With the website problem finally fixed, maybe it's a good time to post a new chapter!
Enjoy!
Chapter 23: Saving Marisa
[BGM: Mysterious Tower – Dragon Quest VIII]
All of us marveled at the incredibly tall structure laid in front of us past the wall. If we thought the Tower of Alexandria was already tall, Rydon's Tower was not even comparable. It was so tall that it looked like it was about to touch the clouds above, and judging by the columns that were arranged in the same way as the ones holding it up, it doesn't look like it would stop growing any time soon. The tower itself was a perfect cylinder and hollow, and unlike the old-looking Tower of Alexandria, this one appeared to be still looking rather new, meaning that it was just built recently.
"Whooooa…" Aya awed. "It's so tall!"
"Incredible…" Reisen whispered. "I don't think I've ever seen such a tall structure like this one before."
"Crikey! Just lookin' at this tower does me 'ead in!" Yangus exclaimed. "It's times like these when I'm really glad to 'ave people like you around."
"The cliffs looked high enough already from the ship, didn't they? And now this!" Angelo said. "The top of the tower must reach the clouds."
"If it does, then the one who built it must've been working on it for a really long time and nonstop." Alice stated.
"Well, the tower is called 'Rydon's Tower', right? Then the one who built it must've been Rydon himself." Youmu said.
"How did he manage to get all the time in the world to build this!?" Jessica questioned. "Doesn't he have anything else better to do, like spending some time with his family?"
"I guess he was just that obsessed in building this tower." I shrugged. "Anyways, we should head in and look for him."
"Yes. For Marisa." Reimu nodded, and we approached the door where I inserted the stone sword that I got from Rydon's son previously into its hole. With a loud 'click', the door was unlocked, and I pushed it open.
"Are we really going to climb all of this on foot?" Cirno asked as we were going up some stairs that led to the second floor. "We could just carry the four of you and fly directly to the top!"
"For once, I'm with Cirno here." Remilia threw in. "It'll be less daunting for all of us."
"While that sounds less daunting indeed, I think we should explore every floor." I said. "Who knows? Maybe we'll find some nice treasure along the way."
"Exactly!" Yangus grinned. "We shouldn't waste any opportunity fer treasure!"
"Alright, if you say so…" Remilia sighed, and we went through another door at the top of the stairs to finally enter the tower itself.
Despite its hollow-looking exterior and interior, the tower was very spacious. It had circular-shaped green floors with fences surrounding the inner circles, and some of these inner circles had what appeared to be red bridges connecting both sides. However, we soon found out that these weren't bridges the moment we stepped on the one that was just ahead of us; they were seesaws. And just like how any seesaw worked, it tilted down from the side we were standing on and sent us to the first floor.
'…Well, this is going to take a while…' I thought while sweatdropping.
As we were making back to the second floor by taking the stairs, I noticed a peculiar square-shaped depression on the floor. Once we were back at the upper floor from the other side, I saw a statue and had the idea of pushing it at a green square tile next to the seesaw, which caused it to lower down and we watched the square tile fit perfectly into the depression.
"Ah, now I see what we need to do to go further up this tower." Alice noted. "We need to make these seesaws remain still on one side by putting something heavy, so that they won't lower us down when we try to cross." she sure caught on that quickly, huh?
Anyway, we headed back down to the lower floor and went up the seesaw to access the third floor. From there, all we had to do was proceed to the fourth floor via a stairway that was right next to us… but when we tried to approach it, three Golems suddenly showed up to guard it.
"What are those!?" Reimu exclaimed. "Some kind of tsukumogami!?"
"No, those are Golems!" I corrected. "Don't worry, though; these guys are glass cannons, so they're highly vulnerable to magic."
"Indeed, so watch and learn!" Jessica stepped forward and threw a Kasizzle at the Golems, destroying them immediately. "There we go!" she said while dusting her hands.
"Ha! What weaklings!" Cirno mocked.
We then went up the stairway, immediately followed by another one to reach the fifth floor. Huh, we sure were progressing faster than I originally thought. But that easy streak would quickly come to an end as we came upon another seesaw on that floor, so we had to use it to go back down to the fourth floor and find another statue to hold it down. Like last time, we found a statue on the other side of the fifth floor and pushed it to the squared tile, forcing the seesaw down on one side and granting us access to the sixth floor.
However, this floor didn't have a stairway that led up and instead we saw a ladder that was on the other side… meaning we had to use the fifth floor's other seesaw to get to it. Thankfully, by going down the following stairways on the sixth and fifth floors, we could reach the other side of the fourth floor, and that's where we saw the statue we needed. Because we couldn't find a way to bring the statue up, Remilia and Aya volunteered to pick up the statue and fly up with it to the fifth floor where they would place it on the tile. Once they flew back to us, we proceeded up the seesaw to arrive at the other side of the sixth floor, and from there we went up the ladder to the seventh floor.
"Well, there's a surprise. Making good progress, I see." a voice suddenly spoke to us from above, and we looked up to see a short and stout middle-aged man standing at the nineth floor looking down at us… only to immediately walk away and disappear from our view.
"Was that Rydon?" Reisen wondered.
"If it was, he could've at least made it easier for us by just going down to us…" Angelo rolled his eyes. "But alas, we have to get to him ourselves."
"Yay, more climbing…" Remilia muttered.
We scanned around the floor, and noticed how its layout was more complex compared to the previous floors since it featured multiple stairways leading up to the eighth floor plus two depressions. By this, I looked up, and sure enough, I saw that the eighth floor also had two seesaws. We were definitely going to spend a lot of time going around to look for the statues… until an idea came to my mind.
