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.

31. Beware My Wrath

Ah! The Lord blesses me with a new day, and that means lots of opportunities for me to take.

Yesterday went by like a flash, cuz I literally slept the whole afternoon and night away. And my door and windows were open the whole fucking time! Thank goodness for Reimu's barriers, the Holy Spirit's presence and the company of my animals. Just those three are enough to give me the assurance that nothing happened the whole time I was asleep. I woke up with a cold though, there was too much cool that entered than I wanted.

Anyway, aside from that, I woke up with a clear purpose in mind for today. It would be a good time to go back to work and greet Boss again, tell him that I'm fine and dandy but not now. Got things to deal with first.

First, a way to handle the hawk in my household. We all know that a raptor's grip and talons are dangerously tight and powerful so in no circumstances should you ever let them latch on to your bare forearm. You need special gloves that eagle experts have to protect them from the unintended punishment.

I plan to do just that. Who should I look up to for such an equipment? Well, it's Alice the Doll Maker, of course. In my NDE, being a seamstress is something that's part of her specialties as a master of doll magic. She bothers to dress her expendable dolls with frilly dresses, and her Goliath Doll is fitted with very durable cloth. I want some of it in the glove. It's no wonder why she's my first choice on the matter.

As of today, I dub the red hawk 'Adarna', iconic to the name of the bird in the Filipino Poem 'Ibong Adarna'. Good story, and her tail feathers are smooth to the touch too.

At the moment, I'm venturing through the Forest of Magic to reach the beautiful doll girl's abode. I came in prepared, of course. Money for her service, knife and machete for protection (like always), tube bandana to cover my mouth from bad miasma, and lots of holy fire smothering me from feet to my nose and mouth, keeping my lungs supplied with a pleasant aroma and warmth that you would find similar from hot water. Just to be safe. Even if I wore long sleeves and long pants to hide my skin from any possible chemicals found in the dangerous magical forest, I can't be too careful. I also brought my crutch cane as well, just a place for Adarna to stand on for the time being.

The latter's kinda the lucky one here, just up there flying along the clouds, away from the dangers of the forest while waiting for me to reach my destination.

Venturing through this place for the first time, it's like going through an enchanting forest straight out of a fantasy game, with glowing mushrooms of varying size, bizarrely-shaped trees, and lots of mysterious sounds coming from everywhere. The difference is that it's very dark, there's no sun. Not that it's night but the shrubbery and density of the foliage, including the trees, is extremely dense that not a single ray of light could possibly touch the ground. Because of that, everywhere around me feels like evening and just damp. Feels like I'm walking through grass at night after a rainy day. Muddy ground under my shoes and lotta humidity in the air. Good thing I got my crutch-cane with me to test uncertain ground whenever I can.

Even if the Youkai don't come here too, that ain't no reason for me to be careless. I'm keeping vigilant as always, eyes out for anything dangerous while watching my footing, careful not to slip with my crutch-cane. There could be living trees, living mushrooms, or even Youkai who could survive this place's environment.

Leading the way to my destination is a little directional arrow made out of holy fire darting at a pace similar to mine as it directed a path for me to take. With the power of the Holy Spirit at my disposal, I have the privilege to always find my way. Same method I used to find the Burning Basan. Thanks, Holy Spirit.

And somehow, nothing harsh happened. Besides the fact that I heard voices saying 'my foot!' when I merely stepped on a root, or seeing a giant sleeping lizard that I could not tell if it's a croc or a komodo or both, or catching a glimpse of Yatadera Narumi standing next to a tiny sapling before she somehow disappeared but I finally got to Alice's place, placed in a nice wide clearing free of heavy vegetation and allowing me to feel the proper morning again, with sunshine and light.

Truly looks western, this house is. Really distinct compared to the ones in the Human Village. Even got a silo-looking structure or something attached to the side. Makes me feel a little bit homesick about Outside just by looking at it. Just a little bit.

I look to the holy directional arrow next to me and said, [Thanks.] It turned into a little orb and booped me on the cheek before merging back to my body.

Pulling my bandana down to my neck and let myself take a deep breath of fresh air again, I raised up my cane up with both hands, looking like I'm about to do the 'YOU SHALL NOT PASS!' and waited.

….

…...

...

Any minute now…

…come on….

A shadow rushes over me and across the clearing.

There we go.

Careful not to look at the sun, I watched Adarna flying majestically in the air, so fucking fast in her flight as she did a few circles around the house that I could hardly believe she's actually a hawk. No raptor is that fast, no way.

Whistling for her attention, I shook the cane in my hand and she does one final twist before slowing down, flapping her wings rapidly and stretching out her wicked talons, reaching for the horizontal part of my cane's head.

With grace and elegance that is completely expected of her species, she is finally perched on my crutch-cane. [Nice one.] I gently slide the crutch-cane down my hand until she's at my level and begin scratching her little head. [Kasen wasn't kidding, you really are a fast one. If I take you out to danmaku fighting, I wonder if you could do some damage.]

"Considering her size compared to most people, I think she would be a formidable opponent."

Wasn't surprised that you would add a comment to that, Alice, but I didn't think that you would agree with me. I expected a bit of a snark but this is better.

I wore a smile and turned my attention to the door of the western house, and there stood Alice Margatroid who noticed my presence before I announced myself, delicate and pristine as a doll of fine makeup, attractive and exotic since the day I met her, wearing the same clothes as always too. Her voice is such a delight to listen to, soft but very audible.

Let's not forget little Shanghai too, floating above her shoulder and waving a cute little hand at me. Hi there, darlin'!

[Good morning, Alice.] I waved with my free hand and inclined my head. Adarna fluttered her wings a bit. [Been weeks, yeah? Hope you still recognize me.]

"Of course, how could I forget the star of the party who drank the entirety of Hoshiguma Yuugi's dish and made quite the icebreaker the entire night?"

That is the cheekiest smile I've ever seen in my entire life, and don't you dare laugh at me, Shanghai! How was I supposed to expect the damn thing to be so fucking delicious!?

[That better not be the only thing the people remembered me as.] I'm serious. I wanna be known as the guy who invoked Pergamum at Reimu's party, not the guy who pissed the shit out of himself after drinking from a basin. [I even cooked half the dishes, you know!]

She does a very fancy chef kiss with her delicate white digits, flourishing them magnificently. "Mwah. They are delicious, do kindly make more at the next occasion." Little Shanghai even took out a tiny handkerchief and patted the imaginary sauces off her mouth.

[That's nice to hear and all but seriously.] Ignore my blushing face. Ignore my blushing face. Ignore the blushing face because of how hot that gesture was. [Can I get the credit for playing a song at the party?]

"Sure." She's still wearing that cheeky smile on that beautiful face as she says that, turning to the little doll beside her, "Come on, Shanghai, show this young man your long overdue applause."

The little thing makes a full-body shudder that looked like she was squealing in delight before floating back to the house and coming back with a rose that's a little too big for her tiny hands a few seconds later. I don't know if her blushy face is painted on or actually genuine blood under skin but she's looking shy and bashful as she approached me, even looking away while holding out her gift to me.

I held my chest, feeling actually touched. I feel like I'm gonna cry! [Aw, for me? You shouldn't….] Even Adarna here is chirping in approval, fluttering her wings a little. I held out my hand and Shanghai gently placed it atop my palm. Taking the flower to my nose, it carried a good scent like I expected. [So sweet. Thank you very much, Shanghai.]

She held her cheeks and looked away, her back to me as she fluttered back to her Milady.

Alice clapped her hands, smiling like a proud mama. "Wonderful. Now that the formalities are over with, would you like to come in and have some tea? You must have been tired after all that trekking here, aren't you?"

[Not really tired, per se, but I would really like to sit down so thanks.] The path from my home to here is really long, believe me. Killed some biting plants that were in the way, and I had to traverse through uneven terrain as well, a big jump at some point included. Worked up the legs good. [I'll be with ya in a minute so go ahead, gotta get Adarna settled down first.] Let me just place my crutch-cane in the shade here.

"We'll ready your refreshments while you do, and leave your shoes outside."

[Yeah, yeah.] Let's just bury the foot of the cane into the ground here aaaand there we go. A rooster perch for our lady Adarna here, [You stay and guard the premises for a bit, yeah? I'll be back.]

She shook her tail a bit and set into position, breast puffed out and eyes set out in the open for anything suspicious.

I grinned evilly, brushing my palm across the dignified lady bird's smooth back.

[Kill some fairies if you would. You have my full permission.] Just do not let the crutch-cane get stolen. I got a good memory from my NDe of what those Three Fairies did to most people, and I'm not taking any fucking chances.

Right, let's get in and chat.

After taking my shoes off and sitting down on the couch across her from the living room table, drinking black tea (kinda tasteless), and she's going straight to the point.

"Now, would you kindly tell me what the occasion of your first visit here is?" She asked, seated prim and proper with Shanghai sat on her shoulder, "Considering your poise, you clearly did not come here by chance."

Pocketing this rose to my jacket pocket, I answered her, [No, I didn't. I've come with a request that requires your expertise, particularly relating to cloth and leather.] Whoa, I sounded a bit polite there, even if I hadn't intended to.

"Considering your change of tone, this would seem like a big one." She noted.

[Not really big, but I feel obligated to talk like this, anyway so….] Ahem. Clear that throat first, then here we go, [Can you make me an Eagle Glove?]

She blinked, maintaining her neutral doll-like features, "An [Eagle Glove], you say."

Good pronunciation there, Alice. Nailed it very well, with an existent use of the letter L.

I thumb the direction outside, [The big bird outside, Adarna, she's part of my household from now on, but I don't have the proper equipment to handle the lethal aspects of her, particularly her claws.] I explained, illustrating by making a claw gesture with my right hand. [I try to handle that girl with my bare hands, I might as well visit Eintei every 50 minutes and out with a fresh cast on my forearm every time.]

"We would be making a very durable glove then to prevent that." She replied, with Shanghai nodding in agreement, "Making a glove would be a simple task, but why have you chosen me for the job?"

Well, it's obvious! [Because I heard that you are the best one to turn to in regards to tailoring. I hear you fight with dolls, so I would know that you would give them clothes as well. If you're gonna bother clothing your weaponry, I'm pretty sure a glove would be no problem to make, yeah?]

She then wore a proud but polite smile, "A sound reasoning."

[Of course, I'll pay you properly.] Payment's in the pocket I'm patting right here, [I only got money with me, so….] If you want magical material instead, I'm sorry but I can't get any of that for now.

She gave a light chuckle, "Even if I've slight use for currency, it's better than nothing. At least I am rewarded for my services."

The last sentence gave me a bit of a hint, [Lemme guess: Marisa.]

She gave me a dry look, "Hmph. Impressive guess." Of course I don't need my NDE to know that Marisa usually comes around this place of hers, asks for something, and then just leaves without any reasonable payment. Classic Ordinary Magician. "Was it her who pointed you towards me?"

Um, technically she did. [Nah, more like she talks about you sometimes. I asked once if you clothe your fighting dolls and she said 'yes'. Then there you go, that was the hint I got that you're the choice for this job.]

...huh. Is it me or are you blushing? Not that it isn't obvious because of your white skin so crystalline-like I could nearly see through you. Even the lightest color of red on your face is easy to notice, "I see…."

I bet she likes it when people talk about her in a good perspective or the like, which it was since it came from Marisa (actually a good friend, she is). Though, the bitch really should know that talking about your friend's sexiness whenever you two bathed together to me is not really much of a complimenting thing to do.

"I guess I heard all I wanted to hear, should we discuss the design then?" Sweet! "As you might not know, I'm not very familiar with what an [Eagle Glove] is."

[Ah, okay.] I guess I didn't consider that from somebody who never handled big birds often. I mean I didn't but I knew what you gotta have first, [It's as you would think, a thick leathery glove to protect the hand and forearm from their claws. But let's not make it a typical one. How 'bout a...say, a full-arm covering from hand to shoulder? I'm thinking of a more multipurpose design. Not just for Adarna but also for other predators too. I could use it to hold back bites and maybe block magic if I could ask the folks in Remilia's place to enchant it.]

"Hmm, quite the makeup you're speaking of here." Shanghai did an agreeing nod while holding her chin contemplatively, [It's one thing to stop a bite from piercing your flesh but it would not stop anyone from breaking your bones under certain kinds of pressure."

[Which brings me to my next question: can you make it flexible but could retain its shape despite any punishment it receives?]

She hummed, "This gives me the thought that we are not talking about a regular kind of [Eagle Glove] are we?"

[Hey, it's Gensokyo. If we were in the Outside World, sure, we'll go for regular.] I got a month to get enough savviness to know about this one, [But regular can only get you so far around these parts. I got a wolf in my house that breaks stone with one bite, a tiger too smart for her species, and a snake that doesn't know whether to be a boa or a viper or python. 5 days from now, I think it's gonna grow a cobra's hood—I think I'm gonna need more than regular to deal with ones that're just like 'em.]

"Okay, okay." She held up her hands to stop me from going on, nearly overwhelmed. "I see your need for the glove now. Where did you even find these creatures?"

[Eh, they just come around.] Coming around as much as they were accidently hit because of collateral thanks to me shooting holy bullets in random directions whenever I fight with the Holy Spirit. [Also gonna be dealing with Beast Youkai too, I'm dealing with a group of 'em soon. I got a wolf family after me because I dismembered one of their family members that broke the Spell Card Rules.]

Her shiny blue eyes hardened, and I slowly caught on to her mood. "Broke the rules, you say?"

Yiiieep, breaking the Spell Card Rules is actually serious business around most people. The Spell Card System is a game where people play seriously like it's a high-stakes dodge-ball or CQC match. Anyone has the freedom to either follow or break the rules, but expect your opponent to return the courtesy by their choice.

That wolf bastard wanted me dead, I paid it back to his face very intimately. He's only lucky that Yukari's warnings stopped me from actually killing him. I need either her or Reimu's permission before I end anyone.

[I offered him to play the Game, and unsurprisingly he didn't want to. He just wanted to eat me.] I patted my machete and knife, [Considering I'm still here with my body intact, you can tell how that went for him.]

"Tough." Alice simply commented, Shanghai crossing her arms indignantly on my behalf, "Knowing you're an Outsider made them careless, apparently."

[I'm a drumstick too hot to bite] And I illustrated that by crumpling my fist in front of me and making fires come out of it, which she stared at neutrally. [And I garnered a lot of protection to keep it that way.]

"Which in your case is the animals you mentioned."

[Yep.] I nodded. [And that includes Reimu's, Remilia's, and Kasen too.]

Her pristine features expressed great surprise at the names I mentioned, especially the Draculina's. Even Shanghai covered her mouth in shock, "Goodness." Crap, I didn't realize how much of a bombshell that is. "How have you come to earn the Scarlet's protection, Mr. Eman? I could remember you two being chummy back at the party but to be this far….how?"

[Because…..] Well, I gotta be careful on what I should share with her here, [….I did them a great help. That, and Flandre likes me, which I reciprocate. She's a darling, believe me.] Love her lots, that's what I mean. You oughtta meet her too, Alice. [Everyone in the mansion's pretty much my neighbors and best friends now since I come over to play every weekend for the last month.]

"Uh huh…." She nodded slowly as her voice contained every uncertainty she could let out, "….for an Outsider, you've gone far even for a month. Even Sumireko was not this deeply involved with prominent figures in Gensokyo."

[Ah, that psychic Outsider girl. Yeah, I heard about her.] Tried to wreck Gensokyo over, that one, in her first year, even if unintentionally at first and later intentionally. [Anyway, can we go back to the original topic?]

"Oops." She even put her hand to her mouth in surprise, which looks cute, "Sorry about that, please continue."

[Right. So, the thing about stopping bites and making it able to retain its shape under pressure; can you do it? There are those types that are simply thick tubes that you can slot your arm through but my style is more on mobility and that thing's only gonna weigh me down.]

