Bound By Our Desires Chapter 15: Dethroned, an Earthbound + Persona Series Crossover fanfic

Chapter 15: …Dethroned

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Akira•

Thump-thump.

"Keep moving! Our goal is the treasure!"

"Mona's right! Ignore the weaklings, and make for the elevator!" Berith cut down a guard before it could strike, and he flipped over another one while shooting it in the back.

Security was at an all-time high from the calling card, and guards were roaming places that had been clear all the previous days they had explored, such as the corridors leading to the secret elevator.

"Gotcha! These guys are too pathetic to deal with anyway!" Several Shadows were turned to ash from Carmen's flames, and the team rushed through the opening, with Skull kicking the painting hiding the hidden passage open.

They ran through the opening, with Zorro creating a whirlwind of whipping winds that prevented the Shadows and knights from following. Gathering on the elevator, he pulled the lever and sent them climbing towards the upper levels of the tower. When they reached their destination they watched the Shadows patrolling, waited for the perfect opportunity, then snuck past as quickly as possible.

Thump-thump.

While it may have been stealthier to take Shadows out one at a time, they couldn't waste too much energy on encounters. Who knew what could be waiting inside the throne room for them? A trap most likely, and they needed to be ready.

Sticking to the shadows, he led his team through the tower, avoiding knights and Shadows, before they finally reached the top of the tower. They climbed the statue once again, but when they looked down into the throne room it was completely empty. "Eh? There's no one here?"

"All the guards are searching the rest of the castle, so maybe there was no one left to keep watch here?"

"No, Panther, this should be the most heavily guarded spot in the castle right now." He narrowed his eyes. "Everyone, stay alert."

Thump-thump.

"Joker's right, be ready for anything!" They crept towards the treasure room, wary for anything that might happen, but when they finally entered they were awestruck.

Hovering above the piles of gold, where the cloud had been days prior, was a scarlet and golden crown, sparkling gloriously. "Aw yeah! The Treasure's appeared!"

"Dude, it's huge!" He nodded at Skull's words silently, walking forward and holding his hand a few inches away from the crown in awe. It seemed to be as tall as he was, while its width was several times his size."

"What do you think?! It's just like I said! Now we can steal it! Ohhh… its shine brings tears to my eyes!"

Thump-thump.

Panther crossed her arms over her breasts and narrowed her eyes. "...It kinda pisses me off. Why's it so pretty? Isn't this supposed to be Kamoshida's desires?"

"He thinks everything he does is right. Of course such disgusting desires would be represented as such."

"T-Treasure…" He looked back at Mona and raised an eyebrow as he drooled slightly.

"Uh… the cat's actin' awfully excited."

"What's wrong? Is something—"

"Meeeeeooooowww!" Mona jumped onto the crown, causing him to facepalm as Mona rubbed his face into the Treasure. "Mrrroooow!"

Thump-thump.

"Mona. MONA!"

Mona kept purring and mewling before Skull grabbed him by the tail and pulled him off the Treasure. "All right, that's enough, you stupid cat!" Mona came back to his senses when he found himself dangling in Skull's grip and yowled as the blond dropped him on the ground.

"O-Oh… my apologies for acting so uncouth in front of a lady…"

"What was that all about?"

"I guess seeing human desires in such a raw form was too much… oh, but doesn't this prove I'm human?! I was so engrossed in—!"

Thump-thump.

"Discuss humanity later, steal giant crown now." He cut in with a shake of his head, slamming the side of his fist into the crown to send it crashing to the ground. "Let's get out before any guards show."

"Right!" Panther and Skull got ready to grab the Crown before he stopped them with a confused look. "Why don't we just have Captain Kidd store it on the boat?"

Everyone was silent as they digested his words before Skull summoned his Persona and had the skeleton lug it safely onto the pirate ship. "Anchors aweigh, Captain, the booty's aboard!"

Thump-thump.

"God, you're such a fucking pirate nerd." Skull blushed so red from embarrassment that he matched Panther's catsuit, while Mona snickered at his comment. "Let's go." He led the way out as Skull looked at his Persona and pouted.

"I ain't no nerd…" Captain Kidd just shrugged at him, before they began to follow.

Mona hummed happily as they exited the treasure room, swinging his arms as he skipped along. "To think this'd go so well… and I even found three Persona-users in the process! My judgment was correct! I made the right choice in making a deal with you!" He chuckled at his teammate and nodded along, feeling their bond grow tighter.

RANK UP!

Magician Arcana, Morgana: Rank Two

Ω • Ω • Ω

The throne room was still empty as they left the treasure room, but he had a feeling in the back of his head… it wasn't from his Personas murmuring to each other, which they were of course, as they had also noticed something off, but instead a nagging… thing telling him that something was going to happen.

Thump-thump.

"Go go, let's go, Ka-mo-shida!" His instincts blared a warning, and he twisted his body just barely enough that the object that whizzed by only caused him to be buffeted by the wind it created. It slammed into the crown about the Captain's ship, causing it to bounce out of the Persona's grip along the ground and towards the throne.

A shadow leaped overhead, and when they spun to confront it, they found Kamoshida standing in front of his throne, the bouncing crown suddenly shrinking and appearing within his hand. The Cognitive Ann that Panther had killed when she Awakened was somehow back, and clinging to Shadow Kamoshida's shoulder, while he sneered down at them.

"Well well well, if it isn't the king of the perverts. If you're just going to wander around in your underpants, how about you shave your legs, bitch boy?"

Thump-thump-thump.

He shifted his stance as the subtle heartbeat that was beating throughout the Palace grew slightly stronger, and beat slightly faster. Kamoshida his it well, but he was even more nervous seeing them face to face, having almost escaped with Treasure in hand. Or perhaps, it was excitement… that he would finally kill them.

No. He wouldn't let that happen.

Kamoshida scoffed, shaking his head. "The peasant never learns. You think I would let anyone take this? It's the very core of this world, it is proof that I am king!"

"You rat bastard… You've still got that fake version of me hanging off you, huh?!"

Skull scoffed as Captain Kidd hovered behind him, pointing his cannon at the king. "Yo pervert, were you waitin' to ambush us?"

Thump-thump-thump.

"I just made it easy to find you. Clearly, my soldiers are incompetent if they couldn't handle four weak thieves, so I'll be taking care of you myself."

"That's our line, you rapist piece of shit! You're goin' down!"

"Hmph! What a selfish misunderstanding!"

Panther growled, clenching her fists. "How is it a misunderstanding?! You were doing things that you kept in secret from others!"

"It's the people around me that kept it secret! Adults who want to share in my accomplishments, students who have the drive to become winners… They willingly protect me so that we all may profit from it."

"Profit?!"

Thump-thump-thump.

"There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that! Including naive brats like you and that girl who tried to kill herself!"

He expected Panther to refute him, but she just sighed and nodded. "True, she's a total idiot… letting you manipulate her, trying to commit suicide… And I'm even more of a dumbass for not realizing that! But no matter what kind of fool someone might be, they don't need your permission to live their lives!"

"Oh drop the attitude, you mediocre peasant! There's nothing wrong with me using my gifts for my gain! I'm a cut above all other humans!"

"Above?! You mean beneath. You're a goddamn demon, obsessed with your sick desires!"

Thumpthumpthumpthump.

The heartbeat was a constant rumble. He mentally prepared, bringing Berith to the forefront of his mind as Arsene murmured within his deepest subconscious.

Prepare thyself, Trickster…

Shadow Kamoshida seemed to twitch at Panther's words, before black and red energy began swirling around him as he laughed. "That's right, I'm not like you… I am a̴ ̴d̵e̴m̸̘͌ŏ̶̘n̵̺͠ ẃ̸͙h̴͝ͅo̵͎̽ ̴̡͓̆͗r̴̓͜u̶̗̺̍̃͆ͅl̶̢̲̎e̸̗̗͖͆̑̚s̸̅̓͜ ̴̹̤̈́̾t̷̖̾h̷̺̟͍͑i̸͓̾̏͘s̷̜͙̎ͅ ̴̣̟̬͙̓͝w̶̡͐̍̀͘o̶̼̬̾̂̾r̶̢̩͋l̷̜̊̂͝ḋ̷̥̹!"

His voice got more distorted as he spoke, and the energy began enveloping Kamoshida like a fog. It suddenly exploded outward, and they watched with wide eyes as his form began growing. Seeing the monstrosity that the man had become, Mona nearly fell over while Skull let out an exclamation. "What the hell?!"

Kamoshida's body had multiplied in size, until his head easily reached the balconies overlooking the room even while sitting. His body had become bright pink in color, while his ears became pointed, he grew curling horns, and his mouth was cracked open in an unnaturally wide smile with no teeth, as a tongue several meters in length and thickness whipped around the room splattering saliva around the throne room. He'd grown an extra set of arms, two holding a golden fork and knife, while the set held a wine glass holding red liquid and the Cognitive Ann, and the other held a whip.

A golden chalice filled with the bodies of female volleyball players sat in front of him, thankfully covering his now bare crotch, and the crown had returned to its original size and sat upon his head while his cape remained. Around him, the male volleyball members were chained to giant gold volleyballs, while still wearing the metal masks they had seen in the dungeon.

"̷͚̗̲͗Ā̶̝̓Ḧ̸͚À̷̙͔͆̓H̸̥͉̜͐̄A̷͕̐͗̄H̵̿ͅÅ̶͔͖͝H̵͈̙̼͛͐̋!̷̪̪͎́̿ ̷̢̳̹͑G̴̤̟͠Y̴̗͆ͅȦ̸̧̟Ä̸̠́H̶̼͇́͆ͅA̴̺͒̄̿Ḥ̴̢̦͌͠Ä̴̺̾͘Ḧ̶̦́A̴̝͗H̴̪́̽Ą̶̞͐́̽!̶͎̞̺͊ I̶̪̯͇͆'̵̭̫͓͗̓̆M̶̛̝͍̩͑̀ ̴̮̪͍̾̉̿A̶̘͎͑L̶̞͇̞̆̐́L̵̮̐ͅO̵̳͛W̶̜̭̮͋̿̀Ê̴̦̥͙D̶̘͙͘ͅ ̸̻͘T̸̼̿Ô̸̤̓͠ ̶̧̰͎͊́D̴͈̔O̴̩̗͗́ ̷̧̌ͅW̶̢̪̾̒͠H̶̠͝A̶̞̯̩̅̕T̵̗̮͚̈́̑͛Ĕ̶̡̟̮͑̕V̴͔̌E̴̠͙̍͑͂Ŗ̵͇̌̓ ̴̙̈́͆T̷̝̭̍͝H̷̤̖͍́͘͝Ḛ̶͓̼̂̀ ̶̜̯Ḧ̴̨̫͂̚E̴̤̞̔̐͝L̵̢̟͍̔̉L̸̺̋ ̸̥̞̈̍̂͜I̷̱̣͌͒ ̷̹̒͛W̷̭̓Ä̵̠͙̀N̸̖͎͐T̴̼͑͗͛!̷̡̛̝̘͐"̶̗̹͙̐

He looked at the abomination Shadow Kamoshida had become, and calmly pointed at him while letting his tailcoat flap. "Let's finish this then, false king."

"̶̢͙͂̍Ģ̵̺̾R̷̭̮̝̄̽̏Ḁ̷̲̆̎͝A̴̱͋͋Ạ̸̢͊͜Ḁ̵̓͜Ȧ̴̻͍̚A̸̯̟̔̓͂Ā̵̫̒A̶͙͋͂͐Ą̵̩̀̾͊Ǧ̶͇H̴̜̪̩̉͋!̷̯̬̍"̵̬̝̜́̕ Kamoshida screamed in rage, and his fellow thieves prepared for battle.

