2/15

I came downstairs, finding Masato in the middle of making breakfast.

"Morning, Goro," he said.

"Morning." I sat myself at the table.

He smiled at me and said, "you sure got quite a bit of chocolate yesterday. You've really got a way with the ladies, don't you?"

I shook my head, smiling. "I'm just thinking about all the favors I'm going to have to repay next month."

Masato chuckled. "Well, there is that. If you need any help from me, feel free to ask."

"I'll keep that in mind."

I sipped some breakfast tea. "I trust you yourself were married at some point. You would have to have been to have a daughter."

Masato took a bite. "Well, yeah… it's been so long since she passed. Have you been told of 'breathless sickness' yet?"

"I have, from Eirin," I said.

"I see. Well, that's what got her in the end. That winter was one of the worst outbreaks of it in recent memory. Not only did I lose my beloved, I also lost both of my aging parents to it. I was inconsolable for a long time, and I felt alone. If not for my friends, the support of the Village, and my newly-born bundle of joy, I may very well have wandered into the forest and let a youkai eat me. I vowed to take good care of Marisa and keep her safe, since she was my only reminder of her. I also never remarried, simply because I could never move on from her."

I sipped some more tea. "I see. You could never forget your wife, and so you dedicated yourself to being a good father to Marisa."

"That's right," he said. "Which is why I still worry. Ever since she ran away and started fighting youkai, monsters and other nonsense. In retrospect, I should have realized her adventurous spirit and fostered it at least a little. But I was so concerned with keeping her safe and raising her right that I never did, not allowing her to make friends in the Village, not allowing her to go outside and play…" He shook his head. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before she started dabbling in magic and finding friends outside the Village, and she never comes back to visit because I'm sure she still sees me as stifling and oppressive. It sounds like she's still alright, but every incident she and Reimu go to resolve is another way in which she could be killed." Masato sighed. "It pains me that I can't be there to protect her, and that trying to protect her when she was young led her to go throw herself into danger anyway…"

I finished my tea, and looked at him. "If you would like, I can be her minder in your place."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean what I say," I told him. "If you're concerned about her getting into dangerous situations, I'll do what I can to rein her tendencies in. We are friends, after all."

Masato smiled. "Thank you, young man. I don't know how much you could actually do to keep her under control, but it means a lot to me that you will try."

"No…" I shook my head. "I will. Not 'I will try.' I simply will."

Masato chuckled again. "I like your determination. But, now, you know I'm going to hold you to your words, no matter how hard it will be for you to live up to them."

"I've never given up on a task before seeing it through," I said.


I was barely outside the shop before I found myself face-to-face with Aya, who looked at me with anticipation.

"Oh, hello there!" she said, surprised. "I was just heading in to see if you were available, and then you came out the door!"

"I'm done with my work for today," I said, "and was just getting ready to go for a walk. But, if you're here, then that means you want me for something."

"Yup! You said you'd help me narrow down a potential target in Tengu City. So, if you're available, I'd like to lead you up there and have a look around."

"Tengu City… would I be welcome up there?"

"I'll get you in somehow," she promised. "Now, let's get outta the Village so we can start flying up. I'm told you're fast, so let's see if you can keep up!"

I smirked. "Well then. Challenge accepted."

We exited the Village, and took off toward the mountain, whose snow-covered, jagged pinnacle towered above everything else around it. Aya was not bluffing about her speed; even going as fast as I could, I had trouble keeping up, and it was clear to me that she was going slow on purpose so that we could stay together. All the while, the biting winter cold and stray snowflakes battered my person, and my scarf whipped violently in the wind.

We eventually landed somewhere on the side of the mountain, far above the ravine, along a ledge which had a commanding view of the valley below. I had never seen Gensokyo from this vantage point before, and the Misty Lake, the river, the Village farm fields, the forests and plains, all of them spread open in front of me like a book. Not that I cared at that moment, due to how exhausted I was.

"Whew… you weren't kidding!"

"Uh-huh! No one can match my speed! Us Crow Tengu are natural-born fliers, after all. We hatch with the kind of speed and skill it took years for even Reimu to master, and she claims 'flight' to be her ability!"

