Previously, in Prince of Nightmares, Crow of the Phantom Thieves defeated Doma of the Fearsome Four in single combat. After obtaining the orb of the sun, their next objective was to find the orb of rain. A chapel up ahead was locked, much to their lack of surprise. Skull and Fox were the ones who tried to muscle the door open, but it wasn't working. "Damn. No dice."

"So the front door isn't an option." Crow crossed his arms. "When is it ever?" Honestly, the front door very well may not exist for them.

"Then we'll have to go around." Joker was glancing around the area to see if there was a viable route for them. He noticed a pathway up along a different building. "Oracle, how does that route look?"

"It should loop us around." Oracle confirmed. "Just be careful, there are definitely Shadows lurking about."

"What else is new?" Crow shrugged.

As they started to make their ascent, it was Sophie that gave Crow a look of concern. "Crow, are you alright?"

"Of course I am." Crow responded bluntly. He wasn't sure why Sophie was concerned with him.

"Your power sounds like it takes a toll on your mind and body. So I was wondering if it didn't take too much of a strain on you." Sophie's voice was so innocent and genuine. Truthfully, it made Crow uncomfortable. How was he supposed to respond to something like this? Sophie was a completely unbiased person in a group of people that had seen him at his worst in more ways than one.

"…." Crow remained silent, not answering for a moment. Sophie leaned forward a bit, wondering if he was choosing to ignore her. It wasn't that…he just didn't know how to respond to something like genuine concern. "You don't have to worry about someone like me. I've been through worse. That was more akin to a warm up."

"I see…" Sophie bounced alongside Crow. Violet was watching, pursing her lips a bit as Sophie sought interaction with the most distant member of the Phantom Thieves. Sophie's curiosity about the heart must have led her to wandering towards Crow.

"Hey, so…" Skull started to speak. "This place is treating us like we're RPG members, right? How 'bout we decide each other's job classes? Y'know, like Warrior and Priest and stuff?"

Something right up Oracle's alley! "Well, Joker's definitely the Hero. Queen's the Martial Artist, Mona's the mage, I guess…"

"I believe I fit the criteria for the Tactician." Dragon said with a firm nod. "Fox is most certainly the Sword Master, Panther is…"

"Hey, what about me?" Skull cut in.

"You're the Jester, Skull. Done deal." Oracle was blunt.

"The Jes-!? But why!?" Skull deflated.

"Um. Does that mean my job would be Company Manager?" Noir tilted her head. She wasn't exactly following the conversation, so she was taking the term 'job' literally.

"I don't think that's what they're talking about…" Panther let out a sigh.

"I like being the Sword Master." Fox felt quite proud that his talents with the blade were recognized.

"Can we focus?" Crow asked.

"Oh, lighten up a little." Joker said with a faint chuckle. But this just made Crow groan in response. Crow was definitely annoyed and just complaining for the sake of it, but it was something they were used to.

"This just means everyone is in high spirits." Violet said.

Queen suddenly stopped everyone. As they were stealthily climbing their way along the back of the Rain Shrine, numerous spotlights flashed along the walls. "Stop! Spotlights! It looks like the enemy is finally aware of our presence…"

"There is no surprise there. After all, one of the Fearsome Four have been defeated." Dragon said while stroking her chin. "I imagine they realized that Doma was no longer responding to their call, so they must know that another batch of Chosen Heroes has arrived to claim the life of the Demon Lord!"

"Yeah. That." Panther could barely follow what Dragon was saying when she was like this. But she could still figure out most of what she was saying. "But we can't turn back now."

"We'll just have to be more careful as we go along." Joker said. Slipping past a few spotlights was hardly a difficult task; they just had to move carefully since they were a big group. A few of the others lingered behind not make the task more difficult. They eventually managed to make their way into the Shrine of Rain from above, where a blue orb was waiting for them on a pedestal. "Is that it?"