Near immediately, Kamoshida slammed his knife down, causing them to scatter lest they get impaled by the golden utensil. His tongue whipped out next, focused on him specifically, which necessitated him performing several flips and dives to dodge around it. Starr, this sinner has taken the form of Asmodeus, the demon of lust. Take heed, and be cautious.

He mentally thanked Angel for her wisdom before beginning to think. Asmodeus… shit, what did he know about Asmodeus… thirty-second demon of the Ars Goetia, and it was said those who dealt with it were sentenced to eternity in the second circle of hell, fittingly, the circle of lust. He didn't know of any specific legends or myths surrounding the demon, besides one where it killed a woman's many husbands, but that likely wouldn't matter here. It was still Kamoshida, after all.

"Berith, ravage them!" As the tongue came down once more, he rolled to the side and let his Persona appear, the cavalryman twirling his spear before stabbing down and piercing the massive tongue. Suguru 'Asmodeus' Kamoshida roared in fury before Captain Kidd slammed into his face and launched a Zio down his throat.

The massive creature reared back and tried to whip the Persona out of the air, while Captain Kidd barely dodged it. He was turned back into Skull's mask, and both he and Panther grabbed their guns and began unloading bullets at Kamoshida. "̸̭̙̫͐̂C̸͖̱͚͌̎L̵͎͓̞̊Ȧ̴̙͊͐S̶̨̤̣͝Ṥ̸̤̻̣̚ ̸̮͑̐ͅI̶̠͛S̵̼̳̤̽͛ ̷͇̒̑̿Ì̴͈̥͐͝N̵̯͛ ̶̨͆͂S̷̹̈́̉E̷̠̍̂S̷̹͝S̷̢̟͐̃͠Í̸̡̭̻Ǫ̵̬̀͛̈Ň̵͔̬͚̿,̴̠̫̣̒ ̸͍̞̣͌̽Y̷͊͑͜O̴̧̻͉̒Ư̸̫ ̶̮̍L̸̘̓Ỉ̴̞̣T̶̫̉T̶̫͑̎͝Ĺ̴̨̜̳͒͝E̸̥͈͉͌ ̸̢̳̙͌̚S̷̞̰͌̚͝H̸̘̒̉̕I̷͆̌ͅŤ̸̢̥̼͘S̴̱̓̽!̴̬͆͑͊͜" He snapped his whip again, this time on the ground, and the slaves attached to the golden volleyballs jumped up and launched several dozen smaller balls at Panther and Skull.

Skull yelped as they impacted with him and launched him back, bouncing along the ground, while Panther narrowly dodged the rest. Mona quickly healed Skull, before yelping and having to dodge another strike from the knife. The tongue that Berith was impaling shot up and smacked the horseman away, and he winced as he recalled him while groaning in pain. "Cait Sith!"

The cat appeared on his shoulder and began swinging his saber, carving runes into the air that became Agi fireballs and flew up to slam into Kamoshida's chest. Zorro's Garu attacks expanded the flames and they exploded out, scorching his pink skin. "Guid teamwork laddies!"

"Joker, the Treasure's up there, on his head!"

"We'll have to beat him down then try to escape with it. His attacks hit like a truck, and we haven't done much damage back."

"No!" Panther interrupted, Carmen launching fireball after fireball at Kamoshida's demonic form. "We're finishing him!"

He furrowed his brow as Cait Sith assisted Carmen. "We aren't going to kill him."

"I know, but I can't just leave here after a fight's already started and not just get some kind of revenge!"

"I agree with Panther, if we're gonna fight anyway, let's go all out!"

He sighed, before turning back to smirk at Kamoshida. "Hear that? We won't settle for just stealing that ugly crown of yours. We're beating you, too."

"̶̙̬͓̃̋̎Y̴̟̠̎̉Ǫ̶̪̪͗̄͘U̷̢̹͆͠ ̸̪̠̔͒̽Ḷ̵͔̬̆̐͊Î̸̘̓T̷̛̲T̸̯̘̠́̑L̷̗͉̀É̷̹͕͂̉ ̴͍̙͉̋S̸̰̝̽H̵̙̓͐͘Ǐ̶̬̈͂T̴͇̦̽̄!̶̮̈́"̵̨̗̣̅͑̌ Kamoshida's tongue whipped out and he grunted as he wasn't able to dodge in time, the impact sending him flying through the room and into a pillar. He recoiled as he felt it crack and crumble behind him from the force of his impact, slamming into the ground.

"Alright… don't taunt the giant tongue monster when said tongue is only feet away." He got back up and narrowed his eyes, diving to the side to avoid a volley of… volleyballs launched by the slaves, pulling out his gun and filling Kamoshida with bullets. His tongue snapped up but he was prepared this time, rolling beneath it as it completely destroyed the pillar and snapping his knife up to slash at the underside of the organ.

Kamoshida howled in pain at the feeling of his tongue getting sliced open and attempted to retract it, only for Captain Kidd to grab it and pull with all his might, using a Tarukaja to strengthen himself. Carmen and Zorro unleashed a whirlwind of fire down Kamoshida's throat, and he called out Saki Mitama, commanding her to freeze Kamoshida's tongue using the copious saliva dripping from it.

Seeing the frozen organ, Skull and Captain Kidd struck simultaneously, shattering large chunks and sending black blood spilling out. "̶̡̽F̶͔̺̫̈́U̵͕̞̐Ū̸̡͇̯Û̷͎̾͠Ù̶͖̥Ç̶̱͑K̷̖͈̻̀!̸̱̘́ ̶̣͈͔̍̎H̷̥̋͘O̶͚̓͗̔W̴̺̜͆͑ ̵̫͚͂̇D̵̙̟̐͆A̴̫̰̒͜R̵̩̈͒͝Ě̶̩—̴̯̮̾͗ ̴̲̳̗̒Á̵̫̤G̴͎̭̳͘H̶̟̦̘͐͠!̷͓͍͔̏ ̵̲̪͐̈͗I̵̬͐͒͆ ̴͙̮͑N̶̢̞̲͛E̷͚̟͐Ĕ̶̹̗D̸̥̪̈́̍̃ ̸̼̤̻͊̉H̷͎̤̜̄̿̾E̴̹̍͐̀ͅA̷͉̠͛͋̔L̴͈̰̯͝I̶̤͎͛̽N̷̪̖̄'̷̲̘́!̵͈͕̹̈"̴͔̈́͝ Using his fork and knife, he stabbed one of the female volleyball members, and the Phantom Thieves could do nothing, too shocked by the brutality, as Kamoshida ate her whole.

The missing chunks of meat that had broken off his tongue quickly regenerated, while the small cuts and wounds along the rest of his body healed as well. "̸̘̎A̵̳̦̣̒H̵̼́Á̸̢͍͇̾H̶̻͇̣̊̊A̵̖͎͈͘Ȟ̸͙̊͆Ä̷̧̫́,̴̠̞̅̏ ̶̛͚̰̦̀Ñ̷̠̋̈O̷̝̠̊̿͂W̷̓͜ ̶̖̌͒͘T̴̲͍͓́̿͗H̸̗̏̔̀Ạ̷͗̏̈́T̴̲̭̗̈́ ̴̣̟̑̀͝H̶̪̀͗̀I̶̳͆T̸̮̻͗̈́S̷͇̮̥̆͘ ̶͙͗̿Ṭ̷́͒H̷͍̐̊̓E̴͉͇̓͝ ̸̧̡̡͗̆̚S̷̠̽͜P̶͚͗O̴̲͝T̶̛̬̠̼͐͝!̵̼́̈͂ ̵̝͂͊C̴͉̉Ō̷͈̙̋͠M̶̢̕Ě̸̞̞̖͝ ̷̱̲̌O̶̰͌̌N̸͖̊,̵̜̍ ̶͉͙̇́Y̸̯̺̅Ǒ̸̦̟͉Ų̵͛͛̕ ̶̗̎L̴̜̬̔Į̸͕̉̓T̴̪̃͊͘T̶̛͍̾L̷̫̘̅Ê̴̗̰̐ ̸͙͍̯̈́̿S̴̺̦̊̎̋H̷͚̜̗͛̔͆I̷̺̯͚͌Ṱ̶̠̊̔̉S̸̢͕͑̉,̴̳̣̭̐̀̇ ̷̡̖͗́͜Į̸̼͍̏̔ ̵̧̮͙͗A̵̬̻͚̒Ĭ̷̳̰͗̔N̵̻̲͆'̷̗̅͝T̴̰͝ ̴̙̘͛̂Ḻ̵̲̗̄͒̏E̷͎̮͑͐́ͅT̶͙̖̎̎Ț̸͛I̸̗͓̘͗N̶̺͂̽'̸̠͖͌̃͌ ̶̡͖̒̆͝Y̵̻̓́O̶̩̙̟̕͝U̵͇͌̎ ̵̜̲̈́S̸̗̎̏͜L̴͚͝E̴̻͇͖̿͌͠È̶͍̖̘̃P̵̝̞͛͋̕ ̷̨̣̔T̶̠͘O̴̹̰͔̽̔͋N̷̨̮̙̓̎̐I̵̧̍G̵̛̯͍̈́H̸̠̦̆͌̂T̵̲̦̥͌͐!̷̻̇̐̑"̵̟̪͐̅ He grimaced and dodged another knife strike, the ground cracking underneath him as he jumped to safety.

"We need to destroy that trophy! Or else he'll just keep healing!"

"Alright, you three, I'm going to distract him, while he's looking away, smash it! Skull, Tarukaja me!" He summoned Angel, and she began blasting motes of golden light at Kamoshida as Captain Kidd hit him with a red beam that powered him up. "Hey ugly! I bet that your dick's smaller than mine even in that huge form!"

"̵̖̿̿͝Š̴̡͝Ț̵̻̻́̄À̵̺̕N̷̩͒̇D̴̫̗͙͘ ̴͚̳͠Š̷̞T̶̪̜̜͋̿Ĩ̸͚͆L̴͍̊͝L̴̨̊̇̓ ̵̝͍͆̇̊Y̵͖͌̽Ỡ̸̖̹̱̂Ù̷͓ͅ ̵̨̨̹͆̉̽L̷̟̮̾͝I̶̗̩̐͑͜T̵̂͜T̵̟̽͝L̶̹͒̀́E̷̟̭͂̈̂ ̷̡̘̝̆B̶̜̈́Ȁ̸͔̤̬͘͠S̴͍̗͑̑T̴̩̯̈́Ä̵͔͛̈́R̸̭͂̒D̶̜͖̝̄!̸̝̿̂͝"̵̜̯̈́͒ Volleyballs impacted with the ground around him as he dove and flipped, swinging his dagger and slicing several up before they could slam into him. He rolled across the ground and fired his gun, sending bullets pinging off the slave's helmets.

"Man, your slaves are pretty shit with those volleyballs! Doesn't that reflect badly on you? I thought you were supposed to be some champion!" The knife and fork flew down at him, Kamoshida screaming in rage as he twisted his grotesque body around to try and keep track of him. He jumped onto the knife and did a flip off of it to dodge the fork, slashing out to slit Kamoshida's arms. "Are you sure that gold medal wasn't a bronze one and you're just lying to yourself?"

