Yuuya and the others were in the midst of their school idol project.
In the afterlife [the underworld], the boundary with the present world has been successfully restored, and normal daily life has returned.
And today, too, a sinner is brought to Reimei.
"Let go of me! Who do you think I am? I'm the son of that Kuzunoichi!"
The man who was being brought in by the oni was screaming, perhaps not grasping the exact situation in which he was placed.
Seeing him like this, the oni tried to silence the man──.
"Shut up."
The air was quiet yet heavy with pressure.
The man who had been screaming just a moment ago shut his mouth and began to tremble under the tremendous pressure that suddenly hit him.
What put the man in such a state was a very young-looking girl──Reimei, in front of him.
Reimei was looking down at the man, a sinner, with her legs crossed on an honorary seat.
Her appearance was the face of the master of the underworld, which Yuuya and the others had never seen before, and it gave the impression that she was ruthless to no end.
The man looked up at Reimei and tried to escape his gaze, but he was too afraid to move properly due to the fact that he was being held down by the oni.
Then, Reimei pointed her index finger at the man and made a motion as if she was going to pull something out.
At that moment, a purple aura appeared on the man's forehead in the form of threads.
The thread-like aura drifted through the air, and when it reached Reimei, it transformed into a scroll.
The scroll, transformed from an aura, opens on its own and exposes itself to Reimei.
"Adultery, murder, theft… oh oh oh, you have committed countless crimes…"
The man smiles, freed from his intimidation by the fact that Reimei's attention has turned to the scroll.
"He-hehe… that's right! I'm not like those other people. How's that? Isn't that awesome?"
The man talked as if committing a crime was a great thing.
The surrounding oni frowned at the man, who showed no signs of remorse.
But nothing changed in Reimei's expression.
"Oh, what's the difference?"
"I am the son of Kuzunoichi. No matter what I do, my father will always cover it up! No matter how much the lowly people cry out, I will never be judged. I am the chosen one!"
"That was when you were alive, wasn't it?"
Reimei said, and the man smiled.
"Well, yes! But that doesn't change the fact that I am the chosen one! Now, hurry up and release me and bring me back to life! Shouldn't there be some service that goes with being the chosen one?"
Despite his absurdity, the man continued to speak as if it were a matter of course.
Then…
"Oh, so you are the chosen one, are you?"
"I've been saying that for a while now! Get these guys out of my way and get me out of here quickly──"
At that moment, as if interrupting the man's speech, a purple light shot out from Reimei.
The light went straight ahead and penetrated the man's face.
And a few moments later, the man's body exploded.
But──.
"Gaaaahhhh! …Hah! Hah… hah…!"
The man whose body had just exploded desperately checked his own body.
Certainly, the man had just exploded.
However, the man was in this underworld because he was already dead.
Therefore, his body immediately recovered.
The man's expression of disbelief at Reimei's sudden attack was not believable, but…
"You are special. I will give you the gift of unlimited torment."
"Wha!? That's not what──"
The man was still trying to argue, but he could never speak another word from that point on.
For the moment Reimei lightly waved her hand, a purple aura emanated from the man's feet, enveloping him, and the next moment, he was gone.
Beyond that purple aura, a veritable hell awaited him.
Eternal loneliness and endless pain would continue to be inflicted upon the man.
"How could I possibly know… such a scum whatsoever."
After judging the man, Reimei snickered and turned her head tiredly down.
"Hah… it's good that the boundary between this world and the next has been restored, but I've got a lot of free time on my hands."
The underworld had become peaceful, but the fact remained that sinners were sent there every day.
"Good grief… These people never grow up. I wonder what will happen to them in the future…"
The underworld was not so interested in what happened to the world of humans.
Reimei was merely the master that made the underworld function.
Then, she suddenly remembered Meiko, who had been released from this underworld.
"I wondered if she was doing well…"
Unlike the expression she had just shown to the sinner, Reimei had a gentle expression on her face.
For Reimei, Meiko was a special person.
The existence that was born from the combined malice of the sinners in this underworld was Meiko, but despite that, Meiko was pure to the core, yet she had been sealed for a terribly long time so that her power would not run out of control.
At first, Reimei looked for a way other than sealing her, but in the end, sealing her was the only way to avoid her outbursts.
And Meiko also silently accepted that choice.
Reimei was very happy to think that she was now living happily with Yuuya.
"I'm grateful to Yuuya and the others… However, there is one thing that bothers me."
Suddenly her expression changed to a serious one, and Reimei remembered the false god who had caused the boundary of the underworld to disappear at that time.
