Tokyo Psychic

The longer you stay in the impression space, the greater the price you have to pay to break through the barrier.

Akira Kurusu calls this ability to jump through the real world through the world of consciousness "mind warp" according to the setting in "StarCraft".

The longest mental jump he could make was from Okutama District in Tokyo to Taito District in one breath. The distance of 70 kilometers in between almost completely exhausted his mental strength.

Fortunately, the eight-kilometer distance between Shigenjaya and Kanda is not too far.

Kurusu Akatsuki easily appeared in a somewhat messy toilet.

Why is it the women's restroom?

He opened the door and looked around, luckily there was no one there.

Then he walked out, took out his cell phone calmly and confirmed the location.

The location of Shoko Toyokawa's phone was indeed in the women's restroom.

He was silent for a while, then began to check each door one by one.

This is not the first time I have encountered such an embarrassing situation.

But as a battle-hardened mind thief, even if he accidentally entered the women's restroom, he could complete all the actions without changing his expression, then walk out the door and wash his face with cold water next to the sink.

This strong psychological quality is the reason why he is invincible.

Kurusu Akatsuki quickly found Toyokawa Shoko's cell phone in the corner. Next to it were several strange metal objects, which were emitting communication signals similar to those of a cell phone.

The thief's face immediately turned pale.

At this time, he heard the sound of women talking outside the toilet. He hurried into the toilet, picked up the mobile phone and equipment on the ground, and then dived back into the impression space.

Fortunately, he had only wasted four minutes so far.

There is still a chance to find the whereabouts of Toyokawa Shoko——

He would never ask An and Subaru to use the ability to "rewind time" unless it was absolutely necessary.

After all, to fully experience the feeling of death is beyond any kind of torture.

Kurusu Akatsuki looked at the railroad tracks in the impression space in front of him and started a new round of "hitchhiking" without hesitation.

......

The strong feeling of suffocation made Shoko Toyokawa's consciousness increasingly blurred.

Her sight gradually fell into a dark abyss.

The double fear, both physical and psychological, came crashing down from all directions like an icy tide.

She lay on the ground, the freezing water constantly washing over and drowning her body, as if it would take away all the warmth.

Thoughts became slow and chaotic, and various memory images began to dim.

Shoko Toyokawa opened her eyes with difficulty, and could actually see another reflection of herself in the dark water that completely covered her.

She is also "Shoko Toyokawa".

She was wearing a gorgeous performance costume, as if she was going to a stage full of spotlights. Her face was full of happiness and joy, and her smile was so sweet and lovely, just like when she was in junior high school and playing with her first band members...

What song was that?

I can't remember it at all.

"Toyokawa Shoko" walked away step by step, taking the memories that she cherished with her to a completely unknown and terrifying place.

Just like that, even that song…that song whose name I can no longer remember, will be completely taken away.

I'm so unwilling...

All the complaints, anger and disappointment towards my father began to fade away.

I really can't accept this...

A wave crashed against Toyokawa Shoko's face, surging in darkness, like a glance from an equally dark young man who suddenly turned his head. There was a pale blue flame burning in his eyes, and combined with the white lark mask, he became an image that was about to fade away completely.

You have given up too many precious things for the sake of life.

So, let’s say goodbye.

The phantom of the thief seemed to say this, then turned around without any hesitation and left with that "Toyokawa Shoko".

No... Shoko Toyokawa almost collapsed and tried to struggle to get up.

As if in response to this intense emotion that surpassed her entire life so far, the surrounding sea water suddenly became turbulent, and a power as hot and scorching as fire was born in her almost stiff body.

She stood up from the sea, stretched out her hand with all her might, and ran towards the phantom of the thief. However, the moment her palm touched the thief's body, it passed through -

Shoko Toyokawa pushed down her other self, pressed her into the cold sea water, and strangled her throat.

The phantom of the thief was standing behind her, with a smile of relief and satisfaction on his face.

(042.webp)

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(Eight updates completed. Please vote! Please vote!)

(There should be two more chapters around ten o'clock tomorrow morning... Such a powerful typing force is surging on the keyboard! Soaring! It is bound to make all the lazy people in the pigeon nest succumb!)

