When was Seija this fast?! I can barely keep up!

As they race to Nuclear Furnace, it takes all of Youmu's effort to keep pace with her opponent.

I know she has the Replica Miracle Mallet, Cursed Decoy Doll, Four-Foot Magic Bomb, and Gap Folding Umbrella. None of those boost speed, though-

Her train of thought is interrupted as they reach a cave passage similar to the one they used to enter the Remains of Blazing Hell earlier. Seija keeps moving through without a moment's hesitation, causing Youmu to follow suit.

Another cave? Just how deep underground are we at this point…?

Unlike the last passageway, this one is rather short. After roughly a minute of going down a straight decline, the rock abruptly ends as it reaches a metallic structure.

Here we go.

Seija enters with Youmu right behind. The room in front of them is gigantic; a series of walkways sits above the magma flowing a few dozen meters below. A blood red light emanates from the top of the tall room where more elevated platforms are.

Is that light the core?

Looking ahead, Youmu sees a youkai with black hair clutching her head. She wears a white-collared shirt with a large red eye-like protrusion on her chest along with a green skirt. Congealed matter covers her right foot up past her ankle while her left foot has a normal shoe and an atom-like structure swirling around the ankle; both legs have black socks that nearly reach her knees. Her right arm has a long metal rod on it starting from the elbow. On her back are huge black wings covered by a cape that is white on the outside and has a starry pattern on the inside. She is on one knee clutching her head with her left hand, while Orin, visibly distraught, attempts to console her.

That must be Okuu. Something's wrong with her. Did Koishi do this?

Once Youmu looks away, she realizes that Seija has already begun moving to the Furnace's core.

"Seija!" Youmu calls out, flying after her. "What are you going to do?"

Seija turns around and says, "I'd tell you to sit quietly and watch, but I know you won't. Koishi! I think it's time for your sister's pet to have some fun!"

Glancing back to Okuu and Orin, Youmu makes out a figure next to them wearing a black hat, yellow shirt, and green skirt. A bluish-purple cord wraps around her.

"Mistress Koishi!" yells Orin. "What's going on? Why are you doing this?!"

"Sorry, Orin, hope you'll forgive me!" the girl responds, her light-hearted tone betraying the situation. She looks at Okuu and then backs away. The hell raven pushes Orin off before spreading her wings and soaring straight up next to Youmu.

"You're Okuu, right? Listen to me! Whatever you're seeing, it isn't real!" says Youmu. "Please don't make me fight you! Seija is the one responsible for all of this!"

Okuu looks at Youmu with a blank expression, remaining silent. She raises her left arm and points upwards, where a small black sphere manifests above her, and calmly says, "Atomic Fire - Uncontainable Nuclear Reaction." Bright red light envelops her, creating humongous spheres of energy and heat that move away from her in a circular motion. Hundreds of smaller, faster blue orbs shoot out of the center.

Shoot!

Youmu quickly identifies a safe zone between red spheres and dodges or cuts through any blue ones that get close. Each blitz is accompanied by a shockwave that pushes her back.

Never mind getting close to her with Roukanken, I can barely even see her with how bright it is! And the heat is insane!

Right as the spell card ends does Okuu immediately fly around the Furnace, throwing out lines of white danmaku that make it impossible to approach. Orin scurries around the floor, evading the stray shots.

At this rate I won't get anywhere! If this were a normal battle I could outlast her but I don't have the time for that. There must be something I can do!

"Orin! Seija's heading to the core, stall her until I get there!" yells Youmu.

"But I can't leave Okuu!"

"You can't do anything to help her in this state, only I can! I promise to save her, so please!"

"F-fine! I'm holding you to that!"

Taking advantage of a slight lull between waves, Orin zips by Okuu's attacks to go after Seija.

I feel bad sending her away, but that should at least buy me a bit more time.

"Explosion Sign - Peta Flare," says Okuu. The red and blue spheres from before reappear, this time much faster and directly aimed at Youmu. They collapse quickly, however, and the spell card is shorter than the last one, so she is able to dodge with relative ease.

