Tokyo Psychic

Page 239

His response was yet another shout from Akira Kurusu: "Great Sin Armor-Piercing Bullet!"

The rainbow-colored waterfall of light instantly engulfed "Yuki Risa".

But he immediately reformed his body—unable to attack or be killed, and silently stood in front of the Phantom Thieves.

Anwa Subaru wanted to activate the Persona ability again, but "Yuki Risa" only glanced up at her, and that intense desire to die immediately made Anwa Subaru lower her head... She couldn't look this monster in the eye. Anwa Subaru had already started calling "Yuki Risa" a "monster." That scarred skin was overflowing with a toxic urge to die that would infect anyone who looked at it.

"What should I call you now?" After firing three [Sin Armor-Piercing Bullets] in one go, Akira Kurusu took a breath, preparing to rest for a while before giving "Rika Yuuki" another three-shot burst.

"Yuki Risa" said expressionlessly, "Messiah, or Erebus." The former was the ultimate persona he had just manipulated, while the latter was a deity formed from the collective suicidal evil thoughts of the masses in the Sea of ​​the Heart.

"Have you completely abandoned even the name 'Yuki Osamu'?" Akira Kurusu approached step by step.

“I am no longer qualified to use this name,” said Erebus. “From now on, you cannot take another step forward.”

“You are no longer able to move,” Akira Kurusu judged based on his rich experience. This twisted inertia combined with the evil desire for death has left “Erebus” only able to passively react to changes in the environment.

Erebus nodded. "But it can."

The next moment, the already broken floor of the theater sank in, turning into a bottomless pit.

As everyone tried to dodge, countless serpentine tentacles covered in scales suddenly shot out and waved around the theater.

"Erebus" said, "The 'I' of this world sacrificed itself to become a giant gate that blocked Erebus from contacting Nyx."

"Then now... I'll follow suit and become the gate that blocks you."

Black mist immediately spread from His body, covering the entire stage until it completely replaced the original portal.

"This door leads to the deepest part of Miku's subconscious. You can pass through normally, but if no one stays to guard it, it will be destroyed by Miku's completely out-of-control shadow, and then you will all be imprisoned inside..."

"Erebus" looked at Akira Kurusu, "Then, you should choose to stay here and let them go in to face the true form of that shadow, right?"

As they were talking, the tentacles began to move. Their surfaces were covered with huge, lantern-like eyes that keenly observed the movements of the Phantom Thieves. Then, their skin cracked open, spraying highly toxic mucus at them.

Each Persona summons its own Persona to dodge or defend itself.

Akira Kurusu summoned "Arsène," which tore apart the tentacles that were falling nearby with its sharp claws.

But these tentacles quickly regenerated and became even thicker—clearly, physical attacks were ineffective against them.

Observing the battle around them, these tentacles seemed to be able to absorb all kinds of attacks and then amplify themselves.

Obviously, the only way to effectively damage it is to use moves with a universal attribute...

Akira Kurusu suddenly shouted into the distance, "Morgana!"

Morgana had already stealthily moved to the doorway. Sensing the trust in Akatsuki's words, it nodded vigorously, "Leave it to me! I will definitely lead them safely until you return!"

Compared to the unknown enemy's true form deep within the Mind Palace, it is clearly more suitable to use these Personas, which lack all-purpose abilities, to deal with enemies whose information is already known.

Akira Kurusu used the grappling hook to leap across the Leviathan's attack range with the help of a rope and arrived beside Morgana.

He pushed open the door that had been replaced by black mist and walked alone onto the final curtain call stage.

It felt as if everything had returned to many years ago.

A lone phantom thief faces an unprecedentedly powerful foe...

"Wait!"

A melodious voice suddenly came from the space behind them, and the girl shouted, "Let them go with you! Mind Thief!"

Laiqi Xiao turned around.

At the entrance to the Seventh Theater, another team of Personas had appeared. They were well-trained, coordinated, and methodically dealt with the attacks of the surrounding tentacles.

They are the "Shadow Watchers".

Kotone Shiomi stood at the front of the group, waving her small, white fist at Akira Kurusu, "Leave this to us."

She gave a sly smile, then looked at "Erebus," who exuded a familiar "desire for death" from head to toe. "This guy still has a backup plan. No matter what you choose, one side will always be trapped inside. After all... the monster outside that almost destroyed the theater was transformed because it had a fragment of Him implanted in it."

