Akane no Mai

by Kanius

A man from the world of Vein drops into a world of Thieves. He meets a pragmatic woman. She greets him with a calm smile. "My name is Togo Hifumi." Following the fateful encounter, a host of monsters arrive, disrupting the peace. The Thieves return to confront these entities outside their realm and ultimately cross paths with the Revenant man.

28. Second Mythological Waves

Chapter VI: Second Mythological Waves

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Meiji Shrine (明治神宮)/Shibuya, Tokyo (渋谷区, 東京)/12:30 AM (JST)

After slaying the Tsuchigumo, Nicola, Shinya, Reiko, and Li-Ming followed Mircalla and Mona back to the shrine. There they saw the Thieves, the other Vein Remnants, the Spiritual Gamblers, and the spirits gathered in one location.

"Hey, Shinya! Nicola! Look!" Reiko pointed to the honorable spirits.

"Wh-What the heck?! G-Ghosts?!" Shinya stammered almost out of fear.

"It's ok, you four. These are benevolent spirits," Mina reassured them with a nod.

"Even that flying cat and the big toad?" Reiko queried, eyeing Nekomata and Giant Toad.

"Haven't I seen that big toad from somewhere before?" Li-Ming gawked at Giant Toad.

As everyone got a good look at Nicola's Successor form, they were stunned that the walking armored entity was once Mia's teenage brother. When the Vein Remnants and their Revenant friends gathered, they marveled at Nicola back in his Successor of the Breath form.

"It's incredible. If Nicola can regain his Successor form, then the rest of us should as well," Leto referred to herself, Medic, and Adel while examining Nicola.

"Then, we'll be able to help my brother Louis and his friends," Medic said, smiling toward Sekiken and the other Vein Remnants.

"The more help, the better for us," Sekiken concurred.

"Are we supposed to believe you're spirits of some dead people?" Shinya remarked while scanning the spirits.

Nobunaga walked up to the four teenagers. "Perhaps if I were to tell you I'm Oda Nobunaga."

"Wait! You're the Oda Nobunaga?! As in the original?!" Shinya reacted in disbelief. He was utterly flabbergasted.

"Why are you so shocked? We've heard about him in history class," Nicola said.

"Hello, young ones! Perhaps you're familiar with me? Tokichiro?"

"Don't think we have?" Li-Ming blinked in confusion.

"Then, perhaps you'll know me as Hideyoshi Toyotomi?" The jubilant spirit asked them.

"Oh, that's the name I remember!" Reiko cried out.

"I don't care much about that history stuff, but damn! Who doesn't know Oda Nobunaga?! He's had characters named after him in TV shows, manga, and video games!" Shinya went into full fanboy mode, causing Nicola, Reiko, and Li-Ming to facepalm and nearly face fault. "I'm Oda Shinya."

"Oda Nobunaga and Oda Shinya. What a funny coincidence," Nobunaga noted their surnames being similar.

"Yeah, but my family has no connections to you. Sorry to say," Shinya clarified.

"Yes, I figure you weren't. Likely your surname was a homage to me."

Most of the spirits chuckled over Nobunaga's interaction with the teenage boy.

"Heheh, the boy has you there, Nobunaga. Still, it seems you've left quite an impression on future generations," Tokichiro slightly chuckled with amusement.

"Indeed, you've become a very renowned figure through the ages," Hide acknowledged Nobunaga's historical reputation.

"You're meeting a group of renowned historical figures," Tennyo spoke up as she approached the four teens. "This is quite surprising. You four are wearing masks like the Phantom Thieves."

"And just like us," Brave added, showing her mask. At the same time, Tamamo and Presto pointed to their masks, too.

"You four aren't Phantom Thieves though," Joker noted Shinya and his friends.

"I didn't see how it happened, but it had something to do with our big friend here," Mona pointed to Nicola.

"If what Nicola told me is true, then his Successor powers gave his friends these new powers and forms," Mircalla stated.

"Wait, you're Togo Hifumi?" Shinya asked Tennyo, who recognized her eyes and hair.

Upon realizing her identity being discovered, Tennyo removed her mask. "Since my name's already been revealed here," Tennyo revealed her identity to the four teens.

"Whoa, cool! The Shogi champion!" Reiko gleamed happily.

"And I already know my sis is among you," Nicola turned to Mircalla.

"Hey, since we're heroes now, we should have names to hide our identities!" Shinya suggested.

"Well, since the Phantom Thieves do, you're right, but what should I call myself?" Reiko wondered.

Taking out his laser gun, Shinya smirked. "Since I've got this, I think I'll call myself Gunslinger."

"I have spirit animals. So, I'll be Tamer!" Li-Ming announced.

"Then, I'll be Shikama," Reiko stated.

"And since I used my Successor's armor body to protect you, I'll be Protector," Nicola said.

Hearing the four teen's designated codenames, Joker acknowledged them. "I like those names. They each suit you based on your abilities and characteristics."

"Welcome to the group, you four," Mona smiled at the four teens.

"I would advise you four to be careful. You've only got a taste of what it's like to be vigilantes," Queen warned them.

"Sorry, guys. I did tell Nicola and his friends to keep out of this," Mircalla apologetically said to her friends.

"What's done is done. At least for tonight, they're along for the ride," Sion replied.

Suddenly, the group felt spiritualized pressure forming within the shrine grounds. Alarmed by the spiritual presence, the Revenants' eyes, except Hunter, turned red. Hunter's eyes turned bright blue.

With a smile forming on his face, William nodded. "It's quite alright, my friends. We're about to have good company."

"Who is it?" Fox wondered about these other spirits set to appear.

"I sense several of them," Kyosuke said, having already turned back to his normal state before Shinya and his friends arrived.

"I see them!" Mina called out as she and the group watched white orbs of light materialize and create ghostly figures.

"Hachisuka Koroku, welcome back to the living realm," Hide acknowledged as the first of these new spiritual guests appeared.

The first to appear, Hachisuka Koroku, took the form of a tall, black-bearded muscular man with long dark and wet hair. He has on long dark pants coupled with waist armor and a bright red waist belt. A metal armor forehead protector is seen adorning his head. His upper body, especially across the arms and shoulders, is covered in dark amphibious skin, which is mostly concealed beneath body armor. Several spiky protrusions are seen sticking out the back of his shoulders. When he walked forward, a spiked shell was seen on his back. From a glance, his amphibious features made him out to be some kind of Yokai and he also has the appearance of a Pacific Islander, specifically a Samoan.

"Ah, Koroku! It's good to see you again, my friend!" Tokichiro jovially called out to the tall, bearded man.

Veering over toward Tokichiro, Koroku smiled proudly. "Lord Hideyoshi, you're looking well."

"Aye, but forget the Lord Hideyoshi. I'm not called that anymore. I'm just Tokichiro now."

"Whoa, who called for Aquaman?! Guys, don't he look like Aquaman from that Justice League movie?!" Skull frantically pointed out, reminding the others of the actor who played the Aquaman character.

"Oh, right, he does look like Aquaman from those DCEU movies," Oracle recognized his space.

"Yes, he's quite as tall and handsome-looking as that actor, too," Noir smiled.

"His name is Jason Mamoa," Sekiken coughed.

"Look at his features on his arms and shoulders. They have quite a wet and rough texture. He's not even fully human. He appears to be part-Kappa," Fox assessed Koroku's half-creature appearance. "Wait, I've heard the tale of a half-aquatic man who served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. If memory serves, he was from the Kawanami clan."

"I was the leader of the Kawanami clan during Tokichiro's time," Koroku addressed the Phantom Thieves and their associates.

"Forgive some of my friends comparing you to a fictitious character from our time. We're honored to have you speak to us," Joker apologized on behalf of the other Thieves.

"It's fine, but I didn't come alone." With that, Koroku stepped away as the other glowing orbs gained spiritual forms.

The next spirit to appear is a large monk, whose entire head and face are covered in a white hood with only his blue eyes being visible. He is seen wearing the white & black tattered garb of a Buddhist priest. In his right hand, the large, rotund-shaped mammoth man is seen carrying split staff, which appeared just one of a few weapons in his possession. The group noticed other weapons saddled on his large back.

"Benkei, you're glad to have you here as well," Mumyo acknowledged the large monk-like figure.

"Whoa, he's almost as big as you are, Nicola!" Gunslinger exclaimed.

"And that's one hell of a weapon he's got!" Omusubi pointed out while examining Benkei's large split staff.

The third spirit to appear is a woman with long dark hair and garbed in blue and black samurai armored garb. Her slightly pale facial features were as pristine as a pearl and her blue eyes glistened with serenity. On her left hip is a long sheath with her katana concealed inside it. Appearing beside the samurai woman is a Guardian Spirit, which resembled a pheasant bird with an array of cyan and golden orange feathers. Its body emitted a divine aura that radiated across its feathered form.

"Minamoto no Yorimitsu, we're honored to have you here," Okatsu acknowledged the samurai woman.

"I see, you've brought along your Guardian Spirit, Ho-Oh, as well, Raiko," Hide referred to the woman by her other name.

"Oh, wow a lady samurai? I had no idea," Panther muttered.

"There's a lot you might have not known or forgotten about our culture's history," Fox chuckled. "Minamoto no Yorimitsu was also a military commander during the mid-Heian period. As a renowned member of the Minamoto clan, she was tasked to slay Yokai with a sword passed down by generations. Because of these feats, Yorimitsu was once mistaken to be a man, but history and now her spirit standing before us have proved otherwise."

"That's so remarkable!" Noir commented on Raiko's reputation.

"That Yokai-slaying weapon passed down by her family's generations is called the Sohayamaru," the artist revealed.

"Well, she's already cool in my book. She's someone I can look up to," Queen complimented the lady warrior.

As Hide and Raiko faced each other, they bowed.

"I'm glad to see you're ok, my friend," Raiko calmly said as Ho-Oh landed on her right shoulder, displaying its brilliantly colored feathers.

"And speaking of Minamoto, don't forget that I, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, am here," the spirit with the Kurama Tengu appeared next to Raiko. As they locked eyes, they acknowledged each other's presence as Tengu Kurama and Ho-Oh interacted.

"He's the one who helped us slay some Yokai," Sekiken eyed Yoshitsune.

"Is that right?" Sion asked his Revenant leader.

"Yeah, he came to help me, Queen, and Noir."

"This is the first the rest of us are seeing him, though," Crow said.

"Yoshitsune. That's the name of one of my Personas. Then, he's the historical figurehead that my Persona was based on," Joker meticulously watched the real Yoshitsune. Suddenly, another spirit appeared before everyone's vantage point.

The fourth spirit is a long dark-haired man in a dark purple robe with a black cloth covering the front part of his body. He has on a tall black hat that perfectly adorned his head. A Guardian Spirit materialized next to him, taking the form of a fox with firmly shut eyes and a playful smile. The fox spirit is seen garbed in a black hood and robe coupled with a red shirt and a ring of talisman floating around it.

"Kuzunoha and I have arrived, Raiko," the man in the dark purple robe addressed the Yokai slayer, who turned and nodded to him.

"That's Raiko's assistant and an Onmyo practitioner: Abe no Seimei," Fox identified the dark purple-robed man.

"And that fox spirit? I heard the name Kuzunoha," Brave asked, eyeing Abe no Seimei's Guardian Spirit.

"Yes, one of many fox spirits, but this one appears to serve Abe no Seimei."

Upon seeing Kuzunoha, Tamamo gleamed jovially and squealed loudly. "Oh, she's so cute! Perhaps he'd be willing to part ways with his fox spirit and give it to me?"

Presto gawked. "Wait, but you already have your Nine-Tails, Yumeko!"

Tamamo replied eagerly. "Ah, but who says I can't have two? You and Mary have two spirits!"

Brave scoffed, folding her arms. "Maybe that's for a good reason. I mean, you have one of the strongest spirits I've seen. Does the Nine-tailed Fox ring any bells?"

Tamamo nodded. "Oh yes, you're right. I already have a cool fox spirit anyway!"

