A crimson bolt of lightning, named Conquest, crashed down. The lightning sword slash, imbued with the authority of tearing, made the Diabolic Kevin SIM, who had sensed it, choose to dodge once again.
A complete Herrscher who had already entered the sublimation state... If it were just the Herrscher of Thunder herself, she would naturally not be able to pose a threat to the Diabolic Kevin SIM.
But with Ren Amamiya, whose methods were endless and whose strength was also extremely formidable, as an opponent, this sublimation-level Herrscher was already enough to add a significant weight to the scales of victory, causing them to gradually tip towards Ren's side.
"Well done, Acheron!!"
Summoning two Personas to fight at the same time was already the limit of what Ren could do with the Key of the Void pistol's mechanism.
Seeing Raiden Mei rise from the ashes after Kurikara was destroyed, causing her own Persona to evolve into the form of Shadow Mei, a smile that he couldn't suppress appeared on Ren's lips.
As a fellow wielder of the Persona Shadow Mei, Ren could vaguely feel that the Persona Shadow Mei summoned by Raiden Mei herself was undoubtedly a little stronger than when he summoned her.
Although her overall strength was still no match for the Persona Shadow Mei · Picaro form, which had been enhanced by his own Trickster God power, she was already able to play a significant supporting role in this battle.
"Thanatos Picaro!!"
The golden-headed, red-and-black god of death threw its head back and roared. The coffin of the maiden that surrounded it formed a stubborn, impenetrable defense, blocking all the raging flames and ice that the Diabolic Kevin SIM released in alternation, while Thanatos Picaro itself focused on raising its hands towards the Diabolic Kevin SIM.
In the next moment, a dark doorway, exuding an aura of death and decay, dimly opened behind the Diabolic Kevin SIM. Arms, condensed from the materialization of the curses of the dead, stretched out from the wide-open gates of the underworld. Hundreds of pale arms crowded together, greedily and eagerly reaching for the only living person standing in front of the gates of death.
Cold, pale hands grasped the Diabolic Kevin SIM's wrists and ankles. Not only were these death-like arms pulling at his body, but the open gates of the underworld themselves also exuded an invisible gravitational pull, trying to drag and imprison him within the dark doorway.
The number of pale arms extending from the gates of the underworld seemed to be endless.
Even if the Diabolic Kevin SIM broke free from the pale arms that grasped his body, a new wave of cold hands would once again grip his body tightly, so he could only swing the Judgment of Shamash in his hand, using the raging, flaming slashes to destroy the countless cold arms and the gates of the underworld themselves.
"Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro!!"
The black god of calamity, wearing a labyrinthine, black-and-white coat, raised the black, shadow-like naginata in his hand. Gray spheres, as dense as the stars, appeared one after another above Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro. As he swung the black naginata, it was as if the entire sky was falling. The densely packed Megido spheres roared and shot towards the Diabolic Kevin SIM, who was being held back by the gates of the underworld.
Constrained by the gates of the underworld, by the time the Diabolic Kevin SIM had completely destroyed them, he was already too late to dodge Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro's Megido attack. He could only stand there and take the full force of this almighty-attribute bombardment.
If the Diabolic Kevin SIM had been a little slower, he would have probably been blasted into the gates of the underworld behind him by this volley of Megido spheres. Even with his strength, he instinctively felt a slight chill at the unknown environment on the other side of the gates of the underworld.
"Sirin, Mei, cover me!!"
The Key of the Void pistol was fired again. Ren gave the command to the Persona Sirin and Raiden Mei on the field, and his own personal Persona, Raoul, reappeared, floating in the void behind him.
'The god is the pinnacle of change...'
Ren closed his eyes and silently recited the profound mantra in his heart under the cover of his teammates. The Persona Raoul stretched out its claws behind him, and a brilliant, golden light began to burst forth between its palms.
This was not a move that a Persona user could naturally comprehend after awakening their ability, but a cultivation technique recorded in the golden feather that the false god had previously given him in a dream.
In the intervals between exploring the Mementos, Ren had also tried to study and cultivate the technique recorded in the golden feather. Although he could not achieve it overnight, he could see progress in the technique each time.
