Persona Trinity

by IIIIIIIIII

Six months have passed since the defeat of Yaldabaoth and the disbandment of the Phantom Thieves. Ren Amamiya now enjoys a normal high-school life, hard-won though it may be. For once, normalcy started to feel normal. However, the whims of fate would set the Wild Card User on another path. And he would be far from the only one fate would call on. Pairing: Pseudo RenxHarem YuxHarem

28. Severed Shackles

A/N Alright, so as promised, here's the finale of the Twin Towers piece of the story. It's a bit long like the last chapter, but hopefully worth the read.

Next chapter will come in two weeks and it'll be a bit on the longer side, but for now, please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.

Chapter 28

Tower of Torment: Entrance to the Catacombs

Lanaya stopped before a large doorway sealed away by a terminal. "The entrance is behind this door right here."

"Roger that," Oracle replied.

The navigator spent little if any time in actually overriding the controls of the console and went to work getting the path open. A green light appeared above the doorway seconds later once it had been unlocked.

"Done."

"I'll be honest, seeing my security system bested by a child is a bit disheartening…" Lanaya stated absentmindedly.

Futaba's reaction was predictable to the point that Noir was already sighing.

"I-I am not a child!" Oracle exclaimed. "And for your information, I'm one of the most skilled hackers in the entire world! I'm not just some kid!"

"Two things can be true, can they not?" Fox countered. "And being a child is relative. Perhaps Lanaya-san is simply of an age beyond what her appearance would suggest."

The two women immediately set aside whatever argument they may have been about to have and started to glare daggers at the fox-masked Persona user. It went without saying that he had no idea why.

"Have I said something wrong?"

"Your tactlessness is almost impressive," Lanaya remarked.

"I just find it irritating," Oracle growled.

"L-Let's just head into the catacombs, shall we?" Noir suggested.

Though they relented, it was clear that the two moved forwards with scowls crossing their lips.

The group began to make their descent into the catacombs, leaving the light of the towers main level behind as they did so. They continued to move deeper and deeper underground as the light continued to fade, and eventually as they reached the bottom, it abandoned them entirely.

"Oracle, can you do something about the lack of light?" Noir asked.

"Yeah, just gimme a sec."

Futaba's goggles and suit began to glow with a bright green light. Surprisingly, it was enough to reveal most of the room, though the only things there to see were spider webs and an empty hallway.

"I didn't know you could do that, Oracle," Fox remarked, sounding as if he were in awe. "Your abilities truly never case to amaze."

Though ordinarily she'd have been happy to receive a compliment, the orange-haired teen could only glare at him in response.

"Don't you try to suck up to me now."

"I beg your pardon?"

Their would-be bickering was interrupted by a sudden noise that grabbed their attention. A loud, unnerving chittering worse than even nails scraping against a chalk board came out from all around them.

"W-What was that…?" Oracle asked in a high-pitched tone.

"Most likely something that wants to eat us alive," Lanaya replied. She stepped closer to their source of light. "Be ready, they're quicker than you'd expect."

Oracle gulped. "Whose 'they' again?"

From the far end of the hallway, dozens upon dozens of Spiders raced towards them with the sound of their horrifying raspy battlecries and stampeding limbs filling the air. Just the sight of their long legs and beady, black eyes were enough to send a chill down the spine of even the most fearless of fighters.

Futaba froze completely at the sight of them, but thankfully, Noir and Fox were still combat ready.

"Milady!"

"Goemon!"

A series of sword slashes and a torrent of bullets ripped apart most of the first wave that had advanced. Those that survived retreated jumped onto the walls and began circling around their targets, waiting to get into the perfect position so that they could strike from all sides.

"Raaaa!" the Spider's hissed.

Several shot webbing at their would-be prey while others landed on the ground ready to take advantage of any openings that would be created. Thankfully, Goemon sliced the webbings before they'd spread, allowing both Noir with her axe and Milady with her heavy weaponry to move about unhindered to deal with the rest.

When several more of the Spiders were cut down, the rest retreated altogether, sinking back into the darkness of the catacombs from whence they came.

It went without saying that Futaba felt a wave of relief wash over her like never before.

"Those may have been the freakiest Shadows we've ever seen," Oracle thought aloud. She shivered at the recollection of their black, lifeless eyes that showed so clearly through their white masks. "If I never see another one of them again, I'll die a happy woman."

"Sorry to say you probably won't get your wish," Lanaya replied. "There are hundreds of them in these catacombs, and—"

"Watch out!" Fox exclaimed.

Without warning, he leapt towards the pair with his sword drawn. It became clear why he'd done so an instant later when the bifurcated corpse of a Spider fell to the ground from above. A shocked Futaba looked petrified as its final warped cries faded away just inches away from her feet.

"…Inari, you are now more than forgiven," Oracle immediately stated.

"Hm? But what did I do that—"

Haru placed a firm hand on his shoulder and shook her head as if to tell him to simply let it die. He wisely chose to listen.

"We should get moving before they regroup and make a second attempt," said Noir, a rare sternness to her voice. "With any luck, we'll run into Skull and Mona soon."

Just as they were about to leave under the heiress' suggestion, a loud and sizeable explosion occurred from a wall just down the stretch of hallway out in front of them. Rubble and dust poured into the air, but even so they could see the large silhouette of an oddly-shaped figure jumping through the freshly-made hole in the wall.

"See? Toldja that'd work!"

"Gloat later, Skull! Less talking, more running!"

"Skull? Mona?"

"…am I crazy, or was that Noir?"

"I heard it too."

"Over here, you morons!" Oracle shouted.

They finally emerged from the dust and rushed towards the familiar voices, finding them much more easily when the green light emanating on Futaba was finally visible.

"Oh thank god, it's really you guys," Skull sighed in relief. "But as glad as I am to see ya, we should run. Like now."

"And fast," Mona added.

Lanaya stepped forwards to address the pair. "Is she chasing you? A woman with black hair, torso of a spider?"

The thuggish Persona user was surprised to hear such an accurate description, but it was then that he realized he hadn't the slightest clue as to who it was that had asked the question in the first place.

Skull blinked confusedly. "Uh… who are you?"

"Long story, save it for later," Oracle replied. "Anyway, where's the spider-lady?"

With the full force of a raging bull, the demonic hybrid smashed through another section of the wall lining the hallway. Though its form was shaded by a cloud of dust, its horrifying red eyes shined as plainly as the light of day. It moved towards its pray with a raspy hiss, allowing its body to be bathed in the green light that was still emanating from Futaba.

Her appearance was outright terrifying, but to Lanaya, it was soul-wrenching. She could barely stomach the sight.

"Eury…"

"Who now?" Skull uttered confusedly.

"Never mind that," Oracle stated. "TLDR: That spider-lady is really a human, and we need to knock her down so I can use Necronomicon to save her."

"Knock her out? But she's—"

Ryuji found his sentence cut short on account of needing to dodge a lunging grab that came courtesy of the large half-arachnid. Its red eyes fixated on him with predatory intent, though he stared back in defiance, all but refusing to be its next meal.

"Persona!" Skull exclaimed.

Captain Kidd launched a powerful electric attack square into the demon's torso. It recoiled slightly and backed away, but the damage was clearly minimal at best. Whether it was hurt or not didn't matter, though. What mattered was that it had backed away to exactly where Ryuji had wanted it to.

"Milady!"

"Goemon!"

A barrage of psychic and ice attacks headed directly for the Shadow, again landing a direct hit. Once more, it flinched, but once more didn't seem to take much damage if any at all. The attacks did clearly succeed in one respect, however. It had clearly become annoyed.

"Raaaaaa!" the spider roared.

The nails of her human upper-half extended outwards like the blades of a sword and became pitch-black in color. It then swung its hands across its body, slinging the nails at its opponents as if they were throwing knives.

Oracle created a barrier to block them off, all the while Fox and Noir moved out to the side to get into a better position to hit the Shadow from multiple angles. It in turn shifted around in an effort to prevent itself from being outmaneuvered, but in doing so it failed to notice two of its opponents reach a perfect position on its exposed flank.

"Zoro!"

"Captain Kidd!"

A powerful wave of electricity and wind crashed into the hybrid's exposed thorax. It wailed in agony, showing the first signs that a hit had done any real damage.

"The abdomen! Go for the abdomen!" Mona shouted.

Both the feline and his blond comrade passed the baton over to Fox and Noir, who were more than prepared to follow through with the advice given to them. In a flawless combination of back-to-back attacks, Goemon sliced the beast's torso with a storm of swords, while instantly thereafter Milady brought out the literal big guns and launched a series of gunshots that were so powerful that they sounded like cannon fire.

With the assault at its end, the Shadow stumbled. Her eight legs shook, and eventually she collapsed to the ground. She was still breathing, but it was more than apparent that she could no longer continue to put up a fight.

"It's down for good, right?" Skull asked, a clear sense of fear to his voice. "Mona, go poke it and see what happens."

"No way! You do it!" he replied. A smirk crossed his lips. "Unless you're too scared, of course."

"I-I ain't scared. It's just a spider," Skull stated. "Just a super, super big spider. N-No big deal. Yep."

"Actually, I believe it's appearance is what most would consider terrifying," Fox remarked.

"Yes, it is, now shut up and stop talking about it. You're gonna make it harder for me to focus!" Oracle chided. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the mental image of the gargantuan spider-woman that was passed out in front of her. "Okay, here goes nothing…!"

Necronomicon moved into position and readied to sink its mechanical limbs into the Shadow's unconscious body. It was mere seconds away from doing just that, but without warning, the creature's crimson eyes opened once more.

The Persona users surrounding it didn't even get an opportunity to panic before its legs swept out and swatted them away like insects. They hit the walls lining the area with a thud, knocking them out of commission for a time as the Shadow stood up once more.

Oracle now stood on her own, now under the full weight of the spider's hungering gaze. The sight of its razor-sharp teeth and twisted red eyes made her freeze in terror. She was powerless to stop it from making its move, and so when its head began to race towards her, she was prepared for the worst.

"Eury, stop!"

Lanaya had firmly planted herself in front of Futaba, taking an unbelievable risk just as it seemed the Shadow was about to strike. In a stroke of luck, the hybrid creature held still for a brief second before it pulled its upper body away. It started to examine the blonde-haired woman confusedly, though that by no means meant that it wouldn't rip her to shreds in due time.

As time went on, Lanaya's hands started to shake while cold sweat dripped from her neck. She was afraid, and she knew it. She hadn't the slightest idea of whether or not what she'd done would work, and as the hybrid's upper half descended towards her and they were brought face to face, she knew she would soon find out.

Time froze as the Shadow's spider-like jaws loosely grazed Lanaya's face, and in that moment, both Oracle and the blonde herself felt a chill run down their spines. So of course, it came as a source of great relief when tears—human tears—started to run down the pale-skinned cheeks.

"Lan…ya…" Eury breathed.

Just the sound of her voice, however inhuman, nearly caused the blonde young woman to lose herself to emotion. However, she knew she couldn't afford to, and so she fought with all her strength to remain calm. She reached out carefully and clasped the demon's face with the loving touch that only true family could give.

"Yes, it's me, Eury," she replied, struggling to keep her voice even.

"Lanaya…!"

The Shadow brought its hands overtop of those that touched her cheeks. She clung to them with a sense of desperation and longing, as if the moment itself was a dream that she refused to let go of.

"The voices… they h-hurt so mu…ch! Please, I…!"

"Eury, listen to me," Lanaya spoke, her voice soft but direct. "There's someone here that can help you, but you have to stay in control. Can you do that?"

A weak, strained nod was given in response. Oracle quickly took that as a sign that they didn't have much time, and so she wasted none. Her Persona extended its tendrils once more, seeing into the spider's torso.

"Knghh…!" Eury winced, grimacing at the fresh presence intruding into her mind.

Though it clearly took a great deal of effort, the black-haired young woman was still in control. Futaba could feel herself prodding further and further until yet again, her vision faded. Once more, all that surrounded her was a never-ending darkness. It was strange; though she'd experienced it once before already, she was still far from used to the sensation. The landscape was so cold and unrelenting that she questioned whether that was even possible.

Futaba pressed further in search of whatever piece of Eury still remained. She paused after just a short while, her brows furrowing as she heard whispers in her ear. They were so quiet she could barely make them out, but she was sure that they were there.

"What the heck…?" Oracle wondered aloud.

She passed it off and again moved further and further into the Shadow's psyche. Then it happened again—the same voices, only this time much louder.

Hunt.

Kill.

Take.

The navigator winced. Each word was like a needle being shoved directly into her ears, a horrible sensation that she'd not even experienced even when she'd been inside Lanaya's mind.

Eat.

Consume.

Devour.

