17 The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood

[???: 8:37 minutes remaining]

You know, thinking back on my past lives, I was never the kind of person who would make a choice they would later regret.

"Hail Sign: [Hailstorm]!"

But if I am honest, considering that time felt like it was passing through honey, I almost cursed my past self for thinking she could fight Cirno by herself.

But ultimately, I am sure I would have been unhappy if I chose to make another choice than this one.

[???: 8:23 minutes remaining]

That still didn't change the fact that I would have preferred if the timer would go down faster!

"Can you really afford to focus on something that isn't this battle?"

Once again, time started to slow down to a crawl. But this time, it wasn't because of tension or a desire for time to pass by faster.

Time slowed down because of every nerve, every fiber, each of my five senses warning me in a different way that I needed to dodge now!

And so I did. 

Using everything my body had to offer, I barely dodged an icicle that was shot at me.

"Tch-, next time I won't miss."

I could only laugh awkwardly at Cirno's statement as blood ran down my cheek.

A chill ran down my spine as warm blood slowly trickled down my face. I already thought about it, but as expected, grazing in real life isn't as satisfying as when I played the game.

With each bullet that barely flew past me, I became more tattered. With each narrow dodge, my clothes got more and more torn apart. With each movement, my body ached more than the last one, as...

[Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!]

...my system didn't want to shut up with its endless warnings.

Ringing and ringing, all I could hear was the endless noise from my system, which served only as a distraction from what I had to do instead of being helpful.

Of course, just like pain, there was a reason why it existed in the first place.

As for what the reason is...

[Can't use skill due to low level. Downgrading ability to the appropriate level. Error. No skill found. Terminating action. Error. Sealing skill. Error. Warning. Use of skill might result in a permanent disability. Proceed?]

I am just overworking my current body a little bit. What an overreaction.

"You think my "Icicle Shoot" is over?"

It would be a lie if I told you I felt confident with the chances of my victory in this fight.

*Swish*

Even with a timer counting either towards my victory or my doom.

*Swish, swish, swish*

Honestly, my confident words towards Reimu and Marisa were only a white lie to calm them down.

"Ice Charge."

And there was another part of me that did regret the decision I made. A regret that only grew when Cirno covered herself in ice and tackled me in my stomach.

"I am not done yet!"

But if there was one reason why I still faced Cirno without running away like a coward and abandoning all my ambitions of being an incident solver in my favorite video game series ever...

"Icicle Sword!"

It's the fact that I wasn't taken seriously as an opponent. In her eyes, it seemed I wasn't worthy of getting used a Spellcard against me. 

Even now, when she charged toward me with a makeshift sword made out of ice, all her attacks were "non-spells."

*Chirin*

Seeing Rin, the girl who acted like a ragdoll throughout the fight, block one of her attacks for the first time surprised Cirno.

No, it wasn't the first time. Rin blocked one of her attacks at the beginning of their fight. It was when she shielded Reimu and Marisa.

There it was again, that mysterious noise that reminded her of a warm and relaxing day.

But where did she hear that noise again? Cirno couldn't put her finger on the reason it felt so familiar. It just was.

*mumble*

Hmm? 

Yet, amidst the harmonious sound was the mumbling of the girl who blocked her from chasing after the other two.

Under normal circumstances, her voice would have been loud enough to be heard clearly. But with her attack, or more appropriately said, her defense, all other noise got absorbed by the wave that sound created.

Every other noise was drowned out, including her own voice. 

Still, for a world of mystery, science was of little importance. Especially for someone like Cirno, who didn't even know that sound is a wave.

All Cirno saw, or to be precise heard, was a girl mumbling incoherently. And so, she ignored the mechanisms of Rin's attack and just densely...

"Speak up if you have something to say!"

Told Rin to speak more clearly.

Gritting her teeth, Rin was infuriated. No, not because her attack wasn't working. The person in question herself hadn't noticed that the rules of physics had been overturned.

No, she has been infuriated for the same reason she has been angry for about the last half a minute.

[???: 7:52 minutes remaining]

"Don't fucking underestimate me!"

Even if wounds keep piling on me with each clash, despite me going all out. Even if I look more ragged with each passing second despite pushing my body beyond its limits. Even if it was only non-spells that turned me into this sorry state. Even if I knew that Spellcards would be a lot worse...

"You are not the only one who can get angry!"

System! Turn notifications off!

...

Facing the Hakurei-Shrine Maiden, the words of my mistress rang in my ears.

"Rainbow Sign: [Colorful Rainbow Wind Chime]!"

The words that if I had to face her, I should use Spellcards no matter what.

"I see you are trying to corner me by surrounding me with bullets, but with such an apparent blindspot, it's hardly difficult to dodge. Also, straight-moving bullets aren't difficult to dodge."

Yet, seeing how she effortlessly tears down the structure of my attacks, telling me its flaws...

"Illusion Sign: [Imaginary Flower Yumekazura]!"

It was as if I was facing an insurmountable wall so high it was impossible to overcome.

"Fast bullets this time? But if you don't aim at me with them, what's the point of them?"

Yet, I couldn't just give up like that, even if I already knew the inevitable outcome of this battle.

After all, my duty was to guard the gate. 

No matter what.

So, what if she has been flawlessly dodging all my Spellcards, all while using none of hers?

You looking down on me will be your downfall, Hakurei-Shrine Maiden!

Holding the petals of her imaginary Yumekazura in the air, the purpose of her Danmaku slowly altered from flower leaves into water drops.

"Colorful Sign: [Colorful Rain]!"

Like raindrops, all the Danmaku that was high in the air got pulled down towards the like, covering a vast area.

Still composed, Reimu wasn't surprised that Meiling used her Spellcards seamlessly without interruption.

It was against the rules and hardly anything new, so it didn't manage to move Reimu's heart in any way.

That was until Reimu was reminded of her surroundings.

*SPLASH!*

Reimu was painfully reminded that they were fighting over a lake as Meiling's bullets hit the water, causing enormous waves of water that even rose above their heads, surrounding them.

!!!

Her vision was temporarily obscured, and Reimu lost sight of Meiling.

What's your plan? Where are you hiding? The sound of water is getting in the way.

Those were the thoughts that filled Reimu's head as she frantically searched for the silhouette of the gatekeeper.

Still, she couldn't linger too long on those thoughts because...

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!!"

From under the water!!

Meiling launched a rising uppercut toward Reimu from under the water.

Reimu only barely managed to dodge Meiling's attack by the skin of her teeth, as she could feel the fist of the martial artist graze her chin.

One Spellcard and three attacks.

For the first time in this fight, Reimu kept track of how many attacks she still had to wheater through.

Something Meiling was painfully aware of, as she knew she didn't have many moves left in this battle.

