AN: At the time of writing this, a new Helluva Boss episode is set to premiere today. It'll be interesting to see how my depiction of Barbie Wire differs from her canon personality...
Chapter 31: Pyramid of Wrath (Part 3)
July 29
Location: Chamber of Guilt
"Back in the Palace… let's get this done today," Lycan said to her teammates as they entered a new part of the pyramid.
"Looks like we have another stone slab here," Omen pointed to. "It says, "When red and blue align, an illusion will rise. Only proper guidance shall form a path."
"Huh? What is it talking about?" Panther questioned.
"It may be a hint of what's to come up ahead," Queen guessed. Moving along the corridor, the Phantom Thieves came across Shadow Futaba not long after.
"You're late. What took you so long?" the pharaoh asked before walking off.
Ryuji gave a growl of frustration. "That's it! I've had it up to here with her!" The gang moved to follow her, only for the room to start shaking.
"Aw shit, not this again…" Lycan groaned. Suddenly, a large ball appeared at the top of the chamber! "Yep, more Indiana Jones bullshit! If she wants us to help her so badly, why the fuck are there so. Many. Goddamn. Booby traps!?"
The team swiftly fell back to avoid getting crushed. "She certainly isn't making it easy for us," Omen grumbled.
"Look! The boulder knocked away that sarcophagus, and there's a hole in the wall behind it!" Templar pointed out.
"Looks like it's big enough for us to crawl through," Joker noted. On the other side of the hole was a large puzzle room, with multiple sarcophagi sitting in the middle of it. Looking around, the Phantom Thieves found two doors on the far end, one blocked off by a barrier and the other having a stone tablet inside.
"Hm… there's nothing inscribed on this one," Omen frowned.
"Sounds pretty useless to me. Whaddya wanna do, Joker?" Skull asked.
"Let's take a closer look," Joker replied. Putting a hand on the tablet, writing suddenly lit up on its face.
"Hm, the devices controlling the murals seemed to react in a similar fashion," Queen recalled.
"Something showed up! It says B01010!" Panther read.
"That may be a clue of some sort. Either way, we should search to see if anything has changed," Fox suggested. Going back out into the puzzle room, some of the sarcophagi lit up, displaying holographic spheres above them.
"So this thing's link to the stone slab is what powers it…" Mona mused.
"Quite the impressive contraption. Why don't we examine it closer?" Fox said. Inspecting the coffins, the gang found they could turn the holograms on and off by interacting with the panels in front of them.
"I bet that string of numbers and letters we found is a code to solving the puzzle," Templar said.
Queen nodded. "A "0" in binary means "Off", so we should deactivate the coffins that align with a zero."
"That makes sense, considering Futaba is a hacker," Templar nodded, putting the coffin lights in the correct order.
"And then we can just press this flashing button over here…" Joker said, indicating a button on the left side of the room. "Boop!"
"Did you just say "boop" while pressing the switch?" Lycan raised an eyebrow.
"What? I want to have some fun solving the puzzles in here," Joker shrugged.
The room started shaking again. "Whoa, what's with the dramatic response!?" Mona exclaimed.
"Guys, look!" Queen said, pointing to a hole above them where they could see more boulders rolling down a track.
"…Those boulders better not run over us again…" Lycan growled. "And they're not stopping either! Press the button and make it stop, Joker!"
He did just that, but the boulders started coming out double-time! "That only made it worse!" Templar screamed, covering his head in fear. "Press it again!"
Joker did, but when that did nothing, his eyes flashed yellow before summoning some demonic energy into his foot and kicking the button, making the mechanism spark and sputter from the blow. That seemed to do the trick, however, as the room stopped shaking and the balls stopped rolling.
"Did it… stop?" Panther asked.
"Hey, why don't we go check on that corridor with the huge boulders?" Mona suggested. Climbing up on a ledge, the Phantom Thieves found that the corridor was now blocked up by all the boulders they'd spawned in.
