Much of the magical library, Voile, was left a wreck after the banishment of Y'golonac, but the library wasn't the only place to look like it was hit by a hurricane. Parts of the Scarlet Mansion had been trashed by a certain challenge-seeking ice fairy. With everyone else preoccupied in the library, the rest of the mansion had become her playground. The fairy staff had tried to defend the mansion, but they ended up doing more damage than the intruder. The master of the mansion, her patience practically zero at the end of her battle with the eldritch abomination, quickly threw the intruder out and restored order.
The fight with Y'golonac had left many injured. Patchouli and Meiling were in very bad shape, prompting Remilia to force Alice to go to Eientei in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost to retrieve the Lunarian Pharmacist Eirin Yagokoro to the mansion to treat her friend and servant as well as Marisa and Sakuya who had also sustained extensive, but noncritical, injuries. Remilia chose Alice for the task as punishment for her attempt to kill Max and because she was the only one in good enough shape for the travel. Once Eirin, who brought along her assistant Reisen Udongein Inaba, arrived at the mansion, she and her assistant immediately got to work treating the injured, with some questioning on the side. Alice returned to her home after a short, but heated, argument with Remilia.
Everything was slowly returning to semi-normal within the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but how long that would last was yet to be seen, and possibly for the better.
After a brief fight with Joseph, Max had retired to his room to try to avoid being spotted by those still unaware of his revival and to get some much needed rest. He laid in his bed, pillow over his face and groaning from a headache caused by Joseph's mere existence in the mansion. He was so sure he could have snapped the robed man's neck if only Remilia hadn't decided to intervene. He pushed his anger to the side as much as he could in order to try and snooze a little while he still had the chance.
Max hadn't even remotely gotten close to falling asleep before hearing the sound of his door opening. He quickly pondered how he should hurt the person who had entered his room without so much as knocking, only to be interrupted when the intruder leaped onto his stomach. He instantly could tell the intruder was a small person and thus deemed it appropriate to simply break them in two like a wishbone. He got ready to do just that, but was stopped when he noticed it had become oddly cold all of a sudden.
"Psst. Daiyousei. I think this person is asleep," the girl who sat on top of Max said in a hushed voice.
"Then why are we sneaking in here?" another voice, this one sounding quite desperate but quiet, said. "Jeez, Cirno. We've gotten in enough trouble today so can't we please just leave?"
Now this presented a problem for Max. Getting rid of one intruder was fine; two was just going to be a pain in the ass. Then again, he could tie them both up and drown them in the lake. Sounded like a plan.
"Hmm…? That's weird. What's this bulge here?" the girl on top of him said.
Upon feeling a hand grabbing onto his groin, Max pulled the pillow off his angry face, sat up then wacked the girl with the pillow, sending her flying off of him and to the floor.
"The hell you think you're trying to grab, eh?!" Max shouted.
"Eeek! It's awake!" the other girl cried out in fright.
"It?" Max glared menacingly at the green haired girl who stood quivering at the door.
He took notice of the girl's wings then glanced down at the other girl he had just struck down, spotting a set of wings on her as well. He realized them both to be fairies, and this only pissed him off more. He got ready to lay a smack down on the two of them, but stopped when his eyes caught glimpse of the green-haired fairy's sizable chest.
"Wait a minute… I've met you before, haven't I?" Max asked.
The green-haired fairy, Daiyousei, quivered in fear, but stopped when she recognized the young man. She looked at him curiously and said, "You're… You're that one gentleman."
The other fairy, the blue-haired Cirno, got up to her feet rubbing her sore head. She puffed her cheeks at Max, but she gasped in surprise upon recognizing him.
"Hey! It's that one guy! Mork!" she exclaimed.
"It's Max, ya idiot," Max said.
"I'm not an idiot!" Cirno protested.
"Yeah, I remember you two now. I can't remember names to save my life, but I'll never forget a face," Max said, his eyes glued directly onto Daiyousei's chest.
"Didn't you die, Mister Max?" Daiyousei asked, her eyes shining with curiosity.
Cirno jumped onto the bed and stood up straight, trying to tower over Max. She put one hand on her hip and pointed at him with the other and, with a toothy grin, said, "He did! But now he's back for round two with the strongest fairy! A man who can't accept defeat is no man at all!"
"There wasn't even a round one, ya numskull. Now get away from me before a deck ya right in the baby maker," Max said.
