Chapter 8: The Cogs Turn


Several days later…

"With this last dose of supplements, your body should be able to fully recover within the next 12 hours." Eirin remarked, as she passed over a glass of orange liquid to Richard, who immediately chugged it down quickly, which caused the Lunarian retainer to narrow her eyes. "You shouldn't chug your medicine so quickly, it speaks of your impatience."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Richard answered back, before wiping his mouth was a sanitized tissue. "It's just that I'm eager to be able to properly stand back up on my two feet. It's fortunate that Reisen talked some sense into me, before my condition could be worse than mere malnutrition. I suppose your medicine does the trick as always."

"I wouldn't put it past the fact that Reisen's insistence to coddle you has also contributed to your recovery." Eirin remarked with a chuckle, before turning serious again. "But I must ask you: You must be truly out of mind if you would willingly enforce such a torment on yourself. What has happened at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, to have driven you to do any of this?"

"...I failed someone." Richard remarked, before looking towards Eirin. "...Please, don't make me open up about it… Just thinking about it hurts my heart and mind. It makes me feel… truly miserable and pathetic."

"I see…" Eirin remarked, as she closed her eyes. "...Normally, I would do anything to keep you inside… but I have a feeling that doing so would not end well for anyone. If we were seen sheltering you for too long…"

"That's why I intend to leave when my health fully recovers." Richard stated. "I don't want to end up making the same mistake that I have caused there… too much has happened before me to simply just pretend things are normal anymore. Even though Gensokyo seems deceptively peaceful… turmoil boils underneath it."

"That much is evident." Eirin answered back. "Anything you have to tell me before you take your leave?"

"Just tell Reisen that I promise that I'll come back to her when this is all over… and that I'm thankful for the fact that she made me see sense at last." Richard nodded back. "I wish that I was the one to tell her face to face… but I don't think that I'll be able to tell her as calmly as you would."

"...Very well." Eirin answered back, before she then left the room. "After you've rested up for the day… no one will stop you from leaving."

Richard merely nodded, as he went to his room, before taking the mandated nap to help recover from the last dregs of his fatigue, as several hours passed, before he then got up.

As soon as he did, he immediately went back to his house, before he then went to a nearby rock, and picked up the ritual book hidden underneath it, likely sent by either Patchouli or Sakuya.

"Even in the end… They kept their end of the promise." Richard remarked, as he nodded solemnly. "Truly, they are too kind to me after what had happened there… but I am truly glad to see that their hearts are not turned from me."

He then headed inside, before then proceeding to lock every single door that he could possibly lock, while closing the curtains on all of the windows, leaving the room in darkness, until he grabbed a nearby candle, and lit it up with a touch of fire, gently illuminating his surroundings, as he went to his own bedroom.

"Alright, here goes…" Richard remarked, before he then began to recite the ritual incantation in clear tone and tongue, despite the foreign language that it was parsed in, as purple motes of energy began to gather in the floor in front of him. With each verse of the chant spoken, the motes become more and more numerous, until they managed to form a glowing rift on the floor, which was getting bigger and bigger, until it was large enough for Richard to step into.

Richard then looked around, before putting the candle down, and looking at the glowing portal.

"...Moment of truth, Richard." He told himself in an attempt to rally himself. "If there's one person who can help me now that is not tainted by whatever is happening… it has to be the goddess of Makai herself. Don't say anything stupid, and be respectful. All that I have to do, including avoiding any social landmines. You know her in a different world… so this should not be as difficult as it would be normally."

As soon as Richard entered Makai through the portal, he found himself in the outskirts, where he could see the ravages of the battle that tore through it a long time ago, with torn corpses of the dead residents, ruined creatures of both flesh and metal, and a mass of various weaponry strewn about.

"This… doesn't bode well already…" Richard remarked, before he then began to traverse the plains, to find more and more signs of warfare, until he entered the capital of Makai itself, as it was as ruined as it looked from the outskirts, with wreckage of buildings seen by the multitude, which made Richard weary.

As Richard began to hear a voice in the distance, he immediately began to stiffen up, before sticking into the shadows, sneaking towards the direction of the voice, to find that Yumeko seemed to be painting a sign, as she stopped for a moment, regarding her own hard work, and smiled.

"It is all coming together. Soon, it will all return to as it was…" The sword-wielding blonde-haired maid remarked with hope in her voice.

Deciding that skulking around in the shadows would not bode well for Richard, if she was to spot him, he immediately stepped out to make himself known.

"Excuse me, but-" Richard remarked, as Yumeko froze for a moment, before spinning on her heels to face him, as her expression turned accusatory.

"You're not one of Lord Shinki's creations!" Yumeko yelled, before a multitude of blue orb summons appeared around them both, while Yumeko drew several blades from her own dress, brandishing them towards Richard. "What business do you have in Makai, human?"

"At first… I wanted to find refuge here… but I know that is but a pipe dream after what I have seen." Richard answered honestly, not allowing his fear to creep into his voice, lest it irk Yumeko in a way that would not make things end well between them. "No, what I seek is an audience with Lord Shinki, because I believe that her wise counsel would help me in this moment of crisis. If she has little to offer me in words and advice… I will take what she gives me with a grain of salt. For she knows Gensokyo far more than I do, and only she knows what someone like me can do."

"You seem to be resolved to see the Lord… and yet you sound as if you are lost." Yumeko declared back, in an even tone that seemed to be half-questioning and half-accusing.

"...I am." Richard sighed gently in response.

Yumeko was silent, as she examined Richard for a moment, before she then turned around, dispelling her summons in a heartbeat, and gesturing for Richard to follow.

The two of them began to travel through the ruined capital, before entering the palace, which was the most intact building, despite the fact that it has the largest amount of remnants for previous battles, entering its halls, until they found Shinki, who was sitting on her throne, silently contemplating about something.

"Lord Shinki. I bring a human who has come here from Gensokyo." Yumeko addressed her liege with a curt bow. "He states that he wishes to see you, and seek your counsel regarding his personal issues."

"Ah… you must be Richard then." Shinki remarked, before rising from her throne, regarding Richard with a look that was befitting of a teaching figure regarding her own student. "Come, Okina has told me to expect you. While she may tell fibs time from time… I can tell that she would not tell one with a face that serious."

"Oh." Richard simply stated, before they were directed to a table, as the both of them sat down on opposite ends. "Goddess Shin-"

"Call me Shinki." Shinki interrupted Richard. "I may be a goddess, but right now and here, we are just two people speaking to each other about the current issue that hangs over our heads… even if it hangs more over yours than mine."

