Wednesday, April 20th, 20XX
Days Until Ryuji and Ren's Expulsion: 12
It was another early morning at Shujin Academy, and Yuuki Mishima could be seen walking through the hallways in a slightly dejected manner.
Ever since his, Ryuji and Ren's confrontation with Kamoshida that led to the latter deciding to expel them at the next board meeting, that was all he could ever think about for the last five days.
Not to mention everything involving Suzui...
Maybe he really did deserve to be expelled... After all, the only reason Kamoshida was able to do that to her was because he always followed his orders and called her over to his office for him like a lapdog...
However, before he could spend the rest of his dull morning feeling sorry for himself, he stopped when he suddenly came across a number of students crowding around the announcement board.
"Huh?" He uttered in wonder.
"Is this... A calling card...?"
"I heard it was already posted by the time everyone got here this morning." One of the students mentioned.
"You think this some kind of prank or something?"
Feeling curious, the blue-haired teen walked up to the crowd to check what the fuss was about for himself, only to widen his eyes in surprise at what he saw.
Plastered around the announcement board were multiple copies of a red and black paper containing a strange logo and black and white text. To all of the students inspecting them, it was quite obvious that these were calling cards.
Though, what really caught their attention was the contents of the cards, which Mishima got up close to read.
"Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the tyrannical bastard of lust. It is clear as day that your brief olympic glory has gone to your head and caused you to see yourself as an untouchable king, leading to you putting your sick and twisted desires on helpless students. That is why we have decided to rescue your victims from your villainy by stealing your distorted desires and forcing you to confess your sins. This will be carried out tomorrow, so you be better be ready, or else you'll never see it coming. From, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts."
"... The Phantom Thieves of Hearts?" Mishima repeated in a mix of surprise and confusion.
"Did Kamoshida do something wrong?"
"Does this mean all those rumors are true?!"
"You think he might've done something to Suzui-san...?"
"Wait a sec... Is someone gonna take something from Mr. Kamoshida?"
"What... What is all of this?" Mishima quietly asked, "And who are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts...?"
Unbeknownst to the teenager, standing at the other end of the hall and watching the spectacle from afar were none other than the Phantom Thieves of Hearts themselves, who watched the scene with satisfaction.
"Heh, everyone's gettin' pretty excited." Ryuji noted with a massive grin. "I think it's safe to say we totally nailed it!"
"Yeah!" Ann agreed with a pleased smile, "We did a really good job!"
"Looks like all that time we spent on the roof paid off." Ren smirked.
"Indeed." Morgana enthusiastically nodded from inside Ryuji's bag, "Now all that's left is for the perpetrator to take the bait."
"It seems like we won't have to wait too long until then." Ren stated as he directed their attention back to the scene.
They turned back to see their target, Kamoshida, himself walking toward the crowd in confusion.
The despicable gym coach got up to the announcement board and studied the calling card with a raised eyebrow before widening his eyes with a gasp.
"What in the...??" He quietly uttered in shock before gaining an enraged look, "Who's responsible for this?!!" He boomed, startling the students among the crowd, and prompting Mishima to swiftly leave the premises.
One male student gasped in fear as Kamoshida suddenly grabbed him by the collar.
"Was it you?! Huh!"
"N-No!" The student denied.
"Or was it you?! Hey!"
"... Would you look at that?" Morgana cheekily remarked, "A predictable reaction from someone who knows what we mean by "distorted desires"."
"Bastard looks like he's damn near boutta shit himself." Ryuji snorted in amusement as he watched the teacher throw accusations left and right.
However, him and the other thieves tensed up when the students quickly dispersed and their target now had his gaze set on them in particular.
"Figures..." Kamoshida snarled before stomping toward the group of friends, "You and your worthless friend are behind this, aren't you, Sakamoto?!"
"Awuhhhh...?!" Ryuji pointed at himself in faux confusion while making a sound that sounded like it was straight out of Home Improvement.
"You mean those odd cards? Those were already there when we got here this morning." Ren nonchalantly answered.
"So you're playing dumb, huh?" The gym coach interrogated with narrowed eyes before he noticed Ann, "Don't tell me you're involved in this as well, Takamaki..."
Said girl gave no response as she averted his gaze with a disdainful expression.
"Okay, let's say, hypothetically speakin', we were the ones behind this... What the hell're you gonna do about it?" Ryuji boldly challenged.
"W-What was that...?"
"Hey, I'm just sayin' you look pretty bothered for a guy that supposedly has "nothin' to hide" Ryuji smirked with a shrug, "Looks pretty sus, if you ask me."
His comment paired with his transparent mirth angered Kamoshida even further, and the gym coach was seriously considering repeating his act of "self defense".
"You little...!" He muttered in fury before scoffing, "Tch. Whatever... Trash like you aren't worth my time. You'll be expelled soon enough anyways."
Suddenly, the hallways turned dark, and the thieves tensed up when they noticed that Kamoshida's appearance had shifted into that of his shadow's.
"Come... Steal it if you can!" King Kamoshida threatened in a menacing tone.
The room immediately shifted back to normal and Kamoshida walked off.
"... The hell was that?" Ryuji quietly uttered.
"Judging from his response, there's no doubt that we had an effect on Kamoshida's Palace!" Morgana stated.
"Does that mean the treasure's appeared?" Ann asked curiously, "We'll be able to get it today, right?"
"It's not just "today." Morgana answered, "It's ONLY today."
"Only today?" Ren parroted.
"The impact of a calling card doesn't last long, and it's impossible to repeat..." The cat explained, "This will be our one and only chance to steal the Treasure...!"
"Then there's no more time for us to lose." Ryuji stated in a serious manner, "As soon as school's over, we're bustin' straight through the castle!" He proclaimed, receiving affirmative nods from his comrades.
The moment the bell had rang to signify the end of the school day, the four members of the Phantom Thieves immediately regrouped and went back into Kamoshida's Palace.
"Alright, we're back at the Palace." Mona stated.
"So, this is it, huh...?" Panther muttered, "We're finally going to steal Kamoshida's heart..."
"Is it just me or does the atmosphere feel a bit different than before?" Joker asked, noticing the sudden immense pressure.
"Well, we've made Kamoshida aware that we're going to steal his treasure." Mona reminded them, "So it's no surprise that the Palace's security level would rise after that."
"Tch. That bastard can send as many soldiers as he wants." Skull scoffed, "At the end of the day, we're gonna take his treasure and change his heart once and for all! No matter what!"
"I know I prolly don't need to ask but... you guys ready for this?" He asked his teammates.
"Aye!" Mona pulled out his sword.
"I'm more than ready!" Panther exclaimed with a renewed fire in her.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Joker grinned as he adjusted one of his gloves.
Satisfied by his teammates' assurance, the blonde nodded before turning back to the castle's entrance.
"Alright... Let's go!"
At that, the head of command charged into the castle with his team one last time...
"Halt! You shall not pa-!"
BOOM!
The opposing knight was immediately taken out with a quick cannonball to the head.
"Let's keep goin'!" Skull ordered as him and his team continued their charge.
The Phantom Thieves had wasted no time in storming through the Palace and venturing through almost every room they had encountered in their previous infiltrations. Surprisingly, they didn't meet too much resistance during their journey, with only a few enemies popping up here and there that they were able to quickly dispose of. After all, nothing was going to stop them from completing their obejctive...