A curious expression befell Cirno. "Baby maker? Where's that?" she asked.
Max face-palmed. He felt another headache coming along and decided not to bother trying to explain.
Max's little reunion with the fairy duo was interrupted with the arrival of Remilia. She entered the room and once she saw Cirno and Daiyousei, she immediately scowled at them.
"You two again?! How many times do I have to throw you out before you get the message?!" she shouted.
"Crap! It's the vampire lady!" Cirno and Daiyousei both exclaimed in fright.
Max felt relieved with Remilia's appearance and smiled. "Yo, Remster. Come check this out," he said.
"What god awful name did you just call me?" Remilia asked.
Max got up out of bed and approached Daiyousei. "Check this fairy out. She has bigger tits than you do."
In an instant, Remilia's face went red in anger and she ended up glaring at Daiyousei, confusion over whom to be angry with enveloping her. Daiyousei's face also went red, but for an entirely different reason.
Daiyousei could feel the burning glare Remilia was giving her. She shook her head wildly. "N-N-No! Th-That's not true! It's all an optical illusion! They're not big at all!" she cried out in fright.
Max just stared at Daiyousei's wonderfully shaped breasts, slowly nodding his head in approval. "I could seriously titty fuck you," he said bluntly, causing Remilia and Daiyousei to gawk stupidly from his statement in shock.
"Max! Stop saying things the second they pop into your head!" Remilia yelled.
"What? I was just making an observation," Max said plainly.
Daiyousei's mouth remained wide open as she stood silent and completely stunned. She then slowly tilted backwards, tilting further and further before finally fainting, hitting the floor with a loud thud.
Cirno ran over to her fainted friend and stared in amazement. "Wow! You KO'ed her without even touching her! How'd you do that?!" she asked Max eagerly.
Max shrugged his shoulders, looking smug and proud. "What can I say? It's a natural talent of mine," he said.
"That's enough," Remilia said then pointed at Cirno assertively. "You. Take your friend and get out of my mansion. Next time you break in here, the both of you will be chained in my dungeons. You understand me?" she said.
Cirno picked up her friend and scoffed at Remilia's threat. "You can't scare me, demon. I'ma make you apologize to me for say'n I stole one of your cross thingies and I'ma-" Max's fist landing on top of her head mid-sentence cut her declaration short. "Ow! That hurt!"
"She said get out so you get out," Max ordered.
With puffed out cheeks and a single tear in her eye, Cirno nodded. "Fine! B-But I'll return! Just you wait!" she said then ran out the room with Daiyousei in her arms.
With the troubling fairies gone, Max sighed in relief then crawled back into bed, falling lazily onto his back. He crossed his arms behind his head and gently rested his head on a pillow. He closed his eyes, but immediately opened them back up the second he realized Remilia hadn't left.
"You mind leaving? I'm trying to chill here," he said then closed his eyes.
Remilia walked to the end of the bed then hopped up onto it. Slowly she crawled across the bed on all fours towards Max.
Max let out a quiet groan and opened his eyes. He was a little irritated that Remilia was bothering him, but he tried not to let himself sound it, though his expression told how he felt.
"No, really. Please leave. I'd like to snooze a bit," he said.
Remilia ignored him, crawled over top of him and laid herself down right on top of him. She rested her elbows on his chest and her chin on her hands. She said nothing and simply smiled as she gazed at Max's face, watching as he grew visibly bothered and annoyed.
Max tried to keep a straight face, but was failing. "Okay… Is there something you need?" he asked as nice as he could.
Remilia continued to gaze at Max is silence, taking in a little pleasure from his upset expression. Max was three seconds away from grabbing her and throwing her out of his room before she decided to end her silent tease.
"You surprise me, Maxy," Remilia said in a soft voice.
"Oh, no. You do NOT get to call me that," Max said as he grew a little flustered.
Remilia giggled then gently pressed her finger on Max's nose, forcing a bit of red to his cheeks. "Don't be so mean, Maxy. I'm here to thank you for helping me free Patchouli. As much as it pains me to admit it… I couldn't defeat that thing on my own. If you didn't come up with that crazy idea of yours… I'd rather not think of how it would of turned out if you hadn't," she said.
Max moved his gaze away from Remilia's face and shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, it ain't no big deal. You helped me and I just wanted to return the favor. That's it. End of story."
