Chapter 53 – Storm over Kazemura
It all started subtly, by the end of year 124, when the first group of fairies attacked the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Ever since then, the attacks have repeated with increasing intensity, always stemming from the same direction – the northeastern corner of Gensokyo. What was first viewed as a mere nuisance, became an anomaly. An anomaly became a threat, and a threat grew into a wide-scale incident that has spread over one half of the small fantasy world, sealed by a powerful barrier. Over the course of 4 months, the rampaging fairies have caused a lot of damage and threatened many lives. However, the ones who suffered the most from this incident… were the fairies themselves. The most common youkai in Gensokyo became shunned, feared and hated, when in fact; they were the victims of something more sinister.
What it was like to live in fear and to be feared at the same time was already well known even to the three fairies of light. Their home was already once destroyed by a forest fire, caused by their own kind. They even had to go through death and rebirth. But despite their small frames, simple minds, childish naivety and humble physical and magical prowess, the fairies were actually very strong creatures. Similarly to humans, or perhaps even better than them, the fairies can quickly adapt and easily cope with even the worst of hardships in short time.
Sunny, Luna and Star have moved not too far away from their previous home. They lived in a treetop close to the Hakurei Shrine. Their relationship with the local shrine maiden was two-sided even before the so-called Fairy Incident broke out. On one hand, the miko was often the favorite target of many of their fairy pranks, but on the other hand, they also feared her retribution.
Today, as any normal day, the three little winged youkai have started a debate on whom to prank and how.
"Hey, how about we painted over the sign on that miko's donation box and turned it into "no donations allowed"?" Sunny suggested an idea as the leader of the trio.
"I'm afraid that in order to do that, Sunny," Star finished the tea in her cup, "you'd first need to know how to read and write. Besides, why does it always have to be the shrine maiden?"
A flustered grimace appeared on Sunny's face. "Well…. You don't know how to read or write either~. And the shrine maiden is the nearest human around." she tried to justify her choice of target.
"Hey, doesn't Cirno-chan know how to read and write?" the third fairy – Luna recalled.
"That's right~!" Sunny clenched her fist lightly out of excitement. "She knows~!"
"Though I'd still prefer to simply sneak into Reimu's shrine and steal all her coffee beans." Luna added in quiet mutter as she didn't want to invoke an argument with the sunlight fairy.
"Except that Reimu doesn't drink coffee." the dark-haired Star Sapphire pointed out. "And do you seriously want to go all the way to Cirno's place, just so we could drag her here again and have her change the sign on the donation box? We might as well prank Cirno instead. Less flying that way…"
"Aww, what's wrong with you, Star?" Sunny asked her. "We're trying to come up with ideas, but you just keep brushing them off. Well then, why don't you suggest something?"
"Hm-hm-hmm~!" Star closed her eyes and stretched out her chest while giggling smugly. "I may have an idea…"
"Oh, let's hear it then!" Luna's wings twitched with impatience.
But instead of answering, Star suddenly stood up and flew out of their dwelling through an opened window.
"Hey, Star-chan~! Wait~!" Luna followed suit and gave chase to her friend.
"Seriously…" Sunny shook her head in disapproval, but then, as if the cheerful, carefree behavior of her friends was contagious, she took flight as well and hurried to catch up with the other two. "I'll catch you~! Hahaha~!"
Once outside, the black-haired fairy landed on the ground, soon rejoined with her two fair-haired comrades.
"Geez, Star… Tell us your idea already~!" Luna kept circling around her in anticipation.
"I'm also curious to hear if it's at least a little better than what I suggested." said Sunny.
After teasing her friends with making them wait, Star finally pointed her finger in the approximate direction of the Forest of Magic. "Let's go play in the sunflower field~!"
Luna stopped her flight so suddenly; it almost looked as if she hit some unseen solid object.
"…what?"
Sunny blinked twice as she processed the thought. "Sunflowers are so pretty~."
"But Star…" Luna didn't really like the idea. "…what do you want to go there for? There's nothing for us to do there."
"Sunflowers, sunflowers~!" Sunny began to sing merrily, ignoring the conversation between Luna and Star. Of course, a sunlight fairy would love anything relating to the source of her power.
Meanwhile, Star continued to explain her plan. "We'll pick some sunflowers and scatter their petals to create a trail… leading all the way to the Hakurei Shrine~!"
Despite the hot summer weather, Luna suddenly got goosebumps just thinking about it. "Star-chan… You've got a really dangerous idea."
"What did you say about my shrine?" a stranger's voice asked out of nowhere.
"KYAAAAAAAAH~!" the three fairies let out a synchronous scream. "It's the miko~! Ruuuun~!"
"I knew that they had their favorite hangout spot around here somewhere." Reimu smugly gestured at the fleeing trio of fairies with her gohei.
"And it looks like we just caught them in the middle of something." Marisa, who was already seated on her broom, started the pursuit.
Reimu took a pair of her amulets and struck them in midair with the gohei. The charms grew in size and as they began to rotate, they darted after the escaping little youkai A few seconds later, the homing amulets did their job and rendered the moonlight fairy immobilized on the ground.
"That takes care of one…" muttered Reimu nonchalantly as she slowly hovered over to the place where Luna disappeared in the tall grass.
"Oh… ouch… what was that?" Luna didn't even know what hit her. But by the time she regained her senses, a dark shadow projected by Reimu loomed over her.
"Aaaah~! I didn't do anything~! I swear~!" she covered her face with her arms.
But to her surprise, the miko extended her hand towards her. The confused fairy didn't know how to react.
"Or perhaps you like lying there in the grass." the girl in red and white stated in order to prompt the fairy to hurry up and grab her hand.
Finally, Luna got the hint, but her puzzlement didn't shrink at all. "What's going on?" she gazed unintelligibly at the miko. "First you shoot me down and now you're acting like we're best friends?"
"I just came here to talk. It was YOU who started running away." Reimu answered and just as Luna was about to take her hand, she retracted it. "And if you have the strength to talk, surely you have enough strength to stand up on your own."
"Talk?" Luna slowly stood up and dusted off her white dress that was now stained green after the fall into the grass. "A-about what?"
"Oh, I'll tell you… As soon as the rest of your friends get rounded up."
While Reimu was dealing with Luna, there were still two mischievous fairies on the loose.
"You'll never take us aliiiiive~!" Sunny shouted resolutely as she propelled herself across the meadow as fast as possible. Star was in close tandem, hoping that Sunny would know of a better hiding spot.
"Quick, we'll hide in that hedge over there~." she navigated her partner. She was just about to take a dive into the mentioned hedge, when another human popped up from behind it.
"How, ya doin'?" Marisa grinned evilly with the mini Hakkero in her hand.
"Oh, no, Star! We're trapped! What do we do now? Star…?" only now the golden-haired fairy noticed that Star Sapphire was no longer with her.
"Now, now… You don't want to complicate it for yourself by trying to run, do you?" the witch asked her while aiming her mini furnace at Sunny's face.
Before she decided whether she should surrender to her, or to risk it and try to run, Marisa caught her with her with her free hand.
"Remember the night of the festival?" she started with an off-topic question. Instead of a response, the fairy was only struggling to free herself from the human's grip.
"Remember what Patchouli said that night?" Marisa put a more specific question.
"Let me goooo~! Luna~! Star~! Heeeeelp~!"
"She said that it would be good to have some fairy specimens in order to better understand the way this incident manifests itself." Marisa answered the question in her stead. "That's right, little one… Today we're going to do a little sightseeing, hehehehe~."
Star figured that like so many times before, when their pranks failed and backfired, it was again her who was the last fairy uncaught. Sensing that her friends were already in a helpless situation, she made a dash into the woods, hoping that the human intruders would not follow her there. She was right. The humans didn't give chase…
"Well, well, if it isn't one of our lovely patients from the rehabilitation ward~." a chillingly sweet voice made Star's little heart skip a beat. A moment later, a certain Lunarian stepped out from behind one of the trees, bow and arrow ready in her hands.
"Huh? Y-you're… Eirin-sensei…"
"Oh, I remember you." a second female voice sounded from behind the fairy. Star made a 180 degree turn and spotted another familiar face.
"You are a cute one~." Kaguya Houraisan, once taking the role of a temporary nurse, now dressed in her typical daily attire, slowly descended down from the treetops. "A princess fairy… You do look a bit like me."
While both Lunarians spoke calmly and didn't appear to have hostile intentions, Star felt a menacing aura from both of them.
No longer than two minutes have passed before Star got reunited with her friends. Now the trio of pranksters was surrounded by an unusual team of humans and Lunarians and Reimu started explaining the whole situation to them.
"We don't want to go to Kazemura~!" the leader of the fairies protested.
"Patchouli said she would need just one fairy specimen, so the three of you can decide who's going to go with us. Willingly or otherwise. You've got ten seconds."
"W-wa-what~?! Then I think Star should go. She always slips off the hook when we get into trouble." Sunny started to negotiate.
"No way~!" Star obviously didn't like her decision. "Sunny should go. She's always so eager. And most of the pranks are her idea. I say she's the perfect specimen for you."
The two fairies in question started a heated argument.
So it was one vote against the other and now the burden of decision rested on Luna's shoulders. "I… I… "
"Time's up!" the Hakurei shrine maiden cut her off before she managed to stutter out the answer. "Pick one of your friends who will go with us to Kazemura OR volunteer yourself and become a martyr in their eyes. Otherwise we'll take all three of you."
"Then I volunteer myself!" the blonde fairy with spiral hairstyle shouted an unexpected reply.
"Eh~?" Sunny opened her mouth.
"Luna?"
"I don't want to see Sunny-chan and Star-chan arguing. That's why… that's why I'm going with you to Kazemura, so they wouldn't have to!"
"Great, that's settled then." Reimu stated emotionlessly. She took Luna's wrist into a tight grip and pulled her away from her two friends. "The two of you can go home."
"But… this IS our home…" Sunny uttered, still in bewilderment from Luna's courageous decision.
With her back turned at the two remaining fairies, Reimu made a saluting gesture as she walked away. "Then have a nice day."
Eirin, Kaguya and Marisa followed the shrine maiden and her captive back to Hakurei Shrine, leaving Star and Sunny alone in their meadow with plenty of time to think about what just happened.
"Star…" Sunny spoke after a long while. Her breaths were loud and heavy due to her accelerated heartbeat. She didn't know what shocked her more - the shrine maiden's sudden ambush or Luna's choice.
