[x] Stay silent

I raised my hand. And very slowly, I tugged upon her sleeve. It was a very small, but deliberate movement.

"..."

The little devil used to do this to me all the time to get my attention. Then, she would remind me of something that I had forgotten or some task that I had to finish. Looking back, she never really had any real responsibility toward me. She was the magician's familiar, not mine. Yet, she would often go out of her way for me. Not in ways that easily stand out, of course. But with simple, everyday things like a cup of tea, or a tray of biscuits. Her acts of kindness were small and deliberate. Just like the way she would tug on my sleeve.

"..."

I tugged on her sleeve once more. However, Koakuma showed no reaction. I lowered my head and closed my eyes. Then, very softly, I held her against my chest. She was still warm to the touch. But there was no longer any heartbeat.

"..."

The rain continued to fall outside. But it was strange. Even if I was indoors, I felt something wet roll down my cheeks. Very slowly, a single drop fell down upon the floor. But it didn't make a sound. The only sound that could be heard in this final hallway was the unending rain that fell upon the Scarlet Devil Mansion. With a sigh, I carefully laid her down. Despite everything that had happened, she kept a small smile on her face.

"I'm... so -"

"Look out!"

Suddenly the silence was broken by Meiling's voice. And as I raised my head, I saw something coming toward me. It was a relatively small object, but it was flying at an inhuman speed. And it headed straight for my heart.

"Snap!"

I blinked. In front of me stood Meiling, who was in a combat stance. The object was only a few feet away when it stopped in mid-air and broke in half. I couldn't tell if she used her hands or her feet. Her movements were too fast for my eyes. So instead, I took a look at the object that now lay on the ground in two pieces. My eyes widened in horror.

It was a knife.

I quickly looked around. And as I feared, someone appeared in front of us. Her arms were folded as she spoke to us in a cold, indifferent tone.

"Tsk," said a familiar voice. "It didn't hit. How unfortunate."

"S-Sakuya? What the hell? Are you trying to kill me?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I am."

A moment passed as I stared in shock. Suddenly, she held a spell card in left hand. The chief maid began muttering something under her breath. But before she could finish the spell, a bright flash of gold filled the room.

"Chi Sign, 「Spirit Restriction Field」!"

The whole hallway was now bathed in a faint glow of gold energy. I didn't feel any different, and when I looked around, everything looked exactly the same as it was before. But Sakuya seemed to have noticed a significant change. She frowned slightly as she pocketed her spell card.

"An anti-magic barrier?" said Sakuya. "And it seems to be effective against my abilities, too. So you were hiding a powerful move like this. I wonder why I was never told of your capability to use forbidden magic."

"Lady Remilia made me promise," whispered Meiling. "I was never to tell anyone. Even you, Miss Sakuya. So please.. just let us pass through peacefully."

"I see. So the Mistress kept you as a hidden ace... is that it? Yes, that does sound very much like her."

Sakuya gave her a wry smile.

"So what are you going to do next? Do you seriously think you can defeat me with just this trick? Or perhaps you expect that 'ordinary human' over there to tip the scales to your favor?"

"We don't want to fight you," I said. "Please, Sakuya. Just let us pass and -"

"Silence, you dirty human scum!"

The chief maid gave me a dark look and grimaced. It was certainly her. Yet, I have never seen such hatred in her eyes. And before I could say anything else, she began walking toward us.

"How irritating," she whispered. "The cleaning never does end..."

She pulled out a single knife from her dress and smiled darkly.
[ ] Make the first move. Aim carefully and fire the rifle.
[ ] Let Meiling charge in first. Then, support her from range.
[ ] Wait for Sakuya to attack. Focus on defending yourselves.
[ ] Use a different strategy. (Specify)

[x] Anger

From the shadows of the second floor hallway, a fierce wolf beast emerged. It ran straight towards us. I didn't even have time to raise my rifle.

"Watch out!" cried Meiling.

