The Phantom Thieves' continued on with their trek through Kamoshida's castle. After they took care of that "explosive" knight in their library, they kept going until they managed to spot another Safe Room, where they properly took a rest and healed themselves up, allowing them to carry on.
During the second half of their expedition, Skull and his team found themselves in a strange chapel. It looked like a typical cathedral, but the main spectacle to behold was the gigantic statue of Kamoshida in the center.
"Well this is one Greek God that doesn't deserve their sculpture." Joker remarked.
"No kiddin'..." Skull uttered in repulsion.
Suddenly, the cathedral began to distort, and it briefly transformed into a familiar gymnasium before shifting back to normal.
"Huh? Am I going crazy or did I see the school gym for a sec...?" Panther rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
"No, you're not the only one, Panther." Mona informed, "We all saw."
"So this chapel is a representation of the gym?" Joker asked.
"Ahhh, I get it..." Skull furrowed his eyebrows in realization, "The gym's some kinda holy place for him since he's pretty much a god there..."
Panther didn't take too kindly to that fact.
"I can't believe he can still think that... especially after what he did to Shiho..." Panther whispered angrily as she glared daggers at the narcissistic statue.
"Well he certainly thinks highly of himself, that's for sure." Mona deadpanned.
"... Looks like he ain't the only one." Skull commented as he pointed near the pews.
Sat in the long seats were multiple staff members of Shujin Academy, one that he could easily identify as the principal, who had just raised their heads in a manner that indicated they were praying to Kamoshida.
"All hail King Kamoshida!" They collectively chanted, "Praise be to King Kamoshida and his divine glory!"
"So they fawn over his achievements while turning a blind eye to all his crimes..." Joker narrowed his eyes, "What a surprise."
"Don't forget that these're still just cognitions." Mona reminded them.
"Tch. Even then, we all know that's what most of these ass kissers are doin' in real life." Skull scoffed, "C'mon let's di-"
The blonde was cut off when suddenly, multiple knights spawned in and surrounded the four thieves.
"Crap! More of 'em...!" Skull exclamation in shock and panic.
"Damn it!" Mona cursed, "If we take them all on, there's no doubt we'd be left with zero resources..."
"What should we do?! Should we head back?!" Panther frantically asked.
"No." Mona shot her down, "The treasure is definitely up ahead, and there has to be a path to it somewhere. Try and look around, Skull!"
The aforementioned head of command frantically scanned the entire chapel as he desperately tried to look for an escape route. Thankfully, his prayers were answered he noticed a platform above the sculpture.
'Up there!'
Quickly summoning Captain Kidd, Skull dispatched of the guards blocking their main path with a swift physical attack.
"C'mon! This way!" He beckoned his team over as they rushed after him to the stage where the statue had been set.
The other guards dutifully chased after the thieves, but it was too late as they had already mounted a few boxes behind the statue to reach the platform in time.
"Phew! That was a close one..." Panther sighed in relief.
"Good job as always, Skull!" Mona praised.
"Heh, thanks!" He grinned, "Now let's get on outta here!"
"Anyone else here think this door looks fishy as hell?" Skull asked.
He and his team were currently standing in front of an mysterious red door that was covered in a bunch of vines which acted as chains.
"Yeah. By the looks of it, no one's been in here for a long time." Mona stared at the entrance in wonder, "I think we should go inside and check it out."
Joker smirked as he pulled out his dagger.
"Looks like a job for-"
"HYAH!"
Skull let out a cry as he kicked the door so hard it nearly came off its hinges, leaving it open.
"... Me..." Joker awkwardly finished with a blank stare.
The thieves entered the strange interior, and if the overall area didn't give off a creepy vibe, the small whispers of ominous voices in the air definitely had that covered.
"Ughh, this room is already giving me the creeps..." Panther squirmed a bit.
"Hey, what is that thing?" Skull address the lone object in the center of the room, "It looks super-suspicious."
The object in question was an odd skull-shaped object with a red aura that was propped up by some plants.
"Is that...?" Mona went over to get a closer look before widening his eyes in excitement, "Oooh, just as I thought! This is a Will Seed!"
"A Will Seed?" Joker repeated in confusion.
"Palaces are locations that grew distorted from their original forms due to their rulers' cognitions." Mona stated, "When such distortions coalesce into form, this is the result. I call it a "Will Seed"."
"Distortions... coalesce... into Will Seeds...?" Skull repeated with narrow eyes.
"It means they all combine and form into this." Joker supplied.
"Ooooh!" Skull exclaimed in realization, "Okay, I get it."
"So, what do we do with it?" Panther questioned curiously.