With a serious face and a tear rolling down her cheek she turned her face at her dark-haired friend. "Luna-chan is…" she sniffed loudly as more tears began welling up in her eyes. "Luna-chan is… gone!" she cried out and buried her face in her palms.
Star wasn't happy about the outcome of the situation either, and she too was on the verge of crying, but since Sunny had already beaten her to it, at least she wanted to be the calmer one.
"Sunny-chan… Come on… Don't cry."
"They've taken Luna away~!"
"Sunny, listen… Luna did it for us."
"She did it because she didn't want to see us arguing~!" Sunny uttered through her sobs. "Star-chan… I just feel so terrible right now!"
"She did what she thought was the best for us all." Star tried to comfort Sunny's heartache even if she felt a great deal of pain and guilt herself.
"Now they'll drag her to Kazemura!" the sunlight fairy's laments continued. "She'll become just like those crazy fairies that destroyed our home! Just like when… I did… that time… in Alice-san's home…."
"We have no choice but to trust the miko and hope that she's doing the right thing."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH~! I WANT LUNA BAAAACK, STAR-CHAN~!" a heart-wrenching cry echoed over the meadow. "I WISH I COULD TRADE MY LIFE FOR HERS! I WISH I DIDN'T START ARGUING WITH YOU, STAR-CHAN~!"
This was too much for even the calmer of the two fairies to take.
"Sunnyyyyy~!" she burst into tears, fell on her knees and embraced her. "I'm so sorry… It's just as you said… I'm the one who almost always gets away when you get caught! I'm a coward! And I only think about myself while I'm leaving you two behind… Friends shouldn't do that… Good friends… shouldn't do that. If I could take back those shameful moments… and stay there with you… while you were getting punished. AND TAKE THE SAME PUNISHMENT AS YOU DID! Luna is a much better fairy than I am! I should have gone with the miko, NOT HER!"
"Star-chan…" Sunny tightened her embrace around her. "Do you think… Do you think that Luna hates us? Do you think we can still make things right?"
"Perhaps we should have all come with her… Together forever… no matter what."
"Star-chan…" the sunlight fairy spoke again after releasing the embrace and wiping the tears off her eyes.
"What is it?"
"If I told you that I have an idea… would you listen to me?"
"W-what are you talking about?" the teary-eyed Star tilted her head to the side.
"I… I want to go there…To Kazemura. I want to follow them all. Even if the evil fairies attack us… Even if we will turn and become like them… I want us three to be together… And what happens after that? I don't care…"
"Sunny-chan… I… I'm with you!"
"Thank you, Star." a weak smile appeared on Sunny's face. Even her tears stopped leaking from her eyes and her heart became filled with enthusiasm, as if she was about to plan and execute the prank of her life. "There's still some time… Here's what we'll do…"
"Ah, what a great timing." said Reimu when she noticed Remilia, Sakuya as well as Yuyuko and Youmu already waiting at her shrine. Keine, Suika and Akyuu stayed behind to keep them company. "I guess that means we can set out."
"But where's Patchouli?" Remilia asked as she didn't notice the sorceress among the girls that escorted Reimu.
"Good afternoon, Reimu-san~." Yuyuko gave a proper polite greeting.
"Spare the pleasantries." the miko cut her off and turned to the vampire, who was hiding from the sun under a large pinkish parasol. "Believe it or not, your friend went off to the Youkai Mountain all by herself to recruit Sanae and the two goddesses into her team. She told us not to wait for her and head straight to Kazemura, but… I wonder if she's alright. Maybe the tengu have made an example for trespassers out of her."
"Shouldn't we first check the mountain then?" asked the Scarlet Devil.
"And waste even more time? No. We'll just act as though Patchouli did well and fly to Kazemura. If she won't be there, then SOMEONE will have to go and check the Youkai Mountain." Reimu's gaze trailed off to Marisa.
"Why am I always picked as that "someone"?" pouted the blonde.
"Alright, everyone ready~?" the shrine maiden called out loudly so that all could hear her.
"Reimu, wait." Remilia halted her suddenly.
"Hm? What is it now?"
The blue-haired vampire girl opened her palm and drew a small circle on it with her finger.
"What?" Reimu didn't get her pantomime.
She then pointed at the ornamented wooden box standing on a small table in Reimu's shrine. The one where she kept various mementos of her past and various odds and ends that had great sentimental value to her.
Now Reimu understood what Remilia was trying to say. "The amulet? You really think I should take it with me?"
A double nod with a cute smile came as a positive response from the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
"Well, if you say so…" Reimu tentatively walked up to her little treasure chest, unlocked it and took the small medallion by the chain. After a while of hesitation, she put it around her neck and hid it well under her dress. "Alright. Does anyone else have anything to say, or can we get moving already?"
"Let's go, ze~!" Marisa was already itching to go. She took flight and so did the rest of the girls, heading off to the distant quarry settlement known as Kazemura.
"Uh-umm…" little Akyuu waved her palm over her head desperately as the girls left her behind. "Excuse me~!"
"And up we go~!" a pair of arms enveloped the little chronicler from behind and lifted her into the air.
"Waaaah~!" the surprised girl let out a scream. "S-Saigyouji-sama?"
"How rude of those girls to forget this lovely child here~." Yuyuko's soft voice sang into Akyuu's ear. "Don't worry, I won't drop you."
The ghostly princess tightly held her in her arms as she followed the other girls in flight to currently one of the most dangerous parts of Gensokyo.
From a nearby thicket of trees, the two hidden fairies watched as a group led by the miko and the witch flew overhead.
Sunny silently nodded at Star, giving her the "go" signal. The two of them took off and kept a low profile, flying below the treetops. A long, difficult and risky flight awaited them, but their decision was firm. Despite fearing the risk of encountering some of the crazed fairies during their flight to the northeastern Gensokyo, Star and Sunny pressed on. Occasionally, Sunny would pop her head up from the trees, to check their heading. Of course, since they had to proceed with caution, move stealthily and avoid hundreds of trees, they couldn't keep up with Reimu and her company, but they at least knew how to get to the mining village.
"Do you sense any suspicious movement, Star?" Sunny asked her partner, referring to Star's unique ability to sense all living creatures in a wide radius around her. Much like a magic detector that could pick up traces of mana from magical objects and beings, Star could detect life force and even learn the approximate size of the creature and its movement. But that's as much as her divination allowed her to see. For example, she could still confuse a crouching human with a lurking wolf or a large bird with another fairy.
"No, the coast looks clear." she whispered her answer back to Sunny. They kept stopping every couple of meters when Star detected some new living entity and remained motionless until Star confirmed that it was safe to go on. And whenever Sunny scouted and checked the course, she relied on her innate ability to bend the sunlight, which could even make her invisible. However, her power was weaker in areas with lack of sunlight and rain also rendered her light-bending useless.
"Oh, no… This doesn't look good, Star-chan." she shook her head disappointedly at the clouded sky. "Looks like there will be rain today. Maybe even a storm."
"How much further to Kazemura?" came the starlight fairy's question from below.
"Not too far. A couple of more minutes and we're there."
The end of the forest was no further than a few hundred meters ahead, followed by vast grasslands, stretching several kilometers, and there, in the distance, the road that snaked uphill and disappeared in a pine forest… the road to Kazemura. The fairies followed the trail, and in approximately 15 minutes, they arrived at their destination.
"I can't believe we're actually here." Sunny muttered as she poked her head out from the treetops.
"Wasn't following those girls your idea?" Star pointed out and also gave in to her curiosity and took a peek at the small settlement and the large quarry nestled in the middle of a mountain pass.
"Yeah, but still… Oh, that group must be the miko and her gang." she pointed at the center of the large oval pit of the quarry. "Luna-chan must be there with them too. Let's take a closer look."
They glided over to the edge of the quarry pit, hiding behind a large rock and spying on the group of girls, which was now larger than the one they followed…
"Wow~!" Marisa didn't hide her awe as she observed the whole quarry. "Look how deep this pit has become! When were we here last time? A month ago? It must be at least three meters deeper than before… Those yama-bito sure made some progress, ze…"
The quarry has indeed changed significantly as the local yama-bito spent over 30 days of hard work in attempt to uncover the site's mysteries. The pit was not only deeper, but also wider and several of the houses were relocated due to its expansion. To move the excess soil and rocks out of the pit more efficiently, the youkai populace of this village has devised a system of ramps and slopes that provided easy and relatively comfortable access to the center of the excavation. They've even established a series of small channels connected to a basin at the edge of the quarry pit to help them drain the unwanted water after rain or from underground reservoirs. But apart from the simple, yet ingenious solutions to their quarry access and water drainage, the most interesting part were the uncovered ruins. Even now, dozens of yama-bito prospectors were busily digging and carrying away the dirt, leaving the elder and the wiser members of the village with analyzing the monuments.
"Those obelisks sure look impressive." Alice commented the unearthed part of the ruins. Six tall ornamented obelisks jutted from the ground, indicating that the monuments were even larger then what met the eye. And in the further end of the pit, between the last pair of obelisks stood a cylindrical tower-like construction that had domed roof, but no doors or windows could be seen yet. Whatever this group of structures was, its purpose was not yet clear to anyone.
"So you're actually here. I thought you wouldn't make it even to the Youkai Mountain." Reimu looked a little impressed when she saw Patchouli sitting on a crate in an improvised tent that consisted of several wooden poles stuck into the ground and a large blanket stretched on top as a roof. She appeared to be writing something into a journal.
"Ah, just about time." she put away the journal and the quill and stood up to welcome all the members of her expedition team. "Welcome to the Kazemura excavation site."
"Uhh… yes, this isn't the first time we're here, Patchy." Remilia pointed out. "Could you move on to the point, please?"
The sorceress remained silent for a while, as if agitated from being interrupted, but she continued with no change in tone or expression. "Very well… The Fairy Incident. Please, everyone gather around and step up closer~!" she called out and fired a small, harmless explosive fire bolt into the air to get attention of everyone in the quarry. Not just the girls took a step closer, but also some of the elder villagers.
"Well, I should have guessed I'd see you here as well." Sanae Kochiya, the shrine maiden of the Moriya Shrine just landed in the quarry pit, accompanied by the shrine's two deities. Her words were addressed to none other than Reimu, though she looked surprised to see the other girls from all over Gensokyo. The two goddesses, however, looked as though they expected this gathering a long time ago.
"Hello, Sanae." Reimu greeted her informally and rather indifferently.
