A swirl of rainbow light forms in the center of the room as Patchy whispers her spell. The colors coalesces into a flash of white, and when the light fades, a slightly dazed Meiling stands before us. She shakes her head and steadies her footing. Upon seeing Flan and I waiting at the table, she smiles.
Flan is the first to run into her arms, embracing her. Once she finishes, I can't help but hug her as well. "It's been too long, Mistress…" Meiling says.
"Oh, spare me the drama," I reply. "It's only been 2 months or so."
Meiling laughs. "Feels like it's been years…"
We catch her up to speed as best we can, before quickly moving on to our next order of business: Izayoi. Patchy works her medical magic – amusingly with little actual magic – and before too long, the human's eyes begin to open.
She groans as her dazed eyes scan over us. Flan is the furthest back, half hiding behind Meiling. Patchy is the closest, with the little devil at her side. It's when her eyes fall on me that she forms her first words.
"Mistress…?" With a grunt, she sits herself up. She really does heal fast for a human… "Where am… What-"
"Allow me to explain your situation… Human." For a moment, I want to say her name, but it feels a bit too respectful. …Why am I worried about this? Before my mind can distract me further, I continue.
"You are now our prisoner. We've half a mind to execute you for your crimes against my family but… You've proven to be useful. Additionally, you've already sworn yourself as my servant. Thus, from this point forward, that will be your identity. You will obey my command. Is that clear?"
Her eyelids move slowly and she shifts beneath her blankets, still dazed and recovering. But I can feel her full attention on me, taking in every word. When I stop, she takes a deep, softly shaking breath, and replies.
"I… Understood, Mistress." She hangs her head low.
This feels wrong. "Lift your head," I say. She does so.
I begin to move to lean down to her level, until I recall the other four sets of eyes on us. A timid and shy little devil, skittish yet carefully observant of the situation, her eyes always falling back to her master for reassurance.
A confused security head, trying to fit together the pieces of the story we've told her to find how it all lead to this situation. Her expression softens at the sight of her allies, and sharpens at the sight of her former enemy.
An erudite magician, sitting with a lazy posture and half-closed eyes, whilst she scrutinizes every detail of what's in front of her. Knowing something is off, but not drawing attention to it until she's drawn her own conclusions.
And my scarred little sister. Watching her attempted killer lay before her, so close to her beloved older sister. The shining light of my entire world. She looks to me with wide eyes of awe, and looks to the human with venomous hatred.
So I stand tall, looking down on Izayoi. Her eyes are… Sad. There is no anger in them. Just a cold, melancholic understanding. It isn't the total detachment from the world that I saw when we first met. These are eyes that still want to feel attached.
This is the girl who fully intended to kill my sister, my friends, and myself. And she very well could have succeeded. I squeeze my fist. She doesn't deserve my caring about her. She doesn't deserve to be forgiven. She…
"You should be grateful you're still alive," I tell her.
Her eyes widen as she leans back ever so slightly, before attempting to keep her posture. As strong a posture as she can, sitting in bed.
"Soon," I begin, "we take back our mansion." I sit on the edge of Izayoi's bed. "Let me go over this properly: The mansion is infested with Hunters now, so we will have to fight our way through. Our goal for the raid is to make it to the center of the mansion. More specifically, to get Patchy there. She'll prepare a spell to relocate the mansion, now that Meiling has set up the relay point. Due to the sheer size of the place, it'll take some time for the spell to encompass it all from this side.
"Thus, the rest of us have two objectives. The first is to protect Patchy while she works. The second is to clean out the mansion entirely. When the time comes, I don't want a single speck of life left on the premises, other than us six."
I glance around the room. Everyone is listening intently. Is this what it's like to be a "leader"? I had forgotten the feeling… "Our goal is the ballroom. We cut our way straight there, and split off afterwards. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," says Meiling, putting a fist in her hand.
"Gotcha sis!" Flan says enthusiastically.
"…Understood, Mistress."
Izayoi speaks hesitantly, her eyes down-turned. A moment later when she looks back up, those eyes are filled with a clear devotion. Let me trust you with this… Flan still studies her with eyes wide. I hold up a hand to draw her attention. She seems to relax.
"Izayoi," I begin, addressing her.
"Yes, Mistress?"
"You will not leave my sight for the duration of the operation. Am I clear?"