She jumped right in front of me and swung her leg in a great arc that reminded me of the crescent moon. Her heel left golden trails of light as it connected with the shadow creature's skull.

"Crack!"

The beast whined in pain for a moment. Then, it dropped dead on the ground. And as we watched, its form slowly melted back into the shadows. It left no trace that it had even existed, almost as if it had been just a bad dream.

"Damn it! It's those things again!"

"Again?" repeated Meiling.

"Yeah. Elena and I encountered them in the greenhouse while you were at the front gate."

"So it had started even earlier than I noticed..."

"Started? What the heck are those things, anyway?"

The gate guard had a serious expression on her face. It was very unlike her.

"Familiars," she whispered.

Before I could ask, she suddenly struck a combat pose. Several pairs of glowing red eyes approached us from the shadows. Some came from in front of us, and a few came from behind. We were surrounded. Without hesitation, I raised my gun and prepared myself. I understood immediately that we would have to fight in order to break through.

"There is no place for us to escape to, is there?" said Meiling. "I have nowhere else to go besides here."

"Doesn't look like it. But I'm not planning on abandoning our home."

"Neither am I."

I smiled grimly.

"It is settled, then. So why don't we give our uninvited guests the warm welcome that they deserve? It would be quite rude if we left them unattended."

Meiling laughed softly.

"Yes. That sounds great."

And with that, we began to charge through the hallway. Two shadow wolves emerged to intercept us. I aimed my gun at the one on the left and fired twice. The second shot hit right between the eyes, and the creature fell dead immediately. And as its corpse disappeared into the shadows, Meiling dashed forward and shattered the skull of the other wolf with a carefully placed punch. Three more creatures came running toward us. I turned around and emptied my rifle on the one coming from behind, while Meiling quickly dispatched the other two. Then the gate guard stopped running and waited as I reloaded my rifle.

"Are you alright back there?"

"Yeah. Just pray that I brought enough bullets."

We continued running through the hallways while fighting off the shadow beasts. Somehow, we managed to get through uninjured, though we did have a few close calls. And after what seemed like an eternal battle, we had finally made it. The last hallway toward Remilia's room was well-lit with chandeliers and candlesticks, so there were no shadows for these creatures to emerge from. We paused to catch our breath.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, one of the doors to the side burst open. Meiling and I both readied ourselves for another attack. But the person who emerged was no enemy of ours. A familiar little devil stepped out, holding her stomach with her hands and limping. My eyes widened in horror as I realized that she was bleeding from a large open wound.

"M-Miss Koakuma!"

"Koakuma!"

"Eh? Ah, it's you," she whispered.

I barely had time to catch her as she began to fall.

"Are you alright? What happened to you?"

Koakuma smiled weakly and shook her head. Even without a careful examination, I could tell that her wounds were most certainly fatal. She seemed to be aware of this as well, so she wasted no time.

"Miss Patchouli told me... to give you this..."

She motioned for me to come closer. I lowered my ear right beside her lips. Very slowly, she moved her face even closer. I could feel her warm breath. And before I had time to react, she gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. Then, she whispered three short words into my ears.

"Why did she..."

I turned to her, and she gave me one last smile before dying in my arms.
[ ] Stay silent
[ ] "Koakuma..."
[ ] "Patchouli..."
[ ] "It's all useless..."
[ ] "..." (Specify)

[x] Examine Flandre first.

"Be careful," said Meiling. "I'll check on Miss Patchouli."

After giving her a quick nod, we split up to save time. I took a few steps toward the tree that had impaled the younger vampire sister. As a precaution, I pulled out my rifle and held it steady in my hands. Then, I took a glance at my watch. It was just past 4:00 PM. Horrible as the scene was, there was no sign that this tragedy was finished.

"..."

I climbed up a nearby pile of fallen bookshelves to get closer. And when I examined the body, all hope that she was still alive was lost. Certainly, she could have survived being pierced through the abdomen. But there was no way that a vampire would survive this kind of attack to the heart. Several twisting branches had somehow buried themselves through her chest like wooden stakes that had been hammered in.