Each speaker was different. An innumerable number of horrendous words filled with bloodlust flooded her ears all at once. A thousand different voices, all calling out from the black nothingness that surrounded her.

'This is even worse than Lanaya's,' Oracle thought with a grimace.

Give in.

Relent.

Submit.

"Screw off…!" Oracle spat.

She continued to push on despite the strain on her body and mind. Though she continued to find nothing, she didn't let that deter her in the slightest. She simply continued to move forward.

Help!

A lone voice cried out, being so unlike the others that even amidst the sea of speakers it stood out. That was when Futaba knew she'd found what she was looking for, and that was when she focused with all her might to find the invisible hand that was reaching out for her.

Once again, she took it.

"Gah!" Oracle exclaimed.

The young prodigy's vision returned to her, and she found herself gasping desperately for air. She nearly fell to the ground from exhaustion, both mentally and physically, but somehow managed to stay on her feet.

Fox was quick to jump to her side. "Futaba, are you—"

"I'm fine. Just… I'm gonna need a minute," Oracle stated pointedly, her eyes slammed shut. "Is Eury okay? Is she back to normal?"

All eyes turned to the Shadow as its body began to lose its integrity. The familiar black ooze began to fall off by the barrel, leaving behind only a human torso once the frame had vanished entirely.

A raven-haired girl fell forward, landing directly into Lanaya's arms. She in turn clutched onto her body for dear life, refusing to let her hit the ground. Though the blonde felt her legs go weak, she guided her young friend to the floor and brought her to rest on her lap.

It was clear by Lanaya's expression that she didn't quite believe what was happening. She looked at her friend's resting face as if it were a sight she was sure she'd never be able to see again.

"Lanaya…?" Eury asked, clearly still out of sorts.

The emotion of just hearing her name said by a voice that was no longer warped brought out a wave of emotions that was too much to bear. Tears, likely held back for quite some time, began to fall out of the blonde's amethyst eyes. She held her head and pulled it into her chest in a tight embrace.

"Eury…" Lanaya breathed.

Off to the side, Noir pulled out a handkerchief and began to dry her eyes, sniveling somewhat at the emotional display. Oracle as well found herself on the brink of tears, even borrowing said handkerchief from her teammate when she was finished.

"A truly beautiful reunion," Fox remarked, giving a firm nod of approval.

Skull inhaled deeply through his nose and cleared his throat. "Y-Yeah, I mean, I guess. If you're into that sort of thing."

"Spare us your denial, Skull," Mona scoffed. "The important thing is, it looks like Oracle succeeded."

It was then that the blonde-haired woman turned her gaze towards Futaba. Her eyes held an unparalleled gratitude that shined even through the tears that still fell from them.

"Thank you… thank you all so much," Lanaya spoke.

"Yes, thank you…!" Eury stated, locking eyes with the green-clad Persona user. "I only regret that there isn't a word I can use to describe my gratitude properly."

"Don't thank us just yet," Oracle replied, shaking her head. "There's still one more left to go, right?"

Her words were a firm reminder of what still lay ahead of them, but they discouraged no one; if anything, they did the exact opposite. Everyone, be the Eury and Lanaya, or Yusuke and Haru perked up, a stern, steely look about their features as they took the navigator's words to heart. Everyone seemed to think ahead to the final hurdle that remained…

Except for two, of course.

"Okay, I'm still lost," Skull spoke.

"Same here," Mona remarked.

Her moment ruined, Oracle sighed.

"…we'll explain on the way."

Tower of Strength: Apex

Forceful gusts of wind ripped through the room as Personas and their masters continued to trade blow after blow. Steel continued to clash with steel and sparks continued to flash in the air in a never-ending dance that of both beauty and ferocity.

Simply gazing at the sight was tiring in and of itself, yet none of the fighters on either side showed even the slightest sign of fatigue. It was as if they were entirely numb to the strain that surely must have been put on their bodies.

Or perhaps they were simply so razor-focused that they ignored it.

"Hraaa!" Genzo bellowed.

With all of his might, he swung his glaive out in an arc to rid himself of his two attackers. Though they'd parried expertly, they were sent flying across the battlefield and were effectively forced back.

However, Genzo's momentary reprieve would only be just that—a moment. Yu and Sae's bodies glowed with a powerful tri-colored aura courtesy of Rise's support, at which point they stormed into the fray yet again without showing even a second of hesitation.

"Benkei!"

"Astrea!"

"Izanagi!"

A sonic boom echoed as all sides as both rival Personas and masters clashed in a monstrous display of strength. The force was such that even the ground cracked under the weight of their combined might, but of course none of them paid that any mind. They instead focused on continuing the unending onslaught that had dominated the entirety of their fight.

The bout would eventually come to an end courtesy of a powerful strike from Sae's twinblade, which, while blocked, sent Genzo skidding backwards as he put his all into remaining stable.

'Such ferocity,' Genzo passively observed.

He made the mistake of believing he had longer than a second to rest, as the silver-haired woman was already at his front winding up for another attack. The former Yakuza guarded the barrage as best as he could, but even in spite of his unparalleled strength, he found himself unable to take control of the exchange.

In a fit of desperation, he considered recalling Benkei to screen for him so that he'd at least be able to reset his positioning, but said Persona was far too preoccupied for him to pull back.

Eventually, Genzo's glaive struck his opponent's twinblade and the two became locked in a stalemate.

It was perhaps only then, as they continued to give their all at overpowering one another, that he was able to see the raw fury and determination in her eyes. It shocked him, actually. He'd never seen anything like it before.

Though he knew the reason such emotions shined so brightly.

"…Akashi Nijima," Genzo stated plainly.

The simple utterance of the name seemed to bring the fight to a crashing halt. Both Genzo and Sae pulled back their weapons while Yu and Rise stopped dead in their tracks.

An ominous silence took hold with it being unclear exactly what would happen next. It eventually became clear that the former Yakuza was leaving that up for his opponent to decide.

"You recognized me the last time we fought, didn't you?" Sae asked.

He nodded along. "I did."

"And did you recognize me because of my father?"

"I did. He seemed to be a good man, as I recall."

"Were you the one that ordered his death? Were you involved?"

"No."

There was another break in the conversation. Sae's crimson eyes seemed to pierced the fabric of the man's very soul. Even the steadfast fighter that he was couldn't help but feel unnerved when faced with the unrelenting pressure of her gaze.

"You know who was," Sae stated in a tone of finality.

At first the man didn't answer. Yet again, Genzo found himself in a situation he wasn't used to. The cold nature of her voice and the ever-worsening look in her eyes continued to gnaw at his very being. It was as if in that moment, he was being forced to understand the darkness that hid away in her very heart as a result of her father's passing.

Which is what made his inevitable answer so difficult for him to give.

"I do," Genzo replied. "But I cannot say."

Without warning, Sae swung her twinblade with such might that even Genzo's successful block sent him flying across the room. He felt a stinging pain resonate in his arm that he recognized almost immediately.

He knew immediately that his bone had fractured under the mere pressure of blocking her strike.

Even so, Genzo knew he didn't have the luxury of dwelling on his injury. He didn't even pay it any mind and refused to take his eyes off of his opponent. And he didn't. He knew he couldn't. Which is why it was all the more surprising when the silver-haired Persona user was at his front in less than an instant with her weapon drawn and poised to strike yet again.

'Impossible…!' Genzo thought in disbelief. 'There's no way she could—'

The bald-headed man had neither the time nor the ability to finish his thought when Sae's attack followed through. He barely managed to parry her twinblade, but with each passing swipe, he felt the strain on his arm continue to mount.

"Benkei!" Genzo exclaimed, a clear urgency to his voice.

A loud battle cry sounded off as the warrior monk entered the field yet again, its feet and weapon slamming onto the ground with conviction to mark its arrival. However, its steadfast appearance was short-lived. Astrea soon began her assault, almost immediately putting the robed warrior off balance, which resulted in both the Persona and its wielder being put entirely on the back foot.

After only a few brief exchanges, Astrea lodged one of its blades into the heart of Benkei's scarfed face. A quiet, raspy cry escaped the towering creature as its head shattered like glass, after which its body faded in a burst of red flames.

On the ground, Genzo felt the pain of his Persona's defeat and couldn't stave off the strain that it placed on his body. He grimaced, and in his current situation, that was just as good as throwing blood-soaked meat into shark infested waters.

Sae forced his weapon away from his center with a swing of her twinblade, after which she brought her left fist directly across his face. Genzo Hagane, for perhaps the first time he could ever recall, stumbled. His footing was completely lost, and he was powerless to do anything about it.

It was likely that only one blow would have been enough to topple him over, and so when Sae dropped her weapon to deliver a firm right hook to his face, he thought the fight would end then and there.

Sadly, it didn't. A hand grabbed his shoulder just as he was about to fall, and then came an onslaught so devoid of mercy he could barely believe that his attacker was human.

The single, brief glance of Sae he was able to grab amidst the assault chilled his very blood.

She was like a banshee—an avatar of vengeance itself.

Eventually, one firm punch landed directly in the center of his chest. He gasped for air, unable to breath for a time as he fell to his hands and knees.

"Tell me who," Sae demanded.

"A-As I said be… before…" Genzo stammered through strained breaths.

The cold steel of Avenger's twinblade came crashing down barely an inch away from his face, embedding itself in the ground. A lone, shallow cut appeared on his cheek, and the blood that began to drip from it acted as a more than clear warning of what was to come.

"Last chance," Sae hissed. "Who killed him? Tell me who, dammit!"

Most men would have felt unrivaled fear in that moment. His senses were finely tuned to detect bloodlust, but he didn't need them to understand his situation. Even an idiot could tell what would happen if he refused to answer her question.

But Genzo was different; he didn't fear death. At least not anymore.

"…I cannot."

It took less than half a second for Sae's foot to uppercut his chin with such force that the bald-headed man quite literally flew across the room. A pained grunt escaped his lips as he slammed into the ground. His vision blurred and his arms were so weak he could barely even clasp the ground. Before Genzo could even pick his head up, her twinblade was already pressed up against his neck. He could feel it starting to pierce his skin.

No words were said. Genzo simply bowed his head in acceptance of what was to come, and Avenger in turn drew back her blade, ready to follow through and sever the man's head cleanly from his body.

"Sae!" Yu shouted.

The Wild Card grabbed her hand firmly, preventing her follow through. She immediately jerked around in a fit of rage, and it was then that his fear had been confirmed. Gone were Sae's radiant crimson eyes, and in their place were those of a demonic gold.

The truth was that he'd felt it as they were making their way up the tower, but he'd so desperately hoped he was wrong. Whether it was Sae's Shadow taking possession of her or something in-between, he couldn't say.

All he knew was that before him was a close friend driven by raw emotions that likely laid dormant within her for years on end.

"Let go," Sae demanded.

Yu's gaze held firm, as did his hand. "That's enough. We won, there's no reason to go further."

"I'll go however far I need to in order to get answers."

Sae tried to get her hand loose from his grip one more time, though Yu didn't so much as budge. She turned her head away and sighed, and for a moment, it appeared that perhaps she was going to relent.

But that was only for a moment.

A kick swung at the Wild Card's ribcage with such speed that he was barely able to react in time. While he managed to dodge it successfully, he soon found that Sae was far from done. She came rushing at him with her twinblade, forcing him to guard with his katana to the best of his ability.

"That's enough, snap out of it!" Yu roared.

He followed through with his in as powerful a strike as he could muster and actually managed to push Sae back. She came to a rest, her still-golden eyes glaring daggers at him as she brandished her weapon.

"There's nothing to snap out of," she stated coldly.

Without even waiting for a response, the silver-haired beauty mounted a ferocious set of attacks. The expert use of her momentum to spin her blade to launch strike after strike quickly proved too much to handle even for Yu.

On instinct, he took his left hand off of his sword's grip and opened its palm, clearly about to summon a Persona, though he stopped himself just short of doing so and put it right back on the hilt of his weapon.

The Shadow-possessed Sae's eyes narrowed as she'd more than realized what was going on. With a powerful strike, she sent him skidding away, though she relented.

"You know," Shadow Sae began. "If you're not willing to even summon a Persona against me, then this isn't going to end well for you."

As if to prove her point, she summoned Astrea, who entered the battlefield with more ferocity than either of her teammates had ever seen before. A strong bless attack then shot from her dual swords, heading straight towards the Wild Card with such speed that it completely caught him off guard.

Luckily for Yu, he had a guardian angel present in the form of Rise. She created a barrier, absorbing the totality of the attack with relative ease.

"Stay out of this," Shadow Sae uttered plainly, her gaze narrowed on the redhead. "I won't ask again."

"That's good, cuz' I'd get tired of saying 'no' real quick," Rise shot back.