"I noticed you did not have wings," I told her. "I remember Marisa saying something about special capes, but…"

"Oh yes, those. We don't actually possess wings naturally, not that we need them to minimally fly, as you have just seen. Insead, once we reach a certain age, the skilled Wing Cape Weavers, a group of long-nosed Tengu who work in secrecy, create a wing cape for us from a lock of our hair. We wear them, and can have them turn into wings on command, giving us even faster, more controllable flight and access to wind powers."

Capes that turn into wings… an interesting concept, one which reminded me of Meta Knight from the Kirby series. "Very fascinating."

"They're a Crow Tengu specialty," Aya said. "Wing Capes cannot be created for any other being, not even other types of Tengu. So don't try asking for one, they won't do it."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said.

"Alright then! Let's continue to Tengu City!" We started walking, when a green glow emerged from under her jacket.

"...eh?" She took out her Metaverse Key, with the holographic phrase "Tengu City" projected from it. "How… why is it doing this?"

"It's because 'Tengu City' is a keyword," I explained.

"A 'keyword?'"

"Fortresses of highly distorted individuals require three keywords to enter them: the first is the owner's name. The second is a location, often one which holds high importance for them. The last is a distortion; that is, how they see that location in their minds, such as a greedy mobster seeing a city's central district, where he commits most of his crimes, as his own personal bank. So far, we have just proven that Tengu City is the basis of someone's distortion. Which is good, because we now know such a distortion exists."

"...I…don't think I fully understand," she said.

"It'll become clearer as we go along," I told her. I held out my arm. "Let me hold onto your key for now. I can keep its glow hidden better."

"Oh, well, alright," she said, handing over the key before guiding me further.

Aya led me along a short trail leading to the Tengu City gates. A pair of guards, armed with spears and shields, stood guard on either side.

"Stop," one of them said. We stopped, and he turned to Aya. "Welcome back, Shameimaru-san. I see you did not return alone."

"Indeed," Aya bowed. "I have brought a guest."

"You do realize bringing guests requires the permission of the Daitengu," the other guard said. "I'm sorry, but he'll have to wait here while you seek that permission."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I forgot. I just thought of bringing him up here."

I stepped forward and bowed. "Greetings. My name is Goro Akechi."

"Akechi-san," the guard said. "As I said, I-"

Suddenly, she paused, and both guards looked at me.

"...is something the matter?" I asked.

A moment passed, before they bowed. "...our apologies. You may pass." The two withdrew their spears, and parted to let us through.

"...huh. Strange. They're not supposed to simply let us through, like that," Aya said to me. "I'm sorry, but I will get permission for him to come in from the Daitengu. As captain of the Guard, I must request that-"

"No, we insist! He can come in. He is perfectly welcome here!"

Aya paused, then led me through the gate. "Well, alright…"


The city behind the gate was unlike any city I had ever seen. Set between towering rock spires, with houses and other structures built into the mountainsides, and many people, with and without wings, flying about, it was a scene right out of a standard fantasy setting, even compared to what I had seen so far in Gensokyo.

"So this… this is Tengu City…" I said.

"It's the home of the Tengu in Gensokyo," Aya said. "Thousands of us, flying in between all the rocks and crags, through the trees, and in the clouds." She grabbed my hand. "Come on, why don't I show you around?"

We flew around and toward the city's main market square, inside a sheer crevasse whose walls were lined top to bottom with storefronts and bars. Along the way, we met several other Tengu, most of whom recognized Aya on sight.

"Good day, Aya!" said one of them. "Who is that you've got with you?"

"My name is Goro Akechi. Aya-san is showing me around."

"Huh. Never seen you around before. You a human from the Village or something? I'm surprised you can fly!"

"Well, Aya certainly thought I was special for being able to fly so well."

"I'd agree! Welcome to Tengu City! Hope you enjoy your time here!"

We spent some time going between all the different shops, seeing all the different Tengu who lived here and all the unique items on offer. Next, she led me through the streets again, pointing out the administrative buildings where most of the "behind the scenes" work took place. Aya also took time to bring me to her paper office, showing me her desk, well-worn typewriter and printing press. She also showed me where her archives were, although she would not permit access to them.

