~Hakurei Shrine~ > Patchouli's Scarlet Library
Apocalypse Awakening - A Touhou + Left4Dead zombie rush fic thing...
♛ Apher-Forte:
Chapter 3
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The house was silent, so silent a pin drop could possibly be heard had not the morning birds call out outside waking the day. Ran was already up, silently handling her tasks, diligently so cleaning the house that really didn?t need cleaning at all, and washing the plates that didn?t need washing at all again out of routine.
She had been diligent always, she never slacks off, and certainly never once rebelled. True, she objected to Yukari?s orders more than a fair share of times, but nothing out of the ordinary, consider she always complete them in the end. She has been the perfect companion, she will continue to be. Yukari looked, and thought to herself, in this silence that is her room, how long can peace last?
Gensokyo needed Japan, because without it, the sustenance of power, the supply of humans, their faith; Gensokyo will be doomed without them. It is a bit of a mockery really, consider how it all began. Gensokyo was made to separate the humans from the spirits, demons, and youkai, so that the modern world may progress without the relics and old myths of the past that were so cunningly constructed by nature and fear of the unknown of mankind. Mankind grown smart since then, the unknown becomes explainable, and the once fear which gave birth to the youkai that is attributed to that fear becomes useless, and thus must rely feeding on other fears? It is, however, to the youkai, a form of humiliation, it is like begging, a taboo among their kind.
Fear is sustenance, while the city lights shine and sanity prevailed, humankind has nothing to fear despite their wars and terrorisms, despite their pain and questionable faiths in falsified idols and western gods. Fear lifts its ugly face and bares its fangs when humankind is in doubt, when they don?t understand, it kills. Fear corrupts the mind, robbing it of logic, reason, rationale, until all that is left is the sense of survival; however, mankind has since lost that edge. Not surprising, consider the many comforts.
These days, she heard mankind can use ?computers? something which is entirely foreign to Yukari herself, but quite familiar with geniuses like Nitori the Kappa Engineer; and those things, those ?computers? can do almost anything, as long as it is supplied with electricity. Mankind is plugged in, a term she once heard an outsider spoke of, they are directed by electric signals made to control them, made by they themselves; he regarded it as insane, Yukari had to agree with the man from outside.
However, what transpired yesterday, when Setsu mentioned of the insanity, the cannibalistic disease that robs minds of all fear, all sanity, all logic and reason and rationale, is something else. It isn?t so much so as a fear of the unknown but rather what transpired to the normally evolved, unsubtle, rational humankind, it is both strange and foreign. Had the outsider been here now, Yukari would ask him this, ?what happens when mankind is unplugged from his known comforts??
The answer then, would be sanity lost, and a new world, with new rules will rise to replace it. Survival means everything, boil down to the skin and bones, and humankind, no??not just man? everything will then struggle to live, no matter how small the chance is, the desperation will course any living thing?s mind with blood and adrenaline, and force it to think first for itself. KILL THEM ALL, I MUST LIVE. The mind will be forced to take action, and no amount of logic will stop it.
?Today is the day, Lady Yukari?? Ran came in her room, hands carrying the clothes for her to change into, diligent as always; Yukari would have no problem leaving the house a few days in her care.
?Take care of the house while I am gone, okay?? Yukari spoke, voice still laced over with drowsiness.
?Of course.?
With that, she stood, dressed now, she progresses slowly outside the door as a manner of ceremony only, and opened a gap. She saw the girl, Setsu out there waiting? she gave a nod, and Setsu nodded back.
++++
(Gensokyo Hakurei?s Shrine, Reimu?s place)
?Good morning all, how was your sleep?? Yukari asked, out of courtesy perhaps, not that she cared how they really slept since Gensokyo is inhabited largely by nocturnal people.
?Sleep? You really think I had any?? Reimu asked, her eyes are visibly tired.
?You didn?t??
?Excitement.?
?Ah so, you are eager to go.?
?No, not one bit, I just can?t think up what to eat out there, and it troubles me since I can?t at least bring a pot for miso soup?guys?? Reimu looked, the crowd are seemingly flabbergasted, ?what is this miko thinking?? It seems, to Yukari and everyone else here, the honorable name ?eternal spring shrinemaiden? is really true, her mind seems to stay in that weather no matter what the conditions are.
?Nonetheless?seriously now, care to fill us in?? Nitori asked, her backpack jammed full of stuff that only she knows how to use, mostly her own modified tools of choice.
?Yes, I had a better grasp of the situation now?it seems Eirin?s logical deduction was correct, it was a disease, this girl, Setsu Ijima is the only survivor.? Setsu nodded, seemingly intimidated by Nitori?s look as she looked at her back eye to eye.
?Setsu?nice name, look, what else can you tell us?? Nitori continued.
?It is a flesh eating disease? if the virus in the host does not nourish itself with victims whom are uninfected, they will turn on each other; and if that is not an option, it eats the host itself. Whatever that transpired was quite a blur however, and this happens rarely, since there are plenty of corpses about to be fed on?? Setsu started, and paused, thinking for a bit and then continued, ?Also?they are most active at nighttime, they run fast due to their metabolism I think, at daytime, they seemed more keen to sleeping and conserving energy.?
?Good?we are approaching in the day, so that leaves us with plenty of time to explore.? Yukari added.
?Ya~ze, thanks for bringing me along ~ze!? A rather annoying person stepped out from the crowd, which consists of 8 people in total including Setsu. This person is none other than human magician Marisa Kirisame. She sports a tall witch hat, black and her costume which resembled a maid?s uniform paired with short skirt, also black entirely save for the apron like centerpiece. On her face was written all over her excitement, and she carried a broom, as all classic images of witches seemed to do.
At her side, another magician, this one non-human but looks entirely like one save for the glowing irises in her eyes, is Alice Margatroid. She is a dollmaker, dollmaster to her special dolls Shanghai and Hourai, both which acts as her sword and shield respectively. She is capable of great magic, and like Marisa, she is fluent with magic using light elements and her specialty would be to summon dolls and use invisible wires to control them as though they have a life of their own. She however, remained silent, only looking at Marisa?s carefree attitude seemingly too aware of her.