"The Throne Room is just up ahead!" Mona exclaimed.
They eventually reached the hallyway leading to familiar large door to the Throne Room. However, the entrance was wide open, and the room itself seemed deserted with neither the king nor his soldiers in sight.
"The hell?" Skull uttered in confusion, "Why's the door just sittin' wide open all of a sudden?"
"And there's no sign of Kamoshida and those guards too." Panther commented with a raised eyebrow, "What's going on?"
"You'd think out of all rooms, this would be the one with the heaviest security." Joker muttered in thought.
"This place is probably undermanned now that they all got assigned elsewhere." Mona added his two cents, "After all, Kamoshida probably never expected thieves like us to even make it to this floor."
"Makes sense." Skull accepted, "Either way, we shouldn't let a chance like this slip. Let's hurry up and get in the treasure room!"
Following Skull's lead, the theives dashed past the large throne in the center and climbed upstairs before entering the backroom door, which led them into the treasure room.
"Holy shit...!" Skull trailed off with wide eyes as Joker and Panther dropped their jaws in shock.
Floating in place of the yellowish fog from last time was now a beautiful giant crown that was easily the same height if not taller than the human members of the four. For such a shiny and attractive object, it's ironic that it was held in such a wretched castle.
"Aww yeeeaaaah!" Mona enthusiastically cheered, "The treasure has finally appeared!"
"That's the treasure...?!" Joker eyed the glimmering crown in befuddlement.
"It's friggin' huge!" Skull exclaimed in comical dumbfoundedness.
"What do you think?! It's just as I said! Now we can steal it!" Mona eagerly stated before letting out a pleasurable sigh, "Ahh~ This shine brings tears to my eyes..."
"... It kinda pisses me off." Panther admitted with a frown, "If this really is a representation of that perverted bastard's desires, then it shouldn't look this pretty."
"No kiddin'." Skull agreed with crossed arms, "Pretty ironic when ya think about it."
"... I think your words might be falling on deaf ears." Joker stated as he gestured towards an incredibly bewitched Mona who had stars in his eyes.
"T-Treasureee..."
"Uhhh, you alright there, Mona?" Skull asked in a mixture of confusion and concern, "You're actin' awfully-"
He was cut off when the cat-like individual suddenly leapt toward the crown and started hugging all around it.
"Meeeeeooooow~!"
"... excited..."
"Oookay, that's new..." Panther sweatdropped.
Joker, on the other hand, let out a very hearty laugh at the sight.
"He just went full cat!" He even slapped his knee, "There's no beating the "cat" allegations after this one!"
"I... Uh... I-I don't even know how to respond to this." Skull muttered.
He was reminded of how excited his feline-like companion got when his mom gave him that tuna, but this was just on a whole 'nother level.
"... Meow, meow! Meowwwww~!" The cat happily purred as it showed some loving to the shiny object.
"*Sigh* Alright, that's enough of that, Mona!" The skull-masked thief urged him to get off.
Thankfully, his words reached the cat, who realized what he was doing and immediately hopped off the crown, looking incredibly embarrassed before clearing his throat.
"Uh, y-yeah...! Forgive me for displaying such unbecoming behavior..." Mona sheepishly apologized.
"I think that's the first time I've ever seen you act like an actual cat." Panther commented quizzically, "What was that about that?"
"For real! You were actin' totally OOC for a sec there." Skull added.
"I couldn't stop it either... I didn't think I'd be drawn to human desires this much..." Mona answered before suddenly becoming excited, "Oh! Doesn't that prove that I'm human?!"
"How should we know that?" Joker raised an eyebrow behind his mask.
The response disappointed Mona a bit, which Skull immediately took notice of.
"Hey." He got his guide's attention, "We'll find out sooner or later, kay? After all, we did make a deal." He reminded him with a grin.
Thankfully, his attempt to cheer up his little buddy worked, as Mona looked much more hopeful.
"Yeah...!" The cat-like individual beamed, "You're right!"
"So, how are we gonna get this thing out of here?" Panther reverted their attention back to the treasure.
"Oh yeah! You guys need to carry it." Mona stated.
"F-For real?!" Skull almost faltered, "But this thing looks heavier than a load of bricks!"
"Well it's not like it can float itself out of here." Mona remarked, "And we both know I'm nowhere near being big enough to carry that thing."
"*Groan* Then I guess we don't got no choice..." Skull sagged in defeat before shaking his head and moving toward the crown, "C'mon, you guys, let's get this shit over with."
Skull placed his hands under the crown whilst Panther and Joker walked over to do the same. However, the moment they gave the slightest tug, the three thieves almost buckled to the floor when the giant crown suddenly decided to follow the rules of gravity and fell right into their palms.
"W-Woah!" Panther cried out.
"Shit! This thing's heavy as balls!" Skull uttered in a strained voice, realizing his comment about it looking heavier than bricks wasn't far off.
"Starting to feel real grateful for that Metaverse-induced strength right now..." Joker quipped despite his struggle.
"Come on, hang in there for a bit!" Mona encouraged, "We're so close!"
"Easy for you to say!" Skull snapped, "But he's right though... C-C'mon, let's get this outta here before somethin' goes wrong!" He encouraged his fellow thieves.
Ignoring the strain the best they could, Skull, Joker and Panther mustered up all their strength to march out of the treasure room with the crown in their hands. Their shared determination to change Kamoshida's heart overshadowed their struggle, and hankfully, the fact that the three of them were carrying made it a lot easier, evident by how the strain on their faces morphed into less uncomfortable expressions.
"Y'know, this was way easier than I thought!" Skull stated with a satisfied grin, "I thought for sure there'd be some insane trap or somethin'."
"You just had to jinx it, didn't you?" Joker deadpanned.
"Once we get this out of here, Kamoshida's heart will finally change..." Panther muttered thoughtfully.
"... Y'know, now that I think about it, couldn't we have just let our Personas carry this for us?" Joker suddenly asked.
"... Gee, how helpful that you're thinkin' of this now, asshat!" Skull snapped.
Meanwhile, Mona watched his comrades with a hint of awe.
"To think things would go so well..." He whispered, attracting Skull's attention, "Not only did I end up finding three Persona users in the process, but you've also turned out to be an adequately competent leader, and the treasure is already within our grasp..." He commented before smiling.
"It appears my judgement was correct. I made the right choice in striking a deal with you!" Mona cheered, "Thank you for agreeing to my offer, Skull!"
"Heh, it's no problem, lil' buddy." The aforementioned blonde grinned back, "If anythin', I should be the one thankin' you, for givin' us a chance to make Kamoshida pay for what he's done. We woulda never made it this far without all your help. So thanks!" He sincerely thanked.
His praise slightly caught the cat off guard, although he was quick to replace his flusteredness with a prideful expression.
"Nyahaha!" Mona proudly laughed, "It was nothing! But regardless, you're welcome!"
Skull rolled his eyes at the display of arrogance but smiled nonetheless.
Hearing Mona express his faith in him not only pleased him, but also made it feel like their bond was growing deeper...
RANK UP!
