War Arc:
Chapter 58: Birth of The New Generation
Cloudy – Morning – 30/11/2012(Friday) – Outside Sumaru City
(Friday of War)
"It's almost starting."
Kazuma Kaneda said, watching over the city from the distance at the top of a small hill. From behind, Nameless and Belladonna approached the hill and gazed at the city as well.
"It's not even the end of the world yet," Belladonna said.
"But we must follow the prophecy," Nameless said, "Isn't that correct, Demon Painter?"
Kazuma Keneda took off his mask and hood, revealing none other than Demon Painter. He clenched the painting in his hand, the painting of Fool Arcana.
"War... No, Azathoth is awakening," Demon Painter turned away from the scene, "Igor gave us his order. We've done what we could. Oh, looking for something, Nameless?"
Nameless, as if listening to something in the distance, raised his head before he smiled and said, "I sense a new persona user has been born."
Matsuya Suou
Cloudy – Morning – 30/11/2012(Friday) – Under the train railway, Yumezaki, Sumaru City
(Friday of War)
A big egg-shaped stone appeared above Matsuya Suou. Slowly, the shell of the egg cracks, revealing a small figure with armor, a pair of white wings, and a mask with a numeral number 'XX' on it. The shell cracked even further at the front side all the way downward, but other sides remained intact. Only 1/4 of the egg was cracked vertically at the front, and the new persona made his full appearance.
Protogonus
"I am the first born, the creator of flying creatures. I am the first from the cosmic egg and the bringer of daytime. I am Protogonus."
Known as: First-Born
Arcana: Judgement
The primeval god of procreation from the Orphic tradition said to be the first ruler of deities in Greek mythology. Although there were many theories of his origin, many shared the belief that he was the first to be born from the world egg, created from Chronos, the god of time and Ananke, the goddess of fate. He creates the winged creatures, said to be older than gods and titans. While Nyx created nighttime, he created daytime.
In the 'egg', Protogonus sat inside it with the appearance of a boy with a long bronze robe covering every part of his body except his head. He wore a big helmet with a shape of wings, a bronze mask, and a white earring-like ornament at his side. His wings were slender and long, extended to his front body and hid its end under the big robe. His hollowed eyes gazed at Takaya intensely before he shifted his attention to the fallen Lisa.
"Help me, Protogonus," Matsuya said with a firm voice, reaching out his hand to Lisa and cast.
"Mediarahan!" Protogonus stretched out his hand from under his robe, revealing a machinery arm and summoned a bright globe from his hand. The globe entered Lisa's body through her injuries and a single bullet popped out from her wound before the wound itself closed.
"You joking..." Takaya left his mouth agape, "He's a persona user! Attack!"
All gun aimed at him, but Lisa immediately got up and summoned her persona, "Venus: Malaquadyne!"
Venus emerged and cast a heavy water attack on the entire group, pushing everyone away except Takaya. Takaya blocked the attack by jumping away, aiming his revolver at Matsuya. However, out of nowhere, Ekichi leaped from his hiding place and landed a dropkick at Takaya's head. Takaya failed to dodge it and the kick hit his nose, and his revolver was cast aside as he back away.
"Uncle Eikichi!" Matsuya called out with Lisa by his side. Seconds later, Mia appeared from where Eikichi was and responded.
"Found you, Matsu-kun! We've been looking everywhere for you!" Mia said in relief, but paused when she saw Lisa and Ulala, "What happened here?"
"..." Ulala, after seeing the scene around her, quickly knocked away Takaya and a few enemies before escaping. Takaya's men had already got up and ready to shot.
"Come on! This way!" Mia pulled Lisa and Matsuya from the center of the target and escaped to the front of the station.
Yumezaki Train Station
At the train station, a few groups of citizens were still waiting for their turn to board the train. Most of the patients from the hospital had been moved out of the city. Seeing as the sun had risen high at the sky, the latter passengers became restless, fearing for the attack from the submarine. Just two more trips and all of the citizens from this station will be evacuated.
Among the faces in the crowd were Reiji Kido, his wife, and his son, following the flow of the citizens into the station. There were less than 100 more people, and Reiji, sweating profoundly in his suit, somehow regretted not evacuating sooner with Yukino.
"Where's the train? We've been waiting for 2 hours!" Takashi Kido, Reiji's son, nagged on his seat.
"Be patience, Takashi-kun. We have to prioritize the sick people first," Takashi's mother, wearing a jean and dark clothing, said.
"We'll take the next stop, alright?" Reiji said, checking the outside when suddenly he saw a familiar face blending with the crowd, "Is that..."
Matsuya, Lisa, Mia, and Eikichi all ran into the crowd and blended in. Takaya's guard followed afterward and searched, but found no trace of them. Takaya Sasaki emerged with a handkerchief covering his bleeding nose, glaring at the crowds.
"Should we chase them, boss?" One of Takaya's guard asked.
"No, you idiot! We're not supposed to reveal ourselves!" Takaya said, covering his face with a hood to avoid being recognized. Ulala was nowhere to be found, while the other four were carefully ascending the train station. There were a few polices standing guard to lessen their anxiety. During that time, Takaya reached for his pocket before he became enraged.
"She stole the antidote! Retreat! Half of you go straight to the harbor with me! Another half check where Ulala is!" Takaya ordered, backing away from the crowd as he cursed, "Damn you, Babylon."
Meanwhile, Matsuya, Mia, Eikichi, and Lisa ascended the stairs in a hurry to avoid the pursuers.
"How did you escape the shrine?! I thought they got you there!" Eikichi whispered before turning to Lisa, "And why are you with Matsuya?"
"It's... nothing," Lisa avoided the question and changed the topic about Mia, "Who is she?"
"She's Mia-chan," Matsuya answered. Lisa raised her eyebrows, for she didn't know any woman with that name except for a little girl.
"It's a long story," Mia said, before she turned to panic, "I think I saw some of Takaya's men behind us."
"They're looking for Ulala. But don't worry," Eikichi said in relax manner, "As long as we stay quiet, they will never find us-"
"Yo, Mishina! Here!"
Eikichi almost fell down the stairs when his name was called. The four of them searched for the source at the top of the stairs, and unexpectedly, they saw Reiji and his family. Lisa turned to her back and saw that a few people had their eyes on them and increased their pace.
"They saw us! Run!" Lisa said. They all hurriedly fastened their pace and rushed to the station, where Reiji was waiting.
"Hey, Mishina. Glad to see you-"
"Why did you shout my name?!" Eikichi cut his words and grabbed his shoulder, "We are being chased right now!"
"Matsuya?! Z-Zombie?!" Takashi screamed in fear when he saw Matsuya, "I heard you were dead! What just happened?!"
As they were arguing, Mia could see that most of Takaya's guards were running towards them.
"No time to explain! When's the next train?!" Mia asked.
It was then that they heard the arrival of the next train. As the train stopped, they all rushed together inside.
"Mind telling me what's going on?" Reiji asked.
"Later! Just go inside!" Lisa said, pushing them into the train.
Takaya's guard was still searching, but seeing the train had left, with the absence of Ulala, they eventually decided to retreat and regrouped with Takaya.
Tatsuya Suou
Cloudy – Morning – 30/11/2012(Friday) – R'lyeh
(Friday of War)
A trail of fallen bodies littered at the hallway of the bottom floor, a trail left by Tatsuya and the weakened Baofu. They stopped at the end of the hallway, where the door was locked with a keypad. Baofu offered himself to unlock it. And after a few minutes, they both entered the dark place.
"Careful. Someone's here," Tatsuya said.
"Where's the light switch?" Baofu said, "Is this the storage room. How about some light?"
"Ah, found it."
Rummaging in the dark, Tatsuya felt a handle and flipped it up. The room was illuminated, and they both gasped at the scene.
Hundreds of cage-like prisons were stacked on each other. It was made of steel chains, locked with padlocks, and cubic shaped. It housed multiple prisoners, all in terrible form. The voice Tatsuya heard was probably from one of them, but his eyes were caught on two figures, a man and a woman, sharing the same prison not far from them. He recognized both of them.
"I never thought I see you, Tatsuya," It was Naoya who was trapped in the cage with a woman who resembled Eriko Kirishima. She was wide awake, but it seemed as though her mind was broken, for she merely stood at the back of the prison without reacting to anything and uttered not a single world. Appearing lifeless, Naoya had to pull her to the front to let Tatsuya examined her.
"Naoya and... Erio Kirishima?" Tatsuya widened his eyes. He immediately rushed to their cage and shot the padlock to free him, "I guess this is the place where they imprisoned people."
"Worse. This is the place where the mad professor picked his patients for an experiment," Naoya said, turning to Erio, "Erio, however, was already in this state when I was sent here- Baofu's here too?"
