Tokyo Psychic

Page 224

[Private Yuki Academy, Underground Research Institute. 】

Yuuki Ri's body, which should have been frozen, suddenly trembled, and countless cracks appeared on the ice coffin.

Then, "Yuki Risa" opened her dark golden pupils, and the barrier between reality and the space of impression shattered.

"What's going on?!" If she could go back to her naive self in high school, Fuka Yamagishi would definitely ask her friends around her in a state of helplessness.

But she also unknowingly grew into a mature, steady, and battle-hardened persona user, silently facing this abnormality, with anger and confusion flowing in her eyes.

Those companions she could rely on had become many times stronger than she had been six years ago.

Everyone instinctively pulled out their Persona summoners, ready to fight at any moment.

But neither of them immediately called out "Persona".

They were instinctively waiting.

Waiting for a voice that will never be heard again—

In that instant, Shiomi Kotone rushed into the research institute, kicked "Yuki Risa" in the wrist, and snatched the Persona summoner that was exactly the same as the one she had once worn.

She pointed the gun at her forehead and shouted, "Persona!"

The Persona named "Orpheus" appeared behind her in an instant.

As if receiving a command, the members of the Shadow Patrol around them followed this familiar feeling and shouted "Persona!" without hesitation. One after another, personality masks appeared behind them.

Six years later.

The Shadow Watchers have assembled once again.

Just as "Yuki Risa" was about to summon his Persona, Shiomi Kotone rushed forward without hesitation to stop him.

Those grown-up boys and girls appeared in front of Shiomi Kotone without her noticing.

Yue Yu looked around and saw that her familiar companions all had tears welling up in their eyes.

She thought, "Sure enough, everyone has been working tirelessly through many sleepless nights for this moment."

Six years ago, Yuuki Osamu stood alone before them, facing the Grim Reaper who would bring about the destruction of civilization.

Six years later, the "Shadow Watcher" finally had the right to fight alongside him again... and her.

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(There will be another update tonight, which should be a "four-in-one" chapter, pushing the total word count of this book to one million at once.)

(Finally, a book recommendation segment: a friend's book, a Uma Musume fanfiction :)

194. Akira Kurusu and Kotone Shiomi (Four-in-one, a milestone of one million words!)

（加更：3/6、4/6、5/6、6/6）

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The "Shadow Patrolmen," or SEES, are officially named the "Special Suppression Unit for Shadow Incidents of the Security Department."

Based on the training and support provided by the Kirijo Foundation's substantial financial and material resources, and in cooperation with the police, a special operations team composed entirely of Persona users was formed. Their purpose was to suppress various shadowy incidents occurring within Japan.

Two years ago, under the influence of a Persona with the ability to manipulate memories, the Kirijo Foundation, which had considerable influence worldwide, vanished without a trace. The renowned "Shadow Watchers" also quietly disintegrated, their members scattered throughout society, wandering aimlessly in mediocrity and busyness.

Now that they are truly gathered together, the power that this group of battle-hardened Personas can unleash is something even "Yuki Risa" dares not underestimate.

Or rather... no one knew better than him just how powerful his former comrades could be when they came together.

Of course, what's more important is... "Yuki Ryou" looked at Shiomi Kotone, who was being blocked behind the "Shadow Patrolman," and noticed the "Orpheus" above her head.

Unlike her own Orpheus, Shiomi Kotone's Orpheus has subtle differences in color and decoration.

What troubled him most was that the completely reversed "self" who had come from another world was a genuine savior who had fulfilled his destiny and awakened the power of the "universe".

Should I use that thing here? In the brief moment of hesitation, the Shadow Patrol members had already begun to focus their attacks on Yuki using their respective Personas.

For a moment, shouts of various move names echoed through the underground research institute.

The cracks spreading from behind "Yuki Risa" suddenly accelerated, covering the entire space almost instantly.

The next moment, as "Yuki Risa" closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a howling cold wind burst out from the cracks, and the entire space shattered with a crash.

The endless darkness swallowed up the approaching, surging attack of the crowd, while the vast moonlight poured down from the sky.

In the hazy moonlight, the towering pagoda that should have collapsed cast a huge black shadow, constantly displaying its strong presence.

This is the Impression Space of Tatsumi Artificial Harbor Island.

The legend of "Tartarus" has somehow become deeply ingrained in the hearts of the island's inhabitants, and it has been "resurrected" in the realm of impressions within their shared subconscious.

