Still the same

At 8 a.m. in the original world, a man in unusual clothes and a blonde girl were flying in the blue sky.

“Darling, how’s it now?”

“Not bad, but you turning into a 16-year-old human girl makes you totally like a beautiful girl.”

“Bebe said so. Even though we’re in spirit form after death, Bebe can talk to souls with special magic. She said 16-year-old girls are the cutest.”

“I agree. Anyway, Little Eve and the others are coming!”

“I know, let’s hide our energy first!”

Meanwhile, Eve and the others had just arrived in the original world, but the place piqued Mio’s curiosity.

They were surrounded by high-end household appliances, and the room was only 8 meters wide.

“Where is this?”

An Yue snapped his fingers and walked toward them.

“This is my home. I asked Eve to bring you here.”

Ren walked to the window and saw a courtyard below.

“An Yue, is your house a Western-style mansion?”

“Yes, but my dad disguised himself as a human 36 years ago and bought it. He didn’t want to live here, so he gave it to me.”

“Is your household registration fake?”

“Not exactly. Think of it like Tohka from Date A Live. Some of my subordinates also work in the government.”

“So what district is this?”

“Tokyo. And earlier I misspoke—this is actually a villa, not a mansion. Come with me.”

Outside the room, Mio noticed dust everywhere, suggesting it hadn’t been lived in for a long time.

“No one cleaned? It’s all dusty.”

“We can use magic for that. Plus, I haven’t been here for a year. That’s normal.”

“Then where do you live?”

“A one-bedroom apartment half a kilometer away. But we can make this our base. Let me introduce the layout: six rooms on the second floor, a storage room, a study; and on the first floor, a kitchen, bathroom with bath, and a hall.”

“If there are six rooms, I’ll sleep with Shizuku.”

“Yay! I get to sleep with big sis!”

“Little Mio, I remember you’re familiar with most areas in Tokyo. Take Ren and the others out for fun. Eve and I will handle the cleaning.”

“Okay!”

Then An Yue conjured up thirty 10,000-yen bills and handed them to Mio.

“Have fun!”

“Thanks!”

After they left, Eve grew curious.

“Did you purposely send them away?”

“No, I just wanted them to enjoy themselves since it’s rare for them to return to the original world. We’ll set up a magical barrier here, just in case.”

“Will that work?”

An Yue grinned confidently.

“Relax, I have my ways.”

Meanwhile, Mio was showing everyone around the streets. Alexander and Ren, though they had memories, wanted to truly experience things.

Alexander spotted a DVD store and decided to buy some discs.

“Hey Mio, can I buy some Blu-ray discs to watch?”

“Sure! But I’m not sure if An Yue’s place has a Blu-ray player.”

“You all seem to like using little nicknames.”

“Ah, humans often use nicknames with close friends. Calling you ‘Little Alex’ and ‘Little Ren’ shows closeness. What do you think? Little Shizuku, Little Rin?”

“I support it!”

“Me too!”

Ren smiled.

“Humans are interesting.”

Inside the store, Alexander found Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Dragon Ball Super BD thanks to Mio’s memory. Ren and Shizuku chose Sword Art Online Seasons 1 to 3 together.

“What a coincidence.”

“I haven’t really watched Sword Art Online before. Let’s watch it together!”

“Yeah.”

Rin only browsed and didn’t plan to buy anything, and Mio didn’t need to look further since Alexander picked Broly.

“Miss.”

A blonde girl called out to Mio. She looked about 15–16 and resembled Eve.

“Can I help you?”

“You’re Miss Mio Kamikoshi Viscott, right?”

The girl whispered, and Mio was a bit shocked.

“You are…”

“That’s a secret. I just wanted to see what you all looked like. But now I’m relieved.”

“What do you mean?”

Ren and Alexander noticed the girl glancing at them, but Shizuku and Rin hadn’t paid attention.

“It’s nothing. We’ll meet again soon. Current Spirit King! Alexander.”

Then the girl left through the store entrance.

“Who was she?”

Alexander and Ren came over and spoke quietly.

“I heard her. She said, ‘Current Spirit King! Alexander.’ She must know your identity.”

“Maybe she’s An Yue’s friend—or maybe not.”

Ren rested his chin in thought.

“…Mio, if my intuition’s correct, she might be a god.”

“I feel the same. Her aura is a lot like Eve’s.”

“That’s why I said maybe she’s An Yue’s friend.”

“What is it?”

Shizuku noticed them whispering and came over.

“A girl who looked like Eve just talked to Mio. She knows who we are.”

“Probably a friend.”