However, because he had only been cultivating this technique for a short time, no matter how much progress he made, he had not yet mastered it to the point of perfection. He was only at a barely usable level now.
He could not fire it instantly, but needed to charge it up on the spot for a period of time... If he did not have teammates to cover him, this skill could not be used in actual combat at all, and at most, he would use it to attack shadows from a distance that had not yet discovered the Phantom Thieves' infiltration.
Mobius clenched her fists. Her heart was pounding as she watched from the side, her expression constantly changing with the development of the situation.
She could tell that Ren was charging up some kind of extremely powerful ultimate move. If he could successfully release it, it would undoubtedly cause great damage to Kevin. It could even be said to be the decisive blow that would determine the outcome.
If possible, Mobius would naturally want to do her part for Ren and join the battlefield with Raiden Mei to hold Kevin back.
But unfortunately, Kevin was too familiar with her, his comrade of fifty thousand years. He had seriously injured her to a point where she was in an awkward situation, having lost her combat ability and finding it difficult to discard her injuries by resurrecting.
Without a large amount of external Honkai energy to replenish her, if Mobius really chose to rely on resurrection to restore her to her prime, then by the time her consciousness returned, this incident would probably have already been settled, and the day would have long been lost.
At this point, Mobius could do nothing. She could only stand aside and watch.
Even though she was extremely anxious, she could only occasionally look back at Higokumaru, who was still busy working in the room, or look into the distance to see if any other Flame-Chasers were approaching the battlefield. She was in a state of anxiety, wanting to speed things up but only being able to stand there and wait.
"Edge of Taixuan Sword God!!"
The golden light surging in the Persona Raoul's palms became more and more intense.
When the accumulation of magical energy reached its critical point, Ren suddenly opened his eyes. He loudly announced the name of his ultimate move, and his fingers, held in a sword gesture in front of his forehead to help him concentrate, were suddenly thrust out, pointing at the Diabolic Kevin SIM, who was being entangled by the Persona Sirin and Shadow Mei.
A hum, like a divine sword being unsheathed, and a loud cry, like the cry of a divine bird, suddenly resounded.
The Persona Raoul pushed the surging, golden sphere of light in its hands towards the Diabolic Kevin SIM. The golden stream of light surged and transformed into a massive, golden falcon, spreading its wings and soaring in the sky.
Its huge wings were like the hilt of a sword, and its sharp, pointed beak was like the invincible blade of a golden, divine sword. It flew towards the enemy that Ren had pointed at, and the space that the Sword God flew past quietly flickered with cracks that appeared and disappeared.
Looking at the huge, golden, divine sword that was rushing towards him at an extremely fast speed, the Diabolic Kevin SIM's expression became solemn for the first time. The Sword God attack that Ren had unleashed with all his might was already capable of truly threatening his life.
With a barrage of ice and fire, the Diabolic Kevin SIM sent the entangling Persona Sirin and Shadow Mei flying far away. Then, he vibrated the tattered Diabolic wing on his back and moved with incredible speed and agility through the airspace, trying to avoid the sharp edge of this Sword God.
However, even though the Diabolic Kevin SIM had used his full speed, and his figure was moving so fast that it was almost invisible, the golden, divine sword, which was like a divine bird, was always accurately aimed at his body, showing no signs of losing its target.
Realizing that this Sword God could not be dodged, the Diabolic Kevin SIM frowned and stopped. Since he could not dodge it, he could only do his best to return the favor to this huge, golden, divine sword.
"Judgment of Shamash—Unsheathed!!!"
All of his Honkai energy was poured into the lava-like, crimson greatsword in his hand. The Diabolic Kevin SIM decisively used the zero-power of the Judgment of Shamash, pushing the power of the greatsword to its limit. He was like a flame god descending upon the world to pass judgment, swinging the huge, magnificent flame sword in his hand at the golden, divine sword and Ren's direction.
The extremely high temperature distorted the air, and even further distorted space itself. The magnificent pillar of fire that extended from the Judgment of Shamash greedily devoured everything in sight, and then crashed into the huge, golden, divine sword that was coming at it.
The pillar of fire, released by the Key of Destruction, did indeed temporarily halt the advance of the golden, divine sword, causing the flame-like energy that surrounded it to dim slightly. But soon, the Diabolic Kevin SIM frowned again. He sensed that something was wrong.
