Reimu's Amazement / Battle

Powerful magical energy shook the space around them, while fierce shockwaves swept through the area, seemingly about to send Hata no Kokoro flying.

The next moment, Koizumi and Gungnir seemed to merge into one, transforming into an aurora as he thrust toward Hata no Kokoro. With just that flash, Hata no Kokoro felt an unusual heaviness from the glaive in her hands.

Just as Reimu and she had sensed before, Koizumi had already gained an excellent grasp of Remilia's strength.

However, if he wanted to surpass a Servant with that level of strength, he was still being a little too wishful.

It was not impossible for humans to surpass Servants. Perhaps such beings existed in other worlds, but how long had Koizumi even trained?

Less than half a day in total. Even if extraordinary power lay hidden within him, there was no way he could cheat his way to that extent.

Therefore, facing Koizumi's attack, Hata no Kokoro decided to reveal part of her true strength and defeat him directly.

"This is the expression of anger! Wrathful Mask of the Hateful Wolf!"

Hata no Kokoro completely released her emotions and put on the Hateful Wolf Mask.

Vast magical energy intertwined around Hata no Kokoro's body, forming a gigantic wolf's head that charged toward Koizumi.

As it rushed forward, the magical energy shook the air, and the sound of something tearing through space came head-on, stirring waves of excitement in Koizumi's heart.

Hata no Kokoro was incredibly fast, giving Koizumi almost no chance to think about how to respond.

Facing the wolf woven from magical energy lunging at him, the Gungnir in Koizumi's right hand began to erupt with powerful spiritual energy. At the same time, the magical power he released suddenly intensified, and crimson lightning flashed across Gungnir.

"Pierce through it! Divine Spear Gungnir!"

Without hesitation, Koizumi hurled Gungnir at the approaching Hata no Kokoro.

Gungnir flew toward Hata no Kokoro like an aurora.

As it flew, the crimson magical energy on Gungnir scorched the space around it, as though the surrounding space itself was about to be pierced through, making one's heart tremble.

The instant they collided, blinding light burst forth, followed by waves of explosions...

Reimu's Astonishment

Reimu was astonished by Koizumi's progress, because it honestly felt as though he had turned on cheats.

Cheats were not something one could just turn on whenever they wanted. Reimu felt that her own cheat abilities were about on the same level as Koizumi's.

Every time Koizumi summoned a Servant from Gensokyo, he could gain a portion of their power and gradually master it. Generally speaking, when ordinary people first acquired mysterious powers, it was hard for them to improve unless they were exceptionally talented.

Koizumi's talent was neither particularly good nor particularly bad. After all, he had realized the power within him so late.

Without Remilia's help, Koizumi likely would never have noticed the power hidden inside him for the rest of his life.

So, Koizumi's talent was neither good nor bad, yet he could still improve his strength so quickly in such a short time.

However, based on Reimu's observations, it was not because Koizumi was talented. His talent could only be called average, but he worked incredibly hard. As long as it would not kill him, he trained himself to the brink of death. That was why his strength improved so quickly.

When it came to improving one's strength, hard work truly paid off, especially when someone was as reckless as Koizumi.

This time, Reimu was genuinely impressed by Koizumi. She also somewhat understood why he possessed a vampire's power. That kind of ruthlessness really resembled a vampire's, and Remilia was also the type to risk her life over certain matters of principle.

Reimu found it hard to be as determined as Koizumi. Only when Gensokyo's safety was at stake would she possess that kind of resolve.

Koizumi and Hata no Kokoro's training... well, it should have been called a battle between the two of them. In the end, Hata no Kokoro was naturally the victor.

However, Koizumi had not accomplished nothing. The aftermath of his Gungnir carved a bloody mark across Hata no Kokoro's face, greatly shocking her. Koizumi's attack had actually managed to injure her.

Although Koizumi's attack just now had not been a Noble Phantasm, it was an attack comparable to one.

Though Hata no Kokoro had defeated Koizumi, Gungnir's magical energy pierced through her attack and caused her a slight injury. That was what astonished Reimu. Without her realizing it, Koizumi had grown to this extent.

Thinking back to when she had first met Koizumi, an indescribable feeling rose in Reimu's heart.

It was a strange feeling. Reimu could not explain what it was, but it felt nice.

Looking at Koizumi lying before her with his eyes closed, Reimu's lips unconsciously curved upward.

"Master... is very strong..." Hata no Kokoro wore a fox mask, and there was a trace of arrogance in her voice, but her sincerity was unmistakable. Clearly, she was speaking of this matter with utmost seriousness.

Reimu could not help nodding. "Indeed. Master has already worked incredibly hard. It is only natural that he would receive this kind of reward..."

It was rare for Reimu to speak about something in such a serious tone.