“You sisters sure think alike. Maybe Alex and I are overthinking it.”

But on top of a tall building outside, the blonde girl lay looking at the sky.

“Looks like Little Eve’s skills aren’t quite there yet. I’ll have to guide her. Don’t you think so, Darling?”

A silver-haired man stepped out from the shadows.

“Yeah. Judging by her memories, she took her friends to the created world. But for normal people, going there is troublesome unless they become demigods. And bringing people to this world costs power—they even borrowed An Yue’s this time.”

“No, it’s more like she lacks the basics.”

“Don’t you have the same abilities?”

“In simple terms, the worlds I create allow anyone to come and go freely. But Little Eve can only bring anime characters between other animes easily. Bringing normal people back and forth is especially hard.”

“What’s the real reason?”

“My defensive barrier interferes. I added it to stop pursuers when traveling to other worlds. Little Eve didn’t notice the interference—total rookie mistake!”

“Who would even notice that?”

“Hehe… Anyway, the world she created is a real isekai. For now, I just want a peaceful and fun life.”

“What about the Celestial Realm?”

“An Yue’s father told me himself—he doesn’t want to lose any more talent there. Plus, he likes the girls, and their relationship with Eve is good.”

“True. Let’s go see Eve then.”

“Not yet. Wait until Little Mio and the others return home.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Have fun! It’s been ages since we played in the human world!”

At 9:12, Eve and An Yue had finished cleaning and sat on the sofa watching anime.

“An Yue, I suddenly feel nostalgic.”

“Nostalgic about what?”

“I don’t know how to describe it.”

“You’re not under some weird curse. And I’m here, so don’t be scared.”

“But Mio doesn’t have a phone. Should’ve let her buy a PS4.”

“Telepathy will do.”

“Forget it. We’ll go after dinner.”

“Speaking of which, what should we eat for lunch and dinner? There aren’t many good restaurants nearby.”

“Let’s just order delivery. After all this, I want to return to the Blade Dance world.”

“Still got trauma from the Celestial Realm?”

“Yeah. Maybe for life.”

“Looks like I’ll need to give you some therapy. But considering my uncle killed your family, it’s tough.”

Eve sighed.

“I’m scared and angry, but I must recover for Mio and the others.”

“I’m their mental pillar too. But is the Blade Dance world okay without us?”

“Don’t worry. Mireia and the others are holding things down. And Kamine is absolutely loyal.”

Meanwhile, in the Blade Dance world, Mireia and Kamine were patrolling.

“Mireia, do you know which world Mio went to?”

“How would I know? The Lady doesn’t tell me everything.”

“What’s your current form? Surely you know that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yugodora said there were several versions of you before. Why were you the only one revived as human?”

“I don’t know. Maybe resurrection magic is limited. But I came back thanks to the Lady.”

“She’s not around, so you’re our brain.”

“Of course. Though I did fail against your brother and others before—I was overconfident.”

Kamine gave a wry smile.

“Just be more careful. I’ll tease my brother mentally instead.”

“Why even do that?”

“You just don’t get me. Besides, I won’t lose to those jerks at the academy!”

“You got a grudge?”

“Yes! I’ll never forgive them for hurting my friend!”

“Yuni never said anything.”

“She doesn’t know.”

“What are you going to do? The pact says we can’t cause lethal harm.”

“Psychological warfare. Even if my brother knows, it doesn’t matter. The harm was real.”

Mireia broke into a cold sweat.

(With how the Lady is now, she won’t be pleased… and… huh!?)

Mireia heard something fast approaching and instinctively struck a purple lightning ball with a knife-hand.

Boom! A 10-meter explosion lit the sky.

“Who’s there!”

Looking around, she saw the world frozen. No one moved.

“What happened!?”

Kamine was also shocked.

“Hey!”

They looked up—and froze.

Both: “Shanyingna!!”

Shanyingna smiled.

“Mireia! How was that?”

“Nothing special. But what are you doing!?”

“Testing your skills. You’re impressive!”

Mireia grew hostile.

“Hmph! You intended to kill me just now!”

“Oh? Why do you say that?”

“I can tell a killing intent! That blast could’ve killed a myth-class spirit!”

Shanyingna clapped.

“I didn’t truly intend to kill! I just wanted to fight you myself!”

“What!?”

Kamine clenched her fists.

“Hey, come fight me instead!”

“What are you saying? You’re just human.”

It was the first time Mireia feared someone other than the Holy King.

But Shanyingna was bored and wanted to see what the semi-divine Mireia could really do!

