Welcome to the Rebellion
Chapter Six: Church of Violence
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"I still don't understand how they didn't notice the only girl on the Obelisk Force," Ann complains to Haru as they walk the streets of Maiami City. The Phantom Thieves had found it breathtakingly beautiful. The sky was turning orange as it was nearing sundown. In the distance, they could make out the hourglass-shaped building of the Leo Corporation.
"All I had to do was keep quiet and don't get noticed," Haru answered before frowning. "Personally, I think it's sexist for the Professor to not include girls onto Obelisk Force. Not that I want to join those jerks."
"Wouldn't that be a shock for them if they found out," Ren chuckled before becoming apologetic. "I'm really sorry Haru."
"For what?"
"I sent you and Morgana into the lion's den," Ren said regrettably. "I should've been the one that gone instead. I doubt that the Professor would recognize me after so long."
"It's alright, Ren," Haru said with a smile. "I'm not a helpless maiden that needs saving. If I wasn't there, I probably wouldn't have convinced Serena to leave. Besides, I had Morgana with me."
"Yeah," Morgana nods. "You should've seen how she fooled the Professor minions. If it were anyone else, I doubt that it would've gone smoothly."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ryuji asked, feeling like it was directed at him.
"I'm sorry Ryuji, but Morgana raises a point," Ren said. "While Haru and Ann have made progress in their training, the rest of you still have a long way to go. Especially you unless you want to be the new Ann."
"Hey!" Ann protested. She knew her acting was bad, but she didn't deserve the derision.
"On another note, are you sure it was okay to tell Serena our real names?" Ryuji asks Ren. "You were the one who said we had to use codenames, right?"
"I did," Ren affirmed. "Only when we are working undercover. They along with our masks allow us to disappear into the crowd when the need arises."
"That's kind of contradictory considering we told them to Serena," Yusuke points out. They stopped. Ren took a deep breath and turned to face them.
"Think of it as a sign of trust," Ren explains. "If we want Serena to trust us, we have to give some in return. Plus, if she wanted, she could've warped back to Academia and told the Professor about us. Her duel disk is unaffected by the virus, correct?"
"Yep," Futaba nodded. "She, Haru, and Morgana fast traveled out of Fusion before it crippled its dimensional travel function. She won't be able to warp back if she wanted to."
"But she hasn't. That means we've managed to plant a seed of doubt into Academia's story. If we can nudge her in the right direction…show her the truth of the dimensional war…"
"Then she can be diverted from the path of Academia's villainous ways," Yusuke said.
"Exactly," Ren said. "But we have to let her discover the truth on her own. If we try to force it…it will be counterproductive. That reminds me, where is she?"
"She holed herself up in the girl's room at the café," Morgana replied. "Her head is probably thinking about various ideas about how to beat me in our duel."
"Good," Ren breathed. "I don't want her to run into her standard counterpart while we are here. The last thing we want is to confuse."
Everyone nodded in agreement and continued walking. They decided in unison to withhold information about Revival Zero from Serena. They need credibility and her trust before telling her that her life is in danger. Along with four other girls.
As they walked, they took the time to observe the sights. Ren was checking out the Duel Schools passing by. He had a forlorn look on his face.
"Standard is pretty nice," Ren muttered as he looks over. Nearby is a building belonging to a Duel School. "Nobody is forcing you to be a duel soldier for whatever the hell Academia is doing. Everyone is having fun."
His friends felt the sadness and pain in his voice. Standard had its fair share of Duel School. Each one of them had a unique style of Dueling. After a few minutes, they stopped in an alleyway. The look of sadness was replaced with a frown.
"Yet this one is an exception."
Up ahead is their destination. The lawn is decorated with towering rocks and bamboo trees with various foliage. Stone steps lead up to a gate surrounded by bright red walls and green Xie shan roofs. Above the closed gate is a sign with the name of the school colored in gold.
"Ryozanpaku School is one of the top ten schools here in Maiami city," Ren said with a slight tone of venom. "When it comes to creating pro Duelists, this school is second only to LDS. As you can guess, their theme is martial arts. But like I said if Academia ever invaded, they would be a match made in heaven. Or in this case…a match made in hades."
"From what I read about them, I wouldn't put it past them," Makoto said with a frown. "Despite their success, they have rather questionable and violent practices. They are so infamous that the public tends to avoid proximity with them. Yet people still attend this school."
