~Chapter 8~
"DEMIURGE!"
*bang*
Yukari thought she was about to see Akira's dormant Persona, as Mitsuru-senpai had explained that it helped him with the inhuman activities but not actively. She too sensed a very gargantuan being warping around him when they first met each other but she did not expect to see a literal angel descending from the sky. It had a pseudo mechanical appearance with eight pairs of multi-colored wings, a Victorian-looking set of armor and holding a majestic sword.
"That is… You, what have you done to Lord Yaldabaoth?!"
Akira ignored the demon as he clenched his hand before stabbing the fingers onto the left side of his chest, where the heart was. This made a sickening sound that nearly made Yukari puke. She could even see the fingers jerking as if they were pumping something into his torso.
"Ha… Ha… Much better." Akira slowly lowered his bloody-dripping hand before sending a reinvigorated look at Yakasha alongside a 'come at me' hand gesture. Yakasha let out a snarl and lunged at the Trickster, whose Persona pointed a finger and the demon's lower torso literally vaporized.
"GUAAAAAARGH!"
"Is that all? How boring."
"Kill me and you still cannot do anything! Your efforts will be for naught and humanity will burn for your sins! Mark my word, O Trickster of Entropy!"
"Hmm, nice title. I like it." Akira sent a thumb-down at the half-dead demon. "Time to die then. Demiurge, Dead End Smasher."
The Persona's eyes gleamed as it thrust the free hand forward into Yakasha's guts, blood spattering everywhere, and brought him to its eye level. Not letting the demon to scream, Demiurge repeatedly stabbed and slashed him with its sword until he was reduced to a pile of unrecognizable flesh before throwing a seemingly Concentrated Agidyne blast to incinerate it to nothingness.
"How… anticlimactic." Akira muttered, loud enough for Yukari to hear. He then turned to Minato who still bombarded the Magician Shadow with Agi and fired a shot, narrowly missing the bluenette's right ear. As expected, it stopped him from attacking the Shadow but Akira was the target now.
"He… He tanked those attacks like they are mosquito bites. Heh, I like this kid." Akihiko commented with a grin. Mitsuru let out a resigned sigh and returned to the screen.
"Heh, is that what you got?" Akira grinned at the emotionless Minato, hand reaching for the dose of Relax Gel he usually reserved whenever a party member was inflicted with Rage. Seems to him that Minato was quite pissed off. Demiurge outright repelled all Elements except Almighty, of course, but the Messiah looked fine so Akira presumed this version of Orpheus either strongly resisted, nullified or absorbed its own element.
However, Akira did not foresee the possibility of Thanatos emerging from inside Orpheus, ripping apart the Persona in the process. The Embodiment of Death let out a howl and lunged at the Trickster, while Minato clutched his head and screamed in agony. Despite Demiurge nullifying Physical, Akira could feel the overwhelming strength coming from the literal enraged God of Death. He slapped the metallic helmet to create an escape window and took a leap backward.
"Takeba-san, prepare to heal Minato. I need to knock some sense into that berserk Persona."
"R-Right."
"Demiurge, Heat Riser!"
The Persona snapped its fingers as three different auras flared beneath Akira.
"Next... Um, Dark Energy?"
Akira mumbled the new skill in Demiurge's skill pool and felt a wave of nausea rushing into his brain as he struggled to maintain his pose, feeling the next attack would be tremendously powerful. He looked at the gun on his hand with worry but still aimed at the incoming Thanatos and pulled the trigger. To his astonishment, Thanatos swung its blade to intercept with the bullet and while the sword snapped in half upon collision, it continued its path toward him. Thanks to his reflex, Akira managed to dodge the enraged god and leave a huge gash on its side using his knife, having swapped with the Coonan.
"UWOOOOOOO!"
Thanatos roared at Akira, having recovered from the wound. It was about to continue its rampage when Minato could not handle the strain any longer and fell to the ground, unconscious. Death stared right at the Trickster's soul for a moment before dissolving into blue light. Akira clutched the left side of his head, trying not to scream as the pain earlier returned. Seems like the temporal fix Demiurge suggested him had gone away.
No good! You must rest now, Trickster, lest your body will break down!
Satanael shouted in Akira's mind as darkness claimed him as well.
As Mitsuru and Akihiko rushed to the rooftop, Ikutsuki thought of what had just happened. Possessing multiple Personas was almost unheard of, there was some rumors around Kei Nanjo but still. He would pay extra attention to Minato Arisato.