Clearly agitated by her response, Shadow Sae began to turn her attention towards the navigator, but Yu soon intercepted her well before she came into striking distance. They locked blades only briefly before she backed off.

"Astrea!" she roared.

"Ongyo-ki!"

The obsidian ogre-like Persona stood perfectly still and accepted whatever beatdown was sent its way. Thankfully, the series of sword strikes that came from Astrea were rather limited before she backed off entirely and retreated back within the sea of Sae's soul.

In the aftermath of the brief exchange, the now golden-eyed beauty stood firmly in place as she stared back at Yu, a mix of fury and frustration crossing her expression.

"First you hesitate, and now even when you do summon a Persona, its exclusively to block whatever I dish out," Shadow Sae stated observationally. Her lips then formed a heavy scowl. "If you're trying so desperately not to fight back, then why even bother getting in my way?!"

"I promised you I would, didn't I?" Yu replied.

Her fists shook momentarily, though it was unclear if that was out of annoyance or because she was touched by his sincerity. Perhaps it was even a mix of both.

"I suppose you would say something like that," Shadow Sae muttered, gripping the hilt of her twinblade as tightly as she could. She seemed to recover her anger and directed the full extent of it towards the Wild Card. "But that doesn't matter. All that matters is that I get what I want from Genzo Hagane, even if I have to beat him within an inch of his life to get it."

"I don't think you really believe that," Yu replied. "Not with him. Not when it comes to someone that had nothing to do with your father's murder in the first place."

She shook once more, though this time it was purely out of anger and nothing more.

"And just what would you know?!" Shadow Sae all but roared. "Do you understand how much hate, bitterness and anger I've carried in my heart all these years?! Do you understand what it's like to have your whole world taken away from you only to be left in the darkness wondering who did it? Why they did it?! No, of course you don't! So how could you possibly understand what I will or won't do?! What makes you so sure I won't rip his head off just to get what I want, what I need?! Go on, answer me!"

Her tone practically shook more and more with each passing word that she spoke, and her voice was so full of rage that it deafened even the whispering winds of the Metaverse itself.

Rise and even Genzo on the perimeters of the exchange felt an uncomfortable reflex just from hearing Shadow Sae speak. Yu, however, was different. He stood firm the entire time, and his response came without even a second of hesitation.

"Because that's not the justice that Sae Nijima believes in," Yu replied.

The words he spoke on their own would nearly have made Shadow Sae vomit. There was no way someone could have possibly said those words and actually meant them from the bottom of their heart. But that was just it—he clearly did. As her golden eyes stared into his of steely silver, she could tell that from the very bottom of his heart he'd meant every word.

That absolute faith left her in a state of complete and total disbelief. A hurricane of conflicting emotions started to well within her to the point that all the silver-haired beauty could do was slam her eyes shut in frustration.

"Where the hell does that confidence come from? Even I…!" Shadow Sae spoke, her voice practically shaking.

"It comes from knowing who you are," Yu pressed, his expression remaining constant. "That man isn't your father's killer, and he didn't have anything to do with his death. He's said so himself, and I think both of us know he's telling the truth. I can't say for certain what you'd do if he were the man behind it… but since he isn't, I know you won't hurt him. Even if that means you'll have to wait longer to get the answers you want."

Yet again, Shadow Sae was filled with annoyance, but it was an endearing kind. He'd always had a nasty habit of making her feel vulnerable, like an open book whose every page was at the absolute mercy of its reader.

She hated the fact that on some level, she didn't mind. That was why she found him so agitating to deal with, though perhaps her other self would disagree.

"Honestly, you're such a pain," she replied with a sad, bittersweet look to her eyes. They began to flicker back and forth between a sickly gold and a radiant crimson. "You're right… but I can't deny it. The anger I feel—I'm not sure I can keep it contained. If I'm standing at the end of all this, facing down whoever we're after…"

Yu nodded in understanding. "We'll cross that bridge when it comes, and I'll be right there next to you if you need me to be."

As a heartfelt smile crossed the silver-haired young woman's lips, it became obvious that she'd backed away from the edge. Interrupting what was undoubtedly a tender moment was the former Yakuza who had still yet to be fully dealt with. He'd been kneeling the entire time as if awaiting judgment.

"…are you sure of your decision?" Genzo asked. "Knowing that I have the information you seek, and even knowing I will never share it with you? Are you still so certain?"

Sae nodded. "Somewhat to my surprise, yes, I am."

"I see."

The sphere that had hovered above showed the first signs of movement that it had the entire time. Black ooze began to fall from its surface onto the floor, the puddles of which started to form the beginnings of Ronin.

"Shadows, incoming!" Rise exclaimed.

She applied whatever buffs she could to both Yu and Sae, who immediately set out to engage whatever had come their way. They sliced down every enemy they could find, but they continued to come crawling out from the presumed core more and more with each passing second.

Perhaps the sheer number of enemies wouldn't have been a problem if they were truly at full strength. However, the truth was that their battle with Genzo had started to take its toll. Every strike, every dodge, every spell—they began to cost more and more of their energy with each passing cycle.

Eventually, the enemy numbers were such that the immovable duo found it necessary to retreat. They retreated all the way back to their navigator in an attempt to rally and discuss a plan of attack.

"Rise, think you have another song in you?" Yu asked.

"I-I can try, but I'll be honest, I'm a bit drained right now, so I can't guarantee it'll work."

"Then I'd say we're better off not risking it," Sae replied. "Meaning we're left with one option."

"A blaze of glory it is," Yu mused.

He and Sae locked eyes and understood that their best bet was one final all-out attack using the biggest guns they could manage. The obvious downside was that if it were to fail, that was it; they'd have virtually nothing left in the tank and would essentially become sitting ducks.

The pair readied to call out their Personas, though before they could manage to do so, a swarm of elemental attacks laid absolute waste to the mass of Shadows at their front. Fire, ice, wind, and thunder rained down on the demons in perfect unison, knocking a good number of them down and outright defeating even more.

Relief showed in their eyes as they witnessed the remainder of their teammates arriving from the entrance.

"Sorry to be tardy to the party, partner," Yosuke said with a wide grin.

"Better late than never though," Chie added.

"Honestly, your timing couldn't be better," Yu replied.

Kanji came barreling in, pulverizing a Shadow with Take-Mikazuchi and crushing it to pieces. "Talk later, smash now."

"Amen to that," Chie said eagerly.

The cavalry stormed onto the field of battle and crushed every Shadow in sight. Before long, they'd been cleared out entirely, though that didn't stop them from continuing to seep from the spherical core that hovered above.

"They won't stop coming until we take out the core!" Naoto exclaimed. "Kanji, can you give me an opening?"

"You got it, Naoto!"

Cracking his knuckles, the black-haired young man called on his Persona and set about clearing a path as only he knew how. A God's Hand in all its golden glory slammed down from the heavens and onto a mass of barely-formed Shadows. The impact even sent a shockwave that cleared the airs, giving the detective the opening she'd asked for and then some.

With that done, Sukuna Hikona let loose its blade and released all the energy it had begun to store up while Kanji had made his move. From the center of the core, a bright, explosive blast echoed throughout the room. The core cracked under the pressure, splitting into two pieces and falling to the ground in the wake of the Megidolan that was levied against it.

Around the room, the few remaining Shadows were cut down by the others, and with the source of their reinforcements cut off, it appeared that the fight was finally done.

Yosuke pumped his fist. "All right! Nice going, Naoto!"

"Hmm, that was easier than I thought it'd be," Chie muttered. She dropped her stance and looked around the room curiously. "I mean, I was kinda gearing up for a more climactic fight than that."

"Chie, please stop jinxing us," Yosuke replied.

"Oh shut up, jinxing isn't even a thing."

"Um, not to interrupt…" Yukiko uttered confusedly. "But shouldn't the tower have vanished by now? We did just destroy the core, right?"

Everyone who hadn't been thinking on those exact same lines immediately started to. True to the heiresses' words, their surroundings hadn't changed in the slightest. In fact, it appeared as if destroying the core hadn't done anything besides stop the flow of Shadows into the room.

"Maybe it wasn't the core?" Rise mused.

"You're correct. It wasn't."

All eyes were drawn to Genzo Hagane, who stood facing the group from the far end of the room. Evidently, he'd used the distraction the Shadows had created to move towards the open wall that overlooked the opposite tower as well as the ground thousands of feet below. He was in no condition to fight or run, but judging by his proximity to the side of the tower, it didn't seem as if escaping alive was his intent.

Realizing the situation, Yu drew his gun and was at the read to shoot the man's legs out if he so needed to. "Back away from the ledge. If you move any closer to it, I won't hesitate."

"Sorry, but I'll have to refuse," Genzo replied, hanging his head solemnly. He turned his back towards the silver-haired young man. "I have my own orders to follow, you know."

The second that his legs started to move, Yu took several shots in an attempt to stop him before he picked up any momentum. To his surprise, Benkei appeared out of a blur of red flames, only maintaining its form for a few seconds to block the bullets on behalf of its master.

Genzo leapt off the ledge of the building shortly thereafter while Yu and the others rushed after him to see if he'd actually jumped to his own death. They were mere feet away from the ledge when an Eagle came soaring upwards from below, and holding on to its legs was none other than Genzo himself.

"Crap, he's getting away!" Yosuke exclaimed.

"Not quite," said Sae, her eyes locked in on the winged Shadow. "It's headed straight for the other tower."

"But why?" Chie asked.

"Only one way to find out," Yu replied.

The Wild Card took a few steps forwards before casually hopping off the side of the tower. Those closest to him, being Rise, Sae, and Yukiko reached out in a panic, at first believing that he'd fallen off on accident.

Their worry was short-lived, as an Eagle soon came soaring upwards with Yu hanging onto its leg. It began to fly towards the opposite tower just like the other, leaving the group of Persona users at a loss for words.

"Alright, I'm glad he didn't fall to his death, but how can he even do that?!" Yosuke uttered, clearly at a loss.

"It's not even the most unbelievable thing we've seen today," Yukiko countered. "And it looks like there's a swarm of Eagles flying a short way down. Maybe they're trained as a transport system from tower to tower?"

"I see little other possibility," Naoto replied, though her belief was reluctant. "Ehem, so then… who's first?"

Tower of Torment: Apex

The topmost floor of the twisted tower was a hellscape that put the term 'battlefield' to shame. Explosions continued to rip apart the area in with each passing second, tearing apart Shadow after Shadow in their wake. It didn't matter, though. Even Yumiko didn't care how many of the demons were cut down by her own Persona since their numbers were unending.

Amid the chaos, Joker and Panther came back-to-back having been surrounded by a mass of flanking Halberies. They encircled and were ready to close in on all sides only to be torched courtesy of a timely assist from Queen. Johanna blazed a nuclear trail through their lines, defeating nearly every single one of the twisted creatures.

'We have to find a way to stem the flow of these Shadows,' Queen thought. She scowled as more of the twisted demons started to swarm around her even as she raced away. 'But our odds of destroying that sphere are slim to none as things are.'

An arrow pierced Johanna's front tire, forcing the deep-in-thought Makoto to veer off course. Her Persona nearly spun out of control and barely managed to stabilize before she came to a complete and total stop. Of course, even then she knew how bad her position was. As she sat there motionless, she may as well have been a sleeping mouse under the gaze of a starving viper.

Yumiko pounced from out of nowhere, kicking Queen off of her Persona and forcing it to vanish into thin air with its driver no longer at the helm. The young woman's body bounced across the floor, and though she gritted her teeth and valiantly picked herself up, she was by no means fast enough to ready a proper defense.

In a literal blink of an eye, Yumiko was right in front of her and sent a kick to her ribcage that put her firmly on the ground.

"Ghh…!" Queen hissed in pain.

The green-eyed Persona user looked down at her with a cold, empty gaze as she readied her knife. In that moment, as Makoto turned her head to look directly in her predatory eyes, she was sure that she was about to be dealt a decisive blow.

Strangely, none came.

Before she could truly tell if the delay was intentional, a whip came rushing in and tore the knife from the woman's hand. As the weapon's cold steel hit the floor off in the distance, Yumiko's serpentine eyes shifted towards Ann.

And she did not look happy.

"Will you just stop and listen to us?!" Panther exclaimed, pulling her whip back. "All of this is pointless! We're not your enemy! We're trying to help you!"

Her words fell on deaf ears.

"Medusa!"

A large burst of ice came flying towards the blonde courtesy of an elemental-infused arrow. She managed to dodge, but then found herself under attack from a number of nearby Halberies.

"Ugh, piss off!" Panther exclaimed in frustration.

She whipped out her machine gun and emptied an entire clip at the Shadows, tearing many of them to pieces. Several survived only for Joker to mow them down effortlessly from across the room as he drew most of the other Shadows away from his teammates.

