The team of six flew through the skies of Gensokyo.
Reimu finally loosened her grip, watching as Chris managed to stay aloft on his own. His white wings caught the wind clumsily but effectively. She sighed in relief — he was getting the hang of it.
Still, she reached out and held his hand.
"There, Ryusei. Let me guide you."
The rest of the group tried — and failed — not to melt at the sight.
Mokou looked at them, arms crossed. "So, none of you know who runs the Scarlet Devil Mansion?"
Youmu shrugged. "A fairy me and Sanae ditched said it was run by a Red hair vampire."
Mokou blinked, visibly processing that. "…I'm gonna ignore the fairy part, but yes — it's a vampire. And her hair's more light blue than Red."
The group finally arrived at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
Before they could get close, someone stepped forward to block their path. She had aqua-colored eyes and long scarlet hair tied into two braids with black ribbons. Her outfit was a traditional Chinese-style uniform — an olive-green dress with a white blouse beneath, a black ribbon on her collar, brown shoes, and an olive-green beret bearing a golden star with the character "龍" — dragon.
[Insert image of Meiling]
Meiling stood tall and spoke firmly, "Hold, you ca—"
She didn't even finish her sentence before being blasted by the collective firepower of several danmaku patterns at once.
The impact sent her flying straight back into the gate, leaving a smoking crater in the ground.
Everyone hovered awkwardly in silence for a second.
Chris slowly floated down, dusted her off, and gently patted her head. 'Sorry…'
Reimu simply walked past Meiling's crater and stopped before the gate.
As her hand brushed against the cold metal, her breath hitched.
Suddenly—
Flashes of images tore through her mind.
A red robotic fox, with jagged teeth and a single glowing eye.
A golden chicken, its metallic body creaking with unnatural life.
A brown bear, smiling with a mouth far too wide.
A blue bunny, staring blankly into her soul.
Their screams echoed in her head—distorted, mechanical, almost human.
Each image flickered like a jump scare, slamming into her mind again and again until she stumbled back, clutching her head.
Marisa hurried over, steadying Reimu by the shoulders. "Hey, hey—what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost. A worse one."
Reimu took a shaky breath, glaring at the gate as if it had personally offended her. "That gate… has some interesting defenses."
Sanae tilted her head, frowning. "Defenses? It's just metal—how could—"
She reached out and brushed her fingers against the gate.
Instantly, her expression froze.
In her mind, she saw a tall, puppet-like figure—white porcelain face, hollow eyes streaming black tears. It smiled wide… too wide… and lunged at her.
Sanae yelped and stumbled back, clutching her arm. "O-Okay! You weren't kidding!"
Marisa blinked between them. "Alright, what the hell is up with this place? The last time I got scared like that was when a Book sneezed on me."
Mokou squinted at the gate, unimpressed. "Whatever it is, it's not physical. Probably some kind of illusionary curse."
Chris, wings fluttering nervously, looked at the gate and whispered under his breath in English. "...The memories are bleeding through again."
Everyone turned to him.
Reimu blinked, frowning. "What did you just say?"
Chris just shook his head, as if realizing he'd said too much. "Nothing. Let's… just go inside."
Youmu looked at them, sword drawn but cautious. "Okay, if you all saw something, how exactly are we supposed to cross it?"
Before anyone could answer, Chris stepped forward. His little wings ruffled as he looked at the massive gate. "I can fix this," he said, his Japanese still clumsy but determined.
Reimu's eyes widened. "Ryusei—no! Don't—"
But Chris had already lifted his hand. His voice shifted, smooth and fluent in another language the others couldn't follow.
"Gabriel… Jeremy… Susie… Fritz… Charlie…"
His tone softened, almost like a lullaby.
"It's 6 A.M. Back to sleep."
For a moment, everything went still.
Then the gate trembled—metal groaning like something exhaling after a long nightmare. The red mist around it flickered, then dispersed into harmless motes of light.
Everyone watched as the ominous pressure in the air evaporated.
Reimu blinked, lowering her gohei. "It… listened to him?"
