Ryuji: This is the Ultimate Showdown!
Morgana: Of Ultimate Destiny.
Haru: Good guys, bad guys, and explosions.
Shiho: As far as the eye can see.
Ann: And only one will survive. I wonder who it will be.
Ren: This is the Ultimate Showdown.
Phantom Thieves: Of Ultimate Destiny.
Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Twenty – One
[Opening Scene: Café LeBlanc (Evening)
Theme of Café LeBlanc: Beneath the Mask From Persona 5]
Ren walked through the café doors and saw Sojiro talking to a woman with a grin on his face.
The woman had brown eyes, black hair in a bob cut and red lips, and a pair of orange sunglasses on her hair.
She wore a black shirt with a motto that reads "low life fight the power," a white long-sleeved shirt under the black shirt, blue jeans, a pink fanny pack, a camera hanging from her neck, and a pair of black-and-white converse sneakers.
They looked highly engaged in conversation, so Ren quickly said his hellos and rushed up the stairs, catching the words, "Thanks for the sugar, sugar."
Ren didn't know why but the woman looked familiar to him, but like always, he couldn't place where.
He was so sick of that.
"I still can't believe you live here," Morgana said as Ren sat his bag down on his futon, which allowed Morgana to jump out of it. "In this abandoned-ass house. Don't you have any self-respect."
"Oh, you want to roast today?" Ren challenged.
Morgana only laughed and replied, "You couldn't beat me in a roasting contest on my worst day."
"You must be human with all that sass," Ren told him with a small bop on his head.
"But, living here is not so bad after I cleaned it. I've been staying over Haru's place for so long, I nearly fucking forgot about it," Ren joked as he packed some clothes for another night at Haru's house. "But I should make more of an effort to stay here instead of running to Haru's all the time."
"Meanwhile, you see Sojiro being all flirty with that woman?" Morgana asked.
Ren snorted and said, "Yeah. She seems somewhat familiar."
"They were flirting so hard. I'm impressed. She's pretty cute," Morgana commented.
"Like every other woman in this damn city," Ren laughed out.
"Hey Kid, I keep hearing-" Sojiro's voice said from behind him before cutting off suddenly.
Morgana and Ren exchanged a glance as Sojiro glared at them.
"Um…I can explain," Ren lamely said.
"I was wondering why I heard meowing!" Sojiro exclaimed. "Thought I was finally going senile or something. Why did you bring it here?!"
Thinking quickly, Ren said, "The poor guy was abandoned."
"Not my problem," Sojiro immediately responded.
"Hey!" Morgana exclaimed, highly offended.
"Look, this place is a restaurant, Ren. Animals are a no-go here," Sojiro explained.
Morgana whimpered as his eyes got more prominent, which caused Sojiro's harsh edge to fade away.
Ren quirked his eyebrow at this.
"Although, I guess you might stay on good behavior longer if you have a pet to watch after…" Sojiro mumbled.
Ren gasped out happily and asked, "Do you mean I can keep him?"
"Yeah, yeah," Sojiro grumbled. "But keep it quiet when we're open for business downstairs and don't let him anywhere near that area, or he's catching a boot to the ass when I kick him out."
"Awww, thanks, Sojiro. You're the best!" Ren said, hamming up his happiness.
"Don't go hugging me now," Sojiro chuckled. "Oh! And I'm not going to take care of that. That's all on you."
"No problem, Boss," Ren said.
"Boss?" Sojiro questioned. "Hm…I like that…" He shook his head and asked, "You heading over to your friend's place again?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah, I didn't expect to make so many friends that want me around," Ren admitted truthfully.
"Maybe they'll keep you on the good and narrow like this little guy will," Sojiro said. "Oh, hold on a second." Sojiro rushed out of the room and down the stairs.
"How, he's pretty cool for someone who keeps you in this dump," Morgana commented.
Sojiro came back moments later with a plate that had tuna on it and placed it in front of Morgana. "I take it back, Ren. He's super cool!" Morgana said as he began to eat, causing Ren to shake his head slowly.
"Seriously, it had to keep calling out in that little voice. I knew he had to eat something," Sojiro explained as he handed Ren the spare key to the place. "Make sure you wash that dish and close up when you leave. Got it?" Sojiro ordered.
"Consider it done," Ren said with a smile.
"Good," Sojiro said with approval in his voice. "By the way. Have you decided on a name for this guy?"
"Morgana," Ren replied with a smile.
"Morgana, huh? I was hoping I could name it," Sojiro sheepishly admitted.
"I do need a middle and last name," Morgana told Ren hurriedly before he continued to eat.
"How about a middle and last name as a consolation prize?" Ren asked.
Sojiro grinned. "I don't have anything for a middle name, so I guess Sakura will do," Sojiro said.
"Sakura Morgana," Ren said. "You like that, Morgana?"
"Yeah!" Morgana chirped. "Has a nice ring to it,"
"He sounds happy," Sojiro said as he reached down to pet Morgana with a grin. "I think he approves," Sojiro said before he patted Ren on the shoulder and walked off. "Don't forget to lock up!" Sojiro told him as he walked down the steps.
"Have a good night, Boss!" Ren yelled after him.
"Later, kid!" Sojiro yelled back.
