Nicolas Notes: Eyyyyy, hey guys, how's it going?

Disclaimer: I do not own Touhou or any other Touhou related materials.

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CHAPTER 14: Against The Crimson King, 1

Year: 2005

2:35 Anti-meridian

Scarlet Devil Mansion, Hallways, Gensokyo

Rook collapsed after walking for twenty straight minutes without rest in his battered body. Mima wasn't kidding, he barely made in time to cut off the power he was taking from the dagger before it corrupted him. He felt dizzy and dazed. This must be an after effect after using the dagger, just like Yukari told him a long time ago. He couldn't even walk straight and had to lean against a wall to prevent himself from falling.

Unfortunately, what little strength he had left had just left him. At the moment, he was involuntarily face-first in the scarlet carpet that covered the floor, unable to quite pull himself up yet. With little trouble, he forced himself to sit up with his back against the wall. He breathed two deep, slow breaths before unzipping his belt bag and reaching for a vial. He uncorked it and drunk it in one gulp. The familiar warmth soon covered his tired limbs and sore body. It didn't exactly heal him back to his best condition, but it was enough for him to rest properly and gain a little energy to defend himself.

He checked his person and found that there were no injuries or burns, all thanks to his spellcard. Speaking of spellcards, it seemed like he converted his usual ability into one. He reached deep within his pant pocket and drew it out to the light. It was like any normal spellcard he encountered lately, only that had the image of a checkered of box. This card supposedly increased his invincibility and resistance to pain by quite a number. Like the usual 'Checkmate' it granted him inhuman reflexes and speed along with a sharp perception and focus.

He would have to hold on to this for awhile and hide it along with his other spells. Not that it was his first spellcard, it was just he never found any use for them until now. Random youkais were easy to beat even without them if he knew how to fight. Still, despite the card's perks, it had a few familiar drawbacks only made worse. The Price was close to unbearable after the spell times out and the time he was allowed to have it active was cut from the usual five minutes into two.

He had half of his mind to say that spellcards were powerful but unreliable. He felt much more comfortable with his normal attacks instead of relying on spells that could only be shot from one angle. Rook thought about it for a moment. Since Gensokyo almost ran on spellcards from now on, it was going to be inevitable for him to use a spellcard or two. He might as well practice on making more just to be safe.

Rook hid the card in his pouch and released a sigh. Reimu should have probably wrapped this up by now. Strange how there's no explosions occurring yet. The Human then closed his eyes and reached deep within, somewhere around his consciousness and gave the place a mental poke.

Ngrh... Huh? What's your problem?

"Just experimenting," said Rook at the sound of Mima's voice.

I see... Well at least you have a grasp on how to communicate with me, instead of the other way around. The living are stronger than the dead you know...

"Right. Anyway, I'm kinda curious. How's your prisoner holding up in there?"

People may find it weird if you talk to yourself, but to answer your question, she's kind of agitated when you pull my power out of nowhere. Is that really all of it? I could use some sleep now...

"You sound like Yukari. Marisa's going to be thrilled if she knew about you."

No.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

She's better off without me. A fine young woman she'll turn out to be without my bad influence.

"You almost sound like you planned on sealing yourself on purpose before that fiasco began."

Hmm, maybe I did...I'll be watching her like I'm her guardian angel as I am to you. I think I spent enough of my energy talking to you; we may not speak again for some time, good night.

With that, everything went quiet. Maybe it was for the better that she didn't change. Some things aren't meant to move on like the rest of the world.

"Have I changed?" he asked to no one in particular, he was almost surprised to hear someone respond.

"If you keep talking to yourself like that, then I'll have to say you did."

Rook let out a sigh at that, "Just what did I tell you to do, Reimu? Can't you understand simple instructions?"

The Shrine Maiden smiled at his words, "Hey, I'm in a rebellious age. I'm not the same girl you used to teach how to fight, Rook..."

"Shouldn't you be resolving this incident?" asked the Human with a raised eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you be helping me out instead of questioning unnecessary things in a middle of the incident?" retorted Reimu, waiting for a few seconds before adding, "Sir?"

Rook blinked twice as he studied her youthful face before saying, "I swear that turtle's a bad influence."

The Shrine Maiden offered him her hand and helped him stand up. For a girl of her age and physique, she was strong. Rook let her go and began dusting off dirt and dust from his clothes. When he looked up, he saw that Reimu was the same as ever only that she grew up a little. Just as she said earlier, she wasn't the little girl who waved her gohei proudly during her first day in training; she was now a young woman strong enough to beat the crap out of anyone and anything that came in her way.

Just like her mother.

"Good to have you back, Rook," said Reimu with one of her rare genuine smiles.

"Yeah, can't say the same about Gensokyo. The place is a mess, shouldn't you have resolved this weeks ago?" asked Rook looking a bit annoyed, like a parent would when he caught his child slacking off instead of studying for the exams.

"Um, yes, but that Guard was one tough nut to crack, she wouldn't let me in!" explained Reimu, like a child finding an excuse for her parent on not studying for the exams.

"That's because you've been neglecting your training. I'll be having a few words with your turtle to change that, understand?"

"Yes, dad."

"Call me that again and I swear I'm going to kick you, young lady!"

"What? You go through this all the time with every maiden you taught. I bet my mom called you 'dad' at least twice."

"Reimu, shut up."

"Right," said the Shrine Maiden with a nod as she began to whistle to herself a pleasant tune, not that it helped to ease Rook's temper. "So, where we headed now, gramps?"

Rook worked hard not to blast her right there and then, "We head to the throne room. That's probably the only place she'll go seeing its past midnight. This is usually her time for tea."

"I bet it's gonna be hard for her to get her tea when her maid's out of action," replied Reimu as she watched her companion get ready, "You okay? You don't look so good."

"It's nothing. Just an after effect of my spellcard," explained Rook, placing a hand on his sore shoulder. That was when Reimu pasted a charm on his forehead, making him look like one of the corpses Japanese onmyouji revived and summoned. "What the hell?"

"Healing tag, it should soothe your pains. Now come on, old geezer, grab my hand and I'll carry you," said the Shrine Maiden, grabbing Rook's arm instead of him grabbing hers. With a solid kick on the floor, they were in the air.

The girl was waiting for her guests while sitting on her throne. Growing bored for the past hour or so, she decided to walk around for a bit, looking at her parents' inheritance; the throne of the head Scarlet. She gave the entirety of the throne room a bored glance before resting her gaze at the window. Living for so long within these halls, its beauty and splendour no longer interested her. Instead, the girl had her attention upon two intruders within her walls.

