Touhou Project 1. It Started With A Rat

"Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if you did this over that?"

"Depends on what this and that are."

"Like... What if you decided you just wanted to be a renowned alchemist instead of a magician?"

Patchouli rolled over on her side and looked back at a pair of red eyes. She felt the covers of her bed slip away from her frame yet did nothing to preserve her modesty. In the company of her beloved familiar, she did as she pleased. With a small smile tugging at her lips, the mage reached out to pat her familiar's cheek.

"I suppose if I became such an alchemist I would have discovered the secret elixir to everlasting life around the same time I would have become a fully fledged magician. I may have been as healthy as a horse and traveled the outside world selling my miracle mixtures to any and all, beggar and king." Patchouli frowned and slid her hand away from Koakuma's cheek. "But in doing so... I would have never met Remilia and Flandre, I would have never made my home in their wonderful library, never met Meiling or been able to watch Sakuya mature."

Koakuma looked down at the hand that left her cheek and gave a sad nod. She was about to draw the covers up and over her and her mistress once again when Patchouli beamed and clasped a hand in hers. Just the sight of the frail mage looking so content made the succubus's heart flutter.

"And of course, I would have never summoned you. I would rather be weak and spend my days with those I love than to be healthy and alone," Patchouli cooed. She pecked her familiar's forehead and held her close against her. "I simply cannot imagine a life without you, nor do I want to. Why do you ask such a strange question?"

"Uh, well... I was just wondering how it would be if you loved someone other than me," Koakuma whispered.

"Ah. Doubting yourself, are you?" Patchouli replied with a soft chuckle. "I won't lie to you. I find myself compatible with many others. But I chose you in the end, didn't I?"

A delighted grin spread across Patchouli's face when she saw her familiar light up in joy. Depressing thoughts always threatened to bring down their moods, but as long as they had each other, they were able to lift each other up to new heights. Love, no matter how little, could mend wounds just as well as time could. The purple-haired magician looked down at her familiar in her arms and raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"There's something else on your mind, isn't there?"

Koakuma's face lit up as she looked up at her mistress.

"Ah... I see. Well, the night is still young and I have the energy to spare. I'll gladly romp with you again." Patchouli tapped her familiar's nose. "Only this time, do try and encourage your tail a little more."

"Oh! Of c-course mistress!" Koakuma chirped as the both of them slid under the covers.

* * *

A gentle tune wafted throughout the grand library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Patchouli looked up from her studies and focused on the pleasant sound. After all the events, parties, and confessions of weakness and love, the mansion and its residents had become much more relaxed and at peace than they had ever been. There were still the occasional problems that popped up such as Flandre's tantrums or Remilia's stubborn pride getting the better of her, but they were all solved without so much as a grumble. The mage smiled and leaned back in her chair to listen for a moment before the figure of her familiar drifted into sight with a stack of books in her hands.

Koakuma was humming the gentle tune and didn't stop until she noticed her mistress looking at her. Blushing, the little devil ran right up to her and deposited the books on her desk.

"Sorry I took so long, I got distracted," Koakuma apologized.

"It's hard to not stare at Sakuya's entourage of initiates when she brings them through the library. As infantile as those fairies can be, I admire their blissful nature. When they're happy they soar. When they're curious they sing." Patchouli and Koakuma glanced up to see the chief maid leaving with her new fairy colleagues. And still those fairies sang, blissfully ignorant as ever. "Even I find myself humming their tunes."

"They're never bothered by much, and they don't complain much either," Koakuma commented. "I wonder where they come from."

Patchouli fingered through the books on her desk as she spoke.

"The short answer is nature. The garden in front of the mansion helps produce fairy maids, but never to excess. When one fairy maid dies, another takes its place."

"And when they die, they linger here for awhile before returning to the garden."

"Indeed. A perfect cycle of life and death." Patchouli chuckled and pressed a cup of tea to her lips. "Returning to the earth only to be born anew... Fitting for such carefree creatures."

As Patchouli drank from her tea, Koakuma continued to hand the mage books. The life and death of fairy maids seemed benign at a first glance, but like the sun and the moon, everything had a cycle or schedule. People were no different for they worked, played, and slept every day of their lives. Everything had a beginning and an end, especially for the powerful beings that resided in Gensokyo. Immortality meant nothing to the sands of time, and Patchouli knew that all too well despite still being young at a measly 200 years.

The purple-haired magician looked on as Koakuma kept stacking books before something caught her eye. She reached out and took hold of a small leather-bound book that had a few blemishes and a small metal lock that kept the thing closed. Curious, Patchouli turned the book over in her hands and discovered a small note attached to the front of the book. A bemused smile appeared on Patchouli's face as she read the note.

"Hmm? What's that, mistress?"

"An old tome that Kourindou's owner put in with today's shipment. It says, 'contains the spirit of an arachnid. Unknown if venomous'."

"Another summoning tome?" Koakuma craned her neck and noticed the signature of Rinnosuke Morichika underneath the note. "Well, he certainly finds the most interesting things around."

"Indeed! I'll have to investigate this tome sometime and see what kind of spider it is!" Patchouli chirped with glee. She caressed the spine of the book as if she was holding a small animal. "If venomous, it can help me with potion mixing, and if not, I've always wanted to spool a spider's thread. In the meantime, Koakuma, please put this in the possessed chamber."

Koakuma widened her eyes and bit her lip.

"The... The possessed chamber? But surely the book isn't that-"

"It possesses a spirit within, so it goes where we can manage it," Patchouli interrupted with her smile ever present. She wagged her finger at Koakuma and chuckled. "Be it a harmless rabbit or a dangerous dragon, they go in the possessed chamber for storage. After all, if it weren't for the sigils placed there in that chamber, my library would be flooded with bees and all sorts of abominations! And I quite like not having bees in my hair..."

"As you wish, mistress," Koakuma replied. She took the leather-bound book out of her mistress's hands and placed it under her arm. "I'll be back shortly."

A curt nod was the response. Koakuma scratched her nose and turned on her heel to proceed to the possessed chamber, as it was called. In Patchouli Knowledge's grand library were enough books to put the ancient library of Alexandria to shame ten times over. Everything from epics to outside world movie scripts could be found somewhere on one of the hundreds of shelves there, and where there was knowledge to be found, there was the potential for danger. There was information in the library that was not meant for mortal eyes to see.

It was for their sake that Patchouli decided to lock up the most dangerous books she had inside of a special chamber guarded by special magic. Harmful tomes, possessed books and even infamous texts once thought to be urban myths were locked away in the depths of the chamber. Remilia Scarlet tried time and time again to convince her friend to do away with the books, but Patchouli was stubborn. She valued the books as collector's items, research material, and even entertainment. Nothing said 'fun' like meddling in the Necronomicon.

After a few minutes of flying about and checking for signs, Koakuma arrived at the sealed-off chamber. She touched down and looked up at a large and imposing wooden door hidden away by neglected bookcases. Through the dust and cobwebs Koakuma could see faint glows from the magical sigils placed upon the door. They reminded her of the ones placed upon Flandre's door and of how strong they were. It was all Patchouli's doing, and if the mage was thorough, the sigils were nigh indestructible.

Koakuma approached the door and brushed away the cobwebs to get a closer look at the sigils and locks. Brute force wouldn't solve anything here; it needed to be done in the way it was intended. The little devil raised her hand to the sigils and willed forth fire from her fingertips. She pressed on one sigil before switching to ice, then shock, water, fire again and finally stone. The sigils reacted to the combination and vanished to allow Koakuma to unlock the wrought-iron locks with a bronze key. She took a deep breath and gripped the handle of the door to pull it back.

The door creaked open and blew back Koakuma's hair with the unchecked energies contained within. Dust and vapors wafted out and swirled about the little devil, but she paid them no mind. It was all show and no substance, but the menacing looking tomes that lined the walls of the darkly-lit chamber weren't. Koakuma stepped into the chamber and made her way down the dark corridors until she found an empty spot for a book. She looked at the books around the space and noticed all of them were relatively tame in comparison to the ones scattered about.

"Here you go, Mr. or Mrs. Spider," Koakuma cooed as she slid the leather-bound book in the empty spot. "You'll be at home here between the obese panda and the starving artist."

Koakuma dusted off her hands and looked up at all the books on the weathered bookcases for a moment before yawning and turning back to the door. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed that she had left the door open, and while that shouldn't have been a problem for Koakuma alone, the sound of soft humming was enough to make her worry. In her haste to return the book the little devil had not given thought to the idea that she could have been followed by a certain troublesome magician. The library had been quiet for far too long, yet the thief's return couldn't have come at a more terrible time.

By following the soft humming and the sounds of books being gone through, Koakuma stepped out into a corridor and found Marisa Kirisame up to no good. Typically an encounter with Marisa would go either way; she would leave with a sack of ill-gotten books or be lucky to escape with only singed clothing for her efforts. This time the ameteur magician wasn't dealing with regular books. It seemed as if the blonde-haired girl was in a sort of trace for she did not react at all to Koakuma's presence. She reached for a strange, dark leather-bound tome and drew her fingers over to unclasp a lock on it.

"Marisa! Get away from there!" Koakuma shouted. She advanced towards the girl and reached for her wrist. "These books are dangerous! Put it back!"

"Eh?" Marisa recoiled from Koakuma's shouting and reeled back. She dodged the devil's grasping movements and tucked the old tome under her arm with a defiant smirk. "A dangerous book? Well, I'll be the judge of that! Catch me if you can, little devil!"

"No! Get back here!"

Marisa took off running like a bandit with her stolen book. She picked up her broomstick and flew out of the chamber into the main library area. Koakuma chased after her as fast as her wings would allow, but with the young girl's broomstick skills, it wouldn't be long before Marisa got out of sight. Koakuma used what little magic she knew to try and incapacitate the thief. Every sticky bubble and freezing haze missed their mark except for one jolt of lightning that struck the end of Marisa's broomstick.

Deprived of control, the young thief crashed to the library floor with her smoldering broomstick underneath her. Despite the impressive and painful sound she made upon landing, Marisa jumped back up in an instant and swatted at the flames eating at the thistles of her broomstick. Her stolen book clattered to the floor at such an angle that the lock upon it jostled and came undone. Marisa eeped in response and dove for the book, but Koakuma had caught up and tackled her to the ground.

"Oi! Get your stinkin' hands off of me!" Marisa shouted as she struggled against the little devil's hold.

"That book doesn't belong to you!" Koakuma screamed. "It could be dangerous!"

"Come on, I'm just borrowing it! Don't be so uptight!"

As the two tussled about on the floor, an eerie dark mist swirled around the unlocked leather tome. Faint whispers emanated from the tome while the air around it became colder. Koakuma and Marisa were oblivious to the tome and continued to toss and turn with neither one of them coming out on top. It wasn't until Marisa rammed her knee in a sensitive area did she get the opportunity to stand once again. She panted and looked down at the writhing devil for a moment before turning to her stolen tome.

The black mist had grown larger and was now the size of a young human. A sinister red glow came from the mist as it towered over Marisa and threatened to swallow her whole. The thief stared up at the mist with wide eyes and backed away to try and get away from it, but the mist advanced towards her like a predator. Koakuma looked up at the exchange and held her breath when she saw the mist began to fall upon Marisa. The thief screamed in terror and threw up her arms to defend herself, but before the mist could swallow her whole, something came from the side and knocked Marisa to the floor near Koakuma.

Koakuma gasped and looked on as she saw none other than Patchouli Knowledge herself swallowed up by the black mist in place of Marisa. The magician screamed in agony and convulsed under the stress of the mist wrapping around her like a boa constrictor. Her violet eyes were clenched shut while her teeth were gritted and her hands were balled into fists. Her entire body shook as the black mist hissed and sank into her frail body. Then, the mist retreated back into the leather-bound tome with alarming speed, leaving only a very shaken magician in its wake.

Patchouli shuddered and whimpered for a few seconds before she collapsed to the floor.

"Mistress! No!" Koakuma leapt to her feet and rushed to the mage. She held her up and checked for a pulse. "No no no no... This can't be... Mistress! Please be alright!"

The frail mage wrinkled her nose and whined.

"Patchouli, please, say something!" Koakuma cried. She continued to fuss over the mage before she noticed her writhing about. "M-Mistress?"

"Oh my goodness," Marisa gasped as she looked on. She stood at a respectable distance from the two and began to check herself for wounds. "Did she... Did she really push me out of the way of that... thing?"

"Will you please do something?" Koakuma snapped as she looked up at Marisa. "Anything! Just help her!"

"Too loud..."

The devil and thief looked down at Patchouli as she squirmed and slowly opened her eyes. Sniveling and coughing, the purple-haired librarian turned on her side and pressed herself tight against Koakuma's body. She shivered as if she had been through a blizzard. The little devil grabbed her mistress and wrapped her arms tight around her for comfort. She checked Patchouli for any wounds, blemishes, or scars only to find nothing out of place. The mage looked a little paler than usual, but that was understandable given the fright and trauma she had just gone through.

"S-so cold... I feel like all the warmth in my body has been stolen from me," Patchouli coughed. She rested her head against Koakuma's shoulder and closed her eyes. "I feel like... like I'm going to vomit."

"Mistress, let me help you up and get you to bed," Koakuma whispered.

Patchouli let out a mewl of pain and displeasure, but she complied with her familiar. She supported herself on her and managed to get back up on her feet. Coughing and shaking, the mage turned to look down at the dark leather-bound tome for a moment before growling. She pointed to the book and watched as Koakuma snatched it up and securely locked it with both its latch and a simple warding spell. Marisa looked on in earnest and opened her mouth to say something when Patchouli cut her off at the pass.

"You... Thief... Did I not tell you how dangerous the library could be? You don't listen to me. You never, never listen to me," Patchouli coughed and sputtered for a few seconds before looking up at Marisa with contempt. "G-get on your broomstick... And get the hell out of my library."

"But Patchy I-"

"Get out!"

Marisa recoiled at the tone and scrambled for her broomstick. She looked apologetic, but Patchouli wasn't in the mood for it. The ordinary witch tipped her wide-brimmed hat over her eyes and frowned in concern for her regular mark before mounting her broomstick and flying out without another word. Koakuma watched the exchange with a furious pout. If her mistress did not recover from this little incident, there would be hell to pay for that troublesome witch.

The feeling of Patchouli falling limp against her made Koakuma snap out of her anger. She looked upon her mistress with the utmost of concern and picked her up bridal style. Whatever that black mist had done to her, the poor mage was down for the count. Koakuma brushed away a few unruly strands of hair from Patchouli's face and checked her again for anything deeply concerning. Could it be that the dark mist had infested her, or did it merely sap her strength? The latter was the lesser of two evils, Koakuma thought.

With a worrisome smile, the succubus turned on her heel and retreated to Patchouli's quarters. She laid the mage down in bed and tucked her into her smotheringly comfortable sheets. Patchouli continued to mew and whine in her unconscious state as she laid under the covers. Koakuma stroked her cheek and sat with her mistress for some time before glaring at the dark leather-bound tome that factored into this whole mess. She was tempted to destroy it outright and be done with it, but her mistress wouldn't like that even if the tome had affected her so.

Koakuma sighed and pecked her mistress's forehead once before going off to lock away the tome. She couldn't help but notice that the tome felt lighter than expected in her hands. There was still an eerie air around the tome, yet it was less concentrated than before. If the dark mist had sapped Patchouli's strength and retreated back where it had come from, the tome would have been even heavier and more frightening to hold. Koakuma could not make any assumptions at the moment, so she settled on locking the tome away in her mistress's desk for the time being.

She looked back to Patchouli's quarters for a moment and decided to give her mistress the rest she deserved.

* * *

As night fell upon the land, so did an overwhelming feeling of concern fall upon Koakuma. She had met with and told Sakuya of the incident and was instructed to remain at Patchouli's side with tea and comfort food, but the mage refused to stir. Not even the smell of freshly brewed tea could bring the mage back to consciousness. To keep herself from growing desperate, Koakuma kept herself busy with the rest of the Kourindou book shipment and locked up the possessed chamber of books to the best of her ability. Before too long she could not stand being away from Patchouli.

The succubus rushed into her mistress's quarters and found Patchouli in the same position she had left her in. She hadn't moved an inch in hours, and still she looked as if something was tearing away at her strength. Suddenly the mage groaned and shook before curling up on her side in a fetal position. She shivered, opened her eyes, and looked up at Koakuma with a pained and weary pout. Dark bags could be seen under her eyes, and with her sickly pale skin, she looked like she had narrowly escaped death.

"K-Koakuma..."

"Mistress, don't worry, I'm here for you," Koakuma cooed as she advanced towards the bed. She reached for her mistress's forehead and felt the beginnings of a fever. "You're burning up! I'll get some medicine right away!"

"No... Please, stay with me." Patchouli stopped her shivering and gave a weak smile. "I want you close to me... To put me at ease."

"But you're unwell! I really should-"

"Please," Patchouli cooed as her dull violet eyes sparked with a dash of energy. She opened the covers up to Koakuma and gave an inviting wave of her fingers. "I want you close to me."

Koakuma gulped and clasped her hands together to hide her nervousness. She looked down at Patchouli for a moment before folding her wings and sliding into the bed with her. The bed wasn't very warm despite the mage's fever, and when Koakuma felt her mistress's arms hold her close, she discovered why. Patchouli was still as cold as she was when Koakuma had held her last. Uncomfortable yet unwilling to admit it, the succubus held Patchouli close and endured her cold temperature.

In a few minutes the bed and the occupants within it began to warm up to a comfortable level. Koakuma blinked twice and looked on as Patchouli seemed to be getting better by the minute. The weak smile had turned into a cheerful one, and those once dark violet eyes seemed to glow with health. Even the mage's pale skin seemed to be getting more color as time passed. Koakuma dropped her jaw at the sight before smiling herself. Apparently all Patchouli needed was someone close to her!

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"Mhmm... A little... But I'm touched that you're here with me," Patchouli cooed. She started to rub Koakuma's back in a soft, playful fashion. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Koakuma repeated. She glanced over her shoulder at Patchouli's motions before answering. "I... I thought you knew. That thief Marisa tried to make off with a dangerous tome. Some kind of black mist came out and tried to swallow her up, but you pushed her aside and were swallowed up by it instead! I haven't seen you look so frightened and weak until that moment!"

"Oh? I'm sorry, Koakuma. I don't really remember that," Patchouli mumbled. She lowered her hands from Koakuma's back to a spot right above her hindquarters. "I do, however, remember your warm touch. I'm glad that I have such a dedicated familiar."

"Eh? Mistress, what are you d- Ohh..." Koakuma blushed and mewed as she felt the mage's hands drift lower and become grabby. "P-Patchouli, we really sh-shouldn't be-"

"Shh... Let me make you feel at ease," Patchouli cooed. She continued to knead and smile before her hands reached up to rest upon the succubus's chest. "Nevermind that thief or that tome. Just focus on me."

Koakuma nodded and closed her eyes. She was a bit put off by the sudden change in behavior, but she wasn't willing to stop her mistress now. Patchouli seemed much better now, and if she wanted to get frisky and 'reward' her lover, then so be it. The succubus mewed and blushed more and more as Patchouli became more adventurous. She felt the mage straddle her and bit her lip in anticipation.

