The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

“I have already lost too much, and I don’t want to lose my last sister.”

"But you should also understand very clearly that some things, like the inevitable trend of the times, are beyond our control."

Shi Bai shook his head slightly.

"The last missing piece of the world's puzzle will inevitably be completed, and the opening of the underworld is inevitable. Although it may sound a bit cruel, your sister's mission since the moment she was born into this world has been solely to exist as a 'key'."

"……I know."

After a long silence, the succubus nodded slightly.

"However, I still want to give it a try, to try to pursue some possibility."

"Are you sure? You want to change these things on your own... Of all the paths laid out before you, you've chosen the most treacherous one."

Leaning back in his chair, Shi Bai turned to look at the snowy bamboo forest outside.

"Even if this path leads to your utter ruin, it doesn't matter?"

"It's okay, I was already prepared."

The girl nodded very seriously.

"Alright, starting today, you and your sister will stay in this bamboo forest for the time being."

Shi Bai reached up and pressed his forehead, then exhaled.

"I'm only giving you one month. How much you learn from me in this month depends entirely on your own efforts... I will give you strength."

"……Thanks!!"

A slight smile appeared on the girl's face, and she quickly thanked him.

"Don't thank me yet. Whether you succeed in the end or not, you have to do something for me in the future... Don't worry, it's a very simple thing."

Shi Bai waved his hand and looked at the succubus in front of him.

"I need you to deliver a letter for me."

P.S.: The author's backend is really messed up; uploading a single image takes half an hour.

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Succubus and Eirin Yagokoro

This first heavy snowfall since the New Year lasted for more than half a month.

The pure white snowflakes covered everything, including the succubi.

Although it's inevitable that sooner or later, some of the gods and monsters from the outside world will suspect Eirin Yagokoro in the bamboo forest, there will be a buffer period in between.

For the better part of a month, the succubus and her sister lived in the bamboo forest, and Yagokoro Eirin tacitly approved of this. So, while teaching Yagokoro Eirin medical skills, Tokihachi was also responsible for teaching the succubus.

In matters concerning the power of learning, succubi have demonstrated remarkably remarkable resilience.

As the weakest race among monsters, she is at a disadvantage in every aspect, especially in terms of physical strength.

The succubus herself understood this, so she tried desperately to narrow the gap, but the consequence of being impatient for success was that she often ended up covered in wounds.

In contrast to the succubus's slow progress, Eirin Yagokoro's learning progress can be described as rapid, absorbing the medical knowledge he teaches like a sponge.

Given Eirin Yagokoro's terrifying talent in medicine and her rapid learning progress, Shibai had to revise the teaching plan three times in the past two weeks to adapt to her learning pace.

Normally, doctors should avoid theoretical discussions, but the existence of a certain succubus who often leaves herself covered in wounds has ironically promoted Eirin Yagokoro's learning in some ways... To be honest, this is quite a strange thing.

Meanwhile, a certain future Yama-no-King behaved unusually well during this time, which pleased Yagokoro Eirin. However, at times, Shibai would occasionally see her sitting alone under the eaves, gazing at the sky, lost in thought.

...In every respect, she is a child who evokes pity.

"...Succubus, learn magic."

Shi Bai reached up and pressed his head, put down his pen, and sighed with a hint of helplessness.

"Since the conventional paths are blocked, we might as well find another way. The spells I'll teach you only require a large amount of energy to use, and aren't just limited by physical constraints... From now on, grab your magical items and become a whale (someone who spends a lot of money on in-game purchases)!!"

After having the succubus try out all the cultivation methods he had obtained from the ancient mythological races, Shi Bai ultimately had to abandon the idea.

Actually, he was a bit presumptuous. He thought that the knowledge he had collected from the beings in the heavens was enough, but he overlooked the most important factor: this was no longer the ancient mythological era.

After all, times have changed. If you blindly apply these methods, the end result will be like that of a succubus, who ends up with nothing but injuries.

