Tokyo Psychic

The van changed lanes several times in the suburbs where there were no cameras, and drove into a very remote school.

The blazing white beam of the searchlight pierced through the rain curtain and into the dim carriage, like a flash of lightning that suddenly brightened the sky on a rainy night, allowing the two girls in the back seat to clearly see each other's faces.

Her long, straight hair was as black and shiny as a pencil lead, her violet eyes were misty like a rose in bloom in the morning, her facial features were as exquisite as those of a school idol, and her tearful expression gave her a lovable temperament, her long, well-proportioned legs, as white as ivory and smooth as silver, were pressed together, and she was trying to curl herself up in the corner of the back seat, pressing against the car door like a princess in distress.

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The girl with her neatly short hair tied with a red ribbon put her pistol back into the holster under her school uniform skirt and smiled dangerously. "Hehe, with that expression... no wonder the old man decided to choose you to be the 'Diao Chan'."

At this time, the car stopped.

The car door was opened from the outside, and a woman holding a black umbrella stood beside it, rain pouring down the edge of the umbrella. The cold, damp air rushed into the space inside the car, and the hot tears that seemed to be about to burst out of her eyes froze in an instant.

"Sagawa-sensei...?"

An and Subaru looked at the woman who opened the car door in disbelief.

She is a physical education teacher at the arts school, and they just met in the office today.

Sagawa ignored An and Subaru's fear and humbly asked the short-haired girl for her opinion, "Ms. Yajima, there will be a new 'customer' here today."

"Where there are 'products' there are 'customers'. It's a perfectly normal thing. Why do you have to tell me this specifically?"

"Because he's just an ordinary high school student."

"The son of a congressman? Or the son of a wealthy tycoon who wants to experience life?"

"No, none of that. I'm just... an ordinary high school student who transferred to Tokyo from out of town and took advantage of the weekends to travel."

The girl called "Yajima"'s expression changed subtly. "Is that what Shinma explained to you?"

"Yes, it is."

"Have you seen the new customer? Is his name Amamiya Ren?" Yajima seemed to have suddenly thought of something very important and hurriedly asked the physical education teacher.

Sagawa shook his head, "Principal Shinma didn't state his name."

Yajima clicked his tongue very loudly, then snatched the umbrella from the bewildered Sagawa as if he was trying to escape, walked quickly to the front of the car, and made an act as if he wanted to force the driver to get out and get in himself.

The rain was so heavy that the occasional flashes of lightning were accompanied by deafening roars, and many sounds were blurred in the endless drizzle.

Even sitting in the back seat of the car, An and Subaru could hardly hear the conversation between the two people outside the door.

Not to mention Yajima, who was opening the car door and hurriedly getting into the driver's seat - she didn't even notice that Shinma Xiaolian, who had been waiting for a long time in the school parking lot a little further away, was rushing into the rain with Kurusu Akatsuki.

By the time Yajima inserted the car key and tried to start the van, Xin Ma Xiaolian had already walked over and shouted loudly, "Ms. Yajima! I have found a young man with great potential for you. Please be sure to take a look at him!"

With the help of the low beam headlights of the car and the searchlights of the distant buildings, Yajima easily saw "Amamiya Ren" standing behind Shinma Xiaolian with an umbrella.

All thoughts and actions froze at this moment.

Unbearable fear ran through Yajima's body, and he seemed to have forgotten to even breathe.

A month ago in Tokyo, she saw with her own eyes the boy die in the toilet of a barbecue restaurant near Setagaya Ward:

At the moment when Amemiya Ren's consciousness was torn apart by the judgment brought down by the gods, all the light in his eyes disappeared, and only the empty shell of his body remained standing there motionless.

His spirit is completely dead and there is no possibility of recovery.

As the Persona user, Yuzuki Yajima had already confirmed through the "Eye of the World" given by God at that time that the Velvet Room's contractor, Ren Amamiya, had died along with his spirit, will, and "heart" along with his Persona.

But now, this monster that should have been dead has not only been successfully resurrected, but has also become more powerful than ever before, battle-hardened and invincible.

He didn't even have time to feel angry about Xin Ma Xiaolian's betrayal.

Fear and despair have flooded Yajima Yuzuki's sanity like a torrent, causing a chill that penetrates his heart.

