Sendai Jail was filled with gothic architecture, fitted with a golden statute of Natsume at the entrance. "So we've finally made it…" Mona said while pointing ahead. Off in the distance, they could see Natsume's Castle.

"It's pretty gloomy here." Joker said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Once again, the domain reflects who's within…" Fox said while staring ahead with the other.

"The atmosphere here…" Dragon was looking around. They weren't exactly within Natsume's domain yet, but she could sense something in the air. "It's certainly different than that of Alice's…"

"Well, we made it into the Jail." Queen said. "I'd say that settles it: Ango Natsume is our Monarch."

"So him being popular is a total lie." Panther felt a little disgusted with the truth.

"Doesn't he feel any remorse for obtaining his success this way?" Noir asked. "His fans are only his fans because he forced them to be."

"I doubt it." Crow remarked. As one would expect, he was in his Black Mask attire. He had no reason to revert back to the Prince form. "He went so far as to lie about his writing origin to worm his way into the hearts of the populous."

"Yeah, that's just how smug assholes like him think." Skull scoffed. "Anyway, we can't just let it keep happenin'."

"There is a huge tower in the distance. Is that Natsume's castle?" Sophie asked.

"Probably. I smell Treasure, er…" Mona quickly corrected it. It was too much of a habit to say he sensed Treasure. "I mean, Desires."

"Mt. Aoba's over that way." Oracle said. "The main road here should lead us right to it."

"Let us get going then. Not a moment to waste!" Violet exclaimed.

"That's right. We must expose Natsume for the fraud he is!" Fox said. He was more determined than anyone to see this through.

"Right. Let's go." Joker nodded. "We've got a bigger party than usual…so we have to proceed with extra caution." Since Crow was back among their ranks, and with the addition of Sophia, they were dealing with a total of twelve.

"I know how things work. In order to gain access to the Castle and the large Desire at the top, we must first disable the three towers. I recall watching you all work from Alice's Jail, remember?" Crow responded while crossing his arms. "I won't be slowing you down."

"We call them Prison Keeps." Noir corrected.

"…Right." Crow just replied.

"It'll be nice to work with you…." Sophia paused. She didn't know Crow's codename, while the others were just talking with such familiarity.

"Call me Crow." Crow responded. "And you?"

"Sophie. I hope we work well together." Sophie replied with a smile. Crow nodded in acknowledgment.

"Alright. Let's get going." Joker said while leading the way. The infiltration of Sendai Jail was now ready to begin!

.

.

The streets of Sendai Jail were fairly similar to that of Sendai. As they walked, they happened to pass the golden statute of Natsume. "Is that statue supposed to be of Natsume?" Queen asked while looking up at the gaudy statute.

"What a creep!" Panther nearly gagged at the sight of it.

"To think we found someone whose ego would come close to Shido's own." Crow spat, disgusted.

"At least these ones don't turn us into mice." Skull was glad for that.

"I thought it was quite the mice time. I was quite cheesed…" Fox began.

"No. Stop that." Oracle shook her head. "I don't want to hear another mouse pun for the rest of my life."

As they were talking about this, they were approaching the gate to Mt. Aoba Park. But as they drew near, a man in a suit stood before them, laughing as the Phantom Thieves approached. "Hehehe…I've been waiting for you, oh chosen heroes!"

"Eh?" Violet blinked.

"Uh…" Skull stared at the man in confusion. "Who are you?"

"I am Doma, one of the Fearsome Four, and servant to the Prince of Nightmares!" The man laughed.

"The Fearsome Four!?" Noir gasped.

"Oh, no no no no…" Oracle shook her head. "He did NOT just say that…"

"He kinda just looks like some old guy in a suit to me…" Panther frowned.

"The Fearsome Four!" Dragon suddenly spoke up, pointing towards Doma dramatically. All eyes were on her. "We are the Phantom Thieves, chosen heroes who have come to defeat the Prince of Lord!"

"Uh…" Joker was about to speak up, but Dragon beat him to it.

