A Sudden Lightning Attack / Lost Track of Them

Reimu knew nothing about what had happened before she was summoned and could only make guesses based on the power Koizumi had just displayed.

The spear in Koizumi's hand was Remilia's Gungnir. Though it did not seem as powerful as Remilia's own and might have been lower in rank, it was undoubtedly Remilia's power.

"..." After glancing at Koizumi, Hata no Kokoro fell silent for a moment before turning her attention back to Koro.

It was not that Hata no Kokoro did not care about Koizumi. Seeing that he was all right was enough.

Hata no Kokoro could only express her feelings through masks; her own face was utterly expressionless. She had always been terribly clumsy when it came to expressing emotion. Koizumi hoped she could change, but it was difficult for her.

Besides, Koizumi and Hata no Kokoro were not that close yet, so he could not really say anything.

Back to the matter at hand, the blood-red glow in Koizumi's pupils slowly faded, returning them to black. His sharp fangs gradually reverted as well.

The excited smile at the corner of Koizumi's mouth slowly disappeared, replaced by a completely baffled expression.

What happened to me? Why did I suddenly feel Bloodlust? It was as though the people closing in on me were no longer enemies, but food—food voluntarily walking right up to me, one after another.

What frightened Koizumi even more was that, at the time, he had seen the people before him not as humans, but as mere ants.

However, when he saw the spear in his hand, Koizumi realized what had happened.

"Gungnir! This is Milady's weapon!"

A look of utter shock appeared on Koizumi's face, and a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.

At the same time, a deep sense of nostalgia surfaced on his face.

That was right. He had indeed heard it. As Ouka and the others kept closing in on him, Koizumi had considered using a Command Seal to have Reimu help him. He had also thought about how to use Milady's power again.

Then, it was as though Milady's voice had sounded beside his ear, completely changing Koizumi's state of mind and causing that transformation in his appearance.

"Honestly, don't look so pathetic just because I'm not around. How can you call yourself my servant like that? Fine, I, Remilia Scarlet, Queen of the Night, shall lend my power to you for the time being. Don't disgrace Lady Remilia!"

Those words alone made Koizumi's body begin to change, temporarily turning him into a vampire.

The power of Lancer Remilia Scarlet resided within Koizumi's body, allowing him to crush his opponents in one fell swoop.

At the same time, within the Chaldea simulated by Yakumo Yukari, Yukari silently watched Koizumi and the others through a gap...

Then, countless miniature Gungnirs formed from pink light shot toward Yukari.

Almost simultaneously, countless small gaps opened behind Yukari and swallowed the spears one by one.

"You're awfully enthusiastic the moment you wake up. I'm not quite used to it, Remilia..."

Yukari lazily stretched, her eyes turning toward the space behind her.

Remilia stood there, Gungnir in hand and aimed at Yukari. There was not the slightest trace of emotion in her blood-red eyes.

"I will not let what happened to Flandre go, Gap Youkai! No one is allowed to hurt my little sister!"

"Aren't you going to ask how you were summoned? Or are you simply that adaptable..."

A teasing smile curled at Yukari's lips, as though she was completely unconcerned that Remilia might attack.

"Wasn't it your doing anyway? And my contract with Koizumi did not break after I was killed, which means... I did not die then. Am I wrong? You must have used some method to preserve my Saint Graph..."

Remilia did not know much about Servants, but once she had been summoned, all the relevant knowledge had been poured into her mind. She was not particularly surprised that she had not died. Besides...

Vampires were naturally tenacious. Since Yukari had been able to directly intervene in that battle, saving her had also been possible. That was why Remilia was not surprised at all.

"Yes, that's right. I intended to keep your existence hidden and have you assist our Master as reinforcements at a critical moment... But after this, Reimu and the others may have already guessed that you still exist."

As she spoke, Yukari looked toward the scene within the gap, where Koizumi had defeated every member of the Imperial Guard.

Slowly, Remilia lowered the spear in her hand, though Gungnir did not disappear.

Remilia knew she was no match for the Gap Youkai. Even if the Gap Youkai before her was not her true body and was merely an avatar like herself, that did not mean Remilia could defeat her. More importantly, Flandre's matter needed to be resolved first.

"Tell me what is going on. This Koizumi, and these Singularities."

Remilia slowly stepped forward as she asked.

When they had been summoned, they had only known the general situation, and even that had been explained by the Gap Youkai before them.

A great cataclysm had destroyed Gensokyo. Everyone in Gensokyo had fallen asleep and could only wait to be summoned by others. According to the Gap Youkai, Gensokyo had merged with this world called Type-Moon. Yet after the merger, Gensokyo had produced many unnecessary possibilities destined for destruction. As the one who had proposed merging with Type-Moon to ensure Gensokyo's continued survival, Yakumo Yukari had to see it through. Thus, Yukari decided to eliminate these unnecessary possibilities. That Flandre came from a parallel world born from another possibility.