Meiling was already exhausted, but now her clothes were additionally drenched in water, weighing her down, and her last attack failed spectacularly.

Yet, despite seeing that the hand she was dealt with was the worst, she continued playing.

Because now, Reimu was in the position Meiling wanted her to be.

Having managed to get above the Shrine Maiden, Meiling performed a somersault kick Reimu barely managed to block with her gohei, sending the Shrine Maiden closer to the ground.

Taking her opponent's air superiority away, Meiling gave chase to Reimu, forcing her into close-quarter combat.

Depriving Reimu of the opportunity to take into the air again, Meiling made sure to stay as close as possible to Reimu, trying to prevent her from gaining distance in any way.

She kept close to Reimu, painfully so for the Shrine Maiden. Having to dodge kicks and block punches that only barely missed the mark, feeling the wind pressure of Meiling's attacks on her skin, being forced on the ground, and thus into the home-field advantage of the opponent.

It annoyed Reimu. It annoyed her so much that for the first time in this battle, Reimu actually pulled one of her many weapons out. 

Five Spellcards and nine total rounds. That means five spellcards and four attacks that were not spellcards.

Right now, it was one Spellcard and two attacks for Meiling. As for Reimu, it was five Spellcards and three attacks.

And now it would be two as Reimu pulled her amulets out.

Readying her attack, Reimu planned to reverse the entire situation with one strategically placed attack.

Reimu grasped her amulets, throwing them towards Meiling. But it would be foolhardy to think a trained martial artist like Meiling would miss such a clearly transitioned movement.

Aiming at the Shrine Maiden's hand, Meiling kicked the entire stack of amulets out of Reimu's hand before she could put any force into her throw.

But the attacks of the gatekeeper would not stop now. Since Meiling's center of gravity was low to the ground, Meiling followed her attack with another low kick toward Reimu's shins.

Seeing Meiling aim for her legs, Reimu saw this as an opportunity to jump into the sky.

A miscalculation, as she was met with the silhouette of the gatekeeper above her.

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!"

The kick was a feint to ease Reimu's guard, aiming to create an opening Meiling could take advantage of.

Shook, Reimu lost her balance. 

There it was.

Meiling's opening. 

One she wouldn't miss. Aiming at the gap in Reimu's guard, Meiling's fist snapped forward without hesitation to end this fight.

"One and one, four and two."

"What?"

Not understanding the meaning of the numbers Reimu just listed, Meiling noticed too late that Reimu already grabbed the arm she had thrown at her.

In an instant, everything was upside down.

An omnidirectional throw? Is she also a martial arts user?

This was the realization Meiling had while her world got turned upside down. Literally, that is.

Painfully, things wouldn't end there, as Meiling saw Reimu pull another stack of amulets from her sleeves, and this time, Meiling couldn't stop her from throwing them.

Still airborne, Meiling barely dodged some of Reimu's amulets as she twisted and turned her body to land on her feet as fast as possible.

But despite having her feet on the ground and employing her qigong to the best of her abilities, Meiling knew...

"I can't dodge all of them..."

In the end, there wasn't much one could do when cornered from nine different directions and trajectories.

"Urk!"

Knowing she couldn't dodge, Meiling changed her tactics from evading to guarding her vitals.

Still, even if the amulets only hit her arms and legs, it felt excruciatingly painful as a youkai to get hit by a holy item.

"These amulets shouldn't be your only worry!" 

Sadly, the amulets were only meant as a distraction for Reimu to close the distance.

"Divine Arts: [Sky-Conquering Wind God Kick]!"

Meiling could only curse as she fell unconscious from receiving a high kick to her face.

"Phew..."

Feeling relieved, Reimu wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking at the giant scarlet mansion before her.

"If that's their gatekeeper, resolving this incident might not be as difficult as I thought."

...

"Humans are quite strong, aren't they, Meiling?"

Hearing her mistress ask that question, Meiling hesitated before she gave the vampire she served her answer.

"Well... humans aren't the only ones who are strong."

"You aren't scared?"

Meiling's core shook as she felt her loyalty questioned under the pressure of her mistress's gaze.

Once again, Meiling felt how strong she was.

"Ojousama, if I was scared, I could hardly serve as your gatekeeper-"

"Even if you know you could end up dead?"

Meiling's mood turned somber as she paused, thinking deeply about how to reply to her mistress's inquiry.

"Ojousama, do you know what it means to die?"

"..."

"I'll play along. It's quite a simple question with a simple answer. It's when you stop breathing."

Meiling quietly nodded along to her mistress's answer. It was indeed the correct answer.

"That's right. To die is to stop breathing. But..."

Leaving her position beside her Mistress, Meiling slowly left for her position to fend off the soonish arriving intruders.

"...being alive is not the same as just breathing."

...

"Man, as expected of you, but couldn't you have left me anything, Reimu-ze~?"

Seeing that the battle was over, Marisa nonchalantly and callously walked past the unconscious Meiling.

"Whatever. Let's get this over with."

Seeing Reimu's antipathy, Marisa was taken aback by her friend's mood. Her back...

It looked so unhappy right now.

"What are you waiting for? Weren't you eager for a proper fight?"

And now she's back to normal.

Seeing the contrast in her friend's mood, Marisa decided to put her sense of doubt into a corner of her mind.

Reimu is probably just tired. That must have been the reason why Reimu's shoulders looked so heavy.

"MARISA-!"

Pulled out of her thoughts, Marisa realized that the unconscious gatekeeper was very much not unconscious.

Being in the unfortunate position of showing her back to the enemy, Marisa had neither the footwork nor the flexibility to dodge the incoming ambush.

So, as a result, all rational thought left her head as her body screamed to run.

So, run it did, or try at least. Because Marisa stumbled over her two legs in a vain attempt to dodge something she couldn't evade.

"SHIT-!"

But in hindsight, Marisa shouldn't have worried about all of that at that moment.

*THUMP!*

Because ultimately, Reimu's Spellcard Battle hasn't ended yet.

Before Marisa could be mistakenly involved in their Spellcard duel, Reimu grabbed her collar and threw her out of the way.

*BOOM! CRACK!*

And Hong Meiling, who has recovered quicker than anticipated, finally landed a clean hit on Reimu.

Riding on that momentum, Meiling put her all into her final attack. All her feelings, dreams, and life culminated in her final Spellcard.

"Three Blossoms: [Colorful Ultimate Mountain-Breaking Cannon]!"

What a beautiful rainbow...

That was Reimu's opinion on Meiling's final Spellcard. It was so simple, just a single, devastatingly strong punch. That's what it essentially was, but to describe it as such would bring her final attack injustice.