"Girls, what do you say you all fly up and see if you can find the statues for us?" I said to the Gensokyo girls.
"You got it!" Aya nodded.
"Heh, now we're talking." Remilia smirked, and they all took off flying up to the eighth floor in different directions while I, Yangus, Jess and Angelo stood waiting.
Soon enough, we would see both seesaws lowering down and the girls coming back. "So, which seesaw is the one we must cross to progress?" I asked them.
"It's the one from behind." Youmu directed to it, and we immediately made our way over to go up to the nineth floor. But before we could head up to the tenth floor, we heard stomping noises coming nearby as I looked over… and my eyes widened at what I saw.
"Get back!" I shouted as we all jumped back just in time to avoid a powerful stomp from a Living Statue.
"I got it!" Yangus ran over and struck the Living Statue with a Monster Masher, knocking it down as it struggled to get up.
"I'll finish it off." Reimu held out a spell card. "Spirit Sign: Dream Orb!" she called out, and colorful orb-shaped bullets homed in on the Living Statue, taking it out before it could even have the chance to get back up.
With the monster taken care of, we went up the stairway and reached the tenth floor. As we wandered around, we saw that large stone blocks and rocks, wooden bars, and cans of yellow paint were scattered all over this floor. There was also a tall platform made of wood built next to a tall stone spire in the middle. It didn't take us too long to find the ladder that would take us to the eleventh and final floor… but then we would get ambushed by a group of monsters known as a Ber, a Jab, a Kee and a Woc.
The four monsters gave us a mischievous laugh before immediately combining themselves into the Jabberwockee. We all got ready to face it… only for it to start having an argument with itself, as unlike the Mumboh-Jumboes, Jabberwockies weren't very cooperative.
I then told Cirno that it was vulnerable to ice, and so she flew over and got her spell card ready. "Cold Body: Super Ice Kick!" she called out and delivered a spinning ice kick at the Jabberwockee, hitting it repeatedly until it was gone. After that, we went up the ladder, and we at last arrived at the final floor.
"Finally, we made it!" Angelo exclaimed. "Took us long enough!"
"And it provides quite a nice view from 'ere, doesn't it?" Yangus said, heading over to do some overlooking as the rest of us sans Reimu did the same. And he sure was right; this being the tallest structure in this entire world, we were bound to see everything from up here.
"Such an incredible view…" Jess marveled. "I don't think I'll ever see anything like this again after that!"
"Then we should enjoy it while we can, right?" I smiled.
Jessica giggled. "Right."
"Hey, I hate to interrupt such a nice moment, but we better go see that Rydon guy now." Reimu said as I looked back to see her waiting for us. "After all, we need to obtain the Kran Spinels as soon as possible before Marisa attacks Arcadia again."
"Way to ruin the mood…" Remilia pouted. "Still, you're right."
We then proceeded to circle around until we could spot Rydon. Along the way, we had found a treasure chest that contained a Cheiron's Bow, in which Angelo took it for himself. Eventually, we found Rydon standing on the platform and appeared to be chiseling the rock spire.
"Excuse me, are you Rydon?" I asked.
Rydon stopped his work and turned around. "…Wha…!? You made it! All the way to the top, like!" he went silent for a bit until he puffed up his chest proudly. "…Ha ha hah! If it's that easy, I've got more building up to do! Can't have novices like you getting to the top!" he glances at me. "You're right, young'un! I'm Rydon. And what do you want with a sculptor like me, eh?"
"We're looking for the Kran Spinels. We were told that you might have them."
"The Kran Spinels!? Ah, those old gemstones, is it? They've been on my family for donkey's years. I've never even laid eyes on them myself."
"So you're saying that… you don't have them?" Youmu asked.
Rydon shook his head. "This is what I heard, like. One of my ancestors put them in a…" suddenly, there was a crack. "Ooh! Argh!" Rydon grunted, rubbing his back. Ohhh, that's where the crack sound came from… "Argh, this damn back! Always giving me trouble! Anyway, I heard one of my ancestors used them in a statue she carved."
"They were used in a statue? It must've been a fine work from her, then." Alice remarked.
"That's right… It was the pinnacle of her career, they say. Her best work."
"Do you know where that statue is now?" Reisen asked.
"I can honestly say I don't know. You'll have to find it yourselves, young'uns. All I can tell you is the lady's name. If this old block of mine isn't letting me down, her name was…Alexandra." Alexandra…? Where have I heard this name before…? "That's about it, I'm afraid. Unless there's something else I can help you with?"
I then remembered what his son told us. "Well, it's about your son. He said that you should pay him a visit once in a while."
"What!?" Rydon asked, but then laughed dismissively. "There's no time for that! If novices like you can get to the top of my tower, I've got my hands full here. I'll just have to build it higher! The only way is up, as they say!" and with that, he went back to his work.
[BGM End]
"Looks like you were right, Eight." Angelo said once we were out of sight from Rydon. "Rydon seems to be way too obsessed in building this tower higher and higher until he dies."
"If that's the case, then it looks like that young man won't ever see his father again…" I sighed.
"Shame we couldn't get them Kran Spinels, eh." Yangus said. "Don't s'pose there's much point tellin' Dominico about it, though."
"But we do have a lead, at least." Aya said. "We need to find Alexandra's statue since apparently, that's what the Kran Spinels were used on."