When he saw Baofu, Naoya staggered backward in confusion, added with Baofu's hauntingly grave face and a trace of blood on his lips.
"Don't be so surprised *cough*. I'm just here helping," Baofu said between his cough, but it's clear that he condition had worsened.
"Come on, we need to get out of here and bring these people out," Tatsuya watched around and see many more lifeless people. Some of them were laid on the floor, while some of them were begging for help.
"I'm not trying to sound rude, but you can't bring all of them," Naoya said as he left the cage while gripping Erio, "Most of these people were already had their mind shattered due to being experimented by Karu Juugo."
"But we still have to get them out, including you too," Tatsuya insisted.
"...Fine, but I informed you just in case. I can't use my persona," Naoya revealed his wrist that had a trace of injection, "So make it quick."
It took them a few minutes to round up all the people. They all hurriedly left the room, forming a line to reach the upper floor. As the prisoners were mute and lifeless, it was easy to command them. But on their way to the second floor, Baofu stumbled down when he coughed so much blood, it spilled from his palm.
"And you still ignore my warning," Tatsuya scolded, supporting his shoulder and forced him to walk.
"Gah... This is... *loud cough* nothing," Baofu said, "Ulala is still out there, committing crimes."
"Ulala?" Naoya interrupted. Tatsuya took this time to reveal the hint that Ulala is Babylon to him. Suddenly, extreme guilt was visible on his face.
"Baofu, forgive me," Naoya said, pausing Baofu and Tatsuya, "I have a confession."
Baofu and Tatsuya watched his expression intensely.
"Baofu, you asked me if I knew Juugo from your previous case. You're right. I do. In fact... I was the one who hired you and Ulala to catch Juugo."
"!" Baofu flinched backward in shock.
"You're the one..." Tatsuya remembered the description from Kandori's book, about how Kandori was captured and chase by two people, "So, it was you."
"If only I hadn't sent you, perhaps you wouldn't be like this," Naoya said, "It was my fault. I make Ulala into Babylon."
Naoya bowed, expecting to be punched or pushed away. Tatsuya himself wasn't sure whether to blame him or not. However, as Baofu and Naoya remained silent, he heard a- no, two footsteps approaching them.
"Someone coming..." Tatsuya warned. All eyes turned to the stair leading up to the mid floor. Slowly, two men walking down the stairs.
"Would you look at that? That's one of the Suou Devil!" The first to speak was a man in a dark suit. Tatsuya recognized him instantly as Tohru Adachi, one of Sudou's accomplice. His eyes were yellow and dark as if he was possessed.
"So he's Suou Devil, huh? Looks interesting," The young man next to Adachi said. He didn't recognize this young man with red hair. He held two swords around his waist, and he looked incredibly dangerous.
"Are you seriously trying to bring everyone out? Hahaha!" Adachi laughed, so hard that he coughed a few times, "I may not have business with these people, but we can't let you do whatever you want. We're going play with you."
"Oh, by the way..." The young man with red hair revealed his face under the light bulb as he unsheathed his swords, "My name's Sho, Sho Minazuki. Keep me entertained."
"It's you!" Tatsuya voiced out.
"Damn, what do we do?" Naoya said.
"I'll stall them away from here. You all ran for the hatch. Someone should be waiting for you there," Tatsuya said. From his back jacket, he revealed a sword and unsheathed it, entering his battle stance. However, Baofu stood next to him, ready to fight as well.
"Baofu, what are you doing?" Tatsuya asked.
"We're here to *cough* save these people. You need one more hand on this," Baofu answered.
"If you used your persona again, you'll-"
"Eyes forward!" Baofu warned. The two leaped towards them.
Aigis
Cloudy – Morning – 30/11/2012(Friday) – Eastern Bridge of Sumaru City
(Friday of War)
Aigis, Mitsuru Maya VS Karu Juugo
"Gah!"
Maya was knocked aback by Shiva's attack after failing to land a Bufudyne. She pressed forwards again, casting her high heels aside and cast another skill.
"Kirijo, Aigis, step back! Crescent Mirror!" Maya cast an almighty attack, summoning multiple energy spheres at all Juugo's personas. Aigis, who was exhausted from extreme Orgia mode, leaped backward from Tiamat's fang. Mitsuru dashed away from Metatron's sword. The almighty attacks were repelled at last minute, however, when Juugo revealed his own power.
"Suit Burst: Seven of Pentacles.
ShivaTiamat:
Fusion Skill: Omnitrakarn."
"Ah, that burst!" Aigis screamed. She remembered a similar skill when she first met him.
Seven large bronze coins emerged from thin air and formed a shield in front of him and his personas. Maya's attack seemly 'absorbed' into the coins before all of it spun with high speed. In a blink of an eye, the ground cracked around Juugo, and the seven coins returned the attack on the three persona users with increased damages. The three shrieked in pain and stumbled backward, both in confusion and frustration.
"What kind of attack is that?" Mitsuru said while clenching her left arm, "It doesn't just repel an attack, it amplifies it!"
"And it's an almighty attack!" Maya responded, clenching her chest in pain, "You can't repel that!"
"He did the same thing back then..." Aigis muttered, "Suit Burst..."
"Minor Deck."
All eyes were on Juugo when he began. He pressed the gold hat on his head roughly with a small smirk.
"Some called it "Lesser Arcana", or 'Minor Tarot', but matters not the difference. This hat... Oh! I'm feeling... prideful! Satisfy! Glimming! Perfect for someone who mastered the Minor Deck!"
Aigis began eyeing the suitcase full of hats in his left hand. Juugo continued.
"Minor Arcana is less powerful compared to Major Arcana on the ratio of 1:3. Philemon and Nyarlathotep both abandoned the deck after acquiring the Major Arcana. What a waste. At least Igor used it for some time in the past, but all of them abandoned such path. They simply did not nurture the true potential of Minor Deck, but I guess I did have much time to spare to train such deck."
"What are you ranting about?" Mitsuru stood up again and aimed his rapier at him, "Use whatever deck you have, we'll take you down."
"You underestimate Minor Deck," Juugo smiled sinisterly, "Minor Deck has all the extra buffs that no skill cards will ever compare. Rod, Sword, Pentacle, and Cup; as long as I control these four powers, I'm undefeated. I played enough. Maya Suou, come with me to the 'other side'."
"I am not letting you do that!" Aigis stood back, preparing her hidden guns again, but Juugo seemed annoyed.
"Be quiet and stay down," Juugo said, taking out a mysterious remote from his pocket. Aigis recognized it as the remote that shut down her movement.
"Mitsuru-san!"
As she screamed, Juugo pressed the button, and her entire body froze and fell to the ground.
"Aigis!" Mitsuru said, turning to Juugo, "Where did you get that remote?"
"I made it myself," Juugo proudly said, "I was one of the scientists working under your grandfather, Kirijo. Although, my role was so minor that people didn't even notice I exist. But that didn't stop me from conducting my own research. Kirijo's rusty technology, even Nanjo's, are no match for me. Now move."
"'Rusty', you say?" Mitsuru replied, feeling challenged. She reached for her phone, "We will see."
"?" Juugo stared in confusion when Mitsuru began dialing.
"Yamagishi!" Mitsuru said on the phone, "Deploy weapon 7-X! I am at the eastern bridge of Sumaru City! You have my permission to use the rocket carrier!"
"Weapon 7-X?" Maya voiced out her surprise as she sat next to her, "Is that some kind of destructive weapon?"
"Right, Yamagishi," Mitsuru continued, ignoring Maya's question, "Yes, I know it has not been tested yet, but we need it! We need the Pegasus now!"
"Pegasus?"
Aigis asked the moment Mitsuru ended the call. Mitsuru revealed a small smile.
"A little upgrade we made for you."
Morning - Fuuka's lab, Kirijo Headquarter, Tatsumi Port Island
"Fuuka, slow down!" Junpei shouted as he chased after Fuuka as she ran up the hallway to a back hidden room, "You just ran straight from the hotel non-stop! What did Mitsuru tell you?"
"A weapon of my design," Fuuka said, "Mitsuru told me to unlock it now."
"But Fuuka!" Yukari shouted as she emerged from behind Junpei, "You need to slow down! What is happening with Mitsuru right now?"
"In a crisis," Fuuka answered, "Aigis need the weapon now."
She entered her lab followed by Junpei and Yukari, and she ran straight for another room with a fingerprint scan. The door was opened, and the two of them stared in shock as Fuuka presented her invention.
"Holy crap! That is incredible!"
"Incredible..."
The two of them examined the tall invention in amazement. Just then, Labrys, who was struggling to find her way through, peeked into the room and found them by the machinery.