"We take it." Mona grinned, "It may not be as prized as a Treasure, but it's still quite the rare find. Making it ours will only do us good... I think."
Hearing that last part made Skull groan.
"I swear if somethin' shitty happens to us when I take this..." He mumbled as he picked it up and inspected.
"Y'know, this would be the perfect time to make a reference to Hamlet." Joker commented.
"Hamlet?" Skull repeated with a raised eyebrow, "That some kinda meat or sumthin'?"
"... Nevermind." Joker quietly uttered with a facepalm.
The theives were caught off guard when the room suddenly began to distort around them.
"W-What the?!" Panther exclaimed.
"Uhhh, Mona... Mind explainin' what the hell's goin' on right now??" Skull questioned.
"I-I don't know!" Mona shakily retorted.
"The hell do you mean don't know?! You told us to take it!" Skull snapped.
"Guys..." Joker got everyone's attention, "I don't think this is the Palace..."
They all looked around to see that had somehow been transported to a volleyball court.
"What the...?" Panther uttered in puzzlement, "Are we back in the school?"
"This looks kinda different from the school gym, though..." Skull noticed, "And everythin's in black and white..."
"Hey, look over there!" Mona pointed toward the center of the court.
The thieves turned to the direction he was pointing at to see a certain individual laying on the floor.
They were wearing what seemed to be a gym uniform, meaning they were a student, and they appeared to be writhing in pain seeing as how they struggled to get up.
Standing above them was a burly man dressed like a coach and wearing a hat, and they were glaring at the student with a harsh gaze while holding a volleyball.
"Is that a gym coach abusing his student...?" Joker questioned in confusion.
"Hey! Lay off that kid, ya asshole!" Skull demanded in outrage.
However, neither the coach nor the student paid him any mind.
"Don't ignore me, basta-!"
"Hold on, Skull!" Mona stopped him, "I don't think these guys can hear or even see us..."
"So you're saying we're invisible to them?" Joker asked.
"That seems to be case." Mona replied, "But I have no idea why..."
Suddenly, the coach began to speak up.
"Get up." He commanded in a deep voice.
The student still didn't move from their spot on the floor.
"I said GET UP!" The coach yelled as they delivered a harsh kick to the student's exposed gut, causing them to cough in pain.
"You're never gonna become an Olympic athlete by staying weak, Kamoshida..."
The thieves immediately caught the name that was mentioned by the coach.
"Wait what??" Panther uttered, "Did he just say...?"
"Hol' up." Skull whispered, "Is that-?"
The pained student finally brought themselves up, revealing a much younger but familiar bruised face and messy black hair.
"KAMOSHIDA?!" Skull and Panther exclaimed in shock as they recognized him.
"Is that supposed to be him when he was a teenager...?" Joker asked in surprise.
"Let's keep watching!" Mona instructed.
"B-But coach... your training is too hard for me..." The younger Kamoshida whined, "I-I can't take it..."
His response was in the form of a volleyball being thrown straight at his face, flooring him.
"Quit your whining." The coach commanded without remorse, "The only way to keep your spot on my volleyball team is to man up and keep on training. Not by crying like a little bitch."
"SHUT UP!" Kamoshida snapped, "None of this is training! All you've been doing is just working me to the bone and abusing me!"
"I don't even get to take any breaks when I'm tired, and the moment I complain about it you just beat me up! How the hell is that supposed to be training?! And why am I the only one who has to go through this bullshit!" He angrily ranted as if the fear and pain he felt earlier had vanished.
Surprisingly, the coach didn't even look pissed and simply glared at the teenager.
"Hm." He chuckled in apparent satisfaction before suddenly striking Kamoshida right in the face, almost sending him flying.
He then walked over to the teenager who was tending to his bleeding nose before grabbing him by the collar and raising him up in the air effortlessly.
"You wanna know why I push you the hardest out of everyone else?" The coach asked, "It's because out of the entire team, I see the most potential in you."
"Wha... M-Me...?" Kamoshida uttered in shock.
"You act all meek and wimpy outside the court, but whenever you're on the field, I see something in you that none of your teammates have..." He stated, "A strong will... A desire to win... A desire to reach the top and defend that victory with your life..."
The coach then roughly dropped Kamoshida on the floor.
"You're determined, but that can only get you so far... To survive in this world, you need to be tough. You need to be strong." The coach told him, "If you let people walk all over you then you'll never become a strong athlete... You told me you want to become the best volleyball player in the world, didn't you?"
"... Y-Yes..."
"Then this is how. If I decide to coddle you and treat you like a baby, you'll never become strong. This type of training is the only way. So for every hit and harsh word I throw at you, remember that it's one step closer to you become the world's best volleyball player..."
