From the appearance of the "Gods" to their disappearance, it was roughly a few hours—but the events that transpired across the globe during that time became a massive incident, one that would later be recorded in history textbooks.

For several weeks, the public's attention was so entirely consumed by it that every conversation revolved around it, and as a result, the focus on Erika and the others naturally subsided.

However, whether that was a good thing or not remains unclear.

The actual manifestation of Gods had a profound impact on people's faith.

It triggered global religious turmoil, leading to riots overseas, and even threatening to escalate into wars.

The one who moved to quell the chaos, at least domestically, was Ruka.

Using her connections within the Hiyami Group, she appeared in the media and recounted the entire sequence of events.

That it was all a plot by the Kaisei kyou.

That they had attempted to destroy the world by summoning lifeforms from an alternate dimension through religious rituals.

That someone opposing the Kaisei kyou had thwarted them and successfully returned the monsters to their original world.

Having seen the figures of the Gods, she told as much of the truth as possible to prevent groups attempting to imitate the Kaisei kyou from appearing.

Of course, there were risks involved.

Ruka stood on the public stage as someone who had cut ties with her parents and the Kaisei kyou, but there were still those who suspected her.

Because of the Kaisei kyou, a massive number of people had died, and no small amount of hatred was directed at her as an involved party.

Even so, Ruka remained unfazed.

As long as Marin was by her side, that was enough.

As if to say just that, she fulfilled her role completely.

In the midst of this, Ruka announced that the entirety of the Hiyami family's inheritance would be used to compensate the bereaved families of the victims, and naturally, the Hiyami Group moved toward dissolution.

Many of the affiliated companies were acquired or merged, and the remaining executives, following the former president's will, worked to ensure as few employees as possible ended up unemployed.

Perhaps thanks to the disappearance of the upper management deeply connected to the Kaisei kyou, ironically, work proceeded more smoothly than before, according to employees close to Ruka.

Yes, by the hands of the interdimensional creatures who granted Erika's wish, every single person associated with the Kaisei kyou died without exception, literally "annihilated."

Not just cult executives, but politicians, heavyweights in the financial world, television network executives, veteran celebrities, and major athletes—the death toll easily reached into the triple digits just within Japan.

Including overseas, the number likely reached five digits.

Even people unrelated to the roster Gosei released lost their lives, revealing just how long and deep the Kaisei kyou had extended its roots nationwide, centered around Hikarinomiya City.

As for Erika and her group, they watched these societal shifts through the TV as if it were someone else's problem.

Since the school they attended and their workplaces had vanished, they had a lot of free time.

However, even though the attention had waned, reporters would still hound them if they walked outside, so they couldn't exactly go out and play.

Erika lived in a hotel with her lovers, occasionally staying over at Rea's house.

'Ah, this is what they mean by corruption.'

She felt they were living such a decadent lifestyle that the thought crossed her mind.

But Erika enjoyed those days, and even considered living like that once the surrounding chaos settled down.

And so, a month passed since they defeated the Kaisei kyou.

The uproar had finally calmed down enough for Erika to walk the streets safely, but Hikarinomiya City seemed to have lost all of its former vitality.

In fact, it seemed a considerable number of people had evacuated the city.

Since the Hiyami Group, which was responsible for the vast majority of the city's industry, was gone, there was no reason to stay.

Furthermore, since it was discovered that a massive number of corpses were buried under Hikarinomiya Academy and that children had been used as sacrifices for Giraiguu, many parents, fearing for their children's safety, had moved away in droves.

In reality, the only "school" connected to the Kaisei kyou was Hikarinomiya Academy—but even though other schools caught the collateral damage, it couldn't be helped.

A new mayor was finally appointed recently, but many seats in the city council remained empty.

Not only city hall, but the police, fire department, and hospitals lamented their personnel shortages, and the remaining citizens voiced their concerns about deteriorating public safety.

Hikarinomiya City's future was pitch black.

In a few years, it would likely become a ghost town.

It was a city that had flourished supported by the foundation of the Kaisei kyou. Calling it karmic retribution seemed unfair given the magnitude of the damage suffered by unrelated people—but there was no other way to put it.