“Fine, let’s fight.”

(I don’t know if Eve has enhanced her, so I’ll just go for a pure brawl.)

“Don’t worry…”

Then Kamine took flight and assumed a fighting stance.

Mirea pressed the detector.

“Who are you?”

Esther’s voice came through.

“It’s me, Sis. What’s your situation?”

Note: In the original work, Esther is Mirea’s older sister.

“Besides us and everyone Eve knows, most people can’t move. Time seems to be frozen. The leaves are floating in midair.”

In fact, the demigods Eve brought from the original world can ignore all of Shanyingna’s techniques, including affecting people who live together.

“Kamine! You seem like you can easily break a human body. That means you’re very strong, right?”

“Enough talk—let’s go!”

Kamine charged in and threw a punch, but Shanyingna blocked it with just one finger. Then Kamine kicked at her waist with her right leg, only to be caught and spun around in place.

“Tch!”

Kamine tried to kick Shanyingna’s face with her other leg, and after being released, she jumped back a few steps.

“You’re not using your full strength, are you?”

“Same goes for you.”

Kamine smiled.

“Hmph!”

But suddenly, Shanyingna rushed in and landed a heavy punch to Kamine’s stomach, followed by a spinning kick that sent her flying 50 meters away.

Mirea below was even more shocked.

(This strength and durability… it’s beyond human. Kamine, what exactly are you…)

“Ugh… it’s been a while since I felt this kind of pain. Guess it’s time to get serious.”

Shanyingna also found it odd—how can a human possess such strength? She knew Kamine was a sudden mutation, but still, this was ridiculous.

Then Shanyingna slowly floated over to Kamine.

“Hey, I have a suggestion.”

“What suggestion?”

“I suggest you join me. If I’m right, you’ll surpass the six Spirit Kings sooner or later!”

“What? Join you? You’re not lying?”

“Of course not.”

“Damn… what a shame!”

Shanyingna looked puzzled.

“Huh?”

“I’ve already made up my mind… to beat you up!”

“What… what did you say?”

“I’m already on Mio’s side. How could I be loyal to you?”

“But don’t you think you’re way out of your league if you want to beat me up!?”

“Is that so? Let’s find out then!”

Kamine unleashed a furious flurry of hooks in all directions—up, down, left, right—with strength 36 times greater than before, and then delivered a full-power punch to Shanyingna’s right cheek.

Shanyingna wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and saw blood!

Mirea, who had followed along, looked nervous.

“That… that idiot went too far.”

But Shanyingna didn’t get angry—she smiled.

“Not bad, Kamine! As expected from the Night Demon King’s little sister!”

“Boring. Why did you deliberately suppress your defense earlier?”

“For fun. Your strength is even greater than your brother’s, but your technique still needs work.”

“I’ll train.”

“Good luck. I hope one day you can beat me one-on-one. For now, I’m off to play elsewhere.”

After that, Shanyingna disappeared, and the world unfroze.

“What a strange god.”

Back at her residence, Shanyingna took a bath with a satisfied smile.

“Such incredible talent. It’d be a shame if she didn’t train.”

Eve had no idea what had happened in the Blade Dance world. Meanwhile, Mio’s group had fun exploring many parts of the park, and Alexander and Ren witnessed lots of new things.

“Hey, Little Alex, do you think your world could ever develop like ours?”

“No way. Even if you brought stuff from your world to ours, who else would use it besides you guys?”

“Hey, I’m a Spirit King. I’ll take it slow.”

“I have an idea.”

Ren suddenly spoke up.

“What idea?”

“Let Eve use Shido’s memory-sharing from Date A Live to share knowledge with all of humanity. The devices are pretty similar anyway. Just stop at the day after Mukuro’s route is complete, or else Nibeilkol will be a pain.”

“Great idea. As expected of Ren!”

“More importantly, let’s head back. We’ve had enough fun for now.”

“Okay!”

“Dark Yue, I want to create another world. One we can all play in together.”

“What world?”

“‘Gamindustri’! From Hyperdimension Neptunia. The goddesses are great, and we can have some fun too.”

“So you’re planning to make game consoles? I’ve had that idea before!”

“Sure, so who should be the goddesses?”

“Anyone’s fine!”

Suddenly, a blonde girl appeared before them. Eve’s eyes widened.

“You… you’re… no way…!”

“Long time no see, Little Eve!”

“M-Mom!!!?”

But Dark Yue tilted his head.

“My dad revived you?”

“Your uncle agreed too. From now on, I’ll live in the human world with Eve’s dad.”

Eve calmed down and asked curiously.