The teenaged Kamoshida stared at his coach with wide eyes.
"... A-A strong... athlete... Y-Yeah... I want to become strong!"
"Good." The coach grinned before throwing the volleyball back at Kamoshida, who caught it, "Now, let's go for another round. You serve this time!"
"Yes, sir!" The teen complied as the coach ran back to the other side of the court.
As they began their second round, the room morphed back to normal, and the thieves were back in the room they were in before they got teleported. It was clear that they were all very taken aback by what they just witnessed.
"... What the 'eff was that...?" Skull uttered.
"I don't know if I'm right about this... but I think we just got a glimpse of Kamoshida's past..." Joker theorized.
"Well he did look a lot younger..." Panther saw some sense in his theory, "Also, is it just me or do I feel more refreshed?"
"Me too." Joker agreed, "I feel like I could dish out a lot more curse blasts."
"It's probably because of the Will Seed." Mona figured.
"I dunno why, but somethin's tellin' me if we really can see Kamoshida's memories, we should see if we can find more of 'em..." Skull stated pensively.
"In that case, let's be on the look out for more Will Seeds!" Mona stated.
At that, the thieves left the room and went on.
"DIE!" A knight riding a red horse yelled as it tried to stab Joker with its spear.
Joker deflected the blow with his dagger and backflipped before summoning Arsène.
"Nap time!" He exclaimed as Arsène stuck his hand out, shooting out ominous needles that flew like bullets toward the shadow.
The moment the needles hit the shadow, it suddenly began to doze off, along with its horse.
Skull wasted no time in following up with a 'Headbutt' from Slime, which brought the shadow to its knees.
"This is a hold up!" Panther exclaimed as they all drew their guns toward the knight.
"Nghhh... What the hell do you want, punk?" The shadow grunted.
"Gimme your power." Skull simply demanded.
"Oh? So you desire my strength? Why not simply put me out of my misery...?"
"If you don't join me and my crew then I'll be happy to put a bullet right through your skull." He threatened with narrowed eyes.
The shadow let out a hearty laugh at his demeanor.
"Ah yes... I see you live for the thrill of combat as well. You and I are not so different- Hey, I can't believe it... I remember now!"
"I'm no knight from this place, I used to be living in that there sea of the human soul! From now on, call me Berith! No need for honorifics!"
Skull grinned as the Berith entered his mask.
"I just bagged me a real good one!"
"Phew! That shadow was really tough!" Mona sighed in relief, "I'm glad it's on our side now."
"The treasure's located inside that tower, right, Mona?" Joker remembered.
"Yup!"
"Then we should hurry up and get up there!" Panther exclaimed in determination.
"Alright, let's get climbin', guys!" Skull instructed.
After they scaled the tower and reached a certain section, they managed to come across another Will Seed, with this one having a green aura.
"Yes! Another Will Seed!" Mona excitedly exclaimed.
Skull quickly removed the object from its green pedestal, and this time, he and his team found themselves in a locker room.
An older Kamoshida was speaking to some of the members of his volleyball team.
"C'mon, guys, The World Championship is in just a few days!" Kamoshida spoke in a bold voice, "You can't afford to screw this up!"
"We know that, Coach Kamoshida..." One of the team members uttered, "But we still think you're pushing us way too hard."
"Seriously." Another member agreed, "I almost didn't make it home yesterday from hard you made us run."
"*Sigh* I understand your concerns, but volleyball is a tough game that requires you to be strong." He told them, "You're never gonna get anywhere if I simply coddled you."
"But still, don't you think you can tone the intensity down just a little bit?" One other member pleaded, "At this rate we're gonna fall apart before we even get to the actual event!"
"No use in complaining about it, Juzo." Another member with black hair dismissed, "We all know Coach will just give us a BS reason and make us train even harder."
"That's enough, Kurotsuchi." Kamoshida chided, "I've told you to curb that attitude of yours."
"Tch. Whatever." Kurotsuchi scoffed, "We all know what I'm saying is true. Unlike everyone else I'm not gonna feed your fragile ego."
"W-What was that??" Kamoshida asked I surprised offense.
"You heard exactly what I said." Kurotsuchi boldly remarked.
"Uhhh, Kurotsuchi, I think you should tone it do-" A nearby member tried to stop him.
"No, Gin! Someone needs to speak up." Kurotsuchi shrugged him off, "This asshole works us tirelessly like we're his damn slaves and goes on and on about how it's just "tough love" and in "good spirit" when in reality he's just too much of a pussy to admit he's a terrible coach!"