"So… was your shrine attacked too?" the green-haired miko asked her out of sheer curiosity.
"Hm? No… Are you saying that yours was?" Sanae's question unsettled Reimu. "I thought my regular patrols around these parts would prevent further attacks."
"That's right. The fairies have come in a small swarm and started attacking the shrine. At first I thought that a hailstorm has started when I heard the racket."
"But it was no hailstorm." added Kanako. "Though I can feel that we're going to have an intense downpour today. I hope you all packed your umbrellas with you."
"Anyway," Sanae continued, "the fairies behaved very peculiarly. As soon as we went outside to take a look, they started attacking us. But not all at once… They simply attacked by small waves, like they just wanted to provoke us or something. A few minutes later, the tengu guards arrived. Then the fairies decided they were more interesting than the three of us and our shrine. It was like they intentionally wanted to provoke a fight and then lose it."
For Sanae, this was the first time she had to deal with possessed fairies, but Reimu still had the epic battle against a seemingly unstoppable fairy swarm in fresh memory. What concerned the Hakurei shrine maiden the most was the fact that the aerial distance from Kazemura to the Moriya Shrine was about the same as the distance from this village to the Hakurei Shrine.
Sanae gave Reimu a friendly tap on her shoulder. "You should be glad that your shrine is still unharmed. Aya-san told me this wasn't anything new to her…"
"What? Aya is here too?"
"She got here shortly after us along with five other girls. She said the attacks have started months ago, only that they've never reached the mountain yet. So I was wondering why someone hasn't done something about it yet. I just arrived here a while ago, but there is no mastermind to stop. No giant swarm of fairies to fight. But to see so many important figures gathering here…"
"I wouldn't say the words "giant fairy swarm" out loud in these parts." Marisa spoke in a hushed voice and shuddered at the thought. "They say it brings bad luck."
"The truth is, I've been stumbling in the dark as well." Reimu admitted while staring at the ground. "But now," she raised her head, "Patchouli says she's found out something, so… I can't wait to hear her out."
"Shhhh~!" the history teacher from the Human Village has hushed the chattering girls like she silenced a bunch of noisy kids during her class. "Patchouli-san is about to start the briefing."
As the expedition team became quiet, Patchouli cleared her throat and began her speech.
"I apologize for summoning you all to this village so suddenly, but the sooner we start acting, the sooner we can resolve this fairy problem."
"What have you learned, Patchy~?" Marisa impatiently shouted a question.
"Thanks to Yagokoro-sensei's findings we have learned that the aggressive behavior of the fairies is not caused by a drug, a disease, or a spell. The fairies… especially those living in this part of Gensokyo are for some reason being possessed by vengeful spirits."
The gathered crowd resonated with a mixture of murmurs and whispers. "But that's nothing new, Patch…" Remilia wanted to point out, but she was silenced by her maid.
"My lady… Please, let Patchouli-sama finish." It was almost as if their roles reversed for a moment.
"As you all well know," the purple-haired elementalist went on, "vengeful spirits are the restless souls of sinners confined to the Old Hell. Alternatively, a vengeful spirit is born when the body of the deceased is taken away by a youkai before the soul crosses the Sanzu River and receives judgement. These types of spirits can take possession of a living being and affect their behavior. There are records of humans being possessed by the onryou, but the ones who should fear these spirits the most are youkai, such as myself. While youkai mostly have strong physical bodies…"
"In that case, you don't have to worry, Patchy." Marisa jokingly muttered under her nose, poking fun at Patchouli's poor physical strength and constitution.
"…they have very fragile hearts." Patchouli finished the sentence. "While I found no records about this matter in my library, there's a highly possible theory that when a vengeful spirit possesses a youkai, it could completely overwrite their heart. The vengeful spirit would become the youkai's core. Essentially, it would be as if the former youkai died, leaving behind its living body possessed by the vengeful spirit. So remember that even though it's an unconfirmed theory, extreme caution should be exercised when dealing with vengeful spirits."
Patchouli's words have nearly caused a panic among those who heard them. But the sorceress herself seemed to be calm. And she was quick to explain why…
"However, there are certain entities that the vengeful spirits are afraid of in turn. Divine spirits, deities, the servants and vessels for these deities – the shrine maidens, and even certain youkai. Yes, as ironic as it sounds, there are youkai that the vengeful spirits fear, or are generally harmless to… I'm talking about the youkai that humanity has hated and feared so much, that they've chosen to live in exile in the underground. The satori race… This is the reason why I summoned you here, dear Komeiji sisters."
"When will the fun start, onee-chan~?" Koishi broke the silence of the crowd and got subsequently scolded by her older sister.
"Koishi, it's rude to interrupt someone when they talk. Even when I'm five sentences ahead of what she's saying…"
"Please, step right up." Patchouli called them to step out of the crowd. It took a while, as the mind reader hesitated, but in the end, she complied and took her sister by the hand.
"Just when the hell did she manage to call them up to the surface?" Reimu was in a state of utter puzzlement as she saw the two siblings from the underground standing by Patchouli's side.
"People and youkai of Kazemura~! Of Gensokyo~! We're facing times of trial and if we are to prevail, we must put aside our differences. The hatred that the satori have received is greatly undeserved and condemnable."
"Wow… That's some fancy speech, Patchy." Marisa lightly shook her head in amazement. "Have you been to the Temple of Myouren recently or something? Byakuren could learn a thing or two from that, ze…"
"Those who hate them categorically because they are youkai and because they can read minds are in essence sharing the same opinions as the vengeful spirits themselves. But those of you who know more about Gensokyo's history… those of you who have seen and experienced those times when these youkai were still sharing this piece of land with us and not living in underground like exiles… just how exactly have they been worse then your average "surface-dwelling youkai"? Even the vengeful spirits are viewed with less contempt than some of the underground's youkai. I could name other examples too. But I have digressed… My point is that I ask you not to fear these youkai, for they are not malevolent. They are the key in helping us rooting out and solving this incident just as much as the shrine maidens that you're all putting so much trust into."
The Komeiji sisters have bowed lightly to the whole crowd. "Treat us fairly and we will do the best we can to help."
Surprisingly the two sisters could sense just minimum of the hatred towards them that Patchouli spoke of. The small yama-bito community probably never even met a satori in their life to be able to have any biased opinions about them. In fact, some of the villagers have applauded to Patchouli's words.
"And since I introduced the Komeiji sisters, I also have to introduce their pet – Kaenbyou Rin. You might well remember the events of Subterranean Animism. The great geyser and the subsequent infestation of the geyser area by Old Hell's vengeful spirits… Merely a distress signal from below caused by this youkai cat… Her ability to communicate with these spirits is surely to be appreciated in our endeavor."
A flash of light appeared in the gathered crowd, and soon after that, a black cat with two tails ran over to the Komeiji sisters and curled around Satori's foot.
"Moving on," the librarian didn't want to waste much time with lengthy speeches, "as you have noticed, I have chosen perhaps a little bizarre combination of members for this expedition team, but know that each of you are here for a reason… Next, I would like to call up, Lady Saigyouji."
A small applause echoed over the quarry pit as the princess of the Netherworld levitated to Patchouli's side.
"Good afternoon, everyone~!" a simple wave of her hand and her smile already seemed to be taking its effect on some of the gathered villagers.
"Saigyouji-sama…."
"Call me Yuyuko~." she asked Patchouli to be less formal.
"Uhh… very well… Yuyuko-sama is also one of the most important members chosen for this team. Not only is she able to communicate with the spirits of the dead, but she can control these souls if she invokes death upon their living husk. This is an invaluable ability that I hope will bring us to the bottom of this spirit infestation."
"I'm looking forward to offering my humble assistance." the ghostly beauty bowed once more.
"Thank you very much." Patchouli reciprocated the polite gesture. "Next up, I'd like to bring your attention to the pair of tengu journalists, Shameimaru Aya-san and Himekaidou Hatate-san."
The two girls quickly landed in front of the librarian and exchanged a few provocative prods as they tried to overshadow one another.
"Thank you, and good day~! Shameimaru Aya here~! Please keep supporting the Bunbunmaru Newspaper~!"
"Hi-umph… Himekaidou Hatate is pleased to make your acquaintance~…Cut it out, Aya~! Ehehe… Anyway, don't forget to support the Kakashi Spirit News~."
Patchouli watched the two rival reporters with her mouth slightly ajar. "Uhh… aside from this little commercial insert, I'd like to point out that Aya-san is not officially a part of this team, but she insisted on coming with us and covering an article about our endeavors… However, Hatate-san's specialization – the spirit photography is going to be implemented as a part of our research to help us find the source of the vengeful spirits… Now I'd like to explain to all of you why we are even here of all places. What connects the fairy attacks and this village is the discovery of these ruins. The direct connection is yet to be confirmed, and for this reason, the core of this expedition team, which includes myself, Yagokoro-sensei, Kamishirasawa-sensei and Hieda-san will focus on direct archeological research of these uncovered structures. At the same time, I'd also like to thank the chief of this village as well as all its denizens for accommodation and an exceptional 24-hour access to both the quarry pit and the village's archives. Last but not least, I have to once again remind us all that this research is not going to be without risks and danger. I know that the village has been already attacked by the possessed fairies several times, and to cope with this constant threat, I had to come prepared… All those whom I didn't mention so far are also part of the force that will guarantee safety and order while the research is being conducted. Experienced specialists in youkai extermination, Hakurei Reimu, Kochiya Sanae, Kirisame Marisa. Loyal servants of their noble mistresses, Izayoi Sakuya and Konpaku Youmu. The goddesses of the Moriya Shrine, Yasaka Kanako-sama and Moriya Suwako-sama. The former Moon princess, Houraisan Kaguya-sama. The specialist in animation magic – Alice Margatroid. And finally, my close and long-time friend and a noble lady, Remilia Scarlet… It is a pleasure to be working with you all."
A deep bow from the sorceress concluded her introductory speech. What followed afterwards was a detailed division of tasks for each of the team members for the following days. When Reimu asked how long this research would take, Patchouli didn't give a straightforward answer, but she said that few days should be enough.
As the girls were discussing each of their tasks, Sanae noticed that the goddess of earth, Suwako was looking absentmindedly at the ground.
"Suwako-sama, what's the matter?"
"Haven't you noticed anything strange while standing here, Sanae?" the goddess with the body of a girl in early teens answered with a question.
"I sure have…" the second goddess replied instead of Sanae.
Sanae shifted her gaze from one to the other, having next to no clue about what they meant.