At the left, stood Nitori, and otherwise no one else, she had not chosen a partner it seems despite being told so. As predicted, Eirin had brought along Reisen Udongein Inaba, a rabbit from Eirin?s homeworld, the Moon Capital. She was once a slave, working for an army that does not care about her welfare and views her as expendable as the waste on the ground; after escaping from her forced servitude, she came to the Earth while searching for Eirin Yagokoro, whom was exiled from the Moon Capital many eons ago. She had a pleasant personality, helpful, cheerful though not for herself. Her rabbit ears hung high on her head, drooping slightly as it came to the upper middle and hung seemingly lifelessly there as though it were fakes.
Nonetheless they are very real, and coupled with her flowing purple hair, and then her scarlet eyes which looked they can suck a person into a deep trance, she looked a whole otherworldly being. Her features are beautiful, and her body as slender as a model, with legs so long it would make any woman jealous, and wearing only a miniskirt doesn?t help. Of course, she wore a long blazer paired with an inner white working shirt, and had a tie tucked into the blazer itself; her clothing blending almost too tightly with her womanly figure, giving one full view of her Venus-like form.
She went forward, holding Setsu?s hands, and gave her a smile. Setsu smiled back, and she somehow felt compelled to say this could well be the first person she felt close to. ?My name is Reisen Inaba, please call me Reisen, Setsu-chan!? She shook her hands, and Setsu only seemed all to happy to smile back. How she missed such kind voices, she had last heard them since 3 months ago, when her mother tried to kill her; all these voices stop making sense to her.
She introduced herself, and just then, like the wind, a silent whoosh and an extra presence was added to group.
Two goddesses, one wearing a tall hat with two eyes by the edges of the tip, and the other had a wide ring of rope hanging behind as though it were floating majestically against the pull of gravity as she walked. The smaller one, Suwako Moriya, a Goddess of ancient lands was wearing her simple blue blouse with green frogs in a state of play paired with inner matching white long and loose sleeved turtle-neck shirt while having the sweetest smile ever walked out from under a tree. The other one, much taller, a womanly figure by the name of Kanako Yasaka, a warrior Goddess by class had on a red sweater of sorts, paired with matching deep sea blue pleated skirt pants covering down her ankles like fabric-made armor. She wore a smile of confidence, and an aura of said confidence as well, paired with her great ornament of holy rope behind her, and a mirror before her chest signifying her Godly status as all Kami of old Japan has; she is indeed a figure to be reckoned with.
It is often hard to tell the other one is a Goddess at all, short and blonde, cute and cuddly, almost unlike a status as grand as Goddesses should have. She wore a kind smile however, unlike Kanako, Suwako had the features of a mother; soft and caring, yet a pertaining childishness about her because of her height and small built made her all the more admirable from a distance. She walks also with a hop, and landed softly before Reimu, whom looked at her with a puzzled look.
?Reimu, Sanae will be taking care of this shrine as well as ours, so you best be thankful okay?? Suwako said, her voice was sweet as honey, chirping, crisp and a melody to the ears. At least, that is what Kanako seemed to think, everyone present could tell her face is somewhat redder than usual. Suwako does indeed have this unlikely charm beyond a child would have, yet, as it seems; she is a rank older than Kanako as a woman, both in Goddess status, and age. Sanae, the referred person is the resident shrinemaiden of Gensokyo, the second one to be precise since Reimu, and has a personality that is well liked by many of the human residents; much unlike the very lazy and narcissistic Reimu Hakurei in utter contrast.
?Make sure she doesn?t get my donations.? Reimu answered, totally indifferent to the situation, thankless if not any less. Suwako?s smile faded slightly, but turned about to face the crowd looking at the two?s sudden interference into the group.
?You will be heading to a place we came from, so everyone should be prepared. While we did left the place, it has been many years since then and because of Gensokyo?s time plane, we may have seen many changes during that time, so please be careful.? Suwako announced to the people around her, she waved her hands to get attention to her small frame and even more smallish voice, yet as it is, she didn?t really need to; all eyes and ears were on her, a small glorified glow seemed to emanate from her like a golden aura of peace that calms people around her.
?In addition, we have something to give you?? Kanako behind her suddenly said, the reddish hue on her face now gone, replaced with a solemn seriousness unlike a moment before.
?This is??? Everyone looked at the foreign object in their hand, resembling a talisman, a piece of paper with poetic Chinese writings in deep etched calligraphy strokes.
?A talisman of the wind, while it can be used only once, it would protect you by blasting away unwanted enemies? in close range at least. It will be activated if you are in danger and you think you are facing some undetectable or unreachable foe behind or from your position?call it a precaution, but outside, the Youkai are much like the demons in Makai? wild, untamed, and danmaku will only work so well.? Kanako explained, her hands placed across her chest crossed, voice as stern as she can make it.
?I see?thanks.? Marisa pocketed the piece, snapping it in half and folding it neatly inside her pocket. She turned to Suwako, whom stood silently gazing at the grounds of the Hakurei shrine.
?Is there something else you wanted to tell us? You looked strange earlier on?? Marisa, thought rough and seemingly uncouth for her personality, is as always, highly perceptive.
?Marisa! I?no, there isn?t anything important? it is just that?? Suwako stammered.
?You best blurt it out.? Marisa asked.
?This is not confirmed?but just take precaution?? Suwako paused, her face now stern as Kanako from a moment ago, ?It is unlikely that Gods move from place to place, ours was special?unlike our other peers, whom choose to die in silence and being forgotten by the humans whom once worshipped them in their own lands? we moved. In a very ancient law, there exist a passage, called the Kami?s Heavenly Dictation; this law spoke about ?replacements? a Kami must make before making pilgrimage to a foreign land, or relocating or taking over a shrine.? Suwako finished.
Kanako took up the rest and began, ?In essence, when we moved to Gensokyo, we didn?t do that. We both share the Lake Suwa region, Suwako the land, while I the heavens above and the mountains that surround the great Suwa region. We are too young as goddesses, call it a mistake if you will, but we have no idea what happened after we left. If demons or the sort were to occupy a holy region as ours, they will grow quite strong, and thus? become quite troublesome if you encounter them.? Kanako paused, ?You do know what that means don?t you, Yukari??
?Yes??
?What is she talking about?? Reimu asked, curious now.