"Right, Shinki…" Richard answered back. "...If Okina told you to expect me… then you must have prepared something to tell me."

"Richard Liu, my lost child… Are you aware of the Mystic Square incident?" Shinki asked Richard suddenly, which caused him to flinch slightly.

"I… I don't think that you're looking for me to answer that with a simple 'yes' or 'no'. I think that you want to ask me how I see it." Richard answered back, before glancing to the side with anxiety for a moment. "...Then you must have known from the beginning about my unique circumstances."

"I am not a goddess for being unobservant of certain implications." Shinki responded back. "But yes, how do you see the Mystic Square Incident?"

"...The Mystic Square Incident is proof of the epitome of what an incident would have been… had the Spell Card Rules not been implemented." Richard explained. "While Gensokyo was slightly ravaged by the residents of Makai who have ran rampant across the land of Fantasy, Makai was far worse off, due to the fact that the incident resolvers at the time, consisting of Reimu Hakurei, Marisa Kirisame, Mima, and Yuuka Kazami, having little care other than making sure that the situation is resolved in the quickest and most efficient way possible. From where I am from… this has not caused severe enough damage to cause Makai to fall into ruin… But here, I suppose the results are far more realistic, to everyone's deficit…"

"And who was it who gave you this knowledge?" Shinki asked.

"I did. But it was your alternate self who gave me the details to piece it all together." Richard responded back. "Why do you speak of this incident, as if it would help me understand what I must do or what I need?"

"Look around us, Richard." Shinki remarked, spreading her arms out. "It took me four years to rebuild Makai as well as I could, and I am not done yet. I destroyed it all trying to fight the maiden who came here to get revenge for something a travel agent caused."

"Believe me, more ludicrous causes have resulted in incidents in Gensokyo.." Richard snorted.

"Regardless, ground access to Makai was sealed as a result, and after a few grievous incidents, the maiden adopted the Spell Card Rules that are used to this day." Shinki declared. "In fact, the Mystic Square Incident was the tipping point before the 'Vampire Incident'."

"Also known as the worst incident in the history of Gensokyo." Richard declared. "...Details about it were restricted in my Gensokyo as well, because of how terrible it must have been… I was there only before the Scarlet Mist Incident happened, but after the Spell Card Rules were implemented."

"Richard, I shall tell you this from experience of what has been given to me: You right now, stand at the end of an era. The end of the 'Gappy' era." Shinki told Richard seriously. "Between Mystic Square and the Vampire Incident, nothing was ever the same. Now, Gensokyo will change once more… and unfortunately, despite all of your good intentions, you shall be the pariah to suffer the sins. So the question that you must answer is: Will you repeat my mistake and fight this unwinnable war, or will you surrender yourself for Gensokyo?"

Richard was silent, before he then leant back on his seat, conflicted on how to answer, although it did leave him burning to ask for answers.

"Shinki… It's not that simple. I can't just simply hog-tie myself and offer myself to the people." Richard answered back. "If my punishment did not involve the persecution of those who cared for me… I would gladly carry the burden. But the scars are made, Shinki. Even if I did as you did, Gensokyo will not simply go back to peace as it has been."

"That's the tragic truth, Richard. You are just like me, in a situation where the best choice is to give up, despite how painful it sounds." Shinki responded back, as there was some sympathy in her voice. "What's funny is that I could've defeated the maiden and her companions, killed them if I just held out one more round, but I didn't. Because that would mean that the rest of Gensokyo would see me as a murderer, and bide their time to get back at me, and raze Makai even further than this. And even if I won… it would be an endless war of attrition. A tyrant against the entire world, just like the folklore stories in several religions. I may be the god of the Underworld, but I am a god of creation, not destruction, so I did what I did, and that is why Makai even exists today, with how broken it is."

"I…" Richard remarked, before he then screwed his eyes tightly. "Shinki, please, there has to be some way to help the others. I don't care about what awaits me soon… but I worry about what will happen to the others… People will die, Shinki. It won't be an incident over some minor grudge… people will be out for blood, I can tell from how tense the air of Gensokyo is…"

'So you care more about other people than yourself?" Shinki asked back. "...It's almost noble that you care so much… but that is your most glaring flaw. While you do not desire to be hailed a hero for saving others, your obsession in running away from your own traumas clouds your judgment. You have a choice: Leave fate to decide who lives or who dies… or risk yourself and the fate of those close to you, to defy it, for an uncertain future."

"You make it sound like I would even think about the choice." Richard declared firmly.

"I ask that you do think about it… but I understand how you feel. In fact, that might be the reason you sought me in the first place." Shinki stated, as there was a hint of compassion under her voice. "You want there to be a way for Gensokyo to be able to properly heal from what happens, that your friends will come out of it in one piece, even at the cost of yourself. Tell me, Richard. How much do you care about them?"

"More than you think. Mere mirrors of those I have known for far longer, they may be…" Richard admitted. "...But I refuse to simply discard their existence for that sole reason. I laughed with them, I smiled with them, I understood them, and I cared for them, and they cared for me back. Reisen gave me love in a world that had none to give to me, and she dragged me from despair. If she dies… then the world may as well cast me to Hell where I belong for being a worthless creature of sin."

"Then you are compassionate as you have always been." Shinki smiled. "At least let me leave you with this: You are not without options. You can still fight for those you care about… but know that sometimes… victory is not always the outcome that a hero desires from battle. As I have surrendered to save my realm… you must find a way other than victory that will ensure that the conflict ends. If you are as astute as I believe you to be… you'll eventually find it before the end comes… And I sincerely hope that you find your golden path. You have suffered long enough for your sins… and should you die… at least let it be in an act of heroism that will be remembered, even if it is only in the hearts of the people, not as a spoken truth."

"Thank you, Shinki. I will hold those words close to my heart." Richard responded back. "For telling me this much, you must believe in my justice well."

"I merely did what I could to inspire you. The rest is left for you to decide." Shinki answered back. "Now go, Makai will not sustain you any longer… since I suspect that the shrine maiden would notice your disappearance soon."

Richard then heard the sound of danmaku battle faintly in the distance, as it confirmed his suspicions, as he got up, and gave Shinki a bow, before leaving the palace, as he saw that Reimu and Yumeko were fighting against each other.

"You will not harm Lord Shinki and her guest!" Yumeko firmly declared, as she had all of her blades summoned to her side.

"You don't understand what you're doing. Richard cannot be allowed to be in Makai." Reimu growled, as she had several yin-yang orb options beside her.