"̵̪͔̯̍̍͗̿͘Í̷̡͇̟̰̻̳̳͉͇͑̔͒͂͋̈'̵̻̼̩͍̫̹͉̗̼̉̀̈́́̐̕͠L̴̤̳͚͚̈́̉͛̀̅Ĺ̵̢̞͚͚̪͕̟ ̷̢̢̢̠̟͔͙̋́͒K̴̛̜̺̥͍̋̈͂̉͗̎̕I̸͙̗͙͓͈͖͈͕͌͊̎̀̓̽̚̚̚̚L̸̡̪̩̈́̋͜͜Ḷ̸͇̞͋̉̚͝ ̵̛̼̑̈̀̾̎̓̚Y̸̧̪͖͈̱̫͙͖̋̐̾̂ͅÖ̵̼̹̮͕͚͎́͜Ù̵̮͔͕̔͑!̴̹̞̬͓͊͌̓͜͝"̷͉̟̖̼̬̪̼̬̥̓́͊̇̿̉͒͒͜

"You know, you keep saying that, but you haven't done nearly as much damage to me as we've done to you!" The blades Kamoshida wielded flew at him again, and he sidestepped the knife, before jumping away from the fork. He let energy flow through his arms and he narrowed his eyes. "Let's see if this works… PSI Rebellion ɑ!" He placed his palms on the fork so that instead of firing the attack off like a beam, he was injecting the energy into the blade, letting it destroy itself from the inside.

Cracks began expanding throughout the fork, with his red and black energy glowing through said cracks. The utensil finally exploded, and he jumped away while shielding his face to stop golden chunks of burning-hot metal from cutting him. Kamoshida recoiled, the hand that had been holding the weapon bleeding and burning. "̸̺͙̀H̶̖̝̚O̶̬̜̫̓̉̒W̴̥͕̰̓͛ ̴̞̲̮͗D̷̨̘̣̂A̸̩̹̖͘R̴͖͆̈È̷̱̩͛ ̵̧͍̄Y̵͈̯̒̈́O̸̭̅͜U̸͎͆̔̓!̷̢̑ ̸͕͒͝Ẏ̵̥̇̂O̸̱͝U̷̡̙̫͗͘ ̴̲͖̳͌͝R̸͎̕O̵̘͆̈́T̷͉̳̺̊̓T̸̛̺E̶̳̬̐̈ͅN̵̦͍̂͘͠ ̶̩͋F̶̥̋̀Ù̵̮̓C̸̻̿K̶̬͗̄!̸̝̳̠̉͘"̴̼͈̑

"One weapon down, another to go. Come on, Kamoshida, or are you too pussy to risk losing another blade?"

Kamoshida snarled, slobbering everywhere, before turning back to his cup to try and heal his hand… Only to witness the moment that lightning, fire, and wind impacted with it all at once and dealt the final blow, shattering the trophy to pieces. The women inside vanished like dust in the wind as the gold pieces fell to the ground, and Kamoshida shrieked, scrambling to try and mold the pieces back into shape. "̵͉̈͗N̸̤͍̝̚-̷͓̾͌̊N̶̞͈̜̋Ö̷̡̩̫́̈́̑!̷̲͌ ̵̮̤̘͛T̸͈̋H̵̱͌͠ͅÏ̵̘̃S̴̜̾ ̸̢̀̈́͝ͅW̴͖̻͝À̵̭̂̃Š̴̞͜ ̴̡̬̆͛F̸̹̞̀̂R̷̯̻͛̾Ö̸̩͚̗́͝M̴͎̓͋ ̴̧̣̈W̸̺͔͓͐̀H̶͙͖͇͌͊E̶͈̋N̴̡̪͈̈͊ ̷̺͌̓̕I̸̙͎̮̿́͝ ̸̛̼͌W̴̟͌́Ŏ̷̘̞̭̕͘N̴͍̬̳͊̈́ ̴̭͇̓T̷͖͝H̸͖͔̪̒͒E̴̛͉̻͆ ̶̳͂N̶̻̞͆A̴̙̾Ṭ̶̲̭̏͂̀Ĭ̴̘̩̌O̴̡̮̮̐͌N̴͈̟͒̋Â̸͙͛L̷͎̟̠͆͊!̷̛̜̹̾͝"̵̦́̓

"Surround him!" As Kamoshida continued to lament over the broken trophy, they quickly pulled out their guns and made a semi-circle around him, pointing them at his face.

"̶̳̆Y̵̭̕Ȯ̵͜Ȗ̶̪ ̵͖̍T̶͎̋H̵̗͝I̵̬͛Ṉ̶̋K̷̩̓ ̵͈̔Y̶̪͂O̸̦͘Ū̸̦ ̷̠̎C̶̢͝Ȃ̵͍N̵͕͂ ̶̩͑G̶̝͋E̴̛͖T̵͖̋ ̷̟̽A̵̢̽W̸͓̒Ȃ̵͔Y̵̞̍ ̶̞̿W̶̹̊Í̷̧T̴̙̍H̸̬̍ ̵̮̑Ṱ̵̋Ȟ̴̼Î̶̳S̴̄ͅ?̵̨̎!̴̠́ ̶̩̂D̵̍ͅO̸͚͗ ̵̑͜Ȳ̴͉O̶͉̾U̴̮̚ ̵͕̀K̸͈̀N̷̮͛O̴̟̊W̶̳̚ ̷̯̏Ẅ̵͉́H̵̟̍O̶͜͝ ̵̼͝I̸̞̽ ̷̤́A̷͓͝Ḿ̴̲?̴͕́!̵̟̾ ̴͎̀I̵̙͝ ̷̞͑A̶̚ͅM̵̼̂ K̶͉͇̿͆͘A̷̖̅̈́̕Ḿ̷̖̲̎O̶̮̅̚Ṡ̸͙̟̞͋H̵̨̛̲̠̏Ì̷͍D̵̻̞̮̚̚͠A̷͖̮͋̀!̷̃͜ ̶̳̕D̷͉̎Ǒ̵͙N̵̼͘'̴̟͛T̶̪͑ ̸̏͜Ÿ̸̙́O̶̙̒U̵̜̒ ̴̛̻Ġ̷̣Ë̵͕́T̵͙̏ ̶̱̐I̸͍͝T̵͎̑?̵̳̽!̴̟̽"̷̦͘

"And? Why exactly should we give a shit?"

"̴̧̍͛̌B̷̧̾͠ͅU̸̡̿Ṯ̷͖́.̶̩̻̟̍̆̍.̴͕̦̄ͅ.̷̝́̚ ̶̧̖̳̔͋͛I̵̯͑ͅ'̵̥͉̥̓̀̽M̵̬̐ ̸̨̍́͋K̷̻̙̼͑̀̈́Ă̶̼͓͑͜M̵̢̡̳̓̍͝Ő̴͚̾Ṡ̵͕Ȟ̸̡̜̮͋I̴̺̎D̷̥͕͚̽Ǎ̴̜̰̖!̸̻̇̆̚ ̸͉̙̊͝I̴̢̦̟̓͗'̶͈̳͘͘ͅM̸̡̙̓ ̷̖͍̳̎Ṯ̷̿͜͝H̶̡͉̔͝ͅE̷̖͑͑ ̴̭͈̿̉K̶̛͕̖̻Ḯ̵͔͍̊̊N̵̨͙̭̉̂͘G̵̬̖͛͗!̵͉̉͜"̷̹̦̥̏

Skull scoffed. "Y'know, I always saw you as a condescending hotshot, but right now you're nothing more than a pathetic loser."

"̵͖̰́̽̕Ỷ̶̤̟̰̀̀Ọ̴̡̊U̴͐̔͌͜.̴͇̫̘͒͠.̵̞̏̔.̶̢͖͕̅͆ ̸̧͚͗Y̸̒͊͜O̷̙͂͊U̸̯̽̽!̷̞̒̿"̴̘̲͘

"We came all this way to steal that Treasure, so would you just give up and hand it over already?!"

"̶̥͎̭͊̉S̴̢̖̺͆̽̏I̸̺͍͙̿L̸̹̭̠͐̒͝Ĕ̴͔ͅǸ̸̠̉͠Ċ̷͗͜Ë̶̡̧́!̵͈̘̎̓ͅ ̸̰̙̗̋̚Í̸̢̥̤̿̕ ̸̖̈́͠Ẁ̵̝Ó̴͔N̴͚͎͇̂'̸͙̽̋̈ͅT̵̜̠̋̉ ̶̭͓̲̒L̸̤͝E̶̗̦͆T̴̥̋͊ ̴̲̪̿͂Ț̷͔̈̽̌ͅH̶̦̕E̸̲̿͊ ̴̢̈̾̕L̸̯̉I̵̭̍K̶̫̾̚Ę̵̥̃̎̃S̴̝̓́ ̸̣̗͌̐O̷̹͈̱͋F̴͕̦͇̈́ ̸̟̿̓̎Y̶͎̒̓̀Ô̶̰̝Ù̷̧̯ ̴͇̉H̸͉͐̈́Á̶̭̳͓V̴̫̚E̵̟͈͗͋͜͠ ̶͙̍̈́͝T̸̩̉̃̌H̷̫̺͆̿͘ͅI̶̛̠̠̎Ṡ̶̩͙̈́̏!̷̜̈̕"̴̛͚̉

"Sheesh, he still has the energy to say things like that?! Guess we'll have to up our game as well!"

He smirked at Mona's words and pulled the trigger. "All-Out Attack!" The team burst into action, slicing and blasting and smashing, doing incredible amounts of damage as Kamoshida tried to retaliate. Unfortunately for the false king, they were too fast to be caught, and soon enough his body was bleeding from several dozen wounds.

"̸̬̅̐A̴͈̗̅̔͠C̵̻͕͛̀H̷̞́̎̚,̷̞̹͙̒̾͒ ̴̮̣̜̀D̸̹̺̏A̶̡͎̿̐M̷̡͒̍́M̷̪̒͝Ĩ̵̗͂̏T̵̢̠͍̓̿͋.̵͓͍̺̐̕.̴͖̿̃.̷̻͌̆̚ ̷̜̩͌Ì̵̱̜̯͝'̶͇͗M̴̳̭͎̏ ̵̭̈͂̇T̵̳͈̥̈́̓͌Ḥ̶̓̈́̇Ȅ̴͇̰̳͠ ̴̹̇K̴̨̠̋́̊Ị̷̗̝͒̎Ṉ̷̱̱̔Ǧ̸̛̻̖!̵̜̈́̋̔ ̶̬͚́Ḭ̴̭͒̍F̷̙̰͒̈͛ ̸͚̦͑̇̍Ḯ̴̧̛̦̟̕'̴̰͂̽̂M̷͎̜̆ ̸̭̓N̶̥͐̚̕O̶̥͚̍̔T̸̬̑͝,̴̦̠͛̑͝ ̷̻̉̈́̇͜͜W̶̞̚Ĥ̷͕̻͕̆O̴̭͗̒̄ ̷͔̖͌͂̃Ǐ̴̫̕Ṣ̷̼͓̊̓?̸͚͖̄!̶̨̀̎̕ͅ"̴̣͑

"I don't know myself, but they'd certainly do a better job than you could."

