Outside the barren city of Kazdel
Inside a deserted cave
"Run! That girl is a monster, run!"
"Silver Coin, Copper Head, and Rusty Pen are already dead by her hand... Damn it, why the hell didn't you say beforehand that you kidnapped such a monster!"
"A Blood Demon monster!"
Another person cursed as he yelled at the person beside him, only to be shocked to find that while he had heard his companion's heavy breathing just a moment ago, now there was only the sound of his own voice.
A cold sweat broke out on his back, and he pushed his legs even harder to run forward.
After turning a corner, the cave exit was just over ten meters away.
"Almost there, almost there! As long as I can reach it!" The light outside the cave seemed to give him endless hope.
His exhausted legs felt a bit lighter, making him believe that as long as he ran out of this cave, he would gain freedom and his life.
But in the next moment, he felt his vision begin to distort, and a sharp pain surged through his body.
"No... Help..."
He wanted to beg for mercy, but he couldn't speak at all. His entire body was instantly folded into an inhuman shape, like a twisted ragdoll.
Click-clack... click-clack... The crisp sound of small leather shoes echoed from the cave. The newcomer didn't spare a single glance at the mercenary's gruesome remains, instead walking calmly out of the cave entrance.
"Kazdel is still too dangerous. It's a pity that princess has died and Babel has vanished into thin air; otherwise, that would indeed have been a good place to settle down."
The girl under the moonlight talked to herself.
She had short blonde hair, a white mob cap with frills on her head, and a pair of scarlet pupils.
She wore a thin, red Gothic dress.
Below her white bubble socks was a pair of small brown leather shoes.
Most striking were the pair of wings extending from her back.
But to call them wings wasn't quite right, for they lacked the feathers or bat-like membranes needed for flight. Instead, the bare, branch-like wings were hung with colorful, crystal-like objects.
If any Touhou fan were here, they would surely cry out, 'Little Sister!'
Because her appearance was virtually indistinguishable from the girl named Flandre Scarlet in Gensokyo.
But this Flandre was not that Flandre.
After all, a girl from Gensokyo wouldn't know anything about the continent of Terra.
Her memories were split into two parts: one was Flandre's life with her sister in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and the other was of a girl who loved playing Arknights and had fainted from anger after failing to pull the two 'big daddies' of the Laterano lineup in the Integrated Strategy even after gambling all her resources.
"Sigh, the Integrated Strategy really ruined me..."
Recalling what happened back then, Flandre still gritted her teeth.
Playing Kjerag without Pramanix, playing Unyielding Abyssal without Gravel, playing Sargon without the God, and even the Big Sister of Laterano left her in the Integrated Strategy. All of this was the designers' fault, a huge fault.
If she hadn't died of anger, she wouldn't have come to this world with Flandre's memories and body.
No... it should be that the Flandre who came to this world gained memories from another world about herself and this world called Terra.
So, am I just a character in a game?
At that time, Flandre was somewhat dazed and muddled due to the fusion of the two memories, and was then taken away by passing mercenaries.
After she woke up again and saw those mercenaries discussing selling her to some noble in Leithanien who liked little girls, Flandre's murderous intent took the high ground.
What followed was a bloody massacre.
Only after it ended, standing on the wilderness again, did her reason return to reality.
Although she had just killed so many people, she didn't feel the slightest bit of nausea, so she really must be Flandre.
As for the fact that she and this world were part of a game, she didn't mind.
After all, 495 years of memories remained perfectly intact in her mind. Although most of it was dull, she was still quite satisfied because of her sister's company.
With so many memories, she was definitely not some character in a game.
As for this world being fake?
Let the game's author ask those Sarkaz in the cave, who were twisted beyond human recognition, if they agreed.
"So, I should see if there's a way to go home!"
Flandre Scarlet sighed as she looked at the sky.
As for which home?
The Scarlet Devil Mansion, of course. She wondered if, after her appearance here, there was another Flandre Scarlet left in the mansion to accompany her sister.
If not, and she had gone missing, her sister would probably go crazy with worry.
After sighing again, she began to think about her next destination.
She had just heard several mercenaries talking about the news of Her Highness Theresa's death in battle. They mentioned that not long ago, they had chosen to leave for Leithanien to make a living and escape the final chaos of the war.
So the current timeline should be the summer or autumn of the year 1094.
In that case, there weren't many places she could go.
First, she passed on Victoria.
After all, the Military Committee had already infiltrated Londinium, the heart of Victoria. Not to mention that Victoria would fall into turmoil nationwide in a few years because of the battle in Londinium.
Even her identity... Once she was identified as a Sarkaz, Sarkaz wouldn't have a good time in Victoria after the battle of Londinium.
Then there was Leithanien.
It was indeed much better than Victoria, and even if one of the Twin Queens was trapped in the void later, it wouldn't affect the political stability.
But Leithanien, with its extreme feudalism and centralization, wasn't a great place either.
Moreover, Leithanien's Casters were everywhere. If a strange individual like her attracted attention, it would inevitably lead to no small amount of trouble.
Laterano was out of the question. Although it was relatively stable, her appearance, which looked inextricably linked to Blood Demons, would probably lead to the Sankta there pointing guns at her head even if they were in a stable mood.
Sargon, Columbia, and Bolivar were too far away, and she couldn't be bothered to travel that much.
Then she excluded the isolated Iberia, followed by Ursus.
Why exclude Ursus? Because that country was too twisted; they didn't treat people like humans at all. They claimed everyone was fuel for Ursus, but why were the ordinary people always the ones being burned while the ambitious high nobles were the ones being warmed?
So, nearby places suitable for living were either Siracusa or Great Yan.
Actually, she didn't want to choose either.
After all, Families ran rampant in Siracusa, and her appearance would likely be coveted by a bunch of fellows there.
