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Chapter II: First Encounters
Japan National Stadium (国立競技場)/Shinjuku, Tokyo (新宿区, 東京)/5:42 PM (JST)
As the Olympics went on, a sudden rift opened up in the middle of the stadium. Audiences and the performers paused and witnessed the strange occurrence, which interrupted the events. Immediately taking note of this disruption and rising from their seats, the Phantom Thieves became alarmed.
“What the hell is that?!” Ann exclaimed in distress.
“You’re asking us?!” Morgana was equally bewildered as the others were.
As if that wasn’t enough, a burst of raw energy came out of the rift and crashed into the middle of the stadium, causing panic and scaring the competitors away. Viewing this as an attack, terrified screams erupted from various audience members. The audience started fleeing from the stadium.
“Oh shit! I swear this isn’t Mementos coming back, right?!” Ryuji exclaimed.
“Again, you’re asking us?!” Morgana cried out. “And no, this doesn’t look like…!”
Before the cat can finish his sentence, more energy cascaded from the rift out of nowhere. Unbeknownst to the Thieves, the energy started diminishing, revealing shadowed entities of varying sizes and shapes. Upon seeing these monstrosities, the audiences fled from their seats. Discerning the creatures, the Thieves stayed behind to get a better glimpse of the monsters.
Among these abominations are a mix of demonic creatures and dark gray-skinned behemoths wearing masks.
Of the demons that the Thieves could make out: an Onryoki, a large shaggy white-haired, red-skinned and yellow-horned oni.
Several Skeleton Warriors and Axemen appeared. They appear as their names imply, being half-decayed, sword-wielding skeletons in samurai garb and a few larger, ax-wielding skeleton entities.
Three Yoki, massive horned red-skinned oni with glowing crystals jutting through their shoulders then appeared.
Three Namahage, blue-skinned, straw-caped Yokai with two curved horns, buck teeth, and wielding cleavers, appeared in unison.
One Enki, a large monkey wielding a spear and with similar glowing orange shoulder crystals as well as a crystal forehead horn, materialized
An Ippon-Datara, a massive, one-legged, one-eyed monster carrying a large hammer behind its shoulders, appeared.
Of the masked monsters that the Thieves discerned: A group of Shamed Thralls appeared. They are dark clad, black spiky-haired humanoids wearing gas masks, dark torn garments, and black spiky hair. Some held axes. Others carried swords, bayonets, hammers, and shields. Others were distinguishable with a lack of weapons and wore red pants as opposed to dark-colored clothing, but stood in battle stances.
Among the other masked creatures are Stonecrushers, a pair of large rotund beasts. Both of them carried big swords and wore masks.
Others called Snouted Wanderers, resembling bipedal gray-skinned humanoids with long, shapely anteater-like snouts, appeared. Some carried axes and others wielded swords.
Acting as the head hunter of this group is the Insatiable Despot, a 9’0 foot tall thin creature garbed in black garments, appeared with the other Lost. A row of black and red spikes protruded from its back. It has on a black mask with its red eyes glowing through. The visage of its mask has the mouth twisted into a creepy and menacing grin. It brandished twin yellow blades in its hands.
“If these aren’t Shadows, then they’re for real?! Like real freakin’ monsters?!” Futaba exclaimed.
“I don’t feel anything inherently Shadow in nature about them,” Morgana assessed the conjured abominations.
“These things look like Yokai I’ve seen in illustrations!” Yusuke verified based on his artistic readings.
“Yeah! I think I remember fighting one of them in Madarame’s Palace! But, my mind’s drawing a blank here!” Ryuji recalled.
“Hey, something’s happening!” Makoto pointed to the monsters.
Once more civilians fled from the stadium, the Thieves were left open for the monsters to see. To the Thieves’ shock, the monsters ignored the fleeing civilians and set their sights exclusively on them. Roaring in unison, the monsters headed toward the Thieves.
“Uh, this doesn’t look good. Why are they only looking at us and no one else?!” Ann realized the monsters’ intent to kill was set on them.
“Have they figured out we’re the Phantom Thieves?!” Haru wondered out loud.
“I hate to say it, but better us than these innocent civilians getting hurt!” Makoto openly stated.
“Since none of us has access to the Metaverse, all we can do is run!” Morgana clarified to the group.
“Guys, we better out asses moving now!” Ryuji shouted. “Ren, let’s get everyone out of here!”
“This way!” Ren pointed toward the stairs. He ran up leading the group out to safety. In the back of his mind, he wished he and his friends had their Metaverse powers to fight these abominations. It has been nearly four years since the Phantom Thieves were last seen in the public eye.
Distorted Japanese House/Kanda (神田)/Chiyoda, Tokyo (千代田区, 東京)/5:50 PM (JST)
Still trapped inside the demonic house, the Shogi woman and the Revenant felt unrestrained energy materialize around them. This energy triggered the Revenant’s emotions, causing his eyes to turn red. The foreign energies became suffocating to Hifumi. It was Yokai energy, giving off volatile and dangerous vibes.
From this formless Yokai energy, two monstrosities materialized.
The first one is the Ogress, a monster with claw-like nails, wearing a kimono, long yellow horns on her forehead, and shaggy black hair.
The other abomination, the Queen’s Knight, was a much larger entity, a 7’0 foot tall obsidian armored behemoth. Its head has four massive spikes coming out of the sides of its face. Three smaller spikes protruding the crown of its head. It wielded a massive spiked sword, one side has red spikes and the other has faint bluish gray spikes. It also carried a shield. Additionally, it has a pair of wing-like daggers. Its small red glowing eyes scanned its newfound opponents to slay.
Panting with heavy breathing, Hifumi grimaced at the sight of the two monstrosities. “I can’t focus… just what are those creatures?”
Setting his sights on the two creatures, the red-eyed Revenant growled intensely, but mostly at the 7’0 foot tall armored giant.
“A Lost here?!” The Revenant yelled out, gnashing his teeth angrily.
“A Lost?” A bewildered Hifumi queried to the Revenant. “Is that what they are?”
“Just the giant. I can’t identify the other one,” he replied as the Ogress sinisterly chuckled toward him and Hifumi.
“Based on its appearance, it appears to be a demon,” Hifumi muttered.
“A demon?”
“More like a Yokai. They’re based on our country’s folklore.”
Wasting no time to spill some blood, the Ogress anxiously flew at them with her claws ready to skewer them. As the Revenant readied to fight back, Hifumi swiftly grabbed him and yanked him back from the Ogress’ attempted killing blow. Hifumi ran across the demonic dimension with the unnamed stranger. Growling in frustration, the Ogress pursued them. The Queen’s Knight hefted its spiked sword and sauntered close behind the Yokai.
As Hifumi and the mysterious youth outpaced the Ogress, Hifumi briefly conversed with the Revenant.
“You said you’re a Revenant. What is that? I saw your fangs. Are you a type of vampire? And what is a Lost?” She hit him with a barrage of questions he wasn’t prepared for.
Barely catching up, the stranger answered, “I’m a Revenant, but I’m not this vampire you speak of. And that giant with the sword is a Lost. They’re fiendish creatures I’ve fought from…my world.”
“Your world?” Hifumi was confused by this vague revelation. “Then, are you not from here?”
“Let’s hurry! That other creature is catching up!” The Revenant grabbed Hifumi’s hand and escorted her away.
“All I can say is I shouldn’t be in this world,” he muttered with despair. “A chain of events is happening.”
“What do you mean?”
Before Hifumi could get an answer, the Ogress deeply inhaled and expelled fire from her mouth. As Hifumi and the Revenant stopped at a dead end, the flames came forward to engulf them. Using the strength he could use, he pushed Hifumi away and ducked to avoid the flames. When they fell, she was right on top of him, her hand unknowingly touching the Revenant’s amber bead.
With luck, they survived a near death situation. However, loud footsteps emanated from the other side of the hallway. Stepping out from a corner, the Queen’s Knight found them and roared a beastly bellow. Lowly chuckling, the Ogress approached her victims.
“You can still fight, right?” Hifumi asked the Revenant, withdrawing her hand from the amber bead.
“I can, but I haven’t fully recovered since waking up.” He said, checking for the amber object he kept safely tucked inside his shirt. ‘But, I’ll protect us both… just stay behind me, Togo Hifumi.” He instinctively stood in front of Hifumi as if he were protecting one of his own kind. His red eyes scanned the Ogress and Queen’s Knight, the latter would be the harder foe to defeat.
Backing away, Hifumi meticulously eyes the demonic dimension. Realizing she was no longer in her family’s household, her mind raced while trying to comprehend all that just happened. Was this all real? She thought.
Hifumi heard the Revenant’s intense roar as he charged forward to fight the Ogress and Queen’s Knight with reckless abandon.
Ueno Park (上野公園,)/Taitō, Tokyo (台東区, 東京)/5:56 PM (JST)
A similar distortion opened up and released hostile energies into the vicinity. Witnessing the strange occurrence unfold before them, Yumeko and her two friends were initially confused about what this entailed. However, their worries were verified when a Yokai group materialized.
“Are you two seeing this?!” Ryōta alarmed his two friends.
“Monsters?! Here?!” Mary exclaimed like any sane person would when seeing supernatural entities in the same place.
However, Yumeko seemingly fell into a trance and grasped her bosom. “Those are real? Are we sure they aren’t special effects?”
Ryōta shook Yumeko’s shoulders. “Do you see any film crew here?! We need to get out of here!”
“If that’s the case, yes let’s go,” Yumeko nodded as she prepared to leave with her friends.
Several female Yokai, called Flying Bolts, in long cotton cloth covering their half-naked bodies materialized. Their pale-skinned figures were mostly naked with certain areas covered, namely around their bosoms, crotch & waistlines, and heavy bandaged layers all over the right leg. They had long black hair, black teeth, black sharp fingernails, and black long nails. White ethereal aura formed over them. They let out otherworldly sensual moans and giggled evilly.
