Chapter XIII: Guardians of the Skyscraper
Distorted Osaka/Distorted Umeda Sky Building (Outside)
After escaping the T. rex cognition, the group ended their go-kart race and stopped near their destination. As they amassed in the vicinity, the group marveled at the Sky Building, which stood as tall as the real one. However, this distorted version has architectural elements of Osaka Castle infused with it.
"Here we are," Fox confirmed.
"So, this is it?" Sion muttered, staring intensely at the tower.
"This is the Umeda Sky Building, but I see traces of Osaka Castle around it," Queen scanned one of Osaka's famous infrastructures.
Just then, Nekomata appeared and chimed in. "I've sensed immense readings inside the building. This is likely to be the main source with both Amrita and the God of Control's essence."
"Then, our guy's most certainly in there," Mona added as a Scampuss hopped off his head and squeaked directly at the building.
"Well, the Scampuss can sense an anomalous presence in there," stated Mina.
"Then, let's get this over with," Sion growled, preparing to storm in with his Queenslayer, but Tennyo tapped his shoulder.
"Hold on. Let's not be foolhardy about this," Tennyo advised the Revenant.
"Alright, fine," sighed the Revenant, stepping back from the distorted tower.
Just then, Joker cautiously approached the front doors. When he tried opening the doors, they were locked from the outside.
"Nope, no can do. There has to be a way in," Joker tried pulling on the door handles. He even tried the automatic doors, but they, too, didn't open.
"Hey, look! Maybe that's our problem!" Queen quickly discerned two energy generators above the doors. "Those generators don't look like they're working. They have to be linked to these doors."
"Ugh, man! We gotta solve some puzzles now?!" Skull moaned in annoyance, remembering the instances he and his friends have had to solve puzzles to open doors.
"C'mon, surely I can figure it out!" Oracle said.
As he scanned the generators, Nekomata then offered assistance. "There are no difficult puzzles here."
"Then how do we activate these mechanics?" Fox wondered.
"I already scoured this building before you all came here. There are two distorted shrines nearby, one on the left side, and the other on the right. However, these shrines are guarded by two Yokai,"Nekomata explained to the group. "Once they are defeated, then the doorway will be opened."
"So, all we need to do is slay these Yokai?" Brave asked curiously.
"Precisely!" Nekomata answered.
"Yeah, now that I think of it, I did see two fork paths around this area," Mona assessed the clues.
"Hell yeah! That sure beats solving a puzzle! I say bring these freaks on!" Skull hollered.
"Yes, I'm down for some more fighting!" Tamamo exuberantly expressed her desire to fight the aforementioned guardians.
"Hn, well I think we should split into two groups," Oracle suggested. "Nekomata and I can hang back here and wait."
"Are you sure you'd be safe alone, Futaba?" Joker asked.
"Yep! And I won't be alone! Besides, there's no enemy activity around this area! I double checked with my scanners," Oracle reassured Joker.
"I do agree with Sakura Futaba. There are no corrupted essences outside of this facility. However, things will be different once we're inside," Nekomata firmly backed up Oracle's statement.
"That figures," Sion replied.
"Stay safe until we get back, Oracle," Queen nodded.
"The Scampuss wish to accompany us," Mina spoke up as the other Scampuss hopped in Noir's arms.
"Is it safe for them to come with us?" Noir wondered, eyeing the Scampuss in her arms.
"Yes, the Scampuss possess some mystic power that can provide help against the Yokai guardians we'll face," Kyosuke replied.
The other Scampuss huddled close to Mona.
"Eh, I guess you two can go," Mona shrugged. "But, don't let us down, ok?"
The Scampuss squeaked in response.
"Joker, you can lead one group. I'll take the other," Sion offered.
"Sure. Alright, let's do it!" Joker declared as he and Queen gathered the two split groups.
With that, the groups split up and took the two pathways with Oracle and Nekomata staying behind.
Group A consisted of Sion, Tennyo, Panther, Skull, Noir, Violet, Mary, Mina, and Scampuss A. Group B comprised Joker, Queen, Mona, Fox, Crow, Tamamo, Presto, Kyosuke, and Scampuss B.
