"Ren-Niichan, are you and Bronya-Oneechan okay?"
Stumbling through the purple star gate, Ren Amamiya, now back in the Kaslana Palace, was immediately greeted by Seele, who rushed towards him with a worried expression.
"...Who is this lady?"
Noticing the new figure of Rita next to Ren Amamiya upon his return, Seele's steps slowed. A hint of confusion appeared on her face as she instinctively looked into Ren Amamiya's eyes.
"Bronya and Mei are fine. As for her... her name is Rita. Like Fu Hua, she's a spy sent by Schicksal."
Ren Amamiya glanced at Rita, who was being escorted beside him into the Kaslana Palace. He saw that her delicate and charming face still maintained an elegant and dignified smile.
She was currently observing the unique, crimson, desolate environment of the Kaslana Palace with great interest.
"Sending two spies in a row to get close to me. That Overseer Otto from Schicksal sure holds me in high regard."
Although Ren Amamiya's main battlefield had always been Mementos, with the phenomenal popularity of the Phantom Channel website, the existence of the Phantom Thief Joker had undoubtedly entered the sights of the vast majority of people in the world.
And for Otto Apocalypse, who had made significant achievements in the field of cognitive psience, it wasn't surprising that he would notice Ren Amamiya's existence and deeply realize Ren's world-rare uniqueness.
However, Otto's actions this time clearly revealed a sense of haste.
If Otto had been willing to play the long game, neither Fu Hua nor Rita would have had their identities exposed so early, and certainly not in a double-blow chain reaction.
Evidently, behind this attack, something had happened that made Otto feel extremely urgent.
Perhaps it was the actions of others, or perhaps it was something the Phantom Thieves had inadvertently already accomplished or were in the process of completing.
"Lord Ren need not be so modest. As a Trickster with the power to change the world, it is only natural for the Overseer to hold you in high regard, no matter how much. After all... haven't both Rita and Lady Durandal already been defeated by you?"
Rita, dressed in her black and white maid outfit, maintained a radiant smile. She gently folded her hands over her lower abdomen, complimenting Ren Amamiya with perfect elegance.
Rita's graceful and composed demeanor was as if her identity had never been exposed, as if she were still just an ordinary housekeeper belonging to Ren Amamiya, rather than a spy and assassin from Schicksal.
"Even Durandal..."
Fu Hua's brow twitched slightly. She seemed to suddenly understand why Otto hadn't sent Durandal and Rita to Nagazora City together to carry out the mission of recovering the Herrscher of the Void.
In terms of power, for Durandal, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, her adjutant Rita, who was also an S-rank Valkyrie, could only be considered an accessory and a bonus.
Since Ren Amamiya possessed the strength to defeat Durandal, there was indeed no need for Otto to call Durandal over and waste a combatant. It was enough for Rita to have free rein in the recovery mission.
And now, due to her own mistake and Ren Amamiya's vigilance, Otto's plan had undoubtedly ended in a complete loss.
Not only had she, the undercover agent trying to infiltrate the Phantom Thieves, been exposed, but Rita's identity as a spy had also been revealed as a result.
Fu Hua pressed her lips together tightly, her gaze lowering slightly. A strong sense of guilt and self-blame filled her emerald eyes.
"Miss Fu Hua need not blame herself. When the Overseer chose to dispatch you to infiltrate the Phantom Thieves as an inside agent, he should have already been prepared for the possibility of exposure. Now that Rita and you are imprisoned, it is merely the Overseer's poor decision-making and Mr. Ren's extraordinary alertness. It has nothing to do with your own actions."
An extremely honest person like Fu Hua, who couldn't lie or socialize, was only suited for straightforward, wooden infiltration, observing and reporting the target's movements from the shadows.
To have someone like Fu Hua, from whom you couldn't get a word even if you beat her with a stick, act as an undercover agent in the Phantom Thieves... even though Rita knew that suitable candidates for undercover work were scarce, it didn't stop her from suspecting that Overseer Otto's brilliant mind might have had a programming error.
"Rita, you seem to hold a great deal of resentment towards Otto. Aren't you one of Otto's trusted subordinates? I thought you wouldn't give up and surrender so easily."
Although the smile on Rita's delicate face grew more perfect and radiant, Ren Amamiya could clearly sense the undisguised, strong resentment in Rita's words towards Otto Apocalypse, almost like a worker being forced into overtime by their boss.
So far, Rita had been quite cooperative after announcing her surrender. She hadn't made any suspicious moves behind the scenes and hadn't been evasive about her and Fu Hua's origins, deliberately trying to lead Ren Amamiya's thoughts astray.
This frankness, to the point of being bizarrely generous, couldn't help but make Ren Amamiya look at Rita with a somewhat strange expression.
