Lysithea took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself before stabbing the syringe straight into her neck. She hissed as she pushed on the plunger and ignored the pounding sensation in her head as the liquid entered her bloodstream. One the vial was empty she tossed it aside and leaned back in the chair she had been sitting on. It took several deep breaths and lots of cookies straight after but she would quickly recover from the ordeal.

A serum courtesy of Yagakoro, created for the purpose of treating the symptoms of the imbalance of Yin and Yang within her own body. It was to be administered every week and she had brought plenty of extras in case they were needed. In the end though it was no cure, just delaying the inevitable, but that extra bit of time would be invaluable as she worked toward becoming a true Witch.

She looked at herself in front of the mirror, dressed in her uniform and prepared for the day. She stood up and made a few quick hops in order to test her own body's weight, mostly to determine how much she could defy gravity before it got suspicious. Once she decided on an acceptable jumping height she smoothed out her uniform and stepped out of her room.

There was an air of excitement in the Mess Hall that day, a result of the mock battle that would be held soon. Lysithea herself felt it too but she didn't let it show. She wasn't an excitable little child after all.

"Yo Lysithea, you joining us today? Or are you going to huddle away in your room until we're all ready to go?" Claude called out from a nearby table.

The Witch's Apprentice rolled her eyes, grabbed her food, and made sure to sit at the opposite end of the table as far away from her House Leader as possible.

"So Miss Library is deigning to grace the Golden Deer with her presence today," Claude teased.

"Miss Library might have an accident with our House Leader today if she doesn't get to eat her food in peace," Miss Library bit back before taking out a book and setting it down next to her food. She had long since learned to multitask when reading was involved.

"Watcha reading there?" Leonie asked.

"Just doing a quick review on basic formations," Lysithea replied between bites of her food.

"Oh. I might have to borrow that sometime, if that's okay with you," Ignatz said.

Lysithea turned the book to its first page, rotated it so that it was facing Ignatz, and pushed it in front of him. She then pulled out another book from her uniform that she began to read.

"How do you fit all that stuff in there?" Leonie asked.

"Practice." And also, lots of experience working with Marisa.

"You certainly have a lot of tricks up your sleeve," Claude commented.

"A magician should always be well prepared," Lysithea replied and noticed a shift in the Mess Hall's mood. She looked up from her book and quickly found its source. The Professor who had just entered and got in line.

He had that sort of presence.

Once he got his food he walked over to the table and sat down across from Claude, joining the rest of them. "Is everyone well rested?" he asked.

"Yep," Raphael replied with a thump to his own chest. "Slept like a baby last night and ready to go at it!"

"You aren't even participating today," Lorenz argued as he set his for aside.

"That just means I'm ready to cheer our team on!"

"Yea Raphael has the right attitude. We should totally cheer you guys on!" Hilda agreed.

"It's unsightly for a noble to cause such a commotion," Lorenz argued.

"We're not asking you to wave your arms screaming," Leonie replied. "Just give them a little encouragement. There's nothing wrong with supporting your classmates, right?"

"And I will give them that. In a manner befitting one of my stature."

Raphael frowned. "Aw, but it won't be as cool if we aren't on the same page."

"Asking for that level of coordination might be asking too much for this house," Lysithea replied.

Leonie glanced at Lysithea in an accusatory manner. "You got something to say about us?"

"Nothing bad I can assure you. In fact, I'm… quite used to company like this, it's quite nostalgic." Lysithea explained and Leonie's expression relaxed.

It was the truth, chaos was basically the Modus Operandi of Gensokyo after all.

"You live in a pretty crazy household?" Hilda asked.

"The Ordelian manor is actually quite peaceful. It's the other company I've kept that can be quite… rowdy."

"The one who taught you your magic?" the Professor asked.

Lysithea nodded. "My Sensei is calm, introspective, and introvertive, provided you don't do anything to displease her. It was the other residents and visitors of her home that tended to cause quite a ruckus."

"So you've actually been to the land your magic comes from?"

