"Violet, still not done? It's already been several minutes." At the Hakurei Shrine, the view stretched over Gensokyo, shrouded in smoke everywhere. The others remained relatively calm, but Marisa couldn't sit still; she paced back and forth, a hint of anxiety etched on her face.

"Stop pacing; you're tiring my eyes out just watching you," Sanae shot her a look. "If the barrier breaks, Miss Yukari will certainly let us know. Asking questions now is just bothering her. You should learn from Reimu and Suika right now; see how quiet they are."

"Learn from them?" Marisa blinked, looking over. Reimu sat on the ground as if asleep, while Suika was sprawled out on the veranda, laughing foolishly while drinking wine. "...Forget it. Those two have no sense of decency."

Marisa shook her head, feeling she still retained at least some decency.

"Huh? Isn't that the idiot fairies? Are they being chased by someone?" Just then, the sharp-eyed Marisa spotted several familiar figures being pursued by a stranger on the beast path below the shrine.

"Cirno, hurry up!"

On the beast path, five fairies flew ahead. One with green hair, looking quite mature, fanned her wings while anxiously gesturing backward. The one she was addressing was a blue-haired Ice Fairy—none other than the most infamous idiot in Gensokyo, Cirno.

"Why run? Daiyousei, I'll teach those guys a harsh lesson," Cirno declared fiercely, but under the green-haired fairy's sharp glare, she immediately fell silent and obediently flew forward.

This green-haired fairy held a very high rank among the fairies, known as the Great Fairy. In terms of ability and status, she was one of the top-tier fairies; even the power of Cirno, the leader of the Ice Fairies, likely couldn't match hers. However, the reason Cirno obeyed wasn't due to power or status—after all, this idiot dared to challenge Kazami Yuuka, so she wouldn't care much about strength differences.

The crucial reason was that the Great Fairy was essentially a live-in nanny for her, taking care of her in every aspect. Cirno, as a fairy, was still just a child. No matter how strong or warlike a child might be outside, they always held a thread of reverence for a maternal figure.

"Let's hurry to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost; we'll be safe once we get there," the Great Fairy said immediately once Cirno caught up. The other three fairies chimed in, their tones laced with regret. "It's all Cirno's fault. We shouldn't have come out; otherwise, we wouldn't have run into such terrifying people."

"What's there to be afraid of? They can't kill us anyway," Cirno maintained her fearless demeanor. In truth, she wasn't entirely wrong, as fairies are a manifestation of nature and lack the quality of mortality. Even if their bodies were shattered, they would revive quickly. Calling them immortal wouldn't be entirely inaccurate... Actually, to be more precise, fairies don't possess life; they are merely a natural phenomenon.

At least, that’s how fairies in Gensokyo were.

"What do you mean, not afraid? It hurts terribly when we get hit!" retorted a yellow-haired fairy flying at the very front, turning her head back.

"Exactly! Those guys are as vicious as Reimu," nodded the other two fairies, one with curly hair and one with black hair, echoing her sentiment.

These three fairies were Sun and Moon Light Fairies: Sunny Milk, Luna Child, and Star Sapphire, respectively. They possessed the abilities to refract light, nullify sound, and perceive moving objects. While these abilities sounded impressive, in reality, they barely counted as cannon fodder in Gensokyo.

They originally lived in the Forest of Magic, but after Yukari Yakumo's intervention, they moved into a large tree near the Hakurei Shrine. Their favorite pastime was playing pranks, and their favorite target was Hakurei Reimu. They constantly did things that gave Reimu headaches, and when caught, they were severely disciplined. However, much like the dark-bellied rabbit, they never repented. The only one they truly feared was Yakumo Yukari.

The fairies chattered incessantly as they flew. While their speed wasn't slow, it was several tiers below their pursuers, and they were soon caught up to, with several beams of light shooting toward them.

Cirno and the Great Fairy were strong enough and dodged them instantly. But the three Light Fairies weren't so capable. However...

"Sunny, take this!"

Star and Luna violently shoved the fairy in the middle. The beam struck Sunny, but instead of the expected gruesome scene, the beam simply deflected off her.

"Hahahaha! Using light beams on yours truly is useless, you idiot!" Sunny had been scared initially, but seeing her ability work, she burst into triumphant laughter.

"Hmph, parlor tricks!" The speaker was a black-haired man, reasonably handsome but possessing a gloomy expression. In truth, with his level of ability, annihilating these fairies would have been effortless; he was a Earth Rank master. But the fairies were too weak to even stir his will to kill. He was content to follow them to extract some intelligence, using less than a tenth of his power.

