Akane no Mai

by Kanius

A man from the world of Vein drops into a world of Thieves. He meets a pragmatic woman. She greets him with a calm smile. "My name is Togo Hifumi." Following the fateful encounter, a host of monsters arrive, disrupting the peace. The Thieves return to confront these entities outside their realm and ultimately cross paths with the Revenant man.

50. The Mad Scientist's Cruel Gambit

Chapter XXVIII: The Mad Scientist's Cruel Gambit

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Roppongi Hills Mori Tower (六本木ヒルズ森タワー)/Roppongi (六本木)/Minato, Tokyo (港区, 東京)/10:13 PM (JST)

Approaching the vicinity of the Silva Estate, the Phantom Thieves, the Vein Remnants, and Shinchū were about to go inside the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. Before they entered the facility, the group paused and overheard hollering from a distance behind them. They immediately turned and saw a group running up to them.

"Louis! Don't go on without us!" Karen called out as she was seen with Shinya, Reiko, Nicola, Emily, and Aurora. Her group came just in time after defeating the Pack.

"Karen?! You're all here?!" Sekiken/Louis shouted in disbelief.

"Yeah, what of it? We can't join you?" Aurora scoffed.

"And we're not taking no for an answer, Yakumo. We're coming with you!" Emily said, waving her finger toward Omusubi/Yakumo, who couldn't bring himself to say 'no' to his girlfriend.

"And you're all here, too," Joker said as he and the Thieves faced Shinya and his crew.

"You thought we were going to sit back and do jack squat? You all should've seen what we went through! We fought giant reptiles!" Shinya said, not wholly exaggerating his claims.

"So, that would explain those weird energies my scanners picked up from earlier," Oracle said.

"Remember those Pack guys that tried to pick a fight with us? They turned into giant reptiles and we beat them, but we didn't do it alone," Nicola said.

Hearing this, Queen recalled Minami. "Hey, that means Minami was with them. Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she and her jerkass friends are taking a nap now," Shinya nodded.

"We did get some help from Yumeko and her friends. You should've seen them. They helped us out a lot with those Guardian Spirits," Reiko replied.

Karen vouched for the teens. "Everything they say is true."

"Wow, that's incredible! You can always count on Yumeko and her team to help out," Noir said.

"I'm so relieved you kiddos are ok," Panther said.

Joker gave Shinya a back on his shoulder and smirked. "We're all happy you pulled through, but just know what you're getting yourself into once we go inside this place."

"We're ready for anything," Shinya frowned, firming his resolve for their next enemy.

Mircalla/Mia approached Nicola and patted his shoulders. "I'm so glad you and your friends are ok. That must've been a big fight you just left."

"We couldn't have done it without the adults helping us," Nicola reassured his worrisome sister.

"We're all relieved to see you're all ok," Hunter/Jack added.

Mona cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt but we should get moving."

"So, Mido is waiting for us, isn't he?" Karen asked Sekiken, who didn't respond.

"Yeah, and we all need to be careful going in," Sion stated.

"Let's do this," Tennyo said as the group walked inside the facility.

Upon entering, the group cautiously monitored their surroundings and saw the power was near completely out, save for some emergency lights in the front and the back of the lobby area. Everything was so quiet that a needle could've dropped and been heard. It was too eerily quiet, giving off an unsettling vibe for the entire group. Although none of the Thieves and Revenants showed no fear, Reiko grew apprehensive of her new surroundings and stuck close to Shinya.

Suddenly, the group heard a low sinister laughter filling the creepy atmosphere.

"Heheh. Is it a little too dark for you, my humble guests?" The dark aristocratic voice from Mido spoke, alarming everyone in the group, including the Revenants. In response, the Revenants' eyes turned bright red, minus Moonlight/Io's golden eyes glowing, in response to their enemy's voice. "No need to show off those gleaming bright eyes, I shall turn on the lights for you."

"Mido! Show yourself, coward!" Sekiken screamed.

"No need to make demands, my dear Louis. Here." With that, some of the ceiling lights turned on as one bright light beamed down and revealed Mido which the Revenants instinctively recognized again.

"You decided to show yourself again!" Omusubi exclaimed.

"Where the hell is she, Mido?! Where is Cruz?!" Sekiken heatedly yelled toward him.

"Calm yourself, Louis. Your lovely ex-lover is here and you'll see her in short order," Mido chuckled.

"We've already overcome your subjects, Mido. Now, come down and fight us," Tennyo said, readying her ko-naginata. "Unless you're afraid to sully your own hands?"

The Revenant scientist started walking down the stairs and rebuked. "In due time, but since we're all present and accounted for, I think we should have another long chat. It has been a while, hasn't it, my old friends?" He shifted his one-eyed gaze toward Sekiken, Sion, Mircalla, and Omusubi first. Then, he meticulously scanned Karen, Aurora, Emily, and Nicola. "I never would've imagined we'd be here and seeing each other again. This is a grand reunion for us, Revenants, isn't it?"

Just then, Moonlight's face contorted with dismay as she sensed a vaguely different vibe from Mido. Tennyo noted the Vein Remnant's distressed look.

"Io, what is it? Do you sense something off from him?"

"He's exactly who he says he is. Not only is he Juzo Mido, but I sense his mind is fully intact! There are no fractures in his memories!" Moonlight thoroughly scanned Mido's mind.

"What?!" Sion shouted upon hearing Moonlight's confirmation.

"Mido has all of his memories?" Mircalla was taken aback.

"But, that's not right. He shouldn't have retained every vestige of his former memories," Karen said.

"Something's not right here," Aurora noted.

"Explain yourself, Mido! How do you have all of your memories?! What makes you more special than us?!" Sekiken angrily berated the Revenant scientist.

Laughing loudly, Mido shook his head. "Because I am who I've always been. I'm no amnesic nor a cheap imitation." He put a hand on his chest. "I am neither someone who had their memories wiped and revived here, nor was my human form the reincarnated body I was given. No, I am the original Juzo Mido, the very same genius in the dimension we came from!"

"You're the original Mido?! Not just a mere copy with his memories?!" Omusubi exclaimed, his mouth agape. "But, how?!"

"How can this be?" Sion said as he turned to Tennyo. "When Hifumi became Shin-Io, she reset the dimension we came from, ported us over into this world, and we woke as regular people living in a peaceful time. Then, Io showed up and used her power to restore some of our memories as Revenants from another dimension. Our Revenant powers were even restored! How did you bypass Shin-Io and revive yourself in this world?!"

Mido chortled. "Easy, Skyler Jones. Let's take it slowly. First off, it was the Yami Matter that revived me."

"Should've known the Yami Matter would revive someone as twisted as you," Sekiken growled.

"Then, after I was given a second chance, I began communicating with the Yami Matter. It helped me to manipulate other realms. Dimensions such as this. I made it a point to use the Yami Matter to alter reality and trick Shin-Io's revision powers. Upon entering this dimension, I was protected from the goddess' revision. The Yami Matter was gracious enough to create a human vessel for me so I may blend in with humans. When I realized Gregorio and Cruz were among those Revenants brought into this world, I knew I had to reunite with my closest associates. I wasn't supposed to be revived apparently if Shin-Io had her way, but the Yami Matter ensured I was given a second chance at life," Mido stated, his red eye veering directly at Tennyo.

Joker, Sion, and Moonlight assembled in front of Tennyo, protecting her from Mido's cunning gaze. The other Revenants and Thieves stood defensively against the mad scientist.

"But, do you want to know something funny, my Revenant friends?" Mido addressed them. "While I am the genuine Juzo Mido in the flesh, I can't say the same for you."

"What do you mean?" Sion scowled.

"Except for Io, the rest of you are merely humans indigenous to this world. Shin-Io transferred the memories and the abilities of the Revenants who inhabit your bodies. You're just stand-ins for those Revenants I dealt with before! And my you look just like them." Mido cackled, his eye moving from each Revenant; Sekiken first. "Louis Amamiya." He turned toward Mircalla. "Mia Karnstein." Mido then veered toward Omusubi. "Yakumo Shinonome." Finally, he gazed over Sion and Moonlight. "And Skyler Jones. Would you like to know a shocking revelation, Skyler? The Revenant man who you're supposed to be based on is a completely separate individual. There was never a Skyler Jones where I and the Revenants came from. That Revenant who shared your likeness was nameless. He was merely named the Chosen Revenant."

Hearing this, Sion was flabbergasted. "I can't… I shouldn't believe it, but I understand. That Revenant who looked like me never had a real name. Datenshi named the clone Sion. I'm based on him, not the original unnamed Revenant." As he accepted this harsh truth, Tennyo put an arm over him.

Mido turned over to the pale Revenant. "As for you, Io, you aren't even the original one from the world I came from. You're just a copy. You're the Persona Vein somehow procreated from the original Io's essence. You were born from the amber bead as a result of your and Sion's love."

Sion and Tennyo patted Moonlight's shoulders.

"Copy or not, you're still our friend and someone we love," Tennyo reassured the Vein Remnant.

"That's right. But, don't look so glum. While you are just her copy, you have the original Io's full memories. You're an extension of her existence," Sion lovingly reassured the pale-skinned Revenant.

Before Moonlight could answer, Mido's laughter interrupted their tender moment. Everyone then heard the flaps of a bird's wings. Then, a glowing orb of red mist materialized on Mido's right shoulder. The mist formed into the body of a bird, one that the Thieves and Revenants recognized.

When Mona's eyes widened, he most certainly discerned the familiar hoatzin. "Augh, it's that stupid birdbrain that talked to me in my mind!" He recalled the creepy, screechy bird's voice that haunted him during restless nights after Mido's lecture event.

"That bird's the one who scared you, Mona?!" Oracle growled. "Oh, and to think I admired you, Mido! You're no better than all those asshole adults we fought against!"

