Tokyo Psychic

Akira Kurusu looked at Morgana beside her, "Did you see something like this when you first came here?"

Morgana answered confidently, "Next, these puppets will take the stage to perform, and after they finish playing, the door will open by itself."

So the Phantom Thieves quietly waited for the dolls dressed as "MYGO" to perform on stage. Surprisingly, even in the Mind Palace, these dolls were able to perfectly reproduce the playing level of the girls they corresponded to in reality.

Soon the song "Spring Shadow" came to an end, and the door behind the scenes was opened.

The Mind Thieves continue their journey.

Following the performance schedule, they passed through five theaters in succession.

All the way up to the sixth theater—the one where the "End Band" was based.

The moment I pushed open the door, everything was different from what I had seen before.

Although it was still pitch black, the audience seats were filled with puppets that had no physical features.

A beam of light shone on the stage again, but instead of illuminating the puppets that were supposed to be performing, it illuminated Miku Miku, who was sitting alone in a chair with a gothic costume!

Akira Kurusu, who was in the corridor, immediately gestured to the people behind her not to make any rash moves.

No one summoned Persona; they all remained silently hidden in the dark audience seats.

......

On stage, the "Triangle Miku" was holding a script, sitting in a chair. Her eyes were lowered, but her dark gold eyes, representing shadows, suddenly lifted and then fell affectionately and obsessively on the huge, dark silhouette shrouded in darkness on the opposite side of the stage.

Then she began to recite aloud, introducing her background.

The story introduces the girl "Mitsune Miku," explaining how she was born as an illegitimate child in the Toyokawa family's villa due to a ridiculous relationship, and how she was sent to an artificial island to live with her half-sister.

Her tone was so natural and confident, as if she had rehearsed on this stage hundreds or thousands of times.

As she performed with her body movements, the stage screen behind her would play those scenes from her memories.

Hearing the recitation of "Matsune Miku," Toyokawa Shoko's expression appeared somewhat unnatural.

This awkwardness quickly turned into shame and embarrassment as Mitsuko Miku began to frantically recount her encounter with Toyokawa Shoko and how she was saved by Toyokawa Shoko.

Toyokawa Shoko looked around nervously, afraid that her companions would laugh at her for it—she only received a series of pitiful and helpless glances.

After all, nobody wants to be bothered by such a troublesome person.

Just as Toyokawa Shoko was feeling troubled, the entire stage was suddenly illuminated by more than a dozen spotlights.

"Triangle Miku" said in a high-pitched voice, "Yes, that's how I was saved by the goddess."

The members of the Phantom Thieves now know who Miku Miku considers her pillar of support...

In the light, a huge statue was placed at the end of the stage.

The statue depicts Toyokawa Shoko!

"Triangle Miku" dropped her script and approached the statue step by step with a look of infatuation and rapture. She knelt at its feet, nestled against its base, and kissed the marble base, her face flushing unnaturally.

All the puppets in the audience stood up in unison, clapping and stammering in mechanical voices, "Toyokawa Shoko... a god who must be devoutly loved and worshipped..."

And in the next instant, it was as if the plot had been forcibly cut into a cutscene.

Miku's expression turned ferocious. "But!..." she roared at the audience in a voice trembling with sobs, "My God, he's been stolen by that shameless phantom thief!"

The puppets immediately seemed to have their control threads snapped, and they wobbled and fell back down.

The statue next to Miku Miku in the triangle then collapsed.

Tears welled in her eyes. She knelt on the ground, picking up the fragments of the statue that were within reach, muttering unconsciously, "Xiangzi... my Xiangzi has been taken away just like that..."

She seemed to gradually forget her lines, only repeatedly murmuring "Xiangzi, Xiangzi".

"Triangle Miku" crawled through the broken remains of the statue, frantically picking up the fragments and stuffing them into her arms, tears unknowingly wetting her entire beautiful face.

She climbed all the way to the end of the statue's base, and only after confirming that no matter how many pieces she picked up, she could not repair the statue did she stand up, all expression vanishing from her face in an instant.

It was as if reason and calmness had returned to my mind.

"Triangle Miku" mechanically raised her head, looked towards the corner of the audience without warning, and then stretched out her finger.

"Who's there...?"

The stage lights quickly focused on the location of the Mind Thieves.

"Mitsune Miku" saw Akira Kurusu, saw Shoko Toyokawa... She ignored everyone else and unexpectedly met her goddess. However, there was no joy or piety on her face, only an incredulous anger, as well as a twisted and ferocious jealousy and panic.

"Ren Amamiya! You shameless, despicable, and lowly thief!!" Misaki Miku screamed hysterically at Akira Kurusu.

Those dark golden eyes were filled with murky desire.

