The group retreated with considerable speed; hesitation was not in their nature, nor was there any surplus time for second thoughts. When Yagokoro Eirin and Hijiri Byakuren launched their attacks, the path ahead was instantly cleared. Though the clones quickly attempted to encircle them again, Sanae and Komeiji Satori’s data had not been compromised, and with both of them providing support from the flanks, the clones were once more suppressed.

“This way! This way!”

Just then, Youmu Konpaku, who had vanished earlier, suddenly reappeared, poking just her head out of a gap to point the way. Furthermore, her spatial distortion could effortlessly shikigami-banish any obstructing clones.

Thus, with everyone working in concert, they gradually closed in on the hotel where Lin Luo was located.

For the moment, that place represented the safest location in all of Fuyuki City.

Meanwhile, over on the other side, Remilia remained rooted to the spot, holding back every single clone attempting to give chase. Moreover, the clones that had fallen behind, realizing they couldn't catch up, turned around to launch their assault on Remilia, instantly placing her in a pincer attack.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say she was utterly enveloped by countless clones!

“Hahaha! Excellent, excellent! The more that come, the better! This way… I can finally get excited!” Remilia stood suspended beneath the night sky, Gungnir grasped in her hand, a wide, bloodthirsty, frenzied grin plastered across her face.

The surrounding clones certainly showed no mercy because of her demeanor. The fiercer Remilia fought, the more intense their attacks became. Some wielded the Twin Sword of the East and West, others raised the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and some came bare-handed—though there were certainly no shortage of clones gripping Gungnir as well… Every single one assailed Remilia.

“Haha! This scene truly gets the blood pumping!” Yet, facing this barrage of attacks, Remilia felt no panic. Instead, excitement made her entire body tremble. She licked her lips, laughing with a terrifying madness, as if she had utterly broken. “It’s fine now, isn’t it? At a time like this, there’s no need for restraint anymore, right? Then I won’t hold back anymore. Whatever comes of it… you all will feel it with your very bodies!”

As she spoke, Remilia spread her wings and transformed into a streak of crimson light, bursting free from the myriad attacks like lightning. Then, with a flick of her wrist, Gungnir instantly pulverized the head of one clone.

Simultaneously, she didn’t pause; she flashed with impossible speed behind another clone. Her right hand swept past with a whistling sound, and that clone was instantly decapitated, blood spraying across the heavens.

“To claim they are clones stronger than their originals… it turns out… they were merely this much.” Remilia stuck out her tongue to lick the blood-soaked tip of her finger, her crimson eyes radiating a terrifying frenzy that inspired dread.

In that moment, it was impossible to tell how many she had already slain. Not only were both her hands stained crimson, but even her white attire was completely dyed red, as if she had been dredged from a sea of blood, fully transformed into the Crimson Devil.

“Let me show you what true power is!”

The scarlet silhouette vanished in a blink across the void, instantly rushing towards the clones, whereupon an even more violent crimson light erupted from her body… That was not light; it was blood, crimson blood condensed into illumination.

“Scarlet No-Night City!”

BOOM!!!

The violent sound, akin to a nuclear explosion, unleashed a terrifying wave that instantly swallowed every clone within a dozen meters of her, extinguishing their lives in an instant.

At this juncture, Remilia had truly entered a state of slaughter—utterly unlike her demeanor in Gensokyo. There was no tenderness, no hesitation; if it was an enemy, regardless of number or identity, there was only death… or killing her!

However, the clones possessed opponents on the level of Flandre, Yagokoro Eirin, and Hijiri Byakuren. Although Remilia leveraged her speed advantage to avoid these heavy hitters effectively, she still couldn't evade every blow. The blood staining her was partly the enemy's, and partly her own… Her current fighting style was a mutual destruction tactic, sacrificing a thousand enemies while taking eight hundred damage herself.

As the crimson light subsided, the Flandre Scarlet clone had already closed in on her. Those hands, imbued with destructive power, instantly clamped onto her arm and pulled outward with tremendous force…

RRRIIIP!

A torrent of blood, too horrific to look at, shot toward the sky. Remilia’s right arm was instantly torn away.

Yet, the pain of the severed limb did not elicit any expression of agony from Remilia; her face remained fixed in a smile. Her left hand circled behind her back and slapped down firmly onto the head of the Flandre clone.

Turning around, Remilia scoffed, “Idiotic. A piece of trash like you—Flandre is a hundred times stronger!” As she spoke, she used the severed head to smash it hard against the ground, then stomped down violently with her right foot… CRASH!

