Author's Note: And here's the part two! This makes story of the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil 100% complete now. Extra stage was also fun to write, I have made significant changes to it compared to the game, however I think that it worked up in the end. As always, I appreciate any kind of review/criticism so let me know what you think of the story! And like I mentioned before, let me also know whether you'd like to see the sequels or not. Once again, thank you for listening to my ramblings and please enjoy the finale!
-Stay on your guard, Sanae. She might look frail, but I sense enormous power from her, she could even be stronger than her sister.
The wind priestess nodded.
Even stronger than Remilia? The older vampire easily dispatched her during the scarlet mist incident, so hearing that her younger sister is even more powerful did not cheer her up.
But thankfully, she was fighting alongside her goddess this time. This fact put her slightly at ease.
The vampire declared Taboo "Cranberry Trap"
The duo was surrounded by danmaku from all the directions, aimed straight at them.
Sanae was caught off-guard for a moment, but she recovered quickly and focused on dodging through it.
Suwako dodged it without much issue.
Flandre clapped her hands.
-Very impressive! You're already better than most of "toys" that I had. I'm curious just how strong your attacks are! Come on, declare your spell cards!
The wind priestess glanced at the earth goddess.
She shrugged and nodded.
The duo declared Esoterica "Forgotten Ritual" and Party Start "Two Bows, Two Claps, and One Bow" respectively.
The combined pattern of two spell cards was almost impossible for the average person to dodge through it.
However, the vampire just transformed into the bat and started moving exceptionally fast, dodging through it like it was nothing for her.
Sanae was baffled at the sight.
Even her older sister was hard-pressed by two spell cards at the same time, but she didn't even break a sweat!
Suwako was less surprised and just nodded.
-As expected. It's no use attacking her, Sanae, we just have to hold out until those two come back.
Flandre transformed back.
-Is that all? Ahahahaha! And my sister was defeated by you? That is absurd, your spell cards are weak. Let me show you, a real powerful spell card!
She declared Taboo "Lævateinn"
The vampire raised her wand in the air, it transformed after a few seconds into an enormous flaming sword.
She then charged at the duo, swinging her sword wildly at them.
The wind priestess and earth goddess kept backing away from the reach of the sword, but that didn't help much, since the sword left danmaku with each swing that was aimed towards them.
After a bit of backing away and dodging the danmaku, they soon ended at the spot where fairy maids were gathered.
At the sight of the vampire, they fired their danmaku at her.
Flandre was so focused on swinging at the duo that she didn't notice them and got hit.
Of course, danmaku of that caliber did nothing to her, but she stopped swinging her sword and didn't look too pleased.
She turned towards the fairies, she had a furious look on her face.
-You dare interrupt my duel, you puny flies?
The fairies quickly realized their mistake and started sweating.
The vampire then raised her sword and hurled it at them.
The sword hit them cleanly, making them all go "pichuun."
Sanae was breathing heavily, she was exhausted from the intense spell cards. She felt somebody put a hand on her shoulder, she looked at them. It was Suwako, she had a worried look on her face.
-Are you okay, Sanae?
She swallowed saliva and nodded slowly.
-I'm fine, Suwako, I'm just not used to fighting such powerful people.
The earth goddess patted her on the back.
-Try to hold out a bit longer, okay? They should be returning soon.
She nodded.
-I hope so, too.
Suwako looked around their surroundings, taking advantage of the vampire being distracted.
The mansion was in even worse state than before, there were scorch marks on the walls and the curtains were on fire from the flaming sword that the vampire kept swinging without care around her.
She noticed fairies trying to put out the fire using water.
-Your sister won't be thrilled to see you making a mess of her mansion. How about you will be a good girl and go back to your room?
Flandre faced the earth goddess.
-Why should I? The fun has only just begun!
The vampire raised another spell card in the air.
She declared Taboo "Four of a Kind"
Suddenly, three identical copies of Flandre appeared next to her.
They fired all kind of different danmaku at the duo.
Sanae wasn't terribly hard-pressed this time, while the spell card was challenging, she was dodging it without much issue.
Suwako likewise wasn't having any problems with it.