"Yuki Risa" was suspended in mid-air, leaning against the towering tower. When he opened his eyes again, a beam of mercury-like moonlight pierced through his body, illuminating his no longer beating heart.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the heart suddenly began to beat for the first time.

The heartbeat grew louder and louder, like a drumbeat, like thunder, like waves crashing against rocks—"Yuki Risa" took a deep breath, and a dazzling light suddenly shone in her dark golden pupils.

“Your soul has been severely injured many times,” Shiomi Kotone said with a hostile look as she looked at the floating “Yuuki Risa.” “As expected… eliminating us was only a secondary objective. You came here because you wanted to take over ‘my’ body to prevent your soul from suffering even more severe damage in future battles.”

Yuki Risa was simply intoxicated by the feeling of regaining her physical body, taking several deep breaths before her form merged into the moonlight.

In the blink of an eye, he suddenly appeared in front of Shiomi Kotone, chanting, "[Holy Grail Lucifer]." A magnificent Western-style sword suddenly appeared in his hand, and without warning, he wielded the sword and slashed at Shiomi Kotone in front of him.

At this distance, her Persona "Orpheus" has no room to use any moves; only its controller can deal with it.

Without a word, Shiomi Kotone took a step back, a naginata appearing out of thin air in her hand. With extremely agile movements, she sidestepped Yuuki Ri's sneak attack and then slashed at Yuuki Ri in front of her.

After all, we are the same person from different worlds, so it's too easy for us to guess each other's thoughts.

Yuki Risa also effortlessly dodged Shiomi Kotone's attack, but this composure didn't last long, as the "Shadow Patrol" had already quietly surrounded him.

Their tacit understanding was so strong that they didn't even need to remind each other; they spontaneously completed the tactical coordination for the encirclement and suppression.

"Yuki Risa" looked down at them expressionlessly, and the persona "Orpheus," which resembled Shiomi Kotone but was not quite the same, immediately appeared behind him.

Then Yuki Risa gave the order, "Orpheus, [Great Flame]!"

【Great Flame】is a skill that Orpheus developed after honing his ability to control fire to the extreme. It can instantly unleash terrifying flames of temperatures beyond the comprehension of physics over a wide area.

As soon as you see Orpheus playing the harp, a deep red sea of ​​fire pours out.

Shiomi Kotone retreated again, "Orpheus, [Great Flame]!"

The same moves, the same personas, even the same flames collide in an instant.

With a deafening roar, the terrifying heat distorted the surrounding light. Ignoring the spread of the heat, the Shadow Patrol members took the opportunity to approach the location of "Yuki Risa".

They would never allow this suddenly appearing enemy to take over the body of the boy who sacrificed himself for the world.

Kirijo Mitsuki, who took over as leader, snapped her fingers, and all members of the "Shadow Patrol" were immediately covered in a layer of solid ice armor. Even in the aftershocks of the highest-level fire attack, the ice armor showed no signs of melting.

"Yuki Risa" had no intention of lingering in the fight, especially after Shiomi Kotone calmly unleashed the same ultimate move, confirming that the opponent's condition was almost identical to his own when he had taken over Yuki Risa's body. He completely abandoned the idea of ​​eliminating Shiomi Kotone and the "Shadow Patrolman" and prepared to escape from here.

"Wait!... [Buphdain]!" Kirijo Mitsugu shouted, and the Persona "Artemis" behind her immediately unleashed a visible burst of cold air, swiftly attacking "Yuuki Risa" who was trying to float higher into the sky.

"Yuki Risa" remained unfazed and accelerated her escape. Even though she narrowly avoided the attack range of [Bufudai], her "Private Gekkokan Academy" uniform was inevitably covered with a layer of frost.

Meanwhile, the other Personas coordinated with each other to use their own attack methods.

But throughout, Yuuki Osamu's main focus was on Shiomi Kotone below, and Aegis, the robot girl hiding in the crowd who possessed the same unruly power as the Velvet Room Contractor.

“Don’t keep chasing.” It was Aegis who spoke up, dissuading the Shadow Watchers. “This is clearly his territory. If we chase after him, we’ll definitely be ambushed. In this kind of emergency encounter, even Feng Hua and I can’t gather any information.”

"Are we just going to watch him give 'Rin's' body to...?"

