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.

24. Gone to Hell

"What is it you're trying to pull, Yukari?"

Underneath the moonlight, illuminating the elevated place of the Hakurei Shrine atop a hill that overlooked an entirety of Gensokyo, stood Yakumo Yukari underneath the torii archway, still as a statue while her extravagant clothing swished from the evening wind. She held her ornate umbrella above her and spun it, creating an enigmatic shroud around herself, shaping herself back into the Mastermind Youkai every Youkai knew and feared.

"Whatever you are talking about, Reimu?" She placidly asked.

The shrine maiden held her gohei tight, furrowing her brows in confrontation as she glared at the back of the Youkai sage's head, "I know you, Yukari. There's no way that celebration was for nothing."

"Of course not." Yukari turned and stared back at Reimu over her shoulder, amusement flashing in her violet eyes. "What else than to help him remember that he was born near the end of the first month of summer? I simply want him to see the fact that people do care about him, especially me."

"Bullshit!"

"Oh," Yukari turned to the shrine maiden, her magnificent dress swishing grandly in the motion, eyeing Reimu critically. "Such language from a shrine maiden."

"Since when did a Youkai like you ever cared for anybody?" Reimu's voice could have chilled even the Ice Fairy's spine. "Since when did you ever cared for a single human?"

The Youkai of boundaries smirked, and her purple eyes began to glow prominently in her overshadowed face while her back is against the moonlight. "Long before you were even born, dear, even before the creation of Gensokyo."

Reimu grinded her teeth, irritated in every response coming from the Youkai in front of her, "I'll ask again, and I don't want any riddles." She pointed the tip of her holy arsenal at Yukari threateningly, "What are you trying to pull with him? I know that you brought that celebration on purpose. You're trying to control his behavior. You're trying to make him come into your side, make him owe you a favor, maybe a long-term one or something. I know you're after something, and I know that it involves him. What is it?"

A long silence held on, whistling winds and rustling leaves, causing the dresses of both women to wave and ripple, with varying degrees of magnificence in appearance. An hour passed midnight has arrived, passing by peacefully as Marisa and Eman slept inside the shrine guest rooms, oblivious to the two people they have shared birthday cake with undergoing an antagonizing meeting.

Then an elegant sound pierced through the ominous ambience of the evening. A giggle, a ladylike giggle that befitted a proper lady in response to a very amusing joke or statement. Yukari's smirk had broadened, her free hand raised up in a graceful flourish to cover her mouth. When the elegant noise stopped, she lowered her hand and placed it below her breasts, holding her side. "As expected of you, Hakurei Shrine Maiden; you've seen right through me. I might have to tread carefully around you next time if I don't want any of my secrets to be exposed."

"Spill it already!" Reimu snapped, the energy of a spell card brimming around her form. Those who frequently take part in danmaku games would have noticed it immediately and prepared for an evasive action, or rather flee. It's the most well-known move to make when you face a severely angered or annoyed Hakurei Shrine Maiden.

Yukari was not fazed at the time-bomb that was the Hakurei Shrine Maiden about to blow. "Very well." She turned her back on Reimu, gazing up on the moon for several seconds before she laid her eyes to the entirety of Gensokyo, admiring it like a well-made picture on a canvass put to display in an exhibition. "It was done to help him develop loyalty."

There was now an audible hum reaching the Youkai sage's ears, the sound of the Fantasy Seal about to be released. "What?" The priestess growled.

She only smirked at the tone of her voice, "Eman sees me as a representation of Gensokyo's entire whole. If he is loyal to me, he is loyal to Gensokyo."

"He is not your slave!"

"And I don't intend to use him as such, Reimu." Yukari simply replied, closing her eyes as the humming became loud. If it weren't for her barriers, Eman and Marisa could have woken up from Reimu's voice long before. Those two were clearly built to wake up from the smallest sound if they didn't want anyone getting the drop on them. "I only earned his respect, nothing more. If he wishes to return the favor, he can do so by protecting Gensokyo in any way he can, no matter how small his actions are. Take him under your wing as a junior Incident Resolver if you want to. He would not fit the criteria to be my servant, anyway."

"Just what are you trying to do, Yukari?"

The Youkai sage turned around once again, staring straight into Reimu's brown orbs. "You saw his power, Reimu." A firm line crossed Yukari's lips, though the corners were slightly tilted up. "It cannot be scaled, and it had all the potential to cover the entire whole of Gensokyo, the entire Old Hell, the netherworld, and even Heaven. He can, and will, tip the power balance. If anything, he is a liability to Gensokyo so long as he has it."

"If he starts an incident or becomes bad, I'll just beat him up then to set him straight."

"With his personality, unlikely. He is far dangerous than he looks, Reimu." The corners of Yukari's lips slowly extended. "Delusional as he is with his mental condition, his emotions are genuinely complicated, much more than the average human. In essence, he is dangerous as he is endangered. He is a wildcard, and with his affiliation to the Holy Spirit as well as his personal issues with himself, he has all the likelihood to turn against any of us anytime. And win."

Reimu's brow furrowed even further, unable to comprehend the words said to her and align them to the character she recognized Eman to be, "What? Ho-how?"

The Youkai sage decided to ignore the question, "If we are to avoid such a thing from happening, I intend to nip such an outcome in the bud."

The shrine maiden was finding it even harder to believe everything she was hearing, but she couldn't bring the urge to ignore them at all. She asked again, "How are you gonna do that?"

Yukari found gratification in Reimu's willingness to listen, "It's simple. Make him swear fealty to Gensokyo, make him feel obligated to it, help him develop a sense of belonging to it. By then, no matter the circumstances, he will always stand on the side of Gensokyo and fight for its wellbeing above all else." She drew her fan out and spread it open, covering the lower half of her face. "If ever times of great danger that even an Incident couldn't possibly match up to the threat it poses to Gensokyo, we will be glad to have him and his god's power on our side. It takes only a bit of kindness and we will earn his devotion."

Reimu's stare hardened, righteous fire lighting up in her heart at the implication she found in Yukari's words, "You're manipulating him."

"A necessary evil, dear. He is the last thing Gensokyo needs to have as an enemy. Him being against Gensokyo's residents is far worse." Yukari easily replied, a gap opening up on the fabric of reality behind her, each red eye staring her down like an ocular mob as the Youkai sage seemingly glided backwards into it. "If you have any better ideas other than mine, feel free to use them. I will doubt its effectiveness to be greater, however."

And then she was gone. The image of midnight in the Hakurei Shrine brought back to its proper light, the foreign element of the picture that was Yakumo Yukari no longer present to distort its original impression.

As Reimu is left alone to contemplate the information she received, her only conclusions brought this response out altogether from what she gathered, "Goddammit, Yukari."

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

It's a beautiful morning.

It seriously is.

And that's odd, considering that I never had that kind of thought towards sunny mornings before….ever. If it's a white morning or a rainy/stormy morning, then it is a beautiful morning. More reason for me to continue sleeping and not do anything heinous like stealing or hurt people. Seriously, who the fuck likes sunny mornings that blinds you all the time every time you wake up?

Morning people, obviously. As there are some villagers walking about, lookin' fresh as they're heading out for work, either in the farm fields or in their personal industries. As one guy in his 40s wearing farmer clothing very similar to what my people wear in the Philippines (even the hat) is about to pass me by, I wore a polite smile and bow to him. "Good morning, sir."

"Good morning to you too, young Outsider." He replied, returning the bow. "Here to run on our rooftops again?"

Eep! "Uh…I promise that the incident will not happen this time."

"Hahaha!" The old man slaps his thigh, "If you consider running on rooftops as an 'Incident' then every cat in the village makes one everyday!"

…uh…..what?

"Uh, you don't get that, do you, kid?"

Uh-uh, no.

"Well, whatever." Then he just shrugged. "You'll get me soon enough. Incident happens once in a while anyway. Long snow, flowers blooming everywhere, houses growing legs—ever seen snow happen in the summer, kid?"

….that's actually possible? "No, I would not even thought of that being possible."

"Hehe," I can see some Gensokyo pride mustering up in his eyes, like the one you'd see when somebody wants to show off some culture to an outsider. "Well, you're gonna see things you'll never see in your wonderful Outside World the more you stay here!"

You're too late, old man. "You should have said that to me sooner, Sir." I held up a finger and make a little holy candle at the point. "A single week in Gensokyo has shown and done many…many things to me. The longer I have seen and have been exposed to the wonders of the land, they began to burrow their influence into me and gifted me with….this."

"Aah." He said in awe, staring captivatedly at the colorful flame. "So you've become a magician?"

So it's not that uncommon to be one? "That term would be inaccurate, sir." There's still the thing that magic is rather on the list of 'No's in the bible. "I would refer to myself as….the…." What do I say? I can't say 'Holy Warrior' because such a dude upholds churchly principles. I'm too far gone to be one. "….the Invoker of the Holy Ghost….? I'm sorry, I still haven't got the proper title for it. The main point is that I can wield holy energies, and it is not—"

"Oh, so you wield holy magic." He chimed.

….what? Didn't I just tell him that what I just said about the nature of this thing?

"So you've trained in the wilderness and are now ready to defend the village, eh? Are you gonna inquire for village guardian today?"

Whoa, assuming. Slow down there. Though, what he said gave me a lot of information. Sounds like this place is protected by other guardians besides Keine, which should not be surprising because come on. How could one woman defend this place on her own?

"No, I am just here for a quick visit." I answered politely. There's also the fact that I gotta look for a house to live in around here besides knowing the layout of the village. "But I can volunteer and serve as protector in times of crises. I have far more experience in conflict in the Outside World before coming here, and I have been improving since this day."

"Great! Looking forward to seeing ya in action. Later, kid." He tapped my shoulder (and fucking hell, he hits hard for an old man) and began to walk forward, bypassing me. He suddenly stopped mid-step, turning around to me once again, "Oh yeah, I didn't get your name yet."

Ah, yes. "Eman." That's all you can have for now. My last name's not for any of you people if you're not gonna put your tongue to the roof of your mouth while saying it. "You can call me Eman."

"Hasegawa." He bowed once again, "Hasegawa Hiroshi, nice to meet you, Eman-boy."

Hmph, the 'kun' suffix. "Likewise, Mr. Hasegawa." I'll return it with the 'san' suffix for the elders. "I'll see you then." I held up a hand as a farewell before turning around and heading even further into the village.

Aah, that was a refreshing conversation with somebody completely normal and totally not the same person I regularly see everyday (fuck you, Marisa). I think this day's turning out nicely, and thank God for that. The streets are still lightly populated, too early in the morning, and all those rooftops, ma-ha-haaaaan~ I wanna run atop 'em~! My urges are trying to eat me alive every time I look at the high ground that's moaning my name!

…..well, if I put my good boy shoes on and remember that people are still sleeping inside their homes and would not like to be disturbed from pitter-pattering on the rooftops just yet, I can suppress the runner instinct. Besides, I'm here to look for a house. Why not scout for a bit?

Reimu said it, 'take a slow pace once in a while'. Let's listen to the Master first before I get to do anything stupid, same thing I did in my tricking practices: do what you can first and figure out the rest later. You'll just be wasting precious practice-time otherwise.

Hunting down that Slenderman Motherfucker in the Woods can wait. I doubt that guy's going anywhere outside his hunting ground.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Taking a second-glance at this village without having to worry about curious eyes pointed my eye, I finally realized just how ripe with plant life this village really is. Apart from the dirt road and cobblestone alleys, the number of bushes, trees, flowers, and grasses is mighty impressive. Even my old home in the Philippines didn't have this much density. Even from the ground, I could see some trees poking out from the roof at certain distances, and its mighty cool in temperature around here despite the sunny morning. That park with the Dragon Statue I just passed by minutes ago was very eye-catching with the trees placed on actual dirt ground instead of a square block enclosed by tiles and shaping a box formation behind benches.

And the consistency of the 18-19th century house designs is quite jarring, either 1 story or 2 stories tall. It really reminds me that this place is seriously stuck in this one time period, slow in progress and technological development unlike us Outsiders. Don't change, people. This is a very nice change of pace for me. It's quiet, and clean, and green instead of grey like the road and sidewalks of modern day Outside.

By the way, all these houses are a little bit close together, grants easy access if I want to traverse from rooftop to rooftop. Good enough reason for me to run atop 'em. Hehe.

Whoo! Just thinking about it makes me giddy! I'm even stamping my feet rapidly that I'm making dust rise up, drawing curious and strange stares from the early risers before I bolted off into a sprint.

[Hihihihihihi!] I'm giggling like a fucking maniac here. Geez, what is wrong with me? Seriously, I have problems. Good thing I didn't make myself loud enough to be heard, otherwise I'll just be seen as unapproachable, not that I care but it'll be too much work by then.

Upon the turn of the corner, I shift the run into a light jog. Just gotta preserve some energy by then. [Hm…..] Well, this place looks particular. Is this the bazaar? Market Street? Sure looks like it, gives me flashbacks of the empty merkado back home whenever I get to have a venture there early in the morning, and that was a decade ago. Damn, how fast does the time fly? But mainly, why didn't we buy our veggies and fishes there? Why'd we have to go to the one near the bus terminal when there's one practically next door?

Anyway, there's some empty stalls, empty cases atop tables to place your products in display for customers to see if they're interested to have it for dinner, and there's some people getting ready for the day, carrying boxes of their harvest with them. When they noticed me, they bowed in greetings with a smile, saying their 'good morning's and 'greeting's to me.

I smiled to each one and said, "Good day." The Japanese did have a reputation for politeness but I didn't expect this kind. You don't normally see this kind of attention Outside. Is it my Outsider status again that's making this happen?

Don't know if that's a good thing, draws attention to me. Then again, it's too late. A lotta people got familiar with the white-ass Outsider running on the rooftops not too long ago. Oh well, it'll pass.

Taking a slow walk all the way through the market, returning the greetings whenever I can, I eventually reached the exit and back into the streets. I choose either left or right road, I take the latter and continue jogging.

And it eventually got me into a particular building. Now I'm not a good historian when it comes to Japan, especially its architecture in olden times, but when you live on the streets, you sometimes get the notion that Street Smart folks can sometimes outsmart the Book Smart people. For example, knowing the happenings and functions of a building just by looking, even if you have heard nothing about it or even seen it once.

Simplified: the use of your instinct and intuition regularly takes the cake as a lifesaver.

In my theory: since the brain constantly takes information, even if you're not actively doing it, it has the power to subconsciously send messages to ya whenever the need arises.