Hearing Oracle berate her, Mido feigned being emotionally touched. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, but allow me to make it up to you, young lady." With a finger snap, the hoatzin screeched and at last verbally addressed the group.

Eon's voice came complete with bird hisses. "Yes, I'm sure you can comprehend me now I'm able to speak."

"Dude, he's freaking talking and it's creeping me out here!" Skull flipped out.

"I've heard birds talk, but this is beyond creepy," Oracle remarked.

"What kind of trick is this?!" Sion berated Mido, who stroked Eon's back feathers.

"Why don't you explain, my feathered friend," Mido chuckled, shifting his arm forward with Eon facing the group dead-on.

"You're likely wondering how I'm able to speak your language. Well, it all started when this man traveled to South America for an expedition to aid in one of his latest research. As the local natives escorted him through the rainforest, he found a recently dead hoatzin laying on the ground. This bird likely died of natural causes. Seeing this as an opportunity, Mido being the ever-clever man of science placed a fragment of his soul inside this dead body. Not only did he revive this bird, but it awoke to become his pet Eon. However, there's more. Not only have I been revived, but I speak to you as an extension of Juzo Mido himself."

"Figures since you share his soul," Sekiken furrowed his brows at Eon, conveying disdain for Mido's actions. "Now you're transferring soul fragments to extend your survival through hosts."

"This bird had no will when I found it. It was nothing more than an empty vessel, so I can't be faulted for stealing a body without consent. It would've rotted and become food for the insects." Eon corrected him. The bird's eyes glowed red in the same manner as Mido and the other Revenants, sans Hunter. "And because this body shares my soul, Eon is now a Revenant as well."

Mido opened a blood capsule and let Eon hungrily drink the blood dripping into his gullet.

"Well, if you're resorting to stealing bodies, we're not letting that happen," Joker told him.

"Heheh, so you say, Amamiya Ren," Mido addressed the Phantom Thief's real name. "And don't be so surprised, the Yami Matter has allowed me to look into your daily lives." He turned toward each Phantom Thief. "Takamaki Ann. Sakamoto Ryuji. Morgana. Kitagawa Yusuke. Niijima Makoto. Sakura Futaba. And Okumura Haru. Yes, your reputations as urban legends are all clear to me, Phantom Thieves of Hearts!"

"Yeah. So, you know us?! How about we get rid of you now?!" Panther threatened him with her whip in hand.

"How much more do you know about us?!" Fox demanded from the mad scientist.

"And now we know you've been manipulating the Yami Matter, are you the one responsible for all those events?!" Queen fiercely shouted at Mido.

Upon hearing this, Panther's firm gaze quickly became vexed.

"I've already told you all there is to know about your Revenant friends and utilizing the Yami Matter's power. So, why not reveal it all?" Mido chortled ever so calmly. "Yes, I'm the one responsible for the four previous Yami Matter Events! Starting with the Yokai invasion at the Meiji Shrine on January 12th during this past calendar year. The Yami Matter not only revived the Yokai that William and his allies destroyed but restored Edward Kelley and John Dee."

"You bastard!" Omusubi exclaimed.

"Why yes, that's quite the accurate description of me. I never knew or cared who my father was," Mido shrugged. "February 19th, four young people who I experimented on managed to escape, but I let them go so the Yami Matter could capture and take them over. Then, the Yami Matter manipulated those four cryptids as I like to call them, and sent them to attack Akihabara to draw you all out. The plan worked and it was quite a thrilling show watching you fight my beautiful experiments."

"Beautiful?! You experimented on them and corrupted them to do your bidding?! They didn't have a choice in the matter!" Sion snapped.

"And you triggered a metal shut down so that no leads would trace back to you! The Yami Matter helped cover your ass!" Mircalla cried out. "Those four didn't even get a chance to live beyond the nightmare you put them through!"

"It was no different from when I used to experiment on Revenants from our dimension. Those four merely outlived their intended purpose. However, unlike in our dimension, human society would've never accepted them. Humanity despises what they fear and don't understand. In our dimension, humans were the food source to ensure our survival as we drank them. Humanity served as livestock to us Revenants." The Revenant scientist logically replied.

"Well, Skyler and the others don't share those viewpoints," Tennyo finally spoke up. "They don't need to feed on blood as much as they want in this dimension."

"Be it as it may, Louis, Skyler, and the others are fully Revenants and have regained their memories. With their memories restored, their thirst for blood came with it. I'm sure you're aware they need some blood to survive?" Mido asked Tennyo.

With that, Tennyo opened her top and revealed a few bite marks on her right shoulder.

"I'm aware, but I consented to Skyler feeding on me."

"We don't let Louis feed on us because his sister and friends established a hidden Bloodspring. That helps keep their thirst in check," Queen revealed her boyfriend's method of feeding.

"Yes and it's better than taking animal blood from the meat my company sells for burgers," Haru stated.

Slightly smiling at his two girlfriends, Sekiken nodded approvingly. "Thank goodness for that Bloodspring."

"You have my thanks, little brother," Karen warmly smiled.

"Heheh, how domesticated we've become, my Revenant friends," Mido chortled. "But, we aren't done yet." With that, he snapped his fingers as several projection screens appeared coupled with static. The screens then showed a solitary green and blue planet that almost resembled Earth, but the planet has three massive continents and three massive oceanic bodies.

"What is this, Mido? What are you showing us?!" Omusubi demanded an answer from the crafty scientist.

"That's definitely not our world," Mircalla noted the unfamiliar planet.

"Observe closely, my friends. This is a world that the Yami Matter and I recently visited outside your dimension. Let me ask you a question. After the dinosaur extinction, what group could've taken over if mammals couldn't? What would take their place as the dominant lifeforms?"

Most of the group was stumped by his inquiry, but Fox answered.

"For starters, if mammals were never allowed to diversify, there'd be no primates and thus no direct lineage that leads to us humans. And without humans, the concept of art would never exist. The thought of that frankly scares me," Fox answered.

"Eloquently put, dear artist. Yes, no humans ever walked this planet. However, after dinosaurs go extinct, what would take their place?"

"Enough with this pointless trivia! Just tell us what you and the Yami Matter did with this world?!" Sekiken furiously screamed, openly growing irritated with the Revenant scientist toying with them.

Chuckling at Sekiken's expense, Mido continued. "Heh, I'll give you a hint. Some of you already fought and defeated some of my loyal subjects? I believe they call themselves the Pack. I gave those four loyal dogs the ability to transform into giant creatures."

"Yeah, they turned into giant reptiles! Some of our friends helped us kick their scaly asses!" Shinya exclaimed.

"Are you trying to tell us those giant reptiles they turned into… they're from that world?!" Emily cried out.

Laughing, Mido made the screens zoom closer and showed them giant reptiles that looked identical to the creatures the Pack turned into, including the Gilded Tuatara.

"Yes, after the K-T extinction event and with the non-avian dinosaurs removed, the other reptile classes rose and expanded their dominance, diversifying to fill every ecological niche in this world. This dimension is called the Abomivolved Reptilia dimension!" As the screens zoomed in, the group got a closer look at the reptilian creatures. Many were large and others were small.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing," Queen gasped in disbelief.

"This is like a parallel world where none of us even exist, just giant lizards, snakes, crocs, and turtles," Oracle stated as her eyes glazed over the screens showing the great reptilian creatures.

---

Dimension: Abomivolved-Reptilia

"Following the K-T extinction event, which killed off the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, mosasaurs, and countless other species, this world's surviving mammals were set on a path to fill the vacant ecological spaces left behind by the reptilian giants. However, as luck would have it, one tuatara's actions caused a butterfly effect that would alter the future of this world."

A small tuatara popped out of its den and scoured the dry terrain where the meteor crash landed. It was only one of few survivors within the vicinity that barely escaped the space rock's impact. After crawling past a long-necked sauropod carcass, the tiny reptile curiously noticed glowing radiation coming out of the crater. Drawn in by the radiation light, the creature quickly ran over to the massive space rock and huddled close, gaining warmth from its light.

"This tiny survivor basks in the warm light of the rock that ended the dinosaur's reign. As it overexposed itself to the radiation, the tuatara didn't realize it but its body grew into a gargantuan size. The meteor also bestowed the tuatara powers that made it into a god. It became the originator of the Abomivolved Reptilia species. It became the Gilded Tuatara."

After growing and gaining divine powers, the Gilded Tuatara reared its head back and let out a bellow, beckoning every surviving reptile to heed its call. The giant spread the meteor's radiation across, altering the DNA of every reptile and turning them into a diverse class of various species that filled the ecological spaces left by the Mesozoic titans.

"With the dinosaurs gone, the Abomivolved Reptilia evolved into the dominant species. After spreading the radiation across the planet, the Gilded Tuatara exhausted itself and dug itself into the Earth. It entered the Earth's core and entered an eternal sleep. Once it slept, it doubled as the Earth's core, using its radiation energies to stabilize its dominion and the planet."

Upon entering its eternal sleep, the Gilded Tuatara's presence continued to influence and affect the Earth's climate and continental shifts. Instead of the inevitable cooling periods that took effect millions of years later, this alternate Cenozoic's ecosystems became hotter and tropical, becoming the perfect haven for the Abomivolved Reptilia. Save for a select few that took on moderate ecological roles, mammals were pushed to the background and many stayed nocturnal. Birds fared slightly better and some even grew into giants, leading to some large flightless ground dwellers and massive flyers.

"Hehehe, by the way, did I neglect to tell you? This world is my own little science experiment. How may you ask is this possible? You can thank the Yami Matter for that. It granted me access to a world where I could let my imagination run wild. This world is just one of a few-dimensional science experiments. Would you like to see what monsters came out of this experiment? Allow me to show you."

