Seeing Persona Arsene, surging with an miasma-like dark red aura, unleash a relentless and unstoppable barrage of sharp claw strikes—like a torrential waterfall cascading from the heavens—forced the Kaslana Stigma Will to focus entirely on dodging Arsene's attacks.
This momentarily loosened her control over the Oath of Judah.
A flash of joy lit up Kallen's blue eyes. While continuously closing the distance with the Kaslana Stigma Will...
Kallen keenly seized the opportunity Ren had created. She reached out towards the golden cross held by the Stigma Will, calling out to the Divine Key known as the Oath of Judah.
Responding to the call of its original master, Kallen, the golden cross wielded by the Kaslana Stigma Will dimmed momentarily before flaring brightly again, shining with an even more brilliant radiance than before.
The weight of the Oath of Judah in the Kaslana Stigma Will's hand suddenly increased dramatically, causing her swing with the golden cross to falter instantly.
As her wrist dipped downwards due to the sudden weight increase, Persona Arsene decisively seized the fleeting opening. With utmost speed, it plunged its sharp, black claws deep into the Kaslana Stigma Will's soft abdomen.
The black claws tore violently into the Stigma Will's stomach. Yet, before any blood could spurt from the wound, a profound, bone-chilling wave of frost surged from within her body, freezing Arsene's claws solid within the wound.
As if incapable of feeling pain or shedding blood, the Kaslana Stigma Will completely ignored the critical injury to her vital area. Having frozen the incredibly fast Arsene fast to herself, she raised her fist, attempting to strike Arsene directly in the face.
Clang, clang...
The sound of rattling chains echoed. Golden Soulium chains shot out at high speed from the Oath of Judah's inner compartment, wrapping around the Kaslana Stigma Will's raised fist and subsequently binding all four of her limbs.
The authority of the Key of Binding surged through the Soulium chains, taking hold of the Kaslana Stigma Will.
Although it was merely a replica Oath of Judah constructed from memory and cognition, it still retained some essence of the original. Furthermore, the Stigma Will had previously utilized aspects of the power of Active Honkai Reaction, making herself even more susceptible to the binding authority.
As the golden Soulium chains wrapped around her body, the Kaslana Stigma Will genuinely lost her ability to resist for a short time.
The temperature of Persona Arsene's claws embedded in the Stigma Will's abdomen suddenly skyrocketed.
Arsene spun its body abruptly, firing a scorching fire blast at point-blank range while simultaneously hurling the chain-bound Kaslana Stigma Will towards the direction Ren and Kallen were rapidly approaching from.
"Good chance! Kallen, can you bring yourself to punch a face that looks like yours?"
"Before asking me that, maybe show even the slightest hesitation in your own attack!"
The black falcon and the violet kite intertwined fluidly and synergistically. Facing "Kallen"—blasted towards them by the fiery explosion, tightly bound in golden chains, and clad in the black nun's habit—
Ren and Kallen exchanged a look, then launched their All-Out Attack against the Kaslana Stigma Will without hesitation.
Considering Kallen's limited damage potential bare-handed, Ren thoughtfully tossed the mechanical katana Raikiri and one of his Mosin-Nagant Sunwheel pistols into Kallen's outstretched hands.
The blade of Jizo Mitama, burning with dark red ethereal flames, slashed down with high speed and precision. Raikiri, crackling with dense deep-purple lightning, crashed down like a mythical thunder hammer. Lightning and fire danced together, inflicting massive damage upon the Kaslana Stigma Will who had landed before them.
Due to the restricting binding authority imbued in the Oath of Judah's chains, the ice barrier the Kaslana Stigma Will managed to create before her was incredibly fragile, utterly failing to block Ren and Kallen's attacks.
"Alright, time for the finishing blow! Ren... no, Joker, let's do that thing from last time again!"
Gazing at the Kaslana Stigma Will lying quietly on the ground, seemingly breathless and incapable of further resistance, Kallen's exquisite face lit up with an eager, expectant smile. She adjusted the black kite mask hooked over her ear, covering the upper half of her face while deftly raising the Mosin-Nagant Sunwheel in her hand.
"That thing... ah, you mean that. Don't jump the gun, we have to do it together!"
Ren paused for only a fraction of a second. The shared aesthetic and understanding between fellow phantom thieves allowed him to instantly grasp Kallen's meaning.
Amidst a quiet surge of ethereal blue flames, the white spirit bird mask reappeared on Ren's face.
He also raised the Mosin-Nagant Sunwheel pistol in his hand, aiming it steadily at the unmoving Kaslana Stigma Will on the ground, who could only silently await her final sentence.
""—Jackpot!!""
Kallen's lips curled wildly upwards in an attempt to shout it first, but Ren, having already put himself in her shoes, anticipated her move—after all, what phantom thief could resist the temptation of personally delivering the final, curtain-closing line?
Ren deliberately sped up his speech, resulting in both of them shouting the concluding words of judgment in perfect unison.
The Mosin-Nagant Sunwheel pistols in Ren and Kallen's hands overlapped, one from the left, one from the right. The Honkai energy crystals within the guns operated at maximum overload. The scorching energy blasts erupting violently from the two dark muzzles merged into one, shooting forward with unstoppable speed and striking the body of the Kaslana Stigma Will lying silently on the ground.
"And that's a perfect clear for the trial... So, did my timely heroic rescue steal your heart? Mr. Joker, the not-yet-world-famous great phantom thief?"
Having failed to successfully shout "Jackpot" first, Kallen pouted slightly but was still smiling happily.
She lightly tapped Ren's chest beside her with a slender fingertip, her tone like reciting opera yet filled with playful teasing.
"Nicely done, indeed. But it'll take more than that to steal my heart."
Ren shrugged lightly, a relaxed smile on his lips.
He wasn't sure if it was because he had equipped the Yae Sakura Persona, but he felt his interaction with Kallen this time was exceptionally smooth and synergistic. {Why do these two click so well?!} Yae Sakura grumbled silently within his heart.
"Congratulations. You have successfully passed this trial. As per our previous agreement, you may take Kallen's power. Additionally, I can entertain your other requests."