"This is a very diverse place," I said. "I wouldn't have imagined such a large place could be hidden so far up the mountain."

"I'm glad you like it," Aya smiled. "Us Tengu are very proud of our city."

I looked around her office. "And I must say this is quite the nice little operation you have going on here. Do you write all the articles by yourself?"

"For the most part," Aya said. "I do have some yamabushi that help me out, but the research, reporting, note-taking and editing is a one-woman operation." She took a newspaper from the side and opened it up. "Still, I lament that I have to fill this thing with gossip just to meet quotas. What I really want to do is bring light to the city's injustices, but I would get censored and shut down if I tried that, and my guard captain position would be at risk, too. That's where you come in: you guys can help me strike the problem from its back door."

I pulled out my key, which still did not display a name. "We've met several people in the city, but their names did not trigger the key. Is there anyone else you can think of who might be a candidate?"

"I have some ideas," Aya said. "Tenma's an obvious one, but their name is a closely-guarded secret. Even I don't know their name. And finding it out would require jumping through a lot of hoops in order to avoid suspicion. The only people who usually know their name are the Daitengu, who directly serve them. There's five of them, one for each type of Tengu, and one who manages affairs on Youkai Mountain in general who is the second-highest ranking person on the mountain, and is essentially Tenma's right-hand woman. Her name is Megumu Iizunamaru."

Suddenly, Megumu's name flashed on the key. "Hold it a moment," I said.

"Hm?"

I held the key up to show her. "It would seem as though Megumu is the owner of the Fortress."

"Is that… so…" Aya trailed off.

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

Aya shook her head. "Oh, no, it's nothing. So, Iizunamaru. She's the 'owner' of the 'Fortress?'"

"Correct. Now, we have to figure out what her distortion is. That is, how does she see Tengu City?"

"Okay, how do we do that?"

I sighed. "Unfortunately, that is usually the hardest part. Distortions are usually figurative, not literal, so guessing the distortion requires getting inside the target's head, and thinking outside of the box. It may also require covertely interrogating the target."

"Well, I mean, she is my superior and I report to her, but she usually isn't anywhere I can just go to any time I want and spark up a friendly chat." She looked up. "But, I do know she frequents a particular bar in town on a sort-of irregular basis. So, what I could do is figure out her drinking schedule, then let you know so that you can come up and we can eavesdrop."

I nodded. "That sounds like a wonderful plan. You should use that communicator you were given by Nitori to let me know when that happens. Its connection is secure, so no one can intercept them."

"Alright, thanks."

"We're counting on you," I said.

"You have my word. I am the 'pure and honest' Aya Shameimaru, after all!" Aya then guided me back out of the city, and I flew the rest of the way down toward home.


2/16

I was out walking the streets again, when I encountered Eiki setting up in the center of the square, getting ready to give another speech.

"Good morning, Shiki-sama," I said.

"Oh, good morning," Eiki said. "So, you have come to see me again."

"We did strike a deal, after all," I reminded her.

Eiki chuckled. "Well. You have committed many sins, but I can tell not keeping promises isn't one of them. Very well. As promised, you may stand here and watch me give my lecture. I'll probably be here for a couple of hours."

"A couple of hours? You can speak for that long?"

"When it's my job to judge souls, two hours of orating is nothing for me," she said.

Once she was ready and started speaking, it didn't take long for a crowd to be drawn to her strong conviction and impassioned statements.

"I want all of you to realize that there IS hope for salvation and a chance to avert the worst! You must all commit yourselves to living virtuously and charitably, not giving into temptation and short-term gratification!"

As I took in Eiki's strong words to the crowd, I made mental notes about how I could adapt her style not only for negotiating with shadows, but also rousing my team and leading the charge into battle. I realized that if I could make myself sound stronger, that would further bolster the charisma I naturally possessed and allow everyone else to have more confidence in me as their leader, something which was very important as all of them were older than me, had more experience than me, and had very strong wills of their own.