Indeed, it was a gruesome sight. But I noticed something very strange. Despite such a brutal death, there was a look of peace upon Flandre's face. And if I blocked everything but her face with my hands, I could easily have thought that she was just sleeping. To borrow her own words, this was definitely something that 'didn't fit with the story presented'. Perhaps if I had her level of insight, I could come upon a sudden epiphany. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case...

"Huh?"

There was something that glittered from her dress. I apologized silently as I reached in to pull it out. Eh? Why was she carrying something like this? I blinked in confusion as I stared at the item in my hands. It looked like an ordinary ballpoint pen, but it had been broken in half. In its current condition, I probably couldn't use it to write anything.

I fished through her dress for a few more minutes, hoping that she had prepared some other clue or hint, but to no avail. And as I was considering what to do next, the ground rumbled loudly. I coughed as dust fell from the ceiling. Clearly, the sound had come from somewhere upstairs.

"A-ah! W-what was that?" cried Meiling.

"Something dangerous. We have to return upstairs."

"But how about Miss Patchouli and Miss Flandre?"

I quickly jumped off the broken shelves and landed near the gate guard.

"Those two will have to wait," I said. "We need to help where we can. There might still be survivors."

She nodded and took my hand. We quickly started flying back from where we came.

"Where exactly are we going? Do you have someplace in mind?"

"..."

At that point, there was only one place that came to mind.

"Remilia's room," I whispered.

We didn't meet anyone else as we travelled. The mansion halls were completely silent. And when we finally reached the second floor, I felt something wet drip on my shirt. Eh?

"Damn it all," I whispered.

I didn't even notice that I was crying.
[ ] Fear
[ ] Anger
[ ] Hatred

[x] Meiling's hand. It shook nervously.

I led the way forward as I held her hand. Together, we slowly flew above the bookshelves and searched. A tray of tea and cookies left beside a neat pile of books. A half-empty picnic basket lying upon a blanket on the floor. A lace handkerchief dropped carelessly on a desk. There were many signs that there were people in this place not long ago. Yet, there was no sign that any of them were still here. It almost felt like we had entered a different world, one where the Voile library was completely empty of life. The only source of sound was the endlessly pounding rain from the outside. And that only made me feel more uneasy.

"Let's quickly check the lower floors," I said.

"A-Alright, but could you wait a second? Please don't pull me so roughly..."

"Pull you? What are you talking about..?"

We stared at each other for several seconds. I could tell that Meiling had noticed something. But I still didn't understand. Not until she finally spoke.

"Forgive me for asking, but how are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Leading the way, I mean."

"Eh? What do you... wait... huh!?"

As an ordinary human, I had no capability to fly on my own. So naturally, I had to borrow some of Meiling's power and synchronize so that we could fly together. But even so, it shouldn't be possible for me to control the direction and speed of our flight. My eyes widened as I realized this. And in my surprise, I lost focus and let go of her hand. In that instant, I felt the effect of gravity return and I began to plummet down to the ground. She grabbed me before I fell.

"W-woah! How the heck!?"

The moment her hand touched mine, I stopped falling. She giggled a bit and shook her head.

"Let's just call that a fluke, for now. Do you mind if I lead the way this time?"

"Err... yeah. That might be a good idea.. ha ha ha."

Thankfully, Meiling did not ask me any further. Even if she did, I wouldn't know how to explain it. She probably sensed that and quickly dropped the subject. Well, it probably didn't matter. All I knew was that if I held her hand, I could fly.

"To the lower library, then."

We slowly made our way down. The sound of the wind and rain faded away as we went deeper underground. And in its place was an ominous silence. We could hear nothing but our own breathing. The place was clearly illuminated by the lower library lights. We had no trouble finding our way. But the air felt unusually heavy and stale. Even without words, we knew that something was wrong.