"I will help you get it back." After trying to chase "Yuki Risa" for a short distance, Shiomi Kotone stopped and made a solemn promise to the people behind her.

The voice was resolute, filled with an unwavering determination that left no room for denial.

Aegis fell silent.

Looking at this girl who was so similar to Yuuki Osamu in her memory yet completely opposite in every way, she felt a surge of complex emotions that even a machine could hardly process.

With the departure of "Yuki Risa", everyone who had been temporarily dragged into the space of impressions returned to reality in the next moment.

......

"So, before that guy came to us, his soul was severely injured, right?" On the deck of the Tsurumaki family's cruise ship, Kirijo Mitsuki was confirming information with Shiomi Kotone.

Kotone Shiomi nodded. "It's not just 'serious,' it could even be described as 'fatal.'"

Who exactly is he?

"A 'me' who went down the wrong path because of a wrong choice, and whose very existence became wrong... In a strict sense, he is already a so-called 'imposter'."

"Even if he's an imposter, he still has the name 'Yuki Risa'. Who on earth has the ability to beat him up like this?"

Shiomi Kotone stood behind the deck railing, gazing in the direction of Tokyo.

A radiant smile suddenly bloomed on the girl's beautiful face. "Perhaps... we'll be able to see him soon."

"...Is it that 'Kurasu Akatsuki'?" Tsurumaki Kokoro finally couldn't help but ask from the side.

She couldn't understand the battle between these Personas, only that it was spectacular. She also couldn't understand their conversation, which sounded like encrypted communication, so she had to ask them questions.

After thinking for a while, Shiomi Kotone nodded in acknowledgment under the questioning gazes of the shadowy patrolmen around her, "Yes."

"Kurasu Akatsuki...who is this?"

Even with the support of ATLUS agency and the promotion from various bands, Akira Kurusu is still just a newcomer who has just debuted. It's a bit of a stretch to expect these office workers to even know his name.

At this moment, the Shadow Patrol members were unaware that they had already met Akira Kurusu.

Six years ago, on their journey to climb the tower in search of the reason for Yuuki's disappearance, in that mysterious room...

“By the way, after Kotone arrives in Tokyo, should we go and meet that ‘Kurasu Akira’?” Kokoro suddenly volunteered.

All she remembered was the expression on Shiomi Kotone's face every day in the hospital room, a look of constant longing for Kurusu Akira.

Before Xijian Qinyin could answer, Xianjuan Xin made a phone call.

Without even explaining his purpose, he simply told Akira that "I have prepared a surprise for you" and then hurriedly hung up the phone.

Has she always been this willful? Shiomi Kotone looked helplessly at the man in black guarding the string scroll.

The bodyguard in black, wearing sunglasses, nodded very slightly.

......

at the same time.

The Mind Thieves' secret base.

Shoko Toyokawa is searching for travel guides for Saitama Prefecture on her phone.

In this abandoned livehouse, Wakaba Mutsu found a rather old fashion magazine. Flipping through the curled-edge cover, he could see all sorts of messy hiragana and kana characters that a mischievous child had written on with a marker.

The text is indistinct but can be read as phrases like "Lanna is the guitar king" and "matcha is the most delicious."

Akira Kurusu was discussing the authenticity of the requests on the Phantom Thief Channel with Futaba Sakura, and then planning a trip to resolve all the requests along the way.

While I was sketching on a subway map in Tokyo, my phone, which was in my pocket, suddenly vibrated.

When I took it out, I was surprised to find it was Kurata Mashiro's phone number.

"Hey, this is Amamiya."

"Yes, yes! I'm Kurata!"

"Is there anything I can help you with, Ms. Kurata?"

"I wanted to ask where Amamiya-san is... I think you must have some friends who want to see the concert, right? So I specially prepared some tickets for you to give away!"

"I am very grateful, but there is no need for gifts."

"Those free tickets were given by the agency; we've already given them to many students."

Feeling Kurata Mashiro's innocent and pure enthusiasm, Kurusu Akira couldn't continue to refuse her band senior's kindness. "Where do you think would be a convenient place to meet, Kurata-senpai?"

"Hmm... How was the coffee shop that day?"

"LeBron?"

"That's right! LeBron!"

"What's the specific time?"

"It'll be in an hour! See you there!"

After hanging up the phone, Akira was met with a slightly resentful look from Shoko Toyokawa.