She was clearly excited.
A world without an underworld or a cycle of reincarnation? That's a world in disarray.
Now that someone was willing to build one, she couldn't be more thrilled.
The man in front of her must be the Takumi that Yukari Yakumo and the others had mentioned earlier.
"What I need you to do is quite simple," Takumi said.
"I'll create the structure of the underworld, and you'll be responsible for building everything inside. From then on, you'll handle reincarnation affairs. That's your specialty, right?"
Eiki nodded firmly.
"Yes! That's my domain."
This was literally her job. She was well-versed in itno problem at all.
Hu Tao, meanwhile, asked with curiosity:
"How are you going to create it?"
She was genuinely interested.
How could Takumi create an underworld? Wasn't that the kind of thing that formed naturally over time?
"Of course I have my ways," Takumi replied.
"I've seen plenty of underworlds before. Creating one isn't difficult."
As he spoke, he glanced at the ground beneath him.
"This is the place you chose for burials, huh? Not bad."
After sensing the area, he approved of Hu Tao's choice.
Indeed, the place was teeming with yin energy.
He probed deeper underground and raised an eyebrow.
It looked like this had once been a city. The entire population must have been buried here.
Although most of the remnants had decayed, some lingering energy still remained.
Thinking of those long-gone humans, Takumi shook his head.
Their souls had long since dissipated. Despite his great power, he hadn't found a single lingering spirit in this world.
Aside from historical records and knowledge, nothing else remained of them.
It was truly a sad reality.
Takumi sighed.
Without further delay, he got to work.
He began by releasing a massive magic circle.
Centered on Takumi, a violet circle spanning over a hundred meters took form.
More circles layered on top, eventually combining into a complex formation.
Once complete, the formation sank into the earth.
Hu Tao and Eiki noticed it immediatelythe circle had created a channel for souls to travel through.
It was designed to guide souls into this world.
After this, Takumi used his spatial authority to open up a new dimension.
A vast, planet-sized space emergedTakumi's underworld.
It was devoid of sunlight and full of stillness.
Once the space was ready, Takumi opened the gate and stepped inside, motioning for Hu Tao and Eiki to follow.
They didn't hesitate and entered behind him.
"If you need specific buildings, let me know. I'll create them right away," Takumi offered.
With the space set, all that was left was to build the infrastructurehells and judgment halls.
In response, Eiki pulled out a blueprint from seemingly nowhere and handed it to Takumi.
"This is the blueprint for Hell. Please make it happen."
She wasn't shy about asking for help.
Takumi glanced at the designs and got to work.
"Let's also build a Ghost City," he added.
He activated his power, and structures began to riseancient-looking ones, following Eiki's plans exactly.
As construction progressed, a spirit suddenly entered the space.
"Is this the underworld of this world?"
It was none other than Yuyuko Saigyouji.
She had been drawn here by the energy.
Originally, she had planned to visit the gourmet world, but this place had drawn her in.
Behind her stood a young girlYoumu Konpaku.
Takumi was surprised to see Yuyuko but quickly understood.
After all, she was a ghost.
Hu Tao, however, froze when she saw Yuyuko.
Instinctively, she reached for her Homa Staff, clearly thinking of exorcising her.
Yuyuko tilted her head cutely in confusion.
Youmu, on the other hand, immediately grew alert.
"Calm down, Hu Tao," Takumi said.
"She's not a malevolent spirit."
Hu Tao blinked.
"Really? Is that so?"
"Hello there, Ms. Ghost."
Since Takumi vouched for her, Hu Tao relaxed and looked at Yuyuko with great curiosity.
Even the little red ghost that followed Hu Tao peeked out to look at Yuyuko.
When Yuyuko saw Hu Tao's ghost companion, her eyes sparkled.
"Hello! Is that your pet? It looks delicious."
Yuyuko began drooling.
Hu Tao immediately felt alarmed.
She wanted to purify Yuyuko.
Meanwhile, Yuyuko wanted to eat Hu Tao's ghost.
Hu Tao was left dumbfounded.
"Red Ghost, are you... tasty?"
The ghost looked confused, glancing between Hu Tao and Yuyuko.
Yuyuko stared at it hungrily.
The ghost frantically shook its head.
If it could speak, it would've shouted:
"I'm not tasty! Really, I'm not!"
"Stop looking at me like that!"