"And I won't." Richard answered back, as both parties turned towards him. "Reimu, cease the duel. Yumeko is just doing her duty of being Shinki's retainer. You being forceful is not going to help matters."

"You do know that there will be words about this, Richard." Reimu remarked with a growl.

"We can speak as much as you like when we're out here… as soon as you stop trying to assault Makai." Richard declared, as Reimu scoffed, while rolling her eyes.

"Fine, don't try anything funny." Reimu declared, as she let Richard take the lead, as the two of them headed back to where the portal was, returning back to Richard's bedroom, as Reimu came through the window, as shown by the open curtains.

"I'm surprised it took you this little time to notice me." Richard remarked. "I thought that you would believe I was disabused of going to Makai after what happened in the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

"I do this because I know that you would be too impulsive enough to not do something like this, after you suggested it to Marisa." Reimu scowled. "And speaking of Marisa, she's waiting on the couch in the living room. You and I are going to have a talk with you, NOW."

"We both know that this was a long time coming. And I was expecting this." Richard answered back, as his expression was as unamused as Reimu was, which caused her to raise an eyebrow.

As soon as the both of them entered the living room, Marisa turned to Richard with an unamused look.

"Well, I guess you really went true to your word, didn't you?" Marisa stated dryly.

"I gave you and Reimu your time." Richard declared firmly. "If it wasn't for the fact that Remilia perpetuated a cluster-fuck that had nothing to do with whatever I tried, I wouldn't have been pressed into Makai."

"What did you tell Richard, Marisa?" Reimu asked strictly, with a glare towards the black-and-white magician.

"I did jack for whatever happened with Richard." Marisa answered back. "All I did was tell him that I would do my best to settle whatever wave of paranoia has been going through Gensokyo regarding him. In fact, do realize that we got the news about what happened there together. If it wasn't for you finding out what Richard has been doing, we would have-"

"You ARE involved!" Reimu forcefully declared. "You were the one who took him to the Scarlet Devil Mansion in the first place! And I bet that you were the one who told him about Makai-"

"I DIDN'T!" Marisa shouted, before whirling around towards Richard. "In fact, how did you even know about the place, enough to get a ritual there. I know that you don't do things blind, Richard, with how long I've interacted with you. Spill, what were you planning there!?"

"I owe either of you nothing, considering that you haven't done a single thing to help me since the start of all of this." Richard answered back, before glaring at Marisa, then at Reimu. "So let's start there, don't we?"

"You're diverting the topic, Richard." Reimu warned Richard. "You don't know what-"

"I know what I did down there, and I sure as fuck didn't make deals with the devil for what I did." Richard interrupted with a snarl. "No, all I asked was advice on the situation. That is it. Confirm with Shinki as much as you like, but that's the solid truth."

"You can't possibly be-" Marisa started, before Richard seized her by the collar.

"Listen to me very closely, Marisa Kirisame." Richard remarked with a low voice. "I'm at the limit of my own patience here. You think you have any clue how I'm feeling at the moment? I literally just came back from a malnourished state out of guilt of what happened at the SDM, and my mind is not much better than my body was, and the mind heals slower than the body when the trauma is deep."

"Then tell us what happened there-" Reimu started.

"I'm not talking about it, no matter how much brow-beating you give to me." Richard interrupted again, which caused Reimu and Marisa to glare at him. "What I did makes me want to crawl into a corner and just shrivel up and die. But that's not how I should be acting, despite the other emotion being pure anger towards whoever is responsible for this shitshow. I'm only calm because I'm not the spiteful man written in the papers. But push me further, and you'll see how true some parts of it are. In fact, Kirisame, why not show Reimu that aura you extracted from me?"

"How did you…" Marisa asked, surprised for a moment.

"You didn't show it to her, and instead go and try to ask about from the source." Richard dryly remarked, before he then leaned back into the sofa. "...Unbelievable. The most trustworthy people in all of Gensokyo, and the only thing they do is question me like I'm some sort of criminal."

Marisa looked at Richard, before she then pulled out the sphere of magical aura, showing it to Reimu, who peered into it, as her face shifted into shock, before turning towards Richard.

"What… What the hell even are you?" Reimu asked with curiosity.

"I'm human, that's what, and that's more than anyone else in this damn place can claim-" Richard snapped, before the TV then turned itself on, showing static for a moment, before revealing Yukari's visage.

"Oh, Richard, Richard, Richard. If only you knew that there was so little that you could do about this entire situation." Yukari mocked, with a wagging finger. "You could have done so much for Gensokyo, if you only listened to my instructions and not shun me. I am the Sage of Gensokyo after all, and I know the realm better than you ever will."

"Yukari, you bitch!" Reimu snapped at the TV screen. "You knew this would happen!"

"Just when we were going to get a Gappy with a lick of sense, you just had to go and stir the pot with all of this!" Marisa snapped. "You always gap in the kids you know will disobey your orders and mess things up in their own way!"

"Then explain all of the children who leave. Although rare, there are many exceptions to the 'Bad Gappy Stu'." Yukari continued.

"Oh, cut your crap." Richard remarked, before walking towards the screen. "Don't make me laugh. Any person who leaves Gensokyo never comes out with a lesson. Especially when it's from your influence. I can bet a pretty penny that over half of these 'escapees' are mentally-hopsitlaised with the trauma they have sustained, or committed suicide out of sheer terror and despair. And almost the rest would have lost touch with reality, becoming a hollow shell of their former selves. Face it, Yukari. Nobody comes into Gensokyo and expects to leave with a happy ending in their books… but for you, it doesn't matter, does it?"

"Say what you will. You are merely proof that there is always darkness in Gappies. The sad truth is that all Gappies have the capacity for good. Even Arturo could have been a hero if only he had listened to me." Yukari declared. "In fact, you yourself are proof of this. But you are nothing but a flawed hero yourself, after what happened in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The guilt of it still weighs upon you deeply, as I can tell."

"You…" Richard seethed, as he clenched his fists tightly.

"But more importantly, regardless of why I gap in these children, Reimu and Marisa…" Yukari declared. "Why haven't you planned to do anything about it?" Yukari remarked, as there was a sinister gleam in her eyes, and a cruel smile on her face. "Each and every time I gap in a child, all you do is feed them tea, explain Spell Card Rules, and then cheer him on until they leave, or they die. Meanwhile, I have a full schedule of children begging for an escape, and you two have done nothing to stop me. Oh… that's right… You can't do anything. Last time, it took you and that maid to fight me while I was sleep-deprived. Even if you could defeat me, you've spent too much time with the Gappies to do so. Seems that Richard picked the wrong horses to back, and he was right to not hold faith for either of you."

