Rumia was quiet for a few moments. Everyone in Gensokyo knew what punishment awaited those who desecrated the flower gardens of Yuuka. Indeed, Rumia recalled back during the Lunar Incident. Yuuka said she turned some lunar abbits into fertilizer.
To Rumia's surprise, however, it was Yuuka who spoke first.
"Unfortunately, I am unable to kill this woman since she is a Celestial." Yuuka said, her voice dripping with remorse for that simple fact. "And while I could keep her as a plaything, she would be more trouble than she is worth. Her ability would mean, should she be left unattended, she could cause even more damage."
Rumia looked towards Elly.
"Except Elly happened to be around, instead of with your real self, right?" Rumia said.
Yuuka shot Elly an annoyed glance, before sighing.
"Yes. Elly happened to be away from guarding my true home. I wonder if the greater me had a feeling this would happen when she sent Elly out." Yuuka said. "Maybe she wanted Elly to tell you some things. Elly is not particularly good at keeping secrets."
The Shinigami did not respond to her name being mentioned.
"And as a Shinigami, Elly is capable of killing Enkura. So why haven't you made her do it already?" Rumia asked.
"You have it all wrong. I am trying to reign in Elly to stop her." Yuuka said.
Rumia laughed. "Yuuka, you seriously expect me to believe that you do NOT want someone who ruined your tulips dead?"
"It would not be worth it. You see, the entire reason that Elly works for me, instead of the Yama, is that she reached the threshold. One can only cause death before they lose themselves, even a Shinigami." Yuuka said.
Rumia blinked. She recalled Elly saying something along those lines before.
"Elly wishes to carry out her natural duty. She is a Shinigami. This is one who had defied death. However, I am worried that performing that duty will cause Elly to lose herself. And if Elly loses herself, it would be likely that I would have to put her down, before she becomes a danger to all of Gensokyo in her madness. I am not willing to part with my gatekeeper and employee so easily. Especially not one who has earned my trust."
"So... Elly is willing to risk losing herself... to perform her duty to the Yamas?" Rumia asked.
"Usually, she would not, but this case is also special. You see, to become a Celestial, it is a step beyond simply being a Hermit and extending your life. Eluding a Shinigami is not enough. A Celestial must defeat the Shinigami after them. The one that was defeated by Tenshi and Enkura for them to become Celestials was Elly's student... and she died from her wounds, having picked up Elly's own determination. She didn't give up until her body gave out on her."
Rumia looked closer at Elly, and saw a single tear roll down her cheek.
"Shinigami are not immortal. They are timeless, but not invulnerable." Yuuka said simply. "Elly is wrestling with her two desires. The risk of losing herself, against avenging her old student. I am simply here to watch, and attempt to influence her to my benefit. But I will not force her either way."
Elly kept holding the Celestial to the wall, shaking.
"Elly... revenge isn't worth it." Rumia said.
"When you work for Yuuka, you adopt a stance different to that." Elly said.
"She has a point." Yuuka said. Rumia just looked annoyed at Yuuka. If there was a picture next to the term 'disproportionate retribution', it would be hers.
"Yes, but is it really worth you throwing yourself away for it?" Rumia asked.
"Ask your robot friend that very same question. She already has thrown herself away." Elly replied.
Rika did not respond at first, although at this point it seemed she was sleeping. A few seconds later, she said, a quiet, robotic voice, "I am no longer human... I guess she's right."
"Arrgh!" Rumia shouted. "All I'm trying to do is give her a second chance! Like Yukari gave me! I owe Yukari this much at least!"
"Ahaha... that explains a lot. I guess I can understand. Yukari is the reason your persona exists." Yuuka said. "Speaking of... I don't feel that mass of wicked energy within you. A shame, I wanted to fight that primal power at some point myself."
"Only you would WANT to fight a bringer of chaos, darkness and destruction that was born to kill a God." Rumia said.
"It would be fun." Yuuka remarked. "I'm sure I could go wild, and fight a primal fight between a daemon and an ancient youkai."
Suddenly, Elly swung her scythe into the mountainface, and slowly began to pull the blade through the rock, towards Enkura's neck. She let go of the Celestial.
"Very well. I shall leave this up to fate to decide. Should Enkura fall before my blade reaches her, she will be safe. Should she stay standing, I will behead her."