"So you're here. Geez, don't run off like that! I'm almost lost-" Labrys said as she walked in, but she too was speechless upon the creation, "Is that... an armor?"
It was a heavy armor, fully plated in high-quality steels. It was painted in silver with a white palette, designed with bullet 'sleeves' on both shoulders, bracelets with a shape of gatling gun's bullet chamber on wrists, a horse shape helmet, and a pair of metallic wings with an air suppressor equipped.
"I designed it after Aigis's original Neo Orgia mode years ago," Fuuka said, "Hold behold! Pegasus, the technology so advanced, I called it the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon 7-Xth generation!"
"7-Xth generation?!" Junpei half screamed, "You had this armor all this time?!"
"Is it safe?" Yukari asked.
"We haven't tested it yet, but now is a desperate time," Fuuka answered.
"D-Do you have one for me too?" Labrys asked with excitement.
"Sorry, but we haven't analysis your system long enough to make one," Fuuka answered, which she quickly continued when she saw Labrys's gloomy face, "Don't worry, we'll make one for you someday."
They all assisted in removing the cable as Fuuka typing on something on the computer next to it. A hatch was opened on the ceiling, leading to the outside with a small rocket on top of it. Fuuka hurriedly pressed the switch on the keyboard.
"7-X: Pegasus, go!"
Aigis
Eastern Bridge of Sumaru City
"An upgrade?" Juugo said, quickly finding another hat, this time it's a violet hat. He suddenly backed away in fear, "Oh, how scary! I-I need to be careful!"
Just then, Aigis looked up and saw an object flying towards them at sonic speed.
"Mitsuru-san! Is that..." Aigis said while bending her head up as her limbs were numbed.
"As expected, it arrived as fast as I hope it does," Mitsuru smiled, raising her hand up.
"W-What?! What is that?!" Juugo said with a violet hat, "A reinforcement?"
The rocket seemly shattered apart and one metallic horse with wings dived towards the bridge and landed on the floor not far from Aigis.
"A power-up for you," Mitsuru explained at Aigis's confusion, "This allowed you to retain Extreme Orgia Mode with a more destructive power! We made it in case of facing a threat like Nyx again, but now is the best time!"
"Mitsuru-san..." Aigis turned to her, feeling so touched by her decision to give her more strength than she could ask for. She nodded as the Pegasus approached her and...
They merged.
"...Ho..." Juugo dropped his violet hat and wore a dark purple hat, curiously watching Aigis's new form. Maya and Mitsuru too stared in amazed at Aigis new form.
Aigis felt as though she became once again in her Neo Orgia mode. Her body felt heavy in the armor, but she could see better under the mask-shaped helmet on her head. Wings were exposed on her back, and she was completely free from Juugo's control device.
"Pegasus Orgia mode!"
She shouted and began her counter attack. Mitsuru quickly forced Maya to retreat to the back, where Kurosawa was waiting for them.
"You... make me angry!" Juugo put on his red hat and send three of his personas at her. With an insane speed that no mortal eyes can see, Aigis dodged the attacks and glided on the air.
"Don't get cocky with me! Suit Burst: Ace of Sword! Tiamat: Dark Tsunami! Metratron: Divine Bless!"
As Juugo commanded, Tiamat and Metratron revealed a black water ball and blade of light. The attack both swung down to Aigis. But Aigis was prepared and calmly summoned her persona as well.
"Pallas AthenaPegasus!
Fusion Skill: Perseus Aegis Shield!"
Athena emerged from thin air and blocked the multiple attacks from the two personas and absorbed it. In instant, Athena aimed the shield at the two personas and released a powerful blue blast. The persona was clearly resisting it, but it didn't stop the damage.
"What?!" Juugo screamed in frustration, "You have a repel too?!"
"No," Aigis disagreed as she landed after a short flight, "I absorbed the energy from their attack and use it for my attack."
"You bastard!" Juugo screamed, but he quickly searched for another hat in his bag, this time it was his default black hat.
"Aigis!" Just then, Mitsuru's voice was heard in her speaker, "See the bag he was holding?"
"Yes, I see it."
"Try to take it from him. Without the hats, he can't comprehend his own emotion and threw him off guard."
"I will give it my best shot."
"Whispering in the middle of a match? Whatever, I need to wrap this up soon," Juugo called out and cast multiple skills, "Suit Burst: Page of Rod. Extended buff activated. Mediarahan. Dekunda. Masukukaja. Marakukaja. Matarukaja."
"How much power did he have to spam so much skill?!" Aigis gasped as she widened her eyes in shock when she heard his skills casting. Constantly summoning three personas at once, casting so many buffs; normal persona user would have exhausted their entire breadth and power in a short while. Yet Juugo seemed like he's barely warming up.
"Too slow. Megidolaon."
Shiva raised his hand and summoned a massive sphere. He began to throw it at Aigis direction, but Aigis was faster than the enemies.
"Shield of Medusa!" Athena's shield began to change form into a gorgon head with its eyes glowing yellow, aiming at the three personas. All of them failed to dodge and was petrified by medusa's stare. Megidolaon, however, still connected. It aimed straight at Aigis, just as Aigis started to fly away quickly.
"Aigis!" Mitsuru screamed.
Nearly half of one side of the bridge was destroyed by the attack, leaving a pile of smokes and dust. Juugo looked around and listened, but all he heard was silence. He examined again until his curiosity forced him to search his bag again.
"The purple hat... purple..." Juugo rummaged his bag and search, and that was when Aigis emerged herself from the smoke. Juugo immediately blocked himself with his personas, but Aigis pushed through with sonic speed and reached for the bag, including the hat on his head.
"Got it!" Aigis said in relief as she shot the bag away from Juugo and snatched the black hat, leaving Juugo in utter shock. She then performed another attack, a finisher.
"Ultimate Skill: Heritage Liberator Palladi-"
Suddenly, like a short-circuit, Aigis's body trembled and she crashed on the ground after a short flight. Pegasus removed itself from her after seemly overheating. Juugo's bag was flung away and landed between her and Juugo.
"What happened to her?" Maya asked from the distant, treated by Kurosawa at her side.
"It's not perfect!" Mitsuru cursed disappointedly, "I knew it was too risky to try it without testing first..."
"Give me back my hat," Juugo said, almost expressionless. He began to run at his hat, But Mitsuru snatched the grenade launcher and aimed at the bag, destroying it along with the rest of the hat. The black hat was still in Aigis's hand, which she threw it high before shooting it with a machine gun.
There's no more hat for Juugo. His expression was difficult to describe at first. Everyone backed away and watched as Juugo looked closely at the destruction of all his hat. The three personas above him faded into thin air.
"My hat... It's gone..." Juugo said with a blank face. He clenched his head hard as he approached the remains of his hats. His leg gave up in front of the trace of his bag.
"Aigis!" Mitsuru and Maya ran to Aigis's side, helping her to her feet. Pegasus was seemly inactive and returned to its default mode.
"Forgive me for making you take such a risk," Mitsuru apologized, "Please, you may rest for now."
"It is fine," Aigis shook her head, "But the Pegasus..."
"Who cares about that broken things?" Maya said with a weak smile, "You're alive. That's all that matters."
"Ahem! Pegasus is destroyed? Did I heard that right?" Fuuka's voice rang out through Aigis and Mitsuru's hidden mic, "I spend months for that... *sigh*"
"Sorry, Fuuka-san," Aigis said apologetically.
"...Nevermind. I still got the entire data of it over here," Fuuka replied, trying to convince that it didn't bother her, "Though, I believe it's merely in cool down mode... *bzzz* Mitsuru-san, I think I'm losing the signal... *bzzz*"
Suddenly, they heard Juugo muttering.
"I just lost my hats, my 'emotion'... What am I supposed to feel, currently?" Juugo said as he examined his hands and clenched his face, "Sad? Anger? Lost? I... I do not know what to feel..."
"That's your weakness," Maya said, "You used hats to convey your feelings because, without it, you can't feel anything. You are lost."
"Lost? Me? I don't understand..." Juugo said, as though his sanity slowly slipping away, "Confusion, then? I am confused? But I have everything! All emotions! No, no, no, I need something to mark my ego. No, no, no, no... My hat! Yes! Wait, my hats are gone! I cannot feel!"
"...I think we should get back..." Maya said, quickly bringing the two of them back to where they came from. It was then that they heard the most horrendous scream behind them.
"AAAAHHHH! MY CONSCIOUSNESS! MY MORTAL HEART! IT SINK INTO THE BOTTOMLESS SEA OF SOUL! IT SINK INTO THAT WATERY ABYSS! NO GUIDE OVER MY EGO! IT SINK! IT SINK! OH, CREATOR! IT SINKKKKK!"