"It f-feels good, mistress..." Koakuma squirmed under Patchouli for a moment and expected a response, but nothing came. She furrowed her brow in confusion and whispered, "M-mistress? Why did you stop?"

As if on cue, two ice cold hands wrapped around Koakuma's neck and squeezed with malicious intent. Alarmed, Koakuma's opened her eyes and looked up at the one responsible only to see Patchouli, her beloved, choking her with a cruel smile on her lips. A pair of dark red eyes glowed from the shadows of the mage's face while an eerie black mist wrapped around her frame. Koakuma reached up to grab Patchouli's wrists and pry them off of her, but the mage's hands would not budge. Something terrible was afoot, and it had taken Patchouli as its hostage.

"Patchouli! W-what's gotten... into you?!"

'Patchouli' giggled in a sickeningly sweet manner as the mist around her grew darker. She leaned close to Koakuma's face and cooed.

"Be a good girl and die for me, won't you?" were the last words Koakuma heard before she felt her consciousness slipping...


	2. A Terrible Latin Name

"Don't struggle, it'll all be over soon."

Koakuma could feel her consciousness slipping away with each passing second. The ice cold hands of her mistress would not budge or let up from squeezing the devil's windpipe. Through her bleary eyes Koakuma could see her mistress's face contort into one of pure, sadistic glee. Patchouli clicked her tongue and continued to strangle her beloved familiar without any show of remorse. She was not herself at all, and if nothing was done, Koakuma would die a long and agonizing death.

But the little devil would not die here. Using what little strength she had left Koakuma gritted her teeth and increased her grip on her attacker's wrists. She reached deep into her psyche and managed to gather enough energy to allow for one spell. Desperate, she chose to will forth a quick surge of electricity through her fingertips. It was a pathetic attempt from one who wasn't skilled in magic, but fortune was on the little devil's side. Patchouli growled in annoyance as she faltered and released Koakuma from her hold.

"Tch! I didn't expect you to know some magic," Patchouli muttered before she was tossed off of Koakuma. She glared up at the devil with her dark red eyes. "Insolent devil..."

Koakuma gasped and scuttled off of the bed only to collapse on the floor. She coughed and greedily sucked in air as she massaged her throat. Turning on her side, the devil looked up at the figure of her mistress and raised an arm in defense.

"P-Patchouli-sama... What... Who are you? Where is my mistress?"

Patchouli chuckled and slid off of her bed to stand before the devil. With the dark mist following her like a demonic veil, the mage no longer looked as radiant and as warm as Koakuma once remembered. Coupled with the red eyes and the cruel grin, it seemed as if this wasn't Patchouli Knowledge at all. Koakuma glanced about as she tried to find her mistress, her true mistress, but no matter where she looked the only thing that looked remotely similar to Patchouli was towering over her. The monster in Patchouli's visage narrowed her eyes at Koakuma and gave a playful tilt of her head.

"Come now, don't play dumb with me." Patchouli twirled around once and opened her arms wide. Her tone became increasingly sardonic as she continued. "It is I, 'Patchouli Knowledge', a weak-willed, pathetic excuse for a magician. Now, what kind of name is that? It is a plant's name, and plants exist only to wither and die."

To prove her point, Patchouli reached out with her magic and latched onto a few potted plants with the dark mist. When the mage had been suffering from an onslaught of illnesses, Meiling had suggested to her that filling her room with pleasant-smelling flowers and plants would help alleviate her tension. They certainly brightened up the area then. The beautiful displays of scarlet, violet and amarillo buckled under the terrible force of Patchouli's magic and withered away. Anything green soon turned to black in an instant.

"I will say this though. Your mistress has much more mana than I ever believed." Patchouli raised her hands and ran them down her body. "Hmm... And it's amazing how curvy her body is underneath her robes. I'm tempted to indulge!"

"Stop touching her!" Koakuma cried from her position on the floor. "Who are you? Why have you taken my mistress?"

"Bored already?"

Patchouli shrugged her shoulders and sighed before raising an open palm to Koakuma. The dark, misty matter slithered away from the dead plants and whirled around the little devil to pick her up. Koakuma shrieked in terror as the mist held her in place and licked at her skin like an inferno would. It felt as if her skin was being flayed, but there were no whips or instruments doing it other than the dark mist. Just as her skin was turning red from the torture, Patchouli closed her hand into a fist and flung the familiar against the bedroom door.

Under the force of ancient magic combined with the body of a familiar, the door shattered and broke away. Koakuma howled in pain and arched her back as she landed on the library floor. Splinters were lodged in her arms from when she tried to defend herself. Sputtering, Koakuma turned over on her side and attempted to get back up on her feet. A large shadow fell over her and made her shiver.

"Very well, no more games. My name, my true name, is Malus Umbravi."

Koakuma turned her head and looked up at her mistress only to find that she had disappeared. She glanced about and discovered that the library had gotten much darker even though the day was still young. Speckles of black mist wafted about and gave Koakuma the feeling of being in a foggy, musty swamp. A dull creaking came from above and caught the little devil's attention. She flung herself forward and narrowly avoided being crushed under the weight of a falling bookcase.

"I had hoped to possess that blonde-haired girl, seeing as she seemed very healthy for her age, but instead I was forced into your mistress when she intervened," came Malus's cold, corrupted voice. Koakuma scrambled to her feet and held her wounded arm as she listened. "I've been in that miserable tome for centuries, just waiting for the right morsel to come along. And it was your mistress who offered herself up! It's more than I ever wanted!"

A flash of light appeared in the corner of Koakuma's vision. When she looked up, she saw Malus Umbravi standing on top of a bookcase. Koakuma knew that the figure before her was her mistress, but if she was truly possessed by this dark spirit, whatever it was, then she could no longer be Patchouli Knowledge. Despite the comely features, familiar voice and purple robes, it was Malus who was in charge. Even with that sorrowful fact in place, Koakuma knew that somewhere in there was the soul of her mistress.

"Oh, I see the fear and confusion in your eyes. 'Why', you cry. 'What are you', you whisper." Malus played with a lock of Patchouli's hair and chuckled at how Koakuma widened her eyes to teacup-sized proportions. "Curious? Very well, I'll tell you before I kill you."

Malus dropped to the floor and broke the floorboards under her weight. The splinters shot up and towards her body only to be repelled away in every direction. Koakuma uttered a cry of pain as one shard found its way into her thigh. She busied herself with taking it out as Malus advanced towards her.

"I was once a woman. A human destined to be as mortal as the rest. Was I afraid of death? Of course I was, but I spat in its face and ventured where most feared to tread." Malus crouched down to pick up a book that had fallen off of the shelves. She glanced at it before flinging it over her shoulder. "To oblivion with mortality! I broke its troublesome rules and became immortal! My memory is foggy, but I do remember wasting away in that prison your mistress created. Being forced to sit on a shelf and share space with undesirables is unforgivable."

Blood trickled down Koakuma's limbs from the multiple splinters imbedded in her body. She quivered in agony and did what she could to pull out the most demanding ones. She figured that for Malus, splinters were akin to papercuts. The worst was yet to come if Koakuma didn't act, but she had no idea what to do. She could never beat her mistress in a magical duel, so how could she beat Malus? Koakuma whimpered and fell against a bookcase for support as she mulled it all over before glaring up at her possessed mistress.

"W-what do you want?"

"That's... Actually a good question, little devil," Malus admitted. She rubbed her chin in thought. "I already have the body and power of the most powerful magician in this realm, and her library is filled with all sorts of resources with which I can grow ever stronger. I think I'll get myself acquainted with this new body and her assets," Malus giggled.

The vile spirit approached Koakuma and looked down her nose at her.

"But first, I'll need a dedicated assistant. Someone to do my bidding in this world."

"I serve my mistress," Koakuma spat. "Not you! I'll die before that happens!"

"Thank you for being so cooperative!" Malus cackled as she shot forward and grasped Koakuma's throat in her hand. She lifted the devil up and off of her feet with magical strength. "You'll be of more use to me dead than alive!"

Koakuma clawed at the hand on her throat and tried to shock Malus once again, but her strength had decided to fail her. She could no longer call upon her spells to defend herself with, and whatever flailing she could do was not enough to beat back her attacker. Malus took sick pleasure in watching the little devil's eyes bulge before she lifted her free hand up and formed an orb of sinister black energy. The hand clenched around the orb and steadily brought it forward to Koakuma's chest. Just as Malus was about to press the terrible orb against the devil's heart, something happened.

Malus gritted her teeth and recoiled as something wracked her body. She closed her eyes and dropped the orb to the ground where it shattered and dissipated. Growling, she tossed Koakuma to the ground and turned her back on her as her body began to convulse. Magic rippled across her figure and punctured the black mist around her with purplish flares of energy. Koakuma coughed and massaged her throat as she looked on in morbid curiosity.

"Run..." Malus shook and turned around with a pained look on her face. Patchouli stared back at Koakuma with her compassionate violet eyes, begging for her to follow her orders. "Run!"

As much as it pained Koakuma to do so, she obeyed the voice of her mistress and turned on her heel. She clambered up a bookcase and searched for the grand library's exit with desperation nagging at her. A whirlwind of energy blew down the bookcases around Patchouli as Malus regained her hold. Koakuma leapt into the air and spread her wings to keep her aloft as she continued to look over the library for the exit.

"Ah! Looks like this magician isn't as weak-willed as I thought!" Malus shrieked. "Yes, resist! I do so love entertainment!"

Then, there it was. Koakuma felt hope rise in her heart as she looked upon the exit to the library. It was a fair distance away and up a grand staircase, but with her wings and her mistress's last command giving her strength, Koakuma would make it. She flew through corridors of bookcases and down aisles as fast as her demonic wings would allow. Her retreat was obstructed by clusters of dark mist that forced her to take different paths.

Malus appeared in the corner of Koakuma's vision and pursued her with arcane flames at her fingertips. Pillars of fire erupted from the floor and tried to smash into the little devil, but she avoided them and flew higher. Without the cover of the bookcases, Koakuma realized she was an easier target. She shrieked and ducked back down into the aisles as she felt the chilling embrace of ice shards. A few shards found their way into her back and even drew blood.

"Stop running. I like my servants to be at least somewhat intact," Malus shouted.

Koakuma shuddered at the tone of voice and the senseless brutality Malus showed to her. She had to escape from the library, escape from the clutches of evil incarnate. After dodging as much magic as she could, Koakuma reached the staircase. She flew up the steps and heard the wood creak and break behind her as Malus followed. Splinters and nails exploded into the air when magic was thrown into the picture again, and it completely destroyed the grand staircase as well!

As soon as Koakuma reached the top of the staircase she flung herself out of the library and slammed the doors shut behind her. She had no experience with creating magical wards with which to stave off attackers, so she chose a different course of action. She knocked down pedestals and moved furniture against the double doors to barricade it. To seal the deal, Koakuma ripped up a scarlet curtain and tied it around the door handles.

She was tossed to the floor when a powerful force slammed into the barricaded doors. Dark mist seeped under the door only to be pulled back by some unseen hand.

"What? Why can't I leave?" Malus shouted from behind the doors. The pounding ceased after a moment. "Insolent cretin... Even when under my thumb you try to contain me. Very well, I'll spend my time breaking you before turning to your familiar, your friends, and your realm!"

Where there was expected to be another attack on the doors, there was only silence. Koakuma rubbed her temples and looked up from her sprawled-out position on the floor. The doors to the library held strong against Malus's battering and didn't look like they were going to be blown down anytime soon. Footsteps were heard retreating from the door as well as a string of curses. Either Malus had given up in her pursuit or Patchouli had regained enough control to set a personal boundary.

Koakuma hoped it was the latter.

"That should... That should hold her," she whispered as she tried to sit up. She gasped and fell to her side when she found that she had lost quite a bit of blood escaping. "Everything hurts... I need to get up, I need to get up!"

The little devil grimaced and curled up into a fetal position. She felt too weak to stand, but she couldn't just lie there and die after all she had gone through. With blood dripping down from her wounds and all kinds of shards in her body, Koakuma propped herself up and found her voice. She screamed for help and attracted the attention of a fairy maid. The fairy maid, alarmed by the sight of Koakuma wounded, cried out and flew off to find its superior.

In a few minutes Sakuya appeared right next to Koakuma holding a first-aid kit in her hands.

"Koakuma?!" she gasped, noticing how pale the devil looked. The maid gazed over her body and took notice of the multiple splinters and wounds. "Oh dear... How did this happen?"

"L-library," Koakuma wheezed. She curled up and soon fell unconscious. "Patchy..."

Sakuya turned her baby blue eyes to the library door and noticed the makeshift barricade there. She narrowed her eyes in confusion and speculation before turning her attention back to Koakuma. With a small sigh she reached into a pocket of her uniform and clutched a golden stopwatch. She needed some time to operate, and some time to come to terms with what was going on. Hopefully when the devil was patched up she could enlighten the rest of the mansion about what had happened to her.

* * *

After carefully removing every splinter and shard and bandaging up the wounds, Sakuya placed Koakuma in a nearby guest room and appointed the gatekeeper to watch over her. She left soon after to inform her mistress of the situation and to gather the rest of the fairy maids. There wasn't much information on the incident to properly assess it, but Sakuya knew that it involved the library, Koakuma, and Patchouli Knowledge. Remilia Scarlet expressed her concern and accompanied her servant as she gathered up the fairy maids. If her best friend was in danger, it demanded her immediate attention.

Koakuma, meanwhile, was oblivious to the hustle and bustle until she came to. She felt warm sheets around her and opened her eyes to look up at the burgundy walls around her. An IV line was attached to her arm and fed blood back into her veins while snow-white bandages kept anything from escaping. Groggy yet aware of her surroundings, Koakuma reached up and supported herself on a nearby end table as she sat up. She felt someone's shadow on her and blinked twice.

"Koakuma?" came Meiling's rough voice. She leaned over and got eye-level with the little devil. "How do you feel?"

"Tired..." Koakuma widened her eyes and sat up straighter than before. "My mistress! She needs help!"

"Shh, Sakuya-san and Lady Remilia are working on that. Let's focus on you for the moment, alright?"

"But I sh-"

Meiling placed a comforting hand on Koakuma's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it right now. Just focus on getting better, alright? You can't help your mistress in your condition, but you can help me. Would that make you feel better?"

Koakuma blinked and rubbed her arms. She brushed against the IV line and shivered at how it made her feel.

"I guess... How can I help you?"

She looked up at the red-haired gatekeeper and took notice of how energetic and attentive she looked. Meiling was usually the one caught sleeping at the gate or dawdling at a task, but it seemed that today she was here to contribute. Despite all the flak the guard received in her line of work, she would never do anything that would violate the safety and security of the mansion's inhabitants. If she happened to let someone past her when on duty, it was probably because she didn't perceive them as a threat. Meiling smiled wide and rubbed Koakuma's back before dropping her hands to her sides.

"Well, while Sakuya-san is getting things ready, you can tell me what happened. Sakuya-san says it has something to do with the library and Lady Patchouli, right?" Koakuma nodded. "Alright, do you mind starting from the beginning?"

The succubus rubbed her temples and tried to remember as much as she could. She remembered how the day had started as normally as any other. Her mistress was reading as usual, the fairy maids were doing their duties, and Koakuma was eager to be of service. Then came Marisa Kirisame at the worst of times and in the worst possible place. She had made off with a dark, forbidden tome and almost got away had it not been for the little devil's intervention. In the ensuing scuffle, the spirit that resided in the tome broke free of its binds and sought out a host.

And as unfortunate as it was, the host was Patchouli Knowledge herself.

"I was... Putting a summoning tome in the right spot, in the possessed chamber where all the other books go, when Marisa Kirisame snuck in and grabbed this black-leather tome or journal. I chased her down and we fought for a minute before this dark fog or mist came out from the tome and tried to swallow the thief up." Koakuma sniveled and wiped her eyes as tears threatened to fall. "P-Patchouli must have knocked Marisa out of the way because I saw the darkness seep into her and knock her out."

Meiling nodded and sat next to Koakuma on the bed.

"So the thief is involved in this... I should have noticed something was wrong when I saw her leave via the front gate," Meiling grumbled.

"There are so many people I could blame for this, but in the end I only have myself to blame for leaving that door open," Koakuma whined.

"What happened to your mistress after all of this?"

"She collapsed and was really weak and cold. She looked like she was in so much pain, but all I could do was put her in her bed and hope for the best. I stayed by her side for as long as I could," Koakuma cried. She shook her head and held her arm where the IV line was placed. "W-when she awoke, she looked like she had just had a brush with death, but in a few minutes she looked fine. I'm not sure if it was an act, but she got a little physical with me as if she hadn't just gone through hell!"

The gatekeeper blushed and narrowed her eyes.

"She... Got frisky? Oh, right, you two are in a relationship," Meiling commented. "Given what had happened to her, I'd say she was behaving strangely. Did she remember anything?"

"She said that she didn't really remember anything, and she didn't seem to care," Koakuma said. "I was caught off guard, and that was when she put her hands around my neck and tried to kill me..."

"What?!"

Aggression between residents of the mansion wasn't unheard of, but it never got anywhere near life-threatening. Meiling herself was the victim of a few pranks and punishments and took it all in stride. No matter if it was a friendly tussle or a knife to the back of the head, she knew that nobody was really trying to kill her. Even Flandre Scarlet refrained from killing anybody when she escaped from her quarters, although she did seriously maim a few fairy maids from time to time. For Patchouli Knowledge to try and kill her most beloved and dedicated familiar, things were worse than anyone could have believed.

"How could she do such a thing? That's not the Lady Patchouli I know," Meiling gasped.

"It wasn't her, Mei," Koakuma whined. "She wasn't herself. The spirit that was in that tome had possessed her and made her do terrible things to me." She lifted up her arms and looked at her white bandages. "I know my mistress is still in there, but she's being subjugated by this... Malus Umbravi."

Meiling gave a tilt of her head and frowned.

"Oh dear, this is really bad..."

"D-do you know who that person is?" Koakuma asked.

"No, but I know that any possession is bad, and if Lady Patchouli is being subjugated, that means there's a magician or spirit who is even stronger than she is! At her healthiest Lady Patchouli could take on the young mistress and even win!" Meiling held her cheeks and shivered. "Oh dear... What does this Malus guy want?"

"Actually, I think it's a she," Koakuma mumbled. The devil reached for her IV line and began to pull at it. "She wants to... I'm not entirely sure, but whatever she wants, it's not good. My mistress is in danger here, and I can't sit back and do nothing."

Koakuma pulled out her IV line and let it dangle down below a hanging bag of blood. Remilia probably wasn't too pleased that blood was being 'wasted' by re-entering a person's veins. Stars appeared in Koakuma's vision as she tried to stand only to be held down by Meiling.

"You really should rest," Meiling said. "Drink some water and-"

"I'll feel better if I'm doing something, anything to help out my mistress," Koakuma growled.

Meiling stood back and allowed the little devil to get up. Far be it from her to get in the way of someone who was so determined and loyal to someone they cared about. When Koakuma realized that she was in her small clothes, Meiling handed over her usual uniform for her to wear. Gratitude was exchanged along with a few concerns before Koakuma was ready again. She made her way to the door only to trip over her feet and stumble into Meiling's hold.

"Where's Sakuya?" she asked as she clung to the gatekeeper.