As the sole owner of her estate, the girl possessed the ability to know what was happening on every corner of her home save for a number of places. They were close; a smile crept upon her lips. It was quite a shame that she was full already; she won't be able to make room for another meal. She considered tossing their battered bodies into her sister's domain, however decided against it. There was one particular intruder which she was familiar with. The girl closed her scarlet eyes and thought once more.

Yes, she knew this one. Oh how her blood boils at the thought of him humiliating her. Times have changed since then, this time, she will kill him. For all that he has done, he will pay dearly and death seemed to be too tame for him to experience.

But there was this other intruder next to him. A companion? What would he need one for when he singlehandedly tore down their defences the last time he visited. Something was amiss. Within the abyss of her long lived mind, a memory resurfaces. With a snap of her fingers she remembered. Yes, exactly five years ago not a few days after the first assault on the mansion. Patchouli asked her to weave fate under her will and tug at a specific thread.

A thread of power which she cut.

But she didn't care. The girl knew that whatever she had done, she had struck a blow upon the man that trespassed upon her property and poisoned her already insane sister's mind. It was more than enough. The pieces were in place. Her pawns may have fallen but she still remains standing. She won't let him win, no, she won't even consider killing him. He deserves a fate much, much worse.

The girl approached the window and gazed up to the scarlet moon above. She was at her strongest, she will not lose. Tonight, fate bows before her once again.

"Let them come. I'll be right here, waiting..." she whispered softly to herself. She flapped her leather wings, causing a small gust to blow. The vampire slowly turned towards the door of her throne room, a single tiny form was fluttering towards her.

"Lady Remilia?" called the fairy maid, carrying a tray of snacks and tea, "Y-you called for tea?"

"Ah, yes," replied Remilia, slowly making her way to the fairy. One look at the trembling fairy told her that her maid was troubled about something, "Is there something wrong, my dear?"

"Oh, ah, it's just... Some of my friends have gone missing and we all did a head count at the evacuation area," the fairy muttered nervously, "A-and we found out that there were twelve fairies missing... M-M-Milady, I think something's gone horribly wrong..."

The vampire seemed to be deep in thought for a moment before saying, "You're right. Something is wrong... There weren't twelve fairies missing..."

"I-I beg your pardon?"

Remilia could only smile at the maid's naivety; she slowly leaned forward, causing the fairy to go red, "As of now, there are thirteen fairies missing..."

And then she sank her fangs on the maid's neck.

"So how did you deal with her? The purple girl I mean..." asked Reimu after a long uncomfortable silence. All around them, the world was nothing more than a red blur as Reimu flew at breakneck speed. There seemed to be no living soul left in the mansion hearing that they haven't encountered any noise aside from the whispers of the wind as they tore through the air. Reimu kept a swaying flight pattern as she had observed how dangerously low those fancy lightings were despite the corridor's huge size.

Rook had to blink three times to keep his eyes from watering as the winds slapped him, "Huh, what? Oh you mean Patchouli? Just a few bullets at point blank range and she was out. No more, no less."

"You didn't kill her?" asked Reimu with a raised eyebrow, "She looked more than ready to kill you looking back there..."

"If I were to kill her instead of... Putting her to sleep... Then what difference would that make between us?" replied Rook in a solemn tone. It seemed like he regretted not finishing the job and ridding himself of an old problem. He was about to bet all of the silver coins he had that Patchouli was going to hunt him down after all of this is done. "If I did that, I'll be the same as her. Anyhow, why are you so interested? Would you like it if I did end her?"

"What? Me? Of course not, because if you did it's my job as Shrine Maiden to kick your sorry ass out of Gensokyo," answered Reimu in a haughty manner, "We can't have someone as powerful as you running around killing anyone on whim..."

"Reimu... That's the most mature thing that I've ever heard coming out of your mouth," said Rook in mock awe, though from a bystander's perspective it was pretty convincing.

"Shut up," barked Reimu while rolling her eyes. She knew more than to fall for the Human's tricks. Her command however caused Rook to snicker, much to the Shrine Maiden's chagrin, "So yeah, it doesn't mean that I'm... Uh, lazy! Doesn't mean that I'm going to let a potential killer like you roaming around."

"You sound like that crazy cop princess at the Human Village," commented Rook, "And for your information, my dear bird-eyed friend, there are more dangerous people other than me here in this Wonderland of yours, so I'll appreciate the attention you're giving me but someone else deserves it. Heck, A trigger-happy, kleptomaniac, borderline psychotic, laser-shooting love maniac of a witch who lives practically next door to you and probably makes house calls thrice a week for snacks. Shouldn't you be—"

"I'll be grateful if you drop the subject now," said the Shrine Maiden in an icy tone. Wounds heal yet scars remain, Rook got the message and immediately shut up. He instead told Reimu to head left once they hit a fork, which she did. Afterwards, Rook directed her towards the right and told that they should be heading east. Apparently they were at the West wing and that they unfortunately exited through the back exit of the library instead of the entrance so both of them had to go around the entire mansion in order to reach the main hallway.

So far they haven't encountered any sort of threats. They decided to stop for a couple of times so Reimu can catch her breath, carrying Rook around made her arms sore and throbbing. If this kept up then she'll have a pair of biceps to boast about, the Tengu were going to have a field day if they heard about it. During the time they navigated through the mansion, Reimu's attention was cut between flying and avoiding any incoming objects like chandeliers, or stealing a glance at Rook's coat. She knew that inside of it was the dagger, Mima's dagger. She only tried to hide it yet she heard Rook's conversation with the supposedly Sealed Spirit.

There were a couple of things that bugged her. One is that Rook became quiet after he asked Mima if she planned the whole 'sealing' thing just to escape from Marisa. She didn't really know if the Evil Spirit did all of that sacrifice just to avoid her apprentice. The second was this 'Yukari' person. She seemed important, and the name seemed to ring a bell yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Asking Rook would only earn her a lie since he wasn't the type of person to talk about deep stuff, and her intuition told her that this topic was 'deep stuff'.

She decided to put t at the back of her mind for now. First she had to resolve this incident and then that's the time she asked Genji. The turtle was ancient so he was bound to know a thing or two about this Yukari woman.

