Chapter XXIX: The Vein Upheaval Escalates
Mido's Laboratory/Roppongi Hills Mori Tower (六本木ヒルズ森タワー)/11:05 PM (JST)
A melee ensued inside Mido's laboratory. Once Wolf, Sophie, Zephryman/Konoe, Zatanna/Akane, and Horkew/Joaquin joined the fight, they helped turn the tide in Hereward ΩX and his group's favor. Their combined efforts were enough to push back against Ildikó/Jocelyn and Fredegund/Carolyn.
Hereward ΩX, Nadia, Shadow Sae, Wolf, and Sophie engaged Ildikó while Fredegund contended with Violet/Ella ΩX, Anastasia, Zephryman, Zatanna, and Horkew.
As Ildikó threw her crimson whip toward Hereward ΩX's group, Wolf used his greatswords to brush the whip away. He tried cutting the whip in two but for whatever reason his swords couldn't cut them. Wolf fired his dual revolvers toward Ildikó, slightly damaging her. Once he neutralized her, Wolf summoned his Persona, Valjean, and blasted her with his Triple Down. Following up on Wolf's melee attacks, Sophie shot Ildikó with her blasters and summoned her Persona, Pandora. Drawing from her Persona's power, Sophie cast Makouga and inflicted damage on Ildikó. Hereward ΩX, Nadia, and Shadow Sae then launched a counterattack on the neutralized enemy.
After being struck by their attacks, Ildikó cast a crimson flare from her whip, which knocked away most of her enemies. Only Hereward ΩX and Wolf managed to hold their ground.
"My Attila's Wrath cannot be cut by mere swords and none of you will defeat me!" Ildikó declared, cracking her whip, which created a fiery flare.
"There's more of us and you're being forced to exert more of your power. You're just going to drain yourself," Hereward ΩX remarked, brandishing his jagged blades.
"Let us pass and retrieve Sae if you want to live to see the next sunrise," Wolf warned her, painstakingly eyeing Sae's body.
"Not as long as I draw breath and I'm not even going all out. I won't surrender to mere mortals such as yourselves!" Ildikó declared as she gave an enchantment, drawing in her internal dark magic and casting a bright crimson aura over herself. Having shrouded her body in crimson light, Ildikó transformed and grew 25 feet tall. Most of her body became covered in black dense armor. Her hair solidified and jutted outward horizontally, resembling horns. Despite gaining these demonic features, her beautiful face was kept intact. Four floating monstrous black arms materialized behind her back. A massive pair of black feathered wings painfully sprouted from her back shoulder blades. Forming under her feet were extra black and clawed feet. "Do you see now? This was only meant as a last resort but you have forced my hand! In this state, I am the Envoy of the Dämon!"
With that, Ildikó charged toward her adversaries and launched her four extra hands. Two of them clenched into fists and punched the ground, knocking away Shadow Sae and Nadia. When the other two hands fired crimson beams, Sophie cast Tetraja, which created a barrier that protected her, Hereward ΩX, and Wolf.
Just then, a halo made of skeletal faces materialized over Ildikó. The halo skull shifted around and fired stray beams as one headed straight for Hereward ΩX. Hereward ΩX quickly cut the beam in two with his jagged swords. Then, as he summoned Hereward, Hereward ΩX dealt Ildikó considerable damage with Laevateinn. Despite taking colossal damage, Ildikó unleashed beams from her horns, which blasted Hereward ΩX, Wolf, and Sophie.
Meanwhile, Fredegund was pushed to her limit by her foes. Following Ella ΩX's Sword Dance and Anastasia's light arrows, Fredegund's barriers broke apart. This left her open for Zatanna, Horew, and Zephryman's attacks. Fredegund opened her grimoire and cast a stronger barrier, which protected her from her enemies' assault.
"Now, Galdrabók! Unlock my limits and establish my full power!" Fredegund declared as a white flash of light enveloped and transformed her before her enemies' sights. The light granted her angelic features and increased her size up to 25 feet tall. White feathered wings, covered in golden armor, formed out of her back and opened up, unleashing and spreading a barrage of feathers. Fredegund has taken the form of a giant cherub. Her upper body has a single head, and her lower body gains a bigger head with two heads on each side, giving it a total of four just, giving it the appearance of an actual Cherub. However, all of the faces are human The lower body of the entity also gained angelic feathered wings. "You have forced me to take drastic measures. As the Envoy of the Engel, I shall deal you all divine punishment!"
Fredegund hastily unleashed golden rays from her bottom wings. The group evaded the beams and directed their attacks on the four faces. Readying his saber, Zephryman swung it at the farthest left face and landed a three-hit combo attack. Zatanna and Horkew attacked the other left face as the latter slashed the giant face with a katana.
Anastasia launched a glowing white arrow, which struck the farthest right face. Ella ΩX targeted all four faces and struck them with her Vorpal Blade. Fredegund's four faces retaliated and launched four golden beams from their eyes. As the beams converged, they forged a singular beam that targeted the whole group.
"Time to finish you," Fredegund declared a premature victory, which proved to be her downfall when Ella ΩX performed Masquerade on Fredegund, dealing colossal damage to her.
"That should be enough! Take her down!" Ella ΩX called out as her group attacked and pushed back against Fredegund, whose massive four-Cherub-faced body started to wear her out.
"I still haven't gotten used to using this form… Ildikó, I hate to suggest this, but we must retreat. We haven't gotten fully adapted using these forms yet," Fredegund addressed her cohort.
"No, you're right with your assessment. If we had time to adjust using our full-powered bodies, we would've won this encounter. I just despise having to retreat," Ildikó stated as she and Fredegund transformed into their previous states.
"Don't forget we can't be destroyed before we can reunite our bodies, Ildikó," Fredegund reminded her stubborn colleague.
"How could I forget? You're right. Once we reunite ourselves mind and body, then these mortals won't stand a chance."
Using her grimoire, Fredegund forged a portal, serving as an escape route for her and Ildikó.
"Where are you going? Smart of you to consider a tactical retreat," Hereward ΩX pointed out.
"We'll retreat but not out of sympathy. Take the woman if you like but this won't be the last time we'll see each other," Fredegund said.
"And next time, our Envoy states will be stronger than they are now and we shall use them to finish you off for good!" Ildikó shouted.
With that Fredegund and Ildikó vanished through the portal. As the portal closed, Hereward ΩX and the group sighted Sae lying on the table.
Shadow Sae meticulously eyed Sae lying on the table. "She doesn't have much time! Come!" With that, the group ran over to Sae's unconscious body. Placing her hand over Sae's face, Shadow Sae felt the woman's body becoming cold.
"What are you going to do to revive Sae?" Anastasia asked the Shadow.
"Just this. Here goes nothing," Shadow Sae concentrated and transferred her essence into Sae. As her shadowy body began to dissipate into thin black mist, she seeped through Sae's skin and rejuvenated the immobile woman.
As her eyes quickly shot open, her heart regained its regular rhythm beats. Her pale complexion regained its regular color. She was no longer giving labored breaths. She slowly rose as Wolf helped her stand.
"Easy now, Sae. You've just recovered from a coma," Wolf said, throwing her left arm over him and helping her walk forward.
"Zenkichi, is that you? What are you…?"
