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[center][h3]--Aventon - Forest Outskirts--[/h3][/center]

[color=d9457c][b]"...fufu~"[/b][/color] Seeing the revulsion coming from Youmu and Sanae elicited a quiet yet smug giggle from the Scarlet Devil. Well, it couldn't be helped, they were but young girls after all, unlike herself, Sir Lewa, and Lady Mokou, indeed, twas' a good thing that the adults were here to accompany their younger peers. In time, they'd learn that a rotting corpse was simply a part of the cycle of life and death. As for the dead boar, it seemed pretty much everyone was in an unanimous agreement that staying around the partially-rotten carcass would achieve little at this point, the group had made all the analysis and hypotheses they could, now was the time for action. Next order of business, identify and locate the culprit or culprits.

Thus, they marched on; three humans, a half-ghost human, a youkai, and a toa traversing deeper into the verdant forest. [color=d9457c][b]"..."[/b][/color] Until eventually, Remilia noticed the subtle changes in the forest atmosphere, it was as if they were entering a graveyard as everything but the whistling winds and rustling plants went silent. Was this an omen? Perhaps a basilisk had taken residence here, scaring away the other critters, that'd also explain why the venom mixed in the boar's blood. [color=d9457c][i]Hmhmhm~ crippled as I am, with these many allies, we should be able to slay the beast.[/i][/color] 

And then, Remilia's musings were proven true, at least partially. The culprit she envisioned [i]was[/i] indeed here, but that was the extent of it. 

Feeling something dropping on her bonnet, Remilia's first instinctive assumption was that a fruit had fallen on top of her head, but if that was the case, why did the Moriya Miko make an expression as if she had just seen a ghost?

...and then, [i]something[/i] dangled down right in front of her eyes.

[color=d9457c][b]"...eh?"[/b][/color]

Sanae's scream pretty much confirmed that shit had hit the proverbial fan. 

[color=d9457c][b]"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!"[/b][/color] Utterly taken by surprise by something that wasn't exactly pleasant to look at, let alone touch, the group was "blessed" with the very first instance of a high-pitched wail from the normally aristocratic vampiress. Driven purely by fight-or-flight instinct, Remilia grabbed the offending insect with her left hand then [i]crush[/i] it with extreme prejudice... only to end up spraying viscous bluish liquid that served as the creature's blood all over her hand, dress, and [i]face[/i]. To make matters even worse, the vermin wasn't alone, far from it, as swarms upon swarms of the oversized arthropods revealed themselves, coming from above and below. [color=d9457c][b]"..?!"[/b][/color] This happened nigh-simultaneously with Sanae's own panicked response and Mokou's copious application of pyromancy. 

[i]All[/i] of these combined created a potent assault upon Remilia's composure, one that was already quite fragile due to everything that had happened to her since she arrived here, and it... broke.

[color=d9457c][b]"S-s-..."[/b][/color] Remilia stuttered pitifully amidst all the chaos of skittering centipedes, hails of ofuda, and fiery explosions, then in a quick jerk, she craned her neck up toward the sky, her voice becoming exponentially louder as it drowned out everything else for that exact moment, [color=d9457c][b]"SAKUYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"[/b][/color]

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[hider=Side Story][center][h3]--Gensokyo - Scarlet Devil Mansion--[/h3][/center]

While Marisa and Patchouli continued tinkering with the grimoire, [b]"..."[/b] The silver-haired maid frowned ever so slightly, a nearly imperceptible gesture, but one a certain gatekeeper was keen enough to notice.

[b]"What is it, Sakuya?"[/b] Meiling inquired, her voice tinged with concern for her coworker.

[b]"It's..."[/b] The maid exhaled quietly, trying to find the right words, [b]"I think Mistress is in peril..."[/b]

[b]"Eh? Pfffft~"[/b] Meiling chuckled, extending a hand to gently pat and massage Sakuya's shoulders to comfort her, [b]"She'll be fine, lost and stranded somewhere, sure, but in peril? She's the Scarlet Devil, how can she be in peril?"[/b] The martial artist smirked, but part of her voice sounded as if she was directing those words to herself as well.

[b]"I suppose, Meiling, I suppose..."[/b]

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