Lai Xixiao was stunned for a moment, looking at this confident and arrogant girl, as if time had suddenly rewound to twelve years ago.

Then he smiled somewhat helplessly, "Then please help us guard our path back."

......

The Mind Thieves were fully inside the corridor when the door closed.

"Yuki Risa"... "Erebus" turned to look at the group of battle-hardened Personas in front of him, especially at Shiomi Kotone, "You're really experienced, another 'me'."

Kotone Shiomi yawned. "Alright, let's get this started. I've been dealing with you for twelve years in another world. You and your apostles used every trick in the book to get close to Nyx..."

As soon as she finished speaking, the pitch-black mist formed a blade and pierced towards Shiomi Kotone's heart.

Shiomi Kotone reached out and threw out a naginata, gripped it tightly, and then swung it horizontally to block the attack.

The two quickly closed in, and Shiomi Kotone's smile vanished abruptly. Her eyes turned cold as she stared at "Erebus." "Of course, I know... your real purpose is simply to do something to that phantom thief, isn't it? For example, to make him lose some precious companions, make some wrong choices, and ultimately end up like you, this ugly version of yourself?"

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(Eight chapters completed today. Have you witnessed my power?... There will be more updates late at night.)

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208. Girl Injection Therapy (Five-in-One)

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We walked through the familiar, long, and unsettlingly dark corridor.

The Mind Thieves finally arrived at the theater's final stage—

Every theater and stage is exactly the same, an infinitely repeating space, only the puppets and the audience are constantly changing.

In Misaki's memory, perhaps it was because this stage was the only place where she could legitimately get close to Shoko Toyokawa.

Therefore, when twisted jealousy becomes a palace of the mind, the entire palace covers the real Seibu Dome.

“That guy’s treasure is just ahead,” Morgana said with certainty.

The secret treasure is the product of the twisted desires of Miku Miku.

Once it's taken out of this mental palace, Miku Miku will immediately regain the values ​​she should have as a normal person and actively repent for it.

Akira Kurusu realized that this guy didn't seem to have figured out the location of the Miku Triangle Treasure through experience, but rather through perception.

"Is this considered a privilege?" Akira Kurusu asked Morgana.

Morgana was also a little puzzled. "At this distance, you should be able to tell where the treasure is just by smelling it, right? Can't you humans smell emotions and desires?"

Lai Xixiao remained silent.

By this time, everyone had entered the theater. Unlike the previous seven theaters, all the lights here were on.

The audience seats were brightly lit, and the backs of the seats cast shadows that gradually fell onto the floor.

While the theater outside was being ravaged by monsters formed from the shadow of Miku Miku, this place remained peacefully undisturbed.

Just as they were getting closer to the empty stage, Akira Kurusu suddenly said, "The situation has changed."

Shoko Toyokawa, who always maintained her persona and was in a state of readiness, immediately asked him, "What happened?"

“The treasure is indeed here, but... we are still separated from it by a wall,” Akira Kurusu said with an embarrassed expression as he looked at the empty stage in front of him. “We are inside the stomach of ‘Leviathan’.”

It was as if to confirm his judgment.

A foul-smelling acidic liquid began to seep from the shadows of the rows of seats in the audience behind them, and the entire space seemed to writhe softly as if it were made of muscles and mucous membranes.

The ground shook violently, and the members of the Phantom Thieves immediately began searching for a foothold to help them regain their footing.

The theater was twisting and the stage was constantly caved in, and then more acid swept towards the somewhat unprepared Mind Thieves like a river.

Akira Kurusu wanted to use the [Great Sin Armor-Piercing Bullet] to simply pierce through the entire space, but considering that she still needed to conserve her strength for the final battle, she had no choice but to leave the predicament here to her companions.

Mortis knew that it was time for her to do her best to help her friends.

She pressed her hand to the black lace mask covering her face, “Morana! [Great Ice Age]!”

The rebellious Slavic god, depicted as a scarecrow, emitted almost tangible chilling air from the gaps in his straw body, instantly freezing the acid that was crashing down like a tsunami, along with the entire theater.

After doing all this, Metis seemed to have trouble even standing still.

As they felt the excruciating pain of their stomachs being frozen, the "theater" began to shake violently. The outermost Leviathan, as the main body, let out a painful roar, the sound echoing within the body and nearly shattering the eardrums of the Phantom Thieves.