You aren't catching me of all people off-guard with a high-power burst attack. Despite how wild the danmaku is, her movements feel controlled and her spell card calls have been calm. She's definitely not acting like she's seeing a confusing or scary image. Did Koishi put her in some kind of pure survival mode?

Okuu summons more white orbs, blanketing almost the entire room with a curving criss-cross pattern.

This is my chance!

Between shots, Youmu steadily approaches and uses gaps to stay safe. But just as the third one ends, the red energy surrounding Okuu returns and forces the half-phantom back.

Dang it, I was so close! But I'm seeing how her fighting style works. After every big big attack, her cool downs are designed to maintain the distance between us. Combined with her spell cards already making getting close impossible, she's almost perfectly crafted a method of keeping my sword from finding its mark. It's not flawless, though; I should be able to punch through if I have some cover. When her next spell card ends, that's my chance.

"Blazing Star - Ten Evil Stars." This time the huge red stars circle around Okuu in two layers, with Youmu between them. The blue bullets are spread out as a simple but effective room-wide field, hindering Youmu's movement further.

Her danmaku definitely favors being overwhelming as opposed to tricky. Well, that just makes my job easier!

Once the latest spell card ends, Okuu repeats her earlier cool down of flying all over the room and laying covering fire.

Yes! If she's doing this again, then my opportunity is… now!

Youmu charges towards the spot she believes Okuu will end up, using her own danmaku to help approach. Like clockwork, the hell raven stops there, but now she summons previously unseen yellow bullets that come out of her in all directions. Youmu is too close to escape in time.

Whoa!

Just as the attack appears to make contact, Youmu raises Hakurouken and yells, "Voidness Sword - Slash Clearing the Six Senses!" With ludicrous speed and precision, every last bullet that gets near the gardener is sliced to pieces. Okuu backs off before Youmu gets a chance to hit her directly, but the bullets the latter produced earlier still manage to hit and slow her down. The damage seems to affect Okuu's mental state, as she shows a semblance of emotion for the first time since the fight began, specifically crazed enjoyment.

"My nuclear fusion will consume everything! Hell's Tokamak!"

What the-?! Where is this coming from?! Did my attack weaken Koishi's hold on her?

Huge red orbs of heat manifest at the top and bottom of the room, with Okuu entering the former. Each sends out arcs of smaller red bullets. Youmu's already mildly charred clothes catch sparks at the fringes while she floats in the gap between the mini stars, causing her skin discomfort.

This is becoming absurd! How did Reimu and Marisa even survive this temperature? I swear it's gotten even hotter in here!

She endures the assault and prepares to counterattack, however, immediately upon the end of Hell's Tokamak, Okuu screams, "Subterranean Sun!"

Two in a row?!

Okuu flies to the center of the room and a sphere of fire encompasses her. All over the Furnace spawn red orbs that, for a moment, sit still. The small sun around Okuu then acts like the real thing, drawing everything in the room towards it with a gravitational pull, including Youmu.

If I get too close to her in that state I'm finished! But… but maybe this is the opportunity I've been waiting for!

Youmu allows herself to be pulled in by the gravity, weaving around the bullets near her. As she gets closer, the heat is almost too much to bear.

Survive just a little longer…!

The spell card finally dissipates and Okuu floats motionlessly, recovering from her attack. There is only a meter between her and Youmu.

Now!

She rushes with Hakurouken, but senses that something is wrong before Okuu softly whispers, "Abyss Nova." It happens in an instant, pure nuclear energy shines from within Okuu for a final explosion of raw power. Youmu's concentration kicks into high gear and causes the world to slow to a crawl, but she does not have the time left to counter with a spell card.

I only have one option!

Youmu wraps herself with the Nimble Fabric on her back and remains completely still. Okuu's blast shakes the entire Nuclear Furnace but eventually passes. Emerging from the fabric, Youmu sees Okuu lying on the ground, barely keeping her eyes open.

"I'm sorry it went this way," the gardener says, doing her best to comfort her opponent. "You should take a long rest for now."

