"Cocolia, leader of Anti-Entropy's reformist faction, currently the acting Sovereign of Anti-Entropy. Former captain in the Russian military, established an orphanage named after herself, adopting numerous orphans from around the world..."
Chiba Academy, Year 1 Class C, seat near the back window.
Ren Amamiya quietly pulled out his phone, scrolling through the intelligence he had gathered under his desk.
Because Raiden Mei was now Cocolia's target and could be attacked or kidnapped at any moment, Ren had abandoned his original plan to skip afternoon classes. He didn't use the usual nurse's office excuse to sneak into Mementos for exploration and leveling up.
After contacting Hare and asking her to infiltrate Raiden Mei's Palace to act as a defensive line, Ren dutifully returned to his first-year classroom and tried gathering intel online using the name "Cocolia."
Searching the web with "Cocolia" and "robot" as keywords yielded predictably useless results. He only found an anime called "Magic Sword Mech Alahato," which offered no help in understanding the enemy's true nature.
Fortunately, besides public web searches, Ren had a reliable contact who could act as an information broker.
As a cadre in the World Serpent organization, Raven undoubtedly had deep connections in the underworld and extensive knowledge of the world's darker side. After the fruitless online search, Ren contacted her directly using the details she'd provided.
After a short wait, Raven didn't disappoint. She sent Ren a large chunk of compiled information about Cocolia, thoughtfully including a photo of Cocolia herself.
She was a mature woman with violet eyes and waist-length golden curls, dressed in a standard-issue Russian military uniform. Her figure was tall and curvaceous, and her beautiful face held an air of haughty arrogance.
Ren stared at the photo for a long time, firmly etching Cocolia's face into his memory.
He now knew Cocolia's name and appearance, but unfortunately, he still didn't know her current location, making it impossible to send her a Calling Card.
If he could meet all the conditions, Ren could immediately dive into Mementos, find Cocolia's Shadow, defeat it, and force a change of heart.
[Ren Amamiya: There's more, right?]
[Ren Amamiya: This is just basic background info. I want to know *why* Cocolia is targeting Raiden Mei.]
The information Raven sent had elevated Ren from knowing nothing about Cocolia to having some understanding, including learning the name of the mysterious organization Bronya belonged to—Anti-Entropy.
But amidst the dense text, the core intelligence was missing: why exactly Cocolia had set her sights on Raiden Mei.
[Raven: How would I know why Cocolia's targeting that little girl Raiden Mei? I'm just your average, run-of-the-mill arms dealer. Doing this intel work is already a favor 'cause we're partners.]
[Raven: Look, Kurusu kiddo, the free intel stops here. Even if you offered more money, I couldn't say anything else. Just drop it.]
[Ren Amamiya: Is it because... your organization is colluding with Cocolia?]
Ren narrowed his eyes slightly, guessing the reason for Raven's evasiveness and refusal to answer directly.
It made perfect sense for two supernatural organizations wielding Cognitive Psience technology—World Serpent and Cocolia's Anti-Entropy—to collude. It was even possible that Cocolia's technology had been provided by Raven's organization.
[Raven: Hard to say. Think what you want, doesn't matter to me.]
[Raven: Kurusu kiddo, if you're thinking of making a move on Cocolia, you better think it through. I'm not threatening you, just worried our deals might fall through if something happens.]
"Phew—that should do it, right? I didn't say anything I shouldn't have."
Raven put down her phone, letting out a slow breath. Leaning her elegantly lined back languidly against the soft sofa cushion behind her, she glanced sideways with her wine-red eyes towards Gray Serpent, who occupied a corner of the room clad in black with his umbrella. "Did I?" she asked casually.
"You've already said more than enough of what you shouldn't have. Though you haven't known him long, you seem quite fond of him."
Gray Serpent silently holstered the pistol he held in his other hand, speaking to Raven in a hoarse, cold voice.
"Artificially inducing the birth of the Third Herrscher and triggering the Third Honkai Eruption also benefits our World Serpent's plans to some extent. Let's hope that boy, Ren Amamiya, doesn't obstruct the process."
The Stigma fragments hidden within human genes only reveal their true power when stimulated by Honkai erosion.
Causing a large-scale Honkai event within Nagazora City also served Gray Serpent's purpose of conducting a preliminary test for the Stigma Project.
Surely, within a large city like Nagazora, a few lucky individuals capable of awakening Stigma powers would emerge.
Watching Gray Serpent turn and leave without hesitation, Raven sighed softly again.
She had long suspected that Hare, easily fooled by a few words, couldn't possibly keep secrets from the cunning Gray Serpent, who had lived for who knows how long. So, she wasn't particularly surprised when Gray Serpent followed the trail and showed up at her door.
"This time... whether it's the Kurusu kiddo... or maybe I should call him the Amamiya kiddo? Anyway, regardless of whether he or Cocolia wins, I won't be able to rake in profits like before."
Raven sprawled listlessly on the soft sofa, her slender white fingers resting lightly on her flat stomach.
"Well, someone has to win eventually. I guess I'd rather the Kurusu kiddo win. Cocolia's completely insane; it's better for everyone if she loses sooner rather than later."
Cocolia wasn't the only buyer for Honkai Shard crystals. If Ren was willing to keep supplying, Raven could continue her business, just without the premium prices she charged Cocolia.
Raven considered herself a villain, but only a profit-driven one, fundamentally different from a madwoman like Cocolia, who was obsessed with a vague goal and willing to drag entire cities into hell at the drop of a hat.