Then I looked out into the crowd, seeing all the faces whose attention was focused on the short but powerful figure speaking to them. I realized all of them, regular humans in a realm full of dangerous monsters and who lived in fear of them, probably took comfort in the lectures of those with strong convictions such as Eiki. At first, I thought about all those in Tokyo, and the rest of the world really, who would rather let others make decisions for them, and live their lives in complacency and ignorance. These people were different. They actually needed people to rely on to help defend them from not only the physical threats the youkai posed, but the mental strain of living in fear, as well. All of them were hard-working, having none of the conveniences of the Outside, and took nothing for granted. So their draw to strong leaders was different from those in Tokyo mindlessly throwing their support behind Shido.

That being said, I knew I still wanted to inspire them to overcome their fear on their own strength of will. That's what Ren would do, after all.

After she was done, the crowd dispersed as before, and she set her box aside for later use.

"That was a great speech," I complimented. "I'll make sure to keep it in mind, when I'm leading my team through our Metaverse adventures."

"I'm glad you thought so," Eiki said. "To be honest, if my speeches inspire even just one person to live a pious life, that's one less soul I have to sentence to Hell in the future." She looked at me. "You realize you have a long road ahead of you if you are to minimally avert Hell, much less pass on to Heaven, is that correct?"

I looked down. "I do. I resolved, when I came here, to redefine myself, and avoid making the mistakes I did out there. I realize now my past is no excuse for the rampage I went on to get revenge on a society I felt had neglected me."

Eiki nodded. "Admitting your crimes is the first step toward redemption, because it shows you have remorse for them and recognize that they were wrong. Too many sinners never make it past that step, because when one is overcome with desire and impulse it blinds them to that simple fact. The second step is resolving to overcome the heavy burden of those sins, because it shows that you intend to become a better person no matter the challenge, and not give into hopelessness that you cannot ever redeem yourself." She paused, then said, "I of course won't tell you exactly how long you would be spending in Hell, but you have just cut perhaps a decade off of your sentence, were I to condemn you today. I would also argue that changing all those wicked hearts, and steering them toward the light, has also helped your case. That said, you still have countless murders and psychotic breakdowns to your name, and so you will need to work much harder from now on to accrue enough virtues to outweigh them."

I bowed. "I promise I will continue to not sin. I am a changed man here in Gensokyo."

"Then, go out there and change the world. I'll be in Higan if you need me."

"Thank you, Shiki-sama." We parted ways, and I worked for Masato for the rest of the day.


2/17

godlygeneral: Good afternoon, Crow. My master was wondering if you would be interested in coming over to visit today.

pancakeman: I would be delighted.

godlygeneral: Shall I come to you and accompany you through the forest?

pancakeman: Absolutely.

Mamiko guided me to Alice's cottage, where dolls whizzed around taking care of landscaping chores including removing the snow from the roof. Alice greeted us at the door, and led me inside, where a freshly-brewed cup of tea lay waiting for me.

"Thank you for coming over," Alice said to me.

"I'm glad to be here," I said, sipping tea, "but I must ask what the occasion is."

Alice smiled. "Well, you did say you wanted to learn how to bake from me, but you haven't actually come over to do that yet. So, today is your first baking lesson!"

I thought for a moment, and then realized. "Ah, yes, that's right."

"I completely understand, though, for not coming over. You've been quite busy lately."

"Yes I have," I said. "Very busy."

"Alright. Now then, let's get you in an apron, and get to baking."

Today's recipe was a strawberry cake. Alice had already taken out all of the ingredients and walked me through the process of putting them together. As we did, she took the time to explain the importance of each step to me. In particular, she stressed the importance of weighing the ingredients, rather than using measuring cups, since flour and baking powder could all compress, she said. Supposedly, that's how Outside bakers measured their ingredients. Another trick she showed me was cracking the eggs, quickly but carefully, against a flat surface rather than on the edge of a bowl; no shell fragments got inside the egg this way. She conjured a "practice egg" for me to try out this technique. It took me a few tries, but I eventually got used to the motion, and could crack the egg without breaking it. After that, she let me use the real eggs, and I cracked them and mixed them into the batter perfectly.

