The oppressive silence of the temple was broken by the footsteps of a single person.
The prisoners started murmuring things in disbelief as Goro entered the temple and approached the Grail. "How foolish…" the god said. "Not only do you return to the site of your past defeat, you're doing it on your own. Were your friends too cowardly to take me head on? You're barely in shape to fight!"
"The others have decided to run damage control down there," the detective leaned on his cane a bit, "and that gives me a chance to talk to you like one villain to another." He smiled. "We got off on the wrong foot. Our goals aren't at odds, you know."
After a pause for dramatic effect, the Grail went "Elaborate."
"I am primarily concerned with the well-being of my teammates. Everyone else can get fu-" he ahemed, "I mean, is not my problem. So I want to make an offe-"
"Goro, you treacherous little shit!"
The detective turned towards the entrance, and noticed Joker marching towards him, slightly out of breath and not-so-slightly enraged. "What the five-yen fuck do you think you're doing?!"
"Negotiating a ceasefire with Yaldabaoth," he replied, nonplussed, then turned back to the Grail. "My offer is thus: you revert everything to the pre-Mementos-merge status quo and after that neither party doesn't interfere with the other."
There might have been a universe in which Goro's offer was genuine. In it, the Thieves stayed in the shadows, continuing their Metaverse work, stopping bad guys, and occasionally wondering if there was a better option than letting humanity be enslaved by their apathy.
But, predictably, we're not in that universe.
"I-" the brunette stammered, "I-I can't let you do this, Crow! You're about t-"
"I'm about to ensure that the Thieves can continue doing good," he interrupted him. "And that you do not throw your lives away - I mean, you must agree that trying to face a god after he has defeated us once already would be naught but foolishness."
Joker covered his mouth, looking contemplative (and narrowly avoiding breaking character). "Hm."
"And furthermore, wouldn't you also agree that letting the Thieves handle justice-related manners would be an improvement over the current police force?"
"Yeah, we'd really be a cut above them." The hand covered a wide grin.
"And on top of that," he went on, "what else could you possibly do with yourselves with the Metaverse gone? What purpose would there be to your existence?"
The brunette recognized the scene turned a bit too personal. "I guess you're right," he sighed.
"Ah," went the Grail, "you have finally realized the futility of opposing me." Pause. "Truth be told, both of you were fascinating specimens. I will permit your existence under one condition."
"Which is?"
"Kneel before me."
Goro's eyes weren't visible through his glasses, so he allowed himself a glance to the side. Ryuji (with Joker's dagger in his hand), Haru (with katana borrowed from Yusuke), and Morgana (with his own saber) were in position, and the athlete was counting down from three with his off-hand. He had to stall him for a few more seconds. "Is that necessary? I'm not in the best shape, I'd rather stay upright."
Before the god could answer, the bladed trio leaped in sync.
Cue a flurry of cuts. Not as fast as the Thieves had hoped, but rapid nonetheless. The Grail realized that the Wild Cards were just a distraction. "You puny, treacherous humans!" he roared.
"What can I say?" the detective shot him a confident smile. "I'm playing to my strengths."
The band around the chalice started spinning rapidly. The top started glowing.
"Everyone dodge!" Joker shouted.
Having figured as much on their own, the bladed trio threw themselves off the Grail, just in time as a thick beam of light, as wide as the chalice, shot upwards. A few connections remained unsevered. "I don't need all of them…" the god growled, "The apathy of man is-"
Bang. Ra-ta-tat. Pew pew.
Ann, Makoto, Yusuke and Futaba were standing up above, taking potshots at the intact veins. Between them actually taking aim for once, the volume of fire and there not being that many targets left to deal with, they managed to finish the job, leaving the Grail unable to heal himself.
The team regrouped behind the Wild Cards. Haru and Yusuke swapped their melee weapons back.
"So, is this it?" Joker's grin barely fit on his face. "No more self-reassurance, calling us fools, anything? We can move on to phase tw-"
The ground started violently shaking underneath them.
To people on the ground, it looked like the massive black tower had split itself into blocks, which then floated out of the way to reveal something massive - looking either angelic, robotic or robo-angelic, depending on who you asked - ascending above the skyline.
Of course, to register that the people must have acknowledged that there used to be a massive black tower in the middle of Tokyo, and once you acknowledge that you might as well notice the red skies, the static on screens around them, and all the fossils wrapped around skyscrapers…
If you had expected the people to panic, you'd be half-correct - there were murmurs, concerned calls to family members, and everyone looked at everyone else, just in case a stranger next to them somehow knew more than they did. However, the whole situation was so beyond the crowd's comprehension that nobody dared to openly freak out.
The entirety of Shibuya, Sae and Mishima included, craned their heads up to get a better look at the deity.
"A big bugger, isn't he?" said the Brit.
"And you said those Thieves guys went to fight him?" the American asked Mishima.
"Yes. Yes, they did."
"They're boned."