As already said, Meiling put all feelings, dreams, and life (experience) into this attack. As such, her Spellcard responded to her will. 

A Spellcard's strength is ultimately the meaning you put into it.

So, since Meiling put so much meaning into her Spellcard...

*SHWOOM! CRACKLE! CRUNCH! BOOM!*

It was natural that even the Hakurei Shrine Maiden failed to dodge such a powerful attack, even if she saw the path to evade it.

"Gah-!"

A beautiful rainbow spiral that pierces through all defenses to reach its goal. That was Meiling's final Spellcard.

Something that Reimu got to experience all over her body.

The result should be obvious. Reimu got launched, flying into the next bolder, where she experienced a violent landing.

"SHRINE MAIDEN! Don't think you can beat me this easily! The Scarlet Devil Mansion gate is not that weak! As long as I am alive, you won't take even one step into the building!"

The rock behind her crumbling, Reimu could only laugh as she felt how sore her body was.

"Ha ha, isn't that just my luck..."

Standing up from the rock, Reimu felt that one or two ribs might have cracked from that last attack.

A smile flashed across Reimu's face. Even she had to admit that the last attack was an excellent Spellcard.

Patting the dust off her clothes, Reimu calmly closed her eyes as she relived Meiling's final attack over again.

Spellcard Battles...

They sure are fun!

"I won."

Reimu confidently declared, giving Meiling a peace sign with her hand.

Hearing her opponent's shameless declaration, Meiling was bewildered as a bout of dizziness overcame her as all the tension in her disappeared.

"Wait- hold on... What?"

Reimu sighed, already turning her back towards her opponent, but...

"Nine rounds, five of which had to be Spellcards. That's what we agreed on at the beginning of this fight."

However, opponent was hardly the right word. After all, someone who has lost can only be called a loser.

"You burned through all of your attacks."

At this moment, Meiling realized. She has lost.

Realizing that victory was never near her grasp, Meiling's dizziness overcame her as her legs collapsed, making her kneel.

"It was a good fight."

With those words, Reimu turned her back to the gatekeeper before leaping over the closed gate of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

On this endlessly long summer day, the sun was finally setting.

"Oy! Wait for me, Reimu!"

On this dusk, our two protagonists finally made it into the perpetrators...

!!!

*Leap*

"HAA!"

Correction.

"Hey! Why are you stopping me, ze?"

Only one of our protagonists got to step into the perpetrator's hideout.

To Marisa's surprise, Meiling, who was previously defeated, got up again, a fire burning in her eyes despite her injuries.

"The shrine maiden might have defeated me, but that doesn't count for you! Just like I told her, but if you want to enter, you'll have to do so over my unconscious body!"

Seeing Meiling's determination, Marisa could only sigh.

"Good grief, da ze~. It seems I still get to test my new products."

Pulling out her mushroom potions, Marisa wondered what magic circles she should draw on the flasks to enhance their power.

...

[???: 1:57 minutes remaining]

Five minutes.

That was how long Rin had been pushing her body past its limit, and it was visible.

In this freezing environment, the only thing that looked like it was overheating was Rin's body.

Drenched in sweat, Rin was red like a tomato, as the water that her body expelled to cool her down was turned into steam.

Of course, the one who was the most aware of the state of their body was the owner itself.

And Rin knew that her body was breaking down.

It was unbearably hot. It was so hot that Rin wanted to claw at her skin. Scratching and scratching until it burst open, hoping the cold air would circulate through, dissipating the heat she felt inside her.

Still, Rin refrained from doing so. She knew if she started scratching herself, she wouldn't be able to stop.

Even if her nerves felt like they were burning her flesh, even if her guts turned inside out, even if everything went black, Rin denied her body the reprieve it so desperately desired.

Not yet. Just a bit more. My body isn't at its limit yet. I can still go a bit further.

That's the line of thought Rin repeated in her mind as she passed each agonizing second of this fight.

"Why is time so slow..."

[???: 1:53 minutes remaining]

Gritting her teeth, even if she lost the feelings in her extremities long ago, Rin forced her body to move.

She wished Cirno had given her more than just 4 seconds to take a breather, but that was too much to ask for in the heat of a battle.

"Checkmate. Freeze Sign: [Cold Divinity]!"

[???: 1:52 minutes remaining]

...crap.

9 minutes and 8 seconds. 

That's the time Rin managed to endure fighting Cirno. Sadly, even if the will, the drive, and the soul were there to keep going, her body gave in early.

Shit...

If it wasn't for...

This shitty body.

...

"So, you're Reimu Hakurei, aren't you?"

"Oh, you know me?"

The last thing Reimu Hakurei expected when she entered the incident causers home was to get greeted warmly.

Yet, that's what transpired on that fateful day.

"Kind of. I presume you've come because of this Scarlet Mist, then?"

Immediately getting to the point. Just like how Reimu liked it.

"Thanks for getting to the point."

"If that's the case, I apologize on behalf of the mansion owner for the late greeting. How about we move to a proper location to talk? The reception hall hardly seems to be a good fit."

Reimu nodded along. She didn't mind the situation. If anything, it would have been more of a bother to immediately attack.

The person before her seemed to be a magician, but she wasn't the central perpetrator of this incident.

At least, that's what her intuition told her, and it has yet to be proven wrong.

"Welcome to our humble home. Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, or rather, the castle of the queen of the night."

Scarlet Devil? Queen of the night? Those were rather tacky titles the culprit chose for herself.

While Reimu followed the magician, her thoughts began to wander, looking at the mansion's interior.

From the vast halls to the scarlet wallpaper, from the covered windows to the golden chandeliers, from the large paintings decorating the walls to the sparse light illuminating them, and then, Reimu's gaze wandered to the person leading her.

Wrapped around in a loose-fitting pink dress that resembled more a nightgown than an actual dress stood a petite person.

Her deathly pale white skin suggested that she was the type of person who rarely left the house. In addition, her long purple hair practically glistened, its glow almost resembling thinly stretched gemstones instead of actual hair. 

Looking at it, Reimu wondered what kind of a routine the magician had to maintain hair as beautiful as she had. Then again, she didn't seem like a girl who would bathe herself.

After all, this was a mansion. To maintain such a big building, employing ample personnel was necessary. Even if the magician before her was just a guest, Reimu imagined that at least one or two maids were still attending to her every need.

"Now that I am thinking about it, I don't think you've told me your name yet."

They both stopped. Reimu's body tensed slightly in the case of an attack. The magician looked back at Reimu after her question.

"Oh my, I apologized on behalf of my friend for the late greeting, but it seems that I still have yet to properly greet you."

Fully turning around to face Reimu, a dangerous glint flashed in her purple eyes as she lifted the hems of her skirt and bowed down to greet Reimu Hakurei.

