~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Frame of the Undying Fortitude (finished)
NekoInc Likes Birds:
The Kaguya being a fake all along, Mystia managing to break the spell in a pretty dramatic internal battle...
And what's this with Ayase? Suddenly, things seem very, very interesting indeed...
Looking forward to how this transpires in the end.
An Odd Sea Slug:
***
Ayase was dumbfounded. As she lay on the ground with her right arm bleeding profusely, there was but one thing she could think of right now...
Th-this... This is...! H-how?! Why?! They have done the very thing I had tried for so long and so hard to do but could not... Could... Could Koro's curse be...?!
Ayase tried to calm herself. Her face was drenched in sweat and her body shivered and twitched uncontrollably. Slowly but surely, she staggered up into a stand, using her giant key as a support.
But I could not escape... No one in our family could... Not after how the village sages so coldly used me as the catalyst for the curse...
Now that she had inadvertently reminded herself of her past, Ayase found herself briefly flashing back...
Thats right... The houses burned. The people screamed. The air was thick with the stench of blood. There was no end to those terrible creatures of the abyss, far more vicious than any normal youkai... Death constantly loomed over us like a shadow. Though perhaps it was more like a warm angel to those who were mourning lost loved ones... Even Mama and Papa and big sis... The ones I looked up to, lasted longer than most of the others, the ones I thought invincible even against this terrible enemy were all eventually taken by it. I was left alone. Helpless. How I wish death would have taken me along with them when those old fools came for me...
These thoughts caused simultaneous feelings of anger, regret and despair to well up inside Ayase's mind.
Was that part of this damned curse to?! For my life to be filled with such pain?! My family and friends were taken from me... I'm enslaved to an immortal mad woman... I'm fighting against my wishes...! No...
Ayase then looked up at the slowly fleeing Wriggle and Mystia with great ire. She walked after them, pulling her key with her left arm.
N-no... That was merely a fluke. I was a fool to think I could escape something such as this. This is fate, pure and simple. Those two have not escaped either. And they never will. They should just give in to the curse now. It will dull the suffering they have yet to endure... Even mama, papa and big sis could not escape...
"This... THIS ISN'T OVER!" called out Ayase after Wriggle and Mystia. "What makes you think you can escape this fate...? Koro's curse is still upon you."
Mystia looked back at Ayase, narrowing her eyes.
"Don't underestimate me. My incantation was broken... But it went on for long enough. Now suffer your fate!"
"We already broke free of your power. There is nothing more Koro's curse can do to us." responded Mystia.
"You're wrong."
Ayase looked down for a moment giggling a bit.
"Its actually a bit sad... Neither of us can escape our fates. It does not matter how hard we try. No one can escape their destiny..." spoke Ayase somewhat haggardly.
"No... Y-you're wrong..." gasped Wriggle. "Its true we have little control of our lives... But what happened here on this very night... ...should tell you... ...that you do not have to be bound to some predetermined destiny."
"Was what happened just now not proof enough for you?" added Mystia. "You do not control our destiny. Not you, nor you're mistress. We will defeat both of you if you continue trying."
Ayase smiled a bit.
"What happened just now was mere luck. If father couldn't resist the curse then two little youkai like you certainly shouldn't..." she grumbled.
"W-what...?" muttered Wriggle.
"Ah...! That..." Ayase tightened her fist, momentarily looking away. "That doesn't matter now. My incantation was broken... But it went far enough. The next phase of the spell can proceed without fail."
Mystia narrowed her eyes.
"I won't let you..."
"Tis much too late, night sparrow. Observe..."
Ayase held out her right hand, concentrating heavily as it began glowing green. Wriggle suddenly gasped, grabbing her chest and moaning in pain as a similar green glow appeared from it.
"The nightbug has danced for long enough. Now is the time for her to meet her destiny in Koro's curse." said Ayase, a twisted smile covering her face.
As the glowing stopped, octagon shaped stone objects with a picture of a firefly appeared on the chests of Ayase and Wriggle. Wriggle stared dumbfounded, sweat rolling down her face.
"Wh... What are you... ...doing to me...?!"
Ayase allowed herself a small smile as she raised her key.
"Its simple really. I am opening a door to your pitiful existence's end. You will join me in my darkness. You will know only suffering as you become a permanent part of my soul." said Ayase.
"I don't entirely understand you... But in spite of your vagueness, I can tell that you wish to end Wriggle and I here and now." said Mystia, raising her free right hand, cracking her claw tipped fingers. "I will not permit that. We're tired of the mere site of you..."
Mystia intended to set Wriggle down on the ground, but the nightbug stopped her.
"N-no... We must fight her... ...together." said the weakened nightbug.
Mystia briefly looked over to her friend with concern, questioning if Wriggle even had any strength left. It was a wonder how Wriggle could even speak coherently at this point. But none the less, the night sparrow momentarily closed her eyes, knowing that questioning Wriggle's resolve was futile.
"You're right. Lets combine our remaining strength and overcome this demon, before her spell finishes," nodded Mystia.
