“Ok, down we goooooo-wow” Ryane’s drop into the dark was ended not by the ground but by the dark being washed away by… and underground sun?

“Wha-what? How? Where?” she asked nobody in particular, her crash course in special shifting and illusion magic having gone from “oh huh that’s a thing?” to absolutely mind blowing in the course of about 10 seconds.

The oddities didn’t end there either, as they were soon approached by a procession of burning skeletons in fireproof garments, who were escorting a beautiful woman with black eyes and a rotten attitude.

Funnily enough animated skeletons were nothing out of the ordinary for her, as back home she knew a set of them that ran a very helpful baking franchise that had made confectionery based armor power-ups for her. They hadn’t been on fire though (unless they had an accident in the kitchen).

As for their leader, Rayne’s response to the woman’s insult and demand that they perish for her was a set of spread up raised palms and a look on her face that translated to “what the heck is wrong with you?” due to the implication she’d murdered those above for their lack of looks, their occupation, or both, all of which were just, horrifyingly petty.

Before she could get into an argument with this terrible lady the swarm of butterflies was unleashed upon them once more.

Just in time for the death ray powerup to end too.

The replacement to it wasn’t exactly great either, as her magic ax spell hit in a single plane which would only take out a vertical slice of butterflies.

That left rocks that the butterflies could just phase through, and, well, a question “Qing! How good are you at dodging hundreds of projectiles?” because her only other spell in hand was the bullet hell generating death spiral (which she already knew that Sanae could manage).

If Qing thought she could handle that, well, then Rayne’d get as close as she could to their foe and unleash Robyn’s signature spell, creating waves of magical bullets to clear the skies and bombard their foe.

If not, well, it was pew pew with her basic magic bullets, a cleave with the 5 meter long magic ax, and then riskily swatting at butterflies with Runedge for her to try and thin the swarm enough that they could try and approach and take out their creator.

@FujiwaraPhoenix @Drifting Pollen @Lugubrious @VitaVitaAR





Fran cutely tilted her head as Serena handed Anne the letter. Retrieving goods for a royal princess wasn't what the Servant she would be doing today, yet here they were, sent off to do a simple errand. Still, if it meant getting an audience with the ruler, it'll be done. Even quicker as Lewa had joined them, the mysterious girl they brought in tow turning out to be a fairy. Something that intrigued the berserker as they group walked toward their destination. Did the girl being a Fae had something to do with the dark slime creatures they fought back then?

A question for another time, it would seem.

---

Soon enough, the group arrived at the shop...

...Though, things wouldn't be so simple as retrieving goods.

"I can smell blood."

"Blood? I thought this city-place was safe? Was there some kind of accident...?"

"If it was an accident, someone should have noticed by now. Ugh... This already reeks of a trap."

"Then...I'll...lead.", spoke up Fran, her mace already manifested and shouldered as laid on Anne's arm, indicating to the space knight to let the Servant lead as they stepped through the threshold and into the shop.

"...Eh?"

Though Sanae had expected some shenanigans when she had chosen to dive into the hole, a recreation of some old-timey Japanese street was probably one of the last things she had expected to see. It wasn't unheard of back in Gensokyo, which meant that the young woman was left notably less flabbergasted than Rayne seemed to be, but the fact that such a lifelike illusion—if it could even be called one any more—meant that whatever was causing this mess wasn't anything to scoff at.

The being that they promptly encountered, however, seemed to be far less willing to lend an ear than any resident of Gensokyo was. The geisha—or something that seemed to be mimicking the form of one—made her disgust at their presence rather blatant, and the blasé insult she levied at them, while offensive, had left Sanae more annoyed than anything else.

"Big words from someone who cakes their face in makeup," the green-haired girl replied with a slight smirk before a light wave of nausea washed over her. Instead of simply standing there and suffering from it, though, Sanae raised her gohei towards the sky and took a deep breath.

"Though I guess whatever horrors you're hiding behind it are enough to make me sick."

With that, the young woman pointed the tool towards the ghost's face, after which a massive pentacle seemed to spread out from under her feet and promptly covered the ground around them. With it, a gust of wind seemed to blow from behind her, and with it went any sort of sickness-inducing curse that was trying to take root in them. With any symptoms therein promptly nullified, Sanae felt that this was a good a chance as any to join in Rayne's offensive efforts.

Sending out more frog-shaped danmaku explosives to bombard the area seemed like a good place to start. The endless hordes of butterflies mattered far less if they were removed from the equation the second they appeared, after all.

@DracoLunaris@VitaVitaAR

---

The words that the fire-wielding woman spoke seemed to catch the monk ever so slightly off-guard, and for a moment he seemed to be considering the implications of her being longer-lived than even the greatest of sorcerers in his mind before choosing to place those thoughts to the side for the time being.

"Come now, I'm not naive enough to believe something like that," he replied as the spiral above his head began to grow denser by the second. "You could well be speaking the truth, sure, but then it'd just be removing my head from my neck or a stab through the heart or something equally as lethal... And far easier to do on someone with their guard down, no?"

While he spoke, a bunch of the creatures surrounding him began to coalesce around him, acting almost as if their presence alone was meant to deter the others as he prepared to strike. Just as he was about to launch the attack, though, the world itself seemed to go black.

No, it wasn't as if it had 'gone black'—it was like there was an absence of light altogether. Even in darkness, he would be able to make some light for himself. Rather, this was more like he had simply 'become blind'—and in so doing had found himself open to attack.

It was a natural response, then, to simply order what curses he could to guard his every flank for the moment and attempt to fire off the spiraling mass of cursed energy the second his sight returned. A few seconds—that was all that it took for light to return to his world, and in that moment the monk found himself staring down the swordswoman who had cleaved through his defenses to reach him.

It was a familiar sight in a way, given what he had experienced what had felt like not a few hours prior, but not one he would like to soon repeat. With a shout, the monk attempted to launch the attack towards his opponent—

Only for him to feel it being pulled away in the opposite direction. Unable to resist trying to see what in the world would be the cause for his second death, the man turned around and saw the very same jiangshi he had been trying to deal with mere moments prior vacuuming the attack into her mouth.