Meiling's hand began to shiver again. I swallowed nervously. We were almost at the lowest floor now. And as we approached the bottom, a disturbing sight came into view. The once neatly arranged bookcases of the library were in disarray. The lucky few were only tipped over, with their contents scattered all over the floor. Most looked like they had been tossed around the room like old toys, and their wooden frames were cracked or shattered. Some even look like they had been burned or ripped apart with sharp tools. Old memoirs and tomes were brutally torn to pieces, their loose pages scattered all about. The place almost seemed like a...

"Battlefield," whispered Meiling.

She tightened her grip on my hand as we surveyed the area. The old library was in complete ruin. And as we searched, I silently prayed that we wouldn't find anything. And I was right. We didn't find any 'thing' in particular. What we did find was much worse.

"Damn it, Patchouli!"

We had found the magician at the very rear of the library. A strangely shaped metal wand was driven straight through her chest, impaling her to the floor. Her head was tilted forward, so I couldn't see her face. One of her hands somehow remained on the wand, as if she had tried to pull it out. And her other hand was closed into a tight fist. Blood stained the floor around her. It gave the impression that she had died fighting.

"T-That's not all. Look!"

At the sound of Meiling's voice, I turned around.

"What the..."

Just a short distance away stood a single little tree. It had no leaves at all - just sharp, twisting branches. And upon the very top lay the body of a small girl. The growing tip of the tree had pierced ruthlessly through her belly. Even from here, I could see a short string of intestines hang out from the opening. The arms and legs were in awkward positions. Then, I saw it. An unmistakable pair of gem-filled wings jutted out from her back.

We had found Flandre, as well.
[ ] Examine Flandre first.
[ ] Examine Patchouli first.

[x] Carefully melt the lock away with fire.

I pulled out the crystal vial from my pocket and glanced at it. The vial gave off a subdued glow, and it was pitifully small. Yet the tiny tongue of flame within it still flickered with life. Wait a minute. How was that possible? Even if it was completely sealed, it didn't show any signs of dying out.

"A-Ah!" cried Meiling. "W-why do you have that vial!?"

"Stand back."

After removing the cap, I held the open vial above the prison door lock. Very slowly, a single drop of liquid flame fell onto it. Upon seeing this, Meiling quickly stepped back against the farthest corner of the cell. I quickly replaced the cap and stepped a good distance back. For some reason, I felt that something was -

"FWOOM!!!"

The prison bars were completely engulfed in a great wall of flame. I couldn't help but shield my face from the sudden blast of heat and light. Then, I heard a violent hissing sound, followed by cracking and popping. I wrinkled my nose as the smell of molten metal began to fill the room.

"Meiling! Are you alright in there?"

"Y-Yes! Don't worry! I'm still fine, I think."

I couldn't see her very well through this fire, but I was glad to hear that she was unhurt all the same. And as I began to worry about the fire spreading to the rest of the mansion, it began to die all on its own, leaving behind a huge hole through the prison cell bars. I waited for a bit for the smoke to clear and the molten metal to cool before calling out for Meiling. She easily stepped out of the cell shortly afterward.

"Sorry about that," I said. "The effect was far more powerful than I expected."

Meiling narrowed her eyes at the vial in my hand as she approached.

"That flame... and that crystal vial. Neither of those things should be in the hands of an ordinary human. How did you come across such a dangerous artifact?"

I glanced at the vial for a moment. It gave off a faint warm glow. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember where I found this thing. Didn't I just pick this up while shopping at the village? Or perhaps, Remilia or Patchouli gave it to me for safekeeping. Either way, I couldn't pinpoint when I obtained this item. But for some reason, this did not feel at all strange to me.

"Dangerous artifact? Isn't something like this commonplace in Gensokyo?"

"You just burned through those magically enforced prison bars, which even youkai can't break. And not just that. You managed to completely shatter the spiritual and conceptual seals that prevent the use of magic within these prison cells."