"̴̠̃H̴͓̲͝͝ͅȮ̸̯Ẅ̷̲́̈̈́ ̵̩̌̾D̶͔̎A̷͙̮͌R̴͓̉E̴͈̾̀ ̴̳̖̖̅͒Ỳ̵͕̠͒͝Ȍ̴̠̫͝U̸̱̳̒͝͝ ̴̱́͜Ḱ̷̘̐͠E̴̪͔̋È̷͖̜͇͒P̶̠̙̩͛̅̈́ ̸̩͖̗̅D̷̼̐͊E̴͗͜F̴̰͓̑͘Ÿ̴̰͕́͐Į̴͎̌Ñ̷̗G̶̗̺̓ ̴͔̒Ṃ̸̑E̴̛͇̥̊͠!̶̨̛̩ ̷͈͠͠L̵̡̙̗̀͝͝O̸̗̬̊͒Ò̵̱̖̑͒K̶̲̈́S̶̛̻̟̠͑ ̷̮̎͜Ĺ̸̦̈́̓İ̷̺̋K̸̬̗̮̓̑E̷̟͓͘ ̶͓͎̌I̵̻̱̗̾'̷̢̘̯̆̈́̋V̶͔̮͔͠E̶͖̠͍͝ ̴̰̓͂̃Ǵ̵̜̪̜͌Ǫ̵͇̋̿̏T̴̄͗̓ͅT̸̛̤̍A̶͉̭̓ ̴͖̲͎̿̄̑G̸̛̝͙̼̀́É̴̹̬̲͒T̷͙̈́ ̴̢̎́̍Ọ̵͚̓U̷̲͌̃T̸̼̈́̉̒͜ ̸̡̛̩̋͘T̶͎͐̀̉H̸̫͍̗̉Ę̷̬̤̋́ ̷̝͓̈́͋B̸͍͇̎̎Í̵̧̬͉͌͘G̸̱͉͖͆̒ ̶̭̹͉͑͛̚G̸̯̟̋Ṷ̶͗Ň̶̖S̵̺̈́̉̀!̵̬̹̏́͝ ̶̠̏S̷̭̳̞̉̐̌L̵̠͓͒́A̷̪̫̿̊V̶͕͕̊̈͒Ĕ̵̬S̸̫͎̍!̸͓̹̞̿̈ ̶͕̓̃B̸̧̺͑R̸̨̓Í̸̼̑Ň̶̝̝͇̈́͝G̴̦̐ ̶̭̲̬̐͘͘O̴̲̰̦̅̈́Ŭ̶̯̐ͅT̷̲͎̆͑̀ ̷̪̲̞̽͝T̸̢͒̍̌Ḧ̵̫͉̞́̀͑E̷̺͙̥͒̋ ̵̫͇̎Y̶̢̻̙̌Ó̷͚̦͎̀U̵̧͉͍̍͝-̸̳̋K̴̰̾̒N̶̯͙͒̔͝O̵̜͛̂Ẅ̵̨̗́-̸̠̝͂̉̉W̷̟͋̽͘͜Ĥ̴̩͚̦́Ḁ̷̡̙́́͝Ṭ̵̎͝!̴͙̍̕T̴̜̦̏I̸͙̫̅̀Ḿ̵̯̉̃Ë̵͙̫̟́̕ ̸̛̣͔͐̈́Ḟ̷̭Ǒ̷̦̮͆R̶̝̭̬̅ ̵͈͊M̶̨͔͐̔Y̶̼̝̹̅̀ ̷̢͉̘̌̄K̸̜͋Ḯ̶͖͇̾̑L̷͚̃L̵͓͇͗S̶̞̮͍̔͝H̸̝̲̯̓̀Õ̶͇̘̕ͅT̸̡̎͜ ̴̨͎̅F̴͚̞̉R̵̛̬̔͝ͅO̸̢̢͎͑̂̎M̵͔̅̽ ̴̹̑ͅB̴̨̞̣̆͘Ǎ̸̟̜͚͑̚C̶̼̲̆̓K̴̮̣̗̄́̄ ̵̭̒͘̚W̸̗̝͊H̷̪̫̏͐͝Ȇ̷͕͌̀N̵̨̬̻͝ ̴͇̈́͆͜I̸͔͕̱͆ ̶̖̔̎͠W̶̫͎͗A̷̖͌̈ͅS̷̫̥̊̿ ̷̧̄͘A̶͉͔͗͒̕C̶̤̋͂̒T̶͉͈͌Ḭ̴̱̎͆V̸̦́̚̕E̵̢̼̮͋̄͝ ̶̖͚̅A̵̼͠N̸̬͕͂̎̐D̴̬̣̉̑ ̴̜̬́̈̐R̴͍͍̉͌͘͜Ô̴̢̥C̶̭͎̓̚͜K̷͈̟̮̒̈́Į̶̮͓͌N̶̦̫͑̂'̴̡̪̻̑ ̴̧͕̇Ǐ̸̻̈́Ṭ̷̓͜!̵̠̒͠ ̵̢͔́̌͊K̵̼̋̓ͅI̸̛̜L̴̮̖̝̔L̷̢̹̝͛Ṡ̶͎̞̬H̷͔̐O̷̳̝̙͆́̀T̷̲̤͋̑́ ̸̡͍̻͐À̴͔͈̼S̵̜̀ ̵̩͇̇I̷̥͌Ñ̷̞̼,̷̩͙̩̉̿͒ ̸͎̠͉̂͌̒'̷̦̪̂ͅI̷̫̱͒̌̉'̶̭̖́̾L̴̬̅͊L̴͈̞̊̕̕ ̸͎̚M̸̼̽̈́̈́͜A̴͖̰̲͂K̸̹͕͂̾̑E̴̪͚͗͗̒ ̴̻͐̔T̵̤͂ͅH̵̤͉̝̀̍̐Ẻ̸̼͒͝ ̵͚̪̪̇̎̆K̵̹̮̄I̷̼͍͐̾̌Ļ̴̿̇L̴̜̝̣̐̀!̶̣͉̦͝'̵̩̖͙̅̀"̴̯̖̾̈́

"Everyone, get ready. A big attack is probably on its way." Kamoshida whipped his tongue around, trying to hit them all at once, but only managed to land a glancing blow on Panther. Captain Kidd took form and powered up with Tarukaja, before launching Zios at the monster as Mona dashed forward and began ducking between his feet, cutting at him with his saber.

Another volley was launched at Skull, and Panther quickly wrapped her whip around his waist and pulled him to safety, while Carmen used Dormina to put some of the slaves asleep, hoping to thin down the number of enemies attacking at once. "̸͙͂̕W̶̧̙̩͋͘H̷̻̆̌̀À̵̙̰T̴̹̠̓͝'̴͓͎́̍Ṣ̷͚̾̕͜ ̴̠͑͊T̵̢̻͙̚͠H̶͎͍̊É̵̛̠͚ ̵͙̬̓Ḫ̷̡́Ö̴͚̦́͒͝L̸̘̔D̶̻̼̣͆̆̓U̶̮͆͝P̶̩͎̜̀͌̕?̵̬̊͗̕!̷͍̺̱̑̕ ̴͓͎̹̑W̷̡̨̙͆́̕H̸̭̿̑E̶͓̟͒R̷̡̪̘̽͘͝E̷̻͂̇'̴̨̥̤͑̍͆S̸̱̩̽̍̈́ ̸̨͓̖̅M̷̥͈̂͐Y̵̗͖̓̓ ̶̘̰̯̈͠Ḅ̵͊̈́͘A̵̳̳͗̚̚L̶̰̇̀L̴̖̺͊͋͘?̸̰̖͙̇̆!̴̛̺͠͠"̷̛̤͘

After Kamoshida's roar, a boy's voice answered. "I-I'm so sorry, King Kamoshida! I-I have it right here!" Mishima ran out of the shadows, and he stood still for a moment, staring at the blue-haired boy in shock before Mona tackled him out of the way as Kamoshida's tongue slammed down where he had been standing.

"I-Is that Mishima?!"

Mona shook his head at Skull. "No, it's just a cognitive copy, like the Ann doll!"

He murmured thanks at Mona before getting up. Do not fear such attacks, they could never hurt knights such as us! He scoffed at Berith's lie, tossing his dagger between his hands.

"̴̳͍̇T̷̳̫͐O̴̫͑̐̋O̴̢̞̾̈́͝ ̷̙͈̎͘S̴̻͂̓̔L̶̫̮̐̐O̷̤̼̽̒͊W̵̢̹͂͝ ̵̥̭̑́̕M̷̳̩̐̐Í̷͚͇̕S̸̪͆̚͠H̶̝̄I̸͖͓̋M̵̰̤͕̌Ḁ̷̪̿!̶̩̀͝ ̸͓̈̽̇W̵̱̱̘͑͝Ö̸̠̗́͜R̵̯̜̳̆T̵̺̿̑͘H̷̺͍̬́̌̈́L̶͇̣̳̂E̸̦̊̀̍S̶̙̰͗S̷̖̞̐͊ ̵̟̔̉̈́C̸͚̣̺̔̊͆H̷̲̗̏̈̕Ư̸͇͝͝M̶̞̩̽͒̕P̶̞̱͑̌̚!̶̬̎̂̂"̸̢̭͒

"Hunker down, something big is coming…!"

"̴̗͚̜͐̀N̵̪̅Ô̵̙͎̈̉W̷̤̯̙̍̀,̴̻̯̖̐̑ ̴͚̯̿P̸̹̘̫̎͠A̴̢̟͂̈́̚͜S̷̜͍̈̀͝Ś̵͍̚͜ ̶̢̖̯̈́Ḯ̵̹͔T̵͎̦͊͝ ̴͎̭̦̄̄͝T̵͓͚͌̆Ǫ̶̺͠ ̷̺̣̼̀͛͠M̶̥̈́̕͜E̷̠͌,̴̗̰͓̈́ ̶̔̈́̈́ͅM̸̼̖̈́͒̉I̶̻̋̀̂S̶̝̩͂̕H̴̻̰̱̉̑Ḭ̸̫́͘M̵̪̻͍͒Á̷̘̣͙!̶̱̱͓̒ ̶̈̉̆ͅD̸̯̈́̒̓͜Ô̸͕̞͉̎N̷͚̝̕ͅ'̶͈͕͈͑T̴͎̬̍͑ ̵͎̑T̶̳͎̐̚Ę̴̙̰͗L̷̠͆̋Ḷ̶̂ ̶̝̥̅̀M̷̯̬̦̌́̋E̵̖̮͑̉ ̵̮͍̹̋Ÿ̴͔̪̓̿O̵̗͖̕U̴̞͒͆̕ ̶̳̈̿͐C̷̙͚̘̄A̴̛̠͎̎̈́Ņ̸̧̔̏̒'̵̢̼̿Ṯ̸͒̊̕ ̵̛̜̥̂D̴͓̫́̌Ò̵̙͖̦̊̕ ̷͎̘̻̄S̶̞̊͠O̴͓̤̓̃̚M̵̮͋͠Ĕ̶̱͔̍͆T̸̛̻̝́͐͜Ĥ̶̭Ĩ̴̼̍N̸̢̼͂̃́G̷̙̩͇̐̈́͌ ̵̘͈͛̀͝ͅȂ̸̖͑̔S̵͙͗̾͘ ̷̰̈͋͝S̴̤̄́ͅI̶̛͈͆M̸͇̳̦̊̒̈́P̷̰͈͇̉L̸͚͐͗Ė̸̮͝ ̸̳̊A̴͙͛S̶͉̯̈́́̑ ̸̯̪̤̈́Ḙ̶̢̓̓V̶͔̗͆͑̕Ȩ̶͙̔N̵̛̞̯̲͠ ̴̘̯̘͛Ṱ̸͋̕H̷̝̲́A̸̪̮͕͊͗̿T̵̹̎!̷͎̆"Mishima winced and wound up, lobbying the ball high into the air. As it flew it grew larger, and Kamoshida leaped up, winding his arm back and slamming his fist into the massive volleyball.

