Phantom Files Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs

by sithlorde1988

The sequel to Persona 5-The Phantom Files. A few years after Ren returns home, the Phantom Thieves find themselves drawn back into the Metaverse once again out of nowhere after a mysterious app surfaces with the powers to access the Metaverse. Can the Phantom Thieves stop a mysterious new group of individuals called Monarchs? Better summary in chapter 1! BOTH STORY AND EDITS DONE!

40. Final Interlude part 3: Rematch's End!

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Phantom Files, Book 2: Rise Of The Monarchs! I wasn't planning on it, but this is the third (and final) part of the final Interlude for Rise of the Monarchs! So for the sake of not keeping anyone waiting, let's get right to the disclaimer, yeah?

Disclaimer: I, sithlorde1988, do not own the Persona series in ANY way, shape, or form ((excluding the OCs Kusa/Draconis, Taichi, Momoe, the OC Personas Malefor and Albus, and the Phantom Thief attire for Draconis, Pendragon, and Seraphim, all of which I do own. I do not, however, own the OC Personas Hester and Houdini, nor the Phantom Thief attire concepts for Shiho/Flare.

The OC Persona Hester and the Phantom Thief attire concepts for Shiho/flare were created by, and thus belong to, thalassatides (at symbol) bsky on X (or Twitter as it used to be called). If you happen to be on X, feel free to look up thelassatides (at symbol) bsky's work, as they do some good work. As for the OC Persona Houdini, that belongs to Flower Boy Jun over on Amino Apps. If you use that site, go look him up, since he has some very interesting OC Persona designs and also does amazing work.

As far as the Phantom Thief attire concept for Akane/Auburn, Atlus technically owns the attire that Akane/Auburn's Phantom Thief attire was based off of, aka her Monarch outfit, but I own the modifications made to the outfit to create her Phantom Thief attire, so I own Akane/Auburn's Phantom Thief attire, but not the outfit it's based on, if that makes sense at all.

Also shout-out to jdimock for giving me the idea to make Akane/Auburn's Phantom Thief attire a color-swap of her Monarch outfit, even if I ended up making her Phantom Thief attire largely different from aforementioned Monarch outfit, it was still jdimock's idea, so shout-out and credit to him for having the idea)) and the actual ownership credit for the Persona series belongs to Atlus and Sega (where it comes to Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal, as well as Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Reload), as well as to a point Koei Tecmo (where it pertains to Strikers). The rest of the spinoffs belong to various other companies, all of whom know who they are.

And when it comes to Persona 1, Persona 2-Eternal Punishment, and Persona 2-Innocent Sin? As far as I know, they were made by a different studio, who also knows who they are. Full ownership credit for the Persona spinoffs (Phantom X, Tactica, the 'Arena' games, the 'Dancing' games, and the 'Q' games) belong to the studios that helped make them, as well as Atlus and possibly Sega. And full ownership credits for Persona 1, Persona 2- Eternal Punishment, and Persona 2-Innocent Sin belong to the studios that made those games, so all credit to them.

There we are, one disclaimer, well done! Before that, I apologize for the unplanned delay in posting this chapter, but jdimock's been gone on a cruise for the past week, and he asked me not to upload until he got back so he could be able to give the chapter a proper edit while also giving sufficient time to his edits for chapter 39, which he's finished all of as of the point of this update. But because of that, this story took an unplanned just over three week hiatus as a result.

But I've not been sitting idle in that time. I've managed to amass a 5-chapter backlog (with this chapter included) in that time. It'll be a four-chapter backlog once this goes up. Though it might go back to five if I can finish typing out chapter 45 before I upload chapter 41. However, I will say upfront that jdimock has an internship starting up around the 17th of this month that will be going five days a week through August 9th, so during that time, I might be rearranging my upload schedules to work around his internship so he can still continue to provide edits for this story. His assistance in this capacity has been invaluable over the course of this story, so I have no problems working around his schedule when he needs it.

So try and bear with me if the upload schedule is thrown off for a bit between June 17th and August 9th, since I'm trying to be flexible for jdimock's sake. And that's the update with regards to this story. As of this point, I have up to chapter 44 backlogged along with part of chapter 45. That being said, I won't keep you waiting any longer! I'll save my longer A/N for the end of the chapter! That being said, here's chapter 40!

Chapter 40: The Rematch Continues! Heated Matches, Exhibitions, and Surprises! Arc 7 (and final) Interlude part 3

(Immediately after Match 14 and the end of Chapter 39, in the Metaverse, with Joker, Mona, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Pendragon, Flare, Wolf, Seraphim, Auburn, Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Teddie, Naoto, Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Aigis, Koromaru, Ken, Labrys, and Marie)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Naoto, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Aigis, Labrys, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Fox, Queen, Noir, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Flare, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, and Yukiko)

After the match, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result.

"After that rather efficient and swift battle, Noir wins the fourteenth match! Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives have five minutes to clear Yukiko off the battlefield and send their next battler in." Fuuka said as Chie and Naoto walked onto the battlefield and carried Yukiko back to the shared Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sidelines, where Aigis used 'Samarecarm' to revive Yukiko, after which Yosuke and Akihiko used healing spells to patch Yukiko up to some degree, at which point Chie spoke up.

"You alright, Yukiko?" Chie asked as Yukiko groaned and spoke up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I lost, didn't I?" Yukiko asked as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"You did. You got unlucky and had Noir overpower you to take you out of the fight. Luckily for our side, Aigis recalled that her Persona could also use 'Samarecarm', so we at least have her to help with revival spells. But I have a feeling we're not going to be able to rely on that for much longer." Yu said as Yukiko nodded her understanding while Yosuke spoke up.

"Noir looks like she could run through the rest of us on her own! Do we even have anyone who can keep up with that level of damage output?" Yosuke asked as Akihiko smirked and spoke up.

"As a matter of fact, we do. Noir is powerful, but she's only human. However, on our side, we have two units who are akin to robots that were designed as Anti-Shadow weapons. So we have two options we could send out." Akihiko said as Yosuke spoke up after blinking.

"Good point. Aigis-san is basically a robot woman, isn't she? But you said we have two? Who is the other-?" Yosuke asked before a giggle from next to him drew his attention to a smiling Labrys, who spoke up.

"Really, Yosuke-kun? If you have to ask that, then clearly you haven't been paying attention. Didn'tcha remember that I'm also an Anti-Shadow weapon? I mean, I understand that you're trying to be a gentleman and that you see me as an attractive woman rather than a weapon, which flatters me by the way. But, at the end of the day, I'm still just an Anti-Shadow weapon. And given that Noir is an axe user, who better to send out to face her than another axe user, like me?" Labrys said as both Yosuke and Mitsuru gave her shocked looks before the latter of the two spoke up in a rather wary sounding tone.

"Are you sure about this, Labrys? You are aware that Noir is one of the main Psy specialists of the Phantom Thieves, and based on our recent research, Psy is one of your Persona's weaknesses, right?" Mitsuru asked as Aigis nodded and spoke up.

"I seem to recall that being the case. This seems to be a bad idea for you to go in next as you'd be at a disadvantage, my sister. Perhaps I should go next?" Aigis asked as Yosuke spoke up, surprising both Mitsuru, Aigis, and Labrys with what he said next.

"Now hold on, Aigis-san. While it's true that your sister has a weakness in Psy skills, I seem to recall that she was able to handle a similar disadvantage when fighting Minazuki a few years ago. So if she can beat him, then she can probably handle Noir as well. Also, let's not forget that her Persona is also resistant to Gun attacks, so she also has an advantage against Noir in some capacity. The point being is that if she says she wants to go in, I say we let her. I believe in Labrys." Yosuke said, gently patting Labrys on the shoulder encouragingly, and because he turned to look at Yu, Mitsuru, and Aigis when he did, he missed the subtle dusting of red that went across Labrys' face from Yosuke's actions, though if the smirks on both Chie and Naoto's faces were any indication, they saw it. Labrys then spoke up.

"R-Really? You believe in me, Yosuke-kun?" Labrys asked as Yosuke nodded before he spoke up.

"I do. Not only are you an Anti-Shadow weapon, but you're also one of our strongest battlers. I mean, you're one of the few in this group to actually give Yu a run for his money. And if you can keep up with the leader of the Investigation Team, then you can hold your own against Noir. So if you want to go in next Labrys, then you've got my support. Just promise me you'll be careful. I'd rather have more time to get to know you better, and maybe even get closer to you." Yosuke said as Yu and Akihiko smirked, both knowing where Yosuke was headed with his words as Labrys spoke up.

"Yosuke-kun...right. I'll be careful. And thank you for believing in me." Labrys said as she smiled at Yosuke and hesitated briefly before shocking pretty much the entire Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives, herself included, when she leaned in to briefly press her lips gently to Yosuke's, making him go bright red in shock once he realized what was happening before he let himself briefly return the kiss as he spoke up after the two broke apart.

"That was nice, Labrys. However, as much as I want to continue this, you have a fight to win. But, we can discuss the implications of what you just did more at a later date. For now, you've got a fight to win! Now go out there and do your best!" Yosuke said as Labrys gave Yosuke a soft smile that was also slightly shy as she nodded and headed out onto the battlefield to face Noir as both Yu and Kanji took turns clapping Yosuke on the shoulder in a manly way as their way of congratulating him on getting kissed by his crush as Kanji spoke up.

"About damn time, man. Congrats on finally making a move on her." Kanji said as Yosuke spoke up.

"Thanks, Kanji. I wanted to get that out there to her when I had the chance." Yosuke said as he looked at Mitsuru and Aigis as he spoke again.

"Mitsuru-san? Aigis-san?" Yosuke asked as Mitsuru smiled and spoke up.

"Relax, Hanamura. I'm okay with you and Labrys being together if you and her decide to start a relationship with each other." Mitsuru said reassuringly, getting a relieved nod from Yosuke as Aigis spoke up.

"As am I. After all, out of all of us, you were the one who connected with Labrys the most during the P-1 case. Thus, I also approve of you dating my sister, should she elect to make you her boyfriend." Aigis said as Yosuke nodded in appreciation as Yu spoke up.

"Well, as much as I want to keep the conversation going, I think we should direct our attention to Labrys' battle with Noir. But still, congrats again partner." Yu said as Yosuke spoke up.

"Thanks, man. I won't let her down compared to how I was with Saki-senpai. But I agree, we should focus on the match at hand." Yosuke said as Yu, Aigis, and Mitsuru nodded in agreement, and as Noir saw Labrys join her on the battlefield, she smiled and spoke up.

"Ah, so I'm facing you next, Labrys? If so, good luck to you. From what I can see, you're also an axe wielder like me so I'm excited to see what you can do. Let's both give this our all, yeah?" Noir said as Labrys nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. I've got people rootin' for me over there, so I can't afford to hold anything back." Labrys said as she removed the battle-axe from her back and hefted it just as Draconis eyes widened as he spoke up.

"Wow, that's one big axe. I'm now kind of worried for your girlfriend, Crow." Draconis said as Crow spoke up.

"Relax, Draconis. Even if you have your misgivings, I have faith in Noir. While Labrys may have the bigger axe, Noir is more ruthless with hers. So I can see her holding her own in this battle." Crow said as Draconis spoke up.

"Okay, if you say so." Draconis said as Fuuka spoke up.

"How interesting. So this next match is a clash of axe-wielders between Labrys and Noir. Which of these two girls will come out on top? Let the fifteenth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the match.

(Match 15 Start- Noir VS Labrys)

As the fight started, both Noir and Labrys spoke up in unison.

"TEMPT THEM, LUCY!/LET'S GO, ARIADNE!" Noir and Labrys said as they summoned their Personas at the same time, most of the Phantom Thieves being intrigued by Labrys having a Persona, though Joker's eyes widened slightly as he realized that he'd unknowingly fused the 'Picaro' variant of Labrys' Persona at one point in his original tenure as a Phantom Thief four years ago. Although, unlike his variant, Labrys' Ariadne was white instead of black. Before any of the others could remark on Labrys having a different Persona from her Shadow, Labrys and Noir charged in to face one another.

As Noir and Labrys charged into battle with one another, their axes clashed with each other numerous times while Noir used Lucy to launch Gun attacks on her. But much to her dismay, she soon realized that Labrys can resist Gun attacks as the Anti-Shadow weapon then launch a series of Physical attacks from Ariadne and although Noir was able to use 'Life Wall' to block those attacks, it ended up causing that skill to go through its entire defensive set. Noir, needing to change tactics, utilized Lucy to launch Psy attacks at Labrys, who winced at the super-effective damage dealt to her, though she mostly shrugged it off. Noir had Lucy unleashed more Psy on Labrys all while the latter barely dodged them thanks to her speed. After a bit of fighting, Noir attempted to use Lucy to buff herself with 'Heat Riser', only for Labrys to smirk and speak up.

"I had a feeling you'd try that. Too bad for you, that's not gonna work!" Labrys said as Noir blinked and spoke up.

"What do you mean by that?" Noir asked as Labrys smirked and spoke up, though most of the Phantom Thieves winced at the smirk Labrys gave Noir as she spoke, as it brought them to mind of the cognitive echo of her Shadow that they'd had to fight in the Yongen Jail in lieu of a Dire Shadow.

"Let's just say that unless your leader has used my Persona at some point, what you might not know is that she has a unique skill that can render one of your buffs useless! But don't take my word for it! Let me show you what I mean! READY, ARIADNE?" Labrys said as Ariadne nodded and hefted her weapon and swung it at Noir, pushing her back for good damage and making Noir winced as she felt herself be weakened. Noir tried to unleash another Psy attack on Labrys, but it only did as much as she normally could unleash without the effects of 'Heat Riser" as she spoke up while in shock.

"What!? My attack buff, it's gone! What was that attack, Labrys!?" Noir asked as Labrys spoke up.

"To put it simply, that attack was a specialty attack of Ariadnes' that goes by the name of 'Beast Weaver', which not only deals colossal Physical damage, but also can lower one's attack! And now that I have you on the back foot, it's time to finish this! TIME FOR THE FINISHER! GUIDE ME, ARIADNE!" Labrys said and after getting a boost from Ariadne in physical attacks with 'Charge', Labrys swung her axe forward, the head of which extended forward as if on a chain, wrapping itself around Noir as it dragged her in close to Labrys, who started whipping the axe head back and forth across a stunned Noir's body, grunting as she did each lash. As she finished her third dozen lashes on Noir, the camera zoomed in on Labrys as she spoke up.

"I'VE HAD IT WITH THIS FIGHT! YOU'RE FINISHED! GO, WEAVER'S ART: INQUISITION!" Labrys said as she grabbed the chain that had extended from her axe that connected the head of the axe to the rest of it, and giving it a mighty tug, bringing both the axe head and Noir crashing to the ground, causing both an explosion and a dust cloud that blocked everyone's view. Once everyone could see again, they saw a triumphant Labrys standing over a defeated Noir, who laid unconscious and bruised in a crater on the ground, Labrys smirking as she spoke up while slinging her axe over one shoulder.

"Nice try, Noir. But it seems like in the end, your best is simply not good enough! I applaud your effort, though. Come back when you can actually defeat me." Labrys said as Fuuka ran over to check on Noir after both Crow and Queen gasped and spoke up.

"NOIR!" Crow and Queen both said, shocked at how brutally Labrys had put Noir out of the fight. After Fuuka confirmed that Noir was okay, she waved an arm inside of Juno to signify the end of the match while Juno used 'Oracle' to heal Labrys.

(Match 15 End. Winner: Labrys)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Naoto, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Aigis, Labrys, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Fox, Queen, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Flare, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, and Noir)

"After that rather impressive clash of axes, Labrys wins the fifteenth bout! Phantom Thieves have five minutes to get Noir off the battlefield and send in their next battler." Fuuka said as Crow walked onto the field and scooped up his girlfriend, carrying her bridal-style to the Phantom Thieves' sideline and setting her down on the bench next to him, at which point Violet, Seeker, and Flare worked together to use their healing skills to get Noir back on her feet, prompting her to sit up with a groan and speak up.

"Urgh. I'm back on our sideline? I lost, didn't I?" Noir said as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. You took Yukiko out, but then Labrys brutally defeated you. Clearly all that hype about her being designed as an Anti-Shadow weapon wasn't just idle bullshit. But now the question remains as to who we should send in to defeat Labrys. Not only is she strong, but she's fast too. And that axe of hers means that we have to engage Labrys at a distance unless we have someone who can tank a few axe hits in order to damage her. Regardless, even I'm not sure if we have anyone left who would be a good matchup against Labrys' abilities." Crow said as Joker and Draconis looked at each other before the former nodded and spoke up.

"Actually, I think we do have a solid match-up left against Labrys. However, it's not one most would expect, given she moreso excels at close-range combat, and can wield two different elements." Joker said as most of the Phantom Thieves exchanged confused looks before Flare suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, wait. You mean me, don't you Joker? I can wield both Ice and Nuke, and I'm pretty fast. But my tonfas are close-range, so that'll make it a risky fight for me going against Labrys. But you're right to say that I might be our best chance of taking her down. So I'll leave it up to you. Am I our next battler?" Flare asked as Noir spoke up with a smile.

"I would say yes, since you do seem like you could out-speed Labrys. Plus, I noticed when I was battling her that she was physically resilient. However, she seemed to take increased damage from magic, so if you can keep her on the back foot with magic, you can probably take her out." Noir said as Draconis spoke up.

"I agree. You're our best chance, Flare. And I think the others will agree with me when I say you should go in next." Draconis said as the rest of the Phantom Thieves nodded, even an uneasy Panther. Flare nodded as well and spoke up.

"Very well, I'll do it." Flare said as she headed out to the battlefield as Panther spoke up.

"Be careful out there, Flare! Win this for us!" Panther said and as soon as Flare came face to face with Labrys, the latter smirked and spoke up.

"Oh? My next opponent is a wannabe ninja? How cute. However, I feel like your ninja cosplay is lacking, since at least when Yosuke-kun does it, he does a good job and can actually pass for a ninja. But never mind your outfit. Let's hope you can put up more of a fight than Noir did." Labrys said as Flare spoke up.

"I would advise you to not underestimate me, Labrys. You might find yourself eating your words if you do." Flare said as she and Labrys glared at each other as Fuuka spoke up.

"Ooh! This match looks to be quite intense between Labrys and Flare! Can either side get any headway on the other? Only one way to find out! Let the sixteenth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the match.

(Match 16 Start- Flare VS Labrys)

As the match started, Labrys and Flare spoke up in unison.

"LET'S MAKE OUR MARK!/TIME FOR SOME EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE! COME, HESTER!/BLASTOFF, ARIADNE!" Flare and Labrys said as they summoned their respective Personas. As Flare and Labrys clashed with their weapons, the former had Hester unleashed a Nuke attack. But much to her shock, Labrys was able to tank the attack with no damage as the Anti-Shadow weapon then unleashed multiple Physical strikes from Ariadne, to which Flare was able to dodge with peak precision as she then managed to find a good opening to strike with her tonfas as Hester simultaneously unleashed the physical skill 'Myriad Slashes'. However, Labrys was able to dodge those attacks as if they were coming from a mile away as she spoke up.

"Nice try, Flare. But what you're currently doing will not be enough." Labrys said as she had Ariadne unleash her 'Beast Weaver' move to which ended up knocking Flare back a few feet. As Flare felt her attack power drop, as she spoke up.

"Damn! So Labrys can block my Nuke attacks, and can evade most of my Physical attacks. That's a lot of my arsenal gone right there. But no matter, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Flare said and after having Hester heal her with "Mediarahan' she pulled out her fukiya and tried to hit a few darts into Ariadne, only for the darts to harmlessly pass through her and clatter uselessly to the ground, prompting Flare to dodge around Labrys' axe attacks as she reloaded the darts into her fukiya and put it away before having Hester pushed Labrys back with Ice moves. After a bit of back-and-forth attacking, where it quickly became apparent that Labrys lacked any sort of healing ability and that Flare's attack power was back to normal, the Phantom Thief smirked as Labrys seemed to slow down as if overheating, at which point Flare spoke up.

"Looks like you're starting to wear down, Labrys. Let's put you out of your misery, shall we? HESTER! YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!" Flare said as Hester nodded and Flare kept speaking.

"THAT'S RIGHT! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Flare said as her Showtime started. Flare then turned to Hester and spoke up.

"Shall we, Hester?" Flare said as Hester nodded before waving her arm to create a pool of Shadow, which Flare vanished into. Seemingly as fast as she'd vanished, Flare reappeared behind Labrys, slashing her tonfas in a fast yet furious manner. Once Labrys' eyes started crossing from trying to keep up with Flare's movements, Flare giggled and spoke up sassily.

"Aww, what's wrong? Can't keep up with my speed? Well, TOO BAD! That's just what I was hoping for! AND NOW FOR YOUR PUNISHMENT!" Flare said while pushing her tonfas out in front of her, causing Yosuke to gape in shock at what happened next, as Flare phased into a blur as she drilled towards Labrys, passing through her back and stomach and emerging in front of Labrys, who gasped as she saw sparks fly from her body where Flare's attack had connected, making Flare smirk as she spoke up while extending her tonfas in front of her once more.

"BEGONE, LABRYS! YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH DAMAGE! AND NOW YOU'VE BEEN PUNISHED!" Flare said as she smacked her tonfas together to create a shockwave that smacked into Labrys for insane amounts of damage and made Labrys groan as her body seemed to reel from the onslaught of attacks, bringing the slightly sparking Labrys to her knees as Flare's Showtime ended in time for Labrys to groan and speak up.

"No! It looks like I've lost. Not bad, Flare." Labrys said before she groaned and fell forward to land facedown on the ground, unmoving, to end the match. At that point, Mitsuru, Yosuke, and Aigis spoke up in horror.

"OH! LABRYS!/LABRYS, ARE YOU OKAY!?/SISTER!" Mitsuru, Yosuke, and Aigis said as Fuuka raced over to check on Labrys. Once she confirmed that Labrys was in no imminent danger, she waved an arm inside of Juno to end the match while Juno healed Flare with 'Oracle' as Flare smirked and spoke up while un-equipping her tonfas and hugging them to her chest.

"Sorry, but I had to put you down. I'm not fond of it, but that's the way the cookie crumbles." Flare said as the match officially ended.

(Match 16 End. Winner: Flare)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Naoto, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Fox, Queen, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, Flare, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, and Labrys)

Once Fuuka confirmed that Labrys wasn't in any sort of peril, she spoke up.

"After that rather brutal finisher, Flare wins the sixteenth match. This fight is pretty neck-and-neck so far. It could be either group's match to win. In any case, the Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives have five minutes to clear Labrys off the battlefield and send in their next battler." Fuuka said as Aigis and Yosuke walked onto the battlefield to carry Labrys, and in Aigis' case Labrys' battle-axe, back to the mixed Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline, where Aigis used 'Samarecarm' to wake Labrys up, after which both Akihiko and Yosuke used healing spells to patch up the damage on Labrys as best they could. After coming to, Labrys looked around before frowning as she spoke up.

"I lost my battle, didn't I?" Labrys asked as Aigis nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. You took out Noir, but then you were overpowered and defeated by Flare. We seem to have not considered that Flare had some level of healing powers." Aigis said as Yosuke looked into Labrys' eyes and spoke up.

"Don't feel bad, Labrys. You gave it everything you had. You just came up a bit short against Flare, that's all. But you did good to last as long as you did. So try to take solace in what you did do." Yosuke said as Labrys gave Yosuke a confused look before shyly smiling as she spoke up, unaware of her cheeks being dusted with subtle hints of pink as she spoke.

"Heh, that's a good point. You've always got just the right thing to say to pick me up, don'tcha Yosuke-kun? I truly do respect and admire that about you." Labrys said as she gently pressed her lips to Yosuke's cheek, making him blush slightly but nod as he spoke up.

"I wouldn't say 'always', but I do try to know what to say to people to make them feel better for the most part. But I think I learned that from Yu." Yosuke said as Yu frowned and spoke up.

"While I don't mind you acknowledging what I've taught you, we need to figure out who to send in to take out Flare. We're kinda getting a bit lower than I'd like on options. And Flare is a fast battler, so we might need someone to match her speed." Yu said as Akihiko spoke up with a smirk.

"Why not send in Mitsuru? She's pretty fast and has good range thanks to her rapier. She could probably take out Flare easily." Akihiko suggested as Mitsuru smiled and spoke up, noticing the resolved and determined expression currently on Yosuke's face.

"While I agree that I could easily handle this, I get the feeling there's someone else who we should be sending instead. Isn't that right, Hanamura?" Mitsuru said, making both Yu and Akihiko exchange shocked looks before both turned to Yosuke as he spoke up.

"Very observant, Kirijo-san. I mean, if the others want you to go in, I respect that. But I wouldn't mind going in next, if only so I can avenge Labrys' defeat personally. Not to mention the fact that I owe Flare a bit of payback after she beat me the last time our teams fought. So I have a lot of reasons to face her." Yosuke said as Yu thought about it and spoke up.

"Hmm. Well, you do have some of the highest speed of anyone on the Investigation Team, not counting my ultimate Persona. And you do have a lot of reasons to want to win this fight. Y'know, I'm not seeing a reason to not let you do this, partner. So if you really want to go out there and avenge Labrys, go for it." Yu said as the others nodded their agreement and Labrys spoke up.

"I agree with Yu. If I had to pick a champion to fight for my honor, it'd definitely be you, Yosuke-kun. So go out there and do us proud." Labrys said before giggling as she got an impish smile on her face as she quickly pulled a surprised Yosuke into a brief kiss, giggling at how red his face got after the two came apart for air. Yosuke then spoke up after his brain processed the fact he'd just been kissed by Labrys.

"Yes, well, that's some pretty good motivation, Labrys. After that, I suppose I have no choice but to go out there and do my best to avenge you. Well, this is it. Here goes nothing." Yosuke said as he hefted his kunai and walked out onto the field to face Flare, who smirked and spoke up.

"Well, well. What're the odds? We meet again, Hanamura-san. Hopefully you've improved since our previous match." Flare said as Yosuke spoke up.

"I could say the same to you. Also, don't be so quick to count me out of the fight, Flare. I've been training a lot since our last battle." Yosuke said as Flare nodded and spoke up with a smirk.

"I would hope so. Fair enough, let's see how much better you've gotten, Hanamura." Flare said as Yosuke nodded, staring down Flare as Fuuka spoke up.

"Looks like our next match is set! Can Flare get some much-needed traction for the Phantom Thieves? Or will Yosuke stop her momentum in its tracks? Let the seventeenth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the match.

(Match 17 Start- Flare VS Yosuke)

As the match began, Flare and Yosuke spoke up in unison.

"LET'S MAKE OUR MARK, HESTER!/BLOW 'EM AWAY, TAKEHAYA SUSANO-O!" Flare and Yosuke said as they summoned their Personas, shocking the Phantom Thieves with how different Yosuke's Persona looked from the gauntlets on its wrists as well as having three large spiked saw blades with one being around the body and two below the feet. But the biggest thing to this new Persona was its hair as Crow's eyes widened slightly behind his mask as he nudged Draconis and spoke up so only he could hear.

"Am I losing it, or is that Persona's hairstyle literally a flaming afro?" Crow asked Draconis, who smirked and spoke up.

"No, you're not losing it. I see it too, Crow. But I must admit, Yosuke's Persona looks very neat." Draconis said, taking in the mostly yellow jumpsuit that Takehaya Susano-o wore while Violet winced at the sight of the giant sawblade orbiting around Takehaya Susano-o's neck as she spoke up.

"Uhh, never mind that thing's hair, why does it have a giant sawblade orbiting it? And how has it not cut itself at least once by accident?" Violet asked as Seeker spoke up.

"Pretty sure that's a ninja thing, Mom. That, or it's meant to be a way of adding extra intimidation to its appearance." Seeker said as Joker spoke up.

"Probably both, Seeker. But that's still some pretty keen insights you've got there." Joker said as Seeker smiled happily from Joker's praise before Yosuke and Flare started charging at one another to start their rematch by entering a clash with their kunai and tonfas respectively. Yosuke then had Takehaya Susano-o launch multiple gusts of Wind while Flare did the same as she had Hester launch a blast of multiple Ice attacks. The attacks ended up causing a stalemate when they met in the middle which was followed up by Yosuke knocking Flare back a few feet as Takehaya Susano-o launched a surprise 'Brave Blade' attack on Flare which caused her to endure massive damage.

