Shadow Mei, seated upon her throne in the sky, completely ignored Ren Amamiya's greeting. She simply looked down upon all living things on the ground from her lofty perch.
Her amethyst-like eyes focused particularly on the figure standing beside Ren—Raiden Mei, identical to her in form and features, like a mirror image, differing only in her softer, gentler aura.
"So that's my Shadow... the other true self within my heart that I refuse to face? I feel... a sense of dislike."
Looking up at the black iron throne suspended in the sky, Raiden Mei gazed at Shadow Mei—her expression cold and arrogant, eyes icy and disdainful, carrying the regal air of a queen in every movement, yet possessing an image identical to her own.
Mei suddenly understood the feelings and pressure the students at Chiba Academy must have experienced when looking at her in the past.
With such an overbearing, arrogant demeanor, how could she possibly have made any true friends among the students?
Staring at the Raiden Queen, Shadow Mei—a perfect match to her past self in personality and appearance—Mei felt as if her own buried past had suddenly resurrected and begun relentlessly tormenting her.
Merely looking at Shadow Mei's existence made Mei feel like an adult confronting their cringy teenage self. An overwhelming sense of embarrassment and rejection flooded her heart, making her desperately wish Shadow Mei would vanish from her sight immediately.
It wasn't just because her embarrassing past was being witnessed by Ren, whom she cared deeply about, and Hare, whom she would likely befriend soon, leading to her immediate social death.
Even without those factors, Mei could feel her heart subconsciously rejecting and denying Shadow Mei's existence, as if they were inherently enemies from the start, destined to stand on opposing sides.
"You foolish, lowly, weak creature, attempting to reach for my power? You've finally stopped wallowing in the decadent pleasure of self-pity and achieved nothing, and instead learned to change yourself and pursue strength. That's certainly gratifying to see, but you are still too naive. With your fleeting resolve, like reflections on water, mere lip service... do you truly believe you can claim my power as your own?"
Rumbling thunder echoed continuously across the heavens. Shadow Mei's delicate face flickered between light and shadow under the intermittent flashes of lightning.
After gazing down at Mei on the ground for a long moment, Shadow Mei, seemingly having perceived Mei's inner thoughts and felt her innate rejection and denial...
A cold smirk slowly curved her lips. With a dismissive scoff, her first words were mocking towards her original self, Raiden Mei.
Hearing the taunting words from Shadow Mei in the sky, Mei's first reaction wasn't the pain of having her wounds poked, nor the anger of being mocked.
Mei's body trembled violently. Her right hand instinctively shot up to clutch her left arm, her slender fingers digging sharply into the smooth white skin twice. Her toes curled tightly inside her small leather shoes.
Faced with the Raiden Queen, Shadow Mei—the embodiment of her cringe past she didn't want anyone to see—Mei's primary reaction was embarrassment.
First embarrassment, then more embarrassment.
Facing her true self... although she had already steeled her resolve, the difficulty was clearly more than just words could convey.
If she were alone, it might be bearable—still agonizing enough to make her want to bang her head against a wall, but manageable overall.
But knowing that besides herself, every word and action of Shadow Mei would be observed by Ren, whom she cared about immensely, and Hare, with whom she would soon become friends...
A dramatic urge to simply die on the spot surged through Mei's heart.
She knew facing her Shadow would be hard, but this hard?!
"...I-It's not just lip service! And my resolve is definitely not like a reflection on water! I'm serious! I want to resist Cocolia, who dominates my life! I want to help Ren-kun, who helped me! For that, your power is necessary!"
Mei took a deep breath. Years of swordsmanship meditation provided the mental fortitude to quickly calm herself, forcefully suppressing the distracting thoughts.
Though a blush still lingered on her fair cheeks, Mei's eyes now showed unwavering determination and seriousness. She slowly reached her hand towards Shadow Mei in the sky, speaking word by word.
"I am thou, thou art I... Since you are me, then giving your power to me should be fine, right?!"
The coward who always shrank back, never daring to step forward, was now actively demanding her power.
Mei's courage brought a flicker of surprise to Shadow Mei's eyes.
She glanced thoughtfully at Ren standing beside Mei, then her cold, beautiful expression settled once more. She spoke slowly to Mei on the ground below.
"You seem to have misunderstood something. I am indeed the negative part within your heart, but that doesn't mean I will obediently hand over my power to you... If you want my power, then come and take it yourself!"
Although her attitude remained arrogant and superior, having witnessed Mei's determined response, Shadow Mei's voice, previously as cold as winter, seemed to soften slightly.
Thick bolts of violet-red lightning descended from the sky, continuously striking the ground around Ren and Mei.
Accompanying the thunderous judgment were shadow soldiers of various forms, mostly possessing hulking pinkish-purple bodies, materializing one after another.
"Mei-senpai, protect yourself! Leave these Shadows to me and Hare!"
While traversing Mei's Palace, Ren hadn't encountered any Shadow guards. He had initially assumed it was because Mei's Palace, still in its early stages, hadn't produced any yet.
But looking now, it seemed Shadow Mei simply hadn't summoned them earlier.
Ren shielded Mei behind him, simultaneously pressing the mechanical katana named Raikiri into her slender, fair hands, cautioning her as she had yet to awaken her Persona power.
Looking up at the sky again, the prominent black iron throne had vanished, having descended onto the rooftop of the classroom building ahead.
Shadow Mei's intention was clear.
Only by defeating these obstructing Shadow guards and reaching her presence would Shadow Mei grant Mei the opportunity for an equal conversation.