"My Sensei's magic comes from a completely different place altogether. She just brought it with her when she came to Gensokyo, that's the foreign land I visited," Lysithea replied.

"I haven't seen a place called Gensokyo anywhere on the maps," Ignatz replied.

"It's really far away." Best to let them make their own assumptions on that part.

"So past the Eastern fog and into the uncharted areas of the world?" Ignatz asked with wide eyes. "With that knowledge we could finally update our maps."

"The method in which I can travel there and back is unknown even to me. They prefer their secrecy," Lysithea replied. Technically true in that she still wasn't entirely sure how that portal in the basement of her house worked, just that she knew how to operate it.

"You've spent quite some time away from your territory I imagine," Lorenz commented. "Is that not detrimental to you, considering there is much you'll have to learn once you inherit the Ordelian territory?"

"It is for the sake of Ordelia and my parents that I take the trips that I do," Lysithea bit back. "Don't criticize my methods or my commitment to my duty just because it fits outside that little bubble of yours."

"That bubble as you call it is the education and conduct needed for nobles such as we."

"Everyone has different goals. Different methods," the Professor suddenly spoke up and stopped Lysithea from bickering with Lorenz any further. "Agree to disagree and move on."

Lysithea crossed her arms and looked away. "There's no point in arguing about this."

"On that we can agree," Lorenz conceded.

"So this Gensokyo, seems like an interesting place," Claude was looking at her too eagerly for comfort. "Seems like you fit right in despite being an outsider."

"Gensokyo was a land founded by outsiders seeking refuge," Lysithea replied. "There are many major groups with different interests and traditions but for the most part they're fairly welcoming so long as you keep to their laws. The issue is adapting to the lifestyle. Things there… are very different."

"Sounds fun, maybe I should go take a visit myself one day."

Lysithea sighed. "Honestly, you might actually fit in." Too well in fact. Especially with a certain Ordinary Magician.

… Maybe that was why she was always so tempted to throw a fireball into his face?


Using a spyglass she had… appropriated from Claude, Lysithea looked over the area where the Mock Battle would take place. Each house would have their own base, there was a significant amount of trees in the center, and there were several structures built throughout the area. Altogether there was a generous but not overwhelming amount of cover along with several clear sight lines for any House that wished to pursue an offensive.

Lysithea lowered the spyglass and glanced back where Claude and the Professor were talking, having long since made the same observations of the land that she had. So rather than adding her own redundant opinions on top of that she decided to focus on the topic that they hadn't gotten to yet.

Mainly, the people that would actually be fighting for them and those they would be fighting.

In the end Marianne did happen to show up to the mock battle, though Lysithea wasn't entirely sure how well that would go with the girl's current demeanor. Still, at least they didn't have to make any last-minute changes to their roster. It would make it a lot easier to plan around the other two Houses now that their rosters had been revealed too.

The same of course could be said of them.

"The Blue Lions have an interesting lineup," Lysithea commented as she looked over the students the opposing houses had gathered.

"How so?" Byleth asked.

"They fielded Annette instead of Mercedes as I would have expected. Hanneman can heal but I don't think they would want to risk him getting knocked out and losing them the match. Honestly, it is a risk to have you on the frontline Professor."

"Leonie wouldn't be able to hold the frontline alone. Also, I think they picked a magic user in response to your presence," he replied. In the hope of mitigating the effects of Lysithea's own magic. It made sense though it wouldn't help them that much once she got in range.

"The Black Eagles also don't have any healers apart from Manuela," Claude added his own observations and Lysithea made sure to listen. As aggravating as the man could be there was no denying his intelligence or tactical skill. "It seems like they're preparing to attack and end things quickly rather than trying to hunker down like the Blue Lions are."

"Should we bunker down and set up fortifications?" Lysithea suggested. Seemed like the safe option, straight out of the textbooks really, but that didn't detract from the effectiveness of a tried and true strategy.

"There are lots of forests I can set up traps in," Leonie joined them and commented. "And I used to hunt all the time in the woods back in the village so it would be easy for me to move around and fight in."

