"The World card from the Tarot. Its primary meaning is 'accomplishment'—all dreams can become reality. As long as you put in the effort, you'll reap the rewards."
Vill-V mused, stroking her chin as she gazed at the red World card that had fallen into Ren Amamiya's hand. She attempted to interpret the card's appearance through the lens of Tarot symbolism.
"At the same time, as the final card of the Major Arcana, The World also signifies a cycle—the end of one journey and the beginning of another."
Listening to Vill-V's explanation of The World card based on her divination knowledge, Ren looked at the red card in his hand with a slightly peculiar expression.
Though Vill-V's interpretation of The World card was surprisingly accurate—Ren was indeed in a state of having finished one playthrough and starting anew, constantly striving towards The World card as his goal, anticipating the moment of harvest—he knew its symbolism in Tarot divination wasn't the real reason it had become the Treasure of his Mementos Palace.
In Persona 5 Royal, there was only one Persona that truly symbolized The World arcana: the invincible Izanagi-no-Okami!
Although Satanael, in terms of its role in the story, should also belong to The World, mechanically within the game, it was still classified under the Fool arcana, just like Arsene.
I remember Narukami had to crush Tarot cards to summon his Personas...
Could it be?
"The card's design is quite ornate, but after it solidified, this Treasure's unique properties seem to have completely vanished... Ren, does this Tarot card have any special effects?"
Bronya slowly floated closer to Ren. She had Project Bunny 19C scan the World card in his hand, but the feedback indicated it was just an ordinary, unremarkable card with no special properties.
Undoubtedly, in its inactive state, The World card wasn't outwardly manifesting any particular power.
It had displayed terrifying, world-ending calamitous power before it took form. Yet now, with all that immense might contained within a small Tarot card, the combined powers were so stable they seemed nonexistent, not leaking even a hint of strangeness to the outside world. How could Bronya not be amazed by this?
"There's only one way to find out, right?"
It wasn't just Bronya who was curious about the World card Treasure's effects; Ren himself was already eager to wield this power, uniquely his.
"Come forth, Persona!"
Under the intent gazes of Bronya and Vill-V, Ren's red-gloved right hand clenched fiercely. The Tarot card named 'The World' instantly shattered into a shower of crimson light particles, which then converged like a brilliant aura above and behind him.
Unexpectedly, Ren didn't feel the control of a new Persona as he crushed The World card. Instead, the Personas already existing within the sea of his heart began to stir.
Thanatos had played a pivotal role in turning the tide during the recent battle. Thus, when faced with the multitude of Personas in his soul, Ren subconsciously chose to summon Thanatos once more within his Mementos Palace.
Azure flames suddenly flared up, devouring the converging crimson light like a whale inhaling water. The two merged seamlessly, transforming into an alluring, blood-like scarlet spectral flame.
Thanatos's form gradually emerged from within the scarlet spectral flames. However, looking at the Thanatos they had seen before, Raiden Mei, Seele, and the others widened their eyes in astonishment.
"Thanatos... it looks different from before! Is it because of that Tarot Treasure's power?"
The chains coiled around its shoulders and its originally gray steel mandibles were now dyed gold. Three wild, golden spikes adorned the top of its head.
The black robes Thanatos wore had changed to a blood-like crimson, and even the saintly coffin statues circling it had shifted from gray-white to a more conspicuous scarlet.
"This form is... Thanatos Picaro?!"
Looking at Thanatos, whose attire and style were completely different from before, Ren, who hadn't gotten to see Izanagi-no-Okami as he'd hoped, was stunned for a moment. Then, his eyes widened, a look of astonishment spreading across his face.
"After absorbing the power of The World card, Thanatos transformed into its Picaro form... So, the Treasure in my Palace is the Picaro Power?"
Not Izanagi-no-Okami, but the Picaro Power.
A Palace's Treasure is the materialization of its ruler's deepest desires and obsessions. Although Ren yearned for Izanagi-no-Okami's strength, it was ultimately a means to an end, not his final obsession or purpose.
What Ren truly obsessed over, what he truly cared about, was his duty as a savior, his destiny as the Trickster.
The World card represented the path of rehabilitation Ren had completed in his previous cycle, and it also contributed a strong, unyielding foundation for the rehabilitation he had restarted this time.
Ren had Thanatos Picaro move around in the air. The crimson Persona drew the black longsword from its waist and executed a powerful thrust into empty space, then tested its might by unleashing a Curse-type Maeigaon against the Palace wall. Ren could clearly feel the enhancing effect the Picaro Power had on Thanatos's strength.
If the original Thanatos was the Persona that assisted the hero in another story, belonging to Makoto Yuki [P3 Protagonist], then this Thanatos Picaro, having been baptized by the Picaro Power and with an overall image leaning more towards a rock-and-roll knight style, had undoubtedly become a Persona exclusive to Ren Amamiya, the Trickster.
Ren already commanded his Personas as if they were extensions of his own limbs. After Thanatos transformed into its Picaro form, controlling it felt even more natural and effortless, almost as smooth as controlling his original Persona, Raoul.
"If Thanatos can withstand the amplification from the Picaro Power, Raoul, you should also be able to be empowered by it, right?"
After testing the extent of Thanatos's enhancement from the Picaro Power, Ren, satisfied, recalled Thanatos to the sea of his heart. He then turned to his other Persona, Raoul, who had been silently observing, and posed the question.
Theoretically, Raoul was the Persona awakened by the Trickster. Even if its name didn't have the "Picaro" suffix, it could be considered to have maintained a Picaro-like state from the very beginning.
Even if it underwent the strengthening baptism of the Picaro Power, Raoul's appearance probably wouldn't change.
However, as The World Tarot card was the Treasure of Ren's Mementos Palace, its strengthening effect on his original Persona, Raoul, should be the greatest.
Facing Ren's inquiry, Raoul silently fixed its crimson eyes on the red Tarot card floating in Ren's palm. Then, it gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, completely devoid of the agitated demeanor it had shown when trying to prevent Ren from touching the Treasure earlier. Instead, it appeared taciturn, as if cherishing every word.
"So this is the form the Treasure ultimately manifested as... Picaro Power... is that what you call this force?"
Gazing at the red Tarot card Ren had put away, a thoughtful expression flickered across Vill-V's face.
Guided by the authority of the Herrscher of Corruption, all the Stigmata and Herrscher powers within this Stigma Space had been fused together, ultimately giving birth to this special product that Ren had named Picaro Power.
Although born from the Herrscher of Corruption's authority, the Picaro Power, formed from the convergence of numerous forces, had clearly become a formidable power unique to Ren Amamiya.
Moreover, the Picaro Power's enhancement wouldn't override the Herrscher of Corruption's own self-strengthening effects. In fact, when used simultaneously, the Picaro Power could spontaneously negate the berserking influence on the user's consciousness that came with the Corruption's power, allowing Ren to always maintain a calm, thinking state.
"It's about time we left this Palace... We're planning to continue exploring Mementos. Vill-V, do you want to come with us?"
Once a Treasure is taken, the Mementos Palace begins to collapse.
Even as they spoke, Ren could faintly feel the Museum Palace trembling. Although it hadn't truly started to crumble yet, the entire Palace space seemed to be in a state of turmoil, giving off a precarious feeling.
To avoid being unable to evacuate in time, Ren didn't immediately test the Picaro Power's effect on Raoul on the spot. Instead, he took out his phone, intending to first transfer to Mementos via the Metaverse Navigator app. Then, while completing requests from the Phantom Channel website, he would continue testing the Picaro Power's amplification.
