The library exploded in light.
Flames roared outward, swallowing entire shelves — yet the books didn't burn, held together by Patchouli's magic.
"Royal Flare!"
The air shimmered like molten glass, forcing the intruders to scatter.
Reimu leapt back, paper seals spinning around her like petals in a storm. "Marisa, less talking, more dodging!"
Marisa, already spiraling on her broom, grinned. "Hey, hey! I'm not the one who walked into a sunbeam indoors!"
She swung her Mini-Hakkero. "Then let's turn up the heat! Master Spark!"
A beam of golden light split the burning air, clashing against Patchouli's Royal Flare in a spectacular explosion that rippled through the library's walls.
Youmu dashed forward through the shockwave, her twin swords flashing. Her half-ghost trailed behind her like a mirror image.
"Slash of the Present and Past—!"
Her blade cut through the lingering magic circles, dispersing some of the elemental symbols.
But Patchouli didn't even blink. "Impressive technique… but you rely too much on speed."
She raised another card.
"Silent Selene."
A gravity wave slammed down — the air thickened, pressing on everyone's shoulders like invisible water.
Youmu's knees hit the floor. Mokou cursed. "Great, now I feel like I'm walking on the ocean floor!"
Mokou, though, was built for endurance. Her flames ignited white-hot, counteracting the crushing pressure. "You think fire can't burn in vacuum? Think again!"
She hurled a spiraling inferno straight toward Patchouli — but the magician simply flicked her wrist.
"Elemental Harvester."
The fire split apart into four elements, orbiting her like obedient stars. "Thank you for the fuel."
Sanae, seeing everyone stagger, gripped her gohei. "Kanako, Suwako— lend me your blessing!"
A green barrier formed around her and Chris, shimmering with divine wind. The books that were flung by the explosions bounced harmlessly off.
"Jeez," she muttered. "First we fight sentient literature, now a sun goddess in pajamas."
Chris stood silently behind her, looking at the battle with wide eyes — yet something about him resonated with the chaos. Every time a spell card activated, the air near him distorted, like the world was afraid of him reacting.
Patchouli's gaze cut back to him again mid-cast.
That aura. That distortion. That feeling of suppressed wrath.
For a split second — she saw it.
A faint outline behind him — a shadow shaped like a bear, with hollow glowing eyes.
She nearly lost her spell concentration.
"What… are you?" she whispered.
Reimu took that opening, hurling a new seal.
"Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal – Spread."
The homing orbs burst in all directions, their trails slamming into Patchouli's barrier. Marisa's laser followed, and Youmu struck from below — a perfect three-way combo.
Patchouli's barrier shattered.
"Impressive…" she coughed slightly, brushing dust off her robe. "So you do understand the Spell Card Rules. Then— I'll use my strongest one."
Her final card ignited, pulsing purple and gold.
"Philosopher's Stone."
The entire library turned into a kaleidoscope of elements — fire, water, earth, air, metal, light, darkness — all twisting around her like an orbiting system of miniature stars.
Mokou whistled. "Okay, yeah, that's a bit much!"
Reimu sighed. "This is why I hate magicians."
Marisa grinned. "Then good thing you've got one on your side!"
As the spell reached its peak, everyone struggled to stand against the energy storm.
Books shattered, magic flared— and Chris, clutching his head, whispered in English,
"Stop fighting… please…"
For a brief moment, everything froze.
The Philosopher's Stone flickered — and the elemental orbs… hesitated.
They floated, then began slowly dimming.
Patchouli gasped, realizing the magic itself was listening to him. "He's… overriding the elemental code?"
Reimu blinked. "Wait—Ryusei?"
Chris looked up, eyes faintly glowing gold. "She doesn't want to fight. None of them do."
Patchouli slowly lowered her hand, closing her tome. "You're… not human. And yet you speak to magic like an old friend."
The Philosopher's Stone dissolved into dust.
The library fell silent.
Koakuma floated forward cautiously. "…so, uh… truce?"
Marisa coughed smoke. "Yeah, maybe before the roof collapses."
Reimu sighed in relief, looking at Chris, who had already collapsed from exhaustion. "You did good, Ryusei."
Patchouli stared at him, whispering almost to herself:
"'Ryusei,' huh? …No. That's not his real name."
Reimu looked at her as she spoke. "Yeah, that's the name I call him, his real name is Chris".
Patchouli looked at Reimu as she walked up to Chris, but knelt. "You, should use the other Powers".
Mouku, Sanae, and Youmu were confused; Marisa and Reimu were also confused, but for different reasons.
Marisa looked at her as she spoke. "Other power, what do you Za, he only Teleports in golden light".
Youmu blinked looking at her. "The kid can teleport".
Reimu looked at her as she spoke. "Yup".