"Yes. I remember very well that you are quite the acrobatic back at the party."

[Yeah, thanks for remembering that so could you please not mention it.] I don't wanna remember a single bit about my drunken episode that day so stop! [Anyway, can you do it?]

"Given time, yes." Whoa, her response is quite casual, like I only asked her to make me a t-shirt even though what I'm asking of her is just a violation of eagle glove physics. "Do you have a drawn design in hand?"

[Ah, about that….] This is awkward, [I was thinking about letting you handle that part. I'm not an expert with cloth, after all. If anything, I'd like a practical look. If you're talking about engravings or stitchings or something like that, leave it blank for now. No design in mind on that one too.]

"You're pretty much leaving me to do everything, aren't you?" She asked dryly.

Um…. [Yes?] I don't have any other response besides that. Aren't you the master seamstress here?

Her blank look suddenly turned into a beautiful smile, "I was joking. Of course I can do everything on my own. Come with me and we can take your measurements."

[Alrighty then.] I stood up along with her, drinking the last of my tasteless black tea. [By your estimate, how long will this take?]

She stood up as well and I followed after her as she walked to maybe her work station, "2 hours or less, depending on what material I'm using."

Okay, I was kinda expecting less than that but eh, you can't rush art. Experts would know a lot about that.

….whoa, what the hell!?

[Hey, look a' that!] I exclaimed, pointing at the shelf on the wall. [What is that!?]

"Hm?"

[Correct me if I'm wrong but is that everybody that went to the Party?]

There's a shelf full of dolls that looked just like everybody that ever came to that party! Look! There's a Reimu and a Marisa and a Remilia and a Sakuya—even Yuugi's there! And she's a big doll compared to the rest! Fucking shit, that's a lot of dolls! I'm counting 40 and above here!

PHHahahahahaha! Holy shit! I nearly broke out laughing when I found a Shimyoumaru Doll! You kidding me!? That's not any different than her usual height, for fuck's sake!

[Duuuude!] I'm shaking in excitement here! This is actually a big deal here! I want in! I want a doll version of myself sitting among them! [I gotta be part of that shelf! I just gotta be involved in some Incident or something! Maybe then you'll make an Eman doll and put it there!]

"Um, if you get involved in an Incident, that would only mean that Reimu's going to point her trajectory in your direction, no matter what you were trying to do."

[EVEN PERFECT!] How have you come to bear the GOOD NEWS, Alice!? [I'll give her a taste of what I've been stocking up for the whole month before I fucking died!]

As of today, in my third rebirth, it's now my personal goal to beat the Shrine Maiden of Paradise.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Comforting fit. Nothing but full black leather. Flexible cloth around the joints. Sturdy cloth on parts most exposed to bites, claws and other attacks. Light too. Not even stuffy around my arm. It even feels ventilated, so alien to my sensations. This thing would feel hot, especially under the sun, but I'm not feeling too sweaty with it. It feels like I'm just wearing a long sleeve.

I'm not sure if this is actually genuine cloth of masterful make or a bit of a magical algorithm enforcing that, but I'm loving this thing.

"So, how is it?"

[Hmm…] Gimme a minute, girl. I'm still testing the waters for the moment.

Right now I'm doing experimental swings with my machete while wearing the prototype. Quick swings, slow swings, low swings, high swings, horizontal, vertical, combos, singles—and when that's down, I tested my punching motions with it. Even socked a tree trunk with it. No pain. Skinning my knuckles is something I wanna avoid.

Very flexible and comfortable. It's perfect.

[You enchanted this or something?]

"A minor one to increase its durability by a few margins, you can have it overwritten with something stronger if you like." Alice suggested, standing by the door while crossing her arms. Adarna herself remained in her crutch-cane perch, looking at me intently. Funnily enough, Shanghai is seated right beside her, propping up her little head with her hands while her elbows rested on her knees. "I could feel a similar algorithm on your clothing, and I could only tell that the people at the mansion have something to do with it. Maybe to keep your clothes from burning to ashes from your fires?"

Huh. [Sharp.] Here's a thumbs-up for your wonderful deduction. [From my time there, I'm getting the feeling that the goblins know a lot more magic than even Patchouli.]

"What goblins?"

….I'm sorry, what?

[Um….hello? Butlers? The red little grimlins who are way better at housework than the fairies there?]

She's still giving me a weird look, "Since when?"

…..no….fucking….way.

[You're fucking kidding.]

"I am not. I have not seen a goblin since Reimu forced them out of the village."

WHAT!?

[What!? Dude! Come on!] Those guys deserve recognition! They're the greatest house servants you could ever find! [I see them almost every time I go there! How could you not!? They're even helping Sakuya with the damages Marisa makes!]

"Well, excuse me, buster, but I'm not a frequent visitor of the Scarlet Devil Mansion like you or Marisa." She retorted with some tone of indignance in her quietly audible tone, "I only come there to properly borrow some reference material for my magics unlike a certain witch we both know well. It's not like I had the time to look around and get acquainted with the heavy majority of their staff."

Sigh. I give up. This is getting nowhere. [Okay, you know what? I'm gonna shut up.] We're here to talk about this good glove you made, not the boys, [Let's test this thing's original purpose, even though it's already obvious. Adarna, *whistle* here.]

I hold up my forearm and the raptor departs from her perch and flies towards me, claws outstretched while the shaking crutch-cane dislodged Shanghai off her spot. With a gust of wind lightly blowing my hair back, she lands her feet on my leather-covered forearm and I am surprised at the amount of force she exerted upon contact. It's almost like she punched my arm. Granted, she didn't slow down but still…wow.

[Goodness, I underestimated her grip. It's strong.] She'd actually crush my fingers if she got a hold of 'em, fucking hell. [Without this on, I think I'd have punctures.]

"Now the both of you can be face to face without that stick." You got my agreement, Al—Really, Shanghai? You gotta interpret 'face to face' with your hands doing hand puppets yammering at each other?

[Yeah.] Now I can stroke your feathers like this now. Yeah, that feels good, doesn't it? Bet you like it more when I scratch your head. Yeah, you do. Your fluttering tail tells me things. [Seems like we're good now, Alice. Hold on…]

Lemme just give you your payment heeeere….there. [Catch.] I held up the small pouch of coins and bills before I threw it to her, which she caught without looking away from me or moving except for her left hand which she raised up daintily. [I think that's more than fair but keep the change. This glove's perfect. Nice doing business with you, Alice.]

She looked at the bag in her hand, shook it once and rattled the coins, and did an accepting nod. She gave me a beautiful smile and said, [Thank you for your patronage.]

[Whoooaaa.] Daaaaamn. Perfect English, nice. [Hey, if it's not much a trouble, can I have one more request? It's not really big. Just something you could make under 10 minutes. A very small thing compared to this.]

She shrugged, "If it's by those descriptions then why not? Let's hear it, it'll be free of charge."

Thanks a bunch, Alice. [You know the Misfortune Goddess, Kagiyama Hina?]

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

Right, so I after I got home, I changed my clothes. Trying to play it safe, I had everything I took with me to the Forest of Magic to the laundry full of hot water, including the glove. I could have carried over some bad stuff from there, you never know.

Next order of business, resupply the medicine I used on myself and Meira, and get some safety equipment for my other animals. Right now, I'm accompanied by Visente, Makita and Lakit, with Adarna soaring in the sky, and we're heading over to Eintei.

Learning from yesterday, Spell Card Battles are inevitably going to involve some explosion or another (Marisa), and most of my family has very good hearing. Additionally, they could get shot or hit with something. They need counteracts.

As much as I like my animals to stay out of the line of fire, that doesn't mean I can stop them from doing so forever (especially Visente). When I fought Kotohime, I only had Visente with me just to keep any onlookers away from spectating our battle (had my reasons). Makita and Lakit were not supposed to be there nor did I ever asked any of them to get involved in the battle, but they charged in anyway when I gave the prompt. But after seeing Meira, I pretty much just lost it and sicced my boy on her. Like the animals, the Samurai was not supposed to be there.

Specifically chose the Moon People for this idea to come true, they're the most technologically advanced people on the entire Planet Earth. They got books that make fucking holograms! And that is just the tiny tip of the fucking iceberg of their stuff. If they got some form of battle armor, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.

Right, we're now at the edge of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. Under my left hand is Makita. Right beside me is Visente. Coiled around my body and right arm is Lakit. Somewhere above, Adarna's just taking in the views down below her.

"Okay, let us make some ground rules first." I scratched my cute girl's head idly, which she appreciated by groaning, "You stay close to me, okay?"

Makita does a nod.

[Boy.] I turn to Visente, standing under my arm as I held the crutch-cane, [If you hear anyone approaching, give me a soft one. If anyone is hiding, give a loud one.]

The Holy Spirit sent that message to the boy in the form of a little bright ball, merging into his head. His tail started wagging and gave me a cute little yip, unfitting for a big boy like him.

I smiled, then turned to look at my side, where Lakit's hand-sized head hovered over my shoulder and turned to meet my eyes with her slit yellow gaze. "As for you….if you smell anything off or even see anything strange….make a whisper and warn me."

Even as the Holy Spirit sent that order to her, she still gave me a long stare before she turned her gaze forward once again, tightening her coil around me just a little.

Good enough. [I'll take that as a yes. Let's go.]

And we enter.

Visente's nose will not let him get lost so I gave him leeway of running around as much as he wants without going far, but I doubt Makita here could, therefore I kept my hand on her shoulder as we walked.

As I remember what Reisen told me, Mokou should come around in a few minutes. Undying Girl's got very good sensory to detect anyone coming and going in this forest.

But I didn't forget. Nope, not one bit, not since Mamizou visited.

I looked in multiple directions, warily eyeing places that looked like a good spot to hide for an ambush.

…..

…..

…...

…..I'm full of hermit seasoning, and this fucking place is full of beast Youkai. The worst kind of people to meet with my inherent scent.

Everything just got real quiet now, didn't it? No cicada sounds. No birds. No rustling of bamboo leaves either.

*hiss*

There's the cue from Lakit.

I feel Makita tensing under my hand and I could hear Visente growling too.

Felt the danger as well. As I activate my Spirit Sight (fitting name, if I think so myself), I could see multiple presences slowly approaching my vicinity. Lots of beast Youkai around here, and I would not be surprised if they made the same fucking mistake as that wolfuckhead I mutilated.

I'm counting….like 21 Youkai….and more coming. So many of them, not sure if they're together or not.

If they want a fight, that is fine with me. I'm willing to teach them a lesson, but as of now, I'm not in the mood. I don't want a fight. Not now. I just had one yesterday, and I need rest.

"Mokou!" I shouted out, "I am not certain if you're coming or not but if you are, please hurry up! Many Youkai are about to take your place if you don't!"

As soon as Lakit dislodged herself from me, shrinking herself into a tiny little worm to work up a surprise attack, I transferred bountiful amounts of holy power into the crutch-cane, setting it alight with colorful and slow-moving flames, ready to deliver divine whoop-ass. Makita got my front covered, stepping forward and squaring her frame to look larger and meaner, letting out the most menacing growl I've ever heard towards our unseen enemies. Visente got the rear behind me, throwing out profanity with his monstrous barks.

Activating Spirit Sight again, I noticed that everyone's taking a pause.

Ha!

Yeah, that's what I thought. I guess they didn't take account that these animals are on my side. If a Youkai gets killed by an animal, they will not come back to life. Sure a Youkai is stronger than an animal, but these guys ain't no normal critters, and they realize that. Visente's already got a good record of defending me behind my back to prove it.

But fucking hell, is Mokou coming over or what? I still don't sense her anywhere yet.

Ah shit. Gotta buy time then. "To all Youkai who wish to kill me, be aware that I am no easy prey. If you have intentions for conflict, expect the consequences. Do be aware that you have the option to leave me be, that decision will leave you out of the line of fire. But if any of you do wish to fight me, please do so within the bounds of the Spell Card Rules."

I then held my crutch-cane with both hands diagonally, the head part starting to grow holy tendrils, perfect for whipping and grabbing. I add some balls to the end, it'll be like a multi-ball and chain.

Do I know how to use it? F'course not. I never held something like this before, especially when the handle is too fucking long.

Does the Holy Spirit know how to use it? Absolutely. She'll do the real ass-kicking, I just make the assists.

I feel one motherfucker charging in, going for the attack and having the honor to start this bullshit.

Sigh, never a moment of rest for a Christian in Gensokyo, is it?

"ROOAAAAGH!"

Then comes a humanoid boar Youkai with a legit boar head and muscular body, wearing nothing but a loincloth. His tactic was to jump out of a bush, bash straight through bamboo sticks, sending splinters everywhere, and come a roarin' as he pounced towards me, hands ready to grab me and open mouth loaded with tusks and teeth to rip me apart.

Fun fact: boars are a snake's worst enemy. They are immune to their venom and actually eat snakes for lunch.

That alone is why watching Lakit literally come out of nowhere as a giant snake from the ground and clamped her jaws around Boar Guy before crashing him through every bamboo stick around me is so funny.

While the sticks were flying, screams were going and my animals started barking/roaring like fucking crazy. The bullshit inevitably happened.

I followed after Makita, staying close to her as she advanced on a wolf Youkai while I engaged a second one behind her. With a swing of my holy staff, the tendrils grabbed the bitch off the ground and I flung her to several bamboos that didn't suffer Lakit's wrath.

Geez, the flight of that body was fast, and I didn't even feel the weight of her body. I just swung my staff and she was thrown like a ball.

[WHOA!] Reflexes kicked in and I twisted around in a snap, swinging my staff and a long-armed, long-legged Youkai took a face-full of holy ball and chain, blasting him off to the side.

Geez, Holy Spirit! How much of a punch do you actually carry!?

Oh, I just watched Visente rip a dog guy's arm off. He only pounced, clamped on and it came off really easily.

A Youkai fox is coming in from my left. I ready a stance, a fist ready to punch its snout to Heaven if Holy Spirit permits—

*RROOOAAR!*

WHOAKAY! Makita just pounced the bastard out of the fucking air and flung'm into the distance by the neck! That scared the shit out of me! [Thanks, girl!]

"AaaaAAaaaaarrrrgghhhhhh‼"

Holy shit! Lakit came streaming back, Boar Guy still stuck in her maw, and she slithered right past me, ramming the fat bastard in her mouth into multiple other long-limbed Youkai like a living freight train that were trying to come at me all at once. If they weren't rendered flat on the ground, they were all sent flyin' it was almost funny. Almost.

I'm not forgetting that I could get killed here. Someone here is breaking the rules, there has to be. Paranoid? Maybe. Justified? Absolutely. I got fucking Hermit meat in my bones, for fuck's sake!

And you can just FUCK OFF!

Swung a straight kick towards a bastard's mug, "GHUAA!"

YEAH! Eat that foot full of holy kick ass! And holy shit, he's blown backwards flying! Goodness, Holy Spirit! Do you have the tendency to send people flying or something!?

"This looks fun! Let's join in!"

"Get him!"

"Rough him up!"

"Yeah!"

[OH COME ON! NOT YOU GUYS TOO!] Why!? Of all things, why did the fairies have to get involved!? They're not even human-eaters!

Tyrael! Time to do your thing!

White holy tendrils stream out of my back numbering six and they did the magic of deflecting any bullet coming my way by either swatting them aside or redirecting them to another direction.

And shit, their danmaku has patterns. They even have a Greater Fairy among them. The ones with bigger wings compared to the rest.

[LAKIT!] DEAL WITH THESE PESTS!

And she comes streaking back with a hissing fury, still holding Boar Guy (dude still screamin'), and darted towards the swarm around the upper areas where I can't reach, ramming on quite a few of them and reducing them to pixie dust, freaking out a few of them into escaping—

*GRRRR!*

OHOHOHOHO! Here comes Makita doing the Scale 'n' Fur Double-Team like last time, running across Lakit's long gigantic body and pouncing off at the right distance, body-slamming 5 fairies in her launch!