Miko added. "Most of us can take on more than Guardian Spirits depending on their Ki levels, but the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox is more than enough for one wielder to handle. Lady Chacha could barely contain it. You're lucky that your will is stronger than hers enough to quell that beast's fury, Yumeko. Taking another Guardian Spirit may be too much for you to utilize."

"Yeah, yeah, you make good points," Tamamo nodded.

Just then, two more spirits appeared. They are the two Scampuss that the Thieves and the three Spiritual Gamblers met on the go-kart race in the Distorted Osaka realm.

"Hey, that couldn't be the same little critters we met?!" Oracle exclaimed.

"They're as cute as I remember them!" Noir cried out.

"So many adorable spirit animals for me to wanna hug!" Tamamo squealed joyously.

"Dudes, if that's really them," Skull muttered as the two Scampuss floated over to the Thieves and the three Spiritual Gamblers. One of the Scampuss hovered over to Panther and playfully flew around her.

"I think that answers our questions!" Panther verified as she patted the Scampuss.

"How can we forget our little friends that accompanied us and escaped the jaws of that Tyrannosaurus rex?" Fox remarked.

As one of the Scampuss floated over to Tennyo, it nudged her on the nose and squeaked. Tennyo responded by patting its head and gently scruffing its face.

"You're as cute as I remember you!" Tennyo giggled loudly.

When the same Scampuss floated over to Moonlight, the pale-skinned Revenant hesitated to touch it, but Tennyo nodded, encouraging her to pat the spirit animal. With a bright smile, Moonlight pat the Scampuss, which sensed the Vein Remnant's benign nature and squeaked.

"Come here, cutie!" Shikama reached over and patted the other Scampuss.

"You'd be a great addition with my new spirit animal friends!" Tamer said, stroking the sides of the Scampuss' face.

"I swear as tough and strong as you girls can be, you get all squeaky and happy when something cute comes up," Gunslinger scoffed as Shikama put the Scampuss in front of his face.

Shikama giggled. "Go on then, tough guy. Pet him."

"I… I don't wanna…" Gunslinger snorted as he tried averting his gaze with the Scampuss. Try as he might, he couldn't resist and stroked its furry face. "Oh…! I can't help it! He's too cute!"

Protector laughed aloud. "Even us guys can't help ourselves."

When the other Scampuss floated in front of Sion, the Revenant was taken aback. The memories of the former Sion resurfaced as he recalled meeting the Scampuss in the Distorted Osaka. When he reached over to pet it, the Scampuss leaned over and let him. With a calm smile, Sion stroked the furry sides of the creature's face.

"It looks like he recognizes you," Tennyo noted. "To him, your scent might be similar to the old Sion."

The other Revenants patted the Scampuss as well.

Just then, the calming mood quickly changed when another familiar face appeared before everyone. Upon seeing this spiritual figure, the Phantom Thieves and the three Spiritual Gamblers stood their ground and prepared to attack.

"Heheh, is that how you're going to greet a guest? I'm hurt! If I had a heart human, I'd be crying my eyes out!" The boisterous and proud booming tone from Shuten Doji addressed his former adversaries. When he appeared, the other spirits placated the Thieves and the Gamblers from attacking him. Just when the Revenants became poised to attack, the spirits calmed their furious states.

"I definitely remember you! Ugh, and you freakin' reek of booze!" Skull covered his nose.

"Ugh, he's right! Even as a spirit, I can still smell him!" Mona gagged loudly.

"Who the hell is he?" Azure whispered over to Tamamo, Brave, and Presto.

"That's Shuten Doji, one of the Greater Yokai we fought against," Brave answered.

"Yes, he's a Greater Yokai just like my Nine-Tailed Fox spirit!" Tamamo answered.

"Tamamo-no-Mae, Shuten Doji, and Otakemaru are the names of the Three Greater Yokai that once terrorized ancient Japan. Now it appears we have at least two of them on our side," Miko stated.

"This one exudes an immense power, presumably on par… no, possibly greater than most of the Lost we've encountered," Hunter assessed Shuten Doji's powerful demonic energy.

"Who knew such monsters existed back then," Songstress added.

"Yikes, this big guy is now on our side?" Oracle gulped. "Well, it's better than nothing, I guess."

Joker calmly approached the towering Greater Yokai figure. "We're glad to have you on our side."

"You pipsqueak humans earned my respect after watching you slay these pitiful Yokai. Now that I'm free from that Angel of Control's captivity, I'm free to do as I please! And I've chosen to assist you! So, let's make this a good time!" Shuten Doji openly cackled as Joker deviously grinned. When he faced Tamamo, his keen sight discerned Tamamo-no-Mae's presence lurking inside the Compulsive Gambler. "And I see you're here, too, you fox-faced devil! Heheh, hey, woman, has the old fox face been on her best behavior?!"

"Yep, she has and she says hello!" Tamamo casually addressed the Greater Yokai as if he were just a normal person.

"Ho-How the hell can you just wave and say hello to a big scary monster like nothing?!" Azure berated the Compulsive Gambler.

"Because us fellow monsters have to look out for one another," Tamamo answered coolly, her right red eyes gleamed fervently and turned bright gold, which psyched out the one-eyed sadist. The same gold eyes gained the Nine-Tailed Fox's demonic features, instilling fear into Azure. In Azure's mind, even as sadistic as she is, she's nowhere near as monstrous as Yumeko is at the moment.

"You've truly become the vessel of the Nine-Tailed Fox spirit, haven't you, Yumeko?" Miko shuddered, feeling and becoming overwhelmed by the Yokai fox's presence.

"Yeah, you're kinda scaring me here, too," Firebird nervously muttered, her forehead drenched with anxious sweat.

"Heheh, and don't think I came alone! I've brought some allies from the other side, too, willing to lend a hand!" Shuten Doji boisterously declared as two more spiritual figures appeared in front of him.

Standing on the right is a delicate-faced, pale woman with long white hair with two knotted hair tails. Adorning her forehead is a pair of dimly glowing yellow horns, one shorter length than the other, which are physical attributes seen mainly on Yokai. She is seen garbed in a dull blue and red samurai outfit. In her right hand, she is seen holding a golden seven-branched sword. Appearing on the woman's side is her Guardian Spirit: a seven-horned white dragon with radiant, pearl-like skin, a red belly, and relying on six golden wings to fly with.

"Who is that?" Queen muttered.

"I don't know, but she has the horns that Yokai possess," Fox meticulously assessed the horned woman.

"This is Lady Suzuka and her Guardian Spirit Sohaya!" Shuten Doji announced.

"Aye, and do you see the weapon she wields? It's the legendary Sohayamaru, which Hide used to seal and end Otakemaru," Nekomata ultimately revealed the sword's identity.

"So, that's the famed Sohayamaru?!" Sekiken exclaimed.

"Yes, and it would be the weapon that Minamoto no Yorimitsu would use. The same Sohayamaru's name originated from Lady Suzuka's Guardian Spirit: Sohaya," Kurama Tengu asserted.

As Nekomata and Kurama Tengu continued explaining, Hakutaku reappeared to everyone's surprise.

"Correct, but you're forgetting one more thing! In the hands of Lady Suzuka, Sohayamaru's power can be fully utilized with its greatest potential!" The sage goat spirit enthusiastically declared.

Nekomata chuckled. "My, my, what auspicious timing, Hakutaku."

"I was just waiting for my punchline."

Kurama Tengu scoffed. "You call that a punchline?"

"And this is where I'll take my leave. Tell me when the fighting is over!" Hakutaku quickly vanished just as soon as he appeared.

Mona shook his head. "Just how many animal mascots are we going to have here? I don't even feel special anymore."

"Don't worry. You'll always be our Phantom Thief mascot!" Panther said.

"Thanks, Lady Ann. That makes me feel better hearing that from your beautiful voice!"

"Ok, let's not get overdramatic, Mona," the red cat-suited woman tried calming him.

"Ahem! We have one more guest and this is certainly not the least!" Shuten Doji announced as the final spirit appeared.

When this Greater Yokai appeared, nearly everyone held their ground and faced him intensely. Mina and Kyosuke, especially, remembered fighting this powerful Yokai.

"So, it's you after all. Otakemaru," Mina fiercely gazed at the aforementioned, who appeared next to Suzuka.

The third Greater Yokai confronted his former opponents: the Phantom Thieves, the Spiritual Gamblers, Mina, and Kyosuke. He even recognized Sion's face but sensed a different aura from him. Nevertheless, Otakemaru summoned presumably his Guardian Spirit: an amalgamated creature with an elephant's nose, a rhinoceros' ears, a cow's tail, and tiger's legs.

"Heheh, you and Baku are raring to go against whatever's coming here, eh, Otakemaru?" Shuten Doji chortled as Otakemaru turned away from his former enemies and faced Suzuka.

"I'm ready, brother," Suzuka addressed Otakemaru.

"I know," he resolutely answered.

"Mother, it's good to see you," Hide approached and bowed to Suzuka, who placed a hand on the Shiftling's head.

"Whoa, hold the freakin' phone! That's his mom?!" Skull exclaimed.

"Well, talk about family revelations," Oracle remarked.

"It's true. This is Hide's mother. However, she wasn't born Suzuka. She was once Miyoshino in her past life," Nekomata clarified on Hide's family origins. "However, there is no recorded history of Hide and his relations with Miyoshino, who would become Suzuka."

"You're right. I don't recall anything about a Suzuka or a Yoshino. Hide certainly doesn't leave much for me to have known about. These would've been just tall tales passed down by generations by people who might've claimed to have seen extraordinary people and events," Fox said. "However, we now have an idea where Sohayamaru originated from."

As Otakemaru turned over to Hide, the Greater Yokai frowned.

"We're ready to battle these incoming dark entities, uncle," Hide informed him.

"Yes, I sense the dark entities approaching. They're coming with full force and a Yokai army at their behest," Otakemaru said as he noticed Tamamo. With a snarl, he pointed toward the Compulsive Gambler. "And as for you, woman. I remember you being Tamamo-no-Mae's container. Do not disappoint me. We'll require Tamamo-no-Mae's power to vanquish these entities."

Responding with a fiendish giggle, Tamamo's eyes radiated with gold, her voice intertwined with fox-like growls. "Don't worry. I intend to skewer every last one of these interlopers. We will skewer those who stand in our way!"

Brave nervously gulped. "We? Our? Oh god, that's the fox talking through her."

Presto cautiously backed off. "Yumeko, just don't confuse us as the enemy."

"Don't worry. I won't," Tamamo calmly reassured her two friends.

Not only is she in full control but she and the Nine-Tailed Fox have learned to co-exist. I never thought I'd see a human wielding a Yokai's immense power so casually. Miko anxiously thought as she watched Yumeko with keen observation.

"Otakemaru, do you remember fighting against us?" Joker asked the Great Yokai.

"The Otakemaru which you engaged was not me but likely a shard of me, which was used to create a clone and fool the other spirits with."

Mina frowned. "Oh yes, that had to be Datenshi's doing. He was pretty good with making clones."

"I would remember fighting you, your Shiftling colleague, and Tamamo's vessel," Otakemaru referred to the other two that helped Mina defeat the Otakemaru: Kyosuke and Tamamo/Yumeko.

"Moreover, with Datenshi's reality-warping ability, he created a perfect clone of Otakemaru. I do know based on his memories we share that's how the old Sion was created," Sion elaborated.

"You can rest assured that I am the real Otakemaru. Likewise goes for the Shuten Doji that you fought."

"My brother has vowed to fight with you. As his sister, you may take my word for it," Suzuka reassured the Thieves, the Vein Remnants, and the Spiritual Gamblers.

"Heheh, and as of this moment, the Three Great Yokai have been reunited for one last battle!" Shuten Doji declared, acknowledging Otakemaru and Tamamo with him.

Everyone sensed an unsettling aura that shrouded Meiji Shrine. The Revenant's, minus Hunter, eyes glowed red. Hunter's glowed pale blue. The Phantom Thieves and Spiritual Gamblers felt the disturbance through their Personas and Guardian Spirits. Most of the spiritual figures and the two Greater Yokai readily armed themselves for combat.