Patchouli's eyes sharpened behind her curtain of violet hair. The faint embers of her last spell still danced in her pupils as she stared at the unconscious boy.
"…Teleportation in golden light," she repeated quietly, almost to herself. "No. That's not all it is."
Mokou crossed her arms, still half-smoking from the battle. "Then what, exactly, are you implying? The kid looks like he barely knows how to stand, let alone do anything else."
Patchouli didn't answer immediately. She knelt beside Chris, her long sleeves brushing the dust. The magic in the air began to swirl around him again, like it was drawn toward his heartbeat. "This is no ordinary spell signature. It's not space-time magic… it's conceptual. A reaction from something beyond our world."
Sanae tilted her head. "So—like a god's power?"
Patchouli gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. "Something close. I've only read of it in the deepest tomes of the Voile Library… a force that doesn't follow our elemental laws. When he uses it, reality bends to let him move. It's not teleportation—it's permission."
Everyone blinked.
Marisa raised a brow. "Permission from who, the universe?"
Patchouli's expression didn't change. "Exactly."
Reimu frowned, glancing down at Chris. "You're telling me this kid's carrying something strong enough to make space itself step aside for him?"
Patchouli's gaze softened slightly. "And that's why he needs to learn control. The 'golden light' you see is a restraint. He's suppressing the rest."
Youmu sheathed her swords slowly. "Then when you said, 'use the other powers'…"
"I meant it literally," Patchouli finished. "If he doesn't, that light will eat him alive one day."
The group went silent for a long moment—only the faint flutter of levitating books filled the air.
Finally, Marisa exhaled. "Well, that's just great. First we almost get roasted by a walking encyclopedia, now our tag-along turns out to be some golden time bomb."
Reimu sighed. "Figures." Then she glanced at Patchouli. "So what do we do?"
Patchouli closed her eyes. "For now? Let him rest. And pray Remilia doesn't find out before he wakes up."
The name hung in the air like a thunderclap.
Mokou groaned. "Oh joy. The vampire queen herself."
Reimu folded her arms. "Guess that means our night's not over yet."
Patchouli started to walk as she spoke. "Koakuma, get tea for me and our guest, I owe them an explanation on what our Mistress is doing to the sky".
Koakuma nodded with a polite bow. "Right away, Lady Patchouli."
With a small flap of her wing-like ornaments, she floated toward the side room, vanishing through a door deeper in the library.
Patchouli turned to the group and gestured toward a circular table surrounded by floating cushions. "Sit. You'll want to be comfortable for this."
Reimu crossed her arms but complied, lowering herself onto a cushion. "You make it sound like we're about to hear a sermon."
Marisa smirked. "If Patchy's talking, it's either magic theory or the apocalypse."
Mokou shrugged. "Or both."
Patchouli ignored them and waved her hand; the air shimmered, and the oppressive tension in the library seemed to ease slightly. The books that had once attacked them now hovered neatly in place, returning to their shelves one by one.
Soon Koakuma returned with a tray of steaming tea cups, gently placing them before each guest.
As everyone settled, Patchouli finally began to speak, her voice soft but filled with quiet authority.
"The crimson sky outside isn't a natural phenomenon," she said, folding her hands on the table. "It's a large-scale magical effect created by our Mistress—Remilia Scarlet."
Reimu took a sip, her eyes narrowing. "So the 'Scarlet Mist Incident' rumor was true."
Patchouli gave a slight nod. "Yes. The scarlet haze is her doing. It spreads across Gensokyo, blotting out the sun."
Sanae frowned. "Why? What's the point of covering the sky in red fog?"
Patchouli let out a slow breath. "Because sunlight is lethal to vampires. The mist dims it, allowing her to move freely during the day."
Youmu's hand hovered near her sword. "So she's changing the world just to make it more comfortable for herself?"
Marisa leaned back, her hat tilting. "Yup, that sounds like a vampire thing to do."
Patchouli shook her head faintly. "It's not that simple. Remilia didn't do this out of selfish comfort alone." Her eyes softened as she looked toward the distant ceiling, where the red hue faintly bled through the enchanted walls. "She did it… because she's bored."
Reimu blinked. "Bored?"
"Remilia Scarlet," Patchouli explained, "is centuries old. For her, time crawls. Every day is the same, every night identical to the one before. This… was her way of creating 'change.' To bring the shrine maiden of Gensokyo to her doorstep."
Marisa whistled. "So this whole sky mess is just her way of saying 'come play with me'?"
Patchouli took a sip of her tea, unbothered. "In simpler terms, yes. Though her 'games' tend to leave destruction in their wake."
Reimu sighed, setting her cup down. "Then I guess I'll have to end her game."
