I may be just a simple youkai, but I know when I've lost. I can't defeat that blue shrine maiden, and I'm no match against that divine spirit she uses. The shrine maiden's piercing gaze and the divine spirit's overwhelming presence are enough to paralyze any ordinary youkai, making them unable to run, resist, or even look away. Reimu Hakurei, clad in a blue shrine maiden outfit, and her divine spirit, Tajikarao, just stood there silently, but I was utterly helpless before them. I could feel their coldheartedness and cruelty... and also something that seemed like sorrow.

The Reimu Hakurei with the blue shrine maiden outfit is commonly referred to as the blue Reimu. She has traveled across multiple parallel worlds, but her reasons for doing so and where she came from are unknown to me. Apparently, she is a kind of shaman who has learned how to summon gods and mastered her divine powers. She can command an infinite number of divine spirits but seems to have chosen the colossal divine spirit, Tajikarao, as her partner. I get the feeling she didn't choose that spirit just for its strength... The divine spirit, Tajikarao, is frightfully strong and has surely used its unfathomable power to pulverize countless youkai. But it looks somewhat familiar...

Frightful, yet fantastical. Strong, yet fleeting. That was the impression I got as they looked down at me. It may seem strange considering I was paralyzed with fear, but I wondered whether their relationship was simply that of a shaman and a divine spirit who serves her. This is just speculation, but I think there's gotta be something else that made the divine spirit so overwhelmingly powerful and the shrine maiden's aura so cold, sad, and dangerous. In fact, if I had to give her aura a color, it would be blue. Oh, wait... I don't know whether it's true or not, and I can't remember where I heard it or when, but someone told me a story that might explain this. I heard that the shrine maiden sacrificed something for her ability to summon gods.

Assuming that story about the shrine maiden is true, then it can be inferred from the appearance of the divine spirit that the thing she sacrificed was probably Suika Ibuki. I don't know anything about the blue Reimu's world, so I can't say whether they were friends or bitter rivals. The sacrifice might have even been an unforeseen consequence of Reimu gaining the ability to summon gods. However, I can sense that there is a bond of trust between the shrine maiden and the divine spirit. I'm sure there is a strong connection between them, just like there is between Reimu and Suika in many of the other worlds. I cannot say for sure that the divine spirit Tajikarao's true identity is Suika Ibuki, but I'm fairly certain Reimu Hakurei sacrificed her to gain her shaman powers. Strength is always born from sacrifice. And the determination to honor this sacrifice is a strength in and of itself. They have attained a hidden strength only known to them by overcoming obstacles in their way.

That blue Reimu and her divine spirit were probably getting ready to go to another world. The shrine maiden nodded toward me as if she was saying goodbye. "Finish her, Tajikarao." As soon as I heard those words... No, as soon as I recognized what she was going to say, her divine spirit grabbed me in its mighty fist. One squeeze, and it was over. It was fated to end this way the moment they recognized me as a hindrance, so perhaps it was something of a miracle that I was able to analyze all that I did. "We need to hurry onward, ■■." I thought I heard the blue shrine maiden say something, but there's no way to tell for sure. What I am certain of, however, is that they will continue ever onward until their journey is complete and they have honored every sacrifice.