If given a choice, she'd naturally prefer Nagazora City to remain as it was.
"Raven's reaction is a bit strange. Could it be there's another cadre nearby, making it inconvenient for her to talk freely?"
Back in the classroom at Chiba Academy, Ren sensed something amiss in Raven's unusually vague replies, so different from her usual self.
Progressing the Confidant rank with Raven, the arms dealer, hadn't been as smooth as with Raiden Mei or Hare. But over the past few days, they had successfully transitioned from mere business partners to something resembling friends.
When Ren spoke privately with Raven, she was usually much more relaxed and talkative.
This suggested something was definitely going on at Raven's end. It seemed likely that World Serpent truly did have ties with Cocolia's Anti-Entropy.
Realizing he wouldn't get any more information from Raven, Ren put his phone away again. He had no interest in listening to the teacher droning on at the front. Instead, he silently began practicing the Hokushin Ittō-ryū swordsmanship meditation technique in his seat.
Due to his cluttered thoughts, it took Ren longer than usual to enter a meditative state this time.
The teacher's lecture faded into a distant, hypnotic drone, becoming faint as if separated by a deep world, until it finally disappeared completely.
Replacing it in Ren's ears was a quiet, rhythmic sound, like the ebb and flow of ocean tides.
Ren, now in a meditative state, felt as if he were in the deep sea of a dream, swimming and exploring the terrifying, dangerous ocean floor.
Streamlined purple shadows darted towards Ren in formation from the seabed. However, Ren merely flicked his massive tail, and these purple monsters lurking in the deep exploded violently, swept helplessly into a widely opened, blood-red maw by the black tail, devoured entirely as sustenance.
A realization dawned in Ren's mind: the most terrifying monster in this deep sea wasn't the overwhelming swarm of purple shadows, but himself!
Just as he realized this, Ren's perspective suddenly shifted to a third-person view. He could now clearly see his "own" current form.
It was a magnificent black serpent, vast enough to seemingly devour the world. Its immense body writhed like black mist, and its crimson serpentine eyes radiated a predatory, dangerous light.
As the crimson eyes shifted slightly, the giant black serpent seemed to spot prey, fixing its gaze on the empty space before it.
Merely being watched by the black serpent caused Ren to feel an immense pressure and suffocation, like being physically crushed in the deep sea. Like an ordinary person trapped underwater, his body involuntarily stiffened, gripped by an indescribable sense of asphyxiation.
A cool, comforting blue light suddenly flared, drawing Ren's attention away from the black serpent.
Following the bright blue point of light, Ren saw a blue butterfly quietly appear beside the giant black serpent.
The small, azure butterfly fluttered its wings gracefully, leaving trails of ethereal blue dust, like scales, in the strange ocean. It vibrated its wings lightly and deftly, arriving before Ren.
The blue butterfly landed gently on Ren's cheek, bringing with it a faint scent reminiscent of rosemary.
Sometime during this, Ren felt a cool, soft touch in his hand.
In a hazy white light that made sight almost impossible, he vaguely saw a small, slender girl appear before him, taking his hand and pulling him steadily upward from the seabed.
In the next instant, the feeling of sluggishness and pressure, like being trapped in the deep sea, vanished completely.
Ren gasped heavily, as if having just surfaced from a deep dive.
The sensation of his physical body returned first, followed by the slow, steady drone of the teacher's lecture resuming, announcing Ren's return to the real world.
Ren slowly opened his eyes. His vision was filled with the calm, utterly peaceful scene of a classroom lecture.
"Was that just... the Evil God and Lavenza? I was just meditating, why would I have a dream like that?"
Emerging from his swordsmanship meditation, Ren's eyes were filled with astonishment.
A giant black serpent and a blue butterfly in a quiet, deep sea... no matter how he looked at it, the imagery perfectly matched the Evil God Yaldabaoth and Lavenza.
And that ocean... it must have been a tangible manifestation of the Sea of Souls concept.
Although Lavenza had already been split by the Evil God into the twin lolis, Caroline and Justine...
A fragment of Lavenza's own consciousness still remained, capable of secretly guiding the Trickster, leaving clues to help the twins recover their original memories, find their true selves, and rebel against the Evil God.
Therefore, even at this point in time, it wasn't impossible for Ren to receive help from Lavenza.
"...This had better be a dream. If it wasn't, does that mean the Evil God has finally noticed me?"
Ren's expression turned slightly grim. Although he had mentally prepared himself for being discovered by the Evil God, the realization that he had very likely been truly detected left his mind reeling, unable to calm down for a long time.
With Ren's current power, resisting the Evil God was still far beyond his capabilities.
"Sakura, Kallen, did you notice anything unusual just now?"
Ren pressed his lips together, his heart heavy as he asked the two Persona girls residing within him.
{No, Joker-sama. Everything seemed normal just now. Nothing happened. Sakura didn't sense any abnormalities.}
{Sakura didn't feel it? But I thought I felt Ren's presence flicker and vanish for a moment, like he was transported somewhere. But that fleeting sense of absence disappeared quickly. If Ren hadn't asked, I would have thought I imagined it.}
Yae Sakura and Kallen gave Ren different answers.
But clearly, what Kallen sensed was the reality of what had just occurred.
For some unknown reason, Ren's consciousness had suddenly appeared in the Sea of Souls, and worse, he had come face-to-face with the Evil God!!