One projection screen switched to the feed of a tropical forest. Loud crunching was heard and the sound of giant footsteps was heard. The local wildfire quickly scattered when a large bipedal reptilian beast with the Komodo dragon's face, limbs, and scaly skin & a Tyrannosaurus rex's body structure. As it opened its saliva-filled mouth, a long forked tongue smelt the air around it. Then, the reptilian beast let out a deep bellow, which then traveled through vibrations. It turned its head and hissed loudly, searching for any large prey it could find.

"This magnificent creature was renowned for its status as this world's apex predator. Taking over after the Tyrannosaurus rex, the Komodo rex was nearly unmatched in its role. Its ravenous appetite made it a feared beast. Besides its razor-sharp teeth that it could use to grip and crush its prey, it had a venomous bite."

The Komodo rex turned its head and spotted its potential prey items. From its vantage point, the beast saw three giant hadrosaur-sized green iguanas. These iguanas' bodies were shaped similarly akin to gorillas and ground sloths. Upon seeing the Komodo rex, the giant iguanas gave warning calls, which were deep bellows while one bobbed its head and inflated its dewlap.

"What you're seeing is the evolved form of the common green iguana. In this world, it's called the Iguanatheirum. With no hadrosaurs and giant herbivorous mammals around, these creatures filled their place and thrived in the tropical forests and wetlands. Unfortunately, as their numbers thrived, that meant certain predators evolved to help whittle down their numbers. This is where the Komodo rex comes in. Iguanatherium became the perfect prey item."

The Komodo rex stalked toward the three Iguanatheirum and pursued them. As two managed to get away, one accidentally tripped over a large wooden stump and injured itself. Unable to defend itself, it attacked and had its neck bitten by the Komodo rex. Crushing the Iguanatherium's windpipe, the Komodo dragon injected its venom into its prey. Having been paralyzed by the venomous bite, the Iguanatherium tried crawling away but it weakened. The Komodo rex waited for its prey to collapse and die.

"Before we get to see the Komodo rex enjoy its meal, let's have a gander at the other local Abomivolved Reptilia evolved under my watchful eye."

Walking through the forest is a Dilophosaurus-sized frill-necked lizard that is seen facing a Carnotaurus-sized bipedal Jackson's chameleon. Displaying its territorial nature, the giant frilled lizard opened its frill skin and expelled venomous spit, which the giant chameleon narrowly evaded having its eyes burned by it. The frilled lizard let out a scream-like hiss. The giant chameleon responded with a deep scream-like bellow.

"You thought the Komodo rex was the only hunter with a venomous quality? Here's the equally deadly Frilled Spitter, which defends itself and blinds its prey with its venomous saliva. Though, as seen here, the Frilled Spitter is not hunting this Trimeleon. These two predators are dueling over who can claim this territory. Between these hunters, pride is on the line."

Looking on from the distance are a pack of tiny Velociraptor-sized common house geckos. Avoiding contact with the two reptilian titans, the tiny creatures scurried away into hiding. Some found and feasted on tropical house crickets.

"Not every Abomivolved Reptilia was unfortunate enough to grow into giants. Others shrank to fit other ecological niches. These Geckomimus are quite harmless insect eaters. In correlation with their smaller bodies, they gained bigger brains and were quite intelligent and resourceful. They'd probably make ok pets."

After surrendering to the Frilled Spitter, the Trimeleon spotted the Geckomimus. Charging toward the little pack, the Trimeleon managed to snatch one Geckomimus. It then swallowed the one Geckomimus whole.

"Though not even ingenuity can save it from becoming a meal for the larger predators. But, wait, there's more, my curious little minds."

Another one of the projection screens displayed a feed of open tropical grassland. Then came the sound of thunderous footsteps even greater than the Komodo rex. These are loud footsteps not heard since the great sauropods millions of years before. However, the giant was revealed as a sauropod-sized Galápagos tortoise and retained its physical appearance. There were two of them walking together. Opening their mouths, they let out loud grunts coupled with deep bellows before they grazed on grass and freshly produced watermelons.

"With sauropods gone, something equally massive had to take its place. This is the Bronto Galápagos. Unlike sauropods, it didn't have a long neck or a long tail. It didn't need them. This was by far the largest and heaviest land animal among the Abomivolved Reptilia."

As the Bronto Galápagos continued their feast, a flock of Moluccan king parrots flew over the giant tortoises. On a strip of land near a massive lake are a pack of Herrerasaur-like omnivorous reptiles, which have a close resemblance to a blue-tongued skink. They were heard grunting and hissing at each other and toward other local animals. Some of them started basking in the sun's rays. One is seen picking up and biting into a watermelon while another caught and devoured a small rodent-like mammal.

"These creatures expanded their diet to an omnivorous one. In groups, the Kasai Skink are not to be trifled with. Of course, even they need to avoid being caught by a local predator in the area."

On the east where the Kasai Skinks congregated, a massive bright emerald snake is seen slithering in the jungle. Its tail has a bright rusty orange end. It let out a loud hissing sound as numerous wildlife avoided its path.

"The Emerald Salazar is a fifty-foot long serpent is another fearsome predator that will devour anything it can find. Devouring another predator such as the Kasai Skink would be mere child's play for this goliath snake."

As the Emerald Salazar continued its way up a tree, a small Galago-like primate hopped off from one tree to another to avoid the serpent at all costs.

"Speaking of humanity, this is what the primate order has been reduced to. Small, bush-tailed lemur-like creatures that stayed arboreal. As long as the climates remained tropical and no savannahs formed, primates have no reason to become ground dwellers, develop a taste for meat, and evolve higher intelligence, which would lead to the evolution of hominids. With no hominids, modern humans would never exist. Mammals stayed meek as the reptiles reigned supreme. Just as the Gilded Tuatara desired. Now, how about we check in with our friend the Komodo rex, eh? Oh, how I enjoy narrating. It's like I'm narrating for a nature documentary!"

Another projection screen switched back to the Komodo rex. The fearsome predator started feasting on the dead Iguanatherium. Just then, the crunching of branches disturbed the Komodo rex. The beast heard loud footsteps and saw a massive bipedal crocodilian-like creature. Its scaly hide and tail resembled the saltwater and Nile crocodiles. Its bipedal appearance was akin to Suchomimus. It matched the Komodo rex in its overall size.

"If there was any other apex predator that can match the Komodo rex, it's the Saltnile Sucho. Having developed immunity to the Komodo rex's venom, the Saltnile Sucho had a fighting chance and often competed over the same prey items."

When the Komodo rex tried scaring it with a fierce bellow, the Saltnile Sucho retaliated with a fearsome crackling sound coupled with throaty grunts and hisses.

"Now, watch as these two apex predators are about to determine who the real king of the land is."

The Komodo rex and Saltnile Sucho circled each other, cautiously awaiting to see who would strike first. They quickly and simultaneously lunged into each other. The Komodo rex headbutted the Saltnile Sucho's chest. The Saltnile Sucho responded with a quick tail whip and knocked its rival back. When the Saltnile Sucho went to bite its head, the Komodo rex swerved its massive body out of the way and tail whipped the bipedal crocodilian's right leg, bringing it down to one leg. The Komodo rex bit the Saltnile Sucho's left shoulder, injecting its venom into the beast. However, the Saltnile Sucho's venom immunity gave it a chance to bite the Komodo rex's right shoulder.

As the beasts backed off, they both received wounds amid their violent clash. Their mouths were covered in each other's blood. When they clashed again, they wrestled each other. The Saltnile Sucho kicked the Komodo rex with its left hind foot, shoving it into a nearby tree. The Saltnile Sucho went to bite the back of the Komodo rex's neck. One bite would guarantee its victory, but the Komodo rex rebounded and tail whipped its face, staggering it. The two titans resumed their lengthy clash.

"These top predators seemed to have a never-ending clash that could last for hours. However, their reign… no, more like the Abomivolved Reptilia's reign was set to come to a dramatic end. Yes, just like the dinosaurs before them."

The projection screen zoomed past the Komodo rex and the Saltnile Sucho's battle. It then displayed the image of a fiery object coming down from the sky. Before the outcome could be decided, this meteor-like dark matter came crashing down.

Boom!

Shortly after the impact, a fiery explosion of dark matter quickly spread and wiped out every living thing into extinction. The Komodo rex and Saltnile Sucho's battle abruptly ended with no winner decided. Every Abomivolved Reptilia, mammal, insect, plant, and anything bigger than a microscopic organism were consumed by the deadly dark matter.

"Like any ingenious scientist, we grow bored with stale experiments and so with the Yami Matter's assistance, I cut my losses with my Abomivolved Reptilia toybox and turned to another world to experiment with."

The screens displayed graphic imagery of some of the great reptiles being engulfed by Yami Matter-like tarpits. The giants, including the Komodo rex, Saltnile Sucho, and Bronto Galápagos, drowned and suffocated in excruciating pain. The Kasai Skinks are seen screeching as their scaly flesh melted from their bodies and is reduced to bones. As Yami Matter flames consumed it, the Frilled Spitter suffocated as its mouth bubbled with blood and venomous saliva.

As the giants sank into the tar pits, the jungles were consumed by black flames and reduced to rubble. Not even the mammals, including the Galago-like primate, made it out alive. The Galago that escaped the Emerald Salazar was seen laying dead and being consumed by the Yami Matter.

"Thanks to myself and the Yami Matter, we created an extinction event even greater than the Great Dying. That and the K-T events paled in comparison to this mass extinction. As you can see, not even humanity's ancestors had a chance to escape their fate. However, there was one more thing that we needed to get before leaving this world to die."