Erika herself also decided to leave Hikarinomiya.

In the eyes of society, she was the foremost victim of the Kaisei kyou.

A precious survivor who had been caught up in the academy's disappearance and lived through that hellish alternate dimension—any school that accepted the displaced Erika would see its reputation soar.

Well, whether they had such ulterior motives aside, there were several schools that offered her a transfer.

Erika was torn.

Did she really need to go back to school?

To such a troublesome place.

However, right now, she was surrounded by people who loved her.

Rea, Yumemi, Nemusia, Gii—with them, she felt she could experience a new school life, completely different from the scenes she had seen up until now.

Fortunately, Erika was the one being offered the transfer.

They would likely grant her a certain degree of flexibility.

For example, asking to be in the same class as the girls transferring with her.

Even if they showed reluctance, if she simply said, 'Being alone at school makes me remember being trapped in an academy full of monsters, and it scares me,' they shouldn't be able to refuse.

Thus, Erika's life as a high school student was set to resume.

—Although.

The school she transferred to was in the city neighboring Hikarinomiya, so it wasn't that far away.

 ◆◆◆

Then, another month later.

Having moved to an apartment in the neighboring city, Erika stood in front of a full-length mirror, clad in her new uniform.

Fiddling with her somewhat long bangs, she stared at her face anxiously.

"...It doesn't suit me."

"That's not true. You're cute, Erika chan."

Yumemi, also in uniform, whispered as she hugged Erika.

"Well, Yumemi chan looks cute because it suits you, but..."

"You still have no confidence in yourself, as always, Erika chan. Even though you're loved this much."

"Because everyone else is too cute, I can't have any confidence among you guys."

Without any intention of acting cool, Erika answered honestly.

Then, the look in Yumemi's eyes changed.

With a sensual movement, she trailed her hand up Erika's side.

"...Are you seducing me?"

"I'm not seducing you!"

"Gii, did Erika just seduce us?!"

Hearing their conversation, Gii smoothly appeared in the room.

Of course, she was wearing a uniform too.

Needless to say, Yumemi and Gii were living together with Erika in this apartment—the negotiations with the Inuzuka family had ended surprisingly quickly, almost anti-climactically.

It was exactly as they had heard beforehand, but to not show any interest even upon hearing that their daughter was dating some unknown woman and starting to live together, meant their parent-child relationship must have been incredibly cold from the start.

"I said I'm not seducing you! We have school starting today, we can't possibly get frisky first thing in the morning."

"Ehh, what a bummer."

"Honestly, what do you plan to do if we're late on the first day."

Nemusia switched places with Yumemi, puffed out her cheeks, and complained.

But she, too, remained hugging Erika.

"You're giving off this vibe like you're the voice of reason, but you're pretty bad yourself, you know, Nemusia?"

"It can't be helped, I share this body with Yumemi, don't I? You're the one who taught us such things."

"No, well, that's... look, Librio san entrusted you to me, too."

Then Nemusia—who knows when she learned to make such an expression—floated a sultry smile, her eyes moist as she gazed at Erika.

"You were told to bear a child, were you not? Both Yumemi and I are ready whenever you are."

"F-For now, at least while we're students... okay?"

It wasn't that Erika didn't want to.

It was just that she hadn't been able to imagine that far ahead yet.

More than that, Gii, looking at her with a beast-like gaze, was much scarier than Nemusia in front of her.

Then, as if to save Erika, the sound of the front door unlocking could be heard.

"Pardon the intrusion! Where is everyone~?"

"Ah, it's Rea. We're in here!"

Rea came running over with heavy footsteps.

She was still living at her parents house.

Since her father was alive and well, cohabitation while still in high school was not permitted.

The fact that he approved of her relationship with Erika, even after acknowledging the existence of Yumemi and Gii, was a miracle in itself.

However, this apartment where Erika and the others lived wasn't far from Rea's family home, and since she had a spare key, it was practically a semi-cohabitation setup.

Of course, they attended the same school.

