There was something about this Persona. It was as if she could see Shido's movements and physical attacks before he did them. It wasn't future vision or anything like that. It was much like a sort of hyper focused state, where she could sense even the slightest shift in his stance, all while maintaining perfect form, perfectly moving her body so that every strike would just barely miss her.
That was why, When Shido charged at her, she knew the exact second she needed to dodge, his fist harmlessly traveling over her head as she nailed him in his face.
The force of the sent Shido stumbling a few feet behind her, nearly falling to the ground.
Shido merely glared, charging at her once again.
This time, it seemed that Shido had managed to adjust to her abilities.
He constantly kept her on her toes, slowing down or speeding up his attacks at seemingly random, even throwing a spell or two into the mix, throwing off her rhythm.
Shido suddenly sped up, launching a punch right at her.
Despite her enhanced abilities, she found herself taking several blows from Shido before she began to adjust herself.
After throwing several slower punches, Shido suddenly tried striking her with a faster blow.
But this time, she was prepared, striking with a punch of her own.
Their fists collided, the force of their combined attacks shattering the windows in the room.
Once again, the boat began to shake, more than it ever had before.
Letting this fight go on for much longer would run the risk of causing the entire ship to capsize.
She quickly grabbed hold of Shido's arm with her other hand, tossing him onto his back before crashing her fist into his stomach several times.
Shido grimaced, but held strong, grabbing her arms to stop her from punching him again.
Wordlessly, Makoto opened her clenched fists and…
"Megidolaon!" Makoto cried.
She unleashed a burst of almighty power, blowing herself backwards with the force of her own spell.
The floorboards beneath Shido rippled and shook, some of them being torn from the ground.
All while he was at the center of the blast, unable to escape.
She let out a deep breath, hoping that it was over.
A point blank Megidolaon would hurt you no matter what…
"Rrrrrrrrrr…"
She immediately scanned the resulting cloud of smoke with her third eye, confirming that Shido was still there, and still ready to fight.
Immediately, she began rapidly firing into the cloud of smoke, only landing a few blows before Shido jumped out of the way.
He landed at the back of the arena, right in front of the giant daruma doll in the back, a smirk on his face.
The damage was clear to see on him now.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Makoto grimaced.
Shido grabbed onto the giant daruma doll, slowly lifting it above his head.
"Try and dodge this, Niijima!" Shido roared, tossing the daruma doll right at her.
The daruma doll was too large for her to dodge, and blocking it was out of the question.
Which left her one option.
"Vacuum Wave!" Makoto shouted.
She summoned rupturing, razor sharp winds from her Persona.
It served the dual purpose of both slowing down the incoming projecting, and reducing its mass, slicing off massive parts of the doll as they fell to the ground.
The doll rapidly approached, but by the time it was upon her, it had grown small enough.
"HHHHAAAAA!"
For her to punch it right back!
The remains of the doll went flying across the battlefield.
Shido tried to mimic her strategy, but it was too late, the doll slamming into him at incredible speed.
Now that she had a moment to breathe, she took a moment to glance over at Shido.
Finally, she could see the signs of battle taking their toll on him. He was breathing heavily, and it looked like he was struggling to stand.
The daruma doll lay by his side, half of it completely destroyed, leaving only one of the statue's eyes intact.
"Had enough?" Makoto asked. "I told you that I wouldn't let you surrender. I'll beat you within an inch of your life!"
"DAMN BRAT!" Shido shouted. "Me? Surrender to you?! Absurd!"
Shido charged at her once again, Makoto charging forwards to meet him in one final clash.
Makoto focused fully on Shido's body, not even the most miniscule of movements going unnoticed.
They met in the middle, recklessly striking each other, each taking several blows in a desperate bid to stop each other.
"JUST…"
Makoto tried to fight as effectively as possible, dodging any blow that she deemed too devastating while taking a few glancing blows if she thought it would help her land a hard hit of her own.
"STAY…"
Now fully adjusted to Shido's fighting style, she was able to heavily pressure him, causing him to back up again and again, more and more ground being given despite the few blows he did land.
It wasn't long before Shido's back was up against the wall.
Desperate, he went for one last powerful blow.