"The soil here…" Suwako spoke after a pause. "It's sullied by a strong negative energy."
"Not just the soil, but the air as well." Kanako added with a concerned frown.
"I don't sense anything." Sanae admitted while shrugging cluelessly. "Except that I feel a little sleepy. Must be because there's going to be rain…"
"I hate rain." murmured the annoyed vampire girl. As a vampire, she had a natural weakness to running water. "Maybe I should have stayed at the mansion after all."
"Don't worry, my lady," Sakuya comforted her, "I've seen the rooms in the local inn and they're not that terrible."
"Don't you sleep in a coffin anyways?" Marisa remarked jokingly. "If you could sleep well at the shrine during the festival, you'll surely make it through one rainy night here as well."
The truth behind Remilia's discontent was the fact that due to rain, she could hardly be of any help to the expedition team. Therefore, she wanted to confirm something before the weather would lull her to sleep.
"Reimu." she summoned the Hakurei shrine maiden suddenly.
"What is it?"
"The amulet; show it to me." she opened her palm expectantly and tapped her foot against the ground while the miko reluctantly removed the mentioned amulet from her neck. Reimu didn't even hope that Remilia's eyes would reveal anything groundbreaking about the amulet other than what was already known. With a clinking sound, the medallion and its chain landed in the vampire's palm.
Without saying a word, Remilia took the amulet by the chain and stared at it like she was tying to put herself into hypnosis.
"See anything?" Reimu asked her even if she could guess the answer.
The older of the Scarlet sisters silently turned around and started walking towards the mysterious tower-like structure.
"Hey, are you deaf or something?" Reimu called after her. Seeing as the blue-haired youkai with eternally young body showed no reaction, she jogged after her. "Hey~! Why does every youkai have such problem with giving a clear answer?" she muttered as she trotted to catch up with Remilia.
The vampire mistress stopped just a few meters in front of the cylindrical monument, shifting glances between the amulet and the ground beneath her feet.
"I feel tired, Reimu…" she uttered out of the blue.
"I wasn't asking about your disposition." said the shrine maiden. "Just where are you going with that thing?"
"Oh, I'm not going any further…" she pointed her finger at the ground. "Down into the earth is where one thin red string leads. One that connects to this amulet…"
"What?!" Reimu's surprise was obvious from both her tone and her facial expression.
"That's all I can see. What it means, though, I dare not even guess."
Standing there motionlessly, like one of the unearthed monuments, was Reimu with an absentminded look in her eyes. Not even she could make heads or tails about the amulet's connection with the archeological discovery in this remote village.
"We… we should tell that to Patchouli and others." she made a suggestion once she snapped out of her brainstorming mode.
"Yes, go ahead." Remilia waved her hand. "Tell them about it… Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to the inn already. I feel somewhat… under the weather."
She handed over the amulet back to Reimu while covering her mouth as she yawned.
"Hm? What's up with you? It hasn't even started raining yet."
"I'll be fine…" she said reassuringly, but her smile was forced, almost pained.
After Remilia left the quarry pit, Reimu hurried to bring the news about the amulet to the team.
"Hmmm…" Patchouli hummed in deep thought. A myriad of various theories and hypotheses started whirling inside her head. "So many possible connections and so many different interpretations… I was discussing the seriousness of the matter with the village chief earlier. The ruins are no doubt a part of this incident, but not necessarily their epicenter. However, their discovery triggered these events… the vengeful spirits. Should the situation call for it, I suggested that it would be best to bury the ruins and seal the quarry pit. Even if it would mean that this settlement would lose its purpose."
"No!" Reimu shouted in protest. "What are you saying? I just told you that this amulet is connected with the ruins. Remilia said it…"
"Indeed, Reimu." the sorceress nodded. "This changes everything. It may be our only lead to finding Gensokyo's missing sage, Yukari. Now I know that we have to keep going forward and let the yama-bito excavate the ruins completely until we know what they are."
"I'm glad that we see things the same, but you said that your research wouldn't take longer than a few days. The yama-bito work fast, but it'll take them months to fully uncover the ruins."
"Months?" Patchouli giggled amusedly. "Why do you think I recruited Suwako-sama into this expedition team?"
"Suwako…" Reimu looked over her shoulder at a small group of girls behind her. "But of course!" she lightly knocked her head with her knuckle. "The earth goddess! She can uncover the ruins in a flash! Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it!" she demanded impatiently, but Patchouli raised a hand in a "halt" gesture.
"Not yet. We must first wait for the results of the preliminary research. And like I said, that may take a day or two."
"Why waste time with this nonsense when we can get to the bottom of this incident right now?" Reimu couldn't understand Patchouli's intentions.
"For our safety." Patchouli gave a terse answer. "We must learn how to protect ourselves from the vengeful spirits and prevent them from possessing the fairies."
"Is that why you asked us to bring you a specimen?" Reimu pointed her finger at Luna Child, who was held captive by the expedition team. She had no restraints binding her, but there was no need for them. If she tried to run, she wouldn't stand a chance.
"That's right." the elementalist confirmed and walked up to the frightened moonlight fairy.
"Oh, no, they're going to do something to Luna-chan!" Sunny Milk whispered to Star as they watched the scene from a hidden position. "We have to do something~!"
"But what?" wondered the dark-haired fairy.
"I don't know…" Sunny hopelessly flailed her little arms. "I… I'm going to rescue her~!"
"Are you crazy?! They'll catch you too~!" Star shouted after her, but Sunny already took off and flew straight into the middle of the quarry. "Sunny~? Sunny~! You dummy…"
With a reluctant sigh, Star floated up from behind her rocky cover. "I won't let you suffer alone this time…" she swallowed her fear and glided right after her fair-haired friend.
"Let Luna-chan go~!" Sunny shouted at the girls as she prepared herself for attack. "Sunlight "Sunshine Blast"!"
"What?" Patchouli turned around to see who was demanding the release of her test subject. Her eyes spotted a pair of fairies making a fly-by to create a distraction. The target of Sunny's Spell Card, however, was Reimu. The shrine maiden didn't have to do much to avoid it, though. Sunny's card created just a few dozens of ellipsoid bolts of intense sunlight in an unimpressive and ineffective barrage that only managed to lightly scorch a few small patches of soil.
"Run, Luna-chan, run~!" the sunlight fairy shouted at her friend from a distance.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Patchouli watched the two incoming fairies with interest. "More specimens. Or perhaps they're already possessed?"
"We'll see soon enough." said Reimu as she flung a pair of homing ofuda at the bold, but foolish fairies.
"Awawa~! Look out, Star-chan~! The miko is returning fire~! Ack!" one of the amulets silenced her and brought her down to the ground with a light thud.
"Sunny you are an idio…ungh!" the starlight fairy followed the same fate and crashed next to her ally.
"Why was my Spell Card so weak…?" wondered Sunny in delirium as she was recovering from the paralyzing effect of Reimu's charms.
"Star! Sunny!" Luna couldn't believe her eyes as she hurried to meet the two stunned fairies. "Is that really you?"
"We… we just couldn't leave you here alone…" chuckled the sunlight fairy as she writhed on the ground.
"Sunny-chan…" Luna was at a loss for words.
"Ah, excellent." Patchouli smiled contently at the trio. "It looks like they haven't been possessed yet. Let's begin with our research, shall we?"
"W-what d-do you want to do to us?" Star's voice trembled with fear as her eyes reflected Reimu's and Patchouli's faces.
"Remilia insisted that I should not take any of her fairy maids to this village, so I had to resort to looking for an alternative. You don't need to worry. The reason why I needed a fairy specimen is to learn whether the shrine maidens, Reimu and Sanae are capable of preventing the vengeful spirits from possessing the fairies."
"Of course I can!" Reimu folded her arms and pouted slightly. "I know several effective apotropaic blessings and chants that ward away evil spirits and misfortune… though I never tried them on a youkai before."
"This is a perfect opportunity to try it, Reimu." Patchouli encouraged her.
"What? Right now?"
"Yes, right now." the sorceress affirmed. "Sanae-san~!"
"Yes?"
After a while of explaining and a bit of arguing, the two shrine maidens finally began to conduct their protective blessings over the trio of fairies. After over 30 minutes of chanting, dancing and blessing, the Three Mischievous Fairies became perhaps the most blessed fairies in all of Gensokyo.
"Phew… that was more exhausting than I thought." Reimu wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"Do they serve tea in this village?" Sanae, who was equally tired, asked the head of the expedition team.
"There's only one tavern here, but they should have tea." Patchouli replied.
"So… does that mean we won't be possessed now?" wondered the three fairies.
"I only tried those blessings on humans before, so I don't really know." Reimu shrugged. "I don't even know why you asked us to perform the blessings now. They are only temporary and unless the vengeful spirits attack us or something, we'll never even know whether they work or not."
A faint smile brightened up the youkai girl's face. "Exactly." That was all she said. Her answer left both shrine maidens clueless and nervous.
"Hey, what was that supposed to mean?" Reimu called out. "Are we expecting an attack today or something?"
Patchouli remained silent. She looked around cautiously around the crowded quarry pit and walked up to both shrine maidens. She stopped not even half a meter away from them.
"What's going on, Patchouli?" inquired the black-haired miko. "If you want us to cooperate with you, you better tell us everything."
Patchouli leaned her face between their heads and whispered: "I believe our presence alone is enough to provoke the possessed fairies to attack this village. I don't mean to cause panic among the villagers, but we must stay alert at all times."
"What makes you so certain that we'll be attacked here?" asked Sanae.
"I'm not certain, but it's highly probable." Patchouli corrected her. "The truth is, another fairy attack is vital to this research."
"What?" Reimu thought she heard her wrong. "Are you saying you actually want the fairies to attack the village?"
"Your ears aren't deceiving you, Reimu. The fairy attack is one of our objectives. I'll wait for a few days, but if the fairies won't attack us, I'll ask Suika-san to use her gathering ability."
While Reimu frowned in disapproval of her plan, Sanae jumped excitedly. "Haha~! So this won't be just a boring field trip after all! I was hoping to see some action. Youkai hunting is what I was born for!"
"We'll see if you keep that enthusiasm when thousands of fairies swarm this village." Reimu cooled her down.
"Let them come! I'll teach them a lesson for attacking the Moriya Shrine!"
"We may not have the assistance of the Myouren Temple this time," remarked Patchouli, "but we have the numbers and power to stand against even a large-scale fairy attack. I only ask you to be vigilant and prepared to fight. Now, if you excuse me, I've got other team members to supervise."