"You can thank your sister for calling me and the others here," Wolf said, referring to himself, Sophie, Zatanna, Horkew, and Zephryman as the Phantom Thieves' auxiliary unit.
"Your Shadow self returned to your body and revived you, Sae," Hereward ΩX said as the woman faced the former ace junior detective with caution. "I know you and I still aren't on the best of terms."
"He led us to save and reunite you with your Shadow self, Sae-san," Ella ΩX spoke on Hereward ΩX's behalf. "We fought and sent two enemies to retreat just to save you before it was too late."
"Akechi did?" Sae was taken aback as she and Hereward ΩX had a brief but quiet staredown. Then, she recalled all of Shadow Sae's memories and nodded. "I see now. Thank you, everyone."
"Sae, listen…"
Frowning, Sae muttered. "Make no mistake, Akechi. I can't and won't forgive what you tried to do to me, but I'm thankful you nearly killed yourself to save me. My Shadow self told me all I need to know."
Nodding, Hereward ΩX replied. "I wouldn't have it any other way myself. Let's call a mutual truce until our enemies are defeated."
"Speaking of which, your sister and her friends are in this place. I can sense intense fighting beneath us," Wolf verified as he sensed the Phantom Thieves and their Personas' presence.
"Yeah, that's big sis Makoto and the Phantom Thieves! I can sense them, too!" Zatanna added.
"I'm dying to see Joker and the others again!" Sophie added enthusiastically.
"Bring on the bad guys. My Kutune Shirka is ready to cut down evil again," Horkew stated, referring to his katana's desire to strike down Mido and his followers.
"Yes, they're fighting the true mastermind behind The Consortium," Ella ΩX replied. "Some of us need to get down there right away."
"Then, let's head down and give them support," Nadia acknowledged.
"I'll take care of Sae," Wolf said, giving the older Niijima sister a shoulder to lean on.
With that, Hereward ΩX, Ella ΩX, Nadia, and Anastasia headed first with Wolf and the others slowly tagging along behind.
"We're coming, senpai!" Ella ΩX cried out as she and Hereward ΩX hastened the pace toward their destination.
Outside the Tokyo City Opera Tower (東京シティオペラタワー)/Shinjuku, Tokyo (新宿区, 東京)/11:10 PM (JST)
The remaining three Black Heralds were forced to go all-out. Black Hōō took no more chances to let Hōō and Horus take advantage. She cloaked herself in a black fiery cloak, unleashing her Black Hōō Helix to keep them at bay. Utilizing her fiery cloak to protect herself and Horus, Hōō passed over some of her fire and augmented Horus' arrows. Taking the fiery arrows, Horus blasted Black Hōō with his Ember of Bennu.
Much to her dismay, the barrage of fiery arrows broke through her black flames. She evaded some but a few arrows struck her, causing her to scream painfully. In response, Black Hōō amassed enough black flames and forced her adversaries to withdraw for a moment.
"She's not playing around anymore!" Horus cried out, catching his breath after dodging many dark flaming blasts.
"She never was playing with us but she is ready to finish us all," Hōō replied, witnessing Black Hōō's black flames being condensed into a sphere and then changing shape into a fiery phoenix. "Get behind me, Lance!" She called out as Horus slipped behind her.
"I'LL KILL YOU FIRST, DEAR SISTER! NOW BURN!" Black Hōō screamed as she sent her Black Hōō Nova toward Hōō and Horus. Witnessing her black phoenix preparing to engulf her two enemies in a blazing inferno, she saw a similar lighter phoenix, whose flaming body consisted of orange, yellow, and reddish colorations, clashed with the black phoenix. Hōō conjured her Hōō Nova in response to the Black Herald's attack.
As both gave intense stares, Hōō and Black Hōō put all of their effort into their finishing attacks. Then, Black Hōō's humanoid form shifted and transformed into a fiery black sphere. When this sphere expanded, it cracked like an egg and out of Black Hōō became a black nine-headed phoenix.
"The Jiu Feng?!" Hōō yelled in despair.
"BURN, SISTER!" Screamed the nine-headed Jiu Feng, who spread its wings and launched more black flames toward Hōō and Horus.
As the dark flames collided with her fiery cloak, Hōō nearly collapsed. However, Horus grabbed her hand and consoled her.
"Don't give up, Cammy. We defeat her!" Horus gave her reassurance.
"Yes… Yes, you're right! We can't give up!" Hōō cried out passionately. When she faced Black Hōō, Hōō concentrated and conjured a bright orange cloak, which surrounded her and sealed her in a bright white sphere. As the sphere shattered, Hōō performed a similar transformation and turned into a burning white phoenix called the Fenghuang. Letting out a defiant scream, the white phoenix flew toward the Black Hōō as the fiery birds battled in a contest between light and dark flames.
As their battle drew near its conclusion, Rippress received outside assistance from a couple of Lost creatures that went astray from a battle against the Spiritual Gamblers. They helped Rippress beat down Reapress. When the Lost subdued Reapress, Rippress prepared to finish and behead her enemy.
Just then, several hands popped out of the ground and seized the Lost creatures. This intervention allowed Reapress to break loose. Rippress quickly paused and witnessed undead creatures and grotesque-looking demons dragging the Lost through a dark pit. Taken aback by the Lost being pulled asunder by the demons, Rippress witnessed Reapress complete her Baphomet's Visage, which grants a user to ability to call forth underworld demons to kill the user's enemies. A demonic star formed around the center where the pit opened and released the demons.
"Ritual complete. Now, it's your turn to meet their fate!" Reapress smiled cruelly as the Lost's pained roars.
Watching a Lost being torn in two and having its entrails eaten by the demons, Rippress screamed furiously. Flying into a fit of rage, Rippress attacked Reapress head-on. When Reapress swung her scythe, Rippress used her blade to create flayer skin and summon her Nuckelavee's Muscled Shield. However, Reapress stopped momentarily as the undead demons seized Rippress' slayed skin weapon and ripped it away. Having lost her defensive weapon, Reapress quickly slashed Rippress and took her down with one stroke. As Rippress fell, she was left unconscious. Reapress then used her scythe to drain the darkness out of Rippress.
As she closed the ritual, the demons returned to their realm. With Rippress incapacitated, Reapress attentively shifted her sights toward Hōō and Black Hōō's fiery battle and headed toward it.
Having to fight against Valkyria and Norse-knight's double-team tactics, Erinye doubled her efforts and unleashed more Blades of Mordred. Valkyria quickly deflected her energy blades. Norse-knight ran behind Erinye and blasted her from behind with Gaea's Blast. After being blasted away by Norse-knight, Erinye witnessed her lindworm being torn apart by Norse-knight's Scalebound dragon.
As she glided right in front of Erinye, Valkyria readied her glowing sword. "It's over for you!" With a mighty swing, Valkyria delivered her Exalt X-Slash and swiftly took down Erinye. After felling Erinye, Valkyria used her sword's power to remove the dark energies from Erinye.
"That should take care of her. Is she still alive?" Norse-knight queried as Valkyria checked for a pulse.
"She'll live but she shouldn't be an issue for us anymore," Valkyria replied.
Just then, Valkyria and Norse-knight turned their sights toward Hōō and Black Hōō's intense battle.
