Steward Of Paradise At Work

by Tall-Gothic-Guy

I didn't come here to meet shrine maidens or monsters. I didn't come here to erect a cross. No one even told me about magic being a thing here. Actually, I didn't expect myself to be here at all. I was simply chasing a woman who created eye portals. But it beats being a runaway thief. I just wish I knew sooner, that this place will never give me a break, not even God...Bring it on.

23. Holy Genesis

My…….….

….….….….….….

….….….….….fucking….….….

….….….….

….….….….….….….shit….….….!

My….….….….….fucking….….….….….….head….….….….

Hell truly exists. He wasn't able to assess that at the first horrible wake up years ago, but now, he's considering the existence of real suffering.

Fuck…..you….….

….….….fuck…..all….….you….….

….….….who made me drink….….!?

…who the fuck made me drink!?

A 100 ton Suika dive-bombing his head might have happened last night. Or maybe he was made to bench-press the big girl, Yuugi, and had her ass landing on his head when he slipped. If it had, why was he still alive? As enduring as he is, his skull could not have survived the weight. Was it Yukari again?

….….why the hell….….isn't….….muscle….strong enough for this….….!?

If the brain was considered a muscle, he wished he could have hardened it along with his skull. There was no way he could headbutt somebody with some sense of rationality lingering for several seconds, especially in a rage. Every pain is numbed in such a state and come back in the aftermath.

…aaaaaaggghhhhh…..!

But there was no way this horror could be held back in a rage. It might be possible that rage could fry his brain cells while his entire brain was deteriorating.

Who the fuck put me up at that drinking bullshit last night!?

If there is any escape to this hell…

I'm….so….gonna….regret this!

….he'll have to go through another one.

Healing flames in a single palm, he aimed it at his ear and slap! The flames slipped into his ear, slipping into the minuscular passages, and entering the suffering zone.

[….aaarrrgghhhhhhkk….!]

He ultimately regretted doing it, as a ladleful of magma was dumped into his brain. His constitution was so much more fragile in his head.

…agh….fuuuuuuck yoooooouuuuuu….!

Being stubborn as the hard-ass motherfucker he calls himself, he did his best to force himself through the pain…

Gah!

He stopped.

I can't do it! It hurts too badly…!

Losing brain cells to a hangover of all things would be the greatest regret he'll ever make as a human being.

Fuck everybody who drinks! Seriously, fuck all of you! Especially myself!

Somebody gimme water…..! Please….!

[Dude?] The sound of a sliding door opened.

[Hgk!] The thud of the door was horribly painful than he thought possible for such a small sound.

"Oh, man, look at ya. Should'a known better than to drink stuff outta an Oni's hands. That shit's stronger than our stuff-ze."

Whoever this was talking, probably Marisa, he was thankful that her voice was being soft. He'll promise to not be a dick to her when she gets a hangover while he returns to being the responsible person after a night's party.

[….help….] He groaned, hand held out for something he could consume to get the pain gone. [….water, please…..]

"Actually, I got somethin' for ya." He heard soft taps of socked feet coming close, and then a whishing sound of fabric resting next to him before he felt his head being rested up and placed on something soft and lovely instead of the hard floor he was resting on. "Open up."

He complied, and a lip of a bottle slipped into his open mouth, hitting his teeth, and he tasted bitter liquid pour down into his tongue. He had the impulse to choke and cough, especially when it tasted so much like brandy mixed with salted cucumber, but he reminded himself that it just might help him so he resisted and swallowed it.

He belched, and immediately regretted it.

Felt like I just ate a wet dog…that just died…while covered with shit…after being vomited out of a dead whale…..after being infected by bacteria….that came from shit….agh…..I wanna barf….

The lingering taste of the horrid liquid in his mouth didn't help either.

"Damn, ya really don't drink, do ya?" The girl commented, making him wince and crinkle his face in pain. "Does it come with being a dancer an' shit?"

[…..jus' lemme lie down here…] He croaked, barely audible for Marisa to hear. She leaned down to listen clearly. […I wasn't going for a hangover in the first place….!]

"Oh…" The close proximity of her voice to his ear did not help him. It made him twitch and growl deeply. She immediately shot her spine upright, "Whoops, sorry. So this wasn't yer first time, huh?"

That cherry was popped three years ago!

He swore that he'll never take any beer again after the first time, especially when he woke up with a broken arm and a figuratively shattered head. This time, he came out lightly. And he was thankful, at least he didn't wake up with a broken leg along with a shattered head. Who knows how he'll react to it, especially when he was the most invested in running.

Moments pass, and he suddenly realized that the ache on his head was dulled. It was there, but it got to the point of being bearable.

….This never happened before….….what'd I drink?

His eyes squinted, struggling to see, and immediately regretted it. He was inside a room, one that didn't have his tent, and the windows were blasting at full-force with light. Even though none of the beams were hitting him, just staring at them was enough to make him consider suicide.

….and I'm suddenly a vampire….

He'll have to pay some respects soon to the Scarlet Family later. He now feels their pain.

Since he couldn't open his eyes, he'll just have to settle with just talking. […what was that stuff?]

"Oh, looks like its settling in for ya. Just some stuff I brewed up for the occasion last night, in case I end up in yer situation."

A hangover cure, lucky me. Why didn't they sell that shit Outside?

[Up…up.]

He tried to raise himself up, and felt the symptoms of a really hot-headed fever. Lightheadedness, a water jar sensation of the head that hurts if he swung it around too much, and he felt weak in body structure. He slumped back to the person's lap.

[Pain….reliever…]

"Yep." Marisa confirmed, rubbing his temples halfheartedly with her fingers. "Doesn't take away all of it, really. Just the pain."

He rubbed his eyes, feeling absurd amounts of sand in them, and squinted his eyes open. At least in a direction without any source of light coming from it, he could see. It was blurry but it'll settle in a few minutes, probably. [Whatever….!]

He twisted around, ending up on his front on the floor, and tried to rise up. [Get me somewhere…..with some water…river or some faucet…or maybe a well…..just get me there so I could get washed up….just hurry up!]

"Alright….but yer warming up the water yerself. Ya got fires anyway."

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Vomiting….horrible, absolutely horrible. I hate everything. I hate everybody. And I hate my own stomach, and I think the feeling's mutual. I think there were, like, seven vomits before I was able to hold it in. If there was ever a time that people burned a pile of shit….well, I just burned a pile of barf behind a bush just to clean it. Actual genius, eh?

But I managed to reach the beauty zone. The water well.

The water was heaven, something to clash against the hell I was put through the moment my consciousness returned to life on this day.

The first thing I did once Marisa brought me to the well was to blow a flamethrower into it. Wells are made from underground water veins, super clean, and absolutely containing no life. It's no problem if I warm up the water before I pour it on me. Plus, it'll cool up after a while if anybody else wants a drink on the stuff.

That's why I asked Marisa to haul up the water for me. Not like I have the energy of Sober and Capable Eman within me, do I? I'm having a hangover, gets some exercise early in the morning, Marisa.

I did the business of pouring the stuff on me if Marisa wasn't really inclined. I got enough strength to do it myself. She only did one pour before she told me to do everything myself (drank some of the warm stuff in the process). Looks like she got tired after two long pulls of the rope.

I didn't complain and told her to go check up on Reimu. I'll just be here, getting myself washed up and regaining my sanity just behind the clearing of the shrine using the water well for a preemptive bath.

I wasn't moving for a single hour after Marisa left. Like hell I'll do it. There still wasn't any strength in me to pull up a bucket of water up from a deep hole of clean and delicious water warmed up by my flamethrower.

Sense of time was fucked, couldn't tell if a single hour passed or not. I don't even know what time it is, actually.

When I got enough strength, I got off my butt and opted to continue cleaning myself up, feeling a little off balance and a moment of pain due to me sloshing the water jar on my head in the process. I managed to haul up a bucket from the hole and washed my face with it. It was now cold, no surprise. An hour had already passed, likely.

After a decent face washing, I sink my hand into the bucket and let some heat go into it. My mental networks were scrambled, I think some wires were pulled off somewhere, because I could barely make my hand glow. But at least it's decently warm.

When I poured it into my head, it reminded me so much of my life as a little boy before I transferred to America. I used to boil hot water everyday and pour cold water into it to make it warm before I take a bath, and immediately regret putting too much cold water because it's no longer warm. We cannot afford hot water systems, and we kids slowly adapted to the cold waters overtime every morning.

But this fucking hangover just ruined my evolutionary quirk: It was cold, and it made me scream, but I got my sanity back, with a moment of absolute pain in the process because I literally screamed a headache into myself.

Dumbass.

Looks like that pain reliever was wearing off, as the headaches were coming back, but it was milder compared to waking up. I kept myself off the sensation by keeping on pulling the rope for more hauls. Not before I blow another flamethrower into it, of course. Good thing I kept the rope and bucket away before I did it, otherwise I would be having no way to get any water. Not like I could fly.

I might have made the water too hot, but not enough to scald me. I drowned myself in heaven as much as I could, paying for the sensation with hauling labor. I wish there was someone to do the pull and pour business for me. I really don't wanna move.

I wanna lie on the grass, with my clothes on (minus the shoes), letting them be wet in the process, and get poured on with delicious warm water while contemplating my life decisions. I'd like a hot shower, just for this situation, but I know that I'll never get something like that around here. Who the hell has it in this 1800s Japan setting, anyway? I wanna get cynical and judge the world, I wanna curse every drinker I had in mind with a middle finger and plot murder to every brewery owner that existed in the outside world.

Thank God for these clothes Jergo and Meiling made. I could just burn myself up with flames and they'll dry up immediately without risk of wardrobe malfunction, especially these long underwear I had on underneath. Useful too, I just pour myself with cold water and simply flame on to temper the temperature. Watching steam fly in the early morning is oddly interesting. I wanna what it looks like from afar. Does it look like a bonfire behind a bush, or some sort of smoke zone? White smoke is usually something good, probably because I see it the same color as vape.

I was satisfied enough with the bath that I sang Hallelujah by Bamboo while steaming the hell out of the damp state I was in. Feels like I'm in a sauna. Not like I've been in one before. I was never comfortable around flesh being exposed, even with private-covering towels, especially around men.

While playing with the water on the bucket like a kid, sat on the ground with my back against the well, Marisa came back as she crossed the path passed the clearing, leading to here and eventually to me. She was having a quirky smile as she saw me, "Enjoyin' yerself?"

[Maybe.] I replied, my voice back to normal, as even as ever. Thank god for the water hole here. [Would've loved it if it weren't for these fuckin' headaches. Not so bad…..but still hurts.] And I splashed myself with a handful of water from the bucket beside me. [Looks like you recovered quickly.]

"Yep!" She puffed up her chest, hands on her waist. "Got me 10 mugs and still kickin' in the early mornin'-da ze!"

…..fucking….hell, there's a guy with increased hearing over here! Could you please whisper!?

[Yer lying…..] I gathered a handful of water and splashed them on my face. As I lowered my hands, I looked at Marisa critically, [Ya said the stuff only blocks the pain. If yer still capable of yelling, I doubt ya even drank that much of it to get drunk anyway.]

"I drank 10, man!" Fucking hell, Marisa! Tone it down! "I could drink up to 25 and still be kickin' butts sober!"

[Twenty-fucking-five, get real.] I'm hearing nothing but bullshit around here, [You should be dead of liver poisoning before you could pull that off.]

"It's still true! Not like I drank that much in every occasion!"

This little…! [I SAID GET REAL!]

OW! MY FUCKING…..shit! Shouldn't have yelled!

Glaring back at her while I held my head from the sudden spike, I splashed some more water to my face. Letting some liquid drench my already-damp shirt and some slipping down inside my collar.

[Oy…the hell did I do last night?] I dreadfully hope I did not do anything stupid. I had an incident last time, it costed me an arm. This time, what the hell did I do? Just because I didn't get any broken bones, it doesn't mean everything turned out smoothly last night. [Last I remembered…..I think Suika was riding my back….everything else….eh….]

"Hehe…." She had a wide grin on, plopping herself atop the edge of the well beside my head. "….ya sure got some guts after drinkin' some'a Yuugi's stuff las' night, cuz shit just got even better afterwards!"

Oh fuck, please let it be alright….!

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

After ya drank the stuff whole, ya were frozen like ya got ice-boxed by Cirno!

Eh? Who's Cirno? Egh, ya don't wanna know.

Anyway! Ya were completely still, didn' move a single inch while holdin' Yuugi's dish. Everybody was kinda wonderin' what's wrong, even Yuugi's doesn't know what's up with ya. Then yer head just shoots up from the bowing and suddenly yer askin' for seconds-ze!

Aahahaha! Everybody's faces! So priceless ya should'a seen it! I bet nobody's ever seen a guy havin' got the guts to ask for more before!

Yuugi was more than happy ta give ya another one, and while ya took sips, yer like a different person!

You were stiff! Formal like some kinda samurai! Speakin' things I never heard ya said before, eloquent shit like 'misconception' and 'stupefacient' or some other shit! And yer aura was completely different too, almost like yer some kinda prince of some castle!

….oh, sorry. I should stop yellin', shouldn't I? Head's still a shit hole, right? Pretty sure Reimu ain't gonna be happy hearin' me either-da ze.

Okay, as I were sayin': ya were walkin' around, carryin' Yuugi's dish, sippin' it about, and talkin' to people. I was behind ya the whole time and boy, the words you say are from another world! I don't think anybody ever get ya or even took ya seriously, 'specially with that stiff formality going on.

But ya left some good impressions, bein' polite an' all. Can't believe ya pulled that off, 'specially with ya shit-faced like that. I noticed some slurrin' and a li'l wobble though, helped people know ya were out of it. Oh, and you talked to another outsider too. Name's Sumireko, a school student, she says. She was kinda excited to meet ya, but couldn't approach ya normally 'cuz ya were pissed. 'Stead, ya approached her and shook some hands.

You two really got it on, talkin' about some stuff only ya outsiders know. I think there was some science blah-blah goin' around the two of you. World problems and other shit included. Y'know, cynical shit. After that, ya kinda took pictures together with her cellphonamajig.

And ya looked like a smug asshole in that pic! Ha! Ha! I wish Sumireko could print out a copy so I could keep it with me-ze!

But when ya met Byakuren, you two really hit it off! Real friendly ya were to her, real gentleman. I never knew ya were that respectful before!

Pfft…! It's kinda hard to believe ya were drunk the whole time when ya two talked.

Who's she? Oh yeah, she's a Buddhist, head monk, I'll say. The girl got hair with a bit of purple at the top, then some brown goin' on in the middle, and then a li'l bit of yellow at the bottom. A real beaut of a woman, honestly speakin'. If yer gonna go to her temple, keep an eye out. Ever'body there aren't so kind to humans when Byakuren and her gang isn't lookin'-da ze.

Right, ya two were like a grandma and a grandson together, and ya were fawning over her! Sayin' stuff like her hair was beautiful and she had a very graceful poise! What, ya got a thing for old women and priestesses when yer drunk!?

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Yer lucky that I can't cast my fire right for the moment, because I could seriously blast your fucking ass off this place with hellfire if I could do it.

A punch to your calf is all you'll get. For now, that is. Something worse will come your way later.

[Get to the fucking point. What the hell did I do to her?]

"Alright! Alright!" She still chuckled as she rubbed her leg, "Anyway, as I were sayin': ya two were goin' off well, and she kinda got concerned about yer condition that night. And ya were like 'hey, it's fine, I could still be polite in such a horrid state'. And then ya walked away. I don't know what the hell was that about."

I just said that and simply walked away?

…the fuck?

[That's me when I'm drunk?]

She turned to me with a leer, "Apparently, yeah."

I brought my hand to my face, [Oh my go...]

Splashing some more water on me now. The red on my face is not gonna cool on its own! Fuuuuuuuck! Fucking…..shit! I gotta talk to that monk and apologize if I could!

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Movin' on.

After that, China suddenly got up to ya and offered ya another cuppa sake. Ya were, like, super aggressive and told her to back off. She kinda got offended and ranted some shit about courtesy or somethin'. Then ya said ya didn't care and threatened her with a fight if she persisted.

And then, ya both did just that! You two were beating the shit outta each other, messin' up the tables and scaring off everybody! You even offed Reimu down in the crossfire! Right now, she's havin' a black-eye in the shrine and said she'll get ya back for it when yer sober-ze!

….….….

….…….….….

….….….….….….….….

Okay, sorry. I was just kiddin'. Nothin' that extreme could'a happen with everybody around. Not like everybody there couldn't handle a punchy drunk outsider like you.

Ya an' Meiling did it formally, like a duel. Everybody kinda gave ya two a ring and Raiko was doing some background music for the atmosphere. Reimu was about ta break it up but I stopped her 'cuz it'll be a nice show for everybody. Took some convincin' but she allowed it. She'll break it up if everything was going far.

After that martial art bowing thing with the fist and palm together, ya two suddenly went into tumblin', flipping towards each other and throwin' wide kicks. Y'know what happened all throughout, man?

Ya never hit each other-ze!

It was more like ya two were dancin' more than anything. Ya'll were wide swingin' punches and kicks with too many openings, and couldn't even hit each other. Ya two were tryna hit each other but I think yer both expectin' the other to dodge it. Pretty sure ya two were just makin' it look interestin' for everybody.

Yukari said it was like…uh, 'kapu-ehra' or some shit. A kind of martial art mixin' dance and kicking techniques togetha'.

But whatever, it was awesome though. Gotta admit, graceful-like an' easy on the eyes. And ya added a lot of flipping and tumblin' too, made everythin' look better with 'em. But boy, ya were dancin'. Raiko kinda got yer body movin' 'cuz she got a catchy beat goin' on, and the Tsukumo girls were addin' some fight music in the background.

Oh boy, Sanae and Sumireko were goin' wild on each other as they watched ya dance. They kept exchanging terms only they know whenever ya did a particular dance technique or somethin'. Everybody else was laughin' their asses off 'cuz yer dancin' was so alien and rhythmic to the beat that it got too hilarious in the process.

