Tokyo Psychic

Page 112

Without an umbrella, An and Subaru pushed open the security door and hastily fled into the pouring rain.

Rain soaked her long hair, and her thin nightgown clung tightly to her body. The water droplets on her delicate face seemed to indicate that she was about to cry, making her look like a princess in distress, evoking pity in people's hearts.

[7:20 AM.]

An and Subaru fled into the street, instinctively calling for help, but the pedestrians in the rain seemed completely unaware of her presence, taking shelter under their umbrellas and going about their lives.

The bright red lines spread outwards from An and Subaru's feet, the city was distorting, the buildings on both sides of the street gradually collapsed into the walls of a tunnel, and the railway tracks were faintly visible on the road. The smell of rust or blood wafted into his nose, and he really wanted to cover his mouth and nose and cough hard to feel better.

The Hindu god Vishnu descended from the sky, his enormous wings suddenly unfurling.

The first flap of the fan shattered the rainwater from all directions.

With the second flapping of the fan, the windows of every carriage of the tram speeding through the Impression Space shattered in unison.

With the third wave, only howling winds remained, and the garbage bag in An and Subaru's hands flew into the sky, its contents turning to ashes after a flash of lightning.

Vishnu descended from the sky, crushing the oncoming tram, and hurled his lightning-wrapped bronze staff at An and Subaru, who were standing on the tracks.

The copper rod gradually expanded at its tip in mid-air, transforming into a heavy hammer.

But the next moment, the roar of a motorcycle came from behind An and Subaru.

The phantom thief stood on the motorcycle seat, his black trench coat fluttering wildly in the gale, the hem of the coat whipping open like bat wings, raindrops swirling in an arc behind him.

He held the pistol and repeatedly pulled the trigger at the copper staff that was rushing towards An and Mao. Bullets carrying the power of the mind flew out one after another, but without exception they were deflected by the copper hammer—but they actually slowed down the speed of the copper hammer!

In the next instant, the phantom thief and the motorcycle brushed past An and Subaru. The phantom thief jumped into the air, raised his dagger and swung it upwards, forcefully deflecting the direction of the "Gada Hammer," a symbol of the power and execution of the chief god in Hindu mythology!

The motorcycle beneath his feet tilted and hurtled forward after falling to the ground, roaring like a wild beast, and crashed straight into Vishnu in front of the track!

The phantom thief landed on the ground, picked up the soaking wet An and Subaru, and then turned around.

At that moment, the metal car scraped against the railway tracks, and the sparks that flew up illuminated the faces of both the human and the god. One laughed wildly and arrogantly, the other remained as indifferent as a rock.

The "Gada Hammer" slammed into the top of the tunnel, and lightning sprayed down like a waterfall. The white bird mask on Akira's face became even more prominent, and the azure flames burning in his pupils could be clearly seen.

“Persona!” the phantom thief whispered, as a crimson demon unfurled its black wings behind him.

"Arsène, the Supreme Magic Bullet!"

Arsène, the Persona, unleashed all his power at the heretical god before him, with bullets symbolizing sublimity continuously shooting from the smoothbore musket woven with shadows.

Vishnu waved his only remaining arm, and the "Gada Hammer" flew back into his hand. He swung the bronze hammer to smash all the bullets that came near him, then suddenly flapped his wings and took off, avoiding the oncoming motorcycle, before crash-landing on top of the phantom thief!

Arsen released his index finger from the trigger, grabbed the butt of the gun and used it as a longsword to parry the approaching Vishnu!

In the instant of their collision, Arsen's smoothbore musket was smashed in two by Gato's hammer.

But the phantom thief had anticipated this outcome, and he gave the command to the Persona in front of him, "Mahayagaon!"

Arsène caught the bronze hammer with both hands, flames representing the "greatest curse power" erupting from his hands.

"Mahamudon!" Akira Kurusu then gave the order, a move that could inflict an instant-death curse on the enemy.

The flames in Arsène's hand suddenly expanded, instantly engulfing Vishnu's entire body.

Vishnu opened his mouth and let out a shrill roar, the enormous sound wave instantly rushing towards the phantom thief and the princess in his arms.

The smile on his face appeared somewhat sinister.

This was an extremely simple scheme, after all, An and Subaru were just ordinary people with no power to resist...

An and Subaru's eyes widened, their expressions gradually shifting from "fear" to "anxiety," then to "numbness," and finally to a kind of indifferent composure.

In that brief moment, it was as if she had experienced hundreds or thousands of deaths.

Before Vishnu could open his mouth, An and Subaru clung to Akira Kurusu's arm and whispered in his ear, "Amamiya, his next move allows him to bypass Arsène Lupin and attack us."

......

Vishnu was completely taken aback when An and Subaru covered their ears beforehand and carefully pressed their faces against Akira Kurusu's chest.

