The Shrine of Gensokyo

Chapter 31: Of Friends and Allies

Original Concept: ZUN & Shanghai Alice

Written by: wrathie

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[GET OUTTA MY WAY!]

Roaring at Kaguya who was more of a burden then help for the moment, I flung yet another fireball at another cat that had came too near to the village and watched in satisfaction as it curled up and died in the heat.

Looking back from the corner of my air, I saw Kaguya leaping back as more cats pounced at her, trying to overwhelm her with their numbers.

I had not considered cats to be deadly but these cats were different. Their eyes were bloodshot and their teeth and claws could rival those of a youkai and it was not long before my opinion of them changed forever.

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Crafty creatures, they moved in a confusing formation; leaping and twisting their bodies to avoid the scattered fire balls that I would unleash at the first tide of them.

[…]

In the end, the numbers were too much and I erected a glowing wall of fire to keep them in check before I went ahead personally to burn them at the source.

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[Ah… go back children…]

The only help Kaguya could offer was to cordon all the children and in general all the villages further away from the onslaught in fear of them getting hurt. Indeed they listened to her and I had one less on my mind as I exterminated those beastly felines.

The children, I like children alright but they were getting in harm's way all of the time. Where are their damn parents!

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It was as we suspected, the source of the cats were several portals that had HER name branded on them and were sprouting cats as if they were air.

Damn that bitch…

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But with every gap that I destroyed, two would take it's place and it was tiring to keep hurling fireball after fireball at the gaps. She was endless but.. .I would not give in to that bitch and definitely not at this early stage.

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[ADVICE OF ST. GERMAIN!]

Drawing a spellcard, I unleashed my flames at all of the gaps in a single instant and they all vaporized along with a majority of the cats that were charging in the general direction of the village.

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[… hmph.]

I was a little peeved as well when Kaguya joined me in the air, striking all the cats she could with her hourai branch. Sweeping that accursed thing in front of her, a shower of rainbow danmaku obliterated the cats without as much as scorching the ground. With a flourish and a shy smile on her face, she flew up to me and clutched my shoulder.

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[Ar-Are you alright, Mokou?]

[I TOLD YOU, DON'T CALL ME MOKOU!]

Twitching when she referred to me by name, I shouted at her as I scanned the area around the village.

It, for the time being seemed safe and I heaved a sigh of relief.

[… Keine…]

But I was not at ease yet, my dear friend said it was just the beginning…

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[Charge!]

Swinging my sword in the air, we swept aside the Pitiful cats and took our positions around the forest of magic. On the way we had secured our first objective, protecting the resident of the forest; Rinnosuke-san and he was being escorted to the human village as I speak.

Howling with pride that I had did well, the troops echoed my howl and we proceeded on to our next task, defending our position and locating our ally, Alice Margotoroid.

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[Bow before us!]

Our swords flashed in the sun as we charged forward in a mad rush to engage the cats, rascally vermin they were!

They were no match for us and we cleared them of their position very easily and when we roared, their charge faltered and most of them broke away back to where they came from; making the rest that stayed sitting targets.

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[… woof…]

I was not happy, not happy at all still as I was ordered off the frontline and instead was running errands for them. My pride as the White Wolf Commander is not taking it down and I shall make known my willingness to fight!

Buckling my shield, I grabbed my sword with both of my hands and started charging straight into the thick of it, slashing and hacking everything that I saw.

My only wish is that the Great Aya would see me now, the pride of the Tengu vanquishing her foes

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[AWOOOOOOOO!]

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[Man, man it's not good! Not Good at all! No siree! NoT GOOD!]

The tengu in question, the fastest person in Gensokyo was zooming around in the skies above the rest of the residents of Gensokyo, taking note of all that was happening while reporting back to the three brains in the Hakurei Shrine.

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[Copy that? I'm telling you, this is not good! Not good at all!]

[we hear you, Shameimaru…]

Hearing Yagokoro's impatient voice, Aya grinned as she did a backflip while in motion to take yet another snapshot of the sky. With her keen eyes, which was used more than once to find the most slanderous articles possible, Aya could see the battle going on in the sky above them.

