Akechi caught onto the Phantom Thieves infiltration of Shido's Palace, just as they obtained the final letter of introduction they needed to find the Treasure. It was an unavoidable clash now, as Akechi completely intended on killing the Phantom Thieves here and now, so he could take his revenge against Masayoshi Shido. Akechi unveiled his ability to make people and shadows go berserk, demonstrating it on a Guard Dog of Hades and a Spear Wielding General. When they turned Berserk, their entire bodies turned a blackish-red. "KILL THEM ALL!" Akechi shouted.
"Here they come!" Oracle exclaimed. "And watch out, they're a lot stronger than usual!"
Dragon swung her staff at the Spear Wielding General. The two did clash briefly, but Dragon found herself staggering backwards from the General's increase in power. "Ngh! It's so strong now…!" A contest of physical strength was barely possible with this Desperation power.
"Isn't it magnificent?" Akechi laughed while standing comfortably in the back. He honestly didn't expect these meager Shadows to faze the Phantom Thieves, but he took great joy in watching them struggle against a taste of his true power. "Anything can become a powerful force of destruction under the right circumstance!"
"Will you shut the hell up already!?" Skull was sick of hearing Akechi talk. He tried to make a beeline to the white clad detective prince, but he was immediately halted by the Guard Dog. The Dog swiped at Skull and he swung his club to clash with it, but he was just sent tumbling backwards due to the difference in power. "Gah! What the hell?!"
"Come now, surely you know how this works." Akechi could only shake his head, thoroughly enjoying Skull's foolhardy nature. "You have to deal with these first. If you cannot even defeat these measly Shadows, do you think you stand a chance against me?"
"Look at this guy, treating himself like he's some boss fight!" Oracle grumbled. Just for that, she decided jump into the fray early. "Alright guys! Attack up!" She cast Matarukaja on the group, allowing them to go even with the berserk.
"Perfect timing!" Fox's blade clashed with the Spear General, and thanks to the attack buff, he wasn't being thrown back. However, it was still difficult to match even with the increase. Fox strafed to the side, his sword slashing against the Spear General's Side. It growled in pain and simply reacted as a response. "Kamu-Susano-o!" Fox called his Persona after his slash, using his power to freeze the Spear General in place.
"Cendrillon!" Violet used this opening to call out her Persona, alongside Panther.
"Hecate!" Panther added. Hecate released a stream of fire, while Cendrillon released numerous beams of light. The two attacks pelted the Spear General and it started to tip over.
"Did we get it?" Violet asked. The answer was no. The Spear General let out a feral roar of pain before pushing forward, thrusting its spear forward so violently, the sheer pressure from it stuck Panther, Fox, and Violet and knocked them down.
"What in the world!?" Fox grunted.
The Spear General was moving so quickly, it didn't intend to give them a chance to breathe. Joker jumped in front of, using his knife to parry some of the spear attacks. It was hard considering the range of his weapon, but he was able to direct its attention away from his team mates. He then jumped back and his mask burned off. "Black Frost!" Black Frost appeared in front of Joker, summoning a powerful cyclone of frigid winds that froze the Spear General over. And then… "Noir!"
"HAAAAH!" Noir dropped down from above with her axe, shattering the Spear General into pieces. Her anger towards Akechi fueled a lot of her actions right now. Speaking of Akechi, she immediately turned to him and the Guard Dog, summoning Milady in the process. "Open fire!" Milady's heavy artillery began to shoot at Akechi and the Guard Dog.
"How scary." Akechi rolled his eyes. He did acknowledge the threat this bombardment of bullets presented, but he wasn't worried, for he simply ducked behind the Guard Dog as it was pelted by bullets.
"He's using the Shadow as a shield!?" Mona said.
"What a coward!" Oracle huffed.
"Not at all." Akechi laughed.
Despite being pelted with bullets, the Guard Dog of Hades roared and dashed forward. It surprised Noir with its resilience, and it smacked her away into the wall. "Ouch…!" Noir winced from the impact of hitting a steel wall.
