Asmodeus Kamoshida (V)

4/26

The angelic figure loomed above them, purple light reflecting off the ornate knights armour that adorned him. "Vile thieves!" the creature bellowed "In the name of almighty King Kamoshida, I shall strike you down! Your crime spree ends here!"

"It's not really a spree dude," Ryuji said. He let the bent iron bar he used as a makeshift club rest on his strong shoulders, glaring at the winged figure. He was perhaps the third 'Archangel' the group had encountered in the entirety of the castle, and it seemed they were all of some high status.

Didn't much matter. The thieves had taken down the others easily enough.

By now it seemed they had made it through the majority of the Palace, particularly when they had two maps outlining a route to the treasure Morgana spoke so eagerly of. They had scaled much of the tower, getting past a corridor of swinging guillotines in the process, and it seemed this angel was the last barrier between the thieves and the throne room. And past that throne room, the treasure.

"You wanna take this one Nemesis?" Akira asked, glancing Shiho's way. She was standing back, clutching her naginata in her right hand as she inspected the angel. Even with that blindfold in place, she could apparently see just fine. It was perhaps another strange aspect of this mask/disguise business.

"You know... something tells me light attacks wouldn't do much damage to a guy like that," Shiho mused "Maybe it's the angel wings, but that's the vibe I get!"

Ryuji shrugged "Eh, fair enough. Sit back, I got this." Captain Kidd suddenly lunged forward, springing into existence in front of Ryuji. The bowsprit of the spectral pirate ship smashed into the angel and flung him backward, leaving the Shadow hissing and rapidly fanning his wings to halt his momentum.

He raised his right hand, extending his blade, and then suddenly slashed forward so violently that it sent a spiraling gale surging out toward Ryuji. He yelped and jumped back, but the explosion still hit and sent him skidding across the ground, forcing the other thieves to jump away to avoid being hit by him.

A barrage of steel ball bearings suddenly smacked into the angel's right wing, making it hiss and spin around. Morgana grinned from behind his cartoonish slingshot, just as Zorro lunged across the hallway and struck the winged figure with a flurry of swift stabbing motions. Spurts of black goo lanced out from the newly formed punctures, before the knight gave an annoyed snarl and headbutted Zorro with an audible clang that drove the bulky Persona into the ground and skidding away.

"Fools!" The Shadow raised his sword high, catching the light on the sharpened steel "Do you think yourselves better than noble King Kamoshida! I shall slay all of y-"

There was the sound of metal tearing overhead, before something tremendous suddenly landed atop the Shadow with a resounding crash, punctuated with flourishes of shattering glass. The creature lay prone on the floor for several seconds, groaned weakly, and then dissolved into the earth. The large chandelier that had crashed atop him abruptly became visible again, as Houdini slowly floated down from the ceiling.

"Whoof. Good thing he stopped to monologue, otherwise that would've missed," Shizuka said. "And man, those chains were hard to cut through."

"Well done. We should keep going though, we're nearly at the end," Akira said. Well he was assuming his much. None of the maps they had found charted anything beyond the throne room after all.

"Anyone get the number o' that truck that hit me?" Ryuji slurred from the far end of the hallway. As Shizuka understood it, these Stands that the thieves used had weaknesses that could be exploited. Electricity bounced off Ryuji no problem, but wind always knocked him flat.

"Oh, s-sorry Ry- um, Skull. Lemme help you up," Shiho said, quickly hurrying over to the blond and helping him up. Whatever it was about the Metaverse, it made people physically stronger than most. Shiho didn't need her crutches, and Ryuji's bum leg was a non issue. It was strange but it definitely helped speed things up.

The thieves continued on up the tower, reaching higher and higher until they came upon a pair of ornate double doors. According to the map, the throne room was just beyond those. And they could hear the familiar chatter of knights through the heavy material.

Morgana hummed and hopped up onto Akira's shoulder, using this higher vantage point to examine the heavy doors. "Barging straight through here would be dangerous. We'd easily alert all the chumps in there," Morgana mused.

Ryuji scratched the back of his head "Well that and... I doubt we could get those things open anyway. They're 'effin huge."