"Once again, I apologize for your tardy reception. I, The Girl of Knowledge and Shade, Patchouli Knowledge, I once again welcome you to the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

...

Tick.

I feel...

"Now what?"

Tock.

Cold.

"Should I chase after them?"

Tick.

Where am I?

"But they are already gone..."

Tock.

Right.

"If I chased after them now, could I catch up to them...?"

Tick.

I was in the middle of a fight.

"But I am still so angry!"

Tock.

I was fighting Cirno.

"How couldn't I be after what they did to Dai!"

Tick.

And then I got frozen in an ice block by her.

"Sigh..., but being angry feels pointless if there is nobody to direct it to..."

Tock.

Everything is so hazy...

"Dai-chan..."

Tick.

In an instant, the ice tomb that held Rin combusted directly into steam, causing a massive steam explosion since the boiling process was skipped.

[???: 1:43 minutes remaining]

Tock.

Cirno was caught off-guard by the rapid expansion of water particles. If this was an ordinary day, Cirno would have gotten swept away by the waves of steam slowly expanding from its epicenter.

But today wasn't an ordinary day. Cirno's blood was at a freezing point, turning every water particle that so much approached her into ice.

Where Cirno stood, the steam instantly froze. As the water turned back into ice, its density increased, and as a direct result, it grew heavier than the air it was in. 

Plainly said, instead of getting blown away, snow started to fall around Cirno.

Then, another second passed. 

While it was still snowing around Cirno, Rin didn't even attempt to catch her breath as...

"Yow!"

She whacked Cirno over the head with a med kit.

For some reason, she felt calm right now. Unreasonably so.

Her body, which was previously screaming in pain, feeling as if she was burning in hell, now felt painless.

No, it was less the pain she didn't feel and more in general that she didn't feel much of anything right now.

She didn't know whether to feel concerned or relieved right now since pain is the warning mechanism of the body and now that she didn't feel any...

"Radiance Sign: [Starlight Encore]!"

Of course, the worry that she was breaking her body right now was there, but...

For Rin, facing Cirno was the main priority right now.

Now that her mind wasn't overloaded and occupied with suppressing the pain she was in, she felt free.

It was as if all the unbearable heat Rin previously felt got pushed inside of her by the ice, now warming her frozen body up from the inside instead of burning her alive.

She felt so pleasant, so satisfied, so...

Elated.

"How dare you smile...!"

Seeing Cirno so close before her face, Rin woke up from her thoughts again, time resuming its usual speed.

[???: 1:19 minutes remaining]

There she was, Cirno, the ice fairy.

Tears in her eyes, gripping her palm so hard it drew blood, not to mention the overexaggerated movements of her attacks. Just from her body language, it was more than obvious to tell that Cirno was furious.

Even ignoring her own pain, her attacks started to take on a crimson color as her blood mixed in with the ice.

Yet...

Why was your face so devoid of any emotion, Cirno?

Your every action, your every movement...

"Ice Sign [Sword Freezer]!"

Especially your Spellcards reveal the anger you feel, the fury that boils within you, the wrath that moves you, and even the grief you feel for losing your best friend, yet...

Why...

"Why!"

Why is your face so blank?

...

"Welcome to my pride and joy, the Voile Library. What do you think?"

After walking through dozens upon dozens of doors, mile-long corridors, and imposing halls, we finally arrived at the destination the magician led me to.

It was a room. A room far grander than the already ginormous rooms I saw throughout the mansion when I was led through it. Yet, what was imposing wasn't the size of the room.

It was the size of the bookshelves, which seemed to endlessly tower towards the already sky-high ceiling, each filled to the brim with volumes upon volumes of books.

The architecture seemed, no...

The architecture was impossible, as even though the mansion was indeed big, it was nowhere big enough to fit in the size of this seemingly endless library.

"It's impressive. Mountains of mountains of information. It almost seems endless. Such a shame that they are just left to collect dust."

If Patchouli was annoyed by that comment, she didn't let that show on her face.

"That's a needless concern. I have taken the necessary precautions to ensure that my collection is unaffected by the touch of time. On the other hand, you seem like the kind of person that carelessly throws their books aside to go out."

"Heh, I'll have you know that I enjoy a good book as much as the next person does."

To an outsider, the conversation between the magician and the shrine-maiden might seem like friendly banter, but it was quite the opposite. The tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

"In any consistent system exist gaps that cannot be filled."

"Don't you think you are losing sight of the forest for the trees? Why talk about logic in a land of fantasy?"

"Even fantasy has rules it adheres to."

"And who are you to question the inner workings of fantasy?"

The tension rose to an all-time high. It was so silent in this giant library that if a pin were to drop on the opposite side of the room, it would have been audible.

"Hehehe, is that how I look to you?"

"Hahahaha. Yeah, exactly. You look pretty silly to me right now."

Joining in with Patchouli's laughter, the situation almost seemed cheery if it wasn't for the fact that nobody was hiding their bloodlust right now.

"Oh my, it's rare to see you enjoying yourself, Lady Patchouli. I presume the guest is an entertaining one?"

"It took you long enough to serve the tea for our guest. Don't tell me you were slacking, Sakuya..."

"Who, me? I would never, Lady Patchouli~."

Seemingly appearing from the shadows of the bookshelves was a maid with a teasing expression, wearing a French-style uniform.

Her complexion was youthful, yet seeing her braided silver hair held together with green bows, Reimu wondered whether the maid was as young as she appeared.

Still, the one thing that didn't escape Reimu's attention was the scarlet-colored eyes of the maid.

Mixing in with the suffocating bloodlust of this room, it is clear with what condition the maid was affected.

Insanity.

Yet, like Rin, she seemed to be able to hold herself in absolute control. Not to mention, but her gut told her that that maid wasn't inhuman. Quite the opposite. She was definitely a human.

To think there was another human besides Rin who would be able to withstand the effects of insanity...

Isn't she the special one?

...

Her eyes dyed red, Rin was slowly consumed by the effects of lunacy caused by the residual scarlet mist in her system.

Though she didn't care about that at the moment, she was giving up control over it on purpose.

Even as she felt that her vitality was slowly draining, her increased heart rate, the blood coursing through her veins at a pace far too quick, it was keeping her warm: it was keeping her alive.

And let's not forget...

"Freeze Sign: [Freeze Atmosphere]!"

It was keeping her on top of this game.

[???: 0:38 minutes remaining]

"Vitality Sign: [Energy Surge]!"

Seeing me counter one of her Spellcards with mine for the first time made Cirno flinch.

Previously, she was the one who had absolute control over the battlefield, cornering me to the point where the only options I had were defensive ones.

Of course, anyone having such an easy battle would slowly let their guard down and not take things seriously.