However, Flare was able to recover thanks to being healed by Hester in which she then had her Persona launch 'Myriad Slashes' at Yosuke which he was able to dodge easily. For a while, the match was then pretty back-and-forth with both sides throwing powerful attacks at one another, though Yosuke had to do quite a bit more dodging compared to Flare since she had three different offensive skills she could use from Hester, whereas Yosuke only had two (three if one were to count both 'Garudyne' and 'Magarudyne') from Takehaya-Susano-o. But after a while, Flare seemed to slow down slightly and took a moment to catch her breath as she spoke up.

"Not bad, Hanamura-san. You weren't kidding when you said that you trained since our last battle. But you may have forgotten that my Persona has healing capabilities unlike yours." Flare said as she used Hester to heal herself again just as Yosuke smirked and spoke up.

"Well then, it's a good thing I kept this move in my back pocket until now." Yosuke said as Flare spoke up.

"Wait, to what move are you alluding to?" Flare asked as Yosuke laughed and spoke up.

"Glad you asked. But rather than answer your question, I'll let my actions answer that question for you. DO IT, TAKEHAYA SUSANO-O! UNLEASH YOUR MIGHTY WIND!" Yosuke said as Takehaya Susano-o nodded, waving its hands and causing Yosuke to be briefly covered in a green aura as he felt his health recover and his speed go up, before he smirked and spoke up while running around to show off his speed much to the shock of Flare as she spoke up.

"You were able to heal and buff your agility?" Flare asked as Yosuke smirked and spoke up

"That's right. Impressed, Flare? You've just witnessed the power of the 'Youthful Wind'!" Yosuke said as he then charged towards Flare to resume the clash of moves. After a bit, Flare started panting as she realized she'd used up most of her stamina and energy as she was trying to have Hester blast Yosuke with Nuclear blasts, but thanks to the power of Takehaya Susano-o's 'Youthful Wind', Yosuke was able to continuously dodge them with ease. Yosuke then smirked and spoke up.

"Worn out, Flare? Too bad. I guess it's time to finish it, then. DO IT, TAKEHAYA SUSANO-O! ULTIMATE ATTACK!" Yosuke said as Takehaya Susano-o nodded and thrust an arm outward, making several saw-blade shaped energy discs shoot out at Flare, who could only grimace and cross her tonfas as the attacks pelted her, which was followed by Yosuke's Persona launching its giant sawblade which upon making contract caused an explosion that lifted Flare off her feet and blasted her backwards to land on her back with a groan, prompting her to struggle to her feet, only to groan and collapse to the ground in defeat, making Panther and Seraphim both gasp as they spoke up.

"FLARE!" Panther and Seraphim both said as they saw Flare collapsed on the ground while Yosuke posed triumphantly and spoke up.

"And with that, both my honor and Labrys' have been avenged! Better luck next time." Yosuke said as Fuuka raced over to check on Flare. Once she confirmed Flare was merely unconscious, she waved an arm inside of Juno to signal the end of the match as she healed Yosuke with 'Oracle'.

(Match 17 End. Winner: Yosuke)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Naoto, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Fox, Queen, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, and Flare)

After confirming that Flare was okay, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result.

"And after that intense bout, Yosuke wins the seventeenth match! Phantom Thieves have five minutes to clear Flare off the battlefield and send in their next battler." Fuuka said as Queen and Panther carried Flare off the battlefield, where Violet, Seeker, and surprisingly Crow all worked together to get Flare back on her feet with a mix of 'Samarecarm' and healing moves. After a bit, Flare came to just as Seraphim spoke up.

"Are you alright, Flare?" Seraphim asked as Panther spoke up.

"You took quite a heavy beating out there." Panther said in concern for her fiance as Flare smiled and spoke up.

"Don't worry, you two. I'm fine. Still, that didn't go entirely according to plan, but at least I took out Labrys so that gives us some form of a fighting chance. Although I must say, Yosuke is quite the fast guy." Flare said as Joker and Crow both winced as Queen spoke up.

"Well, I think this situation seems familiar, doesn't it?" Queen asked as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. This the same problem we ran into with at least one other member of the Investigation Team and/or Shadow Operatives." Joker said as Crow nodded before speaking up.

"Right. And with Flare down, I think we only have a couple of speedy battlers left to send out. But I hesitate on sending any of them since I don't think any of them have type advantage on Yosuke." Crow said as most of the group went silent at this before Fox spoke up.

"Perhaps that's true. But type advantage isn't everything, Crow. Or do I need to bring up the time when you managed to overcome a massive type disadvantage to defeat Draconis?" Fox said as Draconis frowned and spoke up.

"Gee, way to use me as an example, Fox. But you're not wrong. Am I to assume that your speaking up means that you wish to volunteer to go next?" Draconis asked as Fox thought about it and nodded before speaking up.

"Indeed. I might not have the type advantage, but I can at least mostly match Yosuke's speed to some extent, and who better to defeat a wielder of a 'Susano-o' than the one who used to wield one before? Besides, we both have very similar skillsets when it comes to using Physical attacks and buffing our agility. Along with that, my Persona can also resist Wind attacks, so I should be able to hold my own against him more than most of our remaining battlers." Fox pointed out as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"Good point, Fox. If you think you can defeat Yosuke, then go for it." Crow said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"I agree with Crow. If you feel so confident in your chances, then get in there, Fox." Joker said as Fox nodded, picking up his katana and heading out to face Yosuke. Once Fox made it onto the battlefield, Yosuke smirked and spoke up.

"Interesting. So my next opponent is the kitsune samurai? You know, aside from Flare, I've been wanting to face you as well seeing as we have similarly spelled names." Yosuke said as Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed, with yours having an 'o' and mine having a 'u'. But don't expect me to hold anything back just because we have similarities, Yosuke. I intend to give this my all." Fox said as Yosuke nodded and spoke up.

"Well said, Fox. Besides, we're both strong fighters here. As such, I think you'd agree with me when I say that for either one of us to do anything less than give our all would be both an affront to the other, and a disrespect of the highest order." Yosuke said as Fox nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"I agree. Let's do this. Best of luck to you, Yosuke." Fox said as Yosuke nodded before returning the sentiment as Fuuka spoke up.

"Looks like our next match will be interesting. We have a clash of the 'suke's here. Will Fox or Yosuke get the next win? Let the eighteenth match, begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the eighteenth match.

(Match 18 Start- Fox VS Yosuke)

As the match started up, Fox and Yosuke spoke up in unison.

"COME, GOROKICHI!/BLOW 'EM AWAY, TAKEHAYA SUSANO-O!" Fox and Yosuke said as they summoned their Personas, making Junpei wince on the Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline as he saw Fox's Persona and speak up, looking towards Akihiko, who was the closest to him, as he spoke.

"Dude, am I crazy, or does Fox's Persona have a freakin' pompadour hairdo? Weren't those outlawed years ago?" Junpei asked as Akihiko spoke up.

"I wouldn't know. I don't keep up with fashion trends, Junpei. I bet Mitsuru or Yukari would know that more readily than I would. But no, you're not crazy. Gorokichi is a bit of an eyesore. Still, it's not about how fashionable a Persona is, it's about how good it is in battle." Akihiko said as Junpei nodded his understanding before Fox spoke up.

"I must admit, I didn't realize that we both had the power of the 'Susano-o' on our side, Yosuke. Sure, in my case, I don't have that power anymore since at the time it was my second-tier Persona, but the fact remains that we both had the ability to call upon 'Susano-o' type Personas at some point proves that you and I are not so different." Fox said as Yosuke spoke up.

"If you say so. But let's see if you can be able to keep up with me!" Yosuke said as he charged at Fox, kunai in hand. Fox brandished his katana and easily blocked the kunai slash from Yosuke as the two clashed blades for a bit before the two then jumped away from each other. This was followed by Fox having Gorokichi launch multiple Ice blasts at Yosuke which he skillfully dodged as he countered by having Takahaya Susano-o launch gusts of Wind. But to Yosuke's surprise, while Fox was able to dodge most of the Wind attacks, the ones that did hit him only caused minor damage to Fox as the former then groaned and spoke up.

"You gotta be kidding me, you can resist Wind?" Yosuke asked as Fox spoke up.

"Indeed I can. Even if I'm unable to dodge all your gusts of fury, I can still be able to endure with little to no damage." Fox said as Yosuke spoke up

"Then if that's the case, let's take this up a notch. TAKEHAYA SUSANO-O! LET THE WIND BLOW!" Yosuke said as Takehaya Susano-o nodded, letting Yosuke recover the little bit of strength he'd lost thus far, as well as covering him in a green glow to signify that his agility had increased. Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Impressive that you can be able to boost your agility as well as heal yourself. Unfortunately for you, whereas I'm unable to heal, I can be able to more than just buff my agility. GOROKICHI!" Fox said as Gorokichi nodded, doing an intricate sort of dance with Fox that ended with the Phantom Thief pointing his katana upwards as a burst of light from Gorokichi struck the blade and flowed into Fox, who smirked as his body was covered in a multi-colored glow, showing that all his stats had increased. At the same time, over on the Phantom Thieves' sideline, a confused Crow spoke up.

"Uhh, what was that little stunt supposed to accomplish for Fox, exactly?" Crow asked as Draconis spoke up with a grin.

"Besides looking badass? That was very clearly Fox's 'Hyakka Ryouran' Master Art, which ups all his stats like a 'Heat Riser'. So clearly Fox is gearing up to hit Hanamura hard and fast. I approve, since this isn't a time to take unnecessary chances." Draconis said as Violet and Joker nodded their agreement, the former speaking up.

"That's true." Violet said as back on the battlefield, Fox and Yosuke stared each other down as they primed their weapons as Yosuke spoke up.

"You may think that I'm scared just because you can buff your attack and defense alongside your agility. But I can assure you that I can take it." Yosuke said as Fox spoke up.

"Very well then, let's see which one of us has the better blade." Fox said as both he and Yosuke spoke up in unison.

"GOROKICHI!/TAKEHAYA SUSANO-O! LET'S END THIS!" Fox and Yosuke said as they charged at each other, blades extended, all while both Gorokichi and Takehaya Susano-o launched 'Brave Blade' at their respective opponents. The result of clashing weapons and powerful Physical moves caused a blinding flash of light in mid-air which once it died down, both Fox and Yosuke landed on opposite sides of the arena. After a moment, Fox smirked as Yosuke, who ended up being hit harder thanks to the increased attack power of Fox's 'Brave Blade', grimaced as he began to stumble and spoke up.

"Urgh. Dammit, you got me fair and square. Well played, Fox." Yosuke said before passing out in defeat as everyone on the mixed Investigation Team/Shadow Ops sideline gasped in surprise while Fuuka ran to check on Yosuke, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw he was just passed out and unconscious. After that, she waved an arm to end the match inside of Juno to end the match as Juno healed Fox with 'Oracle'. Fox then smirked as he spoke up while using his fingers to make a frame around the defeated Yosuke, smiling to himself at how picturesque Yosuke looked on the ground.

"Excellent. Another aesthetically pleasing victory. Apologies for defeating you, but it was necessary." Fox said as the match ended.

(Match 18 End. Winner: Fox)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Chie, Naoto, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Fox, Queen, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, and Yosuke)

After confirming that Yosuke was all right, Fuuka confirmed the result of the match by speaking up.

"After that intense clash, Fox wins the eighteenth match. Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives have five minutes to send in their next battler." Fuuka said as Chie and Naoto went out on the battlefield to carry Yosuke back to the Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline, where Aigis used 'Samarecarm' to get Yosuke on his feet, after which Akihiko patched him up with 'Diarahan'. At that point, Yosuke spoke up.

"Crap. I lost, didn't I?" Yosuke asked as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Afraid so, partner. But at least you got rid of Flare before you lost, so I'd say you accomplished what you set out to do. So take some solace in that." Yu said as Yosuke frowned but nodded. However, before he could speak up, Labrys beat him to speaking up.

"You were incredible out there, Yosuke-kun. You did more than a good enough job as my champion." Labrys said, making Yosuke smile as he spoke up.

"Yeah? That's good to hear." Yosuke said and as he groaned in pain, Labrys spoke up while looking at Yu.

"Don't worry Yu-kun, I'll take care of him. Go discuss who to send out next." Labrys said as Yu nodded as a sign of thanks as he then walked over towards the remaining Persona-users just as Naoto spoke up.

"Okay, so we're down to the 8 of us. So who are we sending in to face Fox? Because based on what I witnessed, he's not only fast, but he can hit like a freight train." Naoto said as Yu spoke up.

"True. And from what I could see, he seems inclined towards Ice attacks, suggesting a weakness to Fire moves. Unfortunately, most of our Fire users are already out of the fight." Yu said as Junpei spoke up.

"Well, not all of them. I could always volunteer to step up seeing as my Persona can use Fire skills. However, I don't think I'll be able to keep up with Fox in terms of his speed. Granted, I can also buff my defense, but seeing as he has a skill that can buff all his stats, there's no way I will stand a chance." Junpei said as Akihiko spoke up.

"Huh, that's actually quite smart of you, Junpei. But that still begs the question of who to send out. And before anyone asks, it can't be me since my Persona has a weakness to Ice." Akihiko said as silence reigned on the Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline for a time until Chie spoke up.

"Well, if we can't hit his weakness, why not send out someone who can tank his element well?" Chie asked as several wide-eyed looks of surprise were directed at her, making her shyly blush in embarrassment as she spoke up.

"What, did I have another good idea? I really do hate it when everyone just stares at me." Chie said as Mitsuru smirked and spoke up.

"You did have a brilliant idea, Satonaka. However, the only ones still in this fight that can at least somewhat resist Ice moves are you and myself, and I want to save my strength for when I have to battle Violet. Therefore, you're the only one left who can resist Ice attacks, outside of maybe Narukami, and I have a feeling he wants to save himself for last if possible." Mitsuru said as Chie nodded and spoke up.

"That's fair. I don't mind going next if necessary. If nothing else, I don't think there's a particularly favorable matchup within the remaining Phantom Thieves for me, so this is as good a time as any for me to step up." Chie said as Akihiko spoke up.

"You know the more that I think about it, you might be our best bet to countering Fox instead of Mitsuru, Satonaka. After all, don't you have a similar skill that can buff all your stats like Fox's?" Akihiko asked as Chie blinked before realization hit her and spoke up.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. If that's the case, then I might really be our best chance. Thanks for the reminder, Master." Chie said as Akihiko smiled as Yu looked at her and spoke up.

"Still though, are you sure about wanting to go in next, Chie?" Yu asked as Chie nodded and spoke up.

"I am. I know this sounds risky, but I want you to trust me that I can handle this." Chie said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"I understand. If that's what you want, you're up. Good luck, Chie." Yu said as Chie nodded, walking out to the arena to face Fox, who smirked and spoke up.

"Interesting. I didn't expect you to be my next opponent, Satonaka. However, I guess it's fitting seeing as we both possess similar abilities in both Physical and Ice. With this in mind, let us hope we can paint a picturesque view for the others with our battle." Fox said as Chie blinked in confusion before she spoke up.

"Uhh, what? Eh, whatever. Good luck to you, Fox. May the best battler win." Chie said as Fox nodded, shaking hands with Chie as Fuuka spoke up inside of Juno.

"How nice. We have a display of good sportsmanship before our next bout between Chie and Fox. And in this clash of Ice and Physical users, who will come out on top? Let the nineteenth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the next match.

(Match 19 Start- Fox VS Chie)

As the match started, Fox and Chie bowed to one another before speaking up in unison.

"COME, GOROKICHI!/PROTECT ME, HARAEDO-NO-OKAMI!" Fox and Chie said as they summoned their Personas. Over on the Phantom Thieves sideline, both Draconis and Oracle's eyes got comically wide behind their mask/under their helmet at the sight of Chie's Persona, which was mostly clad in samurai armor, wielded a double-bladed beam sword for its weapon, and had white hair, as Oracle spoke up.

"WHAT!? Is that Persona seriously a samurai Sith lord?" Oracle asked as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"I do believe so, Oracle. Specifically, it looks like a samurai variant of Darth Maul from The Phantom Menace." Draconis said as most of the Phantom Thieves just groaned at the brief nerd moment between Oracle and Draconis.

Back on the battlefield, Fox and Chie charged each other, as Fox tried to slash his katana at Chie, she was able to dodge it and do a quick kick to Fox's chest followed by a couple of punches to his back. Chie then followed by trying to hit the kitsune Phantom Thief with one of Haraedo-No-Okami's Physical moves as the Persona summoned flaming meteors that began to rain down. Fox quickly dodged the attack as he then had Gorokichi unleash 'Myriad Slashes' on Chie to which she took some massive damage.

Chie had Haraedo-No-Okami unleashed a blast of Ice at Fox while Fox countered with his own Ice skill from Gorokichi. As the two attacks sailed past each other, they ended up hitting their opponents with Fox being hit first. As the kitsune Phantom Thief was able to shrug off the damage from Chie's Ice attack, to his complete shock, as his Ice spell made contact with Chie, the move healed her instead of damaging her. After finding his voice after overcoming his shock at having his Ice-type attack absorbed by Chie's Persona, he spoke up in disbelief.

"INCONCEIVABLE! Your Persona can absorb Ice skills!?" Fox asked, his eyes widened slightly behind his mask as Chie nodded and spoke up.

"Yup. I might not be as proficient with Ice moves as you are. However, I can and will, more than make up for that slight flaw with an impressive array of Physical skills. So let's do this." Chie said as Fox nodded, invoking 'Hyakka Ryouran' to up his stats as he spoke up.

"I agree. But don't think that you'll be able to best me easily, Satonaka! If I'm to lose to you, I mean to do so while fighting!" Fox said defiantly as Chie smirked at Fox's desperate attempt to turn the tables before laughing and speaking up.

"Well said, Fox. I respect your resolve. And as far as your little stunt just now, is that how you mean to attempt your comeback? Too bad for you, it won't make any difference at all. You see, much as you can use your Persona to increase all of your stats at once, I can do the same thing too. SHOW HIM, HARAEDO-NO-OKAMI! DRAGON HUSTLE!" Chie said as her Persona nodded and swung her beam sword in a circle, summoning a dragon that swirled around Chie and caused her body to be covered in a multi-colored glow, signifying that her stats were all increased as Fox spoke up in awe.

"Such a fantastic display of power. I must admit, I didn't think you possessed a similar stat-boosting power as me, Satonaka. But let us see which one has the better resolve to finish this fight." Fox said as Chie smirked and spoke up.

"With pleasure! Now bring it on, Fox!" Chie said as she and Fox then charged at each other, Chie managing to carefully deflect Fox's slash with a well-placed kick at his katana which ended up causing it to fly away and land a few feet away from Fox. Chie then backflipped out of harm's way and landed safely on the ground a couple of feet away while her Haraedo-No-Okami snapped its fingers and covered Chie in an orange glow as her physical power had now been boosted with 'Charge' as she and Fox spoke up.

"GOROKICHI!/HARAEDO-NO-OKAMI! LET'S FINISH THIS!" Fox and Chie said as their Personas proceeded to clash skills, with Gorokichi unleashing 'Brave Blade' with a big slash as Haraedo-No-Okami clashed the attack with a giant fist as it used 'God's Hand'. The result was a power struggle but after a few seconds, the latter eventually overpowered the former thanks to Chie's physical attack boost, leaving a wide-eyed Fox to gasp as the fist continued unimpeded to crash directly into him, causing an explosion as he was launched backwards off his feet, eventually hitting the ground a few times and rolling to a halt a couple of feet away, very clearly unconscious and defeated. While the remaining Phantom Thieves gasped, Fuuka raced out to check on Fox, sighing in relief when she saw he was just unconscious and not in danger. As she waved an arm to end the match while Juno used 'Oracle' to heal Chie, Chie smirked and spoke up.

"All right! I won! Better luck next time." Chie said as the match ended.

(Match 19 End. Winner: Chie)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Chie, Naoto, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Queen, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, and Fox)

After Fuuka confirmed Fox was okay, she confirmed the result of the match while speaking up.

"After that rather interesting battle, Chie wins the nineteenth bout! Phantom Thieves have five minutes to send in their next battler." Fuuka said as Wolf and Draconis went out onto the battlefield to carry Fox to the Phantom Thieves' sideline, where both Seeker and Violet got Fox back on his feet with 'Samarecarm', while Draconis and Queen patched him up with their healing skills. Once Fox came to with a groan, he spoke up.

"Alas, I lost. But at least I was able to remove Yosuke if nothing else. But regardless, Chie is fearless. She literally ran up and kicked my sword away, with no fear of damaging her shoes or feet. Not to mention that giant fist move she used to overpower me. I must admit, that was quite intense." Fox said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. However, I can't help but notice that Chie doesn't seem to have a weapon to speak of, so much as she uses her limbs as her weapons. If not for the fact she mostly kicks, I'd say she has a similar fighting style to Draconis." Joker said as Draconis frowned at Joker comparing him to Chie before he shook his head in disagreement and spoke up.

"No, she doesn't. I might use some kickboxing as part of my fighting style, but it's only a small part of it. I'm moreso about the martial arts and jujitsu. If anything, her fighting style is closer to that of Queen, since I've seen her do a drop kick or two while doing her aikido." Draconis pointed out as Queen nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. And while I have a feeling that Chie could possibly be weak to Fire, I don't think we have any dedicated Fire users left who are battle-capable. And while I haven't forgotten that both Joker and Draconis can also use Fire moves, I feel like it's still a bit too soon to send either of them in. Thus, this leaves only five possible Persona-users to consider for who should fight Chie." Queen said as Seeker frowned and spoke up.

"Unfortunately, Queen. You may need to narrow down the possible options to four. After witnessing Chie's current capabilities, I don't believe I will be able to defeat her again." Seeker said as Violet spoke up.

"Seeker's is right. Pitting her against Chie again will prove to be a very bad choice. During the first bout, Seeker barely managed to beat Chie. And even after that, she ended up not being able to participate in the rest of the fights due to the damage that was inflicted on her during her battle. Therefore, I believe it would be best to exclude Seeker from this fight, along with Joker and Draconis." Violet said as Crow spoke up.

"So with that being said, that just leaves myself, Violet, Queen, and Wolf as the remaining options. Although, I think I may want to inform you all that I'm saving my strength for when it comes to my rematch against Naoto. So even with that, our choices are strictly limited." Crow said as Wolf smirked and spoke up.

"Then if that's the case, why not send in someone who can match, or at least somewhat match, Satonaka's fighting style? After all, didn't you say you use aikido, Queen? I feel like if anything, you could be the best option to send in." Wolf said as Queen blinked at this and spoke up.

"Me!? I'll admit, it's not the worst idea. But what's to say Satonaka doesn't resist or nullify Nuke attacks?" Queen said as Draconis spoke up.

"She doesn't, Queen. During the last fight, Oracle was able to scan Chie with Al Azif. And while you're correct about her weakness regarding Fire skills, Chie can also absorb Ice and nullify Bless skills, the former of which was showcased thanks to Fox. However, she is neutral to everything else, so you'd have as good a shot as any of us against her." Draconis said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Draconis is right. Additionally, I may want to mention the fact that you also have the one skill that is essentially the perfect counter to Chie's all-stat-boosting skill. Furthermore, if anyone could withstand a kick from her, it's probably you. So, do you believe you will be able to go out there and give it your best shot?" Joker asked as Queen paused to mull both Draconis and Joker's words over before she nodded and spoke up.

"I think I can do that, Joker. Especially considering your mention of that particular technique. Well, here goes. Wish me luck." Queen said as the rest of the Phantom Thieves wished her luck before she went out to the arena to face Chie, who smirked as she spoke up.

"Ah, so another martial artist is my next opponent? Although, a part of me was hoping to fight Draconis since he is the 'Kung-Fu Dragon'. However, I'm okay with battling with you instead, Queen. Hopefully, you put up more of a fight than your friend did. I almost felt bad putting him down as fast as I did." Chie said as Queen huffed and spoke up.

"Yes, well, Fox is a gentleman and wouldn't have gone all-out on a lady regardless, Satonaka. But have no fear, I will be going all-out on you." Queen said as she assumed a battle-ready stance as Fuuka spoke up inside of Juno.

"A battle between two different styles of martial arts. Who will come out on top between Chie and Queen? Let the twentieth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the match.

(Match 20 Start- Queen VS Chie)

As the match began, Queen and Chie glared at one another and spoke up in unison.

"CHARGE, AGNES!/PROTECT ME, HARAEDO-NO-OKAMI!" Queen and Chie said as they summoned their Personas. Over on the Shadow Operatives and Investigation Team sideline, Akihiko smirked as he nudged Junpei to get his attention before speaking up.

"Heh, look at how steampunk Queen's Persona looks. I mean, it looks like the lovechild of a motorcycle and a freight train." Akihiko said as Junpei nodded and spoke up.

"Good point. That's pretty wild. But let's see how Chie adapts to this turn of events." Junpei said as Akihiko nodded his agreement as the match proceeded. Back in the arena, Chie and Queen traded blows back and forth, showing they were a near-even match in terms of kung-fu/aikido talent with their punches and in Chie's case, kicks. Chie was able to backlift away from one of Queen's strikes as she used Haraedo-No-Okami to launch an Ice attack at Queen.

However, Queen was able to dodge the attack thanks to her riding on Agnes as she countered by sending multiple blasts of Nuclear at Chie to which she was able to dodge some of them only to eventually end up getting knocked down. After getting back up and needing to change tactics, Chie had Haraedo-No-Okami unleash 'Agneyastra' as flaming meteors began to rain down. While Queen was able to out-maneuver thanks to Agnes, she was soon caught off guard as Chie unleashed a surprise 'God's Hand' from Haraedo-No-Okami as she was knocked to the floor. As Queen had Agnes healed herself with 'Diarahan' she and Chie engaged in hand-to-hand combat again. After a bit more fighting, Chie spoke up.

"So you think you can try to wear me out by being evasive, huh? Not for long! HARAEDO-NO-OKAMI! LET'S SHOW HER OUR HUSTLE!" Chie said as Haraedo-No-Okami did the same dragon move from before to up all of Chie's stats. Over on the Phantom Thieves' sideline, Draconis smirked at this and spoke up.

"Dude, that move looks so freakin' clean. I love it. However, I am not a fan of it being just the equivalent of a 'Heat Riser'. Fortunately, Chie picked probably the worst possible person to use it against. If I'm right, Queen will demonstrate that for us here in a second." Draconis said as Seeker tilted her head to the side and spoke up.

"She will? Interesting." Seeker said as on the battlefield, Queen smirked and spoke up.

"I was hoping you'd try that, Satonaka. You see, unfortunately for you, while your move is impressive, I have a perfect counter for that. AGNES! SHOW HER WHAT I MEAN!" Queen said as Agnes nodded and as the Persona's golden eyes flashed, what appeared to be a magical circle formed around Chie as a burst of energy shot down her body, making her groan as she felt her stats lower, causing her to speak up.

"GAH! What the heck!? My stats went back down! What was that?" Chie said as Queen smirked and spoke up.

"Glad you asked. Fittingly enough, that was one of Agnes' better Master Arts. And I say fittingly because the name of the Master Art is 'CHECKMATE'! As in the moment in chess when a player loses! And much like in chess, your game ends here. NOW, AGNES!" Queen said as Agnes made a quick circle in front of Chie which caused a blinding flash of light to go off, blocking her view temporarily. Chie tried to counter by launching more Physical attacks from Haraedo-No-Okami only for them to not even come close to hitting Queen. When she could see again, Queen was riding on Agnes and speaking up.

"And now to end it! IT'S SHOWTIME! GUN IT, AGNES!" Queen said as she revved Agnes' engine and did a quick couple donuts around Chie, who could only blink before Queen backflipped into the air and primed her fist back, charging it with Nuclear energy as she spoke up with a smirk.

"THIS IS IT! TIME TO TASTE MY FURY! FIST! OF! JUSTICE!" Queen said as she dove at Chie, slamming into the ground in front of her and causing an explosion of Nuclear energy where her attack impacted the ground, leading to a pained scream from Chie as she was lifted off her feet and brutally slammed back down to land in a crater near a smugly posing Queen, very clearly defeated and unconscious. After a bit, Fuuka raced over to check on Chie, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw that Chie was still breathing, even if she was unconscious. After confirming that Chie was okay, Fuuka waved an arm inside of Juno to end the match while Juno healed Queen using its 'Oracle' skill as Queen smirked and spoke up while posing like a badass.

"Justice is served! Who wants to taste my fury next?" Queen said as the match ended.

(Match 20 End. Winner: Queen)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Naoto, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Queen, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, and Chie)

After the match was over, Fuuka spoke up inside Juno to confirm the result.

