Marisa looked at Chris with a grin. "So, now that you know the rules—wanna try one?"
Chris tilted his head, then nodded.
Reimu sighed, though a small smile tugged at her lips. "I guess we're doing this. Just don't overdo it, okay? Even with your ridiculous amount of magic."
She handed him one of her practice spell cards—a harmless one meant only to light things up.
Chris held the card in his palm, watching it float and shimmer. He flipped it into the air and whispered in his mind, "Fazbear Light Show."
The card shot upward like a jet. In an instant, the sky erupted in color—reds, blues, golds bursting outward like a festival. Everyone shielded their eyes.
When the light faded, they saw them—
a bear, a chicken, a fox, and a rabbit—
dancing in perfect rhythm.
The four spun, jumped through glowing hoops, then mounted bikes of light, riding across the sky before landing, bowing to the stunned crowd, and fading like fireworks.
Marisa was the first to speak, her jaw halfway to the ground before she burst out laughing.
"Pfft—! Oh man, that was amazing! You just turned a spell card into a circus show! That's a first!"
Reimu rubbed her temples, sighing deeply as she muttered, "Why do I even bother teaching you rules if you're just going to turn them into… whatever that was?"
Still, she couldn't hide the small smile creeping up her face. "At least it didn't explode."
Chris blinked innocently, unsure if he had done something wrong. "Was… that not okay?"
Before Reimu could answer, a voice groaned from the ground.
"My eyes… I can't see! Everything's all sparkly!"
They turned to see Cirno flailing her arms, rubbing her eyes furiously. Her wings twitched as she stumbled around.
Marisa snorted. "Hah! Guess someone's been outshined for once."
"I'll freeze your hat, witch!" Cirno yelled, still squinting at random directions.
Reimu sighed again, this time heavier. "Great. We've barely started and we're already causing fairy trauma."
Meanwhile in a different place
Was the Shrine Maiden and Ghost Samurai.
They both looked at the sky, a bit puzzled but amazed.
Youmu's eyes were a bit surprised as she spoke. "That's different".
Sanae looked in the sky as she narrowed her eyes. "Does it look like a Fazbear character?"
Youmu blinked as she spoke. "Fazbear?"
Sanae looked at her as she continued. "A show I used to watch in my early childhood, it's one of my early memories, I used to enjoy it before my Shrine got Teleported into Gensokyo".
Youmu looked as she spoke. "How old were you when you came to Gensokyo?".
Youmu knew it was not unheard of for humans and lost things to come into Gensokyo; it had always happened and always would happen, due to the nature of the barrier and how this place was made.
Sanae tried to remember, but her memories were hazy, and she could only remember a crying child. "When I was 5".
Youmu tilted her head slightly, the wind brushing through her silver hair. "Five… that's very young. You must have been scared."
Sanae smiled faintly, her gaze still fixed on the colorful remnants of the spell fading in the red mist. "Maybe. It's strange — I don't remember being afraid. Just… confused. One moment, I was in my room watching a silly animatronic bear sing a song, and the next… I was standing before a mountain with two goddesses asking if I'd like to be their shrine maiden."
She laughed softly, but there was something wistful behind it. "I guess even divine callings can come at the weirdest times."
Youmu crossed her arms, her expression thoughtful. "A show that projects light and sound… and now, a boy casting similar images into the sky."
"Yeah." Sanae's smile faded slightly as she narrowed her eyes at the crimson horizon. "And that's what worries me. If someone can bend spell cards that way, they're either very talented... or something's changing in Gensokyo's magic itself."
The faint echo of laughter — Marisa's — carried across the wind, distant but clear.
Youmu rested a hand on the hilt of Roukanken. "Then let's go find out which one it is."
The two shrine maidens cut through the crimson haze, the faint glimmer of the Scarlet Mansion barely visible in the distance. Clownpiece trailed nervously behind them, her torch dimmed to avoid attention.
Youmu glanced sideways at Sanae. "So… any theories on who cast this spell?"
Sanae rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… maybe someone trying to stop the kids in the Human Village from crying."
Youmu blinked, slowing slightly. "What kind of logic is that?"
Sanae pointed up at the bleeding sky. "Look at that, Youmu. If you were a child and saw that out your window, you'd scream your head off too. Someone probably cast, so the kid will enjoy the light show".
Youmu sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. "That's not how magic works, Sanae."
Clownpiece, flapping a bit behind them, mumbled. "It's kinda how fairy logic works, though…"
Both Youmu and Sanae turned their heads at the same time, and the poor fairy flinched, immediately regretting speaking.
Sanae and Youmu soared over the edge of the Bamboo Forest, the faint crimson light shimmering off the endless green.
Then they saw her.
A lone woman stood among the bamboo, her long white hair flowing like moonlight through the mist. Her red eyes gleamed, and her scorched clothes fluttered faintly in the wind — covered in talismans that looked more like seals than accessories.
The faint smell of smoke hung around her.
[Insert image of Fujiwara no Mokou]
For a moment, the air was quiet.