Yukari sighed and continued explaining to Remilia.

The great cataclysm had not only occurred in Gensokyo, but in other dimensional worlds as well. Gaia and Alaya had realized this was an opportunity to raise the level of their own world, so they decided to merge these ruined worlds and similarly eliminate unnecessary possibilities. Some possibilities had been created by Holy Relics—the Holy Grail. As for why this had happened, Yukari and the others needed to continuously repair and eliminate Singularities before finding the cause.

The dimensional world where Koizumi currently was was called Akame ga Kill!, another world line different from the original.

Yukari had chosen to help partly out of consideration for an old friend, and partly because she had similar work to do herself, so she might as well resolve it together.

Besides, Koizumi needed opportunities to train. Anything capable of making Gensokyo follow a different possibility and ultimately leading it to ruin could not be a minor issue. Just like the previous Flandre, her strength alone gave some indication of it. Yukari had to give Koizumi opportunities to train, or it might truly be difficult to resolve this incident.

The contract between Koizumi and the residents of Gensokyo was not an ordinary contract between a Servant and a Master. This contract would feed a portion of power back to Koizumi, but whether he could control that power depended on his own talent.

As for Koizumi recovering his memories, that was impossible.

Yukari truly did not know Koizumi's past, but she did know why he had lost his memories.

However, she could not tell him the reason. Revealing it would be equivalent to exposing the true reason why Gensokyo and the other dimensional worlds would be destroyed.

At least until the final battle, she could not reveal that secret.

A Sudden Lightning Attack

"Huh? That guy seemed a little off just now." Leone's brows furrowed slightly as confusion filled her heart.

Leone was no ordinary assassin. She was an Imperial Arms user who possessed Beast King's Transformation: Lion King. It was a belt-type Imperial Arms that transformed its user into a beast and drastically enhanced physical abilities. It also heightened her sense of smell, allowing her to track enemies.

It was precisely because she had repeatedly transformed herself into a beast that Leone could sense Koizumi's earlier change even when she was not transformed. That aura was completely different from a human's, and it gave Leone a dangerous feeling.

"Was it an illusion?" That dangerous aura had only flashed by for an instant, making Leone wonder whether she had sensed it wrong. But that could not be right. Her senses were comparable to a beast's. How could she possibly have been mistaken?

Unable to make sense of it no matter how hard she tried, Leone could only keep scratching her head in confusion.

Reimu watched the current situation, her brows knitting slightly before she looked toward Hata no Kokoro, who was locked in a standoff with Koro.

Since Koro was Seryu's Imperial Arms, and since Hata no Kokoro rather liked Koro in its role as a pet dog, she had held back somewhat when attacking. Otherwise, she would have already smashed it with a barrage of bullets.

Reimu was the same. Barriers were what Reimu excelled at most, yet she had not used one until now. It was clear that Reimu had not been fighting with her full strength and was still holding back.

"Hata no Kokoro, take Koizumi away first! I'll hold them off!"

As she spoke, Reimu released every talisman from her sleeves.

In an instant, the talismans burst with multicolored light and trapped Koro inside a barrier.

Demon Sealing Formation, a Rank A Personal Skill. This skill had originally been derived from Reimu's barrier techniques, which she excelled at most. After becoming a Servant, it gained special effectiveness against youkai. It could not only restrain movement, but also seal magical energy. At Rank A, even great youkai would fear it.

Koro was merely an Imperial Arms, but Reimu's intention had simply been to restrain it.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hata no Kokoro withdrew from the battle and drove back the entire Imperial Guard in one go.

Grabbing Koizumi's left hand, Hata no Kokoro pulled him directly into the sky.

Hata no Kokoro flying through the sky with Koizumi drew the attention of many people, leaving them deeply shocked.

These days, aside from flying-type Danger Beasts, only Imperial Arms users could fly through the sky. Seeing this, Ouka also assumed that these people were Imperial Arms users, while Reimu was someone with Danger Beast blood.

Seeing Hata no Kokoro take Koizumi away, Reimu could not help breathing a sigh of relief, but—

At that moment, lightning flickered across the sky, and an inexplicable pressure bore down on Reimu's shoulders.

Along with the pressure, Reimu sensed a familiar aura—was the other party her kind?

No. The aura on that person was very faint. It did not feel like a Servant's aura, but more like a human's.

Yet strangely enough, a human should not possess such an aura. Had that person come into contact with a Servant?

What's going on? Is my perception wrong? Reimu silently wondered.

"Thunder God's Wrath: Adramelech!!!!!!"

Suddenly, bolts of lightning descended from the heavens and gathered at a certain point, while a sense of danger filled the air.

Reimu's pupils abruptly contracted. Hey, hey, hey! Isn't that energy way too powerful?!

"Spirit Sign: Dream Seal Collection!!!!!"

