Having spent all of her life within Gensokyo, Marisa Kirisame never realized how small her world was.

Now, here she was, outside the Great Hakurei Barrier, did she know.

The view above Mt. Ebott was breathtaking, watching the sun setting in the distance in a great orange-red blaze. The hue covered the mountainside, cascading its cragged face in its radiance. Valleys caught between were eclipsed in shadow, blanked utterly into inky rivers of black.

Suddenly, the witch felt a stockpile of magic building, erupting into a bright flare.

Marisa grinned and descended down towards it.

She leapt off her broom, landing with a loud thump and kicked up a small dust cloud. With a flick of her wrist, the broom flew back into her hands and shimmered. The blonde magician twirled it deftly, blowing away the lingering puffs in the air.

A figure walked out of the settling debris, his blonde mane and beard shook as he coughed into a white furred fist. Marisa stared the sight of an anthromorphic goat man, towering several heads over her. Two large, curving horns grew from his temples into a magnificent arc around a small golden crown. He wore a regal blue cape over a stylized purple and white dress robe, bearing a stylized crest that caught her eye.

"That there's the Delta Rune, right?" Marisa extended a smudged hand, paused to wipe it on her apron and reoffered it out. "So that means you're part of the Royal Family 'round these parts. I'm Kirisame Marisa."

"Well met, Kirisame," he greeted. "I am King Asgore Dreemurr, Ruler of the Underworld. We hope you enjoy your stay here with us."

"I do too," Marisa cheekily replied. "I plan on doing more than just sightseeing. Oh, and call me Marisa. Never like formality all that much."

"Then I insist you refer to me as Asgore." The king turned about, gesturing the witch to follow behind. "Miss Patchouli spoke well of you, Miss Marisa. You must be quite the accomplished mage to be held in such esteem, even if begrudgingly."

"Bah, she's just bitter because I'm borrowing a few books from her." Marisa said, palming the side of the cave entrance the two were now entering. "It's no big deal, she can have them all back in one go."

"Oh?" Asgore asked; a thick bush brow rose at that.

"Yeah, not like I can do much with while dead."

"Ahaha!" the King of Monsters bellowed. "Indeed."

After a few twists and turns, the cave's appearance changed from more natural looking formations into one manmade. It was now a straight line, the walls beginning to thrum with an archaic energy. It was familiar somehow, memories of incidents coming to mind as they walked on.

"Say, this stuff's giving off some nostalgic vibes," Marisa wondered aloud. "It kind of reminds me of the Former Hell and Makai."

"You're certainly well-traveled," Asgore chuckled, his deep voice further amplified by the long and narrow hallway. "Yes, the architecture was crafted by artisans of the Esoterica Province in Makai. My ancestors commissioned them to build the infrastructure of our beloved kingdom."

"Bet you've got lots of stain glass in your palace then."

He humored her with a knowing smile.

"I'll take that as a yes," Marisa smirked. "Well, since you've heard so much about me, mind giving the heads up as to what I'm in for? All Patchouli said was something about instructing basic magic."

"Yes, it'd be prudent to resolve of that ignorance," Asgore nodded. "I had asked Miss Knowledge to come and tutor my son and heir the fundamentals of the magic arts. Both the Queen and I were taught by her great-grandfather and we thought to carry on this tradition."

"Ah, I see where you're going with this," the blonde witch interrupted. "Patchy's kinda too frail for this kind of stuff. Asthma and anemia's not a forgiving combo."

"We were initially disappointed to hear this, but she had promised us a proxy in her place. She swore the Magician's Oath that she'd do so and we knew then we could rest easy."

Marisa whistled lowly. That must've been some honor at stake. "So who's the munchkin I'm training into a badass?"

"His name is Asriel," Asgore said, voice brimming with pride. His already straight stance stood even taller at the mention.

"What's he like?"

Marisa resigned herself when she saw that glint in the goat-man's eye, that same glint that appeared whenever a proud parent blathers on about their child.

If that bedridden magician was scrying on her, she was going to tell Aya about that hidden cache in the subbasement.

As devious as she was, nothing was as ruthless as the tabloids.