"Rita is indeed one of the Overseer's trusted subordinates, but only a trusted subordinate. Rita is not a fanatical believer in the Overseer. Although I will fully execute the orders given by the Overseer, this does not mean Rita does not have her own thoughts and emotions."
This sudden, hellishly difficult mission had clearly pushed Rita's dissatisfaction with Overseer Otto to its absolute limit. Having already chosen to surrender to Ren Amamiya, Rita didn't mind revealing some information about Otto to him.
Whether it was from Rita's own covert observations or the types of requests the Phantom Channel website chose to resolve, both proved that Ren Amamiya was a 'good person' in the conventional sense.
As long as she fully cooperated with Ren Amamiya, Rita believed her personal safety could be guaranteed.
And if she were to be evasive and vague about Ren Amamiya's questions... setting aside the problem of surviving in the Imaginary Space, Rita certainly didn't have the ability to return to the real world from the Imaginary Space on her own.
"In that case, let me ask you, what was Otto's purpose in sending you to infiltrate Nagazora City?"
Ren Amamiya posed this crucial question to Rita, while also carefully observing the subtle changes in Fu Hua's expression.
"Initially, it was to observe the Persona Kallen that you possess. Later, it was to observe you, Lord Ren. As for the final mission, it was for Rita to recover the Herrscher of the Void's clone, experimental subject K-423, also known as Miss Kiana Kaslana. It was only because K-423 suddenly changed her route that Rita was forced into an encounter with Miss Mei and Miss Bronya."
Rita briefly explained her mission in Nagazora City. Ren Amamiya could sense that, besides her attitude towards Otto, she also held a great deal of resentment towards Kiana for suddenly going off-script.
Otto noticed my timeline much earlier than I expected... but that's not particularly important anymore.
Ren Amamiya had thought Rita's goal was to subvert Mei and Bronya, the two members of the Phantom Thieves, and that Kiana was just an innocent, unlucky bystander caught in the crossfire.
However, according to Rita's testimony now, kidnapping Kiana was her real mission, and the conflict with Raiden Mei was actually the unexpected part.
But in that case...
"Why would Otto suddenly want to recover Kiana? I've already stolen the Treasure of the Herrscher of the Void's Palace. Since Fu Hua is also a spy, Otto should already know about this."
Ren Amamiya glanced at Fu Hua. The moment their eyes met, Fu Hua looked away guiltily and lowered her head without a word.
Clearly, Fu Hua's falsified report had been passed to Otto.
"...It's because the Overseer has a way to recall the Herrscher of the Void core. But to use this method, he must rely on Miss Kiana, who is the vessel for the Herrscher of the Void core."
After a brief silence, Rita's beautiful wine-red eyes quickly swept over Fu Hua's tense expression beside her. Then, Rita's slender shoulders slumped somewhat helplessly, and she honestly gave Ren Amamiya the correct answer.
"I see. In that case, Kiana is indeed worth protecting."
Looking at Fu Hua, who showed shock and anxiety after Rita's confession, Ren Amamiya nodded thoughtfully. The weight of this stranger, Kiana, in his mind had increased yet again.
The Herrscher of the Void core, as a Treasure, had already been handed over by Ren Amamiya to Vill-V in the Velvet Room, along with the Envy and Hatred Will Seeds, with a commission to forge them into a powerful weapon.
If the Herrscher of the Void core were to be forcibly recalled by Otto, the weapon Vill-V was still forging would be at least half as effective.
This wasn't just for Raiden Mei's sake; even for the sake of the unfinished Treasure weapon, Ren Amamiya had to take Kiana's safety seriously.
For Otto to forcibly recall the Herrscher of the Void core Treasure stolen by Ren Amamiya, he had to use Kiana, the former vessel for the Herrscher of the Void core. And creating a vessel for a Herrscher core was undoubtedly extremely difficult, almost on par with creating a miracle.
At the very least, Anti-Entropy, which was hostile to Schicksal, couldn't do it. Otherwise, Welt Yang wouldn't have just watched as Ren Amamiya and Bronya stole the Herrscher of Reason core fragments from his body at the beginning, only being able to meet with Ren Amamiya in the real world to try and retrieve them.
Presumably, if he were to steal other types of Herrscher cores in the future, there wouldn't be the risk of them being forcibly recalled like the Herrscher of the Void core Treasure.
If every Herrscher core Treasure had the risk of being forcibly recalled... Ren Amamiya just imagined it, and he already felt too lazy to put in great effort to collect these Treasures.
"Ren, are you okay? The gas Rita used in Nagazora City should have affected you to some extent, right?"
After Ren Amamiya finished questioning Rita, Hare, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up, her voice soft as she expressed her concern for him.