"Reimu, drop me," barked Rook. The Shrine Maiden didn't bother asking why and dropped him, immediately she felt lighter and began to rise up in the air. Half a second later, a knife flew through the spot where she was flying before, causing Reimu to hover in the air as she searched for the culprit. Rook on the other hand transformed himself into mist just before he hit the ground, materializing only to glare angrily at the enemy in front of them.

Hovering thirty feet away from the grounded Human and the flying Shrine Maiden was a maid in torn clothing. A chunk of her right sleeve torn off as she sported more rips and bruises all over her person. A large cut on her skirt reached all the way up to her hip, revealing her well toned, flawless thigh, which Rook might have found indecent at other times. Actually he might have found it a good idea to look away, but seeing how this maid was unlike any other in terms of hostility; it was only wise for him to keep his attention on her.

Sakuya Izayoi, despite being worse for wear, seemed more than ready to take on the intruders that shamed her not once but two times in one night. She gripped three knives between her left and right hands before tossing the first three at Reimu while the others flew towards Rook. As expected, two intruders either dodged the knives delivered to them or blocked with the use of their power.

"You just won't give up won't you?" Reimu said in disdain.

"Geez, what'd you do to her?" asked Rook, turning to the Shrine Maiden above him, only to stare at his feet as his face turned slightly pink.

"Hey, don't look up, pervert!" snapped the Shrine Maiden with a handful of ofudas in her right hand.

"This isn't really the time for this," grumbled Rook, his eyes resting upon the frustrated maid in their path.

Sakuya only closed her eyes and sighed before saying, "This is as far as both of you can go. I've got to at least make you both waste a bomb or two before the mistress gets mad..."

"You," barked Reimu, unnecessarily pointing her gohei at the maid, "Why don't you just be a good maid and run some errands?"

"Well sorry to disappoint you, but I'm a very, very bad maid..." snarled Sakuya, the world exploding into a legion of knives all aimed towards Reimu.

The Shrine Maiden twirled and spun as knife after knife flew past her, causing tiny rips to appear on her dress as they grazed her. She then summoned her Ying Yang orbs, sweeping a wave of knives out of the air as the black white spheres orbited around their summoner. Rook on the other hand, despite being not the focus of the attack, was not faring well as it literally rained knives over him.

"Hey watch it!" he shouted, yet Reimu failed to hear as she was too busy fending off wave after wave of knives and even smaller kunais.

Squeezing between a gap between a knife and kunai, Reimu fired off a barrage of needles and amulets. Sakuya was caught by surprise and was forced to back flip in mid-air, allowing the volley to pass harmlessly overhead. She retaliated with another set of knives yet Reimu wasn't going to succumb that easily and responded with her own set of needles and paper charms.

The projectiles hit dead center and exploded.

Rook was nearly knocked off his feet at the force yet remained standing. He managed to flee from the battle by a couple dozen of meters or so when the hallway was engulfed in a blast. The next thing he knew was that knives either bounced from the walls or were spewed outwards the moment they were conjured.

"Strange Art~ Eternal Meek!" rang Sakuya's declaration throughout the hallway.

Reimu didn't seemed to be impressed and dodged like business as usual. However she elicited a growl as a knife imbedded itself on her shoulder before disappearing without a trace. She was glad that the knife was made out of Danmaku, because if it wasn't then she should be bleeding pretty badly by now. Shaking any further distractions from her head, she focused her attention back to her opponent's spellcard.

With a couple of seconds of analyzing, she found out that the bullets held no definite pattern and were just being thrown wherever Sakuya pleased. A desperate attack, huh? Concluded Reimu as she noticed the large gaps between the clumsy shots. Still, the number of bullets being released was proving to be quite a bother, she had to leave it all to fate that only a few were headed her way.

Reimu flew within a gap where there were a few bullets flying around and released another barrage of amulets and ofudas. Sakuya rose up in the air before diving to her right and dashing to her left. The Maid kicked off the scarlet walls and resumed her spellcard. Reimu however had enough of the card for one night, so she pulled out her own.

"Holy Relic~ Ying Yang Sanctifier Orb!" yelled the Shrine Maiden, causing a large blue Ying Yang orb to expand within the corridor and take up all of the space. Stunned and surprised at the sheer size of the ball, Sakuya failed to reach for her pocket watch in time before she was swallowed by the Danmaku orb whole.

Reimu cancelled the spellcard and Sakuya fell from within the orb where Rook barely made it in time to catch her. Releasing a sigh of relief, Rook silently congratulated himself for catching the maid before she cracked her skull. Holding Sakuya's smoking and unconscious body in a princess carry, he noticed the knives that littered the ground were starting to disappear. Reimu landed nearby and started to approach him, apparently displeased about something.

That was when Rook realized that the Maid now had lesser clothing covering her body, so he immediately place her at the side before Reimu could label him as a true to the core pervert.

"Would you please lay it off on the clothing damage?" asked Rook, scratching the back of his head, "I mean, you can't just solve every incident by beating up everyone in your way and tearing their clothes apart..."

"It's not my fault their clothes aren't so durable, and besides, she got me too!" complained Reimu and revealing her torn ribbon and ripped sleeve.

"Right... You know what? Let's discuss about this on another time," suggested Rook, "We have to go now, the clock is ticking..."

"Hmph, old lecherous—" started Reimu but was cut off by the Human.

"If I didn't have a single trace of that trait, then I don't see it fit to call myself a man," deadpanned Rook with an un-amused expression.

The Shrine Maiden refused to speak after that, grabbing his arm and taking off once more.

"We're here," muttered Rook, letting go of Reimu's hand as they landed on top of the entrance hall's staircase.

"I guess we're back where we started," said Reimu, stretching out her arms, "Why didn't you go here in the first place? It would've saved you time."

Rook walked towards the door to inspect it as he replied, "I was ambushed, and the maid knocked me out. Oh don't give me that look; I can screw up at least a couple of times can't I? I'm only human."

"A very long lived one at that," snorted the Shrine Maiden, leaning against the marble rails. She looked behind her and found the aftermath of her first encounter with Sakuya still present. Furniture were either turned into pincushions for knives or were wrecked by Danmaku bullets. Dents decorated the walls while craters riddled the carpeted floor. The chandelier lay in ruins at the center of the colossal room.

Reimu bit her lower lip at the thought of these priceless treasures wasting away into nothing, giving her no chance whatsoever to sell them for a quick yen. With a sigh of disappointment, she dismisses the thought and brought her gaze back at the large wooden doors Rook was trying to pry open or at least she thought. She jumped in surprise for a moment before regaining her composure; the Human had unceremoniously kicked the doors open.