"Still, Master told us to stay vigilant. We should be more careful for now."

As she spoke, Hata no Kokoro continued to scan the surroundings warily behind her fox mask, magical energy faintly surging around her.

As long as anyone dared to appear nearby, whether they were an enemy or not, Hata no Kokoro would not lower her guard.

Reimu silently nodded and swept her gaze around. Without them realizing it, night had already fallen. If Night Raid intended to test Koizumi through an assassination attempt, then nighttime was undoubtedly the best opportunity. They had to be careful now.

Incidentally, after the previous battle ended, Koizumi and Hata no Kokoro had trained for a while longer.

Reimu felt that if Koizumi's combat ability continued to improve, then she would have to spar with him herself.

After all, Koizumi would eventually master all of Remilia's power. Hata no Kokoro could not fight Remilia at her peak, so only Reimu could compete with Remilia. Of course, once other Servants from Gensokyo were summoned in the future, Reimu would no longer need to accompany Koizumi to every Singularity, and training him would no longer be her responsibility.

Once this Singularity was dealt with, she could probably relax a lot more... Reimu sincerely thought so.

After all, she was one of Koizumi's initial summoned Servants. However, once the First Singularity ended, there would definitely be another Servant summoning. By then, more Servants would partner with Koizumi, so she would not need to take the field anymore.

Reimu consoled herself like that in her heart... In truth, she still wanted to live a more leisurely life.

"Still, Night Raid's people should not be that difficult to deal with, right?"

Reimu scanned the surroundings, her brows furrowing slightly. To prevent any accidents, she had set up a barrier nearby.

Honestly, if there was one thing Reimu was best at, it was barriers.

As long as Reimu set up a barrier, its quality was absolutely guaranteed.

That alone showed how seriously Reimu took Koizumi's warning. She had personally set up a barrier!

Reimu was extremely confident in her barrier. As long as someone entered it, she would undoubtedly notice.

If it were a Servant, the barrier's reaction would likely be even stronger.

Suddenly, Reimu seemed to sense something, and intense vigilance flashed through her eyes.

She quickly stood up and looked in a certain direction, magical energy faintly stirring within her.

"What is it?" Wearing the Small Woman's Face Mask, Hata no Kokoro walked over to Reimu's side.

"I can sense Servants. More than one—many of them... Though they are all very weak. And aside from the Servants, there are humans entering as well. I never expected Night Raid to have Servants among them. It looks like this Singularity has made a breakthrough. As long as we get the answers about this Singularity from those Servants, it will be easy to resolve!"

Reimu's lips lifted slightly. It was as if she could already see herself returning to Chaldea and living an exceptionally leisurely life.

"Servants? Night Raid actually has Servants!"

The mask on Hata no Kokoro's face instantly changed into the Great Fling Out mask, making even Reimu sigh at how quickly she changed masks.

"It is not strange for there to be Servants. This plane itself has been distorted. Servants appearing for no reason in a distorted world—that is distortion itself... Good. They had better stay right there and let me beat them up, then I can return to Chaldea!"

Even Koizumi, who had been pretending to sleep the whole time, could not stand Reimu's words any longer. If he did not need to keep pretending and deliberately expose an opening for the enemy, he definitely would have stood up to complain about Reimu.

Just how badly did you want to return to Chaldea and live a leisurely life? If this was the source of the distortion, wasn't it way too lame? They fell for your barrier trap that easily? You were thinking too much!

Battle

"Trying to run after being locked onto by my barrier!" A sharp light flashed through Reimu's eyes as she snorted coldly.

Along the way, she dodged several flying knives, though she deliberately overlooked quite a few enemies. After all, with her barrier locked onto them, Reimu could instantly detect the locations of every Servant within it.

However, Reimu and Hata no Kokoro headed toward the place where they sensed the strongest combat power.

They directly ignored most of the Assassin-class Servants.

Based on Reimu's understanding of Koizumi's current strength, she knew he would not be defeated by opponents of that level.

Reimu darted past countless trees. The next moment, a fist carrying overwhelming force came straight at her.

A roar accompanied the force of the punch. It sounded somewhat like a lion's roar, causing Reimu's brows to furrow slightly.

Was that the power of a Teigu? Having stayed in this Singularity for quite some time, Reimu knew how powerful Teigu were.

Teigu were very similar to the Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits, but Noble Phantasms were more powerful and encompassed far more.

Noble Phantasms did not merely include physical objects. They also included manifestations of Heroic Spirits' legends and achievements, which made them more impressive.

Teigu, on the other hand, were entirely physical objects. Things like the manifestation of legends simply did not exist.

Therefore, compared to Noble Phantasms, Teigu were practically pathetic.