[VISENTE!] BOY! YOUR TURN!

*BARK!* There's his vicious bark of an affirmative.

Lemme just whip these assholes in front of me! Ugh! Take that! Send ya'll flyin' with a horizontal swing of my holy flail! Alright, boy, come on! Back Ramp ready for you! Hurry up!

His speed increasing as he ran towards me, he leapt onto my back upon reaching my distance, his heavy frame weighing down on my half-crouching form but I held my stance firmly as he finally placed his hind legs on me before I launched him upwards in tandem as he jumped, catching the Greater Fairy by the head.

Oh shit! Dive!

I rolled away from my spot, making sure he doesn't land his bulky frame on me. Once I was up to my feet and he landed back to the soil, slamming the fairy's body against it and snapping her fucking neck (GEEZ!), reducing her to pixie dust like the rest, I ran over to him and ruffled his head really vigorously!

FUCK YEAH! [TEAMWORK! Now go back fucking up people!]

And he does with a sharp and vicious growl, springing off the ground and charging a second Boar Guy that was charging towards us, a bulkier one than the first. Playing it safe, I charged him too.

When it looked like the enemy was ready to catch my boy the sooner he pounced, Visente instead veered to the right, throwing off the big guy and that gave me the opening to jump kick his fucking chest with enough holy power to send him rocketing through his buddies that were behind him, and also a lot of bamboo unfortunately in his direction.

Doing the kip up back to my feet, never letting go of my holy long flail, I do a jabbing motion towards a Cyclops-looking Youkai with little horns and a big fat belly, shooting out tendrils from the head part and wrapping them around his body like botched bondage, immobilizing him completely.

"Huh?"

[Enjoy the ride, Tubby! WHOOOOOOOO!] 3240 TWIRLY!

"AAaaaAAAAAAAAGGHHHHH!‼!‼!‼!‼!‼!"

[HAAAAAGHAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!‼!‼!‼!‼]

SPINNING FAT GUY COMING THROUGH!

"ARGH!"

"OW!"

"BUHHAA!"

"GUHHAA!"

I SAID 'COMING THROUGH', DUMBASS! IF YOU HAD LISTENED, THAT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU! LOOK AT MY ANIMALS! THEY LISTENED TO ME AND THEY'RE WELL AWAY FROM MY SPINNING DISTANCE!

ALRIGHT, RIDE'S OVER! THANK YOU FOR TAKING LETITIA FAST FLIGHTS! DON'T FORGET TO TIP THE WAITRESS ON YOUR WAY OUT!

"WAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!"

*BOOOM!*

Ooooh! Ouch. Flung the guy into an untouched thicket of intact bamboo and he practically exploded as he collided on the green wooden slanting sticks, sending splinters and broken pieces everywhere. Had to shield my face from it too.

*Grrr!*

[Oh. Hey, Makita.] Gave her a pat-pat on the head for coming back, intact and doing fine. Dirty but intact. "Dealt with everything on your side?"

She did a curt nod.

"Magnificent." I gave her a smile, "Keep me guarded for a few seconds, if you don't mind."

*RROOOAAAAAR!*

FFffffffucking shit, that was so loud, especially right next to me even if pointed at another direction. Ow. That was a threat display, meant to ward off other tigers by breaking their hypersonic ears, including her own. Thank you for complying but you could have warned me first! Felt like my fucking chest was gonna burst open, and not because of a heart attack!

Alright. Spirit Sight: activate.

There's another pause from the people, actually perturbed by my girl's bestial 'Fuck off' as they held their positions…..and that made other Youkai coming over behind them crash into each other.

Oh my, that's a lot of people coming over to play. I'm counting fucking 60 here and even more coming over. How popular is Hermit meat these days?

No way. Uh-uh. No, Sir. No thank you. I am not dealing with this many people. I'm here to get meds, not beat up idiots!

Ah, whatever. Let's do the quicker end to this then.

Raise up the staff and make it glow like the SUN! GANDALF! LEND ME THY STRENGTH!

[YOU!] YEEEEEES! [SHALL NOT!] I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THIS FOR A LONG TIME! [PAAAAASSSS!]

*BBGSSSHHHH!‼* WHOA SHIT!

FIRES! FIRES! EVERYWHERE! AGH! HOT! HOT! HOT!

…..

…...

…...….

Spirit Sight says that everybody just left. All of 'em, running away as if somebody's chasing them down.

And I'm not the one taking the credit for doing so.

Opening my eyes, sitting myself up after getting blasted backwards by a searing wave of heat accompanied by a pillar of fire erupting right in front of me before I could do the Thing, a long-curtain of ivory hair that reached the ground graces my eyes, overshadowed by the majesty of fucking Fire Wings adorning the person's back.

And those enviable BAGGY PANTS! Why does she have them and I don't!?

Still, the relief flowed over me and I smiled, half exasperated and half glad, "What has delayed you for so long, Mokou?"

She visibly sighed, wings dissipating and turning to look at me over her shoulder with a dry look, "Big snake, whacked me across the forest and snapped my neck." She rubbed the back of her neck and rolled it, "Damn thing was ramming through everybody. Think there was a boar Youkai in its mouth or something."

You kidding me? Lakit killed you? Was that why you were late?

I….I….oh shit. I didn't warn her to grant the Undying Girl passage.

"And a wolf bit my head off."

…...fuck.

[Okaaaaay….] Alright, I'm actually under a mini-panic attack right now. Even if she's immortal, still…..fuck, this is actually gonna haunt me in my nightmares tonight. I'm almost responsible for somebody dying! Damn, I feel sick. I didn't feel anything when I dismembered that wolfuckhead, I'm fucking grateful that I am now. "For the record, please allow me to take responsibility for the actions of both animals. They are associated with me. I have given them orders to fight back but I didn't consider that they would actually attack you as well. So please, don't—"

"It's fine." She cut me off, indifference lacing her every word, a testament to her long life riddled with experiences of having died countless times before, "I'm immortal so it doesn't really bother me that much."

Yeah, yeah, I know…

"Still….on their behalf, I apologize." I did the Japanese dogeza bow, head dropped to the floor before I rose up, using the cane as a support and leant against it, no longer glowing bright and now brought back into a simple walking stick with an L-shaped head.

Fucking hell, that was quite the fight. If I'm being honest, I'm more scared of my animals than the Youkai because I thought their fury might end up landing on me by accident. Worked up my heart pretty good under the silent-panic, and I could even feel Makita's roars on my chest. Vibrated wildly under the frequency.

"That tiger thing with ya too?" Mokou asked, gesturing to Makita beside me, who isn't growling at her. She's just giving the immortal a cute blue-eyed gaze. Nice.

"Indeed." I scratched her cheek as a reward for knowing friend from foe, which she appreciated with her tongue poking out and her eyes closed. Aw, so fucking cute. "Her name's Makita. Compared to the two others, she has enough intelligence to know you are an ally."

"Hm. 'Preciate it." Makita then steps forward towards her, bumping her forehead marked with a downward-facing arrow against her side before looking up to her. Mokou frowned, "What?" Kitty head-bumped her again, sniffing her hand stuffed in her pockets.

Hehe, that's just cute. I bet Makita's just thankful and letting the woman have a chance to pet her head.

"I will call them back and inform them about you." Fingers to my lips and I did the toot. *Whistle!*

*bark*

There it is. Just a yonder away, his bark echoing towards me. I wait for a few seconds and I see him sprinting over in great speeds, kicking up dust, leaves and splinters behind him.

Holy Spirit, inform him please.

A little orb fastballs towards him, slips into his head, and he slides to a stop, a blank look on his face.

Sorry, boy, but you gotta realize your mistake. Not everybody is out to eat my face, you know. Some of them really wanna help too. Good people exist. You must learn to know the difference. Plus, I don't wanna get tackled down by you right now. Still feeling a little sick in the belly thinking that you just ripped Mokou's head off. Your snout has, like, blood splattered around it belonging to maybe 14 people and one of 'em's hers.

Visente trots up to Mokou and rolls down on his back, exposing his belly to her. He's just looking up to her pitifully, sending out apologetic whines. That's almost funny, considering my boy is a really big boy (almost bigger than Makita) and he's doing that.

Mokou turned to me, "What am I supposed to do here?"

"You know…." Like this. I'm rubbing my belly with my palm here. "He's begging for forgiveness."

"I told you." Her tone is consistently dry, "No need."

"Just do it." I kindly pressed, turning around and calling for the other one, {Lakit! Tapok na!}

*KRSSH BSH GSSSHH!*

The response I got was a large body thrown my way, crashing through surviving bamboo, and about to land on me, which I dodged by crouching and rolling backwards out of the way. The ground shook when he landed. Damn.

Holy shit, it's Boar Guy! [Oh hello.] Can't believe you're still alive, groaning and writhing. That's Youkai fortitude for ya. You've been used as a battering ram for almost 10 minutes, how the fuck are you still conscious?

"I think this is the guy that snake was holding" Mokou analyzed, nudging the dude on his side with her shoe.

"Indeed." I shushed Makita and Visente first as they were growling at him before I smacked him on his shoulder blade, "Speak up. Tell me your name."

"Grrr." He turned a glare towards me with his bloodshot eyes, nostrils flaring as he took sharp breaths to either look threatening or to ease the pain of the broken bones he has. "I'll get ya someday, Outsider. This ain't over yet." His voice was quite grizzled.

"It is now." I retorted, resisting all urges to clobber this bastard's head in. "Now tell me your name."

He sighed gruffly, relaxing the side of his face against the ground beneath him, "Bunta."

"Now, Mr. Bunta, answer me honestly." I placed one hand on my hip and the other hanging loosely beside me, clenching into a fist. "When you decided to fight me, were you abiding by the Rules, or were you actively trying to kill me so you could eat me?"

"Heh." He scoffed.

I can't believe this.

He fucking scoffed.

"Of course I was. You smell like a Hermit. Everybody could smell you. They all want it, but I wanted it before—GUHA!"

I slugged him, one packed with burning heat. His face really collided hard against the ground. He got himself an ugly wound there on the back of his fucking head.

"I heard enough." I reared my foot back and I struck his side with enough strength to flip him over his back, the strike packed with enough holy power to fill 10 gallons. He made quite the scream too, especially when I heard something cracking under the kick.

"Bastard….!" He growled, clawing at the burn on his head while he sneered menacingly at me, tusks almost glinting with his drool against the daylight. "…can't you see I'm—"

I slugged him again, right on his gut. Left a burnt fist imprint there too. That blew out much of his oxygen and a lot of his saliva. When he curled and grabbed at his belly, I gave another one into his eyes, above his piggy snout and in-between his sharp tusks, throwing his head back to the ground.

[Fuck you.] I slowly positioned myself over him so my feet were placed on both sides of his chest and I sat on his smoking belly while he continued to hold his brow in pain, struggling underneath me. My tone's a lot colder now, contradicting the heat my body was giving off. "Isn't it a commonality to adhere to the Spell Card Rules? Isn't it something the heavy majority of you people know so much that you don't even have to mention it to the other party? I adhere to it too. I even proposed for it, you fucking hick. Why did you make an exception when it came to me? Why was I considered unworthy of the Rules?"

"GRRGHH!" He ripped his large hands out of his face and made a grab for me, "YOU LITTLE—!"

He never got to touch me. Glowing chains ending in knives shot out of me and impaled his palms straight to the ground, same was done to his ankles, pinning him down under my mercy. His guttural screams were loud, even Makita had to back away to stop a migraine. I held on strong and suffered the noise, continually glaring at him.

"Answer me. Why am I unworthy of it?"

"FUCKING—"

I gave him another slug to his eyes, shutting him up and letting him suffer for failing to comply, much worse now because he can't use his hands to nurse it anymore.

"Answer. Why?"

"AAARGH! MY EYES! MY EYES!"

I slugged him again.

"Why?" And again. "Why? Huh? Why!?" Again. And again. Another.

"STOP! STOP! STO-AGH! STOP!"

"FUCKING ANSWER! *PUNCH!* NOW!"

Bunta, eyeless and his entire face heavily burnt, screamed the answer right at my fucking face, flinging his spittle at me, raising his upper body up, and ignoring the fact that he's basically damaging his hands even further. "IT'S BECAUSE YOU SMELLED DELICIOUS! THAT YOU SMELLED LIKE A FUCKING HERMIT! YOU WERE AN OUTSIDER TOO! NOBODY WOULD MISS YOU IF YOU DIED ANYWAY!"

Then he collapsed back to the ground, heaving in breath and shuddering, continually groaning in pain.

…..

…...

…..…..

"…..I don't want to die." I muttered, the heat in my body starting to grow immensely, "Kill me and be satisfied. I do not even fear my death…but I fear what might happen if I had…." I then held my face, hiding whatever expression I'm wearing from Mokou, who stood at the side doing nothing but observe alongside my animals. "A little girl doesn't want me dead….she'd be devastated, her heart will be broken…..that's why I don't want to die….not anymore…."

I stood up from his belly, my hands still on my face, and the heat on my head manifested into flames, immolating my hands alongside it. A memory came rushing back, reminding me of the things I had to go through before Flandre became the way she is.

"I suffered so much for that little girl. I was possessed by evil spirits. I was forced to harm. I even lost my fucking life for her." My voice is shaking, even speaking through grit teeth. "I went through so fucking much just for that little girl to recover. She's even grateful to me, including her entire fucking family. She loves me. I will be missed, and half of Gensokyo will burn."

I know how that Remilia thinks. She will do something of that extent if I died by someone else's hands before she could.

I put my hands down, the tears I've shed nowhere to be seen under the coat of hot red flames that covered my entire head. I clenched fists on either side of me, the skin turning bright red under the extreme heat.

"You are making a big mistake by trying to kill me…." Black smoke's now coming out, "So WHY!?"I punched him, letting out a hoarse roar as I did. " HUH!? WHY!?"Another. " WHY DO YOU WANT ME DEAD!?"

"AUGH! I JUST TOLD YOU, MOTHER—AUGH!"

"ANSWER ME! NOW! WHY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY!?"

The rest is just a blur, my knuckles starting to spurt out fire from being skinned, and my throat starting to hurt from asking the same thing again and again, punctuating each one with a single punch.

Why?

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

…..

…...

…...He's still alive.

I reduced the skin on his face close to the fucking bone. I even broke off his tusks and dislocated his fucking lower jaw. His tongue's melted too. He might as well be not born with any eyes anymore. I fucked his face up well enough that it's no longer recognizable as a Boar.

And he's still fucking alive.

He's breathing wetly. His head is still twitching. And any sound out of him are nothing but wheezes and gurgles.

When I lost control, I made sure the Holy Spirit had no part in it. I replaced the chains pinning him down with the Golem's hardened obsidian hands, gripping his wrists against the ground and crushing the bones into little pieces underneath the flesh.

My hands are bleeding, and the skin on my entire body is completely red. I'm breathing nothing but hot air. It's so fucking uncomfortable. The only ones not bothered is Mokou and Lakit, who's half-coiled around the former and eyeing what I've done from a high vantage point as a very big snake. Visente and Makita simply went to someplace away from this hot zone without letting me out of their sight.

I walked away from his pathetic corpse and put my hands together, trying notto have them tremble from the pain in my knuckles.

†Holy Spirit, grant this beast Your pardon and heal his wounds.†

A bright cloud of white light floated over to his body from my own, smothering him all over till not a single hide of leather is to be seen from him. A few seconds later, when the bright cloud congregated back inside my body, his body's completely regenerated. No burns. No broken bones. No crushed wrist. Jaw is realigned. Even his tusks have been repaired.

Through my NDE, it's not as simple as 'Holy burns Evil' at all. Youkai are entirely spiritual beings and they have the privilege to earn benefits from the Holy Spirit, being healed and being touched.

