Rumia Quest Revival II - Phantoms of Makai

[Tom]

> "What weakling?"
> She probably hasn't seen Master Spark...

[Raikaria]

> "What weakling?"
> She probably hasn't seen Master Spark...

> "Anyone from your world is a weakling compared to me." Yuki says in an amused tone. "I mean, if you would like a demonstration, that can be arranged. Can't say you'd survive being anywhere near my flames however."

> Yuki suddenly looks like she had an idea, and a book appears, flicking it's pages wildly until it stops.

> "Let's see here... ah! Do you know a Magician called Patchouli? User of Five Elements? Strongest Black Magician we have on our records in your realm. Well; the flames she can cause by combining the Wood and Fire elements are like a small bonfire compared to my potential. Scared now; Gensokyians?"

[Tom]

> Louise probably doesn't want us to mention the four invaders, so we'll just play along
> "I don't think I know anyone named Patchouli, but I'll take your word for it"

[Raikaria]

> Louise probably doesn't want us to mention the four invaders, so we'll just play along
> "I don't think I know anyone named Patchouli, but I'll take your word for it"

> Yuki looks surprised.

> "How don't you know the strongest Magician in your realm?" Yuki asks. "She's gotta be the leader of Gensokyo; right?"

> You feel the temperature drop behind you, before you hear a quiet and slow-speaking voice.

> "Yuki... not every society is a Magiocracy... Earth is primitive. They cannot even decide... upon a single God."

[Tom]

> "Uhh we don't really have what you would consider a leader"
> "But I guess you could think of Reimu as the leader since without her our world wouldn't exist, and she sets the rules which we have to follow when fighting"
> Turn around
> "Who are you?"

[Raikaria]

> "Uhh we don't really have what you would consider a leader"
> "But I guess you could think of Reimu as the leader since without her our world wouldn't exist, and she sets the rules which we have to follow when fighting"
> Turn around
> "Who are you?"

[OCC: Reimu never actually introduced herself to the denizens of Makai. They're unaware of her name. Also, in another unrelated note; I found WAY more Solo-Mai art than Solo-Yuki. I can only guess it's because her design is unique while Yuki's is... well... Marisa with a rounder hat.]

> "No leader? How does your society even function?" Yuki complains. "It baffles me as to why we made a truce with your world, we should have just..."

> "Yuki." the voice behind you says. "You speak... too much."

> "Reimu? That name dosen't ring a bell." Yuki says.

> You turn around to see a blue-haired, winged humanoid in a white dress behind you.



> The stranger dosen't answer you. Instead, Yuki does. "That's Mai. Archdaemon of Ice. We're the two Divine Guardians. I'm the strongest Mage, and she's the strongest Daemon! Fire and Ice, Native and Migrant, Black and White!"

> "... You're embarassing." Mai says.

> "She dosen't speak much, she's shy." Yuki dismisses.

> "An Ice user who's the strongest?" Donitia says. "Deja Vu."

[Tom]

> "Our society functions fine, largely due to the Spell Card Rules which Reimu created"
> "Fighting in Gensokyo is based on the beauty and complexity of bullet patterns instead of just raw power.  We also use our magic to induce pain instead of physical harm so there are no casualties"
> "In fact without the rules fighting someone like Reimu would be impossible since she would just become invincible without a time limit and in the impossible chance of winning you would die as well as the world would collapse around you"

[Raikaria]

> "Our society functions fine, largely due to the Spell Card Rules which Reimu created"
> "Fighting in Gensokyo is based on the beauty and complexity of bullet patterns instead of just raw power.  We also use our magic to induce pain instead of physical harm so there are no casualties"
> "In fact without the rules fighting someone like Reimu would be impossible since she would just become invincible without a time limit and in the impossible chance of winning you would die as well as the world would collapse around you"

> Yuki listens intently.

> "Well; hearing that I'm curious as to how beautiful your combat is! I'm certain if I see once I can produce something superior. Been a while since I've had any fun anyway... no-one's dumb enough to enter here without permission after all. Gets pretty boring with just me and Mai."