"Thanks, Jok—"

Ann found herself cut off by a lightning-fast strike. A knife grazed across her mask as she leapt away to safety, and the split-second she landed, she reached for her gun in an effort to ward off any follow-up. Much to her annoyance, it was kicked right out of her hand in no time flat.

Another attack would soon follow, but Joker once again provided cover from what felt like a world away. Several immaculately aimed bullets flew directly by Yumiko's torso, forcing her to back away.

"Johanna!"

A nuclear strike courtesy of Makoto erupted near the woman in red, landing a direct hit. She brushed it off and called out her Persona, coating herself in a bright aura of red, blue, and green, and a split-second later, Medusa's bow began to charge with a bright white light.

Both of the female Phantom Thieves cursed under their breath at the sight.

"Panther, grab on!" Queen exclaimed.

Just before the wave of almighty power tore through the battlefield, Makoto raced towards her comrade with Johanna, pulling her board. Moments later as the attack fired off, she managed to maneuver outside of its range, dodging the unrelenting onslaught that massacred everything that came into contact with it.

"Remember when we were being chased in the tunnels?" Queen asked.

"Hm? Yeah, but—"

"Then get ready."

Johanna turned on a dime and began to race towards the raven-haired woman. Medusa responded by launching several arrows in an effort to blast them off course, all of which the motorcycle-like Persona evaded masterfully.

When they were close enough, Panther spring-boarded off into the air, all the while Queen pivoted her bike and revved its engines to the max. An impossibly bright flash resounded, shining directly into their opponent's inhuman green eyes.

Yumiko tried to shield her gaze, but it had been too late. Her sight was little more than a dizzying bright light, but even so she was not without her instincts. Medusa responded to its masters will by coiling its serpentine lower half around her, forming a powerful defense from any direct attacks.

"Carmen!" Panther exclaimed.

A mass of energy started to gather overhead, causing Yumiko to stare wide-eyed at the sky as she saw the blurry image of Panther and her Persona fast-approaching. Fire raged around the blonde as if she were a meteor descending from the heavens, and when the impact finally occurred, the destruction that ensued did justice to that very description.

In an instant, a blazing inferno engulfed Yumiko, her Persona, and a wide range of the battlefield. The heat generated from the blast was such that even Shadows outside of the blast radius disintegrated under the wave of heat, and even Ren found himself bracing for impact on the opposite side of the battlefield.

Panther nearly fell to her knees in the aftermath, still not used to calling on so much of her power so suddenly. She gazed into the ashen cloud, and when enough of it had dissipated, she could still see the viperess's silhouette standing tall.

'Is she seriously still standing?!' Panther exclaimed.

To the blonde's immense surprise, Yumiko charged forward, extending an open palm directly into her chest. She in turn guarded with her forearms, though the pure force used sent her skidding backwards a short distance.

Ann tried to fight back, but fatigue took its toll on her body and she fell to her hands and knees. She put everything she had into trying to get back up, but in spite of her best efforts, she couldn't.

As she looked up towards Yumiko Hebiza, she saw how burnt and charred her body was. Her wounds started to heal without even the need for a spell, but in the place of her flawless skin were a scale-like coating that was starting to become more and more apparent now that she was so close to her.

In the seconds that passed, as her snake-like green eyes stared deeply into the pits of her very being, she could feel her chest tighten. The air itself felt as if it were strangling her, though perhaps that was simply a result of Yumiko's very presence under the current circumstances.

Even so, Ann didn't falter. Her expression remained defiant even as she was at her mercy.

"You're nothing if not brave," Yumiko remarked.

"Haaaa!"

Queen came barreling in fist-first and jammed her gauntlet directly into the woman's ribcage. Despite the power behind the attack and the fact that it hit its mark, Yumiko barely moved more than a few feet, though at least she was pushed away.

The vipress threw a slew of throwing knives at the intruding Phantom Thief in an attempt at a counter. Queen in turn pulled out her pistol and, shooting from the hip, hit each of the daggers out of the air before they even came close to hitting her.

It didn't feel like they were ever meant to, though.

"That's the second time," Queen abruptly spoke. Her words earned a curious brow. "You threw those knives so lazily I doubt I even needed to shoot them down. And before, you had a perfect opening to land a hit but you didn't."

Yumiko eyed the young woman curiously, though her gaze was as blank as they came and therefore it was impossible to tell what was truly going through her mind in that moment. Seconds later, she flexed her wrists and allowed another set of knives to drop into her hands from the sleeves of her kimono.

"You're just wasting your breath."

Makoto had barely just blinked and in that one instant she had moved forward with her blades brought to bear. Knowing that her trademark spiked knuckles put her at a disadvantage, she pivoted out of the way of her strikes and positioned herself so that she could land a counterpunch. She managed to do just that, but when her fists slammed into Yumiko's torso, the woman didn't even so much as flinch.

'Dammit,' Queen swore in thought.

She knew that in that moment, she was completely exposed. If her opponent had the desire, she easily could have turned and landed a decisive blow.

However yet again, she did nothing.

The brown-haired Persona user was given ample time to retreat.

'There it is again,' Queen thought, her eyes narrowing skeptically. 'If she'd made a move just now, then I'd be knocked out of this fight until Ann or Ren could heal me. She has to know that, so then why…?'

"Medusa."

The blank utterance of the gorgon's name tore the former Shujin student president back to reality. A blurred aura of purple energy formed the beginnings of a psychic attack, and though it had still yet to fire off, it was still a hit she knew she couldn't afford to take.

Thankfully, she wouldn't need to.

"Carmen!"

A massive wave of fire slammed into Medusa and broke her focus, thereby cancelling out her attack. The ember-covered smoke that resulted came with a brief lull in the fight, which Ann then took full use of to come to Makoto's side.

"Thanks," said an appreciative Queen.

"Just paying you back for earlier," Panther replied.

"Touching."

Yumiko's voice caught their ear as she approached through the ashen cloud with her Persona following just behind. Her body was covered with mild burns, though they were already starting to heal automatically as she stepped forward.

"How the hell can she shake that off so easily?!" Panther whispered to herself, clear frustration in her voice.

Yumiko gestured a knife towards her, saying, "Let's not waste time wondering about that, shall we? Better to just get this over with."

Despite her words, the red-clad woman made no move against the pair of Persona users, and for the first time since the fight had begun, everything was still.

It was in that moment of stillness that both Ann and Makoto were finally able to stare deeply into the raven-haired woman's eyes. It was in that meeting of flawless blue, captivating red, and hypnotic green that the two young Persona users were finally able to understand.

Beneath the surface of Yumiko's serpentine eyes was an abyss devoid of hope. Within it, she alone stood perfectly still, surrounded on all sides by walls she'd long since given up on breaking because it seemed that no matter what she did, they simply wouldn't go away. She wanted nothing to do with the situation she was in, and yet she was powerless to free herself of it.

They knew those very eyes because they'd seen them before. They'd each seen them in the mirror countless times not too long ago, after all.

Yumiko abruptly started to charge the pair yet again, and though she had her knives at the ready and moved with Medusa in tow, neither Ann nor Makoto moved a muscle. As if they simply knew what one another were thinking in that moment, they let their arms rest at their sides and dropped their stances entirely.

At first, the vipress thought it was a feint. It had to have been—since of course if they didn't bother to block her attack, they'd lose their heads in a heartbeat. However, when the cold steal of her blades were inches away from their throats, they still did nothing. She froze and stalled her attack just inches before it landed.

"…why aren't you two trying to defend yourselves?" Yumiko questioned.

"…I understand what it feels like," Panther began, her voice soft and sincere.

"Both of us do," Queen chimed in. "You feel trapped, right? Trapped in a role and resigned to the fact that you have to play it?"

"And that no matter what you do, there's just no way out," continued Panther.

Yumiko sighed, hanging her head. "Like I said before, don't waste your breath."

"If you didn't want to hear what we had to say, then why hold back your attack just now?" asked Queen.

"Curiosity," she replied instantly. "And now I'm no longer curious."

Queen stared at her defiantly. "Then by all means, continue."

Those were not words that the raven-haired Persona user had expected to hear. She stared at the two young women and took notice of the determined looks on their faces. What truly stunned her, though, was the fact that she could tell they weren't just for show.

Her bluff having been called, Yumiko stood tall, allowing her arms to rest at her side much like both Ann and Makoto.

"…you're either both incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid. Perhaps even a mix of both," she remarked almost amusedly.

"Let us help you," Queen stated, all but ignoring her comment. "Please, we don't want to fight you, and you clearly don't want to fight us."

In a fit of frustration, the green-eyed woman reached out and grabbed both Makoto and Ann's wrists. Almost instantly, they began to turn to stone with their limbs going numb and the same rocky texture starting to creep up their arms.

"And how exactly are you going to help? What can you possibly do that can fix this? Even in the real world, anyone that so much as touches me freeze up and becomes unable to move. The entire foundation of my being has been changed, and you expect me to believe you can 'cure' me?" Yumiko said, pulling her hands back before she did any real damage. "And let's say by some miracle you did, what would even be the point?! The two people I love more than anything in the entire world were turned into those... those things right in front of my eyes. I watched, powerless, as their bodies twisted in agony, wanting nothing more than to put a stop to it, and yet I couldn't do a thing. Even now, I still can't do a thing. No matter how hard I try, I can't so much as raise a finger against him, nor can I put either of them out of their misery. And to be perfectly honest with you, that last bit was the only reason I led you here in the first place because it's the only way I can see out of this nightmare once and for all!"

"It doesn't have to be that way," Panther replied pleadingly. "I understand that it has to be hard for you to believe, but we're telling you the truth when we say we managed to help one of your friends already."

Yumiko scoffed, "I don't think I'd believe it even if I'd seen it for myself."

A sudden explosion sounded off from the entrance, and one that wasn't caused by Joker as he kept the unending legion of Shadows busy all throughout the room. As Yumiko stole a glance out of basic curiosity, she soon found her eyes shooting wide open in shock. The rest of the Phantom Thieves had entered the room, but alongside them were two people that she'd never expected to see again for as long as she lived, at least not as they appeared before her in that moment.

It was as she was frozen in place that everything was silent. Even the Shadows stood still, likely responding to her will or perhaps her mental state. Lanaya and Eury stepped forwards while everyone else looked on, knowing that this moment was theirs and theirs alone.

At first, none of the three women said so much as a word. In truth, none of them knew quite what to say perhaps because on some level they never believed something like this could have happened again.

"Hey there…" Eury greeted with a shy smile. "Feels like it's been a while, right?"

"Very true," Lanaya added pleasantly.

Yumiko simply couldn't believe her eyes. She started to back away, shaking her head in disbelief all the while. She could hear their heartbeats and see the humanity in their eyes, but it had to have been an illusion or a hallucination of some kind. To her, there wasn't any other possibility.

"This can't be real…" she uttered. "There's no way. Y-You're not…!"

In the blink of an eye, she found the two 'illusions' right in front of her. They reached out and clasped her hands, the sensation of which caught her entirely off guard. Regardless of what she would say to the contrary, her body believed it to be real. She squeezed back on reflex, wanting even that brief moment so desperately to last an eternity. Reality settled in after a short few seconds when the limbs of her two friends began to turn to stone.

She started to pull away.

"You shouldn't touch me. I'm—"

It went without saying that instead of heeding Yumiko's words, both Lanaya and Eury prevented her hands from pulling back and tightened their grip. Even as the feeling left their arms and their hands became nearly unusable, they refused to let go.

"T-That's enough!" Yumiko stammered.

She freed herself from their weakened grips and backed off a fair distance, not wanting to take the chance that the two would fully turn to stone.

Eury looked at her with a sad smile. "At least now you know we're real."

"Though I wish perhaps she'd realized that a few seconds sooner," Lanaya added, playfully razing her stone-coated hand.

"…honestly, you two," Yumiko sighed.

She looked at them with wanting eyes. On some level, she still couldn't believe they were actually standing before her, and yet she couldn't logically deny it. Their voices, the touch of their hands—even their appearances were exactly as they were before that tragic day only a few weeks prior.

Yumiko spoke with curiosity in her voice, "But how can you really be here? What he did to you…"

"I undid it," Oracle stated. The navigator began to walk forward towards the forefront. "And I can do the same for you. That is, if you'll let me."

The raven-haired woman started to piece two and two together. Beforehand she didn't think she could be helped. However, given that now she knew they'd actually been telling the truth, it was more than obvious what they'd want in return.

"I see. And in exchange, I tell you what I know about him, is that it?" mused Yumiko.

"Ideally, yes, but even if you didn't have any useful info, we'd help you all the same," Joker replied.