"Kurotsuchi!"
"You might be an Olympic medalist, but when it comes to coaching, you'd take a bronze trophy in bullshitting!"
Kamoshida gaped at Kurotsuchi for a few seconds, looking absolutely dumbfounded as the tension in the air began to swell. Although, his expression slowly morphed into that of immense anger.
"Listen, Kurotsuchi... I'd watch your words if I were you." Kamoshida snarled, "You moan and whine like a little bitch but you're by far the worst player on this damn team!"
"Maybe you're just not cut out for volleyball! I know damn well your dead brother wasn't!"
His statement elicited a gasp of shock from all of the team members. However, it seemed to really strike a nerve in Kurotsuchi, who looked absolutely enraged.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!" He yelled as he charged at Kamoshida with the intent of punching him.
However, Kamoshida smacked his hand away and sent him flying into one of the lockers with a strong backhand.
"Kurotsuchi!" Juzo yelled as he and some of the other members ran over to him.
Kamoshida took a deep breath to calm himself before staring at the downed volleyball member.
"This sport doesn't favor soyboys like you who can't get with the program, Kurotsuchi..." He mocked, "If I were you, I wouldn't bother showing my face at practice tomorrow."
At that, he walked outside, with Kurotsuchi glaring at him with pure hatred all the while as his teammates tended to him.
Once he was out of the room, Kamoshida let out an aggravated sigh.
"... Ungrateful runts..." He snarled, "Why can't they see what I'm doing is the best for them...?!"
The memory ended there, and the thieves were back in the Will Seed area.
"That was intense..." Joker uttered.
"I see... So Kamoshida's gym coach abused him when he was a student, and as a result, he showed tough love to his own volleyball team when he became a coach as well..." Mona figured.
"Yeah... but his coaching clearly went far beyond just showing "tough love"..." Panther scoffed.
However, the thieves noticed that Skull hadn't said a word during and after the vision, and he seemed particularly tense.
"Skull?" Mona called out.
"Sup?" He replied.
"Is everything alright?" The cat asked, "You looked pretty tense for a second there."
"... It's nothin'." He shook his head, "C'mon, let's get back to explorin' the tower."
His teammates weren't really convinced by the reply, but they conceded nonetheless and followed after him, leaving them unaware of the fact that the vision had hit a bit too close to home for the skull-masked Phantom thief...
"What the heck...? This is disgusting..." Panther grimaced.
"Tell me about it..." Skull shared her sentiment.
The thieves had reached a certain hallway and found themselves hitting a roadblock.
... A roadblock in the form of a large picture frame containing a portrait of Kamoshida's king form basking in his "glory"...
"As gross as it is, it looks like we've reached a dead end." Joker stated.
"I find it strange that 'this' of all things would be our roadblock..." Mona commented pensively, "Oh well, guess there's nothing we can do. Let's look for another route."
"Hol' up, guys." Skull stopped them in their tracks, "Somethin's tellin' me there's more to this than meets the eye..."
"Like how?" Panther asked.
"Like this." He grinned before running straight at the picture and jumping through it, much to his teammates' shock.
"D-Did he just...?!" Panther stammered.
"He just went right through that painting!" Mona exclaimed.
"Yeah..." Joker confirmed in similar bewilderment, "... See you on the flip side!" He swiftly followed suit.
Panther and Mona gazed at each other for a few seconds before shrugging and jumping as well.
Once all the thieves had made it on the other side of the portrait, they found themselves standing in an all-too familiar hallway.
"Hey, isn't this...??" Skull widened his eyes in realization.
"It's the entrance hall of the Palace!" Mona realized.
"I've gotta say, this feels pretty nostalgic, even if it's for the wrong reasons." Joker commented.
"What do you mean?" Panther asked him.
"It's where I awakened my Persona." Joker answered with a smirk.
"And it's also the place where we got the stuffing knocked outta us." Skull deadpanned before he noticed something odd.
"Wait a sec... Didn't there used to be a shit ton of soldiers wanderin' around here?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, "The hell happened to 'em?"
"I dunno. That is quite strange..." Mona replied pensively.
"Eh, I guess it's don't matter since it makes things easier for us." Skull shrugged it off, "Let's keep goin'!"
After a few more minutes of venturing, including taking two elevators down, the thieves now found themselves in an area resembling a sewer that contained a few hanging cages and only one path to cross.
"There's no doubt... The final Will Seed is in there!" Mona cheerfully pointed forward.
"But there's a soldier guarding it this time." Panther acknowledged the golden knight guarding the viney door behind it.
"Ooh boy... This one looks pretty tough." Mona commented, "Skull, do you think we should this now?"