At the same time, Arsen suddenly turned around in front of Akira Kurusu and opened his wings to envelop the two of them.

The sound, powerful enough to tear a building apart, was completely absorbed by those jet-black wings.

Seeing this, Vishnu realized that the situation had completely spiraled out of his control.

This was the third time He had seen An and Pleiades.

But An and Subaru definitely saw Him more than three times.

"As expected of the 'Time Reversal' inherited from that monster, it truly possesses the highest level of reality overlay effect..."

The God's surprised voice boomed like thunder.

The next moment, the lightning all over his body subsided, and then he raised the bronze hammer that was gradually being tinged with a hazy rainbow light and smashed it heavily down on "Arsène Lupin" in front of him.

The Persona with the power of "total absorption" had its defenses broken in this attack... no, to be precise, the moment the "Gathaurn" reached Arsène's back, the demon-shaped Persona vanished.

But as if it were expected, the "Arsène" in front of Akira was instantly withdrawn, and then he jumped backward with An and Subaru in his arms, just in time to avoid the attack range of "Gada's Hammer".

The entire tunnel was shattered the moment the copper hammer touched the ground!

"Arsène!" the phantom thief roared, "[The Gun That Reverses the World]!"

Vishnu, without hesitation, fled down the tunnel through the huge hole in the middle, disappearing into the darkness.

An and Subaru immediately raised their right hands and pointed to a location deep within the lightless Impression Space. "He is there; only the [Great Sin Armor-Piercing Bullet] can kill Him!"

Akira Kurusu turned the giant gun in Satan's hand, aimed it at the spot where An and Subaru were pointing, and slammed the trigger.

The armor-piercing bullet, formed from original sin, transformed into a beam of light and pierced Vishnu's body with incredible speed, beyond the concepts of time and space.

“He’s not dead yet,” An and Subaru said in a startling statement. “He’s behind you!”

Akira Kurusu turned the giant gun around, aimed it at his back, and slammed the trigger without hesitation.

His face also appeared somewhat pale at this moment.

Another [Sin Armor-Piercing Round] was fired, and the already dilapidated tunnel showed signs of collapsing at any moment.

Vishnu, also with one arm, but wielding a ring and engulfed in flames, looked horrified, yet was killed in an instant.

Legend has it that Vishnu is a four-armed Hindu god... When Akira Kurusu turned around using "Satanyal", he keenly captured the other party's features and then tried to deduce the enemy's location by connecting the information in his mind.

Unexpectedly, An and Subaru, who were in his arms, spoke again. Her face was deathly pale, her breathing was becoming increasingly rapid, but her eyes were bright, a sign of a surge of adrenaline. "Above our heads!"

"Satanyal! [Sin Armor-Piercing Round]!"

Akira Kurusu pulled the trigger again.

Vishnu, who held a conch shell with one arm, was killed once again.

He simply couldn't fathom how the phantom thief before him could launch such terrifying, all-powerful attacks three times in a row.

Then, under the incredulous gaze of the last Vishnu, who held up the lotus with one arm.

An and Subaru hugged Akira's face tightly, whispering in his ear, "We're out of 'bullets.' Please let 'Dioscuri' archive its memories."

As a weapon used in Christian mythology to kill the one true God, it naturally corresponds to the legendary "Trinity".

Therefore, firing the [Great Sin Armor-Piercing Bullet] three times in a row was already Akira Kurusu's limit—the limit that human mental power could reach.

"I thought this guy was a fake." The phantom thief's voice sounded somewhat helpless.

He racked his brains but never imagined that the very first palace he needed to conquer would be guarded by Vishnu, the Hindu god symbolizing "purity" and "eternity," who happens to be able to appear in four forms, existing between the states of "creation" and "destruction."

As he spoke, Dioscuri was already standing behind him, beginning to preserve all the memories of this timeline.

"How can three bullets kill four enemies?" An and Subaru asked the phantom thief.

Akira Kurusu felt the warm breath on his ear and actually began to think seriously. "There is a bullet that needs to kill two enemies... but we also need to conquer the palace and guard against the enemy's backup plan."

"So... you need to kill four enemies with two bullets?" An and Subaru whispered. "I used to play a game called Archaica: The Path of Light. There was only one beam of light at the starting point, and the player had to manipulate the mirrors to make it reflect, eventually passing through different locations to reach the end point to complete the level."

The seasoned thief instantly devised a way to break the deadlock: "Xiao Xiang's Persona 'Ninglu' possesses the ability to change the course of events..."

As the boy and girl whispered and murmured in each other's ears, the God, who was only "1/4" left in the distance, was already bulging with veins. Then, disregarding whether the other party still had the strength to fire the [Great Sin Armor-Piercing Bullet], he went straight to his action.