(Also, regarding Toyokawa Shoko, the first COOP who is about to awaken her personality mask, a separate chapter will be released later to explain the setting logic. If you are interested, you can take a look.)

068. I am you, you are me (two in one)

(043.webp)

The cold, dark water hitting the skin was a piercing pain like a knife.

At this time, Toyokawa Shoko looked at the water beside her. She was wearing a gorgeous performance costume, and black flames flowed in her dark golden pupils.

She looked down in shock at the other "self" who was being strangled by the neck.

"Toyokawa Shoko" was wearing a school uniform. A soaked notebook floated beside her, and the handwriting on the pages was so blurred that it was difficult to distinguish.

Just when Shoko Toyokawa was feeling a little overwhelmed by all the changes, a pair of warm hands quietly approached and gently covered her face.

The girl in school uniform stared at "herself" in performance costume on the water with a look of great regret and surprise.

"I have always believed that when my prayers truly attract the attention of the gods, I can calmly and joyfully accept all changes."

After regaining some clarity in an instant, Toyokawa Shoko gradually relaxed the strength in her hands, "How could it be..."

The girl beneath the water turned her head, looking at the notebook beside her, and smiled gently. "Yes, we have given up so many precious things for the sake of the word 'life'. If even this last bit of cherished memory is taken away, then this so-called 'God' is too evil and cruel."

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand and combed Toyokawa Shoko's messy hair. "Next, there is an extremely important 'performance' waiting for you. No matter whether the critics are gods or someone else, you must bravely and resolutely deny their voices..."

The surging sea surface had become as calm as a lake at some point, reflecting the faces of two exactly the same girls like a mirror, their figures quietly overlapping in the darkness.

All the seawater that symbolized "loss" evaporated in an instant, leaving behind a dark world as clear as a mirror.

Shoko Toyokawa placed her hands on the mirror. She looked at the girl in school uniform smiling at her in the mirror, and stood up with some difficulty.

Suddenly I turned around and found that the phantom of the thief had disappeared.

So, holding tightly onto the burning emotion in her heart, Shoko Toyokawa walked resolutely towards the boundless darkness.

Even if I don’t know where the future will take me, at least I am not qualified to stop today.

......

Reality is collapsing into the space of impressions.

This was the first time that Yuzuki Yajima experienced such a terrifying thing as a personality mask.

"Sagawa! What happened?!" she shouted at her assistant.

"He's catching up!" Sagawa's face was full of panic, and the entire impression space was shaking like an earthquake. In the huge tunnel, the rails and the ground collided violently, as if thousands of chains tied together were dragged and rubbed. In the depths of the tunnel, there seemed to be some huge beast roaring, constantly spewing out a white light like steam.

"Where's Senior Fu?"

"She's in the tunnel..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a shadow covered in blood flew out of the tunnel, and Chimera's personality mask was shattered.

The personality mask, whose body was cracked and bleeding and whose face was almost invisible, fell heavily to the ground and fell unconscious.

"Hurry up and retreat with the [Demon]," the man carrying the katana rushed past Sagawa and Yajima Yuzuki, "I'll buy you some time."

But just as he rushed into the tunnel and released his personality mask, a black bullet shot out at his face, smashing the Japanese samurai-shaped personality mask into pieces.

The personality mask user carrying the katana rolled his eyes and fell to the ground unconscious.

Yuzuki Yajima saw with her own eyes that when this senior in the organization fell down, the pocket watch hanging on his chest shattered instantly, which meant that the other party had been killed instantly thirteen times in a row without her noticing.

Personas claiming to be "God's Chosen Ones" continued to rush out from behind them, without hesitation, and rushed into the tunnel in front of them...

Soon the ground was littered with unconscious "corpses" lying all over the place.

The Phantom Thief tossed his dagger around as he walked slowly over them. Even though some of the Personas pretending to be dead tried to hold their breath and feign unconsciousness, they were still knocked unconscious by the Phantom Thief's quick-witted approach.