......

Heavy rain hit the car windows and the road, breaking into countless tiny water droplets that filled the air and formed a thick white mist.

The car suddenly fell into silence, with only the friction sound of the wipers wiping the water making "clang, clang" sounds.

In the ashtray on the center console, the crackling sound of burning cigarette butts could be faintly heard.

Yajima Yuzuki just sat there like a wax figure.

Until the young man's figure slowly emerged from the mist, and he and the black umbrella in his hand were bathed in the waterfall-like water curtain.

The incandescent headlights illuminated the dark rainy night.

The heavy rain fell on the puddle-filled road, creating countless ripples.

The string holding onto his sanity snapped at this moment. Yajima Yuzuki hysterically yelled at Kurusu Akatsuki in a voice he himself couldn't understand, then he slammed the accelerator, turned the steering wheel, and drove the car towards him.

So what if you came back from the dead? If you have the guts, come back to life right here in front of me and see!

In her rapidly dilating pupils, the young man in the windshield did not make any dodging moves, nor did he pay attention to the screams and exclamations around him. He just stood there calmly, with the awareness of facing death flashing in his eyes.

"Persona!"

The bright red demon spread its jet-black wings behind him, and in Yajima Yuzuki's eyes, its huge claws enlarged and approached at an extremely fast speed. The metal car body was torn into pieces with a "swish" sound as if it were paper.

The entire torn cab was covered in deep purple flames. Metal, glass, plastic... everything that looked solid was burned in an instant, leaving no ashes.

The rear half of the car body was broken off and hit the ground heavily. The screaming An and Subaru were thrown out by the huge inertia generated by such a sudden change, and then were held steadily in the arms of Kurusu Akatsuki who was wearing a school uniform.

pat.

A watch fell out of the burning cockpit and landed on the ground. Even after experiencing the unnaturally high temperature just now, it was still intact.

In the pouring rain, no one noticed its existence.

The only pointer on the dial suddenly dropped from the "1" position to the second grid.

Then, time began to go backwards.

The rain poured down like a waterfall, and the structure of the cab was reassembled in the flames. An and Subaru returned to the back seat of the van, and the broken van was reassembled.

The burned-to-ash Yuzuki Yajima returned to the driver's seat. She lifted her right foot from the accelerator and dropped it heavily again!

This time, she swerved the steering wheel, trying to steer the van away from Kurusu Akatsuki.

The pain and fear of death almost made her swallow air desperately as if she was having an asthma attack.

But the next moment, the cry of "Persona" was still heard in the rainstorm.

The invisible slash instantly cut the van in half, and on Yajima Yuzuki's wrist, the pointer on the watch dial jumped from "2" to "3".

The third death flashback.

Yuzuki Yajima rushed out of the cab, raised his pistol at the boy in front of him without hesitation, and emptied the magazine with an almost crazy and ferocious smile.

Amidst the burst of flames and dense gunfire, even the sound of calling for the personality mask was omitted.

A huge demon appeared out of nowhere and slapped Yajima Yuzuki, who was holding the gun, and knocked him away along with the bullets flying out of the gun barrel.

The fourth death flashback.

The moment Yajima Yuzuki saw Kurusu Akatsuki, he immediately raised his pocket watch and summoned his own personality mask with the help of the spiritual power contained in it.

But what answered her was the dazzling fire from the musket raised by the bloody demon behind the boy.

The fifth time, the sixth time, the seventh time... the twelfth time.

The continuous deaths almost caused Yuzuki Yajima's spirit to collapse.

She felt so powerless that no matter what decision she made, it would be ineffective.

The resurrected monster could always use intuition and insight that she could not understand to instantly grasp her true thoughts and then make countermeasures.

Even if you kneel down and beg for mercy or drive away as if nothing happened, you will immediately be attacked by the other party's terrifying and unreasonable personality mask.

Even if I receive God's blessing, there are strict restrictions on how I can use my personality mask in reality... How can he unleash such a powerful move so easily?

Yuzuki Yajima couldn't understand what he was going through.

She sat in the driver's seat, breathing hard.

Every muscle and bone in her body was screaming and wailing. The pain, beyond words, that had surpassed death itself, continuously attacked her brain, causing her eyes to become bloodshot, and a thin, winding trickle of blood slowly flowed from her nose.