"Alright, no traps. We should get a move on," he said brushing his hands together.

"Home sweet home for you, huh?" Reimu raised an eyebrow as Rook gestured her to go first. She seemed annoyed yet obliged in the end, the doors closing behind her as Rook came to her side.

"Well, at least not anymore. I don't imagine sleeping soundly in this place again with all that's happening," the Human lifted his head up, observing his previous masterpiece with a critical eye similar to that of an artist examining his work. It was the same as the other rooms, the hall bridging the throne room and the entrance hall was just as large as a three storey building. Rook guessed that this was the Maid's doing. Her ability of time must have come along with the manipulation of space.

At first he thought that it was Patchouli's work since magic was her forte and that she'll need a large amount of space to house her book. But then again during his stay here, Patchouli never needed to expand the library's already sheer size to begin with. There was the question; why would the Magician need to expand the space within the mansion along with the library? This leads to the Human's second guess being the Maid.

It made little sense, but then again this was Gensokyo. Sense never had a place here and it would never have.

Anyway this new hall was colored ash gray, a totally different look from the rest of the mansion's scarlet theme. The hall brought this Middle Ages like feel with the cool air and blood red banners hanging from the ceiling. Remilia probably wanted the stereotypical vampire castle to be present just like in the movies.

Food for thought: Has Remilia ever watched any vampire movies to begin with? Echoed Rook's mind as he and Reimu walked.

The Human entertained the idea for a few seconds before dismissing it. His eyes travelled to his left and saw the Shrine Maiden walking with a stiff posture and a hard expression. Soon in her place, a small girl with purple hair and red white miko outfit was skipping merrily with her gohei held up high. It was only when Reimu sneezed did the image disappear.

"What are you looking at, old geezer?" asked Reimu in a suspicious tone while wiping her nose with her sleeve.

Rook casually took off his coat and threw it at Reimu's face. This action however caused the Shrine Maiden to trip and fall on all fours.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" she growled as Rook continued to walk without as much a single glance.

"We wouldn't want to have you catching a cold in the middle of a battle," replied Rook with a wave of his hand, "Teacher's orders, put it on for crying out loud..."

With a huff, Reimu did as he told her, jogging to keep up with him at the very end of the hall. Before them was a double door at least twenty feet high, decorated with runes and engravings. On each doors the family emblem of the Scarlets were etched within a large oval where vine like branches spread out to touch the sides. The eyes of the bats seemed to follow their every movement, giving Reimu the chills despite the thick coat she was wearing.

Rook on the other hand remained unfazed despite feeling it too.

Remilia was just behind this door, and all they needed to do was get past it. The Human looked at the Shrine Maiden who readied her charms and gohei before nodding. Rook opened the doors, each groaning as they moved from their place, giving way to the two intruders. Reimu was in a defensive stance while Rook had his arms covered in blue electricity. Checking from left to right, they found no one in the vast hall.

Now that Rook had a good look at it once again, the throne room was as beautiful as ever. Enlarged as the other parts of the mansion, the whole place looked like the interior of a cathedral, minus the long wooden chairs. Gray pillars stood high and mighty as the supported the statues of gargoyles, peeking out from their posts to look at the people below. The path was covered with a vibrant rose colored carpet with olden trimmings. Rook knelt down to touch the fabric and found not a single speck of dust on it.

He turned around to look at the balcony overseeing the entirety of the room. Red banners similar to that of the previous hall hung from the ceiling. Beyond the borders of the scarlet carpet was the checkered red and black floor. Behind the pillars and hung on the walls were numerous paintings of noteworthy nobles along with the rest of the Scarlets' house heads all up to Remilia's painting. Desks stood beneath each painting, all having a candle or two lit on top of them.

The throne room was dark and those were the only things that provided illumination. This of course makes sense since vampires have no use for light, they can see perfectly in the dark as if it was broad daylight. Not a good sign if you're a human fighting against a vampire.

"Alright Reimu, ready for a lesson?" asked Rook as he kept the energy on his arms alive, lighting up as far as ten feet with his electricity.

"Huh? Is this really the time for that?" replied Reimu, giving him an incredulous look.

"A word of advice; trust your gut and try with all you've got not to have it taken from you," said the Human as calmly as he could before giving her one of his trademark smiles.

"Right..." muttered the Shrine Maiden, her tone not exactly brimming with confidence. Rook was caught off guard and had his light killed when Reimu pushed him to the ground with one quick push. The next moment was filled with the wind rushing above them and the sound of thousands of bats squeaking overhead. While he appreciated the save, he would have felt better if the Shrine Maiden warned him at least a second before.

When he looked above, everything was in chaos. He could barely see in the darkness of the room and it took quite some time before his eyes got use to it. Around them, he can make out the distinct shapes of wings and small bodies circling them as if the bats were forming a cage to hold them in. But Rook knew better than that. He knew Remilia was taking a closer look upon her enemies, playing with her food before she ate them. Reimu slowly rose to a kneel while glaring at the swarm surrounding her and her companion, Rook likely did the same.

The swarm only dispersed as Reimu threateningly drew three paper charms from her pocket, leaving them scattering into every direction except for the two humans'. Rook's ears were filled with squeaks, all of them bouncing along his head almost making him nuts. He controlled himself from suddenly lashing out; he knew that this was one of Remilia's tricks, trying to have him throw the first punch by messing with his mind.

Instead, he watched as the bats began to regroup, circling at the far end of the hall into one swirling mass of wing, fur, and flesh. A scarlet aura began to engulf the mass before in the midst of the bright light and swarm of bats, limbs appeared followed by a head, and then came a dress, hair eyes and fangs. Not after three seconds, a petite girl with blue hair and black wings hovered above the throne, her mouth formed into a grin.

"That's her," muttered Rook, his face scrunched up into a scowl. That was all before he turned his gaze towards Reimu with a more neutral expression, "Hey Reimu..."

"What?" asked the Shrine Maiden, not taking her eyes off the vampire.

"You know one of those devices they have in the outside?" inquired Rook, his tone casual and calm, "The ones they call television? The kind of box with the moving people in them?"

"Is this really the time?" said Reimu, giving him an incredulous look.

"Well you see there's this one about a panda where if you don't buy his cheese, he'll—"

"Get down!"

With one quick motion, Reimu and Rook hit the deck as a fat red orb flew between them and came in contact with the door causing a small explosion. Reimu gritted her teeth and rose to her feet, taking three menacing steps forward towards the vampire.

