The Demon Slaying Yaksha
Before this chapter kicks off, just wanted to say that for the people I set as the Social Links, I did them based entirely on the kind of person/personality they have that I read on the Persona wiki. I didn't really base them on the name of the Arcana or what the Arcana typically represents.
For example, people in the Priestess Arcana were described to be usually quiet, reserved, and intelligent. Some of them that I've chosen may be a bit meh when it comes to deciding whether or not they fit into that specific Arcana, but we move.
I did have my struggles when trying to come up with them, so apologies if I messed up.
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"Speech"
'Thoughts'
『System/Persona Speech』
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At the current time, Ayato could be seen sitting at one of the tables in the main area as he was reading on some of the books that the inn provided for its occupants. The book he was currently reading was mainly explaining things about the supposed Seven Archons.
From what he was reading, the Seven Archons were the seven deities that presided over the seven different nations here in this world he came to know as Teyvat. He had gotten a map from Verr, though it only covered the nations of Mondstadt and Liyue, two of the seven nations that were listed, and their surrounding areas.
On top of this, from what he was currently reading, each of the Archons held a specific elemental power. The Archon that watched over the nation of Mondstadt controlled the power of the winds, otherwise known as Anemo. Liyue's Archon controlled the earth, otherwise known as Geo.
"Barbatos, the God of Freedom, and Morax, the God of Contracts... Interesting." Ayato muttered as he flipped to the next page of the book. While he wouldn't say that he was the greatest when it came to knowledge mythologies, he was sure there weren't gods that went by those names. 'Dagda, do you recognise them?'
『Not at all, kid. I know about every god and goddess, and those names don't ring any bells. However, those names are not unknown to me if were are not referring to them in the context of them being gods』
'What do you mean?'
『Both Barbatos and Morax are the names of two of the demons from Ars Goetia』
'The Seventy-Two Demons, huh? Coincidence...?' Ayato frowned as he heard the response he was given. Were these supposed gods actually demons, or was it mere coincidence? Since this was another world, perhaps it was. Shaking his head, he continued reading. 'What should my next move be...'
After having looked at the map he was provided by Verr, he could see that the closest nation to his the inn was Liyue, so that was probably his next destination. He had already paid for seven nights here at the inn, so might as well use them before he left.
Now that he thought about it, since he was going to be staying here at the inn for a while, he might as well take the time to get stronger. He had read about the creatures he fought, apparently they were called Hilichurls. While not as intelligent as humans, weren't entirely mindless.
From what he read about them, they typically set up their own campsites. So, if he was able to find them or any others out and about, he could defeat them for some experience. He didn't know how dangerous this world was in its entirety, so getting as strong as possible was one of his main goals.
Sighing once, Ayato closed the book before placing it down on the desk before standing up as he began walking towards the entrance. As he was doing so, he walked past another person that was just entering. He didn't think anything of it, though Dagda not so much.
『That's interesting...』
'What's up?'
『That person that just walked past you』Dagda voiced as Ayato stopped walking and turned around curiously. When he did, he saw that the person that walked past him just now was now talking with Verr at the front desk before walking off towards the kitchen area.『I'm sensing energy a powerful energy radiating off of him, along with traces of demons』
'Demons?' Ayato widened his eyes slightly at this as he watched the individual disappear into the kitchen. Eyes soon narrowing as he then asked. 'Is it something I should be concerned about? Demons aren't exactly known to be the most friendly of entities...'
Unlike in the Persona series, the entities referred to as Demons in the Shin Megami Tensei world were their own entities, so they were naturally more powerful in comparison to Personas and Shadows. Personas and Shadows spawned from the human consciousness, while the actual Demons were living entities.
『As of right now, I wouldn't say so』Dagda responded with a small snort.『The kid himself ain't no demon from what I can tell, but he does seem to hold power that far exceeds normal humans. I wouldn't be concerned as of right now, but remain on guard』
'How strong are we talking?'