"Right. So..." Shiho glanced around "How do we get in?"

Morgana turned his attention to his left, toward a tall statue that led to an open window seeming to lead into the throne room. "There!" the feline said excitedly. The group regarded the statue uncertainly. It was a rather detailed sculpture of a female form, dressed in a volleyball uniform.

"Do we... really have to climb the butt statue?" Ann asked.

"I'm sorry Lady Ann, but needs must!" Morgana hopped up onto the backside of the statue, onto the decapitated marble neck, and from there jumped clean through the open window. With some annoyance, the others followed suit.

They wound up on a horseshoe-shaped walkway overlooking the throne room, and from the ornate railing they could look down and plainly see Kamoshida's Shadow barking orders at a retinue of his knights. Akira glanced to his comrades and pressed a gloved finger to his lips, then quietly made his way down the walkway in a crouched position.

"How can you idiots be having this much trouble with a gang of thieves?!"

"F-forgive us, your majesty!"

"I don't have time to humour losers like you! Get me results, or you're all going on the chopping block!"

Shiho stopped mid step and clenched her fist, and looked like she wanted nothing more than to leap over the railing and let Aradia go hog wild. Ann settled a hand on Shiho's shoulder, pulling a small sigh from the raven haired girl. Hearing his voice again dug up plenty of unpleasant memories and thoughts.

"I'm alright," she said, smiling over her shoulder at Ann. They proceeded onward at their quiet pace, coming upon an ornate door that opened quickly, leading into a darkened chamber that was illuminated only by stray sunbeams coming trough a single window and reflecting off a mini Scrooge McDuck pool of gold coins.

"Whoa! Holy shit!" Ryuji gasped as they steadily advanced into the chamber, glancing from side to side. "Is this place... for real?"

Shizuka plucked a single coin up and rolled it over her fingers. "Nah, it's fake. I know my gold when I see it," she remarked. "This is just like a... a cognition or whatever, right?" she asked, looking to Morgana.

But the feline didn't answer. Instead his wide eyed stare was directed to... something floating above the sea of fake coins. 'Something' was perhaps an apt label. It was an amorphous, pale cloud that was continually shifting and warping above the thieves, filled with golden, glittering pinpricks of light.

"What... is that?" Akira asked in a curious tone.

"That is the treasure," Morgana said matter-of-factly.

"No, that's a cloud," replied Akira.

That was enough to make Morgana sigh and shake his head, diminutive paws resting on his hips. "Since we've made it this far, I should probably give you some extra details. Things that wouldn't have made sense to you before now. Now that we have a route to the treasure, we need to make it materialize before we can steal it."

"You sure? I mean we could probably put that cloud thing in a plastic bag or a... vacuum cleaner, or something," Shizuka remarked. She summoned Houdini, let her Stand float up until it was pawing impotently at the formless cloud. Sure enough, there was nothing to grab onto.

"If that were possible, I would have said so. You see, desires don't have physical forms. Hence we first need to make the Palace-owner aware that their desires are in fact a treasure. And once they're conscious of that, the treasure will show itself."

"I see... so since this world is created by Kamoshida's mind, if we make him aware that this 'trasure' exists, then the world of his mind will change accordingly?" Shiho asked.

Morgana nodded and flashed a toothy grin "Right on the money Nemesis. We change their cognition and the Palace changes to match. But now you're all asking 'Aha, but Mona how exactly do we make the treasure materialize'?"

"Well don't keep us in suspense," Ryuji impatiently remarked.

"We warn him. We're going to let Kamoshida know that we're gonna 'steal his heart.'"

Ryuji stood up from the mound of gold he had been propped up against, seeming to be filled with a youthful glee. "We're gonna send him a calling card?! Aw dude, that's totally something a phantom thief would do!"

Well, they had come this far. An extra step wasn't much to worry about. Shizuka frowned and stroked her chin "Yeah but... 'steal his heart'? That makes it sound like we're hitting on him and that's just... gugh."