The Guard Dog was going to pursue, but Queen rode forward on Anat and sideswiped it, causing it to recoil. "I don't think so!" She said, circling back around with tight turns due to the narrow passageway. She rammed into it a second time, causing it to fly back due to its previous injuries. "Mona! Skull!"
"On it!" Mona and Skull said at the same time. They both summoned their Personas at once. Zorro let loose a powerful cyclone, while Seitan Taisei fired off a powerful bolt of lightning. The two attacks collided against the Guard Dog and defeated it. In exchange for greater power, its defensive abilities were severely crippled as a result. With this, Akechi no longer had any lackeys on his side. "How'd you like that, you bastard!"
"Tch." Akechi's lips were tugged down into a scowl. "Well done."
"That power to make others psychotic…he used that on actual people!?" Oracle couldn't believe it. Such an effect was detrimental to even shadows, and here was Akechi, using it on real people! "This guy's out of his mind!" Her voice quaked in fear when the realization truly set in. How many people did Akechi use this power on…? Was her mother a victim-!?
"Of course, I didn't expect you to be defeated by them." Akechi continued. "You managed to deceive me and escape death, after all." His gaze went directly towards Joker, filled with killing intent. "I wouldn't give up my chance to massacre you with my own two hands…!" It was at that moment that they noticed his mask was off.
"Above-!" Fox pointed out. Robin Hood was in the air, already having a fully charged arrow at the ready.
"Shit!" Skull gasped.
"DIE!" Akechi gave a heinous smile as Robin Hood fired the arrow towards the Phantom Thieves. It exploded earlier than expected, causing Akechi to raise a curious brow. As the smoke cleared…Dragon was standing in front of everyone with Venus and her Aegis in play.
"You will have to get through me if you want to kill anyone." Dragon said with a narrowed gaze. "Not to mention, you are vastly out numbered.
"And you think I'll struggle with that?" Akechi laughed in Dragon's face. "Last I recall - I was able to down all of you without much effort. I only left you alive because you needed to take the blame for Okumura's death! The only one benefitting from the number's game will be me, as I watch all of you fall one by one! Besides, as impressive as your improved shield is…I know its limit. Your limit."
Dragon narrowed her eyes. "You don't know my limit."
"Oh, but I do!" Akechi laughed again, preparing to strike again with Robin Hood. "I've fought side by side nearly all of you, so I know your tricks! And those Shadows were merely to scout your current abilities."
"He was scouting us…!?" Mona gasped.
"SCOUT THIS!" Noir jumped into the air, spinning around for extra impact. She sought to bring her axe down on Akechi's head, but he was able to use his saber to block the hit. His knees held strong against Noir's weight. "I'm not going to let you leave this ship without paying for what you've done…!"
"Cry me a river!" Akechi spat before flicking Noir back into the air. The moment he did, Robin Hood fired an arrow of light in her direction. It caught Noir and exploded, sending her crashing into the ground. "Nothing matters to me except getting my revenge on Shido! I'm not letting any of you stand in my way, not when I'm so close!"
Violet and Fox used their speed to rush Akechi down. As they were the fastest ones on foot, it would be easy for them to attack in a pinch maneuver. "You don't have to keep doing this!" Violet exclaimed. "It's not too late!"
"SHUT UP!" Akechi yelled as Fox and Violet approached him. Fox was the first one to approach with his katana, but Akechi was able to block this with his own sword. "You're all so predictable! All of your movements are exactly the same!" He parried Fox's next strike and kicked him away. Violet pounced on him after that, swiftly thrusting her rapier at him. Akechi was taking careful steps back to avoid being hit. His neon blue saber turning a shade of black when he infused it with Curse. "Get out of my sight!" He swung it downward. Violet was able to avoid the initial hit, but she wasn't expecting the following explosion of darkness. Due to her affinity, darkness was extremely effective and sent her tumbling against the cold metal floor.