MAGICIAN: RANK 2
The thieves carefully moved the giant crown out of the treasure room and ventured down the Throne Room with Mona as their guide, and they almost made it out until-
"Go, go! Let's go! Ka-mo-shida!"
The echoing of a voice that sounded very much like Panther's stopped the thieves in their tracks, and the male members all turned to look at her in confusion.
"What? I-I didn't say tha-!"
"Nnnagh!"
Suddenly, a volleyball slammed into the crown at an unnatural speed, knocking it right out of their hands.
"What the-?!" Skull gasped in befuddlement while Joker winced at the slight stinging in his fingers.
Then, out of nowhere, Shadow Kamoshida leapt over them before perfectly landing on the center stage that held his throne with a spin. He then held out his hand as the Cognitive Ann ran to his side, and the cartoonishly large crown somehow shrunk into normal size before flying into his hand.
"I won't let you fools have this!" Shadow Kamoshida threatened with a menacing glare, "This proves my divine right to rule this castle. It is the core of this world!"
"Kamoshida!" Joker called out in slight surprise.
"... So that's how that bastard really sees me, isn't it?" Panther asked, glowering at the fact that she already knew the answer.
"Yup. That's the cognition of you that he created in his head." Mona confirmed.
"Yo, pervert!" Skull mockingly greeted, "Were you waitin' to ambush us?"
"I knew you goddamn thieves would be here... So I'll just dispose of you myself." Kamoshida's shadow stated with narrowed eyes, "Right here, right now."
"I'm afraid that's our line, your majesty." Joker quipped.
"Tch... What a selfish misunderstanding." The king suddenly smirked.
"What??" Skull uttered with furrowed eyebrows.
"How on earth is it a misunderstanding?!" Panther questioned in anger, "You were doing so many disgusting things that you kept in secret from other people!"
"Those "people" are the ones that kept it a secret in the first place." Kamoshida revealed, "Adults who want to share in my accomplishments, students who have the drive to become winners... They willingly protect me so that we can all profit from it."
"It really is just like those visions we saw from the Will Seeds..." Mona noted.
"I'm the king here, which means I'm always the one in the right! There are too many imbeciles who can't understand that!" The so-called king sneered before sadistically grinning once again, "Including naive brats like you and that stupid girl that tried to kill herself!"
Hearing him refer to Shiho in that manner infuriated Skull, who was already brandishing his wooden bat.
"Why you-!"
"Yeah. You're right." Panther suddenly spoke, "Shiho was an idiot..."
Her rather outlandish statement caused Skull, Joker, Mona and even Kamoshida himself to whip towards her in utter shock.
"Letting you manipulate her, trying to commit suicide..." She muttered, gazing at the floor with a melancholic look, "... And I'm even more of a dumbass for calling myself her best friend yet not realizing how much she was suffering!" She clenched her fist.
Then, she lifted her head to glare at Kamoshida with a much fiery gaze.
"But no matter how dumb someone might be... They don't need your permission to live their lives!" Panther yelled at him.
"Panther..." Mona whispered her codename, awed by the passion in her speech.
The king simply scoffed at this, however.
"Drop the attitude, you mediocre peasant!" He spat, "There is no wrong in using my gifts for my gain!" He widely grinned and puffed out his chest while holding the fake Ann closer to him.
"I'm a cut above all other humans!"
The sheer amount of pride in his statement disgusted Panther even more, which was shared amongst Joker and Mona.
""Above"??" Panther repeated in repulsion, "You mean beneath! You're a goddamn-!"
"Hehheh..."
The unexpected sound of chuckling caught Panther off guard, and she and everyone else turned to see that it had come from Skull, whose head was currently down.
The aforementioned blonde's shoulders shook as he appeared to be chuckling to himself, much to his fellow thieves' uncertainty. However, their slight anxiousness turned into pure shock when Skull suddenly burst into full on hysterical laughter, smacking a hand on his mask as if he had just heard the funniest joke in his entire life.
"... Skull?" Joker called out his name in befuddlement and confusion.
Shadow Kamoshida himself was staring at the sight with an unsure expression.
"... And what the hell are you laughing at, Sakamoto?"
Said thief let out a sigh and shook his head as he finally calmed himself down from his sudden laughing fit.
"... You're so full of it, it makes me laugh." The blonde quietly uttered.
"What?" The king was caught off guard.
"These past few days... I've had to listen to you go on and on about how much of a great and awesome king you are... When that couldn't be further from the truth..." Skull narrowed his eyes, "You might go around paradin' yourself as a hotshot just becuz of those dumbasses in the real world who're only good for suckin' you off and strokin' your ego, but I know what you really are, Kamoshida." He seriously stated.
"When I look at you, I don't see a godly figure that needs to be worshipped... What I see is nothin' but a useless, ugly and insecure big-headed coward who thinks he can put people down just becuz' of a stupid piece of gold that he don't even deserve!"
His last statement greatly took the self-obsessed king aback.
"You ain't above all humans at all, or ANY human! ... You're just a goddamn demon twisted by his distorted desires!" Skull vehemently exclaimed, "Now hand over the treasure! Or we'll rip it outta your hands ourselves if we have to...!"
By the end of Skull's fervent tirade, the rest of the thieves were left utterly gobsmacked.
"S-Skull..." Panther whispered his name.
Shadow Kamoshida, however, was pissed beyond belief.
"You good-for-nothing peasant... How DARE you speak to me like that! I'M THE KING! I'M THE NUMBER ONE AROUND HERE!" The king yelled in outrage before pushing the Cognitive Ann behind him, "If you thieves can't understand that, then I'll just have teach you a lesson! PERMANENTLY!"
Suddenly, the entire room began to quake as a demonic bundle of red and black energy burst around Kamoshida and the fake Ann in a manner similar to how shadows transformed.
"W-What's happening?" Panther shakily asked.
"Careful, you guys..." Mona warned, "I'm getting an ominous feeling from him..."
The king then let out a menacing laugh as he clutched his crown tighter.
"You're right about one thing, though... I'm nothing like you..." He grinned maniacally, "No... I am a demon who rules this world!" He exclaimed before he was completely engulfed by the red and black aura and his body suddenly began to sprout up in size.
The four members of the Phantom Thieves slowly widened their eyes and watched in shock as Kamoshida's body gradually started to tower over them before finally materializing into an abnormal entity.
"W-What the hell...?!" Skull uttered.
Standing before them was no longer merely Kamoshida, but a humongous naked hot pink demon.
The treasure was now resting on his head as a crown, and he now had four arms, with the upper arms holding of them a glass of wine, which the Cognitive Ann happened to be inside of, and a riding crop respectively, and the lower arms holding a golden fork and knife. His face was also much more grotesque, with two red horns sprouting out of his head, and the main spectacle being his disgusting tongue that was now blue and as large as himself. In front of Kamoshida was a large golden chalice resembling a trophy with the legs of women sticking out of it, and behind him were two large golden balls that held chains connected to two enslaved creatures on each of his sides.
Overall, he looked just as messed up as his desires through and through, and he seemed to be revelling in his new appearance, as evident by his distorted laughter.
"Is this... his true form...?" Joker breathed out, feeling intimated
"YOU THIEVES ARE DEAD MEAT, YA HEAR ME?!" Shadow Kamoshida gleefully exclaimed in an even deeper and distorted voice, "DEAD MEAT!!"