"I don't make the rules," Morgana replied with another shake of his head "Anyway, once he's been alerted the treasure will materialize for certain... I think. Anyway! All we need to do now is deliver a calling card in reality, and then come back here for the treasure. But... well there's one more thing you guys should know about. A treasure can only materialize for so long, meaning that the effect of a calling card is limited in scope. Once we send it out, we'd only have about a day before the treasure returns to that formless state. And once that happens, we won't be able to repeat the effect and the treasure would be lost to us."

"So once we send it, our deadline will grow a whole lot smaller..." Shiho sighed and scratched the back of her head "God, that's a whole lot of extra pressure. But if that's how it works, that's how it works."

Once the news had settled, Akira nodded and gradually made for the door they had come through "In that case, we should send it out tomorrow. We've come this far, we won't lose now," Akira mused.

-------------

4/27

Ultimately they left it up to Ryuji to design the 'calling card' the group would use. Ann and Morgana were more than a little apprehensive, but Akira had said he trusted Ryuji with the task and Shiho wanted to be supportive. Shizuka hadn't cared much either way. As long as she wasn't the one saddled with extra work.

Still, she would admit to being curious about what Ryuji had planned. He had seemed oddly giddy in the group chat when they had headed home for the day.

When she got to school that Thursday morning, she didn't have to look hard to see just what Ryuji had done. The notice boards on the front floor had been covered with a shotgun spread of red cards. While she couldn't read them from afar, Shizuka could tell that the 'text' had been made from compiled newspaper/magazine clippings. Like something out of a cheesy thriller. As she understood it that was supposed to be an easy thing for police to track, apparently.

Already there were some people crowded around the notice boards, chatting about the strange occurrence. No doubt things like this never happened at Shujin.

"I heard it was already posted by the time everyone got here this morning."

"Whoa... I wonder who put all this stuff up?"

"I don't get it. Did Mister Kamoshida do something?"

"Damn... you work fast Ryuji," Shizuka murmured under her breath. She was a little impressed actually given all she had heard of him. Seemed when it came to something like this, he was all business and relentlessly efficient.

She found Ryuji, Ann and Akira positioned not too far down the hall, seeming to enjoy the little spectacle that had been created. As she drew near she could see Morgana poking his fluffy head up through the opening of Akira's bag. "Gotta admit dude, you sure know how to rile people up. It's pretty awesome," she said.

Ann wrinkled her nose ever so slightly. "I mean... it's impressive that he had all these cards done in one night, but... did you actually read the uh 'message' he put?" Shizuka shook her head. "It went something like... 'Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you place your twisted desire on students who can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. We hope you are ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.' Or something like that," Ann recited. She turned to Ryuji and shook her head "Honestly. I get the point of the message but you sounded like you were trying waaay too hard."

"Plus the logo was lacking," Morgana remarked.

The assessment made Ryuji snort. "Ah, you're just mad that you didn't come up with it." He pointed quickly to Morgana "And you, shut up."

"I liked it," Akira remarked. "Got the point across just right. But, well, the real measure of how good the message is has just arrived," he added, pointing to the notice boards. Sure enough, there was Kamoshida... looking slightly more pissed than usual.

"Who's responsible for this?!" Kamoshida barked.

Morgana peaked up a little further. "Well, look at that. A predictable reaction for someone who knows what we mean by distorted desires." As usual the cat sounded delightfully smug.

And Ryuji couldn't help but feel just as smug. "Looks like it's hitting him pretty hard." Kamoshida was fuming, and it was enough to make the students quickly scatter from the notice board. Ryuji snickered and rubbed under his nose with his left index finger, while Akira gave him a light clap on the shoulder. The sign for 'good work.'

Kamoshida turned and spied both boys, seeming to ignore Ann and Shizuka entirely. Morgana reflexively dove back into Akira's bag. "Was it you two?!"

"Us, sir?" Akira asked, feigning offence. "Why I'm on probation, as you know. I wouldn't dream of doing something so daring," he explained with an undercurrent of sarcasm to every syllable.

