Re-claim what is yours, Shun.
My footsteps echoed down the empty hallway as I stopped and turned around, fatigue washing over me like an inevitable tide.
My body ached, and my whole body started flickering, my energy started to wane.
I don't think I can keep up anymore. This blade form of mine is about to run out. What a huge price to pay.
I mustered a weary smile as I looked out the window at the bright, beautiful moon.
t was a silent understanding, a comforting presence.
"The moon," I whispered to myself, "so beautiful..."
The moon had a way of calming my weary soul, its scars and blemishes somehow making it all the more endearing. It shone with a sense of understanding as if it knew my struggles intimately.
But this moment of solace was short-lived. The tranquility was shattered as a swarm of fairy maids appeared, shooting bullets at me. There was no respite, no peace until I confronted her.
I dashed forward, my body moving on pure instinct, engaging the fairy maids in combat once more.
"Move!"
Despite my wound and bruises getting much worse, I would only run back to the main lobby, cutting the fairies down as I went.
I dashed outside and sprinted to the garden at the back.
The moonlight bathed the garden in its silvery glow as Lady Remilia awaited my arrival. Her crimson eyes shimmered with amusement as I finally approached.
"Took you long enough," she chimed with a playful tone.
"I apologize for my tardiness," I replied, determined to put an end to this.
She couldn't help but comment on my altered appearance. "What nice hair and eyes, Shun... A perfect form like that resembles a blood moon."
Ignoring her remark, I tightened my grip on my blades and took a battle stance. "Enough. I want to prove myself again... This time I will reclaim what is mine."
Her smile widened. "Oh? Well, that's right. That's what you came here for after all."
With a snap of her fingers, the butler emerged from the shadows, his presence chilling. I recognized him immediately.
"It's him...!" I muttered under my breath, my blades at the ready.
"Oh? An intruder?" He said with a cold tone.
"That's right, Tanu-... I mean, my butler," Lady Remilia purred, her crimson eyes never leaving me. "Why don't you deal with him for me?"
The butler acknowledged her command with a nod and a cold smile.
As I continued to press my attack on the butler, his agility proved to be a formidable challenge. He gracefully sidestepped my strikes and deftly moved out of my reach, all while Lady Remilia launched fiery arrows in support. I had to be on constant guard, blocking and dodging each attack while still trying to land a blow.
"Why is he so agile?" I muttered, frustration building within me.
But what caught my attention was a small plume of smoke that emanated from his arm whenever I managed to graze him. It was an odd detail, one I couldn't quite make sense of in the heat of battle.
"Remilia!" the butler called out.
"I know~" she responded casually as if she had all the time in the world.
The disrespect in her tone was infuriating. How dare she show such contempt for Lady Remilia!
Fatigue set in, and my wounds multiplied.
Then, in a moment of carelessness, I slipped, falling off guard.
"Unfortunately, your fate is sealed," Lady Remilia declared with a sinister grin. She raised her fiery spear, ready to deliver the final blow.
"Is this... it?"
But just as the fiery spear descended towards me, a radiant barrier of light formed around me, protecting me from the lethal thrust.
As I lay there, moments away from what I thought was my imminent end, a voice rang out through the chaos.
"Two versus one, isn't fair, right?"
That voice... I recognized it immediately.
A shrine maiden landed gracefully in front of me, her presence reassuring me.
"R-Reimu."
She turned her attention to me. "Are you alright, Shun?"
"Y-yeah," I stammered, still in disbelief that she had arrived to rescue me.
"Good," she said firmly. "This fight has just started. In fact... Round two will now begin." She took a ready stance.
I got up, feeling a newfound surge of determination, and stood beside her, mirroring her stance.
"Pfft, interesting... Reimu and Shun," Lady Remilia mused. "That's not what you see every day, despite your first encounter."
Reimu added, "The past is the past, Vampire. Shun, you should take care of your mistress. Meanwhile... I'll handle this 'butler.'"
"Y-Yeah."
Reimu then flew towards the butler and immediately kicked him off the area.
Wow, Reimu is too strong... No that's not what I should be focusing on right now.
Remilia and I locked eyes, standing in a tense standoff.
"Shun, the moon is beautiful today, isn't it?" she said casually. "Why did you choose to attack now instead of on a sunny day? You would've had me, you know? Are you an idiot?"
"Lady Remilia, fighting you under the full moon is an honor," I replied with conviction. "Plus, it wouldn't be fair if you got yourself burned, right?"
A faint smile curved on Remilia's lips. "What a perfect answer... Just for that, I will fight you with my full strength."
"Hehe... What an honor," I responded, readying myself for the battle that lay ahead.
The clash between Lady Remilia and me intensified, each of our blows creating intense shockwaves that rocked the garden.
"Hoho~ Despite being wounded and tired, you're still standing strong," she remarked, her voice dripping with amusement. "Are you really a human?~"
Suddenly, she extended her left arm, palm open, and created a crimson chain that shot toward me, snaring me in its grasp. With a swift movement, she pulled the chain and swiped her sharp claw across my chest.
"Kghk!" I grunted in pain, leaping back and clutching my wounded chest.
