Shadow Seele's sudden emotional outburst, in Mei's eyes, who knew the inside story, was clearly filled with intense shame, anger, and a desperate attempt to cover things up.
As Shadow Seele's shout echoed, the deep red light surging around her scattered in all directions like rippling waves, fully revealing her appearance—similar to Seele's, yet different.
"You ill-intentioned intruders, get back to wherever you came from!"
Appearing in the standard Shadow manifestation manner, the red-haired girl, possessing an exquisite face identical to Seele's, had her eyes glowing with an ominous crimson light.
Her voice carried a heavy echo, filled with a chilling and irritable tone, as she warned and attempted to expel Ren and the others.
"Damn it, am I still too late?... Could it be that one doesn't even need to say the words? Just the intention of saying them can be converted into the Shadow's power?!"
Gazing at Shadow Seele, who had raised her crimson-black, eerie blood claws, linked by dark chains, towards Ren and the others, poised to launch a full-force attack...
Mei's eyes sharpened. While tightening her grip on her Raikiri katana and assuming a ready stance, she muttered regretfully under her breath.
"If only I had noticed a bit earlier and successfully stopped Seele from saying those words..."
"Don't blame yourself, this happens often... Besides, Seele's situation is more special than most. Even without saying those words, her Shadow might already possess considerable strength."
Ren comforted the dejected Mei.
Seele, having been modified by Cocolia towards the life form of a Velvet Room attendant, had gained immense power herself. Her Shadow, being another Seele, naturally also mastered all the abilities Seele possessed.
Even without uttering the forbidden words, Shadow Seele still possessed extraordinary, immense power.
At this moment, seeing Ren and the others still standing their ground, not obediently putting Seele down and retreating despite her ultimatum...
The anger in Shadow Seele's heart finally reached its peak.
The chain-claws coiled around her palms rattled violently, then shot out like crimson vipers, launching a ferocious and terrifying claw strike towards Ren with unsparing, lightning-fast momentum.
CLANG—!!
A crisp sound of metal striking metal suddenly rang out.
Shadow Seele's crimson chain-claws moved incredibly fast, yet Persona Arsene's speed was even swifter.
In a mere breath, Arsene, clad in his crimson formal wear, appeared before Ren, striking out with his own sharp, black claws. After a dazzling spark, he deflected Shadow Seele's flying crimson chain-claws to the side.
"...What?!"
The Persona Huodou Ren had summoned earlier was easily insta-killed by her. Although Shadow Seele could sense Persona Arsene possessed strength far surpassing the previous Persona Huodou...
She never imagined Persona Arsene's power could be so immense, effortlessly neutralizing her attack made in a fit of rage.
Don't tell me I've kicked another iron plate...
Realizing how troublesome Persona Arsene was, a sense of foreboding welled up in Shadow Seele's heart.
Before Shadow Seele could think further, a massive, deep red dragon claw, carrying a violent gust of air, slammed down from the sky, forcing her to immediately retreat from her original position, creating distance from Persona Kurikara.
"Hare, don't just stand there watching! You join in too!"
While commanding Persona Arsene to pursue Shadow Seele, Ren turned his head to the side, instructing Hare, who had been merely observing.
Initially, due to Seele's deceptively fragile appearance and personality, Ren had subconsciously handed her over to Hare for care.
However, once the battle truly began, Ren quickly realized that Seele, having undergone Cocolia's human experiments, was different from ordinary people caught in their own Palaces facing their Shadows. She was fully capable of self-preservation and didn't need Hare's special protection.
Since Seele didn't require Hare's special attention, Ren naturally chose the sacred F2A [Attack Move All Units], gathering the strength of all members to take down Shadow Seele together!
"...I understand."
Hearing Ren's command, Hare paused for a moment. She gazed at Shadow Seele, who was struggling under the combined assault of Persona Arsene and Persona Kurikara, then slowly nodded in response.
Although she had only met Shadow Seele briefly, as fellow Manifestation-type Stigmata, Hare could sense certain emotions from Shadow Seele that Ren and Mei would find difficult to perceive.
Shadow Seele displayed an attitude of rage and irritation, but beneath her aggressive and unreasonable facade, there seemed to be a hidden concern for the real Seele...
Due to the short duration of contact with Shadow Seele, Hare couldn't definitively confirm if her feelings were accurate.
However, there was one thing Hare could confirm without a doubt.
Shadow Seele was an enemy who had actively attacked Ren!
Shadow Seele had initiated an assault on Ren. Ren, her cherished companion, was calling for her help. Thus, there was clearly only one thing Hare needed to do.
Besides, Stigma Manifestations couldn't truly die. Hare wouldn't feel much psychological pressure if she had to act against Shadow Seele.
Thus, under Seele's astonished gaze...
A magnificent purple dream-barrier suddenly deployed. Hare, wearing a head-mounted mask that only revealed her pink lips, clad in futuristic blue armor, gripped a purple javelin. With unstoppable speed, she charged towards Shadow Seele, joining the siege against her.
"—Nngh!!"
The javelin, glowing with an ethereal purple light, whistled through the air, striking Shadow Seele's barely raised crimson chain-claws with immense force, sending her slender, light body flying like a baseball.
Taking the brunt of Armored Hare's javelin attack, Shadow Seele couldn't help but let out a muffled grunt, her body flying backward at extreme speed.
Shadow Seele desperately tried to adjust her body in mid-air, finally managing to halt her backward momentum.
However, just as Shadow Seele stabilized her figure in the sky, a massive shadow suddenly loomed over her slender, frail form.
Shadow Seele's body stiffened slightly. She instinctively looked up, only to see a pair of massive dragon eyes glowing with crimson light.