Accompanying the Flying Bolts are samurai-armored, sword-wielding, white-faced, slender-necked Yokai called Rokurokubi.
Six tiny malnourished humanoid Yokai with sharp claws known as Gaki appeared.
Joining these demonic entities is a Kasha, a pale-skinned woman with long, back-length black hair, black-armored hands & claws, and a dark pink kimono exposing her front cleavage and her large breasts. A pair of glowing molten yellow cat ears, yellow cat eyes coupled with black sclera, and cat whiskers, making her a Yokai catgirl. Sitting on top of a pair of massive wheels imbued with glowing orange crystals, the Yokai produced a long whip imbued with fire, which she used to slap the ground with and unleashed an explosive trail of flames.
The Yokai turned their gaze on Yumeko and her friends. Locking eyes with the trio, a malevolent smirk crossed Kasha’s cat-like features and tossed her fiery whip at them. The whip created a fiery wall that interceded their escape route.
“Shit, they got us trapped!” Mary fearfully cried out.
“That demon cat lady’s got a fire whip! One hit from that and we’re goners!” Ryōta exclaimed.
“Cat lady?” Yumeko turned to meet Kasha’s gaze. Before she realized it, the Gaki surrounded her, Mary, and Ryōta. “Are these your friends?”
A fiendish smile formed on Kasha’s face as she prepared to make the three humans her own playthings. Kasha beckoned the Gaki, the Flying Bolts, and Rokurokubi to trap them.
Panicking, Mary screamed loudly. “Get back! What do you want with us?!”
“We’re really going to die here, are we?!” Ryōta cried out in fear of his and his friends’ lives.
“Hey!” Yumeko slapped a Gaki’s face. She then looked up at Kasha. “Tell your friends to keep their hands to themselves! Unless you want to play a game and if we win you let us go?”
“I doubt that’s going to work, Yumeko!” Ryōta yelled out, pulling her back from the Yokai.
On the other hand, Kasha has other plans for the trio. Readying her fiery whip, she watched her Yokai minions box the three humans in and threw her whip forward, forging a wall of flames that confined the trio.
Kichijōji, Tokyo (吉祥寺, 東京)/6:00 PM (JST)
A powerful and sudden tremor shook the prefecture, causing some panic. Many civilians were caught by surprise.
Falling on the floor, Sumire dropped her glasses. She then heard panicked cries from civilians and picked up her glasses.
“What’s going on now?” She wondered, seemingly forgetting that a tremor just occurred, but earthquakes were often a normal occurrence in Tokyo. She put her glasses back on.
Then, what she saw wasn’t a normal natural disaster. Seeing the crowds flee in terror, Sumire slowly propped herself from the floor. Lifting her head and eyes upward, she witnessed a group of Yokai and Lost appear in the vicinity.
Among the Yokai present: The Great Centipede, a large demon centipede with a skull-faced visage and giant mandibles with enough power to crush bones, folded its body over an infrastructure, but seemingly ignored the fleeing crowds.
Appearing with the demonic centipede is Joro-Gumo, a spider-woman with an upper woman’s body and a spider’s body with armored legs for the lower half.
Amassed around the Joro-Gumo are Yamanba, a group of short Yokai resembling old hags and carrying blood-stained knives.
Another Yokai that appeared spun around like a fiery tornado. As it stopped spinning around, the Enenra, a light gray-skinned creature with glowing red eyes and tusk jutting from its bottom mouth, appeared. Long black tendrils shaped over its head.
As if the Yokai pestilence wasn’t enough, a few Lost appeared.
Of the Lost, one among them led the rest, the Butterfly of Delirium, a half-naked woman with pinkish skin that wore next to nothing, except metallic golden armor covering her breasts, her lower abdomen & space between her legs, and footwear starting from the shin to the feet. Her white hair spiked up into tendril-like extensions. There were other tendrils that emerged from her back with purple spore-shaped ends. She has six 6’0 feet long purple butterfly wings, three on each side, granting her flight. A fat demonic head, doubling as her tail, poked out from her buttock area and opened its mouth full of sharp teeth.
In addition to the Butterfly, a fleet of masked humanoids garbed in gray garments, known as Euphoric Soldiers, appeared wielding either swords, axes, bayonets, and shields. All of them have one red eye glowing inside their masks.
Other Lost included two behemoths called Raging Noblewomen appeared. With similar builds like the Stonecrushers, they are more obese. They have on horned masks and two large tubes coming out of their backs.
Accompanying these warrior Lost are Dark Vampire Wolves, canines resembling large mutated hounds with gray skin and black-headed crests.
With her mind trying to process what he was seeing, Sumire choked out. “...monsters? They don’t look or feel like Shadows! They’re real…!” Before she can finish, one of the Dark Vampire Wolves growled toward her direction.
Once the wolf found Sumire, the other Lost and Yokai attentively faced Sumire’s direction. Sumire noted the creatures ignored the fleeing crowds and focused solitarily on her. It seemed they have no interest in other humans. Only she got their attention and she couldn’t comprehend why. Before she could further process what she was seeing, the wolf rushed in to snatch Sumire in its jaws.
Instinctively preparing to fight back, Sumire just then remembered she no longer has access to Mementos. Therefore, she no longer has access to the source to turn her into a Phantom Thief. Her mind snapped back to the reality of her situation. The wolf lunged at her ready to maul her. Closing her eyes, she prepared to accept her fate.
A few seconds later, Sumire reopened her eyes and found herself in someone’s arms. Her eyes scanned an arm folded over her. She looked up and recognized the face of her rescuer. Half expecting it to be Amamiya Ren, she was shocked to see someone she wouldn’t have expected to face again.
“How are you ok, Sumire? Or, would you prefer ‘Kasumi’?” A young man’s voice with an etiquette tone said, causing the red-haired woman to gaze into the red eyes of Goro Akechi.
Akechi looked relatively unchanged since the last Sumire saw him. She recognized his shaggy, chin-length brown hair. He wore a green vest and a white dress shirt, both under a brown buttoned coat, blue jeans, and brown loafers. He smiled down at Sumire, who crawled away from him.
“Akechi? B… how? How are you here?!”
Akechi’s smile faded as he faced the Lost and Yokai heading their way.
“I’m afraid I don’t have time to explain. You’re not the only one being pursued by these creatures. As soon as I came here, they chased me. Luckily, I gave them the slip.”
“What are they?”
“Who knows? Demons, I’d venture to guess.”
As Sumire stood, the Lost and Yokai cornered her and Akechi.
“I don’t know how you’re even here, but thank you,” Sumire expressed her gratitude to him saving her.
“Thank me later. Right now, we need to get out of here. Perhaps we can find Amamiya Ren and the others.”
Upon hearing Ren’s name, a distracted look formed on her face. She wouldn’t give to see Ren and the others again, but chances are she may not see them again.
“Stick with me, Sumire. I’ll get us to safety.”
“If we’re able…” She muttered as the monsters continued to corner her and Akechi.
Japan National Stadium (国立競技場)/Shinjuku, Tokyo (新宿区, 東京)/6:05 PM (JST)
While the civilians filed out of the exits, Ren and his friends fell behind the rest. As they spotted an exit, a pair of Snouted Wanderers and a group of Skeleton Warriors blocked their path. Other civilians were trapped with Ren’s group as well, but the monsters showed no interest in the civilians and kept their menacing gazes specifically on the former Phantom Thieves.
“Shit, we’re trapped!” Ryuji cursed.
“Hey, the rest of you find another way out!” Makoto called out, showing her badge to the civilians. “I’m a police officer! Do as I say and find the other exits! You will find exits! Help will be on the way!”
With that, the remaining civilians fled and searched for other exits. Left alone, the Thieves could now focus on the Lost and Yokai presence. As if the situation couldn’t get worse, the Insatiable Despot, Enki, and Ippon-Datara appeared behind Ren’s group.
“And we have no way out,” Makoto muttered.
“At least you helped get those people out of here,” Haru said. “Still, this is not how I want to die!” She fearfully cried out.
“No, this can’t be the end of the road for us,” Morgana refused to accept this to be their fate. “Stay close to me, Lady Ann!”
“And protect me? No offense, there’s no way you can handle these things,” Ann gulped as she and Ren had their backs against the other.
Before the monsters prepared to slaughter Ren’s group, a surge of red light quickly enveloped the group. When the monsters closed in, the raw energies repelled them. Surprised at this turn of events, Ren’s group was baffled as to what could’ve possibly saved them. Although the energy seemed similar to the power that summoned these monsters, this came from an entirely different source and saved them.
Closing his eyes, Ren remembered Lavenza’s words as they burned inside his mind.
"...You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you... ...I beg you. Please overcome this game... and save the world... The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds—the truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began that day... when the game was started half a year ago... For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own... you must remember..."
These words resurfaced as a reminder to Ren and company’s early days being vigilantes that went against the corrupted system to give society its freedom. Now, these vestiges returned to Ren and his friends’ minds, restoring the masks they once wore and granting them access to their Metaverse powers again.
As the crimson light diminished, Ren and his friends were gone. In their place, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts resurfaced in their full glory. Their masks and outfits returned to them. Upon realizing they were Phantom Thieves again, the awestruck group was pleasantly shocked.
Their leader, Ren, became Joker again. The trickster had on his stylish black ankle-length tailcoat, the high-necked waistcoat with the yellow accents, black pants, the dark brown winkle picker shoes, and the red gloves. His black and white domino mask shaped like a bird’s face resurfaced on his face, concealing most of his face, but his intense gaze and confident flare beamed through. Joker readily brandished his Paradise Lost dagger and Tyrant Pistol.