Reimu and Marisa glared silently at Yukari, who seemed to be smug about her evident victory, before she then turned towards Richard.

"As for you, Richard, you still have time to properly prepare yourself for the upcoming incident. I would be careful about what you go about and do." Yukari declared. "Cause and effect, my boy, it's a cruel thing to deal with. Don't expect me to do anything for you-"

"Fuck off on that high horse you rode." Richard cursed Yukari, who paused for a moment. "I don't need your fucking help, and in spite of what you have done to me, I'm still standing tall. Do your worst, if you think that an incident is all it takes to kill me, you've got another thing coming. So long as my will to ensure that peace will be restored remains, I will not go down easily, and I will not allow you to cause further damage. You've grown arrogant with all of the power in your head, Yukari Yakumo. You may have set the dominos in motion… but as you say: Cause and effect is a bitch. Don't count your chickens while they haven't hatched yet. You never know if you've got a bad egg in your carton or not. But mark my words on this, and mark them well: You will pay for this in time."

Richard then crushed the TV with a massive oak pillar, leaving a mess of sparks, glass and circuitry, and leaving Marisa and Reimu speechless for some time.

"You… you literally just-" Marisa remarked.

"I did, and I'm dying on that hill." Richard firmly stated, before turning to her and Reimu. "And what is this shit about you simply just sitting by and letting things play out?"

"I…" Reimu tried to argue, although words seemed to fail her at the moment.

"You know what, forget about it." Richard stated. "If this is how Yukari intends to drive a wedge between us, then I'm not schmuck bait to simply go and fall for it. We can discuss the course of your past actions later. We have problems to solve, and you WILL solve them with me, whether you like it or not. That, Yukari has some honesty in telling."

"I hate to say it… but Yukari had us down to the tee…" Marisa sighed deeply. "I should have taken Richard's words sooner with the gravitas it deserved. And look what has happened to Gensokyo right now. It's worse off because we put this off. But still, where's the Shrine Maiden of Paradise I knew? The one that never gave up on an incident? The one that tried over and over until she set things right? I know you want to protect these Gappies, but sometimes, prevention is the best treatment there is. Just like with the Moriya Shirne Incident: Nobody can replace you as the head incident resolver, Reimu. Neither as a friend, or a youkai hunter."

"I… This entire Gappy situation is just… just utterly so disgusting!" Reimu blurted out.

"Like it or not, everyone must play their part." Richard stated. "Shinki told me I am the pinnacle of the Gappy Era. Whatever fate comes to me at the end of the impending incident, Gensokyo will be changed forever. She told me that my death is inevitable, lest I cause Gensokyo to end in ruin as the other Gappies would have done so in their ignorance. And yet she tells me that there is a way to save Gensokyo… and I will find it, even if I die regardless. I cannot leave here, I have no home to return to until Okina finds me my road home. And so… I will be at your service."

"I had hoped that this wouldn't be true." Reimu sighed, before turning to Marisa. "You know what to do, Kirisame."

"Yeah, yeah. Leave ruffling Yakumo's feathers to me." Marisa grinned, before she then left the house and took off by broom in an instant.

"As for you… Come with me. I won't make the mistake of being idle again, not at the precipice of the incident that could be the ruin of Gensokyo itself." Reimu stated. "But whatever you do: Don't do anything rash. You are already on thin ice with the majority of Gensokyo, save for those who know you well."

"I understand." Richard humbly answered back, before the both of them took flight.

As they did, they began to notice that the fairies were gathering towards Youkai Mountain, in large enough amounts that it had made the both of them concerned.

"Think that the trail starts here?" Richard asked, as Reimu nodded. "Never thought that it would start this quickly…"

As the two of them mingled into the horde of fairies, quietly and discreetly enough so that they couldn't be told apart from the others, until they were close enough to the gathering point, as there were thousands of fairies that were crowding around a podium, where both the Celestials, Dokeshi and Koshaku were, as they were riling up the fairy crowd.

"My fairies, who here would like a free vacation in Heaven?" Dokeshi declared, as the fairy crowd immediately into a cacophony of cries of 'Me!', as Richard and Reimu played along to help divert suspicion for the time being.

"Jolly good! Now, all you need to do is destroy the target villages we tell you until Richard Liu is dead!" Koshaku declared casually, which caused Richard and Reimu to become shocked, as Richard covered his own mouth to hide his shock, while Reimu's eyes were as wide as plates upon hearing the plan. "Now then, shall we-"

"Sorry, but the incident's called off!" Reimu declared, as she leapt into the air, before landing an Ascension Kick on Koshaku, downing her, and then beaning Dokeshi hard enough to send her flying into the crowd of fairies, who turned their attention to the shrine maiden, as they erupted into chatter about the situation.

"If it isn't the pesky Shrine Maiden, out of retirement to stop our plan to rid Gensokyo of a pest that has long overstayed his welcome, once and for all." Koshaku scowled, as she rose onto her feet, while Dokeshi slowly got up, shoving fairies aside to make room for herself.

"If you think that I'm just going to be idle on the fact that you're threatening the villages just to draw Richard out, you've got anothing thing coming." Reimu responded back. "This incident will not have the chance to escalate any further than this act of terrorism! And I have allies to help ensure that!"

"Oh yeah, and who's going to save you from all of us right now?" Dokeshi smugly remarked.

"I will." Richard declared, before he then vaulted out of the crowd, before landing beside Reimu, much to the shock of both Celestials. "What, you thought I was just going to sit by and let all of this happen? I will not hesitate to do my part to ensure that you will not get the chance to hurt more people."

"There's Richard! Get him!" One of the fairies remarked, as they began to rush towards Richard and Reimu as a swarm.

Quickly, the both of them shared a look, before drawing their respective spell-cards to counter the horde.

"Declare Spell Card: Fire & Earth Sign 'Pele's Fury'!/ Dream Sign 'Duplex Barrier'!" Richard and Reimu declared, as a pair of orange magic circles formed beside Richard, while Reimu created a large pair of cubic blue glowing barriers, as the two of them began to fire danmaku everywhere, which was being spread out by the teleporting barriers, as it managed to wipe the fairies down to their last man, while Dokeshi and Koshaku were barely able to avoid the attacks unscathed, until the Spell Cards timed-out for the both of them.