"The gate that bars us from entry must be under your command, is it?" Dragon said. She was full shogi mode, leaning into the dramatics of the Jail's atmosphere.

"…Come to think of it, the school she and Fox go to is Fine Arts, right?" Skull whispered to the others. "We know what Yusuke's goin' for…but I don't think we ever asked Hifumi what she's doing there…"

"She's definitely a theatre kid at heart…." Oracle said while staring at Dragon.

"Quick on the uptake!" Doma was impressed with Dragon's foresight. "That is correct. The gate behind me leads to the Demon Lord's domain, and you must defeat me in combat if you wish for it to fall. But be warned, you will not best me so easily, Heroes!"

"Your challenge is accepted!" Dragon declared while pointing her staff at Doma, grinning eagerly. "We shall strike you down where you stand. That will send a worthwhile message to the Demon Lord as well, this is my word as Dragon!"

"Very well! Come at me!" Doma then transformed into a Shadow. And to Dragon's luck, it was, once again, a Pryo-Jack that Doma took the form of.

Dragon's expression fell immediately. "Why does this keep happening?" Every time she instigated a fight, it was against an enemy that possessed her elemental weakness.

"You play with fire too much." Crow said while drawing his sword. "I'll handle this one. It's been quite a while since I've gotten to sink my teeth into something."

"So you challenge the Doma of the Fearsome Four on your own?!" Dragon gasped. And pouted a little. She wanted to do it, but it was probably for the best that somebody else handled this. "Very well. It would be foolish to not use our numbers to our advantage!"

"Dragon's much more excitable than usual." Sophie pointed out.

"Just…let it happen." Panther said with a heavy sigh. This was normal, but at the same time…Dragon's behavior was being amped up by the Jail's atmosphere.

"Right then…" Crow approached Doma while the others stood back, knowing full well that he was capable of handling himself. "Doma, was it? Don't waste my time. If you're going to struggle, At least make it worth something."

"So I fight one of the Dragon's servents, do I!? You underestimate the power of the Fearsome Four!" Doma laughed at Crow's words. As if he would bow down to a hero. "Words like those don't befit a hero. But you will fall all the same!" Doma then spun around, his lantern accumulating flames, and once he gathered enough, he released a gigantic fireball in Crow's direction.

"You're right. I'm not a hero." Crow scoffed at the wording. A man like him had no right to be associated with that word. As the gigantic fireball came his way, he drew his sword back, Curse swirling around the jagged blade to turn it completely pitch black. He swung his blade and a slash of Curse flew forward clashing with the fireball and resulting in an explosion.

"Gah! What power!" Doma said while recoiling from the smoke. Crow's power was far more than he was anticipating. "You claim you're no hero, but only a hero with power like this would dare to challenge the Prince of Nightmares!"

Again with being called a hero, that only irritated Crow and made him want to finish this fight faster than it began. "Hereward!" Crow summoned his Persona as the smoke began to clear. He charged forward while Hereward held back, preparing an arrow of curse. Crow lunged into the air to swing at Doma, but he missed as Doma just narrowly evaded by flying to the side. However, the moment he dodged, Hereward fired the arrow that struck Doma and exploded instantly.

"Gah!" Doma cried out, dropping from the sky from the calculated attack. As he fell, Crow pointed his gun forward.

"Now get out of our way." He clicked the trigger, a bullet of curse magic flying from the barrel and striking Doma directly. The member of the Fearsome Four hit the ground, his body reverting back to the man in a suit. Despite the fact he sustained incredible damage from Crow, it wasn't enough to kill him outright. "Hm. Sturdier than I was expecting."

"Hah…well played, oh Chosen Hero." Doma said while panting, smirking towards Crow and the others. Crow's brow twitched at being called a hero, since he just said not to call him that. "I expected nothing less from the chosen. Very well, you may pass! To best us is to overcome the Overlord's most perilous trial. But will you be able to defeat the others?"

"I told you, I'm no hero." Crow spar once again.