Goes like this: I just look at something or somebody, my brain will absorb the details, including the ones I failed to notice, even if I was looking right at it. Depending on how much data was taken in, the brain will then process it into conclusions, deductions, assumptions, and even solutions. Once it's finished, it'll send the newfound info straight to my subconsciousness, thus where the intuition, instinct, or 'gut feeling' comes in.

Listening to it saved me more than once. Even if it got me a lotta scars, it beats being dead, even though it would have been nice to be before I was brought to this land. Thank God there were many lifesavers before it got worse.

Anyway, this one's definitely a school building, two-storied and rather wide. It looks nothing like all the school buildings I've seen in my life, even the architecture and roofing's different. The design is obviously by this timeline, and there's roofed pathways squaring around the premises, one path leading to what looks like a storehouse. Could've been the town hall or some other business building if I wasn't being attentive but nope, my intuitions say otherwise.

Still, it's kinda off-putting that the folks here use sliding doors instead of walls on certain areas of their buildings, complete with a veranda too so they don't immediately step out into the dirt.

"Oh, I didn't expect you to be here." A voice said behind me, and it sounded really familiar. I think I know who it is.

"Where? Around here nearby this building or on the ground in general?" I asked with a smirk, turning around and facing the white-haired beauty, Keine. Village Guardian. "Were you expecting me to be on the rooftops then? I didn't think you would know me so well, Ma'am, that I fancy being above ground more rather than here with you people."

And that drew a chuckle, bringing a fist up to her mouth while her other hand hugged a notebook to her chest. Her well-developed chest. Damn. Still, that hat of hers draws my stare more than down there. Seriously, what the fuck is that thing?

But then again, her white-blue hair is the icon of her beauty here.

"It is nice to see you again, Mr. Eman." She bowed, and I inclined my head in turn, "I assume you recovered well from your hangover. That wasn't ordinary sake, you see."

Wait. How'd you—oh, never mind. She was there on the party.

"I recovered splendidly, Ma'am." Can't really tell ya the details about what happened, too painful. "Though, I ended up vowing that I will start drinking from that dish in generous sips next time. The morning pain was very severe, believe me." I tap-tap my temple as emphasis; I'll have to thank the Holy Spirit for helping me recover quickly.

Concern crossed her eyes. "Oh, are you feeling okay?"

Really, Keine? I'm right fucking here, talking to you. "I have discovered the means of quelling my hangovers on the same day." I stepped up close, took her free hand and said, {Mano.}

I take the back of her hand towards my forehead before letting go.

"Okay…." Keine then got a little off-put, "What was that?"

"Show of respect, Ma'am." I glanced to the side, taking note of a few children passing by, some even stopping to take a look at me. Was I right that the building behind me is a School Building and Keine here's a teacher, judging by the notebook in her hand? "In the presence of adults and elders, anyone, especially children back in my country would do this. A Filipino's cultural quirk, if you will."

"Ah, I see." She looked rather interested, as if she was delighted at knowing this. "It's like the equivalent of bowing, isn't it? It's our cultural quirk to greet others with a bow, especially to our elders."

Hmm, "To us, the act of bowing is very formal." I then crossed my arms, "By the way, how was the feast last two nights ago? I did have a hand in making them…well, most of them." Ran's still there, and other people brought some food themselves.

"Oh, it was delicious." She answered with a smile, "And some of the cuisine is clearly foreign by design. Were they from your country as well?"

I nodded, "But I didn't make all of them, as much as I wished I did. Seven of them were by the hand of Yakumo Ran."

Okay, she was surprised upon hearing that name. "The Shikigami of the Great Sage of Gensokyo, Yakumo Yukari?"

Is it because the 'Yakumo' name was there that you were surprised, Keine? Is it because somebody like me was involved with them? An unordinary Outsider? "Well, yes. We helped each other in creating 49 dishes for that party." Can't hide that I'm proud of our efforts. That's more than I could ever make in my life, even if I had help. I'd say it's a chalk up to the list of achievements to brag about to my grandkiddies.

"How are you familiar with the Yakumos, Mr. Eman?" The disbelief in your tone is rather off-putting here. Is something going on that I didn't know about Yukari?

"Well, to be fair, Lady Yukari was the one who brought me here." I did stowaway in one of her gaps, yes, but she is technically responsible for my being here. "Secondly, she forced the cooking task to me because she wanted variety for the party. I would have complained if it weren't for her servant helping me."

"I-I see." She sighed in relief. Was she expecting something gruesome? Like being kidnapped or slaved under the threat of being tortured or eaten? "I thought something bad had happened to you."

"The worst thing that happened while I was in her household was getting kicked in the back by a Cat Youkai while I was cooking." I can still feel her shoes on my shoulder blades, "She tried to steal the fishes."

"Right." She placed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I think this is typically the first time I've heard of anybody being put to a task by the Yakumos, much less being inside their household for something as mundane and simple as cooking. And you are an Outsider too, what are the chances at that?"

"It's the circumstances at the time, Ma'am." If you had known what the fuck had happened to me right after I left the village the first time, you will easily conclude that I'm no ordinary Outsider. I'm basically knee-deep in one of the shady shit going around Gensokyo. Remilia and her prejudiced genocide on Christian outsiders….

And then there's me having a hand in Flandre's development and growth from messed-up mind into a grown-up kid.

"I cannot freely share to you what they are," I added, looking to the side just a bit to look at the kids staring at us. Geez, look at the number of them. I feel like a foreigner again, all this attention. "I require from you a level of trust that matches either Reimu or Marisa."

"Oh, I would not dare pry, Mr. Eman." She assured, smiling politely. "Your circumstances are your own and they are yours to share as you see fit. I simply ask you that you be careful around Gensokyo. It's not very merciful to humans outside the village walls."

Too late, Keine. Too late.

"Your concern is appreciated." I smiled back. Oh, what's this newcomer rubbing its body against my leg. "Well, hello." I pick the orange cat up and cradle it to my chest. Are you a male or female? You got beautiful green eyes too. "Is this little specimen yours?" For one thing, it looks well-fed and the furs' rather soft, a sign of great care. Finger poke your nose: Boop.

She giggled, swinging her hand down as a 'no'. "Oh no. It's the children's school pet. They kept it around because they said 'she helps them focus' whenever it rests on their lap. I was against it at first, thinking it might just distract them from their studies but they convinced me."

"Oh." Really now? So I'm typically holding their incentive to come to school everyday. Lemme rub her chin for a bit. Yeah, ya like that? "Then I am honored to have caught this noble cat's fancy on the first meetings."

And that elicited another giggle from her. "I guess I should be going now. It was nice meeting you once again, Mr. Eman. And I thank you for the feast at the party." She bowed afterwards.

"You're welcome." I did a lame salute with two fingers. "If we see each other more often, I might just start calling you 'Keine' instead of 'Ma'am' all the time."

And there goes another giggle, "Oh you." And she began trekking towards the building.

Once again, my intuition is fucking correct. School building, school teacher, school children. Not hard to figure out just by looking. There's no way you can see this many children in one place for no reason.

Wait, I forgot to ask! "Wait!"

Keine stopped moving, turning around to me, swishing her blue dress in a rather fancy swirl, "Yes? Did you forget something?"

"At the party, two nights ago, did I anything wrong while I was intoxicated?"

She looked to the side, trying to recall, her brow scrunching up in remembrance, then she turned to me, "I don't think so. The worst you have done is being very chatty to everybody, aside from that fighting dance."

So the danger is only found in the words I've said!? Shit…shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!

"G-good to know. Thank you!"

"You're welcome." Then she continued on her route.

….oh boy. I gotta find the people I've talked to that night and see if I could fix any damages I've made.

"…." And the cat in my hands just stares at my face with a 'what's going on with you?' look.

[None'a yer damn business, cat.] If you wanna know how everything went, ya gotta learn how to eat with your hands. My cat years ago is famous for such a feat, using his paws and claws to fork out food from his bowl and bring it to his mouth. A Real Pusang Pinoy!

"…." And there's a little boy standing right nearby, staring up at me curiously.

Ahem, okay. "Here." I extended the cat to his hands, which he received and the feline had no objections for the change in transportation.

Taking the cat in his hands, one hand on the chest and the other on the side of the body to pin her against his chest, he then asked, "Are you Teacher Keine's boyfriend?"

Pfffft! Wow, so soon? "No. I was just passing by, and she talked to me first." I then patted his head. "Study well, child. What you learn might save you from a Youkai."

"How?" He asked. "It's all boring."

"That is the idea. It is boring but you will never when it will be useful. And how it might help you, nobody knows." I then rubbed the kitty's chin once again, "How you use what you have learned is up to you. If you're clever, even mathematics might put down a Youkai." Take after the snipers, kid, they take numbers in before taking the shot.

"Really?" Then his eyes light up. Ah, man, he's so impressionable. The innocence of this kid makes me want to commit suicide. He shines a spotlight on just how much of a messed up human being I am compared to him. "Can it really do?"

"It's very possible." I nodded. "You just need to be clever, remember that." I patted his shoulder like a bro. "See you then." Then off I go into a jog.

"Good bye, Mister Outsider!"

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

So this is what it looks like once I'm near the walls of the village from within instead of outside, huh? Just a barren and unmaintained landscape filling up with weeds and other undesirable plant life filling the gaps.

The walls are very high, somewhere around 10-15 feet in length. Hard to climb unless you use a ladder or use a tree. Last I saw from outside, there weren't many handholds there. Not a single one found from the inside as well. And there are rooftops atop them, the rims making anybody incapable of climbing atop them after scaling the walls.

The dirt ground? It's obvious that somebody has the job of maintaining it from getting too many weeds growing in, but the amount of dedication found in the job is not even close to 'willing' or even 'obligatory' in nature. It looked like somebody didn't want to do the job, reluctant even. There's some weeds untouched, some looking like they were sliced instead of rooted out, and some of them looked like they were about to be ripped out of the ground, only to be abandoned at the last second.

The houses nearby? Abandoned, all of them. Decrepit, even, uninhabited and unmaintained for who knows how many years. There's even roots and vines growing at the walls along with the moss, and plant life is already growing at the gutters. The dust accumulated in them is very…bad. Just punching the wooden post puffed out so much I immediately ran away from it before I ended up coughing. Some looked like they're ready to fall apart once their pillars give in with a single swing of a sledgehammer.

When I ran a full circle around the entire edge of the village, everything from the house to the walls looks almost the same, with varying degrees of abandonment. The upper side of the village was far cleaner, and it's because it's nearby a mansion, belonging to a bloke like the village leader or something with a perfectionist attitude towards cleanliness.

I can conclude why it's like this.

Paranoia.

Whether the human village is the safest place in Gensokyo or not, no one could shake off the thought that the Youkai might take a chance and sneak in from the walls, and you don't want to be the first one they find if they do. So you can't take that chance by being so close to the edge. What's worse is that some Youkai could fly. No wall is ever gonna stop them. It's very likely that all the villagers live close to the center and with each other, where you can easily find help.

But that also leads to another thing.

The edge of the village can potentially be the place where the bad people gather. Unpopulated, unmaintained, and abandoned? It's a very good place to hide out. You can take advantage of the village's paranoia to earn your space without any disturbance. Will they be human or Youkai? It does not matter. If it's the latter, they can take advantage of the 'untouchable' status of the village to hide from rivals. I don't need to ask if there are consequences if you attack a villager, I've got many hints to guess if that's the case since the Scarlet Devil Mansion. If it's only the former, then these bad people are strong enough to take care of themselves that they could handle any Youkai if one decides to take a chance.

And that's why I'm keeping my hand close to my knife as I walk about, hiding it from view and ready to be whipped out. Drawing it out too soon will be one of the stupidest moves to make; it'll just make you look like an obvious threat and potential target. I must look the part of a bystander the best I can. Trying to keep a straight face is almost impossible. Wearing a mean mask is very automatic for me. It kept motherfuckers off me before, but doing so now would only bring bad attention. Looking wary is enough for me. It'll work as a sign that I won't be someone so easily taken advantage of like a potential victim.

Nothing's happened yet, but I'm not letting my guard down. I'm just gonna do one more full circle around the edge of the village, then I'll leave, ask around for a place to live in.

[Aaaaahhhaaaaa…] I yawned, half-deliberate and half-genuine. Just something to disarm my image as somebody who could defend himself. The less my enemy knows about me, the better my advantages. Acting helpless will be important too.

And I never play fair. Does playing fair save your life? No, it cannot. The world's never fair with you, therefore you have no reason to start doing so.

*snap*

….

….that stick-snap came from just outside the wall, but it sure got me stiff and on edge. Whether that was an animal or a Youkai that knows I'm here by smell, hearing or presence, I'm not taking chances.

[Hhrrrrrghhhh…..] I tilted my head, crackling two snaps on my neck before I began jogging. Calm down, Eman. Take light steps, don't make too much noise with your feet. Make sure you can hear everything around you. Keep body ready, ready to jump out of the way, ready to sprint, and ready to fight back.

Stay away from open passages like doors or alleyways. Stay in the open where you can see it coming, but try not to go too far from a place where you can hide. They might have anything that can hit things from afar, especially danmaku.

I remember there being an open road just a few hundred meters ahead where the corner of the village will be found. If I could just reach it, I can cut the scouting short and immediately go to the center of the village.

Just jog, do not sprint. Keep guard up, try not to give your tension away. However, let your face mean business. It'll show that you're not here to fuck around. You have a tall build, let that be add to the intimidation factor. That way, it can dumb down the number of people who'll try to take a chance.

Less humans who think they can take advantage of tourists who don't know any better…and more Youkai who truly can take a chance because I look like agitated prey.

[Rrrrrrrrrggggghhhh…!]

Keep running. You're almost there. I feel someone's stare but that's not gonna stop me.

Okay….I just passed a long patch of weeds, then comes a portion of the wall that had a long network of vines coating even the roof. There it is. Okay, what else comes next?

Uh….uh….oh yeah, the house with a broken porch near the door. After that, there should be a lone box just lying around against the wall. Just a stupid empty box. And then the weeds will lessen in density, signifying the open road about to come close.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

...…..

…..…..…..

….…..…..…..…..

…I've passed through all three designated landmarks and reached the corner of the village…

…..but what the fuck is that barrel doing there against the edge of the corner of a house? That did not exist there. It fucking did not. Where's the dust if it had? Where the fuck did that house even come from? How the hell did it get placed on the center of the fucking open road out of nowhere…?

Since when did the road got so….clean? Untouched, like it was never stepped on. I've been here. There should be my footprints…..where the fuck did they go?

I look back behind me and I see a trail.

I face forward once again…..and every-fucking-thing feels so wrong.