Yangus folded his arms. "Statue…of Alexandra… Jessica… Er… Hang on! …Nah, I've got a thought on the way. It's out me brain, and well on its way now. On the tip o' me tongue, it is."
"I know what you mean, Yangus." I said. "The name 'Alexandra' does ring a bell with me somewhere… and how it was associated with Jessica in a way. Hey, Jessica, what do you say about…" but I cut myself off the moment I looked at Jessica, and saw that she had a stunned expression on her face. "Um, Jessica?" I walked up to her worriedly, and waved a hand in front of her.
"…I… I remember now… It's all coming back to me…" Jessica whispered. "Alistair… Alexandra…"
[BGM: Ricordo – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana]
"I heard this story from my great-grandmother. She told me how her own great-grandmother was a renowned sage who came from the western continent to be married."
"A sage? What do you mean?"
"I didn't really understand at first either. But apparently even though she was a woman, she was a master of sword-fighting and magic."
"Really? So… Maybe that's why you're so good at them too. Maybe it came from her."
"If only… But I'm not under any illusions. I'm sure there's room for improvement with my sword work, and any real magician would think my magic's just child's play."
"You think? Well I can't do either. If you ask me, your magic's amazing."
"Thanks, but it really isn't. In fact, if you ask me… I wasn't the one who inherited our ancestor's magic. I think it was you, Jessica. I'm sure there are abilities and skills that haven't yet been awakened in you. But one day they will be. And I can't wait to see you when that day comes."
"Alistair…"
[BGM End]
"At first, I didn't know who this woman Alistair was talking about…" Jessica said, after she told us everything related to the flashback from above. "But now that I think about it, I believe that must've been Alexandra."
"I see…" Alice mused. "So when Rydon mentioned Alexandra's name, it must've sparked this memory on you."
"Indeed." Jessica nodded, and then looked down at her hands. "To think that my magic and Alistair's mastery of swordplay all came from a powerful sage… I never imagined that!"
'Huh, so Jess is actually descended from Alexandra herself… Wait a minute!' I thought as my mind suddenly flashed back to that particular tower that just happened to share Alexandra's name, the statue of the young woman with those red jewels on the eyes, that moment when Alistair was able to communicate with us through said statue…and he was also descended from Alexandra.
Cue an 'Eureka!' moment from me. "I've got it!" I exclaimed out loud.
"Eh? Whatcha got, guv?" Yangus asked as everyone looked at me.
I smiled while turning to Jessica. "Thanks to this new information you shared with us, Jessica, I now know exactly where we need to go!"
"Then let's go to it." Angelo said. "We've got to rescue Marisa from whatever evil magic is gripping her as quickly as possible."
"Right on!" I nodded and got ready to cast Zoom. "To the Tower of Alexandra!"
Sometime later…
"For all these years, I've been wondering why I always felt a strong connection with this statue…" Jessica spoke, as we were all facing the Statue of Alexandra after climbing the Tower. "But now I know why."
"It could also explain why Alistair was able to communicate with us through it." Youmu said. "Since he's also Alexandra's descendant, his soul must've been drawn over to the last thing that was linked to its other flesh and blood."
"While that makes sense, it still doesn't explain why his soul would linger for a bit in the living world and wait for the right moment to give us some information." Reimu stated. "It just seems way too oddly specific for me."
"Because that was my doing, brave travelers…" all of a sudden, a woman's voice echoed from the statue, catching us by surprise.
"Are you…!?" Jessica asked.
[BGM: Maia – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana]
"Yes. I am Alexandra. Many years past I lived in your world. It was my hands that sculpted this statue." and if that wasn't surprising enough, a transparent figure of a woman that resembled the statue suddenly appeared in front of us. The woman had long blonde hair and green eyes, wore a silver circlet with a purple gem in the middle, a silver choker, a lilac and white dress with a purple cloak draped over her left shoulder, silver bracelets on both wrists, and golden sandals. She was also carrying a wooden staff on her right hand. "Let me tell you all a tale. A forgotten moment lost in the great ocean of history. The story of the bloodline of the sages…
"I was born into the Kranbartle family, a family descended from one of the legendary seven sages. But my generation saw the legacy of the sages pass to the Albert family when I married. You see, I was the chosen heir. The blood of the sages has remained in the Albert family ever since. But that lineage was severed by a dark and evil power when the life of the latest chosen heir, Alistair, was ended…"
"Brother…" Jessica lamented.
Even Alexandra was looking down at Jess sympathetically before recomposing herself and continuing, "Nevertheless, I am still an ancestor of the Albert family. So I will do everything I can to help preserve the Albert family line." she looks down at Jess again. "You will help too, right Jessica?"
"I will." Jessica nodded firmly, as Alexandra gave a small acknowledging nod in response.
"I want you to take the Kran Spinels from the statue. I have no doubt they will be of use to you." the sage then addressed the rest of us. "As it wasn't already obvious to you all, Jessica is the only one who can continue the Albert family line. I beseech you to help her awaken the full extent of her magic and perhaps some blade mastery that originated from me."
[BGM End]
Those were Alexandra's final words, as she would vanish from sight soon after. Then we watched as the red jewels, the Kran Spinels, magically detached themselves from the statue's eyes and gently float down right into Jessica's hands.
"…Wow! I'm a bit dizzy!" Angelo broke the silence. "I didn't realize Alexandra was such a looker." oh, there he goes with romanticizing women again… "If only I'd known in advance, I'd have brought her a single red rose or something. Oh well."