"—————What the hell sort of cursed spirit———?!"

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

---

At a glance, nothing would seem amiss when the group walked through the storefront. The scent of blood that the vampire had picked up was not any sort of a false alarm, given her propensity for the fluid as her main source of nourishment, but it would almost seem as if the place was scrubbed clean of any trace of injury. A closer inspection of the wood that composed the floor and tables that might have otherwise displayed various goods would present scratches and indentations that did not seem to come from simple wear...

But otherwise, naught would seem amiss at a glance. With that said, the door to the basement seemed to be left open, almost as if inviting those curious visitors a chance to travel downwards.

Assuming that they did, though, the group would be met with a spiraling staircase that seemed to stretch on for ages that would eventually open up into what appeared to be some sort of storage facility for goods. Here, the damage seemed to be more palpable, with shattered wood beams, glass, and debris of all shapes and sizes scattered every which way.

Most notable, however, was the fact that the area seemed to be partially cleared away in a path towards the back of the room... But with still no sign of the missing shopkeeper.

@VitaVitaAR@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92@Lugubrious

@FujiwaraPhoenix @Drifting Pollen @Lugubrious @VitaVitaAR





Upon entering the shop, the group would find the storefront to be practically spotless, as if the entire area had been recently cleaned of any mess. While that might've not been suspicious, the various tables was their first clue things not being what they seem. Not only were they not displaying the goods and products this shop had, they were also damaged and dented slightly. And if that wasn't enough for Fran and the others to remain on guard, then the wide-open door to the basement did. All of this and still no sign of the shopkeeper.

"Ah.", muttered Fran, sparing a glance to her companions before walking forward and descending down into the basement. Upon arriving, the berserker would find the first instance of something going majorly wrong. The room was an absolute mess. Shattered glass, broken wooden beams and various debris littered most of the floor. Yet, from the Servant could observe, there seemed to be a partly cleared trail heading toward the back of the room...

As if something or someone powered through the mess.

"Hmmm..."

Fran's unseen eyes narrowed, her grip on her mace tightened as she continued forward, following the trail.

Oh thank goodness, Fran was stepping up. Whether or not she was actually a Chimera, that girl had strength and durability on par with one, and could probably take just about anyone on this planet if it came to it. Anne gratefully stood aside to let the Servant go ahead, and followed carefully down the stairs after her, about six paces behind.

Even in the dim light, it was clear the Knight wasn't enjoying herself. These cramped conditions really didn't suit her... How did she go from chatting up a royal to traipsing around in some dingy basement? She might not be as haughty as Remilia, but she was still a woman with standards, and even she was reaching her limit in these latest environs. Only a sharp instinct for danger and the ever-present weight of the young girl kept her alert, ready to act if and when things did go sideways down here.

She hadn't made much of the scratches in the storefront above, but by now it was obvious to even her tired eyes that something was badly amiss. "It's like they let an animal loose in here... Those centipede creatures you guys fought before, could they burrow?" She was only guessing, but none of the other likely answers seemed any better. A not-insignificant part of her was tempted to just let Fran walk off into the darkness alone, and handle whatever it was with a good thwack from her mace.

...Then again, a more cunning enemy might loop around the Berserker and set upon the seemingly vulnerable group behind her. Without foreknowledge of the enemy's combat power, sticking together was the only viable option. With a deep sigh, the Knight trudged on after Fran into the dust and murk, accompanied by the soft crunch of glass shards breaking underfoot.

@VitaVitaAR@Lugubrious@Rezod92

---

One---

Two---

Three, four, five---

His last defenses aren't anything special. I can tell he can summon more powerful monsters, but I think cutting his sight must have made it more difficult for him to coordinate.

Purple blood drips from Roukanken's edge, splattered across the ground, as the falling corpses break apart. That's right, I have a spare moment to reach him and force him to back down!

I can't move reliably as fast as normal. If I could, this battle would have been over in a flash and there would have been no question of my victory.

But he's just out of reach. I need to reach him, to put my blade up to his throat and make him back down before anything else happens---!

His eyes refocus.

My grip on Roukanken tightens as the spiral of sick-feeling energy above him roils and begins to move.

If I have to, if I'm given no clear choice to take another path---

Grandfather told me that I should be prepared. That even if I live a gentle life without the need for true bloodshed, that doesn't mean that I shouldn't ready myself.

"Understand this, granddaughter. These arts are meant to kill. One day, you may have to use them to do just that. Not to simply slay a monster or banish a phantom, but to spill the blood of a being who can think and speak just like yourself."

I know that much.

I know that I might have to do it.

I can't let him release that sickly spiral of seething, rotten energy. I don't know what it will do to anyone it strikes, to this surrounding area.

If it's come to this, then the day my grandfather told me about may have finally come.

My body tenses, Roukanken's gleaming edge rising into the night air. I suck air in, filling my lungs as my heart pounds faster with every passing instant.

I have to do this for my own safety. For the safety of this entire area. If I have no choice, it's not because I didn't try, it's because I was given none.

I have to do this

I have to.

If I truly have no choice, then---

The spiral in the air twists and inverts in on itself. It's torn backwards, sucked away by an invisible force.

What?

The look of shock on my opponent's face tells me this isn't part of his plan.

I follow his gaze, and---

Ah.

I'd nearly forgotten she was here. She must have just been brainlessly watching until she saw something that looked tasty, in that rotten brain of hers.

All that sickly energy is disappearing into Miyako Yoshika's mouth.

There's no time to pause and consider what any of this might mean.

I bring Roukanken down, stopping its edge when it reaches the monk's neck.

"I don't want to hurt you, but if you keep fighting you'll leave me with no choice."

A feeling of relief has washed over me. It's not that I'm not ready to take a life, but if it's not necessarily then there's no reason to go through with it.

"Surrender, and call off all your remaining monsters. Now."

My tone is firm.

I'm not going to allow an argument.

@FujiwaraPhoenix@Raineh Daze

"You should listen to her," Mokou suggested, shrugging as the jiang shi… ate the attack? Not the weirdest ability in Gensokyo by far, although it was a little disappointing to not get to see what it did to the human body, "Getting your head cut off is more painful than you'd think, the brain doesn't shut down immediately. Though… it's not in my top… ten… twenty… thirty most painful ways to die?"

