Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 1
Good evening. I am Sakuya Izayoi, loyal maid to Lady Scarlet. Today I am writing following our first venture into the bizarre space that has appeared above Gensokyo. It is a most peculiar place, one whose very presence has wrecked havoc upon the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Unfortunately, my participation in this expedition has left a mountain of duties piling up back home.ba
Someone was going to die for this.
Thankfully, I am not alone. My mistress and her close friend Lady Patchouli boldly stand by my side. As it is dangerous to leave her alone in the mansion unattended, the young mistress Flandre has joined us out of necessity, in the hopes that we could channel her destructive tendencies towards more useful endeavors. Also by our side is the indolent shrine maiden, Reimu Hakurei, who must assuredly atone for this disaster that she had helped wrought through her own negligence.
In addition, the disgraceful thief Marisa Kirisame has finally managed to do something beneficial and recruited several others to our noble cause. The first is Lady Moriya, one of the goddesses of Youkai Mountain, who has righteously identified the threat to Gensokyo and has pledged her assistance. Second is Lady Ibuki, an old friend of Yukari Yakumo's, who is concerned for her friend's connection to this incident. Our third compatriot is Miss Shameimaru, the nosy reporter of
Bunbunmaru fame, whose limitless curiosity has brought her to the scene of the incident. Lastly is Lady Kazami, the Flower Master of the Four Seasons. I believe she said she just wished to kill things.
Marisa accompanied us on our journey, but chose to keep her distance from us. She did mention something about coming only to "loot precious things".
I recall being apprehensive about our missing gate guard, who had disappeared around the time the hole in the sky first appeared yesterday, but little do I know I'd soon find the answer to that mystery. Regardless, I relished the thought of what punishment she deserved for her absence. Leaving the Scarlet Devil Mansion to the care of a few fairy maids, we set off for the strange distorted space.
Upon our entrance, we were greeted not with the raging pits of hell, but rather the serene grace of a tranquil woodland clearing. This is certainly not what we expected, although I would by no means complain. Best to ease oneself in, after all.
A few steps in, we ran into the first of many bizarre features of this dungeon: the event flag "!". Apparently, these mark special spaces where certain events would occur, be it treasure chests, special switches, elaborate puzzles, or character encounters. Boss battle events will be marked with a menacing violet facade...or at least, most of them will be. Since we can only see one space ahead of us, we must tread carefully, lest we walk blindly into a deadly ambush.
Fortunately, no such ambushes were to be had at this stage of the game. The local wildlife may have looked out of place anywhere else, but not in Gensokyo. Living plants, minor demons, ghostly wisps, and annoying fuzzballs infringed upon our advance, but we mercilessly swatted them away. Milady in particular demonstrated incredible strength and grace as she tore them apart with her energy spears, her light hair shimmering in the scarlet glow, her small but well-tuned muscles exerting enormous might as she let out the most adorable grunt with each blow that illicited such a response from...
Ahem, moving on now. During our expedition we came across three events of interest. The first was the discovery of a peaceful spot basking in the warm glow of the sun, although I have no idea how the sun is even shining in this place. I'm not sure how this is significant at all, but my companions seem to think this was notable.
The next interesting event occurred when the space around us rapidly darkened for a few moments. It only lasted a short while, but it was certainly not natural. Lady Patchouli warned us to be aware and take note of our surroundings lest a similar incidence catches us again.
The last, and most significant, event was when we overheard someone crying some distance away. I immediately recognized the distinct wimpering as a very familiar sound that has graced my ears many times before. Milady confirmed my suspicions, and we set off to find the source of that noise.
To no great surprise, we come to find our gate guard, cowering in hiding and muttering something about everyone from the mansion being dead or some other sort of nonsense. Milady graciously tried to comfort her and snap her out of it, but in her delerium she had the impudence to accuse us of being malicious spirits, and in her terror, attack us!
If there's one thing I can commend China for, it's her ability to endure an impressive amount of punishment. Unfortunately for her, she can't return the favor to any degree. Reimu started off the fight by putting her barrier powers to good use, summoning up a sturdy wall of spiritual energy to shield our allies. China's attacks were unable to put much of a dent into our defenses, and we soon had her cornered. She tried to get a second wind going with her healing chakra, which undid much of our efforts, but even that was not enough to halt our unwavering assault. After beating some sense into her (and a few familiar knives to the back), China was finally willing to listen to what we had to say. Milady forcibly conscripted her into our party, reasoning that the Scarlet Devil Mansion was too damaged to need a gate guard anymore anyway. I was just glad we had a suitable slab of meat to safely stand behind.
Shortly thereafter, we returned to the mansion to initiate our newest member. I cannot speak of what such an event entails, as I left as soon as it began to record this transcript. Although, I do hear a punctuated scream every so often coming from the other room.
Speaking of which, I still must rejoin them in welcoming our newest ally. Just as soon as I finish sharpening these knives.
~ Sakuya Izayoi