Then Sanae leaned toward Youmu. "She looks suspicious."
"She's near the mansion's direction," Youmu said flatly.
"Exactly."
"...So, what do we do?"
They exchanged a knowing glance — the kind of mutual stupidity Gensokyo runs on — and in perfect unison, they declared:
"Spell card rules!"
And they started blasting.
A wall of danmaku erupted across the forest, exploding through the bamboo like fireworks. Mokou blinked once, sighed, and muttered,
"Ah, great. Another pair of idiots."
Then she ignited.
Mokou blinked, watching the barrage of glowing projectiles zip past her head, exploding against the bamboo in showers of light.
"...What in the world—hey!" she shouted, ducking another blast. "I didn't even say anything!"
Sanae pointed dramatically. "You're standing near the Bamboo Forest! Suspicious!"
Youmu followed up, blades drawn. "You have red eyes! Suspicious!"
Mokou just stared. "I'm half immortal! What do you expect them to be, green?"
The next volley came, forcing her to sidestep as the ground exploded beside her. She groaned.
"Oh, for crying out loud… I don't even know the vampire!"
Another burst of danmaku whizzed by, nearly singeing her hair. Mokou exhaled sharply, cracking her neck.
"Fine. If it's a fight you want…"
She raised her hand, flames igniting around her like a phoenix's wings.
"—then I'm burning the idiocy out of you."
[Spell Card: "Immortal Phoenix - Ascending Flame Wings!"]
A sea of fire shot upward, turning the bamboo into a crimson inferno as Sanae and Youmu screamed in unison:
"OH CRAP SHE IS EVIL!!"
They moved out of the way, as the got into attacking mode
The air shimmered with the scent of burning bamboo as Mokou hovered in the haze, flames licking at her fingertips. Across from her, Sanae and Youmu were already in mid-danmaku stance, both convinced they had found one of the culprits.
Sanae: "Don't try to play innocent! Only someone evil would wear red under a sky like that!"
Youmu: "And paper charms! Clearly part of some kind of barrier magic!"
Mokou (deadpan): "They're fashion accessories, you morons!"
Mokou dodged a volley of glowing orbs and blades, sighing so deeply it almost extinguished her own flames.
Mokou: "You know, I used to teach kids. They listened better than this."
She finally retaliated with a lazy wave of fire—harmless at first, but enough to show she wasn't a pushover. The resulting heatwave scattered their attacks like paper in the wind.
Youmu: "Strong…! She must be guarding something!"
Sanae: "The source of the mist!"
Mokou blinked. "Mist? What mist—oh, you mean that." She pointed upward, eyes narrowing as she finally felt the energy herself.
The sky pulsed faintly—blood-red mist swirling around those chains of fire, each one humming with a power that wasn't divine, demonic, or even lunar. It was vengeful.
Her expression hardened.
"That's not the vampire's magic," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. "It smells… old. Angry."
Sanae stopped mid-attack, watching Mokou's tone shift.
"Wait—you mean it's not you?"
Mokou crossed her arms. "If I wanted to block the sun, I'd do it with smoke and arson, not that."
Youmu lowered her swords slightly, exchanging glances with Sanae. "So… we may have attacked an innocent person."
Mokou: "May have? You burned my sleeve off!"
Sanae (sheepishly): "Uh… diplomacy?"
Mokou (snorts): "Fine. You can make it up to me by helping me find who did this. Because if that mist spreads… even immortals like me are gonna start feeling it."
She turned her gaze toward the direction of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, where the crimson glow seemed strongest.
Mokou (grim): "And whatever made it… isn't alive in the way you think."
Reimu squinted down as trails of smoke rose beneath the blood-red sky. The faint shimmer of danmaku could be seen flaring through the trees.
"Should… check that out," she muttered, more out of obligation than interest. "I mean, the mansion's right there."
Marisa: "Y'know, for someone who's supposed to protect Gensokyo, ya sound real motivated, ze."
Reimu: "Hey, I am protecting it. I'm just prioritizing efficiency."
Chris, sitting on Reimu's shoulder, tilted his head as he looked down at the glowing embers. His eyes reflected both curiosity and faint unease.
"Reimu… forest hurt?"
Reimu blinked, surprised by the sentence. His Japanese was still broken, but he'd been improving fast — frighteningly fast.
Reimu (softly): "Yeah. It's burning."
Chris: "...Fire bad."
Marisa laughed. "Tell that to Mokou. Anyway, looks like someone's already having a fireworks party before we even got here!"
Reimu sighed, already feeling the tension creeping in. "Let's hope it's not that immortal again. Last time she tried to roast me."
As they drew closer, a sudden shockwave of heat blasted through the air — the remnants of Mokou's earlier counterattack.
Chris flinched, gripping Reimu's sleeve. His pupils dilated, glowing faintly gold as faint echoing whispers — broken fragments of robotic voices — murmured around him.
Chris (quietly): "...burning... like before..."