Distorted Osaka/Distorted Sankō Shrine
Minutes later, Group A returned to the same location where most of the Thieves first met Mina and Kyosuke. Group A scoured through the holy shrine, passing by the statues of Yukimura and his Guardian Spirit, Janomecho. They noticed the area now covered with Amrita stones and the dark golden spiked obelisks seen from Sion's dimension.
"Shit, it wasn't that long ago we were here. This is where we met Mina and Kyosuke," Skull thoroughly looked around the distorted shrine.
"Yes, you're right. All of us were there, except the few of us," Noir added.
"Stay vigilant, my friends. The guardians haven't shown themselves yet, but don't get too comfortable," Mina warned the other group members.
"I'm so glad you and Mina are going out of your way to help us, Kyosuke," Panther said.
"Yes, I'm grateful, too," Sion added, looking over his shoulder as Tennyo stayed close behind him. "Are you doing, Hifumi? Do you sense any Yokai presences yet?"
"Nothing yet I'm afraid," Tennyo answered.
"Why am I not feeling any Yokai Ki? This is getting annoying," irritably scoffed Brave as she and the others frantically surveyed their surroundings. Her Guardian Spirit, Janomecho, briefly materialized. "Hey, Mina, does Saoirse sense anything?"
With Saoirse floating around her, Mina dismissively nodded. "Nothing yet."
"Is this guardian just biding its time?" Violet wondered.
"Man, where the hell is this freak hidin'?!" Skull snarled out of frustration.
Just then, Sion's red eyes quickly glowed, providing a warning signal for the others. Tennyo was the first to notice Sion's signal.
"You felt that, Tennyo?" Sion turned to her.
"Yes, our adversary approaches," Tennyo replied as she and the others watched dark pillars of energy, which summoned two humanoid Yokai from a distortion.
"No, it can't be!" Mina exclaimed.
"These are some awfully strong Yokai!" Noir cried out as the Scampuss jumped out of her arms and hissed at the two materializing Yokai.
"Yes, their Ki is on a higher scale than the ones we've faced up to now!" Tennyo exclaimed, readily brandishing her ko-naginata and putting on her mask.
Of the first two Yokai to emerge, a gray-skinned behemoth with black lower garments, golden Amrita-imbued protrusions sticking out of its shoulders, arms, right leg, and butterfly-like antennae on the forehead walked forward. It also has on a white cape, and a white turban covering most of its head and mouth, sans his piercing eyes. The Yokai brandished dual katana and took on a two-sword battle stance.
"That's Ōtani Yoshitsugu!" Mina verified the Yokai's human identity.
The other Yokai is a large rotund Yokai man garbed in black and dark gray shogun armor. A golden crescent moon adorns the crown of the Yokai's helmet. His chest armor has orange fire seeped through. Protruding through his face mask are two massive boar tusks made of glowing Amrita. Through the helmet, the Yokai's red eyes are seen glowing intensely. He is seen wielding massive dual axes.
"And that's Shibata Katsuie!" Brave exclaimed after Janomecho informed her of the second Yokai's identity.
"These are the Yokai forms of the same men!" Mina added.
"More like Shadow versions of them!" Panther said as she and the others quickly armed themselves for battle.
"Yes, I'm sensing something off about them. They're not just Yokai, but their energies also read similarly to those Palace Rulers we faced," Sion assessed the two Shadows.
"Indeed, these are just dark copies of the two historical figures. Ōtani Yoshitsugu was a warrior known to have a clinical illness of leprosy. He was turned into a Yokai before being slain by William," Tennyo explained. "And Shibata Katsuie served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals."
"Yoshitsugu also once wielded Janomecho, the same Guardian Spirit passed down to Yukimura and right now Saotome Mary," Mina revealed.
"Is that so? Then, how about a duel between Janomecho wielders?!" Brave challenged Shadow Yoshitsugu. As she summoned Janomecho, Brave imbued her spirit's Ki into her spear to forge her Living Weapon. "I'll show that I've surpassed you!"
