"Click."
The gun didn't fire a bullet. Blue ghostflame burst behind Bai Qian's head.
Within the deep-blue flames, a white figure was reflected.
It wore a spotless, pure-white military greatcoat. The long coat tails shone like radiance, snapping and fluttering in the fire, faintly revealing a dark-red lining like karmic lotus flames. Its face was completely covered by a sharp silver metal mask, and from its head extended a blade-like crest that seemed to pierce the heavens.
A massive double-edged blade—its center cinched by a ring—hung from the figure's hand, held one-handed as if it weighed nothing.
Cold light flowed along the blade. Calling it a "sword" felt wrong—it was far too large. Calling it a "tombstone" felt wrong too—it was far too small.
"This is it!"
Bai Qian felt like he was flying.
Even though his first Persona had been Arsène, he could never forget what it felt like to use Izanagi-no-Okami!
Once you've used the wheelchair character, all you want is to keep using that character!
That was the charm of the Super-Extra-Large Cup!
He wasn't a "rabbit-head," but the raw strength of the numbers had him completely hooked.
Even Satanael's Sinful Shell couldn't match this kind of high!
Satanael was just… weaker!
"This is… reality!"
"It's back—my youth is back! The perfect Persona! Ten Thousand Truths! The stat-wheelchair! Opening with triple hits! Massive output, like the act of creating a nation—where the more Personas you have, the stronger you become!"
"Do you see it?! My Izanagi-no-Okami!"
He struck an outrageously dramatic JOJO pose—one hand pressed to his forehead, his body arched backward to an angle that demanded terrifying core strength, the other hand pointing at the ceiling as he threw his head back and cackled.
The chat exploded—messages scrolling like a waterfall.
The group members didn't know what a Persona was, or what Ten Thousand Truths meant, but that didn't stop them from feeling the crazed energy spilling out of the screen.
In that instant, the visual impact was downright catastrophic for certain viewers.
Inside LeBlanc Café, Herta gripped the overheating phone with a death grip.
At this very moment, Ms. Herta's eyes were wide open.
Her fingers had gone white from squeezing so hard; her nails nearly dug into the phone case.
When had she ever embarrassed herself this badly?
If other people saw this, how was she supposed to keep existing in society?!
"…This idiot."
She forced the words out between her teeth, her mind filled with nothing but the urge to crack his skull open and see if it was stuffed full of trash.
That was her body.
How many people begged just to meet her? How many wanted her on their research projects?
And now, that body was striking a humiliating pose like some third-rate manzai comedian taking a final bow.
Herta realized something truly horrifying.
Her! Body! Was! Being! Used! Like! A! Toy!
It was like she'd been hypnotized—her body being messed around with nonstop, while her consciousness stayed completely awake, fully aware of everything happening to it!
She couldn't accept it—aaahhh!
"What is that thing behind me?! And that pose—he's doing it on purpose, isn't he?! Those cringe lines, that back-breaking bend—he's absolutely doing it on purpose!"
Herta felt her blood pressure spiking.
She could even feel this body's stomach cramps.
Even if the one losing face right now wasn't "her" in the usual sense—this was still her face. Her body!
This had to be revenge!
He was definitely getting back at her for ignoring her messages earlier!
How dare he use her flawless face to make that expression—an expression of bliss only a terminally edgy middle-schooler who hadn't seen sunlight in centuries would make!
She drew in a deep breath, trying to calm her heart, and started typing furiously.
[AAA Customer Service Xiao Xiang]: If we ignore the shame factor, this really is a gorgeous performance.
[Phantom Thieves' Lao Da]: Hah—just thinking about what'll happen to Customer Service Xiao Xiang later makes me laugh.
[AAA Customer Service Xiao Xiang]: ? What do you mean
[Pointy-Hat Lady]: @Phantom Thieves' Lao Da Get out of my body. Right now. Immediately. Or at least stop using my face to make that expression!
Even through the screen, you could feel the genius lady's rage meter shooting through the roof.
If this were an RPG, you'd probably see red numbers popping over her head one after another.
[Pointy-Hat Lady]: Kind smile.jpg
[Pointy-Hat Lady]: If you use my face to do those "underdeveloped cerebellum, completely undeveloped brain" moves again, I'm printing out your browsing history.
The group chat atmosphere was pure joy—because watching someone else experience social death was always hilarious.
[AAA Customer Service Xiao Xiang]: 😅😅😅
[Tohsaka Rin]: This level of self-absorbed cringe—if I didn't see the face, I'd think it was some newbie who just learned a magic outfit. But with this face… honestly, even if it's Pointy-Hat Lady, I'm not sure I can ever look at her IQ the same way again.
[Want Campus Springtime With Mei]: This is what I want! This is the real kami! I don't even know what he's doing, but it feels insanely powerful! I want to learn it too! I want to learn that pose too!
[Want Campus Springtime With Mei]: It's sooo cool! I felt it! That determination! Lao Da, do it again next time!
[Legendary Fireproof King]: Is this some sort of summoning ritual from another world? I've never seen such… free-spirited prayer posture in the Lands Between.
[Dragon Sis Is Dragon]: What kind of expression should I make? It feels like Pointy-Hat Lady is about to go berserk.
The glow of the phone screen reflected in a white-haired girl's bright blue eyes.