"God damn! Talk about a mess!" Skull exclaimed.
"It's broken… Well, I guess it would be a little more precise to say we broke it," Omen mused.
"We can't get through like this! What're we gonna do!?" Templar fretted.
"Perhaps we could walk over the giant boulders?" Queen suggested. Doing just that, the gang noticed that there was another stone slab like the one they'd seen earlier. Touching it, the text on it lit up with some more codes for them to read.
"It's red this time, and it reads R01100 and B10011," Omen noted. "I think this ties back to the previous room."
"And to the next Will Seed. I sensed one behind that locked door we passed. Bet these codes will open it up," Lycan said with confidence. Inputting the code on the coffins, the locked door to the Will Seed did open, though there was another guardian Shadow waiting for them in front of the door.
"We better be ready for this," Omen warned as they approached their enemy.
"So, you are the thieves disturbing the pharaoh's tomb," the Shadow said. It growled before bursting into its true form, a lioness holding a sun disk in its mouth. "I will bring about the rains that will wash you away!"
"This is Tefnut, goddess of moisture," Omen recalled.
Lycan snorted. "The Egyptians had a goddess of being moist?"
"I can't believe you said it like that…" Templar groaned.
"What I mean is she brings about the rain," Omen rolled her eyes. "Just focus on using electric skills or something. That should work."
Indeed it did, and a tag team of Joker and Skull kept the Shadow at bay, allowing for the Phantom Thieves to easily stun lock Tefnut into submission. Once the lion goddess was dealt with, the gang could enter the room and grab up the second Will Seed. "Still think her being a moist goddess is funny," Loona said.
"Of course you would think that. You have the same sense of humor as your dad, I swear…" Omen sighed.
With the second Will Seed in their possession, the gang backtracked to the boulder-filled corridor and parkoured over them, reaching the next part of the pyramid with no issue. "This is the same mechanism as the one we saw before," Queen pointed out as they entered the room.
"Then we just gotta touching it and make something happen, yeah? C'mon, let's try it out," Skull urged. Joker pressed a button and made another memory image appear. "Oh hey, it turned on. This one's kinda hard to tell though."
"It must be scrambled as well. Let's use the controls to put it back together," Mona said. Fiddling with the controls, Joker was able to unscramble the image and reveal another of Futaba's memories. The sight was very unsettling, depicting Shadow Futaba weeping as a female figure fell forward with a car in front of her.
"Is she… jumping in front of a car?" Queen said in horror.
"Could this be the moment when Futaba's mother committed suicide?" Panther wondered.
"Another voice…" Omen muttered as a presence came over the chamber.
"…F-Futabaaa…" a demonic voice rang out. "…Y-You… aaaaareeee…" The voice went away as the path to the next chamber was made clear to the gang.
"…She died right in front of Futaba's eyes," Skull said solemnly.
"That's horrible…" Templar frowned.
"So, did her desire to forget those memories cause her to repress them?" Fox questioned.
Lycan hid behind her bangs. "Something still isn't adding up…" she said softly. "Let's just keep going." After stopping a Safe Room, the Phantom Thieves found themselves in the Chamber of Sanctuary, where they were greeted by two giant statues centered in the middle of it.
"What wonderful form. Seeing such divine sculptures in person is exceedingly rare," Fox said in awe.
"It really is a sight, even if it's only in a Palace," Omen nodded.
"Seriously. This almost feels like a trip abroad or something," Panther added.
"Hm… a trip abroad sounds like a lot of fun. I bet it would be a lot of fun changing hearts around the world as well," Joker mused.
"Ha, imagine that. Phantom Thieves on a world tour," Mona chuckled. He shook his head, "But now's not the time to be letting our guard down. I can sense lots of Shadows up ahead!" Moving through the area, the gang pressed more buttons to disable traps and fire off ballista bolts to break down walls. Crawling through another hole, they found more to this chamber than there was in previous detours.