And lemme tell ya, people were lovin' the show. It got so good that Reimu started scammin' the livin' shit out of the thing before the kappa could do it first! She got a bet goin' on and stuff! And everybody's bettin' hard-ze! A lot betted on you an' some got their money on China. An' while everybody was bettin', ya two were still going at it without any sign of stoppin'.

Oh man, Nitori was so sour! Ha ha ha ha! She was so fixed on ya two fightin' that she couldn't get the scam up first.

Anyway, when the folks started barkin' at the two of ya to start hittin' each other, that's when the shit happened. Ya two were now parryin' and punchin' now. And lemme tell ya, it was a light show-da ze. Yer hands started makin' rainbow fires while Meiling did hers too. There were colors burstin', man. Colorful shit was flyin' everywhere, and that beer got yer movements fluid and rather fancy. I guess shit from hell makes ya rather aggressive, eh?

Don't know how long it took but even though it looked like a tie, Meiling said she lost. Ya two barely hit each other, and ya only got her once in the leg. She got you in the gut a few times but ya didn't budge from it-ze.

After that, ya two just bowed to each other and became friends again. Then after that, Yuugi got up to ya for some congratulations, impressed by yer fightin'. Another serving of the good stuff, poured it down on her juice dish and gave it to ya.

Ya were like 'splendid' and guzzled down the fucking thing..! Ha! Ever'body's losin' their shit when yer at it.

And then ya passed out.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

…..….….….

…..….….….….….….

….….….….….….….….….….….….

My left eye is twitching.

[You're not lying, are you?]

"Of course! Since when have I ever lied!?"

[Okay, now you're lying to me.] I would'a splashed boiling water on ya but my bucket's empty, so you got lucky, Marisa. I threw the bucket into her hands, [Put some water on that, will ya?]

"Will do." And she chucks it into the hole, then she began tugging the rope up.

…..fucking hell. What a night….made a freakin' spectacle while shit-faced…and managed to wow the crowd in the process.

And I've been talking to people while doing so.….that's basically my worst fear. Talking to people while having no control over what to say. Shit I should not have said, things that should not be said, stuff that wasn't supposed to be known. Who knows what the fuck I've said, and I'm typically horrified of what people thought of what I said!

All the women I talked to, Byakuren, Sumireko, Meiling, and maybe a few others, I gotta apologize to them if I could.

And MOTHERFUCKER, I JUST FOUGHT DRUNK!

…..I hate myself. I really do. Forget the fact that everything went out alright, it's a MASSIVE crime to fight drunk! That Drunken Fist fighting style is barely practical! My boss taught me that and ingrained such a fucking thing into my trickmates and me! Oh…..fuuuuuuck…I have seriously offended my boss's honor…shiiiiiiiit.

Boss, if you could hear me, please forgive this fuckhead….the beer was too delicious that I didn't think about the aftereffects.

I swear…..I'll never get drunk again…..I'll just have to take minimal sips on that dish. Delicious, yeah, but it'll get into me without me noticing. I swear on this day to show restraint next time, and be polite as possible to decline offered sake.

And be cautious in Remilia's presence. That bitch could use my conscience against me just to get me to drink.

"Heads up!" And water was suddenly poured down on my back.

*WSSHHHHHHHH!*

[…Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh~~~~~~]

The warm water nearly made me orgasm. Did you heat this thing, Marisa? Thank you so much, friend. Oooooohhh yeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhh~~~~~~

Then the bucket ran out of water, no more soothing and warm goodness rushing down my back, "Yeah, ya like that, dude?"

[Soooo much….thank you, Marisa.] Here's a hand for you to shake, an expression of my gratitude.

"Anytime-ze!" She snapped her hand to mine (ow), and shook it, ignoring the dampness of it. "How's yer head?"

[Listening to you is still a headache.] I smirked. That nearly sounded like an insult, now that I think about it. [You're too loud.]

"Don't worry, it'll pass tomorrow…..maybe two days from now." What? "Shit from ogres are strong shit-ze."

[And yet, they made it delicious.] I groaned heavily, massaging my temples with one hand. [I gotta be careful next time.]

"Oh yeah, Eman…."

….what's with the shy intonation on your voice, Marisa?

I turned to her, squinting over the light poking through the clouds and asked, [Yeah?]

She placed a hand on her belly, a warm blush covering her face, eyes pointed away from me—

No….

No, not this. This couldn't be it.

Please no. Please no. Please no. Please no.

"Ya didn't just go to bed alone and uh…..ya kinda got up when I got ya to the room and ah…hehe…..ya were kinda..well….." The blush on her face was getting prominent, and her voice quality was getting softer and quieter... "Well, I...kinda wasn't against it and uh…..well…." She turned to me and smiled shyly. "And ya were really….oh boy….."

No….!

No! Not this! No, I did not! I did not! I did not just did it!

I FUCKING DID NOT! TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING!

"Yeah, I'm kinda with child now."

….….….

….….….….….….

….….….….….….….….….….….….

"PPPFFFFFTTTTHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!‼! YER FACE! YER FUCKING FACE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA!"

Just die, Marisa. Just fucking die and be gone from existence. Just fucking get the fuck out of my life now.

*PUSH!*

"WHOA!"

I pushed her into the well. Thanks to the size of the hole and her petite frame, she got in quite easily.

Then I slumped against the wall of the well, grabbing a handful of my wet shirt and wiping my eyes. Even if the wiping was enough, I still let it stay in contact to my face. I'm not showing anybody my face while I'm feeling like this.

….fucking…I can't believe I was actually crying…..why though…..was it too scary? Was it too traumatizing? Was it too damaging….!? I don't cry easily…I hardly do….especially if I got pranked. I only let my anger show…but this has actually cracked me open. Oh fuck….

I thought I had fucked someone while drunk. I thought I had given away my purity for…..

No…no…that wasn't funny.

That wasn't funny.

IT WAS NOT FUNNY.

"Geez! Dude!" I hear her voice rise up from the well, "Nearly scraped my head on the edges there-ze!" After a few grunts, I hear her hand lay against the edge, then a grunt of effort as she lifted herself up, "The hell were ya thinkin', huh!? I could—"

I grabbed her collar, yanked her out of the well, and slammed her back against the wet grass. Her hat flung off her head, her golden head was splayed across the wet ground, and she looked up to me with shock, "Dude…"

I grabbed her throat, gripping tightly, [Shut…up.] I hissed through gritted teeth, my tears easily slipping out of my sockets. I don't know if she could see them from the wetness of my face, [Don't….never…ever do that…..again….]

"Du-dude, calm down…it was just a joke—"

[SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! I WASN'T DONE TALKING!] This fucking headache! This fucking hangover! That fucking beer! THAT FUCKING NIGHT! [Didn't I already tell you!? Wasn't it just three fucking nights ago I told you about it!? Or did you just forget!? Didn't you know what the fuck happened to me!?]

Wide-eyed she was, and her bewilderment was still showing amidst her shock, "I-I don't know what you mean!? Which is it!?"

[I NEARLY GOT RAPED BY FOUR OF MY BEST FUCKING FRIENDS THREE YEARS AGO! HOW DO YOU THINK I VIEW SEX AND ONE NIGHT STANDS!? HUH!? TELL ME! HOW!?]

"Eman…! Stop….! Yer….choking me…! Can't breathe!"

[AaAaAaAaAaArRrRrRrRrRgGgGgGhHhHhH!‼] I grabbed her collar with both hands and threw her to the side, adrenaline and anger showing as the distance she reached was beyond a dozen feet as she tumbled over her head.

My fucking head…..it hurts…..there wasn't any noises going on…yet why does it sting….why does it feel like there was a hole in my fucking head…!? Aaaaaghhh…..!

Why am I still crying….!? Is it the pain!? Which one!? Is it the hangover…! Or…..this…..!?

Oh….god…

…I feel like I'm gonna be…..sick….

My stomach can't take all this…..!

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

With a swing of my bucket, the shit I vomited out is washed away from the grass. After that, I rinsed my mouth one more time before I spatted the water out.

It's still there in my mouth. Yuck…! Pffeh!

And there's still this fucking rock inside my skull.

I spitefully threw the bucket into the side of the well, making a loud crack of wood. Afterwards, I grabbed the lid of the well and slid it back on top, keeping it from being filled by rogue leaves, even with the roof atop it. Afterwards, I just slumped against it. My knees slammed against the wet grass, my side against the wall of the well, and I held my head.

It's still there. That fucking rock.

"….I'm sorry…."

I will not look you in the eye, Marisa. But I already know that you're there in front of me, kneeling on the grass.

"…that was actually…fucking stupid of me….I guess I went too far, huh?" Stop chuckling if you don't feel like laughing, Marisa. You're just embarrassing yourself in front of me. "…I just forgot, man…..I know that's a stupid excuse but….that's all I got….I'm sorry….I should'a just kept it to myself…."

I could hear your voice cracking, and it was getting softer word by word.

I growled bitterly, [I live abstinently, Marisa.] I told, toneless and cold. I was staring at absolutely nothing, not even her. I was too lost in my head, and this fucking headache is a bitch. [It's my obligation to remain a virgin until I'm married. My family have really high standards, and I despise senseless sex.]

I rested my hand on the rim of the well before I rested my head against it, kneading the temple with a free hand. This fucking rock….!

[Never do that again. Never joke about that again. You terrified me, Marisa.] I didn't open my eyes. I'm starting to hate the morning, and the sunlight is just mocking me. I hate everything. EVERYTHING. [If a person ends up having sex with a drunk person, whether willing or not, it's nothing but rape. That person doesn't have the ability to show proper consent, and I nearly thought you had betrayed me. I thought you became one of the people who hurt me!]

And I would have been so devastated. I nearly committed suicide out of trauma and guilt the first time, I don't know what could have happened if I had actually done the deed…..drunk.

[Even if you weren't against it, I would still have a problem, and I will blame nobody….nobody…..except you. You alone, and I will never let it go. You are supposed to be my friend. Your job was to stop me, prevent me from doing anything stupid, because nothing good ever happens when people get drunk. Nothing. I was not myself last night and you know that!]

And then my body self-immolated. The damp state of my clothing is slowly dried off, and steam hissed out everywhere around my person, especially at the opening of my clothes.

That has been my job ever since high school, and it is to control every bad situation from ever becoming worse. And I was never afraid to resort to violence if I have to. Personal space intrusion, drunken consent, and worse of all; brawls. My friends and I always talk and agree on things before we get drunk, especially on things that I would let happen and things that should not. I was their designated driver, all the fucking time, and it's my sole duty to watch over the well-being of my friends.

If even one thing happens to my friends while they were piss-drunk, it all falls to me because it was supposed to be my job to prevent shit like that from happening. I never failed that rule before, and I have made sure I'll never will. Ever.

If I was the victim of the intoxication, I put all of my trust to my friends to put me down before things get worse for me. What happened to me at the first time of negligence and 'experimentation' taught them a lesson…and it should not happen again. I'm not left-handed, and it was hell for me as a right-handed for the next 3 months after that.

When I felt myself beginning to sweat, I finally shut off the flames, and the morning cool flowed into me, clashing against the heat on the ground I knelt on. I opened my eyes and I see that I didn't lit my arm on fire, because it could have charred the lid of the well it rested on.

I hate the sun, and I hate the morning.

With a grunt, and a slosh on the water jar on my head, giving me a sweet moment of migraine, I shakily stood up to my feet from the ground. My balance was off for a moment, but once I got my footing, I approached Marisa, who knelt on the ground, gaze downwards, and I could see tears running down her face.

Without words, I grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her up to her feet, making her yelp. I quickly mashed her face to my chest and crushed her there with my arms around her head. [This is payback, you bitch.] I muttered.

She didn't protest or squirm, she let herself be crushed, and wrapped her arms around my waist. The sobs and hiccups she let out indicated only one thing, and I let her have it. She feels bad, and I know that. She needed to be comforted, so do I. This is all I could do to give ourselves peace from that bullshit earlier.

I patted the back of her head gently, just to console her.

I am not a moron. I know that it was accidental and purely unintentional, even harmless, but even I couldn't stop myself from being mad about it. Because how else would she know it was wrong to do so otherwise? I need to be mad, to be able to say things I couldn't say in a placid state in order to make things clear as well as emphasize it, then I will try to be forgiving.

Right now, I am willing to be forgiving.

If my mind is to be accounted, my brain cannot settle to hold a grudge against a friend who feels guilty. Or maybe that's just my Christian side showing….

….don't know….don't care.

I just don't want any more losses. I gave up everything when I left my own home, the second time when I left Doc's home. In this fucking place, there will be no third time. I'll make sure of that. Because there will be no one else to go back to, except God.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

"Hows yer head?"

[…stable. Still don't feel like moving much.]

"Then how come ya fixed up the yard?"

Oy…

[Obligations….well, that, and I just don't wanna get pulled into work right after I just sat down. I just don't want Reimu to work me like this, I just gotta do a little something so she'll have little to work on once she wakes up.]

"Really? 'Little something'?"

I smirked, [Y'know what I mean….] It was a severe understatement, yes, but who gives a fuck since I'm too used to using it whenever I did some hard work? ['Sides, ya helped me. It's all good. We can use it as a good argument for Reimu to work….alone.]

She chuckled heartily, though not like the way she usually does. "Good one-ze."

I chuckled too, rolling my head to rest the cheek on the kotatsu surface. Daaaaamn, lightheadedness and small aches on the center of the skull could still kill ya, even if the pain had lessened. I gotta change my clothes. These threads were still around for, I don't know, 3 fuckin' days? They're cool wear and very practical, yeah, but I still get the psychological reflex that this thing needs to be cleaned up.

Water and fire ain't enough to wash off all this stink of sweat, blood, beer, and probably barf. There's a reason bar soap exists. I just gotta borrow Reimu's laundry stash when I get the chance, but big boy here gotta rest his head first. Headaches will make a poor performance, just like when I cleaned up half the backyard. I barely did anything except hold up a sack while Marisa throws trash and bottles in it. Could'a done more work than that but seriously, I felt like shit the entire time to even care, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

….sigh.

I closed my eyes, crumpling my hair (it's still silky, what the fuck?), [This is disappointing.]

"Hm?"

[What day is it, actually?]

"Sunday. What about today?"

Motherfucker. [….As a Christian, I'm supposed to be attending the Sabbath on this particular day.]

"Sabbath?" She parroted questioningly, "What's that supposed to be?"

[It's a day of rest and prayer for us. In this day, you're not supposed to work, and should be listening to the sermons.] I rapped my fingernails on the table, scowling, […but since there is no church, no priest, and no other attendees except me, I have all leeway to begin my prayin' at whatever time I like….I just need to be feel a little bit better before I do. Coming to my God with a motherfucking headache because I was drinking last night is very unsightly. It'd be a shameful sight, girl.]

I groaned lightly.

[I just hope I don't procrastinate. Doing it at night is okay but I just gotta make sure I don't go past midnight without actually going there to the Place of Worship.]

"Heeeeh," You sound impressed, Marisa. "Ya sure got a nice devotion to yer religion there, bud." She chuckled, "Much more than Reimu, hehe. For how long, eh?"

Time for a storytellin', then. [Wasn't really devout before. Only did it out of obligation, no sincerity when I was younger, like 12. I wanted any excuse not to go, whether rain or just forgetting about it. Over time as I grow up, I slowly got serious about it.] America gave me a big reason to do so. [Then after I became a thug, it's now an absolute duty for me, with full sincerity and all. The things I did took a toll on my sanity, my conscience was being a bitch to me that time. Praying to God kinda elevates the pain, but the guilt was killing me though; you ask forgiveness only to continue sinning again. It's stupid, I know. That's why I wanted out of the street life. I wanted it to stop.]

"And then ya found Yukari, to whisk ya outta the gutter, eh?"

Good follow-up, girl.

[In actuality, she found me first but you're not wrong either way.] I smiled a little, remembering the release of the street life.

It wasn't actually Yukari. No, absolutely not. It was Doc. Yukari simply gave me the chance for change, but Doc made me ready for it with a time of repose in his house with his wife and future kiddo. He defanged me from my thuggish and thieving habits, and made me a new man, ready to be accepted into normal society. God bless him.

"And…how's it goin' for ya?"

Your friendly tone of voice is making me feel so much better, Marisa. Thank you.

[Not much different but….it's softer now. At least I get to know the people I've fought and beaten up, and I get to live under a roof too. I get to sleep in a bed, make friends again, shake hands,] I opened my eyes and smiled, facing the yellowy-greeny figure of Marisa due to my eyesight still not fixing itself. […beat up somebody for absolutely no reason than for the hell of it.]

We got a laugh outta that. The last one was specifically there for the both of us, and I'm glad that Marisa's into it.

[Aaaand…] I raised up a hand from the elbow and snapped my fingers, making a little candlelight, […as a bonus, I finally have magic powers.]

She smiled grimly, "But the shit ya go through to get 'em…."

I chuckled with a snort, [Or maybe things just got even worse for me here instead. Since coming here, I got attacked by a maid, got possessed by six demons and the devil, nearly got blasted to death by a cute li'l bat, just died, and I got kidnapped to cook for somebody else's shit. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I just made things worse for me here just by being here.]

And she laughed at that, so did I, but much more mirthfully. Another Eman epic-fail drawing a successful laugh outta somebody.

Things are really gonna get horrible for me here, much worse because there's going to be a supernatural upgrade in all the shit I'll have to go through in this life. Then again, what else is new? Not like it's any different from Outside.

The wonderful upside amidst it all is that I'm not alone. I've got people to go back to. The majority of my street life was me being alone and on my own, never trusting anyone and finding no reason to like anybody. It took long before I found Doc to ease me up.

[Marisa.]

"Yeah?"

I splayed my right arm on the table towards her, palm upwards and open. [Gimme yer hand for a bit.]

"Um, why?"