The lotus held in Vishnu's hand gradually transformed into a large bow. He raised the bow, drew the string taut, and in the next moment, a sun-like ray of light flew out as an arrow, instantly piercing through the bodies of the boy and girl.

......

[7:12 AM.]

An and Subaru, who were lying on the bed, suddenly opened their eyes.

The intense pain of her bones being crushed and then burned to ashes along with her skin and muscles made her clutch her chest, which had just been pierced by a beam of light, and collapse to the side, panting in agony.

Tears welled up uncontrollably, and she bit her lip tightly, trying hard not to let out a cry that would worry Ebizuka Tomo and Rupa.

At this moment, the cries from the depths of their hearts grew stronger and stronger.

She gripped the pillow so tightly she almost tore the pillowcase apart...

Why is Tokyo so cruel... She pounded her pillow, as if that could alleviate the excruciating pain from countless deaths.

Then she tried to sit up, but her whole body was broken and shattered, and a burning sensation instantly swept over her, severing her thoughts. She held onto the edge of the bed and kept gagging, tears falling uncontrollably.

The voice in my heart is almost reaching a critical point.

An and Subaru covered their faces, breathing heavily in pain, trying to suppress their instincts and scream...

The phone screen next to my pillow lit up; it was a Line message from the Phantom Thief.

[The Thinker in the Attic (Akira Kurusu): I've already informed Shoko Toyokawa; we'll meet at the "Fujiki-ju" Impression Space immediately.]

Then, several times, the "typing" status appeared under Lai Xixiao's avatar and then disappeared. Finally, he managed to send a message with some difficulty, and his avatar immediately went gray.

[The Thinker in the Attic: Thank you for your hard work.]

An and Subaru, who had barely managed to stop their tears, felt a dam break down in their hearts after seeing the phantom thief's words, and tears streamed down their faces uncontrollably this time.

She hugged her pillow tightly, overwhelmed by feelings of grievance, sadness, and despair. She bit the pillow and sobbed softly to avoid turning into a loud wail.

When I cried myself to sleep, the voice in my heart became clearer than ever before.

It seemed that as long as she shouted the other person's name at that moment, she could borrow that extraordinary power.

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(Final exams are coming up, and in order to study while still keeping up with updates, my sleep schedule has completely messed up... Anyway, please vote at the beginning of the month!)

101. Akira Kurusu's Hidden World Card

As the motorcycle sped along, Toyokawa Shoko's long hair was dragged behind her by the hot wind, flying like a pale blue scarf or the azure Danube River.

The phantom thief speeds through the tunnel on his motorcycle.

She put her arm around Lai Xixiao's shoulder, feeling the surging anger and rising spiritual power in the boy's heart. "Why did you suddenly point a gun at your forehead just now?"

"Find your rhythm."

"Feel?"

Akira Kurusu did not answer Toyokawa Shoko's question about what the "feeling" was, but only looked at the deep red light that was spitting out the darkness ahead and said, "Facing a predecessor who has also accomplished the great task of 'saving the world,' of course we must show our true strength to deal with him."

In his original understanding, this was only his third encounter with Vishnu. If it weren't for An and Subaru providing crucial information time and again, he wouldn't even have planned to use the extremely energy-consuming [Great Sin Armor-Piercing Bullet]...

Not to mention the Persona he hid in the velvet room, never telling anyone about it—to be precise, this is their third meeting, both in Akira Kurusu's and Naoya Todo's minds.

That's why "Vishnu," the personification of "Toudou Naoya," was so horrified when his information was repeatedly interpreted in advance.

The "time reversal" that An and Subaru possessed had no restrictions on its use, and even the activation conditions were different from any medium he had ever seen. There were no incantations, no Persona assistance, and as long as he died, the entire timeline would immediately rewind—such a rule-level ability was so familiar that even "Tōdō Naoya" was unwilling to believe it.

Because he had witnessed firsthand in that palace called "Despair" how the original owner of this power crushed "Yaldabit" like a toy.

......

Akira Kurusu has just developed a further application of "Dioscuri" in memory archiving, but he is not yet able to react to the critical point of every timeline change, and then use Persona to preserve his memories.

The Phantom Thief possesses three Personas that can be directly activated. Arsène Lupin, symbolizing the Fool, and Dioscuri, symbolizing Faith, have already appeared, but the Persona of the World, whose true name cannot be registered even in the Velvet Room, has yet to make an appearance...

Is He more powerful than those evil gods?

“I didn’t know before, but now he’s definitely more powerful than those ‘false gods’… He’s lost his human form and is highly integrated with his persona. If he had four arms, he might actually be able to perform like the characters in mythology in the Impression Space… It’s just that he chose to split himself into four parts to avoid my one-hit kill.”