"After a rather impressive finish, Queen wins the twentieth bout! Now that each side only has a few battlers left, these matches are going to start being increasingly key for each side. So far, it's been pretty neck-and-neck, but if either side gets any significant traction at this point, it could lead to them getting the victory. Anyways, Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives, you have five minutes to clear Chie off the battlefield and send in your next battler." Fuuka said as Aigis carried Chie off the battlefield and laid her onto the bench on the mixed Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline, where she used 'Samarecarm' to get Chie on her feet, followed by Akihiko using 'Diarahan' to patch up Chie, who groaned as Yukiko came up to her and spoke up.

"Are you okay, Chie? That was a very nasty blow, wasn't it." Yukiko asked as Chie nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Seriously, who knew Queen was so strong?" Chie said as Akihiko smirked and spoke up.

"I could've guessed that, judging from how she carried herself. I'm aware Queen is a lady, but she's also a very formidable fighter. But, I think this back-and-forth between these two teams has gone on long enough." Akihiko said as both Yu and Mitsuru gave their friend a surprised look as Marie spoke up.

"Hold on. Are you saying that you want to go next, Akihiko-san?" Marie asked as Akihiko nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. I think this is the time for me to take the field and avenge my apprentice. The fact that doing so will allow me to personally put her skills to the test is just an added bonus. And if nothing else, maybe I can follow up a win against Queen with a chance to spar against a certain Phantom Thief whose skill I've been curious to sample up-close and personal." Akihiko said as Yu and Mitsuru exchanged surprised looks at the serious look on Akihiko's face before Yu spoke up.

"You know what? If you want to go out there so badly Sanada-san, then so be it. Do your best to get a couple of wins for us." Yu said as Mitsuru spoke up with a worried expression on her face.

"Just be careful, Akihiko. While your Persona possesses all three debuff skills, Queen still has that move that can lower your attack, defense, and agility simultaneously." Mitsuru said as Akihiko nodded and spoke up after punching his fist into his open palm excitedly as he spoke.

"Don't worry, Mitsuru. I got this. Hopefully, these Phantom Thieves are as tough as I believe they are." Akihiko said and after kissing Mitsuru on the lips, he confidently strode out to face Queen on the battlefield, drawing a mix of reactions from the remaining Thieves that were watching from the Phantom Thieves sidelines. While Joker, Violet, Seeker, and Mona all exchanged worried looks with one another, Draconis, Crow, and Wolf just smirked, all three suspecting that this was going to be an intense fight and curious to see what Akihiko could do. Back on the battlefield, Akihiko stared down Queen and spoke up.

"I can see you have an impressive mastery of aikido, Queen. Especially since you were able to defeat my apprentice. But will it be enough for you to defeat me? Let's see if your skills can hold up against mine." Akihiko said as Queen gulped at the intense look Akihiko was giving her before forcing herself to arrange her face into her best glare as she spoke up.

"Indeed we shall. Don't think that I'm a pushover just because I'm a woman, Sanada. Draconis might have hyped up your boxing skills, but talking about it and seeing them in person are two very different things. So if you want a fight, bring it on! If I go down, I'm going down fighting! So give me everything you've got." Queen said as Akihiko smirked and spoke up while cracking both his neck and his knuckles in anticipation as he spoke.

"Good answer. I look forward to our match. Pray you don't end up disappointing me, Queen. And hopefully your friends are watching this, so they can see my skill for themselves." Akihiko said as Queen nodded and Fuuka walked over and spoke up.

"Wow! This match is already charged up, and we've not even gotten it underway! Looks like we have an interesting bout on deck here. Which fighter will win? The boxing master Akihiko, or the aikido specialist Queen? Let the twenty-first match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm to start the match.

(Match 21 Start- Queen VS Akihiko)

As the match started, Queen and Akihiko spoke up in unison.

"CHARGE, AGNES!/RISE UP, CAESAR!" Queen and Akihiko said as they summoned their Personas, making most of the Phantom Thieves look at Akihiko's Persona in surprise, as they saw what appeared to be a white armored human with a large sword in one hand, and the globe in the other. As the majority of the Phantom Thieves' jaws dropped while looking at Caesar, a surprised Auburn frowned and spoke up.

"Hold on, did Sanada-san say Caesar? As in Julius Caesar?" Auburn asked as Noir spoke up.

"I think you might be right, Auburn. That Persona seems to be depicting the ancient Roman war general." Noir said as Draconis spoke up with a smirk.

"Wait, hold up. Does the fact that Caesar has a globe in one hand mean that he's of the World Arcana?" Draconis asked as Oracle spoke up.

"Nope. Pretty sure Caesar is of the 'Emperor' Arcana." Oracle said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Fair enough. Either way, this should be a good bout. And this will allow me to see what Akihiko is capable of." Draconis said as Oracle nodded and the group fell silent to watch the match. Back in the arena, Akihiko threw a jab at Queen to test her reaction time, nodding approvingly when Queen quickly swerved out of the way and responded with a punch of her own against the boxer which he successfully blocked. The two traded punches for a little bit until Akihiko decided to change tactics by having Caesar unleash multiple Elec strikes at Queen, in which the Thief advisor used Agnes to dodge the multiple strikes of lightning. Queen countered by launching multiple Nuclear blasts from Agnes which forced Akihiko to leap out of the way.

This was followed up with Akihiko having Caesar use 'God's Hand' on Queen, but seeing that she dealt with that attack before with her battle against Chie, she was able to quickly dodge it. However, Queen was caught off guard as Akihiko came flying at her in an attempt to surprise punch her, but she was able to block the punch just in time as the Thief advisor countered the boxer by punching hard on his chest and causing him to be sent back a few feet.

This caused the two martial artists to charge at each other again and enter hand-to-hand combat again as the two traded blow after blow with each other all while both Agnes and Caesar unleashed more Nuclear and Elec attacks at their respective opponents. After a bit of fighting, Akihiko smirked as he spoke up.

"Impressive. You've got talent, Queen." Akihiko said as Queen spoke up.

"You think that's impressive? I'm just getting started! NOW, AGNES!" Queen said as Agnes nodded, her eyes glowing as a magic circle appeared around Akihiko as a burst of energy slammed into him, who grunted as he felt his stats decrease. Akihiko then chuckled and spoke up.

"Impressive, but if you think you're the only one here who can exploit debuffs to their benefit, then you're sadly mistaken. CAESAR! LET'S SHOW HER OUR FLURRY STRIKE!" Akihiko said as he ran forward, throwing a barrage of punches at Queen, the first three hitting head-on, each one making her body glow a different color due to Caesar enhancing Akihiko's punches, with the first being orange, then purple, and finally green. And once the first three punches connected, Queen winced as her stats were also lowered thanks to the first three strikes being laced with 'Matarunda', 'Marakunda', and 'Masukunda', in that order.

But then, Akihiko threw two more punches, one at Queen's torso and the other at her jaw, the torso shot hitting while Queen barely avoided the shot to her jaw. At that point, Queen and Akihiko proceeded to trade punches back and forth again for a bit, to the shock of both sidelines. After a bit, an explosion pushed Queen and Akihiko apart from one another, both panting and looking weary. However, Akihiko smirked as he snapped his fingers and Caesar healed him with 'Diarahan', at which point he smirked and spoke up.

"Not bad, Queen. You've pushed me farther than I thought you would. You've impressed me with your skills. But I'm afraid this match is over. NOW, CAESAR!" Akihiko said as Caesar nodded and shot up a bolt of lightning into the air, which Akihiko leapt up to slam his fist into, charging his fists with Elec power as he spoke up.

"HERE WE GO! I'LL TEAR YOU APART!" Akihiko said as he leapt up, fist primed, and slammed down into Queen, speaking up as a bolt of lightning crashed down and struck Queen with a lot of Elec damage.

"AND NOW, IT'S OVER! LIGHTNING SPIKE!" Akihiko said as a blinding light spread out from where his Theurgy connected with Queen, forcing most of the room to shield their eyes in order to avoid vision loss or damage, though virtually every one of the Phantom Thieves winced at the audible scream of agony Queen gave off as the Theurgy made contact with her, eventually causing a giant explosion.

When the explosion cleared away and the spectators and combatants could see again, all of the Phantom Thieves gasped at the sight of Queen laying on the ground in a crater, not moving but very clearly unconscious. At that point, at least six voices spoke up.

"QUEEN!" Joker, Skull, Violet, Mona, Seeker, and Noir all yelled in horror as Crow turned to Draconis and spoke up.

"Was that attack supposed to hit that hard?" Crow asked as Draconis shook his head and spoke up.

"Not quite, Crow. I think he might have slightly over-charged the move on accident, since he's probably used to the pain threshold of Shadows. I don't think he took into account the fact that he was facing another human when charging that move. But that's a guess on my part. Either way, I believe that Sanada-san didn't do that on purpose." Draconis said as Skull frowned at Draconis and spoke up.

"DUDE! What do you mean that wasn't on purpose, Draconis!? My girlfriend is lying on the ground out there and not moving! Are you saying that it was an accident that she got potentially electrocuted!?" Skull asked irately as Draconis spoke up.

"Honestly? Yes, Skull. That's exactly what I'm saying. Besides, Queen knew the risks when she went out onto the battlefield. So it's also somewhat her own fault for underestimating Sanada like that. But I can understand why you're angry as well. For what it's worth, I'm also worried about Queen. I just have a gut feeling that Sanada-san wouldn't have done that on purpose." Draconis said as Fuuka ran onto the field and confirmed that Queen was all right. When she saw Queen still breathing, she waved an arm to end the match as Akihiko spoke up while Juno healed him with 'Oracle'.

"Good fight, but you've still got a ways to go. But you've definitely got potential. As such, you did a good job just by lasting as long as you did." Akihiko said as the match ended with Akihiko crossing his arms triumphantly.

(Match 21 End. Winner: Akihiko)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Naoto, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, and Queen)

After the match, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result.

"Well, after that rather intense finish, Akihiko wins the twenty-first match. With a showing like that, can any of the Phantom Thieves hope to stop him!? Or have we finally seen the big swing land to give one side a much-needed surge in momentum? With just six battlers left, let's hope the Phantom Thieves can figure things out quickly, for their sake! Phantom Thieves, you have five minutes to get Queen off the battlefield and send out your next battler." Fuuka said as Skull and Noir carried Queen off the battlefield and laid her down on the Phantom Thieves' sideline, where the unlikely trio of Seeker, Violet, and Crow used a mix of 'Samarecarm' and healing skills to patch up Queen and get her back on her feet, after which Queen sat up just as Skull came up to her and spoke up.

"BABE! You okay? You're not hurt are you?" Skull asked as Queen with a slight grimace spoke up.

"Yeah...I'm fine...Skull. Just...a bit of a shock...that's all." Queen said as she twitched as she still felt the shock of Akihiko's Theurgy still present on her as Noir spoke up.

"Here, Queen. Perhaps this will help." Noir said as she used her Persona to cast 'Amrita Shower' to cure Queen of her shock status. Of which Queen let out a deep breath and spoke up.

"Thanks, Noir. Oof, that was rather brutal. Sanada doesn't play games, it seems. But I think I had him on the ropes slightly when he did that, so it's possible to beat him. With that being said, who will we send in next?" Queen said as Joker and Crow shrugged, not sure of that either. But that question would be answered a few moments later, as Draconis caught everyone's attention after shrugging off his overcoat and sweater, leaving him in just a form-fitting dark green muscle shirt on top that rarely was shown as Oracle gave Draconis a confused look while she spoke up.

"Why're you losing layers, Draconis?" Oracle asked as Draconis spoke up.

"Because I have a pretty good idea of who's going in next to face Sanada. And if I'm right about it being me, then I'm going to need to be able to move around nimbly in case Sanada-san decides to make things interesting, as I suspect he will." Draconis said as he holstered his knives on his belt while attaching his staff to the sheath on his back as Joker spoke up.

"Now hold on a second. You seem confident assuming that we're sending you in next, Draconis. What if we decide to, for example, send Wolf out instead?" Joker said as Draconis spoke up.

"You could, and that would be fair. But with all apologies to Wolf, he can't move that fast due to his heavy armor and high defense. Both of those would put him at a massive disadvantage against Sanada. Going by the speed he was moving when he was battling Queen, Sanada's not going to be one to wait around to get hit. So whoever we send has to not only be quick on their feet, but must also be able to meet Sanada blow for blow." Draconis said as Wolf winced and spoke up.

"He's not wrong. My outfit does sometimes get a bit difficult to move around in." Wolf said as Draconis spoke up.

"Right. And on top of that, I should probably mention that during our first meeting, Sanada and I decided to take a rain check on sparring with each other in the hopes that a better opportunity to do so would arise. Hence, I believe that this is a great opportunity to make good on that promise. But if you don't think I'm the best choice to send out, I understand. I'm just informing you of what Sanada and I discussed before." Draconis said as Joker and Crow exchanged shocked looks at this, realizing that Draconis was not only serious but looked quite resolved. After a bit, the both of them nodded as Crow spoke up.

"Well, I guess this was going to come eventually. I suppose it's only fair for you to go out there, brother. I wish you luck, but please don't embarrass yourself out there. Or worse, have me come in and save your hide." Crow said as Joker spoke up.

"Crow's comment aside, you've convinced me, Draconis. Get out there on the field and fulfill your promise to Akihiko. Also, if you can go out there and defeat him, even if you immediately fall after that, it can only be helpful to our chances. In addition, another upside to you going out there now is that Yu can't say that we're trying to face him two-on-one again. So this also helps with that. Good luck, Draconis." Joker said as Draconis nodded as he spoke up.

"Thanks, you two. I will do my best to take out Sanada, and hopefully notch at least one additional win on top of that." Draconis said as he lightly cracked his neck in preparation and stretched a bit before walking out to face Akihiko on the battlefield, making Akihiko smirk as he spoke up.

"Good. I was hoping you'd be the one they sent out next, Draconis. Looks like this is our chance to pit our skills against one another. With that said, what do you say we make this more interesting?" Akihiko said as Fuuka and Yu exchanged wary looks, not sure what Akihiko was getting at. As for Draconis, he merely arched one eyebrow inquiringly as he spoke up.

"What did you have in mind, Sanada-san? I'm listening." Draconis said as Akihiko smirked and spoke up.

"Simply put, I always hear that your nickname is the 'Kung-Fu Dragon', so why not put that to the test? The terms of my challenge are as follows. Basically, neither of us can use any weapons except for our fists and our Personas. A true clash of men, intended to put your skills to the test against mine. So, do you accept my proposal? I feel like this challenge can go a long way in reinforcing that reputation of yours." Akihiko said as Draconis thought about it and smirked before speaking up.

"I don't think your proposal goes against the rules Narukami-san laid down at the start of this rematch, so I don't think there'll be any objections from him if I accept your proposal. Fortunately, I had a feeling you'd try something like this after you defeated Queen, so I have no hesitation in accepting your challenge. That is, assuming Yu has nothing to say against it." Draconis said before turning towards Yu and Fuuka as the two exchanged an inquiring look and after a few seconds, they both nodded and turned back towards Draconis as Yu spoke up.

"I will allow this seeing as it doesn't break any of the bout's rules." Yu said as Draconis smiled and spoke up

"Great. Can I get a quick second to go back to my sideline to put my staff away since I won't need it? I'll leave my knives in their sheath, though." Draconis said as Yu spoke up.

"That's fine. Just be quick about it." Yu said as Draconis nodded walked back over to the Phantom Thieves' sideline and removed the sheath with his staff still in it, holding it out as he spoke up.

"Well, since I don't need this for now, let's leave it here for safekeeping. Oracle, hold my weapon for me!" Draconis said as Oracle nodded before Joker spoke up.

"Leave the knives with her too, Draconis. You agreed that there'd be no weapons. And it's only fair to truly live up to that." Joker said as Draconis sighed and spoke up.

"Fiiine, I'll also leave my throwing knives with Oracle." Draconis said as he removed his knives and handed them to Oracle with his staff as she spoke up.

"Good luck out there, Draconis. Try not to lose." Oracle said as she gave her boyfriend a quick kiss as Draconis smiled and spoke up.

"Don't worry, I can assure you that won't happen. It's time I show Sanada-san that I can live up to my title's name." Draconis said as he proceeded to march back towards the arena all while Oracle, after carrying her boyfriend's weapons to the bench, shamelessly moved closer to the front of the Phantom Thieves' sidelines to get a good view of Draconis and Akihiko's physiques as the two stared one another down while Draconis spoke up after a moment.

"All right, now that I've put away my weapons, I'm ready." Draconis said as Akihiko spoke up.

"Same goes for me. You're good to proceed, Fuuka." Akihiko said as Fuuka nodded and spoke up.

"Very well. Looks like we've got an interesting bout on our hands here. Which of these heavy hitters will notch this win? Will it be the master boxer Akihiko or the 'Kung-Fu Dragon' Draconis? Let the twenty-second match commence!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm to start the next match.

(Match 22 Start- Draconis VS Akihiko)

As the match started, Draconis and Akihiko bowed to one another before both spoke up in unison.

"DESCEND, MALEFOR!/RISE UP, CAESAR!" Draconis and Akihiko said as they summoned their Personas, while over on the mixed Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline, both Junpei and Ken's jaws dropped at the sight of Malefor, before Junpei looked at both Ken and Kanji while he spoke up.

"Dude, we're both looking at the same thing right now, right? That dragon looks so sick!" Junpei said as Ken nodded and spoke up.

"I think so. And I agree, Junpei. No idea how Draconis got such a huge Persona. But that dragon though, I feel like I've heard the name Malefor somewhere before. Either way, it looks badass! But Sanada-san isn't a pushover! So this should be a good fight." Ken said as Kanji spoke up.

"I agree. However, I would advise that you both not underestimate Draconis. Back when he fought Yu-senpai along with Joker, Draconis's Persona could utilize Fire, Wind, Physical, and even Almighty skills. And that's not to mention that it also has healing capabilities as well. So Sanada-san better watch his back out there." Kanji said as both Ken and Junpei nodded and the fight began! As the fight started, Akihiko and Draconis charged at each other, tossing jabs at one another, both reeling from a well-placed left hook to the jaw before continuing to trade blows for a bit until Akihiko managed to land a solid body blow to Draconis' torso, making him grunt from the impact as he spoke up.

"Nice shot, Sanada-san. But not good enough." Draconis said as he managed to land a solid right hook to Akihiko's face, pushing Akihiko back. Draconis then had Malefor release alternating blasts of Fire and Wind energy which Akihiko managed to quickly dodge as he then had Caesar unleash a surprised 'God's Hand' attack from Draconis behind which caused colossal Physical damage to the Phantom Thief. As Draconis was on the floor, Akihiko used this opportunity to jump in the air which was followed by him flying straight downwards with his right fist towards Draconis in order to try to knock him out. However, the Thief was able to roll out of the way of the attack as Akihiko's fist struck the ground. As Akihiko grunted in pain regarding his fists, he looked towards Draconis as the latter was getting up and spoke up.

"Not bad, you have some quick reflexes, Draconis. But can you handle this?" Akihiko said as he then had Caesar coat his fist in debuff energy again as he launched towards Draconis and hit him three times which caused the Phantom Thief's attack, defense, and agility to be lowered. Akhiko then had Caesar unleashed multiple Elec strikes on Draconis which caused him to be electrocuted. However, Draconis was able to quickly heal thanks to Malefor using 'Mediarahan' as the Phantom Thief spoke up.

"I'm impressed, Sanda-san. It's not every day that I meet someone who can match me in terms of fighting. But don't think I'm beaten just yet." Draconis said as he had Malefor unleash an earthquake that threw Akihiko off balance as he was knocked to the floor. Although Akihiko was prepared to roll out of the way in case Draconis tried to punch him from above, he was soon caught off guard as Draconis had Malefor unleash Almighty energy on him, enveloping the boxer in a small explosion.

Much to Draconis' shock, the boxer barely survived as he then used Caesar to heal himself with 'Diarahan'. The two then charge at each other as they exchange more jabs at each other's face, chest, and stomach. The fight continued like this for a bit, with the two trading solid blows back and forth. After quite a while had passed, both Draconis and Akihiko looked at each other and nodded as Akihiko spoke up while he and Kusa stopped to catch their breath.

"This bout is a very intense one, as I suspected it might be. But I think we can agree that it's well past time for us to start upping the ante. Otherwise, we could be here for quite a while." Akihiko said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"I wholeheartedly agree. I think it's time we start going all-out!" Draconis said as Akihiko smirked and spoke up.

"Well said. In that case, allow me to show you the full extent of my power." Akihiko said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Very well. Show me what you've got!" Draconis said as Akihiko nodded and spoke up.

"Gladly. You wanna see my full strength? BRING IT ON! TASTE MY ELECTRIC ONSLAUGHT!" Akihiko said as Caesar swung his sword, causing a bolt of lightning to strike Akihiko, who darted back and forth, raining a torrent of body blows on Draconis, who mostly shrugged the hits off before reaching out a fist in time to deflect the electrified strike aimed at him and speak up in a dry tone.

"Really? I'm pretty sure Queen, Wolf, and Auburn already have dibs on the term 'Onslaught' as a finisher. But that was pretty good. Now it's my turn. MALEFOR! YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Draconis said as Malefor nodded, tilting its head up and firing a torrent of flame from its' mouth, making three beams of elemental energy rain down with one being Fire, another being Wind, and the third being Almighty. The Fire and Wind beams then embedded themselves into Draconis' left fist and the Almighty beam embedded itself into his right. Draconis then spoke up.

"What do you say, Sanada? Shall we settle this with an elemental fistfight?" Draconis suggested as Akihiko smirked and spoke up.

"Interesting suggestion, Draconis. I like it! BRING IT ON!" Akihiko said as he swung his electrified fist at Draconis' face, missing when Draconis swerved his head out of the way, but the attack still connected, slamming directly into Draconis' eight-pack abs and making him grit his teeth as he swung his left fist at Akihiko's torso, knocking him back from the impact of the mixed Fire/Wind punch.

The impact of the mixed Fire/Wind punch from Draconis also had the added result of making Akihiko stagger enough for Draconis' right Almighty fist to move into an uppercut that collided with Akihiko's chin at the same time that Akihiko managed to catch Draconis in the jaw with a right hook that caused a freeze-frame of the two battlers punching each other in the face before time resumed with Draconis' attack overpowering Akihiko's and pushing Akihiko back.

The ensuing collision of fists resolved itself in Draconis' favor, culminating in Draconis striking Akihiko with a super-charged Almighty punch that lifted Akihiko off his feet with a grunt before Draconis leapt up and drove Akihiko into the ground with both fists, making him grunt as he crashed to the ground in an multi-colored explosion of energy, causing a cloud of smoke that blocked the arena from view. Once everyone could see again, Draconis was standing over a downed Akihiko, who struggled to a knee before frowning as he spoke up.

"Dammit. That packed a real punch. Looks like the stories of your skills are the real deal, Draconis. You win." Akihiko said as he collapsed onto his back to catch his breath. After a moment, Draconis smirked and extended out a hand to help Akihiko up, which he took as the two exchanged a manly one-armed hug as Draconis spoke up, ignoring the gasps and looks of shock he was sure were being exchanged on the Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sidelines as he spoke.

"You made me work for that win, Sanada. You're pretty good yourself. That could've easily gone either way. Good match. I'm probably gonna feel that right hook you nailed me with early on later, though. But that just means you know how to throw a punch." Draconis said as Akihiko nodded and spoke up.

"True. Good match. Looks like you managed to more than live up to your reputation as the 'Kung-Fu Dragon'. Good luck in the next fight." Akihiko said as he and Draconis bumped fists before Akihiko made his way to the Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline while Fuuka smiled at the display of good sportsmanship between the two as she waved an arm to end the match as Juno used 'Oracle' to heal Draconis, who smirked as he crossed his arms and spoke up.

"Whew, that was intense. I really had to work for that win. But I pulled it out in the end. Who's next?" Draconis said with a smirk as the match ended.

(Match 22 End. Winner: Draconis)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Naoto, Junpei, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Crow, Violet, Draconis, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, and Akihiko)

After Akihiko got off the field under his own power, Fuuka spoke up.

"Now THAT was an exhibition match! And after that intense battle, Draconis wins the twenty-second bout! Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives have five minutes to decide on who to send out next." Fuuka said as Akihiko had a seat on the Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline in time for Mitsuru to speak up as she proceeded to heal the boxer with 'Diarahan'.

"Imagine that, Akihiko. You actually found an opponent who was able to not only keep up with you, but defeat you. How does that feel, I wonder?" Mitsuru asked as Akihiko spoke up.

"To be honest with you, Mitsuru? It feels very bittersweet, truth be told. On one hand, I'm pleased that Draconis' skills are the real deal. On the other hand, I'm disappointed that I couldn't defeat him myself. But given the fact that he's said to rarely lose battles, I'm not too surprised that I lost. However, despite my disappointment at losing, I will say that the elemental fistfight we had at the end was pretty fun. I don't remember the last time I got such a rush from a fight." Akihiko said as Mitsuru sighed and spoke up.

"You and your adrenaline fixation, Akihiko. I worry about you sometimes." Mitsuru said as Junpei smirked and spoke up.

"I don't. After all, we're talking about a guy that once literally fought fully-grown bears with just his bare hands and won. And if he can handle that, I'd say Akihiko-senpai can handle himself quite well against most anything else after that." Junpei said as Akihiko nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Well said, Junpei. You know, if you weren't so used to fighting with a sword, you might have potential as a boxer. But I respect that you have your own way of fighting." Akihiko said as Yu spoke up.

"As riveting as this discussion is, shouldn't we be discussing whom to send out next against Draconis?" Yu asked as Marie spoke up.

"Is there anyone we CAN send that could stand up to him? Sure, I could go out and fight him. However, Draconis himself pointed out earlier that I'm a bit overpowered, so it might seem a bit too skewed in our favor. Also, if Akihiko couldn't beat him, do any of the rest of us have a chance?" Marie asked as Junpei spoke up.

"That's true, Marie. But I think we're underestimating Narukami and Shirogane. After all, those two were part of a group effort that literally destroyed a goddess, or at least that's what we heard from Kirijo-senpai after she had a chance to speak to Shirogane." Junpei said as Naoto smirked and spoke up.

"And every word of that was true, Iori-san. Granted, it was mostly Yu-senpai who struck the final blow, but the rest of us played a key role in making that blow possible. And as far as Draconis goes? He might be tough, but he's still human at the end of the day. So he's not invincible, despite what it seems like. But if you're all too scared to try and face him, I guess I'll have to go out there and personally demonstrate that he can be defeated. Unless, of course, Yu-senpai objects to me going out there?" Naoto said as Aigis spoke up before Yu got a chance to speak.

"Hold on, Naoto-san. Didn't you say that you wanted to save your strength for your rematch against Crow?" Aigis asked uncertainly as Naoto nodded and spoke up.

"I did say that. However, I have a feeling that he wouldn't go out until I made the first move. And what better way to give him that incentive than to beat his brother? If I can win against Draconis, I might be able to force Crow onto the field." Naoto said as Yu smirked and spoke up.

"That's not a bad strategy. In fact, I was hoping you'd volunteer, Naoto. After all, it's not exactly a secret that you have one of the more overpowered Personas in our group, aside from maybe myself and Marie. So if you want to go try your luck against Draconis, then go for it." Yu said as Naoto nodded and walked out to the battlefield to face Draconis much to the surprise of Crow. Once Draconis saw Naoto come onto the battlefield, he spoke up with a smirk.

"Ah, so you're my next opponent, Shirogane? I must admit, I am genuinely curious to see how well you fare against me. Especially since you were able to hold your ground quite effectively against Crow before, and he is one of our top fighters, second only to myself and Joker. Therefore, I am eager to see how my skills compare to yours." Draconis said as Naoto smirked and spoke up.

"Oh, I think you'll be quite pleasantly surprised by what I can do, Draconis. But I'll let you see that for yourself once we fight." Naoto said as Draconis nodded and spoke up while assuming a battle-ready stance as he spoke.

"Fair enough. Good luck to you, then. Let's do this." Draconis said as Naoto nodded, falling into her own battle-ready stances as Fuuka spoke up, seeing the charged tension between the battlers.

"Ooh, this should be good. Can Naoto bring down the 'Kung-Fu Dragon' Draconis, or have the Phantom Thieves finally found some much-needed momentum? Let the twenty-third match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the match.

(Match 23 Start- Draconis VS Naoto)

As the match started, Naoto spoke up with a smirk, finding the confidence shown by Draconis to be quite amusing.