"There's another evil source encroaching and preparing to surface on sacred ground!" Miko warned everyone. Upon invoking her Guardian Spirits Izuna and Kara-jishi, a bright glow enveloped Miko, altering her shrine maiden garb. She also gained a white mask with half of a fox's face and a shisa's face.

With Blue Dragon giving her spirit power, Azure's clothing is altered, gaining cyan armor and a blue dragon mask. As Suzaku lent her some of its power, Firebird's clothing was replaced with a bright red and light pink robe with a red feathered mask. With Narikama's assistance, Tanuki-Ō's clothing was replaced with a light brown robe and a mask with a brown tanuki's face. With Yatagarasu's power, Karasu gained a black bodysuit and a black feathered mask. With Enko's and Yumehami's shared power, Shere Khan gained a saber-toothed cat mask and a red mane coming down from the back of her hair. Through Hi-nezumi and Shirohami's shared power, Bebe gained a rat mask and a viper snake-like rope tied around her waist. Through Fuse-ushi's power, Nandi gained a blue mask with a bull's face and a golden rope around her waist.

"Nice hero outfits! I like them!" Tamamo approved with a bright smile.

"I hope this will be enough," Presto muttered.

"It should be!" Brave added while brandishing her spear.

"Heh, bring them on I say!" Tamamo responded with an opposite reaction toward the forthcoming dark entities.

"Of course, you'd be excited," sardonically whispered Brave.

Suddenly, the Yami Matter's presence resurfaced, causing the group to prepare for the next Hyakki Yagyō wave.

"The Yami Matter hits just keep on coming," Sion scoffed, his eyes glowing in response to the festering dark presence.

"Indeed, keep your guards up!" Mona called out.

"Where are they coming from now?!" Joker scanned the shrine's vicinity. "Oracle?!"

"Yeah, they're… materializing behind us! 6 o'clock!" Oracle pinpointed the exact location of the Yami Matter emergence.

"Over there!" Hunter called out.

The entire group turned in the direction Oracle confirmed. Black smoke seemingly leaked out of the ground and formed a wall. Within this wall, a wormhole resembling a purple whirlpool opened up. William, Hanzo, Nekomata, and the other spirits felt chilling and familiar presence emerging out of the wormhole.

"It can't be…! Not him!" William yelled out apprehensively.

"Who is he?" Mina asked William.

"One of our greatest enemies. You should be aware of Edward Kelley?"

"You mean… the alchemist?" Mina referred.

"That name sounds familiar," Kyosuke added, facing the malevolent presence staring at them.

A quiet but maniacal laugh came out of the wormhole. Everyone held their ground as a figure slowly walked forward.

"Ah yes, it's been so long since you destroyed me, William," the quiet tone coming from the alchemist was heard, enough to send chills down the spines of some of the party members.

Edward Kelley stepped through the dark void of the Yami Matter wall. He appeared to be a sickly pale-skinned man. His body, notably his chest and arms, is covered in alchemic symbol tattoos, including a hexagon embellished directly on his chest. His clothing consisted mostly of black; a black vest covering his sides with black feathers covering the shoulder areas, black pants, and a black hood covering his head. As he pulled down his hood, the man was bald. There is an alchemist symbol tattooed on the right side of his head. His eyes are blood-like red.

Kelley's red eyes scanned his opposition. He recognized William, Nobunaga, and the other spirits. A calm, conniving smile adorned his pale features.

"Wow, talk about creepy," Panther shuddered at the ghastly sight of the alchemist.

"You're not kidding, Panther," Violet concurred.

"That's Edward Kelley. According to texts, he abused the power of alchemy. Having mastered the power to convert lead to gold, he discovered Amrita, which he used to turn people into monsters and reanimated corpses. All of that just to carry out his evil biddings!" Fox recalled research from his Japanese art history studies.

"He doesn't look like a native nor does he speak our language," Noir realized.

"He's an Englishman, but we don't even need to understand him to know what kind of person he is," Fox said.

"Yeah, and judging by how William and the others are looking at him, he's totally the bad guy," Oracle frowned. "Wait, I'm detecting more!"

"There's more coming out of that portal?!" Skull exclaimed.

"I definitely don't like this!" Yaksha hollered.

"So, we're now fighting evil humans. This is a first for us Revenants," Hunter scowled.

"Could we end up killing evil humans?" Songstress wondered.

"If push comes to shove," Sion asserted, quietly facing Kelley while waiting for the malevolent alchemist to make his next move.

Emerging next to Edward Kelley is John Dee, an aged Englishman with a thick white beard with a mustache and long white hair that seemed to flow down the back of his neck. He had a receding hairline over the top of his bald head where not a speck of white hair was seen. Rather than hair, four sickly-looking red eyes opened up on both sides of his forehead. He wore a black heavy coat over his matching colored robe. Tufts of white fur covered the upper area of his coat. He carried in his left hand a metal staff with a bright Amrita crystal. Around his neck, John wore a necklace with a pendant hanging from it. His left blue eye is a stark contrast to his right eye. The old man's right eye is red.

"That's John Dee!" Fox exclaimed.

"And who's he, Inari?" Oracle queried.

"He's the mastermind of the Amrita's production and wanted England to ascend into a global power. He worked behind the scenes and created the homunculus standing before us, Kelley. He used Kelley to assassinate his opposition and harvest every trace of Amrita. He, like Kelley, was ultimately stopped by William and his entourage."

"Thanks for the history lesson, Fox," Sekiken remarked.

"We sure needed to know that," Queen stated.

"John Dee, so you've returned with Kelley!" William exclaimed toward his old enemies.

"You didn't think you'd get rid of us that easily," Kelley calmly and evilly chortled. "But, that's not all."

Appearing next to John is a ten-foot-tall pale-skinned man, Derrick the Executioner, dressed in a black executioner's garb and mask included. However, the clothing seemed to mesh with his body as if becoming a layer of armor. He wore metal chains over his shoulders. Red alchemist symbols glowed over the dark skin. Numerous red glowing spikes poked out of his shoulders and back. Two massive red horns adorned the executioner's head. His eyes gleamed bright red. He carried a gigantic axe, which he swung down and carved the earth with.

Kelley cackled. "I've brought with me the Executioner as well! And he's brought his axe, which he used to execute over 3,000 people in his lifetime."

John smiled wickedly. "Yes, but there's more. The dark forces have revived us and bestowed us formidable warriors. The perfect Yokai to do our bidding!"

With that, two ten-foot-tall armored Yokai warriors appeared opposite from both John Dee and Kelley. The pair are Magatsu Warriors. Poking out of their golden Amrita back are layers of highly concentrated Yami Matter energies, which not only revived them but transformed them into the Yokai abominations they've become.

Kelley proudly introduced the Magatsu Warriors. "You'll also be fighting the Akadean duo. I've individually christened them with names: Talpa and Arago. I'm sure they'll entertain you before slicing you all into pieces!"

"Oh great, look at the size of those two!" Presto freaked.

"No, shit. We're fighting those two?" Azure balked at the Magatsu Warriors.

"Now, this is what I've been craving for!" Tamamo shouted gleefully.

"As mighty as they appear, we'll find their weaknesses," Sekiken observed the Magatsu Warriors.

"Where do we even find their vital spots? The heart perhaps?" Songstress wondered out loud.

"We won't know until we fight them, Eva," Hunter said, brandishing his Executioner sword.

"If there's anything we've learned fighting Lost, nothing is invulnerable," Sion stated, readying both his Queenslayer Blade and Hanemukuro.

"That's right!" Mircalla cried out.

"Let's not waver, Hifumi," Io said as she and Tennyo prepared for battle.

"So, you're out for revenge? But, too bad you're not just fighting William and his friends," Joker pointed his Tyrant Pistol toward Kelley and John.

"Indeed, we've returned to not only seek vengeance on our old enemies but to destroy those who stand in our way. You all just so happen to be in our way," Kelley meticulously scanned the new faces among the heroes. "I see some of you are familiar with my name, so that should save time for any introductions." His malevolent smile faded and his eyes glowed red. "John, I do believe these youth are standing in the way of our vengeance. How shall we deal with them? Quick and painless? Or, slow and excruciating?"

John chuckled darkly. "Why not both. Then, William and his cohorts will be left alone to deal with us."

"No, we will fight with these youth to send you back to the underworld where you came!" William boldly declared, taking his stance to defeat Kelley and his entourage.

"You've made the mistake to wage a war with us," Hide frowned as he transformed into his Shiftling state.

"And I'll be sure to end you myself if I have to!" Mina pointed to Kelley. She quickly summoned Saoirse, which Kelley immediately recognized.

The pale-skinned bald alchemist slyly grinned, chuckling under his breath. "So, you've found a worthy successor for Saoirse, William. Now this will be quite interesting. I can't wait to challenge your successor, William."

"Be wary of his alchemy, Mina. Kelley is a treacherous one and he'll attempt to absorb Saoirse's power," Hanzo warned the woman.

Mina nodded. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind once I shove my fist in his face."

Kyosuke then added. "Don't worry, Mina. He won't get that chance, nor will he extract my Guardian Spirit Makami."

Undeterred by their evil energies, Joker confronted the evil men and their Yokai warriors. He was then joined by the other Phantom Thieves, the Vein Remnants, and the Spiritual Gamblers.

"Wait, considering there's a large number of you, we're severely handicapped," Kelley realized. He closed his eyes and focused. Red energies of light flowed through the alchemical symbol and lines embellished on his body. He then sent the energies into the ground.

A giant red alchemical symbol materialized on the ground. A pillar of dark light poured from the symbol and dumped throughout the area. The black wave quickly spread, causing harm to the spirits. In response to the disturbance, Nekomata transformed back to the White Tiger.

"Shit, what now?!" Skull shouted.

Tennyo felt the immense evil energy shrouding the area and became sensitive to it. Io held onto Tennyo.

"Hifumi…!" Io grabbed a hold of her.

"Hifumi?! Io! Is she ok?!" Sion called out to them.

"I'm… ok!" Tennyo willfully resisted the dark energies disturbing her. "I can still go." She firmly held her ko-naginata.

"Thank god," Sion sighed with relief.

"Come forth and destroy our enemies, our legion!" John declared, lifting his metal staff. The Amrita crystal inside the staff glowed and unleashed its powers to infuse with the dark wave spreading throughout the shrine.

As the opposition declared war on the Thieves, Remnants, Gamblers, and the spirits, the Yokai Second Wave emerged from the dark clouds.

The first to emerge is a Gasha-dokuro, which towered over its opposition and howled indiscriminately.

Flying Bolts appeared. They let out otherworldly sensual moans and giggled evilly.

As more Yokai materialized in droves, among them is a giant white snake-like Yokai with plants & thick vegetation growing from its back, a horn protruding from its forehead, and two smaller black snakes growing out the main body. All three heads hissed at its would-be victims.

"That's the Yatsu-no-Kami! Yes, I remember fighting this beast," Hide recognized the great white snake-like Yokai.

Then, Tamamo, Brave, and Presto saw a Kasha, a cat-like Yokai humanoid riding a fiery wheel, and recognized fighting one on the night they received their Guardian Spirits and spiritual powers.

However, this Kasha was accompanied by a Yokai partner-in-crime: a Yokai noblewoman with long, white unkempt and shaggy hair, a tattered red robe, and a face & body seemingly half covered in alabaster skin and the other half burned. Adorning her head is a candle holder with two fairly lit candles.

"A Kasha and a Yasha!" Tokichiro identified the two Yokai.

"Well, well, hello again, my feline friend," Tamamo deviously smirked at the Kasha.

"And she's come with a friend," Presto glared at the Yasha.

