"Time's about up. Let's call it a day, Bronya." In the blue-gray labyrinthine corridors, Ren Amamiya took out his phone to check the time, then reminded Bronya, who was currently engaged in battle with Shadows ahead.
"Understood. Bronya is finishing the battle." Bronya's clear voice responded to Ren. The Shadows before her were already lying scattered on the ground, thoroughly eliminated by the increasingly proficient Bronya.
"This is the last one. Finish it—Project Bunny!!" Bronya abruptly swung her arm forward. Following her command, Project Bunny 19C, hovering in the void, thrust its arm forward.
A massive mechanical arm, constructed from azure energy, now covered Project Bunny's silver-white wrist, firmly clamping down on the last black-gold Shadow.
With a mere clenching motion, the Imaginary Nymph, along with its core, was utterly crushed into fragments by Project Bunny, now equipped with the blue mechanical arm, and casually tossed onto the ground like non-recyclable trash.
"Although she hasn't fully awakened her Persona, she's at least showing good awakening momentum. Project Bunny is also starting to grasp new abilities..." Ren observed Project Bunny 19C floating behind Bronya.
Its silver-white mechanical body was now adorned with faint blue patterns, and its wrist was replaced by a massive, seemingly ethereal mechanical arm emitting an azure glow—clearly in the process of upgrading.
"...We'll explore the remaining areas of this Mementos layer later."
While evaluating Bronya, Ren couldn't help but nod slightly. Although the plan to have Bronya awaken her Persona today hadn't succeeded, Bronya had indeed proven her promising potential to Ren through her actions. Whether it was tactical planning or strategic execution, Bronya performed remarkably well.
Even if her current strength was slightly lacking, with the full awakening of her Persona, Bronya would sooner or later catch up with the main force of the Phantom Thieves, transforming from a substitute member unable to join the team into an excellent Phantom Thief capable of fighting alongside Hare.
Ren had once wondered what Bronya's Persona would be like if she truly awakened it. Would she awaken a brand-new Persona, or would Project Bunny fuse and upgrade with her awakened Persona?
Judging from Project Bunny 19C's current state, the latter seemed more likely... However, it couldn't be ruled out that "Project Bunny 19C" was originally Bronya's own Persona, and Seele's gift had merely prematurely triggered part of its power.
Regardless of the truth, it was now undeniable that Project Bunny would continue to be the Persona Bronya used for combat.
"Ah, Joker, look over there... That figure has appeared again!" Just as Bronya reconverted Project Bunny 19C to its quantum state, hiding it, and obediently floated to Ren's side at a low altitude, a flicker of blue from the corner of her eye made her abruptly turn her head.
Seeing the deep blue-haired youth, emanating a blue ethereal glow like a ghost, appear about a hundred meters away, Bronya softly alerted Ren.
[.....]
The blue-haired youth, with regular features and a gentle, harmless aura like a friendly boy-next-door, simply stood in the distance, observing Ren and Bronya. This silent, ghost-like youth had appeared before them more than once.
Besides silently watching the two outsiders, he would only leave when Ren and Bronya approached him... or rather, he seemed to be guiding and navigating for the two Phantom Thieves.
Following the blue-haired youth, Ren consistently found one human Shadow after another, scattered throughout this vast Mementos layer, collecting Treasure fragments from them. Thanks to this youth, Bronya had already collected a total of two hundred and thirty-four Treasure fragments.
Even without fully unleashing the Treasure's power, Bronya's own strength had increased quite significantly. Despite fighting for a long time in Mementos, Bronya showed no signs of exhaustion. If Ren hadn't called a halt, Bronya could have continued grinding in this Mementos layer.
"Are you trying to lead us to the next human Shadow's location?... But I'm sorry, we're planning to head back today. We'll deal with the rest next time. Ciao~~~~" Looking at the blue-haired youth's gentle and regular face, Ren felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't recall where.
Ren had previously asked the youth about his identity and even removed his mask to show his true face. However, the youth was like an emotionless guide robot, only pointing the way for Ren and remaining silent, completely avoiding any conversation.
They had spent enough time in Mementos today. Ren didn't intend to follow the youth to the next battlefield as before. After Bronya approached him, Ren raised his finger and gave a slight wave to the distant blue-haired youth. He activated the MetaNav App on his phone and chose the option to return to the real world.
If Bronya had fully awakened her Persona, Ren could have gone to the Kaslana Palace first to ask Kaslana about the Treasure fragments collected in this Mementos layer. But Bronya hadn't completely awakened her Persona power yet.
To prevent her from getting a game over due to Hare's inherent radiation pollution, Ren had to take Bronya directly back to the real world. He would ask Kaslana about it tomorrow when he entered the Kaslana Palace with Raiden Mei.
[.....]
The blue-haired youth silently stared at the spot where Ren and Bronya had stood. After a long moment, he raised his hand and made the same farewell gesture as Ren to the empty air. The next instant, the youth's figure vanished as silently as he had appeared.