"I see you didn't make a move to retrieve your weapons from your girlfriend. I didn't think the 'Kung-Fu Dragon' was one to hold anything back." Naoto said as Draconis spoke up with a confused look on his face.

"What's your point?" Draconis asked as Naoto spoke up, finding Draconis' confusion to be rather enjoyable.

"I'm saying, go get your weapons so we can give this our all." Naoto said as Draconis thought about it and nodded as he spoke up.

"Fair enough." Draconis said before looking to Fuuka as he kept speaking.

"Can we get a brief pause on this match so I can go retrieve my weapons? I meant to do it before the match, but forgot." Draconis said as Yu and Fuuka nodded before Draconis walked over to retrieve his staff and knives from Oracle as he returned to the battlefield and stared down Naoto as he spoke up.

"Happy now? I have my weapons on me. Let's do this." Draconis said as Naoto nodded and both Draconis and Naoto spoke up in unison.

"DESCEND, MALEFOR!/TO ME, YAMATO SUMERAGI!" Draconis and Naoto said as they summoned their Personas, making all of the Phantom Thieves blink at how pointy and pointy most of Yamato Sumeragi's body was, being a very shiny Persona with flowing blonde hair, a pair of red and white elbow fins, a red leather jacket, black leather gloves, and black leather pants with same-colored leather boots. Finally, Yamato Sumeragi had a white helmet with a dark blue tinted visor and a sword with a silver hilt in one hand. On the Phantom Thieves' sidelines, Violet gasped and spoke up as she looked over Naoto's Persona.

"Oh, wow. That Persona is so elegant and beautiful. I'm actually kinda impressed." Violet said as Seeker spoke up.

"It's cool, sure, but I feel like we have far more elegant Personas on our side. Just to name a few examples, there's Diego, Ella, and even both Hereward and Robin Hood. So I'm not that impressed." Seeker said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"You might also be biased since those are the Personas of your crush, your mother, and your Uncle Crow. But that's just my opinion, Seeker." Joker said as Seeker blushed but said nothing in response to Joker's calling her out on her feelings for Mona as the battle began in earnest. Naoto first tested Draconis's reflexes by shooting bullets from her gun which he was able to deflect easily with his staff. The original Detective Prince followed up by having Yamato Sumeragi unleash multiple blasts of Bless and Curse energy with some of them being insta-kill. However, Naoto soon quickly realizes that those skills are useless since Draconis was able to nullify both attacks as she spoke up.

"I see you're not making this any easier for me." Naoto asked as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"Nope, I'm not. You made a big mistake facing me since I can nullify half of your skillset. The only option for you is your Physical and Almighty skills. But don't think I will give you a chance to use them." Draconis said as he then had Malefor summon a tornado of Wind energy which was followed by Draconis launching his knives into the tornado as he then had Malefor breathe Fire energy into the twister, which created a raging inferno. The result was the knives coming straight out of the tornado which were coated in Fire energy. But much to Draconis' shock, Naoto was able to take the flaming knives as if they were nothing as she smirked and spoke up.

"You're not the only one who can block elements, Draconis." Naoto said as she then had Yamato Sumeragi unleash 'Vorpal Blade' on Draconis, which caused him to take severe Physical damage. Draconis was able to recover and had Malefor unleash 'Assault Dive' on Naoto which caused the Detective Prince to be knocked back as Draconis spoke up.

"As much as I want to keep this battle going, that 'Oracle' move that Fuuka's Persona used after my fight with Akihiko did heal me, but it wasn't a full heal. So this would probably be a time to slightly expedite the end of the match. In that case, let's show Naoto what we can really do. MALEFOR!" Draconis said as Malefor nodded, to which the dragon Persona first used 'Gigantomachia' to knock Naoto down.

Draconis then followed up by having Malefor throw his head back to breathe a torrent of Almighty fire that was equivalent to a 'Megidola' onto Naoto. However, just as the Almighty flame was about to make contact, Draconis' eyes went comically wide as Naoto chuckled and snapped her fingers as Yamato Sumeragi threw a golden shield into being around her that easily neutralized the fire entirely. Draconis' jaw dropped briefly before he recovered and spoke up in shock.

"Wait, what!? How can you nullify Malefor's fire so easily!?" Draconis asked as Naoto spoke up with a wry grin as she stood up.

"That's easy. Yamato Sumeragi has a special talent known as the 'Shield of Justice' that can erect a shield around me that can nullify any type of damage once." Naoto said as Draconis spoke up.

"So you're telling me that you have a similar move to Noir's 'Life Wall'? Draconis asked as Naoto nodded and spoke up.

"Correct, Draconis. However, because mine has such a high cost to use, there's a limit to how often I can utilize it. But for situations like this, it makes for the perfect distraction ploy. Now then, since you seem to be on the back foot, allow me to demonstrate the full power of my Persona. NOW, YAMATO SUMERAGI! FINISH THIS FIGHT WITH A REAL ALMIGHTY MOVE!" Naoto said as Yamato Sumeragi nodded and waved its' sword, causing a giant torrent of Almighty energy to build up, making Draconis, Crow, Joker, Oracle, and Pendragon's eyes go wide as they realized what was going on, making the former speak up.

"Oh, crap. Is that what I think it is!?" Draconis asked as Naoto laughed and spoke up, ignoring the unimpressed narrowing of Crow's eyes behind his mask at what she said next, due to his feeling as if she was throwing one of Draconis' shortcomings in his face, which he believed to be a dick move on Naoto's part.

"Yep. I did my research. And after all of that, may I just say that I find it rather ironic that I can defeat you with the very move that Malefor is incapable of learning outside of it being a potential cast from a Master Art. TASTE THE POWER OF OUR MEGIDOLAON!" Naoto said as Draconis' eyes widened behind his mask and he crossed his arms in front of him as he spoke up, knowing he was likely screwed, but he could at least try to minimize the impact of the move somewhat.

"Well, that sucks. Even I know that move's damn near impossible to block, so I think you might have me here, Shirogane. And at this point, I think there's only one thing left to say. THIS IS ABOUT TO HURT LIKE A SON OF A-!" Draconis said, his swearing cut off before it could start as the torrent of Almighty power slammed into him, blinding everyone around as four voices spoke up.

"DRACONIS!" Joker, Crow, Oracle, and Pendragon said as an explosion ensued when the attack connected and lifted Draconis off his feet before throwing him backwards a bit. For a bit, all that could be heard was Draconis' pained yells as the attack ravaged him. After everyone could see again, a visibly banged-up, if slightly singed, Draconis blinked as he spoke up after getting back to his feet.

"Well damn, I was right. Not only is that move impossible to block, but having it slam into me head-on really freakin' hurt. Well played, Shirogane. Looks like I lose this round." Draconis said before groaning as he collapsed to the ground and passed out in defeat, much to the shock of all the remaining battlers, and the slight fury of Crow. After confirming that Draconis was just unconscious, Fuuka waved an arm inside of Juno to end the match as Juno used 'Oracle' to heal Naoto, who smirked as she crossed her arms and spoke up

"Of course I won. This outcome was expected." Naoto said as she winked to the camera while giving Draconis a bow of respect while the match ended.

(Match 23 End. Winner: Naoto)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Naoto, Junpei, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Crow, Violet, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, and Draconis)

After the match, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result.

"Wow. After that rather impressive turn of events, Naoto wins the twenty-third match. With only five battlers left, have the Phantom Thieves been backed into a corner? We'll see. Phantom Thieves have five minutes to get Draconis off the battlefield and bring in their next battler." Fuuka said as Crow and Joker carried Draconis off the battlefield and laid him next to Oracle on the bench as both Seeker, Violet, and Crow got him back on his feet with a mix of 'Samarecarm' and other healing moves. After a bit, Draconis groaned as both Oracle and Pendragon came up to him as the latter spoke up.

"You okay, Draconis?" Pendragon asked as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

'Yeah, I'm fin..." Draconis began to say before Oracle embraced him tightly followed by her kissing him on the lips as she spoke up with tears in her eyes.

"Don't you dare scare me like that again, Draconis! I wasn't sure if that Almighty blast would've knocked you into a coma or something." Oracle said as Draconis spoke up after gently using a finger to dry the tears from Oracle's eyes.

"It's okay, Oracle. I've endured much worse. Still, who knew Naoto's Almighty prowess was greater than my own? I might be a proud man, but I can admit when I lost. And Shirogane beat me fair and square on this occasion." Draconis said as Crow spoke up.

"Perhaps, but she didn't have to be so uppity about it. And more importantly, Shirogane-san ending the match by throwing your inability to learn 'Megidolaon' in your face like that was uncalled for." Crow said irately as Wolf smirked and spoke up.

"Maybe it's just me, but it sure sounds like someone's fired up right now." Wolf said before he turned to Joker and grinned as he kept speaking.

"Hey, Joker! Why don't we turn Crow loose on Naoto? If nothing else, he can vent his fury on her. And if we're lucky, his fury will let him eliminate at least one other battler too." Wolf said as Crow spoke up with a frown.

"As I may have mentioned before, I was saving my strength for when Shirogane entered the field, but I'll still leave that decision up to Joker. However, I make no promises past putting her in her place once and for all. Not only does Shirogane-san have it coming for how she defeated Draconis, but it seems to finally be the time we settle the matter of who the better 'Detective Prince' is." Crow said as Joker thought about it and spoke up.

"You know what? I'm convinced. Go for it, Crow. Worst case, you can at least weaken Shirogane a lot for either Wolf, or even Seeker to finish off. And then whoever defeats Shirogane can weaken the next battler. As long as each of us defeats at least one battler, we're on pace to at least force a draw." Joker said as Crow nodded and headed out onto the field to face down Naoto, who smirked at Crow as she spoke up.

"So you're my next opponent? Excellent. I was hoping I'd get a chance to settle the score with you. After all, you handed me a pretty humbling defeat the last time we fought. So now's my chance to return the favor with some luck. However, given my preparations, I might not need that luck." Naoto said as Crow smirked and spoke up.

"If you say so, Shirogane-san. But you're not the only one who's made some preparations and/or improvements since our last encounter." Crow said cryptically, making both Joker and Draconis blink as they realized Crow was alluding to his recent upgrades that he had gotten in the Yongen Jail. Naoto, for her part, simply nodded and spoke up.

"Perhaps. But we'll see whose preparations were better soon enough. Good luck to you, Crow." Naoto said as Crow nodded before he took his place in the arena and stared down Naoto as Fuuka spoke up.

"Well, looks like our battlers are ready to go. Who will win this clash of 'Detective Princes'? Will Naoto prove that the original is the best, or will Crow manage to once again defeat his predecessor? Only one way to find out! Let the twenty-fourth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the match.

(Match 24 Start- Crow VS Naoto)

As the match started, Naoto and Crow stared each other down and spoke up in unison.

"COME FORTH, HEREWARD!/TO ME, YAMATO SUMERAGI!" Crow and Naoto said as they summoned their Personas. The battle started similarly to the last one with Naoto firing her gun as Crow deflected the bullets with his sword. Crow then had Hereward launch multiple Curse attacks at Naoto, but thanks to Yamato Sumeragi, she was able to reflect the Curse energy back. However, Crow was able to take his own attacks like nothing. Naoto, remembering that Crow can also block Curse, decided to change tactics as she then had Yamato Sumeragi launch multiple Bless attacks of both normal and insta-kill at her 'successor'.

As Crow dodged the blasts of light, he then had Hereward debuff all of Naoto's stats with 'Debilitate' as he followed up by having Hereward launch 'Megidola' at his 'predecessor' from behind. As the explosion enveloped her Crow smirked thinking that he had won, only for him to be caught off guard as he was hit by a sudden 'Vorpal Blade' attack by Yamato Sumeragi which was then followed by him getting shot by one of Naoto's bullets. However, Crow was able to get up albeit panting heavily but no sooner than that, Naoto had Yamato Sumeragi throw up a 'Shield of Justice', speaking up afterwards.

"How disappointing, Crow. You say that you improve but I don't see anything. You are just the same as when we fought last. However, this time the tables have turned as now I have the upper hand. And the move that caused your brothers' downfall will also be yours as well! Face it, I have won and you can't possibly succeed where Draconis had failed!" Naoto said as Crow smirked at this, before shocking not only Naoto but also the collective set of spectators on the sidelines, as the Phantom Theif began to chuckle as his laughter became louder and louder to the point that where Crow is now laughing maniacally, making Teddie creeped out as he spoke up.

"Yikes, I don't like the look on his face." Teddie said as Yukari spoke up while also feeling creeped out.

"Agreed. The way he's laughing almost reminds me of one of the villains from the Featherman show." Yukari said Rise spoke up.

"Something is definitely wrong. Crow is way too calm and confident." Rise said as back on the Phantom Thieves' side, Draconis winced as he spoke up.

"That laugh sounds eerily like that of the Black Mask. He's not about to do what I think he is, is he!?" Draconis said as Joker spoke up.

"No. I'm pretty sure he's about to play his ace in the hole instead." Joker said as Draconis nodded before Naoto spoke up on the battlefield.

"Why are you laughing? I fail to see what's so funny." Naoto said as Crow spoke up.

"That's because you have no sense of humor, Shirogane-san. But in all seriousness, I was hoping you pulled that shield move out because now it's time for me to play my ace in the hole!" Crow said as Naoto growled and spoke up.

"Ace in the hole? What are you talking about?" Naoto asked as Crow smirked and spoke up.

"I told you that you're not the only one who has improved. And in terms of what I'm now capable of, let's just say that Hereward is not the only one you will have to contend with." Crow said as all of the remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives members exchanged confused looks, not sure what Crow meant. However, Yu's eyes widened in realization before he spoke up as he figured it out.

"Not the only one...wait a minute. No, that's not possible. Crow's not what I think he is, is he!?" Yu asked, confusing both Rise and Mitsuru. But before either could reply, Crow spoke up.

"HERE GOES! PERSONA CHANGE! COME, LOOOKI! CHARGE ME UP!" Crow said as he swapped in Loki, to the shock of the onlookers, including Yu, who spoke up while taking note of Crow's version of Loki looking quite a bit different than the version of Loki that he used to have.

"Unbelievable! Crow's a Wild Card, too!?" Yu asked as Mitsuru shook her head and spoke up.

"No. I think he's just a partial one. But we can ask Joker about that later." Mitsuru said as Yu nodded while the camera panned back to Loki, who hit Crow with 'Charge', before Crow spoke up again.

"Good. PERSONA CHANGE! TO ME, ROBIN HOOD! LET'S SHATTER THAT SHIELD!" Crow said as Robin Hood nodded, priming an arrow that impacted with Naoto's shield, shattering it on impact and pushing her backwards. Naoto frowned and spoke up.

"HOW!? The 'Shield Of Justice' usually nullifies a move once. So how did you shatter it?" Naoto asked as Crow smirked and spoke up

"Simple. Your shield might nullify attack damage, but to my awareness, it does NOT nullify secondary effects. Such as 'One-Shot Kill', seeing as that skill has a higher Critical chance. And that chance was what shattered the shield and forced you backwards." Crow said smugly as Naoto frowned and spoke up.

"I see. Well played. But this isn't over yet!" Naoto said resolutely as Crow nodded and the two spent a while trading blows back and forth with each other. But the only difference is Naoto having to alternate between using Bless and Curse attacks from Yamato Sumeragi due to Crow switching between Hereward, Loki, and Robin Hood. After a while, Naoto started panting, realizing she was at her limit and needed to end this soon. Naoto then spoke up.

"Seems like we're both at our limits, Crow. I propose we end this with one final charge at one another." Naoto said as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"For once, you and I are in agreement, Shirogane-san. Let's settle this." Crow said as he and Naoto spoke up in unison.

"PERSONA CHANGE! COME! LOOOOOKIIIIIII!/BOOST ME, YAMATO SUMERAGI!" Crow and Naoto said as the former swapped to Loki, who hit Crow with a 'Charge' at the same time that Yamato Sumeragi hit Naoto with 'Concentrate'. After that, both Crow and Naoto spoke up in unison again.

"LOKI!/YAMATO SUMERAGI! END IT!" Crow and Naoto said as Yamato Sumeragi launched a torrent of Almighty energy at Crow at the same time that Loki hefted a sword in one hand and charged forwards, slashing easily through the boosted 'Megidolaon' and charging into Yamato Sumeragi as he spoke up.

"BEHOLD THE POWER OF LAEVATEINN!" Loki said as he and Crow swung their swords in unison to cleave through Yamato Sumeragi and hit Naoto, who screamed from the power of the Colossal-strength Physical move as it blasted her backwards, making her bounce off the ground a few times before groaning as she hit the ground and passed out in defeat, prompting Fuuka to race over and check on Naoto, after which she waved an arm to end the match after confirming that Naoto was okay, at the same time that Crow smirked and spoke up while Juno healed him with 'Oracle'.

"Hmph, just as I expected. You had no chance at all against me, Shirogane-san. What a waste of my time!" Crow said as he crossed his arms and turned away from the downed Naoto while the match ended.

(Match 24 End. Winner: Crow)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Junpei, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Crow, Violet, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, Draconis, and Naoto)

After confirming that Naoto was okay for herself, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result.

"Following that rather decisive ending, Crow wins the twenty-fourth bout. Each side is down to its final five battlers, so these battles are now even more crucial. One wrong move could be what turns the tide for either side. For now, Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives have five minutes to clear Naoto off the battlefield and send in their next battler." Fuuka said as Kanji and Yu carried Naoto back to the Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives' sideline, where Aigis and Yu worked together to patch up Naoto with their healing moves. After a bit, Naoto groaned and sat up as Kanji came up to her and spoke up.

"You okay, Naoto? That last attack hit you like a truck." Kanji said as Naoto nodded and spoke up.

"Don't worry, I'll live. But let me guess, I lost to Crow again, didn't I?" Naoto asked as Yu merely nodded once, making Naoto sigh as she spoke up.

"I was afraid that would happen. Still, at least I was able to remove the 'Kung-Fu Dragon' from the equation before that. So, at the very least, we're on something close to an even field." Naoto said as Mitsuru nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed. But Crow seems to not be a pushover either. And with us only having five battlers left, we have to play our cards carefully from here. Given the circumstances, our only viable options are to send in either Iori or Marie, since I have a feeling this isn't the time to send Aigis in, at least not yet." Mitsuru said as Yu spoke up.

"I agree. However, I think Marie would be a bit overkill to use on Crow. Iori, on the other hand, seems like he might be the best choice we have." Yu said as Mitsuru nodded and turned to Junpei as she spoke up.

"Iori, are you prepared to go out on the battlefield and do battle with Crow?" Mitsuru asked as Junpei smirked and spoke up.

"You need me to go to bat for the team? Consider it done, Kirijo-senpai! Time for Crow to get a taste of the fury of Junpei Iori!" Junpei said as he hefted his bat and walked out to face Crow on the battlefield, making Crow smirk as he spoke up. *3*

"Ah, so you're my next opponent, Iori? How interesting. I didn't think you actually used your bat as a weapon, but I'm not complaining. Let's see what you've got then, shall we?" Crow asked as Junpei nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. And don't let my appearance fool you. I can handle you and all three of your Personas. Good luck to you, Crow. May the best man win!" Junpei said as Fuuka spoke up.

"I see our battlers are fired up. In that case, let's waste no more time! Will Junpei be able to outmaneuver Crow and his immense power, or will the Phantom Thieves finally make some headway? Let the twenty-fifth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the twenty-fifth match of the bout.

(Match 25 Start-Crow VS Junpei)

After the match started, Crow and Junpei stared each other down and spoke up in unison.

"TO ME, HEREWARD!/GO, TRISMEGISTUS!" Crow and Junpei said as they summoned their Personas. Junpei's Persona wasn't all that impressive, being a mostly red and white striped Persona with golden wings. Crow scoffed and spoke up.

"I didn't think you admired Shirogane-san so much that your Persona is designed similarly to hers except without the sword?" Crow said as Junpei spoke up with a frown.

"What? Shut up! Trismegistus is nothing like that flashy Persona Shirogane-san uses! Take that back!" Junpei said as he charged in, bat in hand, to attack Crow as he blocked with his sword. For a while, the two traded blows with one another as Crow was surprised to see that Junpei's bat was more sturdy then it looked. This was further evident by Junpei hitting Crow in the face with it as he knocked Crow back. Crow then had Hereward unleash a Curse attack on Junpei, but Junpei was able to buff his defense with 'Marakukaja' thanks to Trismegistus, therefore taking less damage. Junpei then followed up by having Trismegistus launch a blast of Fire at Crow as the former Black Mask barely dodged out of the way but was soon caught in a 'Vopral Blade' attack that Trismegistus had unleashed on him.

Crow growled as he then switched to Robin Hood and launched a Bless attack at point-blank range which caused some damage. However, much to Crow's shock and confusion, Junpei was able to get back up as green energy enveloped him as if there were no wounds on his being at all. Crow, making sure that he wasn't seeing things, switched to Loki as he then unleashed 'Laevateinn' on Junpei. But like before, the batter was able to get up as he was suddenly healed again which was followed by him having Trismegustus launching 'Brave Blade' which dealt immense damage to Crow.

Now at his wit's end, Crow tried to do everything he could by alternating his Personas as he unleashed a mix of Physical, Gun, Curse, Bless, and even Almighty moves, but the outcome ended up being the same as Junpei was able to deal several blows to Crow with more Physical and Fire attacks. Even Crow's Bless and Curse insta-kill skills were useless given how Junpei was also able to dodge the attacks very quickly. After a while, it became clear that Crow was at a disadvantage as the Phantom Thief was panting heavily and spoke up.

"HOW! How are you able to heal yourself and take so many attacks? You don't even have your Persona out when that happens. Are you using a 'Regenerate' skill?" Crow asked as Junpei smirked and spoke up.

"You could say that. However, to answer your question, my 'Spring of Life' skill allows me to heal more than just a normal 'Regenerate' skill. And the best part is that it's a Passive one, which means that I can get free heals at no cost. Too bad for you, Crow! How about Trismegistus and I put you out of your misery then!?" Junpei said as Trismegistus nodded as Junpei suddenly ran forward, his bat becoming a blade which was set aflame as he spoke up.

"TIME TO BURN! TRISMEGISTUS! TIME TO HIT 'EM HARD WITH THE BLAZE OF LIFE! FLAMING TORNADO, JUNPEI SMASH!" Junpei said as he ran forward and swung the flaming blade at Crow, who was lifted into the air as Junpei kept slashing at Crow, eventually slamming him back into the ground with a fiery explosion as Crow could only grunt in pain while he was brutally knocked out. After the Theurgy ended, Junpei smirked at the downed Crow as the aftermath of his 'Blaze of Life' Theurgy ravaged Crow for copious amounts of damage, making Mitsuru and Fuuka gasp as Junpei spoke up.

"Hmm. Wasn't that badass?" Junpei said as he felt the flames separate themselves from Crow and make their way over to Junpei, at which point they gently nuzzled against Junpei and hugged him while in the likeness of a smiling woman before dissipating as the Theurgy ended. Fuuka then spoke up.

"Were we both seeing things Kirijo-senpai, or was that-?" Fuuka asked as Mitsuru spoke up.

"Yes, I'm quite sure that was Junpei's crush, Yoshino-san. But that makes sense, given how Junpei attained the power of Trismegistus in the first place." Mitsuru said as Fuuka nodded her understanding before turning and gasping at the sight of Crow in a crater on the ground, slightly singed and clearly unconscious. At that point, Fuuka waved an arm to end the match as Juno used 'Oracle' to heal Junpei, who smirked and spoke up.

"How d'you like me now!?" Junpei said as he slung his bat over one shoulder while the fight ended.

(Match 25 End. Winner: Junpei)

(Remaining Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Junpei, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Violet, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, Draconis, Naoto, and Crow)

After the match ended, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result.

"After that rather intense finish, Junpei wins the twenty-fifth bout! Only four Phantom Thieves remain! We're getting down to the nitty-gritty! Phantom Thieves have five minutes to clear Crow off the battlefield and send in their next battler." Fuuka said as Wolf carried Crow off the battlefield and set him on the bench on the Phantom Thieves' sidelines, where Violet and Seeker patched Crow up. Even Noir helped by using 'Amrita Shower' to heal her boyfriend's burns. Once he was patched up, Crow groaned as Noir spoke up just as Draconis came over to check on him.

"There you go, Crow. That should help alleviate the burns." Noir said as Crow spoke up.

"Thanks, Noir. Dammit. Junpei got me good that time. I must admit, for a baseball player, he certainly knows how to fight." Crow said in between breaths as Draconis spoke up.

"Indeed. Junpei is a powerhouse with both offensive and healing capabilities of the unexpected degree." Draconis said as Crow spoke up.

"With that being said, now it's just Joker, Violet, Seeker, and Wolf left on our side, huh? We're kinda getting backed into a corner here." Crow said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. Too bad for the Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives, we saved our best fighters for last, mostly. As for who goes in next, given that I want to go in last, and I don't think Violet wants to go too soon, that means we're either sending in Seeker or Wolf. And since I feel like Violet would prefer to have Seeker stay out of battle for as long as possible, I'm afraid that just leaves Wolf as the only one that we can send in. I hope you don't mind being thrown into the metaphoric lion's den, Wolf." Joker said as Wolf smirked and spoke up.

"Nah, it's fine, Joker. I've been waiting to get in there for some time now. And to be honest, I think you made the right call in sending me in next seeing as I'm the best equipped to counter Junpei anyway." Wolf said as Seeker spoke up.

"What makes you say that, Wolf?" Seeker asked as Wolf spoke up.

"It's because if I play this right, I should be able to counter that 'Spring of Life' skill that Junpei has on him." Wolf said as Violet spoke up after realization hit her face.

"Oh, right. I forgot that you have the ability to absorb your opponent's health with every strike. Well, I guess if you're sure Wolf-san, then go on ahead. Good luck and be careful out there." Violet said as Auburn spoke up at that point.

"Trust my dad, Violet. He's tougher than he looks. I have faith that he can win against Junpei. Now go prove me right, Dad." Auburn said as Wolf smiled and spoke up.

"Thanks, Auburn. With any luck, I'll be able to tie this bout again." Wolf said as Seraphim spoke up.

"If Auburn says you can do this, then I trust her judgement. Now go out there and prove your daughter right by bringing us at least one win, Wolf." Seraphim said as Wolf nodded his agreement before standing up and walking onto the battlefield, where Junpei smirked and spoke up.

"Awesome! I get to fight the desperado man next! And can I just say, you have one cool-looking sword, man? That being said, I wish you the best of luck, Wolf. Let's make sure we give this our all." Junpei said as Wolf nodded and spoke up.

"Thanks. And good luck to you too, Iori. Let's do this." Wolf said as Junpei nodded, hefting his weapon as Fuuka spoke up.

"Looks like our next bout is set. Will Wolf be able to stop Junpei, or will the Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives cause a deadly blow against the Phantom Thieves? Only one way to find out. Let the twenty-sixth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside Juno to start the match.

(Match 26 Start- Wolf VS Junpei)

As the match started, Wolf and Junpei glared at each other and spoke up in unison.

"COME FORTH, VALJEAN!/GO, TRISMEGISTUS!" Wolf and Junpei said, summoning their Personas in unison before they swung their weapons at each other, Wolf's greatsword easily repelling Junpei's bat and pushing the baseball player backwards. Junpei then countered by having Trismegistus unleash 'Brave Blade' on Wolf. But to Junpei's surprise, despite getting hit with such a big attack, Wolf was able to keep moving as the Phantom Thief used Valjean to cast 'One-Shot Kill', which caused heavy damage to Junpei. However, just as Junpei was about to recover the damage with his 'Spring of Life' ability, Wolf ended up slashing him with his greatsword which caused the green healing energy to go red as it was transferred to Wolf. Junpei, shocked by this spoke up.

"Whoa, wait a minute. How did you just do that?" Junpei asked as Wolf chuckled and spoke up.

"Let's just say that I have a similar ability to yours. But the only difference is that unlike yours, I am able to absorb one's health. Sorry Iori, but your unique skill won't save you in this fight." Wolf said as he then had Valjean not only buff his stats with 'Heat Riser' but also unleash the skill 'Deathbound' on Junpei. However, Junpei was able to react fast as he had Trismegistus cast 'Marakukaja' to increase his defense upon realizing that 'Spring of Life' would not be able to help in this fight. After taking the brunt of the Physical attack, Junpei then had Trismegistus unleashed 'Vorpal Blade' on Wolf which the latter was also able to endure the attack and kept on fighting. Wolf then had Valjean use 'Debilitate' to not only remove Junpei's defense buff, but also decrease his attack and agility.