"Cammy is going all out! By the looks of it, the Black Hōō is the last Black Herald left," Norse-knight assessed.
"Then, let's give Cammy the support she needs to beat her twin sister!" Valkyria declared as she and Norse-knight headed off toward the battle.
Upon arriving, the other Advent Eight members, Reapress, Marozi, and Matilda witnessed the final moments of Hōō and Black Hōō's conflict. Horus rejoined the others as they stood together united and cheered on Hōō.
"YOU SHALL BURN TO ASHES!" Black Hōō screamed as she fired a barrage of black flames toward Hōō.
"You haven't killed me yet!" Hōō rebuked, throwing a massive flamethrower-like blast toward Black Hōō's flames.
As their opposing flames coalesced, Hōō and Black Hōō's unrestrained fire spread and consumed the sky. As Black Hōō tried another Black Hōō Nova, Hōō counterattacked with her Hōō Nova. The sisters of destruction were once again at a stalemate. For a moment, Black Hōō seemed to gain the upper hand and overpower Hōō. Just then, Hōō heard her friends cheering her on. Hōō invoked all of her spiritual flames and pushed back Black Hōō's dark flames. She then seized Black Hōō and flew her high in the sky, shooting past the atmosphere until they reached the stratosphere. They briefly exchanged blasts there but Hōō flew up further luring Black Hōō into the exosphere. The twins exchanged flaming blasts and proceeded to lock themselves in a fiery beam struggle.
"Dear sister, I wish this conflict between us never came to pass. It's a shame you were never born the right way. We could've been great siblings," Hōō consoled Black Hōō, who paused and reflected on being stillborn and her spirit was later revived by the Yami Matter. As a result of the Yami Matter's influence, she quickly matured into a young woman. Instead of being nurtured with a proper childhood and a reunion with Cammy, Yami Hōō became an instrument of the Yami Matter's destructive will. When she listened to Hōō's genuine and soft tone, Black Hōō's fiery cloak began diminishing. "Let's not fight anymore. Did all you ever want was a proper chance to live your life and the warmth of those who love you? I could give you that."
"Could you…?" Black Hōō muttered, but then her mind was quickly taken over by the Yami Matter. As she went for a death blow to Hōō, Hōō countered by enveloping her fiery white cloak over Black Hōō and slowly dissolved her.
"I'm sorry. I love you, my sister," Hōō said as tears filled her eyes while Black Hōō became purified until she briefly turned into a mirror image of Cammy herself. Upon seeing her purified sister, Hōō cried and put her hand on her twin sister's, who opened her eyes and briefly smiled. As the twins bonded, the other sister dissolved into sparks of white light. "Rest easy." With that, Hōō descended toward Earth and landed at the exact spot where the Advent Eight and their allies awaited her.
Having exhausted herself, Hōō fell into Horus' arms and fell unconscious.
"We've beaten the Black Heralds, guys," Stronghold informed everyone. "We managed to remove the darkness that controlled them. And thanks to Cammy, we've taken out the main source of their darkness."
"It's all up to the Phantom Thieves and the Vein Remnants to handle the rest," Psyclone stated.
"It's all up to you and your friends now, Makoto," Valkyria said, referring to Queen.
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower (六本木ヒルズ森タワー)/Roppongi (六本木)/Minato, Tokyo (港区, 東京)/11:22 PM (JST)
As the Revenant's masks sealed their faces, they steadfastly attacked Mido. Swinging his sword in defense, Mido attempted to behead his adversaries. Swiftly evading Mido's sword, Sion and Joker's group spread out.
Sion, Tennyo, Moonlight, and Shinchū unleashed attacks from the left side. Swinging his Queenslayer Blade, Sion tried stabbing Mido, but the Revenant scientist guarded himself with his sword. Shinchū flung threads with explosives. Mido evaded Shinchū's explosive blasts. Taking advantage of Shinchū's distractive tactic, Tennyo swung her ko-naginata at Mido's left leg. Invoking her Blood Veil, Moonlight unleashed spikes from the ground that struck Mido.
"Urgh! Clever!" Mido scowled as he executed a cross-shaped swing, sending a blood-red shockwave at the four-team unit.
"Move!" Sion called to Tennyo, Moonlight, and Shinchū as all four narrowly dodged.
"That was close! Are you all ok?!" Shinchū asked Sion, Tennyo, and Moonlight.
"Yes, we are now," Tennyo responded while brandishing her ko-naginata.
With Mido's back facing his direction, Joker summoned Arsène to the battle. Arsène hastily attacked Mido with Cleave. The Revenant defended with his sword, but the Persona repelled him with Eiha. The attack didn't critically damage Mido but did enough to faze him.
"Oooh, well. Your ability to utilize Personas astounds me, Amamiya Ren." Mido openly commended the Phantom Thief.
Just then, a ring of fire formed over Mido, which surprised him. The fire exploded into a pillar of flames that did little damage to him. Turning to his left, Mido spotted Panther, who gave him a look that could kill. Brandishing her whip, Panther produced another ring of fire. Anticipating her attack, Mido nullified her fire attack with a blood orb construct.
"Nice try, Annie, but you'll have to delve deeper to summon your most destructive flames if you want to beat me!" Mido taunted Panther.
Scowling, Panther summoned Celestine to fight alongside her against Mido's ferocious strikes.
"How about I shut that mouth of yours up?! I'm sick of hearing it!" Panther rebuked, showing absolutely no restraint when dealing with the Revenant scientist. When Panther went to attack Mido, Gunslinger/Shinya shot Mido's back with his laser guns.
However, the laser blasts did nothing more than irk Mido, who turned to attack the teen. However, Joker sent Arsène to defend Gunslinger from Mido.
"Don't get too reckless and fight him on your own, Shinya. All I ask is to provide me with," Joker said.
Nodding, Gunslinger honored Joker's request. "No problem."
"To have insignificant insects such as this boy following your command, your leadership skills should be commended but also questioned. You'd endanger someone young such as him?" Mido questioned Joker.
"I can fight on my own just fine," Gunslinger scoffed.
"He won't be harmed by you as long as I'm here."
Mido nodded dismissively. "Whether he lives or dies means little to me. Either way, you both will meet similar fates." He readied his sword and went straight for Joker's Persona for his next attack.
Meanwhile, the Queen/Cruz and the Skull King walked toward the other Thieves and Revenants. Sekiken/Louis, Omusubi/Yakumo, Mircalla/Mia, Queen, Noir, Leto/Aurora, Medic/Karen, Protector/Nicola, and Shikama/Reiko split up into two groups to counter the two entities.
"Cruz! Gregorio! Listen, you're under Mido's control! You have to resist! Please!" Sekiken openly pleaded to the Silvas.
"They're not listening. Sorry, but we're going to have to fight them, Louis," Mircalla said, readying her bayonet.
"She's right, Louis. Fighting them with force might be the only way to get through to them," Omusubi said, brandishing his greatsword.
Giving Sekiken a pitiful look, Queen patted her boyfriend's back. "Haru and I will handle Gregorio. We'll leave you to contend with Cruz. Maybe you can get through to her."
"Makoto? Haru?" Sekiken muttered, eyeing his two girlfriends as they confronted the Skull King.