The scream continued on for a while as the sun gently rose over the sky before it entered the heavy cloud that soon blocked the sun from the view of the Sumaru City. No one could utter a single word, they could only watch from the distant with extreme curiosity.
Then, like a switch, Juugo stopped his scream when his voice gave up. He stood up, with zero expression, and gazed at the sky as though all his emotions disappeared. Then, he shifted his attention to Aigis, then Mitsuru, then finally Maya. But for a while, she couldn't determine what he was looking at.
At that moment, Aigis wasn't sure if she's the only one who felt it.
A blinding light...
Covering the bridge, then the world.
And each moment her eyes locked on Karu Juugo...
She saw it, that ridiculously massive aura coming from him...
"AHHH!"
Aigis fell down immediately, watched by Mitsuru and Maya. She couldn't stop trembling. She couldn't stop her fear. The thoughts of throwing away her heart began to resurface on her mind. If all she had to do was becoming a pure machine to avoid that feeling of dread, she would do it. That was on her mind at the time.
"Aigis?! What is happening?!" Mitsuru asked with concern.
"...Run..."
"Repeat that?"
"I said run!" Aigis cried, pointing her finger at the mad man who was approaching them with a weak pace.
"I sensed it, Mitsuru-san!" Aigis said with a shaken voice, "That man is not human, he's a shadow!"
"A shadow?!" Maya voiced out in surprised before it faded, "No wonder he's so strong. So he's not human, to begin with."
"Not quite..." Aigis said, "Mitsuru-san, he is no ordinary shadow... This feeling, can you not sense it?"
"Explain to me, Aigis!" Mitsuru crouched down and forced Aigis to look at her, "What do you mean?"
"Karu Juugo... that man..."
Aigis tried her hardest to reveal the truth. This presence was extremely familiar. She was not mistaken, no matter who tried to convince her otherwise.
She blinked a few times and revealed the truth to Mitsuru.
"That man... is an Arcana Shadow..."
At that point, Mitsuru was so speechless, even she had to look at Juugo a few more times. The recently emerged new Arcana Shadow was a mystery that they're hoping to solve, but one was standing in front of them? But Aigis wasn't done.
"Mitsuru-san. The aura I sensed... He is more powerful than Ryoji Mochizuki, even Nyx..."
Again, Mitsuru was speechless, this time for good. Juugo finally stood in front of them, before his eyes suddenly gazed towards the sky.
In that instant, something landed on the ground between Juugo and them. It was a man, and Maya recognized him instantly.
"Jun! How are you here?!" Maya asked. Kashihara Jun turned to his back to Maya, and sweats covered his face.
"I'm still getting used to Father Time's power, but..." Jun answered before he gave a small laugh at his hands, "Time stop is seriously stamina consuming. You need to walk away. This is a fight you will never win."
"Be careful. That man is strong," Aigis warned as she was supported by Mitsuru and Maya.
"We will run to the other exit, the train station. Let's camouflage ourselves," Maya said. The began to walk away, leaving Jun and Father Time.
Now, there's only Jun Kashihara and Karu Juugo. He couldn't read whether or not Juugo wanted to chase after Maya. But when he removed his white coat, it appeared that he was ready for blood. A surge of lights and mist began to engulf him. Like a long mantra, he began to buff himself.
"Suit Burst: King of Cup, King of Rod, King of Pentacles, King of Sword. Royal Burst: Kings of Tarots. Suit Burst: Knight of Cup, Knight of Rod, Knight of Pentacle, Knight of Sword. Royal Burst: Great Knights of Tarots. Omnipotent Orb equipped. Mantle of Deus equipped. Extreme Charge. Extreme Concentrate. Deadly Sins Break. Zero-Reset. Battlefield Control. Victory Cry. Maximum Critical Aim. High Bless. High Curse..."
"...Oh dear," Jun muttered before he nervously laughed at his own eventual demise as he realized that Juugo hadn't stopped increasing his states, "You don't suppose that's a 'little' overkill, isn't it?"
"..."
"Not a word?" Jun voiced out, but he received no response. He eventually cracked his knuckles, "Alright, let's do this."
Tatsuya Suou
R'lyeh
Tatsuya Suou Baofu VS Tohru Adachi Sho Minazuki
"Hyaahhh!" The young man named Sho charged at Baofu, while Adachi began attacking Tatsuya as he shot them. Not wanting the prisoners to be caught in the crossfire, Tatsuya lunged at Adachi and dragged him into a nearby hallway. Baofu, on the other hand, was busy avoiding Sho's sword blades, forcing him to retreat to the engine room. Naoya watched closely from afar as he searched for the exit.
"Run! we have the boats waiting!" Tatsuya screamed.
"Don't die on me!" Naoya responded before he began leading the victims to the upper floor. Just as Tatsuya had said, there were swat teams waiting for them and gently escorted them out of through the hatch. As the last, Naoya turned around and examined any trace of Tatsuya and Baofu. He eventually turned back to the hatch and made his way with the rest of the prisoners.
"Magatsu Izanagi-no-Eien!" Adachi summoned his persona and attacked Tatsuya head on. The hallway was narrow, but Tatsuya dodged the blade from Adachi's persona with his sword and summoned his persona.
"Apollo! What?"
Tatsuya glanced at his persona and realized that it had reverted back to its original form. Ghadamon was no longer with him, along with his tattoo. He was not weakened, but he knew he was not as strong as he was yesterday. He observed very closely at his hand and saw only a small black spot at the back of his palm, a remnant of the original mark of Azathoth. He had no time to be relieved or distressed at the loss of great power. All he had to do was to survive this long enough for Katsuya to capture Sudou.
"Where are you looking at?!" Adachi screamed maniacally. The moment he revealed his gun, Adachi didn't hold back in emptying his firearm. Tatsuya had a gun too, but he wished to waste away Adachi's bullet first. But it was then that he realized that Adachi's movement was unstable. In fact, now that he managed to see him up close, Tatsuya realized that his eyes were darkened, his face was pale, and there were traces of blood on his fingernails, as though his clawed someone, or himself.
"Tohru Adachi, could you stop for a while?" Tatsuya tried to negotiate, but Adachi didn't seem to listen. In fact, his voice had started to change.
"Tohru Adachi is not here! Haha! Only me and me alone!" 'Adachi' answered with a heavy distorted voice.
"I knew it..." Tatsuya muttered, "He's overdosed with Limbo Recall."
"Destroy! Destroy! Destroy! I am eternal!" 'Adachi' shouted. He summoned his persona again and sliced through the walls. Tatsuya eventually had to descend to the nearby stairs. After a few deductions, he finally realized it.
The second voice of Adachi was actually his persona talking.
"Is that an effect of Limbo Recall?"
That conclusion came into his mind, completely distracted enough as he was unable to sense the sudden jumping kick by Adachi from the upper floor.
Meanwhile, Baofu and Sho Minazuki were fighting in the engine room. They back away again to another room and stumbled into a room full of inactive missiles. It was hot, while Baofu's forehead had begun sweating, but Sho was not interrupted by it. His attack became faster, and his movement became more aggressive. He preyed on Baofu as though he enjoyed every moment of it.
"Fight back, old man! Don't keep me waiting!" Sho scolded, pointing at Baofu frustratedly, "I've been resting for days, and I want someone to pump my blood with a fight! Pff!"
Without he realized it, words were not the only thing leaving his mouth. Redness spilled on his hand when coughed, and followed by a strange oozing liquid. Baofu watched in shock to see the young man coughing so much blood, he felt that the young man would faint soon. Then he noticed the strange liquid dripping from his mouth. Then, it poured from his nose, then his ears and his eyes began to lose color.
"Damn it... I'm overload..." Sho said. Gradually, his speed decreasing, and his stance weakened before he fell down.
"...What?" Baofu stared in confusion when he saw Sho lying in the ground. He eventually had forgotten that he was his enemy and decided to help him. His temperature was dropping drastically, and his skin was as cold as ice. He checked his blood and the strange liquid and realized that he had seen this before.
"This is Limbo Recall! Why is it *cough* coming out of him?" Baofu said in surprised before shrugging the young man's shoulder, "Hey, you're awake? *cough* What happened to you?"
Suddenly, his hand was grabbed hard and forcefully removed his hand from him. Sho Minazuki began to lift his face, and Baofu sensed a strange aura from him, as though he was a different man.
"Don't touch me," Sho Minazuki pushed Baofu's hand away.
"...You're not the same *cough* person, are you?" Baofu asked as he backed away, "Is it the effect *cough* of Limbo Recall?"
"No, it's Plume of Dusk. Ask Kirijo Group, she knows," He said, "A fragment of Nyx's body, allowing those who wield it to be able to experience Dark Hour, or better, develop a persona. It was forced into Sho when he was a child, and I was 'born'. Karu Juugo found me months ago and decided to use me as a basis of Limbo Recall."