"Of course we shall!" Dragon declared. "You will not best the Phantom Thieves!"

"Haha! I wonder about that!" Doma chuckled weakly. "I pray you lose your way, chosen heroes!" With a wicked laugh, Doma left in a bright flash of light.

"What!?" Panther gasped. When the light faded, Doma was gone. When the light faded, the group was in a completely different location. "Where are we!?"

"The hell!? Where are we now!?" Skull said while frantically looking around. They were discombobulated from the sudden transportation.

"What the…?" Joker was just as surprised as everyone else. Teleportation was not

"What was that?!" Queen asked. "We're in a completely different location from before."

"How troublesome." Crow said while putting his gun away. "I should've shot him and been done with it. I thought he might spill some important information like most cognitive beings tend to do, but I was mistaken. All I got for that was a headache."

"We appear to be closer to the castle." Sophie said while pointing up.

"Does that mean we were brought here by some kind of magic…?" Mona was so confused.

"My guess is that it was that Fearsome Four guy's doing." Oracle surmised. "You heard that. 'I pray you lose your way' crap, right?!"

"That's like…video games and manga shit." Skull said.

"AH!" Dragon recognized this. The way she gasped so loudly caught everyone's attention, and her emerald eyes were sparkling with excitement. "I fully understand. This Jail…is Prince of Nightmares!"

"Uh…" Violet rubbed the back of her neck. "Dragon-senpai…do you mean to say that we're inside of a book right now?"

"Based on what we've seen thus far, I believe that to be accurate." Fox was in agreement with Dragon. They both read the book, and even though they've seen little, Fox could recognize it as well.

"You two read the book, right?" Mona looked to Dragon and Fox, the odd pair. "What's it about?"

"A man living a completely normal life in our world is reborn as a demon lord in another." Fox explained. "Making the most of his villainous new role, he then attempts to repel the heroes to come to slay him. To that end, he employs various traps about his castle along with a group known as the fearsome Four."

"And to put it lightly, so far, the Demon Lord has not failed to vanquish the foes that somehow make it to his castle." Dragon added. "Within the context of the story, he is truly a formidable opponent. We are in a world of his own creation, but we mustn't let that discourage us!"

"I have a headache just from listening to that synopsis." Crow groaned.

"Is that why he called us chosen heroes earlier?" Noir was still trying to wrap her head around this. She was having a little trouble keeping up.

"So the heroes are the real bad guys of the story then?" Oracle could not withhold her unimpressed groan.

"Yes, that's correct." Fox nodded.

"Villains we may be in the eyes of the Demon Lord, but we are heroes who shall vanquish him! I swear on Gae Bolg and Excalibur!" She was gesturing to both weapons she had; her staff and the great sword that she manifested to use with her Showtime with Panther.

"…I feel like it was a mistake to let you read that book." Panther had an exasperated smile. It was really strained.

"If this place is from Natsume's book, then it's safe to say he's somewhere in the castle." Queen surmised. "Which means everyone's Desires are in there, too."

"Then our destination is clear. To the castle we go." Sophie said while pointing ahead.

"Right, let's get moving. I wanna try going into the Hero role, too…" Joker did feel a bit snubbed that Dragon beat him to the punch. It looked fun getting into character.

"Well, it doesn't look like we'll be able to go back." Oracle reported. "For some reason, it seems like the entrance got blocked off. I think it's that Fearsome Four guy's doing…"

"Of course. Doma did have the power to block the Heroes from retreating." Dragon crosses her arms, giving an understanding nod. "Unfortunately for him, this is no obstacle for us. Since we are to fight him anyway, all he has done is hasten his defeat. A quick, powerful offensive will surely overwhelm him."

"I think she's fully immersed in this world. She's a goner." Oracle shook her head.

"Now then…" Dragon glanced ahead at the front gate of Natsume's Castle. "A searchlight and a barred gate. It is unlikely we will be making any waves with the direct approach, but that is fine. We will simply play true to form and circle around the back."

