11/11 Monday
Days Until Investigation: 9
Now that they had visited the courtroom, witnessing Sae's methods for themselves, they were able to make their way back to Sae's palace, and confront the guard at the high limit floor.
"Ah, it's you again." the guard said.
"Yes, we're practically regulars at this point, aren't we?" Akechi grinned.
"Hmm…" the guard trailed off.
The guard narrowed their eyes.
"Aw, now I remember! You're all regulars! Please, go right ahead."
For just a moment, the palace shifted back to the courtroom, before shifting back to the casino, the way now open.
"Alright! It worked like a charm!" Morgana cheered.
"Incredible… so this is the effect a change in cognition can cause…" Akechi trailed off.
The group traversed the High Limit floor, eventually finding a guard standing in front of a suspicious looking door.
"There it is!" Morgana shouted. "The last Will Seed!"
"Oh dear… guests?" the guard questioned. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen…"
The guard dissolved, reforming into a dark skinned, bronze armored shadow that held a cup in one of its hands.
"I'm afraid that this area is off limits!"
The shadow immediately went on the offensive, blasting them all with fearsome winds.
"Don't worry, I've got this!" Morgana shouted.
Morgana easily managed to dart around the shadow's winds, the winds that did hit him doing little damage.
The moment he got close, however, the shadow focused on him, striking him 3 times.
"Gah!"
Morgana was knocked back by the fearsome blows, crying out in pain.
"So that's its strategy." Akechi frowned. "Keep us at a distance with wind and deliver deadly blows to anyone that gets close."
Panther tried to fire off a few bullets, but the shadow easily blew them all away.
"Ugh, seriously?!" Ann groaned. "How are we gunna hit this thing?!
"We'll need a way to strike at that shadow with a move that he can't blow away." Akechi offered.
"In that case…" Ren trailed off. "Then we'll attack from above. Skull!"
"You got it!" Ryuji grinned, preparing to fire off Ziodyne spells from the back.
Unable to blow away an attack coming from the sky, the shadow was forced to step back to dodge the lightning again and again.
"Woah, it's like trying to get the Venus Sigil on the Thunder Plains!" Futaba realized.
The shadow was still fast, however, able to dodge bolt after bolt while keeping them away with physical attacks.
"Let's try this again!" Ann shouted. "Agidyne!"
Ann fired off her magic, surrounding the shadow with deadly flames, cutting off its escape route.
For a moment, the shadow hesitated, before deciding to brave the flames. Its hesitation, however, gave Ryuji enough time to strike it with thunder, shocking the shadow into paralysis.
"This is it!" Makoto shouted. "Anat, finish it!"
She shot out a fearsome Freidyne, the nuclear energy dealing immense damage against the shocked shadow.
The shadow fell to its knees, and they quickly finished it off with an all-out attack.
"So, are there always guards stationed around these Will Seed doors?" Akechi asked.
"I can't imagine the palace owners enjoying us going through their memories." Ren noted. "I think that they have an idea of what we're doing, so they might be placing the guards when they see us going after the seeds."
"Regardless, it seems like the way is clear now." Yusuke observed. "Let us grab the final seed."
"I must admit, after the last two, I'm quite curious what this memory could be about." Akechi said. "What about you?"
"I suppose…" Makoto muttered, barely audible.
Makoto hesitated for just a moment before grabbing the final Will Seed from its pedestal, and once again causing the world to shift around them.
When the world reformed, they found themselves in an office, Sae seemingly getting into an argument with a higher-up.
"I'm telling you, there's more to this case than you think!" Sae cried.
The man at the desk sighed. "Niijima-san, I know that you must be emotional about this case, b-
"It isn't just about that!" Sae snapped. "I know that this incident involves my father, but that's not the only reason I'm skeptical."
"What exactly are you talking about then?" the man sighed.
"You said it was an accident, but some things just don't seem to match up!" Sae mentioned. "The man that crashed into my father… he had no history of drug use or reckless driving!" Sae argued.
"There's a first time for every offender." the officer pointed out. "It was just a freak accident, alright."