Facing the fist wind before her, Reimu merely sneered, completely unconcerned.

"Dream Sign: Dreamy Subspace Hole!"

The so-called subspace hole was a combination of subspace and a hole. Subspace was distinct from three-dimensional space and did not follow the laws of real-world physics. Distortions in space-time could create subspace, serving as a means of space-time travel.

With this move, Reimu could catch up to beings faster than herself.

However, rather than simply accelerating herself, Reimu's move was more like teleportation.

In the blink of an eye, Reimu herself vanished from before the fist wind, leaving Leone, who had thrown the punch, momentarily stunned.

Wait! Where did she go? Leone had clearly seen that shrine maiden rush out from here just now!

Leone stared at the empty space before her, and the corner of her mouth twitched violently. How had her opponent disappeared?

Before Leone could begin searching for her opponent, she felt a gust of wind sweep toward her. She hurriedly looked up, only to see a small red shoe growing larger and larger in her vision.

Bang!

Reimu's right heel slammed hard into Leone's abdomen. The next moment, Leone felt intense pain erupt from her stomach. That single strike sent her flying, crashing into a tree.

"Is that all you can do?" Reimu looked at the scene before her with some boredom, but—

As if sensing something, Reimu suddenly turned toward a certain direction. From there, she felt a surge of energy rapidly gathering. Though it was not as powerful as the lightning energy from before, it still had some substance to it.

Trusting her instincts, Reimu immediately retreated and swung her gohei, unleashing a spread of colorful danmaku.

"Spirit Sign: Dream Orbs!"

Several dozen spheres of light flew toward the direction Reimu had been watching. At the same time, a thick orange beam shot toward her.

The danmaku and the beam scraped against each other, throwing off countless sparks, while waves of explosions rang out from within.

The danmaku Reimu released was perfectly timed, completely intercepting the beam.

Mine, who saw this from a certain high point, revealed a shocked expression. That beam had been fired from her Teigu, Roman Artillery: Pumpkin. This Teigu could switch between gun and cannon forms.

It was a gun-type Teigu that converted mental energy into destructive shockwaves. Its power increased according to the level of danger its user faced. Its ultimate technique removed its limiters to greatly increase its power, though it would become temporarily unusable afterward due to overheating.

It also changed the gun's form, possessed unlimited ammunition, and required a cooldown after intense attacks.

This Teigu had not originally belonged to Mine. Najenda had only later placed it in Mine's hands.

That was because Mine possessed exceptional talent for shooting—or, more precisely, for using firearms.

That was why Najenda had handed this Teigu to Mine and let her use it.

Mine had been very satisfied with that attack just now, yet Reimu had actually destroyed it without a Teigu.

Could this shrine maiden really be the genuine article? Could she unleash an attack like this without a Teigu? Was she really some kind of dangerous beast hybrid? As she thought that, Mine began to feel a faint sense of kinship with the shrine maiden before her.

Mine herself was also mixed-blood, though she was of mixed minority descent. In this Empire, the status of minority hybrids was hardly different from that of slaves. If anything, it could be said that their status was even lower than slaves'.

Slaves were the private property of nobles. As the saying went, one had to consider the owner before beating the dog. But minority hybrids could be bullied even by slaves. They were hated by nearly everyone in the Empire, though there were naturally a few exceptions.

Seeing that Reimu had been driven from the imperial capital because she was supposedly a dangerous beast hybrid, Mine inevitably felt a trace of kinship toward her, as though she had found someone like herself. However—

Mine refocused her thoughts on the task at hand. It could not be helped; they were on opposing sides now.

"Even if you and I are alike, I still have to complete my mission!"

Well, if Reimu heard Mine's words, she would probably say, "How exactly are you and I alike?"

Standing beside Mine was a girl wearing a light-purple, long dress styled like a Chinese qipao—Sheele.

Sheele wore a cold expression completely unlike her usual absentminded look. Compared to her normal self, she seemed like an entirely different person. Anyone who did not know better might have thought she had been replaced by an impostor.

Meanwhile, since Hata no Kokoro had failed to keep up with Reimu, she headed in another direction.

A cold gleam flashed as Hata no Kokoro swung the glaive in her hand, blocking the ominous katana before her.

The shockwave suddenly exploded. Akame frowned and retreated, having felt waves of impact in that brief exchange.

The enemy before her was not weak. If they truly fought, it was hard to say who would win, but she had Murasame in hand. As long as she injured her opponent, the final outcome would basically be decided.

Besides, it was not as if she had no allies...

The masks around Hata no Kokoro suddenly charged toward one direction, only to be blocked by a long-handled weapon.

It was Bulat, using Teigu: Incursio - Armor Manifestation, partnered with Akame to deal with Hata no Kokoro.