?The place they came through is also the best place to get out to the real world when mass numbers like our group is gathered, it has high concentration of magical energy, and while my gaps can take you through, it would be a one on one basis? with this portal, I can bring all of you at once. The dangers lie in if there are any beings that took over the Suwa region? the Kami?s Path.? Yukari explained.
?Hey look, we ain?t got all day, are we going or not?? Marisa, without tuning in to the mood, blurted out loudly, breaking everyone?s attention and turning it to her.
?She?s right? we can stand here talking about precautions and demons, but the day will really be lunchtime soon and I really don?t wanna eat this bento at the shrine when I can be outside breathing non-Gensokyo air and non-spring-influenced-miko-odors.? Nitori followed, rather rudely if at all mannerisms concerned.
?Hey!? Reimu rebutted, but no one heard, everyone just nodded. The time to move has come.
+++++++++
(Lake Suwa region, possibly minutes later)
?Alright, once you past through here, you are bounded to Earth, our next passage won?t be until full moon when the energy surrounding the Suwa?s Kami?s Path is fullest, so we must make full use of our time here?? Yukari said, her eyes darkened by the mythical fleeting shadows casted by her magic, dark miasma that surrounds her brewing like swirling mist in red and black completely shrouding what makes of everyone save their faces barely visible in the poor light.
With that, a hole opened, enough for four people side to side to pass through. It glowed brightly, and powerfully magic seemed to permeate into the open area before them, surrounded by trees and then dark things that laid on the ground, unidentified.
The crowd stepped through, Reimu first, before realizing she is falling quick to the ground, pulled by gravity. ?Whhaaa?.?? She sounded, heart pounding as she fell and hanged barely to the gap?s opening.
?I forgot to mention, you can?t fly here?that includes you Marisa? the magic is too thinly spread in this world compared with Gensokyo?s density.? Yukari explained, she herself floating however, sitting on top of a gap she opened.
?What?!? Marisa seemed genuinely disappointed. Alice, whom is beside her, floated about, surrounded by an energy field casted by her but maintained by her dolls, diligently working hard to keep their master afloat.
?How does she do it then?? Marisa questioned, looking at Alice.
?My dolls are magical and semi-ethereal, while it may surprise you, I am a youkai and hence my natural ability is to fly, no matter the conditions. It does take more concentration though to maintain my anti-gravitational field around myself?which reminds me, doesn?t your broom allow you to direct such a passive field to keep you floating?? Alice questioned, after answering as best as she could.
?My broom, unlike your dolls, is not a magical item or a ?being?. It can be told to fly, using the magic from me to boost speed and power, but only if a natural energy field is constantly present? as it is, I never been used to a non-magical environment.? Marisa answered sadly.
The two Lunarians, Eirin and Reisen, too floated. Eirin naturally so because there is quite simply hardly a condition and situation she cannot adapt to; an added bonus being she learned well to fly in non-magic layered environments long before she retired to Gensokyo. For Reisen, her natural ability as a youkai came into play, and with two arms folded nicely under Setsu, she carried her like a prince holding his princess in her arms. Slowly, the two floated downwards, and observed the surroundings as the miasma from the gap above their heads cleared out more and more.
Nitori jumped down, reaching the ground quickly with her limbs extended and retracting to soften the impact of the landing. As she landed, she pulled out what seemed to a remote control of sorts, and outcame from behind the gap, 4 bikes that came crashing downwards.
?Whoa!? She yelled, but to no avail? the bikes were falling, she did in fact miscalculated the need for a flight path as the bikes don?t float.
Hurriedly she extended her arms, hoping to grab at least one. Alice yelled quite suddenly, ?Dolls Sign; Dolls Army!? and from her arms, 4 non-ethereal dolls seemed to materialized from thin air, and rushed forward, invisible lines attached from behind to her fingers and the rings she wore; they rushed for one of the bikes.
Together, the dolls held the handlebars, and then one under the back wheel with one above it, holding the pillion seat?s handlebar situated behind the black bike. Nitori seemed lucky, she caught it but only then realize the weight was more than she anticipated. Her arms folded, despite being generally elastic, while extended it cannot summon much strength unlike her pure blooded peers of Kappas. Her being simply cannot stand the power of gravity and a modified bike that has a heavier engine attached. The other two, safe to say that it never saw any use in this field, was destroyed before any action was managed.
?Oooooh?.this is bad?really bad? what will I do now?? Nitori pushed the bike off her, which fell nicely about her backpack. It was scratched, but functional. She looked almost teared eyed, from the pain of bike crushing on her shell perhaps, but it was more of the fact she disappointed everyone with her clumsiness? she isn?t normally so, how did all this happen in a flash?
?Hey hey, don?t sweat it, we can always walk!? Marisa said, now using her latent energy, and placing her Hakkero down on her feet, facing the ground. The Hakkero is a small magical tool which channels her energy into beams of light and shots of power, it is her primary weapon. Her other weapon would be her broom which she is fairly good at using on hand to hand combats. She picked it up as she landed, the Hakkero humming softly as the energy disappeared.
?You do realize we are ?walking? the whole of Japan? Japan is not Gensokyo?s backyard or the magic forest, you can?t get across it as though you were heading to Eientei.? Nitori remarked, Eientei being the place which Eirin operates from and is her home.
?Oh?is that so??
?It is so.? Nitori added, looking downtrodden at her mistake? was it the fish? She didn?t felt so good this morning and her thoughts were messy since yesterday? they say the children feed the fishes with strange things, if she wasn?t used to the strange things she may have a bad stomach? and Kappas can?t stand bad stomachs due to their watery diet, the water in their bodies just get corrupted badly.
?Okay, guys?attention please.? Yukari announced, breaking the mood.
?From here on, we will be moving separately? I know this may sound unfair, but Setsu, Marisa, Alice, and Nitori are in the same team. We must finish securing the Great Suwa Region and the Greater Outer Suwa Region beyond those hills there.? Reimu pointed to a mountain, place around far east. It was a mountain that stood the test of time, and was once a source of many ancient fables and chronicles of old Kamis and Youkai at war with each other. It was also rumored to be the source of the first few Kamis of Japan, an ancient source of holy energy.