Regarding Akira Kurusu, this boy piqued Ikutsuki's interest and worry. Never had he encountered such an immensely powerful Persona user, not even that child could hope reaching his level. A powerful piece on the board, yes, but an unpredictable and potentially uncontrollable piece, again just like that boy.
'Looks like I have to consider the other alternatives.'
Perhaps Ikutsuki could test the latest batch of the drug on the teen but it depended on how fast his employees could deliver under the watchful eyes of that fool Takeharu Kirijo –
Shuji Ikutsuki…
"A-Ah, lord Epiales! Yes, I am here at your service!"
You shall NOT touch Akira Kurusu, as per my Master's order…
"But he is a threat to our grand scheme! He possesses the Demiurge!"
Ikutsuki argued, zealousness oozing from his tone. The voice chuckled back.
A Persona is ultimately a product of human kind's psyche, given shape by your individuality. The Demiurge never bows before a human, remember it well.
"T-Then, what is my order? I will gladly do it earnestly."
Now? You wait. You observe. When the time comes, I and my colleagues shall personally come. For the Fall.
"Yes. Everthing is for the Fall..."
Akira felt the familiar tune of the Velvet Room and opened his eyes to find the calming blue ceiling. His chest still stung due to how aggressive he was when applying the Awakening of Unlimited on his body. True to Demiurge's words, the technique temporarily removed the limits of his existence to tremendously boost his power. But why it only lasted for like five minutes though?
You always make mistakes in the first time. Trickster, you are supposed to just apply your fingers on your upper torso, not your heart. It is a miracle that you did not perish in the first seconds.
"Oh God this version of Yaldy sounded like a polite Morgana." Akira muttered, standing up and stretching his sore limbs.
And what about me, me?
"A combination of myself and a little, just a little, of Sojiro." He heard Satanael snorting and his Personas went silent when Akira approached the ever patient Igor and cheerful Lavenza. The Master of Velvet Room waved his hand a comfy chair appeared for Akira to sit on.
"So, what do you want to share with me? Surely you didn't call me here just for Lavenza, right?" Akira asked the ever smiling Igor while winking at Lavenza, who became flustered.
"As interesting as your idea may be, no, I have brought you here to deliver important news. Lavenza, as you may."
"A-Ahem! Firstly, congratulation on defeating a dangerous principle of Mahakala, my Trickster. Secondly, well, there are complications regarding your existence. The other complications."
Lavenza paused, seeing Akira's darkened expression and the atmosphere in the Velvet Room became suffocating courtesy of Satanael and the new addition, Demiurge. And then he smiled.
"If it's what I'm thinking, good. The less you mention Him, the better. Go on, Lavenza."
"Well then. Due to the result of time-travelling, you have accidentally created a massive Time Paradox, my Trickster. As the result, we now have two Master Igors, two Lavenzas and unfortunately, two Tricksters. Fortunately, our identical counterparts take this revelation quite well and unless Master Philemon interferes, there should be no issue even if we meet each other."
Akira rested his chin on his folded hands, absorbing the new knowledge. This was a good news, to be honest, as he did not have to worry about the 'meeting each other and one must disappear' thing in those fictional movies Futaba had shown him. Still, two Akira Kurusu was not good at all.
"Do not fret, my friend. The Trickster of this world is named 'Ren Amamiya' and he resides in the town of Inaba, unlike you who come from Hokkaido."
"Amamiya, huh… Say, Igor, what would happen if I went and taught Amamiya about our destiny?"
Igor suddenly had a frown on his aged face, which surprised Lavenza as the Master never lost his smile, even when Yaldabaoth threatened his life. He motioned the petite Attendant to come closer and they whispered for a while, leaving Akira to uncomfortably stare at them.
"There is a problem, my Trickster. We can only exist in a set period of time and once it is gone, no one will remember us. You can change certain rules but the results are still the same; the Phantoms of Time are not allowed to interfere with the current world."
"I see. First Trickster of Entropy, now the Phantom of Time." Akira laughed humorlessly. "I'm that screwed, eh?"
"Trickster…"
"It's alright. I will try to cope with this as best as I can." Akira stood up and headed to the glowing door. "See ya later, Igor, Lavenza."
The Velvet Room residents did not miss the bitter look their guest had and wondered if their decision to drag Akira into this mess was right.