Then, a Gyuki, a giant bull Yokai with six arachnid legs and a spider's body, appeared and bellowed while its Amrita horns glowed intensely. A Tatarimokke, a giant Yokai owl, dove from the sky and set its sights on its enemies. A Ryomen Sukuna, a tall conjoined Yokai with a fire half and a frosted half, appeared with a flaming sword, a fiery axe, and an ice arrow, appeared with its intentions to kill the Thieves, the Vein Remnants, the Gamblers, and their allies.

"Now, I've seen everything!" Panther cried out.

"I remember at least fighting and seeing these freaks before!" Skull exclaimed.

Joker eyed the Ryomen Sukuna. "I think I've fought that one."

However, more Yokai started to appear, including some that the Thieves, the Three Gamblers, Mina, and Kyosuke hadn't seen before. Among these new Yokai is a Yokai whose body is made out of water and has the face of a screaming priest.

"That's a Uminyudo! Perhaps one of the most haunting Yokai who dwelled in the seas!" Mumyo identified the Yokai with the watery body.

Then, a giant Yokai bird covered primarily in black feathers and standing on two legs swooped down. As it opened its 16-foot long black-feathered wings, several members in the group shuddered at the sight of skeletons hanging from its wings. Centered in its abdomen is a glowing Amrita stone. Its beak is lined with jagged teeth and its hands & feet are armed with sharp talons.

"Be wary of Itsumade's talons and its immense strength!" Tokichiro warned the group of the giant bipedal bird.

Then, an army of 100 emerged from an underground portal. Each undead warrior, while ghastly in appearance, is garbed in dusty samurai armor and their bodies smelled of rotting decay. Each carried spears, katanas, kodachi, and various other war instruments to combat their foes with. Sprouting from their backs are glowing Amrita stones, fueling them with life energy.

"Underworld Soldiers. Demons who form the army of Yomi, otherwise known as the Underworld. Their strengths are average but Amrita powering them, they'll be dangerous to deal with, especially when they're fighting in greater numbers!" William firmly stated, entailing them about the undead soldiers.

"That's nothing we Revenants can't handle," Sekiken replied.

Also popping out of these underworld portals are four-legged Yokai with black bristly manes and grotesque-looking gaping mouths full of vomit-inducing rotted teeth and thick saliva seeping out.

"These Hellish Hags can move briskly and are fairly light on their feet. Be wise when you attack them!" Hide called out.

"Ugh, couldn't they close their mouths?" Mircalla remarked at their poor dental hygiene.

"Yeah, I can smell them from here!" Adel covered her nose.

Finally, a glowing figure whose body was composed of eight separate entities appeared. Ghastly in appearance, these beings brimmed with lightning auras.

"Those are the eight Lightning Gods of Yomi! Each represents the different facet of lightning itself. These eight commands the Hellish Hags and Underworld Soldiers! And be advised of their lightning powers!" Nekomata alarmed the group.

"Thanks for the heads up," Sion said, brandishing his two weapons.

"These seem like impossible odds," Tennyo noted the large Yokai gathering.

"We've been through this kind of ordeal before. Remember, we now have Io with us. I like our odds," Sion reassured her.

As Tennyo turned over to Moonlight, the pale Revenant stood in a battle stance with her halberd.

"Don't give in to despair, Hifumi! They may be enhanced with these stones, but they will die all the same!" Moonlight encouraged Tennyo, who firmly brandished her ko-naginata.

"I don't know how long you two have been asleep for, but my friends and I have done this song and dance before. We've slew plenty of Yokai," Joker stated.

"Yes, but this situation is different. These monsters have been imbued with Amrita! They will be much more difficult than the Yokai you've just slain," John chortled wickedly.

The English Alchemist's hands and body glowed with a bright red aura. Something resembling a serpent materialized from this red glow. The serpent's skin became black like ash. Fragments of its skin peeled off as the same red light rippled through and surfaced across the serpent's body. The serpent circled over Kelley's body and turned around on his left side. The serpent opened its mouth, hissing and baring its fangs.

"My Guardian Spirit, Ouroboros, is hungry for spirits to feast on," Kelley chortled evilly. He scanned the Spiritual Gamblers, Mina, and Kyosuke. "Yes, and your spirits will do nicely."

"My friends, we must defeat and send these fiends to the underworld! They cannot be allowed to harvest the Guardian Spirits!" William cried out.

Nodding, Joker and Sekiken rallied their friends.

"Take them down!" Joker and Sekiken fiercely yelled.

With that, the party divided into smaller groups and took on segments of their opposition.

---

The four founding Phantom Thieves: Joker, Skull, Panther, and Mona, confronted and initiated the battle against Gasha-dokuro. Towering over the Thieves, Gasha-dokuro roared and stomped toward them. The Thieves evaded Gasha-dokuro's giant feet.

"Go for its legs!" Skull shouted, smashing the back of Gasha-dokuro's left knee with his Ruyi Jingu Bang mace.

Aiming for the right leg, Joker fired consecutive rounds with his Tyrant Pistol. Panther helped Joker by tying up Gasha-dokuro's right leg with her Naraka Whip. Mona launched himself into Gasha-dokuro's left leg and pulverized it with his Sudarshana slingshot. Gasha-dokuro dropped to its left knee and was on the verge of collapse. Then, the giant skeleton Yokai retaliated with a powerful foot stomp, unleashing a fiery wave that swept the four Thieves back.

Joker conjured his Persona, Arsène, into the battle.

"Call upon me, and now release thy rage!" Arsène growled as he towered behind Joker and stood bathed in blue flames.

"Destroy this abomination!" Joker yelled as he and Arsène charged head-on with Gasha-dokuro.

As he jumped forward and blasted the giant skeleton Yokai with pistol rounds, Gasha-dokuro swung down its left hand, almost backhanding Joker far from the Meiji Shrine property. However, a pillar of blue flames intercepted Gasha-dokuro, saving Joker at the last possible second. Joker watched as Arsène conjured chains imbued with bluish flames and threw them at the giant Yokai.

Gasha-dokuro roared and struggled to fight against Arsène. Skull, Panther, and Mona summoned their Personas to aid Arsène. As William and Celestine attacked from the left of Gasha-dokuro, Diego helped Arsène unleash a frontal assault on the giant Yokai.

"Our Personas should keep it busy! C'mon!" Mona called out to the Thieves. As he said this, he converted himself into a train roller coaster car. The front of the train has Mona's eyes and face with his smile widening. A long rail line materialized around Gasha-dokuro as it continued to engage the Personas.

"Holy crap! He's turned himself into that train from the Big Thunder Mountain ride we rode on a few years back!" Skull exclaimed, recalling riding the aforementioned roller coaster attraction at Tokyo Disneyland.

"Except, our train can fly," Joker plainly stated.

"Get on!" His voice rang out from the train he had become.

"Right! Into Mona, guys!" Panther shouted as she, Joker, and Skull got on.

Joker and Panther sat together in the front car. Skull was a car behind them.

"Hang on!" Mona cried out as he flew the three Thieves around Gasha-dokuro and evaded getting caught in the crossfire between the giant Yokai and the Persona fiery blasts.

Celestine cast Fire Boost and augmented her Persona colleagues. Diego caught Gasha-dokuro with a Miracle Punch, which cracked the side of Gasha-dokuro's face. William quickly blasted the Yokai with a faceful of Ziodyne as the electric attack damaged the Amrita side of its face. Having enough of their attacks, Gasha-dokuro swung its right hand down, smacking Celestine and William down. As Diego attempted to swipe the Yokai, he was swatted away by a long skeletal tail, which came shooting out of Gasha-dokuro's back.

As Gasha-dokuro clumsily turned around, Arsène flew right into its face and planted Dream Needle to immobilize the Yokai. Stumbling about, Gasha-dokuro became disoriented.

"Now's our chance, guys!" Mona announced as he flew head-on with Gasha-dokuro's head. Pushing fast, Mona's tracks sparked with Phantom Hanabi fireworks. More streams and explosive fireworks exploded out from Mona's train chimney.

The explosive fireworks and sparks bombarded Gasha-dokuro. Sparks and fire exploded from the Yokai's body.

"Hell yeah! Hit him again, Mona!" Skull hollered, flailing his hands into the air like a giddy kid.

"Blast him!" Panther cheered him on.

"Here we go!" Mona shouted as he flew over Gasha-dokuro's head and swerved around behind the giant's back. He repeated his attack to disorient and bring the Gasha-dokuro down.

"Hahahah, take that ya big bastard!" Skull laughed.

Suddenly, Gasha-dokuro regained its bearings and reached for Joker.

"JOKER!" Mona, Panther, and Skull shouted in unison.

As the Yokai's hand closed on him, Joker quickly jumped upward and evaded its grasp. Arsène swooped down and caught Joker. Raising his Tyrant Pistol to his face, Joker recalled his Persona into his body.

"I am thou, thou art I…" The voice of Arsène muttered darkly inside Joker's mind. Just then, blue flames flared behind Joker as Arsène's wings formed from his back. Having gained his Persona's wings, Joker fully utilized Arsène's wings to glide around Gasha-dokuro's head.

"Hey, check it out!" Panther showed her husband gaining his own Persona's wings.

"This is the result of the passive abilities our Persona's Ascendancy left us. We're able to use these attacks even when not in our ascended states!" Mona reminded them of their strongest Persona forms they used a few months ago.

"Does that mean we can do what Joker just pulled?" Skull asked with a sadistic grin. "William, come back to me!"

"Celestine!" Panther recalled her Persona.

As the Persona returned to their respective Thieves, Skull and Panther each gained significant boosts. Skull's entire body lit up with electrical surges. A bright red aura enveloped Panther.

The Three Phantom Thieves' eyes glowed with fiery energy. Empowered with their Personas, the Thieves tapped into their Persona's Ascendancy passive abilities and utilized them in full.

Panther conjured her machine gun and fired Agni Bolts at the Gasha-dokuro's head. These charged blasts blasted away sections of the Yokai's Amrita crystals. As for Skull, he charged up his whole body as a yellow glow covered him.

"Heh, now have a taste of my Electric Kaio-ken!" Skull boasted as he vanished and shot across like a lightning bolt at the Gasha-dokuro.

As if wanting to say "Kaio-what?", the Yokai's head recoiled from Skull's thunderous punch. The electric-powered Phantom Thief quickly unloads a combo of consecutive punches and kicks that shattered Gasha-dokuro's body. The power behind Skull's electrical blow cracked Gasha-dokuro's jaw into pieces and caused the giant to stumble back. Unable to fly, Skull fell back into one of Mona's train carts.

"It's time to seal your fate, you abomination!" Joker declared as his feathered wings unleashed blue flames, which coalesced with his Persona's Ascendancy power. Doubling as his own Persona, Joker summoned Satanael. The visage of the rebellious demon lord shot a menacing gaze at Gasha-dokuro. "Satanael, pillage him!"

Before Gasha-dokuro could attack, Joker finished the Yokai with Satanael's Riot Gun. The immense blast destroyed the skeleton Yokai and reduced it into a graveyard heap of bones.

Joker descended and turned off his wings. He turned as Mona turned back to normal. Mona recalled his Persona. Skull and Panther ran over to high-five Joker.

"Yeah! I can't believe we can actually tap into our Persona's Ascendancy abilities!" Panther yelled out in elation.

"Hell yeah! The bad guys we're fighting now won't know what'll hit 'em!" Skull boasted.

"Let's not celebrate right away, guys. We've got to see the others and aid them!" Mona stated.

Readying his pistol, Joker nodded. "Right, we can't let this go any further."

---

Queen, Noir, Sekiken, Medic, Leto, Yaksha, Tamer, Tyrone, Merchant, Mina, William, Hanzo, Okatsu, Kyosuke, Hide, Tokichiro, Mumyo, Bebe, Nandi, Koroku, Suzuka & Sohaya, and Otakemaru & Baku headed off against Kelley, the Magatsu Warrior (Talpa), an Itsumade, a Kasha, a Yasha, a Yatsu-no-Kami, and a Gyuki.

"We'll take the big guy," Sekiken said to Queen and Noir. "Makoto, let's see those fists of yours pound some Yokai into pulp."