"Hell yeah!" The head of command confidently answered as he smashed his fist in his palm, "We got this!"
At his word, the thieves went to confront the golden knight.
"There you wretched thieves are! I won't let you take another step!" The knight exclaimed as it drew its sword.
"We'll be the ones stepping on you, asshole!" Panther retorted, "So go screw yourself!"
"Is that so...?" The knight asked, "Then how about I screw YOU instead?!"
"Wait, wha-?"
The soldier then transformed into a...
"E-EWWWWW!!" Panther screamed in horror and disgust.
"A-Are you 'effin kiddin' me?!" Skull paled.
A girthy green, veiny and slimy shadow now stood before the thieves, and it bore a strong resemblance to Skull's Slime Persona. Although, its unique size and body composition, not to mention the shape of its head, also made it resemble a... Uhhh...
... A dick.
And the mouth under the head did not do ANYTHING to help.
"... Even I can't make a joke about this." Joker sweatdropped.
However, Mona seemed to be the only keeping his cool.
"Careful, guys! It's coming!" He warned as he drew his sword.
"Hey! Phrasing!" Skull exclaimed.
Initiating the fight, the penis-shaped shadow flung itself at the thieves with surprising speed, but they were able to snap out of their stupor and quickly scrambled to get out of the way.
"Urghhh, I've already had enough of this disgusting thing!" Panther shivered before summoning Carmen, "Burn it to a crisp, Carmen!"
However, she looked on in shock as her fire attack seemingly did nothing, judging from the shadow's sinister chuckle.
"What?!"
"Zio!" Skull shot out a lightning bolt, courtesy of Captain Kidd, only for it to have the same result, "The hell??"
Joker pulled out his pistol and emptied his entire clip into the shadow, but even that wasn't too effective.
"Damn, this thing is pretty hard." Joker commented.
"You did not just say that..." Skull muttered.
"It looks like this shadow is resistant to all elemental skills!" Mona exclaimed.
To test his theory, he sent out a gust of wind from Zorro, which only annoyed the shadow as it stood at full mast.
"I'm going to devour you!" It threateningly declared as it lunged at Panther.
"A-AHHHHHH!!" She yelled out in fear.
Luckily, Joker came to her rescue with a 'Cleave' from Arsène.
"Sorry, but this 'kitty' is off limits." Joker quipped.
Skull switched to Berith and caused a 'Rampage' against the shadow, which seemed to inflict some damage judging by its reaction.
"Looks like Physical attacks aren't off the table with this one!" Mona noticed.
"In that case, let's beat it!" Skull exclaimed before facepalming as he realized what just came out of his mouth.
Joker held back a laugh while Panther found the strength to dash at the shadow, which made it very happy to see her.
"AWW YEAH! COME TO DADDY~!"
"You disgusting piece of shit!" Panther spat.
Fueled by her anger and disgust, the red-clad thief whipped at the shadow and emptied her bullets into it in a violent display.
Skull, Joker and even Mona couldn't help but instinctively wince at her assault.
She kicked the shadow with her heel and jumped away to create some distance between them.
The shadow seemed pained by her cold barrage of attacks, but to everyone's detriment, it restored some of its health.
"Huh?!"
"Dammit! It can heal itself too?!" Mona cursed.
"At this rate, all we'll do is tire ourselves out..." Joker muttered.
Skull knew they needed to change up their strategy, and he narrowed his eyes in concentration before an idea finally hit him.
"I've got an idea, guys!" Skull informed, "Panther, put 'em to sleep!"
"Okay!" She nodded and summoned Carmen, "Dormina!"
Carmen immediately waved her hand, which caused the girthy shadow to suddenly flop over as it was lulled to sleep.
Seeing that the plan was following through, Skull switched to Cait Sith and raised his attack power.
"Joker!"
"On it!" Joker summoned Arsène.
"CLEAVE!"
"CLEAVE!"
Both of the Personas slashed at the incapacitated shadow with their weapon and claws, and it did a significant amount of damage seeing as how it cried out and became flaccid.
"It's down!" Mona exclaimed.
"Let's pound it!" Skull instructed.
The team wasted no time in performing an All-Out Attack on the shadow, and thankfully, this was enough for it to finally dissolve.
"Hell yeah! We did it!" Skull enthusiastically cheered.
"Well that didn't last long." Joker quipped with a smirk.
"I am SO done with this place..." Panther groaned.
"No worries, Panther. After that vicious beatdown, I'm sure it's gonna have some serious problems getting up." Joker jokingly assured.
"Now that was bad even for you..." Mona deadpanned.