This gentle and intellectual Vill-V didn't seem like the type who enjoyed running around outside. If Ren's senses hadn't been overly acute, and if they weren't in his own Mementos Palace, the Vill-V who hadn't been actively sought out by him would probably have remained a silent observer from beginning to end.
Although he hoped the powerful Vill-V would join his team, even if only as a temporary member for a day, Ren was also prepared for her refusal.
"My apologies, I wish to return to where I belong. However, before I go back, I'll need to rest within your mind for a while, Mr. Ren. As a token of apology for the intrusion, if you encounter any problems during this time, you can come to me for answers."
Just as Ren had expected, Vill-V gently shook her head, gracefully declining the invitation to temporarily join the Phantom Thieves in exploring Mementos.
Her conversation with Ren had practically drained all her social energy. He had thought Vill-V now just wanted to quickly return to the Elysian Realm, retreat to the deepest part of her own being, and just lie there, thinking of nothing, and sleep.
However, until Ren returned to the Elysian Realm, Vill-V, who was merely a consciousness dwelling within a Spiral signet, couldn't proactively return to the Elysian Realm space. She could only continue to wait quietly in Ren's mental space for the opportune moment.
"In that case, we'll head off first."
The tremors in the Palace space grew increasingly violent. Ren nodded to Vill-V, then decisively pressed the Metaverse Navigator app icon on his phone screen. The figures of the five Phantom Thieves instantly vanished from the seemingly crumbling Museum Palace.
Given Vill-V's strength, the mere collapse of a Mementos Palace clearly posed no threat to her. Since Vill-V had indicated she didn't want to accompany the Phantom Thieves to Mementos, Ren could confidently lead Raiden Mei and the others out of the Palace first.
Vill-V's gaze remained fixed on the Metaverse Navigator app displayed on Ren's phone screen until his figure completely disappeared. Only then did her pink-and-white gradient eyes shift from where Ren had been standing, turning towards the exhibition platform area in the Museum Palace's plaza.
A black vending machine, adorned with red paint, slowly rose from beneath the ground. It appeared quite naturally in the exhibition area, which displayed various grotesque and terrifying Shadow statues, as if it had been there from the very beginning.
And as the vending machine fully materialized, the moment the neon sign on top, reading "[Palace Maker]," began to flash, the Museum Palace, which had been shaking so violently it seemed on the verge of complete collapse, suddenly became perfectly still, as if nothing had happened at all.
"I see. You hid the connection points between this Palace and others to prevent those Herrschers and Stigmata Archetypes, who provided the foundation for the Treasure's power, from following those connections to this Palace to aid that Trickster. Only after the Trickster and his companions decided to leave did you reconnect the isolated multiple spaces with this Palace."
A look of realization dawned in Vill-V's eyes. The violent tremors in the Museum Palace moments ago weren't a sign of impending destruction and collapse. Instead, they were the commotion caused by reconnecting with the multiple Stigma Spaces and Herrscher Spaces that Raoul had deliberately isolated.
Stigma Spaces were both reality and a world of consciousness.
With Stigma Spaces as the environment, if Ren genuinely craved power from the bottom of his heart, it would be all too easy for those Herrscher consciousnesses and Stigmata Archetypes, who willingly offered their power to Ren, to follow the connection points into the Mementos Palace belonging to the Persona user, Ren Amamiya.
And if the Herrscher consciousnesses and Stigmata Archetypes were to appear en masse, even Raoul, despite its superior strength, would inevitably find itself overwhelmed.
Therefore, using its authority as the Palace ruler, it had severed the links to other spaces from the very beginning, returning the entire Museum Palace to its initial state as an isolated island.
"..."
Raoul still said nothing. It merely glanced at Vill-V before turning and walking away.
Chapter 124: Rita: Huh? I'm the one recovering K-423?
Nagazora City.
Fu Hua was currently located in a small, extremely well-hidden, and hard-to-find base.
Her slender white fingers rapidly typed a long, complex special password onto the electronic screen. The massive, custom-made safe in front of her emitted a crisp chime, verifying success. Then, the heavy safe door slowly swung open, revealing a golden cube stored within.
Silently, Fu Hua tossed the golden feather she held towards the golden cube in the massive safe. The moment the feather, mimicking the Feathers of Fenghuang, touched the Soulium cube, ripples violently spread across the surface of the solid Soulium.
Like butter rapidly melting in a hot pan, the Soulium, originally in a cubic form, transformed into a boiling, golden liquid state in an instant. With extreme speed, it constructed the neatly dressed form of Otto Apocalypse before Fu Hua's eyes.
"Many thanks, my old friend. If it weren't for you, I doubt I would have made it back from the Imaginary Space alive this time."
Otto clenched his fists, experimentally moving his body. After confirming there were no issues with this Soulium body, he nodded in satisfaction and thanked Fu Hua, who stood before him as silent as a wooden block.
Fortunately, Schicksal had urgently transported another batch of Soulium to Nagazora City during this period. Otherwise, with Otto's original Soulium reserves in Nagazora, he would have had to make do with his Overseer persona for a while longer.
"...It's about time you told me. Ren Amamiya's true identity."
Fu Hua quietly adjusted her breathing, then slowly made her demand to Otto, who still wore a lighthearted smile, showing no sign of someone who had just escaped death's door.
Back at Leblanc, because Ren Amamiya wore a Lightning Spiral Ring clearly crafted by Vill-V, and because his eyes occasionally flashed with a hint of familiarity towards her, coupled with Otto's conversation with him, Fu Hua had initially thought Ren Amamiya was a pioneer from the Previous Era, like herself.
However, after further contact with Ren Amamiya, Fu Hua was certain he was definitely not one of her former comrades, because he simply didn't recognize her.
Whether it was that new Key of Judgment ring or the faint sense of familiarity in his eyes towards her, it must have been due to some other unknown reason.
"Ren Amamiya's identity is actually very simple... After the pioneers of the Previous Era experienced the Trial of Finality, they passed the embers of hope to every corner of the Current Era. And besides the Previous Era, the authority of Finality has already reset this world countless times."
At this point, Otto had no interest in keeping Fu Hua in suspense any longer. The smile on his face faded slightly as he spoke to her in a serious tone.
"...You mean to say, Ren Amamiya is a pioneer from a civilization even earlier than the Previous Era? How is that possible?!"
Upon realizing the subtext in Otto's words, a deep look of astonishment instantly appeared on Fu Hua's delicate face. The sheer shock of this fact left her mind feeling somewhat numb.
"Nothing is impossible. If pioneers from the Previous Era could reach the next generation, then why couldn't pioneers from the era before the Previous Era? Ren Amamiya's consciousness is clearly not that of a Current Era resident. Perhaps he also awakened in the Previous Era, only he wasn't noticed then as he is now."
After dropping this bombshell of a revelation on Fu Hua, while her brain stalled, trying to accept and comprehend his words, Otto's mind raced, considering the current situation.
This trip to the Imaginary Space had been a disastrous loss for Otto.
Not only had he lost an extremely powerful Soulium body, but even the Key of Revelation, the Void Archives, which he had used for five hundred years, was forcibly lost.
The only silver lining was that the right to use the Void Archives was deeply bound to his consciousness.
Even though the main body of the Void Archives had been taken by Ren Amamiya, relying on the residual power of the Void Archives from the Simulacrum feather of Fenghuang, supplemented by Soulium for simulation, Otto could barely still use the Void Archives' mimicry ability, albeit the power exerted would be greatly diminished.