"I heard her come down the hallway not too long ago with the fairy maids in tow. Lady Remilia must be with them, I believe."

"What are they doing with the fairy maids?"

"I think they're going to go into the library and see if they can sort out the situation."

Koakuma gave Meiling an incredulous look.

"But, but they don't know what they're up against! Not even I know what Malus is capable of!"

"Oh come now, what's the worst that can happen?" Meiling said, ever optimistic. She had tremendous faith in Remilia and Sakuya if her confident smile was anything to go by. "Just you wait, they'll come out from the library with Lady Patchouli looking as fit as a fiddle, the burned remains of a dark tome, and tea and cookies to settle down with."

The little devil wished she could share in Meiling's optimism.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please leave a comment or a review. They encourage me in so many ways to continue my stories.


	3. A Common Foe

Koakuma still had her doubts, but Meiling had done her best to alleviate them. Whoever this Malus Umbravi really was, surely the combined efforts of Sakuya and the fairy maids would be able to free Patchouli from this possession. During the Scarlet Mist Incident Sakuya had proved to all of Gensokyo that she was much more than an elegant maid. She was fast, deadly, precise, and a stern tactician. Her skill with knives was legendary, and her sway over the fairy maids, her subordinates, was enough to make would-be thieves and marauders think twice about snooping around the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

The maid was just the right person for the job. Koakuma almost found herself smiling and placed her confidence in the maid just as Meiling did. The little devil rubbed her bandaged arms and followed the guardswoman down the halls of the mansion. She craned her neck to look around for a few fairy maids, but it appeared that all of them were with Sakuya. Given that there were around a couple dozen or so of the little fairies, it was strange and even concerning to see them absent from the halls. Perhaps... Perhaps the situation really was dire despite Meiling's optimism claiming otherwise.

Soft humming and sipping could be heard near the doors to the library. Koakuma and Meiling turned a corner and looked over at Remilia Scarlet sitting back in a chair with a cup of tea in her hands. The vampire stared at the doors and the furniture piled up next to it for some time before she noticed the two workers. Sakuya must have moved the furniture from the door and used that entrance to get into the library, but not before making sure that her mistress was comfortable. That, or Remilia was complacent in her belief that Sakuya was powerful enough to combat a foe she was unaware of.

Regardless, seeing Remilia lounging around with a cup of tea when there was an incident did not bode well with Koakuma. Her smile faded and her eyes narrowed in anger, but she didn't dare to call out the mistress of the mansion for her complacency.

"Ah! And there's our most recent patient!" Remilia said with a smile as she lifted her cup of tea in greeting. "How are you doing? Sakuya said that you looked positively ruined when she found you."

"I'm doing better, Lady Remilia," Koakuma said, her pleasant tone forced.

"Practically jumped out of bed just to see how things were going!" Meiling chirped.

Remilia chuckled at that and took another long sip from her tea. The mansion was quiet at that time. There wasn't much activity there at this time of day other than what was going on near the library doors. Koakuma could only assume that the library was now host to a variety of noises, but when she went to press her ear up against the doors, she couldn't hear a thing. While the library was large enough to fit a second mansion within, sound did not do a good job of carrying itself amongst the aisles upon aisles of bookshelves. Silence was appreciated, but now it was unnerving.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you, devil," Remilia said.

"You sent Sakuya in there with all the fairy maids, I know. Meiling told me."

"Yes, but don't worry. Sakuya is more than capable of carrying out her task. I have every bit of confidence that she'll be able to restrain Patchouli until she comes to her senses."

"Lady Remilia, I'm afraid you don't understand what's going on," said Koakuma as she moved away from the door and to the lounging vampire. She barely rose above the temptation to ball her hands into fists. "This is very, very serious!"

The cerulean-haired vampire scowled and got up from her seat. She chugged down her tea and deposited the empty cup on a nearby silver tray before standing before Koakuma. Though she was shorter than anyone else at the mansion, Remilia stood tall and held the authority. Meiling raised her hands in defense and looked on at the two devils with nervousness written on her face. Even the servants knew not to question Remilia's authority, but today was a dire day, and Koakuma would have none of it.

"Are you implying that I'm not taking this seriously?" Remilia challenged. One of her fangs glimmered in her scowl. "I know exactly what is going on, little devil. You wouldn't know, but this has happened before."

Koakuma raised her eyebrows and took a step back. She gulped and rubbed her arm in embarrassment as she gave the mistress of the mansion the benefit of the doubt. Just as she was about to apologize for overstepping her bounds, Remilia kept on talking.

"For as long as I've known Patchouli, I've known that she has a tendency to get into dangerous situations. Most of the time she escapes without a scratch, but sometimes she gets over her head and suffers from a curse, a foreign illness, a loss of mana or whatever." Remilia folded her arms across her chest and turned to the side with a scoff of disgust. "But what Patchouli is suffering from now is more serious than anything else she faced before. I've seen this behavior firsthand, little devil, so do not accuse me of not taking this seriously."

"B-but... You were sitting by wh-"

"While Sakuya does the hard work herself with the maids? Yes, so I am. I am entrusting Patchouli to Sakuya so she'll be able to attend to her should this happen again in the future." Remilia returned to her seat and softened her gaze when she looked up at Koakuma. "Normally, you would deal with this as you are her familiar, but she obviously attacked you and rendered you unconscious for the time being. My condolences, and I'll forgive you for your outburst as you are without a doubt woozy from the bloodloss." Koakuma bowed her head at this. "All we can do is sit and wait as this vile ailment is driven out of her body. And besides, I gave Sakuya the cure, so Patchouli will be fine in a week or so."

It was wrong to doubt Remilia, Koakuma realized. Despite all that she went through when she dealt with Malus, including the possession of Patchouli, the destruction of a few areas of the library, and the harm she caused, Koakuma's experience was insignificant compared to Remilia's over the years. This was her mistress's greatest and most trusted friend, and Voile was within her own personal domain. If it was within the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remilia Scarlet, the manipulator of fate, was certain to know about it. She knew about the possession, the destruction, and more importantly, she knew who Malus Umbravi was.

At last, things seemed to be looking up after all that had gone wrong so far.

"With Sakuya-san and the fairies on the case, Lady Patchouli will be A-OK in no time!" Meiling chirped as she pumped her fists in earnest.

Koakuma smiled at this and was about to share in the guard's optimism when she suddenly lowered her brow in confusion and turned to Remilia.

"Wait a minute... Did you say that... that there's a cure?"

"Yes, I did. Patchouli made it herself and gave it to me just in case this happened again."

"Oh, so it's a potion?" Meiling asked. Remilia nodded. "That's amazing! A liquid cure for possession!"

Remilia glared at Meiling.

"Possession? What in oblivion are you-"

A loud crack echoed throughout the hallway as the doors to the library swung open. Meiling, who was unfortunate enough to be standing right in front of the doors, was slammed to the ground as the doors smacked into her body. The succubus and vampire both looked up and gasped as a lithe and familiar figure stood in the doorway with cold, dead red eyes. It scoured the room in a sort of trance before settling on Meiling's downed form. As if on instinct, the figure leapt on top of the guard and raised its arms to maul her, all the while unleashing a sickening screech.

Meiling raised her arms and defended herself as best as she could in her downed position. She was no longer smiling, and how could she when she had an unknown combatant on top of her? She screamed in terror and slipped her knees under the strange figure to push up and launch it away from her with her powerful legs. To her dismay, the figure bounced off of the wall and launched itself right back at Meiling as if the blow was like the bite of a flea. Koakuma reached out to try and assist the guardswoman, but before she could get to the figure she noticed a familiar flash of steel fly into sight and hit home.

The screeching stopped as the figure slumped over onto the hallway floor with a knife embedded in the back of its skull.

"Meiling!" Koakuma cried. She rushed over to the battered redhead and looked her over for any wounds. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine!" Meiling babbled. She sat up and ran her hands over her body to check for anything abnormal. "What just happened?"

During all the confusion nobody noticed that the doors to the library had closed shut. It wasn't until the three residents heard the echoes of screeching and clawing at wood did they turn their heads and look to the doors. Bracing against the door with her arms outstretched was Sakuya Izayoi, the elegant maid herself. Either she had failed the task Remilia had given her or things had gone terribly wrong for her as her uniform was singed and cut in many places, and Sakuya looked anything but happy. Fresh cuts dotted her body and allowed droplets of blood to mar her otherwise impeccable uniform. Her silver hair was disheveled, her ruffled headband of authority was missing, and a dagger was clenched tightly between her teeth.

Sakuya held strong against the door and managed to keep it secure even as the handles jabbed into her back with every bump and bash. Something was behind those doors, and Sakuya didn't want to let them into the main part of the mansion. She looked up to the three residents gathered with pleading eyes. It was Koakuma who jumped to her feet first. The little devil moved to brace one side of the doors while Sakuya moved to the other. The two grunted and did what they could to keep the doors closed, but with all the force on the other side, they were not going to last very long.

Remilia, who had been struck with terror at the incident, managed to compose herself just enough to make a difference. She looked to the chair that she had sat upon and ripped out a leg without hesitation. Though it was vintage and such a lovely addition to the mansion, the chair's wellbeing came second to the residents' own. She tossed the leg to Meiling and ripped out another as the guard dashed to the doors and jammed the chair leg through the handles. Both Sakuya and Koakuma looked on in relief and backed away from the doors, for the leg was holding firm against the force behind those doors.

In time, the pounding and screeching died out and the doors no longer rattled.

"S-Sakuya-san," Meiling started as she noticed the maid's singed look. "Are you-"

"No, actually. I am not okay," Sakuya muttered after she took the knife out from between her teeth. She stood up straight and dusted off her uniform as if there wasn't any blood to be seen. "It turns out that the worst thing that could have happened, happened."

The maid twirled her knife around her fingers for a moment before sliding it onto a holster attached to her thigh. Everyone began to bombard her with questions, but Sakuya did not reply to any of them. Instead, she looked to the familiar figure on the ground with a knife in the back of its skull and moved to retrieve her weapon. She examined the torn wings, the tattered uniform, and the short stature of a once-living fairy maid before turning the poor creature over. Koakuma covered her mouth as she looked upon the face of the dead fairy maid.

"Oh gods..."

Whereas all of the fairy maids of the Scarlet Devil Mansion were young and attractive with bright eyes, the dead maid before the group had pale skin and cold, dead red eyes. A fresh streak of blood ran down her chin from her lips while everyone gathered could see distorted veins underneath the skin. Oh yes, it was certain that she was dead, but it appeared that she had been dead for quite some time. Sakuya bowed her head in respect as Meiling and Koakuma floundered about for answers. Remilia moved over to see the body for herself, and when she realized what the fairy maid's fate was, she looked up at Sakuya with uncertainty.

"This maid... She was a zombie! Sakuya, tell me what happened!" Remilia demanded. "Is Patchouli alright?"

"Mistress, forgive me for this, but Lady Patchouli is not suffering from mercury poisoning. She is no longer herself." Sakuya massaged a bruised arm as she continued. "Something has taken ahold of her."

As Meiling busied herself with bandaging up Sakuya's cuts, Koakuma glared over at Remilia.

"Mercury poisoning? Is that what you thought?" the little devil barked. She grasped Remilia by the front of her blouse and shook her. "Lady Remilia, for goodness sake! You lead me to believe that you knew what was going on! She's possessed, not poisoned!"

"Agh! Unhand me!"

But Koakuma did not listen. She did, however, let up on her shaking, but only to fix the vampire with a betrayed scowl. No, Remilia couldn't have been aware of the possession, but she made the situation worse in her ignorance. She should have waited for Koakuma to wake before sending Sakuya out with her fairies. In doing so, the residents would be better prepared to tackle whatever this Malus character had to throw at them.

"You don't understand anything that's going on!" Koakuma continued.

"Koakuma, please unhand my mistress," Sakuya requested. She made her way over to the two devils as a roll of gauze trailed after her with Meiling scrambling to collect it. "Neither of us could have known that she was possessed. My mistress assumed it was mercury poisoning and we acted accordingly."

"You could have waited for me to come to!"

"Could you just calm down? Please?" Remilia begged with a frightened squeak. "Okay! I screwed up! I'm sorry! B-but I really did think it was mercury poisoning!"

Mercury poisoning was rare for many normal beings, but for Patchouli Knowledge it was quite common. Many of her metal-based spells involved the use of mercury, especially when the spell combined the elements of water and metal. They were dangerous spells and caused near-fatal amounts of harm to the caster if they weren't careful. Koakuma, despite her anger towards Remilia, understood her reasoning for acting so quickly and loosened her grip on her dress.

"You may be Lady Patchouli's most trusted friend, but I am her familiar, and this involves me just as much as it does you," Koakuma growled.

Remilia recoiled from Koakuma and brushed off her dress with a huff.

"I understand that. I also understand that things are more dire than just poisoning now. Possession... Well, that's a big problem," Remilia muttered. "Sakuya? Could you tell us what happened when you went in there?"

The elegant maid folded her hands across a silver platter and held it against her body, hellbent on appearing professional or composed despite her wounds and dirty uniform. Sakuya spared a glance over at the dead fairy on the ground and noticed that Meiling was busy tending to the body. Though fairy maids were expendable, each death was felt amongst the residents of the mansion. To be turned into an undead abomination and be denied a good death was something vile. After a moment of hesitation and building self-confidence, the maid nodded and turned back to her mistress.

"I will tell you what I can, mistress. The fairy maids and I moved into the library and found Lady Patchouli at her desk, and she was showing the symptoms of poisoning. Hunched posture, convulsions, hacking and coughing... The list goes on. When I attempted to converse with her, she was unresponsive." Sakuya glanced over at Koakuma and gave her a nod of sympathy before turning back to Remilia. "Just as you instructed me to do so, I ordered the fairies to restrain Lady Patchouli. As I approached her with the cure brew, she gave me this odd look, and it was only until this dark mist wrapped around her did I realize that this was not a mere poisoning.

"She used a strange kind of magic to push the fairies away from her and attacked me. I had no choice but to defend myself. She tore up floorboards and destroyed bookshelves trying to harm me. Lady Patchouli, even when at her worst, would never destroy her own library in the crossfire," Sakuya stated. She looked over at the dead fairy on the ground and closed her eyes. "After a few minutes of fighting, the fairy maids were all dead by Lady Patchouli's hand. She raised them from the dead like... like a necromancer would, and soon they turned against me. I was outnumbered twenty-five to one. Mistress, I was fortunate to escape with my life."

Remilia nodded and listened to every word, as did Koakuma and Meiling. For Koakuma, the story wasn't anything new to her, for she had been caught off guard by Malus just as Sakuya had. However, she did not know that necromancy was now thrown into the picture. In the eyes of many, necromancy was a dark art not because it reanimated dead bodies but because it disrespected their eternal slumber. Koakuma wondered if this was Malus's plan, to build herself an army of faithful, undead minions from the bodies of her fallen enemies. But an army was useless without a cause to fight for, so there had to be much more at stake.

When Sakuya had finished with her tale, Remilia bowed her head and scuffed the floor in a mixture of disgust and shame. After witnessing the relationship between her friend and her familiar, Remilia was inclined to lighten up a bit on her personal servant. She no longer pushed her so hard when the maid was exhausted, and she made sure that her own requests weren't too unreasonable. Plus, mistreating the servant who prepared your food and drinks was not the smartest idea, so Remilia figured it was high time that she started acting like a good mistress of the mansion. She looked up again and moved over to Sakuya to guide her over to a chair.

"Yes, you are very fortunate. I'm relieved that you're still alive," Remilia said as she pressed the maid down into the chair. "Please, rest for now." She glared over her shoulder at Meiling and snapped her fingers. "You. Get over here and finish bandaging her up."

"Hai! Right away ma'am!" Meiling chirped as she snapped a quick salute.

The red-haired guard jumped in front of Sakuya and grabbed a larger roll of gauze to work with. As Sakuya was experiencing the misfortune of Meiling as her caretaker, Remilia took Koakuma aside and looked up into her red eyes with her own. She folded her arms and frowned, not in scorn but in defeat. Despite the spontaneousness and disrespect of the outbursts and manhandling from the succubus, she had every right to do so with her mistress's life on the line. Coincidentally, with the situation as it was, there was no time or reason to hand out punishments.

"Little devil, I want to ask you something."

"Mistress Remilia, I... I apologize for my behav-"

"To blazes with that," Remilia grunted. "You and I are here now, and I have no choice but to listen to you. Please, if you know anything, tell us."

Koakuma remained silent for some time before finding her voice. She took a deep breath and clasped her hands together.

"I'm afraid I don't know much. Sakuya's experience is similar to my own in many ways, but there is one thing that I have to add." Koakuma gave a tilt of her head and said, "Whoever possessed my mistress... She said her name was Malus Umbravi. Do you know who that is?"

Realization spread across Remilia's features once that name was dropped. She tore her gaze away from Koakuma and gave a toothy grimace. For someone who was five-hundred years old, it seemed like a herculean effort just to remember one person out of the thousands she met. But the vampire knew who this Malus character was, and Koakuma could see it as clear as day. Remilia grumbled and shook her head before glaring up at the little devil.

"Yes, I know who that is. But this isn't the place." She looked down at the body of the fairy maid and sighed. "Somebody pick her up and follow me."

* * *

Koakuma looked up into the night sky and drew her knees close. She could see embers dancing amongst the stars in the sky and managed a sad smile. Up there, the celestial bodies had nothing to worry about. No necromancers, no possessed mistresses, and no unnecessary drama. The warmth of the nearby fire pit helped to soothe frayed nerves and put the residents at ease. With fire crackling and crickets chirping nearby, it was, ironically, a peaceful night outside of the mansion.

The residents had taken the body of the undead fairy maid and built a funeral pyre for her in one of the fire pits on the mansion grounds. They were unsure if it was the best course of action as another fairy maid would take its place, and under the employ of Malus in the library. The necromantic magic was foreign to them all, yet it seemed that burning the body was better than any other option for it completely disposed of a potential threat in a respectful manner. Plus, the warmth and silence of the event had a calming effect on the residents and allowed them to recollect themselves.

Sakuya, despite being told to rest by her mistress, moved around the pyre with refreshments and tended to the residents. She ignored the aches and pains running through her system and made sure that everyone was comfortable with their food or drink, or a glass of blood in Remilia's case, before sitting down and massaging her temples. Meiling cozied up to her and continued to see after her wounds. The guard figured that it would be better that she acted as the caretaker of the group after having her roasted marshmallow idea get shot down, vehemently so.

"I remember who this Malus character is," Remilia squeaked from her position in the grass. "Malus Umbravi... Feh, what a terrible latin name."

"What does it mean?" Meiling asked.

"Damned if I know," Remilia replied. She shivered and looked to the fire. "I was still in Italy when I met her. She was like that little black and white magician; curious, annoying, and eager to get into business that wasn't hers. In the outside world magic was rare and frowned upon by the masses, but for those who practiced in secret, the rewards were great. I wasn't one for magic, but Malus was. Every time that I met her on the street I felt this eerie feeling crawling up my spine. I don't know how to explain it, but it was like turning your back on someone who had a knife in their hand."

"Pardon the interruption, but was Malus a human?" Sakuya asked.

