Tokyo Psychic

What kind of abilities could the opponent possess?

What is its specific appearance?

Since it is the object of folk ghost stories, there must be a corresponding existence in the Impression Space, right?

So... now that it's a ghost, can it regain the power of Persona?

Akira Kurusu gripped the Persona Summoner tightly, then turned off her phone screen.

In the misty, drizzling night, the phantom thief cautiously continued his advance into the ruins.

Come forth, "Demon Blade" Cong Yu!

No matter how terrifying your shikigami or Edo-era demon are, you cannot defeat my [Supreme Demon Bullet]!

My "Arsène Lupin"...

No, now that we've chosen the [Supreme Magic Bullet], it's time to let the newly synthesized "Lord Moro," with its enhanced firearm power at the highest level, see the light of day again...

Akira Kurishi took a deep breath and looked down at the threshold of the decaying main hall.

Once you cross this "gate," you'll reach the place where the statues of gods are worshipped.

There are no statues of deities at Suiori Shrine, which means that the "demon sword" is inside!

With a death-defying courage, the phantom thief suddenly took a step and stepped into it.

Witness the extraordinary courage of the Phantom Thief of the Mind!

Let me see just how you, this fiend, bewitch and monstrous creature, truly are!

The velvet room, the Fool's Eye, open it for me!!!

The moment the Fool's Eye was opened, Akira Kurusu clearly saw the divine sword, which was wrapped with countless powers of faith, in the gaps between the broken bricks and tiles.

And then upwards along the blade.

A broken wall.

A girl wearing a very revealing kimono sits on the edge of the wall.

She has snow-white skin, with a translucent, almost flawless texture like glass.

Her slender legs were encased in high-top sandals that covered her calves, revealing her small, adorable toes that looked like pearls, and her nails that shimmered with a soft, enamel-like color, like the glaze of seashells.

A head of emerald green hair cascaded down her smooth, narrow shoulders.

They noticed the guests' arrival.

She tilted her head and looked at Akira Kurusu by the door with an expectant, hopeful, pleading, pitiful, and almost animalistic gaze.

That exquisitely beautiful yet youthful face was completely stealing Akira's attention with its "inhuman" power.

A sultry night breeze seemed to blow by.

The red ribbon in the girl's hair swayed like the petals of a spider lily, slender, poignant, and fragrant.

What kind of aura was that?

It seems she is enticing passersby to blindly follow her toward the Bridge of Helplessness, the final destination.

Of course, none of the above are the main points.

The key point is...

Miss "Ghost" sat on the wall, her ridiculously revealing kimono almost completely exposing her thighs to Akira Kurusu.

......

Let's go back to this moment.

I met a friend who had been with me for a semester.

Akira Kurusu smiled nostalgically.

Then......

Under Cong Yu's shocked, puzzled, and confused gaze, he forced himself to look away from the bottom of her kimono, and then reached out and grasped the divine sword stuck in the stone.

253. The Demon Blade "Murayu"? ​​The File "Murayu"! (Two-in-One)

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the dense foliage, illuminating Cong Yu. It seemed she had spent a long time in this moonlight.

The beautiful, almost bewitching girl stared in disbelief as Akira Kurusu so easily grasped Murasame.

Immediately afterwards, Murasame, whose blade was embedded in the stone by a third, shook violently.

Then, unsurprisingly, it was pulled out by Akira Kurusu.

After showing expressions of confusion, shock, disbelief, and fright, Cong Yu, who was originally sitting on the broken wall, finally realized that she should adjust her posture.

"Who...who are you?!"

Miss Ghost suddenly floated to Qi Xiao's side and asked him nervously.

Cong Yu was certain that Lai Qixiao would see her.

She became even more certain that Akira Kurusu was now able to communicate with her.

This was common knowledge many years ago. Humans with the ability to see spirits can see Murasame residing in a divine sword, but most of them cannot communicate with Murasame unless they draw Murasame and become its recognized master.

Cong Yu knew that this boy named "Amamiya Ren" had a little bit of the ability to see ghosts and could vaguely discern things like "a ghost circling around a knife every day".

But if he was truly chosen by Cong Yu, then he should have successfully drawn the knife two years ago.

Kurosaki Akira roughly guessed what Cong Yu was thinking. "It's actually quite easy to understand. It's just that at the time, he didn't have the courage or knowledge to draw his sword."

"...?"

Facing Congyu's incomprehensible gaze, Akira Kurusu realized that the other's way of thinking was outdated, at least five hundred years old, so he had to change his explanation, "People always grow. Perhaps it is true that I couldn't draw Congyu Maru back then. But with experience and understanding, I now have the qualifications that Congyu Maru can recognize."

Perhaps because she was too surprised and frightened, Cong Yu didn't even dwell on the fact that she had just been seen naked. She just leaned closer as if she wanted to stare Lai Qixiao through with her eyes, feeling depressed.

She couldn't quite understand how she was feeling either.

Having been lonely for many years, I finally met someone I could see and communicate with, but instead I felt a faint sense of distance and fear.