"Then, let's beat them so we can pass through!" Violet declared, pointing her rapier toward the Shadows.
"Bring it on, you big freaks!" Skull declared.
With that, Shadow Yoshitsugu imbued powerful dark energies through his katanas and charged forward, attacking Group A. As the group split up, Sion, Tennyo, Brave, and Mina engaged Shadow Yoshitsugu.
Dodging Shadow Katsuie's dual axes, Skull, Panther, Noir, and Violet evaded being cut down and beheaded.
"We're going to have to go all-out! Give them all you've got!" Mina swiftly activated her Living Weapon and attacked Shadow Yoshitsugu. The Shadow Yokai evaded the wave of water being tossed in his direction.
When Shadow Yoshitsugu raised his katanas on Mina, Tennyo and Sion blocked his attack with their ko-naginata and Queenslayer sword. Triggering his Stinger-Type Blood Veil, Sion's metal tail materialized from his back coat and flew toward Shadow Yoshitsugu. Then, with his left arm, Shadow Yoshitsugu easily seized the metal tail and picked Sion off the ground. After the Shadow Yokai tossed Sion away, Tennyo instinctively rushed over to the Revenant's aid.
As Shadow Yoshitsugu rushed to attack Sion and Tennyo, Brave put herself in front of Shadow Yoshitsugu. Swinging her spear around, she knocked him back with a powerful gust of wind using her Living Weapon. As the Shadow Yokai withstood Brave's wind attack, he quickly knocked her down with a roundhouse kick. When he went to cut down Brave, Tennyo summoned a Shogi construct, blocking him from getting Brave. With Shogi Shield holding him back, Mina rushed into and shoulder tackled Shadow Yoshitsugu back. Swinging her katana forward, Mina's Living Weapon pushed Shadow Yoshitsugu away with a miniature tidal wave.
Meanwhile, Noir blasted Shadow Katsuie back with Triple Down. After being blown away by Noir's gunfire, Shadow Katsuie dove forward and attacked Noir with his axes. Panther quickly used Tarunda to stop the Shadow Yokai from attacking. The skull-masked Thief bashed the Yokai's face with his mace. Imbuing her whip with fire, Panther struck Shadow Katsuie with it and burned him with Agidyne. However, the Yokai rebounded and repelled the two Thieves back with flames.
"Ugh, great! Now, your fire just made him pissed, Panther! Idiot move!" Skull berated her as he and Panther ran the living hell away from the Shadow Yokai's flames.
"Hey, don't blame me! How was I supposed to know?! But, now that I know he uses fire!" Panther then used her whip to absorb some of Shadow Katsuie's flames. "Thanks, I'll take some of that!" She winked and boosted her fire's power with Concentrate.
With Shadow Katsuie occupied, Scampuss fought on Noir's behalf. The Yokai cat lunged at Shadow Katsuie's face, blinding the Shadow Yokai.
"Hey, get off! It's dangerous for you!" Noir called out until realizing Scampuss was providing cover for her to attack the enemy. "Yes, I see now! Hold him, little one!" She then summoned Lucy and attacked Shadow Katusie with Psiodyne. After neutralizing Shadow Katsuie, Scampuss hopped off.
"Thanks, little Scampuss!" Noir merrily called out.
As she brandished her rapier, Violet charged toward the Shadow Yokai and struck him with Vorpal Blade. When her attack dented the Yokai's armor a bit, Shadow Katsuie swung his axes on the former gymnast. Violet flipped away, avoiding the Shadow Yokai's axes.
"You're certainly going to take some effort to beat," Violet said, narrowing her determined gaze through her mask toward the Yokai.
After Sion recovered, he and Tennyo stood up to fight Shadow Yoshitsugu again. All the while, Brave and Mina fought on their behalf. Brave rushed to strike the Shadow Yokai with her wind-imbued spear, but Shadow Yoshitsugu blocked every one of her attacks. After knocking her away, Mina recollected herself after the Shadow Yokai gut punched her. Mina lunged at Shadow Yoshitsugu. Then, using her brute strength, she grappled with the Shadow Yokai and tried matching power. Despite having the strength equal over ten men, Mina still found herself outmatched by Shadow Yoshitsugu's Yokai power.