"Today's mission is complete. Bronya, do you want to hang out for a bit, or head straight back... Hmm?" Ren and Bronya's figures quietly materialized in a secluded corner of Shibuya Crossing.
Night had fallen, and hurried pedestrians moved through the brightly lit square, completely oblivious to the two who had suddenly appeared in the corner.
Returning to the real world from Mementos, Ren, having rushed around all day, stretched vigorously. Just as he relaxed, preparing to rest and intending to ask Bronya for her thoughts, the phone in his hand vibrated intensely, as if bombarded with messages, continuously chiming with notification sounds.
It wasn't just Ren; Bronya's phone was experiencing the same thing.
[Mei: Ren, did you go to Mementos with just Bronya?]
After opening the message history, the first sentence from Raiden Mei made Ren's eyebrow twitch sharply.
—Why do I suddenly feel like I've been caught cheating?
Dispelling the strange feeling, a look of surprise appeared in Ren's eyes. Taking Bronya to Mementos was a spur-of-the-moment decision after leaving Cafe Leblanc, an unplanned action. Raiden Mei didn't have the MetaNav App, and Ren hadn't encountered anyone else in Mementos.
How did she know he and Bronya had entered Mementos together?
"...Looks like we can't rest for now. Mei seems to be in some trouble." Bronya quickly scanned her phone screen, reading through all the messages even faster than Ren. She then looked thoughtfully towards the Raiden residence.
"It's only to be expected..." Ren put down his phone after Bronya, having also read Mei's messages. Perhaps concerned about information being intercepted, Mei's messages were very vague; only Ren and Bronya, who were directly involved, could easily understand their meaning.
As the acting Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, Cocolia's actions of kicking Ryoma Raiden and his daughter Mei while they were down would ultimately face a reckoning from Anti-Entropy's true Sovereign. Although Cocolia had already had her heart changed by Ren, her sins and mistakes wouldn't be erased by reformation.
Ren had long anticipated that other factions within Anti-Entropy would come looking. However, what slightly surprised Ren was that the one who came to Nagazora City was the mysterious Anti-Entropy Sovereign Cocolia had mentioned, and he had even brought Mei's father, Ryoma Raiden.
The Anti-Entropy Sovereign had expressed a desire for peaceful dialogue with Ren through Mei and was now waiting for Ren's return at the Raiden residence.
Although Bronya hadn't fully awakened her Persona and left the ranks of substitute members, Ren still felt it was necessary for Bronya to have a Phantom Thief codename before meeting the Anti-Entropy personnel, to clearly define the boundary between her past self as an Anti-Entropy member and her current self as a member of the Phantom Thieves.
"Bronya's Phantom Thief codename... Hmm, in that case, Bronya will use her former assassin codename." Bronya pondered for a moment. After some thought, she decided to continue using her past codename, letting the name of the top assassin, renowned in the real world, also spread in Mementos.
"Bronya was once known as the 'Silver Wolf of the Urals.' So, Bronya's Phantom Thief codename will be 'Silver Wolf'!"
After settling on Bronya's codename, Ren sent a reply to Raiden Mei, who had been waiting for a long time. Hailing a passing taxi, Ren and Bronya began their journey back to the Raiden residence.
In the worst-case scenario, Ren might have to fight the mysterious Anti-Entropy Sovereign. Fortunately, today's Mementos excursion was mainly to train Bronya. They had stayed in the shallow areas, fighting weaker Shadows, and most of the time, Bronya was the one fighting while Ren provided support and suppression.
Unlike previous days when he returned exhausted from battling in the depths of Mementos, Ren was currently in excellent physical condition, able to fight at full strength. Although he didn't know the Anti-Entropy Sovereign's combat capabilities... it wasn't a major issue.
It would be best if Ren possessed the combat power to overwhelm the Sovereign directly. If the Sovereign was stronger, Ren could always use the MetaNav App to pull him into Mementos.
From Cocolia, he knew Anti-Entropy lacked the technology and ability to freely travel to and from Mementos.
If all else failed, Ren was prepared to drag the Anti-Entropy Sovereign into the Kaslana Palace for "imprisonment." No matter how strong he was, he couldn't be stronger than Kaslana, the collective consciousness of the Palace, right?
Time passed as Ren mulled things over. Before he knew it, the taxi had stopped in front of the Raiden residence. After paying the driver, Ren and Bronya got out and stood before the familiar building, feeling a rare sense of unfamiliarity and profundity from this place they had grown accustomed to.
Before Ren could even step into the courtyard, a figure who had clearly been waiting there for a long time hurried forward, seemingly extremely anxious.
The tall, stern-faced, purple-haired middle-aged man scrutinized Ren's figure with a harsh, appraising gaze, even paying close attention to the distance between Ren and Bronya.
After retracting his gaze, Ryoma Raiden narrowed his eyes expressionlessly. In a voice devoid of any emotion, he slowly spoke to Ren.
"...You're Ren Amamiya? The underclassman who dragged Mei into being a Phantom Thief and has been living with her all this time?"