Now, Bunta here is healed up to 100%. Won't be surprised if he's ready for another fight again because it's possible the Holy Spirit gave him his stamina back as well.

Yet, when he finished recovering from his shock and suddenly being healthy, turning his eyes to Mokou, Lakit, and towards me, I see nothing but fear. I destroyed his hostility. I just broke him. He scrambled to get away.

*HIISSSS!*

A vicious hiss from Lakit, she zoomed in front of his direction to block his escape and he collided against her large scaly mass, bouncing hard against her, landing on his back and looked up in horror towards her raised head, maw gaping wide with her fangs in plain view as she glared at him with tight yellow slits.

He tried to run towards to the side, powerful barks were sent his way, practically blasting him backwards from Visente's voice alone as he tried to get away from my boy's jaws. He turned to the opposite direction, there was a screaming Makita who would have raked his snout with her claws if he hadn't stopped himself at the last few inches.

His last direction to take was the opposite of Lakit, and I filled that spot, kicking him straight in the chest with a dose of holy in it when he tried to run, sending him back to the ground on his rear. With me now in close proximity to him, his fear is very much full of clarity. He was straight-up sweating, the pupils in his eyes dilated with fear, and his breathing was almost too fast.

His humility finally decided to show itself when his life is in mortal peril.

He prostrated before me, forehead mashed against the ground and his screaming tone full of desperation, "Forgive me! Forgive me! I apologize! I'm sorry for what I did! I won't do it again! I'll leave you alone! I'll be gone! I swear! You'll never see me again so please don't kill me!"

Boars are one of the most stubborn creatures I know, too powerful to cow down or kill. Him ending up like this must have been the most humiliating thing to ever happen.

"I don't believe you." I told him. "You'll seek me out. You'll come back with company. With numbers, to overpower my own. You will come back to try and kill me again."

"NO!"

Screaming his response wasn't a good idea. My animals started roaring, barking and hissing harsh profanity in his general direction. I even felt my insides rumbling from the sheer intensity of it. Not good for my ears either. The ferocity of their voices made him shrink further into himself, trying to look small.

"No…please! I won't! I swear! I won't ever be in your hair ever again! Please!"

So pathetic.

"It's far too convenient for you to beg for your life when you tried to take mine." I pointed out without emotion, "You had no qualms in taking it. Why should I have any instead?"

"I swear on my life! I will never come back! I'll even live peacefully! I'll never touch outsiders again!"

Hold him up, Holy Spirit.

Complying, white tendrils shot out of my body and forced his upper body up, giving me a view of his sniffling face. He's even crying. He's actually afraid of me. The way it works around here. It should be the other way around. I cannot describe the satisfaction I feel just by looking at it.

"How could you possibly do that?" I asked with full incredulity in my tone, glaring sharply into his black eyes. "How could you possibly live civilly—"

"I can!" He insisted, "You just gotta—"

"—when you would disappear from doing so?"

He froze instantly, looking at me in a new light when I simply exposed that I knew how his kind survives. The majority of humans in Gensokyo don't know that, much less Outsiders with a few exceptions (Sumireko, Sanae, and now me).

"You can't live without the humans fearing you. If you live like us, no one would fear you anymore. That will kill you." I then punched him in his hairy chest, which had no effect because it had nothing fueling it. No fire or holy behind it. It's just a spiteful fist carrying nothing but a punctuation. Despite so, he flinched from it. "What can you do?"

He's visibly starting to calm down. Granted, he's still alarmed, his eyes remaining wide and alert but his composure was beginning to restore itself. His breathing was becoming even too. When he opened his mouth and said something, there was no shaking or fear anymore.

"What do you want me to do?"

The tendrils suddenly vanished, dropping him back to the ground which he caught himself from face-planting it completely with his hands. I pulled him back up to face me, however, as I grabbed his shoulders and nearly keeled over because of how heavy he was. Once he obediently straitened himself and looked back at me, I looked deeply into his eyes and said it.

"Stop them." I firmly told. I do not sound like it but I'm the one who's pleading now. "Make. Them. Stop. End their motivation to eat me…and instead have them respect me as a player under the Spell Card Rules. That is all I want."

He nodded vigorously, "I-I would do that…..but how could I make them? They can't just listen to me that easily."

Good thing I got a way to counteract that. "Tell them….that I am under the protection of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and the Scarlet Devil. If I suffer death…." I paused for a moment, shuddering at the face Flandre would make if I die again. "…they shall suffer the wrath of the entire Scarlet household. Even I am not sure if Reimu could hold back Marisa from hunting your entire kind to extinction."

The horror was quick to come back to his face, and his tone was full of disbelief, "Ho-how do you have their protection? The Hakurei I can understand but that vampire too?"

My grip tightened, "If you don't believe me, you can ask them yourself. If you don't hurry up, I might as well put you down this instant and prove my point to the other Youkai myself."

"Don't!" He grabbed my wrists, then realized his mistake as the animals started growling viciously at his audacity, so he immediately let go and held up in surrender, his head bowing deeply, "Please don't! I'll do it! I'll tell them! I'll make sure they don't try to eat you no more."

"Then get on with it." I let go of his shoulders and gestured Visente to move aside with me, "Tell them now."

"Yes, sir!" Defying his size, he was quickly back to his feet and practically vanished into the thicket under no less than a second.

And that was when the exhaustion hit me so badly. My shoulders sagged, holding my knees as I took calming breaths. [Auuugh….fuck….] My fucking knuckles….shit, look at them. Skinned and have already clotted completely. A disgusting sight.

A little yip from my side and I see Visente coming back with my staff in his mouth before he set it down before my feet. [Thank you, boy.] I scratched him on the snout just above the nose before I pick it up and use it as a crutch, leaning against it to regain some energy back in me.

Makita slowly came to my side and licked the back of my hand, maybe to give me some comfort. I scratched her chin in thanks.

I appreciate it, darling.

"That was one way to break a Youkai." Mokou commented behind me, followed by a sharp hissing that came from above. Lakit agrees with ya, girl. Even sounded like it, don't know how I figured that though. "Even healed the bastard too. What was that cloud thing?"

I sighed tiredly, "Holy energy."

"Holy?" I sense a tiny bit of disbelief there. I bet this was actually unheard of for her, despite her many years. And that's impressive. "Holy….healing a Youkai….that's new. Don't they burn from that?"

"Not this one." A little orb floats out of me and goes over to her, just to give her a sight of something colorful and sacred. "It has will and She freely chooses to help rather than harm."

"And is impaling that guy's palms and ankles 'help'?"

"I forced that action, and I made a point by making Her leave when I lost control." I turned around and faced her, noticing that Lakit's still gigantic and hovering her upper body over us, casting a large shadow as she scanned our surroundings. I looked back down and to Mokou, "I hope that did not lower your opinion of me."

She shrugged indifferently, "Hm, deserved it, anyway. Even if you lived here for a month or played songs at the Hakurei party, Outsiders are still free game. Far as I've heard from Keine 'bout you, you don't even live in the village."

"Indeed." I took a deep breath, then exhaled before I walked towards her, using the crutch as a proper walking stick or tall cane. "That's why I must take every advantage I have and make any move I could make to stay alive."

She turned to face the direction Bunta ran off to before turning back to me, "I heard him say you smell like a 'hermit', what does that mean? You don't impress me like one."

I exhaled sharply, my face scrunching viciously at the main reason why I'm suffering this fucking thing so long as I exist. [Tsk.]

Understanding crossed her features. "Never mind. Don't tell me if you don't wanna." She turned around, her long ashen-gray hair swishing and trailing on the ground behind her as she walked on, "Eintei you're going, right? Follow me."

And I do so, Makita and Visente following close behind. I picked up Lakit as soon as I found her anaconda-sized person close to my foot and let her coil around me once again.

Long trip we'll be making here. Might as well talk to pass the time. And I remember in the NDE that Mokou isn't much for conversation but she does like to listen, especially from people she's escorting in this place. Might as well do.

"For the sake of courtesy, thank you kindly for your intervention. Any further and I might have to set the forest on fire. You notice before that a fiery entity had risen from my back, which explains the presence of my powers over hellfire aside from sanctified energy. I refrained from using it because it might risk the safety of my animals, and while holy power is indeed effective against Youkai….

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

"….not sure if it I could manage it but there's no harm in trying. Walk on water or maybe turn water into wine, it's a venture I'll be checking out once I have free time. The other Shrine Maiden Kochiya would either be green in envy or beet with rivalry once she takes notice of them. She has powers of miracles and divine intervention, I like to think I have the possibilities to match them. Split the sea or make water come out of stone like spring, I'll manage them sooner or later. As far as I have learned while being in Gensokyo, anything is possible. I am not certain if there is a price to such feats or I have to make preparations of some sort, but I intend to see it through. See if I can do a manner of good for Gensokyo with them. Good I intend for the animals, friends and family first, human villagers second and Youkai third. Speaking of Youkai, I feel like beckoning a new plethora of foreign origins to come into Gensokyo. My origins, specifically. I am a Filipino, native to the Southeastern Country in Asia, Philippines. I am not sure if you knew such a place but we have our own supernatural creatures that once terrorized our people. My favorite, chief among all of them, is the Tikbalang, which I will deliver here first. A horse Youkai, you understand. One with the body of a strong man but with the feet and head of a horse. Despite their capacity to kill, they make a point not to harm humans. Their worse is only limited to tricks and pranks, including leading humans astray with illusions. Not unlike the fairies of Gensokyo. Still, they have the capacity to kill and they will defend themselves with lethal force. They can be tamed, however. There is the old-fashioned way, which is to ride his back and hold on for dear life while he or she tries to buck you off until the point of exhaustion, which they submit to you as their master afterwards. Not unlike what you would do with regular horses. Then there is the quicker but equally dangerous method, which is to pluck the golden—"

"We're here."

"—lock of hair out of their mane….wait, what did you say?"

"Eintei." Mokou told, pointing a finger forward. Oh yeah, the building's right there along the path, with the roof and all sticking out.

"Oh, I haven't noticed." I then held out a hand for her, "Thank you, Mokou. Though I may have been the only one talking but it is actually refreshing to have a listening ear once in a while."

"Hm." She hummed in clear appreciation and agreement, taking my wrist and I hers before we shook on it. She even had a small smile too, nice. "You asked where Sumireko is, right?"

Yeah, and you didn't answer me.

"Well, she said she'll come around in maybe a few days. Said she's on a vacation with family or something."

[Ah…right.] Since seeing my NDE, I'm now more than keen to meet her. I wanna have a firsthand experience of her power and have a good time together as fellow Outsiders.

"You wanna meet her?" Mokou asked, letting go of my hand.

"Do kindly." I nodded, "In weekdays, I'll be working at Hirabayashi-ya's Dango, open for morning till dusk. On the weekends, can you tell her I'm not available on this one? I have things to do."

"Sure."

[Alright, see ya.] I patted her shoulder and I walked on forward to the hospital. I then whistled to my animals, {Sige na.} I made a drinking gesture, {Tubig.}

That was incentive enough for them to rush on ahead, my boy and girl looking like they're trying to beat the other to the finish line. Visente has the advantage, however. Makita's fast but not enough to beat him. Lakit's the only one who remained with me. I know snakes only eat a couple times a year but how about water?

Not even I'm sure, I haven't asked that much in my NDE.

"Hey." Oh, is that Mokou calling me? I turned around, "Eman, right?"

That's my name. "Yes?"

To my surprise, she gave me a thumbs up. "That story 'bout you beating Kotohime, nice."

This time, I was smiling like a goof. I can't believe talking non-stop got a reaction like that from her. Awesome! [Yeah.]

I then turned around and ran on to Eintei's grounds. Once I got past the thicket and into the yard, I see Makita and Visente drinking from the pond. Quite close together, in fact. Almost shoulder to shoulder. Aw, they've become friends now.

{Walay away, okay?} There are rabbits, I don't want any of their deaths nagging at my conscience.

"Come on, off you go." I laid Lakit down on the grass and quickly headed to the front entrance.

My shoes off and left on the bottom of the stairs, my socked feet on the veranda as I stood before the sliding doors, I slid it open and was in time to see Reisen passing by, carrying a tray of instruments. She was surprised by my entrance, likewise myself seeing her there.

"Oh! Mr. Eman, hello!"

Insanity-inducing red eyes, preceded by the manipulation of waves. Look past that stuff, you'll see that her eyes are actually good looking. Bright too.

One look at her, pretty and friendly, you wouldn't realize that she's a deserter from a war.

[Hey, Reisen.] I greeted, waving a hand as I entered with my cane. [Came for a refill of medical supplies, and to get these checked-up.] I gestured to my knuckles. Even if already clotted, you may never know. Considering that I'm a Youkai-target, I'm no longer guilty of being too careful from now on.

"Oh sure." She nodded, walking on forward and I followed after her, "If you could just follow me, we can get you checked up quickly."

Oookay. Time to discuss attack animal equipment once I see the Beautiful Fox named Eirin.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

"A fine specimen you have with you here, Eman." Remarked Eirin as she looked over my kitty from up to down, front and back with sharp analytical eyes.

Makita made a groan in response, seated still and eyeing the good doctor all the way.

I'm just here watching from the side, alongside a crowd of rabbit Youkai who are currently playing with Visente, furiously kicking his leg as he gets belly-scratches from multiple hands. I can see a few others who are quite eager to pet Makita once she's done being examined.

Not what I expected from Youkai born from skittish animals.

Oh, and I have with me in my hands Little Precious, the cutest bunny I ever found since coming to this place conscious. Since the passing of a couple weeks, she's gotten big. Big enough to fit both my hands in a bowling shape, and her hanging ears are even more pronounced, and cuter. And she remembers me! Oh, so happy was I that I gushed over her for 5 minutes straight!

Once I get outta here, I'm taking her home with me. I ain't hesitatin' anymore. She's coming home, and I'm gonna love her for as long as she lived.

Right, so after getting my knuckles treated and wrapped with bandages, followed by a restock of med supplies and paying for them, I then asked for an audience with Eirin.

Once I got in the same room as her, finished with researching through a microscope, I begun the conversation by mentioning her technologically-advanced origins. After that, I followed with the question if she can create something given enough details, resources and time. After getting a 'yes' from her and explaining that Reisen can help with the fabrication, I then finally asked her the thing.

Can she make protective gear for a tiger, a wolf, and a size-shifting snake?

That pretty much led to where we are now. We went outside along with Reisen to take a look at these animals. Visente's already done getting examined, having the body makeup of an average wolf sans the powerful jaws. He's getting custom-made ear-protection and body armor. Bet it'll be just like what police dogs would wear, except a lot more advanced from these people.

For Makita's case, I think it's going to be a lot of armor. Ones that'll include her head and limbs besides her body. Big body means big target (goes for my boy too), she's slow by beast Youkai standards, and she's the only animal in my family to use her arms more often in a fight compared to my boy.

Now I wonder about Lakit's case. How do you fit armor on something that's never going to stick with one size for too long?

"Why do you need to give them armor implements?" The Doc asked me.

[The obvious reason: to protect against harm like danmaku bullets and close-proximity explosions that come from a Spell Card Battle. Did you admit somebody yesterday named Meira?]

Eirin turned to me, "Yes? What of it?"

[Well, I was responsible for her injuries, partly Makita's.] Bit her good, my kitty did. Don't you get too proud there, girl. I don't encourage 'too much' harm. [My animals got involved in the fight and an acoustic explosive got them dizzy and disoriented very badly. I wanna counteract that.]

"Hmm." She hummed in understanding, fluffing Makita's chin while taking ahold of her right ear, examining the inside closely.

A tinge of lilac entered the side of my vision as Reisen stepped closer beside me, looking at the white tiger, "How is she tame? I read that tigers are quite aggressive."