"Well, that is..."

I only intended to melt away the lock on the prison door. The more I thought about it, the more confused I began to feel. But this was not the time to think about it. There were more urgent things to worry about.

"That doesn't matter right now!" I cried. "Something horrible is happening in the library!"

I shook my head and held out my hand to her. Meiling hesitated for a moment. Then, I gave her a gentle smile.

"I need your help. I can't do this alone."

Very slowly, she took my hand. And together, we quickly made our way out the dungeon and back to the Voile library. However, when we arrived...

"H-Huh? Where is everyone?"

Meiling glanced at me, but I couldn't give her an answer. Besides our own voices and footsteps, the library was silent. The little camp that the mansion staff had built was completed deserted. Not a single fairy maid was in sight. There was no sign of any violent struggle. Everyone who was here just vanished without trace. I had the worst feeling.

"Patchouli..." I muttered.

What was I holding in my hand right now?
[ ] Nothing. My hands were free.
[ ] The rifle. It was still loaded.
[ ] The crystal vial. It glowed a bit.
[ ] Meiling's hand. It shaked nervously.

[x] Head down to the dungeon.

Outside, the clouds had become dark. The wind had been growing stronger since this morning. Heavy rain drops beat loudly against the mansion windows. This place was now engulfed within a great storm. And with this kind of weather, visitors wouldn't be coming for a while. The crashing thunder gave a bad feeling - that somehow, this place was now sealed from the outside world. No longer would anyone be able to leave this mansion. And no longer would anyone reach this place. Unless that person was blessed with a miracle.

I ran as quickly as I could, not stopping for anything. And before I knew it, I found myself before the dimly lit staircase that led down to the dungeon. It was hidden in an alcove, and if Flandre hadn't pointed it out to me earlier, I surely would have missed it. I paused for a moment to ensure that my rifle was loaded. Then, I made my way down the staircase.

"Damn it all," I muttered.

There was no one at the dungeon entrance. No guards were in sight, not even the two fairy maids who I met earlier. Did everyone return to the library? That didn't feel right. If they truly did suspect Meiling of any wrongdoing, then they couldn't just leave her here without supervision. I swallowed nervously as I stepped inside, alone.

Several minutes later, I was still wandering around the vast dungeon. This place was deep underground, so the sounds of rain and wind had been replaced with an eerie silence. There was no sign of Flandre, Sakuya, or any of the fairy staff. I had not met a single soul down here. Not until I heard it.

"..hic..."

The sound was faint, and I had almost missed it, had I not paused to catch my breath. With my gun in hand, I approached the source of the noise. There was nothing otherworldly or feral about it. In fact, I had a suspicion to who it was. And I was right.

"Uwaa... hic..."

Seated alone inside one of the cells was the mansion gateguard. I paused for a moment, and cautiously watched her. The poor girl sobbed quietly to herself in the darkness. There was no hatred or anger in her eyes. Just confusion, fear... and loneliness. She was no different from a misunderstood child, who had been accused of something she didn't do.

I tapped the bars of her cell lightly with my fingers. Her reaction was late, and she stared at me, dumbfounded. It almost felt like I had woken her while she was napping by the front gate. Very slowly, she mouthed my name. As if she was uncertain that I was really here.

"..."

My name? What was it, again? For some reason, it sounded like it had been ages since someone called me by my name.

An old memory flashed in my mind. Remilia led me out to the front gate, while Sakuya followed beside her with a parasol. It was a bright and sunny day, then. A girl clad in a green uniform bowed to us nervously as we approached.

"This is the front gate," said the vampire. "Visitors often come through here."

"A-ah! Lady Remilia! W-w-what brings you out here?"

"I see, and this person here?"

"That one is the gateguard," she said. "Now if you follow me here -"

"Ah, wait a second."

Without any shame, I nodded toward the girl in green.

"What is her name?"

Remilia stopped in her tracks and turned around, astonished.