[It's not going well… not going well at all!~ We're gonna die! But that would be a great scoop, no? Of course it will be! HAHA!]

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[I beg of you to be serious, Shameimaru-san…]

[Yes yes, Hakutaku… I'm serious but it's hard to be when scoops are everywhere… man~ This is EVEN better than the last incident! Woo~~ I wish Momizi is with me now… Can't have everything I suppose.]

Shrugging, Aya took a sharp dive and in turn took another snapshot of the advancing red tide.

[It's not good I tell ya… not good! I can't stop that thing and I'm trying alright!]

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Fanning her fan, Aya created a humongous gust of wind that slammed and spent itself on the red tide to no effect whatsoever. It remained unmoved and continued it's silent march.

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[Not safe too! Look at this!]

Pulling a small shrub from the ground, Aya flung it at the red tide and grimaced as a horrible squelching sound saw to the end of the shrub, leaving behind a mess of dried branches and dead, yellow leaves.

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[Horrible I tell ya! Horrible! The Yama's gonna have a field day at work today! Man!]

To the people unfamiliar with Aya, her demeanor might have seen as taking this whole issue as a joke but she was not viewing this as a joke at all.

To her, this might be a joke but the joke had gone too far and out of control to be called a joke now.

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Like anyone else, she is concerned about Gensokyo but perhaps for rather the wrong reasons. Without Gensokyo there would be no one to read the Bunbunmaru… and no scope for that matter… but she, in her heart love Gensokyo, her hometown and the people that lived there.

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[… I'm on the case, don't you fret your feathers over it. Aya, over and out!]

Soaring to the sky, Aya provided relief to a few of the ground troops as she swept the cats and whatnot away with bursts of wind from her fan.

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[HIYAH!]

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Yukari…

Dodging her relentless assaults of danmaku, I slowly stared to remember her beautiful danmaku… herself and myself through her own efforts to strike me down.

Her danmaku, beautiful had a dark and cruel streak in them which I knew, saw and remembered. There was beauty there as well and order. Everything she throws at me had order and she, perhaps at order deep inside her that she was subconsciously expressing herself.

She was testing me methodically, trying to probe for my weakness from her seemingly confusing attacks.

Yukari is cunning, she does everything for a purpose and she was letting me discover who I am at the same time, discovering for herself how she can strike me down.

Her next spell card was totally unlike what she had threw at me earlier.

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Danmaku circled around me and on cue they closed in on me repeatedly, trying to trap me in the deadly dancing circle of danmaku to no effect whatsoever.

I dare not look behind me in fear of what I would see on Gensokyo… what I should do now is to strike some sense into Yukari.. if I did that, perhaps it would not be too late.

Endlessly optimistic, I was proven wrong when Yukari popped up in front of me and knocked me back a few feet in the air, right in the middle of two circling circles of danmaku.

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[!]

It was too late to maneuver myself away from it and I instinctively spread my arms wide and called out:

[Fantasy Seal: CONCENTRATE!]

My body glowed and I found myself drained of energy the next instant as the danmaku bullets all were sucked into a single amulet. Glowing in front of me for a fraction of a second, the amulet bursts into colorful streams that struck Yukari's border repeatedly and with vengeance.

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[…]

She seemed amused as she flipped her fan open again and while fanning herself, a smirk on her face she commented to me.

[You're human, Reimu. You are bound to make mistakes… especially when you are tired, drained… weak… and, devoid of hope…]

[… I, I won't… I won't give up hope.]

[Oh yes, we all say that at one time or another… perhaps some more often than not. You are prone to appealing for help… and getting help from many sources.

Your friends, unexpected arrogance on your foes part and of course… miracles… or, something that seemed like miracles]

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[What are you implying, Yukari…]

[Oh, to be sure I am not implying something remarkable or fantastic… but rather, yes… rather I believe… that, of all things. I just want to prove you are human.]

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If anything, I was bowled over by her intentions and I swallowed nervously, both of us floating in stalemate over Gensokyo.

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[Yes, prove that you are human… There have been people, words… rumors… legends of the myth of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden. The one who is the law of Gensokyo, someone no one can touch… Blessed with intuition that brings her to resolve all disasters… blessed with strength that enables her to overcome all…

She, is not human… nor can she be youkai… NO…

OF COURSE NOT!]