[Don't ask. Just do it.] I snapped my fingers twice and goaded it forward. Holy shit, I'm treating her hand like a dog, snapping fingers and everything.

"Ooookay?" Then her tiny hand is placed atop my open palm. If I didn't knew any better, I could'a thought it was Flandre. Since the kiddo's growth, she got quite the improvement on certain areas on her body, especially height.

Now lemme give you everybody's favorite hand massage, Marisa. Just thank the morons that had me massage everybody's fucking backs in every practice break that I get to have such strong fingers that allowed me to ledge-hang for long periods of time. Since there is no ledge to hang on to, I can use my strong fingers to aim at specific points on the palm that actually feels good if you know how to press them.

Okay, spidy fingers are doing their work once again, include some finger point pinching, boys. We're gonna be tucking this girl to bed.

Name one fucking person who has not. Even the most stiff-backed moron I've dealt with had slept sitting up that I didn't even notice that he was out until I noticed he wasn't answering any questions I asked.

And that moron happened to be my tricker boss (whoops), and that guy could last up to two fucking hours in a massage parlor just so he could feel every sensation of heaven before he was forced to sleep. Sorry for calling you a moron, boss. I just had enough of massaging everybody's shit all the fucking time, see. And you called me for the job just once, and I felt honored. You acknowledged my skill when you go to places that had skilled and trained hands, even though it had nothing to do with tricking.

….I do admit that it made my fingers flexible as well. Useful for flips and tumbles when you have to use your hands.

I guess that's one of the positives in being forced into labor.

"M~m~n~n~"

And it shows, Marisa's already falling under my spell. The glassy eyes and the melting face, wow. And I'm only using one hand for her palm, nobody could turn to jelly this easily. You a lightweight or something, Marisa? I don't see seasoned fighters as such. Aren't ya supposed to be number 2 in the human scale of power?

"Aaaahhhh…man, I could sleep to this-ze."

Nonetheless, it was easy work.

[Go ahead. I'll join ya later in the sleep. Just spare me a few demons or monsters if ya could, especially if you're havin' nightmares.] Not that I'll tell you what I'll do to them. Ya just gotta see it for yourself, no guarantees if I'll spare you from becoming my victim as well, or even let you join in the fun.

She snickered, with a challenging grin on her face. And not in the playful way. "Like hell you'll find any before ya even got in-ze." That tone of voice was everything but humorous.

So dream demons are real, eh?

….perfect.

[If so, I'll just do you instead. I'll make you experience what every motherfucker in my dreams usually have to go through when they face me.] No hard feelings afterwards, 'kay? Just a dream, barely any harm.

"Oh yeah? What makes ya think yer mind's any more messed up than mine to make up some fucked-up shit to kill ya in ways ya never seen?"

Them's fightin' words, Marisa, and I love it.

[In the perspective of every monster, zombie, ghoul, and demon in my dreams, I am the Monster.] If I was a sadistic murdering rapist before, Marisa, you would definitely see this fucked-up smile whenever my victim is 5 seconds away before suffering the worst moment of her life. [In the sleep, nothing is ever new.]

The predatory grin on her face to challenge my own sadistic one just announces that she was more than ready to take me on in the World of Dreams. Take this into another form of imagery, it's us two predators baring our teeth against each other, bringing out the threats before the eventual battle. "Bring it on, brah. I'll leave ya traumatized forevah." Then her head flopped over on the surface of the kotatsu.

I tilted my head questioningly, even shaking the hand I was holding to see if she was conscious.

She wasn't. [Wow.] That was actually fast. Considering what I've seen before, this couldn't be the most surprising feat before but still. That's impressive. Must'a been excited to kick my ass.

Then again, you'll see my beautiful killer's smile again once I join you.

With my other hand, I lifted up her head, placed the arm I currently held right below, and lowered her down on it, just so she could have a pillow. Not the best one (and it'll be a numbing sensation upon wakeup) but it'll do. She moved, placing her other arm below her head besides the current one before returning to sleep.

Patting her head and ruffling her soft hair a few times, I eventually crossed my arms on the table and rested my head on them. I'm seriously gonna wake up with paresthesia on my legs since I'll be dozing in a kneeling position on this kotatsu, but so will Marisa. Suffering together is better than suffering alone.

I then closed my eyes. I don't know how you perform instant-sleep, Marisa, but simply talking to you is actually exhausting, especially with this glass jar and tiny headache on my head. Mental processing works up the brain, and talking uses abdominal muscle. That's two things at once. And it's a cold morning, a sunless morning, a very white day due to the cloudy skies.

A really good day to lie down and rape some monsters.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

….….

…..….….….….….

…..….….….….….….….….….….….….….

….….….this place again…..….oh hey, I'm lucid….….gotta be careful….….too much sensation could wake me up…

…..let's see….….lemme write a letter O in my palm with a thumb….oh look, it's there…yep, I'm officially dreaming…..

…now then…..what can I do in this weird…..place…? I don't see anybody….….and I think I've been here before….maybe two nights ago…..oh hey, I remembered something in my dreams….didn't know that was possible…

…..still, can I have my victims please?

I heard a gasp. "You. Ho-how…...? The trap wasn't even finished!"

…..I also recognized that voice.

Like the monster I was, I turned around slowly, reveling with myself as a horror movie antagonist, and loving every single second.

Because I barely got started when I found her, and I'm going finish what I fucking started….and that is to fuck her over in ways I could not imagine. And to love every single second of it.

I growled…and it was not how it usually sounded. If I wanted to describe it….we don't have enough for the world vocabulary to do that. There is only sensation, sight, and sound in dreams. Words do not belong here…..the best one I have is just every big cats' growl packed into one…..and it sounded powerful.

…..it made the entire world of purple around me rumble…..

…let that show you who now owns this place…..Santa Hat….

"I thought that oni sake could knock you out for days…..! How are you still here…!?"

Be afraid…..be very afraid, Santa Hat…give me every incentive to enjoy you….be afraid…..do that first….

Whether by walking or floating, I was slowly approaching her, and even when she tried to back away, there wasn't any distance made. It's like she was moving in place, never making any distance at all while I slowly got closer and closer.

"LEAVE!"

And then she attacked me. Explosions, horrors, all known fuckeries found in the concept of sheep, whatever the fuck my head could think of just so I could commit suicide in this fucking world, she was desperately trying to kill me.

"WAKE UP ALREADY! GENSOKYO'S DREAM WORLD CANNOT BE TAKEN BY YOU!"

Although…

One thing does not change much in the dreams, and sometimes I don't have any power over it at all. It's rare for me to actually overcome it, and it can be considered my one weakness: I just need to die, and I'll be forced to wake up. That way, every demon in the dream is spared from the horrors.

"…..what…!? What's going on…!?"

….then again….not that often I die in my dreams…the world's my bitch…and quite possibly, I could still count the number of times I died since learning Lucid Dreams….13 times…..19…?

Meh…..don't matter.

"Kyah!?"

I already got Santa Hat in my hands, and she has become my primary target since the first time I saw her. I have a very small collection of preferences, and I have never developed an interest for a specific monster in my dreams before. They usually come from real life, and the selected object of lust goes into the category. But this monster?

She's unique.

"How!? How did you—haaaaaggh!"

She's reaaalllly unique.

"Hagh! No! No! Please! Let me go! Let me—AAaaaaagh!" Never heard that kinda scream before, and I've only just started ripping off her cute clothes.

This….woman…..is independent. In an almost-sentient, very human-like, and completely unordinary way, this woman talked to me, tried to kill me, and defended herself. Chief among them is assuming control over my dreams, did things that only I could ever do, even in my worst nightmares. The others hardly resist, and they never scream this much. They submit, usually. Even if they did fight back….it doesn't take much to get what I want. First of all, they never retaliated with cosmic ability that could only belong to me.

The ultimate indication of the anomaly she was. This woman is speaking in Japanese, and everybody else speaks in dollar. The language you speak the most is the dominant mind to take over the dream, and I'm still not accustomed to Yen yet. The last few days greeted me with a lotta people who knew English.

This woman is a Dream Demon. A Youkai of Dreams….A supreme catch…..

This is a Spiritual Being invading my head and attempting to rule over my dreams. Probably to give me nightmares every time I close my eyes. Drive me to insanity in the process…..eventually to suicide just to be free.

Don't know how this woman got into me within Holy Ground, especially when I'm sleeping within the bounds, but I'm giving this girl no reason to do what she wants. The owner of this world is me and me alone. Anybody else who tries to gain control over it deserved to be given something a little special.

I'll figure it out what that is as I go. It always works that way, and it's always fun.

"Let me go! Grrr….! Gah!" She resisted once again, and I relented to the frustration, grabbing ahold of both her wrists and slamming them against the….ground, if you wanna call it that. It's just a standing ocean of chaotic colors. Very mesmerizing to my eyes, I'll admit.

"Stop, please! Don't! Don't do this! Please!"

You aren't Marisa, but still, you deserve to see this smile. You're an intruder, and you don't belong here. Not only that, you denied me my fight against my friend.

I think there are many reasons for me to fuck you till you are either dead or kicked out of my world. This world is mine….mine…mine…mine….mine…..MINE!

Using a second pair of hands that were not my own, I grabbed ahold of what remained of her dress that maintained the modesty of her front and ripped it off very…..slowly….she squirmed so much, screamed so much, and I'm already about to burst. The struggles of her jerking body beneath my waist as I straddled her down…..Oh…fuck….and I didn't even do anything yet.

This was just the fucking start.

The modesty of her top is all gone, and I made short work of her skirt, simply ripping it out at a vicious motion that it was all gone in a single pull. It made her struggle, scream, and beg even more.

Such pale skin…..a shapely figure…and that face of yours….I admit it's a fine structure….and I've been wanting to see it turn into something….hopeless the sooner I saw that cocky smirk of yours the first time I saw you two nights ago.

The second pair of arms that had been imposing the wardrobe malfunction emerged from the brutal ocean we lied on from above her head and clamped down on her wrist, just below my own hold.

Gooood.

Without further ado, I instantly grabbed for her endowed chest, soaked in the bloodcurdling scream she let out into me, aimed for her entrance, and—

*GONG! GONG! GONG!*

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

*GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG!*

[GAHAH! WHAT THE HELL!?]
"WHAT THE!?"

WHO THE FUCK'S BANGING TWO FRYING PANS RIGHT NEXT TO MY FUCKING EARS!?

*GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG!*

[OW! STO—STOP! STOP IT! MY HEAD! OWW! AAAAHHH!]
"Fucking shit! Yukari! ENOUGH ALREADY!

SOMEBODY MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE! SOMEBODY! HELP US! MY HEAD'S GOING TO FUCKING EXPLODE! STOP HER NOW! PLEASE!

*GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG! GONG!*

[STOP! STOP IT NOW! HEY! STOP! PLEASE!]

"Only because you said 'please'."

…..….….

…my fucking—

"THE FUCK, YUKARI!?"

AAGH! WHY!? WHY DID YOU START YELLING, MARISA!? HANGOVER DUDE RIGHT HERE!

"Quiet down, Marisa. There are two hangovers here."

"Don't try to change the fuckin' subject here! The hell were ya doin' with the fuckin' fryin' pans, eh!?"

FUCKING…! STOP SHOUTING! MY HEAD'S ABOUT TO FUCKING EXPLODE!

"Why, to wake him up, of course. And with justified reasons for the use of kitchenware, but I wasn't expecting you to react so negatively. It's not like you're having a hangover, are you? Or maybe….was something interesting going on in your dreams?"

"Tha-that's none of yer business-ze! Get yer damn gaps outta my dreams, Yukari! My dreams are fully private, I'm not even allowin' you to intrude!"

STOP FUCKING SHOUTING OR I WILL BLAST YOUR FUCKING ASS! I'M FEELING A FUCKING NOSEBLEED!

"I would not dare venture into someone else's dreams, that would be far too intrusive, even for my standards."

"Okay, can I get a briefing on what the hell were ya doin' in my dreams having Doremy wrapped up in ribbons when I was supposed—"

[AAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHH!‼!‼]

GOLEM, BURN EVERYTHING TO SHIT AND SHUT EVERYBODY UP!

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

It's directly official that Eman wanted to literally die. If one of the deadly jellyfishes of the world actually went up and touched someone's head, he will no longer have to inquire the intensity of the pain since he might be facing through what could possibly be the equivalent brought from delicious alcohol and a thrown holy weapon.

The Wraith had risen out of Eman's screaming form on the floor, imposing on a big chunk of space of the room as a fiery behemoth that was merciful enough to not touch the ceiling with its horns but not merciful enough to leave simple 1st degree burns to anyone nearby. Apparently, its master had lost all patience to even consider the well-being of nearby important figures.

Hard to blame given the situation, Yukari sympathized. But such a being would be overkill, considering the place to call out the monstrosity of emotion. It would be a field day for the tengu to hear about it as the destruction of the Hakurei Shrine was wrought by the influence of alcohol (technically) and provoked from one of the most prominent humans in Gensokyo. And likely herself.

Dreading such a fate, the Youkai Sage summoned a barrier and blocked a molten fist from meeting Marisa's mug and causing an explosion from the collision. Turns out the master of the Wraith was not satisfied with one punch, so he commanded the embodiment of feral annoyance to lash out even more at the barrier like a savage. Still screaming bloody murder.

While there is no guarantee of death, the explosions are still not healthy for human ears. While Marisa is the habitual explosive-demolisher, she was never usually up close to the ones she makes, and being up against the wall while there were barriers protecting (enclosing) her is not helping at all. Only the Final Spark could match up to this magnitude of noise upon activation, and she doesn't blast it out every half-a-second.

The force of the blast was enough to level the shrine, but Eman was enclosed into one barrier, containing the destruction within and making him suffer the brunt of it all. The noises that is, a morning hangover is still murderous with a sensitive sense of hearing.

That applies to a cranky shrine maiden who just woke up with a blunt-axe-to-the-head headache due to a sudden explosion inside the shrine, which summoned an anvil to fall on that axe and bury it even further inside her brain, causing such cerebral torture that it could draw blood from the nose.

It's only attributed to the hardiness of the famed Shrine Maiden of Paradise that she was able to throw a gohei straight past the barrier and into Eman's forehead, one empty bottle of sake at Marisa's head that shattered, and a Hakurei Ying-Yang orb to Yukari's temple while her head was practically split open.

Shared suffering seemed like the easy solution to stop the violence, she thought. The reputation of Hakurei Reimu precedes her in the morning after indeed, her first instincts are always correct as everything immediately came to a stop.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Nearly half an hour had passed as the two religious figures writhed in agony on the floors while the two secular individual rubbed their bruises in varying degrees of elegance. Marisa's homebrewed elixir had been administered to Reimu, graciously releasing her from the torment. Eman's own headache lingered just for a single minute before it passed, but it throbbed at every heartbeat. Faint, but no less painful.

With a handkerchief offered, he wiped the bloody mess below his nose. Spatting out a few that dripped into his mouth, he rubbed the struck point at his forehead while he gave back the bloody cloth back to Yukari. Crawling towards a wall, he collapsed with his back against it and glared balefully at the Youkai sage.

[I'm going to ask on everyone's behalf, and I'm only going to ask once, and I don't want any bullshit answers. I want a straightforward, no-bullshit, non-cryptic—not even a fucking riddle of an answer.] He took a deep breath, clenched his fist, and finally asked, "What the fuck was that for?"

He internally winced as he realized he nearly sounded hypocritical. He had done the same thing to his friends before, but the end result was never that destructive.

"Very well, I'll comply with your wishes." Yukari hid the lower part of her face behind her fan, "It was a head-start….and a punishment. Today is a very special day, Eman, and I will be pitiful of you if you have forgotten what it is."

"It's Sunday, I am well-aware of that." He said, remembering the fact that he was currently having a hangover on a Sunday. This could've been punishment for the indiscretion but this is just too far, even for him.

"Besides the Sabbath day, the residues of holy energies scattered around Gensokyo have been congregating into the Church."

It took several seconds for Eman's mind to finally catch on to the words, [What did you say? There's a Church?]

She let out a long-suffering sigh, "I mean the person, not the building." She closed her fan and pointed it at him. "You are the only one in your religion, Eman. What do you think that means?"

His mind recalled the things she said prior, and his frown got even deeper. He looked up to her again, [Holy energies are seeping into me?]

"Correct, and today you will learn how to manipulate it. This occurrence will happen every Sunday, but this is an opportunity best taken while the day is young."

[Hold on hold on hold on hold on.] He held up a hand, incredulous, [What did this have to do with...uh, punishment? What am I being punished for?]

"I will tell you once you do what I say, now move away from the wall and step closer."

Really? He frowned incredulously at her once again, but nonetheless complied. The prospect of earning a new set of magic to control; holy magic absolutely intrigued him. It was enough to excite him as well.

Stood before her, he then asked, [What next?]

"First exercise," She placed one gloved finger against his forehead, the same place he was hit with the gohei. "You must cure your own headache."

Then a dagger is pierced into his head. The hangover returned at full-force.

He subsequently screamed, collapsing on the floor and clutching his head. At the snap of her fan as she unfurled it and waved air to her face with it, the screams are immediately silenced, suppressed from Marisa and Reimu ever hearing it as they watched it all happen.

"He-hey! The hell're you doin', Yukari!?" Marisa demanded.

"Training exercise, Marisa." The Sage answered over her shoulder with a simple smile, "It cannot be done without a bit of suffering to make the lesson stick."

"Bu-but don't you think he's had enough of that!?"

"Yukari, stop this now!" Reimu forced herself to stand up but disturbed equilibrium forced her to collapse back to the ground.

"Don't you worry, he will be healthy and stable as soon as he does what I say." She assured, which didn't convince the two by a margin.

[The fuck…!? Yukari…..! I'll fucking kill you for this….!] Eman growled, bloodshot eyes glaring straight into apathetic violet orbs.

"If you want it to stop, use your magic to relieve it."

[I did that already!] He snapped, wincing as the act made the headache spike, [It'll just fry my brains….!]