Behind Joker is his Persona, Raoul, a sleek-looking, fiendish-looking gentleman garbed in a lavish bright red suit & hat, a pin-striped blue dress shirt & black tie underneath, black pants, and black & yellow sharp-edged, high-heeled shoes. A pair of dark gray metal, demonic wings adorned the gentleman thief’s back.
Ryuji became Skull. Skull had on his black jacket and pants coupled with knee pads. He also had on his red ascot, combat boots, and yellow gloves. The skull mask resurfaced over his face, concealing all but his eyes and mouth. Skull wielded his Ruyi Jingu Bang mace and Megido Fire shotgun.
Behind Skull is his Persona, William, a skull-masked pirate garbed in a sleek black and yellow leather coat with long back coattails, black pants, and black & yellow tennis shoes. Riding on what looks like a silver aerial battleship, the figure carried a massive laser gun into battle.
Morgana became Mona. The cat regained his original anthropomorphic, bipedal tuxedo cat-like appearance. While his body was predominantly black, his limbs, tail, and the bottom front half of his face was white. Fitting the majority of his face is a mask, revealing his elliptic eyes that have white sclera, blue irises, and black pupils. A yellow scarf tied around his neck. He also carried a utility belt around his hips. Mona held both his Claiomh Solais scimitar and Sudarshana slingshot.
Behind Mona is his Persona, Diego, a nobleman swordsman with a robust upper body frame and a slimmer lower half. The nobleman had on a long-sleeved white dress shirt with large sleeve cuffs with turquoise patches and elaborate designs over it. The Persona also has on turquoise gloves, dark blue jeans coupled with a large silver belt buckle centered on top of a brown waist belt, light brown boots, a black mask coupled with a dark blue long bandana, a dark blue rose on the chest, and two horizontal protrusions sticking outward on both ends of the face. He pulled out a rapier sword and readied it for combat.
Ann resumed her identity as Panther. Panther once again donned her skintight red latex catsuit. The catsuit had its cleavage cutout and zippers intact. Coupled with the catsuit, the red panther mask materialized over her face. Pink gloves, dark red high-heel boots, and a clipped tail completed her sultry Phantom Thief suit. Panther brandished the Naraka Whip and Wild Hunt submachine gun.
Behind Panther is her Persona, Celestine, a woman with bright pink skin and garbed in skintight black upper attire, including a black crop top and matching colored latex booty shorts. Strapped across the booty shorts are two white leather belts with full red lips centered over them. The woman’s left leg is covered in a knee high pink and black pinstriped sock. Her right leg is covered in a knee high solid dark pink sock. Celestine’s footwear is leather black high-heeled shoes. She also has on a leather black coat and black gloves. A black hat with long ears adorned Celestine’s head, covering her red hair. However, the hat wasn’t large enough to conceal the long braided bright red pigtails that doubled as nooses, hanging a strange-looking Chippendale dummy with a round black head. Another Chippendale sat hunched on all fours, providing itself as Celestine’s personal footstool.
Yusuke became Fox. Fox wore his black high-collared and puff-sleeved jumpsuit, white motorcycle-style boots, and bright blue gloves. Other accessories consisted of a white fox tail on his bottom jumpsuit, a striped sash worn across his hips, and a traditional Japanese kitsune-style half mask. Fox readied both his Usumidori katana and Heaven's Gate assault rifle.
Behind Fox is his Persona, Gorokichi, a metal-faced male humanoid with a bubblegum blue pompadour with red accents and neon-colored clothes. Long, outlandish red shades with sharp edges covered up the eyes. Gorokichi has on a thick leopard-style coat trimmed with bright pink fur. Underneath the thick leopard coat, the flashy Persona wore a see through mesh shirt, black skinny leather pants, and high-heeled platform shoes. Centered on the Persona’s chest is a golden chain with a ‘5’ on it. The Persona held a long metal blunt, which it inhaled before giving a few huffs and spewing smoke.
Makoto regained her Queen status. The dark blue and black skin tight suit formed over Makoto. Her Phantom Thief outfit also gained its long black scarf, a dark gray corset-style breast armor, shoulder & knee pads with spikes. She has boots with metal heels and toes. Clenching her fists, her hands are fitted in white gloves. Her iron mask reformed on her face. Queen readied her Sabazois knuckles and Judge of the Dead revolver.
Beside Queen is her Persona, Agnes, a steel black motorbike imbued with brilliant golden embellishments and armored guards. Adorning the hood of the motorbike is a golden statue head of the legendary Pope Joan. The head of the statue head has wings like an angel’s, a clear indicator of this pope’s status as a holy woman serving God. The front section of the motorbike has a golden guard, giving it and its rider protection. Inside the motorbike is a slot with a sizable seat for its Queen.
Futaba became Oracle. She regained her skintight fluorescent neon green striped bodysuit and matching black boots with neon green soles. Doubling as her mask, Oracle had on her large black goggles with orange lenses.
Oracle was inside her Persona, Al Azif, a triangular-bodied silver spaceship with four smaller green triangular embellishments on its surface, including a larger-sized one centered on the top side, giving it a somewhat pyramid-like shape.
Finally, Haru regained her Noir status. She has on her long-sleeved pale pink blouse with a white neck jabot, a black corset vest with golden buttons, bloomers matching her royal purple hatband, black pantyhose, a holster belt carrying her ammo. Adorning her curly hair is a dark purple cavalier hat with a single feather plume tucked into her hatband. Her hands are fitted inside black and violet gloves. A dark and violet mask materialized over her face. Noir is wielding the Fleurs du Mal ax and Yagrush grenade launcher.
Behind Noir is her Persona, Lucy, a vague-looking shadow woman concealed underneath a large, thick caramel-colored dress coat with large, round golden buttons and black & purple dress sides. She has on a neck scarf tied, also covering her head, consisting of varying striped colors: blue, purple, rose, lavender, and hot pink. Her main accessory is white shades with red lenses. Adorning the top of her head is a yellow cloth. In her left hand, Lucy carried a metal gray briefcase.
Futaba was the first to break the unending silence. “No way! This is for real?!” She then noticed her short hair not only became long, back-length, but regained the dyed orange she once had.
Likewise, Ryuji noticed his blonde hair returned. “Dudes, how did we not see this coming?! My hair and goatee are back to the color I had before!”
The group let the realization sink in.
The Phantom Thieves have returned.
“I can’t believe it,” Fox was awestruck.
“We’re in our Metaverse forms again!” Noir realized.
“And I’m me again?!” Mona cried out in joy over the return of his Metaverse appearance. “But, hold on a minute! The Metaverse was supposed to be gone completely now!”
“Moreover, our Personas are in their third awakened Ultimate states!” Panther exclaimed. “They didn’t reset back to their original states like last time!”
“I don’t know how these monsters got here, but that strange energy we saw wasn’t directly from the Metaverse,” Queen assessed the monsters with keen observation.
Readying his Tyrant Pistol, Joker coldly scowled toward the creatures. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad to be out of retirement.” The scowl on his face turned into a sinister grin. “Now, I’m feeling fired up. After all we’ve faced and beaten, including Yaldabaoth, these things look like a piece of cake to me!” With a hand wave, he readily beckoned Raoul forward to confront the Lost and Yokai.
“Hell yeah, man! Let’s kick their ass straight out here!” Skull boasted, calling forth William in front of him.
Mona rolled his eyes. “Still, full of yourself, aren’t you, Skull?”
“Here they come!” Panther called out, bringing down her whip to the ground with a loud thack. “Ready to show these things the door, Celestine?!” She raised a hand and pointed to their enemies.
At that moment, a fierce battle erupted. The Phantom Thieves and their Personas fended off the Lost and Yokai entities. Before the Thieves landed their attacks, Oracle boosted her party members, greatly enhancing their speed.
“Here we go! Speed up!” Oracle announced from within Al Azif.
“Treat them like you would any Shadow!” Joker charged, slashing through two ax-wielding Shamed Thralls with his Paradise Lost dagger and beheaded an Onryoki. Turning his Tyrant Pistol, he shot down several Skeleton Warriors. A sword-wielding Shamed Thrall ran at the Phantom Thief leader, but quickly fell to pistol shots. When an Onyroki snuck up behind him, Mona jumped in and slingshotted the creature’s face.
“You totally owe me for that save!” Mona proudly cried out.
Wearing a sly grin on his face, Joker shoved his dagger through the Onryoki’s belly, slicing through and opening up its intestines. Upon seeing this grisly scene, Joker averted his nose from the putrid smell from the Yokai’s intestines.
“So, they are real. This changes some things,” Joker verified the nature of these beasts. He then called out to the other Thieves. “Just a heads up, they’re real monsters, but don’t let that hold you back!”
The gravely injured Onryoki slapped Joker away with its claw. Upon landing on his feet, Joker recovered and shook off the direct hit he took from the Yokai.
“Now, you’ve done it!” Joker raised a hand, beckoning Raoul to do his deed. “Go! Raoul!”
Raoul lifted a hand and conjured a projection of the full moon over Onryoki, a few Skeleton Axemen, and Snouted Wanderers. The moon’s light cast a sleeping spell, known as Phantom Show, on the group of Yokai and Lost monsters.
“Now ravage them!” Joker commanded as Raoul unleashed red beams that tore into and cleansed the creatures away.
When a Stonecrusher and several Yoki charged at Joker, the Phantom Thief rushed at the Yoki first. Switching between his dagger and pistol, he slashed apart and fired holes through the Yoki. As he approached the Stonecrusher, the rotund behemoth swung its massive sword over him.
“Come forth, Satanael!” Joker called and evaded Stonecrusher’s crushing force.