Queen balled up and readied her fists. "Let's get this over with."

"Then, we shall take Kelley, Mina," William suggested to his successor.

Mina summoned Saoirse and turned toward Kelley, who beckoned them to fight him.

"Then, we'll handle the remaining Yokai," Hanzo proposed as he and Okatsu engaged the Yatsu-no-Kami.

As William attacked Kelley, the English Alchemist defended with an alchemic barrier. A fiendish grin formed on the alchemist's pale face as his glowing red eyes stared at William's fierce and determined gaze. Mina dashed around Kelley and sent Saoirse to destabilize his barrier from the rear.

"Let's see if this works," Mina used a talisman to power up her Guardian Spirit. She sent Saoirse to attack Kelley's barrier.

Saoirse summoned and unleashed a large water blast. As the large splash crashed into the barrier, a small crack was formed. Seeing this, Mina put on a fighting glove on her right hand and punched the crack, slightly breaking the barrier. Saoirse unleashed another water blast that shattered the barrier, sending a small tidal wave toward Kelley.

Kelley called upon Ouroboros to create another barrier to stop the wave. However, William came forward and hit him with a Ki-imbued sword. Kelley was struck by William's blade, leaving him open for Mina to deliver an elbow to his jaw. Mina then followed up with consecutive jabs and a roundhouse kick for good measure. Kelley tried to counter these moves but got leveled quickly. As William and Mina went for another attack, Kelley teleported behind them. He unleashed Ouroboros to bite Mina and take Saoirse. However, William quickly sliced Ouroboros' head.

"Damn! Almost had Saoirse again!" A miffed Kelley cursed and teleported a great distance from his adversaries. He healed Ouroboros as it grew a new head.

"Are you ok, Mina?" William asked his successor.

"Yeah, thanks to you," she fiercely gazed at Kelley, making sure she didn't drop her guard again. "I see why you hated this bastard. Just the sight of him repulses me."

Kelley hissed. "One way or another, I will have your Guardian Spirits."

---

Opposite from the Kelley battle, Queen, Noir, and Sekiken went straight for Talpa. The Magatsu Warrior charged at the trio and attacked them with its Blades of Avīci. They dodged getting sliced up by Talpa's blades. Queen quickly sidestepped and punched the ground hard, causing the earth to shift under Talpa. Nearly being taken off its balance, Talpa swung its blades at Queen.

"Makoto!" Noir and Sekiken called out to warn her.

In response to Talpa's attack, Queen invoked her Ultimate Persona, Agnes, who helped force back the Magatsu Warrior. Drawing power from Agnes, Queen lunged and punched Talpa's face with her Sabazois Knuckles. After dazing Talpa, Queen landed a kick that sent the Yokai stumbling back. The Yokai threw a blade, which Queen punched and broke into pieces with her weaponized knuckles.

Sekiken came up from Talpa's right and readily invoked his Ogre-Type Blood Veil. He also had a sword already drawn in his right hand. He dashed and evaded Talpa's blades. He turned and countered the Yokai's remaining three blades with his sword. With an intense look, Louis snarled and thrust his Ogre-Type Blood Veil through Talpa's abdomen. He started tearing and ripping out the Yokai's organs as heavy amounts of blood poured.

However, Talpa kicked Sekiken back and utilized its Amrita to heal itself. Unbeknownst to the Yokai, Noir climbed a tree behind Talpa and waited in the wings. She took out her Fleurs du Mal axe. She jumped off and mounted Talpa's back. She clung onto the Yokai and smashed her axe several times, breaking off Talpa's Amrita crystals.

"Haru, hang on!" Queen raced over to her partner.

"It's ok! I've got this-!" As she chopped off enough crystals, Talpa tossed Noir off its back. Noir quickly summoned her Ultimate Persona, Lucy. Lucy saved the Phantom Thief and fired a Triple Down to subdue the Yokai.

Agnes blasted Talpa with Freidyne. Following Agnes's attack, Queen amassed power from her Ultimate Persona and equipped them with her fists. She sprinted head-on with Talpa. The Yokai threw another blade at her. Queen jumped up, evading Talpa's blade. Diving into the air, Queen swooped down and delivered a one-two punch combo with Nuclear Fists, pounding and breaking all the Amrita off Talpa's back.

"Nice takedown, Makoto! Allow me to join in!" Sekiken quickly slashed Talpa with his Revenant hand. He then unleashed consecutive slashes with his sword, slicing and stabbing Talpa's body. He managed to cut off two of Talpa's arms, leaving him with two arms and a blade left.

"Karen, Aurora! Are you two ok back there?" Sekiken asked, turning around as he saw Medic and Leto shrouded in white auras.

"Louis, seeing you fight has given us that urge to join you," Leto firmly stated with a resolute look.

"Yes, I'm remembering my purpose. What I was intended to do," Medic added with a determined look.

"What are you saying? Wait, that's right. You're both…" As Sekiken paused, he witnessed his sister and Leto transformed in front of him and his friends.

Taking over in place of Leto is a giant white wolf with four long black arms and a golden ornament on the back of her neck. Medic's clothing was replaced with a beautiful white veil and a hood.

"Yes, I remember now. You're both Successors," Sekiken recalled, noting their Successor forms.

"I am the Successor of the Ribcage," Leto revealed.

"And I am the Successor of the Heart," Medic added with a serene smile.

Standing close by, Queen and Noir quietly observed Sekiken interacting with the two Successors. Just as Sekiken was going to share dialogue, Talpa recovered and charged forward, setting its intended strike on Sekiken.

Before Queen and Noir intercepted the Yokai, Leto swiped at Talpa with her two bottom black arms and knocked it back.

"Now, let us fight together like we're meant to," Medic firmly asserted.

---

On another side of the vicinity, Kyosuke, Hide, Tokichiro, Mumyo, Suzuka, and Otakemaru helped Queen, William, and Mina's group fight off the Itsumade. The giant bipedal Yokai bird dove over the group and flapped its wings, sending powerful shockwaves and black waves, comprising faces of countless undead evil souls, toward them.

Summoning his Guardian Spirit Makami, Kyosuke fused with it and invoked his Shiftling state. Letting out a ferocious roar, Kyosuke swung his glowing ōdachi, which he imbued with his Yokai Ki, and crushed the skeletons. Hide, too, turned into his Shiftling state and shattered the skeletons with his enhanced Yokai strength. While the two Shiftlings took out Itsumade's offensive attacks, Tokichiro, Mumyo, Suzuka, and Otakemaru engaged the giant Yokai bird. All while trying to defend themselves, the warriors took turns slashing and stabbing Itsumade. Itsumade amassed a black wave and expelled his adversaries away, but Suzuka charged with her Sohayamaru. Targeting Itsumade's glowing Amrita, Suzuka lunged for an attack. When Itsumade shot a long tail made of bones from its back, it went for Suzuka, but Otakemaru quickly intervened and with Baku's support was able to crush Itsumade's tail. Empowered by Sohaya's aura, Suzuka quickly cut through Itsumade's Amrita.

Quickly throwing her Sohayamaru to Hide, the Shiftling took over his mother's place and shattered what was left of the Amrita. Screaming in pain, Itsumade collapsed and dissolved into black mist. After slaying the Yokai, Hide tried handing Sohayamaru to Suzuka, but she declined and allowed him to keep it. Turning around, Otakemaru observed the battles being waged against Kelley and the other Yokai.

---

Meanwhile, Yaksha found herself handicapped while trying to fight off Yasha and Kasha. Despite her efforts, Yaksha was unable to match the Yokai duo's inseparable teamwork. When Yaksha picked up her Nagimukuro and swung it, Yasha attacked with long-ranged melee strings to hold the Revenant at bay. When Kasha quickly sneaked up behind Yaksha, the Yokai cat fiercely blasted her away with a flaming wave. Screaming in pain, Yaksha was sent flying far back.

As she slammed into a tree, Yaksha quickly rebounded, but before she could attack, the Yokai women taunted her with incessant laughter, which riled up the Revenant.

"Ugh, shut up!" Yaksha screamed as she hastily ran forward, swinging her Japanese greatsword at the two Yokai.

Forming water puddles she created, Yasha prepared to blast Yaksha with Yokai projectiles from these puddles. Before the Yokai could complete her attack, a fiery wave repelled her. Then, the ground shook under them, knocking Yasha and Kasha off their feet.

"Whoa! Who did this?!" Yaksha was taken aback. As she turned, the Revenant saw Tamer with her Blazing Bazan and Quake Inu.

"Surprise!" Tamer called out.

"Hey, not bad, kid!"

"You can thank me and my ability to summon my Shēngxiào! I have 12 of them at my command!" The Chinese girl announced.

"Nice, so how about lending me a hand and calling more of your cute little friends?"

"Sure, I'd be glad to!"

With that, Yaksha and Tamer engaged Yasha and Kasha. As Yasha charged at Yaksha, the Revenant jumped high and grabbed a tree branch, which she used to spin herself around and perform a gymnast move, which she hadn't done since her injury.

In the back of her mind, Yaksha found herself reliving her days as an active gymnast and applied those skills against the Yasha. She swung herself down and kicked the Yasha back. Then, with her Nagimukuro, she quickly bisected Yasha's waist and slew her in one attack.

As Tamer conjured her Lightspeed Yegi, the antelope spirit used its quick speed to distract the Kasha as it tried burning it with her flames. Growing frustrated, Kasha's wheel launched flames toward Tamer, who was saved by her Gluttonous Buta. Living up to its title, the boar swallowed Kasha's flames in a single gulp and belched fire.

"Ooo, that was spicy!" Tamer covered her nose. "Ok, let's finish this!" With that, she summoned her Aurora Tora, who brimmed with intense light. As Kasha wheeled her way toward them, Tamer sent her tiger to blast and tear through Kasha like paper, quickly skewering and purging the fiery Yokai cat into oblivion.

"Nice moves, kid! Your little friends sure came in handy!" Yaksha said as she and Tamer greeted each other again.

"And those were cool gymnast moves! You gotta show me!"

"Um, heheh, I'm sorta on the rusty side."

---

Elsewhere, Tyrone, Merchant, Bebe, and Koroku arrived to help Hanzo and Okatsu with the Yatsu-no-Kami and Gyuki. As the Yokai serpent shot two of its smaller blackheaded snakes, Tyrone swung his mighty Agent Wolf Warhammer and smashed the left black snakehead. Using her Riot Breaker bayonet, Merchant fired at the right black snakehead.

"We've got the smaller heads! The rest of you attack the main body!" Tyrone called out.

"Take the strike and don't let up!" Merchant cried out while repeatedly shooting at the right black snakehead.

As Yatsu-no-Kami launched blades from its forehead horn, Bebe, Koroku, Hanzo, and Okatsu dodged the snake's attacks. Facing the giant Yokai snake, Bebe summoned her trusted snake: Shirohami. As she sent the white viper to attack Yatsu-no-Kami, Koroku summoned two dark-furred, blue-eyed weasels with sickle blades on their front limbs.

"Go forth and attack, Kamaitachi!" Koroku commanded his two weasels as they assisted Shirohami against Yatsu-no-Kami.

While Merchant, Okatsu, and Koroku battered the giant Yokai snake, Koroku's Kamaitachi unleashed wind twisted moves, using their blades to cut through Yatsu-no-Kami.

Tyrone and Hanzo helped try to hold the Gyuki at bay. As the Gyuki used its immense size to overcome its opponents, Tyrone swung his warhammer and pushed it back.

During the assault on the bull spider, Nandi hastily arrived and summoned her Fuse-ushi.

"Erimi! I'm here!" Nandi called out, sending her Fuse-ushi to help fight the Gyuki.

"Better late than never, Miroslava," Bebe replied.

Then, Nandi, while infusing Fuse-ushi's spiritual energies into herself, jumped high and landed a powerful uppercut into Gyuki's jaw, breaking its lower jaw and even unleashing enough impact to knock it over.

"Nice save!" Tyrone called to Nandi, who landed in a sprawled battle stance with her hands infused with her Guardian Spirit's strength, helping to augment her own physical dexterity.

