The Disillusioned Land

Chapter 15 - Malevolent Scherzo

My mind has never been so clear before, all the rancor, sadness and regret seemed to have disappeared as if they were never there in the first place. This familiar sensation was once my own, in the days long lost where I was full of ambition and chose to forsake even my humanity if it meant accomplishing my goal, but now I feel it again through whatever has taken hold of me. My movements are clear, I rip apart the several chains and talismans that bound the one winged youkai, the loud siren that made Kyoko shut her ears is but background noise to my stage, after removing all the seals from the lunarian goddess, I take hold of her body with my arms and feel a surge of power simply by touching her, the amount of mana being transmitted to her was immense and the toll it took on her body was showing.

"Hold her" I say to Kyoko while looking straight into her eyes.

"...A-Alright but are you sure about this? You seemed to be an entirely different person when you looked at the obelisk again, are you sure you're fine."

"Worry not, this is what I should have done the moment we stepped into this room, be on your guard, the gap youkai is coming."

"Wh- you refer to miss Yukari? No way... miss Reimu told us that miss Yukari possibly had an involvement in this entire incident but I didn't think it would be true..."

"It's more than true, I would know for I was involved in it as well but enough talk, prepare yourself."

As if following my words, a gap is cut through reality and the fearsome sage of the former gensokyo emerged from it.

"...Well this is a familiar sight Mr. Ryan, whatever business could you have here?"

Kyoko's gaze is then directed at me with a concerned expression while holding the youkai in her arms.

"Enough pleasantries, you know what I'm here for."

"I had thought you better than this, the brilliant mind that devised this plan was you was it not?"

"Your mocking attempt to twist whatever situation you find yourself in never changes does it? I will not deny my sins but I'll also not stand by the sidelines again to see disaster unfold for a second time."

Her eyes twitch and her expression changes

"...Again you say? I see, how irritating. I would not see myself dancing at the palm of another so what say you of ending this once and for all?"

A straightforward response unlike her.

"Fine, I will not hesitate like I did before, when my mind was innocent I failed to grasp the impact my ideas would have on our worlds, but not anymore, I will exterminate you."

Before Kyoko could call to me I give her one final look to reassure her of my determination, I clench my heart and unleash the overflowing power surging through my body, I reach for the blood spilling through my stomach and coat the already crimson knife with my blood, no matter how much power magical I accumulated, I knew not how to make use of it so the only plausible alternative was to empower my tenebrious weapon with magicalized blood.

"Fool's Sign「Sword of the Seven Stars」" I focus all the danmaku energy into my weapon and cast the spell that forced it's way into my mind, with raging impetus I dash towards my foe, but I knew too well it would not be so simple.

"「Quadruple Barrier」" She announced as countless bullets began flying towards me in an incomprehensible pattern, all whilst summoning boundaries and barriers to stop me in my tracks.

I knew there was no way for an amateur to beat a master in his own game, my body, empowered as it is stands no chance against this barrage of danmaku, so I had to improvise, I gathered all the remaining spiritual energy I had left and overloaded my weapon to the verge of cracking, only to unleash a concentrated slash that destroyed all bullets in my track. However the toll it took on my already exhausted body was immense, so I grasped for whatever other chances I had left.

"Kyoko!!! Throw your gohei towards me!" I scream at the top of my lungs at the perplexed shrine maiden holding the goddess in her arms.

'I will never hesitate again, not when someone puts their life on the line for me' she thinks to herself while reaching for her purification rod "Take it!" she screams back.

After grabbing the gohei thrown into my direction, I launch it with whatever strength I had left towards my foe, only to be dodged without much effort.

"Is that the best you could do Mr. Ryan? I'm very disapp-" before the gap youkai could finish her sentence, a gap which did not belong to her formed behind her, from which a crimson clad shrine maiden appeared from.

She quickly made sense of her surroundings and grabbed the gohei that passed through Yukari and threw a burst of sealing talismans and needles towards her.

The gap youkai reacted to the danmaku being thrown at her, but not fast enough. Even if faint, Reimu's attack grazed her and that was enough to make her lose her balance. With the two goheis in hand, she cast her spell card which dealt the final blow to our wretched adversary.

"It's over Yukari!「Evil-Sealing Circle」"

"I see... so this was part of your plan, not bad Mr. Ryan but you know it as well don't you? When you awake, your hands will still be coated in blood and nothing will have changed, what a pity..."

The youkai's final words resounded within me as I knew too well my struggle was in vain, yet even if for self-gratification, I would try to change my grandest sin. "Mr. Ryan was it?" The lightly dressed shrine maiden asked me.

"Yes that would be me" I say exhaustedly while sitting on the ground next to Kyoko.

"I didn't know there were still humans who could fight toe to toe with youkai like her."

"You think too highly of me, I barely managed to even reach her, but I knew someone else would do it for me." I say with an awkward smile towards her.

The shrine maiden made way towards Kyoko and the youkai she had in her arms, but before she could ask her for a status report, I felt as if something closed behind my back and suddenly the figment of power I had left vanished, my fatigue reached its peak and a sharp sense of pain enveloped me, all whilst the adrenaline from battle fell off, making me scream loudly with pain as I contorted my body.

"Hey calm down! What's going on with him?"

"He's probably experiencing the recoil from overextending his body so much! He was just a normal human like any other when I found him but after we unsealed the lunarian goddess it seemed like he was possessed by something."

"This is too much information to take in at once! Let's treat him first."

"Right!"

The two shrine maidens began to heal me with prayers but my senses were too numb to feel their effect, my hazy mind was already crumbling. I close my eyes...

...