Takumi chuckled at the scene.
"Alright, enough messing around. Yuyuko, since you're here, pick a spot and rebuild Hakugyokurou."
"Let's bring it back."
Yuyuko's eyes lit up.
"Yes, yes! Let's rebuild it! I'll call Yukari over!"
She pulled out a talisman and immediately opened a gap.
Chapter 246: Hu Tao Manages the Living, You Manage the Dead
Yukari Yakumo was directly summoned over by Yuyuko. Having been pulled over so suddenly, Yukari was a bit stunned. Observing her surroundings, she appeared quite surprised. But soon enough, she noticed Takumi.
"Takumi? You're back? Where is this place?"
Yukari looked around with curiosity.
"This is the newly built underworld. I'm just setting things up for now. Yuyuko, if you want to build anything, find a place yourself."
After a simple explanation, Takumi got busy again. Hearing this, Yukari was visibly shocked.
The underworld? Takumi had actually created an underworld?
"Yukari! Hurry and rebuild my Hakugyokurou! We'll live here from now on!"
Yuyuko was overjoyed and immediately called out to Yukari. Her Hakugyokurou had also been brought along, including the land it sat oncourtesy of Yukari's direct gap transport. Now that the underworld was established, it was the perfect time to settle down.
Although the yin energy here wasn't strong yet, it would naturally grow as more spirits gathered over time.
Yukari nodded and, after checking the environment, guided Yuyuko to pick a nice spot and re-establish her Hakugyokurou.
In time, this underworld would likely become the home of specific races. Takumi already had a heaven realm, and now even the underworld had been formed. Maybe one day demons would come to live here too. Yukari found that idea quite exciting.
After Takumi helped Shiki Eiki finish building various facilities, she suddenly handed him something.
"This is the Six Paths of Reincarnation. It's used to allow souls to reincarnate. See if it can be integrated into this world."
The items she handed over were the Six Paths of Reincarnation and the Book of Life and Death from Gensokyo.
Takumi took the itemsone was a simple booklet, the other a small glowing orb.
That orb contained the power of laws, similar to the authority wielded by Herrschers. Takumi was slightly shocked after sensing it.
But this thing... it was exactly what he lacked.
Logically, every world should have a system of reincarnation, but this world clearly lacked one. It was highly scientific, with no signs of mysticism or metaphysics. Even after the recovery of spiritual energy, the world leaned toward technological and biological advancement, not supernatural paths.
All of this had to be built by Takumi.
Though he had gained this world, when he was bound to the Cocoon of Finality, the world essentially became a blank slate. Everything had to be established by him.
It was a blank canvas, awaiting his brushstrokes. That was the nature of this world.
Takumi took the orb. Holding it in his hand, he felt a unique sensationas though it could serve as a seed to unlock certain powers in the world.
Most likely, it would initiate the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
Without hesitation, Takumi fused the orb into the underworld. This world lacked a world willor rather, Takumi was its world will.
Under his control, Shiki Eiki watched as Takumi integrated the orb into the realm. As it fused, she felt a familiar sensationthe kind she only experienced in Gensokyo's Hell.
She was now almost completely bound to this world's underworld. In other words, Shiki Eiki remained the King Yama of this realm!
After finalizing everything, Takumi nodded in satisfaction.
"From now on, maintaining peace in both realms will be your responsibility. Also, how about appointing Hu Tao as the underworld's representative in the world of the living? After all, she already works in this field."
Shiki Eiki immediately nodded.
"Alright. From now on, affairs in the living world will be handled by Miss Hu Tao. I will focus solely on the underworld."
She agreed without hesitation.
"Hehehe! Who would've thought? This place is amazing!!"
Hu Tao was visibly thrilled. Witnessing Takumi construct the underworld and realizing it would be a home for wandering spirits and a place for reincarnation made her fully approve of the project.
Given her line of work, she'd surely interact with the underworld often.
"Great. Just coordinate among yourselves. Doesn't this expand Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's services?"
Now that Hu Tao was connected with this place, who knew what kind of strange advertisements she'd cook up? Takumi was genuinely curious.
It probably wouldn't be long before he found out.
"Hold up! Our Liyue team hasn't arrived yet. Right now, Wangsheng is just me! Even if I wanted to work seriously, I couldn't do much. So for now, all I can do is plan. Let's wait until the others arrive from Liyue."