After hearing the door downstairs close, Morgana said, "I think we scored some points on him."
"We sure did. Thanks to your kitten eyes," Ren joked.
"Hey, I might as well make use of this body before I return to my human form," Morgana joked before he sighed, "I just hope I get that body back."
"Do you know how you lost it?" Ren asked.
"No," Morgana glumly replied. "I think the Metaverse's distortions made me lose my memories and my true form."
"Don't sweat it. We'll get your body back, Morgana. Any way we can. I promise you that," Ren said as he held up his hand.
"Heh, you better," Morgana told him with a happy tone as he leaned up on his hind legs and gave Ren a high-five.
And almost like clockwork, Ren felt a new power.
"I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Magician Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…"
He was growing to hate that.
"Now come on, we have some ladies to get to," Morgana said with a waggle of his eyebrows, which made Ren snort.
[Scene Change: Okumura Residence (Nighttime)
Theme of Nighttime: Kaori from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment]
"Dude…I can't sleep worth a damn," Ryuji said with an excited look.
Ren turned his body to see Ryuji's large smile as the blond rested his head on his palm as he laid in the bed across from him.
After school, the group met up and traveled to Haru's place, which quickly seemed like the perfect place to relax after a long day of school and dealing with Kamoshida's bullshit.
"I can't either," Ren admitted as he leaned up off his bed. "Tomorrow, we take down Kamoshida for good. It's unbelievable we got to this point."
"Right?! We're so gonna kick his ass and take that treasure from him," Ryuji said. "The last time I was excited like this was…well-"
Ryuji was interrupted by Morgana trotting into the room, only for Ryuji and Ren to explode into laughter.
Morgana wore a little black dress, a black bow on his head, and a look of shame on his face.
"Shut up!" Morgana said he leaped onto Ren's bed and said, "Those girls are the worst. They think I look cute like this!"
"I mean, you do look adorable, though," Ren stated as Ryuji fell off the bed laughing.
"No I don't! Take it off!" Morgana exclaimed.
"N-No, not yet, I wanna get a picture," Ryuji said as he picked up his phone and snapped a picture of a hissing, grumpy Morgana.
"Shut up, dimwit!" Morgana hissed out before he began to struggle to remove the dress. Ren chuckled and motioned for Morgana to calm down so he could remove the dress.
"Sorry, man, I couldn't control myself," Ryuji said as Ren plucked the dress off, leaving Ryuji to pluck the bow from his head. "For what it's worth, you did look pretty adorable there, Morgana."
"Quiet, you," Morgana grumbled before he plopped down on the bed.
"It could be worse…It could've been all of us," Ren noted. "Thanks for taking that unknown bullet for Ryuji and me."
"Get bent," Morgana said. "I'm going to get you two back for this teasing…I don't know how yet, but I will."
"I'm sure," Ryuji said. "So what made them do that anyway?"
"They wanted to change my style a bit, and I agreed, not knowing what they were planning to do," Morgana said as he curled up into a ball with a sleepy yawn. "But I think they just wanted to take their minds off of the mission tomorrow."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Ren said. "You suffered a lot, Morgana. You should get some rest."
But Morgana had drifted off already.
"Awww. He's all tuckered out," Ryuji cooed with a grin on his face.
"Yeah. Morgana may not want to admit it, but I think he liked helping the girls take their minds off of tomorrow. Speaking of which, what were you going to say?"
Ren noticed Ryuji's grin diminishing and immediately frowned. "Hey, what's up?" Ren asked curiously.
"Well…I was saying that the last time I was excited like this was the day of my first track meet…" Ryuji murmured.
"You know you don't have to talk about it," Ren said.
"Nah, I can see the curiosity all over your face Ren," Ryuji said with a grin. Ren snorted at this but stayed quiet for Ryuji to speak.
"It was a few weeks after my mom dumped my piece of shit, dad, and we were on our own. I was acting out in gym class one day, and my coach forced me to run laps. Even at my half-ass speed, I was faster than some of the best track members. My coach was amazed and said I had the potential to be an Olympic Gold Track star one day, but I had to apply myself."
"I could see that. During our adventure in Kamoshida's palace, you ran pretty fast, despite the injury. I'm shocked you were able to keep it somewhat slow around us," Ren said.
"Heh, that only goes to show fast I can be when I wasn't crippled like this," Ryuji said with a confident smile, but Ren noticed Ryuji's eyes glistening in the moonlight. "Well, anyway," Ryuji quickly continued before Ren could say anything.
"I was excited. It was the first time someone other than my mom told me I was special, y'know. So I raced home told mom the good news. She was so happy that the next day, despite us being low on money due to the split, she brought me these new shoes…"
Ryuji snorted and looked away, but Ren knew that he was trying to hold back his tears. "I decided then that I would wait in wearing them, despite my shoes at the time being riddled with tears in them. Finally, the day arrived, and mom managed to get some time off her job to watch. Man, you should have seen my mom's face when she saw me walk out with those shoes…."
"She must have been really proud of you," Ren said.
"She was…She always loved the fact that I was on track. Said it felt like it kept me on track," Ryuji said as he shook his head at the pun. "Pun included in her statement."
Ren laughed at this.
"She was disappointed that Track went down after I hit that asshole, and I feel like I…I don't know…That I let her down somehow. She'll never say it, of course, but…" Ryuji drifted off.