"As expected. Of course, I'll—" Yumiko began, her eyes abruptly shooting wide open. "Wait, what was that?"

"You heard right," Queen replied, offering a small smile to their once-fierce opponent. "You're a victim in this too, aren't you?"

"And that's reason enough for us to help you," Panther added.

Skull grinned widely. "It's kinda just how we roll, ya know?"

The fact that she could tell they weren't lying surprised Yumiko all the more. There wasn't a person she knew that would have done something like that without wanting something in return. Most would have chalked their kindness up to their youth making them naïve, but she thought differently.

Thinking on it, she should have expected nothing less from the Phantom Thieves.

"I must confess, I'm at a loss for words…" Yumiko admitted, an amused chuckle escaping her lips. "If you can help me, I'll tell you everything, and I mean everything about him. I would do so right now just to spite him, but… circumstances make it impossible."

"It must be a cognitive block that he placed on you, right?" asked Oracle.

"I don't pretend to fully understand it, but yes," Yumiko replied. Her gaze became steely. "If you can break his hold, I swear I'll keep my word."

"That all?" Oracle asked cockily.

The navigator stepped forward so as to get to work, though she wasn't even able to take three steps before several nearby Halberies snapped at her angrily. She was entirely uninjured, but clearly startled.

Oracle breathe a breath of relief upon realizing she was still in one piece. "Any chance you could call off your pets while I get to work?"

In response, a few of the Shadows went in for an outright attack, but a very-prepared Joker and Queen made their move to cut them off. The former's knife and the latter's spiked gauntlets made short work of them, putting a stop to their advance before they got within five feet of Futaba.

All eyes turned to Yumiko in disbelief, though it quickly became apparent that she was just as confused as they were. She tried desperately to get them to follow her orders and yet they didn't so much as budge.

If anything, they were starting to get even more aggressive.

"Something's wrong," Yumiko uttered. "I'm not making them do that. They're not—"

A large pitch-black Eagle swooped into the apex of the tower, dropping off its human cargo with a loud thud. Genzo Hagane, though clearly injured, managed to stand tall in the wake of his landing. His eyes held an ominous look as he slammed the end of his polearm into the ground and faced the other Persona users.

"So close," Skull muttered under his breath.

"Looks like we've got company," Joker stated.

"Ugh, why can't anything be easy just once?!" Oracle grumbled.

The Phantom Thieves moved to intercept Genzo and take him down before he could interfere, but the massive number of flying Shadows moved in their way and blocked off their path. Instinctively, they formed up around Lanaya and Eury, knowing the two of them to be absolutely defenseless should the creatures move in for an attack.

Genzo took notice of the two newly-human women, appearing genuinely surprised to see them. "But you two are… is it truly them?"

Yumiko quickly moved between the tattooed man and her former assistants and cut off his line of sight. She looked at him with a glare sharper than even her knives.

"What are you doing here, Genzo?" the raven-haired woman asked plainly. She scanned over his ample injuries, even figuring out several of his bones were fractured. "You lost, I take it?"

"That I did. They refused to take my life."

"I beg your par—"

One of the nearby Halberies slammed directly into Yumiko's torso. She could feel a thick fluid dripping onto her skin at the point of impact and feared it to be blood, though her vision blurred and her senses dulled to the point she couldn't even force herself to look.

"Yumiko-sama!" exclaimed Lanaya and Eury in worry.

When a bit of her bearings had returned, Yumiko immediately went to observe the wound. To her surprise, however, there wasn't one.

All she saw was a slimly black ichor coating a portion of her body.

"What the—?!"

Several more Halberies followed the first and shot directly into her torso, soaking most if it with the twisted black substance within seconds. As she felt her senses start to weaken more and more with each passing hit, she looked to her 'ally' for some semblance of an explanation, though all she received in response was a look of sympathy; or at least as close to it as the stoic man could muster.

That was when it became clear that what was happening was his doing.

"G-Genzo, you… bastard…!" Yumiko hissed. A sharp pain shot from al corners of her body as she tried to step towards him. "G-Ghhh…!"

"Guys, any time we wanna try making our move?" Oracle suggested.

"And do what exactly?" Fox uttered. "I haven't even the slightest idea of what's happening."

"Neither do I, but I'd bet money taking out Genzo Hagane is our best shot of stopping it," said Joker.

That proved to be needless as a split-second later, the caw of another approaching Eagle sounded off. All eyes were drawn as Yu released his grip on the Shadow's legs and came down on Genzo from the skies with a powerful right hook that had clearly caught him off guard.

The hit sent the former Yakuza crashing to the ground like a sack of bricks, much to the satisfaction of anyone that watched him hit the deck.

"Hell yeah!" Skull cheered, pumping his fist excitedly.

"Nice work, Yu-san!" Mona exclaimed.

"I try," he replied with a shrug.

"Uh, guys… we've still got a problem," Oracle said.

True to the navigator's word, not only was Yumiko Hebiza still in writhing pain, but it appeared to be getting even worse. On top of that, the obsidian sphere that had hovered within the room the entire time started to churn violently—something that the Phantom Thieves knew couldn't have possibly been a good sign.

"You can't stop it," Genzo spoke quietly from the floor. "Nothing can now."

"Stop what?" Yu asked.

When an ear-piercing, agonizing scream left Yumiko's lips, Yu marched directly over towards the beaten Yakuza and grabbed his upper body up off the floor, glaring daggers straight into his eyes all the while.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Yu threatened.

"Ghh!"

"Aaah!"

The abrupt cries came from both Lanaya and Eury, who'd started to shake in much the same way as Yumiko. The Phantom Thieves, unaware of what was happening or how to stop it, tended to them in a panic.

"W-What's wrong?! They're…!" Mona exclaimed.

The two women sank to the floor, and without even the slightest sign of warning, their bodies morphed into the same black substance before it was pulled towards Yumiko like a tractor beam. The Thieves of Hearts reached out desperately at their liquified form, though it accomplished nothing.

"N-No way, what the hell just happened?! They should've been…!" Oracle uttered in disbelief.

A horrific wind forced the navigator to buckle even as panic struck both her and all the others. One by one, all of the Shadows that floated around the tower's apex started to turn into the same tar-like slime before racing towards Yumiko in much the same way. In a last-ditched attempt to at least slow the process down, many of the Persona users stabbed and sliced at the ichor while it was in motion.

Despite their best efforts, it moved forward all the same.

"…It's nothing personal," Genzo spoke. "This wasn't my choice, but it was not my place to argue."

Finally, wave after wave of the black tar shot out from the sphere in the center of the room like a broken fire hydrant. Each of the torrential streams shot towards Yumiko alongside the rest of the ichor that had appeared in the room. Horrible, unimaginable pain afflicted every inch of her body as the substance continued to wrap itself around her. It eventually became so overwhelming that it was as if she were drowning right out in the open air.

Still, she struggled valiantly to fight it off.

"Hang on!" Yu exclaimed.

The Wild Card moved into action, having seen the desperation that in the woman's eyes and knowing full well he couldn't just stand by and watch. In a last desperate attempt at reversing the situation, he grabbed Yumiko's hand in an attempt to pull her out of the twisted ooze with every bit of strength he had left. Joker too was on his way towards his friend's side to offer whatever help he could, recognizing that even if it was a slight chance to turn the tables, it was one worth taking.

But it was pointless. There was nothing either of them could do.

An invisible force shot into Ren and Yu, managing to push not just the two Wild Cards, but also their teammates to the far-sides of the room. The winds continued to rage, holding them in place despite their best efforts to move forward.

It was at that point Yumiko could feel it. She was starting to lose control of her body—starting to lose the ability to resist the twisted blackness that was trying to swallow her whole.

The anger that cried out from the very depths of her soul shattered her mental chains then and there, if only for a brief moment. With what may end up being her last breath, a fire filled her eyes as she spoke the name of but one man with all the hatred that flowed through her.

"SASAKIIII—!"

And then her voice went silent.

The ooze collapsed over her face and took its form around her body in the shape of a sphere that floated into the skies. It began to balloon in size, but that was far less concerning than the raw power that was starting to amass within it.

A panicked Futaba picked up on the exponentially rising energy and wasted no time in warning the others.

"G-Guys, we need to brace for impact! Like, right now!" Oracle exclaimed. "There's no way that much energy can continue to grow without exploding!"

"But—" Panther began.

An even stronger wave of force than prior shot into them like a hammer onto a nail. With the air literally knocked out of them, even those who weren't comfortable with a retreat were forced into bitter acceptance.

"We should try to get to one of the lower floors!" Queen shouted.

"Beats the hell outta stayin' here!" Skull replied, the winds making his voice difficult to hear.

Both Joker and Yu considered staying behind and leaving the others to retreat to safety. However, when yet another pulse slammed into both them and their teammates, their minds were forced to accept reality for what it was.

It was with heavy hearts and clear reluctance that the group of Persona users took their leave with Oracle shielding them as best as she could whilst they headed towards the exit.

Elsewhere, Genzo continued to lay on the ground, perfectly motionless as his eyes lay fixed on the ever-growing raging mass of energy that floated overhead. It was obvious that it was seconds away from erupting, but he didn't seem to care.

'It's odd,' Genzo thought. 'This is the second time that I'm staring death in the face… and yet it feels so much different than the first.'

The more he thought on it as the end approached, the more he started to realize it was because he felt emptier this time around. Perhaps that made sense, though. He'd been a corpse operating on borrowed time since is life was saved all those years ago, or at least that's how he thought of it.

As cracks on the sphere's surface started to show, Genzo closed his eyes in acceptance of the inevitable.

Tower of Torment: Just Below the Apex

Each of the Phantom Thieves alongside Yu were bolting down staircase after staircase as quickly as they could. Thankfully, there weren't any Shadows to stall them like beforehand, but that did them little good when they were still eighty or so floors above ground level.

"Oracle, any idea on how much time we have left?" Queen asked.

"None, sadly," she replied. "Though it'll probably be pretty soo—"

The entire top half of the level they were on tore off before she could finish her sentence. A view of a horrendously dark sky filled with red lightning greeted them, all the while an invisible force started to pull them into the air alongside the rest of the tower that had already been uprooted.

"Keep running!" Mona exclaimed.

They attempted just that, but even the staircase below was ripped apart within seconds, but even if it hadn't, chunks of the tower's lower levels started to shoot into the sky all around them. It was like gravity itself had been reversed and then some.

And it went without saying that the Persona users would soon feel its effects.

Skull felt his lower legs start to be pulled into the sky. "Crap!"

"Everyone, dig into the floor and hold on tight!" Yu exclaimed.

"Easier said than doooooooone!"

Oracle was ripped off the ground and began to fly away against her will, though help quickly came in the form of Panther sent out her whip and latched onto the teen's hand. Still, the mass of energy was relentless. Even the blonde-haired beauty herself started to be pulled away, though she'd be spared the fate thanks to a timely assist from Yusuke.

"Persona!" Fox exclaimed.

Goemon formed in an instant and stabbed its sword into the ground, wrapping its free arm around both Ann and Yusuke to keep them steady while they reeled in their sky-bound navigator.

Elsewhere, Makoto and Haru were sadly no better off than Oracle. Their base weapons and Personas lacked the ability to keep them tethered down, and they too were soon overwhelmed by the force that was drawing everything towards it.

Yu was well in position to save the heiress, and so calling on Yoshitsune, he did so with effortless finesse. He pulled Noir into his arms to keep her steady, and though her face was beet-red, she was nevertheless safe.

Joker raced towards Makoto, his hand ready to rip across his mask. "Gabriel!"

The Trickster leaped up and grabbed ahold of Queen, pulling her close as Gabriel kept them both shielded and anchored. After the successful save, he couldn't stop himself from looking to her with his trademark cocky smile, though there was clear relief in his eyes at being able to save her.

"Don't worry, I've gotcha," said Joker reassuringly. "Just try to hold on tight. This is probably gonna be a bumpy ride."

"R-Right," Queen replied.

With Ryuji and Mona latching themselves down with Zoro, everyone on the floor was secure. Although by that point, it wasn't even what you could consider to be a 'floor' at all. It was basically a large platform being dragged through the sky.

Both the Tower of Torment and the Tower of Strength had been ripped to pieces with their remnants now circling whatever invisible force had destroyed them in the first place. They were starting to move so rapidly around and around like a twister.

"Ugh, not spinning again!" Panther groaned.

A dry heave nearly erupted from Skull's throat. "I think I'm gonna be sick…!"

"Not next to me you're not!" Mona exclaimed.

Thankfully for the feline, they stopped moving shortly thereafter. It was strange, actually. Each and every piece of rubble that was ripped away from the twin towers was now floating around in mid-air, all forming a circle around what appeared to be nothing whatsoever.