Thankfully, Yangus was quick to change the subject, "Now we can get them 'Corn Spaniels' over to Dominico like 'e asked, eh?" uh, didn't he just say the correct name of it earlier…? "It's a shame we 'ave to take orders from a bossy ol' geezer like 'im, but needs must, I s'pose."
"Well, we've got what we came for." Remilia said. "We'd better hurry back, otherwise the fearsome Marisa might bump off that old fatso!"
"Right! Let's go!" Jessica said.
Soon enough…
Zooming back to Arcadia, we noticed that it was still peaceful, which means that Marisa hadn't returned yet. Good, so we're not too late yet, but she could come back at any moment. Without wasting any more time, we made our way back to Dominico's mansion… but when we got there, we saw that Dominico was standing at the courtyard with his dog, Sir Leopold, and he appeared to be confronting David, who was holding a bowl of dog food.
"You disgust me!" Dominico spat. "I didn't know you from Adam, but still I took you in. And THIS is how you repay me!?"
[BGM: Denouement – Ys IX: Monstrum Nox]
"I, I didn't do anything!" David stuttered. "Please believe me! I, I was just feeding Leopold as norm-"
"WHAT!?" Dominico cut him off. "What did you call him? It's Sir Leopold! Just who do you think you are!?" Sir Leopold then gave a few barks, as if agreeing with his owner. "Has this imbecile upset you too, Sir Leopold? Of course he has!" Dominico addressed his pet, then looks back at David as he continues, "Such impertinence! No doubt the vile layabout's put poison in your food as well!"
"P-Please, Master! You must believe me! I would never serve Leopold- Sir Leopold poison!"
"Why should I believe you? If you want to prove your innocence, you'll have to eat some yourself! Now, while I watch!"
Is… Is Dominico really being serious about that? How could he!? I can see now why Yangus disliked him; this abuse has gone way too far. David didn't deserve any of this. Despite that, the poor man didn't even protest and began eating the dog food.
"Not like that!" Dominico shouted, making David stop. "On your hands and knees! And look like you're enjoying it!" David did exactly as told, but not before giving a quick look at Dominico, who only smirked smugly at him. "Ah ha ha ha hah! That's it! It suits you, David!" he looks back at Sir Leopold. "Well, Sir Leopold, it seems safe enough. Enjoy your dinner!"
After barking in response, Sir Leopold walked over to his bowl as David stood back upright and proceeded to eat.
"David! Sir Leopold is as much your master as I am!" Dominico boasted. "I shouldn't have to remind you that you treat him with the utmost respect! Understood!?" then, he would finally notice us as we quickly masked our expressions of hate towards him to appear more neutral. "Ah, you're back! Ha ha! I, er, I apologize for my servant's unsightly display. So, what are you doing here? If you've come to report back, I'll, er, be waiting in my room." and with that, he walked past us and into his mansion.
[BGM: In Profile, On Belfry – Ys IX: Monstrum Nox]
"…You know, he's quite lucky that we're running a necessary errand for him." Jessica muttered. "Otherwise, I would've given him a nasty burn to the face!"
"Ya wanna know wot I thought? I thought Dominico'd loosen up a bit when we got 'im the Span Krinel- Er, wot do I mean? Kran Spinels, is it?" Yangus said. "…Anyway, I thought 'e was gonna change. But it looks like I'm gonna be disappointed…"
Angelo raised an eyebrow. "Are you really the reformed crook you'd have us all believe you are, Yangus? You seem far too good-natured to me. Or did you steal that heart of gold?" he shook his head. "No, I saw enough of Dominico's type when I was living at the abbey. They're all the same. Rotten to the core. As soon as people start getting too big for their boots, any sense of decency they might once have had starts to fester and decay."
"Cor… You've got a bit of a bee in yer bonnet, ain't ya?"
Reimu sighed. "Look, as much as I like hearing you speaking ill of Dominico more and more, we need to hurry up and deliver the Kran Spinels to him. What if Marisa comes back and the new spell to save her is still unfinished?"
"Reimu's right." I nodded. "We can talk more about Dominico later. Let's go meet with him inside."
With that said, we all entered the mansion and made our way back to Dominico's room, where he stood waiting for us.
"Ah, there you are." he said. "I hope that little scene before didn't upset you. It's nothing unusual."
'Yeah, you keep telling yourself that…' I thought unamused.
"I don't know why, but just looking at David's face makes my blood boil. Of course, I'd never dream of firing him. I have far too much fun being his master! Ha ha ha!" next to me, I could hear Remilia and Youmu grumbling in disapproval. Makes sense, as the former is a mistress while the latter is a servant. "But enough of that! Have you got the jewels? Have you brought me the Kran Spinels?"
"Yes. I have them right here." Jess said, showing him the jewels in question.
He beamed up immediately. "Ah-ha! You have! I won't have you bore me with details. I only care about results!"
"Yeah, yeah, you told us that before already…" Jess rolled her eyes and handed the Kran Spinels to Dominico, who began to marvel at them.
"Yes! Just holding them in my hands, I can feel the waves of magical energy flowing out of them! Yes, the Kran Spinels! Making an impenetrable barrier will be simplicity itself with these! That wand-waving witch won't stand a chance! And I expect you're feeling rather pleased with yourselves! Helping the Great Dominico is an honor, is it not?" no, it really isn't… "So! Let me reward you! You may serve me as guards until that meddling girl comes back. I presume you accept this honor?"