"Let's just swipe the damn Will Seed..." Skull sighed as he walked over to the door.
The thieves entered the room, and after picking up the blue skull, they were once again teleported to a different room, with this one being a diner.
Kamoshida was sat at a table across a certain man in a suit.
"I... I'm sorry." Kamoshida heavily apologized, "I wasn't thinking about how my actions could affect your company..."
"I understand." The man nodded.
"I really messed up... I shouldn't have used my drunkness as an excuse to touch that TV hostess inappropriately..." He lamented.
"It's perfectly fine, Mr. Kamoshida." The businessman assured him, "I was able to call in a few favors and we... talked to that woman. She won't worry you anymore."
"... What??" Kamoshida asked in disbelief.
"With that out of the way, you can carry on in being an "ideal athlete"." The man added, "So don't worry about it."
"... A-Are you serious?" The volleyball star couldn't help but ask.
"Of course." The man confirmed with a grin, "Ever since you partnered with our company, we've garnered a ton of good publicity. Just continue being a notable star in the sports community... Or is that too much for you to handle?"
"... O-Of course not." He shook his head, "I'll do my very best."
"Good. If you ever feel desires like that again, feel free to discuss it with us." The man offered, "We could always arrange a meeting with a woman of your choice or direct you to certain... institutions."
"And if anything goes wrong there, just say the word and we'll "take care of it" just like this."
Kamoshida didn't respond and gazed at the floor, still looking a bit conflicted.
"This is what's best for everyone, Mr. Kamoshida." The man stated before getting up, "Now then, if you'll excuse me."
The businessman left, leaving Kamoshida to his own thoughts.
"What's best for everyone..." He quietly repeated the other man's words.
"So what I did... Is forgiven...?"
Once again, the vision ended, bringing the thieves back.
"So from what I've heard... Kamoshida got handsy with a TV hostess, and the company he was working with "took care of her"." Joker noted.
"So the bastard's been at this a lot longer than we thought..." Skull scowled.
"And he's able to get away with it because people keep covering up his crimes and vouching for him!" Panther frowned.
"As long as he brings good press to Shujin, then he can do whatever he damn well pleases... At least that's what he thinks." Joker commented.
"It seems like all these memories were the moments that led up to his distortion." Mona figured, "How he became the person he is today..."
"Yeah, well I don't give a shit." Skull bluntly stated, "All those little sob stories don't change the fact that he's still a piece of shit!"
"Exactly." Panther nodded in determination, "What his coach did to him was wrong, but what he did to Shiho is even more unforgivable!"
"We'll change his heart. No matter what." Joker stated.
Seeing his memories only made their desire to change his heart even stronger!
Suddenly, the Will Seed in Skull's hand flew out of his grip and floated into the air as it began to glow.
"Wha?!"
"What's happening?!" Panther asked in surprise.
The other two Will Seeds flew up to join it, and they watched as the three skulls spin around in a circle before combining into a mysterious crystal.
"What the hell was that...?!" Skull asked in disbelief as he inspected the strange object, "It got all... I don't even know how to describe it..."
"Are the Will Seeds supposed to do that, Mona?" Joker asked.
"So THAT'S what happens... I never expected tha- Err- I never expected anything less than that to happen!" The cat quickly tried to cover up his shock.
"Sooo, you knew nothin' about it." Skull deadpanned, easily seeing through his terrible act.
"Oh, who cares about the details?!" Mona snappily retorted.
"Now that's our Mona." Joker chuckled.
"Anyways, what really matters is the power I'm sensing from it." Mona stated, "Maybe it could give us an upper hand somehow in the future?"
"If you say so." Skull shrugged before storing the item away.
"Okay... I know we've gotta keep goin' to get the treasure but this is like somethin' out of a video game!" Skull exclaimed in flabbergastment.
The thieves were currently standing in front of a metal bridge that they were sure would lead them closer to treasure.
Unfortunately, it also happened to be guarded by giant swinging blades.
"It'll be difficult, yes." Mona nodded, "But not impossible."
"Do you think we could use that statue from earlier to stop these?" Joker suggested.
"Lemme give it a try."
Skull went over to a smaller statue of Kamoshida that happened to be next to the entrance to the bridge and he pulled the mouth down, but it did nothing.
"Dang it... It ain't workin'." Skull muttered.
"I had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy." Mona stated, "We'll probably need some kind of key for it..."
"Another key...? What a pain in the ass..." Skull comically sulked.
"Where would it be though?" Panther asked, "There weren't any suspicious rooms on the way here."
"Maybe one of the knights has it?" Joker suggested.