"So you're playing dumb?" Kamoshida sneered at the two "It's not a problem. You'll be expelled soon enough anyway." The air suddenly distorted with a halo of static, the surrounding of the school melting away into an inky void. For a few brief seconds they saw Kamoshida's physical form replaced by his Shadow self, who glared at the four empowered teens. "Come. Steal it if you can!" The world returned to normal, and Kamoshida marched away.

Shizuka glanced from side to side and then checked her hands "Did... anyone else just have a hyper weird out of body experience?"

"Yeah... what the heck...?" Ann replied, seeming to be just as stunned.

For as strange as it was, it wasn't strange enough to dissuade any of them. "Never mind all that. We'll just take that as confirmation that the calling card worked. Shiho knows to meet us after school, right?" Ann nodded in confirmation. "Looks like we're all set then"

"Alright," Shizuka grinned broadly and flicked her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose "Our first big battle... I'm psyched! O la vittoria, o tutti accoppati!"

"Eh? Whazzat, French or something?" Ryuji asked.

"Nah, it's Italian. My mom told it to me since her dad served in World War 1. It was the motto of the Arditi. 'We either win, or we all die,'" Shizuka explained.

Ann felt a shiver run down her spine "Kinda morbid."

Akira shrugged "It's accurate though. And it sounds pretty daring. A perfect motto for a phantom thief," he said. And if they did fail, then they were all likely as good as dead.

-------------

The atmosphere outside the castle was noticeably heavy as the gang made a beeline through their usual infiltration route. The air had become thicker, the heat agitating and itchy, and the ground seemed to almost crawlbeneath their feet. Yeah, they had really gotten under Kamoshida's skin.

And the guards were on high alert too. The group made a point of avoiding the patrols to save time, and relied on every shortcut they had found to rapidly reach the throne room. It was empty, to the surprise of everyone. No knights, and no king either. Perhaps everyone had been scattered as part of those patrols? Whatever the case, it didn't dissuade them from rushing to the treasure room.

Once inside they found what they had been seeking: A floating, cartoonishly huge crown that cast a shade over the group. "Awww yeah! The treasure has appeared!" Morgana said enthusiastically "What do you think?! It's just as I said! Now we can steal it! The shine brings tears to my eyes..." The others remained transfixed by the huge scale of the crown.

"We should get moving quickly..." Shiho remarked, looking at the treasure and then over her shoulder at the doorway. "It probably won't be easy to lug it out though with how big it is... hey Mona, do you-"

Whatever Shiho was about to say was cut off by a prolonged purr from Morgana. "T-Treasure," he cooed, almost drooling.

"Uh..." Ryuji awkwardly scratched the back of his neck "The cat's getting awfully excited..."

Morgana leapt high and landed on the crown, hugging himself to the golden frame with all the might he had in his minuscule body. And soon the room was filled with the sounds of his elongated, exaggerated meows.

The sight was a tad embarrassing, and looked rather intimate to boot. "That's not catnip," Akira said.

"Alright, that's enough you stupid cat!" said Ryuji, managing to finally snap Morgana out of his giddy state. The cat landed on the floor and cleared his throat quickly.

"Oh um... s-sorry. Forgive me for displaying such an insolent sight in front of some ladies."

Even the others were a little worried by Morgana's outburst. But with the current situation being what it was, Shizuka figured it would be best to move things back on track. "Mona you can get all weird over the crown later. We gotta get outta here first while we still have an opening.

Ryuji, Ann and Akira made for the crown and pulled it down, holding the weight between the three of them with some effort. "Agh... j-jeez. This thing's freakin' heavy!" Ryuji grunted.

"Uh... the hell are you guys doing?" Shizuka asked.

"Could ask you the same thing! Get over here and help!" Ryuji quickly replied.

Shizuka rolled her eyes behind her mask. "Just lift if with your Stand genius. I know you guys are new to this but it's not that hard."

The suggestion made all three stop abruptly. With a little effort Arsene and Captain Kidd materialized behind their users, catching the edges of the crown under their forearms and raising it with much greater ease.

"Well... that makes more sense. Come on, let's get to it," Akira said, starting to lead the way while the remaining thieves followed after him. All things considered the mission was going smoothly, with no interruptions.