From our perspective, that definitely wasn't a good reward at all. But what other choice do we have? Sigh… Guess we won't be getting off this guy's skin that soon… "We accept." I simply replied.
"Very good! From this moment on, you will be my bodyguards. And now for the first task in your new posts!" Dominico puts the Kran Spinels away and directed us to a particular spot on the wall to our right, which had a strange eye-like symbol printed on it. "Come this way." we followed him as he placed a hand on the wall, revealing a secret passageway. "This leads to my secret library. You will find a book for me in there. The book is called 'The Big Book of Barriers'. It contains a recipe for making a very powerful barrier."
"Got it." I nodded. "We'll look for it right away." and we all went down into the passageway, while Dominico waited in his room.
[BGM End]
"Don't ya get the impression we're just bein' used by that geezer?" Yangus asked as we were rummaging through the books.
"You couldn't have said it better, Yangus." Jessica replied. "How have we ended up as some fat old man's guards!?"
"I know, right!?" Youmu threw in. "I want to be no one else's bodyguard except Lady Yuyuko's, thank you very much!"
"Well, it's not like we had any other choice." Angelo sighed. "Let's just find the book he wants and get this done with."
"You know, Reimu…" Alice addressed her critically. "If only you had more training, you could possibly create said powerful barrier yourself instead of us having to rely on Dominico."
"And you know how much I dislike training!" Reimu retorted. "But… I can't deny that you do have a good point…"
"Oh, are you an expert in magic barriers, Reimu?" I asked, intrigued.
"In a way, yeah. I can create barriers that explode, push others or myself, and even to teleport. I'm also capable of dismantling barriers and seals that are too complex for magicians in Gensokyo like Alice to understand."
"I see. Interesting…"
"Hmm, I wonder… *sigh* I can't believe I'm saying this, but perhaps I could help out Dominico with the barrier magic once we find the book."
"That could actually work." Alice said. "Your great aptitude with barrier magic should be able to have the powerful barrier done much faster than normal."
"Found it!" Reisen shouted, as we all glanced over at her. We then went over to look at the book she was holding, and sure enough, it was titled with the words 'The Big Book of Barriers'.
"Yep, that does seem to be the right book." I said. "Let's head back and show it to Dominico."
Everyone nodded and we proceeded to head up the stairs… but the moment we were halfway up, we suddenly heard a man's voice yelling from outside:
"It's her! The girl with the scepter!"
[BGM: Passing Through the Dendera Fields at Night – Touhou LostWord]
Our eyes widened as we stopped in our tracks. "Did you all hear that!?" Aya asked.
"We sure did, bunny!" Yangus replied. "It's Marisa for sure! She's 'ere!"
"Here at last!" Angelo exclaimed. "And the timing couldn't be better!"
"Hey, I think you're forgetting one crucial thing, Angelo… The barrier magic hasn't been done yet!" Jessica reminded.
"It looks like I really have to help Dominico if we want it to be done as soon as possible." Reimu remarked. "So let's hurry up!" and without hesitating, we all hurried up the rest of the stairs to meet with Dominico, who was looking out the opened door until he saw us returning and rushed over.
"What on earth took you so long!?" he barked. "That pesky wand-waving witch has turned up again! I must erect the barrier immediately! So, did you find the book? Don't disappoint me, now!" Reisen hands over the book to him. "Yes, yes! This is it!" Dominico exclaimed before running towards a big pot that he might've set up while we were gone, and began looking through the book. "Now let me see… Yes, 'The Final Barrier'! I must begin at once!"
"Hey, Dominico- I mean, Master Dominico!" Reimu interfered. "If I may… Could I help you out on erecting this barrier for you?"
"Hm? And why's that?"
"I'm a shrine maiden with an aptitude for barrier magic. Perhaps if I lend a hand, this barrier could be finished much faster."
Dominico considered for a moment, until he replied with a smirk, "Very well, then. You only need to do just a few parts. Come on over and help me out!" Reimu nodded and flew over to the pot as Dominico addressed the rest of us, "You all! Go outside and stall that meddlesome floozy!"
"Okay… and what about you?" I asked.
"What are you worrying about!? With this girl helping me out, I'll have it done in a flash! Can't you tell a great magician when you see one!? But just before you go! Fiery foo and bubbling goo… Behold!" right after he chanted these odd words, a magic aura surrounded all of us, and we felt our energy returning. "Now that you're in top form, go and stall that wand-waving menace! Every second counts!"
"He's right!" Reimu added. "Don't worry, I'll go and help you out once I'm done here!"
"So you'll be okay, right, Reimu!?" Reisen asked.
"I will! Now go!"
"Right!" Remilia nodded. "We'll go and stall Marisa the best we can!"
And so, the ten of us quickly made our way out of the mansion, ready to confront Marisa.
[BGM: Stalked by Fear – Dragon Quest VIII]
Once at the courtyard, we first noticed how dark it was outside due to the storm clouds covering the sky. Almost all of the townspeople, as well as David, stood at the courtyard, looking up at Dominico's statue in fright. The reason? Marisa was standing on top of it, glancing down at everyone while sporting that same wicked look from before.
"I see you've ignored my advice to prepare a stronger defense!" she gloated. Yikes, I was not ready to hear that uncanny condescending tone again…
"Sh-Shut up!" David shouted, once again putting on a brave act just like back when he defended Dominico from her. "You won't get past me! I won't let you lay a finger on Master Dominico!"
"…Dominico? Ah ha ha ha!"