Greater Suwa was once home to many rivaling Gods, and before the dawn of the Brightened Age, which is when Suwako Moriya was born from the well of holy energy above the hills of Suwa Region, and much later Kanako Yasaka; it was a place of Godly carnage. Ancient villagers and warriors would make blood sacrifice to demonic Gods in the forms of crude snakes and some even evolved animal youkai which sated the blood of humans and put on sheepskin to get more from the petty villagers. It was in the Brightened Age, when the a form of renewal and reformation, around the 1400s, when great warmongers and generals breaking free from a corrupted kingdom and government of a dying dynasty that such immoral acts were purged. With the aids of proper Kamis and Elementals, the war purged the Suwa Region of ?pretenders? which sought holy energy to feed from and harbored the birth of new Gods, including Suwa?s very own Suwako, named after the land itself.
This place, hence is a favorite hunting spot for Gods and demons themselves, naturally attracted by the powerful energy that is present in the air. If only it were pure magic, then the girls could fly as they wish, but it is not. It is quite simply the sort of energy that rouses the air like purified oxygen would, a simple spit of fire would set it ablaze, but not always.
?Wow? that looked really far from here.? Marisa said, placing her hand over her eyes and staring at the Mountain ahead, which has black clouds streaming above in a circular fashion, as though the mountain itself was spewing black clouds from its tip. As all magicians seem to know, this is a sign of bad omen, it normally means something is corrupted in nature, and that expands to many a times, conditions that are dangerous and unpredictable.
?Anyone has problems with the team ups?? Reimu asked, uncaring for Marisa?s lack of attention as she took in the view. Natural, considering she has never seen the outside world before, and she is naturally curious as a cat.
?No.? Eirin answered bluntly, and turned around, not waiting for Reisen at all as she walked north.
?So, I guess that means she takes that direction.? Reimu seemed troubled, Eirin seemed to think not so well of her?
Reisen ran up to Setsu, and placed something in her hand. It looked like a covered syringe. ?Setsu, if something is not right, use this? it is a blood serum made from your blood, it can cure almost everything, infections or wounds, but it works only once like that talisman from that woman, Kanako earlier? use it wisely.? Reisen said, and promptly bid her goodbye as she gave chase to Eirin, whom is already in a distance.
?Such a diligent rabbit? if only her master treats her better?? Alice commented, looking at the girl with short hair, dressed tardily in a salvaged robe, probably from one of the families in Gensokyo and seemed poorly mannered. Setsu only stared, mostly in awe, as she looked closely Alice had the most wonderful hair, eyes that are clear as azure crystals and features as beautiful as the dolls she wields about her; stoic and almost featureless, save for the rosy pink lips and long eyelashes that truly brings out her otherworldly beauty.
?Yeah, Eirin is so cold these days, she is always like that when something interests her. I guess this time it must be all consuming disease.? Marisa added, she bent downwards and looked at the black stuff she is stepping on.
?This is??
?Magma.? Nitori answered, using what seemed like a prodding tube stabbed onto a ground, and a meter attached to it on a screen display which had a needle inside that climbed up and down dramatically. She looked hard at the stuff, which is hardened now, set in stone. ?Pure unfiltered magma, no source, not local, because there are no volcanoes in Suwa region?, she thought to herself.
?The trees are still here? where did it flow from?? Marisa asked, fully aware the magma originates from Lava, which is the sort of stuff that is pretty hot and spews from volcanoes when erupting. Magma would be the molten rock which is like an all consuming terror wave and heated catastrophe that burns all and consumes all in its flowing path.
?If the flows match anything, it is here? from the ground.? Nitori pointed to a hole, black and deep, probably around 10 feet vertical downwards, and has a oddly purplish hue of energy rousing off it like an aura of unknown origin.
?Smells like youkai energy? but different.? Alice added.
?Are those bad youkai or good ones?? Marisa asked.
?What do you think? Stop being blunt, Marisa.? Alice chided, but Marisa took no heed and reached down the hole, touching the surface of the wall softly, feeling up the texture of the cooled molten rock.
?Smooth??
?Of course.?
?Guys, I will be moving with Yukari to South, so catchup with us there.? Reimu shouted.
?Okay, good luck.? Marisa waved back and saw that Reimu entered a gap. Convenient, if she only has that.
?I will take the bike, the other is for Nitori, Alice will ride behind Nitori okay?? Marisa turned to Alice and said. Alice seemed disappointed, but nodded nonetheless in agreement.
?Alright, we haven?t got all day? let?s go!? Stepping on the bike, Marisa revved the engine, knowing full well how to operate the thing as she read about it some time ago in the books she borrowed. The handles give power to the beast, like her Hakkero, when turned, a jolt of energy will make it move faster. If she holds the two bars behind the handle, she will stop; easy.
She hopped on, and balanced easily. Compared with her broom, this widened seating makes it really comfortable and easy, if only she can shoot while riding? that?d be perfect.
Nitori, being the person who modded these things from scratch, clearly knew how to operate them. Stepping onto one, and Alice behind her sitting rather easily behind, she peddled the thing to face East.
?Hold tight?? Nitori warned, and revved the thing.
The last thing she could really hear was Alice?s girlish scream as the thing rode with its head lifted, doing a wheelie across the soon grassy surface onwards to East Greater Suwa.
____
Oh ho ho, Riders on the storm~
Esifex:
I'm liking how you're going into detail about the virus, among other things.
Your portrayal of Alice is impressive, too; most people use her for comedic relief, and have her bumbling around only occasionally doing things right.
Continue on, as ever.
♛ Apher-Forte:
Yeah, I didn't like how Alice is the butt of the jokes in most fics.
personally? I think Alice is the coolest girl in Gensokyo, and that is without-a-doubtedly speaking.
Esifex:
Heh, yeah. Sure, it's impressive that Yukari can manipulate the boundary between male and female if she wanted to. Sure, Sakuya can stop time. Sure, Reimu can float away from reality. Sure, Marisa can pump out Master Spark after Master Spark without tiring.
But controlling hundreds of dolls simultaneously without error is such an unorthodox power, one that's really quite awesome in its originality, is even more impressive. <3 Alice.
I just couldn't find a cute picture of her to use as my avatar. Hurhur.
♛ Apher-Forte:
Chapter 4:
___________
(Elsewhere)
“So…they are here…”
“Yes, rather amusing, to leave and comeback again… such arrogance, these younger ones are…”
“I wonder if they think it is something of a joke to them?”