"Hah… good to know that I haven't lost my touch." Reimu sighed in relief. "Okay, enough nostalgia. I know that Tenshi has to be behind this, since you Celestials follow her like a dog to their bone. And while you're at it, what villages did you intend to attack? If you won't answer, prepare to be the first ones to get an extermination for the Post-Gappy era."

"Hah! If you think that we'll tell you, especially that Gappie anything, you must have grown soft!" Dokeshi taunted. "But here's a freebie: Tenshi's planning something to make sure Richard stays dead, and there is nothing you can do about it!"

"Care to wager that?" Richard remarked, before cracking his knuckles. "I've got a lot of pent up stress to vent out on my enemies, so I hope you're prepared to get beaten into the ground. If I can fight to a stand-still against Remilia Scarlet, which I have a feeling was played by Tenshi… neither of you will prevail against me, much less Reimu!"

Before Koshaku could even speak, she got booted across the air by Richard's kick, as it managed to separate the two Celestials, while Reimu pounced on Dokeshi, who immediately drew out a prismatic rod to fight with.

"Tell me, do you really think that Tenshi's got her head straight right now?" Richard asked, before a deep frown crossed his face. "I thought that you Celestials were above razing innocent settlements just to settle grudges."

"As long as it ensures that Tenshi gets the chance to kill you, nothing is too low." Koshaku answered back, before she then let several vines snake up her arms, demonstrating her power. "In fact, I may as well do the job while I'm here."

"I like to see you try." Richard mocked with a grin.

BORDER OF DUEL!

Richard: 100%

Koshaku: 100% - 100%

START!

Koshaku immediately began to use her hands to fire off a spread of flower danmaku, as Richard easily predicted the attacks, dodging with slight movements, before surprising the plant-loving Celestial with a beam to the face, causing her to stagger back, before Richard rushed forward, and slashed her with a powerful charging slash.

Richard: 100%

Koshaku: 75% - 100%

Koshaku quickly recovered, before she threw her hand up, as several green lights hit the ground, causing several looming pillars of plant tentacles to rise from the ground, trying to skewer Richard, before firing their thorns in massive spread to try and hit Richard, as some of them managed to nick Richard, causing him to grunt in pain.

However, in response, Richard gathered fire to his blade, before cutting through the plant tentacles with a single sweeping slash, and then snapping his fingers, as a magic circle appeared behind Koshaku, before bathing her in burning flames that scorched her!

Richard: 95%

Koshaku: 40% - 100%

While Koshaku tried to recover from the flames by patting them out quickly with her hands, Richard took a look down, as Reimu was easily beating Dokeshi, dodging a skinny beam of light from her, and retaliating with a powerful spread of explosive ofuda that bounced Dokeshi into the air, and then meteor-smashing her into the ground with her gohei, as the jester-hatted Celestial was temporarily buried.

"Still got it." Reimu remarked with a prideful scoff.

"You do realize we're barely stage 1 into the incident, right? We're midboss targets if anything…" Koshaku declared, as both Richard and Reimu turned to her.

"So what!? This is what I live for!" Reimu grinned ferally in response, as Richard let out a chuckle in response.

"Come one or ten more Celestials, even a hundred…" Richard declared to Koshaku. "...But you will not see either of us yield!"

Dokeshi pulled herself out of the ground, before both Celestials drew their spell cards to activate them.

"Earth Sign 'Game of Thorns'! Light Sign 'Photosynthesis'!" Koshaku and Dokeshi declared, as Richard barely avoided the spread of thorns that came out in front of Koshaku, acting as a construct to attack Richard, with flower cannons that fired patterns of leaf danmaku, and a thorny barrier that retaliated with burst of thorns as the thorn was damaged.

As for Dokeshi, she was gathering light to her prismatic rod, before firing massive blasts of light energy that left behind lingering particles of light that turned into narrow oval-shaped danmaku that honed on Reimu, while the latter was dodging.

Richard merely let out a scoff in response, before he then began to gather magic to the tip of his blade, as it began to glow in response, while dodging the attacks coming his way, with several of them grazing him by his skin, especially by his 'hit-box', causing him discomfort, but no actual pain at the moment.

As soon as the chance opened itself, Richard then fired off a laser burst from the tip of his blade, in the form of a large blue pulse beam, that seared right through the barrier, and hit Koshaku dead-on, causing her to fly back, as her Spell-Card was dispelled.

SPELL BREAK!

"Is that all?" Richard remarked with a deep frown, as Reimu managed to use a barrage of ofuda to break through Dokeshi's own spell card. "I would have thought that you would have given me some sort of fight in response… but what can I expect from simple stallers?"

"You'll regret that." Koshaku remarked with a glare in her eyes, before she then prepared her spell-card, while Dokeshi recovered quickly to use one of her own.

"Plant Sign 'Citric Acid Storm'!/Photon Sign 'Pair Production'!"

The two spell-card immediately deployed themselves, as the ground rumbled once again, as large budded red flower-heads burst out of the ground, hoisted up by large green vines, as they opened up slightly, to reveal the acidic danmaku underneath, while Dokeshi's light rod began to alternate between red and blue, as she began to fire large half-blue half-red ring-like bullets, that split into a massive spread of blue bullets, that were aimed at Reimu, and red bullets, that zipped about.

Richard immediately reacted to the first blast of acid that came out, as it left behind a spiralling trail of green acidic danmaku that forced Richard to weave around it, before more of them began to fire, aiming for Richard, as some of them managed to hit Richard's skin, as it managed to sting hard enough even through his clothes to cause him pain.

Richard: 80%

Koshaku: 100%

"How's that…!" Koshaku declared, as her voice had some pride in it, seeing that Richard was actively struggling against her second spell-card.

"You really don't want me to come out of this…" Richard remarked, before he then began to produce the throwing knives. "But your spell-card is reliant on your summons… and you forget that I still have ways of fighting other than magic. It's time that your little garden gets some personal trimming from yours truly."

Richard then began to throw the knives with force enough to cut into the vines, as he was able to cut down several of them, reducing the burden of having to dodge all the incoming attacks, until he was able to reach a level that he was able to safely dodge at, having cut down many of Koshaku's flowers in a war of attrition, as Koshaku began to sweat, as the fatigue of resummoning that many flowers was getting to her.

"I… How are you able to withstand so long under all of this!?" Koshaku shouted with disbelief.

"I wonder why…" Richard smirked back, before he then immediately prepared his own spell-card. "Either way, it's time for this farce to end. Declare Spell-Card! Earth-Metal Sign 'Svartalfheim Driller'!"