"I got a few tricks I could set up too," Claude agreed.

"No. Both Houses would attack us if we tried," Byleth replied.

"What makes you think that?" Lysithea asked.

"Both Edelgard and Dimitri want to fight me. They might not work together but they won't fight each other if I'm present."

"Yea, kinda figured too," Claude admitted. "Probably would've done the same myself if you joined one of their Houses instead."

"Which is why we will attack first."

"Blitz through the Black Eagles before either House knows what's happening," Claude smiled and nodded. "Bold strategy."

"And dangerous," Lysithea replied. "If we take too long then it'll become a battle on two fronts and we'll be overwhelmed."

"It's definitely an all or nothing gamble," Claude admitted. "But it's one I'm happy to take."

Lysithea looked between both Claude, Byleth, and Leonie who seemed to be in agreement. It also wasn't like Marianne was going to say much, even if she did have an opinion over it. "I guess if that's what you guys want to do, then I'll do what I can. Are we confirmed to attack the Black Eagles Professor?"

Byleth raised an eye. "Who said anything about attacking the Black Eagles first?"


"I will fight on the front lines! I can stop the enemy's advance with grace!" Ferdinand shouted as he rushed through the battlefield. He was the first to arrive where his glorious battle awaited… only to realize that there was no one there to meet him. The other Black Eagles were likewise just as confused when they arrived. "Where is the enemy?"

"They baited us," Edelgard replied as she looked around. She too could do nothing but behold the pure nothingness that they had run into. "Those fortifications and traps they set up were never to be used in the first place."

"Then where are they?"

Edelgard turned toward where the Blue Lions were likely holding a defensive position. "Where else?"


"I think we've caught them off guard Teach," Claude replied as he began firing his arrow at Hanneman who was immediately covered by Dedue and Dimitri. "You can practically see the gears turning in his Highness's head."

"We have to finish them quickly," Byleth replied. "Before they can compose themselves and the Black Eagles pincer us."

"Don't worry Professor, I got this," Leonie shouted before running off ahead.

"… I was going to have you and Claude use your bows while I handled the frontline," Byleth said too late as Leonie ran out of hearing range.

"Might as well go after her Teach." Claude gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to have your back."

Byleth nodded before running ahead to catch up with Leonie.


Lysithea watched as Leonie and Byleth, with Claude supporting them, reached the defensive line that Dedue and Dimitri had built around Hanneman.

The Blue Lions had a good formation. They could last a long time with Hanneman healing them, at least until Lysithea got in range to sweep them all away.

Or at least that was the plan, until she noticed a familiar glint in the distance. "Marianne, duck!"

"What?"

Left with no choice, Lysithea tackled the girl and threw them both into cover, just as an arrow and fireball flew past where they once were. The Witch's apprentice poked her head out of cover briefly and saw Annette and Ashe on top of a nearby platform.

Smart. They had split off from the main group in order to flank and separate the enemy from a fortified position.

"They're planning to keep us separated from the Professor," Lysithea said. With Hanneman healing the bulkier members of the Blue Lions, they stood a feasible chance of overwhelming and outlasting the Professor's group who had been split from their healer and mage. After what she had seen from the Professor though she was more than confident he could handle it. However, she wasn't one happy to just sit around and do nothing.

"They're stopping us," Marianne said. "I don't think I can help from here. I really am no good."

Lysithea sighed. "That's fine." She stepped out in the open and carefully kept an eye on both Annette and Ashe's form.

"Lysithea! What are you doing? You'll get hurt."

"Don't worry Marianne. I'm just going to show you how a Magician fights."


"What is she doing?" Ashe asked, completely flummoxed but still ready to nock an arrow as Lysithea ran toward them. She might've been a small target but there was no cover anywhere and it was just such an easy shot.

"Just shoot! I know it seems mean, but I talked with her and you've seen her at the training grounds. We can't let her get in range," Annette replied as she charged her spell.