Unless they were one of those rare scums who had committed so many evil deeds that they were not even worthy of repentance, or were some weird creatures who were not even human beings in any sense of the word, Kurusu Akatsuki would generally not kill them, but would find ways to make them "repent".

After all, the root cause of the distorted desires of those sinners lies in the "false gods" who secretly control the world.

Of course, if the enemy comes to him, Kurusu Akatsuki, who is used to working alone, will sometimes inevitably do something beyond the "Phantom Thief Code"... such as excessive self-defense.

Without trustworthy teammates, he can only increase his vigilance to the maximum extent.

When the ceiling above his head suddenly shattered, the personality mask lurking in the upper level fell from the sky, and the American Iaijutsu that Kurusu Akatsuki had practiced hard for several months on the West Coast was activated reflexively.

With a speed barely discernible to the naked eye, he quickly drew his pistol and raised it to aim at the enemy falling overhead. At that moment, his personality mask, "Arsene," a manifestation of his inner strength, also appeared, swinging out a spear-like musket, also aimed at the enemy above.

"[Supreme Magic Bullet]."

Thunderous gunshots echoed in the empty station.

*

Yuzuki Yajima and Sagawa fled desperately at the station with Shoko Toyokawa.

Finally, a tram stopped at a platform a little further away.

The two personality mask users quickly took Toyokawa Shoko into the bloody carriage.

Even though the crisis was imminent, Yuzuki Yajima still insisted on putting Shoko Toyokawa on the chair and continuing the "memory deprivation operation" that he had not completed just now.

She was unwilling to give up the mission assigned by God, which was to operate the sickle sealed in the watch again, at least to erase all memories of Toyokawa Shoko related to the personality mask.

At the moment when the sickle pierced Toyokawa Shoko's body again——

The girl who should have lost consciousness suddenly opened her eyes, and dark flames seemed to be burning in her dark golden pupils.

Yajima Yuzuki was startled by this sudden change. The next moment, an irresistible force suddenly hit her chest. With the sound of broken bones, her body uncontrollably hit the wall of the carriage.

The whole carriage was shaking violently, and Sagawa on the side almost immediately called out her personality mask, an old man wearing a straw raincoat. This was "Old Man Kusano", the messenger of God who always appeared in "invisible" in Japanese folklore. After becoming a personality mask, he had the ability to eliminate the presence of all objects he touched.

With the help of this personality mask, Sagawa erased the presence of the pistol he had been hiding in his coat pocket, and then immediately drew the gun and emptied the magazine at the unsuspecting Toyokawa Shoko.

There were continuous gunshots, but the bullets were all blocked by something like an invisible wall before they hit Toyokawa Shoko. The collision made a sharp explosion, and then the bullets fell flat, crackling all over the ground.

Sagawa didn't dare to act rashly again.

The carriage immediately became quiet, with only the deafening clanging sound of the wheels hitting the rusty tracks.

Yajima Yuzuki leaned against the wall and gasped in pain, then she looked up at Sagawa opposite her and made up her mind with gritted teeth... She held the watch on her hand and twisted the dial with all her strength.

The sickle appeared again, and it directly included Sagawa and Toyokawa Shoko in the attack range.

Sagawa immediately realized the betrayal he was about to face and couldn't help but yell at her in horror, "Yajima, are you kidding me?"

The only response she got was Yajima Yuzuki's cold gaze.

"We don't have time."

When he realized that he was about to face death, Yuzuki Yajima released all restrictions on the sickle without hesitation. This time, he would use the blade to cut off the spiritual level of all creatures it touched.

She was very glad that the "poison" that she had released on Shoko Toyokawa through her personality mask not long ago, which could make people "lose their power", had not completely lost its effect.

Even if the opponent awakens his personality mask at such a critical moment, he will never be able to avoid this move.

Gradually regaining consciousness, Toyokawa Shoko saw the sickle sweeping towards her from so close, and immediately tried to dodge, but found that her body was completely unresponsive, weak and sluggish, as if she were seriously ill...

But at this moment, there was a voice in my body shouting loudly.

[Don't give up hope for "rebirth"! Don't forget the desire to "resist"! Then, let's conclude the contract now!]