Of course this is a fucking trap, and it's clearly by the hands of a Youkai, one that did not do his/her research in regards to detail. Because anybody could see through it all….

[Hhrrrrrgghhhh…..‼] I drew out the knife, inverted grip. And then I let out heat-waves come out, starting out small. 39 degrees Celsius…48 degrees Celsius….

Slow steps forward, no hurry….just take it slow….rig the bomb…..100 Celsius...no more than that…..if anything ever touches me, even if by the slightest….I'll blow myself up….and set everything on fire in a 20 meter radius at a 180 degrees angle. Do not torch the walls, the village needs them….but they won't have any use for empty buildings.

A safe plan, rather overkill, but safe. There will be a fire, but no one will be hurt. Once they see the smoke, it'll be the first sign of a cause for alarm, and no one's dumb enough to come near a blazing location unless they're trained for it. I'll make sure the damages are not so great, only one house should give and no more.

I'm gonna go to the barrel and touch it, see if it's a false one or not. If somebody had put it there, then where the hell are the footprints? And for what reason should that thing be there? Aesthetics? Supplies? The first clue I see is that the barrel is dust free compared to the house next to it. Whoever did this deserves to die choking on hot coal.

With a hand held out, with just a dozen steps left, I slowly—

Behind me. Something's coming—it's coming from behind, fast…I can hear a whooshing sound, coming closer….It was a diversion. Shit….shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! The barrel was a fucking distraction! Whoever did it knew how wary I am! Knew how I'd tick!

Dive to the open! Quick! Ah! Fucking shit, that hurt! But that doesn't matter, intercept the attack!

[AAAAAGGHHHH!‼!] GOLEM, COME OUT!

And he did, rising out of my back as I remained on my knees and elbows on the ground, using my stored-up heat as the energy to come into existence. With a massive fist made out of hellfire, he swung directly at—

"Whoa!" The woman swerved dangerously around the fist, scalding her skirt, and nearly shredding her face against the dirt as she grabbed on to the broom above her, her legs crisscrossed around it like a sloth before it suddenly stopped, inertia sending form spinning until she ended up sitting atop it. "Fucking hell, dude! Ya tryin'a kill me!?"

….it was fucking Marisa….

[…Fucking hell, Marisa, I could've hit you. What did I fucking say about coming from behind me?]

"Shut up! I've been lookin' all over for ya!" She told, slapping at the fire on her skirt. "And yer note in the tent wasn't fuckin' specific-ze!"

[It said 'Ningen Sato', you dumbass!] I even wrote that thing in fucking Japanese! And it wasn't meant for you in the first place! [I was looking for a house to live in!]

"Wha-what!? D-du-dude!" She had the most incredulous look on her face, swinging her arms around her and gesturing at everything that's existent, "Around here!? C'mon, I thought ya were smarter than that! This place's baddie magnet, man!"

[In case you think I'm dumber than you when it should be the other way around, I know! I didn't live on the streets thinking anybody's a good fucking neighbor in a place like this!]

"Then why the hell are you here?"

I crossed my arms, [Scouting.] I gestured to the barrel, [Was just sightseeing, then I see a barrel that wasn't there in the—]

….it's gone.

I immediately ran to its last seen location, normal fires lighting up on my right hand.

"Eman?"

I forgot that the Golem is still floating behind me, making a red glow all around me, and following my hand movements the entire time so I let it stay for a bit. I waved and grabbed around a phantom barrel, and I get nothing caught in my hand. I looked at the alley, also nothing.

The street. I gotta check there. Outta the way, Marisa.

"He-hey!"

My footprints….the footprints I've left when I walked through here the first time, it's here again. And the house is gone.

So what…..an illusion?

"What's goin' on?"

I took a deep breath, the Golem above me doing the same body language, then I sighed. [I was about to walk into a trap, some kinda illusion trap, environment looked all wrong, and there was a house in the middle of the open road towards the village center.] I didn't take note of it because the barrel was far more suspicious. I think the house was the distraction. [I think I was about to be enclosed until you came.]

"Youkai."

[I know. Ya scared it off.] I turned around, facing her and lighting up my fist on fire, level to my chest. The Golem did the same thing, [Burning just one house would'a done the trick and spooked off the Youkai.]

Then a scowl immediately made its way to her face, glaring at me, "Are ya daft, man? Yer about to start a fire in the middle of the fuckin' village-ze!"

[I know, overkill.] I held up my hands, Golem was also admitting it. [Just one empty building among the hundreds. It's not a loss, that thing's gonna fall apart anyway. And the villagers could deal with it once they see the smoke, I was gonna make sure it doesn't spread.]

"Idiot!" She stomped up to me, and would've been at my face if she wasn't so short. "Ya don't throw yer powers around in the fuckin' village! This place is off-limits for shit like that! Have some fuckin' control!" She fucking pushed me in the chest. "Look here, Eman: just because ya had powers, it doesn't make ya a fuckin god, okay!? It don't give ya any right to use it however ya like on anythin'. Have some restraint, at least! Ya can't just have it as a solution to everythin'!"

[If you think I don't know that, you're wrong.] I remained unmoving, crossed-armed in place. [Ever since yesterday and that fucking nuke, I'm starting to get afraid of my own powers. Look, I get your point, but this is just once. I wouldn't do this without thinking it through.]

"Burning a fuckin' house? Dude, yer really not thinkin' this right." She pointed at Golem. "They see ya with that guy," She pointed at the house, "Burnin' that place," She gestured to the open road, "And a villager happens to be passin' by, yer not gettin' any house to live in 'round here-ze."

Point taken, even though I already knew that. [If you can't fly, and you're in my place, what would you do?]

"Beat it, of course! Beat it till it's sorry! And when it's sorry, beat it some more just to show yer not somebody ta mess around with! I's that simple!"

I feel very hypocritical when I ask this, [Is there any solution besides beating it up in general?]

"Or ya could just do Reimu's schtick and, y'know, exorcise it. The boring stuff."

Now you sound hypocritical as well, Marisa. You tell me to have restraint and not use my powers for everything, and yet you imply that you use your bullshit full of lasers and explosives for anything.

I wish I could just punch you in the face for it.

Sigh….I pinched my forehead before wiping it downwards; fucking hell.

*Snap* Finger snap.

You're dismissed for now, Golem. See ya in a bit.

Brbrbrbrbr….holy hell, the sudden shift to cold temperature in my body really makes me chilly.

Anyway, [Why were you looking for me?] I never get to hear it because all ya did was yell bullshit at maximum volume.

"What?" She looked at me questioningly, then her eyes sparkled in remembrance. "Oh yeah, c'mon!"

[O-oi!] Don't just grab my arm so—oof! Wait, why'm I seated on yer broom!? [What's goin' on!?]

"I got a li'l gift ready for ya!"

*BOOSH!*

[HAAAAHAAAAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!] DON'T BLAST OFF SO SUDDENLY, YOU MOTHERFUCKING BIIIIIIITCH!

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

As the pair shrunk into a small dot in the sky, screams and obscenities disappearing into the distance, a leering gaze peeked out from the corner, hungry and very bitter as she watched her prey get taken away. Away from her grasp.

"…soooooooon…"

A cluster of leaves was all that remained from the hunter at the blink of an eye, seeking a new trail and a new trap.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Heaving in breath and covered with sweat, he planted his back against the wall and turned a very angry eye towards the flying witch at the end of the hall, [Marisa, you lied to me again!]

"What're ya talkin' about!?" Came her joyous reply, her form zigzagging all over the giant hallway, every bullet thrown her way by either fairy or goblin blatantly grazed in the most impossible sway of movements while riding her broom. "This is exactly what I was plannin'!"

Before the Wraith could be summoned from the fires of his frustration and irritation, a flash of blue light in his peripherals made him go prone against the ground, a blue danmaku bullet smacking against the wall where his head should be. The fairy who shot that bullet is immediately reduced into a cloud of glitter with a well-placed fireball to the face.

[Twenty…..fucking…one….!] Another chalk up to the kill count. He collapsed to one knee, trying to regain his energy. [Hoo boy, that was tiring. Hehe…hagh!] He barked out all his oxygen and easily heaved it back. Another bark and a second deep inhale, it got even easier to breathe. At the third bark and inhale, all his oxygen is finally restored.

[Haven't done that in a while.] He muttered; recalling his reasons for not doing so, such as subtlety. Slamming a fist against the ground, he leered at the hallway, [Now to blast that bitch to the heavens.] With a guttural grunt, he shot up to his feet and jogged onwards, leaving a trail of burning footprints, the Wraith within priming up to be brought into existence.

A troop of fairies gathering ahead near the ceiling and looking like they're about to shoot him in the head, he boiled two fire bombs in his hands, set to explode upon impact. They took the first shot and their patterns or aim were either predictable or lame. Dodging them was simple, he didn't need to move so fast in twisting his body or executing evasive action. Slipping through a tight squeeze of bullets, earning himself a nick in the left elbow and shoulder, he raised up a leg and slammed it down into the ground, creating a spread of fireballs to fly into the air.

3 fairies annihilated. His pattern may be denser than he thinks it proper for the 'fair' part of the game, but at least it lessens the number of annoyances. Plus, he can't fly. It's proper compensation.

Satisfied, he twisted around and threw the firebomb in his right hand to the wall. The fairy that was in the way swerved aside from the trajectory and laughed at him for his miss. Eman also smirked. You're undoing, bitch! The firebomb exploded into a grenade upon collision, making him flinch as the magnitude of noise was completely unexpected. Those near the blast radius are reduced into glitter.

7 fairies annihilated.

With the last firebomb in his left hand, he threw it in an arch to the air instead of making it fly in a straight line. While the improvised grenade still has momentum, he quickly reached into his spiritual center and sought for the Holy Spirit's hand. Having the impression of the Holy Spirit's warmth clasping around his hand like a mother, he prayed to Her: Take aim.

With a single palm lighting up with beautiful swirling holy fires, the sanctified bullet took flight and homed in on the falling firebomb. As Holy met Arcane, an unstable mixture resulted in an explosion in the air that was highly destructive. All that remained of the fairies caught in the blast are nothing but a rainfall of glitter.

2 fairies annihilated.

No more enemies in sight.

After he felt that there was nothing shooting at him anymore, he slowly removed his hands from his ears, closed his open mouth, and turned around, checking his handiwork. The walls were blackened, some parts of the masonry found on the floor in pieces of black brick and cement, and even the marble wall that separated the interior from the garden outside was ablaze. He whistled in amazement at the sparkles falling around him. [That's 33 fairies.] He held up his hand that was still lit in holy fires. It truly stayed true to the Good Book, [Doesn't take well to magic.] Looking up at the blazing wall, he ejected a bulbous holy fire ball into it, which didn't result in an explosion but rather the destructive element weakening and reduced into hot air, quietly extinguishing it.

[Too much magic fire against holy fire: turns into a blast-force grenade without any chance of causing a fire. Too much holy fire against magic fire: it's a smoke bomb in the shape of fire.] He stated his recent discovery as soon as he tried to use both fires at once upon entering the halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Making it clash will get me a different result. Make one fire overpower the other till it's gone. I cut the clash midway and it blows up like a grenade with both explosive force and holy properties, kinda like the real-life Fat Man from Fallout, a mini-nuke that creates radiation.

[Am I a shock unit then?] He asked himself, walking along his way inwards to the direction of the stairs that lead to the library. After moments of pondering, he reached the corner and turned to the right, [But explosives are Marisa's schtick…and Reimu's got the holy stuff handled, if she's really living up to that Priestess theme. So am I a mix to both? Hmm….] He figured he'd prefer a rather distinct modus operandi in regards to a fight. [Should I handle the overkill?]

"Rrgh."

He stopped mid-step, his right hand close to his chin while the other held the right elbow, and his eyes slowly rose up from the ground and straight into the yellow slit eyes of Jergo himself, accompanied by a large band of his squad behind him.

His left eye twitched, [Were you waiting specifically for me, Jergo?]

The mob nodded in a wave from their Leader at the front to the last member at the back.

[When you should'a been dealing with the biggest troublemaker here that's probably in the library causing a mess right now?]

….…..

They nodded again in a wave.

[Oh…] He swept his silky bangs upwards, his facial expression and body language implying frustration than distress at the current situation he was in, but his insides were boiling, urging, forcing. He was excited at the prospect of a real challenge. All the fairies prior were merely practice dummies that shoot back. [Fine.]

One holy orb in his hand, another holy orb in the other hand. When the quantity of holy power was decent enough to fill an entire lake in each, he let them revolve around him like little planets the size of a basketball and added two more, but the one on his right hand was loaded to the brim with three lakes worth.

The mob was very tense upon witnessing his feat, and the smell of holy set them on edge. Orbs of red electricity and danmaku gathered in their hands, fueled by caution and wariness, they slowly took small steps back, preparing for a very rough scuffle that involved a lot of bullets, and a lot of moving.

Multicolored tethers came to be from Eman's fingertips and connected to the far potent holy orb, [It's unfortunate for all you that I noticed.]

"Ergh?" Jergo grunted in question, wondering what he meant.

A murder smirk came to Eman's face, and his eyes looked straight upwards to his eyebrows, or rather, the hundreds of goblins clung to the ceiling with their hands crackling with red electricity, their own magic illuminating their alarmed expressions of being exposed. [I wouldn't have to do this otherwise.] His stoic voice cracked to reveal his giddiness, and it exposed just how much he'll enjoy what he's going to do next.

The horror that dawned on Jergo's face will be the one thing Eman will remember in this very day.

"HA—" The command to attack was cut short.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Meiling's ear twitched, catching the sound of whooshing wind. It was something she could hear everyday, down to the point where she forgot it even existed, but she never heard it come from just one direction. Looking both sides first for security measures, she turned her eyes back to the entrance of the mansion and gasped with aquamarine eyes wide open.

Like the gaping maw of the Great Dragon Hong, the entrance of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was bellowing flames of unlimited colors, shrouding the stone steps, coating the gardens, and flooding the courtyard. It swept onwards like an unstoppable force of nature, and she could do nothing but stare, look on as the colorful wave buried everything it touched, its mesmerizing motion leaving her in a trance and strangely in a sense of peace.

It was coming closer.

Survival instincts began to flare up within her, breaking her out of her hypnotized state. Shaking her head, she squared her shoulders, spread her feet apart against the ground, keeping her locked in place against the stone pavement and crossed her arms in front of her face. Qi flowed within her, her own polychromatic skill sparking out from her arms and coating her entire form like a second skin; a hardened shell.

Steeling her will, she braced for impact—

The burning flood suddenly extinguished, bringing back the image of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's entire courtyard and garden in a far more pristine state, alive and practically glowing with beauty, something she couldn't hope to achieve in a single day without Sakuya's help.