> "Idiot." Mai says quietly.

> "Although that explains why you Gensokyians are so weak. If you can't fight to the finish least you risk your little world collapsing upon you. What incentive is there to gain power? Truly; your world is in a pitiable state." Yuki says. She is actually looking down at you and Kogasa from her seat on the ice, with actual pity in her eyes. "What drive can you have in your lives to improve yourselves without risking it all? I understand your situation... but I'd rather have my world collapse than live in that sort of limbo."

[Tom]

> Cross arms
> "You'd really wish for death over living in Gensokyo?"

> "There is more to life than fighting to the death...  like playing at Misty Lake with my friends and all the fairies, pranking others with darkness, or even trying to solve an incident as a Youkai.  We like to take it easy and live a carefree life"
> "Here from what I've heard everyone is working round the clock to get stronger so they can defeat someone else, even to the point of giving away their personal freedom with servitude contracts"

> "But back to your point...  Its not pointless to be strong, stronger people tend to have more complicated spell cards and win more danmaku battles.  The point is that strength is not everything"

[Raikaria]

> Cross arms
> "You'd really wish for death over living in Gensokyo?"

> "There is more to life than fighting to the death...  like playing at Misty Lake with my friends and all the fairies, pranking others with darkness, or even trying to solve an incident as a Youkai.  We like to take it easy and live a carefree life"
> "Here from what I've heard everyone is working round the clock to get stronger so they can defeat someone else, even to the point of giving away their personal freedom with servitude contracts"

> "But back to your point...  Its not pointless to be strong, stronger people tend to have more complicated spell cards and win more danmaku battles.  The point is that strength is not everything"

> "Yes; there is so much more to life at a life-or-death struggle. But without that struggle; how does life improve? How does life get stronger? An animal they is preyed upon will; generation by generation, become harder and harder to be caught. Because only the animals which can evade the hunter will reproduce." Yuki explains.

> She shakes her head. "Such a world is stagnant; Gensokyoians. And a stagnant world is a boring world. A world where it's pointless to even try, or be."

> "And I'm also sure there are those in your world who are strong but are not good at your beauty-based combat." Yuki counteracts.

> "We have a job to do." Mai says quietly.

> "But Mai; I'm getting fired up!" Yuki complains.

> Mai just gives her a cold stare.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Well yeah, there are a couple of people in Gensokyo that seem to focus more on power over beauty in their spellcards... Namely a scary sunflower youkai and a magician named Marisa... Speaking of her, she looks a lot like you. Like, to the point where if you changed your clothes and hairstyle slightly you would seriously look like her twin or something. She doesn't use fire, though... Just lots of stars and lasers... Massive lasers..."

[Tom]

> "Then again I don't know everyone in Gensokyo, there might be others more like you"

> "Though as you say with predator and prey, due to the Spell Card Rules there are no predators and prey anymore.  In the past I would have been considered a predator but I gave all that up when the rules were created."

[Raikaria]

>"Well yeah, there are a couple of people in Gensokyo that seem to focus more on power over beauty in their spellcards... Namely a scary sunflower youkai and a magician named Marisa... Speaking of her, she looks a lot like you. Like, to the point where if you changed your clothes and hairstyle slightly you would seriously look like her twin or something. She doesn't use fire, though... Just lots of stars and lasers... Massive lasers..."

> Yuki looks bothered. "Stars? Looks similar to me... ah, she was one of those four!"

> "Then again I don't know everyone in Gensokyo, there might be others more like you"

> "Though as you say with predator and prey, due to the Spell Card Rules there are no predators and prey anymore.  In the past I would have been considered a predator but I gave all that up when the rules were created."

> "Giving up your superiority? How sad. How do you expect the humans to progress without fearing you?" Yuki complains. "Now then, what happened in Gensokyo?" Yuki asks. "What is going on there regarding Makai. That's the sole reason you're allowed to be here, you have information we desire."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Someone on your side is sending demons and fairies into Gensokyo, and they're attacking people."

