"Miss, I heard your residence is nearby. Could we have tea there and then slowly recount the past?" Kayal, seeing the completely stunned Armpit Shrine Maiden, smiled wryly and asked the girl in the sky with great elegance, bowing.
"Hehe, what a well-mannered human, unlike some fools." She looked at the Armpit Shrine Maiden like a victor, only to find that the Armpit Shrine Maiden wasn't looking at her at all, clinging to Kayal like a piece of rotten flesh that couldn't be shaken off.
Glaring unhappily at the Armpit Shrine Maiden, the Vampire girl with bat wings nodded elegantly and asked the Gap Youkai.
"Then I shall respectfully obey," the Gap Youkai said, covering her strange smile with her fan. Her sole objective was purely the young man whose ability seemed similar to her own; she had no interest in anything else, as her age was long past the point of being interested in such things.
Only the unwilling foolish fairy and the clueless Lancelot were left behind.
"So? This is Gensokyo, then?" Kayal took a small sip of the uniquely flavored but fragrant black tea and murmured to himself, glancing with slight appreciation at the silver-haired head maid standing behind the Vampire girl named Remilia Scarlet: "Excellent black tea, the craftsmanship and timing are just right. A truly good maid."
She bowed slightly: "No, you flatter me."
"Then, I generally understand," Kayal took a sip of black tea. "But it doesn't help much in solving the problem."
"First, let's talk about the source of my magic. It was given to me by a mage named Merlin. Clearly, I only know healing, defense, and detection magic; I refuse offensive magic. But I'm still clueless as to why I was able to enter. Also, judging by Irene's outburst, there must be some unknown danger in this Gensokyo that we're unaware of," he said, looking at Irene behind him.
"No," Irene stepped forward. "My outburst was inevitable…"
"I've been fighting for almost ten years... It's unprecedented in the organization's history. After so many years of fighting, the only thing I've gained besides experience is gradually rampaging demonic energy. I can no longer control the subtle demonic energy; even slightly high-intensity combat will cause it to become chaotic. But why this rampage stopped, I have no idea," Irene said.
When she mentioned ten years, many present raised their eyebrows disdainfully, but by the end, most looked at the Gap Youkai with surprise.
"Yukari, was it you?" Remilia, knowing that Yukari possessed the ability to control boundaries, looked at the Gap Youkai: Yakumo Yukari.
"Of course not me, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here. Young man, tell me, where did you get your ability to control boundaries?" Her fan obscured her facial expression, only her eyes were visible, which made Kayal, who was used to observing people's inner thoughts through micro-expressions, very uncomfortable.
"You're saying I'm the one who brought Irene back?" Kayal pointed to himself and asked strangely. "Of course, I was watching from beginning to end. No one touched her except you."
"Eh?" Kayal's startled cry instantly made Irene and Atoris's mouths water. This kind of Kayal was rare... Ugh... I want to eat him!
"Wait, something's not right! Irene's demonic energy was clearly rampaging above 120% of the awakening threshold just now, and I didn't do anything! Fearing to stimulate her into premature awakening, I didn't dare to make any moves, not even use healing magic. How do you explain this?" Kayal reacted and asked excitedly.
"Then it depends on what you mean by demonic power," Yukari said with a charming smile, full of endless allure, yet like a black mamba, any who dared to offend her authority and territory would be poisoned to the ground within seconds.
"Irene, show them." Since everyone here was female, Irene had no risk of exposure, so Kayal generously let Irene reveal it.
The large hole that Kayal had just torn open was revealed again, and the slightly pulsating tumor was exposed. Kayal was startled; wasn't this pulsation speed already using demonic energy?
Irene gave a reassuring look, "Since returning to normal just now, my pulsation rate has been roughly on par with my heartbeat. It will be a little slower, but not by much."
"What do you mean?" Yakumo Yukari asked.
"This is outrageous!" The silver-haired head maid said indignantly. "How could they treat a girl like that!" Thanks to her ability, she had enough time to look down on Irene, who seemed old enough to be her sister.
"Interesting," Remilia stroked her chin, her small face looking quite amused. "Give me a drop of your blood."
Without hesitation, Irene drew her Claymore and slashed her own arm. This ferocity moved several people present simultaneously.
Time seemed to pause for a moment. Before Kayal could fully react, all the gushing blood was already in a glass, and Irene's hand was bandaged with a small, warm-looking bow tied on it.
"Excuse me," the silver-haired head maid bowed slightly, an embarrassed expression on her face. It was truly rude to use her ability on her master's guest.
"Is it time?" Kayal, looking at what happened in less than a second, stroked his chin, his eyes sparkling with interest as he looked at the silver-haired head maid. In an instant, he understood the other party's ability, or rather, he guessed it.
This intelligence sent shivers down the spine of Yakumo Yukari, known as the Sage of Gensokyo. Such intelligence... if they were enemies, he would definitely not show himself to her, would he?
Even she hadn't felt the fleeting killing intent.
Watching Remilia pour a cup of blood into her mouth, Atoris nervously swallowed, this scene was still too stimulating for her, being only nine years old.
She wasn't afraid of killing, but cannibalism was a bit terrifying, even if this was just the lower-tier "blood drinking."
"How is it?" Yakumo Yukari and Kayal both asked impatiently, looking at the Vampire noblewoman who was slightly pursing her lips.
"Hmm…" Remilia wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with a white handkerchief, then pondered for a moment and said, "It's not good, to be honest, there's a strange taste in it, but it's very nutritious. It shouldn't be human blood."
"Can you tell which race it is?" Kayal immediately found the crux of the problem.
"Too complex, I can't find it," Remilia shook her head.
Kayal sighed in disappointment, then his face was filled with a smile: "Then, thank you very much for the tea today. We shall take our leave." Kayal stood up and bowed, holding Irene's hand, who had lost her soul and was tottering because of the phrase "not human blood," and Atoris's hand, Kayal walked towards the exit of the huge building called Scarlet Devil Mansion.
"Remi, what do you think?" The Youkai Sage asked the Vampire lady.
"Which one are you referring to?" Remilia asked knowingly, a smile on her lips.
"Of course, that strange little brat... I'm not interested in ordinary people." She snapped open her fan, covering herself. The Youkai Sage appeared very wise.
"Heh heh, I agree... A fellow who can guess Sakuya's ability in an instant... I really want to taste what his blood is like." She seductively stuck out her small red tongue and licked her lips. The two women, who had lived for at least a thousand years combined, looked at each other and laughed.
"Heh heh heh…"