"W-What's so funny!?"
"Such a pity…that you should die never knowing about your noble origins… I could tell from the start that absurd show-off was not the one! The scepter is all-knowing! No. I seek the chosen heir of the great sage Kupas, one of the seven who sealed away the Lord of Darkness, Rhapthorne…" then, she floated down to the ground and pointed the scepter at David. "And that, David, is you. What a pity that the one who should be protecting you is unaware of his responsibility!"
I immediately remembered the words spoken from Alexandra about the chosen heirs and the seven sages… So, David was descended from a sage all along!? And…who is this 'Rhapthorne' that Marisa spoke about…?
The evil witch then began to slowly approach David, who was backing away in fear. Okay, this has to stop. Now it's our chance to interfere!
"You're not going to harm David!" I shouted as we all charged in and stood in front of David in a protective way, while glaring fearlessly at her. "Not when we're around!"
"Ha ha hah! I wondered when you'd turn up." Marisa smirked.
"David! And everyone else! Get out of here! We'll deal with her ourselves!"
"O-Of course!" David said and he and all the townspeople ran off.
"Fine! I knew I'd have to fight you somewhere along the way." Marisa said. "Still, I have to admit I'll be a little sad to watch you die!"
"Everyone, get ready!" I hollered, then we all stood ready to fight.
Alice winced a bit. "Forgive us, Marisa… but it has to be done."
[BGM: Magus Night – Touhou: Great Fairy Wars]
Marisa flew straight towards us and swung the scepter at Youmu and Aya, but they both dodged as they flew up in the air with a spell card each. "Six Realms Sword: A Single Thought and Infinite Kalpas!" Youmu called out.
"Blockade Sign: Advent of the Divine Grandson!" Aya called out.
"Pathetic!" Marisa easily avoided all the danmaku before getting a spell card too. "Magic Space: Asteroid Belt!" she launched a gigantic cluster of star-shaped danmaku at us, forcing us to dodge while Youmu managed to cut through some of them with Roukanken and made her way over to Marisa, only for her to suddenly teleport away.
"Huh?" Youmu blinked… and then Marisa reappeared behind her and smacked her from behind while also scratching her phantom body hard, giving her double the pain. "Gah!" she yelled and fell down to the ground.
"Youmu!" Aya cried.
"Alright, you asked for it!" Remilia growled. "Scarlet Sign: Scarlet Meister!"
Marisa smirked and got another spell card. "Black Magic: Event Horizon!" she called out, as the colorful star-shaped danmaku canceled most of Remilia's danmaku while also trapping the Gensokyo girls and limiting their movement. As this was happening, Marisa fired a large bullet above Remilia and it exploded down on her. Remilia crashed to the ground and then Marisa got ready to impale her with the scepter, but Jessica quickly got in the way to stab her with Sword Breaker, but she would grab her arm and knee her in the gut before kicking her away. Thankfully, Jessica was able to quickly recover.
"I won't be going down that easily!" she declared and launched a Kafrizzle at Marisa, hitting her dead-on.
"Charming Look: Corolla Vision!" Reisen followed it up by firing dual red rings out of her eyes.
Despite that, Marisa didn't seem to care that she was hit by both attacks and teleported again, this time appearing right behind Jessica and impaling her in the torso. Luckily, Jessica was able to move a bit so Marisa wouldn't hit a fatal spot, but it was still enough to make her scream in agony.
"Jessica!" Angelo cried, then growled as he aimed his new bow at Marisa. "Alright, you're going down for hurting her!" he shot an arrow at her, only for her to just swat it away before teleporting once again and reappearing behind the Templar.
"Such impressive display of care for a lady that isn't even interested in you… How touching but at the same time all too pitiful…" Marisa teased as she took out her furnace, but then she would look over at seemingly nothing from the corner of her eye. "Oh, don't think you can hide from me…" she grinned. "Loving Heart: Double Spark!" a bifurcated laser shot out of the furnace, with one side hitting Angelo and the other hitting Reisen, who happened to be invisible at the spot where there was nothing, sending both of them flying back.
"Agh…" Angelo groaned. "It's insane how much raw magical power she has…"
"And how was she even able to see me…?" Reisen wondered.
"Hah! Is that the best you all can do?" Marisa mocked. "Well, I suppose finishing you off will be easier than I thought."
"Doll: Futuristic Bunraku!" but before Marisa could do anything, Alice had sent out a doll and made it fire a laser, hitting the evil witch on the shoulder.
"Argh!" she grunted and turned around to look at Alice.
"Marisa, please. We're not your enemies." Alice said. "We're here to save you."
"You think you can save me?" Marisa laughed dismissively. "Then show me how!" she then ran over to Alice, who proceeded to send out more dolls.
"Curse Sign: Straw Doll Kamikaze!" she called out as the straw dolls divebombed straight towards Marisa, but she avoided them all and blasted Alice away with a powerful laser, then she got hit by sharp gust blades from Aya as the tengu flew over and kicked her repeatedly, but then Marisa grabbed her leg and fired a magic bullet to send her to a wall.
"Gyah!" Aya yelled from the impact.
"Icicle Sword!" Cirno called out, creating a sword made out of ice as she flew over and swung it at Marisa, but she blocked it… and it made the weapon instantly shatter, much to Cirno's shock.
"How useless!" Marisa sneered and went for a spell card. "Light Blast: Shoot the Moon!" she tosses out magic bombs that exploded into lasers, blowing Cirno away.