"Even after complaining about how much you didn't want to deal with Horror's anymore, you still gave me a helping hand and even put yourself at a great risk to do it. I just wanted you to know that I am very thankful for your service," Remilia said with a sincere expression.
"Yeah, no prob," Max said. "Which reminds me…"
He fell silent for a moment and Remilia kindly waited patiently for him to muscle up the will to ask what she was suspecting he was going to ask.
After a brief silence he sighed then said, "Was wondering if I could crash here at your place for a while longer. Just until I figure out what I wanna do from here on."
A big smile appeared on Remilia's face. "Of course! I'm surprised you even asked. You can be my butler," she said eagerly.
Max instantly frowned at the suggestion. "Yeah, I think I'd rather throw myself out a window."
"Oh, don't be like that, Maxy. Serving me is quite the honor, you know."
"Bullshit it is."
"Answering to my every call. Catering to my every whim. Doesn't that sound wonderful to you?" Remilia said excitedly, her imagination running a little wild.
"Nope," Max said bluntly as he shut his eyes.
Remilia grabbed Max by the chin and forced him to look at her. She grinned at the dirty look he gave her. "You're so stubborn, Maxy," she said teasingly.
Max shook her hand off. "Have you said all what you wanted? I'd like to shut my eyes for a bit if you don't mind," he asked as his patience started to dry out.
Remilia shortened the gap between her face and Max's, forcing him to try and pull his face back away from her. She giggled at his increasingly red face and his poor attempt to not look bothered by how close she was to his face.
"Actually, I had a request. Nothing big or anything. Just a small… little… teensy…" She shortened the gap further between her and Max, putting her lips dangerously close to his. "Request."
Max shuddered from her warm breath hitting his face. "Oookaaay… Wh-What?" he croaked.
Remilia smiled, happy with his quick submission. "Like I said, it's nothing big. You see… That fight with that monster has left me a little… thirsty. So I would like to ask you for a little drink."
"What? That's it? If you're thirsty then go suck on your maid's tits. God knows I want to…"
"I must refrain from drinking any of Sakuya's blood until she fully recovers from her injuries."
"Well, ya ain't get'n any of mine so scram," Max said stubbornly.
Remilia faked a frown and puppy eyes. "Please? Pretty please? I would be so very grateful if you let me suck a little out of you," she said in a bit of a childish voice.
"No means no, damn it, and that's it. The idea of having my blood drank is just plain weird."
A devilish grin formed on Remilia's face. "Max… It sounds to me like you don't remember the last time you gave me a little of your blood."
"Uh, we were sort of trying to kill each other at the time."
"No, you silly boy. I mean after that."
Max raised an eyebrow, not having any ideas to what Remilia was talking about. "After that?"
"Youkai Mountain. The Tengu Village," Remilia said.
"Youkai Mountain and Tengu Village…" Max repeated as he went into deep thought.
He went through all the places he went to the first time he came to Gensokyo, going through them in chronological order. He slowly remembered each place, but only really remembering the fights that broke out at each location. It then hit him that the large mountain not too far from the mansion had a name called Youkai Mountain. He then remembered that being the mountain he died on. Tengu Village was a strange name that he didn't recall, but a dog girl and her large breasts came into his mental vision, jogging his memory of the village that existed on the mountain. He remembered it smelling nothing but booze. At last he came to a memory that had somehow managed to slip his mind, and with that memory came a loud thump of his heart against his ribcage.
Max's face lit up red and his eyes widened. "Oh! That! Yeah, uh…" he said then tried to collect his thoughts after they went a little crazy. He tried to put on a serious expression, but his blush stuck around. "Yeah, what about it? N-Nothing came of that…"
Remilia's gaze went to Max's chest. She gently placed the tip of her pointer finger on it then traced some circles. She hid her enjoyment of his flustered look behind a bored expression. "Hmm… Yes, but only because we were interrupted."
The image of a certain long-haired, blond woman appeared in Max's mind and with that image came the utter anger and hate for said woman. "Why in God's name did you have to remind me of that cunt?" he asked.
"Your blood was so very tasty. So tasty that it made me feel revitalized. So revitalized that it made me feel warm. So warm that it made me feel lightheaded. So lightheaded that it made me feel…" Remilia raised her eyes back to Max's, her intimate eyes giving him goosebumps. "Funny…"
"Heh… Guess that part was the comedian inside me," Max joked.
"I can't promise anything, but if you let me have a drink then I might get into one of those 'funny' moods again. Then after that, well…" Remilia stopped gliding her finger around Max's chest then smiled at him. "Who knows?"
