"Here! Put it right here!"
"This is... P-pretty heavy when it's not floating..."
"Heavy with information and spells that we can use, you mean. Now come on, do the thing with the spine again!"
The recent discovery of an ancient grimoire had taken the mansion's residents by surprise. Grimoires were magical books that contained a plethora of useful information for alchemy concoctions, spells, incantations, and all things arcane. For it to land in the hands of the ones who needed it the most was a stroke of good fortune. Even better, the grimoire wasn't just an nondescript book. To the mansion's residents it was the key to stopping Malus, but to Koakuma, it was the biggest beacon of hope that she could hold onto. Her mistress's grimoire was a sign that Patchouli was still alive, and she was waiting for her loyal servant and closest friends to save her.
Koakuma placed the grimoire down in the mansion's foyer. They would have put it someplace more comfortable, but Meiling, in a fit of 'better-safe-than-sorry', barricaded the doors to the library with every piece of furniture in the halls. As such, the coffee tables and loveseats of the foyer served as a welcome reprieve from the endless identical scarlet halls. The vampire, maid, and guard all crowded around the little devil as she opened the grimoire and gazed upon its contents.
A groan came from Remilia when she realized that her best friend had added well over a thousand pages to an already hefty piece of work.
"This is why books bother me. The text is too small, the pages are too big and numerous, and even when it starts off interesting, the rest of the book is just filler."
"I'm sure there's a table of contents in here somewhere," Koakuma mumbled. She ran her hands over a few pages before finding it. "Here we go."
"I've never looked into Lady Patchouli's grimoire," Sakuya whispered. "Koakuma, what should we be looking for? What will assist us the most?"
Remilia snapped her fingers.
"Spells, obviously! Patchy's bound to have her strongest spells in this grimoire. With those puppies we'll be able to beat Malus out of her and obliterate her just in time for some late night tea."
"Mistress Remilia, with all due respect, I have a better idea."
Koakuma looked up and directed Remilia's attention to the table of contents. While it was true that Patchouli Knowledge kept all of her most powerful spells within the pages of her grimoire, there was more to it than just that. The little vampire loomed over the text and looked to where Koakuma's finger was. In addition to a complete guide on magical wards, alchemy ingredients and enchanting, there was a bestiary!
"Knowledge is power," Koakuma stated. "Maybe there's something on liches here that we can exploit."
"What's there to know? Liches are undead magicians who sacrificed their humanity to become powerful. Kill them with fire or smash their skull in."
"My Lady, I don't believe it is that easy," Sakuya said. "Were that the case, we would be swating embers out of Lady Patchouli's clothing while the guard fetches the balm."
"Yes, yes, I suppose you're right." Remilia sat back and folded her little arms across her chest. "Alright little devil. It's your mistress' grimoire, and you did manage to open it, so go ahead and consult the bestiary. But let it be known that I don't put much stock in it."
The others understood Remilia's frustration and impatience. Though Koakuma was at risk of losing her mistress and beloved, so too was Remilia and the rest of the mansion's residents. The vampire wanted her closest confidante and best friend to be safe, and she knew that every minute spent not fighting Malus was a minute the fiend used to her advantage. Koakuma buckled down and busied herself with flipping through pages of arcane glyphs while the others hovered nearby.
"Would my martial arts help at all?" Meiling asked to nobody in particular.
"I don't think it would," Remilia replied.
"Why not? I bet I could make a difference. I'll just direct my punches to the right areas and-"
"Please don't punch my mistress in the face Meiling," Koakuma said without looking up from her research. "She's very frail as it is."
"Okay, that's a good point. But how about this? What if I use my knowledge of martial arts to ease Malus out of Lady Patchouli's body without hurting her?"
"How in the world would you do that?" Remilia asked, dumbfounded.
"It's all about the ki flow! Like squeezing out venom from a wound, I'd go up to her and give her a thorough massage. I'd start with her shoulders and-"
"No, Meiling."
The guard gave a sheepish grin and sank back into her loveseat. As Koakuma kept searching for the right page the group spent time going over strategies and worst-case scenarios. As the lich Malus was still in possession of Patchouli, getting her out was the first priority. Doing so would put the group at ease, and if the librarian had enough strength and composure to keep herself conscious, she would no doubt be able to assist the group in banishing or obliterating Malus once and for all. Brute force did not seem like an option for removing Malus' tainted influence, but neither did a more covert or unorthodox approach.
All eyes were on Koakuma as she whirled the grimoire around and pointed to a particular entry.
"Look here! A page all about liches!"