"Yes, she was, but she always strived to be more than that. She dappled in strange magicks and gathered resources for some grand ritual, but it never worked out for her. Her skill was with necromancy, and that was why I felt so uneasy around her." Remilia leaned back and sighed. She could feel the three servants' eyes on her, eagerly taking in everything she had to say. "Malus wanted to become a member of the undead, but she wanted to retain her consciousness. So, she figured out what I was and begged to be turned. When that failed, she tried blackmail, threats, and whatever she could find to persuade me to sink my fangs into her neck. I should have taken the chance and ripped out her throat, but I didn't. My failure to submit to her demands led to her finding out about Flandre."

Koakuma growled at that. She didn't like where this was going.

"That tenacious bitch was preparing something, and I didn't want to see it come to pass. Fortunately, I knew a magician who could assist me," Remilia said with a weak smile. She nodded at Koakuma before continuing. "Patchouli came from Salem at the right time. We put our heads together and decided that Malus had to be removed, but when we moved to stop her from using Flandre, we inadvertently fell into her trap. When Patchy and I killed Malus, her body underwent a drastic change and she became a lich. In that state she used the bodies of my countrymen to try and kill us all. We had no choice but to trap Malus inside of a book to keep her imprisoned."

"Didn't you try to kill her again?" Meiling asked.

"We did. Time and time again we hurled fire and spears into her body only for her to shrug them off. She just wouldn't die, and we didn't know what she was at the time." Remilia shrugged and looked down at her feet. "We panicked and shoved her into a book. Now she's out and taken control of Patchouli. She probably wanted to possess my sister..."

Silence settled between the residents. It was one thing to calm down a psychotic vampire with the power to completely and utterly destroy anything she put her mind to, but to face a woman who had the power to raise the dead and bolster her ranks with defeated allies seemed much worse. Flandre, despite her unpredictable behavior, never intended to kill anyone.

Koakuma rubbed her arms and looked over at Remilia.

"So... What do we do now? How do we save my mistress?"

"Honestly, little devil, I have no clue. But I'm not going to give up on trying," Remilia muttered. "Like you said. You're her familiar and I'm her best friend. If we're going to save Patchy, we'll need to work together. That goes for you two as well," Remilia said as she looked to Sakuya and Meiling. "Now, does anyone have any ideas?"

Again, silence. Koakuma and Sakuya shook their heads until Meiling jumped to her feet and looked down at the succubus.

"I have an idea!" she chirped.

"Meiling, this had better be good," Remilia grumbled.

"No no, it's good! Koakuma, didn't you say that Malus came out of some old tome?" Koakuma nodded at this. With a hopeful grin Meiling continued. "Maybe if we had that tome we could figure out a way to stop Malus!"

"That's... Not a bad idea, actually," Koakuma admitted. She stood up as well and frowned. "But the last thing I remember about the tome was that I locked it in my mistress's desk..."

"And to get it," Sakuya whispered, "one would have to go back into the library..."

The idea of going back into the library filled Koakuma with dread. With Malus controlling Patchouli's body and magical energies, who was to know how the library would look? Voile was Patchouli's realm; her sacred sanctuary. Now with a dark necromancer doing who-knows-what within, the library's sanctity would be thrown into jeopardy. Koakuma imagined the dead fairy maids patrolling the library aisles while Malus remained in the middle near the desk, and she would have to dive through all the danger just to get that tome.

Remilia sensed the unease amongst the residents and raised her hands.

"That seems like our only option at the moment, but we should wait before heading in there."

"Should we ask for the shrine maiden's help?" Sakuya asked.

"No. Absolutely not," Remilia hissed. She stood up as well and looked into the fire. "Reimu is not to know about this. She'll find a way to destroy Malus, but in doing so, Patchouli will be no more. For this reason I am not involving my sister in this incident either."

The three servants nodded and agreed with this. While the miko Reimu was famous for resolving incidents and approaching problems like a skilled mediator, when it came to threats she did not take any chances. To keep Gensokyo in balance she would completely destroy Malus if she found out about her, even if it meant ending Patchouli's existence. Such was her duty as a shrine maiden. Nobody amongst the residents of the mansion wanted her to do her duty unless there was no other option.

"Now, unless there are no further questions, I want Meiling to guard the library doors while we get some rest for the morning. When it comes, we'll go into the library and see if we can't find that damned tome..."


	4. Devoid of Sanity

"Malus..."

She had seen it all. The look of being betrayed, the magic drawing blood, and the destruction of her library. She had heard her voice as it was twisted to form such cruel platitudes and mock her very existence. The cold sting of guilt had surfaced in her gut and keeled her over with enough force to make her doubt her abilities in such a crucial time. But the worst sensation was knowing that she was for the most part unable to resist and forced to watch as her body acted against her. Patchouli Knowledge was a prisoner in her own mind, and the warden was none other than an old escapee named Malus Umbravi.

The magician looked up from her position and took control of her limbs to stand up. A black and purple void greeted her and removed any landmarks from her sight, including the nondescript floor she had once been sprawled out upon. Patchouli had no choice but to float on through the void that was her corrupted consciousness. Her body was nothing more than an avatar for her soul at that point, but the magician had her own senses and could see small blotches of activity in the void. Colors of all types flittered through the void in some places only to be swallowed up by the swirling blackness without mercy. Compared to this place, at least Makai has its beauty, Patchouli thought to herself.

For such a powerful magician like Patchouli Knowledge, it seemed that magical foes and doomsday plots were a dime a dozen. There had been many incidents in Gensokyo that seemed much worse than this. The hell raven's attempt at unleashing nuclear armageddon, Remilia's shortsighted Scarlet Mist, even the diabolical usage of the moon by Eientei's inhabitants seemed worse! But Patchouli knew that the Malus incident was much worse for her and the mansion's residents because of three startling facts: she was powerless to put a stop to Malus, the knowledge crucial to defeating her was locked away in her mind and in her heavily guarded desk, and most importantly, Patchouli was scared. Malus was in her mind, and if the lich was clever, she would use it to her advantage.

The most that Patchouli could do was try and regain control of her true senses for a moment. She had done it before when she managed to tear Malus away from murdering her familiar, but it was not to last. Against a foe as powerful as a lich, the mage's act of rebellion was akin to tossing pebbles at a tiger. It would have been her last act, but the mage held on long enough to set a personal boundary. By confining her to her library she was providing Malus with the resources to scheme efficiently, but at least she was able to protect the others from the monster in control of her body. At least until the fairy maids became her first kills.

"There you are!" came a cackling voice from above.

Patchouli looked up into the void and gasped as a swirling black mist came barreling down upon her. It smashed into her and flung her down as if she had been hit with a steel girder, and she screamed in pain as she went flying. She thought that since she was in a featureless void there wouldn't be any ground to impact upon, but as her frail body crashed against a raised platform, she cursed herself for pushing her luck. Wheezing, the magician knew that her bones would be broken if she had suffered such a savage attack in reality. Her hair was sprayed out beneath her like a puddle of violet while her robes were torn here and there to give her a ruined appearance.

"You know what the best part of being in your mind is? I can hurt you as much as I want and it won't do a thing to your health," Malus muttered as she appeared next to Patchouli's incapacitated form. The lich's crazed grin appeared through the black mist. "But you can still feel it all. You're welcome, by the way. I can only imagine how much damage it'll do to your psyche..."

The black mist dissipated to reveal a carbon-copy of Patchouli, Malus' chosen form. Despite the similarities between the two, Malus' image of her previous warden was less comforting and a lot more intimidating with those blood red eyes of hers. Horrible, sharp teeth gave her a shark-like grin.

"What do you want?" Patchouli coughed as she looked up at her doppelganger. "R-Revenge?"

"Revenge? Heavens no!" Malus gave a nonchalant shake of her head and paced around Patchouli. "I don't need vengeance. I've transcended above that."

"You haven't transcended at all, Malus. You would destroy your body and sacrifice men, women and children just for power."

"Huh. That's pretty rich coming from someone who threw away their humanity to become a magician, and for what? To rot away in a library?"

"What do you want?" Patchouli asked again with a pained scowl.

Malus moved to Patchouli's side and sank her foot into the magician's ribs. She reveled in the cries of agony and the grimaces she enticed before leaning over and twisting her foot deeper into her victim.

"Oh gods, you're looking at me like I'm the bad guy here. I just want what everybody wants. Power! The power of choice! The power to live, to thrive! No-one will get in my way when I raze this world to the ground..."

"You've... You've lost your mind," Patchouli whimpered, her eyes wide with fear.

"Nope!" Malus pointed her finger at Patchouli and chuckled. "I've got yours to play with! Who knows what kinds of secrets await in there? Spells, incantations, all sorts of good things. All it takes is some... initiative!"

At the last word four shackles came into view and clasped around Patchouli's wrists and ankles. She tried to resist the weight and pull, but when chains held her down to the circular platform she was on she found that she was completely at the mercy of one who was anything but merciful. Malus lifted her foot and smashed it into Patchouli's stomach with a sickening crunch and a yelp of distress from her victim. But she didn't stop there. The lich straddled her warden and placed a hand against her forehead to grip her temple.

"Show me something useful, Patchouli," Malus ordered.

"I'm n-not giving you anything!" Patchouli howled as she struggled against the hand on her forehead. Her touch was too agonizing to bear. "Get off me!"

"Oh, I see! You scattered your knowledge into the void! Making me do all the scavenging, huh?" Malus began to softly caress the mage's cheek before lifting her hand and letting it fly across her face in a slap. She took joy in the smack and look of disgust on Patchouli's face before returning her hand to the forehead. "No matter. I'll find it in due time. But first, let's have some fun! Let's see what you haven't scattered about..."

A subtle tickling flashed through Patchouli's mind and gave her a headache. She could feel Malus' influence pushing through her memory in search of something, anything to use to her advantage. There was no interest in brewing tea or growing flowers, and no care in the world for the old masters and their works of literature. Instead, what Malus searched for went beyond that of a simple synopsis or brew. Patchouli cried out in terror and thrashed about in her shackles when she realized what the lich was going for. A good manipulator wasn't content with one victim; they needed to bring others into their games.

Images of Patchouli's most trusted of friends filtered into Malus' mind. She saw the meek form of a red-haired succubus and frowned when she remembered how she eluded capture. The portrait of a silver-haired elegant maid drifted into view, now marred with cuts and bruises from the recent skirmish. Next came a pleasant memory of a guard sleeping on the job. Malus didn't initially see her as a threat until she saw that the chiseled body wasn't just for show. And finally came the vampire sisters, one dressed in pink, one garbed in white.

A horse cackling came from the back of Malus' throat as she focused on the vampire sisters.

"Found you!" she cried before falling silent. She remained still and glowered at Patchouli for a moment. "Really? Remilia and...? Well, I suppose I can ask her personally."

"Leave them out of this!" Patchouli shouted.

"This? Hoho! This is much bigger than me and you, but I'll let you in on something special." Malus brought her voice to a whisper and cooed into Patchouli's ear. "When I take over this mansion and rip away all that you hold dear... You're going to watch every single moment of it."

"And when you fail, Malus... I'll make you wish you stayed in your prison," the mage growled, stubborn to the end.

"When I fail?"

Malus shook her head and snapped her fingers. The black and purple void around them both swirled into a hurricane of grey and red storms. There were plenty of unidentified shapes and wisps of energy scattered about in the fog around Patchouli's confining platform, and as the mage looked up to the eyes in the sky, she realized that Malus was beginning her search for knowledge. She had scattered her spells and information as best as she could before her mind was taken over and made sure that the most crucial bits were well-hidden in the void. But Malus had quite a lot of time on her hands, and with her storms breaking the void apart in the distance, it was only a matter of time before she found something useful to her.

"I won't fail, Patchouli," Malus purred.

The lich brushed herself off and got up from straddling her warden. With a snap of her heels and a whisk of her robes she turned and vanished off the side of the platform, leaving Patchouli alone in her confinement. The mage coughed and rattled her shackles to no avail and looked up to the swirling void around her with a moan of defeat. Had she control of her mind and resources, she would have broken out of her bindings and retaken her body with her magic. Mind over matter, but when the matter overwhelmed the mind, there was not much to be done but to wait for assistance.

And though it pained her to sit back like some damsel in distress, Patchouli had no choice but to remain where she was. She could only hope that those she cared about would be able to stave off her possessed form.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Because I don't want Patchouli to turn out to be some prop, I decided to write this. Consider it a filler chapter and an update that says "I'm still working on this". Also, please review and comment on things, and criticism is appreciated.


	5. Tome Raider

After getting a night's rest, no matter how fretful it was, the mansion's remaining residents gathered at the library's door to go over what had happened the day before. Patchouli Knowledge, the grand keeper of intellect, had been possessed by a malevolent lich. Her sanctuary had been compromised and now the keys to its secrets were thrust into the wrong hands. Fortunately it was impossible for a creature, no matter how powerful, to learn all that there was to learn from all the books in Voile in one day. Unfortunately, this meant that while Remilia and the others had time to prepare and recover, every hour they spent not engaging Malus was an hour she would devote to growing stronger.

Remilia was fuming as she paced outside the library doors in the early morning. She had caused an incident in Gensokyo and had been involved with a few others during her stay in the strange realm, but none of them compared to the problem plaguing her mansion at the moment. It was no problem when a monster rampaged indiscriminately or strange scarlet weather targeted everyone, but when an incident struck a chord and became personal, that was when things crossed the line. Had Malus been some physical adversary and wrecked havoc on Gensokyo with earthquakes, Remilia wouldn't think much of it. But Malus had possessed her best friend, and knowing the stubborn girl she once was, Remilia had every right to believe that she would seek to target the Scarlet sisters and their friends.

"Just what the hell is this shrew hoping to gain? Bragging rights? Power? Influence?" Remilia bared her fangs. "A chance at my sister?"

"You said that she's a lich, right Remilia-sama?" Koakuma asked, looking no better than Sakuya was with bandages covering her arms. "What exactly is that?"

"A lich is an undead magician who sacrifices their humanity and life for power and immortality. They also sacrifice their good looks, hence why all of them are either skeletons or partially decomposed cadavers," Remilia explained.

"But mistress, do vampires not go through the same situation?" Sakuya wondered.

"In a sense, but we're different. Vampirism is both hereditary and an irreversible choice, at least to my knowledge. Sunlight weakens us, blood sustains us, and unlike liches we're personable, attractive, and at least somewhat civilized."

Koakuma looked up at Meiling and noticed that the guardswoman had been up all night making sure that nothing escaped the library. From the way her posture sagged to how her eyelids drooped, Koakuma knew that she was tired. Not even a thermos of strong coffee or gaggle of zombie maids snarling behind closed doors could keep someone from feeling exhausted after a night shift. The guard had done her job well and showed an eagerness to assist no matter how she felt. Her determination was much appreciated, as was the stubbornness that kept her awake at her post.

"So uh... What are we gonna do again?" Meiling asked with a yawn.

"What do you mean what are we gonna do? You suggested that we head back in and find the book that Malus popped out of," Remilia muttered. She slapped the back of Meiling's head for good measure. "So, that's what we are going to do. And when I say we, I mean me, Sakuya, and Koakuma. You're going to guard the doors."

"Again?" Meiling whined as she rubbed the back of her head. She caught the angry look of her mistress and raised her hands in defense. "R-roger that! No problems here!"

"We need you. Do you understand?"

Meiling merely nodded and moved away from the doors. The vampire, maid and succubus let a silence fall between them and looked to the library doors for a moment. They listened for anything unusual. The sound of wings flapping past, moaning, the shuffling of feet, even the howl of a draft or perhaps the slow burning of a torch. But nothing could be heard; all was silent in the library. Koakuma felt goosebumps form on her skin just from being unable to hear a thing. The silence of the library used to be so calming before this.

"Why can't Sakuya go in by herself?" Koakuma asked as she lingered by the door handles. "You can manipulate time and space. That should be enough to get you in and out with the book just in time for tea."

"It didn't help me restrain Lady Patchouli," Sakuya replied. She was enticed to leave it at that, but Sakuya kept talking. "Though I could stop time and move about freely, when I was with her I felt as if she was following me with her eyes... It was a feeling I had never felt before. Would relying on my powers a second time accomplish this task, or will it not make a difference as it did before?"

The vampire and succubus looked to each other and discovered that they didn't have a response to that. For as long as they could remember, Sakuya was so gifted in her powers of manipulating time and space that one could hardly notice when she passed by. The maid would literally be there at the snap of the fingers. Her skill with knives and daggers, when combined with her time-manipulation powers, made her a dangerous foe. For her to be overcome by an opponent or at the very least disturbed by one was a startling thing to fathom.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Koakuma muttered.

Remilia nodded at that.

"So do I. Come on, let's not make this any worse by delaying it."

Koakuma pried out a few boards and chair legs from the handles and pushed the doors open. They creaked as they swung out and provided the three with a sign of things to come. Koakuma tensed up even more as she feared that the sound would attract attention, but as she looked out into the library and the destroyed balcony beyond, she found that there weren't any of Malus' new zombie maids lying in wait. Not even the big-bad lich herself was in view. Though Koakuma remembered hearing Malus talk about some kind of restriction imposed upon her, she did not expect for the exit to be unattended. Either the lich was planning something in her inner sanctum or she was indifferent to her options.

The three residents looked to the destroyed staircase leading down into the heart of the library and noticed that while there were enough planks to see them safely down, doing so would make them an easy target should any zombie guards see them there. There were a couple undead maids fluttering about near the ceiling of the grand library. They drifted to and fro and groaned every so often, but they did not have the mental capacity to stop and look down to notice the three intruders. The undead were terrible at seeing things at a distance, but their sense of hearing was very acute. Remilia decided the best course of action would be to slip by them undetected, at least until the right information was in their hands.

It filled Koakuma with a disgusted feeling to see the library looking so unwelcoming and alien. A thick black fog had drifted over certain parts of the library while embers continued to smolder in the remains of destroyed bookcases and ruined texts. The aisles she used to skip through and know like the back of her hand had been torn through and rearranged in odd patterns as if Malus herself had decided to do some decorating. Koakuma wondered if the tome they were looking for was still securely locked away in her mistress's desk, and if it would be of any assistance. Yet her mistress was always quick to point out that information, no matter how benign, had weight.

After descending an adjacent bookcase and managing to avoid disturbing the books resting on the shelves, the three residents touched down in one of the many darkened aisles of the library. Though it was cramped, dark, and eerie, the three felt concealed from any of the zombie maids. They all knew that when they were alive they could make a lot of noise, and being dead didn't change a thing. If they were caught, they would alert their new mistress, Malus, and she wouldn't simply reprimand the trespassers as Remilia once did.

Sakuya took the lead and stalked her way down the aisle with that same cold professionalism and silence as always. They stepped around broken pieces of wood and glass and kept conversations to a minimum as they went. Occasionally they had to distract a guard or even kill one just to keep themselves hidden.

"Tossing a book's not going to do it," Koakuma whispered as she looked on at one zombie maid obstructing the path. The devil shook her head and gingerly dropped her book to the floor. "The desk's not too far away either. I can even see it."

"Then we'll kill her," Remilia replied. She turned to Sakuya. "Do it."

The chief maid nodded and did what needed to be done. In a fraction of a second the zombie maid that had once obstructed their path vanished without a trace. No signs of a struggle could be found, but when Koakuma looked closely as she made her way through the aisle she noticed one of the fairy maid's shoes sticking up from beneath a pile of books. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as Sakuya cleaned a bloody blade with a handkerchief before sliding it back into its holster on her thigh. Without another word uttered between them, the servants continued on their way with the mistress of the mansion following right along.