"What the… I can feel a draft coming from inside the coffin," Mona said as they passed by a sarcophagus.
"I feel it too…" Lycan nodded. She pulled on the side, but it wouldn't budge. "Damn this thing is sealed tight. I just going to guess that we'll find a way to open it if we explore more. Seems to be a running theme in this Palace…" Moving on ahead, the group came across a room filled with sarcophagi.
"Surely one of these is hiding something behind it," Omen said. Looking closely, the princess stopped in front of one with a bird mask. Touching it, Omen smirked as it revealed a button hidden inside. "Thought you could hide this from us, Futaba? You'll have to do a bit better than that." Pressing the button, something in the distance made a noise.
"Bet that connects to the draft we felt earlier," Lycan guessed. Sure enough the coffin from before was no open, revealing another button, which when pressed revealed a hidden room behind it with an Anubis statue.
"Ah, it is that Anubis statue. I wonder if we are supposed to use this radiant gem somewhere," Fox mused.
"Let's take it for now. It wouldn't be hidden unless it'll be useful for later," Templar stated. Moving on ahead in the chamber, the Phantom Thieves came across another pedestal that held the Anubis gem, which when inserted revealed a new path forward on hard light walkways.
"This pathway is quite impressive. It seems we will be able to pass over it!" Fox said.
"It's not gonna disappear while we're crossing it, right? This is a little scary…" Panther said nervously.
"I'll catch you if you fall, Panther," Templar assured her. With a new path forward, their infiltration continued until they found Shadow Futaba waiting for them at a dead end.
"You're late. I thought all of you had died," the pharaoh said.
"We almost did thanks to you! I mean, do you really wanna help us!? Make up your goddamn mind!" Skull shouted.
"…I'm not sure. There's not much left at this point though," Shadow Futaba said. She disappeared soon after saying that.
"Oh… Not again! This is all because you picked on her, Skull!" Panther accused.
"Your short temper has created more work for us," Fox shook his head as Shadows appeared in the room.
"This is my fault!?" Skull balked.
"Yeah, it is," Lycan said. "Let's just do this already!" Once those Shadows were dealt with, she grabbed Skull by the collar of his jacket and growled. "Why do you keep antagonizing her, huh!? Even if she's the one that created all the bullshit traps, we're also trying to help her, dumbass! And you yelling at her isn't going to make you endearing to the scared little girl trapped in a cage!"
The Phantom Thieves all backed up from the hellhound. "Projecting a bit there, Lycan…?" Omen whispered.
"Both of you need to calm down. Nothing good will come from letting your temper flare up like that," Queen chided.
Lycan growled again in Skull's face but dropped him to the floor. "She said there wasn't much left of this place, right? Let's find where her Treasure is so we can save her already…"
"While you were doing that, I doubled back and found another Anubis statue with a gem," Templar said, revealing the jewel and tossing it to Joker. "I'm sure we'll need it coming up soon." And soon it was, as another pedestal to put the gem in appeared, creating more pathways of light to walk on. Following the beam of the light led the team back to the room with the two large statues, but now at a much higher elevation.
"I can smell it… the final Will Seed," Lycan said. Using some carefully placed grapples, Joker swung around the room, looking for where the Will Seed might be. After kicking down a wooden board to walk across, he found just the right point to grapple up to, with the Will Seed door and guardian Shadow protecting it. However, the form this Shadow took was different from the last three…
"S-Sojiro!?" Joker said in shock.
Indeed, the Shadow before them took the form of Sojiro, though wearing the attire of an Egyptian guard. "I won't let you go any further," Cognitive Sojiro said. "I won't let anyone hurt Futaba!"
"Well, if we ever needed confirmation that Sojiro makes Futaba feel safe, then this is it," Queen said. She looked and Joker and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It may look like Sojiro, but it's not the real him. We need to beat this cognition if we want to get the last Will Seed."
"Right," Joker said, closing his eyes to concentrate.
