~~Epilogue: Wonderful Blessing of Our Goddess on this Beautiful World~~"And so, my sister's attempt to ruin it all for everybody by making me look like the crazy bitch who purposefully made demons, frame everyone else for it, wipe out all of the demons and make herself the queen of the gods was stopped. My good name was cleared and I....did a little growing up. Demogorgia? She finally got justice done. Like she deserves. Seriously, who the hell is so nice? She's like, really nice. And kinda pretty. Like, built really beautiful too. How unfair is it that she's got a big-
Ahem.
Anyway. Sorry, Demogorgia. But it wasn't all sunshine and roses. After all, you don't really just fix the damage of a war that long overnight, even if everyone at the top wants it to end. It took a while; persuading the demons that the goddess races didn't really want them dead and vice versa. The first year was rough. As was the next year after that. Still, it's not like we didn't have help."
Freya Cupidia Pacifica, Exiled and Disgraced Pretender"Rhea and Mom sent her away....somewhere. They never said where, only that they made sure she wouldn't cause much damage there, and that Rhea would keep an eye on her. Her worshippers were devastated. We're still trying to clean the mess up; some of them couldn't take it, refused to believe that Freya was as mad as she was. Sometimes, I worry she'll come back, furious, not really having changed, and mess up all of the good work we've done while she was away. Maybe she can't change. But some part of me figures if I can change....maybe she can."
Pyra Etna Hephaestia, Disgraced Fire Goddess"Ah, Pyra. You right asshole. Well, Mom and the others didn't want to exile her like Freya, but we couldn't let her get away. She's currently grounded, like, forever. Megara's keeping her in lockdown to make up for working with those two. Her followers.....didn't really take it too well either. Still, Pyra's....improving a bit. She's starting to refer to mortals like they're people now. Even if she's still insulting them. But she's thanking them, behind their backs, when they're not in earshot. But Discordia and Gaia are doing their best to teach her, and they said she's getting better, bit by bit. Fun fact, did you know Gaia completely missed all of this? Yeah, she was busy making up a continent on the other side of the planet. Yeah, she's...a bit of a late bloomer."
Demogorgia Regia Apocrypha, Rightful Queen and Mephistopheles Servilia Locustia, Forlorn Servant"Well, those two kinda worked overtime to fix all of it. They rebuilt Ultima Fortress, made it look less like an actual Hell on Generia and more like a place people might actually want to live. Really tried their best to make demons fit in on Generia now, too. There's been talks of making Ultima the Ninth Kingdom, with Cornelia the Eighth. Oh, and uh....a few years after that? They had a bunch of kids. Yeah. Really cute. They made me their godmother; I even visited the little tykes. She said they wouldn't be around if it wasn't for me. Which is true. But it sounds kinda cool, if you think about it; I'm the godmother to the Princess of Hell. As a Goddess. Man, Megara would kill for that kind of title, huh?"
Leviathan Invidia Neptunia and Mammon Primia Avaritia, Matrimonial Generals"These two? Oh, these two. They didn't take long to get shit in order. After helping out for the first year, they put in their resignation from the Demon Lord's army, settled down somewhere in the Begninese countryside and lay down their weapons for good. Had a kid I think, not long after, too. I've met her; she grew up pretty nicely. She wants to play sports, and she's a manager for some team in Cornelia or trying out to be one? The kid kinda took after Mammon, so she's got the whole "I have to carry my head around" deal but I promise. Nicest girl I've ever met."
Lucifer Superbia Promethea, Underestimated Lothario, Asmodeus Luxuria Zirconia, Queen of Succubi, and Satan Ira Draconia, Wolfhound of Hellrealm"Those three? Kinda just went on with their lives after taking a road trip helping out the efforts to fix things up. Did stuff like putting up houses, making orphanages, that kind of thing. These days, Lucifer's still running a nightclub somewhere in Begnin, Satan's still watching out for his bro and Asmodeus? Well, I heard she and Belphegor went in on franchising for the dream brothels and now she's making bank. Had Asmodeus just calling me the other day, asking if the ring she wanted to propose to Lucifer with looked nice because she wanted to lock him down already. I swear, I haven't squealed so loudly in so long. I really love weddings, you know? Satan will probably knock some sense into Lucifer first, though."