"I… I can't accept that!" Sae shouted. "There were witnesses on the scene that claimed that the truck driver was acting strange prior to the incident! And that there was this strange black liquid coming out of his mouth. And that-"
"Enough, Niijima-san!" the man snapped. "I know that this situation is stressful to you, but my patience has its limits!"
"Fine… but what about the group that he was looking into? Those Yakuza?" Sae questioned.
"About that… I'm afraid that that lead isn't going anywhere." the man sighed. "We'll have to call off any investigation into that Yakuza group."
"What?!" Sae gasped. "Sir, haven't you seen all of the evidence that my father left behind?!"
Sae slammed her hands on the desk, grabbing his attention.
"He's been investigating this group for so long, documenting their every move!" Sae pointed out. "I know that it would be hard to make a case against them, but with everything my father compiled, I think it would be possible."
The man took a deep breath before letting out a heavy sigh. "Niijima-san… you shouldn't stick your nose into these types of things. It is… police business."
"Is that the only reason why?" Sae asked.
"... The Yakuza do most of their business underground, so to speak." the man stated. "So they are rarely in the public's eye. They do, however, help to keep some of the more… visible crimes in check. So, in that regard, they serve some purpose, do they not?"
"W-What are you saying?!" Sae exclaimed.
"You're still a little young, so perhaps you don't realize… in order to maintain the rule of law, sometimes a bit of crime is necessary." the man explained.
"... Is that your philosophy?" Sae asked.
"Yes it is." the man nodded. "It might seem a bit paradoxical at the moment, but you might understand one day.
"... Hah. So that's how it is, then." Sae muttered. "I see now. I see now how it is. How… everything is."
The look on her sister's face… was one of resignation. Of sad acceptance.
"I'll take your words to heart…" Sae muttered, exiting the room. "Thank you for the time."
The world shifted back to the casino, a troubled expression crossing Makoto's face.
"I see… that moment right there… must have been the breaking point." Akechi realized. "The moment that she lost any faith she had in the legal system… or of reforming it."
"Sis…" Makoto trailed off.
When she was younger, she remembered her sister would always talk about how she would fight for justice. But the more time she spent in the legal department, the more disillusioned she became.
"It's kinda… scary to think about." Ren frowned.
"That someone would start off with such a strong sense of justice, only to slowly lose it as the real world beat them down again and again…"
It was exactly what she thought. As a Phantom Thief, it was… a little frightening to think about? Would she, in time, go from being a rebellious teenager to an apathetic adult? Just another cog in a decaying machine?
"Say, who was that guy who was talkin' to your sis?" Ryuji asked. "Do you know?"
"Hmm… Actually, I think I recognize that man." Akechi stated. "That was the SIU director."
"For real?!" Ryuji gasped. "... Wait. What's the SIU?"
Akechi let out a sigh, shaking his head. "The head of the Special Investigations Unit. They're involved in more… high-profile crimes, and they're very efficient at what they do. They haven't lost a single case in 50 years."
"50 years?!" Ann gasped. "That's insane!"
"There's a rather high bar for prosecuting cases, so that could explain part of it, but…" Akechi trailed off. "It seems that they have their own personal reasons for not pursuing certain cases."
"Corruption from the top down, it seems." Yusuke frowned.
"Is it possible that the SIU is a part of the conspiracy?" Haru asked.
"People were mentioning that the police seemed to be dragging their feet investigating Kaneshiro." Ren mentioned. "And he was part of the conspiracy."
"I wouldn't dismiss the possibility, unfortunately." Akechi frowned. "Taking the conspiracy down will be quite the daunting task if it goes that deep."
"I hope you're not giving up halfway." Makoto frowned.
"Of course not. I intend to see this task through to the end, no matter how daunting." Akechi promised.
"Glad to hear it." Makoto nodded.
After gathering the final seed, they continued to explore the High Limit Floor, quickly finding themselves once again blocked off.
"Ugh… I hate paywalls." Futaba groaned.
"We worked so hard just to get past the last one." Haru sighed. "How are we going to get 100,000 coins?"
"Well, this is the high limit floor." Akechi pointed out. "Perhaps we'll be able to make a significant amount of coins in very little time."