"Hmph. I will show you what it means to be under Koro's curse," said Ayase, charging at the two.
"Fine then." said Wriggle, trying to summon more strength into her battered body. "Then we shall..."
"...show you what it means to defy fate!" finishes Mystia.
***
An Odd Sea Slug:
***
With Wriggle in hand, Mystia took to the sky, Ayase in fierce pursuit.
"Wriggle." spoke Mystia, looking at her friend.
Wriggle smiled, nodding. A peculiar golden glow emanated from the two of them as they combined their remaining strength. Ayase sneered, spinning with her key in hand, vicious energy pulsating from the tip. She formed rings of green energy, firing off barrages of green arrow-head danmaku. Wriggle held to Mystia tightly as the nightbird boldly flew through the attacks, zooming toward Ayase like a speeding bullet. Ayase gritted her teeth, dodging mystia's claw swipes with narrowed eyes.
"So you can still fly?" began Ayase, getting slashed across the cheek. "No matter."
Oh, but it did matter as a well-timed kick to the head sent Ayase reeling backwards. The ever stubborn key girl managed to stay in the air, holding her key like a cannon, energy charging at the tip. Wriggle and Mystia gave no quarter, holding out their hands and throwing multi-colored bullets at their key-wielding opponent. Ayase quickly launched her attack, taking a few hits before raising her key to block. Wriggle and Mystia prepared to dodge the large energy ball, when it suddenly exploded into hundreds of smaller orbs. The duo gritted their teeth, as the hellish bolts charged at them, auras building for a large attack of their own...
A brilliant white explosion filled the sky like a massive firecracker, shaking the Earth violently.
***
"Kaguya!"
The former moon princess turned in time to see a shrieking Mokou zipping towards her, wings aflame. Kaguya used her bronze chains to block terribly hot waves of flames flung at her and smiled.
"Try as you might, dear Mokou."
The battlefield became a well of violent flames as Kaguya jumped backwards, firing blue lasers all about.
"But I possess the powers of Koro, and full immortality. What can anyone do against such a combination?"
"Shut up!" shouted Mokou, gritting her teeth.
The flaming girl gritted her teeth, wings spreading out as she charged again...
***
On one side was Wriggle, laying next to Mystia, Ayase on the other. The three staggered upward slowly to continue their fight.
"Damned fools... Didn't I tell you its futile?"
Ayase went unanswered as she and her opponents resumed a standing position, Wriggle holding onto Mystia once more. Wriggle winced heavily, gripping the talisman in her chest.
"Only one more minute or so. Thats all the time you have left." spoke Ayase, leaning on her key.
Wriggle looked at Mystia with a determined look. Mystia returned an expression of worry. However, the resolve on Wriggle's face silently told her to fight on. She readied her right hand and prepared to pounce.
"I won't lose Wriggle to you." said Mystia, narrowing her eyes. I'll put everything I have left into this.
Wriggle poured what little power she had left into Mystia's soul as the nightbird shot forward like a cannon at Ayase, claws beared. Ayase gritted her teeth, slamming the end of her key into the ground and firing, shooting into the sky like a firecracker before flipping forward and shooting down at the two youkai with green lasers. The surprised Mystia stumbled away from the airborne death, charging energy in her right hand before she heard another boom behind her... Suddenly, her entire backside was riddled with horrific pain as Ayase's key slammed right into the bleeding stump that was once the nightbird's right wing. Feeling like she was just hit with a jet-propelled bulldozer, Mystia lost her grip of Wriggle, both youkai falling to the ground.
Ayase smiled. Using the high-recoil shot of her cannon as a booster had worked. She walked up to her quarry.
"Gah... Mystia...?" uttered Wriggle, looking at her fallen, unmoving friend.
"Did she pass out from the pain? This is good. Now she doesn't have to watch the death of her beloved friend." spoke Ayase with a sigh. "You two fought against my mistress admirably. It was brave of you to resist as you did, but as I have kept saying..."
Ayase suddenly pointed her key right at Wriggle who flinched at the sight.
"...In the end, your resistance is futile."
Suddenly, a green aura overcame Wriggle, but this one was not her own. Against her volition, she rose off the ground, looking around in panic.
"Ah, the spell is complete. Do not worry, little bug. This will end your pain."
Wriggle was wide-eyed as she was pulled toward Ayase like a magnet. She desperately looked back at Mystia, just in time to see the nightbird attempting to pull herself up and around. Mystia looked at the drifting Wriggle, panic in her eyes as they began watering up with tears. Before her eyes, Wriggle's body began vanishing into small, bright-green particles...
"S-stop...! Please...!" gasped Mystia, reaching her hand out to Wriggle.
Wriggle reached out her left arm to grab Mystia's hand, only to have it vanish from her sight. Helpless, the girls could only watch as they were pulled away from each other. The two had only just been reunited, only for this to happen... It was like finding a long lost friend, only to have a massive door between you two slammed shut.
"Mystia, I'm sorry. I know it was not supposed to end like this. But your strength is greater now than ever. I know you can find some way of surviving this horrid night without me."
