"What the shit?!" Was all Morooka could yell out before he was hit hard by an electric blast from Izanagi.
He slammed into the big computer screen, with Boudica, Lady Trieu, and Robin Hood following up with fire, wind, and holy magic. The group moved in position for an All-Out Attack. It appeared to be an easy kill, even easier than Yu dropping the Megido Bomb in the airport. But appearances could be deceiving, especially for the buck-toothed Morooka. He let out a roar just before the weapons came into contact with him. The sudden explosion of energy forced everyone back, and Morooka's form began to melt into a puddle of tar, and then reformed itself into a giant, fat, elephant man with a single eye and a giant curved blade in his hand.
"I ain't gonna go down like a total pussy, you little bitches!" Morooka yelled, slamming his stomach with his hand and launching a purple wave of energy at the group. The four let out screams of pain, the energy impact feeling like being hit with a thousand hands. Morooka charged, and Akechi summoned Robin Hood to cast holy magic, but the general didn't even slow down from the impact. Morooka ran over Akechi and performed an elbow drop, the impact landing square on his chest. Morgana pelted him with several slinger balls, but all this did was anger him. She pulled out her scimitar and dueled him for a short while, emphasis on 'short'. Morooka hit her with a powerful right hook, forcing her body to turn around, and when her back was exposed, he slashed it with his blade.
Shit. Barely two minutes in, and he already incapacitated Carmen and Ace.
Yu summoned Jack Frost, hurdling ice at him. The cold slowed the general, but little else. Shiho assaulted him with fire, also with little effect. Yu switched Personas, this time going to Andras, who pelted wind attacks at the monster, again to no avail.
"What the hell is this guy made of?!" Shiho yelled as she fired her SMG, the bullets seeming to be like sticky darts to him. Yu summoned Izanagi, and not even his lightning could get the general to yield. Morooka began to assault Shiho, and the girl was doing everything she could to get away from his flurry, but she was dangerously close to being backed into a corner. Yu fired his machine pistol, but nothing could seem to get his attention off of Shiho. He was almost out of options, there was only one other thing he didn't try.
"Succubus!" Yu yelled, the demon heeding his call a little too quickly.
"Mudo!"
Morooka finally had Shiho cornered, and raised his sword to cleave her in half. Suddenly, a straw doll appeared in front of him. He stopped mid swing as a needle began to poke into the doll, making his eye narrow.
"Is this thing supposed to kill me?" Were his last words before the doll exploded, killing him.
Yu grabbed his knees and started panting. That was the closest he'd come to being killed since Akechi awakened his Persona. He looked over to Shiho, who gave him a meager thumbs up, also breathing heavily. He turned to Morgana and Akechi. Despite her serious back injury, Morgana was alive, and Akechi was beginning to get up, coughing up a storm from the elbow drop. Yu gently tapped Morgana's cheek to get her to respond.
"She's out cold. And that means we lost our medic." Akechi pointed out between coughs.
"Hold on, I think I can patch her up." Shiho replied, summoning Boudica.
"Dia." She said calmly, mending the carved skin until it was mended, the only trace of it being a nasty scar that ran from her shoulders to the bottom of her back. She let out a pained groan as her eyes fluttered open.
"Owwww."
"You alright?" Akechi asked.
"Yea, I am. I'm guessing we won."
"You'd guess correctly. Ace, help her up and support her." Yu ordered.
"Of course."
Yu walked to the pile of ashes that used to be General Morooka, and saw something shining in the pile. Pulling it out, it was a golden key, one with the Shujin emblem on it. He looked back at his team, now able to stand on their own two feet thanks to Shiho's magic. Yu nodded as they walked over to him and looked at his phone. According to the map, there was an elevator in the room, one that would take them straight to the basement of Kobayakawa's mansion. It didn't take long for him to find it, and soon, the team was flying up to the mansion.
"Alright, let's get in the mansion, find a Safe Room, and leave. Everyone think you can last that long?" He asked as they continued to ascend.
"I think I can last a little longer. I can feel us getting closer to the Treasure. This key is supposed to unlock the room that holds it, and after that, we're ready to give him a change of heart."