Morgana rubbed his paws together as they went, grinning up at Akira. "I made the right choice in making a deal with you guys! Our first heist is going well! As usual, my instincts were correct. Nyahaha!"

The gang moved from the treasure room quickly, and quietly debated how best to get the treasure out of the castle. Going back the way they came was an option, of course. But the crown was heavy, and awkward, which would make the more narrow shortcuts a tight effort. And if they had to slow down, that added to the risk of being caught. Shizuka could make them invisible, but going through the whole palace like that could tax her powers. Ryuji wanted to just break the window outside the throne room and dump the thing down, picking the crown up again near the entrance. The suggestion of potentially damaging the crown left Morgana aghast.

Their debate didn't get past the throne room, when they were interrupted by an unwelcome cheering voice. "Go, go! Let's go! Ka-mo-shida!"

A volleyball suddenly shot across the room, striking the crown and knocking it from the grasp of the two Personae carrying it. The thieves jumped in surprise, as the form of Kamoshida's Shadow sailed over them and landed beside his throne, a sickening smirk on his face. He raised his hand, causing the fallen treasure to glow and shrink to a more manageable size. It floated into his outstretched hand and was deftly caught.

"I won't let anyone take this!" Another facsimile of Ann bounded over eagerly and clung tight to the king, making the real Ann visibly seethe.

"That rat bastard... that's really how he sees me!" In the chaos of awakening her Persona, she had managed to largely forget her first encounter with that cognitive version of herself. But now she had a full look at the damn thing, and little else to focus on.

"He must have a lot of those copies," Akira mused. He recalled Arsene, but remained on guard. This wasn't part of the plan, but if they had to fight him for the treasure then he was willing to go that far.

Ryuji took a step forward as his pipe materialized in his hand. "Yo pervert! Were you waitin' to ambush us?"

"I just made it easier to find you dirty thieves. I'll dispose of you myself, right here, right now."

Shiho clenched her free hand and took a step forward. Even with the blindfold covering top of her face, her glare was an impressive one. "Big talk from an overgrown coward... Think you're ready to fight someone who'll hit back?! We're not people you can abuse to your heart's content!"

"Abuse? Hmph. I haven't done anything wrong. If the people around me are the ones who want to keep it a secret, then I can't be held responsible. The adults who want to share in my accomplishments, the students who want to become winners. They willingly protect me, so that all may profit from me. But naive brats like you, and that idiot girl who tried to kill herself, just don't understand that!"

Shiho looked down at her feet, and then snickered. "Yeah, I'm an idiot alright. Anyone who lets you manipulate them, lets you push them around while thinking you have anything but your own self interest in mind... yeah, they're idiots. But that all ends today! We're not going to let you hurt another person, or ruin another life! You're not a king, you're a jumped up thug!"

"Ooooh, daaaang!" Ryuji gasped, looking like he wanted to high five Shiho with all his might for that crack.

"Tch! I shouldn't have expected gutter trash like you to understand! I'm above peasants like you!" The air grew hotter as the entire throne room began to rumble, swirling black clouds forming rapidly around Kamoshida's feet. "I'm the ruler of this world!" An explosion of black and red abruptly engulfed Kamoshida and the Ann cognition, and the thieves all took a step back as a tremendous shape began to take form in the ballooning smoke.

"W-what the hell?!" Ryuji clenched his club tight, reflexively calling Captain Kidd to his side.

Akira's knife appeared in his hand, and he gripped it firmly as he surveyed the tremendous figure that appeared over them. "On your guard everyone... this is gonna be stronger than anything we've fought so far."

Kamoshida was gone, replaced instead with an immense demonic figure with stark pink skin. His four arms extended above his head, one hand clutching a massive glass of red wine, another holding a heavy club, while the lower arms were sporting a golden knife and fork. His crown, massive again, rested atop his horned head. Huge bug eyes glowered down at them, while his fanged mouth hung open to reveal an abnormally long blue tongue.

"I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want!" he barked in a booming, echoing voice that shook the throne room.

"You're wrong," Akira plainly replied. "Guys... let's finish this!"