"With Fuse-ushi's power flowing through me, my strength has increased beyond tenfold!" Nandi yelled with determination.

After mortally wounding the Yokai snake, Koroku's Kamaitachi disappeared into veils of mist. Utilizing Hi-nezumi's spirit power, Bebe conjured a barrage of fire mice from her body and used them to burn Yatsu-no-Kami from head to tail.

"Hold him down, my cuties!" Bebe merrily cheered as Hi-nezumi appeared on her right shoulder squeaking. "Thanks for letting me borrow your friends, Hi-nezumi!"

"Nice shot! I'll take it from here!" Tyrone roared as he jumped up and smashed Gyuki's head with his warhammer, pulverizing its head and shattering its skull open as its blood spewed out.

Also not taking any chances, Merchant shot the burning Yatsu-no-Kami point-blank in its forehead. As purple blood splattered from its head wound, the Yokai serpent collapsed with a crash. Its body then slowly dissolved into green mist.

"That was quite impressive. Excellent work!" Tyrone acknowledged Bebe and Nandi's spiritual abilities.

"You two have some neat skills. You've gotten our attention," Merchant added.

"Yes, and in such a short time, you've delved into utilizing the Guardian Spirits' powers better than my colleagues have," Hanzo pointed out Bebe and Nandi's refined use of their Guardian Spirits.

"Well done, you two! Your potentials are greater than we expected!" Okatsu praised them.

Turning to each other, Bebe and Nandi smiled together.

---

While defending himself against William and Mina's assault, Kelley witnessed his Yokai minion numbers diminish.

"Are you just realizing the heroes of this period aren't the pushovers you assumed them to be? Oversight costs you then and it will cost you now, Kelley," William openly chastised the alchemist.

"Do you give?" Mina asked Kelley.

Kelley snarled in response. "This battle isn't over yet."

---

Sion, Tennyo, Moonlight, Hunter, Songstress, Crow, Violet, Gunslinger, Shikama, Protector, Nobunaga, Nōhime, Benkei, and Yoshitsune & Kurama Tengu confronted John Dee, Magatsu Warrior (Arago), Flying Bolts, a Ryomen Sukuna, a Tatarimokke, and a Uminyudo.

"Heheh, shall we begin then?" John invited the opposition to attack him.

Sion, Tennyo, Moonlight, Nobunaga, and Nōhime charged ahead and attacked the encroaching Yokai.

Sion brandished his Queenslayer Blade. A pair of Flying Bolts tossed cloth to ensnare him, but the Revenant slashed through the Flying Bolts with ease. When Tatarimokke swooped down to attack them, Tennyo and Moonlight rolled away.

Then, as they crossed their halberd and ko-naginata together, Tennyo and Moonlight cast an immense bolt of divine light that collided with and wiped out the Tatarimokke.

Suddenly, as their guards were dropped, a Flying Bolt sneaked up behind Tennyo and tossed a cloth, catching her right arm. Tennyo tried fighting back with a Lightning Thorn, but the Yokai seized and tossed Tennyo around before launching her for the nearest shrine.

"Hifumi!" Sion called for Tennyo. As he ran to save her, John fired a beam through his Amrita staff.

"Going somewhere, boy?" John taunted Sion. Then, he beckoned the Ryomen Sukuna to attack Sion.

"Io! Go check on Hifumi!" Sion ordered Moonlight while clashing with the Ryomen Sukuna.

As Moonlight hurried over to retrieve Tennyo, more Flying Bolts and another Uminyudo appeared and surrounded them. Moonlight prepared to attack with her Ivy-Type Blood Veil, but a haze of cold air surrounded the Yokai and froze them. Nōhime saved Tennyo and Moonlight.

"Thank you for saving us," Tennyo said, quickly retrieving her ko-naginata that she dropped. She and Moonlight proceeded to destroy the frozen Yokai, shattering them to pieces.

"You're not bad, boy, but now you face me!" John charged at Sion.

---

On an opposite location where Sion and the others fought John and his Yokai, Crow, Violet, Gunslinger, Shikama, Protector, Benkei, and Yoshitsune & Kurama Tengu engaged a Ryomen Sukuna, a second Tatarimokke, and a second Uminyudo.

When Crow summoned Hereward, his Persona and Ryomen Sukuna fired arrows toward the other. As the archers backed off, Gunslinger then stepped in its way.

"Hey, over here!" Gunslinger yelled out, firing dense laser rays that broke off sections of Ryomen Sukuna's body. As Ryomen Sukuna turned and attacked Gunslinger, Protector intercepted the Yokai and punched it back.

"You want some more?! No? Then, stay down!" Protector berated the beaten Yokai.

As Ryomen Sukuna recovered, Shikama cast paper seals and bound all of the half-ice, half-fired Yokai's weapons, rendering them null.

"That'll cut off your powers! Ok, take him down!" Shikama cried out.

Seizing the advantage of the bound Yokai, Crow quickly took Ryomen Sukuna out with his Twilight Arrows.

As Tatarimokke dove for an aerial attack, Violet passively conjured her Ivory Veil, providing a white see-through veil that doubled as a barrier and repelled the Yokai owl's attack. Summoning Ella and using Sword Dance, Violet quickly slew Tatarimokke with fast rapier strikes.

While Benkei defended his retainer, Yoshitsune, from Uminyudo's watery whips, Yoshitsune and Kurama Tengu merged into their Yokai Shift phase. Yoshitsune attacked Uminyudo with ferocity, even tearing into the Yokai's watery body. As Uminyudo's monk face fired an intense golden ray, Crow and Violet stepped in and assisted him.

Nodding to one another, Crow struck Uminyudo with his Twilight Arrows while Violet dove in and stabbed Uminyudo's monk head with her rapier. After delivering her Masquerade, she and Crow finished off what's left of Uminyudo.

"Thank you, friends," Yoshitsune bowed as he and Kurama Tengu split off.

"Great work, Sumire. I couldn't have done this without you," Crow acknowledged her with a smile.

Violet nodded. "You're welcome."

---

Sion briefly clashed with John, who countered the Revenant's attacks with barriers forged by his staff. Growing ever more agitated, Sion summoned his Hanemukuro katana. He brandished both weapons in a dual-wielding fighting stance. John fired another beam from his staff. This time, Sion evaded and quickly shuffled over to the left. John threw more blasts that Sion sidestepped. Sion was able to discern and predict John's attack patterns. He jumped over another beam from John and swung both weapons. Preparing to counter Sion's dual-wielding attack, the Revenant tapped into Io's Ivy-Type Blood Veil and hit the ground, summoning spikes that came out of the ground behind John. The spikes went through John, who got caught by Sion's trap.

"Augh! Damn you…!" John cursed, gargling blood as Sion rushed over to finish him. "But, not nearly enough, boy!" He invoked the Amrita powers from his staff and destabilized Sion's Blood Veil. Then, he formed a barrier that stopped Sion's path. "Here's something that'll surely terrify you. William, I hope this invokes memories of the last time we crossed paths!"

Upon hearing his name called from afar, William realized what John referred to. William attempted to intervene, but Kelley stopped him.

"Be careful, young warrior! He's going to invoke his true grotesque form!" William yelled out to Sion. He watched as Sion paced himself and attacked John's barrier. Seeing Sion wielding a Japanese weapon like Hanemukuro reminded William of his past adventures as a foreign hero liberating Japan of the evil that plagued it ages ago.

With a barrier protecting him, nobody could stop John now. John raised his staff as the crystal gave off a bright orange glow. The orange aura enveloped the older man and transformed him. His human form distorted and mutated into something grotesque. He transformed into a 15-foot high bulbous walking mass of gray flesh with long tentacles. Each tentacle had demonic orange eyes. The disgusting blob of mass, which comprised his whole body, was covered in similar demonic eyes. The creature had approximately a hundred eyes based on observation. His left hand retained the metal staff he used to transform himself with. Nothing remotely resembling the old man was present. He had become Hundred Eyes.

Nobunaga ceased his battle with Arago and became horrified by John's revolting transformation into Hundred Eyes. Seizing advantage of the distracted spirit, Arago swung its blades over Nobunaga. Nobunaga barely sidesteps getting bisected by Arago's blades. As Nobunaga went for a sword dash at the Yokai, two Shogi pieces materialized on Arago's opposite sides. These Shogi pieces unleashed divine sparks and stunned Arago.

"Good save, Hifumi! I've got him!" Moonlight came up toward Arago's rear and swung her halberd. She quickly carved through Arago's back and broke off sections of Amrita crystals. As she went for another halberd swing, Arago turned and slashed her repeatedly with its blades.

"Io!" Tennyo cried out, witnessing Moonlight being critically maimed. Filled with anger, Tennyo blasted Arago with Divine Thorn. After taking down the Magatsu Warrior, she dove in and caught Moonlight. "I've got you, Io!"

"Hey… nice catch…" Moonlight tried bringing light to a serious situation. She winced with the wounds Arago gave her.

"Hold on, Io. I'll treat you," Tennyo said, using Panacea Essence to heal Moonlight and cure her of any ailments she might receive from the wounds.

Moaning lightly, Moonlight felt renewed after her treatment. "Yes. That's better. Thanks, Hifumi."

"You're welcome," Tennyo stood up with Moonlight. "And just for safer measures." She cast Regenerator on them, improving the self-regenerating abilities of Moonlight and herself.

As Nobunaga held Arago long enough for the female duo to recover, Tennyo and Moonlight charged at Arago. Arago threw two of its blades at them. Tennyo and Moonlight quickly sidestepped Arago's blades. Both got behind and targeted the Amrita clump on Arago's back. With their halberd and ko-naginata, they took turns tearing off Arago's Amrita. Arago turned around, defending its life source and blocking its opponents' attacks with its remaining two blades.

"Hey, ugly! Don't forget about us!" A voice belonging to Hunter called out as he and Songstress came into Hundred Eyes' many views with his many eyes covering his grotesque form.

"This is a rather unpleasant sight," Songstress shook her head. "Let's finish him quickly so I don't have to look at his unsightly presence, Jack."

Drawing out his Executioner sword, Hunter intently faced Hundred Eyes to honor his lover's wishes.

"You don't even need to ask, Eva," Hunter raced to help Sion battle against Hundred Eyes. When Hundred Eyes easily saw him charging at him, the multi-eyed monstrosity tossed a tendril in Hunter's direction.

Quickly sidestepping Hundred Eyes' attack, Hunter used Night Fog Veil, concealing himself from the creature's view. Utilizing his cloaking technique, Hunter attempted to sneak on Hundred Eyes.

However, Hundred Eyes' keenest sights discerned Hunter's presence and blasted him. Hunter narrowly dodged and revealed himself. In response to Hundred Eyes' aggressive attacks, Hunter invoked his Hound-Type Blood Veil and unleashed his hounds to dispel the creature's blasts. As Songstress arrived and backed up Hunter, Hunter jumped high and activated his Gift. With Severing Abyss, Hunter slammed his Executioner sword across the Hundred Eyes.

"Jack, look out!" Sion called out as Hundred Eyes shot another tendril out of its body and knocked Hunter down.

"Jack!" Songstress screamed as she hurried toward him. On her way to fetch him, Hundred Eyes flung a tendril at her. She fought back with Volatile Storm, slicing apart the tendril with sand blades.

"Is Jack ok over there?!" Sion called out to Songstress.

"He's not gravely injured! He should be…" Before Songstress could finish, Hunter stood up and grabbed his Executioner sword. "Jack, let me treat you."

"I'm fine. Sion is going to need some help," Hunter muttered.

"Jack is getting roughed up over there!" Tennyo called out as she and Moonlight continued fending off Arago.

"Then, it's time to revive the Successor of the Drake," Moonlight stated as her body emitted a white aura, which she used to transfer a ray of white light that enveloped Hunter.

Becoming bathed by the Vein Remnant's light, Hunter initially felt light-headed and doubled over. Then, he sensed a rush of intense power filling him.