“Mom, were you the one who hacked into me before?”

“Of course. I prioritized monitoring your condition.”

“No wonder I couldn’t defend against it. But Mom, why do you look like a middle schooler?”

“At 16, humans basically look like beautiful girls. With this look, people will think we’re sisters.”

“What about Dad?”

“He’s watching over Mio and the others.”

“Eve’s mom, my uncle was revived too?”

“Yep. Why?”

“Nothing.”

(Tch, there goes my shot at becoming King of the Gods… but I’ll find another chance.)

“You were just thinking, ‘Tch, there goes my shot at becoming King of the Gods… but I’ll find another chance,’ weren’t you?”

Dark Yue gave a helpless look.

“Mind-reading!? Then you must know about the plan I discussed with Eve, right? But please don’t tell anyone! I beg you!”

“Relax. So what’s your plan now?”

“Spending time with Mio and the others.”

“Me too. What about you, Mom?”

“Living a normal human life. But I couldn’t resist coming to see you.”

“Where do you and Dad live?”

“Akihabara. The human world’s changed a lot, so it’s a good time for us to enjoy it.”

“Eve’s mom, I forgot your name.”

“My name is Lirel. Her dad’s name is Terry Nice. Just call us by our names.”

“Eve’s surname is also Nice?”

“She only goes by Eve. Everyone else just calls her Little Dark.”

Eve smiled and joked.

“I look like Little Dark, and I wear her clothes all the time. No wonder it turned out this way.”

“But Little Eve, did you alter the Blade Dance world ahead of time? Your power doesn’t seem perfect.”

“Yeah, the reason the Spirit Kings first held a meeting in a human city was because I changed the timeline.”

“But I saw your memory of telling Shizuku, ‘Even though I can return from that world, I can only bring people back every few hundred years due to my powers. I can only return using Ren Ashdoll’s body. Once you change, you can’t go back.’ Also, you needed Spirit King blood to bring others. Was that to conserve your power?”

“My lack of power was fixed later with Dark Yue’s help.”

“The ‘every few hundred years’ thing… was that a miscalculation on your part?”

“Pretty much. Mom, please teach me telepathy slowly later. I’ll be living in the Blade Dance world anyway.”

“Lirel, is your power innate?”

“I don’t know. I’ve had it since I was little. But if someone with evil intentions had it, they could destroy the whole universe!”

“Speaking of the universe, our family’s never even talked to alien gods. And even if we did, it’d only be for benefits.”

“Just like humans. Some gods are just stiff-minded. Creating alternate worlds can help save all of humanity.”

“Yo!”

Suddenly, Mio and her group teleported in—along with a silver-haired man.

“Little Mio! Dad!!”

The man waved hello.

“Long time no see, Little Eve. You’ve grown up beautifully—could probably enter a beauty contest now.”

Eve chuckled.

“Still joking like always. But Dad, how did you come back with Mio and the others?”

“I couldn’t help revealing my identity. But they’re all cute girls, so it’s fine.”

“As expected of this couple.”

Dark Yue remarked.

Then Lirel approached Ren and Alexander, placed her hands on their shoulders, and they instantly returned to their Spirit King forms.

“Alright, you’re back in your real bodies, with your full strength. You can switch back to the bodies Eve gave you using your minds.”

“Why do that?”

“You two are still top-tier combatants. Losing you would be too big a blow.”

Ren sprouted wings and gently flapped them, clearly pleased.

“Did you enhance us with divine energy?”

“Yes. Shanyingna, who created you, had ways to counter you two. Now you’re demigods and can naturally gather divine power.”

“Perfect. When Shanyingna joins a match, I’ll test it out.”

“Me too!”

“But remember to keep training. Otherwise, your potential will be wasted.”

“Um, Miss…”

“Just call me Lirel. I look the same age as you now anyway.”

Lin scratched his head shyly.

“Lirel, what do you usually eat in the Heavenly Realm?”

“Stuff like pudding, but honestly, human steamed buns taste better.”

Dark Yue covered his face and quickly added:

“Yeah, I only eat in the human world. There are no chefs in the Heavenly Realm! It’s way worse than human society.”

Terry clapped his hands.

“But it’s nutritious. Still, like me, you guys care more about taste.”

“Dad too, huh? Then let’s pick a restaurant in three hours and have a family dinner.”

“Great, reunion dinner!”

“Let’s go buy smartphones next. Communication is easy in this world anyway.”

But at that moment, in the underworld, Dark Yue’s mother had just given birth to another child—something Dark Yue had no idea about.