After all, fighting takes a ridiculous amount of energy, and nobody can go throttle for extended periods. Much less for an opponent that isn't even in the same league as you.

Still, even a cornered mouse would bite a cat if desperate enough. 

Now, with my body performing like its prime and Spellcard rules in place to gap the disparity in our strength...

"I won't lose!"

Hearing me scream at the top of my lungs, Cirno momentarily stepped back as her mind was still as clear as ice.

After all, seeing a lunatic sprint towards you at full speed was quite intimidating.

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

But if intimidating your opponent was all it took to win, I would have won long ago.

With one calculated sidestep, Cirno glided through the air as if she were ice skating on a field of ice, dodging my reckless charge.

"Frost Pillars."

My brain processing her words, a frost pillar rammed me across the face before my next thought formed.

[???: 0:16 minutes remaining]

If it weren't for the timer constantly ticking, I would have probably been dazed.

Still, seeing Cirno from this angle with her cold and expressionless face, the question she forgot from a minute of fighting emerged in her brain again.

Where did your emotions go, Cirno? That isn't the Cirno I know. That isn't the Cirno I read about. That isn't the Cirno I was a fan of for the best 7 years of my life!

Where is the hot head that I befriended all those years ago!

Setting my feelings ablaze, I felt two of my three Spellcards resonate deep within me.

The first was "Purifying Sound," and the second was "Starlight Encore".

Looking at both of them, I could only sigh.

The first was born from my immature desire to fit in with everyone in Gensokyo, and the second was a rush job created on the fly to face the signatures of the two I admire.

Even if it did get complimented as a good Spellcard, I couldn't see myself using it as my signature spellcard in the future.

Why?

It just didn't scream "me" enough. It just wasn't a proper representation of who I am.

Reimu's Fantasy Seal represented her elegant and easygoing spirit. Which, despite its flaws, still shone bright and beautifully. It was also the accumulation of her inheritance, showing the terrifying heritage of the Hakurei Bloodline.

Marisa's Master Spark showed her love towards magic but also the love she inherently held for humanity. It was the penultimate result of the peaceful childhood she gave up to pursue magic and the years of hard work she poured into research.

In comparison...

My Starlight Encore was lacking.

But what was it lacking? After all, it contained my history as a soul idol and my desire to spread hope...

That's when it clicked.

The moment I mentioned hope, both of my half-baked spellcards resonated with each other, combining into a new one.

"Geez... how could I have forgotten that...?"

Seeing my new Spellcard in my hand, I could feel only ashamed of myself.

When did things get so complicated? When did I stop thinking about things in simple terms? When did I start to hide behind the veils of stories in fear? When did I stop giving it my all? 

When was it that all life lost color for me?

When was it that I closed my heart off?

[???: 0:14 minutes remaining]

Right...

An idol's purpose is, first and foremost, to inspire hope and spread smiles.

To that end, they sharpen and grind their skills until they can sparkle and shine beautifully like a brilliant.

So, in those 14 Seconds that I have left...

"Hope Sign: [Stella Finale]."

Let's burn beautifully.

...

"Sakuya..."

"Ah- you are up quite early tonight, my lady~."

"It's because I felt a presence, Sakuya. Those lights passing over the lake, it seems it's finally time for them to arrive, isn't that so, Sakuya?"

Hearing her mistress's excitement in her words, the maid couldn't help but laugh gently at her mistress's childlike glee. She was as excited as a child who received a new toy to play with.

"My lady, you almost sound like a girl in love, eager for their partner to arrive."

Upon her question, a big smile spread on her mistress's face. It was as if she was seemingly only barely able to hold herself back.

"Oh my~, is that jealousy I sense there, Sakuya? After all, I was looking forward to this night! How couldn't I have waited for it in so much anticipation?"

The maid replied to her mistress's manic smile with a gentle nod.

"...Sakuya."

"What is it, my lady?"

"You can have fun with her, but don't overexert yourself too much. I need my maid by my side, after all."

"Well, well, how shall we proceed then? But don't you already know the outcome thanks to your ability, my lady~?"

"It's because I don't know the outcome that it's worth doing, Sakuya."

Hearing those words, a sense of Déjà Vu washed over Sakuya. 

Those words...

Felt familiar...

"Sakuya?"

"Yes, my lady?"

"Looks like tonight is going to be a fun night. Isn't that right, Sakuya~?"

"Of course, my lady."

"..."

"So, I am curious why you invited me for tea in this grand library."

"Isn't the answer to that question simple? It's the most spacious."

"Of course. But that's hardly it, right? After all, it's also your Magic Atelier. The most suitable place for you to play after tea, correct?"

"Confident, aren't we? Don't you want to ask us questions first? I'll answer you if I know it. You know, questions like, "Who's been producing the fog," or "Why are you doing this," etcetera."

Taking the cup of tea Sakuya served her, Reimu took a sip.

"I could ask those questions, but I figured it would be a lot faster if I woke the main perpetrator up myself and beat the answers out of her."

Hearing those words directed toward her mistress, Sakuya was about to turn Reimu into a pincushion, but Patchouli stopped her before she could do so.

During all of that, Reimu's carefree expression never left her face, to Sakuya's dismay.

"Sigh, can I ask something then?"

Setting her cup down, Reimu gave Sakuya her attention, a smug expression still on her face.

Sakuya could only barely hold herself back.

"Is it right if I assumed you already figured out who the culprit is?"

"You mean the vampire you are serving? I would be blind and stupid if I didn't figure it out after walking through this gaudy mansion."

Sakuya clenched her fist. Now wasn't the time to fight.

Yet.

"If you figured it out already, why do you insist on facing her during the night?"

Reimu almost choked on the tea. That's how outlandish that question was for her.

"That's an odd thing to ask. First, I doubt you guys would have let me peacefully leave even if I wanted to. Not after I beat up your gate guard. Second, it would be twice the bother if I left and came back after coming this far, and third..."

Reimu set her teacup down for the final time. It was empty.

"If I came and beat your mistress up at noon, she would have said that she only lost because she wasn't at her best, and then I'd have to beat her again, and that would be just thrice the bother."

Seeing Reimu's confident display, both Sakuya and Patchouli were shocked, and any anger Sakuya felt was superseded.

At that moment, Sakuya remembered her lady's words to fight the Hakurei-Miko in a Spellcard Battle at all costs.

With those words in mind, Sakuya was sure her lady wouldn't mind if she rigged the battle in her favor. 

Especially after she allowed Sakuya to "have fun with her."

"Duo contra unum. 2 vs. 1. How about if Lady Patchouli and I serve as your opponents? That would speed up things to your way to my lady as well, wouldn't it?"