A burst of blue flames came shooting out from his mask, conjuring a large demonic entity. Towering behind Joker, the 10-foot tall archangel materialized with six black fallen angel wings. It was downscaled compared to its gargantuan presence in the final phase of the Yaldabaoth battle. Two sets of horns adorned the demon’s head. Two horns curved outward at the front while the other pair of horns poked out of the back of its head. Its arms, covered in black armor coupled with a red cloth strapped over the right side of its body, were conjoined with two massive shoulder armor. Its legs are long and almost disappointed with the rest of its upper body. Despite its human-like face, Satanael’s red eyes gave it an otherworldly and demonic aura, differentiating it from a mortal man. The front part of its face is covered by a mask resembling the top and front part of a skull’s face.
Lifting its right arm, the archangel readied its Riot Gun. Satanael painstakingly faced the Stonecrusher. It then fired Riot Gun from its pistol to blow a hole through the Lost creature. Skewered, maimed bodies and monsters full of bullet holes covered the area until all of them dissolved into a mix of red and black dust.
Skull and Fox faced off against a pair of cleaver-wielding Namahage. Swinging their cleavers at the Phantom Thieves, the duo casually evaded. Using Gorokichi, Fox’s Persona cast Myriad Blooms to increase his and Skull’s attack and defense stats.
Fox unleashed Bufudyne, freezing one of the Namahage. Using his katana, Fox then stabbed one Namahage’s forehead and sliced through its brain. He then brutally slashed its face open, leaving it to drop dead.
Skull dodged the other Namahage’s cleaver and smashed its face with his mace. He then beckoned his Persona for him to blast away the Namahage with Megaton Raid.
Just then, the Enki roared and charged at Skull.
“Look out, Skull!” Fox called out as a hammer-wielding Shamed Thrall blocked his path.
Already well ahead of the Enki’s approach, Skull beckoned William to stop the Yokai monkey’s spear. As William gave him Soul Injection, a greatly enhanced Skull quickly fired shots into the Enki’s hide. As the monkey’s forehead horn glowed, it fired a blast from the crystallized protrusion. Narrowly dodging, Skull climbed up the monkey’s back and smashed its horn with his mace.
William then finished off the Enki with his laser gun.
“Hell yeah! Now we’re fired up, William!” Skull boasted.
In quick succession, Fox and Gorokichi finished off the Shamed Thrall.
“That was easier than cleaning my brushes,” Fox whimsically remarked.
On the opposite side of the arena, a group of Lost, three Onryoki, and an Ippon Datara surrounded Mona and Panther. The Thieves nodded to each other and beckoned their Personas to assist them. Utilizing Magarudyne, Mona blasted away some Snouted Wanderers and Shamed Thralls. Brandishing his rapier, Diego used Miracle Rush, skewering two Onryoki and Shamed Thralls.
Turning over to Panther, Mona smiled. “Alright, Panther!”
Bringing down her whip, Panther unleashed a wave of flames. As Celestine empowered her with High Tension, the red leather clad Thief quickly wiped out the last Onryoki and Lost with Blazing Hell.
Just then, the Ippon-Datara stepped in to face Panther and Mona.
“This looks like a job for our Personas, Panther,” Mona suggested, eliciting a nod from the red leather clad woman.
“Dance, Celestine!” Panther beckoned her Persona to assist Diego against the large hammer-wielding Yokai.
Diego briefly engaged Ippon-Datara with his rapier. Ippon-Datara tried to keep up, but the more skilled swordsman outdid the Yokai and slashed it with quick and successive strikes. When the Yokai fought back, Celestine stepped in and helped Diego dismember Ippon-Datara with attacks.
“Wow, Panther!” Mona chimed in Panther winked at him.
“That’ll show them!” She added with a peace sign.
Noir and Queen faced incoming monsters from encompassing directions. Several Skeleton Warriors, Snouted Wanderers, and a Stonecrusher. The duo quickly split up to take the remaining monsters.
Several Skeleton Warriors attacked Noir. Evading their strikes, Noir cut beheaded and disarmed them with her ax. At one point, she split a Skeleton Warrior’s skull in two with her ax.
When several Snouted Wanderers ambushed Noir, Lucy conjured Life Wall to guard Noir. As Lucy occupied the Lost, Noir obliterated the monsters with Psiodyne.
“There’s a big one heading our way, Queen!” Noir called out to her Thief colleague, who was already revving up Agnes.
“I’m on it!” Queen faced the Stonecrusher. “You’re a big one, but can you handle my fists of justice?” She drove Agnes forward. A group of Yokai and Lost barricaded the Stonecrusher, but that didn’t stop Queen and her Persona hitting them with Checkmate, not only decreasing their attack and defense powers but also running them down like roadkill.
Hefting its sword, Stonecrusher dropped its heavy sword down, which Queen and Agnes narrowly evaded at the last second. Spinning Agnes around, Queen spotted a platform as an idea came to her. She drove her Persona toward the ramp and launched high into the air. Hopping off her Persona, the Thief somersaulted over the Stonecrusher. She then came down and delivered a combo of punches and a kick to the Lost’s face, knocking it down to its knees.
With her ax, Noir crippled the back of the Stonecrusher’s knees. Queen then finished the Lost with a Freidyne, annihilating the monster as its blood-curdling bellows rang out.
Landing on her feet, Queen inhaled and sighed, recognizing she just killed a real creature.
“Ok, so that was an actual monster. Not a Shadow, but what difference does it make? It was trying to kill us,” Queen muttered.
Noir patted Queen’s back. “Yes, this is something new for us, but we’ll deal with it.”
“Yeah…” Queen then turned and gasped when the Insatiable Despot methodically paced toward them.
Calling Raoul and Satanael over, Joker confronted the largest threat out of the monsters. Put off by its menacing grin, the Phantom Thief rushed ahead and fired pistol shots. The Despot evaded the shots and raised a hand, summoning a red circle beneath Joker’s feet. Seeing this, Joker jumped out of the way and saw a red crystal materialize. Seeing a Lost creature forming inside this crystal, Joker fired a pistol shot and shattered the crystal into pieces, ceasing the Lost’s development.
Suddenly, the Despot jumped in front of Joker, knocking the Phantom Thief back. Responding to the Thief’s plight, Raoul intercepted a spinning attack from the Lost. Satanael blasted the Despot with Cosmic Flare.
Getting up to his feet, Joker favored his side.
“I could use a boost, Oracle.”
“I gotcha, bro!” Oracle chimed in as she restored his physical condition. “And I’ve boosted your defenses! Get ‘em, Joker!”
Joker coolly smirked. “Thanks. Alright, let’s end this, Raoul!” He directed Persona to end the battle.
Going for another spinning attack, the Despot slammed into Raoul. The Persona halted the Lost and cast a sleeping spell.
“Get ready, everyone!” Joker beckoned the other Thieves.
“Time for a beatdown!” Oracle announced as she joined in with the Phantom Thieves and unleashed an All-Out Attack on the Despot.
Following the Thieves’ ultimate beatdown, the Despot’s body became consumed by blue flames and collapsed. Its burning body buckled and exploded into black dust.
“That’s all of them,” Queen scanned the empty arena.
“I can’t believe we just killed real monsters, yo,” Skull pointed out the sentient nature of these next enemies.
“Definitely real,” Noir suggested.
“Well, they at least dissolve when they die. So, good thing we don’t leave corpses behind,” Mona acknowledged the similarities with Shadows.
“But, regular people were able to see the monsters. On top of that, we just fought physical entities. Clearly, they’re not cognitive beings from the Metaverse.” Fox stated.
Mona nodded. “Right, the Metaverse is gone now. Who knows where these things might’ve come from?”
Suddenly, they heard crowds of people outside the arena cheering the Thieves on big screen monitors. The group turned to each other.
“We better get out of here. We’ll talk more about our enemies somewhere these people can’t find us,” Mona suggested as they vanished in a veil of smoke.
Kichijōji, Tokyo (吉祥寺, 東京)/6:15 PM (JST)
Akechi and Sumire were cornered by the Lost and Yokai. Finding themselves with no way out, they resigned to their inevitable fates.
That is until an unknown source of energy stirred within them. Two beams of light flashed over their faces, blindsiding the creatures. Akechi and Sumire saw masks materialize over their faces. Caressing their masked faces, their apprehensive demeanors changed. Their steely eyes glared at the monsters.
Exchanging firm gazes, Akechi and Sumire realized their masks meant the return of their Metaverse-based powers. However, with the Metaverse gone, they briefly wondered how their powers became accessible again.
“How is this possible?” Sumire wondered about this.
“We can ask questions later. We still have them to deal with!” Akechi answered as they both faced their opposition.
Seizing the moment to strike, Great Centipede launched at Akechi and Sumire. A burst of blue flames formed in front of the two and repelled the demonic centipede. The other Yokai and Lost tried to intervene, but the flames pushed them away.
A veil of translucent light enveloped Sumire, cleansing her body of her clothes and leaving in a nude state. Then, numerous rings of blue flames coalesced all over her body, creating a new set of clothing out of thin air. Undergoing a transformation reminiscent of a magical girl, a new set of outfitted clothing materialized over her. Sumire recognized her black mask with the silver accents. She was outfitted in a strapless black leotard coupled with a chain belt with two silver rose motifs, a black choker, and red gloves. She also has on black bolero jacket with golden buttons, ruffled sleeves, and three floor-length coattails. Thigh-length hose covered most of her legs. Her footwear is stiletto-heels that resemble ballet shoes. Upon placing a hand over her mask, she removed her glasses and pulled up her long hair, tying it into a ponytail with a black ribbon. A scabbard then materialized in front of her. Grabbing the scabbard, Sumire pulled her Sword of Sinai rapier out of it and brandished her weapon, alongside her Sahasrara rifle. Sumire has once again donned her Violet guise.
Next to Violet is her Persona, Ella, a tall pale and pristine-looking woman with a resemblance to Cinderella, even using Cinderella’s real name based on adaptations of the story. Her body is stainless and clear like glass. The Persona has on a waist-length white dress and thigh-length glass legwear with stiletto-heel ice skates. A long back-length veil, doubling for hair, cascaded down her back. A white-flowered headdress shaped the Persona’s crown. In her left hand, Ella carried a bouquet of white flowers.