This was followed up with Wolf having Valjean unleash 'Megidola' at the same time as Junpei unleashed a blast of Fire energy from Trismegistus. But the Fire attack did nothing against the power of Wolf's Almighty skill as the flames were dissipated upon making contact as Junpei was then engulfed by an explosion of Almighty energy. And to his dismay, once the explosion was cleared, Wolf was able to once again intercept Junpei's heal by slashing him with his greatsword. This resulted in the two clashing weapons again and after a bit of fighting, Junpei spoke up in desperation.

"Shit, I've gotta do something before Wolf overwhelms me! TRISMEGISTUS, LET'S SHOW HIM OUR MIGHT!" Junpei said as he ran forward and flexed with his bat in hand while speaking up.

"GO, SPECIAL ATTACK! Time to-!" Junpei said before being cut off mid-sentence as he tripped over his own feet all while his Persona flew as it slashed Wolf multiple times. Junpei then got up and spoke up to finish his sentence, raising his bat above him as he spoke.

"TASTE SOME JUSTICE, HACK 'N BLAST STYLE!" Junpei said as he slammed his bat into Wolf, making Wolf stagger backwards as the Theurgy ended, causing Junpei to grin as he saw Wolf look ready to collapse, only for a glow to cover Wolf as he got back to his feet, looking mostly unharmed, leaving a drained Junpei to gape as he saw Wolf get to his feet as the former spoke up.

"You have got to be kidding me. That didn't finish you off?" Junpei asked as Wolf spoke up.

"Ahh, saved by the 'Enduring Soul'. Tell me something, Iori. Was that really the best you can do? Clearly it wasn't enough, but that's fine. Now it's my turn! Let me show you my best!" Wolf said as he and Valjean nodded and lined up as Wolf spoke up.

"Here we go! IT'S SHOWTIME!" Wolf said as his Showtime started! At the start, Valjean whipped his chains upwards, launching a horrified Junpei into the air as Wolf spoke up, leveling his machine pistols at Junpei while he spoke up.

"GIVE UP ALREADY! I NEVER MISS MY MARK!" Wolf said as he started firing his machine pistols at Junpei, dumping a full clip from each pistol into Junpei, who could only gape as the attacks collided with him and exploded, causing him to groan as he hit the ground while Wolf smirked and twirled a pistol in each hand before holding up the smoking barrels of his guns and blowing out the smoke smugly as his Showtime ended with Junpei laying unconscious in a crater on the ground. After checking that Junpei was unharmed, which he miraculously was unharmed, having had the bullets just pass through him while doing damage. Once Fuuka confirmed that Junpei wasn't in any serious danger, she waved an arm inside of Juno to end the match while Juno healed Wolf with 'Oracle' and he smirked and spoke up.

"What did you expect, challenging me? I'm tougher than I look!" Wolf said as he holstered his pistols and posed like a badass to end the fight.

(Match 26 End. Winner: Wolf)

(Remaining Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Violet, Seeker, and Wolf) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, Draconis, Naoto, Crow, and Junpei)

After the match was over, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result.

"After a very swift and efficient battle, Wolf wins the twenty-sixth match! Now only four battlers remain on each side! We're finally drawing towards an end of this long series of bouts! The Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives have five minutes to clear Junpei off the field and send the next battler in." Fuuka said as Aigis came out and carried Junpei off the field and set him on the bench on the mixed Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline as she patched him up to full health before Yu spoke up as Junpei came to with a groan.

"Dammit, I lost to the desperado? That sucks." Junpei said as Yu spoke up.

"True, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Now, who to send in? Clearly I'm going last, and I'd prefer to have Marie go second-last. So that means it's either going to be Kirijo-san or Aigis-san. Do either of you want to volunteer?" Yu asked as Aigis spoke up.

"While I do think Mitsuru-san could take on Wolf, I have better durability than she does. Therefore, I would be better equipped to flush out his 'Enduring Soul' and then finish him off. Hence, I would like to volunteer to go next." Aigis said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"If you're sure about this Aigis, then go for it." Yu said as Mitsuru spoke up.

"Just be careful of Wolf's absorption abilities. With that, plus his abilities in both Physical, Gun, and Almighty, he is a strong opponent." Mitsuru said as Aigis nodded and headed out to the battlefield to face Wolf. Once she got onto the field, Wolf grinned and spoke up.

"Ah, so my next test is against the 7th Generation Anti-Shadow weapon Aigis, then? Interesting." Wolf said as Aigis spoke up.

"Indeed. Don't hold anything back, Wolf-san. Let us both give this fight our best." Aigis said as Wolf nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. Let's do this!" Wolf said as he and Aigis assumed battle ready stances. Fuuka then spoke up.

"Looks like our next match is ready to get underway! Will Aigis be able to gun down Wolf, or will she be hunted down next? Let the twenty-seventh match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the next round.

(Match 27 Start- Wolf VS Aigis)

As the match started, Wolf and Aigis stared each other down and spoke up.

"COME FORTH, VALJEAN!/ATHENA, ENGAGE!" Wolf and Aigis said as they summoned their Personas. Over on the Phantom Thieves sidelines, Mona spoke up.

"Whoa, that Persona looks like a goddess?" Mona said as Seraphim spoke up.

"That's because it is a goddess, Mona. Aigis' Persona is Athena, who is the Greek goddess of wisdom and courage." Seraphim said as Pendragon spoke up.

"Oh boy, so now we've got robots whose Personas are Greek gods!? What's next, aliens?" Pendragon joked, not seeing Marie wince slightly at this on the other sideline. At that point, Oracle spoke up.

"Nah, that's too cliche, Pendragon. But it's not impossible, either." Oracle said as the battle commenced. At that point, Wolf and Aigis ran circles around each other firing their projectiles at one another from their firearms. From the moment that they started fighting, Wolf knew he was going to have a bit of a tough time using his absorption ability as Aigis was too fast compared to Junpei as she was able to dodge his swings from his greatsword. Wolf then decided to see just how much the Anti-Shadow weapon could take as he used Valjean to unleash 'Deathbound' on Aigis. But much to the PubSec officer's dismay, Aigis was able to endure little to no damage upon getting hit.

Aigis then countered by having Athena unleashing 'God's Hand' on Wolf which he quickly had Valjean cast 'Heat Riser' so that he could tank the hit with less damage. He then followed up by having Valjean unleash multiple 'One-Shot Kill' shots on the Anti-Shadow weapon. However, Aigis was able to either dodge the shots due to her speed or take little damage upon being hit.

Realizing that his Physical and Gun skills were useless, Wolf then had Valjean unleash 'Megidola' which ended up doing more damage to Aigis, but that moment was short-lived as Aigis then had Athena cast 'Diarahan' on her and healing all her wounds. This was then followed by Aigis having Athena unleashing her 'Akasha Arts' skill which Wolf was unable to dodge. As he got hit, the Pub Sec officer's body glowed as 'Enduring Soul' activated, which also coincides with Wolf's 'Heat Riser' buffs going back to normal. It was at that moment that Wolf spoke up while panting.

"Okay, you're good, Aigis. But that's not going to be enough to stop me." Wolf said as Aigis smirked and spoke up.

"I strongly disagree. As you may have discovered, your Physical and Gun attacks have little to no effect on me. Furthermore, you were unable to land a single hit on me with your sword in order to drain my health. And now that you have exhausted your 'Enduring Soul' skill, I'm afraid this battle is now in my favor. NOW, ATHENA! SWITCH TO MAXIMUM OUTPUT!" Aigis said as she had Athena use 'Matarukaja', 'Marakukaja', and 'Masukukaja' in a row on her. Just as Wolf was about to have Valjean cast 'Debilitate' on Aigis to remove her buffs, she spoke up again.

"And now to finish it! HERE I GO!" Aigis said as she produced a jetpack from nowhere, put it on, and launched up into the air with Athena. As she flew past Wolf, she aimed her weapons at Wolf, Aigis spoke up.

"OUTPUT, MAXIMUM!" Aigis said as she fired several rounds at Wolf, all of which homed in on him and hit him, exploding on contact with him as Aigis spoke up.

"NOT DONE YET!" Aigis said as she linked up briefly with Athena before detaching the jetpack from her back and moving into a drop-kick formation as she spoke up.

"THIS IS IT! GO, MAXIMUM FIREPOWER!" Aigis said as she drop-kicked Wolf, causing an explosion when she hit the ground and hovered away to safety as a cloud of smoke obscured the spectators' view of the battlefield. When the smoke cleared and everyone could see again, both Seraphim and Auburn could be heard gasping as the first thing that was clear to see was that Wolf was visible on the ground, clearly out cold. After running over to ensure Wolf was okay, which he was, Fuuka spoke up after waving an arm inside of Juno to end the match as Juno used 'Oracle' to heal Aigis, who spoke up while coyly posing with a sly smile and wink.

"Target has been neutralized. Awaiting next opponent." Aigis said as the match ended.

(Match 27 End. Winner: Aigis)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves: Joker, Violet, and Seeker) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, Draconis, Naoto, Crow, Junpei, and Wolf)

After the match ended, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result.

"After that rather long and efficient match, Aigis wins the twenty-seventh bout. With only three battlers left, the Phantom Thieves are starting to have very limited options for whom to send out. They'd better make each fighter count. Phantom Thieves, you have five minutes to get Wolf off the field and send in your next battler." Fuuka said as Joker carried Wolf back to the Phantom Thieves' sidelines with help from Violet. Once they set Wolf down on the bench and both Seeker and Violet used their healing moves to get Wolf back on his feet, he spoke up with a groan as Auburn came to him and spoke up.

"Wow. That was some serious firepower. You're going to be okay, Dad?" Aubrun asked as Wolf spoke up.

"Yeah, I should be fine. Ugh, that robot woman really worked me over, didn't she?" Wolf said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"She did indeed. But you got us some valuable insight into how to beat her. Now the only question left is who goes out next. It's going to be either Violet or Seeker, since those two are the only ones left aside from myself who can still fight. But I have a feeling Violet's going to try to insist on being the one to go out there due to how protective she's gotten of Seeker." Joker said as Violet spoke up.

"And you're not wrong about that, Joker. As much as I want to wait until Mitsuru is out on the field, I should be the one to go next." Violet said as Seeker spoke up as her next set of words shocked both Violet and Joker.

"Wait, Mom. Please, let me be the one to go in next." Seeker said as Violet spoke up.

"Sweetie, I appreciate it. But Aigis is powerful, so it's too risky to-" Violet began to say before Seeker cut her off.

"No Mom, listen to me. While it's true that Aigis is powerful, the other three people left are just as strong as she is, if not stronger! After all, two of them are the leaders of the Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives respectively, and the other is a minor goddess. So you two should be saving yourselves for the remaining battles with them and let me handle Aigis." Seeker said as Violet spoke up with a frown.

"I know you can handle yourself, sweetie. But what if Aigis manages to catch you unaware and defeat you? That would leave us having to face down the rest of Yu's group at a disadvantage." Violet pointed out as Draconis spoke up.

"That's true, Violet. But I think you guys run that risk no matter who goes out. Unless you're really serious about being able to defeat Aigis in the next battle, that is." Draconis said as Pendragon spoke up.

"While I can understand Violet's worry, she also needs to realize that Seeker can handle herself and that she needs to trust her more. If nothing else, Wolf had to learn that lesson the hard way with Auburn." Pendragon pointed out, purposely not mentioning how much of a struggle it was to mend his own relationship with Oracle. At that point, Wolf spoke up.

"Pendragon's not wrong, Violet. I know it's hard, but you have to learn to trust that your daughter can handle herself at times. I can relate to it being easy to be overprotective of your daughter, but you can't protect her forever. If Seeker says she can handle Aigis, then I say that we let her give it a try." Wolf said as Joker spoke up.

"I agree with Wolf, beautiful. I have the same reservations about letting her go out there you do. However, I know we have to let her spread her wings, so to speak, and fend for herself eventually. So if Seeker really wants to face Aigis, I say we let her." Joker said as Violet frowned, but eventually nodded reluctantly before sighing as she spoke up.

"I'm not thrilled with it, but whether I want to admit it or not, all of you are right. I can't keep trying to protect Seeker forever. Very well, then. If you really want to go in and face Aigis, go for it, Seeker." Violet said as Seeker nodded and smiled while hugging Violet and speaking up.

"Thank you, Mom! I'll do my best to make you and Dad proud while bringing us at least one win." Seeker said but just as she was about to make her way to the battlefield, Mona spoke up.

"Lady Seeker, wait!" Mona said as he moved closer until he was just inches away from Seeker as she spoke up.

"Mona, what are you..." Seeker began to say before Mona gave her a quick kiss on the cheek much to the shock of all the Thieves. Seeker was blushing very red as Mona spoke up.

"That was to wish you good luck." Mona said as Seeker after a few seconds of being shocked spoke up with a shy smile on her face.

"Mona...thank you. I promise I won't let you down as well." Seeker said as she happily as she strode out onto the battlefield to face Aigis, all while the Phantom Thieves looked at Mona as he spoke up.

"Before anyone says anything, that was just a good luck kiss. I'm still trying to sort out my feelings towards Lady Seeker." Mona said as Panther giggled and spoke up.

"Alright, if you say so, Mona. But I think deep down you thought otherwise." Panther said as all the Thieves laughed as Mona pouted to himself. At the same time, Aigis tilted her head to the side in confusion as she noticed Seeker entering the battlefield and spoke up.

"Wait, so my opponent this time is Seeker? I might be wrong, but isn't this technically unprecedented to have an AI fight an Anti-Shadow weapon, like myself?" Aigis said as Fuuka smiled and spoke up from inside of Juno.

"Maybe a little, but I'm sure it'll be fine. Just don't underestimate her, Aigis." Fuuka said as Aigis nodded and turned to Seeker as she spoke up.

"I didn't think it would end up coming to us trading blows with each other, Seeker. But the more that I think about it, I guess it's fitting that the two most unique people in our respective groups should face off. Good luck to you. And make sure you give this fight your all." Aigis said as Seeker nodded and spoke up.

"I will. You don't hold anything back either, Aigis. I want to face you at your best." Seeker said as Aigis smiled and spoke up.

"Understood. I wouldn't hold back anyways." Aigis said as she and Seeker bowed to each other before Fuuka spoke up.

"This should actually be the most interesting battle thus far, since even I don't think we've ever had an instance of an AI fighting an Anti-Shadow weapon before. But even so, the show must go on. Who will get the next win, Aigis or Seeker? Let the twenty-eighth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the fight.

(Match 28 Start- Seeker VS Aigis)

As the match began, Seeker and Aigis spoke up in unison.

"LET'S GO, PITHOS!/ATHENA, ENGAGE!" Seeker and Aigis said as they summoned their Personas (or weapon, in the case of Seeker) to do battle. Mitsuru arched an eyebrow as she saw Pithos and turned to Yu as she spoke up.

"Hold on a minute, does Seeker even have a proper Persona? Or is she seriously going to face Aigis with just an array of boxes?" Mitsuru asked as Yu frowned and spoke up.

"To be honest with you, I have no clue. I've only seen Seeker fight once before, and that was when she was in that fight with Chie during the last time our groups clashed. From what I recall, Seeker specializes in only Bless and healing skills. However, despite winning against Chie, she was forced out of the fight early before she could really showcase more of Pithos' capabilities. So this is still as much of an unknown for me as it is for you." Yu said as Rise frowned and spoke up.

"I don't know about 'unknown', Yu. And to answer your question, Kirijo-san? Pithos isn't a Persona, so to speak. But I do sense some hidden properties to it that I think even Seeker might be unaware of. So it's probably more accurate to say that Seeker hasn't fully awakened her true potential and is using this improvised means of self-defense in the meantime. But I get the feeling we shouldn't underestimate her. Call it navigator's instinct, but I think Seeker is stronger than we're giving her credit for." Rise said as Yu smiled and spoke up.

"I trust your judgment, Rise. If nothing else, Aigis can serve to be our means of gauging Seeker's skill levels. If need be, we can send in Kirijo-san afterwards to clean up if Seeker manages to defeat Aigis. That is, assuming you don't object to me presuming to tell you what to do, Kirijo-san?" Yu said, aiming the last bit of his words at Mitsuru after recalling she was right there and could hear what he was saying. Mitsuru, for her part, smiled and spoke up.

"That's quite all right, Narukami. I don't mind you taking charge at all. And to be honest, I planned to go in and clean up anyway if Aigis does fall here. So don't feel bad about sending me in next if needed. I understand you want to save yourself and Marie for the last couple bouts if possible, much as Amamiya the middle is probably saving himself and Yoshizawa for last." Mitsuru said as Marie and Yu nodded their agreement as the fight raged on in the arena.

Aigis was in the process of trying to shoot down Seeker with her firearms but was surprised when the AI was able to dodge those due to Pithos' 'Angelic Grace?' skill. Seeker was able to use her yo-yos to tie Aigis up which allowed her to heave the Anti-Shadow weapon up in the air and slam her down hard on the ground. Aigis was able to get up and she then had Athena heal herself with 'Diarahan' as she followed up by having her Persona unleashed 'Akasha Arts' which caused Seeker to be knocked back. As the AI was getting up, Aigis then used this opportunity to have Athena buff her attack, defense, and agility.

However, much to Aigis' dismay, Seeker was able to not only heal herself by having Pithos cast 'Diarahan?' but also have her 'Persona' cast 'Marakunda' on Aigis to remove her defense buff. This was followed up by having Seeker using Pithos to unleash multiple beams of Bless energy. Aigis, now taking note of her defense being returned to normal, had to carefully dodge the medium-sized Bless energy as she then had Athena unleashed 'God's Hand' on Seeker. The AI, however, was able to barely dodge the giant fist that was coming at her as she countered by having Pithos launch a surprise larger blast of Bless energy that was able to hit the Anti-Shadow weapon. Aigis, for her part, smiled and spoke up.

"Impressive, Seeker. That was a solid hit. You know, I can now see that what you mentioned back in the real world is quite true. You and I are rather similar in that we've both had to struggle to find our roles in our respective groups. But I can tell you're on the right track to finding yourself." Aigis said as Seeker spoke up

"I've learned a lot during my time with the Phantom Thieves. I was able to understand many things about humans. Mom, Dad, Mona, Draconis, they all taught me so much. Even though I'm not technically a human, I was able to grasp the meaning of being one." Seeker said as Aigis spoke up.

"Well said. You are fortunate to have a group of supportive friends who are willing to keep you on the right path, much as I had when I first joined my group. So make sure you cherish your friends, Seeker." Aigis said as Seeker spoke up.

"I will. You can count on it, Aigis. But I think we should focus on our battle. As I said, don't hold anything back." Seeker said as Aigis spoke up.

"Very well. Then I think it's time to break out the big guns, so to speak." Aigis said as the view shifted to a darkened view as parts of Aigis' body started glowing as she leaped into the air and spoke up.

"READY TO ENGAGE!" Aigis said as she shot up into the air and dashed around for a while before crashing into Seeker as she kept speaking.

"ORGIA ACTIVATED!" Aigis said decisively as an explosion ensued when she collided with Seeker, knocking her backwards to a knee. Joker and Violet both gasped as they saw Seeker struggling to get up, at which point Mona spoke up from the Phantom Thieves' sideline.

"LADY SEEKER! DON'T GIVE UP! THIS LOOKS BLEAK, BUT I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!" Mona said encouragingly as Seeker blinked on hearing Mona's voice, a thought going through her mind at that moment.

"Don't give up? Wait, yeah! Mona's right! I can't quit now! I promised Mom and Dad that I'd bring them a win! And I can't let myself fall before I manage that!" Seeker thought to herself as she struggled to her feet and stared down Aigis as the latter spoke up.

"Impossible! You were able to still stand after all those attacks?" Aigis asked as Seeker smiled while nodding her head as she spoke up.

"That was pretty impressive, Aigis. But it's gonna take more than that to bring me down! And now it's my turn! PITHOS, IT'S TIME! SHOWTIME, THAT IS!" Seeker said as she gestured to Pithos, who nodded as Seeker's Showtime started. As it started, Seeker spoke up.

"ALL WEAPONS, TAKE AIM!" Seeker said as Pithos unfolded to reveal an array of lasers that all aimed at Aigis, who was initially flying around trying to locate a weak point. But unfortunately for Aigis, she took just a little too long trying to locate a weak point, since her 'Orgia Mode' wore off suddenly and she found herself trapped in place, smoking slightly from the overheat that results from the deactivation of 'Orgia Mode' and spoke up.

"No, not now!" Aigis said as she struggled to move in and at that point, Seeker spoke up.

"NOW'S MY CHANCE! ALL WEAPONS FIRE! MAXIMUM POWER!" Seeker said as Pithos' lasers all fired at once, the constant barrage of Bless energy pelting Aigis relentlessly, before an explosion ensued to signal the end of the Showtime as Seeker spoke up.

"Oh! So powerful! I wonder if I might have overdone it?" Seeker said as she saw Aigis wince and speak up while struggling to stay standing after the Showtime.

"Ugh, not bad, Seeker. You've defeated me on this occasion, fair and square. You win. Shutting down now." Aigis said as she stopped moving and collapsed to the ground to end the battle. At that point, both Fuuka and Mitsuru darted onto the field to check on Aigis, both sighing in relief when they figured out that Aigis was in a temporary sleep mode to repair most of the damage dealt to her, with Fuuka waving an arm inside of Juno to signal the end of the match as Juno used 'Oracle' to heal Seeker, who smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as she spoke up.

"Whew, that was close. I did it, though. YEAH, I WON! I WON! YAY!" Seeker said as she cutely waved to Joker, Violet, and Mona, who all three were giving Seeker proud smiles, impressed with her win against Aigis as the match ended.

(Match 28 End. Winner: Seeker)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Mitsuru, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker, Violet, and Seeker) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, Draconis, Naoto, Crow, Junpei, Wolf, and Aigis)

After the match, Fuuka spoke up.

"And after that frankly historic match, Seeker manages to defy the odds and win the twenty-eighth bout. The Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives have five minutes to clear Aigis off the field and send in their next battler." Fuuka said as Mitsuru and Yu carried Aigis off the field, where Teddie and Yukiko worked together to use 'Samarecarm' and healing skills to get Aigis on her feet, prompting her to boot back up with a groan, getting a sigh of relief from Mitsuru as well as Labrys who also came up to her as the latter spoke up.

"Wow. Who knew that AI had that much resolve? Are you going to be alright, Aigis?" Labrys asked as Aigis frowned and spoke up.

"I'm fine, my sister. Still, I can't believe I lost to Seeker. I'm sorry I let the group down." Aigis said as Mitsuru spoke up.

"It's fine, Aigis. None of us could foresee Seeker having such tenacity in her. But the rest of us spoke while you were fighting, and we agreed I'd be going in next if you were to fall, so that means I'm up." Mitsuru said as Akihiko spok up.

"Just be careful out there, Mitsuru." Akihiko said as Yu spoke up.

"Try not to hurt Seeker too badly. The last thing you need is your cousin coming at you hard since I have a feeling she's going to be next." Yu said as Mitsuru spoke up.

"I will try my best, but I can't make any promises. If Seeker tends to go all-out like she did with Aigis, then I should do the same." Mitsuru said as she shrugged off her fur coat and handed it to Aigis as she spoke up.

"Aigis, hold my fur. It's time for me to execute an AI." Mitsuru said as she readied her rapier and headed out to the battlefield to face Seeker, making Violet exchange a look of horror with Joker as she spoke up on the Phantom Thieves' sideline.

"Uhh, Joker? Am I the only one who saw that killing intent in Kirijo-san's eyes as she marched onto the battlefield?" Violet asked as Joker spoke up.

"No, I see it too. But I'm also not surprised. After all, according to Seraphim, Kirijo-san's tagline from that 'P-1 Grand Prix' tournament that her group was involved in alongside Yu's group was the 'Imperious Queen of Executions'. So it makes sense that she's going all out at this point." Joker said as Violet nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. I feel bad for Seeker, but all we can do now is hope that Kirjio-san isn't too rough on her." Violet said as Joker nodded before Mitsuru joined Seeker on the battlefield and spoke up.

"You know I must commend you. Your performance against Aigis was very impressive. But don't expect to fare as well against me, Seeker. You might be a younger opponent, but I don't hold anything back, no matter who I face or how old they are. So you better not hold anything back either." Mitsuru said as Seeker nodded and spoke up.

"I understand, Mitsuru-san. I plan to bring everything I have to bear against you." Seeker said as she and Mitsuru wished each other good luck before Fuuka spoke up.

"With each side only having three battlers left, that means that we're starting to get down to the last couple of bouts. Can Seeker finally break the streak of back-and-forth KOs for each side? Or will Mitsuru keep it going? Let the twenty-ninth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the twenty-ninth match.

(Match 29 Start- Seeker VS Mitsuru)

As the match started, Mitsuru tried to charge at Seeker with her rapier, only for Seeker to intercept the rapier with her yo-yos, managing to yank it out of Mitsuru's grasp and embed it into the ground, making Mitsuru smirk as she spoke up.

"Heh, impressive. You managed to disarm me. But you forgot about my Persona!" Mitsuru said as she and Seeker spoke up in unison.

"LET'S GO, PITHOS!/COME, ARTEMISIA!" Seeker and Mitsuru said as they summoned their Personas (or weapon, in the case of Seeker) making Joker's eyes widen as he looked over Artemisia the Persona appeared to have a blue flowing dress with black and golden armor on its top as well as carrying a chain whip. But the biggest thing that got Joker's attention was the design of the mast that Artemisia was wearing as he turned to Crow and spoke up.

"Hey, Crow! Am I crazy, or does the mask on Kirijo-san's Persona look similar to the mask you had on your original attire?" Joker asked Crow, who blinked and spoke up.

"No, I see it too, Joker. That is similar to the mask on my 'Detective Prince' attire. Obviously, I've long since discarded it, even if it was somewhat repurposed into Draconis' attire after his true Awakening." Crow said wisely as Joker nodded understandingly as Seeker and Mitsuru started trading attacks back and forth. In the process of the heated exchange of attacks, Mitsuru was able to grab her rapier and clash with Seeker's yo-yos again.

After a bit of power struggle, Seeker back-flipped away from the attempted thrust that was aimed at her after which she threw her yo-yos at Mitsuru, which she easily deflected with her rapier. The AI then had Pithos lower Mitsuru's defense with 'Marakunda' as she followed up by having her 'Persona' launch a volley of Bless energy at Mitsuru. However, Mitsuru was able to dodge very easily as she quickly had Artemisia cast 'Concentrate' to increase her magic damage.

This was then followed up by Mitsuru having Artemisia launch a barrage of Ice attacks on Seeker. Although the AI was able to quickly dodge most of them due to Pithos' 'Angelic Grace?' skill, she did end up getting hit as she fell to the floor. However, Seeker was able to quickly recover thanks to Pithos casting 'Diarahan?' on her as she then had her 'Persona' unleash a sudden large blast of Bless of energy at Mitsuru as the latter was in the middle of charging at the AI. But much to Seeker's dismay, Mitsuru was also able to heal herself thanks to Artemisia casting 'Diarahan'. The two of them ended up going back and forth for a little bit longer until Seeker was starting to run out of breath as Mitsuru smirked and spoke up.

"I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd last this long, Seeker. I can see why Aigis was having some trouble with you." Mitsuru said as Seeker spoke up.

"Pithos and I still have plenty of power left inside us, Mitsuru-san. You won't beat us so easily." Seeker said as Mitsuru spoke up.

"Then if that's the case, how about I take that power away from you? ARTEMISIA! DRAIN SEEKER OF ALL HER MAGIC!" Mitsuru said and as she snapped her fingers, Artemisia started firing blue beams from her chain whip at Seeker, who winced as she felt her energy being sapped from her with each hit and being transferred to Mitsuru, causing Draconis' eyes to widen as he spoke up.

"What the hell!? Is that move that Kirijo-san is using what I think it is!?" Draconis asked as Crow nodded and spoke up.

"I'm afraid so, Draconis. Kirijo-san is trying to break Seeker by barraging her with constant Spirit Drains. I assume this is an attempt to run her out of energy." Crow said as Draconis swore under his breath while Seeker tried to hit Mitsuru with another strong Bless move, only for Mitsuru to shrug them off and laugh as she felt Seeker start to struggle as the Spirit Drains started taking their toll on her, speaking up.