"Is that even possible *cough*?"
"For a Wild Card, yes. Don't be mistaken, I rejected the Velvet Room Contract despite my ability. I turned to, what I thought, something better. But he put something inside 'us'. Right now, you're looking at the progenitor of that damnable drug, a fate we didn't choose."
"I see..." Baofu responded. He reminded him greatly of Ulala, for some reason. Not because of the red hair they shared, but more akin to enduring a fate they could not reject. He said, "So you're a victim. *cough* Why didn't you run away if it hurt?"
"Who said I was hurting?"
"I can tell that you hate to be *cough* used like that."
"It doesn't matter," Minazuki retaliated, "I tried to take it out, but it had self-defense of its own. That professor warned me that it will kill anyone who pulled it out."
"Then allow me," Baofu suggested, "I won't live * heavy cough* for long anymore. Just let me destroy the drug for good. Let me save your other self."
"...Why? Why do you even care? I had my share of kill in this. I allow the 'other' me to fight people for fun. Some of them died, and we feel no regret. We just want to live in a world where only 'we' exist, a world where nobody will hurt Sho," Minazuki said in confusion, "And you're willing to save someone like 'us'?"
"You're not *cough* a bad person. You're just *loud cough* lost," Baofu said. Blood began to spill from his mouth, "Let me took the fall, quick! Katsuya Suou will blow up this place!"
"You're going to regret this when I choose to fight your friends. If you want to die, then fight me first and beat me. Then I'll let you do whatever you want. Tsukiyomi!"
"I guess... this is my last *loud cough* summoning..." Baofu smiled and took the deepest breath, "Prometheus!"
Front Deck of R'lyeh
"All clear here," Katsuya Suou said as he and his team took out most of the enemy. They had planted C4 bombs at some places to prevent the submarine from launching the missiles. They're now close to the control room, but there was no sight of Sudou anywhere. They saw a medical room, but the inside was terribly destroyed by some monstrous strength.
"What the hell happened here?" Katsuya muttered. There were fist and claw marks everywhere in the room, trashed bed, wardrobe, and the lightbulb was shattered. Katsuya reached for his walkie talkie to alarm his men, "Be careful. There's something dangerous and wild in here-"
Suddenly, he heard multiple screams from the distant. It was the voices of his allies. Immediately, Katsuya brought his men with him to the control room. Many bodies piled up at the side, with a single figure stood at the center of the room. Katsuya doubted him as Sudou at first because he was extremely tall, taller than Sudou in his memory. In one of the giant figure's hand was a dead enforcer.
"Hands on your back!" Katsuya warned, but the man ignored him. They heard a loud growling noise coming from him, and some began to cower in fear. Katsuya again warned, "I said hands behind your back!"
In a blink of an eye, that man threw the corpse in his hand at Katsuya and his teammates. Katsuya dodged it swiftly, allowing him to gaze at the face of the giant. And he was shocked.
"Sudou?"
Katsuya spoke. However, despite having the face of Sudou, he was nothing like the mad leader. His eyes were bloodshot black, his teeth were sharp, his size was twice from his original size, and he was seemly half-conscious. There was a hole on the right side of his head.
"Tatsuya... Suou... Kill... Tatsuya..." Sudou said, with his eyes not even watching directing at Katsuya.
"Don't move, or I'll-"
Ignoring his warning, Sudou lunged towards Katsuya, forcing him to pull the trigger.
Bang!
Tatsuya Suou
"Come on!" 'Adachi' screamed as he sent Magatsu Izanagi again at him. In terms of psychical strength, he knew he was superior, but Adachi's persona was certainly amplified by the Limbo Recall.
"Never knew you're the kind of guy who kills for fun!" Tatsuya said, backing away from the attack. His sleeves and legs had been scarred a few time, but Tatsuya showed no sign of fatigue, 'Damn it! If only me sucking up the Limbo Recall won't make me lose the persona instead!'
"What?!" 'Adachi' screamed in anger, "I don't kill for fun! I..."
Adachi suddenly paused, and light began to clear in his eyes.
"...What? What am I doing? This isn't what I want... Fight for some stupid leader, doing worthless things..." Adachi clenched his head hard, "Is this what I want?"
Still wondering the reason for his sudden distraction, Tatsuya wasted no time in slicing Adachi's gun away and pinned him down from behind with a neck lock. However, Adachi regained his insanity form and elbowed his ribs hard.
"I... I'm going to kill you!" Adachi screamed in anger as he stood above Tatsuya with a gun he recovered. Tatsuya cursed himself for losing, but at that moment, the entire submarine was shaking.
"What was that-"
Following the shaking, an iron pipe swung down and slammed Adachi's head, interrupting his speech. He laid on the ground unconscious, just as the entire place started to shake. From the lower floor, he heard a loud rumbling sound. Yes, the submarine was sinking.
"Damn it!" He turned to his walkie talkie, "Katsuya, what happened?! Why did you detonate it so soon-"
"Tatsuya, get the hell out of there! That monster is taking us out! I had to detonate the bomb to destroy him! Abort the mission! We're blowing this place! Run!"
Hearing Katsuya's scream, Tatsuya's adrenaline peaked as he rushed to the hatch, but not before turning to the fallen Adachi. Despite him being an enemy, Tatsuya needed him alive for testimonies and evidence. Besides, he was not cruel enough to abandon him that way. In his mind, prison is the correct punishment.
"Hey, wake up! This place's gonna fall to the bottom of the sea! Let's get out of here!"
"Leave him to me. You need to get out."
Not far from him, he saw Sho Minazuki, the young man accompanied Adachi. However, his shirt was torn off, there was blood all over his neck and back. There was also a deep cut at the back of his head, as though there was a quick surgery being done. Despite being in a battle with Baofu, there was no sight of his friend.
"Where's the other guy?" Tatsuya asked with a strong tone but suppressed it enough to avoid the wrong deduction, "Don't tell me you...?"
"...He's no more."
The young man said with a breeze as he reached for Adachi and hung it on his back, despite the clear size difference. Tatsuya paused, refusing to believe it the first time.
"...No. There's no way..." Tatsuya responded. As the rumbling grew louder, Sho lent him one object, a memento. It was Baofu's glass.
Tatsuya could never tell if someone was lying or not, the only flaw he had as a detective. But that moment, he knew for certain that the young man didn't lie.
Morning - Train Station, Narumi
Ulala ran from Takaya and the rest of her friends and Matsuya. She went and search for Baofu amidst the chaos. In her hand was a small bottle that she stole from Takaya during the escape. She aimlessly searched for him again, but she couldn't find him nor contacted him.
Suddenly, her phone rang. Ulala was surprised to see it was Baofu.
"Baofu, where the hell are you?" Ulala scolded, "Did you leave the city?! I don't see you anywhere! I need to meet you fast!"
What answered from the other side of the phone was a dying breath.
"Of course you can't find me, Ulala, *loud cough*" Baofu began to speak, "I'm... inside the submarine right now."
Whiteness covered Ulala's face.
"What are you doing inside?" Ulala asked. Her voice began to tremble.
"Doing what's left of me. *loud cough* If I'm going to die, I need to make it epic, right? Haha... *cough*"
"No, you're not going to die!" Ulala held the medicine in her hand, "I... I brought medicine for you! You just need to get out!"
"Ulala, enough," There was a long pause, "I know what you did, and I don't want you to go deeper into this path. *cough* I rather die than creating Babylon."
Ulala gasped. There was a thought to continue deceiving him, but she realized there was no point in that anymore. Baofu continued after a while.
"I trained you myself. How can you possibly think that I wouldn't find out? *cough* But, I did pretend to see nothing, and I allow you to go down this path. *cough* Ulala, I'm so sorry..."
Just then, Ulala heard a second voice. She remembered it being the voice of one of Juugo's subject, Sho Minazuki.
"Are you done? Get over your last words already."
"I know *cough*."
"Baofu, is that...?"
"Ulala..."
His voiced dimmed out. It was then, all of a sudden, she saw sudden quaking from the submarine. From the front of the submarine, there was an explosion, pushing the submarine down, with the hatch still unclosed. The citizens nearby became panic, wondering the event that transpired.
"Baofu! What happened?!"
"Gah! So, they begin. Katsuya's blowing this place down. But I *cough* need to finish this quick..."
"Baofu... are you planning to die this soon?! We promised to work until we grow old! I haven't grown old yet, so..."
Ulala felt her legs shaking, for she knew what was about to happen. If only Baofu was her follower, then she would be able to see through his eyes. But even now, she's biting her lips to suppress her tears. Baofu seemed to read her situation, for he responded, perhaps his last words. His voice was calm, and his cough paused for good.