She stopped to think, inspecting her regrowing hand curiously, before adding, "Especially not with a sharp sword like that. She's cut me in half before, it wasn't too bad."

---

"For the moment, I'm able," came Qing'e's remarkably calm response, "Your friend's efforts are warding off some of the effects of this phantom's curse, but not all of them. Touching those butterflies still means death."

The cloaked woman took one step back, then tilted her body sideways, slipping through a cluster of swarming butterflies even as they turned towards her en masse. But as long as they could shave their their numbers, surely, the spectral insects wouldn't be too troublesome, would they?

Indeed, it seemed as if Sanae and Rayne's efforts were able to swiftly clear away the butterflies that had been harrassing their ally.

The ghostly oiran narrowed her eyes. Her butterflies had offered her a shield against the various projectiles being hurled her way for the moment, but that meant she was unable to use them to attack successfully.

The oiran's eyes narrowed, particularly fixed on Sanae now.

"I don't believe you understand the efforts even the most beautiful must go through, girl," she nearly snarled, "But you'll learn far more than that soon enough."

The butterflies were still appearing, but the rate at which they incarnated seemed to slow, ever so slightly.

Something else was happening.

The thriving trees began to blacken, leaves falling away and putting off smoke as they suddenly burned. The sky began to darken, not with clouds but with drifting ash.

Screams echoed through the empty streets, cries of panic and shock as the buildings around them started to buckle.

There were no visible flames, and yet the heat could be felt quite intensely. The beautiful, decorated buildings were smoldering, flags and paper walls beginning to fray as the condition of the street started to rapidly degrade.

But it didn't end there.

From the oiran's feet, something else began to emerge. A thick, black shadow stretching across the ground, spreading in every direction.

No, not a shadow. It was something else. A black substance like oil, oozing across every space and rapidly flowing towards the oiran's trio of targets.

"Ah? This is---"

For only a brief moment, Qing'e's foot touched the oil-soaked ground. She had taken a position furthest forward, now, which meant that she was the first it reached.

"Ghhhk?!"

She stumbled forward, retching. From beneath her hood spilled a flood of pitch black oil, much like what now coated the ground.

"nng... so that's... i-it..."

Her voice trembled now, sounding weakened. Even as she spoke, black oil still splattered to the ground from her mouth.

"... I-it won't kill you, not immediately, b-but---"

A single butterfly alighted on Qing'e's cloak.

And in that very moment, her entire figure was seemingly engulfed in flames. Bathed in a brilliant yellow and orange inferno that spread over everything.

The oiran cackled, deeply breathing in the smoke that emanated from the woman's smoldering form, only to pause and narrow her eyes once more.

Had they lost an ally? Had they come here at her behest, only for her to die? Just what was the curse in the oil spreading ever closer?

The burning cloak drifted to the ground shapelessly. There was nothing beneath it.

@FujiwaraPhoenix@DracoLunaris

---

---

The front of the shop was dusty, but nothing seemed particularly wrong.

But below---

Ugh. What a mess. These surroundings are completely unsuited for one such as myself. Everything is smashed and ruined, and while there's no visible blood I can still smell it.

It's stronger then it was upstairs. Faint, but it's still there.

"The shopkeeper was probably murdered down here."

I wave my hand in the air, casually.

There's no reason to be subtle. Nor any reason to try and conceal the obvious. The scent of blood makes it clear enough to me, and no-one else should need to hear more of an explanation.

After all, the absolute mess in the basement should be enough to confirm there was a struggle.

"Maybe others, too, the scent of blood hasn't faded that much even though it's been a long time," I add as I glance towards the back of the shop, "Being dead certainly explains why he's so lousy at his business."

That scent is going all the way to the back of the basement.

... I'll let someone else check. There's no reason for me to go ahead and get covered in even more dust and cobwebs.

@FujiwaraPhoenix@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92@Lugubrious

Filled with renewed confidence as Rayne remained evenly matched with the enemy in front of them as she was, Sanae felt no fear as she maintained the divine wind coursing through the battlefield from behind her. Given the apparent tricks she had seen from the oiran thus far, it made sense to focus on making sure that Rayne would be able to continue her barrage of attacks unimpeded.

If only things would remain that simple.

The sudden crippling wave of heat that bore down upon them quickly drowned out her own spell; though the illness that bore down upon them continued to be kept at bay, the heat was still sweltering enough to make the young woman sweat. Coupled with the disconcerting illusory noises echoing from around them (or, at least Sanae hoped they were illusory), the green-haired girl was forced to reconsider if she needed to join the fray or not.

The answer to that question quickly turned into a resounding "absolutely" as the inky-black pool of oil that spread out from underneath their enemy made contact with Qing'e and promptly revealed what sort of effects doing so would have. Coupled with a butterfly that promptly lit her aflame, though...

It wasn't surprising, really, that Sanae let out a shout mere moments before her body, now apparently consigned to the flames, disappeared outright. There was a brief moment of anger over how quickly and cruelly the other woman's life was apparently snuffed out, but that would mean nothing if they didn't finish what job they had already started.

Unfortunately, those few seconds worrying about the fate of their helped would come to collect from her, too.

Though Sanae had the sense to take flight after seeing what had happened to Qing'e, the scant seconds she had taken to mourn her meant that she, too, would end up a victim of the oncoming curse. As the oil-like substance pooled beneath her floating form, the young woman gritted her teeth and gripped onto her gohei as the very same substance began to bleed from her eyes, her sclera now stained black from it.

"This curse really is... Something else, huh?" Sanae choked out before taking as deep a breath as she could muster before calling out to Rayne. Despite her own currently-crippled form, the battle—as far as she could tell—was nowhere near over despite their sudden losses.

"Rayne! Don't even try to fly over this stuff!" she called out as she lobbed a few more bullets towards any butterflies that dared to even draw close to her. "Big hits from afar, if you can! We need to—"

Before she could finish her sentence, though, an even stronger wave of nausea—one that she couldn't suppress out of sheer willpower—overcame her, and the shrine maiden promptly vomited the same substance that Qing'e had before her own disappearance.