Wriggle's voice was echoing like that of a distant ghost.
"Don't say that... Don't break our promise! Please fight on, Wriggle!" cried out Mystia, still reaching for her friend.
Wriggle smiled with evident sadness, more of her body scattering into green particles.
"I have fought as long as I was able. Its you're turn to fight with everything you have left. Mystia, listen... You have been my greatest friend for as long as I can possibly remember. You were always there for me, no matter what. I'm immensely grateful to you. Thank you Mystia."
Mystia slowly got up, her face awash with tears of sorrow. Her mouth was silent, but her soul continued shouting at Wriggle not to leave her. By now, the nightbug's body had almost totally vanished.
"I realize that we were supposed to leave out of here together. And we still can."
Mystia looked on in wonder.
"Mystia, even if the Princess wins tonight... Even if my soul vanishes from the Earth... Even if this sealed girl tears our world asunder, you must live on and carry my precious memories. You see, my body may be no more... But I will always live on in your heart and memories. And you can remind others of who I was with that."
Thats when Mystia noticed Wriggle's battered journal on the ground, gasping as she glimpsed it.
"Remember Mystia, I will always be alive within you. So please, take care... ...of that precious item... ...of mine. I will always... ...be with... ...you. Fare... ...well."
And the last of Wriggle's body faded away. Apart from the battles going on elsewhere, there was only silence. Wriggle Nightbug was no more. The green particles once were her were absorbed into the stone on Ayase's chest. Mystia staggered up. The pain of her lost wing was nothing compared to this sort of loss... Wriggle was one of the few friends she ever had; her best friend. Everything that mattered up until now, irrelevant. It was all a blur. They had nursed each other, laughed with each other, shared secrets with each other, rescued each other... And now, all of that was shattered. Wriggle, Mystia's best friend, was gone.
Without realizing it, Mystia had walked over to Wriggle's little book before dropping to her knees and scooping it up in her bloodied hands. More tears made their escape down her face as she cradled the book, bending over and sobbing.
"I can't believe it..." she uttered to herself between sobs. "Wriggle, you're really gone... In an instant... Wriggle... Wriggle..."
Ayase nonchalantly walked up to the grieving nightbird, her face a portrait of contempt.
"Idiot, you were warned. Your friend should've escaped when she had the chance. The two of you are a pathetic lot."
"Give her back."
Ayase raised an eyebrow. Mystia had uttered something faintly...
"What was that?"
"Give her back." repeated the nightbird, clutching her friend's book even tighter.
"What is this 'give her back?' Its too late to revert the process, so..."
"You heard me... Give Wriggle back to me!"
Ayase was suddenly attacked by a one-winged-well of rage and despair, a red bolt of light suddenly slamming dead into her torso with alarming force. Before she even knew what hit her, she found herself writhing on the ground, coughing out blood and struggling to catch her breath. She looked up at the enraged and tearful Mystia in shock.
"How can you be so callous?! Give Wriggle back to me this instant!"
Mystia threw herself at the panicking Ayase, thinking of nothing short of tearing the flesh from her cursed bones...
***
The light slammed into the fire, a massive cackle of force being left in their wake as the two energies clashed and exploded. Mokou was on the ground, her face awash with sweat as she panted heavily. Kaguya on the other hand floated in the sky, looking down upon Mokou smuggly, like a queen looking down upon a peasant. She had a green aura about her...
"Its plain to see, dear Mokou. Although immortal, you're still limited by your own stamina in the end. The power from Koro on the other hand is without limit. Its incredibly soothing..."
Kaguya giggled like a snide cat.
"Surely you can see it, can't you?" asked the princess.
Mokou narrowed her eyes at the green aura. This was completely new for Kaguya. But what was this sense of familiarity...?
Can't be...
Mokou turned around, seeing Mystia and Ayase struggle in the distance.
"Where's the nightbug...?! Damn you, Kaguya!"
The ground around Mokou became a scorching torrent of rage as realization smacked her firmly in the head. Wriggle was gone, defeated and absorbed... Kaguya laughed, her face contorted with madness and bloodlust.
"A pitiful waste. You could've done so much much Mokou, but all you did was try to destroy me. Now its come to this. The prophesy is finished, and the only thing left to do is to silence you once and for all by sending you out of both, Gensokyo and existence!"
Mokou bellowed out like a human volcano, erupting upward at the waiting Kaguya.
"Yes, come at me..."
Kaguya wrapped herself in blue-green energy while darting backwards, away from the angered Mokou. Even so, the flames threw themselves all over her lithe body like sheets thrown down to a bed. She crossed her arms in front of herself, her smile not disappearing, even as her clothes and skin slowly burned away within the flaming torrent.
"Yes, just like this, my dear Mokou! I wanted to feel your invigorating flames one last time before you meet your fate." called out Kaguya from within the unrelenting flames.