Richard then immediately created a massive drill, transmuting it from his own blade, before he then began to manipulate it, aiming it towards Koshaku, who gasped at the size of it, as he then fired it forward, even accelerating onto it, while using his wind magic to boost the drill's speed.

"Shi-" Koshaku could barely say, before she then panicked, and summoned a massive barrier of vines and wooden bark in response, as barrier and drill clashed, although the latter was winning with little ease.

As pieces of the vines and bark began to spray everywhere, a ever-growing hole forming on the makeshift barrier, Richard then wrapped his own drill in flames with a large burst of magic energy, breaking the stalemate, as the plant barrier was mashed to pieces in a few moments, leaving Koshaku to take the full brunt of the drill, which smashed her right into the ground, forming a large crater, as the drill's force knocked her out cold.

Richard: 80%

Koshaku: 0%

K.O!

"And that's all they wrote." Richard quipped, just before Reimu tossed an equally-beaten Dokeshi on top of Koshaku, just as several tengus arrived at the scene.

"We caught wind of the disturbance here." The squad leader declared. "Mind explaining what happened here?"

"These two Celestials are responsible for plotting an attack on nearby villages." Richard declared firmly, gesturing at Dokeshi and Koshaku. "On my honour as a guest of Youkai Mountain, I hereby request that these two are to be detained and kept until whatever incident results from this situation is cleanly resolved."

"You don't have the authority to order us around, regardless of your relation with Lord Tenma." The squad leader answered back with narrowed eyes, as Richard nodded gently to make his understanding of the statement clear. "But still, I suppose that your request holds merit. Men, take them away."

The two Celestials were then taken away by the tengu squad, leaving Richard and Reimu alone, as they were silent for a moment.

"I'll get the Moriya Shrine up to date with what is happening." Richard suggested.

"...And I'll get the Human Village and all surrounding settlements warned about the incoming situation." Reimu added. "And if I find Marisa, I'll make sure that she will tell as many people as possible about this."

"That'll do." Richard nodded back, before he then flew up Youkai Mountain, while Reimu descended down and out of it.

It did not take long for Richard to be able to reach the Moriya Shrine, arriving just in time to find Kanako and Sanae.

"Where's Suwako?" Richard asked Kanako and Sanae. "There is something that I need to tell all of you."

"She is out doing her own business." Kanako simply answered back. "Whatever you tell us, we will convey it to her. But first, come inside. I've got a new tea brew for you to try from our local flora."

Richard came inside, before he then sat down, as Sanae came over, holding three cups of the aforementioned tea, as they all partook in it together, sitting down before a kotatsu.

"Glad to see that despite what happened in the SDM, there are still people who would welcome me so well." Richard said with relief. "The realm itself in general is becoming more and more hostile to me as the days pass, as if an ill omen for the incoming incident."

"Incident?" Kanako stated, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"Ah right, that's what I'm here to tell you about." Richard responded back, before leaning forward with a serious look in his eyes. "I don't know why… but Tenshi and the Celestials are using this chance to plot an incident to kill me. Normally, I would just laugh it off as the usual welcoming incident, but what I have heard and seen makes it far more sinister. Dokeshi and Koshaku were raising a fairy army, intent on pillaging nearby villages on Youkai Mountain in an attempt to lure me and my allies out."

"What!?" Kanako exclaimed, as Sanae gasped in horror, while the former began to growl under her breath, as Richard couldn't catch what she was trying to say.

"Did you stop them?" Sanae asked with concern.

"Cleanly, thanks to help from Reimu herself." Richard nodded back. "And that brings me to my request. I ask that you prepare yourself for what is about to come. The incident is now inevitable, if Koshaku and Dokeshi are already doing things this overt, because it means that there are other Celestials who are doing the same across all of Gensokyo… and it will be quite the bloody skirmish that comes for all of us."

"Richard…" Sanae remarked, before she was about to say something, only for her to close her mouth and stop herself from saying it. "...Don't worry, the Moriya Shrine can handle itself. We rarely have any encounters with the Celestials, and we're as well-guarded as most major places in Gensokyo, especially with Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama guarding it together when the time comes. So don't worry about us."

"Promise me then, Sanae." Richard stated, before grabbing Sanae's hand tightly, as a look of concern and fear crossed his face. "Promise me that you'll put yourselves above me, and try to all survive this. I have already let too much be hurt for my sake… and if any more people die because they fought for me… I don't think I'll be able to stay as calm and rational as I am. I might snap, I might break down… and I don't want to imagine what could come next…"

Sanae and Kanako were shocked to see how vulnerable Richard was feeling, as they were used to see him being confident and calm, as well as bright in personality. Seeing him in pain tugged at their hearts, as Sanae grasped his hand back firmly.

"I promise, Richard. We'll all make it out of this incident alive and unscathed." Sanae answered back.

"Thank you." Richard responded back, before he then left the shrine.

"I'm going to do some preparations, Sanae." Kanako answered back. "You ensure that the Shrine is prepared for what comes next."

"Yes, Kanako-sama." Sanae dutifully declared back, as Kanako left the shrine, while Sanae rose up, before she then saw that there was a peach poking out under the kotatsu, as she picked it up, and saw that perfect pink shape and color on it, as she clenched it tightly. "...Come out, Tenshi."

"Well, isn't this delicious irony: 'We'll all make it out of this incident alive and unscathed.'" Tenshi chuckled, poking her head out under the table. "We all know that's not going to be happening, one way or another. He's going to die, or Gensokyo's going to burn until he dies… and perhaps even long after then if it's not done properly."

"You really enjoy twisting the knife, don't you, Hinanawi?" Sanae remarked, as all warmth left her voice, leaving behind a frigid and hostile tone. "Because of what you're about to do, Gensokyo is going to have another bloody incident, on the level of the Vampire Incident that I keep hearing rumors about. And you think that this will be enough to ensure Richard dies, with all of the collateral it will cause."

"Don't act like you're clean of hands on this." Tenshi smirked. "After all, it was you who took my deal, knowing what lied on either road of it. And besides, you'll see for yourself that you made the right choice… because he's the kind of threat that the Spell Card Rules are meant to defeat… and that he is worse than the Gappies who had no true malicious intent in their veins-"

"Shut up and do what you must." Sanae snarled. "If you hold your end of the bargain, we'll hold ours. If you break yours-"

"-You'll smite me and the Celestials for the years to come." Tenshi remarked casually, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I think you should be worrying more about breaking YOUR end of the deal. After all, I wouldn't mind causing a lot more destruction than I need to achieve my goals. With Gensokyo going into a state of chaos… nothing is forbidden."

