"It refers to Mara, who attempted to disturb the mind of Buddha Shakyamuni under the Bodhi tree, obstructing his enlightenment..." Bronya placed the empty milk bottle aside, explaining calmly to Kallen.
"It's said that the ancestors of the Apocalypse family have some deep connection with that Enlightened One (buddha and Su). If Mara truly exists, it indeed has the potential to become our enemy."
The demons and monsters recorded in myths and legends around the world were essentially Honkai Beasts that manifested in those times; Bronya was well aware of this.
If the Honkai Beast recorded as Mara truly existed, it would likely be a special type capable of affecting human mental cognition, possibly even lacking a physical form, which was why it could be sealed within Shakyamuni's Śarīra and passed down.
"Bronya is right. As for why I address Mara as 'Lord'..." Ren glanced at Bronya with some surprise. "...There's no element of faith involved, it's just a habitual form of address. If we ever truly encounter Mara, we just need to attack it with all our might. Don't be concerned by its existence or appearance."
Bronya's testimony—the connection between the Apocalypse family and Shakyamuni—undoubtedly added more credibility to Ren's conjecture that the evil god behind Otto was Mara.
"I definitely won't show any mercy to an evil entity that deluded Otto's mind... But Ren, why did you specifically remind us not to be concerned by Mara's appearance?" Persona Kallen nodded, somewhat comprehending. She wanted to act as if she fully understood, but ultimately couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked Ren with a puzzled expression.
"Er, about that..." Ren paused, his tone slightly subtle. "...In Mementos, perhaps we might encounter a wild Persona Mara someday. When you see it then, you'll understand." He vaguely sidestepped the topic.
After all, Lord Mara's form was simply too majestic and grand; merely describing its appearance would be enough to cause defilement and blasphemy.
With his current courage, he couldn't yet describe Lord Mara's appearance in detail in front of three young ladies...
"So Mara also exists as a Persona in Mementos? It sounds like it would be very strong. If you subdue Mara as a Persona, Ren, you must let me see what your Mara looks like!" Kallen first nodded thoughtfully, then said to Ren with a hint of anticipation in her voice.
Although residing in Ren's mental space, Kallen didn't constantly pay attention to the outside world; she couldn't fully synchronize with Ren's sights and sounds.
Therefore, if Kallen wanted to witness a specific situation, she could only ask Ren to call out and remind her at that moment... or simply let her see Mara afterwards.
"Ahem, ahem, let's move on from the topic of Mara for now..." As a former veteran chuunibyou, and with her awakened Persona being Kurikara, a figure from Buddhist mythology, Raiden Mei had a certain degree of understanding of Buddhist allusions.
The scriptures recorded that Mara's method of disturbing Buddha's mind was seduction.
If the real-world Mara possessed similar abilities and combat thinking... to men, it might appear as a graceful and alluring beauty. But in the eyes of women, for Mara to exert its mind-disturbing abilities, it might take on a completely different form.
If only Ren and herself were in the room, Mei wouldn't mind mustering the courage to have a risqué little chat with Ren. But with Kallen and Bronya present, Mei could only cough forcefully a few times, forcibly changing the subject.
"Ren, we now know the relationship between Kiana and the Herrscher of the Void... Otto is using Kiana as a vessel to revive the Herrscher of the Void. Theoretically, Kiana is constantly at risk of having her body taken over by the Herrscher of the Void. To prevent the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness from reawakening within Kiana, I think we should conquer the Herrscher of the Void's Palace as soon as possible."
When speaking of her only best friend, Kiana, Raiden Mei's expression couldn't help but turn serious. She expressed her desire to conquer the Herrscher of the Void's Palace quickly to Ren.
Earlier, when returning to the Raiden residence with Welt Yang and the Tesla doctors, Mei had called Kiana, who had been waiting for her, and arranged to hang out again sometime later.
Although Mei's main reason for going out with Kiana today was to investigate the abnormal situation of Kiana's Shadow in Mementos, she now knew the cruel truth from Welt, a truth even Kiana herself was unaware of.
However, out of guilt for ditching Kiana, Mei still felt she needed to properly compensate Kiana after the dust settled. For now, the most urgent matter was, of course, to conquer the Herrscher of the Void's Palace and completely remove the Sword of Damocles hanging over Kiana's head.
With Welt Yang, the Herrscher of Reason, personally explaining, Mei now deeply understood the feasibility of stealing the Herrscher of the Void's Core as a Treasure from her Palace.
As long as they could steal the Core from Kiana's body, Kiana would no longer be at risk of being possessed and could finally be completely free to be herself.
According to the two Anti-Entropy doctors, modern medical science was incapable of removing the Herrscher of the Void's Core while ensuring the survival of Kiana, the surgical recipient.
Only the Phantom Thieves' bizarre and unpredictable heart-stealing methods could separate the Core from Kiana's body without her knowledge.
Ren and Bronya had explored Mementos for a whole day; his stamina might not be sufficient to continue conquering the Herrscher of the Void's Palace. However, Mei had merely been shopping with Kiana all day; her stamina was still at its peak, perfectly capable of continuing the exploration.
"Ren, you just need to take me to the Kaslana Palace. With Hare and Seele accompanying me to explore the Herrscher of the Void's Palace, there shouldn't be any accidents." Raiden Mei slowly made her request to Ren.