The youkai librarian bowed lightly to the two shrine maidens and returned to her provisionary tent. The three fairies of light were there too. Their mood was much happier now. Not just because they were together again, but also because they learned that they were protected by a multitude of blessings. However, Patchouli didn't have much time to pay attention to them. Just as soon as she sat down, Hatate landed in front of her. "Patchouli-san… I've photographed the monuments from all possible angles as you asked."
"Thank you, Hatate-san. Have you learned anything new?"
"With the spirit photography I learned that these structures are approximately ten thousand years old. I sense a strong indication that we're standing on an ancient temple complex."
"A temple, huh?" Patchouli thoughtfully made a few notes into her logbook. "Anything else?"
"Yes, it was built by humans, but not entirely…" Hatate paused herself as she repeatedly pushed a button on her camera to browse between her pictures. "Strong divine power was used in its construction."
"Like the temple of Myouren…"
"The ornaments on the obelisks and the tower appear to be…"
"A star map." said both Hatate and Patchouli at the same time.
"Huh? You already knew this Patchouli-san?"
"I only deciphered a few symbols, but that's all it took to identify their context on these obelisks. Each of the obelisks holds a piece of information about the position of the stars. It's fascinatingly precise for something so ancient… Impressive that you managed to figure that out with your spirit photography, Hatate-san."
Hatate blushed slightly from the praise. "One more thing, Patchouli-san. The base of the ruins is still over 10 meters under ground, but it looks like a volcano must have erupted here and buried the temple, because I can sense that the geological structure radically changes after a few meters."
"That is not a problem." Patchouli waved her hand. Even when the ruins were buried in a mass of rock, with the help of an earth goddess, they could be uncovered without much difficulty. But Patchouli didn't want to proceed to that phase just yet.
"That's all I managed to learn so far." Hatate bowed and took a step back, ready to return to work. "If I find out anything more, I'll let you know."
"Sakuya?" Patchouli wanted to summon the maid, but she apparently wasn't around to hear her. The youkai sorceress only wanted to have a refreshing cup of tea, but since Sakuya wasn't there, she had to overcome her laziness and go to the village's only tavern.
"One oolong tea, please." she placed her order at the bar. Oddly enough to her, the barkeep was a human, unlike most of the tavern's patrons. He mumbled something under his nose as he took the order and placed a water kettle on the stove. As Patchouli waited for her tea, her eyes drifted into one of the tavern's corners where she noticed a few members of her expedition sitting at the table, discussing something. It was Eirin and Kaguya from Eientei and it looked like Erin was just standing up from the table.
Patchouli's curiosity urged her to speak up. "Going to the archive, Eirin-sensei?"
"Hm? Oh, I didn't even notice you were here, Patchouli-san." the silver-haired Lunarian blinked her eyes at her. "Eh… Yes, I'll take a look at the archives and see if I can learn anything relevant." she smiled and with an elegant bow, she left the establishment.
"Now what am I supposed to do?" Kaguya muttered as she looked outside the window, watching as Erin headed towards the village's archive. She let out a heavy sigh. "This village is so boring… Say, Patchouli-san, are you taking a break?"
"You could say that."
"Mind if I sit next to you?"
"Do as you please." Patchouli gestured at the vacant stool next to her. She was on quite friendly terms with the Moon princess, so she certainly didn't mind her company during her tea break.
"Such a fuss over a few stone pillars jutting from the ground… If it's the source of the vengeful spirits, I'd think we discovered a tomb."
"That might not be too far from the truth." Patchouli admitted and suddenly changed the topic. "She seemed somehow… absentminded today, don't you think?"
Kaguya cluelessly tilted her head to the side. "Hm?"
"Eirin… It's not every day that I've seen her like that."
The Moon princess giggled while giving an understanding nod. "I know, right~? Yes, she was like that since the moment you paid us a visit this morning. She's usually absentminded when she thinks too intensely about a problem… Or when she's telling a lie." she added with a sly grin.
"Telling a lie?"
"Yes. Though it's not very often, there have been a few occasions when Eirin intentionally kept a few things secret from me back in the Lunar Capital, as well as here on Earth. And every time when she lied, she had that strange glassy look in her eyes. It's so easy to tell, hehe… I actually find that trait of Eirin's very cute."
"So, either something is troubling her, or…"
"It was a lie…" to both Patchouli's and Kaguya's surprise, the bartender finished the sentence.
"Pardon?" Patchouli gave him a flabbergasted stare.
"That tall silver-haired lady…" the man specified as he served Patchouli her tea. "She's probably not headed for the archives. She asked me about a certain youkai who lives not too far from here."
It didn't take long for Patchouli to figure out Eirin's intention. "That alchemist?" she asked the bartender.
"So you want to know where to find him too? Heh, I should probably get a cut from that youkai's profit, given how many folks I've guided to his cavern." he chuckled as he made a joking remark.
Patchouli didn't need to ask him for directions, she already had them written in the report that a certain outsider made here over a month ago.
She didn't like the thought that Eirin has gone rogue on the expedition team and was only following her own interests, but perhaps this wasn't all for naught. Patchouli was suspicious of that mysterious youkai alchemist as well, and the only way to find out whether or not he had anything to do with the incident, was to interrogate him. Not even finishing half of her oolong tea, Patchouli stood up.
"You can finish it if you like." she told Kaguya before she left the tavern with hastened steps.
"Wait a minute! Where are you going? Heeey~!" the librarian kept walking, ignoring Kaguya's calls. The door shut behind her, and the Moon princess was left alone again.
"Geez... Why can't anyone stay for a little chat?"
Patchouli took flight straight to the village archive, which was one of the smaller buildings in the village. The elderly yama-bito lady at the reception desk welcomed her, offering additional assistance should Patchouli ask for it.
After briefly looking around the archive, Patchouli noticed Akyuu and Keine, but no sign of Eirin. She asked the reception lady whether she had seen a tall woman with very long silver hair tied in a thick braid.
"I'm sorry, but I can't say that I have, my dear. Unless you mean that lady over there." She beckoned at Keine. "But her hair is obviously not tied in a braid."
"No, that's not Yagokoro-sensei." Patchouli shook her head negatively. "Thank you anyway."
Patchouli's suspicions in Eirin were confirmed. The archive of Kazemura was not her current destination. With a growing feeling that she shouldn't leave things as they are, the one week wizard took off into the air and decided to look for Eirin. With the twin-peaked mountain in her sight, she headed off to find the home of an old youkai alchemist.
According to her notes, the cavern where he lived was located under a hill near a small pond and she just noticed these landmarks lying no further than a kilometer away from her position. She didn't see any signs of the Lunarian anywhere, so she assumed that Eirin was either already inside or she didn't go there at all. Finally, she made it to the hill that fitted the description of Xeng-Yao's home. But getting to the location and finding the entrance were two different things. Even with Kyouichi's notes and superhuman intelligence it took her over 5 minutes of intense search to discover the hidden cave entrance masked by a bush thicket. The truth is, she found it not by her eyes, but by her ears. A mixture of unidentified noises attracted her all the way to the door of an underground laboratory. And in that mixture of noises, Patchouli was able to recognize two voices - one male and the other one female. The female voice was undoubtedly Eirin's. Patchouli eavesdropped for a while, with her hesitant hand resting on the door handle, but since she could not make out what either of the voices said, she decided to let herself in.
She followed a narrow passage lined by torches on the cave's walls until she was able to hear the voices more clearly and even see a brighter flickering light coming from the end of the passage.
"Like I sssaid," a hissing male voice spoke, "you can have the whole batch for a sssspecial price of 20000 yen… That's cheaper than buying individual bottlessss."
"I haven't come here to shop." Eirn's voice resonated in the cavern. "I've come to ask you questions."
The man laughed loudly. "I should have guessed it would be about the recipesss after all! I'm sssure you'll recognize mossst of them, Lunarian. They're based on YOUR ideassss after all. I justssst made ssslight… adjussstmentsss to them."
"Even the Hourai Elixir, as I heard."
"It's good to see that my little advertisssing campaign reached even as far as Eientei. I've been imagining thisss moment for centuriessss… To finally meet the one known as the "Mind of God" and show her that there'ssss alwyassss room for improvement if one putssss enough determination into it."
"By using the Earth's fairies' essence to improve the original formula?"
"Oh, you make it sssound so ssssimple, Yagokoro." the alchemist chuckled. "Yessss, the fairiessss are a natural example of immortality. But if you think that a few strandssss of their hair was all that did the trick to improve your old formula, you're gravely misssstaken. And before you asssk, I'm not ssselling you any of my recipesss… Not even for a chicken sssoup."
"I don't care about your twisted formulas." Eirin brushed him off coldly. "But the Hourai Elixir is not to be taken lightly… How many doses have you already made? How many have you sold? Do you know what danger you put Earth into if the Lunar Capital discovers this?"
"You can call them all down here if you want." the alchemist scoffed tauntingly. "As if I wassss afraid of them… But what's it to you, fugitive? Your tiesss with the Lunar Capital are mossstly if not completely sssevered. You think you'd redeem youssself in their eyesss if you reported my activitesss to them?"
"Wrong. I'm concerned about the safety of the princess. If the Lunar Capital learned about your theft and experiments, they'd send an army to search every corner of Gensokyo to find you. And they'd surely find Eientei in their search. If that happened, not even the word of the Lunar Defense Corps leaders would be enough to convince the higher-ups to leave us in peace and let us stay on Earth." the Lunarian pharmacist explained her reasons for concern.
"Oh, ssso that bringsss us to you again, doessssn't it? Alwaysss ssselfishly following your own interesssts and you even worry for sssuch a selfish reason as your own ssssafety."
"Your narrow-mindedness is what I'd expect from a simple creature born on Earth such as yourself. Apparently you fail to realize that you're also putting all of Gensokyo in danger. Should the word of your deeds reach the ears of Lord Tsukuyomi, he won't hesitate to order his army to get you by any means necessary. All those people who know about your business would be in danger. Any youkai who would dare to stand in their way, would be dealt with swiftly and without mercy. And when they'd find you, even worse fate would await you. Is that what you'd really want?"