"THE FUCK DOWN!" Makoto shouted.
She slammed her fist into his chest, his own fist mere centimeters from her head.
But the moment her fist connected, his entire body had come to a halt, as if time itself had stopped.
Slowly, Shido fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
She didn't dare move an inch towards the treasure, just in case Shido still wasn't done.
But gradually, she could feel the red and black aura beginning to disperse, Shido's body slowly returning to normal.
"It's finally over…" Makoto muttered.
All of their hardship, all of their suffering, had led to this moment.
Shido lie broken and defeated on the ground, his treasure ripe for the taking.
So everything should have been over. It should have been, yet.
"Hahaha…Ahahahaha…"
"What are you laughing at?" Makoto frowned.
"Hahahaha… Do you think you've won?" Shido weakly laughed.
"We're about to steal your treasure. We have won!" Makoto declared.
"I don't think you understand… I've been preparing for this moment for a while." Shido grinned. "One last contingency, just in case you stole my heart."
"You're bluffing!" she accused.
"After all the powers you've seen that I have at my disposal, is that a bet you want to take?" Shido asked. "Even if I am bluffing, wouldn't it be worse if I did reveal everything?"
"What do you mean?! Why are you telling me this?!" Makoto snapped. "Do you want us to kill you or what?!"
"Even that wouldn't solve anything." Shido replied. "Do you know just how big my sphere of influence is? Just how much corruption in this country there is?"
Makoto paused for a moment, considering his words.
"I am the captain of this ship. If I sink with it, then so will everyone else. I know every politician, every CEO, every police officer, every single person who has aided me with my crimes." Shido said. "And they will all sink. This entire country… will sink."
Were that many people truly involved with this? Did Shido's criminal empire encompass so far?
"Not just my allies will sink. My enemies will too. I've collected blackmail material on many such people. People I thought would raise too much suspicion if killed. If you change my heart, I will have to reveal them as well." Shido pointed out.
"And it's not just them. They have their own connections to others as well, and may try to throw them under the bus to save themselves. Even more people will sink…"
She knew that Shido's influence went far, but she wasn't sure she really had a grasp of how far.
"Do you think our system can handle such a catastrophe?" Shido asked. "Every single adult in this country has some idea about the amount of corruption and crime amongst the upper echelons of society. And yet, so long as their basic needs are met, they very rarely, if ever, target us. And that's because, deep down, they know they need us."
"Need you?" Makoto asked.
"We are the ones steering this ship! The ones who built it, even! The ones who created, who are guiding this country!" Shido yelled. "Every aspect of their lives is influenced by our leadership. They need us, no matter how crooked we are!"
"... We've arrested corrupt individuals before, even if they held office." Makoto pointed out.
"But this isn't an individual! We're talking dozens, no, hundreds of high-ranking public officials!" Shido argued. "The system can't handle that much corruption being uncovered at once! The people will lose all their faith! The government will be in shambles! If you change my heart right now, this entire country will sink!"
"… Then maybe it deserves to sink."
"W-What?! Are you mad?!" Shido exclaimed.
"You say this country will sink, but if we've allowed ourselves to be so dependent on you and your allies that we have no choice but to let you get away with whatever you want… then it sounds like we've already hit rock bottom." Makoto stated.
"So that's it? You're willing to bring down everything just to make sure I go down as well?" Shido asked.
"No. Maybe you don't have a lot of faith in it, but I have faith in this country." Makoto answered. "I've met… a lot of incredible people here. I could never have gotten this far without their help. And I'm sure there are plenty of other incredible people out there, just like them. And together… we'll get past this. Because this country… and its people… are stronger than you'll ever be."
Finally, she grabbed his treasure, taking it with her as she turned her back to him.
"You've committed several crimes. So, you should have to face justice for them. It's really as simple as that." Makoto said.
She left on those words, looking back at Shido one last time…
Only to find his body disappear in a black and red flash, an agonizing cry hanging in the air.
"What…?" Makoto gasped.
She hadn't killed him. She knew that she hadn't. So then why had he…
"This isn't good…"
She rushed down, returning to her team at the bottom of the room.