"Gooood morning! Wow, everyone's in uniform! So cute! It looks super good on you!"

"You're energetic this morning, Rea."

"Because I can finally go to school with you, Erika. It feels like a long-held dream has come true!"

Erika and Rea had met after the academy was swallowed by the Kaigyo.

Before that, they had never met, so they had never even walked to school together like this.

For Rea, walking side-by-side on the route to school was likely something she had longed for.

She observed Erika in her uniform from every angle.

"Your old uniform was nice too, but this new one suits you perfectly, Erika..."

"Not at all, Rea, you're much cuter."

"...Trying seduce me."

"I'm not seducing you! How does it always end up like this!"

Everything was the fault of Erika, who had been leading a decadent life.

"Look, we're out of time, let's go. It's our first day, we'll get yelled at if we don't go early."

『Okaaay.』

Erika felt almost like a chaperone.

◆◆◆ 

As they stepped onto the route to school, familiar faces passed by.

The trio of Mitsurugi, Ai, and Hiiro.

"Good morning."

They looked at Erika dubiously.

"Are you possessed?"

"To Ai, they look like burrs stuck to your clothes."

"They're the possessive type of girlfriends, aren't they."

"See, people are commenting on it, you shouldn't cling to me like this."

Rea claimed 'dominant hand is better', so she took the right.

Yumemi claimed 'closer to the heart is better', so she took the left.

Gii claimed 'immoral relationships are better', so she hugged her from behind, and Erika walked while practically dragging them along.

It's problematic that because her physical abilities are so high, she can actually walk normally like this.

"Erika is so cool, we need to properly show off that we're her girlfriends."

"I agree. If I don't leave my scent firmly on you, Erika chan, I get anxious."

"You are my partner, after all, I must keep you firmly tethered to me!"

"Erika belongs to Gii and the others!"

"Rest assured, Rea san and you guys are the only ones who obsess over her that much."

"But Ai is a little jealous..."

"We have to fight back so we don't lose—Wait, but Big Sis isn't here!"

"Without your sister, Ai and your power is halved..."

"It's not too late! Let's put Big Sis in a uniform and make her come to school with us!"

"You guys need to calm down too..."

Mitsurugi looked exasperated.

However, She seemed to have become quite accustomed to being the target of jokes.

"How is Yoshino san doing?"

When Erika asked, Ai and Hiiro answered.

"Ai heard she's working as a judo coach at a nearby dojo."

"It's a dojo run by an acquaintance who used to be a police officer. She has various issues with her family register and stuff, so she can't work a normal job yet."

"Right, coming back to life comes with a lot of complications."

Yumemi muttered deeply.

Since she had been treated as a missing person, it was somewhat manageable, but Yoshino, who had an official death certificate issued, was likely in the midst of battling legal walls.

"Speaking of coming back to life, what is Meiji sensei doing?"

As the seven of them began to walk, Mitsurugi brought up the topic.

The ones keeping in touch with Yoko were Erika and Rea.

Particularly Erika, who also knew her family, seemed to be consulted about various things—

"She's taking it easy at her parents' house right now. She was considering returning to school, but I stopped her."

"Why did you stop her?"

Hiiro tilted her head.

"Probably because that body, just like Yoshino san's, doesn't age, so it'd be a problem if people got suspicious, right?"

"Big Sis isn't going to age... Ai still hasn't quite grasped that."

"For now, at least. But well, she's a member of my party, so I'm thinking if there's anything I can do—though whether someone wants to age or not depends on the person."

"Is that the only reason you stopped her from returning, Erika?"

"Hmm, that and... she's a good teacher, but I think she's a bit too sensitive. The incidents with Shimakawa Yuya and Nanase Asami still seem to be traumatizing her, so I thought there was no need for her to push herself to return to being a teacher. Sensei living happily is the most important thing."

Even without the Kaisei kyou, bullying can exist in any school.

Yoko would likely try to stick her nose into it there, too.

And the current her possesses the means to resolve it by force.

But if she hypothetically used that power to resolve it—Yoko might regret it and suffer mentally.