Sanae closed her eyes, as she clenched her fists to her heart.

'Forgive me, Richard… But I have my own people to protect as well. And this is the path of least bloodshed…' Sanae told herself, trying to convince herself that she was making the best choice she could… although her heart still ached at the thought of leaving Richard to die.


It did not take long for Richard to reach Eientei, as he was welcomed through the gates by the Earth Rabbit soldiers who were standing guard easily, being an occasional guest to the hidden residence, and upon entering the halls, he bumped into Kaguya.

"Kaguya, we have problems, an incident is on the rise." Richard declared firmly. "The Celestials are plotting to cause widespread chaos in Gensokyo, by using the local fairies to instigate conflict everywhere. We need to be prepared for what's coming."

"Well, thank you for the warning… but I have more pressing matters to ask you." Kaguya stated, before staring at Richard with a serious look on her face. "Did you… at any point, perform unprotected sex with Reisen?"

"Unprotected sex!?" Richard exclaimed with shock. "Are you telling me that she… No! I never ever did such a thing, from what I can recall in my memory! I may love her, but I am not so driven with any form of lust that I would willingly copulate with her to any degree until all of this has passed!"

"I guess you really have no clue. But it has happened, no matter how much you deny her pregnancy." Kaguya stated, before gesturing for Richard to follow her. "Come with me, I'll take you to her."

Richard silently did so, as the two of them entered the room, to find Reisen resting on a bed, as there was an obvious bump on her stomach, as Tewi was also there, watching the scene.

"Richard…" Reisen remarked, before smiling awkwardly. "...Really must be a surprise how this has happened, hasn't it?"

"Reisen… did I really…" Richard asked with horror, as he tried to keep himself calm, although seeing Reisen in her current state causing him a lot of emotional distress, unable to fully cope with the fact that he unwillingly impregnated Reisen.

"It's not your fault." Reisen answered back, before she turned away with a blush on her cheeks. "I would want to say that this is great news… but the circumstances that caused it aren't exactly… worth celebrating. I'm too nervous to tell you straight… but I suppose that the princess must have clued you in."

"Then how did it happen?" Richard asked. "I would never take you without any consent. The thought of it disgusts me openly, to take advantage of you. There must be some reason… but you seem like you know it…"

"Remember when we kissed?" Reisen asked back. "...I was so madly in love with you then… but that alone wasn't the reason why I procreated… It was just absolute bad luck that you pushed me over the edge that night… on one of my heat periods…"

"Your… what?" Richard asked with sheer disbelief, while Kaguya froze, eyes wide open and jaw slack. "You… you were in a heat period then!? Why didn't you-! No, the fault isn't yours. You couldn't known."

"I must have been repressed long enough that it formed a seal on my libido." Reisen chuckled, trying to make some humor in the bleak situation. "All it took was a full act of love… and I couldn't stop myself from procreating with you… and the fact that I did it gently in your sleep… It makes me so ashamed."

"Then that wet dream that night…" Richard reasoned, as his expression fell. "...I wasn't fucking a idealised image of you… I was actually fucking you in the real world, in an act of somnambulism… I… I don't know what to say to all of this."

"Are you angry at me? I'm sorry that I hid this from you… I just didn't want to cause you more distress on top of what had happened." Reisen responded back. "I had to pad my dress out a bit in order to hide my growing belly…"

"...And suddenly, all of your sudden increase in appetite is explained. I thought that you were gorging a bit more than usual to help with your constitution…" Richard continued. "...But you were feeding your baby and yourself at the same time."

Richard then closed his eyes, took a deep breath to calm himself down, as he then opened them.

"...I won't lie. The fact that all of this was brought about by our own missteps makes me frankyl quite distressed already. But the fact that you told me the truth as soon as you got the courage for it… it softens the blow slightly." Richard declared. "...No, Reisen. I can't get truly angry for what you have done. All I can do is to take care of our unborn child when they come out. Did Eirin say anything about what they're going to be?"

"No, Master said that she is performing a DNA analysis to determine that." Reisen remarked, before she brightened up. "Isn't it lovely? We're going to be great parents with how much we love each other. I'm excited, despite the rest of the emotions racking in my head."

'A father…" Richard remarked, before he then thought back to his past. "...I will do my best for my child… so that they will never…"

"Richard?" Reisen remarked, as her voice turned worried, upon hearing the grief in his voice.

"...Forgive me. The thought of being a parent reminds me too much of what I went through in my past." Richard apologized. "Regardless, that means that you should rest yourself well… to prepare for what would come in the later stages of your pregnancy. I hope that this incident will end before the worst of your symptoms kick in… I don't want our child to be still-born from all of the stress and pain we're about to go through."

"I know that you've done your best to protect everyone, especially all of us." Reisen comforted Richard. "Gensokyo will be ready for whatever may come from the impending incident. Those who were responsible for your unfair persecution will pay the price for hurting the people of Gensokyo and turning them against you. And we'll be all happy for our foreseeable future. So, what should we name him? Or her?"

"...I think that as much as I want to stay by your side to help you go through your pregnancy…" Richard remarked, before sighing. "...I can't forsake the rest of Gensokyo even for you. I have to continue observing the situation. But I won't stop visiting you until that day comes."

"I understand. Take care, Richard." Reisen smiled warmly, as Richard and Kaguya left the room.

"How about we call them 'Mis-'" Tewi tried to joke, only to get blasted by Reisen, evident from the sound of the blast, and Reisen shouting 'Screw you, Tewi!'

Richard then went to find Eirin, in order to speak with her, to ensure that there are no other complications regarding Reisen's pregnancy to note.

"So, will the child be born safely?" Richard asked Eirin.

"Of course. As long as the power disparity between the both of you is not significant, no severe complications will result, genetically and biologically." Eirin assured Richard. "And as for me, I will do everything to ensure that her birth will be meticulous enough to prevent any damage to the child and mother."

"That relieves me a bit more." Richard gently nodded. "...Eirin, you won't send Reisen to the front-lines of the incident, won't you?"

Eirin could only remain silent, as Richard frowned.

"...Will the rules protect her and our child?" Richard asked again, as worry crept back into his voice.

"The Spell Card Rules ensure that no damage will come to her child." Eirin answered back. "If she has to fight… take solace in that fact."

"And if the Spell Card Rules are tossed aside?" Richard questioned further, as Eirin grimaced greatly. "...What then?"

