The grand hall of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was dimly lit, its vastness eg with every step. The scarlet mist seeped through the windows, casting eerie shadows on the crimson carpets.

  Standing calmly in the ter of the room was a woman in a maid outfit, her silver hair ly tied back. Her posture erfect, her eyes sharp and calg as she watched Reimu and Mirage Carl approach.

  Reimu's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

  The woman gave a polite bow, her expression unwavering. "My name is Sakuya Izayoi, head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion." Her voice was calm and posed, not a hint of fear or hesitation.

  Reimu crossed her arms. "Do you know what's causing this scarlet mist?"

  Sakuya's eyes gleamed with a cold light. "I do. But I 't allow you to meet my master." She took a step forward, her preseimidatie her elegant demeanor. "My duty is to protect her from any intruders... including you."

  Mirage Carl g Reimu, notig her growing impatience. He stepped forward, his tone light and pyful. "Well, if you won't let Reimu through, maybe you'll let me through? I'm just a humble magi, after all."

  Sakuya's eyes flicked te Carl, studying him carefully. "A magi, you say?" Her gaze ierg, like she was looking straight through him. "How curious."

  Mirage Carl shrugged nontly. "I'll go on ahead and look for your master. I promise not to break anything." He winked, his fingers subtly pying with the cards hidden in his sleeve.

  Reimu shot him a gre. "Don't do anything stupid."

  Before Mirage Carl could reply, a fsh of silver glinted in the air. A dagger was flying straight at his head.

  His eyes widened in shock, but Reimu was faster. She swung her gohei, defleg the bde mid-air. The dagger cttered to the floor, its sharp edge gleaming ominously.

  Sakuya's expression didn't ge. "I ot allow either of you to pass." In her hands, more daggers appeared as if from nowhere, their silver bdes shimmering uhe dim light. "You're both intruders in my dy's home."

  Mirage Carl gulped, his mind rag. This woman was no ordinary maid. Her presence was suffog, her movements impossibly fast.

  Reimu tightened her grip on her gohei, her stance firm. "So you're not going to move, huh?"

  Sakuya's eyes narrowed. "I have my orders. And I always fulfill my duties."

  The air grew tense, a silent pressure filling the room. It was clear there would be no talking their way out of this.

  Mirage Carl's fingers brushed against his cards. He could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on him. This wasn't just an ordinary fight. This was a battle of life ah.

  Reimu g him. "You said you wao go on ahead, right? Then prove you're not just a useless magi."

  Mirage Carl's lips curled into a grin. "Oh, I'm full of surprises."

  His heart raced as Sakuya’s cold, calg gaze fixed on him. He could feel the pressure of her presehe weight of her power. This wasn’t just any oppohis was a dangerous predator, poised to strike at the first sign of weakness.

  But Mirage Carl was no ordinary magi.

  He fshed a pyful grin, his fingers dang around the brim of his top hat. “Well then, Miss Maid, let’s see ho your eyes really are.”

  Sakuya’s expression didn’t ge, but her stance shifted, readying herself for an attack. “You think you deceive me?” she asked, her voice id calm. “Amusing.”

  Mirage Carl’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Oh, I’m full of surprises.” He pulled his hat low, his silhouette flickering in the dim light. “Let’s py a little game of hide and seek.”

  In one swift motioossed his top hat into the air. It spun wildly, glittering as it caught the light. Sakuya’s eyes followed its trajectory for a split sed, but that was all Mirage Carl needed.

  He vanished.

  No smoke, no fsh—he simply ceased to be. His presence evaporated, leaving behind only the faint echo of his ughter. The hat nded softly on the floor, rolling to a stop.

  Sakuya’s eyes narrowed. She sed the room, her daggers at the ready. “A vanishing trick?” she murmured. “Iing... but futile.”

  Without warning, she hurled her bdes, eae slig through the air with lethal precision. They cut through curtains, shattered vases, and embedded themselves in the walls, yet Mirage Carl was o be seen.

  Reimu’s eyes widened in surprise. “He... disappeared?” She barely had time to react as Sakuya charged at her, daggers fshing.

  “You ’t hide from me,” Sakuya said, her voice cold and unyielding. “Time itself is at my and.”

  Mirage Carl watched the se unfold from the shadows, his body pressed against the ceiling beams above. His heart ounding, his palms sweaty, but he couldn’t help but smile. His trick had worked—he had slipped right past her guard.

  As Reimu cshed with Sakuya, Mirage Carl moved silently through the rafters, his movements graceful and precise. He was the unseen observer, the silent phantom slipping through the cracks.

  He crept deeper into the mansion, his senses alert to every creak and whisper. The corridors were vast and winding, filled with strange paintings and eerie statues. The scarlet mist lingered, its presence heavy and suffog.

  Mirage Carl shivered. Whatever was behind this i... it was close. He could feel it.