I was ecstatic over my success at making my second spell card, so much so that I started tightly hugging the paper talisman to my chest.

‘I did it! I finally did it! My power in battles has doubled! I won’t go down that easily anymore!’ I celebrated in my head.

“What are you so excited about, lil sis?” sis asked while she peeked her head over my shoulders.

“Woah, when did you get here sis?” I started back in surprise.

“Just now! I used my ability to hide myself to surprise you!” She answered while showing a mischievous grin. “Your reaction made that so worth it!”

I became a little angry at her comment, and I slightly puffed up my cheek. “You shouldn’t do that sis!”

“Why not? It’s fun to see your surprised face, also, it makes you look cuter than you normally are!” She responded while her grin widened.

I blushed at her comment and allowed the air inside my cheek to disperse. “*sigh* fine, do what you want I guess.” I reluctantly accepted that she would continue doing this.

“Yay!” Sis cheerfully yelled.

Just then, the other three entered the room and came over to where sis and I were. I still held out the paper talisman that I was clutching to my chest outwards to show my family what I had just done.

“I created my second spell card!” I proudly announced to my family. I saw all their eyes move to the talisman that I held out for them and they all began to smile. They all congratulated me. A fluttery feeling appeared in my chest and tears of joy threatened to spill out of my eyes. I brought all my family into a hug.

“Thank you all for everything that you have done for me!” I smiled at them with the brightest smile I could muster while trying my best not to cry.

“No problem lil sis! We’ll always be there for you!” Sis affirmed me.

“Of course, Ayaka, anything to help you.” Big sis told me.

“It’s natural, you are part of our family so we will do anything we can to help you,” Orin added.

“Feel free to rely on us for anything you need!” Okuu encouraged me.

Hearing all their responses, the tears that were building in my eyes started to fall. “Thank you all so much!” I once again smiled at them even though my eyes were leaking tears. I tightened my hug and each of my family did the same to me. After a while, the tears stopped and I slowly released my hug. Noticing this, my family also released me from the hug and instead started to pet the ears on top of my head.

My senses were flooded with pleasure and I leaned my head into their hands. I started purring again and felt a comforting warm sensation spreading through my body. My tail started to swish back and forth quickly.

“Hey lil sis, do you mind if I pet your tail?” I heard sis ask me.

“Mhmm?” I mumbled while my head was still in the clouds from comfort.

“I’ll take that as a yes then!” Sis said before reaching her hands toward my tail.

I felt her hands gently grab my tail and slowly move up and down it. “Mhmm!” I gasped in surprise. I was assaulted by an even more pleasant sensation and I closed my eyes to enjoy the sensation more.

“Alright, that’s enough for now, if we keep going, then I’d imagine we’d be here for days without stopping.” I heard big sis tell everyone.

I then stopped feeling their hands on my ears and tail and soon afterwards, the pleasant sensation started to disappear. I did not want it to disappear so I leaned towards their retracting hands, but I couldn’t reach them because of my small height. I stood on my tippy-toes, but even then, I couldn’t reach them because they each put their hands into the air.

“A bit more pleaseee!” I begged them with a teary look on my face, hoping they would continue to pet me.

“Resist it, everyone. I know it’s hard to, but we must or else we will really be here for days.” Big sis commanded.

I pouted hearing what she had said as the pleasant feeling continued to disappear each moment. Soon, the feeling had entirely disappeared and I returned to a clear state of mind. It was then that I realized what I had done and crouched down in embarrassment.

“Uuuuh, that was so embarrassing,” I mumbled while hiding the growing blush on my face with my hands. I heard my family laughing, causing my blush to deepen.

“Awww, our little Ayaka wants more petting?” Orin teased me. Through the gaps of my fingers, I saw her smile widen.

I saw steam somehow appearing from my face and my face was burning with embarrassment.

“Now that I take a better look at your spell card, it looks a lot like my last spell card!” Okuu told me, changing the subject. Whether it was intentional or not, I didn’t really care. She had saved me from Orin’s further teasing.

My face started to return back to its natural color and I slowly stood up and moved my hands away from my face.

“I-it does?” I stuttered a bit due to the last remnants of embarrassment.

“Yep, here I’ll show you!” Okuu replied while summoning a talisman showing an image of what I assumed was her final spell card.

I saw Okuu in the middle of a giant sun as if she had become one with it. Around the entire image, red small bullets were scattered orderly throughout the image and seemed to be getting sucked into the sun. I also saw spirals of tiny bullets being shot from the sun, very similar to how my nonspell was like. I noticed the name of the spell card near the top of the talisman, it read: [Subterranean Sun].

‘Hmmm, it doesn’t have a prefix to it? Nothing like Nuclear Sign or Sun Sign, just the actual name of the spell card? I thought each spell card had to have something Sign before the actual spell card name.’