"I know she's fast and all but… it's just an open field and we have the high ground and cover. I don't think she'll have the time to cast her spell." Ashe released his arrow. It flew true and headed straight for Lysithea.

A direct hit, that would leave a nasty bruise and immediately take her out of the battle.

Then the girl jumped over the arrow, completely avoided it, and combat rolled on the ground before continuing her sprint.

"What just happened?" Ashe asked, not quite believing what he had just seen. He had witnessed people deflecting or evading projectiles before… but not like that and especially not from a magic user. It was one thing to be fast, but to completely dodge an arrow like she had?

"Who cares!? Just keep shooting!" Annette shouted in panic as she flung a Wind spell at the girl.

Lysithea simply raised her hand and halted the spell when it was just meters away from her.

Deciding that it was probably a good idea to listen to Annette now, Ashe quickly fired his next arrow. Then one after another. Each in the hope of hitting the girl whose purple ribbon fluttered in the wind as she ran.

None of them hit.

Some she would jump to the side to avoid. Others she would leap over in an impressive display of acrobatics. One she would duck and the last she just took a big step over.

Annette was having even more trouble. Any spell she threw, Lysithea wasn't even trying to dodge it. She would quickly deflect or counter it with her own.

Lysithea didn't come out completely unscathed, at least a few arrows had ended up grazing and scratching the girl's body, but it was never a conclusive blow that would take her out of the fight.

Eventually, much to his dismay, she arrived within range of the rampart they stood on. Then, of all the things to do, she simply stopped running and started raising an arm into the air.

"What is she doing?" Ashe shot another arrow that Lysithea dodged by ducking. She still kept that arm raised.

"Hey, Ashe. What day is it today?" Annette asked as she chucked another spell that got dispelled.

"Saturday. Why?"

Annette held out her hand and began counting down with each finger. "Fire, Water, Wood, Metal," the girl muttered to herself. Her eyes grew wide by the time she reached her pinkie. "We need to get away now!"

"But wouldn't it be more dangerous to get out of co- OH MY, GODDESS!"

Ashe jumped back as a spike that emerged from the ground and pierced through the center of the platform, its tip just a single meter away. The spike twisted, tearing apart the wood and their foothold, until they had no choice but to jump off the platform for safety.

Being the more dexterous of the two, Ashe landed lightly on his feet, though ended up getting split from Annette in the process. "Annette! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just a little wind- EEK!"

Ashe turned and found that Lysithea had already walked up to Annette and quite literally buried her into the ground, up to her waist. Safe to say that she was out.

He quickly drew another arrow and fired. The arrow flew true, and it looked like this one would finally hit… Only for Lysithea to tilt her head back and let it scratch her cheek as it flew by. Also, her hand was open and pointed at him with a spell ready.

"Well, fiddlesticks," was all Ashe could say before he was flung into the air by Lysithea's magic.


With Annette and Ashe taken out, it didn't take long for Lysithea and Marianne to reunite with the rest of the Golden Deer as they worked to finish off the rest of the Blue Lions.

"The others?" The Professor asked as he continued to trade blows with Dedue.

"Dealt with," Lysithea replied as she blasted Dedue back with a very large fireball.

Just as the man went down though, a throwing axe flew through the air aimed straight for Leonie. Before anyone could react the Professor had already grabbed it out the air just before it could strike the girl from behind.

"Woah, thanks Professor," Leonie said.

"The Black Eagles are attempting a pincer. Claude and I will finish the Blue Lions!" Byleth commanded. "Marianne, support Leonie and hold the Black Eagles off."

"Got it!" Leonie shouted as she split away from the Professor and was followed by Marianne . They quickly moved to trade blows with Edelgard who was being supported by Manuela.

It was clear on the first exchange that the Imperial Princess would overwhelm Leonie with sheer strength, each of her swings with her axe leaving deep gashes on the ground, but Leonie was doing well with holding off her advance while being supported by Marianne.

Lysithea herself began to run forward, prepared to assist when she heard a loud voice heading in her direction.