"So, you're not backing down then?" Cognitive Sojiro asked. "Then I won't hesitate to defeat you. Futaba lost her mother… and what happened to her father… She can't be hurt again!"
"Her father…?" Templar said in surprise but was cut off as Sojiro transformed into his true form, a massive crocodile man holding a large harpoon.
"Sobek, god of the Nile," Omen said. "This is the last of the deities we'll face here… Lycan, Queen, Joker, with me!" The four took the lead as Sobek roared, using a spell to buff up his attack power.
"Looks like he'll be relying on physical attacks to hurt us," Queen said. She smirked and had Johanna cast her own spell, sending out flashing lights that made Sobek's head spin. "There we go! Try attacking when you can't remember how to do it!"
"This is what I'm taking about!" Lycan grinned, rushing forward with a swipe of her chain-sickle. Sobek tried to stab her with his harpoon, but the hellhound swiftly dodged out of the way.
"Come, Nidhoggr!" Joker shouted, summoning the dragon of the World Tree to his aid. The Persona spewed out a dark breath, knocking Sobek over.
"Futaba… Must… Protect… Futaba…" Sobek muttered.
"We know you do, but this is for her own good," Omen said solemnly before going for an All-Out Attack. That got Sobek down to half his health, with the gang using more status moves to stall his attacks while Joker used Curse skills to knock Sobek down. Another cycle later and the Shadow was defeated, leaving the final Will Seed in the hands of the Phantom Thieves.
"The Crystal of Wrath," Templar mused as the Will Seeds fused together, tossing the object over to Joker. As the gang left to move on, Lycan, Templar, and Omen were stopped by the mysterious voice once more.
"Thank you for defeating those false aspects," the mysterious voice said. "Once you have retrieved the Treasure, I will finally be able to rest in peace knowing that Futaba doesn't blame herself for what happened anymore…"
"What truly did happen to her mother?" Omen asked.
"I am not at the liberty to tell you. The dead cannot speak of their own deaths, after all," the voice said mysteriously. The entity looked at Lycan with some curiosity. "Funny… you remind me… of Him…"
The presence seemed to fade away, leaving the trio with more questions than answers. "Was that… the ghost of Futaba's mother?" Lycan muttered to herself. "And what did she mean by me looking like "Him"?"
"Guys, we're going!" Skull called, getting their attention.
"We'll figure it out in time," Omen assured her friend.
After all of that, it was time to follow the beam of light to its final destination. Inside the chamber was another mural device, which Joker quickly got to rearranging to decipher what the picture was supposed to be. "A child pulling at her mother's clothes?" Fox said once the mural was complete.
"…Mom…" the voice of Futaba rang out. "I'm… I'm tired of eating dinner alone all the time. It's always just convenience store bentos… I wanna go somewhere. Take me on a trip!"
"The one clinging to her mother would be Futaba-chan, right?" Panther guessed.
"Don't be so selfish!" a woman's voice rang out. "You know I'm working hard to support you, right!? Ugh!" The mural fell away as the final part of the stairway was revealed.
"She seemed pretty angry…" Queen noted. "Is that the maternity neurosis the voice from earlier mentioned?"
"I thought it was pretty normal for a child to want to spend time with their parents, though…" Omen said, crossing her arms and frowning. 'Even if those words… make me think of my own Mother on her worst days…'
"Yeah. Looks like Futaba was a pretty lonely kind growing up…" Templar said.
"So these incidents compounded, forcing her mother to suicide?" Fox surmised.
Suddenly, Shadow Futaba appeared before them. "I must die. I killed her… That's why I'm here in this tomb…"
"Don't say that!" Lycan shouted.
"I will die…" the pharaoh repeated, before fading away again.
"Futaba!" Lycan reached out to grab onto nothing but air.
"Why'd she get all quiet all of a sudden? What happened to that snarky personality?" Skull questioned.
"Could her heart perhaps be growing weaker?" Fox said with concern.