“Why doesn’t the name of this spell card have the word sign?” I asked Okuu.

“Extremely powerful spell cards like last spell cards do not have to have the word sign in the name. When you make a spell card powerful enough that you don’t need to have the word sign in the name, you will instinctively feel that it is unnecessary.” She explained.

“I can attest! I have a spell card like that! It’s called [Subterranean Rose]!” Sis added.

I was satisfied with Okuu’s answer, so I nodded. After that, I started to think again.

‘Now that I have created my second nonspell and spell card, I should focus on getting over my trauma of Rumia. Even if I have a nonspell and spell card that could be regarded as counters to Rumia, they will be useless if I freeze up in battle. If I were still afraid of her as I am now, I wouldn’t be able to command my energy in any way, meaning I wouldn’t be able to use any of my nonspells or spell cards. As a result, I would surely lose the battle and fail the quest, but how do I conquer this trauma?’

“Hey everyone, do any of you have any ideas of how I can get over my fear of Rumia before I fight her?” I decided to rely on my family for support.

“Absolutely, but first let me get this clear. You are afraid because you have always been haunted by a sphere of darkness in your nightmares and the identity of this sphere of darkness is a youkai named Rumia?” Big sis asked, to which I trembled a bit before nodding in response. “And the reason why you are scared is because, in your nightmares, this sphere has hunted you down with the desire to eat you because you are a human?” She continued. I trembled violently before feeling a hand starting to gently rub my back, allowing me to calm down. I nodded again.

“Well, it seems like you have less to fear than you think in that case. It seems that this youkai only likes to eat humans, and clearly, you are no longer a human.” Big sis speculated while pointing at my ears, tail, wings, and third-eye. “Also, you are much stronger now that you are no longer human, so I don’t think you’ll easily lose.”

I nodded in response to big sis’s explanation.

‘That’s right! I’m no longer human! I’m a Chireiden Chimera (One-Tailed) who has two nonspells and two spell cards! I’m not as weak as before!’ I affirmed to myself. ‘I also have the main weakness of that youkai embedded as the central element of my second nonspell and spell card. There is nothing I should be scared of.’ Despite this thinking, I still trembled each time I thought of that sphere of darkness. ‘*Sigh* seems that I am still scared of that youkai, despite everything I have going for me.’

“It seems like you still have a bit of fear. It’s fine though, it takes time to overcome your trauma. Also, we’ll be by your side while you keep trying to get rid of this trauma.” Big sis reassured me. “If you want, we could train you each day before we go to that party that Reimu’s hosting.” She offered.

“If you’re offering, then I gratefully accept,” I responded to big sis’s proposal.

For each day after that, I participated in a mock danmaku battle with all of my family. I fought a different one each day to get more experience with dodging a multitude of danmaku patterns instead of getting too used to a single one. This way, I would be able to improve my reactionary dodging capabilities instead of muscle memory dodging. If I fought the same person many times in a row, I would grow accustomed to the pattern and I would be able to dodge it more easily than an unfamiliar pattern because I had seen it many times before.

After the battles, I would allow my energy to recharge a bit before forcefully expelling all of it from my body before sleeping to test my theory of how to increase the quantity of energy inside my body. That method actually worked to a decent extent. Each subsequent day after I started using this method, I could feel the danmaku energy and nuclear energy inside my body start to increase a tiny bit. Although it was only a tiny bit of increase, that increase still started to stack after many days of repeating the method.

Also, each day, my fear of Rumia decreased because my confidence started to grow after each mock battle I had. Of course, I never won any of the battles, but I was able to make significant progress in getting stronger. Additionally, my family reassured me, while comforting me, that everything would be fine in the battle with Rumia. I started to think to myself.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

‘My family believes in me, I can’t lose this now!’

Days quickly passed with this same routine, until the day of the banquet finally arrived.

“Let’s go everyone, it’s time to go to this banquet.” Big sis announced when we had gathered in the royal chambers corridor.

Following her announcement, we left the mansion and began to move up the cave where I had first awoken. We continued to move upwards and soon we arrived at a large underground city. The streets were lined with buildings and a festive mood could be felt in the city. The streets were bustling with people. Each person seemed to have horns on their head and holding what seemed like a sake glass. From the book of myths that I read, they should be onis, a type of youkai known for their superhuman strength. They supposedly have an evil nature, yet they are linked to bringing good fortune and wealth. I heard conversations all around me with the conversations mainly centering around who could drink the most sake. Ignoring all of them, we quickly walked through the streets before exiting the city.

After a few more minutes of walking through the cave, we came across a worn-down wooden bridge. On the side of the bridge was a young-looking girl with blond hair that barely reached her shoulders and green eyes. She enviously looked at us for a bit before turning her attention away.

