"Take her down in one go, Arsene!"
Born from the azure flames, Persona Arsene spread its massive black wings, clad in its striking red suit. Ren swung his arm, issuing a command to the Persona he had summoned.
A sharp crackling sound erupted as Arsene gathered a large sphere of golden lightning between its black claws. After a brief charge, Arsene hurled the golden lightning orb towards Yae Sakura. A brilliant pillar of golden lightning crashed down from the heavens.
The lightning descended with blinding speed, yet the phantom-like Yae Sakura moved even faster. Enveloped in a hazy crimson-black aura, Sakura pushed off forcefully from the ground, the impact creating a shockwave as she instantly and nimbly evaded Arsene's Zionga attack.
"We'll talk about the Treasure later! For now, let's team up and subdue Yae Sakura first, Phantom Thief Violet!"
Having forced Yae Sakura back from Phantom Thief Violet's position, Ren glanced towards the white-haired girl in the distance, who was looking at Sakura with worry. He extended an invitation for a temporary alliance.
"...Ah! Understood! You're right, we absolutely must calm Sakura down first!"
Kallen turned towards Ren at his voice.
Seeing his unmasked face, she paused for a fraction of a second before her gaze hardened with determination as she looked towards Yae Sakura standing in the distance.
Accepting Ren's team-up offer, Kallen cautiously and slowly adjusted her position. She, along with Ren and Hare on the opposite side of the battlefield, formed a triangular formation, trapping the corrupted Yae Sakura within the space between them.
"A mere nameless little phantom thief dares to interfere between Kallen and me? There's no place for you here anymore!!"
Yae Sakura reacted with intense irritation to Ren's sudden Zionga bombardment.
A sadistically exaggerated expression twisted her pretty face, her voice sounding like two people speaking overlappingly – frenzied and violent. Behind her, the massive, ferocious fox face flickered in and out of existence in the void.
With a flash of scarlet light, Yae Sakura, who had been some distance away, suddenly appeared right in front of Ren. Her voice, thick with malice, sounded right beside his ear. The blood-colored demon blade, Akasome Sakura, slashed towards him from an impossible angle, the cold, deadly edge aimed precisely at Ren's vulnerable neck.
Even under the control of the Herrscher of Corruption, Yae Sakura's mastery of swordsmanship hadn't dulled in the slightest. In fact, boosted by the corrosive power forcibly extracting her body's potential regardless of the strain, she could exert even greater strength than before.
Ren reacted sharply, bringing up Raikiri horizontally to block, simultaneously retreating as fast as possible. However, due to Sakura's incredible speed, even though Ren defended instantly, he only managed to barely parry Akasome Sakura's blade with Raikiri. The blood-red sword tip continued its deadly trajectory towards Ren's neck.
CRACKLE—!!!
Just as Akasome Sakura's tip was about to pierce Ren's throat, a sharp crackling sound, like the cry of a thousand birds [Chidori reference], erupted.
A powerful electromagnetic shield flickered into existence around Ren. Six deep blue lightning swords shaped like birds materialized, circling him at high speed before instantly shooting towards Yae Sakura.
The strong electromagnetic shield only held back Sakura for a split second before being pierced by Akasome Sakura. However, that brief moment bought Ren enough time to retreat to a safe distance, completely dodging her surprise attack.
Furthermore, gripping Raikiri tightly, Ren didn't just retreat. He took a step forward, bringing the mechanical katana, crackling with fine lightning, down towards Yae Sakura's body.
The unexpected appearance of the six bird-shaped lightning swords inflicted minor wounds on Sakura's body. The lightning invaded her system, causing her usually nimble movements to become slightly sluggish and numb. Hot on the heels of the lightning birds came Ren's own strike with Raikiri.
This forced Yae Sakura to raise Akasome Sakura to parry. The deep purple and crimson blades clashed violently, ringing with the clear clang of metal striking metal.
"Nameless little phantom thief? Maybe for now, that's true. But I aim to be a world-renowned phantom thief! Yae Sakura, you'll just be a stepping stone on my path!"
Recalling the swordsmanship techniques Mei had taught him yesterday, Ren poured all his strength into Raikiri, forcefully pressing against Yae Sakura's Akasome Sakura while retorting with bravado.
Ren was still in the early stages of his development; he couldn't make too much noise just yet. But to successfully create the invincible Satanael in the future and blow the evil god's head off with a single Sinful Shell, Ren knew he would eventually need to build his reputation among the masses, gaining the power of their wishes during the battle for salvation.
At the same time, exploring Palaces and collecting the Will Seeds symbolizing the rulers' sins couldn't stop either.
"I don't know what your relationship with Violet is, or what complicated issues you have."
"But one thing I do know—today, here, right now! Your business with Violet... no, your business with Kallen, I, Phantom Thief Joker, am definitely sticking my nose into it!!"
While continuously applying pressure through his katana, Ren didn't forget to launch a psychological attack on Yae Sakura. The provocation was remarkably effective.
Yae Sakura visibly grew angrier, the little rationality she had left being further consumed by fury.
"In that case, just die!!"
Yae Sakura's face twisted into a crazed, lopsided grin – a smile no human could make, chillingly reminiscent of a sneering fox spirit. The demon blade Akasome Sakura in her hand moved faster and faster, crimson streaks flashing rapidly through the air.
However, as Sakura's swordplay accelerated, Ren, who had initially struggled to keep up, gradually found his rhythm. Although still at a disadvantage in the sword duel, accumulating several new cuts, he could now hold the line against defeat.
His composure returned, calm and steady. No matter how frantically Sakura swung her blade, she couldn't push Ren back into the perilous state he'd been in at the start of her assault.
As time wore on, Yae Sakura couldn't even land a single shallow cut on Ren with Akasome Sakura, unlike just seconds before!!
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Joker! Leave the rest to me—I'm counting on you, Judah!!"