For a moment, Skull was left paralyzed in fear and shock, but he quickly shook his head to bring himself back to his senses and glared at Kamoshida. He couldn't lose heart now. Not when they were so close...
"So what? We're supposed to be scared just cuz you look like a monster straight outta Goosebumps?" He taunted, "It doesn't matter what you look like! We're gonna steal that distorted heart of yours no matter what!"
Thankfully, his declaration snapped his fellow thieves out of their fearful state, and they all took a step forward to join their head of command in support.
"He's right!" Panther boldly exclaimed, "We've all come so far! No way in hell are we giving up now!" She proclaimed while Joker and Mona simply nodded to show their agreement.
Their newfound determination caused the king to growl in rage.
"YOU GODDAMN NO-GOOD SHITTY BRATS...! THIS SCHOOL IS MY CASTLE AND MY CASTLE ALONE! I'M ALLOWED TO DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT!"
"You're wrong, Kamoshida!" Skull fiercely rebutted as he pointed his bat at the king, "And we're gonna beat that lesson into your thick, ugly skull!"
"Now let's finish this!"
The curtains had been drawn. It was time for the final showdown between the Phantom Thieves and the Abhorrent King.
Kamoshida let out a disturbing battle cry before raising his giant knife high in the air.
"Scatter!" Skull yelled.
At his instruction, the thieves immediately dispersed to avoid a deadly strike from their opponent, with Skull and Joker diving to the left, and Mona and Panther diving to the right.
"Holy crap!" Panther exclaimed in shock, "That attack would've totally killed us!"
"I'LL PAINT THIS ROOM RED WITH YOUR BLOOD, YOU BRATS!"
"Hey! Doesn't that crown he's wearing look like the treasure?" Joker asked.
"That's because it is the Treasure!" Mona answered, "If we can catch him off guard, that would give us the perfect opportunity to steal it!"
"Then let's beat 'em into submission!" Skull dashed toward his enemy.
"As if I'd let you, bonehead!" Kamoshida yelled before swinging his knife down once again.
Fortunately, Skull was ready this time, and he deflected the strike with one from his bat before summoning Captain Kidd.
"ZIO!"
The attack caused some damage to the king, although his pain quickly morphed into anger.
"Little punk!" Kamoshida insulted before raising his fork.
"Shit!" Skull cursed with wide eyes before hastily flipping back in time to avoid what would've been a very gruesome outcome.
Deciding to chime in with their own attacks, Panther and Mona summoned their own Personas.
"Burn him down, Carmen!"
"Show us your power, Zorro!"
The respective Personas sent out their magic attacks, with Carmen's fireball burning Kamoshida's left eye, angering him even further.
"You little minx... YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"
Suddenly, the King's gross, salivating tongue wrapped around Panther at an inhuman speed.
"W-What the?!" She uttered in shock before being raised up, "Uwaaah!!"
"Panther!" Mona called out in worry.
"Gotcha!" Kamoshida cheered, "Now you're all mine..."
"Ew ew ew! So gross!" Panther squirmed in disgust, "Let me go, you creep!"
"No way!" Kamoshida giddily declined, "Now that I have you in my grasp, I'm gonna have some fun with yo- AHH!"
He was interrupted by a curse blast right to his other eye, courtesy of Joker.
Skull used the opportunity created by his comrade to jump over to the king and slam his weapon right into his tongue, with the nails on the bat creating several deep cuts.
"GYAAAAAH!!!" Kamoshida cried out in pain, causing him to loosen his grip on Panther and let her fall.
"SHIT! THAT HURTS! THAT HURTS! THAT HURTS!"
Before she could reach the ground, Skull immediately caught her in his arms before they both landed.
"You okay?" He asked in concern.
"... Y-Yeah." Panther answered with a slight blush, "Thank you..."
"No prob!" The fellow blonde grinned at her.
"Hey, lovebirds! Eyes on the target!" Joker teasingly called out while Mona watched with slight jealousy.
The aforementioned "lovebirds" blushed in embarrassment before quickly getting back up to see Kamoshida's furious gaze.
"You meddling little shits...!" He growled, "Guess it's time for me to boost my libido!"
Before they could question what that meant, Kamoshida used his fork to pull out some of the women in his chalice before swallowing them whole, much to the thieves' collective shock. However, what really shocked was the sudden disappearance of the injuries they had inflicted on him.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm! That hits the spot!" He stated in delight.
"What the eff...?" Skull blurted out, "Did he just heal himself by eatin' one of those chicks in the trophy?!"
"This is beyond disturbing..." Joker muttered.
"Come at me, you pieces of shit!" Kamoshida taunted, "I ain't lettin' you sleep tonight!"
Suddenly, the king slammed his riding crop on the ground, which caused the slaves in chains to run forward with volleyballs in their hands and pelt them at thieves at unbelievable speeds.
"Crap! Look out!" Skull yelled.
His warning was too late, and the thieves found themselves being battered by waves of volleyballs. Though they didn't hurt too much, it still caused them all to stagger a bit.
"Damn it!" He grunted.
"If we try and retaliate, he's just going to heal himself again!" Mona exclaimed, "Let's focus on destroying that trophy first!"
"Got it! Slime!" Skull summoned Slime and ordered it to headbutt the trophy.
This seemed to strike a nerve in Kamoshida, who suddenly appeared very afraid.
"*gasp* Hey! This trophy is worth more than all of your worthless lives combined! So stop touching it!" The demon frantically warned, "You hear me?!"
"Heh, don't ya know?" Skull cheekily grinned, "When someone tells me not to do sumthin', it makes me wanna do it even more!"
"Yo, Joker!" He turned to his teammate, "Mind helpin' me smash that shitty trophy to pieces?"
"Not at all!" Joker devilishly grinned while holding his dagger.
Using Cait Sith's Sukukaja twice to raise his and Joker's agility, Skull rushed towards the trophy alongside his comrade.
In a panic, Kamoshida ordered his slaves to send out more balls. Sadly for him, the two thieves were faster than he thought, and they were able to reach the trophy and shatter it with a combined swing of Skull's bat and Joker's dagger.
"AGGHHH!" The Abhorrent King cried out in dismay, "Damn you! This was from when I won the national...!"
"And I should care about this, why?" Joker snarked.
"How dare you ingrates keep defying me!" Kamoshida bellowed, "...Looks like it's time to bust out my "killshot"!"
"Killshot?" Panther repeated.
"Slaves! Bring over you-know-what!" He whipped the floor.
"I don't like the sound of that..." Mona muttered in concern.
"... Hey, what's the hold up?! Why isn't my ball here already?!" He yelled impatiently.
Suddenly, a very familiar meek blue-haired student rushed into the Throne Room with a volleyball in his hand.
"M-Mishima??!" Joker widened his eyes in realization.
"I-I'm so sorry, King Kamoshida!" Mishima sheepishly apologized, "I-I have it right here!"
"Too slow, Mishima!" Kamoshida chided, "Though, I guess I should expect nothing more from a worthless chump like you!"
"What the heck is he doing here?!" Panther asked in surprise.