"My, aren't you two the most interesting of guests? I haven't had the pleasure of welcoming two visitors such as you," giggled Remilia, though behind her scarlet eyes a fire was blazing, "Oh well, I would like to greet you myself but it seemed like I slept a little more than I planned. Hmm, where's Sakuya? Wasn't she here to greet the guests?"

"She's currently taking a break. Or more likely, I made her take a break, 'young lady'?" said Reimu with a hint of steel in her tone.

Remilia only snorted at her words before sneering, "I knew it... Humans are useless..."

The vampire turned her red eyes at the Shrine Maiden's companion. Rook only stared back, his expression remaining neutral as he got up from the ground, dusting his pants. Reimu took off his coat and tossed it to him, allowing Rook to throw it on his shoulder.

"Hmph, seems like you haven't changed at all, at least now you had time to cool your head, Remilia..." Rook took five steps forward until he came to a halt right beside Reimu.

"Oh," the vampire gave him a bored look, "It's you. Come to terrorize my home again? I wonder what your problem is."

Rook was about to speak when Reimu beat him to the punch, "Oh, right. There's a problem. You..."

"How short-minded, and you don't even understand the reason," replied Remilia with a false smile.

"Well, it's enough reason for us to come and stop you. Because whatever you're planning right now is just plain stupid," responded Rook as he wore his coat once more.

"It's no use, Rook. The only way you'll get this corpse to listen is by beating her upside the head," said the Shrine Maiden as she shook her head in dismay. To Remilia she said, "Anyway can you leave?"

The vampire seemed to be amused by the girl's straight forwardness, "But isn't this my castle? He he he, you're a funny girl. I like you..."

"For your information, this is a mansion. No matter how many times you pretend to think it's a castle, it'll never be one," deadpanned Rook, earning him a glare from the vampire.

"Silence, human! I was not speaking to you, you vile hunter," growled Remilia through gritted teeth. Her furious expression in contrast with the pleasant and mischievous nature she displayed earlier, "Do not think for even a second that I have forgotten what you did to my household five years ago... What you told my sister of your lies... Unforgivable..."

"Well isn't she a little miss sunshine?" muttered Reimu, sarcasm colored every word.

"Cute isn't she?" Rook likewise replied, leaning sideways towards Reimu.

"But no matter," continued Remilia, relaxing her angry expression into a more relaxed one albeit haughty and superior like, "To think that you will return after what you have done in the night where I am strongest no less, is either very brave or extremely stupid of you... This just saves me the time I have to waste in hunting you down. The strings of fate have brought you to me, and tonight I will bring your fate to an end. Right here, right now..."

She turned her gaze towards the Shrine Maiden who was readying her charms and amulets. With a causal flourish of her right hand, red mist began to appear within the hall. Deep within the veil, numerous crimson eyes shone blinking in the dense mist.

"Anyone who dares interfere will meet the same end as him," said Remilia with a dark smile, "Too bad I'm already full, but it seems like the rest of my staff isn't..."

"Oh, this can't be good," muttered Rook in a grim tone, his back against Reimu's.

"You don't say?" replied the Shrine Maiden, bringing her charms up to her face, "Hey, you strong enough to beat her on her own?"

"No," came the Human's response, blue electricity, "I think it's best to leave the cannon fodder to me. I'll meet up with you as soon as I can, after that we can trade places."

"Hmph, scared of your own adopted daughter?" teased the Shrine Maiden with a small smile, "Fine, I'll loosen her up for you. But once this is over, you owe me, got that?"

"Seems like it's gonna be an annoying night," Rook sighed with one eye open and a smile of his own.

"Looks like it's going to be a long night," said the Reimu as she prepared to kick off the ground, her gohei resting on her shoulder.

"It appears like it's going to be a fun night," mused Remilia as she dived towards the duo with her claws raised.

Year: 2005

3:00 Anti-meridian

Scarlet Devil Mansion, Throne of Odin, Gensokyo

Reimu leapt into the air, summoning a squared sapphire border in front of her in which Remilia collided. The vampire was sent back a couple of feet, a sadistic grin upon her childish features as she attempted to claw at the Shrine Maiden, only to meet with another shield. This time as she was thrown backwards, Remilia sent a couple of bat shaped Danmaku towards Reimu, which she easily dodged by moving left and right.

"Let's take this outside, shall we?" declared Remilia before diving towards Reimu faster than the eye can see. Before the Shrine Maiden could even react, the vampire was already upon her, grabbing her collar and unceremoniously tossing her upwards. The vampire was about to chase after her prey when a flexible light wrapped around her fragile arms, pulling her with great force and sending her into the ground.

Rook had summoned one of the electric whips he had used in his battle with Patchouli earlier and used it to slam Remilia into the ground. He pulled again and found that his catch was still hooked, so he proceeded slam her the other way. He was caught by surprise when the vampire landed on her feet with a squeak from her shoes before pulling Rook in with a monstrous strength, causing him to collide with a pillar.

"I'll save the best for last," said Remilia with a flying kiss, "I'll handle the spunky one first... Have fun with my little darlings~!"

With that, she flapped her wings and she immediately shot into the air, flying through the hole Reimu made on the ceiling. Rook tried to regain his senses fast enough to catch up to Remilia, but by the time his vision cleared and his brain began to create a coherent thought, the vampire was already gone. Not only that, it seemed like his whip has faded into nothing too.

Are you done sleeping?

Shut up, Mima, he growled internally as he rubbed his head.

Hmph, I was just trying to wake you in time for your company to take action.

Company? Thought Rook when all of a sudden he heard a hiss behind his back. The next thing he knew was that he was on the ground, struggling as a crimson eyed fairy in a maid uniform had her hands wrapped around his throat. Rook grunted as the fairy possessed strength that he would have never have imagined.

Ghoul... was Rook's only thought of the fairy's condition. It explained the fairy's animalistic behaviour unfit for her kind; Remilia must have bitten them just for this occasion. With a kick to the gut, Rook managed to get the fairy off of him. She staggered a bit before vigorously shaking her head and charging.

She wildly clawed at him with her sharp claws; however his left hand caught her by the wrist before lifting her body into the air and slamming her down on the carpet. The vampire fairy disappeared into a puff of black dust, almost making Rook gag

What the hell? Thought Rook as he covered his nose with his forearm, That was just nasty...

Mmmhhmm, well if you don't mind, there are a couple of more crawling on the walls. Both of them seem to be ready to pounce on you like the first one did.