In an instant, multicolored spirit-energy spheres gathered around Reimu. At her command, they shot toward the spot where the lightning was converging, every sphere attacking the same location.

This was Spirit Sign: Dream Seal Collection. Just as its name implied, all the spheres gathered at one point to attack.

The lightning-made energy collided with the spirit-energy spheres, sending out waves of force and showers of sparks.

Reimu's brows drew together tightly before she flew toward the outskirts of the Imperial Capital without hesitation.

There was no question that now was not the time to remain here. This Imperial Capital had suddenly become somewhat strange.

The power of the energy the other party had gathered was absurd. Even she, a Servant, had felt threatened.

Sure enough, the distortion in this Singularity should be the Imperial Capital. Even if it was not distorted, there was definitely something wrong with the Imperial Capital. A human with the aura of a Servant had appeared, yet that person did not seem to be a Servant.

However... it seemed the Imperial Capital was temporarily not a place they could stay. With only herself and Hata no Kokoro, two Servants, investigating the Imperial Capital would be difficult. At the very least, they lacked the ability to guarantee Koizumi's safety.

Yukari would not intervene. Based on Reimu's understanding of Yukari, that woman was stationed at headquarters not only because she wanted to slack off, but probably because she wanted to train Koizumi. That was why she had sent Koizumi to resolve the Singularity after summoning only two Servants.

That Gap Youkai really is annoying! Reimu silently grumbled.

While badmouthing Yukari in her heart, Reimu had already flown out of the Imperial Capital.

The moment Leone saw that lightning, she realized someone important had arrived and quickly slipped away.

This was clearly no longer an ordinary level of battle. It was better to run first.

Besides, Hata no Kokoro had already taken Koizumi away. As long as Leone followed the direction Koizumi had gone, she would surely find him. Maybe she could even find Reimu through him.

She had only cheated Koizumi out of some money earlier. Hopefully, he would not hold it against her.

After Reimu left, a figure rushed to where she had been fighting at incredible speed.

Upon closer inspection, this was an overwhelmingly imposing man. Simply meeting his gaze inspired reverence, and with his suit of armor and lightning coiling around his body, he looked every bit like a thunder god come to life.

"General Bude!"

The moment Ouka saw the man, his expression changed dramatically. He hurriedly led his subordinates to their knees.

After breaking free of the barrier, Koro reverted to its former pet-dog form and followed at Seryu's side.

Though Seryu knelt beside Ouka, her eyes remained blankly fixed in the direction Koizumi and the others had left.

At first, she had merely bought some protective charms out of kindness, intending to give them to her teacher and colleagues. It had just been an ordinary kind gesture. Why had things turned out like this?

Her teacher had thought her friends were members of the Peaceful Path Sect, then fought with Miss Reimu and the others.

In the end, all three of her friends had been driven away. What... exactly had happened?

Even after Seryu finally left and returned home, she had not fully recovered from the shock.

Lost Them

"I actually lost them!" Leone could not help feeling stunned.

She had actually lost them. Then again, they had been flying, so it seemed normal that she would lose them.

Still, Leone was deeply annoyed. She had a beast's sense of smell, yet she had somehow lost track of them.

"They can really fly..." Leone rubbed her forehead, a troubled expression appearing on her face.

Then again, one was running on the ground while the other was flying in the sky. There was no comparison.

Could they have noticed she was following them? Leone began to suspect as much.

"Leone!" A familiar voice came from behind Leone, making her turn around.

Five figures slowly appeared. Without a doubt, they were all members of Night Raid.

The person in the middle had beautiful black hair, crimson eyes, an unyielding gaze, and a pretty face that needed no makeup. A single glance was enough to identify her—Akame.

The person on the left had long pink hair tied into twin tails, pink eyes, and a light pink dress. Those distinctive features made it easy to recognize her as Mine, the person who had partnered with Leone today.

Wearing the armor-type Imperial Arms Incursio and carrying the polearm Belvac was a man radiating an exceptionally powerful oppressive presence. He was a Night Raid member and a former Imperial general—Bulat.

This man had short green hair, with his bangs covering his left eye, and a slightly unruly smile on his face. He too was a member of Night Raid—Lubbock.

With long purple hair draped down her back, violet eyes, a light purple Chinese-style qipao dress, and purple-framed glasses, she gave off an intellectual beauty. This mature woman was also someone who had appeared before—Sheele.

"Leone, did you lose them?" Akame asked flatly, though there was a trace of urgency in her voice.

To Leone and the others, who knew Akame well, this was extremely unusual.

Akame remained calm no matter the situation. They had not seen her this anxious in a long time.

"Yeah, sorry, I lost them. I really didn't expect them to be able to fly. I don't know whether it was an Imperial Arms or something else, but it was seriously strange. Something major has happened at the Imperial Capital for now, too. I never expected this battle to alert the Empire's general. That lightning earlier should have been the Imperial general's Imperial Arms." Leone looked toward the Empire, a grave expression in her eyes.