Once again donning his Crow garb, Akechi was outfitted in a black and blue-striped full-bodied outfit. Several black belts are strapped to his arms and legs. A dark knight helmet enclosed over his head with a red mask resembling a sharp beak. His outfit gave off a chaotic vibe, matching his previous lack of agency. It contrasted his old princely outfit that not only gave a heroic aura but masked his true character and intentions. Behind his mask, his steely gaze met the Lost and Yokai with intense ferocity. Crow wielded both his Hinokagutsuchi laser sword and Doomsday ray gun.
Next to Crow is his Persona, Hereward, a massive black-bodied humanoid with a burly upper body built. The Persona’s head in contrast to its upper body size was disproportionately smaller. Bat-shaped wings adorned the sides of Hereward’s head. Hereward opened up its sharp red eyes, using them to scan the enemy monsters. In its right hand, the Persona carried a long steel compound bow and a dark gray arrow. A pair of knee-length dark gray boots made up the footwear. Adorning its waist is a black waist belt with a pair of black hip quivers.
The Lost and Yokai erratically became drawn to Violet and Crow’s powers. Having seen their Persona materialize, the creatures launched an attack on the two Phantom Thieves.
“Shall we?” Crow queried.
Quickly drawing out her rapier, Violet pointed it at the Lost and Yokai’s direction. “Shall we go, Ella?!” She and her Persona performed a ballet duet
Crow beckoned his Persona. “Let’s deliver justice, Hereward!”
With that, the two Phantom Thieves and their Personas quickly fended off the Lost and Yokai, first eradicating the lower-level Yokai. Half of the Yamanba fell to Violet and Crow’s swift attacks. Violet skewered a few with her rapier. Crow slashed away some with his serrated swords.
Several Euphoric Soldiers rushed at Crow and Violet. As a sword-wielding Soldier attacked the duo, Crow intercepted the Lost and delivered a double slash, cutting up the creature as it screeched and dissolved into dust. An ax-wielding Euphoric Soldier swung at Crow. Violet quickly stepped in and shoved her rapier through the ax-wielding monster’s back. She twisted and slid her rapier’s blade through the Lost’s body, bisecting it into two halves. Then, a bayonet-wielding Euphoric Soldier and a shield-wielding one attacked Crow and Violet. The two Phantom Thieves fought off the Lost.
The other Yokai and Lost surrounded Hereward and Ella. Despite being completely outnumbered, the Personas managed to stand their ground. Hearing the beckoning of their Phantom Thief wielders, Hereward and Ella fended them off.
Joro-Gumo rushed at Ella first, but the ballet dancer performed a backflip and used Masquerade. She sliced through spider woman with her ice skate’s blades. After quickly splitting the Yokai spider in two, Ella was quickly knocked back by Enenra’s spinning body tornado. Enenra tried another fiery tornado attack, but Ella tossed her bouquet at the Yokai. The bouquet exploded, obliterating Enenra completely.
Escorted by the two Raging Noblewomen with hunting dogs, a pack of Dark Vampire Wolves lunged at Hereward. Hereward quickly readied and fired an arrow, quickly wiping out the wolf pack. One of the Noblewomen raised and swung its giant hammer over Hereward. Evading a direct attack, Hereward struck the rotund Lost with Rebel’s Blade. However, the Noblewoman kept coming. Another blow from Hereward’s attack ended it.
Shifting sights on Crow and Violet, the other Raging Noblewoman headed them off. Lifting her hammer over them, the Noblewoman prepared to pound them like ground beef. Seeing the attack coming, the Phantom Thieves narrowly dodged the hammer coming down on them quickly. Rolling over to the Noblewoman’s left side, Violet slashed the back of the rotund creature’s right leg. Rapidly swinging his serrated swords, Crow took out the other leg. Once bringing down the obese monster, Ella quickly beheaded the creature with his skate blades.
As the last Noblewoman collapsed in a heap, its massive body dissolved. Taking advantage of the distracted Thieves, the Butterfly of Delirium quickly dove and unleashed five purple projectiles at them.
“Look out!” Crow pointed to the incoming projectiles targeting them.
Taking heed of his warning, Violet rolled away as the projectiles released a purple poisonous mist that blanketed the vicinity. Evading contact with the poison, the Thieves set their sights upward as the winged behemoth roared above them. They also heard the bellow from the Great Centipede. Launching forward for a powerful bite, the Thieves narrowly evaded getting caught in massive pincers.
“That was close!” Violet cried out, taking in deep breaths from all the running and evading. At any given moment, they came close to meeting their fates.
“I know, but we still have our Personas at their absolute peak. We can’t lose to these monstrosities!” Crow boasted, doing his best to lift Violet’s spirits.
As the Great Centipede turned around, it sprayed a poisonous ball at the Thieves. They dodged the putrid ball as it landed near a vehicle and melted it down. Watching the car melt down into goo, they realized that could’ve been them. The fact these were real physical monsters and not cognitions became an eye opener to them.
“Despite the fact they’re real monsters, we must slay them as if they are Shadows,” Crow reminded them.
“Yes,” Violet nodded, the shock etched on her face was replaced with resolve. She beckoned to her Persona. “Ella!”
“Hereward, show them no mercy!” Crow called out.
Heeding the call from their respective summoners, the Personas turned loose on the Butterfly of Delirium and the Great Centipede.
When the Butterfly swooped down with a tail swing, Hereward dodged and readied an arrow. The winged Lost quickly took to the air and landed a double hit strike. Absorbing the impact from the Butterfly’s front attacks, Hereward punched the Butterfly away. Rebounding from Hereward’s blow, a whirlwind attack from the Butterfly knocked Hereward down.
“Stand up, Hereward!” Crow shouted.
Standing up, Hereward watched the Butterfly lift its tail and fired a purple beam. Hereward dodged backward and waited for the beam to fade. Then, Hereward quickly sensed the Butterfly flying from the left. Almost taking Hereward with a surprise attack, the winged Lost prepared to shroud herself and Hereward with a poisonous mist.
“End it,” intensely gritted Crow as Hereward fired and plunged an arrow through the Butterfly’s torso, killing it as its body dissolved into black mist.
The Great Centipede collided head on with Ella. The Persona kicked her skates into the centipede Lost’s face. Ella shoved her skate blades into the centipedes’ vehicle crushing mandibles.
“Break its defenses, Ella!” Violet called out to her Persona.
Kicking both feet up, Ella’s ice skate blades broke off the Great Centipede’s mandibles. Despite losing its second set of jaws, the Great Centipede’s primary mouth expelled a large rock. Ella performed a ballerina dance and kicked her left foot up, shattering the rock into pieces. Skating toward the Great Centipede’s right side, Ella landed another kick and broke off segments of the Yokai’s armored body.
“Let’s finish this performance!” Violet declared, watching her Persona somersault high into the air.
Recovering from Ella’s attack, the Great Centipede met its end when the Persona dropped down and crushed its head with her ice skate’s blades. Delivering a crushing blow, Ella took a bow to her dance partner Violet.
With the Lost and Yokai removed, the Personas returned to their summoners and vanished.
While trying to take in everything they experienced, Violet and Crow exchanged bewildered looks. They never thought they’d be called back into action to deal with otherworldly entities.
Before either Thief could try to answer each other’s questions, sirens from the police were heard. Knowing they’ll be confronted by the police, the two Thieves bolted off into hiding to undo their superpowered forms.
Upon entering an empty alleyway, they had time to recover from the life and death battle.
“It has been a while, hasn’t it?” Crow half-chuckled, modestly smiling to Violet.
After a few deep breaths, Violet shut her eyes and sighed. “Too long. What were those things? They were too real! Even people were able to see them!”
“Who knows, but they’re clearly not Shadows and there’s no Metaverse anymore. In other words, these monsters had to come from a different source.”
“And you don’t know?”
“I’m afraid not. I think this is where we go and see the Phantom Thieves. Surely monsters were sent to attack them.”
Hearing this, Violet’s eyes softened. “You know, these monsters only attacked us. They didn’t even pay attention to the civilians. Why just us?”
“Probably whoever sent these creatures programmed them to specifically hunt us. If that’s true, the Phantom Thieves are in trouble.”
Clasping a hand over her chest, she smiled. “I do want to see Ren-senpai and his friends again.”
“Don’t we both? So, how about we surprise him and the others?” Crow nodded.
“Yes, let’s see them.”
Distorted Japanese House/Kanda (神田)/Chiyoda, Tokyo (千代田区, 東京)/6:20 PM (JST)
Gliding forward headlong at Hifumi and the Revenant, the Ogress attacked again. In response, the Revenant conjured a long single-edged, one-handed sword. With a swing, the Revenant narrowly missed the Ogress, reeling from disorientation after waking up. The Ogress tried to attack again, but the Revenant invoked a power. “Taste the power of my Queenslayer.” With it, he produced Frenzied Fire, a dark projectile, that repelled and damaged the Ogress.
“What was that?!” Observing from the sideline, Hifumi was taken aback with the Revenant’s ability to conjure ‘magic’ of some kind.
“This? Queenslayer is my Blood Code. It grants me access to my Gifts. What you saw was my Gift called Frenzied Fire. It can do other things like equipping my weapons and Blood Veils.” Clarified the Revenant, eyeing the Queen’s Knight biding its time until the Ogress can inflict damage to them.
“Blood Veils?” She tried to follow everything he said, but could make out a few names despite their language barrier.
