Five years have passed, and the protagonist is ecstatic about the success of his latest project: the anime. He's so happy that he's going to be able to pay off his debt to the publisher. He tells the publisher that he can't believe that all the other publishers have failed, and that they're all going to have to merge to survive. The protagonist says that the only way he can defeat the "ultimate manga life form" is to be the best editor and artist he can be. He asks the publisher if he'll be his editor again, and he says yes.