I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Alice... is a true 'hero'..."

"No matter what kind of sorrow you experience, you must overcome it..."

"Always leaving all the pain and tears after the journey ends..."

"...A true hero!"

In the blink of an eye, Alice was as if she had short-circuited, her body crackling with electric sparks and intertwined with scorching blue flames.

The flames that summon the Persona are a ghostly blue...

That was the brilliant evidence of the 'boiling spirit of resistance' burning fiercely.

In other words... that is a true existence, called personality, or soul, that the "heartless" never possess.

"Alice needs to go back to everyone..."

"Alice is an 'AI'... but Alice also needs to find 'meaning to live'!"

The colors of her eyes, alternating between blue and pink, became increasingly frequent.

The 'electric sparks' became fewer and fewer, but the boiling flame of personality became more and more intense and stronger.

'A reaction that does not follow the planned procedures...'

'Instead, it's about following your instincts driven by emotions...'

"Impossible... No matter how much human emotion there is, it's impossible...!"

"It's impossible to break through to the very bottom..."

"No...you're wrong, 'Kei'."

The flame of personality coalesced and eventually transformed into a crown that seemed to embody the essence of the wisdom of ancient great philosophers.

"Human beings have many admirable qualities... but the most admirable of these is what guides humanity on its journey, weaving together various fantasies that ultimately sustain it on its path..."

"hope."

'call……'

The philosopher's laurel wreath shone brightly at this moment.

At the same time, it seemed as if ethereal chanting appeared from the depths of the sky.

……

"I am you, and you are me."

Here you will find the key to self-discovery.

"The eternal covenant binds you, yet you will surely find new life bathed in the light of hope."

Feathers gradually became wings, breaking the chains of eternity.

"Here you find the answer, and are reborn..."

"I grant you boundless power..."

……

The Coopation has been changed.

Alice Tendo (Eternal Calamity) → (Hope)

Momoi, who was lying on the ground panting, burst into tears of joy.

"Alice...!!"

"Great... Alice... is back...!"

"Um……"

Feeling the warmth from my teammates in the game club, and...

The gaze cast upon Sensei, who taught him true 'emotions', and Sophia, who taught him 'the will of AI'...

Although Alice's eye color was still changing at a gradually slow pace, her words, eyes, and even tone of voice had gained a touch of human-like liveliness that was almost impossible for an AI to possess.

"Alice..."

With a sob in her voice, the girl softly choked out her declaration of 'returning'.

"Bang Bang Ka Bang..."

"Alice..."

"I've rejoined the team!"

"Very good... Realizing the true meaning of 'happiness' is already an extremely difficult thing for a person."

"...this is especially true for 'AI'."

"Since you possess that unwavering will to seek happiness, and that undying soul..."

"Then... I will grant you my assistance..."

"I am you, and you are me."

Alice reached out and grabbed the 'philosopher's crown' on her head, gradually increasing her grip.

'Click, click...'

AI obviously doesn't bleed.

Therefore, when Alice awakens her 'persona', she doesn't have to tear off the mask, skin and blood, like the others.

It was as if she was gradually exerting force, chiseling through some kind of silicon-based barrier, tearing open this 'space' that was like amber, solidifying her and making her unable to move.

"I am you...you are me!"

Softly repeating the whispers of the ancient philosophers, Alice's pupils finally stopped changing, returning to their unique, clear blue.

"bring it on--"

"Psona!"

"—Aristotle!"

Chapter 15 Kei: My least favorite episode!

"Psona—Aristotle!"

The raging flames coalesced into the hero's cloak and an outfit with a blue and white base, adorned with touches of black, resembling a luxurious aristocratic evening gown. The scattered pixel blocks then transformed into black particles that swirled around it.

The 'mask,' resembling a hero's crown, vanished in a flash, transforming into a semi-transparent figure holding a thick philosophy book, resembling the shadow of a stone sculpture in a museum.

'Aristotle, the philosopher who laid the foundation for the most basic philosophical concepts…'

In the Persona system, which consists of all sorts of 'gods and monsters' such as gods, spirits, and legendary creatures, even Personas originating from novels are considered relatively rare anomalies.

I never imagined... there could be a persona based on a 'philosopher' who is almost completely independent of mythology or the mysticism system...

After a moment of slight surprise, Amamiya then noticed the change in Arcana above Alice's head at that moment.

From eternal damnation to hope...

It has been transformed into a Tarot deck in the same sequence as Sophia...

Suppressing her initial surprise, Amamiya moved nimbly, leaping and bounding. Her black magician's long coat billowed like a cloak, the whistling wind appearing simultaneously with the flames summoning the Persona.

'Psona...Maria.'

'The Savior's Healing.'