『Enough to kick your pathetic ass as of right now. We should be able to put up a struggle if you summon me, but even then victory wouldn't at all be certain at our current level. He's definitely holding back as well, so there's that』
'All the more reason to get stronger than.' Ayato decided to ignore the person for right now as he continued walking towards the stairs to get down from the building. If that person proved to be hostile, then he would fight if necessary. Even if he couldn't win, he'd still try to fight.
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It had been around two hours now since Ayato began his little training session, and progress was honestly ridiculously slow. Similar to the games, his levelling up was taking quite a damn while. It didn't help either that Hilichurl camps weren't as common as he initially thought.
During these two hours, he had only managed to gain two levels himself and Dagda only gained a single level. Don't get him wrong, he did indeed felt a good bit stronger compared to before, but he really wished that levelling up wasn't as slow as this was.
No wonder people complained so much about having to level up Personas up to the minimum requirement needed for specific fusion, it was a massive damn grind! Well, guess you should never expect things to be easy in life, he sure knew that well...
『Hey, kid. We got some interesting company incoming』
"What...?" Ayato stopped running after hearing Dagda speak. He looked around for a second before feeling a small chill gone down his spine. Narrowing his eyes, he soon locked onto what Dagda was talking about. They appeared to be a small group of Hilichurls, though they were different from normal.
Unlike the regular ones he had been fighting thus far, as well as those strange slimes he'd been seeing about, these Hilichurls had a strange black energy that seemed to constantly radiate off of them. Just by looking at them, Ayato could tell they were far stronger compared to the ones he fought before.
『Those things are being empowered by negative energy. It's quite a powerful influence, but you should be able to deal with them if there aren't too many of them around』
"Alright then..." Ayato muttered before running forwards towards the first of the three demonified hilichurls. He ducked underneath its club before sending a punch directly into its stomach, to which he quickly sent an uppercut that sent it flying up high into the air. "Eiha!"
Pointing his hand towards the other two hilichurls, the pillar of Curse energy erupted beneath them, sending them flying back as well with scorch marks. However, the one he sent flying with his fists slowly got back up while growling, the other two did the same, though with more difficulty.
He wasn't too surprised since he had encountered some stronger Hilichurls before, some that surprisingly survived through Eiha. It was natural that not all of them were as weak as the one's he fought the first time, but these three were far more powerful as the attack did quite a bit less compared to normal.
Anyway, Ayato continued to fight back against them. While they were far stronger compared to the other ones he faced up until now, they weren't anything he would say that he'd have a major struggle against. They put up a fight, but it wasn't necessarily a death battle.
『Level Up』
『Kuragasaki Ayato felt a surge of energy inside』
『Your Hit Points and Skill Points have increased』
『You are now able to create Personas up to level 5』
Ayato breathed out in relief to the end of that battle, though he was soon interrupted by another notification appearing in front of him.
『Shuffle Time』
『4 Oracles』
"Wait, Shuffle Time is a thing?!" Ayato couldn't help but exclaim as he saw four cards appear in front of his face. Shuffle Time was a feature that occurred at the end of a battle, but not all the time, generally when the protagonist get the final blow on an enemies and such.
Even after all the battles he had up to this point, he had not gotten a single Shuffle Time! Maybe it was just a really rare thing to happen or maybe it only happens under more special conditions. Though, considering his luck, it was probably because he lacked luck!
However, unlike normal Shuffle Time though, he noticed that the cards were all hidden and he couldn't tell what kind of cards they were. He just watched as the cards shuffle around before shattering as only one of the cards remained among the shattered particles.
『A card of a Minor Arcana has been chosen: Sword, Rank 4』
『Obtained Onimaru Kunitsuna』
『Weapon has been obtained, a new feature has been added. Please refer to the character menu』
While Ayato was curious about what the new feature was, he was surprised to see that he had just been given a weapon. Quickly snapping out of the surprise, he made his way to his inventory before seeing that the blade was truly inside.
He wasn't sure of what the weapon looked like just as of yet, so he had to bring it out manually through the inventory. When he did, the sword soon appeared in his hands. It was a long beautiful katana, The blade itself thin yet incredibly sharp.