[Not really tame, per se. She knows she's not in any danger here and she knows that Eirin is just trying to study her.] I lightly bounced Little Precious in my grasp, brushing my thumb across her side tenderly, [Her mind is very very special, Reisen. She's just very intelligent. She has self-awareness, and she can understand your language. I even had an actual conversation with her once. She could nod or shake her head. She's got human emotions too, like self-doubt.]

"Whoa…" And she believes me, huh. I thought I have to be convincing first. I guess something like this isn't really out of the ordinary. "And you know this for a fact? And she's not really a Youkai instead?"

I'm actually surprised you didn't ask that skeptically.

[Absolutely not.] I shook my head, [I got the facts from a proper animal expert and if Makita had been a Youkai, I would know.]

Since coming back from the dead, the presence unique to either Youkai or humans got even more pronounced in my sensory. Having a close-up with Bunta's aura gave me even more clarity and vividness about it. Like being next to a large construction vehicle, an excavator for example. You know it's powered on, you know it's dangerous if you are too close, and you know it's there.

Right now, feels like I'm right next to a lot of computers. One among them is a giant super computer with a CPU the size of a fucking mansion.

And it is looking at the inside of Makita's mouth. Oi!

[So, Doc, what do you think?]

"Well…." She paused to allow my kitty to close her mouth and face me, "…I can certainly create this 'equipment' you speak of, but I would like your pets to stay around for examination a little longer. Overhearing that she happens to be a self-aware creature who can effectively hold conversations with other forms of intelligent life, I'm particularly interested. This tiger, including your snake and wolf, are genuine animals carrying abnormalities that isn't even normal or possible for them. Powerful jaws greater than crocodiles, intelligence that matched a human's, and an ability to change size at will without suffering any complications from the heaviness of its own weight and size. I'm keen to know how they tick."

Ahem, [First off, they're not pets. They feed themselves. They're free to go whenever they like. And they follow me by their choice. Secondly, it's fine with me that you wanna study them but I want a full guarantee from you that they will not suffer any harm.]

"You have my word, Eman." Eirin told me, and I could hear the utmost sincerity from her, "Under our household, your animals will be looked after like queens and kings. As you can see, we have many capable caretakers for them." She gestured to Visente and Lakit, one playing a game of tag (or chase) with the Youkai rabbits and the other having a giant group hug session (that's a really big hug, like 12 people are in it).

"I'm pretty sure the three will have a great time." Eirin finished as an afterthought.

"And they will!" Tewi exclaimed, standing beside Makita while she patted her softly on the head, which the kitty appreciated by sticking out the tip of her tongue through her lips and closing her eyes, "We're gonna teach this baby how to make mochi while we're at it."

[KKRK!] That put a funny image in my head. Makita, crushing mochi dough using only her paws (a la kneading dough or making biscuits that housecats do) since her natural strength compensates her lack of dexterity to hold a hammer. [Hehe. Nice.]

"Right!? I'll give her first mochi ever made to you! Think of it like a present for her papa."

"Ensure you sanitize her paws first, okay?" I told her, pointing a finger at her firmly.

"Sure thing!"

Okay.

I then walked over to Eirin and released one hand carrying Little Precious, wiped it against my pants and held it out to her, [Thanks for doing this. Make sure they come back healthy and the same as always, yeah?]

She took my hand, a rather soft grip, "I intend to have them come home to you stronger, healthier and able to participate in a Danmaku game without falling easily under the first Spell Card."

…

…...just imagine.

Visente the Wolf, Makita the Tiger and Lakit the Snake, forming the terrible trio that make up the first animals ever to participate in Gensokyo's favorite game.

If Eirin's gonna give my animals a turret, I swear….

[Can't wait.] I chuckled, then pulled her close to bump our foreheads together gently before I let go of her hand. [Thank you. When can I expect you to finish? 2 weeks or more?]

"Maybe less."

[Awesome. Be careful with them.] I then turned to Reisen and held out a hand for a handshake, which she took. [Take care of my animals, kay? If you want somebody to talk to, Makita will keep you company. She's a complete darling, you'll love her.] She's a good listener too.

"I shall." Oh, I sense some eagerness in her little tone, "I can't wait to work with her, honestly."

Sweet! Now we can finally give my Whitey Cutie Kitty a chance for socialization, one that's not even normal for her species.

"Tewi." I turned to the Lucky Master of the Bamboo Forest, the one that allowed these Moon People to live here in the first place. I raised up a hand close to her reach for a high-five.

She runs up to me, passing by Makita and Eirin, then gave it a sharp slap.

"Here's for good luck!" Then she jumped up and head-butted my forehead.

Ahem! Mm! [Wow.] Ouch. For a little girl, that was a hard one. "Thank you very much." I made no attempt to rub the pain or even recoil from it. I just take it like a man.

"Hehe. You gave Eirin one so I gotta get you one myself."

"I appreciate it."

*Chuf-fu-fu*

Oh, here comes Makita about to give me one as well. I hardened my legs and I carefully held Little Precious close to me chest and made sure not to drop her as the tiger stood up on her hind legs and laid her paws on my shoulders, giving me quite the heavy lifting as she roughly rubbed her head against mine.

Ow. Even if she's trying to show love, she doesn't know how to hold back most of her strength. Lucky for me, I got a bit of strength in my neck to return her affections. Just a bit.

When she thankfully stopped, she and I are now properly forehead to forehead, looking into each other's eyes. And her beautiful blue eyes that carried powerful intelligence that cannot be distinguished from humans….aw, can't get tired of it.

I patted the fur on her back with my free hand, whispering to her gently, "I will leave the three of you here, okay?"

She made a mournful groan, almost sounding like an 'aw'.

Shit. This is a really smart tiger.

"Hey, now. Do not fret." I cooed, stroking her fur lovingly. "This is so you can protect me better. The people here will teach you how. Kasen taught you how to hunt. Now it's time for you to learn how to fight like us. Make you stronger."

Disregarding competition battles, most animals were never built to fight. They were built to kill, kill in order to eat and live for another day. They won't brace injury like us men. The slightest wounds is a vital concern to their wellbeing and they are smart enough to know that, so they won't bother if it's only gonna end badly for them even if they win. They can't heal easily like humans too. Give a living weapon finesse that gives it the ability to fight, who knows what kind of super weapon it'll become?

It'll be like giving a professional boxer brass knuckles or teaching him how to do taekwondo kicks.

"I want you to watch over your brother and sister, okay? Keep them from doing anything foolish. They are your responsibility now. Do you understand?"

She did a little nod, her eyes a bit downcast.

"Don't worry. I'll be okay. The Lord made me strong, and He will always protect me. I can manage myself for as long as you last here, okay? I'll come back to visit. I promise." A smile graced my lips, "Four days later, I'll come here with snacks and we can play around for a while."

I won't mention that I'm bringing a friend with me, however.

She then gave me a lick on the face (fucking sandpaper!) to indicate her now-happy mood and booped me in the nose with her own before letting go of my shoulders. Whoa, what a relief that felt. She's so fucking heavy.

"Thank you, darling." I gave her one last scratch on the cheek, which she accepted and gave a lick.

I then gave some love to Visente, let him lick my face for a bit and ruffled his head.

Then I do this, [Sit.]

He sits on his haunches.

[Stay.]

He straightened his posture.

[Bless.]

He bumped his head against the back of my hand.

[Yeah, man.]

Then I gave him a down-low, which slapped his paw on. Love you, boy. Shake on it.

When I tried to give some love to Lakit and trace my fingers over her head, she instead coiled around my arm, around my body, and—

[ARGHK!]

AGH! SHE'S SQUEEZING ME TO SHIT ! HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP! GET HER OFF! GET HER OFF ME!

Then she let go. [GAAHHAA! HA!] Fucking shit! I take it back! Makita's hugs are a lot gentler! Lakit's number one for giving the roughest hugs!

I hear a lot of giggling from the Youkai rabbits. Hey, shut up! You're all lucky you got endurance greater than humans that you could appreciate her hugs!

[Anyway] "Farewell. Take good care of my animals." Okay, time to go.

Eirin gave me a nod. Reisen waved good bye. Tewi waved vigorously, calling me 'god boy' as she did. Her squad simply gave me a chorus of 'byes' and 'good byes', waving little hands. The cutest wave I ever saw came from Makita, simply pawing the air in front of her while looking at me.

Lakit and Visente, they just stared. Oh well, the thought counts.

My cane in one hand, the medicine in a bag hanging from the wrist, my cutest addition to the household (aside from Makita, of course) in the other, I pass through the tree line and got lost in the thick of the forest.

When Mokou came over again, faster than the first time she did to escort me back, I heard a long and dreadful howl coming from the direction I came from. A reply howl came from all around me, creating a lot of noise alongside the cicadas. Even though it's almost past the middle of the day, that gave me chills. Brrr!

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

When I reached the Place of Worship after asking Sir Mirino and Sir Akira to inform Boss that I'll be coming back to work tomorrow or the day after, I prayed for a bit here. And when I was done praying, I just sat still on the grass.

Doing….nothing….

….as I stare back into the eyes of a demon glaring at me.

Yep. There is a literal demon in front of me in the Place of Worship. It has horns, broad shoulders, clawed hands, a mean face, an entire body made out of fire and hardened obsidian, and a twister made out of lava for legs connected to my chest.

It's Golem, the personification of my anger.

I think calling him that is actually non-indicative now. He's not a construct of raw materials come to life, he's an emotion-made-flesh.

I might as well call him Elmo, alluding to St. Elmo from the Spell Card «St. Elmo's Fire», even though St. Elmo's a patron saint of sailors and St. Elmo's Fire is an electrical discharge during a stormy weather.

[Well, it's a bit late, but let's know each other a little better, Elmo.]

And I punched him in the face with a red-skinned fist, the right one. The same one I asked the Holy Spirit to heal during prayer (and it worked), leaving my other one still trying to heal under wraps of bandages. Consequently, I scalded my healed knuckles and the skin of my fingers due to the extreme heat. The damage breached all the way to the tender muscles. It's bleeding, bad.

It…..doesn't…..hurt….

This place is alive. Definitely alive. The host is hospitable of the highest standards and I can't even talk to Them.

This injury is sort of strange, but very sensible. Just because I can wield fire, it doesn't mean I'm immune to it. Just ask guys who use flamethrowers or does fire dancing. I'm not Mokou, and even she kills herself with her own fires in a fight.

With focus and prayer, I held my injured hand and performed something that I think could do. And I apparently, I can do it. Colorful flames began bursting out of the bleeding injury and slowly mended it. Far better than what my regular fires could do. It's not speeding up the healing process like the latter, it's practically rewinding towards the time before it got injured, closing it like stitching cloth without seams. Not even a scar is all that's left, just the bloodstains.

Starting today, I'm never doing that again unless truly necessary. This power is reserved for others. I need my scars, and I must suffer just like everyone else.

I am human, and I gotta stay like one.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

It is 9 in the evening, the half-moon shining bright and sending a haunting glow of white down on the paths leading to dark parts of the forests of Gensokyo, heavily-populated by Youkai at this point of hour.

And Eman is heading there with a purpose.

He's not naïve. Not anymore. Before his second death, even he knew not to take roads in the night outside the Village. He'd be hunted down, and the experience with the wolf Youkai he encountered cemented that thought well.

At this minute, he's expecting to be attacked, but now he's beginning to wonder if anyone is actually present at this hour. He's been walking for nearly an hour, and he hasn't felt the bit of presence that ever triggered his sensory. There were some nudges but when he looked at the direction of the source, it would disappear as if it was nothing but an imagination.

Still, his guard wasn't down. He is savvy enough to know that the Youkai that should have been here are staying away from his range of detection the sooner they noticed it.

What he didn't realize was that he was exposing his talons with his frown and stiff gait. When the wolf Youkai confronted him, his aura was no more than a mere human without any blessing nor power. He was rushing to head home under the emotions of panic and caution for being late, and it made him look like easy prey, especially as an Outsider. In this minute, his intention to hunt are as bare as a drawn blade. His strength is visible and his outward demeanor betrayed immense power hidden in his person waiting to be let out.

Anger.

The Youkai didn't have any intention to provoke an exhibition of that power that would cost them their lives. His scent is immensely mouth-watering, but the look on his face was a memory they do not want to relive.

The Hakurei Shrine Maiden wears a certain countenance whenever an Incident arises. The boy is wearing it as well, and he has the power to back it up.

Inbred instincts of self-preservation dictates that they stay away. It is perhaps the wisest move they'll ever make.

"Good evening!"

One among them, however, aren't really developed in their survival instincts, especially in the presence of delicious prey.

Wriggle Nightbug, Firefly Youkai and Insect Queen of Gensokyo, stood taut and proud in Eman's path, hands on her hips and the wind blowing her cape that resembled the carapace shell of insect wings. She wore a charming smile and a youthful twinkle in her blue eyes. With her long-sleeved white shirt and shorts accompanied by these looks, she would have been mistaken for a handsome little boy that could woo girls without effort.

Even if Eman haven't went through his NDE, the pair of insect antennae atop her teal short-haired head would have given away what she was. He is not falling for charms like that, especially in a place like this during the evening.

He can perfectly remember the names of the people she's killed and eaten with her insects.

"Are you lost, sir?" She asked politely, expressing a friendly and approachable demeanor. "You cannot be wandering about in a place like this. It is too dangerous. There be Youkai about in these parts. Ones that would gnaw on your bones and stew your innards like broth in a cauldron."

Eman continued to walk towards her, making no change in the rhythm of his steps. His machete is still holstered to his hip, the knife kept to his thigh, and his hands unclenched as they swung back and forth. If unfriendliness cannot be sensed from a non-hostile demeanor, Wriggle will never realize that she's the one being fooled and not him until it's too late.

"I can take you out of here if you'd like." She held out a little left hand for him, dainty and delicate in structure. The sight alone would be tempting to hold especially when offered, "I know just the place to keep lost ones like you safe from the monsters. I know a secret way. If I take you there, you must promise to tell no one too! Shake on it and we will have an agreement."

Running shoes stopped walking once they stood before a smaller pair of brown loafers in front of it on the dirt road. Eman looked down on the short girl, nearly above his waist. Wriggle looked up to the tall man, decades his senior.

Without a word, he accepted her hand with his own. His right hand holding the back of Wriggle's left, his entire appendage protected by soft but mystically durable leather from fingertip to shoulder, meant to protect from bites, shots, and lies.

Then his other hand went to hold her right shoulder—He suddenly fell to one knee, his face inches away from hers, his long bangs nearly touching her nose from their swing, and the color of red, yellow and orange erupted from their location.

Smoldering tree branches exploded out of his back.

Out of his head.

Out of his arms.

Out of his sides.

Out of his legs.

They disobeyed the norm, directing not upwards but the opposite. Not a single leaf in sight…or even wood. Only solid fire. The one that all insects fear the most.

It was hot, and Wriggle's horror amplified when she saw the end of each branch. They were hands of heating black stone, with questionable amounts of fingers each from 3 to 15. They crumpled the dust on the ground, and the other arms that branched off from the forearms as well as the ones on their forearms enclosed her and the human in a dome of flaming appendages.

The Insect Queen had lost all pretensions of nabbing an 'unwitting Outsider' to herself and instead wanted no more than to leave the presence of the monster in front of her. His large hands, however, held her in place without the slightest need of force. It was a mere hold on her hand and her shoulder, yet she was rendered incapable of speech or even the slightest movements, as if doing so would incite the hostility of these fiery hands.

His facial expression remained consistent, a light frown on his brow and an unflinching gaze of his hazel eyes on hers.

His uncovered left hand slowly went up to her cheek, caressing the soft flesh and pinching it gently between his thumb and index finger. Doing so for 10 seconds or so, he gave the same treatment to her hair, feeling their uncanny smoothness against his palm and digits as he stroked her head, with Wriggle stiffly still.

Such a delicate makeup for a murderous existence.

That thought alone was all that prevented him from being civil.