A small cut with Hakurouken right above the control rod on her arm is all it takes to knock Okuu out cold. The hell raven reverts to her avian form.

Didn't even show signs of pain, she was completely spent by the end. Now I have to join Orin-

Youmu drops her swords as she falls to one knee, panting and utterly exhausted. Her hair is ragged, her ribbon and clothes burnt, her skin slightly bruised and also burnt in various spots. As is the nature of danmaku, none of her injuries are permanent, but she is nearing her limit.

Dang it… I haven't had a chance to breathe since that bomb blasted me. And I can feel all the hits I've taken since coming down here adding up. I was able to push aside the fatigue up to now, but defeating Okuu required much of my remaining strength. Can I call Lady Yuyuko for backup?

Youmu goes to grab her phone off her skirt only to find it missing.

You've gotta be kidding me! When did I lose it? When the bomb went off? When I landed the attack on Seija and Shin? Not that it matters now, I'm on my own.

She attempts to rise but dizziness prevents it. Her legs are lead underneath her.

I can't let Seija win! Not after all of this!

Slamming her fist into the ground, Youmu commands to herself, "Stand. Up." The gardener tries again and, using pure will power, grabs her swords and forces herself to her feet. Finding her balance, she shakily flies up to the core, hearing spell card shouts in the distance.

Orin's still fighting back. I need to help her!

The sight that greets Youmu upon arrival to the top platform is less than ideal. Orin is breathing heavily while Seija lazily floats upside down, holding the Replica Miracle Mallet.

"Youmu!" says Orin, noticing her ally. "Is Okuu safe?"

"Taking a nap, but yes," Youmu responds. "She'll be fine."

The relief on Orin's face is palpable.

"Aw, you beat birdbrain?" says Seija. "I had a bet with Shin that you'd lose if it came to that, guess I'm making dinner next time."

"You have nowhere left to run, Seija! Give it up!" demands Youmu.

"So you say, but by the looks of things Okuu really did a number on you. If I had to guess, you're running on fumes."

Youmu grits her teeth.

"That cat over there really did her best to stop me, but with my tools she never stood a chance," Seija continues. "Even if both of you come at me now, do you really think you can win?"

This isn't good. As I am, I can continue fighting for a few minutes at best; Seija has an absolute advantage. Unless Yuugi shows up soon, assuming things went well with Shin, our chances of winning are slim. Plus Koishi could pounce on us at any moment.

"You don't think you can actually destroy the Nuclear Furnace, do you?" asks Orin.

Youmu says, "It's not like your bomb would be enough."

"Destroy? No. Damage to a point of causing a long-term hindrance for everyone who uses it? Definitely," says Seija. "It will incite panic among the residents of Youkai Mountain and the Underworld, which in turn should make waves in the rest of Gensokyo. And I'll have the satisfaction of knowing I was the one responsible for the chaos!"

So it all comes back to her desire to disrupt society.

"Now then, Koishi, you mind putting these two under?" Seija calls out.

Out of nowhere, the younger Komeiji waltzes out from behind Youmu and Orin.

"What deal did you make to get Mistress Koishi to betray us?" asks Orin.

"I'm not betraying anyone!" Koishi objects. "Seija just said she'd grant my wish if we played around some."

'Played around'? Does she not grasp the situation?

"Since when can Seija grant wishes?" Youmu asks.

"Well, it ain't me granting them, but rather Shin," says Seija. "You know how the Miracle Mallet works, right?"

"Ergh…" Youmu fails to answer.

"Did you not do your research? It can grant wishes, but only an inchling is able to use it. Those wishes don't have to be Shin's, though. We normally don't use it for anything extreme since it comes with a drawback proportional to the wish. Koishi knew about that upfront and is still willing to risk it."

"What's her wish?"

"She insisted on keeping it a secret. Didn't matter to me as long as she didn't betray us."

"Wellllllll, if Orin's here, I guess it's okay," says Koishi. "I wanna try opening my Third Eye!"

Any affability in the room completely shatters and is replaced by a thick tension. Seija loses her condescending sneer and Youmu's jaw drops.