He knew of this sword very much, it was after all one of the Tenka-Goken, or otherwise known as Five Swords Under Heaven. The Onimaru Kunitsuna was imperial property, and had a legend about how it could move on its own and had done so to kill an oni, along with being one of the three regalia swords of the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.
That very blade was now resting in his hands.
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● Onimaru Kunitsuna - [One of the weapons belonging to the Tenka-Goken. Said to have moved on its own to defeat an oni] [Effect: +20 HP] [Attack: 121]
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"At least I have a weapon now, and it even has a very useful effect... I wasn't expecting a sword like this though." Ayato smiled as he inspected the blade. He was by far no blacksmith or weapon master, but he could tell the blade was masterfully crafted. "Alright, what's this other feature then..."
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『Character』ⓘ
Name: Kuragasaki Ayato
Age: 16
Level: 5
Balance: 9,280
Hit Points: 103/103
Skill Points: 74/74
Soul Weapon:『None』
Current Psyche:『Dagda』
Arcana:『The Fool』『The Universe』
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"Soul weapon?" Ayato couldn't help but mutter in confusion upon seeing it. Though, remembering that the info icon at the top was still a thing, he quickly focused on it as the familiar info screen appeared once again. However, this time, there was an extra section provided.
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Soul Weapon - [A slot for any item intended to be used as a weapon to be bounded to the user's soul. This weapon can be changed to another whenever the user wishes. By having a weapon selected as their Soul Weapon, the weapon will automatically summon itself if it senses the user is in danger. The weapon will also automatically return to the inventory when not in hand. Also, only weapons that have been selected as their Soul Weapon will have their additional effects provided to the user]
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'Like an automatic defense then?' Ayato was pleasantly surprised by what he read. You could think of it as an unconscious defense, something that would defend him even if he didn't know he was in danger. That would be useful in many ways, especially in sneak attacks. 'Alright, just do this... and that should be it.'
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『Character』ⓘ
Name: Kuragasaki Ayato
Age: 16
Level: 5
Balance: 9,280
Hit Points: 123/123
Skill Points: 74/74
Soul Weapon:『Onimaru Kunitsuna』
Current Psyche:『Dagda』
Arcana:『The Fool』『The Universe』
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"Hey, Dagda. You wouldn't happen to know how to wield a sword, more specifically a katana, do you?"
『Yeah. Why?』
"Well, I kind of don't know how exactly... So, can you teach me?"
『I guess, but you better not expect me to teach you if you decide to half-ass it, kid. You better be prepared for some serious damn training』
"Fine with me." Ayato shrugged. If he was going to be using this katana for battle, he should really learn how to wield a sword first. He may have been taught combat skills, but wielding a sword was an entirely different ball game. Anyway, the sword disappeared into particles as Ayato stretched a bit.
*CLANG*
"H-Holy shit!" Ayato jumped away when the sound of metal suddenly clashed right next to him. He swiftly turned around to see that Onimaru had just been summoned right behind him, and from the looks of it, the sword clashed together with a relatively large rock that was thrown at him. "A rock... Oh, not more of you guys!"
As the sword disappeared back into his inventory, Ayato could see that the thing that threw the rock at him was a hilichurl, though not the normal kind, it had that same dark aura that the other three he just fought had. Oh hey, and there's three more that just walked up...
'Why didn't you warn me, Dagda?!'
『Calm down, it was just a rock, it wouldn't have hurt you that badly at all. Plus, you now know that the self-defence mechanism of yours works fine』
"I hate you sometimes..."
『Watch out, kid. More are coming』
"Wait, what?" Ayato looked slightly to the left to see that there were indeed more of them walking towards his location. Just from a single glance, he could instantly tell there were around thirty of them. Three of them looked to be far larger compared to the rest, in fact, they looked quite different as one held a massive shield and the other two had axes. "Mitachurls..."
He had read about them when he researching on Hilichurls in the books from back at the inn, they were essentially much larger and more powerful versions of the Hilichurls. Not only that, these ones also appeared to be affected by this sinister energy as they all stared Ayato down.