And Great Yan, still a feudal dynasty, wasn't a good place either.
Then, a place suitable for living that could also accept outsiders... She looked at the protruding area of Great Yan—Lungmen.
This was the gateway between Great Yan and the outside world.
It possessed advanced equipment and various cultures brought in from all over Terra.
This forged its diversity.
Combined with the stable social order and tolerance for foreign races under the joint management of the Wei Yanwu and the Rat King, one in the light and one in the shadows.
This was indeed a relatively comfortable place to go.
If this didn't work out, she would just have to find a small town in Leithanien to live in.
But before that.
Flandre looked north. This winter, a tragedy would unfold in a small forest in Ursus, leading to a series of subsequent events.
Although as Flandre she didn't care about that story, the other fused soul couldn't let it go.
"In that case, let's take a trip to Ursus first!"
Since she had nothing else to do anyway and no clue how to get home, Flandre decided to follow her heart and head to northern Ursus to prevent that tragedy from happening.
As for what happened after that, she wouldn't care.
After all, saving her once was because she truly felt it was too reckless for that woman to die from her own kindness and a sickening conspiracy.
But she wasn't a savior, nor did she have the ability to cure Oripathy. So, after satisfying that small bit of kindness in her heart, she wouldn't care about what happened next.
With a light kick off the ground, Flandre Scarlet flew toward the north.
A day after she left, someone passed by and entered the cave, only to be immediately nauseated by the gruesome scene inside.
"Holy crap, what kind of Caster's method is this? It's beyond cruel."
Looking at the twisted forms of those people, the person who came in complained while skillfully looting the corpses.
Meanwhile, Flandre, who had left, clutched her stomach in distress after flying for a while.
Because she was hungry.
As someone who knew about Touhou, she knew what the'snacks' she ate were.
But because of this, the other fused soul resisted desperately.
"How about I only take a little blood from each person... just enough to ensure it's not fatal. Otherwise, I can't let myself starve to death!"
"Besides, if I get too hungry, you really won't be able to control me."
Flandre talked to herself.
As if understanding Flandre's words, the other consciousness settled down.
Soon, she arrived at the edge of a small mountain village.
"Animal blood? That doesn't seem right, and animal blood stinks; I can't eat it at all."
"What do you mean Terra people are all transformed from small animals..."
Flandre approached the village while flipping through the memories related to Terra from the other soul.
"Hmm, someone's crying!" Before she could see the people, she heard the sound of weeping.
Looking over, she saw a person dressed in finery pointing at another family, whose faces were pale, and babbling something.
But it was clear that for some reason, while she could understand the Sarkaz language, she couldn't understand these people's tongue.
However, judging by their clothing, she realized she had already left Sarkaz territory.
After making an estimate, she knew she had entered Leithanien, so they were speaking Leithanien's official language.
Well, she had found another reason not to choose Leithanien—the language barrier.
"I hope I can understand what they say in Great Yan."
Although she couldn't understand, she quickly deduced what was happening from their actions: a forced abduction of a woman.
In her eyes, the woman being taken was only moderately attractive, and she clearly didn't want to leave her small family.
Meanwhile, the noble looking at her with a lecherous expression ordered his subordinates to take her away from the man who had been beaten nearly unconscious, and he even kicked a little boy who ran over trying to'save Mommy.'
"So, can I eat this guy?"
Feeling the anger from the other side of her heart, Flandre understood. That memory didn't forbid her from eating, but it had to be an evil person.
What wasn't allowed was the indiscriminate killing of the innocent.
"But this guy's taste is really poor."
"He doesn't look like he's short on money, so why would he go for a woman with a husband and child?"
Perhaps influenced by the other consciousness, Flandre couldn't help but complain upon seeing this scene.
Since hunting was permitted.
She stopped hesitating, lest the other consciousness suddenly change its mind.
She suddenly pounced forward.
Little John was in a good mood today. He had finally tracked down news of this little beauty in his own territory and hurried over with his men.
It was almost dark by the time they arrived.
After some friendly 'persuasion,' the man of the house finally agreed to 'lend' his wife to him for a few days.
Just as he was preparing to head back and enjoy himself, he didn't expect that he had already become food in someone else's eyes.
"Watch out!" By the time the guard's voice reached his ears, he felt a massive force slam into him, carrying him into the air.
"Who is it! Help!"
He immediately began to struggle desperately, and then a white mob cap peeked out from the left.
"Don't worry, I'll be quick!"
A fragment of the Sarkaz language, sounding very young, entered his ears.
"Quick? What's quick?" Just as he was wondering about this, he felt sharp fangs pierce his neck.
In that instant, he understood her meaning and realized the identity of the newcomer.
"A Blood Demon... No!"
Blood drained rapidly from his body. He wanted to struggle, but he couldn't break free.
After finishing her meal, Flandre very kindly tossed the corpse back.
Seeing Little John's miserable death, everyone screamed, 'The Blood Demons are attacking!'
Then, they began to scatter and flee.
Wiping the blood from her mouth, a happy smile appeared on Flandre's face.
"So we can eat one more, right?"
This time, her target was a lackey who had hit the man the hardest—either because of a grudge or just because he was a sycophant for the man whose blood she had just drained.
It just so happened that the direction he was moving was north, trying to hide in that dense forest to survive.
Unfortunately, his movements were clearly seen by Flandre, who was flying in the air.
Just as he was about to reach the forest, she flew to his side. Before he could speak, she grabbed him. Amidst his pitiful screams and the others running even faster in terror, she bit into his neck.
"Ptooey, ptooey! How long has it been since this guy showered? This neck is so dirty."
After finishing his blood, Flandre tossed him aside with a look of disgust and flew toward a nearby stream to wash her mouth.