"...Crap, I think I might need to call Kanako-sama in for this one..." Sanae cursed under her breath as she tried to steady herself. "Might not be calling home any time soon... But it's probably better than dying here."

@DracoLunaris@VitaVitaAR

---

With his attention thrown away in the heat of the moment—rare as such an incident was for him who had already seen so much absurdity in his lifetime—the monk could do little more than barely turn back in time to face the swordswoman who had all but sealed his fate. But instead of encountering that all-too-familiar feeling of cold steel carving through his torso, he found a rather targeted kick aimed directly at his solar plexus. With the wind thoroughly knocked out of him, the man fell to the ground, at which point his opponent promptly declared her victory—and, most surprising to him, a request for his surrender. The other woman chimed in soon thereafter in agreement, but by this point it was all but settled. The fact that she hadn't opted to kill him, though, seemed to give rise to more questions than answers.

"...Fine, fine. It's my loss," he responded as he released his weapon. "Man, sorcerers of this era really must be something else..."

Now that the fight was over, though, Carol—who had taken the prudent choice to not get involved with more of the insanity that seemed to be breaking out no matter which direction she traveled in—walked over with a mildly annoyed looked on her face.

"I suppose that you're done handling whatever... That was all about?" she asked as her gaze briefly flicked between the monk and the jiangshi (who seemed to be patting her stomach with a rather pleased expression on her face). "Now, with regards to your earlier question—no, this is most certainly not Europe. I'm also fairly certain that throwing those morbidly deformed creatures at us for simply seeing them isn't any way to have a proper conversation in most worlds."

There was a brief pause as the monk took in Carol's worlds for a brief moment before a rather uncertain look finally crossed his face.

"Most... Worlds?" he parroted, taking a moment to stare at each of the three girls in turn as his uncertainty turned to discomfort. "...Wait. You three... Don't have any cursed energy coming from your bodies? But that one over there's just regenerating her hand as if..."

"Finally starting to piece it together?" Carol sighed as she shook her head. "Well, I'll let the two of you decide how to handle him. You've spared his life, but it's another question unto itself if it'd be safe letting him go... Not to mention the chaos of that fight sure to attract—"

It was at this point that the monk, after a brief expression of apparent enlightenment, began to laugh maniacally despite the current situation. Nothing more seemed to come of it, though—least of all when he began to speak again once his apparent fit of madness had subsided.

"Ah, sorry about interrupting you there," the monk replied as he slowly pushed himself to a seated position. "I just realized something about this whole situation, but it's not of any importance right now."

With a snap of his fingers, the darkness of night hanging over them soon washed away, only to be replaced with the bright blue midday sky.

"...Can we feed this guy to the jiangshi instead, actually?" the smaller girl asked in turn. "You said you knew the one who owned it, right? Surely they won't mind if we used her to help us a bit, right?"

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

---

The group of cautious travelers would find little of note past the debris and crushed goods—at least, at first. Further inspection of the wall that the destruction converged towards, however, would reveal that it was covered up by stone and dirt to mimic what had been there before. A bit of force—be it thoroughly destructive or otherwise—would soon reveal a massive cavern that had been carved out and led into the room they were in now.

Bereft of light as it was, though, exploring such a structure might have been dangerous—and indeed, almost as if on cue a few moments after revealing the hidden passageway, the sound of metal crushing stone and metal scraping against stone could be heard echoing from further down into the darkness...

And, as Anne had suspected, from around them as well. From all sides, massive skeletons covered head-to-toe in metal armor began to bear down upon the group in what appeared to be an attempt to keep them from pushing towards wherever the passageway led.

@VitaVitaAR@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92@Lugubrious

Yep, it's a trap.

Anne already regretted ever taking this job. At the very least, when they found the storefront completely empty, they should have just turned around and reported it back to the Princess. How the heck did they end up stuck underground, surrounded by enemies, and cut off from all possible backup?

She'd blame her ragtag coworkers, but honestly it was just has much her fault for following along this whole time. No amount of grumbling would solve their current situation anyway, and she held her tongue as she ducked backward from the rapidly advancing enemies.

"We need to stay close. Don't let them isolate you!" Her retreat brought her closer to Lewa and Remilia, covering their flank. They could protect each other's backs this way, and maybe give the vampire some space to fire off her ranged attacks. Fran could probably handle herself in a brawl, which just left the fae child... With a sigh, Anne hoisted the kid over her shoulder, holding her in place with one arm. "Sorry about this. It's going to get a bit rough, so close your eyes, okay?"

<Suppressor off. Limiter release, level one.>

The first armored figure to come thumping forth met with a front kick straight to the midsection, caving in its chestplate and shattering the ribcage underneath. The creature flew backward, and the Knight's sword came out, brandished one-handed against the advancing cohort.

"No organs, not even any muscles from what I can tell... Who made these things?"

The question of how to kill them was perhaps more relevant to the situation, but Anne had some ideas there. When the next skeleton swung a heavy axe at her, she cleanly deflected the blow and switched without hesitation to the attack. Her sword became a silver blur, the sound of metal on metal ringing out several times in succession as her blade seemed to abruptly change directions without regard for physics or momentum.

Pray Style: Forest-Penetrating Viper. Without vital organs to stab and with armor covering the opponent's body, she targeted the joints. Both knees, right shoulder, neck, left shoulder: each strike slid through openings between metal plates or simply bypassed them with blunt force, destroying the key points of articulation in an instant. Then, before the undead contruct could pull itself back together or even collapse to the ground, she stabbed her sword-point up through its visor and popped the skull clean off the severed vertebrae.

"...Not even a brain." With a flicking motion, she sent the detached head hurtling off into the dark to smash against the nearest wall.

With all the rest she'd been getting recently, her body seemed to be holding up well. On the other hand, she was sharply conscious of a blur creeping in around the edges of her vision, already strained trying to make anything out in the lightless basement. She could only hope there'd be less enemies here than there had been in the last fight, because she couldn't keep this up all day.