At that instant, Toyokawa Shoko stepped forward, blocking Kurusu Akira's path—

In impression space, shadows represent a person's subconscious.

This means that as long as there is an opportunity to communicate, no matter what question is asked, the shadow will truthfully answer with its most genuine thoughts.

"Hatsuka... no, Hatsune, why did you do these things?!" For the first time, Toyokawa Shoko felt an indescribable nausea when she called out the other person's name.

Upon hearing Toyokawa Shoko address her by her name directly, "Mitsubou-chan" immediately knelt down on the ground with a thud. The ferocious expression on her face vanished instantly, replaced by an immense, illusory happiness. "Ah... because, because I'm jealous of Amamiya Ren."

“Jealousy?” Toyokawa Shoko originally thought that “Miss Miku” did these things to take revenge on the Toyokawa family.

"I'm jealous, jealous that he can talk to you so freely, jealous that he can have the sweet smile that you once lost, jealous that he can taste your lips, jealous that he can rightfully live in the Toyokawa family's mansion... jealous that he can possess you without restraint, jealous that he can do whatever he wants to you... jealous of him, jealous of him, jealous of him, jealous of him, jealous of him..." The shadow of Misaki Miku seemed to be running a malfunctioning program, mechanically repeating the same words.

Finally, amidst Toyokawa Shoko's utter disgust, so much so that she was almost about to vomit, "Mitsubo Miku" clutched her cheek and lamented.

"Yes... because I like you, Xiangzi."

"That's why I'm going to smear you, smear the End Band, I'm going to destroy this damn thief, I'm going to destroy everything you cherish and love, I want you to go back to that vulnerable, helpless state... that way, I can... possess you."

"Mitsune Miku" confessed so frankly, and then a twisted smile appeared on her face.

"Xiangzi, please bear with me a little longer. I know you don't like your current life... so I will take you back from them soon... We will be happy together from now on."

"How disgusting!" Toyokawa Shoko clenched her fists and shouted loudly at the stage, "Just hearing your voice makes me want to throw up! How could you become like this?!"

She simply couldn't imagine that these foul and rotten words, like fish belly fermenting in the open air for a month along with its contents, would come from the mouth of her blood-related aunt, who was also her aunt.

Upon hearing Toyokawa Shoko's uncompromising rebuke, "Miss Miku" staggered back as if struck by lightning.

But her smile grew even warmer. "It's alright, Xiangzi. I know you're being controlled by him... by them. It's alright, please bear with it a little longer... I'll come to rescue you right away."

As soon as she finished speaking, all the expressions on "Triangle Miku's" face disappeared.

She looked at Akira Kurishi coldly.

"You...you want to steal that thing, don't you?"

"You stole my most precious..."

Her subsequent words were drowned out by the sudden gust of wind that rose in the theater, making them indistinct.

The curtains on the stage were torn apart and vibrated rapidly like the wings of an insect in flight, with countless afterimages swaying. Then, the dark golden pupils of "Triangle Miku" became brighter and brighter in the darkness.

The figure of "Triangle Miku" blurred quickly as if erased by an eraser, fading into the darkness. The puppets from all directions stood up again and turned to face the location of the Phantom Thieves.

The next moment, a piercing scream rang out, instantly approaching the Phantom Thieves—

"Die, you mind thief!!!"

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(Four in one! It's the end of the month, please give me your free refresh tickets and swords!!!)

(More updates to come later.)

206. Racing Against Time (Two-in-One)

A stench-filled, hot wind blew in.

Following the mercury-like light, one can see the image of a huge monster resembling a whale, dolphin, or crocodile, with dark, armor-like scales, sharp, long teeth, and spikes on its belly... It is an extremely evil appearance that evokes an indescribable feeling of gloom and disgust just by looking at it.

With her ability to read memories, Akira Kurusu easily recognized that the image corresponded to Leviathan, the sea monster symbolizing evil described in the Bible.

There are also rumors that "Leviathan" has become one of the synonyms for the devil in the Christian interpretation and has been associated with "envy" among the seven deadly sins.

With the appearance of "Leviathan", the entire theater was torn apart by the immense force. The seats and the floor were blown away, and all the puppets that surrounded it from all directions were thrown into the sky without exception... Only at this moment did the members of the Mind Thieves realize with horror that what had been controlling the puppets was not the so-called threads, but the countless tentacles of "Leviathan" that had spread into the ground.

From the roar of this colossal creature, Akira Kurusu vaguely heard the "Triangle Hatsune's" murmurs filled with hatred and jealousy.

An invisible force, carried by the gale, pressed down on Akira Kurusu, causing the long hem of the phantom thief's uniform to flutter wildly.

The spotlight shone entirely on the phantom thief.