"UWAAAH!" Cirno screamed as she was sent near the rest of the knocked down Gensokyo girls.
Marisa made her way over to them, but got hit by a Wind Sickles from Yangus, knocking her away and then the ex-bandit ran over and swung his Hell Scythe at her repeatedly, until she managed to duck under and sweep kicked him to the ground before hitting him away with the scepter.
"And now it's your turn!" Marisa said while turning to face me, the only one standing, and ran over to smack me but I quickly blocked with the Magic Shield.
"Marisa, it's me, Eight!" I called out to her as I slashed repeatedly. "I know you're in there somewhere!"
"Such a pity… For you to use such a pointless tactic because you're still blind to the actual truth!" the 'actual truth'? …Gah, now's not the time to think about it! I had to focus! So I kept slashing her, but she was blocking my every attack until she teleported away and reappeared in the air above me.
"You're going down now!" she said, taking a spell card. "Love Storm: Starlight Typhoon!" star-shaped danmaku came down at me as I managed to avoid them… but then colorful lasers suddenly appeared and struck me directly in the chest, knocking me down.
[BGM End]
I attempted to get myself back up, but couldn't due to my body feeling oddly heavy. Could it be the effect of Marisa's magic doing that? Maybe so, which might explain why the rest of my party was struggling to get up as well right after being hit by a magic attack from her.
"Nnngh…" Jessica groaned, having her hand pressed against the bloody spot where she was impaled. "She's… too much…!"
"H-How is it possible…?" Alice whispered. "Marisa's magic… has gotten so much more powerful than ever…"
"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Marisa said, looking down at all of us. "But now it's time we end this." she takes out her furnace again and aims it down at us. "It is such a pity that you all shall die without knowing the full truth… Oh, well." the furnace begins charging up as we all looked at it apprehensively. "Have a nice death!"
'Reimu… please hurry…!' I thought while shooting a glance back at the mansion, still holding on to a glimmer of hope that Reimu would show up despite the dire situation we were facing.
"Magicannon: Final Master Spark!" Marisa's shouting snapped me out of my thoughts and made me look up at her… just in time to see a massive colorful laser shoot out of the furnace.
My eyes shot wide at the incoming laser before I shut them back while I looked away, ready for the impact as I felt my life literally flashing before my eyes…
"Great Barrier: Hakurei Danmaku Barrier!" all of a sudden, a familiar voice shouted as I heard that the laser appeared to be hitting something else instead of us. No sooner after I heard it, the laser noise was gone and I was completely unharmed. So I opened my eyes while looking up, and saw…
[BGM: Maiden's Capriccio – Touhou: Sunken Fossil World]
"Reimu!" I beamed in immense relief, as she stood floating between me and Marisa.
My words caught the attention of the others as they also looked up, and let out sighs of relief upon seeing Reimu.
"Just in time…" Reisen smiled.
Reimu looked down at all of us. "You all can thank me later." she said and looked back up at Marisa, getting ready to fight. "I'll take it from here!"
"Be careful, Reimu." Alice warned. "Somehow, Marisa's magic had a massive increase in power. If she lands a hit on you, you'll end up like us!"
"Don't worry, I got this. I've fought Marisa multiple times before, so I know what to expect from her!"
Marisa seemed unimpressed. "Bah, you think you can defeat me? What difference will it make with you facing me?"
"You'll see soon enough." Reimu replied as she flew up to Marisa's level, and then took a deep breath. "Marisa… I'll get you out of there."
Reimu flew over to Marisa and swung her gohei at her, but she blocked and then got ready to counter… only for Reimu to use a barrier to teleport away and reappear behind her as she kicked her away, and then took out a spell card. "Scattered Spirit: Dream Seal -Worn-!" she yelled, sending out a barrage of spread out danmaku and ofuda at Marisa, hitting her repeatedly.
"Nrgh… Impressive." Marisa growled. "But it's still not enough!"
"Then I'll give you some more." Reimu took another spell card. "Migrating Spirit: Dream Seal -Marred-!" this time, the danmaku and ofuda she sent out were all homing in directly on Marisa. Marisa tried to dodge them all but an ofuda still hit her as Reimu would teleport again and reappear right above her and dive kick her before throwing a few Yin-Yang orbs, but Marisa quickly recovered from the kick attack and batted the Yin-Yang orbs back at Reimu while also throwing some danmaku in the middle.
"Dream Land: Great Duplex Barrier!" however, Reimu was prepared for that and created a barrier around herself to block the reflected Yin-Yangs and cancel Marisa's danmaku. After dispelling the barrier, Reimu fired homing ofuda at Marisa but she managed to swerve out of the way.
"Alright…let's see how you like this!" Marisa exclaimed and swung the scepter, literally ripping open the fabric of space in which some Shadows emerged out of it. "Get her!" she commanded as the Shadows flew up and surrounded Reimu to use a Cool Breath on her, but she would create another barrier to block their attack and then she snapped her fingers to make a few ofuda appear in the barrier itself.
"Divine Arts: Omnidirectional Dragon-Slaying Circle!" she called out, using the barrier and the ofuda to attack all of the Shadows surrounding her and immediately take them out all at once.
"No! My trump card!" Marisa growled. "Now you've done it…!" she then teleports over to Reimu from behind and aimed the scepter at her to blast her away, sending her straight to the mansion's wall.
"Oh no! Reimu!" Youmu cried in horror as we all had the same reaction, fully knowing that Reimu was now going to be weakened due to being hit by Marisa's magic.