"Shit! Hey, don't you get cocky with me just 'cause you got a leg up on me!" Mina roared as she dropped on her back and performed a monkey flip, flipping the Shadow Yokai over.
As Brave recovered, she rushed and aimed for Shadow Yoshitsugu's head. However, the Shadow Yokai narrowly dodged. When he went for an attack, Sion used his Hound-Type Blood Veil as two hound heads emerged behind him and grabbed Shadow Yoshitsugu. The hounds bit down hard and tossed him out of the way.
Upon recovering from the hound's attack, Shadow Yoshitsugu grunted and pierced his katanas to the ground. He began powering up, but Tennyo cast Valor of Shogi to enhance her three allies and herself. As she, Mina, and Brave tripled teamed against Shadow Yoshitsugu, Sion stood ready to end the fight.
After Panther boosted herself, she summoned Celestine to aid her against Shadow Katsuie. Skull used Charge to boost his physical strength. Noir used Heat Riser to boost Violet's stats. The four then headed off and attacked the Shadow Yokai while Shadow Katsuie defended with his axes.
Distorted Osaka/Distorted Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine
Meanwhile, Group B was already tangled in their fight against another Yokai guardian pairing.
Of the Yokai pairing, one has light gray skin with tattoo linings, long white hair, reddish fox-like horns, and a foxtail. His only articles of clothing are pants and shoes. As he rushed at Group B, he attacked them with his wind-imbued katana.
"That's Ishida Mitsunari!" Kyosuke identified the first of the two guardians.
The second Yokai is a giant ice blue-skinned humanoid man with red eyes. He has on a black-cloaked garb with his left arm in a sling covering most of his entire body save for the right side of his upper body and shoulder. He has dark samurai armor covering his lower body. He has short black hair and a metal forehead guard. Draping it over his back, the man carried a long nodachi blade as long as his whole body. His presence gave an icy aura exuding from his massive frame. His deadly red-eyed gaze met his opponents.
"And that's Magara Naotaka!" Fox sighted the second guardian.
"Whoa! These are powerful Shadow copies!" Mona cried out as he and the others evaded the Yokai's powerful attacks.
Wasting no time defending his territory, Shadow Mitsunari rushed and targeted Fox first. Attempting to strike Fox down with his sword, Fox summoned Gorokichi and blocked the Shadow Yokai's attack.
"Ugh! To think we are fighting a shadow version of Ishida Mitsunari himself." Fox gritted. "I remember his ideals back in history that I truly respected."
Using Vicious Strike, Fox repelled Shadow Mitsunari. Tamamo fired fiery ember blasts from her tails and flung them at Shadow Mitsunari, but the humanoid Yokai backflipped and evaded her flaming attacks. As she got on all fours, Tamamo sprinted towards the Shadow Yokai and fired more flaming attacks. In response to the Nine Tails' wielder's ferocity, Shadow Mitsunari summoned Shadow Izuna, a dark variation of a serpentine fox as it flew at Tamamo and seized her, constricting the Compulsive Gambler before dropping her.
"Yumeko!" Presto called out as he pulled Tamamo to safety.
"Don't let up, guys!" Mona called out as he, Joker, Queen, and Kyosuke fended off Shadow Naotaka.
"The other one is no joke either!" Presto exclaimed as Crow stepped in and dueled Shadow Mitsunari.
"The other one, once known as Makara Jūrōzaemon, served for the Asakura clan and he's famous for his skills with the nodachi!" Fox explained.
"Thanks for the history lesson, but it's not a good time for it" Joker yelled, readying a stance as he summoned a strong Persona. He summoned Kohryu, a large golden Asian dragon with long horns and red eyes. The dragon has red and blue orbs on his arms.
