Just as Ren was getting increasingly proficient with basic swordsmanship through practical combat, gaining his own nascent understanding of the way of the sword, Kallen had already summoned the Divine Key she possessed – the Oath of Judah – during the time Ren kept Yae Sakura occupied.
Although it wasn't the actual Key of Binding from the real world, the Oath of Judah Kallen summoned still retained some of its original power – more than enough to deal with a weakened Herrscher who had been sealed for 50,000+ years.
While shouting a warning to Ren, Kallen slammed the massive, ornate golden cross she held onto the ground before her. The sheer weight of Judah, combined with the characteristic Kaslana superhuman strength, seemed to make the entire ground tremble violently.
Under Kallen's control, the inner layers of the golden cross-shaped Judah opened up.
Eight gleaming golden Soulium chains shot out like nimble serpents, binding Yae Sakura's slender arms and fair ankles from various angles, halting her next attack against Ren. Four golden chains bound Sakura's limbs, while the remaining four wrapped around her delicate neck and slender waist.
Completely immobilized by the golden Soulium chains, suspended in a strange posture mid-air before Ren, Yae Sakura struggled frantically. But under Kallen's extremely practiced binding technique, Sakura couldn't even swing Akasome Sakura to cut the chains, let alone throw the demon blade.
"A tool-type Persona? That's pretty rare."
Snapping out of the exhilarating rush of the sword fight with Yae Sakura, Ren swung Raikiri through the air somewhat unsatisfactorily, flicking the residual deep purple lightning off the mechanical katana.
Following the golden chains binding Sakura back to their source, Ren saw Kallen standing ready, and before her, the ornate golden cross, opened up, releasing its chains.
It might be a bit rude, but combined with the hollow structure of the golden cross, Ren couldn't help but feel Kallen's Persona looked like a golden, cross-shaped coffin. Makoto Niijima's Persona, named after the medieval Pope Joan, was at least a motorcycle.
Kallen's Persona, Judah, was straight-up a coffin-like golden cross. Putting aside the design choice, it was hard to imagine an inanimate object like a cross moving quickly. Could a delicate young lady like Kallen actually hoist the clearly heavy Judah cross herself and charge into battle against Shadows?
Just as Ren's brow twitched at the peculiar shape of Kallen's Persona, Judah, support from Hare arrived promptly. From the slender hands of Hare, clad in her violet-white full-body battlesuit, a ball of white light brimming with vibrant life energy gently floated into Ren's body.
The unique creation energy of the Schariac's Stigmata instantly healed all the wounds Ren sustained while clashing swords with Yae Sakura moments ago, leaving not even the slightest scar. Still high on adrenaline from the fight, Ren hadn't even felt the pain of his injuries before Hare efficiently healed them.
"Thanks, Hare... Huh? Is this the start of the boss's second phase?"
Ren tilted his head slightly, nodding his thanks towards the armored Hare on the other side.
A furious and malevolent hurricane suddenly erupted from the body of Yae Sakura, suspended by the golden chains before Ren.
Just as Ren summoned Arsene before him, holding Raikiri at the ready, preparing for Sakura's counterattack, he noticed something else. The terrifying, ferocious fox spirit phantom he'd seen earlier was being forcibly pulled out from Yae Sakura's body by the golden chains extending from the Judah cross, like pulling a giant carrot—or rather, a fox-carrot—from the ground.
More than half of the crimson-black fox spirit's phantom form had already been dragged out of Sakura's body by the golden chains, with only its lower half stubbornly clinging inside, refusing to leave.
"Five hundred years ago, I was helpless against you, forced to seal you away along with Sakura! But here, now, I can finally remedy the regrets of five hundred years ago and accomplish what I couldn't back then!!"
Beads of sweat appeared on Kallen's forehead. She exerted all her strength, manipulating the Oath of Judah to forcibly drag the constantly roaring and struggling Herrscher of Corruption out of Yae Sakura's body. The power of the Oath of Judah, the Key of Binding, suppressed the Herrscher's struggles, but even so, Kallen found it incredibly taxing to expel the Herrscher from Sakura's body.
"In that case, let us help too!!"
Noticing Kallen's struggle, Ren re-sheathed Raikiri at his waist.
Reaching out with both red-gloved hands, he wrapped them around Yae Sakura's soft, boneless, slender waist. After being bound by the golden chains from Judah, Sakura had completely lost her ability to resist.
And once half of the crimson-black fox spirit was extracted, she became like an empty vessel, her eyes vacant and motionless, posing no further threat. That's why Ren dared to directly grab hold of her.
Ren embraced Yae Sakura's slender, light body, pulling the sakura-haired miko towards him like in a tug-of-war. Meanwhile, his Persona Arsene and the armored Hare flew into the airspace around the giant evil fox.
Each grabbed two thick golden Soulium chains, pulling with all their might, dragging the giant fox spirit towards Kallen.
With Ren, Arsene, and Hare joining the tug-of-war, the speed at which the giant fox spirit was being forcibly dragged out of Yae Sakura's body visibly increased. In just a short while, under Kallen's joyous gaze, the Herrscher of Corruption was finally, completely extracted from Yae Sakura's body into the outside world.
The Judah Soulium chains that had been binding Sakura's limbs, waist, and neck now completely sealed the massive body of the giant fox spirit. Freed from the golden chains, Yae Sakura's soft body slumped forward limply, her small, light frame resting entirely against Ren's broad chest.
"This means Yae Sakura should be back to normal, right?"
Ren held Yae Sakura in his arms. Her eyes were closed, and she lay motionless like she had fainted.
He glanced at the soft, sakura-pink fox ears drooping against his cheek due to her position. Curiosity finally getting the better of him, Ren couldn't resist reaching out towards the fox ears on Sakura's head. Pinching the slender, sakura-colored ears like he was grabbing a rabbit, he gave them a gentle tug upwards.
"Feels pretty nice... But that fox thing has already been kicked out of her body, so why does Yae Sakura still have these fox ears?"