At her warning, Rook whirled around and shot a couple of shots at the walls mentioned. Immediately, two outlines dashed into the darkness. The Human was left alone, jerking his head from left to right in search of his enemies. That was when he heard movements behind him and quickly turned around. He found the vanquished fairy beginning to resurrect, slowly forming the torso and head. A roundhouse kick from his foot dispelled the resurrection process, leaving the fairy nothing more than a stack of dust.

If I may advise you, I suggest limiting the use of your power and start relying more on your toy gun. It would save you time and energy when fate demands it...Use your power only to light your way, but under any unnecessary circumstances, do not use it. Only do so if the vampire appears, you will be able to deal more damage with raw energy hitting her.

Right, replied Rook as he drew his gun from its holster and checked it for ammo. He wasn't surprised to see the whole magazine empty; after all, he only emptied when he was shooting the Magician. He tucked the empty magazine into his pocket as he unzipped his pouch for another. Making quick work of his reload, he pulled the slide and turned around, lining the sight on his approaching target.

With a loud bang, the charging fairy collapsed with a headshot.

Finish the other one off and head to the roof. Reimu will need you most there.

Grunting in annoyance, Rook swung his pistol arm towards the right, causing the butt of his gun to connect with the third vampire fairy's jaw. Planting one firm foot on the ground, the fairy uttered an angry screech before charging once more. Rook took the empty magazine from his pocket and stuffed it into the vampire fairy's open maw, causing it to bite down on the metal. He kicked the fiend on the gut while she was confused, punching a dart on her head turning her into dust.

Three shots, I got five left before the next reload, thought Rook as he ran to the side of the throne room where he found the wooden stairs leading the way up, I better aim for killing shots so that I don't waste anymore bullets. I knew not bringing that unlimited ammo box with me was a bad idea...

We have three hostiles up ahead. Stay alert.

Rook reached the top of the balcony and was immediately met with a volley of Danmaku. He managed to dive to the side in time for the bullets to hit the top of the stairs. Rook blindly fired at his opponents and ducked behind a pillar. With his back against the marble, he fished out another magazine from his belt bag and pulled the slide of his gun. The Human retaliated as soon as he was finished reloading, firing off two shots. He missed as the vampire fairies scattered. He took a glance at these three's wide pink wings and red drill like twin tails.

Death Fairies turned ghoul, just wonderful, he thought as he hid back behind the pillar.

Oh don't be like that, you could use a challenge.

I'm not like your student that can take one impossible problem at a time!

You were the one who said that, not me.

Just watch my back.

A hiss to his right indicated a fairy crawling down the pillar next to his. Rook fired his darts, however the fairy seemed to be too nimble for him to hit in the dark as it leapt from left to right on the wall and pillar. As she landed on the pillar, she suddenly decided to dive towards Rook with her clawed hands outstretched. The Human evaded the attack and punched two darts on its back, turning it into smoke. Rook didn't have time to block as razor sharp claws raked across his back. Staggering forward, he felt as a tiny hand possessing an iron grip suddenly clamp on his ankle, sending him skidding across the floor a few seconds later.

With a growl, he pushed himself from the ground and slowly made his way towards his fallen gun. But before he can even reach it, a fairy kicked it away, a smirk plastered across her face. Rook backed away from the threat, only to find all six vampire fairies slowly making their way towards him, either by hovering closer or by walking nearer.

Cut loose.

Rook gathered a large amount of electricity within his arms as he raised them on the air. All fairies hissed and shrieked as they all lunged for his flesh. They all didn't make it as Rook brought down both of his fists into the ground, sending a shockwave of energy that vaporized the fairies at its touch.

Rook panted in exhaustion as the lightning died. Steadying himself, he walked to the very center of the balcony and went towards a double door. Opening it, a world of gears and metal revealed itself to him. If he could just get on top of the clock tower, then he'll be on the roof in no time.

Year: 2005

3:15 Anti-meridian

Scarlet Devil Mansion, Gensokyo

Reimu unleashed four glowing talismans which all homed their way towards her vampire opponent. Revealing her claws, Remilia easily destroyed the missiles with a well timed strike before bringing her hands together and summoning a magic circle in which red bats spawned. Reimu allowed a smirk to appear on her lips as she charge straight forward, shooting through the large circle the bats made and causing them to cancel out by hitting each other. She then summoned her Yin Yang orbs to circle around her as they spewed needle Danmaku in a single concentrated fire.

Remilia stretched her right arm forward as she summoned another magic circle, this one larger than the others. Reimu was forced into a dive as a giant scarlet bat burst into existence and began chasing her. She twisted her body and faced the bat as she flew backwards, firing off her needle bursts at the Danmaku beast's head. Soon, the bat exploded into crimson rubies and from within the explosion, Remilia shot out and grabbed the Shrine Maiden by the foot, sending Reimu tumbling downwards.

While falling, Reimu managed to right herself and continue flying, unleashing four talismans headed towards Remilia. The vampire dispelled them with a burst of large red orbs each. Remilia then gathered a large amount of scarlet magic in her hands before releasing it, firing off another wave of thick red orbs with even smaller sphere trailing behind it. She aimed at Reimu whenever possible, however being rained constantly by painful charms and needles didn't make things any easier.

The Shrine Maiden was about to dive downwards the vampire when intuition told her that it was a bad idea.

And turned out it was right, Remilia raised her hand in the air and declared, "Divine Punishment~ Young Demon Lord."

Angled lasers shot off into every direction while an array of fat yellow orbs accompanied by a volley of blue ones followed. Reimu's Yin Yang orbs began to divide like a bubble before spinning around her in a rapid pace, destroying any Danmaku that came close. A talisman in her hand, Reimu muttered a small pray before launching it into the air, a golden glow trailing behind. It collided with several large orbs and a bunch of smaller ones before disappearing within laser, not a moment too long, the Danmaku it passed through suddenly exploded in a dark yellow light.

The Shrine Maiden used the large gap the explosions created to unleash a barrage of ofudas and needles towards Remilia. The spellcard broke and the vampire wasted no time flying towards her prey, only to miss as Reimu dashed below her and fired off amulet after amulet. Remilia retaliated by releasing a burst of orbs as she and the Shrine Maiden circled each other in an aerial dogfight. Remilia left a trail of glowing orbs as she fired her own bullets, Reimu responded with cannon bursts of amulets as she gave chase.

Remilia spun around and stretched out her left hand, a smile appearing on her lips, "Critical~ Heartbreak x10!"