In the next moment, his ominous premonition was confirmed.
The nature of the Sword God was between tangible and intangible. It could not be dodged, nor could it be blocked.
Although its unblockable property was somewhat damaged and hindered when facing the authority of the Key of Destruction, when the golden, divine sword, which was shaped like a divine bird, flapped its wings and let out a crisp, sharp cry, its figure, which was like a semi-transparent, virtual substance, unstoppable passed through the pillar of fire that had been shot out by the Judgment of Shamash, and in a flash, it passed through the Diabolic Kevin SIM's body at a speed that he could not react to.
The Diabolic Kevin SIM's body suddenly froze. His pupils dilated to their limit, and his mind instantly went blank, as if his entire consciousness and soul had been removed from his body.
Although he could still vaguely feel the existence of his body, the Diabolic Kevin SIM's consciousness seemed to have been disconnected from it. No matter how hard he tried, he could no longer move his body, not even a slight twitch of his finger.
If it weren't for the fact that his body was strong enough after the Active Honkai Reaction, and possessed a certain instinct for self-preservation, the SIM Kevin might have been forced to deactivate the Active Honkai Reaction state and fall to the ground like a fallen bird.
"You did it!! It was a success!!"
A flush of excitement appeared on Mobius's previously pale face. She was so excited that she clenched her hands and swung them in front of her like a little girl, staring at the figure of the Diabolic Kevin, whose consciousness had been suspended in mid-air. Mobius couldn't believe her eyes.
"Press the advantage, Persona—"
Ren once again raised the Key of the Void pistol to his temple. Just as he was about to summon the Persona Hare and use the Blood of schariac as a follow-up attack, a sudden sound of applause rang out.
"A perfect performance. As expected of the Phantom Thief Joker. Your performance has far exceeded my expectations. You even managed to knock the strongest in this Elysian Realm Palace into a state of suspended consciousness... But, this is enough for now."
Vill-V clapped as she slowly walked out from a hidden shadow, and advised Ren, who was about to summon his next Persona.
"Even you, Joker, would need a long time to kill him completely. Instead of wasting time here, let me just teleport him to a place where he can't come back for a while."
After undergoing the surgical modifications of Project Chimera, Kevin possessed the meta-morph factors of a hundred Honkai beasts. These factors combined to form what was known as a [This Worldly Beast] Honkai beast, and the Diabolic form was Kevin's appearance after undergoing an Active Honkai Reaction in the form of Worldly Beast.
Among the Honkai beasts that made up Worldly Beast, there were many with mental-type factors. Therefore, after taking the full force of Ren's Sword God, the Diabolic Kevin SIM was only in a state of temporary suspended consciousness, and his entire consciousness was not completely destroyed, turning him into a walking corpse that could only breathe.
If he were to attack the Diabolic Kevin SIM in this suspended state... although his consciousness could not control his body, his body's instincts would still automatically counterattack to avoid being harmed.
Although the threat he posed was much weaker than before, Ren could still feel the danger emanating from the Diabolic Kevin SIM. If he really wanted to completely eliminate him, he would probably need to spend a lot of time.
And right now, the one thing Ren lacked the most was time.
Considering that he was not in his prime, with the Jizo Mitama tachi on auto-pilot, and only Raiden Mei by his side, the Selene pistol not yet tuned by Vill-V, and the Will Seed of Gluttony, the final piece of the Sinful Shell, about to be in his hands.
Ren didn't think he needed to settle the score with this extremely powerful shadow right now. Anyway, that wild Kaslana shadow wouldn't be able to escape this Elysian Realm Palace. He wasn't in a hurry. After completing his next reinforcement, gathering all his teammates, and having a more secure chance of winning, it wouldn't be too late to defeat and subdue this wild Kaslana shadow.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Vill-V."
So Ren nodded slightly and agreed to Vill-V's proposal. He watched as she manipulated a strange mechanical creation to teleport the Diabolic Kevin SIM, along with his surroundings, out of this area.
It wasn't until the Diabolic Kevin SIM's aura had completely disappeared from this area that Ren let out a long sigh of relief and dismissed both the Persona Raoul and the Persona Sirin.