"I doubt that," Ren told him. "I think your mother is proud of anything that you do because you're her kid. You're not out there selling drugs or getting into fights. At least with humans."
Ryuji snorted.
"But she raised a great guy in you, Ryuji, and I think she'll always be proud of that," Ren said with a smile.
"Ren…" Ryuji murmured. "Thanks, man…"
"What are friends for Ryuji?" Ren asked with a friendly smile.
The world seemed to darken briefly before a flash of ethereal blue flames flashed before Ren and morphed into the Chariot card. The card had nine chains wrapped around it before one snapped, leaving eight more.
"I am thou... Thou art I...
Thou hast deepened the vow with Sakamoto Ryuji.
Thou shalt have our blessings when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana.
While Ren felt bitter by this power-up, the happiness he brought to Ryuji lessened that bitterness.
"Alright, well enough of this sappy talk, we should grab some rest," Ryuji said as he placed his hands behind his head and turned away.
Ren smiled and shut his eyes as well.
[Theme of Nighttime: Kaori from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment]
"I think I have a crush on Ren-kun."
Ann and Haru looked up at the blushing Shiho with smiles on their faces.
"I knew it!" Ann exclaimed happily. "Ever since you talked to me about him when you saw him that day, I knew you might have had a crush on him."
"Ann-chan…" Shiho murmured as she covered the lower half of her face with a pillow.
"When did you realize it?" Haru asked.
"When I found out he had Morgana look after me to protect me…I realized it then…" Shiho murmured.
"I think Ren is interested in you as well, Shiho-chan," Haru said with a smile.
"You think so?!" Shiho gasped out.
"Yeah. I mean, Ren went above and beyond trying to protect you," Haru explained.
"Not to mention you two looked like you had a lot of fun during your date," Ann said with a teasing grin.
"D-Date? T-That was a-a date?!" Shiho stammered out as her blush deepened.
"Yeah. I mean, you didn't notice that Ryuji and I left near the start of you two focusing on one another?" Ann questioned.
Shiho shook her head.
"Yeah, Ryuji and I moved to a booth to talk to leave you guys alone," Ann said.
"Meaning that you two were on a date too," Haru noted slyly.
"O-Oi!" Ann gasped out, her face suddenly darkening. "T-This is about Shiho, not me!"
"Well, would you look at that Savior-chan? Ann didn't disagree with us," Haru said to Shiho with a smirk, causing the ebony-haired girl to giggle as Ann stammered.
Shiho then sighed and brought the pillow to her chest as she said, "I don't know…Maybe he has his eyes on someone else…"
"Huh? Like who?" Ann asked.
"Niijima-san…" Shiho said with a frown on her face.
"Really?" Ann asked. "I don't think she's interested in Ren."
"No…Something about the way she looked at him earlier…I see something in her eyes that shows she is interested in him…" Shiho muttered. "It makes sense truthfully. She's beautiful, and he's breathtaking while I'm just plain. But with that said, I won't lose Ren-kun to her."
"And we won't let you," Ann said with a determined look on her face while Haru nodded in agreement with two thumbs-up.
"Thanks, guys…" Shiho said with a warm smile.
[Scene Change: Shujin Academy (Dream)
Theme of Lust-Filled Dreams: Belongings from Persona 4]
"And now that you know that, what do you plan to do?" Amamiya asked. "Will you stand by and allow Kamoshida to continue to wreak havoc on the schoolmates we are here to protect, or will you stand up and stop him with me?"
"I…" Makoto began, but then she looked down. "I don't know…"
"It's okay to be afraid of what could happen," he told her with a smile. "I will never blame you for stepping back. But if you do, whatever happens to Kamoshida, don't interfere with it. He deserves the justice that is coming for him, and you will see that soon enough," Amamiya told her.
"And what is it you plan to do?" Makoto asked him. "Does it involve this Palace? These Personas that you and Sakamoto say you wield?"
There was a beat of silence before she heard him reply, "I don't think you'll get the answer that easily from me, Niijima-san," Amamiya told her softly, a hint of a smirk on his face.
"So it is true…Everything that you wrote in your journal?" Makoto asked.
"Again, you won't get the answer out of me that easily…You'll need to try harder than that. If you're up to the challenge," Amamiya said with a challenging tone in his voice, which took Makoto off guard.
Makoto let a smirk appear on her face as she strolled up to Amamiya and murmured, "I accept that challenge…"
Makoto could feel her cheeks heat up as she gazed at Ren's form, but before she could do anything, Ren pushed her against the table before his lips claimed hers in a deep kiss.
Makoto instantly wrapped her arms around his shoulders, his name leaving her lips in a moan. She could feel Ren's hands lift her on top of the desk and before she felt his left hand between her legs.
Ren's lips broke away from hers before biting her neck as she felt his fingers dip into her, she gasped out in sweet agony at the intense pleasure that flew through her.
"P-Please Ren-kun," Makoto panted out, feeling his fingers rubbed teasingly against her inner walls slowly.
"Please what, Makoto?" Ren whispered as he bites her neck again, causing a sharp moan to escape her lips.
"M-Make me feel good," she stammered out.