...So, in the end, he was really annoyed and decided to teach the other party knowledge from other worlds.

When he was forced to leave the Celestial Realm and wander the world alone, he collected and summoned quite a few treasures. You see, the birth of a new world inevitably produces countless rare and precious materials, and at that time, no one would dare to compete with him for them.

Therefore, his collection of other related cultivation methods and knowledge of other worlds is quite extensive. However, while he did indeed summon many good things, some items were extremely disappointing.

For example, there are training methods for the microcosm, training manuals for the Lion's Roar Bullet, training guides for the Seven-Colored Battle Qi... and even training methods for the Emperor Engine and a quick manual for the related ultimate move, the Hellfire Unparalleled Explosive Wave Cannon.

Of course, these things that he considered extremely ridiculous could not be given to a succubus. Although the idea of ​​cultivating a succubus who could use her inner universe and also possess the Alaya consciousness was indeed very appealing... it would take a lot of time.

After much thought, Shi Bai concluded that the only way to quickly level up a character in the shortest amount of time was to let the succubus rely on superior equipment to become a happy pay-to-win player.

Anyway, he had a whole warehouse full of all those magical items, including a bunch of so-called forbidden spell scrolls. They were just going to get moldy anyway, so he might as well take them out and make the most of them...

However, once these abilities or magics that do not belong to this world are used by the succubus, they will inevitably attract wider attention, like a torch in the darkness... It is estimated that the magic and spells that she uses that do not belong to this world will probably be called strange magic by others, right?

"Strange... something feels off?"

Touching his chin, Shi Bai had a strange look on his face.

When he saw the succubus choose from the pile of magical items he had placed in front of her, allowing her to pick whatever she wanted, his expression became even more bizarre.

A crescent-shaped staff, a blue magic hat, and a matching blue robe with some white accents... So why is it such a familiar outfit?

"Uh... Succubus, don't you think this one looks better than the one you're wearing? Also, the one I have is more protective and valuable than the one you're wearing, isn't it?"

Some, unwilling to give up, picked up a glittering gold piece of armor and put it on to cosplay as someone wearing a glittering full-body suit of armor. Shi Bai spoke to the succubus in front of him in a seductive tone.

"Teacher, you've already helped me so much. This is more than enough."

She bowed to him very respectfully and answered quite seriously.

That's right, just like Eirin Yagokoro calls him "teacher," the succubus also follows this form of address.

As for Yagokoro Eirin, perhaps because of their daily interactions as doctor and patient in the hospital bed, the two actually got along extremely well...

"Alright, since this is your own choice... then let's leave it at that for now."

Rolling his eyes inwardly, Shi Bai gathered up all the boxes on the ground. After thinking for a moment, he decided to give the succubus in front of him a heads-up.

"By the way, the magic I'm going to teach you later might be a bit strange, but don't worry about it."

"I see."

The succubus gripped her staff tightly and nodded.

"Teacher, that letter that needs to be delivered..."

"You don't need to worry about those things for now. Just stay here and learn from me."

With a casual wave of his hand, Shi Bai turned and walked outside.

"After all, the Celestial Realm has not yet been created..."

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P.S.: I've calculated the current number of bonus chapters, and it's about five in total, which is just a drop in the bucket.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Burden and Awakening

Now that he had made his decision, Shi Bai was naturally not the kind of person who would hesitate.

When magic from another world is applied to a succubus, the two complement each other quite well. However, once these magics, which do not belong to this world, are amplified by the succubus, they are destined to be tainted with strangeness.

...Anyway, Shi Bai doesn't care about this kind of thing.

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai found some magical potions that succubi could use. As a noble mage, he needed to have enough mana, so essential mental potions were also indispensable.

Because the supply of essential psychic potions for mages was actually quite limited, Eirin Yagokoro volunteered to take on the task of crafting these potions. According to her, medical skills also included potion crafting.

However, because some materials that only exist in other worlds are impossible to find in this world, Eirin Yagokoro had to selectively search for some necessary substitutes... and then disaster struck.