Sanae tilted her head, goosebumps running down her arms. "Those names… they sounded… human."
Marisa whistled low. "Remind me never to underestimate the kid again. I don't even know what language that was, but it sure worked."
Chris just lowered his hand slowly. "They were tired," he murmured, switching back to Japanese, his words a bit shaky. "I just let them rest."
Reimu knelt slightly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You did good, Ryusei."
Mokou looked at the now-quiet gate and muttered, "That's not normal magic."
Marisa smirked. "Yeah, well, neither is he."
Meanwhile, inside the Scarlet Mansion...
The air in the basement was heavy — thick with the scent of old dust and faint traces of iron. The dim candlelight flickered along crimson walls, dancing over the cracks and sigils that once held things far worse than either of its current inhabitants.
Cassidy ran again — footsteps echoing through the endless corridors of the underground halls. Behind her, the manic laughter of Flandre Scarlet echoed like a broken lullaby.
"Catch you~!" Flandre sang, before crashing headlong into Cassidy when the girl suddenly stopped. The vampire blinked, dazed, while Cassidy just sighed and brushed the dust from her clothes.
Cassidy's lips moved before she even realized it, her voice calm but distant.
" Quelqu'un a enlevé les sceaux de ma porte. Les enfants disparus n'écoutent que moi et... Lui." (Someone removed the seals from my door. The missing children only listen to me and... Him)
Flandre tilted her head, confused but trying to follow.
"Cela posera-t-il problème à Grande Sœur ?"
(Will that be a problem for Big Sister?)
Cassidy glanced down at her — eyes dim but sharp, her tone more thoughtful than usual.
"Cela dépend s'il a trouvé cet endroit seul ou si quelqu'un l'a aidé. Quoi qu'il en soit, j'ai retrouvé mon ami, celui dont je parlais."
(That depends on whether he found this place alone or if someone helped him. Either way, I've found my friend — the one I told you about.)
Flandre blinked, her wings twitching like shards of stained glass. "A friend? You mean the one with the light that doesn't burn?"
Cassidy nodded slowly. "Yes… him."
For the first time in centuries, the lost spirit's face softened — something between relief and dread flickering in her golden eyes.
Meanwhile, back with the main group...
Books were flying.
Not floating politely — flying, dive-bombing, flapping, and firing glowing projectiles like they were tiny paper warships defending their territory.
"Why are we fighting BOOKS?!" screamed Youmu, slicing one in half only for three more to rise from the shelves like angry pigeons.
Marisa was laughing way too hard for someone under attack. "Because it's a magic library! If it ain't trying to kill you, it's probably cursed instead!"
"This isn't funny!" Sanae yelled, shielding herself as a particularly thick tome screamed "Encyclopedia!" before exploding into glittering dust.
Meanwhile, Reimu calmly threw a few talismans, sealing three books midair as she looked over her shoulder. "You're all overreacting. They're just enchanted grimoires defending the archive."
"You call THIS defending?!" Mokou barked, punching a book that bit her arm. "This thing just bit me!"
Chris, clutching his own small spell card like a protective charm, peeked from behind Reimu. "Do they… do they eat people?"
Reimu exhaled through her nose, clearly done. "Not unless you're made of paper, Ryusei."
As another book opened and screamed in Latin, Marisa's grin widened. "You know… I think I'm gonna steal this one!"
"Marisa, don't—" Reimu started—
But it was too late. The entire top shelf glowed ominously.
Every single book on that row turned, their covers opening like hundreds of glaring eyes.
Sanae: "...You just had to say it, didn't you?"
Then they heard something as two people floated down from the top floor
One of them tapped her finger, stopping the books.
The one snapping her finger was Patchouli. "Who are you people, and why are you in my library?"
Next to her was a woman with long red hair, red eyes, and a black dress with white sleeves. She has a pair of black, bat-like wings on the sides of her head
[Insert image of Koakuma]
The air stilled as the books froze mid-flight, suspended in a purple shimmer of magic.
Marisa blinked. "Huh. Guess the boss showed up."