"Louis, if you need help with Cruz, you can count on me," Medic firmly stated.
"Thanks, Karen. Just be careful," Sekiken replied.
"Don't worry. She's got me to protect her if Cruz gets too frenzied," Leto added.
Queen and Noir stood ready to fight the Skull King.
"Are you ready?" Queen asked her lover.
"Let's do this," Noir adamantly replied.
"This is for you, Louis!" Queen and Noir yelled out in unison.
The two Phantom Thieves bolted ahead to assist Mona, Skull, Fox, Oracle, Omusubi, and Mircalla. Attacking them with melee strikes, the Skull King forced the Thieves and Revenants to evade his earth-shattering swings. Performing a dual sword swing, the Skull King jumped 15 feet into the air and came down smashing the ground with tremendous force. The Thieves and Revenants spread out, unleashing various attacks on the giant Revenant.
"Whoa, that was close!" Oracle cried out after rolling away from the Skull King's high-impact attack.
"He's certainly not going to be a slow-moving opponent. I'd advise caution," Fox assessed the Skull King's agility despite his large frame.
"Yeah, we've taken on dudes like that before," Skull added.
"Then, we need to hit him fast and hard. Don't hold back but let's not go for any lethal blows, got it?" Mona said as the other Thieves nodded accordingly.
"We're ready, Mona," Mircalla stated.
Mona fired an explosive shot into the Skull King's face, temporarily blinding his field of vision. This enabled Skull to hit his left knee with his mace. Fox briefly summoned Gorokichi to collide with the goliath. Oracle came up and slashed the back of the Skull King's left leg with her laser sword. Bringing the Skull King down to a knee, Noir smashed her axe into the behemoth's right shoulder.
"Go for it, Mako-chan!"
Having summoned Agnes, Queen rode her Persona off an infrastructure's rooftop. Gaining a high enough altitude, Queen jumped off her bike and punched the Skull King's face. However, the Skull King raised his left sword to defend himself. Queen's Nuclear Fist still managed a potent enough blow to shatter the sword. Taking its left sword, the Skull King attempted to cut Queen in two.
"Look out!" Skull exclaimed.
Just then, Mircalla's metal tail grabbed the Skull King's arm and disarmed his sword. Omusubi then came up and shoved his greatsword through the behemoth's torso. The Skull King roared in pain as Omusubi further drove his sword through it.
"Forgive us, Gregorio!" Sekiken called out as he invoked his Ogre-Type Blood Veil, shoving his demonic hand through the Skull King's chest.
Suddenly, the Queen/Cruz launched herself into Sekiken and pushed him off the Skull King. After pushing him off, the Queen/Cruz landed on all fours and rose as her face twitched uncontrollably.
"Damn it! Cruz!" Sekiken yelled at the frenzied woman, whose blue eyes flared intensely.
"Hey, time to knock some sense into you, Cruz Silva!" Leto yelled out as she transformed into her Successor of the Ribcage form. As the white wolf launched an arc-shaped beam, the Queen/Cruz quickly jumped up and evaded Leto's projectile, which wiped out an interior wall
When Protector turned into his Successor of the Breath state, he jumped forward and summoned an ice spike, which shot in front of the Queen/Cruz. The Queen/Cruz casually put her hand out and released a blue mist that melted Protector's ice spike. As she spread her blue mist, the Queen/Cruz tried to suffocate her adversaries. Shikama quickly put up a white barrier over herself and the others, shielding them from the Queen/Cruz's deadly area of effect.
"Can you what me, Cruz?! It's me, Karen! You remember me do you?" Medic tried reasoning with the entity, whose blue aura dissipated. For a moment, the Queen/Cruz's face contorted and eyes softened when she heard the woman vocally reach her. However, her frenzied mind reclaimed control as she summoned an array of yellow orbs of light, which formed into ivory spikes that shot toward Medic.
"Karen!" Sekiken shouted as he pushed Medic away, narrowly saving her from getting skewered by the spikes.
The Queen/Cruz launched more ivory spikes. Leto and Protector managed to stop most of the spikes. The few that passed through were wiped out by Mircalla and Omusubi. Queen's Persona, Agnes, blasted several of these spikes into pieces. Noir used her missile launcher to take out any remaining spikes. The other Phantom Thieves took out the remaining spikes.
"Whoo, that was another close call!" Skull deeply sighed with relief.
"So, this is the power of the Queen that Sion and Jack had to contend with before. It's incredible," Omusubi was flabbergasted by her overall strength.
"How about being less impressed, Yakumo? She needs to be taken down before she skewers us," Mircalla said.
"Please, Cruz! This is enough! You don't want to kill us! This is all Mido's meddling!" Sekiken pleaded as the Queen/Cruz stalked toward them. At the same time, the Skull King recovered and prepared for another scuffle with his opponents. Gnashing his teeth, Sekiken screamed furiously. "MIDO! YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THIS!"
Listening to his friend letting out his unbridled rage, Omusubi growled. "Now, you know my pain and how I feel about that bastard, Louis."
Overhearing Sekiken vehemently cursing him, Mido chortled. "Seems you've realized you can't save your former beloved, Louie."
"Mido! Eyes on me!" Hunter/Jack called out from Mido's right side.
Facing the opposite way, Mido was met with Hunter's sword. Mido countered with his sword as he and Hunter stared into each other's eyes. Songstress/Eva prepared to conjure her Blood Veil.
"You've been messing with us for far too long, Mido! First, Yakumo and myself. Now, you've made things personal with Louis! I swear, you're not getting out of this ordeal alive!"
"Heheh, I've already been revived. Thanks to the Yami Matter's blessing, I will see the next sunrise!" Mido taunted Hunter. Just then, Songstress unleashed blades of sand at Mido, who saw it coming and dodged. After evading her Volatile Storm, the Revenant scientist headed off to slash her.
"That wasn't very nice, Eva! How about I give you a dissection, my dear?!" Mido threatened, quickly closing the gap between him and her.
"No, get back!" Songstress prepared to stop him.
"EVA!" Hunter shouted and ran to her, but Mido paused and interceded him.
Mido chuckled. "Worry about our duel first…"
"Don't take your eyes off me, Mido!" Adel/Emily shouted as she transformed into her Successor of the Claw state. She swiftly lunged at Mido and pushed him down. When she clawed at his face, Mido conjured a bullet made from blood and fired Adel with it, slicing through her right shoulder.
As he raised his sword over Adel, Mido prepared to finish her off.
"NO!" Panther shouted as Celestine blasted Mido with Agidyne. "Go to her, Jack! We'll hold him off!"
Growling, Mido swung his sword at Celestine. Joker's Arsène defended Celestine and kept the Revenant occupied.
Despite taking damage from Mido, Adel managed to generate fiery projectiles and blasted Mido's back with them. After hitting him with her Sly Vengeance Gift, she drew a flaming sword and slammed it over Mido.
"How do you like that, Mido?! Didn't see that coming, asshole?!" Adel cursed him out.
The Revenant scientist absorbed some considerable damage from Adel, causing him to falter and drop his guard. This gave Songstress an opening to attack him.
"Get him, Eva!" Hunter encouraged her.