Orin's eyes go wide and she yells, "That's possible?!"

"With the Miracle Mallet? Should be," says Seija. "But I figured someone like her would have a really basic wish that posed next to no danger. The drawback of something that extreme…"

"But Mistress Koishi willingly closed it before! She couldn't handle constantly hearing the animosity felt towards her species!"

So that's the reason. Not being able to fully control hearing others' thoughts would mentally tax anyone, especially if those thoughts were full of hate.

"Satori seemed upset the other day about me," says Koishi, her bubbly tone less pronounced than usual. "I came back from the surface and saw her crying in her room and saying my name. I don't want her to be sad anymore!"

Putting a hand to her face, Orin says, "You… you saw that, then. I had never seen Mistress Satori cry before, so I asked her what was wrong. She expressed her frustration about being unable to help Mistress Koishi open her heart to others again. This has weighed heavily on her for a long time."

"That's… I'm so sorry," says Youmu.

Even Seija's face is solemn hearing the story. "I'll take it from here. This is my first time hearing the reasoning, too," she says. "I was staking out the palace about ten days ago when by chance I ran into Koishi. Shin met her during the urban legend and perfect possession incidents, so I knew of her beforehand. I thought the jig was up, but then Koishi asked me if I could take her to Shin. Apparently she knew about the Miracle Mallet from their past encounters as well as my connection to Shin after the fireworks festival. I was willing, but I needed insurance that she wasn't lying and intending on ratting me out to Satori."

The pieces fall into place in Youmu's mind. "The Mask of Hope!"

"Yep. Said it was important to her so she offered it to us. I told her to meet us near the human village in three days if she was serious. If she didn't show, I'd keep the mask and the plan would be aborted. At this point I think you know the rest."

"But that doesn't explain where Satori is."

"Truly couldn't answer that one. But the timing was convenient for us, so I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth," says Seija with a shrug. "I didn't intend for this to go on for so long, but in light of the new circumstances I can't be angry. We really had no idea how important Koishi's wish was."

"Are you telling me the amanojaku has a heart?" Youmu taunts.

"Sure I do; it's full of aggravation at your constant meddling. It's way too late to back out now. Koishi, you mind doing your thing?"

"Got it! I promise it'll be fine, Orin!" says Koishi reassuringly.

Geh, bad time to mouth off.

Youmu assumes a fighting stance and says, "Orin, let's go!"

"I…" the cat youkai trails off.

"What's the matter?"

"If this is what Mistress Koishi wants and it alleviates Mistress Satori's guilt, I can't fight her. My loyalty is to them and their happiness, even if it adversely affects Gensokyo." Orin turns to Youmu before continuing, "I won't fight you or help Seija damage the Nuclear Furnace, but I have to surrender."

Orin… I want to say something like we don't know the result of Yuugi's battle with Shin, but no matter what argument I make she wouldn't risk the Komeijis on it. I can't deny I'd do the same for Lady Yuyuko. Yet beating both Seija and Koishi on my own while I'm this drained seems impossible. Am I really too weak to do this…?

"Thanks, Orin! I knew you'd understand!" Koishi says with an inappropriate amount of cheer. Walking up to her sister's cat, she gazes into Orin's eyes and puts a hand on the latter's head for a few seconds. There is no sign of a struggle on either end. Orin then falls to the ground and reverts to her feline form, similar to Okuu earlier.

"Good kitty," says Seija. "Now for you, ghosty."

Youmu looks down, her hair concealing her face, gripping her swords so tightly that her knuckles turn paler than usual. She feels every last ache in her tired body.

Koishi moves over to her and says, "Don't fight back and you'll be asleep in a jiffy!"

Guess I lose. There's no one left to help me. And who am I to stand in the way of Koishi's wish?
…
I'm making excuses. Losing my confidence because of some words, Yuugi would be disappointed in me. Seija might not have meant to hold Satori's happiness hostage, but her intentions still need to be stopped, regardless of what Koishi wants. I can do this. There is a way. There is always a way!