Currently, she was running Wangsheng solo. That made it impossible to expand services. And besides, there weren't many deaths in Takumi's world.
If she really wanted to do something, Hu Tao had an idea: integrate with Prometheus.
Have Prometheus inform her of who died that day so she could rush over and secure the job.
That's what people called big data, right?
Yes, Hu Tao was very enthusiastic about this. She hoped to implement it someday.
But all that would wait until the rest of Wangsheng arrived. No rush.
"You guys take your time familiarizing yourselves with the underworld. I'm heading out. That'll be it for now."
With a smiling farewell, Takumi vanished.
The underworld was complete. Everything else could be left to them.
One day, it would become the dwelling place for the departed.
Currently, there weren't any dead in Takumi's worldbut that was only temporary.
Everyone who arrived here had been treated by Takumi. Those he brought back weren't weak or elderly. Even if they were, they'd been fully healed.
But in a few years? Who could say?
Takumi's world was still in its early stages. There hadn't been enough time for many to die.
Some of the Magical Armor Girls were older, but even then, their lifespans were long.
The souls of those who had already died were gone. Fully dissipated.
As he left, Takumi began to ponder.
Now that the underworld was established, would heaven respond?
After all, the underworld and heaven were natural opposites.
With that thought, Takumi decided to go check it out.
In a flash, he teleported to the uppermost layer of heaven.
Chapter 247: Gabriel, You've Fallen!
Gabriel had gathered many of her trusted subordinates at this moment. As Takumi had expected, the emergence of the Netherworld was sensed immediately by these angels. Gabriel was quick to assemble her angels as soon as the disturbance was noticed.
When Takumi arrived, Gabriel had just finished gathering the angels. The moment they were all assembled, Gabriel noticed Takumi's arrival.
"Lord Takumi!!" Gabriel greeted him hastily. The other angels also bowed upon seeing him.
Hearing her greeting, Takumi chuckled and said, "Dismiss them. That Netherworld was created by me. It's a preparation for the future for those who will eventually die."
Takumi had overheard their conversation. To angels, the Netherworld was a natural opposition, so it was only natural they wanted to investigate. But these angels were a bit adorably naive. In Takumi's world, if anything happened, it was likely Takumi's doing. They hadn't realized that?
"Huh?" Gabriel blinked. "You created it, Lord Takumi?"
She had thought something bad had happened like a hidden Netherworld emerging, teeming with evil spirits. The other angels exchanged glances in disbelief. So Gabriel had jumped to the wrong conclusion!
Seeing her confused expression, Takumi flicked her forehead. "What a dummy. Everything that happens in this world is my doing. Next time, just ask Prometheus first, understood?"
Takumi didn't even know how to complain about her anymore it was just baffling.
Gabriel blushed after the flick. "I... I didn't know!!"
The other angels chuckled and tactfully excused themselves, understanding they weren't needed anymore. In no time, the angels dispersed to return to their duties.
"Sorry, Lord Takumi..." Gabriel felt thoroughly embarrassed this time.
"What have you been doing lately?" Takumi asked, genuinely curious about what could have led to her adorable confusion.
Gabriel scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Nothing much... daily prayers, a bit of missionary work, and then..."
"And then?" Takumi raised an eyebrow.
"And then... binging anime and playing games..." she mumbled shyly.
Hearing that, Takumi was speechless. Gabriel, you've really fallen... addicted to anime and gaming now?
"Well, I can see you're really bored up here. Try getting out more. Our world's already fused with several others. There's even a gourmet world I bet you've never been."
"Next time, go check it out. Don't just hole up at home."
Takumi ruffled Gabriel's hair, and she couldn't help but show a contented expression. She seemed to enjoy it.
"Okay, Lord Takumi. I'll explore more in the future," she replied.
Honestly, since arriving in Takumi's world, she had become the top angel in Heaven. Without Michael or the others to watch over her, Gabriel had started to let loose binging anime and gaming every day. Back in her original world, she might've already become a fallen angel.
"Come on, I'll take you shopping. I'll even introduce you to a friend who also loves games."
Takumi smiled as he said this. Gabriel's curiosity was instantly piqued.
"Alright!" she replied cheerfully. Despite the embarrassing misunderstanding, she was happy to hang out with Takumi.
"Disguise yourself first," Takumi said, eyeing Gabriel's current appearance.