His left hand then took her free one that stiffly hung against her side, and she flinched from the sudden contact of warm flesh, "I do not have the time nor the patience for you, girl." His tone was soft and emotionless, continually staring deeply in her eyes. "I've come to cause harm. If you do not want to be the receiving end of it, kindly step aside and see me next time at the Cross 2 days from now in the evening. I will entertain you properly there. Do you understand?"

Stiff and frozen, sweating under the heat and fear, she could only give a weak nod. Barely perceptible but a nod nonetheless.

Seemingly satisfied, he placed her right hand atop her left held by his leather-covered own and had her face the side. His other hand holding her left shoulder from behind, the 27 arms of lava-like constitution in front of her raised themselves up to grant her a way out of the dome and he gently pushed her to one step.

The next step is by her own volition, careful and cautious, still paranoid while the burning hands were directly above her head, multiple fingers outstretched and open towards her direction, almost looking like they were ready to grab her and tear her to pieces if she creates a misstep she was unaware of.

She took 3 more steps, his grasp on her shoulder and hands slowly slipping off from her increasing distance. When he no longer had a hold on her and she's now far enough from the hellish appendages to escape them before they caught her, Wriggle practically vanished as she flew out of there, easily disappearing under the cover of night.

No longer sensing her presence, he rose up, the Hundred Arms around his person framing a fan-like sun on his form as they created an immense illumination in the road, he slapped his hooded vest against his chest and the colors of yellow, orange and red vanished. All that's left are the burnt handprints on the path.

He let out a breath that exhumed white smoke, knowing well that he cemented himself as a potential threat to all who is watching him right now and no longer a hapless Outsider that every Youkai keeps assuming on the first glance.

His time spent in the Place of Worship till this time of night was not for nothing. Hours devoted in refining the manifestation of his anger led to new discoveries. His NDE made him aware of its limits and many capabilities. Creativity and paranoia came hand in hand and it led to potential techniques to be had.

The Hundred Arms were just the beginning. His control over it is sloppy at best and completely impractical for a combat situation, only useful for intimidation, considering they are still freshly-made and used once just now but the Wraith, Elmo, was molded better than before.

As much as he'd like to show off the power of anger made stronger, he didn't go kilometers away from his house just to perform an exhibition.

Loose ends began existing when he dismembered that wolf Youkai, even more when Visente defended him more than once behind his back. Rectifying that as soon as possible is essential for his survival.

And the wellbeing of his animals.

Frowning deeply, he began to jog along, holding the grip of his machete to keep it steady against his left hip and exhumed a coat of heat from his person, the air rippling around him.

All the Youkai that spectated what happened knew better now. If they don't have what it takes to beat him, they will never touch him lest they suffer the wrath of those molten hands. That small insect Youkai was extremely lucky to be let off with a warning. Petty Youkai or the Hakurei Shrine Maiden would have punished her just for being in the way.

After several more minutes, he met a fork in the road, leading to either a diagonal left or a sharp right. Considering who he's hunting, he's already here.

He unbuttoned the strap and unsheathed his machete, holding it loosely beside him and letting it receive a surge of heat, beginning to glow red. Under the glow of moonlight, the next few seconds turned all that remained of visible white skin into a scathing red.

And he screamed, the blurring around his form intensifying, announcing himself to his quarry. A hoarse and grating sound, not unlike what Flandre would sound like in a fit of playful madness. Once the echoes were done, the songs of insects and nocturnal animals suddenly disappeared. Had this been a typical hunt, it would be ultimately counterproductive to let your prey know where you are.

But his prey is not likely to run away. He can feel multiple presences coming over at breakneck speeds right now, telling that the opposite is happening as they are quick to know who made that challenge howl.

They've been hunting me for a long time. Visente was the only one stopping them. Now that he's not here, it's their chance.

One blink.

Another blink.

At the third eye-blink, there were lone men stood at each path of the fork road, including the one behind him. Both men in his line of sight only wore the hakama, leaving their tops shirtless and revealing built forms. If he looked closely at their half-closed hands revealing sharp talons, a furry tail that alternately showed itself on both sides of their hips and the canine ears that protruded out of their head, these were the ones.

"You lost?" The one on the left asked.

"You're not supposed to be here." The one on the right asked. "If you want, I can take you someplace safe."

"Yeah. Very safe."

"HRRRGH! Take a shit on the spot and shovel it down your throat if you think I don't know." Eman was quick to end their charade, already feeling infuriated at the first word. "I'm here for your legless and armless son, brother or nephew."

The men in front of him were taken aback, but it was quick to disappear and the façade along with it. Growls and glowing yellow eyes were now heard and seen, their hostility and malice almost blurring the air around them the same way his did.

The wolf Youkai on the right, the largest of the two stepped up and stood in-between the path, "Where's that guard dog of yours?"

"Why should that matter to you?" He took off his hood, letting his scowl be more visible, "I'm here to tell you that I'm finishing the job. If you step aside, that would be nice."

A fierce growl escaped out of the large man's throat, "Do you honestly think I'd let you? After what you left him as? When you desecrated his body and did not even let him die?"

"Yes." Eman sent a growl back at him along with a blunt reply, "If you know what's good for you, you will step aside!" He took a step forward, leaving behind a smoking black imprint of his shoe on the ground. "He tried to kill me and I am going to make sure he doesn't again!"

"You're only walking towards your grave, boy."

"What makes you think you'll survive as well?

"What are you doing, father!?" The smaller Youkai on the left snapped, each syllable out of his mouth a grisly growl. "Let's just get it over with and kill him! Feed his corpse to Jin and it might fix him!"

"Patience!" The apparent father retorted back at the son, his dialogue even more guttural, "This boy is no easy prey. We will not risk another loss. The wolf has already taken more of our pack. I will not sacrifice one more." He rounded back on Eman, leaving the son to grumble and sneer.

The Outsider stood nearly two steps away from the wolf man, his stance stiff and coiled tightly in preparation for an attack. The heat coming out of him was as harsh as a burning pine tree.

Only beast Youkai past their first century aren't so easily deterred.

"I have suffered too many losses, which your pet is responsible for—"

"Visente is not a pet!" Eman corrected with a more pronounced bite in his tone than before, "….and before you start blaming him or me for any loss you suffered, do be aware that I requested battle under the bounds of the Spell Card System for the right to be left alone…..and your son refused. And for what? To kill me with impunity, in virtue of my being an Outsider with the scent of a Hermit." His tone suddenly became subdued, "No one will miss me, he said. I'd like to see how that argument would help him once Reimu, whose protection I am under as well as the Scarlet Devil's at the time, catches word of my death at his hands."

There was a noticeable flinch from the patriarch, clearly having not expected his son to have evaded the worst of outcomes at that time of event by being dismembered.

The other son wasn't so convinced. "He's lying, father. He's saying it to save his own skin."

A deep growl erupted out of a red-skinned throat, "HHHRRRGHH!" Eman turned a fierce glare towards the whelp's direction, goading the Youkai with beckoning fingers from his left hand, "Come and find out then, runt…!"

The son bristled, his dialogue becoming bestial. "The nerve you have—!"

"Silence!" The father bellowed towards his direction, and the latter practically shrunk under his snap. The wolf man turned back to Eman, "I've understood the situation now. My third eldest son is clearly at fault."

"He's still alive, and I'm not done with him." He reminded, exhuming more heat out of his person, "Your family sought to retaliate against me, and for what? A punishment that was well-deserved by that mistake you call a son? I gave him a choice, and he chose to reject my request. It was his decision to reject, he got what came to him, and I expect you and your fucking pack to understand that. It's no fault of mine nearly half your family died because they were too dumb to do so compared to you."

Salt was rubbed on still-fresh wounds, and the patriarch cannot possibly accept such scathing words so easily. A powerful rumble came from his throat, his form almost enlarging and his long body hair visibly bristling under the shine of moonlight. His killing intent was visiblydistorting the air around him, causing the scenery around his form to ripple not unlike what the Outsider was currently doing.

This wolf man is clearly having urges to lash out and submit to violence, ripping the target of his rage into pathetic pieces. Eman was profoundly impressed by him showing incredible amounts of restraint. And he thought Beast Youkai are not considered the greatest in their self-control.

"As damning as it is, you are not wrong." There was a clear grudge in his voice, his poorly-veiled malice so thick it could be felt from afar, "But my son made no mention of what you said."

"Then he either lied or kept it to himself. How can he tell you that he lost his arms and legs to the dumbest decisions he ever made if it will only make him look bad?" The coat of heat slightly lessened, affecting only those in his near-proximity compared to nearly 9 feet away. His tone of voice was softer next, "If he had actually told the truth, would the others still be alive by then?"

Now the father's grudge is directed elsewhere, no longer aimed at the Outsider and his mind began thinking about how everything could have been prevented if his third eldest could have just simply told the truth. If his fallen kin had known why, they would have understood why he ended up the way he is now and accepted it. Instead, he left them jumping to conclusions and indirectly led them to their deaths. His fury began worsening underneath the tranquil scowl on his face. When he comes back to his territory and confront his son…..

"Why are you here?" He asked, having enough.

Eman resisted trying to sound like him, retaining a quality in his human self, "To finish what I started. I must see to your son and do what I must with him. His mistake led to your losses, and I intend to relieve you from him."

"He is my son and he is my business….! I will punish him myself…!" The wolf man pointed out, his saliva spilling out of gritted sharp teeth.

"That does not mean I'm leaving here unsatisfied." The Outsider pressed, returning the heat back to harsh levels. The Youkai is trying to intimidate him, and he's having none of it. There is no human here anymore. "If not him, then what? What is it you can compensate for what he's done?"

"Is the blood of my pack not enough….!?"

"Did I have a hand in their deaths? No." This time, Eman's breaking point was reached and his dialogue decided to discard all of humane quality. "They died because of your son, and Visente was only trying to protect me! I'm getting rid of him for their sakes! If you cannot accept that, what else can you offer instead!?"

The father only let out a powerful growl that shook the ground and the trees nearby, severely vicious in quality that it could cow Youkai older or stronger than him. Considering how loud it is, it might as well be a roaring engine inside his throat. His body hair began thickening and hardening, his human guise reverting back to its primordial state, and the enmity he exhumed is as overwhelming as a smoke cloud to the face. His son joined let out his growls as well, inferior in volume and quality but no less menacing.

The Outsider threw out his malice in his own subtle way. He's not scared of this man's power or might in any way. If these Youkai have never been to the side of a volcano's crater, they will know what to expect thanks to his own presence. The heat is becoming murderous it is burning the plant life closest to him, including edges of the wolf man's lower garments. The air around them is rippling without stop and black smoke began to fuming out of Eman's form.

In the reflection of the wolf man's yellow eyes, there was a hulking demon of burning rock and embers that stood in the Outsider's place staring back at him. Eman's glare and sneer is just the human equivalent of its rage. If they want a fight, he's more than willing to give one. He'll still get what he wants in the end.

He already rigged his body to explode at the slightest stimulus.

Instead of his body, his mind was the one to go out like one.

The wolf man stopped being malicious. His hostility, his growls, his boiling demeanor—he's gone quiet.

His sudden change of mood was not easy to take in, especially to the Outsider who knew how he thinks and acts from his NDE. This man may be a mature and centuries-old Youkai but his temper cannot be held back when it concerns his family. His tranquil dialogue baffled both Eman and his son behind him.

"I offer a peace treaty." His voice was a rumble but steady, like a rapid river. The gentlest it could ever be since encountering him. "The entirety of my pack and the whole of Gensokyo's wolf Youkai will be aware of whose protection you're under and leave you or your associates be. In return, you shall not ire us again outside the Spell Card Rules."

The monstrous heat coming out of him stopped altogether once the patriarch is finished. The entire point of this excursion was not just to cause damage, it was to prove a point; show that Eman Letitia will give the worst humanity has to offer if a Youkai completely disregards the rules solely because they want to eat him, especially when requested. He only wants to live life without looking over his shoulder every time he's outside his property or his animals' protection.

This offer pretty much equals the worth of what Mamizou offered him. It saves him the effort of ever using his knife, his machete, or all that he created in the Place of Worship. The mark of a successful excursion.

He can go home quietly and peacefully, just the way he wanted before he went out the door.

Eman let out a deep sigh that released black smoke from his mouth, a tired one. "That would have been acceptable…..had it not been a lie."

Then came a sudden explosion of immense brightness and heat, and the wolf men recoiled backwards as they blocked their eyes from the blinding flash of orange and yellow light, the father having most of the fur on his front singed.

The other wolf Youkai behind the Outsider wasn't so lucky. She was too close to the suddenly-combusting human and she paid the price, having her entire front scalded and full of 4th-degree burns.

When the two wolf men recovered, they beheld a man wreathed in red flames wielding a burning machete, smoking an entire factory of black smoke into the night sky.

"You made no mention of the person behind me—you never intended to let me LEAVE!" Humanity or civil mannerisms are lost for good. The last trace of human presence in the area is now considered null, the monster that Eman took pride in becoming is now here. The only people who ever saw him like this were the Scarlet Family, the tanuki who made the first move and the wolf Youkai he's after. Now this wolf man and his entire pack will know this side of him very well tonight. "If you have no intentions to make peace, THEN YOU'LL HAVE NONE!"

The father dashed backwards away from the human, following his instincts first. The son, however, chose to follow his rage, charging straight towards Eman with claws bared. And he suffered the second explosion just like the first one did, blown backwards into the tree line.

The elder Youkai stared at his son's body careening through shrubberies and disappearing from sight before he turned his feral eyes back to the human, whose form is almost unseen thanks to the now-colossal amounts of smoke seething out of his every part and creating a dark pillar into the sky.

The black eyes empty of white found behind the shroud could not be missed from aged Youkai eyes.

"BEWARE THE SIN OF WRATH, FOR IT MAY BURN ALL WHO ARE CLOSE TO YOU! BEWARE THE DEMON IN ME, FOR I WILL HERALD THE HELL HE WILL DELIVER!"

There is no human skin left in the wolf man's form, back to his animalistic origins of fur, fang and claw, roaring a powerful storm and sending waves of wave-like danmaku with a single swing of his bulky arms, terraforming any earth caught in its way.

One swing of a burning machete destroyed all green projectiles that flew towards him, leaving the human completely without injury and he roared a hoarse canto, "«ABANTE»!" Another explosion and the smoking human rocketed towards the patriarch, flames from the machete trailing behind him as he reared it back.

The Youkai quickly thought better than to meet the strike head-on and endure it, quickly jumping out of the way and was proven right as once the machete hit the ground, another explosion occurred upon impact. The human was blown back, curling up and spinning like a ball in mid-air from the shockwave before landing feet-first to the dirt in a roll, smoking like no tomorrow the whole while.

No sooner after he recovered, the machete struck the ground again and sent out a spread of small fireballs to the wolf man's direction. The latter charged head-on, finding an opening and slipping through it, allowing the heat of those bullets to singe his fur just slightly before letting out a burst of speed, rending the ground apart in every step.

Roaring, Eman did the same attack again, a spread of bullets after chopping the ground but accompanied by a breath of inferno from his mouth that incinerated everything in front of him.

Being a Youkai of advanced age, the wolf man's speed is greater than the average Youkai; he sprinted to the side and was behind the human before the fire-breathing attack even happened, his claws reaching for the human's neck.

He was blown backwards before he got ahold of him, the burnt imprint of a giant four-fingered hand on his furred chest as he landed back-first to a tree and bent it in half.

The smoking human looked over his shoulder with a fierce black-eyed glare, a large disfigured hand of molten rock that backhanded the Youkai growing out of his back and raking the ground as he spun to face him. Stabbing the ground, his third hand shoveled a large chunk off the ground, turning it into a ball of fiery earth and he used the machete as support to carry the immense weight of the improvised projectile catapulted over his head and towards the forest found in-between the forked path, right where the wolf man was thrown to.

