The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

After glancing somewhat suspiciously at Kannako, whose hand was being held by Shi Bai, she turned her gaze to Shi Bai. After letting out a soft "hmm" as if she had discovered something, she snorted coldly.

“Your sins have deepened in just a few days. You should know the rules of the underworld. I need an explanation.”

“I’ll bring her to find a few people, and she’ll be at ease soon.”

Raising Kanako's hand, who was standing there in a daze, Shibai looked completely calm.

"As for the trouble I've caused you, I'm very sorry. So I've decided to stay in the underworld and cover for you for a few hundred years. You can just assign me any job as a grim reaper."

"You came to work in the underworld... to suppress the sins within you, right?"

After a slight pause, Heca immediately realized what was happening and pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Since you know how serious your problems are, wouldn't it be better not to do things that would only increase your sins?"

"Uh... I couldn't help it at the time... Just say whether you agree or disagree directly."

Shi Bai rolled his eyes.

"If you agree, after I've taken care of things in this world, I'll come here and work temporarily. While I'm working here, I can handle anything that happens in the underworld. How about it, isn't this a good deal?"

"Come if you want... but why do you want to become the Grim Reaper?"

Heca suddenly seemed a little curious.

"Then you can live in the underworld forever without any problem. Isn't it better not to have a job? Why do you need to find one?"

"because this."

Shi Bai reached out and tapped his head, making no attempt to hide anything.

"Recently, I've realized that I might be too indifferent to life, and to be honest, this feeling is very unpleasant. I don't want my soul to end up as a disgusting, inhuman being... And Death is the closest position to the dead, is that reason satisfactory?"

"Uh... incomprehensible."

After thinking for a moment, Heca shook her head with a slightly strange expression.

"It's normal for beings like us to feel indifferent to life, isn't it? After all, death doesn't mean the end, and we're basically immortal..."

"I'm different from you."

With a slight pout, Shi Bai pulled Kanako's hand and walked forward.

"I was once a human being too."

P.S.: I had a headache all day, so I'm updating so late.

Yesterday I got 800 recommendation votes... Oh well, I'll update another chapter tonight, around 9 or 11 pm.

Chapter Seven: Amaterasu Omikami Shinki

The underworld, a forbidden land for the living, and the domain of the dead.

Unless they are dead, the living are absolutely forbidden from entering the underworld. This is an ironclad rule of this world, and anyone who violates the rule will be severely punished.

...That's how it should have been.

On the banks of the Sanzu River, beside the spider lilies, Heca looked up at the gray, dark void, speechless.

Previously, it was one thing for the god named Shinki and the monster named Succubus to have broken into the Underworld, since they were eventually driven back by me. But now, a weak human has actually come to the Underworld... Why hasn't the Dragon God appeared yet?

Logically, the Dragon God is responsible for maintaining the balance of the world. Someone who seriously disrupts the world's balance and leads others to disrupt it as well should be dealt with by the Dragon God immediately. But the person in question is still living a very comfortable life...

...So, could the Dragon God really be from his family?

Suddenly, a strange thought popped into Heca's mind.

"……I'm back."

Just then, a voice that sounded very complicated came over.

"Once you're back, just stay here quietly. You can go back after he returns."

Heka turned and glanced at the other person, then spoke calmly.

This is the first time the boundary between life and death has been broken, and such a serious mistake should not have happened. She should not have allowed such a mistake to happen... But anyway, she doesn't have to take the blame for this.

"...May I ask a few questions?"

Biting her lip, the girl mustered her courage and asked Heca in front of her.

"Who exactly is he? A monster or a god? How can he..."

"That guy who's always causing me trouble?"

Heka glanced at the girl, then sat down among the flowers, looking completely nonchalant.

"Who knows? But I never expected that his reason for bringing you to the underworld was just to let you say a few words to your old friends... That guy must be completely insane, right?"

"The underworld...can't we come here?"

Carefully, she sat down among the flowers and couldn't help but ask a question.

"What do you think the underworld is? It's a place only the dead can enter. If the living dare to enter the underworld, the only consequence awaiting them is extremely severe punishment. Prepare to enter hell and receive cruel torture."

With a soft hum, Heca was happy to exchange a few words with the somewhat special and lucky human beside him.

"For a weak human like you, the only outcome of entering the underworld is instant death and falling into hell... So how exactly did you encounter that guy?"

Turning her head, Heca asked the other person with great curiosity.

"To be honest, this is the first time he has broken the rules by bringing other people into the underworld. Are you and him on good terms?"

"……I have no idea."

After a brief silence, the girl shook her head somewhat blankly.