"It appears to be that which we seek." Dragon nodded. Her gaze drifted to a pile of swords then stabbed into the floor. It made her frown. She'd seen a lot of those as they wandered through the Jail. "But do not forget, the guardian of weather is waiting for us to take this orb. No doubt planning some sort of ambush…"

As Dragon spoke, Skull was already taking the orb. "Yeah, but we gotta take it, right?" He snatched the rain orb. The moment he did, the downpour outside stopped. "Hey, the rain stopped…"

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice boomed out from behind them. The group turned around, only to see a golden Snake King lingering in front of them now.

"There it is!" Dragon pointed. "The weather guardian! He has no intention of allowing us to swipe the orb of Rain so easily!"

"So this is what we're dealing with…" Crow was readying his sword.

The Snake King pointed his spear forward, lightning charging from the tip of the weapon. "Intruders, BEGONE!" A potent blast of lightning exploded forward towards the Phantom Thieves. It looked as if it connected for a second, but as the smoke faded, Dragon was seen with Bella's shield before her. She used her Aegis to block it.

"I felt the sting of that one…" Dragon admitted, but she shook it off. "A few of us should distract him, while the others slip away to get the orb of sun and rain to their destinations! We can simply catch up with one another at that location!"

"We have the numbers to make that work." Joker nodded in agreement. The pros of having such a large group is that they could divide the work to get things done faster. A situation like this was the perfect time to do so.

"Leave it to me!" Skull jumped forward, tossing the orb of rain over the Snake King, where it was caught by Dragon. He could easily tank lightning based attacks with no issue. Panther, Violet, and Queen also decided to step into the fray.

"Count me in!" Panther said while stretching her whip. She was getting a little antsy watching the others fight; she wanted to pull her weight too! Especially with Dragon and Fox leading the charge of understanding the Jail – this just left the others to do the fighting!

"I wish to offer my assistance as well!" Sophie nodded.

"I'll make sure we wrap this up quickly." Queen told Joker and the others. They all started to run ahead, while the Snake King turned his attention to them.

"Where do you think…!?" Before the Snake King could finish, Queen lunged forward with a leg extended. The Snake King narrowly avoided this impact by slithering to the side, but as the others left the Rain Shrine, Queen slid to a halt in front of him. Panther, Sophie, and Skull lingered behind him.

"We're the ones you have to deal with." Queen told the Snake King.

"But don't worry, we'll make it quick." Skull said with a wide grin.

"So these are the new chosen heroes that dare stand against the Demon Lord…" The Snake King shook his head. "I will not allow you to pass!"

"…All of the characters are starting to sound the same. Or is that just me…?" Panther looked to the others, who shrugged. It wasn't just her. Natsume's characterization was just one of many parts of his writing that needed improvement…

.

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As for Joker and the others, they made their way to the door that required both the orbs of Sun and Rain. They were confident that Skull and the others would finish their battle and catch up with them. So in the meantime, they were going to work on obtaining the first 'Proof' from the tower. Dragon inserted the orbs into the door, and it began to vanish. "Ah ha. With sun and rain together, it clears the path ahead!" And up ahead? A Prison Keep.

"Finally, we're making some progress." Crow felt like they were doing a lot of running around for little effort. The moment they stepped inside, however, a woman in a red dress approached them.

"Hohohoho! You've done well to make it this far, chosen heroes!" The laughing woman stated.

"Another one…" Crow rolled his eyes.

"I…I guess this is another one of the Fearsome Four…?" Violet looked to the others. These characters didn't really stand out from everyday people. Doma looked like just a regular guy, after all.

"That is correct!" The woman said with a haughty laugh. "I am indeed one of the Prince of Nightmares' Fearsome Four! You may call me Ante! If it's proof you're after, you'll have to defeat me! Still, you would do well to avoid mistaking me for a pushover like Doma!"

"…Doma? Who was that again?" Noir tilted her head. She completely forgot his name, even though she watched Crow completely obliterate him. Doma himself never made an impress, he was more so remembered for the fact that Crow destroyed him.

"The one I killed." Crow stated.

"The first of these Fearsome Four creeps." Oracle groaned. She was pretty tired of this place already. Listening to this dialogue was a drag.

Ante giggled. "I'll let you in on a little secret…Doma was the weakest amongst us of the Fearsome Four! My power far exceeds his! Your end is nigh!" As Ante said this, she transformed into a Lamia, while numerous Shadows also spawned in to support her.