Another loud thump of Max's heart. A mess of emotions entwined within him. Nervousness, anger, excitement, confusion, wonder; all wrapped up into a ball of mental chaos. "That ain't fair," he said.
"Hmm? Not fair? Whatever do you mean?" Remilia said, pretending to sound like she was confused while still smiling.
"Don't bullshit me, Remilia. You're just trying to trick me into giving you my blood."
"Oh, I would never do that. I'm just telling you the possible consequence of you giving me your blood," Remilia said. "In fact, I'm being very fair by telling you."
"Like hell you are! You're trying to trick me by making me think I could… get something out of letting you drink from me. I ain't interested right now so just leave."
Remilia giggled at Max's surprising amount of stubbornness. Her left hand made its way up his shirt, gliding across and feeling his abs. Max bit down on his tongue when he nearly yelped in surprise. All of his muscles tensed up from her cold, smooth touch.
"Not interested, you say?" Remilia asked, enjoying the feel of Max's hard abs and his squirming beneath her. "If I were to go into one of my 'funny' moods, I'm sure you would get interested. And if you didn't…" She placed her lips near one of his ears and blew into it, sending a ripple from his ear, down his body and to his groin. "I'd make you interested. Promise."
Max grabbed Remilia's shoulders and tried to push her away from his face, but she easily pushed back. "W-W-Will you cut it out? You choose the worst times to screw around," he said nervously.
Remilia grabbed his chin with her right hand and held his lips close to hers and cooed, "I am the Scarlet Devil. I screw around when, where, and however I so please, Maxy."
Max couldn't help but feel like Remilia was crushing him underneath her. His blood ran like crazy throughout his body as could be seen by the beating redness in his face. He struggled to maintain an uncaring attitude, but he cared a lot more than he'd like to admit. He wanted Remilia out of his room, but knew damn well she wasn't going to leave without getting a taste of his blood and the worst thing about it was that she was going to get it whether or not he agreed to it. If he continued to say no, she would just easily overpower him and painfully remind him that he was no longer all powerful. If he said yes then he would just end up looking like he had a lewd interior motive for agreeing. Not that he would lie about any lewd thoughts he had or even care; it was just different for some reason when it was Remilia who was the one purposely putting those lewd thoughts into his head to begin with. In truth, she had him by the balls.
Max thought and thought to himself as Remilia happily watched him drive himself nuts with his own thoughts. With a drawn out sigh, he finally gave up.
"Alright. If you seriously need some blood then I'll let you have some, but only if you NEED it. Got it?" Max said. Remilia answered him with a bright smile. "I mean it. If you don't actually need any blood then just get out already. I'm done being fucked with."
Remilia wrapped her arms around Max's neck and reached close to his ear with her lips. She then whispered, "Thank you, Max. But I must warn you… Since you're just a normal human now, it will probably hurt more than it did the first time."
Max felt like he could explode any second now. "I can take a little pain. Just get on with it," he said. Hesitantly, he tilted head, exposing his neck to Remilia. "Hurry up. I'd like to sleep a little before I die again."
A victorious grin formed on Remilia's face. Despite Max's insistence that she'd be quick, Remilia decided she would just enjoy herself and take her sweet time. She started by sniffing Max's neck. He certainly hadn't bathed recently, but his male scent made her wings twitch and flutter. She felt the little shudders Max would let out every time she would breathe on his neck. His shuddering made her feel tingly all over and she enjoyed it greatly. She wanted to make Max shake more and thus decided to have a little taste of his neck. With the quick lick of her tongue, Max nearly jumped out of the bed. She couldn't help but to let out a little giggle.
Max was dangling off the emotional edge. He wanted to smack Remilia for teasing him so much, but forced himself to bear with it as much as he could, thinking he'd feel defeated somehow for losing control because of her. He tried to think of something, anything other than what was happening, but Remilia did a damn good job at keeping his mind focused on the current situation.
"Is this seriously necessary?" he asked strenuously.
"Hm? I'm just getting you prepared. Wouldn't want to go in when you aren't ready," Remilia said then giggled again.
"Not. Funny."
"Calm yourself, Max. You need to loosen your body up some or it'll be more painful than it has to be," Remilia said. "You know… I'm having a difficult time figuring out if your nervousness stems from you being so close to a girl… or because that girl happens to be… me."