"You won't get away with what you've done!" The Successor of the Throat unleashed a whirlwind attack that for a fleeting moment collided with and pushed Mido back.
"Damn! I should've remembered this! A miscalculation on my part!" Mido yelled out.
"We are not mere experiments for you to toy with, Mido! We're simply better equipped and much more efficient than the last time you fought us!" Hunter scornfully chastised him.
"That should be enough to inflict damage on Mido," Moonlight surmised.
"Let's hope so," Tennyo added.
"Wow, maybe he wasn't so difficult after all," Shinchū was flabbergasted.
"No, he's a tough bastard. He just wasn't prepared for our teamwork," Joker stated.
"Hmph serves this guy right," Panther said.
"Thank you, Eva and Emily!" Sion called out to Songstress and Adel.
Slowly standing up, the Revenant grunted. "Don't get too comfortable, fools. It's not over."
"You're right. It's not," Sion replied.
With that, white veils of light engulfed Sion, Sekiken, Mircalla, and Omusubi, converting their wardrobe into near-white outfits. Having invoked their Envoy forms, the four Revenants were enhanced enough to take on the more significant threats now facing them.
"The Envoy of Matthew," Moonlight noted Sion's white uniform. She then turned over toward Sekiken. "The Envoy of Mark." She then shifted her sights on Omusubi and Mircalla. "And the Envoy of Luke and the Envoy of John."
"It's not often they've had to use these powers but this situation does call for drastic measures," Tennyo stated.
"With us here aiding them, it should be enough to defeat Mido and his beasts," Joker said.
"Wait, we're not done yet. Let's not make assumptions yet, Joker. There's more," Mido chortled.
"What now?!" Omusubi was confounded by his statement.
Mido chuckled. "Now, how many of you have Envoy of Vein forms?"
"Why does that matter? You just watched us reveal them, idiot," Mircalla rebuked.
"Just answer the question," Mido responded with annoyance.
"Look, do we need to answer that?! Fine! Just the four of us do! Skyler, Mia, Yakumo, and I possess the powers of Envoy! There, can we get straight to fucking killing you now?!" Sekiken yelled furiously, having grown irritated by Mido's taunts. Queen, Noir, Medic, and the other three Envoy Revenants noted his furious demeanor while he was attempting to contain his anger.
"Yes, but what if I told you there was another?" Mido tossed a vague question at them.
"There's a fifth one? But, there shouldn't be another!" Sion said.
"That's because you're all looking at the one," Mido tapped his chest.
"But, how…?" Joker was flabbergasted.
"You never showed us any hint you had this power!" Tennyo called out his bluff.
"Heheh, I've been observing your frequent uses of your Envoy forms, my dear Revenants. It's a surprise you haven't already caused collateral damage knowing how much-untold power those Envoy forms possess."
"That's because we've been doing our best to restrain ourselves!" Sion retorted.
"Of course, now we don't have to hold back. If we have to tear down this whole fucking place to defeat you, then we will!" Sekiken declared.
"Oh, you would, wouldn't you, Louie," Mido mocked Sekiken.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT, ASSHOLE!"
"Why? It's fun to push your buttons, Louie."
"You son of a bitch!" Sekiken growled as Sion and Omusubi held him back.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, man," Sion muttered. "Listen to yourself, you're not thinking! Get it together!"
"I… but…" Sekiken ground his teeth, once again trying to contain his unbridled anger.
"Well guess what? I've found a way to harness that power and call it my own!" Mido boasted as a dark red aura enveloped him from head to toe, encompassing his entire body. "As a man of science, I should be able to create conceptualized things out of nothing! After seeing your Envoy powers in action, I've replicated that power to create my own Envoy of Vein! Behold, the Envoy of Evolution!"
Not giving them a chance to react, the aura surrounding Mido expanded. His body underwent a quick metamorphosis. His overall appearance stayed relatively the same, even retaining the spikes on his armored arms and his armor color scheme. However, his previous bulkier frame slimmed down, giving him a slender body. Gone was the giant cloak. Two long, sharp spikes protruded through the front of his face and above his eyes. On his left side is a red cape. His black mask gained four protruding horns that formed like a crown and long blonde hair came down the back of his head.
With his right eye still glowing red, the Revenant scientist adjusted his newly modified form. Gazing upon his Envoy form, he malevolently chuckled, expelling compressed air from his mask. "Yes, I have achieved the next stage of Revenant evolution. And with this Envoy power, I shall use it to grind you all to dust and show you all I am the superior being!"
"You're full of shit! I've heard enough out of you, Mido!" Sekiken bellowed angrily as he lunged at the Revenant scientist and engaged him head-on. "I'M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU!" As he shifted his Enduring Crimson sword with an upward slash, Sekiken delivered his Blade of Athos and cut through Mido.
And then, in a move that shocked everyone, Mido seemingly moved behind Sekiken within the blink of an eye. Cackling at his distraught foe, Mido's red eye flashed brilliantly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Have I become too fast for your slow reflexes, dear Louis?" Mido taunted Sekiken, having just effortlessly dodged Sekiken's sword attack. He attempted to ensnare Sekiken, but Sion dove in and pushed Sekiken away. "Oh, you wish to fight me now, Sion? I don't think that'll please your friend Louie."
"Shut up!" Sekiken retorted while Sion restrained him. "Let me go, Skyler!"
As Sion kept Sekiken back, Joker, Tennyo, Moonlight, Hunter, Songstress, and Panther counterattacked Mido. As Joker, Tennyo, and Moonlight headed him off, Mido swung his Judgment Edge to fend off their attacks. He also countered Hunter and Songstress' strikes. Then, acting as an opportunist, Panther invoked Celestine's power and blasted him with Agnidyne. With Judgment Edge, Mido cut through Panther's fiery blast, which greatly enraged the red leather-clothed catwoman.
"You're not getting away with what you and the Yami Matter did to me and my friends!" Panther screamed. "I'M GOING TO BURN YOUR ASS!"
When Mircalla, Omusubi, and the other Revenants tried to engage Mido, the Skull King and the Queen/Cruz blocked their path.
"How dare you use Cruz as a shield! YOU MOTHERFUCKING COWARD!" Sekiken vehemently cursed the Revenant scientist. He stopped shouting as Sion shook him hard.
"You're not fighting him alone, Louis! We should take him down together!" Sion admonished his reckless friend's actions.
"He's right! You need to get your head out of your ass, Louis!" Queen berated him.
"Please, we should be fighting him together!" Noir pleaded with Sekiken.
"You two…?" Sekiken gasped while shaking his head.
"Is that infighting I see among you? Come now, it's too soon to be fighting one another but I'm not complaining. It's less work for me," Mido interjected as he elicited mixed reactions from the Thieves, the Vein Remnants, and the others. "Heheh, does my new form send and dread down your little spines? And is that apprehension I see etched on your places?" He openly taunted his adversaries.
"Bullshit! You'd like to think that!" Sekiken retorted.
"As if we'd be afraid of you! We're not afraid of this new form of yours!" Omusubi exclaimed.
"Even if he did just dodge Louis' attack," Adel added, exhibiting dread on her face. "You saw how fast he moved, didn't y'all?"