"For real?!" Ryuji asked.
"Why the hell would anyone want to go to this school if it teaches its students to be thugs?" Ann asked angrily.
"Because they want to win," Ren answered grimly. "At this school, their motto is all about winning. No having fun. No making friends. Only victory by any means necessary. With Action Duels having next to no rules, that opens up a variety of options."
They had read up about action duels. It occurs with the help of tangible Solid Visions. They shape an entire field within an arena. The monsters summoned in an action duel are real enough to let Duelists interact with them. What makes it interesting are the action cards, which act as an instant magic card that can be used right away if found. They are scattered throughout the arena when an action duel begins. One of the problems they had with is physical interaction with the opponent. Something that the students of this school eagerly took advantage of.
"Every duelist that faced a Ryozanpaku student ends up in the hospital," Futaba whispered. "Some of them suffered broken bones or internal bleeding. If they are lucky, they wind up in a coma. In some cases…they die from their wounds."
She spoke that last part hoarsely. It was a horrible thing knowing that someone died in a card game that is supposed to be fun. Academia was already a prime example of duelists acting on violent impulses.
"And they don't get punished?" Yusuke asked incredulously. "What kind of madhouse are they running here in this dimension?"
"That's what I want to know," Makoto said with distaste. "I've been reading every law here in Maiami City, and they should've been persecuted for assault. Yet they seem content to let it continue."
"If this school is all about winning, it can lead to hearts becoming distorted to create a palace," Morgana said. "The principal is likely to be the ruler of it. What was his name again?"
"Ryōzan Gōdagawa," Ren answered. "I learned the name only a few days ago…"
"Thank you, come again," Ren called as another customer left the café. He wiped the sweat off his brow. "Whew…it's not even a week and we're rolling with customers."
"Well, Leblanc's curry has been a popular menu item back in Yogen-Jaya," Sumire said as she cleans up dishes. "The Boss must be proud."
"Definitely," Futaba affirms as she types away at her laptop at the bar. "The first customers that came here are already recommending Leblanc's curry to their friends"
"You wouldn't happen to be peering into their social media accounts, right?" Ren asked knowingly. Futaba gave him a devious smile.
"Noooo…"
"I told you, I don't have the money!"
A commotion drew their attention. They saw an elderly woman in a booth backing away as far as she could from the man leering down at her. The only way to describe his attire would be if he stepped out of a cultivation manga.
"You said that last week," the man yelled. "And the week before that! Either you pay up now or we're going to have to find some other way to pay your protection money. Maybe your son might have a few ideas!"
"Don't involve Ryota in this! Please!"
Ren looked around. There was nobody in the café beside him and his friends. He recalled his café clearing out the moment that man walked in. It was obvious that they wanted to steer clear of him. Yet this situation reminded him of an incident with a certain politician. Glancing at Sumire and Futaba, he approached the man.
"Sir, can't you see that you are bothering her?" Ren asked politely. The man turned around to face him. He looked as if Ren had the nerve to speak to him that way.
"Get lost!"
"Forgive me, but I cannot as this is my café. If you keep up this fuss I will…"
"You'll what busboy?"
"I will have to ask you to leave," Ren said simply, the light reflecting his glasses ominously. The man was stunned by this blunt answer. Then he threw back his head and laughed.
"Do you see this guy?" He asked the woman. Then, without warning, he punched Ren in the face. Ren stumbled back as his glasses fell to the ground. Sumire and Futaba gave cries of shock at the development. They started forward but Ren held them back as he gripped his face.
"You know who I am? I'm a pro duelist! I carry the pride of Ryozanpaku on my back! So why don't you scram before you get hurt?"
The man seemed to have expected him to back off in fear. So, he was taken off guard when Ren lowered his hand and glared at him. Nothing could describe the terror he was feeling with just that glare.
"A pro duelist you say?" Ren asked as he held up his D-Watch. The black and red blade materialized. "Good. Then why don't we take this outside and settle it like duelists?"
A few minutes later, the man was knocked back as Ren's monster destroyed his. His remaining life points are reduced to zero. Outside Café Leblanc, the duel had ended in Ren's victory.
"T-this is impossible…" the Ryozanpaku duelist stammered. Ren advanced on the man, his monster fading from behind him. The man inched himself away as Ren stared down at him.
