(a)

"Ah...... It's really unpleasant......"

Shooting Pill Wen held the pen between his upper lip and floated slowly among the clouds, his heart full of resentment. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

If you want to say why, you have to start with her news shortage in the past few days.

According to past experience, newcomers who first come to Gensokyo must be making some kind of trouble. Therefore, after Wen lost to Nalan Twilight, he did not go far, but kept secretly monitoring him, hoping to spread the news as soon as the incident occurred, and by the way, he made up some jokes to discredit Nalan Twilight in order to avenge his revenge.

As a result, this guy just led the master and servant of the Red Devil Pavilion around, neither beckoning cats and dogs, nor messing with flowers and grass, acting like an ordinary person. And after he entered the Red Devil Pavilion, he never came out again.

After a few calm days, Shotimaru finally couldn't hold his breath. Since the expected big news didn't come to the door by herself, she had to take the initiative and go out to collect materials.

So, this morning, she went to the Red Devil Pavilion, to be precise, sneaking in while the doorman was sleeping. Unfortunately, she didn't get far before she was caught, and was scorned by the head maid there with the eyes of a pig. After she finally found Nalan Twilight, she was swept up in the daily "play" of a bear child, and was almost shot into a sieve.

As a result, she didn't have time to collect the materials, so she escaped in disgrace. She has been shooting life pills for more than 100 years, and she has never been so embarrassed.

"That maid is obviously a human being, but she looks like she wants to eat people all day long. I didn't steal or rob, I just did an interview, so why are you murderous?"

"Gah!"

"That kid in her family is too, bombing everywhere at every turn, it's completely a brain problem, right?"

"Quack!"

"And that Nalan Twilight, who actually 'played' with that bear child all day, doesn't he have anything else to do?"

"Gah?"

Wen Youyou, without saying a word, vented his dissatisfaction to the crows beside him. And the crow, although it is difficult to say, but it really doesn't care much about these birds.

But no matter what, it can't stand up to the Raven Tengu, right?

"Quack, quack!"

Suddenly, as if sensing something, the crow left only two long chirps, and quickly swooped down and disappeared into the sea of trees.

"Hey, you guy!"

Seeing this, Wen hurriedly sped up and followed.

As a good journalist, she relies on two extremely precise senses when she goes out to gather materials: her own sense of news and the smell of crows. She trusts the birds' instincts as much as she trusts her photography skills.

Every crow in Gensokyo is her eyeliner and can provide her with information. Where there is an incident, there must be crows, and where crows gather, there must be a life-shooting pill, and where there is a life-shooting pill, there is no privacy.

This time, she also followed the crow's flight trajectory and came to the scene of that incident.

"Oh, I didn't expect it to come back again. ”

Shotimaru fell to the ground, and all she saw was a familiar sight: mountain paths, autumn leaves, and the Kutense Waterfall - and she returned to the foot of Yokai Mountain.

"It's weird, there's usually no news here......" Moon muttered as he hurried towards where the crows were.

Unlike the human no-sato where strange people and strange things are common, the Yokai Mountain is under the rule of the tengu, and it is orderly and peaceful. Outsiders can't even get in, let alone make trouble in the mountains.

What kind of thing can happen to such a peaceful mountain of monsters? A layman and a demon who has no skills will probably not have the courage to come here to make trouble, but if it is a guy with unique skills and superior strength......

Thinking of this, she suddenly had a sense of foreboding, so she quickened her pace and walked briskly through the autumn maple forest.

The pair of high-heeled clogs at his feet stepped on the fluffy maple blanket, bringing up countless red leaves between the rise and fall. The maple trees on both sides dance to the rhythm of the autumn wind, and the earth is clothed in red as they sway. If it were normal times, Wen would be happy to call a few friends to go to the mountains for a picnic and drink together, but now, she is not in the mood to do this.

"Quack, quack!"

The cacophony of crows meant that her destination was close at hand, and after pushing aside a few branches that stood in her way, she finally found the crow that had been with her and the large black crow flock around her. The jet-black birds unusually gathered on the ground, as if they were attracted by something lying on the ground, and even the Shotimaru Fumi, who had already walked closer, didn't notice it.

Since the crows were so dense, Wen couldn't see what they were trampling underneath her feet, but she could vaguely smell a foul smell.

It was a stream that humans avoided and the crows flocked to, and the corpse stenched. As a crowtengu, Moon remembers this taste vividly.

"Gah!"

A clever crow raised its head by chance, and when it sensed the arrival of Raven Tengu-sama, it raised its voice and barked. When the rest of the crows heard this, they all raised their heads and looked at Shotimaru in unison, then retracted and stepped away from where they were, revealing the object hidden under the crow's feathers in front of her eyes.

"This ...... It's ......"

Wen couldn't help but gasp when he saw the object.

It was a pale, shriveled corpse.

If it was just an ordinary human corpse, it would be impossible to scare the battle-hardened Shooter Maruwen. There have never been fewer daredevils who sneak into the mountains without heeding advice and eventually die in an accident or a monster attack.

But this corpse is different, it has obvious yokai characteristics, wearing the uniform of the Monster Mountain Patrol, and the patrol's standard saber pinned to its waist - this is the corpse of a white wolf tengu.

In this Gensokyo, no one has ever dared to do murderous deeds in the heavily guarded Youkai Mountain, but now, the fact of blood has been placed in front of her. The appearance of this corpse means only one thing......

"Mutation"

In the mind of the article, these two big words appeared.

In an instant, the wind rose suddenly, the red leaves swirled, and the bleak autumn wind slapped Wen's back, making her shiver. This autumn wind is a little colder than yesterday.

It looks like this year's winter will come a little earlier than usual.

(b)

The expected short-lived but unforgettable pain did not come.

Lianzi opened her eyes, but she didn't see the tall body of the hill and the iron claws that stretched out to her.

"I'm still alive......"

Yes, she's alive, although I don't understand why, but she's really alive.

Her brain first confirmed this information, then her eyes, ears, nose...... Eventually, every cell in her body thawed from the ice, and the coagulated blood finally began to flow again.

Her sight returned, followed by her sense of hearing and smell, and then she realized that she was still in this dark and bloody Asura Hell. None of this was a dream, the roar heard by the ears was real, the smell of blood smelled by the nose was real, and the rotten flesh and bones seen by the eyes were real.

"Goo...... Woo ......"

So Usami Renzi began to vomit incessantly, from the leftover lunch to the coffee she drank in the afternoon, and after emptying her stomach, she began to vomit gastric juice again, and finally almost didn't vomit bile.

"Ahem...... cough cough cough ......"

Her guts were churning, her muscles were twitching, her trachea was suffocated by the rising stomach acid, and her face was covered in snot, tears, vomit, and blood, and she didn't look like herself.

Renzi herself couldn't figure out why she had such a big reaction, maybe because she was really scared, maybe because the bloody corpses were so disgusting, or because her body hadn't recovered from the extreme stress.

But, all in all, she is now out of the threat of death for the time being.

When the vomiting stopped, she quickly gasped for breath, wiped her face twice with her dirty sleeve, and then picked up the pen flashlight covered in slimy vomit.

Thankfully, the flashlight is waterproof, and if it breaks at this juncture, it won't be fun.

Following the light, Lianzi saw the person standing not far away.

"Strange...... People?"

Yes, it was a man standing there, not the beast that threatened her life. It was a tall, lanky man with long jet-black hair, a pure black gown, a dark red cloak, and a top hat. His face is obscured by a white mask trimmed with gold trim, making him look like a medieval aristocrat who has just attended a masquerade.

Hasuko also noticed that the man was carefully wiping a finely carved ivory cane with a handkerchief, saying a few words in a language she did not understand.

His head was kept down, as if he was concerned about something at his feet. Lianzi moved the flashlight down and shone on the giant thing lying on the ground.

"This ...... This guy is ......"

Lianzi was so startled that she almost threw the flashlight away. The object lying motionless on the ground was the werewolf who had been killing and rampage until just now. And now, it was lying in a pool of blood, covered in tiny scars.

It seems that while she was throwing up to death, a short but deadly battle took place. The werewolf, who was originally Keodis, was clearly the loser of that battle.

So, who is the winner?

It was a stupid question, was there a third living person besides Hasuko and the new masked man? though she couldn't imagine what kind of weapon had stabbed the invulnerable beast, she was sure of one thing:

The man standing there, defeated a werewolf.

But that doesn't mean he can be trusted. The man who could defeat the beast so easily could not be an ordinary human. This guy, although it doesn't look so hideous on the surface, Hasuko is sure that under that mask, there must be an even more terrifying monster hidden.

So what should Usami Hatsuko do to get out of this predicament?

“――――，――――――。 ”

The man threw away the blood-stained handkerchief, then pressed his staff against the werewolf's head, muttering words to his mouth.

"This guy wants to give Caiodis the final blow!" Hasuko's mind spawned this idea.

She had to move, she had to stop him. Let's not mention whether Kaiodis can change back into human form, once he dies, the next person to suffer is probably Lotus Seed.

“――！”

The man let out a loud shout, and despite the language barrier, Lianzi could still guess the meaning of the words.

Undoubtedly, that's what it means to "die."

"Stop!"

She leaned on the floor and yelled ahead.

It's a pity that it's too late, let alone stop that person, and before she can get up, the "execution" has already begun.

The tip of the openwork ivory staff emitted a faint white light, and this exquisite ornament was an elegant murder weapon after all.

"Buzz!"

A low, dizzying sound resounded throughout the bomb shelter. Immediately after, an arc of lilac light swept by, knocking the short staff in the man's hand flying.

“―――？”

The man turned his head to look at the lotus seed, to be exact, in the direction where the lotus seed was, and said a word to her. If Lianzi could understand his language, she would find that the sentence was not actually said to her.

"It's a pity you can't kill him today. ”

A somewhat familiar female voice came from behind, and Renzi remembered that she had heard it on the phone at Nalan Twilight's house.

She turned around and saw a beautiful blonde woman in a purple dress. Her body has a faint lavender scent, and her face is a little like a friend of lotus seeds.

"Melly, that's not right...... You are ......"

"Hehe, I said we'll meet soon. The woman said, smiling at the lotus seed.

Although the two are both women, Lianzi was still "electrified" by her smile.

"Hmph, the so-called 'sage' is just an accomplice of the beasts. The man said to the blonde woman, his tone full of disdain.

This time, he spoke English, and although the accent was very strong, Hasuko was barely able to understand it.

"There's no accomplice, that guy is just a card in my hand. The blonde woman put away her smile and said, "So, Mr. Radu, when are you going to release me, 'friend', Melly?"

When she said the word "friend", she obviously bit the word a little hard.

"I don't think she'll be willing to assist you in your pathetic plan. She added.

"We'll see, Yakumo Murasaki, we'll see!"

The man dropped such a cruel word, picked up his cane, and disappeared into the darkness in an instant. Lianzi didn't even hear a trace of footsteps, and when she looked closely, there was no one there.

In this way, he melted into the darkness, disappeared from his body, and disappeared.

"Yakumo...... Purple, your name is Yakumo Murasaki, right?" Renzi said in a somewhat trembling voice to the mysterious person who had been hiding behind the scenes, and spit out a series of questions in her heart: "Who are you? Who is that man? What are you going to do......?

"Shhhhh......h These questions are all homework left to you. ”

"What?"

"Seeing that you're so bothered, I'll give you a little hint. The woman pointed to the werewolf who had fallen to the ground, and said, "Caiodis is not dead, and he will not wake up again tonight, if I were you, I would take him back, after all, it is up to him whether you can survive in the future." ”

Hasuko followed her fingers and looked at the werewolf who was lying on the ground like a dead dog. I don't know if it's an illusion, but Lianzi suddenly realized that its body was much smaller than just now. This guy seems to be shrinking, and maybe in a few minutes he will be completely human again.

"That's right......"

Lianzi turned around and was about to ask one more question, only to find that there was no one behind her, only a dark darkness that sent chills down her spine.

It seems that this Yakumo Purple, like the masked man, is also a haunted master.

"Ah, I want to ask what I can do to move this guy!" said Lianzi to herself with some frustration.

Caiodis Frost is 1.96 meters tall and weighs 95 kilograms.

Usami Renzi, who is 1.62 meters tall and weighs 46 kilograms, collapsed.

She's got to be busy tonight.