Emerald green light spread out along with the Virgin Mary's soft chanting, transforming into the Savior's tears, a sweet dew of mercy for suffering and healing of wounds.

Feeling the abrasions on her body and the exhaustion from the loss of stamina, as the emerald green wind of revival quickly faded away, Momoi excitedly clenched her fists and struggled to get up from the ground.

Facing the seemingly lofty yet also close 'holy light', she raised the developer's shield, which had become pitted and on the verge of damage from enduring excessive attacks in a short period of time, and transformed the shield in her hand into a huge cross shield.

"Next... it's time to sound the counterattack—"

"Paladin Skill - War Song of Courage!"

A pale yellow, semi-transparent pixel field instantly spread and surged, engulfing the area around the 'ruins room' in an astonishing manner. The sacred field appeared on all 'friendly units' along with 'red upward arrows of pixels' formed by the pixel particles.

At the same time, blue 'downward arrows' also appeared on all the shadow monsters.

Following Momoi, Yuzu, who was staggering due to 'excessive magic consumption', also stepped forward.

After transforming her one-handed staff into a giant two-handed staff, she used all her strength to slam the staff into the ground.

The bricks and stones of the ruins cracked due to the violent movement, and scattered everywhere.

Although her already pale face, which had been confined indoors for a long time, became unnaturally distorted for a moment due to the excessive movement, and then turned even more ashen, Yuzu still resolutely activated her last magical skill.

"Mage skill... Granting the Super Magic Feat!"

Spell Power; Spell Max; Spell Penetration; Epic Spell Penetration; Legendary Spell Penetration...

In an instant, numerous different buffs transformed into a colorful, pixelated rainbow of light effects, which were bestowed upon Alice.

"Alice..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yuzu looked like she had been staying up for days and nights in a row, with dark circles under her eyes, and was about to collapse with a 'thud'.

Unlike Momoi, who had recovered her physical strength, Midori was different...

Yuzu was almost unharmed, but her 'mental strength'... or rather, her 'blue bar' was almost empty.

"Let Alice handle it...!"

Alice raised the 'Hero's Sword' in her hand, lowered her eyes briefly, and then opened them again.

"Aristotle...the judgment of the philosopher!"

'Crash...'

The 'philosopher' figure behind Alice silently opened the heavy philosophy book. The rustling of the pages turned drowned out the crackling of sparks flying from the legion of 'ancient mechs' and the simultaneous sound of error messages.

A massive hammer called "Truth" descended from the sky, crashing onto the ground and creating a ring of bright blue, scorching waves.

'The attributes are nuclear thermal and physical... which are relatively rare and high-intensity damage-dealing attributes...'

Picking up Yuzu, who had fallen into a coma due to exhaustion of her mental energy, Amamiya simultaneously summoned her Persona to help Momoi and Midori withstand the apocalyptic impact. Amamiya mentally assessed the intensity of the attack.

In terms of damage output, it is comparable to [War of Giants] and [The Great Calamity] (Shiva's exclusive skill, 忝淋泣尔`c$俬覇Q*Ue-N>), which are physical magic skills that deal massive physical damage to all enemies.

Similarly, because she is an AI, Alice does not experience the 'extreme weakness' that comes with awakening Persona.

After unleashing a massive physical and nuclear thermal magic attack on all enemies, the AI ​​girl simply showed a relaxed and carefree smile, as if she had completely released the emotions she had been suppressing. Then, she hopped off the stone platform and ran lightly to Amamiya and Sophia's side.

"Hehehe... Alice, you did it!"

Amamiya half-squatted down and placed Yuzu on the magic carpet. Then, with his hands temporarily free, he bent down and reached out to rub Alice's cheeks, which now seemed to have lost all trace of 'bionic texture' and truly possessed 'human warmth'.

"Yes, as expected of Alice, our most anticipated and closely watched partner..."

"That's amazing!"

【~???~】

Alice smiled brightly and happily as her hair was rubbed and her cheeks were pinched, enjoying this feeling that was hard-won for her and something she had never experienced before...

But what captivated her instantly was the "warmth of being cared for" conveyed through spiritual connection.

"So warm..."

'This is...the warmth of the heart conveyed through simple contact...'

"Alice, her favorite is Hu..."

Rumble...!

A violent tremor came from the 'ground' beneath their feet, and at the same time, the dark and sunless dome seemed to begin to collapse and fall.

"Wow...is this...about to collapse?!"

Momoi, who was trying to climb the magic carpet to check on Yuzu's condition and experience this 'fantasy world vehicle', but failed several times, immediately felt the violent tremor and the accompanying sense of danger, as if it was about to collapse.

Speaking of which... there will be similar 'plot points' after defeating the Demon King!