‘Why did that girl look at us enviously? Is she hostile to one of my family members? Mio, could you tell me who that was?’ I decided to ask Mio for information in case she ever became an enemy.

Affirmative

Parsee Mizuhashi: a hashihime who guards the bridge between the Surface and the Underworld. Has the ability to manipulate jealousy in others. Her ability is not very effective on youkai, but very effective on humans. Before she was sealed in the Underworld, she lived off of inducing jealousy in others and seeing how that jealousy would destroy them. She is always jealous of everyone, even if she doesn’t have a reason to be jealous of them.

Mio reported.

‘Wow that’s a frightening ability, luckily it doesn’t work on youkai like all of us. Also, that explains why she looked at us in envy.’ I commented on the analysis of Mio in my head. ‘Hmmm, a hashihime, that’s a youkai based on a Japanese legend. A woman named Hashihime became jealous and enraged when her husband left her and married another girl. The woman then conducted a ritual, causing her to become a vengeful youkai that only appears near bridges and targets couples, threatening to kill them if they didn’t break up there.’ I recalled the information I had read in the book about legends.

‘It seems like the abilities of the youkai do in fact reflect the legends they are based on.” I thought to myself. ‘But it does seem like there are small differences between the two.’ I continued thinking until a hand grabbed my shoulder, snapping me out of my analysis. When I returned my focus back to reality, I saw a rock wall a few centimeters away from my face. I looked at the hand on my shoulder and I immediately realized that it was Orin who had stopped me from walking into the wall.

“Thank you!” I thanked Orin, feeling immensely grateful to her.

“No problem, just watch where you are walking next time. Anyways, we need to start flying if we want to reach the surface.” Orin replied to me.

I nodded and coated my body with danmaku energy so that I could start flying. I saw that sis, big sis, and Okuu had all already started flying, so I quickly accelerated and caught up to them. After a bit of flying, I saw some natural sunlight appearing from what I imagined was the mouth of the cave. We flew toward that source of light and soon I got my first view of what I thought to be the Surface. Once we were outside the cave, the sun was high above us, indicating it was midday, and I felt immense excitement and intrigue as to what I would see on the Surface. Feeling adventurous, I immediately floated higher to get a glimpse of what the world looked like.

I saw a towering forest of bamboo, a large lake covered by a faint layer of mist, a dark yet mysteriously glowing forest, mountains that reached above the clouds, a large sunflower field, and a giant tree with pinkish-purple flowers. I started to wonder what kinds of people inhabited these places and I felt an immense childlike curiosity and jubilance. I forcibly quenched this curiosity and floated back to where my family was.

“Had enough of looking around the Surface?” Big sis asked.

“For now yes,” I responded while landing on the ground and dispersing the energy I coated my body with.

“Alright, let’s head over to the Hakurei Shrine then. Follow me.” Big sis instructed, leading the way.”

“Let's Go!” Sis yelled in excitement.

“Onwards!” Okuu exclaimed in equal spirits.

“Alright, Miss Satori,” Orin replied.

We all followed big sis, and after around 15 minutes of walking, we came across a large torii gate in front of a large set of stairs. On the torii gate was a slip of paper that said: Hakurei Shrine. We climbed up the stairs and at the top, we saw a medium-sized shrine with blankets set out all over the ground in preparation for a party. When we got closer to the shrine, we saw Reimu approaching us. I lightly nudged big sis, and after a moment, she shook her head indicating that Reimu had no hostile intentions. I felt the tension in my body slowly disappear and I became more relaxed knowing that this wouldn’t be a trap.

“You are a bit early to the party. If you don’t mind, could you help me prepare for the party? Usually, Marisa helps me with this, but she has something to do today.” Reimu requested.

I saw big sis look to all of us to see if we wanted to or not. All of us nodded.

“Alright, we’ll help out then, what should we do?” Big sis asked.

“Well, I need a few people to help with making food, a few to help me set out drinks, and one to help put up decorations,” Reimu told her.

“I-I-I’ll h-help m-make d-dishes.” I offered, stuttering because I was talking to someone I did not know.

“Then I’ll help Ayaka with making food as I am the best at handling cooking equipment,” Orin informed Reimu.

“I’ll help set out drinks then!” Sis cheerfully yelled.

“I’ll help Koishi with that.” Big sis added.

“Thanks sis!” Sis exclaimed.

“In that case, I’ll help with decorations then!” Okuu told us while spreading out her wings, preparing to take to the skies.

“Thanks, everyone.” Reimu said to all of us.

We split up and did the tasks that we offered to help with. When we completed all the preparations, the sun had started to set and people started arriving at the shrine. The first of the guests was a set of 6 people. I saw a maid, a girl dressed in traditional Chinese martial artist clothes, a girl with red hair and black wings following closely behind a girl who held a book in her hand, a young girl with bat wings, and another young girl with prism-like wings.