"Screw my shitty luck..." Ayato growled slightly as he summoned Onimaru back in his hand. At least having this sword will make taking these things down much easier, but he wasn't going to get overconfident or even confident, he was going to be cautious as hell. Especially around those Mitachurls.
『Don't summon me yet, kid. Try to save up as much energy as you can, don't want you passing out before getting out of this battle alive』
"I know..." Ayato was going to try and lessen the number of enemies before he resorted to summoning Dagda. Just having him out was taxing on his psyche, even more so when he used Skills. "Here goes nothing I guess!"
Ayato quickly charged in, sword ready to swing as he appeared in front of a small group of the Hilichurls. When he swung the blade, the sword actually caused a deep slash wound to appear on three of them, making them stumble back in pain. He really got lucky with that Shuffle Time, maybe he would actually make it out alive.
He quickly chased after the stumbling Hilichurls, twisting his body to provide more momentum into his swing as he aimed for their heads. After all, one of the most vital limbs needed for a creature to typically live was the head, and with that gone, they should be no threat.
Well, it would be easier if not for the fact that he had more than twenty others gunning for him. Just as he slashed his blade and decapitated the three he was initially chasing, a whole other group consisting of five all leapt towards him with weapons already swinging down.
"Eiha!" Acting fast, Ayato jumped back as quickly as he could while simultaneously casting the Skill as the pillar of Curse energy sent the five Hilichurls flying back. Though, they quickly shook off the damage and slowly got back up.
He flipped Onimaru so that he was holding it backwards before swinging his arm backwards, the blade slicing through a Hilichurl that was trying to sneak up on him. It fell to the ground dead after he took the sword out from its skull, though he didn't get to have even a second to breathe as two more charged towards him.
Clicking his tongue, Ayato performed a spin with his blade still held pointing backwards. The slash ended up slicing into the throats of both Hilichurls, causing them to squirm as they fell to the ground in a pool of their own blood.
『Watch out, kid!』
"...!" Ayato didn't have time to dodge or retaliate when one of the Mitachurl suddenly started charging towards him. The on that did was the one with the shield, and it had used it to collide into Ayato as the male was sent flying back before proceeding to skid along the floor.
He gritted his teeth due to the force he felt behind that charge, though he quickly pushed himself off of the ground which transitioned into a flip as he landed back onto his feet. He had to shake his head a bit to rid himself of the shock his body felt after that collision.
"Fuck, that hurt...!"
『You alright, kid?』
"I want to say yes, but no..."
"I suggest you leave the rest of this to me." Ayato blinked when he heard an unfamiliar voice. When he turned to see who spoke, he was surprised to see that it was the very same person he had walked past back at the inn. They were wielding what looked to be a polearm. "Mortals should stay out of the affairs of us adepti."
"Adepti...?" Ayato frowned in confusion when he heard it. Though, he did refer to him as a mortal, so did that mean he was some kind of god or a being akin to one? He'd have to ask Dagda on the matter later. Maybe he'd be able to find a book covering these adepti or whatever later.
Before Ayato could say anything back, the individual put on some kind of strange mask that closely resembled that of a typical demon. After doing so, his body was soon releasing what looked to be a hazy black and blue energy. Coincidentally enough, that energy looked pretty similar to the one that was covering the Hilichurls.
『Ha! I see what's going on now』
'You do?'
『Isn't it obvious? Maybe not for you, but for me it is. That brat is releasing the very same energy that seems to be influencing these scrubs, a potent negative energy. From the looks of it, he's most likely not giving such power to these things voluntarily, it seems to be passive』
"Okay..." Ayato watched as the adepti charged in before cutting down the Hilichurls with masterful skills, he was fighting with the polearm as if it were natural to him. Ayato could easily tell that this adept individual was indeed an experienced fighter, and how experienced, he had no idea. "I ain't standing on the sidelines though!"
Ayato quickly charged back into the fight before he started slashing down the Hilichurls, making sure to remain on the attack while constantly moving to prevent giving them room to retaliate. Once they take down the Hilichurls, they could properly deal with those Mitachurls.
