Tokyo's Phantom Thief

Rinto's Persona surged in response to his fury.

Light condensed into a singularity so dense that it created a pitch-black core—almost like a micro black hole—devouring all light around it.

And then—

A solar flare erupted outward, annihilating the dungeon walls in a single flash.

The Shadows gathered inside the cell didn't even have time to scream. They were incinerated on the spot.

If Rinto hadn't been holding back for fear of hurting Takamaki Ann, his anger might have ripped out the foundation of the entire castle.

He leapt into the wreckage, scooping up the person lying motionless inside.

"Ann! Are you alri—… Wait, what? Who the hell are you?"

"..."

The bloodied, bruised, and barely conscious body he'd picked up belonged to a blond-haired boy with wild, spiky hair—definitely not Ann.

This wasn't Takamaki Ann. It was some guy. A student, judging by the Shujin Academy uniform.

This school's full of surprises…

Whoever he was didn't matter for now. He was alive.

Rinto slung him over his shoulder, intending to carry him out.

"Hey! Heeey~!"

That's when Rinto heard a voice—a little ridiculous in tone.

A round-headed, fuzzy creature emerged from the debris, climbing out with a dazed wobble.

It looked like one of those giant mascot costumes you'd see at an ice cream shop. Honestly, it reminded Rinto of the ridiculous outfits Momoka had to wear at work.

Its oversized mascot-style eyes were currently rolling in circles from the shock.

"Ugh... dizzy... too bright... You almost killed me back there! Could you not blow up the entire room next time? Whoa!"

The fuzzy cat-thing snapped out of it when Rinto casually pulled a black gun and aimed it right at its oversized head.

Rinto narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What the hell are you? A Shadow? I've never seen one this... animated. Whatever. I'll kill you first, study later."

"W-wait wait wait! I'm not a Shadow! I swear!"

The creature raised its stubby little paws—barely long enough to reach past its own round cheeks.

It couldn't even shield its face properly. All it could do was vaguely radiate surrender.

"I got dragged here by the Shadows too! Same with that blond kid you're carrying—I saw him fall in here this morning and get captured! I wanted to save him, really! But I couldn't do anything... Oh! Wait!"

The creature suddenly lit up with a flash of inspiration.

"Persona! You used a Persona! That means you're a real Phantom Thief, right? Anyone who can wield a Persona has to be a good guy, right?"

That's not necessarily true, Rinto thought flatly.

He didn't consider himself a good guy, let alone anyone else who might use Personas.

And honestly, he'd never met another person with the same ability before. It was something he'd fantasized about—but only in theory.

And now...

Years of doubt, of imagining what it would be like to find someone else—

It all ended like this.

With a talking cat. A stupidly round, stuffed-animal-looking cat.

The creature's fuzzy face went weirdly serious as it posed dramatically.

"Observe! My transformation—Persona: Zorro!"

A flash of light.

And there he was: the legendary masked swordsman, Zorro, manifesting in full Persona form before Rinto's eyes.

This marked the first time Rinto had ever met someone—or something—who could also use a Persona.

That shock, that emotion, that sudden shift in everything he thought he understood about himself…

Would come crashing in later.

---

Elsewhere, Ann was facing an absolute nightmare.

"What the hell what the hell WHAT THE HELL!? What is this, a Halloween haunted house!?! Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"

Takamaki Ann was being carried—literally—by a group of puppet-like armor-clad monsters, deeper into the castle.

She screamed nonstop, completely overwhelmed and unable to process what was happening.

All she remembered was that she'd gone to buy a bottle of water from a vending machine.

With how advanced smartphones were now, even Japan's famously analog vending machines had finally upgraded to QR code payments. Thank tourists for that—

No wait, that's not the point!

She'd noticed a strange new app on her phone. Something called Metaverse Navigator.

She'd tapped it instinctively.

The app, which already had keywords like "Kamoshida Suguru," "Shujin Academy," and "Castle" pre-loaded for some reason, activated on its own.

The next thing she knew, she was in this hellish place—surrounded by creepy armor puppets and dragged off against her will!

And they kept shouting—

"Princess Ann, you mustn't run off like that! His Majesty King Kamoshida was worried!"

"We'll deliver you safely to the King! He misses your tender affections—leave everything to us!"

"WHO WANTS TO BE AFFECTIONATE WITH KAMOSHIDA!? DISGUSTING DISGUSTING DISGUSTING—DIE DIE DIEEEE!!"

A wave of absolute revulsion shot through her entire body. She practically exploded with horror.

Despite all her screaming and struggling, the dutiful puppets still delivered her to a room filled with glowing candles—and unspeakable decor.

The walls were covered in gaudy pink hearts, like some obscene parody of a love hotel.

Except somehow even tackier. Like it was decorated by some gross, forty-something sleazebag trying to recreate his favorite strip club circa 1987.

Ann lost it.

"What the hell is this place!? Let me go! I'm warning you, I'll sue! I'll—KYAA!"

Before she could finish, the puppets strapped her to a giant cross.

She hadn't even finished screaming when she saw something even more horrifying:

"So this is the intruder? You sure they're not the same ones as a few days ago?"

"EEEEYAAAAAAA!!"

The scream she let out upon seeing him—

A grotesque middle-aged man in only a pink cape and underwear—

Was her most blood-curdling one yet.

The sight of half-naked Kamoshida, legs covered in wiry black hair, was so revolting it bypassed her fear and went straight into primal disgust.

"You SICKO, KAMOSHIDA! I knew you were behind this freak show!! I'm gonna sue you! I'll drag you to court and make sure you ROT IN PRISON for the rest of your life!!"

"..."

Shadow Kamoshida—with his non-human golden eyes—ignored her screaming completely.