I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Thankfully... Loki didn't suggest a simulated battle to 'test combat capabilities'.

Otherwise, they might have to fight a battle first, exhausting their physical and mental strength, before boarding the ship—and then they would have to fight Thor, which would be a bit dangerous.

The girls stood on the deck, enjoying the sea breeze, observing the seascape of this "mythical region," a sight they would probably only see once or twice in their lives, chatting quietly with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

Only Hifumi quietly moved closer to Amamiya, looking up at her with a slightly puzzled expression.

After a brief moment of 'curiosity,' Hifumi finally couldn't resist and tugged at Amamiya's sleeve, asking softly, "Sensei... I want to ask..."

"The question is about Loki, isn't it?"

Amamiya smiled and leaned slightly forward, making direct eye contact with the blonde girl at close range.

Hifumi nodded slightly: "Mmm..."

Just now, during her confrontation with Loki... she sensed a feeling similar to that of Amamiya from Loki.

Very vague...very uncertain.

"Actually, the reason is quite simple; it's still because of the reflection of the temple..."

Amamiya sighed and briefly explained the principle to Hifumi.

In the prophecy of Ragnarok, the great ship "Nagilfa" is relatively inconspicuous, but quite important—

In mythology, it was because this ship carried the army of the giants that the gods of Asgard had to sail another great ship, the Skidplatnine, to fight against them.

Amamiya's actions in the real world—contacting both the Justice Committee and the Pandemonium under Gehenna—were observed by Beatrice.

In her view, wasn't that just like Loki, who was gathering the giants to attack the gods of Asgard and prepare to create Ragnarok?

When this understanding was reflected in her temple... then the [Nagir Law] came into being.

And who is the captain of Nagilfa? Of course, it's Loki... The corresponding character in the real world is Amamiya himself.

Beatrice believed that Amamiya was exceptionally powerful, and this perception was reflected in Loki's perception of the world, resulting in "Loki's level has broken through the limit."

"So that's it..."

While feeling incredulous, Hifumi also breathed a slight sigh of relief.

As the mythical ship of Ragnarok, Nagilfa's speed is extremely exaggerated.

It sailed through the wind and waves, heading into the depths of the fog—and soon, tiny sparks began to ignite on the hull.

In the firelight, the girls on the deck saw...

A giant, dying snake's head floats on the sea surface.

On top of the snake's head sat a giant wearing armor, wielding the [Mjolnir], and wearing a golden helmet.

Loki stopped the Nagil and appeared on the deck.

He raised the flaming demon sword in his hand and pointed it at the image of Thor on the snake's head: "Look... that is your enemy on this journey."

"You...go and fight!"

"May you all have great success in your military endeavors."

Chapter Twenty-Three: Haha, playing games with Lord Nagisa's friends...

As the girls leaped from the Nagilfa and stepped onto the smooth, island-like body of the Mortal Serpent, a sense of unreality still lingered in their hearts.

But this sense of unreality quickly vanished as they witnessed the scene before them—

"I... I didn't see wrong, did I?"

Hanako blinked, her words filled with utter disbelief.

"The shadow of the enemy we're facing this time is... Hifumi-chan?"

As they got closer, they realized that the 'Thor' figure was clearly Hifumi, who was wearing the standard Trinity College uniform and black tights, and whose appearance was exceptionally gentle, like a little angel!

What exactly is going on? !

After a brief moment of surprise, the girls suddenly remembered... the enemy they faced during their last exploration was Shadow Azusa.

Last time, they successfully persuaded Shadow Azusa and transformed her into Azusa's Persona...

Is the process the same this time?

However, Hifumi has already subdued more than one personality mask... Does she still need to awaken more?

With many questions lingering in their minds, the puzzled girls turned their attention to Amamiya, who knew the most about the other world.

After estimating the distance between herself and 'Thor', Zi carefully lowered her voice and asked, "JOK... what should we do this time? Should we 'convince' Him like last time?"

“Glaciére, don’t make any rash moves… Let’s get a little closer and observe the situation as we always do.”

As Amamiya and her group drew closer, the girls all heard a familiar voice, laced with malice and mockery.

"You've always felt guilty towards me... but you never imagined that your guilt would become the very thing I used to defeat you and bring you to this state—"

"Heh... How interesting. I never imagined that the 'Mortal Python' would be affected by that fog of lies..."

Hanako, Azusa, and Koharu from the cram school all turned their surprised gazes toward Hifumi.

In their eyes... Hifumi was undoubtedly a 'sunny, cheerful, and well-behaved girl,' a 'kind and understanding little angel.' How could someone like her utter such... offensive words?

Hifumi felt herself being stared at by several eyes, and she awkwardly shrank back, saying, "Ahaha..."

“That, that ‘me,’ was absolutely created solely according to Beatrice’s own opinion…”

Before Hifumi could finish speaking, Shadow Hifumi continued to mock the Mortal Python.

"Hehe... Come to think of it, this is quite interesting... a game for friends."

Gently stroking Jormungandr's enormous scales, Hifumi in the shadows smiled wickedly: "Don't you think so...?"

Hifumi: "..."

Why is Beatrice's self... like this, a little devil who speaks rudely to Nagisa-sama and behaves so badly?