"Unfortunately for you, we were aware of this!" Dragon pointed towards Ante dramatically. "No matter your level of strength, the Phantom Thieves shall prevail and take the Proof that you so desperately attempt to defend!"

"You're no match for the chosen!" Joker added.

"Oh great, it's spread over to him now too…" Crow said while rolling his eyes.

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Back in the Shrine of Rain, Panther, Skull, Sophie, and Queen were still fighting against the Snake King. It was a fast and slippery opponent, slithering past a few attacks with ease, much to the annoyance of the four fighting it. "Damn, this thing won't just stay still!" Skull grunted in irritation. The snake King curled its lower body up like a spring, only to violently lunge at Skull with its sharp tail pointed forward. Skull's eye's widened and he crossed his arms, flying back from the impact.

"Skull, are you okay!?" Panther asked worriedly. Her mask burned away and she summoned Celestine, flinging a potent fireball towards the Snake King. This was avoided, which did make Panther grit her teeth. They were fighting a slippery and elusive foe for sure.

"I'm fine…" Skull shook his head to get it back in the game. "That was nothin'!"

"Take this!" The Snake King swung his scepter forward, a shockwave of lightning towards the four Phantom Thieves.

"Incoming!" Queen warned while summoning Agnes. She revved the engine and charged towards the incoming shockwave, leaping over it with her Persona, while Panther and Sophie dodged to the side. Skull could tank the attack due to his elemental affinity, so he was charging in behind Queen. "Here we go!" Queen intended to slam Agnes into the Snake King, but it was capable of blocking this charge with its spear. Figuring this would happen; Queen leapt off of her motorcycle and twisted her lower body, her heel colliding with the cheek of the Shadow. Her attacks were infused with her nuclear element, so this gave her kick extra oomph.

"Gah!" The Snake King wasn't able to avoid this and slid back across the floor. Before it even had a chance to recover, it saw Skull summon William, who rammed into it at full force! Two attacks back to back like this caused the Snake King to fall over, grimacing from the impact.

"There we go!" Skull grinned. The Snake King was quick to retaliate, quickly flinging its body around wildly. This struck the four and threw them all back due to how sudden it was. "Augh!"

"Ouch…" Sophie shook her head. "Damage sustained, but minimal!"

"Yeah, that did hurt but we're okay…" Panther shook her head. "We can't waste too much time with this guy."

"Leave it to me!" Sophie said while summoning Pithos. The mysterious boxes flew around Sophie before floating above her, all of them pointing towards the Snake King. Pithos released laser-like beams of light towards their target. The Snake King did try to avoid these, but it was too fast and it was grazed by the lights and slowed down.

"Take this!" Panther added onto the pressure. With her blazing whip, she attacked areas where the Snake King tried to escape to. Each crack of her whip created a pillar of flame that severely limited the escape routes of the Snake King.

"NOW!" Skull attacked first, leaping with his mace and slamming it onto the Snake King. This disoriented it briefly, which allowed him another follow up in the form of homerun swing! This one knocked the Snake King for a loop. "It's time for the Fist of the Phantom Star!"

"You'll be next!" Queen growled in annoyance before striking the Snake King with a flying kick. She turned and began a barrage of punches at high speed, each one hitting their mark with ease. The final punch was a striking uppercut that blew through the Snake King, sending it collapsing on the ground in a heap before it vanished, defeated. "Hmph."

"Whoa…!" Sophie's eyes lit up from the combination from Skull and Queen. "That was amazing! What was that?"

"Whoa, it's been a while since we pulled that off, huh?" Skull was pretty happy about it, though. He got elbowed by Queen in the side; not enough to hurt but enough to get her point across.

"That was a Showtime." Queen explained to Sophie. "Those are moves we can pull off with another member. Truthfully, I wasn't sure if we would be able to do it again since our last time in the Metaverse, but it felt natural pulling it off."

"I wonder if I could do that…" Sophie thought aloud. It took a lot of coordination, something she wasn't sure she had with the others just yet.

"Sure you can." Panther gave Sophie a supportive smile. "But we can talk about that later. I'm sure the others are waiting for us!"

.

