The duo sat down around a desk and looked at the medicines laying on it. The youkai with the third eye simply grabbed the bottles and shook them around with a smile but the librarian had a devastating face, trying to recover from the war that happened around a good 20 minutes ago.

Koishi: What should we look for next?

Y/N: ...Right, next thing would be to locate souls and bring them back in the library.

Koishi: Souls? Aren't the books made of that?

Y/N: If they were, we wouldn't need more.

He pulled a book from a bookshelf and opened it for her without looking at the title. He flipped through the pages quickly and closed it.

Y/N: It's all data and nothing else, this is why I'm capable of manifesting them since their books specify each parts of a person in great details.

Koishi: Hm... Where could we get a good amount of souls?

Y/N: How am I supposed to know? You're the expert.

Koishi: A good place would be the Netherworld but they won't allow us to leave with them. Plus, the one protecting the place can be scary when she puts her mind to it.

Y/N: We gonna have to take the risk, we're running out of time I'm afraid.

Koishi: Why? Did something happen?

Y/N: ...Let's just say that the library might receive guests really soon if my fears are right.

Somehow, he knew that killing that shrine maiden would be the start of his troubles. With all the abilities she had in addition of her resilience being better compared to the previous guests who fought inside the library, one could easily tell that it she was just cannon fodder for a bigger catastrophe. Plus, that witch will surely come back and another fight will happen.

Koishi: What else do you need?

Y/N: I would need to find some minerals along with some living objects like plants and wood so I'll start looking underground for some possible ores.

Koishi: What? Like iron?

Y/N: I'm surprised that you actually know what iron is, you don't seem the type.

Koishi: Some demons talk about finding and selling them in those caverns.

Y/N: ...I see, that shouldn't be a problem then. Alright, we should split the task to make the process faster.

Koishi: Split up? Weren't we going to gather everything together?

Y/N: You wanted to see the result right? That's what you said to me so I'm speeding up the process.

He turned in the direction of the door and pointed the exit with his hand.

Y/N: Since you know how to get to the Netherworld, I'll rely on you to get some souls and bring them back to me, I'll take care of the rest.

He knew where to get the things that he assigned to himself so it was safer than just jump into the unknown where a person who turned into a monster was chasing after him with the only goal of ending his life. Time was playing against him and he needed to play his cards right, at the cost of making the girl assisting him to something dangerous on her own.

Koishi: No, what will you do if someone like Mokou decides to attack you?

Y/N: I'll manage, that's all I've done so far.

She shook her head and insisted. She was actively driving him into an impasse and he realized that he wouldn't be able to talk her out of it, frozen with her mindset. The struggle was lost from the beginning and he acknowledged it, heaving a sigh.

Y/N: Alright, fine, we'll go together and get them.

Koishi: Yea! Thank you mister Y/N!

Y/N: ...

She gave the man a large hug with a bright smile and ran back to the entrance, yelling at him to hurry up. He smiled in her direction until she vanished and fell down into a familiar sadness. Looking down at his hands, he was clutching a book on his stomach, hiding it from her.

'The book of Reimu Hakurei, now the last Hakurei maiden that will ever live.'

Y/N: ...

Normally, he wouldn't feel guilty about doing something like this. After all, they came here to take his life and steal the forbidden knowledge residing here with him but after the many tears shed by the witch, he could only see a reflection of himself in her.

...All he could do was cry about the facts and loath his own cowardice. Just like her, he was stabbed by many spears of guilt and sorrow but his remained invisible to others. Seeing the many bright faces full of life vanishing one by one broke his morales and sanity, leaving him with a shell of what he used to be.

"I can't do anything, why should I be able to if I couldn't even help them?"

"I'm worthless, I have to force the corpses of my friends to do what I should be doing."

"I can't sleep, not when others should deserve it more than me."

"I don't want to sleep... I don't want to see them judge me and yell at my pathetic self."

Y/N: ...

Unlike him, she denied the death of her friends and only realized after being forced to witness it a second time. Meanwhile, he broke down into tears the first 10 times he called them for assistance and he was forced to see them trying to comfort him right before they vanished.

Y/N: Maybe... just maybe...

He closed his eyes and the book of the shrine maiden began to glow. It surpassed the light of the lamp on the desk and grew in power until it vanished. Opening his eyes, he knew that his idea succeeded and stood up to join the girl waiting for him.

...He truly was weak, weak to the point of feeling remorse for eliminating his opponents that would have ended his existence with no guilt.

Koishi: Heeey, what took you so long?!

Y/N: Sorry, just spacing out.

He responded with a low chuckle and joined her at the exit. Standing side by side, the man and the girl exchanged a look and the small one pointed at the man's head with a slight surprise.

Koishi: Where did you get that?

Y/N: Oh that... it's a memory.

