Tokyo Psychic

That thick red quickly stained the city's streets and alleys, and busy crowds struggled to move during the evening rush hour. The school bell rang in the air above the campus. With summer vacation approaching, it was probably the time when love letters and confessions were most eagerly rejected. Too many young men and women wanted to take the opportunity to establish a relationship with the person they liked and then spend the long summer vacation together.

Jing Qinrencai walked out of the school gate happily, holding her mobile phone.

Not only because there was no homework today, but more importantly, she has successfully reconciled with Qi Xiao.

I felt my steps become lighter, and I ran into the girls who had just finished their band performance. I greeted them with a smile.

“Nina seems very happy.” Ijichi Nikka asked Yamada Ryo with some curiosity.

“Even if you look at me like this, you still can’t give me an answer,” Yamada Ryo said, stretching and looking very tired.

Ryo Yamada hasn't been in a good mood lately. She's been careless with her homework, her grades are terrible, and she often daydreams or sleeps in class, which has led to her teachers frequently reporting her to her family. It was under these circumstances that she announced her return to a professional band—and unsurprisingly, she received a lecture from her parents, who are doctors.

It's probably almost time for them to be kicked out of their home.

Judging from the old man's expression, he seemed to genuinely intend to abandon his biological daughter and Beth outside to wander for a while.

Yamada Ryo felt somewhat helpless.

Although I like to pursue individuality, I still have the most basic needs of food, clothing, shelter and transportation.

After all, she really didn't have enough money to support herself.

Are we going to stay at Hongxia's house?

She lives with her sister now, which must be quite crowded, right?

Lost in thought, Yamada Ryo suddenly remembered that she seemed to have a boyfriend.

Ah, why don't I just run away from home and move in with the leader of the Mind Thieves before my dad kicks me out?

Yamada Ryo simply opened Kurusu Akira's Line.

[Please give me money (Yamada Ryo): Ren, are you free? I need to talk to you about something.]

I waited for two minutes without receiving a reply; it seems they are busy.

She turned off her phone screen and looked up at the sky, somewhat bored.

Running away from home to live with a guy sounds really cool... Of course, that is, provided that Akira is willing to support her.

Before establishing a relationship, Yamada Ryo would never have made such a request. Although she has virtually no morals, she is at least somewhat self-aware and wouldn't actively dwell on a question that is bound to be rejected.

However, on the other hand, when living under someone else's roof, you always have to give something in return. This could be helping with housework, your parents doing you a favor, or sharing the rent or utility bills...

Yamada Ryo realized that he would no longer receive any pocket money, and it seemed that he could only repay his debt by offering himself to the authorities.

But a girl's first time must be very important, right? Boys all care about it.

Yamada Ryo stroked his chin, deep in thought. He figured he probably wouldn't find another person his age more special than Kurusu Akira, especially since they were bandmates... If nothing unexpected happened, he'd probably be spending his life with him like this?

After that, I'll definitely be doing a lot of things between men and women. I remember in physiology class they said that the first time will be very painful, but it will gradually become more comfortable later.

She couldn't help but recall the embarrassing sounds she'd overheard in the hot spring hotel and the presidential suite...

"Ryo, your ears suddenly turned so red." Ijichi Nijika looked at Yamada Ryo's earlobes with some curiosity.

"Lighting issue."

"Is it heatstroke?"

"I already said it's a problem with the lighting and angle."

"..."

at the same time.

The stairwell of the teaching building.

Akira Kurusu and Kotone Shiomi are walking towards the rooftop.

"Your phone is ringing, aren't you going to check the message?" Shioko Kotone poked Lai Xixiao's arm with her index finger.

"It's not too late to watch it later."

The phantom thief continued up the stairs.

A tall, slender man stood there, slowly sipping a can of Dr. Pepper.

"Good afternoon, Narukami-senpai."

After thinking for a moment, Shiomi Kotone also followed Kurusu Akira's example and called out "Naraka-senpai".

Narukami Yu almost sprayed the soda he was drinking onto the wall.