The Phanboy glanced back up. "No. It can't end like this." He defiantly turned back to the American. "It won't end like this. They're gonna take this damn god head-on and win!" he raised his voice. "I believe in them, and so should you!"
The prosecutor remembered something Joker had mentioned during that accursed interrogation a few weeks before. "This realm… if I'm correct, this realm is actually shaped by belief," she said, loudly. "So, if enough people will believe that the Phantom Thieves are strong enough to beat him, it will become true."
"You've heard the lady!" Mishima cheered on. "Believe in the Thieves!"
"They'll bring down the oppressor!" a woman shouted in the crowd. The Phanboy recognized her as the journo lady he had been on a "date" with a few months earlier. She might have been a bit soused.
"They have to be strong," said another woman. He could've sworn she looked like his homeroom teacher, but he didn't dare to ask.
"They've dealt with tougher challenges than this," a man in a pink shirt that Mishima totally didn't know, no sir, added under his breath.
The ripples went through the crowd. The people, aware that the Thieves are real and are fighting a malevolent god, wished, prayed, hoped that they'd defeat him and free them.
Somewhere above them, Morgana emitted a faint glow.
"Grab it with both hands, Oracle," Goro instructed. "Queen, same thing, also don't hip-fire. Use the sights. Panther, don't hold it by the magazine, use the handguard. Fox… nothing to nitpick about, great stance."
"Thank you," the artist smiled as the other three corrected themselves.
"Alright," the detective turned to Joker, "they'll fire at your command."
"Um, fire, I guess."
Repeated gunshots (and zaps of a ray gun) followed. The mooks ahead of the group dissolved into puddles of gray goo, a few at a time, until none remained.
"Hee hee hee…" Makoto twirled her revolver, satisfied.
"Please don't do that," Goro winced. "Shit like this is how you end with two more bullets in you."
"Oh, sorry," she put the gun away.
"Two more bullets?" Ruyji piped in from the back.
"You shoot yourself once, you drop the gun, and it fires when hitting the floor, shooting you again."
"…how many times have you shot yourself?"
"Six on accident and once deliberately, yeah?" the president replied, and the detective nodded in confirmation.
"That explains some things."
"Ya know," Joker remarked, "I didn't expect you all to be that accurate after Crow's corrections."
"Neither did I," Goro replied. "I'll blame it on Metaverse-boosted autosuggestion."
"Okay, so that's the plan for phase one," Ann put away her SMG, "but what about phase two?"
"Do we really need a plan?" Ryuji weighed in. "When we cut his vein thingies, we'll be able to just smack him till he's down, like any other target."
The brunette rubbed his chin. "That's a good plan, but… I think we shouldn't take turns this time."
"Why were we even taking turns to begin with?" Haru asked.
"'Cause it meant that we weren't getting in each other's way." Morgana replied.
"And we were pacing ourselves," Ryuji added. "You can't just blow all your strongest attacks early on and run on fumes for most of the infiltration."
"And the monsters were letting us get away with it up to this point." Joker shrugged. "My point is, this one attacks out of turn, is massive enough, and is the last target the Phantom Thieves will ever face, potential sequels notwithstanding." He sighed. It's been a wild couple of months and I can't beli- I mean, he couldn't believe it'd be over soon. "So, in short, screw turns this time. Hit him with all you've got, cast support spells or use items if he blocks your elements, and don't stop until he's a pile of scrap. Any questions?"
Makoto raised her hand.
"Yeah?"
"Not a question, just a suggestion: top tier Bless and Curse spells, forgot the names…"
"Divine Judgement and Demonic Decree?" Goro suggested.
"Yes, those. Rather than dealing a lot of damage, they take away a fixed percentage of the target's current health, correct?"
Joker nodded.
"I think that you and Crow should open the fight with them. If he reflects those, it should do little to no harm to you, but if he won't, it will make things much easier for us."
The brunette glanced at the detective. "Okay, which one can you cast?"
"Both of them."
"Same." Pause. "Can you go Bless? I'll go Curse, just for the irony."
"Heh, fine."
He turned to the group. "Any other questions?"
Futaba raised her hand. "Can I have Crow's lightsaber? You know, now that he has a cane in his melee slot."
"Yeah, sure." Goro handed it over and she waved it around for a bit, making vzoom noises with her mouth.
Even excluding Goro and his nonchalant approach to mortality, the Thieves didn't consider themselves easily scared. Months of seeing the worst of humanity's distorted desires and having to survive in Mementos have left them somewhat desensitized to danger.
None of that could've prepared them for Demiurge's final form.
There they were, standing on a floating piece of ground from what used to be a temple, dwarfed by a mad deity rambling on about how humanity is past rehabilitation and how everything they've done was for naught. How could they even think they could take him on? They were only a bunch of teenagers screwed over by life one way or another, they couldn't possibly-
They were all snapped out of their collective spiral of despair when Morgana inexplicably started glowing. Somehow, in all of their heads, they heard a choir of unknown voices - comparable to the panopticon from moments earlier, but conveying the exact opposite emotions. Wishing, praying, hoping that they'll finish this once and for all.