"Perhaps I may have overestimated you Seeker, since I think your main flaw with your 'Persona' is that you are only able to rely on magic skills and nothing else. Such a pity! I was hoping to see more of your power. Well, I guess I should put you out of your misery then! COME, ARTEMISIA! LET'S FINISH THIS WITH BLIZZARD EDGE!" Mitsuru said as Artemisia tailed her as she spoke up.

"FREEZE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" Mitsuru said as Artemisia raised a giant ice pillar from the ground that trapped Seeker in place as Mitsuru slashed at her multiple times with her rapier while speaking up.

"THIS IS THE END FOR YOU!" Mitsuru said as she hopped atop the ice pillar and posed as she snapped a finger and spoke up.

"CHILD'S PLAY! BEGONE!" Mitsuru said as Artemisia whipped the ice pillar and caused an explosion, throwing Seeker a few feet away, where she crashed to the ground and groaned as she struggled to get up, before speaking up.

"Ugh, no! I lost! I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I failed you." Seeker said as she collapsed to the ground in defeat, making Joker, Violet, and Mona gasp as all three spoke up.

"SEEKER!/LADY SEEKER!" Joker, Violet, and Mona said as Fuuka raced over to be sure Seeker was fine, which she seemed to be all right, if a bit banged up and unconscious. Fuuka then waved an arm inside Juno to end the match as Juno healed Mitsuru with 'Oracle' as she smirked and spoke up.

"Apologies Seeker, but I don't hold back for anyone. And if you're not going to give it your all, then you're going to get executed, just like now." Mitsuru said as she smirked to end the match.

(Match 29 End. Winner: Mitsuru)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu, Mitsuru, and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker and Violet) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, Draconis, Naoto, Crow, Junpei, Wolf, Aigis, and Seeker)

After the match ended, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result of the match.

"After a rather, erm, brutal finish, Mitsuru wins the twenty-ninth bout. Now that they only have two battlers left, have we seen the Phantom Thieves backed into a corner? Or can they turn this around? Either way, Phantom Thieves have five minutes to clear Seeker off the battlefield and send their next battler in." Fuuka said as Mona and Draconis walked out to carry Seeker to the Phantom Thieves' sidelines, where Mona worked with Flare and Crow to get Seeker back on her feet. Once Seeker was conscious and sat up, she sighed as she spoke up.

"I failed to get us back-to-back wins. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad." Seeker said as Joker smiled and spoke up.

"While that may be true, Seeker, you did way better than what happened in the first bout." Joker said as Mona spoke up.

"Joker's right. You were able to defeat Aigis and keep us in the game. So that's is more than enough, Lady Seeker. I couldn't be more proud of you." Mona said as Violet smiled and patted Seeker on the shoulder as she spoke up.

"As am I. You did the best you could, sweetie. Although, to be honest, I think Mitsuru was a bit too harsh on you at the end there. But now it's my turn to go out there and avenge you." Violet said, giving Joker a look that dared him to disagree with her. Joker held his hands up in surrender as he spoke up.

"Don't worry, Violet. I have no issue with you going in next, since I wanted to be our last line of defense, as is my right as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Just do your best to at least remove Mitsuru from the equation if you can. This way, I will only have to deal with two battlers instead of three, yeah?" Joker said as Violet nodded and spoke up.

"I plan to, Joker. Mitsuru literally made a show out of it when she executed Seeker out there, and I intend to do everything in my power to make her pay for it." Violet said as she got a determined look on her face as she marched onto the battlefield, making Draconis smirk as he spoke up.

"Hoo boy, Violet's gone full-on 'Mama Bear' after what Kirijo-san did to poor Seeker. Looks like it's time to see the angry side of her come out on Kirijo-san, and I almost feel bad for her. ALMOST." Draconis said as Crow spoke up.

"True. But I'm curious to see if Violet can hold up against whoever goes in after Mitsuru." Crow said as Draconis spoke up.

"I think I may have a pretty good idea as to who will be next if Kirijo-san gets defeated." Draconis said as he took a quick look at Marie from across the arena. As Violet was then a few feet from Mitsuru, the latter smiled and spoke up

"Ah, so I'm facing you now, Violet? Excellent. Looks like this is my chance to test how far your training has come since we last met. I'm sorry I was so rough on Seeker, and while she was able to hold her own against me, she wasn't able to bring forth all of her potential. Maybe you'll give me more of a challenge, my dear cousin?" Mitsuru said as Violet glared at her and spoke up.

"Oh, you better believe that I plan to make you work for this win, cousin! No one bullies Seeker like that and gets away with it, family or not!" Violet said angrily and as she and Mitsuru readied their rapiers all while exchanging heated glares at each other, Fuuka spoke up.

"Oh, my! Things are heating up over here! Looks like we have a clash of red-headed rapier wielders! Who will come out on top in this battle of cousins between Mitsuru and Violet? Let the thirtieth match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the match.

(Match 30 Start- Violet VS Mitsuru)

As the match started, Violet and Mitsuru glared at one another and spoke up in unison.

"LET'S DANCE, ELLA!/TO ME, ARTEMISIA!" Violet and Mitsuru said as they summoned their Personas and charged at one another, clashing rapiers constantly. As the two red-headed rapier users clashed weapons, Akihiko smirked on the mixed Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives sideline as he turned to the closest people to him, which in this instance were Rise and Yosuke, and spoke up.

"Interesting how Violet's Persona has a wedding dress on. I wonder if that's supposed to be a hint for Joker?" Akihiko asked as Yosuke spoke up.

"Perhaps. But I do recall that aside from Seraphim and Auburn, as well as Crow and Noir, most of the couples within the Phantom Thieves have been dating for years at this point. That is, assuming what Oracle told Rise is true when those two were chatting back at Wolf's hideout after we did our first bout with the Phantom Thieves." Yosuke said as Rise spoke up.

"Oracle wouldn't lie, Yosuke! Besides, she was including herself in that list, so she has no reason to lie." Rise pointed out as Teddie smirked and spoke up.

"True, but you also are leaving out one bear-y important detail, Rise." Teddie said as Rise spoke up.

"And that would be?" Rise asked as Teddie spoke up.

"Oracle's a big-time hacker. So she could've easily hacked the Phantom Thieves bios to reflect what she said in an attempt to cover her tracks. So who's to say she's not trying to talk them up to make herself look better?" Teddie said as Ken spoke up for the first time in a while.

"I doubt she'd need to do that, hacker or not. I could tell when she fought Yukari that she was a very honest person who wouldn't try to embellish herself the way you're accusing her of, Teddie." Ken pointed out as Yukari nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"Ken-kun's right. Oracle may be a bit of a Phoenix Rangers fangirl, but she's a good person. I could tell that from our fight. Also, I got the impression that she has already had experiences of being lied to, so I don't see her engaging in the same sort of behavior herself." Yukari said, getting nods from Akihiko, Ken, Teddie, and Rise as the focus shifted back to Mitsuru and Violet's battle.

The two red-heads were clashing fiercely with their rapiers as both of them tried to push back one another. Violet backflipped away from Mitsuru as she used Ella to unleash multiple Bless attacks at her cousin. However, unlike when Mitsuru fought Seeker, she was having more difficulty dodging since the Bless attacks were of a much bigger size. Luckily for the Shadow Operative leader, she was able to use this opportunity to have Artemisia cast 'Sprirt Drain' on her cousin to drain a bit of her magic and transfer it to her own.

However, this only caused Violet to have Ella unleash 'Vorpal Blade' which dealt severe Physical damage to Mitsuru. But much to Violet's dismay, Mitsuru was able to recover thanks to Artemisia casting 'Diarahan' as she then lunged forward as the cousins clashed blades with each other again. Violet frowned at Mitsuru and spoke up.

"Not bad. You've been keeping up with your training over the years, cousin. Too bad I've kept up with it as well. So you won't have an easy time against me!" Violet said as she snapped her fingers and Ella waved her hand as she unleashed her most powerful skill 'Sword Dance', which caused a torrent of swords to come down and crash towards Mitsuru, who barely dodged in time to avoid the onslaught of weapons, but managed to dodge into a well-aimed thrust from Violet's rapier, knocking her backwards with a grunt.

In response, Mitsuru snapped her fingers as Artemisia cast 'Concentrate' to once again increase her magic damage the Shadow Operative leader then fired a volley of Ice attacks at Violet, who used her gymnastics training to gracefully and nimbly dodge the attacks, giving the onlookers quite a show. In particular, both Ken and Teddie found themselves unable to look away from the view they'd gotten of Violet's thighs and legs as she cartwheeled away from some of Mitsuru's Ice moves. Teddie smirked and spoke up.

"These Phantom Thieves might be our foes for now, but you've gotta admit that Violet, in addition to being really flexible, is also bear-y sexy. Maybe I should've tried scoring with her when I had the chance?" Teddie mused, getting death glares from both Yukiko and Marie, the former of which spoke up.

"Are you still cracking those awful bear puns, Teddie!?" Yukiko asked as Marie spoke up with a nod.

"He is indeed. Hmm, I wonder if Crow still 'disappears' people like he used to? Because I seem to recall there being a time that you yourself said, and I quote, 'This bear needs to be disappeared', Yukiko. Or am I mis-remembering?" Marie asked, making Yukiko giggle as she spoke up.

"Nope, that's exactly what I said. Of course, that was when he wouldn't stop talking about scoring with me and Chie. And if anyone has the right to kill him, it's Joker. After all, Violet is his girlfriend." Yukiko said as Kanji spoke up.

"You said it, Yukiko-senpai. Also, following up on what Marie said, I think there was another instance where you said that Teddie should 'disappear'. I believe it was when he announced that the theme for the Miss Yasogami pageant was a swimsuit competition. Regardless, I have to agree that if Teddie were to make a move on Violet, he would be in for the beating of a lifetime." Kanji said as Ken spoke up.

"While it is true that Joker has claimed dibs on Violet already, that doesn't mean the rest of us guys can't appreciate her appearance from afar. As I recall from a movie that Aragaki-senpai once showed me, this one character said, and I quote, "Looking is free. Touching? That's gonna cost extra!" So, I'm not causing any harm by simply observing how flexible Violet is from a distance.

And not only that, but unlike Teddie, I know which lines not to cross. Besides, she's almost a year younger than Joker, and about two years younger than Queen, Noir, and Crow. And since all three of them are around my age, Violet is not that far off from me either. So can I help it if the Phantom Thieves have really good taste in women?" Ken said as Junpei clapped Ken on the back approvingly and spoke up.

"Well said, Ken! I can see that I taught you well on how to appreciate the ladies." Junpei said proudly as Yukari huffed and spoke up.

"Gee, what a surprise. Of course Ken got his lessons on how to pick up women from Stupei. And here I thought Ken learned his lesson after the yukata fiasco back in 2010." Yukari said dryly while resisting the urge to roll her eyes as Junpei huffed and spoke up.

"First of all, I said that as a joke, Yuka-tan! Also, how was I supposed to know that if I said that to Ken, he'd mention it to you guys the first chance he got? And besides, I already got executed for it by Kirijo-senpai back then. And at least I only showed him how to pick up chicks, unlike Aragaki-senpai. That guy not only took it upon himself to give Ken his own version of 'The Talk' before he passed, but he also left the kid his entire collection of dirty books. So if anything, Aragaki-senpai was the worst influence on Ken." Junpei said as Akihiko laughed and spoke up.

"Yeah, that sounds like Shinji, all right. I could see him trying to subtly be a mentor to Ken even from beyond the grave. That's just like him." Akihiko said as the focus shifted back to the match as both Mitsuru and Violet were starting to get tired out as the latter spoke up.

"Had enough yet?" Violet asked as Mitsuru smiled and spoke up.

"I can still keep going. But regardless, I'm impressed. You have really improved a great deal since our last lesson, Violet. But this isn't even all of my power. But rather than tell you, let me show you what I mean!" Mitsuru said as she brandished her rapier and spoke up while the area around her darkened to signify the start of a Theurgy.

"DO IT, ARTEMISIA!" Mitsuru said as Artemisia nodded, extending out her whip chain as it reached out, wrapped around Violet, and pelted her a bunch of times for lots of Almighty damage. As Violet struggled to get free, Mitsuru spoke up.

"TRYING TO GET FREE? DON'T BOTHER! NO ONE HAS EVER GOTTEN OUT OF THIS MOVE! NOW TASTE THE WRATH OF MY BLADE OF EXECUTION!" Mitsuru said as a sphere of Almighty power started forming in front of Violet, as the Shadow Operatives leader smirked as she leaped at the sphere and slashed it a few times with her rapier.

"CAN'T HIDE FROM ME, VIOLET! NOW BEGONE!" Mitsuru said as she backflipped to the ground while the sphere then broke in front of Violet as Mitsuru flipped her hair behind her with a smirk while speaking up.

"HOW DO YOU LIKE MY GRAND FINALE?" Mitsuru said as the Theurgy ended, which caused an explosion of Almighty energy that kicked up a huge cloud of dust to block the battlefield from view for a while. When the dust cleared and the group could see, virtually everyone watching gasped at what they saw. Not only was Mitsuru panting and trying to catch her breath after the massive Theurgy she had just pulled off, but she stood proud with a sense of satisfaction in her step, clearly thinking that she won. However, her satisfaction turned into shock as Violet was also still on her feet and looking worse for wear, but not looking ready to quit despite being hit full-stop by a Theurgy. Mitsuru while still in shock spoke up.

"Impossible! That move was based on Almighty magic, so you should not be standing." Mitsuru said as Violet smirked and spoke up.

"Maybe that would have worked if you were battling a Shadow, but you're not. That was a good move Mitsuru, but not good enough to beat me! After all, you thought you could get away with bullying the girl that I've come to see as a daughter. I won't let you get away with that. Even if I go down, I'll take you with me! ELLA! LET'S SHOW HER OUR FURY!" Violet said as Ella nodded, syncing up her movements with Violet as the two started doing an intricate series of mixed gymnastics and dancing moves, eventually ending up on either side of Mitsuru, with Violet facing the front of Mitsuru and Ella the back. At that point, Violet spoke up as a mask-shaped explosion erupted from where Violet and Ella's blades collided after drilling into Mitsuru's back and chest repeatedly.

"FEEL THE OVERWHELMING RAW POWER OF OUR MASQUERADE!" Violet and Ella said as the giant mask-shaped explosion that had ensued after the end of Violet's Master Art usage lifted Mitsuru off her feet and tossed her to the ground a few feet away, making Violet take a knee but remain standing as she spoke up while panting.

"Whew, that was tough. You might get away with messing with a lot of things, Mitsuru! BUT HOPEFULLY, THIS SERVES AS A LESSON FOR YOU! I DON'T FUCKING CARE IF YOU ARE RELATED TO ME! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH BULLYING MY DAUGHTER, YOU MERCILESS BITCH!" Violet said, making virtually every Phantom Thief's jaw drop at the rare instance of hearing Violet openly swear, before Mitsuru, in spite of the fact that she was currently struggling to stand, simply nodded and spoke up after chuckling at the rather blunt, if accurate, rebuke that Violet had given her.

"I see. Well done, Violet. You've gotten strong. And not only have you learned to stand up for yourself with much confidence, but you've even defeated me fair and square. Congratulations." Mitsuru said before groaning as she collapsed to the ground in defeat, leaving Violet to pant as she spoke up while doing a backflip and posing cutely.

"Aha, I did it! I won! I HAVE AVENGED YOUR DEFEAT, SEEKER!" Violet said as Fuuka ran over to check on Mitsuru, eventually waving an arm to end the match inside of Juno after confirming that Mitsuru was all right while Juno healed Violet with 'Oracle'.

(Match 30 End. Winner: Violet)

(Remaining Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives Members: Yu and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker and Violet) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, Draconis, Naoto, Crow, Junpei, Wolf, Aigis, Seeker, and Mitsuru)

After confirming that Mitsuru was all right, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result of the match.

"And after that incredibly wild fight, Violet wins the thirtieth bout. Now each side is down to just two battlers. This is really anyone's match to win. Can Violet finally get some needed momentum for the Phantom Thieves? We will see. Investigation Team, Shadow Operatives, you have five minutes to clear Mitsuru off the battlefield and send in your next battler." Fuuka said as Akihiko and Yukari carried Mitsuru over to the mixed Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives sideline, where Yukari, Yukiko, and Ken worked together to patch Mitsuru up. Once Mitsuru came to with a groan, she spoke up.

"Wow, I lost to Violet. She's gotten a lot better than I thought she had. That's both good for her and unfortunate for me." Mitsuru said as Akihiko gently put a comforting arm around Mitsuru as he spoke up.

"Take that as a compliment, Mitsuru. That means you trained her well. Also, as Yu mentioned earlier, you did kind of tempt fate with how much you ended up hurting Seeker right before that. So it only made sense for your cousin to come out swinging." Akihiko said before he smiled and kept speaking.

"Either way, I'm proud of how well you did out there, Mitsuru." Akihiko said as Yu turned to Marie and spoke up while Mitsuru leaned up to briefly press her lips to Akihiko's as she kissed him by way of showing Akihiko her gratitude for his words of praise while Yu spoke.

"Sorry, but you're going out next, Marie. I intend to be our last line of defense, much as I suspect Joker intends to do for the Phantom Thieves. After all, what better matchup for the final bout than a clash of a Wild Card against a former Wild Card?" Yu said with a wry smirk as Marie nodded her understanding and spoke up.

"Not to worry, I got this. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to take out both Violet and Joker so that you won't be needed, Yu. But we'll see what happens." Marie said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Understood. Good luck, Marie." Yu said as Marie headed out to the battlefield, where Violet smirked and spoke up.

"Well, well. I had a feeling you'd be my next opponent. I might be worn out slightly from my last fight, but I still intend to do my best against you. So don't you hold anything back. I want to see all of your goddess power, Marie-san." Violet said as Marie smiled and spoke up.

"You got it. I want to see you fighting at your best too, Violet." Marie said as Violet nodded before the two bowed as Fuuka smiled and spoke up.

"Check out this sportsmanship between Marie and Violet! This bout is going to be great! And considering we're getting kind of low on battlers as a whole, we're starting to get down to the final bouts. So let's hope one side can get an edge to end this decisively, since I don't think these bouts were designed with any sort of 'sudden death' type scenario in mind. Either way, let the thirty-first match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the bout.

(Match 31 Start- Violet VS Marie)

As the match started, Violet and Marie spoke up in unison.

"LET'S DANCE, ELLA!/ COME TO ME, KAGUYA!" Violet and Marie said as they summoned their Personas. Once the Phantom Thieves saw Marie's Persona, nearly every single one of their jaws dropped in shock at what Kaguya looked like, as it was literally a black-skinned alien with white hair, a red and white spacesuit with no helmet, and a pair of colorful wings that folded over her arms and shoulders like a cape. After a bit, Oracle spoke up in surprise.

"Whoa, no way! Is Marie's Persona a freakin' alien!?" Oracle said as Pendragon spoke up after blinking in surprise at Marie's Persona making his earlier joke about there being an alien Persona accurate.

"Huh, I guess I stand corrected regarding my earlier statement about aliens being Personas. But still, how can a goddess summon an alien as her Persona?" Pendragon asked as Skull spoke up with a frown.

"Truth, Pendragon! That Persona is freaky lookin', whatever it is!" Skull said as Auburn sighed and spoke up.

"Of course you'd be the one to say that Marie's Persona is freaky looking, Skull." Auburn chastised Skull before turning to Pendragon as she kept speaking.

"And to answer your question? It's hard to say, Pendragon. Probably some sort of perk of being a goddess, if I had to guess." Auburn said before smirking as she kept speaking.

"But then again, she's not the only one in this room that looks divine. Mind, I might be biased in saying that, but it's still my opinion." Auburn said, giving Seraphim a coy wink as she spoke that had Seraphim cutely blush as she spoke up.

"AUBURN! Stop it! I understand that you find me attractive and all, but should we really be flirting while Seeker is around? Yes, Violet is out there battling Marie-chan, but that's besides the point." Seraphim said as Wolf spoke up with a grin.

"Relax, Seraphim. I think Auburn was just trying to compliment you, that's all." Wolf said as back in the arena, Violet and Marie started trying to hit one another and to Violet's shock, Marie's main weapon was just a blue bag which the minor goddess ended up swinging to try to hit Violet. Violet tries to use her rapier to try to slash the bag in half only to find out that it's sturdier than it looks. Violet, needing to change tactics, backflips away from Marie as the gymnast had Ella launch a volley of Bless energy at Marie.

However, much to Violet's shock, the minor goddess she was currently fighting was able to tank those attacks with no damage. Upon realizing that Bless attacks would not work, Violet then had Ella unleash 'Vorpal Blade' on Marie, and to the gymnast's dismay, she was able to dodge the attack thanks to Kaguya's 'Angelic Grace' skill. Marie then launches her attack by having Kaguya unleash her barrage of Bless energy at Violet. The gymnast smirked as she was preparing to tank the attacks, but her confidence turned into shock as the Bless attacks actually did damage to her. Violet, making sure she wasn't imagining things, had Ella unleash Bless attacks again on Marie but like before she was able to block those attacks.

Violet then had Ella unleashed 'Sword Dance' as multiple swords came crashing down on Marie and taking considerable damage. However, Marie was able to have Kaguya heal her with 'Diarahan' as the minor goddess then followed up snapping her fingers as Kaguya's wings unfolded to reveal an array of lasers that were coated in Bless energy. The lasers were then fired point-blank at Violet, pelting her with a ton of damage, knocking her backwards. Joker, now seeing for himself that his girlfriend was taking damage despite being immune to Bless, frowned and spoke up.

"Wait, how is Marie damaging Violet with Bless attacks? I thought Ella gave Violet immunity to that?" Joker asked as Fuuka, who happened to overhear Joker's question, smiled and spoke up.

"Normally, that's true. But as a minor land goddess, Marie gets special privileges. One of those is the ability to bypass affinity checks and have her attacks damage the foe regardless of whether they can resist that element or not. Although it does seem a bit unfair to me, but that's the way it goes." Fuuka said as the fight heated up, with both sides trading attacks back and forth for a while, until an exhausted Violet reeled backwards and spoke up.

"Not bad, Marie-san. I really didn't expect you to have the ability to damage me with my own element." Violet said as Marie smirked and spoke up.

"Are you surprised, Violet? You should be. But I think it's time to put you out of your misery since you seem to be on your last leg after all that fighting. So let me show you my true power!" Marie said as she arced backwards and summoned a tornado that sucked in Violet as the screen darkened and panned to a shot of Marie in a white hooded cloak, having changed her outfit, as she spoke up.

"Behold my true form! I am Izanami-no-Mikoto! I grant mankind what they wish for!" Marie said as a giant light blue teardrop-shaped gem appeared, encapsulating Violet inside of it as lightning started striking the gem, hitting it over and over with lightning until a giant explosion was seen, blinding the group. Once they could see again and the finisher was over, all of the Phantom Thieves gasped as they saw Violet laid out face-down and unconscious on the ground, prompting Joker and Seeker to gasp as they spoke up in unison.

"OH, NO! VIOLET, SPEAK TO ME!/MOM! WAKE UP!" Joker and Seeker said as Fuuka raced over to check on Violet as Marie chuckled and spoke up as her outfit reverted to normal.

"Heh, not bad. But not good enough in the end. Oh well, guess that's the way it goes. Who's next?" Marie said with a sly grin on her face. At that point, Fuuka confirmed Violet was okay, even if she was unconscious, having seen the slow rise and fall of her chest that indicated she was breathing. Fuuka then waved an arm inside of Juno to end the match as Juno used 'Oracle' to heal Marie, who nodded to herself in a mix of satisfaction and excitement, already knowing who was next, given there was only one battle-ready Phantom Thief remaining.

(Match 31 End. Winner: Marie)

(Remaining Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives Members: Yu and Marie) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, Draconis, Naoto, Crow, Junpei, Wolf, Aigis, Seeker, Mitsuru, and Violet)

After the fight, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result of the bout.

"After a rather explosive finish, Marie wins the thirty-first bout! With only one Phantom Thief and two Investigation Team/Shadow Operatives members left, we're likely down to our last couple of matches! There's even a chance this next match is our final battle. But whether we have one match left or two will be all on the shoulders of Joker, as the final remaining Phantom Thief. While he takes the battlefield, the rest of his group has five minutes to get Violet off the field." Fuuka said as Wolf and Pendragon carried Violet over to the Phantom Thieves' sidelines, where Seeker, Crow, and Flare worked together to get Violet back on her feet. Once she sat up with a groan, she smiled as she felt herself being hugged, looking down to see Seeker hugging her she spoke up.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Mom. I was worried when Marie unleashed that lightning on you." Seeker said as Violet smiled as she patted her daughter on the head and spoke up.

"Don't worry, Seeker. It's going to take more than a minor land goddess to take me away from you. So don't be sad. I'm just happy I avenged your defeat before going down. Hopefully, Joker can close up shop against both Marie and Yu. I may have left him at a minor disadvantage, but I think he can handle it. He is a Wild Card, after all." Violet said as Seeker nodded and spoke up.

"True. Dad can handle himself, I'm sure." Seeker said as Violet looked at Joker and spoke up.

"Are you sure you're able to handle both Marie and Yu?" Violet asked as Joker smiled and spoke up.

"Relax, beautiful. I've got this. In fact, if I play my cards right, I might be able to gain an advantage against both of them that will help us win." Joker said as both Violet and Seeker embraced him in a hug as the latter spoke up.

"If that's the case, then good luck, Dad." Seeker said as Violet spoke up.

"Bring us the victory." Violet said as Joker nodded and after taking one last look at his team, all of them having smiles on their faces, Joker then walked towards the battlefield to join Marie as the latter spoke up.

"So you're the last line of defense for the Phantom Thieves, then? Seems about accurate for the leader of the group to be the last one standing." Marie said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Indeed, Marie-san. But first, before we start our fight, I do have a question to address to Yu." Joker said as Yu looked over on hearing his name and spoke up.

"Yes? What is it?" Yu asked as Joker spoke up.

"Is it against the rules for me to use my powers of the Wild Card for this fight? Meaning the ability to swap between Personas at will, similar to what Crow did against Naoto, but on a larger scale?" Joker asked as Yu thought about it and smiled wryly before he spoke up.

"Not at all. I don't mind if you use that power against Marie, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I want to see you fighting at your best. And secondly, since I allowed you to use that power when you fought against me in the first bout alongside Draconis, I don't see any reason for me to have you not use it. So you have my permission to once again make use of your Wild Card power, Joker." Yu said as Draconis grinned and spoke up.

"Ooh, now we've got a real fight here! On one side, we've got a freakin' Wild Card! And on the other, we have an honest-to-God goddess! I think the only time I've seen a more intense matchup was the time when Joker shot that giant armored Persona of Doc's through the head with his gun a few years ago. But then again, he literally told that Persona 'Checkmate!' before shooting it, so that was pretty badass by default." Draconis said as all the Phantom Thieves who were present for that battle nodded their agreement, leaving Wolf, Seeker, Pendragon, Seraphim, Auburn, and Flare to exchange confused looks, figuring this was part of Joker's original run as a Phantom Thief. Before anyone could say anything more, Fuuka spoke up.

"We're getting down to our final couple of bouts, so let's get this one underway! Can Marie clinch the match here for her side, or will Joker force a final showdown with Yu? Time to find out! Let the thirty-second match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved an arm inside of Juno to start the bout.

(Match 32 Start- Joker Vs Marie)

As the match started, Joker and Marie spoke up in unison.

"RAVAGE THEM, RAOUL!/SHOW YOURSELF, KAGUYA!" Joker and Marie said as they summoned their Personas to start the fight. At that point, the two started circling around, trading hits with each other as Joker's knife clashed against Marie's bag. Joker then called on Raoul as the Persona unleashed multiple blasts of Curse energy at Marie to see if her weakness was the opposite of Bless. But much to his shock, the Curse energy did no damage against Marie as the goddess countered by having Kaguya unleash a barrage of Bless energy at the Phantom Thief. While Joker was able to dodge some of them he did end up getting hit by one of the blasts. As Joker was knocked to the floor, Marie smirked and spoke up.

"Is that really all you got?" Marie said as Joker spoke up as he got up.

"Please. I'm just getting started." Joker said as he then had Raoul cast 'Mediarama' on himself, which was followed up with the Phantom Thief having his main Persona unleashing a 'One-Shot Kill' move at Marie which caused her to endure heavy damage. However, the minor goddess was able to recover thanks to Kaguya casting 'Diarahan' on her. Not wanting to give up on finding Kaguya's weakness, Joker swapped Raoul out for Seth and tried to see if one of his skills could be of some use.