Mei, in a crouching position atop Persona Kurikara's deep red dragon head, looked down from above at the unsuspecting Shadow Seele below. She decisively ordered Kurikara to attack.
The crimson demonic dragon opened its ferocious, blood-red maw. Dazzling, brilliant lightning rapidly condensed within its mouth, transforming into a world-destroying beam of thunder that swept towards Shadow Seele, who was flying low below.
Even though Shadow Seele moved at her fastest speed, even deliberately moving towards Ren's position to make Mei hesitate, she still couldn't completely outpace the lightning. Her black-dressed figure was completely engulfed in the vast pillar of thunder.
"Damn it, that place... If only I can reach that place, grab that guy as a hostage!"
After the vast purplish-red lightning dissipated, Shadow Seele, forced from the sky to the ground by the thunder, looked battered but had not sustained much substantial damage.
Although Mei's attack appeared the most spectacular, Kurikara was ultimately just a Judgment-class Honkai Beast. Even with enhanced strength, it couldn't pose a fatal threat to Shadow Seele, a natural Stigma Manifestation.
If Shadow Seele were to choose an opponent for a one-on-one fight, she would unhesitatingly choose Mei.
But unfortunately, she had no choice.
Shadow Seele's heart was filled with indignation. This group of people who had inexplicably invaded her Stigma Palace even called themselves phantom thieves! What kind of phantom thieves were this strong, able to suppress her, a Stigma persona, in a frontal battle... This looked more like a group of world-class super bandits!
Possessing such immense strength, yet still choosing to invade Seele's Stigma space...
The sense of crisis in Shadow Seele's heart intensified. The stronger Ren and the others appeared, the more dangerous their motives were, and Seele, who was forced to be involved, would also face mortal danger.
After the recent battle, Shadow Seele had a very clear understanding of the current situation.
If she were facing only two enemies simultaneously, Shadow Seele was confident she could use the Stigma space's environmental advantages to escape with Seele.
But if facing three enemies at once, Shadow Seele would have no chance of turning the tables.
Therefore, if Shadow Seele wanted to protect Seele and successfully escape with her, there was only one option left.
Take a hostage!
Shadow Seele could see that although Persona Arsene and Persona Kurikara were extraordinarily strong...
The strength of Ren and Mei lay only in those beings they called Personas.
As for Ren and Mei themselves, although much stronger than ordinary people, they were still weak compared to Shadow Seele. They were her only exploitable weakness!
As a Stigma persona, Shadow Seele didn't possess human morals. Even an act like taking a hostage, if it could effectively save Seele, she would do it without hesitation!
Step, step...
Just as Shadow Seele stepped forward, preparing to brave Kurikara's onslaught and continue rushing towards Ren's position...
The sound of unhurried footsteps quietly reached Shadow Seele's ears.
She looked forward, following the sound of the footsteps, and then her crimson pupils instantly dilated to their maximum.
Under the cover of Kurikara's deafening thunder, Ren, Shadow Seele's intended hostage, had not retreated but had instead actively approached her.
Of course, it wasn't just Ren, the Persona user, approaching Shadow Seele.
"Let's test out a new move I've mastered on you—Arsene, use Taixu Sword Form: Quaking Wind Style!"
Gazing at the momentarily stunned Shadow Seele before him, a smile played on Ren's face, hidden behind the white spirit bird mask. His hands were casually tucked into the pockets of his phantom thief attire, the bird-wing-shaped coattails of his coat rustling in the howling wind.
Persona Arsene, clad in crimson formal wear, a pointed top hat on his head, and black falcon wings on his back, flew out from behind Ren accompanied by a storm. Its hand, bearing sharp black claws, was raised like a sword. With palm as blade, it suddenly struck towards the terrified Shadow Seele.
Persona Arsene was an extension of Ren himself. Skills Ren himself learned could naturally be executed through Persona Arsene's body.
And the Taixu Sword Qi, this immortal technique, didn't necessarily require a sword to unleash its proper power.
As long as one completed the cultivation of the Taixu Sword Heart and reached the state where all things under heaven could be a sword, one would no longer be bound by the limitations of the sword itself. Even with fists, one could perfectly unleash the power of Taixu Sword Qi.
And Ren happened to have considerable insight into the cultivation of the Taixu Sword Heart. With his experience in Hokushin Itto-ryu and Yae Shrine swordsmanship, he had understood the essence of swordsmanship through analogy and possessed the ability to wield the Taixu Sword Heart.
Persona Arsene, using palm as blade, executed the Quaking Wind Style, the most powerful opening move in the Taixu Sword Forms. As it thrust its palm forward, the storm surged and swept, like a cataclysmic sword strike cleaving heaven and earth.
In a mere instant, even though Shadow Seele's gaze hadn't left Persona Arsene for even a fraction of a second...
While the thought of quickly dodging this seemingly extremely powerful attack still lingered in her mind, and she was preparing to move her body to evade, Shadow Seele suddenly felt her body grow heavy and tired.
A brilliant flash of dark sword light erupted from her petite body.
As Persona Arsene retracted its palm-sword and flew back behind Ren, flapping its falcon wings, Shadow Seele's eyes rolled upwards powerlessly. The chains floating in the air beside her clattered to the ground, and her own knees buckled forward, causing her to fall to her knees before Ren with a thud.
"Is that all you've got?... Right, you're not the real Reaper, just a Shadow that looks somewhat similar to it."
After careful observation, confirming Shadow Seele had indeed lost the ability to resist, Ren raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. He then spoke to Shadow Seele, who was kneeling before him with a look of unwillingness.
"Choose. Will you submit to me, or die here?!"