She felt him smirk, and the pleasure she felt increased as he started to pump his fingers in and out of her at a quicker pace, and it was leaving her mewling and moaning his name, realizing that she needs more of him.
She wanted to drown in his desire for her.
But then he removed his fingers from within her, and at first, she was confused.
She looked down to see why he had stopped when she felt his tongue enter her, and it was then she let out a sob of pleasure-
[Scene Change: Niijima Residence (Midnight)
Theme of Lust-Filled thoughts: It's SHOWTIME From Persona 4]
Makoto let out a sharp gasp as she rose out of bed, her face a beat red.
W-Why had she dreamed that?
Why was it with him?!
"I should have never read that stupid chapter before falling asleep," Makoto groaned in embarrassment as her blush deepened.
Was he on her mind that much that he was now seeping into her dreams?
She shook her head and removed the covers from her body.
She needed to train these thoughts away.
'How am I supposed to face him tomorrow after that?' Makoto thought before a flash of his intense storm-grey eyes filled her mind, causing her blush to deepen further.
Maybe she needed a cold shower instead of late-night training.
Damn that gray-eyed bastard!
What was going on with her?
[Scene Change: Shujin Academy (Daytime)
Theme of Shujin Academy: Want to be Close from Persona 3]
Minutes after the final bell rang out, The group made their way outside to the alleyway across the school and prepared for their battle with King Kamoshida.
"Alright, Haru. If anyone comes over here. You know what to do?" Ren asked.
"Scream until they leave," Haru said with a confident smile.
Ren nodded before Ryuji said, "If we aren't back in an hour, assume we need help and get the police."
Ren looked uncomfortable with this, but he nodded.
"See you when we get back," Shiho said as she hugged Haru. Ann followed up with a second hug before the group walked into the portal.
[Scene Change – Between Worlds
Theme of Transformation: Anime 01 from Persona Q2 New Cinema Labyrinth]
Time seemed slow with each step the group took as they ran from the real world into Kamoshida's castle.
A burst of red fire that took the shape of Carmen exploded from her body as streaks of lightning flowed from Ryuji's.
A trail of water flowed from the front of Shiho's body as a small violet light pulsated from both Ren's and Morgana's chests with a flash of light; Mona was running beside a fully dressed Joker, Skull, Panther, and Lioness.
[Scene Change: Palace of Lust (?)
Theme of Palace: Life will Change from Persona 5]
The group ran out of the portal and towards the castle where Skull shouted, "Captain Kidd!" With an explosion of Ethereal Blue flames, Captain Kidd appeared on his ship.
The five jumped onto the ship, where Skull said, "Takes us up!"/
Captain Kidd grinned and flew into the sky beside the castle before stopping at a window.
The group leaped through the window into their safe room before Captain Kidd disappeared.
"Ready?" Joker asked as he approached the door to the safe room.
The group nodded.
Joker quickly opened the door with a smirk and promptly ran down the hall with his team behind him.
With a leap onto the schoolgirl's statue, the thieves flawlessly jumped off of it onto the following two platforms before leaping through the second floor's opening into the large throne room.
Without pause, the five ran down the aisle towards the large door at the end of it.
Joker opened it slowly and motioned for the others to follow him inside, where they ran through the second door that led to the room of riches.
And there is where they saw it.
A large golden crown.
"Nyaaa! This is it!" Mona said as he leaped onto the crown with a dreamy grin on his face. "Ooooh, treasure."
"Um…Mona," Skull said with a dry tone. "That's not catnip…"
"I'm not a cat!" Mona exclaimed before he continued to nuzzle the crown. "This is it alright," Mona purred out.
"Mona!" The group shouted in unison.
Mona blinked and removed himself from the treasure and said, "Sorry…Lost control of myself…."
"Why did that happen?" Shiho asked.
"I have no idea. The treasure so smote me…" Mona said with a purr. "Nyaa…I'm sorry."
"Awww, Mona," Panther said as she petted Mona's head, which caused both Joker and Skull to smirk.
"Just don't do it again, okay?" Skull said with a cross of his arms.
"Yeah, yeah…" Mona said.
"But man, look at this shit…Look at how shiny it is," "Skull said as his gaze went back to the crown. "Why the hell is it so clean?"
"Of course, his treasure is crown, considering this whole damn palace. It's pissing me off." Panther growled out.
"It's bright," Lioness said. "Nothing like that evil monster. I wish to destroy it."
"No destroying," Mona said.
"He's right. Let's just snag it and get out of here," Joker said before the four circled the crown and lifted it from its stand, and promptly made their way out of the room with Mona in front of them to keep his eye out for any shadows.
The group managed to make it out of the room and carried the large crown down the aisle until they heard, "Go, Go, Let's Go! Kamo-Shi-Da!"
[Theme of Impending Boss Fight: Blood of Villain from Persona 5]
"Oh god," Panther groaned out.
Without warning, the crown flew out of their hands from a volleyball crashing into it, sending it behind them.
Seconds later, King Kamoshida leaped over them with a dramatic twirl of his body, landed beside the crown, and lifted up his hand, causing the crown to shrink down and right into his hands.
"Well, look at this my beautiful Ann…A bunch of rats trying to steal my treasure. Too bad I won't let any of you take it from me," King Kamoshida taunted as he tossed the headpiece up and down in his hand.