Mokou gritted her teeth, her will intensifying the deadly flames as she poured every last bit of energy she had into annihilating Kaguya. The princess smiled through the pain of being knee deep in an airborne, magical furnace. Suddenly, she threw her arms outward, yellow and green energy exploding through the sky, tossing Mokou's flames away from herself, like the sun tossing its solar flares. The sky lit up, alomst as if Kaguya had became the sun itself, streaking at Mokou and enveloping her in her powerful light.
Mokou was in disbelief. Not only did Kaguya have more magical power than ever before, but now Wriggle's power along with her own flames, had both been turned against her. She twisted while plummeting, throwing the excess flames off of her before stopping her fall. Kaguya -her sarashi now exposed- pointed a single finger into the air. Her aura thinned out as a massive ball of magic began growing above her raised finger. Mokou floated just above the ground, panting heavily.
Damn... Between fighting her and that stupid monster, I'm really beginning to lose it. Well, I'm not, but my body sure is... Meanwhile, her body just heals after every injury thanks to that retarded monster girl! I barely have any stamina left, so...
Mokou pulled out a red-glowing spellcard.
"Alright Kaguya, lets see you handle this! Ougi!"
A flaming image of the phoenix appeared at Mokou's back. Kaguya's smile widened with sheer madness.
"Try it! Divine Treasure..." Kaguya spoke as a spellcard briefly appeared within her giant orb. "Hourai Jewel! Dreamlike Paradise!"
"Imperishable Shooting!"
Mokou roared out, her flames appearing as though they would shatter the Earth with their intensity alone. As thousands of red bolds of energy converged on Kaguya, the Princess threw down her orb, just as it shattered into thousands of smaller, multi-colored orbs. The sky lit up as if bombarded with massive firecrackers, everyone in the surrounding area surely being able to notice the rainbow-like light.
Squinting their eyes, the two battling girls flew right into deathly light. Like an angry goddess, Mokou cracked her flames like whips at the deranged princess, avoiding blades of rainbow danmaku at the same time. The smiling Kaguya brandished the legendary jeweled branch, slashing away at Mokou as the sky filled with her projectiles of every imaginable color. The lights spread out in an incredible shockwave as the two girls' magical energies collided.
Damn, what in the world is going on here?! Kaguya was never this good at close combat...! was what Mokou thought.
"Whats the matter, Mokou dear? Losing your edge? Panicking because you lost your close combat advantage against me? My magical prowess isn't the only thing little Ayase is augmenting, you know. Along with that comes an increase in all my battle skills!" gloated Kaguya. "It seems to me you've already had a good enough demonstration."
The projectiles swarmed over Mokou like a hive of angry bees, unable to dodge or deflect all of them, and deal with the fierce slashing from Kaguya's branch at the same time. Bullet wounds and cuts steadily appeared all over her body as she struggled to escape the relentless assault. Kaguya was getting pounded as well, wounds covering her body, but pressing on with her attack, the green aura continuing to increase her strength.
"D... Damn...! That thing...!" uttered Mokou, an image of Ayase flashing in her head.
In an instant, Mokou saw an opportunity; she had managed to grab Kaguya's right arm, the one holding the jeweled branch. Before she knew it, Kaguya a flaming fist plunging dead center into her face. Flames coursed across her body mere moments afterward, damaging her hair and skin. Moments later however, the flames vanished. All of the flaming girl's projectiles disappeared along with them.
"Wh- wha..." stammered Mokou, looking at her hands and suddenly feeling incredibly tired. "No... I put everything I had left into that last spell card... I ain't got anything left... This can't be happening... I'm actually gonna...!"
Mokou slowly sank back to the ground, her wings slow shrinking and flickering away... Suddenly, countless numbers of Kaguya's remaining projectiles came slamming into her, hammering her from every possible direction into the waiting, hard ground. So fast and painful was it, that Mokou didn't have time to scream or even process what had just happened to her; she was back-first on the ground, horrifically wounded and barely conscious with pain and fear coursing through every inch of her broken form.
The only thing she could hear was the cackling of her ruthless enemy. The only thing she could see was the brightened form of her ruthless enemy. She could however recognize that even the worst of Kaguya's wounds were slowly vanishing before her very eyes. And that damned green aura...
"Ahahahahahahaha, AAAAHahahahahahahahahahaha~! I won! I won! Finally, Mokou will meet her end! Ahahahaha!"
Kaguya's entire upper body was exposed, save for the sarashi around her chest. Mokou's eyes did not deceive her; ayase's power was steadily healing her burnt and battered body, the worst of it already ancient history. The princess laughed hysterically, covering her sweat covered face with the palm of her right hand as she slowly returned to the ground.
Bravely, Mokou defiantly staggered up, gritting her teeth. She limped her way forwards, forcing flames to form over her open palms... Kaguya, getting away from her hysterics, merely looked upon Mokou and smiled darkly.
"Wow, what a pitiful sight~ You look no better than a mindless zombie!" laughed Kaguya mockingly. "My my... A centuries long quest for revenge, countless battles to the death, a dirty mouth, and now you're like this. I simply must wonder what your father would think if he were able to see how the mighty daughter of the Fujiwara clan has fallen..."