The topic Hare brought up instantly made Rita's eyes light up slightly. She nonchalantly tucked a strand of gray-gold hair behind her fair ear, then focused intently on observing Ren Amamiya's various subtle reactions.
The Spear of Destiny was Overseer Otto's secret weapon, developed at immense cost, a crystalized product of all of Schicksal's knowledge and resources. Theoretically, even a Herrscher, after taking a direct hit from the Spear of Destiny, would fall into a state of absolute weakness, at the mercy of others.
Although Ren Amamiya wasn't a Herrscher, and by the time he appeared on the Nagazora battlefield, the Spear of Destiny gas had already been greatly diluted by the air, Rita didn't believe he could be completely immune to its effects.
Even though she had become Ren Amamiya's prisoner, as the defeated party, Rita still yearned to know what effective damage she had inflicted on Ren Amamiya. At the very least, her heart could find a great deal of peace that way.
"It did have some effect, but it's not a big problem. Just some of the Honkai energy in my body was dispersed. I'll fully recover after a little rest."
Ren Amamiya patted Seele's little head, as she had taken the opportunity during Hare's words to trot over. He then replied truthfully to Hare.
Upon receiving Ren Amamiya's definitive answer, Rita's eyes instantly looked as if they had died.
"...Ren, are you willing to accept my power?"
Hare suddenly bit her tender pink lips hard. A resolute expression appeared on her usually gentle face, and her blue eyes were filled with seriousness as she asked Ren Amamiya.
"If it's you, you should be able to bear the power of the Schariac Stigmata that I represent, and reverse the curse of the Stigmata back into a blessing."
Hare raised her hand and gently caressed her chest. Her voice trembled slightly, even faintly carrying a hint of pleading.
"The gas Rita used earlier was a special weapon concocted from Schariac Holy Blood and another unknown serum. If you, Ren, successfully master the power of the Schariac Stigmata, you will be able to freely switch between the abilities of Holy Blood and Toxic Blood. Although pure Schariac Holy Blood is much inferior to the finished product Rita used, it is still a powerful move that can be called a decisive trump card."
"The original properties of some of the gas components... Of course, whether I have this ability as a bonus or not, I am quite willing to accept your power, Hare."
The power of the Spear of Destiny was indeed extraordinary. It could ignore defense and resistance to directly act on the Honkai energy within a target's body, and had a certain probability of inflicting a weakened state on the enemy. This was clearly a noble Almighty-attribute damage.
The reason Ren Amamiya was less affected by the Spear of Destiny was mainly because Rita had used it in an open area in gaseous form. If the power of the Spear of Destiny were concentrated into a single attack and directed at Ren Amamiya, even he would have to choose to avoid its brunt.
Even if the Schariac Holy Blood Hare mentioned was only one of the basic components of the Spear of Destiny, Ren Amamiya didn't mind adding a noble Almighty-attribute skill to his arsenal.
"But Hare, your situation should be different from Seele's, right? If you entrust the power of the Schariac Stigmata to me, what will happen to you?"
Although he coveted the ability called Schariac Holy Blood, Ren Amamiya was more concerned about Hare's own condition after she handed over her power.
Hare's form of existence was that of a so-called Stigmata Archetype crystal, so she naturally possessed the ability to bestow Stigmata power upon others.
However, because Hare had never actively proposed it, and because Ren Amamiya was unsure how the process would turn out for a special case like Hare, he had never brought up this topic with her.
And from the solemn atmosphere now, as if Hare were about to offer herself as a sacrifice, it was clear that entrusting her Stigmata power to him really did come with a price.
It might require her to die once, with an indefinite resurrection time... If that were the case, it would be a rather morbidly interesting price, suitable for use in the final boss battle, then popping out of the coffin at the end of the story to scare people.
"Just bestowing the power itself won't have any effect on me."
Hare gently shook her head. Unlike Yae Sakura, who had transformed from a human into a Stigmata, she was born as a crystal of the Stigmata. Bestowing the Schariac Stigmata upon Ren Amamiya wouldn't cause Hare to lose her life or physical form.
However, the Schariac Stigmata bestowed by Hare would carry an extremely powerful and malignant Honkai energy radiation, bringing a heavy burden and harm to the Stigmata awakener who bore its power.
An S-rank Valkyrie like Rita could stay by Hare's side normally, and over time would only experience a slight discomfort, like being enveloped in static electricity in winter.
But if Rita were to inherit the Schariac Stigmata bestowed by Hare, not only would Rita herself become a second source of Honkai energy radiation, but her body's Honkai energy resistance would also be completely permeated by this Honkai energy over the years.
Although she wouldn't immediately enter a period of decline, Rita would become like those Valkyries in Schicksal who, despite having insufficient Honkai energy resistance, were forced to undergo surgery to implant artificial Stigmata, with their effective combat time greatly reduced.