"You are, Mistress."
"And I trust I do not need to warn you of what will happen should you betray us?"
"You need not, Mistress." There's a small grin on her face when she says it. My joke must have gotten through. Of course, she's probably the most eager to tear them apart out of all of us.
"Well then… Rest up, all of you. Our plan begins before the break of dawn."
And before long, that dawn came. The six of us observe the mansion from the thicket, hidden within a large clearing of forest. The little devil had been observing their activity for some time. This is our most opportune time to strike, when the threat of the sunlight is in the back of ones mind, but the darkness has yet to lift.
Stealth was considered for a time… But with the sheer quantity of Hunters – and mistrust of Izayoi – we decided it best to break down the door. By that, I of course mean that we were all too angry to leave well-enough alone. Aside from our poor little devil, of course, but getting dragged into the middle of this is now her lot in life.
We give each other one final look. Aside from the little devil, there is no fear or hesitation in these eyes. Just pure glee. I can feel my heart rate allegro and my lips part into a wicked grin. My fangs are horribly parched. I scout the entrance: Only a few tired watchmen, likely near the end of their shift. Nothing to fret over. With my spear already formed in my hand, I give the signal to my allies.
"We've let them live long enough," I say.
I fly high into the sky as the others rush forward, before I rush back down to join them, with a Hunters torso catching my spear tip. The front doors go flying off their hinges before the Hunters can so much as sound an alarm.
It is pure, unadulterated, catharsis. As Meiling breaks their bones and Patchy burns them to cinders, it's clear they had plenty of pent up hatred as well. Izayoi even more so, slashing their necks with inhuman speed.
A group almost gets the jump on us, but before I can even swing my spear, they suddenly become a thin red mist. Flan is standing there, her hand clenched in a fist. She opens it to look at her palm, even more shocked than us.
"Those wings are working," Patchy says, before coughing. The little devil keeps her steady. "The boosted magic circulation and-"
"Patchy!" I throw my spear to skewer a hunter that was attempting to strike her from behind. "Now is not the time for your lectures."
She sighs, gathering a ball of flame in her hand. "Listen, Flandre, just don't push yourself- HEY!"
The rainbow light of her artificial wings leaves streak behind her as she tears into the hordes of Hunters. Her shock is replaced with a wide grin, and stunned silence with gleeful laughter. "Keep going!" I order. "Don't let Flan fight alone!" Their uncertain faces match the feeling in my chest, but now isn't the time for hesitation. Now is the time for blood to spill.
Leaving viscera in our wake, we reach the ballroom. Patchy gets into position immediately. The little devil and Meiling help her make the preparations: Laying out her books and pages, drawing arcane symbols on the floor, all while Patchy whispers those magical words.
Meanwhile Izayoi, Flan, and I fight back the hordes of Hunters. I keep one eye on her as the hunters pour in. Before I can properly react, I have three of them clash their blades to my spear. They're just enough to hold me in place, unable to get the right footing to throw them off.
Then the force disappears as they become paste, and Flan's laughter echoes off the acoustics of the room. Not a single hunter has even a chance against her. Every single move she makes has a swathe of hunters turn to ash. She grabs one by the neck, and a spray of bloods erupts from the two halves his body is torn from.
Most of the hunters stop at that sight. Some even take a step back. As Flan moves towards them again, they burst into full on retreat. "Meiling!" I yell. "Keep an eye on Flan. Izayoi, we cover the south side." They both nod, following the far smaller group out of the room.
It's at this point it hits me: Only a dozen or so Hunters stand before, or run away from, the two of us now, with not many more being turned to dust by Flan on the other side. We've already gone through most of the Hunters by now…?
It's… Surreal. After a massacre that left us on the brink, here we are, doing the same to them. Poetic, maybe. Similarly unsatisfying. Though, I may be getting ahead of myself. The last remaining brave souls move towards us, sure to rally the others. Izayoi and I meet them.
Naturally, most go for me, much to their chagrin. I had never payed much attention to the way they fight, but it isn't too dissimilar to Izayoi. The non-stop aggression, the mindfulness of distance… Good tactics to deal with us. How unfortunate for them that I'm used to watching it. I keep up my own offense, ending them with quick, decisive strikes, just as they would, while using the full reach of my spear.