"Oh my, that's unusual for you, Sakuya. Not that I am against it. It's fine with me."

Sakuya didn't believe her lady that the Hakurei-Shrine Maiden would be as strong as she feared.

Right now, she planned to kill her. Spellcard rules be damned.

"Alright, I accept. You don't mind getting your proud archives wrecked in the process?"

"Oh my, you sure are at ease. To think that an enemy would worry about the safety of my books. As you said, this is my Magic Atelier. The average spell won't even leave a mark on them."

"That's good to hear."

"How many Rounds and Spellcards then?"

"Oh my, you sure are at ease. You offered a battle, and I accepted. I have already declared my first Spellcard. And for your info, it's 7 and 5."

"Lady Patchouli!"

Before they realized this, a giant yin-yang orb broke through the ceiling. With the acceleration of gravity, the ball already barreled into the ground and smashed it, leaving dust and debris everywhere.

"Treasure Sign: [Yin-Yang Treasured Orb]. Is now a good time to mention that barriers are completely useless against me?"

"Haa-... Haa-..."

Carrying Patchouli, Sakuya barely managed to dodge out of the way of the attack with the sickly magician in her arm.

"Heh-"

Seeing her beloved library damaged...

"Hehe- HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

Not going crazy would be a surprise.

"Sakuya, I've changed my mind. Let's crush this rat."

...

[???: 0:13 minutes remaining]

At this moment, the sky above the misty lake was instantly filled with a wide array of colorful bullets.

Orbs of various sizes and forms were raining down in the air as if they tried to imitate the spark of an idol.

As if she stood on stage right now, Rin was sparkling. Sparkling like a beautiful star, pulling everyone's attention towards her.

Right now, the stage she created for herself was hers and hers alone.

Whether it was the freezing cold that penetrated her very bones, Cirno shooting bullets toward her, or the looming threat of her going insane, none of it mattered to her at this moment.

Right now, she enjoyed herself.

...

It was a beautiful and clear sky on that fateful night. The stars were visible and twinkling beautifully across the canvas of the heavens.

Gazing at the lights above her, Dea sat in a remote part of her village, away from the bustling celebration rituals. It wasn't that she hated being around everyone. It was just a bit exhausting at times.

Still, on a beautiful night like this, she couldn't help but start...

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGwASZn0ZKA)

...humming a melody.

"Ah- there you are, Dea!"

As Dea heard someone call out to her, she was pulled out of her trance as she turned towards the source of the sound.

It was her childhood friend, Hiro, and carrying with him came a bunch of food.

"Dea, look how much food I got! Isn't this awesome?!"

Seeing the innocent boy's gleam in his eye, Dea couldn't help but laugh softly at him. He seemed so cute.

"Of course. Tonight is a holiday, after all. It would be more weird if there wasn't a lot of food served today."

Today was quite an important day, after all.

"Now that you say it, what are we even celebrating?"

"Guh-!"

The nerve of this boy...

You wouldn't have been able to guess that he was going to be the hero one day.

Or maybe you could. It depends on how obsessed you were with the lore of the world there.

Speaking of history.

"Sigh, not knowing about a holiday is one thing. It's something I am used to from you, but to think that you idiot would really not know about today of all holidays!"

Seeing his childhood friend like that, he felt he had to apologize. So, he did.

"I am sorry!"

Dea could only sigh at the sight of her childhood friend, to think he would forget about Heroe's Rise day...

"Fake fan."

"Huh-?!"

To say the least, as a fellow fervent hero story enjoyer, to think that he would forget about the holiday connected to the hero...

The only feeling she could feel right now was disappointment that her childhood friend, whom she thought she shared a passion with, was a fake fan.

In this second, after getting called a fake fan, Hiro realizes his mistake.

"Gah-! How could I forget about Heroe's Rise! I swear I am not a fake fan! It just slipped my mind!"

"Really? Why is it that I don't believe you then? A true fan would have realized a day or two ahead that in two days would be the anniversary of the hero's death to honor him. Yet, to see that you can't even do something that simple-"

"P-people can be busy sometimes, Dea! You know how it is. Preparing for the arrival of a new sibling is nerve-wracking. Everyone at home is tense, preparing for the winter. Father is out, working the fields all day. Big sister goes to the monastery each day to earnestly pray, and Big brother sometimes doesn't even return home at night when he is hunting. I am the second eldest son, so there is nobody else than me to take care of our younger siblings! If it hadn't been so busy at home recently, there would have been no way that I would have ever forgotten about Heroe's Rise! It's the birthday of the first hero, after all!"

Dea just looked at her childhood friend's excuses with a blank face. Her lack of reaction started to unnerve him, more so than if she would have reacted in any other way.

Hiro broke out in a sweat as his brain started to race at unimaginable speeds, trying to think of a way out of his dilemma.

Yet, even if the mind comes up with a plan if the flesh can't act it out, even the most well-thought-out plan would be useless.

Seeing Dea slowly approach him, Hiro clammed up, unable to move. When she reached towards him with her hand, the future hero closed his eyes, imagining scenarios far worse than reality.

After all, humanity's biggest fear is the fear of the undefined. Once something is understood or seen clearly, the existential fear disappears almost as if it had been a lie, replaced by the weaker fear of threat.

With his overactive imagination passing, Hiro's childish curiosity won over, and the young boy couldn't help but want to take a peek at what his childhood friend was planning for him.

To his surprise, Dea was already sitting down again, gazing towards the village, chomping down on a candied apple.

"H-hey! That's mine-!"

But Dea barely reacted to Hiro's outcry of his lost candied apple, instead gently patting the ground beside her.

"Who cares. Sit down already, or do you plan on standing the entire time here?"

With that, she left her childhood friend on read as she enjoyed the quiet atmosphere on the little, peacefully humming a melody.

Relieved, albeit confused, Hiro could only sigh as he sat down beside his childhood friend.

"Dea, you are mean. Teasing me like this."

Again, no response. Just a soft smile accompanied by a gentle melody.

Seeing her in the flow like this, Hiro let go of the previous situation, instead quietly listening to the music.

"Dea, do you hate crowded places, or why did you escape to this spot?"

"I don't particularly hate them, but they drain me of energy. I get tired of big crowds."

"Hahaha-. Yeah, that sounds like you."

"...Dea?"

Dea didn't respond, but Hiro could see from the glint in her eyes that she was waiting for him to continue.

"You really love music, don't you?"

With one abrupt halt, the melody subsided. Silence filled the area again, but this time, the silence felt deafening rather than calming.

"I... love music?"

"Yeah... Wait, didn't you realize?"

Dea shook her head. This was a time before she discovered her passion for music. It was a time when her worries only extended to woes like the livelihood of one's family or whether you had enough supplies for the winter. It was before the invasion of the demon lords' army or the search for this generation's hero.