"I'm not good with this. But... Ulala, I really love you, wild girl, like my own family... I really, really, love you... So please, I beg of you, leave me in your memories and repented yourself... Goodbye..."
"Baofu? BAOFU!"
The line was cut. She tried calling again but to no avail. She needed to know what happened in that submarine. She needed to see what he see. Avoiding the public, she hid in a bathroom.
"I'm not done. I need to see this. Yog-Sothoth!"
She exposed her right shoulder, where the mark of Yog-Sothoth was and began meditating. She will have to break the limit of her power. She will have to do the impossible and using Astria.
As she focused, she began to see into the submarine. She couldn't see through Adachi's eyes, as though he was unconscious. Then, on the front side, she saw through the eyes of a few people escaping. She peered further and saw Katsuya fighting a mysterious creature. Wherever he walked, Katsuya blew up another bomb near him.
"What is that creature?!" Ulala said, finally solving the mystery behind the sudden explosion in the submarine. She searched again, and finally, she sensed two presences at the missile room. She quickly took control.
Through the eyes of Sho Minazuki, she saw the young man's blade piercing through Baofu's chest. In Baofu's palm was a small, parasitic creature with a shape of a spider, biting through his hands. The clairvoyance ended as Ulala screamed.
"What is that thing? A-And... he killed him..." Ulala fell to the ground on the bathroom's floor in front of the mirror. Tears were flowing non-stop, "He killed him... No, no..."
She sat in silence, as though, after a long time, her world became as blank as white space. She hid her face between her knees, looking at nothing around her. Everything became pointless, with her efforts remained in vain.
Eastern Bridge of Sumaru City
[Even in the paused time, Jun gazed upon the man who walked freely in the realm of time stop and realized that time alone was not enough to stop him.
"Hah... Hah..." Jun panted. He had exhausted most of his stamina against him. Besides the mad professor were over ten personas, tall and huge forming behind him like an army. Juugo himself spoke nothing other than voicing out his skills. Luckily, unlike Jun, Juugo can't move his personas during the time stop except for one persona: Kaal, the Hindu god of time, who stood tall with many arms. Jun realized his own power is draining, so he canceled out his time stop.]
[.RESUME.]
"Gah!" Jun kneed to the ground, but Juugo never even broke a sweat. He had gain mastery over his new persona, but to think Kairos Chronos would face another god of time and immune to his time stop was unexpected. Jun back away slowly, as Juugo approached him again. At this time, Jun had to back away so far and left the bridge while Juugo emotionlessly moved forward into the city where Maya was.
'Father Time, can't we use Philemon's power that you stored?' Jun talked to his persona in his mind.
'Dear, dear, dear, no can do. Even if Philemon's power can defeat that man, I rather not waste it. Best we can do is convince him to take Mia instead of Maya.'
Jun looked again at Juugo and began to speak.
"Listen, Juugo-san," Jun began, but doubt if he can be convinced at all, "I know why you need Maya, but we have a substitute to replace her! I hate to say this, but she is more than willing to use herself to replace Maya! If you would at least take her instead and fulfilled the role-"
"Arcana Summon: Tower."
Ignoring Jun's statement, Juugo de-summoned all his persona and cast another one. This time, from beneath the sea under the bridge, one creature emerged from the sea, just as the sky darkened around him. From the distance, he could see the moon as though it was night.
"This is Dark Hour!" Jun said in amusement. But his confusion was interrupted by the sudden creature with a shape of a tower. He looked again and saw a massive squid mixed with lobsters with a numeral number XVI between its eyes. The tower on its back was like its shell. Its size was massive. Simply put one of its yellow tentacles was enough to break the bridge apart. If Jun was still on that bridge, he would have fallen into the water by now.
"Arcana shadow... So that's the creature the Shadow Operative told me about," Jun said, "But I thought they only appear under the full moon- No, you brought it here yourself!"
Juugo, who sat at the top of the creature's head, said nothing, despite Jun's amazement at his power. Then, he began pointing his index finger at Jun, until...
"Hold it. Tarot Burst: Knight of Sword! Umashi-ashikabihikoji: Force Sigil!"
Out of nowhere, a large sigil mark appeared and pasted on the head of Arcana Tower. When the mark landed on it, another skill was activated.
"Sigil Burst!"
Arcana Tower's entire body trembled and backed away with sudden pain.
"That was close."
Jun turned to his right side to the mysterious voice. There, in a suit, stood a man with a silver beast mask. He was talking to Juugo, for his mask faced him. Juugo, too, paused Arcana Tower from attacking.
"A man with an animal mask, in the Dark Hour... Who are you?" Jun asked, but the man ignored him. Instead, Father Time was the one answered him.
'That's one of the Beasts in Revelation. Best not make enemies of him for now.'
Jun nodded, watching the action of the mysterious man.
From his suit, he took out a small foldable black hat. With extreme precision, he threw the hat, landed neatly on top of Juugo's head.
"Black hat?" Colors began to return to Juugo's eyes as he touched it. Like a switch had been turned on, Juugo returned to his 'default' black hat personality, "Ah, I supposed to be serious. Why am I on top of this creature?"
"You delayed too long," The man with a silver beast mask said, "Come on, we spotted the 'sacrifice' not far from here."
"Good. best we hasten," Juugo answered as if the battle previously never happened. He jumped from its head and landed on the ground next to the beast masked man. Grabbing his coat on the floor before the fight, he turned to the shadow, "Go assist Ia Shub-Niggurath."
Obeying the command, Arcana Tower left the broken bridge and made its way to the sea, and slowly made its way towards where the submarine was. The two figures began to move but paused when Jun spoke as he stood up.
"I'm no match for you two, so I stand down for now for the sake of prophecy. But when you pick, please pick that girl, that 'subject' you abandoned years ago at Xibalba. She's prepared."
"...We will know when we see it," Juugo answered before ending the Dark Hour around him and disappeared. Jun sat down finally in relief, looking down at the large wound that he obscured on his solar plexus.
Matsuya Suou
Last train station before the Northen exit of Sumaru City
Matsuya, Eikichi, Mia, and Lisa watched with wariness at the passengers outside the train as they reached the last train station. Reiji was informed of everything that transpired but left his family in the dark. Takeshi Kido, son of Reiji, couldn't stop circling around Matsuya in amazement.
"Are you reaaaally Matsuya?" Takeshi asked him again, "You have a different aura about you. And who is she?"
"You wouldn't believe me anyway," Mia smiled upon eye contacts. Then, the sound of the train break was heard. The door spread open, where floods of people entered the train. Not even a minute later, trains became crowd, but some spaces were given to the bedridden patients.
Matsuya was close to the window when he saw her. A bit further from the canopy of the train station, he saw his mother, talking to two women clad in dark robe and one man in a suit. Their disguise failed to hide the holes covering most of their trousers. It took them a while before Maya hastened herself to the train.
"It's my mom!" Matsuya said to Eikichi and Mia, "She's outside!"
"Seriously?" Eikichi widened his eyes, "But I thought they took the east bridge a while ago!"
"It looks like most of the people outside was waiting for another turn. They all came from the bridge..." Lisa said, "Something must have happened there. And- Oh, no! I saw Takaya's men outside! They must be looking for Ulala."
From the corner of his eyes, however, Matsuya saw two strange men striding towards his mother. One of them was wearing a wolf(?) mask, while the other one was wearing a black hat. The two women and a man noticed them and blocked their path, and then-
Maya Amano
Last Train Station
"Ms. Suou, they're here!" Mitsuru warned Maya. She turned around and saw in terror the sight of the professor, but surprised to see him bringing another ally with a beast mask. However, Mitsuru seemed to have a hint on the new enemy.
"Is that him?" Mitsuru asked Aigis, "Is that the man who knocked Junpei out days ago?"
"I'm not so sure, but he does 'feel' like a persona user," Aigis answered.
Juugo and the beast masked man stopped in front of them. But Kurosawa blocked their path and glared.
"I don't see the other one," Juugo asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Mitsuru replied swiftly.
"Jun Kashihara said someone can replace Maya for War," The beast masked man said, looking around before checking his watch, "But I don't see her, and it's late. You said she was supposed to look like that woman. Could that man be lying?"
"Maybe we should talk about you first," Mitsuru stepped forward, "On 26 November, are you the one who beat up a young man in the back alley? He is with me."
"Oh? You mean the baseball man," He said, "Sorry, but can't have you sneaking up on one of ours like that. A perfect picture needs to be aligned perfectly without outsiders. I'll send an apology gift if you want, miss Kirijo."
"Don't need to, and we're not letting you touch her," Aigis said.
"So the man lied," Juugo said at last after confirming their confusion, "Seeing as we are late, I supposed we need to hurry. Reverse Orpheus: Orphic Lullaby."
