You may be obliged to wage war, but not to use poison arrows.
Huian bowed to the shivering rabbit. ?This was Miss Koakuma's room before she got married. It has all the amenities, and I've left food for the rest of the day. By then the locks should have faded. Do you need anything else??
Flopsy shook her head. ?N~no, I'll be fine.?
Huian simply smiled and nodded. Acting like the other girl wasn't scared out of her mind was probably the best way of handling her. ?If you're feeling cold there should be a cardigan next to the bed, and the tea should be hot. I'll come get you out as soon as the battle is over so you can get your ears regenerated and return to your training.?
The gatekeeper paused a second to see if the rabbit girl had anything more to say before the door was shut, but the moon rabbit just bowed. ?Um, thank you, Huian.?
?Don't mention it,? Huian said as she shut the door. The magical wards clicked into place and she felt the space between the door and the rest of the mansion become nearly infinite. She then called upon her personal powers and stepped to the main library.
?Ah, please don't disturb the circles,? Patchouli said idly as she finished another chalk line.
Huian started slightly, then remembered to float to avoid scuffing any of the patterns. Fortunately she hadn't appeared on top of any lines.
She then turned to report to her mistress. ?I've put Flopsy to bed. The mansion is ready Lady Flandre.?
Flandre briefly turned towards her to nod her approval. The vampire's cold stare caused Huian to sweat a little. As battle approached Flandre's childishness seemed to have faded. Her bloodlust was starting to take precedence. And everyone who was sane kept their distance during those times.
Huian turned her attention to the crystal ball floating between the residents of the mansion. ?Have we seen any invaders Mistress??
?No,? Flandre said shortly.
Marisa shrugged. ?There's a light show going on over where Yuka occasionally lives, but beyond that nothing so far. It seems everyone who knew this was coming is playing defensively.?
Juri shifted next to her mistress. ?We saw a group come down near the mansion, but they haven't shown themselves. I wonder why??
Koakuma shook her head. ?Um, my question is why can we still see the village? Shouldn't Keine have hidden it??
?Something's gone wrong,? Alice said darkly.
"Ah, I have it." Dinah tapped the ball and the viewpoint shifted. Now some red outlines could be seen standing just inside the treeline next to the mansion. ?There they are. But they're waiting. Are they trying to lure us into a trap??
Patchouli coughed as she floated up to join everyone else. ?I can only hope so. Fighting them in a forest would be almost as advantageous as fighting them in the basement. Better that then some other trick.?
?But how are they planning to lure us out?? Alice asked as she peered into the scrying orb.
As if to answer the question a plume of fire came up from the distant village. Huian grimaced. ?That's not Mokou.?
?The shrine!?
At Marisa's cry, everyone looked towards where the shrine should be in the scrying orb. The hill where the ancient building stood was now topped in flame.
Marisa reached out and summoned her broomstick ?I need to...?
?Go,? Flandre said with a wave of her hand. ?Head out the back.?
Koakuma nodded. ?We'll just trigger the contingency plan early if we need to.?
?I'm going too. We'll need the Grimoire to get back,? Alice said.
?Be careful out there,? Patchouli said, quickly kissing the two. Koakuma followed suit.
Marisa jumped on her broomstick. ?Take care.?
Then they were off.
Huian turned to Dinah. ?It's time to create the maze. The people waiting outside probably won't be heading after Alice and Marisa after they realize those two got past them.?
The demon magician smiled in return. ?Right.? She then placed her hands over Huian's eyes. As darkness enveloped the gatekeeper she relaxed.
Huian had inherited some magical power from Sakuya, in addition to all her other gifts. She'd never gotten around to mastering it, but it was there in her blood, just as much as her chi abilities and her power to manipulate space. She just couldn't access it well.
Dinah's succubus blood however allowed her to manipulate the magical powers of others. And her magical knowledge allowed her to use the power of others in very complex ways.
As Dinah's spell flowed through Huian's body she could feel the basement corridors twisting and bending. Soon it was a massive tangle. A maze that was bound to her will and power.
Dinah pulled her hands away and Huian opened her eyes. ?It's ready Mistress.?
Patchouli nodded. ?Good work.?
Huian's blood froze as Flandre giggled, ?Are the rest of the preparations ready Juri??
?Yes Mistress,? the maid replied.
The vampire reached out her hand as if she was grasping an orb. ?Then let's play.?
---
Mystia's wings twitched involuntarily.
She probably shouldn't be so close to the village, but honestly she wasn't looking for a fight, and the village was the safest place to be close to. When Keine hid the village's history, Keine and Mokou would be the only two still around. Two dangerously powerful beings alone in a massive clearing. Mokou and Keine would draw far more attention then a lone night sparrow.
At least that's how it should have gone.
Mystia was there, she could tell Keine was there, but the village wasn't concealed.
It was burning.
At least sections were. At the north end there was a small flare. Mokou was likely fighting someone. Still the immortal obviously was holding back, since there still was a northern village.
Near her the fight was more intense. And the fire wielder was not holding back.