"What the hell?"

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

The holy flail moved like a viper and struck the ground in the motion of an assaulting bite, releasing copious amounts of holy power upon collision that coated everything that was nearby from floor to ceiling. The quantities released were enough to fill the entire corridor behind him and reach the lobby that was more than 10 kilometers away.

The only thing stopping the flood of holy fire from filling the entire first floor and breaching the closed doors of the second floor was because the door entrance was left wide open…

[Niiiice.] Eman nodded in genuine approval and respect while his entire form was buried within holiness.

….and because the goblins had blocked off the attack with a gigantic magical barrier reaching from the floor to the ceiling, held up by a squad of 20 goblins and already straining from the effort of impeding a tsunami from drowning them all.

With one clap of the hands, the holy flood disappeared like the flames from a stove.

The Minister stood before the magical barrier for just a single second, leaving the goblins baffled at what they just saw after its form vanished. Eman stood in its place, hands together in front of his chest as if in prayer. Only three holy orbs revolved around him; one circling above his head, the second around his shoulder and the last beside his waist.

[HOOOOO!] He screamed, eyes wide open at what he just did. Turning his eyes down to the mob before him, then looking up to the ceiling were he found the upper end of the barrier, he deduced that he won't be going anywhere unless he brute-forced through, and that meant taking out every single goblin. [Craaaaaaaap…..!] Two orbs float before him, nearly touching the transparent magical wall. [This is gonna be rough!]

With two hands, he pressed the orbs against the magical barrier, infusing more into the quantity of holy power in every second. He knows that he doesn't have to put any physical effort into it, not even mental effort. His holy power was infinite; he only needs to overpower the quantity of magic put into the barrier with the holy orbs, potentially dissolving it. But his instinct to use force is still ingrained into him, so he pushed, growling like a beast just to tense up his abdomen.

Like a virus, the holy fires began to spread from the orbs as they pressed against barrier, spreading outwards from the center and rising up to the ceiling, eating away at its constitution bit by bit. No matter how many goblins have volunteered to add on to the effort of holding up the blockade, the weight of the holy fires doesn't seem to stop rising up. They were losing most of their strength just to hold it up.

Jergo was down to one option: to release the barrier and face him head-on. If they persisted like this, it will only exhaust them and reduce the number of his boys capable enough to fight back. They're not as strong as he is, and strength in unity was their code.

Rasping a command in a single breath, his men gave him a shocked glance before turning a determined stare towards their foe. No matter what the distraction is, it doesn't take long for them to return to the mindset of being one mind as a group. Those at the ceiling skittering downwards and posting themselves in good places at the walls, those at the ground took several steps back, readying their strongest spells in groups. With a barked signal, the barrier was opened.

The unused holy orb behind Eman's back immediately began firing an endless barrage in all directions, floating like a balloon in a straight path onwards with an appropriately slow speed. The goblins in separate groups of three instantaneously held up red magical sigils, absorbing the bullets like a sponge. Jergo held two magical sigils with both hands, backing away from the approaching sanctified orb alongside everybody else.

As Eman fell forward from the force exerted towards a now-nonexistent wall, he easily rolled back to his feet and bolted, spreading shots of holy bullets in his every step, crossing a path the goblins vacated as they didn't want to get ran over by him. By Jergo's command, groups of three converted into four and they were able to shoot back thanks to a member stood atop their respective group's shoulders. However, it didn't seem to work; the human's bullets were too dense, any red danmaku that came close collides easily with the bursts of his every step. Even if one was lucky to pass through the barrage, the two intact holy orbs following him closely would smack it aside like a fly.

It can only be considered cheating and against the rules of the Spell Card System if he used seeking bullets along with the protection of his holy orbs and the absurd density of his shots, which would be nothing but unfair.

And when he reached a far enough distance from the mob, keeping them pinned in one area because of his barrage and the holy orb mercilessly raining down holy bullets upon them, he executed a cartwheel, followed by one backhand spring, then a twisting backflip.

After witnessing just a glimpse of Jergo amidst the crowd of red in mid-air, he sent his regards with a smile and a single finger snap: The holy orb exploded, bursting like a water balloon and flooding the entire section of the hallway that was primarily occupied by goblins and nowhere else. Though he did land on his feet, he failed to stop the momentum from throwing him to his back on the floor due to how suddenly the mob was devoured by the consecrated flames of the Holy Spirit like a compressed C4 detonation.

He barely stopped his mind from blowing itself apart because of how unexpected it was; he wanted it to start peppering everything around it with bullets, it instead blasted into a rectangular-shaped explosion. The colors were innumerable, but the lightly illuminated (and windowless) hallway made it all so bright he had to shield his eyes away.

The screams of the goblins, however, made him smirk guiltily and the thrill of violence set him off.

The entire squad…..with just one boom…..dead….!

[HAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!‼] He slapped his thighs rapidly like a madman, his cackle mixing amidst the suffering screams of the mob as he relished every sound and immediately sat upright, putting his hands together in a clap in front of his chest, saying the request demurely, [Stop.]

Like a paused video, the flames ceased in movement, then its entirety gathered into one area above the pile of red corpses littering the floors, shaping itself back into a ball-shaped apparition of sanctity. The original dim lighting of the hallway returned.

[Ha ha!] Eman yelled excitedly, shooting up to his feet. [Yes!] He raised a hand, a holy orb at his left side collided against it in the form of a high-five. Raising the other hand, the opposite orb smacked into the palm. Eman was off-put by the lack of impact force; he was just slapping air. Turning to the third holy orb at the distance, he hollered, [Don't just float there, c'mere! You just destroyed everybody!]

Comparable to the speed of sound, the holy orb whizzed straight before him in an eye-blink, literally surprising him off his feet from its sudden close-up before he gushed over it like a pet, holding it by the (nonexistent) sides, [You are a MASSIVE BEAUTY, HOLY SPIRIT! MWAH!] He smooched the colorful orb, leaving him slightly disheartened that he felt nothing from his lips. [You are a badass! All by Yourself, nice! But I contribute too! I also handled some fairies. With Your help, of course. We're a team so we get equal credit altogether!] He then released the orb, walking along as it followed closely beside him.

Looking at the mesmerizing fire ball of swirling colors beside him with a pondering stare, he said, [Your ball form's already getting boring and rather mainstream. I gotta give Ya a body soon. That way, You're not gonna be like a bullet anymore, You're gonna become an Ass-Kicker! My Spiritual Ass-Kicker! Once I get it done, everybody's gonna know how unstoppable You are! Then we'll practice some choreos! I'll do the dancing and punching, You do the shooting and flaming! How 'bout tha—agh!] He jumped, eventually crumbling to the floor. [Stop! Ha-ahahahahaha! Stop! Tickles! Tickles! What're You doing!? Stop! Hahahahaha!]

All three holy orbs began to coat his entire body with holy flames, attacking the crook of his neck and armpits as well as any other sensitive part of his body, and it sent a full-body sensation of being tickled by a million soft hands made out of cotton fabric. Tears were starting to come out of his eyes, but they expressed his euphoria rather than his forced hysteria. His Guardian Spirit, the representation of the deity he worshipped and revered so much, was playing with him, and it was nothing short of elating in the purest form to him.

"How cute."

The tickling sensation stopped, Eman managed to hear the dignified voice amidst his hysteria and turned his tear-soaked eyes to the hallway ahead of him: the Draculina, Remilia Scarlet was stood before him, arms crossed and giving him an amused stare.

Eyes widening, he wiped the tears out with his hand and rose up to one knee, the holy fires coating his upper body shaping themselves back into three holy orbs. [Remilia.]

A sly smile crossed the vampire's face, "We meet again, Eman, my boy. Quite the lovely Monday morning today, is it not?"

[Shouldn't you be in bed?] Eman rose up to his feet, fixing his shirt, [Don't vampires here normally sleep at daylight hours?]

"I'm merely extending my waking hours for a while, and then I heard you and Marisa breaching into my home once again. I figured I should give you two the proper greetings as the Mistress of this Mansion before I go to bed."

Suspicion immediately settled into his eyes, and an ironic grin cracked into his face. [….you mean a fight?]

"Correct!" Remilia was rather delighted, "As far as I have learned, this is the Gensokyo way!"

[Uh huh….] He nodded slowly, having no reason to not believe the words, if all the events in his time here in the passing of one week is any indication. [….and you went after me first?]

"Correct again!" Her grin widened, clapping her hands excitedly in front of her chest. He was both amazed and very unnerved that she managed to look so dignified and childlike at the same time. "I have been wanting to have a little scuffle with you for a while. Flandre has been telling me of your…interesting way of playing with danmaku with her alongside Marisa. With such details piquing my interests, I cannot waste such an opportunity. So, will you take the time to play?"

His first instinct was to oblige, finding the prospect of fighting a vampire rather exhilarating. The pain and the rush it'll give him…he couldn't say no. But he urged himself to be rational. He can't be impulsive to a woman like her. He already knew that she had a level of cunning that shouldn't be taken lightly. When he thought of it carefully, the outcome was slowly starting to look uncomfortable.

He made his choice, [Can we not?]

Slit scarlet eyes widened, the response clearly unexpected. "Well, that's a surprising answer."

[As much as I want to, I can tell that you'll easily win.] He let the holy orbs return to his body, resting inside his spiritual core, awaiting the next time they are needed. [I mean, c'mon! You been here before I was even born! That just means you got 2 decades of experience with danmaku! And remembering what the fuck ya did to me in that throne room, yer just gonna mess me up badly. Again.]

Remilia began to grin, and her fangs were starting to show. She was starting to look very antagonistic, "Sharp." She crossed her arms, her smirk staying, "You aren't wrong, my boy, but that could not be a surprise to anybody. Even if I do not hold a grudge against you, I would still deliver a level of pain that you can expect whenever you face somebody stronger than you are."

[So you're saying you're fighting me in a Spell Card Battle as an excuse to hit me.]

A ladylike guffaw came out of Remilia, clapping her hands very merrily. "That's what I like about you the most, you can read my intentions very well."

Eman thumped his foot, crossing his arms. [The answer is still no. What's the point if I'm just gonna lose in the first place?]

"Then how about a handicap?"

[Hmm?] His eyebrows raised in question, [What's that?]

"If you hit me once, danmaku or otherwise, you win. If I hit you three times with danmaku, I win." She informed, "Will that be fair?"

[…..] Eman was struck speechless; he didn't expect to hear such limitations imposed on herself. He scratched his head sheepishly, [That's noble of you, at least.]

"I try to be." She pleasantly smiled, "So, are you now willing?"

He took a sharp breath, cracking his knuckles while his shoulders lit up in yellow flames. With a trained will, he let the adrenaline flow out across his system, creating an exhilarating drive to rush across and be converted into fires, courtesy of his emotion trigger. With a quick exhale, his arms all the way to the shoulder was now coated with hot flames.

He'll indulge in this game. [Deal.]

Remilia smiled wickedly, her scarlet eyes glinting maliciously, "Good." Without any warning, she took flight, grabbed his collar, taking him off the ground, and he was thrown towards the wall. The impact blew out his oxygen, and he slid down to his front on the floor.

His eyes were wide at just how unexpected it was. [The…fuck….!?]

"Did I surprise you, my dear Eman?"

The taunt easily struck his anger chord, coloring his flames into a raging red, hints of black smoke seeping out into the air. [Hrrrghhh!] Flaming hands charring the floors, he bolted up to his feet and rolled out of the way before a scarlet orb could hit him. In the same motion, fireballs flew forward aiming for the flying Remilia.

Rolling back to his feet, he punched the ground to create a cloud of fireballs to erupt all around him and released a fire bomb straight towards the vampire. However, Remilia was a very nimble flyer, fast and slimly slipping through the confused pattern of his bullets. The fire bomb was even off the mark, hitting the ceiling that created an explosion too far away to reach her. She regarded it with an intrigued eye, "Oh, so Flandre didn't exaggerate at all. You do harbor such power despite having it not so long ago!"

[Blame the possession!] He shouted, his hands boiling with the flowers of the Agni Shine. [HA!] He set them loose, filling the entire space of the hallway with the flower-like pattern of the Librarian's spell card.

"Oh!" Instead of staying in place or retreating backwards like he thought, she instead flew forward, slipping through the tight spaces of the pattern with apparent ease, as if it was practiced or something she had been through before. "So you take after Patchy's magic, then!?"

[Just the fire, that's it!] He sprinted forward, his legs aflame and creating burst of danmaku in a waving pattern in every step, bypassing Remilia's flying form above him before he started executing the backhand springs, creating streams of spread-shot fireballs from the soles of his shoes.

"Look at you go!" Remilia exclaimed, returning fire as she dodged the barrage. "Flandre has spoken widely of your acrobatic ability mixing with your powers, and it did not disappoint! Come! Show me more!" She goaded, throwing a plethora of above-average sized scarlet danmaku.

Seeing the attack, he executed one more backhand spring to brew up the momentum and launched into a double-backflip, reaching an impressive height of 7 feet in the air. Remilia's attack showered around him and the area at the floors he once was before he was off the ground. They were like fireworks setting off nearby him, deafening and disorienting, he even felt his body shake from the sheer force, but he easily rolled to his back upon landing, creating a large cloud of fireball danmaku to spread out around him in the process, bringing him back to his feet and allowing him to bellow a flamethrower from his mouth.

Before she was swallowed by the jet of flames, she rocketed to the ground, causing a seismic shake and creating a large spiderweb crack on the cement, shooting a fast bullet, straight towards Eman's gut.

[Ghuagh!] His body curled from the strike, easily sending him off his feet and down to his knees and one elbow, the other hand rubbing the struck spot, revealing a hole on the non-enchanted shirt and a scalding spot on his belly. [Grrrr!]

"That's one." Remilia's smug voice reached him, "Ready for more or do you want to stop?"

Rising up his raging stare from the ground straight to the vampire's amused scarlet, his body immolated from the top of his head down to the soles of his shoes. Roaring like the demon he assumed himself to be, he charged forward, throwing barrages of spread shot danmaku towards her.

Remilia took flight, no higher than 5 feet from the ground, and she returned fire with bullets larger than her own body. When he had the will to take them head-on, forgetting the winning conditions of the battle due to a blind rage, his emotion-trigger manifested his will and the fires coating his body shifted outwards in front of him, creating a circular shield that either absorbed the scarlet danmaku or caused them to explode upon impact.

"Oh, it seems you have more interesting tricks up your sleeve." Remilia remarked, "But will it be enough!?" She then sent him a merciless hail of danmaku, the notion of beauty set aside and focused all shots towards him.