"Sh- Shut up!!"
Mokou shot out like a bat out of hell at Kaguya, screaming madly with rage. Kaguya dropped to the ground, rearing back her right fist before plunging it, and the legendary jeweled branch down into the dirt. Mokou saw a flash of light, right before something enormous came at her... The next thing she realized was that she could not move at all. She had been stopped dead. And the worst pain she had felt in centuries racked her body...
"Guh...! What...!"
Looking down, she realized that she had become the unwilling ornament of an enormous golden spike almost the width of her body, protruding through the ground at a diagonal angle. She had been run through the torso, left hanging like an animal at the slaughter. Her blood ran down the spike, giving the gold color a nice shade of red trend.
Kaguya, of course, was quick to marvel at her catch. She casually strolled up to her limp hanging enemy, marveling at how utterly powerless she had rendered Fujiwara no Mokou. Then, she held out her left hand, dipping two of her outstretched fingers into Mokou's flowing blood before slowly and carefully licking it up with her tongue, not spilling a single drop. She dipped her fingers again, this time applying the life blood of her enemy to her lower lips as a the sweet smile on her face turned ever wider... Perhaps the first lipstick Kaguya Houraisan had ever worn in her thousand-plus years of existence.
After this, she turned her back, clasping her hands behind herself before slowly walking off.
"Your father... He wasn't a terrible man you know. In fact, I would say that he was one of the most delightful of my suitors. Ufufufu..."
"K... Ka... gu..." was all Mokou could sputter, blood replacing words as it clumsily fell from her mouth.
"Its too bad..." said Kaguya, turning her head to meet Mokou's weak gaze. "Where you're going, you're going to wish you could join him~"
An Odd Sea Slug:
***
"Kyaa!"
Sakuya fell back first, wincing from the pain of arrows planted firmly in her left arm and shoulder. The equally exhausted Eirin collapsed directly in front of the injured maid, no longer having enough energy to keep her eyes open.
"T-there... S-Sakuya..." she gasped between breaths. "Its over. Surely, you sense that Lady Kaguya is victorious... Even if you were... to stop me now, there wouldn't be anything you could do. Just... Give up..."
The broken nurse lifted her sweaty, dirt ridden head to look upon the grounded Sakuya. She had expected an exhausted warrior maid writhing helplessly in pain. What she saw was a determined woman, pushing all pain out from her mind as she mightily ripped the sharp arrows out from her body with her free arm. Sakuya allowed a small smile to line her face as she sat up to look at Eirin.
"And here I thought... ...that the great Eirin Yagokoro was a genius. Was I mistaken?" Sakuya sat up further, clutching her injured arm. "I surely will not listen to an order to give up from who has given up."
"What? Just what are you getting at?" asked Eirin, narrowing her open eye.
"What a terrible sight. You've been beaten into the dirt for something doomed to fail from the very start." said Sakuya before her smile vanished. "You are a true dog. The Eirin I met during the endless night incident would not have allowed any of this nonsense. Certainly not if her... Dear princess was involved."
"You speak with mockery to the princess?!"
Eirin raised her voice at Sakuya with a sudden burst of strength.
"I mean to do no such thing. I merely figured that you have learned what I had to learn... After all, you've been with your princess far longer than I have been with my mistress."
By now, the two women were managing to get to kneeling positions, though both were still quite worn out.
"I don't know all the details of all that has happened, but I have a suspicion... To put it simply, all of this happened... No... Rather was allowed to happen merely from the closest servant failing to do the most important duty of all." explained Sakuya.
The only thing that came from Eirin was mere silence. By now, the two women were standing once again, but no longer with the strength and grace they once commanded. Even so, Sakuya continued speaking to Eirin firmly.
"It is of utmost importance for the servant to obey his or her master. But there is one duty that lies above that one. That is, it is the servants duty to know when to disobey, to stop and think about the master's current wish. They must know when to bite the hand that feeds them out of necessity, all in order to protect that master and yourself." explained Sakuya, pointing down to Eirin. "You have failed that duty. You and your mistress have become wretched and cursed as a result, contemptible."
Eirin eyed a silver glint from Sakuya's left hand; a knife was now pointed at her face. She looked up at Sakuya's cold and stern expression, meeting with an oddly humble smile.
"Perhaps you are correct, Ms. Sakuya. Lately, what I have been has been 'for the princesses sake.' That is what I have been telling myself throughout this whole situation." replied Eirin.
"You're a fool." replied Sakuya, glaring at Eirin in disgust.
"But it is too late to turn back now. Seeing this through to its bitter end will be my repentance."
Eirin jumped up, Sakuya suddenly having to deflect several arrows before having to leap backwards.
"No." said Sakuya. "Your repentance shall come through cleansing this accursed soil with your very own blood."
The two traded knives and arrows in a glistening spiral of metal and death.
"Have I not told you that the princess has already won?" said Eirin during the struggle.
"Somehow, I doubt its over yet. Let these knives tell you of what will transpire." answered the determined Sakuya.
