Tokyo Psychic

Page 295

"Nina, you are the god of this world."

"Nonsense..." Izuru Izuru witnessed the life-and-death situation firsthand, and the intense shock almost robbed her of her ability to think.

If it were Jingqinrencai from a year ago, she would probably have collapsed and fainted by now due to the shattering of her values ​​and the annihilation of her morality.

But after all, it was through Akira Kurusu's training that the child, fortunately yet unfortunately, remained conscious, witnessing the tragedy that had just occurred further slide into the abyss of despair.

"Jing Qinrencai" slowly pulled on the hood of his robe, then bowed slightly to the girl in front of him. "Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself..."

Her voice carried a faint buzzing sound, like the rapid clinking of silver coins.

“I am not your shadow, but I am indeed ‘well celery seed vegetable’.”

"To make things easier to distinguish... from now on, you can call me..."

"Judas."

......

"JOKER!"

"dawn!!"

As Shio saw Kotone and Motis leave the school gate, she hurriedly grabbed Kurusu Akira from both sides.

Compared to Shiomi Kotone, who was able to remain calm, Metath couldn't hide her emotions at all; her originally lovely and beautiful face was filled with fear and anxiety.

Akira Kurusu, who had been watching "Judas" depart, already knew that the situation was getting out of control.

"Is Judas doing something wicked?" he concluded.

Metis nodded vigorously. "I knew that guy was up to no good! All that 'betrayal' was just an act!"

Shiomi Kotone instinctively felt that there was still something fishy about the matter.

But the sight of a living person suddenly growing old in front of you, with their body cracking and bleeding, is simply too gruesome.

But all the teachers and students turned a blind eye to this, only to see the blood spreading out in patches, staining the classroom floor red.

It was as if that girl's existence had been erased from their minds...

“We’ll go to Rencai’s house right away.”

Akira Kurishi quickly issued the order.

“Oblivionis, I ask you to work with Pleia from now on and head to the Impression Space of the Jingqin family immediately. If you find any trace of 'Judas', remember not to act on your own.”

"Mortis, you and I will search the Impression Space near the school together."

He looked at Shiomi Kotone one last time and saw that she was already wearing a relieved and encouraging smile.

Kotone Shiomi said, "I know... Contact the 'Shadow Patrol' and mobilize resources in the real world to rescue the students in critical condition."

She crossed her arms and said, "Everyone in the Mind Thieves group, feel free to proceed. I'll take care of things here."

She said, "In the name of the Velvet Room contractor, I will never allow this girl to lose her life before my eyes."

After all, he was the previous savior who possessed the "encyclopedia of Personas".

Kotone Shiomi's Persona possesses many healing-specialized skills.

Since the victim cannot be observed by the public, it actually makes it easier for her to find ways to rescue him.

I just hope to buy time until the Shadow Watchers send reinforcements...

The green belts on both sides outside the school gate were sparsely filled with the chirping of cicadas.

The chirping of insects seemed to reflect the chaotic state of mind of the crowd.

Kumamoto in the height of summer, July.

It was being immersed in the intense, urgent sunlight.

277. The celery and mustard greens rebel again! Heading towards the end of time!

The blood mist bloomed on his body, creating a thick, burning sense of panic that made his heart feel like it was about to stop beating.

This is ingrained in our physiological instincts...

Awe and fear of the death of one’s own kind.

Jing Qinrencai's lips trembled, and her face was deathly pale.

Compared to the severe physical weakness caused by illness, the mental shock was even more unbearable for her.

The petite, slender girl trembled as if about to collapse, suppressing her sobs...

Jingqin Rencai looked at Judas with eyes full of resentment.

She would absolutely not accept it...

And absolutely unacceptable...

The person in front of me who committed such atrocities was using the same name and appearance as me.

But just as Ishigami Rina was trying to recall the immense power that had flashed through her body and to grasp it firmly in her hands, a strong sense of dizziness and exhaustion surged up at once.

Meanwhile, the girl standing opposite Igarashi Rina, who had the same appearance as her, let out a harsh laugh.

This is a laugh that Jingqinrencai could never make.

It is full of contempt and mockery, a kind of condescending indifference.

Judas stared directly at the girl before him with his dark golden eyes. "I told you, 'I am I Serina,' so of course I know when Nina was at her weakest and most uncomfortable..."

A Tokyo night, a high fever, and then being dragged into the space of impressions by an evil god—

It seems that the bond between Akira Kurusu and I truly began around that time.

Izayoi Nina will never forget how the Phantom Thief of the Mind rescued her from the enemy wearing a crow mask, who was later called "Goro Akechi" by the members of the Phantom Thieves.

Looking back, it was a truly weak, painful, yet incredibly fantastical experience.

It was precisely because of Izanagi's vivid memory of that experience that Judas was able to so easily revert her physical state to that point where she was almost unable to think or process problems.

