selling pictures of our Commander! This has nothing to do with the Holy Church! They don’t think her portrait has religious significance; they only buy it because she’s cute!” “But she’s portrayed like an angel. That’s pretty unambiguously religious.” “That has nothing to do with the Holy Church. It’s just cosplay.” “I call bullshit…” Bellius sighed. The members of the Seventh Unit were up to their usual antics. No great surprise at this point. “Little by little, we’ll take over the Netherworld in place of the Holy Church! We’ll build the Holy Terakomari Empire!” “The Commander wouldn’t let us do that. She may be the Slaughter Champion, but her humble heart is unbefitting of the title.” “That means we have to boost her up. We can’t just let her stop at becoming the Mulnite Emperor.” “Caostel! Stop wasting time with your scams.” Blond Yohann Helders ran up to them. “Terakomari and Villhaze aren’t here! We gotta go back, too!” “But we should gather funds in the Netherworld.” “Terakomari’s gonna be mad if she finds out you’re selling pictures of her. You don’t get her.” “And you don’t understand anything, Yohann. After destroying the cannon the other day, you slipped and blacked out. You didn’t even see the Commander’s breathtaking display of power.” “Huh? What are you talking about?” “You have no right to call yourself a Komarist.” “I’ve never called myself that!!” Yohann ground his teeth and looked down at the angel Terakomari portrait. “You know that there’s a hole in the air where the tower was. We can move between worlds now.” “Then go back by yourself.” “…!” Yohann clenched his fists. “The hole’s too high for me to reach! I’ve been looking for someone to take me this whooooole time! Anyone who can use flight spells or even an Immortal, but there’s no one! Help me look! Forget about making money!” Caostel laughed out loud. Yohann launched himself at the other vampire in anger. Bellius let out another heavy sigh. The people chanted “Komarin! Komarin!” Among them, Mellaconcey sold the stock of Commander T-shirts. Terakomari Gandesblood was as popular as ever. What sort of trouble would she get into next? Excitement grew in Bellius’s chest. In the Crimson Snow Hut. On a bed. I sighed softly. “I’m back…in my world…” “Lady Komari, I peeled an apple for you. But it looks so tasty, I’m eating it all by myself. Nom, nom.” “Let me have some!!” “I’m joking. Here you go.” The sicko maid fed me a bunny-shaped apple. So good. It was so tasty that I felt tension drain from my shoulders. But I wasn’t back to full health just yet. I was still getting dizzy out of nowhere, and my fingertips were numb. The Blood Curse always came with a price: snatching away my body’s stamina and mana. I thought I’d overcome this as I’d matured over the past few months, but evidently, I’d used it way too many times in the Netherworld. A few days prior. After the terrible battle against Liu Luxmio, we were sucked through the portal in the sky into this world—our original world. Vill and I were unconscious by that point, so I don’t remember how it went exactly, but they found us in the open-air bath and treated us at the Crimson Snow Hut. Dr. Kuya hurried over from the Enchanted Lands to see us and said to stay in bed for a week, rest no matter what, and avoid exerting ourselves for a month. I immediately started dancing with euphoria. I got to rest for real! I was free from work! How could a scholarly intellectual not rejoice? As I snacked on the apple bunnies, Vill crossed her arms. “I wonder what Lady Gemini is doing right about now? It’s eerie to think she fell into hell…” “I’m sure she’s doing fine.” “It’s beyond selfish of her to up and vanish without making up for her terroristic crimes. The moment she comes back, I’ll switch out all her lollipops for mint-flavored ones.” “What a petty prank. And what if she likes mint?” I did wonder about what would happen to her, though. The little terrorist had wreaked havoc in the Six Nations. You would need a lot more than ten fingers to count the number of people Inverse Moon had immiserated. She had to be punished once she was back—and the most fitting penalty would be to make her realize her paradise. In my opinion, the only way she could atone for her crimes was to create a world where everybody could live in peace. Either way, I planned on helping her however I could. And she had already pushed a lot of work on me. “…We’ll have a bunch of nonsense on our hands again in no time, especially where the future of the Netherworld is concerned.” “There are no signs of conflict at the moment, but we must keep our eyes peeled. Now that there’s a path between worlds, staying vigilant is even more important.” “Mmm…” Spica had made multiple wishes on the Dark Cores. To seal the hole to hell. To lead Spica La Gemini to Naturia’s side. To send us back to our world. And to allow travel between the Netherworld and the Foreworld. I chewed an apple slice while looking out the window. The skies above Frezier were clear. But about four hundred feet above ground, an anomaly hung in the air. A crack in the fabric of space that looked as if someone had cut it out in the shape of a penta…no, a hexagon. And on the other side of the hole was an upside-down city. It was like the netherscreening, the phenomenon I had seen last February. Even from where I was sitting, I could clearly tell the scene was of the ruins where I had fought Luxmio. That was the giant door Spica left for us. A path between here and there, and the source of headaches for the world’s leaders. “…You think Clenny is doing okay? She’s busy leading the Holy Church, right?” “Yes, the Holy Lehysian Empire is the center for dealing with the aftermath of the war. Fortunately, Tryphon Cross, Lonne Cornelius, and Kakumei Amatsu are serving as the brains of the operation. That little girl can’t lead anything on her own.” “Amatsu’s fine, I guess, but should we let the others be taking the reins…?” “At the very least, we can say their presence can’t be good for Clenent DIV’s education. The holy girl might become a killer. Lady Komari, you must guide her to the right path. You’re her mentor.” “Mentor…?!” Wh-whoa… I loved the sound of that… “…I see. I’m her mentor. Yes, I’m her elder, and I have much to teach her.” “Yes. And as the mentor of the head of the Netherworld, that makes you the head of the head. The whole Netherworld will be under your rule.” “No.” “Lieutenant Conto was elated about the whole thing. ‘Finally, the Netherworld is the Commander’s,’ he said. They’re already well underway building the Holy Terakomari Empire.” “Stop those plans immediately and get Caostel over here!!” “The Correspondence Crystals won’t work, and the Seventh Unit has already gotten the ball rolling in the Netherworld.” “AAAHHH!!!” I clutched my hair and curled into myself. How can they keep making more anguish for their boss?! They won’t listen! But that’s nothing new. Whatever. I’ll just push all the responsibility onto Vill. I’m too tired to bother right now. Let’s deal with it later. “Haaah…” I sighed and looked up at the sky again. Clear skies. Peace was returning to the Netherworld and the Foreworld. And so, my long otherworldly journey came to a close. The mess in the Netherworld had taught me a lot. Namely, you could become friends with even your enemy by talking things through. I hadn’t been wrong about that. I had gotten close with Fuyao, and even Spica had come to trust me. If you persisted and kept an open dialogue, you could be friends with anyone. For now, I prayed I would get to meet Spica again. She was my enemy, my rival, and a friend with the same dreams in mind. (END)
Chapter 229
15 min read