The true Void Archives could mimic seventy to eighty percent of an original Divine Key's power. Now, however, relying on his five hundred years of experience using it, Otto would be performing exceptionally if he could mimic ten to twenty percent of a Divine Key's might.
Of course, the loss of the combat Soulium body and the Void Archives was regrettable, but it wasn't unacceptable for Otto. They were merely two convenient tools lost; he had plenty of replacements.
What truly concerned Otto was, naturally, everything related to the Herrscher of the Void.
Although the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness residing in the Herrscher Core had been successfully erased, the Herrscher Core itself hadn't fallen into Otto's hands. Instead, it had been obtained by the Phantom Thief, Ren Amamiya, as a spoil of war and had now been secretly stolen from the experimental subject K-423.
Ren Amamiya and the Herrscher of the Void each corresponded to a plan to save Kallen.
If Otto had to choose between them, he was more inclined to place his hopes on Ren Amamiya, this outlier who had once witnessed the curtain fall on Finality.
However, Ren Amamiya had failed once in the Previous Era. To prevent him from repeating the same mistake, Otto believed it was still necessary to maintain the original plan utilizing the Herrscher of the Void's authority as a backup.
"Thinking about it differently, although the Herrscher of the Void's core was stolen by Ren Amamiya, the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness itself was personally eliminated by me..."
Otto gently stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully as a decision gradually formed in his mind.
"The time to conclude Project SIRIN has arrived ahead of schedule. As long as the recovery of experimental subject K-423 is completed, without the obstruction of the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness, K-423 will naturally awaken as the new generation's Herrscher of the Void."
According to Previous Era data unearthed by Schicksal and conclusions drawn by Schicksal scientists through research on Herrscher Cores and Divine Keys, Otto had already confirmed that Current Era Herrscher Cores possessed distinctly different activation characteristics from Previous Era Herrscher Cores.
Even if the Herrscher of the Void's core had been stolen by Ren Amamiya, as long as Otto forcibly infused a massive amount of Honkai energy into the body of K-423, who was a natural vessel for the Herrscher of the Void...
Never mind it just being stolen, even if the Herrscher of the Void's core had already been made into a Divine Key, a new Herrscher of the Void core would still naturally emerge from within K-423, crowning her as the new generation's Herrscher of the Void.
"...Are you asking me to carry out the mission to recover that K-423 experimental subject?"
Fu Hua gradually recovered from the shock of Otto's earlier pronouncements. Noticing Otto's gaze now resting on her, she raised an eyebrow slightly and inquired.
Although the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness had been eliminated, according to Otto's words, experimental subject K-423 clearly still possessed the potential to become the Herrscher of the Void again.
Concerning a Herrscher-level existence, very few Valkyries in the entire Schicksal organization were capable of executing such a top-secret plan. Fu Hua subconsciously thought Otto was about to exploit her labor again.
"No, your mission remains to infiltrate the Phantom Thieves and secretly report Ren Amamiya's and the others' actions to me. As for recovering K-423... let's leave that to Rita. She's still in Nagazora City."
Otto immediately refuted Fu Hua's speculation. After a moment of deliberation, he finally decided to have the S-rank Valkyrie Rita Rossweisse, whom he trusted deeply, carry out the mission to recover K-423.
While residing in the mimicked Feathers of Mist, Otto had spied on the conversation between Ren Amamiya and Fu Hua. He had long since detected Ren Amamiya's almost undisguised intention to recruit Fu Hua... Ren Amamiya's Phantom Thieves team happened to be lacking someone with Fu Hua's type of psychic sensory abilities.
Even if Fu Hua was an honest, unassuming person, unskilled with words, by relying on the talent Ren Amamiya sought from her, she wouldn't need to put on much of an act. She just needed to approach Ren Amamiya systematically. It wouldn't be difficult for her to infiltrate the Phantom Thieves and complete her surveillance mission.
And to avoid unnecessary risks of exposure, Fu Hua naturally didn't need to participate in the mission to recover experimental subject K-423.
"Rita alone probably won't be enough. Aren't you going to call Durandal over as well?"
Upon hearing that Rita would be the one to recover K-423, a trace of surprise flickered in Fu Hua's emerald eyes.
"Setting aside the possibility of K-423 suddenly mastering the Herrscher of the Void's power, the Anti-Entropy Sovereign is currently in Nagazora City. If that Herrscher of Reason detects Schicksal's actions, I'm afraid even Rita herself will be in grave danger."
After Raiden Mei had left, Fu Hua had been tailed and monitored by Anti-Entropy personnel.
However, even though the Anti-Entropy staff were very professional, Fu Hua, their surveillance target, was always one step ahead. With Otto, a 500-year-old fox, assisting from the sidelines, plus the illusionary power of the Feathers of Mist, it was all too easy for her to move freely under the noses of the Anti-Entropy staff. She had even entered this small base completely undetected.
It was precisely because she detected the Anti-Entropy personnel's tracking and surveillance that Fu Hua learned from Otto that the Anti-Entropy Sovereign, Welt, was also in Nagazora City, and was even among the Raiden Mei group that appeared when Ren Amamiya brought her out of the Imaginary Space.
Unlike Fu Hua, who had a partial understanding of the situation in Nagazora City, Otto knew that the resistance to recovering K-423 wasn't just Welt Yang, the Herrscher of Reason. He might also encounter Siegfried, who happened to be near K-423. Even Ren Amamiya, due to his connection with Raiden Mei, had a certain degree of association with K-423...
Just as Fu Hua said, with her needing to carry out an infiltration mission, summoning Durandal, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, to Nagazora City to perform the recovery mission was indeed the most correct choice.
However, the current situation was different from before. Ren Amamiya seemed to have confirmed Durandal's true identity as the original Kiana Kaslana through some special means in the Imaginary Space. Although Otto had easily fooled the straightforward girl who questioned him, he still didn't want Durandal to get involved in the overly chaotic battlefield of Nagazora City.
What if, under the emotional offensive of Siegfried and K-423, Durandal suddenly recalled her lost memories? He'd practically be gifting a major powerhouse to the enemy.
Even if Otto was very confident in his brainwashing and indoctrination abilities, with an eighty percent certainty that Durandal would still capture K-423 and bring her back to Schicksal HQ despite her troubled heart after learning the truth, he absolutely did not want to gamble on the remaining twenty percent possibility.
After all, if Durandal truly decided to rebel, Rita, as her adjutant, would definitely not stand idly by. At that point, his one and only hardworking, uncomplaining black ops agent would also quit... At the very least, she would definitely go easy on the K-423 recovery mission.
After comparing all the various risks, Otto still believed that having Rita execute a decapitation strike and swiftly abduct K-423 had the highest probability of success.
Although Rita's power against Honkai Beasts was far weaker than Durandal's, if the target shifted to dealing with humans, the cunning, shrewd, and experienced Rita was undoubtedly Schicksal's strongest. A hundred Durandals combined wouldn't match half of her cunning and methods.
"Durandal has other crucial missions to attend to. More importantly, Rita's mission will also require your cooperation in other aspects, old friend."
...
"Huh? I'm the one to recover K-423?"
Gazing at the confidential mission directive sent by Overseer Otto via private network, Rita couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath after reading the entire message. Even the charming beauty mark at the corner of her eye twitched slightly due to her current expression.
Unlike the straightforward Fu Hua, Rita was a top-notch expert at gathering intelligence. She naturally knew what kind of terrifying, man-eating undercurrents were madly surging beneath the seemingly calm surface of Nagazora City.
Although she rationally knew that having her carry out this recovery mission was the most efficient plan for success, emotionally, Rita still felt she was about to snap.