Max scoffed at Remilia. "You're so full of yourself."
Remilia chuckled. "You act so lewd around other girls, but once one goes on the offensive, you fold. Or do I only have that special ability?"
And then Max's top blew. "That's it. Get off me," he ordered then tried to sit up, but was shoved right back down into the bed.
"But I haven't had my snack yet," Remilia cooed.
"Then hurry. The hell. Up," Max said strenuously.
And with that, Remilia decided it was time to drink. Partly because she thought she had played with Max enough, and mostly because she couldn't hold her desire for his blood back any longer. She gave the place on his neck where she would bury her fangs into another lick then gave it a sweet and gentle kiss. With her desire for blood pestering her, she tilted her head back and bared her fangs. With a low-sounding hiss, her fangs grew out. Her scarlet eyes glowed red as she prepared to drive her fangs into Max's flesh.
Max clenched at the bed sheets as he braced himself for the coming pain. He closed his eyes and waited. He closed them tightly, but opened them back up upon hearing another girl's voice.
"Lady Remilia."
Remilia's eyes ceased glowing and her fangs returned to normal size. She turned her head to see Sakuya standing in the doorway.
"Oh, Sakuya. What is it? I'm a little busy at the moment," she said.
Sakuya bowed. "Forgive me, but I wanted to inform you that Lady Patchouli has regained consciousness," she said.
An excited smile appeared on Remilia's face, her hunger instantly subsiding from hearing the good news of her best friend. "Patchy?! That is wonderful news! Thank you, Sakuya. I will go see her at once," she said then jumped out of the bed. She turned to Max and said, "I'm sorry, Max, but we're going to have to continue this later," she said then exited the room in haste.
Sweating all over, Max laid in bed, not exactly sure how to feel. He felt mad. He felt glad. He most definitely felt disappointed even though he tried to convince himself not to be. If anything, he was awfully mad and disappointed if the expression on his face was anything to go by. With a drawn out sigh, he crossed his arms across his chest in a slight pout and continued to just lie in his bed. He was just about to try and forget what had almost happened and might have happened and just go to sleep when he noticed that Sakuya was still standing in the doorway looking at him.
With a bummed out look, he huffed and grudgingly said, "Nice timing…" He tried not to sound as absurdly upset as he was and failed hard. Half of him wanted to thank Sakuya for the save. The other half wanted to kick her so hard in the crotch that she'd never birth children.
Sakuya remained silent for a moment, staring at Max with a nonchalant expression. After a few moments, a grin curiously appeared on her face. Max noticed and raised an eyebrow. Sakuya then raised her two middle fingers up at him.
A look of utter shock and anger appeared on Max's face as he gasped, "You bitch! You barged in on purpose!"
Sakuya felt nothing needed to be said and just continued to grin triumphantly at Max then moon-walked out of the room, her middle fingers held up the entire way.
Max remained speechless for a few moments, completely blown away by what had just happened. He fumed for a few seconds then said, "Oh, it's on like Donkey Kong, you bitch."
Remilia quickly made her way to the library, smiling excitedly along the way. She was afraid that Patchouli had fallen into a coma do to her awful injuries, but her worries were misplaced and she was very thankful for that. Her heart begged to see her best friend's face.
A short trip through the library and she was in Patchouli's bedroom. The room was filled with people: Marisa, Koakuma, Eirin and Reisen, all standing around the bed. And in the bed was, of course, Patchouli herself, awake and well. Another heavy load had been taken off of Remilia's shoulder, allowing her to breathe a little easier now.
Thanks to the efforts of Eirin and her assistant, Patchouli was looking a hell of a lot better. Half of her face was hidden underneath a layer of bandages, but the other half was visible and looked partly healed. Her severed hand had been reattached and remained bound in bandages.
Remilia placed her hand to her heart and sighed in relief. "Patchy…" she said. Everyone turned their attention to her as she ran up to Patchouli and embraced her.
Patchouli winced a little from the hug, still feeling quite sore, but she endured it with a smile. "Well, hello there, Remy," she said.
Remilia smiled brightly. "Hello, Patchy! How are you feeling?"
"Just fine, Remy. But I am a little worried about my bones snapping in two if you squeeze me any harder than you already are," Patchouli said.
Remilia's cheeks went a little pink. She quickly released Patchouli. "I'm-I'm sorry, Patchy. I was just-"
Patchouli silenced her flustered friend with a finger press to her lips. "You were worried for my wellbeing. That was obvious. You and Koakuma were. You all were. All I can say is thank you and that I'm sorry for worrying you."
