Chapter I

The Scarlet Mist Incident

Far away, hidden beyond the forests of rural Japan lies the land of Gensokyo, a world of hostile ghosts and demons. For years, humans and ghosts battled each other near its borders, and in 1885, a magic shield called The Great Hakurei Barrier was erected by Shinto priests around Gensokyo to contain the ghosts, sealing them inside and separating the worlds from each other. The regions had little contact for many years, but around the turn of the millennium, the magics maintaining the barrier started to fade.

Years later, Reimu Hakurei, teenage shrine maiden and great, great, great, great granddaughter of the priest who led the construction of the Great Hakurei Barrier was busy cleaning up the Hakurei Shrine when it suddenly came under attack by unseen forces, soon leaving it in ruins. Reimu was outraged, resolving to find and punish those responsible for the destruction of her family shrine.

Reimu was successful, crossing into the border of Gensokyo and traveling to the pits of hell, defeating an evil demon before returning home, soon reconstructing her shrine to its former glory. Over time, more and more calamities continued to occur around the Hakurei Shrine, and Reimu soon realized that her shrine was the only remaining gateway to the land of Gensokyo.

One summer, a strange event called The Scarlet Mist Incident occurs, covering Gensokyo and the surrounding human villages in mist, obstructing the sun and resulting in a dark and chilly summer. During this time, Reimu meets and befriends a young traveling magician named Marisa Kirisame, and the two soon resolve to get to the bottom of the strange mist.

"Where should we start looking?" Marisa asked.

"Gensokyo. Where else?" Reimu replied, looking to the forest behind her shrine. The two headed into the gloomy woods, soon fighting their way through countless ghosts.

As they moved deeper into the forest, a vampire girl named Remilia sat in the master bedroom of her large, lavish residence called Scarlet Devil Manor, a charming abode nestled on an island at the center of Misty Lake, a sizable body of water located in Gensokyo. Remilia sipped her green tea, moving it around her mouth before blinking several times.

"...Oh Sakuya," she said. Moments later, a young maid entered the room.

"Yes, mistress?"

"...How many sugar cubes did you put in this?"

"...Three, mistress."

"...And how many do I like?"

"...Four, mistress. I'm afraid we're short of sugar this week," Sakuya explained. Remilia tilted her head at her, soon splashing the tea in her face.

"Useless little human. I ask you to do one simple thing, and you fail. Why do I even keep you around here, anyway?" she asked with a cold smirk. Sakuya stood stoic, wiping her face with her apron.

"I'm sorry, mistress. I will go shopping later today," she said. Remilia then looked out the window.

"...What's with the ghosts today, anyway? They seem rowdier than usual."

"I don't know, mistress. Madam Patchouli said there may be a disturbance near the border, but I don't know more than that."

"Oh really?" Remilia asked with interest. "Well, now. We haven't had visitors in a long time. This could be fun! Sakuya. Tell Hong to keep an eye out near the manor gates. And tell that idiot Cirno to stay alert, too, if you can find her."

"Yes, mistress," Sakuya replied, Remilia leaving the room before heading down to the manor library. She walked through the large, dark room, passing bookcase after bookcase before finally approaching an extravagantly dressed girl in purple.

"Ick. Open a window down here sometime, will you?" Remilia asked.

"...I like the darkness," the girl replied. Her name was Patchouli Knowledge, witch and head librarian of the manor. As she sat peering down at a book, Remilia smirked, bending down before grabbing her by the chin, turning her face to her.

"...Did I ask what you liked? This is my manor. You do what I say. No more, no less. Got it?" she asked, giving a cold, wicked smile.

"...Yes."

"Yes what?"

"...Yes mistress," Patchouli replied quietly, looking to a window before raising her palm, opening it from a distance with a spell. Remilia again smiled.

"There's a good girl," she replied, taking a seat across from her on an old, dusty sofa. "What's up with the ghosts outside? They seem fired up about something."

"I'm not sure. I believe two interlopers have breached the borders, however."

"Oh? What kind of interlopers?"

"...Humans," Patchouli replied. Remilia lightly laughed.

"Ha! Humans? You're joking, right?"

"No. I sense two of them."

"How ridiculous. That silly barrier of theirs is the only thing preventing us from slaughtering them all, and it's not going to last for much longer."

"I wouldn't underestimate them. I believe the two approaching have a fair amount of power."

"...Approaching?"

"Yes. I sense the two are slowly closing in on our position," Patchouli replied. Remilia smirked.

"...Excellent! I bet they've come to investigate the mist. Let them come! I can't wait to suck them dry of their blood! In the meantime, however...," Remilia said, wryly looking over at Patchouli before standing up, soon crawling on top of her before baring her fangs. Patchouli lightly winced, quietly staring down at her book as she felt Remilia's fangs sink into her neck.

Remilia was a vampire, and required blood to sustain her life. She'd fed off Patchouli many times over the years, resulting in Patchouli's anemia and weak constitution. Despite this, however, Patchouli was grateful to Remilia for giving her eternal life, as well as for sharing her extensive library with her, filled with books Remilia had collected over the nearly 500 years she'd been alive. Patchouli, herself, was over 100 years old, but neither girls looked a day over sixteen, and Patchouli had learned much about magic from her extensive time researching the many books filling the massive library.

Back in the woods, Reimu and Marisa continued cutting through countless angry ghosts before running into a strange looking girl raising both arms at her sides.

"Halt! None shall pass!" she said.

"Who are you?" Marisa asked.

"I am Rumia, guardian of the forest! You humans have entered the realm of Gensokyo, and do not belong here. Leave immediately, or face my wrath!"

"Get out of the way!" Reimu said.

As the two tried to pass, Rumia attacked, soon getting into a fight with Reimu and Marisa. The two easily dodged her attacks, firing rapid spells at her as Rumia soon gave out, falling to the ground with stars over her head. Reimu and Marisa walked over to her.

"...Looks like we messed her up pretty good," Marisa said. Reimu tilted her head down at Rumia.

"...Hey! Can you hear me? Who's responsible for this creepy mist?" she asked, waving her hand in her face. Rumia moaned.

"...Mmm... I dunno... Cirno may know, though...," she replied groggily.

"Cirno?" Marisa asked.

"...Yeah... that ditzy ice fairy at the lake... ooh, my head...," Rumia replied. Reimu and Marisa looked to each other, soon turning to the lake off in the distance. They then took off, heading toward the water before floating over the lake, looking around at the horizon.

"...See anything?" Reimu asked.

"...Not a damn thing. This mist is so thick...," Marisa replied in annoyance.

Just then, a fairy in a blue dress flew over, stopping several yards in front of them.

"Hold it right there! What are two humans doing stinking up my beautiful lake? Didn't you see the no trespassing sign?" she asked.

"You must be Cirno," Reimu said.

"The one and only. And who might you be?"

"Are you the one causing this weird mist all over the place?" Marisa asked.

"Nope. That's the mistress' doing."

"The mistress?" Reimu asked.

"Yup. She's the one who owns the mansion on the lake. Now answer my question! Who the hell are you two?" Cirno asked.

"I'm Reimu, and this is Marisa. Excuse us, but we'll be moving along."

"Not so fast!" Cirno said, suddenly blocking their path. "The mistress told me to stop anyone from passing through. She usually doesn't pay any attention to me, but Lady Hong said she ordered me to stop anyone from passing, and I plan to do just that! Besides, this lake is my home, and I really can't be seen with two filthy humans hanging around my property. Prepare to die!" Cirno exclaimed, soon entering battle with Reimu and Marisa.

Cirno pelted them with sharp shards of ice as the two returned fire with attacks of their own, the fighting fairly light but still fiercer than their battle with Rumia. Cirno put up a brief resistance, but soon fell to Reimu and Marisa's spells, falling down in a spiral before splashing into the lake below. The two looked down at her as she floated atop the surface, crosses over her eyes as she slowly drifted away.

"Too easy," Marisa said with a smirk.

"Yeah. Still, she was a cut above that last one. They seem to be getting harder as we continue. We should proceed with caution," Reimu said.

As the pair continued across the lake, Remilia sat back, retracting her fangs as she stood up from Patchouli, smiling down at her as the two remained silent in the darkness of the manor library.

"Mmm...," Remilia said, wiping her lips with a smirk. "...your blood is delicious. Truly the finest I've ever tasted. Besides Sakuya's, that is. Why else do you think I allow you two to live with me in my delightful home of Scarlet Devil Manor?" she asked. Patchouli fell silent.

"...I thought it was for our talents," Patchouli replied. Remilia slowly shook her head.

"...Foolish child. Your skills are commendable, but don't flatter yourself. I've had plenty of capable housemates come and go over the years," she explained, giving a wicked grin as she soon leaned in close to Patchouli. "...I keep you two around because you're my favorite flavors, nothing more. You are sustenance. You are drinks. Not that I can't have affection for my favorite little bags of blood," Remilia said, smiling as she leaned ever closer, lightly brushing her fingers across Patchouli's cheek before giving one final smile, leaving the room moments later.

Patchouli then sat in silence, coldly looking up from her book to the door across the room Remilia had left through. Though she respected Remilia for her powers and for the gift of immortality she'd bestowed upon her, she secretly hated her, and planned to one day get rid of her, ending her tyranny of Gensokyo once and for all. She knew she wasn't yet capable of defeating her, but her powers were slowly growing over the years. She then looked to the window she'd recently opened, raising her palm before closing it back with a spell, soon staring out at the overcast landscape.

Patchouli thought back to the first time she'd met Remilia. It was a fateful meeting on the streets of London approximately 100 years earlier. Patchouli was a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl working at a local library. Her father was a botanist, and named her after his favorite species of plant. Her unusual name earned her much ridicule from her peers, and she soon found herself getting bullied. She became withdrawn from social situations, instead finding solace in books and reading.

It wasn't long before she became interested in magic and the occult, soon casting spells in secret behind her parents' and neighbors' backs. One night while reciting a ritual in the backyard of her house, a shadowy silhouette approached her from the dark, rainy night. Patchouli looked on in fright as Remilia stared back at her, Sakuya holding an umbrella over her from nearby as the two slowly approached, the full moon a deep shade of red as it peeked through the dark clouds above them.

"Good evening, little human," Remilia said with a smirk.

"...Who... who are you?" Patchouli asked nervously.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Remilia, and this is Sakuya. We're visiting from Japan, and seem to have lost our way. London is such a big city, don't you think?" Remilia replied, soon looking on at the ritual Patchouli had laid out. "...Magic, huh? Looks like fun! You're getting the incantation wrong here, though," she continued, soon pointing out an inaccuracy in the spell. Patchouli tensely looked on.

"...Oh. You're right. Do you practice witchcraft...?" Patchouli asked cautiously.

"I've dabbled in it before. I was never very good at it, though. My powers lie... elsewhere," Remilia replied, giving Patchouli an eery grin as Sakuya stood in silence.