If Overseer Otto were conveying the instructions via video call right now, Rita could still smile while throwing a few sarcastic, barbed remarks his way to make herself feel a little better.
But unfortunately, as if Overseer Otto had anticipated this, he directly issued the mission order via a confidential letter, leaving Rita with no outlet to vent her emotions, even if she wanted to be passive-aggressive.
"Fortunately, I've been monitoring K-423 for the past few days. I know her movements and schedule. It shouldn't be too difficult to seize the opportunity to capture K-423."
Standing atop a tall building, Rita let out a soft sigh. After closing her personal terminal, her wine-red eyes gazed down at the figure of a white-haired girl with twin braids, constantly moving on the ground below.
"K-423 has obtained Raiden Mei's address and is now preparing to go to Raiden Mei's location. Although that Anti-Entropy Sovereign has left Raiden Mei's temporary residence to reorganize Anti-Entropy's conservative faction in Nagazora City, just in case, I should seize the opportunity to complete her recovery before K-423 reaches Raiden Mei..."
Just as Rita, positioned at a vantage point, was preparing to secretly follow Kiana's movements on the ground, her pupils suddenly contracted violently. Beads of cold sweat visibly appeared on her fair, clear forehead.
On another path leading to Raiden Mei's location, the figures of Ren Amamiya, Raiden Mei, and Bronya had appeared at some unknown time.
Based on their current trajectories, in less than five minutes, K-423 would run into Ren Amamiya's group!
If K-423 successfully joined up with Ren Amamiya and the others, Rita had no confidence she could snatch her mission target from under the nose of Ren Amamiya, the man who had defeated Durandal!
Just as Rita's brows knitted tightly, her mind fiercely deliberating whether to find a way to prevent Ren Amamiya's group from meeting K-423, or to choose to give up the current opportunity and wait for K-423 to be alone again before making a move...
From Rita's vantage point, Ren Amamiya, who had been weaving through the crowd on the street, suddenly stopped. He put his phone to his ear, apparently talking to someone.
When the brief phone call ended, Ren Amamiya no longer headed towards Raiden Mei's location. Instead, he parted ways with Raiden Mei and Bronya, turning and heading in the complete opposite direction from Mei.
Seeing Ren Amamiya, the strongest of the three, voluntarily leave, Rita, atop the tall building, let out a slow breath. She returned to her usual elegant and composed demeanor, raising a handkerchief to gently wipe away the cold sweat that had formed on her forehead.
Due to the delay from that phone call, K-423 had already moved a considerable distance. Raiden Mei and Bronya, approaching from another route, would need at least ten minutes to even catch a glimpse of K-423's back. This window of time was already enough for Rita to execute her mission.
It wouldn't matter even if some unforeseen circumstances arose midway.
Bronya was already a defeated opponent of hers, hardly worth mentioning.
Raiden Mei's strength, while not to be underestimated, and indeed a threat to Rita, wasn't her target.
Rita's mission this time wasn't to defeat Raiden Mei.
As long as she could avoid a direct confrontation with Raiden Mei, after capturing the K-423 experimental subject, Rita was confident she could retreat completely unscathed from Raiden Mei's pursuit!
Chapter 125: Kiana Sure Is Lucky
"Bronya, how are you feeling right now?"
Walking along the bustling streets of Nagazora City, the chatter of passersby and the roar of cars continuously flowed into Raiden Mei's ears.
The city sounds, which would normally feel noisy and irritating, now sounded like a relaxing and comfortable white noise to Mei, who had just returned to the real world from the silent and perilous Mementos.
Taking a deep, enjoyable breath of Nagazora City's air, thick with the scent of life, Mei looked down at Bronya, who was floating beside her. Her voice held a slight note of concern as she asked.
"The Bronya feels fine. The Bronya... is just a little tired."
Bronya replied softly to Mei, who was worried about her. Though her expression was as calm as usual, Bronya currently looked quite listless, relying entirely on the exoskeleton armor technology in her legs to float at a low altitude.
The number of Herrscher of Reason core fragments obtained from its Palace was only two hundred and thirty-four. Compared to the complete base number of thirty thousand, Bronya had only acquired 0.078% of the full Herrscher's power, not even reaching one percent.
Less than one percent of Herrscher power had absolutely zero corrosive effect on Bronya's body. The rate of Honkai energy erosion was even slower than the natural metabolic rate of cell death and regeneration within Bronya. It only brought her a positive boost in terms of strength.
As Bronya herself said, she was just a little tired—not only physically, but even her mind had become somewhat numb.
During her time fighting in Mementos, Bronya had become deeply aware of her own weakness and powerlessness, feeling like she couldn't do anything.
Her damage output was negligible, barely enough to scratch high-level Shadow monsters. Moreover, Bronya couldn't even manage something that everyone else in the team, like Seele [Hare], could do as a matter of course: stay near Hare for an extended period.
After being in close proximity to Hare for two and a half hours, Bronya, with only one percent of Herrscher power, began to feel unwell due to the strong Honkai energy radiation Hare naturally emitted.
For Bronya's safety, Ren Amamiya had paused the plan to explore Mementos and instead brought Bronya and Raiden Mei back to the real world.
Although her teammates only showed her gentle kindness, Bronya, knowing she had become a burden, still felt intense pressure and guilt, making her somewhat dispirited.
"Everyone has moments of weakness. No matter how weak you are, as long as you're willing to become stronger and take action, you can become strong. Bronya, you're not a full-fledged Persona user yet. Once you fully awaken, you'll definitely be as strong as everyone else."
Raiden Mei gently comforted Bronya beside her. Noticing that Bronya's mood hadn't improved despite her consolation, the empathetic Mei quickly realized the other aspect Bronya was concerned about.
"It's not entirely because I needed to take care of Bronya that I left the team and returned to the real world, you know. I've been reunited with my father after he was released from prison, and I want to spend more time with him. Plus, there's Kiana's situation. I need to find time to meet up with Kiana and observe her current physical and mental state..."
Mei ticked off on her fingers the things she wanted to do in the real world. Her father's matter could be postponed a little, but Kiana's condition truly needed Mei to witness it firsthand.
The Herrscher of the Void's consciousness had dissipated, and its core had been successfully stolen by Ren Amamiya. Theoretically, Kiana should no longer be possessed by the Herrscher of the Void due to its core.
But since it concerned her most important friend, Kiana, Mei had to personally confirm Kiana's current state to be completely at ease.
"And Bronya, you don't need to worry about Ren's progress exploring Mementos. Didn't Miss Fu Hua call Ren just now, saying she wanted to investigate Mementos again? With Miss Fu Hua, a Persona user with sensory support abilities, joining the team, perhaps Ren, Hare, and the others will have an even smoother time clearing Mementos than when we were there."
Ren Amamiya had originally planned to return to the Raiden residence with Mei and Bronya to request permission from Welt Yang, the current successor to the Herrscher of Reason, to enter its Palace. Then, he would go to the Herrscher of Reason's Palace to collect more core fragments for Bronya to increase her power.
However, Fu Hua's timely call just now had made Ren temporarily abandon the idea of going to the Raiden residence to meet Welt. He planned to meet Fu Hua in the real world first, then enter Mementos together to work together for a while and test if Fu Hua had what it takes to be a teammate for the Phantom Thieves.
As for meeting Welt, that would have to be postponed until evening.