Panther then jumped into the air, her whip igniting in flames. "Take this!" She swung her whip forward, but not at Akechi. She aimed for the area in front of him, creating a thick wall of flame in front of the obsessive young man.
"Hm?" Akechi did have to back away from the flames. As he did, he just barely noticed the Mona Bus barreling towards him at full speed. He didn't have the time to dodge, but he was able to summon Robin Hood at the last second to block and mitigate the damage. He still felt the impact and slid backwards a fair bit.
"AIN'T DONE YET!" Skull said from above, crashing down foot first. He aimed to land on top of Akechi with all of his weight, but the ace detective was able to avoid this impact by jumping back. "Damn! Slippery bastard!"
BANG! A shot rang out from behind everyone. It was Dragon with her sniper, taking a shot at Akechi from afar. The bullet soared through the air and struck Akechi in the chest and he had a visible reaction from the impact. "Got you!"
Akechi leaned forward, his lips twitching in amusement. "Do you really? Come now…did you truly think firing a gun in the Metaverse would bother me?"
"Ah…" Dragon grit her teeth. She knew that, but she was hoping the intensity of the battle would make him think there was truly a gun on the field.
"I know how the Metaverse works. I've been in here longer than any of you." Akechi shook his head. "How disappointing. You really thought such a trivial maneuver would get the best of me. I thought you were better than that."
"We can't attack him at once in this narrow passageway..." Queen grumbled. "He knows that, too.
"So what do we do?" Joker asked. His eyes were trained on Akechi, who just waited for them to make any type of movement. "We'll just get in each other's way if we try to attack him all at once."
"He knows how we fight, too…" Fox said.
"I can't move Prometheus much in here." Oracle sighed.
"Time's up!" Akechi said while summoning Robin Hood once more. Numerous spheres of almighty magic floated in front of him, and then they all released beams trained on every Phantom Thief. "First up…."
"Aegis!" Dragon summoned Venus, using her sword as a shield to block the incoming blasts. She did sustain damage from this as usual, but she could endure it to protect everyone. In a surprising notion…she then saw numerous arrows of light and dark soar over her and Venus. "What!?"
"You can only block what's in front of you. As expected of a shield. But how do you intend to protect anywhere else!?" Akechi laughed as the arrows of light and dark exploded behind Dragon, catching everyone in its wake, including her. The cries of pain everyone let out were music to Akechi's ears. "That's what I enjoy hearing!"
Queen groaned, but she was able to shake off those hits. "We can't stay grouped together either. I'm charging in! Anat!" Queen summoned Anat and rode forward at full speed.
"Foolish, just like your sister." Akechi said as Robin Hood prepared another arrow of light. With a simple movement of his arm, Robin Hood then fired.
Noir was waiting for this moment and extended her hand, summoning Milady. "Makarakarn!" She created a magical barrier around the charging Queen, protecting her from one magical attack.
The Makarakan caused the arrow of light to bounce back towards Akechi when it struck Queen. He grit his teeth and bent his knees, leaping into the air to avoid the motorcycle charge. "Tch…!"
"Got you!" Queen propelled herself off of Anat and above Akechi. Her leg was charged with nuclear magic and she spun around, slamming her foot into Akechi's chest for a direct hit.
"Gah!" Akechi coughed as he was hit directly. The impact rocketed him towards the ground, but he was able to flip and catch himself. "Lucky shot…!" By the time he landed, he saw Joker approaching with his knife. The malice in his eyes flared up, and his hatred propelled him forward allowing him to react faster than anyone expected. "YOU!"
"Your favorite guy to hate." Joker said as he swung his knife forward. The two clashed and sparks flew. The two kept swinging at each other. Akechi's strength did surpass Joker's own, so a sudden back swing caused Joker to stagger backwards. "Agh…!"
"I'll enjoy getting rid of you first!" Akechi prepared another swung, but he was interrupted by Dragon's extended staff striking him in the chest. "Tch…!" With his free hand, he grabbed the staff.