However, suddenly one of the clones fired danmaku that grazed another clone by mistake.
The clone was angered by this and charged at her.
She lifted her by the collar.
-Where do you think you're firing, you traitor!?
The clone was struggling.
-Who you're calling a traitor? You can't even hit them!
-Neither can you!
The third clone likewise joined the quarrel.
-Ahahahaha! A fight! Count me in too!
The original Flandre just facepalmed at the sight.
She slashed her wand at the clones, making them all disappear.
-They always keep messing this up...
The wind priestess and earth goddess were baffled at the situation.
-Somehow, this ruined my impression of her...
Suwako nodded in agreement.
-It sure did, the all powerful vampire image has just been broken by this.
Flandre faced the duo again, she was furious.
-This was only a single mistake, there won't be another one!
The vampire declared Taboo "Maze of Love"
Sanae was bewildered, there was a wall of danmaku, and she couldn't see any opening to dodge through it!
Suddenly, she was roughly dragged by Suwako, she was leading her through the spell card.
While there was no opening at the first glance, you only had to circle the walls to find the blind spots that you could always dodge through.
With this, the duo safely got through this spell card as well.
Flandre laughed.
-Nice one figuring that one out, froggie! You even helped this girl through it. I have prepared a lot of spell cards, but seeing as how you're this capable, I might as well just use my strongest one next!
Suwako didn't say anything, she just frowned and turned towards Sanae.
-Sanae, I absolutely need you to focus for her next spell card, there's no telling how strong it will be, so I might not be able to help you during it.
The wind priestess nodded.
-I'll try my best.
The vampire declared Q.E.D. "Ripples of 495 Years"
The spell card started out fairly simple, the duo wasn't having much trouble, however, with each passing second, the danmaku speed kept increasing to the point where even the earth goddess was under pressure.
-Suwako, I don't think I can keep dodging this much longer!
-Just a bit more, Sanae!
The wind priestess managed to keep it up for a bit longer, but she was getting really exhausted.
She was about to give up, when suddenly a voice called out.
-Time Sign "The World"!
Flandre and her spell card then became frozen in time.
Sanae breathed a sigh of relief. They have finally returned.
-It is done, Lady Patchouli!
The wind priestess only could hear chanting from somewhere, then the vampire's frozen form became engulfed in white light and soon disappeared.
-The time will resume now, watch out for any stray danmaku!
The time then began flowing again around the area, Sanae was dodging through the remnants of the vampire's spell card when suddenly she heard Suwako's voice.
-Sanae, watch out!
The wind priestess was confused and looked to her side, she saw one stray danmaku flying towards her at such high speed, that she wouldn't be able to dodge it in time!
However, something hit the projectile, causing it to dissipate on the contact.
It was Suwako's hat. While it did stop the danmaku, the impact also ripped the hat's fabric apart.
The earth goddess flied over to Sanae.
-Are you okay, Sanae?
She nodded.
-Yes, but your hat is completely ruined!
Suwako waved her hand dismissively.
-Ah, don't worry about it, you're way more important to me than some hat.
The wind priestess teared up at this.
She suddenly hugged tightly the earth goddess.
-Thank you, Suwako!
She was a bit surprised at the sudden hug.
-Woah, hey! Jeez, you're such a crybaby, Sanae. Even back in the Outside World, you were like this.
The wind priestess sobbed into Suwako's shoulder.
-I'm sorry for always causing trouble for you and Kanako!
-Don't be.
The earth goddess hugged her back.
-Cause us trouble, that's what we are here for, we will always be there for you, Sanae, supporting you until you grow up into a fine priestess.
She nodded, still sobbing quietly into Suwako's shoulder.
They stayed like this, until somebody cleared their throat.
They looked at the person.
It was Sakuya, she bowed apologetically.
-My apologies for interrupting your heartwarming moment, but I wish to inform you that we were successful in apprehending the young mistress. She is currently locked back in her room, awaiting scolding from her older sister when she returns.
She bowed once again.
-Allow me to express my sincerest gratitude for your help.
The earth goddess nodded.