She didn't need Ren to lead the charge again; he just needed to use the power of the MetaNav App to take her to the Kaslana Palace.
The Herrscher of the Void had already been injured in the previous battle and was also strongly shaken by Hare's persuasion. If the Herrscher of the Void had come to her senses during this time and was willing to become Ren's Persona, that would be ideal.
And if she hadn't... Raiden Mei's Kurikara wasn't just for show. Even without Ren, their leader, as the team's main force, relying on the injuries he inflicted on the Herrscher of the Void in the last battle, which likely hadn't fully healed, Mei was confident she wouldn't lose in a head-on fight.
A Persona was the power of the heart, and Raiden Mei's heart was currently surging with immense power, her conviction unwavering. To save her best friend Kiana, she felt she could do anything right now!!
"Continue exploring the Herrscher of the Void's Palace, huh... I'm fine with that." Ren gently nodded, agreeing to Mei's suggestion to dive back into the Herrscher's Palace. "The Shadows in the Herrscher of Reason's Palace were low-level, and Bronya did most of the fighting. Even if I have to fight the Herrscher of the Void again, I have plenty of strength left. Let's all go together."
Having felt Mei's urgent desire to save her friend, Ren continued, "Anyway, let's go to the Kaslana Palace first to pick up Hare and Seele, then head to the Herrscher of the Void's Palace. As for Bronya—" Ren took his phone out of his pocket. While deftly opening the MetaNav App to prepare for the dive into Mementos, he glanced at Bronya sitting on the sofa.
"Bronya understands. Bronya hasn't fully awakened her own Persona yet. Bronya will stay home and continue managing and operating the Phantom Thieves Channel website..." Under Ren's gaze, Bronya's light gray eyes narrowed slightly, forming a (ᗜ ˰ ᗜ) expression.
Although she still couldn't express her emotions, Ren felt that Bronya, who had once again taken out her phone to manage the website, was looking at him with a distinct hint of resentment.
But it couldn't be helped. No matter how resentful Bronya felt, she knew Ren's current choice was the correct one. Not only had Bronya not fully awakened her Persona, but her stamina had also been mostly depleted during today's exploration of the Herrscher of Reason's Palace with Ren.
If she rashly joined the exploration of the Herrscher of the Void's domain, she might not only fail to be of assistance but could even become a drag on the team.
Bronya didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Seele and Ren due to insufficient combat power. Therefore, she could only continue doing what behind-the-scenes work she could in the real world.
"Then I'll be counting on you, Bronya. After we get back, I'll have Seele spend some good time with you." After making a promise that made Bronya's eyes instantly light up and her work motivation double, a faint arc curved Ren's lips. He pressed the start button on the MetaNav App.
In an instant, Ren and Raiden Mei's figures vanished from before Bronya. Even Persona Kallen's figure departed from the real world and disappeared as Jizo Mitama's power was dispelled.
After blinking again, Ren and Raiden Mei were back in the all-too-familiar Kaslana Palace, the boundless crimson desert scenery filling their vision.
"Hare, Seele, we're preparing to continue our assault on the Herrscher of the Void's Palace. Are you—huh, aren't you that..." At the entrance of the Kaslana Palace, Hare and Seele's figures were there as usual.
However, the moment Ren's gaze shifted towards Hare, he noticed something amiss, something that made his eyebrows shoot up.
Why, you ask? Because at the entrance of the Kaslana Palace now, besides the visitors Hare and Seele, and Kaslana, the Palace's collective consciousness, there was another, unfamiliar visitor!!
A gray-haired, green-eyed girl wearing a beige English-style detective coat, her androgynous, spirited face adorned with a monocle, was currently standing silently beside Kaslana.
"...I am Fu Hua. I didn't expect to meet again so soon, Mr. Amamiya, Miss Raiden." Looking at Ren and Mei slowly approaching from the distance, Fu Hua, after a brief moment of surprise, nodded slightly to Ren in greeting.
"Fu Hua, how did you get into the Kaslana Palace? Don't tell me... that Akechi guy brought you in?!" Ren's eyebrow twitched slightly. He warily scanned his surroundings, confirming the Pancake Man was nowhere to be seen, before questioning Fu Hua.
In this second-cycle world, the false god clearly wasn't planning to randomly distribute the MetaNav App to everyone as before.
Even though Raiden Mei had awakened her Persona power and had entered and exited Mementos with Ren multiple times, the false god still hadn't automatically downloaded the app onto her phone.
If she wanted to dive into Mementos, she had to piggyback on Ren's access every time. Thinking this way, Fu Hua's situation should be the same as Mei's; to enter Mementos, she could only rely on Goro Akechi, who was also chosen and created by the false god.
Yet, Ren could only see Fu Hua now, with no trace of Akechi. This feeling was like finding a cockroach in one's own private bedroom—disgusting enough to make his scalp crawl. Ren felt that Akechi, that big cockroach, had hidden himself and was ready to jump out and give him a big scare at any moment.
"Ake-Akechi... Yes, Akechi has already entered the Herrscher of the Void's Palace. Due to certain reasons, I was temporarily left here." Fu Hua glanced at Kevin, who stood beside her, his expression cold and unwavering. Her voice paused slightly as she gave Ren Otto's current whereabouts.