Soon, Cong Yu figured out her own thoughts.

She was indeed afraid.

I'm afraid that after a while, Akira Kuriki will also grow old, and then I will fall into loneliness once again.

However, he had already drawn his sword, and no matter how much Murasame thought about it, he could not change the fact that the other party had become the new swordsman of Murasame.

Until the next moment...

Without saying a word, Lai Xixiao grasped Cong Yu's hand.

Hold on...? Cong Yu's eyes widened.

Why can humans touch me?!

She almost screamed.

For a moment, it was impossible to tell which ghost was in the ruins of the main hall.

"In fact, I am now considered a superhuman."

The phantom thief's words left Cong Yu feeling confused.

"Superpowered person?" That's such an unfamiliar term.

Such modern vocabulary is still too difficult for a soul that has been sealed in a knife for hundreds of years to understand.

"You can think of me as someone with a profession similar to an Onmyoji."

Lai Qixiao patiently and skillfully guided him.

To be fair, Persona and Onmyoji do have some similarities.

In mythology, Onmyoji always fight against the ghosts and monsters that are the manifestations of negative human emotions. The power they rely on comes from the local gods they believe in and their own state of mind after years of self-cultivation.

Personas are always a reflection of the human subconscious being eroded by desires in the space of impressions, and they rely on the power derived from Ferremon in the sea of ​​the heart and their own trained mental strength.

Cong Yu was indeed frightened.

Although she has existed for hundreds of years, having lost her mission, she spends most of her time sleeping in the Murasameru. When she occasionally wakes up, she amuses herself by facing the monotonous scene of the shrine.

Having spent time together in the previous timeline, Akira Kurusu knew that the other person's mental age wasn't much more mature than her outward appearance...

They are even easier to fool than the average junior high school student.

Of course, this gullibility is based on the premise that someone can physically touch her.

Because this was indeed Cong Yu's first encounter with a Persona user.

This development, which was beyond her comprehension, completely disrupted her thinking.

It will make her think, "This guy is the most special," and then she will start to lower her stance and communicate with him.

It's worth noting that in the past, when the Hoori Shrine was at its most popular, Murami was worshipped as a god.

Throughout history, those who wielded the sword have revered her as a deity.

Cong Yu looked at Lai Xixiao nervously, "I don't want to become a Buddha."

"Becoming a Buddha" is actually a phrase used by Onmyoji (Yin-Yang Masters) when performing rituals to deliver ghosts and spirits from the dead.

Akira Kurusu, carrying a sword in her left hand and holding Murasame's hand with her right, walked out of the shrine. "Don't worry, you'll be my best partner from now on. I'll never let you disappear."

Cong Yu looked down at her hand being held... The warmth, which even she, as a spirit, could feel, was so wondrous, so special...

If it's this guy... perhaps he could become the true master of Murasame.

Her eyes were lowered, and her light green hair was blown about by the night breeze, along with the ribbons that resembled spider lilies, which danced gracefully.

It wasn't until Akira Kurusu led her into a side hall and she felt the warm lights around her that Cong Yu finally woke up from her dream.

She looked at Akira Kurishi with almost horrified eyes.

She had heard before that some Onmyoji liked to do things related to "the Way of Yin and Yang" with particularly beautiful yokai or shikigami.

Cong Yu has a very clear understanding of her own beauty...

"no!"

Miss Ghost suddenly stopped and looked at Akira Kurusu with unease.

"Even if you gain Murasame's approval, even... even so, I still cannot serve you!" This was the longest sentence Murasame ever uttered to Akira Kurusu.

As she said this, Cong Yu's face turned bright red, and she turned around to run away.

But her hand was firmly held by Akira Kurusu—

Cong Yu then realized that, setting aside the fact that she couldn't escape it...

Even if Akira Kurusu really lets her go, as long as Murasame is still in his hands, she will not be able to leave his side.

It's a real pity. If Akira had come a century earlier, or even less than a century earlier, even fifty years earlier, Congyu, who hadn't fully gotten used to "losing her divine office," would have enthusiastically called him "Master" and then, with the utmost affection, quickly surrendered all her purity and love to him in their lives.

But now...

Perhaps it was the resentment accumulated from being lonely for too long, or perhaps it was the tension and unease caused by Akira Kurusu's unusual behavior.

Even knowing that Akira Kurusu was the most qualified person to become the "master" of Murasame rather than the "wielder" of the sword, Murasame's first choice was to run away.

After all... even if they truly acknowledge him as their master.

Where can Congyu Maru be used?

The shrine and Muramasa no longer need people...

"Cong Yu, let's have a casual chat."

Akira Kurusu addressed the girl beside him directly.

He seemed to know everything about Cong Yu's thoughts.

"Because I really need, and I absolutely must get your help."

Cong Yu's struggles gradually weakened. She pursed her thin lips and followed closely beside Lai Qixiao.

Unlike the main hall, which was in ruins.

The side hall has undergone a major renovation, almost a complete reconstruction, and now has a rather cozy atmosphere.