He summoned another persona, which made Aigis and Mitsuru backed away in surprised with expressions of recognition. Many citizens around them fled upon the sign of the summoned persona. It became chaotic, with most of them running from the station, while some pushed into the train.
"Mom!"
Maya turned around to the familiar voice. She saw her son, Eikichi, and Lisa running towards them. There was another woman behind them, but she was too focused on her son to notice.
"Matsuya-kun!" Maya, who couldn't hold her tears of joy, ran towards her son. But her pace increased when she realized that Matsuya was within the range of Juugo's new attack, "Matsuya-kun, run!"
And the dark spell was activated. In instant, Maya felt her consciousness fading into a deep slumber.
Matsuya Suou
Helix Shell: Null Life- A passive skill, Matsuya activated his persona and resisted the powerful sleep effect on everyone who fell on the floor unconscious. When he gazed up, he saw that only two people other than him were still standing.
"Phanes, or Protogonus, the First Born. To think he was able to counter Reverse Orpheus," Juugo said with a slight astonishment, "But your persona had a long way to go, young Suou."
"Where are you taking my mom?" Matsuya asked as Juugo lifted his mother on his shoulder. He began to stand and rushed towards him, "Give her back!"
"You're not going anywhere, kid," The man with a silver beast mask stopped him resisted him with one hand on Matsuya's neck, "This image is too good not to take."
"Grrrr... Let me go! Protogonus: Helix Shift!"
"What?"
With sudden speed, Protogonus emerged and cast a spell on his hand that grabbed Matsuya's neck. The Beast masked man released the grip and pushed Matsuya to the ground.
"What is this skill?" He said, noticing that his left hand had a strange circular mark on it. Matsuya prepared to attack again, but Juugo stopped them.
"Beast of the Earth, return to your base. I'm going," Juugo said.
He lifted his arm to the empty space in front of him. A bright light appeared and consumed both Juugo and Maya. Seconds later, the light dimmed out, and Juugo and his mother were no more. The beast masked man disappeared afterward, for his mission was complete.
Naoya Toudou
Morning - Red Harbor
Naoya and many victims of Juugo experiments landed on the Red Harbor after leaving the board driven by the police force. He laid on the pier in peace after carrying Erio Kirishima next to her. He was exhausted, but despite the sky turning red and the noisiness, he was able to breathe peacefully after the long confinement. Unfortunately, that breathe lasted only for a while when they heard a group of newcomers approaching.
"Who is that?" Naoya said as he stood up. Turned out, he recognized the leader of the group, which he cursed, "Takaya Sasaki."
All the police force stationed there aimed at the Takaya and his group. Takaya, whose nose was stuff with tissue to stop some bleeding, was unmoved by the warning. Instead, he approached them relaxingly.
"So, you all work under the Suou Devils. Well, be glad, as of now, you work for me," Takaya proclaimed but afterward pointing at Naoya, "Except for you, of course."
"Working under you? Hah!" Naoya stood up and walked towards him, but his barefoot legs hurt from walking. He stopped slightly further from where Takaya was, "What makes you think they'll work under you?"
"Willingly," Takaya said. He turned to one of his guards at the back and nodded. The guard revealed a file and some documents, which Takaya proudly revealed it to the watching audience.
"The approval from the mayor of Sumaru City himself, an order from the superintendent, the commissioner, and the high general. All of their signatures are here to announce that the Suou Devils, Katsuya Suou and younger brother Tatsuya Suou, are officially removed from the department of Sumaru police as of today due to their disobedience against the word of Commissioner."
All eyes were widened in shock, but Takaya wasn't done.
"I forgot to mention. If anyone collaborated themselves with the Suou brothers, a notice of expungement from the city will be given without negotiation. One more thing, the police department will assist the Messiah on his needs. As for this operation, I'm leading it. Any question? Ah, yes. Someone, please put down that man (pointing at Naoya Toudou), he's an imposter."
The harbor became silent. Despite their loyalty to Suou brothers, none of them wanted to be exiled from their city. Naoya cursed him again until another voice rang out.
"Yes, I do have a question. If we found out that you had ties with the mass produced of Limbo Recall, I wonder how you will suffer the damage?"
They all turned to the woman voice and saw that it was Shiori Miyashiro. Next to her was Eriko Kirishima.
"So, the lapdog of Suou Devils have a question," Takaya greeted them.
"Eriko..." Naoya muttered. It was then that Eriko also noticed him and Erio next to him. She seemed at doubt at the person in front of her, as though she was confirming if he was real.
"Naoya! And- Erio-chan!"
She came rushing to them both. Eriko caressed Erio head with worriedness.
"Erio-chan, can you hear me?! It's me!" Eriko called out. But Erio was already brain dead, staring into the space and oblivious to everything around her. Eriko tried to hold her tears as she hugged her, "Erio-chan. I'm sorry..."
"Look at them!" Shiori gestured Takaya's attention to the surviving victims, "This act of terrorism had spread all over the city. If we exposed the ties between you and Sudou, I how many people will crucify you?"
"So, what?" Takaya answered snickeringly, "You send this to the higher up and they'll erase the evidence for good! We're talking about the messiah here! I'm the only one who can save the people! They'll have no choice but to accept me!"
Shiori paused, for she had no argument against that. Naoya and Eriko became distressed.
"I wouldn't think so."
Another voice was heard. From the distant, they saw Ulala Serizawa approaching them, holding a small bottle in her hand as she exposed it. Her eyes were red, as though she had a long weep not long ago. Takaya, upon seeing her and the bottle, curved his eyes in anger.
"Ulala! Those rascals... They should have caught you at the station!" Takaya cursed, "That medicine belongs to us! Men, seize her!"
"I would stop your men right there if I were you!" Ulala warned, halting Takaya's guard, "This is the medicine. Shiori, take this. Use it replicate the cure for everyone. And for the record, Takaya, I already recorded all your conversation with Tatsuya Sudou for the past few days. This is more than enough to cripple your reputation for good."
At this point, Takaya's face began to reveal sweat, but he suddenly smiled with a sense of hope. He began to counter, "Oh really? Do you think that's a good idea? I'm sure your friends here will wonder how you manage to get your hands on that thing, and about us! If you promised to keep your mouth shut, then I will not tell anyone about your secret. And you can keep the bottle for your loved one..."
There was a fire in her eyes. Rage took over her when she began to reveal everything.
"I am Babylon, a double agent for the Revelation. I exposed the police's operation that led to the death of Chizuru Ishigami. I'm the one who killed those guys from Tatsuya's force at the mount Mifune. I'm the one recruited the citizens as my 'Whisperers'. It's all me!"
"Are you mad?!" Takaya finally lost his patience and began reaching for his revolver. But Shiori aimed her gun as well, followed by other policemen. Naoya moved forwards to shield Eriko and Erio from possible crossfire.
Then, the explosion on the submarine occurred. Like the story told, R'lyeh began to sink to the bottom of the sea.
Tatsuya Suou
Hatch of the R'lyeh
"Katsuya!" Tatsuya, who waited at the hatch's door, saw Katsuya after most of the unit had escaped. Water had already poured into the submarine and seawater had reached his knee.
"Go on! I'm detonating the last bomb in the engine room!" Katsuya said as he running towards him. Blood was bleeding from his head when he said it, "Where's Adachi?!"
"Left with Sho Minazuki!"
"Baofu?!"
"He's..." Tatsuya paused as Katsuya reached him. Confusion filled his face as he clenched Tatsuya's sleeves and locked eyes with him.
"..."
"...F*ck..."
The silence was more than enough, but it was a short while. From the distant, Tatsuya caught a glimpse of a gigantic man crawling towards them.
"Is that him?!"
"Sh*t! Tatsuya, go!"
By the time they exited the hatch, the submarine was entirely under the water. Thus, the base of Revelation was destroyed for good when Katsuya finally detonated the last bomb, sending a large water explosion at the surface. The brothers began to swim to the shore, where with raised eyebrows they saw Takaya's face among the survivors. But it didn't end there.
From under the water, another splashed was made behind them.
"What?!" The brothers spoke, turning around and were horrified.
Ia Shub-Niggurath
Known as: The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young
Arcana: Tower
An Outer God from Cthulhu mythology, wife of Yog-Sothoth and mother of Nug and Yeb. She is one of the most heavily worshipped god in the pantheon. She spawns the creature known as Dark Young, acting as proxies to spread her name.
Above the water, fusing with Sudou, the gigantic creature emerged as a massive shadow that could be seen from distance. Most of its shell was dark red and black with many tentacles sprawling on top of it. The head was now filled with teeth with no eyes, an abomination of mouths all over its skin. On top of the head, above the numeral XVI, a small figure of Tatsuya Sudou was seen covered with black ooze. It appeared like a black octopus swimming toward the brothers in madness.