@VitaVitaAR@Lugubrious@Rezod92

Tension levels continued to rise as the makeshift crew delved deeper into the mystery of what could have possibly befallen this ill-fated shop. Lewa remained on edge, though given his current company, he reasoned that he probably had no reason to fear. Even if something should jump out at the team that could pose a genuine threat to him, one of the ladies could no doubt handle the issue with little more than a snap of her fingers. He couldn't be happy trusting in these strangers for security, but then again, he couldn't be happy regardless--not when an untimely demise would leave his land and his people defenseless for good. Not for the first time, Lewa languished under the weight of a single thought: what was he doing here? Creeping around in some basement for any reason (other than a surefire way to get home) felt like an abysmal waste of time, and every second the toa lost going with the flow in this accursed world was one in which a poor Le-matoran might breathe his last. But Lewa had no choice other than to press forward, both in general, and into this disquieting darkness.

It almost came as relief when his keen senses clued him into something tangibly wrong. A section of the wall didn't quite match up with the rest, and with axe in hand he volunteered to clear the blockage. Even if one of the others could do this much faster, it helped his mental state a little to be able to help or achieve something in any way, no matter how small. His mechanical strength put the unrelenting protodermis edge of of his weapon to work, and it wasn't long before Lewa's labor opened up a gap large enough that everyone could see through. To his surprise, he found a huge undergrand chamber stretching out before him, as dark as it was spacious, but far from empty.

In the shadows, bones clattered, and metal scraped. Undead warriors clad in iron lurched and staggered toward the living, their gait unnatural, the rictus grins of lipless teeth horrendous. Any human who looked upon these impossible aberrations might be filled with fear, but not Lewa. Neither toa nor matoran had bones, after all. These shambling horrors were not ghastly reminders of his own mortality, but merely enemies to be eliminated. So as he sized up the opposition, the spirit of air kept his cool. Those bones looked thin enough that the heavy blade of his axe could splinter and crush them, but their metallic exoskeletons would deaden his blows and dull his blade. Blunt force would be more effective, but out of all his brothers, only Pohatu wielded such an instrument in the form of his reinforced feet. Still...even if Lewa lacked his brother's equipment, that didn't mean he couldn't kick them over, especially given his height. Better yet, his axe could be used as a hook to snatch the skeletons' feet out from under them. One way or another, these monsters would end up on the ground. The only problem was...

Right that moment, Anne destroyed a skeleton in a single strike, preempting Lewa's kick-based strategy. As one of the most powerful otherworlders she would be a force to be reckoned with, but circumstances demanded that the fae child weigh her down. Other than her, Lewa would need to worry about running afoul of Remilia, but other than that...well, unlike the battle at that prairie village, there weren't so many otherworlders around that any effort of Lewa's would pale in comparison. Right here, right now, he could actually prove himself in combat. He could show the others what the Spirit of Air was made of, and why his presence in Le-wahi would be so sorely missed.

With a burst of wild laughter, Lewa charged into the fray. These skeletons might be well-equipped, but their blades would find no more purchase in his body than his would in theirs. He lashed out with long limbs like giant pistons, bashed with the shaft of his axe, and used its bottom edge to rob the fiends of their balance. If his foes came at him unarmored, his gusts might have blown right through them, but their plate mail would catch the full brunt of his elemental power. As he stirred the still air in the depths of the shop, Lewa worked to whip up a perimeter around himself and the others, buffeting the skeletons back while the four of them stood tall in the eye of the storm. This much, he could do.

“It’s not real it's not real there aren't people burning just keep fighting” Ranyna rhythmically told herself as the illusion of a town around her began to, well, not burn, but perhaps remember what it was like to burn. It was unclear, but it was not pleasant. Unfortunately her insistence that no one was burning came to a quick end when, the non flier of their trio got stuck in some kind of oil and…

“Ahhh! No no no,I can get you out, I can-” Rayne cried out in a panic as she tried to race towards Quin, intending to link with and evacuate her, only to be too slow as the woman was evaporated by the flames in close to an instant after making contact with the butterfly. “No!”

Or perhaps her being slow was a good thing, as Sanae yelled at her to not even fly over the black oil at all. If she had gotten close enough for her plan, maybe she would have just gotten stuck too. Even with the warning, she was still perilously close and the oil was now also rapidly approaching her.

Not that she was really thinking about this trade off. All the hyperventilating Witch Knight could do was stare at the spot Quing had been. She’d never really failed someone like this before. Not really. She’d had deaths on her hands, but they had been slow and, in a way, unavoidable, or choices made by others. This however was, in her mind at least, all her fault, and she did not cope well with this anywhere close to Sanae, and that was saying something

Unaware of Sana considering calling for divine intervention, Ranye threw everything she had out, which in this case involved exploding as she unleashed Armageddon, the spell card blasting both land and sky with a wave of devastation around her. Then she equipped a triple shot cannon and started blasting wildly towards their foe while screaming “you monster!” at her with furious anguish.

She at least had enough of her mind to retreat while doing so rather than get caught by the oil

"Ahahaha! With my beauty at this point, what can you ugly whores possibly do?" the oiran cackled as she raised her hand, the oil in her immediate vicinity seeming to ignite as a wave of butterflies erupted from within it to intercept Rayne's rage-filled offensive. Even as as several bursts of energy managed to pierce through the blast, it was clear that too much of the assault was being interrupted by the butterflies to leave a lasting affect.

The oiran's pleased demeanor barely faltered, even as flesh was torn free from her body and sprayed backwards across the street of the burning town. It simply reformed, veins and muscle tissue and bone twisting back together before being covered once more by her pale skin.

At this point, it was likely she had enough energy to swiftly recover from such injuries, and produce enough of her butterflies to intercept most ranged attacks.

The smirk on the beautiful, yet wicked woman's lips only grew. She was confident there was no escape for the miko or the knight-witch, not as long as the final level of her curse grew stronger and spread. She'd suck them dry of everything they had, and in turn grow in power and beauty. At this rate, she'd devour this entire district, and then beyond. This entire city, all its men would become her meals, and its women would burn for her.

And then---

Something clung to her leg.

"Ah?"