Upon closer inspection, the attack aimed at Akira Kurusu from the darkness turned out to be a sea serpent covered in solid scales.

The sea snake stopped moving the instant it approached Akatsuki.

Because the crimson demon had appeared behind Akira Kurusu at some point, it spread its black wings, grabbed the sea serpent with its clawed left hand, and the smoothbore lance woven from shadows appeared in its right hand.

"Arsène, [Supreme Magic Bullet]."

As Akira Kurusu gave the order, Arsen's right hand, holding a smoothbore musket, aimed at the massive monster it was connected to, following the sea serpent, and then pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The next moment, a black bullet that seemed capable of swallowing all light burst forth.

The instant it left the muzzle, it pierced through a tentacle that was slapping towards the Phantom Thieves, then immediately changed direction and rushed towards the next tentacle—in the fragmented theater, the black threads tangled and intertwined in the blink of an eye, and then all the tentacles snapped off.

Leviathan let out a painful roar, its hideous body, whose features were difficult to discern, rapidly cracked open, spurting out poisonous blood.

The poisonous blood didn't even have a chance to spread and harm the Phantom Thieves before it was frozen instantly by Morana, the Persona summoned by Mortis.

His roar, powerful enough to shatter human internal organs, was redirected by Nimrod, the persona summoned by Toyokawa Shoko, during its spread, shattering Leviathan itself along with the entire stage behind it.

Attempting to ambush someone with a sea serpent hidden in the darkness, it was immediately discovered by Morgana and then lashed into pieces by Morgana's Persona "Zorro" wielding a long whip.

Having suffered this series of blows, Leviathan was even more furious, but it had no room for maneuver.

Whenever "Leviathan" attempts to dodge the Phantom Thieves' concentrated fire or to escape, it mysteriously retracts to its original position after a brief period of movement...

This is the ability of An and Subaru's Persona "Sisyphus," which allows them to materialize their own death experience into a "rolling stone." They then place the materialized "rolling stone" and the target on a scale. If the target cannot overcome the weight of the "rolling stone," they will be immediately reverted to all actions taken before the weighing.

Thus, "Leviathan" could neither escape, dodge, retaliate, nor resist... like a giant punching bag, being repeatedly beaten by the Mind Thieves.

In the shattered theater, poisonous blood was constantly frozen, and then became the new ground.

The severed tentacles burned with the flames of curses, the corpses of sea serpents lay scattered everywhere, and the wounded monster tried to escape countless times, but each time it "voluntarily" returned to the encirclement of the Phantom Thieves.

His roar, along with those invisible attacks, was withdrawn or deflected.

About three minutes later.

Leviathan's body shrank rapidly.

Finally, amidst the devastation, "Triangle Miku" collapsed, looking bewildered and in pain.

She looked down at Akira Kurusu with eyes full of hatred.

Akira Kurusu ignored the hatred in Misaki's eyes, simply surveying the chaotic surroundings before asking Morgana, "Are there still enemies in the final theater?"

According to the performance schedule, the last idol group to appear was "Sumimi", but Sumimi's Miku Miku had already appeared ahead of time.

Morgana shook his head. "The only way is for everyone to go in and see for themselves."

At this point, the meaning of stealth has been completely lost... No one could have imagined that the palace master, who was supposed to be rehearsing in the final theater, would make an early appearance.

"What should we do with this guy?" Toyokawa Shoko now refers to Mitsuki Mitsuki as "this guy".

Akira looked at Metis and said, "Since she has lost her ability to fight, let Metis keep her here. As long as we can defeat the enemy guarding the deepest part of the palace and take away the treasure that her twisted desires have turned into, she will repent."

Just as the Mind Thieves were beginning to plan their next move.

A pale white dove suddenly descended from the sky and hovered above the head of "Triangle Miku".

Lai Xixiao looked over suddenly and met only Bai Ge's blood-red eyes.

"We meet again, Phantom Thief."

"Judas?!" The "Arsène" behind Akira Kurusu was immediately pierced by chains burning with azure flames, and it looked as if He was about to transform into "Satan Yar".

The white dove dared not slack off at all, and simply lowered its head to peck at the eyes of "Triangle Miku". Immediately, the crisp sound of silver coins clinking could be heard, and then a bright silver light burst forth in her bloodshot pupils.

Amidst Miku's agonizing screams, the frozen poisonous blood around her suddenly burst through the ice and enveloped her body.

Then, she miraculously transformed back into "Leviathan".

Moreover, its body continued to expand at an enormous rate without stopping. Almost instantly, it crushed the ice layer, smashed into the broken ground, and continued to expand until it threatened to break through the entire theater ceiling...

“Let’s go around now,” Akira Kurusu decided immediately, no longer lingering in the theater.