"Stay out of my café," Ren warned, his tone deadly. The duelist gulped and scampered to his feet.
"You'll regret this!" He yells as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Ren watched him go for a moment before he sighed. The messy-haired teen felt the adrenaline fade. While he wished he could resort to it peacefully, it was clear that this person wouldn't leave. Luckily, dueling is everything here. Well, almost everything.
Taking a deep breath, he walked back inside the Café. He saw Futaba and Sumire consoling the woman being victimized. Sumire looked up when he closed the door.
"Are you alright?" Sumire asked, checking his face for bruises.
"Peachy, but I'll live," Ren said. "How is she?"
"Shaken up but alright," Sumire answered. Ren approaches the booth and takes his seat in front of her.
"Ma'am?" Ren asked tentatively. "I'm sorry that this happened in my café. I can assure you that man will be banned from coming here again. You have my word."
"Thank you," The woman said. "Has anyone told you that you are a gentleman?"
"You would be the first. Would you like me to call the police?"
"Don't bother," The woman said despondently. "They will be let off by them a few minutes after they're brought in. When it happens, he will be back to collect for that man, Ryōzan Gōdagawa."
"Ryōzan Gōdagawa?" Ren asked. He cast a glance at and lightly tapped his D-Watch. Getting the message, she began to fiddle with hers. "Who's he?"
"You don't know? He's the principal of Ryozanpaku Duel School. As far as I know, there's not a single duelist who went bad who wasn't in that school."
"If he's a pro duelist then what does he need with protection money?"
"Protection from them," She spat. "Now and then, the graduates would come into Maiami City and demand money from us. I tried to bring this to the police, but they wouldn't believe me."
"How could they? Isn't their duty to protect the public?"
"I don't know," she admits. "But look…you seem like a nice boy. If I were you, I would close your café and move somewhere else. A Ryozanpaku student isn't one to forget grudges."
"I'm sorry, but I can't," Ren replied.
"If we run away, we would only make it worse," Sumire said.
"Besides…" Ren says, glancing at Futaba out the corner of his eye. Hovering above her D-Watch is a screen displaying the MetaNav. She had just inserted Ryōzan Gōdagawa's name on the first bar and he heard a small voice.
Candidate Found.
"Something tells me his days are numbered."
"So, he's extorting money?" Haru asked angrily.
"I can't believe that asshat would punch a guy with glasses," Ryuji growled. His leader chuckled a bit.
"You realize they're fake, right?" Morgana asked dryly.
"That's a good one," Ren said with a smirk. "I'll need to write that down somewhere."
"The day after that, the café was vandalized," Sumire said with a frown. "Luckily, they never got inside, or they would do something to complicate the mission. If that guy is what's to be expected of a duelist, then I don't know what horrors lie ahead in that palace."
"Speaking of which, what are you going to do about the café?" Haru asked. "People are going to be wondering why you aren't opening up."
"Why did you think I made the opening hours reasonable?" Ren asked playfully. "We have until twelve before we have to keep our cover. So, let's get to work. We have the target's name so now we need are the location and the form of the distortion in their hearts. Obviously, that would be Ryozanpaku School. That's two out of three down."
"Now all we need is the distortion," Ann muttered. "They're a martial arts-themed Duel School right? How about a dojo?"
No candidates found.
"An arena?" Yusuke suggested.
No candidates found.
"Martial Arts tournament?" Ryuji suggested.
No candidates found.
"Well, was worth a shot."
"Obviously, we're not going to accomplish anything by guessing," Makoto said. "Let's go back on what we know about them. Futaba?"
"I watched a few of their duels," Futaba said with a frown. "They took sick pleasure in beating the crap out of their opponents. It was either get beat up or forfeit if you take too long to find an action card. One thing that stood out is about how they keep preaching that their opponent will fall to darkness like it's gospel or something."
"Preaching…" Ren muttered. "How about a church?"
Candidate found. Beginning navigation
A split second after those words, the world before them became distorted. Their vision swam with red and black, heads feeling dizzy.
The Metaverse. A reality that has been given shape by human souls. It is a place where twisted desires are formed into palaces. It is here that Ren and his friends truly become the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. A group of dashing rogues dedicated to stealing the hearts of corrupted adults and reforming society.