Lady Remilia licked my blood off her pointed fingers with a wicked grin. "Hmm~ Not bad... I might get addicted to this~"
"Tsk..."
(Blood Sign: Raining Tears)
Thousands of crimson spears, knives, and blades materialized in the sky above, casting a foreboding shadow. They descended like raindrops, rapidly heading toward Lady Remilia, posing a significant threat.
"Hoho~ Interesting spell card!~" she commented with a sly grin.
Undeterred, she activated her own spell card.
(Scarlet Devil "Scarlet Devil")
A red aura enveloped her, and the garden around us burst into flames. The projectiles from my spell card were incinerated before they could reach her.
"Is that all?~" she taunted.
I gritted my teeth and launched a relentless series of attacks, each slash met with a dodge from Lady Remilia, who countered with precise claw strikes. The battle raged on, the fiery garden as the backdrop to our intense duel.
As the battle continued, it felt like an unending cycle. Each clash left me more wounded, and the threat of her burning attacks loomed ever closer.
I needed to find a way to break this cycle and gain the upper hand.
I have an idea!
For now... I should!
Instead of directly engaging her in a head-on battle, I began to dodge and evade more, using my agility to stay out of her reach. I watched for any openings or moments of distraction on her part.
Lady Remilia's taunts continued as she launched her attacks, but I remained focused. I noticed that she occasionally left herself vulnerable after unleashing a particularly powerful strike.
Seizing this opportunity, I waited for one of her fierce claw attacks. When it came, I narrowly dodged it and used her momentary imbalance to my advantage. With a swift and precise strike, I aimed for a vulnerable spot in her defenses.
My blade found its mark, and I managed to cut her arm, drawing blood. She recoiled in pain, her grip on the fiery aura around her weakening for a moment.
"Hehe~ just kidding... As if your blade would hurt me~"
I was taken aback by her response. Before I could react, she materialized a massive fiery spear in her hands and hurled it directly at my chest. It struck with a searing impact, causing intense pain to surge through me. I crumpled to the ground, the fiery spear still impaled in my chest.
The agony was overwhelming, and I could feel my consciousness slipping away. Everything around me started to blur as I struggled to hold on.
It's cold... This spear... It hurts...
The battle seemed all but lost as darkness closed in.
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Why are you still here? You already know that our protagonist died... Yet you are still here. You're wasting your time.
Go outside.
Stop wasting your time reading this nonsense book.
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"...The ending that you want to see."
"But promise me that you won't sell me out to the writer, okay?~"
She chuckles.
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Just as I was about to lose consciousness, a sigil appeared right in my right hand, where I was using the crimson blade.
Haha... What kind of joke is this? I was supposed to be dead, yet here I am...
I get back up as I remove the fiery spear from my chest without hesitation.
I was supposed to be dead. Yet here I am...
My entire body then slowly starts healing by itself, covering the hole in my chest.
"Woah. That's scary." I muttered to myself as I sighed and looked at Lady Remilia.
Remilia didn't even flinch and just smiled at me. She's not surprised, as she already knew about the sigil.
Remilia's sigil.
"Well then... Shall we end this? Shun?"
I only nodded at her while taking a stance.
"This is an elegant move that I will show you~ Be honored~"
(Devil "Remilia Stretch")
In a final elegant move, Remilia unleashed her full-strength mowing down everything in her path.
However, this time, it didn't faze me. I summoned all the power I had left, my last word.
("Destiny: Miserable Life and Death") time itself froze. Seizing the only opportunity. In a blink, I appeared behind Remilia, unleashing a relentless torrent of slash projectiles in every direction, twenty slashes in each.
As the barrage of attacks subsided, the garden lay in ruins, and Remilia was on her knees.
And after that... the battle ended.
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"Still not satisfied? You're getting greedy, huh..."
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"This will be the last... and I won't interfere."
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"Well then... Shall we end this? Shun?"
I only nodded at her while taking a stance.
"This is an elegant move that I will show you~ Be honored~"
(Devil "Remilia Stretch")
In a final elegant move, Remilia unleashed her full-strength mowing down everything in her path.
I
With my last reserves of energy, I invoked my final spell card, "Sword Sign: Final Cut." In an instant, I vanished from my current position and reappeared directly in front of her.
I grabbed her by the arms and embraced her tightly, despite her struggling to break free.
"Let me go... or I will end you," she threatened.
I remained silent, holding onto her.
"Why...? Didn't I already let you go? Your fate was sealed... You're free!"
"Lady Remilia, please manipulate my fate and let me serve you again."
"Why?"
"I don't want it..."
"Huh?"
"It was my fault... for being an unloyal servant toward you... When I swore on my life. I am sorry."
She fell silent, contemplating my words.
"I accept any punishment... but please... let me be your butler once again."
She stayed silent and then burst into laughter, immediately releasing my arms and pointing her fingers at me.
"100 points."
"Eh?"
"You finally see what I want you to do... I'm glad you saw it."
"That means..."
"Yeah, welcome back... my troublemaker butler."
My eyes widened with joy as I looked down at her, a warm smile spreading across my face.
I was back.