Lycan looked to the others with determination. "We have to hurry and save her!" Racing up the stairs to the top, the final set of doors opened up to reveal… another door that was locked up tight.
"This looks like her door back in Sojiro's house," Omen noted.
"That's it!" Mona nodded.
"Why ain't it opening?" Skull asked.
"It must be her cognition that no one can open it," Mona guessed.
"I'm surprised that you made it this far," Shadow Futaba said, appearing behind the Phantom Thieves. "Beyond lies the Pharaoh's Chamber."
"That means that Treasure is behind the door," Lycan said.
"Indeed. However, you need my permission to open this door," the pharaoh said.
"…By your permission you mean the real Futaba, right?" the hellhound guessed.
Shadow Futaba nodded. "You must have her invite you in."
"What the eff. Ain't this your Palace?" Skull groaned.
"The Shadow is Futaba, but not Futaba herself, remember?" Mona chided. "In other words, like Lycan said, we have to go back to the real world and get Futaba's permission there to get this door open."
"Considering that you made it all the way here, you may be able to do it…" Shadow Futaba mused before fading away.
"I guess we gotta return to reality for now," Panther shrugged.
"But I remember Boss saying that she won't let anyone in," Queen recalled.
"Right. She's a serious shut-in," Skull nodded.
"How will we convince her to allow us entry?" Fox asked.
"Standing around her won't help. We just have to give it a try…" Omen said. "That's what she wants, after all."
"I think that we should do it too, even if it means we have to force ourselves in," Lycan nodded. "I don't care if there's some weird magic blocking the door, we'll make our own path through!"
"Someone sure is stoked about this…" Skull muttered.
"We have no choice but to sneak in again," Templar frowned.
"Joker, it's your call when we do this," Lycan said. "Make sure you think of some excuses just in case Boss catches us."
"Leave it to me," Joker nodded.
"We're counting on you, Leader," Skull smiled.
"On that note, is everyone clear on what needs doing?" Mona said.
"By the way… Joker, give me the calling card Alibaba sent us," Lycan said. "We're Phantom Thieves, so we have to announce that we're taking her heart, right? If the Treasure is on the other side of this door, giving the card to her once we open the door in the real world will let us steal the Treasure right away. Wanna help me out with this, Queen?"
"I'll gladly do that," Queen nodded. "You're really passionate about this case, Lycan."
"I just… get where Futaba's feelings are coming from," the hellhound replied. She looked to Joker with a grin. "We've got this covered! You decide when we break into her room. That's all on you!"
"Then Phantom Thieves… let's retreat for today," Joker said, activating the Nav to return the team to the real world.
[***]
July 30
Octavia was reading from "The Golden Path" again as she waited for Ren and Shin to finish up their training at the local gym. The Third year was putting her cousin through Hell with his training regiment, but Ren was steadily getting stronger by the looks of it. Morgana had even told her that Ren was doing pull-ups on the attic beams in their room above Leblanc.
"Aw yeah, that was a good workout," Shin said, rubbing a towel on his face as he exited the gym with Ren. The frizzy-haired boy looked worse for wear but wasn't complaining about the pain either. "You're getting better every day, Ren, that's for sure."
"I could use some more water, though…" Ren panted. Octavia tossed him a bottle, the half-Goetia eagerly drinking it up. "Thanks Octavia…"
"I see you're reading "The Golden Path" once more, Via," Shin said, pointing to her book.
"Yep. The author really has a… unique way with words," Octavia replied.
Shin chuckled, before bringing a hand up to his chin. "You know, that reminds me of another method of defense you can use. I've told you about being aware of your surroundings, but something else to keep in mind is the idea of throwing off your enemies as well. Words can be as useful of a weapon as your fists."
"You want us to… read poetry to our bullies?" Ren questioned.
Octavia gave a snort, while Shin shook his head. "A funny guy you are, Ren. You know what I meant by that: if you can keep the enemy focused on your words, then you can distract them from the bigger picture. For an example, look at the calling cards the Phantom Thieves have been leaving for their targets."