However, Sunny's comment enraged him. Since there were five fairies, keeping one alive for intelligence would suffice. And which one to keep? Naturally, the one who angered him—Sunny—because death wasn't the worst fate.

"Fairies, playtime is over." The black-haired man sneered, flashing forward until he stood beside the Great Fairy, bringing his palm down in a strike. Without even a groan, the Great Fairy was shattered.

"Waaaah!" The three Light Fairies were instantly terrified out of their wits and turned to flee.

"Daiyousei!" Cirno’s expression changed drastically, and she glared at the black-haired man with intense fury. "I'll kill you!"

Whoosh! Cirno waved both hands, unleashing a massive wave of freezing energy toward the man. He wore an expression of disdain and made no move to defend himself, letting the ice wave strike him head-on.

"Ah, how can this be?" Cirno cried out in shock. Her attack had been completely useless—not only failing to kill him, but not even damaging his clothes.

"You are all less than ants in my eyes." The black-haired man instantly appeared next to Cirno, casually backhanding her without even looking. With a boom, Cirno was also reduced to icy shards.

"Alright, now there are only three of you left. Come over obediently and die." The man’s gaze shifted to the three Light Fairies, who were clearly terrified, huddled together and unable to fly properly.

"Tch." The black-haired man looked utterly dismissive. Opponents like this offered him no challenge whatsoever; his Earth Rank strength had no outlet here. "First, answer a few questions for me. I might let you live a little longer. How did you manage to enter the Bamboo Forest of the Lost unharmed?"

"W-we just went in like we always do..."

"Hmph, trying to lie to me? Several of my brothers died in there." The man's face darkened. He raised a hand and lifted the three Light Fairies telekinetically. "It seems you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. Very well, I suppose I'll have to kill two more..."

"You bastard, stop that right now!" Before the black-haired man could finish his threat, he heard an enraged roar from behind him. He instinctively turned back and froze. The Ice Fairy he had just shattered was alive again!

"You... you were clearly dead. How..." He couldn't believe it. How could such a weak fairy revive after he had killed her? What shocked him even more was the overwhelming, crushing aura he felt radiating from her—an aura far superior to his own, subtly inducing fear.

Indeed, Cirno had revived, and this resurrected version of her was vastly different. Over her blue dress, she wore a cool, black mantle. Her three pairs of ice wings were gone, replaced by six various swords floating behind her. The swords were peculiar; some resembled popsicles, others watermelon slices, and yet others looked like chocolate bars...

"I AM THE STRONGEST!" Cirno roared, ignoring the man, her voice booming. As she spoke, the six swords behind her rapidly converged into her hands, instantly forming a massive two-handed greatsword. The greatsword then disintegrated, and five of the blades shot toward the black-haired man with lightning speed.

The man’s face shifted dramatically. He instantly released the three Light Fairies he was holding and retreated backward, but he was too slow. Before he could get far, the five swords bound him in a pentagram formation. The killing intent inherent in the blade array rendered him immobile.

Then, with a great shout, Cirno charged forward at an unimaginable speed. Before the black-haired man could react, the five swords swept across his body in succession. In that flash of lightning speed and dazzling sword light, all four limbs and the torso of the man were struck, and the spattering blood actually formed a pentagram.

"CHOU NINE BASHIN HANZAN!!!"

When he heard the roar coming from above, the man instinctively looked up. He saw Cirno, wielding a greatsword, plunging it toward his head... He clearly saw the inscription carved on the blade: "Yours Truly."

"How... impossible?!" As the irresistible blade rushed toward him, he stood frozen in place, despair clouding his eyes. "Is this... Gensokyo?"

BOOM!

With a deafening crash, the black-haired man was impaled, his body exploding into dust. Until his last breath, he could not accept that he had died by the blade of an opponent he had previously deemed less than an ant.

"I AM THE STRONGEST!" After slaying the enemy, the six swords returned to Cirno’s hands, merging back into a single, enormous two-handed greatsword.

"Cirno?!" At this moment, the Great Fairy also revived on the spot. Seeing this imposing figure, she too was shocked. Was this truly that idiot?

"Daiyousei!" Cirno was overjoyed to see her revived, but immediately turned cool. "You all go back first; I'm going to slay more enemies!"

"Aaaaah... The Strongest Yours Truly is coming!"

Cirno swung the greatsword and dashed forward like lightning.