The center screen showed the Abomivolved Reptilia Earth's core. As the extinction event took place, the Gilded Tuatara sensed the horrific disturbance and was about to awaken from its long slumber. Then, unbeknownst to the beast, Mido appeared and extracted blood samples from it.

"Look who it is! Don't I look handsome on screen? As you can see, I collected the Gilded Tuatara's DNA. Do you see the correlation between this Gilded Tuatara and the one I unleashed in your world? Well, I used this creature's DNA and administered the Pack with its genetic codes, turning them into the X-Pack and giving them reptilian qualities. They were going to be the next step in humanity's evolution and an extended legacy of the Abomivolved Reptilia."

As Mido vanished through a black thin veil, the Yami Matter finally reached the core and consumed the Gilded Tuatara, killing it and the Earth's core. In the end, the entire planet was quickly wiped out by the Yami Matter, ending a billion years' worth of life for good.

---

Dimension: Akane-no-Mai/Roppongi Hills Mori Tower (六本木ヒルズ森タワー)/Roppongi (六本木)/Minato, Tokyo (港区, 東京)/10:40 PM (JST)

Chuckling, the Revenant scientist faced his opposition, who was stricken with horrified shock and disgust. Reiko was seen shaking and almost throwing up at the sight of the graphic images. Shinya embraced his terrified friend and gave Mido a scornful glare.

"I take it you didn't like what I did with my science experiment? Understand this. In the field of science, sacrifices must be made to get the best results," Mido cruelly informed them.

"You call that a science experiment?! That's beyond animal cruelty!" Joker angrily berated him.

"Seeing all of that churned my stomach! How can someone like you live with yourself doing that?!" Mona hissed.

"As if you kidnapping my friend's ex was a shitty thing to do, now you showed us you're a mass murderer, too," Sion said.

"Why am I not surprised? This was always your character, Mido," Omusubi frowned, conveying his utter disdain toward the Revenant scientist.

"As one doctor to another, you're dishonorable!" Karen shouted.

"You're a vile monster, Mido! Treating this as nothing more than a mere science experiment?!" Tennyo shouted toward him. "Was your whole thing about your daughter all a lie?!"

Mido shrugged. "Who's to say? That's none of your concern."

"So, now you showed us proof of how you and the Yami Matter work together. We can't take any chances and let you go without facing consequences," Queen said.

"Yep, you're dead to me, Mido," Oracle adamantly stated, dropping her fascination with his paleontology work.

Raising and pointing his greatsword toward Mido, Sekiken ground his teeth. "Hey, asshole! You're not getting away with what you've done! We're going to kill you here and now!"

"It's too bad my X-Pack and Gilded Tuatara experiments failed in the end, but that's fine. I always have contingencies to make up for them," the Revenant scientist leisurely shrugged, unfazed by his enemies' disparaging remarks and death threats. "Great minds such as myself need to evolve past our failures."

"Enough blabbering, Juzo Mido! Let's get right to me killing you!" Sekiken snapped as Queen and Noir quietly observed their boyfriend's mental stability seemingly cracking. "BRING OUT CRUZ NOW!"

Unfazed by Sekiken's outburst, he shifted his red eye toward Joker and Panther. "Before I do that Louie, the numerous evil spirits and abominations you all defeated were indeed conjured by the Yami Matter. The two other cryptids that attacked Miura Beach on July 14th were possessed by the Yami Matter, but I don't count that as a major event. It was but a mere precursor to the Third Yami Matter Event. Fortunately, you saved those two boys, but some August 1st, things wouldn't be the same. Since the Yami Matter could transverse into other dimensions, I sent it to attack the universe designated P5-Crimson. After contacting the entity known as Igor, Ren gained enough knowledge of the Third Yami Matter Event and took a group of his fellow Thieves to investigate this other dimension."

Knowing where this was going to lead, Joker clenched his fists. Panther bit her bottom lip and tried to suppress her fury.

"It was there you met your Crimson Phantom Thief counterparts. You bonded well with them, but like with any relationship, bad times would come. The Yami Matter took over the various Shadows that lurked and combined them, creating the monster Myrk Hedoro. The lovely abomination then laid waste to that dimension's Shibuya and left many dead in its wake. You couldn't stop it, Amamiya Ren. And neither could your Crimson counterpart. Heheh, seeing those people die forced you to go back against your word to not invoke your Persona's Ascendancy to prevent collateral damage. Well, that's exactly what you did! You transformed into Raoul ΩX! You destroyed Myrk Hedoro, but your hunger for destruction couldn't be satisfied. So, with blind fury, you burned Shibuya to the ground, savagely killing innocent people! You even killed that world's Niijima Makoto! That world's Takamaki Ann ultimately ended up despising all of you, calling you 'monsters'! Yes, Phantom Thieves calling themselves monsters! Who knew I was able to destroy your reputation in another world?! It was delightful to watch!"

Hearing this, Shinya and his friends couldn't believe it. Shinya glanced toward Joker, who had both a distraught and angry glare.

"Ren, I can't believe this," Shinya said remorsefully.

"That monster did all of that to make those Phantom Thieves hate ours?!" Reiko screamed.

"You fucking asshole! Thousands of people died in that world!" A vexed Ryuji yelled with vitriol.

"You set us up so we can take the fall!" Fox accused him.

"You are definitely on my ass-kicking list, Mido," Queen remarked, clenching her fists and gnashing her teeth.

"You should be accusing Ren of allowing his anger to take over and turn him into that monster," Mido chuckled.

"But YOU and the Yami Matter instigated it!" Panther screamed with fury. Her steely blue eyes glared with contempt. "It was all YOU!"

"And let's not forget what happened on that same fateful night. While the Thieves were mishandling their crisis in that other dimension, my dear Revenants and Hifumi fought the other half of the Third Yami Matter Event. I believe you had a giant jellyfish problem?" Mido reminded the Vein Remnants, who faced him with as much contempt as the Thieves did.

"Yes, and we didn't need to be reminded of that!" Sion angrily rebuked.

"Oh, but you need to remember what you and your dearest Hifumi did to Nomura's Obscurity. That poor Australian girl with no name and no meaningful existence. She was discarded by her dear father and faced horrific abuse that no child should endure. If anything I did the girl a favor, I treated her better than her father ever could. I gave her a meaningful reason to exist."

"You sent her off to die, you bastard! You turned her into that giant monster!" Omusubi berated Mido. "You took advantage of her just the same you did with Emily!"

Shaking her head, Emily's scornful gaze met Mido. "You just couldn't help yourself and continue experimenting on people, couldn't you?!"

"Ah, but no one here saw the girl's memories the way Skyler did. Right, Skyler? You scanned her memories and witnessed the horrific tragedy that was her life," Mido asked the Revenant, who was seen gripping his Queenslayer sword tightly. "You witnessed it and it chilled you right down to your BOR Parasite to see the deep hatred she possessed. Her hatred for humanity turned her into that monstrosity. You did her a favor by granting her a mercy execution. There was no more hope for an already broken piece of work."

"Piece of work?! How dare you, Mido! All these people are just experiments to you! You don't care what kind of lives they had before you took them in!" Sekiken shouted. "You're fucking scum for setting Skyler up like that!"

"And it took a lot of work for us to pick up the broken pieces. Not only were Ren and Ann's relationship challenged, but mine and Skyler's were as well," Tennyo said, taking her boyfriend's hand as she consoled him. "If it wasn't for our Elven friends here, I'm not sure where our relationship would be now. I'm grateful for our support system."

"Anytime you need us we're here," Anastasia said, smiling toward the couple.

"Hell yeah, we're the emotional support elves," Nadia proudly said.

"See, Mido? You tried and almost succeeded, but you couldn't split Hifumi and me up. If that was you and the Yami Matter's goal, then you failed," Sion firmly stated while holding Tennyo's hand.

"You can't split us up, Mido. As you can see, we're standing our ground against you," Moonlight said.

"Now, you have to take us all on, asshole," Hunter furrowed his brows.

"So, what do you have to say about that, Mido?" Sekiken scowled, waiting for an immediate response from the Revenant scientist. "Well?! Fucking speak already!" He and the Revenants heard low chortling from the Mido, who remained composed as he's ever been, which only further miffed them.

"Relax, my friends. I haven't finished weaving my tale. Ehehe, and now we're getting to my favorite," Mido chuckled. "Shortly after you left that dimension and Hifumi used Shin-Io's power to reset P5-Crimson's settings as originally intended, erasing anything to do with your meddling and the Yami Matter's influence. Such a shame all those lives had to be restored, but I sent a small piece of the Yami Matter to infect one of you Phantom Thieves. I already had fun with Amamiya Ren, so I decided against toying with him. So, who else could I possibly experiment with? It came down to Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, Yusuke, and Haru since they accompanied you. You were all emotionally distraught over those horrific events, but none were as mentally fractured as you, Takamaki Ann. After all, you being Ren's wife, you became concerned and that allowed me to exploit your broken mind. And so, I manipulated the Yami Matter to enter your mind and take root."

Gritting her teeth, Panther grasped her head. She recalled the sudden change in her behavioral patterns. Her habitually carefree self became moodier. She remembered the intense mood swings. Then, there was the night she and her friends dealt with the Toilet Ghost Couple. It ended when Panther burned one of them without a second thought and nearly caused collateral damage to a nearby elementary school.

"Who could forget August 4th, dear Takamaki Ann? Oh, or should I call you Annie? Yes, Annie is quite fitting for you, my dear!" devilishly laughed Mido. "Seeing you and Ren lash out at each other was like watching one of those TV dramas. How would this once-loving couple be able to resolve their issues? Well, it turns out the Yami Matter had taken root inside you, Annie. You still had insecurities you hadn't gotten over. You believed while everyone else had improved in their training with the Guardian Spirits, you fell behind. Even Futaba outpaced you. Of all the Phantom Thieves, you hadn't cleared Mina's training because you gave up too soon. Having lagged behind your friends, you resented being the weak link. You feared for your own future. You wondered if bringing a child into the world would've meant another Kamoshida taking advantage of them. You weren't sure what to expect for the future, so the Yami Matter decided to take matters and used your insecurities to create Cognitive Ann."