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Even though Ante said she was stronger than Doma, she went down no harder than he did. Noir was the one to deliver the finishing blow, slamming her axe down onto the member of the Fearsome Four with all her might from above. This blow was more than enough to send Ante crashing into the ground violently. Noir landed and adjusted her hat, tilting her head. "Oh…is that it…?" She looked a little disappointed. The others were finishing dealing with the other lingering Shadows just in time to see Noir decimate Ante.

"Noir did not waste much time." Fox was hardly surprised. Noir made quick work of Ante.

"Haha…Well done, chosen heroes…I admit defeat…" Ante said with a wistful laugh. Her body was starting to fade away. "I will open the door for you. I wish you luck on the rest of your journey…farewell, my darling…"

"Uuuuuuugh." Oracle groaned loudly. "He's doing one of those sentimental plot threads…"

"I think we can just ignore this." Crow didn't even want to give that the attention it hardly deserved.

"I do think this plot could have used a bit more build up. It did spring up out of nowhere." Dragon nodded. "I believe it is a tactic to make the chosen heroes look bad for defeating Ante, however, I cannot say I had any attachment to her to begin with. She did not stand out much."

"I would agree to that sentiment." Fox nodded.

"These two are so weird." Oracle shook her head. It wasn't an insult; Fox and Dragon just continued to surprise her. Just then, Panther, Sophie, Skull, and Queen arrived. "Oh, welcome back you guys. You didn't miss much."

"I got to defeat a Fearsome Four member!" Noir exclaimed. "Um. Auntie?"

"…I don't think you need to worry about their names, Noir-senpai." Violet said with a sweat drop.

"Anyway, now that we're all here, let's get that Proof!" Mona wanted to get everyone back on track. They agreed and rushed up the Prison Keep until they reached the top of the birdcage, where the first Core awaited them.

"It felt like a lot of work just to get to this point…" Crow mumbled. Far more work than a Palace...but that was just a silent gripe.

Joker swiped the Core and took a look at it, only to see that it was a book. "…This is just Prince of Nightmares."

"But…why is this here?" Panther was confused.

"This must be a Core, like in Shibuya." Dragon surmised. "Which means that this is something important to Natsume. I suppose this makes sense, considering how popular this book is in Sendai…"

"So if we repeat the process in Shibuya, we should be able to make our way up into the castle." Joker said. "Sounds simple. In that case, where should we be going next?" He looked to the experts: Fox and Dragon.

"The next two Proofs should be located beyond the land of rain." Fox had his copy of the book open, double checking the information present.

"More back tracking, is it? Fine." Crow was already heading down the tower.

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Going beyond the land of rain led the group to the second tower. The way was blocked off by a terminal that Oracle had to hack, but it was pretty easy for her. "Done with no problem!" Oracle beamed, the gate barring the second tower being shut down. "Was this in Prince of Nightmares?"

"I don't think that level of technology existed in the realm. Although I could be mistaken…it must be inspired to when the heroes had to dispel the magic barrier in order to advance." Dragon shrugged her shoulders. "Regardless, our way to the second tower is clear!" She was the one to lead the charge in as well, with the others following behind her. The moment they stepped inside, a man in a suit approached them. The only difference between the appearance of this man and Doma was the blonde hair this one possessed. "Eh?"

"Welcome, chosen heroes!" The man said.

"You must be one of the Fearsome Four!" Noir pointed.

"More like fearsome snore…" Oracle rolled her eyes. She was so over this plot. She's seen bad anime that had more engaging characters than Prince of Nightmares did!

"I am one of the Fearsome Four and servant to the Prince of Nightmares, the great Kuga!" Kuga exclaimed proudly. "I suppose you possess some skill if you were able to best both Doma and Ante…but you are FOOLISH to assume I'd be as easily defeated as them!"

"…" Dragon fell silent.

"What's wrong, Dragon-senpai?" Violet asked.

"It…feels a little samey." Dragon admitted. Getting into the vibe was a little difficult when all of the big bads were saying the exactly same words.

"Either Natsume lacked creativity to vary his characters, or he started copy-pasting." Oracle said.

