Kurusu Akira followed Shinba Takakiyo through the unlit teaching building; all the classrooms and offices they passed seemed to be unused.
It was so quiet that only the sound of rain and footsteps could be heard.
Occasionally, his breath would produce white vapor, accompanied by the roar of thunder in the sky, creating a unsettling atmosphere nearby.
Kurusu Akira looked at Shinba Takakiyo, who was walking ahead. The twisted desire on him was finally no longer concealed.
It seemed that as long as he took out his phone now and opened the Metaverse Navigator, he could immediately infiltrate that palace of sin.
Kurusu Akira asked Shinba Takakiyo, who was in front, "Principal, how much longer do we have to walk?"
Shinba Takakiyo seemed a little nervous. He almost walked along the wall, trying his best to stay away from those tightly closed metal doors, not caring that most of his suit was soaked by the rain. "We're almost there."
The heavy rain swayed in the cold wind, slanting into the gaps of the building, dancing against the walls like a group of snakes, finally climbing down and accumulating puddles of varying sizes on the ground.
A crisp "splish-splash" sound would be made when a shoe sole stepped on it.
Sagawa, who was holding Awa Subaru's hands, seemed to be very afraid of the spaces behind those doors as well.
Along the way, occasional overly burly security guards could be seen patrolling, and figures dressed in white coats like doctors were carrying some paper documents in plastic boxes to go downstairs.
The Phantom Thief remembered Shinba Takakiyo's instructions, so he watched the security guards and researchers who brushed past him for a while, then continued silently.
It wasn't until the fourth floor of the teaching building that the corridor finally became bright. Misty rain streaks stretched and broke in front of his eyes, like the dense static of a TV losing signal.
They stopped at the door of the "Infirmary."
Shinba Takakiyo pushed open the door, then gestured with his eyes for Sagawa to take Awa Subaru inside first.
This seemingly respectable and elegant middle-aged man lightly patted Kurusu Akira's shoulder, then stuffed a dark walkie-talkie into his hand. "Don't be afraid of taking any responsibility. Anything that happens here will be handled by someone higher up."
"You're actually a bit late, otherwise I could have introduced you to some highly influential guests in society... Well, anyway, I've told you all the important rules in the car. Just enjoy tonight, no one will disturb you for the rest of the time. If you need any props or special arrangements, just tell that woman named Sagawa using the walkie-talkie, and she will try her best to help you."
After Shinba Takakiyo finished speaking, he took out his phone to answer a call, then hurriedly followed the researchers downstairs.
Kurusu Akira put the walkie-talkie into his pocket, then paused the phone's recording. He wiped the rain from his face and shielded his eyes with his hand to look down at the teaching building.
By the light of the searchlight, a group of figures in white coats could be seen continuously stacking tightly sealed documents into the back of a truck.
They look like very important research materials...
It really is a race against time.
The Phantom Thief was unsure if this truck would leave the school tonight, as the rain was heavy and traveling at night would inevitably encounter unpredictable dangers.
But there was no doubt—
'I must immediately infiltrate the enemy's "Heart Palace."'
As is well known, Mementos is a world formed by the convergence of collective unconsciousness, where real-world people exist as "Shadows." However, enemies beyond society are using abnormal powers to amplify everyone's desires. When this desire expands to a certain extent and is not curbed in time, it begins to twist.
As desires twist, their real-world counterparts begin to engage in behaviors that violate laws and morals. Their Shadows simultaneously become increasingly aggressive and are isolated in a relatively independent space.
Once this desire is completely twisted, becoming an irreversible sin, and even materializes in the world of consciousness due to this sin.
The places where these Shadows reside will begin to sink continuously, until they completely detach from Mementos, becoming a gigantic palace completely independent of public perception, yet superimposed on the real world, constructed from the twisted desires emanating from the sinner's heart.
It is called the "Heart Palace."
The main task of the Phantom Thief is to find one "Heart Palace" after another, and then steal the "Secret Treasure" deeply hidden within, formed by the twisted desires of the sinner.
As long as the "Secret Treasure" is stolen, the entire "Heart Palace" will rapidly collapse, and the palace master, whose heart was twisted by evil forces, will suddenly awaken and begin to sincerely repent.
Kurusu Akira pushed open the door of the "Infirmary" and was immediately stunned for a moment by the luxurious, even decadent, scene inside.
One wall was covered with all sorts of erotic items, from medicines to vibrators, all readily available.
A huge television was embedded in another wall, displaying an adult film with exaggerated visuals and sound effects.
The overall decor was light pink, with shackles and nylon ropes tied to the large soft bed, and the wall above the headboard was also covered with various paintings showcasing the beauty of the female body.
Sagawa had somehow acquired a handgun.
She stood guard at the bedroom door, where she could hear the splashing sound of water coming from inside the frosted glass door.
Seeing Kurusu Akira, she got up and walked out. "I'll guard the door. If you need anything, tell me on the walkie-talkie... If that girl named Awa is disobedient, you can also tell me, and I'll teach her a lesson."
As the door opened and closed, then was locked from the inside, the completely renovated "Infirmary" was left with only the ambiguous sound of water slapping against a girl's body from the bathroom, making one's imagination run wild.
Through the glass door, a hazy and graceful shadow could vaguely be seen moving.
The Phantom Thief, however, had no intention of peeking at a young girl bathing. Relying on his excellent professional ethics, after a tense and thorough search of the room, he successfully found more than a dozen hidden cameras.
It was then that he took out his phone and once again opened the Metaverse Navigator.