"The boundary between the present world and the underworld has been repaired, but… the boundaries between other worlds and timelines are still gone. I don't know who is going to repair those broken boundaries… but it can't be that they will remain as they are, can it?"
Currently, due to the influence of the false god, the boundaries between the world in which Yuuya and the others live and the many other worlds that exist, as well as the boundaries of the time axis, have disappeared, leaving them in a very precarious state.
Just as Reimei restored the boundary between the present world and the underworld, it is thought that there is someone in a position to restore these boundaries, but Reimei does not know who it is, and even if there were no one, Reimei herself does not know how to restore them.
"If it is not done quickly, it could attract strange people to trespass to the different worlds…"
Until now, the boundaries between worlds meant that if something happened, it would be completed in that world, but now that those walls have disappeared, it was not surprising that people would appear who were plotting strange things.
"…Well, there's nothing I can do, and… I guess I'll just have to pray for peace as it is."
Finally, Reimei concluded her thoughts.
＊＊＊
──Meanwhile, at the [Heavenly Sacred Festival] in the other world…
"Now, my next opponent is you."
Iris was looking at her opponent without letting her guard down.
Iris's opponent was… the organizer of this tournament, the "Katana Saint" Shu Zakuren.
"I can't believe I'm going to be fighting the winner of the last tournament. I'm really looking forward to it."
Shu smiled quietly and naturally at Iris, who radiated a quiet fighting spirit.
And then, when the match was about to begin…
"Hmph!"
Iris attacked first.
"!"
Iris showed a thunderous step and dived into Shu's bosom.
The speed of the attack surprised not only the surrounding Holy but also Shu himself.
However…
"…I thought it was decided just now."
"Hmph… Sure, I was surprised, but I'm not soft enough to be hit by that strike now, okay?"
Shu quickly slipped his katana into his bosom and caught Iris's attack.
"Ara, really? Then… how about this!"
"Kuh!"
As they had been involved in battles with Yuuya, Iris and the others had also fought many more powerful enemies than ever before.
In addition, Yuuya was sent to a world in the past where he received guidance from the sage Zenovis, making him a force that Iris and the others could no longer match in terms of combat power.
Although Iris and the others managed to keep up with Yuuya due to the difference in experience, there was still a limit to what they could do.
That was why, in order to keep up with Yuuya in the future, Iris needed to gain even more strength.
"Haaagh!"
"Tsk! I'm amazed that a mere sword strike has this power…!"
In the past, Iris relied heavily on skill in many of her battles.
Even Usagi, who had trained his groundwork, used a lot of skill in battle.
However, after witnessing Yuuya's stronger fighting, Iris realized that this alone was not enough, and she fully demonstrated her talent and had already reached the point where she could unleash many skills as a single casual blow.
In addition, Iris had begun training in other areas of magic that she had not developed before.
Instead of focusing on her newly acquired power, she focused on developing the power that already existed.
As a result, she was naturally able to strengthen her body with magic power, just as she had just blown Shu away.
"Now, if you have some hidden power, you'd better get it out quickly, or it'll be over!"
Iris was able to catch up to Shu without missing a beat, but Shu was not to be outdone.
The physical capabilities of Iris, strengthened by magic power, were superior to Shu's, but Shu covered them with his skills.
Shu was able to survive the fierce sword fight with only one katana.
Gloria and the others were amazed to see the two of them.
"Amazing… when did Iris become so strong?"
(We've been through a lot. More importantly…)
Usagi's eyes narrowed as he saw Shu defending against Iris's attack.
It was a faint sense of discomfort that spread through Usagi.
Indeed, Shu looked like he was doing his best to prevent Iris's attack.
But…
(It's strange… It's as if he's investigating something rather than just enduring it…)
Iris herself, who was fighting, felt that Usagi was right.
"(This guy… He precisely defends against all of my attacks. Of course, I'm not giving it my all either, but it's creepy that he seems to be able to see through my attacks…)"
For a while, Iris's one-sided attack continued, but eventually, Shu, who had taken his distance, unexpectedly raised his hand.
"──I surrender."
"Eh?"
It was too sudden.
Not expecting Shu to surrender here, Iris was puzzled.
Shu continued with a calm face.
"You can see that, can't you? I can't beat Iris. I'm sorry, but that's it."
"….."
After announcing this, Shu silently walked off the stage.
"(After all, I couldn't find out the reason why he opened this [Heavenly Sacred Festival], and most importantly, I couldn't figure out the power that Shu is hiding…)."
Iris did not pursue Shu any further, but the result of the match left somewhat of a lingering impression.