"I believe my instructions were unclear. Allow me to restate that," Yukari cleared her throat, "I didn't mean the use of your pyrokinetic ability, I mean you begin using hagiokinesis. Manipulate the holy energies stocked within you."

[How….!?] He hoarsely questioned, pained tears leaking out from his eyes. [I didn't even know I had it in the first place…!]

"The principle of magical manipulation extends to all elements, especially holy magic. You should feel, not think." Yukari informed, and Marisa subconsciously nodded in agreement as she remembered that lesson from Mima. "Tell me, what is the image of the core of your Pyrokinesis?"

[C-core…!?] He repeated, doing his best to lay all his attention towards her in the intents of diverting his focus from the horrible torture.

"The well of your power." She paraphrased, "The source of magic within your soul that supplies you the fires to wield and manipulate. What is the image you represent it as?"

The image of a dark basement illuminated by burning embers, smoldering coals, and roaring fires flashed into his mind. [Furnace…!]

"Hm….fascinating choice." She hummed, "Now listen carefully. Conjure in your mind what represents the most sanctified figure you have known in your life. To draw out the holy energies, recognize your chosen image as pure, hallowed, unblemished, wholesome, and blessed. But with your status as a Christian, you can supply the qualities of your God into the mix. It just might enhance the effectiveness. Once you finish these steps, you may then relieve yourself from your pain."

[G-gotcha.] Almost automatically, he put his hands together, as if in prayer, and created the image. It was easy to assume the Holy Spirit as the figure, but a shape was never in mind. A dove was too mainstream, a cross was in Jesus's area, a tree would not even make sense to him.

"Just to remind you, the healing capabilities of your fires are built from increasing the movement of the cells in your body that manage the regeneration of tissue, damaged flesh, and other complications. Deific healing is built on something different." Yukari informed, pondering carefully as she waved herself with her ornate fan. "If I were to suggest….draw the Hands That Heal. The same hands that made blind men see and awoken the sleeping from their temporary rest."

The blind could now see and the resting have risen from their bed.

The light in the darkness of man's eyes and the resurrection of the dead.

Just from Yukari's suggestion, Eman finally figured out what image it shall be. It did not need to be an inanimate object. It can be something moving and living, maybe even spiritual. He can even exchange the furnace with the golem if he wanted to. But now, he made his choice. He will have to handle the details first. The headache had lessened in intensity, and it was enough to make him concentrate.

A beautiful being, something universally mesmerizing, something that more than 99% of all humans can stare at and admire. A figure that loved everything and everyone in existence, a representation of God. The Holy Spirit has been genderless, but a 'she' should suffice as referring to the Holy Being as an 'It' would be too demeaning.

She can be humanoid, but the common details such as skin, clothing, hair, and physique should be omitted. The representation of True Beauty in the human perception is inevitably nonexistent, as there is always one who does not share the same view of beauty. Instead, She can be a silhouette, with robes similar to those that women in the Times of Jesus wore. A cowl and a long cloth that draped from the shoulders to hide the back and arms, similar to a hoodless cloak. Eman realized that the Holy Spirit was starting to become analogous to Mother Mary, but shrugged it off.

It's good enough.

A dark silhouette would be too off for a Holy Being, so he supplied the detail of beautiful colors scaling across Her robed form like the night sky littered with colorful planets and stars. Instead of the dark canvass that is the emptiness of space framing every constellation, he decided that there should be no such thing as darkness. Rather than black, it should be shaded with the colors of gas clouds: Red, green, pink, yellow, blue, the many others would share the glory of framing powerful beauty.

Eman marveled at the image he made, and concludes his judgment at his creation: You're beautiful.

The Holy Spirit was complete, Divinity in all of its glory. She knelt in nonexistent space and opened Her arms, ready to receive him into Her embrace.

For a moment, the headache seemed to have disappeared and he smiled. The tears in his eyes were no longer out of pain.

"Keep your eyes closed, Eman." Yukari advised softly, probably to not break his concentration. "Feel, not think."

Mentally nodding, he struggled to rise up from the ground. As he genuflected and remained still on his knee, his clasped hands slowly unraveled and slowly held them outwards, as if to receive, and the colorful spectacle of last night repeats itself.

His cupped hands ignited and, unlike the ones Marisa recognized him to create every time, the flames were multicolored, not just yellow. Within the center was a unique white, surrounded by an amalgamation of polychrome fires. Yukari speculated that he might be unaware of what he was holding but it was certain that he felt it.

And the room was starting to smell like incense.

Slowly, he drew the cupped flames close to his face and inhaled. The colorful flames seeped into his nostrils and open mouth, eliciting no discomfort response, only a calming sigh in each time. After four inhales and exhales, his head began to nod, then followed his upper body. His raised leg immediately placed itself in front of him and leant on it before he could collapse once again.

A low groan escaped him as his temple rested on his raised knee, his hands now forming a small cone in the confined position as the colored flames poked out of the opening. His hollow breathing was all that broke the silence, and it remained that way for a dozen seconds before he finally raised his head upright and opened his eyes that have seen mystical things.

[Hoo.] Just from that, it's very clear to the three that his hangover has been rectified. [That was something.]

He turned his eyes to the delirious Reimu, still in her white sleeping robes as she lay her head atop Marisa's lap, and concern immediately flashed in his eyes. Bringing his conical hands close, he blew air into the opening and the colorful flames slowly enlarged until his hands are spread widely. [That's good enough.]

With movements that defied his previous state, he sauntered towards the two human girls and knelt down beside Reimu, his cupped flames kept close to his chest. [Lift her head up a little, Marisa.]

"Uh, yeah. Sure." With hands placed behind the shrine maiden's head, she gently raised it upwards.

"Now, breathe this in." He neared the cupped flames close to her face, "It will relieve a million years of pain."

Reimu slightly got unnerved at the close proximity of the flames but a close-up of the myriad of colors was enough to mesmerize her. The smell of incense and hot water calmed her nerves as well. She breathed in through her nostrils and the fires seeped in for the granted entrance. Her nose became warm as an effect and the water jar in her head seemed to be dematerializing piece by piece. She released a comforted sigh at the wonderful sensation of release.

A second inhale, and the flames seeped into her mouth the sooner it opened, granting her the odd but warm sensation of her throat being fluffed by fire out of all things. But it wasn't bad, it even felt relaxing. She welcomed it over the headache that's trying to break through the hangover cure that Marisa had administered.

Forcing herself to the fourth rhythm of inhale and exhale the same way she watched Eman did without hurrying, she suddenly felt lightheaded, her equilibrium all but lost, and if her head wasn't lying down atop Marisa's lap, she would have collapsed to the ground in a thick heap. For several seconds she felt confused, mentally lost in all her senses. It was as if the warm fires had melted her brains into mush. Before she could help it, she groaned.

"Hehe," Marisa chuckled, raising her stare up to Eman. "Same thing ya did."

Eman nodded, similarly amused. The size of the fire in his hands have shrunk, more than half of it crawling through Reimu's brains to fix the micro-symptoms that constitute a hangover. He rested one forearm above his raised knee with the other resting atop, his hands still alit but with now smaller intensity, the white color much more prominent.

"How'd it feel?" She asked.

[Woozy.] He shrugged, [Kinda like my brain just got a massage and started slowing down due to how great it was. Then it came back to normal in a few seconds.]

Reimu's eyes were beginning to flutter, her original brain functions slowly reaching back to its original state.

"Can I get a whiff of it?" Marisa asked, eyes shining with childlike intrigue.

Eman nearly laughed at how that almost sounded like she was asking for a whiff of crack. [Later, girl.] He might have to start getting careful with these newfound powers when it comes to the addiction, and it's barely the first hour since its discovery.

"Oh man…." Reimu groaned with half-lidded, placing the back of her rather small and pale hand against her forehead. Eman marveled at how frail his master seemed to be outside her usual garb of red-white and usually lax attitude. Admittedly, it made him want to take care of her. He hadn't felt this way in a long time since meeting Christopher's wife with child. "That was weird."

Wearing a friendly smile, he asked, "How are you feeling? How is your head?"

She sighed, closing her eyes just for a few seconds before she revealed the healthy brown orbs once again and showed a slight but very winning smile, "Much better. Thanks for that."

He was pretty sure his heart perked up to the gratitude. "You're welcome." Nonchalantly, he held out a hand for her to take, while it was still lit with the prominently-white fires.

With equal nonchalance, Reimu took his hand, the palm of her smaller structure meeting the little fires on his far larger own and elicited no discomfort. The flames nearly felt like moving cotton to her, in fact. Bending her knees just slightly, she was slowly lifted up to her feet with a grunt of effort.

The shrine maiden reveled at how healthy she felt just by standing. She smiled childishly, "I never felt this better in days. What was that fire, Eman?" She asked, taking his hand into both her own and looking at the remains of the white flames that were slowly fading away.

Eman was doing his best not to blush from the contact, but his outward composure never fails to hold itself up whenever in this situation. "The typical description would be healing flames wrought from the Holy Spirit's power. Besides that, I don't know much else, even less about how."

Her smile stretched even wider, looking up to him. "Every morning after every party, give me one for my hangover. That's okay with you, right?"

He snorted, smiling an unamused smile, "Must you take advantage of me like that?"

"Why not?" She asked, "Aren't you supposed to be my property?"

A spike of irritation and embarrassment struck him. "I'm your housekeeper, Reimu. Calling me 'property' is very analogous to a slave. But first and foremost, I'm your friend. So of course, I would do so even without your asking."

"Great!" She then began to shake his hand vigorously. She might be taking the western vowing thing a bit too far. "Thank you for your considerations! Do good and I'll pray to the gods for your sakes."

"What the!?" Marisa wore a shocked face, placing a hand to her chest. "Did I just hear Reimu say 'thanks' and promise godly blessings through prayer? Did Cirno suddenly got intelligent and freeze New Hell into her new Queendom!?"

"Sh-shut up!" Reimu barked at her witchy friend, her familiar irate face now returned. "If anybody else has been doing it, they'd still get the same treatment!"

"What treatment? Calling them 'property'?" Marisa quirked her right eyebrow twice, "Never knew ya were into that-da ze."

"Marisa!"

"Should that have been a secret, Master? Do not worry, I'm the perfect confidant for such classifications." Eman asked in mock innocence, his teasing smile not so innocent.

"Do you two want something similar to a hangover? Because I got a ying-yang orb right next to my feet ready."

Hands were raised up in immediate surrender, fully aware of the pain a thick ball of marble could deliver to a human skull. "Alright, alright. Sorry."

"I beg your pardon." Eman apologized, lowering his hands and rubbing them together to remove the flames. Then he suddenly placed them on both Reimu's shoulders.

"Um, what are you doing?" Reimu asked.

His stare wandered around her robed form, from up to down, and repeated three times over the rather modest design before he focused on her face, which he lingered on for more than a few seconds.

"E-Eman?" She was slowly getting uncomfortable.

He inclined his head, released her shoulders and crossed his arms, smiling to her, "Apparently, with your hair let down and you outside your usual wear of red and white, you look rather lovely."

….….

"Whoooooooooooooooo!" Marisa hooted at the side. Yukari giggled behind him.

Reimu was far from amused, her face became red, and her eyes became wide as plates. Her speech fails her as her moving mouth failed to bring out a response. When she realized the kind of face she was making, she looked away and blushed even further, unable to meet eye contact. When her courtesy demanded it, she replied with a rather tiny voice, "Wha-what the heck are you saying ….."

"Oh mah gods! It's a fuckin' proposal!" And then the witch started squealing, "Yukari! Get Sanae! Le's get these two hitched-da ze!"

Flustered even further, Reimu rounded on Marisa, "Shut up, Marisa! It's not like that!"

Eman was composed enough to simply glare at the witch, but the act of scratching his head might have exposed a few things to any keen eye, such as Yukari. "Marisa, do not make me reconsider granting you your whiff of the flames."

"What you mean!? This is perfect! More than me or anybody else really, Reimu's really needin' an heiress for the next generation's shrine maiden! Girl's hardly gettin' any suitors-da ze!" Marisa told with a wide smile, "Now if ya'll 'scuse me, I gotta go an' see if Reimu's got any weddin' dresses in her room!" Then she bolted off.

"Hey! Don't you dare mess up my wardrobe!" Reimu was quick to react as she easily tackled the witch into the room. Mysteriously, the sliding door closed after them.

Acknowledging the happening as absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, he turned around and addressed Yukari, [A thank you is in order, but did ya really have to give me a fucking second headache?]

"How else will you know its effectiveness and earn a place in Reimu's shrine?" Yukari smiled innocently.

[More like you just added even more to my workload besides cleaning up the shit outside after every party.] He nodded to the backyard still unfinished from cleaning. He then held up his hands, palms upwards and lit up again the multicolored fires atop them. [But hey, new powers, right? Totally worth it.]

"If you know how to use it." She told, then reached forward to pluck a ball of light from his chest and into her fingers. "Do you know what this is, Eman?"

His hand at the place she plucked the fragment from, he leaned closer, [Besides it being a bright ball of light, not much else.] He answered, peering closely into the ball. He was slightly off-put by the fact that he wasn't being blinded by it at all.

"It's your Genesis." She then closed her fingers around it, hiding it from view inside her hand but its bright light breached through the gaps of her thin fingers. "Open your hand."

He complied, extending an open palm before her, and Yukari dropped the glowing fragment into the center. The contact between spiritual fragment and physical flesh created a sputtering burst of flame and blinding colors.

He yelped, staggering a few steps backwards as he slapped his lit hand until the flames encroached onwards to his shoulders and enveloped his entire form completely, especially his head. He struggled even further, slapping himself in several places as he tried to put it out, but later held still he realized the flames weren't eating his flesh by bits.

It was rather warm, and unlike being immolated by his own fire magic, it's not bearably hurtful. There wasn't the slightest sensation of pain at all, it felt like he was wearing cottony robes that constantly rippled and moved against his flesh (even underneath his clothing) without any source of external stimuli.

The movements of the flames were far odder. They swirled like an unrolling tongue at their ends as they rippled, some would roll inwards like steam from a warm coffee in the cold early morning. The feature that stood out was the speed of its movements, it was mesmerizingly slow. Combined with a mixture of colors that spanned throughout the entire spectrum and it is a sight to behold.

Yukari is not above admiring it. Even Youkai eyes have limited photoreceptors just like humans. Some animals were gifted to see colors different from the norm, just like the Mantis Shrimp. With a little tweak of her gaps and she could have more than 12 photoreceptors as well. Words fail her if she had any attempt to describe it, despite her years.

A hallowed counterpart of the Wraith. The Minister.

Don in the robes of a monastic monk with a cloak to hide his shoulders and head with a hood, the Minister stood before the Youkai sage, curiously examining himself in his birth in tandem with the curiosity of his master. Eman looked over his wide sleeves, flowing with the colors of blue, violet, and green. Both his hands glowed with a mixture of white and yellow. His robes swirled with orange, red, yellow, and a prominent violet. His rosary is seen through the menagerie of colors, and it glowed a thick white of silver, piercing through the flames and into Yukari's sights.

With a purpose, the Minister put his hands together in prayer, and he was gone.

Eman stood in his place, palms meeting together in front of his chest, his eyes wide at the surreal experience.

"Congratulations, Eman. You now wield the Fires of the Holy Spirit."

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

"This is blasphemous." I repeated, clenching and unclenching my fist. "The Holy Spirit is not an entity of war. Why should I even use Her fires as a weapon?"

"In my defense, She would not even think twice about defending you from your evil spirits. You are Her charge, it is within Her right to protect you."

"Well, yes, but in my hands…." Oy, how do I say this? "Can't She just move on her own for that? It is not as if she needed my permission, yes?"

She slapped her fan against her palm, "You are forgetting a few things, Eman." She told, eyeing me critically. "She's devoted to one thing, one thing alone, and that is you. And on another thing, She is part of the Holy Trinity. In Layman's terms, the Holy Ghost is God Himself."

…shit….….I forgot that.

"For the reason why you should manipulate Her flames, it's because She knows you need them. Any action on her part would violate the gift of freewill to man. In Gensokyo, this is hardly the first time something is used in a way it wasn't supposed to."

"Yeah!" I snapped my head towards Marisa sitting on a tree branch on the backyard (now fully cleaned up), "There's a god usin' sweet potatoes as danmaku-da ze!"

Whu….?

"Or rice and miracle fruit. There's even a rabbit using dango." Added Reimu, seated on the veranda as she sipped a cup of tea. "Seriously, they're just wasting food. It's disrespect for the farmers."

….really?

I contemplated using chairs as danmaku since my possessed self used them on Marisa but out of all things, food is used as ammunition?

You fuckin' serious, people of Gensokyo!? Are you all rich in the harvest around here that you could just throw it all away like that!?

[Sooooo…] I scratched my head, squinting over the thought. "It is legal to use consecrated fires as an offensive weapon?"

"If you want a clue on what the Holy Ghost is against, it is when you use Her power for the sake of self-gain and self-gratification." Yukari informed. "Which I am sure you oppose strongly, don't you?"

…..touché.

"I suppose an act of self-defense can serve as justification." I noted.

Yukari opened her fan and began fanning herself, "Good enough. Now," She pointed a finger towards the edge of the clearing, "Take aim and release a bullet of holy fire."

Will do.

Okay…Holy Spirit, excuse me as I use Your fires for this exercise.

I hold Her hand inside my head, take it to my forehead, receive her blessing and warmth from the touch, and I infuse that warmth into my physical hands. With a snap of my fingers, beee-auuuutiful fires lit up into my palms. And the sensation it makes on my palm….ah, man. Fluffy.

[Okay….] Couldn't stop my smile here. [Let's test you out.] Let's pick a tree here. Hm…I guess that one over there's good. Okay, open and close my hands, then we throw. [Hah!]

And away the double Holy fireballs go, streaming trails of swirling tongues in its flight and it struck the trunk of the tree. It stuck in place for a few seconds, then it dissipated.

Leaving no mark, just a clean tree trunk.