Thankfully, they all seemed to be in good shape when she returned, no doubt due to the numerous healing spells and medical supplies they had available.
"Queen, did you get the treasure?" Morgana asked.
"I did." she nodded. "But something's wrong! Shido just disappeared!"
"Ain't he supposed to?" Ryuji asked.
"Not like that!" Makoto said. "It wasn't like a flash of light, he just disappeared while yelling in pain!"
"But why?!" Ann exclaimed.
"What if… someone killed Shido in the real world?" Futaba asked.
"Could it be?" Yusuke wondered.
"But…" Haru trailed off. "If that were the case-"
BOOOOOOOOM*
An explosion rocked the ship, the group struggling to stay standing at the ship began to tilt.
"The palace is collapsing!" Ren realized.
"We don't have much time! We have to go now! Is everyone ok?!" Makoto yelled.
"We're a little battered, but we're all ready to go!" Ren answered.
"Then let's go, everyone!" Makoto ordered.
They all ran out of the captain's quarters, the palace already beginning to fall apart behind them.
"Urk! My head…!"
Shido's body lurched in the real world, a sudden pounding pain in his head.
"Sir?!" a young attendant cried. "Is something wrong?!"
"No… Did they really succeed?" Shido gasped.
Struggling to keep himself standing, Shido shakingly pointed to a man in a lab uniform.
"Hey!" Shido panted. "Will I… really be able to kill the Phantom Thieves if I take that?!"
"W-Well, according to Wakaba's research… Taking down a palace, even temporarily, will also take down anyone inside it as well. If you do it so abruptly, there's a very small chance that they'd be able to escape on time. But the only way of purposely and temporarily erasing a cognitive world would be to halt all biological activity."
"Then…" Shido trailed off.
"In other words, this medicine will temporarily kill you. There are great risks involved…"
"Anything will do! Just give it to me!"
Shido snatched the medicine from the researcher, downing it in one gulp.
"Ngh… Now, they're… done for…" Shido whispered.
Shido fell to the ground.
"How reckless…" one of the men in the room muttered. "We have to be prepared to transport the body in case something goes wrong!"
The staff members quickly gathered around Shido, preparing to move him.
"Ahhhhhh! We're done for!" Futaba screamed. "I don't know how to swim!"
Makoto looked around the deck of the ship, scanning it for anything that would help them get out of their predicament.
"Over there!" Makoto shouted. "A lifeboat! Let's go!"
The closer they got to the ship, however, the more they realized just how far away it was from them…
"We just gotta get there." Ryuji said.
"It's too far away. We'll never make it in time!" Yusuke frowned.
Ryuji closed his eyes, thinking for a moment, before glancing at the faraway lifeboat.
"I've got this.
"Huh..?" Ann questioned.
"Hang tight. I'll nab the boat!"
"Wait!" Makoto exclaimed. "Are you s-"
Before she could even finish, Ryuji jumped down, getting into position to start running.
"Ryuji!" Ann cried.
"It's now or never…" Ryuji muttered.
He ran faster than he ever had in a long time, faster than he thought he would be able to run again…
He jumped over a submerged part of the ship, wincing as his leg buckled at the landing.
"Keep going!" Ren shouted.
"You can do this, Ryuji!" Ann cried.
Ryuji kept running, dashing up a slope before leaping upwards, grabbing a lever controlling a still operational crane. The crane slowly turned, moving and lowering the lifeboat into the water.
The group cheered as Ryuji flashed them a thumbs up.
"Can you get it running?" Makoto asked.
Yusuke pulled the cord, starting the boat's motor and getting them moving.
"Just hang on!" Ren shouted.
As they got closer to Ryuji's location, however, a series of explosions rocked the sinking boat, covering what was left of it in a layer of smoke.
The smoke quickly began to clear, revealing to them that Ryuji was no longer hanging onto the lever or the ladder right below it.
Makoto tried scanning the surrounding waters, but she couldn't find him there either.
"No way… It can't be…" Ann whispered. "Come on, what the hell, Ryuji?! RYUJI!"
It was unsafe to stay for much longer, so they had no choice but to leave the palace, the last part of the ship burning and sinking around them…
When they had returned, everyone stopped for a moment to catch their breath, having narrowly avoided their deaths.