"Yo Pervert," Skull said with a frown. "Trying to ambush us like the bitch you are?"
"Ambush? No, I just made it easier to find you, and now that I have, I'll be dealing with you all personally," King Kamoshida said before a cruel smirk appeared on his face. "It's time to dispose of you brats. Right here, right now."
"Tch, that's our line, you rapist cockbite!" Skull shouted.
"Yeah! We're going to make you pay for what you did to not only us, but to everyone that you have used and abused!" Lioness shouted angrily.
"Is that what you all think?" King Kamoshida asked with a low chuckle. "What a selfish misunderstanding…"
"You saying we're mistaken, you piece of shit?" Panther asked. "You're the one who was doing sick and terrible things in secret! How is it a misunderstanding?!"
"It's funny how idiotic you all are," King Kamoshida said as he slung an arm around Shadow Ann, who nestled her head against his neck with a cooing sound. "The people around me were the ones who kept it a secret."
The group's eyes widened in shock at this.
"Don't look so shocked," King Kamoshida laughed. "Adults, who want to share in my accomplishments. Students who have the drive to become winners. They're willing to protect me. They all willing became my slaves. Sold their bodies and souls to me so that we all can all profit from it. Take the parents of Suzui Shiho, for example."
Lioness cringed at this as King Kamoshida's eyes gazed at her. "Your mother and father sold you to me to get you to the best school around. Your mother even gave me her body as a price." King Kamoshida licked his lips. "Twenty-Four hours of using her body…It is a memory I will forever cherish."
"Yo…" Skull whispered in horror as the group looked to Lioness. "Did your mom do that?"
Lioness glanced down at the ground and muttered, "I didn't even know that…"
"And even then, they agreed that I could do whatever I wanted to you!" King Kamoshida bellowed. "Many parents and students did this so we all could profit off of my success!"
"You naïve brats are trying to ruin a simple business transaction between us, and for what? Vengeance that I tried to take what I was agreed to get?" King Kamoshida asked.
Both Panther and Lioness scowled.
"Vengeance of using a weak boy to leak your records?"
Joker pulled at his right glove with narrowed eyes.
"Vengeance for a ruined track career?"
Skull snarled.
"Foolish, all of you!" King Kamoshida exclaimed. "Those peasants willing gave themselves to me. There's no wrong in using my gifts for my own personal gains!"
"I don't care…" Panther said. "All of those people, Shiho and I included, are idiots for letting you manipulate us… That much is true. But no matter what kind of fools people might be, that doesn't give you the right to play god and control their lives for your twisted desires!"
"It gives me all the right!" King Kamoshida yelled. "For I am a cut above all humans! So drop the attitude, you mediocre whore, and understand that I rule over all of you!"
"Tch, You? Ruling above all humans?" Lioness asked with a cold tone in her voice. "Surely you mean that you are beneath humanity, for all you are is a no good, god-damn demon infatuated with the most intrepid desires!"
Lioness pulled out her sword and shield as the rest of the thieves pulled out their weapons. "And we will strike you down for all that you've done!"
King Kamoshida smirked as black, and red energy began to flow all around him. "Fine…The gauntlet has been thrown! It is time for me to show why I am the demon that rules this world!" With those final words said, the energy expanded around King Kamoshida and Shadow Ann's body before it exploded.
And when the dust died down, the group looked up at the horror before them.
King Kamoshida now towered above the group, now a large pink demon with multiple arms and legs and a thick purple tongue with the crown on top of his head. He held golden eating utensils in his lower arms while his upper pair carry a riding crop and a wine glass containing wine the Shadow Ann
Chained to his throne were mournful-looking creatures, and in the middle of his legs was a gold trophy with the legs of shadow girls wiggling within it.
"Oh god, it's ugly," Skull said with horror. "Ahhh, It's ugly!"
"I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want because I rule this world because I am Asmodeus Kamoshida!" The beastly pink demon exclaimed, his long tongue waggling from side to side, its glowing yellow eyes peering down at them.
"This…Was not what I was expecting…" Lioness said.
"No matter," Joker confidently said as he pointed his knife at the demon. "We can beat this asshole. No need to be afraid."
[Theme of Asmodeus: Blooming Villain from Persona 5]
"You goddamn, no good, shitty brats! Haven't you been taught not to point at people? Huh?!" The Demon said with a large, terrifying grin on his face.
"The treasure! He has it on his head!" Lioness exclaimed.
"We should be able to catch this sick thing off guard and steal it," Mona said.
"So let's wail on the bastard until we get the chance to snatch it!" Skull exclaimed.
Panther nodded and said, "Finally…We can take him down and make him pay for all that he has done…"
Joker smirked. "Let's do it then," and without any further words, he dashed forward. "Arsène!" with a burst of flame, Arsène appeared behind him." Foul creature…." Arsène growled out.
Joker yelled, "Let's slow him down, Arsène! Sukunda!" A burst of dark energy flew from Arsène's eyes and slammed into Asmodeus, and the fast motions of the demon began to slow.
"Agility down," Joker said as he avoided the riding crop colliding into him with ease and sliced into Asmodeus' left thigh, which caused the demon to roar in anger.