"Is this another one of Kamoshida's cognitions or sumthin', Mona?!" Skull questioned.
"That's right." Mona confirmed, "The Mishima standing there isn't the real one."
"Now, pass the ball to me, Mishima!" The demonic king commanded, "Don't tell me you can't even do something as simple as that!"
"He's preparing to dish out an even bigger attack!" Mona vehemently warned, "Everyone, brace yourselves!"
Heeding his warning, all of the thieves guarded themselves in defense.
"H-Here it goes!" Cognitive Mishima whimpered before passing the ball to Kamoshida.
In an unnerving display of agility, Shadow Kamoshida leapt high into the air and yelled, "GOLD MEDAL SPIIIIKE!!!" before spiking the ball right at his enemies.
Even though they had their guards up, the force of the attack was so strong that it created an explosion, sending the thieves flying off their feet and nearly knocking the wind out of them, causing Kamoshida to laugh triumphantly at the sight of them struggling to get up.
"How'd ya like that, you stupid thieves?!" He taunted.
"Oooh, that was nice!" Cognitive Ann cheered from her spot in Kamoshida's wine glass, "I wanna see that again, Mr. K~!"
"Oh, you will~" Kamoshida assured her, "But first, I need to increase my vitality...!" He sipped some of the wine, increasing his attack power.
"You're sooo naughty~!"
Skull groaned as he and his team got back up. Thankfully, them guarding had reduced the total amount of damage, but the hit itself was still unpleasant.
"You guys okay?" He asked.
"Y-Yeah, we're good." Panther answered.
"We would've been totally screwed if we didn't guard beforehand..." Joker stated a bit weakly.
"Hey, shit-for-brains! Get the hell off my court!" Kamoshida yelled at his slave.
The Cognitive Mishima stammered out an apology as he quickly ran off.
"Next slave, get out here!" Kamoshida yelled, "Hurry up with my damn ball!"
Another cognition, this one being a girl, ran over to Kamoshida with a volleyball.
"King Kamoshida! I've brought you you're ball, just as you asked!" She happily informed.
However, one by one, each of the thieves' eyes widened in horror when they realized they knew who this cognition was based on all too well.
"No way... That's-!" Mona gasped.
"S-Shiho?!" Panther cried out.
Standing in fron of them was indeed a cognition of Shiho, who was wearing nothing but a fluffy white bikini with matching wristbands and a collar, a white rabbit tail and ears, red heels and a crown. The lipstick on her face only sealed her look as a playboy bunny.
"Now there's a good girl, Suzui~" Shadow Kamoshida grinned like a total creep, "All women should obey my orders like this. Ain't that right, sweetheart~?"
"You've gotta be kidding me..." Joker muttered with gritted teeth.
Panther, however, seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack.
"N-No... No way! What's Shiho doing here?!"
"Panther, please calm down!" Mona hurriedly pleaded, "That's not the real Suzui!
"Y-Yeah... I-I know..." She answered before clenching her fist, "But, this is just...!"
While both Panther and Joker were angry at Kamoshida, it was clear that neither of them were as furious as Skull, who looked like he was two seconds away from pounding the shadow into a bloody pulp.
"Damn you, Kamoshida..." He growled in pure rage, "You've officially gone too damn far!!"
"Ahh, I get it! You wanna see my killshot again, don't you?!" Kamoshida bellowed with wide eyes, "Well as soon as I'm done charging up, you brats are utterly fucked!"
"If we let him use that move again he'll wipe us out for sure!" Mona exclaimed before turning to Skull "What do we do??"
'If we try to attack Kamoshida while he's chargin' up his killshot, we might be able to stop 'em...' Skull pondered before shaking his head, 'Nah, that's too risky... If he's able to finish chargin' up while we're still attackin', we're seriously effed... And as long that fake Suzui is there, he can-'
His eyes widened when the solution finally came to him.
"I got it!" He exclaimed, "Instead of targettin' Kamoshida, let's focus on the fake Suzui first!"
"Y-You mean... You want us to kill the Cognitive Shiho...?" Panther stammered in surprise.
"Yeah!... I-I know it might seem a bit disturbin', but if we take her out then she won't able to pass that ball for Kamoshida to do his killshot!" Skull reasoned, "Besides, it shouldn't affect her in the real word since this is a cognition and not a shadow. Right, Mona?"
"That is indeed correct." Mona confirmed with a nod.
"Well... I guess it's worth trying out." Joker conceded, dialing back his discomfort, "Panther?"
"... O-Okay..." She nodded, replacing her uneasiness with determination, "Let's do it."
"Alright, Suzui~! I'm all good to go!" Kamoshida beamed, "Now how's about you be a dear and pass me that volleyball~?"
"Sure thing, King Kamo-!"
The Cognitive Shiho's cheering died in her throat and she paled when she noticed all of the Phantom Thieves staring directly at her with their Personas floating behind them.
"Sorry, Suzui..." Skull sincerely apologized before him and his team collectively sent out a combined Zio, Agi, Garu and Eiha attack in her direction.
The cognition shrieked in pain as she and the ball instantly dissolved once the attack hit, much to Kamoshida's shock.
"So even Suzui was useless?! Damn it!" He cursed in anger before grinning sadistically, "Ah well, no surprise there. I'll just have to give her some more of my special one-on-one instruction sessions! Hahahaaa!"
Hearing this struck a massive nerve in both Skull and Panther.
"Kamoshida... I swear I'll never forgive you!" Panther vehemently declared.
"Suzui... I promise to you and every single one of that bastard's victims that we're gonna beat his ass!" Skull exclaimed in determination.
"Looks like you're all dying to see my killshot again! Ha! No problem! Slaves, hurry up and-!" The king turned to his slaves, only to realize that there was nobody on either of his sides, "Huh?... Wait... What?? Did I seriously just...?!"
"Ha!" Joker mockingly laughed, "Looks like someone's run out of subordinates!"
"Grrr... Whatever!! Who needs slaves anyway?!" Shadow Kamoshida scoffed, "I'll just kill you pesky thieves all by myself!"
The king then began to frantically swing his utensils around in a bloody frenzy, and the thieves found it a bit difficult this time to dodge his wild slashes.
Skull grit his teeth as he narrowly avoided a stab from Kamoshida's knife.
They couldn't keep this up forever, as he could tell that some of his teammates were starting to get tired from having to continuously evade. All they needed was that damn crown! Mona said that they could steal it if they managed to catch him off guard, but at this rate that seemed damn near impossi-!
Skull suddenly let out a gasp, 'Wait... That just might work!'
"Guys!" He gained his teammates' attention, "I've got an idea that'll let us beat 'em!"
"Really?" Panther asked in surprise.
"Yeah!" Skull affirmed, "But this ain't the best place to discuss it... Joker! You got any more of those smokebombs?"
Joker didn't reply as he already knew what Skull was intending, and he pulled out a smokescreen before detonating, blocking them from Kamoshida's sight.
"Hey! What'd you just-?!" The shadow yelled, only to become confused when the smoke settled, revealing that the thieves were nowhere to be seen.
"Huh...? Where the hell did you sneaky bastards go?"
Unbeknownst to him, the group of thieves were now hiding behind one of the statues in the room.