Terrorslayer the Invincible, Wannabe Dark Lord and Fantine von Allia, Boisterous Mage"So, fun fact? Did you know they were sisters? I didn't. They're totally sisters, though. Last I heard, Terrorslayer works with Demogorgia's palace security and Fantine went back to school, doing a doctorate on magical theory and history. Last I heard, Fantine's working at some academy now doing lectures. Still totally weird though with her whole bombastic personality. What is with some of these people?"
Miria Lightfoot, Self-Flagellating Sentinel"Someone this....okay with getting beat up? She can't really help but be an adventurer. 'Course, with adventuring not being as viable an option anymore, not really many options to get beat up. Lost track of her a few years back, but last I heard, she's part of the Alfheim All-Star team. Oh, yeah, adventuring's a sport now! But that's....another story."
Andras Calcifer Denaria, Loyal Servant Demon"I didn't quite keep track of him as well. Whatever Terrorslayer's family did for him, must've cleared up their debt. About a year after this whole thing, he left back to Hellrealm. But he must've really liked it here, because last I heard, he opened a bakery in Penultia. His daughter runs front of house. Nice bagels."
Jeffany and Donniann, Gargoyle Brothers"These two lovable lunkheads? They claimed their pay, said their goodbyes, and moved out to Begnin again. After a long while figuring out what they'd do, including an attempt to raise mimics on a farm, they started their own franchise of food carts. Fish and chips and the like. They're currently in six of the Seven Kingdoms and they're really doing a great job of giving gargoyles like them jobs. I'm really proud of these two; they're doing real work trying to give gargoyles opportunities, you know?"
Rena Kageyama and Kazuto Kirishima, Escapees of their Own Shadows"Did you know I like love stories? Because these two are kinda crazy as far as love stories go. Kazuto and Rena kinda just....well, they asked for their wishes to be partly reversed. Just enough to let them change their hairdo and clothes. They got hitched a few weeks after the the whole thing on Ultima. They moved out to Kaisei after we got all of Rena's charges dropped, bought a house in the capital. I think Kazuto works as a coach and Rena works as a restauranteur now; she's working with her sister and Haruo's staff. Who knew Rena could cook? Had a bunch of cute kids too. I didn't know Rena was an Oni, though; she seems pretty small for one. But the horns and the markings on their kids....kind of a dead giveaway."
Taro Akiyama, Wisecracking Thief and Borea Ventea Zephyrea, Airhead Goddess"Oh, these two. Good god, they got busy. Did you guys know, Borea was actually pregnant that whole last battle? Yeah, they got
busy. So I'm an aunt now. That's kinda weird. Taro's been hitting us up for advice on how to raise a little demigod kid. Honestly....we've got no idea how that even happened. Like....I didn't even know us Goddess Dragons could have children with mortals. How are we even supposed to know how to raise a half-goddess kid? But, well, I've had to babysit for the little girl; Chione, she's called. Cute as a button. I heard that they're expecting again; a son, this time. A Goddess Dragon guy.....now that I mention it, I don't actually know if there's any dude dragons. Good thing Taro's making tons of cash off his memoirs and Borea is....well, a Goddess. Raising two demigods....that can't be light on the bank."
Titania Hera Mundia, Mater Dei"Mom was....never quite the same after sending Freya away. It broke her heart; realising how she messed up with us and....Freya. Sometimes I'd catch her trying not to cry. It was also pretty rough on all of us, trying to be an actual family again after all this time with a house divided. But....Mom pulled through in the end. She tried to teach us how to do our jobs properly this time. And me? She's been trying to teach me how to take over her job as top god. But....that's another story, for another time."
Megara Phobos Bellona, Atoning War Goddess"Meg? Heh. She's always been the easygoing type in that sense. Fun fact, Megara got completely played by Freya. Like the rest of us. She's been working overtime to make up for her mistake, though. Knocking some sense into people who won't see it, helping repair the damage, training little demon kids to defend themselves. Yeah, did you know Megara's a great teacher? I didn't. Fun fact, she offered to teach self-defense at the Rhadamanthea Dojo. We'll get to that in a bit."
Rhea Harmonia Genesia, Regina Lapis"Rhea put herself to work helping fix the damage Freya did. I barely saw her after we all went our separate ways, in between her checking on Freya and teaching Pyra how to not be a complete ass and putting herself to work. She's always been the most serious of us goddesses, and I think Mom's been trying to repair their relationship after they finally started talking again. It's been rough, but we're almost all a family again, and I have my big sister back. Having Rhea have my back is something I never thought I'd want but....it's kinda nice."
