CRASH! BANG! SMASH—!!!
Just as Ren Amamiya was cautiously advancing through the stone labyrinth, a thick stone wall directly ahead of him suddenly exploded outwards.
Bursting forth amidst the flying debris were figures—
Monsters colored black and gold, vaguely humanoid with four limbs.
Where their heads should have been, constantly spinning golden cores floated, giving them an unnervingly sinister appearance.
The instant the wall shattered, Ren reacted, leaping back to avoid the shrapnel that would have hit him.
He stared at the black-and-gold humanoid monsters pouring out from the breach, completely blocking his path forward.
His expression remained neutral.
But his body tensed, and beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead.
As Ren silently stepped backward, trying to create distance from these aggressive, black-and-gold "Shadows"...
...another identical explosion echoed from behind him.
With the collapse of the rear stone wall, more black-and-gold Shadows swarmed in, executing a pincer movement.
They completely surrounded Ren Amamiya in the narrow passageway of the stone maze.
"One, two, three... six, seven. Seven Shadows at once? My luck really sucks."
Ren's gaze swept over the enemies in front and behind, quickly tallying their numbers.
A heavy pressure settled in his chest.
"Hey! Just passing through! Mind letting me by?"
Trapped in the tight corridor, Ren felt adrenaline flood his system, his body instantly shifting into combat readiness.
To alleviate his own heavy, oppressive mood, Ren deliberately waved a hand at the Shadows in front, offering a suggestion.
"Tch, figured that wouldn't work... But why aren't you guys saying anything?"
He watched the silent black-and-gold Shadows close in, some brandishing sharp golden swords, others spinning wickedly sharp golden claws.
Ren quickly concluded that negotiation was futile.
But unlike failed negotiations with Shadows in the game...
These black-and-gold humanoid Shadows showed no intention of responding whatsoever, moving like mindless robots following predetermined programming.
Unlike the limited number of Shadows and Personas constrained by game design, the 'real' Mementos would naturally have a much greater variety, Ren reasoned.
Having beaten the game once without meticulously collecting every Persona, encountering unfamiliar Shadows was perfectly normal, nothing to be confused about.
Still, the behavior of these black-and-gold Shadows, combined with their purely destructive intent, struck Ren as odd, planting a seed of concern in the back of his mind even as he remained vigilant.
Shadows driven only by destruction... they feel less like P5's Mementos inhabitants and more like something out of P4's Midnight Channel or P3's Tartarus.
Unfortunately, Ren was waiting for P3R [Persona 3 Reload] and hadn't played the original P3 himself, only catching bits and pieces online.
And P4G [Persona 4 Golden] was an old game he'd played years ago on the PS Vita; his memories were hazy.
"Close one!"
He narrowly dodged a punch thrown by a black-and-gold Shadow.
Pushing his body to its limits, Ren lunged sideways with explosive force, executing a powerful shoulder charge [Tieshan Kao], slamming another Shadow wielding a golden sword to the ground.
The price was a long, shallow cut across his back from a second sword-wielding Shadow.
Ren rolled across the ground, snatching up the golden sword he'd deliberately knocked loose to use as a weapon.
His back stung fiercely, but at least he now had something to fight back with. Worth it.
Thanks to the adrenaline, Ren could feel the injury, but the pain wasn't debilitating; it wouldn't hinder his movements.
"Come on, Shadows!"
Facing the seven black-and-gold enemies surrounding him, Ren's eyes hardened with determination, filled with fierce fighting spirit.
He raised the captured golden sword, all fear banished from his heart, and charged towards the Shadows before him.
"No... You're just an ordinary person! You can't defeat those Imaginary Constructs!"
Hare, still trailing Ren from a hundred meters back, saw him charge the creatures.
Urgency and worry flashed across her pale, exquisite face.
It had come to this. She had no choice but to intervene and save the lost stranger.
I just hope his Honkai resistance is strong enough to withstand the residual radiation from this attack...
Hare prayed silently as she channeled Honkai energy into her slender, pale palm.
The energy coalesced, shining with the brilliant, beautiful light of amethyst, rapidly forming into the shape of a spear.
She carefully controlled the output, using only enough power to instantly kill the seven Imaginary Constructs.
Throwing the Honkai spear from a distance posed far less risk of Honkai contamination to Ren than her getting physically close.
It was the best solution Hare could devise.
But already accustomed to disappointment and pessimism, her heart foresaw the tragically familiar sequence of events with sorrowful certainty.
The Imaginary Constructs would be vaporized by her spear, but the black-haired boy would inevitably be contaminated by the Honkai energy.
She would try to save his life by attempting to activate the latent Stigmata power within him, only for him to fail the awakening, forcing her to personally deliver the killing blow, turning him to dust... a cruel cycle she had repeated countless times.
To date, Hare had only ever successfully nurtured one perfect Stigmata user.
She didn't believe such astronomically low odds would favor her again.
However, just as the deeply pessimistic Hare raised the purple spear high...
...her slender waist twisting halfway, preparing to launch the Honkai weapon...
...her blue eyes, usually clouded with faint sorrow...
...widened to their absolute limit, stunned by the astonishing scene unfolding before her.
"How—?! Is this... Stigmata Awakening?!"
She stared at the black-haired stranger wielding the golden sword. Eerie, deep blue-green flames now danced upon the blade. With a single strike, he forced back an Imaginary Construct, carving a long gash into its resilient body.
Realizing the incredible miracle she was witnessing, Hare...
...her small, cherry-pink lips slowly parted in astonishment.
Only then did Hare recall a detail she'd overlooked earlier.
Imaginary Constructs were undeniably formed from Honkai energy; their attacks naturally carried its power.
Yet Ren Amamiya, who appeared to be an ordinary person, hadn't instantly disintegrated upon being struck by a Honkai-laced attack, as any normal human male with no tolerance should have.
He hadn't even shown signs of being affected by the contamination; his movements remained fluid and strong.
As the battle intensified...
...Ren's presence grew stronger, more imposing.
Relying solely on his own power, he was now single-handedly suppressing all seven Imaginary Constructs, no longer taking any damage.
"Weak, weak, weak! Mere small fry like you dare stand in my way?!"
A wild, fierce grin spread across Ren Amamiya's lips.
His eyes, once like gentle obsidian, now shimmered with a divine, golden radiance.
"The one I have to rebel against is a God! Since pathetic lackeys like you dare block my path, you should be prepared to be crushed, right?!"
His earlier inability to smoothly conjure the spirit of rebellion was simply because he lacked a concrete target.
But when these seven black-and-gold Shadows appeared before him, trying to take his life with baseless malice...
...deep within Ren Amamiya's heart, the soul fire of the rebel had finally ignited, burning fiercely.