Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"It's nothing, just chatting." Mokou waved her hand, turned her back gracefully, and walked away towards the other end of the village. "Although I can't represent Gensokyo, as a friend, if you ever need me... I'll be there whenever you call."

Her figure gradually disappeared at the end of the street, and just then, the sun finally sank completely into the foot of the mountain.

Night is falling.

"Will you bring her in?" Patchouli asked, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I won't object, Alice."

“No.” Alice shook her head. “That would be irresponsible to her, irresponsible to us, and irresponsible to everyone else over there. Mokou may genuinely want to help us, but I can’t drag her into that kind of abyss.”

“Others?” Patchouli repeated the phrase.

“They’re kind of colleagues. Five men and two women, all trustworthy and very promising partners. You’ll know when you meet them, Patchouli, but I can’t say more now.” Alice turned her head away. “I have limitations, so there are many things I can’t say… All I can tell you is that it’s very dangerous there, extremely dangerous, so dangerous that our lives are as fragile as grains of sand.”

"Does that include me?" a voice suddenly interrupted.

Alice turned around and, unsurprisingly, saw a blonde creature she absolutely did not want to see, along with those repulsive fissures and eye-like halos.

“Including you, Purple,” Alice replied mercilessly. “You will die, like a reptile.”

"Oh?" The blond creature unfolded a folding fan, obscuring the lower half of its face, its eyes holding a strange smile. "The more you deny it, the more curious I become. I'm also very interested in something that can kill me. Could you... reveal a little bit?"

Patchouli suddenly took a step forward, and a sound like paper tearing suddenly rang out in the air.

"Yukari Yakumo, you've crossed the line," Patchouli said angrily. "In Gensokyo, only spell cards can determine the outcome, and you must know that Alice is now a mortal!"

"You were the ones who crossed the line first, weren't you?" She snapped her folding fan shut. "Sudden departure, sudden return, and then suddenly leaving again without a word. If I hadn't detected a change in the magic source of the Dollhouse, I wouldn't even have known someone had crossed the Great Barrier! You clearly know what the outside world is like right now!"

Her face was filled with barely concealed anger.

"Don't you know that outsiders have already turned Pluto into a residential area?! Those starships, those space fortresses, and those monstrous cyborg warriors... Outsiders are always thinking about expansion and war, they are always looking for any opponent who can be their enemy... You all know this, so why did you silently cross the Great Barrier!"

"Do you two really want to die that badly!? To drag everyone down with you!?"

“I didn’t cross the Great Barrier,” Alice suddenly interrupted her.

"What?" someone asked in astonishment.

"Do you see my right eye?" Alice pointed to her eye. "With your experience, you should be able to tell what happened."

"You..." Zi's expression suddenly froze, and she gasped sharply. "This residual magic...you used the Apocalypse? But the Apocalypse can't be released in the outside world right now...could it be?"

“It’s that ‘could it be’,” Alice replied, waving her hand. “The hints end here. I don’t know what will happen if we go any further, and I don’t want to know.”

“So that’s how it is…” A bitter smile appeared on Yakumo Yukari’s lips. “I thought… never mind, there’s no point in talking about it. You guys… well, I can’t get involved in this kind of thing anyway.”

She let out a long sigh.

“There’s nothing more I can do to help you. You can leave now. I won’t stop you. But…” She made a gesture, and some commands were quickly transmitted to a certain system.

"No one will touch your house. If you ever plan to come back... just let me know. I can't do much outside the barrier, but I can still help a little inside."

"Gensokyo...it's just Gensokyo, but I think I can still protect two people. You guys..."

"It's nothing, just take care of yourself."

A dark rift appeared behind her, opening and closing, and her figure vanished completely without a trace.

She left, just as quietly as she had come.

“Alice…” Patchouli gently pressed her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “That place, really… did you really activate the Apocalypse?”

“I used [Eye of Horus].” She gently grasped Patchouli’s hand. “And I wasn’t able to kill my opponent with it. You should know what that means, Patchouli.”

“There’s a lot of information here. Is it because I signed that contract that they can hint at it to me in this way? That solemn voice, those potions… I should have realized it sooner.” She shook her head slightly. “You really did go to an extraordinary place, Alice.”

Are you scared, Patchouli?