"Why don't I give you a further demonstration of my new power?" Mido merely lifted a finger and pointed to the group. Then, in a blink and barely noticeable moment, an explosion erupted behind the group, causing them to spread apart. This led to Mido firing more quick finger beams, dividing and selecting which group members to pick off.
"Holy shit! Did y'all see him even shoot a blast behind us?!" Skull shouted.
"I didn't even see him fire anything but a ray of light!" Noir exclaimed.
"Some of us saw what happened, but none of us would've been able to deflect it!" Hunter called out.
"That form isn't just all show! He's faster!" Mircalla cried out.
"MIDO! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Sekiken hollered.
Scanning for Mido's whereabouts, Io's golden eyes glowed. "He's behind us!" She warned the group as they shifted the other way and sighted the Revenant scientist floating and laughing behind them.
"Yes, the power of the Envoy of Evolution is exactly what I bargained for. Perhaps we shall see if it'll be potent enough to vanquish you all." Mido laughed again as his red eye glowed menacingly. "Next time, I won't miss." He deepened his voice, sounding less formal and more depraved. As his head pivoted, he flew forward and quickly seized Sekiken, removing him from his colleagues. "Come, why don't we have ourselves a chat, dear boy?!"
"LOUIS!" The Vein Remnants and the others called out to him.
"LET ME GO!" Sekiken roared as he pushed Mido's hands off and unleashed an immense flash of white light, which shattered the interior walls of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. "I don't care about collateral damage! I'll use any means to kill you once and for all! MIDO, I'M SENDING YOU TO YOUR GRAVE!" As he hefted his glowing sword, he unleashed a powerful variation of his Blade of Athos that instantly shattered more interior walls of the building.
In a blinding and illuminating flash, the entire Roppongi Hills Mori Tower was split asunder and brought down in a heap of debris. In response to this immediate danger, the Phantom Thieves used their Personas to carry nearly everyone.
When everyone convened away from the collapsed tower, they were utterly flabbergasted by the sheer force that Sekiken demonstrated with his full Envoy strength. Although Mido lost his laboratory, the Revenant scientist didn't shed a tear. He was seen walking away from the rubble with barely any damage. Sekiken, too, was seen emerging from a thick veil of debris smoke.
"Is everyone okay?!" Called a voice belonging to Wolf, who garnered the Phantom Thieves' attention as they saw him, his daughter, and their colleagues being carried by Violet's Persona.
"What the hell just happened?! First, we felt a loud tremor and then the tower started collapsing!" Nadia shouted.
"Thank goodness Violet saved us with her Persona," Anastasia added, relieved they and the others survived the tower collapse.
"Senpai, we all made it out of there!" Violet called out and waved to the Phantom Thieves, the Vein Remnants, and their other allies.
"Zenkichi! Thank goodness you and the others came!" Queen cried out to them. She then saw Sae with Zenkichi and sighed with deep relief. "Sis, thank goodness you're ok."
"Makoto! I'm glad you're all ok, too!" Zatanna yelled.
Upon seeing Mido's new Envoy form, Crow furrowed his brows. "Did he just evolve? I truly missed out."
"Makoto!" Sae called to her sister. Just then she and the others saw Mido summoning the Queen/Cruz and the Skull King out of the debris. "Juzo Mido?! And what are those two behind? Wait, that young woman looks like Gregorio's daughter Cruz Silva!" She was flabbergasted by the tower's destruction. However, she was completely left unaware that her sister's boyfriend caused this destruction. "My god, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower is gone."
"Damn it, how are you still alive?! Of course, why shouldn't I be surprised?" Joker said as he shared everyone else's disdain for the Revenant scientist's inability to stay dead.
"He should've died. I would've slept better knowing he did," Panther said with the deepest contempt for him.
"It will take more than that to finish Juzo Mido," Moonlight added.
"Miki, are you ok?" Tennyo asked Shinchū, who was trying to process everything she had just been through.
"Yeah, I am as long as I'm around you guys," Shinchū replied.
Sekiken growled intensely as his eyes burned deep red. "I'll find some way to kill you, Mido! You're not getting away alive!"
Briefly shifting away from his adversaries, Mido keenly monitored the Queen/Cruz. "Yes, it's time to initiate the next phase. Skull King, I shall complete your power!" Clenching his right hand, Mido manipulated the Yami Matter's essence infecting Cruz.
"Augh!" Cruz screamed painfully as intense pressure consumed her from within.
"Cruz?! What's happening to you?! Cruz?!" Sekiken shouted as he tried to hold onto her.
"Mido's doing something to her! What is it you're doing to our friend, Mido?!" Medic angrily questioned the Revenant scientist's motive.
"Heheh, just watch and learn, Karen," Mido chortled as he manipulated and took control of Cruz's body, forcefully pulling her forward by just clenching his hand.
Queen and Noir watched Cruz float over them as she was being pulled toward the Skull King. The pale-haired woman muttered her final words as she collided with the Skull King and merged with him. Cruz's body lit up and phased through the Skull King's chest, providing the Revenant with the power to complete its final evolution.
"CRUZ!" Sekiken screamed. When he ran toward the Skull King, Queen and Noir held him back. "Let me go!"
"If we let you go, that thing will kill you!" Noir cried out.
"But, if we can pull Cruz out of that thing, we can save her," Queen said.
However, Mido cut them off with an insidious laugh. "You can't save Cruz Silva now! It's too late!"
"WHAT?! YOU'RE LYING!" Sekiken berated him.
"No! It can't be!" Sion exclaimed.
"He's right I'm afraid," Moonlight shook her head with a despondent look. "Now that Cruz's merged with that creature, she has become its primary source to invoke its final form."
"The Persona Vein speaks the truth! Now that Gregorio and Cruz have merged, they will give rise to the Skull King's final form! Behold the Virgin Born!"
As Cruz's life essence spread through the Skull King, the wolf-faced goliath awoke with a roar. A thick dark purple mist wisped over the Skull King and enveloped its large frame. It roared again and a brighter purple light expanded throughout the vicinity. Shockwaves came out of the transforming Skull King and knocked the group back.
"No way, this can't be happening," Shikama muttered dreadfully as Gunslinger ran over and consoled her.
"It's ok, Reiko. I'm here," Gunslinger kindly said, holding Shikama close. He looked up and faced their new opposition. "This is getting way out of fucking hand."
"What the hell is happening to him now?!" Skull exclaimed. "Scratch that. Dumb question!"
"Yeah, I agree," Joker nodded. "He's mutating!" He pointed to the Skull King falling and crouching on all fours.
"I hate to see what thing looks like," Mona said with an angry scowl.
Amid its transformation, an extra pair of legs popped out of its rib cage areas. A pair of massive wing-like extensions emerged from its back. The Skull King's visage split open, forming a giant mouth suction filled with razor-sharp teeth. The back of its head extended 5 feet long and gained a large crest. It lacked eyes of its own to see. Instead, there were seven humanoid faces, each with blue eyes to improve its eyesight. The body length of the behemoth became 10 feet in length and 20 feet in height.
Firmly establishing its presence, the Virgin Born let out an earth-shattering bellow, silencing the Thieves and the Revenants.
"Yes, combining the Skull King with Cruz has given birth to the Virgin Born! And its power is beyond measure!" Mido cackled. "I am truly honored to personally witness this since I died before the Virgin Born materialized in our time."