"You will never defeat the chosen!" Joker exclaimed suddenly. "So hand over the Proof! We're taking it one way or another!"

"Er, yes!" Dragon snapped back into character instantly. "No matter your appearance, we will accomplish what we set out to do!"

"Hah!" Kuga laughed. "You've got spirit, I admit that much! I'm starting to like you. Now then, have at yo-!" BANG! A gunshot rang out and everyone was briefly startled. Kuga blinked, looking down at his chest, only to see a bullet wound in his chest. "Huh?"

"Dude, at least warn us before you do that!" Skull looked at Crow, who had his gun pointed forward. The sound of a gunshot so suddenly startled him.

"I didn't feel like indulging in this wild fantasy." Crow said simply. "They spend all their time grandstanding, it makes them easy targets."

"That sucks the fun out of the confrontation!" Dragon whined. How could Crow do the ONE thing you aren't supposed to do in a story like this!? It wasn't like they were in any real danger. The Fearsome Four were pretty much pushovers…

"I'm not here to have fun." Crow bluntly replied.

"Must you be so callous the whole time?" Noir looked at Crow, who simply shrugged in response.

"Ngh…" Kuga didn't even have anything to say. He just faded away.

"What, no dialogue this time?" Oracle lifted a brow.

"So does this mean we can move on?" Sophie was just taking the events that played out in stride. "Crow's methods were most effective. We conserved energy."

"Well, yes…but I don't think that's what Dragon was hoping for at all." Panther said with a sweat drop. She glanced over to Joker, who also seemed a little bummed as well. "…Or Joker."

"Let's…just keep moving forward." Queen scratched her cheek. It was clear to everyone that Crow had no intention of dragging this infiltration out any longer than it needed to. So with mild awkward tension in the air, the Phantom Thieves ascended up the second Prison Keep to reach the top of the second birdcage. The second core was….

"It looks like a trophy." Noir said. "It says Soukaisha Awards."

"Hmph." Skull scoffed. "Dude prolly got this by cheating, too."

"But look at the date." Queen pointed out. "This was definitely before people's heart's started changing…"

"So…he won this on his own…?" Panther asked.

"I doubt it. You can't win an award just by ripping people off." Oracle shook her head.

"If we're going to understand this situation deeper, it appears we'll have to do some background research when we're done here." Crow suggested.

"Looks like we're slowly making progress." Violet said. "Where should we look next? There's one more core remaining."

"Let's make it quick before Crow decides to do anything else." Noir was absolutely taking a shot at Crow. He let out a noise in response. The others weren't going to argue with this.

.

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The third and final tower. The one that approached the Phantom Thieves this time was an old man. "Hohoho…I've been waiting for you, chosen heroes…I am one of the Fearsome Four and servant to the Prince of Nightmares, Betero…"

"An old man…?" Violet blinked. "Erm…is this right?"

"I wasn't expecting an old geezer!" Oracle taunted.

"Aw…I feel kind of bad." Panther admitted, looking Betero over. "He looks so frail. Like he'd fall over from just a little push…"

Betero laughed at Panther's assumption. "But appearances can be deceiving, can't they!? Despair, for I am the strongest of the Fearsome Four! Your journey ends here!"

"Well, if he wants to fight, we don't have to hold back!" Noir exclaimed.

"Hand over that proof!" Panther said.

"Hmmmm?" Betero raised a brow, then approached Panther. He got very into her personal space, looking her over with a perverse gaze. "Oh…? Ohohoho! My! You're a curvy little thing, aren't you? Ahh…you're a real sight for these tired old eyes…hehehe…"

"W-What…!?" Panther was shocked. First she had to deal with this kind of harassment in reality, but now it was following her in the Metaverse as well!? Could she not catch a break!?"

"…" Suddenly, the air around Dragon shifted and her brow twitched under her mask. Noticing this, the others began to step back slowly.

"…?" Sophie was confused. "Why are we backing up?"

Violet gently placed her hands on Sophie's shoulders to pull her away from the blast radius. "Oh, well…Dragon-senpai doesn't like it when people talk to Panther-senpai like that.' She remembered what happened in Shido's Palace….

"Yeah, that dude's toast." Skull whistled.