The aftermath left a large trench that reached as far as 20 meters, leaving a trail of burnt trees, annihilated plant life, plumes of smoke, growing bushfires and the five barely-alive bodies of other wolf Youkai who were lying in wait for a moment to strike.

Not among them, however, was the head of the pack.

He was saved by the son, who somehow survived the more destructive second blast of the explosion. His entire canine face was almost bare of fur or skin, the bleeding tissue revealed and his left eyelid nowhere to be found, leaving it permanently wide-eyed and looking over his father's confused form worriedly.

"Father, you alright?"

"Gin?"

"AAAAARGGHHH!‼!" Both their attention was drawn back to the screaming man on fire and smoke, aware and angered that his intended target wasn't burnt to the bone and was about to rocket towards them but the she-wolf from before apparently survived grievous wounds, pouncing with fang and claw ready to rend the human apart from behind. The burning third hand noticed her presence first and grabbed her body in mid-air, her screams piercing through the immolation before she was thrown to a scorched tree, bending it in half before the Outsider rocketed after her instead.

"Father, you need to run back and gather the others." Hastily, the son suggested, "The pups and the females have to run away with Jin while the males gather up and hold him off."

The scruff on his neck was grabbed, brought close to the larger wolf man's growling visage, "Are you daft!? He'd kill you too! Do you want me to lose you as well!? Just like the others!? Just like your Mother!?"

"What can we do!?" The turmoil was clear in the son's eyes and voice. The loss of a beloved mother was still fresh in his heart, "The Outsider's not going to stop! He's out for all of us! What difference does it make when I run!?"

"You live!" The patriarch's answer was immediate, wrought by the worth he saw in every member of his pack. "This pack means more to me than my own life! I lived solely for the prosperity of our family! I will not sacrifice even one life if I can help it!"

"Then leave me!" The son screamed back, tears flowing freely from his malformed sockets, "If you don't want to, then I'll sacrifice myself!"He slapped his father's grip off the scruff of his neck, turning around to face the threat. "You must run and evacuate everyone! I'll buy you time!"

"I WILL NO—!"

An explosion cut his response short, shaking the ground and sending a shockwave straight to their location, blowing the plant life and the burning embers sideways. The father saw a petite body smash against a tree just 14 meters away, dark from the shadows of the surviving trees but there were glowing embers on the flesh and a noticeable chunk missing from the she-wolf's side.

His niece became part of the losses.

Another stab to his heart and the despair was almost impossible to hold down when he saw it happen compared to the others who died out of sight. His animalistic rage was starting to overpower his sense—

"FATHER!" His son's voice barely sounded coherent in his completely bestial tone, but the grief lining it was even worse than before, having watched his sister-in-law fall right before his eyes. "LEAVE! NOW! JUST GO! SAVE WHAT'S LEFT OF OUR FAMILY! I WILL NEVER DIE IN PEACE IF THEY JOIN ME IN THE AFTERLIFE!"

Another ground-shaking explosion and it occurred right in front of them, decimating what's left of the trees between the smoking Outsider and Gin, showing the former sprinting straight towards him, the fires of Hell following after him like a shadow.

The patriarch had already left, a heavy heart weighing down on his chest for the unspeakable crime of leaving behind a kin to die.

Gin broke into a full sprint, and Eman sped up as well, increasing the intensity of his flames even further that he was immolating everything around him in a 5 meter radius.

When the collision was imminent, it never occurred. Gin instead faded into mist, his form dispersing into grey when Eman would have smashed his snout with his outstretched forehead. Instead of being thrown off by the lack of impact, the Outsider never lost a beat in his sprint.

Instead of chasing the conspicuous grey mist down amidst the suffocating black, the Outsider instead screamed the same hoarse canto, "«ABANTE»!" An entire section of the forest is reduced to a picture of the burning Hells from the explosion, wrought by a wave of heat and fire that lit the night. If Gin had been tangible, he would have died right then and there.

Eman was already half a mile away before the fires went out of control, and Gin lost sight of him under the new plumes of smoke.

Gin wasn't the target. He was just in the way, including the she-wolf. If they can't interfere or stopped impeding him, then they aren't worth the energy. Eman only has one target, and no one else.

One small explosion after another in every step he made, breaking the ground and reducing the number of seconds needed to reach a hundred meters. 11 seconds later, he reached 743. He was far away from the blaze and already deep into the colder and lusher parts of the forest, desecrating it with his incinerating presence.

The wolves that the patriarch sent were quick to meet him, 4 of them. Close-quarters are clearly risky, so the bullets flew the sooner he was in the right spot.

Even with the help of explosions at his feet, it didn't mean Eman had any control when it comes to dodging while moving in rocketing speeds. It also didn't give him enough time to process their sensed presence when he's under a single-minded drive to find his target instead of anticipating further resistance.

He managed to dodge every shot, albeit frantically, but he ended up losing his balance, slipping on his feet and rolling on the ground, losing his machete in the process.

The burning third arm grabbed a tree, stopping his momentum before he could smash his front against it. Supporting himself with his leathered arm, Elmo rose up to his feet and dove away from multiple streams of danmaku, using the cover of trees and acrobatics using Elmo's hand. Once he pinpointed one of the shooter's location, he charged the location of the nearest Youkai.

Silent, keeping himself from growling to save his breath, leaping over dense vegetation and leaving it smoldering in his wake while grazing danmaku, Elmo erupted out of his chest instead of his back, the right hand morphing into a large one-edged 10 meter blade of blinding solidified heat and bisected the forest in front of him to flames in a 180 angle. Anything outside of reach suffered immediate immolation.

The wolf Youkai that was hiding there had already circled around him before he arrived and was about to drive his claws into his back. However, Eman was well-versed in how this wolf pack usually ends territory fights, and Elmo's other hand drove a middle claw into his chest.

Still alive, writhing with burning matter through his torso, his screams spurned the others into attacking the hulking demon with their strongest danmaku bullets, failing to realize that they should be aiming for the one making it existent in the first place. Elmo barely ever noticed getting shot and instead responded with lobbed pellets, not bothering to aim.

Eman took advantage of their simple strategy, picking up random rocks or clumps of earth, imbuing them with explosive energy, and pitched the three shooters with precise accuracy before they realized it, silencing them one by one with each explosive impact.

Done with them, Elmo whipped his sword hand sideways and threw the impaled Youkai to the side before Eman continued running—

The Wraith covered Eman's right side with its hand, shielding him from a barrage beside him. The human was able to recover from the shockwave, landing on his leathered arm before fluidly rolling to his feet. Just as he is about to begin looking for who threw that shot, he reflexively threw a fireball shot behind him before his mind caught up to his movements, colliding against a silver white ball of energy.

"I'M STILL HERE, OUTSIDER!"

Barely comprehensible, Gin's bestial head materialized from the grey mist and roared his presence before throwing out another giant-sized danmaku. Streaking like a smoky missile, he orbited around the Outsider and threw shot after shot from any direction, consistent in using explosive bullets and only that.

Growing 2 extra arms out of its shoulder blades, Elmo's second right arm swatted at the clump of mist, only for it to meet a bullet point-blank and the mist slipped through the gap of its four fingers. The other left hand fired a destructive jet of fire on the grey mass and Gin coiled around the molten arm, towards the torso, and his torso materialized itself long enough to blast an explosive bullet point-blank to its face before becoming immaterial again.

The wolf didn't expect the attack to do anything besides to send a shockwave through its twister for legs connected to the human's chest and stagger the latter, yet Gin was quite baffled when the Wraith simply vanished, not expecting it to go out so easily.

At the same time, he didn't expect the occurrence to be deliberate. The time it took for him to be surprised was enough for a holy chain ending in a blade to hit him in the left pectoral through his intangible barrier and forced him back into his flesh, screaming in pain as he was yanked to the Outsider's proximity and suffered a gallon's worth of holy energy to the face, courtesy of Eman's fist.

The sooner Gin's back met the ground and was unconscious, the Seal of Solomon surrounded his form on the ground, immobilizing him.

[HAGH!] With a stomp, Eman punctuated his victory over him with a quick bark. He quickly ran over to his dropped machete, indicated by a colorful floating arrow leading him. Finding it lying on a patch of burning grass, he reached for the handle—

He whipped his hand sideways, the white tendrils growing out of his sides responding to the gesture and catching the barrage of danmaku heading towards him. Once the entire cluster was caught, he redirected them to his back, downing a charging wolf Youkai. In the same movement, his other hand shot out a holy chain, stabbing into the first Youkai's chest and yanking him close from 20 meters away for a roundhouse kick imbued with a gallon's worth of holy energy, blasting him to a tree trunk and leaving him pinned there with a Seal surrounding the roots beneath him.

Almost without thinking the sooner he felt movement coming from behind, he spun, drew out the knife from his thigh holster and threw it into a third Youkai's eye. The latter tripped and roared, tumbling towards the Outsider as he clawed at the intruding object in his right socket. Before the blade could be fully pulled out, an explosive kick to his chest threw him a dozen meters away, leaving the now-expelled knife behind.

Growling, the wolf man managed to have his eye regenerated under several seconds but not enough time to be aware that the Outsider is not done with him once he was up to his feet. Something immensely hot and screaming like a bat out of hell latched on to his back and started stabbing him all over.

Roaring up a storm and spilling blood from his erratic movements, the wolf frantically tried to shake off the assailant on his back. He tried to grab for the Outsider and a pair of molten arms held both his own away by the wrist, giving the Youkai additional contact to extreme heat. The last resort was to jump and flatten the human to the dirt, it was instead turned right back at him. An explosion coming from behind threw the wolf's face into the ground, and the torture began there.

Stabbing and screaming. Stabbing and screaming. Stabbing and screaming. It was a repeat of what the Outsider had done to the first wolf Youkai. Eman re-emulated his monster, driven only by hate and fear. And just like the first time, his eyes was tinged black like the void without him even knowing it.

He didn't bother with more than a hundred stabs, grabbing the back of the Youkai's head and pulling hard, exposing the neck for Eman to reach around and repeat the final deed, the knife edge digging inwards to the—

Elmo's second right hand shot out of his back and used its palm to block the bullets coming his way. Abandoning the corpse, he rounded on the shooter and shot a firebomb from his mouth. The enemy jumped over the projectile, spraying bullets in every direction and slamming like a battering ram against the burning palm of the molten arm so hard that the first pair had to stabilize their caster from falling backwards.

The second left hand struck at the point of impact, stabbing its middle claw into the torso of the Youkai. Lifting up the pair placed against the ground for support and moving away the other right hand away from his view, Eman was baffled to see the she-wolf from earlier stuck on the claw, still alive despite having a large chunk burnt and missing from her side.

Youkai fortitude never ceases to impress him. Beheading them will neutralize a Youkai but not permanently. Sealing or striking them with magical or holy weapons, however, will be like a mortal injury to a human.

Growling, he brewed fire inside his mouth and neared the she-wolf's head close to his own, just so she can see what's coming for her atop his tongue.

Apprehension and defiance was bright in the Youkai's blue eyes from what she saw, and there was only resignation after several seconds. Her dialogue was a wet growl, blood spilling from her sleek snout, "You'll never find Jin, Outsider….!"

Eman recoiled from the mention of the name, and suddenly, his objective came flooding back to his awareness. Empty black eyes widening and regaining the image of humanity back in them, he realized that he wasted too much time wailing on one Youkai that's not even his target.

His anger rekindled but not enough for Elmo's influence to overtake him again, the first pair of arms grabbed ahold of hers, then the second left hand removed itself from her torso and grabbed one of her legs along while the other took the right.

The realization dawned on the she-wolf with horror.

[AAAAARRRGGGHHHH!‼!‼!‼!‼!]

The Outsider's roars are loud enough to overpower her screams as all four limbs are quickly torn off her torso at the same time, leaving none past the shoulder and hips attached. As she fell on the ground, spilling out blood endlessly from her cross-sections like a broken vessel, her mercy came as Eman's fist fuming with holy power struck her chest and incapacitated her, leaving her inside the Seal of Solomon beneath her.

Deeming her out of the fight, he quickly grabbed his machete off the ground and sprinted as fast as he can, explosives blowing up under his soles to cover long distances at every step.

Now in a rush, he had to crash through branches and shrubberies, disregarding the finesse in his steps and letting himself suffer bleeding scratches. If it weren't for his leather sleeve used to shield his face, he would have suffered deeper lacerations.

The scent of delicious hermit blood in the night air would have been enticing to any Youkai nearby, but the danger the owner presented made it not worth the risk. He could feela countless many running away from him.

Further resistance was met, a group of 7 charging wolf Youkai coming to meet him, and they were quickly dealt with. Clusters of holy bullets homing on their speeding forms and caging them to the ground with the Seal the sooner they were even touched.

The destination in sight, a large clearing walled off by makeshift barriers of branches and logs, he readied a bomb in his hand and threw it to a single section. Light, heat and a shockwave erupted from the blast zone and numerous wooden pieces flew all over. With Elmo's bulk hovering over him protectively from anything hitting his head, he slipped past the opening and into the very tiny village. Nothing but tree houses and small huts on the ground. The structures were masterfully built with fibers and strong wood, seemingly able to withstand a storm if it ever passes. For a family of 33, Eman found it impressive from his NDE they managed to live together in such a small space.

In his Spirit Sight, not a living soul is present. They escaped, likely a long time ago when he was still fighting the 4 that ambushed him. The patriarch was fast so he had more than enough time to reach them, inform them of the situation and they acted accordingly without hassle. They might have gone very far by now.

Not a problem. Thanks to his NDE, he knew where they hid the tunnel entrance and where its passages lead to. And he has a better idea than simply enter the same route and chase after them. If he remembers right, their escape tunnels are only one way. A poor design.

With all of Elmo's four hands, it threw one firebomb each into the largest tree that had the entrance right beneath it. The shockwave was enough to decimate every wooden residence nearby off their foundations and their branches. With the little tribe now reduced to ruin, flames and smoke, the blocked entrance is now completely caved in and buried.

It's time he leaves this forest. Looking to his right, there was a bright orange and red glow coming from far away above the trees.

The bushfires are about to get a lot worse.

With a small prayer, he held out his hand towards the direction and a small colorful orb streaks on ahead.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

The departed matriarch's sister had taken the first's place, chosen to lead the pack alongside her brother-in-law.

The news of her sister's death had been devastating, and the whole family howled their grief when it reached their ears. There had been talks of retaliation against the Outsider and his wolf slave, herself among them giving her support on the notion, but the patriarch vehemently denied it, not wanting to risk any more losses.

2 weeks have passed since one of her nephews' got attacked. Days long after their numbers began dwindling to a wolf, their own kind, turning against them when a select few of the pack, including the first matriarch, retaliated without her mate or her own sister knowing it. And when the time came for the entire pack to address the Outsider who started it all, there was suddenly an order by her brother-in-law to evacuate.

The Outsider is here, and he's coming to annihilate the entire clan. The whole pack wanted to fight back, but it was blatantly said that they have no choice against him. He already killed one of her daughters, and now he's already killing another one of his sons.

If it wasn't for the majority of the males to hold her down, she would have went ballistic straight towards the human and avenged her sister. She would have died if she went, and she didn't care. That human started it all. He's the reason this family's falling apart.

The patriarch was quick to reason that even if she died, it doesn't change the fact that the human will annihilate the entire pack. It's screamed right at her face that she cannot win against the Outsider. Their only chance is for the females to evacuate and the males to stay behind and buy them time. The latter were all eager to give their lives to let the pack live on, and the former heavily objected. They will lose even more sons, brothers and fathers. Who are they to allow that?

The screams of one of their own resounding in the distance as well as the roars of the one hunting them killed all arguments. The males quickly went off and the rest of them reluctantly dug up the tunnel entrance, taking the pups with them.