The group gathered around and looked upon Patchouli's old notes. The master magician had been busy and used her time wisely to record all that she knew and researched upon the pages of her grimoire. There was an intricate drawing of a lich as a partially decomposed cadaver along with other objects such as staves and jewels. Littered around the margins of the pages were small notes and codes that only Patchouli herself could understand. The group searched the pages for anything of use before Sakuya placed her finger on one particular paragraph.
"Liches are constructs of flesh, bone, and magical energy. Destroying one would require breaching any magical barriers and removing their potential to invoke spells. A physical blow, such as one from a bone-crushing weapon like a hammer or mace, would easily scatter the bones and sever any magical tendons that may linger."
"But there's nothing on possession," Koakuma observed. "There has to be a way to-"
"A magician of considerable skill or a coven of mages can overwhelm a lich and dispel any active effects on the battlefield. Fighting fire with fire is recommended." Sakuya narrowed her eyes and grimaced. "However, a lich worthy of being classified as one is impossible to defeat with brute force alone. If destroyed, the lich will reanimate itself and either flee or continue attacking."
"Well that's not very optimistic," Meiling muttered.
"Impossible to defeat? No Patchy, everything can be obliterated to dust," Remilia grumbled.
Before Sakuya could continue, Koakuma nudged her out of the way and gave a cheerful shout.
"Wait! Here's something new! My mistress wrote down something about a phylactery!"
"Oh, I heard about those," Meiling cooed with a wave of her hand. "That's a little box that little elderly men put their gems in!"
"You're sort of right there, but no, this is apparently a different kind of phylactery. According to this, it's an object of any shape or size that is imbued with the soul of the lich. Because the object is well-guarded or kept a secret, the lich is given immortality," Koakuma explained. She snapped her fingers and looked over at Remilia. "So, all we need to do is find the object and-"
"-and destroy it! Of course! Go for the source of her power! Good eye little devil." The refined vampire grinned wide. "Home is where the heart is. Since Malus is a heartless bitch, that means home is where the soul is!"
"So that means Malus' phylactery would have to either be well-guarded or on her person at all times," Koakuma mused. "Mistress, do you believe that it could be that tome she carried? The one she appeared out of?"
"I'd bet my entire fortune back home on it. Without a doubt! Think of it; we now know how to defeat her once and for all!"
The guard and maid looked on as Koakuma and Remilia cheered amongst themselves. Though there were probably still a lot of variables related to phylacteries, possession and liches left to think over, there was no denying that the group was finally getting somewhere. Hope rose in their hearts once again. In a rare display of optimism, Remilia assured the little devil that everything would be alright. And she believed her.
But before the group could get over their heads there appeared a familiar face that was both unaccounted for and unwelcome.
"Ah... Hello? Am I interrupting anything?"
No-one said a word as they turned their heads to the front entrance of the mansion. Looking like an urchin standing at the gates of paradise lost was Marisa Kirisame in her black-white outfit and charred broomstick. A tan sack was hung over her shoulder, no doubt filled with books as per usual, but the thief's expression was one of recompense instead of iconic deviance. Marisa lowered her brow in confusion as she noticed the disbelieving stares of the mansion's residents. The silence continued for some time before Koakuma broke it.
"What do you want?" she demanded in a cool tone.
Marisa shrugged and refused to meet the devil's gaze.
"I uh, thought I'd stop by and see if Patchy was doing alright..."
"You're not welcome here."
"W-What?"
"I said, you're not welcome here." Koakuma's good mood had vanished and been replaced with a sour one. She stood up and glared across the foyer at Marisa. "If you hadn't stuck your nose where it didn't belong we wouldn't be in this mess."
"What mess? What did I do?"
Sakuya and Meiling chose to stay out of the conversation and instead looked away so as to not show any support. Even Remilia turned away and allowed herself to sit out on the impending argument. Though she made a point that all of her guests were well-received and treated to her hospitality, she believed that the black-white thief before them deserved no such treatment. With Patchouli on the line Koakuma had every right to be angry with Marisa. And so, she discarded her meek mask to prove her point.
"My mistress is suffering right now because of your foolishness! That tome you tried to steal contained an enemy that possessed her. And now this... this fiend is using her like her own personal plaything!"
"H-Hey! Don't blame me! I didn't know that some ancient evil was in that tome!"
"Yeah well you oughta know," Koakuma snapped as she advanced on Marisa. "You're a grown-up magician; you should know better!"
Marisa raised her hands in defense and flinched under the scolding might of the little devil.