Shoko Toyokawa, supporting her childhood friend, Akira Kurusu quickly walked over, picked up Metathia, and said, "We must seize this opportunity to move forward."

"Forward? This is already the deepest part of the palace!" Morgana said with some doubt.

Looking at the stage where the curtain fell, on the walls that had taken on a fleshy, bloody texture, a door filled with black mist had appeared out of nowhere. "It's obvious that the enemy has once again handed the power of choice over to us."

This is precisely what makes Erebus so insidious.

He used fragments of his suicidal thoughts to pollute Miku's mental palace, thereby gaining control over her subconscious and using this to alter the palace's structure.

First, they made "Triangle Miku" go berserk, turning the entire room where the secret treasure was stored deep within her consciousness into a "Leviathan." Next, they used the portal of distorted perception between the deep and surface layers to separate the Psychic Thieves and the Shadow Watchers...

No, since "Erebus," who has already transformed into an evil god, is blocking the Shadow Patrol outside, what kind of confidence does He have to guarantee that the Phantom Thieves won't directly defeat "Leviathan" in the Deep Perception Space?

Either He is confident that He can defeat the entire Shadow Watchers and then trap the Mind Thieves inside forever.

Or perhaps... the real enemy has always been in the deepest part of space!

Suddenly, Morgana exclaimed, "I smell it! The scent of the treasure is fading! It's moving upwards!!!"

Without hesitation, Akira Kurusu jumped onto the stage. The floor beneath her feet rippled, a soft and damp sensation that made her feel weightless. "We have to go in right away."

"But... the door is already closed!" An and Subaru pointed to the doorway formed by black mist behind the stage. It had been empty before, but as the Phantom Thieves approached, the doorway immediately appeared.

Lai Xixiao quickly approached it, and before she even had to push the door open, it opened by itself.

The dark doorway offered no light, like a bottomless abyss or the gaping maw of a ferocious beast, awaiting the arrival of the living.

“It’s not too late to go back now. The Shadow Watchers outside will definitely be able to get you out of here”—Kurasu Akira had thought of such words.

But when he turned around and felt the determination and resolve in the eyes of the three people and the cat, he silently swallowed his words.

It is obvious that Akira Kurusu's only chance to be willful is before entering a fog gate.

Now, these partners who trust them will never hesitate again.

Shoko Toyokawa asked Subaru An, "Pleia, what does death feel like?"

An and Subaru paused for a moment, "Hmm... First, there's a brief or prolonged pain, then the body gets heavier and heavier, and finally, consciousness suddenly floats away, and you can't feel anything anymore."

“That sounds a bit scary.” Morgana licked his paws, and the Persona “Zorro” behind him put away his whip and put on a rapier, wary of any possible enemies behind the door.

As an apostle created by Igor, the manager of the Velvet Room, Morgana knew his innate mission.

It is also willing to sacrifice itself for its mission.

Toyokawa Shoko then looked at Mortis, the girl whose name was "Mortis (death)". She simply took off her mask, lifted the hem of her dress and gave her a standard curtsy, then smiled sweetly, "Oblivionis, I am ready to die."

Looking at Motis's trembling knees and her fingers clutching the hem of her skirt, Toyokawa Shoko pursed her lips and then gave the same smile. "Me too."

If Ruoye Mu wants to live, then she will definitely take back control of her body—

But in her inner world, Wakaba Mutsu simply held Motis's hands calmly.

The girl, who was only a month old, had not yet fully experienced the wonders of the world. Even though she had made the decision to fight to the death, she was still terrified.

Ruoye gently stroked Motis's hair, silently comforting the girl who was quietly shedding tears.

Motisse is not strong at all.

Even so, she still said those words with encouragement from Wakaba Mutsumi.

Metis couldn't imagine how painful it would be to escape back to reality only to lose her favorite boy and her best friends forever.

There are always things more terrifying than death.

Because of fear, she could face death without fear.

......

The second fog door was pushed open.

What follows is no longer a straight corridor, but a spiral staircase leading to the sky.

Walking on the steps, the air was thick with the smell of blood, and the stairwell was trembling. One could roughly guess that they were in the spine of "Leviathan".

"This is a scene I never even imagined in my nightmares." Anhe Subaru looked at the pale bones peeking out from the cracks in the wall and couldn't help but shudder.

Akira Kurusu walked at the front, holding in his hand the Persona Summoner that Kotone Shiomi had given him when they parted ways near the first Fog Gate.