You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

The princess in military uniform showed neither anger nor resentment, but looked at Iori with some confusion.

"I still have one last question: since you have already achieved the ending you wanted, why didn't you just let me disappear into thin air?"

After I disappear, the world will gradually return to its original state. Your mission is complete.

But why go through all this trouble and bring me to a place like this?

"Oh? You're not happy about it?"

"Do not……"

Altair looked down at Setsuna with a gentle smile and said softly, "But whatever your reason, I want to thank you for allowing Setsuna and me to 'meet'."

"It's nothing, I just meant what I said."

Under the incredulous gazes of the two, Iori said calmly, "Whether you believe it or not, I am actually a very peace-loving person."

"..."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have used the technology of materializing souls to revive Setsuna Shimazaki."

"Thank you."

Altair said sincerely, "Whatever you want to use me for, I will remember this kindness."

"...It's just a matter of mutual benefit."

Iori turned her head to the side.

"Have you thought about what to do next? Shimazaki Setsuna is still a 'dead person' in the real world. Although changing her identity is not difficult... as a fantasy character, you are not suitable to be active in the real world. You probably can't be with her."

"I don't want to be separated from Setsuna."

The girl shook her head with a wry smile, as if she had no strength left. Altair said calmly, "Do whatever you want. Right now, all I want is to be with Setsuna."

Upon hearing this, Iori smiled slightly.

Just as he was about to introduce the next step of the plan, Shimazaki Setsuna, who had been sleeping peacefully, suddenly twitched his fingertips and slowly opened his eyes.

"Hmm... Is this... the afterlife?"

The girl gazed up at the stars, lost in thought. "It's not as dark or cold as I imagined... It's so beautiful."

The sky was filled with twinkling stars, adorning the clear, inky night and enveloping the world in a dreamlike starry night.

"—!"

Altair was speechless.

She stood up immediately and left Shana's side, unconsciously taking two steps back.

Altair simply stared blankly at the awakened girl, his expression a mixture of relief, joy, and a faint trace of sadness.

The silver-haired girl should have rushed forward without hesitation to hug Setsuna tightly, but her body was unable to move no matter what she did, as if she were embedded in a steel statue.

She was afraid that this was just a sad dream, and that if she reached out her hand, she would inadvertently destroy it.

"Well……"

The girl sat up straight, her eyes looking around blankly through her old-fashioned glasses.

The moment she saw Altair, she was completely overwhelmed with a sense of awe.

"……you?"

"I……"

Altair took a difficult step and came to Setsuna's side. Then he bent down, opened his arms, and gently hugged the girl.

"My name is Altair, you gave it to me... Thank you, Setsuna."

Thank you so much for allowing me to be born into this world and for letting me meet you.

"Althael...is that you? Am I dreaming?"

Iori and Meteora watched this scene in silence, waiting for Altair and Setsuna Shimazaki to exchange their thoughts. During this process, neither of them spoke to disturb the two girls.

"Iori, I don't know what else you want to do."

The sage-like girl with short white hair spoke softly, "But are you sure?"

"It should be fine, right?"

Iori looked at his palm: "The ending that the audience can see is now complete. Next is the ending for us. If all goes well, this story will have a happy ending."

"hope so."

Meteora breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction, "As expected, Iori, you're not a bad person~"

"Haha~"

While he may not be a "good person" in the conventional sense, he is not a cold-blooded demon either. If he could resolve the matter satisfactorily, he would not deliberately pursue tragedy.

After all, he found stories that were just sad for the sake of sad to be boring.

A fairytale ending may be cliché, but if it brings a sense of relief and a knowing smile to the reader, that would be even better.

From a personal perspective, Altair also provided him with a lot of recognition, and you can't just turn your back on someone after you've served your purpose—that would be very unethical!

"Alright, have you two calmed down now?"

After waiting for a while, Iori smiled and spoke to the two girls who had joined hands.

"Excuse my bluntness, but this starry world is unstable and may disappear at any time."

"Ah, although it would be nice to return to nothingness with Setsuna, I would rather see the vast world with Setsuna now."

At this moment, the military princess inexplicably regained her confidence and revealed her signature mysterious smile again.

"Lady Iori, please tell me the fate you have designed for us. Don't worry, I am mentally prepared and am willing to accept whatever is cruel."

"It's not such a cruel thing."

Iori paused for a moment, then smiled slightly: "The paths I've prepared for you are, simply put, two. One is to prepare a suitable body for Miss Shimazaki, change her identity and live an ordinary life. Altair can stay in the virtual space and communicate with Miss Shimazaki across the realm."

The other option is... to let Ms. Shimazaki choose for herself whether to live in the mortal world or remain in her soul state and become a supernatural being like Altair.

Chapter 476 Call out my name loudly (Aizen)!

It seems that he could choose to return to a normal life, but in reality, that would be meaningless for Shimazaki Setsuna now, because his original social relationships and identity are no longer usable. Even if he were to change his identity with the help of the government, he could never be the original "Shimazaki Setsuna".

So she only has one choice: to keep this "materialized soul" body and live with Altair in the fantasy world.