Asmodeus lunged his golden knife down at Joker, but Lioness jumped up and knocked the knife away with a lunge from her spear, colliding with his knife.
Asmodeus let out another yell and smacked his ride crop against the six chained slaves, who all leaped up and sent volleys of volleyballs towards the pair.
"Boudicca!" Lioness yelled. With a burst of blue flames, Boudicca appeared and slammed her shield down to block the volley of volleyballs.
'He's distracted…' Skull thought as he eyed the crown. "Mona, Panther!"
Panther and Mona turned to Skull. Skull then motioned to the crown then gave them a thumbs up. "Be careful!" Panther exclaimed as Skull began to run to the left.
Asmodeus noticed Skull running and yelled, "Not so fast!" before he whipped his tongue in the opposite direction of Skull and landed a solid blow to Skull's chest, sending the teen flying back towards the wall where he crashed against it and fell to the ground.
"Skull!" Panther screamed before a look of rage-filled her eyes. "Carmen: Incinerate!" Carmen appeared in a burst of blue flames and swung the chain holding the heart-headed shadow to the side, which caused a fireball to slam into Asmodeus' face, causing his large head to lean back.
Asmodeus suddenly whipped his head forward and attempted to hit Panther with his tongue, but Mona shouted, "Zorro: Blow him away!" which caused Zorro to appear and send a gust of wind at his tongue, knocking it into the air.
"Skewer that tongue, Boudicca!" Lioness shouted as Boudicca appeared, launched her spear at the tongue, and skewered it through the ceiling, keeping it trapped. "You damn brats! I'm Kamoshida!" Asmodeus yelled.
"Thanks for the heads up! Pixie: Electrocute him!" Joker exclaimed as he aimed his finger-gun, which caused a determined electrified Pixie to appear on the finger before firing straight at Asmodeus' head, which caused him to scream.
"Damn you!" Asmodeus exclaimed as he lunged the fork down towards Joker, who performed a backflip to avoid the fork, but it was Lioness who ran up the fork and up the arm of the Demon, and with a scream, she lunged her spear into the demon's left eye, causing him to roar in pain.
Asmodeus used his upper arm to swat Lioness in the side with his riding crop, which sent her crashing into the ground but thankfully, Joker caught her and twisted his body around to take the brunt force of the landing.
The two skidded across the ground as he shouted, "Switch: Silky: Ice him!"
"Understood," Silky's calm voice whispered in his mind as Pixie's body exploded into shreds of lighting. The particles of lighting swirled into an icy wind which formed Silky, who held her right palm out.
Silky formed a shard of ice into her palm before she launched it at Asmodeus, which collided with his body to cause him to grunt in pain
Asmodeus twirled his golden knife and fork in his hands and rapidly lunged them both down towards Joker.
Joker swiftly rolled to his feet, with Lioness in his arms, and managed to avoid the potential death strikes but was struck by the riding crop to his side, which sent Joker sailing backward until he landed near the exit of the throne room.
Asmodeus sneered and ripped his tongue from the ceiling, causing Boudicca's spear to vanish in a plum of ethereal blue flames before he lunged his tongue towards the downed pair, but a burst of flame slammed into his tongue, causing Asmodeus to whip his tongue back to him.
"Heal them, Mona!" Panther said as she ran forward to distract Asmodeus.
Mona nodded and shouted, "Zorro: Media!"
Zorro appeared, and with a slash of his rapier, a glowing green light enveloped Lioness and Joker briefly before they groaned out in pain.
"Ow…Thanks, Mona…" Lioness said.
Joker as he opened his eyes. "That hurt," Joker mumbled out as he and Lioness stood at the same time. "Back on the offensive!" Joker exclaimed before the trio dashed forward.
Panther rolled to the left to avoid a lunge from the golden knife as Joker shouted, "Silky: Ice him!"
Silky dashed to the side and fired another shard of ice collided against Asmodeus cheek as Mona and Lioness shouted, "Lunge Zorro/Boudicca!"
Boudicca and Zorro appeared and lunged their respective weapons into the pink demon's chest.
Joker smirked and shouted, "Switch: Kelpie: Blow him away!" Silky's body froze into ice and exploded only for the ice to swirl into the green wind where Kelpie appeared.
Kelpie swung its mane with a neigh to send a gust of wind to knock into Asmodeus' body, pushing his throne back.
"Carmen: Heal him!" Panther shouted as Carmen appeared and winked at the downed Skull, who glowed a soft green before Skull shook his head and stood up.
"Man, that nearly took me out," Skull angrily muttered.
With a burst of red and black energy, Joker, Lioness, and Mona flew backward into the air as Asmodeus chewed on the legs from the trophy before him.
Joker, Lioness, and Mona skidded to a stop in front of Skull and Panther on the balls of their feet before the trio fell to one knee, and together, the five could see the various wounds Asmodeus had gained began to heal.
"That thing can heal?!" Skull exclaimed.
"By eating that torso-less school girls legs…Looks like it," Mona said with a queasy tone.
"Ewwww…" Both Panther and Lioness said in unison.
"This isn't good," Joker said.
"Come at me, you pieces of shit! I ain't lettin' none of you sleep tonight!" Asmodeus exclaimed before he smacked his riding crop down again, causing the chained slaves to send another round of volleyballs towards the five.