"Holy shit, this guy just keeps stacking the deck against us!" Skull cursed out loud.
"Cruz is now part of this creature?! How unforgivable! Mido has no heart!" Noir shouted.
"He's not getting away with all he's done," Queen gritted fiercely.
"This thing is already giving me terrible vibes," Oracle added, painstakingly staring at the Virgin Born.
"I can't believe he's combined them to create this monstrosity," Fox shuddered at the Virgin Born's horrid appearance.
"And I thought that stupid bird was creepy before," Mona remarked, shuddering at the walking nightmare they came face to face with.
Shaking his head, Sion growled. "No, we won't let it end like this!"
Sekiken pointed his sword at Mido. "We will free Gregorio and Cruz! Do you hear us, Mido?!"
"Didn't you hear what I said? It's too late to save them, but most especially Cruz. The only way to cure her and Gregorio from the Yami Matter is to kill her. But, can you kill the woman you once loved?" Mido reminded with a condescending tone, but also striking Sekiken with a horrifying truth.
"No, there has to be a way! He's just toying with us, Louis!" Noir tried to reassure him.
"No, he sounds very confident. I'm afraid… but it sounds like even if I do save Gregorio, Cruz can't be healed." Sekiken lowered his eyes and clenched his right hand. "Damn you." Swinging his sword, his eyes glowed red. "DAMN YOU, MIDO! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"
"We will stop this!" Sion declared as he and the Vein Remnants stood poised ready to attack.
"Mido, you've crossed a line that no villain we've faced has ever done. You've intentionally caused our Revenant friends and us enough pain. You've experimented on the innocent. You've destroyed lives. You've tried to destroy me and Ann's marriage. You nearly ruined our reputation in another world. And your meddling with the Yami Matter has had profound, negative effects on this timeline. Your crimes against humanity threaten our universe and dimensions beyond." Joker coldly addressed the Revenant scientist. He and the Thieves quickly took on battle stances. "For a monster like you, we're not going to change your heart. We're going to kill you and obliterate every trace of your existence!"
Nodding, Queen added. "Someone like you is too dangerous to be kept alive. I swear on my fists of justice and my friends, you won't see the next sunrise."
Quickly lashing her whip down, Panther growled. "And I'll personally see to it you burn until your screams of anguish cease."
The Thieves and the Revenants charged toward Mido and the Virgin Born. Swinging down his Judgment Edge, Mido unleashed a powerful shockwave, knocking back most of the Thieves, but the Revenants managed to press forward.
"Eon, come to me!" Mido beckoned his hoatzin. "Show them the power of a Successor!"
"Great, what now? Birdbrain wants to fight us now?!" Mona remarked.
Floating off a ruined infrastructure, Eon landed in front of the Virgin Born. A reddish aura wisped over Eon and encased him in a bright crimson sheen of light. With the red energy resonating with the hoatzin, Eon grew up to 30 feet tall. To better suit his larger size, Eon's bird screeches deepened and gave off deep bellows coupled with hiss-like grunts. Eon now resembled a 30-foot-tall Roc-like creature with black feathers. His face retained the hoatzin's colored visage. Arching his head up, Eon towered over the Revenants and the Thieves.
Having witnessed Eon's proper form, Mona was speechless. His would-be bird rival ended up overshadowing and putting the cat in his place.
"Aww, did the bird get your tongue, my feline friend? This is Eon's true form. He has become Hermocrates the Zealous Ziz, one of three of the Successor of the Beasts!" Mido announced.
"Wait, three?!" Omusubi gaped in aghast.
"Did you think Eon would be alone? Show them, Hermocrates. Call upon the other two Successors!"
With that, wisps of red mist formed and shaped into 30-foot-tall entities. On Hermocrates's right side, A four-legged dark gray-scaled beast with a hippopotamus's body appeared. This creature has brahman horns, elephant-like tusks, and a tapir's head coupled with a trunk. Deep low grunts and throaty roars came out of the goliath.
"Say hello to Timaeus the Grappler Behemoth," Mido said. "And for our other guest!"
On Hermocrates's left side, a 30-foot long black, yellow spectacled moray eel with yellow antenna fins and backfins of an oarfish. Opening its mouth full of sharp teeth, the long-bodied beast let out a loud, sharp hiss-like roar.
"Last but certainly not least, Critias the Abyss Leviathan! All of these beasts share fragments of my soul, so you'd be fighting me in different forms. Yes, between myself, the Successor of the Beasts, and the Virgin Born, we will be more than enough to finish you!" Mido boasted, piling more obstacles for the Thieves and Revenants to overcome.
"You certainly planned this out well, Mido. You sly bastard," Sion gritted angrily.
"I've heard enough out of this bastard! Let's slay his beast servants first!" Mircalla declared.
"Easier said than done, but hey, who's to stop us?" Sekiken remarked, readying his sword.
"Who said that you'd be fighting against me?" Mido specifically eyed Sion, Sekiken, Mircalla, and Omusubi. "Why fight against me when you can join me?!"
"Us fight with you?! We'd rather die!" Sekiken protested.
"Right! You're full of your fucking self if you think we'll serve a conniving monster!" Sion exclaimed as he and his three colleagues rushed head-on with Mido, the Successor of the Beasts, and the Virgin Born.
"Wait, hold on!" Hunter called out as he and Songstress followed.
"Sion!" Tennyo shouted. She and Moonlight pursued the other Vein Remnants.
Suddenly, the Virgin Born's mouth expelled a blue miasma, which started spreading near Sion and his three colleagues still in their Envoy of Vein forms. They eventually got caught in the blue mist. Each then succumbed to the blue mist, throwing off their senses and affecting their minds.
"Augh! Wh-What's happening to us?!" Sion screamed in pain, feeling his head pulsate. His eyes turned bright red.
"I can't think straight!" Mircalla cried, grabbing her face. "Ugh, it hurts!"
"My senses are being thrown off! I feel bloodlust overtaking me!" Omusubi roared demonic-like roars.
"Guys, don't give in! Mido… you bastard… what are you doing to us?!" Sekiken berated the Revenant scientist.
"LOUIS!" Queen and Noir screamed in horror.
"LADY MIA!" Mona called out to the female Revenant.
"YAKUMO!" Skull shouted.
"SKYLER!" Tennyo, Moonlight, and Joker cried in unison.
"You son of a bitch! Release them!" Hunter raised his sword to Mido. When the Virgin Born turned to face Hunter, he backed off and avoided getting caught in the blue mist.
"Heheh, now why would I do that? When I can make these four my obedient servants?" Mido chuckled as he stood over Sion, Sekiken, Omusubi, and Mircalla.
The four Revenants started to frenzy while resisting the mist affecting them.
"Fight it, Sion! Fight it!" Tennyo urged her Revenant boyfriend.
"Yes, c'mon, Sion! Same with the rest of you!" Moonlight pleaded to the four Revenants.
"What type of Revenants are you four if you can't resist this miasma?! Don't let Mido take control of you!" Hunter harshly chastised Sion and the other three.
The four Revenants ultimately succumbed to the mist as their minds regressed, turning them into frenzied beasts.