"Aw thank god!" Skull sighed in relief.

"Don't be relieved just yet. There's no way this is over," Joker stated.

"He's right," said Queen. "We need to keep our guard up."

She received a few odd looks, but found out why before even asking why.

"So is holdin' on to Joker a part of 'keeping your guard up' or somethin'?" Skull inquired.

Realization struck an instant later and the brunette began to back away, though she did so awkwardly and with clearly reddened cheeks that showed even despite the fact that her mask hid a majority of her blush.

Haru conveniently did the same with regards to Yu, though it appeared that no one took notice on account of Makoto taking up most everyone's attention. At the very least, Futaba didn't, which is all she really cared about.

"In any event, it seems we're safe for the moment," Fox remarked.

"Minus the part where we're floating thousands of feet off the ground!" Oracle quickly pointed out.

The young artist stiffened visibly.

"T-True, but at least we're on solid ground. Large, wide, solid ground…"

Any would-be conversation was put on pause as everyone seemed to notice an odd sound. None of them could quite make out what it was at first, but as time went on, it got louder and louder until it resembled a panicked scream. That brought everyone's attention to a fast-approaching black spec, which gradually started to look more and more like an Eagle what looked to be Yosuke holding onto its leg for dear life.

"Is that…?" Joker muttered.

"Aaaaaaaaa—!"

"Yes, yes it is," Yu answered plainly. "Excuse me a sec."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaa—gwah!"

Yosuke lost the ability to scream when he shot into Yu's welcoming, and thankfully sturdy, arms. Though it knocked the air out of him, he was at least saved a painful and embarrassing fall across the platform.

"There we go," said Yu, helping the brunette to his feet.

Yosuke nodded, giving his best attempt at a smile despite the circumstances. "T-Thanks, partner. I would've been eating dirt if you hadn't—"

"Look out bear-loooooooow~!"

Teddie's frame slammed into Yosuke and effectively turned his body into a landing pad. The two slid across the rocky ground with the brunette taking the brunt of the impact while the aloof bear-like Persona user held his typical smile.

"…yeah, shoulda seen that coming," Yu thought aloud.

"You'll get it next time," said Joker.

"God dammit, Ted!" Kanji exclaimed as he approached, still holding on to the leg of one of the winged Shadows. "I told ya not to let go yet!"

Teddied waved energetically, saying, "It's fine! Yosuke was here to catch me!"

"In what possible way can this be considered catching you?!" Yosuke shouted annoyedly. "And get the hell off me already!"

The remainder of the group from the Tower of Strength made their way down towards the platform exactly as Yu and the others had. Thankfully, their landings had far more grace than Teddie's or Yosuke's, and each of them seemed unharmed for the most part.

Needless to say, seeing them all in one piece was more than a sight for sore eyes.

"You guys!" Oracle exclaimed.

She quickly latched onto her red-headed counterpart, who giggled in response.

"Good to see you too, Oracle," Rise said.

"Not that I ain't glad to see you guys are alright, but uh… what's with using those Shadows to get here?" asked Skull.

"We theorize that those Eagles were stationed in-between the towers acting like a transportation system between the two peaks," Sae answered.

"So that is to say we have no idea whatsoever how it actually worked," Yukiko added.

Skull nodded. "Seems legit."

"It looked cool though," Chie said with a shrug. "Well, for most of us at least."

"I'm sorry, but who was it again that started screaming when we got sucked up in that current or whatever the hell it was?" Yosuke asked with narrowed eyes.

"Still you, bro," Kanji said with a look of abject disappointment.

"It wasn't just me!" Yosuke shouted in protest. "Chie and Teddie did it too!"

"Stop bickering," Naoto interjected firmly. "We have bigger problems to contend with. Namely the red void we're currently hovering over."

"Red void?" Panther uttered confusedly.

The detective gestured towards the nearby ledge, and of course most who hadn't known what she was talking about moved in to feed their growing curiosity. True to Naoto's word, below them was a thick red fog that sparked with the same red lightning bolts that periodically ripped through the skies around them.

"That can't be good," Joker remarked.

"Most likely not," said Yu in agreement.

Oracle hummed in thought. "Well, clearly it's a distortion of some kind. I'll take a look."

She dropped her vizor and went to work, marveling inwardly at the sight of the energy reading. Before she could truly get to work, though, her vision went black. The navigator first thought her instruments were malfunctioning, but given that she could still see the green digital imprints on her giggles, she knew that couldn't have been the case.

"What the heck?" Oracle uttered annoyedly. She began to tinker with her goggles. "These stupid… Work, dammit!"

"Uh, Oracle…" Queen trailed off. "You may want to try looking up."

"Hm?"

Futaba took off her headgear with furrowed brows, seeing that right in front of her was a thick black stalk nearly half the size of the platform on which they stood. Of course she was confused, at least before she realized that it wasn't a 'stalk' at all. It was a thick circular frame lined with pitch-black scales.

She followed the torso upwards, her eyes eventually settling on the head of a monstrously large snake. It's eyes, a deep crimson, stared down unblinkingly at the Persona users, all the while the massive crystalline jade-green horns glowed sporadically on the sides of its head.

Kanji gulped audibly as its tongue hissed in their direction. "That is one big-ass snake…"

"And probably not a friendly one," Rise mused.

"Meh, we've fought bigger. We can take it, right?" Skull mused.

From the depths beneath the platform, two more heads rose up. Though their horns were differing in size, shape, and color, they were no less towering, and no less fear-inducing. Their raspy hisses filled the air and chilled the stormy atmosphere.

"Shit," Skull swore.

The trio of serpent heads pulled away a short distance, opening their mouths wide as their horns began to spark to life. A white static mass of energy began to form in each of their mouths, immediately setting off alarm bells in the heads of its would-be victims.

"Double shit," Yosuke uttered. "We gotta move. Fast."

"Took the words right outta my mouth," Chie grimaced.

Oracle summoned her Persona and began to survey the area from the skies, intent on finding the best path to avoid the incoming attack. It took her next to no time at all, but she feared even that wouldn't be good enough.

"Guys, follow me this way!"

Necronomicon's flashing green frame acted as a beacon for the others who ran towards her everything they had. As they approached the edge, they started to slow and readied to jump across the way, but their eye in the sky was quick to put a stop to that.

"Just keep running!" Oracle shouted. "Trust me!"

The navigator created a bridge of light between the gap using her Persona, allowing the others to cross with ease. She held her position and checked her instruments on the status of the incoming attack, and the sight of the reading filled her with panic. The Persona users weren't even half-way across the bridge, and yet the Megiloans were nearly finished charging. Worse was that their current distance was more than close enough to be in the blast zone.

Yu realized their position and made a play in desperation. "Norn!"

Using a powerful wind attack, he forcefully propelled both himself and his teammates as far away as he could. They shot across the skies, eventually landing on a floating mass of rubble a fair distance away.

No one had a soft landing, but at least they landed in one piece.

Yosuke groaned as he picked himself up off the ground. "A warning would be great next time, partner."

"What he said…" Skull muttered, literally having landed upside down. "Uh, Joker. Little help?"

The triple almighty attacks from the snakes fired off a split-second later, consuming the platform in front of them and most of the surrounding area. A blinding white light spread out in all directions, and even from such a great distance away, they could feel the force of the explosion.

Chunks of rock and rubble tore off from the sides and bottom of the floating landmass on which they stood, and when all was said and done, not a shred remained of the area where the attack had made landfall.

"…okay, never mind. Good call just going for it," said Yosuke.

Each of the serpents began to shift towards them and so they prepared to face them in kind. Things, however, would go from bad to worse as even more heads sprouted from the foggy red mass of energy that lurked below. A total of eight of the beasts had roared to life, each possessing the same jet-black scales and horns of differing colors.

Though the creature's monstrous appearance was a sight to behold, it held a sense of familiarity to both Ren and Yu. Without a doubt, what towered in front of them was the legendary eight headed serpent that even now rested within the depths of their souls as a Persona.

"Yamata no Orochi…" Yu said in quiet astonishment.

Yosuke grimaced. "No offense, but that one is way more intimidating than yours, bro."

"Just a bit," Joker replied, sweat dripping from his temple.

Several of the heads started to inch towards them, their demonic red eyes locking on to their prey as they slithered forward.

"So, uh… which head do we hit to take it out?" Skull asked.

"All of 'em, probably," Kanji mused.

"Try none of them," Oracle abruptly stated.

"I take it you've got something for us, then?" Yu asked.

"You know me so well," Oracle replied cheekily. "There's a nexus of energy at the dead-center of that red fog down below. Its power is coming from there, so if you take that out, then you take it out."

A plan of attack became obvious: take out the heart of the snake and it would vanish. That was easier said than done, however, given that it meant they'd need to somehow make it past eight titanic serpents each larger than most skyscrapers.

"Maybe we can bait them out and create an opening?" Yukiko mused.

"Not likely," sighed Naoto. "Most of the floating debris isn't so conveniently placed that we can fan out like that. At least not without Oracle creating bridges."

"Guys, we need to think of somethin' fast, cuz' those things are comin' in hot, and they look hungry," Skull stated urgently.

"…I think I've got an idea," Joker spoke up, his expression one of deep consideration. "Queen, you think Johanna can handle well enough on these platforms?"

"Yes, but…" She trailed off. Her eyes soon went wide upon realizing what her friend was getting at. "Oh, I see. Well, that should work, but we'll need Oracle to bridge the gaps that Johanna can't jump over."

"You hear that, Oracle?"

"Huh? Yeah, but what are you planning on doing?"

"I'm sure you'll pick up on it quickly," Joker replied. His gaze turned to his fellow wielder of the Fool. "Am I good to leave things to you on this end?"

Yu smirked. "Do you even need to ask?"

With that, the Trickster hopped onto Johanna and sped off with Queen at the helm. Oracle scrambled to follow them in turn, barely managing to catch up to them before they were on the precipice.

The whispered swears Futaba was muttering into the comm channel were soon overpowered by the chilling hiss of Yamata no Orochi's approaching heads. Their fanged teeth bared ferociously as they coiled around the platform, effectively surrounding all of the Persona users that remained.

"Now for the fun part," Yu uttered with a cocky smirk. He gripped his katana and held out his hand, calling forth a tarot card within his palm. "Persona!"

---

"Could you guys try to slow it down just a little?!" Oracle exclaimed. "It's not exactly easy flying right now, ya know!"

A series of explosions erupted from where their teammates that could be felt even from such a distance away.

"Sorry, but you'll have to bear with it, Oracle," Queen replied. "There's no telling how long the others will be able to hold out."

Another explosion of fire and ice sounded off.

"My guess is not long," Joker grumbled.

The brunette revved Johanna's engines and picked up her speed, all the while Necronomicon did the same overhead. They continued to race through platform after platform, climbing the floating piles of rock like a staircase as they moved ever-further into the sky.

"We're almost there, just a few more to go!" Queen said, a glimmer of hope in her voice.

"You'll need to slow down for this next one. I can't make a bridge for that big of a gap on a dime."

"Can you make a ramp instead?"

"Yes, but calculating the angle would be—"

"Don't worry, we trust you," Joker stated. "You've got this, right?"

Oracle gave a firm nod from within the confines of her Persona's cockpit. Even with the near-nonexistent timeframe she was given to work her magic, she created the ramp just as her two teammates approached the edge.

Johanna soared up and across the gap for so long that it was as if she were flying through the air. When physics ran its course, she landed elegantly atop one of the very last landmasses they needed to cross to reach their objective.

"Nice work, Oracle," Queen stated.

"Told you there wasn't any reason to worry," Joker added with a knowing smirk.

The navigator ready to give a sly comeback, at least before her thoughts were torn elsewhere as her sensors picked up a Shadow that was fast-approaching. One of the serpents horned heads was barreling towards them at remarkable speeds and was set on a collision course with the platform that Johanna was just about to jump onto.

"Queen, watch out!"

Makoto took notice of Yamata no Orochi's incoming attack and and pivoted her bike to slow herself down. She barely managed to come to a stop a few inches away from the ledge.

Both of the Persona users watched as the snake's powerful frame slammed into the platform and crushed it to pieces. Chunks of rock and stone flew out in all directions, forcing Makoto to take evasive action.

Injuries from the debris, however, was just about the least of their problems given that their only path forward had just been completely destroyed.

"Dammit!" Queen cursed.

"Maybe we could try another ramp?" Joker offered, though he was clearly uncertain.

"We wouldn't be able to pick up enough speed to push us towards the center, the platform just isn't big enough."

The head of Yamata no Orochi that had cut off their path forward shifted its way towards them, hovering in the air nearby and releasing an aggressive hiss as it stared them down.

"And now we've got that to deal with," Joker sighed.

