Battle of Bullets (1)

"I was whistling as I cleaned the tables when I suddenly felt very sleepy. Before I knew it, I had collapsed onto the floor, my vision blurring as Miss Patchouli approached me with a smile on her face. Eventually, I fell asleep."

"A few hours later, he woke up and sat up on the floor. 'Huh? This is... Miss Flan's bedroom,' he thought, looking around to see if Flan was hiding, but she was nowhere to be found in the room. Then the door opened, and he turned to face it. 'Miss Sakuya! I swear I wasn't sleeping! I fell asleep all of a sudden.'

"Don't worry, Shun," she replied calmly. "Today, I have been tasked with teaching you about spell cards. Unfortunately, just teaching you about spell cards won't be enough, so I hope you gain some experience from this." She then reached into her pouch under her skirt and took out her knives. "Now, let us dance."

"Eh?" Shun was confused and dumbfounded as Sakuya started throwing knives at him. He began dodging them and ran away from Flandre's room. "What the hell is going on!?" he exclaimed as he kept dodging and running through the corridors. "Where is everyone!? Where are the fairy maids!?" he asked himself as he ran and dodged.

"Eh?! What's with all these knives!?" Shun frantically tried to dodge the barrage of blades as he fled down the corridor. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, and a few knives grazed his left arm and legs. "Argh! What the hell!?" Once the attack ceased, Shun turned to face Sakuya. "Are spell cards those special moves you were talking about?" he demanded, trying to catch his breath.

Sakuya smiled serenely. "Yes, they are," she replied. "And now that you've experienced their power firsthand, perhaps you'll be more motivated to learn them properly." She then threw the five spell cards in the air. "I want you to learn Battle of Bullets," she added before disappearing, leaving only her voice echoing in the empty hallway. "Defeat us."

Shun snorted, "As if, but if it's a task, I might as well try." He picked up the spell cards, and as soon as he touched them, they glowed with an eerie light. "Ah?!" Suddenly, the images of the cards appeared before him, and he couldn't believe his eyes. "Eh? Isn't this what 'The Fool' Tarot card looks like?" He examined the other spell cards with curiosity. "And some of them are just...ordinary."

"Well, then... Let's try."Shun bolted down the corridor, but as he ran, he hesitated for a moment and cast a glance at the library door. "Maybe I should ask Miss Patchouli," he thought. Without wasting any more time, he rushed into the library and saw Miss Patchouli in the middle of reading. "Miss Patchouli! Good afternoon!" he greeted her eagerly. "Good afternoon, Shun," she replied calmly, looking up from her book.

"I suppose you already know about spell cards?" Miss Patchouli smiled as she closed the book she was reading and stood up. "Yes, and I suppose you're here to duel me?" Shun asked. "No, no. That's not the word... It's called 'Battle of Bullets'," Miss Patchouli corrected him. She then flew up in the air as the books around her surrounded her. "Let me show you what my bullets can do," she said with a smile.

Shun steps back, preparing himself as Patchouli floats in the air, getting ready for their "Battle of Bullets." He takes a deep breath and readies his spell cards, trying to calm his nerves.

Patchouli raises her hand, and a cluster of magical books materializes around her. "Behold my spell cards," she says with a confident smile. She launches her signature spell card, <Fire Sign "Agni Shine">, causing a ring of fire to appear around her. The ring expands outward, damaging any enemies caught within its radius.

As the ring of fire expands towards him, Shun's heart races and he quickly thinks of a way to dodge it. He takes a deep breath, focuses his mind, and runs to the left, then backtracks to the right, weaving through the gaps between the magical books and narrowly avoiding the flames. He feels a rush of adrenaline as he manages to avoid the attack.

"Not bad, then let me give you another one," Patchouli says with a smirk. Another ring of fire appears around her, expanding towards Shun. His heart racing, Shun repeats the pattern, running to the left and then quickly changing direction to the right, dodging the flames with agility and precision.

Suddenly, Patchouli points her palm at him, unleashing the spell card <Earth Sign "Rage Trilithon">. The ground beneath Shun begins to shake as a barrage of massive stone pillars erupts from the earth and hurtles toward him. Shun looks up at the incoming pillars and quickly thinks of a plan to evade them. He jumps to the side, narrowly avoiding the first few pillars, then runs forward and leaps over the next set. Finally, he slides under the last one, coming out unscathed on the other side.

As Shun approaches Patchouli, he pulls out a spell card that transforms into a sharp blade. "My turn!" he exclaims. <Heaven Sword "Five Signs of the Dying Deva>." A half-circle of bullets, each arrowhead bullet a different color, forms and aims straight at Patchouli. The colors were arranged in sections, from left to right: yellow, orange, red, purple, and blue. Once the bullets are fired, Shun quickly prepares for another wave, taking advantage of the slowing effect the lingering bullets have on Patchouli.

Patchouli tries to dodge Shun's attack, but the bullets eventually catch up to her. "Ack!" She feels nauseous and begins to fall from the air. Shun quickly moves to catch her before she hits the ground. "Are you alright, Miss Patchouli!?" he asks, showing concern.

"I-I'm fine..." Patchouli responds weakly, still feeling the effects of the attack.

"Geez, forcing yourself... I'll take care of you first before I go out," Shun says, placing her down gently on a nearby chair. He leaves the library to fetch some water for her.

"That butler is a worrywart, huh," Patchouli mutters to herself as she rests her head on the back of the chair and stares up. feeling a mix of emotions. "But he's not that bad."