The gardener sheathes her swords and takes a deep breath. Koishi begins reaching her hand towards Youmu's head.

Barely above a whisper, the half-phantom says, "Cherry Blossom Sword - Flashing Scattered Flowers."

Seemingly vanishing from in front of Koishi, she loops around and launches a flurry of slashes that the poor girl could have never hoped to see coming. She falls faster than Seija can process what happened.

"What?!" yells Seija. "Where is that strength coming from?!"

"My resolve will not falter! My name is Youmu Konpaku, gardener to Yuyuko Saigyouji, and I will complete my mission!" Youmu proclaims. "Now, Seija Kijin, prepare yourself!"

"Heh. Hahahahahahaha! You really are something else, huh?! Fine then! We'll finish this your way!"

"Ooo… my head feels all scrambled," mumbles Koishi, lying on the floor but still conscious. "Guess we're fighting now? Here I gooooooooo!"

That attack wasn't enough?

Youmu feels a sharp pain in her head, arching her back and clutching her head with the hand that holds Hakurouken before her environment shifts. The heat amplifies, Koishi vanishes from sight, and a dozen copies of Seija appear around the room.

T-twelve?! Can't tell which one is real!

"Dang, not bad, Koishi," says twelve Seija voices overlaid on each other. "She seems completely out of it."

Not bothering to use a spell card, the Seijas create flurries that, from Youmu's perspective, are multiplied further thanks to Koishi's illusion. Youmu barely manages to beat back the opening salvo with her swords, but a few stray bullets hit her right arm, left leg, and right side. She falls to one knee, her green vest frayed and falling apart.

"You look like a wreck. You're not even gonna pass out standing up like those old stories?" Seija muses. "Lame."

"Oh, oh!" Koishi's excited voice echoes. "If you try using that shorter sword to free yourself, it won't take long for the effect to wear off. Now that I know how it works, keeping my focus on you will cause the illusion to come back real quick!"

"And using - Hakurouken was it? - to free your mind seems to be pretty stressful for you based on how you acted in the Former Capital," says Seija. "Wonder how many times you'd be able to do it before your body gives out? You're probably better off giving up."

I likely have enough remaining stamina to do it once at most. But she's telling me that to discourage me. Deep down, she fears I can still beat her. I'll make those fears reality!

"I. Will. Not. Fall!" Youmu roars, drawing on reserves she did not know she had to stand back up. "I have said it before and I will say it again! The things that cannot be cut by my Roukanken, forged by youkai, are next to none!"

She throws Hakurouken up and does a single swipe with Roukanken, cutting a tiny sliver off the end of the former that is only three millimeters in width and two centimeters in length. Snatching it out of the air, she takes the shard and pierces her right side. The resulting wound is very small but still causes immense discomfort, compounded by Hakurouken's mind-clearing effect.

"GRAHHHHH!" With her scream, Youmu's vision returns to normal and the pain in her head eventually subsides. She plants her feet and picks up Hakurouken, still readily usable due to how clean and small the cut was. "If you intend… to keep me down… with repeated attacks," Youmu pants, "then I'll just make sure your attacks never work! With a piece of Hakurouken inside of me, my mind will forever be clear!"

"Whooooooa!" gasps Koishi.

"Are you insane?!" Seija yells at the gardener.

I made sure not to put it anywhere vital, the wound will heal after this is all over. Time to end this!

Youmu's phantom half circles around her as she gets into a ready stance. Without moving, a single bullet spawns and hits Koishi in the head, knocking off her hat and sending her tumbling back to the floor.

"Owwww… You're… real strong, miss…" Koishi manages to say before finally fainting.

After her initial shock passes, Seija grins and says, "Y'know, there's a part of me that's happy it's ending like this. You and I finally get to slug it out without anyone else involved. It'll end for you the same way it did back when you and everyone else tried to capture me: utter humiliation!"

"You escaped that day. This time you won't be so lucky!"

There are four cheating tools she knows I'm aware of. By contrast I have one. All she needs to do to win is outlast me.

Seija makes two pointing gestures with her hands in opposite directions. "Reverse Sign - Evil in the Mirror!"