//Feel free to add to this

[Tom]

> "While we don't mind visitors, the daemons and fairies that have entered Gensokyo from Makai do not use our Spell Card Rules and that is a major violation and a threat to Gensokyo and its inhabitants"
> "Additionally, the daemon we escorted to security earlier had somehow managed to break a hole in the barrier that sustains our world"
> "We were able to find out that he was working under a servitude contract but we do not know who his master is or why they would be doing something like this"

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

//I forget the exact details, but his master was also implied to be someone high up in the Makai government, right?

[Tom]

//I forget the exact details, but his master was also implied to be someone high up in the Makai government, right?

// I'll add that
> "I think his master might be someone that's high up here in Makai though"

[Raikaria]

>"Someone on your side is sending demons and fairies into Gensokyo, and they're attacking people."

> "What? How can that be happening? It's not exactly easy to break down dimensional barriers... someone should have noticed." Yuki says. "Even with the Gensokyo Barrier..."

> "They don't need to know that." Mai says.

> "While we don't mind visitors, the daemons and fairies that have entered Gensokyo from Makai do not use our Spell Card Rules and that is a major violation and a threat to Gensokyo and its inhabitants"
> "Additionally, the daemon we escorted to security earlier had somehow managed to break a hole in the barrier that sustains our world"
> "We were able to find out that he was working under a servitude contract but we do not know who his master is or why they would be doing something like this"

> "Yes, we've already received some of the information regarding the Lesser Daemon." Yuki replies. "He seems to legitimately not be aware of who was giving him commands as well."

// I'll add that
> "I think his master might be someone that's high up here in Makai though"

> Yuki looks intrigued. "So you're saying someone with authority in Makai is violating the treaty that Lady Shinki herself put into action? Such an act would be blasphemy..."

> A tall woman in a red maid outfit appears out of thin air. Immediately; Yuki, Mai, Louise and Donitia move away from her a little, clearly uneasy. Yuki gave off a warm energy, Mai gave off cold. Paradise as a whole had an almost overwhelming aura of energy. But this newcomer... you can't feel anything from her. She just stands still; looking down at you.



> "Continue." she says after a few moments.

[Tom]

> "Well people in Gensokyo sure have noticed and are calling this an incident"
> "But if no one has noticed it here, either the culprit is doing a good job hiding it or the culprit is actually the one that's supposed to check for this kind of thing"
> "So, how would you figure out if theres a traitor among you?"

[Raikaria]

> "Well people in Gensokyo sure have noticed and are calling this an incident"
> "But if no one has noticed it here, either the culprit is doing a good job hiding it or the culprit is actually the one that's supposed to check for this kind of thing"
> "So, how would you figure out if theres a traitor among you?"

> "Whoever is doing this is working very carefully." the maid says. "To have avoided our notice for any amount of time."

> "Inquisition." the maid says simply, a flash in her golden eyes.

> Something about that word makes the other Makaians sweat.

> "Surely there's no need to go that far, Lady Yumeko..." Yuki says.

> "Whoever is behind this is committing a grave sin against the Lady Shinki. A crime against her is a crime against Makai itself. Eradication is the only fit punishment. There can be no forgiveness for such an action as blasphemy."

> The maid's body flickers for just a moment, and then Mayina is beside her, his hair gripped by her left hand, on his knees. There is a blindfold over his eyes.

> "Why'd it just become colder?" he asks.

[Tom]

> "What is he here for?  Is he not telling us something?"
> "Wait your not thinking of eradicating him?  He was just carrying out orders, he is not the mastermind"

[Raikaria]

> "What is he here for?  Is he not telling us something?"
> "Wait your not thinking of eradicating him?  He was just carrying out orders, he is not the mastermind"

> "All information has already been extracted from his mind." Yumeko states coldly.