Through Akira Kurusu's introduction on Line, this fourth-generation Velvet Room Contractor already knows the identity of Kotone Shiomi—"a third-generation Contractor from another world, who also possesses the power of the [Universe]."

Narukami Yu looked at Shiomi Kotone somewhat awkwardly, "Shiomi-senpai, please don't joke around. I've received a lot of care from the Shadow Patrolmen in the past."

Then he took a deep breath. "Let's all go up to the rooftop. There are some things we can't let anyone overhear."

As he spoke, Narukami Yu actually tore open the iron lock on the fire door handle with his bare hands.

Akira Kurusu and Kotone Shiomi followed him into the rooftop bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

This Persona, who has been active in Tokyo for a long time, stood on the protective barbed wire fence and looked out over the narrow path in front of Shujin School.

He suddenly turned to look at Akira Kurusu, "Amamiya-kun, you must have already seen and defeated those evil gods that exist deep within your understanding, right?"

“There are already two.” Akira Kurusu thought of the Aldabit he had instantly killed in the Velvet Room ruins, then corrected, “...There should be three.”

Narukami Yu turned around, his tone serious, "Then, you must already know about the existence of that embodiment of regret in the collective unconscious, right?"

"Senior Narukami has already fought against Him?"

“Yes, the opponent’s current abilities include time reversal and ‘resetting the situation’. Although we don’t know if it has more incredible abilities, it is undoubtedly an extremely troublesome enemy.” Narukami Yu looked at Shiomi Kotone gratefully. “If Shiomi-senpai hadn’t arrived in time that day, I might not have been able to safely cover Maruki-san’s evacuation.”

"You know Maruki-sensei too, senior?"

"He is a very accomplished researcher in the field of cognitive science in Tokyo. When I was taking related courses at university, I emailed him to ask him some questions. After a few exchanges and learning sessions, we became acquainted."

Yu Narukami continued, "The reason I specifically mentioned this is because I'm worried that there's an even more powerful mastermind behind Judas."

"Is it because His name comes from one of Jesus' disciples?"

“Yes.” Narukami Yu nodded, his entire face bathed in the crimson afterglow. “Amamiya should have read 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure,' right?”

"I've already read the whole series."

"Senpai Shiomi should know about this as well, right?"

"I've only seen the third part."

“That’s perfect, you should all be familiar with the phrase ‘savior of evil men’.”

The three Personas looked at each other, and then fell silent without prior agreement.

Finally, Akira Kurusu broke the ice, saying, "Regardless of whether there is a 'savior of evil men,' we should first find a way to defeat Judas."

“First of all, we can confirm that the Great Seal is effective,” Shiomi Kotone coughed lightly, “but all other omnipotent attacks can be evaded by Judah with his power of ‘situation reset’.”

"So we must find a way to prevent Him from activating His powers?" Narukami asked.

“Yes,” Kotone Shiomi nodded, “Time-related abilities are most likely ineffective against Him, so we can’t expect instantaneous techniques like ‘time stop’ to work. Therefore, we need to find another power.”

After thinking for a long time, Akira Kurusu finally shared his thoughts: "Since the effect of activating this power is to 'revert the process of an event to a state before it happened,' if a personality mask has the ability to overwrite reality, and directly overwrites the fact that 'no power was activated' along with the person's own existence when they activate the power, wouldn't that allow us to skip the activation of this power?"

Narukami Yu paused for a moment, "Where are we supposed to find a Persona that can modify and overwrite reality? Or rather, such a Persona doesn't even exist in theory, right? After all, a Persona is a reflection of psychic power; it would require an incredibly grand and selfless desire and ideal, and a strong will to achieve it by directly changing the world..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the rooftop, which had been closed, opened.

The psychologist in the white coat swaggered over and said, "Regarding this persona you're discussing, I actually know where to get one."

"Mr. Maruki?"

Maruki Takuto, holding a cup of instant coffee, kicked the door behind him with his ankle. "Although it's only in the semi-finished stage right now, it's okay to show it to you guys..."

He gave a calm smile, then said softly, "Persona."

A blurry human figure appeared behind him.

Then everything on the rooftop began to distort and change.

The barbed wire disappeared, the setting sun melted away, and even the floor beneath our feet began to crumble.