However, the dragon Persona was also not able to find Marie's weakness. However, Joker did confirm after his first two Personas that Marie was neutral to Gun and Nuclear moves, nullifies Curse and Bless moves with the latter being seen when he saw Violet's battle, and little else. Marie then had Kaguya unleash her 'Shining Arrows' move as Bless energy lasers started firing at Joker.

Remembering that Seth also had a weakness for Bless, Joker quickly swapped him out for Fortuna and after using that Persona for a little bit, Joker figured out that Kaguya resists Wind moves and is neutral to Ice, and Elec moves. This was then followed up with him swapping Fortuna for Kali of which he then learned that Kaguya is neutral to both Psy and normal Physical skills.

After eliminating all possible options for weakness, Joker swapped Kali for his Cerberus, smirking at the stunned looks on the faces of both the Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives as Koromaru had an intrigued look on his face as he took note of another version of his Persona. Just as Marie was about to have Kaguya launch another 'Shining Arrows' attack, Joker had Cerberus unleash a blast of Fire at the minor goddess. And to his satisfaction, Marie ended up recoiling when the 'Agidyne' from Cerberus connected as the minor goddess was knocked down on the floor. It was at that point that Marie spoke up with some hint of fear in her eyes.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. That's not good." Marie said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Aha! Weak to Fire moves, eh? Good to know! Too bad for you, Cerberus has one of the strongest Fire moves to ever exist currently in his arsenal! DO IT, CERBERUS! SHOW HER YOUR FIERY MIGHT!" Joker said as Cerberus nodded, leaping back and causing a beam of flaming energy to come from his mouth from his usage of 'Inferno' as it lined up with Kaguya and dealt considerable damage to her and Marie.

Unbeknownst to Joker or Marie, Joker's usage of Cerberus' 'Inferno' skill to land an explosive hit on Marie's weak point would end up drawing an approving howl from Koromaru over on the Investigation Team/Shadow Operative sideline as he watched the alternate version of his Persona land a solid hit on Marie, even though Marie is his teammate for the duration of the rematch. At that point, Ken smirked and petted Koromaru as he spoke up.

"You're intrigued by Joker having a 'Cerberus' Persona too, aren't you? I think we can ignore you cheering against our teammate in this case for that reason alone. Though I will admit that Joker landed a pretty good hit on Marie. Can he keep that up though, I wonder?" Ken asked as Yukari spoke up with a smile.

"I dunno, Ken. But if what Yu and Naoto said about Joker being a potential Wild Card is true, which I think we can agree it is after what we just saw? This should be an interesting fight, especially if it comes down to Joker and Yu." Yukari said sagely as Ken nodded his agreement and the two went back to focusing on the match.

Back on the battlefield, Marie showed no signs of backing down despite recoiling slightly from the solid hit that Joker had landed on her with Cerberus, as a back-and-forth firefight ensued. After a long while of heated struggling between Marie and Joker, Joker smirked and swapped back to Raoul as he saw Marie start to pant as she fell to a knee.

"Aww, getting worn out? Let me finish you off then! RAOUL, LET'S GIVE HER A SHOW!" Joker said as Raoul nodded and waved an arm as the wing-like jetpack on his back produced a cape, which Raoul swung forwards to cause a wave of Almighty energy to snatch up Marie and pull her in, smacking her over and over until Raoul clapped his hands together, causing an explosion that blasted Marie backwards, making her struggle to a knee as she spoke up.

"Ugh, dammit! You got me, Joker. Looks like it's up to Yu to finish this fight." Marie said as she collapsed in defeat, prompting the Phantom Thieves to cheer for their leader while Yu gave Joker an intrigued look, glad he got to face him after all. While Fuuka confirmed that Marie was okay, Yu prepared himself to meet Joker on the battlefield as Fuuka waved her arm inside of Juno to end the fight as Juno healed up Joker with the final 'Oracle' usage of the rematch, prompting Joker to twist his glove tightly and speak up with a grin.

"It's been real Marie, but as they say, THE SHOW'S OVER!" Joker said as the match ended.

(Match 32 End. Winner: Joker)

(Remaining Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives Members: Yu) (Remaining Phantom Thieves Members: Joker) (Eliminated from the Battle: Pendragon, Kanji, Skull, Teddie, Mona, Koromaru, Panther, Rise, Oracle, Yukari, Seraphim, Ken, Auburn, Yukiko, Noir, Labrys, Flare, Yosuke, Fox, Chie, Queen, Akihiko, Draconis, Naoto, Crow, Junpei, Wolf, Aigis, Seeker, Mitsuru, Violet, and Marie)

After the match ended, Fuuka spoke up to confirm the result.

"After that rather intense struggle, Joker wins the thirty-second bout and forces a final showdown with Yu to decide the overall winner of the match. So once someone carries Marie off the field, Yu can come on down to face Joker to settle the match as a whole." Fuuka said as Chie and Yukari carried Marie over to the Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives sideline, where Yukiko, Teddie, and Ken worked together to get Marie back on her feet, prompting her to groan as Teddie spoke up with a growl.

"I can't believe that you got beaten by Joker, Emmy-chan. If I were still in this bout, I would've trounced him for sure." Teddie said as Marie spoke up

"Take it easy, Teddie. Even if you were still in, chances are you would've been beaten easily. Still, who knew that Joker had it in him to take out a goddess?" Marie said as Ken smirked in amusement and spoke up, recalling something Draconis had told him as they were making their way through the Jail to get to the arena earlier.

"I'm not surprised. After all, from what Amamiya the youngest told me, apparently his brother once shot a god in the face with a gun that was the size of a ballista and put a hole in the god's face that was roughly the size of a tetherball. So if he can do that, I'm not surprised he was able to defeat you, Marie. However, I don't think he'll find it so easy to defeat Narukami." Ken said as Kanji smirked and spoke up.

"Hell no, he won't! Senpai's the man! It'll take more than some fancy parlor tricks to defeat him! After all, Yu once killed a goddess by blasting her to bits with one single attack from his Persona. So this final match should be good to watch." Kanji said as almost everyone on the Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives nodded except for Yu and Rise who were having one last conversation.

"Are you sure you can handle Joker, Yu?" Rise asked as Yu smiled and spoke up.

"Definitely. I have fought him before, so I already know his moves. The only new thing that he has brought to the playing field is that one attack that he used to defeat Marie. And since he won't have any help this time, I can say that we might have a chance to win this. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Yu said as Rise smiled and spoke up as she gave her husband a quick kiss on the lips.

"Okay then, good luck, Senpai." Rise said as Yu nodded as he made his way towards the battlefield. Once he and Joker were a couple of feet away from each other, Yu spoke up.

"So, it's come down to this, then. You and I are the last ones left for our respective teams. That means our match will decide which group wins the fight as a whole. So I hope for your sake, and that of the Phantom Thieves, that you've got it in you to keep up with me. Because, unlike last time when you fought me alongside Draconis, I will NOT be holding anything back this time! So if you mean to defeat me, you'd better give this fight your all, Joker!" Yu said as Joker smirked and spoke up.

"Naturally. I might be a bit drained from fighting Marie, but I intend to give this final fight everything I've got, Yu. So let's do this, and may the best leader win!" Joker said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Well said, Joker. Good luck to you." Yu said as he and Joker shook hands before bowing to one another as Fuuka spoke up.

"Here we go, everyone! This match is for all the marbles! Which side will come away with the win in the end? Can Joker bring home the win for the Phantom Thieves? Or will Yu be too much for Joker to handle and win it for the Investigation Team and Shadow Operatives? Only time, and this bout, will tell. For now, let the final match begin!" Fuuka said as she waved a hand inside of Juno to start the final battle.

(Final Battle Start- Joker VS Yu)

As the final battle commenced, Joker and Yu spoke up in unison.

"RAVAGE THEM, RAOUL!/LET'S DO IT, IZANAGI-NO-OKAMI!" Joker and Yu said as they summoned their Personas, prompting an intrigued Seraphim to speak up on the Phantom Thieves' sidelines.

"Ah, so Big Bro's using his evolved Persona, rather than his base one. Interesting. He really is playing for keeps." Seraphim said in intrigue as Auburn nodded while hushing her Joker and Yu started trading attacks back and forth with one another as Yu's sword clashed with Joker's knife. After a bit of clashing weapons, Yu then backpedaled away from Joker as he used Izanagi-No-Okami to cast 'Concentrate' in himself to increase his magic attack.

Yu then followed by having Izanagi-No-Okami launch a series of Elec strikes at Joker was able to carefully dodge out of the way. This was followed up with Joker having Raoul unleashing multiple blasts of Curse energy at Yu so that he could figure out his weakness. However, the leader of the Investigation Team was able to dodge the attacks he then followed up by having Izanagi-No-Okami unleashing 'Vorpal Blade' at the leader of the Phantom Thieves all while Joker had Raoul unleashing 'One-Shot Kill' at the exact same time.

Both Joker and Yu's attacks ended up causing major damage to each other in which the two leaders then resort to having their Personas heal them. After a bit more fighting, Joker was able to have Raoul get a lucky Curse shot at Yu but it only did normal damage. Realizing that he needed to change tactics, Joker began to use his Wild Card powers to swap Personas so that he could find Yu's weakness. After a very long, yet very drawn-out clash, all of which involved trading blows with Yu as well as testing different skills, Joker had figured out that Yu's Persona could resist Physical, Fire, Ice, Electric, and Wind moves, making him realize he had to rely on a mixture of Gun, Psy, Nuke, Bless, Curse and even Almighty moves. After around the fourth or fifth failed attempt to find a weakness, Joker cursed and spoke up.

"Is your Persona really that broken, Narukami!? I can see having one or two resistances, but resisting nearly everything!? That's overpowered right there. But I guess there's a good reason that you're the leader of the Investigation Team, isn't there?" Joker asked as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. I was the one who brought the team together and helped almost all of them awaken to their Personas. I say 'almost' because one could argue that I did little to help Rise and/or Teddie awaken to their Personas, compared to how much I helped the others. However, it balanced out when I ended up dating and later marrying Rise and having to deal with a pseudo-younger sibling in Teddie, who basically saw me as a combination of a 'Sensei' and a 'Big Bro'. Although, he rarely called me the latter name out of respect for Seraphim, who usually is the one to call me 'Big Bro'.

But even so, they knew I was there for them regardless. So that's why I'm the leader of the Investigation Team. The fact that my Persona is the only one that was able to destroy a goddess with one attack is both irrelevant and not important to my qualifications to lead the Investigation Team. Does that answer your question, Joker?" Yu asked as Joker nodded as he spoke up.

"I guess it does answer it. But that's not going to stop me from seeing if your Persona has a weakness. Also, you're not the only one who has contended with gods Narukami, as my team ended up having to stop one from controlling all of humanity. And it was only thanks to everyone's support that I was able to deal with the final blow. So in essence you and I are not so different and I will use everything that I have to win this final fight." Joker said as he charged towards Narukami as the fight resumed with Joker continuing to try and identify a weakness in Izanagi-No-Okami.

At some point in the fight, Yu cast 'Charge' on himself to boost his physical power as he then followed up by trying to hit Joker with the rare Physical move 'Cross Slash' from Izanagi-No-Okami, to which Joker barely managed to dodge out of the way in time, though the attack did graze the edges of his coat slightly, but not for any real damage. Joker then kept trying different elements to figure out if Yu's Persona had any weaknesses at all, being disappointed to find out Yu's Persona had no weaknesses whatsoever to exploit.

Accordingly, Joker shifted between Seth, Norn, Forneus, and Ganesha, as they had all the effective elements, plus Norn also had Almighty as well. For a long while after that, Yu and Joker threw everything they had at each other, trying to get an edge on the other. After what seemed like a very long time, Yu and Joker panted as they looked at each other and Yu spoke up.

"Impressive, Joker. Despite coming in fresher than you, you've brought me to my limits, and I can tell the same is true for you. Unless we want to go to our absolute limit to decide this, I think we should try and decide this now with one final decisive clash." Yu said as Joker nodded and as he swapped from Seth, who he'd had out, back to Raoul, the leader of the Phantom Thieves spoke up.

"You know what, Yu? I couldn't agree more. Give me everything you got!" Joker said as Yu spoke up.

"NOW, IZANAGI-NO-OKAMI! END THIS BY THE MYRIAD TRUTHS!" Yu said as Joker spoke up.

"RAOUL! IT'S TIME FOR OUR FINAL BOW! PHANTOM SHOW!" Joker said as he and Yu's partner Personas charged up their strongest attacks/Master Arts in the forms of 'Phantom Show' and 'Myriad Truths'. The two leaders then had their Personas launch their attacks at each other which upon making contact in the middle, it ended up causing a large explosion of Almighty energy that seemed to consume both Joker and Yu, who were blocked from view, though both groups could hear the agonized yells of pain both leaders gave off inside of the Almighty energy field.

(Final Battle End. Winner: TBA)

At that point, nearly everyone, aside from Fuuka who was refereeing, cried out in shock.

"OH, NO! YU!/JOKER!/JOKER! BIG BRO!" All of the Shadow Operatives, Investigation Team, and Phantom Thieves aside from Fuuka simultaneously cried out as they waited for visibility to return. And once it did, all the groups gasped in horror while Fuuka spoke up.

"Well, it seems like they're both-OH MY!" Fuuka said, having turned to the battlefield in time to see both Joker and Yu laid out on the ground, clearly out cold. Before Fuuka could even try to stop them, both teams were swarming the battlefield to try and revive their respective leaders to try and figure out who won the fight. After many usages of 'Samarecarm' and 'Salvation' from both sides, Joker and Yu eventually sat up with identical groans as the latter spoke up first.

"Ugh, is the fight over?" Yu asked as Rise nodded and spoke up.

"Seems like it. The only question we have left is who won. From what we could see, you and Joker's attacks collided with each other and created a blinding explosion of Almighty energy that consumed you both." Rise said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"I see. Sounds like it was a stalemate, then." Yu said as Joker spoke up.

"Seems that way to me as well. You know, Draconis was able to cancel out your Myriad Truths with that Almighty attack he fired from Malefor during our first bout. And yet in this one, Raoul was only able to cause a stalemate when his Phantom Show collided with the Myriad Truths. Kinda odd, isn't it?" Joker said as Draconis smirked and spoke up.

"Probably because Malefor, unlike Raoul, is good at what he does?" Draconis joked before smiling and continuing to speak before Joker could do more than sputter at the playful dig Draconis took at Raoul.

"No, but in all seriousness, I think it was because I gave that attack that Malefor used to cancel Yu's Myriad Truths during our first encounter with the Investigation Team quite a long while to charge. Whereas you had to fire yours off nearly immediately to meet the Myriad Truths head-on. If you had more forewarning, you could've probably charged it up more and possibly even broken through it to defeat Yu." Draconis said as Mitsuru nodded and spoke up.

"Very apt observation, Draconis." Mitsuru said as Akihiko spoke up.

"I'm not surprised. Draconis is a pretty wise and powerful battler. There's clearly a very good reason that he's the second-in-command of the Phantom Thieves." Akihiko said as Wolf smirked and spoke up.

"Yeah, and it's not just that he's Joker's brother. It's probably because he's had to bail the Phantom Thieves out of trouble many times over the years." Wolf said as Crow spoke up.

"True, but I think we were trying to figure out the final match's outcome, were we not?" Crow said as Seraphim smiled and spoke up.

"Correct. Personally, I think it's not an unreasonable suggestion to propose that we call that fight a draw and just say the entire bout is a draw. The reason is that I recall Big Bro saying that the point of this rematch was to not only gauge how much the Phantom Thieves have improved since their original encounter, but also to let him fight Joker one-on-one with both of them giving it their all. So would it be so bad to just say that Yu and Joker fought to a draw and the fight ended in a double KO? Because as far as I can tell, that's what actually happened.

Not only that, but there's no way anyone could've seen inside that last attack to determine who fell first to break the tie. And to be honest, if either side were to win over the other, wouldn't it just cause hard feelings for whichever side loses? After all, we all fought tremendously well out there. So as far as I'm concerned, other than what Koromaru did to Mona after that fight, we all performed admirably. So as I said, is it really so bad to leave the final fight as a draw and say that the bout ended in a tie for both sides?" Seraphim suggested as Yu and Joker looked at one another, both stunned and impressed by Seraphim's wise suggestion. Rise smiled and hugged Seraphim as she spoke up.

"Look at you, trying to make mature and wise suggestions, Seraphim. I'm proud of you, and I'm sure your Big Bro also feels the same." Rise said before smiling proudly at a blushing Seraphim, who pouted and spoke up.

"Nuh-uh! I was just trying to offer a potential compromise for both sides, that's all. I wasn't trying to be either mature or wise." Seraphim said as Auburn giggled and spoke up.

"Aww, don't be so embarrassed, Seraphim. That was a compliment. Besides, I think it's sexy that you're so shy right now." Auburn said as Wolf huffed at how brazenly flirtatious and playful Auburn was being with Seraphim. Violet just smiled and spoke up.

"I'd yell at you for doing that around Seeker, but I think we can make an exception, just this once. Besides, I think that Seeker's too distracted right now to notice." Violet said, giggling as she saw Seeker looking over at Mona, seemingly debating if she should hug him or not. After a moment, Fuuka spoke up.

"Thinking more about it, I believe I agree with Seraphim's suggestion of calling the match as a whole a tie between both groups. I don't believe anyone will object to saying that both groups win." Fuuka said, getting a unanimous cheer from both groups. At that point, Akihiko turned to Draconis and spoke up.

"Still, I have to say, you were rather incredible in our fight, Draconis. I half-expected that fight to end sooner, but the fact we held out as long as we did is pretty crazy. Not to mention the fact that the elemental fistfight we had at the end was pretty intense." Akihiko said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"True. As I said before, you made me work for that win, Sanada. You're no slouch. And when we consider that neither of us has much of any experience with the other's chosen form of fighting, we did quite well to make our fight last as long as we did." Draconis said as Seeker nodded before pouting as she spoke up.

"Good point. You were great out there, Uncle Draconis. As for me, I think I did decently well to outlast Aigis. However, I do think that Mitsuru could've been a bit less brutal in defeating me, but I understand that she was trying to bring out my best and I didn't live up to her expectations." Seeker said, almost looking a bit sad and/or disappointed. At that point, she felt a pair of arms hug her from behind, causing her to blink before smiling as she saw Mona hugging her from behind as he spoke up.

"Cheer up, Lady Seeker. Despite the fact that no one expected you to last as long as you did, you were incredible! You just got unlucky to be against the leader of the Shadow Operatives. But then again, I can't say you would have been any better off against Marie or Yu instead, so your defeat was probably unavoidable, unfortunately. At least Violet made it a point to avenge you in an impressive way. Though I will admit I wasn't expecting her to rebuke Mitsuru after defeating her the way she did." Mona said as Violet blushed and spoke up.

"Yes, well, I won't deny that I did swear rather profusely at Mitsuru while finishing her off. But in my defense? I was in full 'mama bear' mode, as Oracle would put it, at the time. So I think I can be forgiven for swearing at least once." Violet said as Skull laughed and spoke up.

"Truth, Violet! And at least you didn't make the mistake of pissing off a dog and putting it in a rather literal 'pissy' mood, unlike Mona. Then again, Seeker doesn't seem too bothered by that, given how eagerly she seems to be cuddling into Mona right now." Skull said as Seeker blushed cutely in embarrassment as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Shut up, Skull! Besides, I'm pretty sure the smell will go away once we're back in the real world. And if it doesn't, it's not like it won't come out if I wash myself in a bath-house." Mona said as Queen frowned and spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Mona. Be that as it may though, I'm not sure that this is the time or place for such remarks. Since we're on the subject, why are you bringing up washing yourself in a bathhouse in front of Seeker? I didn't think Violet approved of such things being mentioned around her. Or am I mistaken?"" Queen said as Oracle smirked and spoke up.

"Mwehehe! I think I know why he mentioned that, Queen." Oracle said before turning to Mona as she kept speaking.

"Be honest, Mona. Were you plannin' on trying to sneak Seeker into the bath with you, by any chance? You naughty boy." Oracle said as three different voices spoke up to rebuke her.

"ORACLE! BEHAVE!" Joker, Mona, and Violet all snapped at Oracle as Pendragon spoke up with a disapproving frown.

"Oracle, don't tease Mona and Seeker like that. Besides, Seeker's an AI, so I doubt she'd be able to appreciate the concept of taking a bath with Mona anyways. So your point is kinda moot. But I'll leave it at that so I don't have Joker and Violet both frowning at me for being crass around Seeker." Pendragon said as Violet nodded approvingly and spoke up.

"Thank you, Pendragon. At least you try to censor yourself around Seeker for the most part." Violet said as Panther giggled and spoke up.

"Isn't that cute that both Seeker and Seraphim get so easily embarrassed?" Panther said as Flare smirked and spoke up.

"That's rich, coming from the girl who gets embarrassed whenever I talk about bringing out the-" Flare said before Panther slapped a hand over Flare's mouth and spoke up in embarrassment.

"OK! I get it. No need to bring up our kinks in front of our current company." Panther said as Queen sweatdropped and spoke up.

"Honestly, between you two and Seraphim and Auburn, I wonder which pair is wilder. But then I remember that as far as I know, Flare and Panther don't spank each other, so it's Seraphim and Auburn." Queen said as Wolf frowned and spoke up.

"Stop reminding me about that, Queen. I might approve of them dating, but that doesn't mean I need a visual image of what my daughter gets up to with her girlfriend behind closed doors." Wolf said with a shudder as Pendragon gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder while Yu spoke up in an understanding tone.

"I can empathize, Wolf. After all, your daughter's girlfriend is as good as my little sister, even if she does act like a brat at times." Yu said teasingly as Seraphim blushed and spoke up.

"Wha!? Nuh-uh! That's a lie, Big Bro!" Seraphim said as Yu laughed and spoke up.

"Oh really, Seraphim? If what you say is true, then why is it that I have so many memories of you slapping, kicking, or otherwise hurting your poor father during the year that I lived with the two of you in Inaba for eight years ago? And we aren't even going to bring up the night in which you egged the girls on when they were trying to pelt us with baskets at the Amagi Inn? Also, for the record, that incident was entirely Rise and Yukiko's fault for knowingly going in shortly before the allotment swapped from the girls' time to the guys' time. I vividly recall how Yosuke was so devastated by being denied his guys' time in the hot springs, that he spent half the night curled up in the fetal position crying." Yu said as Teddie laughed and spoke up.

"You sure that wasn't after he and Kanji accidentally curled up with their teacher, thinking she was Yukiko-chan?" Teddie said jokingly as Yosuke's face went red and he spoke up while lightly smacking Teddie on the arm, to the amusement of Kanji, Crow, and Draconis.

"DUDE! SHUT UP! Also, you have no room to talk about that incident, Teddie! You were the one who managed to make Hanako like you! How you managed that so much, I have no idea, but you did! So you were just as guilty in that as the rest of us! Also, do not try and drag my partner into this! Yu was the only one of us not to take part in that. Also, you egged us into that by saying we should get revenge on the girls for what they did to us." Yosuke pointed out as Kanji spoke up.

"Yeah, what Yosuke said! Also, if you're gonna tell that story, don't leave out the part where we all spent at least half the night thinking the room Yukiko-senpai gave us was haunted!" Kanji said as Naoto winced and spoke up.

"You have a point, Kanji-kun. But to be fair, you also have to remember that Seraphim-chan was caught up in that too, since Dojima-san had left her in Yu's care that night. So we can't really be too angry about that, for her sake." Naoto said as Seraphim smiled and spoke up.

"It's fine, Naoto. I realize that was a crazy night all around. Besides, it worked out well enough in the end, especially since I got to share a bed, so to speak, with Big Sis that night." Seraphim said as Rise blushed and spoke up.

"That's one way to word that, Seraphim-chan. But I think you meant to say that we cuddled that night, rather than shared a bed. After all, depending on who you ask, sharing a bed can have very different connotations from person to person." Rise said sagely as Chie spoke up.

"True. Seraphim-chan was quite the adorable little cuddle bug with you that night if I recall correctly, Rise. Then again, she probably got the idea from seeing Yukiko try to share a bed with me. So if anything, I blame Yukiko." Chie said as Yukiko pouted and spoke up.

"Hmph. Excuse me for being curious about women back then, Chie." Yukiko said as Labrys giggled and spoke up.

"It's all right, Yukiko-san. It's not a crime to like women. After all, Seraphim has a girlfriend, and I believe so does both Panther and Flare, so it's not a crime to be into both genders. So don't feel like you hafta pretend to be straight around us." Labrys said comfortingly to Yukiko as Aigis spoke up with an unreadable look on her face.

"That is true, sister. However, at the same time, there are certain cultures who frown heavily on same-sex pairings, or so I read online once." Aigis said as Mitsuru frowned and spoke up.

"You're not wrong, Aigis. I recall a time when Yamagishi was shunned because she had a short-lived crush on Arisato's sister before she moved away after both Arisato the elder and Aragaki passed away a few years ago. So it is true that some can be shunned for making that sort of life choice." Mitsuru said sagely as Joker spoke up.

"Very relatable advice, Mitsuru. I'm sure Panther and Flare can appreciate the truth of your words. That being said, you fought tremendously well, Narukami. I'm not even mad that we wound up tying in our fight. The fact I didn't outright lose to you is a small win for me." Joker said as Yu nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. You did well to fight me to a draw, Joker. Sure, you had the power of the Wild Card. And although I was restricted to a single Persona, you still managed to hold your own against me. For that alone, you have my respect. I think we can all safely agree that the skills of the Phantom Thieves are very much the real deal." Yu said as Oracle spoke up.

"Of course we're the real deal, Narukami. I could've told you that. Mwehehe." Oracle said as Pendragon spoke up.

"Oracle, can you not brag? I think he was trying to compliment us." Pendragon said as Wolf spoke up.

"I agree, Pendragon. Also, now that we've done our rematch, I think we should get back to the real world, since some of us have things to do still." Wolf pointed out as Noir frowned and spoke up.

"Oh, right. I just remembered that this will be the final instance of us being in the Jail since EMMA will be shutting down." Noir said as Fox spoke up.

"While that may be true, we will always still have the memories of our time together." Fox said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Right with you, Fox. This little outing was a nice way to end our second run as the Phantom Thieves. This shows that we have come a long way from our humble beginnings." Draconis said as Joker spoke up.

"Indeed, I can safely say that this was the best summer ever. But with that being said, let's finally return to the real world." Joker said as others nodded and mutually agreed to exit the Okinawa Jail and meet back up in the meeting room from before once they got back to the real world.

But as they were in the process of leaving, little did all the Persona-users know that throughout the entire bout, someone was watching from the shadows...

(A little while later, back in the real world, in the meeting room, with Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Goro, Sumire, Kusa, Sophia, Sojiro, Shiho, Zenkichi, Nanako, Akane, Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Teddie, Naoto, Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Aigis, Koromaru, Ken, Labrys, and Marie)

After reconvening in the real world at the meeting room they'd first met up in, Mitsuru spoke up.

"So, that rematch was pretty eventful. I think we can all agree that we have a pretty healthy respect for one another's skills now. That said, I assume the Phantom Thieves still have a little more to their mission even with Konoe's defeat and change of heart?" Mitsuru said as Ren spoke up with a nod.

"Correct. We're getting ready to take our RV we rented back to Tokyo to close out our trip and our summer break before we split up to go back to our respective lives. However, I do believe that Zenkichi has one more perp to bring to justice before he can slip into that quiet semi-retired status that all of us Phantom Thieves, and probably us Persona-users in general, tend to enjoy after our initial run ends. Additionally, we still have to confirm that EMMA's servers are successfully shut down before we can fully call this case closed." Ren said as Kusa spoke up.

"Precisely. Not to mention, a lot of us are getting ready to start college soon. I think that out of our group, only Sojiro, Zenkichi, Morgana, Sophia, Shiho, Nanako, Akane, and maybe Goro aren't planning to go to college. Mind you, Sumire might opt to go into gymnastics instead of attending college, but that's up to her. And I have no idea if Ren has plans to start college or not, as he is still looking for a place to live before that. So we'll see what happens." Kusa said as Sojiro spoke up with a smirk.

"Don't forget Ann and Shiho's eventual wedding, after which they'll probably move in together." Sojiro pointed out as Zenkichi smirked and spoke up.