"Her name? You mean the gate guard? Well, that is -"

The vampire paused for a moment, uncertain of how to answer. When Sakuya noticed, she cleared her throat and motioned for the other girl to introduce herself. The gate guard blushed furiously as she turned to me and spoke.

"Hong Meiling," she said with a bow. "N-nice to meet you!"

I returned her bow and spoke.

"Nice to meet you, too. My name is..."

Yes. That was right. She told me her name, and I told her mine. And with that, we acknowledged each other's existence. That day, we accepted each other as fellow travellers along this often lonely path. And even if the world ended this day, nothing would change that.

I blinked as I returned to the present. But I did not hesitate this time. Not when the truth was right in front of me.

"I'm breaking you out of here," I said.

I knew then, even without proof, that Meiling was innocent.
[ ] Search the area for the keys.
[ ] Blast the lock open with the rifle.
[ ] Carefully melt the lock away with fire.

[x] Accompany Patchouli down to the lower library.

The magician paused before the staircase that led underground. Then, she turned around and offered me her hand. I took it without saying a word. Together, the two of us returned to the lowest level of the Voile library. This was the 'old library', as Patchouli called it. She led me back to her reading area.

"I shall continue searching. Please wait here for a bit."

"Wait here? Why don't I help you look, instead?"

"Can you read French? German? Latin? Egyptian? Aramaic?"

"Err... no, I don't believe I can."

"Then wait patiently. Your presence here is already more than enough to raise my spirits."

She said that without any hesitation. After giving me a very small smile, she left on her own, back toward the bookshelves. I watched her until she disappeared from sight. Then, I yawned. At a glance, I could tell that most of the books around this place were written in various foreign or ancient languages. But there wasn't any harm in looking around a little bit, was there?

"Ah! How about this one?"

I pulled out a thick book from the shelf. Upon the cover was a picture of a warrior wielding a great spear against a monstrously large wolf beast. But more importantly, the title was in a language I could understand.

"Fenrir and Odin," I read aloud.

With this book in hand, I headed back to my seat. And I began to read. The tale was surprisingly vivid in its description, and soon I found myself engrossed in it. Several minutes passed. And when I finally pulled myself away from the book, I realized that Patchouli had already returned. The magician was at her seat, examining a thick volume.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked without looking up.

"Sorry about that. I guess I got too caught up in this story. Did you discover anything new?"

She gave me a small nod.

"Your arrival here was no accident. That much is clear now. You were definitely the catalyst for these tragic events."

"My arrival? Catalyst? What are you talking about?"

Patchouli sighed and looked straight at me. But before, she could say anything else, a deep rumbling noise filled the old library. We both became very much aware that we were no longer alone down here. The magician immediately closed the book in her hands and stood up. Without another word, she walked up to me and grabbed me in a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry..."

"P-Patchouli!?"

I don't remember how long we stood like that. The calm and cool magician of the Voile Library had suddenly threw herself against me. My mind couldn't even begin to process her bizarre behavior. I was still dazed when she finally pulled herself away.

"Stand over there," she said. "Quickly!"

She seemed to be pointing behind a nearby bookshelf.

"Huh? Over here? What's going on?"

Despite that, I walked over behind the bookshelf as I was told. Then, I saw the magician pull out a smoky green orb from her dress. And it was only then that I realized that the girl's eyes were damp.

"You must survive this," she whispered. "For everyone's sake."

"H-hey! Wait a sec -"

"I leave it all up to you, now..."

Before I could say anything, Patchouli threw the orb and shattered it on the ground before me. A strange green mist engulfed my surroundings. I coughed as I tried to wave it away from me. And when the smoke cleared, I found myself standing back in my room. Alone.

"Damn it, Patchouli!"

I took a glance at my watch. It was almost 3:00 PM.
[ ] Return to the Voile library.
[ ] Head down to the dungeon.
[ ] Try entering Remilia's room.