Izayoi, meanwhile, tears into them with the utmost brutality, and her speed keeps them from so much as scratching her. She dodges the sword of one, slashing the wrists of the wielder, before taking it for herself. She pierces one through the heart, deflects an oncoming strike, and leaves the blade half way through the aggressors neck.
The numbers have dwindled further. Then a body flies in from the north, hitting one of the hunters on it's way. Meiling, the likely thrower of the poor sod, joins us with a kick that breaks the neck of the first hunter to engage her.
"Meiling?! Where's-"
"On her way." As if choreographed, Flan drops down on the last few hunters. The force send them, and several of their limbs, flying. Then they evaporate, as Flan makes yet another fist. She stands over the last remaining hunter, with a broken arm and missing leg. I only have a moment to see the utter terror in his eyes, before Flan brings down her palm, and turns him into floor paint.
She's heaving heavy breaths, but her smile is still wide. When she looks up at me, I nearly jump back on reflex. Then I see where her eyes are really pointing: Izayoi.
She leans down, back turned, to pick up a knife. She's already turning around as Flan flies towards her, palm open and ready to relive her of her body. I don't have time to think. I simply move to be between the two. Flan's smile disappears as her palm collides with my arm, and the soles of my shoes tear open the stone floor. When we come to rest, Flan releases my arm. A look of shock and horror is framed by her now messy hair. Izayoi – of course she got out of the way in time – and Meiling run towards us. Though, I can only barely make them out.
The edges of my vision blur and my hearing fades, save for the throbbing of blood in my head. Though through it all, I can at least see my arm. What little of it is left. I see the bones poking out from the smoldering flesh and muscle. The burns seem to go up to my shoulder, but I can only barely register the pain.
I must have lost consciousness right after, because the next thing I see is the exceedingly rare sight of Patchy's worried face.
"Remi?!" She says, staring into my now open eyes.
I wince as the pain shocks me awake. "If you're about to ask: No, I'm not okay," I say through gritted teeth. Meiling comes into view and helps me up. My right arm is still limp, but at least the bones aren't visible anymore. So, she pulls me up by the left.
"Still alive, though," Patchy says with a sigh. "I'll consider it a success."
Meiling pulls me into a gentle yet firm hug. "Glad you're still with us, Mistress."
"As am I," I say, hugging as well as my functional arm allows.
The moment I'm set free, Flan throws her arms around me. She's sobbing.
"S-Sis…" She sobs, stuttering. "I-I'm… I'm-"
"Shhhhh…" I stroke her head. "It's okay, Flan. I'm not angry."
"B-But I-"
"You were full of adrenaline. You still need to get a handle on those powers of yours." I push her away just enough to make eye contact. I smile at her tear-stained face. Wonder if this is how I would've looked if I weren't so damn stubborn…
"We wouldn't have taken out all of those Hunters without you." I hug her again. "Thank you."
She sobs a bit more, before letting me go as she gets a hold of herself. She opts to stay by my side after that. I can almost feel her staring at my arm.
"So…" I begin, looking around. "Are we…?"
"Go see for yourself," Patchy says, pointing towards the door.
The four of us head out onto the balcony, where Izayoi and the little devil are waiting for us. They both seems relieved to see us. I catch a large smile on Izayoi's face, but she hides it quickly. Judging by Patchy's snicker and Meiling's averted gaze, I'm assuming we all saw it.
Izayoi clears her throat as she tries to force the blush off her face. "Glad you've recovered, Mistress."
"How long as it been?" I ask.
"Only an hour or so…" The little devil answers. L-Lady Patchouli watched over you the entire-"
"Koa…!" Patchy says through gritted teeth.
I grin at her scowl. "Very kind of you." I assume these two were out here because she didn't want Izayoi near Flan… But let's not bring that up.
After all, I have something far more pressing to think about: The view.
The balcony looks out over a brilliantly blue lake, sparkling in the sunshine, under an undisturbed blue sky, with barely a cloud in sight. A sea of trees separate the two, and in the distance, I see a few building's whose architecture is undeniably foreign.
Around the lake, I see what seem to be young girls with wings, dancing and playing both atop and near the water. The air itself feels so full of life and magic. I'm too in awe to be brought to tears.
This is the Promised Land. Our salvation: Gensokyo.