"That's Sudou! That's Sudou with that... giant creature! Where the hell does it come from?!" Katsuya said, gasping between words as he swam towards the shore with Tatsuya. The rest of the people were escaping from the harbor, where Naoya and Eriko led the victims away from the sea as far as possible.
"I don't know, but- AH!"
"Tatsuya!"
Tatsuya felt his left leg was grabbed under the water. He was being lifted high in the air upside down. He examined and saw that one of the tentacles had seized him, lending him close to the head, where the figure of Sudou was. From the black ooze, Sudou's head appeared and stared at him. There was a huge hole on the right side of his head, a remnant from the shot he gave him yesterday.
"Tatsuya... You..." Sudou glaring ragingly with his yellow eyes, "You did this to me... You force me to become this monster..."
"Sudou! That's enough!" Tatsuya screamed, trying to free his leg, "The Revelation is dead! Stop this madness!"
"SHUT THE F*CK UP!"
With a quick swipe, the eldritch abomination threw Tatsuya far from the sea towards the shore with high speed, until he was ready to crash to the boathouse. Any mortal crashing into it at such speed is guaranteed to die instantly.
"TATSUYA!" Katsuya screamed.
"He's gonna crash!" Naoya, who was watching the event, said, "Run! Don't anyone near the water!"
At that moment, Tatsuya felt that his death was closing in. Until suddenly, he saw something flying towards him with sonic speed. He almost didn't recognize her. In instant, his body was grabbed in the air. Her armor, despite the hardness, managed to cushion him as they both crashed into the boathouse.
"AH!" Tatsuya cried in pain as he clenched his back, "That bastard didn't hold back... Who... Who are you?"
He saw a female figure suited in heavy armor, with a motif of a horse on her chest and a pair of wings on her back. She lifted up her helmet, revealing the face of Aigis, Mitsuru's friend.
"I deeply apologize for not saving you sooner, Tatsuya-san," Aigis bowed slightly as she helped him to his feet and brushed off the dust, "The Pegasus mode is now resting enough for another use, but I will have to destroy it for good afterward. Allow me to assist you in defeating that creature."
"It's you..." Tatsuya said in amazement as he examined the armor, "I really underestimate Kirijo's technology..."
They both exited the broken down boathouse as Katsuya reached the pier and Shiori rushed to him in panic and hugged him.
"Tatsuya, you're alive!" Shiori said, "Bad news, Tatsuya, but I'll explain later. We need to destroy that creature first."
"Then start thinking about how!"
Dark Young- They heard Katsuya screaming at the pier as he ran towards them. No, he was running away from the sea, as they saw a few smaller shadows with a shape of tentacles and many legs were chasing him. They stood 3 meters tall, and their mouths were dripping saliva, hunger for flesh. It was a horrifying scene, but they had no time to retreat. Reuniting with Katsuya, they all faced the Dark Young as Shub-Niggurath approaching fast.
"Let us help too!"
From the side, Tatsuya saw Mitsuru, Eikichi, Lisa, and Reiji running towards them.
"How is the armor?" Kirijo asked while panting her breath.
"I am synchronizing with the new machine slowly, but I will hold on," Aigis answered.
"Dad!" From afar, he saw his son running towards them with Mia at the back.
"Matsuya, what are you doing here?" Tatsuya scolded, "It's dangerous!"
"Let me fight!" Matsuya said as he reached his father, "I can fight too."
"So, your persona..." Tatsuya hesitated, clenching his son's shoulders, "But, this is not something you can fight against!"
"Trust me, dad, I can do this," Matsuya responded fiercely, "I'm not a little kid anymore!"
"Guys, spare the conversation for another time!" Eikichi warned, "Those creatures will keep spawning!"
"And that creature is closing in!" Lisa said.
"The people's in danger!" Reiji added.
True to Eikichi's word, the Dark Young were endlessly spawning through the gigantic shadow and soon began to crawl on the shore from all side. The nearest places to the water were attacked, and no amount of normal bullets can pierce through their skins. Shub-Niggurath, too, had crashed into the piers.
"Dammit!" Katsuya cursed, "Is there no other way?!"
"There is!" Matsuya suddenly said. He palmed his hands together and summoned, "Protogonus: Helix Charge!"
When his persona was summoned, Matsuya said, almost begged them to listen, "I just need 10 minutes, that's all! I will kill all of those creatures instantly!"
"Really funny, Matsuya-kun!" Eikichi said sarcastically.
"I mean it! Those guys repel physical attacks and they just null everything else! I will change their status and create an instant kill weakness for you!"
Everyone shifted their attention to Matsuya in shock. Everything Matsuya said was absurd, even for a persona user. Aigis and Mitsuru knew immediately that he's no ordinary persona user.
"He is like Fuuka-san," Aigis commented, "He is an Analysis-type Persona!"
"No, he's a mixture of both analysis and combat type," Mitsuru corrected her.
"You can create a weakness for the enemy?!" Lisa gasped, turning to Tatsuya, "Tatsuya..."
"...Alright," Tatsuya nodded at his son's words before facing the incoming Dark Young, "You heard the boy! 10 minutes! Persona!"
They collided with the creature, at the same time guarding Matsuya against any attack. Soon, the sun was growing taller, and the sky became red when it should have been blue. It was past 10 in the morning, and it seemed everyone had finally evacuated from the city. The city had never been so silent for the last few decades. As though they all left for a more foreign world, safer from this place. Shub-Niggurath launched many Megidolaon at the city, leaving holes in the buildings. Aigis counter with her new arsenal, and it paused the creature, but only for a while. Takaya and his guards had left, and Ulala was nowhere to be seen. Most of the cops had left, taking Mia and the rest of the victims to safety. The only noise heard was the Red Harbor, that had now lived up to its name, for many deaths were littering there in blood. The persona users fight on, and they felt that 10 minutes lasted for an eternity. At last, Matsuya screamed as loud as he could the victory cry, for he knew they had risked their lives for him.
"Helix Shift: Fire Deathblow!" Protogonus release his energy and sent it to the sky. A large beacon with a shape of a helix spiral reached the sky before it rained down upon the Dark Young. All the spawn of Shub-Niggurath burned in sudden flame, extinguishing them. Shub-Niggurath stumbled backward in pain and Aigis waste no time launching fire attack at the creature.
"Not yet!" Matsuya screamed, pointing at the top of the tower where the massive tentacles were, "That's the weak spot! Launch the strongest fire attack on that place!"
Katsuya searched for something before pointing at the lighthouse not far from them, "There, climb that lighthouse! It should give you a high enough spot to attack the top!"
"Roger!"
At this point, Aigis ordered the rest to retreat as she launched the full force of Pegasus mode on the creature, while Tatsuya ran to the lighthouse. With Tatsuya on top of the lighthouse, Aigis prepared her attack.
"Ultimate Skill: Heritage Liberator Palladion! Pegasus Mode!" Aigis merged Palladion and Pegasus into one being, who then charged towards the head of Shub-Niggurath with extreme speed. It created another afterimage at the side, enlarging the attack. Its wings spread out brightly and sent a powerful gust of wind that pushed the creature backward. The tower swayed as the creature, with Sudou on top of it, blew up in the brightness. A loud cry was heard.
"Here goes!" Tatsuya, who was ready as he stood at the ledge, said. He saw a hole at the center of the top, which he aimed his jump, "Apollo: Maha Agidyne!"
He jumped on top of the tower, grabbing on one of the tentacles before launching Apollo into the center. But even after the attack, it didn't successfully burn through its skin, leaving him to sway on top of it. Aigis wanted to help, but her ultimate skill had burned out her fuel again.
"Come on!" Tatsuya screamed. It was that moment, from the glimpse of his eyes, he saw his hand glowing. The mark of Azathoth had returned, though he felt no malice from it. He knew then that it was a power lent from himself from the Xibalba. He was thankful, deep inside, as he used the Ghadamon power, "Ghadamon Apollo: Inferno Blade!"
Apollo's flame was rekindled to deep redness as Apollo changed form and created a fire blade. The flame shredded through Shub-Niggurath's body and tower, destroying the entirety of the massive abomination. Thus, on 30 November 2012, the short reign of Sudou, the leader of the Revelation, ended.
A/N: Sorry for the slow update. Tatsuya Sudou was finally defeated for good. And Matsuya revealed his persona ability for the first time. The reason I choose Protogonus as Matsuya's persona is that Protogonus the First Born represents death and recreation, like Matsuya's 'rebirth' from death. It also symbolizes Matsuya's status as Tatsuya's first child. Then, we have Baofu who spent his last moment with noble. We only a few chapters away from ending this long arc. Please wait for the very slow update.