Discordia Eris Dividia, Benevolent Entropy"Didi just kept doing what she did best; helping the weak, volunteering at soup kitchens, that kind of thing. I did end up helping her take a break. Find her hobbies, have fun, find love. Hooked her up with a nice girl who works at one of her soup kitchens. We have to keep the whole "Goddess" thing under wraps, though, but we're always looking to expand our family. I'm only praying that Didi remembers that when she has the wedding, I'm going to be her maid of honor."
Orobas Centimani Rhadamanthea, Prideful Old Demon"Oh, that old guy. Damn, he never gave up. He kept training to try to kick Keith's ass. He started a whole series of dojos, you know? Everyone wanted to train with the Old Demon, and the Old Demon wanted to train for the day when maybe, he'd finally beat Keith. I even took a course at his dojo in....Ishim, I want to say, a few years back. It was pretty rough. But he's still trucking. Still keeps his old werewolf friend around, too. So....I guess he didn't really change all that much. Oh, well. If it makes him happy, it makes him happy."
Vlad, Anarchist Musician"Well, I don't know much about what happened to Vlad. He got charged for littering, because they couldn't prove arson. His record label really got a bunch of good lawyers though, so last I saw, he got let out of prison on good behaviour about....two years into his sentence? I haven't really kept track of him since but I'm pretty sure I lost a few temples to him. Again."
Lilian and Selene, Succubus Sisters"After Lilian got out of prison for tax evasion, I heard Selene picked her up and they're living a quiet life back in their home country. I assume Lilian's still trying to do get-rich-quick schemes."
Keilee, Freed Slavewoman"She never really took to the adventuring life. I think it was too much for her. So she kinda just....hid at the wagon after a certain point. I undid her slave brand, so she could go wherever she wanted and eventually she....went off on her own. Don't know what happened to her after that, but she's probably out there somewhere, still living her best life."
Gnome Jenkins, Neverending Terror"Goddesses help us all, we lost him somewhere in Midgardia and we haven't found him since. Watch your feet, everyone."
Sitri Diantha Leviathia, Nervous Naga"Sitri said her goodbyes a few weeks after, to go take up a new role under Demogorgia's administration. It was kinda sappy; everyone was crying, she was crying, Momo was hitting on her again....I think? Anyway, Sitri's pretty confident now. Last I heard, she was in charge of her own naga regiment. Hah, eat that, assholes who bullied her. Go, sister, go."
Milly Pendleton, Traveling Merchant and Sir Blobbington, Easygoing Blob"She stayed on the longest helping with Demogorgia; a good five years or so. Sir Blobbington stayed with her for morale. After that, she sold off her wares, pooled her share of the money and went back to teaching school and she now teaches elementary school in Midgardia. Last I heard, she got engaged to a really nice teacher who was an ex-adventurer too. She said she wants to settle down, have a family, keep teaching. I'm really happy for her, too; she'd make a great mom. As for Sir Blobbington? He stayed with Milly. Not much to say about the little blob. Maybe one day he got to back and play with the kids who treated him so well those years ago. Maybe he found new friends."
Marta Kowalski, Height-Challenged Inventor and 42-1, Helpful Homunculus"So, who knew THESE two were an item? I didn't see that coming. Well, I'm not sure they're an ITEM item, but they're pretty close. Wouldn't surprise me if I get an invitation to a baby shower, but equally wouldn't surprise me if I never did. These two went back home to Wybernia. 42-1 helps testfly her planes; he actually won the Grand Prix a few times, too. Marta actually went into business with Belphegor being her new benefactor, meanwhile. She's been working on a bunch of other projects aside from aviation. All those zeppelins are hers, but stuff like trains, she did work on those two. You have her to thank for better cameras for filming stuff now, too. Did you know she did some work on teleportation, too? Yeah, there's a whole story with that one. For another time."
Jarvis Samek, Wandering Wiggler Hero and Belphegor Trisitia Acedia, Lazing General"Huh, these two kinda surprised me. I never thought Jarvis was the type to date. Or Belphegor. But I'm happy for both of them, really. Jarvis went back home, made his village rich. Turns out all of those checks he got for investing in
Clash of Legends really added up. The village is pretty big now; turns out, when you're the hometown of one of the heroes that ended the whole war, you get fame. I hear he and Belphegor are making it work nowadays; she's still running her company, he's fighting monsters, they meet every week for dinner dates, Belflix and chill. Yeah, Belflix is a thing. Broadcasts these things called....movies on your tablets. I heard Belphegor was working on a new game, too. N-not that I'll pull on it, or anything. My gacha days are behind me. Promise."