Keeping the shield up was far impossible, needing more of his will and rage to constitute its fortitude. Any physical effort on his part was merely by keeping himself from being blown backwards from the explosion, and he was unsure if his entire body could hold itself up forever.

"What's wrong!? Is it too much for you!?" He heard Remilia's ever-so-infuriating smug tone amidst the blasts of bullets. "You cannot hide in a turtle shell forever, my dear Eman! Fight back! Show me what else you can do! Or maybe Flandre was merely exaggerating!? Was all that talk of your interesting fighting ability mere bluster!? It'd be impossible for you to able to survive long enough against my sister, wouldn't it!? Are you really this weak—"

The Wraith rose out of his form, its creator screaming like an angered lion as his body motioned a throw, the hulking humanoid of hellfire rearing one molten claw back as it held a miniature meteor before it was thrown, straight towards Remilia. The vampire flew forward, swerving from the trajectory of the giant firebomb and felt the heat of the explosion from her wings. When she looked back, flying over the Wraith's bulky form, she beheld a severely blackened hallway that spanned as far as 50 meters, nearly touching Eman's prone form.

[HAGH!] Slamming his fists on the ground, he spun around on his knees, shifting to the TD-Raiz, followed by a corkscrew. Synchronized to the swing of his legs, the Wraith's fiery twister that served as its legs extended several meters away from its master's back, swinging a left hook towards Remilia as soon as she was in reach. When she spun away from the strike, leaving the wall to explode in an inferno from the impact, it swung an overhead punch, a practical hammer of hellfire ready to incinerate her.

She practically disappeared from sight as her petite form flew in an arch at imperceptible speeds, bounding away from the impact zone. As the ground shook from the collision of a molten fist against the masonry of the floors, the rapid footsteps reached her ears before she saw Eman sprinting towards her, his hulking creation following closely above him, waving its fiery arms about, throwing larger fireballs at every direction, up and down, left and right, peppering the entire hallway with intense heat and pure conflagration. The majority of its shots flew forward towards Remilia.

Grinning wickedly, she charged head on once again. Grazing and dodging whatever came her way, feeling a wave of heat each time, and flew under the fiery jab that came her way as soon as she was in touching distance to it. The Wraith rounded on her flying form as she swerved past it, arms spread out with claws open as it spun like a rotor blade, following the rhythm of its master as he executed a backhand spring before a butterfly kick.

Remilia didn't try to shoot at the clearly vulnerable and exposed human, far more interested in watching him dance and perform acrobatic feats that strangely had martial arts mixed into it rather than earn herself another hit on him. Even with the Wraith trying to strike her out of the air with its claws, she had little difficulty thanks to her tengu-like speeds. "Yes! Now this is what I wanted to see!" She flew underneath a fist thrown her way, ending up behind the fiery colossus. "You truly do not disappoint!" She flew up above the spiky elbow swung towards her in a spin. "Is this how all outsiders dance!? Or is this merely a style of your own!?"

The Wraith's hands began to immolate and pointed them towards Remilia, shooting out jets of intense heat from each molten palm, comparable to the St. Elmo's Pillar, breaking/melting through the ceiling and into the second level of the Mansion.

She was already right at Eman's face before she could get incinerated by it, a crazed look covering her entire visage as her petite hands grabbed the scruff of his collar. "I am utterly IMPRESSED!" She punctuated her point by throwing him against the wall and shooting a plethora of bullets at him. The Wraith was quick to stand in the trajectory of her shots, squaring its shoulders to appear larger and forming an X with its stocky arms, taking the brunt of her assault.

Her powerful hearing caught a guttural growl, and the fiery construct exploded spectacularly, spreading its arms before detonating into a cloud of fireballs that flew in all directions. Remilia flew upwards where there was more breathing room and she grazed every shot thrown her way. The bullets were indeed dense but they spread out too quickly, creating too many gaps for her to slip through. And when the shots were beginning to lessen, she aimed one little danmaku towards Eman's collapsed form and let it loose.

[AGH!] It hit him right in his exposed back, doubling the ache he received from his impact against the wall.

With grace befitting a queen, the Draculina floated gently towards the ground, wings spread out to control her fall and she made not a sound as her shoes met the heating floors. Hands elegantly crossed below the base of her wings as she approached Eman's face-down form, she bent her upper body downwards and said to him, "That's two for me."

[Hhrrrrgghhhh…..!] Growling defiantly, he turned a bold glare towards her, his body emitting heat waves like a living heater. A precept of an explosive about to ignite.

To his surprise that it made the fire bomb inside his core disappear, she held out a hand towards him. "Let me help you up." She offered, smiling like an innocent child while her eyes sparked with mischief. "Do not worry, I will not do anything. I merely expect you to fight to the fullest once you get to your feet."

Frowning in suspicion, body tense in case of immediate contradiction upon compliance, he slapped his hand atop Remilia's own, dwarfing the latter in terms of size. With a grunt, he raised up one leg, and weighed down on the vampire's hand as he placed his other foot flat on the ground below him. The vampire didn't strain a tiny bit, still smiling like the child she appears to be. As soon as he released her hand, she disappeared at the blink of an eye, suddenly afloat in the air with her wings flapping gracefully.

"I have been watching that spectacle you made at the shores of the Misty Lake yesterday; you seemed to have unlocked your gift at holy magic." Eman's response was to slightly widen his eyes in surprise. "Why not use it? From what I saw, you clearly have a better affinity to it rather than the flames you create."

He looked at his hand, clenching and unclenching as he wrought out the Holy Spirit's representation in his mind. He had held himself back from using it against her, afraid that the Holy Spirit might set her in a very unfriendly mood, considering her past with Christians. Apparently not considering that she might have never seen the sanctified entity in her life, nor would the merciful being actually be present in that disaster of betrayal and pain, it could not be the case, so he created 4 holy orbs to revolve around him.

"My dear boy, are you taking after Reimu? Those little balls seem similar to her Ying-Yang orbs."

That's a coincidence if that's the case. He thought, his angered core cooled down as manipulating holy fires needed only will, not a raging heart. Stomping his foot, the holy orbs panned forward above his head and began to shoot as he sprinted forward, keeping his eye focused on the scarlet barrage going his way.

The notion of beauty returned to Remilia's attacks, patterns and art showing through. It would have been easy to dodge them but due to her constant movement in order to dodge his bullets, the arrangement of her patterns were confused, messy, and very dense. And in a confined space like the hallway, even though it spanned as far as a basketball court from either walls, the bullets get cramped together to shape a large cloud. Thinking fast before he gets riddled by the hail, he performed a side-flip and followed up with more as he became closer and closer towards the end of the hall. He was aware that he might look ridiculous doing this in a fight but the bursts of holy bullets that homed on the bullets heading towards him, if not Remilia herself, every time his feet landed on the ground made it all worth the effort.

Reaching the end of the hall with a left turn that leads back to the lobby, he executed one last side-flip before he reached the wall and used the momentum to reach 3 steps in a wall-run before jumping in an arch, releasing a splendid display of multiple colors as he spun around to face her, dense holy bullets shaping like massive angelic wings from his outstretched arms.

The vampire was struck in awe at the polychromatic sight, captivated by the many shades of colors she doesn't see everyday and the simple yet grand symmetry of the wings. Interestingly, the boy had his eyes closed, almost in a trance-like or meditative state as his body remained levitated in a crucified pose. Before she could start comparing him to a rather exalted and stronger Rumia, Eman's eyes flashed with divine light as they opened and the wings flapped magnificently.

Remilia was well away before the millions of holy bullets that originated from the wings at the first beat. Adhering to the rules, there were open pathways and gaps in the murderous clusters instead of none at all, open and free for the vampire to exploit. As she began to evade and graze, the second beat of the wings brought another wave of holy bullets, then came the third. More followed up, practically flooding and plugging the whole way with the scent of incense, hot water, and as well as the fires of divinity.

It's potentially a Hell of Divine Origin for Youkai.

Through a steeled will and a crazed drive from witnessing a mind-blowing feat that she didn't think Eman could do despite the supreme power he already displayed manipulating earlier, she sneered all of her sharp teeth and weaved through the obscure pattern. With the use of her famed speed and powerful eyesight, she pushed herself to the limit. She can't fire back, it will only collide with the barrage. She cannot come too close, otherwise the likelihood of her getting hit will only get very critical as the bullets only spread apart from each other at a certain distance.

Luckily, she doesn't have to. The wings' integrity was waning from every flap, waves of bullets using its every essence, and it was beginning to shrink. While very overwhelming, he can't hold it up for long. She can afford to be patient, stay back and let him dry off his attack. Once he does….

…He's miiiine….!

Cunning thoughts of presumed victory came to a stop as her ears heard a strange resonance from the ambience of bullets flying and colliding against anything it came upon: a choir?

[~Holy Spiriiiiit, come with Your Fiiire~]

No. It was the boy himself. The boy was singing. His voice was amplified and echoed, as if he was at the interior of a cathedral during a solemn mass. Through the multicolored cluster of bullets coming her way, she managed to catch a glimpse before he was obscured once again: the center of his chest was glowing brightly and he was reaching upwards, as if to the heavens.

An invocation…! This truly got very exciting than she thought it could.

[~Holy Spiriit, come with Your Fiiire~]

His voice began to rise up in volume, a small droning chant becoming grandiose, overflowing with the zeal of pure reverence. His wings were becoming tiny, the endless suppressive fire of his bullets beginning to wane into pathetic clumps, but he didn't seem concerned. The divine glow in his chest was brighter than the moon over a dark forest, brighter than a bonfire inside a windowless building, actually blinding Remilia from ever seeing his face.

[~Holy Spirit, come with Your Fiiire~
~Holy Spirit, come with Your Fiiiiiiiiiiire~!]

The last she saw of him was his hazel eyes inferring a challenge as he met her gaze, daring her to try dodging the very first Spell Card contributed to the Holy Spirit and Her fires.

Remilia reared her arm back, the edges of her sneering lips extending past normal limits and her eyes glowing bright red, her hasty fury rising to the surface of her noble image.

Eman spread his arms out, open and surrendering to the Holy Spirit fully, disappearing from sight as the Minister took his place.

[~Cooooome~, «Holy Spirit—Let the Fire FAAAAAAAAALL»‼!‼!]
"«Divine Spear—Spear the Gungnir»!"

The Spear of Odin takes flight, a single projectile with supreme aim and accuracy for a single target, onwards to the Minister's chest, pouring an endless flood of pure divine fire, sending a bright torrent over the floors and encroaching onwards like a sanctified force of nature. The air was littered with a number of bullets that rivaled Reimu's Fantasy Heaven, every single one a seeking bullet, aiming for a single target floating in place.

Between a consecrated calamity and an unstoppable missile, the winner is decided by whoever hit the other first.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

….…..…..

…..…..…..…..…..…..

…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..

[Haaaaaaa…..tired….] I wish the Holy Spirit could allow me this pain, but She keeps fussing over me and kept trying to heal the serious blow I received from crashing into the wall on my back. I get that She's concerned and meant well, and I'm very, very thankful, but I've developed a standard to contain the amount of power I could allow myself to use in one day. No more mystical things. What I've let out on that one Spell Card is enough. Plus, if She takes away the pain, how will this fight have any meaning?

I held the belief that pain always makes you strong. A fight brings pain, and I expect it every time. If this is the worst pain I could get, then the amount of pain I'll get next time I fight aren't gonna be any worse, I could take it. I'm not afraid to tank it so bring it on.

Pain is the very natural thing to come once the adrenaline wears out, when everything's over. It's not pleasant, especially with severe wounds, but that's the reality of it. I've accepted that long ago. Even if Gensokyo says otherwise, this is ME! I don't want it to go away that quickly, let it last. A week or a month, whatever. Let it stay! If it doesn't, then it'll make everything worth nothing.

It's a matter of pride, I know, Holy Spirit, but reprimand me later. Besides, I'm only human: I have a sense of self-pride like everybody else. This is how I became strong those two years ago, no need to break the dynamic. Let it happen. I can take it.

It would be a time to whip out the healing flames of the Wraith but I'm too pooped to do so. Willpower's not so great at the moment. If I tried, it'll just be a lighter with a single inch of fuel left. In other words: Pathetic.

Sigh….all this thinking makes me wanna sleep. I could only hold Her back for so long. The sooner I let my guard down, She'll immediately attack my aching back with healing treatment that nullifies pain and heals my wounds.

Let the Post-fight Medical team handle the damages. That way, I can feel the pain, no matter how bad it really feels. The shreds and skids on my left arm from yesterday's battle had already clotted early in the morning, proof of the case.

Just let it be, Holy Spirit, I can take it.

Oy….the unlimited concern and care an all-powerful entity has for you…sometimes, it makes you feel like you don't deserve it, sometimes it makes you feel like you've had too much.

Sigh….

*chirp!*

Whoa. Was that a bat? I just saw one whip by before disappearing into the ceiling. Now that I think about it, this is actually the first time I've ever saw a bat inside the mansion. Supposed cliché, yes, but it's gotta be there, right? But hey, I just saw one. That's good enough for me.

Oh, there goes another one, joining his/her neighbor as the first one flew out of the darkness of the high ceiling and began flying all over.

And then another…another…another….and yet another….there were hundreds of 'em, filling the air with leather, chitters, and a lot of flapping sounds.

Okay, what's going on? Why are they gathering here? This can't be for no reason—!

I looked at my left arm: it was still there.

Fucking hell…

Looking at them regressed the memory of Flandre tearing my arm off because a cloud of bats swarmed me. Now I'm getting really nervous. Defensive, even. But I'm staying in the passive position first. Do not make the first move. Even if one bites, don't do anything. Majority of bats are hardly any malicious.

Among the swarm, one little bat lays atop the opening of the shirt, showing my six pack. Amazingly, it had very pronounced red eyes, practically glowing amidst its midnight black fur and grotesque face, a rare sight for a non-albino. With little steps, it crawls up to my chest, and then doing nothing else.

…..unless….

[Remilia?]

The bat shoots up from my chest, and the swarm began to crowd around it, creating an ear-piercing chorus of shrills and shrieks. Fucking hell, this is nails on chalkboard!

Face crinkled, one hand clamping an ear, I watched the swarm begin to merge together into one flesh, a humanoid flesh, one that was slowly descending towards my lying form. A pair of extremities made out of fluttering leather that could pass for 'arms' pressed themselves on the floor on either side of my head. A 'head' hovers over mine as well as the body, a rather petite body, also composed of bats merging together. The 'legs' formed, laying 'knee's on either side of my waist, and the remaining bats in the air congregated at the 'back', forming a massive pair of bat wings.