> "Orders for a job he willingly accepted. His mind reveals he relished the chance to oppose the Lady. He has committed Blasphemy. The punishment for the crime is Eradication. So too has every other one of his kind who was offered the role yet did not notify us of the blasphemy. Inaction is allowing blasphemy to continue, and is therefor blasphemous. They shall be found, any information extracted, and then they shall be Eradicated as well." the maid says in an emotionless tone.

> A sword appears in her right hand. A Western-style Bastard sword, designed for use in either one hand or two.

> You can hear the male shaking, hearing the word 'Eradicate'.

[Tom]

> "Wait!  If his mind was truly set on opposing your leader then according to Yuki there is a better punishment!"
> "Why don't you banish him from Makai permanently, to Gensokyo"
> "Yuki herself said that she would prefer death over living in Gensokyo so its gotta be worse than death for someone used to your way of life"

[Raikaria]

> "Wait!  If his mind was truly set on opposing your leader then according to Yuki there is a better punishment!"
> "Why don't you banish him from Makai permanently, to Gensokyo"
> "Yuki herself said that she would prefer death over living in Gensokyo so its gotta be worse than death for someone used to your way of life"

> "Banish him? To Gensokyo? When the barriers are broken and he has passed between the barrier himself?" Yumeko asks. "Even then, when he dies his blasphemous soul would return to Makai. Eradication is the only solution."

[Tom]

> "He would have a hard time coming back from Gensokyo since there is no miasma there and he basically can't even fly without it, let alone open dimensional portals.  He also won't be causing any trouble because without danmaku he can't even fight his way out of a cardboard box!"

[Raikaria]

> "He would have a hard time coming back from Gensokyo since there is no miasma there and he basically can't even fly without it, let alone open dimensional portals.  He also won't be causing any trouble because without danmaku he can't even fight his way out of a cardboard box!"

> Yumeko stands there for a few moments.

> "His soul would still return to Makai at the end of his life. However, I suppose if you are so desperate to see him have a slow and undignified death, I can suppose I can tolerate the trouble of hunting down his soul to Eradicate when that returns. Mai; Freeze him until they are ready to leave this place. I will not have this blasphemer be conscious any further on this sacred ground if his ichor is not to coat it." Yumeko says. Her words come out slowly; her tone harsh.

> Mai raises a hand, and a blue, 9-pointed magic star forms. In an instant; Mayina is frozen solid in a cube of ice.

> The maid looks directly at you, her cold eyes meeting yours.

> "I consider him your responsibility. If he re-enters Makai alive, I will Eliminate him where he stands, and then I will come for you for breaking a pact you made in the shadow of Lady Shinki. And be assured that no Barrier will save you from my wrath. Do you understand?" Yumeko asks; pointing her sword at you. Even while making a threat, with a face as serious and stern as hers... you don't feel any sort of magical power behind it.

[Tom]

> "I understand, however can you break his magical contract with his evil master or change it so he takes orders from me?  So he is not disobedient"

[Raikaria]

> "I understand, however can you break his magical contract with his evil master or change it so he takes orders from me?  So he is not disobedient"

> Yumeko's blade glows with a purple aura, and she swings it without a word.

> The blade passes through Mayina's frozen form, not harming him or the ice. You see various runes form around him, then shatter.

> "Such a task is child's play for one such as myself." she says to Louise, who looks a little surprised. "Of course one in a position such as myself can annul contracts from lesser beings of this realm."

[Tom]

> "Thank you, so now he'll be obedient?"

> "Now back to the matter at hand, how will we find out who's behind this incident?"

[Raikaria]

> "Thank you, so now he'll be obedient?"

> "Now back to the matter at hand, how will we find out who's behind this incident?"

> "Obedient? I doubt it. He'll probobly slink off somewhere and waste away and die quietly." Yumeko replies.

> "Is the culprit any of your concern? This is a matter for us to resolve. I shall lead an Inquisition. That daemon was just the first. We'll begin with the area he received the offer. Others likely received it as well. Perhaps one saw a messenger, and we can follow that trail. The guilty will be punished."