Spiraling in the air Yukari came to a stop as she opened her parasol and winked at me.

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[But, here she is… Hakurei Reimu…]

[And beyond a doubt… human…]

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[… yes, I am human…]

[… You would not dispute that?]

[Why should I…. Yukari? That is the truth… nothing else…]

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[So… you are not… the Hakurei?]

[Hakurei?]

[Yes, the Hakurei… THE Hakurei… the ONE and only… Hakurei.]

[No… I-I don't think so…]

Shrugging, I shook my head even as I evenly looked at her, watchful for any tricks she might play on me.

[I see.]

[…]

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[Now let us continue, Reimu…]

[Eh?]

For a moment, I swore Yukari was saddened at my words and the intelligence returned to her eyes.

But it must be a façade as the evil grin on Yukari's face returned with a vengeance.

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[Spellbreak it might be… But, you're human… I've proven that… Bounded Field: 'Mesh of Light and Darkness']

Shielded by her parasol, Yukari never flinched as the sky lighted up in such luminance that I shielded my eyes with my hands.

Lasers streamed at me, wanting to purge me of the earth and it was as if the sky had found my unpleasant and wanted me out of the way. But no… the bursts of lasers stopped within the border that Yukari had drawn and stayed that way, a beam of death cutting my escape route as small circles of magic circled me.

Warily and tiredly I clenched my fist till it hurt. I wish I had a mirror now to see my pale, ashen face as I watch Yukari look down at me, a princess toying with a new toy of hers and it hurt.

Oh, it hurt… it tore at my heart, tore at me in ways I could not imagine…

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I recalled how my body screamed in pain when I was torn apart by Remilia, her tiny body smashing into mine and almost cleanly went through me.

But she had not… she had, adored me…

The past me… who I WAS not who I am now…

Infatuated she still is but… who knows? I am forever chasing the shadow of myself, seeing myself in what was once my shoes… Staring at the sky, the people and the places I KNEW but not known…

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To Remilia, I was the one who had betrayed her but the person that she had loved. I could not… I could not return that love even though I knew her pain. It tore through me too… not as much as this pain, fresh and raw as I tried every means possible not to be torn apart by Yukari…

This… is different.

I had not returned Remilia's love… not in the way she expected me to return… but for Yukari and perhaps for Marisa…

Yes, I had returned that love… I had once liked or even loved her…

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As family?

As friends?

I do not know… but what I knew is… I loved her once, Yakumo Yukari… the perpetrator of everything so far and the person that was attempting my life, I loved her.

And she too, loved me once.

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The silver arrow that is shot by the cupid… will cause love…

The Lead arrow that is shot by the cupid will cause hatred…

Has the silver arrow finally turned to a lead one?

Oh gods…

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[Oh spirits… hear my call…

Sooth the one that need to be soothed…

Let the words that should be said, be heard…

Let the ones that should be sheltered, sheltered…

Please… lend me your strength… just as I lend you mine…

Let my faith be your faith…

Just as I put faith in you… put faith in me…

Spirits… hear my humble and desperate plea!]

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Charging forward, I carefully weaved my way through the burst of danmaku that she fired at me through one of her gaps and as I rolled to the side to avoid another burst, I flung another amulet into the gap, calling out as I did so:

[SEAL!]

One gap down, three more to go…

Giving a yelp of pain when I came too close to comfort to a particular red beam, I shot a few needles at Yukari's border only to see them bounce off harmlessly.

It was as I expected, if I have to get to Yukari, normal needles won't do… no they WON'T

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Drawing more amulets, I prepared to fling them at Yukari when it was she who took the initiative.

Charging at me with her parasol, I blocked the first strike with my forearm and although it stung very much, proceeded to knock the parasol from her hand with a well aimed kick to her elbow, causing her to squeal a little.

Tumbling in the air, it was a miracle how I actually did it, whirling and diving in the air to avoid the danmaku bursts, laser beams and Yukari using her fan as a pseudo weapon, slicing the air menacingly as I rained blows upon blows on her barrier.