With a gust of wind, Remilia was suddenly there, hovering over me with a victorious smile.

"I win."

I sighed once again, [Spectacular.] I deadpanned. [But did you really have to do that?]

"You burned me to the sinews of my body." She leaned her forehead against mine, close-up with her slit scarlet eyes. "Had we been fighting outside the Rules of the Spell Card System, I might have died." She purred.

Heh. I finally had it: payback. Now I can die happy. [We're even now.]

She giggled. "I shower you with praise." She kissed my forehead and straddled my hip, placing her hands on my knees behind her, as if to pin them down. "But I struck you first, therefore it's my win. Even if you reduced me to ashes, I can simply rise from it. You cannot kill an elder vampire that easily, boy."

[Whatever, we didn't agree to any prizes anyway.] Up we—agh! Ouch! Sitting up just spiked up the ache on my back. Ow. [How many times did ya throw me to the wall?]

"Three times, with the last from my Spear the Gungnir. Six times if I will include the number of times I've did inside the throne room four days ago. One was to the door, another was to the ceiling."

[Greeaat.] It's either Gensokyo or Remilia in general that has a problem with my back. If she has a grudge against it, I'm surprised she didn't try to rip it out my spine.

"The Power of the Holy Spirit, huh?" She titled her head, smirking mysteriously. "So that's what it was? It must be inconceivable to you that it wasn't even enough to defeat me, even when I was merely holding back the whole time, isn't it?"

[Shut up, woman.] I glared at her. [I'm still fresh from using Her fires. The Holy Spirit could kick your ass in a single second on Her own. I'm just slowing Her down because I don't know how to manipulate Her flames right. That's why I lost.]

"Oh, is that so?" She placed a finger to her lips, "Hmm….I'll accept that reasoning." She rises up from her seat on my hips and stood just beside me. She cupped one hand around her mouth and called lightly, "Boys?"

"Ergh." Suddenly, Jergo and his boys were already there beside my head. My fucking goodness, I nearly shit myself because that really scared the hell outta me. The wide eyes on my face will be the prime indication to my horror.

"Take him to a guest quarter. And bring him lunch, he must be famished after all that amount of exertion."

"Ergh." He nodded, and then placed a hand on my belly. A sigil glows at my entire abdomen—oh, it's the healing one. The rest began to lift my upper body upright, I didn't even feel the pain thanks to another goblin doing the healing.

[Uuuuuuuuggghhh…..] Oh man, I've forgotten how great this feels…aaaah, fuck….

"Done." And like before, it's unexpected over quickly due to the number of people in the effort.

[Thank you, boys.] I rotated my head for a single turn, getting myself a healthy crackle, [Aah, ow.]

"As I have promised," Remilia spoke up once again, catching my attention, "You are welcome to come over to my mansion anytime you like. No need for such a ruckus. Whenever you want, I'll gladly accept if you are wanting for a rematch; we'll then see if a man with God at his back could actually defeat me." She extended a hand for me.

[We'll see, Remilia.] I took her hand— [You—GAHAAAAAAAAAA—]

*THUD!*

[GA—ARGH!]

..!…!….!

She…..threw….me….to the fucking WALL…!

"Seven." A malicious giggle echoed in the air. "Have a nice day, my dear Eman~" And followed a wicked cackle that receded into the distance.

The goblins quickly scrambled over to me, performing quick heals on my broken ribs, winched shoulder, and my cracked left elbow. A fractured wrist too…!? Oh, Remilia…you fucking…..

[Bitch…!]

One way to remind that she and I are still enemies, sweet smiles or polite acts could fuck off when she finds the one moment to get a preemptive strike on me.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

«Holy Spirit—Let the Fire Fall»

Sure got a nice ring to it, this new Spell Card of mine. Can't believe that a little worship song could actually get some wicked (holy) damage done. Nonstop flooding of liquid like fire and nonstop rain of seeking bullets, it was awesome.

Too bad I lost, simple flinging of holy bullets, seeking or not can't be enough. Need more pattern. And I'm left very sour thanks to Remilia's bullshit. Just as I was starting to get comfortable with her, she does that.

Sigh…looks like it's going to be very complicated around her with emotions like these going on all the time unless I keep this one thing in mind: we're still enemies. If I even forget that, she'll do it again because she knows my guard's down. Being civil in our relationship is how she plays it, and I intend to do the same, try if I have to. But it goes without saying that I too can freely do the same to her. I can, and will get her back.

Eating was kinda difficult, having a lost appetite due to anger does that, but I forced myself through it. Besides, the food was delicious. The glass of ice-cold wine helps too. It was tasty. Was it Sakuya who brought it here? Or was it the goblins? If the former, I guess she finally got her brew right, I gotta give her the praise she deserves for it when I see her. Flandre coming outta nowhere to pin me down on the floor with a crushing hug right after I was done eating was really unexpected, but it was welcome. Squeezing a cute thing like her makes my day.

And I didn't see that Marisa was actually following after her until she made some kinda comment about some kink, I forgot what it was but I blew a fireball at her right after hearing it so it was certainly something embarrassing. As for the reason why she committed her bullshit again like last time as I asked, it was actually a bullshit ploy to do two things at once. To get some books, and to get all the clothing she raided from my tent while I was in the village to be magically-enhanced, as a belated birthday gift for me. She denied the former but I knew better. I can see the spine of a fucking book peeking out of her apron pocket.

It still was a bullshit ploy, especially when it involved me getting flung to the wall more than once because of her, but I'll take it. That way, I don't have to worry about clothing damage too often. I gave her a tight hug as thanks, then followed it up with a bitch-slap for involving me in her schtick. She went for my gut, I managed to parry it but she got me back, with a punch to the face.

After that, we got down into a long chat about how everything went down. I told her my side first, Remilia vs. Me, the Golem, and the Holy Spirit. Then it turns out Marisa was watching me the whole time! With a fucking crystal globe outta all things! Are there any more clichés going around here!?

Her side, she attacked the library and its occupants, generally causing bullshit all over the place, with quality amounts of property damage, then a pissed-off Patchouli came to intercept. Then a nightmare came, Flandre. The kiddie's side of the story was her enjoying the playtime I suggested her to do two nights ago, but Marisa felt like she was trying to escape the apocalypse the entire time. They wrecked the library, again!

How many more wrecks could it take before Patchouli's patience takes a toll on her sanity…? Poor librarian….

And the aftermath? Marisa won.

Ridiculous…all that attitude and personality hiding a lot of power and experience…..shit. Jeez…I remember well that Marisa's a fucking MONSTER at that night when I fought Flandre with her, but still….

Sigh…..I gotta strive harder in my ability to fight. I gotta improve my shots and patterns if I wanna get far, getting good at fighting top-tier monsters and Youkai just like her. That'll take a lot of time, but then again, that's the reality of it for everybody in the world. Even if you're given the most badass sword in the world, sharp and unbreakable, you're nothing but shit if you don't know how to use it or even trained for it. That's my case with the Holy Spirit's power. Only prodigies gets to be an expert on the first day, and I'm not a fucking prodigy.

But I'll get there. The skills I got from my two years plus the skills I got from my pre-thug-thief years contributes a lotta things. Dancing and parkouring sure gives ya the body skills to dodge them bullets.

After the story-tell, we then began talking about our spell cards, especially this new one of mine. Got too enthusiastic in its origin, I'll admit. Even sang the song to give them the idea of the spell card and what it'll do. 'Come with your fire', 'Purify my heart', 'Set the world on fire' and 'Let the fire fall'. While it means let every heart burn with holiness and passion for love of Christ and Neighbor, in the battle terms it translates to simply burning everything in front of me. Everything.

I even told them about how I felt the entire time, what I did after the wall-jump and during the activation of the Spell Card. I was stuck in a trance, abandoning all of my thoughts and letting the Holy Spirit take over me, filling me with Her warm presence as She throws holy bullets everywhere. Marisa said that I created giant colorful wings that sent waves of 'em at every flap. I was amazed at hearing it, because I never noticed. I was lost from the world at the time, ignoring the battle and trying to stay in a meditative state. It's similar to staying afloat on your back in the water without moving: you don't think, you keep your chest out and use the sensations you feel (balance, buoyancy, the level of the water, etc) to tell you if you're stable and not sinking. In the case of me as I made those wings: keep arms spread to grant entrance for the Holy Spirit, focus on the warmth that's filling my chest, spreading all over me down to my limbs, and feel it overflow from my body.

I didn't think that the 'overflow' was me growing wings, I thought that the Holy Spirit was giving me 'special' energy for me to use wisely. My first thought: use it all in one Spell Card. Since I don't have a Spell Card for the Holy Spirit, I'll just make one.

And then that song came to my head outta nowhere. Even then, I had the time to sing it in my head because it kinda seemed fitting to what's happening to me. 'Come with your fire'? Check. 'Purify my heart'? Maybe a check. 'Set the world on fire'? That's when the idea for a card came, and I'm going to make that a definite check.

And then the first Holy Spell Card is made. We really make a very good team, Holy Spirit. I love You.

I gotta make more. That Nuke I made yesterday….that could be a Spell Card, a downgraded one. I don't wanna lose my mind and sanity just by activating it. I already got the story and idea behind it: The Fall of Sodom and Gomorrah. That corrupt place fell due to fire and brimstone falling from the heavens. An asteroid, some would speculate, or maybe a rain of thunder, or even a volcanic eruption that came with sulfur and fireballs falling from the sky. But the idea's still the same, the place was destroyed via Death from Above.

And so, I'll turn that Nuke into a Spell Card called: «Divine Punishment—Burn the City of Sin»

Hmm….yeah, I think it sounds nice. Simple, and it doesn't stray from the story behind the spell card. Not to mention badass. I even got the Japanese translation ready for it if I wanna go all native-like.

It'll be an official card once I try it out.

But right now, I wanna rest. I'm just here lying in bed with two blondes dozing right next to me. Well, one is. Flandre's in the middle and Marisa's on one side while I'm on the other. I thought the kid'll get uncomfortable with her wings but thankfully they're flexible enough that they're lying atop her. Talking and brainstorming for more spell cards sure took a lot out of us, especially when each of us had a battle not too long ago. Felt like I was a high-school kid again. Fun times.

I have slept, and it was great. No dreams though. And now I'm just sat up on the bed, resting against the wall behind me, waiting for simply nothing. The two girls converted into cuddling each other while I stared at the wall.

Deep breath….exhale. [Haaaaaaah…..] I stretch my arms above me. Then lay them back down. [To what do I owe the pleasure, Yukari?]

Giggle as she walked passed the door, Yukari sauntered over and sat down on a bedside chair. "Did the Holy Spirit tell you I was here?"

[Sort of, you got a distinct presence so yeah.] I answered, [So what's up?]

"I got a little surprise ready for you. It is a belated thing."

[A belated birthday gift, you mean.] I smirked wryly. [There's no surprise anymore if that's the case.]

"Wait until you see it, Eman, then it is a surprise."

I get the logic…but, [….but do you have to? That party yesterday and reminding me my birthday is already a gift. I couldn't thank you enough, Yukari. Don't add anymore into the pile.]

"Oh, but I must. Besides, all that power in your hands must be put to good use, especially the flames of the Holy Spirit." She smiled pleasantly, "I prize action over words, so if you wish to show any gratitude then I expect you to play a part whenever there is an incident or an emergency by either Youkai or human hands."

[What?] Lady, you're asking too much from fresh meat here. [But I'm not qualified for that yet. I mean, isn't that Reimu's or Marisa's job?]

"I didn't say that you should resolve it. I merely said play a part. You can work in damage control, village protection, or even information scouting about clues of the incident or its culprit. Simply work in the background while the two do the heavy lifting."

[….that's fair, I guess.] The first two I could do, the information scouting part is gonna be a lot of work, and reading. But I'm rather the guy who follows orders rather than the guy handing out orders, but hey, you gotta have some contribution in the midst of it. Well see about being the info guy when it happens.

"And you carry the infinite power of the Holy Spirit. It cannot lie dormant while an event that affects Gensokyo's wellbeing is occurring when you have all the power to do something about it with Her, therefore you need to put Her power to good use. I'm pretty sure She will not object in saving lives, yes?"

I feel light truffle of warmth in my chest. It was a yes, [She agrees with your point.]

She smiled cryptically, standing up from the chair and looking me in the eye. "How about this? I'll make it a choice: you accept my gift to you, and you are automatically given the responsibility to take action in the resolving of any incident from here on out until the day you die. You refuse my gift, then you can continue living free from the burden of an incident resolver, free to do as you wished and I will never mention this choice again."

….You're backing me into a corner, aren't you, Yukari?

Even if I refused and remained free, an Incident affects everybody and everything, so that means my freewill is pointless while shit is going down around me because somebody wanted to fuck Gensokyo over out of boredom, curiosity or pure malice.

Then again, I'd still do something about it anyway. If an Incident happens, I'll do what I can while the others deal with root of the problem. I've already thought of that since having the Holy Spirit's power. It's infinite power, man, it's gotta do something while shit is happening to the land and others. Feeling useless is something I really don't wanna suffer from. Been that way before I got here too. I got muscle strength, guitar skills, technical skills, and others. Might as well put them to good use when the opportunity presents itself.

In other words, the two choices are all the same. Even if I bear the responsibility, I still have the freedom to do what I want when the Incident's over. Free or not, it's a time to be serious and objective-minded when lives are at stake.

My decision is made. I'll have to endure through the bullshit that comes with it, through hard work and prayer.

[I accept.] I nodded, [There's no difference to it anyway.]

"Splendid!" She turned around, her magnificent dress swishing grandly in the motion, and opened a gap. "If you ever had the urge to directly face the Incident, as in seek out the culprit his or herself, take yourself under either Reimu or Marisa's knee to polish your grazing skills as well as your patterns. You will have better chances in surviving the first Spell Card by then."

[Yeah, me and Marisa had a training thing planned but we haven't started yet….ever.] I'm starting to think that she forgot about it, likewise me. I didn't even remember it until Yukari said something.

She giggled again, passing through the gap. "Come on." Her voice echoed from the abomination of eyes.

I turned to my other side and I'm surprised that these girls are still sleeping amidst all that. Yukari probably did something about the noise.

Oh well. I leaned down to kiss Flandre's forehead then cheek, ruffled Marisa's fluffy head, and disembarked from the bed, putting on my shoes. After that, I grabbed my stolen but now enchanted clothing (including my briefs), Marisa's gift, on the nightstand and went in the gap. I don't know why but I got the feeling that it's a good idea to bring it with me.