"Jack!" Songstress called out as she raced over toward him. While checking over him, she noticed something forming around his neck. A halo of white light forged a necklace with a pale blue orb around Hunter. "What? Where did this come from?"

"Get back, Eva. I'm sensing a great power coming from it! It's taking hold of me!" Hunter shouted as he pushed Songstress back. Covering his face, Hunter's face contorted as the necklace orb gleamed and enveloped him in a white veil of light.

While dodging Hundred Eyes' tentacles, Sion overheard Hunter's pained roars. For a second, he watched a shimmering spark of white light envelop Hunter. Everyone else stopped and witnessed Hunter transforming into a 13-foot tall, white-scaled, and four-legged European dragon with a long neck, long-snouted head, and Hunter's scar over its left eye.

Having utilized the power of his orb necklace, Hunter took on his Successor of the Drake form.

Everyone else briefly ceased fighting and gazed upon Hunter's completed dragon transformation.

Upon seeing her liver transform into a dragon, Songstress cupped her mouth in disbelief. "...Jack? Oh my god."

"Jack!" Sion called out to the dragon. Just then, memories of the old Sion resurfaced as he witnessed images of Jack turning into this same dragon during the battle against Datenshi. "No, it's ok, Eva! He's done this before!"

"He has?" Songstress gaped. Then, just like Sion, she saw scenes of her cognitive self watching Hunter's Successor of the Drake transformation. "Yes, it's coming back to me now. At least, I believe I do after learning more about my cognitive self's experiences."

As the dragon pivoted its head, a ray of white light came out of its blue eye and struck Songstress. As the warmth of the white light shrouded her, the familiar angel entity with long, slender limbs and four purple, damaged wings folded behind Songstress.

"Yes, and I remember I'm the Successor of the Throat," Songstress said, finding herself protected by an extra pair of pale gray arms.

Witnessing these events play out, Sion wondered if Io's abilities, which linked to the amber Blood Bead, had extracted the memories of the cognitive Revenants from Hifumi and passed them over to him and his friends.

"Hey, what's going on over there?!" Omubushi called out.

"Is that Jack?!" Mircalla cried out as she and the other Revenants witnessed the ascending dragon.

"Eva, too! Look!" Yaksha shouted, noticing the Successor of the Throat's revival.

As Arago briefly got distracted by the dragon and its maiden, Tennyo and Moonlight knocked the Yokai down with a double sweep. Tennyo paused and observed Hunter. "You had to give him that power, didn't you, Io?" Tennyo marveled at the Successor of the Drake's large presence.

With a proud smile adorning her pale features, Moonlight muttered. "Welcome back, Successor of the Drake."

"Hey, are you seeing this?! Jack turned into a dragon!" Tamamo shouted aloud for her Gambler friends.

"How in the hell is this possible?!" Presto exclaimed.

"Wait, don't you remember? We weren't there to see it, but one of Sion's friends did turn into some kind of dragon. Looks like Jack's the one," Brave said.

"Holy crap, are y'all seeing this, guys?! It's a big ass dragon!" Oracle contacted the other Thieves.

"How did he manage to do that?!" Skull wondered.

"This is probably Io's handiwork," Queen deduced.

"That's a fair point. She does have that ability to restore Revenant memories and powers," Noir added.

"This couldn't have come at a better time. This is exactly what we need to stop the Yokai!" Mona stated.

"You won't get any arguments from me. We best hope he can maintain control of his dragon state," Joker stayed on the side of caution.

Having witnessed Hunter's transformation into a dragon, John's consciousness within Hundred Eyes was taken aback. Frantic internal thoughts raced through his mind.

Wh-Where did this come from?! Could this be some form of sorcery or alchemy?! Since when can a man turn into a dragon from legends?! John's internal thoughts had him in complete disarray.

Of the heroes, William became more intrigued seeing a dragon in this day and age. He recounted alleged encounters with dragons in England. Seeing a dragon of European influence just seemed like something out of place and out of time during this contemporary age.

"I've never seen such a beast even during my time with all the Yokai running amok," Hanzo observed the white dragon.

"It's because it's a dragon with an appearance closer to those of the legends from my homeland," William stated. "Dragons like this aren't supposed to be around in this day and age."

"But, this cannot be a real monster. It's a human that used an orb to transform into one!" Okatsu pointed out.

"Heheh, that man used an artifact to grant himself the form of the dragons of antiquity times," Kelley meticulously eyed the dragon heading its way to attack Hundred Eyes. "I don't know how he's acquired this artifact. It may very be akin to Amrita. Therefore, we shall acquire it!" As he prepared to confront the dragon, Mina quickly cut him off and went for a roundhouse kick that Kelley evaded.

"You're not going anywhere!" Mina shouted, sending Saoirse to attack Kelley.

As the dragon slammed headfirst with Hundred Eyes' barrier, it stumbled slightly back. However, the grotesque being's defensive wall didn't stop the dragon from headbutting it.

"Jack!" Sion called out to the dragon.

Facing Hundred Eyes, the dragon opened its mouth and let out a terrifying roar that started with a bellow. Then, the bellow became a deep, low growl. There was a loud bone-chilling screech coming out between the loud bellow and deep growl. It sounded like the combination of varying animals combined into one unique vocalization fitting for a mythical-looking beast. Some of the combatants froze with terror having felt the dragon's roars emanating from the center of the shrine.

"C'mon, Jack. Break that son of a bitch open," Sion watched the dragon clawing into Hundred Eyes' barrier.

"Jack! Take him down!" Songstress encouraged him as she helped the dragon and tossed sand blades into Hundred Eyes' barrier.

Just then, the dragon ceased the repeated headbutting and commenced with a new strategy to bring down Hundred Eyes' barrier. The white-scaled beast's wings flapped hard as they morphed into two metallic hound heads, becoming akin to Hunter's Hound-Type Blood Veil. The hound's necks grew long like the dragon's. The dragon used all three heads to unleash a triple bite force called Slavic Fangs to finally break open the barrier. Hundred Eyes quickly defended and unleashed tentacles to ensnare the dragon. As Hundred Eye dragged the three-headed beast forward, the dragon let out a pained but chilling screech.

"Jack needs our help!" Songstress called out as she called on her Ivy-Type Blood Veil.

As Sion summoned a Hound-Type Blood Veil, he and Songstress jumped in to save the dragon. Sion sent his hound heads to tear off a tentacle that bound Jack's hound heads. Songstress's Blood Veil unleashed spikes that gutted through Hundred Eyes and cut off the tentacle holding the dragon's head.

Once the dragon was freed, the hound heads became wings again. The beast then breathed blue flames and blasted Hundred Eyes with Fafnir's Breath. Blue flames enveloped and burned Hundred Eyes' soft body. Many of its eyes started popping like disgusting zits as the flames spread over. Hundred Eyes launched horizontal lasers that went straight for the dragon. In response, the beast forged his own defensive barrier, in the form of a veil of white light, and stopped the lasers with Otr's Concealment Wall.

"Yes, you've got him, Jack!" Songstress called him.

Hundred Eyes tossed three crystal spikes that the dragon stopped with a swing of a tail. The dragon quickly flew into the air and breathed more blue flames on Hundred Eyes. Hundred Eyes didn't stay stationary for long and jumped up, swinging its staff at the dragon. The dragon responded with another barrier to protect from Hundred Eyes' attacks. The creature released its remaining eyes to attack the dragon. These miniature eye minions fired multiple red lasers repeatedly, hitting the dragon and shattering its defenses.

"Jack!" Sion had seen enough and conjured a Stinger-Type Blood Veil. He shot the metallic scorpion's tail and pierced through Hundred Eyes. He grabbed ahold of the abomination and pulled down.

As Hundred Eyes set sights on Sion, this distraction enabled the dragon to burn away the eye minions with Fafnir's Breath. The beast then turned its fiery blast on Hundred Eyes and burned it, dealing enough damage to burn its whole body. As the burning creature fell, it turned back into John and hit the ground. The dragon grabbed the staff the man wielded and snapped it in two in a front claw.

Sion and Songstress hurried over to finish John off. John got up and turned to escape, but the dragon flew down and blocked his way.

"No, this cannot be…!" John cowered as the dragon raised its foot and crushed the old man like the vermin he is.

"And that takes care of him," Songstress remarked. "Jack! Are you ok?"

Sion approached the dragon, who turned and cast an intense glare at the Revenant. Unfazed, Sion smirked.

"You're bigger, but still the bad boss I remember," Sion complimented him.

Growling, the dragon's body glowed with green light. This green aura washed over the winged behemoth's body and healed him. He used his Reginn's Heart Recovery to treat his bodily wounds, including all wear and tear from the fight with Hundred Eyes.

"Rest up, man. You earned it," Sion said as the dragon scanned the other battles.

Elsewhere, Tennyo and Moonlight helped to bring down Arago. Tennyo blasted Arago with Divine Thorn, allowing Moonlight to bind him with her Ivy-Type Blood Veil. Tennyo broke off the Yokai's remaining Amrita, which greatly diminished its power. Nobunaga finished the Yokai by driving his sword through and finishing it off. Blood spilled from the Yokai's mouth and wound as it collapsed.

Having witnessed John's demise, Kelley grew even more worried about their adversaries. He and his group had greatly underestimated the modern day heroes' wealth of resources that William and his entourage lacked.

---

Fox, Oracle, Mircalla, Omusubi, Adel, Tamamo, Brave, Presto, Itsuki, Midari, Yuriko, Masamune, Yukimura, Yasuke, Giant Toad, Sasuke, Hideyori, the White Tiger, Shuten Doji, Yorimitsu & Ho-Oh, Seimei & Kuzunoha, Tanuki-Ō, Karasu, and Shere-Khan fought Derrick, the Lightning Gods of Yomi, Underworld Soldiers, and Hellish Hags.

"Here they come!" White Tiger bellowed as he blasted away two Underworld Soldiers.

"Let's focus on getting rid of these!" Fox directed his sights on the bothersome Hellish Hags. He shot a few of them with his Heaven's Gate gun.

"Right on it!" Oracle called out from within Al Azif. She started by targeting and firing beams at a Hellish Hag from Al Azif.

Quickly coming to Tanuki-Ō's defense, Shere-Khan and Karasu intercepted several Underworld Soldiers and two Hellish Hags. Shere-Khan and Karasu summoned Yumehami and Yaonami-Hime. Tanuki-Ō conjured her Guardian Spirit raccoon dog and monkey, Narikama and Masaru. The trio sent their Guardian Spirits and attacked the Yokai with them.

With their sights set on an Underworld Soldier fleet, Yorimitsu and Seimei attacked them with their Guardian Spirits. As Ho-Oh and Kuzunoha distracted the undead enemies, Yorimitsu briefly summoned a Mezuki and a Gozuki. Both of these summoned Yokai had blue eyes as opposed to red. Much like Koroku's Kamaitachi, these specific two were tamed to fight on Yorimitsu's behalf. And fight on her behalf Mezuki and Gozuki did as they mowed down the enemy Yokai.

Just then, the Lightning Gods of Yomi conjured and lobbed powerful lightning bolts at the Guardian Spirit wielders. As the spirit wielders scattered, Tanuki-Ō, Karasu, and Shere-Khan's Guardian Spirits united and dealt some damaging blows to the Lightning Gods of Yomi.

"Yeah!" Shere-Khan cheered.

"Let's keep this up and take it down!" Karasu hollered.

"Yes! Don't let up!" Tanuki-Ō yelled out.

Mircalla and Omusubi helped to take down a few Underworld Soldiers. Swinging his great sword, Omusubi unleashed consecutive slashes on an Underworld Soldier. Coming up behind another Underworld Soldier, Mircalla gutted it with her bayonet. Another Underworld Soldier tried to sneak up behind her, but Mircalla invoked her Stinger-Type Blood Veil and stabbed it with her metallic scorpion tail.

"Hey, Emily! How are you hanging in there?!" Omusubi asked his girlfriend, who after stabbing an Underworld Soldier got down on all fours and sprawled them out in a cat-like stance. "Emily?"

