As a being akin to Kevin's shadow, the Kaslana Stigma Will was fully aware of the true nature of the Stigma Project Kevin intended to implement.
Kevin sought to erase humanity's potential and redefine humanity itself. It was entirely fitting for the world to label him an "Evil God."
"What's your take on it? On the Evil God's arrogant plan to imprison all humanity, strip people of their choices, and personally decide humanity's fate?"
Facing the Kaslana collective consciousness, whose existence mirrored that of the Evil God Yaldabaoth, Ren fell silent for a moment before asking for her opinion on the "Evil God."
"...My opinion is meaningless. His will is not something we can obstruct."
"Kallen's" icy blue, slit pupils wavered slightly, but she quickly regained her usual cold composure, her voice responding to Ren like a frigid wind.
"Even I cannot reach the heights of the true power he possesses, let alone you, who are weaker than I am."
The rebellious spirit flickering in Ren's words made the Kaslana Stigma Will glance at him with mild interest.
But defiance alone was far from enough. Ren's current strength was already considerable; aided by the Zeroth Power of the Key of Corruption [Jizo Mitama's Berserk buff], he could likely defeat an awakened Herrscher head-on.
However, merely being able to defeat a Herrscher wasn't enough to become a stumbling block on Kevin's path with the Stigma Project. At best, it only granted the qualification to stand before him.
Forget Ren; even the Kaslana Stigma Will herself couldn't match Kevin. In fact, Kevin often arbitrarily seized control of the Stigma Space from her.
It was only in recent years that Kevin's attention had completely shifted away from the Kaslana Stigma Space, no longer using its authority to observe the world through the eyes of Kaslana descendants in the prime universe.
"Your answer... I can take that to mean you want to stop him, but you're powerless to do so, right?"
A slight smirk touched Ren's lips. Although the Kaslana collective consciousness maintained an attitude as cold and hard as ancient ice, he could hear the subtext beneath her frigid words.
This Kaslana collective consciousness, though not truly human, clearly held some degree of goodwill towards humanity.
If she truly possessed the power to rival the "Evil God," Ren suspected she might genuinely challenge Yaldabaoth (Kevin).
"...."
Watching the Kaslana collective consciousness remain silent with her arms crossed, Ren became even more certain of his deduction based on her reaction.
"Four days."
Under the slightly surprised gaze of the Kaslana collective consciousness, Ren slowly extended his red-gloved hand, holding up four fingers towards her.
"Four days. That's how long it took me to go from an ordinary person to awakening the power of Persona and reaching my current level of strength."
Hearing Ren's explanation and realizing its implication, the Kaslana collective consciousness's expression instantly shifted from surprise to distinct astonishment.
The Kaslana Stigma Will could see that Ren had taken an unorthodox path. But that path, which should have been a dead end, had been forged by him into a veritable royal road to Origin. Ren had truly taken his first step on that path.
The resolve to forgo the blessing of Stigma power, the unwavering determination to carve out the thorny, arduous path to Origin from nothing, the rebellious spirit willing to challenge the god-like Kevin...
The Kaslana Stigma Will had thought Ren, possessing these qualities, was already outstanding enough. But she hadn't expected that beyond his conviction, Ren's own aptitude was so astonishingly world-shattering.
Even if this method of summoning Stigma Archetypes as "Personas" was a shortcut...
For Ren to increase his power to this extent in just four days, his innate talent was still unbelievably extraordinary.
"Unlike you, whose growth has reached its limit, I haven't hit my ceiling yet. I can keep getting stronger and stronger, until I possess the power to defy the Evil God."
Ren extended his hand towards the silent Kaslana Stigma Will, making a friendly invitation.
"So, could you please help guide my rehabilitation? Doing it alone will involve many unnecessary detours. With you, a collective consciousness, assisting me, I should be able to complete my rehabilitation much faster and gain the strength to rival the Evil God!"
As the collective consciousness within the Kaslana Palace, this "Kallen" very likely knew how to nurture Persona users and make them stronger.
"...If everything you say is true, then I will not withhold my aid. But first, you need to prove it to me."
"Kallen" gently rested the hand previously crossed over her chest onto the Oath of Judah beside her, indicating her intentions through action.
"I get it. Basically, whether I want to take Kallen's Persona or gain your help and support, I need to beat you first, right?... Good, I'm fired up!"
Ren tightened his grip on the Jizo Mitama katana. The crimson-black aura surging around Persona Arsene floating behind him instantly flared with even greater intensity.
According to the Kaslana collective consciousness's earlier statement, she would only use power within the limits of what Kallen herself possessed during this battle.
If that was the case, then Ren still had a chance to win!
Seeing Ren enter a battle-ready stance, "Kallen" opened the inner compartment of the Oath of Judah. This time, what shot out from the golden cross wasn't rattling chains, but shining javelins radiating golden light.
Soulium javelins gleaming with golden light shot out like cannonballs at high speed from Oath of Judah's compartment, densely covering the entire sky before raining down like a devastating bombardment on the area occupied by Ren and Arsene.
"Garudyne!"
An unstoppable emerald storm erupted from Persona Arsene's claws, slicing through the solid ice layer on the ground, sweeping it up along with the yellow sand into the sky.
The rain of golden javelins plummeting rapidly towards Ren was instantly thrown into disarray by the fierce, powerful emerald gale, scattering chaotically towards various corners of the battlefield.
Propelled by the strong gust of wind, Ren dashed forward like a divine gale, closing the distance to "Kallen" and swinging the Jizo Mitama katana in his hand.
The essence of the Hokushin Itto-ryu Style manifested tangibly within Ren's mind.
Facing the humanoid "Kallen," after several rounds of close-quarters combat, the blade of Jizo Mitama suddenly slashed across her face.
The purple iris mask worn by the Kaslana Stigma Will instantly flew off her face, soaring high into the air.
And, as if calling out to something, it began to pulse with faint points of black-purple, ghostly light.