"Stop it! That's enough!" Panther growled.

"If you were unsure of your future, Cognitive Ann would've happily replaced you and taken good care of Ren. She would've taken care of the child you now bear, which by the way I send my utmost congratulations to you both! I hear it's going to be a boy, Annie!"

As she bit down hard enough, her bottom lip bled. Panther let out an incandescent scream. "I SAID SHUT UP!"

"ANN!" Joker stopped her from attacking Mido.

"What? Are you going to attack me, Annie?! I haven't even finished yet! It was even more entertaining seeing through your privacy with your husband and exposing it on the television screens inside your mind! It was a pleasure doxxing with your memories the same way Futaba would hack into an online system!"

"You piece of shit…!" Oracle snarled as she watched Panther fuming and shaking with anger.

"You had no right to invade her mind! Because of you, you nearly broke them up, but even worse, you would've had blood on your hands had Ann committed suicide like she planned to!" Queen scornfully yelled at Mido. "But, you underestimated Ann's will! She's still with us and I won't stop her from what I think she's going to do to you."

Hunter stepped in on Panther's behalf. "Eva and I can vouch for Ann. We helped course correct Ms. Takamaki's decision. I'm not sure she and Ren would've reunited if it wasn't for us."

Songstress smiled, nodding in approval for their selfless actions. "I couldn't be much happier that we made a big difference."

Panther's smile faded as she hatefully glared down at Mido. "But, as for you, Juzo Mido!" She gripped her whip as flames exploded from it. "I will never…"

Mido chortled, unfazed by the catwoman's brimming anger. "Yes?"

"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!" She screamed with unrestrained fury.

"Ann!" Joker called out to her, but his hands burned as the intense fires from Panther's whip struck him.

"I never thought I'd see another person more revolting than Kamoshida, but I'm meeting at HIM right now!" Panther screamed, the beauty in her blue eyes seemed to fade and lose their color, seemingly transitioning into white.

"Mido, you deserve every minute of what's coming to you!" Sion hollered as he raised his Queenslayer Blade toward the conniving Revenant.

"Yes, and we won't stop until we finish you," Tennyo said, readying her ko-naginata.

Chuckling, Mido stood his ground against his opposition. Ready to tear him apart, the Phantom Thieves and the Vein Remnants surrounded him.

"Now, the moment all of you have been waiting for. Louis, I hope you're ready to see your princess. Say hello to the new Cruz," Mido openly announced, eliciting a distressed look from Sekiken. "Or, should I say the Queen? That seems more fitting for what she's become."

Much to the dismay of everyone else, they saw Cruz, but her presence exuded malignant vibes. Sekiken's eyes widened in horror as he nearly collapsed on his knees. Cruz stalked toward them, garbed in a blue gown held up by black straps, dark gray stockings, and some bandages on her arms coupled with black gloves. Her red eyes were now vibrant blue and a bright blue aura quickly radiated over her entire body.

"Behold the Queen has awakened to take her rightful place," Mido introduced the renewed and frenzied Cruz.

"No, she's frenzied and become the Queen again!" Sion yelled out.

"This can't be…" Mircalla muttered in horror.

"No, Cruz!" Karen cried out at the frenzied woman.

"No, this is not what we wanted to happen," Moonlight nodded with sadness.

"You bastard! What have you done to her, Mido?!" Emily hatefully shouted at him.

"You're dead, Mido! You're not going to get away with what you've done!" Omusubi shouted.

"I'm sorry, man, but we might have to fight her if she gets in our way," Hunter regrettably told him, which didn't seem to get through Sekiken's head.

"Please get up, Louis," Songstress pleaded with Sekiken.

"Louis! I know this isn't what you expected or wanted, but we may have to fight her!" Noir called out to her boyfriend.

"Louis, listen to us! We need you to fight with us! Maybe you can get through to her!" Queen yelled, shaking Sekiken, who faced Cruz. He slowly started to stand on his own and readied his greatsword.

"I still require her to reunite with her father. By the way, I'm sure all of you are wondering where poor Gregorio is?" Mido chortled as he stepped back. Then, came loud footsteps crunching the ground behind him. "Well, you see. Gregorio has gone through some major changes. How about I let Gregorio show you himself?"

With that, Mido turned and everyone watched a pair of oversized red eyes deathly staring them down. The Thieves and the Revenants stepped away when a colossal beast walked out of the red mist.

"You've got to be shitting me," Oracle gulped.

"No, it can't be. That's him!" Sion gasped in horror.

"Mido has turned Gregorio back into the Skull King?!" Omusubi exclaimed in horror.

Tennyo covered her mouth, unable to describe the monstrosity that approached them. Sion and Moonlight stood beside Tennyo, readying their weapons. Despite being completely out of the loop with the Revenants and Mido's relations, Shinchū also stood poised and ready to fight with her new allies.

"Don't worry, Skyler and Hifumi. You can count on me to defend you," Shinchū openly vowed, intently facing Mido's direction.

"Just how many more innocent lives are you going to needlessly experiment with?" Joker growled. "No, forget I even asked." He noticed Panther's fiery anger subsided when Gregorio revealed his monstrous presence.

Expecting to see Gregorio, instead the group got a 7-foot tall muscular goliath with a white wolf's head. The visage of the wolf resembled a skull, with tufts of silver fur covering its face, and braided hair hanging down its face. Its red eyes gleamed, scanning its adversaries. It was armed with 6-foot-long golden dual swords in its hands. The wolf-faced behemoth bellowed, its howls sent a shockwave that shook the vicinity.

"It can't be! I remember us fighting Gregorio when he became this thing!" Mircalla gasped.

"I can never forget facing this monstrosity!" Sion cried out.

"Heheh, yes, I have restored Gregorio to what he's truly meant to be! My intended goal has been realized! Behold, the return of the Skull King!" Mido announced, allowing the Skull King room to face their opposition.

"I can't believe you've turned Gregorio into this! How can you live with yourself knowing you've used Gregorio and Cruz as your pawns?!" Sekiken protested.

"Because now I can finish you all off with the power of the Skull King and the Queen," Mido chuckled. In his right hand, a 6-foot-long sword called the Judgment Edge materialized, which he gladly brandished. "And I will be taking part in this grand battle, too. Now, who wants to duel me? Maybe you, Skyler Jones? Or, your woman and the Persona Vein?" He veered from Sion, Tennyo, and Moonlight before setting his sights on Joker and Panther. "Or, perhaps Amamiya Ren? How about you, Annie?"

"Stop calling me that!" Panther hatefully shouted at him.

"How about all of the above?" Joker proposed. "We'll take you on!"

"It's your funeral!" Mido cackled as he simultaneously attacked Sion, Tennyo, Moonlight, Joker, and Panther.

"Crow! Can I rely on you to go save my big sis?" Queen asked Crow, who looked at her in shock. "Yes, I'm serious, but you're not going alone."

"I agree. I'm going with him," Shadow Sae insisted. "I need to reunite with Sae's body if we want to save her.

"We'll accompany these two as well," Anastasia spoke on her and Nadia's behalf.

"Then, I'll go, too," Violet stated.

Smiling, Queen nodded. "Thank you. Now, please hurry. We'll handle things here. Oh, and we might have some company soon."

"Company you say?" Crow curiously asked.

"Go! There's no time!" Queen barked as she headed into battle against Mido's newest pawns.

"Come then. Sae's practically on life support," Shadow Sae said as she pointed to a flight of stairs. "I sense her presence is this way."

"Then, that's where we're heading," Violet replied.

Sighing, Crow shook his head. "Let's go then. I just hope Sae won't freak out if the first face she sees is me."

With that, Crow, Violet, the Elven Princesses, and Shadow Sae raced up the stairs toward Mido's laboratory.

---

Outside the Tokyo City Opera Tower (東京シティオペラタワー)/Shinjuku, Tokyo (新宿区, 東京)/10:50 PM (JST)

As their allies engaged Mido, the Queen, and the Skull King, the Advent Eight stayed behind to settle their score with the Black Heralds. Stronghold/Marty stepped up to Neurobuzz as they sized each other up.

"Is this all you have?" Neurobuzz asked, grinning smugly from ear to ear.

"What does it matter to you?" Stronghold nonchalantly shrugged.

"Because you're in deep trouble if this is your team," Neurobuzz replied, eyeing and counting the other Advent Eight members.

"Last I checked, there were just five of you. We outnumber your team," Psyche/Andrea remarked.

"Not anymore, I'm afraid. We've recruited three more members to bolster our group," Black Hōō chortled as she snapped her fingers, beckoning three figures to come out of the shadows.

"Rippress, Inferno, and Leraje, it's time to reveal yourselves to our friends here!" Erinye declared while snapping her fingers.

With that, the Advent Eight and the Black Heralds witnessed the three figures reveal themselves.

A short young woman with long back-length silver hair, red eyes, and a black long dress and black shoes emerged holding a Liston Knife. Her red eyes have a murderous gaze, which she used to glare at the Advent Eight. A dark reddish aura radiated off her body, which produced an equally murderous power.

"I'm Rippress. Nice to meat you," Rippress introduced herself with a malicious grin and pointed her Liston Knife at the Advent Eight.

Shuddering at Rippress' presence alone, Valkyria/Tori backed off. "Yikes, they recruited a sociopath?!"