Skull screamed as the ball bore down, ready to destroy the area. "OH SHIT!"

Time slowed down as he tried to think up a way to survive the situation before he made a snap decision. "Skull, Panther, behind the pillars!" As he yelled he grabbed Mona and dove for cover behind pillars on the right side of the area, while Skull and Panther dove towards the pillars on the left side of the throne room.

The attack struck the center of the area, and everyone screamed as the explosion went off, burning them with the intense heat. Even Panther with her flame resistance couldn't take all of it, and it was only due to the pillars protecting them, which very quickly were shattered by the waves of force, that allowed them to survive.

He wheezed in pain, slowly pushing himself up from where he lay on the ground and looked down to Mona, who he had tried to shield beneath him. "Mona, are you alri—" He began coughing, clearing dust from his throat. "Alright?"

"Ah… ye-yeah, I'm fine… Zorro, Media!" The masked swordsman appeared, and with a wave of his rapier, the team was healed. He breathed deeply, before shoving the rubble on his back off by standing up, sending more dust into the air. He saw Skull and Panther also getting up on their side, coughing and trying to get the rubble off their costumes.

"̶̱̟̉̅̾I̸̢͎͆͗̑ ̶̩͕̿́K̸͓̯̑͋N̵̩̠̈́E̷̮̲͒W̴͙̤͈̾̔̅ ̴͕͔͇̎̓I̸͙̓T̸͙͚͉̍́͠!̵̹̊͜ ̷͔͊̌Ĩ̵̗͇̇̋ ̵̧̅ͅĆ̵̨̹̟Ȃ̸̜͊͋N̵̥̐͝'̴̪̀Ţ̷̀͐̈́ ̵͚͋̀G̴̩̀̿͗O̸͕̹͗ ̷̛̖͐̌Ą̶̂͠Ḻ̶̞͙̽͘Ļ̵͎͇̑͛̈́ ̷̢͆́̚Ö̶̹̲́͂͆Ű̵́̊ͅT̸͇͓̘͋͝ ̸̪̹͐͌͊W̶̜̘̱̾Į̵̅͌T̷͓͖́̽H̷̢̡͗̐ ̵̬̣̀M̶̬͓̈́̌͠Ī̴̧̯̣̀S̶͍̳͗̿͠ͅH̷̞̬̍͐Ĭ̶̙̈́M̴̧̪̖̒͠Ä̶̠̚͠ ̷̰̃̊P̵̨̯̌̔͝R̸̩̼̿̀͜O̷̳̗̒V̴͕̣̼͐Î̷̼͌D̵̨̅I̸̟͆N̸̫̠͗G̸͚̦̀̐̋ ̸̞͖̺́͋T̴̲̘͆̄͂H̷̜͊Ë̷̖́̈͊ ̴̙̼̔B̸̗̣͈̌A̶̗̬̝͘C̴̯̱͘Ķ̴̭̏͘-̸̫̀Ȗ̸̫̩͚̕͝P̴̙̲̐̔!̴̞͌̏ ̴̬̀͘H̸̡͉͊Ě̵̪̇Y̸͍̑,̶̤͌͆ ̸͔̞̈̑S̶̗͑͒̄H̴̫̪̣̀͑̌Ǐ̴̗͈͙Ţ̴̚͘ͅ-̵̙̭͉̈̔F̷̲͆́͠Ȏ̷̯͍͑R̵̟̺͙͗͑̐-̵͖̓͝B̸̹̻̓̚͝R̷̼͗̂̕Ȃ̵̖̩͔I̴̘̭͂̈̾N̵̙̲̟̊S̴͖̰̩̉̔̌!̶͖̪̂̂͂ ̷̘̆̀G̴̠͎͑É̷̙̓T̶̞̝̈ ̴̙̬́O̷̼͕̥͒F̶̼̬̞̃͋F̸͍̫͍̋ ̴̧̋M̶̲͎͗Y̵̭̽̓̕ ̸̬̑̍͊C̵̡͎̙̈́͑Ǫ̸̙̘̔̔͘U̶̟͗̅Ŗ̶̂̓T̸̯͂͘!̴͓̝̞̄͐̎"̴̹̥̃ Mishima whimpered and ran off, while Kamoshida cracked his whip.

"I-I'm sorry, King Kamoshida!"

"̵̼́Ṋ̷͌͒E̷͍͗͗̈́ͅͅẌ̴̘̯́̕Ṭ̴́̋ ̸̼͝S̷̤̩̅L̴̛̤̮͔A̷̡̟̍V̸̹͇̈́Ê̵̡̙,̷͉̱͆̈́̚ ̸̨̯̄̀G̶͎̥̻̽̏E̷̳͚̔̈́T̴̲̆̽ ̷̧̝̜̄͗̾O̵̫̜͂̄Ǘ̴̼̱̩̓̀T̸̯̮̝͑͂̉ ̴̭̓H̵̢̛͆̈́E̵̩͔̍̏̏Ŕ̵̛̤͕͠E̶̻͙̿͝!̵̲̯͙͑͆͘ ̴̢̱̏͜H̷̗͈̥͑̔̌Ư̵̯͔͒͝Ṙ̸͇̩̆͝R̵̭̬̤̎͒̋Ý̴̻͓̈́͌ ̸̨̗̱̀͛Ũ̷̺̮͗̚P̶̠͛ ̵̢̝͗̔W̷̠̐̆I̶̮̥̓́̽T̶͙̈́͗͊Ḧ̶̰̱̥́͝ ̸̞̘̄̕M̴̧̰̲͐̕͠Y̵̢̩̌̄ ̸̖̫̐̏͆D̶̜̥̠͝A̴̡̅M̸̠̻̅N̶̨̜̿ ̵̡̢͕̾͆B̷̨̮̒A̴̩͚̓̉L̴̰͆̈́ͅL̵̬̜̝͛!̶̦͚̔̕"̷̧̦̼̿̓͑ When he slammed his whip into the ground another slave appeared, one that clearly set Panther's blood boiling. It was Shiho, dressed in provocative bunny lingerie.

"King Kamoshida, I've brought you your ball just as you've asked."

"̶͉̖̤͛́̕Ņ̵͔̓O̸͔̭͌̐̏W̴̻̎͊̈́ ̵̙̐̉T̴̯͙̓̏Ḧ̶̯̝̈̽E̴̗̳͐̓̀R̷̜̘̀͆Ȅ̶̱̽'̴͈̲̰̌̂S̸̯͆̋ ̶̣̩̝́͆́A̴̜̤̗̿ ̴̨͆͜͠G̵̛̱͈͋Ǫ̴͈͗ͅO̶͔͇̟̎͠D̴̼̂ ̵͉̟̭̓̚G̸͔̮͒̔̚͜Í̶̗R̸̡̔̄ͅL̴̥͕̃,̶̦̹̃́͝ ̵̪̗͊͋̓S̶͔̓̑͝U̶͙̔Z̴̘͛̐Ú̴͉̟̎͋Ĩ̶͎͝͠.̶̦͒̽͝ ̸͖̔Y̶̻̜͍̐̈Ȇ̷̠͊̏A̶̘̩̩̿̾̾Ḩ̴͕̃̃,̸͈̗̇ ̵̪͉̤͛Ä̶̧̱̥̃L̷̰̪̈́L̵̮͊͝ ̵̨̡͚͘͝W̵͙͇͆̈́̄O̸̮̠̪͗͆M̴̟͍͓̿̾̏E̶̡̛͕̥̍̚N̴̲͌̑͛ ̷͍̓͂S̷̖̼̥͗̓̽Ĥ̶͙͑̓Ȯ̶̺͓͐͐Ǘ̸̠̜̫̍L̸̞̯͛͂̉D̸͎͓̣̐̆͌ ̶̺̩̼̎͠͝O̷̻͍̺͗̀͝Ḃ̷̦̱̈Ë̷͉̝́͆̐Ẏ̷̫ ̷̫̝̓̈́O̴̰̩̟̍́R̴̦͓͌͌D̶͎̘̐̎Ē̵̦Ŗ̵̨̯̄̆S̶̼̄́̋ ̴̱͎̠̕͝L̷̘̹̲͌Ĭ̵̘͎K̴̨͚̗̇̎E̶̬͋̊̊ ̷͕͍̜͆́̇T̶̘͓̀͑H̴̗̼̙͂͊͐I̷͈̼͂͌͠S̶̛̗̳̠̄̚.̶̒͜ ̴̰̕Ą̶̻̻̎Ḯ̷̡̞̀́Ǹ̵̘̠͈̅̚'̵̩͎̣̀T̴̙̈́ ̷̪̅T̶̢̝͘͜H̶̰̽̊͘Ā̶̤͚̙͝T̴͉͚͛ ̴̤̅R̶͚͔̎I̷̬̋̆̉G̶͔̫̀̓H̸͔͕͛̀͊T̴̩̘͋̃͜,̷̢̞̳́̈́͌ ̴̠̟̹̈́͠S̷̻̭̜̏͑W̸̫͎̏Ẽ̴͖̄̕E̵̬̮͐̍T̴̹͔̼̔̒͝Ḧ̵̪́̚E̷̯͓͗A̴̮̪̩͊̚R̸̫͌̈̂T̴̪̕?̷̤̂̀"̴̠̈̄ Panther snarled, the very air around her heating up, and he felt his anger reach new heights as well.

Let not your anger consume you, Starr.

'Shut it, Angel, I'm killing this motherfucker.' He gathered his energy and brought her into the world, making her launch an unrelenting assault of Kouha beams. Kamoshida winced as they blinded him, and he pointed at the Cognitive Shiho. "Kill her, before she can throw the ball!"

"But—!"

"Panther, it's not the real Shiho! We either turn her to dust before he launches that attack again, or we die!" Panther squeezed her eyes shut, and he thought he could see tears in them before Carmen appeared and unleashed a powerful wave of fire just as Cognitive Shiho was preparing to throw the ball into the air.

