She surrendered... He wasn't a resentful old foe, but rather, Sakura's benefactor.
Her lips, stained by the power of Corrosion, touched the ground. She raised a hand to her forehead as a series of images flashed through her mind, overwhelming her senses.
It wasn't just the tragedy of the Herrscher of Corruption from five hundred years ago. All of Rin's experiences in the Current Era, her encounters with Yae Sakura and Ren Amamiya—all these memories were transmitted into Sakura's mind through the power of Corrosion.
Knowing that she hadn't truly died even after becoming the Herrscher of Corruption, but had instead reawakened her human heart in the Current Era, Sakura's hostility toward Ren Amamiya completely dissolved. She could no longer bring herself to attack him.
However, Ren had still done something terrible to her comrade, Kalpas. For a moment, Sakura didn't know how to face him. She could only gaze at him with incredibly complicated eyes and declare her surrender.
"It seems your memories have finished syncing."
Although the fight was just getting interesting, now that Sakura had synchronized her memories as a Persona, Ren had no choice but to sheathe his blade and end the battle.
He had expected to have to defeat her completely and then choose to make her his power for her to recall her memories as his Persona. He hadn't anticipated that she would naturally regain the unsynced memories during their fight.
"Yes. Lord Ren, you wish to acquire my power, don't you? It would be my honor. Please, feel free to take this power of [Setsuna] for yourself."
Sakura took a slow, deep breath, temporarily pushing aside the chaotic flood of thoughts in her mind. Rather than dwelling on the conflicting memories or agonizing over how to treat Ren, she decided there were more important priorities.
A cold wind blew past, carrying the crisp scent of cherry blossoms.
Sakura's figure vanished, leaving behind only scattered cherry-pink petals dancing in the wind and a deep blue sigil floating in mid-air—a design combining a sword hilt and a cherry blossom.
Ren was all too familiar with this process. With a simple gesture, the Flame-Chaser Signet known as Setsuna flowed into his body, becoming a new cornerstone of his power.
Although his heart's Persona slots were already full with the addition of the Persona Astarte, Sakura wasn't joining as a new Persona. Instead, her power was being transferred to enhance his existing Yae Sakura Persona, so it didn't take up an extra slot.
After Sakura returned to his heart, Ren dismissed the Persona Shadow Mei. As if she couldn't wait, Jizo Mitama: Etched immediately reverted from its enhanced combat state. The consciousness of Higokumaru, which had been stored within the sword, also vanished completely.
"My Persona slots are full, and I should have enough currency for now. I'll stop exploring for today. Time to return to the Velvet Room."
With his Persona slots at maximum capacity, continuing to explore the Elysian Realm would be a waste. Ren decisively took out his phone, launched the MetaNav app, and returned to the Velvet Room.
Crimson ripples spread through space. When the distortion stabilized, Ren found himself back in the dim, silent expanse of the Velvet Room.
"Welcome back to the Velvet Room~~~ Now, let's calculate our Lord Trickster's earnings! One hundred and seventy-two Brass Gears, seven Silver Gears, and one Golden Gear!!"
The moment he returned, Vill-V's mischievous, celebratory voice echoed in his ears. She had even set off fireworks, which exploded into colorful, smiling faces against the prison's dome.
"Please choose the Personas you wish to execute. The price will vary depending on the Persona's strength, you know."
After the last firework faded, Vill-V clapped her hands crisply. A blue guillotine and an electric chair descended from the sky, landing with a thud in front of Ren.
"Norn for the electric chair. Black Frost and Seiryu for the guillotine."
Ren stated his choices to Vill-V. A large blue curtain fell from above, shrouding the struggling Personas.
A powerful current coursed through the Persona Norn, who was strapped to the electric chair. When the electricity subsided, the bulge under the curtain had vanished. When the curtain was lifted, only a golden, clock-like hand remained on the chair's surface.
Humming a nameless little tune, Vill-V let the guillotine's blade fall. The struggles of Personas Black Frost and Seiryu ceased completely. Two orbs of light spiraled around each other, giving birth to a brand-new Persona.
The newly born Persona wielded a black naginata. It had a black body, and its clothes were adorned with a star-shaped pattern of black and white horizontal stripes, like a zebra.
A dark yellow light emanated from its eyes and its opening and closing mouth.
Magatsu-Izanagi.PNG
"Is this... Magatsu-Izanagi? It's not Izanagi-no-Okami, but close enough. I guess I have an Izanagi now."
Ren instantly recognized the true identity of the Persona he had just fused: the power awakened within a certain rotten-apple-loving detective. [A reference to Tohru Adachi from Persona 4.]
Although it also had the dramatic nickname "Golden Izanagi," as a boss-level Persona, Magatsu-Izanagi was incredibly powerful.
"That will be one hundred and seventy-two Brass Gears and seven Silver Gears! Now, which Persona would you like to execute next? Or perhaps, you'd like to summon one back?"
As Vill-V announced the cost, Ren felt the weight of the gears in his pocket lighten considerably, clearly having been directly deducted by her.
"No more services for now. I need to leave the Velvet Room. I hope you'll have the SELENE adjusted for Raziel by my next visit."
Although he still had gears left over, Ren didn't plan on changing his current Persona lineup for the time being.