The faceless skull was instantly pulverized beneath her boot.

Without sparing a glance for the corpse on the ground, Remilia flew back into the high heavens. Whether due to the power of a Command Spell or because her current state had transcended the ordinary, when she halted her ascent, her severed right arm had already regenerated, and Gungnir was back in her grasp.

“Today, I stand above Asura!”

Remilia roared, simultaneously raising her right hand high. Endless crimson light blossomed around her, shielding her from all incoming attacks.

The terrifying fighting power emanating from her small frame was shocking, and the crazed, horrifying smile on her blood-splattered face inspired terror. The words she spat out caused the surrounding air to grow steadily colder.

“A darkness deeper than Hell itself, a cruelty bloodier than any slaughter. Having come here through my body, through my life… Be you god or ghost, demon or devil, immortal or Buddha… All creation under heaven bows beneath me, nothing can resist, no force can alter… Divine Ghost Talisman—Slaughter Array Descends!”

As the incantation concluded, two colossal magic circles manifested from thin air, one above and one below.

This was Remilia’s ultimate finishing move—Remilia’s Calamity Slaughter Array!

But unlike the previous time, her power was greater now, her killing intent deeper, resulting in a far wider range for the array. Moreover, the oppressive aura emanating from the array was incomparable to before.

Countless clones were enveloped within the Slaughter Array. At this point, no matter how strong they were, escape was impossible. When the endless Divine Spear of Blood rained down, the entire array utterly transformed into a sanguinary world… a forbidden zone for life, where entry meant death!

Having consecutively unleashed two large-scale Noble Phantasms, even Remilia in her god-like state was beginning to flag. But standing in the void, she kept her spine straight, meeting the clones that fearlessly charged toward her despite witnessing death itself, and delivered her most potent counterattack.

Resting, replenishing magical energy, retreating… such concepts did not exist in her mind.

She needed only one word… Fight!

Never stop fighting!

Gungnir pierced an enemy’s chest, and she, in turn, was skewered through the heart by an enemy’s blade, yet she did not cease—she kept fighting! Sharp fangs tore through an enemy’s throat, and her own body was blasted through by an enemy’s magic cannon, yet she still did not stop—she continued to fight!

Her magical energy dwindled, and she gradually felt the cessation of power regeneration, yet she still fought. Her exhausted body left her weak, unable to maintain a stable posture, but she still fought. Even as her consciousness frayed and her vision blurred, she did not fall, still attempting to drive her attacks into the bodies of her foes.

She knew that although the clones seemed endless, they were finite. If she could kill one more, they would have one less; when she was gone, Flandre and the others would face one fewer enemy. The more she killed, the easier the battle would be for the others, so… she could not fall before she completely vanished.

“No matter what… no matter what… I cannot lose this battle—AAAAAAAH!!!”

Following Remilia’s frenzied cry, as if experiencing a final surge of vitality, power once more flooded her body, driving her forward again toward the countless clones.

Why not give up?

Why persist to this extreme degree?

Was it solely for the pride of the Night Queen? Or the dignity that was constantly ridiculed?

No! It was because…

Because she had seen it. Her destiny allowed her to glimpse the terrifying enemy existing in this world.

She didn’t know how powerful that enemy was, nor did she know the final outcome for them. Her fate did not permit her to see so much, but she knew… if there was even the slightest lapse in vigilance, everyone here could perish.

Therefore, she had to give her all; she had to exert every ounce of her strength, even if… even if it meant only draining the enemy’s forces by a tiny fraction.

The near-desperate situation of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the near-destruction of Gensokyo—she refused to experience those things again. She couldn't wait until the final moment to struggle; she had to reduce the danger before the crisis arrived. She couldn't constantly wait for rescue from others; those things she cherished, she had to protect with her own power!

Kill! Kill! Kill!!!

Falling down again and again, rising up again and again. Time passed without reckoning, and the number of enemies slain was unknown. Finally, when Remilia could no longer move, she lifted her head, a look of deep satisfaction crossing her face, murmuring to herself, “Nee, that should be enough, right… Flandre, Patchouli, and everyone else… you must all survive…”

BOOM!

In the next instant, Remilia was completely engulfed by the enemy’s attacks.

No revival.

With the disappearance of this body, whether at her original location or near Lin Luo’s, she did not reappear.

At least, not in the current Nasuverse timeline.

She was utterly gone.

But she held no regrets, for she had done everything within her power to do so.

P.S.: Though I wish to say something, I find myself at a loss for words. In short, I have been healed! RQ