With that radiant, dazzling shot from Rinto—
Not only was the twisted demonic form of Kamoshida pierced, but even the dark, oppressive sky above the entire Palace was torn open, revealing a pristine blue seldom seen even in reality.
Morgana stood dumbfounded at Rinto's side.
Staring at the shimmering motes of purest light, his jaw dropped in awe:
"So this… is true, pure desire… It's so beautiful—so powerful it sweeps away the accumulated filth within the collective human subconscious..."
"Rinto… No, Fool… you truly are special—the one who was chosen! Your power can erase others' twisted desires! It's nothing short of a miracle! You really are the Holy Child of Miracles, nya!"
"That's a bit exaggerated." Rinto firmly shook his head.
He refused to acknowledge himself as some sort of messiah; he was content enough with the present:
"I'm just a Phantom Thief who awakened a Persona by chance, just like Ann and the others."
"We'll simply do what we feel we should—correcting those distorted villains. Nothing more, nothing less. That's enough for me."
Morgana watched Rinto's gentle smile, nodding along with him in agreement.
But deep down, Morgana knew the truth.
And Rinto probably did too.
He was different from Ann, Ryuji, and the Yoshizawa twins.
He wasn't merely another Persona user—at the very least, he was more than just that.
Morgana even suspected that everyone else in the Phantom Thieves might have awakened their Personas precisely because of Rinto's influence.
It was his Persona, [Eros]—the embodiment of primal desire—that had ignited their potential, giving birth to the miracle known as a Persona.
"...I knew my instincts weren't wrong~!"
Morgana hopped happily after Rinto.
Ahead, in front of the other Phantom Thieves, Kamoshida's twisted desires had entirely dissipated.
His Shadow lay prostrate at their feet, barely holding on.
The Treasure had rolled to Ann's feet, and she picked it up.
The extravagant crown reverted to its original form—an Olympic gold medal.
"...Please... Give it back..."
Kamoshida's Shadow whimpered weakly, a far cry from his previous arrogance.
Most of his distorted desire had been wiped away by Rinto's shot, returning him close to his original state.
But even with the tiny remnants left, the Shadow still struggled pathetically, desperately craving the treasure:
"It's all I have... Without it, I'll be nothing but a nobody from the countryside again... No one will look at me—they'll all despise me… I don't want to go back to that! I can't!"
"...That's just your own pathetic delusion, scumbag."
Ann deftly avoided his grasping hand, gracefully stepping back to Rinto's side.
Yet there was a trace of pity in her eyes, a sorrowful disdain for Kamoshida's fixation on status and identity:
"You're an Olympic athlete—already far stronger than most people. But instead of taking pride in that, you keep insisting you're nothing... You owe an apology to every real athlete in this world."
Ryuji added calmly, "And honestly… As much as I still kinda wanna kill ya, I admit starting that fight back then was my own fault."
Surprisingly calm after the fierce battle, Ryuji felt no urge to take out his anger violently upon Kamoshida's defeated Shadow.
He just looked down at this miserable figure beneath him, sighing deeply:
"Using violence was wrong from the start, and it totally backfired on me anyway. Before meeting a scumbag like you, I was convinced I could succeed at track just by pushing myself, and that no one could stand against me."
"Maybe back then I was getting arrogant too—on the verge of becoming trash like you. But I was completely helpless against you. The fight I recklessly started ended with my leg broken… I let my emotions rule me, and in the end, I hurt myself. There were other ways to resist a rotten teacher like you, but I picked the dumbest method possible. That's the lesson I learned from dealing with you."
Rinto placed a reassuring hand on Ryuji's shoulder, receiving an embarrassed but grateful grin in return.
Then Rinto turned back, coldly gazing down at the defeated Shadow:
"Now go accept responsibility for what you've done. Come to school tomorrow and confess all of your crimes."
"The investigation will likely go on for a while. Remember to reveal every organization and person involved—every accomplice. It's your duty. Don't tarnish this medal's honor any further."
"…I understand. I'll do it… I'm sorry… I'm truly so sorry…"
With a final sob, the Shadow fully dispersed, returning to its owner's subconscious.
Shadows cannot lie.
Kamoshida's suppressed guilt had finally surfaced, causing him to genuinely repent for everything he'd done over the years.
This was surely the right outcome.
The Phantom Thieves exchanged relieved smiles, savoring the satisfaction of a job well done.
Rumble rumble rumble…!
As the entire Palace suddenly started to crumble, realization belatedly dawned on Rinto:
"Oh, the Palace is collapsing. We should hurry—if we get trapped in a Palace losing its core, who knows what might happen?"
Ann panicked instantly: "There's a mechanic like that?! Why didn't you say anything earlier?! (｡>﹏<｡)~"
Everyone screamed dramatically as they began running, triggering their victory dash!
A moment later, the group arrived breathlessly back in reality.
In truth, Rinto could've easily returned anytime with his mental-suicide method, even bringing everyone else back instantly.
But since this was their first official heist, he'd quietly kept that fact to himself, running alongside his teammates until they returned via the Navigation App.
They found themselves back in the narrow alley near Shujin Academy where they'd first entered the Palace.
Everyone was still shaken, leaning against the wall to catch their breath:
"Geez, that was terrifying… Do we have to do that Temple Run-style escape every single time we clear a Palace? My heart can't handle this—eh?"
Ann suddenly froze mid-fanning her face, noticing what she was holding.
After verifying it was a gold medal clearly engraved with Olympic symbols and the year, she jumped up in shock:
"Wait—what is this?! An Olympic gold medal? A real one?! When we said we were stealing the Palace's Treasure, I thought it was symbolic! We actually stole a real physical medal?!"
"Oh no, what should we do?! If someone finds out, we'll actually be criminals, won't we?! Especially for something unique like this—!"
"Calm down, Ann," Rinto quickly reassured her, waving his hand gently in front of her like calming a small animal.
"It's not the real thing. It's just a cognitive copy created from Kamoshida's heart."