"While I won't say that I don't appreciate the help, I told you to leave this to me." The adeptus voiced as they stood back to back. "I can see that your new to wielding that blade, you have very little technique. This is also the job for us adepti, not for mortals like you."
"While I don't know what the adepti are, I'm not standing back." Ayato smirked slightly as he cut down two more of the Hilichurls that tried to rush at him. He glanced back and gave the male a small smile. "The name's Kuragasaki Ayato, nice to meet you."
"...Xiao." The person now known as Xiao was a bit taken back by the male's sudden introduction, but ultimately introduced himself as well. They both then continued their slaughter. "Be careful, they're stronger than normal. It seems that I have brought us greater trouble than I thought..."
"Huh? Mind explaining?" Ayato did hear Dagda's theory before, but he just wanted to confirm whether or not that was correct. As Xiao swung his spear and killed another Hilichurl, he responded to Ayato's question while heading towards another one.
"Unfortunately, the reason for these changes here in these monsters are because of me... They're being affected by me, more specifically, by the karma I've accumulated." Xiao seemed to explain with annoyance lacing his tone, annoyance towards himself.
"So, Dagda was right... In any case though, let's finish these guys off as fast as we can." Ayato muttered the first part before speaking loudly to Xiao. The polearm wielder just nodded after glancing at Ayato. The Hilichurls didn't prove to be too much of a threat, especially with both of them, but the Mitachurls were going to be a different story. "Alright, how do we do this?"
"Normally, they aren't as powerful as this. We have to be careful with our moves." Xiao warned as Ayato nodded his head with a serious look. Xiao then clenched his fist, an irritated look appearing on his face. "I would normally be able to deal with them easily, but I won't be able to last much longer if I continue exhausting my power any more than I have today..."
'Huh? Is something holding him back? He did look pretty tired when I saw him...' Ayato heard the mutterings of Xiao as they faced down the three Mitachurls. Perhaps Xiao was older than he looked, which was most likely the case considering everything. Anyway, both Xiao and Ayato charged towards the first Mitachurl.
Xiao attacked first with his polearm, but was reflected when the Mitachurl blocked using its massive shield. Ayato took the time to quickly get behind the Mitachurl, to which he charged in before running up along the Mitachurl's back while continuously slashing.
'Barely getting through here...' Ayato clicked his tongue before jumping off of the Mitachurl's head as it was flailing around to get him off. He landed beside Xiao as the Mitachurl recovered and glared at them as the other two stood beside it. "Xiao-san, my attacks are barely getting through that thick hide. What about your weapon?"
"Perhaps, but that shield may prove to be a problem if we don't get rid of it. We can try to have one of us distract it like just now while the other attacks from behind, but we have the other two to be concerned about as well. We just have to try our best."
"Then I guess no holding back anymore." Ayato smiled as he summoned his Evoker into his left hand, which made Xiao raise an eyebrow at the strange item. He watched as Ayato brought the 'weapon' up to his head before seemingly clicking some kind of trigger. "Dagda!"
『Hmph! Let us show these scrubs who they're messing with』
Xiao could only watch in shock as a large imposing figure soon appeared behind Ayato, the figure floating two meters or so in the air with crossed arms. Xiao had seen a lot in his years, but never in his life had ever seen anything like Dagda before.
Just gazing upon Dagda's form he felt truly inferior, and on top of that, he could feel a very powerful energy deep within Dagda that kind of reminded him of Rex Lapis. However, Dagda's power seemed to be locked away. But even then, he could feel its greatness that he couldn't even fathom.
Ayato smirked as he could feel his power increased quad-fold after having summoned Dagda, to which he then turned his attention over towards the dumbfounded adeptus. "Xiao-san, we're going to rush and take them down quickly. Are you ready?"
"Wh-What?" Xiao snapped out of his stupor after hearing Ayato's voice. "...Right!"