Ren and Octavia looked at Shin with surprise. "You follow the Phantom Thieves?" the princess asked.
"I lurk on their website occasionally," Shin shrugged, showing the Phan-Site on his phone. "One thing I noticed is that they always call out their targets before acting. While I don't know why they do it exactly, I can bet that the scum that get these cards are intimidated by them. Psychological warfare, makes people act irrationally, and irrational people are bound to make a mistake that you can exploit."
"You seem to know a thing or two about that," Ren noted.
Shin gave a shrug. "My dad worked in the military. I picked up a few things here and there."
"I was more surprised that you were a fan of the Phantom Thieves," Octavia said.
"While I can't say I approve of the anonymity the group uses, I appreciate their willingness to expose the truth to the public, tear down the false smiles the rotten underbelly of our country wears," Shin explained. "There's too many people willing to just pretend like nothing is wrong, but where has that gotten everyone? Stick to the status quo, fall into monotony, and refuse to stand up for yourself in the face of injustice… I know that I'm seen as a pariah by most of our schoolmates, but at least I try to do something when another person is calling out for help."
He looked at Ren and Octavia with conviction. "As long as the Phantom Thieves stick to their morals and stand up for people like us, they'll always have my backing."
'if only he knew he was talking to the co-leaders of the team,' Octavia thought.
"I can tell by your looks that you two like those guys as well," Shin smirked.
"You could say we're fans," Ren nodded. "They're part of the reason I wanted to learn to defend myself in the first place."
"Just don't go trying to "change the hearts" of your bullies as well," Ren joked. He looked to Octavia again. "Say Via, since I just spend all afternoon with your cousin, how about we look over some poetry together at Boss' place?"
"I'll make sure you have the best coffee available for your date," Ren teased.
"D-Date?" Octavia blushed.
"It's not that serious…" Shin rubbed the back of his head.
Ren chuckled at the flustered state his two friends were in. 'That's for teasing me about Kasumi, Octavia,' he thought, a glint of mischief in his eye.
[***]
July 31
Yoshida: I have a request for you, but it's not for my speech. I was invited to dinner by Dietman Matsushita. I was told to invite you all as well. Please let me know if you're free to attend. What do you say?
Ren: We'll go right away.
Yoshida: Thank you. I'll let him know. It'll be at the hotel in Shibuya. I'll send you the map.
"We're back here again…" Octavia mused, looking around at the familiar hotel.
"Hopefully we don't run into jackass bald people this time," Loona said. "Those guys tend to be the worst."
"Isn't your dad bald?" Collin pointed out.
Loona shrugged. "Blitz takes care of me, sure, but he can still be a jackass at times. My point still stands."
"That bald man…" Ren muttered, getting a far-off stare.
"Are you okay, my boy?" Yoshida asked as the group sat down.
"Just… memories…" Ren replied. "It's fine, Yoshida-sensei."
"If you say so…" Yoshida nodded.
Matsushita soon joined the group at the table, and the discussion could begin over food. "Kuramoto's been in and out of the hospital. I hear he's not going to run in the upcoming election," the dietman explained.
"I see…" Yoshida nodded solemnly.
"He plans for his grandson, who's also in our party, to take his place…" Matsushita continued.
"Unfortunately, this is all beyond me now…" Yoshida replied.
Matsushita shook his head. "Yoshida…" The dietman looked at Collin with a stern face. "Hey, you have to keep eating. You're still growing, you know!"
"Actually sir, I-" Collin tried to say, but Loona shoved a spoon of mashed potatoes in his mouth.
"That's right! Eat up, Lambchop," the hellhound said.
"I invited your wards along because I wanted to ask them something," Matsushita said. "What do you think about the Phantom Thieves? You've heard of them, right? They've become quite popular as of late… I'd like to hear your honest opinions. As young people in our country, what do you think of them?"