"There is a path we can take this way." Fox pointed out. They followed along this path, but it did not lead very far. There was an obsidian gate in front of them two dragons on either side of it.

"Whoa!" Oracle gasped. "Get a load of that gate, it's enormous!"

"Welp, we ain't bustin' that thing down anytime soon." Skull knew brute force was not going t help them here. "What now?"

"We don't have any other option, we'll have to try and find another way in." Queen said this and started to turn around, but stopped when she saw Dragon standing in front of the gate. "Dragon?"

"…I believe there was something in the book about this gate…" Dragon said. "I didn't bring my copy of Prince of Nightmares with me, but I do remember quite a lot of it off memory…" Fox was the one who pulled his copy of the book out.

"Of course you remember." Panther patted Dragon on the shoulder. She expected nothing less from her significant other. Prince of Nightmares really did hit every little niche Dragon enjoyed, regardless of its quality.

"You brought the books in here?" Violet said with an exasperated smile. Those two really were two odd peas in a pod.

"Is this not called the Gate of Trials?" Dragon said while glancing at Fox. "I recall it's description in the book and this looks very much like it."

"Indeed." Fox nodded, reading through the lines in the book. "It is meant to bar the heroes entry. It is a test to see whether the heroes are worthy to face the Overlord. To open it, they must overcome three trials and obtain the 'proof' of victory."

"Dude, this IS a video game." Skull knew these requirements like the back of his hand. It had video game inspiration written all over it.

Noir, who did not play games much, was still slightly lost on this whole concept. "Um. This Overlord wants to keep the heroes out, right? Why doesn't he just build a gate that doesn't open?" She was thinking too logically here, because that's exactly what she would do in this situation.

"Because he seeks a challenge!" Dragon exclaimed. "If he were to build such a thing where not one could challenge him, his actions would appear more cowardice than anything else. The Overlord wants to challenge the heroes and test their might, so the battle that follows is an intense one that pushes all sides to their limits."

Silence followed Dragon's words. She…wasn't wrong…

"You heard her." Oracle said. "That's just how it goes. The story couldn't progress if the Heroes didn't have a chance. Although, based on the quality of the work, I can only wonder if Dragon's idea is even close to the motivation for this decision."

"So, if I have to assume where this plot goes in accordance with the logic of Jails, we have three proofs and three towers…er, Prison Keeps." Crow corrected himself. "I think it's obvious where we need to go. The three Proof we are searching for are very likely the Cores to the Prison Keeps."

"That's correct. How did you know?" Fox asked. It was as if Crow read the book.

"It's painfully obvious, and I have yet to eye a single word from the book itself." Crow scoffed. It felt insulting to even be involved in something as low brow as this.

"The towers are also guarded by the Fearsome Four themselves." Dragon added.

Panther's shoulders slumped over. "Uh. They're called the Fearsome Four, but there's only three towers?" Even she could see that there was a discrepancy in the numbers! This is ridiculous! This book got worse the longer they actually had to be a part of it!

"I agree with Panther. This does not appear to make much sense the more you think about it." Sophie said.

"Starting to wonder how well this book actually performed before people had their Desires stolen…" Joker shook his head.

"This guy's writing is all over the place." Oracle groaned. This was too much for her.

"Um. So, where exactly are we going next?" Violet asked.

"One of the towers apparently stands near something called the Great River." Fox said while putting his copy of the book away.

"Hm. Hm hm." Skull nodded. "I'm guessin' that's just a big river, or somethin'?" He said, stating the obvious.

"The Hirose River runs through Sendai in the real world, and that's pretty big." Queen said. "So I believe our search should start from there."

"Alright, then let's head there!" Mona said and the others nodded. They had their first destination and off they went!

As much of a mess as stepping into the Demon Lord's domain was, there was no turning back for the heroic group known as the Phantom Thieves. Will they be able to conquer the Fearsome Four and overcome the Overlord's trials, or will they drown just like the previous heroes before them? Find out in the next exciting chapter of Prince of Nightmares!