"Okay then. Heat Riser!" Ayato quickly casted the spell, but not only once, but twice. He used it once on himself as well as on Xiao. This wasn't a game, so he could repeatedly use his skills as long as he had the SP. After doing so, Ayato could feel the energy empowering him become even denser.
"Wh-What is this...?"
"I've increased our strength, defense and also agility. We should be able to take these guys down quickly, so let's not waste time!" With that, Ayato quickly rushed in towards one of the Mitachurls with a burst of incredible speed, Xiao watching in disbelief at the sudden boost in agility.
He watched as Dagda also followed after Ayato before beginning his own battle against one of the axe-wielding Mitachurls. Shaking his head, Xiao quickly rushed in as well with newfound speed. He could feel it, the increased power in his body, it was amazing.
Ayato quickly appeared in front of the shield-wielding Mitachurl, who was taken back by his opponent's sudden boost. Ayato smirked before stepping up onto the shield before kicking off of it as he leapt over the Mitachurl's head before landing behind it.
He then rushed in against before it could turn around, he slashed at its legs as it felt to its knees while dropping its shield as it gave a cry of pain. Ayato didn't stop though as he began running circles around the knelt Mitachurl as he slashed at it like no tomorrow.
With his improved strength, the blade was cutting much easier through the Mitachurl's thick hide. Soon, enough, the Mitachurl fell flat face onto the ground completely unmoving. Ayato then looked to see that Dagda was also already finished with the Mitachurl he went up to, who was now embedded into the ground in a literal small crater.
Looking over towards Xiao, he watched as Xiao thrusted his polearm at incredible speeds at the Mitachurl, effectively piercing a number of deep wounds into the Mitachurl as it had not time to recover or retaliate against him. Soon enough, Xiao jumped up before launching downwards towards the Mitachurl, his strike going right through its head as it fell backwards limp.
『Level Up』
『Kuragasaki Ayato felt a surge of energy inside』
『Your Hit Points and Skill Points have increased』
『You are now able to create Personas up to level 6』
『You are now able to create Personas up to level 7』
『Dagda has levelled up』
『Your Strength has increased by 1』
『Your Agility has increased by 1』
『Your Luck has increased by 1』
"We did it..." Ayato sighed as his sword disappeared into particles. The effects of Heat Riser also wearing off as its energy disappeared form both himself and Xiao, and speaking of Xiao, he had taken off his mask and was walking over towards him.
"About that entity..." Xiao muttered towards Ayato as he saw Dagda slowly disappearing back into the Sea of Souls. Ayato just looked at Xiao as the adeptus added. "I've never seen anything like it before. Just what exactly was it...?"
"Hmm, to put it into simple terms. He was a manifestation of my psyche." Ayato smiled as he gave the very simple explanation. Xiao seemed to raise an eyebrow at this as Ayato chuckled before he started walking off. "I'm going to head back to the Wangshu Inn, coming?"
"Sure..."
Ayato nodded with a smile as he waited for Xiao to catch up a bit before walking again. He had no reason to explain to this adeptus or whatever what a Persona was exactly, maybe in the future if circumstances happen or he trusts the guy enough. For now, he'd keep it to himself.
『A mysterious voice rings in your head...』
『Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana...』
『You have established a new Social Link』
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『Omake 1 - A Not So Good Time』
He had honestly no idea that Shuffle Time was actually a thing! If he got lucky, he could finally get a weapon, or maybe he would get a Persona to add to his roster! He could only watch with anticipation as the four cards were shuffling.
Ayato watched as the Shuffle Time cards were all moving around one another, they continued this for a good few seconds before they all began to slow. All but one then shattered into particles, to which the last one then slowly turned around...
『The card is cursed! Death draws near...』
"...Fuck off!"
『Wow, you're unlucky, kid...』
*CLANK*
Ayato could only pale completely white as he soon heard the sound of rattling chains clanking against one another. He slowly turned around to see what had come up behind him, and there it was, the being so many Persona players feared almost as much as thinking whether or not your teacher would give you homework.
The mother-fucking Reaper!
"Oh sweet baby Jesus..."
"This is a job for us adepti, not for morta- What the fuck is that?!"