I wished I had my gohei here as it hurt me as much as it hurt her barrier to keep pounding at it.

Exchanging blows with one another, Yukari showed another side of her as she feebly tried hard to ward off my blows with no avail whatsoever.

She is clearly not suited for physical matches and…

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In the end, Yukari knocked me away from her and with a flick of her hands and her fan, fired thousands of small shurikens that came en masse, advancing on me.

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But I was not afraid, I will not allow myself to be afraid again and then… a small miracle happened once more in plain sight of Yukari and her face contorted with rage.

Carried to me by a small gust of wind, a gohei, Sanae's gohei in fact dropped neatly in front of me and I scrambled to catch it only to have it slip from between my fingers.

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[Ah! Thank you!]

My two companions, whom I had conveniently neglected came to my rescue as their little wings strained as they brought me the gohei. Fluttering up to my shoulders, they sat confidently on my shoulders and provided the encouragement and warmth I so desperately wanted now.

[… Thank you, Sanae…]

It must be Sanae's gohei… no one could even know where I was… and it was brought by the wind, she is a wind priestess after all… Thank gods… Sanae… Sanae is behind me…

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As I gripped tightly on her gohei, I could visualize her determined smile as she nodded and backed away from me. She is putting it in my hands and is lending me support by borrowing her gohei to me.

[Yukari!]

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With my gohei at hand, I have one more trick up my sleeve and as I weaved my way closer towards Yukari, avoiding the shurikens even as they tore at the ends of my clothes, I cried out as she went within my range; following which I clenched my hands tightly and spun myself once around as I declared my spell.

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[Treasure sign: Hopping Yin-yang orbs!]

A pair of yingyang orbs circled around me for an instant before dropping down and striking Yukari's border. With every successful hit, the orbs rolled around; denting her border even more before being repelled by a burst of danmaku by Yukari.

But that was just the beginning of my comeback on Yukari… My body moved by instinct and I masterfully struck the yinyang orbs back at her with my gohei.

I could control the orbs to some extent but with my gohei it was Childs play to repeatedly maneuver them to strike Yukari's border with those orbs and certainly they are working as Yukari seemed none too pleased with the assault and she even squirmed a little as cracks certainly appeared again on her border.

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[yip!]

Giving a small cry like a dog, the border finally broke and with that the end of another spellcard. I had taken the initiative and had came out of it victorious.

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Once more at a stalemate, we squared off in the air, Yukari still sitting on the thin, silver border of hers as we glared at one another. We knew that we had came too far to calmly talk it over and I knew that with very much bitterness and resentment that it had came down to this…

Yukari's face was a tad pale and she seemed a little uncertain as she squinted cautiously at me. My yingyang orbs were circling around me still and I found that the roles had reversed. I was the one who had just a slight advantage and I took it, perhaps… my previous intuition might be wrong.

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[Yukari… c-can we talk this over… I, I don't want to keep doing this…]

[… I wonder at that…]

[Eh?]

[I wonder at that… Reimu… … Reimu, Reimu… Reimu…]

[… is there something wrong?]

[No, you're being too polite with me… Reimu, Reimu… I wonder… are you, really… Reimu…]

[Eh…?]

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[Reimu?

[are you… Hakurei Reimu… at all?]

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[Koa…]

[Yes, Patchouli-sama…]

Turning to look at my familiar, the succubus, Koakuma, I told her to watch herself before I gave her my command.

[Please, find Alice… and give her this…]

[… Yes, Patchouli-sama.]

There was a hint of jealousy in her eyes as she took off, fluttering her small black wings as she descended the steps. Turning back, I pushed the glasses up the bride of my nose as I studied the situation in front of me.

Beside me, the Half-Youkai, Kamishirasawa was scrutinizing yet another scroll of hers while the Lunarian Brain, Yagokoro was directing yet another strategic positioning of the troops as Sakuya and the Lunar Rabbit continued holding their positions.

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[Patchouli-san!]

Catching my eye, Kamishirasawa urged me to come over and she pointed to a particular segment in the scroll that she had unearthed.