"That's the only other possibility." Skull stated, "I just hope we don't hafta keep roamin' around everywhere and beatin' the shit outta every shadow we see."
"The key is for this tower, so it would have to be with one of the shadows around here." Mona assured, "On top of that, it would have to be a relatively high-ranking one."
"Big whoop." Skull scoffed, "We've been beatin' strong-ass shadows left and right. We'll be good. Now let's get that key!"
"Captain Kidd!"
The pirate Persona shot out a bolt of electricity at a pained red knight riding a purple horse, putting it out of its misery.
"Haha! That was easier than I thought!" Skull exclaimed as he took the left eye, "Shit makes me wanna start runnin' in circles!"
"And now we've got both of the eyes! We can totally stop the bridge now!" Panther exclaimed.
"Let's head on back!"
They raced back to the entrance to the bridge, and Skull inserted the left and right eyes into the empty sockets of the statue, which made them glow. Once he pulled down on the mouth, the swinging blades finally stopped moving.
"All right!" Skull pumped his fist in victory, "They stopped!"
"Now we can get across without getting split in half." Joker commented.
"Let's get going!" Mona encouraged.
They immediately crossed the bridge, which led to a certain hallway. The main spectacle to be seen was the large red door that was no doubt the Throne Room.
"Aww yeah, there's no doubt about it! The treasure is in there!" Mona stated with stars in his eyes.
"It does match with what we saw on the map." Joker uttered.
Eager to get inside and steal the treasure, Skull tried to open the door, but it didn't move at all. Even when he tried to ram into it, it didn't budge.
"It's not openin'!"
"It's likely that Kamoshida is hiding behind that door." Mona stated, "We'll just have to find another way in."
Skull didn't even need to activate his Third Eye to find a secret route, as there was a large statue in the shape of a woman's chest and hips that led to a higher platform.
"... Still think that's weird." He couldn't help but comment.
"Same here..." Panther agreed.
"Look on the bright side, guys. At least it's not a "bust"." Joker smirked.
Everyone else collectively groaned at his joke.
"Just stop." Mona shook his head.
The thieves climbed up the odd statue and reached the platforms, allowing them enter a window that led them into a higher section overlooking the Throne Room.
"Okay! We're i-!"
Joker quickly shushed his head of command and gestured toward a certain direction downstairs.
In the center of the room was King Kamoshida himself, standing at his throne and surrounded by his soldiers.
"There's so many of them...!" Panther whispered.
"How have you not captured the intruders yet?!" The king berated his men.
"We are deeply sorry, King Kamoshida!" They all took a bow as they apologized for their incompetence.
"I bet he'd never imagine we're in the same room as him." Mona whispered, "Come on, let's keep moving..."
The four carefully snuck around the passageway and entered a sturdy looking door.
Once they entered the room, they were greeted by the sight of what looked like a classic treasure room, filled with various golden coins that almost filled the entire room, and a few wooden barrels.
"Woah..." Skull uttered in awe, "This room looks like it's straight outta DuckTales!"
"I don't think it's safe to swim in these coins, though." Joker commented.
"Hey, what is this?" Panther pointed toward a certain object in confusion, "It's... floating in the air."
In front of the thieves was a mysterious yellowish foggy object that was indeed floating in the air.
"Hehe... That's the Treasure." Mona grinned mischievously, "We finally found it!"
"Eh? This weird cloudy thing is the Treasure?" Skull asked in confusion, "How the hell're we even supposed to take it?"
"Just hold on a second." Mona chided, "I was planning on telling you more once we made it this far."
"Simply finding the Treasure isn't enough. We'll need to make it materialize before we can steal it." He revealed.
"What do you mean?" Joker asked.
"Desires have no physical form by nature. Hence, we'll first need to make the real person aware that their desires are in fact a Treasure." Mona explained, "Once they're conscious that their desires might be stolen, the Treasure will finally show itself."
"But how do we do that?" Panther asked.
"We warn them." Mona stated, "Tell them, "We're going to steal your heart"."
"So you're saying we're gonna send Kamoshida an anonymous calling card?" Joker questioned.
"Exactly!" Mona nodded.
"For real?? Ohhh, that's totally somethin' a phantom thief would do! That's so 'effin cool!" Skull exclaimed in childish excitement.
"Once we do that, the Treasure will appear for certain!... I think." Mona uttered.
"*Groan* Not this again..." Skull shook his head before turning positive, "Either way, sounds like it's worth givin' it a shot!"
"After a long and hard journey, our infiltration route is finally secure!" Mona announced, "Once we send the calling card, there's no turning back!"