[Huh.] That was nearly anticlimactic, "Seems to be nonlethal."

"Not to Youkai though." Reimu pointed out. "Since holy fire has purifying properties, it could really burn them straight to the bone, but to humans, I don't think it'll even bother them. Pretty sure it'll hurt spiritual beings only."

"That can extend to gods too, but with less effectiveness." Yukari added. "It might empower them instead."

"But hey, ya can balance it though!" Marisa leaned forward on her branch, beaming down on the colorful fire residues in my hands, "Holy fires on the Youkai, magic fires on the humans! I think yer loaded for handin' out some hurt, dude!"

[Yeeaaah….] As much as I agree, I still can't help but think that this'll just make the Holy Spirit look bad. Hurting people using Her fires? C'mon. "Besides that, I wonder how a human would feel on the receiving end."

…Oh, I know a good test dummy for this. Hehe….

"Did ya think somethin' good, dude?"

Oh yeah, somethin' really good just came into mind. [Hell yeah, I did. Marisa, come down for a sec and take a hit from this, will ya?]

"Uh, what?" Marisa got taken aback by it. "Why me?"

[It'll be fine. Ya heard Reimu: nonlethal to humans, remember?] Girl, you should trust your bestest friend's words over mine. [C'mon, not like someone like you, experienced with years of danmaku combat, are scared of a single harmless bullet that couldn't even nick a fucking tree, are you?] Seriously, Marisa, just get on the fucking ground so I can see what it does to humans. It's not like I'm gonna blast you off the fucking earth with an asteroid or anything. That's reserved for Tuesday!

"Oh, 'course not! I'm the Ordinary Magician-ze! I ain't scared of no measly bullet!" That's the spirit! You swing your body sideways, slipping off the branch and performing a sideflip in midair before getting a clean land on the grass without so much as a bend on the knees. "Alright then, bring it!" You taunt with arms spread.

I'd say, that was rather impressive.

Holy Spirit, some holy fires if you don't mind? [Do not try to breathe this in, please?] This is a test, try to remember that. [On one. ONE!] Let fly, Holy Spirit!

Bam! Into her gut!

But she didn't budge an inch. She just stands there smiling, "Hah! And I didn't even feel anythin'!" No surprises there. "Yer gonna be down on the ground fastah if yer gonna be usin' holy against me-ze!"

[I believe in the Rule of Three.] Holy Spirit, loan me a little more, please? Thank you. [Here goes.] And I swing my right arm, throwing the first shot. After that, I spun around, transferring the fire in my left hand to my right, and pitched it as well towards the same place to Marisa's gut.

And she still standing fine. She takes off her big-ass witch hat and waves herself with it while yawning, "Haaaah, we can do this all day if ya like. But only for an hour, I gotta bother Alice after this."

I placed my fist to my lower lip; hmm. I could be missing something here.

"Forget it, Eman. It's not gonna change anything no matter how many times you do it. You might as well be dispelling impurity or misfortune out of her."

"No, no, Reimu, let him be. He seems to be figuring out something."

Good eye, Yukari. I'm having a little bit of a logic realization here. I'm processing a few facts from that hangover relief and its effects on the mind when ya whiff it in. It made my brain feel….loose, like relieved tension. I'm thinking that if I were to hit it on flesh, the muscle behind it would soften from its tension forcefully.

In the abdomen, very strong muscles reside there. Would probably take more than that to loosen it, especially to Marisa who talks more often than me and has decent body strength in her, despite how fucking tiny she looks.

If we target, let's say, the face, where there is more bone than muscle….maybe….

[I will target the face this time.] Another one, Holy Spirit. [Don't try to breathe it in, otherwise you'll just fall down. I already told ya what'll happen to your brain, a'right? You're supposed to be the test dummy for this.]

"Sure, sure."

You do not look convincing when your lower lip is covering your upper lip, maybe in preparation for a deep inhale.

You're loss, bitch. And try not to lose the hat.

I form my hands together like I will receive the Holy Communion, making a little bonfire in them, then I blew into it. Out goes the Breath of Life, which is a beauuutiful flammenwerfer of green and blue, and into Marisa's face. While everything else below her neck is a little witch simply standing with her hands on her hips, I did not show any mercy as I gave as much life into her fuckin' face, making sure she feels alive with the Breath of the Lord! FEEL ALIVE, MARISA!

When I was starting to lose my breath, I stop the flaming.

If there was any difference to her face, it's the fact that her hair got a lot shinier. Didn't take the Holy Spirit to be fond of making people's hair look good.

"Felt like a windy breeze-da ze!"

And then she collapsed on her back.

…..should I be surprised, anyone?

I walked up to her side, looking down on her vague expression. I don't even know what it entails, really, [I told you not to breathe it in. Is your pride too important, even for a training exercise?] Please don't be one of those people, Marisa. My boss would've beaten you to shit for it.

"I di'n'…" She drawled, her eyes quite glossy as they looked up the cloudy skies. "…I jus' shtarted feel'n' woozy er somethin'. Could ya gimme a few seconds?"

….….interesting.

[Can you move your hand?]

She closes and unclenches a fist, experimentally wiggling them digits in a waving motion, then ending it with a middle finger 'fuck you' towards me. "More or less." She answered coherently, smirking.

[Really?] I held out a hand and she took it as I heaved her up to her feet. Let's experiment on a limb this time, I wonder if it'll do what I think it'll do. [Hold out your hand.]

And she does without question, a punchy motion towards me.

Holiness rides on my palm due to your cooperation. [Thanks.] Just for that, I will just aim at the joint with a holy fire ball and then make it coat the entire arm with orange and yellows. There, [Try to lift your forearm with that.] Snap my fingers and the holy fire is snuffed out.

Damn, the control and grip on this kind of fire is much more precise and easier than the magical fires. I have to manipulate my innards just to get the heat going. With the holy fires, I just have to ask and simply manipulate the warmth as soon as it arrives on the specific part of the body I wanted it to be. My other fires had to course from the center of my body first.

"Um…." Marisa was gritting her teeth. Her arm was shaking, and slowly lowering down to her side. "I think it just fell asleep. I can't feel my arm-ze." Using her other hand, she grabs her dead forearm and lifts it up, flapping it about to emphasize its dead state. "Look at this! How'd somethin' holy do that, man?"

…..fucking knew it.

[If that's the case, be prepared for pricks and needles. You never know.] Looks like even if I use the flames for violence, it's never actually gonna hurt anybody! How nice! Nothing less from my pacifistic Guardian Spirit. [This oughtta be the most harmless projectile in Gensokyo. Correct me if I'm wrong.]

"Um, the rice?"

Fine, [Then the most nonlethal inedible projectile in Gensokyo, how 'bout that? Besides, those things are meant to hurt. Rice could hurt if you got a good throwing hand, and holy fires could hurt less than a blow of air.]

"A fluffy blow of air." She corrected with a smile. I see that she's getting control back into her dead hand, as she's now opening and closing it just fine. "Stuff could be useful for bedtime-ze."

Ya got my agreement, [Yeah. Easy sleep.] I tapped her arm, [C'mon, I think we're done here.]

We approach the veranda, occupied by two ladies drinking tea, and we receive this comment from the Shrine Maiden. "I literally have no idea what the hell you two were talking about back there."

And I'm very amused that you didn't, Master. I might do it again with the two of us just right next to you just to get a good look of the clueless face you'll make. I just hope I got my phone camera ready.

"What, is yer intuition gettin' rusty or somethin'?"

But I'm not letting an annoying bickering waste my time here. "At least by simply watching you can deduce certain things, yes?"

"Hmm." Reimu shrugged, "Your holy fires weaken the muscle. One way to end a fight without actually hurting anybody. Anybody that's human."

Yeah. Do that to a Youkai and they'll just roast.

"It has its many uses." Yukari pointed out, "Perishing impurity, exorcising spirits, purifying tainted landscape; there are many ways, you simply need to be creative. Just take note of its consecrated nature and its origins."

If the holy fires could heal wounds, that'll be one of the many practical uses that I know the Holy Spirit will approve, no matter the situation. I could be the healer of the Crises Solving party.

"I'll think about it." I replied. I might have to study a lot about these powers if I want to increase its effectiveness as well as discovering one of its many uses. Would Patchouli have some notes to reference it with? Maybe a few tomes about it?

"Now that he's tuned-in with it, should we make'm try it out in a real fight?" Wait, what did you say, Marisa?

"I would agree. Practical experience tends to overpower theoretical knowledge." Um, Yukari….

"Give him somebody weak. Even if he's in-tune with the fires, he's too fresh with it. I don't want him to get killed because he doesn't know how to use it right." Sigh. If Reimu agrees with it, then I'll not object. Plus her unsubtle concern kinda got my mood up, by a lot.

I'd be lyin' if I say I wasn't wanting for a fight in a while. I wanna duke it up again since the fun of the party last night is over. I wanna play around with my toys some more. I was kinda getting used to my first one but I guess I'll take time to play with the new one. Holy Spirit, let's work together in this one, okay?

I feel warmth settle in my chest, and there was an impression that She will always be at my side, no matter the circumstances.

I wish I could cry, but I don't want to break in front of these three just yet. I'll let loose in the Place of Worship. Lord knows that I'm gonna be spending a lot of time there from now on every Sunday. I could never describe how great this was: My Guardian Spirit is literally tangible and physically existent, actively replying to my thoughts with sensations and mental impressions.

It makes me feel like I was never alone in the whole of my life those years ago till now.

But did it have to take a new world for it to happen? Did it really need the belief of the Supernatural of the entire world to make Her….there?

"Alright! One punchin' bag comin' up!" Marisa jumps an absurd six meters into the air and her broom swoops down in-between her legs, positioning her right on it. "And I know just the person! Hiyah!"

And she blasts off with a gust of wind in her wake.

I turned towards Reimu, "So we wait?"

"Seems that way." And she takes a sip of tea.

"And while you do," Yukari gaps in an ornate cup of tea. "Why don't you practice your shots and patterns? You're going to need them."

As giddy as a child finally allowed to play outside with his friends, I rushed to the center of the yard and let out the holy fires around my body.

Holy Spirit, let's practice a choreo!

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Sure's takin' a mighty while, that Marisa.

But who cares? This practice is fun!

Do a backflip, then create a dense explosion of holy bullets around me upon landing, flying into every direction with straight or swirling flight paths. Some even went seeking.

As I roll backwards with the momentum and leave a trail of holiness on the ground before I rise up to my feet, I gesture with a hand towards the small wide trail to rise up into the air like a cloud, separate into small bullets, and fly forward into the group of trees, specifically seeking out the branches like a guided missile.

And it was perfect.

Next, I pinwheel the arms and spun into a TD-Raiz, sweeping a wave of bullets from my feet and hands as I did. Following up with a corkscrew, my body fumigated a whirlwind of bullets all around me as I spun in the air while my form was parallel to the ground.

And upon the landing on my foot and knee with my arms spread out like a wide V behind me like a ninja, another explosion of dense holy bullets fly around in all directions, either swirling, seeking, or simply flying in a straight line.

For the outro, as well as a complete shot in the dark, I mold a dense cloud of holy fire in my hands in front of my chest as I take pivoting strides towards the center of the yard, shaping it into a ball. While molding, my hands continued exhuming more holiness into the ball, increasing its size. I think a gym ball would suffice for the girth.

When the size was right, I request for the Holy Spirit to create a leash or some kind of tether to form from my hands, and what came out were tiny strips of strings that came out of my fingers in dense numbers, merging into the ball.

Will this work?

With a grunt, I swing my arms sideways and the ball is sent flying in a curve. Throwing my hands up, the giant ball of holiness rises up as it began spinning in a circle above me, restrained from flying off because of my leashes.

It's odd manipulating this thing when it doesn't have any weight. I can't feel its momentum at all.

Turns out I don't need to shake my hands to keep it spinning. It just goes on its own. I transfer the leashes on my left hand to my right and shorten the length. After that, I lower the unused hand and point the other one diagonally.

Here goes nothing: I execute the Webster flip before I followed up with a side-flip, keeping my arm spread out to the side, made easy since I don't have to mind its spin. It just doesn't stop spinning, and I will it to start flinging holy bullets everywhere.

After a succession of 5 side-flips, throwing out bursts of holy bullets in each landing of my feet, my holy flail now shrunk into a dodgeball thanks to most of itself used as ammunition, I stop in place and grew back its original girthiness while it spun.

Spinning two vertical circles on either side of me for a start, I began extending the length of the tether and swung it into the tree line. There was explosions of soundless holiness in each impact to a bark, but the ball phased through the trees and was still going from its nonexistent momentum, albeit its size was now smaller as it came out of the tree line.

Restoring its size from the tethers connecting my hands to it, I swung it back into the tree line, creating more soundless and colorful explosions of holiness in every impact. Repeating the same spectacle for several times, adding some effects like creating a cloud of bullets to spread out in each collision, or leaving the tree aflame by the touch, I finally end at the tenth swing by suddenly pulling the flail out of the tree line, defying laws of physics as it was still swinging from the momentum.

The ball careens towards me, I sidestep its trajectory as it flies past my face. Before it could impact against the side of the shrine, I tugged on the tethers (I forgot it didn't have weight, I nearly fell over), swung it over my head, and slammed it into the center of the yard. The results: a bursting pillar of holy fire sprays upwards into the sky at a staggering 20 feet like a geyser before it dispersed, spreading out bullets everywhere, aiming downwards to hit the trees in swirls, seeks, or straights.

[Ha ha!] Despite the number of bullets and shapes I've made, I'm still not tired!

"That was impressive." Well, thank you, Yukari! Coming from you, that's something.

"Patterns was very decent, originality was not bad, visual appeal is positive, environmental-friendly too, but I think it was too dense. Then again, you can't fly so I guess it could pass as compensation." Okay, I didn't expect my performance to be judged but hey, the grades were good! Thanks, Reimu!

[Hihi!] Makes me giddier than I should be. Now, let's do the thing I had in mind. Will it work too?

Holy Spirit, I manifest Your being into this realm.

Both my hands held out, I create a little cloud in front of me from the colorful fires fumigating out of my hands. Just by force of will and not by hand, it shaped itself into a round ball, no bigger than a soccer ball. A beautiful sight too, because it was clumped together with violets, maroons, and dark greens. The prominent color of pure white is found in the core.

Lowering down one hand, my other hovers over the holy ball. I move my hand away and it follows after it like a cat leaning towards her master's hand for more pets. I revolve my hand around it in a circle, the colors starts to swirl like smoke in a glass ball or colored liquid mixing together in a transparent vessel filled with clean water.

Suddenly, it moved independently and started floating in a coiling motion upwards my arms. [Heh.] As it reached my shoulder, it suddenly saw my chest as a sun and started revolving around it like a planet. [Okay, then.] This isn't me, the ball's moving entirely by itself. It's hard for the mind to settle on the fact that this thing COULD be the Holy Spirit herself. You never know, it could just be my subconsciousness doing it.

I hear Yukari's giggle, "Almost like your orbs, Reimu."

Then comes Reimu's hum of agreement, "But can it shoot danmaku? Pretty sure it can hurt any Youkai it touches like the orbs but can it shoot?"

[Shoot, eh?] Can you do that, Holy Spirit? Why don't we find out? Let's target the same tree as before, then with a point of my fingers, you do your thing. [Go!]

The ball flies in front of my chest and starts buffeting the tree with a machinegun of tiny fire bullets.

I stop pointing, the ball stops shooting. When the thought of AOE crossed my mind, the ball suddenly starts spinning around me in fast circles, the speeds slowly increasing. The trail it left behind nearly made it become a full circle.

Okay, there's going to be a massive debate whether my subconsciousness is manipulating the ball or it's the Holy Spirit Herself following my thoughts. And I doubt I'll ever have the time to even bother figuring it out.

I gotta see if this is actually thing. This time, it'll be the ball to handle the bullet spray.

Here we go: Pinwheel the arms, then Go! Spin˃Step˃TD-Raiz˃Corkscrew!

It worked. It actually worked! While I was tumbling and flipping, the ball widened its revolution so it wouldn't get kicked, and it was spraying holy bullets like a fire truck's water cannon spinning at a 60 mph! EVERYTHING AROUND ME WAS LITTERED WITH HOLY BULLETS!

I'm pretty sure that was AOE gone overkill while on drugs.

[Um,] I'm pretty sure Reimu was caught in it. "Were you hit?"

When I looked, she had the most unimpressed look on her face that I've never seen in my life. "Yes. Be glad that none of that was flammable, otherwise I would've beaten you up for it." And then she drinks tea like nobody's business.

A snap of a fan unfurling drew my attention, "But at a price, the ball is gone."

[What?] What the? Where'd the ball go? Did the overkill use up most of its quantity? [One time use, eh?]

"Hey, guys!" Oh, there's Marisa! The hell ya been? "Finally found her-da ze!" She announced as she dropped a sack into the grass, and it was making fussy noises while whatever was inside is kicking and thrashing.

Did you just kidnap someone, Marisa? In a fucking sack of all things!?

"You will pay, Marisa! No way you can beat the Strongest and put her in a sack!" Sounded like a kid was inside, and it had enough spunk to fight back against her kidnapper.

"Well, I just did so hah!" Marisa slammed down on the grass, throwing her broom to the shrine walls where it stood still like an ordinary cleaning material, and she loosens the knot on the opening of the sack. "Here ya go, dude, freshly-served Cirno for the beatin'!" With a swing, the package was spat out of the sack and into the ground.

Holy shit, my feet just got cold. Did ya pull this kid out of an Iceland somewhere, Marisa?

"Argh! Grr!" The blue-haired kid stood up, dirt marring her blue dress—oh shit, this kid's a fairy. She has 6 icicles for wings on her back. Fancy blue hair though. "Haha! Your stupid sack couldn't hold down the strongest! And now, prepare to be frozen solid and be used as—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Marisa just grabs her head and turns her around, making the kid face me. "He's the guy yer lookin' for. He put me up into beatin' ya—!"

