"Then I'll defeat you first, and then take back the Treasure!!" Before Ren Amamiya's words even faded, Persona Arsene once again surged forward. The powerful gust of wind generated by the flap of its dark falcon wings propelled it towards Goro Akechi at an unstoppable speed.
The Soulium robot Robin Hood, equipped with quantum computing capabilities, had already re-recorded and recalculated Arsene's movement speed. As Robin Hood raised its golden bow again, it unleashed a continuous barrage of dozens of streaming golden light arrows towards the rapidly approaching Arsene.
Even with Arsene's movement trajectory calculated at full power, most of the golden light arrows fired by Robin Hood still missed, falling far behind Arsene. Only a few arrows successfully restricted Arsene's positioning.
However, facing the incoming golden light arrows, Arsene merely raised its wrist. Its claws, wreathed in ominous crimson-black cursed flames, swung a few times, deflecting all of Robin Hood's powerful light projectiles, sending them deep into the distant floor and walls, failing to inflict even a scratch.
"As expected of Joker, your strength truly cannot be underestimated... But so what?" A faint arc curved Otto's lips. He sincerely praised Ren, then abruptly embedded the Herrscher of the Void Core held in his left hand into the mimicked Might of An-Utu greatsword in his right.
Although unable to immediately wield the authority symbolized by another's Herrscher Core like a true Herrscher, Otto, possessing the First Divine Key, Void Archives, could perfectly utilize the Herrscher of the Void Core as a second energy source, fighting with the formidable Honkai energy contained within both Cores simultaneously.
As the Herrscher of the Void Core slowly integrated, the mimicked Might of An-Utu silently changed shape. Bolstered by the second Herrscher Core, it transformed into the golden, PRI-ARM form: Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed.
"Judgment of Shamash—Unleashed!!" Otto suddenly tossed the mimicked greatsword upwards. It landed precisely in Persona Robin Hood's outstretched hand.
The superhuman, iron-gray, muscular figure, wielding the golden greatsword of destruction, swung a terrifying blow towards Ren and the others, a strike seemingly capable of incinerating the entire world.
Watching the Zeroth Power unleashed by Otto through the mimicked Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed, Fu Hua, standing within the Phantom Thieves' ranks, couldn't help but widen her eyes in astonishment.
—No, this is too serious, isn't it?!
After receiving the Honkai energy support from the Herrscher of the Void Core, the mimicked Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed already possessed seventy to eighty percent of the original's terrifying power. If its unleashed form was activated, at full power, it could even destroy an entire city.
If Otto hadn't told her otherwise, and if his previous words and actions hadn't shown such immense regard for Ren, Fu Hua would have thought Ren was some mortal enemy of Otto's, to be met with the full force of the mimicked weapon's unleashed power right off the bat.
Even with Fu Hua here as a backup, she wasn't confident she could block the unleashed attack of Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed unless she burned her memories as a price, using Fenghuang Down's authority to forcibly withstand it—but wasn't that too great a cost? Weren't they just supposed to be acting?!
Just as Fu Hua's pupils quaked, debating whether to reveal her strength and shield Ren and the Phantom Thieves from this seemingly final blow...
"Eigaon!!" Faced with the terrifying world-ending flame sword that shot towards the sky, completely incinerating the Tower of Babel's ceiling and evaporating even the gently falling snow, Ren's expression grew much more serious, but he showed no intention of retreating or showing weakness.
The Jizo Mitama katana and the Mighty Thunder Ring simultaneously entered a resonant state. The Honkai energy output of two Herrscher Core-level powers was added to Jizo Mitama's blade, transforming it into its PRI-ARM form: Jizo Mitama: Etched Form.
The enhancement effect of Jizo Mitama: Etched Form manifested on Persona Arsene's body with almost zero lag. Ominous crimson-black miasma simultaneously wreathed Ren and Arsene's bodies, significantly boosting their strength.
Surging crimson-black cursed flames erupted from Persona Arsene's dark claws, like a black tide, rushing to meet Otto's unleashed attack from Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed.