Before her first attempt at concocting medicine, Eirin Yagokoro was full of confidence.

According to her own estimation, the medicine she made was unlikely to have any problems, and its effects would even be several times stronger than the original medicine...

...Then a violent explosion nearly destroyed half of the bamboo forest.

The disastrous consequences of Yagokoro Eirin's first attempt at drug production led Shibai to believe that she was actually developing an atomic bomb.

Having learned from the experience of making the drug the first time, Eirin Yagokoro quickly created a second version of the mental potion.

This time, the potion didn't cause a violent explosion like before, but when Eirin Yagokoro handed it to the anxious succubus, it accidentally fell to the ground, corroding a large crater in the earth...

The repeated failures did not dampen Eirin Yagokoro's enthusiasm; rather, they aroused her even more interest. An hour later, the third version of the mental potion was successfully produced.

This third version of the potion didn't have the same flaws as the previous two, but the succubus's face turned even greener, because after Yagokoro Eirin finished making the third version of the potion... the newly made potion came to life and ran away on its own.

After some tracking, the group found a poisoned, bamboo rat-like creature in a corner of the bamboo forest...

Afterwards, based on Shi Bai's examination, he was speechless as he concluded that the cause of death of this "bamboo rat" was actually due to an extreme mental breakdown, or in simple terms, brain overclocking.

"Hmm... I think you might need a dedicated drug trial participant in the future."

After the test results came out, someone said this to Eirin Yagokoro beside him.

After experiencing so many minor hiccups along the way, a month finally arrived as scheduled. After spending an afternoon with her younger sister, the succubus left the bamboo forest alone.

At that moment, Shi Bai held the little girl's hand beside him and quietly watched the succubus's figure disappear from his sight.

The future Yama was as obedient as ever, but after her older sister's figure disappeared from sight, she suddenly raised her head and asked Shi Bai a question.

"Brother, will I ever see my sister again?"

...She actually understood better than anyone else.

What happens to a key after it has been used to open a lock that will never be used again?

The so-called "key" is just a "key".

The most likely scenario is that it will completely disappear from the world with the opening of the underworld, while what the succubus needs to find is an additional possibility.

Don't worry, we'll meet again.

Looking up at the vast, gray sky, Shi Bai lowered his head and smiled at the little girl beside him.

"Do you know? Every parting is just a prelude to a better reunion next time."

"........."

Turning her head to look in the direction her older sister had left, the little girl nodded as if she understood, but for some reason, one of her hands unconsciously tightened its grip on Shi Bai's hand.

After the succubus left, life in the bamboo forest returned to its usual tranquility. However, a certain future Yama King seemed to be spending more time sitting alone under the eaves, lost in thought.

"What, are you still worried about your sister?"

Shi Bai sat down next to the other person and casually handed them a lollipop.

Because he'd heard that lollipops could lure little girls, he'd stockpiled all sorts of snacks like lollipops, filling several warehouses...

"Hmm... I was just thinking about some other things."

He took the lollipop that was handed to him and held it in his hand. After hesitating for a moment, the future Yama King turned his head to look at Shi Bai beside him.

"Brother, what is reincarnation? What is the underworld? Could you please tell me?"

"Reincarnation and the underworld?"

With a soft chuckle, Shi Bai looked up at the sky.

"The so-called cycle of reincarnation means that all living beings are born and die, die and are born again. After death, the soul is reincarnated and reborn as another person, endlessly turning and cycling. Everyone will have a past life and a future life..."

"Brother, can those who have died also have a future?"

The little girl's eyes suddenly lit up.

“I heard my sister say that death is complete annihilation, utter nothingness, where even thought ceases, and existence ceases. When we completely forget those who have died, it’s as if they never existed in this world at all… But when the underworld opens, is death no longer the end?”

"...That's right, that's exactly it."

After a moment of silence, Shi Bai nodded.

“Brother, since I am the key to the underworld, then after me, all deaths in the world will have their own meaning, right? In that case…”