*PFFFFFFFFFFFFHHHHH!* Enjoy a flammenwerfer to the face, lying bitch!

While Marisa was convulsing on the ground struggling to get up from her ruined brain, I crouched down to be at head level with the fairy. "Hello, there. What's your name, little fairy?"

She puffs out her chest, places fists on her hips, and proudly says, "My name is Cirno, an Ice Fairy, and I am the Strongest of Gensokyo! Grovel before me, puny human!"

…..….….

….….….….

…..….….….….….….….is this the reason why she's called a practice dummy, Reimu?

She nods to me, then sips some tea. Okay, then. Glad to see that you're knack in reading my facial expression is fine as always.

Now to deal with this girl, "Rather than that, I propose a challenge."

"Hm?" Fairy now known as Cirno tilted her head, "Challenge?"

"A fight." In Layman's terms, girl. "And I want to set up some ground rules. And that is no Spell Cards."

She frowned, "Why? Everybody I fought used Spell Cards."

"That's the idea, little one." I'll make a point by showing you the holy fires. Here, right atop my palm, "This is all I have. And a spell card dedicated to it has not been created yet, therefore I want you to play on the same field as me."

"…" I think she got captivated by the colors. Her eyes aren't blinking, they're really taken in by the beauty that is the Holy Spirit.

Kid, focus. Fire-snuffing finger snap.

*snap*

"Ah! What?" Did she really just lose track of the world? She's even looking around her before she turned to me, frowning, "Aw, why'd you put it out?"

"Focus. Have you taken note of what I have said?"

Her face scrunched up in remembering, "No spell cards?"

"Very good, our discussion is over." That was easier than I thought it'd be. I'll just stand up now. "Get yourself ready, little fairy. Because I want to see how you fight."

"Hmph!" She puffs up her chest again, "I can take you, even with no spell cards!"

I will enjoy destroying you in the midst of it, kid. Keep that attitude up and I'm only going to make it worse for you.

Taking a few steps back, I turned around, readied the holiness inside my hands, and prepared my legs. "Now then—"

"No!"

….I immediately stood up straight just when Reimu barked that 'no'. "Is….Is there a problem, Reimu?"

"No fighting within my shrine!" Reimu shouted, pointing a finger to a certain direction in the woods. "Take it somewhere else!"

Yukari giggled, waving herself with her fan. "Prepare your feet, Eman."

[Wha—AAAGH!] HOLY SHIT, THIS PLACE AGAIN!

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

In the quiet summer forest nearby the Misty Lake crowded with the songs of birds, cicadas, and fairies playing tag, alongside the gentle wind that rippled the calm waters near the shores, a foreign sound pierced right through the scenery, ruining the artful image of a peaceful midday.

As a gap opened above a clear patch of ground, Eman's wailing form arrives from the opening and his reflexes allowed him to automatically roll forward to kill the momentum of his fall. Upon rising to his feet, he rounded on the rift of reality with an indignant sneer. [Fucking hell, Yukari! Can't you at least gimme a moment to acknowledge it!?]

The million eyed rift closed, having no interest to answer his rant.

He rolled his eyes, growling in displeasure as he looked around him. He felt familiarity and looked over the distance, expecting to see something red and overlooking the entire lake beside him.

[Ah, there you are.] And he finds the Scarlet Devil Mansion sitting on the ridge. The last time he was here, it was quite foggy, vision reduced to merely a few feet in perception while he used the road as a guide towards the place. Now that there was no fog for now, he didn't realize that it would stand out amidst the scenery. Disregard its contrasting color against the midst of green and bits of brown, its design is what makes it prominent amidst the beautiful scenery of summer and nature.

Admittedly pleasing.

Turning his eyes to the lake, he reveled in the reflection of the white sky on its surface. He was tempted to jump in and go for a quick swim, but instinct ruled out in the warning that there might be mythical sea creatures ruling the waters, maybe fish bigger than his head or even a Leviathan. There could be mermaids too. Not an exception in his list of people to be wary of. Unless directly meeting one, he'll have to be on the side of being careful.

Would they be sexy though? Swimming is a constant use of the body, and that shapes a woman nicely.

[He he.] Cupping a small plume of holy fire from his palm, he reared back and threw, the projectile arcing in the air before it fell to the waters silently, not even a sizzle. But he noticed the circular ripple from the center expanding.

[Completely harmless danmaku.] He described it. It seems he can have a choice between lethal (magic fires) or nonlethal (holy fires) projectiles, almost like Splinter Cell Blacklist. He missed that game.

"Aaaagh—oof!"

And that might be his opponent, fresh from the Yukari Express behind him.

"What was the point of bringing me there then!? I was just here before Marisa put me in a sack!"

Then the sound of a gap closing told that even she got ignored.

"You have it bad as well, huh?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.

"It's the Gap Lady, she always does that! And Marisa just does whatever she wants with fairies! Grr! When I see her again, I swear I'm gonna—"

"Yes, yes, yes, I understand." He waved her vows of vengeance off, walking along a dirt road. "You will do something horrible to Marisa such as freezing her into a block. I intend to do something worse."

"Really?" There was genuine interest in Cirno's tone, "What will you do?"

He stopped in step and turned on his heels, facing her with his arms crossed behind his back. "Drop an asteroid on her head, surround her with flames reaching over 200 degree Celsius and then bury her into the earth with the flames." He simply needs a shovel to make it possible. He wondered if the village sells them cheap. Iron wasn't cheap in the 1800s, he remembered from a history book.

"That's not enough!" She objected. "You gotta throw her in a pond, then cryofreeze her on the inside!"

He slowly got uncomfortable as he realized he was discussing murder with a child, "Whatever. Let's put that aside and focus. Remember, no spell cards, only danmaku."

"Okay!" She pumped her fist and took flight, hovering over the tree line while he remained in place on the road, eyeing her carefully. She frowned, "Why aren't you flying!?" She called out to him.

"I cannot!" He lit up his entire right arm in holy fires. Idly creating the Holy Orb atop the palm, he continued, "I haven't learned how to fly! I will have to stay on the ground the whole time!"

"But it'll be unfair!" Now that's a surprise, she's being a fair player. Almost like a child wanting a good impartial game with the new kid on the block. Due to this, Eman regarded her in a new light besides her arrogance. "I can't enjoy fighting you like this!"

"It will be okay!" Swatting the newly created ball of holiness, it revolved around him in bolting speeds before settling into a slow revolution. "I can handle the handicap! So, standard rules: whoever is knocked unconscious first loses!" With a fingersnap, he began conjuring another Holy Ball. "And if anybody tries to interfere, we will punish them!" He won't take chances near a forest like this, and he would gladly welcome any Youkai stupid enough to take a chance on him while he was distracted from the fight. He will not be merciful in punishing the assailant thoroughly. "Are we in agreement!?"

"Yeah! Let's go so I can kick your butt!" She crossed her arms and looked down on him with a smug grin, "You will not last a single minute when you face the strongest!"

For the first time since meeting the Slenderman Motherfucker in the Woods, a murder smirk made its way into Eman's face. [PROVE IT‼] A guttural bark erupts in the woods, scattering the avian wildlife, and holy bullets went flying.

The ice fairy took evasive action, the first bullet nearly nicking her in the bow of her hair. Flying away from his trajectory, the human wasted no time in chasing after her on foot, opting to stay in the open road if he wants a clear view on his target. I just wish Yukari put us in an open field instead. But it's good, lots of cover thanks to the trees. Since I can't fly, it's totally fair.

[HHAAAAARRRGGHHHHH!‼!] Another guttural roar, and he side-flipped into a stop, slamming the ground with both his fists and feet that created a gigantic wave of seeking bullets, the holy balls revolving rapidly in front of him like a pistol cylinder, playing the role of a practical Gatling gun.

Cirno was defying his expectations.

Seeking bullets, dense barrages of holy fire, and even a clump that are grouped together to shape itself like a cloud of bees that tried to attack from behind while she was distracted from the front, there wasn't a visible body language indicating that she was having difficulty in the evasive action. Her movements clearly show experience, her muscle-memory has been coordinated with conflict, and all her body positions aren't wasted. They were clearly familiarized as poses meant to make bullets pass through her form in specific areas, especially through the armpit. And while bullets grazed her small form in the air, there was no sign of a struggle.

Almost like breakdancing. The positions were a sequence of dance moves and techniques compiled together to create a mesmerizing display of body movements, and the bullets thrown her way was the song, with its own beat (bullet pattern) and pace (bullet density) meant to be caught on (to be read) and the dancer simply needs to catch its rhythm (dodge and graze) if she does not want to look like a fool (to be shot out of the sky) in his routine.

[Hrrrrghhh….!] Eman growled bitterly. Even low-tier Youkai tops me. The inhabitants of Gensokyo must be way too used to aerial conflict.

"You can't hit me! You can't hit the strongest!" And Cirno struck a nerve with that line. "Look alive and face the beauty of an iceberg!"

Okay, time to run.

Relocating the holy balls behind his back, he bolted back into the place he was from, his footsteps creating gigantic waves of seeking holy bullets in each beat. The consecrated orbs maintained a constant barrage of straight bullets, making the pressure of constant movement even more straining.

Turning his eyes to the skies again, he skidded to a stop as a dangerous stream of icicles struck right where his spine would have been in front of him. Ducking low over a horizontal spray of ice bullets, he quickly spun to the left to evade a vertical spray that followed after it, a plethora of seeking bullets flinging out from his swinging arm in the same motion. Seeing the next pattern coming after him, he followed up with a cartwheel before the backflip, his shoe nearly clipped by two icicles. All the while, his holy orbs remained at a constant altitude nearby him and kept on shooting straight bullets at the ice fairy.

Landing to his feet and rolling backwards to an upright position, leaving a pavement of holy ground burning in a menagerie of colors, he grabbed one holy orb and enlarged it into a gym ball—

A piercing frost bite struck him at the bicep. [ARCK!] The holy orb sapped out of existence alongside the ones maintaining the barrage. Looking at the injury, there was no icicle imbedded into the flesh but there was an unhealthy shade of red, and it did not look like something he could ignore. He even lost feeling there, nothing but a sensation of a chilling pair of jaws that pierced into every muscle within.

[HHHrrrrrrrghhhhhh!‼!] Because of the sensation being something he hasn't faced before, it was worthy of every lick of his hatred. Adrenaline rushed into his being, heat and hellfire rolling across his form, the Wraith rising out of his back as the volcanic temperatures around him caused the air and plantlife to ripple and burn—

[No!] The Wraith was immediately sent back into the furnace alongside the fires it created. A hail of icicles that rained around him could have sent him in a panic if his mind wasn't so addled. Because of the reckless use of enforced mood swing, the suppressed anger nearly disoriented him, screwing his equilibrium and making the world in his eyes seem like it was tilting sideways. There was a reason he shouldn't let go of the rage until the fight was over, and he now regretted violating it.

No hellfires for now….must keep using the Holy Spirit's power…..give it a good light! Make it look good…..!

[Grrrrrrrrr…!] Fuming streams of holy fire out of his back, he quickly crawled towards the trees and took cover behind one that looked strong enough to tank a few pieces of ice.

"Hey!" Despite her distance (last he remembered, quite far away above the forest), she still managed to make her voice heard from there amidst the sound of blue danmaku hitting the ground. "No hiding! That's cheating!"

[Hk! Hk!] Snickering, he gathered the fuming flames from his back and into his conjoined hands, turning it into an arrow that was slightly 5 times the average size and gave it big fat wings (which is very disproportionate compared to the rest of the body). With a quick prayer to the Holy Spirit, the consecrated construction took flight and pierced through the forestry, its massive wings creating a blinding burst of yellow light in each flap as it swerved through every obstacle in the way.

"There you are!" He heard a smug chuckle, followed by a loud piercing sound that would not be out of place if it was a laser that made it. "You can't hide from the Strongest! I have the sharpest eyes!"

The Strongest's eyes are so sharp they could see things that stick out. Sarcastic amusement ran through his thoughts before he stepped back into the road, casting holy healing into his frostbitten bicep using the same mental process as the healing flames, except with less thought on fire and rushed movement of cells and more into the inclination of asking Holy Spirit Herself to mend the pain.

While useless gloating was erupting in the background, directed towards a glowing arrow of holiness that was intentionally drawing attention to itself as it flew to random directions inside the forest, he went back to the place where he left a pavement of burning holy ground. Seeing the imprint he left on the dirt, he rekindled the fire that was snuffed out.

Next step, he recreated the holy flail. Due to the lack of struggle and pressure, it was a quick and easy task. With the holy orb ready, he created the tethers from his fingers and linked it to the ball, then shifted them into the shape of actual chains that are adequate to the actual medieval weapon, darker shades of red and violet connecting to a globe of honey yellow, peach orange, and pure white.

Final step: strike.

With a grin that mixed feral aggressiveness and childlike giddiness, he swung the flail in a full circle around him and its flight quickened by the next several seconds. He was getting scared of the weapon, the phantom fear of a real flail potentially flying towards him instead because of the slightest misstep making him falter in making it go into powerful speeds, and that fear pushed him even further to increase the speed of the spin until it became a blur and became a full-circle due to its trailing light. The Holy Spirit's presence assured him that despite its horrifying display of power, it had no power to harm anybody, especially him.

He smirked; why don't we turn that notion around, eh? Eyeing the burning holy ground, his menacing grin widened even further at what he was about to do, what was likely to happen afterwards, and he executed a self-made dance that generally involved swinging his spinning weapon all around him to increase its speed, even if he didn't need to, but the action alone made it easy for him to increase the amount of power it'll make once it makes collision.

Thank God I'm an emotion-trigger. If he wants anything spectacular to happen, it will only happen through doing the things that made him hysterical or euphoric.

Fear and exhilaration, two things that always made him become a powerhouse of boundless energy in his life, greater than his ever-reliable rage, exploited to the fullest extent by holding something (that was precarious and scary by appearance) that was beyond his comprehension and having the luxury of being the one to manipulate it without any consequences.

[HehehehehehehahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!‼!‼!‼!‼!‼!]

A cyclone was brewing, and he was the epicenter. Small trees and branches bended from the force pulling them, waters from the lakeshore were rippling and disturbed into waves, and the wind around him churning wildly from the spinning flail in his hand that was now visually a disc, sending his hair into a flying mess.

Oh shit! It's happening! It's fucking happening! The megalomania was slowly getting into him.

The amount of power fused into the ball was growing, and it was forcefully compressed to remain the size of a soccer ball. It was guaranteed to explode in the most extravagant fashion or in the most horrifying manner he'll ever manage and see in his life, and if he wasn't inclined to be modest, it will be a sight that any being in Gensokyo lucky enough to see it will never forget.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

"Stop running away!" Cirno shouted indignantly, her pride as the Strongest harshly questioned as her opponent refused to fight back amidst the trees. For somebody that glows, he's fast.

Hands held out in front of her, wings fluttering faster than a bee, sneering determinedly, she chased after her quarry above the forestry. Icicles and danmaku wouldn't penetrate through shrubs of leaves and branches, so a decent strafe of lasers will do the job. Not only will they freeze the trees, they will also turn whoever is underneath them into an ice cube.

Leaving a snake trail of cold winter behind her in her attack, her target continued to flee. And it is annoying, because he never goes in a straight line, making him impossible to hit. In a place where the number of obstacles present are innumerable, especially in a place that could impede a danmaku duelist's mobility, he should not be moving so fluidly and so quickly. It doesn't even look like he was zigzagging in flight, swerving around tree trunks and possibly woodland dwellers. All his turns and curves are perfectly angular.

It was like he was passing through whatever was in the way….

"ARGH!" She stopped flying forward, shaking her fists above her as she glared at the glow underneath the shrubs of the forest. "HEY! YOU'RE CHEATING! STOP HIDING AND FIGHT FAIR! COME OUT AND FACE ME LIKE A REAL HUMAN, GODSDAMMIT!"

The glow suddenly pulled into a stop right before it passed through a line of snow left behind by a freezing laser.

A cheeky smirk made its way into Cirno's face. "Ha ha! Did that get to you!? Then come on and get revenge! Not like you could have it! I'm the strongest and I've never been beaten!"

He finally emerged out of the forest and made a beeline towards her, bright lights of pure yellow, sun orange, and white intensifying to the point that she couldn't see him anymore. He's not even shooting. She immediately assumed she was trying to ram into her.

"Ha! You can't blind me! You're too slow to even ram anything!" Satisfied with her taunt, she released a massive volley of danmaku, patterns denser than she ever let out before, sacrificing beauty for accuracy. His glowing form was riddled with every single shot she gave. "Ha ha ha ha! Fall! Fall before my beautiful danmaku, puny human! I will teach you what happens when you fight the strongest!"

The being of light was coming closer, its speed undettered by the icy punishment it was receiving. Despite its resilience and incoming proximity, Cirno had no worries. Those who tend to come close for a desperate strike ends up making a mistake if she wasn't inclined for close-combat just yet.

"He he he!" She ceased-fire, spreading her arms fully to the side as the being of light has officially rendered her vision blind. "Freeze, loser! HA!"

The sequence of sounds happens again: the sound of something crusting into ice, its entire form coated by a thick layer of frozen water; then follows a small whoof sound in the air as the enemy plummets to the ground; then finally, the sound of tree branches below breaking apart as a heavy object falls atop them before reaching the ground with a thick thud on dirt.

"Aaah Ha ha! I win! I am the strongest in Gensokyo! No puny human could defeat me!" She boasted, while in the process of regaining her vision by rubbing her eyes. Once the dark spots riddling her vision and the veil of darkness were now removed from her eyes, she immediately swooped downwards to where the ice cubed enemy was.

Slipping through the tunnel-like opening made by broken tree shrubs and branches, her feet rested on the leaf-ridden ground and regarded the frozen prison before her with a victorious grin. "….?" Just as she was about to gloat, the prisoner inside was out of the ordinary and left her mouth hanging in disbelief. It was not the human, it looked like an arrow, fully ablaze in orange, yellow, and white from arrow tip to feathers, frozen in time inside the ice cube.