Once all the ingredients, the flour, the eggs, the oil and the sugar were together and thoroughly mixed, Alice poured it into a cake pan, and walked me over to the oven, which she had preheated beforehand. Rather than insert it directly while wearing potholders, she instead slid the cake pan in using something called a "peel," which she explained she did in order to avoid burns. Once the cake was in and the oven door shut, we started on something I didn't think we'd do until the end: clean up all the tools, the mixing bowl, and the counters. Alice told me that if the cake was going to take tens of minutes to bake, then we might as well use the time making things nice and tidy, and making sure nothing sweet was left out, lest the rodents and ants descend upon it. Once that was all done, we stayed by the oven and watched it, until the cake was ready to come out of it, as indicated by its fluffy, golden exterior.

About 45 minutes after it went in, the cake was ready, and we took it out and set it on the counter to cool for a bit, before Alice came out with creamy frosting and strawberries to decorate it with. She showed me how to apply the frosting over the cake, and how to carefully place the strawberries so that they were in a perfect circle, and so that each slice would have exactly one strawberry on it. And with that, the cake was ready to eat. Alice had me brew more tea, which I had gotten much better at doing with Masato's guidance. I had gained a 'feel' for how long the tea leaves should be steeped for in order to get just the right balance of flavor and caffeination, and after a taste-test Alice told me that I was already almost as good as she was.

We sat down at the table, with a fresh pot of tea in the middle, and each of the three of us with a slice of cake on a small silver plate with an equally dainty dessert fork with which to eat it.

I took the first bite, and was quite pleased. "It's delicious," I said.

"I've been baking cakes for decades," Alice said. "I have it down to both a science and an art at this point. The tea you made is quite good, though, as I said before."

"Thank you." I took a sip. "Out there, we of course drink quite a lot of traditional tea, and I knew several places that served quite good tea that changed with the season. But there's another type of tea which has recently started gaining popularity in Japan, a recipe imported from the Southern United States, where it's apparently the 'official drink.' They simply refer to it as 'sweet tea.'"

"'Sweet Tea?'" Alice asked. "Isn't that just tea with sugar stirred in? Anyone can do that."

"I've been told it's quite different than that," I explained. "The sugar, a fair amount of it, is stirred in at the time of brewing, then the pitcher of tea is put inside the fridge to cool before drinking."

Alice winced. "That's… that sounds way too sweet, so sweet I can't imagine you could even taste the tea anymore. And they drink it cold?"

"It… doesn't sound very appealing, I'll admit, and to be fair I didn't know many people personally who liked it, but I quite enjoyed it myself on hot, summer days. I'm told that summer days in most of the States get very hot, especially in the South where it's also humid and muggy, so iced tea, sweet or not sweet, is much more popular than regular hot tea."

"Well… to each their own, I suppose. My tea will always be hot and bitter, the way it was intended to be." She took a sip. "I'm sure Marisa would love that stuff, though. That girl loves her sweets, her and Reimu both. It's a small miracle they don't get pudgy and have rotting teeth. Although, then again, outside of fish they're both basically vegetarians, but I'm sure in Reimu's case that's because she can't afford meat, so that leaves calories to spare, I guess."

I sighed wistfully. "Ah yes. The ability to eat sweets and never get fat. I'm certain we'd all like to have the luxury." I turned to Mamiko. "How is the cake?"

"The cake is quite good," she said. "Alice-sama is a great baker. I wish I were as proficient as her, but I only know how to make certain kinds of food."

Alice smiled. "It's not the kind I used to usually have, but your cooking is some of the best I've ever tasted. But I can show you some of my favorite recipes if you want to learn them."

"I would appreciate it."

Before I left, Alice said she wanted to show me something in the Metaverse, so I used the key to take us all to Ethos. Mamiko stood guard for any shadows while me and Alice talked.

"What is it that you wanted to show me?" I asked her.