Birds that couldn't escape in time fell to the ground in the setting sun, their pale shadows dragged by the light and wind before everyone's eyes.

They stood there, then slowly broke apart, becoming tables and chairs made of ivory.

The instant coffee in Maruki Takuto's hand also disappeared, replaced by a piece of chalk.

Behind him, a classroom blackboard scrolled slowly.

The smile on the face of this brilliant scholar in the field of cognitive science disappeared. He solemnly said, "I apologize for eavesdropping on your conversation outside, but since we have this rare opportunity, I should tell you about the true nature of the enemy."

"what?"

Maruki Takuto turned around and began to draw on the blackboard.

Soon, the figure of "Judas" appeared vividly on the blackboard.

He reached out and pushed the blackboard, and the statue of "Judas" stood still.

Then, under the watchful eyes of all the contractors in the Velvet Room, Maruki Takuto walked around behind "Judas" and slowly and carefully pulled down His hood.

The thick fog that always concealed the true face suddenly dissipated, revealing a delicate and pretty face with a youthful innocence.

Akira Kurusu was stunned.

But the "Izuru Rina" opposite him seemed to have suddenly come to life, staring at the boy he regarded as the pillar of his life with dark golden eyes.

Maruki Takuto's solemn expression instantly turned to astonishment, and that astonishment turned into coldness in the next instant.

"You're really impatient, aren't you... a monster ruled by time?"

"It seems you really don't want to call me 'Iishi-kun' anymore." Judas turned around and casually grabbed Maruki Takuto by the throat.

Despite her petite and slender figure, there was an unimaginable strength in her wrists.

“I’ve said it before, I don’t have a student like you.” Maruki Takuto struggled to break free.

At that moment, the three Personas representing the ultimate—"Satan Yar," "Izanagi," and "Messiah"—were all released simultaneously.

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218. Wakaba Mutsumi is very cute (two-part series)

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It turns out.

Even with mastery of time reversal, "resetting the situation," and even the Curse of Vengeance and other omnipotent techniques, and having obtained most of the battle information about Akira Kurusu, Yu Narukami, and Kotone Shiomi through countless attempts at time reversal, and having gained power far beyond human comprehension through collective unconscious regret...

Even if a sneak attack is launched based on the above conditions...

Judah was almost beaten so badly by these three contractors that he couldn't even activate his powers.

Can anyone understand the despair of being forced to "reset to zero" by the triple massive all-purpose damage of [Tens of Thousands of Proverbs], and then immediately being crushed to the ground by [Hamigidoton], only to be hit by another [Great Sin Armor-Piercing Bullet] before even getting up?

If these skills didn't have a long wind-up animation or an extremely high cost, Judah would probably have died here.

This kind of post-mortem analysis proves that Judas did indeed find a fleeting opportunity to escape successfully.

He will never come back. The combined attack of the three contractors was simply too overwhelming.

I initially thought that trying it once wouldn't cause any problems...

It's so good that I survived.

In the deepest, most secluded part of the Impression Space, Judas sat on a steel tube chair in the waiting room, lost in thought.

It was a real shame they showed up in that situation; they could have waited until they were fighting separately before appearing and taking them down one by one...

I am feeling so regretful.

His form appeared illusory, the mist that concealed his true form could no longer dissipate, and his pale cloak was tattered, revealing the woven silver coins and straw inside.

The tram, adorned with deep red, vein-like patterns, burst forth from the tunnel ahead, its headlights instantly filling the dimly lit waiting hall—

The car stopped.

A boy with silver hair, wearing a school uniform, and appearing to be about seventeen years old stepped out of the open car door. His dark golden eyes burned with an endless rage, and the sword and spear on his back were stained with a black aura, as if they had just cleared away a great deal of shadow.

"Good evening," Judas said listlessly to his few remaining "colleagues."

Originally, this place was quite lively, with a pretentious man wearing earrings, a melancholic bluesy man who could lie in a chair and sleep all day, the tyrant in front of Judas who would kill them for no reason, and the Holy Grail who spouted empty rhetoric and conspiracies.