Something is wrong here.

"Sakuya, maybe we should try to -"

"Get down!"

Suddenly, a bright flash of light blinds Grey temporarily. By the time his eyes recover, Sakuya is standing in a defensive stance in front of him. The shattered remains of her knife lie on the floor nearby. As he looks over her shoulder, a single humanoid figure comes into view.

"So it was you!" cries Sakuya angrily. "What the hell are you planning?"

"P-Patchouli?" mumbles Grey disbelievingly.

"..."

The pink and purple magician looks up from her book and stares at them with complete disinterest.

"...It appears that rats have snuck in again. I'm sure the rat poison was... behind the bookshelves." says Patchouli slowly.

"What are you talking about?" returns Sakuya.

"What's going on?" cries Grey.

"I'm already investigating." says Patchouli simply. "It's hopeless for the likes of you."

The magician begins chanting words he can't understand.

"Fire Metal Sign, 「Saint Elmo's Pillar」" she declares.

Before Grey can react, Sakuya grabs his arm and whispers something under her breath. In the next moment, he feels himself thrown across the room like some rag doll. Still in mid-air, he sees the chief maid throw something at Patchouli. He cringes as he lands hard against one of the bookcases. Something incredibly hot gusts around the air surrounding him. Then, silence.

By the time he opens his eyes, the shelves where he was standing have been reduced to blackened splinters and ash. Small fires burn here and there. A small crater on the floor itself serves as the center of the destruction. Somehow, the magician dealing such damage to the library seems extremely out of place.

It takes him a few moments to realize that the chief maid and the magician are no longer standing on the ground. They are hovering high above the shelves, facing each other.

"What are you doing!" cries Sakuya. "Are you seriously betraying Lady Remilia's trust?"

"...Rat poison, rat poison," mumbles Patchouli.

"Who cares about the damn rat poison!" the chief maid shouts. "Answer me!"

"People with bad manners have no sense of politeness, much less anything else," replies the magician dully.

As Grey looks closer, he notices something odd. The magician seems to be acting dazed, as if sleepwalking. She continues muttering strange things, ignoring Sakuya's questions and arguments. The chief maid only grows more furious at her ramblings.

"T-that's it! If you won't give yourself up, I'll have to take you down myself!" cries Sakuya. She pulls out something from her dress. Grey shudders as he realizes what it is. It looks like a spell card.

"Another trifle of time," mumbles Patchouli. She doesn't seem to be looking straight at Sakuya, but after coughing a few times, she also pulls out a spell card.

Grey stares with mouth agape as the two begin a spectacular danmaku battle. Knives, lasers, and all sorts of projectiles begin flying in all directions. He barely has time to duck behind the safety of one of the more sturdy bookshelves.

"D-damn it!" mutters Grey.

He can't possibly join that kind of fight. Spell card duels will only spell a quick death for him. First of all, he can't fly. Second, he can't survive getting hit by those spells. The only thing that he can tell is that the chief maid and the magician are a close match. Their duel looks like it will take some time to finish.

What the hell is he supposed to do now?

"Grey! I-is that you?" whispers a tiny voice toward the left.

He turns to see Koakuma looking at him with concern. She is only a few shelves away. The little devil beckons for him to follow her. Perhaps he can ask her to explain the circumstances of this bloody mess.

[ ] Follow Koakuma discreetly. You need her help.
[ ] Stay where you are. Spend a bit of time to figure things out.
[ ] Step out from behind the shelf. Maybe you can stop the battle somehow.
[ ] Try to flee from the library. Perhaps you can call for help.
[ ] Custom