“I wonder that myself, we are fated to be bounded to one place, to travel means to be forgetting the roots of our responsibilities… faith is secondary.”
“Still, rather foolish, consider there are more than faith to be considered… like we do…”
“Shall we greet them?”
“In due time, the caverns will be awake soon… the darkness shall set, and the stage will be ready, for full on slaughter.”
“Perfect. I like the way you think, Hachisaka.”
++++
“Where are we?” Eirin asked, Reisen’s eyes glowed redder than usual, and looked around her, not giving a reply.
“Well?” Eirin impatiently asked, waiting a moment as Reisen’s eyes stopped glowing.
“It appears we are in a mountain’s pocket, the stones here seemed to belong to one Suwa’s regions many holy mountains, it is just that there are no longer any holy beings living with them or within them. I detect some spiritual essence up ahead, and judging by the landscape, many caverns are within reach, there is movement within them, Eirin-sama.” Reisen answered, giving all due answers.
“Movement?”
“Yes, something was wriggling inside the caverns, judging by the size, it looks to be a deer.” Reisen answered vaguely, giving a shrug as to indicate her seeming lack of idea.
“Deer don’t live in mountainous areas like these, goats maybe, but if I recalled correctly, Suwa region is not a place for mountain goats, as it is not cold enough and food is scarce.” Eirin examined, looking ahead at the many holes that are jutted within the mountainous areas, most of them on rocks.
“Then what do you think they are?”
“Quiet…”
“Huh?”
“Shhh… did you hear that?” Eirin closed Reisen’s mouth, placing it firmly clasping over her lips.
She removed her hands for a moment, and promptly cupped it over her hears to listen.
“It sounds like someone is crying… or rather… a lot of them.” Reisen listened, her rabbit ears now completely erect over her head.
“I fear the path ahead may be blocked, Yukari said there is no visible human life, yet this voice sounds distinctively human… I sense no spiritual presence, yet…” Eirin tried to reason as she whispered this.
“Should I fire some danmaku to check the area?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
With that, Reisen raised her right hand, fingers held like a fake pistol she aimed to the open mountain ahead. “Pale Moon Flower Bookmark!” Her eyes glowed red, and magic energy directed from her body immediately blasted off a distance, like a powerful shell shot out from her arms, the sound it produced in this silent place became almost deafening. The light the danmaku shot produce for just a mere few seconds shone as bright as day, blasting past the shadows of the rocks clasping upon one another and shining down like a beacon from the skies above.
Suddenly… without warning, the cries heard before began to change.
They weren’t cries anymore, rather, growls, groans, and somewhat like the hurtful grinding of teeth of a child when denied their plaything. It was like a mournful sort, yet in every one that resonated, it sounded like they wanted revenge. It sounded like… angry… very angry creatures…
The sound grew closer as the light faded from the bullets, Eirin’s eyes glowed gold in color, and she looked ahead, just as Reisen’s eyes adjusted to the once again darkness of the mountain’s shadowy crevices and listening hard to the rampaging footsteps.
“There… are… humans?” Eirin sounded, at least 20 of them, all heading this way, running, claws by their sides, sharp and skinny, dressed in tattered cloth and some are naked completely, skin pale as porcelain and eyes red as the devil’s own two pupils glowing in the dark.
“No, the claws! Those are not human!” Reisen’s eyes better captured the situation.
“Shoot to kill!!” Eirin sounded
Aiming her arrow, a struggle begins.
Reisen began to fire like her life depended on it.
“What the hell is this?!” Reisen yelled out.
“Hell on earth, just the way I like it… so many specimens in one go.”
A battle begins…
++++++
(Elsewhere, East)
Yukari opened the gap, the temple, ruined as it may be stood a distance, forlorn and abandoned. It doesn’t look like anyone here maintained the temple, or was alive to do it for a few good years. Grass grew as thick as a paddy field in harvest, and the paint of the walls cracked, dried and fallen, revealing the age old concrete behind the wooden outer surfaces. A donation box stood forlorn under a set of bronze colored bells tied to a thick holy rope, for when the worshippers when they donate, shall ring the bell to announce to the Gods of the temple their due wishes in return. Reimu peeked out from the gap, before landing softly on the grounds of the temple shrine.
“Give me a moment to consort the Gods of this one…” Reimu asked, asking for Yukari’s time to talk to the gods in this shrine. Her specialty, a uniquely shrinemaiden’s task, the ability to contact the otherworldly beings that inhabit a holy place of worship, and much like the Kami that live in open grounds; a shrine God requires faith, and stays in the shrine or temple for all times and talks to only those who have authority to see them and house them.
A shrinemaiden is such a person, the ‘houser’ which places the Gods in their faithful place, and lives their celibate lives to uphold the law and practices of the old days in favor of housing the Gods, and such practices are passed from one generation to the next until which time the next must come after a chosen arranged marriage. Reimu is a child born from such age old adamants, and till this day since inheriting her task many years before, does a good job at what she does. Indeed, some say she is a genius who comes once every thousand years; she has proven those people right with the exceptional powers and ability she demonstrated as a shrinemaiden thus far.
“So…?”
“Old Ones of the past, New Ones of the Ancients, Whomever you may be, You whom inherit and live in this shrine, please rise and give answer to me, the Hakurei Maiden. I ask that you voice your being…” Reimu asked, standing for a while waiting for an answer that doesn’t seem to be coming.
“Hmm…”
“No response.”
“Any spiritual energy?” Yukari asked, she herself could detect none.
“You know that.”
“Guess we should walk around a bit.”
“Wait!” Reimu sounded, she heard some cackling.
“There are people here?” Yukari sounded surprised, she was sure there are no humans here.
Suddenly, from the trees surrounding the overgrown shrine grounds, a long tentacle of sorts stretched out from out of nowhere, and flew straight for Reimu’s neck from behind her.
“Oh…what? ArrgghhH!!!” Reimu sounded, thrashing as she felt a strong pull dragging her into the overgrowths and kicking while screaming… “Help me!” She sounded to Yukari.
With a swift cut, Yukari threw her fan at the tentacle thing, which immediately cut through the overgrowths like a powerful boomerang, destroying all that lies within hiding if at all. The fan’s sharpened tips met the target, and to Yukari’s horror, it was a sight more terrible than any youkai she knew.