Alice smirked. "You'll see." She closed her eyes, held out her hand, and whispered, "...Persona." A Priestess card materialized and floated down, which she crushed in her hand. From her hand, wisps of light blue energy shot outward, then recombined behind her, steadily forming a humanoid entity wearing Egyptian-styled clothes, goat hooves for feet, multiple arms, wrapping around its chest, and with the head of a ram, holding its hands outward.

I stood back, and took a moment to realize: somehow, Alice had awakened a Persona.

"Impressive… so you have awakened a Persona of your own…"

"I'm still not quite sure how exactly it happened. One night, I had a dream where I met a figure that looked like me, my 'shadow.' She chastised me regarding my various weaknesses and faults, then asked me what it was I truly sought. I told her that I had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, about the world and now about the Metaverse in particular, a whole realm full of secrets that I, a magician, would be a fool not to uncover. Then, she offered me a contract: accept my faults, and strive to overcome them, and she would be the power I needed to do all of that. I accepted; the next day I woke up with a rainbow key next to my bed, and when I tried entering the Metaverse, I awakened my Persona for the first time."

"I see," I said. "Your shadow visited you in a dream, and lent you its power."

"Indeed." She looked back at her Persona. "It's called 'Sia,' after the Egyptian personification of knowledge. It's not a fighting Persona; instead, it lets me assimilate all the stray thoughts and shadows in the vicinity, letting me analyze them, document them, and study them. It's a bit different from the Persona you all have, which sound like they were all awakened in response to a resolve to crush injustices in the world."

"Different Personas have different abilities, which are determined not just by their users' personalities but also their motivations. In your case, your Persona awakened in response to your thirst for knowledge and desire to learn about the collective unconscious. Your method of calling it forth is also unique, perhaps for the same reason."

Alice thought for a moment. "I see… so my Persona is a manifestation of my quest for knowledge."

"That's right," I nodded. "Should your motivation and resolve ever change, then your Persona will change along with it, such as into one which helps you fight."

"Well, it isn't a fighter, but it can defend itself to some extent." She then had Sia demonstrate Agi, Bufu, and Zio. "It doesn't have its own attacks; instead, it remembers everything we see an enemy do. So as long as we keep going out, seeing new things, and studying the human heart, we grow stronger together." She swept out her arm. "That is my resolve as a magician."

I smirked. "Well then, perhaps one day you'll make a fine addition to the team. How about this: we'll leave the door open for you, and when you're ready, we'll welcome you in."

Alice smiled. "I'll think about it." She turned to Mamiko. "In the meantime, take care of this one for me."

"I'm holding my own quite well, Alice-sama," Mamiko said. "I am a fighter by nature, after all. I'll guard you and serve your will until the end."

"Thank you, Mamiko," Alice said.


2/18

aburaage: Are you available for spell card practice?

pancakeman: I am. Would you like me to come over after lunch?

aburaage: If you could, that would be nice.

pancakeman: Then, I will come over.

I came up to the shrine later that day. Reimu was out front, sweeping away some fallen branches from the shrine path.

"Good afternoon," I said.

Reimu looked up. "Oh, hello! You snuck up on me!"

"I apologize, I didn't mean to." I looked around. "Is it just you today?"

"Well, yeah. The fairies are all playing someplace, and the prisoner is sleeping, so it's pretty quiet. There's no incidents going on, either. So, I thought I'd break it up by inviting you up so we can continue your training."

"I dueled my first opponent other than you a few days ago," I said.

"...oh?"

"Yes. Seiran, one of the guards at Eientei. We had a spar, and I came out on top."

"Hmm… I see, I see," Reimu nodded. "I remember her from the incident a couple years ago when we went to the Moon to stop the Lunar invasion. She was a small-time, and barely knew how to use spell cards at all." She smiled. "Still, challenging someone cold and still winning. More than I would expect from someone so new to using spell cards. You're certainly coming along; if you train more, I'm sure you could challenge tougher opponents in no time!"

I chuckled. "Well, perhaps. I've been experimenting with my spell cards in my spare time, and have created others related to the other Arcana."

"The other Arcana?" Reimu asked.