"I hope so." Haru replied.
After exploring the area for a while, they found a guard standing in front of a door, with an archway above his head that read 'House of Darkness'.
"Welcome to the House of Darkness, our puzzling labyrinth in the dark!" the attendant greeted.
"You're not gunna try and fight us too, are you?" Ryuji frowned.
"Oh no, not at all.
"Oh no, not at all!" the attendant chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of harming participants like you!"
"Participants?" Morgana questioned. "What do you mean by that?
"You see, the original intent of the high limit floor is different from the other floors." the attendant explained. "On this floor, VIPs are encouraged to send substitutes to play the games in their place. Consider it like betting on a horse race."
"Substitutes?" Ann frowned. "I don't think we have any of those."
"So what then, will we be participating instead?" Makoto asked.
"Indeed!" the attendant nodded. "You all shall be the vital participants in these games!"
"Sounds good to me!" Morgana grinned. "If you want something done right, you do it yourself!"
"Suppose I'd be more comfortable doing it myself rather than spectating." Ren nodded.
"Splendid!" the attendant exclaimed. "Now then, allow me to explain the rules. If you manage to get to the end of the dark maze, you'll make ten times the entry fee of 1,000!"
"High Limit indeed." Akechi nodded. "Although I doubt the maze will be simple."
"Simple or not, we don't have a choice." Makoto frowned. "We need those coins."
The group headed inside of the House of Darkness, cautious as to what they could find there.
"Ugh, I can't see a thing!" Ann complained.
True to its name, the maze was incredibly dark, offering them barely any visibility.
"Sorry guys… even I can barely make out what's out there." Futaba admitted.
"Fox, could you draw us a floor plan?" Makoto asked.
"Oooh, mapping the dungeon layout with pen and paper?" Futaba grinned. "Now we're going old school!"
"I'm not sure what that means, but I can draw a map." Yusuke nodded.
"Thank you. That would be a big help." Makoto nodded.
She wasn't a big fan of the dark, but she needed to be strong.
She activated her third eye, looking around until she found a door part way through the maze.
"Over there." Makoto called.
She directed them over to the door, but when they tried to open it…
"What the hell?!" Ryuji snapped. "It's locked!"
"Seriously?!" Ann gasped. "Then how do we get out of here?!"
"It seems as if they had no intention to allow us to leave from the beginning." Yusuke noted. "This game was also rigged in their favor."
"Y-You mean we're trapped here?" Haru stammered.
"There's gotta be some way out of here." Ren muttered.
"Hmm… it will be tough to navigate in here for sure, especially if some of our paths are blocked." Akechi noted. "Perhaps if we were to find a vent, we could travel through it to get around?"
"What?!" Futaba gasped. "A VENT?!"
"Is… something the matter?" Akechi asked.
"Crow, only imposters can vent!" Futaba exclaimed.
"W-What?! Imposters?!" Akechi exclaimed. "What are you talking about?!"
"He's not gonna understand the reference, Oracle." Ren pointed out. "He's not enough of a nerd."
"Who are you calling a nerd?!" Futaba snapped.
"Ah, I see… so it was a reference." Akechi realized. "I was quite confused for a moment there."
"Still, finding a vent might not be a bad idea." Makoto agreed. "Let's keep an eye out."
Thankfully, it didn't take them long to find a vent, and it even led them past the locked door.
"W-What?!" the attendant gasped. "How did you… you weren't supposed to get through that!"
"So it was a trap!" Ryuji snapped. "Well then, I think it's time that we paid you back for that little stunt!"
"You never wanted us to pass through that maze in the first place, did you?!" Ann snapped.
"Well… yes! That is correct!" the attendant admitted. "This is how things should be! You are not worthy of victory! Now then, just lie down and lose for me, would y-"
"Everyone, attack now!" Makoto ordered.
The entire group struck the attendant at once, easily dispatching it.
"Heh, that's what you get!" Morgana grinned. "Should have thought twice before trying to trick a thief!"
"Looks like he dropped something." Ren noticed.
"Looks like our reward." Yusuke noted.