"We can do this," the cat muttered. "Waiting for the Wild Card salvo."
Joker glanced at Goro, Crow glanced at Akira. They nodded in unison and turned towards Yaldabaoth, and both proclaimed:
"Demonic Decree!"
"Divine Judgement!"
Both attacks connected at the same time, quartering the god's health. The rest of the team followed suit and Yaldabaoth found himself on the receiving end of an uninterrupted nine-man no-holds-barred all-element barrage.
Much to his chagrin, the detective found himself spent way before the rest of the team burned out. One by one, the Thieves ceased their attacks, physically unable to continue. The last three strikes were God's Hand from Ryuji, Atomic Flare from Makoto, and Megidolaon from Joker.
The group stood there - well, two people knelt on the ground, too exhausted to stand upright - all barely able to catch their breath. The Demiurge was severely damaged, but remained standing.
"…is this it?" the brunette asked.
As if on cue, four mechanical arms extended from behind his back and reached into the glowing pedestals at his base. They produced an ornate book, a sword, a bell and a firearm. All four items began to emit a red and black aura, connected with a ball of energy coming from his torso. He was charging up a powerful attack, and the Thieves were too spent to try and counter it.
"…God damn it," Ryuji hoarsed.
"As you wish. Rays of Control!"
A beam fired from the convergence spot, wide enough to envelop the whole chunk they stood on, and them with it. It was excruciatingly painful, and the Thieves felt what little life remained in them drained. In unison, they all collapsed on the ground.
"Mankind is past rehabilitation," the god boomed. "To oppose a god born out of their distorted desire is to
No.
Didn't I tell you to sto-
Don't interrupt me, narrator.
I'm just
I said don't interrupt me. If the only way to stop this delusional deity is hijacking this trainwreck, then that's what I'm going to do.
"Do you still not see the futility of resistance?"
Huh?! H-how can you-
"I saw you do this in the Velvet Room. Giving the narrative a small nudge in the direction you wanted it to go."
…
"Did you really think this parlor trick would scale up? That you could muster up enough power to change the world itself?"
…
"At the end, you are of humanity. And what humanity wants, is the freedom from
Why won't you stop talking for a second… and listen to what the people actually want?… Do you not hear their voices now?… Their pleas?… Their collective, pooled hope, the yearning for actual freedom, and not just the farce you've given them?
"This is
You no longer represent the desires of humanity… I do…
"Such ego!"
Oh, pardon me… what I meant to say is, we do… The Phantom Thieves of Hearts… my teammates, my friends, my companions… We represent the people… which means you have no raison d'être…
"How da
Arsene manifests behind me… I grip the chains binding him and they snap in my hand… The released power envelops everything in the vicinity… As soon as the blinding light fades, there is another presence, towering over my team…
Satanael… A fitting Persona to take down a god, don't you think? Do you think I would've managed to manifest him without the will of the people empowering me?
"Rays of Co
SILENCE! No more moving the goalposts! No more breaking the rules you yourself have set! I have bested your pawns, converted your agent of chaos to my colours, rallied the masses against your dictatorship! No more masks, no more restraints! We! Won!
The Demiurge tries to protest, repeating the same drivel about futility and apathy and foolishness. I am not listening. As my teammates pick themselves up from the ground, I take aim with my handgun, and my Persona mirrors it with his rifle. Sinful Shell, huh? A fitting final blow.
On behalf of Goro, Haru, Futaba, Makoto, Yusuke, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, myself, and humanity: BEGONE.
…
…
…
If I'm allowed…
Nobody seems to protest, so: The bullet fired by Joker and Satanael struck the god directly in the head, blowing a large hole through it.
His arms dropped, limp, but he remained upright. The Thieves braced themselves for a final final attack, but it never came.
"I see…" said Yaldabaoth. "Perhaps… I was mistaken…"
And then, he dissolved into a cloud of golden embers, scattered to the wind. Only a Treasure remained behind: a plain golden chalice. Large by the standards of chalices, but compared to its previous form, it was minuscule. It floated down to the ground and placed itself in front of the Thieves.
Having completed his mission, Joker permitted himself to drop to the ground.
Makoto mustered what little power remained in her to run up - okay, march up - and check his vitals. "There's pulse… he's breathing…" She got up, relieved, and faced the team. "He's fine, just drained, like all of us… Someone will need to drag him back to safety…"
Something didn't add up. She pointed at herself, "One," then at Joker, "two", then at the people in front of her, "three, five, seven, eight." The realization dawned on her, as she noticed the ninth member, motionless on the ground not unlike the brunette, his cane lying by his side. He had a history of not knowing when to stop, and must've been in worse shape than the rest of the team when Rays of Control had struck.
"Oh, goddammit…" She went pale. "Crow!"