If she strongly insisted that she absolutely had to return, that it was her dream, Erika wouldn't stop her, but Yoko herself didn't show strong resolve, perhaps feeling anxious about her own body.

"If the current Meiji sensei heard that, she might fall for you, Erika."

"The only ones falling that hard for me are you guys, Rea. Come to think of it, I was wondering, what are Kiori san and Chihiro san doing? I heard their workplaces disappeared."

Chihiro's hospital was closed down after its connections to the Kaisei kyou came to light.

Similarly, the publishing company Kiori worked for was shut down after it was revealed the president had been receiving funds from the Kaisei kyou and promoting their affiliated organizations.

"As far as Ai knows, the two of them are relaxing right now using the money they saved up."

"She talks to Big Sis a lot, but it seems Chihiro san is slowly getting scared of the whole Blood Sheep thing, and is thinking about whether she should return to being a nurse."

"Ai heard that from Kiori oneesan too. She said her resistance to seeing blood has gotten much stronger than before."

"That's fatal for a nurse."

Mitsurugi said sympathetically.

But since her relationship with Kiori seems to be going well, overall, it's a massive net positive.

"Ai heard Kiori oneesan is writing a book."

Erika asked back, "A book?"

"A record of the Kaisei kyou seen from the outside. She's trying to leave a record together with Yoshino oneesan, writing about an acquaintance of hers, a detective named Renjo."

"I see, since everyone involved was wiped out, if they don't leave a record, people might forget about it in a few years."

"Erika chan, why don't you try writing one too?"

"True, Erika could probably write the most detailed account."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep one for myself, not to show anyone, but..."

However, Erika didn't really intend to look back on the past much.

Because right now was happier than anything else.

"Speaking of records, did you know Shimakawa kun is using social media?"

"What, no I didn't. Did you see it, Mitsurugi san?"

"I saw it, I saw it. His posts seemed less about the incident itself and more about letting everyone know about his older brother."

Shimakawa Daichi had returned to his parents' house with them and was currently attending a high school there.

Due to their connection as party members, he kept in touch with Erika occasionally, but she hadn't heard about the social media.

"The content was quite sentimental, so it felt exactly like a personal memorandum."

"Maybe that's why he didn't tell us about it."

"Right... he probably knows you're living happily, Kuragane san."

"I hope he's having a fun time over there, too."

It wasn't just a polite platitude, Yumemi genuinely thought so from the bottom of her heart.

She had almost no interaction with Daichi, but as the core of the fang, she had watched him fight desperately out of concern for his brother.

"Yeah, I really think so too. Kansai, huh... Wasn't Akabane san working at an amusement park over there too?"

"Oh, was he?"

Mitsurugi was surprised again.

Even though they were survivors of the incident, not everyone kept in touch with everyone else.

Especially since Akabane was older, there might be few people who knew how he was doing afterward.

Then, Hiiro, who had apparently exchanged contact information with him due to her connection with Tsumori, spoke about Akabane's recent situation.

"Fantasy Land had no connection to the Hiyami Group, so he was able to get a job at another amusement park run by the parent company. His whole family moved near his new workplace, but Kanako chan was complaining recently that her mother's curfew is super strict."

"Ahaha, from the sound of it, her husband's curfew is probably strict too."

Rea smiled wryly.

"Well, after going through something like that. His wife must be incredibly anxious."

Erika said sympathetically.

The daughter complaining was probably also nagging her father more than before out of concern for his safety.

After all, she had seen her father die right in front of her eyes.

"Everyone is walking their own path..."

"What about you, Mitsurugi san?"

"What do you mean 'what about me'?"

"I was wondering if anything changed for you."

"Not as drastic a change as you guys, Kuragane san, but... oh, right. The company my father worked for actually had ties to the Kaisei kyou and went bankrupt."

"That's terrible."

"Does that mean he lost his job?"

"Yeah, if it weren't for the condolence money from Hiyami san, it would have been bad."

"That came to Ai's place too."

"She said she distributed her family's inheritance, didn't she? But is Hiyami san going to be okay doing that?"

Hiiro worried about Ruka's well-being.