-It's nothing, we have already been promised reward from your mistress, after all.
-Is that so? I will be sure to remind her then of it after she returns.
Suwako wanted to tip her hat in thanks, however, she was quickly reminded that it was destroyed, making for a bit of an awkward gesture.
-Ah, well, thanks.
She then turned towards Sanae.
-We should head back to the shrine to report back to that vampire. Kanako must be worried about us, and I could use a nap as well, I'm dead tired after all this.
The wind priestess nodded.
They said their farewells to the maid and headed back to the shrine.
The duo, after returning, explained the situation to the vampire, she wasn't too pleased to hear about the state of her mansion, but she was grateful nevertheless for the help in stopping her younger sister.
She also said that she will be coming back tomorrow to properly reward them for their services as promised.
Kanako was also relieved to see them all uninjured, she pulled them for one big hug after hearing what they had to go through.
Moriya Shrine, the next day.
At the shrine, everybody was taking it easy. They were still tired from the events from the previous day.
Suwako was like always, lying on the top of the shrine's gate, she was shielding her face from the sun with her sleeve, since she couldn't do it with her hat anymore.
It was Kanako's turn to prepare dinner today, so she was inside the shrine, back in the kitchen.
And Sanae was sitting on the porch of the shrine, drinking tea.
There weren't a lot of visitors today, so they could afford to relax for most of the day.
The wind priestess then noticed a pair of visitors from the distance, they were carrying parasols.
One of them obviously was Remilia, but the second one would be... Flandre!?
They approached Sanae.
-Good afternoon, I see that you're taking it easy today. I suppose you deserve it after everything from yesterday.
But the wind priestess didn't say anything, she just kept anxiously glancing at the blonde vampire.
Remilia noticed this and quickly reassured Sanae.
-Don't worry about her, she won't be doing anything with me around, she came with me because she wanted to apologize to you two. By the way, is Yasaka here?
The wind priestess nodded.
-She is inside the shrine, preparing dinner.
The vampire then took out a wallet from her pocket.
-Right. I have business with her, so I will be leaving you for a moment. Play nice now, Flan.
The blonde vampire nodded.
Remilia then disappeared inside the shrine.
Flandre looked at Sanae.
-Hello, Miss Sanae. I'm really sorry for what happened yesterday, I have caused you a lot of trouble.
The wind priestess was surprised how docile the vampire was compared to the previous day. It was like she was talking to a whole new person, the scolding of her older sister must have been really effective to make her like this.
-It's okay! As long as you understand.
The blonde vampire then started looking around.
-Umm, is froggie around too? I wanted to apologize to her too.
The voice called out from the top of the shrine's gate.
-I hear you. Apology accepted. It's Suwako, not "froggie," by the way.
Flandre then reached into her bag and grabbed a hat from it.
It looked exactly like Suwako's old hat, but it was all fixed up.
-I heard that your hat was destroyed during my spell card, I found remains of it back in the mansion and I decided to stitch it back together with help from Sakuya.
She then threw it like a frisbee at the earth goddess.
Suwako caught it easily and inspected it for a while, then she put it on her face to shield herself from the sun.
-Thanks a lot. I was already starting to miss it.
The blonde vampire nodded, then turned back towards Sanae.
-I also wanted to ask you for a favor.
The wind priestess tilted her head in confusion.
-A favor?
Flandre nodded.
-I have been locked away in my room for so many years now with little to none entertainment. That's why I wanted to ask you if you would come now and then to play with me.
Sanae looked skeptical at the mention of "playing."
The blonde vampire noticed this and elaborated.
-Oh, I didn't mean necessarily to play danmaku. Just things like tag, hide-and-seek, anything really to kill the time.
The wind priestess looked relieved.
-Ahahaha, I thought that you meant danmaku at first. If that's all, then sure! I don't really mind visiting you when I will have some free time.
Flandre held her pinky up.
-Pinky promise?
Sanae looked at the vampire's pinky and smiled.
-Pinky promise.
She then wrapped her finger around Flandre's.
Perhaps the younger sister of the Scarlet Devil wasn't so bad as Sanae first thought...