It was a time when the biggest worry in their life was worrying about what kind of blessing they would receive at the coming-of-age ceremony.

And like every child in this world, she would naturally wonder about her future. 

What you'll do, work as, and live as is mainly determined by your blessing. The people lived and died by their blessings, so, of course, even a little child would worry about their future since the day they received theirs is a turning point in their lives.

And nothing was more scary than having no goal in life. 

The gods loved humanity. That was a fact known since ancient times, and since the gods loved humans, they naturally wanted you to blossom to your full potential.

And they knew that no matter how much talent you had or how suited you were for something if it brought you pain, your talent would break you first before you would turn into a beautiful brilliant.

As that, having an earnest dream coming from the depths of your heart is more important than talent when you receive your blessing.

The deeper your dream is, the deeper your desire is, the less clouded your path will be, and the deeper your wish can reach the will of the planet.

Having no dream was akin to walking in the darkness, and there is only so much time a soul can endure getting a blessing engraved upon it.

Dea was such a child. A child with no dreams.

It was unusual. In a world where having dreams was promoted, the purity of a child was fertile ground for fostering dreams, but nothing seemed to spark a passion for Dea.

Neither the people around her nor the materials around her light a flame inside Dea's heart.

Sure, she loved reading, especially the hero's tales, but those were the dreams of others, not hers.

"Dea..."

But for the first time, an ember set inside Dea's heart.

"I noticed, but when you hummed, you would always smile. No matter the time of day or the type of situation, when you hummed, you would give a smile different from your usual!"

As if her fate finally caught up to her, the ember in her heart didn't extinguish that day...

"Until now, I never really thought about it, but seeing you here, I realized..."

Instead, they managed to settle, finding nourishment to feed on...

"Especially now! That tune must mean a lot to you. After all, nothing else made you smile like this before! Dea..."

Until her heart was set ablaze with passion.

"You really must love music..."

"..."

"Yeah, I really love music, don't I?"

As her heartbeat quickened and a smile from ear to ear spread on her face, tears started rolling down her face, as her flushed face could barely show the extent of her happiness.

"De-"

Before Hiro could say anything, his words got stuck in his throat when he saw Dea's clearly under the moonlight.

For the first time in all those years they've been alive, Hiro could see his reflection inside of her eyes.

"How should I know? Shouldn't you know it for yourself?"

...

In hindsight, Rin felt foolish for forgetting those feelings she discovered that night.

Despite everything, despite her nihilistic outlook in life, her general contempt of being bothered, despite all the ugly feelings she held in her heart towards all living things...

In the end, her heart was still full of hope.

"Ice Age: [Absolute Zero]!"

So, whatever you are feeling right now, whether those feelings are caused by a silly misunderstanding or if your actions were justified, let's forget about all those complicated things...

Throw all your emotions, your Last Word, all of you against me!

In exchange, let me give you hope, Cirno.

[???: 0:11 minutes remaining]

Just for a moment, silence returned above the misty lake. Time seemed to hold still as Cirno's Last Word collided with Rin's Spellcard.

It was as if the world needed a moment to figure out the results of their clash and return to being an objective observer. Just for a moment, and only in this place, the world was frozen.

In this frozen world where victory and loss still had to be determined, and both existed simultaneously, Rin caught a glimpse of something.

A glimpse of Cirno's emotions.

"Spring...? What's so good about it? After all, it's so cold. Summer and Autumn as well, they too are cold. I hate them all. Winter is the only warm season..."

It was a cold and lonely world. 

Fairies are manifestations of nature. To be specific, they are born as manifestations of specific natural phenomena.

As long as nature exists, fairies can't die. Or that should be the case.

Among fairies, Cirno is a special. Not only was she an ice fairy, which would make her already stand a cut above the rest of the fairies, but she was also born as a big fairy.

With her extraordinary disposition, she was more powerful than ordinary fairies, strong enough to affect other phenomena in proximity.

For the fearless fairies who didn't even have a concept of death, just being near Cirno instilled them with a horror they couldn't comprehend.

After all, only a natural phenomenon can extinguish other natural phenomena.

"But Dai-chan..."

Suddenly, the cold and ice-covered world started to warm as flowers bloomed.

"...you showed me that the world is full of different colors."

Warm memories spread through the entire place before they shattered again, the temperatures dropping, but this time to a temperature colder than before.

"For you, Dai-chan, I became strong. But now that you are gone, what's the point of it?"

It was finally then that I realized why Cirno's expression was so cold. 

Anger, grief, rage, hostility.

Those were the emotions I expected when I confronted Cirno.

An understanding I reached since I thought Cirno to be a hotheaded person.

The mistake was that I treated Cirno the same as I would a human. In the first place, wasn't it weird for an ice fairy of all beings to be hotheaded?

In the first place, her hotheadedness was all for the sake of Daiyousei. An unconscious shackle that bound her and held her powers back.

But now that the lock was gone, her true strength that she worked for the sake of her loved one was truly unleashed.

The angrier an ice fairy got, the calmer she would get. 

The calmer an ice fairy got, the cooler she would become.

The cooler she became, the more it offset her disadvantage of heating up when absorbing the heat of the surrounding atmosphere.

The more her weakness was offset, the more powerful her ice spells would become she would throw at you.

It was as simple as that.

Man, what an opponent I chose for my first fight. I am way underlevelled for this.

"GIVE ME DAI-CHAN BACK-!"

But eventually, all things have to come to an end.

The moment passed, and the first thing that returned...

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zp4e_zq1Eo)

...was sound.

At a moment's notice, the giant iceberg that covered the misty lake collapsed as sound escaped from it, repeating a melody.

"Ah-"

There it was again, that melody that reminded her of a nice, warm, and relaxing day...

Why did it seem so familiar...?

"Cirno-chan!"

Cirno's heart skipped a beat as she heard a familiar voice. 

While her vision was still blurred, she could barely perceive the silhouette approaching her. But even if it was just a silhouette, Cirno would have recognized any day of the week, in any condition.

Of course, it was...

*SLAP*

"Cirno! What the actual hell? Why are you fighting her!"

A sharp pain ran across her cheek as Cirno was still processing the situation.

She almost couldn't believe it, but she was indeed slapped by Daiyousei.

[Daiyousei's Arrival: 0:00 minutes remaining]

"Huff... huff... ha... hahahahahahahaha...!"

Seeing the notification appear in front of her, Rin started laughing frantically.

After all the torture she went through, she almost couldn't believe it, even if it was right in front of her eyes.

The bet she put down paid off. 

[3* Crystallized Water - Complete]

[Reward: 8 Skill Points & 5006 System Points]

...