"Oh, then this really is our 10,000 coins then!" Haru realized.
"All that work, and we're only a tenth of the way there." Futaba frowned. "How are we going to get the other 90,000 coins?"
"Well, we were able to bet a thousand coins here, and earn ten times that." Akechi mentioned. "So if we're able to find another game, we could possibly bet 10,000 coins, and win up to 100,000."
"Well, that sounds like our best bet!" Ren chuckled.
"… Alright, let's go." Makoto deadpanned.
"You agree, Leader? That it's our best bet."
"Yes Joker, I get it." Makoto sighed.
"… Is he always like this?" Akechi asked.
"You get used to it." Ann shrugged.
After looking around for a few minutes, they found another guard, standing under an archway labeled 'Battle Arena'.
"Welcome to the Battle Arena, the infernal fighting ground where the embers of life… oh. It's you guys." the attendant muttered. "The manager told me about you. I had this grand speech prepared, but I imagine you'd like to skip the whole thing, right?"
"We don't wanna hear your stupid speech!" Ryuji snapped. "Just tell us the rules!"
"My, so quick to anger! That's wonderful! This would be quite boring otherwise!" the attendant replied. "Now before I begin, do you have 10,000 coins to bet?
"Oh! Yes, we do." Haru nodded.
"Oh, well haven't you been busy!" the attendant praised. "In that case, follow me! We have a special guest that will explain the rules to you!"
"Special guest?" Akechi repeated. "I can only imagine who it could be…"
They entered the arena, seeing a crowd beginning to cheer the moment they arrived.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the attendant shouted. "Our latest challengers have just arrived! The Phantom Thieves!"
The crowd roared, very eager to see them compete.
"Any that's not all! We have a special guest in the audience today!" the attendant exclaimed. "A round of applause for the manager herself!"
"Sis?!" Makoto gasped.
"Well now… I didn't expect a pack of rats to make it this far… least of all you, Makoto." Sae frowned. "I was under the impression that you'd never make it past the House of Darkness. I was under the impression that you'd be curled into a ball, crying out for father."
Makoto clenched her fists, taking a deep breath before glaring at her sister.
"…Enough games, Sae." Makoto said. "If this is a battle arena, then come down and fight us!"
"I don't think you understand. I don't have time to be fighting rats like you." Sae scoffed. "I'll leave that to my underlings."
"This will be a trio of one-on-one battles!" the attendant explained. "Seeing as you have no substitutes, one of you will have to participate."
"Only one of us?!" Ren exclaimed. "But the House of Darkness was different!"
"Does this look like the House of Darkness to you?" Sae scoffed. "Now choose who will be competing or leave!"
"I'll do it." Makoto declared.
"What?!" Ren gasped. "Are you sure?!"
"It makes perfect sense." Morgana noted. "If we are only able to choose one person to fight, then it should be the most versatile member."
"... Alright, if you're sure." Ren relented. "I know you can do this."
"That being said, would it not be dangerous to risk the leader? She is the most important member." Akechi argued.
"That's true, but again, you and the others don't have the ability to change your personas, so if a shadow comes out that resists your attacks, or has attacks you're weak against…"
"Of course… I understand your reasoning." Akechi nodded.
"So, have you made up your mind?" Sae asked.
"I'll do it." Makoto declared. "I'll fight!"
"You, Makoto?!" Sae exclaimed. "Hahaha, are you serious? Fine then… by all means, go ahead. This'll be a short match, I'm sure.
"... Yes. It will." Makoto glared.
Makoto stepped into the arena, watching as two guards stepped into it as well as the entrance closed behind her, and transformed into two bipedal, sword wielding elephants.
"What the hell?!" Ryuji snapped. "It's 2 on 1! That's not fair!"
"I suppose we should have seen this coming…" Akechi frowned.
"It doesn't matter how many shadows you send after me! I'll strike them all down!" Makoto shouted.
The two shadows immediately charged, Makoto dodging out of the way of their sword strikes.
"Bugs!" Makoto called. "Psiodyne!"
She called forth a malicious looking teddy bear, assaulting the shadows with psychic energy.