"I am Ferdinand Von Aiger! And I will meet any challe-"

Lysithea quickly threw her arm forward, creating a wall of flame in front of the man that tried to charge her. He stopped in his tracks and barely had time to process the sudden obstacle before another fireball shot through the flames and hit him straight in the chest.

As the man went down, Lysithea sensed something. She didn't need to look; she just knew it was coming. Dark magic. A lot of it.

She had barely turned around and thrown up her barrier in time before a dark mass collided with it. Even with her defenses the sheer force of the spell had flung her backwards toward the ground. Before she hit the earth though she flew. Not fully. Just enough that she could twirl around, pretend to push herself off the ground, and fling herself into the air. She was able to soar over the second spell that hit where she would've fallen if gravity had any effect on her.

What looked like a feat of incredible acrobatics was just her floating a little in a very subtle way once more. It was also how she had weaved through Ashe's arrows previously, taking advantage of her flight once more.

While she was still in the middle of her jump, she threw her own Miasma, before landing lightly on her feet. Her quick spell was blocked with ease by her opponent.

A Dark Mage. A skilled one at that.

Lysithea glared at Hubert, her magic already gathering in her hands. She really didn't like that condescending look on his face.

"Impressive reactions for a troublemaking rat," Hubert commented as he gathered a dark mass in his own hands. "You will have to be dealt with though, for Lady Edelgard's victory."

Lysithea didn't have much practice with her magical barriers and hers were likely weaker than his while her own magic was being suppressed to hide her Crests. It was a result of those in Gensokyo focusing more on mobility and evasion rather than blocking or taking attacks head-on. In the end she had no choice but to avoid his spells.

Only she couldn't.

She looked down and finally realized that her legs were starting to sink into the ground. Into the bog, no Mire, that Hubert had created with his previous spell.

Clever dick.

He had essentially crippled her movement, the mud just thick enough to make it impossible to jump out of. She would eventually get out, but it would be long enough for him to finish casting his big spell. He was trying to force her into a battle of raw power where he felt that he had the clear advantage.

She was happy to take it though. Even without her Crests, she was more than his match.

Hubert casted his spell and hurled a giant wave of darkness in her direction. It likely wouldn't kill, but it would definitely hurt if it hit. Thankfully it never would. His mistake was letting her hands anywhere near solid ground.

"Earth Metal Sign!" Lysithea declared her first Spell Card and slapped her hands together before bringing them to the ground. "Ruby Coal Megalith!"

"Earth Metal?" Hubert mouthed before a giant block of a red and brown crystal erupted from the ground and blocked his spell in its entirety. He barely had the time to construct his own barrier before the jewel erupted from the ground and shot towards him.

It struck with a loud bang, breaking through his barrier and knocking him down, though not taking him out of the fight just yet. Fortunately, the shards that scattered in the air after breaking apart would be enough to finish it. Ruby and Coal were very reactive to fire after all.

"Fire Sun Sign." Lysithea lifted her arms in the air as energy gathered into her hands. "Nuclear F-"

Something struck her back. Hard. It interrupted her spell and forced her to sling the energy she had gathered upwards to explode in the sky as a large fiery mass. Lysithea then fell forward, slowly sinking into the bog until her body was halfway submerged by it. Laying there, barely able to keep her face up so she could breathe, she tried to process what had just happened.

"I'm sorry!"

Lysithea flipped over and finally noticed the meek looking archer that had looked entirely apologetic for striking her down. The last member of the Black Eagle's roster that had finally appeared, Bernadetta.

It didn't take long for Lysithea to realize what had happened.

Ferdinand and Hubert were both distractions. They were never meant to defeat her, simply keep her occupied until Bernadetta got the angle on her while unseen and shot her down. It was a risky and high-stakes plan that wouldn't have worked had Lysithea been aware of her surroundings.

It was embarrassing. Just as embarrassing as the mud that covered most of her body as she laid stuck in the mire. As the battle between the Three Houses was still ongoing one of the faculty had to walk onto the field and check that she hadn't suffocated before helping her out of the mud.