Patchouli's lax and easygoing demeanor from before was gone, replaced with anger and fury at the damage to her beloved library.

She played along with her friend's whim on inviting the rat into the mansion, even going so far as giving it hospitality, but now that the rat has damaged her precious collection...

Immediately upon taking action, countless magic circles covered the space of the room, as the very structure of the voile library was reshaped by Patchouli's magic.

Space expanding, the floor warping, the hole in the ceiling closing, the countless shelves sinking into the floor, magic was the manipulation of the physical laws of the world and making their imagination a reality.

Theoretically, a magician can create almost any effect if they understand its cause and can construct a suitable spell to induce it.

All the mysteries that Patchouli induced right now were meant to create a battlefield as advantageous for her and Sakuya and disadvantageous for Reimu as possible.

"Warping space? Is this supposed to distract me or something, magician?"

Of course, Reimu was barely affected by the topological changes as she took off into the air.

"Of course not. This was only preparing the playing field. The real attack comes now."

Hearing Patchouli's voice so sharp in her ears as if the person herself whispered into it, Reimu turned around, only to be met with the presence of nothing.

"I can shape solid matter itself in my atelier. What makes you think I can't manipulate the sound that flows through the air?"

The hairs on her neck stood up as sweat ran down her forehead.

That's when Reimu got a bad gut feeling. The gut feeling that something was really wrong.

In the first place, since when was her whole body covered in sweat?

"Water Sign: [Princess Undine]."

Upon hearing the declaration of a Spellcard, Reimu realized it...

This wasn't her sweat. The air in the room was just really damp right now!

But the realization came too late as a giant water spirit materialized before her.

Locking eyes with the undine, both prepared the attacks they would fire at each other.

But, of course, inside of her Atelier, Patchouli's familiar would be faster than the intruder.

Before she could start her attack, Reimu was already bombarded with giant pressurized streams of water aimed at her and giant water bubbles that surrounded her to restrict her movements.

Still, this much was easily manageable for the Shrine Maiden of Paradise. Weaving out of the way of the magic...

"Dream Sign: [Evil-Sealing-!"

"You didn't forget about me, did you?"

Before Reimu could activate her Spellcard, Sakuya appeared from nowhere behind her, swinging a blade towards her neck.

Her hair standing up, Reimu narrowly avoided the bladed weapon by ducking under it before taking the momentum from her turn to turn around and hit Sakuya with her gohei.

Following her opponent's movements, Sakuya saw Reimu's counterattack coming, blocking the purification rod with her knives.

Still, she never expected the weight of the attack to be so heavy. After all, it was just a thin piece of wood. A branch.

Yet, somehow, the weight behind that branch was so heavy that Sakuya had no choice but to fall back from it as it launched her toward one of the library's walls.

"Illusion Existence: [Clock Corpse]."

Once she landed on the wall, Sakuya immediately activated her Spellcard, sending a wall of knives toward the Hakurei Shrine Maiden.

As the knives soared right toward the Shrine Maiden, Sakuya expected their aim to be true. Either hitting their target or at least making her block them.

She never expected Reimu to break through her attack and immediately aim for her head with her weapons.

"Ngh-!"

Dammit, that Spellcard wasn't nearly good enough!

"Get out of there, Sakuya! Earth Sign: [Lazy Trilithon]!"

Immediately, dozens of stone pillars materialized, violently slamming into the shrine maiden until they were stopped by the ground.

For a second, silence returned to the library. Giving the maid and the magician a moment to breathe.

They didn't expect this. They didn't expect a single opponent to overwhelm the both of them.

*Crack, Crash*

Yet, seeing is believing, and Patchouli Knowledge had no choice but to admit that the Shrine Maidens's talismans were tearing her runes apart.

"Huff... huff... To think that she would shatter the rune-engraved natural stone that easily... In that case..."

Taking a deep breath, Patchouli focused as a bright red-shining card materialized in her hand.

"Fire Sign: [High Agni Shine]."

Before the talismans could reach them, a giant vortex of flames engulfed and swallowed them, leaving nothing behind.

"Well done. It would be a lie if I said I didn't underestimate you, magicians."

"With the study of theory and the mastery of technique, control over the elements gives me the full command of creation. A magician who mastered the seven luminaries (celestial bodies) has no weakness."

"Hot words for someone who is so out of breath."

"Well, as everything in the universe seeks balance, while my magic might be invincible, my body certainly is not. Sakuya, we used up 4 of our 5 Spellcards."

"We certainly did that, Lady Patchouli."

"So, the only logical conclusion is for us to attack her as one. That shrine maiden hasn't nearly shown us the full extent of her capabilities. While she is still testing the waters, we shall go all out and strike her down."

"Agreed."

Reimu could only chuckle as she saw her two opponents openly discuss their plans in front of her.

Still, she made no plans to stop them. After all, they would only give up once they had thrown their best at her and failed to stop her.

"Metal Sign: [Silver Dragon]."

"Illusion Sign: [Killing Doll]."

"Combination Spellcard! Fantasy Metal Sign: [Silver Executioner Dragon Puppet]!"

As they both declared their Spellcards simultaneously, countless silver knives started to surround the magician and the maid, as they amalgamated into one giant ball of silver.

At the same time, an unfathomable amount of mana gathered in the library, culminating in a complex magical formula.

"I call upon thee, Liriope."

The moment Patchouli finished her chant, silence returned as the chaos seemed to settle down.

Seeing the situation, Reimu was befuddled.

"What? Don't tell me you two seriously failed-"

*RUMBLE*

Then, the peace was interrupted by the rumbling of the earth. An intricate summoning circle was completed.

The atmosphere grew heavy as a giant silver dragon spirit descended from it, taking the ball of silver as its vessel to materialize in this world.

Like an egg, cracks started to form on the silver ball before it spread out, revealing the form of a silver dragon covered in blades.

Reimu Hakurei felt genuinely nervous for the first time during this incident, which includes the entire situation of Cirno's awakening.

"Sigh, to think someone would actually pull off a combination spellcard... This might get a bit unpleasant."

"Liriope. Descend."

Seeing the giant silver dragon descend upon the shrine maiden, Sakuya let out a sigh of relief, shaking her head.

You expected too much of her, my lady.

There is no way she can handle that. This is the end.

*Tap, tap, tap*

"Duo contra unum is rather tasteless, don't you think so? The real thrill of a danmaku battle is still a one vs. one."

As their unexpected guest had their entrance, everyone's attention was pulled towards the tomboy who stood on one of the shelves on the far sides of the library.

"Magicannon:..."

As Patchouli saw the unbelievable amount of magical energy gather that even surpassed their combination Spellcard, panic filled her senses.

"Sakuya! GET DOWN!"

[Final Spark]