I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"Sensei, where to go next? To find the 'Hall of Fame'? Or... like the 'Phantom Thief,' to make someone repent?"

Amamiya raised one hand and summoned the black spear from the "Holy Proclamation" in his other hand, which was meant to "pay homage to the deceased."

"Regardless of the magnitude of repentance, it is necessary to issue a notice in advance to alert the target... I've said that before."

"The reason I brought Chief Hanaya here this time is not for the Hall activities, but to let Chief Hanaya see the otherworldly weaponry and the combat methods of the Masked Warriors."

"There's still plenty of time before we find our target and engage in combat. What should Huaye do during this time?"

Hua Ye frowned slightly and looked at the 'shadows' wandering not far away.

"Can I try to strike up a conversation with them?"

Art?l (7) 1. Amamiya shrugged, with a "do whatever you want" expression.

Seeing this, Huaye no longer hesitated and ran towards the nearest human shadow, trying to strike up a conversation with it.

It was all meaningless small talk like "How's the weather today?", "Where is this place?", and "What's your name?"

The humanoid shadow that Huaye had approached answered a few questions, but when it realized that Huaye seemed to be going on and on, it melted and disappeared in front of her with a 'whoosh' and teleported away.

After several attempts yielded the same result, Hua Ye was at her wit's end.

Seeing her leave dejectedly, Amamiya, holding a black gun in one hand and a white gun in the other, sat on the steps with black and white butterflies fluttering around her and casually asked, "What did you find?"

Hua Ye shook his head: "Low-level 'ignorants' are not worth negotiating with..."

Amamiya stood up, startling the black and white butterflies that had been perched on him. They fluttered their wings and vanished, becoming transparent.

Huaye stared at this scene in a daze—

For some reason, when she focused her gaze on these butterflies, which were pure black with white edges and patterns, or vice versa, with pure white with black edges and patterns, she felt an unprecedented sense of peace and tranquility.

I even... had the urge to just fall asleep.

The weapon is called "Sacred Proclamation," and it is said to be equipment used by funeral directors who mourn the dead...

It truly embodies its understated and simple nature, yet exudes elegance in every aspect.

She didn't look away until the butterflies had drifted away and disappeared from sight.

"Let's see what Sensei is going to show me about the 'combat methods' of this other world."

"Ah."

Amamiya responded and led Hanaya to the edge of the alley.

"Okay..."

Holding the gun in both hands, Amamiya struck a unique pose, took a deep breath, and then let out a soft sigh.

Pointing the gun at a shadow that had invaded from the other Impression Space, Amamiya calmly pulled the trigger.

“Those poor creatures…I will offer them my solemn condolences.”

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Hua Ye: This...this isn't right...

Where do living beings go after they die?

Where do all those accumulated subconscious negative emotions go?

Even for just a moment... have you ever thought of leaving this world and peacefully passing away?

Facing death, revering death, carrying a lamp in the eternal night, waiting for the black mist to devour the candlelight in their hands.

Raising his gun, Amamiya took a quick aim and then pulled the trigger.

Without any trajectory, the black-backed, two-colored butterfly flaps its wings and swoops down at its target at an extremely fast speed, or simply "blooms" on the target out of thin air.

The shadow that was hit by the attack was stunned for a moment, then realized the danger. The mask on its cheek collapsed and melted away.

The thick, black and red mud was bubbling and churning, spreading into small, gurgling springs.

Amamiya crossed his arms, his eyes calm and still. Without summoning his Persona, he held the "Holy Decree" and looked at the shadow with a calm expression that seemed to carry a hint of depression. He sensed danger and then collapsed.

Why not summon the Persona, but instead choose to fight using an "otherworldly weapon"?

The reason is actually a little embarrassing.

It wasn't just to maintain the melancholic and elegant aura associated with the otherworldly weapon, "Holy Proclamation," but also because...

Amamiya's own Persona is just too powerful.

Not to mention the Persona he currently carries, even if he summoned the Complete Book of Demons, arranged in descending order of rank, turned to the last page of the Complete Book of Demons, and summoned the weakest Persona, he could annihilate that level of shadow on the spot with a single melee attack without casting any magic.