-
[Shinba Takakiyo's Palace]
[Distance: 0M]
-
Kurusu Akira simply knocked on the bathroom glass door. "I know you're not bathing, stop running the water, come out quickly... We have business to attend to."
He regretted saying that immediately. Before every infiltration into a Heart Palace, he would exchange information and opinions with the S.E.E.S supporters around the enemy's palace using vague terms. Now, this habit would probably cause him some trouble.
The sound of water in the bathroom immediately stopped.
Then came the rustling sound of clothes being put on.
Then Awa Subaru opened the door. Her clothes were soaking wet, revealing her skin and body curves, exuding a subtle allure.
The girl's face was covered in tears. She fearfully and reluctantly walked up to Kurusu Akira, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
"You actually took a bath." The Phantom Thief didn't expect the girl to actually listen to the bad guys.
Upon hearing this, Awa Subaru merely looked at Kurusu Akira with a complex gaze of unwillingness, sadness, anger, and even remorse.
Then she said in a tone almost bordering on hatred, "Sagawa-sensei... Sagawa threatened me with a gun."
Being in high school, Awa Subaru had attended many physiology classes and naturally understood the matters between men and women.
The only thing she could be grateful for, despite being forced, was that the person she was to give her first time to was a male peer as handsome as a teen idol, like Kurusu Akira. This at least wouldn't make her feel the kind of disgust and embarrassment that would make her want to commit suicide.
"It's fine, in a little while, that woman named Sagawa will be bowing and apologizing to you."
Unaware of Awa Subaru's thoughts, Kurusu Akira said indifferently, then took out his phone and continued to fiddle with the Metaverse Navigator.
Awa Subaru was startled by his actions, as if she was about to cry. "Please, at least don't record..."
The Phantom Thief inexplicably looked up at her. "Can you go to the bathroom now and dry your hair with a hairdryer, and wipe the water off your body with a towel? Standing here soaking wet and rambling is really affecting my work."
"Huh?!"
Awa Subaru's eyes widened. The fingers that were touching the buttons of her collar, about to unbutton them one by one, instantly froze.
...
After a while, Awa Subaru sat on the bed, her expression numb, watching Kurusu Akira mumbling to the wall with his phone like a madman.
"Shinba Takakiyo's Palace, Prefectural Performing Arts School, Castle."
"Castle?"
"Royal palace? Laboratory? Research institute? Pharmaceutical factory? Military base? Sausage party? Umbrella Corporation?..." His speech sped up, and the words he uttered even verged on gibberish.
After repeated attempts, the door to Shinba Takakiyo's Heart Palace still wouldn't open, making Kurusu Akira somewhat exasperated.
This was not him going crazy, because according to his experience in his previous life, entering a Heart Palace through the "Metaverse Navigator" had prerequisites: one must input three key palace information via voice – the full name of the subject, the physical location of the palace, and the other world form of the palace – to achieve cognitive resonance with the "Heart Palace" superimposed on reality.
This was the "key" required to enter the palace.
Then, the Metaverse Navigator would save this information as search history, allowing direct entry into the palace via history. Only when the palace was destroyed would the corresponding history information be automatically deleted.
Kurusu Akira was certain he had guessed the correct answer just now, and could even vaguely feel the existence of the "door."
But the "God" hidden behind the scenes was unwilling to let him easily enter the Heart Palace like this.
At this point, he could only force the lock open.
The Phantom Thief leaned against the wall and then sighed heavily.
Since the enemy repeatedly encrypted and locked the door... then he would just smash the wall next to it and break in directly.
The "Heart Palace" also exists on the level of the conscious world, which can be vaguely described as an alternative and special "Mementos."
Kurusu Akira closed his eyes, trying to sink his consciousness...
Sure enough, he quickly felt the presence of a "wall."
That was the barrier separating the material and reality levels.
Under Awa Subaru's terrified gaze from the large bed behind him, Kurusu Akira suddenly swung his fist towards the wall in front of him.
Thud.
His fist hit the wall, but a dull sound echoed in his heart, making his whole body tremble uncontrollably.
Kurusu Akira swung his fist again without hesitation, the mental power capable of even transcending "death" erupting without reservation at this moment—
This time, the entire "Infirmary" floor shattered the instant his fist struck the wall.
A strong sense of weightlessness rapidly invaded.
The huge void continuously contracted, finally becoming a tunnel barely wide enough for two people to pass through.
A panicked Awa Subaru tried to grab everything she could reach... She tightly hugged Kurusu Akira, her face pale with fear during the rapid descent, her eyes filled with tears.
All the scenery transformed in a bizarre and kaleidoscopic manner; the "Infirmary" became a huge medieval-style warehouse filled with armor and weapons.
"Persona." With a low growl, Kurusu Akira held Awa Subaru with one hand. During the descent, his entire body began to be enveloped in azure flames.
The Phantom Thief's attire gradually appeared: a black trench coat and trousers, a gray-collared shirt, bright red gloves, and a white nightingale mask.
He unclipped a grappling gun from his waist and pulled the trigger on the nearest support pillar just before hitting the ground.
The rope flew out, and at extreme speed, the Phantom Thief, holding Awa Subaru, soared with a magnificent posture to the second level of this warehouse.
His eyes, seemingly burning with flames, accompanied by a contemptuous laugh, as dozens of patrolling guards below looked up nervously, Persona Arsene appeared behind the Phantom Thief. The blood-colored demon suddenly spread his black wings, and then a mountain-shaking, tsunami-like aura pressed down!
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