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16.53% Persona: The Phantom Masquerade. / Chapter 18: The Crumbling Castle of Lust. (Part 1)

章節 18: The Crumbling Castle of Lust. (Part 1)

In the heart of Kamoshida's castle, Ren led the group through its maze-like halls. The whole group was running as fast as they could while keeping in hiding, ambushing any stray knight that stood in their way. Anubis flew steadfastly by his side, pointing towards the fastest path to Kamoshida, her familiarity with the castle not changed by her new form.

As they made their way through, they heard the distant sound of battle in the distance. Exchanging glances momentarily, the group approached the sounds of battle while keeping as quiet as possible.

As the group drew close, they peeked through the halls only to see a strange anthropomorphic cat standing on two legs. Its head was cartoonishly large in comparison to the rest of its body. In fact, its head was the same size as its body. It almost resembled one of those mascots they would put up in cereal in order to drive up the sales among kids.

The strange cat-like creature was fighting against a group of knights that were surrounding it. The cat's agility was notable, darting and weaving through its assailants with remarkable dexterity, yet the odds were clearly not in its favor.

"Is that… a cat?" Ryuji's incredulity echoed the group's shared bewilderment as they observed the creature's frantic maneuvers.

"Whatever it is, it clearly isn't friends with Kamoshida." Shiho observed, her stance ready for combat.

Ren activated his third eye skill to look at the strange cat. However, he couldn't really tell much of anything. At the very least, he was sure that the cat wasn't a shadow like the knights attacking it.

"Should we help it? Ann asked as she saw the cat nearly dodge one of the blades.

"Looks like we are going to have to. It's coming our way. Everyone, get ready to ambush." Ren commanded as he saw the cat-like creature dash on all fours toward them.

As the cat unwittingly led the chase toward them, they all jumped out of hiding before calling upon their personas and launching a barrage of attacks, causing the guards to explode and reveal the shadows within. 

There were a few different forms among the group. There were four strange horses without a lower body, which seemed as if they were made out of kelp, a person with a bird face with wings accompanied by a human body, and, most bizarrely, a demon who sat on a toilet.

Noticing the sudden sounds of combat, the cat turned around to see the group behind him fighting against the knights before putting on a determined expression and running back toward the fight.

"Zorro!" the cat shouted.

With a burst of wind, a large figure wearing black armor and a disproportionally large upper body appeared behind the cat. His face was covered by a black, bandana-like mask, and he wore an exaggerated mustache. On his belt, a large Z was prominently featured. On the right hand of Zorro, he wielded a rapier that seemed small when held by his large hands, and with one swift movement, it attacked the bird-like human in front of him.

"A persona…" he whispered, astounded yet focused on the unfolding battle.

 "Anubis!" With Ren's command, Anubis majestically raised her scales, balancing a feather and a heart in a symbolic gesture of judgment. The scales tipped, favoring the feather, and from this imbalance, a radiant burst of holy light materialized, morphing into luminous blades that soared towards the spectral horses.

Ren, seizing the moment, advanced with his pistol drawn, unleashing a volley of bullets that danced towards their targets with deadly precision.

The horses, enraged and wounded, charged at Ren in retaliation. However, their momentum was abruptly halted as they collided with one another. Shiho, who had been looking out after Ren, had cast a timely Pulinpa on them to confuse them.

Capitalizing on their disarray, Ren called Anubis once more. The scales tipped anew towards the heart, unleashing a cascade of cursed fire that engulfed the horses. As the strange horses began to turn to dust, a shadow stretched from underneath Ren before the shadowy hand of Tartuffe emerged and grabbed at the face of the horse, taking their essence before retreating into the darkness beneath Ren's feet, lying in wait for its next opportunity.

At the same time, the strange cat summoned his persona before launching a gust of sharp winds toward the birdlike human. After receiving the hit, the shadow opened its mouth before it released a wave of noxious gas. The monster's claws gleamed with an ominous darkness as it reached to try to touch the cat. With agility befitting his feline nature, it dodged the lethal grasp, dispersing the gas with another gust.

"Cat, I have your back! Go all out!" Shiho's voice rang out, her Persona snapping its fingers to impose spectral shackles on the shadow, which slowed it down. Followed by another snap that covered the birdlike human in discomfort, which made it more susceptible to attacks.

"I am not a CAT! I am Morgana!" he protested with a mix of indignation and resolve, calling upon Zorro once more.

With one swift barrage of movements, Zorro stabbed his rapier repeatedly. Each trust pierced the weakened shadow until it collapsed onto the floor, bursting into dust just moments later.

In the tumult of battle, Ryuji summoned Captain Kidd, unleashing a storm of lightning at the toilet-bound demon. However, as if the demon's skin was made out of rubber, the lightning didn't seem to have much of an effect on him other than a slight grimace of pain.