"That's not all, but they now have an arsonist on their side!" The second figure called out, revealing herself as a young long, auburn-haired woman with freckles and wearing a fireproof reddish brown fur coat and red pants. As she opened her hands, fireballs manifested in her palms. "You may call me Inferno, sweeties."

"Don't forget me," another voice belonging to a young woman interjected. The third figure revealed herself as a light brown-skinned woman with short blue hair emerged wearing a brown vest over a t-shirt and long dark brown pants. She pulled out dual pistols and pointed them at the Advent Eight. "I'm Leraje. Nice to meet you, partners!"

"Look at that. We've evened out the odds. Eight against Eight. I wonder who'll win this death match?" Neurobuzz smirked.

"I don't know I feel like we're outmatched here even if the sides are even," Horus/Lance muttered, his mood grew worrisome when he gazed over at Black Hōō and Rippress. "Those two are the ones I'm worried about the most."

"You're right to be concerned, Horus. Those two give off extremely dangerous vibes," Norse-knight/Hiroshi quietly muttered.

Hōō/Cammy added, not taking her eyes off Black Hōō. "Don't worry. I'll take care of her."

"Hold it! If you guys are going to have a big brawl, then don't leave us out!" A familiar voice that the Advent Eight and the Black heralds recognized emerged. The three were the same young women who awakened new special abilities and became superpowered beings. It was Matilda/Kara, who walked out with two more familiar faces: Marozi/Ayana and Reapress/Sasha.

"Hey, it's you three!" Nephilim/Samantha cried out elatedly.

However, the Advent Eight then recognized Reapress and backed away cautiously, remembering her dangerous power nearly devastated them and the ballroom event. Reapress, on the other hand, showed no concern over their distrust.

"It's ok, mates. She's gotten hold of her dangerous powers," Matilda reassured the Advent Eight.

"How can we be so sure about that? You expect us to take your and her word?" Sudsakorn/Huey cautiously asked the three.

Scoffing, Reapress brought out her Enfereap Scythe, startling the Advent Eight. Their first instinct was to get into defensive stances, but Reapress then turned her gaze toward Rippress. "Relax, you fools. I'm here for her. I've sensed their presence since she awakened and I'm going to silence her for good."

Wiping away her wicked smirk, Rippress snarled. "Is that a challenge?!"

"Yes, it is and I shall break that little blade you've got!" Reapress angrily retorted as hers and Rippress' red eyes met.

"Just make sure and keep your distance from the rest of us," Horus muttered.

"So, you added three more members to your team. So, what? It won't make a difference," Neurobuzz stated. "We have greater powers enough to defeat you."

"Why don't we just settle it right now then?" Stronghold insisted as his team assembled behind him.

"I agree. No more room for talk," Neurobuzz concurred.

Black Hōō commanded. "Now, Black Heralds! Let's eliminate them for Mido!"

"Ok, Advent… Eleven now?" Psyche corrected herself halfway. "Let's give them hell!"

Both sides finally clashed and a superpowered brawl spread over the vicinity. Horus and Hōō engaged Black Hōō and Set. As Hōō forged her Hōō Blade, her fire blade clashed against Black Hōō's Black Hōō Blade. While their fiery blades collided, flames erupted from their swords, pushing them back. Hōō quickly launched a Hōō Helix, attempting to engulf her dark sister with it, but Black Hōō nullified it with her Black Hōō Helix.

"Sorry, sis, but we think too alike. At this rate, neither one of us is going to beat the other," Black Hōō chuckled, throwing a fiery ball from her blade.

Catching and cutting the fireball with her fire sword, Hōō rebuked. "Don't be so sure. You'll drop your guard sooner than later."

"Likewise, sis, but it shall be you who falls!" Black Hōō screamed, soaring toward Hōō with an aerial attack as she tossed fiery blasts at Hōō.

At the same time, Set tossed mummy bandages toward Horus. Readily defending himself from Set's assault, Horus neutralized the bandages with his Neith's Arrows. Seth countered by summoning his golden, multi-armed dragon-faced warrior that stopped Horus' arrows from aiming for him.

"Heheh, good try. Your abilities have become more refined," Set commended.

"I have to refine them if I'm going to beat you!" Horus yelled, cupping his hands to create a yellow glowing sphere with a falcon's visage in it.

At the same time, Set conjured three dark rays from the three cobras on his crown. These rays then converged into a massive cobra that headed straight for Horus. Horus immediately tossed his glowing orb that collided with and nullified the cobra. In the end, Horus' Ra's Eternity proved more potent than Set's Apep's Eternity.

"And this time you didn't need Phantom Thieves to help you! Impressive indeed, but I'm not out of my tricks, boy!" Set declared as a dark golden aura enveloped him, which changed him into his 15-foot high Akhekh form. He roared a beastly bellow and charged toward Horus, who jumped out of harm's way and blasted him with more Neith's Arrows. Although these arrows inflicted burns on the beast, they didn't damage Set. Quickly turning to Hōō, she briefly imbued his arrows with her flames, giving him a greater edge over Set. With the imbued fire arrows, Horus damaged Set with his Ember of Bennu.

"Yeah, how do you like that?!" Horus called out as Set roared in pain.

---

Once again meeting head-on, Valkyria and Erinye unleashed a quick flurry of fisticuffs and kicks. As they matched each other's moves, Valkyria saw an opening and kicked Erinye in the back, sending her flying into a signpost. Valkyria dove toward the fallen Black Herald, but Erinye retaliated and tossed her Blades of Mordred. As Valkyria evaded Erinye's energy blades, Erinye forged a longer single blade and swiped at her opponent. Valkyria tucked her head, narrowly getting beheaded by her rival.

"Shit that was close!" Valkyria cursed loudly. When she turned, Erinye swung her energy blade at her again, but Valkyria defended with her sword and quickly swung her blade, unleashing a powerful wave that pushed Erinye away.

After being repelled by Valkyria's Exalt Asgardian Wave, Erinye was attacked from behind by Norse-knight's Gaea's Blast. After being blasted down by Norse-knight, Valkyria conjured and tossed a spear toward Erinye, who summoned her energy-manifested giant lindworm that caught the spear.

"Not bad! Your teamwork has improved since we last fought!" Erinye commended her enemies. "But, I won't be done in so easily!"

"Yeah, how about now?!" Valkyria rebuked as Norse-knight manifested golden light from his broadsword, which then turned into a golden dragon.

Using Scalebound, Norse-knight collided against and pushed away Erinye's lindworm. Having removed her giant creature, Norse-knight allowed Valkyria to strike. The Valkyrie warrior quickly flew down and swung her sword at Erinye. Erinye defended herself with her energy blade.

"Stay on her! I'll try and help my dragon keep that thing busy!" Norse-knight said while Valkyria and Erinye engaged in a sword battle.

"I'm glad I could have this battle with you! I wouldn't have anything less!" Erinye boasted, grinning from ear to ear while swinging and deflecting Valkyria's sword swings.

"Yeah, I couldn't have said it better myself, but while you're looking for a dick-measuring contest, I'm here to win and stop your crew!" Valkyria yelled while swinging and attacking Erinye's energy blade. Peering to the side, Valkyria witnessed Reapress and Rippress already madly swinging their blades at each other. She shuddered at the thought of trying to interfere in their bloodlust duel, leaving the two blood-thirsty animals to settle their differences.

As Reapress' scythe collided with Rippress' blade, the two blood-lusted monsters gave maniacal expressions. Reapress pulled back while Rippress attempted to gut and slit Reapress' throat. However, Reapress swiftly swung her scythe, almost tearing Rippress's nimble body in half. Despite her small size, Rippress showed incredible tenacity and terrifying super strength.

"Now, which body part shall I tear off first?" Rippress giggled evilly, turning her head to the side.

"How about I got for your head?" Reapress snarled.

"Now there's an idea! I'll cut off your head and mutilate everything except for your pretty face!" Rippress cackled as she lunged at Reapress. As she attempted to behead Reapress as promised, Reapress grabbed Rippress' left leg and tossed her on the ground. Swinging her scythe down, Reapress missed when Rippress used her blade to stop the scythe.

Rippress manifested dark energy into her blade creating a bundle of flayed skin that doubled like a shield. Using her Nuckelavee's Muscled Shield, Rippress defended herself from Reapress' deadly strikes. Despite how fast and hard she swung her scythe, Reapress couldn't break through Rippress' defenses.

"Aww, what's wrong? Can't seem to cut the meat?' Rippress mischievously snickered as she held Reapress at bay.

"You won't keep hiding behind that thing!" Reapress snarled, madly swinging her scythe harder than before.

Noticing the scythe starting to break through her shield, Rippress' face contorted. "Maybe not, but I'm not worried. I have other tricks up my sleeve."

---

Targeting Stronghold and Psyclone, Neurobuzz discharged greenish-blue electrical sparks toward them. Stronghold immediately nullified some of his enemy's Psylence Wave with a see-through aura surrounding him. Psyclone manifested four clones, which she sent to distract Neurobuzz, who effortlessly blasted them away with a wasp-stinger-like bolt. After taking out her clones with his Wasp Stinger, he noticed one of these clones was the real Psyclone. Not realizing he had been duped, one of the affected clones snuck up and kicked Neurobuzz from behind.

"Ugh, he got me good," Psyclone winched, feeling the effects of Neurobuzz's attack. She was then propped up by Stronghold.

"Will you be ok, Andrea?" He asked her.

"I should be. I'm not going to die or anything but my clone should help."