"Alright, Skull. We're out of sight." Mona stated, "Now lay it on us."
"Okay, we all know that if we keep tryin' to fight Kamoshida with brute force, it's only gonna end up tirin' us out, right?" Skull started, "And I remember Mona sayin' that we should catch him off guard and steal the crown..."
"How could we do that though?" Panther questioned.
"Simple." Skull replied before grinning, "By usin' a distraction."
"A distraction?" She repeated with wide eyes.
"Yup!" He asserted, "Trying to steal the treasure head-on is obviously a suicide mission, but if one of us sneaks up on him while the rest of us steal all of his attention, then they might be able to snatch it from 'em!"
"Ahh, I see!" Mona grinned, catching on to Skull's idea, "You want to send someone to knock the treasure off his head and have three of us act as decoys, huh? That plan sounds quite plausible."
"But that crown is pretty high up, though." Panther brought up, "If one of us does sneak past him, how would we reach it?"
"Look over there." Skull directed them towards a terrace on the upper floor that was near Kamoshida's head, "If one of us gets up there, they can easily jump over to the crown...! We just gotta wait for the perfect opportunity..."
"Well, there hasn't been a time where Skull's judgement has failed us... So I guess I'll go along with it!" The red-clad thief conceded with a trusting smile.
"... Seems like it's worth a shot." Joker shrugged, "So who're you gonna send?"
"Well, Panther's obviously a no-go. I don't think I need to explain that one."
"Trust me, you don't..." Panther sighed.
"And since I arguably have the most beef with Kamoshida, he's bound to notice if I'm gone... So-"
"Nyehaha!" Mona suddenly did his signature laugh, "Well obviously, this job is suitable for only me!"
"My thoughts exactly, Mona!" Skull grinned.
Not only was Mona the smallest member of their team, meaning it would be extremely difficult for Kamoshida to spot him, but his experience over the rest of the thieves pretty much made him the best candidate.
"Makes sense." Joker noted before smirking, "With his cat-like agility, Kamoshida is bound to be none the wiser."
"Oh, shut up!" Mona snapped.
"We're countin' on ya, lil' bud!" Skull flashed him a thumbs up.
"I know you can do it. You've got this, Mona!" Panther encouraged him with a smile.
Her smile alone was enough to make Mona blush before grinning confidently.
"Of course I do!" He boasted before speeding off, "Just keep him distracted!"
With their plan set in stone, the thieves, sans Mona, jumped back into the battlefield.
"Ahh, so you runts finally decided to stop playing hide and seek, aye?" Kamoshida questioned before noticing something was off, "Hey... Where's that tiny cat that was among you thieves?"
"Beats me." Joker shrugged with a smirk, "Probably pussied out like the "scaredy-cat" he is."
"... I'm going to claw that frizzy-haired bastard's eyes out..." Mona quietly glowered from his spot on the statue under the terrace.
"The three of us are more than enough to take down a creep like you!" Panther fiercely stated, readying her whip.
"Damn straight!" Skull exclaimed in agreement, "You're goin' down, Kamoshida!"
"Jack-o'lantern!"
"Carmen!"
Both Skull and Panther's personas shot out a ball of fire, replicating their joint-attack from their fight with the toilet shadow.
"Ngh!" Kamoshida grunted from the attack before slamming his riding crop down, with the thieves immediately evading it.
Joker joined the fray and shot at Kamoshida a few times with his pistol before summoning Arsène.
"Eiha!"
The Gentleman Thief followed his summoner's command and shot out a curse ball at the shadow.
"Don't let up, guys!" Skull commanded as he switched to Cait Sith and used 'Tarukaja' to increase his attack power, "Just keep wailin' on 'em!"
He ran towards Kamoshida, who was about to try and squash him with his crop, only for Panther to distract him with a few shots from her submachine gun. This gave Skull the chance to leap up to Kamoshida and whack him right in the face with his weapon.
Since his strength was increased, the shadow really felt the blow, evident by his bleeding nose.
Skull didn't give him the chance the breathe and immediately followed up with a 'Cleave' from Berith.
"HOLD STILL!!" Kamoshida angrily bellowed as he tried to stab Skull.
"Nah!" The blonde taunted as he easily leapt away from the strike.
"Just a bit more, you guys..." Mona seriously whispered as he watched the fight.
Kamoshida shielded his eyes as Panther shot out another fireball at him, only to remove them and see her dashing right at him.
He threw his fist down at her, only for her to immediately dodge and quickly run up his arm before jumping at him.
"Take this!" She yelled before using her whip to hit Kamoshida, with the force being enough to sharply whip his head to the side.
Their continued assault greatly irritated the king.
"Dammit... NO WAY IN HELL AM I LETTING THE LIKES OF YOU BEAT ME!!!"
Before she could react, Kamoshida smacked Panther with full force, sending her crashing towards the ground.
"Panthe- UGH!!"
Skull cried out in pain as he felt Panther's body slam right into him, sending them both tumbling.
"You guys!" Joker called out, only for Kamoshida to smash his hand on top of his body with enough force to create a crater in the ground and knock the wind out of him, "GAHHH!"
"Hahahaaa!" The shadow let out a boisterous laugh before raising his knife, "Looks like you're first in line to die, clown!"
"... Pot, meet kettle." Joker weakly retorted before summoning Arsène, who stopped knife from reaching him with his bare hands.
A brief struggle ensued, and just when it seemed like Kamoshida would overpower Arsène, a cannonball was shot right into his eye.
"GYAAAAH!" He let go of Joker to grab at his eye.
"Sorry for the wait." Skull apologized as he and Panther rejoined Joker.
"Better late than never." Joker quipped before sighing in relief as Panther used 'Dia' on him.
"You goddamn pieces of shit!" Kamoshida bellowed, "Why won't you just die already?!"
"For the sake of everyone you've hurt, we'll bring you to justice even if it kills us!" Joker vehemently exclaimed.
"Let's hit 'em with everything we've got!" Skull instructed.
"CAPTAIN KIDD!"
"ARSÈNE!"
"CARMEN!"
The trio summoned their respective Personas, with each of them having their respective elements flow around them as they began charging up their attacks.
Then, Skull, Joker and Panther all yelled together as their Personas shot out their strongest blasts of Zio, Eiha, and Agi, with Kamoshida crying out as the combined attacks created a smokescreen once they hit him.
All three of them were now panting since the attacks took most of their SP, and the smoke screen eventually dissipated to reveal some scorch marks across the shadow's body.
"You bastards! How dare you cause me this much pain!" He bellowed in outrage, "I'll make you pay for your transgressions with your li-!"
"Not a chance!"
Shadow Kamoshida turned around just in time to see Mona flying right towards his crown and drop kicking it, sending it crashing to the ground and landing on his feet with a cheeky grin.
"Right on, Mona!" Skull cheered.
"NOOOOO!!" Kamoshida yelled in despair as he desperately tried to grasp for his crown, "My... M-My precious...!"
He suddenly slumped over, as if he were dejected.
"Alright!" Mona cheered in success, "Kamoshida's shaken up!"
"It's finally time to end this!" Skull exclaimed.
The thieves wasted no time and immediately got into position, aiming their guns at their foe.