Marcia Henry, Ronin Maid"This one kinda hit me out of left-field. Did you know she has a non-profit for training demons as domestic servants? Yeah, she's got that one now. Apparently she's pressganging demons into become maids and butlers. She's still looking for a master of her own, but, well, being busy with the non-profit and with every noble within the Seven Kingdoms having filed a restraining order, not really all that successful."
Nikolai 'Jade' Fisher, Astounded Assassin"Jade never really kinda fit into the group. We kinda picked her up late. But, well, with all the money she got, her vengeance kinda taken away from her, and with nothing else to do, she went back home and built an inn. "Fireside Rest", it's called. Pretty popular. I stayed there once or twice. Jade did a bang-up job."
Dani "Dan" Langford, Pompous Magician"She got a real confidence boost after kicking ass in the war. Dan went back home, kicked her mentor's ass, took his title, and now she's a big shot celebrity. Endorsements, advertising deals, you name it, she's done it. Of course she goes out on a real one from time to time, but nowadays she's more of a stay-at-home type. Can't blame her; pretty hard to top "took down the Demon Lord AND a Goddess Dragon"."
Rosencrantz Marlowe, Dutiful Brother"Oh, the hot one. Well, he....actually kinda drifted away after all was said and done. He kept in contact with us all, arranged the meets. He even dated Asuna. But...in the end, they were a little too different, and I don't think Rosencrantz was ever the same after that. He got his brother out of prison, moved back to Midgardia and he actually got married a few years later. He has a really cute daughter, but they got divorced because, well, I don't know the full details, but I don't think he got over Asuna, in the end, but....well, he's pretty content raising his kid and working with the Warriors and keeping his brother out of prison. Again. Maybe I should give him a call, one of these days. See how he is, you know?"
Serena Thalassa Nereida, Wonderful Goddess"As for me? I kept an eye on everything. Trying to pick up the pieces, one day at a time. It's hard, but learning to be in charge of the whole world is an interesting challenge. I'm not really done with it all, but....it's not easy. But I feel like I can try to do my best, so long as it's all good."
"Now you might be wondering; I haven't mentioned a few of our chief players. Where's Keith, Yliss, Asuna, Shoes and Momo? Well, there's a story to tell with those lot. A whole bunch of them. And well....something real crazy happened about a year after this all ended, but.....that's a story for another time."
(Stay tuned for the first Epilogue Chapter!)
~~To be continued....~~
"I can certainly relate. My sister loved sweets like that, too. I learned how to make them myself, to treat her to some. Her favorites were shortcakes."
"Dammit. Maybe I'm missing something."
"I don't get it. What am I missing?"
"Hey, Saya."
"Hey, Akkun! I brought you some food. I know how you get when you're doing one of your cases."
"N-no, it's alright, Akkun! Besides, it's what friends are for. And....truth be told, it's been a while since I've seen you so fired up on something like this. You really missed chasing down a story, huh?"
"I've been trying to puzzle out the suspect's MO. How they operate, who's likely to be next. Nothing's coming to mind."
"Well, Akkun....maybe it's time we....figured out how this whole Kaijin thing works, right? Like....maybe it's to do with that?"
"...you know, Honda has my back in a fight. And I don't think we'd make it through those Domains without the others. But....I don't think I'd be able to do this without you, Saya."
"Okay. But....for all the help I'm giving you.....you owe me a favour too, Akkun~ You need to help me fill a request at the Helper's Club."
"Well...a few love letter deliveries, really."
"Because someone already has."
"...it's all happening again, like ten years ago. I have to do something. But....can I?"
"I think it best if we discuss somewhere more secluded. I have been looking into this group for months, but this is the first time they've been so brazen as to assault a village in force like that."
"If you...?"
"Sure, finally. Some dinner. Right, Madoka, let's get eatin'!"
"Excellent. If you would all follow me...."
"Might be your life, but you don't gotta deal with it alone. If you figure any way I can help, don't hesitate to ask. Us street rats, we gotta watch out for each other."
"Don't linger on your failure. Especially if it wasn't your failure to begin with. Move on to the next task. You will perform better if you focus."
"Interesting. You want my help, but want me to die in a fire. You want to collaborate with me, but demand I get out of your way. You brush aside any attempt at an olive branch because of whatever image of me you created in your head. I am not your enemy, Sawatari Mori, and I won't be, even if you want it so badly. But you want honesty, so I'll give it to you.