And it happened to have wings.

"Eh?"

As if the frozen winged arrow was actively mocking her for capturing a bullet, the ice cube prison cracked, starting from the corner that hit the ground first, then it streaked onwards to its entirety, cracking sounds rippling in every second that followed, and once the holy arrow within became distorted and imperceptible through the cracks, the entire construction collapsed into shattered pieces on the ground. And within the opened shell of solid cold ice, nothing. The arrow didn't spring out from the fissure, it simply disappeared.

It took 28 seconds for Cirno to realize that she had been played.

Unluckily, she didn't have the time to react as something bright lit up the side of her vision. Very bright. When she turned to look, she witnessed what could have been the most brightest and colorful volcanic eruption from the sky. But her memory remembered that there was no mountain in such a direction, it was where the trodden road reside, the last place she remembered she have last seen the huma—

Fury and heat that contradicted her power and nature as an Ice Fairy brewed up within her, the environment around her quivering slowly turning into a singular point of winter, refreezing the tiny melted fragments of the ice prison, and shaping the trees and bushes into well-crafted sculptures of pure ice. Fists shook, teeth gritted, and with a roar full of passion that rivaled the intensity of the holy detonation, she screamed defiantly at the 'ash' and 'smoke' of the volcano that was coming straight for her. "YOU DAMN HUMAAAAAAAAAAN‼!‼!‼!‼!‼!"

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

As the holy flail finally struck holy ground, the compressed amount of holy energy that nearly overmatched Reimu's Fantasy Seal finally bursting from the slightest deformation of its round shape due to collision against the ground, the explosion reached catastrophic levels of wide-spread nonlethal collateral damage. While the 'crater' was amazingly pathetic in size, the amount of holy fire and level of power that rose up into staggering altitudes that breached the atmosphere was godlike.

From the viewpoint of Flandre that had been awake and enjoying a leisurely time at the top of clock tower underneath her wide umbrella to shield her from the sun, she watched what was practically a geyser for the first time. One that was colorful, and made entirely out of swirling fires. It was tall enough to reach the heavens, and after a moment of nearly five seconds of held silence, the geyser dispersed into a rain shower, the majority of the 'droplets' swirling in their fall and the minority beginning to fly inwards into the forest, as if they were seeking something.

Scarlet Devil Mansion, Youkai Mountain, Moriya Shrine, Human Village, Bamboo Forest of the Lost, Garden of the Sun, Sanzu River, Road of Liminality, Myouren Temple, and the Hakurei Shrine; all these places witnessed the catastrophe, a new bizarre happening that shall be chalked down as one of the most spectacular sights to grace every seeing eye in Gensokyo since the Scarlet Mist Incident. Activity is held still, individuals sparing a moment to observe the event, and no one looked away until it was gone.

A kilometer wide rainfall of holy fire, a tame scale compared to the height it reached, pelting everything it touched with blessings and flames of purification. Any Youkai unfortunate enough to be caught within the range of the hail of holiness will be met a fate of searing punishment but humans caught in the crossfire are otherwise blessed, the Japanese concept of impurity and misfortune cleansed away along with a grant of good health.

The surface of the lake was fully disturbed, riddled with tiny little droplets of holiness like an appropriate rainfall, even the dirt surface of the road had been reshaped to match the surface of the moon lined with asteroid impact zones. Craters the size of a thumb, they riddled the ground by the millions. Unlike his past bullets, they had the same impact power as a single drop of rain, which can sting if propelled at the right speeds. It was enough to remove certain leaves out of the branches, puff up dust, and create sound upon impact.

There were seeking bullets present amongst the hail. Despite their numbers being a minority, they are still a nightmare in quantity to any average practitioner of danmaku. They curved directions from air-to-ground to flying into the direction of the forest, single-mindedly searching for the signature life force of one Fairy with body temperatures reaching -100 Celsius. Swerving by any bystander and other life forms, especially trees and plants, the target was beginning to flee and the bullets took pursuit.

Eman was left where he has been, lost from the world and unmoving as the holy rain fell on him and around him. He was far beyond disturbed. He was mentally destroyed.

His mind unable to bear the weight of having so much power in his hands despite how frail of a being he was compared to every other race in Gensokyo to wield the spiritual destruction he just released, it simply crumbled. Being up close to the epicenter of the explosion only adds up to the weight. Coherence and rationality all but lost, sanity and cognition seemingly missing from his eyes, but one distinct feature refused to give in:

Purpose.

His main task was to defeat the Ice Fairy, nothing more. Even if he had lost all sanity, his groundless mind doesn't acknowledge it as an excuse to be a frozen form knelt on the ground and staring into the nothingness. One single thought remained within him, and that is to win. Any means to fulfill it is welcome, and his subconsciousness commanded the bullets to be merciless in their chase.

Lost from the sense of touch, he didn't notice that the rain had lessened in its density. The noises were slowly beginning to wane, and the cloud of dust accumulated from the ground finally stopped growing. While he remained unmoving, the seeking bullets were still flying in the forest. Seconds later, they changed directions to the sky as their quarry was now escaping upwards.

In a quick snapping speed, his neck twisted to the side and his head followed his enemy as she flew in great speeds, shooting icicle bullets and blue danmaku behind her, reducing the number of holy bullets chasing after her. Once there were 17291 chasing after her, now it was reduced to a measly 958, an amateur's bullet count in the first wave of bullets thrown.

After several barrel rolls and sudden sharp turns, reducing the number of bullets behind her into 439, she turned face, front towards the barrage, and she flew headlong towards it. Before she was riddled by an unmerciful cloud of holiness, she suddenly stopped in place in the air, shot hands out in front of her in speeds possible for her size, and froze the attack.

Bullets that should have nailed her in the torso, head, and hip are forcefully held still, their entire forms coated in a block of ice. Like a chain reaction, every individual bullet nearest to Cirno onwards to the last was incased in a shell of frozen water, shaping the aerial conflict ammunition into a piece of art preserved inside a cold container.

And as the bullets could no longer propel themselves forward due to the weight surrounding each one, they fell like stones towards the forest and shattered into pathetic pieces of frozen water upon contact against a branch or boulder.

Turning her eyes to where she last remembered her enemy being at, she easily found his dark-clothed form kneeling on the dirt, doing absolutely nothing except stare at her. It took no time for her to make a beeline towards him and create a cloud of dust upon slamming against the ground.

His target, Cirno, displaying pure rage and indignance, stood on the ground, in level with him as her fists shook at her sides, sneering like a child ready to throw a tantrum.

Whatever remained of rationality amidst the fragments of his mind granted him the action of rising up to his feet and stare down the enemy without any sign of emotion present in his visage.

The noise of cold ice being conjured resounded, and his body immediately tensed in response. Clouds of ice blue and snow white gathered in her right hand, and eventually, in her grasp was a sculpted ice sword. The design was crude, and clearly crafted by an amateur hand, but the sharp edge lining one side cements the fact that it's still a weapon.

There was no overthinking, no second thoughts for the next plan of action he should take, only simple processions. A simple assessment, a simple analysis, and a simple conclusion. A narrowed mind has no time for any comments or afterthoughts.

Danmaku practitioner, experienced in aerial combat, possibly experienced in close combat as well. Knife will not suffice, too small and too short, might possibly freeze his arm upon contact. Improvisation is necessary.

Fully on the disregard for beauty and flourishing displays, he quickly advanced forward, swinging a holy scourge of five lashes from his fingers overhead. Cirno was quick to back-step out of the way but that was all the time he needed to bolt towards the edge of the forest with enough time to pick up a long stick, adequate in length and slightly thick in girth but enough to withstand the blow of a sword.

Grabbing the stick by where a hilt for a sword should be, he infused the stick with holy energy, making it ignite with colorful fires in its entirety, especially at the place his hand held on to, he turned in a quick speed, bringing the burning sword up horizontally and blocked an overhead slice of the ice sword from coming down to his head.

Unwilling to give her the satisfaction of a clash of strength, he quickly reared a free hand back, and threw a left jab brimming with holy power. Cirno yelped as she dashed backwards using her wings, the burning fist nearly rubbing against her nose but Eman wasn't willing to give her a chance to recover: with tense legs, he shot himself forward and swing a right swipe with his sword, only to be blocked—

A sputter of embers erupted from the contact, surprising her as her vision went white for a single second, but she was given no chance to recover as a burning fist hit her squarely in the face.

Disoriented and suddenly woozy from the blow, she used the momentum of her flight to roll up into the air, afloat with her wings fluttering rapidly, and releasing a volley of danmaku.

If he was going to cheat and use dirty blows, then so will she, "«Snow Sign—Diamond Blizzard»!" She'll pay him back with a spell card.

A few bullets were swatted aside by his holy sword, a few hit him squarely in the torso. While he didn't so much as flinch from the hit, he immediately started sprinting towards her, evading the barrage following after him—

He slipped.

There was a patch of ice lying on the ground right beneath her. With his focus pointed upwards and not forwards, he failed to keep his footing. He skidded painfully against the dirt, rocks and rough ground shredding his elbows and across his left arm, nearly dislocating his shoulder from the momentum.

Cirno was quick to take credit. "Ha ha ha! All part of my plan! You slipped onto my trap! Do you see how strong I wa—"

Without any rationality and coherence, any acknowledgement for her words was never made. All that was acknowledged was the fact that he slipped and his opponent suddenly stopped shooting. There was an opportunity and he took the chance.

With his back on the ground and his range of view pointed directly at her without the need to look up, he had the perfect angle. His fist fully extended, it glowed a bright white light before the fingers spread outwards, releasing a concentrated jet of consecrated energy straight towards her. Its size rivaled the Ordinary Magician's Master Spark, and Cirno's gloating would have made her lose the fight had she not quickly moved to the side and saw what was coming.

Unlike the Master Spark, the caster could wield the beam like a wieldable totem, following after the Ice Fairy with the intent of pulverizing her. An intense chase ensued, a pillar of pure white fire pursuing the target as she flew higher into the sky.

He closed his fist, the pillar of light cut off suddenly. Giving her no time to process his actions, he willed the massive quantities of holy energy that was ejected into the sky from the attack to gather and separate, shaping themselves into holy bullets, sizes now varying from fist-sized to boulder-sized.

With a mental command instead of a prayer, the holy bullets took flight and tracked the Ice Fairy as she began to fly away from the cloud chasing after her.

Quickly pushing himself up to his feet, not taking the time to heal the damaged skin on his left forearm, he conjured a holy orb the size of a gym ball and let it fly, letting it disperse into smaller particles of itself and become a cloud of bullets too, chasing the same target as the first batch. Creating a second holy orb and sending it loose to do the same actions as the first, he then took the reins in controlling the two clouds with two hands respectively.

The first batch is given the command to simply chase after her, but with second and third under his command, he can potentially box the fairy into one spot. A spot that will leave her completely exposed to a full-powered strike.

The residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion (especially Remilia who was forced awake by Flandre) had the grand view of the fight within their home. Due to the elevation of their location at the ridge, there were no chances of missing anything. While the colorful bullets were innumerable and mesmerizing as they flew, a vampire's eyes cannot miss the prominent blue spot that has been at the front of the swarms the entire time. And when Remilia squinted her eyes, she sighed an ironic sigh, rolling her eyes at who the target was.

The Ice Fairy's path had been blocked and forced to swerve into another direction too many times. She had her attempts to freeze the bullets and lessen their numbers but their persistence is essentially immortal. They bullets moved like they were alive, like a swarm of bees, something she had never faced before, but in the eyes of even the novice duelist of danmaku, they were also predictable. They targeted her and nothing else, beauty foolishly put aside like somebody new to the Spell Card System. The swarm did try to cage her but even Cirno could predict the pattern.

She did not realize however that she was being directed to a specific path. The two swarms always flying in eccentric swirls and turns like a cloud of bees were preventing her from going too far, controlling her flight path, and the first one that had been directly chasing her non-stop was made to force her into non-stop movement.

The direction she is forced to take is simple: She just needs to fly straight towards the caster. She can take it as a chance to finish the fight if she wanted. In order to draw her attention and incite that motive into her, a large bonfire of multiple colors lit up behind Eman that dwarfed him completely while his hands remained held out and swayed exaggeratingly as he directed the two swarms, just to make her see that he could control the bullets pursuing her. Deliberately, he spread his arms to the side as if he was taunting her to hit him, the swarms flying to the sides.

Bright colors lit up on the side of her vision and she found her enemy standing in front of a beautiful fire that nearly reached a tree's height, her focus is immediately drawn towards him, making herself curve upwards to dodge the barrage flying below her, freezing each bullet in the process as she passed them by and made a beeline towards him, shooting danmaku all the way.

Arms spread out diagonally in front of him, clenching his fists as if he was pulling at the strings that made the remaining 2 swarms mobile, he pulled them inwards and they complied, flying after the Ice Fairy.

That was incentive enough to make her fly faster, trying to outrun the bullets and hit him before the barrage could hit her first. If only Cirno had been paying attention, she would have realized that the swarm behind her was moving slowly, contradicting its last speeds when it was trying to route her. If she had, she would have known that it was a trap. But then again, she was a fairy. Thinking is never their first instinct.

She was coming closer, and her enemy was doing nothing about it. Forgetting about the swarm behind her, she charged onwards and held her fists out to hit him, shooting spread shot danmaku in front of her at the same time. Some missed, some hit him directly, some grazed him, but he never moved away. He simply stood there in front of the beautiful fire, his arms cross-crossed in front of him like an X, covering his mouth as if it'll protect him.

With a smirk, she did a war cry and executed the finishing blow.

And when she reached the right distance, Eman swung his hands downwards and roared. Out of his mouth was the Tongues of Fire, a flamethrower of pure holiness and sanctity. The force of the attack is equivalent to the magnitude of his deep bellow. The guttural song reached far, any nearby ear would have compared it to the screams of a mountain lion. And the flamethrower was more of a beam than an air-based stream of holy fires. It nearly matched the Pillar of Light.

It is comparable to a Master Spark but it lacked the force and power to destroy a mountain, it might as well blow away the dust coating it. But its incapacitating power is unparalleled.

Coming out from below the flamethrower was a small figure of blue, bouncing headfirst into the dirt before the Ice Fairy rolled to his feet.

Closing his mouth into a sneer, he grabbed Cirno by the collar and brought her up to eye level. With his free hand reared back into a fist, infused with holy energy enough to knock a bull into sleep, he growled.

He did not strike.

The Ice Fairy was limp in his grasp. Dirty from dust and a few twigs hanging on to the fabric of her blue dress, her pale skin marred with dirt and a bit of mud from somewhere (probably the forest), her blue hair frazzled and having a few leaves in them, her bow somehow immaculately clean, and her face no less grubby, she was unconscious. Her head even hung to the side from her shoulders. Her eyes were closed, not at all a false appearance, and her mouth was slightly agape as she breathed a rhythmic pattern that was similar to an asleep state.

Hiding his sneer and lowering his fist, he walked over to the edge of the tree line and placed her against the base of one tree, leant comfortably against it, one with collective shade to shield her from the sun if the clouds ever dispersed to brighten the white cloudy day. After that, he turned around and took five steps forward back into the dirt road he formerly landed on upon arriving to this place.

As the task he had was now fulfilled, his still-fragmented mind decided that there was nothing more to do than rest. With a lack of rationality and normal thought processes, there was nothing to make him call for Yukari and instead take it instantly.

His head suddenly tilted to the side, a cracking sound resonating at his neck, and he instantly collapsed, down to the knees first before his entire form followed, fully unconscious.

For a moment all was silent, then reality is forcefully ripped open.

From a rift containing red eyes that leered at everything in front of it, misshapen arms with grotesque joints and shapes suddenly poked through and grabbed at the fabric of Eman's clothing, especially his hair and head before he was pulled in, seemingly devoured by the opening of reality before it closed.

The Tengu will have a field day on reporting about the number of Youkai and fairies caught in the crossfire of this conflict the next day. But with Shameimaru Aya in the midst of it before anybody else could, the (fabricated) details will be known too soon by anybody inclined to read the newspaper instead of using it as wiping rags.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

[That was a fucking nightmare.] I don't think this shirt's gonna do it. I think the blue one will do. It is a white day today, after all. No sun, no hot hours, why don't we take something a little cottony?

"It was awesome, dude!" Marisa pointed out behind the sliding door. "Ya were packin' Utsuho levels of power-da ze!"

[….What?] I don't get the reference there, girl.

"You are not wrong though." Yukari's elegant voice that contrasted Marisa's brash one noted, "Similar to that Hell Raven, he also contains a god in his body. That, in turn, will grant him the powers of that god. Unlike her though, this god's power cannot induce insanity to the wielder."

[Ahem!] I think you missed a little something there, Yukari. [I literally lost my mind in that fight, y'know! That was a fucking NUKE!] The only reason I'm capable of talking to you right now is because the Spell Card System post-fight medical team had potentially restored my sanity while I was sleeping for just 2 hours (pretty sure the Holy Spirit had a hand in it too)!

"Only because you have never seen immeasurable power." Yukari retorted, pretty sure she's fanning herself right now. I'm getting way familiar with that habit of hers. "Your mind did not set the limit of how much holy energy you should infuse into that holy orb because you were never aware of how much power you have or even knew how to limit it."

"Yeah!" Marisa let out her agreement. "I even saw the fuckin' explosion all the way from here!"

….serious?

"But…" Yukari interjected, "…since you have finally witnessed immense power, your mind now has unconsciously set a limit of how much you power you could infuse into a holy orb if you are ever going to attempt that kind of stunt again."

Um….okay….? [In Layman's terms…?]

"You will unconsciously assume that you might exhaust yourself before you could create a holy orb containing holy energies with quantities matching the entire whole of Gensokyo's magic, even though it's not going to happen." ….shit. "It's like a character on an RPG having infinite mana but you didn't know that and instead used it in resourceful quantities when you could have exploited it a long time ago had you realized it. But this time, you invoked that limit because you now understand the true physical meaning of godlike power."