The doll screamed in pain, much too realistically for any of their likings, before the fire died down and Cognitive Shiho was gone, the only thing left being the volleyball that rolled away. Panther turned her look of rage towards Kamoshida, while he just huffed in frustration. "̸̼̫̈́̔̽H̶̱̘̳͗̔͑Ǔ̸͉̿ͅM̴̡̗̹͗̆P̶͉͋̀͝ͅḤ̵̈́͐,̴̢̞̍̀ ̶̼̤̝̔̕Ẽ̵̛͉͕̔V̶͚͖̀̽͝E̷̻̻͓̾͠Ṇ̵͕̗͂ ̶͚̤̰̌̈́͝S̶̭̊̋̈U̸̖̽̎Z̵͓̕Ù̵͕͆̅Ǐ̸̧͎ ̸̘̦̔̇̉Ẃ̵̭̍̍͜Ą̴̰̲͂̉͊S̴͉̯͎͆̓͝ ̴̮͇̐W̵̫͋O̷̝͉͝R̵͚̜͂ͅT̴̯̃̇H̶̛͙͕͕L̶̨͉͂͂͝E̸̦͐͝S̶͉͌̇̚S̵̘̿̄͘.̷͈̣͍̎͒̈ ̵̳̿͂͜Ĺ̶͖̪́ͅO̸͙̬͊O̴̺͂̊̿K̸̬̺̺̏̆S̷͍͚̟̿̔̄ ̴̻̩̍L̵̻̈́̂̊I̴͔̅͑Ḵ̷̽̉E̴̡̫͌ͅ ̷̢͙̼͂̈́̚Ỉ̸͔͌̕'̸͖͖͇̎̃Ĺ̷̹̱̗̇L̵̙̔͝ ̷͍̪̀̈N̸̡̛̥̓͌É̵̙̓Ȩ̷̠̭̍D̷̦̪̍ ̴͕͉̦̒Ț̸̅Ȍ̸̯͌͝ ̷͔̖̈́G̴̭̲̈̕I̸̳͑͌̀V̴̢̋E̵͈͖̽́ ̷͓̩͋̉Ḣ̶̘͉̔̚E̴̻͚̮̍̊̕R̵̻̘͗ ̸̲̏͒S̷̰̈́O̴̳̎̏͜M̶̤̳͓̈́E̸͍͌̓̈ ̵͕͎̯̏Ṃ̵̹̑̍O̴̮͋͛R̶̢̙̈́̈́E̸͔̲̒ ̷͜͝Ŝ̴̬̤P̸̡̜̊̈̂È̶͎̯͚̒C̷̨̗̜͋͊̅Ī̶̟̉A̶̞͒̓L̶̹̇̈́ ̷̬̞͌̽Ḭ̸̛͌N̵̰̼͚͝S̴͕̼͚̃͊̃T̸̹̩̂R̵̹̂̈U̷̜̙͗͝ͅC̵͎͘T̵̼̞͕͗Í̷̩̺̎Ò̸̡͍͆̚N̷̺̒ ̷̺̻̉̅͜L̸̬͓͛̈͂A̴̦̦͉͝͝Ț̷̦̊̽Ḛ̴̛̄ͅŔ̵͖̪̚.̴̜̂.̸̻͆̾͠.̸͙͎̇ ̷̼̠̥͊̃Ǫ̸̠͋̕N̴͌͝ͅE̷̺̗͍͑̊̂-̷̙̋̀O̷̞̟̣͐̏N̶̠̺̙̾͒̅-̸͓̃̓Õ̶̻̊Ǹ̴̛͔̪E̵̼̲͂̿̕.̸͈͆̈ ̵̯̏̿Ť̷̠͇Ḩ̸̱̪͌̏Ě̵̺ ̶͚͗́̿͜R̸͇̺̾͑̈E̶̙̎͆͛Ś̷̻̔Ṭ̴̙̠̓ ̵͕̦̍O̷̡̼̎̉F̷̝̆̅ ̵̟͐͘͜Ŷ̶̨̢͕O̴͓͔͛͒Ǘ̷̗͑̕ ̵̨̱̣͊̉S̵̭͚̈͋L̸͙̉̾A̵̡̢͙͌͝V̵̧̢̐͐Ȩ̷͚͛͘͠S̷̫̦̦̏,̴̛̠̺̀͝ ̸̨̖͍́̔̋F̷̗͎̀̈ͅË̵̬͉̀͝ͅT̸̛̳̩̻̄̒C̵̪̕H̵̠͌̓ͅ ̴̤̀A̵̠̎̚N̶̡͙͑͌̑O̴͚̊͋̏T̶̠͔̗͆H̷͎̻̥̔̿Ë̴͔́R̷̯̀̇͒ ̵͖̠̺́͊̂B̷̨̯̻̀̕Ä̵̬̞́̈́L̶̻̪̾L̶͓͝!̴̹̒̀"̷̗̰̍̽ The rest of the slaves attached to the golden volleyballs at his side were let loose, and they scurried away.

"Kamoshida… I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Fireball after fireball flew from Carmen's hands, the look upon the Persona's face just as rage-filled as Panther's. Kamoshida grunted as he was burned, and he quickly swept his knife out, slashing at Carmen. The Persona gasped as she dissipated, and Panther clutched at her head as the pain was transferred to her.

Kamoshida flipped the knife into a reverse grip and stabbed down, but Skull managed to tackle her out of the way and he caught them both. "Panther! Berith, Dia! Panther, it's fine to be angry, but focus that rage!"

As Berith healed her, she slowly got up and nodded. "Yeah… yeah, I've got it."

"Damn, he's still goin' strong even with all the damage we've dished out, huh?" Skull looked to where Shiho's ashes were scattered and shook his head. "But we ain't givin' up yet… For the track team, and Shiho, and everyone else he's effed over, we'll beat this bastard's ass!"

"We need to do something else, we aren't exactly getting anywhere with brute force."

He looked up at the crown atop Kamoshida's head and began thinking. That crown was 'proof that Kamoshida was king…' He had been powerful before as he'd seen with his Third Eye, but upon grabbing it his power had skyrocketed. Perhaps stealing it away would… "Everyone, we're going for the crown. Mona, I want you to sneak out of the throne room and climb up to the balcony while we distract Kamoshida. The second you see a chance, you grab that Treasure."

"You've got it, Joker!"

"̸̗̮͆A̸̫̭̾̒R̷̩͓͆̋̚E̷̡̓͐̂ ̴͈͙̪̓̚Y̴̺͕͕̽̄͝O̶̭͈̐Ṷ̵̄̌ ̶̩͗͜Ỉ̶̦̍Ĝ̴͎̹̳̈́̌Ń̸̞̏̉O̸̗͐R̷̬͋I̵̟͐̆̆Ṇ̸̰̎͜G̴̟̐͊ ̶̻̙̠̏̅̈́M̶̯̈́̽ͅẸ̵̠͑?̷̗̺̰̇̔!̶̍́̊ͅ"̷̤̘̦͆͝

"What, you an impatient brat?! Shut it, bastard, before I bust your teeth in!" Skull roared as he summoned Captain Kidd and had him slam his hull into Kamoshida's stomach. The monstrosity gurgled in pain, trying to swat the flying pirate out of the sky with his whip and knife. As Kamoshida looked away, Mona scampered out of the room, and he and Panther jumped forward, pulling out their submachine gun and pistol, firing every bullet they had.

"̶̳͍̏Ȗ̴̞̬G̸̳̈́H̵̽̏̔͜,̸̺̥̗̓̈́ ̴̟̻͝͠͝L̵͉̻͕̃̔͝Ĭ̷͉̘̼̅͘T̴̩̆̑T̴̨̓Ļ̵͛͗Ė̵̮́ ̶̹̎̽͠P̸̧̨̎͠E̷̟̖͈̽S̷̘̺̑T̵̯̤͛͌ͅS̴̨͕̻̈́͒͠!̴̮̙͗̅͜͝ ̶͈̹̉̈́͘ͅY̵̟̩̚O̷̧̯͠U̵͈̒̎̑'̴͉̌͆R̷̠̔̕͜͝Ȇ̷͓ ̴̢̧͆̈́L̶̛͉̕I̷̢̟̊K̷͓̊E̶̐͜ ̶̟̭̍G̶͔̬͗̑̑Ń̴̪̕À̶̜̱͝T̶͖̼̞̏̒͠S̵͓͖͆̇!̵͈̯̝̃͛̚"̴̯̏͗́

He scoffed, smirking. "At least call us cockroaches, those are tough and could survive anything." Kamoshido roared at his sass and tried to once again stab him. He rolled to the side, leaping up and blasting another Rebellion ɑ at his face as Panther leaped onto his shoulders and used him as a springboard to snap her whip across Kamoshida's face.

Angel grabbed her and flung her out of the path of Kamoshida's knife before dissipating to avoid the attack, all while he continued to taunt the monster and keep him from realizing that one of them was missing. The massive whip Kamoshida wielded crashed down and he rolled to the side, blasting away with his gun.

"̴̖̟͈̊W̸̧͓͓͌̎̕H̵͙̓̆̏Ą̵͉͕͊̏Ť̸̩'̴̳̱̦́͝S̵̭͇͈͒̂͆ ̸̩͊̍̑T̶͇͔͝H̶̛̘͌͝Ȇ̸͓̹̅͊ ̸͍̈́̈́͛M̶͎̣̒͘Á̶̭T̸̪̟͠T̷̩̪̒̄̉E̴͚̲͙̐́R̷̬͉͔̎̃,̸͇͔͋͛ ̵̮͎͗̈S̴̩͙̎̈́͠L̵͎̙͇̅̓̿A̴̘͍̔̍ͅV̵̗́E̶̝̱̔͛͝S̵̤̆̄̔!̴̯͌ ̸͖͈̘̏̂̂B̷̳͔́R̷͉͚̠̈́İ̵̞̤̜͂Ň̷̗̰̓͘Ģ̴̻͆ ̷̜̪͑͆ͅM̷͔̣̿E̸̱͂ ̴̧͍̌M̸̟̏Ỏ̸̾̔ͅR̷͕̒E̷̛͓͉͗̐ ̷̺̄̾V̷̛̖̭͉̒O̶̼̾̀L̸̙͇͕̅L̵̦͘͜E̵͇̠̽̊̃Y̸̺͛̾̒B̴̻͗A̸̞̅̂Ḽ̸̎̋L̷̗̝͖̚͠S̶̡̎̚!̵͙̫͉̿ ̷̨̡͓̔I̶̻͆̊̽ͅ ̸̩̱͊͒C̴̖̃͘Ǎ̴̼͕̲̀̔N̶̡̉͠'̷̮͇̔̒T̵̡͕͋͂ ̸̾͜Ṷ̸̜͌̕S̸̭̀͗E̶̹͊̆ ̸̖̗̘͂Ḿ̷̝͛̈́͜Ÿ̷͈͚́̌ ̴̤̐K̶͓̬̙͑̃͊Ỉ̵̮̦L̵̻̠̪̀L̸̲̩̈́S̵͍̬̆͜H̵̡̻̫̾͘O̷̙̫̽T̸̪̻͙͠ ̷̲́W̵̳͑Ḯ̷͈͙̖͗̈Ţ̷̘͇̈́̅H̷̩̼̭̒͝O̸̪̤̥̿Ṳ̴̀́T̴̖͚̙̒͂ ̶̯̥̅̂̊A̴̩͌͂͑M̵͙̕M̴̟͚̞͋̈̊O̷̧͈̥͋̽,̴̡̼̿ ̷̜̐̒̚D̵͚͒͝A̵̲͒M̶̠͉̜͋̎N̶̜̔̀͝I̶̯̗̙͂̆T̸͔̫̉!̴͖͈̘̅̓́"̶̣͝

One slave ran forward, a volleyball in hand. "R-Ready, King Kamoshida!" He cursed as the cognition got ready to throw the ball into the air, and he immediately began sprinting towards cover with Panther and Skull. The volleyball ascended, Kamoshida jumped, and by the time he struck the ball and sent it flying down they were all safely in cover. Waves of force and fire swept over them and everyone grunted in pain, but thanks to them being fully protected they were able to withstand it with fewer injuries.

"Skull, launch me!" The second the attack died down they shot out of cover, with Skull kneeling to let him use his back as a springboard. As he leaped up he grabbed Kamoshida's wrist, the one holding the golden knife, and immediately filled it with psionic energy. "PSI Rebellion ɑ!"

Kamoshida roared as his wrist and hand erupted from the energy, and black blood poured from his wounds. He was forced to drop his knife, but wound up and smacked him to the ground. He gasped as he bounced along the floor, struggling for a moment as pain wracked him.