[Here, it states that the gap… the gap youkai was sighted during the formation of the Hakurei border…]

[We know that, Miss Kamishirasawa…]

[Yes, but this further details the process of the formation. It seems that various gaps were sighted around the border of Gensokyo. This indicated that without the gap youkai, the formation was not possible. Look! It's even cited here! 'numerous gaps appeared around the region and from them, a red tide slowly enveloped the earth'. My Ancestors did record this down.]

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[… a red tide? Like… perhaps, what is happening now is the formation of another border?]

[I would not want to base my credibility on this single report but I will dig deeper into my archives…]

[… but… is it not death that creeps upon us so?]

[Yes, but… to her, who know what she is thinking…]

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[True enough, Miss Kamishirasawa… we would not be able to fathom her ideal world is… perhaps it is one filled with death…]

[Patchouli-san!]

My words were perhaps too harsh and it immediately revoked a response from her but I shook my head, explaining as I did so.

[We will never begin to look at her perspective… for an elder youkai like her… death might be as real to her as living… a miniature garden of death… do you realize that we too… are living in a miniature garden? Gensokyo is… her realm as well.]

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My words, profound as they are did not faze her.

[I know that… we all, instinctively know that… she toys with us… we know that but we do not admit it as we are proud… All the happenings… all the disasters… all the blessings… came from her hands. We were her experiments… her way of whiling away time… I had suspected it for so long but I never truly believed in it.]

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I had to control my actions as I fear I was too startled to act rationally.

[D-Do you mean my suspicions were accurate?]

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[… I do not… want to stake my credibility… but… maybe… that's the truth among all truths…]

[… Does the Hakurei library hold any clues to… her and this incident?]

[Unfortunately, it prevents all youkai from entering… Perhaps Yagokoro-san could…]

Her voice slowly drifted off as she wilted in the cold hard glare of the Lunarian, who had her fist clenched and lip pursed. The realism of our current situation revived itself again and I turned towards her. It was like waking from an illusion as a brief moment before, talking to Kamishirasawa I was inclined to believe, to hope that it was just another day at the Library and she was the one laying down her discoveries in front of me.

Discoveries of who and what is Yakumo Yukari… the big enigma in Gensokyo.

She had a hand in us being here… and the survival of Gensokyo…

So why was she willing to destroy it?

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[Patchouli.]

[…]

Acknowledging her call, I placed down my book and stared evenly at her. I had faced death countless times and her cold, dark stare was a part of my life and I did not flinch even as slammed another hand on her table.

[I request the immediate return of Captain Momizi and her white wolf guard to aid Reisen and Sakuya. Without them, the front line would undoubtedly be overwhelmed… in due course.]

[… I have faith in Sakuya's abilities… if we give up that location now. We might never gain it back.]

Referring to the forest of magic, I inwardly swallowed with nervousness at the prospects of not locating her and losing a majority of the White wolf guards. As Yagokoro has explained earlier, it was pretty much suicidal if we sent our best bunch of defenders out on a mission when the front line is in danger of collapsing at any moment.

Once the line is lost, it would be a simple task to overwhelm the rest of the positions…

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[No. we can afford to lose that location if it means preserving the line. I would rather have the whole line intact than to preserve an escape route or using that route as means to launch a new offensive. If the front is not holding up; we would not even get a chance to launch any offensive…]

Her silver eyes stared at me and I flinched a little at the reason of her words. It was true that if the frontline collapses there is no return for us, we would not be able to concentrate our forces and be forced to scatter to keep the invaders.

One thing I must note is that the skepticism of whether the invasion would taken place initially was gone and she had to grudgingly started issue quick, decisive placement of troops that had stemmed the tide so far.

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[I… agree with your deductions…]

[… and you are still not willing to move the troops?]

[… Just, a while more… and I'll send them back to their posts… if they locate her…]

[… all this, just for a friend. If the campaign falls… it is due to this friendship of yours.]

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Looking away from her steel-like gaze, I had confirmed her worst suspicions and she shook her head, the disappointment evident in her voice

[Hang in there, Udongein… Just… hang on…]

Furrowing her brows, she rubbed her chin before shooting a shaft of arrow in their direction.

[Esoterica: Astronomical Entombing]

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Author's Notes: R&R as usual, it will get pretty hectic in the story from now on