Part 51: Chapter 13R: The Echoing Bell of the Wind God - Part 1b

Do you not recall your loss some time back?

No actually, I don't.

I was just tired then. It'll be different this time. I have no idea what you're thinking, trying to close down my shrine. Do you think I feel guilty or something?

I see, so you intend to play innocent to the bitter end... Hehe.

...What?

I have done much research on you. I have undeniable evidence of your deeds...

Yes, I had an unobstructed view of all of it!

What on earth could Reimu have done...!? I can't imagine it...

She seems to be really confident. Maybe Reimu's keeping some amazing secret...

...Stop beating around the bush. Whatever this "evidence" is, spit it out.

You have accepted the existence of your misdeeds, so I shall reveal it to you. Reimu Hakurei, shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine. You...

...*lean*



For some strange reason, Sanae thinks a mystical realm populated by monsters is exactly like modern day Japan.

...Huh?

...What did she say?

I must have heard it wrongly...

Hehe... You are left speechless at the sight of such undeniable evidence, I see.

I am sure you know, but minors must not drink sake! That applies even more to a follower of Shinto!



...Excuse me?

...The way you are speaking implies that drinking sake is an everyday occurrence. Am I wrong?

Um, you aren't wrong... Look over there, everyone else's drinks are sake too.

Everyone...? Those little girls must be exceptions, correct?

Hm, me? I drink too~.

Me too. All the fairies drink sake too, right Dai?

Yeah, I can't drink as much as everyone else, though...

...That is impossible... Such tiny little children are all drinking sake...?

T-This is exceedingly immoral! Are the adults ignoring this whole travesty!? Ah, you! The woman at the back! You are an adult, correct? It is the responsibility of an adult to discipline behavior like this!

Ahh, do you mean me? It's just sake, why can't they drink it? Naturally, they need to learn how to drink responsibly, but nevertheless...

This is absurd... Even adults have abandoned their supervisory responsibilities...



Sanae's one of those people who link everything back to one thing.

...Um, hello? Sorry for interrupting your monologue, but can we get back to the topic at hand? Could you explain what you actually meant then? It's incomprehensible.

...That is not necessary. My resolve is now more firm than before.



She's setting herself up for one hell of a fall.

This danmaku battle shall decide it. It will identify which of us is more suited to be the shrine maiden of Gensokyo. Once it is over, I will cease the Hakurei Shrine's operations!

All right then. If it's a danmaku battle you want, then it's a danmaku battle you'll get. Your challenge can only be answered with one thing: danmaku!



The bonus here is a pretty big hint on how tough this fight is going to be.



Sanae will need at least three turns to even get in range of Reimu,



so I'll just take the time to grab the last Bonus Conversation.

Genji~, Genji~? ...He really isn't here. This weather would have been great for basking in the sun too.

Reimu, you are currently engaged in a battle with me. What are you doing over there?

Ahh, nothing much. I left Genji at this pond for awhile, but then he disappeared. I've been looking for him ever since. Hmm, he's kind of old, maybe living at this pond was a bit too hard on him.



Okay now this is just Sanae being .

...It seems your misdeeds have exceeded my imagination. I must call judgement down upon you!

And with that, I've shown all 15 Bonus Conversations! Too bad it'll show up as 12/15 on the final results screen since I restarted the game after the first one and had to do chapter 12 twice.



A cutscene plays at the beginning of turn 2.

You must be exaggerating, surely? That was only one piece of taiyaki.

Milady is a light eater.

Ah, you three are back. A danmaku battle started while you were away.

A danmaku battle... Ah, there it is. Who is that Reimu impostor?

That's the "other shrine maiden". Her origins are unknown, but she was picking fights with Reimu during the incident.

Picking fights with Reimu, hm? Who won?

The other one won that time... But it shouldn't go the same way now. The last match was right after a battle with Cirno, so our side was fatigued.

Mm, she was good enough to resolve the incident, after all. She has to be able to put up a fight now at least.

...Oh, were you the culprit behind the mist incident?

Yes I was. Why do you ask?

When I heard that Reimu had successfully carried out her duty... I was wondering what kind of person the culprit could be...