The deep crimson flames of destruction and the crimson-black flames of curse collided violently, causing the entire Tower of Babel to tremble intensely. Cracks continuously spread across the dark tower's body, clearly on the verge of succumbing to the powerful ultimate attack exchange between Arsene and Robin Hood.
"..." The flickering light from the clashing crimson and crimson-black flames illuminated Fu Hua's face, making her expression appear uncertain. Although she had heard both Otto and Kevin acknowledge Ren's strength, Fu Hua never expected Ren, so young, to be able to unleash terrifying power capable of contending with Otto and even gaining a slight upper hand.
Even Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, Durandal, would probably find it difficult to defeat this Joker of the Phantom Thieves... Fu Hua silently mused.
When she met Ren at Cafe Leblanc during the day, Fu Hua had thought she had unintentionally burned her memories of him. Only after entering the Kaslana Palace and exchanging information with Kevin did Fu Hua confirm she never knew Ren in the first place. Even Kevin's own understanding of him wasn't entirely clear, though Kevin didn't seem to care.
Regardless of who Ren was in the Previous Era or the Current Era, as long as he could fight the Honkai and had the potential to defeat it, Kevin was willing to bet on him.
And precisely because of this, Fu Hua still felt utterly bewildered about Ren's origins.
"Everyone, let's help Joker too!!" While Fu Hua was silently observing the developing situation, Raiden Mei suddenly drew her Raikiri. Placing her hand on the black oni mask she wore, she decisively summoned Persona Kurikara and rallied Hare and Seele to support Ren.
Ren wasn't fighting alone; he had the girls of the Phantom Thieves as his teammates!
While directing Persona Kurikara to unleash the conquering thunder of judgment towards Otto, Raiden Mei's purple eyes remained locked on Fu Hua, who stood not far from her. Ren had teammates, yes, but this Miss Fu Hua also seemed to be partnered with that Goro Akechi on the other side.
She had to guard against any sudden backstabbing. Raiden Mei gripped her Raikiri tightly. If Fu Hua made any suspicious moves, as a master of the Hokushin Itto-ryu, she was confident she could subdue this androgynous-looking girl, whose figure showed no curves, in an instant.
Feeling Raiden Mei's vigilance, Fu Hua pressed her lips together helplessly. She could only stand there quietly and watch, doing nothing.
At Raiden Mei's call, Hare and Seele launched support attacks for Ren. A sky full of javelins streaking like purple meteors, and a colossal azure scythe crashing down as if to split the heavens and earth, instantly bombarded Otto's position.
With the support of his teammates, Ren, who already had the upper hand in the drawn-out battle, now firmly suppressed Otto's crimson inferno. The crimson-black cursed flames pushed back with overwhelming force, surging towards Otto's tiny figure like a monstrous tidal wave.
The unleashed attack of the mimicked Judgment of Shamash - Unleashed was completely routed in the head-on clash. Faced with the ominous crimson-black cursed flames surging towards him, Otto narrowed his eyes slightly. The mimicked greatsword fell from Robin Hood's hand and returned to his palm.
Mimic: Abyss Flower!!
Otto slammed the mimicked Abyss Flower into the ground before him. Vines, twisting and growing wildly like giant serpents, surged up from the floor, intertwining and coiling into an incredibly solid wooden shield, protecting Otto's body.
Persona Arsene's crimson-black inferno struck the vine shield first, completely igniting the verdant growth. The purple javelins thrown by Battlesuit Hare, the deep red thunder of wrath brought down by Persona Kurikara, and the azure energy scythe swung by Seele left deep gashes on the vine shield.
However, under the continuous influx of creation energy, the damage on the vine shield was quickly repaired. Though it looked precarious, like a small boat in a storm, it held firm, never succumbing to complete destruction.
"Benares!!" The cursed flames couldn't break through the vine shield's defense. Ren recalled Arsene and instead summoned Persona Benares, who originally belonged to this Herrscher of the Void's Palace.
When the colossal azure dragon materialized in the sky, before Ren, the Persona user, could even issue a command, Persona Benares went berserk due to the Herrscher of the Void Core aura emanating from Otto.