Patchouli Knowledge floated down with an unreadable expression, her lavender hair and ribbons swaying gently with the magic still in the air. Koakuma followed behind her, wings twitching in mild annoyance as she surveyed the chaotic scene — toppled shelves, torn pages, faint scorch marks, and Mokou quietly kicking a smoldering book under a table.
Patchouli's eyes drifted across the group like she was reading a particularly confusing paragraph. "Who are you people, and why are you in my library?"
Reimu pointed at Marisa without hesitation. "Ask her."
Marisa frowned. "Hey! Don't pin it all on me! I just borrow books."
"You mean steal," Koakuma said flatly, arms crossed.
Marisa grinned. "Borrow indefinitely!"
Patchouli sighed, clearly used to this routine. "If you're done vandalizing my collection, state your business. Unless you want to be cataloged under 'Intruders — Incinerated.'"
Youmu stepped forward, sword in hand but posture polite. "We're investigating the Scarlet Mist and—"
Sanae interrupted, still brushing ash off her shoulder. "—and also trying not to die by paper!"
Patchouli tilted her head slightly. "Then you came to the wrong floor. I only handle knowledge, not visitors."
Chris peeked from behind Reimu, holding onto her sleeve, staring curiously at Koakuma's wings. "Angel?" he asked softly in broken Japanese.
Koakuma blinked, actually blushing a little. "Ah— no, dear, quite the opposite."
Patchouli gave her a side glance. "Don't encourage them."
Marisa, meanwhile, had already climbed halfway up a ladder, pocketing a glowing tome.
Reimu: "...Marisa, I swear—"
Patchouli snapped her fingers again. The book in Marisa's hand bit her.
Marisa: "Ow! It's self-defending literature!"
Patchouli looked at the Group as she and Koakuma got ready. "sense you came to my place uninvited and are causing this place problem".
She summons multiple magical circles with elemental powers. "And, I can't let you explore the rest of the mansion, I have to deal with you".
The group seeing this was gonna spell card battle, got into a Fighting stance.
Reimu looked at Sanae as she spoke. "You protect Ryusei, we handle this".
Sanae nodded, putting her body in front of Chris. "Don't worry I've got the kid"
Patchouli raised an eyebrow as she spoke in her head, her purple eyes looking at Chris. 'Kid? That's not a child, he looks like one, can the other not sense it?'.
Patchouli's gaze lingered on Chris, her eyes narrowing behind her fringe. That aura… it's layered, like stacked souls, she thought, the circles of magic behind her flaring brighter. No human child should carry that kind of weight.
Koakuma hovered beside her, wings flicking in irritation. "Milady, they don't look strong enough to take you. Just—"
"Don't underestimate shrine maidens," Patchouli murmured, flipping open her grimoire. "And that ghost swordswoman is carrying two enchanted blades. This won't be brief."
Marisa twirled her mini-Hakkero with a grin. "Heh, people always say that right before losing."
"Correction," Patchouli replied coolly, raising her hand. "I say that before I attempt to teach people a lesson you never learn."
The library trembled as multiple magic circles spun to life — one glowing with blue frost, another crackling with red flame, and a third humming with golden lightning. Books levitated, forming a cyclone around Patchouli like orbiting satellites.
Reimu stepped forward, seals already glowing in her hands. "Alright, everyone! Spell Card Rules, remember?"
Youmu nodded, drawing her swords; Mokou's flames ignited; and Sanae, though shielding Chris, looked ready to jump in if needed.
Chris, however, just watched — his bright blue eyes reflecting the storm of light forming above them. Something deep within him stirred, as if the energy around him was calling to something old and buried.
Patchouli's eyes flicked back to him, sensing it again — that pulse, faint but heavy. Vengeance… trapped souls… She felt it for just a second — the echo of screams, metallic grinding, and something like the sound of gears turning in the dark.
Her lips parted slightly, whispering to herself. "That's not human magic…"
Koakuma blinked. "Milady?"
Patchouli shook her head. "No matter. I'll extract the truth after they're defeated."
And with a motion of her hand, the first spell card flared to life.
"Royal Flare!"
A burst of light consumed the library, turning night into blazing day.
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy