Golden Concerto, Stage 1

"New Years Resolution

-Do something about that giant blob..."

 Time flew by fast. Four weeks ago, she had locked away the giant monster in Makai, in fear of it absorbing everything in Gensokyo. She wasn't quite sure how to handle it back then, but now, she had some sort of idea. Just a few more days until she had all she needed to handle the monstrocity...

 No, Reimu's biggest problem right now was the thief. The smug thief who thought he had gotten away for good, only to find out that Reimu lived right in the neighborhood. The phantom magician that, even now, played tricks upon the girls of Gensokyo. It was almost embarassing to see a gaggle of magical girls crowd around him as he performed his magic tricks: conjuring doves from nowhere, reading their minds, plucking roses from their ears...

 Honestly, she should have expected this. When the entire world and its chaotic ways are controlled by girls with powers beyond comprehension, its a relief to see a guy every once in a while. Rinnosuke hardly got out of his shop at all, and he was hardly the exciting type. Now girls had a real thrill-seeker here, someone adventurous. Reimu had to make sure one of them didn't kidnap him for any devious purposes.

 As she sipped her tea, Reimu Hakurei reflected on the one thing that brought them together here in Gensokyo, until Vegas called out her name...


--------------------------

TOUHOU 14.7: Eastern Towers of Avarice ~ Golden Concerto

Now loading. Please wait warmly until it is ready.

Stage 1: Modern World Under the Moonlight

--------------------------

The gem still sleeps under the moonlight...
Does the thief wish to awaken it from its slumber?

--DECEMBER 27TH, 2014

 GENSOKYO: HAKUREI SHRINE, EARLY MORNING---

Reimu stared at the various newspapers the Lilliputian had gathered and laid them out for her to see. Each one was turned to a page where the shrine maiden could see the familiar smug face of a certain thief she met earlier in the year.

 "Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaitooooooooooooooooo!" she yelled as she grabbed one of the newspapers and ripped it up in a rage. "I thought we fucking told you to not to try to steal more shit you fucking shithead!"

"You shouldn't make a mess of things, Reimu," said the inchling, as she cleaned up all the bits and scraps of paper. "Besides, maybe you should look a little more carefully at the articles!"

The shrine maiden stared for a moment before turning back towards the articles. All of them had headlines like, "Phantom Thief: Missing?!" and "Kaito Kid's Disappearing Act: Thief Hasn't Appeared in Months". They spoke of how there wasn't a heist in a while and how there were absolutely no notices, even after several rare jewels and gems were exhibited in Tokyo's museums. She then helped out with cleaning, her cheeks a tint of red.

 "So he was keeping to his promises, huh, Sukuna?"

 "Maybe! I mean, you did say that he does it for a thrill and trying to find his father, who was Kaitou Kid before he was!"

 Reimy sighed and sat back on the floor, unamused. "How long is he going to honor that, though?" she asked. "One of these gems that shows up might be a bit too shiny and big enough to hold another gem in it: the Pandora Gem. The Kobbers aren't gonna be around to convince whoever owns it to let them see it, and hell if they'd actually listen to a Miko who exists in a world where vampires and flying ships and hell ravens are a thing."

 "Utsuho's a kobber, though! They'd have heard of her and stuff! And nobody's going to really argue when you're friends with someone who holds a ton of nuclear power!"

 "Sukuna, we're not trying to threaten them, we're trying to borrow a gem to see if they have this stupid eternal life granting gem thing. Which is pretty damn unlikely, so Kaito might be running out of patience." She glanced over at another page, showing off a giant, full-colored page of a brilliant sapphire at a different exhibit. "This gem might end up being his next target..."

Sukuna sat beside Reimu as they both read the details: The Blue Behemoth was being exhibited at the Beika Museum, and was rumored to once be a part of a fearsome beast. Legend had it that this beast, which stood 18 meters tall, once threatened the lives of people until a brave samurai warrior had carved out the gem that was its heart. Rumors go on to say that it pulses under the moonlight, like the still-beating heart of the behemoth.

 Reimu also took a peek at another article, which spoke more of sights of a "Golden Kaiju" in the city. Witness reports say that it was huge and toted around an entourage of imps, but police and reporters alike dismissed them as being untrue. This worried her a bit, as she knew as well as anyone else that Godzilla was a thing; why the heck were they dismissing this out of hand? That's what an investigation was for, anyhow!

 With a grunt, the shrine maiden closed the papers and sighed. "I forgot computers weren't much of a thing here in Gensokyo," she grumbled, "so I can't exactly track Kaito down, unless I asked for Nitori's help. What to do...?"

 The little inchling princess smiled at the maiden and hopped onto the table in front of her. "When all else fails, bait him out!" she said enthusiastically. "Why not just wait for him at the Blue Behemoth! I wanna see this in action and see if he's as much of an outlaw as Seija!" She paused for a moment, her smile turning into a grin as she motioned for Reimu to pick her up. When she did, she added, "Besides, I have a great idea!"

 Reimu blinked for a moment before putting Sukuna to her ear, allowing her to whisper her idea. Her grin must have been contageous, as it spread across Reimu's face.

"Oh, I'm liking this already. Guess we better get a move on, then!

Next stop... Beika Museum!"

--------------------------------------------

-----DECEMBER 27TH, 2014

BLUE PARROT BILLARDS BAR, TOKYO, JAPAN, SUNSET-----

"This just in! The Phantom Thief, Kaitou Kid, has sent notice to the Beika Museum, stating that he would steal the Blue Behemoth at 10 PM! While an uncanny thief, fans all over Japan come down to see his heists, which are like a magic show in action! The Police Department begs to differ, as they have failed several times to capture him, even before his disappearance a few months ago... as well as 8 years prior. Inspector Nakamori, whose specialty is completely in capturing Kaitou Kid, issued a declaration: 'This time, I will definitely catch you! This time is the time I will succeed! Hahahaha!'"

Kaito Kuroba casually watched the news as he enjoyed a scoop of chocolate ice cream, his heart thumping in excitement at how many people were eager to see him in action. He neglected to mention this to anybody else, but he usually refused to do a heist that didn't allow spectators to enjoy it. It was just a bigger magic show, wasn't it? And now, they were all crowding the museum, ready to roll.

 There was a pang of guilt, however. He had already slipped up against the Kobbers and got nailed for it. He really, honestly wanted to wait everything out, wait until the Kobbers came back so that they would help him find his father's murderers... and the Pandora Gem, rumored to give eternal life if you drank the tears it made under certain circumstances. He promised to make it all up with the community service and even kept quiet for all these months. But the Blue Behemoth was huge, big enough to hold the Pandora Gem inside. And if the bad guys got to it before he did...

"Young Master?" asked the bartender with a worried look. 

Kaito turned to him, eyebrow raised. "Yes, Jii? What's up?"

 "Are you absolutely certain you wish to do this? I worry that you may come across those who nearly killed you when you stole the Blue Birthday. If this gem truly is one of the wonderous gems of the world, they might already be here, waiting to steal it for them before they take both the gem... and your life!"

 The thief smirked and replied, "You worry too much! Everything will be fine! I tricked them back then, and I'll trick them again this time!"

 "But if they are truly the ones that killed your father...!"

 Silence. Kaito sighed and took out a white cape, covering himself with it. The moment it was removed, he was in his Kaito Kid outfit, monocle and all.

 "The notice is already out, Jii," he said. "And I can't let the fans down, can I?"

 As dusk arrived and the full moon began to rise, he closed his eyes and thought.

Yes... the show must go on.

--------------------------------------

----BEIKA MUSEUM, TOKYO, JAPAN: 10 PM---

  Onlookers crowded the halls, holding up signs for Kaito Kid and cheering loudly. Rows upon rows upon rows of policemen were everywhere in the five story building, keeping an eye out for the phantom. Inspector Nakamori, especially, was on the top floor where the Blue Behemoth was held, a crowd of police officers in tow. The room itself had artistic depictions of the monster and the samurai as they fought, with the rumored armor and weapons the samurai had, as well as possible bones of the monster, were on the right and left sides. Only the gemstone sat in the middle of the room, shimmering in the light, guarded by a glass cage.

"There's no way I will let Kaito get away this time!" the Inspector said with a grin. "With this many officers, there's no way he can slip away unnoticed! They even have cameras recording everything!" He put his hands on his hips and let out a hearty chortle. "Rest assured, this phantom thief won't-"

 A small canister rolled lazily across the floor, bumping into the Inspector's foot. He turned towards it and raised an eyebrow before picking it up.

 "What's this?"

 He may have asked a little too soon, as it exploded in his face, releasing a gas all throughout the room. In the blink of an eye, all of the officers that were in the room collapsed in a sleepy heap, A tile from the ceiling shifted away, allowing the phantom thief to drop in, a mask covering his face. 

 "So much for a challenge," he said to himself as he removed the glass casing and snagged the gem. Its sheen was indecribable. Truly a gem to behold. He pocketed it and bowed to his slumbering audience before taking off into the halls.

 More police spotted him. Even with their leader incapacitated, they knew the chase was on. Kaito smirked as they followed him through the halls, like something out of a Scooby Doo cartoon. When they had cornered him, they all jumped at him at once, wrestling each other to try to keep Kaito down and be the ones to proudly proclaim that they were the ones who caught him. One police officer crawled out of the pile and headed on up to the roof, allowing the others to claim their glory. He wasn't particularly interested in it.

 When he reached the roof, he removed his masked, revealing the cocky Kaito in all his glory. "Fell for the dummy again~" he said cheerfully, plucking the gem out of his pocket and holding it up to the moonlight. "The police are a joke here! So glad that none of them bothered calling Conan or some other detective; they'd see through my trick like nothing, and that'd just ruin the magic, wouldn't it?"

 The Blue Behemoth shimmered brightly. A bit too brightly. His eyes narrowed as he examined the gem more closely: too oily... A fake?!

 Before he could wonder this further, something hit his face, knocking him over like a lone white mage going up against a fearsome knight. "KAITOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" a voice boomed before he found himself smacked again and again.

 Thank goodness the smacking stopped soon, but now the blood was draining from his face as he saw who was there.

"You better thank me!" Officer Reimu said, crossing her arms and glaring daggers at him. "I was waiting here the whole time to stop you before you went and get yourself arrested for real!"

 "Geez, couldn't you have been a little more gentle?" Kaito grumbled, getting up off the ground and rubbing his cheek. "And where's the real gem?"

 "None of your business. If you took the real gem, you'd earn yourself a one-way trip to jail. Thankfully, my partner managed to replace it with a fake. Not telling you where the real one is, but it's in safer hands than yours."

 "Hey! I was going to return it after I saw if there was a gem inside!"

 Reimu stared at him before tilting her head and replying bluntly, "The Pandora Gem isn't there. Trust me, I checked when I had a chance. You wasted your time and mine, so you might want to hurry the hell back home."

 Kaito rolled his eyes, stripping off the police outfit and revealing his costume below it. He hasily put on his top hat and monocle before he crossed his arms and grumbled, "At least tell me how you got here so fast. Weren't you on the ZFS?"

 "I never mentioned it? I'm actually-"

 She stopped mid-sentence as the ground seemed to shake below her. Screams echoed through the night, the people below scattering about like ants. The shrine maiden's instinct to fight switched on, a terrible feeling lurking in her gut. Kaito must have noticed it, as he pulled out his trusty Card Gun and turned towards the source of the chaos.

Thump.

Thump.

THUMP.

The loud moan, the thunderous footsteps, and the glints of gold told the duo all they needed to know about their opponent.

The Golden Kaiju is here... Here, of all places!

Wicked Waltz, Part 3

 The air was thick with tension as the intruder revealed herself before the duo, with a grin wider than life. Thick, tainted air spewed out from her tentacles, the ground below her feet wilting away where she stepped. Ringabel noticed that as she approached them, a trail a blood followed. Blood, wings, and the bodies of fairies. The ones she held, she cast aside like torn, ragged dolls thrown in the garbage.

 "Are you here to be sacrificed in Mistress Kuroma's greatest plan yet, I wonder?" she asked, putting her makeshift hands together  and moving side to side with glee. "After all, prey usually doesn't come back to the waiting predator!"

 Mephilia clenched her magical rod tightly and screamed, "What have you done to them? What have you done to this garden to make it as it is?!? Why would you....?!" Her voice trailed off, tears streaking down her face as all that she had protected was tarnished. Her mission, failed.


 The robed one tilted her head to the side before snorting and saying, "Oh, isn't it obvious? I'm dealing with the little threats to the Mistress's plans!" She picked up one or two of the wings and dangled them about, excited in spite of the blood yet to dry on them. "Fairies are a demon's worst nightmare, and an eyesore for my master! So Mistress Kuroma let me do the honor of ripping them apart and using them as sacrifices for her ritual!"

  "Disgusting!" the summoner yelled, "Absolutely disgu-"

  Ringabel saw something lash out from the corner of his eye towards his friend, but before he could jump in and intercept, Mephilia slammed down into the ground. "Mephilia!" he cried, rushing to his friend's side. "Mephilia, are you hurt?"

 As Mephilia sat up and mumbled something under her breath,  the intruder gave a loud, long yawn and said, "Prey should shut up and listen. You're lucky I'm even tolerating your stupid questions before I snap your neck and pop your pretty little head off. Now, where was I?" She put a tentacle to her chin for a few moments before she continued, "Oh, riiiight! What'd I do? Well, all I did was bring out the garden's inner beauty! No garden's complete without a perfect set of monsters!" She took a deep breath of the rotted air and sighed happily. "Don't you just love that new graveyard smell? The Mistress doesn't care if I do any of this, as long as the fairies are dead, dead, dead~! Ehehehe!"


 Hatred boiled deep within the blonde's heart as he watched the mysterious robed intruder grab a handful of Flories, trying to escape from the fate that awaited them, Watched as were torn apart before he could do anything about them. Their wings, shining bright for a split second, then no more. He grew to hate that endless, taunting giggle, those bloodied excuses for hands, the intruder's voice and presence every minute he sat here. He reached into his pocket and felt for a particular asterisk, pondering whether or not it would be useful here and now. To show his true power before this beast.

 He then decided against it, as rocks petruded from the ground and separated prey from their predator, slicing through the appendages the beast used to hold them. A giant, earthen scorpion stood before them, an entire city hoisted upon its back, staring down the intruder as his summoner stood up and glared.

 "I will allow you to harm them no further, you dispicable witch!" Mephilia said with venom. "As one of the Venus Sisters and proud Summoner of the Duchy, I will protect them as I have been charged!"

 The scorpion seemed to respond to this, as it raised a claw and slammed it down, the intruder crying out  as she was sent flying. Ringabel took this moment to swap asterisks, ignoring the swears the intruder was tossing out.

Sword was abandoned for katana as Ringabel drew on the power of the Swordmaster asterisk, watching the movements of his enemy carefully as she faught against Girtablulu, anchorite of earth. How she zig-zagged back, dodging rocks and claws with incredible speed. How she lashed out with tentacles called forth from her robes and bound  claws of the mighty summon before spewing out gas that reeked of death. How the scorpion flinched and struggled before the intruder lunged towards it with a wicked smile on her face.

  A smile that faded from its face when a rock distracted it from Girtablulu, giving the scorpion plenty of time to charge up its  claws and slam them down, creating a shockwave that broke the bindings and rended the earth. 

 She rose from the rubble, bruised and battered, growling like an angered lion. "Who threw that?!" she asked, many tentacles rising and wriggling out of her sleeves. "Who would dare throw a rock at me, Ramona, the Mistress's beloved servant?!?"

 Ringabel shrugged and replied with an exaggerated sigh, "Oh, a thousand pardons! I just so happened to toss it, but I never meant for it to do harm to your beautiful face!" Each and every word dripped with sarcasm, bait laid bare for the fish.

 "You.... you!!!"

 The fish snagged it all too eagerly. The tentacled fiend lashed at him, bruising skin and bashing against his shield. When she tried to retract them, though, they returned to it, nothing more than bleeding stubs. She was not given a chance to even scream in pain, as the earthen scorpion rose its tail high and slammed it down, earthen spikes rising and piercing through her robes while she was distracted. Ramona turned her attention back to Girtablulu, preparing another breath attack when another rock pelted her. Annoyed, she launched dark blasts to keep Ringabel away, leaving bruises and pushing him back to a place where not even the best throwing arm would be able to hit her with mere rocks.

 Unfortunately for Ramona, Ringabel didn't need to. In a flash, sharp steel cut through her flesh, slashed apart the scroll that was on her face. Blood splattered upon his swordmaster robes as he followed up with another swift strike to the chest. Ramona stumbled backwards, clutching at her wounds, panting.

 Ringabel prepared to deal a finishing blow when Ramona rose to her feet and looked forward. The inner calm was broken for just a moment as he saw her face for the first time: a myriad of tentacles, whipping around frantically covered all but her mouth. He wasn't even sure how she could see through them all. His guard was down for just a moment when the woman wrapped her tentacles around him and held him close, giggling all the while.

 "Oh, aren't you just the rudest, unveiling a girl's face without her permission!" she said with a sneer, squeezing him tight enough to make him clench his teeth in pain. "I know I am not the prettiest, but I... I am my mistress's masterpiece! Fine art given life! She loves me as I am, and I would give everything to please her!" She paused for a moment, the gears in her head turning before she smiled wide and said, "Oh, I know what to do! I'll kill you and use you as another sacrifice to my Mistress! Another pawn for her to use! She loves her zombies, she does! Now...

Let me hear you scream, before you die~"

 Her grasp became ever tighter, her laughter becoming louder as Ringabel tried to struggle. Pain spread through his body, air slowly being squeezed out of his lungs. He could not help but make pained noises, but he knew above all else he could not scream. Not only would that be giving her what she wanted, screaming wouldn't help his situation one bit. In fact, it could make it a whole lot worse. Instead, he tried biting at them, trying to chew through the binding. She made no signs of weakening her grip at all. A sharp pain shot through his chest as a rib broke, then another as shock began to set in. And all while Ramona had that devilish grin on her face. 

 Ringabel could do nothing at this point. Nothing but put his trust into the one who still stood.

 An unworldly screech echoed through the air as a tidal wave of earth and debris took Ramona by surprise and struck her down, causing her to finally loosen her grip on the swordmaster  before she was buried under it. Mephilia dashed over and and grabbed Ringabel before the wave took him, too, although at the expense of getting dirt and dust on her clothes. "Ringabel!" she said as she pulled out a potion, uncorking it and pouring the contents down her companion's throat. 

 He gagged on it at first before it could go down, but from the first drop, he could feel the pain ebb away. "Feeling a little better now?" Mephilia asked. "An X-Potion was the best I could do; I left all the Elixirs at home!"

 "I'm fine," he said between coughs, slowly getting to his feet. "Thank you."

 "You're welcome, but are you sure you should keep fighting like this?"

 "Just... just a little longer, Mephilia. Until the threat is gone." 

 Mephilia opened her mouth to retort before she saw the look of determination on Ringabel's face. She then smiled and said, "Don't push yourself too hard, then. The last thing the vestal and her friends need to see is their casanova bleeding at their feet upon his return."

 Ramona rose from the rubble, her hood pulled down, black hair splayed across her back and covered in dirt. Furious, she screamed, "How dare you! And I was having so much fun constricting him, too! I'll show you!" She dashed towards the duo and struck them with her tentacles again and again in a blind fury. Mephilia jumped behind Ringabel as he held up his shield, taking blow after blow after blow. When Ramona unleashed dark blasts upon them, he endured those, too. He allowed her to take out all her rage and anger upon them in whatever way she could, letting her scream her barbed insults and pound them down with fierce blows.

 It didn't matter. No matter how much she attacked, how much pain she inflicted upon them, there is only so much she could do.

 The moment Ramona was too exhausted to keep up her outburst was when the duo struck: Mephilia commanded Girtablulu to strike, watching as it pounded the earth and forced stone through the woman's feet, essentially pinning her in place. She cried out pain, trying to remove the stones as fast as she could, when Ringabel dashed forward, letting out a battle cry and striking  Ramona with amped force.

 Steel met flesh once more. Ramona coughed up blood, staining her robes. She saw how deep the blade was in her gut, and saw it retracted with the stones. She fell onto her knees, clutching this wound tight. 

 She had lost. Lost again. The embarassment was unbearable. "This... this isn't over!" she said between pained gasps of air, a dark circle appearing below her. "You might have won, but you'll see... Even when I am gone... the Mistress will avenge me! Ehe... hehehe.... he!"

 And before Ringabel or Girtablulu could deal a finishing blow, she was gone. The haze had faded away, allowing the sunlight into the garden once more. Yet, the taint remained like a scar upon the land...

--------------------------------

-FLOREM INN, FLOREM-

"Sit still!"  Mephilia commanded, a first aid kit in hand and a dozen empty potion bottles laying around her feet. 

 Ringabel cringed as she disinfected the wounds left by the monsters in the gardens. Rather polite of her to treat his wounds, but he much rather have Agnes' or Edea's soft, gentle touch with White Magic than cotton puffs soaked with disinfectant dabbed on his skin. It would sting a lot less, for sure! Then again, Agnes would fall over from worry after seeing the wounds, and Edea would start questioning him for the details. On second thought, maybe Edea would be a little too rough on this poor, fragile body... 

 "Hard to sit still when a lovely maiden is treating me~" he replied, raising an eyebrow and smiling slyly. 

 "Hush up, you lech."

 He cringed again as she cleaned up the last wound and wrapped bandages around him. When all was done, she cleaned off her hands and said, "It's not as good of as job as Holly would do, but it will do." Mephilia picked up all the empty bottles and stained cotton balls  and tossed them away before she turned to Ringabel and added, "I'm sorry for having dragged you into this. If I were more dilige-"

 "Please, don't push all the blame upon yourself," Ringabel said with concern, standing up and looking her in the eye. "We cannot dwell upon 'if onlys'; it only holds us back from what we could do now. All that matters is that the menace is gone." 

 Mephilia became silent for a few moments, then shook her head, shaking away her negative thoughts. "In any case, I have sent word to my sisters and the duchy. They are sending more soldiers to aid me in fixing what Ramona had broken, and they are sending backup to the forests where the Orochis dwell as well. The populations of both the Flories and the Orochis were devastated enough without outside interference; we cannot allow any others to decimate the rest, no matter what the reason."

 Ringabel couldn't help but break into a smile. "Good to know that the duchy has their heads in order. Did you tell them about this Mistress Kuroma and her plans?"

 The summoner paused for a moment, as if caught off guard, and stammered, "Well, uh, no. We wouldn't be able to recognize her even if we did. Without a description, it would be hard to stop her plans, wouldn't it?"

 "It is important information nonetheless. Ah well, be sure to bring it up to your sisters when they inevitibly pay a visit, will you?"

 "Sure, I guess?" Mephilia shrugged before turning to leave the room. "Thank you for all your help today, Ringabel," she said with a small smile. "I hope we do get to fight amongst each other another day."

 And with that, Ringabel was left to stew in his own thoughts. He sat upon a bed and stared at the wall, thinking...

 Where did this Ramona go? Who is this Mistress Kuroma, and why did she want to complete this 'ritual'? And most importantly...

What was this ritual of hers, and could it be stopped?

Wicked Waltz, Part 2

"-gabel?"

 He groaned as he opened his eyes, the world a blur around him.

 "Ringabel!"

 He blinked, all suddenly coming into focus at once. His thoughts first flew back, trying to find out what had happened. He was sitting on a bench, looking at the skies, a giant planebird was there... and then suddenly something dropped on him...

 "Riiiingabel!" Mephilia called out, exhasperated. "Are you even paying attention?"

 The freelancer slowly sat up and shook the last bits of sleepiness from his head. "I am now," he said. "So sorry to keep a lady like you waiting, Mephilia!"

 The summoner crossed her arms for a moment before allowing them to rest at her side. The anchorite of wind cawed overhead before swooping down, shrinking down to a managable size and perching on Mephilia's shoulder. All of the bindings lay on the ground, wiggling like worms.  "It took you too long to wake up from your coma," Mephilia said almost apologetically, "so before you could oh-so-heroically undo the bindings, a couple of very polite women aided me."

 "I'm curious as to how you got into those bindings to begin with, to be quite frank." Ringabel stood up and dusted himself off before pulling from his pocket a small journal, with a D on the cover. As he flipped through the pages, he cotninued, "There aren't many monsters in the Florem Gardens that are quite capable of entanglement. In fact, the Alraunes are much too stubby for that, so they prefer to use Paralyzing Pollen to stun their victims before they engage them en masse."

 Mephilia sighed and replied, "Well, it wasn't someone from Luxendarc, from what it looked like. Too... otherworldly, for lack of a better word. I had only been distracted for a moment before she tangled me up in... in..." She bent over and picked up one of the bindings and cringed as she showed it to her companion.

 Ringabel wasn't sure what to make of it at first. Upon closer inspection, though, he paled and asked, "...Why would a kracken be on land?"

 "A kracken would never be on land, Ringabel," the summoner grumbled. "It was a girl with octopus legs for hands that snuck by me, and she mentioned something about this Mistress Kuroma before she binded me with those hideous things. Her face was covered with a strange slip of paper..." Her tone suddenly became more serious as she added, "I know this much, though: her hands are stained. Her heart, black as pitch, as Edea would say. "

  Hresvelgr made a racket of caws, fidgeting on Mephilia's shoulder. It then flew to Ringabel and started pecking at him angrily. "Ack!" the freelancer cried, flailing his arms to shoo the summon away. "Whatever she is doing, it appears that it requires urgent action, yes? Could you, perhaps, lead the way?!"


 Mephilia stared at him in shock before she sputtered out, "Well, uh, if you insist on taking care of this. But aren't your orde-"

 "Nevermind those," Ringabel said quickly, waving a hand away. "If this person decides to attack town and holds more power than she unleashed upon you, Florem would be in danger. Better to strike while the iron is hot."

  "But-"

 Too late, the summoner watched as Ringabel ran off, Hresvelgr in tow. With another sigh, she gave chase, although she knew that perhaps the anchorite of wind thought Ringabel alone competent enough to handle the job that lay ahead.

-------------------------------------------


-FLOREM GARDENS-

His heart twisted and lurched at the sight before him, made much worse with Mephila's panicked cry.


 The once beautiful Florem Garden, home to usually docile wildlife and Florem's guardian spirits, was now tarnished beyond recognition. The flower patches were now home to ragged, poisonous weeds and rafflesias, permiating the air with rot and decay. Where there were once Alraunes and Dryads were awful-smelling mushrooms and crows with forked tongues and eight eyes, squawking in delight. Bramble vines grew every which way, making it difficult to walk without something catching onto them. The sun was obscured by dark, purple clouds, a purple haze lingering about the garden.

 "It seems the situation is much worse than we thought," Ringabel said, drawing blade and shield, gingerly stepping around the weed patches and bramble.

 Mephilia gagged at the stench of rot and said as she coughed, "That person must have some sort of corrupting magic... Nothing we've ever seen!"

 "And I suppose we're going to see much more of it soon." Ringabel plucked two orbs from his pocket, red in color and shimmering a pale blue, There was a quick flash before the summoner's eyes, and soon enough...

 Mephilia and Hresvelgr tilted their heads to the side. "Knight, hm? I'm not nearly as fragile as you might think, you know."

 "It's just a precaution," the blonde pointed out, "in case the enemy tries to take you by surprise, as before. Besides, we've yet to see how strong they truly are!"

 "And what's the second asterisk for?"

 "Well, every party needs a healer... And the duchy's asterisk holders are not privvy to secondary abilities, yes?"

 Mephilia stared at Ringabel for a moment before she said with surprise in her voice, "That's a pretty good point, actually. I never really delved deeper into the magical arts except for when I was in school. After that, I focused purely on my role as Summoner, and acquired the anchorites."

 A slight smile spread across Ringabel's lips until he heard the low growl of monsters ahead. He quickly signaled to Mephilia to get behind him before raising his shield and scanning the area.  Giant rafflesias rose from the ground, revealing an octopus-like form covered in dirt and wearing the corpse flower as a hat. The crows took off as a pack of wolves with silver fur stained crimson took point in front of the tentacled fiend, baring their fangs at the duo and growling.

 Time itself seemed to freeze as both parties were perfectly still, prepared to strike. Only when a crow's loud caw echoed through the garden did Mephilia command Hresvelgr to assume its full form and swoop down upon their enemies, summoning fierce gales that took them by surprise. Before the wolves could regain their footing, steel dug into their bodies, blood dripping down their sides. They tried biting at their attacker, but they found themselves with a mouthful of armor rather than tasty flesh. Ringabel smirked for a moment before a tentacle slammed into his chest, shoving him back a few steps.

 He stepped back out of range of the tentacles and saw silver blurs flanking him and lunging at him at full speed . They bit into his armor and drew a little blood, but not without the wind crow swooping down and grabbing one of them, wresting them from Ringabel's side, and flying up, up, up. The other wolves kept up the attack until their companion fell from the skies onto the ground, twitching and whimpering. It provided the perfect distraction for cutting both wolves down, removing them as a threat.

 Ringabel smirked for a moment before turning his attention to the rafflesia monster. Nothing in the beastiary spoke of anything like this. From the looks of it, it could be weak to fire or wind, given that the attacking body appeared as roots of a plant. Roots with suction cups and looked absolutely slimy, but roots nonetheless. He watched carefully as the monster's rafflesia spewed out a cloud of flies and sent them towards the duo. He rose his shield up, but too late: the buzzing darkness blocked his sight, clogged his ears, bit at every inch of exposed skin possible.

 Mephilia let out a wail that pierced the buzzing. The flies must be getting to her, too. He quickly shut his eyes and stayed calm, even through the chaotic "bzzzz" of angry flies. Even when a tentacle smashed right into him, sending him flying towards his companion.  He just got up and bided his time, keeping his shield up all the while. Attack after attack, blow after blow.. he took it all in stride, waiting patiently for that moment.

 An angry screech pierced through the buzzing, and a fierce gale finally forced the flies away, allowing the knight to hear and see again. The gales also tore tentacles and petals off the rafflesia, the monster reeling in pain.

 Now.

 Ringabel quickly healed himself with a Cura spell before bolstering his defenses and charging in, bashing the monster's head in with his shield and putting all his weight into the blow. The monster cried out in pain, flailing its tentacles about uselessly as he went for a second powerful charge. So strong they were, they knocked the poor beast right onto its side. Its misery did not end there, even as the knight took a breather. Mephilia recalled Hresvelgr before calling forth a train wreathed in flames that stood upright. Only when it opened its maw did it reveal that it was a dragon, belching flames upon the rafflesia, ignoring its cries and whimpers.

 When the flames died out and the dragon, Promethian Fire, was recalled, there was nothing more than ashes where the Rafflesia Monster was. Ringabel hastily took out his journal and a pen, scribbling down notes about the new beast.


 " 'Rafflesia Menace,' " he said quietly as he wrote, thoughts flowing onto the page. " 'a fearsome monster much more dangerous than a normal Rafflesia, it uses great force when attacking with its tentacles and can blind and deafen adventurers with clouds of flies... ' " Once he was finished, both book and pen were pocketed, and he cast a few Cure spells on Mephilia. "Everything alright there?"

 "I am quite fine, thank you," she said with smile, no trace of sarcasm in her voice. "That monster was a bit trickier than I thought. Just waiting for a chance to unleash full power was a test of patience."

 Ringabel was about to reply when out of the blue, a giddy voice replied, "Oh, oh, oh~ I hope you're ready for a test of life and death, then!"

 He steeled himself on instinct upon hearing the voice, and he was quite glad for it once the source walked out from the purple haze it hid from.

 After all... one with dark robes, a scroll on their face, and a lot of tentacles for hands, giggling and holding the dead bodies of fairies, does not an ally make.

Wicked Waltz, Part 1

-FLOREM GARDENS-

 Ah, how the fairies and flowers calmed mind and soul!

 Mephilia always enjoyed sitting amongst lavender flowers and watching the Flories fly by. They were the guardian spirits of Florem, and although the city no longer followed the ways of druids, the fairies were respected and protected. Now, even moreso, as traders found that their wings fetch a pretty penny if brought to a vain, greedy noblewoman.

 Yes, poachers nearly ruined the beauty of the Florem Gardens, hunting the Flories to near extinction. They cared little for the environment, for the ecosystem in which they came. No, their souls were tainted with the call of greed. Life meant nothing to them, unless it could fetch millions of pg. She despised them most of all, the poachers.

 And so, when the Lord Marshal called for volunteers to help protect the sacred fey, Mephilia was more than eager to leave her sisters' side for this duty. It was something she must do. Something she had to do. A summoner is no summoner if they cannot understand the world around them, understand the creatures and anchorites they call forth. Their creed was to value all life, big or small. Day in and out, she would stay here, watching over the woodland fey with careful eye, calling forth the anchorite of wind to keep an eye out for poachers who would dare sneak by her.

 As she sat here, she closed her eyes for but a moment, taking in the scent of flowers and enjoying the tickly feeling she got when a Florie landed on her head. Only a moment, to enjoy nature, life itself, at its finest.

 Something screeched in pain, her inner peace broken. She stood up, scanning the area, scaring the poor fairy away. Another screech, this time from her summon, Hresvelgr, who came swooping down from the skies. She turned towards it, seeing it pecking at a strange little thing. A person.

"Who are you?" she asked. "You have no business here!"

 The person turned to her. Mephilia could only gasp as she saw his (or was it her?) face, all but her smile covered by a paper with a strange symbol, draped in dark robes.... His arms... his hands... tentacles.


 "Oh, I have plenty of business here," came the response with a giggle. "Mistress Kuroma said so! And her word is law! I'm afraid the only one who has no business here...

 is you."

 The last thing the summoner heard were endless, childish giggles, before she was swallowed up by darkness.


-------------------------------------------


-FLOREM, RANDOM COFFEE SHOP-

  "She's gone?!"

 Tiz couldn't help but sigh as Ringabel slamed his hands on the table, wide eyed. Agnes looked a bit uncomfortable with his reaction, but she took a sip of tea to try to calm her nerves.

 "Well, for now at least," Tiz responded, picking up his mug of coffee and taking a long, deep drink. "This Kogasa person seems to be a pretty busy lady. I spoke to that woman who was with her before, and they said they were going out to see Eternia for a bit. "

 The casanova deflated like an accordion and slumped in his seat. "Gone in a blink of an eye," he said wistfully, clutching at his breast. "Like a sweet dream, she was: so sweet, I would never leave her side! Oh, woe, that I must awaken, to see the dream fade before my very eyes!"

 "She'll be back in a day or two, they're just sightseeing-"

 Ringabel, clearly unaware of what Tiz was saying, continued, "How I will yearn to see her again! Her eyes, deep as the blue seas.... Her hair, long and reminicent of clear blue skies! Her hands, small and soft to the touch! And her lips, my, they look as if they belonged on an angel! And her rea-"

 Agnes shot Ringabel a glare and said calmly, yet coldly, "Speak not another word!"

 "Yeah, don't finish that," Tiz agreed with a  shrug. "Unless you want to deal with Edea."

  Ringabel let out yet another dramatic sigh before finally taking a gulp of his coffee. "In any case," he said, "there isn't any work for us to do here. Certainly, there was the dragon, but it's only a matter of time before even the pg we gained from that flows out of our pockets. We need another assignment, and quickly! Especially after Edea may have purchased parfaits on my dime."

 "I guess so, but for the most part, everything is peaceful," Tiz pointed out. "There are only a few monsters that go on a rampage like that. And the last worrisome incident was about a year or so ago, when I heard that two succubi were driven out of Florem. That happened around the same time DeRosa disappeared, I think. Or maybe that was a year later?"

 Agnes took another sip of tea and added in a worried voice, "The disappearance of DeRosa concerns me, however. We were tasked to bring him to justice for using women in Eternia as test subjects of this new... 'project' he was performing, but we have scoured the entirety of Luxendarc with no trace of his whereabouts!"

 "I wouldn't be surprised if women enacted their revenge on him and dumped his corpse into the seas," Ringabel said bluntly after another gulp of black coffee. "Never did hear good news of him, after all. Went against the Lord Marshal's orders several times, caring little of the opinions of anyone aside from himself. Why, I even heard from one particularly angry victim of his crimes that he treated women as nothing but tools!" Indignant, he crossed his arms and let out a huff. "Tools, they said! The nerve of it all!"

  The knight shrugged once more, shaking his head. "Well, with him gone, that's one less problem to worry about, and that's fine by me. For now, we should try to relax, and think of other ways to help the people out."

 "Agreed," Agnes said with a nod. "I much prefer helping with small errands and cooking to fighting monsters, even if it does not pay as well."

 Ringabel stared at his companions for a bit before standing up and stretching. "Well, it's fine by me if you wish to aid others like that, but I rather be a little more active. At the very least, I need to keep body and mind sharp in battle, in case there is a surge of monster appearances."

 "Nothing's stopping you from just going, you know," Tiz pointed out with a confused look. "We'll just hang around Florem if you need us!"

   Ringabel couldn't help but bow before he took his leave, heading towards the square. Worry for his companions crossed his mind, but he quickly pushed it away. Tiz was quite the capable defender. No harm would come to them as long as he was around. And as for Agnes... Well, her magic was nothing to sneeze at. Anyone who came within 10 feet of her with malicious intent would find themselves charred black in an instant. What was there to worry about?

 He looked up at the bright, clear skies, taking a seat near Florem's flower fountain. A little bit of relaxing before training on Mandrakes wouldn't hurt, would it? Of course not. And all the more time to think of the many angels he met throughout his journeys with his merry band of adventurers. Oh, how he wished one of them would descend from the skies and welcome him into their arms!

 Perhaps the gods took him too seriously, however, as the screech of the anchorite of wind echoed throughout the city before a black blur covered the sun for an instant, dropping a certain, tangled up summoner right onto his head.

Dragon Slayers

---LUXENDARC, FLOREM, FLOREM IN ROOM---

"WHAT?!?"

 The manager fiddled with her long, blonde hair awkwardly as her client stared at at her, arms flailing about. The gray dragon on his white sweater seemed to glare at her in a "oh goddamn it not again" sort of way.

 "Y-yeah," she said nervously, her fingers wrapping around the ring on her ring finger and fiddling with that as she looked right into Kevin's eyes. "Unfortunately, it seems like the creator and producer is... pretty eager on spreading the Magical Girl influence across worlds."

 "I can understand that, but I... I didn't agree to go for the Sacred Flower Festival," came the meek reply. "Please tell me they're joking, Cindy. Please."

 Cindy shook her head and sighed, "Tried telling them that it wasn't agreed to beforehand, but then they flew into a fit. Something about firing both of us if we didn't try."

 The actor soon slumped into a chair and let out a groan. "We lose either way, Cindy. This whole city is all about being grand and who can empty their wallets faster for something fashionable. If we try, we're going to get smoked out of the competition in no time flat. I mean... Have you heard what they said...? They said I was out of style... and not even that pretty... and...."

 He trailed off, his mind focused on the malicious laughter and sneers of other women around him. Too small. Too fat. Not even in style. What a loser, a poser, a fake.

Probably not even a real woman.

 His skin crawled as that played over in his head, over and over, imagining women ripping off the dress and revealing what was underneath. His career, his life's mission, everything, crumbling down.

 So focused on the horror of losing everything that it took a few minutes before the sounds and sights around him came back into view.

 "-vin? Kevin! Kevin, are you okay?!?" Cindy cried out, hands clasping at his shoulders, eyes wide with shock. He slowly sat up and noticed that he was no longer in the chair he was sitting in. "I was so worried," his manger continued, "since you suddenly fell over and started to sob and oh god I am so not good with these sorts of things, I'm so sorry!"

 He forced himself up and said, "I-it's fine. Sorry for that, I... I just get those from time to time. S-sort of. Thanks, though..."

 Cindy didn't let go. Instead, she pulled him in for a tight hug. She was a full head bigger than him, so it was a little awkward when she rested her chin on his head. "I'm sorry for putting you through all this! First that weight loss, then this, and my hands are all tied to do what they say... Being a manager sucks when you wanna do something different from your own bosses." She then let go and added, "I should learn about some loopholes to make your life a little more comfortable, but I'm kind of a rookie at this managing business... I mean, didn't you have a different manager before I came in?"

 "Yeah. He was pretty much unbearable to be around. Unbearably creepy." Kevin shuddered, recalling one particular moment where he took a chance to grope the actress who played Queen Bee, Quisha Baker, and say something reaaaally dirty. "Fortunately, he got fired for sexual harrasment, considering he was surrounded by women and... well, let's just say that my friend has more of a spine with dealing with shitty bosses than I do."

 "That's something we both need to work at," Cindy admitted before walking towards the window and opening the flower-themed curtains, enjoying the view of the city from above. "Learning to stand up for ourselves and for others in a dog-eat-dog company... Yeah, that's definitely something we gotta work on. And maybe make you super pretty, too."

 "Good luck with that; I hear it's an impossible task."

 "Don't talk down on yourself, cutie!"

 "I am not a cutie!" Kevin retorted, flailing about with his dragon sweater and blushing furiously.

 Cindy couldn't help but giggle until, from the corner of her eye, she saw plumes of flame. She stared outside the window for a moment before she turned to the white-haired actor with a serious look on her face.

 Kevin was about to ask what was up until he heard her say sternly, "Get dressed up as Kogasa, prep your powers, and get your umbrella. If we play our cards right, we might not need to joing the Sacred Flower Festival to gain a ton of fans."

---------------------------------

"Away, you foul, ugly beast! Begone from this world!"

 Icicles crashed into the monster's face, angering it enough to shoot plumes of flames at its attacker. Fire met steel as a knight jumped in front of his ally, taking the brunt of the damage. The beast knocked them both away with a mighty swipe of the tail. Its roars drowned out the screams of festival contestants and regular passerbys, sending the entire city into a panic.

 "Well, looks like we have a bit of a fiery one, don't we?" Ringabel grunted as he got back on his feet and drew his rapier, holding it up high as he launched another Blizzara.

 His knightly companion groaned. "Now's not the time for jokes, Ringabel," he said as he drew his sword and used it to prop himself up. "We have to handle this dragon now, before anyone else gets hurt!"

 "That is what I'm trying to do, Tiz!" the blonde retorted, dodging the mighty bite of a dragon with ease. "Dragon scales are rather hard to pierce through, so magic is most effective, is it not?" He was not so lucky with the next bite, but a mighty swing of a sword and an arrow flying into the beast's eyes was enough to distract it, Tiz charging forward and striking at its underbelly while Ringabel tended to his own wounds.

 Another arrow flew from the skies, piercing through the scales and allowing the knight to break through. The dragon roared in pain as arrows rained upon it. It swiped Tiz away and tried sniffing out the one who dared pierce its mighty scales, only for more ice to pelt it right into the face and a shadowy ghost of a woman summoned a blizzard, freezing its legs in place before she swiped at it with cold, dead hands. Tiz turned back with a smile, giving a thumbs up to two women providing backup behind him.

 "Mrgrgr!" Edea grumbled. "Why doesn't this thing die already?! I'm getting tired of looking at its stupid, scaly face!"

 "I know not when this beast will fall," Agnes said quietly, "but I won't allow it to harm any others!" 

 "That's right!" Tiz agreed before turning towards the dragon, sword and shield at his side. "Come on, everyone! Let's go!"

 The beast reared its head back and belched flames once more as Tiz held up his shield, The ghastly woman  held up her hands and showered the dragon with ice, helped by Ringabel's fancy Blizzara. Angrier and angrier the dragon did get until its eyes shined bright. Ringabel opened his mouth to command the others to take cover, but too late: the beast unleashed flames no greater than the last one, but burned the skin much more. The flames were apparently powerful enough to banish the sea banshee back where it belonged, Agnes yelping and staggering back in pain as if she had taken the blast herself. Tiz could barely hold on, gritting his teeth as he bore the pain of heated steel.

 When the fiery breath was over, the group was in pretty bad shape. A bit harder to tell with Edea, though, as the first thing she did once it stopped was fire a barrage of arrows right into its snout. Ringabel didn't bother asking if everyone was alright; a quick Cura on everyone would be enough to hold them together. At least, until the next fire breath.

 The dragon reared back as if about to finish off what it had started when a voice boomed out, "May I have some decorum, please?"

 Dragon, adventurers, and townspeople alike turned where spotlights (why were there spotlights? Nobody remembered putting them there!) shined down on a professionally dressed woman, who adjusted her glasses accordingly. The audience whispered among themselves, confused by this, while Ringabel took advantage of the confusion to heal his allies up to full health.

 "Thank you," Cindy said, a sly smile on her face. "Now, I know you're so busy handling a big, bag group of adventurers like they were just bugs-"

 "Who the heck are you calling a bug?!" Edea shouted from the rooftops, stomping around angrily.

 "-but, I'm afraid I have some terrible news." The dragon snorted at the suggestion that things could go any more wrong, but it seemed to be listening regardless. "For you have attracted the attention of Orion's greatest Dragon Slayer, the one who turned nightmares into sweet dreams, my client..."

 More spotlights turned on, revealing Kevin- or rather, Kogasa, in her full, magical girl glory.

 "KOGASAAAAAAA YAMAMOTOOOOO!"

 If the crowd wasn't confused before, they certainly were now. Kogasa was almost certain that they were commenting on her, spreading rumors, and her confidence waivered, even as she posed dramatically and said, "Hiiii, everyone! Kogasa-chan's here, and I'm ready to kick dragon butt! Florem's safe with me! Now let's go!"

  Even when there was no response from the townspeople, at least someone was excited. "My ever darling Kogasa!" said the red mage, hearts in his eyes. "You've returned! Oh, to hear your sweet voice once more makes me surge with strength!"

 Kogasa briefly wondered if that was actually an innuendo before she noticed that the dragon was, quite frankly, tired of waiting. Before it could lunge at her and try to eat her in one gulp, though, she made use of one of the powers she was more than happy to get from Power Randomization.

 The dragon stopped in mid lunge and started to flail about, confused. The onlookers stared as it shot fire into the air  and roared,  trying to reach its head with such tiny, tiny arms and failing miserably. The crowd wondered what in the Crystals' names was going on, but Kogasa could only smile to herself. Only she knew that with a bit of mental manipulation given from Power Randomization, she could give a dragon the catchiest, most earworm-inducing song she knew. She didn't even need to keep focusing on the dragon: once it was in, it would stay in, whether the dragon liked it or not.

 As the dragon continued seizing from this mysteriously cutesy song stuck in its head, Agnes paid attention to the magical girl and noticed a roulette appear before her, spinning round and round until it stopped and disappeared. In the next instant, the gloves came off as claws of pure energy  sprouted from her knuckles and she pounced on the dragon, shearing off dragon scales with relative ease, especially after Edea had already pierced through.

 Agnes turned to Tiz and Ringabel and asked, "Is... is this truly alright? Should we really allow her to fight the battle we have picked?"

 "It was kind of out of nowhere," Tiz admitted. "But five people fighting a dragon is better than four, right?"

 "And we can't turn down her generocity and kindness, oh no!" Ringabel added. "Ah, she descended like an angel from the heavens, ready to rain rightous fury on the ugly bea-"

 "We get the point, Ringabel!" Edea shouted from the rooftops. "Whoever it is, we should really stop focusing on if it's okay and start fighting before that dragon hurts her!" She quickly took out her bow and nocked an arrow on the string, pulling back and aiming carefully at the dragon's eye before letting it fly. The tip pierced through, blood spurting from the beast's eye, distracting it from another claw swipe from the magical girl. Tiz and Agnes exchanged glances and shrugged before the knight charged in and bashed his shield against the beast, the  summoner calling forth  Ziusudra's Sin once more and commanding her to summon cold winds. Ringabel was more focused on protecting the kind and very, very pretty lady by casting Shell and Protect on her. 

 The beast found itself in a very, very bad position now, especially now since the new girl was taking advantage of the weak spots the hunter made for her, the group had renewed vigor, and all were showing no mercy. Also not helping was the professional woman trying to get everybody to cheer. Successfully, too, as they chanted, "Ko-ga-sa! Ko-ga-sa!" The beast tried to bite this newcommer for allowing its prey to recover, but teeth only broke against the barrier of love (as Ringabel would call it). Not only that, its tongue was nearly cut right out, due to its carelessness. Trying a tail slam only resulted in Tiz jumping in and taking the blow before countering with a powerful sword stroke. Add all of this up with an eye that was so pierced with arrows, it was useless and magic was flying at every turn. Damn it, damn it all!

 But it had one good eye left. One was all it needed. The red mage could have sworn the dragon was grinning for a moment, and when he realized just what it was about to do, he shouted, "Everyone, take cover! It's about to use its fire breath!"

 Too slow to avoid the Scorching Eye, he knew. Once everyone saw that glint, it was a sign to run. Tiz held his shield up high while Agnes took cover behind him and unsummoned the watery banshee, while Ringabel used what little time they had left to put up Shell and Protect and join them. 

 Kogasa didn't see this as a chance to run, though, as she stood in front of Tiz and retracted the energy claws. Neither did Cindy, apparently, as she commanded, "Kogasa! Unleash your umbrella's full power! End this nightmare once and for all!"

 "Got it!" the magical girl replied with a wink, taking out her umbrella and opening it up, pointing it at the dragon's mouth as it inhaled deeply. The blue ribbon and trim began to glow dimly, becoming brighter and brighter before the energy seemed to channel towards the pointed tip. Her heart beat quickly, the thrill of using this skill in the first time in an actual battle since beating the Wendigo coursing through her.

 Tiz saw this and shouted, "No! You're going to get hurt like this! Get behind me!"

 "You mustn't do this!" Agnes cried. "Please, stop this insanity!" She then turned to Ringabel and asked him, "Are you just going to let her do this?!"

 "Well, why not?" he said calmly. "She seems to have an idea. Why not let her execute it?"

 "But... but..." She then turned to Edea. "Edea, please, stop her!"

  "I would," Edea replied with  a shrug, "but she looks like she's not gonna listen either way."

  Agnes turned to to her comrades once more before turning back to the magical girl and crying out once more, "Please, I beg you, stop this! You mustn't risk everything for us! Please!"

  Kogasa did not respond. She knew the risk she was taking. She always did. But for everything she hated about herself, all the things she wasn't sure about, all the things she was anxious about...

 She was confident that she could win.

 Just as the dragon unleashed the flames, Kogasa yelled, "NIGHTMARE-SLAYING BEAM!" from the top of her lungs. From the tip of the umbrella, a massive blue beam met flames. The group, the audience, the manager could only look on the odd scene, holding in the excitement and shock.

 The flames dyed out just before it reached the umbrella. A loud gurgle echoed through the city, followed by a thump. The audience let out a collective gasp.

   Cindy walked over to her client, raised her arm up, and said, "THE DRAGON IS SLAIN! SLAIN BY MY CLIENT, KOGASAAAAAAAAAAAAA YAMAMOTOOOOOOOOOOO!"

 Cheers of joy and excitement and newfound love for the mysterious magical girl shook the city to its core. Agnes had passed out from worry, Tiz taking her off to the side to rest, although not without giving Kogasa a pat on the back. Ringabel, on the other hand, was more than happy to get reaal close to her. 

 "Oh, my angel!" he swooned. "To come and save us in our time of need, oh, my heart threatens to burst from my chest! Shall I place a kiss upon your head, your cheeks, or your lovely li-"

 Before he could finish, a certain blonde hunter slammed down on him from the skies with her feet, pushing him to the ground. She quickly removed her mask, pulled some paper and a marker, and asked, "That was amazing! You were something else! You're a superstar, right? Autograph, please!" With a bit of thought, she added, "Oh, don't mind what Ringabel says. He flirts with anything with two legs, really."

 "Oh, it wasn't a problem," Kogasa said meekly, her cheeks burning red. She took the paper and asked, "Who do you want this signed to?"

 "Edea Lee. That's me! Ooh, should we talk a little more over parfait? I heard one of the restaurants here have some super yummy sweets! Is that okay?"

 "Uuuh, I have to talk to my manager first, but if she's alright with it-"

 "Then it's settled!" Edea announced cheerfully. "We're all eating out together and celebrating our victory over parfaits and sundaes!"

 Kogasa chuckled a little as Edea skipped away happier than Quisha with a jar of honey, taking her time to regroup with Tiz and Agnes. As for Ringabel, he slowly got up, but he clearly looked disappointed.

 "And I assume that'll be coming out of my wallet again," he sighed. "Not that I mind, especially not for her, but I do wish she would ask first."

 Kogasa cast a glance at the casanova before saying, "Well, I could help foot the bill, if you want..."

 The red mage opened his mouth to protest, but upon thinking about it, he closed it.

 Who was he, to turn down a lady's generocity?

 "Hopefully it won't strain your finances too much, but if you could..."

 The magical girl winked at him and said, "Don't you worry! Kogasa's got your back~!"

 Amid the cheers, Ringabel's smile, Cindy's squeals of delight...

 Kevin was sure that today was the best day ever.

The Nightmare Fighter and the Vagrant of Love

-UNKNOWN PLANET, FLOREM-

  The first thing she thought when she got here was, Wow, this place is swanky!

 Her manager was rather insistant on them visiting Florem first, as they caught wind that a certain group of individuals would make home in Vegas soon enough. A certain group that was a magnet for trouble and danger. There was no doubt that something would come up, and he wanted Kogasa prepared for anything. And what better place than Florem, where demons and humans and fey alike visit and partake in festivals and beauty contests? 

 Not that Kogasa minded much. She was used to odd things happening. How could she not, since Orion is home to kingdoms devoted to food and sports and other weird things? The only things she found truly odd was that people dyed their hair with the blood of eight-headed snakes and wore the wings shed by fairies. That, and the fact that everything she found cute was so expensive! And she kept getting weird stares and comments about her outfit, like how it was out of style and...

 "My dear?" asked a voice, smooth and slick. She snapped out of her own thoughts and turned her attention to her guest. How long had he been waiting? How long did she space out? Oh, he was staring at her like she stares at cute puppies! 

 "Oh, sorry," she said, blushing as she glanced around. Flower themed everything seemed to be everywhere in Florem, and this restaurant was no different. Flower chandeliers, flower wallpaper, flower art, waitresses with flower-themed dresses... Thankfully, she had choices other than flowers to eat on the menu. After staring at the price of a "D'gon Steak" for a little too long, Kogasa finally paid attention to her blonde haired guest. "I kinda space out at times, ehehe~"

  He chuckled alongside her before he said, "No need to worry, dear. There must be so much going on in your mind, especially since you're rather new here." A smile crossed his lips before he took her hand and kissed it, like a prince courting a princess. "Although I must say, for you to allow me in your wonderous presence is a blessing in and of itself, one I must thank you for!"

 "W-well, it's really because you offered me food..." she admitted meekly, her cheeks turning a darker shade of red. "I wanted to try the food here, and you were kind enough to offer... I'll be sure to help pay the bill afterwards!"

 "No, no, no! One as beautiful as yourself must not worry about the bill!"

 "But I can't let you pay all of it! The food's expensive-"

 "Don't worry, my wallet can take quite a beating-"

 "But-"

 "Excuse me?" said a soft voice. The blonde man and the blue haired magicial girl turned towards the waitress, who stared at them rather awkwardly. "Sorry to interupt, but would you like to order now?"

 The growl of their stomachs were more than sufficient for an answer.

 As they waited for their food,  the man calmly sipped at his drink and smiled as he asked, "So, what do you do for a living?"

 "I do a lot of nightmare and monster fighting!" came the hasty reply. "It's a lot of hard work, but it's really worth it, you know? I get to fight all sorts of weird stuff and it's really fun! And it's always better with my friends!"

 "Ha, I hardly ever hear that it was fun fighting monsters. Especially with the types of demons that lurk here in Luxendarc... Oh, those succubi and Liliths could steal my heart any day~"

 Kogasa noticed the tint of red on his cheeks and smiled. "I'd be careful~ I heard that they seduce men and hypnotize them to be their slaves before slowly sapping away their life, making them age a hundred years in only one year!"

 Her smile could only become a little wider as the color drained from her guest's face. "Y-you jest, surely?" he sputtered. "Such beautiful women are capable of that?!?"

 "Some are, some don't. Depends on the region! There are definently benevolent succubi, though. You see them all the time, where I'm from! The bigger meanies are the Killer Hares, though; they look so cute, but they won't hesitate to rip a few fingers off and eat them. And then there are Nekomatas, which take a whole lot of forms, from a teeny kitty to a woman with catlike features!"

 "My, my, quite the beastiary you are!" the man noted with a smile. "Smart and beautiful... Ah, any man would die to have you at their side!"

 Kogasa's cheeks burned with embarassment. "Y-you're just flattering me, aren't you?"

 "Flattery would imply that I'm lying, my dear."

 That only made her as red as a tomato. Goodness, she wasn't used to complements like this. At least, not from normal guys. Usually, kids were the ones who made sure to make her feel loved and shower her with complements. There were other guys who did the same, but they were rather... awkward? Smelly, too. And pushing kids out of the way. And calling her their "waifu."Okay, maybe a little more than awkward, honestly. Then there were her friends, sometimes her manager... But even so, she often refused to believe it as anything other than flattery.

  But here she was, in a nice restaurant in a nice place with a handsome man giving the highest complements he could give without hesitation. A stranger. Goodness, what to do? What to say?

 Kogasa decided that a change of subject was needed and asked, "Well, how about you? What do you do for a living?"

 "Ah, me?" he said. "I am a vagrant, my dear. A wanderer who seeks memories long since past, yearning for someone to share his heart with." He then sighed dramatically as their food arrived and said, "Well, I suppose another way to say it is that I am a monster slayer, working for a pitance. And not a woman here would pay attention to me unless I have more than a million pg!"

 "That's about the cost of one of those pins, right?" Kogasa asked as she scarfed down her D'gon Steak in under two minutes, all without leaving a smear of steak sauce on her face or on her costume. "They're really expensive, yet everybody here seems to have one!"

 "They are too focused on appearances to care much about finances, it seems."

 The duo continued eating in silence, although Kogasa always noticed that when her guest looked up, it was always into her eyes. Always with a smile. 

 When the plates were finally cleared, he asked her, "Well, would you care for a bit of dessert?"

 "No, but thanks anyway!" she said. "In fact, thanks a lot for the meal! It was really nice, and, well, it was nice to meet you like this and all!"

 "Not a problem, especially not for you!" he replied with a chuckle. "In this garden, you stand out as the most wonderful flower, one who would win the Sacred Flower Festival with ease! A stunning bluebell in this city's sea of tulips! A bright star in the night sky! A-"

 "Th-that's enough flattery for one day," Kogasa said with a nervous laugh. This guy was really amped, and she had to deflate that in a second. "But thank you! I have to go, though... I might end up fighting some big, bad monsters for practice, since I'm going to this place called Vegas, and I heard that really tough enemies might be around there! So maybe I'll see you later?"

 She saw the shock on his face before he composed himself rapidly and said, "Of course! But, if I may, may I know your name?"

 She contemplated for a moment. Stage name or real name? Eh, Stage should be fine for now. "Kogasa Yamamoto, nightmare fighter and magical girl~! And what about you?"

 "Oh, me?"

 A grin played upon his lips before he took a bow.

 "Ringabel, at your service~! May our paths cross again, lovely one~"

 And as she put money on the table to help pay the bill and left, she could only wonder if he was truly sincere about what he said about her.

That, and wonder if this Sacred Flower Festival is the real reason her manager brought her here, rather than to practice fighting against monsters.