A terrifying blizzard of ice shards, like a natural disaster, rained down from the heavens. The freezing dragon's breath sprayed by Benares, in just a moment, froze the verdant vine shield encasing Otto into a massive block of ice.
"Norn!!" The golden clock, engraved with the three goddesses of fate, appeared above Ren. As ancient, resounding chimes echoed, a phantom golden clock face materialized on the ground beneath the vine shield, instantly freezing time in the ice-bound area.
"Yae Sakura!!" Cherry blossom petals danced in the wind, then swirled high. A shrine maiden swordswoman with sakura-pink hair like cherry blossoms and a pair of slender fox ears atop her head silently charged forward at high speed.
As she advanced, she deftly and skillfully drew the spirit katana, Sakura Fubuki, from her waist, unleashing a continuous barrage of sakura-pink sword light slashes, like crashing waves, against the massive block of ice with exquisite and superb swordsmanship.
Brilliant sakura-red sword gleams flashed across the massive ice block, even breaking through the hard ice layer and thick vine defenses, a sword light crashing down into the interior of the creation vine shield.
As if stimulated by Yae Sakura's sword attack, the creation energy flowing within the verdant vines intensified. The forcibly grown vines, like writhing green pythons, broke free from the phantom time dial's seal in an instant, shattering the restraints of the hard ice layer from within, and surged madly towards Yae Sakura with imposing momentum.
A look of astonishment appeared in Yae Sakura's cyan eyes, but her actions didn't slow in the slightest. The spirit katana Sakura Fubuki danced, forming an impenetrable barrier of sword light.
Since Ren had summoned Persona Yae Sakura into this battle, he naturally had confidence in her ability to inflict damage on Goro Akechi.
Based on Akechi's combat performance earlier, Persona Yae Sakura should have been able to inflict a certain amount of sword damage before being promptly withdrawn by Ren, replaced by another Persona to continue the fight.
However, after Persona Yae Sakura entered the field, "Akechi," as if no longer acting, suddenly erupted with terrifying power that completely exceeded Ren's original predictions.
Vines, twisting and growing like forest pythons, continuously bombarded Persona Yae Sakura. After desperately severing seven or eight attacking creation vines, Yae Sakura ultimately failed to defend against the remaining ones and was violently swatted into mid-air by a thick vine imbued with immense force.
Successive verdant giant vines wrapped around the airborne Persona Yae Sakura, like a python trying to bind and crush its prey, quickly engulfing her small body within a massive green vine ball.
The vibrant green vines abruptly turned a deathly black in an instant. The creation energy flowing within them reversed into death. The imposing verdant giant vines, like living serpents, suddenly withered and decayed.
And withering along with the green vines was the figure of Persona Yae Sakura, falling from high above. Before she could even hit the ground, her body, crushed by the thick green vines and infused with the power of death, could no longer bear the strain and shattered, dissipating into specks of sakura-pink light in the air, returning to Ren's mental space to quietly await her next recovery and summoning.
"Truly exhilarating and refreshing! This trip to the Palace was really worth it, Joker!!" The withering power of death, in the form of black smoke, swirled around Otto.
Otto, re-emerging from the vine shield, had changed into a brand-new outfit. He wore a black bird-beak mask covering a large portion of his face, a tattered black cloak resembling bird wings, and a black and blue intertwined tight-fitting suit reminiscent of a straitjacket.
After forcefully blowing up Persona Yae Sakura, Otto, who had deliberately used the cover of the vine shield to transform his Soulium body into the full-power form of Goro Akechi from Ren's memories, now exuded an aura of deathly black energy.
He tugged at the collar of his shirt, a satisfied, almost maniacally healthy smile spreading across his face.
Otto had accepted the fact that Kallen liked Yae Sakura, but that didn't mean he harbored no resentment towards Yae Sakura.
If Yae Sakura could have given Kallen happiness five hundred years ago, something he couldn't do, then all would have been well. But Yae Sakura was corrupted by the Herrscher of Erosion, forcing Kallen to use her own channels to retrieve the Oath of Judah from Schicksal.