A spear wrought out of scarlet magic formed within the vampire's hand before she launched it. It flew, turning into a crimson flash which quickly multiplied from one into tens, and then hundreds.

Reimu managed to graze a few for the first five seconds before on hit her right on the leg. Grunting in pain, she performed a barrel roll before doing a back flip and declaring her own spellcard as a spear was closing on her torso, "Dream Sign~ Evil Sealing Circle!"

Her body was enveloped in a wide circular ring before it spread outwards, vaporizing spears in mid-air as they closed in on her. Reimu brought her hands close together, causing her Yin Yang orbs to orbit her a bit more closely. "Spirits, aid this godless Maiden in her scarlet night. Prayer~ Exorcism! "

Three red amulets flew out of her sleeve before crackling like a firecracker and multiplying. The orange amulets all traced their way into the flying spears' path; detonating them all before they can even reach Reimu. Wild fairies from the outskirts of the lake watched as if they were witnessing a chain fireworks display, the explosions reflecting from the lake's surface.

From the smoke, the Scarlet Devil broke through with claw outstretched as she tore Reimu's stomach open. Except it wasn't Reimu she hit but a large clump of blue papers. The real Shrine Maiden spun out of a rift and activated her trap; large numbers of the same blue ofudas began to circle Remilia before launching themselves at her.

Black bats fly out of the smoke and began to assault Reimu. She swung her gohei around to fend most of them, but a few scored a bite or two along with a few scratches. She only managed to fight them off by rapidly spinning her orbs around her. Remilia materialized behind her and threw a spinning cross which she narrowly dodges. The Shrine Maiden hit one of her Yin Yang orbs and sent it towards Remilia's path.

The vampire disappears as she transformed into a swarm of bats, attacking Reimu once more through sheer numbers. They only reformed back into the vampire to declare a new spellcard, "Bat~ Vampire's Web!"

Remilia's body soon burst into a cluster of red bats, spreading outwards. Reimu had to put her flying skills to the test in order to dodge. She looked around and saw that the scarlet bats were lying off into the distance; a sigh of relief escaped her lips. Maybe that spellcard was designed for escape.

That was where she was wrong when she was being hit from all sides by bats that literally flew out of nowhere. Once the barrage was complete, Reimu had to right her smoking form to prevent herself from crashing head first into the roof. Remilia hovered on the spot where she was before. The vampire brought her hand to her lips as if to hide the obvious smirk that was forming on it. Crimson bats began to fly out of her form once more before she was enveloped in scarlet light. The flash died and Reimu saw that Remilia had disappeared.

Work fast Reimu, you don't know where she'll pop out next, thought the Shrine Maiden to herself. That's when she heard the squeaking. On instinct, she shot off her current location and threw three purple ofudas which flew at high speed. Soon enough, scarlet bats began to gather and managed to form Remilia's body just in time for the three ofudas to make contact. Spreading her arms on either side, Reimu summoned an entire volley of amulets before releasing them. They all flew straight towards Remilia's location.

Two large leather wings stretched from the aftermath, and before Reimu could even know it, the world exploded into red.

I'm falling... Dammit, this is so embarrassing, with one command to her body, Reimu managed to float safely and land on the roof. She tried to focus her eyes as she watched Remilia raising her hand in the air, all while declaring her spellcard, "God Art~ Vampire Illusion!"

A sigh escaped the Shrine Maiden's lips as she examined her burnt sleeve. This was going to be a pain fixing since she didn't have enough money. She casually swung her gohei hard and all of a sudden, the large indigo bullet that was about to hit her ceased to exist.

"This is starting to be a pain," she complained as she scratched the back of her head.

She gave the vampire one bored look before she kicked off the roof and shot into the sky. Gracefully dodging a red bullet, Reimu zigzagged through the mass while tossing three ofudas at a time. Remilia started to fly backwards, all while unleashing waves of indigo bullets. Reimu dodged and weaved through the bullets, analyzing the pattern and bullet shots with her eyes. Her four Yin Yang orbs divided once more creating six blue charm spamming turrets that circled her.

The Shrine Maiden danced along the bullets, ducking and tearing through it. She grazed eight bullets from random direction as she kept a firm path towards the vampire. She rose and fell as she navigated through the spellcard, occasionally giving herself a boost to increase her speed. Reimu came to a halt just below Remilia; the vampire noticed her and immediately sent a barrage headed her way. Just as Reimu planned.

The vampire was too busy unleashing her attack to notice the Shrine Maiden shoot through her bullets and send a kick to her stomach. The spell broke, causing the remaining bullets to turn into red crystals. Remilia wasn't thinking of backing down that time so she flew out to meet with Reimu, breaking through the Red-white's newly summoned shield and gripping her arms.

"Enjoying yourself, my dear?" sneered the vampire as she held the Shrine Maiden in an iron clamp grip.

Reimu grunted as she did all she could to pry the vampire off her, "Having... the time... of my life..."

"Oh~? Then you'll enjoy this," giggled Remilia, a malicious smile creeping across her face, "Scarlet Devil~ Scarlet Devil!"

A scream tore through the night. Reimu's vision was filled with nothing but scarlet as pain bit on her skin like fire. Everything burned, everything hurt, she knew this was just Danmaku and she had to fight it if she wanted to break the spell. The only problem was that she was too preoccupied feeling the pain to do anything. She felt her strength slowly draining away followed by a sharp stab at the nape of her neck. Reimu thought in horror at the warm liquid trailing down her shoulder amidst the pain of the scarlet aura, Remilia was draining her blood. With a flick of wrist, a spellcard slid out of her sleeve and into her hand before she slapped it on the side of Remilia's skull.

"Divine Arts~ Demon Binding Circle!" she growled as the scarlet aura that enveloped her and the vampire was surrounded by numerous paper charms. The vampire hissed with her bloody mouth as golden light replaced the scarlet one, causing her turn to scream.

Reimu felt light headed from losing too much blood, yet she managed to place a kick on the vampire's gut, sending her off. The light died and Remilia staggered, only to be hit by a lightning bolt on her torso, lifting her off her feet. Reimu felt a surge of relief as she turned her gaze towards the bolt's source.

"You're late," she croaked weakly, however Rook was too far away to hear her. The Human was quickly making his way towards her, gun in one hand and electricity in the other. The Shrine Maiden struggled to sit up while keeping a hand over her wound, the blood was pouring out too fast for her tastes. She was about to lecture Rook when all of a sudden, the Human was hit on the side by something small, causing him to slide to the edge of the roof.

