"What is this place?"
Eternal gloom shrouded everything. The sky was an endless dark expanse, devoid of sun, moon, or starlight. The air was filled with dryness and decay. Dim ghostly lights flickered weakly in the darkness—not warm like sunlight, nor gentle like moonbeams, but rather an eerie glow cold enough to freeze the soul.
The terrain here was both complicated and monotonous, barren and scattered with strange, jagged rocks. Far away, many cages could be seen, each holding a flickering ghostly blue flame.
At the moment, Altair, Selesia, and Shimazaki Yuna carefully followed behind Van Gogh, stepping along a floating stone pathway.
It was Selesia who asked the question earlier, and Van Gogh softly giggled before explaining.
"Hehehe... This is the Underworld, you see."
"The Underworld?! The world of the dead? You mean this world actually had an underworld?!"
"No… this world was devoid of mystery until Van Gogh arrived. I created this underworld myself…"
The trio following Van Gogh was extremely curious. Why would Van Gogh create such a place?
And Van Gogh explained: despite her own and Altair's best efforts to avoid involving innocents, reality rarely cooperated.
For example, at Sunshine City, when Shimazaki Yuna lost control, countless monsters poured out, causing many deaths.
And then, there was the bookstore owner killed by Chikujouin Magane.
Originally, this world had no mystical connection, so those people's souls would dissipate immediately after death. Van Gogh thus painted this Underworld to collect and preserve the souls of those who died during this incident.
What she intended next was to resurrect all the innocent people who died. After all, it was she who had attracted the Flower Outer God. These lives were indirectly lost because of her, and she wished to take responsibility—to ease her own conscience, if nothing else.
"So, Yuna, you don't need to torment yourself over it anymore."
Van Gogh turned suddenly, smiling gently at Shimazaki Yuna. "Nobody truly died because of you. Van Gogh will bring them all back."
"Van Gogh…"
Yuna stared blankly at Van Gogh, deeply moved, voice trembling slightly with tears held back.
Although these people would be revived, Van Gogh wasn't naïve enough to believe this would erase Yuna's guilt completely. Even after resurrection, the fact would remain: "Those people were killed by monsters summoned when Shimazaki Yuna lost control."
But that's okay. After everything she'd experienced, Yuna's heart had become much stronger, more mature. This lingering guilt wouldn't break her; instead, it would push her further forward. That's precisely why Van Gogh hadn't erased this memory directly.
It was like the Last Master of Humanity—she caused Lostbelts to vanish, but she never forgot. Instead, she recorded everything, taking those memories forward with her.
Of course, Van Gogh had asked Yuna herself for her choice… Clearly, Shimazaki Yuna didn't want to forget these experiences or her own sins.
When Van Gogh heard Yuna's decision, she was genuinely proud, feeling the immense fulfillment of watching a child grow up into adulthood right in front of her…
Selesia also asked why the Underworld was so barren—nothing but stones everywhere. Van Gogh explained frankly that imagining an entirely original underworld was too difficult and troublesome, so she simply used a ready-made template from her memory.
Van Gogh explained further that she was genuinely busy, keeping an eye on Yuna, who might lose control again, while preparing for the Outer God's invasion, so she found a trustworthy person to manage this Underworld in her place.
Soon, Van Gogh led them to the mentioned caretaker…
Upon seeing her, both Selesia and Altair's faces instantly changed. They immediately drew weapons, glaring at the figure with hostility. If Van Gogh hadn't stepped between them, the two would have already charged forward.
Expressionless, Meteora glanced briefly at Selesia and Altair, then turned her head toward Van Gogh:
"It seems my body did something quite unforgivable to you all on the outside?"
Van Gogh didn't explain much, merely shrugging with a gentle smile.
Meteora was certainly curious about what her body had done after being hijacked by the Outer God, but she had a more pressing issue—the Underworld had no food at all. As a spirit, she didn't need food, yet she missed earthly delicacies so badly she could cry, especially when she imagined the impostor using her body to indulge in good food.
Since Van Gogh had come to the Underworld again—and considering the hostility from Selesia's group—it meant the impostor had finally been defeated. Thus, Meteora could finally leave this godforsaken place. Something truly worth celebrating!
But she still had one last job: to help Van Gogh identify all innocent souls involved in the incident and send them back to the living world. It was a massive project. Roughly 170,000 people died every day globally, and those innocents affected by this incident represented only a tiny fraction.
There was also the issue of explaining the aftermath of their resurrection. Some had been dead for quite a while, making sudden revival difficult to accept. However, this wasn't particularly challenging for Van Gogh. She could simply alter public perception slightly—if she felt playful, she could even blame everything on a gas leak.