This ultimately led to Kallen being recaptured and judged by Schicksal, and then sacrificing herself on the execution ground due to his own past, utterly foolish actions.
To say Otto held no grudge against Yae Sakura was absolutely impossible... It was just that he had no need, nor the means, to find the sealed Yae Sakura and give her a beating.
But now, though disguised as Goro Akechi, being able to openly attack Yae Sakura in battle, enacting a righteous revenge five hundred years in the making, Otto felt incredibly refreshed, to the extreme. He even felt that just that one battle, even if he gained nothing else this time, was worth the price of his trip to Nagazora City.
"Finally stopped hiding and decided to go all out, Goro Akechi?" Ren narrowed his eyes slightly, addressing the cognitive Akechi who had revealed his true form.
...This isn't good. This cognitive Pancake Man before him had clearly been greatly enhanced by the Holy Grail.
That golden weapon in his hand, capable of transforming into both the Might of An-Utu greatsword and a strange spear, was undoubtedly the work of that false god, judging by its color. That false god Yaldabaoth, while creating cognitive Goro Akechi, had also partiality and given him an enhanced weapon...
Even with that golden weapon as an enhancement, when Akechi was using Persona Robin Hood, Ren was confident his strength could steadily overwhelm Akechi. In a battle of attrition, Akechi would surely lose.
However, Akechi had now chosen to unleash his full power, donning that black straitjacket... Setting aside actual performance, according to the story's lore, the Pancake Man's Persona Loki was strong enough to take on almost the entire Phantom Thieves.
Now that it was his turn to fight Persona Loki, Ren's mood grew considerably heavier.
"What's wrong, Joker? You're not attacking anymore? Then I shall take the initiative to attack you, shall I? —Loki!!" A smirk curved Otto's lips. He beckoned lightly with his hand behind him.
The evil god Loki, its body composed of black and white stripes like a prisoner's uniform, wielding a crimson magic sword, materialized in mid-air behind him.
Although the essence of this evil god Loki was still the original Soulium robot Robin Hood, merely with a different mimicked skin, its strength hadn't changed much.
But the aura it emanated had increased ferociously, creating an extremely strong intimidating effect on its enemies!!
Mimic: Oath of Judah!!
Void Archives in Otto's hand once again flowed with brilliant golden light, finally transforming into a heavy golden cross very familiar to Ren, which then slammed heavily onto the ground in front of Otto. Persona Loki's strength hadn't increased; it had merely put on a frightening coat.
To prevent this fact from being seen through, Otto chose to use the power of the Oath of Judah. By reducing the enemy's strength, wouldn't it make his side appear stronger?
While transforming Void Archives into the Oath of Judah, Otto also felt a slight sense of emotion.
Unfortunately, Void Archives had never opened up its ability to mimic other Divine Keys to him. The Divine Keys Otto could mimic were only those he had come into contact with and understood within Schicksal.
If Void Archives were willing to cooperate, Otto could clearly combine even more comprehensive tactical combinations. For example, the Second Divine Key, Cosmic Juggernaut.
The so-called Herrscher of the Void's Palace was, in essence, the interior of the Herrscher of the Void's Core. Otto, possessing the Herrscher of the Void Core, naturally had a certain environmental advantage within the Palace; Honkai energy could be supplied to him continuously.
If he could mimic Cosmic Juggernaut with Void Archives, then holding both the Previous and Current Era Herrscher of the Void Cores, he could clearly achieve even greater things in this Palace.
"That's... the Oath of Judah, isn't it? In that case, we'll join in too!!" Gazing at the golden cross in Goro Akechi's hand, Ren frowned slightly, then decisively raised his hand and threw forward the white spirit bird mask he wore.
"I'll leave the rest to you! Come forth—Kallen!!" Azure ethereal flames flashed from the sky. A graceful figure, blooming quietly like a purple iris, landed steadily on the ground from mid-air.
A form-fitting purple dress, an elegant purple iris flower pinned to her chest, and a black-purple bird-beak mask on her fair face—
Otto, his hand resting on the mimicked Oath of Judah cross before him, instantly froze.
Eh?? I'm fighting Kallen?? For real?!