Today, they are at the palace of Ryōzan Gōdagawa.
"You have got to be kidding me!"
Right before their eyes, the school had changed. What stood before them is a church of gothic architecture. A red banner hung down from above, with a golden cross emblazoned on it. Bell towers stood tall amongst the blood-red sky, with dark clouds hanging. Behind them, the city remained, but the palace was noticeably on a hill that would've towered over the city. Like it was above them.
"Not that is a church," Joker muttered. Like the world, his attire had changed. The mask he wore during the infiltration into LDS is on his face. His clothing had changed into a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black pants, brown-black winklepickers, and a pair of red gloves. His expression and demeanor were different. There's a strong air of confidence compared to his usual self.
"They seriously view themselves as holy shit or something?" Skull yelled rhetorically. Like Joker, his attire changed into a black jacket with elbow pads and a metal vertebral column attached to the back, pants with knee pads, a red ascot, combat boots, and a pair of yellow gloves with metal knuckle protectors.
"Wouldn't put it past them," Panther snarled. The outfit she wore is a skin-tight red latex catsuit with a cleavage cutout and zippers that matched her mask, pink gloves, dark red thigh-high boots, and a clip-on tail on the back of her catsuit.
"I've seen the Churches in Kanda, but this?" Fox asks as he frames the Church with his fingers. His attire consists of a black high-collared puff-sleeved jumpsuit with a striped sash worn across his hips, white motorcycle boots, and bright blue gloves. Attached to the jumpsuit is a white foxtail.
"I must remember to bring my tools."
"I highly doubt that we would have time for this Fox," Queen sighed. Her outfit is a two-toned skintight suit that is worn with a long black scarf, a dark grey corset-style leather breastplate, shoulder and knee pads with spikes mixed with boots that sport metal heels and toes, white gloves, and an iron mask.
"Yeah, learn to live in the moment, Inari!" Oracle scolded. Her costume is a skintight black bodysuit with fluorescent neon green glowing stripes and matching black boots with neon green soles. Her mask is a pair of big black goggles with orange lenses.
"Is it just me, or don't our outfits feel a little different, somehow?" Noir asks. Her outfit consists of a dark purple cavalier hat with a feather plume tucked into a royal purple hatband, a long-sleeved pale pink blouse with a. white neck jabot held by a red gem pin, a black corset vest with gold buttons, bloomers that match her hatband, black pantyhose, lace-up pumps, and violet gloves.
"I'm don't see anything wrong," Violet said, looking down at herself. Her outfit is composed of a strapless black leotard, a chain belt with two silver roses, and a scabbard for a rapier, a black choker, and red gloves. Her black bolero jacket has gold buttons, ruffled sleeves, and three floor-length coattails. She wore thigh-length hose and stiletto-heels that resemble ballet shoes on the top.
"Welp, I'm still a cat, even though I'm not a cat," Mona said. The feline had gone from a simple cat to an anthropomorphic and biped tuxedo cat-like creature with a large spheroidal head. A mask covers much of his face with elliptic eyes consisting of white sclerae, blue irises, and black pupils. He has a yellow scarf around his neck and a utility belt around his hips, with two golden buttons and two bags attached. His D-Watch, which was found around his neck in the real world, is now around his tiny left arm.
"This is my second heist after Maruki's," Violet said. "What do we do next?"
"Now, we secure an infiltration route and find the treasure," Joker said, getting a nod of approval from Morgana. "But first we're going to have to find a way inside. Do you think they are accepting new believers?"
"Real funny, Joker," Skull mutters but he was smirking. "I'm willing to bet they kick me out the second I tell them what I think about them."
"I'm really liking this side of Joker," Sumire whispers.
"Well, it's way better than when he was obsessed with revenge," Oracle whispers back before she stiffens up. "We got company!"
Without a word, the Phantom Thieves vanished from sight. Coming up on the path to the church is a crowd of children no older than ten. They are being led by a priest wearing white and red robes and holding a crucifix staff. Instead of a human face, a solemn mask was staring ahead.
The Thieves knew that it is a Shadow, suppressed human thoughts given physical form. They are attracted to the Palace and its rulers' desires and serve to protect it. From their hiding place on the roof, they watched as the Shadow lead the children to the front of the church doors. It knocked on the doors.
"Who goes there?" A voice called from within.