"W-We're back…" Ann gasped. "But… where's Ryuji?"
"Did… he not… make it out…" Haru trailed off.
"We gotta go back!" Futaba shouted.
"It's not possible…" Morgana frowned. "The palace has already been destroyed."
"Maybe he just got sent somewhere different!" Ren suggested. "If he was able to get to his phone from that position…"
"I don't see him anywhere…" Makoto frowned.
"Ha… Ha… This is… awful…" Yusuke muttered.
"That… That idiot…" Ann whimpered. "How could he… do something so reckless…?"
Yusuke glanced at the ground, reaching for a small object on the ground.
"Is this the treasure?" he asked.
"It's a legislator's pin." Makoto answered, her voice feeling heavy.
She could see Futaba starting to sob, Ren placing his arm on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Ann was openly sobbing as well, and the others seemed to be struggling to hold it together.
This was supposed to be their biggest victory yet. A cause for celebration.
And yet, with Ryuji gone, their victory over Shido felt bittersweet at best.
Despite her own feelings, however, she knew that, as the leader, she had to remain strong.
She thought it would be best to search the area, just in case. But from the way that explosion had rocked the boat, it seemed too unlikely for Ryuji to have possibly…
"Oh man! That was way too damn close, huh?"
The others all turned around, seeing Ryuji clumsily stumbling out of some bushes.
"For real though, why do those Palaces gotta get destroyed like that? Can't they just disappear normally?" Ryuji groaned.
The group ran up to him, all of them varying degrees of shocked.
Haru was the first one to speak.
"Ryuji?!" she gasped. "W-We thought you…"
"Eh? Thought I what?" Ryuji asked, confused.
"What happened to you?" Ren asked.
"Well, I got blasted out by the explosion, and the last thing I remember was tryin' to pull out my phone, but… I dunno, next thing I remember was waking up lyin' in the grass around here." Ryuji shrugged. "Wait… why are you girls cryin'?!"
Ryuji seemed genuinely confused, not sure why everyone seemed so shocked or upset.
"It's all your damn fault!" Ann shouted.
"We thought you died!" Futaba continued.
"W-Wait, for real?!" Ryuji gasped.
"Aggh! You idiot! Why would you go and do something like that?!" Ann sobbed.
Ann's fist collided with Ryuji's chest, causing him to stumble back, although it seemed to be more out of surprise than genuine pain.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Ann cried. "Y-You promised that you wouldn't do someone that reckless! You promised, didn't you?"
Ann's fist continued to smack into Ryuji's chest, but her protests grew weaker and weaker, eventually fully breaking down into sobs.
He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, looking a little embarrassed.
"Sorry…" Ryuji muttered. "It was just the only thing I could think to do, you know…"
Eventually, Ann's sobs subsided, everyone calming down.
"So what now?" Ren asked. "I don't like how Shido just suddenly disappeared like you said, but it's not like we can just go back to the palace."
"... For now, all we can do is wait." Makoto said.
"Shido's the one running the conspiracy in the first place, right?" Morgana asked. "Him and Akechi…"
"But we know that Akechi is… not a problem anymore." Makoto said. "Which means that Shido's group has lost its biggest source of power. Although it seems like something might have happened to Shido himself too…"
Either way, the conspiracy would no longer be able to terrorize the nation… at least, not via the Metaverse. No matter what happened now, that was for sure…
And there was comfort in that, at least.
"But no matter what happens… I'm really thankful. To all of you." Makoto beamed. "I really, really am. Without you guys, I would have never been able to… get any sort of justice for my father."
"There's no need for thanks, Mako-chan!" Haru beamed. "We all know that you'd do the same for us in a heartbeat."
"You kinda already have, honestly." Futaba grinned.
"Yeah, totally! So I guess this is sorta just the rest of us paying back the favor." Ann smiled.
"We all had our own reasons for fighting as well." Yusuke added. "But our loyalty to you certainly played a part."
"Yeah, don't worry about it!" Ryuji grinned. "I was happy to knock Shido around! And hey, now that you think about it… ain't we heroes?! We saved the whole country!"