"I'm not afraid until you die. Besides, you're weaker than me now, so there's no way I can't do what you can do."

“Then you’d better be prepared to start from scratch, from many places.” Alice took her slender hand and gently rubbed it against her face. “Our power system has a major flaw. Once we leave our familiar civilization, we can only rely on the magic furnace to cast magic. Correcting this flaw is no easy task, so you’d better be prepared.”

The girl smiled softly.

"It can't be more troublesome than the witch hunt, can it?"

"You never know." Alice winked at her. "I'm going to hunt you now, are you scared?"

Patchouli covered her mouth and hid to the side, her eyebrows twitching slightly.

"Oh no, this is so scary! Don't come any closer, I'm going to run away!"

She skipped and hopped through the woods, and Alice followed at a leisurely pace. The chase lasted only a few minutes before ending with Patchouli's light cough, but the heavy atmosphere that had followed quietly dissipated.

There's one more night before I leave, and this is my last bit of free time.

Author's Note:

..........................................

I remember writing a long time ago that Gensokyo wouldn't join the Reincarnation World... Focusing on combat power is pointless. Originally, only Alice and Patchouli would enter the Reincarnation World, because for them, not entering meant certain death. Although I designed the outside world to be very strong, they have no way to get in. What Yukari said was just bluffing. _(:з」∠)_

Section 6. Goodnight, Marisa

After that, they went to many places, visiting many acquaintances and friends they had made over the decades. At dusk, they arrived at Eientei, where they drank a cup of calming herbal tea. At moonrise in the sunflower field, Yuuka gave Alice a very handy parasol. Mid-moon, they arrived at Youkai Mountain, where the cursed god handed Alice a cursed doll, while the shrine maiden Sanae gave Patchouli several exorcising talismans. When the moon set, the two girls arrived at Hakurei Shrine and received Reimu's warmest hospitality in over a decade—two cups of clear water.

The sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn. The time for parting was approaching, and now there was only one last place left to visit.

Magic Forest, Kirisame Marisa's hut.

When Alice and Patchouli dispelled the anti-gravity field and floated lightly onto the grass in front of the cottage, they saw the girl who was usually so energetic, scurrying around like a black and white mouse, making a mess of everything but still laughing heartily amidst the dust, sitting obediently in the doorway. Her clothes were neat, her body was clean, and even her pointed witch's hat was perfectly wrinkle-free. It was as if the sun had risen in the west.

“Marisa.” Alice’s eyes held a hint of complexity.

Marisa Kirisame, an ordinary magician. Unlike witches like Alice and Patchouli who have lived for hundreds of years, she is a genuine young girl—without physical modifications, without activating a magic furnace, her mind and body are as youthful as her pretty face.

Alice had assumed that Marisa would become her apprentice… or perhaps inherit her and Patchouli's path after their deaths. Therefore, she often offered guidance to Marisa during her magical studies and occasionally played and joked with her. Patchouli tacitly accepted this decision, and all the precious books in the Great Library were made available to Marisa.

Although this guy always likes to break through walls to get in... well, it's fine to just make the walls a little thinner.

But now everything is different.

“We’re leaving, Marisa.” Alice tried to keep her tone as calm as possible. “We’re leaving here, and we may never come back.”

“I know Wen has already spread the news everywhere.” The ordinary mage stood up, and as he opened the tightly closed door, a bright smile appeared on his face, almost exactly the same as always. “Come and see my latest research results, my newly designed flying broom. It will definitely surprise you.”

Alice glanced at Patchouli, and with the latter's approving look, entered Marisa's cottage. Unlike the usual cottage where clutter and trash flew everywhere, resembling a junkyard, this time Marisa had cleaned the house meticulously. The floor was dust-free, and the windows were sparkling clean. Every piece of furniture was securely in its proper place, even the cups on the coffee table, their tea leaves neatly arranged without a single missing piece.

In the very center of the room, a broom, its rough edges freshly removed and its coating not yet fully stabilized, floats silently.

"A composite alloy frame, disguised with a wood grain coating. A permanent anti-gravity generator is built into the internal multi-layered engraving structure. The special structure at the front can create artificial cavitation bubbles in the atmosphere to protect the pilot, while I set up a small fission furnace in the middle and rear to provide enough power to the four vector nozzles at the tail of the broom."