This is the most obvious form of "cheating".

But from the moment of its birth, the existence of the evil god is already a form of "cheating".

A power that transcends cognition, a might that surpasses common sense, and has reached a realm of omnipotence that transcends the human mind...

Jingqin Rencai tried desperately to overcome this instinctive weakness.

She wanted to push Judas away from her.

He also wanted to control the powers within his body, to banish her from his mental palace, just as Judas had killed Murata...

However, as expected, she failed.

It seemed as if they had completely reverted to how they had been long ago, helplessly slumped on the dimly lit tunnel of the Impression Space, watching in despair as the enemy slowly approached.

Jing Qinren felt the blood on her face slowly cool and congeal, a thick, oily sensation...

This made Jingqin Rencai forget even to cry.

what should I do?

She felt desperate at that moment.

But Judas had no intention of continuing to torment Igarashi Renna. Instead, he walked over to another girl and raised his right hand toward her.

He met the same fate as Murata.

The high school student, who was originally dressed in a smart and bright way, aged like a withered tree in the blink of an eye, and then was casually pushed by Judas and exploded into a bloody mess in an instant.

Judah's originally fair and delicate hands were now stained with blood, making them appear as vivid as rubies.

Then, enveloped in the red glow of the setting sun, it became a vivid image of evil and terror.

Jingqin Rencai's eyes widened as she desperately tried to sense the power that had just flashed through her body.

However, being confined to a seriously ill body by Judas severely hampered her ability to think—

What is your body temperature now?

Thirty-nine degrees? Forty degrees?

Jing Qinren felt as if her lungs were about to explode, and her mind was pierced by thousands of steel needles, making the birth of every thought extremely painful.

Physical weakness is by no means a simple matter that can be easily described in words.

It's like trying to run Cyberpunk 2077 with movie-quality graphics and ray tracing enabled on a computer from the last century. Let alone opening the game, just loading a page of code would overload and overheat the hardware.

Even though her will, driven by fear and anger, overcame her physical limitations and forced her into the game screen...

She could only watch helplessly as her third-person self moved, seeing every movement delayed by nearly half a minute...

This immense despair and helplessness instantly overwhelmed and consumed Jing Qinrencai's reason.

She was on the verge of a breakdown.

She simply couldn't accept Judas's completely illogical revenge... it was pure sadism!

What truly drove Igarashi Renna to despair was that, despite possessing the power Judas had described, she was utterly unable to use even a fraction of it.

They could only watch helplessly as Judah committed atrocities right before their eyes.

The sense of recognition, righteousness, and satisfaction I gained from the Mind Thieves, as well as the satisfaction of standing on the path of justice, all seemed to vanish in that instant.

Meanwhile, memories of her past interactions with the phantom thieves flooded her mind uncontrollably, turning into an intense sense of guilt that nearly extinguished Iori Rina's consciousness.

After committing yet another act of murder, Judas surprisingly laughed and hummed the melody of "Empty Box," a song that Ishigami Jinna once loved the most, before walking towards another girl.

what do I do?......

That same sense of confusion flashed through my mind again.

Jing Qinrencai had bitten her lips until they bled, trying to force herself to stay awake through the pain.

In such a desperate situation, she couldn't help but fantasize again about Akira Kurusu's help.

But no matter how much she prayed and begged in her heart, the phantom thief could not give any response.

Judas could clearly hear Nina's thoughts, and her smile grew even more arrogant. "Nina, the boy you're relying on will never be here..."

"Just watch closely, this is... the revenge we've all been waiting for."

but--

The very moment Judah finished speaking.

In the empty classroom, a voice came from a place so familiar that both Igarashi Renna and Judas felt a chill run down their spines.

"Nina." came a call.

The boy who should never be here was actually wearing Xiujin's school uniform and sitting openly in the seat next to Jingqin Rencai.

But Judas soon realized...

The person sitting here is not some kind of mind thief.

It is not that evil god who embodies arrogance.

It is merely "Kurasu Akira," or rather, the shadow of the "Kurasu Akira" that Ishigami Jinna longed for and admired.

Just like the phantom of "Hina" just now.

The "Kurasu Akatsuki" that appears here is also just a phantom.

But even if it's an illusion...

Even if it's just a shadow imagined by Jingqin Rencai.

Yet he still wore a confident smile that seemed to suggest he could overcome anything.

Beneath her disheveled black hair, a pair of deep gray eyes with an aggressive power stared at Jing Qinrencai.

"Kurasu Akatsuki" continued the conversation:

"I should have told you many times... The Mind Thieves were formed to rebel against our disastrous fate and our corrupt reality."

He said in an unwavering tone, "I have also said that you are a member of the Mind Thieves, a group that I, and all of us, acknowledge."

"Now......"

"It's your turn to rebel against all of this—"