"More lost sheep seeking the right path to Dueling."
The door opened, and another shadow peers out. Seeing the crowd of children, he gestured them inside. They watched as the children were led inside. As they watched the children, they saw looks of fear and apprehension on their faces, yet they continued inside. When the last child was inside, the doors closed.
"Anyone else feels their stomach turn when they say that?" Panther asks as they stood up.
"You're not the only one, Panther," Sumire mutters. "You think that's actually happening in the real world."
"It's possible," Joker replies. "Once they're inside, they stay inside. They're not even allowed to see their parents until they become pros. This is getting way too similar to Academia."
"No kidding," Skull muttered angrily. "So how the hell do we get inside?"
"The walls are too high for all of us to scale," Queen points out as she studies the palace. "The only way inside is through those doors. But I doubt that they'll be willing to open them up to us."
"Maybe we could try asking nicely?" Skull joked. He was met with disapproving stares from his friends. "What? That was supposed to be a joke!"
"Let's focus on the task at hand," Joker said with a sweatdrop. He and the thieves studied the Church, looking for a point of entry.
"Hey Joker, you still have your grappling hook?" Mona asked. When the leader of the Phantom Thieves nods in confirmation, the feline thief pointed a white paw at one of the bell towers, specifically the one nearest to the doors. Some parts of it had been worn down, exposing an empty hook where a bell should be. "Do you think it can reach that?"
"I think it can," Joker said as he pulled out the aforementioned thief's tool. He swung his arm a few times to measure the distance between him and the hook. "I'm going to have to get a little closer."
"Are you sure you're okay with going alone?" Violet asked in concern. He reached out a hand and laid it on her shoulder.
"I'll be fine," Joker assures her. "I'm just going in and out. Oracle, how many Shadows are behind the door?"
"Just one," Oracle replied. "Its power level is low, so it shouldn't be a match for you. Go for it, Joker."
'You got it," Joker said. To the other thieves, "I'll be right back."
With that, Joker ran across the rooftops. When he got close enough, he cast the grappling hook. It soared in the air before latching onto the hook. When he felt the line get taut, he was pulled into the air. Joker felt the air against his face as he reached the bell tower. He tucked in his legs and rolled onto the floor of the bell tower. Landing on his legs, he stood up and looked back at the outside world. He had to admit, despite the palace being a distorted place, it had a nice view of the city.
"I got to remember to find a place with a view like this back in the real world," Joker said. "But first…"
Joker began to descend the bell tower. It looked as if the place hadn't been frequented in a while, because there were cobwebs everywhere. There were splintered beams of wood that hadn't been repaired. Luckily, he had his knife to help clear the way. When he reached the ground floor, he found the missing bell. It had crashed into the ground as if it had broken off. But what disturbed him was the fact that there was a dark red stain seeping from out of the edges of the bell. He had a sneaking suspicion as to what it was. He'd seen it a few times in other palaces.
"What the hell happened here?" Joker asked as he found the door. When he tried to open it, he stuck. Frowning, he threw his shoulder against the door. After repeating the action a few times, it busted open. Wooden planks fell to the floor, splintered and broken. Joker stares at it as he quietly closed the door behind him.
"Looks like the principal closed this bell tower off," Joker said, looking back. "And something tells me it wasn't due to maintenance."
Joker decided to worry about it later. Creeping down the hall, he came to a corner that he peered behind. The Shadow was there, standing at the gate as if expecting more 'lost sheep'. Without missing a beat, he appeared behind the Shadow and restrained it. With one hand, he gripped its mask.
"Let's see what you really look like!" Joker declares as he rips off the Shadows mask. He retreated a distance away as the Shadow reverts to its true form. Blackness merged to form a blue demon hiding in a jar.
"Alright, let's take care of you…Arsène!" Joker yells out as he held a hand to his mask which is turning into blue flames. Just when it was about to be burnt away, the flames faded. His mask remained on his face.
"What?" Joker was surprised at this development. This wasn't supposed to happen. He tried it again. "Arsène!"
His mask was burning away again before the flames faded. He repeated the process once more. A feeling tinged his gut. There was never a problem with summoning his Persona before. What was going on?
"I'll have to figure this out later," Joker muttered as he pulled out his handgun and aim it at the demon in the jar. It wasn't actually a gun, but a model gun he brought from LINKS. He was in for another shock as when he pulled the trigger, the gun didn't fire.