"Hungry King Sword - Ten Kings' Retribution on the Preta!"

Springing from her stance, Youmu rushes from side to side, making wide sweeps that create hundreds of bullets that clash with the flurry Seija calls forth behind her. Their perceptions of left and right flip back and forth while time intermittently appears to slow down and return to normal. However, as masters of their respective styles, neither Seija nor Youmu are drastically affected by the discombobulating combination. Youmu's attacks require her to move while Seija stays still, enabling the former to close some distance between them.

I win in a contest of raw power and she knows that. Her first instinct will be to avoid damage before I overwhelm her.

Seija pulls out the Gap Folding Umbrella when Youmu gets close and uses the walkway below as a floor, coming out of the ceiling. Yet Youmu anticipated this and is already halfway to her opponent.

"Life-Cutting Sword - Slash of Nether Meditation!" Youmu channels energy into Roukanken, transforming it into a long blade of light. With one huge slash forward, it reaches Seija and knocks the umbrella right out of her hands. The gardener then swoops to retrieve it in one fluid motion, but not before landing a few clean bullets on the way.

"Urgh," Seija grimaces. "Reverse Sign - Overturning All Under Heaven!"

"Hell God Sword - Sudden Divine Severing of Karmic Wind!"

This time up and down are constantly shifting while bullets come from both ends. Youmu lines up shots horizontally before Seija's attack reaches her, then slashes her own danmaku to create a storm that rains down on the amanojaku.

Not wanting to risk a repeat of what just happened, next she'll try to lead me and the bullets away and attack while I'm distracted.

Throwing the Cursed Decoy Doll across the room to funnel away the attack, Seija begins charging the Four-Foot Magic Bomb. However, the moment the doll is thrown, Youmu launches Roukanken to pierce it through and prematurely end the effect. This allows her to turn around in time to see the bomb being thrown.

Earlier the Nimble Fabric contained the bomb's blast, so…!

Youmu intercepts and wraps the bomb with the fabric, tying a quick slipknot. Using Seija's own spell card against her, she flies straight down to build momentum and chucks the bomb and fabric upwards the moment the area flips. It explodes a safe distance away and both tools fall to the bottom level. This turn of events utterly surprises Seija, giving Youmu ample time to retrieve Roukanken from the doll and use the umbrella to warp the doll and itself to the bottom floor as well.

Another step down.

"You anticipate my moves and steal my tools yet throw them all away?" asks Seija. "What is this, some egotistical sense of 'fair play'?!"

"Afraid you can't win one-on-one without your tools? Not that you did any better with them. I saved your Replica Miracle Mallet for last since I know it's your favorite."

Feels nice having the advantage in conversation for once!

Seija's eyes narrow and, while gesturing with her mallet, she says, "Hmph, you're right on the money, smacking people silly with this thing never gets old. Maybe I can give you a second bruise to match the first one I left?"

"I'd like to see you try! Asura Sword - Obsession with the Present World!"

"Are all your spell cards such a mouthful?" Seija taunts.

"Oh shut up already!"

"Hahaha! Reverse Bow - Decree of the Dream Bow of Heaven and Earth!"

And she has the gall to call my spell cards a mouthful?

Instead of another direct clash, this time Seija's attack produces bullets entirely behind Youmu. Dodging them, Youmu sandwiches Seija between red and blue danmaku while locking onto her position with Roukanken and shooting consecutive beams of light from it. Her efficiency is reduced as Seija's bullets gradually speed up, necessitating more time spent evading, pain and exhaustion slowing her further. Seija, meanwhile, dodges the lasers but is also visibly wearing down.

Her bag of tricks is shallow without her tools. She doesn't have much left, meaning she'll try her trump card soon. I don't have enough in me for another spell card, so I need to endure until then.

"I could do this all day, Seija!" Youmu lies through her teeth. "Are you really this weak without cheating?"

"I'm not sure where this energy of yours comes from, but it won't be enough! Turnabout - Change Air Brave!"