The shadows after the collapse bathed in the mud, and slowly rose from it.

He sat astride a pale warhorse with many eyes, holding a black longbow that exuded the aura of death and fear, and carrying a quiver of quivers filled with plague arrows on his back.

The moment the tall, shadowy figure stood up, Amamiya saw the basic information about it using her [Third Eye].

【Shadow: The Pale Knight (Arcana: Death)】

[Introduction: One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as recorded in the Bible, who will appear at the end of the world.]

["When the first seal was opened, one of the four living creatures spoke in a voice like thunder, saying, 'Come!'"]

"I looked and saw a white horse, and the rider on it was holding a bow, and a crown was given to him."

"Then he went out, and having won, he wanted to win again."

The Knight of Plague, or the Knight of Conquest, in the Bible.

Including his warhorse, the pale knight, who may be nearly ten meters tall, is just like the weapon he wields and the legend it symbolizes—skilled in various ranged attacks, curses, and the application of negative status effects.

Unfortunately... in the "Complete Book of Demons," the Pale Knight and the Plague Knight are strictly speaking two different concepts. The shadow before us is more accurately described as the "Knight of Conquest."

His appearance here... is quite consistent with the situation of 'the Impression Space under the control of the Smiling Professor being invaded by the shadow of the external Impression Space'.

"I came, I saw, I conquered," "No matter how clever a student is, they can't compare to the wisdom of the countless adults in a corporation"... These are the stereotypes that most corporations (large companies) in Kivotos, including the Kaiser Group, hold.

After the Caesars Group moved elsewhere, the professor has taken over the black market, but her control over it... is clearly not as "absolute" as Caesar's.

Otherwise, invaders like the "Knight of Conquest" wouldn't have appeared.

"You..."

Ascending atop his multi-eyed steed, the pale knight's voice was ethereal, carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible quality: "Why did you attack me?"

"Are they in cahoots with those 'cleaners'...?"

Amamiya tilted his head slightly, and black and white butterflies gathered around him, fluttering down and swirling around him, 'changing' him into a set of jet-black formal attire reminiscent of a funeral director.

During his standoff with the Pale Knight, he glanced at Hua Ye, who was hiding behind a telephone pole in the distance, peering out with a mixture of shock and fear.

The power of Persona... definitely cannot be excessively displayed to Hanaya.

—Or to put it another way, you can show her, but you can't show her the maximum potential that a 'maxed-out' Persona can achieve.

Even the lowest initial level Personas like "Arsène," "Pixis," and "Jack-o'-lantern" can unleash incredibly powerful abilities.

To demonstrate the Masked Warrior's fighting style... Amamiya could only find a random 'blank monster' in the other world, capture it, and then use it as material for demonstration.

"Conquest and plague both bring death..."

Amamiya swung his twin pistols, which clung to his arms, causing the butterfly on his wrist to flutter up.

"The belief in death must be suppressed."

"Ha... So, you intend to use those mediocre dual pistols in your hands to eliminate me?"

"What a ridiculous idea..."

The white knight drew his bow and nocked an arrow; wisps of red smoke, symbolizing conflict, began to gather on the silvery bowstring.

The arrow split into three, and then, as the white knight drew his bow to its fullest extent, it whistled through the air, transforming into a shooting star hurtling towards the night sky.

"Triple Knockout: Deals three small bursts of damage to all enemies."

After flying a certain distance, the arrow split into more 'shooting stars' like a rain of light, and three of them flew towards Huaye, who was watching from behind the telephone pole.

Hua Ye was terrified. Watching the meteor hurtling towards her, she tried to dodge it several times, but found that no matter how she dodged, the meteor would always adjust its direction slightly according to her movement.

She gritted her teeth, intending to tough it out, when a cluster of black and white butterflies happened to arrive, fluttering their wings and appearing before her eyes, briefly covering the world in front of her with a silent gray-white, thus deflecting the attack for her.