“Watch,” the Revenant watched the Ogress floating off the ground. With his eyes glowing red, something materialized from his coat and crawled over his right arm. His right arm quickly converted into a dark armored demonic-looking limb with his fingers becoming red and black claws. “And this is one of my Blood Veils: the Ogre-Type Blood Veil!” He rushed at the Ogress steadfast and went for a killing blow, attempting to shove his demonic-looking hand through the Yokai.
Just when the Yokai quickly dodged, the Revenant still managed to run his claws through the Ogress’ side. Having waited long enough, the Queen’s Knight rushed at the Revenant and brought down its spiked sword. Quickly lifting his Queenslayer’s Blade, the Revenant guarded himself and Hifumi against the Lost’s reach. He delivered a quick slash over the giant’s right leg, but the Knight guarded its leg with its shield. The Knight then kicked the Revenant hard and knocked him into a wall.
“No!” Hifumi cried out. As she ran to him, the Ogress quickly seized her right arm. Hifumi tried prying her hand from the Ogress’ grip, but the Yokai tightened its grip around Hifumi’s wrist. Slowly coming to and seeing Hifumi in danger, the Revenant instinctively stood, but stumbled forward and doubled over.
“Hifumi…!” He called, but the Queen’s Knight charged toward his path again. When the Knight swung down the red side of its spiked sword, the Revenant performed a quick barrel roll, letting the behemoth’s sword obliterate a table in his place. He then activated another Gift and conjured a healing ability called Cleansing Light to repair his bodily damage. Facing the Queen’s Knight, he ran swinging his Queenslayer’s Blade while striking its front legs. After taking out its knees, the Revenant faced Hifumi, who was held captive by the Ogress with its claws to her throat.
“Help me…” Hifumi muttered, her voice strained from fear of the Yokai slitting her throat.
“Don’t move!” The Revenant called out to her.
The woman closed her eyes and prayed in thought. Waiting for her demise to happen, the exact opposite occurred when a beam of energy quickly engulfed her and the Revenant. The mysterious veil of amber energy repelled the Ogress, saving Hifumi’s life.
Seeing them both covered in the same white veil, the Revenant pondered. “What the hell is happening here?” He realized and gazed at the source of the amber light: the amber bead. It glowed, pulsating in conjunction with the amber aura shrouding Hifumi, who was clueless what this entailed.
“Tell me what this means,” Hifumi queried for a clear answer from the Revenant.
He faced her and answered. “My bead! You touched it, didn’t you?!”
“Yes, when we fell, my hand slipped over it.” She eyed the glowing amber bead and gasped. “What is this supposed to signify?”
“This is the Blood Bead that contains Io’s essence,” the Revenant replied, eyeing both the amber bead and Hifumi. “If you touched it, then you’ve absorbed all of her blood from this Blood Bead!”
Realizing this, Hifumi cried out. “What?! Can’t you get it out of me?!”
“I-I can’t… I...” Before he could finish, Hifumi sensed something within her burning. Grinding her teeth, she let out an intense cry. Covering her from head to toe, the Blood Bead’s power coursed through Hifumi, changing her outward appearance. “Hifumi!”
Doubling over, Hifumi cried out and folded her arms across her chest. Something metal quickly materialized over her nose and mouth area. The male Revenant recognized a similar mask he wore covering Hifumi’s face. Hifumi’s green eyes then turned bright gold. Then, the amber veil spread over Hifumi, changing her entire wardrobe.
As the Ogress and Queen’s Knight recovered, the Revenant brandished his Queenslayer Blade. In his right hand, a second weapon materialized: a curved, single-edged blade forged after a katana. Engraved on the blade is named Hanemukuro, seemingly once the property of someone else before this young man took it. Turning to face the two monsters, the Revenant beckoned them off. “Between my Queenslayer Blade and Hanemukuro, you don’t want to cross me!” He quickly faced Hifumi, whose outward clothing changed completely.
With the amber aura fading, Hifumi’s new appearance was revealed. Hifumi’s new wardrobe consisted of a cyan sleeveless dress. The centermost section of her dress cut into a v-shape, revealing some of her bosom. Thick white straps intersected each other and covered the v-shape section where her bare bosom was exposed. Layers of white bandages covered her waist coupled with a black waist belt. Two forearm-length arm warmer accessories formed on her arms, revealing her bare shoulders and her hands. Her hands, coming out the mouth of the arm warmers, revealed cyan fingernails. Two tufts of white-feathered accessories came down her back. New footwear, a pair of white sandals with intersecting cyan straps, formed over her bare feet. Her pedicure nails matched color as her fingernails and dress. Her red hair accessory is retained.
Opening her eyes, her eyes turned green again. As she regained her bearings, she scanned over her new form and was left bewildered.
“Am I really wearing these?” She touched her new wardrobe wear. “Yes, this is real.” She then ran her hands over the mask covering her mouth. “And I have a mouthguard like yours?” She turned to the male Revenant, who was just as astonished at the sight of Hifumi in Revenant-like wear.
“Your form has taken some of Io’s characteristics.”
Much to her surprise, Hifumi heard the Revenant speaking to her in her native tongue. “You can speak my language now?!”
“What? I don’t know what…” He realized he was speaking Japanese to her. “What did I just say?” He muttered in his tongue in befuddlement. “Did Io’s Blood Bead do this…?”
Before he could say anything more, the Ogress and Queen’s Knight became drawn to Hifumi’s new power. As they went to attack her, the male Revenant interceded the Knight’s path and delivered a double slash with both swords. The Ogress managed to slip by to attack Hifumi.
“HIFUMI!” The Revenant cried out to her while fending off the Lost.
As the Ogress expelled fire at Hifumi, the Shogi woman’s perception suddenly heightened, allowing her to feel the Yokai’s attack and sidestep. Overcome with shock, Hifumi realized she just dodged a Yokai’s attack on her own without the male Revenant to save her. When her eyes turned gold, her body instinctively dodged the Ogress’s second fiery attack. When the Ogress flew into Hifumi, the Yokai pushed her against a wall. Finding herself in a scuffle with the Ogress, Hifumi initially struggled to resist. Then, she clutched the Ogress’ hands and pushed her back with newfound strength.
Noticing her new strength, this surprised the woman.
“You’ve inherited Io’s strength! Use it to finish that thing off!”
“But, how?! I’m just realizing now I have super strength and can perceive attacks!” Hifumi exclaimed as the Ogress flew at her.
“Conjure a weapon at will! Anything that comes to mind!”
“Easy for you to say!” Hifumi cried out as she dodged the Yokai. When she turned, the Ogress readied her claws again to skewer Hifumi. Closing her eyes, the woman focused on the new powers coursing through her. Clearing her mind, she imagined the first weapon that came to mind: a ko-naginata.
Suddenly, the Ogress’ claws were halted by something in Hifumi’s hands. Hifumi realized she held a long ko-naginata, which stopped the Yokai’s attack. The Ogress intensely screeched as Hifumi looked her dead in the eyes. The uncertainty on Hifumi’s face was replaced with a resolute gaze.
“Yes, I see now. I know what I must do with this power now.” Hifumi proclaimed as she pushed the Ogress back with her ko-naginata. She pulled back her ko-naginata.
The Ogress unleashed a succession of frenzied claw slashes. Now able to perceive the Yokai’s moves, Hifumi elegantly dodged every strike with ease. Hifumi delivered a quick slash through the Ogress’ body, splitting her in two.
“This weapon shall be named Kunitokotachi.” After gravely wounding the creature, the Ogress dove for a desperate attack, but Hifumi’s Kunitokotachi conjured a bolt of lightning called Divine Thorn and tossed it at the Yokai, wiping out and dissolving it into dust. “Farewell to your inhuman existence.” She turned toward the male Revenant, who was still fending off the Queen’s Knight.
“Hifumi, I’ve got this!” He called out as he shoved his swords through the Knight’s torso.
Lifting the blue side of its spiked sword, the Lost attempted to flatten the Revenant. With his eyes turning red again, he invoked his second Blood Veil, a long metal tail forming from the back of his coat. “Now, you’ve forced me to unveil my Stinger-Type Blood Veil.” He then shoved the metal tail through the Queen Knight’s shield. The force of the tail cracked the Knight’s shield. With another blow, the tail shattered the shield into pieces and shoved through the giant Lost’s chest.
However, the Queen’s Knight still had some fight left and swung its sword over the Revenant.
“Hang on!” Raising her spear, Hifumi summoned a Shogi piece construct, which forged a lightning-based barrier called Shogi Shield and absorbed the impact of the Knight’s sword. “That should be enough to stop its attack! Finish it!”
This defensive move allowed the Revenant to run his tail through the Knight’s head. After drawing back his tail, he invoked his Ogre-Type Blood Veil to slash apart the Lost’s arms, disarming its sword. He then slashed off its head and shoved his demonic hand through its chest, ripping out his vital organs. Blood quickly spilled from its headless body. With a stomp, the Revenant swiftly crushed the Knight’s foot.
As her eyes returned to their natural green color, Hifumi came to and was taken aback by the bloodied mess left from the battle. She promptly removed her mask and deeply exhaled.
“All of this blood…”
“You’re going to have to get used to it since you now have Io’s essence in you. With her infused with you, you’ve essentially inherited her power, Togo Hifumi.” The Revenant turned to face the Japanese woman. “Do you understand? The Lost and that other creature didn’t just attack me. They went after you, too.”
Nodding, Hifumi resigned to this fact. “So, I’m in this for however long these things come after us?”
“Until we found the source that’s bringing them into this world, yes.” The Revenant answered as he doubled over and collapsed on his right knee.
“Hey! Easy now!” Hifumi called out as she caught him. “Thank you. While we worked together to beat those creatures, you saved me.”
He said nothing of the matter, but he appreciated the woman’s compliment.
Just then, their distorted surroundings quickly altered. The corrupted demonic house faded and returned to being the Togo household.
Hifumi blinked in bewilderment. “So, this is what happens after we slay our enemies?”
“You’re asking the wrong person.”