Besides the Herrschers born from her embrace, the only existence capable of fully bearing and adapting to the intense load brought by the Schariac Toxic Blood was Ren Amamiya, this incredibly powerful Persona user.
But just being able to bear the curse of the Stigmata wasn't enough. In that case, Hare would only be turning Ren Amamiya into a second version of herself, merely causing Ren Amamiya to also choose to live in seclusion due to his inherent Honkai radiation. This would be a completely counterproductive negative optimization.
It was for this reason that Hare had not proposed bestowing the power of the Schariac Stigmata on Ren Amamiya in the past.
But, the current Ren Amamiya was different.
After his second Persona awakening, Ren Amamiya had completed the organization and integration of his own power, fully mastering the Treasure power he had hoped for.
Since coming from the Museum Palace, as he became more familiar with the power of the Treasure, all of Ren Amamiya's ability indexes had been enhanced once again... especially the Transcription ability he had learned from Hare.
Based on Ren Amamiya's ease and familiarity in transcribing his wild Transcription ability into his Persona's attire, Hare, as a master of Transcription, judged that Ren Amamiya already possessed Transcription abilities on par with, or even slightly superior to, her own.
"This is my request, Ren. I hope you will accept the power of the Schariac Stigmata, and at the moment of forging a pact with me, transcribe me... Only in this way can I escape the curse brought by the Schariac Stigmata."
A pleading look appeared on Hare's gentle face. Her words were slow yet firm as she revealed her strongest desire and prayer to Ren Amamiya.
Before encountering Ren Amamiya, Hare had always held the tragic wish of transcribing herself. It was only because transcribing herself had to be done at the moment the Stigmata Project was activated, taking advantage of the instant the real world and the Imaginary Space merged, that she had joined World Serpent and become an executive.
And now, the stagnation between the Path to Apotheosis, which Ren Amamiya had built with numerous Stigmata powers, and the Schariac Stigmata Space, could completely replace the fusion and collision of the real world and the Imaginary Space, fulfilling the necessary conditions for transcribing Hare, this Stigmata crystal.
Of course, the growing bond with Ren Amamiya had long since made Hare abandon the pessimistic and negative thought of erasing her own existence.
As long as Hare herself had no thought of perishing, Transcription couldn't completely erase her existence.
The current Hare simply wanted to use Ren Amamiya's Transcription ability, working together from the inside and out, to completely eradicate the curse of the Schariac Toxic Blood that had tainted her since her birth.
"I understand. If that is your wish, Hare."
Ren Amamiya nodded solemnly in reply. He could feel the strong emotions surging within Hare's heart. This was no longer just a request, but had reached the level of a wish.
To remove the contaminating ability brought by the Stigmata crystal, to be freed from the nihilistic and chaotic Mementos, and to walk alongside Ren Amamiya and the others in the real world bathed in light—this was clearly Hare's most fervent wish. As Hare's most important partner, there was no way Ren Amamiya wouldn't respond to Hare's plea.
"Thank you, Ren."
An incredibly satisfied smile appeared on Hare's exquisite and flawless face. That smile was as holy and serene as the bright moon. Just looking at her face, it felt as if one could share in the happiness overflowing from Hare's heart.
"....."
Looking at Hare's radiant smile, as genuine as a young girl's, Ren Amamiya's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Although he had decided not to numb himself with a game-world mentality anymore, but... could it be... this expression from Hare, had he just unintentionally fulfilled the requirements for a Confidant Rank Up?
"Let's leave Rita and Fu Hua in the care of Kaslana and Seele for now. As for us... Transcription requires an absolutely safe place where no one can disturb us. Ren, you and I will enter the Schariac Palace together. To prevent any mistakes or errors during the Transcription process, Ren, you must understand me even better than you do now."
A faint blush appeared on Hare's fair and delicate face. The bright, girlish smile seemed to be tinged with something hazy and indescribable.
She tucked a strand of white hair behind her ear, then extended a slender, delicate hand to gently take Ren Amamiya's. The elegant lady named Misteln Schariac led him towards the purple star gate that had opened behind her, leading straight to the Schariac Palace.
"Brother Ren, Miss Hare, where are you going? Do you need Seele to help?"
Seeing Hare proactively pulling Ren Amamiya towards the unexplored Palace named Schariac, Seele quickly took two steps forward and asked.
"Rita believes that Miss Hare probably doesn't wish for Miss Seele to interfere."
The smile on Rita's stunningly beautiful face seemed somewhat stiff. Fu Hua's gaze, which had been as innocent and clear as Seele's, suddenly changed after noticing Rita's strange expression beside her.
As if she had realized something, a look of embarrassment appeared on her calm, stern face.
The time spent alone with Hare...