The immense pain made her want to shoot herself immediately.

But the remaining desire to survive made Yajima Yuzuki's fingers stop the moment they touched the handle of the gun.

She had seen too many Persona users blessed by God in that magnificent palace, but no one was like Kurusu Akatsuki, who could unleash an almost overwhelming presence simply by releasing his Persona.

Having lost all her decision-making power, she could only slump in her seat in a daze, unable to even think of lifting a finger.

Until footsteps sounded from the silence, gradually approaching and becoming clearer.

pat, pat.

Like rain hitting the car window.

Sneakers stepped on the water-logged ground...

pat, pat.

Every time she heard footsteps, it seemed as if her heart would contract violently with fear.

Kurusu Akatsuki followed Shinma Xiaolian to the front of the car. He looked at the girl in the driver's seat with a face full of despair and numbness with a subtle look of doubt.

Is this also a victim?

The Phantom Thief couldn't detect any hostility from her.

It's a bit strange, there seems to be traces of the power of "Personality Mask" in this guy's body.

But this power seems too weak.

How could a mind that allows a personality mask to appear be so weak?

It felt like she had gone out today and experienced her parents being hit and killed by a car; her sister being split in two by the head of a bulldozer that fell from the sky; her best friend being doused with gasoline and then set on fire; she finally got to school, but suddenly gangsters rushed into the campus with guns and opened fire crazily; she abandoned all her dignity and knelt down to beg for mercy in order to survive, and then was kicked off the teaching building; she was lucky enough to survive by hanging on the treetop, but before she could land, a grenade was thrown out of the window above her head and exploded at a close distance... In the end, she was sent to the hospital half-dead for emergency treatment. The nurse gave her an injection for a blood transfusion, but dozens of injections failed to successfully insert the needle into the vein. She felt desperate and powerless.

After careful identification, Kurusu Akatsuki became more certain that this girl should be considered one of the victims of the "out-of-control incident."

With such a weak heart, let alone driving the personality mask to fight, he can't even do the step of summoning, right?

Kurusu Akatsuki stood behind Xinma Xiaolian holding an umbrella, watching him say a few words to the girl about the transaction, and the girl responded weakly.

Then Xin Ma Xiaolian went to the back seat of the car and followed the physical education teacher to bring An and Subaru out.

"It's you?" The thief looked at the girl in front of him who had just exchanged contact information with him today.

With tears in their eyes, An and Subaru also looked at Kurusu Akatsuki in front of them with an incredulous look.

"What's wrong? Do you know each other?" Xin Ma Xiaolian held an umbrella and kicked the heels of his leather shoes impatiently. It seemed that some plastic particles from the playground had gotten into them and were very painful.

"We just met today."

"That's convenient." Shinma Xiaolian signaled the female teacher beside him to quickly restrain An Heshou's hands, then walked over and put his arm around Kurusu Akatsuki's shoulders. "I told you, after we get in, don't ask anything, just enjoy yourself."

The thief nodded, his face full of conviction and sincerity, and the phone in his pocket was recording the whole process.

He just hoped his iPhone's battery could last another hour.

An He Subaru allowed his hands to be handcuffed by the physical education teacher named Sagawa, and did not dare to resist at all.

After all, the person sitting in the car behind her was a person with super powers.

At this time, Yuzuki Yajima, who had finally regained some sanity from the experience of continuous death, raised his head and saw a group of people walking away.

I... survived?

Thinking of this, tears couldn't stop flowing out.

"Monster..." She muttered to herself over and over again, then reached for the car keys with trembling hands, wanting to turn the car around and escape immediately.

We must return to the temple immediately.

As long as we can seek help from that god, we will be able to...

At that moment, a bit of hatred and resentment ignited in Yajima Yuzuki's heart.

Kurusu Akatsuki, who was following Shinma Xiaolian towards the teaching building, suddenly stopped when he heard the engine sound.

He turned around and looked at the van that was starting.

Then, his attention shifted from the starting vehicle to Yajima Yuzuki who was trying to drive.

At the same time, Yajima Yuzuki also felt Kurusu Akatsuki's attention.

Tears and snot flowed uncontrollably. She glanced at the watch on her wrist, then stepped on the accelerator while crying and roaring.

Must escape.

Must survive.