"N-No... Y-You can't... You can't do this... I'm supposed to rule this world...!" Kamoshida weakly mewled, "... I-I'm supposed to be the king! Me! O-Only meee!"
"Yeah? Well I'm the captain now." Skull proclaimed, "And it's time for you to walk the plank!"
At that, the team immediately initiated an All-Out Attack, slashing away at Kamoshida from every possible angle and chipping away at his health.
At the end of the onslaught, Skull leapt upwards and encased his bat in electricity before raising it high into the air.
"This one's for Suzui!"
With a passionate battle cry, Skull swung his weapon down on Kamoshida's head with all of his might.
WHAAAAM!!!
Kamoshida cried out in pain as he felt the last of his strength deplete and he fell down to the floor. The moment he landed, his demonic body slowly shifted back into his human appearance.
The fight was officially over.
The Phantom Thieves came out victorious.
All four of them panted heavily as they regained their breath.
"We... We did it." Skull stated with a tired yet relieved grin, "We actually beat 'em!"
"I can't believe we actually pulled it off!" Panther cheered.
"Was there any ever doubt?" Mona asked with a grin as if they hadn't just gone through the toughest battle they've faced so far.
"Look! The treasure!" Joker pointed.
The looked to see that the treasure has shrunk back to its normal size.
However, before they could finally retrieve it, Kamoshida suddenly dived in and scooped it up before scurrying off.
"Wha-?! Hey!" Skull yelled as he and the thieves chased after him.
Unfortunately for the shadow, it reached a dead end, seeing as how the only available exit was the window to the balcony outside of the Throne Room.
"Gah!" It cried in dismay when it realized it was cornered.
"What's wrong? Not running away?" Panther taunted.
"Some athelete you are." Joker derisively commented.
"Dammit... It's always been like this...!" Shadow Kamoshida snarled, "Those goddamn glory-seeking hyenas forcing their expectations on me!"
"I'm doing this all for them!" He shakily argued, "Where's the harm in demanding a reward for that?!"
"You still got the nerve to make excuses for yourself...?" Skull muttered in anger, "Your sorry ass don't deserve any sympathy from us!"
"Just because you were under pressure doesn't mean you have the right to take it out on others." Joker shot down his argument.
"Hrrgh..."
"Oh, you're scared?" Panther asked, "Well guess what... Right now, you're seeing the same view that Shiho did that day... Except she had no choice but to jump."
"So what will you do?" She coldly questioned before summoning Carmen, revealing her hardened expression, "Will you jump? Or would you rather die here?"
A fireball manifested in Carmen's hand for extra oomph, causing Kamoshida to start sweating bullets.
"Panther..." Skull called out as he went to her side.
"So do you want to finish him off?" Mona asked with crossed arms, "It's your call."
"No! Please wait!" Kamoshida fearfully pleaded for his life, "I-I beg you...! Just forgive meee!"
"Shut. Up." Panther furiously shut him down, "I bet all of your victims told you the exact same thing... But you..."
"YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM THEM!"
Kamoshida shrieked as one of Carmen's fireballs hit the wall next to him, reminding him of his possible fate.
"If you know what's good for you then hand over the crown!" Skull demanded, "NOW!"
The sniveling shadow immediately complied, tossing the crown to Skull, who caught it with one hand.
"Go ahead... Finish me off..." Kamoshida muttered, seemingly accepting his doom, "You do that... and my real self will die too..."
The reminder made Skull and Joker shift uncomfortably.
"You have that right... since you won."
However, Mona noticed that Panther had clenched her fist, and she grit her teeth before sending a fireball toward Kamoshida.
"ANN!" Skull and Joker gasped, too shocked to use her codename.
Before he could be turned to ash, the flame instead hit the wall on his right.
"Even if he deserves it... He can't die now." Panther stated as she sealed Carmen, "Or he won't be able to admit his crimes..."
"You're kind, Lady Ann." Mona sincerely praised her while Skull and Joker sighed in relief.
"... Besides... It's not my call whether he dies or not." She suddenly stated, surprising her teammates.
"What?" Joker uttered.
"After all, there's still someone here who this bastard has made suffer way more than the rest of us ever have..." She divulged before turning to a certain someone with a small smile, "So... I'll leave the decision to you, Skull."
Her statement slightly took him aback.
"S-Seriously??" He asked in surprise, "A-Are you sure, Panther...?"
"Of course." She nodded, her smile this time becoming more solemn, "You deserve to get the final say in this just as much if not more than us... And I trust you enough to know that you'll make the right decision. So please, go ahead..."
The fellow blonde stared at her in a mixture of shock and awe for a few seconds before smiling in acceptance.
"Okay... Thank you."
She nodded before giving him space, which allowed him to walk toward Kamoshida and stare him down. The king couldn't help but grow a bit anxious as Skull stared straight into his soul.
After so many days... so many nights of wishing he could get his revenge, Skull finally had the man who ruined his life at his mercy.
He stayed quiet for a bit as he stared at Kamoshida with a semi-blank gaze before finally speaking up.
"Y'know... I'd be lyin' if I said there wasn't a part of me that wished Panther burned ya to ashes." He spoke.
"I've gone through so damn much... I lost my ability to run... I lost my friends... I lost the track team in general... And I lost the chance to make a bright future for me and my ma... All because you broke my damn leg..."
"Ever since that day... Not only did I spend most of my time bein' angry at myself and mournin' everything I lost... but I also spent almost every night thinkin' about what I'd do to you as revenge..." He disclosed in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.
"You stood so damn tall on that high horse of yours while I had to suffer on the sidelines... Seein' you act so high and mighty... It made me want to do nothin' more than wipe that smirk off your face... I would've given ANYTHING just for the chance to make that happen! But at some point, I just gave up... cuz I knew there was no way in hell a punk like me would ever be able to get you into this kind of position..."
"And yet here we are..."
If Kamoshida wasn't sweating bullets, he was definitely swearing buckets now.
"... I'm not some vengeful loser who goes around killin' people who've wronged me... but when I think about all of the despicable shit you've done, not just to me, but all of my friends... I honestly want to do nothin' more than take out my Hell Slugger and bash your head in till there's nothing left...!" He coldly spat and pulled out his bat.
This made Kamoshida flinch.
"... But I'm not gonna do that." He closed his eyes and stashed his weapon away, "Cuz I ain't no murderer... and like Panther said, we need you alive if we want you to pay for what you've done..."
Kamoshida lowered his head as he wore a defeated expression.
"I've... lost..." He muttered in despair, "You're through when you lose... What am I... What am I supposed to do now?"
"It's simple." Skull answered, "Atone for your sins... and confess all your crimes to the public... All of 'em."
"Y-Yes... All right..." The shadow has raised his head to reveal a tearful yet understanding smile, "I will leave now and return to my real self... I'll make certain that I-"
Before he could finish, a bright light enveloped his body, and he slowly faded away from existence.
Once he was gone, Skull raised his mask and sighed deeply as brought a hand to his forehead.
"You okay?" Joker asked he and the others rushed to his side.
"Yeah, I'm good..." He assured his comrade, "That was just a lil' stressful..."
"I think you and I both know that was a lot more than just "a lil' stressful" Panther joked while wiping her eyes, making both of them chuckle.
