The Scarlet Devil Mansion had contingencies to contain a raging vampire, but it was never a good day when those were put to the test.

Sakuya was best utilized playing support. A role that galled her, in truth, but one that was necessary just by the nature of the conflict. She could not meaningfully intercept the full power of the frenzied youkai, but her power was uniquely suited to avoiding it. Smaller attacks could be deflected by her knives, (not that it would prevent the mansion from taking a beating, but she could at least lessen the damage), and stopping time allowed her to pull her allies out of the way of any more powerful blows.

Offense was a similar story; while enough of her knives would give even the Scarlets pause, this was not a case where overkill was an acceptable solution. If attempting to suppress an outbreak alone, she would be forced to whittle her opponent down, gradually chipping away at that near-limitless stamina until her energy was exhausted and her sanity returned.

Such measures had been necessary with Flandre twice in times past, and an entire wing of the mansion had been wrecked both times. She was thankful to have better options at present.

As her target gathered herself for another charge, Sakuya stopped time, fanning out her knives out to both sides. The wall of blades wasn’t a serious obstacle, a vampire was fully capable of charging through them… but to a creature functioning on instinct, the pain they represented was enough of a deterrent to shape its path. Her quarry charged for the one hole left in the wall, claws outstretched.

The maid let the charging youkai get within a hairsbreadth of her before stopping time once again. When it resumed, she was no longer in the attack’s vicinity, and Meiling leaped in to neatly field the charging youkai. The gatekeeper’s raw strength was less than either of their mistresses, but she made up for it with technique, dodging the swipe, grabbing the wrist, and executing a picture perfect over-the-shoulder throw to slam the vampire down to the floor, wings first.

Neither the throw nor the follow-up joint lock was more than an inconvenience to a vampire, but that had been planned for. Disruption and distraction was the name of the game here; just as her opponent recovered enough to start using her prodigious strength, Meiling switched to a grapple and reversed her hold. After a quick flurry of movement, the feral youkai had been slammed into the floor again, this time chest first.

The sound of arcane chanting filled the room, as a blue sigil formed on the roof above the duo wrestling on the ground. Patchouli's magic was whirling around her, the librarian focusing her energy into a single, monstrously powerful attack. Now Sakuya and Meiling just had to make sure it landed.

The gatekeeper did her best to press the advantage, striking at the target’s back and head with repeated punches. However, a bestial growl signaled retaliation was coming, and martial arts techniques did little when your opponent suddenly transformed into a swarm of bats. Meiling’s punch was already in motion, her fist cracking the floorboards as the bats flew around her. She spun around to intercept, but the vampire had instead reformed above her, snarling as her claws went for the throat.

The blow would have eviscerated Meiling if unblocked, and slammed her into the floor even if she’d managed to interpose an arm… had Sakuya not stopped time again. She pulled the gatekeeper a few critical feet away, and after a moment’s calculation, flew through the house to the room below the cracked floor. Focusing on the splintered ceiling, she chose her target and declared a spellcard.

{Illusion Sign - Killing Doll}

A circle of knives formed along the ceiling, centered on the crack Meiling’s punch had made. She resumed time and a moment later the room shook as a pale arm broke through from the floor above. Before the youkai could retract it, the knives plunged inwards. With that small a target and being forced to estimate where the vampire would break through, the spellcard’s accuracy was a good guess at best… but she’d placed enough knives for it not to matter. Several knives struck true, embedding into the flesh and drawing out a bestial shriek.

“Forgive me.” Sakuya murmured, stopping time as she returned to the story above.

Her spellcard had achieved its purpose. The youkai instinctively tried to pull her arm back… but the hole that was wide enough for a slender arm did not admit the knife hilts, the impact quite literally twisting the knife and causing another scream. And while wood flooring would not delay a vampire for long, Patchouli’s spell had hit critical mass.

[Earth Water Sign - Noachian Deluge]
Their target saw it coming, ripping her arm free with a shriek and a spray of blood, but Meiling leapt in again, taking advantage of the maimed arm with another joint lock. The vampire roared, thrashing like a caged beast in her attempts to get free. A wing connected, knocking the gatekeeper clear across the room, but it was too little, too late.

A waterfall crashed down in a veritable torrent, flooding the entire area and pinning their quarry once again to the floor. It was difficult to make her out through the sheer volume of water, but Sakuya threw in a barrage of knives regardless. Running water was one of the few vampire weaknesses the Scarlets actually had, and enough of it would weaken one enough for her knives to pose a real threat.

And yet, within the spray, the figure pushed herself up. A bright red glow formed as she got to her knees, and the waterfall was already visibly smaller than when it started - Patchy was tiring out. Sakuya ramped up her own efforts to compensate, throwing every intact knife she had as often as physics would allow, but the vampire reached her feet and then the light became blinding.

{Scarlet Sign - Red the Nightless Castle}

The red cross formed within the waterfall, dying the room scarlet as the spellcard’s energy aura exploded forth. The resulting wave knocked Sakuya into the wall, and it was sheer luck that the deflected knives missed her. Patchy fared better; her barrier kept her from being swept away as well, but she could see her wince at the additional drain of energy. The cross faded with the water still pouring down, but the youkai within staggered towards the mage, the beginnings of a red spear forming in her hand.

Dazed, the maid glanced over to see Patchouli shaking with effort as she tried to hold on that little bit longer. The waterfall shook, the flow wavering and sputtering as the red spear formed completely, the tip now poking out the water’s edge. With one last push the waterfall stabilized, pouring down as fast as it had originally… until Patchy broke into a coughing fit.

The water ceased. With one last step, the vampire emerged, throwing the spear with a berserker screech.

[Divine Spear - Spear the Gungir]

The room was awash in a brilliant flash of red energy as the spear left her hand. Sakuya screamed, her head pounding as she stopped time again, but there was a sickening thud the moment her power came into effect. A spellcard shouldn't be lethal, but with Patchy weakened - she staggered over, trying to blink the spots out of her eyes, dreading what she might see... and hesitated.

The spear had fallen short, its tip buried in the floor a few paces from the vampire. And looking at the youkai that had thrown it… Her arm was a bloody mess, hanging limply at her side. The pink dress was riddled with tears and bloodstains, faded slightly by the torrent of water she’d just been put through. Her blue hair was sticking to the skin in wet clumps, framing red eyes that had completely lost focus. She was leaning forwards, but both of her legs were too far behind her center of gravity - she wasn’t walking towards Patchy, she was about to fall over.

Sakuya unpaused time. Remilia staggered, somehow getting a leg under her, panting as she reached out towards the maid… then her eyes rolled back in her head. The Scarlet Devil collapsed, and Sakuya caught her before she hit the floor.

Setting her lady down gently upon a salvaged cushion, the maid stopped time once more, this time to take stock. With the battle finished, the vampire’s - no, Remilia’s condition was the primary concern. The physical damage was… not insignificant, but nothing she couldn’t heal with a little blood. The cause of her mistress’s sudden rampage was the real problem, and one she lacked the information to solve. And without a true plan of action, stopping time alone was less than helpful here. At least she could remove her knives, bandage her lady’s wounds, and get her comfortable, for what little that meant.

She paused. Remilia may be unconscious now, but she could still visualize the bloodthirsty scowl, the maddened eyes that had fixated on her even as they no longer saw her. Sakuya traced a hand down the girl’s face, her fingers shaking ever so slightly as she did. She swept the messy hair aside, brushing it back into place, giving her a shade of her usual elegance back… the servant trembled, taking a few deep breaths. Later. There’d be time for this later. But first… she took a roll of bandages, tenderly wrapping up Remi’s savaged arm. Her clothing had been completely soaked, and combined with the tears and scuffing it had already endured, the maid judged them as not worth salvaging. She decided to cut them free, preserving her lady’s modesty as best she could, as she redressed her in fresh, clean, and most importantly dry garments. The cap was an exception, having been knocked off entirely during that last flood - the maid found it a room over and set it up to dry.

With her mistress cared for, Patchouli was the next priority. The bookworm’s condition… it was always a gamble as to whether her asthma would be merely a hindrance or outright crippling, but the mage had grimly declared her health to be good enough. Which had proven true, but only barely. From the intensity of her coughing fit, this was more Patchy paying the price for exertion than a full asthma attack, but it was still something to be addressed.

Tea would take time to brew, but she could at least start the water boiling and choose a blend - chamomile with honey had proven a reliable comfort to both the librarian’s throat and psyche. After a moment’s hesitation, the maid set a timer on her pocketwatch. The reminder was almost certainly unnecessary, but enough needed her attention to make it prudent. Regardless, a glass of cold water should tide over Patchy in the meantime. Meiling was fine; a few bruises, but nothing more serious than that. An icepack should be enough there.

The fairy maids had fared… as expected, really. About a fourth of them had evacuated as per the plans, and were now clustering around Koakuma on the mansion’s back lawn. Unfortunately, most simply scattered, whether hiding under whatever piece of furniture they could reach, or making a mad dash for the forest. And while Sakuya and the others had done their best to contain the rampage, when her Lady’s blows were knocking down cabinets several rooms over, there was only so much that could safeguard the fairies from their own panic. Despite her efforts, a handful had been dusted as collateral damage. Oh well. They’d regenerate soon enough, and would be… marginally less likely to repeat the same mistake.

And speaking of collateral damage, the mansion itself… for all she’d tried to deflect her mistress’s attacks, the repairs needed were going to be significant. Half a dozen rooms had been flooded, floorboards had been splintered, several walls were now sporting interior windows, and a lot of furniture would need replacing. Fixing it all would require a shopping trip and a lot of unpaused time, so for the moment Sakuya settled on stopping any ongoing damage, which was really just mopping up the water.

With as much done as stopped time would allow, she took a minute to compose herself. In all honesty, the ordeal had left her both stressed and tired, in ways that had nothing to do with the physical. But showing such weakness was simply not helpful - for her lady or anyone else. Now was a time for decisive action.

As time flowed once again, Izayoi Sakuya turned to the others, her face the picture of determination. “We’re clear. Remilia’s physical injuries should keep her under for a few hours without being critical. The mansion is no more damaged than usual, and we have time to secure her. Well done.”

“Secure her where?” Meiling tried to meet her eyes, but her gaze kept sliding back over to their mistress. “I know Flandre’s quarters are designed for that, but isn’t she currently in them?”

“She is, but until we know whether Milady will be lucid on waking up, that’s the safest place to keep her. Meiling, keep the young mistress distracted and out of the basement for now. ‘Play’ with her if you must.” Sakuya ordered.

Meiling blinked. “Is there a point to trying to hide this from her? They probably heard that fight all the way in the human village. And it’s not like we can let her back in her room if the plan is to keep Remilia there.”

“I agree we’ll need to tell her eventually. As much as I’d prefer to avoid embarrassing Milady, we’re far past that.” A sigh felt appropriate here. “But the moment Flandre is informed of her big sister’s madness, how do you think she’ll react?”

Meiling paled a bit. “Won’t she react worse if she finds out Remilia’s been like that and she wasn’t told?”

Patchouli took a deep drink, coughing a few times. “While you’re doing that, Sakuya and I will be figuring out our plan of attack. Flandre can at least be appeased if there’s a solution for Remi’s ailment, so once we have one prepared we’ll give you the details to pass on.”

The gatekeeper took a step back. “Wait, why am I the one telling her?”

Her meaningless objection went ignored. “Patchy, I don’t suppose there’s any chance this is something other than Milady’s urban legend?”

The mage shook her head. “Eirin ruled out illness-”

“Wait, when did she do that?” Meiling asked.

Patchouli side-eyed the gatekeeper. “Sakuya took a vial of Remi’s blood for the doctor to test when it was obvious she was… feeling poorly. And as far as normal vampiric hunger goes… increasing Remi’s blood intake was the first thing we tried.”

If anything, ‘increased’ was understating it. It had been elegantly mixed into her lady’s food and drink, as always, but Remilia had consumed more blood in the past week than she did in most months.

The mage coughed again, taking another sip of water. “That leaves magical causes, and the obvious one is the urban legend Remi’s been bragging about. It’s theoretically possible it’s some unrelated curse, but the timing is too close to be coincidental. Furthermore, something strong enough to affect a vampire should be a lot more blatant.”

Sakuya’s pocketwatch rang, and she paused time to grab the tea that had finished brewing. Passing it off to a grateful Patchouli, she looked down at the fallen vampire. “Did our lady give either of you any hint as to what her urban legend actually was?”

Meiling shook her head. “Just bragging about how spectacular it was going to be.”

“I doubt she intended this kind of spectacle,” The mage said drily. “But no. She’d been enjoying keeping it secret a little too much, even as she started feeling worse.”

She’d figured as much. “In that case, it falls on me to investigate,” the perfect and elegant maid declared. “Meiling, keep Flandre happy. Patchouli, see if there’s any vampiric folklore that might have been twisted.”

The mage looked up from sipping her tea. “I take it you have a plan?”

“I’ve heard that the culprits of the Urban Legend Incident are due to arrive in Gensokyo soon. And once they have…” The perfect and elegant maid’s tone went dangerously cold. “Sumireko and her accomplice will find they have much to answer for.”