Rushing head-on with Shadow Naotaka, Kohryu headbutted the Shadow Yokai. Shadow Naotaka seized the golden dragon Persona and slammed him into the ground with force. As Kohryu recovered, Joker invoked his Persona's psychic technique, Psycho Force, to neutralize the Shadow Yokai. However, much to Joker's dismay, Shadow Naotaka powered through Kohryu's attack and unleashed an aura of frozen air, which converted the space around them into an ice field. The Shadow Yokai's aura neutralized Joker, causing him to succumb to the Yokai's potent Ki.
'Joker!" Mona cried out to their leader.
"You want to test someone's strength?! Over here!" Kyosuke bellowed, activating his Yokai Shift and turning into a Shiftling. Imbuing his ōdachi with Makami's fiery energies, Kyosuke charged and tackled Shadow Naotaka. Then, Kyosuke unleashed four consecutive strikes with his glowing ōdachi.
Shadow Naotaka evaded and fought back with his nodachi. Every swing with his nodachi created powerful ice waves, which pushed Kyosuke back. However, Kyosuke's glowing ōdachi melted and cut through the ice sheets being thrown his way.
"Hey, get up, Joker!" Mona called out, summoning Diego to fight Shadow Mitsunari.
Coming to Tamamo's defense, Presto summoned Genbu and imbued the turtle's Ki with his tonfas to invoke his Living Weapon. When Shadow Mitsunari attacked him, Presto summoned a water barrier, protecting himself from the Yokai.
Suddenly, the other Scampuss jumped into the fray and distracted Shadow Mitsunari. Shifting his focus from the Spiritual Gamblers, Shadow Mitsunari chased the Yokai cat. As the Scampuss scurried away, Crow then stepped in and mercilessly slashed Shadow Mitsunari with his serrated swords.
"What are you waiting for, Joker?! An invitation?!" Crow shouted while continuing his duel with Shadow Mitsunari.
Before he could say anything, Queen drove Agnes into Shadow Naotaka and blasted him with Freila.
"Here, Joker!" Queen cast Energy Shower, purging the confusion from Joker's mind.
"Thanks, Queen!" Joker recovered and picked up his dagger.
Nodding, Queen replied. "Let's keep our head in the game, ok?" With that, she drove into Shadow Naotaka and slammed him into an ice wall.
With his mind clear of muddled thoughts, Joker dashed back into the fray.
Distorted Osaka/Distorted Sankō Shrine
Despite their coordinated efforts, Shadow Yoshitsugu blocked every one of Sion and Tennyo's attacks. Not once did Sion's Queenslayer and Hanemukuro manage to hit the Shadow Yokai. Tennyo's Kunitokotachi fared no better to strike Shadow Yoshitsugu.
When Shadow Yoshitsugu went for a double slash, Sion ran into and seemingly phased through the Shadow Yokai. As Shadow Yoshitsugu's dual blades cut through Sion, it was the Revenant's after image. Already behind Shadow Yoshitsugu and without a moment to lose, Sion struck him with a double-bladed attack using his Hanemukuro and Queenslayer blade. In response, Shadow Yoshitsugu kicked Sion's stomach, knocking him away. Activating his Gift ability, Sion burned him with Frenzied Fire.
With the fire distracting him, Tennyo blasted Shadow Yoshitsugu with Divine Thorn. As she conjured a Shogi construct to hold him, Shadow Yoshitsugu quickly rebounded and shattered the Shogi piece with quick slashes from his katanas.
"Oh no!" Tennyo gasped in shock as Shadow Yoshitsugu ran toward her ready to split her in two, but Mina and Brave combined wind and water to create a hurricane-like wind that repelled him from Tennyo.
"Man, you were looking like a deer caught in the headlights! Let's stay in the game, ok?" Brave called out to Tennyo.
"He's getting right back up!" Mina called out.
"Leave him to me!" Brandishing her spear, Brave rushed toward Shadow Yoshitsugu. When the Shadow Yokai went for a double katana slash, the Spiritual Gambler jumped back and swung her spear, knocking him away with another wind attack. She then shoved her spear through Shadow Yoshitsugu's chest. "A little hand here!"