"What is that thing? What are you doing," The demon in the jar asked, curiosity etched in its voice?
"Trying to shoot you, duh," Joker said sarcastically, looking at the gun. Why won't it work?
"Shoot me?"
"Well, when you have a gun—" Joker stopped himself mid-sentence when he remembered something. In the four dimensions, there was no development of firearms. Meaning that guns don't exist. Since they don't exist, the Shadows won't be able to tell it's a threat, which would mean that the model gun won't be able to fire in the metaverse.
Long story short, guns are useless here.
"Stupid," Joker palmed himself repeatedly. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"
"If you are done making a fool out of yourself," the demon in the jar spoke. "Are you prepared to duel?"
"Huh?" Joker was caught off guard by what the demon just said. To his astonishment, a blue arm reached out from the jar with a duel disk attached to it.
"A duel you heathen!" the demon in the jar repeated. "You dared to de-sanctify this holy place by coming here uninvited! Therefore, you must duel for your life!"
"Duel for my life?" Joker asked dumbly at this development. Then it hit him. Dueling is everything in this dimension and the others. Of course! Mankind in this dimension has resorted to dueling as a way to settle disputes. If that's true, then maybe the same is applied in the metaverse. This also happens to be a duel school for crying out loud. Maybe that's why he can't use his Persona.
"One way to find out," Joker says as he activates his D-Watch. His cards materialized in his hand. "Bring it on!"
"DUEL!"
Joker: 4000
Shadow: 4000
"I will take the initiative!" The demon in the jar declares. "I set my entire hand face down and I end my turn!"
"That was fast," Joker muttered. He wondered why he set his entire hand face down. From where it was positioned, he had to guess that the cards are either spells or traps. What was this Shadows game?
"My turn! Draw!" Joker declares. Before he could make a move, the Shadow made his.
"I activate my trap card, Disguised Machine Gun. I can inflict 200 points of damage to you for each card in your hand. Since you have five, you take 1000 points of damage!"
In front of the trap card, a barrel flipped up. It fired a volley of energy bullets that struck Joker. He hissed in pain as his life points went down.
Joker: 4000 - 3000
"1000 damage right out of the gate?" Joker gritted his teeth. But the Shadow wasn't done.
"I chain it by activating the quick play magic card, Poison of the Old Man! I choose to inflict 800 points of damage to you!" The Shadow cries out. "Next, I chain it with the quick play magic, Chain Strike! This card can only be activated as a Chain Link 2 or higher. I can inflict 400 points of damage times the Chain Link number of this card. Since this is Chain 3, I can inflict 1200 points of damage!"
"That will reduce my life points to 1000," Joker said to himself. But the Shadow wasn't finished.
"Trap Card activate! Chain Blast! I can inflict 500 points of damage to you! If this is activated Chain Link 4 or higher, I can return this card to my hand!"
"Better make that 500…!"
Knowing what was going to happen next, Joker braced himself as he is bombarded by a variety of projectiles. Explosions, poison, and chains whittle away at his life points.
Joker: 3000 - 500
"I activate my last trap card, Reckless Greed! I can draw 2 cards from my deck as long as I skip my next 2 draw phases!"
With that, the spell and trap zone of the Shadow is empty. It wasn't even four turns and this Shadow managed to reduce his life points to about a margin.
"A burn deck huh?" Joker muttered. He's going to take a guess and say that the cards he added to his hand, along with Chain Blast, can deal damage directly to him. This means that if he doesn't finish the Shadow on this turn, it will finish him. Fortunately, it left itself wide open to a direct attack. One that he will exploit.
"You should've stocked up on monsters! I summon Aleister the Invoker in ATK mode!"
ALEISTER THE INVOKER LV.4 ATK:1000 DEF:1800
"Aleister's effect! If he is normal summoned, I can add one Magic Art of Invocation magic card to my hand! Then I'll activate the spell card Foolish Burial to send Dust Knight from my Deck to the Graveyard! Finally, I'll activate the Magic Art of Invocation! By banishing Aleister the Invoker from my field and Dust Knight from my Graveyard, I can fusion summon! Master of the Forbidden Magic! Call upon the power of the earth and allow it to awaken! Fusion Summon! Come to me! The giant that sleeps within the ground! Invoked Beast Magallanica!"