In time the three reached Patchouli's desk and were fortunate to find it unguarded.

"There it is. Come on, open it up and get that tome," Remilia urged.

Koakuma stepped forward and produced an old iron key from her dress. She moved behind the ancient mahogany desk and nudged her mistress's favorite chair away from the center drawer. Without wasting any time, the little devil piloted the key into the drawer's lock and slid the container out to grab the dreaded tome. Her fingers scraped the bottom of the drawer and came up with nothing but a few bits of dust. Eyes wide from shock, Koakuma looked in and noticed that where the tome should have been there was a faint imprint.

"It's... It's gone!" Koakuma cried. She glanced around and under the desk as she felt panic swelling up inside her. "I know I put it here! I know it!"

"Shh, calm down." Sakuya went to Koakuma's side and gestured to the other drawers. "It's probably in the other drawers."

"No, I put it in this one, the top one."

"What's the problem?" Remilia asked as she looked on.

"The tome's gone!"

The two servants went to look in the other locked drawers when a great and terrible screeching rose up in the distance. Koakuma looked up and noticed that the two fairy maids that were patrolling the air above the library had detected them. They pointed at the intruders and screeched again, and that was all it took to stir up the hornet's nest. Their screams were echoed by the other guards and soon the intruders were surrounded by around two dozen of the undead servants. To Remilia's chagrin, none of them cared that she was the de facto mistress of the mansion and instead treated her like she was prey.

"Great," Remilia muttered as the undead servants formed up. "Leave it to a lich to turn my staff against me."

"Not all of them," Sakuya chipped in. She took a handful of knives and placed them between her fingers as she took a stand next to her mistress. "We have no choice. We must destroy them, mistress."

"And quickly too, or else we're screwed!"

"Wh-what should I do?" Koakuma asked as she clutched her iron key.

"Keep looking devil. Search every nook and cranny in this area until you find that tome," Remilia growled. She turned back to the undead servants and huffed. "I should have brought my spear..."

Though the fairy maids' senses had been dulled by reanimation, their magical abilities were still the same. As was customary in Gensokyo, most fights involved a heaping helping of danmaku, or magical bullets of varying sizes, colors, properties, and velocities. The fairy maids unleashed a few good strings of danmaku upon the three intruders, but they lacked precision and did not travel very fast like a bullet launched from a firearm. This allowed them to be deflected by a magical bullet of equal or greater force, and Remilia, being the pint-sized powerhouse she was, took over as the undead maids' main target. The vampire swung her arms out and formed a web of stationary danmaku to protect Koakuma before flying into the fray.

Sakuya flung her knives out in every direction to land a few hits on some undead maids. The sharp metal cut into the decaying flesh and ripped clothing to ribbons as they flew past. When the knives got so far away from their master, they disappeared and reappeared on Sakuya's holsters to be used again. The knives were simple tools, but in the hands of Sakuya, they claimed many targets and reduced them to perforated corpses. Occasionally the chief maid would warp around and slam a knife down into a distracted foe with her time manipulation powers, but for the most part she used them to reclaim her ammunition.

"There seem to be more than just two dozen!" Sakuya cried out.

"Smoke and mirrors!" Remilia replied. She tore through a couple undead maids with a blast of red magic and turned to face the others. "Kill them all and then we'll count them!"

As magic was repelled with magic and steel combated gnashing teeth, Koakuma huddled under her mistress's desk and kept working at various drawers to see which one held the tome. She winced at every danmaku bullet that whizzed past her and sank into the floorboards, and she flinched whenever the desk rumbled above her. Her heart was racing and urging her to find the tome. She glanced over at Remilia and Sakuya fighting the maids and felt relieved that they were there to protect her. At that thought, the little devil's remaining hope and optimism was washed away in a demoralizing wave.

Out of all the residents in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Koakuma was the weakest. She was more important than one of the fairy maids, but when it came to magical abilities and power the little devil could not last one minute against an overwhelming foe. Even Meiling, who did not rely on danmaku or magical tricks, was ten times as powerful as Koakuma was. In a fight with Malus, the little devil would count herself lucky to get away with some of her limbs intact. She gritted her teeth and shook her head to try and rid herself of her self-loathing, and for the most part she succeeded.

"I wish I could help," Koakuma mumbled under her breath. She looked in another drawer and cursed when she found nothing but a few manuscripts. "For the love of-"

A few shots impacted behind her and flung her and the desk up into the air. She flew over the desk and across the floor before hitting it and rolling uncontrollably. Her wings hit the floor in odd angles and objected to the rolling while Koakuma tried her best to curl up and minimize the pain. The lights and carnage of a danmaku battle were all around her, and she knew that if she stopped moving she would be a prime target for any opportunistic zombie maid. When her back slammed against one of the bookcases, Koakuma figured that it was safe to get up and move away.

She looked up just in time to see her mistress's desk slide towards her and pin her against the bookcase. Koakuma winced and drew her arms over her body as the desk crashed into her. The sounds of battle were drowned out by falling books and creaking wood as well as the echoes of a collision. Koakuma knew she should have had a bone broken or two from having the desk crash into her, but when she opened her eyes to inspect herself, she discovered that she was completely unharmed. The desk had pinned her to the bookcase, yes, but the gap where Patchouli put her legs had encased Koakuma and protected her from harm.

Whether it was by her mistress's influence or fool's luck, Koakuma was still alive. And even better, it seemed that the blasting, sliding and crashing had destroyed a few locks on the desk drawers that Koakuma hadn't looked in yet. Before she could get to them, however, a dark shadow loomed over the little devil and sent a shiver down her spine.

"You came back?"

In an instant Koakuma felt the cold hand of Malus reach down and grab her by the tie of her uniform. She looked up into those corrupted red eyes of her mistress and struggled with the hand on her tie until Malus lifted up and dragged Koakuma with her. The lich paid no attention to the gagging and choking noises coming from her victim and held her up like she was some prize catch from Misty Lake. A disgusting sneer was plastered over a face that was too kind for that, but Malus was in control of Patchouli's body and mind and could do whatever she wanted to her. Just as Koakuma was beginning to lose consciousness from being hung by her tie, Malus gave her a good shake and slammed her to the floor on her back.

"You poor deluded creature. You're such a glutton for punishment, aren't you?" The lich pressed her foot into Koakuma's stomach and delighted in the wheezing and coughing that followed. "You should be honored. I did this to your mistress not too long ago."

"Malus! You get out of her right this instant!"

The lich looked up and noticed Remilia Scarlet before her with her ever dutiful chief maid beside her. Littered around the vampire and servant were the decaying bodies of Malus' two dozen undead servants, all routed by danmaku and throwing knives. There was strength in numbers, but none of them were able to harm the mistress of the mansion. The lich expressed a chuckle at how disheveled Sakuya looked with bandages and blood on her tattered uniform before turning her attention to Remilia. She kicked Koakuma over with a grunt and stepped forward to challenge her old acquaintance.

"I like it in here, Remilia. It's comfy; much better than that frigid body of mine."

"Being a cold-hearted bitch tends to do that to you," Remilia shot back.

"Nice to see you too."

Remilia growled and produced a splendid array of danmaku behind her, all poised to launch at Malus. The lich wagged her finger at the display.

"Careful there. Imagine I don't dodge a shot and you tear off a limb. Do you think your little friend could survive a barrage from you?" Malus glared down at Koakuma's form. "If this body is destroyed, I'll just find another."

"You wouldn't," Remilia replied.

"And why do you think that?"

"You think you can fool me, Malus? You and I both know how powerful Patchouli is. When we sealed you away you were barely a wisp of your former self. You need her to survive, else we'd obliterate you in a heartbeat."

Malus huffed and shook her head.

"Which begs the question of how you're going to tear me away from your beloved friend. I assume you were here looking for this?"

The lich reached into her robes and pulled out the dark leather-bound tome that she came from. Koakuma propped herself up from her position on the floor and looked up with a gasp when she realized that it was Malus who had the tome. The one book that could shed some light on the situation and it was in the wrong hands.

"I admire your determination, but this doesn't belong to any of you. This is mine, as are all the resources in this library," Malus muttered. She tucked the dark tome back into her robes and held it securely as if it was a priceless artifact. "Now then, back to business."

"Business? What business is there to discuss?" Remilia asked.

"Ha! Don't play dumb with me, Remilia. You know what I want."

"No, actually. I don't. You wanted to be immortal, but when you couldn't become a vampire you became a lich instead. Wasn't that enough?"

"It would have been if you hadn't destroyed my body and trapped my soul in a prison. I am not yet sated, Remilia. I drank from the maker's cup and I want more!" Malus extended her hand and cooed. "Your sister should suffice. Bring me her and I will release myself from this magician."

"So you can possess her instead? Never!" Remilia shouted. "You simple-minded, power-hungry cretin... You don't even know what to do with all that power!"

"Does anyone really know what they want to do with their power?" Malus retorted. She patted her chest. "Patchouli, despite all her knowledge and power, had little idea of what to do with it. She was held back by her illnesses and philosophies. She distracted herself with literature, alchemy, and useless research."

"What do you mean, 'was'?" Koakuma interjected.

Malus looked back over at the little devil and smirked.

"Oh, right. My mistake, Koakuma. She's still alive, but only until she ceases to be useful. Her knowledge and memories takes time to go through, but rest assured little devil, your lover is still alive." The lich gave a soft chuckle as she approached Koakuma. "How intriguing it is that a being as powerful as Patchouli Knowledge chose to take a succubus as her lover, and a servant no less. Why, even by Gensokyo standards, that's a poor choice. I wonder if she just wanted to know what it felt like to be violated by a beast."

The little devil felt anger swell up within her at that remark. She already had her own personal incident some time ago, and she resolved it as best as she could with her mistress's help. If her mistress was here, she would defend the little devil and be quick to offer a kind word of encouragement, but all that Koakuma had to work off of at the moment was anger. She clenched her fists and glowered at the lich.

"I'm not going to negotiate with you, Malus. I'm not handing my sister over," Remilia spat.

"Of course you wouldn't. I just wanted to know how things were going between you two," Malus replied. She cocked her head to the side and propped her chin under her hand. "Patchouli has many... fond memories of you involving your sister. Quite a few hints of incestual love; most astounding..."

"That's none of your business."

"I think it is. So tell me, Remilia, how did that work out for you? The memory is quite clouded."

Remilia hesitated for a moment before turning away and folding her arms like she had just been scolded.

"It didn't."

"Come again dearie?" Malus mocked. "You're going to have to speak up."

Sakuya leaned into her mistress and whispered a few words into her ear. She had little to add to the exchange of venomous words and banter and wisely chose to stay out of it. But when it came to her mistress, the chief maid knew what was best for her. She could tell that Malus was trying to demoralize them and rouse them to blinding anger; an underhanded tactic but an effective one. Sakuya encouraged her mistress to calm down and collect her thoughts, but when the vampire gave her a sour look, the maid had no choice but to remain silent and obey. Talking was getting the charismatic vampire nowhere. She snapped her fingers and gave her loyal hound permission to attack.

Koakuma had risen to her feet and was prepared to tackle Malus when she noticed Sakuya disappear off to the side. In the blink of an eye the enigmatic maid then reappeared behind Malus and tried to put her in a hold with a dagger pressed against her throat, but the lich somehow saw it coming. She whirled around just as quickly as Sakuya could manage, perhaps even more, and grappled with her. A knife was pressed to her throat, but so was one against Sakuya's. The two struggled about in each other's grasp before Malus got the upper hand and slammed the maid back with a powerful magical force that sent ripples through the air.

The maid tumbled over herself and landed right next to her mistress with incredulity written all over her face.

"W-what is this?" she uttered, aghast.

"What kind of trick was that, Malus?" Remilia asked.

With a gleeful laugh and a dramatic spreading of her arms, the lich answered back.

"Trick? Not at all! This is my realm now, and she's not pulling the wool over my eyes on my watch." Malus directed her next question to the maid. "Tell me lapdog, how can you manipulate time and space that isn't yours?"

"Sakuya, try it again," Remilia ordered.

Once again, the maid went for Malus to try and restrain her. The attempt was dodged and redirected a few times before the lich grabbed Sakuya and pinned her to the floor. Though it was hard to figure out what the normally cold and elegant maid was thinking half the time, there was without a doubt a thread of unease dancing in her mind. Her powers of manipulating time and space had yet to fail her, and yet here was a foe who knew what she was doing. Sakuya scrambled for one of her knives and jabbed it through Malus' robes to sever a few crucial threads.

The tome that Malus originated from slid out from the lich's robes and onto the floor. Both Remilia and Koakuma made a dash for the book, but it was Koakuma who would reach it. Malus growled and flung Sakuya over to crash headfirst into her mistress, knocking the two of them out of the fight for the time being before turning to the red-headed devil. It was likely that the lich was expecting a few more minutes of mindless banter or dominating her enemies with a hopeless situation. She had gotten careless in her superiority and vowed to not let it happen again. As Koakuma scooped up the dark tome in her arms and prepared to take flight she felt Malus' cold hand wring around her ankle and hold her still.

It didn't take long before Koakuma felt herself being pulled back. Knowing what was to come, she wrapped her wings around her body and curled up to protect herself as she was flailed around by the lich. Her ankle was released only when Koakuma crashed into her mistress's desk and broke it under her weight. She arched her back and unfurled her wings with a cry of pain. Though there were no splinters cutting into her skin, the little devil was certain that she broke a bone or threw out her back. And while that would have been alarming enough for her, Koakuma discovered that crashing into her mistress's desk had dislodged the tome from her embrace.

She looked amongst the remains of the desk and found not one but two tomes before her. Disorientated by the pain and by being flung about, again, Koakuma couldn't tell which tome was the one she wanted. She reached forward and swiped the one closest to her and ignored how heavy it felt in her arms. Her body was threatening to give out on her, and with Malus hovering nearby without a scratch, it was high time to get out of the library. The little devil scrambled back to her feet and scurried away with the tome in her arms and an agonizing pain in her back.

"Not so fast, devil," Malus cried. She reached into her robes and pulled out a slip of paper with sigils written upon it, a spellcard. "Wood Sign, Green Storm!"

The card in Malus' hand vanished in a plume of green flames and took effect immediately. Sharp green leaves billowed out from nearby bookcases and containers and whirled around the inner sanctum like a school of ravenous piranhas. One leaf even sliced off Koakuma's red tie as it flew past. Patchouli, being a master magician, made sure that her spellcards were powerful and efficient. Koakuma looked up for a way to fly out of the green storm, but the leaves had formed a perfect container around the inner sanctum and would not bend to brute force.

A deep rumbling came from beneath the floorboards and directed Koakuma's attention back to Malus.

"Earth Sign, Rage Trilithon High Level!"

Koakuma figured that the landslide of tumbling rocks would come from above, but with Malus corrupting the cards with her terrible magic, the rocks would come from elsewhere. The ground shook and sent Koakuma tumbling before the floorboards creaked and broke as boulders rose up from below. Remilia and Sakuya dove for cover as a few rocks erupted next to them and smashed into the spot they once occupied. It was armageddon in earthquake form, and with the green storm keeping the three confined in the inner sanctum, it was only a matter of time before one rock struck home.

"I have it! I have the tome!" Koakuma cried as she made her way to the mistress of the mansion.

"Come on! We need to get out of here!" Remilia searched for Sakuya through the chaos. "Sakuya! Where are you?"

The two stumbled into each other when a boulder burst in mid-air behind them. Pebbles scattered around them and dotted the area with dents like hail to crops. Remilia whirled around and blasted a few pieces of rock that would have crushed them had she not interfered. As the rocks rained down upon them, Koakuma looked up and realized that there were far too many to dodge properly. Malus was cornering them and would soon crush them, yet what she wasn't planning on was for the chief maid to prove her worth in spite.

Sakuya burst through a shower of shrapnel and sharp stones and clasped a hand on both Remilia and Koakuma. And then, before Malus knew what was happening, the three disappeared from the killzone.

* * *

Meiling was just about ready to take a nap at her post when Remilia, Sakuya, and Koakuma appeared in front of her and collapsed to the hallway floor in an exhausted heap. The maid stood off to the side and keeled over to pant and try to collect herself while Remilia whined and rubbed her head. They were alive, and other than a few fresh bruises and cuts, they were mostly unharmed. Koakuma was the exception. She writhed on the floor and cursed Malus for throwing out her back.

"Did we learn anything useful?" Remilia wheezed as she stood up to dust off her dress.

"Malus is... She does not care for diplomacy, reason, or pleasantries," Sakuya commented.

"That, and she's a simple-minded shrew. Her desire for power is so absurd it's frightening. We now know that she wants my sister most of all, and she's prepared to do whatever it takes to get to her, even if Patchy has to pay the price." Remilia crushed a fist into an open hand and scowled. "Of all the despicable scum in the world, it has to be this one..."

The vampire shook her head and managed to compose herself. She turned to Koakuma and loomed over her as Meiling gingerly helped her to her feet.

"Well little devil? Still amongst the living?"

"I think one of my wings are broken," Koakuma whimpered with a grimace.

"If youkai can fly without wings, so can you. Buck up and be thankful it was just a wing. Now, do you have the tome?"

Koakuma nodded and handed over the dark tome. With her senses coming back to her along with the fact that she had time to properly inspect things Koakuma couldn't help but notice that the tome looked different from the one Malus held. This one looked bulky and felt heftier than the hollow shell that Malus came out of. Remilia blinked twice and narrowed her eyes in scrutiny. Her fingers ran over the leather edges, spine, and eventually tried to open the tome only to find that it wouldn't open. There was no lock keeping it sealed this time.

"What the... It won't open?" Remilia muttered. She turned the book over in her hands and scoffed in disgust. "Great. This is the wrong tome. Good going, devil."

The vampire dropped the book on a nearby table and ran her fingers through her hair. Koakuma gasped at the revelation and turned away in despair. She had been near-useless in the brief struggle against the undead maids and even Malus. In her heart she knew that she did all that she could, but she cursed herself for being unable to do more. If only she knew better magic or was stronger, she wouldn't make so many mistakes. She would be more useful, and she mess up something as simple as picking one tome from two.

Remilia, Meiling, and Sakuya bowed their heads and remained silent, unsympathetic to the shortcomings of the succubus behind them. As far as they knew, the tome that Malus came out of was very important if the lich herself coveted it and kept it on her person for safekeeping. They had gotten one chance to retrieve it and they blew it by grabbing something completely different, something completely irrelevant to their struggle. Remilia, the manipulator of fate, felt that she had nothing to add, nor any plans to work off of. There was one that she knew could work, but she shuddered at the thought.

If only Patchouli were here, the four thought. She would know what to do.

"I'm... I'm sorry, mistress," Koakuma whispered. She turned to the useless tome on the table and reached for the spine. "I failed... B-but I won't give up. I just can't. I have to do som-"

The tome reacted to Koakuma's touch in a way that Remilia was unable to produce. The little devil recoiled from it and watched as purple runes appeared on the spine and lit up with a mysterious glow. The runes spread up and down the spine and eventually to the front and back of the hefty tome to form intricate patterns, strange symbols, and foreign letters that were undecipherable to any who was not skilled in the arcane. Slowly, the tome lifted itself off from the table and hovered before Koakuma. When a yellow crescent appeared on the front cover and bathed the area in a calm, warm light, the little devil realized what she had in her hands.

