Afterword

I’m proud to bring you the fourth installment in the Ao Oni novel series. Back in the afterword for the first volume, I said that I’d love to write more adventures with Hiroshi and the gang, but never in my wildest dreams did I think the story would continue this far. Nor did I expect two movie adaptations, tag-teaming with Ms. Karin Suzuragi on both the light novels and a manga, and seeing various Ao Oni merchandise getting produced. The world of Ao Oni continues to expand before me. And it’s all thanks to you fans who support Ao Oni. Thank you so much.

Now then... As I said in the interview for the official fan guidebook, we saw Shun undergo dramatic growth in volume one, Takuro in volume two, and Takeshi in volume three. So, this time, I tried turning the spotlight on our two heroines—Mika and Anna. They both experienced the same tragedy last volume, but in this one, their roles couldn’t be more different. There’s even a never-before-seen epic showdown between our two leading ladies toward the end, so if you haven’t actually read the book yet, look forward to it. We also get a little light shone on the story of the blueberry-colored monster shrouded in so much mystery. Not everything is explained yet, however. Just what is the monster? I’d love to hear all of your theories.

Now, those of you who have already finished reading the book may have noticed, but this volume is based on version 1.1, which means I’ve now exhausted all of the original game material. What happens next then, you ask? That’s a good question. On that note, please look forward to the next volume, where all the mysteries will be answered (maybe)!

Kenji Kuroda