Remilia gave Patchouli another hug, more gently this time. "It is fine. Just don't do it again."
Patchouli giggled. "Oh? Is that an order?" she asked, and got a nod as an answer.
"Yes. Please don't," Koakuma said, resisting the urge to tightly hug her master for the umpteenth time.
Eirin cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. "It looks like our work here is done. The last thing I need to say is for you and the Gate Guard to stay in bed for a while. And after that?" she said to Patchouli with a soft smile. "Just take it easy."
Patchouli gave a nod of thanks to the Lunarian. "Yes. Thank you for my hand back. Would have made spell casting and handling books quite difficult without it," she said.
"And for her face!" Koakuma anxiously chimed in as she lost self-control and hugged her master. "You really can work miracles."
Eirin chuckled. "All in a day's work for me," she said with a tad of arrogance.
Remilia walked up to Eirin. "I must thank you as well. You restored my friend to her beautiful self. I don't think I have anything that could repay you enough for your deed."
"Now, now. You have already given me something: a good story to tell the Princess when we return," Eirin said.
"Master," Reisen said. "Don't you think we should take their 'story' a little more seriously?"
Eirin chuckled. "Nonsense, Reisen. Hearing of their recent strife only begs one to wonder what other 'Horrors' are out there waiting for us," she said.
"Please, Master. This recent incident sounds frighteningly similar to the last one. The Human Village was hit hard during that incident," Reisen said worriedly.
"Nonsense. It would only be similar if…" Eirin said then turned her captivating gaze to Remilia, a musing smirk on her face. "If a certain handsome foreigner just so happened to be around."
Remilia gawked for a short moment then sighed, disgruntled. She figured Eirin suspected Max was alive again and running around the second she brought up the nature of the monster that had possessed Patchouli. She didn't feel like trying to lie and convince her wrong, knowing that the Lunarian would see through the lie in an instant and just kept quiet about it.
"Well, I guess that cat is out of the bag," Marisa said plainly.
"Handsome foreigner?" Reisen asked curiously. "Do you mean-"
At that moment, Sakuya came walking through the doorway and immediately said, "Max is fighting with the robed gentleman again."
Remilia rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I shouldn't be surprised," she said then made her way out of the room with Marisa and Sakuya right behind her.
Remilia and the others made their way to the center of Voile. Once they got there, they found exactly what Sakuya had said. Joseph was already on the floor with a pissed off Max standing over him and wielding a chair.
Joseph threw up his hands to try and shield himself. He quickly tried to defuse the situation and said, "Calm down, young man. I was merely enjoying a good bo-" But was silenced when Max broke the chair over him.
Max stood up straight and brushed his hands off one another. "You can enjoy a good book in hell, ya son of a bitch," he said.
With an angry look, Remilia marched up to Max. "And what do you think you are doing, Max?" she said harshly.
"Trying to kill this mother fucker," Max admitted bluntly.
Joseph was suddenly standing right next to Remilia, completely unfazed from the hit he just took from a chair. "There is no need to be upset, Miss Scarlet. I am quite alright," he said, his antagonizing grin pissing Max off even more.
"You won't be after I go all Hashashin on your sorry ass!" Max shouted then grabbed a hold of Joseph by the front of his shirt. He was just about to deck him before Remilia got in the way.
"Will you knock it off, Max? You're being juvenile," Remilia said.
"Damn right I am," Max said with a huff.
"Young people these days really are lacking in respect. I had thought you would be a little kinder to me after all the effort I put in to reviving you," Joseph said with a faked frown.
"That's the whole reason why I hate your guts, asshole!" Max exclaimed.
Joseph chuckled and put on his nefarious grin. "If I had not revived you then someone else would have done the job, my young friend," he said.
"Someone else," Remilia said as she grabbed Joseph by the arm, harshly pulling his attention to her. "By someone else do you happen to mean a woman with long blond hair?"
Joseph showed a small spark of surprise. "Oh, it appears you already know the answer. Heh heh…"
Remilia grew painfully angry. She knew that blond haired woman was up to something when she returned the Yellow Sign Medallion to her. She knew there was a catch, but she just couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was. But now she knew. That woman had plans for it and merely wanted her to hold onto it for her. She knew Max's soul was bound to it and planned to do something with it, but what that something was was now the next question that needed to be answered.