Without her allies to back her up, she had to fire off more Psiodyne magic, rather than rely on All Out Attacks.
Thankfully, it ended up being enough, as the two shadows dissolved into ooze.
"Uuuuuh… b-bring out the next wave!" the attendant cried.
Three more guards entered the arena, morphing into women with wild, black hair and long, sharp claws.
"Three now?" Makoto scoffed. "Fine then."
The next set of shadows were faster, managing to score a few slashes on her as she tried to create some distance.
"Barong!" Makoto shouted.
The moment she called out her Persona's name, the shadows paused for a moment, glaring at her in anger.
A grudge, maybe? Well, she could definitely take advantage of this.
"Maziodyne!" Makoto shouted.
Powerful bolts of lightning stuck each and every one of the shadows before they could strike, shocking them.
"Anat!" Makoto called.
She fired off several nuclear spells, finishing off the shadows.
"O-Oh… Well, u-um…" the attendant stammered. "It l-looks like she won again. Uh….
"Bring in the final wave!" Sae demanded.
This time, only a single guard appeared, causing her to raise an eyebrow…
And then the guard morphed…
A giant, hulking masked shadow stood over her, a massive hammer sparkling with lightning.
"This is your final opponent!" Sae declared.
The shadow glanced at her for a moment before scoffing.
"Really now? You're my opponent?" the shadow said. "I was hoping for a challenge."
"And you'll get one." Makoto glared.
"We shall see." the shadow replied.
Makoto immediately fired off several bullets, the shadow making no effort to dodge.
The shadow easily endures the bullets before charging a large amount of energy.
"Watch out! He's trying to end this in a single blow!" Futaba cried.
The shadow charged forwards with great speed, threatening to cave her skull in with its hammer.
She narrowly dodged the blow, the shadow hammer striking the ground like a bolt of lightning.
"Well, you can certainly dodge well." the shadow frowned. "But your power is lacking!"
"We'll see how confident you are after I strike you with nuclear energy!" Makoto shouted.
She called forth her Persona, blasting the shadow with a Freidyne spell.
When the smoke cleared away, however, she saw that the shadow was still standing, having taken little damage.
"Is that all?" the shadow scoffed. "When you mention nuclear energy, I thought you'd be tossing around ICBMs or something to that effect."
"That… would be a bit extreme." Makoto frowned.
The shadow said nothing, instead deeply concentrating, preparing to cast a spell.
"Its hammer is crackling with lightning…" Makoto noted. "So maybe…"
Right before the shadow was able to unleash their magic attack, she quickly changed her Persona.
"Horus!" Makoto called.
Her persona was easily able to block the thunder spell from the shadow, protecting her from all damage.
The shadow frowned, but was undeterred, already charging up to making another attack.
"Megidola!" Makoto called, blasting the shadow with almighty energy.
For just a moment, the shadow flinched, but immediately went back to charging itself up.
"Your power can't hope to stand up to mine!
"Is that right…" Makoto muttered.
Thinking up a plan, Makoto kept a close eye on the shadow, watching as it fully charged itself up and moved to strike.
"It's over!" the shadow roared!
"Rangda!" Makoto cried.
At the last possible second, Makoto switched her Persona, the full force of the shadow's blow getting reflected right back at it.
The shadow cried out in pain, falling to the ground.
"Eigaon!" Makoto shouted.
The downed shadow was enveloped by darkness, finishing it off.
"Well… done…" the shadow muttered before fully dissolving.
"A-And our… winner… is… um… oh dear…" the attendant muttered. "T-The Phantom Thieves!
The declaration was met with a chorus of boos and jeers, but that hardly mattered to her at the moment.
She looked up into the stands, seeing Sae glaring down at her.
"Well, Sae?" Makoto asked. "Are you going to give us our coins, or would you prefer to settle things here?"
"You can take your coins!" Sae snapped. "But you'll never have my treasure!"
Sae snapped her fingers, disappearing in a flash.
Makoto sighed, shaking her head before returning to the group.
"Oh shiiiiit, that was awesome!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"That was amazing! You're a total beast!" Futaba praised.
"Knew you could do it." Ren grinned.