"I'm with Carmen. My body may be bruised, but this is the closest I've come to stopping Kobayakawa, and I don't intend to stop now on account of an upset stomach." Akechi added.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Boudica and I are seeing this through to the end." Shiho affirmed.
Yu smiled as the elevator doors opened. Peeking through, he saw that there were no Shadows. But there was a door that shimmered before returning to normal. Stepping into the Safe Room, the group immediately took seats to get a quick rest.
"Carmen, you say we're only one step away from the Treasure, but just how big is that step?"
"Well, it depends on this mansion's size. Cognitive Akechi said that this place is Kobayakawa's most heavily defended area. The Shadows here will be stronger, no doubt, but I can sense the Treasure more clearly than before."
"The mansion's size." Yu mumbled as he pulled up his phone again. There were three floors, and one giant spiral that led up to one last room at the top of the volcano. He gave a small nod to his teammates, the signal that break time was over.
After they were out of the Safe Room, they immediately went upstairs, to what was without a doubt, the lobby of the mansion. The floor and pillars were made of flawless marble, the furnishings were expensive, and looked very comfortable, with two massive doors carved from oak wood acting as the main entrance. A painting of Kobayakawa hung proudly on a wall directly across from the front door, with a massive chandelier hanging overhead. There were two balconies, one on the left and right, and the one on the right had a patrolling Shadow. Waiting for him to leave to a nearby room, the group took the left balcony, only to find it lead to a massive library. Rows and columns of books went as far as the eye could see, and their only direction was a single sign that said 'Welcome to the Archive of Secrets! Please don't remove any books without President Kobayakawa's permission!'.
"This library… represents the collective amount of secrets he has?" Morgana asked.
"It'd be more accurate to say that every book probably represents a piece of blackmail, but yes." Akechi answered.
"There's so many. And these secrets are used to hurt each student they came from." Shiho said in horror.
"And I wouldn't be surprised if it extends to Shujin graduates and faculty." Akechi pointed out.
"This place will burn by the time we're done. Come on, let's see what we can use here." Yu ordered, activating his Third Eye. For a moment, they found nothing, so Yu went to the second level and saw a book glowing and out of the bookshelf. He picked it up and saw the title 'Work in Progress: Yu Narukami.'
"Huh. Looks like those who haven't completely bowed to him are referred to as 'Works in Progress'. Let's see how many of these we can find." Yu said, turning around when he heard the library door open.
"Command, this is Secret Service Agent 45, what is it?" A Shadow asked.
"This is Command, General Morooka is nowhere to be found, so we assume that rebels have managed to infiltrate the mansion. What is the President's condition?"
"Alive. Proper security measures are in place. Status of other Secret Service agents?"
"Alive. Proceed with caution Agent 45. If they got past the General, they are very dangerous indeed."
The Shadow cut off the radio and began to start walking up the second floor, looking for the Work in Progress book, and potential intruders. It found neither as the group jumped down to the first floor behind its back, landing silently and walking out of the library. Using the chandelier as a makeshift bridge to the other balcony, they entered what was looked like a study, with a single bookshelf that was curiously missing a single book. Yu walked up to it and inserted the book with his name on it. The sound of cogs and gears were heard inside the walls could be heard, and the bookshelf soon moved to the left of the wall, revealing a secret passage.
Once they stepped through the passage, the group suddenly felt very, very toasty. And it didn't take long to find out why; the passage led to the inside of the volcano's chimney. Down below, they saw the lava, and the smoke that spewed out almost choked their lungs. To their right, they saw a ramp going up to another level. Desperate to get out of this hot, toxic area, they ran up the ramp, and it ended at a lever, that once pulled, revealed another hidden passage. This time, it lead to a balcony that overlooked a pool. A really big pool that was being patrolled by two Shadows.
"Hey guys, think you can take on those two without me?"
"Maybe. I'd feel better if you were with us." Akechi replied.
"Why do you ask? You're not feeling tired are you?" Morgana asked.
"No, it's just that I have a sneaking suspicion that whatever unlocks the next secret passage is in that pool. Just thought we should divide and conquer."