Marisa joined in on the conversation. "Blond haired woman, ze? You mean Miss Gap-of-the-Gaps?" she asked.
Joseph walked over to one of the desks that survived the chaos. On that desk sat the strange black book. He stood next to it, but refrained from touching it.
"You got yourself quite the treasure here, Miss Scarlet," he said, his hands shaking in desire to touch the book. "So many lives were lost in the making of this book… Many more were consumed by it in their foolish pursuit of the knowledge contained within."
"What is that book and why was it here?" Remilia asked demandingly.
"Patchy told us that she found it one day. It was packed away in one of her bookshelves," Marisa said. "She said she read from it then... Well, y'know the rest, ze."
"Apparently someone hid it away in your library, Miss Scarlet…" Joseph said plainly.
Remilia gritted her teeth hard as her anger intensified. "Yukari! She did it, didn't she?! Does she have any idea what she did by dropping it off here without telling anyone?!" she said loudly.
Joseph chuckled at the enraged look Remilia was freely showing. "I am sure the Great Sage meant you no harm, Dear Remilia. I'm sure she had… good intentions," he said.
Remilia stomped her foot. She stomped it so hard that she cracked the already damaged marble floor. "Tell me what this 'good intentions' was this instant, Joseph. I already know that you know so just come out with it," she demanded with a scowl.
A laugh urged to come out, but Joseph held it in. "I cannot tell you exactly. But I will tell you this…" He picked up the black book then walked towards Remilia. He handed it to her, but Max snatched it away from him. He cleared his throat and said, "There are some very bad people in this world, Miss Scarlet. People who would commit the most inhumane of crimes just to get their hands on this book. It being here is a blessing in disguise because if it is here then it is not in those peoples' hands." He bent down closer to Remilia, his face getting closer to hers. "If they were to get their dreaded hands on the Necronomicon… then I assure you that this world will end sooner… and far more horribly than intended," he said, and upon finishing his sentence, Max cracked him over the side of the head with the black book, sending him to the floor.
Max stood with the book in his hand, ready to beat the life out of Joseph with it, but was kept back by Marisa when she hugged him from behind. "Will you keep your fucking mouth shut? God damn it," he said angrily.
"The Necronomicon…" Remilia said as she gazed at the book with both wonder and hate.
"Creepy name for a creepy book. Sounds about right, da ze," Marisa said.
"That Horror constantly preached about the end of the world, but it failed to tell how exactly," Remilia said. She grinded her teeth when Joseph burst out into one of his obnoxious fits of laughter as he rose from the floor.
Joseph quickly got himself under control to speak. "Oh, you poor vampire," he said, enraging Remilia even further. "You really do have no idea what is coming, do you?"
Remilia had already decided which major artery of Joseph's she would cut into as she glared at him. "I suggest you think long and hard on what your next words will be, Joseph. Regardless of the assistance you gave us earlier, they might just end up being the death of you," she said, trying to sound calm.
Joseph smirked at the threat then merely shook his head. "I am afraid I must deny you of that knowledge. I do not want to be the cause of your despair. But if you wish to know so badly and so foolishly then you should speak with the Great Sage. Or…" he said. His gaze then shifted from Remilia to Max. "You could always ask Max here to give you his input," he said then received the thrown Necronomicon to the face.
"Get out of here and go kill yourself!" Max shouted as Marisa struggled to keep him from attacking Joseph.
With a drip of blood appearing from underneath his hood, Joseph grabbed a hold of Remilia's hand then gently kissed it. "You have done well in surviving thus far, young vampire, but you will soon find yourself in a shadow you cannot escape from. A power so great that it will put all those who came before to shame. A nightmare so horrible your very soul will shatter," he said, his words causing everyone else in the room to feel a chilling hand grip their hearts. He placed another kiss atop of Remilia's hand then stood up straight, his hands linked together behind his back. "I am sorry for the short visit, but I came only to tell you this… Protect the Necronomicon with your lives… and you just might stand a chance," he said then smirked. "Might." With his final word, he fell into a blistering laugh then vanished from sight, his laugh lingering in the air for a short time after.
With the troublesome Joseph gone, Remilia turned her attention to Max. He didn't bother to face her, but he knew she was looking at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but Max answered her before she could say anything.
"I don't know," he said. He turned around, stuffed his hands in his pant pockets and headed for one of the aisles. "I don't know," he repeated before taking his leave.