With that, Sion, Tennyo, and Mina moved in for the kill. As the Shadow Yokai was about to strike, Sion disarmed Shadow Yoshitsugu's left katana. The Revenant then punched Shadow Yoshitsugu's chin. Tennyo summoned another Shogi piece and used its power to bind the Shadow Yokai, allowing Mina to cut off both of his arms.
Letting out a blood-curdling roar, blood sprayed from Shadow Yoshitsugu's armless stumps. Sion then invoked his Hound-Type Blood Veil again, sending his hounds to bite down and brutally rip apart the Shadow Yokai. Finally, the blade from Hanemukuro pierced through Shadow Yoshitsugu's forehead, cleaving it down to the bottom of his legs as the Yokai's body was bloodily bisected. The Yokai's sliced brain, intestines, and bones are displayed for all three to see. Then, using his Circulating Pulse gift, the Revenant unleashed a barrage of fast strikes that tore and ripped into the Shadow Yokai. Then, with Frenzied Fire, he obliterated what was left of the slain Yokai.
Brave blanched, feeling antsy having witnessed Sion's brutality up close. "Uh, hey, Sion. I'm so glad you're on our side."
"Well done, Sion," Mina nodded.
"Need me to heal you?" Tennyo offered Sion, who kindly declined and used Cleansing Light to treat himself. "The others are almost finished with the other one!' She pointed her colleagues toward the Shadow Katsuie battle.
Charging head-on with Shadow Katusie, Skull summoned William and devastated the Yokai with God's Hand. After striking the Shadow Yokai's chest, Skull's back was slashed by an ax. Shadow Katsuie then kicked him away. Then, Noir tossed her ax at Shadow Katsuie, which the Shadow Yokai knocked away.
"Oh dear…!" Noir blanched as she recovered her ax.
With Celestine's assistance, Panther blasted the Shadow Yokai with Agidyne, delivering stronger fire waves that held Shadow Katsuie at bay. With Lucy's help, Noir damaged Shadow Katsuie with Psiodyne. Having been dealt with damage from their attacks, Shadow Katsuie slashed at Panther and Noir. Before he can finish them off, Ella materializes in front of the Shadow Yokai.
"It's over for you!" Violet declared as she ran at Shadow Katsuie. As Shadow Katsuie raised his axes, Violet jumped over the behemoth. From mid-air, she and Ella devastated him with Sword Dance.
After finishing Shadow Katsuie, Violet rejoined the others. Tennyo healed Skull, Panther, and Noir.
"Alright, that takes care of those two Yokai," Mina informed them, deeply sighing. "I hope that'll grant us access to the building."
"We won't know until Joker's group takes care of the other guardians," Tennyo stated.
"Why don't we head on over outside the Umeda Sky Building then?" Panther suggested.
The Scampuss hopped back into Noir's arms, receiving a head pat and cheek massage from the Beauty Thief.
"You did great! Thank you for assisting us!" Noir giggled.
"Heh, Mona's gonna be pissed as hell seeing ya do that, Noir," Skull chuckled.
"Let's get moving," Sion rallied the group as Tennyo tended to him. "Listen, I'll be fine. I can heal on my own."
"No, that's not it. I just wonder if he's watching us now."
Sion frowned. "I wouldn't doubt it. That bastard is gonna get what he deserves when I confront him."
Distorted Osaka/Distorted Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine
Fox was barely able to keep up and block Shadow Mitsunari's attacks, but the Yokai performed a breakdancing move and kicked Fox back. With Diego summoned, Mona attempted to save Fox, but the Shadow Yokai seized the cat and slammed him to the ground with his left arm. Crushing Mona with his elbow, the Shadow Yokai saw a blade piercing through his arm. The anthropomorphic cat used his scimitar to cut through Shadow Mitsunari's arm shearing off enough skin to reveal muscles and bones. Mona promptly removed his weapon and jumped out of the Shadow Yokai's grasp.