Waving goodbye to a disappointed-looking Vill-V, Ren chose to exit the Velvet Room, returning to Raiden Mei's bedroom in the real world.
"What a shame. I thought he'd fuse a few more times. If he's only going to do one fusion per visit, should I change the pricing standards next time?"
Watching Ren's departing figure, Vill-V rubbed her chin, lost in thought.
"Hmm, whatever. First, I need to figure out how to deal with Mobius. Elysia will probably come looking for me soon, too. How am I going to explain all this to them?"
Having finished his training for the day, Ren relaxed his body on the soft bed. He clasped his hands behind his head, using them as a pillow, and fell into a deep sleep like a carefree slacker.
---||---
The next day, a fully rested Ren Amamiya woke up. After washing up and having breakfast, he gathered with his Phantom Thieves comrades at Raiden Mei's door.
"Today's mission is to explore the Palace of a newly discovered Corroder. Everyone, get ready."
Ren took out his phone and opened the MetaNav app. Looking at the coordinates marked by Ai-chan, he briefed his partners.
Since they hadn't found any new Palaces for a while, and based on his previous conversation with Ai-chan, once he and His team collected all the Herrscher Core Treasures, he would gain a powerful skill similar to the Great Seal.
Therefore, with Ai-chan specifically marking a Herrscher's Palace, he had no reason not to investigate.
"Is it really okay to leave Rita and Fu Hua in the real world? Wouldn't it be better to keep them locked up in an impression space?"
Raiden Mei's brow furrowed slightly. She glanced back worriedly in the direction of her own apartment, feeling a little uneasy about Ren's decision to leave Rita and Fu Hua in the real world.
"Once Hare is deployed, the confinement of the Schariac Blood Sumeru field will weaken, won't it? What if Rita and Fu Hua escape, or find a chance to send a message to Schicksal?"
Thanks to Hare's explanation, Raiden Mei now understood that Hare herself was the main source of the Stigmata's power. Ren, as a Persona user who had a contract with Hare, could only summon the Persona Hare to wield the power of the Schariac Blood.
Although Ren received an enhancement from the Schariac Stigmata, the unique "stat point" allocation of a Persona user meant that the boost wasn't very significant for his already numerically stacked physical stats.
The only noticeable effect was another increase in his Honkai resistance. In fact, this weakened version of the Schariac Blood had even developed a corrosive effect against Honkai energy.
For her part, Hare was actually relieved and satisfied. She could be the one to pay the cost of using the Schariac Blood's power.
She didn't want a perfectly normal person like Ren to become a monster with a dangerous weapon like the Schariac Blood flowing through his veins.
Possessing all of Cecilia Schariac's memories, Hare knew all too well how many inconveniences came with being a human vessel for the Schariac Blood.
"You don't have to worry about that, Mei. Even when I leave the real world, the Sumeru environment won't weaken. Rita and Fu Hua still won't be able to use their powers."
"Mr. Welt is keeping an eye on them in the real world, and Mr. Siegfried has returned to Kiana's side. With those two powerful elders around, Mei, you no longer need to worry about Kiana's safety," Bronya said, seeing through to Raiden Mei's real concern and offering a solution.
Having witnessed Siegfried's full power firsthand and having learned about the use of the Herrscher of Reason's authority from Welt, Bronya sensed the unfathomable depth of the Anti-Entropy Sovereign. She had no doubt that the two closely watched Schicksal warriors would have any chance to escape, let alone abduct Kiana again.
"If you're really that worried, Mei, you could try to test if Kiana has the aptitude to be a Phantom Thief. If she awakens her Persona and joins our team, you could finally relax."
A thoughtful expression still lingered on Raiden Mei's face. Bronya pouted, glanced at Ren, the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and after confirming he showed no signs of resistance or displeasure, she proposed this final solution to Mei.
"Uh, that, well... Let's not. I don't think Kiana could handle the Phantom Thief life, and I don't think she's suited to be a Persona user..."
Hearing Bronya's suggestion and seeing that Ren didn't object, Raiden Mei's expression suddenly tensed. She forced a smile and waved her hands, shutting down the topic.
With Kiana's current state of being interested in everyone, if she were to join the Phantom Thieves, she'd probably jump right in and become a third party between her and Ren... Besides, Kiana's orientation had clearly been 'straightened out' a bit.
She now liked Ren more than she had originally liked her.
If it ever came to Kiana joining the Phantom Thieves, Raiden Mei wouldn't be able to relax at all. She'd have to completely give up hope.
With Ren's talent for juggling relationships, Mei didn't believe for a second that he could truly remain indifferent if a beautiful, vibrant girl like Kiana joined the team and started pursuing him.
Thankfully, because Mei herself was the middleman between Ren and Kiana, she hadn't yet passed on the news of Kiana's change of heart. Ren's perception of Kiana was still that of someone who saw him as a third wheel and disliked him.
"If everyone's ready, then let's get going."
Confirming that the Phantom Thief girls were prepared to depart, Ren pressed the option on the MetaNav app. Crimson ripples of space spread out, and the figures of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts vanished from the real world.
When they blinked again, they found themselves inside a cold, white base.
"According to the MetaNav app, this is the Herrscher of Wind's Palace... Hare, I'm counting on you to sense the location of the Will Seeds."