They have been running through the truck-wide passages for nearly 30 minutes, without rest and no dialogue exchanged between any of them. None of them even want to think about who they are leaving behind to die. Their only focus is to get as far away as possible, calm the whimpering pups, and get to safety found in the exit found in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

The patriarch, the one to have been leading the escape alongside the new matriarch, was at the head of the group. He was the fastest of the entire pack, but with the ones who cannot match him following close behind, he had to hold himself back just so he can keep them under his guard.

With the smell of fresh air in the tunnel breaching through the scent of grime and wet dust, they knew that the exit is near. And it is right up ahead, hidden under a boulder and mass of dirt.

The patriarch was the first to do the honors. Smelling no trace of any presence outside, he quickly moved out the dirt and pushed the boulder out of the entrance, letting the light of the moon shine down on the tunnel through the gaps of bamboo leaves. It was a welcoming sight after spending half an hour in complete darkness, but the relief cannot be complete when the deaths of their members are still hanging over their heads.

He turned to face the women and children, his voice heavy and hollow, "Okay, I think we're clear."

"Will the gargoyles actually give us sanctuary?" The new matriarch asked. "Aside from us, only the Great Sages know they exist."

"They will. Trust me. They owe me one after all." He looked up to the opening above him and sniffed the air before turning back to his sister-in-law, beckoning her and the others behind her over. "Come on. I doubt the Outsider could catch up to—"

The smell of holy suddenly came to existence.

Something bright and sharp pierced through his chest from behind. Without a second delayed, the tether attached to it rose up, phasing through the earth behind him and yanked him out of the tunnel, disappearing from sight.

The overwhelming smell of incense was nauseating, but the smell of her kin's blood made her teeth grow longer, her fur covering her entire body and her claws extending. Reason ran away from her mind, and her bestial mentality overtook her completely in the fiery haze of her rage.

"OUTSIDEEEER!‼!"

Quick as sound, she separated from the pack and jumped out of the hole in the ground, roaring a guttural cry that effectively sent out a shockwave and blew every bamboo stalk around her bending backwards.

Her fierce entrance did not benefit her in anyway when the human is nowhere in sight nor the smell of hermit flesh and instead only the presence of white glowing lines in the air permeating a repulsing scent of holy.

Like the flight of a tengu, several places of her body were impaled by needle-thin tendrils the sooner her whole body was out of the ground. There was no pain nor sensation. Before she even realized what happened, her entire body no longer responded to her wishes.

Her face smashed the ground, and she was wiped across the dirt a dozen paces, the top of her head literally toppling bamboo stalks till she was raised high upwards and horizontally in the air with a grand view of what's beneath her.

Shaking off the dirt off her face, she snarled as she looked at the other end of these tendrils, only for the glowing lines to branch off into chains ending into serrated blades.

And they surged towards the entrance of the tunnel. The horror was quick to cloud her entire mien and it got even worse when she heard screaming echo from within. "No! NO! LEAVE THEM ALONE! DON'T TOUCH THE PUPS! STOP! PLEASE!"

In her grief and terror, she watched she-wolf after she-wolf get dragged out of the tunnel by varying places of the body the chains have imbedded themselves to. Some were taken by the limbs, some by the torso, some by the neck, and some all at once. They were left to hang in the air with their matriarch, screaming in apparent agony compared to her who felt nothing.

She could hear the whimpers and cries in the tunnel, indicating that the pups were still there when no more tendrils were yanking anyone out of there. She's not certain whether to be assured or to be concerned. The pups are completely defenseless.

Before she could think of asking the females about what happened to them, the smell of war; fire, ash, and blood plagued her nose. Along with it was the sound of guttural breathing and sprinting footsteps coming closer.

The silence became instantaneous. The screams of the women stopped. The evening winds stopped. The nocturnal insects stopped. Every she-wolf held their breath, listening to the nearing noise of their hunter.

The struggle to escape began immediately when the smell of heat became vivid. The pups in the tunnel could smell it too, as their whimpering suddenly got louder and reduced itself into desperate howls, crying for their help. The pain of being hung by searing chains no longer mattered to them. They must save those pups.

Gritting their teeth and bleeding intensely, they tried to force their stabbed parts loose, thinking it would be easy to do since the bladed end of the chains have no exit wound out of their flesh, but they discover quickly that they cannot move at all. It felt as if their connection to their entire body sans the head were lost.

The nearer the Outsider got, the quicker it got for their furious defiance to warp into terrified desperation. They were getting nowhere with their growling and struggling and the imminent danger of their pups is only getting closer.

Then the heat was felt. The light of orange and red overpowered the dim blue of the night. And with a fierce and demonic roar, an immolating humanoid form exhuming extreme black smoke exploded out of a patch of bamboo and breached into the tunnel.

The roars and screams of the females were heard throughout the Bamboo Forest of the Lost and the patriarch, who was actually petrified on the ground inside the Seal of Solomon, was howling in despairing grief as he was the closest to the entrance and lost all visibility of what's inside. The smell of the pups and their fear were overwhelmed by the smell of smoke, ash and fire, including their screams by their own.

A second explosion blasted out from the entrance and a limbless body was thrown out of it, landing not too far from the opening, smoking and multiple places glowing from the received punishment.

The hole smoking like a furnace chimney, the Outsider walked out of the opening with a knife in one hand and a glowing machete in the other. The females began cursing and screaming at him, swearing death on his person with their very being. The human completely ignored them, eyeing the one person on the ground he's here for—the one person that could have prevented all the violence from ever happening if they had simply surrendered him.

Jin. The first wolf Youkai that ever attacked him and committed the felony of senselessly discarding the Spell Card Rules. Reduced to a legless and armless bastard, having the mercy of keeping his head since it wasn't severed by a magically-augmented weapon, he is finally getting the last of what's coming for him. For never telling the truth of what actually happened, he indirectly led multiple members of the pack to their deaths when they attempted to seek revenge on his behalf. This violent occurrence will be held responsible by him as well.

Slotting his machete to his holster, the cloth of the machete sheath strangely undamaged from the incandescence and the heat in the air intensifying to forest fire levels, the Outsider rushed Jin's body and flailed his arms up and down on his torso, beating him with his left fist and stabbing with the other holding the knife rapidly, screaming like a madman for every ear listening and overpowering the Youkai's own.

There were more than a few witnesses to this violence, more than the she-wolves hung in the air by glowing white tendrils. Aside from the other beast Youkai who now learned to fear him, Mokou watched at a distance where she won't be caught by a wolf Youkai's sense of smell.

The distance from the tribe to the Bamboo Forest could not be reached in a short time by simply running, even with explosives at Eman's feet. The tunnel is a straight path, and beast Youkai are faster than most well-built humans. They could reach the end of the tunnel faster compared to a human that can't fly in the surface that has to traverse uneven and heavily-obstructive terrain.

That's why he asked Mokou to help him this one time before he left the Bamboo Forest after getting his medicine. Her only job is to carry him back to this place in the night once a ball of holy energy approaches her waiting spot. She isn't Marisa but even average flyers could outpace a sprinting pace so it's good enough.

Her only thoughts on the spectacle is the amount of work it'll take when the boy sets the forest on fire.

"…ill…..m…ki…..me….."

Choking and gurgling sounds were all that's coming from Jin, his entire front exposed with so many stab wounds and broken bones, copiously bleeding an incredible amount that an average human could have died from minutes ago. Thanks to his biology as a grown Youkai, it's impossible for him to die from it, and that includes him being able to feel every sensation of pain. The first time was traumatic, the second time where he relieved every single bit of it is even worse. Adding that with the weight of his mistakes, his despair is all the more palpable that he has no other solace except death.

The Outsider, tired, blood-spattered, and trembling from the incredible ache in his upper body, the grip on his knife locked tight as if his muscles froze completely in the tension, leered over Jin's body as he shakily rose up to his feet, slouching.

Then he bent over backwards, a deep, powerful and bloodcurdling howl exploding out of his throat and into the night. It was a message, an animalistic warning to every Youkai watching:

Stay away.

Voice box broken and now incapable of speech for the next few days, his left hand began glowing, permeating the smell of incense and hot water, painting everything around him in a shade of endless colors. The holy flames swirling, condensing, compressing, fuming and growing; oceanic amounts of holy power packed into a single punch, enough to render the existence of a Youkai to complete nonexistence—

The Outsider raised it high, and struck.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

For the second time since that beautiful and horrifying explosion of polychromatic flames that erupted from the Misty Lake and breached into the sky, another bizarre phenomenon has happened again.

For a single second, Gensokyo's evening was swept away by a gigantic flash of blinding white light that ruptured from the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

To those who stood at Youkai Mountain and was able to avert their eyes safely in time, they would notice that the forest burnt by the Outsider's rampage had suddenly became lush with plant life if they paid attention. Places that were barren of harvest and life are now ripe with it, from the opening to Old Hell to even the Shining Needle Castle afloat in the sky.

The village farmers will be gathering their yield earlier than expected tomorrow.

~~~~~ « ҉ » ~~~~~

All eyes that watched till the very end lost their vision. Luckily for them, it was the light of the Holy Spirit. They aren't under the risk of losing their eyesight forever, and as soon as a single minute has passed, they can finally see again.

The patriarch and the females gaped in abject horror as the youngest of their litter was suddenly out of the tunnel and curled over Jin's head protectively, the Outsider's fist barely millimeters away from the canine ear pressed flat against his grey-haired head.

The sanity in his eyes barely contained when the white light was practically point-blank to his face just like the first time, having performed another feat of immeasurable power since the Holy Nuke, he moved his fist away from the young and stood nigh-upright.

Shaking in fright and likely traumatized from the close-brush with holy light that would have annihilated him if the strike was even the slightest bit closer, the pup practically struggled to turn his head to face the Outsider properly. Like all living beings, Youkai have inbred self-preservation instincts, and the young are the most susceptible to them when under danger.

If Eman had been sane enough to feel surprise, he would have been impressed for this whelp's steel nerves. There was indeed fear in the pup's dark blue eyes but the determination and resignation in them overpowered it. It's practically facing the end of a blade that wasn't even intended for the young, and the latter dived towards it without the slightest hesitation….

….just to save the scum of their pack.

With trembling movements, the whelp steadily prostrated to the ground beside Jin's stabbed form, barely comprehensible with his clipped whispers.

"Spare…..Jin-nii and my kin…." The whelp couldn't be anymore smaller if it tried, as it kept shrinking in itself with every word it said, "….and take me instead."

The females nearby, especially the patriarch, were instantaneous in their objection, screaming at the pup to not go through with it and let them take its place instead. Since they were perfectly aware of how they are incapable of doing anything anymore, they were all reduced to begging. Begging that they spare the pup. The patriarch was the most vocal, barely understood in his bestial dialogue that the Outsider should take his life instead and spare the entire pack from his wrath, throwing away all his pride and dignity for the survival of their clan.

But the Outsider lost half his sanity to care or listen to anything outside of what's in front of him, and what's in front of him is an exchange of equal price; a life for a life. A life that will pay all the grievance done to the human and to the entire pack.

With a hand held out to Jin's armless and legless body, a bright white cloud fumed out of Eman's bare white hand and enshrouded the former's frame. With bated breath the pup, the patriarch and the females watched occurrence unblinkingly, and they witnessed Jin's whole body lying down when the cloud faded away, with his arms and legs returned to him.

While Jin sat up, gobsmacked at his sudden recovery, the sensation of his limbs overwhelming him with a comforting familiarity that he never knew existed, the Outsider turned his eyes to the pup and gently placed a palm on the forehead.

With a breathless prayer to the Holy Spirit, the pup's form began to glow white under his hand, thousands and thousands of white needle-thin tendrils forming out of the Outsider's body and coating the whelp from head to toe completely. The pup wasn't scared in any way, only submitting to his fate as he closed his eyes, weeping silently and his small hands together as if in prayer. When 2 dozen seconds have passed, there was nothing left of the whelp to be seen except a cloth-like layer of glowing white.

And little Shin's body began shrinking, distorting, and deforming itself into something non-humanoid. There was no sound of any bones breaking nor any screams that indicated pain. There was only a chilling silence and it was extremely disconcerting in spite of what's happening to the pup.

When it felt like an hour has passed but 30 seconds in actual, little Shin is reduced to a little ball of light held delicately inside Eman's left hand.

The price is paid. His grievance to this Youkai pack is over.

"GHUA!" Without warning, he sent Jin flying through multiple stalks of bamboo with a roundhouse kick to his head, fuming with holy power the size of a gallon.

And at the same time, the 18 wolf Youkai that he had neutralized back in the forest had suddenly arrived to his location, whole and healthy compared to what he had gruesomely done to them half an hour ago, no longer baring any burns or wounds of any kind, sliding to a stop short of 10 feet away from the Outsider, eyeing him balefully.

Eman stared every single one of them down, daring them to start it all over. Give him another grievance against their clan and hand him over the prompt to annihilate their entire clan's existence completely off the map of Gensokyo. They think he can't do it? Try him. Even the less-than-sane side of him has no qualms to make the point.

At the passing of a whole minute, no one dared to try. They only glared and sneered their teeth, strangely silent; no growls escaping out of their throats despite the amount of noise they kept making earlier when they fought.

A new entity arrived to the scene. A simple orb of polychromatic light no bigger than a ball that could fit a palm, floating over soundlessly towards the Outsider—it was the root of every tendril that held every female wolf Youkai in the air.

Once it was afloat atop Eman's left shoulder, the tendrils vanished to thin air, dropping the females to the ground while the Outsider scrubbed a line on the Seal of Solomon trapping the patriarch, giving him back his mobility and promptly collapsed to the dirt.

Then the orb spoke, "The Feud Is Over. The Life Of Your Youngest Is Now In My Hands." Monotonous, androgynous, robotic, but uncannily soothing, as if a beloved mother's undertone was found beneath every syllable, "You Want Him Back, You Must Settle The Matters Of Your Clan. Until Then, He Stays With Me."

And then the orb quickly vanished, the bright light it gave off making way for the pale blue of the moon to return, leaving the last point made to remain in their minds forever.

"Beware The Consequences When You See An Outsider Again."

With a staggering twist on his heel, he limped off to the patch of blackened soil that he once blasted in his entrance, crunching charcoal and burnt ground under his soles while nonchalantly picking up a rock in his stride with the hand holding the glowing ball that was Little Shin.

The look on his back sent a common thought possible through every wolf Youkai behind him.

His threatening aura is gone.

He's limping.

His guard is down.

His back is turned to them.

He's visibly exhausted.

He could barely move his right arm that was holding the knife anymore.

His breath is short and ragged.

He looked like he was about to hit the ground in a matter of seconds.

The mere sight of him was nothing short of a limping Outsider with a mouthwatering scent permeating off him.

The quintessential description of Easy Prey.

And no one made the attempt to take the chance. The very opportunity to take revenge and take him down is right in front of their eyes, no further than 5 feet away, moving at a very slow pace because of his limp and weakness, and they did nothing.

The Youkai that stood far back from the spectacle frantically moved away from his line of sight or the direction he's going, going as far as to never be as close as a hundred meters away from him.

They learned to fear him now.

Mokou let out a silent harrumph and found herself impressed for his efforts.

An entire day of planning perfectly paid off.

Custom-made eagle glove: kept him from getting abrasions.

Tewi's blessing of good luck: made everything go his way.

Hours spent in the Place of Worship: worth it.

Newly-made hellfire techniques: very helpful.

Mokou's cooperation: wisely used.

Feud: settled.

Bargaining chip: sealed and acquired.

Reputation of fear in order to be left alone: Accomplished.

Now he can enjoy relative peace and stability in Gensokyo for days to come.

When he was now a great distance away from the pack, his neck suddenly tilted to the side in a snap, a sharp crack piercing the eerie silence of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost and he fell to the earth, visible under the glare of the half-moon piercing through the bamboo leaves and the red eyes of the other concerned party.

---

Written in PC, published in mobile. Errors are bound to show up and it's bloody ANNOYING. Bear with them.

Tapok na = time to gather

sige na, tubig = let's go, water

walay away = no fighting