Eirin launched another wave of arrows, then a brief moment of nothingness... Sakuya vanished once more. Eirin cursed to herself, swinging her body backwards to the sight of an airborne Sakuya showering knives upon her. The nurse almost instinctively back flipped away from the maid's rain of silver death, launching a single arrow toward the sky. This was yet another surprise- the arrow suddenly went from one, to one-hundred, all forcing a surprised Sakuya to freeze time again. Time resumed once the maid was in a safer location. Or so she thought.
"Die."
Sakuya gasped wide-eyed when she found Eirin directly in front of her upon resuming the flow of time. She was left with no time to ponder how she had accomplished the impossible- the nurse took advantage of her confusing, successfully planting an arrow into the maid's left leg. Sakuya barely dodged another arrow which streaked off her shoulder, taking a good amount of blood with it. Making matters worse, the living rain of arrows continued to trail her without relent. And their number was increasing...
Eirin smiled, the quick reactions of her multiplying arrows rendering Sakuya's time stops useless, in addition to acting as eyes for her- with each resumption of time, Eirin instantly knew where Sakuya was, letting her anticipate her opponents movements and counteract her. Sakuya of course had not yet realized this. No matter how many arrows she had lured into planting themselves in the ground, hundreds more took their place. No matter how many times she used time stop to escape, Eirin was right there to surprise her. She soon had enough. It was either bust out her own trump card, or take a one-way trip to the big maid cafe in the sky.
"I'll admit Eirin Yagokoro, this is a formidable trick, but even this is not invincible." called out Sakuya before vanishing again.
She had vanished again. Eirin's smiled faded, but not her confidence. She simply waited again and...
"...what? Where did...?"
Eirin looked around, alarmed. This maid was a magician. A real Houdini that had completely vanished from the battlefield. None of the homing arrows saw her.
"So this is what you mean. Sadly, this won't help you defeat me in the end, Sakuya!" called out Eirin, looking around quickly.
"Oh, I think you're quite wrong about that honestly."
Sakuya's voice was everywhere.
Eirin began to sweat about, looking around frantically.
"H-how are you doing this? Where are you?!"
Suddenly, the arrows saw their target again.
"There you are. Begone!"
The arrows zipped through the air towards their target... Only to have Sakuya appear elsewhere simultaneously. Then a third... A fourth... A fifth... Six, seven, eight, nine, ten... Eleven Sakuyas?! The arrows didn't have the slightly clue who to target, and neither did Eirin. Surely only one of them was real...
"She's never been capable of anything like this before... To think she could outwit my last weapon like this...!" said Eirin to herself. "Fine then!"
Obeying their owner's silent mental command, the arrows multiplied further, and spread out, attack all eleven Sakuya's, piercing them one by one... Not a single one of them was real. Eirin was astounded, and to complicate things further, two small playing cards fell out of the sky above her...
"Maid Secret Skill!" called out Sakuya from above.
Eirin gasped in shock as she looked to see a confidently smiling Sakuya above her. And there where no more arrows left to defend her...
"Killing Doll!"
Frantic, Eirin threw down her bow, materializing two arrows and slamming them down head first into the ground. A torrent of arrows burst forth from the ground, just in time to defend Eirin against an incredibly massive storm of glowing knives. For Eirin, it would seem like an eternity...
When it was over, the nurse would be left on her knees, deeply panting and surrounded by a floor of arrows and knives. She quickly staggered up.
"Its over Sakuya!" declared the nurse. "After that you shouldn't have anymore strength left!"
The still airborne maid suddenly appeared before Eirin, some distance away with her arms crossed.
"Illusion World!" called out Sakuya.
"W-what?!" gasped a shocked Eirin.
As her eyes began glowing a ghastly crimson, Sakuya allowed herself to bear a devilish and bloodthirsty smile. It was the last thing Eirin saw before she sensed another skip in time...
"The World!"
It was a nightmare, no matter how you put it. When time resumed, Eirin found herself surrounded completely. Not by Sakuya's knives, but by her own arrows. Surrounded with a blue power aura, they rammed themselves right into the helpless and surprised Eirin. The silver haired nurse's body exploded in a shower of blood and gore, arrows penetrating her flesh from nearly every possible direction.
Sakuya set down in front of the shattered Eirin, arms crossed and smiling.
"You're right. I had no strength left to summon anymore knives. So I used your weapons. You provided me with plentiful ammunition after all." explainded Sakuya.
Eirin realized she had been thoroughly tricked by now, but was in too much pain to care. It was a miracle she hadn't died instantly... Sakuya suddenly gasped a bit, cough up some blood as she fell to one knee.
"O-of course that wasn't easy... Stopping time around each arrow, especially when already fatigued was rather taxing. Willing them to move after being stopped wasn't a problem of course... Heh, heh."
Eirin managed a weak smile.
"S-so the fakes... And th-the second to last spellcard..."
"Traps and distractions to get you to use up more energy than you could afford to of course. The 'other' me's you saw where mere illusions created with localized time stops, like the ones that stopped your arrows." said Sakuya as she stood back up.