Indeed, having given away all her inheritance, Ruka was now just a penniless teenager.

That being said, she possessed more than enough capability to survive even starting from scratch.

In fact, Erika and the others had received help from Hiyami Group employees arranged by Ruka to find their apartment and handle various procedures for Yumemi, who had returned from being a missing person.

Moreover, as for Ruka herself—

"I don't think we need to worry about Hiyami san. I heard she's currently overseas with Marin."

『Overseas?!』

The voices of the three who knew nothing—Mitsurugi, Ai, and Hiiro—overlapped perfectly.

"A splendid unison."

"Of course we'd harmonize. I knew she was working hard appearing on various TV shows, but to think she's already overseas..."

"Ai thinks she's a monster of action."

"But with Marin san together with her, it feels like they could do anything. Like an invincible duo."

Erika was thinking the exact same thing as Hiiro.

Ruka, freed from her shackles in a sense, and Marin, who had defiantly accepted herself.

Now that they had even obtained resilient combat abilities, was there really anything those two couldn't do?

"We might see them on international news eventually."

Yumemi said it jokingly, but with those two, it didn't sound like a joke.

However, in reality, Erika thought it was unlikely those two would ever step onto the public stage.

After all, part of the reason Ruka and Marin went overseas was to cash in those gold bars.

『If it goes well, let's divide it among everyone. This is spoils of war obtained from the battle against the Kaisei kyou, after all.』

Ruka had left those words with Erika before departing.

Since they were in the hands of the Kaisei kyou, they probably weren't acquired through legitimate routes.

If they were to cash them in, that would also be impossible through legitimate, public channels.

So rather than appearing in the news—there's a possibility they'd suddenly end up ruling the underworld of some country before anyone knew it.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason they went overseas.

To broaden their horizons in preparation for the future, or something like that.

To crush religious groups that sprouted up imitating the Kaisei kyou, or something like that.

There seemed to be various reasons, but the biggest objective was, of course—their honeymoon.

Just the other day, a photo of the two of them wearing wedding dresses was sent to Erika.

Ruka was floating on cloud nine, and Marin wore a brighter expression than she had ever seen.

While Erika and the others were living a decadent life, Ruka and Marin were smiling so dazzlingly.

Is this the difference between Yin and Yang?—Erika acutely felt this, and simultaneously concluded that since she'd never be able to reach the world of Yang no matter how she struggled, she was perfectly fine staying in the Yin forever.

"But I don't think Erika loses to them!"

"Rea, you don't need to compete against opponents you can't beat."

"Ehh, but if you set your mind to it, Erika, couldn't you do anything too?"

"I accomplished my revenge, and I don't really have any desire to do anything more. Even if I had excess power, I'd want to use it all just to live happily together with everyone."

"Erika..."

Her cheeks flushed and her eyes moist, Rea hugged Erika tightly.

"I love that about you, Erika chan."

"...Gii, Gii. Gishishi."

Before she knew it, Yumemi was hugging her too, and Gii was pressing her forehead against her back.

Mitsurugi, using an exasperated expression she was now thoroughly accustomed to, said:

"I'm going to be forced to watch this every morning from today on, aren't I."

"Sorry, I still haven't made up for the 16 years in the minus."

"And even if you make it into the plus, you have no intention of stopping, do you?"

"Of course, I'm going to live doing exactly as I please."

As Mitsurugi sighed, Erika's shoulders shook with laughter.

And the girls began to walk again.

Their new school building came into view.

What awaited them there: a peaceful school life surrounded by normal humans, or a hell teeming with "evil monsters"?

"No one can get in my way ever again, after all."

Either way, Erika's life would not be shaken, and no one could deny it.

She would simply live as she pleased, surrounded by the people she loved.

『The blade you created will eventually become the power to kill the Kaigyo itself. Thank you. Congratulations. May your life, now freed from evil, be filled with happiness.』

Seeing those words displayed on her smartphone, Erika smiled and looked up at the blue sky.

With this, the story concludes. Thank you for sticking with it until the end! (one more chapter will come which cover the extra story author wrote)