Yes, although from now on "reality" and "fantasy" will be separated, Altair's abilities will not disappear. She can still travel freely between different works, but she will have to avoid affecting reality in the future.

Swords and magic, cyberpunk, campus romance, quirky and bizarre... many worlds await these two, so they'll never be bored.

—This is also a good thing for Iori.

Because the coordinates he possesses are those of [Re:Creator], he cannot travel to the fantasy worlds connected to them, such as "Valken of Remembrance" and "Magical Killer Mamika," on his own.

But if he were to use Altair's power, it would be as if countless doors to other worlds were opened to him!

Altair herself is uncontrollable, and even Iori cannot make the embodiment of the collective unconscious of humanity submit, but she has a "weak point" like a certain Ryougi-san, and Shimazaki Setsuna is her only concern.

Iori's use of the Third Law to repair Setsuna Shimazaki's soul is tantamount to signing a contract with this high school girl, thus indirectly establishing a connection with Altair.

Princess in military uniform wants to live a rosy life with her author, but she needs Iori's support!

The most amazing thing is that, after all the twists and turns and the great battle, Altair doesn't really dislike Iori anymore; on the contrary, he's quite grateful to him—human emotions are truly a strange thing!

……

"……excuse me."

After saying goodbye, Iori and Meteora emerged from an ordinary house, closing the door to muffle their soft sobs.

"Is this okay?"

On the way back, Meteora, dressed in modern clothes, asked softly.

"They didn't know their daughter was alive... or that she had come back from the dead. The shock to them from just telling them the truth like that was immense."

"all the same."

Iori stared straight ahead and said calmly, "No matter how euphemistic the words are, when they realize the truth, the impact will be the same."

After dealing with some urgent matters, Iori and his companion visited Shimazaki Setsuna's parents.

Iori didn't actually do anything special; she simply acted as a messenger, delivering a handwritten letter from Shimazaki Setsuna to her parents. As for what was written in it—whether it was regret, gratitude, or an apology—Iori had no idea and no interest in it.

After delivering the letter, he withdrew without carefully observing the reactions of Setsuna's parents.

"Why...didn't Setsuna come by himself?"

Meteora seemed a little downcast. "It's just a meeting, it won't affect anything."

"Who knows? It's best not to delve too deeply into other people's family relationships."

Iori calmly said, "Some things are only known to the parties involved, and outsiders have no right to interfere."

Why run away from her parents? Iori didn't know the reason, but she had some guesses.

Setsuna Shimazaki was subjected to cyberbullying and, in despair, chose to commit suicide by lying on the railway tracks. In this incident, external pressure was only part of the reason for the tragedy.

More importantly, she did not receive support from her relatives and friends; instead, she felt betrayed.

One of them is high school student Sota Mizushino. As an artist in the same circle, Sota is somewhat of a "senior." Sota had helped Setsuna a lot, and the two had even met in real life. However, after the incident, due to his own dark thoughts (jealousy), Sota did not help Setsuna and treated her like a complete stranger... It's hard to imagine how Setsuna felt at that time.

Only after Setsuna's suicide did Sota Mizushino realize the gravity of the situation, and he was overwhelmed by guilt...

This was just a friend; how did Setsuna's family, her parents, handle the situation?

It seems that they weren't very supportive of their daughter's interests to begin with, and they might even take this opportunity to advise her to give up early, or say something even more indifferent...

Well, that's how people with sensitive hearts are.

Thinking of this, Iori, who had initially been somewhat disdainful, secretly shook her head:

He is naturally strong-willed and unafraid of gossip, but he cannot expect others to be like him, especially since Shimazaki Setsuna is just an ordinary high school girl.

It's only natural to feel reluctant to face former relatives and friends after being given a new lease on life.

"Even so..."

Iori looked up, a faint smile playing on her lips: "So, it really is time to put an end to the past, isn't it, Setsuna?"

"call……"

Standing at the intersection was a girl with braided hair and glasses. Setsuna Shimazaki, dressed in casual clothes, looked a little nervous, but her eyes became much more determined.

"Judging from your appearance, have you already met with Shui Xiaosa?"

"Yes... Now that I think about it, Senior Shui Xiao wasn't wrong either. It was too much to make him live with guilt."

"The fact that you have such thoughts proves that you are a kind child."

Iori's gaze softened considerably as she looked at JK.

"If someone betrayed me, I definitely wouldn't forgive them, right?"

"...Thank you, both of you."

Setsuna Shimazaki bowed deeply and said to Meteora and Iori, "But I still feel that just one letter is not enough. I want to talk to Mom and Dad in person!"

"Ah, very good."

Meteora said with relief, "Congratulations, Miss Setsuna—you've made peace with yourself."

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

Setsuna Shimazaki thanked him repeatedly, then excitedly walked towards his home.

"……I'm back."

……

"So much has happened lately, and we have a ton of messes to clean up."

Meteora walked alongside Iori, saying wearily, "Although the laws of the world are gradually returning to normal, it's just a system of laws. Those troublesome guys stuck in reality won't just settle down along with it."

"That's true... but they don't have much time left."

When this matter is brought up, Iori also feels a bit of a headache.

The great battle between the two camps has indeed ended, but this does not mean that all conflicts have been resolved.