After all, Welt Yang was the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy and the successor to the Herrscher of Reason's core. It was only proper and polite for Ren Amamiya, as the leader of the equally-ranked Phantom Thieves and a partner, to formally request permission to enter the Herrscher of Reason's Palace. Otherwise, Ren Amamiya and the others wouldn't be authorized visitors in the Herrscher of Reason's Palace, but uninvited intruders.
Of course, even if Ren Amamiya temporarily shelved the plan to seek permission to enter the Herrscher of Reason's Palace until the evening, Bronya still needed to return to the Raiden residence to meet with the higher-ups of Anti-Entropy's conservative faction.
Just yesterday, Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein had said they would use more precise, cutting-edge equipment to give Bronya a thorough physical examination the next day.
And Welt had even hinted at something akin to taking her on as a disciple. It seemed he planned to teach Bronya how to use the Herrscher of Reason's power while also taking the opportunity to assess Bronya's and the Phantom Thieves' personalities and ideals.
Both Ren Amamiya and Bronya saw through Welt's intentions. However, Ren didn't force Bronya to refuse Welt, especially since today, facing hostile Shadows beyond her current strength, Bronya increasingly felt her powerlessness. Similarly, she could feel that she wasn't fully utilizing the Herrscher of Reason's power she already possessed.
If she could perfectly master the Herrscher of Reason's power she already had, even if her strength still couldn't compare to Raiden Mei's, Bronya felt the power she could exert wouldn't be much weaker than Mei's.
After some comforting, seeing Bronya's perpetually tense little face finally soften a bit, and her overall demeanor becoming much more relaxed, Raiden Mei could finally rest assured. Then, her thoughts couldn't help but start to wander.
Meeting her father wasn't a worry, but meeting Kiana...
Recalling Kiana's intense, almost predatory gaze fixed on her, Raiden Mei instantly started to feel a headache coming on again.
Although meeting Kiana would inevitably mean being clung to by her for a while, to confirm Kiana's physical and mental state, Mei could only choose to silently endure this exasperating feeling.
I wonder what Kiana is doing right now...
"Mei!"
Since Kiana already knows about Mr. Siegfried, she probably won't be wandering all over Nagazora City looking for news like before, right?
"Mei! Mei! Mei!!"
As she mused quietly, Raiden Mei vaguely felt as if Kiana's energetic voice was ringing right in her ears.
"Mei, is that white-haired idiot waving frantically at you someone you know?"
The feeling of her sleeve being gently tugged brought Raiden Mei back to her senses. Following Bronya's slightly disdainful gaze, Mei saw a young girl with white twin braids and a pair of azure eyes. Right now, she looked like an adorable puppy seeing its owner, her face lit up with surprise, waving her arms frantically at her.
It was none other than Kiana Kaslana, whom Mei had just been thinking about.
Judging by appearance alone, Kiana was undoubtedly a top-tier, beautiful girl. Unfortunately, right now, not only did she have a silly expression, but there was also sauce smeared on the corner of her mouth, and the hand waving at Mei was clutching two or three chicken skewers.
It wasn't just Bronya who showed disdain for Kiana's behavior; even Raiden Mei couldn't help but feel a moment of suffocation.
"Kiana, are you... having lunch here?"
Mei managed to force a polite smile for Kiana. Only then did she belatedly notice the various food aromas wafting through the street... this area was precisely the snack street.
"Lunch? Ahaha, actually, actually I was picking out a gift to bring when I visit Mei's house. It's just that the food here looked too delicious, so I couldn't resist trying a little of everything. I was planning to pick out the tastiest one to bring as a gift to your house, Mei..."
Kiana paused for a moment, then, as if just realizing what she had been doing, she scratched her head sheepishly and spoke to Mei with embarrassment.
"Kiana is coming to my house?... Right, with your initiative, Kiana, I guess you wouldn't just sit around waiting for me to contact you."
Mei had thought Kiana's appearance in the snack street near the Raiden residence was purely a coincidence. However, from what Kiana said, she had actively searched for the Raiden residence's location, preparing to visit in person to ask Mei about her father, Siegfried.
"Regarding Mr. Siegfried's whereabouts, I don't have any news on that right now. But one thing I can confirm is that Mr. Siegfried no longer has any reason to leave you. Just wait a little longer, and Mr. Siegfried will definitely appear before you, Kiana."
Currently, Anti-Entropy's Sovereign Welt, Dr. Tesla, and the others were staying at the Raiden residence, so it wasn't a suitable time for Kiana to visit. Fortunately, Mei had spotted her before Kiana could knock on the Raiden residence's door.
After telling Kiana what she knew, watching Kiana bite into her chicken skewer with even more vigor, looking very excited and cheerful, Mei, who had been somewhat worried about Kiana's state, could finally relax completely.
"Mei, want some? I only took one bite of this one, it's delicious!... Hey, you little pipsqueak over there, what's with that look? Even if you keep staring at me, I won't give you any to eat. Don't think I didn't hear you call me an idiot just now!"
Kiana excitedly offered Mei a chicken skewer she had taken a bite from. Then, angered by the disdainful look Bronya gave the chicken skewers in her hand, all of which she had haphazardly gnawed on, she huffed and yelled at Bronya.
"I'm not hungry right now... More importantly, Kiana, how are you feeling? Are you still having strange dreams like before?"
Raising her hand to politely decline the chicken skewer Kiana offered, Mei asked her the question that concerned her most right now.
Although Kiana looked very healthy on the outside, if Mei couldn't know how Kiana herself felt, everything would just be her own conjecture.
"How am I feeling? I feel great! When I woke up this morning, my body felt so light, as if some kind of shackle deep inside me that I couldn't usually perceive had been broken—even though I had that nightmare about being killed by some psycho, my mood is strangely satisfied and refreshed. It's really weird."
Kiana munched and finished all the chicken skewers. After wiping her mouth and throwing the wooden sticks into a nearby trash can, her eyes suddenly lit up as if she remembered something.
"Oh, right! Even though it was a nightmare, at the end of the nightmare, I saw you, Mei, coming to save me! That must be why I feel so light and satisfied! As expected of Mei, you even insist on saving me in my dreams!!"
Even though you think it was a dream, I actually did go to another world to save you...
Watching Kiana, who was getting emotional and about to pounce on her for a hug again, Raiden Mei's eye twitched. She silently took two steps back, and Kiana once again fell onto the cold ground, repeating her mistake.
After learning that her good friend Kiana was actually just a clone of the real Kiana, Mei had wanted to treat Kiana a bit more gently. But Kiana lunging at her with hands covered in food grease... Mei really couldn't accept it.
"...Hmm? Mei, be careful! Something's not right!"
Having just returned from Mementos, although her body was slightly unwell, Bronya always maintained the necessary wartime vigilance.
While Kiana and Mei were fooling around, Bronya keenly sensed an abnormality in the surrounding environment. She immediately warned her companions beside her.
"What's not right? Huh? Why are there suddenly so many robots on the street?"
Kiana expertly scrambled up from the ground and patted the dust off her knees. She casually glanced in the direction Bronya was wary of, and then her eyes widened at the sight of the humanoid mechs—each one ornately and exquisitely designed, their formidable strength evident just by looking at their construction materials.
"They seem to be approaching us? Are these also Anti-Entropy mechs?"
The humanoid mechs that had abruptly appeared on the street and begun to cause destruction made the passersby scream in terror. Even the snack street vendors abandoned their stalls and fled. The continuously emerging humanoid mechs didn't pursue the fleeing pedestrians but instead surrounded the area where Raiden Mei and the others were, their target clear.