It was a small stubby hand. It emerged from beneath her, the earth itself, clinging to her ankle.

It was pallid, and ethereal, emitting a faint blue glow.

Another joined it. And another. And another.

"Wh-what? Get off of me, you vermin---!"

She tried to raise her leg and pull away from the clinging hands, but they gripped her and pulled her foot down. Hundreds upon hundreds of tiny, grasping hands, stretching upwards and clinging to her kimono, gripping the oiran's clothing, her legs, and even her arms now to hold her on the spot.

The oiran's smug demeanor had faded, now, her lips parted and her teeth clenched. Though her butterflies were still forming, her cursed oil continuing to spread, the distraction had taken her attention and her control over the butterflies had faltered as they began to move less cohesively and spread apart.

"Get off! You have no right to---"

The oiran was cut off in a spray of blood. A wet, unpleasant gurgling left her throat, as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

A silver and gold ornamental needle pierced her neck from behind.

"Shouldn't your manners be more important, given the job you had in life?"

The woman behind her had slender, pale arms, one hand gripping the needle now penetrating the oiran's neck from behind. Her nails were painted blue. Her hair and eyes, too, were blue, and she was clad in a blue dress and white vest, a shimmering translucent cloth floating around her shoulders. The needle had evidently been taken from her hair, which now hung loose down her back.

The blue-haired woman twisted it, driving it deeper, a smirk growing on her lips as the blue hands climbed higher over the oiran's body.

"I would say I can sympathize with being unsuited for close-range, but given how much I dislike you I think I'll refrain," she commented, sweetly.

Her voice made it clear who she was. To Rayne, it was obvious this was Qing'e. And to Sanae---

"Kochiya, Rayne, she's not going to be able to move for a few moments."

Despite having seemingly been engulfed in flames while vomiting oil, the blue-haired woman seemed positively radiant.

"So I think it would be a good time to make this bitch regret every choice she's ever made, don't you~?"

Indeed, the cloud of butterflies was growing less increasingly less cohesive, with more and more gaps forming, even as the orian twitched helplessly and spat blood. Between the needle severing her spine, even if she was a ghost, and the numerous small hands trying to pull her down, she'd been rendered entirely unable to defend herself for just a short time.

@FujiwaraPhoenix@DracoLunaris

Mokou gave a shrug. It wasn't like she was that familiar with most people in Gensokyo; she had no idea if feeding people to the jiang-shi would be approved of or not. Maybe as long as it wasn't anyone from the Human Village then they would be okay? But being eaten alive was messy enough when you had large mouths; being eaten alive by just a human one… or maybe she could take huge bites.

Not that she was about to let anyone be fed to youkai, she hadn't been dealing with those in the bamboo forest for generations for no reason.

"Yeah, this," she said, lifting up the nearly-regenerated hand, "Has nothing to do with curses. It's just immortality."

Well, there was obviously slightly more to it… but it was immortality at its most basic. "And the fire is magic."

I step back, lowering Roukanken.

He's surrendered. It almost seems like the fight broke out based on some kind of misunderstanding, though I can't say I understand why.

Why would any of these abilities be associated with curses? Curses were something negative, and while one could view Fujiwara no Mokou's immortality as a curse it certainly benefited her while she was fighting.

Didn't curses only benefit the one who placed them in the first place? Didn't they sometimes backfire on those people anyway, or just condemn them as part of the process?

Did this guy come from a world where all power comes from curses?

Maybe that's the reason he attacked so quickly. I can't imagine such a world being pleasant.

"I can't say I'm happy about it, but I know that jiangshi's owner."

If Kaku Seiga is here---

No, maybe she isn't? Maybe Miyako Yoshika is just here on her own. Kochiya-san still has her connection to the Moriya Shrine's gods, so maybe it's similar with this brainless jiangshi and her mistress?

I hope so.

"I'd rather not have to deal with her," I add. While I'm certain I could defeat her, and wouldn't exactly hate cutting her down again---

She's creepy.

She's really creepy. I don't like the way she looks at me. Or the way she talks about me. Or the way she talks about that jiangshi. Or any of her behavior in general.

And that's putting aside the kind of spells she uses.

"While I have no problem slashing him if he causes trouble, I don't think we should do anything to him unless we have to."

I glance towards the strange, summoning monk. He's acted strange, but I don't think it's enough to warrant anything else. He already surrendered, after all, and completely dropped his defenses even though I certainly could have killed him.

Still---

"But maybe he should come with us for now, just in case."

@FujiwaraPhoenix@Raineh Daze

---

I can't say I'm happy down here.

The darkness suits me perfectly fine, of course. It's not as if it impedes me in any way. The dampness and somewhat odd scents, not at all.

Ugh, why can't Sakuya be here? At least she'd be able to help keep my dress clean.

Geh, what if this tunnel is full of those---

...

This rattling sound, this clanking...

The shambling shapes enter my view. Yellowed bone, clad in plate armor and wielding blades that weren't in their best conditions, but could still cut.

Really?

This is what's down here?

"Skeletons?"

I cock my head to the side, a smirk crossing my lips.

"Is that it? The murderer's really uncreative, aren't they? There's no style or flair here at all!"

They're lacking blood. That's annoying.

But my stomach isn't empty anymore, thanks to the Hourai Immortal.

I think it's time to see how much I've been restored.

The skeletons can't resist Lewa's efforts. I don't remember seeing him pull off something like this before, but I can't act as if it's not useful.

Not that skeletons would be a problem for me, of course. But immobilizing a good number of them and pushing them back makes picking my first target a lot easier.

I place one foot forward, leaning as I do.

A lady should be elegant.

So I'll elegantly destroy these wastes of space.

I stretch my wings behind me.

The world stretches around me for an instant, blurring as I launch myself forward---

Bone cracks. My hand grips the skeleton by the head, my fingers in its empty, dusty eye sockets.

Pulling it free is trivial. Crushing it against the cavern wall is just as easy.

I slam the headless skeleton down beneath my feet, tossing its shattered skull aside.

Animated bones are the cheapest and most uninteresting undead familiars. But at least they're not that messy.

Oh?

Still moving, huh?