"Foolish man." Dragon took a step forward. That single step demanded Betero's attention, and Panther quickly jumped back. She knew what was coming. "I hope you enjoyed that sight, because it will be the last thing you ever see." Her mask burned away, Bella appearing behind her as venomous green gaze burned into Betero's soul. "Begone." Suddenly, she cast Megidoloan. A sudden explosion of almighty magic dropped down on Betero from above, completely and utterly destroying the Fearsome Four member on the spot.

"Whew…" Joker whistled.

"That's about par for the course." Fox wasn't surprised. Nobody was.

"Ngh…." Betero was lying on the ground. "I…I suppose that's the end for me…won't you come visit me in the afterlife, beautiful…?" Even in his final moments, he was looking towards Panther.

"IN YOUR DREAMS!" Panther summoned Celestine to fling a fireball at Betero, which exploded and finished him off for good. "Ugh!" Panther groaned, glancing away with a huff. She was so over this…

"What happened to the fun of it all?" Crow sarcastically asked Dragon.

"The fun of it is not as important as Panther is to me." Dragon said, walking over to Panther to pull her into a hug. Panther returned the hug and needed a moment before continuing on. As far as the fun of this Jail was concerned, Dragon had her fill of it for now.

"Sorry, guys…" Panther mumbled.

"It's not your fault that guy was a pervy douche bag." Skull gave Panther a reassuring nod.

"Yeah, you're not at fault, Lady Ann." Mona shook his head. It angered him that Panther was approached like that! But Dragon took care of it faster and far more efficiently than anyone else could.

This lined up with what Sophie learned recently. When something someone likes is disrespected, it makes them mad. "I see…"

"If you're alright, we can grab the last core." Queen looked to Panther.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Panther could at least hold out until they were finished. So the group ascended the final tower to reach the top of the last birdcage. The final core was within their grasp…

It was a fountain pen. "Okay, that's three pieces of proof!" Mona hopped around for joy.

"Seems this last one is a fountain pen." Fox noted. "Fitting for a writer, I suppose."

"So now we can get into the Overlord's castle, right?" Skull asked, just to make sure he was following this correctly.

"Following the novel, yes." Fox nodded.

"We're finally going to storm the castle." Sophie chimed.

"Hmph, bout damn time…the Phantom Thieves are coming for you, asshole." Skull was ready for a fight.

"Hold on…perhaps we should return to reality first." Queen suggested. "I don't think it's wise to storm enemy territory? We have been here for a while."

"…I hate to say it, but that last encounter made me really tired." Panther frowned. She hated to feel like she was slowing everyone down, but the exhaustion was evident on her face. The only thing keeping her focused on the task at hand was her physical connection to Dragon, since they were holding hands.

"I personally wouldn't mind leaving this place for the day either." Crow threw his opinion in.

"I think it's for the best, Joker-senpai. Everyone's hit their limit. Myself included." Violet admitted.

"What's the call, Joker?" Oracle looked to their leader.

Joker looked over to everyone. While they were okay physically, the plot of Prince of Nightmares seemed to have driven everyone up the wall mentally. Fighting like this was unideal. "Yeah, let's head back for now. We can use the rest and recharge." The Chosen Heroes needed time to recuperate. They could strike at the Overlord when the time was right…!

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Meanwhile, in the Overlord's castle, Shadow Natsume was receiving a report from his retainer. He was getting the news of the happenings of his domain and he did not like the news at all. "So…the Fearsome Four have been defeated…!?"

"Yes…" The man in black was kneeling before his Lord. "Seems they were felled by a group of heroes calling themselves the 'Phantom Thieves'."

"The Phantom Thieves…?" Shadow Natsume's voice quivered for just a moment. He knew that name. He knew what it meant that they were here in his domain. "You mean the ones everyone won't stop talking about? You don't think…" Catching himself, he shifted his tone and his words. "I mean, do they truly believe they're going to change my heart? Heh…ehehehe….ahahahahaha!" The Overloard laughed at this absurd thought. "They mean top topple the Overlord himself? Fools! They're destined to fall, just like all who came before them! This world is under my absolute control! No one is going to take it from me! No matter who's brave enough to try…."