"Time and time again my mistress and I have warned you about stealing books. Were they regular books we wouldn't have reacted so vehemently, but you always take the dangerous ones. How much longer will it take for your taking shortcuts to be your undoing?"
"Look, Koakuma, I'm sorry, okay?" Marisa sighed and backed down. "Is that what you wanted me to say? I never meant for anything bad to happen to Patchy or you. I just..."
"You weren't thinking at all, were you?" Koakuma asked in a quiet voice.
The thief remained silent and shook her head. Koakuma wanted to continue scolding her, but doing so wouldn't solve anything. As much as she wasn't fond of Marisa, the little devil knew that there were more important matters to attend to. Memories of past thefts and even the drunken harassment of Patchouli swam through her mind. She had to follow the example of her mistress who, even though she didn't like her, never regarded Marisa as pest that needed to be exterminated. The little devil turned away and folded her arms across her chest.
Marisa half expected a hex or another cutting remark, but what flowed from Koakuma's lips next took her by surprise.
"Well... You really didn't know what you've done, so I can't hold it against you. I guess I accept your apology." Koakuma glanced over her shoulder at Marisa and narrowed her eyes. "But if you really want to do right, then help us. You bringing back some stolen books is a start, but that's not enough."
"Yeah! Come on Kirisame-san, we need all the help we can get!" Meiling interjected.
"Hey, these aren't stolen books," Marisa replied in her defense. "I was just returning them. That's all. B-but how can I help? If Patchy is possessed, does that mean that we have to kill her?"
"I'm hoping that won't be the case," Remilia said as she unfurled her wings and sat back in her chair. "Now if you two are all buddy-buddy, come back over here. While you were talking I came up with a plan. Provided Marisa doesn't get in our way, I hope that it'll go smoothly."
Before Marisa could get too comfortable, Koakuma slithered up next to her and studied her over. Despite her status as a thief and a mischief maker, Marisa was clever, opportunistic, and a natural with magic. She was younger than Koakuma yet she knew more about the arcane and could keep her head on straight while in the heat of a danmaku battle. Perhaps by teaming up the little devil may be able to learn a few things. With her mistress' grimoire in her possession, Koakuma needed more than dumb luck to see her through.
The thief noticed the grimoire and gave an inquisitive tilt of her head.
"That's Patchy's grimoire, isn't it?"
"It is, but reading it is a challenge. Do you mind helping me?" Koakuma asked. "I don't know many spells. I have to be stronger if I want to help free my mistress."
"You'd trust me to teach you a few things?" Marisa rubbed the back of her neck and paused. "Well, it should be easy for you to pick up new things. Look, I'll see what I can do. Maybe I can teach you how to use spell cards more effectively when that vampire's done talking."
"I'll hold you to that," Koakuma replied with a small smile.
Remilia was a shrewd and clever creature, and when the circumstances were right, she was an excellent tactician. Though she had a habit for using Meiling as cannon fodder or as the group's butt monkey, she made sure that all of her servants pulled their own weight. A duchess like her wasn't known for doing everything herself, after all. The group listened to her plans and strategies and voiced any questions and concerns that came up. Most of them were well answered, but a few of them, namely the concerns about what good would come from using Meiling as bait or a shield, were casually ignored.
On second thought, the servants and Marisa came to the idea that tackling an unpredictable foe wasn't something one could accurately plan for. Sakuya and Koakuma bounced ideas off of Remilia left and right while Marisa kept throwing her own expertise into the fray. They could hardly agree on what to do now that the key to defeating Malus was so close. It took quite a lot of Meiling's optimism and old Chinese proverbs to set things straight once again.
"Steer the boat wherever the winds lead, mistress!" Meiling chirped.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't worry about a plan! Just go with the flow and do your best. If we don't know what Malus will do, we'll just look for any openings and look out for each other."
"Meiling has a point. Good teamwork will prevail where there is no plan to be found," Sakuya added.
"I still think that you two believe my plans won't work," Remilia grumbled.
The group had enough time after their discussion to go and prepare themselves for the final battle against Malus. The mansion's residents have had enough of the lich already, so they decided to put all their eggs in one basket to make this the last encounter with her. The final course of action should everything fail would be to call upon Reimu as a contingency plan. No-one was prepared to fail, and they proved that by gathering their wits, courage, and whatever spell cards they had left in reserve. Marisa provided Koakuma with a few cards from her own reserves before taking her aside with Patchouli's grimoire in hand to train.
Mark my words as the narrator, Malus was about to become the victim of a fatal eviction.
Author's Note: Next chapter will be the final one. It's time to end this... Once and for all!