"Yeah, that's my bad." He smirked, "Okay... Let's skeda- Uwah?!"
Without warning, the entire castle started to shake, surprising all of the thieves.
"W-What the hell?!" Skull exclaimed, "What's happenin'?!"
"With the treasure stolen, the Palace can no longer take form... Meaning it's about to collapse!" Mona answered.
"You're just now telling us this?!" Joker asked in exasperation.
"I literally mentioned this before our last infiltration!" Mona retorted.
"Maybe argue when we're not about to get crushed under a ton of rubble!" Panther admonished.
"We gotta get the hell outta here!" Skull exclaimed, "C'mon, run!"
At that, all four of them immediately rushed out of the Throne Room.
The Phantom Thieves ran like their lives depended on it as the Palace was literally falling apart around them. A part of the ceiling in one of the hallways almost crushed all of them, which was averted thanks to their quick reflexes and adrenaline. At this point, Skull was relying purely on his memory to lead him and his team out of the castle.
"We're gonna die! We're so gonna die!" Panther cried out in panic, the debris falling around them definitely not helping.
"Just keep on runnin', you guys!" Skull called out to them, far in the lead and swinging his arms like a runner.
"I'm running as fast as I can!" Panther snapped before she suddenly felt a presence on her head, "Hey, what the-?!"
She looked up to see that it was Mona, who had somehow transformed back into his cat form.
Joker also yelped as Mona bounced off his head before landing on Skull's shoulder.
"Wuh- Hey, that's cheating!"
"Mroooow~!" The cat looked back at them and purred smugly.
Skull stared at Mona for a few seconds before shaking his head and simply focusing on the way ahead as he ran.
At some point, Joker was noticeably starting to tire as his breathing started to become heavier, and a heavy piece of debris fell on him, causing him to cry out as he fell to the ground.
"Ren!" Skull and Panther ran back to him in worry.
"S-Sorry... I-I'm just a little tired." He apologized as he tried to get up, "Don't mind me...!"
A heavy tremor reminded them of their current predicament, and Skull grit his teeth before summoning Captain Kidd.
"What are you-?"
"I ain't leavin' you behind!" Skull yelled as he helped him up, "Everyone, hurry up and get on!"
At that, Skull and his fellow thieves boarded Captain Kidd's large ship, and the pirate Persona flew his way out of the Palace as quickly as he could. If it weren't for their dire situation, Skull probably would've made a joke about how this felt like some sort of cruise.
"Are we gonna make it?!" Panther fearfully asked.
"I can feel it..." Mona uttered, "We're getting close to the exit!"
"C'mon... C'mon... Almost there!" Skull urged, "Just keep goin'!"
As they continued their desperate dash out of the Palace, they eventually felt a bright light wash over them...
.
.
.
Miraculously, the group found themselves back in the alleyway to Shujin, and they all took a moment to recover, minus Morgana, who seemed completely fine as he was licking himself.
"*pant* We... We made it out..." Ren stated in between heavy pants, leaning against the wall, "*pant* Fuck."
"*pant* God... That totally sucked..." Ann tiredly bemoaned.
"For real..." Ryuji agreed, seeming to have already recovered most of his breath, "Almost took me back to my days on the track team..."
He remembered what happened to Ren during their escape, and immediately turned to him in concern.
"You okay there, dude?" He asked, "You took a pretty hard hit..."
"I'm good... Just exhausted from all of that running..." Ren assured him and pushed up his glasses, thankfully recovering.
Suddenly, the trio of humans got a chime from their phones, with Ren being the first one to check his.
"Guys!" He called out with wide eyes, "Check out the Meta-Nav!"
The other thieves pulled out their phones to check the app, and they saw on their screens that Kamoshida's Palace was gone.
"The destination has been deleted." The voice in the app informed.
"It's true... We can't go there anymore." Ann stated.
"Which means the Palace must be gone for real..." Ryuji figured.
"Wait! What about the treasure?!" Morgana suddenly spoke.
"No worries!" Ryuji grinned, "I got it right here- Eh?!"
His confidence turned into bewilderment when he saw that the object he pulled out was not a crown, but instead a gold medal.
"What the...?" Ren muttered in confusion.
"A gold medal?" Ann asked with a raised eyebrow, "What happened to the crown?"
"It means that this was the source of Kamoshida's desires." Morgana explained, "To him, this gold medal is worth as much as the crown from the Palace."
"An Olympic medal, huh...?" Ren repeated.
"Makes sense." Ryuji noted, "After all, we all know that perv couldn't let go of his past glory..."
Ren couldn't help but snort.
"Talk about a crowning achievement." He quipped, causing everyone to chuckle.
"But more importantly... This means that Kamoshida's heart might have changed, right?" Ann questioned hopefully.
"... Probably." Mona answered.
"Probably?!" Ryuji repeated incredulously, "Dude, our expulsion is on the line here!"
"This is the first successful example for me too!" Morgana retorted.
"*Sigh* Do you at least know how long it'll take for his heart to change?" Ryuji asked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure..." Morgana replied, "However, there's no doubt that his personality has been affected quite a bit. After all, his Palace did collapse."
"So pretty much, all we can do is wait..." Ren surmised.
"I wish there was some sort of way to check now..." Ann muttered.
"Come on, why the long faces?" Morgana asked, "You should be happy! We completed this with great success!"
"It's kinda hard to be happy when we don't know if everythin' worked out or not..." Ryuji sighed before taking a much more positive stance.
"But you're right... At the end of the day, we did what we said we would and kicked Kamoshida's ass." He stated with a small grin, "His shadow did say it would make things right when it faded away... So I'm 100% positive that it'll work out!"
"Yeah... You're right!" Ann smiled, feeling motivated by his positive outlook, "It'll definitely pay off. I know it!"
"In the end, we did what we set out to do." Ren added with a satisfied smile of his own.
"And it's all becuz we worked together as a team and made it happen." Ryuji affectionately asserted, "So let's be proud of all the work we put in!"
His teammates smiled at him in response, "Yeah!"
Nodding at their compliance, he picked up Mona and placed him back in his bag.
"Well, I know we're all totally beat, so I'm gonna head on home and get some well-deserved rest."
"Same here." Ann commented, "I could really use a good night's sleep."
"Keep each other posted in case something comes up?" Ren asked.
"You got it!" Ryuji affirmed with a thumbs up, "Alright, see ya tomorrow, team."
The thieves exchanged their goodbyes before going their separate ways.
Their job was finished. All they could do now was wait and hope for the best...
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 2
2 months... 2 whole months... That's how long it took for me to finish this... BUT ALAS, I HAVE DONE IT!
Okay, so first off, I'm sorry this took so long for me to pump out. I started this chapter back in December, but I was feeling a massive burn out at the time, so I decided to give myself a month-long break, and I also released a chapter for another fanfic I'm writing back in January. Yeah, I was hoping to release this chapter by the end of January, but, I'll settle for February 1! I'll try not to spend too long to release a chapter now, just for you guys!
Anyways, Skull and his crew have finally taken down Kamoshida! Will the despicable teacher's heart be changed?! Or will their efforts be in vain?! Stay tuned and find out!
I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed the fight, as I tried my best to make it enjoyable.
And as always, I will see you next time!
RinOta, out!