On the outskirts of the Human Village, near the entrance to the Forest of Magic.
The early summer sun is scorching the asphalt out in front of Korindo.
...Asphalt?

Rinnosuke: Whoa... What the heck?! What is all this?!
Marisa: Whaddya mean, 'what'? It's a race circuit. Pretty well made, don'tcha think?

Marisa Kirisame, a young magician, lets out a hearty laugh in front of the perplexed Rinnosuke Morichika.
A shrine maiden storms in with her face flushed before Rinnosuke can fully regain his bearings.

Reimu: Ah! There you two are! I was looking for?Whoa, what the heck?!
Marisa: Whaddya mean, 'what'?

On closer inspection, Marisa notices that Reimu's clothes are covered in mud and grass stains,
and she appears to be scratched up by countless small branches.

Marisa: What happened to you?
Reimu: I don't even wanna get into it. Can you fly?

Marisa grips her usual broom with a scoff, as though the question hardly needs an answer.
Her body starts to float into the air.


But in the next moment, she's hit by a strange sensation. An oppressive atmosphere bears down
on her, passing from her head down her back, and out through the tips of her toes.

Marisa: Ugh... I'm feeling dizzy...
Reimu: Yeah, that's it right there. Our spiritual power... or is it magical power for you? 
Whatever, anyway, it's almost like it's leaking out.

Ah, no wonder she was careening headlong through the woods.
Just as Marisa nods to herself, a pitch-black shadow leaps out from a corner of the storehouse
where various objects lay strewn about. Reimu and Marisa both sense a powerful aura from it.
An aura overflowing with energy, probably the same energy stolen from them.

Marisa: It took off down the race track!
Reimu: After it!

As she says this, Reimu hops onto Marisa's back.

Marisa: Um... Reimu?
Reimu: We can sweat the details later! Try to picture us merging our spiritual power! We'll cover for each other!
Marisa: C-Could you at least take off your shoes...?

After watching them fly down the track at high speeds, Rinnosuke shakes his head and wonders what he just saw.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She stands smugly, power brimming within her as the sun rises.
It's amount of spiritual energy she's never achieved before. She feels like she can take on the world.
So far, everything "she" said has turned out true.

But the girl knows...
She knows that she's always been strong anyway.