The strange looks from her friends made the girl feel embarrassed and confused.

At this moment, Amamiya, acting as [Navi], made a clear assessment of the situation: "This time, it seems there is no possibility of negotiation."

If the goal is to persuade the shadow to become one's own persona... ideally, it's more reliable to seek out the shadow within "oneself".

"Is this so..."

Hanako and Koharu both breathed a sigh of relief, yet were slightly disappointed—

It seems they won't be able to witness this very special spectacle of "persona awakening" this time.

After leading the girls a short distance further, when they reached the edge of [Shadow·Hifumi]'s warning line, Amamiya stopped and signaled them to stop.

"If we go any further, we'll be discovered."

"Are you ready to fight?"

Hifumi clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

The 'enemy' is yourself... then let's go all out!

The girl nodded seriously: "Yes!"

"Then... let's begin."

Amamiya stretched out her right hand towards [Shadow·Hifumi] from afar, and the grappling hook fixed to her arm emitted a red light symbolizing locking onto the enemy.

With a flick of his wrist, the crimson-glowing claw shot out instantly, heading straight for [Shadow·Hifumi], wrapping around its neck and intelligently circling it twice.

Amamiya pulled on the grappling hook in his hand, and under the reaction force, he instantly accelerated, transforming into a dark trail in mid-air that could produce Mach rings and sonic booms.

The next second, he was already standing on [Shadow·Hifumi]'s shoulder, leaning down, his red cut-resistant gloves grabbing the gap in the other's mask, and pulling hard.

"Show me your true colors!"

As Amamiya finished speaking, [Shadow·Hifumi], whose mask had been "removed," collapsed.

[BGM: Last Surprise]

A seemingly very powerful melody reached the girls' ears—but they didn't immediately follow it; instead, they waited for the shadows to change.

CHANCE!

"Thor" - the Moon Chair slowly tilted Liu's body, turning it into a thick, colorful, black and red mud.

The mud surged and spread into a swamp, which was quickly reshaped into another, rather imposing, structure.

A giant shadow, about the same height as Loki, wielding Mjolnir and wearing a golden helmet.

"You despicable thieves...you've finally come!"

The moment Thor appeared from a patch of black and red mud, he raised Mjolnir in his hand. The golden lightning bolt, as thick as a man, obeyed His command and descended from the sky, striking down with a deafening roar.

“Psona——!”

The Personas who were already prepared then summoned their own Personas.

Clusters of dark blue flames and the flaming phantom of the Persona mask formed a temporary defensive line, blocking all the "Divine Punishment Thunder".

Hifumi, who summoned her Persona [Power Angel] to help Hanako and Koharu block the lightning, immediately used her [Third Eye] to check Thor's basic information.

[Cognitive Existence: Thor, Azsgurl, Hifumi]

[Initial Level: 89]

Arcana: The Hanged Men

[Prototype Introduction: The Norse god of thunder, who controls lightning. A deity with many followers.]

Known for his unparalleled strength among the Aesir, he fights wielding a warhammer called 'Mjolnir'.

According to mythology, His nemesis was the World Serpent, Jormungandr. In the final moments of Ragnarok, Thor and Jormungandr perished together.

"The enemy's strength is similar to 'Shadow Azusa' that we encountered before, everyone be careful!"

As Hifumi spoke, she stepped forward, drew her staff sword, and used the sword to deflect the lightning back.

"You thieves... came here to save this snake?"

"Hmph... You want to achieve 'Ragnarok'? What a vain idea."

As Thor delivered his pre-battle declaration, Amamiya's calm voice, analyzing intelligence, reached the girls' ears.

"The enemy is Thor, the God of Thunder, who excels at physical and lightning attacks. He is resistant to physical attacks, and lightning attacks are ineffective against him. He is also resistant to light and dark attacks."

"I understand... Psona, Gerda!"

A touch of frost tinged her long white hair. Zi, with one hand lifting the mask from her cheek, launched the first attack with a fixed gaze: "Bufudaiin!"

"Bufudyne: Deals massive damage with freezing properties to one enemy, with a chance to freeze the target."

This is the Endless Sea—ice magic naturally provides a "field bonus" here.

In an instant, a thousand miles of land were frozen over.

The rolling waves were swept up by the cold wind, quickly forming a blooming ice flower.

The frost and snow came so quickly that they swept over Thor in an instant, surrounding him and enveloping him in ice flowers.

"The enemy is frozen... Excellent, let's press our advantage! Using nuclear thermal attacks to break the ice will be extremely effective!"

As Amamiya explained, Hifumi decisively switched her Persona.

"Psona—Fafner!"

The phantom of the evil dragon descended from behind the girl, then spread its wings and spewed out azure flames of extremely high temperature.

"Atomic flame!"

"Atomic Flare: Deals massive nuclear thermal damage to one enemy, with double damage against frozen, burning, and electrocuted enemies."

The scorching dragon breath struck Thor, who was frozen in the ice, shattering the ice and burning the once invincible Thor to a crisp.

"Thieves..."

"You... are nothing but a bunch of arrogant thieves! What right do you have to presume to change this world as it is!"

Thunderclouds rolled, dark clouds filled the sky, and waves surged—amidst the dust kicked up by thunder, Thor's weak yet still proud question echoed.