Like that, completely drenched, stained, and soaked in wet earth, Lysithea made her way toward the place where the spectators and those who had been knocked out watched the battle. Where they would've watched her embarrassing defeat as the first casualty of the Golden Deer.

"Oof. Bad way to get taken out there," Hilda commented as she suddenly took it upon herself to get some of the mud off of Lysithea. "But you were pretty cool back there. Dodging arrows and spells you used look awesome."

"Not good enough," Lysithea grumbled to herself. After the time she had spent picking fights in Gensokyo she thought she would be prepared for this, but apparently it wasn't enough. Her Sensei would've been disappointed in her performance if she was there to see it.

Maybe if she had flown- No, even with flight she would've been knocked out of the sky soon enough with how cocky she had been. It didn't matter if they were humans that hadn't lived the life she had, they were still more than capable of killing her on or off the battlefield.

"Don't worry Lysithea you did great! You took out three guys and almost got Hubert!" Raphael shouted as he also began to pull the mud off of her. Surprisingly enough the man's giant meaty hands were gentle as they pulled the gunk out of her ribbon and hair. Together he and Hilda had made considerable progress in cleaning her, though she would still need a bath after this.

"Wow, Marianne just saved Claude and knocked out Dedue," Ignatz commented.

"What!?" Hilda stopped working on Lysithea's skirt to watch the battle below. "Wow! Go Marianne! Throw those spells! Take them down!"

Lysithea watched as and confirmed that Marianne had knocked out Dedue and had even thrown herself into the middle of the fighting. With her suddenly being more proactive the Golden Deer were quickly able to regroup and finish off the Blue Lions. It was then a simple matter of turning around and fighting the Black Eagles.

It wasn't clean by any means. Leonie had been taken out and both Claude and the Professor had barely been kept up through Marianne's healing, but in the end they had won.

They had won. And here Lysithea was… just standing to the side and stained in mud as the rest of the Golden Deer cheered.


"I was there when that weird… distortion popped up in the middle of the street. It was like a weird clear tarp. You could see through it but everything on the other side looked weird." Marisa shifted in her seat and noticed that the floor underneath her was getting kind of hot. "Clownpiece up to something?"

"Told her she's fine to use her fire as long as she doesn't burn down the shrine or make someone go crazy again," Reimu replied.

"You're just using her as your personal heater."

"It's not like she pays rent. Make her good for something at least."

"So… back to the original subject"

"Are you sure you weren't just seeing things?" Reimu asked. "Maybe a heat haze or something?"

"Too many witnesses, not just me," Marisa replied. "And I asked around. Banki saw it too. Don't think she's the type to hallucinate."

"If anything, she could be responsible. You know how Youkai are."

"In the middle of the day? Nah, Banki likes living in the village and pretending to be human even though everyone knows what she is at this point. She isn't going to do something crazy like that and get herself thrown out. But yea it could be another Youkai. Still seems like something you should investigate"

Reimu lazily popped a piece of orange in her mouth. "You said it disappeared though, right?"

"Yep."

"And you already did your own investigation. If there's nothing you can find then it's probably nothing. There isn't really much else to do but wait and see if it shows up again. If it doesn't then we don't have to bother with it."

Yea that sounded like Reimu. Preferring the path with the least amount of work… but it did make sense in this case. The distortion seemed like a one-off thing, nothing to freak out about for the time being.

Yet for some reason Marisa couldn't help but feel that something was off. She might not have anything near Reimu's intuition, but she had long since learned to trust her gut.

It was how she stayed alive for all these years.


Grimoire of Marisa:

Earth Metal Sign: Ruby Coal Megalith

· User: Lysithea Von Ordelia

· Notes: Fusion Magic, like being in an active mine.

· Reference Level: *****

A Spell Card that combines Ruby gemstones with lines of Coal.

Lysithea's take on Patchy's Spell Card. Brittle in comparison but a wider area of effect that is usually followed up by fire to ignite the flammable material.

Get out of the explosive area ASAP.