"I-I s-see..."
Sakuya walked up to the bloody nurse.
"Y-you have bested m-me... ...S-Sakuya... It seems... ...you were right... ...after all..."
Eirin coughed violently as the arrows vanished, the nurse collapsing to the ground. Eirin held a faint smile, even as her eyes glassed over, and the color in her skin faded.
"P-prin... ...cess... F-forgive me. I was a fool... I let you take a destructive path, and now..." she couldn't finish getting the words out before coughing out again, blood gushing from her mouth. "W-well then... I suppose... ...I must... ...accept this fate..."
"No." spoke Sakuya calmly, eyes closed. "I have the feeling it isn't quite over yet."
"B-but... The firefly girl..."
"Strangely, her life force hasn't entirely evaporated yet. You can say things like 'I deserve this cruel fate' after you've returned to life. After all, the dead cannot repent."
Eirin wanted to look up at Sakuya, but her body was too broken to even blink an eye. Instead, with her final few breaths...
"Th... thank you Sakuya. Y-you've awakened me from this nightmare. I only hope... ...that the princess... ...has done the same... ...by th... ...by... ...the... ...t-time I..."
Sakuya looked down at Eirin as she breathed her last. She was admittedly puzzled at herself. The anger and malice she felt before was gone. Right now should could only feel pity towards her enemy. And her only desire now was to never become broken like this dead woman had.
"Perhaps she will have by the time you return. And when you do, protect you mistress with all you power, as I will do with mine..."
With a bold look that had forgotten the injuries and fatigue, Sakuya turned around and looked forward at the battles happening a distance away.
(Holy god, I CANNOT allow myself to go this long between updates again... ~_~ )
An Odd Sea Slug:
***
Mystia raised her arms, shielding her eyes from the badly clawed up Ayase's blast of light, as the key-wielding girl rushed through, and slammed her weapon's head into Mystia's stomach. The bird youkai gasped as she was pushed back, falling to her knees and grasping her stomach.
"Nuisance!" shouted Ayase.
Ayase then felt a pang in her mind, quickly calming down with a deadpan look covering her face.
"I see. I understand lady Kaguya."
"W-what are you doing?!" demanded Mystia as she staggered up.
"The time has come," said Ayase simply. "You've lost."
Ayase rammed the front end of her key into Mystia's torso, sending the nightbird reeling. She immediately pointed her key in Mokou's direction, particles of green energy flying out toward the impaled girl...
***
The panting Kaguya looked on as Ayase's green particles encircled her impaled rival. In her knackered state, Mokou only barely noticed the evil magic, growling weakly when she did. Green light washed over her as several flat crystal fragments sprang up around her.
"So concludes our eternal spat, Mokou. Begone," sneered Kaguya.
The light suddenly grew brighter, Mokou's widening eyes looking around to find walls of glass-like crystal closing in on her. Somehow, she found the strength to spread her arms out to resist the sealing crystal, but to no avail. She looked down at Kaguya as her body began to disappear into green light.
"K-K-Kaguya...!"
The princess merely stood silently, tilting her head in delight as Mokou struggled.
"Damn you Kaguya, release me you coward!"
Mokou then screamed out as the reality began bending around her- the spell was preparing to take her to a forbidden realm, completing the curse. Kaguya suddenly jumped back, just in time to avoid a blast of white energy from none other than the Were-Hakutaku Keine.
"Mokou!" shouted the teacher with desperation in her eyes.
"K-Keine?!" shouted Mokou back, looking up at her old friend.
Keine zipped over to Mokou, only to be forcefully repulsed by the power of the spell. She shielded her eyes from the blinding light.
"Keine, its too late... Just get outta here."
"Mokou... I..."
"She'll kill you if you stay! Just forget about me and leave!"
Thats when Kaguya joined Keine in the air, floating up directly behind her.
"Ah, how do you do, Miss Keine?" chuckled Kaguya.
Keine snapped around, backing away from the princess.
"I've been wanting to meet with you in person. Have you come here to save this worthless worm? Its rather late for that."
"Kaguya, stop this! This is foolish and meaningless!" pleaded Keine.
"Meaningless? This is my gateway to eternal peace," sneered Kaguya. "Kindly keep your drivel to yourself, while I punish you for attempting to interfere..."
***
Mystia and Ayase looked on, at the rapidly unfolding events as they struggled with one another.
"N-no... There still must be some way of..." uttered Mystia.
Ayase kept silent. Suddenly, the key-wielder found herself kicked away from Mystia, courtesy of a certain red and white miko. Ayase quickly stood up, holding her side as her hateful gaze beared down on Reimu.
"Damn you shrine maiden, how did you escape? Nevermind. The outcome of this conflict is clear."
Ayase took off, zipping over Mystia and Reimu, the two of them wincing at the bright light surrounding Mokou.
"Get back here!" demanded Mystia.
"Wait!" called Reimu, stopping Mystia dead in her tracks. "If you go after her with all that going on, you'll surely be destroyed."