Of course, it is not like she hasn’t seen some ugly ones, but this one… this ‘youkai’ carries an odor that rivals the stinking sewer dwelling yellow beasts that she once caught out of curiosity. It smells of vomit, stinks of feces and as smoky as pounds of floor dust added to a mix of decayed corpses. It reeks so bad she was surprised she hadn’t caught scent of it before she killed it, cleanly slicing off its neck and severing its head from its contracted torso.
It twitched a bit, letting out a long and loud sigh as it fell to the ground, exploding from its chest like a balloon, blew apart into several broken limbs and bodyparts, and let out some gas akin to its odor, only green in color and quickly surrounded Reimu in utter disgust as she freed herself from the thing attached to her neck.
“What the…? That was its tongue! Ugh…” She wiped off the slime attached to her sleeves, and then on her neck, which she desperately tried to clean but left a lot of still on her.
“You better wipe that one off with one of your sleeves… I see no point having them on anyway.”
“What about modesty?” Reimu complained, and continued her desperate wiping.
Yukari doesn’t know how to explain it, these things are not human, yet strangely, they also are not youkai. They are dead, yet moving. The worse is that she is not attuned to their scent, they smelled like corpses, and everywhere around them is a densely thick smell of dead bodies, making them hardly detectable.
Has all mankind became this? Is this why she hasn’t seen any humans about?
Somewhere, in a tree, a creature looks hungrily at the back of Yukari, its eyes as hungry as its urge for violence. Slowly, its claws grew out, and like a cat pouncing off a platform to catch a mouse within its sight, it jumped, giving a shrill and loud scream as it did for Yukari.
Yukari looked back, and her eyes widened in horror and surprise.
A first yet again, in many years; she hadn’t felt genuine fear in a few eons.
++++++++
(Elsewhere, Heading East.)
“Man this is farther than we thought~ze, isn’t it?” Marisa sounded, her voice barely audible from the incredible noise the machines that Nitori brought along for the trip.
“Yeah, I had no idea these things are so slow on grass.” Nitori clearly has not thought about it, these things work best on paved and open roads, which are flattened with black tar and oiled till they were as smooth as they can possibly be. Nitori has seen how these things work on those, with some excellent maneuvers, they can outrun danmaku bullets even. Yet, as it seems, riding on grass after the rocky path is utterly impossible, still useful though, better than walking or flying with her fart. She recalled the embarrassing thing she did yesterday… she wonders if her friends are now laughing behind her back.
The thought burned her, and it felt ticklish even. However, amidst her embarrassing recollection of last night, she could hear something else: rumbling, akin to when stones are being moved.
“Shhh… the engines, slow it down.” They did, and came to a complete stop.
“What the hell…?” Marisa sounded, Alice popped from behind Nitori to have a clearer look.
Up ahead, a creature, possibly 6 or 7 times larger than a normal human should be, with arms as wide the bike they are riding on, and muscular growth so obscenely over the top its body doesn’t seem to fit the tattered underdeveloped lower body below. It stared at a distance, digging the ground while huffing and puffing dramatically as though its heart cannot pump enough blood into what may well be its muscularly oppressed arteries or its remarkably small head fitted just above its chest like a crude ornament. Then, it turned, and like an enraged animal, it roared as loud as a lion, clamoring the silence, breaking it as shattered glass and gave chase immediately.
Suddenly, Setsu without warning, shouted as loud as she possibly can, “TAAAAANNNNKKKK!!!” Setsu immediately turned to Nitori and shook Marisa on the shoulders, “RUN RUN RUN RUN!!!” Her eyes told everyone it is the only way… no way they can beat that thing, whatever it was.
Panically, they all turned their bikes and turned to the other direction, only to hear what could possibly be a voice screaming in bloodcurdling unison. Like a tumbling sea of voices, the screams rolled about and encircled them and from the woods, where the in the shadows lurked many youkai, out came a hungry mob, possibly hundreds in numbers.
The huge thing that was just a while staring at a distance emptily, now chased ever harder, using its arms to prop a balance, it rammed quickly among the horde, bumping some out of the way in focused rage and roaring all the way.
The grassy surface gave no room for maneuvers, and riding straight is slow as well and pretty soon, Nitori realized the only way to do this is to fly.
“Marisa, on my count, the red button, press it!” Yet… as it seems, Marisa is all too keen, given the ticket, she didn’t wait, and simply dived her finger onto the red outline of a button placed crudely on one of the handles.
“Wait------“ Nitori looked, as the engine sounded like it were ready to rip, and stuttered to life in a renewed fashion, revving loud enough to wake even the dead from their graves.
With effect, like a phoenix rising from its ash, the bike reared its head and aimed into the skies.
Nitori bit her lip, “Damn it!” Promptly pressing the button she fired her successful reinvention of a bike upwards the sky, blasting past all obstacles and shot to the air immediately to escape the chasing horde.
Down below, she can hear them yelling in disagreement, and like as though nothing happened, they returned to a strange silence, lumbering about in the cloudy darkness, aimless as they were before. Nitori broke a sweat on her forehead, and chased up to Marisa ahead, with Setsu holding to the back of her like a frightened child.
“What… the hell just happened? What are those things?” Nitori asked the frightened child.
She didn’t wait for an answer, eyeing an open patch, which surprisingly had some sun that shone down on it nicely and warming the ground, she directed Marisa to land there; she agreed by nodding.
They landed, softly so. The power of the engines lowered, and quietly did the silence seemed to engulf them once more. Nitori looked at Setsu, whom calmed down now, and was standing. She seemed reluctant to get off the bike, but seeing as there is no mob just now, she quietly stood there staring back at her inquisitor.
“That… is the infected… I don’t know how… but…”
“But what? That big lunge of a thing just now… what is it?” Nitori questioned mercilessly.
“I don’t really know… but the boys called it Tanks, they are everywhere… large mutated species of the infected. They say drugs change people, I don’t know in what way, but they just do. When they do… they change the normally infected, those that you saw came running from the woods and the shadows… into those and other kinds.” Setsu explained, her voice trembling slightly in fear, as though recalling a terrible nightmare which she rather not remember.