"Not to be the bearer of even worse news, but we've got more company incoming."

Another of the serpents rose up from beneath the surface, coiling around the opposite side so as to surround both Ren and Makoto. They inched forward and bared their fangs, launching a fire breath attack that began to graze over most of the stony surface.

Queen sped away and evaded as best as she could, managing to barely escape the wide-arching attack. Still, she had nowhere to run, and the snakes were obviously not going anywhere.

"Oracle, is there any other way to get through to the center?" Queen inquired.

"No, not that I can see, b-but I'll try to figure something out! Just hang in there as long as you can!"

'Easier said than done,' Queen thought.

Yamata no Orochi's heads lunged forwards, collapsing on the mass of rock and sweeping across its surface in an attempt to force them off. Queen, now faced with the choice of retreating to a lower platform or be pushed off into the abyss, chose the former.

A bumpy landing awaited them down below, but they weathered it well enough. Sadly, the snakes were by no means ready to give up the grip they had on their prey and were quick to shift their focus towards the lower area.

Queen couldn't help but scowl. She knew full-well that if things continued as they were, they'd just continue to be forced back to square one, and that was even assuming they made it back there in one piece. They needed to come up with something, and fast.

Thankfully, one of them did.

"…I think I've got an idea," Joker abruptly stated.

"R-Really? What is it?" Queen asked in surprise.

"Something both reckless and dangerous. But seeing as how I don't think we have any other choice…"

The Wild Card jumped off of Johanna without warning and leapt towards the dead-center of the platform, placing himself squarely under the intimidating red eyes of the two serpents. Queen stopped and turned around in disbelief, completely at a loss as to what he could've possibly hoped to accomplish.

"Just keep Johanna's speed up and be ready to move, you'll know when!" Joker shouted.

Makoto had no idea what he'd meant, but the truth was that every fiber of her being had long since come to trust in Ren. He'd succeeded against the odds far too many times before her very eyes for her to doubt him now.

Even so, she couldn't help but give a worrying glance before she started to drive away.

"Hissss…!" seethed the snakes, coiling around in circles.

Predictably, the beasts pounced. Their massive, powerful torsos lunged forward with such speed and force that a burst of wind shot out in all directions. They headed straight for the infamous Thief of Hearts, their massive fangs bared as they readied to either swallow him whole or rip him to shreds while trying.

Joker knew he needed to get the timing down perfectly or that was it. He also knew that he needed to reserve enough of his strength to call on the power of The World, meaning that his success then and there hinged on his is ability and his alone. When he believed the timing was right, didn't hesitate for even a second and jumped into the air as the Shadow made its final approach.

The snakes slammed into the rocky surface and missed their prey, though they at least succeeded in shattered the floating plateau in half. The serpents hissed venomously, each furious on account of allowing the Persona user dodge.

Realization struck Queen a split-second later as she watched the aftermath unfold. Knowing she had little to no time to spare, she sped forward, creating a light nuclear attack that popped off from Johanna's engines and effectively allowed her to boost up off the still-cracking ground. She reached a hand out towards Ren as she passed him by, and once he took it, she pulled him onto the back of her bike as they landed on the back of Yamata no Orochi.

They began to race down the thick frame of the scaly roadway, all the while the Shadow itself had still yet to react. It was clear now that all they needed to do was follow the back of the creature down right down to the roots of the energy source from which it came.

"All things considered, I think that went pretty well," Joker said confidently.

Queen gave off a slight laugh of disbelief. "Ann is right. You are so reckless sometimes, you know that?"

"It's part of my charm."

"What part about almost getting eaten by a massive snake is 'charming'?"

"The part where I didn't get eaten, of course," Joker replied cheekily.

"You're unbelievable."

The back of the snake that they were currently riding on began to twist, a clear sign that the head was moving back to try and prevent them from reaching the depths below.

"Hold on tight!" Queen warned.

The two heads of Yamata no Orochi that they'd bypassed were now on the hunt. Their large flexible frames coiled again and again in an attempt to devoir the Persona users on its back, but each time they lunged, Queen was able to expertly keep them out of harms way by switching to another section of the ever-descending scaly runway.

Things were going as well as the pair could have hoped, until out of nowhere a third head appeared. It took its position in front of them as the others were winding their bodies around, which gave Johanna about as little room to move as was possible. Queen knew she only had one recourse, and so with every bit of energy she had left, she willed a powerful nuclear burst to shoot out from her Persona's engine.

The snake snapped its jaws at the pair as they shot over its head, missing them by a mile. It hissed angrily and twisted around in a last-ditched effort to slow them down before they fully got away, though it was too late.

They were already well out of its reach.

Johanna began to fade, its power waning from on account of her wielders fatigue. With her gone, the two Phantom Thieves were in a state of free-fall that sent them straight for the red fog below.

Joker moved through the air towards Queen and pulled her close. It happened so abruptly that she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"H-Hm?" she squeaked.

"Whatever happens, make sure you hold on, okay?"

The sternness of his voice and the steely look in his eyes warded off any lingering bashfulness. She held onto him tightly, understanding just how serious he'd been.

Joker held his hand up to his mask, closing his eyes and focusing to the maximum extent possible. His power began to grow, bringing with it a seat of blue flames that burst into the airs in all directions. Even the red fog itself was pushed back by its presence.

He felt the presence of The World emanate from the core of his being. All that was left was to cry out the name that spawned from his journey's conclusion.

"Satanael!"

---

"Raaaaaa!"

Yamata no Orochi launched a five-headed elemental attack of fire, ice, light, dark, and wind that split off in all directions. The powerful blasts shattered platform after platform, littering the entire area with rubble and debris that raced through the skies like rogue meteorites.

"Yoshitsune!"

"Astrea!"

"Sukuna Hikona!"

"Tomoe!"

The squad of summoned Personas cleared out the incoming shrapnel and protected those that surrounded them, though doing so clearly came at great cost. Chie, Naoto, Sae and even Yu were panting heavily, and the others were no better.

"T-This thing… just doesn't… give up…!" Kanji uttered through strained breaths.

"And nothing we do seems to hurt it, either," Yukiko stated, sporting a rare scowl. "Persona!"

Konohana Sakuya appeared and bathed everyone in its healing light. Yukiko stumbled in the aftermath, feeling her vision blur after the spell was cast. She nearly fell, but found herself remaining stable on account of Chie's help.

"Easy there," said the brunette young woman. "Don't overexert yourself."

"That's something that I believe applies to all of us," remarked Fox.

"I can't disagree," muttered Noir, leaning against her axe as if it were a third leg to get some semblance of a break. "I don't think any of us can keep this up for much longer."

Yamata no Orochi fanned out and opened its fanged mouths yet again, charging balls of white energy indicative that yet another barrage of Megidolans were about to fire off.

"I think it knows that too," Skull grimaced.

A blast of almighty power did erupt, but not on behalf of the multi-headed serpent. From the center of the twisted floating battlefield, a pillar of radiant light erupted and spread into the heavens as far as the eye could see.

"G-Graaaaa!"

Yamata no Orochi recoiled, its heads flying upwards into the skies as its flexible, slithering torsos visibly stiffened. When the light of the almighty power finally vanished, the creature stayed like that for a brief time, until finally they started to go limp.

Black fog began to exude from the demon's body as its serpentine heads fell to the depths below. With its demise, the skies began to clear, and the red lightning that had flashed so sinisterly started to fade.

The sight of it brought relieved smiles to everyone, but none more so than the core members of the Phantom Thieves.

"Thank god…" Panther muttered under her breath.

"That's my man! Waita go, Joker!" Skull cheered.

Mona huffed proudly, "I knew he had it in the bag."

"That fact notwithstanding, I do wonder what happens now…" Fox remarked.

"Meaning how we get down from here?" Naoto guessed.

"Exactly so."

The answer provided itself an instant later when in a flash of light, their surroundings changed. They found themselves once more at ground level, once again surrounded by nothing more than the Shinjuku Metaverse.

"Well, that was convenient," Yukiko remarked.

On that note, Chie noticed their two absent teammates standing just up ahead. "And hey, it looks like Queen and Joker are right over… there…"

She trailed off upon seeing the Persona that floated overtop the duo. The presence it exuded, as well as its appearance itself, had her and many others awestruck.

It was a towering humanoid creature with six obsidian bat-like wings darker than the sky on a starless night. Its torso was adorned by majestic gray and light-black armor, as well as a red sash that strewn across chest, which was held together by a regal golden star. The demon's weapon came in the form of an intricate long-barreled rifle which took place in its right hand, it's clawed gauntlet gripping on to it as if it were an extension of its very body.

Lastly, and perhaps the most notable part of its appearance outside of its wings, were its mask—which took a shining gold color and was lined by two pincer-like horns that protruded from the sides of its head.

"Woah, that thing looks freakin' epic…" Yosuke said in amazement, his jaw slightly agape as he looked up at the twisted marvel.

Yu eyed it analytically. "That must be your 'World', right?"

"Yep," replied Joker. "Also known as Satanael."

"Pretty impressive," Yu remarked.

"That's putting it mildly," Kanji thought aloud. "And the attack it hit that snake with was nuts. You must've blown up half the district with it."

"Probably," Skull said with a proud grin. "Waita blow that thing sky-high, my dude! It's stuff like this that makes me wonder why you don't just use that attack every time we fight. One shot, and bam! All done!"

"Because that's not always a good thing," Joker stated apprehensively, his voice lacking his friend's enthusiasm. "When the blast radius is that big, I can't control who or what gets caught up in it. It's not exactly a comforting feeling to have when you fire off an attack."

Yu nodded firmly. "I feel ya there."

"Glad at least someone understands," Joker replied with a laugh. "It's also pretty tiring, too. I'm not so sure I could—"

"N-Nnghh…!"

The unmistakable sound of a soft feminine groan caught Joker's attention. It seemed as if few others in the group actually heard it, but that didn't matter. He raced off in a hurry in search of the sounds source.

Yu, Oracle, and Rise were the only three that immediately followed while the rest were left confused.

"What the—hey, guys, wait up!" exclaimed Skull.

He looked to the others had shrugged before following suit, assuming that they'd run off for a very important reason.

Up ahead, the Wild Card and the others stopped in place, both hearing and seeing nothing of note. They hoped that the sound would repeat itself again, but all was silent outside of the eerie winds.

"Come on…" Joker whispered, his eyes narrowed as they traced the horizon. "I know you're here somewhere. I wasn't just hearing things."

"That you weren't," said Oracle, her goggles placed overtop her eyes. She gestured towards a nearby rock formation. "Over there, I'm sure of it!"

Without missing a beat, they ran towards the area the orange-haired teen had pointed out. Relief washed over them the second their eyes landed on not one, not two, but all three of the women that had been absorbed into the twisted sphere that created Yamata no Orochi. They were clearly drained beyond belief and didn't even look like they could properly stand, but they were alive nonetheless.

It seemed that the only one capable of speaking was Yumiko, who held the other two closely to her chest to give them to rest on that wasn't rocks and dirt.

"Took you… long enough…" Yumiko quietly spoke through strained breaths, offering a playful smirk. "But b-beg… beggars can't be choosers."

Skull came zooming in with a confused look on his face, followed closely behind by most of the others. "Guys, for real, what are—holy shit they're alive."

"And clearly in need of help," Queen pointed out.

Makoto and Ren helped the blonde and the black-haired teen to their feet, hoisting them over their shoulders. That left only one remaining for Yu to tend to, but to his great surprise, the she held out her hand and waved him off dismissively.

"There's no need," Yumiko stated. "Please just make sure they're taken care of."

Before the silver-haired young man could even ask what she'd meant, a familiar black mist started to breathe off her body. It was faint and far from widespread, but it was a clear sign of what was to come all.

Lanaya's strength returned to her for a brief moment as she took in the blood-chilling sight. She almost lunged forward, only being stopped by Makoto for her own safety.

"Yumiko-sama! What's—K-Khhh…!"

"Please, try to stay calm," Queen said evenly. "Your body is most likely well beyond its limits as it is."

"Listen to the younger Nijima, she's perfectly right."

"B-But…!"

"Lanaya."

There was a firm but tragic acceptance in her voice that forced the blonde into submission. Lanaya held her tongue and fought her instinct to rush to her side, though it clearly killed her to do so.

"…you were the core, weren't you?" Yu said in realization. "You were what was holding together that distorted space."

"Yes," Yumiko simply answered. "As soon as the towers disappeared and this section of the city went back to normal, I knew it was over. I only wish his control over me washed away in my final moments, but it seems my strings still haven't been cut."

A sadness fell over the airs of the conversation. Even those that didn't fully understand the circumstances could see the weight of the moment written all over Lanaya's face as tears began to fall from her amethyst eyes.