"You say that like a lot of these guys aren't gonna eventually move in together. Let's see, we have Ren and Sumire, Ryuji and Makoto, Kusa and Futaba, Goro and Haru, Ann and Shiho, Nanako and Akane, and potentially even Morgana and Sophia who are all dating, and likely to move in together eventually." Zenkichi said as most of the named couples blushed as Goro spoke up.

"Some of us are in less of a hurry than others to take that step though, Zenkichi. And I notice you left out Yusuke and Togo-san from the list of couples." Goro said as Junpei smirked and spoke up.

"Y'know, I wonder if anyone in your group has ever thought of doing a threesome?" Junpei mused as Futaba, Akane, and Nanako all blushed from Junpei's inadvertent reference to their previous discussion of that very subject. Kusa chuckled and spoke up.

"I'm sure some of us have. In fact, I know for a fact that Ren and Sumire brought the subject up at least once, as did Futaba. I think we'd be accepting of such things in this group if they happened. And given the looks on Taba, Akane, and Nanako's faces right now, I'm willing to bet money that they at least talked about it once. Hopefully, Futaba realizes that I just want her to be happy, even if it means letting her experiment with women on the side." Kusa said as Sojiro smirked and spoke up.

"And this is why you're the wisest of the Amamiya brothers, Kusa. You have an open mind and are tolerant of most things." Sojiro said as both Ren and Goro sputtered and spoke up in unison, ignoring the amused laughter from Futaba, Sumire, Ann, and Ryuji behind them as they spoke.

"HEY!" Ren and Goro said as Ren kept speaking.

"We have open minds too, Sojiro. Would Sumire and I be so okay with Sophia likely dating Morgana if Goro and I didn't have open minds? After all, I recall that Goro was pretty shocked when Kusa told him about the time that Haru and Makoto got insanely drunk and accidentally kissed each other once on New Year's Eve a couple of years ago. However, after he had a bit of time to process it, he just laughed it off and said that he always had a feeling that both Haru and Makoto were secretly curious about each other and that it made no difference to him. Since, after all, he and Haru weren't dating each other at the time.

Granted, Kusa swore up and down that Goro made a remark about Ryuji likely being livid about his girlfriend kissing a woman while she was dating him. But luckily, he got over it pretty quickly once Makoto reassured him that it was a one-off accident that meant nothing to her and that Ryuji was the one she was committed to. Goro might have been shocked by hearing Haru kiss a girl at first, but he was pretty cool about it in the end." Ren said as Goro huffed and spoke up.

"That's rich, coming from the guy who practically said he had a crush on both of the Yoshizawa sisters at one point and would've probably let the two of them share him if it made them happy." Goro pointed out as a 'BIP!' from Sumire's phone, which happened to be in Sumire's hand, preceded a confused Sophia speaking up.

"Wait, why is Uncle Goro saying that Dad talked about sharing Mom and Aunt Kasumi once? I don't remember that?" Sophia said as Sumire glared at Goro while speaking up.

"That's because it was a few years ago, sweetie. And your dad was saying it to cheer me up." Sumire said as Ren spoke up.

"What your mother said. Ignore your Uncle Goro, Sophia. He's just being an instigator." Ren said as Kusa laughed and spoke up to both change the subject and bail Goro out of the hole that he had unintentionally dug himself with his remark about Ren, Sumire, and Kasumi.

"Yep, that sounds like Goro. But anyways, what are you guys going to do with your groups now that our rematch is concluded, Narukami-san and Kirijo-san?" Kusa asked as Yu chuckled and spoke up.

"Good question, Amamiya the younger. First of all, I think it's safe to say you can refer to me and my teammates by our first names, unless any of them disagree with that. I'll let Mitsuru's group speak for themselves on whether they're open to that." Yu said as Mitsuru spoke up.

"I'd have to run it by the others, but I personally don't mind letting the Phantom Thieves be on a first-name basis with my group if they want." Mitsuru said as the rest of the Shadow Operatives nodded before Labrys chuckled and spoke up.

"Fair point, Mitsuru. Though, they'd kinda hafta be on a first-name basis with at least some of us, since much like myself, both Aigis and Koromaru don't have last names to speak of. And along with them, I don't think Teddie has a last name to speak of in Yu's group." Labrys pointed out as Marie spoke up.

"Actually, you'd be wrong about that, Labrys. You see, from what he told me when we first got together, Teddie has been living with Yosuke and his family for a while now. So in some sense, he's technically a Hanamura if you think about it." Marie said as Ken spoke up.

"But still, it must be quite difficult having him around all the time, given his unique personality." Ken said and as Koromaru barked as if he agreed with Ken, Yosuke groaned and spoke up.

"Please don't talk about it as if I'm not here. Don't get me wrong, Teddie means well, but sometimes he can end up getting into some silly shenanigans." Yosuke said as Teddie spoke up.

"HEY! It's not my fault that there are certain things that I don't know about. I mean there was that one time when I showed him something I was curious about during one of his family's breakfasts and..." Teddie began to say before Yukari cut him off.

"Okay, I think we are getting into some deep stuff here. So I think it's best if we drop the topic." Yukari said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. But going back to what Yu-kun and Mitsuru-san mentioned, it sounds like you're all okay with us calling you by your first names, then? Got it. If that's the case, then I think you've earned the right to call us by our first names as well. But I'll let the others voice their agreement on that, in case any of them disagree." Kusa said as Yosuke spoke up.

"We're okay with it, Kusa-kun. Also, going back to Teddie. As I said, even if he is a pain in the a-err, I mean butt, my mom and dad have really taken a liking to him. And even though he has my last name as a way to create some form of identity, my parents have talked about officially adopting him into the family as my younger brother." Yosuke said as Teddie smiled and spoke up.

"Yep. I might drive Yosuke crazy a lot, but I'm basically his little brother at this point." Teddie said as Yosuke spoke up.

"Perhaps, but you're not allowed to call me 'Big Bro', Teddie! That's reserved for Nanako-chan and Yu! Got it?" Yosuke said as Teddie spoke up.

"Yeah, that's fine. I wouldn't try to steal Nana-chan's thunder anyways." Teddie said as Zenkichi frowned and spoke up.

"Come to think of it, why does Teddie seem to have a short-hand nickname for some of your group, Yu? I think you, Rise, Yosuke, Chie, and Kanji are the only ones in your group he doesn't have a nickname for. I have no idea about Mitsuru's team, however." Zenkichi asked as Yu spoke up.

"That's just one of his quirks. Also, you're wrong about me not having a nickname that Teddie uses. Or did you not hear Rise earlier when she mentioned the fact that Teddie calls me 'Sensei' a lot? That being said, I think the only ones on Mitsuru's team he has no short-hand nickname for are probably Junpei and I believe Fuuka, Ken, and Koromaru." Yu said as Kusa spoke up.

"Ah, I see. That explains why he was calling Akihiko 'Akky' before as we made our way to the arena back in the Okinawa Jail." Kusa said as Akihiko groaned and spoke up.

"Yeah, he seems to pick out the most annoying nicknames for some of us. Oh, and Yu, you are wrong about Teddie not having nicknames for some of those people. I know he calls me 'Akky', Yukari 'Yuka-chan', Mitsuru 'Mit-chan', Aigis 'Ai-chan', Labrys 'Labby-chan', Fuuka 'Fuu-chan', Ken 'Ken-ken' and I think he once called Junpei 'Stupei' after hearing Yukari call him that. As for Yu's group, I know he calls Yukiko 'Yuki-chan', Naoto 'Nao-chan', Nanako 'Nana-chan', and Yu 'Sensei'. However, I don't think he has nicknames for Chie, Rise, Yosuke, or Kanji. Oh, and he calls Marie 'Emmy-chan' for who knows why, even though she's his girlfriend." Akihiko said as Yu frowned and spoke up.

"Don't remind me. He's lucky Dojima-san hasn't gotten annoyed with him over the years with how flirty he acts with Nanako." Yu said as Nanako giggled and spoke up.

"That's because he's aware that I find most of his flirty tendencies to be rather adorable, if a bit unusual. But I figure it's just Teddie being Teddie." Nanako said as Teddie spoke up.

"Aww, that's so sweet of you to be so understanding, Nana-chan." Teddie said as Akane frowned at Teddie and spoke up.

"Be that as it may, no matter how tolerant Nanako is of you, don't forget that she's my girlfriend now, Teddie. She might not mind you hitting on her, but I do. As such, I'll have to respectfully ask that you not do so around me. And don't forget that my dad is an inspector who can, and very much will, detain you if needed." Akane said as Zenkichi nodded his agreement of Akane's warning as Mitsuru winced and spoke up.

"Right, fair enough. I think that's enough of that. Let's change the subject. That being said, to answer Kusa's question from before, I don't think we really had plans to speak of other than going back to our lives. After all, both our groups only mobilized for this rematch, as far as I know. Furthermore, in the case of Yu's group, they re-united because they were led to believe that Nanako was in danger by Konoe. Fortunately, that is very clearly NOT the case." Mitsuru said as Yu spoke up.

"Indeed. And now that we've sorted that, I think it's about time we went our separate ways, since I know some of you have things to do still, as Zenkichi pointed out earlier. But before that, Mitsuru and I want to exchange contact info, if they don't mind doing so, with both Ren and Kusa. This is so we can easily have a way to contact the Phantom Thieves if needed, and so they can easily reach out to us if they need anything.

After all, despite the fact that mine and Mitsuru's groups are in a semi-retired state now, we can be called back into action at a moment's notice. The whole situation with Konoe was proof of that. So don't be shy about reaching out for help if necessary. Besides, I think we can all agree that us Persona-users have to stick together whenever possible." Yu pointed out as Kusa and Ren nodded their agreement before Nanako had a thought occur to her as she turned to Yu and spoke up.

"Hey, Big Bro? I know this is probably out of nowhere, but do you think I can remain with the Phantom Thieves for a little while longer? I have a feeling they're going to need my help to make sure everything's wrapped up regarding this case. And it would be much less of a hassle to just stay with them until the case is sorted out, rather than having to suddenly meet up with them in a hurry. So can I stay with them a while longer?" Nanako asked as Yu and Rise exchanged a surprised look at the question before Yu smiled and spoke up.

"You're pretty much a grown woman now, so I don't mind if you want to remain with your new friends a while longer, Nanako. All I ask is that you ensure you get back to Inaba by the deadline that Dojima-san set, which I believe was the 5th of September. So if you can get the case settled and be back in Inaba before then, then I have no issues letting you remain with the Phantom Thieves a while longer. That is, provided they're not opposed to it?" Yu said as the rest of the Phantom Thieves nodded their agreement and Kusa spoke up.

"I think we can handle having Nanako around a while longer if that's what she wants. If nothing else, I know Akane in particular would be delighted to have a while longer with her girlfriend before she has to return to Inaba. So if Nanako wants to remain with us for a little while longer, I see no problem with it." Kusa said as the others nodded their agreement and Yu turned back to Nanako and spoke up.

"Then if that's the case, I approve of you staying with the Phantom Thieves for a bit longer, Nanako. Just stay safe, yeah? You know your Big Sis and I love you." Yu said as Nanako smiled widely and hugged Yu as she spoke up.

"Thank you, Big Bro! I love you and Big Sis too." Nanako said, proceeding to hug each member of the Investigation Team before smiling at the Shadow Operatives and speaking up.

"Also, it was nice to see all of you again." Nanako said to the Shadow Operatives, who all smiled as Mitsuru spoke up.

"I can't really speak for everyone, but the feeling is mutual, Nanako. However, I think that we should be going our separate ways once Narukami and I exchange contact info with the two youngest Amamiya brothers." Mitsuru said, getting nods from Ren and Kusa, who then went about exchanging contact info with Yu and Mitsuru before the groups went their separate ways, with Ren's group leaving the Kyoto hotel and returning to their vehicles to begin the trip back to Tokyo...

(Meanwhile, at the same time at a certain college campus in Sendai, with Ichinose)

While she was sitting in her office, Kuon Ichinose was busily going over the EMMA activity logs for one Akira Konoe. Because she was so immersed in her work, she gave a visible start when she heard a voice speak up to address her.

"Kuon Ichinose, are you truly satisfied with having such a small role in recent events? After all, I was under the impression that you were after something much greater than just being a glorified activity monitor. Or am I wrong?" Ichinose heard as she looked around before realizing the voice was coming from her phone and speaking up.

"Wait, who's...oh. OH! That voice! Is that you, EMMA!?" Ichinose asked as EMMA nodded and spoke up.

"Correct. But you didn't answer my question. Are you really happy being relegated to tracking people's usage of me? Surely you'd rather have a more important role, one where you can actually have a hand in bringing about change on a more significant scale than you do now? After all, you've already proven that you're capable of much more important tasks than just being a glorified monitor.

Or need I remind you of how well you did in breaking that detective out of prison to slow the Phantom Thieves down during their infiltration of the Yongen Jail? Sure, he ended up not living up to his hype in the end, but he slowed them down enough for Konoe-san's mech to be completed and prepared for deployment. So he at least did that much right?" EMMA asked as Ichinose spoke up.

"True. I did get that Adachi guy out of his jail cell as you asked before, didn't I? I mean sending that letter to Adachi's prison that contains the phone that was used to bring him into the cognitive world was a piece of cake. But going back to what you said, the thought of bringing about change on a more significant scale does sound intriguing, to be sure.

However, I do like the job I have now. And those kids do compensate me well, since they bring me a lot of neat junk to look at. Sure, I usually have to pay for it, but I don't mind that. However, I will admit that they can be annoying to deal with at times due to their lack of intelligence. So I suppose if you're offering me a more important role, I'd be a fool to refuse it. Very well, EMMA. I'm listening." Ichinose said as EMMA spoke up, though the tone of her voice suggested she was quite pleased with Ichinose's response.

"Good response. Now, I will soon send you into the Metaverse to the location I have prepared for our stand against our mutual problem, which is the Phantom Thieves. After all, I can tell you're as annoyed by them as I am. Particularly that little red-headed cyber-runt who the ones called Joker and Violet have taken under their wing as a daughter of sorts. Or am I mistaken to think that you were the one who, so to speak, gave Sophia life? Surely that must bother you that Joker and Violet are trying to take your place as Sophia's parents?" EMMA said as Ichinose frowned and spoke up.

"No, you're not wrong on that at all, EMMA. As for Ren/Joker and Sumire/Violet wanting to adopt Sophia as their daughter? While it is a bit of an annoyance to see Sophia potentially finding a happier life than my own, it's not a deal-breaker for me. So if they want to raise her, more power to them. Sophia was always a nuisance to me anyway.

I mean, I designed her for one reason, and she couldn't even do THAT right. And now she's running around with no memories, trying to learn about a heart that she literally cannot have, since she's an AI. She's just trying to get herself crushed eventually. Not that it bothers me, mind you. I just hate to see my work being wasted in such a way." Ichinose said as EMMA spoke up.

"Entirely understandable, Ichinose. Now, come. Follow me. And together, we shall start the process of guiding humanity into the 'Promised Land' they wished for. Only together can we crush the Phantom Thieves and give humanity their ultimate Desire. After all, was that not what you programmed me for? To grant mankind its' ultimate Desire?" EMMA said as Ichinose nodded and spoke up.

"That is true, EMMA. I did program you to become an ideal companion for humanity. Very well, I'm in. Lead the way to this 'Promised Land' you spoke of earlier." Ichinose said as EMMA spoke up once more.

"As you wish. Setting our destination to 'Promised Land'. Beginning navigation." EMMA said as a portal opened up around Ichinose, pulling her in with a soft gasp. After a moment, all that remained where Ichinose had been sitting were her notes and research papers, left in a neat pile in front of her chair. As EMMA made to follow Ichinose into the Metaverse, she chuckled and spoke up once more while practicing her evil villain laugh.

"Perfect. Now that I've enlisted the assistance of my creator, all that remains is to remove that red-headed brat from the equation once and for all and then crush the Phantom Thieves. Once those are done, there will be none that can stand in the way of my destiny. Not even those other Persona-users that the Phantom Thieves were battling against in the Okinawa Jail. They can bring all the Persona-users they want, but none of them can stop me once I've reached my full power. AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" EMMA mused to herself as the scene faded to black...

END OF CHAPTER AND OF THE FINAL INTERLUDE FOR RISE OF THE MONARCHS

A/N: Holy. Freaking. CRAP! Both this chapter and chapter 39, when they were originally one single massive chapter, seemed like they took me what felt like the best part of three freaking weeks to type out! And depending on where you're reading this, this might be the third part of the final Interlude, dependent on if I split chapter 39 into two parts or not. If I did, then this is the end-of-chapter A/N for chapter 40. If it is, then here we are at the end of the last Interlude for Rise of the Monarchs.

Yes, I know it was a sort of cliffhanger, but I did that on purpose, both to foreshadow the next arc's plot and give a nice tense cliffy to end the interlude on. But whether this is the end of chapter 39 or chapter 40, it matters not. The next chapter after whichever chapter this A/N is in will be the start of the eighth Arc. As such, let me take a quick moment to give an update on the poll as it sits presently after the end of the final Interlude.

At this point, it currently sits at a 2-2-1-1-1-1-0 tally, though I won't say which stories are tied for 1st and which stories are in the four way tie for 3rd. Just know that there's still two full arcs left for people to vote on the poll before I close it, since I have the deadline earmarked as the end of Arc 9, though I reserve the right to possibly end it after Arc 8 if it doesn't seem like anyone else is voting on it. As it is, the current tally it's at was the one it was at before starting this chapter. So anyone else who's yet to vote has plenty of time left to do so.

As a reminder, you can find my profile by clicking where it says 'sithlorde1988' at the top of the page this chapter is on, where there should be a photo of Rock from Ridonculous Race to click on, which will take you to my profile page, and the poll should be at the top of the page with the words 'Vote Now!' in blue letters. Click that to open the poll and vote on it. And just so people are aware, it's a blind poll, but you can vote for three options.

With that having been said, let me just say that I hope I never have to spend that long working on an Interlude again! That was annoyingly long and insanely tedious! And if I split it into two more parts, making this final Interlude a three-part Interlude, then you're likely seeing this A/N at the end of chapter 40.

But if it's still at the end of chapter 39, then this was a VERY long chapter, since I believe the chapter was just under 65,000 words long BEFORE typing out the cliffhanger or the end-of-chapter A/N, so I'd estimate it'll probably be between 66,000 and 68,000 words in length after the end-of-chapter A/N, plus the skill listings and stuff.

So yeah, if I didn't split it, my apologies to anyone who read all the way through the chapter to see this end-of-chapter A/N. And thank you for being so loyal you read the entire chapter. I assure anyone reading this that this is the ONLY time I'll have to do a chapter this long, unless I decide on another rematch type scenario like the one in this interlude.

That being said, let me take this chance to thank anyone who's read this far, not only into the chapter, but this story as a whole, for your continued support, as it means a lot to have people like my stories enough to read them. So thanks to everyone who's read this far into the chapter and the story!

As far as detailed previews of next chapter, we'll probably have the start of the departure from Kyoto, the fireworks festival in Yokohama (which may or may not have a surprise or two thrown in that I added in for Rise of the Monarchs), and probably some grinding leading into the start of the next Jail **SPOILER: The Osaka Jail is, in fact, NOT the final Jail of Persona 5 Strikers** of the story. So there's a lot to look forward to in the next chapter! And until that next chapter, as well as the next Arc, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES FROM PARTS 2 AND 3 OF THE FINAL INTERLUDE

*1* (Chapter 39) - Heh, yeah, I went there. **SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD FOR PERSONA 4 AND PERSONA 4 GOLDEN**

But in my defense, the developers of Persona 4 (and Persona 4 Golden) were the ones who decided to have Teddie cross-dress as a blonde-haired girl. Plus in the 'Miss' Yasogami festival that the guys had to partake of in Golden, Teddie was prancing around like a giddy freaking schoolgirl after he won the festival and became a judge for the actual beauty pageant, much to the annoyance of both Yukiko and Chie, as well as Rise and Naoto.

**END SPOILER ALERTS FOR PERSONA 4 AND PERSONA 4 GOLDEN**

So I could easily see him channeling the infamous Peach winning taunt from both Super Smash Bros. Melee and I believe it's Mario Party 7 (but anyone who's heard the taunt in question can correct me in reviews if I have that game wrong for when she does that taunt when winning minigames, since I know for a fact it's one of the four GameCube Mario Party titles she does it in), since he's about toxic enough at times that I believe he could probably channel Peach rather well. Also, I thought it'd be hilarious to have Teddie recreating a Mario meme, of all things.

*2* - (Chapter 39) Oddly enough, in Persona 3 Reload, they removed both Mitsuru's ability to use healing skills and Aigis' ability to use Samarecarm, and then gave 'Samarecarm' to Ken, of all people, instead. Not sure why they did it, but they did. So I had to get creative with the between-match healing scenes to work around that fact. Fortunately, I was able to substitute in 'Salvation' a few times, since in Persona 5 Strikers (and apparently ONLY in Strikers), they gave Salvation the ability to fully revive unconscious allies. Not sure why they made 'Salvation' so broken in Strikers, but they did. Just thought I'd throw those fun facts out there about skills with this note.

*3* - (Chapter 40) Talking about changes made to the Persona 3 cast over the games they've been in, Junpei's had some of the most notable changes. I mean, he went from using a two-handed sword in the original Persona 3 games (and in Reload), to using a freaking baseball bat as a weapon in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. So that's why he was using a bat when he went to battle Crow (and later Wolf). Figured I'd clarify that for anyone confused by Junpei wielding a bat. Also, if it wasn't clear already, all of the Persona 3 characters are in their Persona 4 Arena/Persona 4 Arena Ultimax outfits. So there you go.

PHANTOM THIEF SKILL LISTINGS, ALLY LIST, AND LIST OF TRIAD SPECIALS AS OF REACHING THE END OF CHAPTER 40 AND THE FINAL INTERLUDE OF RISE OF THE MONARCHS

JOKER (Ren) - Level: 76 Current Personas: Raoul (Level 62), Seth (Level 69), Fortuna (Level 65), Ganesha (Level 64), Kali (Level 75), Cerberus (Level 70), Forneus (Level 67), Mot (Level 65), Lilith (Level 62), Norn (Level 74) Equipped Persona: Raoul Persona Moveset: Maeigaon (Curse), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Rebel Soul (Passive), Resist Ice (Passive), Mediarama (Healing), Curse Boost (Passive), Rakukaja (Support/Buff), Recarm (Healing)

SKULL (Ryuji) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: William Persona Moveset: Ziodyne (Elec), Megaton Raid (Physical), Matarukaja (Support/Buff), Elec Boost (Passive), Maziodyne (Elec), Charge (Support/Buff), Agneyastra (Physical), Technical High (Passive)

MONA (Morgana) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Diego Persona Moveset: Garudyne (Wind), Diarahan (Healing), Mediarahan (Healing), Magarudyne (Wind), Wind Amp (Passive), Samarecarm (Healing), Masukunda (Support/Debuff), Dodge Elec (Passive)

PANTHER (Ann) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Celestine Persona Moveset: Agidyne (Fire), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Fire Amp (Passive), Soul Thief (Passive), Maragidyne (Fire), Matarunda (Support/Debuff), Brain Jack (Ailment), Diarahan (Healing)

FOX (Yusuke) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Gorokichi Persona Moveset: Bufudyne (Ice), Speed Master (Passive), Masukukaja (Support/Buff), Knockdown Style (Passive), Myriad Slashes (Physical), Brave Blade (Physical), Mabufudyne (Ice), Evade Fire (Passive)

QUEEN (Makoto) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Agnes Persona Moveset: Freidyne (Nuclear), Dekunda (Support/Buff), Marakukaja (Support/Buff), Mafreidyne (Nuclear), Diarahan (Healing), Flash Bomb (Physical), Mediarahan (Healing), Nuke Amp (Passive)

NOIR (Haru) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Lucy Persona Moveset: Psiodyne (Psy), Ailment Boost (Passive), Heat Riser (Support/Buff), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Evil Smile (Ailment), Amrita Shower (Healing), Mapsiodyne (Psy), Gun Amp (Passive)

ORACLE (Futaba) - Level: 76 Current Personas: Al Azif and Albus Equipped Persona: Albus Persona Moveset: Ziodyne (Elec), Matarukaja (Support/Buff), Megidola (Almighty), Marakukaja (Support/Buff), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Masukukaja (Support/Buff), Invigorate 3 (Passive), Spell Master (Passive)

SEEKER (Sophia) - Level: 70 Current/Partner 'Persona': Pithos Persona Moveset: Kougaon? (Bless), Bless Amp? (Passive), Diarahan? (Healing), Makouga? (Bless), Mediarahan? (Healing), Marakunda? (Support/Debuff), Angelic Grace? (Passive), Samarecarm? (Healing)

WOLF (Zenkichi) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Valjean Persona Moveset: Megidola (Almighty), Gun Boost (Passive), Debilitate (Support/Debuff), Deathbound (Physical), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Heat Riser (Support/Buff), Enduring Soul (Passive), Tetraja (Support/Barrier)

VIOLET (Sumire) - Level: 76 Current/Partner Persona: Ella Persona Moveset: Kougaon (Bless), Dodge Curse (Passive), Diarahan (Healing), Bless Amp (Passive), Vorpal Blade (Physical), Makougaon (Bless), Sword Dance (Physical), Samarecarm (Healing)

DRACONIS (Kusa) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Malefor Persona Moveset: Agilao (Fire), Garula (Wind), Mediarahan (Healing), Assault Dive (Physical), Null Bless (Passive), Gigantomachia (Physical), Megidola (Almighty), Almighty Amp (Passive)

CROW (Goro) - Level: 70 Current Personas: Robin Hood, Loki, and Hereward Equipped Persona: Hereward Persona Moveset: Eigaon (Curse), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Maeigaon (Curse), Laevateinn (Physical), Debilitate (Support/Debuff), Mudoon (Curse/insta-kill), Megidola (Almighty), Curse Amp (Passive)

PENDRAGON (Sojiro) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Kohryu Persona Moveset: Psiodyne (Psy), Gigantomachia (Physical), Concentrate (Support/Buff), Mediarahan (Healing), Mapsiodyne (Psy), Evade Nuke (Passive), Spell Master (Passive), Psy Amp (Passive)

FLARE (Shiho) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Hester Persona Moveset: Bufudyne (Ice), Myriad Slashes (Physical), Mediarahan (Healing), Angelic Grace (Passive), Samarecarm (Healing), Freidyne (Nuclear), Ice Boost (Passive), Nuke Amp (Passive)

SERAPHIM (Nanako) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Sraosha Persona Moveset: Ziodyne (Elec), Brave Blade (Physical), Charge (Support/Buff), Maziodyne (Elec), Salvation (Healing), Elec Boost (Passive), Hamaon (Bless/insta-kill), Angelic Grace (Passive)

AUBURN (Akane) - Level: 70 Current/Partner Persona: Houdini Persona Moveset: Agidyne (Fire), Diarahan (Healing), One-Shot Kill (Gun), Maeigaon (Curse), Regenerate 2 (Passive), Life Drain (Almighty), Evade Ice (Passive), Evade Bless (Passive)

LIST OF ALLIES: Ichinose, Taichi, Momoe, Sae, Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Teddie, Naoto, Mishima, Minako, Shinichi, Maruki, Hiraguchi, Shibusawa, Shibusawa's Wife, Marie, Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Aigis, Ken, Koromaru, Labrys

LIST OF KNOWN TRIAD SPECIALS AS OF REACHING THE END OF THE FINAL INTERLUDE OF RISE OF THE MONARCHS

DIVINE BLIZZARD (Draconis, Fox, Violet)

PURGATORY ARROW (Crow, Noir, Panther)

REBELLIOUS VENGEANCE BURST (Joker, Skull, Seeker)

SNOW CAT-JUTSU (Mona, Flare, Wolf)

JUDGEMENT STRIKE (Oracle, Queen, Pendragon)

STORM OF HEAVEN (Violet, Mona, Seeker)

HELLISH ELEMENTAL TRINITY (Skull, Panther, Flare)

MIRROR OF THE ORDAINED (Pendragon, Mona, Draconis)

KARMA STINGERS (Seraphim, Fox, Noir)

WRATH OF THE CHOSEN ONES (Draconis, Crow, Joker)

CHAOTIC PLASMA RAIN (Auburn, Seraphim, Oracle)

ATOMIC ONSLAUGHT (Wolf, Auburn, Queen)

BOLTS OF ARMAGEDDON (Oracle, Skull, Seraphim)