Remilia and the others looked up from their sulking and could hardly believe their eyes.

"Is that..."

"But how did she get it to..."

"Well... She is her familiar..."

Koakuma held the tome in her hands and reached for the cover as the others crowded around her. It wasn't the tome of Malus, but it just might prove more useful to them all than the book of origin. When the little devil managed to open the grimoire, she was struck breathless at what she found within. Nevermind the treasure trove of useful information written in the pages by a steady hand. What mattered at the moment was the hope that emanated from it all. Perhaps... Just perhaps... There was a chance at saving Patchouli Knowledge after all...

* * *

**Author's Note: **As always, please read and review/comment!


	6. Banding Together

"Here! Put it right here!"

"This is... P-pretty heavy when it's not floating..."

"Heavy with information and spells that we can use, you mean. Now come on, do the thing with the spine again!"

The recent discovery of an ancient grimoire had taken the mansion's residents by surprise. Grimoires were magical books that contained a plethora of useful information for alchemy concoctions, spells, incantations, and all things arcane. For it to land in the hands of the ones who needed it the most was a stroke of good fortune. Even better, the grimoire wasn't just an nondescript book. To the mansion's residents it was the key to stopping Malus, but to Koakuma, it was the biggest beacon of hope that she could hold onto. Her mistress's grimoire was a sign that Patchouli was still alive, and she was waiting for her loyal servant and closest friends to save her.

Koakuma placed the grimoire down in the mansion's foyer. They would have put it someplace more comfortable, but Meiling, in a fit of 'better-safe-than-sorry', barricaded the doors to the library with every piece of furniture in the halls. As such, the coffee tables and loveseats of the foyer served as a welcome reprieve from the endless identical scarlet halls. The vampire, maid, and guard all crowded around the little devil as she opened the grimoire and gazed upon its contents.

A groan came from Remilia when she realized that her best friend had added well over a thousand pages to an already hefty piece of work.

"This is why books bother me. The text is too small, the pages are too big and numerous, and even when it starts off interesting, the rest of the book is just filler."

"I'm sure there's a table of contents in here somewhere," Koakuma mumbled. She ran her hands over a few pages before finding it. "Here we go."

"I've never looked into Lady Patchouli's grimoire," Sakuya whispered. "Koakuma, what should we be looking for? What will assist us the most?"

Remilia snapped her fingers.

"Spells, obviously! Patchy's bound to have her strongest spells in this grimoire. With those puppies we'll be able to beat Malus out of her and obliterate her just in time for some late night tea."

"Mistress Remilia, with all due respect, I have a better idea."

Koakuma looked up and directed Remilia's attention to the table of contents. While it was true that Patchouli Knowledge kept all of her most powerful spells within the pages of her grimoire, there was more to it than just that. The little vampire loomed over the text and looked to where Koakuma's finger was. In addition to a complete guide on magical wards, alchemy ingredients and enchanting, there was a bestiary!

"Knowledge is power," Koakuma stated. "Maybe there's something on liches here that we can exploit."

"What's there to know? Liches are undead magicians who sacrificed their humanity to become powerful. Kill them with fire or smash their skull in."

"My Lady, I don't believe it is that easy," Sakuya said. "Were that the case, we would be swating embers out of Lady Patchouli's clothing while the guard fetches the balm."

"Yes, yes, I suppose you're right." Remilia sat back and folded her little arms across her chest. "Alright little devil. It's your mistress' grimoire, and you did manage to open it, so go ahead and consult the bestiary. But let it be known that I don't put much stock in it."

The others understood Remilia's frustration and impatience. Though Koakuma was at risk of losing her mistress and beloved, so too was Remilia and the rest of the mansion's residents. The vampire wanted her closest confidante and best friend to be safe, and she knew that every minute spent not fighting Malus was a minute the fiend used to her advantage. Koakuma buckled down and busied herself with flipping through pages of arcane glyphs while the others hovered nearby.

"Would my martial arts help at all?" Meiling asked to nobody in particular.

"I don't think it would," Remilia replied.

"Why not? I bet I could make a difference. I'll just direct my punches to the right areas and-"

"Please don't punch my mistress in the face Meiling," Koakuma said without looking up from her research. "She's very frail as it is."

"Okay, that's a good point. But how about this? What if I use my knowledge of martial arts to ease Malus out of Lady Patchouli's body without hurting her?"

"How in the world would you do that?" Remilia asked, dumbfounded.

"It's all about the ki flow! Like squeezing out venom from a wound, I'd go up to her and give her a thorough massage. I'd start with her shoulders and-"

"No, Meiling."

The guard gave a sheepish grin and sank back into her loveseat. As Koakuma kept searching for the right page the group spent time going over strategies and worst-case scenarios. As the lich Malus was still in possession of Patchouli, getting her out was the first priority. Doing so would put the group at ease, and if the librarian had enough strength and composure to keep herself conscious, she would no doubt be able to assist the group in banishing or obliterating Malus once and for all. Brute force did not seem like an option for removing Malus' tainted influence, but neither did a more covert or unorthodox approach.

All eyes were on Koakuma as she whirled the grimoire around and pointed to a particular entry.

"Look here! A page all about liches!"

The group gathered around and looked upon Patchouli's old notes. The master magician had been busy and used her time wisely to record all that she knew and researched upon the pages of her grimoire. There was an intricate drawing of a lich as a partially decomposed cadaver along with other objects such as staves and jewels. Littered around the margins of the pages were small notes and codes that only Patchouli herself could understand. The group searched the pages for anything of use before Sakuya placed her finger on one particular paragraph.

"Liches are constructs of flesh, bone, and magical energy. Destroying one would require breaching any magical barriers and removing their potential to invoke spells. A physical blow, such as one from a bone-crushing weapon like a hammer or mace, would easily scatter the bones and sever any magical tendons that may linger."

"But there's nothing on possession," Koakuma observed. "There has to be a way to-"

"A magician of considerable skill or a coven of mages can overwhelm a lich and dispel any active effects on the battlefield. Fighting fire with fire is recommended." Sakuya narrowed her eyes and grimaced. "However, a lich worthy of being classified as one is impossible to defeat with brute force alone. If destroyed, the lich will reanimate itself and either flee or continue attacking."

"Well that's not very optimistic," Meiling muttered.

"Impossible to defeat? No Patchy, everything can be obliterated to dust," Remilia grumbled.

Before Sakuya could continue, Koakuma nudged her out of the way and gave a cheerful shout.

"Wait! Here's something new! My mistress wrote down something about a phylactery!"

"Oh, I heard about those," Meiling cooed with a wave of her hand. "That's a little box that little elderly men put their gems in!"

"You're sort of right there, but no, this is apparently a different kind of phylactery. According to this, it's an object of any shape or size that is imbued with the soul of the lich. Because the object is well-guarded or kept a secret, the lich is given immortality," Koakuma explained. She snapped her fingers and looked over at Remilia. "So, all we need to do is find the object and-"

"-and destroy it! Of course! Go for the source of her power! Good eye little devil." The refined vampire grinned wide. "Home is where the heart is. Since Malus is a heartless bitch, that means home is where the soul is!"

"So that means Malus' phylactery would have to either be well-guarded or on her person at all times," Koakuma mused. "Mistress, do you believe that it could be that tome she carried? The one she appeared out of?"

"I'd bet my entire fortune back home on it. Without a doubt! Think of it; we now know how to defeat her once and for all!"

The guard and maid looked on as Koakuma and Remilia cheered amongst themselves. Though there were probably still a lot of variables related to phylacteries, possession and liches left to think over, there was no denying that the group was finally getting somewhere. Hope rose in their hearts once again. In a rare display of optimism, Remilia assured the little devil that everything would be alright. And she believed her.

But before the group could get over their heads there appeared a familiar face that was both unaccounted for and unwelcome.

"Ah... Hello? Am I interrupting anything?"

No-one said a word as they turned their heads to the front entrance of the mansion. Looking like an urchin standing at the gates of paradise lost was Marisa Kirisame in her black-white outfit and charred broomstick. A tan sack was hung over her shoulder, no doubt filled with books as per usual, but the thief's expression was one of recompense instead of iconic deviance. Marisa lowered her brow in confusion as she noticed the disbelieving stares of the mansion's residents. The silence continued for some time before Koakuma broke it.

"What do you want?" she demanded in a cool tone.

Marisa shrugged and refused to meet the devil's gaze.

"I uh, thought I'd stop by and see if Patchy was doing alright..."

"You're not welcome here."

"W-What?"

"I said, you're not welcome here." Koakuma's good mood had vanished and been replaced with a sour one. She stood up and glared across the foyer at Marisa. "If you hadn't stuck your nose where it didn't belong we wouldn't be in this mess."

"What mess? What did I do?"

Sakuya and Meiling chose to stay out of the conversation and instead looked away so as to not show any support. Even Remilia turned away and allowed herself to sit out on the impending argument. Though she made a point that all of her guests were well-received and treated to her hospitality, she believed that the black-white thief before them deserved no such treatment. With Patchouli on the line Koakuma had every right to be angry with Marisa. And so, she discarded her meek mask to prove her point.

"My mistress is suffering right now because of your foolishness! That tome you tried to steal contained an enemy that possessed her. And now this... this fiend is using her like her own personal plaything!"

"H-Hey! Don't blame me! I didn't know that some ancient evil was in that tome!"

"Yeah well you oughta know," Koakuma snapped as she advanced on Marisa. "You're a grown-up magician; you should know better!"

Marisa raised her hands in defense and flinched under the scolding might of the little devil.

"Time and time again my mistress and I have warned you about stealing books. Were they regular books we wouldn't have reacted so vehemently, but you always take the dangerous ones. How much longer will it take for your taking shortcuts to be your undoing?"

"Look, Koakuma, I'm sorry, okay?" Marisa sighed and backed down. "Is that what you wanted me to say? I never meant for anything bad to happen to Patchy or you. I just..."

"You weren't thinking at all, were you?" Koakuma asked in a quiet voice.

The thief remained silent and shook her head. Koakuma wanted to continue scolding her, but doing so wouldn't solve anything. As much as she wasn't fond of Marisa, the little devil knew that there were more important matters to attend to. Memories of past thefts and even the drunken harassment of Patchouli swam through her mind. She had to follow the example of her mistress who, even though she didn't like her, never regarded Marisa as pest that needed to be exterminated. The little devil turned away and folded her arms across her chest.

Marisa half expected a hex or another cutting remark, but what flowed from Koakuma's lips next took her by surprise.

"Well... You really didn't know what you've done, so I can't hold it against you. I guess I accept your apology." Koakuma glanced over her shoulder at Marisa and narrowed her eyes. "But if you really want to do right, then help us. You bringing back some stolen books is a start, but that's not enough."

"Yeah! Come on Kirisame-san, we need all the help we can get!" Meiling interjected.

"Hey, these aren't stolen books," Marisa replied in her defense. "I was just returning them. That's all. B-but how can I help? If Patchy is possessed, does that mean that we have to kill her?"

"I'm hoping that won't be the case," Remilia said as she unfurled her wings and sat back in her chair. "Now if you two are all buddy-buddy, come back over here. While you were talking I came up with a plan. Provided Marisa doesn't get in our way, I hope that it'll go smoothly."

Before Marisa could get too comfortable, Koakuma slithered up next to her and studied her over. Despite her status as a thief and a mischief maker, Marisa was clever, opportunistic, and a natural with magic. She was younger than Koakuma yet she knew more about the arcane and could keep her head on straight while in the heat of a danmaku battle. Perhaps by teaming up the little devil may be able to learn a few things. With her mistress' grimoire in her possession, Koakuma needed more than dumb luck to see her through.

The thief noticed the grimoire and gave an inquisitive tilt of her head.

"That's Patchy's grimoire, isn't it?"

"It is, but reading it is a challenge. Do you mind helping me?" Koakuma asked. "I don't know many spells. I have to be stronger if I want to help free my mistress."

"You'd trust me to teach you a few things?" Marisa rubbed the back of her neck and paused. "Well, it should be easy for you to pick up new things. Look, I'll see what I can do. Maybe I can teach you how to use spell cards more effectively when that vampire's done talking."

"I'll hold you to that," Koakuma replied with a small smile.

* * *

Remilia was a shrewd and clever creature, and when the circumstances were right, she was an excellent tactician. Though she had a habit for using Meiling as cannon fodder or as the group's butt monkey, she made sure that all of her servants pulled their own weight. A duchess like her wasn't known for doing everything herself, after all. The group listened to her plans and strategies and voiced any questions and concerns that came up. Most of them were well answered, but a few of them, namely the concerns about what good would come from using Meiling as bait or a shield, were casually ignored.

On second thought, the servants and Marisa came to the idea that tackling an unpredictable foe wasn't something one could accurately plan for. Sakuya and Koakuma bounced ideas off of Remilia left and right while Marisa kept throwing her own expertise into the fray. They could hardly agree on what to do now that the key to defeating Malus was so close. It took quite a lot of Meiling's optimism and old Chinese proverbs to set things straight once again.

"Steer the boat wherever the winds lead, mistress!" Meiling chirped.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't worry about a plan! Just go with the flow and do your best. If we don't know what Malus will do, we'll just look for any openings and look out for each other."

"Meiling has a point. Good teamwork will prevail where there is no plan to be found," Sakuya added.

"I still think that you two believe my plans won't work," Remilia grumbled.

The group had enough time after their discussion to go and prepare themselves for the final battle against Malus. The mansion's residents have had enough of the lich already, so they decided to put all their eggs in one basket to make this the last encounter with her. The final course of action should everything fail would be to call upon Reimu as a contingency plan. No-one was prepared to fail, and they proved that by gathering their wits, courage, and whatever spell cards they had left in reserve. Marisa provided Koakuma with a few cards from her own reserves before taking her aside with Patchouli's grimoire in hand to train.

Mark my words as the narrator, Malus was about to become the victim of a fatal eviction.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Next chapter will be the final one. It's time to end this... Once and for all!


	7. The Final Battle

Night had fallen upon Gensokyo once again. The mansion was quiet, yet her residents were prepared and poised for the final battle. There were no gods to offer their support, no crowd of faceless citizens to cheer them on, no official pushing them forward. The residents of the mansion had no support but that which they could give each other. Spell cards were brought out along with a change of uniform fit for prolonged battle. This night would be the last chaotic night before the calm dawn.

The servants were as prepared as they could get. Sakuya checked herself for any wounds that may have reopened and bandaged herself up accordingly before putting on a more practical yet ever elegant new uniform. It was an unwritten rule for her to look as poised as possible, even when magical bullets were flying about. Meiling was less elegant than her colleague with her usual attire and bubbly nature. The guard spent her time stretching and meditating while the others prepared. She even cooked a meal for the others, though everyone avoided her main oriental spiced dish for fear of an upset stomach during battle.

Remilia decided it would be a good idea to bring Gungnir, one of her favorite spell cards. Though she doubted she would use it on Malus while she was still in possession of Patchouli, the mythical spear would be instrumental in putting down any apparitions she conjured up. The vampire spent some time alone in the halls of the mansion and spoke softly towards a door leading to the basement before meeting up with the others. With all that happened in the past few hours it was wise of her to see to her sister and assure her that everything was alright.

Marisa felt like a mercenary amongst the residents of the mansion, but she did what she could to fit in. Like Meiling, the ordinary witch soon bounced back to her usual optimistic and carefree attitude. She maintained her broomstick, fueled her elemental furnace, and organized her spell cards for the upcoming battle all the while giving Koakuma a few pointers and tricks. For her, saving Patchouli meant saving a library worth visiting. It just wasn't fun to stea- borrow from a place that had no crafty owner.

Koakuma ran her hands down her new uniform and checked the satchel on her hip to make sure that she had all the supplies she needed. Like the others she prepared for the final battle with Malus. Self-defense spell cards were hidden underneath her uniform on her garter belt while a set of thick gloves and boots, Meiling's gardening tools, helped to protect the devil's points of contact. She hadn't gotten in much training with her mistress's grimoire, but her spirits were high from Marisa's encouragement and Meiling's never-ending optimism. She felt confident that she could make a difference even with the small assortment of spells she knew.

The ragtag group assembled back at the entrance to the grand library and looked to each other.

"Is everyone ready?" Remilia asked as she flanked the door.

Meiling flashed a thumbs-up along with Sakuya.

"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Marisa replied. "Does your maid really need all those knives? She's carrying like ten different blades."

"A servant must be prepared for anything, be they stains, rowdy guests, or a lich," Sakuya interjected with a refined smile.

The little devil hugged her mistress' grimoire close to her chest and nodded. She was as ready as she'll ever be. There was no time to sleep or rest when every second Malus was off doing god-knows-what. Just as she was about to voice her determination she felt Sakuya come up beside her and place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Koakuma looked at the servant and noticed something in her hand for the taking. It was one of Sakuya's many daggers, offered hilt-first.

"Sakuya, what are you-"

"You may find more use for this than I will, Koakuma," Sakuya explained. "In case your magic fails you, use this to defend yourself."

"B-but I've never used a dagger like that before," Koakuma whispered. "What if I don't need it?"

"What if you do?" Sakuya answered back with that same smile.

Koakuma hesitated as she received the cryptic answer. She reached for the dagger in Sakuya's hand and tucked it in her satchel. Nobody expected to fight up close with Malus or any of her minions, but sometimes it was a case of better safe than sorry.

And so the group went to the doors and pushed them open to begin their assault on Malus' stolen realm. A gust of cold air blew back hair and threatened to remove Marisa's pointed hat as they moved in. Such a blast could only be the result of a dark and powerful being's presence. Moving in the group could see torn pages fluttering about in the air like dirty snowflakes in armageddon, barren bookcases toppled over desk and chairs, and large fires that should have been put out but were ignored by the new owner. Past the broken staircase the group could see that the fires had created enough smoke to blot out the moonlight and allow an eerie orange glow to pervade what was once a sanctum of knowledge.

Through the smoke the group could see a few traces of Malus' black mist. The strands of energy swirled and danced about from smokestack to smokestack as if they had no other place to go. There was no mistake that Malus was growing stronger and was preparing to assault the heart of the mansion. Give a lich one room in a mansion and she'll want it all. The dark particles of her energy were oblivious to the group's presence, at least at first.

The grand doors to the library closed behind the group with a sickening crack. Black lines drew over the doors and handles and thickened to form ethereal chains. Koakuma cursed as she realized that the chains could not be broken by conventional means. Not even magic could shake them. The group would be trapped inside the library until they either defeated Malus or died trying. It was not a good sign, but for Meiling, she tried to make the best of it.

"Look on the bright side everybody!" she chirped. "I have a good feeling about this!"

"Meiling I'm looking on the bright side and I still see chains on this door," Remilia grumbled. She turned to look up at the library's ceiling. "This doesn't look good."

"I am unfamiliar with this kind of magic. I'm used to having it hurtling past me instead of this," Sakuya commented. "Mistress, have you seen this before?"

"Back in Italy, sure. Typically a magician puts up a miasma of energy and weaves their essence through it as they prepare for some grand spell. And mind you, this isn't anything like our strongest spell cards."