Mystia shuddered as another explosion ripped through a mansion, sending burning planks across the houses. Then her eyes opened in shock as one of Keine's spells tore through the same area. If the Hakutaku was using those kind of spells in the village she obviously believed that there was nothing she could do that would be less damaging then letting her opponent live. Given how much the Hakutaku loved the village....
The sight of a figure running away from the village towards her drew her attention away from the flikering light of the spell battle. She tensed momentarily before seeing it was a young boy.
She gritted her teeth. A lone boy would have no chance out in the forests at night. She knew a lot of youkai weren't going to be picky about which humans they attacked now that an invasion was on. Most probably still didn't even know an invasion was on.
It wasn't her problem. She was a human eating youkai.
It shouldn't be her problem.
Cursing herself silently she flew towards the boy, making sure to stay near the ground. The child had been looking over his shoulder most of the time so when he finally noticed Mystia swooping towards him she was fairly close. He shrieked and fell to the floor, then rose to his knees when he recognized her. ?Ms Lorelei??
?Idiot kid, don't run to the forest. Run to the farms,? she hissed. The boy just stared at her stupidly. She sighed. ?Where's your family??
?I... I don't know. We were running, and then a building collapsed and separated us. Daddy told me to keep running out of the village...?
Mystia nodded. ?Then check the West gate. That's the closest one. And tell everyone to hide in the farms! There's no youkai or Lunarians there.? The boy just sat there looking at her in shock so she waved her arms at him. ?Get going!? she chirped.
As the boy ran off she looked back at the village. She wondered if his family would actually make it out. She wouldn't really be sad if those old ladies that had tossed fried beans at her went up in smoke. Or any of the perverts that had grabbed her ass. But she remembered that kid's family being nice customers. The daughter had always played with the pinwheels and the father always complimented her on her special sauce.
Keine and her opponent took to the skies then for a brief moment. Mystia looked at the Lunarian in the light of the full moon.
The woman was obviously strong. Quite strong.
But there was no holy power about her. Nothing in her face that made her seem any different from all the other human magicians that had gone on a rampage in the village because of some slight or another.
Mystia's heart began to quicken again. Not with fear, but with excitement.
She knew it was partly the villager's belief. The repeated stories of a 'youkai of justice' were calling to her. She realized not all of the building feelings in her heart was the desire to hunt that was inborn to all true youkai.
But that was okay. In the end, all that mattered was that she was a youkai, born to terrorize humans.
That others thought it was justice instead of petty desire was their own foolishness.
----------
Keine coughed as the smoke burned her lungs. Her muscles ached and strained as she lifted the wall and threw it in front of her. ?Get out of here!? she yelled to the human family huddling behind her.
The wooden wall shuddered and cracked as her enemy's magic crashed into it. Keine's hand flashed out and slapped aside one of the splinters before it could strike her face. The other shards of wood struck her, but couldn't penetrate her skin.
The sound of the family behind her moving helped her keep her focus. She charged forward hoping to catch her foe off guard with her horns.
She'd made it thirty feet before an explosion scorched her front. She rapidly exhaled to keep the flames from searing her lungs, then cried out as the back blast sent her rolling into a flaming support beam.
'Dammit, Mokou, where are you?!' one part of her screamed. But she knew Mokou had to be fighting elsewhere. Nothing else would keep the immortal from her side.
She shook off the impact and stood again, growling as the smug woman who'd started randomly attacking the village floated before her. Keine tried once again to hide the village's history, but her powers failed yet again.
Frustrated and hurt she yelled at the woman, ?What have the villagers done to you!? How can you call this righteousness??
The infuriating Lunarian just shrugged. ?They're impure. But I don't kill them because I hate them. I'm killing them because you're wasting your energy protecting them. And because the rest of you 'guardians' will flock here to save the humans after I finish you off.?
Keine's innards seemed to burn with rage. The heat within her was almost as great as the heat out here. The bitch had killed at least five villagers already just to make her angry!?
The Were-hakutaku stared at the Lunarian in hatred. ?I didn't want to have to use this, but you've forced my hand.?
Keine reached out letting her mind adapt to her powers. Time stood still as years flickered backwards. Days flowed quickly into years then decades. She saw the woman's training and days of leisure on the moon, centuries and centuries of idleness. Then a long childhood, where she wanted for nothing. Then her birth.
And at that moment in history Keine reached out and twisted it. ?It's time you never existed!?
Keine's bold proclamation was met with a moment of silence, then a laugh from the woman. The heat in Keine's body fled her. Her powers had failed again! How?
The woman gave her a mocking smile. ?Allow me to tell you my power. I can bind things. I've bound this village to the land, and I've bound my history to reality. Your powers are worthless against me.?
The woman rose a little further into the air, preparing the spell that would probably kill Keine. As she did Keine saw her. A figure she'd never expected to see in the battle.
Mystia opened her mouth and began to sing a song of hunting.
?What!?? the woman screamed as she looked into the sky, the night blindness already clouding her eyes. ?Another youkai? Where are you?!?
Keine watched in awe as Mystia raised her voice as she glided further into the air so she could swoop down. A youkai on the hunt, as in days long past.