Just then, Kyosuke charged into Shadow Mitsunari and unleashed consecutive slashes with his glowing ōdachi. Then, Crow summoned Hereward and dealt a critical blow to the Shadow Yokai with Laevateinn.
"Eat this!" Crow roared, shooting Shadow Mitsunari point blank in the face, shooting half of his entire face off.
As torn face skin and blood splattered on the floor, the Shadow Yokai turned with half of his face gone and bleeding profusely. The remnants of his skull gave him a ghastly appearance, which didn't deter the Shiftling and Crow. Instead, Kyosuke unleashed repeated slashes, tearing down Shadow Mitsunari.
Just then, Kohryu flew down and slammed into Shadow Mitsunari. The Persona struck Shadow Mitsunari with Psycho Force, but the Shadow Yokai used his wind-imbued blade to attack and injure the golden dragon Persona.
"No!" Joker called out as he then summoned Yoshitsune to attack Shadow Mitsunari. What followed was a flurry of clashes from their swords.
Shadow Mitsunari is about to deliver a critical blow. Just then, as he dove into the fray and armed with his Tyrant Pistol, Joker shot Shadow Mitsunari's chest multiple times. He then slashed the Shadow Yokai's stomach with his Paradise Lost dagger. Kyosuke punched and slashed the Shadow Yokai. Mona then combined Garudyne with Tamamo's Nine Tails' and Presto's Kato's flames. Having amassed enough fire from the Spiritual Gamblers, Mona blasted Shadow Mitsunari with a devastating fire tornado-like wave.
With Shadow Mitsunari burning and succumbing to their devastating attack combo, Fox delivered Myriad Slashes, striking and cutting through the Shadow Yokai twice with his katana.
Then, Joker used Yoshitsune to unleash Hassou Tobi, which ended with Yoshistune slashing Shadow Mitsunari eight times in blinding flashes of light. Roaring with agony, Shadow Mitsunari fell as his body quickly fell into bloody pieces and dissolved into red and black mist.
Meanwhile, after Queen wore down Shadow Naotaka with a flurry of punches and kicks, the Shadow Yokai swung his nodachi at the Phantom Thief. With Agnes' support, Queen stopped him with an explosive blow from Flash Bomb.
Just then, the other Scampuss appeared and distracted the Shadow Yokai, luring him away. As the Shadow Yokai reached for the Scampuss, Joker, Kyosuke, and Mona arrived and stopped him. The Shiftling charged forward and briefly dueled with Shadow Naotaka. As he swung his nodachi at the Shiftling, Kyosuke countered with his ōdachi and blasted him with unrelenting force. Joker sent Yoshitsune to attack and Shadow Naotaka.
Powering down from his Yokai Shift state, Kyosuke reverted to normal to recollect himself. After Yoshitsune carved through the Shadow Yokai's body, Joker then beckoned Fox, Queen, Mona, and Crow as they unleashed their All-out Attack on Shadow Naotaka. Following their attack, blood sprayed out of Shadow Naotaka as he collapsed and exploded into a bloodied mist.
"Cleanup complete!" Mona merrily said, ignoring the bloody mess he and the others left.
After slaying the Shadow Yokai, Queen used Mediarahan to heal the party.
"Thanks, little kitty," Queen waved to the Scampuss, who responded with a squeak.
Irked by its presence, Mona scoffed at the Scampuss. "Hey, don't you start getting cute with the ladies. Lady Ann's heart belongs to me." He turned away, running a finger across his throat as he plotted against the Scampuss for moving into his turf.
"Alright, we won!" Tamamo enthusiastically cheered.
Fox chortled. "Indeed that was a most colorful battle. I never would've imagined we'd duel against Mitsunari and Naotaka."
"So, that means one of the generators should work now. What about the other group?" Queen wondered. "I suggest we check in with them."
The group nodded in agreement.
"Right, let's go," Joker beckoned his group to leave the shrine.