Although the mechs' designs were different, and compared to the Anti-Entropy "tin can" mechs that had once tried to capture her, these silver-white mechs were more humanoid in form, Mei couldn't help but associate this scene with Cocolia's attempt to use Anti-Entropy mechs to capture her.
"No, these are not Anti-Entropy Titans. They are Knight Moonbeams manufactured by Schicksal!"
Unlike the almost clueless Raiden Mei, Bronya undoubtedly had a deeper understanding of Schicksal. She recognized the true identity of these silver-white mechs at a glance.
Although Schicksal didn't mass-produce mechs as standardized combat units like Anti-Entropy did, they undoubtedly possessed their own specialized tactical mechs.
And because they didn't deliberately pursue mass production, the average strength of Schicksal's Knight Moonbeams far exceeded that of Anti-Entropy's Titans. They were the crystallized product created to obtain elite combat power stronger than ordinary Valkyries.
The strength of Schicksal's Paladin-class Knight Moonbeams was generally equivalent to that of B-rank Valkyries, and the various Knight Moonbeam prototypes, which served as the basis for the Paladins, reached the strength level of A-rank Valkyries.
Bronya used Project Bunny to roughly scan the enemies approaching them, calculating that there were a full one hundred and twenty Paladin-class mechs and seven Knight Moonbeam mechs on the street at that moment.
"Someone who can mobilize so many Knight Moonbeam resources at once must hold a high position in Schicksal. Adding the condition of being in Nagazora City... It's you, isn't it, Rita Rossweisse?"
Bronya narrowed her eyes slightly. Although she hadn't caught sight of the enemy, she quickly pinpointed Rita Rossweisse, the S-rank Valkyrie from Schicksal with whom she had a past grudge, as the most likely suspect.
"As expected of the Silver Wolf of the Urals. You understood the situation so quickly."
A crisp clapping sound quietly echoed. Rita, dressed in a white dress adorned with black ink-colored armor and holding a giant black mechanical scythe, elegantly walked out from behind a silver-white Knight Moonbeam. A beautiful smile bloomed on her charming and delicate face as she praised Bronya.
However, even though her face was beaming, a mixture of resentment and anger was fiercely burning in Rita's heart.
According to Rita's original calculations, she should have been able to capture Kiana before Raiden Mei could catch up to her.
Yet, as luck would have it, Kiana was a foodie with good fortune. Right in front of the trap Rita had meticulously laid, Kiana had resolutely turned towards the snack street and started feasting, directly leading to her successful rendezvous with Raiden Mei now, shifting the situation to be slightly unfavorable for Rita...
Chapter 126: Shadow Mei: Witness My Joker Summoning Jutsu!
"...target her for capture?"
Although resentful about her loss to Rita, Bronya, on the battlefield, still maintained her excellent qualities of calmness and acuity. She carefully observed the subtle changes in Rita's charming facial expressions. While questioning Rita, she also subtly relayed information to Kiana.
The Herrscher of the Void core buried within Kiana Kaslana's body had already been successfully stolen by Ren Amamiya.
Although this was a secret matter quietly achieved only last night, judging by the fact that Schicksal hadn't come sooner or later, but chose this specific time to recover the experimental subject Kiana, it was clear that Schicksal had already learned about the theft of the Herrscher of the Void core through some means.
Kiana, having lost the Herrscher of the Void core, was merely a useless empty vessel and should logically have no value.
From the perspective of power, although the Kaslana bloodline was strong, it wasn't rare. Moreover, Kiana clearly hadn't awakened the hidden power within her Kaslana bloodline like her father had.
And from the perspective of intellectual value...
"Mei, just hide behind me, don't worry! I'll protect you! Watch me smash these junk robots into a pile of complete junk!!"
An unconcealable excitement spread across Kiana's face. She pulled Raiden Mei behind her for protection, then eagerly raised a baseball bat that she had procured from somewhere, looking entirely ready for action.
Bronya glanced expressionlessly at Kiana, who was completely focused on Raiden Mei and hadn't noticed her earlier reminder. Kiana's face, alight with an expression so obvious that even a fool could tell she was fantasizing about some hero-rescues-damsel-and-wins-her-heart scenario, made Bronya sigh internally.
Evidently, Kiana Kaslana's intellectual value was utterly negligible.
Bronya suddenly felt very weary. The dispirited thought of just giving up on saving Kiana flashed through her mind.
However, Kiana was, after all, Raiden Mei's friend, and she also had close ties with Anti-Entropy. She was even an experimental subject in Schicksal's top-secret project.
Even if only to prevent the enemy's plan from succeeding, Bronya naturally needed to protect Kiana from being captured by Rita.
"Miss Bronya needn't trouble herself with Schicksal's intentions. Considering that Rita let Miss Bronya go once before, I wonder if Miss Bronya could return that favor here? After all, you and Miss Kiana aren't very familiar, are you?"
Rita avoided Bronya's question, merely bringing up Bronya's past defeat when she, under Cocolia's command, was routed by Rita leading the Immortal Blades.
However, avoiding the question was, in itself, an answer. And Bronya wasn't so easily provoked by Rita's taunts as to lose her composure.
"The Bronya will, of course, repay the favor of being let go... but only after I've beaten you down!"
Realizing she couldn't get any more information from Rita, Bronya resolutely raised her hand towards her. The charging glow of her cannons lit up first, followed by the blue-silver mechanical body of Project Bunny slowly materializing from the void, appearing behind Bronya.
"What a cool robot!... Mei, is she your friend?"
Seeing the imposing form of Project Bunny 19C, enhanced by the power of the Herrscher of Reason, manifest behind Bronya, Kiana's mind, previously filled with thoughts of showing off her cool side to Raiden Mei, momentarily blanked.
Compared to Bronya's Project Bunny, Kiana suddenly felt that the ordinary baseball bat in her hand wasn't so appealing anymore.
Worried that Bronya would steal her thunder, Kiana immediately turned her head and asked Raiden Mei, whom she had pulled behind her.
"Yes, Bronya is also a good friend of mine..."
Raiden Mei replied to Kiana somewhat distractedly. Her amethyst-like eyes quickly scanned the entire battlefield, silently memorizing the positions of all the Knight Moonbeam forces, and then rapidly calculated the weak points in their formation.
Rita's target was Kiana. Logically, Raiden Mei should break out with Kiana and head to a safe place far from Rita.
However, judging from the earlier conversation between Bronya and Rita, Bronya had clearly been defeated by Rita once before.
Although Bronya's strength was now several times greater than before due to the amplification from the Herrscher of Reason core fragments, just in case, Raiden Mei was still unwilling to leave Bronya alone on this battlefield to fight Rita by herself.
"That detestable pipsqueak, secretly becoming good friends with Mei without this beautiful girl's permission... Hmph, this lady won't lose to her. I have to step up my game too!"
Beams of light from the cannons shot out consecutively, and the silver-white Paladin-class mechs fell like cut wheat. However, Rita, wearing her Valkyrie battlesuit, Argent Knight: Artemis, moved with incredible agility, dodging Bronya's bombardment. Like a nimble cheetah, she weaved through the battlefield, rapidly closing in on Bronya's position.
Watching Bronya engage in a fierce back-and-forth battle with Rita, Kiana bit her lip in frustration. Knowing she couldn't intervene in that fight, she could only grip her baseball bat tightly and swing forcefully at the silver-white Paladin-class mechs approaching her.
"Heave-ho—"
Clang! Clang!! Clang!!!
Each swing was more powerful than the last. Three consecutive heavy blows from the baseball bat struck the silver-white Paladin's frame.