The quartet all looked at each other before answering. "I'd say I'm for them," Loona said without hesitation.
"I'm more mixed… but for the moment, I'm for them," Collin said.
"They're actually doing something, so I'm for them," Octavia said.
"I agree with my friends on this one," Ren said.
"You have a very adaptable way of thinking. Most people who want to get into politics are jealous of them," Yoshida chuckled.
"What about you?" Matsushita asked.
Yoshida gave a pause before his answer. "However they manage to change hearts, I respect their belief in crushing evil and saving the weak."
"Isn't that similar to what you advocate?" Matsushita pointed out.
"I can't deny that. But that's not why I support them…" Yoshida clarified. "I bet they're a group of young people. Young people who have experienced cruelty and injustice… They bravely face the societal ills that plague our world without thinking of the consequences. Brave, yet pitiful… I suppose."
'He's strangely on the mark with his assumptions,' Octavia thought.
"So the former Diet member who was disgraced by scandals is going to side with them, huh?" Matsushita mused.
"Is this what you asked me here to speak to me about?" Yoshida asked.
The dietman shook his head. "No… The party has decided which candidates it will back in the various electoral zones."
"And…?" Yoshida egged on.
"One of our main candidates will represent this area, according to the party's election strategy. You have no chance of winning," Matsushita said bluntly.
"So you're saying that I should give up my campaign and become a Diet member?" Yoshida raised an eyebrow.
"I won't beat around the bush. Drop out of the election, and become my right hand man" Matsushita insisted. "It won't be for naught. I'll put in a motion to have you reinstated as a party member. And I will perform and extensive investigation into your expense misappropriation accusations…"
"Matsushita…" Yoshida said in shock.
The dietman continued. "You'd finally be able to clear your name. Think about it." He looked to the kids. "I'll see your again soon, politician hopefuls." He left after that.
"Well… that certainly felt ominous," Collin said.
"And like he was trying to strongarm you into complying. Probably for his own benefit," Octavia muttered.
Yoshida gave out a big sigh. "He probably has an ulterior motive. If he felt hopeful, he wouldn't ask me to not run for the Diet. I expect he's trying to take advantage of me… That happens a lot in this world. What would you do at a time like this, Amamiya-kun?"
"I'd decline," Ren replied.
"So you're telling me to take control of my destiny, hm? You're very inspiring," Yoshida smiled. "Thank you for telling me your honest opinion. Don't worry, I won't stop giving speeches. Above all, I wish to keep speaking with you. You all have such a fresh outlook on the world."
'Probably because most of us here aren't from this world,' Loona thought with a smirk.
"Let's finish up for today. Sorry I made you tag along," Yoshida said.
"No need to apologize," Ren replied. The group split up for the night. Yoshida's saga was interesting, but they still had a young girl to save from herself to focus on.
Confidant Rank Up
Confidant: Shin Igami
Arcana: Void
Rank 3 Description: Shin gave you advice on using your words to distract enemies and voiced his support of the Phantom Thieves. His bond with Octavia is growing stronger as well…
Rank 3 Ability: Arcana Burst- gain additional EXP when fusing Persona of the Void arcana.
Author's Note
Futaba's Palace is complete, now to send the calling card next time! The same person that suggested the Egyptian God fights also gave me the idea of having a Cognitive Sojiro battle, and I couldn't resist using that idea here. We get some hints as to who the mysterious voice might be as well (it should be kinda obvious now...). Loona is really invested in helping Futaba now, and I plan on having the two continue forming a bond once she joins the team.
Shin is back for another Confidant rank! He voiced his support of the Phantom Thieves here, and Ren seems to be sensing some unspoken feelings between Octavia and Shin. The tough guy is sort of a counterpart to Kasumi, in more ways than one. We're getting close to where his story aligns with that of Persona 5 Royal...
Next time will be the Futaba Palace Boss, and some big revelations are about to be uncovered!