"Firssst of all, let's not forget where YOU were born, Misss Hypocrite…" the old youkai didn't hesitate to return a verbal blow. "You think your hissstory isss unknown to me? But I digressss… How long hasss it been since the firsssst Genso-Lunar war? Only over a millennium? If anyone on the Moon noticed any… leak of information, don't you think they'd do sssomething about it? And ssssecondly, you – the eldesssst Lunarian sssage, a runaway convict along with your precioussss Kaguya-sssama. You two were the only onesss able to create the forbidden medicine, but you fled to Earth and spent here over 14 centuriesss… If it wasss the meansss or know-how to produce the elixir what the Lunarianssss were ssso sensitive about, they'd take you both back to the Moon… by any meansss necesssssary. But has Gensokyo been invaded by the lunar army yet? I don't think ssso."
"You have to understand that your and my cases are quite different. The Lunar Capital has already tried to find us, and they even managed to. Or to be more precise, I made contact with them."
"The sssecond Genso-Lunar war? Hm… I guess being a Lunarian does put you in advantage… to ssssome extent. Sssso you made contact with the two sisssters of the Watatsssuki family? Is that why Lunar Capital wasss "unable to find you"?"
"So you're finally beginning to understand."
"Not, quite. Hssss~. I ssstil don't underssstand why are you here. If you want me to sssstop my resssearch, we'll be in an open disagreement. Stronger than you have tried to kill me, and they all failed. Nothing can kill me now. Mossstly thanksss to you, hs-s-s-s. In fact, if it hadn't been for you… and for Yukari-sssama, I'd be long dead. But thanksss to your knowledge and wisssdom, my life got a new purposssse. I really musssst expresss my gratitude."
"They may not be able to kill you, but they can still take your freedom." Eirin remarked calmly. "Spending an eternity in a prison cell may not be what I would call an ideal life."
"In that, Lunarian… you are correct." the alchemist paused himself briefly. "So it is again up to you, whether you decide to contact your few allies on the Moon and tell them all about me or not. But know that I won't just stand idly if you do…"
The long silence that followed Xeng-Yao's last sentence was almost ominous. Patchouli, who was still hiding in the shadows and eavesdropping on the conversation didn't like how tense the atmosphere had suddenly become. She was worried that Eirin and the youkai alchemist were just seconds away from starting a fight. That's why she decided to reveal herself.
"Ahh, ssssuch a busssy day. It looksss like I have another cussstomer." remarked the immortal youkai nonchalantly. "Pleasse, pleassse, come in~! Human, youkai… it doesssn't matter. I have the goodsss to sssuit your needsss."
Eirin sighed as she spotted Patchouli inside the alchemist's cavern. "Patchouli-san, what are you dong here?"
"I should be asking you that question." the purple-haired librarian stepped into the light of torches.
"You've heard our conversation didn't you? I'm sure you can answer that question yourself."
"I expected us to cooperate, Eirin." Patchouli addressed her informally without any suffix. "But it seems you have an agenda of your own."
"An agenda of my own?" the Lunarian repeated flusteredly. "I'm trying to keep Gensokyo safe just as much as you or the Hakurei shrine maiden."
"Who's thissss, Yagokoro? A friend of yourssss?" the hissing youkai measured up the girl with his snake-like eyes.
"The truth is, I have intended to pay you a visit regardless, Xeng-san. You can call me Patchouli and I've come to ask you a few questions…" her glance trailed off to Eirin, "and to prevent any unnecessary violence."
"What made you think we were going to fight?" wondered Eirin.
"Patchouli… That'sss an interesssting name, young lady. You're a wizard. Yessss, I can tell jusss by looking at you." his forked tongue fluttered in the air as he was observing the sorceress. "Ssso you've come to assssk quesstionsss too? Perhapsss I should ssstart charging pricesss for information too, hm?"
"Are you hiding here from the emissaries of the Moon?"
"That'sss a thing of the passst, but Yagokoro-sssan here thinksss the Lunarianssss would leave no sssstone unturned here if they knew what I've done. But the thing issss, they don't. Unlesss, Yagokoro-sssan decidesss to tell them, of courssse."
The Lunarian sage showed a weak, but reassuring smile. "I have no reason to do that. But I can't say I sympathize with the idea of you selling the Hourai Elixir to anyone who can pay you well."
"Alasss, I no longer have the ingrediantsss to make any more. I ussssed them all up while working on the improved formula. I haven't ssssold a ssssingle drop to anyone."
"If you were able to make it by yourself, it must mean that the sages in the Lunar Capital have learned how to produce it even without me or Kaguya-sama."
"Yessss, and they did ssso over a thoussssand yearsss ago."
"Without telling me a thing." added Eirin with a frown. It seemed that even with her position among the Lunarian elite, she was not trusted with all the knowledge and Lord Tsukuyomi had kept quite a few things secret even from her.
"If you don't want to report me to the Lunarianssss, or to learn my recipessss, or to buy anything, or to dessstroy thissss lab, then why have you come here?"
"We are investigating a fairy incident." Patchouli answered instead of Eirin.
"That old ssstory again? What? Am I your main ssssuspect?"
"To be honest, yes you are." replied the librarian flatly.
"That was the next thing I was going to ask him." muttered Eirin under her breath.
"You're not the firssst ones who's come asssking me about that. Ressst assured that whatever I'm doing in thisss laboratory isss not affecting the fairiessss to act aggressively. Unlessss it's sssome negative sssside effect that I'm not aware of."
"Do you also dabble in necromancy, Xeng-san?" Patchouli asked another relevant question.
"Necromancy? Hsss-ss-s-s~!" he let out a hissing laughter. "Don't be ridiculoussss. Do I look like I have any undead minionsss around here? That ssskull over there isss jussst a candle ssstand. A memento of my human-eating daysss… Why do you asssk?"
"Can you please tell us what do you know of the fairy attacks?" Patchouli continued the interrogation.
"Look, I sspend mosst of my time here in my lab, only going out to get fresh indgredientsss for my potionsss. I don't need to go far to get them. And I don't show myssself up in Kazemura. I've only heard about the fairy attacksss. Never actually sssaw or experienced them. And what does necromancy have to do with fairy attacksss anyway?"
"I'd like to believe you, but to prove your innocence in the matter, I ask you to come with us to Kazemura where we can keep a close eye on you." the librarian made a proposal.
The half-snake youkai gave her a questioning, almost taunting look. "Come with you? I've got experimentsss to do, businessss to run… And you want me to wassste my time with you in that village? How long do you want me to keep you company before you'll finally believe me?"
"A day would be enough. Perhaps two, just to make sure. Perhaps you could even help us with our research a bit. Who knows? Maybe I'll even be convinced to buy some of your… merchandise."
A tempting offer has stuck Xeng-Yao's sensitive mercantile string. "I don't know what resssearch are you talking about, Patchouli-sssan, but if it meansss businesss for me I'm alwaysss willing to offer my ssservicesss." Then he shifted his glance to Eirin and added: "But you'll ssssooner sssee Hell freeze over ten timesss before you'll sssee me cooperating with a Lunarian."
"Cooperation doesn't always have to involve willingness of all parties." said Eirin with her arms crossed.
"I appreciate your neutrality in regardsss to my craft and I may ressspect you more than other Lunariansss, but I won't ssshake your hand and call you my bessst friend any time sssoon. Now… let me put out the hearth fire and pack sssome of my potionsss. If it'sss proof of my innocence that you want, that'sss what you'll get. It's been a long time sssince I have lassst been to Kazemura."
About an hour has passed since Patchouli left the quarry village, now she was returning in the company of Eirin and Xeng. Their arrival was impatiently expected by many of Patchouli's fellow team members. The first person to greet her was Sakuya.
"Patchouli-sama! Oh, thank goodness you're safely back. I was wondering where you disappeared to."
"Eirin!" Kaguya was also there in the "welcoming committee", "Why have you disappeared so suddenly? And why didn't you even tell us where you were going? And who's that with you?"
"Oi, Patchy~!" Marisa waved at the trio from the ground. "We already thought the fairies got you, hehe~!"
It took a while for the introductions and clearing up misunderstandings to take their course, but once Eirin's and Patchouli's reasons for their sudden departure were known to everyone, the expedition team returned to work.
For Xeng-Yao, who hasn't seen the mining village for over a decade, the uncovered ruins were a fascinating new thing to see. He heard about them from many of his occasional customers who lived here, but to see something once was more than hearing about it a thousand times. And just as much as he was fascinated by the archeological discovery, so were the local yama-bito staring at him with a mixture of awe and curiosity.
The expedition team with Patchouli in charge didn't trust him yet, so he was under constant surveillance of those girls who were tasked with maintaining the team's security.
When asked what he thought about the ruins, he just shrugged cluelessly, saying that he has never seen such a thing in his entire life. With his focus on the art of brewing potions of all sorts and purposes, he wasn't much of help in the field of archeology. He was also curious about the nature of the reported fairy attacks on the village and its surrounding areas, but he didn't get any information from the team. On the contrary, he was the one who had the most questions to answer. Eirin even insisted on injecting him with a truth serum to make sure he wasn't keeping any dark secrets, but as soon as Satori Komeiji probed his mind with her third eye, no truth serums were necessary.
"What the hell~?!" he hissed in protest. "You… You can't do thisss to me! That girl will learn all of my potion recipessss~!"
It's true that the mind-reader was able to see all sorts of potion formulas in Xeng's mind, but that wasn't much worth to her, since she knew nothing about alchemy.
"It's not him." she shook her head after she skimmed through his thoughts.
"Hm? Yesss, yesss, jusssst as I told you." he nodded repeatedly in agreement to Satori's statement and tried not to think about his most valuable potion recipes. "Now would sssomebody mind telling me what'sss going on here?"
After a confirmation from Satori, Patchouli was willing to share the detailed information about the fairy attacks and the goals of this expedition.
In the meantime, the shadow of suspicion was cast on Satori and her kasha companion.
"Couldn't it be that the vengeful spirits are leaking from Old Hell again?" Reimu speculated. "What if you planned to take Gensokyo over by sending the vengeful spirits to possess the fairies?"
"You dare to suspect me?" Satori stared at her in disbelief.
"Think about it. We can't read other people's minds, so we have no idea whether you're telling us the truth about the ones whose minds you're reading. We have only your word to trust. You could have been intentionally misleading us all this time. That trance and scribbling of those weird symbols from these ruins in Eientei could have been only an act to misdirect our attention to these ruins. And while you act as though as you're helping us, you might be secretly plotting something."
Even Marisa was surprised by Reimu's accusation. "But Reimu. That still doesn't explain Yukari's disappearance. I doubt that this girl would somehow just get rid of her and then proceed to take over Gensokyo with an army of vengeful spirits and fairies."
