(a)

"Ahh

Kazami Yuka craned her neck and sneezed loudly.

"Hehehe!" laughed Liglaw Knightbarg, who followed behind her.

"Sister Yuxiang, someone misses you!"

"No ......"

Yuxiang rubbed her nose and said:

"I guess it's that vampire bastard who is speaking ill of me behind my back again...... That's right, Liglu!"

As she spoke, she put the shopping bag in her hand into Liglu's hand, and said:

"You take these home first, I'll go out for a walk, and I'll come back in the evening. ”

With that, she turned and walked in the opposite direction. Ligru, carrying the heavy shopping bag in both hands, her head half-curled in the warm woollen scarf, turned her head to look at Yuxiang's tall figure, fading away among the silver-white trees. After a while, the insect monster opened its mouth, let out a breath of white air, and shouted:

"Where are you going, Sister Yuxiang?"

"Go visit my old friend and see how he's doing, by the way...... Give him a 'surprise'. ”

Yuka didn't look back, just raised her arm and waved her hand to say goodbye.

(b)

"You're lucky......"

Marisa slumped down on the cold brick surface, spitting blood, and smiling like a doomed hero. Alice, who was standing beside her, could tell at a glance that the blood had been deliberately spit out by biting her lip and mixing it with saliva.

"It's all at this juncture, this guy...... No, it should be said...... The more times like this happen, the more room she has to play, doesn't it?"

Alice thought so to herself, then smiled helplessly and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Some people are geniuses and are born winners, such as Reimu, who has passed all the way, and has a smooth ride, but I don't know what setbacks are.

There are also people who are ghosts and monsters, such as Nalan Twilight, who is simple in the avenue and has no edge in the heavy sword.

And Marisa, she's neither. She says that she is a "hard worker", and Alice knows very well that this is a fart. "Idiot" people like Pachouli and Youmeng who forget to sleep and eat are the real hard workers. And this guy, she has neither talent nor hard work, but she can always win ugly, hard, and unexpectedly.

At the end of the day, she should be a gambler, a scoundrel in adversity, and a person who can only burst into full potential when squeezed. This trait is vividly reflected in her way of fighting at the expense of firepower - regardless of the consequences, at all costs, at any cost, at any cost, and not necessarily glorious in winning, but it can be won.

In this current hopeless situation, it takes a little desperate courage to forcibly carve a light through the wall of despair. This is something that a "wise man" like Alice, who takes one step and sees three steps, can do it, but Marisa, who steps forward without looking, can do it.

"Ahem...... Ahem!"

Marisa pretended to cough up a mouthful of blood, then trembling and propping herself up, she got down on one knee, raised her head, and said to Catherine, who couldn't figure out what was going on:

"If I hadn't been seriously injured, you would have fallen by now......"

"Badly injured?" Catherine blinked, "judging by your heart rate, body temperature, and breathing, you should be perfectly healthy by now!"

"Nonsense, Marisa!" Alice frowned, glared at Marisa, and roared inwardly:

"Forget the lie, and tell a lie that is the easiest to be exposed! These vampires, standing in front of you, can feel your breathing and heartbeat clearly, and making a fuss about your physical condition is simply self-destructing!"

"Hehe......"

The corners of Marisa's mouth twitched slightly, and then, she laughed dryly, and laughed for a while, then she held her knees, slowly stood up, straightened the brim of her hat, and said:

"Therefore, you can only be 'second-rate', while I am 'first-class', you and I are of different grades, and what we see with our eyes is naturally different. ”

"May I ask you, Catherine Pagos, what would happen if I were to fight you with this body?"

"You're going to die. Catherine said without thinking.

"Of course I know I'm going to die, so I'm not going to fight you with my body. Marisa said, "All I can rely on is wisdom and magic." ”

That's true, but coming out of Marisa's mouth, Alice feels awkward about how she listens.

"It's just a pity, my magic ...... He has abandoned me......"

Marisa pretended to be very sorry, looked down at the palm of her hand, and sighed heavily.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Catherine.

"Don't you feel very good, then use your big beautiful eyes to take a good look at what is going on with my body!"

Hearing her say this, Catherine honestly opened her eyes wide and looked at her carefully.

"The magic in your body ......"

Catherine was about to say something when Marisa interrupted her and said for her:

"It's weak, and, it's messy, right?"

"Originally, it wasn't like this, but after receiving the 'blow' of the so-called strongest youkai, Kazami Yuka, it was injured like this, and there was no hope of getting better for a while...... Although, the winner of that battle was me. ”

"This liar!" Alice scolded in her heart, "You guy, at the last festival, you accidentally bumped into Yuxiang in the crowd, and your legs were shaking with fright on the spot!"

But, judging by Catherine's eyes, this guy, believed.

A clumsy trick that always works...... No, it should be said that the only thing that all successful scammers have in common is that they deceived the right people.

Catherine Pagos spent centuries alone in the Tower, only arriving in Gensokyo last fall, not knowing Kazami Yuka or seeing Marisa...... Strictly speaking, the last time she met a living magician, there was no Gensokyo in this world.

Of course, the most important thing is that she doesn't believe that her magical qualifications are so mediocre, she is completely a mortal magician, and she dares to break into this Red Devil Pavilion to make trouble, and she dares to stand in front of her, pointing at her with his fingers, and making a war against her. This is unreasonable, such a person has never been, and cannot exist. In Catherine's opinion, "Marisa, who was originally a great magician, collapsed her magic because of severe internal injuries", which is a quite, quite reasonable explanation.

In short, the blind cat touched the dead mouse, hooked the salty bait and fished the silly fish, and the chance of less than one in 10,000 made Marisa gamble.

The balance of victory and defeat had already completely tilted in Catherine's favor, but after Marisa's trouble, it shifted back a little, giving the two magicians a chance to live.

"Hmm......" Catherine snorted, nodded, and added:

"So, what are you going to do next?"

The implication is "I understand the truth, but you really can't win me now, can you?"

"It's true that I can't completely defeat you right now for the time being, but ......"

Marisa raised the corners of her mouth and smiled wickedly.

"It's easy to hit you once. ”

"Hit me?" Catherine looked a little confused, "just with your pitiful magic?"

At this moment, Alice can really feel the weight of this sentence.

Just now, in front of Marisa, Alice, who is countless times stronger than her in magic, failed to touch a single hair of Catherine. Catherine's doubts are the most cultured and arrogant in the world.

Why are you fighting me?

"You don't seem to believe it, do you?" Marisa laughed, "Well, if you believe it all at once, it's incredible." ”

"Do you dare to gamble, Catherine Pagos, if I can hit you once, you'll have to throw in the towel. ”

"And what if you can't?" asked Catherine rhetorically.

"Then I, along with the one next to me," Marisa pointed to Alice behind her with her thumb, and then, with a gesture of wiping her neck, "will surely die." ”

"Marisa, what do you say......"

When Alice heard her say this, she was in a hurry and was about to go up to theorize, but Marisa covered her mouth and couldn't speak.

"That's what I'm going to use. Marisa looked at Catherine and added, "Well, bet or not?"

"Can you tell me exactly how?"

"Want to know?" Marisa grinned as she said, "If you want to know, you can bet! ”

"Since you've said so......," Catherine nodded unaltered, "then I'll have no choice but to accede to your request." ”

"Okay, this man!" Marisa clapped her hands vigorously and shouted like a casino boss in the old society, "Buy and leave, buy and leave!"

"Then it's time to witness the miracle!"

In Marisa's heart, she was convinced that she had won the battle.

The gap between friend and foe is huge, even greater than the gap between elephants and ants. However, Marisa doesn't need to defeat the elephant right now. The conditions for winning were artificially lowered, and all she needed to do was take a bite on the instep of this elephant.

Blocking her and Alice's lives, as well as everything other than life, and giving this powerful vampire a painless slap in the face, this kind of thing, Marisa can do.

It can be done.

That's what she has, and that's why she dares to stand here.