Mei hadn't awakened her Persona power yet. Even within Mementos, her physical abilities wouldn't automatically enhance enough to defeat Shadows.
However, Mei was ultimately a talented kendo girl with practical combat skills. With a sword in hand, she could at least defend herself.
Especially since the Raikiri katana had the function of generating a strong electromagnetic shield to automatically protect its wielder, it was perfectly suited for Mei to use right now.
"Persona! —I leave it to you, Arsene!!"
Ren raised his hand and removed the white spirit bird mask from his face. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the white mask towards a massive Shadow guard wielding a long spear and heavy shield.
Under Mei's astonished gaze behind him, the white mask thrown by Ren erupted into azure flames. The third Persona she had witnessed materialized from the azure explosion.
Pitch-black falcon wings unfurled dramatically. Persona Arsene, clad in a blood-red dress suit and a black, pointed gentleman's hat, had just appeared when it immediately swung its sharp, black claws forward.
Like an indestructible dark magic sword, Arsene's descending claw strike, delivered with the force of a sword slash, sliced through the massive white Shadow guard—which had raised its heavy shield defensively—as easily as a hot knife through butter. The Shadow, along with its shield, was smoothly cut in two, collapsing instantly and dissolving into particles.
"Just trash mobs. Arsene, use Maeigaon and finish them all at once!!"
After a simple probing attack, Ren determined the strength level of these Shadow guards in Mei's Palace was extremely low.
With Ren and Hare's power, quickly clearing these obstructing Shadows wouldn't be difficult at all.
Following Ren's command, Persona Arsene's hands surged with violent, swirling crimson-black cursed flames. A tidal wave of fire, like a tangible manifestation of a curse, swept towards the Shadow guards on the battlefield, instantly melting and evaporating all visible Shadows within the terrifying incineration.
However, as violet-red lightning continued to rain down from the sky, more and more Shadow guards materialized endlessly, launching suicidal attacks against Ren and Mei.
"These Shadow guards can't be completely eliminated right now, Joker! I'll cover you! Find a way to get Miss Mei to the rooftop and talk face-to-face with Miss Shadow Mei!"
Hare's main body had already curled up within her deployed dream shield.
Meanwhile, her dream projection, clad in purple sci-fi style armor, deftly threw its lance, skewering a dozen Honkai Beasts [Shadows resembling Honkai Beasts] at once, clearing a large area of the battlefield effortlessly before making the suggestion to Ren.
This was Shadow Mei's domain. Without dealing with Shadow Mei herself, no matter how hard Ren and Hare tried to eliminate the guards, it would be futile in the short term.
Rather than wasting stamina here, it was better to go straight for the enemy commander and deal with Shadow Mei first.
"So this... is how Persona users fight? So strong!!"
Watching Hare's combat style—commanding her dream projection and Archetype Seed swordsmen to reap through the Shadow guards like wheat—and seeing how different it was from Ren's, Mei's face filled with awe and aspiration.
"Alright, I'm counting on you, Hare... Mei-senpai, come here for a second."
Ren nodded at Hare, agreeing with her assessment of the battlefield situation. Reaching Shadow Mei was indeed more important than eliminating the endlessly regenerating guards.
He pulled the bewildered Mei from behind him to his front. Ren's hands, holding Jizo Mitama, reached forward as if embracing Mei's delicate body from behind.
This sudden intimate gesture made Mei's body tense up instantly, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Let's test out the new Persona's power right here—Jizo Mitama: Higokumaru!!"
Standing behind the flustered Mei, the Jizo Mitama katana held tightly in Ren's hands began to slowly emanate waves of crimson-black miasma.
A massive amount of ominous crimson-black miasma gathered, coalescing into the shape of a giant fox head.
Then, the giant crimson-black fox head instantly solidified, transforming into an enormous white fox.
The giant white fox's fur had a faint pinkish hue, the tips of its four limbs and five tails were adorned with flame-like crimson markings, and a red and white shimenawa rope was tied around its neck.
In appearance alone, the Persona Ren summoned was identical to the Shadow Higokumaru they faced in Yae Sakura's Palace.
However, upon closer inspection, one could see that Persona Higokumaru's eyes held a clear brightness, completely lacking the rage and cruelty of Shadow Higokumaru. Its expression was also incredibly calm and natural.
Persona Higokumaru, now being ridden by Ren and Mei, was clearly a benevolent, giant white spirit fox!
"Hold on tight, Mei-senpai! Higokumaru is picking up speed!"
Jizo Mitama's power flowed back into Higokumaru. The katana temporarily lost its original sharpness and color, becoming like an ordinary object.
In contrast, Persona Higokumaru erupted with astonishingly powerful strength. Following Ren's command, it climbed rapidly towards the top of the classroom building, scaling the vertical wall as if it were flat ground, crossing it with divine speed.
Experiencing such an exaggerated mode of travel for the first time, Mei cried out instinctively, her body pressing tightly against Ren's back due to the force.
Persona Higokumaru's existence was unique, allowing both her and Arsene, two Personas belonging to Ren, to exist simultaneously on the battlefield.
While Higokumaru carried Ren and Mei swiftly towards their destination, Persona Arsene and Dream Projection Hare continuously attacked the swarming Shadow guards in the sky, resembling giant mosquitoes, eliminating all aerial threats and clearing a smooth, unobstructed path for the rapidly advancing Ren.
In just a few moments, Higokumaru leaped over the top of the classroom building, landing lightly and precisely on the rooftop.
A figure sat upon a black iron throne, her back turned silently towards Ren and Mei who had just arrived.