"Alright. Besides, if you do find yourself incapacitated for whatever reason, it'll be good to know that we can handle ourselves." Morgana agreed.
"Ok then. You guys deal with the Shadows, I'll see if I can't find whatever opens the next door." Yu said as Akechi went to the closest Shadow and slashed it across the back, forcing it to transform. The second Shadow transformed and joined the fray, Shiho and Morgana calling their inner selves.
Yu activated his Third Eye and saw something shining in the pool; specifically, the deep end. He dived in and started to swim. It wasn't the size of a private pool, but a public one, one that that had a deep end of about 30 feet. He kept diving, and diving. The pressure was starting to build, he could hear his ears start to pop, his skull feeling tighter and tighter. He knew he couldn't dare to risk going any deeper, lest the pressure do a number on him, but he had to get whatever was at the bottom of the pool.
Tearing off his mask, he sent Izanagi to retrieve the object, hoping that the Persona would be able to get it before he had to come up for air. Izanagi started to fumble around, and Yu found it harder and harder to both use the Third Eye and materialize Izanagi at the same time. He involuntarily opened his mouth, releasing precious oxygen and filling up his lungs with water. That's when he felt Izanagi touch something metallic, and he ordered the god to pick it up immediately. With whatever it was secured, Yu began a frantic swim up to the surface, accidentally taking another gulp of water. His vision was starting to become blurry, and his vision started to fade. With his last conscious effort, Izanagi grabbed him and hurled him to the surface of the pool like a torpedo.
Yu let out massive gasps of air right as he finally escaped, and saw his team finish off the last Shadow. He pulled himself out and forced himself onto dry land, dropping the item Izanagi put in his hand. They ran over to him as soon as they saw him.
"Seeker! Are you alright?" Shiho asked, kneeling down to him as he hacked up water.
"I'm fine. Got the thing." Yu said, pointing to what he dropped.
"It's a gem. Sapphire to be specific." Akechi pointed out, holding it up.
"Pretty…" Morgana drawled in awe.
"Let's find what this goes into." Yu said, pulling himself up with Shiho's help.
The four walked over to the unopened door and saw the face of Kobayakawa carved in it. One of his eyes was a sapphire, but the other eye was just an empty socket. Inserting the gem into that socket, the door slid up and the group walked through the now revealed passage and found themselves back inside the volcano, with another ramp going up. Just like before, the ramp led to one last passage, the final one, according to the map. But as they neared the end, they heard a voice.
"Troops, you are the best of the best. The elite!"
The group exited the passage and saw Shadow Kobayakawa himself delivering a speech to dozens upon dozens of Shadows. The Tricksters were high above on a balcony, crouching to stay out of sight while Kobayakawa continued.
"I have heard troubling reports that the rebels have managed to spread terror to every corner of our mighty nation! Worse yet, there have been rumors that they have managed to infiltrate this very mansion! Make no mistake men, these are dark times. But I have faith! Faith that the righteous will prevail! That my might will crush these rebels, just like before."
The group moved along the ledges, not even registering Shadow Kobayakawa's words. They made their way to the final locked door, made of simple oak, and one lock in the center. Pulling out Morooka's key, they inserted it and turned, a satisfying clicking was heard as Shadow Kobayakawa finished his speech.
"We will unite! We will stand together! And I will wipe out all who oppose me!"
Yu rolled his eyes as he opened the door to the final passage. But it was different from the others as there was another set of doors inside the wall. One that simmered. Stepping into the Safe Room, Yu looked at his phone and saw that it was bookmarked as "Volcano Peak". He quickly walked back out and the four continued their infiltration. Once they were back inside the volcano, the ramp didn't start and stop like the others. It spiralled up and up for what felt like miles. By the time they reached the top, they were all out of breath, each panting heavily.
"We… made… it." Yu wheezed out.
"Yea… it's… very… beautiful." Shiho admitted.
She wasn't wrong. The view alone was worth the hike. From the domed shrine, one could see not just all of the mansion, but the entire ocean and the city of Shujin Nation. The setting sun gave a glowing color to the ocean, and the city was illuminated in a way that looked straight out of a travel brochure.
"Look. Is that… the Treasure?" Akechi asked, puzzled.