The demon let out a large, condescending smirk. A wave of cold air emerged from him before a barrage of ice crystals shot toward Ann. The impact was brutal, hurling her back with a cry of pain. The moment the ice touched her skin, it felt like she had just been hit with liquid nitrogen, causing frost burns.

"Ann!" Shiho's concern echoed through the chaos, her Persona, Circe, responding with a burst of healing warmth towards Ann, mitigating the icy assault's cruel sting.

The demon, not yet satisfied, turned its malevolent grin towards Ryuji. With a flick, it unleashed a violent gust, hitting Ryuji. The moment the wind made contact, he felt a wave of pain from within him, staggering him.

Refusing to be subdued, Ann rose, her voice a mix of pain and defiance.

"Enough with this bullshit! Carmen!" Ann shouted angrily as she stood up from the ground before calling upon Carmen. The flames around her Persona ignited with renewed ferocity, hurling fireball after fireball at the demon. Each fiery impact elicited screams of agony from the creature, its resilience faltering under the relentless barrage.

Seizing the moment, Ryuji charged, armed not just with his Persona's might but with a metal pipe grasped tightly in his hands. 

"Take this, you bastard!" His battle cry was punctuated by the heavy swing of the pipe, Captain Kidd mirroring the assault with a spectral lunge. Their combined forces knocked the demon from its porcelain throne, sending it crashing to the ground.

Struggling to regain its footing, the demon looked up, only to be met with an onslaught of fire and the ominous click of Ryuji's shotgun. The air was filled with the sound of gunfire, the final note in their symphony of destruction. The demon, overwhelmed and outmatched, had no recourse as it was consumed by the flames and the echoing blasts, its threat extinguished as swiftly as it had emerged.

In the aftermath, they quickly regrouped as both Ann and Shiho bathed the team with the healing light in order to get them back into their top shape.

"Jesus, that effin' hurt!" Ryuji grumbled, his sentiment echoed by Ann's weary nod

"It's the shock of being struck at your Persona's weaknesses; it amplifies the pain. But you'll grow accustomed to it," Morgana explained, joining the group with an encouraging smile. "You all look like pretty capable persona users! You are all exactly what I have been looking for!"

"Of course, the freaking cat talks… Everything talks in here." Ryuji joked as he stretched to test if he had been healed fully.

"I am not a cat! Mind your words, blondie," Morgana retorted, his irritation palpable, only to be cut off by Shiho's inquisitive gaze.

"Morgana, right? Who… or well… what are you?" Shiho inquired, her curiosity evident as she peered closely at him.

Basking in the attention, Morgana offered a modest bow. 

"Ah, the lovely lady remembers my name! Your assistance in battle was crucial," he remarked, trying to be as charming as possible and earning a light chuckle from Shiho. "As for what I am… I am a human… Or I'm pretty sure I am." He added with a hesitant tone.

"You don't sound too sure." Ryuji jocked before being smacked in the back of the head by Ann.

Ren, scrutinizing Morgana with a thoughtful gaze, posed his own question.

"You said you were looking for persona users. Why is that?" As Ren got a closer look at the cat in front of him he could sense something was familiar about him, though he couldn't quite place it. 

"I have a slight case of amnesia, so I need help to get back to my memories and true form. The first thing I can remember is waking up in the castle and getting captured by the shadows around me. It was only thanks to the castle suddenly starting to collapse that I was able to escape from the jail."

Nodding his head in acknowledgment, Ren said.

"So you need help, but what can you offer in return?" Ren asked with narrowed eyes.

With a confident grin, Morgana responded, 

"My expertise lies in thievery and the intricacies of the Metaverse. If you are here, then you must also be searching for the treasure of the palace. Help me destroy this palace, and I will teach you all that you need. How does that sound?" 

The final piece of the puzzle had finally arrived. Someone who knew more than the vague notes he had. With a slight smirk, Ren answered.

"Welcome to the team."


章節 19: The Crumbling Castle of Lust. (Part 2)

(Trying something a little different with the Palace here using an idea that was cut from the main game; as always, feedback is always welcome lol. Also, while I was a little uncomfortable writing this, I am really happy with how it turned out. Anyways, enough rambling, enjoy.)

— — — 

"So, what can you tell us about the castle?" Shiho asked with curiosity as the group stealthily moved through.

"Palaces manifest from a person's deeply distorted perception of reality. This Kamoshida guy must see the school as his castle, so after enough time, this place was created." Morgana explained. "The only real way to destroy the castle is to steal the treasure, which is the physical form of the source of the distortion."

"What will happen to Kamoshida once we steal the treasure?" Ann asked with curiosity.

"With no treasure, there is no palace. No palace means that the distorted views of the person will go away. However, since only the distortion is taken away but not their actions, then that leaves the person to deal with the guilt of the actions they have taken. Most people would be unable to bear the weight of their crimes and would turn themselves in."