"Captain Kidd!" Skull yelled before Captain Kidd appeared, and with a swung, the boat deflected the volleyballs away from Skull and back towards Asmodeus, who growled as the balls slammed into him.
"That's not all! Pierce his ass!" Skull shouted as Captain Kidd charged forward and slammed the front of his ship against Asmodeus' chest, sending the demon onto its back.
"Panther, weaken him," Joker said.
"Right! Carmen: Tarunda!" Panther shouted, causing Carmen to appear, and with a glint of her left eye, an orb made of dull glowing orange and black energy collided with Asmodeus, whose muscles and veins shrunk down until they were gone.
"Lioness, weaken his defense along with his trophy," Joker then said.
"Boudicca: Rakunda!" Lioness said, causing Boudicca to appear and charge forward beside Captain Kidd and rammed her shield against Asmodeus.
A wave of blue and black energy rippled through his body from Boudicca's shield, causing his bright pink skin to look dull in color, and with another bash of Boudicca's shield, the shining trophy seemed to dull as well.
"Skull, get the crown. Mona, Lioness, you two destroy the trophy. Panther and I will run distraction," Joker commanded.
The group nodded and quickly began their plan while Joker and Panther gave each other a nod and a smirk and charged forward.
"Switch: Jack-o'-Lantern: Fry him/Carmen: Incinerate!" Joker and Panther said in unison as Kelpie's green wind began to burn red before a Jack-o'-Lantern appeared with a flourish of fire beside Carmen.
The two Personas launched a pair of fireballs to collide into Asmodeus' face with a dual laugh, causing the large best to growl in pain. Asmodeus quickly smacked his riding crop down and caused his slaves to fire a volley of volleyballs at the pair.
Joker and Panther rolled out of the way to avoid six balls, but the other six managed to hit their bodies, sending them skidding against the ground.
"Drown him: Boudicca!" Lioness shouted as Boudicca sent out an orb of water at Asmodeus' hand, just as the golden knife was going to nail the running Skull.
"You little bitch," Asmodeus hissed out before he lunged the fork at Lioness, but she blocked the strike with her shield, which caused her to skid backward from the impact.
"Oh no, you don't!" Mona exclaimed as Zorro appeared and sliced Asmodeus' hand, causing the pink demon to drop the fork onto the ground. "Again!" Mona shouted as Zorro swiped his blade up and sliced Asmodeus' chest up to his chin, causing inky black blood to fall from the wound.
Asmodeus growled in pain as Joker yelled, "Arsène: Dream Needle!" Jack-o'-Lantern's body grew into a dark cloud before Arsène's form took shape, opened his wings, and shot several pinpoint needles at Asmodeus, which nailed the monster in the body repeatedly.
"Ahhh! I won't let you little bastards win!" Asmodeus screamed as he lunged his tongue towards Panther and Joker, which barely avoided the pair. It was then he tilted the wine glass in his upper right hand towards his mouth.
But without warning, Captain Kidd's ship crashed into the side of his face, sending his head whipping down and making Asmodeus bite down on his tongue and caused the wine glass to shatter on the ground behind him.
"Ouch!" Asmodeus wailed as Skull, now on the platform near the head of the head the monster, smirked in reply.
"I'm glad that hurt! Shock this bitch: Captain Kidd!" Skull shouted.
"Pixie: Electrocute!" Joker exclaimed as Arsène swirled around his finger, his body forming into lighting before Pixie appeared on his finger, her body glowing with electricity.
"Carmen! Burn him!" Panther said.
An electrified Pixie and a streak of lightning from Captain Kidd slammed into Asmodeus, which caused him to yell.
But while his mouth was open, an orb of flame slammed into his open mouth, causing his body to slump in pain, and the second he did, he watched as Lioness stabbed her spear into the trophy as Mona slashed at it with his sword, shattering it into several pieces.
"N-No! This was from when I won national…" Asmodeus groaned weakly as his body slumped forward. "You think you can get away with such a thing?! Don't you realize who I am?! I am Kamoshida! Don't you moronic peasants get it?!"
"I'll think about it later," Joker said as he and his team surrounded Asmodeus, pulled out their guns, and aimed them at the weakened demon.
"D-Don't you get it…How many times must I repe-"
"Oh my god, you are so lame right now," Panther interrupted with a grin. "Talk about losing your cool."
"Just give it up, Kamoshida," Lioness coldly said. "We came this far to steal that. Just hand it over, and we won't embarrass you further."
"Silence! I won't let any of you have this! It's mine!" Asmodeus screamed.
"Boy, you still have a lot of energy left your sprouting that bullshit," Mona said with a groan.
"Then let's up to the tempo!" Joker said before he nodded to Skull, who was now on the platform behind Asmodeus. The four dashed back and began relentless slash at any part of his body, causing the demon to wail in agony before Skull raced forward with his baseball bat.
"Game over, you piece of shit!" Skull shouted before smacking the crown from his head, causing it to fly off his head and crash behind the group of thieves.
"N-No…My precious…" Asmodeus whimpered as Skull landed beside Joker, who helped Skull to his feet. "I…Won't stop here…" Asmodeus growled out lowly, his bugged-out eyes glaring at the five hatefully.