Acting fast, Reimu drew two charms from her pocket with her left hand as the vampire fairy pounced on her.

Rook almost fell to an uncomfortable landing when he managed to cling at the roof's edge. However he felt a searing pain explode on his fingers as he hung on. It seemed like his momentum and weight was too much for his fingers to bear. He looked as he heard the loud sounds of hissing and spitting just to see the scarlet eyes of a vampire fairy staring back at him. His right hand shot up and grabbed the ledge, freeing his left hand of its burden and allowing it to fire a bolt.

The fairy disintegrated, giving the Human enough time to pull himself up. He winced at the pain on his left fingers, but dismissed it as he dodged a claw from another fairy. Fighting near the ledge wouldn't prove any good and would only provide me with a disadvantage.

He evaded a couple more strikes before retaliating with a tornado kick, causing the little fairy to stagger. Rook drew his dagger from his chest and plunged it into the fairy's torso, turning around and vanquishing the fiend for good.

Killing vampire like creatures was the same as killing vampires themselves, a lucky hit to the heart never seemed to fail a good warrior.

Strong tiny arms wrapped around his neck and began to strangle him out of nowhere. The fairy was about to bite down on his exposed flesh when he plunged a knife between its eyes, throwing the maid away only to land on its feet. Rook adopted a defensive stance as the wound on the vampire fairy's head began to heal.

She charged and he drew his gun. A couple of darts on its shoulders was enough to stun it for a few seconds before the Human whirled in one fluid motion and sliced her neck. No blood came out except for a thick amount of red sand. He planted a firm foot behind him before stabbing the fairy maid on the chest.

Rook expected her to die, but it seemed like as she was disintegrating, the fairy managed to regain a bit of her old self while saying, "Thank you..."

Wiping the dirt off his dagger, Rook turned his back on her remains and replied, "Thanks for holding back... I'll treat you when you revive..."

He turned his attention towards the Shrine Maiden who mercilessly barraging a fairy with her Yin Yang orbs spewing out a stream of amulets and ofudas. Once he caught her attention, she cut off the power leaving the dazed and staggering fairy. Rook stabbed the vampire fairy at the back before kicking it forward for Reimu to paste a paper charm on its head. The fairy shrieked as it was vanquished and purified at the same time.

Rook headed towards Reimu, this time at a more leisurely pace and asked, "Having fun?"

The Shrine Maiden shot him an acidic look before groaning in pain. She placed a healing charm over the tiny holes on her neck and allowed the magic to do its thing. A shaky breath escaped her as she fell on her butt and wiped her brow. "Next time you ask me to meet your family; I'm going to pass..."

"I never asked you to meet them, they're usually more hospitable than...this," replied Rook, kneeling down to her level and examined her bruised arm, "Stay still so I can heal this, I may be able make the bruise go away but I won't be able to soothe your pain. I'll try the best as I can anyway..."

"Just do it," snarled Reimu as she closed her eyes. Rook placed a gloved hand above the Shrine Maiden's arm and released his power. He was surprised as the healing magic seemed a bit different than before. A genuine look of relief appeared on the girl's face as if his faulty magic was working correctly for the first time. When he thought he gave enough power, he cut the magic off. To increase his surprise a bit further, he felt no after effects. He barely felt drained.

"Won't be able to soothe the pain, huh?" smirked Reimu as she rotated her right arm.

"Now that's new..." muttered Rook as he stared at his hands.

"Well, sorry to bother your power discovery, but it seems like our host is back in action," said Reimu as she glared past Rook. Sure enough, the Scarlet Devil was slowly recovering from the attack they sent her. She stretched her wings and they seemed grow wider than before. With one mighty beat, she shot into the air, gracefully landing on top of a pole and staring down at her foes.

"Bravo, it seems like you've managed to impress me, a high honor for two rats," she said with her crimson eyes gleaming, "Though it seems like you have to try far better than that to keep me down."

"Damn it and that was a full divine spell to the face. I heard her scream, so why isn't she even scratched?" growled Reimu as she stared at the vampire with murderous intent.

"Are you blind, young priestess? Look above you," said Remilia, pointing her hand towards the heavens, "Of all times you chose to challenge a Vampire of Fate, you chose to fight her at the peak of her power! Therefore there is no chance whatsoever for you to overcome me. I control your fates, and when I say that you will lose, you will lose... I am invincible!"

The vampire arced her neck backwards and laughed a laugh unfit for her appearance, almost like a being drunk in their power.

"Great," muttered Rook as he scratched the back of his head, "Now I have to beat her back to her senses. I told you to soften her up, Reimu... Not make her go crazy..."

"Hey! She was a tough cookie!" protested Shrine Maiden. A small tremor made them look back up.

"Can you fight?" asked Rook, his eyes fixed on Remilia.

"No, do I get to sit this one out?" replied Reimu in turn.

"I'll take it from here. Get some rest and help me out as soon as you can," said Rook as he filled his right hand with lightning, "Go."

A small gust indicated that Reimu was gone; Rook didn't waste the time looking back and slowly approached the laughing vampire. Remilia suppressed her glee and gave the Human before her a dark smile. A hand stretched out to her side, she summoned a spear of scarlet energy while Rook intensified the electricity that coursed along his arms.

Need a little help?

Yeah, this one will be a pain to subdue. I know the extent of her power and I know my own. Do you think I'll be able to match her?

On a normal night, yes. But now? I don't think so. The gap between your powers is far too large for you to fight in par. I suggest being creative and resourceful in your approach. Don't expend too much power when unnecessary and keep hitting her. Quality over explosions, Rook.

Hmph, she's a melee fighter at best. I won't be able to match her sheer strength in direct combat and who knows what tricks she managed to pick up over the century.

Then I think you should introduce her to some tricks of your own...

Remilia leapt into the air and dove with her spear raised.

Nicolas Notes: As the title says, this is part 1 of two chapters. You guys may remember that fight with possessed Reimu right? Well I decided to pull one of those chapters so I don't break the 10k word limit. I can't have you guys get bored while reading a fight that seems to drag on. So yeah, you guys deserve a break.

On another note, please tell m what's wrong, if there is anything. I'll gladly here about it. I think it would be nice to receive constructive criticism from time to time since I have no idea whether I'm doing things right or wrong.

Any how, part 2 will be released as soon as possible. As soon as I get Endless Echo done... Hehehehe.

Rate, review, and comment. Share your thoughts so I know what you guys think.