"Yes. I've found I've been most easily able to create spell cards based on the various Arcana, much like how all of my Personas are categorized. Actually, each card features a Persona which I have fused previously, and I've found I can change the Persona represented by that card, which alters its properties. And, there's also something I want you to help me test out, because I've been thinking about it for the past few days since that duel."

Reimu nodded. "Understood. Now then, shall we begin?"

High in the air above the Shrine, away from where any stray bullets could damage it, we floated in place, facing each other.

"Alright," Reimu said. "So, for today's practice, we're going to use the 'three and you're out' rules. That way, you can get extra combat experience without having to keep track of broken cards."

"Understood," I nodded. "If I may, though, can I make a request?"

"What is it?" Reimu asked.

"I want you to start with your 'Fantasy Seal' attack. That will help me answer the question I've been wondering about."

"Hmm… alright," she said. Then, without warning, she held out her gohei and her yin-yang orb started orbiting her rapidly, while a flurry of sealing amulets and bullets shot out from behind her. "Spirit Sign: 'Fantasy Seal!'"

I had to admit: Reimu's ruthlessness and decisiveness even in a training spar was quite impressive to behold. But, I only had a couple moments, so without hesitation, I cast out my own spell card to counter it.

"Justice Sign: 'Guardian of Heaven!'" A holographic Justice card spun around from behind, then turned into an Archangel which fired out arrows of light which met and intercepted the sealing amulets; I then charged forward and shot laser bullets from my gun. As expected, some of the bullets from Reimu's attack struck me, but like Seiran's 'gun' attacks from before, they too simply dissipated, allowing me to close the distance and strike Reimu directly.

"Wha-huh? H-how did you just plow through-"

I smirked. "Just as I thought." Before I could explain, Reimu rebounded and struck me with her needles, forcing me to pull back. We continued our duel, and at one point Reimu used a different spell card, but rather than respond to it with my own I simply stuck to regular shots and tanked it. After a while, I got some more hits in, and the match was mine.

As we touched back down, Reimu caught her breath, then asked me, in an accusatory tone, "what was that? My attacks did nothing against you!"

I chuckled. "It seems my hypothesis was correct."

"...what…hypothesis?" she asked.

"It would appear that my Personas' defensive attributes carry over into the real world when I use them in a spell card duel," I explained.

"...what do you mean?"

"Let me explain: when I fought Seiran, I used a card depicting Berith, and afterwards her 'gun' spell cards had no effect. It didn't come to me until a couple of nights later, but I remembered that Berith nullifies Gun attacks in the Metaverse, so using it in the real world caused me to block attacks which are 'gun' themed. In other words, I start each duel off 'neutral,' then as I use different spell cards my defensive properties are altered based on my most recently used card. In this case, your 'Fantasy Seal' attack counted as a Bless attack for the purpose of this gimmick, and since Archangel nullifies Bless attacks normally, that caused it to have no effect."

Reimu looked flabbergasted. "Okay, so, that's… so what you're saying is that you can counter a person's entire strategy based on the cards you use?"

"It would appear so," I nodded.

Reimu stood there, silent, as she contemplated this. "...well, that's…" She chuckled. "To think that I, the Spell Card System's creator, would see them behave in a way I've never seen. You truly are unique. I'll have to keep your cheaty little trick in mind as I devise an answer for our next duel." She smiled. "Although… When we're resolving incidents, I don't think your opponents are going to figure your little trick out before you've beaten them. It'll be a big boon for us if and when the next incident comes."

"Indeed," I said. "Of course, I'll have to correctly guess their attack properties first. Not the easiest thing when hundreds of lasers are flying right at you. And I haven't seen what attacks striking my Personas' weaknesses would do yet."

"We can test that out next time, if you want," Reimu said. "You can't duel effectively if you don't know how your own cards work, after all."

"Of course not," I said.

Reimu stretched her arms out. "Well, I gotta get ready to head down and bless another house here in a bit, so we'll have to wrap up for today."

"May I accompany you?" I offered.

Reimu tensed up. "...er, sure, if you're going back down that way." So we went down toward the house together, then I went home, designed some more cards, checked for any messages, then had dinner and went to bed.