As Neurobuzz stood ready to fight, Psyclone's clone helped Stronghold fend off their electrical-charged foe. As the clone distracted Neurobuzz, Stronghold conjured a nullification aura field to trap the Black Herald. When Neurobuzz tried to blast Stronghold with a Wasp Stinger, Psyclone's clone shoved Neurobuzz inside the nullification field. Having been caught in Stronghold's trap, Neurobuzz felt his power leaving him. However, even to Stronghold's surprise, dark energy seemingly left Neurobuzz. The nullification field now doubled as a purification technique that pulled this dark energy out of Neurobuzz, leaving him knocked unconscious.

"Hey, what did you just do, Marty?" Psyclone asked him.

Bewildered over the result, Stronghold replied. "I… don't know? That was only supposed to neutralize him inside the field. Whatever came out has been removed. Since I saw dark energy leave him, that must've been what was controlling him."

Opposite from where the fight ended, Matilda and Inferno engaged in their heated scuffle. As she discharged flames from her body, Inferno went on the attack and nearly caught Matilda in her fiery cloak. Relying on her armored sandals to spring around, Matilda bounced away and evaded Inferno's flames. Springing high into the air, Matilda dove and went for a diving dropkick, but Inferno unleashed a fiery wave. Matilda spun herself around and unleashed fast kicks, sending lightning bolts toward Inferno. Dodging Matilda's Bolt of Mamaragan, Inferno failed to stop her adversary's lightning bolt.

"Hey, eyes on me, mate!" Matilda hollered, kicking her feet up and sending another lightning bolt that struck Inferno. The bolt then seemingly removed dark energies from Inferno. Following this attack, Inferno fell unconscious. "Oh, maybe I overdid it? Hey, are you ok?!" She checked on the unconscious Inferno.

---

As Leraje rapidly fired energy bullets from her guns, Marozi hastily dodged them. Then, as she conjured her Anasi's Will, Marozi manifested the image of an African elephant around her, which granted her super strength. She ran toward Leraje as her bullets bounced off the elephant's aura. Realizing her bullets weren't making a difference, Leraje dodged out of Marozi's path and readied a double-barreled shotgun. Marozi then threw her spear toward Leraje. Quickly responding to the incoming spear, Leraje fired two powerful energy bullets from her double barrel, which stopped the energy spear.

"Not so fast. Keep your eye on the spear," Marozi rebuked, charging light energy through her spear, which broke through Leraje's energy bullet and struck her head-on.

The light from Marozi's Luminous Spear neutralized Leraje and knocked her out. As the Black Herald fell, the spear's light purged the darkness out of Leraje. "May the darkness that controlled you vanish."

While Leraje kept Marozi busy, Nephilim and Sudsakorn pursued Cambion. They fought into a private hotel area with fortunately no bystanders to get in their way. Nephilim quickly grabbed Cambion and flew into the nearest private room. When Nephilim's snowy owl, Cassiel, appeared to assist her, Cambion's owl familiar, Stolas, dove in and attacked Cassiel. The owls proceeded to fire eye beams at one another.

When Nephilim conjured her Asteroid Ray, Cambion countered with her Antimatter Mandalas, which resulted in their attacks colliding and erupting in an explosion that blew down the doors.

When Sudsakorn entered the wrecked room, they saw them rolling all over the place and at each other's throats. Then, his face notably blushed when he saw, in his eyes, the two beautiful 'Native American sirens' ripping each other's clothes off, leaving them partially nude with little of their battle attire left.

"You two are…" Sudsakorn muttered, drawing their attention away from their fight.

"What?" They both asked until they realized they had little clothing on.

"Hey, you think we should even be fighting?" Nephilim asked Cambion.

"I'm a Black Herald and I'm supposed to…"

"Well, maybe you don't. You still have free will, right?" Sudsakorn asked Cambion.

"Yes, I do, but…" She stopped when Nephilim grabbed her hands, causing her to blush.

"Do you love Huey as much as I do?"

"Well, I…" Cambion stammered as her eyes shifted from her rival toward the young Thai man.

"Remember our fight at the ballroom when you said you genuinely want Huey's heart?" Nephilim reminded her rival, who nodded and recalled her making a claim. "I want you to know he was mine first."

"But, does your love for him surpass mine?" Cambion asked.

"I have a proposal," Sudsakorn interjected as he leaned over, whispering in their ears, causing their eyes to light up as both nodded approvingly. With that, the Archvalkyrie and her rival tore off their remaining battle attire, revealing themselves in their birthday suits.

Seeing the two Indigenous American women standing in front of him, Sudsakorn's face turned beet red.

"If this is the only way to purge the Yami Matter out of me, then I'll gladly do it if it means getting to make love with you, Huey," Cambion said, twiddling her thumbs as she and Nephilim approached Sudsakorn. They leaned in together and kissed each other simultaneously, their three lips meeting.

Once their lips met and kissed, Cambion felt the Yami Matter darkness being removed from her body. Sudsakorn and Nephilim embraced Cambion as the latter used her powers to remove the last Yami Matter essences. As the dark energies left her, Cambion became liberated from its influence. As Sudsakorn disrobed his clothing, he stood while the ladies got on their knees to lick and suck on their man's member. Then, Sudsakorn and Cambion put Nephilim on a bed, spread her legs open as they went in, and licked her private area while their tongues briefly interacted. At the same time, while they were licking her, Nephilim caressed the back of her partners' heads. Then, Cambion lightly pushed Sudsakorn onto the bed and sat on his face, giving him a chance to lick her inside while at the same time, he thrust his member inside Nephilim, who sat on top of him. As he thrust into her, Nephilim let out an elated moan. Both ladies kissed and just when they did, Sudsakorn climaxed.

After taking some time to breathe, Sudsakorn had Nephilim put Cambion on top of him. Then, he performed the same position with Cambion as he did with his lover and thrust his member into Cambion, causing her to let out a bigger erotic moan than Nephilim. Afterward, the three lovers performed another three-way kiss, further validating their love for each other. After this interracial threesome, they exerted so much of their energy through their intercourse, they embraced and dropped out of their superpowered forms. Now in their civilian forms, the threesome couple lay in bed kissing and embracing at the same time. The fair-skinned Thai man was enamored with the two beautiful copper-skinned women laying beside him. Their unmatched beauty is equally matched in his eyes. Sudsakorn was Huey again. Nephilim turned back into Samantha. With the Yami Matter influence fully removed from her, Cambion lost her superpowered form and turned back into her civilian state.

At the same time, when Cambion lost her powers, Stolas vanished as a result of their link. Seeing this dismayed Cassiel, who had started to grow fond of his rival.

"My real name is Nayeli," she revealed her real identity. "And thank you. I have no regrets about being set free from the darkness."

"You don't need to thank us," Samantha lovingly smiled at her new love partner, linking her right hand with Nayeli's left hand. "We're bound together with our love for each other."

"And we'll be together always," Huey said as the lovers lay together for a while longer.

---

At the same time, Horus settled his fight with Set. As Set went for another Apep's Eternity, Horus fired his Ember of Bennu again that nullified his attack, and shot his body up with mystic energies that seeped and purified the Akhekh. Letting out a pained bellow, the Akhekh's body exploded with light and Set collapsed. With every dark energy purged out of him, Set fell unconscious.

"Whoa, I can't believe that worked. Hey, are you still conscious?!" Horus called out over to the defeated Black Herald.

Having sensed a few of the Black Heralds being defeated, Black Hōō grew more irritated as she aggressively lashed out at Hōō and bombarded her with fiery arrows. As Hōō amped up her fiery projectiles. Black Hōō soared above her adversary.

"Damn it, a few of our Heralds have fallen? That tears it, I'm going to have to go all out to finish these pests off!" Black Hōō hissed as her black fiery cloak expanded over her.

Upon seeing her sister's dark flames expanding, Hōō sensed a dreadful power forthcoming.

"I don't like where this is going. I don't think I'll be able to beat her on my own," Hōō muttered, eyeing Black Hōō apprehensively.

---

Mido's Laboratory/Roppongi Hills Mori Tower (六本木ヒルズ森タワー)/10:55 PM (JST)

Having scaled the long flight of stars, Crow, Violet, the Elven Princesses, and Shadow Sae broke down the door leading into the insidious Revenant's laboratory. When they scoured the room, they spotted the real Sae laying still on the examination table Mido left her on.

"There she is!" Shadow Sae pointed to the real Sae. "Now, if I can just enter her body, she can awaken."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Master Mido wouldn't want anyone eavesdropping on his work," a woman's voice calmly interjected, alarming the group who just entered the once quiet laboratory.

"Who's there?" Crow demanded, quickly pulling out his jagged swords.

"I thought this was left unoccupied?" Violet wondered.

"Mido wouldn't be that much of a fool to leave his lab unguarded," Nadia said.

"You're correct on your assessment, Elven," another woman, a huskier-sounding one, chimed in.

As the two unseen women stepped out of an obscure corner, the group recognized them as Miki's guardians, Jocelyn Feles and Carolyn Angelsmith.

"Hey, I recognize you two! We saw you at that ballroom with Miki and the other Consortium members!" Anastasia cried out.

"What are you two going in here? Don't you know Miki is fighting with us?" Violet asked the two ladies, who both exchanged glances and smirked. "I don't understand. Why are you smiling?"

"Oh, dear, so she went off on her own without our consent? Well, that girl is in for a stern lecture from yours truly," Carolyn sighed.

"Feh, I say we give her a whipping," Jocelyn suggested while cracking her whip.

"Now, now, the poor girl doesn't need that. Although, she should be ok for right now. As for the rest of you, you've entered Master Mido's private quarters and we can't permit you to go any further," Carolyn sternly addressed Crow and the others. "I'm afraid this is where you venture no further."

With that, the group saw dark shadows envelop Carolyn and Jocelyn. The Yami Matter essences quickly changed their clothing. Carolyn was now seen wearing a white long gown coupled with a steel blue hood and a dark blue long-sleeve dress. She is now seen carrying her silver cross necklace and a grimoire.