Reimu immediately pulled him closer, instinctively wrapping an arm around him.
"Hey—hey, it's fine. You're safe. That fire's not going to touch you, okay?"
Marisa, noticing the look in Chris's eyes, frowned slightly. She'd seen plenty of magic before — but the way the air crackled around him when he was scared wasn't magic. It was something else. Something… unnatural.
Marisa: "Yo, Reimu. You sure the kid's not, uh… flammable?"
Reimu (flatly): "Marisa."
Marisa: "What? I'm serious! He's glowing again!"
A brief silence. Then Reimu sighed.
"Alright. Let's check the fire first. Then, we knock on the vampire's door."
Chris blinked up at her, still trembling slightly.
"Knock… like polite?"
Marisa smirked. "More like explode the front gate polite, ze."
Reimu groaned. "Marisa—!"
The three descending toward the bamboo forest, the red mist swirling around them, the faint echo of laughter — not human, not fairy, but something darker — whispering from the direction of the Scarlet Mansion.
Reimu lands first, brushing ash off her sleeve, with Chris clutching her arm.
Reimu: "Okay. So who set the forest on fire this time?"
Marisa: "Not me! …This time."
Then, from the other side of the smoke — Youmu and Sanae appear, both on guard.
Sanae: "Identify yourselves! Are you behind this Scarlet Mist?"
Reimu (deadpan): "Oh, great. Another one."
Youmu: "Wait—another what?"
Reimu: "Another shrine maiden. You've got the same look."
Sanae (bright smile): "That's right! I'm Sanae Kochiya, shrine maiden of the Moriya Shrine, blessed by the gods Kanako and Suwako! I'm here to investigate this disturbance in the name of divine—"
—Reimu fires a warning shot of danmaku right past her face.
Reimu: "Yeah, yeah, I've heard that speech before."
Marisa (snickering): "Guess there's only room for one shrine maiden, ze!"
Sanae (offended): "Wait—you're attacking me already? I'm on your side!"
Reimu: "That's what they all say before throwing amulets."
Chris (quietly, clutching Reimu's sleeve): "…Two Reimu?"
Marisa: "Oh, don't say that, kid. One's enough trouble already."
Mokou raising her hand "Alright! Everyone stop shooting for five seconds! You're all on the same side, unless someone here's secretly a vampire!"
The air was thick with heat and leftover spell energy. Ash drifted lazily between the groups as Youmu and Sanae awkwardly lowered their weapons.
Reimu exhaled sharply, her amulet still faintly glowing. "...Fine. But next time someone shows up talking about gods and shrines, I'm shooting first."
Marisa smirked as she spoke. "You always shoot first, ze."
Reimu just looked at her "Exactly."
Mokou rubbed her temples. "You people give immortality a headache."
Then — a faint rustle from above.
Clownpiece hovered on the edge of the clearing, barely visible between the bamboo shafts, her small body trembling as her eyes darted between them.
'That's him...' she thought, eyes locking on Chris.
'That's the kid Junko told me to find. He's right there—unguarded. If I just move fast, I can grab him and go before—'
Her thought froze as she scanned the scene again.
Reimu Hakurei — whose barrier had fried her once already.
Marisa Kirisame — who'd laughed while blasting her with a Master Spark.
Mokou — literally immortal and currently on fire.
Youmu — who already defeated her once.
Sanae - a new shrine maiden radiating godly power.
Clownpiece gulped audibly.
'Okay… maybe I'll just… wait for a better moment.'
Her hat drooped slightly, mirroring her spirit.
Reimu sighed as she spoke. "So, until all of this is over, we are all working together".
Sanae smiled as she spoke. "That's lovely"
Youmu rolled her shoulder as she spoke. "I am fine with that, I get to do my job for Lady Yuyuko".
Marisa grinned, resting her broom on her shoulder. "Heh, finally! About time we stopped shooting at each other and started shooting at the real problem, ze."
Mokou gave her a sideways glance, half amused, half exasperated. "Let's just hope the 'real problem' isn't another one of you shrine maidens."
Reimu crossed her arms. "If it is, I'm still exorcising it."
Chris, who'd been quiet through most of it, rubbed the back of his neck. "So… that's it then? Everyone's just okay with teaming up?"
Sanae tilted her head playfully. "Teamwork makes miracles happen! Or at least that's what Kanako says."
Youmu gave a small, disciplined nod. "If it serves Gensokyo's balance, I have no objections."
Marisa spun her broom lazily. "Then it's settled, ze. We're heading to the Scarlet Mansion. And if we're lucky, the Vampire already prepared tea."
Mokou scoffed, smoke curling off her shoulders. "More like blood."
As laughter and bickering broke the tension, unseen above them, Clownpiece hovered in the haze of the burnt bamboo, her tiny hands clutching her torch tightly.
'All of them together… this just got harder,' she thought grimly.
'But I can't fail her. Not after what Lady Junko did for me…'
Her eyes flicked toward Chris once more before she vanished into the smoke.
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy this is the last Ch for this week