“We’re back in my home?” Hifumi scanned her familiar surroundings and was aghast by the lack of property damage. “And nothing’s been damaged? It’s as if we weren’t really here!” She then faced the Revenant, who fell headfirst on her lap. “What?! Hey, are you ok?!”
He muttered. “I’m a little thirsty… feed me…”
“What?”
“Blood.”
Ueno Park (上野公園,)/Taitō, Tokyo (台東区, 東京)/6:30 PM (JST)
Pursued by Kasha and the other Yokai, Yumeko and her two friends barely escaped getting caught in the crossfire. They happened upon an open space walkway. Their heartbeats became felt throughout their bodies. Taking a few deep breaths, Mary quickly scoured the area for any Yokai sightings.
“I think we outran them,” Mary muttered, trying to get her voice back. “Are you ok, Ryōta?”
“I am for now. What about you, Yumeko?”
The Compulsive Gambler gave no response. Instead, an ecstatic grin formed on her pale features when she saw multiple glowing eyes flashing in the darkness.
“Look, they found us,” Yumeko chuckled as she licked her right index finger. “C’mon, you want to play with us?”
“Shit! They caught up to us!” Mary openly cursed as she grabbed Yumeko’s hand. “Quit getting their attention and let’s get our asses moving!”
“They have no interest in playing games with us, Yumeko! They probably want to eat us! Please, let’s get going!” Ryōta pleaded to his gambling obsessed friend, who then jerked her arms away from her friends. “Yumeko!”
“But, where’s the fun in that? We can give them a chance to play. I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to gamble against monsters.”
Kasha hissed toward Yumeko and readied her fiery whip. However, Yumeko didn’t budge an inch from her spot and beckoned Kasha to hit her. Taking Yumeko’s invite, Kasha threw her fire-imbued whip.
“YUMEKO!” Ryōta and Mary cried out to their friend for dear life.
Mary quickly reached for Yumeko. “Get back!”
Just then, a burst of white light came out of Mary’s hand. The mysterious light quickly formed a barrier between Yumeko and the whip. Kasha witnessed the holy barrier nullify her whip’s power. The barrier negated the fiery properties permeating from the whip. Pulling back her whip, Kasha hissed toward the barrier.
“Yumeko!” Ryōta ran over and grabbed her arm. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah, but what is this?” Yumeko reached out to touch the barrier. Pivoting to Mary, she queried her friend. “Hey, how did you do that?”
Mary, on the other hand, was baffled. “Uh, I don’t know?!” She blanked out at the sight of the barrier.
Suddenly, a spiritual ball conjured in front of Mary. The ball formed into a female long-haired, two pigtailed humanoid with butterfly-wings for limbs, antennas, and a kimono. The spirit faced Yumeko, Ryōta, and Mary.
“Mary, are you sure you don’t know what this is?” Mary balked. “No! I mean, I don’t even know how I did this!”
“It looks like a spirit to me!” Ryōta incredulously added.
“A spirit? Yes, that makes sense,” Yumeko nodded, eyeing the winged spirit with fascination. “Whatever you are, thank you!”
Upon seeing the spirit, Kasha and the other Yokai snarled viciously. The divine energies emanating from the spirit disturbed them.
Mary approached the twinged spirit. “You saved us. But, how did you get here?” She reached to touch the spirit, who floated around her head. “We’ve never met before, so I don’t know how I brought you here.”
The spirit communicated with Mary and addressed her.
“Wait, your name is Janomecho?” Mary queried.
“Hmm, I’ve heard of this spirit in stories,” Ryōta stated. “If I’m right, Janomecho was a spirit originally wielded by Otani Yoshitsugu and Sanada Yukimura a long time ago. Its name loosely means Satyrinae in Japanese.”
“That’s interesting and all, but why is it here and why did it choose me?” Mary asked.
“Maybe you play a bigger role than you think, Mary!” Yumeko pointed out.
“This is going to sound weird, but the spirit is telling me it’s called a Guardian Spirit and that you two have your own Guardian Spirits.”
“Really?” Ryōta asked.
Yumeko happily squealed with delight. “I get my own Guardian Spirit, too?! Wonderful! What’s my spirit like?!”
“Wait,” Mary then communed with Janomecho. “On top of everything this spirit is saying, it’s given me the ability to translate other languages?!”
“That’s definitely going to happen when our spirits appear to us. So, we can avoid any miscommunications,” Ryōta replied.
Just then, similar spiritual balls of light appeared in front of Yumeko and Ryōta. Another spirit orb materialized in front of Mary.
Two spiritual spheres appeared in front of Ryōta. The first one turned into a white wolf with a black-beaded neck collar and flames burning from its back, hide, and tail. The other spirit sphere’s essence formed into a clear-colored turtle carrying what looks like a mountain on its back. Its back tail doubled as the long snake’s neck.
The second sphere near Mary opened and released a red-bodied dragon-faced Kirin with antlers. The creature shook its head and neighed.
The spiritual sphere near Yumeko exploded into a pillar of white smoke mixed with fiery mist. A fully white-furred fox emerged with three red onibi surrounding her. Her nine bushy white tails waved around and then opened up behind her back. The fox turned her head and walked over to greet Yumeko, whose cheeks turned red and her face twisted with delight.
“My spirit is a fox?! You look so cute!” Yumeko embraced the nine-tailed fox.
“That’s not just any fox. According to Janomecho, that’s the Nine Tails. She was once wielded by Oichi and Yodo-gimi, the latter of which is also known as Lady Chacha.” Mary clarified, translating for Janomecho. She then faced Ryōta. “Your two spirits are Kato and Genbu.”
“Wow, I have Genbu the legendary turtle as my spirit?” An awestruck Ryōta knelt down to greet Genbu and Kato. “But, I get two spirits?”
“I have a second one, too. My other spirit is named Enku,” Mary eyed the dragon-faced Kirin.
“Interesting, our spirits are based on folklore,” Yumeko realized.
“Yeah, and Janomecho said all of them were once wielded by historical Japanese figures,” Mary briefly explained to her friends.
“Seems like we’ve been chosen for an important role to fight these Yokai,” Ryōta then glared down at Kasha and the other Yokai trying to bring down the barrier.
Just then, Janomecho went into Mary’s body.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Mary cried out as the spirit resonated within her. As Yumeko and Ryōta ran over to her, a white light enveloped Mary. The blonde woman shut her eyes and willingly allowed the spirit to bond with her. As she came to, Mary saw her clothes changed. Her regular clothing was ultimately replaced with a black kimono with bright yellow and green linings up to the skirt. She has thigh-length black stockings and sandals. Covering her face is a left-sided half white Japanese mask with a lily. A spear with curved blades extending to the left and right from the center blade appeared in her right hand.
Witnessing their friend’s dramatic transformation, Yumeko and Ryōta were awestruck.
As her mind became filled with a new purpose, Mary turned and faced the Yokai breaking open the barrier.
“Quick you two. Resonate with your Guardian Spirits!” Mary commanded, quickly brandishing her spear. Janomecho reappeared on her right shoulder. “With this spear, Janomecho has given me power to fight these Yokai!”
Nodding, Ryōta replied. “Ok, but I don’t even know which one to resonate with!”
“Piece of cake for me!” Yumeko extended a hand to the Nine Tails. “Well? Shall we?”
With that, the Nine Tails placed her paw on Yumeko’s hand. A bright beacon of red light enveloped the Compulsive Gambler. The fox’s spirit resonated with Yumeko as a surge of blazing hot energy filled her to the core. Her face contorted with ecstasy, causing her to let out an orgasmic-like gasp. Her red eyes gleamed with delight. A spiral of fire seeped out of Yumeko, forging a fiery red cloak of divine energy around her.
Moreover, Yumeko’s outward clothing changed. Her clothing gained a burnt appearance with tufts of white fur covering her shoulders and back. Her face gained fox-like whiskers. Thin fox irises filled the inside of her red pupils. Small nine fox tails appeared out from her back and buttocks area, twitching and wagging around. Yumeko’s face was outfitted with a fiery-designed mask with a red dice hanging on each side.
Mary and Ryōta watched in shock over their friend’s wardrobe transformation. The Yokai finally broke through the barrier and rushed toward the gamblers. Readying her spear, Mary prepared to fight them off.
However, Yumeko conjured flaming cards and tossed them at several Rokurokubi, Gaki, and Flying Bolts. These flamed cards exploded like bombs, setting these Yokai ablaze and reducing them into ash.
“Wow, way to go, Yumeko!” Ryōta cried out, entranced by Yumeko’s superpowered presence.
“Ryōta, resonate with one of your Guardian Spirits! Do it fast!” Mary cried out, stabbing and skewering a Rokurokubi with her spear.
“Right! But, which one…?!” Before Ryōta could settle on one, Genbu transferred some of its divine power to him.
Once Genbu’s power resonated within Ryōta, the male gambler gained green and black samurai armor. In his right hand, he held black steel shield resembling a turtle’s shell. His samurai helmet has a turtle emblem on it. A green and silver mask fashioned with a turtle’s face fitted his face.
Upon seeing his transformed state, Ryōta shook his head in disbelief. “Hey, I’m a samurai now?!” A pair of tonfas appeared in his left hand. Hearing the advance of a Gaki, he defended with his shield. He then threw and slammed the turtle shell-like shield against another Gaki’s face. He then battered and crushed the head of a Rokurokubi with his tonfas. Genbu and Kato assisted Ryōta against the Gaki.
Assisted by Enku, Mary stabbed and took down several Rokurokubi. A Flying Bolt tried to throw a bandage as if it were a blade. Janomecho swiftly attacked and wind blasted the Flying Bolt. Mary then bisected the Yokai with a clean swing from her spear.
“Thanks,” Mary nodded to Janomecho.