"For real?" Ryuji asked in disbelief before Ren interrupted.

"There is another option, is there not? The option to destroy his shadow. The version of him we can see inside the castle." He spoke as he thought back to the notes Makoto had given him. "Without his shadow, he would lose everything that makes him… Well, him. He'd practically become a vegetable, a blank canvas."

The suggestion hung heavily in the air, stirring a mix of emotions among the group. Shiho's expression darkened as she nodded her head.

"After everything he's done, after what he was planning for me... Doesn't he deserve that?" She said, causing the group to grow quiet.

"Shiho..." Ann's voice, soft with concern, broke the heavy silence, 

 "I mean, teaching him a lesson is one thing... but this? It's almost like killing him..." Ryuji said with hesitation.

Ren, however, viewed their dilemma through a different lens. He was trying to search for what would be the most interesting outcome for "The Play." If anything, he was more interested in the one who seemed to be behind it all, Principal Kobayakawa. However, after glancing at Shiho's expression, his expression also darkened to match hers.

"Let's leave that choice until later. For now, we should continue exploring the castle, and once we are about to confront him, we can talk about this." Ren said, stopping the brewing argument. "All we are doing is putting ourselves at risk by fighting here. Plus, there isn't even a guarantee that stealing the treasure won't do the same thing."

The group exchanged awkward glances with each other before continuing to head deeper into the castle.

— — —

Weaving through the castle halls, slowly but surely climbing their way through the stairways, the group continued their infiltration. As they navigated the labyrinthine passageways, Anubis suddenly stopped mid-air before raising their nose up to the roof. There was a scent that pulled at the edges of her consciousness, something foreign yet familiar. After taking a few deep breaths, Anubis spoke.

"Hmm… that's weird," she murmured with an edge of curiosity in her voice. The scent, elusive yet insistent, tugged at her, a whisper of power that beckoned beyond the realm of the visible.

"I never noticed this before when I was a pixie," she continued, her voice a blend of wonder and intrigue, "but I smell something in that direction." 

The group shared a look of mutual curiosity before Ren broke the silence.

"Any clue what it might be?"

"It's like Kamoshida's scent but not quite him. It's different, and it's strong," Anubis mused, her nose still in the air.

Hearing this, Morgana's eyes shot wide open.

"It must be a will seed! We need to get them. They are coalesced distortions of the Palace Rulers. If we gather enough of them, we can obtain a will crystal, and they are pretty useful tools."

"What do they do?" Shiho asked with curiosity.

"It depends from crystal to crystal, but since they are basically parts of the distortion, they can be used to emulate the powers of the Palace Ruler." Morgana said as a greedy look appeared in his eyes.

"How cool would it be to beat Kamoshida up with his own power?" Ryuji remarked as he let out an anticipating laugh.

Trusting Anubis's nose and Morgana's instincts, they took a detour. Leading the way with careful steps, Ren activated his third eye as he carefully examined his surroundings. The halls looked empty until a particular painting of Kamoshida, radiating an intense glow, caught his attention. Pushing the painting aside revealed a concealed pathway, its walls marred by significant cracks.

As they ventured closer to the source of the scent, even Morgana seemed to notice it. The destruction around them grew more pronounced. Eventually, they came upon a crumbled wall, revealing a scene of utter devastation as if an explosion had torn through the room. Amid the rubble, a faint, ethereal emerald glow caught their attention.

"What the eff happened here? This place looks worse than the rest of the castle." Ryuji exclaimed, his voice echoing off the shattered remnants of the room, disbelief painted across his face.

"There's something under the rubble!" Ann pointed out, her eyes locked on the mysterious light.

Working together, they cleared the rubble, uncovering the source of the glow—an ancient, battered skull emitting a haunting emerald light. Once the rubble had been lifted from the will seed, strange whispers began to echo through the room. All in the same voice, that of Kamoshida.

Ren's hand reached down to grab onto the will seed. As Ren's fingers brushed against the will seed, reality twisted with a cinematic flair. Suddenly, the dilapidated castle walls dissolved into monochrome, and they found themselves standing on a volleyball court. A setting all too painfully familiar to them.

Kamoshida's voice cut through the silence, sharp and condescending. 

 "You're all just a bunch of weaklings! When I was training for the Olympics, I went through much worse. If you want to make something of yourselves, you need to toughen up." The sight of students sprawled on the floor, writhing in agony, brought a grim reality to his words.

"The source of the distortion…" Ren whispered, witnessing the scenery morph once more before his eyes.

The scene shifted to Kamoshida, sitting anxiously before the principal, his leg bouncing nervously. 

"Ah, Kamoshida, don't worry over the complaints," the principal assured with a dismissive wave.