Jocelyn's casual clothing was replaced with a black leather tube top with a tear in the center revealing her chest, leather long pants, and black high-heel boots. In her right hand is her crimson whip.

"So, you're more agents serving Mido. Does Miki know?!" Nadia yelled out.

"Miki doesn't need to know everything we're involved in. We'll protect her and Master Mido from you lot," Carolyn scoffed.

"That's right! Your concern should be with us now!" Jocelyn declared.

"As I am now, you may address me as I truly am: Fredegund," 'Carolyn' stated.

"And you can call me Ildikó!" 'Jocelyn' announced, cracking her whip across and breaking a small wooden table with it.

"You shall not pass any further as long as we're here!" The two guardians announced.

"Heh, as if I should be concerned with killing you two. You're just obstacles standing in our way," Crow replied remorselessly coupled with a sinister grin smearing over his face.

"We need to defeat them if we want to save Niijima Sae!" Shadow Sae shouted as she raced forward to attack Fredegund and Ildikó head-on, but the former opened up her grimoire and repelled the shadow with a magical barrier. Having been repelled by the barrier, Shadow Sae propped herself up and scowled. "I won't give up until Sae and I are reunited!"

"Alright, let's get this over with!" Ildikó hollered, swinging her crimson whip at the group.

As the group evaded the whip, they divided into two groups. Crow, Nadia, and Shadow Sae engaged Ildikó. Violet and Anastasia faced off with Fredegund.

"Very well. We'll deal with you all quickly," Fredegund sighed, quickly flipping through her grimoire as she cast magical beams toward Violet and Anastasia.

As the duo evaded the caster's magical beams, Anastasia readily fired four light arrows at Fredegund. Fredegund quickly cast a magic barrier, nullifying the Light Elf's arrows. Summoning Ella, Violet countered Fredegund with Sword Dance. Fredegund's barrier guarded her from Violet's rapier strikes. As she merged with Ella, Violet quickly invoked her Persona's Ascendancy and became Ella ΩX.

"Interesting. You've achieved a greater power, but will it stand up to my grimoire's most effective spells?" Fredegund asked, flipping through more pages.

When Ella ΩX performed her ΩX Sword Dance, Fredegund summoned a draconic creature that was quickly slain. Anastasia fired more light arrows that took out a winged imp that flew out of Fredegund's grimoire.

Meanwhile, Ildikó tossed her whip in hopes of ensnaring one of her three opponents. Nadia jumped up and took out her whip.

"Have a taste of my whip, bitch!" Nadia cried out, swinging her whip, which struck Ildikó's crimson whip.

"Aww, how cute. You're a whip master, too? But mine was made from the finest quality! Can it do the damage mine can do?!" Ildikó boasted, swinging her whip toward Nadia, who quickly cast a barrier to stop her adversary's whip attack.

"Let us through!" Shadow Sae shouted, quickly changing into her Leviathan form. As she collided with Ildikó, the whip wielder jumped up and ensnared Shadow Sae's feet with her whip. Ildikó then effortlessly threw Shadow Sae into a wall.

Suddenly, Ildikó sensed malicious intent approaching her. She quickly turned as Crow swung his jagged swords at her. With a kick, she booted Crow away and sent him flying onto an empty exam table. When she threw her crimson whip, she narrowly missed Crow, who rolled away. Regaining his composure, Crow suppressed his unhinged tendencies and focused on the mission at hand. Briefly eyeing Sae's unconscious body, Crow summoned Hereward, merged with his Persona, and invoked his Persona's Ascendancy form: Hereward ΩX.

"Oh, you've combined with your entity? Intriguing, but are you strong enough to withstand my whip?" Ildikó wondered, throwing her whip toward Hereward ΩX.

Hereward ΩX dodged and reflected her crimson whip with his Loptr Tornado, conjuring wind energy to repel her attack. However, the whip master invoked fiery magic through her whip, which then unleashed an explosive blast. Her Medea Combustion was enough to stun Hereward ΩX and Nadia.

When Shadow Sae stood ready to attack Ildikó, the whip master prepared to put her down for good.

Just then, a yo-yo shot out and deflected Ildikó's crimson whip. This sudden attack befuddled Ildikó and caused Fredegund to lower her guard. Hereward ΩX, Ella ΩX, the Elven Princesses, and Shadow Sae, too, shifted their sights toward five newcomers.

The yo-yo recoiled back to its wielder. It was a petite red-haired girl with heart-shaped pigtails. The petite girl spoke out. "Looks like we came on time."

"Good, that means it's not too late for us to find Makoto and the others," a man in a black coat and a fedora-like hat added as he faced their two enemies.

"Zenkichi?" Hereward ΩX addressed the man in black.

"Don't forget about us!" Akane chimed in as she walked forward, now wearing her black magician's garb coupled with the black mask. "Joaquin, c'mon, it's our shining moment!" As she said this, her friend, Joaquin, stepped forward dressed in new attire.

Joaquin is seen garbed in a dark chocolate brown ninja-like garb with a single katana stashed in a sheath on his back. Wears a caramel-colored wolf mask. A small bushy tail is seen sticking out his backside.

"Hey now, kids. Don't leave me in the dark," a man interjected, emerging from behind Wolf. He came out wearing a white silver Super Sentai-esque armor and a cape, resembling the hero Zephyrman. He removed the white helmet, revealing his face. It was Konoe Akira, former CEO of Madicce.

"We are all present and accounted for," the petite red-haired girl announced. "Greetings, I am Sophie. Any friends of the Phantom Thieves are our allies, too."

"Ah, it's you, Sophie!" Ella ΩX called out to the AI.

"Hello, friends. I'd tell you my name, but as I am now, you can call me Zephryman," Konoe announced.

"Yes, you're Konoe Akira," Hereward ΩX remarked.

"No, I'm Zephryman!" He put his white helmet back on.

"And I'm Zatanna," Akane announced her codename.

"I'm Horkew," Joaquin revealed his codename.

"So, you brought reinforcements, Zenkichi. Yeah, we certainly could use it," Hereward ΩX shrugged.

"We're here because Makoto contacted me and I banded us together. For the time being, we'll cast our differences aside, Goro Akechi," Wolf said, shifting his sights on Ildikó and Fredegund. Then, he saw Shadow Sae and the unconscious Sae. He quickly brandished his gun and aimed it toward Ildikó first. "Step aside, we're here to save Niijima Sae."

---

Chapter Soundtrack
Shin Megami Tensei IV OST - Charon - - First half of Mido's revelations.
Mido Cutscene Music - Code Vein - Second half of Mido's revelations.
Jurassic World Evolution Soundtrack - The Inevitable Conclusion - The Abomivolved Reptilia dimension.
Jurassic World Evolution Soundtrack - Big Sharp Pointy Teeth - The Abomivolved Reptilia dimension. The Komodo rex vs. the Saltnile Sucho.
Yakuza 0 OST - 39 閻魔の誓い (Oath of Enma) - vs. the Black Heralds.
Yakuza 0 OST - 41 With Vengeance - vs. Black Heralds.
FF15 オーケストラ "Invidia" Final Fantasy XV × Video Game Orchestra PAX East 2018 ファイナルファンタジー15 - Valkyria, Nephilim, Reapress, Marozi, and Matilda vs. Erinye, Cambion, Rippress, Leraje, and Inferno.
-Final Fantasy XV - Mashup - Invidia (OST + PAX East) - An alternative song of Valkyria, Nephilim, Reapress, Marozi, and Matilda vs. Erinye, Cambion, Rippress, Leraje, and Inferno.
Ivan Torrent - Underskin - Nephilim/Sudsakorn/Cambion's threesome.
MURDER PRINCESS OST - 05 Cecilia Onna mahou tsukai - Ildikó and Fredegund reveal their true identities.
MURDER PRINCESS OST - 01. Akuma no hohoemi (arita)- vs. Ildikó.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night OST - Repentance - vs. Fredegund.

---

A/N: Finally, the main event. Juzo Mido tells it all to the Thieves and Revenants. Not only is he the original Juzo Mido, but he has his full memories intact. He's responsible for all the Yami Matter-related incidents (including the personal matters with nearly breaking up Ren & Ann while exploiting and doxxing Ann's insecurities). And killing off what he considers a 'side experiment' in one of the cruelest ways possible as if that wasn't enough to make him a mass murderer on a planetary scale.

The Abomivolved Reptilia is a concept based on the Neoreptiles by Hellraptor. Hellraptor has concept art of his reptile beasties, which inspired the Abomivolved Reptilia, online. If you can't find it on DeviantArt (which I cannot since they've been taken down by the artist), then google them. Make sure to include Hellraptor and Neoreptile in the search.

And who didn't see Eon as merely an extension of Mido coming? Of course, they're one.

The big surprise is that the Revenants find out they're inhabiting the bodies of stand-ins and lookalikes. Thanks to Io's presence, she transferred their memories and Revenant natures/abilities into the humans they physically and mentally inhabit. How is that for a shocker?

The Advent Eight vs. the Black Heralds is underway. Most of the Black Heralds are beaten. Yes, I know the whole three-way smut with Nephilim/Sudsakorn/Cambion is there. That's for an audience of one, and he knows who he is. (...it's not you, GR)

Carolyn and Jocelyn reveal their true selves and attack Crow's group. Now we have Wolf, his daughter, Sophie, Joaquin, and Konoe joining the conflict! Finally, some Persona 5 Strikers are involved in the mix. Looks like the wolf and the crow have to set their differences aside to save Sae.

I hope you enjoyed this, even if it was most Mido monologuing and letting out surprising revelations. At least there was fighting in the second half for the action junkies. The final battles in Book II are about to escalate and it's going to get gruesome.