"Then it is an affront. Mistress, I dread whatever may be the product of this magic."

Remilia nodded and looked back at the group of plucky servants and aspiring magicians.

"Same. Alright everyone, we're not leaving until we finish off Malus once and for all. She'll be in the center of the library. I don't think she knows we're here just yet."

"The doors closed on us. How can you be so sure?" Marisa asked.

"True, that was her work, but it was likely just a trap," Koakuma added. She gestured to the small arcane symbols on the door. "A proximity sigil must have activated once we got inside."

The young magician pulled a confused face, but then she realized that magic was magic and that it never followed any rules set in stone. If it locked a door and wouldn't dissipate until the caster was defeated, it was good enough for her. Marisa shrugged and raised her hand.

"How about we split up?"

"Splitting up? Well, that sounds dangerous, but what we're already doing is dangerous to begin with." Remilia tapped her chin and moved to the destroyed staircase. She peered out from the end where a large gap separated the ruined stairs from the walkway. "Okay. I've got a plan now. We split up into three groups going different ways and meet up in the center. Sakuya. Meiling. You two head down here and go right."

"As you wish mistress," Sakuya replied.

"Koakuma. Marisa. You two head left. I'll go right towards Malus. The quickest way to your target is always the most dangerous."

"Are you certain you don't want to come with one of us?"

"Now now Sakuya, I am the mistress of this mansion," Remilia replied with a fanged smile. "What kind of host would I be if I avoided our guest?"

After no further questions or concerns, Remilia performed a curtsy and unfurled her wings. She leaned back and fell off the end of the destroyed staircase to take flight and head out on her way. The little vampire was a force to be reckoned with and had more power than any of the others. If the pint-sized powerhouse wanted to lead the charge down the middle, then who was to argue? The two groups followed the vampire's example and leapt down to the ground. They would be traveling on foot, just to be safe.

Koakuma was saddened by how desolate the library had become. It had already fallen into disrepair since the last encounter with Malus, but this time it was as if the lich had truly claimed the area as her own. The bookcases oozed with her tainted presence while every broken piece of furniture and destroyed book told the tale of how little she cared for anything that wasn't herself. Koakuma could see strands of dark mist flowing around torches and fires like little moth tornadoes. The destroyed books could be repaired or duplicated again, but the library was one of a kind.

The little devil and magician made their way down the smoldering halls until a burning bookcase fell in front of them and blocked their path. Shards of wood and debris launched out from the bookcase along with a plume of smoke. It would have been an inconvenience had the two been unable to fly. But seeing as they could fly, they made their way over it and swatted embers out of their clothes.

"Jeez, this looks terrible," Marisa muttered as she gazed upon barren shelves and pockets of eerie black mist. "This is worse than Reimu's kitchen."

"It's taking so much to not scoop up the books I'm coming across. Malus may be Remilia and my mistress' nemesis, but she'll regret making an enemy out of me for her disrespect," Koakuma growled. "This is where ancient civilizations and loved ones live on, and she cares little for them."

Marisa gave Koakuma a solemn look.

"I imagine you wished it was me who had gotten possessed instead of Patchy, right?"

Koakuma shook her head.

"No. The thought never crossed my mind. Me and my mistress don't hate you, Marisa. Just the things you do at times."

"I've heard that before from so many others I've lost track. Yet that's... oddly reassuring, Koa. Thanks." The witch gestured to the library. "I wonder how the others are doing. It's been kind of-"

An explosion in the distance cut Marisa off before she could finish. The echo wrapped around the inside of the library and filled the air with even more sounds as more explosions went off. Clouds of smoke and debris were flung into the air, and they all came from the right where Remilia, Sakuya, and Meiling were. Koakuma picked up the pace and made her way to a connecting aisle to investigate. In the distance she could see the exchange of danmaku and magic as Remilia encountered Malus or her magic.

A stray bullet smashed into a bookcase close to Koakuma and blew her back to her own aisle. Malus' destructive black mist rushed in after the devil and threatened to swallow her up until she felt Marisa grab her arm and tug her into cover. The two hid behind an overturned desk and watched as the mist washed over them like a tidal wave. It felt as if the light had been completely blotted out by the mist as the two felt shivers run down their spine. Malus was aware of her trespassers, it seemed.

"That must mean we've lost the element of surprise," Marisa remarked.

"I don't want to get caught by that black energy again. We need to be careful," Koakuma replied. "Flying's out of the question."

"Really? I bet we can punch a hole through that mist."

Koakuma opened her mouth to say something when she noticed that the black mist above them had frozen up. No longer was it swirling like a storm. Instead it hung over the library like a sheet of darkness. Sploches of red and purple oozed here and there in the darkness before bubbling up like egg sacs. In all the confusion Koakuma didn't realize that the explosions in the distance had died down until an eerie cackling pierced the air over the ruins of the library and caught the ear of everyone inside it.

"Like rats you come scurrying back. How do you like my traps? I did my best to make sure you were all properly received. This time you won't escape from me."

"W-what the hell? It sounds like a crazy, angry Patchy with a sore throat!" Marisa exclaimed.

"That's Malus herself. She's probably in the center of the library if she's doing all this." Koakuma stood up and searched for an exit. She pointed to a corridor that wasn't blocked off and said, "There, we need to get moving."

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Oh, I see. You want to destroy me and save this pitiful magician. You'll have to wait as I'm not quite ready to personally receive you." Malus' cackling died out as the sheet of darkness above the library pulsed with energy. "Until then, have fun with my machinations! I believe the little devil knows this party?"

"What does machinations mean?" Marisa asked.

"Shh, look up. I think we're about to have company," Koakuma advised.

The patches of red and purple ooze in the expansive darkness swelled up more and more until they fell down like cannonballs from a massive ship. The sacs burst open as soon as they hit the ground and revealed the forms of many different demons and monsters. There were winged abominations and spiked terrors with sharp teeth and claws, scaled beasts and feral critters, and much more. They snarled and unsheathed their claws as they noticed the little devil and magician. Koakuma gulped when she realized where these creatures had come from.

"Monsters from Makai, huh?" Marisa tipped her hat and straddled her broomstick. "I guess after this there'll be a few less to worry about."

"Ah... Alright..." Koakuma unfurled her wings and hovered. She brought out her mistress' grimoire and opened it up. "I'll do what I can."

The grimoire resonated to Koakuma's touch and glowed with ancient magic. As Marisa flew off to exterminate any monster that could fly, the little devil approached the demonic horde in front of her and began to invoke a spell. She flew to the side to avoid a demon's claws and gave herself some more elevation before she felt the sigils in the grimoire pour strength into her veins. She could feel the power beating within her with every syllable that rolled off her tongue. When it felt like the time was right and the invocation was complete Koakuma ran her hand over the pages and gave a flick of her wrist towards the horde's front ranks.

A wall of fire erupted from the ground and launched foes into the air while engulfing anything nearby in flames. Koakuma was stunned by her own work and allowed herself a moment to feel proud. Her celebration was cut short by the sensation of claws narrowly missing her side. She tumbled through the air and righted herself just in time to see Marisa fly by and pepper the area with a stream of danmaku. They had air superiority at the moment, but if Koakuma didn't take care of the demons who could use magic, the hold wouldn't last long.

The little devil steeled herself for another spell and flew back into the fray. She and Marisa could hear the sounds of battles happening to their right and realized that while Remilia was taking care of most of these abominations in the center lane, Sakuya and Meiling were in the same situation as they were. Everyone had to pull their own weight and get through the initial defenses before they could get to Malus. Koakuma relied heavily on her mistress' grimoire and struck lightning bolts down upon the demons as if she was Zeus herself before pairing up with Marisa to strike down any stragglers.

"I'm so glad I chose to be an exterminator instead of an alchemist!" Marisa shouted as she used a laser to pierce multiple foes. She ripped her enemies to shreds and covered Koakuma's advance. "How are you doing Koa?"

"Feeling a little woozy, but I'm alright!"

"Yeah I know that feeling!"

"Watch out!" Koakuma grabbed Marisa and pulled her down to help her avoid a large cluster of enemy fire. She let go of the magician and retaliated with a barrage of sharp icicles. "That should be the last of them!"

"Aw man, they nicked my outfit! This is my best one!" Marisa complained as she examined the tears in her side.

After making sure that there were no more demons left to oppose them, the two picked themselves up and went on their way. They vaulted over downed furniture and torches and blasted holes in whatever barriers of dark mist stood in their path. Before too long the little devil and magician found themselves in the central corridor leading up to the inner sanctum of the library. The scars of battle could be seen on just about every surface. Demonic blood coated the ground while a few corpses burned off to the side.

Koakuma looked over to where they needed to go and saw Remilia in the distance. On approach the two were able to see that Meiling and Sakuya were there as well. Though Remilia and her two servants had both managed to stave off their attackers and anything Malus threw at them, they did not come out of them completely unscathed. The vampire had what looked to be a bite wound on her wing that gave her some discomfort while the elegant maid had a new set of cuts and scrapes. Only Meiling looked like she had gotten off scot-free.

The guard tended to any open wounds on Sakuya before noticing Koakuma and Marisa bringing up the rear.

"Hey! You two made it just in time! How are you feeling?" Meiling asked.

"Might have a blister, but other than a few missing threads I'm just peachy," Marisa replied.

"I'm okay, I think," Koakuma replied, though she honestly had no clue. She felt some blood trickle down her chin and realized that she had a minor cut on her cheek. "Just a flesh wound. Strange, I didn't even feel it..."

"Mhmm! That's the adrenaline talking! Nothing better than that rush!" Meiling gave her colleague a pat on the shoulder after tightening her bandages. "We're doing fine on our end as well. C'mere Koakuma, let me see that cheek and get you fixed up."

Though Sakuya was an expert with knives, she was far more proficient with throwing them than using them as extensions of her arms in close quarters combat. Brawling was more Meiling's style, hence her uninjured state. Koakuma knew that despite their differences they made an excellent team together. The group spent a moment composing themselves and tending to any imminent problems before heading out once again. Though they each knew the library well enough, it was still in Malus' hands and thus demanded constant vigilance.

Remilia took the lead with Koakuma beside her and looked ahead to see the inner sanctum. A slow-moving vortex of black energy swirled around the circular sanctum, concealing whatever laid in wait within. Like flashes of lightning in dark clouds, purple streaks of energy pierced the darkness and filled the residents with a sense of foreboding. The ground quaked as the group trudged closer. Before they could even think about preparing a spell to part the darkness Malus' cackling echoed throughout the library and stopped them dead in their tracks.

From the darkness a face could be made out; one of cruelty, opportunism, and terrible power.

"Really the only surprising thing is how long it took for you all to defeat those wretched abominations," Malus began.

"Malus, this is your last chance. Get out of Patchouli now or you'll regret it," Remilia growled.

"My my! Are you making a demand and a threat? I am the only one who makes demands here. This is my realm. This library, no, this mansion and all within it belong to me now." The face within the darkness distorted and faded away as the purple flashes of energy glowed with more intensity. "And as my first decree, I sentence you all to death!"

The mist seemed to writhe and pulsate like some cancerous organ before wrapping around a dark figure. Malus had full control over her dark, swarm-like mist and used it to form whatever she desired. After enough abysmal contortions the mist took the shape of a strange creature from another realm. Wisps of energy blasted out from the sides of the creation and formed large arcane tentacles while blotches of red and purple made an appearance on the head. Large, stubby legs helped to ground and support the massive creature. Malus hovered within the being like a puppet master controlling her servant and gave a wild grin.

A shrill screech escaped from the swirling mist and announced its first attack upon the group. Two tentacles slammed down on either side of their formation and funneled them towards the creature's front. The blotches of red and purple energy melted into each other and dripped down to the mouth of the beast like molten lava, and it glowed accordingly. Already taken off guard by the tentacles flanking them, the group looked on as Malus superheated the magical energy and prepared to fire it like a cannon. Though the tentacles prevented the group from fleeing to the left or right, Malus had failed to account for their flight capabilities.

Koakuma and Marisa each grabbed a servant of the mansion and propelled themselves out of the blast zone with Remilia following right behind them. Malus discharged the energy and watched in glee as it obliterated the ground where the group had once stood. The force of the blast sent ripples throughout the library and blew the group high into the air. Sakuya looked on with wide eyes as she clung to Marisa's broomstick while Meiling gestured wildly in Koakuma's hold. The guard pointed to something behind Malus and shouted.

"Hey! Behind her! What's that thing?"

The little devil took a second to glance over in the direction Meiling was pointing and noticed a large red orb of energy floating behind Malus. The orb was glowing with power and looked as if it was fixed in place a few feet above the center of the library. Though it looked as foreboding as everything else created by Malus, it wasn't spouting fire or blinding them with any unnatural magic. Koakuma pointed it out to the others and they decided it had to be a weak spot worth targeting.

Malus wouldn't make it easy for them. She and her controlled creature let loose a barrage of magical bullets of all shapes, sizes, and colors to perforate the group in the air. Koakuma and Marisa dropped Meiling and Sakuya to the ground and did their best to bob and weave between the danmaku as it flew through the air. Remilia, despite the pain in her wing, danced through the air and dodged shots as if it was second nature. She fired back with her own danmaku but felt disappointed when Malus and her creature didn't seem to react at all. The three high-fliers knew that a larger hitbox meant more health points, after all.

"I'll swat you out of the air like the insects you are!" Malus shrieked.

Now the tentacles were put into play. They swung about and tried to smash into the three fliers from above and below. Koakuma had to focus on both attacking and avoiding, yet she couldn't do either one effectively under these conditions. She barely avoided direct hits and managed to brush shoulders with death and keep living when some bullets clipped her. Marisa wasn't faring very well either. She was used to youkai giving her small exploitable windows of opportunity, yet Malus was unforgiving. The magician blasted back with her elemental furnace whenever she could.

Meanwhile Sakuya and Meiling had managed to go unnoticed by Malus as they snuck around her and her abomination. They reached the red orb that was pulsing with energy and vowed to destroy it. The guard eased herself into a fighting stance and let loose a battle cry as she struck the orb with heavy punches and hard kicks. Every bare-knuckle blow produced an echo as the energy within the orb writhed about in distress. Sakuya threw knives into any wayward clouds of dark mist to get them away from Meiling and occasionally teleported her out from the fray to avoid the ire of Malus.

"Hmm? What's this?" Malus noticed Meiling going to town on the red orb as if it was a punching bag and narrowed her eyes. With a wave of her hand she swatted the guard away from the orb. "Insolent oaf! What are you doing?"

Remilia saw her chance and took it. She took advantage of Meiling and Sakuya's distraction to produce a spell card with her favorite weapon etched within. Koakuma and Marisa noticed the vampire's invocation and protected her with return fire against the incoming danmaku. A glimmering red spear appeared in Remilia's dainty hands and resonated with ancient and powerful magic. With a shout Remilia thrust Gungnir down and over Malus's head to strike home in the red orb.

The result was instantaneous. The orb had already been weakened by Meiling's assault, but Gungnir had ripped it right open. Like glass the orb shattered and fell to the ground in tiny pieces while Malus' misty creature shrieked and tore itself apart. The mist swirled around Malus and soon was launched into the air in all directions like a morbid fireworks display. The lich did not look amused at this and casually descended to the floorboards. She sighed and played with a strand of Patchouli's purple hair as she looked over at the broken shards of that strange red orb.

"I assume you were looking for the phylactery in that orb, no? Well look no further, for I have it right here," Malus boasted as she produced her own tome. A dagger was sent flying into the tome only to bounce off of an invisible forcefield. "Bad little lapdog... Your owner didn't give you the order to attack just yet!"

"Enough games Malus! This ends right here, right now," Koakuma shouted once she found her voice.

The lich gave the little devil an inquisitive look before smiling.

"You're right. Quite right. I have but one final trick up my sleeve, and thanks to your impatience, the time to reveal it is now." Malus brought up her tome and swung her free hand over to the broken shards of the red orb. "Thank you, Patchouli... For being such a dear friend..."

"What are you doing? Stop!" Koakuma cried as she brought up her mistress' grimoire for a spell. She caught a glimpse of a small piece of paper in the shards of glass and gasped. "Oh no..."

There had been a spell card hidden within the red orb of power. It wasn't a weak point; it was the cocoon for an empowering ritual. The shards glowed and melted into the ground while the black mist in the library swirled around the central chamber like a destructive tornado. The sound of ringing and whirling was deafening, and the glow from Malus' invocation was practically blinding. Tremors shook the ground and foretold the coming of one of Patchouli Knowledge's greatest spell cards. Malus closed her hand into a fist and shouted with manic enthusiasm as she summoned her final doombringer.

"Metal Sign, Silver Dragon!"

A tremendous roar heralded the arrival of the silver dragon as it burst forth from the central chamber. The residents were knocked aside and gazed up at the monster with wide, disbelieving eyes. Nearly the size of the Palanquin Ship and looking like hell incarnate, the silver dragon was a sight to behold. Brilliant silver metal formed the beast's scales and layered on top of each other like a knight's armor. The wings were large and expansive, and the membrane of the wings was tipped with all manner of sharp and jagged edges that attacking the dragon physically seemed like something a maniac would do. Frighteningly large teeth filled the creature's mouth and concealed the raw power bubbling in the back of its throat.

But the most disturbing aspect of the dragon was not its size or how much power it contained within itself. Tainted by Malus' influence, the silver dragon's skeleton could be made out from multiple breaches in its armor. Rotten flesh laid between bone and plate while a viscous purple mucus dribbled out from any cracks. The dragon, normally such a proud and majestic being in the service of a powerful magician, was nothing more than a flying corpse of wanton destruction. It was one of the worst perversions Malus had ever created in Koakuma's eyes.

Malus laughed at the fear she enticed and dissolved into a mist to integrate herself with her warped dragon and protect herself. The mist swarmed into the beast's open wounds and strengthened it even more. When the group got back to their feet and brought their spell cards to bear, the sight of the dragon towering over them made them flinch and hesitate. They fled left and right and narrowly avoided a searing hot blue flame from burning them alive. This wasn't an enemy they could destroy through brute force alone.

"What do we do?" Koakuma cried.

"I got this!" Marisa answered back. The ordinary magician dashed out from cover on her broomstick and revealed her elemental furnace, her mini-hakkero. "Get a load of this, freak! Master Spark!"

The wooden octagon in Marisa's hand sparked to life and charged up for a brief moment before letting fly a splendid ray of energy right towards the silver dragon. The signature spell slammed under the beast's jaw and blew back dust and debris from the force of the impact. However, the dragon was unhindered by the attack. The Master Spark had hit its mark, yet there was no damage. It seemed as if the dragon's silver scales could deflect any magical assault on its form.

Before Marisa could attempt another Master Spark the cursed dragon roared and gave a mighty flap of its wings to knock her off balance. The great beast took to the air and soared over the heads of the residents before turning around and making a pass at them. Koakuma hastily prepared a defensive shield over her and the others when she noticed the plume of blue in the dragon's maw. It let loose a torrent of all-consuming fire and rained it upon the group, but with the little devil's shield in play, the residents managed to survive.