Indeed it was. Right behind his head, a large, red ribbon with white frills ornated his otherwise dark outfit. It seemed completely out of place for the girl but the man silently gave her a smile and lightly touched it, feeling a certain warmth attached to it.

Koishi: You remind me of that grumpy shrine maiden in red with that.

Y/N: ...

He bitterly smiled back and felt a crack in his heart, knowing that she was talking about the one now gone. However, he endured the comment and nodded along with her words, not wanting to rise suspicions. Not investigating further, she opened the door and their second quest began.

...After knowing what it feels like to lose everyone close to them, Y/N could only sympathize with the witch and that was the reason he didn't want to hurt her even more during his battle. With that hurdle done, he decided to leave another task in his mind.

Y/N's mind: If my plan succeeds, I could also bring her back along with everyone else, it would be like nothing happened.

Yes, they won't forgive him for killing her but he would have been kind enough to bring her back. Knowing that it could almost fix the sin that he had committed, he smiled and followed the girl outside.

Koishi: So where are we going?

Y/N: Let's go get the ores, demons should live nearby since many of them tried to enter the library.

Koishi: I know a good way to get there, follow me!

The guide walking forward, she left the duo on their own next to the door. The librarian turned around, closed the door and followed her steps. He was soon followed by a second pair of footsteps, someone silently following the man.

With a piece of her outside of the library, it was like she never died. The shrine maiden that was nothing more than a delusion sighed at the sight of the man who defeated her falling into such a deep state.

Y/N's mind: I'm sorry Reimu, nobody would want to leaving a friend in pain behind.

He was set on giving the shrine maiden a second chance as well, to bring a small amount of joy in the life of those that were destroyed by his hands. Maybe, just maybe, after knowing that his plan worked, he would be able to close his eyes without any regrets.

...

...

During that time, a feeble figure finally emerged from the caverns. It was a girl with long blond hair wearing a blindfold covered with tears and a dress made of the prettiest night sky to exist. Losing her way of transportation, it took her longer to exit the caverns but she finally did emerged to the sunlight.

Marisa: Reimu...

Quietly sobbing, her tears were beginning to dry due to the sunlight, leaving new ones to fall down her face and replace them. Her Mini-Hakkero destroyed along with her broom, she lost everything in that library and was left with only tears to shed.

She ran as far as she could, crying over the loss of everything she had and the death of her friend. She was the reason for everything, just because she wanted to have a peek at what that invitation was saying. The culprit was her and nobody else, yet she couldn't accept it, she wanted to pulverize the ones that eliminated the shrine maiden but it was her emotions telling her to do so.

...Her feet kept going forward to a destination that even she didn't know. She didn't care about where she was going, she just wanted everything to end, to see this farce stop once and for all. She wanted to wake up and see that Reimu was still well, greeting her with her gloomy expression while calling her a troublemaker.

???: Marisa?

Someone's voice pierced her cries and her sobs were swallowed. Unable to see with her eyes whilestill  having a full control of her sight like she could see, she raised her head and saw the familiar houses surrounding her and many people were staring in her direction.

Marisa: ...

Standing in her way, a woman with a blue dress, dark shoes with a red bow on each of them and elegant long blue hair was watching her with a worried expression. Crouching by her side, the woman observed the transformed monster of regret with wide eyes, unable to understand what happened.

Marisa: ...Keine...

Keine: ...Let's get you inside, it's better than just standing there.

With nothing else to say, the both of them walked inside the village and entered her house. The villagers, confused by the scene, glanced at each other with many worries. They knew of the witch but seeing her in that state was a first.

???: Hm...?

In that group of people, a woman with a white robe watched the girl with a slight frown of worry. Her numerous tails fluttered in the air and her goals for today changed drastically. Silently, she escaped the crowd and flew away from the village, reporting her discovery to a certain person that would definitely be interested by this turn of events.

...

...

Y/N: How the hell are you capable of living here? I feel my whole body melting.

He asked the girl who looked ahead with not a single sweat on her face. On the other hand, the man was on the verge of collapsing, or at least more than before. On top of his fatigue, he was now sweating rivers and with the little amount of water he drank during this journey, one would assume that he would be unconscious by now.

Koishi: We're almost there!

She proudly exclaimed with a prideful expression, pointing a small construction made of wood going over a large pit. Further observations allowed him to see that it was a simple bridge with the bare minimum concerning safety.

Y/N: Are we supposed to cross that thing?

Koishi: It won't break, don't worry.

Y/N: ...I hope not, that would be pathetic.

The real problem was the aura circling it, it was a real danger to anyone approaching it. He glanced around but the both of them were alone in front of it. The youkai with a lack of observations concerning her surroundings happily walked ahead and glanced back at him. Holding back his worries, he followed her footsteps and reached the bridge.

Y/N: So, we just cross it?

