The harrowing experience of mentally diving into the Sea of Souls and coming face-to-face with the Evil God made Ren temporarily hesitant to practice his swordsmanship meditation again. He feared falling right back into the trap and ending up staring down the Evil God once more.
Lavenza's residual power was weak; she surely couldn't save him from the Evil God's presence repeatedly.
Realizing he was now under the Evil God's scrutiny, Ren could neither focus on the teacher's lecture nor maintain his usual calm state of mind.
Thus, he resorted to silently conversing with the two beautiful girls within his heart, Yae Sakura and Kallen, to pass the time.
{Speaking of which, there is something I must inform Joker-sama about. After facing my true heart as Joker-sama instructed, Sakura successfully resolved Higokumaru's anger and resentment. Higokumaru will no longer resurface maliciously. Instead, she now accompanies me in a manner similar to a Persona.}
While idly chatting with the two lovely Persona girls in his mind, Yae Sakura suddenly dropped a bombshell on Ren.
"Sakura, you actually turned Shadow Higokumaru into a Persona?! When did this happen?!"
Hearing Yae Sakura's news, Ren's eyes widened in astonishment.
As long as something possessed a heart, even robots or Shadows could awaken the power of Persona.
But a Persona awakening a Persona? Ren had never encountered such a nested doll-like awakening before.
{It happened just this afternoon. Because Joker-sama was engaged in pleasant conversation with Miss Mei, and afterward was busy gathering enemy intelligence, Sakura did not immediately report this matter... To distinguish her from her past self as a Shadow, I have named her current Persona form 'Higokumaru'.}
Being able to subdue the remnant power of Shadow Higokumaru into Persona Higokumaru was also thanks in no small part to Kallen, who also resided within Ren's heart.
Yae Sakura believed that without Kallen's companionship, she would have struggled to tame Higokumaru into her current docile state on her own.
"Higokumaru... How much power can she wield?"
The name "Higokumaru" sounded vaguely familiar to Ren. While searching online for information about Yae Sakura and Kallen, he had seen the name before. It seemed to be the name of the fox deity once worshipped in Yae Village five hundred years ago.
The fox deity of Yae Village was known by both names, Higokumaru (Crimson Prison Orb) and Higyokumaru (Crimson Jade Orb). Initially, there was debate about whether the fox deity was benevolent or malevolent, but it's now generally accepted that the names represent the good and evil aspects of the same entity.
(Incidentally, Ren found this information on the discussion forums for the game "Kallen Fantasy." Actual documents about Yae Village from five hundred years ago were incredibly hard to find; surfing game forums for lore analyses proved more efficient.)
Ren wasn't surprised that the Persona Yae Sakura awakened bore the name of the shrine's fox deity.
His only concern now was how much Persona Higokumaru could contribute to his overall combat strength.
After personally experiencing the pressure of standing before the Evil God in his mental state, Ren's desire to increase his combat power had undoubtedly intensified.
{My apologies, Joker-sama. Higokumaru possesses almost no combat ability. The vast majority of her power was forged by Lady Hare into the weapon Jizo Mitama. Even her physical form has shrunk to the size of a small doll now. For Higokumaru to exert her full strength, Jizo Mitama must first be returned to her hands.}
Yae Sakura's apologetic voice echoed in Ren's mind. Her answer was somewhat disappointing, but upon reflection, it made perfect sense.
It would be far stranger if Higokumaru, after being stripped of most of her power as a Shadow, could still fight on par with her original state.
Thinking about it differently, if Ren simply entrusted the inanimate object Jizo Mitama to Yae Sakura's Persona, Higokumaru, he could effectively wield two Personas simultaneously in battle. Overall, his combat power still received an upgrade.
{However, according to Higokumaru, she can still provide some assistance to Joker-sama. Jizo Mitama was originally Higokumaru's power. With her help, Joker-sama can wield the power of Jizo Mitama more proficiently, unleashing its hidden, greater potential!}
Just as Ren finished processing this, Yae Sakura presented another unexpected bonus.
The Jizo Mitama katana was the cornerstone of Ren's ability to summon Personas in the real world.
If he could wield its power more effectively, maximizing the strength his Personas could exert in reality—perhaps even enhancing it beyond their capabilities within Mementos—that would be an incredible boon, like adding wings to a tiger.
"Excellent! Sakura, this Persona ability of yours is very useful to me. That's a huge help!"
A gleam of joy appeared in Ren's eyes. He was about to face Cocolia's insidious attack in the real world.
At this critical juncture, even the slightest increase in real-world combat capability was crucial.
Moreover, based on Sakura's explanation, with Higokumaru's spirit-like support, the power Jizo Mitama could unleash couldn't be described as just a "slight" improvement.
{Joker-sama helped Sakura so much, and even allowed Sakura to reunite with Kallen after five hundred years. As long as it helps Joker-sama, Sakura is willing to do anything.}
Hearing Ren's praise and knowing she had helped him, a clear note of joy entered Yae Sakura's usually calm and gentle tone. She spoke with a sense of relief.
{Higokumaru is still very shy. When Joker-sama has some free time, I will properly introduce her.}
{So nice, so nice! I want to help Ren too... Next time there's a fight in the real world, Ren, you have to let me out first for some fresh air!}
Kallen muttered faintly before starting to bicker with Yae Sakura over who got to be Ren's first deployed Persona.
Unlike Yae Sakura, who had already appeared in the real world, Kallen Kaslana had been absent from this world for five hundred years. She couldn't wait to return to reality and flex her muscles.
Time flew by as Ren chatted mentally with Yae Sakura and Kallen. Soon, it was time for school to end.
Ren headed towards the kendo club, where he had agreed to meet Raiden Mei.
However, before Ren could even leave the classroom...
The entire Chiba Academy building began to tremble violently, as if hit by an earthquake!
"This shaking... is it those giant robots?!"
Ren quickly rushed to the classroom window overlooking the school grounds. He looked towards the direction of the strongest tremors. Reflected in his dark eyes was an iron legion composed entirely of massive, deep-blue robots.
"Attacking Chiba Academy directly during dismissal time, while students are still leaving? Is that Cocolia insane?!"
Ren was all too familiar with the robots called Titans; he had personally dismantled dozens of them already and learned from Raven's intel that Titans were a signature product of the Anti-Entropy organization.
Hundreds of Titan robots were forcibly invading Chiba Academy, marching relentlessly towards the area where the kendo club was located. Their objective was self-evident.
They intended to forcefully capture the physically frail kendo girl, Raiden Mei, right here in the real world!!
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Author's Note: At least today's update is slightly less nocturnal than the last two days. Continuing to write!