Rising from the ground behind him is Joker's Invoked Beast. A colossal mass of rock and magma gave a form of a golem. Aleister's staff is located on its left arm. It stared down at the Shadow, who is quaking at the size of it like it's an insignificant insect.
INVOKED BEAST MAGALLANICA LV.8 ATK:3000 DEF:3300
"Now…since Magical Art of Invocation is in my Graveyard, I can shuffle it back into my deck and add one banished Aleister the Invoker to my hand. Battle! Invoked Bast Magallanica direct attack! Now before you take damage, I activate the effect of Aleister the Invoker from my hand! By sending him to the Graveyard, I can have one Fusion Monster I control gain 1000 ATK/DEF until the end of this turn. And today's lucky winner is Invoked Beast Magallanica!"
INVOKED BEAST MAGALLANICA'S ATK: 3000 - 4000 DEF: 3300 - 4300
"4000 ATK points!" The Shadow squeaked.
"Now then, where were we? Oh yeah! Invoked Beast Magallanica! Direct attack! Continental Smash!"
At its master's command, the golem raised one of its massive hands and form a fist. Without hesitation, it smashed the Shadow, ending the duel.
Shadow: 4000 - 0
As his monster faded and the Shadow's life points reached zero, Joker felt something. His mask, which was feeling cold on his face, suddenly warmed up. It wasn't just his mask, but his body was beginning to emit blue flames. Joker felt as if he had a rush of adrenaline waiting to be unleashed.
Could it be…? Joker decided to try it again. Grasping his mask, it burst into blue flames as he called out the name again. "Arsène!"
This time, the mask faded, and the blue flames erupted from his body as something emerged. There was a sinister laugh followed by the sound of rattling chains. A figure taller than Joker stood with large black, feathery wings unfurling, letting out a wave of wind. It wore a very tall top hat, a long-horned mask for a face, a cropped red eighteenth-century-esque suit worn open with the collar popped, stitched heart designs on the shoulders, a white ruffle tie, a black-tailed corset running down its torso, and blade-like heels. It brandishes its claws at the shadow before him.
"Go!" Joker yells as he swings a chain at the Shadow. "Arsène!"
The being called Arsène gathers black-reddish energy in its hands. When it gathered enough, it unleashed a torrent of dark energy at the Shadow. The Shadow cried with pain as the blast hit it, disintegrating him until there was nothing left. Seeing that its work was done, Arsène vanished, and Joker's mask returned to his face.
Joker just stood there, thinking about the duel that just transpired. Not only do guns not work in this dimensions metaverse, but the rules of combat had changed. First, he had to defeat a Shadow in a duel to summon his Persona. He had a feeling that if he lost, then it will be fatal to him. In the real world, when you lose, you lose. But here in the Metaverse, your life points literally become your life. This complicates things.
Despite the close call that he had with that duel, he was somewhat glad that he discovered this complication. He moved to the door and unlocked it. Then he opened it to signal the others to get inside.
They need to have an impromptu meeting.
[~][~]
Another chapter is done.
As you can see, the Phantom Thieves have already begun planning their next heist. I know that many of you were expecting Academia, but if you watched the anime, you'll know that Ren is correct in Ryozanpaku and Academia being a match made in hell. If they succeed, they will be depriving them of one less ally. But as you can see, they have encountered a slight problem in the Palace. That's right, the Phantom Thieves will be stealing hearts through dueling.
I have based Ryōzan Gōdagawa's palace on the church. I know what you are thinking, why base his palace on a roman-catholic church instead of a Taoist temple? Back in 1500, the Roman Catholic Church had lost most of its integrity. The leadership of the Church ignored its own values and had its own twisted interpretation of God's will. By their corrupted practices, they have twisted the true faith in exchange for extravagant lifestyles.
Ryōzan Gōdagawa and his school are like that. Thanks to his winning are everything policy, he has a twisted view of dueling that he's implementing on his students. Violence can lead to dark impulses as shown in this chapter. Already, he is twisting the fun in dueling and stamping out the joy in the game. All for the sake of winning. But you'll have to wait for more to explore how far his distorted desires go.
On another note, I'm going to stop announcing the next chapter's titles. It's ridiculous and tends to change while I work.
Thank you for reading and stay safe.