Koishi: Unless you want to jump down? I don't think you'll bounce back up if you do so.

Y/N: ...

Ignoring her attempt as a joke, he placed his foot on the wood and suddenly felt a chill in his body. Turning around, he saw a woman glaring at him, walking closer to them with a pair of eyes that could kill.

???: I take a moment away from it and people are already trying to sneak past me.

Her outfit was more than weird but inside Gensokyo, weird is the norm so it didn't matter too much. Her green eyes glowing like emeralds were shining with hatred and disgust.

Y/N: I knew something was off about that bridge.

Koishi: Hm...

Y/N: Anyway, pardon the intrusion, that idiot here decided that it was a good idea to cross a bridge that was DEFINITELY emanating a deadly aura.

Koishi: I'm not an idiot!

Y/N: Sure.

Meanwhile, the girl watched the both of them arguing with a frown, biting her thumb as well. They only noticed when they both calmed down and the man knew something was off about her.

???: You... You dare show that in front of my face? You have a lot of guts for doing so.

Y/N: ...Koishi, care to explain what's going on?

Koishi: Oh, I remember, she gets jealous over everything!

Y/N: Everything? Isn't that an exa-

???: I envy your conversation. Just because you can talk to someone doesn't mean that you have to show it to my face.

Y/N: ...Wow, couldn't you say that you envy my fashion choice instead of that?

Clearly exhausted from the battle that he went through inside the library, he shot a cold remark at the one speaking to them and pulled out his blade instinctively. The youkai beside him saw his movement and grabbed his arm to stop him from attacking her.

???: So, that's what you find the most interesting to do? Torment me because I can't leave my duty?

Y/N: Look... I'm currently having one of the worst days of my life and I'm not in the mood to argue with people. Just let us pass and we'll be fine.

Still sweating bullets at a fast rate, he tried to sound as calm as possible but compensated his impatience by tapping his foot against the ground. Not caring at all about his feelings, she showed him a grin of disdain and her eyes began glowing.

???: Sure, unless that changes your mind.

The duo facing the one performing her magic silently watched her and the first one to react was strangely enough the youkai instead of the librarian. Her eyes shone their green color a little brighter and she turned to the man, punched him in the sides with anger.

Y/N: Hey hey, what the hell are you doing?!

Koishi: I hate you! I envy your lack of understanding! Why couldn't I be just like you?!

To his confusion, he watched his previous ally being taken away by a jealousy that wasn't present a moment ago. The strings of emotions pulling her around, she shot the man with a Danmaku and forced him to dodge the attack. Meanwhile, the one who caused this was cackling to herself, not trapped alone in the shackles of her desires anymore.

Y/N: Tch! It's your fault!

He accused the girl laughing and with his hands free from Koishi's grasp, he pulled out his weapon and tried to attack her. Seeing his action from a mile away, she flew away and watched the girl attack the man. With not much time on his side, he had to do what anyone else wouldn't and turned to the bridge as an escape route.

Y/N's mind: I don't have time to lose. If she doesn't want to snap out of it, I'll do everything myself.

Running across, he fled further into the earth and the temperature kept rising, turning into a giant furnace. However, as much as he would like to stop and take a breath, he could hear the hateful words of his previous ally behind him, she was chasing him with all the hatred she could muster.

Koishi: Why couldn't I be born just like everyone?! Why do I have to be forced to hear all their voices?! You say that you're the unluckiest one, what about me?!

She was speaking her true feelings, true thoughts now forced out of her mouth due to one's curse. With such a person chasing him, the librarian aimed for the entrance of Hell and guided himself with the hot atmosphere. Enduring the heat, he finally emerged into an extremely large pocket underground with many paths leading in many directions.

Demon: Huh? What the hell is a human doing here?

One of the creatures living there asked the man who just entered and saw his sweats turning into vapor. Clutching his weapon, he aimed it at the monster who raised his voice.

Y/N: You, where are you selling the ores?

Demon: The ores? You came all the way here for some ores?

Squinting his eyes, the demon drank from a bowl and glanced around himself, making sure that nobody else could hear them.

Demon: Those people are gonna tear you to pieces, you should leave while you still can.

Y/N: ...

Frowning back, the man ignored the advice and ran forward in a hurry, running away from something. Bewildered, the drunk youkai stared at the newcomer with many questions, one of them being why someone like him needed some ores when he could get some on the surface.

Demon: Wasn't that an outsider?

His hazy thoughts tried their best to work to find an answer to that question.

Demon: ...Nah, must be one of those weird women giving him their weird clothes, they're everywhere.

Just when he said that, one of the Komeiji sisters flew through the entrance and followed where the man went.

Demon: Speaking of the devil... why are there so many women like that anyway?

With no answer, he returned to his drink, disregarding of the impending chaos that will happen soon.