"Quiet down before someone hears you!" Morgana snapped. "But… I guess you are right."
"Well, whatever happens, we'll tackle it together as a team, just like we always have." Ren promised.
"Everyone…" she trailed off.
She didn't feel like anything she said could properly express how much gratitude she felt towards all of them.
She could feel the team's bond growing stronger than ever before.
FORTUNE CONFIDANT: RANK 9
"Thank you, everyone." Makoto expressed. "For now, let's just keep lying low, and see what happens next."
The others nodded, heading their separate ways for the day.
"Hahaha… How did I get beaten by someone so naive?"
It was strange. Just a few moments ago, he had felt an unimaginable pain, like his entire body was being ripped apart.
And then, he had died.
And yet, here he was, still alive, seeing his arc sink into the dark depths below.
And with the ship, Shido too began to sink to the bottom.
But in the dark depths of the ocean, his body began to fade away in a flash of light.
"So… Even my last-ditch efforts have failed. I see." Shido thought. "Enjoy your victory, Phantom Thieves. When your actions have sunk this country into hell… I will be there to greet you!"
The light shined even brighter, Shido's body disappearing.
"What are we going to do?!"
"He's still breathing steadily, so all we can do is wait."
Several men in suits stood over Shido, who was now laying on the couch in a more comfortable position.
"If we have to, we'll have to move him to the hospital. But hopefully we can avoid that."
Right as one of the men said that, Shido's body began to stir.
"Sir…!" one of his secretaries gasped.
"Ugh… What have I…"
Shido clutched his head, feeling a massive headache coming on.
"Huh? What's wrong?" the researcher asked. "Is the medicine still affecting you?"
"Medicine?" Shido questioned.
"Are you sure we shouldn't get him to a hospital?" the secretary asked.
"No, we should probably wait a little longer to see how he feels." another man, Shido's private doctor, replied.
"I…I…Ngh…"
Shido clutched his head again, the weight of his innumerable sins all bearing down at him at once.
"I must… atone…" Shido trailed off, his body trembling with guilt.
"No! Was his heart changed?!" one of the men in the room asked.
"I thought for sure inducing a temporary death in him would work!" the researcher exclaimed.
"Sir, please calm down!" the secretary urged.
"Wait, hold on!" one of the men called out. "If he's had a change of heart, won't he start revealing everything about us?!"
"Everything we've worked towards will be ruined!" another man realized.
"What are we supposed to do about his campaign?" the secretary worriedly asked.
"It's only a few days until the ballots are cast." one of the men said. "We can hold out until then so long as we just say that he isn't feeling well."
"We'll have to arrange for him to be transferred to the hospital in absolute secrecy." an older man added. "We can't let anyone near him! Especially the media!"
"Y-Yes sir, of course sir…" the private doctor nodded.
The group of men walked off to make the arrangements, leaving Shido to wallow in his overwhelming guilt.
"Sis isn't back yet…"
After she had split off from the others, she had made her way home, utterly exhausted.
"Things must be pretty hectic over there right now." Morgana pointed out. "That SIU director was just killed by Akechi!"
"That's right…" Makoto recalled.
It seemed like there was chaos all around at the moment. Ren had just called her to tell her about how Leblanc had been ransacked, and Sojiro taken by Shido's goons. Thankfully, he had been returned safely, but…
"Well, all's well that ends well, right?" Morgana asked.
"I suppose so." Makoto nodded.
For now, all they could do is await the change of heart to fully take effect.
She closed her eyes, sleep taking her almost instantly.
Hopefully, everything would work out ok…
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 10 MAX
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 9
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 10 MAX
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 9
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 8 BROKEN
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 9
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 10 MAX
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 9
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 10 MAX
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 9
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 10 MAX
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 9
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 9
THE DEATH - Yohei Kiritani: Rank 8
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 10 MAX
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 10 MAX
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 10 MAX
THE HERMIT - Futaba Sakura: Rank 10 MAX
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 9
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 9
THE PRIESTESS - Kasumi Yoshizawa?: Rank 6
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 9
THE JUDGMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 7
THE COUNCILLOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 9
Are the Phantom Thieves just? 19.3%