"How sad that these four have turned into uncivilized monsters, just as they would become if they weren't fed any blood," Mido chuckled as his body started to melt and transform into formless blue energy as they directly headed toward Sekiken and Sion.
"Let's add some drama to this conflict!"
As Mido's essence got inside Sion, the Revenant fell to his knees and grabbed his head.
"SION!" Tennyo fearfully cried out as she and Moonlight consoled Sion, whose breathing became heavy and intense. "Sion! Can you hear me?!" She grasped Sion's hand, trying to elicit any response from him. "Sion…?"
"H-Hifumi…?" Sion looked up at her, his eyes brimming with bright red. "I…" His face contorted as pain etched on his face. "He's inside me… taking me over…! Help!"
"Skyler, drink me! Maybe this will help!" Tennyo exposed her neck to him.
Then, Skyler did something Hifumi never would've expected him to do. She felt his fingers grab her throat. A cruel smile smeared over his face.
"Heh, don't mind if I do!" Sion responded in a distorted tone, a fused combination of his and Mido's, but it was predominantly Mido.
"SKYLER?!" Tennyo screamed, staring fearfully into his eyes.
"LET HER GO!" Moonlight shouted, swinging her halberd at Sion, who sprang back and landed beside his fellow Revenants. "That man is not Skyler Jones anymore, Hifumi."
Upon realizing this, Tennyo gasped. "No…!" Her fears were confirmed when the color of Sion's eyes changed. They gained similar characteristics to Cruz's frenzied state: Dark blue pupils and black filling out his iris. Sickly veins popped out over his temples. Sion's hair color turned white. Bronze golden shoulder spikes grew out of his clothes.
"Mido! That's not your body to take! Let Skyler and his friends go now!" Joker angrily berated him.
Chortling, Sion patted his chest. "Hehehe, oh, why would I want to do that?! Taking Skyler Jones's body was what I've intended to do from the start."
"Liar! Why do you need his body?!" Panther fiercely queried.
As his corrupted gaze faced Tennyo, Mido-Sion smirked. "What else? To initiate the final step." He raised his hand over Sekiken, Mircalla, and Omusubi. They shared the same corrupted gazes, but Mircalla and Omusubi were turned into mindless, frenzied Revenants thirsty for blood.
"Louis! Please speak to me! LOUIS!" Medic cried out to her brother.
"LOUIS!" Queen and Noir screamed toward him, trying to reawaken him with their voices.
However, their pleas fell on Sekiken's deaf ears. Rather than responding in his usual tone, Sekiken's grimace curved into a malevolent grin and Mido's chuckle came out of his mouth. Sekiken's hair turned white. His eyes turned dark blue pupils and black filling out his iris. Light blue shoulder spikes grew out of his clothes.
"Heheh, so sorry to disappoint you, ladies, but Louie cannot answer right now. Now, for it is I, Juzo Mido," Mido-Sekiken chortled evilly while touching the stolen body's face. "Aw, can it be? Yes, the multiple-body transfer is a success. Not only have I acquired Sion but Louis' body as well! My will has overcome theirs!"
"No, you can't… It's not possible…Louis…" Medic gasped in utter despair.
"Louis! No, how can Mido do this?!" Noir cried out in horror.
"Louis… LOUIS!" Queen screamed toward him. "Let him and Skyler go, you monster!"
"Oh, but I cannot do that. I quite enjoy my new bodies and I'll gladly use their charming good looks to destroy you all! Not just that but thanks to the Virgin Born, I've also taken Mia and Yakumo as my mindless puppets who will follow my every command!" Mido-Sekiken boasted as he and Mido-Sion faced Omusubi and Mircalla, who both raised their heads.
To reflect their controlled states, Omusubi and Mircalla's eyes turned bright red and their hair turned white. Mircalla gained light purple shoulder spikes that grew out of her clothes. Omusubi gained red shoulder spikes that grew out of his clothes. Both Revenants knelt and bowed to Mido-Sekiken and Mido-Sion.
"No, Mia! What have you done to her?!" Protector cried out in despair.
"Their hair color changed similarly to Sion and Louis!" Hunter said.
"No, this can't be… not our friends…" Songstress became horrified by the turn of unexpected and horrific events.
"Yakumo!" Adel shouted. "Whatever you've done, you better release them, Mido!"
Mido-Sion chortled. "And there's nothing any of you can do about it."
"That's not true! You're underestimating Skyler and Louis! They can and will overcome you!" Tennyo yelled.
"Dear Hifumi, did you not hear me? I've conquered their willpower and I'm the one who's in full control of them now!" Mido-Sion taunted Tennyo.
"Skyler, fight him!" Hunter gritted as he and Songstress backed away from the frenzied Revenants.
"What's this final step you're referring to?!" Joker demanded an answer.
Combing his fingers through his hair, Mido-Sion chuckled fiendishly. He didn't stop glaring at Tennyo the whole time.
Mido-Sion replied in a dry, sardonic tone tinged with callousness. "Wow, you are such simpletons. Haven't you figured it out? To make Shin-Io's power my own, I must plant a fragment of myself inside Togo Hifumi! Only then will I control the goddess's power to further humanity's evolution! Welcome to the Vein Upheaval!"
Chapter Soundtrack
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night OST - King of Kings - vs. Ildikó and Fredegund in their transformed states.
Ivan Torrent - Supernova- Final stand against Black Hōō.
Neurotech - Through the Divine - Final stand of Valkyria vs. Erinye.
Code Vein OST - Colossus (Phase 1)- vs. Mido.
Colossus (Phase 2) - Code Vein - vs. Mido (Envoy of Evolution).
Code Vein OST - Blue-blooded Vein -Loss- - vs. the Skull King and the Queen.
Frenzy Cutscene Music (Long Version) - Code Vein - Mido becomes a formless mass in controlling Sion and Louis, then Mido-Sekiken, Mido-Sion, and the Virgin Born control Sion's friends in bloodlust frenzied.
A/N: That's a sure way to leave a cliffhanger, right? I mean, the clever bastard was several steps ahead of them. He's stolen two bodies. I don't even want to know what he intends to do with Hifumi.
Mido unveils his Envoy of Evolution and demonstrates how far beyond he's surpassed the vein Remnants' Envoy powers. If that wasn't enough, Louis showed the full power of an Envoy user. All it took was Mido trolling poor Louie. Between him and Ann, Mido has two people out for his blood (and he's already caused problems for other Revenants, and that's not equating Makoto and Haru, who both will take everything Mido does from now on personally). All in all, Mido has pushed a lot of trigger buttons.
Then, he releases his three beasts as if he hasn't stacked the deck enough.
Now, he's gotten what he wanted: he's taken Skyler and Louis's bodies, placed the three other Revenants under control, and has his eyes set on his next prize: Shin-Io's power dwelling within Hifumi. Mido's gambit has paid off so far, now to see if he can fully execute it.
Ildikó and Fredegund revealed their Envoy forms, and using them came at a cost. We'll see just how powerful their Envoy states are when they're fully stable in another battle. Thankfully, Sae has been saved. The Black Heralds have been defeated and thanks to her sister relieving her of her turmoil, Black Hōō meets her end.
And that covers this commentary. The Vein Upheaval is nearly at its end.