“Other kinds?”
“All in all, there are 5 of them… I known only so many, in the time I am silent, I don’t really know what happened or how far they changed…”
“Five? You better start talking…” Alice commanded, like she is commanding one of her dolls.
“Please… Alice… stop~ze.” Marisa tapped her shoulder, realizing the human girl is now shaking in her footing, and just then, she crumpled to the floor like a ragged doll, unable to stand straight a moment longer.
“That was a Tank, the biggest of them all, very tough, not very bright. It is very strong… it can rush into armed forces like it was nothing to them, you can empty entire rounds of gunfire into them it would barely scratch them.” Setsu paused, “The others are the Witch, a crying female capable of killing everyone with those sharp claws, which carries some kind of lethal poison of sorts…, very strong, stronger than even the Tank even at close range. There is the Hunter, an agile jumping infected, it stalks you, then jumps you and eats you there and then as it tears you apart… there is the Smoker, this one stretches its tongue quite far, it constricts and then pulls you in, killing you only then…” Setsu breathed deeply, pausing for a good long moment and taking a loud gulp.
Then she spoke again, “There is the Boomer, a fat, slow, creature with a bloated stomach. It spews acidic bile from its mouth, which carries a scent that attracts nearby infected towards you. This one is easy to kill, but also dangerous volatile, for doing anything to it in close range means digging your grave when it blows up the bile on your face.” She paused once more, “Finally, there is something quite recent, I saw it when the boys I was with got slaughtered, I called it a Panther.”
“What does that one do?” Alice continued to prob.
“I don’t really know, I just know it is bloody strong, very fast, and is the first one smart enough to evade gunfire. Somehow, it always moves on all four. It has these sharp fangs and claws on its ‘paws’. Its skin on its forehead is mutated, and covers its face and closing its eyes. I think……” Setsu paused again, recollecting whatever she could in her fearful memories, “It relies on hearing, and heat as well as sound. It is very sensitive, and once it detects you it guides the horde to attack, it has this large sucker like thing hanging from inside its mouth, if it gets close to you it will pounce on your face and begin to eat it beside chewing it down with its massive fangs….that is all I saw… I don’t know the rest…” Setsu stopped, looking away.
“The last one, you said it tracks by heat source, and sound?” Alice pondered, before fear was hinted in her eyes.
“That means we must have attracted thousands of them with these noisy things!” Marisa cut in, saying exactly what was on Alice’s mind.
True enough, from a distance, where the shadows of the clouds cover, a scream tumbling up and down in unison as it was a moment before, came rolling like tidal waves to a shore. Leading them all are a few black bodies, on all fours, running like rabid dogs and drooling with maddened faceless anger.
They are coming.
And they are hungry.
“Shit!” Nitori cursed.
+++++
The claw swiftly came down, and Eirin did what she does with reflex naturally, holding her bow to her head, it blocked the claw that seemed to weight a ton.
“Such strength!” Eirin cursed, “Coming from a human female?!” She indeed was in surprise, not only the Witch came suddenly, it came in a horde.
They are armed with hardened fingernails and ingrown bones which connect to said fingernails. The worst thing was that the fingernails are sharp, unnaturally so and were hard as iron, reinforcing the calcium base of the bone, and which grew around the fingers into each one of them; they resembled chef knives, bolted to the tips as a deadly weapon.
Though they seemed frail and pale, Eirin mistaken them for easy targets, hoping a few easy bullets will bound them back and drive them off, but that mistake was costly as she soon found herself attacked from all sides.
A group of them, comprising seven or eight in numbers, attacked at a stone, lifeless. Eirin knew exactly what is happening: they have looked into Reisen’s eyes of maddening. Reisen’s eyes possess a special power, which when looked into as she directed her mental energy towards its focus, will cause hallucinations. Suffice to say that even this woeful creatures of once possibly were thinking, rational girls and women are not immune to Reisen’s eyes. The hallucinations she caused drove them to attack a lifeless boulder laying by the side; however, to them it must seem like they are attacking Reisen herself, thrashing in helpless agony as their claws dug mercilessly into her skin and bones, ripping her apart.
“Pale Flower’s Cannon: Invisible Link!!” Reisen announced, something new she crafted, Eirin thought; she has always been diligent about her magic studies.
A giant gun suddenly appearing out of thin air, the white bodied cannon with an extra long barrel formed into Reisen’s hands, carted just above her shoulder like a powerful oversized tool of choice. Energy gathered at the tip of the barrel, which has a short hammer-like head that spread sideways. Reisen kicked at the two props that were attached to the semi-ethereal cannon and set it up leveled with her knee, which she is kneeling on her left side with and the right side for good measure.
The props magically shot its sharp tips into the ground, securing the thing in less than a second and then… Reisen fired. Like a thunderous ball of electric, energy gathered at the tip to a brightened sphere, brighter than even burning plasma, the ball headed straight for the horde of rock-attacking female beasts. The effect was immediate, like the sound of a hundred screaming slaughtered beasts; their screams pierced the air sharply and promptly disintegrated into dust.
All this time, Eirin only witnessed, she herself responsible for a good 10 of them, circling her madly as they clawed for her in all directions. However, she is well versed in combat, living a good 10,000 years can do that for everyone it seems, and they were parlayed with her great strength easily.
“Enough…” She uttered, and from her bow, arrows of magic appeared, seeping from a snaky vein that led down to her hands from the her shoulders. With an immediate bolt and a turn, Eirin turned loose from their encircling, finding mere seconds before they come for her again, she fired in their direction hundreds of lightning fast arrows that punched them into the guts and pierced their bodies like giant needles. The arrows disappeared just as quickly as they came into contact, driving the numbered to 10 or so woeful screamers back a few steps. They relentlessly tried to come back bouncing, only to face another barrage from their direct path, despite their evasive maneuvers.
Eirin already has two familiars, magic balls of ethereal spirits that surround a magic user; above her head. Like powerful assistants copying exactly what she did, they spread open fire of hundreds and hundreds more arrows in split seconds, piercing the creatures through and through as one by one quickly fell dead from the impacts.
Reisen, who stood steadily beside her, aiming her fingers at the creatures that are falling quickly, soon relaxed. “Master… those…are not Danmaku…” Reisen referred to the rule of magic in Gensokyo, where it does not kill. As it seems however, the ones Eirin just used are tools of destruction, capable of killing people where she stands.