“Oh? Seems like we have new guests this time.” The Maid said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Sakuya Izayoi, the maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.”

“I’m Hong Meiling, gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.” The girl wearing Chinese clothes introduced herself.

“My name is Koakuma, the assistant of Miss Patchouli.” The girl with black wings and red hair told us.

“Patchouli Knowledge,” The girl holding a book said while panting in exhaustion.

“I am the great Remilia Scarlet, mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion!” The girl with bat wings proclaimed.

“And I’m her sister Flandre Scarlet!” The girl with prism wings told us.

Seeing all these people, my aversion to strangers began to act up again and I started shaking a bit before hiding behind big sis. She laughed a bit seeing my actions before she started to introduce herself.

“Nice to meet you all, I’m Satori Komeiji, the mistress of the Palace of Earth Spirits.” Big sis told them.

“Koishi Komeiji here!” Sis energetically yelled.

“My name is Rin Kaenbyou, but everyone calls me Orin,” Orin said to them.

“I’m Utsuho Reiuji, but everyone calls me Okuu, nice to meet you!” Okuu cheerfully introduced herself.

Then I felt the eyes of everyone turn to me, and I started to panic.

‘What should I do? They all expect me to say something, but I can’t!’ I hide myself even further behind big sis. She chuckled again seeing my actions before she introduced me to them.

“This here is my youngest sister, Ayaka Komeiji. She’s a bit shy as you can see.” Big sis informed them.

I saw each of them smile warmly at me, so I figured I had to do something in return. So I slowly peeked my head out from behind big sis to wave at them for a few seconds before completely hiding myself again. Then they left to go greet Reimu and we moved to one of the blankets before sitting down. We started talking amongst ourselves. Orin was teasing me for being too shy while everyone else was laughing at me.

I puffed my cheek up in frustration and turned my head away from them before I felt Orin’s hand on my head. She gently caressed it and all my frustration vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. As we continued to talk, more people started arriving and going toward the main shrine. After they finished talking with Reimu I presume, they noticed us and started to approach us.

They introduced themselves like the people from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but I wasn’t paying attention to it because I was too preoccupied with hiding behind big sis. We all introduced ourselves following their introduction, but big sis had to introduce me to them again. The sun had set and the last of the guests, who I also didn’t pay attention to, arrived and the party began. It was a party themed around food, drinks, and interactions between the guests. Big sis was approached by many people who wanted to know what the underworld was like and the details of the incident. Sis and Okuu both stayed with her as she explained, adding a few details of their own, while Orin and I went further away from everyone and talked between the two of us. We talked for a while before big sis came over to retrieve us and tell us that we were going back.

We started to leave the shrine without telling Reimu because she was already asleep and began our trip back to the Palace. It took less time to travel back to the Palace than it did to travel to the shrine for some reason. Once we got back to the Palace, we retired into our own individual rooms. While in my room, I reflected on what had just happened.

‘My head hurts when I think about how many new people were at that party. I guess I could say that to me, it was a dizzying banquet.’

Status

Name: Ayaka Komeiji

Species: Chireiden Chimera (One-Tailed)

Age: 11

Job: [Locked]

Skill Points: 0

Unique Skills: None

Skills:

Lesser Darkness Manipulation Lv. 2

Lesser Mind Reading Lv. 2

Quiet Presence+ Lv. 1

Miniscule Wind Manipulation Lv. 2

Lesser Illusion Lv.2

Lesser Nuclear Manipulation Lv. 1

Affinities:

Stellar

Titles:

Progenitor

Spirit Seer

Family Bonds:

|Chireiden|

Spell Cards:

1st: Astro Sign [Solar Star System]

2nd: Sun Sign [Red Giant]

Quests:

Overcome Trauma (4 days left)

Authority Level: 2

Fainted Counter: 4

Lesser Darkness Manipulation: Allows limited control over the darkness element.

Lesser Mind Reading: Allows the reader to read the mind of a target for 20 seconds. Cooldown - 10 hours.

Quiet Presence+: Makes the user harder to detect by eliminating the sounds of heartbeat and footsteps. Prevents the mind from being read.

Miniscule Wind Manipulation: Allows little to no control over the wind element.

Lesser Illusions: Allows the user limited control over the illusion element. Enables the creation of small illusions that last for 20 seconds. Cooldown - 5 hours.

Lesser Nuclear Manipulation: Allows for a small amount of control over nuclear energy, more specifically, nuclear fusion.

Progenitor: A title given to those who have evolved into a new species. Reduces pain felt by 10%.

Spirit Seer: A title given to those who have the capability to communicate with spirits. Allows for communication and understanding with spirits.