"Yes, excellent work." Akechi praised. "You're really outdone yourself!"
Makoto grinned. "Thank you, everyone. Now let's head back to the bridge!"
They all made their way back to the machine, ready to insert their coins, lower the scale, and build the bridge.
"Sae-san…" Akechi muttered. "Well, we shan't keep you waiting much longer.
Seemingly listening in, Sae's voice came through an intercom in the room.
"... Never in a hundred years did I expect you to make it this far… especially not you Makoto." Sae frowned. "But I will never let you reach the manager's floor!"
"Well, too bad for you, cause we already have 100,000 coins!" Ryuji boasted.
"Unfortunately, I just adjusted the amount of coins you need." Sae smirked. "As of this moment, the number of coins needed for the bridge is 1,000,000!"
"What?! A million?!" Ann gasped.
"You can't do that!" Haru exclaimed. "Gathering that many coins would be nearly impossible!
"This is my casino! I can do whatever I want!" Sae countered. "No matter what, I will win! I will emerge victorious!"
For a moment, it seemed as if all of their efforts would have gone to waste. However…
"No matter." Akechi smiled. "I planned for this, you see… I'll just-
"Mwhahahaha… you fool." Ren maniacally laughed.
"We have 70 alternative accounts!" Futaba finished.
Ren inserted a different card into the machine, and the moment he did, the bridge began to lower.
"What?! How is this possible?!" Sae cried.
"We had a bunch of other cards on us that we borrowed the max amount of coins on!" Futaba grinned. "Then we paid it off and borrowed the max amount again. It's like when you're starting a new gacha game, but you don't like your first pulls, so you open another account… well, sorta. It was Joker's idea!
"Uhh… I'm kinda confused… but good thinkin' man!" Ryuji grinned.
"Yeah, that's awesome!" Ann beamed.
"Thank you, Joker." Makoto smiled.
"... Well, good for you." Akechi said. "I actually had a similar plan myself…"
"Alright team, let's move before she tries to change the rules again!" Morgana exclaimed.
They quickly made their way across the bridge, and finally made their way to the managers,
"It seems like Sae-san isn't here." Akechi noted. But this appears to be the top… so where's the treasure?"
"The treasure won't physically manifest until after we send the calling card." Morgana explained. "After that, we'll have 24 hours to steal it."
"I wonder what her treasure will be…" Akechi muttered. "Does it depend on the person?
Makoto nodded. "It might be something that symbolizes or began their start of darkness… what kickstarted their distorted desires.
"I see… If that's the case, then I doubt Sae-san will give up her treasure without a fight, though." Akechi noted.
"For now, let's make that calling card." Ren stated. "Our infiltration route is secure…"
They had finally finished making their way through the palace, all of their objectives completed for now.
Next time they arrived… she would face off against her own sister…
One last game… of life or death.
Makoto's Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 9
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 9
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 9
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 8
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 7
THE TOWER - Chiaki Yasui: Rank 9
THE SUN - Shiho Suzui: Rank 9
THE MOON - Takayo Tachibana: Rank 9
THE HIEROPHANT - Sojiro Sakura: Rank 8
THE TEMPERANCE - Naoya Makigami: Rank 8
THE STAR - Hifumi Togo: Rank 7
THE DEVIL - Mitsuhide Matsuoka: Rank 6
THE HANGED MAN - Munehisa Iwai: Rank 7
THE DEATH - Yohei Kiritani: Rank 6
THE EMPEROR - Yusuke Kitagawa: Rank 8
THE EMPRESS - Haru Okumura: Rank 6
THE LOVERS - Ann Takamaki: Rank 8
THE HERMIT - Futaba Sakura: Rank 7
THE STRENGTH - Caroline and Justine: Rank 9
THE JUSTICE - Goro Akechi: Rank 6
THE PRIESTESS - Kasumi Yoshizawa?: Rank 6
THE FORTUNE - Phantom Thieves of Heart: Rank 7
THE JUDGMENT - Sae Niijima: Rank 6
THE COUNCILOR - Takuto Maruki: Rank 9
Are the Phantom Thieves just? Yes 32.5%