Moments later he felt his bruises heal while Panther's hands helped him to his feet, and he smiled gratefully. Skull was keeping the attention on him, Captain Kidd bashing away and firing lightning everywhere, while Skull himself discharged his shotgun wildly. Buckshot pierced Kamoshida's flesh, and the king snarled as he tried to strike Skull and his Persona with his whip.

"̸̣̦̠̎̓L̸͍̭͍͑̈I̶̢̍̊̾S̷̠̜̐͜Ṫ̶͕͗͜͝Ȩ̸͍̝̄͝Ń̴͈̾ ̵̨̡̈͂́Ǘ̷̬P̶̧̬̮̓,̶͉̔ ̴̪̓P̴̡̜͔̀̆É̷̢̤͐́À̵̡̹͓̄̃S̵̨͖̱͐̚͠Ę̷͍̬̉͠N̵̪̄T̷̞̫̱̀͋Š̸̞̬̽̂!̸̯̐ ̵̧̊͜Í̸̗͎͋̍ͅ ̶̢͇̤͌́̓R̴̼̯͇̾U̷̹͗̚͠L̵̓͜E̸͖̺͑ ̴̧̻̕T̴̮̔͛̀Ḣ̸̫͒Î̴̩̥̥̔̕Ş̸̭͙͛̚ ̷̤̭̱̐̾͘S̶͓͚̳̓C̴͎̳͝H̶͓͛͠O̸͎̖͑̇̄O̶͕̚L̴͉̄͗!̷̠̄̀͑ͅ ̸̧̡͋I̴̘͛́͝'̷͚̏Ṃ̶̦͓̌͠ ̸̢̺̌̋͐T̸̠̜̒͛̽Ḥ̸̈͜E̸̛̺̾̈́ ̷̼̔́R̷̻̎́Ȅ̶͕̆́A̵̙͛̀Ş̴́͑̈́O̶̡̱̍̽N̶̤͌͜ ̴͎͖͑̿T̷̩̣͊̃͜H̵̭̽̀Į̵͚̬̃̆S̵̱̣̋̀ ̶͕́S̸̬̤͉̈́̀͛C̴̣̥̋̇̈́ͅḨ̵̛̳̲̈́̈O̸̼̅͐͆O̴̖̖̞̍͛Ļ̸̯̭̀͗̏ ̸̹̽͝È̶͍̤̼̀̋V̶̗̽Ė̴̞̼̏͠Ǹ̵̼̻͐̚ ̷̠͚̯͆̄̈́E̴͕̅̅X̸͖́̐̏I̴̗̞̓̇̕S̶͖͖̓̍T̴͖̦̃S̴͚͔̺͠!̷̫̿̏̕ ̶̫̈Y̵̜̎Ô̴̰͝Ù̴̳̘̆̑'̶̘̞̌Ȑ̶̞̮̀Ė̵̟ ̸̤̮̲̈́T̶̛͙̏͗H̵̗̿È̶̩͛ ̴̱͛̀Ő̷̘͇͒N̷̠͆̋Ļ̴͒Ỷ̷̰̘̦ ̵̹́͗͛ͅÒ̸̻̄̄N̴͔͛͐͘ͅḘ̵̛̖̝̓̕S̴̃̏͜ ̶̛̦W̸͈̆͗H̵̡͉͒̋͒Ö̴͎̳́́ ̶̨͚͕̓̀D̵̙̆O̷̢͚̍N̷̩̱͝'̸̹͐̃T̷̲̝̊͝ ̶̖̯͈̀R̷̯͚̍̒͒É̷̫͆S̵̳̔̇P̶̫̥̪̉̈́̈́E̸̝͆̊C̸͚̦͝ͅT̶̺̩͛ ̵̛̘M̶̘̍E̶̺̽̏͑!̶̞̽̅̏"̷̡̖͍́͛͘ A flash of movement drew his eye, and he smirked as he saw Mona skulking around on the upper level, readying himself to jump at the crown.

"Is that so? Why should we respect a king who doesn't even wear a crown?" Kamoshida stilled for a single moment, which was just a moment too long.

"̵͕̬̑I̶̻̬̔͑S̵͚̯͍͌̿.̸̞̱͌̽̓.̷̝̭͌̅.̷̧͍͕̈́́̚ ̷̟̣̀T̶͔̑H̵̟̜̊͠Ẻ̴̢̨̱̀R̷̦͈̦̀̂Ȩ̵̞̖͑͛̎ ̸̺̆O̷̻͑͂̚N̴͚̞͠E̷̩͆͑ ̷̣̞͙̑̅̐L̷͖̆͌ͅẸ̸̥̗̀̿̽Ś̴̢͛Ś̴̰̥̞͌ ̷͈̏̽̍Ö̴̟́F̵̼̖̘́́ ̴̘̀͊Ỹ̴̛͇͚̪Ő̴̤̽̅U̴͇̫̍.̶͉̩̭͋͆.̸̬̪̠̒.̷̦̹̈́́̚?̷̗͒̋̈"̷͇̩̤́̅

"Now it's check and mate!" Mona jumped, and even with his small mass managed to knock the Treasure clean off Kamoshida's head. The crown bounced away, and Kamoshida scrambled for it, only for Captain Kidd to slam into him, while he smirked and laid his foot against it to stop it from rolling.

"̷̩̈́̄̅Ń̵̩̮̕O̴̱͔̿͛̚O̸̼̮͒͂͜Ö̵̳͍̪̍͠O̶͔̥̘̒!̴͍̱͌̿͆ ̵̹̑͘M̴̨̛̞͇̍Ẏ̶̧̼͂.̷͖͛.̴̖͉̇̚.̸͚͍͌͜ ̶̨͛M̶̧̐̋Y̸̧͉͆̓ ̷̣̻͐P̴͍͚̑̉R̵̫̀̈e̸̡̬̊̕c̵i̵o̶u̶s̷.̶.̵.̵" Kamoshida's voice got weaker, and he visibly shrunk… though his form was still that of the monstrous Asmodeus.

"Kamoshida's shaken up!"

"We can do this!"

Fook the coont up, laddie!

The whip that Kamoshida wielded struck weakly and pathetically. Even Skull was able to dodge it, and he grinned as he jumped onto it, running up his arm. He fired several rounds into Kamoshida's face before he manifested Cait Sith onto his shoulder and let the Irish Persona leaped forward and begin slashing at Kamoshida.

Several slaves ran out of the shadows holding volleyballs, but Kamoshida didn't pay attention to them, continuing his dejected rampage, weakly striking everywhere he could. "He's finished!" Skull and Captain Kidd fired wildly, and Kamoshida roared in pain as he fell back, throwing him and Cait Sith clear.

He rolled along the ground to land safely, and they all watched as Kamoshida's form tried to scramble away from them, fear in his massive bulging eyes. "I… ̷I̸ ̴w̷o̸n̵'̷t̵ ̸l̸e̸t̴ ̴y̸o̵u̸ ̶d̴e̵f̶e̵a̷t̵ ̸m̷e̶!̶"̸

"You don't have a choice in the matter!" Kamoshida looked around wildly, in a panic, and saw a slave running towards him with a volleyball.

"̵T̴h̷r̵o̴w̶ ̴t̴h̷e̶ ̶b̷a̷l̵l̵,̵ ̶N̷O̵W̷!̸"̶

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"I won't let you!" Ann snapped her whip and grabbed the slave's foot, causing him to trip. The ball he held flew into the air and Kamoshida scrambled to jump up and spike it.

"Berith!" He sprinted forward, the cavalryman appearing behind him as he ripped off his mask, the horse he sat upon galloping at full speed. Berith held out a hand and he grasped it, letting his Persona pull him up onto the back of his horse where he balanced precariously. Kamoshida leaped into the air, while he jumped onto Berith's shoulders and used him as a springboard.

Berith wound up, before launching his spear forward, which he grasped and let pull him along. He roared, and stabbed Kamoshida in one of his bulging eyes, causing him to scream and miss the volleyball entirely. They crashed to the ground, and he wrenched the weapon free with a disgusting squelching noise and a rain of black blood.

He stepped back and twirled Berith's spear, before tossing it back to his Persona as the knight vanished. Kamoshida's form began shrinking further until he was once more human. Similarly, the massive crown had shrunken again into a more portable and easy-to-carry size. Skull grinned and made to grab it, only for Shadow Kamoshida to snatch it first and begin running. "Ah!"

The dethroned king ran towards a balcony, but skid to a stop when he saw how tall his tower was. Was… was this place always so high up? Kamoshida turned to see them surrounding him, and backed up, clutching the crown tightly. "Hah…"

"What's wrong? Not running away? Aren't even going to try? I thought you were a great athlete?"

"Dammit… It's always been like this! All those goddamn hyenas forcing their expectations on me! I'm doing this all for them! What's wrong with expecting a reward for that?!"

"Now you're makin' excuses?" Ryuji scoffed and shook his head. "We'll do somethin' about that distorted heart of yours."

"Hrggh…" He backed up, bumping into the railing around the balcony, and looked down in fear.

"Scared? Right now, you're looking at the same view Shiho did. I'm sure she was scared too, but she had no choice but to jump. What will you do? Will you jump? Or would you rather die here?"

Panther's mask melted from her face in blue fire, and Carmen appeared behind her, creating two fireballs. "After everything he's done, his fate is up to you two," he spoke, "Skull, Panther… Change his heart, or end him. I won't blame you for whatever you choose."

Skull scoffed. "As much as I want to beat this bastard's face in, I ain't gonna sink to his level. He'll pay by confessing."

Panther, on the other hand, said nothing. Carmen launched one fireball, scorching the stone to Kamoshida's side and causing him to whimper and back away as far as he could go without falling off. "W-Wait! Please, I beg you! Please forgive me!"

"Shut up. I bet everyone told you the same. But you… you took everything from them!" Carmen launched her second Agi, and Kamoshida shrieked as it blazed straight over his head, causing him to fall to his knees and bow.

"I-I accept defeat! You want this? Take it." He tossed the Treasure at them, and he easily caught it while Skull grinned and crossed his arms. "Go ahead and finish me off. You do that, and my real self will go down too. You have that right since you've won…" Skull rubbed the back of his head while he just sighed and closed his eyes at Kamoshida's words. The right to kill someone just because you're stronger? What a distorted worldview…

Panther, however, just clenched her fist and commanded Carmen to launch one last fireball, causing Skull and himself to panic for a moment, before it passed Kamoshida and exploded against the balcony banister. Everyone sighed in relief, while Panther just continued to glare. "If his mind shuts down, he can't admit to his crimes."

"You're kind, Lady Ann."

"It isn't about kindness," she spat.

Kamoshida didn't pay attention to them, instead beginning to cry as he looked down at the ground. "I've lost… You're through when you lose. What am I supposed to do now?"

"You atone for your sins."

Kamoshida looked up at him, and a small smile grew. "Yes… all right, that's what I'll do. I will leave now and return to my real self. I'll make certain that I…" His voice became silent as he vanished in bright white light before the castle began rumbling.

"Hey, just so you know, we don't have time to waste. This place is about to collapse!" Parts of the ceiling suddenly shattered and debris nearly crushed him, causing him to panic. He fell back, before scrambling to his feet and pointing at the door.

"Run!" The rest of the ceiling finally fell apart, and they quickly began sprinting out of the room, Skull in the lead and the rest of them following close behind. They descended the main staircase, large chunks collapsing beneath their feet frighteningly fast, and they quickly reached the elevator that would lead down to the ground floor.