The flipping sensation for this attack is a 180-degree spin in either direction, with Seija acting as the axis. Spirals of red bullets shoot out from around her with blue orbs covering much of the safe space. While the previous spell cards Youmu handled well enough, the jarring spinning and unpredictable nature revives the dizziness she felt earlier; she cannot properly defend.

I can't collapse yet! See this through to the end, Youmu!

She closes her eyes and lets sound be her guide. Twisting, turning, and slashing, Youmu eviscerates every last bullet that comes within range using her swords. It works, but that much movement with a shard embedded in her side leaves the half-phantom gasping for breath. Seija is not doing much better, panting while the last of her danmaku fades. The two descend to the walkway and stare each other down.

"I fought a nuclear-powered hell raven before this and have metal in the side of my abdomen," says Youmu. "What's your excuse?"

"I've always considered myself more clever than strong," Seija responds. "And I still had to exert some effort against you, Yuugi, and Orin earlier. I'll also admit you've landed some good hits. The near limitless stamina you incident resolvers exude is beyond me."

"Oh? So you consider me on level with the others now?"

"After every last time you've gotten in my way today and that stupid stunt of stabbing yourself with your own sword, I'll give it to you. You've earned my respect, gho- no, Youmu."

"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said."

"Yeah, I hate it! Amanojaku aren't meant to be liked or appreciated!"

"You get along well with Shin despite your words."

"Originally I was using her, and after she caught on she cut ties with me. But then, two years ago, she approached me to help with her plan for the fireworks festival; from there we decided to stick together, now as equal partners. Admittedly I feel a real kinship with her now."

Seija seems happy in a way that doesn't come at the expense of others for once. I wonder what caused Shin to partner with Seija long-term again? A question for another day.

"If you finally have someone to call a partner, why do all of this?" Youmu asks. "Youkai cause harmless pranks all the time, you two could do the same if mischief and chaos is what you want."

"You just don't get it. You don't see the world the way we do. As long as it exists as is," says Seija, raising her mallet, "we'll always fight against it! It's in our nature!"

"In that case," says Youmu, raising her swords, "it's in my nature to always see my mission through to the end! Regardless of who's in my way!"

"Then we'll never see eye-to-eye."

"I suppose not."

Their weapons primed, time slows down for the final time as the two run at each other. Their forms are sloppy and their pace is slower than normal, the result of their exhaustion, with Seija being the faster of the two. Right as they are about to clash, Seija performs a downward swing with her mallet while Youmu counters with an upward slash using Roukanken. But the former's attack is a feint and from behind her back she reveals Tengu's Toy Camera, intending to blind the gardener for an assured victory. Youmu, however, is also feinting with Roukanken; her real strike is with Hakurouken, already on track towards the arm Seija holds the camera in. Before the flash is made, the camera is knocked out of Seija's hand and Youmu dashes forward with both of her blades for a final slash while her opponent is stunned. The only sound heard is the machinery of the Nuclear Furnace before Youmu, her back to Seija, sheathes her blades and the amaonjaku falls to the floor with a loud thud, incapacitated.

"How… did you…" Seija trails off.

"I knew since following you here, you were faster than normal. Nothing terribly obvious, to the point you likely didn't think I'd notice. None of the four tools I knew you had could do that. The hand-off must have happened during the brief period I was distracted by the Cursed Decoy Doll; you asked Shin to give you the camera so you could surprise me with it as a last resort. I specified that the mallet was your 'last' tool to guarantee that you believed I had no idea. You thought you were tricking a naïve girl when I saw right through it and set you up from the moment we started fighting."

Seija rolls onto her back and gazes at the ceiling before indulging in a genuine smile.

"Wow. Guess I really did… underestimate…" Without finishing the thought, the amanojaku loses consciousness and Youmu's mission is, at last, complete.

"…Phew." The half-phantom falls to her knees, unable to move a single muscle. She keels over as the last spark of her energy fades.

Lady Yuyuko… Yuugi… I did it…

Lying face down on the railway, Youmu hears soft footsteps on the metal before blacking out.

"Thank you, Youmu," says an unfamiliar voice.