"I should hate him, because he completely destroyed the village I was trying to protect. But I should also thank him, because if it weren't for him, I might have died long ago... I really don't know."

"Uh...that's complicated."

After pondering it for a while without figuring it out, Heca looked completely uninterested.

"But you're lucky, you were able to... Alright, you can go back now."

Before she could finish her sentence, Heca turned around as if sensing something and quickly stood up from the flower bushes.

"In short, you just need to understand one thing: for someone like him, there's not much difference between right and wrong... See you next time if fate allows!!"

Seeing that he was about to enter the range of some Yama King's sermons and detection, Heca left behind these words and quickly disappeared from the spot.

Kanako: "..."

After a moment of silence, Kanako turned her head and saw someone walking towards her, looking utterly hopeless after being lectured by a green-haired loli dressed in an extremely formal robe.

(Is that... Yama, the demon from the underworld?)

Kanako was slightly taken aback by what she saw.

"Brother, you mustn't add any more sins to your body!!"

As she got closer, she could clearly hear the slightly exasperated voice of the Enma.

"If this continues, no one can save you!!"

(……elder brother?)

"Ahem... I understand, so that's why I said I was going to work under you, right? And I'll definitely be cultivating my character then... By the way, shouldn't the Grim Reaper get a salary?"

"Don't try to change the subject!! You must promise me now that you won't kill anyone again. Brother, you've already committed enough sins..."

"Okay, I promise you, how about a pinky promise?"

Someone solemnly extended their little finger.

"........."

..................................................................

From birth to death, and then from death to birth.

In just half a day, Kanako felt as if she had gone through two reincarnations.

So much so that when she stepped onto the hard ground and saw the warm sunlight again, her expression was momentarily dazed. When she came back to her senses, someone was already walking ahead of her, their calm words faintly carried on the wind.

"Let's go, I'll take you to find someone."

"........."

After a moment of silence, she turned her head and took one last look at the bamboo forest behind her before silently following behind the other person.

Perhaps because the unresolved issues in their hearts still lingered, the two did not exchange a single word during the next two weeks of travel.

However, occasionally, on a clear, moonlit night, lying in the tent provided by the other party, Kanako would gaze at the night sky through the gaps in the trees, lost in thought.

She had no idea where the other person was taking her, and she didn't really care.

After going to the underworld, the distance between life and death seemed to be infinitely shortened. She felt as if she had gained some insights, but she couldn't express them in words.

Between life and death, it is but a fleeting dream.

Memory is evidence of one's existence, but it is also the root of so-called troubles... At that time, I should have asked Meng Po for a bowl of Meng Po soup.

After silently following behind the other person for more than half a month... she arrived at a rather peculiar place.

"Summon your Amaterasu and tell her that an old friend has come to visit."

Shi Bai clapped his hands and smiled as he spoke to the gods lying on the ground in front of him.

"No disrespect is allowed towards Amaterasu Omikami! Humans are forbidden from setting foot in Takamagahara!!"

As if he had been insulted, one of the gods, dressed in a crown, roared at him.

"This is the abode of the sacred gods, and you are all so disrespectful..."

A long spear grazed his ear and pierced the ground.

"And you call that a guaranteed hit? It didn't even hit anyone at this close..."

With a slight smirk, and amidst the god's terrified gaze, Shi Bai reached out and pulled Gungnir up.

"I spent a long time looking for this place. Couldn't you be a little more courteous? After all, you should know that 'friends come from afar, though they are far away, they shall be punished'... Strange, something seems off?"

Shi Bai smacked his lips, looking thoughtful.

"Your Excellency may enter Takamagahara, but there is no history of any human being ever able to enter Takamagahara."

As such a solemn voice rang out, a man wearing a tall hat appeared in front of the palace.

"So if you wish to visit Amaterasu Omikami, please first send the human behind you out of Takamagahara."

"Hmm...which god are you?"

Looking up at the deity over there, Shi Bai raised an eyebrow with a hint of curiosity.

"I am Ebisu, the god of fortune."

Ebisu had a solemn expression on his face.

"Takamagahara is the dwelling place of the gods, an incomparably sacred place, and humans are not allowed to set foot in it."

"That's why I told you to go and inform the gods... Amaterasu, why are you all so inflexible?"

Shi Bai glanced at Kanako, who was clearly stunned behind him, and rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"After all, this is the place she built, and I don't want to cause any damage to it."

"Humans are forbidden from setting foot in Takamagahara; this is a rule of this sacred land."

Ebisu persisted.

"If you want..."

"Let them in."

Before Ebisu could finish his sentence, a solemn and sacred voice came from inside the palace.

"But……"

"You may leave now."

"……Yes."

..................................................................