Remilia said nothing to him, and simply sighed, "Damn boy…"
Marisa hugged herself, filling oddly cold from what Joseph said. "That damn guy gives me the creeps. I think he's doing it on purpose too, ze," she said.
"He's a strange man," Sakuya said. "Can we trust him?"
Remilia shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. There are so many things I just don't know and it upsets me," she said. "If Max would just stop being so stubborn and tell me what he knows then maybe we could get somewhere."
"I'm sure if he knows something he'll tell us," Marisa said.
Remilia shook her head. "He thinks he's protecting us by not saying anything. Thinks we'll fall into insanity if he says too much."
"Is he wrong?" Sakuya asked.
Remilia shook her head again. "I don't know…" she answered somberly.
After making sure Patchouli was settled, Eirin and Reisen appeared and approached the group. Eirin had a dubious grin, her gaze to where Max had wandered off to.
Eirin chuckled a little. "So I was correct," she said. "And it looks like death has not harmed his handsomeness in the slightest."
"Nope! He's still a hotty! Hee Hee!" Marisa said with a toothy grin.
"I suppose I better give him a free checkup before I go. Just to make sure everything is in working order after having been resurrected," Eirin said then followed after Max, suspiciously chuckling to herself along the way.
Reisen placed her palm over her slightly red face, feeling a bit embarrassed. She approached Remilia, feeling the need to apologize for Eirin. "It's not every day she gets to see a foreigner so… yeah…" she said, not really knowing what else to say. She then reluctantly followed her master.
Suddenly losing all trust she had in Eirin, Remilia turned to Sakuya. "Follow that moon woman and make sure she doesn't do anything outside her profession," she ordered.
"Yes, Milady," Sakuya said with a bow then followed after Eirin and Reisen.
Marisa moaned as she reached high into the air in a stretch. "So. What's the next course of action, Remilia?" she asked.
Remilia walked over to where the Necronomicon was left on the floor. She crouched down then picked up the black book. She studied its depraved cover before speaking. "I will have Koakuma put this somewhere for safe keeping," she said.
"We gonna go find the gap hag after that?"
"No. I need to get everything back together here. I can't leave my mansion while my most important servants are bedridden and injured. For now we must rest. I'm sure you are already aware, but things are just going to get more dangerous from here on out. We'll need to be at full strength in order to combat whatever other Horrors that decide to show themselves," Remilia said. She placed the Necronomicon under her arm and started walking, with Marisa right next to her.
Marisa folded her arms behind her head, her eyes on the Necronomicon. "Hmm… I wonder what Yukari plans with that thing," she said.
"She obviously knows something is going to happen and she's preparing for it. Just wish that blasted woman would include us in on her plan from the beginning and not when she feels like it," Remilia said.
Marisa smiled. "That's Yukari for ya," she said. She then noticed that Remilia had suddenly stopped. She stopped to face her then said, "Wassup?"
Remilia gazed at Marisa for a moment. "Marisa. I never did thank you for the assistance you have given me, have I?"
Marisa stood dumbfounded and just stared back at Remilia stupidly. "Eh?"
Remilia gave a small bow to Marisa, stood back up straight and smiled. "Thank you, Marisa. You have been most helpful. I'm sorry for any mean things I've done to you up until now," she said with sincerity.
It took a while for what Remilia had said to process in Marisa's brain, having never expected to hear words of thanks let alone an apology. Her face slowly reddened. "Eh? Oh! Uh-Uh of course! No problem! I'm always happy to help, da ze!" she said, trying not to sound as flustered as she was.
Remilia smiled at Marisa and nodded. And with that off her chest, her happy expression turned serious and she continued on walking with Marisa. "We will pay Miss Yukari a little visit once I get everything back to normal here and once I do… There will be hell to pay."
Eihort, Cthulhu, Y'golonac; these eldritch names ran through Remilia's mind. One by one their horrific images reemerged, their unfathomable forms forever burned in her memory. A crowned figure in yellow then flashed before her, his maddening red gaze gnawing at her heart. The image of a small girl came next, her haunting grin taunting her. And then the great and terrible eye of her nightmare, of her vision. An eye filled with incomprehensible madness and destruction that looked down upon her from a blackened sky.
The more she thought about the eldritch horrors the more she felt something trying to steal her hope away. She clinged onto that hope and held onto it for all that she was worth, determined never to let it go as long as her heart still beats.