"An athlete of your caliber knows what's best. If they can't see it, then that just goes to show that they aren't worth wasting school resources on. There are plenty of other students who would jump at the opportunity of being taught directly by you. Leave any problems to me; I'll take care of them."

As quickly as it had appeared, the illusion shattered, returning them to the eerie halls of the castle.

"That... everyone saw that, right?" Ann's voice quivered slightly, her gaze darting around as if to confirm the reality around them.

A silent agreement passed between them, their nods heavy with understanding. However, the expression of one of them had changed quite drastically.

Shiho's anger was palpable; her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles whitened. Yet, after a moment of seething fury, she inhaled deeply, her resolve hardening.

"Morgana, you mentioned there are more seeds out there, right? How do we find them?" she asked, her voice steady, masking the storm of emotions beneath.

Morgana, sensing the gravity in her tone, responded promptly.

"Now that we've secured one of the seeds, it'll lead us to the others. All of them are connected. Just hand it over to me, and I'll guide us to the rest."

Guided by Morgana, the group ascended deeper into the castle's enigmatic depths, eventually coming upon an opulent yet unsettling garden. This space was adorned with countless statues of Kamoshida, each capturing a significant moment of his life, creating a surreal homage to his ego. The garden was awash with flowers in meticulous arrays, each blooming in pristine condition as if vying for attention.

However, at the garden's heart, a stark contrast emerged. A circle of vegetation lay withered, its foliage turned to a lifeless brown as if the very essence of life had been drained from it. Here, amidst the decay, another skull-like seed pulsed with a haunting crimson light.

Shiho, driven by a mix of resolve and anger, stepped forward and seized the seed with determination. As her fingers touched it, reality once again shifted to grayscale, transporting them back to the familiar yet oppressive atmosphere of the volleyball court.

This vision revealed Kamoshida with the girls' volleyball team. After a brief pause, he approached one of the players. With one swift movement, Kamoshida grabbed onto her body The girl's initial yelp of surprise morphed into silent submission, paralyzed by fear and the imbalance of power.

"Your form is all wrong. Stand like this," Kamoshida instructed, his hands almost carelessly exploring the girl's body.

The scene shifted abruptly, transporting them to Kamoshida's office. He sat, a bundle of nerves, compulsively clicking his pen. The arrival of someone at the door momentarily stilled him. Yet, as he recognized the girl he had previously manhandled, his anxiety transformed into a predatory grin. Every trace of nervousness vanished into thin air as if her presence was all the confirmation he needed.

"Ah, it seems you truly do care about your position on the team. Like I have been telling you these past few days, you are falling behind the rest of the team." He began, his voice now dripping with a manipulative confidence. "Since I care so much for my students, I am going to come up with a special training just for you. Now, for the special training I proposed, I'll need to 'evaluate' you more closely."

The vivid images before them blurred into a haunting vision, one that showed Shiho ensnared by the same vile manipulation they had just witnessed. But as Kamoshida awaited her in his office with a disquieting casualness, the scene around them fizzled into static, abruptly snapping back to the reality of the garden.

Silence engulfed them, a heavy cloak of disbelief and discomfort. The revelation they had just been privy to left them at a loss for words, each member grappling with the rawness of the moment. Shiho, overcome with a tumultuous mix of anger and pain, trembled violently. Tears of frustration brimmed in her eyes as she let out a cry of anguish, her fist colliding with the pillar supporting the seed, her knuckles bleeding from the force.

Ren stepped forward, his expression solemn, and wrapped Shiho in a comforting embrace, offering gentle reassurance with each pat on her back. Moved by his gesture, the others rallied around her, their own emotions surfacing. Ann, tears streaming down her face, clung to Shiho, sharing in her sorrow.

"Shiho... you get to decide how this ends. Whatever you choose, I'll make it happen." Ren said with a reassuringly calm tone. 

It was strange. He had only known Kamoshida for two days. Up until this point, the most he thought about him was that he was sloppy. If you had asked him about it a few minutes ago, he would have honestly said he didn't care about what happened to him, that he just wanted to get this over with to move on to the more interesting thing in his mind.

But seeing the state of the girl he was holding in his arms, his initial indifference had transformed into a seething anger, fueled by the pain Shiho. The group's solidarity, in this moment of shared vulnerability, forged a deeper connection among them, uniting them with a singular purpose.

In the quiet of their resolve, unnoticed by the group, a mystical blue butterfly lingered momentarily, a silent witness to their bond. Then, as subtly as it had appeared, it fluttered away.

~Confidants~

Ren Amamiya/???????? (The Jester) Rank 2

Shiho Suzui (The Tower) Rank 2 — Rank 3

Morgana (The Magician) Rank 1

Ann Takamaki (The Lovers) Rank 1

Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) Rank 1


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