Patchouli looked at them as she spoke. "One more thing, recently a few days ago, something fell from the sky, a child with curly black Hair, not black, she fell from the sky in a red light when she landed Remilia found her, and she took her in, locking her in the basement, with her sister and took her blood and added to the machine, does the whole Chains of Flames with the Red Mist".
Everyone froze.
Reimu's hand tightened around her teacup until the porcelain creaked. "...She what?"
Patchouli adjusted her hat, her voice calm but her eyes troubled. "Remilia's Scarlet Mist generator—it's not just powered by her magic anymore. The child she found... her blood is acting as a stabilizer. It amplifies the red mist's effect and keeps it circulating over Gensokyo."
Marisa's grin vanished. "You're saying the brat's being used like a battery?"
Sanae's voice trembled slightly. "A child fell from the sky? How… how did she even survive that?"
Patchouli looked at her tea, the reflection of crimson light flickering across her face. "Barely. When Remilia found her, she was already unconscious but alive. The energy around her was... unnatural—something beyond magic, almost divine in texture. Remilia said it was a 'gift from fate' and took her in immediately."
Mokou leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "A red light, chains of flame… that doesn't sound like anything from this world."
Reimu's expression shifted from shock to fury. "She's experimenting on a kid? And using her power to cover Gensokyo in this red mist?"
Patchouli sighed quietly. "Remilia doesn't see it as cruelty. To her, it's a transaction—blood for protection. She believes she's 'sheltering' the child in exchange for her power."
Chris, who had been quietly listening, flinched slightly at the mention of "child," his golden eyes dimming. Reimu felt it and glanced at him—his small hand trembled in hers.
He whispered softly, his voice breaking in English. "Red light… that's not good. Red means pain."
Youmu glanced at him, confused. "Pain?"
Reimu gently pulled him close, glaring at Patchouli. "Where is she?"
Patchouli hesitated. "In the mansion's basement. But reaching her won't be easy. The Scarlet Mist generator is connected directly to her and to Flandre's seal. If either of them is disturbed, the entire mansion's barrier could collapse—or worse."
Marisa twirled her mini-hakkero with a smirk, but her tone was grim. "Sounds like we're going downstairs, then."
Mokou cracked her knuckles, the faint heat from her body flaring like an ember. "If that kid's chained up, I'll burn through anything in our way."
Patchouli shook her head. "If you go in without caution, you'll only wake Flandre and trigger Remilia's wrath."
Reimu stood up, determination burning in her eyes. "Then we'll just have to deal with both. I'm not letting some vampire use a child like a power source."
As the others prepared, Chris looked at Reimu, his wings trembling. "Reimu… the red light—it's calling."
Everyone turned toward him.
Patchouli's eyes widened slightly. "It's resonating with him?"
The air around Chris shimmered faintly with golden sparks, as if answering a silent plea.
Reimu looked down at him, her expression softening. "Then let's go find her, Ryusei."
The group left the library, the sound of distant footsteps fading into the crimson haze that filled the halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
Patchouli exhaled slowly and lifted her teacup, taking a quiet sip. "I probably should've told them her name," she murmured. "Cassidy… and she's safe. For now."
Koakuma fluttered nearby, arms crossed and tail twitching. "You really sent them straight toward Sakuya without giving them the full story?"
Patchouli's eyes flicked up from her cup, her calm demeanor unshaken. "They'll manage. Reimu's too stubborn to die, Mokou can't, and the others will learn quickly enough."
Koakuma frowned. "That's a cruel kind of faith, Patchouli."
"Cruel, but accurate." She set her cup down and turned toward a large chained grimoire on a pedestal. The chains pulsed faintly with purple light, creaking against invisible pressure.
The book was alive — thrashing, trembling, its cover marked with strange runes that seemed to breathe.
Patchouli adjusted her hat and approached it, speaking softly. "Still restless, I see. You felt him too, didn't you?"
The book groaned, the air around it warping with heat and static, like a dragon's breath through smoke.
Koakuma stepped back nervously. "It started going wild the moment that kid walked in. Even the wards almost cracked."
Patchouli's gaze sharpened, eyes glowing faintly with arcane insight. "So it's true then. The resonance between Cassidy's seal and that boy's aura wasn't coincidence."
The chains rattled harder — a deep, guttural sound echoed from within the tome.
Patchouli rested her hand on the cover, whispering almost like a lullaby. "Quiet, Nidhogg. Sleep. You'll have your time soon enough."
The thrashing stilled — barely — though the faint hum of restrained power continued to vibrate through the air.
Koakuma hesitated. "You think… he'll awaken it?"
Patchouli turned her gaze toward the direction the group had gone — toward Sakuya, the basement, and the heart of the crimson storm.
Her eyes softened, but her tone was grave. "No. Not awaken it. But the boy will decide whether Nidhogg stays sealed... or whether the Scarlet Mist spreads beyond Gensokyo itself."
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy