The Danmaku Game

"These ghost danmaku are so hard to deal with, Reimu! They flicker, speed up, slow down... and once you scatter them, they just reform. It's such a pain!"

Marisa complained loudly after nearly being struck by several sneaky wisps of soul-fire. On the other side, Reimu wasn't having an easy time either, narrowly weaving through the siege of several soul-collecting insects. She shouted toward Kikyo, who was surrounded by the insects.

This entity claimed to be a Miko serving a deity, yet she kept pulling out massive amounts of Underworld-style spell cards. Their intensity was high, clearly not the work of some average minor spirit. For a moment, Reimu even thought she was fighting that glutton from Hakugyoro.

Because a certain deity had decided to enjoy the thrill of being a 'game designer,' she required each 'stage boss' to have unique abilities and styles. If Kikyo used Inari powers, it would overlap with her own role as the final boss and diminish the novelty of the encounter. Thus, she requested that Kikyo design a stage using underworld powers instead of her Miko abilities.

Since Kikyo was essentially a resurrected being, she could manipulate the powers of the Netherworld. Combined with the peerless spiritual power she possessed in life, her control over these ghostly forces was immense.

While maintaining her ghostly danmaku, Kikyo controlled countless soul-collecting insects and phantoms to swarm Reimu and Marisa, continuously compressing their room to maneuver.

"...A bit troublesome, but it doesn't matter. I've already found the weakness in your danmaku, you dead soul woman!"

As she spoke, Reimu pulled out a spell card and activated it. A powerful burst of spiritual power erupted, and the phantoms surrounding her instantly dispersed, along with the myriad of ghostly spirits filling the air.

"Just as I thought—you rely on those insect yokai as mediums to control the spirits. Marisa, now!"

Seeing the massive wave of ghostly danmaku vanish, Reimu shouted. Not far away, Marisa, finally free from the spirits, immediately pulled out her Mini-Hakkero in response.

Taking advantage of the gap, Marisa declared her spell card and fired her magic cannon forward. Facing the incoming rainbow radiance, Kikyo remained expressionless, waving her hand to construct a barrier of spiritual power as she spoke slowly.

"Enough. Since we've come this far, the deity of your house—the culprit behind this incident—should show herself!" Reimu pointed her gohei toward the Miko below and shouted. At that moment, an unexpected voice came from behind her.

"...Looking for me?"

Hearing this, Reimu and Marisa both froze. They glanced at each other before slowly turning around. There, at the very end of the sando, perched atop the final torii gate, a figure sat cross-legged, watching the floating Miko and magician.

"Me? I've been sitting here from the very beginning. I've been sitting here enjoying your danmaku battle this whole time; you two just have bad eyes and didn't see me..."

Miketsu smiled as she took a bite of a potato chip. Her words left Reimu and Marisa in a daze.

'She's been sitting here the whole time? But I didn't sense her at all! Usually, even a ghost with the weakest presence can't escape my perception. Is it because of some concealment ability?' Reimu thought intently while trying to gauge if the girl was a specialist in stealth.

"Also, to answer your second question: who am I? I am the so-called 'culprit' of the incident you've been looking for. I am also the master of this shrine and the god whom Kikyo and the others serve."

"Are you the Inari Okami?"

"Indeed. Although simply saying 'Inari God' isn't quite accurate, since the Autumn Sisters you met at the start can also be considered Inari gods. To make a distinction, you can call me Uka-no-Kami."

"I don't care what kind of god you are! If you caused this incident, you're getting exterminated!" Reimu shouted, pointing her gohei at Miketsu. Hearing this, Miketsu laughed heartily.

"Hahaha... how interesting. A Miko saying she wants to exterminate a god? You really are as amusing as they say, Reimu Hakurei..."

"Hey, be careful, Reimu. This girl feels a bit like that idiot god we met before..."

As Miketsu slowly rose into the air, Reimu and Marisa took up high-alert stances. In the sky, Miketsu smiled and pulled out her own spell card.

"As for what kind of god I am, you can experience it slowly in the games to follow. How much you can grasp depends on your own strength. I don't have high demands—as long as you clear the final stage, you win. How about it?"

With a wave of her hand, Miketsu declared her spell card. A clear bell chime echoed through the vast space, bringing a sense of ancient desolation.

"Is this... rice?" Looking at the scene that suddenly appeared around her—a boundless golden field of rice—Marisa spoke in surprise.

"Shall we begin?" Miketsu continued to smile.

Miketsu condensed a golden bow and arrow of light in her hands, then aimed and fired at Reimu and Marisa.

"Get ready to dodge, Marisa!"

And so, the danmaku game between Miketsu, Reimu, and Marisa finally began. In this domain, Miketsu designed a typical splitting-type danmaku. The golden light arrows constantly split in the sky, swarming toward them. With each split, the number grew, and the density thickened rapidly, putting immense pressure on Reimu and Marisa. This represented the harvest trait of the Inari God—starting from a single seed to gain a harvest of ten thousand grains. Moreover, the density of the danmaku increased over time.

Reimu's body twisted and vanished, reappearing a short distance away past the wall of danmaku before she immediately declared her own card.

"Fantasy Seal!"

Following Reimu's declaration, a large number of rainbow light orbs flew upward like guided missiles. These orbs precisely wove through the dense arrows and successfully struck several 'mother' arrows that Miketsu had just fired before they could split. This caused a massive gap to appear in Miketsu's danmaku pattern.

Then, within the space of the rice fields, all the arrows of light vanished. Marisa, who had been frantically dodging, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is it over?"

"No, it's just getting started. This is the second stage."

As Miketsu spoke, the golden rice fields around them dissolved. In their place, giant reinforced concrete torii gates decorated with neon signs rose one after another along a roadway. Below, countless high-speed cars turned into a flowing river of light.

"Merchant God Inari: Frivolous City!"

In an instant, the empty golden fields transformed into a bustling night metropolis. A night view of a thriving city center appeared before Reimu and Marisa.

"Such tall square stones... such bright lights... what is this place?!"

Looking at the modern city scene, Reimu and Marisa were stunned. Born in Gensokyo, they had never seen sights belonging to the outside world. Aside from shock, their hearts were filled with confusion.

"Why is it impossible? Aren't you human yourself? You should know what a human's potential looks like when free from specific shackles."

Miketsu spread her arms and declared above the bustling city under the night sky.

"This domain is also for setting the atmosphere, but it represents the theme of the danmaku you are about to face. Inari is not just an agricultural god of harvest, but also a god of commerce. Witness the danmaku I have created with this theme. First, an appetizer."

Miketsu pointed toward the sky.

"Gloom: Between Ten Thousand Stocks and Bonds!"

Following Miketsu's declaration, countless coin-shaped danmaku fell from the heavens. These bullets took the form of currencies, including modern paper bills from various countries.

Marisa looked toward her companion to warn her, but she saw that Reimu was acting strangely. The Hakurei Priestess was frozen in place, her eyes fixed on the falling paper money. She didn't recognize the paper bills, but she certainly knew the genuine copper coins, gold, and silver.

Reimu stared blankly at the golden light raining down on her. A gold koban was about to smack her right in the face.

Seeing that Reimu had no intention of dodging, Marisa lunged forward, tackling Reimu out of the way just as the money danmaku struck. She shouted anxiously, "What's wrong with you, Reimu! Why didn't you dodge!"

"Money... Marisa, it's all money! I've never seen so much money in my life!"

"That's danmaku! It's danmaku, Reimu! Didn't you already see money danmaku when you fought that reaper? Why can't you handle it now?!"

Marisa shouted as she struggled to dodge the coin danmaku while holding Reimu. This scene left Miketsu above slightly bewildered.

"...Ah... it seems she lacks resistance to money. Poor child, is she usually that broke?" Miketsu rubbed her chin in thought. "...But it's no fun for the hero to be hard-locked by a debuff. In that case, I'll switch the danmaku."

With Miketsu's declaration, the rain of coins vanished. In its place, countless colored arrows drawing jagged, winding trajectories began to fill the space.

They moved up and down, wandering and spreading wildly, swarming toward Reimu and Marisa again.

"Stocks? Market charts?"

Looking at the chart-based danmaku, Reimu sighed and muttered. She summoned several spiritual light orbs to strike back at Miketsu, but they were hit by the passing arrows and instantly vanished.

"It's useless. The mechanism of this danmaku is special. They won't be destroyed like the previous ones. To break it, you must dodge through them yourself."

Miketsu continued to smile. Reimu and Marisa realized that they had to graze all the way to Miketsu's front.

"Leave it to me!"

Reimu began to analyze the movement of the jagged line danmaku, attempting to find a pattern and the best path forward. As someone with high intuition, she quickly found a gap and charged.

However, before she could get far, an arrow she had predicted would rise suddenly took a sharp, vertical plunge. The arrow crashed down right onto Reimu as she was about to pass. Caught off guard, Reimu was hit in the head, seeing stars from the pain as she retreated, clutching her head.

"Ouch... Hey! This thing has no pattern at all! It's completely random!"

Holding the large bump on her head, Reimu shouted at Miketsu in the sky. Miketsu shrugged and held out her hands.

"Of course. After all, the market is unpredictable."

Just as Reimu was getting frustrated, Marisa spoke up.

"Heh, if it's unpredictable, then don't try to predict it. If there's no pattern, just treat it as having none..."

Marisa adjusted the witch hat on her head and sat firmly on her broom. Hearing this, Reimu blinked in surprise.

"Marisa, you mean..."

"If I can't predict it, I'll just be faster than it!"

Marisa mounted her Hakkero onto the back of her broom and looked toward Miketsu with determination. Reimu was stunned by her words, but then Marisa prepared to charge. Reimu reached out, worried.

"Comet!"

Marisa shot toward Miketsu like a bolt of light, fearlessly facing the dense, unpredictable jagged danmaku. In Miketsu's eyes, Marisa grazed past thousands of stock arrows, drawing a straight rainbow trail through the chaotic, fluctuating lines.

Facing the Marisa who was now inches away, Miketsu smiled slightly.

"Not bad."

In the next instant, just as Marisa was about to reach Miketsu, the entire world shattered. The fluctuating stock danmaku vanished, and the towering buildings and neon lights dissolved. The entire city, including Miketsu, turned into nothingness in an instant, leaving only Reimu and Marisa floating in a pitch-black void.

"Did... did we succeed?"

Marisa, having stopped her broom, looked at the dark scene in bewilderment. Then, Reimu's stern voice came from below her.

"Not yet, Marisa! Look around!"

Holding her charms, Reimu spoke seriously. Just then, a rumbling sound began to echo through the space.

Reimu and Marisa looked around curiously. The rumbling coming from all directions grew louder—rhythmic, steady, low-pitched, and massive. It made one's heart tremble. Interlocking gears began to turn, unknown machinery began to roar, and massive steel skeletons pierced the clouds. Rivers of glowing molten steel flowed slowly below. Under the operation of thick mechanical arms, giant iron hammers continuously struck ten-meter-wide blocks of metal. Conveyor belts transported parts of unknown purpose.

The entire space was bathed in the golden-red glow of the molten rivers. At the center of these rivers, a giant torii gate made of steel stood tall, looking like a shrine built upon water.

Suddenly, the previous night city had turned into a giant factory. Amidst the ear-piercing noise and boiling heat, Reimu and Marisa were stunned once again.

"...It's so hot... What is this place?! It feels like we've reached Former Hell..."

"Are these things... all machines? Is this a Kappa factory? Can this kind of place even be considered a divine domain?"

"Welcome. This is the final form of my Fox Hunt Realm, and the final stage you must face. Clear this, and you win completely. How about it?"

Miketsu snapped her fingers, and the surrounding factory began to operate even more violently. Countless giant, crude mechanical arms lunged toward them from all directions, equipped with giant hammers, welding torches, black cannon muzzles, high-speed saws, and firearms loaded with ammunition.

Suddenly, Reimu and Marisa were surrounded by giant mechanical claws bearing terrifying tools, creating an immense pressure for the girls inside.

Facing the encirclement of industrial behemoths, even the girls who had seen much of the world felt a trace of panic.

"Marisa, this is the last one!"

Clutching the Marisa beside her, Reimu spoke slowly. Miketsu spoke with a smile.

"Indeed. Don't worry, this is just a game. Under spell card rules, nothing bad will happen. So, let me explain the mechanics of this final stage."

"These mechanical arms represent the industrial trait of Inari. They can be destroyed, but they will instantly be rebuilt into upgraded versions within the domain to launch even more frantic attacks. Therefore, attacking them will only increase the difficulty. Additionally, my physical body is in a state where you cannot reach it."

"What you need to do... is survive for ten seconds under the saturated danmaku attack. Once ten seconds pass... victory is yours... Of course, this time you just need to survive."

"Now, prepare yourselves. This is the final act of this incident!"

Miketsu raised her hand. Simultaneously, the equipment installed on the countless mechanical arms began to roar even louder. The deafening noise made the girls' ears ring.

"Survive ten seconds? Understood!"

Reimu pulled Marisa to her side, then with a grave expression, she pulled out her final spell card.

"Fantasy Heaven!"

Following Miketsu's declaration, the entire giant factory began to roar and howl. The devices on the mechanical arms operated at full power. In an instant, a danmaku of steel and flame surged from all directions without a single gap toward Reimu and Marisa, just as Reimu declared her final spell card.