Relying on her inherited Kaslana brute strength, Kiana successfully performed a miracle of sheer force, bashing the first approaching Paladin into a sparking, useless heap of scrap metal on the ground.
"Don't worry, Mei! I, Kiana Kaslana, will definitely protect you— Wha-wha-what?!"
Raising a hand to wipe the sweat from her brow, Kiana was about to puff out her chest and bask in what she expected to be Raiden Mei's admiring and grateful gaze.
However, she had just turned around when she saw a flash of purple sword light, wreathed in lightning, streak through the air. The four Paladin-class mechs that had been approaching from the rear in a pincer movement instantly froze.
After a long moment, as if only then realizing what had happened, they slid to the ground in two neat halves. The cross-sections of their mechanical bodies were as smooth as mirrors, clearly indicating the sword slash had met no resistance.
"Sorry, Kiana, were you saying something just now? I don't think I heard you."
Raiden Mei flicked the blade of the Seven Thunders of Retribution tachi, which had transformed from her Great Lightning Spiral Ring. A faint, reddish-purple arc of electricity dissipated from the Seven Thunders' blade into the air.
Looking at Kiana's dumbfounded, astonished expression beside her, Raiden Mei couldn't help the smirk that tugged at the corner of her lips.
Before Ren Amamiya had left, he had temporarily entrusted the Great Lightning Spiral Ring to Raiden Mei, its original owner, for safekeeping and use.
And the battle happening now was the perfect opportunity for the Great Lightning Spiral Ring to shine.
Relying on the enhancement from the Great Lightning Spiral Ring, Raiden Mei's own strength had increased significantly. Slicing through four Paladin-class mechs in one go wasn't her limit, but rather the limit of how those mechs were positioned.
"Uh, no-nothing! Mei, your sword is so pretty! Where did you get it?"
Kiana gave an awkward laugh. More sweat beaded on her forehead than when she had been pummeling the Paladins, deeply shocked by the strength Raiden Mei had displayed.
Although she had long known Raiden Mei's swordsmanship was astonishing, apparently even reaching some kind of "no-sword style" mastery [a reference to a high level of swordsmanship where the sword itself is secondary to the skill], Kiana had never imagined Mei's sword skills had reached such a terrifying level that she could annihilate these robots.
From their brief combat encounter, Kiana could roughly judge the strength of those silver-white Paladin-class mechs... they were about equivalent to Knight-class Honkai Beasts, and elite ones at that.
To be able to annihilate four Paladin-class mechs, equivalent to elite Knight-class Honkai Beasts, with a single sword strike, and to look so effortless and composed while doing it...
Kiana swallowed hard. She suddenly realized that perhaps she wasn't the strongest fighter between herself and Raiden Mei?
"Kiana, stay behind me."
"Oh..."
Realizing her hero-rescues-damsel plan had completely fizzled out, Kiana instantly drooped like a frost-bitten eggplant. She obediently stayed behind Raiden Mei, watching wide-eyed as Mei mowed down the Paladin-class fodder mechs that were rapidly approaching them, her heart a turmoil of complex emotions.
Although she had sensed before that Raiden Mei was hiding some unique little secret from her, Kiana had never, ever expected that secret would make Mei so powerful, even leaving her far behind.
Watching Raiden Mei, who wielded lightning to exterminate numerous silver-white Paladins, and even a red Knight Moonbeam, which was clearly an elite enemy, only managed to withstand two more lightning slashes than a regular Paladin before instantly exploding, Kiana couldn't help but let out a dejected sigh. She felt that no matter what happened next, she absolutely wouldn't be surprised anymore.
Visible purplish-red arcs of lightning flickered and danced across Raiden Mei's body. A crimson armored dress materialized around her. The image of the valiant sword-wielding warrior girl instantly made Kiana, who was watching from behind Mei, brighten up.
"Mei is so cool!!... But, Mei in this form looks kinda familiar, like I've seen her somewhere before."
Kiana couldn't help but clench her fists. While cheering for Raiden Mei, she suddenly felt that Mei's current appearance gave her an extremely strong sense of déjà vu. The hazy image in her mind, like frosted glass separating the ambiguous boundary between reality and dreams, gradually became clearer.
As if a dream had manifested into reality, Raiden Mei's current posture was identical to the image Kiana had glimpsed in her dreams these past few days!
However, although the image was identical, Kiana still inexplicably felt that the current Raiden Mei was lacking something, that her overall image wasn't yet complete.
"Persona!!"
Raiden Mei placed her hand on the black oni mask worn on the side of her face. The black oni mask instantly vanished in a flash of purplish-red lightning. Then, a massive shadow was cast from the sky above. Kiana, her expression slightly stiff, tilted her head up and saw a terrifyingly imposing, colossal deep-crimson demonic dragon.
Alright, now nothing was missing.
Like a fogged-up glass being wiped completely clean, Kiana, at this moment, fully recalled the image of Raiden Mei she had seen in her dreams.
...If that dream was all real, then there was no need for her, Kiana, to protect Raiden Mei. That demonic dragon could crush her with a single finger!
Deep down, Kiana had still been fantasizing that although Raiden Mei was strong, she possessed some kind of weakness, and that weakness could only be compensated for by her, Raiden Mei's destined person. She would thus smoothly become the perfect, flawless partner for Raiden Mei.
However, with the thunderous descent of the Persona Kurikara, which easily smashed a large swathe of Paladin-class mechs into shapeless scrap metal with a swing of its dragon claw, the fantasy Kiana had harbored was completely shattered and swept into the trash heap.
"Wha-what's the deal with this red giant dragon, Mei?! Being able to control lightning with a weapon is one thing, but how did you summon this terrifying demonic dragon and order it around like a puppy?! And what the heck is a Persona? How come I've never heard of it?!!"
Kiana clutched her head, a look of world-shattering agony on her face. Her already limited brain capacity seemed to be overloading and burning up from the overwhelming influx of shocking reality.
Being able to manipulate lightning with a tachi—weapons of that caliber, though rare, weren't impossible to obtain. What amazed Kiana more than the weapon itself was Raiden Mei's swordsmanship.
But that deep-crimson demonic dragon, summoned when Raiden Mei shouted "Kurikara," was a different story.
That imposing, deep-crimson demonic dragon was clearly an incredibly powerful, high-tier Honkai Beast, and probably a top-tier one among them. The strongest Honkai Beast Kiana had encountered during her previous global travels didn't even measure up to one of this crimson dragon's toenails. She couldn't even estimate what level of strength this demonic dragon possessed, only that it was powerful beyond her dimension.
Yet this powerful dragon-type Honkai Beast, which would likely require Schicksal to dispatch a large-scale A-rank Valkyrie squad, or even mobilize S-rank Valkyries to subjugate, was now like a docile pet dog, freely commanded by her familiar friend Raiden Mei, executing orders without the slightest hesitation or unwillingness.
This excessively bizarre scene undoubtedly shattered the worldview Kiana had accumulated from past experiences, even making her doubt everything she was seeing.
"Don't be afraid, Kiana. This is the Persona power I awakened as a Persona user. Kurikara won't hurt you."
Compared to personally rushing into battle, summoning the Persona Kurikara for large-scale crowd control was indeed much easier. Raiden Mei even had the leisure to turn around, look at Kiana, and explain things to the conflicted and shocked girl.
Kiana's complete ignorance of the Persona system didn't surprise Raiden Mei.
After all, even Kiana's father, Siegfried, and the Anti-Entropy Sovereign, Welt Yang, only had a partial understanding of Persona powers. It was perfectly normal for Kiana not to know about Persona-related matters.