I wrap my fingers around its wrist and pull, tearing its right arm from its socket and tossing it into the other skeletons as they attempt to renew their advance.

If it's still moving after that, then---

I reach down and grab the visible portion of its spine, protruding from where its head once was.

It'll take a bit more effort. I'm still not as strong as I should be.

My fingers tighten.

I twist my arm sharply, a snap resounding through the cavern.

"Unless you're stupid," I comment, rising to my feet, "You should go for their spines. Just taking the head off won't be---"

I step back and raise my arm in the same motion as a dull axe swings down towards me, catching the skeleton by its arm and yanking it off balance.

Is there such a thing as being too stupid to even call literally brainless? Even as a mindless undead, was there a reason for it to try and make that work?

My right hand balls into a fist and I step back---

And thrust it into the skeleton's torso, forcing it backwards.

---Grrr. That should have gone right through the armor and shattered its spine!

I seriously, really need more blood already!

@VitaVitaAR@Lugubrious@Drifting Pollen@FujiwaraPhoenix@Rezod92

@FujiwaraPhoenix @Drifting Pollen @Lugubrious @VitaVitaAR

"We need to stay close. Don't let them isolate you!"

"Rrrrraaaaaah!"

Whether Fran's battle cry was in response to Anne's statement or not would remain unknown. What was known was that the Servant joined Anne and Lewa in fighting these armored undead, one of which marched toward her, axe raised. Fran, however, paid no heed as she literally rammed through the skeleton, obliterating it through sheer electric brute force. Still having the momentum, she spun on her heels as she raised her electrified mace, taking out three more skeletons before coming to a stop. Another undead saw it chance and swung its sword, but Fran swung her weapon once more, parrying the blade into the ground before reeling back and delivering a haymaker on the skeleton's temple, sending it flying toward the wall, bones scattering upon impact.

With another shrill cry, Fran would do her part in helping deal with these skeletons...

...Though, where did they come from?

With the disgusting taste of that oil-like bile still lingering in her mouth and her knuckles bone-white from clutching onto her gohei, Sanae spit out what she remained of that black sludge in her mouth and attempted to right herself. She had been thrown into disorienting situations before, but something that attacked her like this was a new experience—and not in a good way. With all of her training being focused towards the very-much nonlethal danmaku battles of Gensokyo, it was clear that she was still very much out of her element when it came to anything even marginally lethal.

But that didn't mean that she wouldn't at least go down without a fight.

Taking a deep breath, the green-haired girl continued to shoot and weave through the butterflies that bore down upon her, attempting to clear enough space for her to feel safe enough to try and return fire upon the ghost that sat so haughtily before them. The best she could do, though, was create a small space around herself to block the magic insects from lighting her aflame. It was a small solace, but there was little else to be done for the moment except pray that Rayne could find an opening to give her a little breathing room. Unfortunately, things seemed to not be in their favor, as the ghost seemed to shrug off Rayne's unrelenting barrage without so much as a scratch.

It was then, though, that the swarm of butterflies seemed to... Stall. The reduced density of the familiars left the miko barely enough leeway to break away, leaving her to barrel through the small gap that she was able to make to see what it was that had given them this chance.

To see a certain blue-haired necromancer-slash-hermit helping them was... Not particularly pleasant, granted, but any help was better than no help at all. That went double given the current situation.

"You'd better explain yourself later, okay?!" Sanae shouted in response before pointing her gohei straight towards the ghost's prone body. In an instant, a howling gale seemed to envelop the entire room, blowing through everything present with a power far exceeding the wind that had initially staved off the curse before converging into a sphere. From within, a glowing green light began to shine through, and it took mere seconds for a woman to emerge from within.

The strikingly dark blue hair and bright red shirt would be far less noteworthy compared to the massive shimenawa that was attached to her back, and the undeniable magical aura around her seemed to exude divinity—a far cry from the earth goddess that Sanae had accidentally summoned a few weeks back.

With a brief gaze towards the shrine maiden behind her, then towards the ghost being pinned to the ground on the ground below, though, the goddess took a moment to nod her head before raising her hand above her head.

"I think I understand the situation here, Sanae. We will talk after," she spoke, anger laden within her voice as multiple massive pillars began to materialize overhead.

"For now, however? I believe one would call this 'divine retribution.'"

With that, the goddess lowered her hand and pointed directly towards the ghost—and the pillars, in turn, all pointed towards her target as well before launching straight towards her.

@DracoLunaris@VitaVitaAR

---

"Immortality... Huh," the monk parroted as the white-haired swordswoman seemed to accept him as a tag-along, even if begrudgingly. The smaller girl seemed less than pleased at the idea of him tagging along—which he saw as understandable, given the brief scuffle that had just transpired, but made the situation no less awkward.

"Well, that's unfortunate. We already stand out like a sore thumb, and in this Western fantasy-esque city, a Buddhist monk's going to draw more eyes to us," Carol complained before glancing towards the jiang-shi (who, at this point, seemed to be content still gnawing on one of the leftover cursed spirits that hadn't yet disappeared from the graveyard). "But... Hm..."

While the girl seemed to lose herself in thought for the moment, the monk chose now to be an opportune moment to at least try and introduce himself.

"Ah... It'd be a bit awkward just referring to me as 'the monk' or 'him' all the time. Geto Suguru. I suppose I'll be in your care for now," he chimed in, refusing to let his sly smile slip for even a second before looking back towards the pyromancer. "So how long have you been alive, exactly? You mentioned Heijo-kyo, but that's over a thousand years ago..."

"...Hm. Spirits, cursed spirits, a half-ghost, two people who should be dead..." Carol mused out loud before her gaze slowly panned towards the jiang-shi—or, more specifically, the mausoleum she seemed to be guarding. "Is there any chance that this 'acquaintance' of yours might know something? There seems to be a fair amount of death and death-adjacent people that have gathered here, and a necromancer—or, at least, I assume that they're a necromancer—might have some clues as to why that might be the case."