"I tested it, and its top speed can reach four times the speed of sound. The start-up time from a standstill is 0.77 seconds. It has a flight range of 1,600 kilometers before the fission reactor overloads. How about that, not bad, right?"

Alice took the flying broom and examined it carefully.

Without a doubt, this was a magical item handcrafted by Marisa. The anti-gravity field and power reactor were constructed using rather rudimentary magical techniques. Many parts of the work were crude, and there were numerous whimsical flaws in the finishing. But even with these rudimentary techniques, Alice knew that her teachings to Marisa hadn't yet reached that stage.

This is the result of her own independent thinking, creation, and development. It is completely unrelated to Alice Margot or Patchouli Knowledge, and is the research result of Marisa Kirisame alone.

The fact that she was able to make these things shows that she was already a qualified witch.

“You did a great job, Marisa.” Alice smiled at her. “You’ve already found your own path and no longer need anyone else’s guidance.”

“That’s only natural.” Marisa gave herself a thumbs up. “I worked really hard, but this level is something I could easily do. I don’t need anyone else to worry about it.”

“Yes, then we can rest assured.” Patchouli took a not-too-thick magic book from her sleeve and placed it on the table. “However, even the most talented student needs to broaden their horizons when exploring the unknown. This is some experience we’ve accumulated over hundreds of years. While it may not all be correct, it can at least offer some help.”

Her hands, hidden in her sleeves, discreetly formed several hand seals. A faint wave of information was released, instantly covering the entire hut.

Alice glanced at her, but Marisa seemed oblivious.

"Then I'll accept it without hesitation. Now just watch how powerful I am."

"You missed a sentence."

"what?"

Alice reached out and tugged at Marisa's cheeks from both sides. "You usually add a sentence ending to your sentences. Is that right, DAZE?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Marisa rubbed her eyes. “Then… watch my amazing DAZE!”

Her voice choked, and the tip of her nose turned red. "Don't worry about me, don't care about me, don't think about me. Because I am the best, I am Kirisame Marisa DAEE!"

She finally couldn't hold back anymore and threw herself into Alice's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Why did you suddenly leave?

"Why didn't you even tell me beforehand!"

"Why...why...did you still come to see me at the very end? Wouldn't it have been better to just leave like this! I...waaaaaah..."

Alice gently stroked her hair, sighing inwardly.

Poor child... that's why I can't involve you...

I hope you can get through this soon. After all...

The outside world is far too cruel for you.

She softly uttered a string of soothing whispers, lulling the weeping girl into a dream. Though separation was inevitable, at least... she still had the ability to weave a beautiful dream.

“You’ve done something unnecessary, Patchouli.”

“It’s not good for her to keep this up; a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one.” Patchouli shrugged. “You taught me that.”

"Fine, I taught you. I taught you everything, okay?" Alice's eyes twitched as she placed Marisa on the bed and carefully pulled the covers up.

It's almost time.

"Let's go, Patchouli, to my dollhouse. It's the beginning and the end. We don't have much time left before we leave."

Chapter Seven: I, Hu Han...Mighty Earth God is back!

Zheng Zha felt very frustrated because he had just crawled out of the sand he had created at twice the speed of sound, and was preparing to find the right direction to rush up and fight the living Bodhisattva to the death when the horror movie ended and the news of the Zhongzhou team's victory reached his ears.

Ah… of course, this is something to celebrate, not something to be upset about. What upset him was that when he returned to the Main God Space and saw Alice covered in blood, her left hand severed, her right eye blind, and her legs twisted unnaturally, he instinctively wanted to shout, "Main God! Heal everyone completely! Deduct the reward points from me!" But Alice suddenly vanished without a trace amidst a sharp scream.

And when she reappeared a second later, fully recovered and supporting a purple-haired girl, Zheng Zha finally blurted out the words he had been holding back.

"God! Grant everyone a full-scale repair—"

A gravitational wave suddenly struck, forcing the word "reply" back down his throat. Caught off guard, Zheng Zha felt as if he had turned into a ping-pong ball that had just been released from the paddle, flying off to the side and away for who knows how far.

He clearly saw the purple-haired girl's face suddenly turn as pale as snow. Dark red blood seeped from her face and the seams of her clothes. In the blink of an eye, she was on the verge of death, her life hanging by a thread.