With a cold snort from Remilia, a terrifying, crimson spear instantly materialized in her hand—it was her unerring weapon, Gungnir!

This banquet was Remilia's affair, and regardless of the underlying significance, for someone who valued decorum and majesty as she did, she absolutely wanted it to proceed smoothly to the end. If she could earn praise for it, all the better.

But the sudden appearance of this disgusting masked man, coupled with her prior frustration at failing to gain the upper hand against Komeiji Satori, only deepened her gloom. The masked man being revolting would have been tolerable if he hadn't disturbed her banquet; she wouldn't have bothered. What drove her mad was… this disgusting man dared to brazenly demand everything belonging to everyone present?

He was simply courting death!

Thus, Remilia didn't hesitate. She manifested Gungnir and hurled it like lightning toward the masked man, carrying with it her authority and her rage.

However, contrary to Remilia's expectations, and to the utter astonishment of everyone else, Gungnir, possessing the concept of infallibility, did not strike the masked man. Instead, it halted half a meter in front of him.

Then, the masked man seized Gungnir, casually executed a flourish with the spear, and mockingly addressed Remilia, "Pity the one-meter-forty little loli. Haven't you heard? Spearman class characters are historically unlucky; their Luck stat never rises above E. The moment you draw a spear, you are destined to fail…"

As he spoke, he spread his hands as if to embrace Remilia. "Little vampire, submit to me. I shall raise both your Luck stat and… your height!"

"Y-you have some nerve!" Hearing his words, Remilia pulled back her lips to reveal two sharp fangs, laughing coldly as her wings suddenly flared wide behind her, unleashing a terrifying aura. "To think you'd ask the master of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the King of Vampires, to submit to you. It seems you've already decided how you wish to die!"

The moment her voice fell, in a flash of lightning and flint, Remilia charged toward the masked man. Instantly, a crimson radiance shot toward the heavens… a full-fledged Scarlet Devil City attack.

"Ah, my shrine!" Reimu’s expression drastically changed, and she rushed forward too. She didn't care what happened to Remilia, nor whether the masked man was dead; her only concern was the survival of her shrine.

"Hahahaha! As expected of a loli vampire who practices squat-guarding for cuteness, what an adorable attack." Before Reimu could even reach him, a provoking voice echoed from within the red light. Then, the light dissipated, revealing the masked man standing unharmed on the shrine's roof, holding Remilia's clenched fist and roaring with laughter.

"If you feel unwilling to accept this, then come chase me, hahahahaha!" Amidst his maniacal laughter, the masked man, radiating smug satisfaction, released Remilia's hand and flew outward.

"Damn that disgusting masked man, I will drain him dry!" Remilia grit her teeth, her face a mask of fury. Though she knew his strength was immense, as the proud Queen of the Night, how could she endure such humiliation? She immediately spread her wings and gave chase.

"Ah! Ojou-sama!" Houmei Ling, after a moment of shock, immediately followed suit.

"Such a worrying young mistress. However, the situation feels a bit strange. I suppose I should follow along too," Komeiji Satori rose, muttering to herself, and after a moment of hesitation, she too flew in Remilia's direction.

And since Komeiji Satori left, her pets, the crows Utsuho Reiuji and the fire cat Rin, certainly wouldn't pretend not to notice. Furthermore, Patchouli, a member of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, closed her book. Then Marisa and Alice followed one after the other, and Shameimaru Aya, who never missed a chance for candid photos and scoops, likewise refused to pass up the news, chasing after them along with her Ichi-hime friend, one two-nipple.

Truly, touching one thread moves the whole tapestry. In mere seconds, over a dozen people had departed the scene. Those who remained hesitated, as the appearance of such a masked man was inherently strange; his aura did not suggest he was someone they knew. Recalling the last full-scale war in Gensokyo… they couldn't rule out this being a diversionary tactic.

"But, I don't sense any immediate danger," Eirin Yagokoro quietly performed a divination. Although the masked man displayed overwhelming power on the surface, she didn't feel that familiar sense of unease from the previous conflict.

"Only managed to dispatch this few? Truly lackluster."

Just as Eirin was pondering, the masked man's voice rang out again. This time, however, he wasn't on the shrine roof; he was seated high above them in the frosty sky.

"How can he be there? Did Remilia and the others follow him?" Everyone was suddenly alarmed, unable to help but exclaim.

"No, no, they haven't lost the trail. That was merely one of my clones," the masked man lightly waved a finger. His gaze swept over the assembled crowd, finally settling on Eirin and the few beside her. He sneered, "The Sage of Gensokyo, eh? Hmph. To be a Great Sage of the Moon Capital and be reduced to a mere pharmacist, spending your time on unreliable research—truly disappointing."

"What did you say?!" Eirin's face turned icy cold.

The masked man ignored her and turned his attention to Hakurei Reimu. "You seem to be a Hanyuu Haku-Taku. Alas, such great potential, yet you can't teach a single decent student. Your IQ is weeping."