Upon leaving the distorted shrine, Joker used his grappling hook to get up on a rooftop of a building. After securing his line, he climbed up. He let the others climb on his hook rope to reach their location. After the last person climbed up, Joker grabbed his grappling hook and headed straight for a short cut toward the Umeda Sky Building.
Distorted Osaka/Distorted Umeda Sky Building (Outside)
Within minutes, the two parties reconvened.
"You're back! How was it beating those guardians?" Oracle asked the groups.
"They were tough, but we managed to beat them," Joker answered her.
"It took teamwork and some coordination to slay those guardians," Sion plainly stated.
"You folks were able to defeat distorted versions of Yoshitsugu, Katsuie, Mitsunari, and Naotaka! They were no easy opponents to beat, but yet you overcame them. You astound me, young ones!" Nekomata complimented the group.
Suddenly, and as expected, the two generators above the main door activated on their own. Cords of wires are charged up as the door slowly opens. The group walked up and examined the sliding doors.
"Look, guys!" Mona called out.
"It's about time," Tennyo muttered.
"This is our cue, my friends," Joker reminded the group.
With nothing else to hold them back, the Phantom Thieves and their allies passed through the front doors of the distorted sky building.
Distorted Osaka/Distorted Umeda Sky Building (Inside)
Once inside, the group became mesmerized by the sky building's interior designs. What they saw was an amalgamation of a modern business lobby and traditional Osakan art meshed together, creating an oddly artistic and calming atmosphere.
"Look at all of this," Joker scanned the building's interior.
"I've been inside large companies before, but this is fantastical beyond belief," Queen commented in awe.
"It's oddly calm and pretty," Brave remarked. "Maybe too calm. It's unsettling."
"Recounting all the Palaces and Jail Cells we've explored, this one stands out from the rest," Mona said.
Violet nodded. "I'd say Maruki's Palace comes close to matching this calm vibe I'm getting."
"It sure does give me odd vibes akin to that Palace," Crow assessed the calm aura exuding from their surroundings.
Just then, they noticed an elevator transport on the opposite end of the main hallway. It has elements of the skyscraper's escalator amalgamated with ceiling window glasses and metallic parts.
"Perhaps, we can use that to reach the top floor," Noir pointed to the elevator.
"Indeed, and we can be sure that we will find the source there," Fox said.
"Feels as if we're going to face a Palace ruler all over again," Panther added with certainty.
"Nervous?" Joker joked at his girlfriend.
"Not really, especially you standing by my side," Panther winked at her boyfriend.
The Phantom Thieves and allies approached the transport. A light blinked and the elevator's door opened on their own. As expected, the group concluded he knows they're in his building.
As Sion stared into the elevator, he reflected on every event starting from his arrival in this world to this point.
"I can't believe it. We're almost there and soon I can get my answers," Sion muttered.
"Are you feeling better about getting to the bottom of this?" Tennyo asked with concern.
"Yeah, I'm ready to get this over with. He knows we're here," the Revenant nodded with a determined look. He and Tennyo faced the elevator before them. "There's no turning back."
As the group entered the freight elevator, the elevator started going up for the group. It continued to ascend with no interruptions.
Chapter Soundtrack
Nioh OST - Disquieting- Reaching the doorway to the skyscraper and splitting into two groups in unlocking the two keys.
Nioh OST - White Tiger & Ishida Mitsunari- vs. Shadow Mitsunari, Shadow Yoshitsugu, Shadow Naotaka, and Shadow Katsuie.
Nioh 2 OST - Magara Naotaka - Defeating Shadow Mitsunari, Shadow Yoshitsugu, Shadow Naotaka, and Shadow Katsuie.
Nioh 2 OST - Majesty - Protagonists head inside the skyscraper, amazed with the building interior, and head to the top floor.
A/N: This was a very simple, straight forward chapter. These are not the same Mitsunari, Yoshitsugu, Naotaka, and Katsuie from Nioh, but Shadow versions of the aforementioned. Nothing else to say here.
The next chapter, though, will be an eventful one. The perpetrator behind the Yokai & Lost attacks and Sion showing up will be revealed.
That's all for this entry. Leave a comment and review!