Kasha directed two Flying Bolts to attack Yumeko. Sensing the Yokai’s approach, Yumeko utilized newfound quick reflexes, casually evading their straight forward attacks. She then cast two flaming pillars shaped like dice, which dispersed and incinerated the Flying Bolts into dust.
Shifting away from the slain Yokai, the Compulsive Gambler set her sights on Kasha. She responded with excited glee. “It’s just you and me now!” Her red eyes glowed with murderous intent. “C’mon, let’s gamble our lives away! Fight me like you mean it!” She cackled and charged toward Kasha.
Hissing angrily, Kasha rushed head on with Yumeko. The demonic catwoman tossed her fiery whip, sending a trail of intense flames at Yumeko’s way. The Compulsive Gambler quickly sidestepped Kasha’s fiery trail and jumped over the Yokai. Yumeko landed a clean kick to the back of Kasha’s head, knocking her off her wheels. Conjuring a pair of flaming dice, Yumeko fired and battered Kasha with them. Trying to pull itself off the ground, Kasha tried to fight back, but Yumeko interceded her. Folding both arms around Kasha, Yumeko spun around with the Yokai and conjured flames from her nine tails.
While Mary and Ryōta slew the remaining Yokai, they heard Yumeko’s devilish laughter. They looked up and witnessed Yumeko carrying Kasha into the air. Both were engulfed in the Nine Tails’ flames. Kasha’s horrid screams filled the air while the Nine Tails burned the catwoman. As the flames burned off her face and skin off, a grisly visage was revealed. The Yokai’s veins and skull burned away as the scorching flames obliterated the creature into dust.
Upon landing, Yumeko landed on all fours. Her face contorted with sheer delight with killing Kasha.
“Yumeko!” Ryōta called out as he and Mary hurried over to meet with their friend. They stopped as Yumeko landed sprawled on all four feet. Her posture mirrored that of the Nine Tails. When he and Mary approached her, Yumeko quickly twisted around and momentarily snarled. Startled by his friend’s aggressive response, he backed off.
“What the hell’s gotten into you, Yumeko?!” Mary shouted as Janomecho whispered to her. “So, she’s taken on some of the Nine Tails’ nature. Will she be ok?”
As she said this, the cloak shrouding Yumeko vanished. The Compulsive Gambler immediately came to and scanned the burned remains of Kasha.
“Oh, so we won,” Yumeko smirked.
The Nine Tails materialized beside Yumeko. The gambler turned and smiled at the Guardian Spirit.
“I’m starting to like you already, foxy,” she patted the Nine Tails. “I think we’re going to make great partners.”
“Yumeko, we need to get out of here. I don’t think we want to get caught in trouble with the police.” Ryōta suggested, grabbing Yumeko’s arm.
“Yeah, I mean who’s going to believe us if we told them about Guardian Spirits and Yokai?” Mary added as Janomecho murmured to her. “What? You want us to go to Sensō-ji in Asakusa in four days.”
“Why there?” Yumeko asked her blonde friend.
“Apparently, we’ll meet Yukimura and Lady Chacha’s spirits there. So, we’ll see them on July 28th.” she plainly answered, verifying their predetermined location. She listened to her Guardian Spirit whisper. “And Janomecho will let me know on that day.”
“In the meantime, let’s get out of here. To your relatives’ place, right, Mary?”
Mary answered Ryōta. “Right, but what do we do about these Guardian Spirits?” As she said this, the Guardian Spirits transformed into orbs of light and went inside the gamblers’ bodies.
Then, a bright flash of light engulfed them, changing their clothes back to normal. Their masks were also gone.
“Well, that solves our problems. Shall we head to your relatives’ place then, Mary?” queried Yumeko.
Nodding, Mary escorted her two friends out of the park. On the way out, the blonde placed a hand over her face and tried comprehending all that just occurred within the past half hour. Yokai and Guardian Spirits filled her already bewildered mind. This was not like anything she usually came to grips with. They actually killed real monsters. This was no game and Mary had to keep Yumeko from treating it as such.
Incidentally, Yumeko’s erratic behavior became a red flag, which Mary vowed to be cautious with. This went beyond their scope of gambling. Mary wondered if she and her friends may have to gamble their lives using Guardian Spirits.
“Mary?” Yumeko prodded, seeing her friend deep in thought.
“Huh? Yeah?”
“Is everything ok?”
Mary faked a chuckle. “Um, yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Just checking.”
Averting her gaze from Yumeko, Mary sighed and quietly murmured so her friends couldn’t hear her. “What else could go wrong?”
Japan National Stadium (国立競技場)/Shinjuku, Tokyo (新宿区, 東京)/7:05 PM (JST)
Returning to the stadium, security allowed the audiences to return after the Phantom Thieves exterminated the monsters.
However, the reappearance of the Phantom Thieves sparked intrigue and invoked a positive reception from the general public.
Watching from the balcony of the arena, the Thieves watched and secluded themselves from the audience. They heard many sections from the crowds chanting and praising the return of the legendary vigilantes. Their return reignited a support movement not seen since the Thieves were last seen together.
Cupping his left ear, Skull grinned. “Hear that? Our popularity just went up!”
“You’re not kidding!” Panther said, delighted to hear the cheering crowds.
“We’re the talk of the town once again,” Noir said.
“That could be a good or an annoying thing,” Queen added. “Anyway, I suggest we leave before we’re spotted. As an officer, I wouldn’t want the police to ask why one of their own law enforcement is running around playing vigilante.”
Nodding, Mona replied. “Yeah, that might not be a good look for you.”
“This might also give us time to recover any other lost powers,” Fox suggested.
“In the meantime, we’re going to need to go dark for a while until another one of these monsters appear,” Joker stated.
“Right, let’s disperse for now,” Mona concurred as he and the Thieves vanished from sight.
Hifumi's House/Kanda (神田)/Chiyoda, Tokyo (千代田区, 東京)/7:10 PM (JST)
In the aftermath of the skirmish in the distorted dimension, Hifumi carried the Revenant over to the couch. As she tended to him, her regular clothing returned.
“Hifumi, you don’t happen to have blood on you?”
She nodded. “We don’t carry blood here. We don’t work with anything involving blood.”
“I see. Then… I don’t want to ask, but…”
Narrowing her eyes, Hifumi responded. “You want my blood?”
“I don’t want to force your hand… but you do have Io’s essence coursing through you…” He stammered, feeling the urge to drink taking over.
“Hold on,” Hifumi said as she left to grab a knife in the kitchen. Upon returning, she sat beside him and slowly cut her left index finger, drawing blood out. “Here. Drink as much as you can.” She opened the small wound, allowing tiny goblets of her own blood to fall into his mouth.
The blood drops filled the base of his tongue. Drinking the blood, he was renewed with energy and awoke far less lethargic. Quickly getting off the couch, he quickly grabbed Hifumi’s finger and hungrily licked every drop of blood that seeped out. Taken aback by his aggressive approach, she almost jerked her finger back, but she willingly let him feed.
With a soft smile adorning her features, the woman queried. “Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, thanks to you. I tasted Io’s essence after drinking your blood.”
“Was this Io your friend?”
“Yes, and that amber bead you saw is her physical vestige. It’s all I have of her. When you touched it, her essence entered you.”
Hifumi gazed over her own hands and body. “And now she’s part of me?”
“It would explain why you now have Revenant-like abilities.”
“Like you?”
“Well, not like me. Do you have a sudden thirst for blood?”
“No.”
“That’s good. Do you feel any different? Any changes?”
“When I suddenly transformed, I felt stronger than I’ve ever been. I was able to see and keep up with that Yokai better.”
“So, your senses have heightened and your reflexes are better than a normal human’s. While you’re not a Revenant, you now exhibit some of our attributes, but thankfully you lack our thirst. You see… we need to drink blood.”
“Like a vampire,” Hifumi said, eyeing the sharp fangs in the Revenant’s mouth.
Covering his fanged mouth, the Revenant withdrew from facing her. “Perhaps. Is that what you’d call us in this day and age?”
“Well, yes.”
“Are you not afraid of what I am?”
“No, why would I be afraid of the man who saved me?”
“Because the humans from my dimension feared us. Humans are scarce where I come from. It’s just surreal that I’m here being treated by a human instead of my own kind.”
“How often do you need to feed?”
“As long as we need to drink. Since there are no Blood Beads here, I will require some form of sustenance with blood.”
Placing a bandaid over her finger, Hifumi responded in kind. “Then, I’ll voluntarily let you drink me.”
“I can’t just depend on you…”
“That isn’t up for debate. I will allow you to drink me.”
“Are you sure?”
She placed her left hand over his. His eyes scanned the bandaid on her index finger. When he looked at her, her gaze was soft and demure. Gone was the fierce, murderous glare she had when she fought the Ogress.
“Thank you, Hifumi.”
“So, what happens if you don’t drink?”
“I…” He paused and sighed. “You know that monster I fought?”
“The larger one?”
“Yes, if I don’t feed, I would fall into a frenzied state and turn into one of them. I’d become a Lost,” he answered with dread in his tone, drawing a faint gasp from Hifumi. “But, thanks to you and Io’s essence coursing through you, I don’t have to worry. I just ask you don’t overdo it. I should be fine now.”
“Just let me know when you need a drink.”
“Thank you,” he politely responded.
“This other world you come from, was it like mine?”
“It was before disaster struck. I can tell you all about it another time.”
“I’m sorry, but after all that just happened, I still didn’t get your name.”
“My name is Sion.”
?-?/9:18 PM (JST)
Inside a darkened office on the topmost floor of a skyscraper, an obscured man in an unbuttoned black shirt and white fur coat scanned past a glass window of Osaka. Having just watched the shocking events at the Summer Olympics broadcast, a calm and baleful smile adorned his mostly concealed face.
Unlike the Hawaii trip, we won’t have any chaperones walking us around.