"I refuse to believe Wriggle is dead. I can still sense her soul within that disgusting mass of sealing energy over there. I will not stop fighting for her sake until I'm dead."
Reimu was visibly impressed by Mystia's conviction, sighing after a moment.
"Well aren't you the foolish little youkai? Well, I warned you already... But I shall remain here to erect a counter seal. It maybe our only chance."
Mystia nodded at Reimu before running off on foot in pursuit of Ayase. Meanwhile, Reimu began her chant, a giant, flaming yin-yang symbol appearing where she stood, along with many ofuda materializing and rising into the air. However, Kaguya's remaining rabbit guard was not about to have that. Injured as they were, they charged the chanting miko to stop her, only to be halted by a green energy blast...
"Wazzaaaaap?" greeted the battered, yet widely smiling Marisa whilst saluting with her good arm.
The young witch woman limped in front of the approaching hoard of rabbit troops and mud clones, putting up her one usable arm.
"Ya wanna stop us, eh? Look, I only got one freakin arm, but that ain't gonna stop me from teachin' you all a good lesson, ze!"
"Pitiful witch, how does one human expect to stand against us, injured as you are?" called out an Inaba.
That same rabbit youkai suddenly gasped and fell forward to the shock of her peers. The lance-wielding doll that had stabbed her from the back immediately vanished.
"Who said it would be just one?"
Alice walked up to the group from behind, carrying a heavily breathing Patchouli at her side.
"Having to deal with such... ...pathetic small fry is certainly a waste... ...of time, wouldn't you agree?" asked Patchy rhetorically.
"Hey guys, great timing!" said Marisa with a wink.
"Enough! They're weaker now, so finish them!" called out another Inaba.
***
Keine gasped as she hit the ground, clutching her left shoulder as blood trickled down her lips.
"I've defeated two of your spellcards just like that. Now cease your tomfoolery and watch the show," said the smiling Kaguya before turning around. "Ayase!"
Ayase appeared above Kaguya in just in time.
"Yes, my mistress." Ayase swung around, heading directly for Mokou. This is what must happen, isn't it? If only they had listened...
A large keyhole sprang up on Mokou's side. Speeding forth, Ayase flew forward, throwing her key right into the hole and turning it.
"It's finished." she uttered.
Mokou screamed again as Koro's power washed over her like electricity. The downed Keine desperately reached her hand forward...
"K-Keine...! I-I'm sorry... J-just get outta here, graaaaah!"
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, squirm! Vanish!" cackled Kaguya, fanatically bellowing out.
Mokou took one final look at the tearful Keine before fixing a fiery glare upon the wretchedly smiling Kaguya.
"Kaguya, I maybe going away... But you won't be allowed to get away with this! Even if we're defeated here, one day, someone will put an end to the madness you've caused. I swear it."
The crystal walls that now trapped Mokou began shrinking with the fiery immortal still inside- they were disappearing from this world, becoming transparent...
"Oh well~ Farewell Mokou!" said the gleeful Kaguya.
Kaguya watched with great excitement, the climactic moment mere seconds away... Keine laid on the ground in despair. Unable to watch, she looked away in tears. But just as the sealing was complete, a large yin-yang symbol appeared on it, halting the process.
"W-what?! How can this be...? Damn that Shrine maiden, she's the culprit, isn't she?!" yelled Kaguya. "Hasn't anybody stopped her?! No... Ayase, overcome that wretched girl's powers!"
Ayase was sweating and kneeling as she held her key up, the talisman on her chest glowing brighter than ever before.
***
"Ghh...!"
Reimu clearly strained from her attempt at stopping the Koro curse, even staggering and briefly hyperventilating, but didn't give up.
Meanwhile, Marisa jumped back, avoiding a left hook from an inaba before answering with a hard right to the jaw. The young smirked as the rabbit girl hit the ground before looking back at Reimu.
"Don't ya even think about givin' up on me, Reimu!" now she turned back to her attackers. "C'mon, I could do this all night..."
Alice and Patchouli could be seen blasting away at Kaguya's soldiers as well, not faltering despite their fatigue.
***
"Whats wrong?! Reimu should be weak from fighting... Very well, I'll take care of her myself!"
But then, a bullet shaped energy bolt slammed into the angry princesses back, causing her to stagger forward. She angrily shot her head up at the airborne culprit, who was none other than Reisen.
"Princess, stop this, please!" pleaded the moon rabbit.
Kaguya broke into a twisted smile.
"Oh, so my precious Reisen is now betraying me, even when we're so close to our goal?" she asked.
"This is meaningless, Princess. If we allow Koro to win, then it won't be good for anyone, especially not you. I'm sorry but..."
Reisen hesitated a bit.
"Princess... Thank you for taking me in and everything, but... If I must betray you to protect you, then so be it!"
"Ridiculous. The same stupid notions as those others... Are you prepared to give me your miserable life, moon rabbit?!"
Cackling with insane glee, Kaguya charged into the sky at the waiting Reisen...
***