"Eh? My dad who's ashes in the urn came back to life? How could that be—oh, it was a gas leak? I see, that makes sense…"
Imagining dialogues like this was oddly entertaining, though it might upset the gas companies.
All in all, it was a happy ending: the world wasn't destroyed by the Outer God, and no innocents truly died.
Even the two captured Creators taken by Alicetaria returned safely.
Most of the Created returned to their own worlds. As gratitude for their efforts, Van Gogh didn't revoke their powers—she even revived Blitz Talker's precious daughter.
Only three Created didn't go back: Chikujouin Magane, Altair, and Meteora.
Magane was long dead, permanently so.
Meteora needed to help Van Gogh manage the Underworld. Besides, she herself wished to stay, aspiring to create stories that others would cherish.
Altair, being a derivative character, had no world to return to, so she remained beside Shimazaki Yuna.
Years later, Shimazaki Yuna became an independent creator, gaining her own audience and reputation, yet she stayed close to Van Gogh, occasionally working as her assistant.
"Even if Van Gogh-sensei stops drawing manga someday, I can support you! I'll give you all my salary!" Yuna once told her.
A few more years passed. Meteora and Mizushino Sōta also released their own works, gaining some fame and popularity, steadily rising in their careers. They regularly kept in touch with Van Gogh and Yuna, often discussing story ideas and concepts.
Gaia and Alaya, the consciousnesses of this world, had been heavily wounded by the Outer God's invasion and would need extensive recovery. But misfortune and fortune often intertwined—the fantasy worlds created by the Outer God to weaken Gaia and Alaya also expanded their potential, giving room for growth to the original world.
...
"Hey, hey, hey! You didn't forget me, did you? I helped you out big-time! Where's my reward?"
"That's why I came to find you, isn't it?"
Standing before Van Gogh was an exceptionally adorable silver-haired girl, most striking for the absurdly long ahoge antenna atop her head.
Hands on hips, the silver-haired girl pouted unhappily: "Is that really how you treat your lifesaver? If anyone else dared speak to me like that, I'd toss them straight to that overly maternal Black Goat!"
"Then… thank you, oh great Nyaruko-sama! Without you, I can't imagine what miserable fate would've awaited me—sob sob… how's that?"
"Hmmm… passable, I suppose. But it'd be even better if you took off your panties and gave them to me!"
Nyaruko's sudden request left Van Gogh speechless, unsure if it was a joke or serious… She sincerely hoped it was a joke.
"Uhh… I actually didn't wear any today."
"Oooohhhh—!!" Nyaruko's eyes instantly gleamed with excitement, her antenna ahoge waving wildly.
Van Gogh's gaze immediately turned strange.
"Ahem! Just kidding." Feeling Van Gogh's weird stare, Nyaruko coughed twice, becoming serious again. "I definitely never planned to build a shrine at home to worship your panties daily... definitely not."
"…By the way, Nyaruko, why did you take this form?"
Van Gogh instinctively changed the topic, sensing a danger of losing something precious if she pursued the previous line of questioning.
"Oh? You mean this?" Nyaruko spun around playfully, her skirt fluttering just enough to reveal a pure-white glimpse underneath, then posed cutely in front of Van Gogh.
"How is it? Adorable, right? After scanning your impression of me, I specifically chose this form to maximize your first impression! I'm not like that foolish Bubble who nearly burst his daughter's world visiting her, nor that overly doting mother with terrible emotional intelligence. At least I know what kind of avatar won't harm others. Did I charm you? Don't hold back! You can even kiss me if you want! I won't mind at all—in fact, I'd gladly welcome it!"
Nyaruko puckered her lips and lunged, only for Van Gogh to calmly stop her face with one hand.
"…Sorry, just picturing your true form… makes that kiss unacceptable."
"Ehhh~! How mean!"
Nyaruko exaggeratedly whined. "Actually, you don't need to care about that. I can even make this my true form! I can even make us have babies—"
"Let's discuss your reward."
Van Gogh quickly took out a book containing her stories and handed it over.
Nyaruko's expression dropped a little upon receiving it.
"Well, making a baby could also be considered a reward…"
"Allow me to decline."
Nyaruko stared deeply at Van Gogh and finally sighed helplessly.
"Fine, I'll keep watching your journey… Here's a gift for you—consider it a donation or 'blade' for more updates."
From beneath her skirt, Nyaruko produced… a crowbar.
"…Is this crowbar special?"
"Yes! Its special ability is… being concealed under your skirt and whipping it out at enemies unexpectedly!"
Van Gogh was unsure where to even begin retorting.
"What if I don't like skirts?"
Nyaruko licked her lips. "Then I'll change you into one myself. Just trust me~"
---
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