There was one among them, however, that remained perfectly calm on account of knowing that here was still perhaps one small sliver of hope. Futaba stepped forward and knelt at the red-garbed woman's side.

Yumiko blinked confusedly. "What are you—"

"Saving you," Oracle interjected. She frowned, uncertainty clear in pits of her brown orbs. "Hopefully."

She touched her forehead together with Yumiko's and, as was traditional, her vision faded. The dark, cold abyss awaited her on the other side, and yet again the sensation of it made her skin crawl.

Still, Futaba fought off the discomforting feelings that gnawed at her mind and pressed forward as quickly as she could. She understood that if Yumiko was fading away in reality that she herself didn't have any time to waste.

'Come on, hurry up! If I don't—'

That you would abandon me… unthinkable.

The sound of the voice this time around almost made the young hacking prodigy stop dead in her tracks. In stark contrast to Eury and Lanaya's mindscape, this speaker was one single person. It was a man. The fleeting shadow of a man that spoke directly into her mind.

His voice was pleasant, but beneath its surface was undeniable malice.

If only you'd have stood by me back then, all of this could have been avoided.

The air became thicker, and the darkness that surrounded her even blacker.

So unreasonable. So upset over the death of someone so inconsequential… I can't understand it.

Futaba could hear tortured cries underlaying the voice. She could barely hear it, but she was almost certain it was there.

You even went so far as to take a pathetic, ordinary life over helping me, purely out of spite.

There it was again. It was still faint, but she could make it out. She assumed that it had to be Yumiko Hebiza's voice and tried to reach out for its source. However, trying to do so was like grabbing a lone silk threat in the middle of a tornado.

Nevertheless, she refused to let that discourage her.

But don't worry, I intend to repay you in kind.

'Got it!' Oracle cheered internally.

The pitch-black scenery changed, and she now found herself in an office building that she'd seen before in the other two that she'd already saved. She knew it had to have been the same place in all three of their mines. This one, though, was different in that it was clearly collapsing in on itself. The walls were disintegrating in batches of black smoke, which was symbolism that took the navigator all of one second to understand.

Oracle noticed her target standing perfectly still in the center of the room and rushed over towards her.

"Hebiza-san, come on, let's—"

Her attempt to grab ahold of the woman's arm ended with her being bounced away by some kind of invisible shield. She landed flat on her ass atop a nearby desk, growling as she picked herself up again.

"God dammit, I do not have time for this!" Oracle muttered annoyedly.

The young hacking prodigy knew that her strength was reaching its limits. However, she knew that there was only one obstacle left that stood in her way, and so despite her fatigue, she gave everything she had into one final push.

Moments later, Oracle's eyes were gazing at Shinjuku from within the Metaverse yet again, though only for a moment. Her vision blurred and she temporarily passed out, falling backwards into Panther's arms.

"Thanks," Oracle groaned, her body limp and her eyes forcibly closed. "Someone, please tell me she's no longer disintegrating…"

A quick glance was enough to confirm that the black mist was gone, no longer exuding off of the raven-haired woman's body.

"It would seem so," Yumiko answered. She flexed her hand, almost in awe at the freedom she felt in that moment. "But more so than that, I no longer feel his influence keeping me chained down. I don't know how you did it, but… thank you."

Lanaya wiped tears away from her eyes, doing her best to regain control of her emotions. "Yes, thank you. I-I… I don't know how we can ever begin to repay you for what you've done."

"I can," Yumiko stated plainly. All ears immediately stood at attention as everyone knew exactly what she'd been referring to. Though it was only a few seconds of waiting, it nevertheless felt like an eternity before next she spoke. "His name is Sasaki; Eiji Sasaki. He's a kingpin that operated underground and out of the spotlight in Shinjuku several years ago, and I'm sure by now you can guess his trades of choice. He was also the man that orchestrated the death of Akashi Nijima and set off the purge. He managed to avoid arrest during that time, though in doing so he faded away into the boredom and obscurity of a retired life. He'd have stayed that way, too, but…"

She began to trail off, her voice going quiet and eyes barely managing to stay open. Whether it was fatigue or something else wasn't entirely obvious.

"Everything okay?" asked Yu.

"Y-Yes, I'm… just…"

Naoto eyed her skeptically. "Here, let me have a look at you."

The detective quickly went to work, checking her pulse and staring deeply into her eyes with the aid of a flash light just to be thorough. She frowned, clearly displeased with what she'd found.

"W-What is it?" Lanaya asked, clear worry piercing through her voice. "Is something wrong with her?"

"She'll live, but she's suffering from extreme fatigued," Naoto answered. "We'll need to get her to a hospital as quickly as we can so she can be attended to properly."

"Not… Shinjuku…" Yumiko spoke weakly.

"Believe me, I wouldn't dream of it," Naoto replied.

Yu knelt down to pick the barely-conscious Yumiko up so they could move on to the nearest exit point, but as she was being picked up, she grabbed his shirt with the last bit of strength that she had left within her.

"Sasaki is… you… care…" Yumiko whispered.

Her voice faded and her eyes closed, leaving the full meaning and intent of her words as unknown. Still, one thing was certain.

They were meant to be a warning.

Yongen-Jaya: Cafe Leblanc, Some Time Later…

Sojiro stood in place, silently watching the shop's TV. He kept the volume on, but not because he cared about what he was watching. He just wanted something to take his mind off of his worry, and he didn't want to have to drink more wine to do it.

He perked up upon hearing the chime of the bell on the entrance. He watched with relief as each and every member of the group of Persona users walked through the door. Though they were all in one piece, they were also clearly tired beyond description.

"Rough night?" Sojiro asked.

"You've got no idea," sighed Futaba.

The orange-haired teen all but slammed down into a booth seat in the next second. Most everyone followed her lead, albeit not in as dramatic fashion.

"Must've really been a hell of a night," Sojiro whispered to himself. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen any of them look this beaten up. "Can I get you guys anything?"

"Yeah, a new body," Yosuke groaned. He massaged his shoulders. "Ugh, that tower had way too many damn levels! I could barely walk by the time we were past floor fifty!"

"And those samurai Shadows just wouldn't let up…" Chie grumbled, sinking down into her seat.

"Consider yourselves lucky," Futaba remarked. "I'd take those kinds of Shadows any day over those Spiders."

Ryuji shivered at the memory. "C-Can we not talk about those things? Like, ever again?"

"I thought 'spiders' were no big deal," Ann said mockingly.

"Not those kinds."

"Then I guess the one about to crawl on your hand is no big deal, too?"

"Huh?!"

The blond-haired young man shot out of his seat in a panic. There was of course no spider, which he realized upon seeing both the table surface and the smug look on Ann's face.

"In her defense, you kinda had that coming," Ren stated.

Makoto nodded. "Agreed."

"You know, I really didn't think the Spiders were all that bad," Haru thought aloud. "I found the giant snake to be much worse."

"I thought it was kind of cute," Yukiko stated with a deadpanned tone.

Everyone proceeded to look at the heiress as if she had even more heads than Yamata no Orochi. She held it together for barely three seconds before she burst out laughing.

"Good grief," Chie uttered with a smile. "How you're in such a good mood after what we just went through is astounding."

Teddie giggled. "That's classic Yuki-chan though."

"I think Yukiko's got the right idea though," Rise said, stifling a laugh of her own. "I mean, we should be happy, right? That was a really big win for us if you think about it."

Most considered it for only a moment before realizing the truth to the redhead's words.

"You're very right," spoke Naoto. "We took down a major base of operations, and though Genzo Hagane is likely deceased, we did manage to secure Yumiko Hebiza's cooperation."

"Nice work on that by the way, Futaba-chan," Kanji said with a friendly smile. "If you hadn't been there, things wouldn't a' worked out anywhere near as well. Talk about an MVP."

"It was truly spectacular," Yusuke remarked.

Under the weight of the proud gazes of her teammates and friends, Futaba couldn't hold back the goofy yet bashful grin that took its place on her features.

"I-I just did what anyone would've done," she replied, rubbing the back of her head nervously all the while. "Honestly, the real MVP is probably Joker, right? I mean, he took out that giant snake in the first place."

Chie shook her head in amazement. "I still can't believe you one-shot the damn thing. That was freakin' crazy!"

"Well, he did kill a god with it not too long ago, ya know," Skull stated, throwing his arm proudly around his best friend. "I mean, we helped, but Ren hit 'im with the final blow."

Off to the side, Naoto was humming as if in deep thought.

"What's up?" Rise inquired.

"I'm just realizing something…" she spoke passively. "I don't think we've ever seen Yu's 'The World' Persona before."

Almost everyone on the Investigation Team was ready to dismiss that comment outright. After all, they had to have seen it before; it just wouldn't make sense for them not to have.

And yet none of them could picture it.

"Wait, no, no, no," uttered Yosuke. "Seriously? No way."

"Well, I know the name," Rise thought aloud. "But as for what it looks like…"

"Actually, it makes sense that you wouldn't have seen it," Yu chimed in, earning a few raised brows. "When I used it on Izamani, you guys had already been absorbed by the fog."

"I feel cheated," Chie muttered. "I'll bet Izanagi no Okami looks totally badass, too!"

"If it's anythin' like Jokers, you're probably right," Ryuji thought aloud. "Oooh, here's somethin' to think about. Which one do you think is stronger?"

The question itself felt weirdly exciting to consider, though it didn't last very long.

"They're probably both about the same," Ren said with a shrug.

"That's my guess too," Yu stated in agreement.

"Wow, you guys can't even let us debate it for even a sec, huh?" Yosuke uttered, appearing deflated. "Such a buzzkill."

Ren chuckled. "In our defense, that question is about as pointless as asking who'd win in a fight between the two of us. I feel like that's just about the dumbest thing you could argue about, actually."

"Couldn't agree more," Yu stated.

"Yosuke-san's right. You two are buzz-kills," Futaba replied. "Would it hurt you to dish out just a little trash talk?"

The two Wild Cards shared an look with one another that betrayed not even the slightest bit of emotion. In perfect synchrony, they turned back to the orange-haired teen.

"I think it might, yeah," Yu answered.

"I'd go so far as to say it could possibly kill us," Ren added.

"Ugh, you two are so—"

Glass shattered from the window at the store's front, cutting Futaba off and scaring most people within Leblanc half to death. Ren was closest to the storefront and stepped forward to see what had happened, with several others who were nearby following out of curiosity.

"God dammit," Sojiro groaned heavily. "Sorry for the scare, everyone. This kind of thing happens every so often. Usually, it's just a random punk kid throwing rocks or something in the streetway. One of 'em gets thrown a little off course, and bam! I'm out a few thousand yen for a new window."

"It's never happened since I've been here," Ren pointed out.

"All that means is you're a good luck charm," Sojiro said, flashing a good-natured smirk. "Or at least you were. Hang on, I'll get the vacuum and some gloves."

The raven-haired teen surveyed the floor, eventually finding the object that shattered the window underneath one of the tables. It looked to be a rock, but it was covered in some kind of paper.

'What the hell?' Ren wondered.

He unwrapped the piece of paper, and strangely, it had just one single word written on it.

"Duck…?" Ren whispered to himself.

As he lowered the paper, something caught his from the now-open hole in the window. There was a man waiting across the street standing perfectly still as if waiting for someone in the shop to notice him. It was in that moment that Ren could see both his cold, lifeless eyes…

And the machine gun he held at his side.

Ren felt a cold chill like no other shoot up his spine and crawl across his skin when the man cocked his weapon. He turned around with everything he had, panic written all over his face.

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN NOW!" Ren shouted.

Those were the last words said before bullets started to fly.

A/N And yes, shockingly, I'm ending it there. Enjoy the next two weeks :P

Explanations:

Sae & Shadow Sae: So as many of you may know, Sae and her Shadow have a bit of a weird relationship in that they interact with one another. The root of this is meant to be because Sae does have a Persona, but she also still hasn't let go of the anger in her heart over the loss of her father. The two are also a bit of symbolism for the scales of justice—two sides perfectly balanced against one another, so again that duality plays a part here as well. I just figured I'd explain this in case anyone was wondering what exactly is the reasoning behind why she is the way she is.

Yumiko Hebiza: Not dead, but if you think she's going to be waking up anytime soon, then the answer is 'no'. Futaba might have freed her, but let's just say not 100%.

Genzo Hagane: Dead-dead. Not coming back, crushed by Yamata no Orochi when it hatched.

Satanael: Had to give him a nice first use in the story, and I'm pretty satisfied with how it went. Getting to one shot an eight-headed snake bigger than a skyscraper is a pretty classy way to hit the ground running imo.

Eiji Sasaki: So now we know the name of the big-bad-evil guy. That'll be the next mountain with Yumiko and Genzo now moved out of the picture.