As more Underworld Soldiers charged at Adel, the female Revenant menacingly grinned. "Oh yeah, now I'm fired up!" With that, a fiery red cloak enveloped Adel, which startled Omubushi and Mircalla.

"Emily!" Omubushi called to her, but several Underworld Soldiers stepped in his way. Before he can reach her, he witnessed his girlfriend undergo a physical transformation. In Adel's place is a black leather-clothed humanoid cat with two tails and reddish-orange claws, which she slashed the Underworld Soldiers into pieces with.

"Emily…?!" Mircalla gaped in shock at Adel's transformed state.

Omubushi blinked. "O-Ok, so my girlfriend's… a cat now?"

"And she slashed them bits!"

Chuckling, Adel gazed at her clawed hands. "Looks like I'm not the only one who regained their Successor form. Based on my memories, I'm the Successor of the Claw."

"I'm starting to remember this side of you now. You do live up to your title, Emily," Omubushi noted Adel's sharp orange claws.

"Heheh, do they scare you?" Adel rubbed her paw against her face as a cat would.

"Not really but they come in handy."

"They sure do! Alright, boys! Who's next?!" Adel lunged at and slashed another Underworld Soldier in two.

---

Tamamo's Nine-Tails fought back and fired a Kitsunebi at four Hellish Hags.

"That should clear it, Yumeko! Let's go forward!" Presto called out.

"Yeah, let's play with that big executioner guy! Bet he's a lot of fun!" Tamamo gleefully declared, finding herself a new playtoy to challenge.

The Spiritual Gamblers and the spirits fought through the Underworld Soldiers. Only a few managed to get by to reach Derrick. Tamamo, Firebird, Azure, and White Tiger confronted Derrick. With a swing of his giant axe, Derrick nearly took off the heads of his opponents. Firebird defended with Suzaku's flaming shield. Azure's Blue Dragon unleashed a wind blast that pushed Derrick every slightly back.

"Shit, we're just slowing him down!" Azure cursed at Derrick's superhuman durability. She sent Nurarihyon to attack Derrick with water attacks.

Derrick swung down his axe, cleanly cutting through some water and stopping Azure's momentum.

White Tiger rushed and slammed into Derrick, knocking him back. White Tiger expelled a lightning mouth beam at the executioner. Derrick countered the beam with his axe.

Having witnessed Derrick in action, a dark smile adorned Tamamo's face. She has been presented with a new challenge. This delighted her. She turned to her Guardian Spirit.

"What do you say, my lovely fox? Wanna play with our new plaything?" Tamamo purred as she pressed a hand against Nine-Tails. As the two merged, they transformed into a different kind of Nine-Tails entity.

The group fighting Derrick, including the executioner, witnessed Tamamo's abrupt transformation. Firebird and Azure's Guardian Spirits started to cower. Fox, Oracle, the Spiritual Gamblers, and the spirits veered and sensed the dark mystic power emanating from the spot where Tamamo used to be.

"No, that young woman managed to merge with Lady Chacha's Guardian Spirit!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Yukimura became stricken with shock as a familiar demonic visage appeared over Tamamo. The ghostly aura of a demonic fox roared in front of Tamamo. As the ghostly fox's face faded, Tamamo was shrouded in a mist. Tamamo's red eyes glowed behind the thin veil of mist. A sadistic giggle came out of the mist, sending unsettling vibes toward her own allies. Tamamo stepped out of the smoke and emerged.

"Oh, shit… that's Yumeko?!" Azure backed off, unhinged by Tamamo's new 'Nine-Tails' appearance.

"That can't be Yumeko…" Firebird muttered in horror.

Sensing a foreboding dread, Miko fiercely narrowed her gaze toward the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"I sense bad omen from this," Miko quietly muttered.

Both Presto and Brave were taken aback by their friend's transformation into a demonic variation of the Nine-Tails.

"Oh great. This can be either a good or bad thing. I hope Yumeko remembers to control the Nine-Tails," Presto muttered.

"Depends on the situation! Hey, Yumeko, you better keep a clear head! Or, else I'll knock some sense into you!" Brave pleaded to their nine-tailed Compulsive Gambler.

White Tiger growled toward Tamamo's direction. "That woman merged with her Guardian Spirit and transformed into the infamous Nine-Tailed Fox! Only Lady Chacha has managed to acquire this form." He watched the Nine-Tailed Fox stalk toward Derrick like a predator.

Laughing aloud, Shuten Doji swung down his giant spiked club. "Heheh, this is what I'm talkin' about! You're raring to go, Tamamo-no-Mae! But, you've gotten soft needing that girl's permission to run wild!"

The Nine-Tailed Fox let out a horrific beast roar and charged head-on with Derrick. Derrick prepared to bisect the nine-tailed beast. However, the Nine-Tailed Fox quickly evaded contact with Derrick's axe and swung her nine tails from the rear, knocking the executioner back. All nine tails lit up with glowing red energy. She flung nine fiery rocks in Derrick's way and bombarded him. Derrick had no time to react to defend himself against the Nine-Tailed Fox's unhinged assault. The beast also seemed to grin and cackle at Derrick's, as if Yumeko was the one in the driver's seat.

"Step away, Tamamo! I'll take pleasure in this kill!" Shuten Doji dove in and clubbed Derrick's face with his spiked club. After knocking the executioner back, Shuten Doji spat on the ground and motioned over for Derrick to attack him. "C'mon, ya big bastard! Get ya some of me!"

As Shuten Doji and Derrick briefly collided, Tamamo waited for the next opportunity to strike down the latter.

Oracle yelled out from Al Azif. "Hey, Inari! Are you seeing this?!"

"Indeed! And unlike last time, Yumeko seems to be the one in control of the Nine-Tailed Fox!"Fox responded, remaining cautious with Tamamo's transformation into the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"Let's hope so, Inari. But, I don't think we should worry much. Nonetheless, we should be cautious."

"Yes, we'll see…"Fox suddenly spotted Underworld Soldiers dive-bombing onto Al Azif. "Heads up, Futaba! You're being attacked from above!"

"Aw, crap! Get the hell off me, you little jerks!" Oracle shouted

When the Hellish Hags pelted Al Azif, this prompted Oracle to step out and fight them. Jumping across at her enemies, Oracle drop kicked an Underworld Soldier. She pressed a button on her wrist, which opened up slots on her hands and activated a yellow laser sword. She stabbed one Underworld Soldier. She turned to fire blasts from her laser sword to take out another. More poured in and piled on top of her. However, the orange-haired Thief madly swung her laser sword and sliced up the Underworld Soldiers.

"Alright! Who else wants some?!" Oracle furiously screamed. "Come out and face my nerd rage! Mess with my Persona and you'll regret it!"

Invoking one of his passive abilities, Fox conjured 10 shadow clones of himself. He quickly summoned his Ultimate Persona, Gorokichi. Using his Fox Shadow, the clones quickly struck down 20 Underworld Soldiers. Doubling up on his efforts, and by Fox's command, Gorokichi unleashed Bufudyne and froze the Underworld Soldiers. The shadow clones then made short work and shattered the frozen Yokai into pieces.

"Did you take care of those, Futaba?" Fox asked her.

"Problem solved up here, Inari!" Oracle flashed him a big grin and a hand to head salute.

"And we've cleared this area, too," Miko chimed in as she and her Guardian Spirit neutralized the remaining Hellish Hags.

"And we've beaten the rest of those Yokai," Mircalla added as she and Omusubi finished the remaining Underworld Soldiers.

"Their leader has been removed," Tanuki-Ō verified as she, Shere-Khan, Karasu, Yorimitsu, and Seimei finished the Lightning Gods of Yomi.

"All that's left is Yumeko taking care of that executioner guy," Presto said, observing the Nine-Tailed Fox headbutting Derrick.

Derrick slammed his axe to the ground, which the Nine-Tailed Fox nimbly dodged. Creating a distance between them, the Nine-Tailed Fox flung fiery rocks from her nine tails. Raising a hand, Derrick tried blocking the rocks pelting him. The Nine-Tailed Fox dove at Derrick and bit down on his left arm. Derrick roared angrily and pounded on the Nine-Tailed Fox's head repeatedly. She refused to release her bite hold. Derrick tugged at her and twirled his arm around, trying to pry her off.

"Stay on him! Bite off his arm if you gotta!" Azure cheered her on.

"At least she's got him away from that axe now!" Firebird commented on the Nine-Tailed Fox smartly preventing Derrick from retrieving his axe.

The Nine-Tailed Fox wrestled Derrick and swung her tails forward. She knocked Derrick far out of the shrine and gave chase to him. As Derrick got up to recover, the nine-tailed beast unleashed and bombarded him with assorted fiery blasts. Each blast pounded and knocked Derrick flat on his back. The Nine-Tailed Fox landed atop Derrick and snapped her jaws at him. Derrick tried fighting back and grabbed the beast's snout. She burned her flaming tails into Derrick, delivering burns to him. As Derrick tried to push the Nine-Tailed Fox, the beast unleashed flames that burned the executioner alive.

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Chapter Soundtrack

96-:rip (Cauldros Night) - Xenoblade Chronicles X OST - Hiroyuki Sawano - Interlude of a moment of rest for the protagonists.
Nioh OST - Alchemists II- Edward Kelley, John Dee, Derrick, and the second wave of Yokai's arrival.
Kingdom Hearts III OST - Titan - Joker, Mona, Panther, and Skull vs. Gasha-dokuro, and on the Mona train. Slaying the Gasha-dokuro.
Nioh 2 OST - Battle Theme 1 - Thieves, Vein Remnants, Spiritual Gamblers, and allies fighting and slaying the Yokai during the Hyakki Yagyō
Nioh 2 OST - Battle Theme 3 - Another vs. Yokai theme during the Hyakki Yagyō event.
Code Vein OST - Return of the Knight - Jack and Eva utilize their Successor forms to help their allies against Kelley, John, and the Yokai.
z37b20a13t01t08le (Minor Boss Battle) - Xenoblade Chronicles X OST - Hiroyuki Sawano - Fighting against Kelley, John, and the second wave. Defeating John and Derrick.

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A/N: In this second wave are some of the Nioh central villains. Edward Kelley, John Dee, and Derrick are major bosses from the Nioh game. In this, they're pretty much the first official bosses of Book II our heroes have to contend with. And also to show the Yami Matter doesn't just create and revive mindless creatures.

Mona's train roller caster form and the battle with the Gasha-dokuro were based on the Rock Titan battle in Kingdom Hearts III.

If you have noticed, I'm letting Oracle/Futaba out of her Al Azif shell to fight enemies directly. To make up for the lack of physical prowess, she can conjure laser swords (or just light sabers) and fire beams. Al Azif can still attack enemies and defend Futaba willfully without her piloting it now.

More Spiritual Gamblers reveal their codenames: Miko, Azure, Firebird, Tanuki-Ō, Shere-Khan, Bebe, and Nandi. Fitting names considering one's a shrine maiden, two have Guardian Spirits based on two of the Four Symbol beasts (Itsuki and Midari), and others are named after their Guardian Spirits (Terano and Yumi).

Speaking of codenames, Shinya, Nicola, Reiko, and Li-Ming reveal theirs. Considering their gimmicks, they're fitting names. Moreover, we have more Successor awakenings. All but Jack are official: the Successor of the Drake does not exist in the official Code Vein lore. However, that said, who says taking a little creative liberty is a bad thing? If Aurora can turn into a giant wolf, then why can't Jack turn into a dragon? That means in this story, Jack is the Successor of the Eye and the Drake.

Oda Shinya meets Oda Nobunaga. Enough said.

One last thing, based on Otakemaru's dialogue, the Otakemaru from Book I was a Datenshi created clone after the Angel of Control extracted a shard from the Greater Yokai. The same could be said for Shuten Doji. Consider this just a slight retcon since Book I was written before Nioh 2's DLCs. This chapter marks the debut of the proper Otakemaru and Shuten Doji.