Amamiya was more direct, dodging to the side and avoiding the trampling of the white knight's warhorse. At the same time, she crossed her two pistols, and the blooming black and white butterflies instantly deflected the meteor arrows that were aimed at her.

Generally speaking, even with the Persona boost, when the levels are similar, the Masked One's melee ability is still a level below these "mythical creatures".

After all, the "combat awareness" and "reaction ability" of mythical creatures are beyond doubt, and no matter how strong the masked persona is, before completing the super awakening, the strength of its persona is not enough to "step into the realm of gods".

Unless one is exceptionally talented, it is highly discouraged for a Masked Persona user to refrain from summoning their Persona and engaging in a direct confrontation under such circumstances.

After dodging the White Knight's charge, Amamiya advanced instead of retreating, rapidly alternating between his two guns and simultaneously reloading "Holy Proclamation" bullets—black and white butterflies—while simultaneously spinning his guns.

Approach, dodge, and fire in staggered formations.

The unique gunshots of "Sacred Proclamation" and the flapping of butterfly wings resounded continuously, comparable to art.

Since the original design of "Sacred Proclamation" was to kill enemies by rapidly firing and accumulating the negative status effects of butterflies, 'scratching' is not important.

The faster and more painful the scraping gets, the better.

"Those wretched little bugs..."

"All you can do is hide?!"

Unable to fire at close range, the White Knight resorted to using his longbow as a melee weapon, sweeping it around.

"It is unwise to mix mourning with idle chatter."

The response was the soft rustling of butterflies blooming on the tattered cloak on its chest, and a calm yet seemingly mocking and contemptuous reply.

"You think that no matter how many butterflies there are... they can have... an... influence... on me..."

"Don't panic. You will soon fall into a deep sleep."

Amamiya casually 'discarded' his twin pistols, and after they left his hands, "Sacred Proclamation" automatically scattered like a butterfly.

He reached out and grasped a black and white carved coffin.

boom--!

Sparks flew everywhere, and shockwaves surged.

The longbow collided with the coffin. The coffin remained unmoved, but the longbow, along with a withered hand bone, was sent flying and crashed into a nearby wall with a thud.

Although the longbow was intact, the hand that held it turned into a puddle of black mud in a very short time.

Amamiya stood still, maintaining the waving motion, the coffin in his hand shattering into butterflies, scattering and disappearing, before reassembling into a gun.

"Those who gaze upon death will also return to death, and be silenced by death."

"Wait, I'll throw myself into... I can..."

Amamiya ignored the pointless pleas for mercy and calmly said goodbye.

"On behalf of the funeral director... goodnight."

bang bang.

The butterflies climbed from the hem of her dress to her chest, and then gradually gathered from her chest to her chin.

The last two shots fired by Amamiya landed precisely in the empty eye sockets of the Pale Knight's skull.

Maintaining a frozen posture, all the eyes of the multi-eyed warhorse closed peacefully as if asleep, and the soul fire of the skull gradually extinguished.

Maintaining a 'serene' expression, the pale knight's figure seemed to have been purified, transforming into specks of starlight that began to dissipate.

Instead of turning back into mud like a typical defeated shadow, it peacefully transformed into starlight.

Amamiya stood still, the "Holy Proclamation" in his hand and the butterflies surrounding him vanished, his gaze following the blooming butterflies as they drifted into the distance.

This can be considered...

A special treatment for those defeated by the "Holy Proclamation"?

Amamiya took the opportunity to observe Hana—who had been terrified not long ago, was now groping her way into the alley, her hand wrapped in a handkerchief, and picking up the longbow that the Pale Knight had left behind but hadn't disappeared with him.

Unexpectedly, the moment she picked it up, the longbow transformed into a ball of light, which then changed into another ranged weapon that Hua Ye was more familiar with—

A pistol with a pure black body, its casing carved like white porcelain or jade, and engraved with various skull patterns of weapons...

"Why……?"

Hana was genuinely surprised that something she had obtained could change in her hands. After a moment of astonishment, she turned her gaze to Amamiya.