Satori was saddened that even after all this time of trying her best to offer assistance, Reimu seriously suspected her of some outrageous conspiracy. She had to admit that Reimu had a point, though. She had no way of proving that she wasn't making up what she saw in other people's minds. But Satori had an idea how to convince everyone and silence Reimu's suspicion once and for all.
"Eirin-san… I ask you to inject me with that truth serum of yours."
"What? What are you saying?" the Lunarian raised her eyebrows.
"Perhaps you can't recognize the truth when you hear it," the goddess Kanako suddenly intervened in the conversation, "but I can. Just like with Hijiri Byakuren-san, I sense no falsehood in Satori's words."
"That would make you my number two suspect then." retorted the stubborn miko.
"Reimu…" Sanae put her hand on her shoulder again. "No offense, but by casting suspicion at everyone around you, you're indirectly asking for a teamed-up danmaku walloping the like of which you haven't experienced even during your stay on the Moon."
"Are you threatening me? Perhaps you'd like to have a talk with my Yin-Yang orbs first."
"Stop it already! Both of you…" Satori pierced them with a disapproving glance. "Eirin-san, I'm quite serious. Give me the truth serum and ask me whatever you want before we all turn on each other."
A tense silence settled in the quarry pit of Kazemura. Eirin, who was not hesitant to use the injection on Xeng-Yao just moments ago, suddenly experienced a moral dilemma when Satori demanded her to apply the drug to her. Reimu too was growing desperate. She didn't know what or whom to trust anymore. Satori's words, Remilia's claims, Patchouli's hypotheses… Everything reeked of suspicion to her. Put in layman's terms, she was starting to lose it. After a while of nervous walking around like a hungry tiger in a cage, Reimu sat down on one of the ore crates in the provisionary tent and tried to calm herself down and refused to speak to anyone.
Meanwhile, Eirin prepared the serum and loaded her syringe. "Are you really sure you want to undergo this?" she asked Satori one last time before proceeding with the injection.
"How many affirmations do you need?" the satori responded with a cheeky question. "Let's get this over with."
"The effect of this shot will last for approximately 4 hours, just for your information…" said the pharmacist and penetrated the skin on Satori's shoulder. "You won't be in a condition to do any work for that duration."
The serum was already circulating in her bloodstream. With each heartbeat, she could feel her limbs numbing and her vision becoming less clear. It wasn't long before Eirin's medicine took over her senses completely and Satori was no longer able to tell apart a dream from reality.
A long sequence of questions and answers ensued. During the interrogation, Satori replied to over 30 of Eirin's questions in a monotone delirious voice. There was no way she could have told a lie. Her innocence in regard to the current incident was now clear as day to everyone who still doubted. When the interrogation was over, Reimu stood up without a word and left the quarry pit. She went to the inn and ordered a room while they were still vacant. She felt a burden of guilt and embarrassment inside her, but saying sorry seemed harder than to face all those girls in a danmaku battle. Since Patchouli currently had no special requests from her, Reimu wanted to have a little rest, which she so much needed.
The day has gradually shifted to evening and the sky was completely covered by a thick veil of gray clouds. Patchouli has already made several different observations of the ruins. One of them involved a technique that was using the principals of a magic detector, only more precise and reliable. Using an array of crystals, she was trying to reveal any hidden sources of power in the vicinity of the ruins. Her scrying only confirmed the fact stated in Kyouichi's report. No magic, energy, or divine power was radiating from the monuments. It even seemed that the auras of other girls of the expedition team were somewhat weaker than she expected.
She herself felt a little tired, but that was nothing unusual to her. Being a sickly girl, with nearly no physical activity in her daily life, it was no mystery that she would wear herself out quickly, especially after a busy day such as this.
She decided to leave the rest of the scrying methods for tomorrow and prepared herself to spend the evening in Kazemura's archive.
Her peaceful reading was disturbed only by the occasional roaring of a thunder in the distance. Kanako's weather forecast was correct. After over a week of scorching hot days, a storm was a welcome change to both Gensokyo's flora and fauna. The drumming of raindrops on the roof of the archive building was slowly but certainly lulling the youkai librarian to sleep.
She didn't even know how much time has passed when a particularly loud thunder shook her awake. When she realized that she had fallen asleep at the table, she figured that she was overworking herself. What she needed was a comfortable bed and the nearest place where she could find one was the village's inn. She muttered a spell to create a bubble of water around herself again; this time to protect herself from the rain. She put out the flames of the candles and stepped outside. She was immediately welcomed by an intense downpour and the dazzling flashes of lighting in the sky. Logically enough, there were no villagers outside at this hour and in this weather. The warm flickering lights in the windows of the tavern looked so inviting right now. As she was flying towards the establishment she shot a quick glance at the excavation site. At night, the pit looked like an ominous yawning hole, leading straight into the abyss. Only the slim black silhouettes of the uncovered obelisks and the tower were recognizable in the darkness. For a brief moment, a lightning flash illuminated the whole village and Patchouli wiped her sleepy eyes, which have just seen something that they shouldn't. She blinked repeatedly and stared intensely into the darkness through the dense rain. She saw nothing.
"All that reading is making my eyes see weird things…" she whispered to herself and was just about to resume her flight to the tavern when another lightning bolt made the night as bright as day for a split second.
Patchouli opened her mouth in silent awe. She still had doubts about what she saw in that brief moment, but it looked like a transparent stream of white smoke emerging from the center of the quarry pit.
Just to make sure it wasn't a hallucination, Patchouli patiently waited for the next lightning. And she didn't have to wait long. She saw it again. Perhaps white smoke was not the best comparison for the phenomenon that she witnessed. It was more like a monochrome version of aurora borealis, constantly changing shape and dispersing into smaller particles. The librarian was tempted to get closer to explore this unusual occurrence, but she was also aware of the potential danger that it could present. She hurried to the tavern to share her experience with the rest of the team.
"Everyone~!" she called out to wake up the girls sleeping in the rented rooms of the inn. "Outside, in the quarry pit… You have to see this!"
"What the hell…?" Marisa muttered lazily in her bed. "Are you drunk?"
After her afternoon nap, Remilia was one of the few team members who was awake. "What's the matter, Patchy? Are the fairies coming?"
"No, but it may not be long before they do." A tone of urgency resonated in Patchouli's voice. "Something is going on near the ruins."
Eirin was another person who often stayed up late and today was no exception. She was looking after Satori who was still under the effect of her truth serum. "It better be worth the trouble of getting my clothes wet…"
"Reimu-san, Reimu-san~!" Patchouli lightly shook the sleeping shrine maiden. "Get dressed! Hurry!"
"Are you out of your mind?"
As reluctant as she was to abandon the warm comfort of the bed, Reimu's feeling of responsibility was stronger, and in a matter of a few minutes, she was ready and fully clothed.
"Hey, listen, Youmu~!" Yuyuko excitedly clapped her hands. "Looks like the girls are having some kind of party in the next room. Perhaps even a pillow fight. And snacks~! Let's join them~!"
"I don't know, Yuyuko-sama." the half-ghost spoke with a serious tone. "It sounds different from a party. Maybe something's wrong. We should check it out."
"Why do you have to bring your swords to a slumber party~?" asked the princess of Netherworld.
Ten minutes later, the majority of the expedition team was already standing downstairs in the tavern. The ruckus they caused while getting dressed and ready has woken up even the owner of the establishment and his wife. They were curiously watching what this weird group of girls wanted to do at this late hour.
"Aya-san, Hatate-san," Patchouli was giving directions to the pair of tengu reporters, "the phenomenon is only visible during a lightning flash, so please have your cameras ready to take the pictures."
"Don't worry, my camera is equipped with a flash of its own." Aya reassured her.
"I don't even need to wait for a lightning." said Hatate boastingly. "My spirit photography will reveal anything that the naked eyes can't see."
Remilia who was looking out the window turned her face to her friend. "Be careful out there."
With a nod, Patchouli opened the tavern's door.
"You're not coming with us?" the green-haired shrine maiden asked the vampire. Apparently she was less knowledgeable about youkai than Reimu, otherwise she wouldn't ask such a question.
"I can't stand rain, so I'll stay here and wait for you girls to tell me what you saw."
The girls left the tavern one by one and gathered at the edge of the quarry. Everyone was impatiently staring at the center of the pit, hoping to catch a glimpse of what Patchouli just described to them.
"Oh, just now!" Marisa pointed her finger into the darkness. "I think I saw something for a moment! Maybe Patchy isn't drunk after all!"
Aya and Hatate were quick to take pictures. "Well, I wonder what this could be…"
"Oh my, look at all those souls, Youmu~!" Yuyuko didn't even need to wait for any lightning to see what was going on. "Almost reminds you of our home, doesn't it~?"
"G-ghosts?" Youmu stuttered out with a scared look in her eyes. "But these… these are not from the Netherworld."
"Nyaa~. And neither from Old Hell." Rin Kaenbyou eliminated another possibility.
Even Reimu saw the image of white spectral lights for a brief moment before a deafening thunder made her cover her ears.
"So the spirits are leaking from these ruins? Is this what causes the fairy attacks?"
The answer to her questions came quicker than she would like. Distracted by the flashes and thunders, the expedition team had little chance to notice that there was something else going on besides the leak of spirits from the excavation site.
"Kyaaa!"
A very unpleasant blow with burning sensation that came somewhere from behind, knocked the Hakurei shrine maiden off her feet and onto the cold ground dirty with mud.
Several other girls from the team were hit as well, but at least they managed to keep their balance.
"Fairies~!" Marisa shouted to alert everyone, though at this point it wasn't even necessary.
By the time Reimu stood up from the ground and grimaced in disgust from all the dirt that covered her, a full-blown battle has broken out. It seemed the fairies had the whole village surrounded, because smaller flocks of them were assailing the girls from all directions. There wasn't anywhere to hide. The best thing the girls could do was to scatter to reduce the chances of getting hit as a group.
"Everyone scramble!" Kanako took the lead in this dire situation and engaged the intruders with a flurry of polychromic danmaku in the shape of square charms.
The first wave of fairies didn't give her much trouble, but more of them appeared soon after.
"Love Sign "Non-Directional Laser"!" Marisa unleashed a Spell Card attack that sliced the air with a multitude of spinning beam sources. Each beam used a different wavelength, so they each had a different color.
"Hey! That's mine…" remarked Patchouli as she watched the light show.