Passing through the gap with a jump and out into a clearing in some forest, my shoes land on the grass.

Whoa, what's this modern looking house doing here? It's one storied, not really small or big, but it looked wide enough to house maybe a family of 4, maybe 5 if the parents share one room while the three kids get respective rooms. At the front side of the house where the entrance door is, standard design with windows. At one side, there are eight windows present, from within I see Ran cleaning up.

[How this place get here?] I asked Yukari as I walked up to her side, looking at the construction. I see that she had her umbrella held up, even though she's under the shade. [Seems out of the time.]

"Exactly. It was abandoned for thirty years in the rural fields of Argentina, its owners moved to the city and squatters began entering in and out. When the squatters disappeared and forgot about it, it wandered here into Gensokyo." She turned to me, "This is how Gensokyo is. It delivers the forgotten from the Outside World so it can be given a new purpose."

Wow, [That's awesome.] Seems second chances are freely handed out here, if people know how to find it or it comes to them instead.

"And now, it is yours."

…..…..…..

…..…..…..…..…..…..

[What?] You serious!?

"My gift to you." She waved a hand to the place.

"Hold on, I'm not half-done yet!" Ran called out from within.

"It was very dusty and decrepit so we decided to have it renovated and cleaned up for you." She informed, "The renovation is over so we'll just have to get the cleaning over with."

What? [How in the hell did you renovate in dirty closed space? Dust could fly everywhere—wait, that's not the point!] I swept my hair upwards several times before I said it. [This-this is too much! A house!? Really!?]

"You were seeking proper residence earlier so I thought I might as well provide you one that might match your taste: simple, strong and accessible roof, lightly spacious, complete with beds, running water and indoor plumbing—no hot water or electricity, however. Anyway, a wide yard for training and practice, close to the source of fresh air which is the forest, secure from civilization yet not far from the nearest help." She pointed to a direction to the left of me, "This is situated between the Hakurei Shrine that way and the Human Village a few kilometers that way. Oh and you should ask Reimu for an anti-Youkai barrier to be held up around the premises. It will keep the Youkai with any malicious intent from entering. She isn't up to my level but her barriers are practically impenetrable. As for animals, game is plenty in these parts so you have lots of opportunity for hunting. If a predator comes, you can scare it off with a bit of fire. Watch the collateral damage when you do. A forest fire destroying the local wildlife is the last thing I want to see."

[Ooooy…..] Facepalm. She is holding up the Wall of China just to stop my conscience from heading the humble route. [Of all things you could'a picked, a house.]

"Oh," She leaned close to me, smiling the same enigmatic smile all the way. I leaned back only by an inch and I was more intimidated than taken in by her beautiful face. "Are you saying you want something specific? Say it then. I can give it in exchange for this house."

[Oy!] I slumped my upper body over, and Yukari quickly leaned back before my forehead could hit her sharp chin. [Geez, Yukari.] I looked up, frowning, [I don't know what I want anymore. Gensokyo's full of things I liked and hated, what else could I want?]

"Four walls and a roof that's yours." And she turned to the house. "It's perfect for you, isn't it? Anything else you need like personal hygiene and other things, say so."

I look it over and I realize the outcomes upon living in it: no more leeching off Reimu, no more sleeping on hard floors, more alone-time, easy-access to bathwater, and I'm basically back to living like a normal human again.

Yep, it's perfect. [Thank you, Yukari.] I then enclosed her in a one-armed hug, my other hand still holding the clothing. She returned it with a matching single arm, her other hand holding up the umbrella.

"Work hard on becoming Gensokyo's first Christian protector, Eman."

We parted, and I looked to her with a big smile, [My plan exactly. Would you kindly hold this?] I didn't wait so I just shoved the pile of folded clothing into her one hand. [Thanks!]

Okay, just skedaddle into the building before Yukari realizes what the fuck I just did! [Hello, Ran! Good afternoon! How may I be of assistance!?]

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Yukari merely smirked, having expected him to commit the action but still finding it amusing that he would do such thing to a person he knows had higher authority than him and knows it.

With a wave of her hand, a gap opens up and his entire tent, along with all his other belongings landed on the soft grass beside her. Placing his clothing inside the tent through the opening, just next to his guitar, she turned and faced the direction of the pit hole to Old Hell from a hundred meters away into the forest. A rather tiny pit hole to Old Hell that only anything smaller than a hamster could slip in, completely unused and abandoned since its formation from the Underground Incident, even the dreaded Vengeful Spirits have never exited out of it compared to the other wider pit holes in Gensokyo.

The outcomes of him living practically next door to it is very dire. She smirked wickedly, almost threefold in cunning mischief worse than Remilia. "Don't use Holy Fire too often in your new home, Eman, otherwise you will have another layer of protection against Youkai."

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

The aftermath of the 3 hour general cleaning led to a feast for the celebration of the new Letitia Residence. Eman only regretted eating breakfast not so long ago because he wasn't able to eat up all the dishes like he thought he could. But it meant leftovers so it was good enough for him.

It then led to a lengthy talk about certain rules and other things between Yukari and him. Chief among them was no killing of Gensokyans unless it is truly necessary, or permitted by either Marisa or Reimu. The two knew the right time to do so. It served a practical purpose too, keeps bad attention amongst Youkai kind off your back. It is also heavily stressed by Yukari that killing is the last of the last things to have as a solution, and Eman firmly took it to heart. He never killed (Flandre came back alive so it doesn't count) but he had urges, he still does now, especially when he meets the Slenderman Motherfucker in the Woods. Good Doctor Christopher had never defanged the monster inside him.

Outsiders are free game, just like any other animal. No exception. There's no means to stop it. The most common that arrive are those who want to commit suicide and those who unfortunately got pulled in from the weak areas of the Great Hakurei Barrier that that sometimes overlaps and lead to other realms, especially the Netherworld. But Eman was told to be assured that criminals, psychopaths, depressed people, hateful people commonly arrive from the Road of Reconsideration, and they're an all-around favorite meal for Youkai. Innocent Outsiders are the minority.

The humans of Gensokyo are very essential of Gensokyo. They die, Gensokyo dies. But Reimu falls for the same case. She dies, everyone and Gensokyo itself follows after. The two are first priorities to protect, the latter even higher. Eman is confident he has more than enough power to cover both at once, and he won't be alone in the effort. It could be possible that the Holy Spirit could act independently through Her fires if he simply prayed. He'll have to experiment it soon.

Yukari was 'kind' enough to warn him of certain individuals and places to avoid if he isn't confident to meet them yet. For the case of people, he can, and will get taken advantage of once shady people knew how great his power is. Eman knew better than to doubt it. He wasn't the type to be taken advantage of, but that's because he knows how to deal humans, predictable and easy to crack. Youkai might not have the same weakness. Besides, all this unlimited power was for the sake of good, he promised that. For the case of locations, stupidity is the main cause of death in Gensokyo, and ignorance precedes it. Do not go to the Road of Reconsideration and Muenzuka alone unless deemed truly capable going there alone, many nasty Youkai. Do not go to Former Hell unless prepared to die, full of unkind Youkai and rowdy oni. Do not go to the Nameless Hill, too poisonous and guarded. Do not go to Youkai Mountain or Youkai Forest without a purpose, tengu. Do not go to the Genbu Ravine, Kappa.

After that, the talk ended. Which then led to the finishing touch: what other essentials Eman needed before she and her servants leave. Eman got it all listed out.

-Personal Hygiene (toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and soap. Laundry soap and dishwashing liquid included, lots of them)

-Battery-powered rice cooker (with extra batteries and guaranteed monthly replacements)

-Dipper

-Giant bucket

-Clothes cabinet

-Portable stove (with monthly supplied butane canisters)

-All the cooking utensils, especially pots and pans

-10 Oil lamps

-1 full sack of rice (with a rice cup)

-10 plates with spoons and forks

-10 coffee mugs and drinking cups

-50 packets of the Milo chocolate drink

-Entire loaf of bread

-Tub of mayonnaise

-Jar of sugar

-Jar of salt

-Lounging chair

-Rope

-Bathrobe

-Large cooler (loaded with ice)

-Box of airtight bags (monthly supplied)

-Scissors

-Wall clock

-Tall mirror

-Large plastic container

-Curtains

-A lot of clothespins

-2 Coconut scrubs

-Extra brooms

-5 Floor wax boxes

-Rake

-Shovel

-Outdoor griller

-An extra foldable table

-Standing Crucifix

-Statue of Baby Jesus

-King James Bible

-Tool box (loaded)

-Machete (with holster)

-Whetstone

-New belt

-50,000 yen

-A stash that only Eman and nobody else could have access to, especially Marisa

Yukari was admittedly surprised at the preparedness he thought of to make his house interior feel just like him. It must have attributed to his street life. Nonetheless, she gapped the list in and brought it all in a big pile in a corner of the house. As the Yakumo family began to take their leave, the Sage, the Kitsune, and the Nekomata received warm and grateful hugs each before they are sent off, leaving Eman with his new home.

Afterwards, Eman got into work with the arrangements, figuring out where to put each item in a proper place. But the 50,000 yen, it goes immediately to the stash under the floor, visible only to him and activated only by holy fires. His holy fires. Any other fire and it would not work. Even if it was forcefully pried open, there would only be dirt underneath. Yukari must have put magic into play at the creation.

After the currency is well-hidden, everything else comes next. Another 2 hours of hard work.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

He was done. The Letitia Residence is now complete, ready to house him well and welcome guests. All he needs to do now is to take a bath, slump into bed and call it a day. But right now, he's very hungry. Might as well eat some sandwiches with a cup of chocolate, it isn't much but he likes to feel simple again. Come tomorrow, he'll ask for the anti-Youkai barriers from Reimu. Afterwards, he will invite her in for some chocolate and sandwiches, maybe tell some stories of the latest things he did too.

[Hm hm.] He can't wait. Looking out the window, he was slightly surprised at the darkening skies. [Hmm, looks like it's almost 6.] He looked at the wall clock. [Yep. Gotta sleep after this.] He took a bite on his sandwich.

He already picked a room, and it's the biggest one in the house just past the kitchen. The rest can be handed over to staying-over guests. He placed his guitar against the wall near the door, window curtained up and drawn, his rolled-up tent underneath the big two-person bed, the clothes cabinet (now loaded) against the wall, the crucifix and bible atop the nightstand, and a lamp (already lit) hanging from a nail on the wall. He's sure that he's going to pray big before bed, all these gifts need to be accounted for.

Leaning back against the counter of the kitchen, he peers at Baby Jesus placed atop the extra foldable table at the wall of the living room in-between two windows. He remains forever in a dignified pose and full of love in His eyes, holding a shepherd's staff while his free hand is ready to gesture the priest's prompt to perform the sign of the cross. Since the entrance leads to the living room, it might look like He was blessing any person who comes in.

The kitchen is very modest. No more than two cupboards at the top, holding the dishes, utensils, the Milo packets, and mugs. A wooden counter that merges with the concrete wall, placed atop are his jars of salt and sugar, his portable stove, his rice cooker, and his hygiene supplies in the large plastic container. Below the counter inside the compartment, the cooler to store the meat. Next to the place was the standard-design wooden dinner table, fitting to accommodate 4 people but could hold 6 if arranged properly.

The bathroom's right next to the kitchen, apparently larger than he expected when he entered. He can fit the basins, the giant bucket, and still have room. Thank goodness for tiled floors. He's very thankful for there being no showerhead. If it isn't hot water, it doesn't deserve to be there. He is going back to the old days, and the old days need only a faucet and a dipper and a bucket. He smirked childishly; no one said that he's not allowed to heat up the water with a little magic.

The two guest rooms are located just nearby the living room, modest in size and comfortable enough to accommodate two people each if one brings a futon. Plus, the beds are pleasantly soft, and the blankets are quite warm. That only meant a lot of work when he has to wash them but that's a future concern. The last guest room is located close to the dining room/kitchen, slightly bigger than the last two, a single bed with a surprising addition of two futon. The house could hold 9 people, more if they take the living room wooden couches.

Safe to say that he's very happy with his home. He could have hoped for a two-storied one but that just might be over the top. Besides, it'll be too easy to see for flyers. Some subtlety could help him, even with a new house to live in.

Next thing to do, he will have to buy firewood from the village. In a forest area, there will be leaves, many will litter the yard, and he never gets tired of the old method of burning them in a pile. Just dig up a hole, dump the trash there and light it up. Simple and straightforward, it may even be a chance to play guitar and sing with guests gathered around the bonfire. Barbecue never disappoints in such an occasion, he has the griller for it. Sticks and meat can be bought.

*Knock. Knock*

He stopped mid-chew. A visit, so suddenly? He's already collecting bad vibes from the door. Coming to the new house before anybody but him could notice it even existed. He even explicitly asked to Yukari if there was anybody living nearby, potential neighbors, and she said there were none. The Human Village is his neighbor, and the majority of lone houses are commonly found in the Forest of Magic, the minority live outside it in other places far away from his own.

Whoever is at the door better have a good reason, and his gut's telling him that it's not human.

[Hrrrrghhh….!] Swallowing his sandwich and drinking his cup whole, he approached the door, hand close to his knife. Passing through the living room, he brushed his thumb across Baby Jesus's fingers to receive blessings and assistance in dealing with this visitor.

Peeking from the side one-way window, his eyes widened in exasperation, [You fucking kidding me!?] He hissed angrily.

Bolting to the door, he ripped the door open and blasted at the person's face, [For all places, you had to be here, Marisa! I was just about to have some peace and quiet before you knocked!]

"Oh, so-sorry." Marisa meekly stepped back, leaning her head back upright after leaning away from his yelling mouth. "I guess I'll visit 'nother time?"

…..

…..…..…..

He wore a disarming smile, "Nah, no need. I guess you can take the prize as my first guest. Come in, come in! I'll serve ya a sandwich."

"Really? Thanks!" Eman carefully watched as she wiped her boots on the rug before placing them near the door. "Pardon for the intrusions."

Eman kept his smile up, keeping his hand away from his knife but kept his body ready. "How'd you know I was here?" He asked, readying the mayonnaise and two slices of loaf bread. "I never told anybody in the mansion where I went."

"Oh, you're my friend, Eman. I know exactly where to find ya!" She gruffly answered, "I've spent 'nuff time together with ya to know where'd ya go."

Clever. After the spreading, he placed the second slice on top and went over to Marisa, seated at the dinner table. "Here ya go."

"Thanks a lot!" She took the sandwich carefully and took a generous bite out of it. "Why'd you switch to Japanese?"

Hmm….

"Well, I was in the mood for it." He had a talent to acts and masquerades, and he thinks he hasn't lost his touch. "I just got this house, man. Couldn't be any happier."