The rock splintered slowly as Elly pulled her scythe.
"If this is Elly's decision, then I shall stop you from doing anything that would cause her to fall." Yuuka said. "And lest I remind you, if you provoke a fight between us by interfering with my underling, it is you who shall be regarded as the instigator, and thus you would have to fight the others as well. Still, this is a better outcome than I expected."
Elly's scythe neared the Celestial's neck, and Rumia started to panic in her head. Then, suddenly, Enkura fell to the ground with a jolt, as a rock fell on her head. Rumia looked up to the very peak, and saw a Mini Suika at the top looking happy with itself.
Elly looked up, but from where she was, she could not see the Suika. She just saw a small splinter in the rock that as not there before, as if the rock broke and fell off.
"It seems that fate has let her live." Elly said. "But if you cannot give her this 'second chance' you speak of, I will come for her. Three days. That is what I shall give you. Any longer than that and I shall have to put her down."
With that, Elly turned and headed down the mountain. Yuuka sat on the rock for a few moments, quiet.
"You've really become something of interest." she said. "Here I thought you would be of no curiosity if your darkness ever left."
Yuuka got up, and looked at the sky.
"You need to be careful to know when the olive branch will not work. There are some forces you cannot reason with. You should know what I am talking about." Yuuka said.
"You mean Titania... don't you?" Rumia asked. "You cannot reason with a force of nature."
Yuuka sighed.
"How much did Elly tell you?"
"Enough that I want to hear from you. You're a cutting of the main Yuuka... so what does that make you?"
"I'm like you. A creation of an evil god. I myself am free from Titania. It is the main body that is the issue." Yuuka said simply. "Just like you are not Shinki, or whatever that dark force inside you was."
Yuuka was quiet for a few moments, before she turned to face Rumia. The look on her face, and in her eyes, did not look like her usual pride and anger. It looked like sadness.
"If she is ever released again, do not fight her. Get Kanako and Suwako, and tell them to assemble as many gods as they can. Titania's power is far too great for any mortal to fight. You are fighting nature itself. You got lucky last time that she had her power cut before she got bored of toying with you."
Yuuka looked away.
"She is the entire reason that my main body went to another world, a pocket dimension between dimensions. She is the reason I exist, so I still have an influence here, without risking her being released into this world again. Hopefully, outside of her native world, she would be powerless."
"We're more alike than I thought Yuuka." Rumia said.
"Why do you think I was so interested in your dark self?" Yuuka said simply. "We are both linked to the divine. We both had dark beings sealed within us, an existence created to mask a great evil. We are both very powerful."
With that, Yuuka flew off, following Elly's direction, and Rumia picked up Enkura and Rika.
Rumia dropped off Rika where she told her to do so, and placed Enkura in the basement of the Scarlet Mansion. She knew she would have to get Koishi, Satori and Reisen again, like when they fixed Flandre, but there was something else Rumia felt she had to do first.
She sat down, and took a prayer stance, before she was whisked away into Tenkai.
"Oh, Rumia! I did not expect to see you here at this time." Miko said happily. "I take it this means the incident with the shades is resolved, or you need our assistance in some way."
"The former." Rumia said. "Do you know where Seiga is? I need to talk to her."
Miko's smile vanished upon mention of Seiga. The Taoist Saint had been doing all she could to try and distance herself from her own old teacher and her habits.
"Seiga is not here right now, since she cannot stand the presence of a certain other Taoist who is visiting right now." Miko said, before she indicated to an unfamilar figure.
She had short pink hair, and two white buns on her seemed to be dressed in a Chinese style, more similar to Meiling than Seiga, with the prominent colors being pink and green. However, there were two things that disturbed Rumia about this figure. The first was the strange energy seeping her her heavily bandaged arm. Rumia could feel an energy, not too dissimilar from Dark energy.
The second was that she was actively suppressing her power. Rumia couldn't tell what she was. If she was a hermit, Miko would have surely introduced her as a Hermit, not simply as a Taoist. Just like Miko would refer to Soga as a 'Spirit', Futo and Seiga as 'Hermits', and herself as a 'Saint'.
This instantly gave Rumia the indication that the woman had something she was hiding. That said, this did not worry Rumia too much, since she had spent significant time around Seiga, a woman of many secrets.
The figure stood up, and turned around.
"Kasen Ibaraki. Pleasure to meet you."