"You mean WAS yours." the witch retorted with a grin once her short-duration card ran out of power.
"Marisa, look out!" she tried to warn her, but she was a little too late.
Another daring wave of fairies just made their strike and targeted the blonde magician with a crushing barrage.
"Aaargh!" Marisa exclaimed from the pain and quickly started losing her altitude.
"Gotcha!" Suika was just at the right place at the right moment to catch her before the fall would cause her any injury. But the barrage that she took was enough to render her incapable of fighting. Suika needed to put her down somewhere if she wanted to be of any help to the team.
Remilia watched the whole scene from the safety of the tavern and was nervously biting her lip, frustrated that she couldn't go out there and teach those possessed fairies to fear the vampires.
No longer than a minute after the attack, the whole village was alarmed to the presence of hostile fairies. Everyone capable of battle rushed out of their homes to drive away the invasion of the possessed little youkai. The yama-bito and humans of Kazemura rallied outside and provided additional magical fire support. For a while it seemed that their joint effort was effective and that they had the situation under control, but the constant inflow of fairy reinforcements didn't give them a moment to rest.
The girls were trying to conserve their Spell Cards, but after ten minutes of constant fighting, they were gradually running out.
"Damn it! There's just no end to them!" Reimu cursed as she finished off a small group of fairies with a flurry of amulets. "Is this what you wished for Patchouli?"
The librarian had her hands full with another squadron and didn't even hear Reimu's question.
In the meantime, Aya created a huge cyclone-like barrier around the whole village only to buy the team some time to reroute. While the winds were blowing, the fairies couldn't get to them, but the spell was putting a lot of strain on the crow tengu, so she couldn't keep it up for long.
"Eirin!" Reimu shouted at the Lunarian doctor. "We have one wounded! She needs to be taken to safety while Aya's wind wall is keeping us safe!"
Eirin shot one more arrow that dispersed into numerous fragments, each hitting its mark with perfect precision. "I'll take care of her." she nodded and hurried to help Marisa.
"Sorry… girls." Aya sieved through her gritted teeth. "I can't… keep this up for much longer!"
The wind barrier around Kazemura faded away, allowing the relentless fairy swarms to continue their attacks.
"Kanako-sama, can you concentrate the raindrops into a steady stream?" Patchouli asked the goddess.
"Yes, I think so. Let me give it a try." She focused her power high into the storm clouds above her. Another group of fairies was closing in on her position, but the goddess didn't move a muscle. She appeared to be in a state similar to meditation.
"Kanako-sama!" Sanae hurried to lend her assistance. With her pentagram-shaped danmaku she fended off some of the incoming fairies, but not the whole group. The remaining fairies regrouped and were just about to shower Kanako with their danmaku salvo, when a thick pillar of water descended upon them from the sky. The fairies were smashed against the rocky ground. The few who survived where quickly finished off by the other girls of the expedition team.
Kanako opened her eyes to see what she has done. Then she shifted her glance to the librarian.
"Is this what you meant?"
"Yes, now everyone, back away from the water stream!" She charged her magic and cast it on Kanako's divine waterfall. The whole pillar of water gained a bright-blue glow and burst into an uncountable amount of blue danmaku orbs. Patchouli was giving it her all. She somehow managed to stop the orbs' motion and re-assemble them to a super-dense cluster that she drove across the sky to take out thousands of fairies. But every powerful spell that she cast had a drawback. It reflected negatively on her health condition.
A fit of coughing has taken her in the middle of her spell, forcing her to stop it prematurely.
"Patchouli-sama, are you alright?" Sakuya hurried to her, but as soon as she turned away from the battle, the fairies didn't hesitate to attack her cowardly from behind. "Yaaaah~!"
The maid of the Scarlet Devil caught a few energy blasts, but she was strong enough to keep flying and even execute her revenge.
"Illusion Sign "Killer Doll"!"
Sakuya declared the spell which made the throwing knives held in her hand glow with a purplish light. A simple throw, and the knives multiplied by several dozen times, spinning rapidly before engaging the fairies with lethal precision. One could even say that the knives were guided to their targets by an unseen force. A flock of over 30 fairies was reduced to a cloud of magic dust in a second.
"Patchouli-sama, you should take a break from fighting." Sakuya was seriously concerned about the librarian's health.
"I… I'll be fine…"
Patchouli wasn't the only one who was at her limit.
"I've never… seen… so many… fairies… in my life…" Sanae needed to land to catch her breath. Numerous burns marked her miko dress as well as her body. "Suwako-sama… what should I do?"
The earth goddess fought bravely too, but her attacks were growing weaker until she could no longer provide danmaku support to the team. Kanako became exhausted soon after her.
"I don't understand what's going on here. I am a goddess, but… this place… I feel like my power is being siphoned. I didn't like it here since the moment we arrived."
The scales of battle were now slightly shifting in the favor of the possessed fairies. What could be wrong with this place that it rendered two powerful deities nearly defenseless after using just a few Spell Cards? Nobody had the time to ponder that question, but one thing was clear. The Kazemuran prospectors have uncovered something that should have remained buried forever.
The most powerful youkai members of the expedition team seemed to be doing well so far. Thanks to their superhuman stamina and vitality, they managed to stay in the fight without taking a break. Reimu, Sanae and Sakuya have learned the disadvantages of being a human, when their fatigue has forced them to take a break. Without their support, the fairies were getting ever more successful in breaking through the defenses of the village and causing more damage.
Remilia was still watching the battle through the window, clenching her fists in fury that boiled inside her. Suddenly, the sound of shuffling steps diverted her attention.
"What? Hey, where are you going?"
It was Satori Komeiji and her dizzy, uncertain steps were directed straight at the tavern's main door. She looked like she could barely stand on her feet, let alone fight, but there she was, opening the door and stepping outside into the unpleasant cold rain and unceasing war between possessed fairies and everyone else in the village.
"Hey, you're in no shape to fight!" Remilia called after her. She didn't even know why she felt such concern for someone who wasn't even her friend, but she couldn't help it. Satori's actions were… irrational at best.
With her mouth opened, the vampire watched as more fairies kept pouring in, as if the storm clouds themselves were spawning them along with the raindrops. Fifteen endless minutes have passed since the battle has started. It was as if the fairies have finally decided to destroy the village.
Satori has finally made it to the edge of the quarry, where her younger sister was tirelessly fighting alongside of others. Even in her weakened state caused by the remains of the truth serum in her system, the mind-reading mistress of an underground palace unleashed her power. And it was a power to reckon with. Thanks to her intervention, the human members of the team could take a long enough break to rejoin the battle.
But then something bad happened. One of the enemy danmaku shots has critically hit Patchouli before she could give the other girls the necessary instructions that could turn the tide of this battle. The young youkai librarian fell on the ground, holding her throat and writhing in pain.
"Patchouli-sama!" Sakuya was in a state of panic when she saw blood leaking through Patchouli's fingers where she held her neck. The librarian was still conscious, but her injury was serious. "Eirin-sensei! We have an emergency!"
Eirin was no longer helping the girls with her danmaku, but by tending to the wounded. As Sakuya called for her, she apologized to Marisa and hurried to assist in a more serious case.
"Patchy…" Remilia's already pale face took on en even paler tone from the shock of seeing her friend collapse to the ground like a rag doll. "PATCHOULI!" she screamed at her through the closed window. Even her patience had its limits and those limits were just exceeded. Against all logic and sense of self-preservation, she opened the tavern door with such strength that she literally ripped it off its hinges. But she didn't care about the unwanted damage. Her friend needed her and that's the only thing that mattered. Just like Satori who selflessly decided to fight against the fairies, the young vampire flapped her wings and darted off into the rain that she so much hated. Only after a few seconds she began to regret her decision. The falling water from the sky has immediately drawn a major portion of energy from her body. Not that she was putting herself in deadly danger, but now she wasn't sure if she could still match a single of the hostile fairies in physical or magical strength.
But anyone who would think that she would be afraid to fight in this condition was in for a surprise.
"Scarlet Sign "Scarlet Meister"!"
The card in her hand turned into a breathtaking cannonade of large scarlet orbs. Each of these large projectiles was leaving a dense trail of smaller fragments like comets. Any fairies that were unfortunate enough to be in their trajectory were obliterated. Remilia could feel that this was just a fraction of her normal power, but she kept shooting the hated fairies down like she was possessed by a vengeful spirit herself.
For three incredible minutes she kept pouring danmaku into the sky, like a raging volcano. Her performance could even score a rank in Gensokyo Chronicle as one of the longest-lasting Spell Card attacks.
And when she couldn't even shoot sparks anymore, she still didn't retreat to the tavern. She ran to make sure Patchouli was alright.
"Patchouli!" she knelt down next to her wounded friend who was being treated by Eirin. "Patchy, can you hear me? It's me… Remilia…"
The librarian could hear her, but her injury didn't allow her to speak. An intense and emotional look into Remilia's eyes was the only answer she could give her.
"She… she will be okay, right, Eirin?" the desperate vampire asked. "Won't she? Eirin!"
"I have to stop the bleeding first." Replied the Lunarian and cut off a length of bandage. She coated it with a chemical that accelerated blood clotting.
"Patchy…" Remilia grabbed her friend's hand, trying to lend her some courage. "I'm with you…"
The youkai sorceress replied with a very weak clamping of her hand. For the first time in her life, Remilia Scarlet was glad that it rained. The drops of water camouflaged the streams of tears flowing from her dark-red eyes.
"You can't die Patchouli… Not here… not now…"
"I'm sorry, my lady." Sakuya's voice sounded from behind her. "I failed to protect Patchouli-sama…"
"Sakuya."
"Yes, my lady?"
"Please stay here with me for a while."
"I will, Remilia-sama. I will stay by your side until the end."
"Thank you…" she tried to suppress a sob. "I… wanted to say that to her… I wanted to prepare a surprise for her. I was so proud when she told me that she figured out the source of this incident. I just wanted to tell her how glad I am for having a friend like her."
"You can still do it, Scarlet-san." Eirin reassured her as she was applying the bandages. "Patchouli-san may have recurring health problems, but she is still a youkai. An injury such as this should not take long to heal."
"When you get better… I … I promise I'll show you how much I like you… So hurry up and get well, Patchy!"
Despite what many people living in Gensokyo claimed, the Scarlet Devil had a heart in the right place.
"More fairies from the west~!" a shout of one yama-bito villager signaled another incoming wave of hostiles. The battle for Kazemura was far from over.