"I know." She looked around her, but she was looking around far too quickly to actually take in anything. She didn't even regard the kitchen or the living room or the guest rooms. "This is a nice place."

"Indeed." He leaned against the edge of the table, keeping his eye on her, "How was it at the mansion? Did ya get what ya need? The archive? Did you get the deal with Flandre going?"

"Oh yes! I made a quick detour before I came here so I could put the archive in my home." She took a bite on the sandwich as a pause, chewing quickly before swallowing. "And I gotta go back to the place, I kinda forgot what the deal was. Hehe…"

"Uh huh," He leaned away from the table and headed for the door, no hurrying movement in his stride.

"Where you going?"

"Just going outside, come join me."

"Okay," He turned to her when he heard her running towards him, the sandwich left at the table. Holding the door, he beckoned her to go first. "Me first? Okay, hold on." Putting on her boots, she stepped into the yard.

He closed the door and locked it, key in his pocket. He did not forget to bring the machete that hung from the door with him. It isn't as evenly shaped as the ones on films, but it's the iconic machete of the Pinoy: the Bolo Knife. Slim near the hilt and broadening into an outward curve towards the sharp tip, effective in hewing down vegetation or organic life, unmoving and moving, dead or alive. Ask a Filipino if he or she has a knife, the appropriate response is to whip out the Bolo knife. If it's a measly kitchen knife or any kind of knife, that is not what is asked.

Holding the farming blade firmly in his left hand, he stepped up to Marisa looking up to the skies and rested his free hand on her shoulder. He didn't grip, he simply rested it there. He shouldn't give it away too soon.

"It's about to turn into night, Eman."

"Yep!" He looked up, checking if there are any stars yet. There were, but only a few. And the moon is shrouded by dark clouds. "It'll be my first night inside my new home."

"Good for you." She turned to him with a smile, "You want some company for the night? You know that I make a nice hugging pillow."

"Haha!" He chuckled, patting her shoulder twice before gripping tightly. "But before that…."

He kicked behind her left knee, hard enough to break and sent her kneeling, his machete against her carotid artery, and his other hand gripping the back of her neck tightly, tight enough to choke and hurt.

"Wh-what the hell!? What are you doing!?"

"Who the fuck are you!?" He placed the sharp side against her throat, "I know you're not Marisa! You're a fucking shapeshifter trying to get into my defenses! Speak up! Who the fuck are you!?" He slowly drew the blade back, letting blood flow out from the open wound.

"S-stop!" She struggled, choking and coughing from his bruising grip while her arms flailed weakly. "What are you talking about!? It's me! I'm Marisa!"

He let go of her neck and clobbered her in the head with his fist so hard she smashed the ground with her face. Grabbing her neck again, he forced her up to her knees again and placed the machete edge at the center of her neck. "Don't fucking lie to me….!" He growled, "Since when was Marisa polite enough to knock? Since when would Marisa excuse herself? When did she stop being loud around me!? And what fucking archive!? There was no archive! She went to the mansion to enchant my clothing! Nothing else! And there was no deal either! Flandre only betted with Marisa! That's it!" He pressed the blade against her throat, slid it sideways, unsure if there was blood before pressing the point against her head. "So tell meeee…! Who. The fuck! ARE YOU!?"

The imposter only held still, then began to giggle. That giggle became laughter, then it morphed into an unsettling cackle. Then she began to rise up to her feet. Eman tried to hold her down but she happened to be stronger than he is. No matter how much force he applied, he couldn't stop her from rising up. Wary, alert, and in danger, he let go and switched to holding the machete with his right hand.

Turning around to face him, the False Marisa began to sport green eyes, pupils in tight slits and sparking with malice. "Nice one."

He was kicked. Hard. Into the concrete wall of his house.

The oxygen was blown out of him, his kicked gut threatening him to vomit. He didn't feel very hurt from landing against the wall but he felt woozy because the back of his head took a blow as well. He lost his grip on the machete, he doesn't know where it went. His tried to get up from the grass, trying to reach for his knife, but he was quickly picked up from the shoulders, dragged to the center of the yard and slammed down against grass.

"Ha…! I haven't faced that Marisa yet to know her personality well but turns out I didn't have to. You're weak, down after one blow. Why'd I have to go through all that planning if you could fall down this easily!? Oh well, you're an outsider anyway." The False Marisa hovered over him, straddling his chest to pin down his arms with her knees and pulling him up from the scruff of his collar. He realized that this Marisa had raccoon ears. She smelled his face lecherously, "Aah~ You do smell like a hermit. Strange. You had the same aura as them, yet you don't act like one. What're you?"

His only answer was to glare, growling at his soon-to-be killer.

"Cute. About to die yet still spunky. Too bad I'm gonna have to eat you. Nothing personal, okay?" She assured him with a warm smile. One that sickened him, and that line 'nothing personal' triggered something within him. It's coming out. "I'll make it quick, I promise. I eat your delicious hermit meat, I'll be stronger than Mamizou! Who knows!? Maybe I'll be stronger than that Marisa or even the Shrine Maiden! I'll be an Apex Youkai!" She sneered, revealing all her sharp teeth. "Oh, I can't wait! I'm gonna eat you now! Itadaki—"

[HAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHHH!‼!‼!] The Devil flashed before her eyes, the Outsider's sockets burning with hellfire and his visage was framed in a halo of flames, burning a terrifying image in her mind.

An explosion blasted her off him, her front and tail scorched. Landing on her back, she grunted as she tried to rise up, only to be grabbed from her collar by a burning hand to be carried to the tree line, slamming against the trunk and receiving a burning fist to the face. Screaming like a beast, he relentlessly punched the tanuki in the mug, his fist rising in temperature in each punch.

Leaning to the side, letting his fist land against the bark of the tree, she kicked him again, receiving a burnt foot in the process for kicking something that's literally on fire but she got him to stagger backwards but not fall over. Spatting out blood, she snarled and threw a wave of danmaku at him. Undaunted, the Man on Fire charged onwards roaring, leaving a trail of fire, tanking the shots and quickly closing the distance.

She side-stepped out of his aim, his immolating fists raised above him to hammer her. He missed her entirely but the impact of burning fist against ground created an explosion of fireballs that struck her chest. Gasping in pain, she readied a spell card, "«Tanuki Sign—Ho—" She didn't get to finish.

The hand holding the card was grabbed, twisted around her back, and the burning man was suddenly riding her with his legs around her waist, crushing her wrist as he held on like iron and began stabbing her exposed back endlessly with his knife!

Screaming, she brought him down to the ground from her grappled hand with a mighty pull and she quickly threw him against the wall of the house with a loud thud, his head impacting the surface and leaving a charred imprint of himself on the concrete. The burning man lay still, his fires extinguished, unconscious.

Coughing out copious amounts of blood, bleeding a pool beneath her, her waist, tail, and lower back charred black from being ridden, she straightened her back in a forceful grunt. She was glad for being a Youkai, otherwise nobody would have survived that many stab wounds to the shoulder, back, heart, lung, and spine. "Hah! Hah! Stupid outsider….! Thinking he could kill me with a stupid knife!" Her bleeding mouth morphed into a pained smirk, teeth glistening from her own blood. "But I got you NOW! And like I said: you're WEAK! You're so easy to put down like every other Outsider I've eaten!"

She limped towards his unconscious form, leaving a trail of her own blood behind her amidst the burning grass. After several steps, the hermit scent reached her nose again. Her mouth began to drool, her stomach began to want, and her hunger was getting uncontrollable. She was losing all her cognitive to the beast inside her, and she was willing to please it. She reached with her hand—

She was blasted backwards again, slamming against the trunk of a tree—she didn't have a right arm anymore. There was only a stump from the elbow, bleeding profusely, its edges charred black. She glared at the rising form of the Outsider, "What did you do!?"

Down to one knee, he shakily rose up to his feet, holding a flaming machete on one hand and a severed right arm, her right arm. The amputated limb immolated in his grasp before letting it drop to the grass like trash. His back was alit with red flames, keeping his front shadowed, and his form was framed by the impression of a bulky shape, a monster that had a stocky chest, massive arms, and it had horns.

He took one step, then another, then he began to quicken in his steps, closing the distance between her and the tanuki faster. He was starting to run, the machete burning bright and glowing in searing incandescence.

The enraged Youkai, hungry and feral, now realized that she was no longer the one in control. Survival instinct flared up, the urge to run going through her subconsciousness, she suddenly felt afraid, terrified, standing in the presence of an oni and not a human. And when the human reared his arm back with a roar, ready to behead her, she exploded in a cloud of leaves before the blade flew to where her neck was, slicing 10 inches into the trunk.

She ran in a terror, failing in her task for power.

But Eman's eyes were sharper, he saw her ran and he took no time in being in pursuit, quickly closing the distance again despite the difference in species. He had lived on the streets, running forever. If he could outrun Yukari, then who could escape him? Certainly not this one. Not even this imposter too dumb to perform a proper masquerade.

The tanuki heard his footsteps, especially his roars, and when she turned to look over her shoulder, her fears were reawakened. She took flight, hoping to escape his reach in the air and she felt a sharp stab into her spine before she could reach 5 ft. Landing back to the forest floor in pain, the machete that stabbed into her back flying off from the impact, she was suddenly pulled by her feet closer to her assailant. In a panic, she kicked his chest, arm, elbow, and she was set free, her formerly grabbed foot now a severe 4th degree burn, revealing muscle and blood. When she tried to crawl away and take flight once again, she was tackled back down to the ground, a being of intense heat forcing her arms to the side and biting into her neck!

She screamed, kicked and struggled, incapable of using her captive (and burning) arms to free herself due to his suddenly strong hold, feeling the horrible sensation of heat crawling into her open wound. When he bit off the chunk, fires crawled in and ravaged her deeply, and she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

She kicked him in the groin, and she was gratefully released, but the pain remained. Her insides still felt like it was being eaten apart, burning and boiling—there were needles running through her everything. But her desire to live overruled the pain, so she took flight, faster than she could ever think of achieving anytime, hoping to lose him in the trees instead of going upwards where she'll be shot down. The human—no, monster was already in pursuit, easily recovering from his most vulnerable place being struck, and screaming demonic obscenities to her. She couldn't understand them, but they terrorized her all the same. He sounded like a berserk death god out for her blood, her blood alone, and announced her demise in such a horrifyingly loud and grotesque voice that every being in Gensokyo could hear so. They will never leave her mind. She felt his heat increasing. He was coming closer. Down to the last particle of her being, she was falling to her primal fear.

{PaTaYiN kItA! mAmAtAy Ka! BaLiK dIrI! bAlIk! IBuKaS kO aNg IyOnG tIyAn At IpAkItA kO sA iYo AnG iYoNg LoOb!}

Her dignity and will as a Youkai is forever destroyed.

{TaKbO! tAkBo KaNa! PaTaYiN kItA! kUnG mAhUlI kItA, sUnOgIn KiTa! SuNoG! sUnOg! sUnOgIn KiTa! UnTi-UnTiNg KaMaTaYan! MaRaHaN aNg IyOnG kAmAtAyAn! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!‼!}

She was already gone before he was even finished. He stopped running, heaving in breath, eyes looking at the last place he saw his prey before she disappeared into the woods and saw her fly into the sky. The fires around his body began to dissipate, heat dropping quickly, the night cold returning to take its proper place in the forest. His face blood-splattered, his gaping mouth far bloodier from biting the tanuki, his eyes that were wild with rage, fear, and lost sanity began to lighten. Rationality returned, cognitive and human intellect sliding back into place. His mouth drooled, slick with the Youkai blood inside. And he gasped, the realization of what he just did fully processed and it hit him like a truck.

[WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!‼!‼!‼!‼!‼!‼!‼!‼!] All the curious Youkai that happened to pass by and neighboring fairies who either heard it all happen or watched the spectacle in clear detail knew that a fiery monster lives in this forest, and it is wearing the skin of a human.

Driven by panic, terror, the threat of being killed, as well as coming close to being eaten, he ran like a banshee in the night, back into his house. Past the trees, past the shrubs, he was almost a blur in his frantic sprint, screaming like a bat out of hell. It was as if he was chasing someone. Though his deep bellows are purely out of fear, they are far more terrifying than the roars of a hungry vicious predator. No Youkai dared approached, lest they be seen by him and become his next victim. No fairy dared looked out their door, lest they opened their door to the monster. He reached the yard of his home, reached the door and bounced off it upon collision. Wrestling with the knob, he remembered that he locked it so he shoved his hand in his pocket and was agitated in his efforts to plug the key into the keyhole. The longer he stayed outside, he is not safe. He's still in the danger of being eaten. He hated being outside. He wants it. He wants back in where it's safe. He wants in!

He finally slotted it in, and he twisted it. Came the glorious click, and he rushed into the entrance, slamming the door behind with a thunderous thud and a subtle click. Locked and secure.

Silence returned to the night once again, leaving the atmosphere of the forest surrounding the Letitia Residence tainted with dread and a looming threat in the quiet, awaiting to catch the next victim.

Then a sound came. An awful sound….it was giggling….nothing more than a whimper…..then it became a cold and ghastly chortle. It was uncontrollable and unrestrained, unable to stop. It was a confusion between nonsensical laughing and anguished sobs, hiccups and wails mixing together with snickering and cackling to form an abominable sound never heard before. It only served to become more haunting to any who could hear it.

And it was coming from the Master Bedroom of the Letitia House.

And from the double window of the room, locked by the owner as soon as he arrived, one side's bolt lock unfortunately didn't slide in place, and it slowly opened to a crack, allowing the cold wind to breach in from the small opening.

And allowing ten thin, spiderlike fingers to grab on to the upper edge of the window frame, letting their owner to slip out into the night.

Out into the midst of Gensokyo.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

The Pit Hole to Old Hell near the Letitia House remains inactive and undisturbed, the Vengeful Spirits unaroused by the disaster that occurred minutes ago.

But a consciousness stirred, alert from the opening to the Living World left agape for only a mere second, unsettling and demented giggling coming from the other side before it was closed. The consciousness returned to its quiet slumber as the anomaly immediately disappeared, but its vigilance was now wide awake, awaiting for the next strange occurrence to happen again.

---

What he yelled and cursed to the Tanuki:

"I'll kill you! You'll die! Get back here! Come back! I'll open your gut and show you your innards!"

"Run! Keep running! I'll fucking kill you! If I catch you, I'll BURN YOU! BURN! BURN! BURN YOU! SLOW DEATH! YOUR DEATH WILL BE SLOW AND PAINFUL! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!‼!"