The balls continued firing hails of magical arrows, until Eirin seemed to breathe a command of ‘stop’ and only then did they paused. They still floated, cautiously so following Eirin as she walked up to confirm the creature’s death. “Interesting… this one is still alive.”
She picked what seemed like a probe, with a tip shaped like a shrapnel and poked the creature, prompting a loud scream as the woeful female bastard thrashed about, only to find that its limbs are all but gone, severed and its torso barely functional as its twisted spine a bloody mess that laid outside instead of inside her back. She seemed to cry in pain, and the probing that Eirin is doing as a merciless torturer helped none the better. Reisen felt a familiar pain, it hinted and reminded her of the old days back on the Moon, when she was a slave, she was subjected to such treatment for amusement.
“Master…” Reisen called out.
“Don’t worry, she won’t live long, the blood loss would kill her eventually. I am just taking samples of her tissues, we would have time to investigate the virus to a certain extent by nightfall. Meanwhile, it would also be good if you can scout ahead, you are fine alone right?” Eirin asked, looking to her assistant with eyes that seemed empty, but full of passion for the creature she is probing about as it whined helplessly trying to get away from her.
“Yes… sure…” Reisen turned, unable to witness the thing a moment longer. She has seen how her master treats the rabbits, sometimes it gets too hard to bear, but her master is a strange and brilliant one, there is nothing she can do for her brethren from earth, she is not the same; she is sentient.
Slowly, she walked ahead, and in the darkness the covers once more, silence befell the crevices and choking black smoke from her firepower earlier covered densely.
She can hear sounds, from a distance, resembling bird calls. Cautiously, she walked, treading ever so slightly as she can.
++++++
The creature was foul, not only was it reaching for Yukari’s face, it managed to actually claw her a fair bit leaving a slight fingernail mark on her skin. However, as it raised its arms for a full on punch or claw or whatever it chooses to do, it landed into thin air. Where she was a moment before is now empty space, replaced by a sealing gap, and Yukari stood behind motionlessly waiting for it to realize through its cloud of confusion as it dug the ground before him, looking for his normally inescapable victim. Then, it looked at Reimu, its angry howling scream sounded, and with it, its legs retracted below him, in a pounce ready movement as it aimed for Reimu’s frame before him.
“Gyyyyyaaaarrrrggg-h-h-h-h-h---“ it never finished, not even a moment longer as it soon realized its neck was severed cleanly. Not a moment long enough for it to pounce.
Like a defeated beast, beheaded so; it fell, tumbling into a heap as its head rolled forward to where Reimu stood motionlessly, and emotionlessly as well. Yukari looked, and asked, “Not surprised?”
“I was going to help you, but then I realize you really wouldn’t have anything to fear from something as simpleminded as this, don’t you?” Reimu said sarcastically.
Truly so, Yukari has faced some serious trouble and encircling before by hordes of enemies, and this one single pouncing creature cannot even hope to compete with those great demons she faced in Makai before. After all, she has seen a lot in her life time, a moment’s surprise cannot contribute to her failing anything but not taking a breath when she should have.
“He looks human…except…this grey skin.” Reimu observed at the severed torso.
“Indeed, if this is what humankind has became, I fear we have a problem. We are not facing a population-less Japan, but rather, a Japan that in inhabited by 90% dead people. I believe these are zombies, they seemed only keen on violence.” Yukari analyzed.
“Then this is out of my expertise, I am a spiritualist at best, I am not suited for medical jargon like this? What is a zombie anyway?” Reimu asked, shrugging a bit as she picked herself up.
“They are creatures with no thought of their own, guided only by primal desire or some such. I suppose I can refer you as a zombie as well, consider how much focus you place on your non-existent donations.” Yukari scoffed, and promptly turned about to look at the shrine steps which led down to a paved road below. She thought to herself, ‘where there are paved roads, there must be a town nearby…’
“Well, whatever…wait…” Reimu headed up to behind Yukari, looking as she took the steps down from the shrine.
“We are going to town.” Yukari turned back and said, she seemed to choose to walk this time.
++++++
“One quick question… is that a Panther you been telling us about?” Marisa eyed at the quickly approaching creature, running unnaturally with four limbs, and with skin almost as black as a dark night’s sky with claws and fangs sharp as the creature it is named after; it looked very angry.
“Yes… run!” Setsu turned, only stopped by Alice’s dolls placed before her, Shanghai’s sword aimed between Setsu’s brows.
“What…?” Setsu uttered, confused.
“Not one step, you stay in the center, we will protect you best as we can…” Alice said sternly, staring with her glowing irises into Setsu’s own dull brown eyes.
“You are crazy… we have been alerted, they are coming, by the hundreds!”
“All the more reason we cannot risk alerting anymore, we stand and fight.”
“What if the Tank comes back?” Setsu questioned, trembling as the ground shook for thousands of feet landing in unison in a distance, running furiously for them. Already, the daylight submitted itself to the clouds, and where once was a patch of sunlight, they now stood in the dark, glowing only slightly as magic surrounded their bodies.
“No worries… we have this.” Marisa said, pulling out her Hakkero, which glowed as bright as a sun placed in the middle of her palm.
“That?”
“It is the ultimate magic, c’mon Alice, let’s teach these guys a lesson in love~ze!” Marisa grinned.
“Let’s!” Alice answered, seemingly fired up as she pulled out a card.
“Dolls Sign: Imperial Army of Dolls!” Setsu only had moments to blink her eyes before a great army seemed to engulf them in the dead center, forming shields and swords about them facing outwards.
The lances peeked from beneath a shell of shields, iron and tungsten and unbreakable as the faceless army in thick European armor rose from nothing and stood ready facing all directions in a circle of protection. Alice’s eyes closed in full concentration, murmuring as magic in the form of light flowed from her arms and into her fingers, and into the wires that seemed to float from her fingers onto the surrounding knights in armor.
“Watch how we handle things, the Gensokyo way!” Marisa said, and smiled.
The approaching mob impacted… and a loud crash was heard and was followed by hundreds of smaller shocks was sent through the shields.
“Ugh!” Alice sounded.
This will be harder than she expected.