He pulled the lever as quickly as he could, and the chains and gears creaked ominously as they began descending. About halfway down one of the chains snapped, and a chunk of stone fell from above, crashing through the center of the elevator. Everyone screamed and grabbed at the railings before the platform smashed into the bottom of the shaft. Everyone stumbled, before racing out of the hall and towards the main doors.

They were still locked when they reached them, and he growled as he kicked at them. "Ryuji, blast them!"

"Right! Captain Kidd!" He removed his mask, but it didn't melt into blue fire, and his Persona didn't appear. "The hell?!"

"The Metaverse is collapsing! We can't summon our Personas right now!"

"Fuck! Alright, to the infiltration point then!" They turned and began sprinting, scrambling to reach the vent they entered the castle through. Rumbles shook their bones as they ran, and Morgana began falling behind before he suddenly transformed back into his housecat form and leaped across Ann and Ryuji's heads onto his shoulder.

"Nyahaha!"

"Into the pockets, Morgana!" The transformed cat jumped down into his trench coat as he continued to run, until he heard something crash to the ground behind him.

"Gah!"

"Ryuji!"

He turned and saw his teammate sprawled out on the ground, grimacing as he held his leg. With the Metaverse collapsing his ability to run was probably weakening, his busted leg and knee returning to their normal state in the real world. He began running back, only for Ryuji to grimace and get up shakily. "It's fine! It's been a while, so I just tripped, is all!"

"Ryuji, look out!" His friend looked back and began yelling when he saw that the entire hallway was collapsing into black nothingness. They scrambled towards their entrance route and he stopped to give Ann and Ryuji a footstool up, throwing them at the vent before climbing after them. He squeezed through just as the room behind him vanished into the void, but they weren't out yet.

The courtyard of the Palace was technically part of it, and cracks were beginning to spread throughout and cause the ground beneath them to fall into a blank nothing. Mona yowled in panic from his pockets, bouncing around as they ran. "Get to the alleyway!" Cobblestone beneath his feet crumbled and he began falling, before he snapped his grappling hook out, hooking it onto the castle gate.

He let himself get reeled up but yelped as he was thrown straight past the gate and tumbled along the ground, having lost the acrobatics skill that the metaverse had given him. Ann and Ryuji grabbed him as they ran past, dragging him to his feet and into the alley. He scrambled for his phone, smashed the Nav button, and they watched as the world melted away while the collapsing castle finally fell into the void.

When they returned to the real world the school was perfectly fine… which he had expected, but after seeing the castle collapse as it did, he had been a touch worried. He sagged against the alley wall and sighed, while Ryuji groaned and fell on his ass and Ann just bent over and breathed heavily. "Ugh… that… sucked…"

Ryuji shook his head and stood up, grabbing his phone. He tapped one of the buttons and his eyes widened, turning towards them. "Yo, check out the Nav!"

He and Ann looked at each other, before pulling out their phones. Mona, who had transferred from his Metaverse Outfit's pockets into his bag, jumped out and looked over his shoulder. "The destination has been deleted," read the electronic voice within.

Ann tried tapping at her screen and nodded. "It's true… we can't go there anymore."

"What about the treasure?!"

To assuage Morgana's fears, he reached into his pocket and retrieved the Treasure… in a different form. What had once been a crown was now a gold Olympics medal, causing Ryuji to let out a noise of confusion. "What the…"

"A medal? Where'd the crown go?"

"Morgana, what's goin' on?"

"That medal was the source of Kamoshida's desires. To him, this medal is worth just as much as the crown we saw in the Palace."

"An Olympic medal… so that perv kept clinging to his past glory and couldn't let it go…"

"Perhaps from the moment he won this medal his worldview started to become distorted," he murmured in response.

Ann's gaze grew anxious, and she glanced at Morgana. "But… this means that Kamoshida's might have changed, right?"

"Probably."

Ryuji groaned at Morgana, "Our expulsion's on the line, here!"

"Hey, this is the first successful example for me too. However… there's no doubt that this has affected Kamoshida's personality quite a lot. The entire Palace disappeared after all."

"True… and his Shadow did seem to show remorse before it disappeared."

"Agh, I feel all antsy! Ain't there a way to check now?"

"Well, we'll find out soon enough."

"Right."

Morgana whipped his tail in disappointment, shaking his head. "Come on, why all the gloomy faces? Be happy! We completed this with great success you know!"

"We just don't know if everything's okay yet…"

"As Akira said, he did seem to regain his conscious somewhat in the end. Either way, there are definitely people who have been saved thanks to what you've done."

Ryuji scratched his head and sighed. "Anyways, I guess we gotta wait. It all boils down to what's gonna happen to Kamoshida… or if we're gettin' expelled for real."

"Let's all go home and rest. There's nothing else we can do." Ryuji grimaced at him, but Ann and Morgana nodded.

"Right."

Ω • Ω • Ω

•Ann•

Ann collapsed into bed the moment she got home, sighing into her pillows. It was finally over… for better or for worse, there was nothing else they could do. Rolling over, she lay her forearm across her face and did nothing, simply thinking.

After several minutes of contemplating in silence, she got up and changed into her sleepwear, and grabbed her phone, texting a message not to the group chat, but instead to Akira.

You— Hey, today was pretty intense huh?

Several minutes passed before her phone buzzed to let her know that Akira had responded.

Akira— You could say that again. Who knew we'd be fighting a giant naked baby? Well, considering it was Kamoshida, I suppose that was easy to see coming.

She laughed, at his response, turning over on her side as she began typing back.

You— He definitely cried like one.

Akira— I'd probably cry as well, had you threatened me in such a way. What a terrifying performance…

She blushed slightly and shook her head.

You— Please don't say that, it's so embarrassing thinking back on it.

Akira— With such a flair for dramatics you'd be a natural in a theatre club. Perhaps even an actress?

You— STOP!

She huffed as she imagined Akira snickering in his room while Morgana tried to scratch at him for teasing her.

You— Listen, I wanted to say thanks. I managed to avenge Shiho thanks to you guys.

You— I definitely wouldn't have been able to do it all alone.

Akira— And yet, I'm sure that's exactly what you would have tried to do had I not convinced Ryuji to let you join us.

You— :P

She made to put her phone away, before pausing. She wanted to thank Akira at first, but now she wanted to talk with him more… She smiled and began typing another message.

You— Anyway, that cognitive world is pretty crazy, huh? What a weird place…

Akira— An entire reality formed from the mind is such an intriguing concept. But I don't want to bore you with my hypothesis and thoughts on the matter.

You— No, it's fine, I'd love to listen to what you think about it!

You— I maen read.

You— *Mean.

Akira— Haha, well I would, but now Morgana's saying that 'gentlemen aren't supposed to bore ladies.' Truly, he is a master charmer of women.

She giggled at the thought of the exasperated look on Akira's face as Morgana tried preaching to him about how to be a gentleman.

You— Speaking of Morgana, he's pretty mysterious too. Didn't he turn back into a cat even though we were still in the Palace?

Akira— He says that because the Treasure changes the shape of things, he was able to turn back while we were removing it. Then added that he's amazing. What an odd creature.

Akira— He is currently attacking me for daring to call him weird. Call the authorities.

You— As you deserve.

Akira— Traitor. I curse thee.

She smiled, rolling over.

You— Thanks for talking with me btw. I feel a little better now.

You— Even though we haven't seen any results yet, it feels like a weight is off my shoulder.

You— I hope you don't mind talking to me too much,

Akira— It's no trouble at all. Text or call whenever you'd like.

You— I'll keep that in mind :)

You— See you tomorrow! Goodnight!

Akira— Goodnight.

She shut off her phone with a smile and closed her eyes, much more relaxed, as she drifted off into her dreams.

Ω • Ω • Ω

4/29, Friday

DEADLINE: MAY 2ND

DAYS UNTIL EXPULSION: 3

Await the change of heart.

She spotted Akira and Ryuji hanging out in the hallway outside their classroom as lunchtime started, whispering to each other. The students around them gave the boys a wide berth, something that they ignored, too engrossed in their conversation. "Hey, guys."

"Lady Ann!"

"Shush. Hey, Ann."

"Yo."

"What're you two talking about?" Akira looked around, before motioning her closer.

"Ryuji was asking me if I'd seen Kamoshida today. Normally he's at the front gates watching the students enter, but neither of us saw him today."

Her heart jumped, and she had to fight to make sure her voice didn't rise in volume. "Do you think it's because of…?"

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. This might be because of us stealing his Treasure. Maybe he's just not feeling well for a completely different reason. There's no way to tell currently."

"And if it ends up being the worst-case scenario? What do we do?" Akira only grimaced, and she sighed. "Great…"

"It definitely worked, you guys'll see!"

"Ah, perfect timing." Everyone turned to see Kawakami-sensei approaching, looking at her and Akira specifically. "Study hall will be held instead of PE today. I wanted to let you know just in case you hadn't heard."

She could instantly spot the gleam in Akira's eyes, but he kept calm as he adjusted the strap of his bag, his voice as level as ever. "Oh? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing in particular. Kamoshida-sensei is taking the day off."

"He ain't here at all?"

"Well… Don't tell anyone that you heard this from me, but we received word that Kamoshida-sensei is placing himself under suspension. Principal Kobayakawa went to talk to him about it, but he supposedly wasn't making any sense." Her eyes widened at her words as a silent gasp exited her lips, while Ryuji and Akira hyper-focused on Kawakami-sensei.

"Wait, a suspens—!" Akira elbowed Ryuji before he could finish.

"Thank you for telling us, Kawakami-sensei. I hope that whatever's wrong with sensei, he gets better soon." Dear god. Even knowing what they'd been doing the past two weeks, she almost couldn't tell that that had been a lie. There'd been no hesitation, his smile was natural, and his eyes were kind.

Kawakami-sensei smiled back, placing a hand on her hip. "That's nice to hear. Also, the talks about…" She looked around to make sure no one was listening in too closely, before looking back at Akira and Ryuji. "...your expulsions may be put on hold too… I don't know too much about it though."

"Well, that's something good to come outta this," Ryuji muttered as he kicked at the floor.

"Well, I've relayed everything to you. Make sure to get some lunch before classes resume." Their teacher walked away, and Akira's smile turned neutral.

"Well… It seems that something certainly did happen…"

"It sounds kinda different to the mental shutdowns on tv, right?"

She nodded at Ryuji, crossing her arms. "A lot different. But I guess we're back to waiting."

They all nodded at each other, but now there was a much more solid hope that they were grasping onto… One that made her grin much brighter.

The Kamoshida arc comes to a close! Well, almost, there's still the confession and all that. but, fifteen chapters for the tutorial and very first Palace definitely says something about how long this story's gonna be lmao.

Much less to say about this chapter than the last, considering it was mostly the Kamoshida battle. At one point I did want to put in a Fusion Spell, like those of Persona 2 and Persona 3, but I didn't want to drag the Kamoshida battle on for too long, I'll save that one for later.

I loved the Fusion Spells from P2 which occurred when characters used skills in a certain order, such as fire, wind, fire, and I suppose P5 kind of has that in the technical system, but not really since those aren't actually all-new spells. As for P3, I get why only the P3 protagonist has the power to use two Personas at once and initiate fusion spells considering the story, but I thought of a way around that anyway. I just really liked the idea of creating fusion spells for certain Personas.

But yeah, that's it for this month, leave a review on everything you liked in the chapter or just a 'nice.' Both are always great to read. See y'all next time!