...What?





...

As hilariously dumb as Sanae is being,

...W-Whoaaaaaa!? Wait, that blue shrine maiden... Of all people, she chooses to pick a fight with these two!?

If she can't sense their power, she must not be very composed right now...

it's a hint of things to come.

...Aha... Ahahahaha. Remilia, did you hear that? That human sees us as fodder youkai, apparently.

Mwahaha, how humorous.

...What is so humorous? I will be glad to be your opponent after I am done here, if that is your desire.

Haha, surely you jest.

Reimu, you have things to settle with her, right? Do your utmost. Someone like her is not worth my time. I'll hand over the job of beating her up to you.





With that done, I move Reimu back to the shrine. Let's skip ahead to turn 4, which is when Sanae finally gets close enough.



So here's a trick for making this battle a joke. Reimu can handle Sanae by herself easily enough just by casting Focus,



but if you have her land on the shrine too she'll constantly regenerate 20% of her HP. This makes getting the Bonus really easy.

All right, let's do this. I'll make sure you'll never talk about shutting down my shrine again!

It seems diplomacy is impossible at this stage.

I will show you that you are incapable of carrying the burden of Gensokyo's faith! This danmaku battle shall be proof of that!



Well yes. They're called Homing Amulets for a reason.



Not her fault you can't counter long range attacks.

Another cutscene plays after the first fight.

...?

(...What is going on?)



Is my concentration lacking...?)

What's with that worried face? Did you finally get scared?

...Of course not. Shall we continue?

...

(...It will be fine. Lady Yasaka and Lady Moriya are with me. The strangeness must be my imagination.)

(...I just need to focus.)



Sadly for Sanae, her problems are all too real. For this entire chapter, her Power is locked at 100.



Sanae's leveled up a bit since last time, by the way, but so has Reimu. I wish Reimu had Spirits that cheap though.



Sanae doesn't have any Post-movement attacks, so she has to waste another turn.



Reimu has no such problems. By the way, it's kind of up to you how you want to ration out Reimu's SP; you can spam Focus/Sense and get the Bonus easily, or you could take a risk and save up for Luck to get more Points. Since I can't save scum, I'm going to do the former.







Sanae's second attempt doesn't go as well at least.

...Ooh...!

Once you knock Sanae down to 50% HP, another conversation plays.

Look, Reimu has the upper hand!

That's not surprising. Reimu's one of the best around when she's in top condition.

Go Reimu~! Destroy her~!

Yeah, freeze her into a block of ice!

...I see, so you are perfectly fine with befriending youkai.

Not really.



...Whatever your opinion towards them, it does not matter. The result is humans distancing themselves from your shrine. You cannot talk your way around that.

I had no plans to do so. ...Come on, let's settle this battle!

...Yes, of course...

...

(...What is going on? I cannot feel spiritual power within my body, and I cannot use my hidden arts...)

(This has never happened before...!)

Shockingly, a person who's power is to create miracles is kind of bad at fighting without them.



I'd like to take Sanae down now, but I need to wait for Reimu's HP to regenerate.



She's got two turns of Sense, she should be fine.



Another cutscene will play once Sanae reaches critical health, so Reimu just Evades.



Come Turn 8, I'm good to go. I could have Reimu Focus to boost that to a 98%, but then she'd Graze and cost me the Bonus.



And that's a wrap.

...*gasp gasp*...

...What, no response? Were you this bad last time? I guess you just caught me at a bad time then.

...I refuse to accept this. I have conformed to the responsibilities and duties of a wind priestess. I have served respectably every day up till today.



Sanae. Reimu invaded two different hells while you were in elementary school. You can definitely say you're better than her spiritually, but in combat ability you're not even close.

I know my role well. That's why I'm always punishing youkai.

I don't know who you think you are... But anyone who interferes with the resolving of incidents... Someone like that can't be called a shrine maiden!

Someone should really take Sanae aside and explain the Hakurei Shrine Maiden is more of a police officer than an actual religious figure.

...Just once more... I need a miracle to occur just once more...

Gensokyo's faith must be supported by the Moriya Shrine. I will prove that to you at this moment!

Go right ahead. This one will settle it all!


Watch Reimu's revenge!





Ahhhhh!

...That did it.

Hmph, how boring. I was expecting better after I heard that Reimu had problems with her.

Wow, she got beaten up real bad.

...Yep, that's the end for sure.

Why... Why did I have to lose...? I am a wind priestess... A human of miracles. I cannot accept this...

Hey, you... Could you explain why you're doing this to begin with? If you did, maybe you and Reimu could come to a compromise and...



I imagine Reimu might have been more willing to listen if Sanae hadn't been such an ass.

So yes. Stop meddling in the affairs of my shrine and get out of here.

...No, I will not. I was given the responsibility of ending the Hakurei Shrine's operations... I cannot leave without fulfilling my duty.

...You don't learn, do you? I won't be held accountable for what's going to happen now!



Suwako pops out and flies to Sanae's side.

Sanae, stop fighting! We're going back to the mountain!

...!?

Oh...?

L-Lady Moriya? Why are you...?

Isn't it obvious? I'm here because I'm worried about you. And sure enough, you were one step away from getting in over your head.

...I worried you, Lady Moriya...?

Who might that be? A friend of the mysterious shrine maiden, perhaps...?



Yeah, just look at that thing. It has eyes!

...I apologize for making you worry. I am in the middle of settling things, so please wait a moment...

Calm down, you idiot!

!

Haven't you realized it? You can't generate your power as you wish right now.



Sanae probably used most of it up dodging Fantasy Seal.

N-No... Then why have we...

...Kanako ended talks with the head of the tengu just a little while ago.

!

We can settle down at the mountain now. We can take it slow and stock up faith before we act again. It won't be too late. So keep the feelings you have now contained until you've regained your power. You aren't a match for the Hakurei shrine maiden as you are now.

...

I understand. If that is what you desire... Then I will return to the shrine.

...Hm, she appears to have given up.

...My, it's over already? Does the little one want to battle, perhaps?

Yuuka, she's...

Hehe, it will be fine. Things might get interesting that way.

...



It's a feeling called "she's a higher level than the game's level cap."

...Mm, that's wise of you. Anyways, Hakurei shrine maiden. It seems our Sanae has been taken care of by you! Sanae will surely get payback for this personally someday. Everything will truly be settled then.

Settled then...? If you come again, wouldn't you just be kicked out like now?

Yep! She'd be a pushover for me!

Ahaha, you all sure can dish it out. I guess that's expected considering how worn out she looks, though.

...Sanae, remember those words well. You have to show them how wrong they are someday.

...I understand. Lady Moriya, please train me even harder. I do not want to lose to Reimu again...!

She totally does. Hell, Reimu can solo the Sanae boss chapter in FMW2 as long as you're not on Lunatic.

Good answer. Let's head on back to the mountain! See you again, everyone! It's going to be real fun the next time we meet!

Suwako and Sanae leave.

She had a mysterious air. I did not have a chance to question her, though...

At the very least, this was undoubtedly Reimu's victory. They should give up their suspicious dealings with the shrine now.

Okay, battle's over. Let's continue our Sevens game... Hm?

The sound of thunder echoes over and the screen darkens a bit.

Rain in the evening is rare at this time of the year.

Yeah it is. The weather has been so good lately that I've been drying my laundry well...

...Oh, my laundry! Hey you all, help me bring my laundry in. It's going to rain soon!

Gah, there you go, making use of youkai again!

Come on, no complaints. Rumia, clean up the cards. Daiyousei, handle the dishes. Alice and Keine, help me out with the laundry.

Ehh... Oh well, okay.

Understood. Cirno, help me too.

...Honestly, if I wasn't in such a rush, they'd just watch me do it all...

...





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This time around I've got another video from the sequel.

Sanae Kochiya (FMW P)

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Heh heh heh... No one will find me here. I'm a hide-and-seek genius!!

I found you, Cirno!

Guargh!? Wha... How did you know I was here, Dai!?

Ehehe, the player told me you were here! You're the seeker this time, Cirno!

Bah... You better let me know if you find Dai, alright!?