"...If anyone is responsible for what comes of Reisen's grief… consequences be damned… I will see them dead." Eirin answered back, as there was resolve in her voice. "No-one would dare break the Spell Card Rules in the face of Gensokyo. Tenshi and the Celestials may be callous and lawless, but even they know better than to cross that single law that maintains the balance of Gensokyo."

"Hopefully, it will not come down to that." Richard stated, before turning to leave. "...Eirin, before I go. I want to say this from the bottom of my heart: Thank you for being so kind to allow me in, along with your princess… and thank you for allowing my heart to be healed by a compassionate soul like Reisen Udongein Inaba. I will repay your trust and faith in me, by ensuring that Reisen will live a prosperous life… and that Eientei will forever hold a debt of trust over my head."

"And I thank you in return, for everything you have done." Eirin answered back, giving an honest smile.


Heading to the Human Village, in order to meet with Keine, to ensure that she will be able to protect the hub of the majority of Gensokyian humans, Richard noted that his warnings must have spread faster than he could act, due to the fact that the village was on high alert, in preparation for what's coming.

As soon as he landed down, he managed to find Keine quite quickly.

"Keine." Richard remarked, before nodding his head slightly. "...So news of what happened has reached your ears, hasn't it?"

"It is too much to be considered mere coincidence…" Keine answered back grimly. "I fear that this will be a far worse situation than what is was when we were dealing with Rumia when she was unsealed…"

"Rumia in her unsealed state, may be a force of nature… but it compares nothing against deliberate malice of an entire faction of residents, backed by the undying and merciless fairies." Richard bluntly declared. "I would take this like a serious war, rather than a standard incident."

"You worry that there will be lives lost by the dozen…" Keine answered back, before closing her eyes and sighing deeply. "I understand. What about you, Richard? Have you done any preparation for what is to come?"

"Yes. Had I not come with Reimu… no-one would have known the extent that Tenshi was going to take all of this…" Richard remarked, before clenching a fist. "...Had I known sooner before that damning paper left the hands of Bunbunmaru News…"

"There is no time to regret it now. I can feel it, Richard." Keine told Richard. "...History itself is on the cusp of change."

"...And my actions, as well as those that I have trusted, will be the ones to shape the future." Richard answered back. "...I do not mean this in any metaphor… divine knowledge has been given to me to make this point extremely clear."

"I trust that you will be a far better person than Arturo will ever be." Keine stated.

"Obviously." Richard nodded, before the two of them parted ways.

Richard stopped in the middle of the street, before holding a hand over his chest, silently praying to himself.

"...If there is a higher god listening… especially if it's you… Magina…" Richard muttered to himself. "...Please… Please help me to protect this land and the peace that holds the people in it together."

Suddenly, he heard the tell-tale sound of a sukima opening, causing him to draw his blade, as Yukari peeked her upper body out of it to look at Richard.

"Well, well, I suppose that you're handling yourself quite well." Yukari remarked, placing hand under chin. "I would have thought that you would have broken down after what happened in the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

"Another sin that I hold against you." Richard growled back. "Don't play the indifferent observer to me. It's clear that you were the one who placed the fireworks into this wok of fantasy. If it weren't for you… Then all of this would not have been necessary!"

"Tsk tsk. And here I thought that you already understand that this is all going to happen, whether you like it or not." Yukari remarked, wagging a finger. "After all, it's the incident that's going to be the end of this era of Gappies."

Richard merely glowered at Yukari in response, as Yukari opened her purple fan over her mouth.

"Say, do you remember that little cautionary tale that I gave you in your first days in Gensokyo?" Yukari remarked. "The tale on the life of Arturo. You know that the story didn't just end there. There was no happy ending where everything is cleanly resolved. An ending where the succeeding one was driven with vengeance to commit an atrocity no different to the one he was avenging. Ironic, is it not? And the reason why I never told you what came after? People have grown tired of these grim dark tales."

"No thanks to you." Richard growled. "...I know that you told Vic Chaos the fabricated tale in order to make him kill Arturo. If you never told him that lie, Vic would have never condemned Yuuka, and thus end up doing a far worse deed out of a misunderstanding… and Yuuka… she wouldn't have been ostracized as bad as she has."

"My my, you really have grown more attached to this realm, if you would give sympathy to Yuuka, hated by the many, and get her to understand your feelings against the prejudice." Yukari remarked, before Richard threw several knives in her direction, which she dodged by diving under them in her sukima. "Oops, did I hit a sore spot with that?"

"Your callous disregard of everyone in Gensokyo disgusts me." Richard answered back. "So very against your nature as a Sage of Gensokyo."

"Is it, Richard? Or do you tell yourself to convince yourself that you're in the right?" Yukari mocked back, leaning forward with a cheshire-like smirk on her lips. "After all, there is a universal truth: Who you are, is what you do to get what you want under pressure."

"You don't faze me, Yukari." Richard retorted back. "I still stand strong against everything that you have thrown into my path. Even if Tenshi is about to turn Gensokyo to total war for my head, my preparations will ensure that when it comes, she will not come through victorious. Gensokyo will not be torn apart by your lies, and I have spared no meager amount of effort and suffering to achieve that."

"I must say, you are right about that… I can see that everyone is aware of the threat… but do you really think that Tenshi would have spared any time either?" Yukari retorted, before there was a loud erupting sound, as a massive burst of scarlet mist began to blanket the majority of Gensokyo, originating from the Moriya Shrine. "Look towards the Youkai Mountain, Richard… it seems that this incident that I have seen to its creation… is already blossoming strongly."

"You…!" Richard exclaimed, before he then felt something strange, as he could feel that he couldn't draw upon certain powers, as his elemental magic was sealed away fully. "...The mist… it has…"

"Observant as always." Yukari answered back, before her own sukima began to fray. "...You're already starting to feel the effects of it already, aren't you? Everyone is. I would like to give you a piece of advice in order to survive this incident… but you won't care, will you? After all, I'm your 'enemy', despite the fact that I intend to help the incident resolvers."

Richard began to tremble with rage, realising that Yukari planned this out, and that he had no true counter to it, as he silently quaked with his anger, before wrestling it down, until he was able to bottle it down.

"This isn't over, Yukari Yakumo. This. Changes. Nothing." Richard stated, as he bit down on his last few words to make his discontent known to the gap youkai.

"Of course. After all… the best has yet to come." Yukari remarked, before she then entered her gap, as it fizzled out of existence.

Richard looked towards the Youkai Mountain, in order to head towards, to deal with the situation at hand.

"Everyone… you must stand strong against what is to come…" Richard prayed to himself. "No one… no one should die for this incident.