Marisa laughed. "Not so tough now, are you!?" she taunted while flying over to Reimu… when suddenly, she exploded into a barrage of ofuda that hit Marisa back, much to her and our surprise. "Agh! What the!?" she exclaimed.
"You weren't the only one who had a trump card." the real Reimu spoke as she showed up from behind the wall where her double had been sent to. Glaring at Marisa, she crosses her arms in an 'X'. "This ends here." she said, closing her eyes.
And before Marisa knew it, she found herself surrounded by a barrier made out of ofuda as Reimu was circling around her at an impressive speed. "Wh-What…!?" she questioned in disbelief. "Impossible! I can't teleport out of this!" it seems like escape was not an option for her anymore; she was completely trapped.
Reimu reopened her eyes, ready to unleash her final spell. "Divine Spirit: Dream Seal -Blink-!" she called out, and cue the ofuda along with some danmaku that showed up inside the ofuda barrier all directly aiming and homing in on Marisa.
"YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Marisa screamed in agony as she was completely overwhelmed by the bullets, creating a bright white light as a result.
[BGM End]
When the light faded, both Reimu and Marisa were slowly floating back to the ground, with the latter hunching over in defeat while holding onto the scepter for support.
"There… That takes care of that." Reimu sighed and looked back at us. "Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah, Angelo has just finished healing us up." I replied right after I felt my wound healing up, and I got back up along with the others. "And…thanks for saving us from that huge laser, Reimu." I smiled.
Reimu smiled back. "You're welcome."
"I-It's not possible…" Marisa panted, catching our attention as we all looked over at her. "N-No human…could match the power…of the scepter…!"
"It's true that I'm a human, but I'm far from being an ordinary one." Reimu spoke. "I am the shrine maiden of paradise! One that protects Gensokyo by exterminating troublesome youkai!"
"…You won't…get away with this…! Now…you'll see…the true…power…of this scepter! Already it…has ended the bloodlines…of four of the sages!"
She then floats up into the air and raises the scepter aloft… and much to our shock and horror, a massive fireball materialized above her as dust was kicking up everywhere around us. "…This town will burn! And every one of you will perish!" Marisa declared.
"Aaah! This is bad!" Reisen panicked.
"I-I don't think I'll be able to freeze that!" Cirno cried.
Reimu glanced over at the mansion. "Dominico… any minute now…!"
"Get out of the way! Move! Move!" just then, as if the world instantly answered Reimu's prayers, Dominico showed up at this very moment after pushing through the rest of the crowd (who for some reason decided to head back just to witness that gigantic fireball) and stood next to me and Reimu. "Ha ha ha ha hah! Just in the nick of time! The barrier is ready!" he looks up at Marisa. "You villainous fiend! Take my life, would you!? Well you'll have to break through my barrier first! AAAAAAAALAKAZAM!"
Instead of a magic circle, the new barrier materialized as a rapidly-expanding dome of light. When the dome reached up to Marisa, it emitted a powerful shockwave that was enough to blow the scepter out of her hand and land on the ground elsewhere. Once the barrier and the fireball disappeared, we watched as Marisa, now motionless in the air, had her natural peach skin color return to her, then she fell to the ground unconscious.
"Marisa!" Reimu exclaimed as she ran over to her unconscious friend and knelt down to check on her.
"Ah ha ha ha hah! Behold, I am a mastermind!" Dominico boasted. "Well done! You all did a fine job of keeping her at bay until I was ready! I must reward you! You may have the honor of finishing her off!" say WHAT now!? "Do you accept?"
"No!" Reimu immediately responded, shaking her head as did the rest of us. "Absolutely not!"
"What!? Why on earth not? Explain yourselves!"
"That girl is a friend of ours." I explained. "But she's somehow been under some kind of curse ever since we defeated Dhoulmagus, who once terrorized this world. That's why we needed your help to save her from her corruption, not to eliminate her."
But Dominico only scoffed. "Hmph! Hardly a good excuse! But I don't care anymore. The girl is yours to do with as you please!" well, if he's not going to do any more harm to Marisa, I suppose I'm fine with that. "Consider it a reward for attempting to protect my life. There won't be any financial reward, of course! Haa ha ha ha hah!" he looks around, as if searching for something or someone. "Wait! Where's Sir Leopold?" we also looked around, and found no sight of him either.
Panic seeped into Dominico, which was definitely unusual for someone like him. "He's gone! He must have been scared off by all the disturbance!" he speculated and then looked over at David, who was among the crowd. "David! Go and find Sir Leopold at once!"
"Y-Yes, Master!" David nodded and took off.
With the dust finally settled, we all proceeded to carry the unconscious Marisa to the inn. The dark stormy clouds eventually parted, revealing a dusky sky. Already this late, huh? Well, since we were all very tired after that whole fight with Marisa, we decided to spend the night at the inn.
Hopefully by the next morning, Marisa would wake up.
To be continued…
Eight: That sure was an intense battle against Marisa, if I say so myself!
I know, right? Nothing like kicking off the 'Rhapthorne Arc' with a bang! I don't really have anything more to say other than having a little trivia below, sooo... Until next time!
Trivia for this chapter:
1. All of the spell cards used by Marisa and Reimu during the former's battle are the exact same ones they use in stage 4 of Imperishable Night when playing on Lunatic difficulty.
2. Reimu's line of calling herself the 'shrine maiden of paradise' is based on a similar quote she says to Sumireko Usami in Urban Legend in Limbo.