"I won't let it end!" He then rose and smacked his riding crop on the ground repeatedly, causing his slaves to launch volleyballs at the group.
The five thieves quickly moved away to avoid the volleyballs, but then Asmodeus began to lunge his golden knife and fork at the group rapidly, each miss causing sparks to fly from the ground due to the impact.
"He's attacking wildly, guys! This is almost over!" Joker yelled as he maneuvered away both the volleyballs and the lunging silverware. "Arsène!" Joker shouted, which caused Pixie to spin into a little ball of darkening electricty before exploding into dark flames to reveal Arsène, who caught the golden knife.
"Good idea! Zorro!" Mona shouted, causing Zorro to appear to block the golden fork.
With both weapons at bay, Skull, Panther, and Lioness smirked.
"Captain Kidd/Carmen/Boudicca!" The three shouted, causing their personas to appear side by side. "Run him through!" Both Skull and Lioness exclaimed as Captain Kidd, and Boudicca dashed forward and stabbed their respective weapons into his chest.
"It's over, Kamoshida," Panther said before she shouted, "Incinerate!" Carmen sent out a reasonably large fireball at Asmodeus, which nailed him in the face and caused him to scream as he fell backward onto the ground.
The room grew silent as the crown shrunk in size behind the group. King Kamoshida laid on the ground and slowly began to rise, but then he fell back down. The thieves surrounded the downed King, all of their weapons pointed down at him.
[Theme of a Shadow's Fall: Regret from Persona 5]
King Kamoshida sneered weakly. "It's always been like this…All those fucking hyenas…Forcing their expectations on me. I did this all for them. What's wrong about demanding a reward for that?" the King spat out.
"How pathetic," Panther cooly said.
"Now you're making excuses for all the bullshit you've done?" Skull asked. He then shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter. We'll do something about that fucked up heart of yours."
King Kamoshida's expression changed into a look of fear.
Lioness, who had remained quiet, suddenly slammed her foot against King Kamoshida's chest, alerting the group. "Are you scared?" Lioness asked him. King Kamoshida looked away, but Lioness' shield stabbed into the spot beside his head, forcing him to look back up at her. "Are you scared?!" Lioness exclaimed.
"Grrr…" King Kamoshida growled out.
"You know…That face you're making…It's the same face I made every single day I saw you because I knew what I would have to endure under your power…" Lioness hissed out, the anger in her voice sounding loud in the throne room.
"It even drove me to the point of trying to kill myself…So tell me…" Lioness paused and positioned her spear over King Kamoshida's fearful face. "Are you scared?"
"W-Wait…Please…I beg of you…Just forgive me…" King Kamoshida said as sweat began to pour down his face.
"Forgive you?" Lioness repeated, the cold anger in her voice becoming more pronounced as King Kamoshida winced as the spearhead inched closer to his face.
"You have done a lot of heinous things… Not only to me but to Ryuji, Ann, and Ren! You tried so hard to keep this sick life of yours up, you crippled Ryuji, you manipulated Ann and me to make your sex slaves, and then when someone was brave enough to stand up to you, you nearly had your goons kill him, and you're asking me to forgive you?!" Lioness screamed.
"Please…I accept defeat. My crown…Take it…It's yours…You have earned the right to have it and the right to finish me off…" King Kamoshida said as tears began to fall down his eyes.
"Once I fall, my real self will go down to. You all got what you wanted and beat me…Fair and square…" King Kamoshida then shut his eyes and said, "Suzui, You're the one I've done the worst damage to…Even Ann was able to escape the things I did to you…"
"Shiho…" Panther softly said as Lioness glared down hatefully at the crying king.
"M-My coach always told me, "You're through when you lose," and now, I've lost…I'm nothing now. I have nothing…So do it…Take your vengeance for all that I've done to you, Suzui…I won't stop you…" King Kamoshida tearfully whispered as he shut his eyes.
"It's your choice Shiho," Joker said. "We can either leave now and let him atone for what he has done, or you can kill him, which will kill his real self…"
"We're behind you every step Lady Shiho," Mona said with a nod.
Skull nodded and gave her a supportive grin.
Panther placed a hand on Shiho's shoulder and said, "He hurt us both, but you…You suffered the brunt of it all…I may have gotten the last blow, but this is all you…"
Lioness lifted the spear into the air with a spin and said, "Fine…I've made my choice!" Lioness then lunged her spear down at stabbed the area right beside the king's head, his eyes reflecting in the steel of her weapon.
"W-Why?" King Kamoshida asked.
"You didn't think I'd be so merciful as to kill you, did you?" Lioness questioned as a cold smile appeared on her face.
"But what am I…What am I supposed to do now? I've lost…I'm through…" King Kamoshida asked.
"You will repent for the rest of your life. For not only ruining my life but every life you've touched through your reign of terror…You owe to everyone that needs to heal from your sickness," Lioness said with a sneer.
"You're right…I will leave now and return to my real self…" King Kamoshida said as his body began to brighten, yellow and white particles of light floating from his body. "I'll make certain that I…" and with those last words, King Kamoshida was gone.
Rain: And with that…The Kamoshida Palace is over. The next chapter will be the relaxing chapter and the one after that will be the fallout from Kamoshida and the start of the next arc so until then…
Morgana: See ya next time!