"Skull, now!" Dragon yelled, gripping one end of the staff.
"Right!" Skull nodded and grabbed onto the staff with Dragon. Together, their combined effort and weight were able to launch Akechi into the air. This corridor was narrow, but it did have a high ceiling which they could use to their advantage.
Akechi was thrown into the air, but he flipped, landing on some of the pipes overhead. "Was your goal to give me the high ground?!" With his perch, he was about to take aim with Robin Hood once again, but then…he felt his feet fall out from under him. How!? When he looked down, everything occurred in slow motion. He saw Fox use his blade to cut through the pipe, which resulted in his free fall. But he also saw Noir taking aim at him with Milady while he was in midair! "…!"
"Our guns may not work, but my bullets are real enough!" Noir pointed forward and Milady began to open fire. Numerous missiles launched from the woman's dress. Akechi still had Robin Hood active, and it was capable of taking out a few missiles, but some of them still exploded on him, causing him to tumble against his will while in the air.
"You little…!" Akechi sneered. But he wasn't given time to rest. His momentum came to a halt as a cyclone from Zorro caught him, but that wasn't a good thing for him. "What now!?"
"Hecate, light him up!" Panther shouted. Hecate fired a blast of fire into the cyclone, which merged with the wind. This turned into a blazing cyclone that had Akechi right in the middle. Akechi's shout of anger was probably one of pain too. "It's just like we kept saying! We're not the same as we were last time!"
"And…!" Violet used her gymnastics to leap up the wall and pipes. Now above Akechi, she dove down, her leg slamming into his chest, knocking him back to the ground. When she hit Akechi, she flipped backwards and fired off numerous beams of light with Cendrillon's help, all of them pelting the prince clad detective. "We have teamwork!"
Akechi growled when he heard that work. "Teamwork!? You think that means ANYTHING?! That's all you pieces of shit talk about! Do you know how sick I was hearing about it!" Robin Hood was summoned again, only this time it slammed its fist into the ground. This prompted spikes of light and dark to break through the metal floor and violently jut out towards everyone.
"Look out everyone! Defense up!" Oracle quickly cast a defensive spell in the nick of time. Everyone tried their best to avoid these spikes, but they weren't prepared for them to explode, or how potent each explosion would be. They didn't have much room to dodge, unfortunately. Akechi's isolation gave him the slight advantage in that he could always attack the Phantom Thieves in a group, and it was showing as the damage racked up.
"Venus!" Dragon called out her Persona, sending her forward to slash with her sword. "Ultimate Excalibur Attack!" Venus' sword shone bright, filled with almighty magic. Venus swung at Robin Hood, who attacked at the same time. The two clashed and entered a fierce stalemate. "Ngh…!"
"Oh, Togo…are you a sword or a shield!? You can't be both!" Akechi sneered.
"I am whatever I need to be for my friends…!" Dragon grit her teeth, attempting to push back against Robin Hood.
"Unfortunately for you…it's not enough!" Akechi said as Robin Hood overpowered Venus, smashing the other's Persona into the wall. Dragon reacted to this impact with a grunt of pain. "You haven't defeated me in a one on one, and you will won't! That goes for you too, Joker!" Akechi turned as Joker attacked him, the two of them entering another fierce duel. When Akechi turned, he saw Violet joining the fray as well. He was able to hold his own against the both of them. "And you, Yoshizawa! What happened to thinking the Phantom Thieves would become people's crutch, that people shouldn't rely on them!?"
Violet was able to avoid a lot of Akechi's strikes due to her aerobatics. Still, that didn't mean she was able to attack. Every strike she dodged, she felt the power behind it; and every strike she blocked, her knees buckled from Akechi's strength. How was he so strong!? "I saw that they were really trying to help people! I had my doubts at first, but I know that Senpai and the others just wanted to do the right thing! It's people like you that make that impossible! And ever since I got involved, I swore that I would see this through to the end!"