…I think I get it. [Gotcha.]

She was implying something back there, and it is quite a mental jab. The Holy Spirit, who is essentially God, is omnipotent, all-powerful. And I wield it in the form of holy fire, infinite holy fire. I will never get exhausted from using it. Only by physical movement and mental exertions will I ever get winded. But because I never understood omnipotence in that fight, I did not realize how much holy power I was putting in that ball.

Now that I have seen the closest thing to omnipotent power in physical reality, I now understand the difference between 'too much power' and 'purely godlike'. Real omnipotence has no limit, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to break past the limit of creating a Holy Nuke unless I widen my perspective of omnipotence.

I bet I could never use the full use of God's unlimited power, because my understanding of it is too limited, just like the human mind cannot comprehend certain things. The power to coat the entire universe with holy fire? That's too big, my mind can't comprehend that kind of supremacy.

So…..the amount of power I could use….depends….on how I understand omnipotence.

…..to be honest…..

…I'm actually scared of that kind of power. In my hands? These hands have sinned more than they could save. What if I become bad? What if I get corrupted by it? What if I end up using these powers for the wrong reason?

This is God's power we are talking about here. They are primarily for the use of good and nothing else. Those who gun for wealth and fame with it should be warranted a suicide or a death wish.

…..what could actually happen to me the more I wield this kind of power?

*Kachak!*

"Hey, Eman, ya okay over there?"

[….]

If I wasn't wearing any pants and you happened to have slid open the door to see me in my undies, I swear I would have blasted you across the bloody room.

[Knock next time, please.]

"Sure! I'll keep that in mind! So, what're ya doin'? Admirin' yer own juicy-ass body? Never knew ya love yerself that much, dude."

….….

…..….….….

…..….….….….….….

You failed to catch the tone of my voice, visibly expressed the complete disregard for privacy, and you're basically insinuating that I'm a narcissist.

That would have warranted a brawl, Marisa. No exceptions, whether you're friend or not, because I don't like being assumed. Be glad that I have other things to think about right now, such as the future among other things, one that involved me having godlike power.

[Walk away, I'll be with ya in a sec.] I then put on the cottony shirt.

There's even the fact that Remilia's…curse could happen. She said that I will fall among other things. I'm now opting to take her words seriously now. In a moment of weakness, this power will be the death of me. I won't blame God if it ever happens, because He never could have done anything.

God does not control my life or anyone else's. He does not control me to sin or do things that I have done all my life. My life belongs to ME ALONE, and my actions are of MY OWN. Man controls their own lives, that has been the gift of freewill handed down by God, but when they suffer and fall, some of them would blame God among everything else.

"Hmph." I walk out of my room and close the door behind me, wearing some nice and fresh new clothes so I could let the magically-resistant clothing get washed. Not to mention that those threads stank of alcohol, fucking piss of a drink.

[Ow.] I massaged my left shoulder. This better get fix up soon. I got this thing winched from the fight, and the shreds on my forearm couldn't be anymore uglier underneath the wrap of bandages. It should be fixed up in a few moments as per the Spell Card System conditions.

If it doesn't heal on its own then I'll have my first time of visiting the Hospital in the Lost Bamboo Woods. I could just use the healing fires or holy healing but nah. I've used enough mythical power for a single day. Lemme go back to being a mundane individual with acrobats. It keeps me human and close to my neighbor. I bet it'll keep any bad downsides on my personality and behavior from getting into me. Reimu and Marisa may act like normal (understandingly eccentric) people despite having powers but that's because they grew up in such a storybook environment. I didn't grow up with fantasy bullshit happening around me 24/7 in the majority of my life till now, and I just had this powers not too long ago, including my fire magic. It's obvious that it'll do something to my head psychologically, megalomania among all of them.

Pride and selfishness should only exist in your childhood. When you grow up, you will mature overtime and let go of childish behavior, especially if you're raised to be down-to-earth. Having all this power into me so suddenly is like going through trauma; Mental growth is impeded. I need to learn how to be responsible with these gifts while I can, I need to be more mature with it.

Pulling a Jesus is my way of doing it; being a weak and vulnerable human that is close to his neighbor despite having all the power to make everything go my way.

"Yukari told me that you basically lost your mind when you created that explosion." Reimu asked as I got into a spot on the kotatsu, "How was that like?"

…..Ah….huh….

I've talked about me going on a rage, I've talked about me hurting people, I've talked about me stealing from people, I even talked once to Doc about possibly becoming a murderous rapist at some point before, but I have never talked to anybody about myself losing total sanity.

Another thing chalked out on the bucket list, I guess….

"Horrible." I tapped the cup before me with my fingernail. "It is similar to having a wild dream. You simply watch the world go around you and look in wonder as your body acts on its own. When I fought, barely little of my sense of self was present, lack of self-awareness barely allowing me any control over myself. When I detonated the bomb, I was simply….lost. The thought of myself manipulating such immense power is...unfathomable."

"So yer sayin' yer head just went 'fuck this' and ran outta there?"

Okay, that was actually funny. Even Yukari got a giggle, "Something like that." I replied, "At some point, I was sort of….drunk in power, and I got the instinctive desire to have it used on someone."

"Then you picked up a stick and lit it on fire for sword playing." Reimu finished.

I nodded, "It was pure exploitation. Because of my megalomania, I liberally used the holy fires' infinite uses to my advantage. If the fight had went on for too long, I could have done other things that would even surprise me."

"Then again…." Yukari began, taking a sip from her own tea before continuing, "…those fires could never harm anyone on their own. Many practitioners of danmaku are used to pain, not soothing touches. That Ice Fairy's mind is too vulnerable to cerebral massages."

"Except Youkai." Reimu reminded, pointedly looking at the one she's referring to.

"Fu~fu~Fu~" Then Yukari makes an ominous giggle, hiding her smirking lips with her cup before drinking from it.

While she does her shtick, lemme continue on, "That was typically the first time I ever felt so….single-minded. No nonsense, no pride, no emotion, only a one-point focus. All I ever wanted was to win and nothing else. I ignored her words, I ignored her taunts, I only focused on her actions and the ones she'll make next. She was distracted, I took the chance. She was off-balanced, I took the chance. When she staggered, I refuse to give her the chance to recover. In the face of immense power, I felt so small and insignificant that nothing mattered me more than ending what was started. I never would have thought that losing my mind would have made me that way."

"You simply threw away beauty…." Reimu paused, frowning in thought, "Well, maybe not all of it, that swarm was quite something to look at but still. You forgot the principle of the Spell Card System. It is—"

"Beauty over Power, I know." I feel like I'm gonna be sick if I ever hear that phrase again. I know the principle already, stop ingraining it into me. "You can't expect me to uphold it if my mind is not even set right."

"Or when he's pissed." Marisa added, smirking at me. "I can already tell what he'll do if he is-da ze."

You make me happy, Marisa. "Explosions and hellfire?" I supplied with curiosity, smiling happily.

She then gave me a wide grin, "'Xactly. Add mine in and ya get a super bomb to blow the shit outta half of Gensokyo, baby!"

Then we just shared an evil laugh together, bumping our fists while we're at it. While she turns hills and buildings into ashes, I'll just set everything on the way into flames while I take a slow and leisurely walk all the way. We're compatible in terms of collateral damage, baby.

I rested my elbow on the table and supported my cheek with my fist, "I might have to spend a lot of time in the Place of Worship later. Today has been very eventful and I would like to share them with God the entire night." A little bit of holy fire flashed on my other hand that rested on the table. "And thank Him for that. Expect me to be coming back late, Reimu."

Reimu regarded me with acknowledging eyes, "You're quite devout for a guy."

Marisa chuckled cheekily, "Better than you, Reimu."

*Punch!*

That was a punch to the temple, with Marisa's pose unchanging alongside her expression as the fist remains planted there.

Hehe.

If Reimu's not so devout despite her post as a shrine maiden then I will not judge. I can understand that even a priest would need to let loose once in a while. I even have a cousin who is a priest full of faith and fun, really knows the right time to do his job and is quite the party man outside of it, though never drunk. But I just hope she upholds a few principles that are universally known to all common religions.

"You cannot simply go to the Place of Worship and start telling stories again, Eman."

….what?

[What's that supposed to mean, Yukari?]

"What are you trying to say?" Yeah, give Reimu the context of what you said as well.

"Can you remember what I told you this morning?"

Um…..no?

She let out a long-suffering sigh, "Today is a Special Day. And I'll ask just once: have you forgotten what day it is?"

….….….

…..….….….oh dear.

"All spiritual energies gather into me and awaken the Holy Spirit?" Was that it?

She closes her eyes, faces away from me, and snaps open her fan to cool her face. "So pitiful."

What!? [What? Hey, Yukari. What is it today? Seriously, what is it? If it's something we agreed on, I'm sorry! A lotta things happened, you see! Couldn't keep track of everything, even for just one week!]

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." She simply shakes her head, still fanning herself. "You completely forgot. For two straight years, it is completely uncelebrated."

Two years? What the hell are you trying to imply, Yukari? What is it about these two years of me being a motherfucking thieving thug, huh!?

"Um, Yukari, can ya just spill the beans what the hell is it today?"

"Now, please? You're just being annoying otherwise, like always."

Yukari sighs once again, turning towards me and looking at me straight in the eyes. "Fine." With a free hand, she slices the air with a finger and a small gap opens above the center of the table. "I advise you, Eman, to not overreact. It would be very unsightly." She reaches inside the gap and slowly pulls out a….

….a Goldilocks chocolate roll with a lit candle on top—

…..wait...

..no...

No….no….no…

Don't tell me…!

She smirked to me, "~Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you.~"

"What the shit, its Eman's birthday!?"

"WHAT!? Right now!?"

"~Happy Birthday, Dear Eman. Happy Birthday to you….." The cake is placed right in front of me, with the words written in beautiful cursive on the front for me to see. 'May the Lord God Bless You, Eman.' "Happy 20th Birthday, Eman. You are a big man now."

….….

….….….….….

…..….….….….….….….

"Dude….? You okay…?"

My hands slowly comes up to my face and hide my expressions.

Motherfucker! Just great! Just fucking great! Of all the times in all these years…..!

…..why now!? Fucking why!?

"It must have been painful, hasn't it? All those two years?"

Don't say anything, please! Fucking shut up, Yukari! I'll fucking kill you if you don't clamp that fucking mouth of yours!

"The first year, you were all on your own. No one held you up. No one helped you except yourself. There was nobody you could trust. The second year, you were left very bitter. You completely abandoned your birthday and disregarded it. Not even Doctor Christopher had asked you when were you born, didn't he?"

Shut up! Just fucking shut up! This already hurts! It hurts so much! Please stop! Don't say anymore!

"Not anymore, Eman. Gensokyo may be the place for the forgotten, but it is also a place of second chances. Who you are in the Outside World does not matter here. Things that happened there belong there. What belongs to Gensokyo remains in Gensokyo. Tell me," I felt a hand on my head. I hear a little tap-tap of feet on the opposite of Yukari from the table and I felt another hand on my back, rubbing me there consolingly. Marisa, "What have you earned in this place?"

Pain! A lot of pain! So much bullshit one after another! Every-fucking-day, there's always something to fuck my day up! What the fuck do you think I've been getting since Day One, huh!?

"A chance for change. A place you could be at ease in. A place you could be what you wish to be without being judged. A place that could spice up your life. A place filled with people you can share your adventures and life with." I hear another set of footsteps from across me, going around the kotatsu before settling behind me, holding my shoulder while another hand pats my back gently. Reimu, "You don't have to be alone anymore. There's a person who will never leave you alone. There's a place you can go to if you needed shelter. There's even a place you can go to if you need to be alone. You built that place yourself."

This place is fucking hell and you know that! For a human, this place is a fucking deathtrap! Do you even know what the fuck happened to me under one fucking week!?

"Be proud, Eman. You should have committed suicide long ago if it hurts so much out there. You could have done so the sooner the person you pledged your life to has left this side of the world and returned to God first before you. There was nothing worth going to for you in those two years."

"Yukari…!"

"That's too far, Yukari. Stop."

"But you didn't. You suffered those two years all on your own, through hunger, despair, winter, isolation, and hatred. And you survived, long enough to eventually reach this place. Because of your own strength, I managed to find you and bring you here. You are a mighty boy, Eman. Smart, strong, tenacious, driven, and faithful. I commend your strength as a human. You truly should be proud of yourself."

Fucking damn it! FUCKING DAMN IT ALL! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP, YUKARI!

Fiercely wiping my eyes from the tears, I shot up to my feet, swerved around Reimu and Marisa before I went around the kotatsu and captured Yukari into my arms, burying my eyes into her shoulder.

I'll fucking crush you! I swear! I fucking will! You will suffocate! It will really kill you! Just fucking stop talking! I don't want to hear anymore! Just stop….please…..!

I felt arms wrap themselves around me, tightening in their grip as she returned my embrace.

"Are you happy, Eman? Is life here better than out there?"

….

….….I nodded meekly.

Yeah. I love it here. It's better here.

I'm still going to suffer a lot of things here. Many….many…horrible things will happen to me. Dying was just the first step, something even worse could be in store for me here. But still….this place is better. If anything, I would rather die here than Outside. I would rather rot here than Outside. I would rather go through the sufferings of those two years again if it meant I could live my whole life in this place.

You saved me, Yukari. There is nothing I could ever do to thank you for everything. Nothing.

"Then stop crying. If you leave the candle lit, it might melt into the cake." She patted my back before she pushed me back lightly, wiping the tears out of my face with her handkerchief. "You still need to make a wish."

I gulped, nodding as the shaking in my stomach was slowly disappearing.

Turning around, Marisa stood before me as she held out her arms towards me, a warm smile spreading across her face. "Happy Birthday, Brah. No presents with me right now but I can still give ya some lovin'. C'mon, don't leave me hangin' here."

Wordlessly, I knelt just to be at her level and accepted her gift, receiving the warm embrace. She added a kiss to my cheek before tightening the hug around my neck. Bone-crushing it was, but it was nice. I could feel her warmth through it.

We parted and I turned to Reimu, who was shyly fidgeting in place before she held out a hand for me. "Uh…Good job on surviving out there and uh…happy birthday. May the gods bless you with good days and stuff….sorry, I'm just not used to this consoling thing."

Good enough.

I took her hand, shook it, then kissed the knuckles. While she did get flustered, I made her get even redder by pulling her in for a tight hug. Like hell I'll exclude her from this treatment if she's going to celebrate this fucking day with me. I could hear her stutter in her words. I could feel her arms splayed out for a bit before she returned my embrace awkwardly, patting my shoulder and whatnot as if it was something she's supposed to do.

Admittedly, it's cute.

"I'd leave ya two be but c'mon! The wax's gonna touch the cake! Hurry up and make a fuckin' wish already so we could eat it-ze!"

I chuckled inside my throat; that fucking Marisa and her stomach. She really wants to eat the fucking chocolaty goodness, doesn't she?

Well, so do I. I want my fill of chocolate, and I want it to be the most glorious taste of my life.

Kneeling before the kotatsu once again in my spot, the girls returning to their respective places as well, I gazed into the candle. For a while, I simply stared and regarded its flames in a perspective far different from what I had before. It was insignificant to my eyes now. Humans needed stone and wood to create fire, and it has been that way since we discovered how to control it. But people in Gensokyo...they didn't need the world's resources, they only need themselves. Now I do too. Living could be made easier with it. Cooking, warmth, self-defense...things that could be done with simply the force of will...

...but the things that happened to me before I managed to have it...

I close my eyes.

Seven fucking days I've went through before now, they were all something. I nearly got pulverized by a fucking ogre. I got left behind to immediate danger. I got attacked by a knife-throwing maid. I got thrown into a bullshit fight inside a library. I got possessed. I fucking died. I got fucked over by Remilia. I even got attacked by Meiling of all people. And a whole two years before all that, I go through one of the worst times a teen was not supposed to go through.

Yet….despite all the shit, it was all paid back in the end, with all the things I could never hope to have Outside.

There's a common theme there from the day I left home till today.

From every suffering that I face comes a reward after. No matter what kind of bullshit it was that chose to fuck me over, it was paid with company, good deeds, and accomplishments that add up to the things I've did that I'm proud of to tell to my grandchildren. The only payment...is time.

I think I know exactly what I want.

I wish….that no matter what happens to me….no matter what kind of hell I'll go through in life…..there will always be something to bring me up to my feet and make me smile again.

With that, I blew the candle.

After a hefty applause, we dug in and enjoyed a beautiful time of celebrations. Gapped food, cokes, songs, and stories, the fun never ended from afternoon till near-midnight. And when the girls fell to food coma, Yukari now gapping home, I still took the time to step down from the Hakurei Shrine and kneel before the cross, thanking God for everything with this simple phrase that equals a thousand prayers.

†Thank You, Lord.†

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

"My orders are simple: kill the boy once he comes back here."

"Without the use of our might?"

"Absolutely not. You are strictly forbidden from ever using any of them. You are to revert back into your basest form and kill him with it."

"Should all do the task for one prey?"

"No, dear, you will have a different set of orders. You will have to stand back. If the boy manages to live, you will maintain damage control once the spirits begin to congregate. Do not kill any of them, and strictly, do not be seen."

"….it shall be done."

"May I interject?"

"Speak.

"Why do you assume that the boy might live? Are you saying he might survive us in our primal forms?"

"Oh he won't. But Somebody will deny you from carrying out your orders, and there is nothing you can do about it."

"…"

"….."

"No other questions?"

"…One more."

"Go on."

"What if we…..fai….fai….what if we could not carry our orders?"

"Hmph. You're such a perfectionist. You cannot even say the word 'fail' on yourself."

"What must the Servants do if the orders are not done?"

"So eager. Then you will have my permission. Once you fail, begin your Conquest. It will be your time to make Gensokyo shake, rattle, and roll under your rule."