Dusk light slanted into the corridor, stretching the school building's shadows into long diagonal bars.
The dismissal bell had rung a long time ago. The campus—once noisy—was now filled only with the occasional sound of instruments from distant club rooms, muffled through layers of floors.
This was Changkong City's Chiba Academy.
Kiana Kaslana held her phone. Outside, an old locust tree rustled—its leaves whispering in the wind.
That guy called "Phantom Thieves' Lao Da" had just finished a performance that could only be described as performance art.
She didn't know what the gun was supposed to do, but that presence—that decisiveness, pulling the trigger against his own head without hesitation—now that was style!
On the screen, the guy was still holding an utterly ridiculous pose.
"So cool…"
she muttered.
She didn't know what Izanagi-no-Okami was, but that didn't stop her from feeling a strange, indescribable force in the pose.
Kiana looked around.
At this hour, the school building was nearly empty. In the corridor ahead and behind her, there was no one—only a few specks of dust floating up and down in the beam of light.
Since no one was watching…
She took a deep breath, propped her phone on the windowsill, and set the angle.
"I'm trying it too! I know I can do it with even more presence!"
She stepped back two paces and planted her feet.
"First—one hand on the forehead."
Kiana raised her left hand. Her thumb and middle finger pressed against her forehead, her fingers spread wide. Even though it blocked her view, she forced herself to peer through the gaps toward some imaginary point in the distance.
"Then… lean back."
The girl's waist had astonishing flexibility. She bent backward, her braided pigtail falling and brushing the hem of her school skirt.
Her spine made a faint crack, and her core muscles instantly tightened to fight gravity.
"And the other hand… like this!"
Her right hand snapped up, pointing straight at the ceiling.
The pose demanded extreme core strength, but Kiana didn't struggle. She even adjusted her footing to stand more steadily.
The feeling came.
Yes. This feeling.
There were no special effects around her, no blue ghostflame—but in Kiana's mind, something terrifyingly powerful was surely manifesting behind her.
She drew a breath, sank her energy into her diaphragm, and prepared to shout the line.
"Watch closely—this is my… Persona!"
"Tap."
The crisp sound of leather heels striking the floor echoed from the other end of the corridor.
Kiana tried to speak—only for her words to jam in her throat.
Her body was still locked in that high-difficulty backbend pose: left hand on forehead, right hand to the sky. Only her head, beyond her control, turned toward the sound.
At the far end of the backlit corridor stood someone.
The sunset rimmed the figure in gold. Long black-and-purple hair swayed softly behind her. She wore Chiba Academy's dark uniform and carried a dark schoolbag in her hand.
She stood there, expression… complicated.
It was Raiden Mei.
At this point, Mei wasn't yet the Herrscher of Thunder who would stand against the world for Kiana. She hadn't even truly crossed paths with this chronically late idiot before.
She was just a student whose father had recently gone to prison, and whose classmates had already begun to isolate her.
And Kiana—whose ID in the group was "Want Campus Springtime With Mei"—was still in the middle of a one-sided crush. She hadn't even spoken her name to Mei once.
There were moments in life when you just want to die.
Kiana had arrived at one of those moments.
Still holding the JOJO pose—so focused she'd forgotten to straighten herself back into a normal human shape—she met Mei's pale violet eyes through the gaps between her fingers.
Mei blinked.
She'd only heard strange shouting from this direction, and on the basis of some responsibility she hadn't completely lost, she'd looked over.
She hadn't expected to see this.
A white-haired girl twisted into a pretzel, screaming at the ceiling.
Mei's gaze lingered on Kiana for two seconds.
What should she do now?
Pretend she didn't see anything? Leave casually? Or wait for the other person to speak first?
After thinking, Mei decided to apologize.
Someone like this getting into Chiba Academy must have worked really hard, right?
Her upbringing wouldn't allow her to mock a "special population."
"I'm sorry."
Mei's eyes carried a trace of pity. "I heard a sound and came to see. Sorry— I won't disturb you."
She turned around. Her black hair drew a smooth arc through the air.
"If anyone bullies you at school, you can come to me. I'll do what I can to help."
The sound of her heels returned—still rhythmic, but a little faster than when she arrived.
"Um… I—I'm not intellectually impaired…"
Kiana reached out with the hand that had been pointing at the ceiling, trying to stop her—or explain.
But her vocal cords felt rusted. She could only produce a few meaningless syllables.
Mei's figure disappeared around the stairwell corner.
Only Kiana remained, frozen in that humiliating pose in the empty corridor.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
Her scream startled sparrows from the treetop outside.
[Want Campus Springtime With Mei]: @Phantom Thieves' Lao Da Help me help me help me help me! I copied you and now Mei thinks I'm a pervert!
[Want Campus Springtime With Mei]: If I don't have Mei, my life is over!
[Want Campus Springtime With Mei]: Onegai! As long as it's something I can do, I'll do anything! Please, Lao Da—help me!
Anything?
Bai Qian put away the Persona Evoker and rubbed his chin.
Fine!
He couldn't stand doomed lovebirds suffering.
No more words—move out!
[Phantom Thieves' Lao Da]: Since you're begging so sincerely, how can I—the galgame domain master—just sit and watch?!
Kiana! I'm coming to save you!
-------
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