In time the residents mustered up the courage to fight back against the beast, but it was all for naught. The silver dragon possessed the consciousness of Malus and was crafty in how it handled those who scurried beneath it. Using its wings it swept debris aside and forced the group out of hiding. With its fire it blocked off escape routes and tortured anyone unlucky enough to get caught within the scalding bath. Magic was in the dragon's arsenal as well, and it terrified the group whenever they saw shadows pursuing them, for they knew that giant fireballs were on their way to the ground like an angry god's wrath.

"Nothing's working!" Meiling shouted. "Should I punch it?"

"Come on, come on, there's got to be a way to beat this!" Remilia ducked under a stray blast of energy and felt her head. She snarled as she realized that the blast had taken off and ruined her best mob cap. "Merda!"

"How can we defeat something like this if nothing's worked so far?"

"We can because we don't have a choice," Remilia answered back. "Either it goes down, or we die."

"But what if we-"

Meiling was unable to finish her sentence. A stray bullet had caught her in her side and forced her to the ground where a fireball impacted with her prone form. Remilia and Sakuya looked back in concern and made their way back to pick up the unconscious guard while Koakuma and Marisa, both suffering from fresh burns, valiantly tried to damage the dragon. The only reactions of pain that they were awarded came from direct hits on the dragon's exposed flesh and bone that poked through its armor. The destruction of the red orb from before may have opened up a few exploitable spots, yet a few well-aimed shots there were not enough to defeat the beast.

Koakuma wiped the sweat from her brow and struggled to find the courage to keep opposing Malus. She had handled herself well against the demonic minions and Malus' misty guardian, but this time she felt as if there was nothing she could do. Her throat felt dry and her hands shook. She stuttered with her invocations and missed her shots. The very idea that Patchouli would be lost forever as a corrupted puppet for Malus' games shook the little devil to the core. It was enough to make her lose all hope... Yet still she persisted like the faithful servant she was.

If fighting Malus meant having a chance at saving the life of her mistress, the little devil would keep trying until she had nothing left to give but her life. And if it came to it, Koakuma would burn with a smile.

The dragon noticed the vulnerability of Meiling and swooped down to end three lives with one attack. It hovered before Remilia and Sakuya as they picked up their comrade and opened its mouth. A powerful orb of blue fire was perched within its gaping maw, and it was getting bigger with every second. Koakuma scanned the air above the burning aisles of bookcases and found Marisa frantically searching for a spell card. She darted over to the magician and drew her close.

"Marisa!"

"What?! I don't have any ideas here!"

"I do!" she replied as she brought up her grimoire. Koakuma pointed to the dragon's gaping maw. "I need you to do something incredibly reckless!"

Marisa took one look at the energy building up in the dragon's maw and grunted.

"That? Ah what the hell, I'll do it!"

Malus was ecstatic. She could see through the eyes of her cursed dragon how pitiful her prey was, and now that three were right before her in the killing zone, she felt more powerful than the vampire herself. Her energy poured into the ball of fire and kept it refined until it was good and ready. Just as she was about to issue the order to snuff out three lives she noticed the little devil and thief dart in front of the dragon on the latter's broomstick. Malus smirked on the inside at the display, but had she realized her mistake she would have swept her arrogance aside.

Marisa raised her mini-hakkero while Koakuma rose up behind her and drew upon the power contained within the grimoire. A tiny spark appeared within the small wooden octagon in Marisa's hands and steadily grew from a soft blue to a furious red thanks to Koakuma's influence. The dragon was undaunted by this display and chose to unleash its hellfire right then and there, but it was far too late. The two mages had beaten it to the punch.

"Love Sign, Master Spark!"

"Fire and Earth Sign, Lava Cromlech!"

Another Master Spark, but this time it had a multicolored sheen to it along with an otherworldly growl as it erupted from Marisa's mini-hakkero. Lava burst from Koakuma's hands and wrapped around the guided laser like flames licking at the base of a column. The lava spiraled down the laser's length and both reinforced and strengthened it. The colorful combination of spells rippled through the air at the speed of light and smashed through the silver dragon's blue hellfire with ease. It pierced the dragon's gaping maw and traveled down its throat while wreaking havoc to any flesh and tissue it touched.

The laser breached the dragon's gas sac where it stored the chemicals for its fiery attacks and set off a chain reaction within the beast. The explosions from the laser obliterated bone and tore through flesh while the lava splashed against vital organs and melted everything in its path. With a great and terrible screech the silver dragon recoiled and convulsed from the agony of its imminent demise. Through recklessness and quick thinking the two mages had struck a critical blow against the dragon, and it didn't stop there. The silver dragon continued to writhe about in the air for a moment longer before it began to rapidly decompose into Malus' black mist.

There in the center of the beast was Malus herself once again. The mist dissipated around her and failed to keep her aloft as she began to plummet to the ground. Koakuma saw her chance and took it. She dropped off the side of Marisa's broomstick and flew towards Malus' to take advantage of her stunned state. With the dragon out of commission and the lich's mental hold severed she was dazed and confused, but more importantly, she was vulnerable. The little devil kept her grimoire in her off hand and reached for a dagger with her other.

Koakuma could feel the air pushing against her as she fell. Malus' mist parted around her and made no attempt at stopping her. By the time the lich was able to compose herself Koakuma had closed the distance between them and struck. The dagger surged forward and pierced Malus' tome just enough to hilt a couple inches in. The lich widened her eyes at the sight and raised her hand to swat Koakuma away when the devil sent fire down through the dagger and engulfed the tome. As if it wasn't enough, the tome was stabbed and fueled with fire three more times, all of which were punctuated by the screams of the little devil.

"What have you done?" Malus hissed as she watched her phylactery burn before her very eyes. "No... This can't be happening... This can't be happening!"

Koakuma did not respond. She continued to hammer into the tome until the dagger was forced away by the eruption of dark energy contained within. The tome squealed and contorted in Malus' grasp as if it was an unstable device. The two magical beings continued to fall through the air and to the ground as the tome steadily dissolved into itself and imploded. Malus grew pale at the sight and scrambled for any scraps of the tome, but it was all for naught. The floor came up fast on them both and soon it struck them.

Yet what should have killed them both instead opened up a strange realm. The tome's destruction had created a rift for Koakuma and Malus to travel through. A dismal darkness had spread all around them, decorated with only a handful of purple clouds here and there like small pockets of miasma. Koakuma reached for Malus and watched in horror as the lich began to dissolve before her very eyes. She cared little for the lich, but that was Patchouli who was being reduced to ash. She floated about in the empty expanse and could do nothing but look on helplessly.

"Mistress! No! Please don't leave me!" she screamed.

"This... This isn't how this is s-supposed to end!" Malus coughed as the body in her possession crumbled away. She clenched a fist and tried to reach out for Koakuma, but her hand soon dissipated as well. "Not here... Th-there's still so much left to do..."

In a few seconds Malus' influence had been completely removed from the body, yet Patchouli was still disintegrating. Just before the purple-haired mage vanished from existence, Koakuma could see the purple of her eyes and cried out in grief. Was this how it was supposed to end? Watching her mistress, her beloved, literally fall through her fingers like sand in the wind? The devil felt tears run down her cheeks. She reached out for the black mist that still lingered behind and had to keep herself from blubbering as it all blew away, again like sand in the wind.

"No, not like this... I was supposed to save you!" Koakuma cried. She hugged her mistress' grimoire tight against her body and squeezed her eyes shut. "I've done so much already, yet... yet I can't live without you, mistress!"

The silver dragon had tested the little devil, as did the lich. When she had her mistress to fight for and the right support at her side Koakuma felt like she could handle anything, but now on her own and faced with the death of her mistress, she felt like her whole world had caved in on itself. She didn't care that she was in an empty void or that Malus was defeated. A victory meant nothing if it cost the life of the one she loved. She tried to lie to herself to help cope with the reality of the situation. She tried to imagine that her mistress was still with her, but no matter how much she hoped or begged, there was no sign that consoled her.

Nothing answered her cries... But then something happened.

Through the tears and misery Koakuma noticed a few strands of energy in the darkness that looked nothing like Malus' black mist. This energy was woven like fine silk instead of crumpled up and tossed around like whatever energy the lich relied on. The little devil sniveled and wiped her eyes to get a better look at the strands of energy. They looked like precious pockets of air in a land devoid of life. They danced around like sakura petals in fall. They were purple.

The little devil watched the strands move about before they darted off. Koakuma was confused as to what was going on, but she had the slightest idea that she should follow the strands. She wiped her tears against her sleeve and flew through the darkness as if she was a lost lamb following the light from a shepherd's lantern. More strands of purple energy came into view and swam off in the same direction as all the rest. Koakuma lost track of the time she spent aimlessly following them. She had half a mind to turn back and find a way out. It was as if something or someone was pushing her forward.

Soon, Koakuma came across a tower in the darkness and followed its length to the top. She had seen the purple strands of energy flutter up to the top and couldn't help but feel invigorated. Though she had seen her mistress crumble to dust before her, she could not quit the hopeful smile that was spreading across her lips. Her eyes had betrayed her when her heart was in the right place. Hope shined off of the little devil as she climbed. Once she reached the top, she wondered why she had jumped the gun the first place.

There latched to the top of the circular tower was the form of Patchouli Knowledge herself. Koakuma gasped in surprise and descended to check and see if this was real or not, and she was overjoyed to know that it was indeed her mistress. Shackles attached to Patchouli's wrists and ankles kept the magician pinned to the platform with nowhere to go. Koakuma had to contain her relief and excitement as she looked over her mistress for anything out of place. The magician looked to be a deep sleep or trance, but other than a few scrapes and bruises here and there, she was unharmed.

Koakuma reached out and broke the chains holding her mistress with her magic before supporting Patchouli's head against her thigh. She brushed aside the magician's unruly bangs and searched for her eyes, all the while holding back her tears of joy. She failed.

"L-Lady Patchouli... Mistress, I found you... Your familiar is here," she whispered.

Ever so slowly, Patchouli's eyes opened up and revealed those beautiful purple irises for Koakuma to gaze into. She knew she looked like a terrible mess in front of her mistress, but so be it. She had found her once again.

"Koakuma... Thank goodness," Patchouli whispered. Her lips tugged up in a soft smile. "Though it's a staple for many heroic novels... I do not wish to become a damsel in distress ever again."

"Mistress," Koakuma whimpered before wrapping her arms around her beloved.

The two shared a longing embrace with one another and refused to part for the longest time. Koakuma, though she was the rescuer, felt safe with her mistress once again. Patchouli shed a few tears but kept herself composed in her beloved's embrace. When the two had gotten their fill Koakuma helped remove the uncomfortable shackles from Patchouli's limbs and helped her to her feet. The magician noticed the grimoire under her familiar's arm and sighed in relief.

"I see it's served you well."

"This? Y-yes, yes, without it I wouldn't have lived to make a difference." Koakuma offered the grimoire back to its rightful owner. Patchouli took it and hugged it close to her chest. "Are you alright?"

"I am... I am very weary, but with you here I feel much better. I take it Malus is defeated?"

Koakuma nodded and sniveled again as she felt Patchouli's fingers interlace with her own.

"I had no doubt that you would be successful, Koakuma," Patchouli explained. "Malus was always a slave to her own hubris, and you... You're as stubborn as I am."

"It was difficult, mistress. I've missed you."

"Oh please, Koakuma. It's only been a couple of days," Patchouli replied with a smile. She gazed out at the empty expanse of Malus' destroyed dimension and allowed herself a soft chuckle. "Ah well. Let's leave this wretched place, shall we? I don't imagine that little girl caused too much trouble while I was gone."

The little devil blushed and rubbed the back of her head as she moved to follow her mistress.

"Ah... Well, about that..."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Technically this is the end. However I'd like to do a little follow up to tie up any loose-ends. I hope you've enjoyed reading so far.


	8. Epilogue

Everyone was overjoyed to see that Malus was defeated for good. The sheer amount of magic exchanged in the final battle with the lich had given the residents a lot of worry. They, save for Marisa, unconsciously held back from using their most powerful of spells for fear of obliterating Malus beyond any hope of rescuing the doting librarian. Seeing her come back from the depths of her imprisoned mind was a relief. Other than the destroyed library and a few battle scars, things seemed like they would soon return to normal.

Though Koakuma and Patchouli experienced Malus' desolate dimension in their minds, for all the others they saw the devil and magician sprawled out on the floor in an unconscious heap. The two took ragged breaths when they came to and looked around to make sure they were back home. Remilia rushed over to embrace her companion of a hundred years and fussed over her like a doting mother while Koakuma did the same. It took a full minute for the vampire to remember that she was amongst servants and she felt a tinge of embarrassment for them having seen her non-refined side. But nobody cared. Even Sakuya, despite her wounds and tattered uniform, broke character just long enough to show some emotion.

That night the mansion's residents could rest easy. Though the library was in ruins and the residents were exhausted, time would mend all. Malus' tainted energy gradually dissolved away from the library and found itself under the control of a youkai of darkness who was far too lazy to use it. The aura of malice that pervaded the mansion had lifted away and returned it to its usual lofty and mysterious appearance. Garden plants and other bits of vegetation close to the library, which had been killed off from being in close proximity to a lich, pushed their way past dead twigs and flanked the exterior with all manner of bright colors. And that was just the mansion tending to itself.

Meiling, despite being built like a brick wall, had suffered the most from her injuries. A direct hit from a fireball had knocked her unconscious and covered her body in first to second degree burns. The next morning she sprang from her bed as if nothing had ever happened. Such was the dexterity of a youkai guard who never let anything set her back. Bright and cheery, the guard gave her regards to Patchouli and went back to her post, all the while being completely oblivious to her charred and still smoking outfit.

Sakuya was alarmed to know that she was given a day off for rest and relaxation after all the chaos in the library. As the chief maid it was her duty to work until there was nary a speck of dust in the mansion. Remilia had to force the girl into her room and tried to bribe her with all sorts of sweets and trinkets. Though Sakuya appreciated the time to recuperate, whenever her mistress wasn't looking the maid took the chance to freeze time and help out in the library. Doing something productive made her happy, so the mistress of the mansion decided Sakuya was a lost cause and let her off on doing light work for the remainder of the week.

Once Malus' mindless puppets, next obliterated, two dozen fairy maids were found the next morning sprawled out in the garden. With no recollection of anything that had happened and lacking the intelligence to question their own spontaneous existence, the fairy maids invaded the mansion and went to work on the library. For them, ignorance truly was bliss. Their incessant chatter and cheerful work ethic was the catalyst for Sakuya's restlessness. In time the maids were being ordered around by the chief and preparations for rebuilding the library had gone underway.

After making sure that the mansion's staff was as organized as it could get and her best friend was in good hands, Remilia kicked her feet up and went back to business as usual. One might think that Remilia had been bored one day and orchestrated the entire incident, but on second thought, having her best friend be overshadowed by a lich wasn't her idea of entertainment. The vampire did have a great love for the arts, so manipulating fate to get a dramatic reaction might not be out of the question. As for Marisa, she spent the night at the mansion and figured she had been cleared of all her past crimes for her assistance. Though Patchouli was both surprised and grateful that her usual thief had helped out, she was quick to remind her of all the books that still needed to be returned.

In a week the library had been fully restored to its previous splendor, and Patchouli was most appreciative. The grounded goddess gazed upon rows and rows of new bookcases and remastered books with pride. She thumbed through a collection of books on her desk and picked out one to read when she noticed a shadow in the corner of her eye. Looking up she locked eyes with her familiar and smiled.

"Still more?"

"Of course mistress." Koakuma placed a few brightly-colored children's books down on Patchouli's desk. "The fairies picked these out for me to restore."

"Ah, this genre now?" Patchouli picked up one book and chuckled. "Such simple reads, yet such deep meanings. I tip my hat to you, Mr. Geisel."

"I envy those fairies now. For them everything is a new read!"

"Yes, yes. I imagine this generation of fairies will be more likely to spend their off-hours in my library now after all the work they put into it," Patchouli replied. She sighed and shook her head. "I hope they know enough to have an appreciation for their work, else we're going to have problems with their book returns."

"Heh... Two dozen Marisas," Koakuma chuckled.

"Won't that be a fright?"

Patchouli propped her chin up on her hands and placed her elbows on her desk. She stared at Koakuma while her smile widened. After being with the magician for so long, it didn't take long for the little devil to understand what was on her mind. She held her hands behind her back and leaned over the desk to get eye-level with her mistress. Patchouli pursed her lips and leaned in to give the familiar a chaste kiss on her lips before whispering in her ear.

"I couldn't ask for a better familiar than you, Koakuma. Would you humor me tonight?"

"T-Tonight?" Koakuma looked flustered, but she wouldn't dare turn down her mistress. "Yes, yes of course. What would you ask of me?"

"I need a model."

"Come again?"

The magician gave a knowing smirk and repeated herself.

"A model, Koakuma. I've been trying my hand at weaving and fashioning garments out of special silk, and I'd love for you to try them on for me to see if they're comfortable." A faint blush crept into Patchouli's cheeks. "And... I'd love to see you in them."

"As you wish, mistress," Koakuma cooed back. Her face fell and contorted into a confused frown. "Wait... Special silk? Mistress, I didn't know that we had any silk to work with."

"Oh, I must have forgotten to tell you. Kokumo, could you come here for a moment?"

Koakuma felt something skitter out from beneath Patchouli's desk and yelped. A black and yellow spider as large as a bulldog climbed up the side of the magician's desk and perched itself upon a stack of books. Eight black beady eyes swiveled around and fixed themselves on the sight of the little devil paralyzed in fear before it. Despite its horrible appearance and disgusting size, Patchouli looked at it on her desk as if it was merely a kitten. She even gave it a name!

After the little devil calmed down, she realized that the spider had to be from the summoning tome that Kourindou's owner had given them.

"Mistress! It's... A-are you sure it isn't dangerous?" Koakuma whimpered.

"Of course! This is the argiope aurantia, the common garden spider. Yes, they are venomous, but to the degree of a mere bee sting. Kokumo is completely harmless, and she's been very helpful in giving me the silk I requested." Patchouli reached into her desk and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a small frog. She tossed it to the monstrosity on her desk and watched in glee as it snapped its mandibles and devoured the poor amphibian. "Seeing as she's sterile, I think it would be a good idea to let her loose in the garden so she can take care of those garden pests. I've had quite enough of those insects going through my herbs."

"A good idea? Meiling might not like having it in the garden."

"Oh come now, surely she would appreciate a companion!"

An image of the large spider resting next to Meiling like a guard dog flashed through Koakuma's mind. She imagined it skittering about and climbing over everything, even running up to visitors to greet them. If that actually happened, Meiling would be out of a job and no-one would come to the mansion for fear of the giant spider. Well, maybe not Yamame. The little devil shook her head to clear the thought and rubbed her temples.

"Ugh... Well, if you want to let it loose, mistress, it's your decision and I'll respect it. But I hope that this doesn't cause another incident."

"Since when have I caused an incident?" Patchouli retorted as she stood up. She tugged at her robes and sauntered over to Koakuma, who remained silent. "I have every bit of confidence that a few more pairs of legs in the garden wouldn't hurt at all. But enough talk of spiders and silk. You and I have much to do in the future."

"M-more books to remaster, mistress?" Koakuma asked.

"Not quite..." Patchouli gave a sly wink and cooed, "I was thinking more along the lines of consummation..."

At this the familiar turned beat red.

* * *

**The End - Thank you for reading.**


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