"I teach nothing but good students!" Keine suddenly stood up, glaring at him in anger.

The masked man's gaze shifted to Yakumo Ran, and he scoffed, "Tch, a naked fox."

"You!" Yakumo Ran's fury instantly erupted.

What followed was an exquisitely spectacular scene. This masked man seemed solely dedicated to mass provocation. After taunting the parental figures, he proceeded to attack others: calling Youmu a stunted shorty, labeling Yagokoro Kanako an unwanted old hag, calling Moriya Suwako a useless loli-god, branding Hoshiguma Yuugi a tomboy, calling Ibuki Suika an imbecile with negative IQ, labeling Saigyōji Shiroren a fool with a warped outlook on life, and even Reimu did not escape his ceaseless slander, being called a shallow-chested shrine maiden with no integrity or chastity... essentially, he insulted every local girl in the most comprehensive way possible, completely offending the native populace of Gensokyo.

Finally, he even produced a box of pills and declared to the crowd, "Given your low intelligence, I recommend you take my specially formulated 'Brain-Dead Pills.' Perhaps they might even raise your IQ by a point or two."

"I finally understand. I don't know who you are, but there’s no doubt you deliberately came here to pick a fight with us," the group of local girls stared at him coldly.

The masked man paused for a moment, then threw his head back and roared with laughter, "Hahahaha! I came specifically to pick a fight. What can a bunch of low-IQ simpletons do to me?"

"Make you die!"

The masked man's arrogant presumption was too much for Reimu to bear. She instantly launched her Musou Tensei, and the resulting violent explosion completely engulfed the masked man. Everyone clearly saw the masked man's body shatter under the impact of Musou Tensei… but!

"I possess a thousand incarnations; what can your petty tricks do to me!"

One masked man exploded, and six more stood up, roaring with laughter in mid-air.

Faced with such mass ridicule, who could possibly tolerate it?

"Kill!"

Though no one knew who uttered the command, the girls immediately rushed toward the masked men. After blocking one attack, the masked man seemed to realize things weren't going his way and quickly tried to retreat. However, the girls clearly weren't going to let him go, and they fiercely pursued him.

In the blink of an eye, the previously noisy banquet hall was left with only a few solitary figures.

"That person… he looks a bit like Father? But not entirely?" Yume looked in the direction everyone had left, tilting her head as she mumbled to herself.

"It shouldn't be. I can't sense Father's aura," Suigintou shook her head, frowning. "But what is the purpose of his actions?"

Behind them, a mature woman spoke up, "Although what that person said was irritating, there was no actual malice or killing intent. Perhaps he was just doing it for fun."

The only ones remaining in the hall were the three of them: Yume, Suigintou, and the Demon Realm ruler, Shinki… because only they hadn't been mocked.

"Oh dear, wasn't this supposed to be a banquet? Where did everyone go?" Just then, Lin Luo walked up the steps in front of the shrine, a look of confusion on his face.

"Father!" Upon seeing him, Yume immediately threw herself forward, settling onto Lin Luo's shoulder.

"Father!" Suigintou called out the same title. The moment she saw Lin Luo, her body couldn't help but tremble, and she walked forward step by step until she reached him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Finally… I see you again."

"Mhm, you’ve had a hard time during this period," Lin Luo gently wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes and smiled slightly.

"As long as I can see Father, it hasn't been hard at all." Suigintou shook her head, smiling through her tears. Finally meeting her father had completely swept away her previous gloom. However, when she saw Yume on Lin Luo's shoulder, her expression flickered slightly. Then, she suddenly sprang up and jumped onto Lin Luo's other shoulder, saying petulantly, "I want to sit here too."

Being sandwiched between two girls, one on the left and one on the right, made Lin Luo immediately uncomfortable. He grimaced, "Hey, this is hard for me."

"They are doing this because they love you," Shinki walked over slowly from the opposite side, her gaze sweeping over the two girls with a gentle smile before finally resting on Lin Luo.

Lin Luo looked at this woman he was meeting for the first time and instantly felt a headache coming on, because…

"Ding! Identity verification complete. Current target Shinki is the Heart of World Thirty-One, host of the Chaos Heart… Congratulations, Contractor, you've manifested as a Ghostly Father. Hurry up and fulfill your lust for wives."

Damn it!

It was already troublesome enough that Reimu and Yume were Contractors. Now Shinki appeared! Although there was no blood relation, she was Suigintou's adoptive mother, after all!

And… Book of Contracts, can you please stop the commentary?

P.S.: I originally planned for three updates today, but looking at the time, it seems insufficient. Since I took an arrow to the knee, I no longer update past midnight, so I'll save the Chapter 1000 milestone for tomorrow.

Also, it's the end of the month. If anyone has monthly votes, please cast them now; they expire otherwise.