Said jiang-shi, of course, simply returned her gaze with a curious tilt of her head, still gnawing on the spirit in her mouth all the while.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

---

Given the ease with which the group dispatched the skeletons, it seemed somewhat obvious that whoever—or whatever—had summoned them in the first place hadn't expected such powerful enemies to begin with. It made sense than a cluster of these would have been able to take out a shopkeeper without much issue, and if guards came sniffing around it was possible that even they wouldn't have been able to hold much of a candle to the undead...

Well, the normal guards, at least. None among those present would have much of a reference point beyond what little of the people they had seen back in Aventon, after all, and those certainly weren't anywhere near the level of dedicated militia.

Regardless of that purpose they might have served, though, the skeletons were naught but dust by the time the group was done dispatching them. It seemed quite apparent now that their intent was to guard the passageway that stretched into the darkness in front of them, but it was another matter unto itself as to what was waiting for them deeper within.

The option to simply retreat and report the situation to Serena was on the table, of course, but whether or not that would be the correct choice remained to be seen.

@VitaVitaAR@Drifting Pollen@Rezod92@Lugubrious

"Ah… I lost exact count, it was about the same time the capital was moved there," Mokou answered, shrugging. Over a thousand sounded right, there had obviously been all those centuries in the middle where forone reason or another… time didn't have much meaning. It still didn't, really; why count the exact passing of the seasons and years when you had an endless number to wait for? It would be like counting how many times she'd killed Kaguya, or eaten mushrooms because there was nothing much else to go by in the forest.

"The name's Fujiwara no Mokou."

Was there really a reason to expect they'd all ended up in the graveyard? The Jiang Shi was normally found in one, so she probably just wandered until she was somewhere familiar, and aside from Suguru, they'd just been running from the streets. It was a nearby open area, after all.

“Go away!” Rayne shouted at the butterflies as her blasting at their mistress switched to blasting at the swarm of butterflies due to the latter getting in the way of her primary target. With how many of them there were, there was at last no end to the amount of mana globules being spawned, though the issue was that. Said issue was that she had to get close to them to absorb them, which would mean getting close to the butterflies and, well, they were losing ground.

Especially once Rayne’s triple shot sputtered out.

“No no no” Rayne half panicked, though not for her own safety it seemed, as she turned towards and stretched out to Sanae and began to call out “Link with me! I can at least get you out of here alive!” only for that defeatist plan to be put on hold when their foe screeched out in outrage at the appearance of a new ally.

Or, as Rayne realized as the blue-haired woman spoke her response to their foe in a familiar voice, it was, as far as Rayne was aware, the miraculous return of “Qing!”

The Witch Knight cried out in delight, both at the women’s survival, and for her impact on the battle, which turned a hopeless situation into one filled with opportunity.

In Rayne’s case that opportunity was tunnels opening up in the swarm, holes filled with the mana globules of their fallen swarm-mate, into which the witch-knight dashed to seize hold of that power. Spell one was turning her magic shots into a flame tower like stream. Spell 2 an automated turret that copied that stream. Spell 3, a barrage of bombs that dropped down and cleared the space below them. Spell 4, two massive wrecking balls launching out to the side.

With each burst of power, more space was cleared in the discordant swarm, exposing more mana for the furnace of burning spell cards, leaving Sanae more clear to execute her prayer for divine intervention.

And what an intervention it was.

If her own goddess could have done, or paid attention enough to do, such things, who knew what problems her world could have solved before it was too late.

Rayne was going to have to ask them for tips on how to goddess correctly, assuming she was still in place to assume divinity upon returning home, because of all the ones she’d been blessed o(or ‘blessed’) to be influenced by, Sanae’s patrons were certainly winning when it came to straightforward helpfulness.

Given the jiangshi is warding everyone away from the mausoleum, or at least trying, it's probably true that Kaku Seiga has set herself up inside. And on top of that, given that the necromancer hasn't shown up the whole time we've been here since we showed up that means she's probably elsewhere at the moment.

So, there's really no choice. It's clear what we have to do to learn more about what might be going on, despite the fact I'm not particularly excited about it.

It's not that I'm not confident I can do it, I just would rather not have to deal with Kaku Seiga if I can avoid it.

But the jiangshi isn't prepared at all, she's busy with eating part of one of those spirits, so this won't take very long at all.

It only takes a few steps for me to get in front of her. This isn't danmaku, so it's not a problem if I take the quick and easy path while she's not ready for a fight.

My fingers grip the talisman on her head. It's not like this will do anything worse then make her forget what she's doing. That soft brain of hers isn't good at retaining orders.

In the same motion that I pull it off the jiangshi's forehead, my leg moves forward to set her off balance.

She's probably too stiff to get up if she falls forward.

That should take care of the biggest obstacle. It'd be more involved if she actually managed to resist and fight, but I'm still pretty certain I'd take her out regardless.

@Raineh Daze@FujiwaraPhoenix

---

The needle left the oiran's throat in a spurt of blood, as the blue-clad woman smirked the moment she witnessed the appearance of the truely-divine Yasaka Kanako. Certainly, it wasn't her preference to be involved with such gods, but at the moment that was enough to guarantee this wicked spirit would be crushed.

Especially when combined with the knight-witch's efforts, ensuring not a single obstacle remained to reaching the evil ghost.

With the butterflies cleared away, her own body still struggling to move with the ghostly hands restraining her, the oiran couldn't do anything to evade attack.

"I'll drown you in---"

The ghost's snarl was cut off when the pillars reached her.

The onbashira slammed into the oiran all at once, skidding across the ground and dragging her body with them. Their divine nature only made them all the more potent against such a wicked ghost.

As they dragged her body against the ground, a crimson smear was left behind. The ghost's phantasmal flesh was being shredded, torn apart, bones and organs ground into unrecognizable states as her fine clothing was torn apart. Pieces of her body were spread across the empty street in a near-totally destroyed state, as nothing but phantom meat.

When they came to a halt, blood seeped from around the point where the onbashira had stopped, the pillars thankfully obscuring whatever gory mess remained beneath them.

But the oiran was not a living person.

A chunk of her head that had been thrown free, harboring her right eye, was still in sight. Despite the destruction of most of her body, that remaining eye was wide, burning with fury.

@DracoLunaris@FujiwaraPhoenix