"All right! Then all that's left is to pump out the calling card in the real world so Kamoshida can see it and then we come back and steal the Treasure!" Skull excitedly proclaimed, "With that outta way, let's haul ass before Kamoshida finds us." He instructed.
With their infiltration route secured, the thieves unanimously decided to leave the castle for the day.
The moment he got back home, Ryuji almost immediately crashed onto his bed.
To say he was exhausted after the infiltration would be a complete understatement. Even back in his days in track, there had never been a time where running made him this tired.
Even though he was burnt out, he wanted to make sure his teammates were alright, so he pulled out his phone and opened the group chat.
The PT
Ryuji: Yo, you guys back home yet?
Ann: Yeah. I'm alright.
Ren: Same.
Ryuji: That's a relief.
Ryuji: I'm 'effin pooped...
Ann: Honestly, me too
Ann: I don't remember the last time I've felt this exhausted...
Ren: Well, we did go the furthest we've ever been in the Palace
Ren: At least we finally found the Treasure, though
Ryuji: Yeah
Ann: When we steal the Treasure, Kamoshida will finally have a change of heart...
Ren: It's up to you when we send the calling card, Ryuji
Ann: Call us over to the hideout when you're ready.
Ryuji: You got it
Ryuji: I'll make sure to let you guys know ASAP!
Ann: Great!
Ann: See ya tmrw!
Ren: Night
Ryuji: Later guys!
The moment he closed the chat, Ryuji immediately began to doze off.
"... Wow. I didn't even need to tell him to go to sleep." Morgana commented in awe.
Tuesday, April 19th, 20XX
Days Until Ryuji and Ren's Expulsion: 13
"Tomorrow's finally the day." Ryuji stated seriously as he and his friends stood at their hideout.
"The time has finally come." Ren nodded.
"So we send the calling card in the morning... and carry out the plan by the end of the day, right?" Ann mentioned the process once again.
"Correct." Morgana confirmed, "The effect of the calling card won't last that long... Are you worried?"
"Heh. Waited too long." Ann chuckled before hardening her gaze, "We're going to pull this off, no matter what!"
"Hell yeah we are!" Ryuji voiced his agreement.
"I like your attitude." Morgana smirked, "So, who's going to write the calling card?"
"Actually, I was thinkin', why don't we all do it?" Ryuji suggested.
"You wanna work on it together?" Ann asked in slight surprise.
"Yeah! I figured since we're a team it wouldn't hurt if we all contributed to it. Plus it could totally work as a team bondin' exercise!" He revealed with a grin, "That's why I brought these!"
He opened his bag and shook it, which caused multiple arts and crafts tools to fall out, surprising everyone else.
"... Wow." Ann uttered with wide eyes.
"So that's why you bought all of this weird stuff...?" Mona asked with narrowed eyes.
"Eyup!" He popped the "P".
"You really thought this through..." Ren stated, "But I guess this is more convenient than one of us having to struggle with what to write."
"Right?!"
"Well, I guess there's no reason to be opposed to it. Why not?" Ann smiled.
"I guess this could strengthen our ability to work as a team..." Morgana considered, "All right, I'm in!"
"Awesome! Now let's get cookin'!" The blonde cheered as he picked up a pencil.
The students, and cat, immediately got to work at designing the calling card, with each and every member making sure to pitch in and add their own ideas. They even decided to make a logo, which Ryuji was absolutely ADAMANT on adding. After a few long minutes of work, they were finally able to finish it up.
The card was red and black, the text was in black and white, and a logo consisting of a skull mask with glowing eyes was the main spectacle at the top.
Needless to say, they had done a pretty good job.
"Aw yeah! This looks sick!" Ryuji beamed.
"Now that's a calling card." Ren stated in satisfaction.
"It looks so good! It came out totally perfect!" Ann squealed.
"Yes... A card like is sure to get Kamoshida's attention!" Morgana cheered, "Nice work, team!"
The team let out a collective cheer as they all high-fived at their success.
Tomorrow would be the day where they finally settled things.
Once and for all...
Ryuji's Confidant List:
THE DEATH - Ren Amamiya: Rank 1
THE FOOL - Igor: Rank 2
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 1
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 1
Well, I managed to get this out as soon as possible! Next chapter will without a doubt be the takedown of Kamoshida, and I'm UBER excited to write that fight! I hope you guys are as excited as I am!
Skull and the gang got a glimpse into Kamoshida's past, and they've finally secured a route to the Treasure! All that's left is for the calling card to be sent and for them to steal his desires!
Will they be successful? Stay tuned and find out!
As always, thanks for reading and give me your thoughts on this chapter!
And until next time!
RinOta, out!