"Persona user? What's that? Ugh, my head feels itchy, and I feel a little nauseous... That nasty woman with the scythe over there, is she some kind of Persona user too? How come I don't see her summoning weird stuff to fight with like you and Mei?"
Perhaps from absorbing too much information at once, Kiana felt her head itching and even a bit dizzy and nauseous.
She cast her gaze towards Rita, who had distanced herself from Bronya, and then noticed with some surprise that Rita had, at some point, put on the black gas mask she carried around her slender white neck.
"Kiana, behind you!!"
Raiden Mei had been keeping an eye on Kiana's situation, so she immediately noticed the anomaly appearing behind Kiana.
A Jet-black bladed beast with emerald-green sharp claws, like a cunning hound lying in ambush, or like a thunderbolt tearing through the night sky, shot out at high speed from behind a pile of Paladin wreckage, rushing straight for Kiana.
Raiden Mei violently swung the purple tachi in her hand, intending to use the Seven Thunders of Retribution to unleash a sword light to intercept the bladed beast's vicious attack on Kiana.
However, after her wrist swung down, the purplish-red lightning that erupted from the Seven Thunders only traveled half the distance before listlessly dissipating into the air.
"...What?!"
After the sword slash, Raiden Mei instantly felt the stagnation and emptiness of power within her body. Her body, somewhat weak, sank to one knee on the ground. Even her Persona Kurikara was noticeably weakened, its demeanor becoming much more listless.
It was somewhat similar to the feeling of being hit by the Elysion Pedion barrier last night, yet also different.
The restraining power of the Elysion Pedion barrier merely nullified the Honkai energy within her body, rendering it completely inert and unusable.
But now, although the Honkai energy in Raiden Mei's body had also fallen into a similar inert state, a more obvious characteristic was that her Honkai energy was continuously disappearing at an extremely rapid rate, as if it were being completely disintegrated by something!
"Is it poison gas?... Damn it, Kiana!!"
Seeing the Carbon-Based Hunter knock Kiana to the ground and imprison her within the cockpit of a red Knight Moonbeam, preparing to take Kiana away just like that, a look of anxiety finally appeared on Raiden Mei's face.
She struggled against the weakness in her body, using the Seven Thunders of Retribution tachi to support herself as she barely stood up. A golden glow gradually brightened within her purple pupils.
"Phew—the plan is proceeding smoothly."
Rita, controlling the Argent Knight: Artemis battlesuit's bound autonomous tracking weapon, the Carbon-Based Hunter, successfully neutralized and captured Kiana. She let out a slight sigh of relief, then ordered the red Knight Moonbeam holding Kiana to mix into the remaining group of mechs, concealing its presence.
The strength of the Persona user Raiden Mei was something Rita absolutely did not want to mess with.
Fortunately, although Raiden Mei was powerful, she seemed to be a PVE specialist, with almost no PVP experience. Fighting unintelligent Imaginary constructs was naturally no problem, but when encountering a scheming, wicked woman like her, she was prone to tripping up in unexpected ways.
Bronya, as an assassin, had plenty of experience fighting people, and her strength had recently approached that of an S-rank Valkyrie. But unfortunately, Rita was still a cut above.
Due to the urgency and being screwed over by Otto into undertaking this extremely dangerous recovery mission, Rita had no intention of saving Otto any money.
Purely out of a retaliatory mindset to drain Otto's resources, she used extremely resource-intensive quantum transmission technology to continuously transfer idle Paladin-class mechs from Schicksal HQ.
Schicksal's current quantum transmission technology could only be applied to non-living matter. Rashly performing quantum transmission on living beings could easily lead to the teleported subject ending up in pieces... meaning one piece in the Eastern Hemisphere, and another in the Western Hemisphere.
If it were just Rita herself, the only strategy she could think of in a short time was to use quantum transmission to transfer groups of mechs to assist her in battle.
Fortunately, Otto also knew the difficulty and danger of this mission. He very generously accepted Rita's resource-draining actions and even proactively gave Rita his trump card, originally custom-made for the Herrscher of the Void.
The Spear of Destiny.
A final weapon concocted from HSN-B46 serum and Shania Stigmata holy blood in a special ratio, capable of rapidly expelling Honkai energy from a target's body. Even a fully-powered Herrscher struck by the Spear of Destiny would fall into a state of complete, grievous injury and powerlessness.
Otto had temporarily modified the Spear of Destiny into a gaseous form.
Rita, by always maintaining an upwind position and directing the mech groups to create airflow, had surreptitiously leaked the Spear of Destiny gas towards Raiden Mei and the others.
Having put on a gas mask beforehand and applied a special ointment to her entire skin to prevent absorption of the gas, Rita, who was unaffected by the Spear of Destiny gas, became the sole victor on the field.
Her scythe, Aphrodite [Gene Reaper], possessed the function of configuring targeted neurotoxins based on the enemy's gene sequence.
Although Rita hadn't managed to attack Kiana with the scythe, Kiana's gene sequence data was no secret to Schicksal. Rita herself could even easily find Kiana's genetic samples to concoct a neurotoxin.
With a neurotoxin specifically targeting Kiana's gene sequence and the Honkai-specialized Spear of Destiny gas, Rita dared to pat her chest and guarantee that Kiana, imprisoned in the mech cockpit, was completely incapacitated, with no strength left to struggle or resist.
As time passed, the power drain from Persona Kurikara became increasingly severe.
Project Bunny 19C, thanks to being a mechanical construct, though its combat ability had slightly decreased, still retained the capacity to continue fighting, floating behind the fallen Bronya and constantly making harassing attacks on Rita.
"Apologies, Miss Bronya, Rita doesn't have any more time to play with you. Until next time~~~"
Sheathing Aphrodite, Rita's voice, tinged with a smile, came from beneath her gas mask, sounding somewhat muffled.
The mission to recover K-423 was accomplished. Next, she just needed to transport K-423 to Schicksal HQ. While Anti-Entropy hadn't fully reacted, it was time to make a decisive retreat.
"Don't even think about escaping... Hmph, do you think you can get away?"
Raiden Mei's expression towards Rita had initially been full of sorrow and anger. However, as her purple pupils were completely replaced by a golden brilliance, transforming her eyes into a golden hue, Raiden Mei's pretty face took on an air of lofty arrogance, like a noble Queen of Thunder.
She sneered mockingly at Rita, who was attempting to leave.
"From the very beginning, your scheme, all of your schemes, were already seen through!!"
A playful arc tugged at Shadow Mei's lips. New Honkai energy surged forth from within her body. Although still continuously leaking due to the Spear of Destiny gas, she had impressively managed to restore her body's ability to move.
Gazing at Shadow Mei's golden eyes, which openly displayed mockery and playfulness, Rita, who had thought victory was in her grasp, felt her heart lurch. An extremely ominous premonition instantly enveloped her entire being.
Space rippled in a visible manner.
A purple portal, as splendid and mesmerizing as a starry sky, unfurled in the void like a scroll, solidifying in an instant.
Step, step...
Steady and forceful footsteps echoed quietly from beyond the purple portal.
Slightly fluffy and messy black hair, a bird-shaped white mask, a winged-style black trench coat—the figure of the person emerging from the other side of the star gate clearly entered Rita's vision, causing her breath to catch.
"Mr. Ren... Amamiya..."
Softly calling out the person's name, the smile beneath Rita's gas mask became incredibly stiff. Her heart sank abruptly. Ultimately, she was forced to confront the enemy she least wanted to face.
"Rita Rossweisse. So, you really aren't just an ordinary maid."