Akechi's sword caught both Violet's rapier and Joker's knife. "It's a shame. You wouldn't have had to die if you kept your nose of this." His sword exploded in a burst of almighty magic, throwing Joker and Violet backwards violent. He was prepared to attack again, but a bolt of lightning struck the center of his back. "Gnk…!" It briefly paralyzed him as well.
"Don't forget about me!" Skull said while giving a taunting smile.
"Arsene!"
"Cendrillon!"
Joker and Violet summoned their Personas at the same time, releasing blasts of Curse and Light at the same time. These two blasts converged on Akechi and exploded violently upon him, throwing him back against his will.
Akechi let out a loud grunt of pain, rolling along the ground before coming to a halt on his hands and knees. How did they manage to injure him this much!? They were weaker than him! "Ngh…Damn it!"
Even though Akechi was on his knees, the Phantom Thieves were just as winded and injured. "So he's able to turn people psychotic…" Mona said, panting heavily. "I thought it was some special thing, like the Nav. But it just turned out to be his own Persona's power…"
"I can't believe that the ability to control and drive others mad was born from within his heart…" Queen was in awe. The more they learned about Akechi, the more twisted it became.
"I'll kill you…!" Akechi snarled, attempting to stand back up, but his body was in too much pain and he could barely muster it.
Panther couldn't watch this struggle. Yes, she hated Akechi for what he's done…but watching this was just sad. "Will you please stop!? You're fighting the wrong people!" She said, desperately trying to get it through to him that this fight didn't need to keep going. "We both hate the same guy! Why do we have to go against each other!?"
"She's right…we don't need to do this…!" Violet added, clutching her arm.
"It would make things far easier if you stayed out of our way. One way or another." Noir said, her threatening voice heavy between her pants.
"Killing us won't make you happy…" Dragon frowned.
"But…I…! I have to…!" Akechi stammered.
"This ain't about what Shido says!" Skull interjected before Akechi could even get that thought out. "You're your own person! You gotta know that!"
"DAMN IT!" Akechi balled a hand into a fist, and hit the ground in frustration.
Oracle was uncomfortable…but she spoke all the same. "You know, sometimes I think about that fake Medjed you guys made up. That was the worst trap, but if it wasn't for that…I wouldn't be here. I…I'll never forgive you for what you did to my mom, but…I-I mean...basically…it doesn't matter where you start over."
"As long as you pay your dues for the damages you've caused." Noir added.
"And…you don't really hate Joker, do you? Or Dragon?" Mona asked carefully. "That smile before we fought…isn't that how you really feel? Follow your true feelings!"
"Do you truly wish to continue down this path of self-destruction? It is not too late to back out." Fox said.
"Even if you think people hate you, or don't want you around. That's…!" Mona started, but Akechi cut him off.
"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" Akechi screamed. "Teammates!? FRIENDS?! TO HELL WITH THAT! WHY AM I INFERIOR TO YOU!?" His voice was directed towards Joker. "I was extremely particular about my life, my grades, my public image, so someone would want me around! I…am an ace detective! A CELEBRITY! But you! You're just some criminal trash living in an attic!" He then turned to Dragon. "And you! You're just some no talent idol whose never earned a single victory in her life! So how…How do people like you have things that I don't!? How can such worthless pieces of trash be more special than me!? When will I get my recognition!? WHEN WILL IT BE MY TURN!?"
Everyone was stunned into silence at Akechi's outburst.
"Akechi-san…" Violet's jaw hung open in shock. She didn't know what to say. Was this…the real Akechi?
"Akechi…." Dragon's gaze fell. She felt…sad for him. "Has he always felt this…lonely…" This was the first time Dragon felt nothing but truth from Akechi…
"…You need to stop." Joker said calmly. "That's not the case. You just need to-"
"Don't give me that cliché bullshit!" Akechi screamed. In his fit of rage, a black mask and matching attire flickered around his body.
"There it is…" Queen said.
"W-What about the other one though! The one with the black mask!?" Fox recalled shadow Madarame's panicked words.
"These Palaces could net you loads of cash! You could do whatever you wanted to people's hearts! I'll even let you in on a little something. There's a criminal out there using people's Palaces to accomplish whatever they damn well please. They don't care about consequences. Psychotic breakdowns, mental shutdowns…anything goes." Queen and Dragon recalled Shadow Kaneshiro's words as well.
"Everything truly goes back to you…" Dragon said while staring at Akechi.
Akechi started to laugh…but it was calm, unlike his angered or mocking laughs from before. His second wind was kicking in. "Oh, this is great. This will actually be a first for me…I took it easy on you in the factory, but I truly might have to try my hardest against you. You know…I just came up with a fun little idea. I wonder how far I can go with this…"
"Fun…?" Noir didn't like the sound of this.
"What are you planning!?" Dragon demanded to know.
Akechi's voice continued to dip into the throes of insanity as he spoke. He looked directly at Joker. "You're not satisfied with where we left off either, are you? Isn't this what you really wanted!? You and I…are going to strike…and strike…and strike again…until one of us is dead! To hell with holding back!"
"Akechi…!" Violet called his name, but it was futile.
"…!" Joker took a stance.
"Ah…just picturing it sends chills down my spine! What Shido thinks of me? Haha! I don't give a shit!" Akechi's voice started to go dry and crack. Whatever sanity Akechi was holding onto was starting to disintegrate. "All I care about now…" His body hunched forward, before he stood up straight, a psychotic smile on his face. "….Is killing you….to prove…I'M BETTER THAN YOU! Here! I'll show you…who I really am! Come…LOOOOOOKI!" An explosion of red and black energy erupted around Akechi as he summoned his Persona, but this was completely different than any type of call they've seen before. It was raw. It was feral. And it was ugly. This time, the Phantom Thieves could truly see it…Loki.
"Again – it's that Persona!" Fox said.
"So that's it…that's the missing piece…!" Dragon finally put it together. "I never would've imagined that he had more than one Persona…! He's just like Joker!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Akechi let out a feral cry as red and black splotches began to surround his body.
"What's he doing!?" Noir asked.
"DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" Akechi said as his eyes were wide and bloodshot, the Black Mask attire forming along his person while his hands trailed up and down his face in an uncomfortable manner to witness. "Justice? Righteousness!? KEEP THAT SHIT TO YOURSEVLES! YOU AND YOUR TEAMMATES PISS ME OFF!"
"He can use two separate powers?! So everything…even his appearance was a fake!?" Mona was shocked as everyone else. Nobody would have ever guessed that Akechi and Joker had similar powers…the power of the Wild Card.
Akechi's body shifted about uncomfortable. "You're going down…I'll kill you…I'll destroy you!" His body started to turn a darker shade. "GO DOWN WITH ME!" And then another surge of power exploded from around him. This kicked up a fierce gust of wind that forced everyone to cover their eyes. Akechi used his own power to turn people psychotic…on himself.
"No way…!" Panther gasped.
"That bastard made himself go psychotic…!" Skull gritted his teeth.
"Is he insane?!" Oracle shouted.
Akechi let out a chuckle, which turned into a maddening laugh, and then a heinous cackle. In the next instant, something flew past everyone. Loki's sword struck Oracle directly, slamming her into a wall before anyone knew what happened. It happened in slow motion, but when they saw it, all of their eyes turned to the downed navigator. Akechi knew their tricks. Oracle was a big part of their battle plan, so he was fully aware take out the support first.
"ORACLE!" Everyone cried out in worry.
"Damn it, he's lost it…!" Mona grunted.
"NOW!" Akechi's insane voice forced everyone to turn to face him. His body moved and twitched in a way that a normal person's never could. "Let's see you all drop dead one at a time, just like that, in front of your precious friends!" He drew back…then lunged at the Phantom Thieves in a frenzy.
"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"