"Besides myself, the only one capable of hiding the Treasure in this Palace… is another me, my Persona, Raoul!"
Perhaps due to a blind spot, Ren Amamiya had never considered the possibility of his own Persona being the culprit. However, under the enlightening words of Vill-V, an outsider, Ren Amamiya finally faced this sole possibility.
But that didn't make sense.
A Persona wouldn't disobey its master's commands unless it had reverted from a Persona back into a Shadow.
Only a Shadow would disregard its master's stance, even attempting to harm its master to become the dominant entity.
But Persona Raoul clearly didn't meet the conditions for reverting from a Persona to a Shadow.
Ren Amamiya's heart and cognition had indeed undergone a massive change, but that change was clearly a sublimation towards a better direction, even causing Persona Arsene to undergo a second awakening into Persona Raoul.
It made no sense for Persona Raoul to revert to a Shadow while simultaneously evolving.
It couldn't be that Persona Raoul, like a Pokémon, started disobeying its Persona user's commands simply because it felt its power had increased, right?
Thinking this, Ren Amamiya attempted to summon Persona Raoul in his Palace, and he quickly sensed Raoul's presence.
However, when Ren Amamiya issued the command for Raoul to manifest, the link between him and Raoul was unilaterally severed in an instant. Then, Ren Amamiya lost all sensation of Persona Raoul.
"What happened, Ren? You look a little off…" Raiden Mei noticed the solemn expression that appeared on Ren Amamiya's face and asked him with concern.
"The worst-case scenario has truly happened. Just now, I lost control of Persona Raoul… But before the link was unilaterally cut by Raoul, I had already sensed its location within this Palace. If I'm not mistaken, that should also be where the hidden Treasure is located."
Until he entered his Palace to search for the Treasure, Ren Amamiya had always been able to control Persona Raoul. Reversing this line of thought, it was easy to conclude that Persona Raoul didn't want Ren Amamiya to access the Treasure in his Palace.
Ren Amamiya was trying to obtain his Palace Treasure precisely to strengthen Persona Raoul.
Yet, Persona Raoul had made a move tantamount to betrayal to prevent Ren Amamiya from obtaining the Treasure. This truly baffled Ren Amamiya.
"To prevent you from accessing the Treasure in your Palace, Raoul even went so far as to sever its connection with you…" Hare gently touched her chin. She quickly deduced Raoul's reason for severing the connection, just like Ren Amamiya. And as a Will of Stigmata, Hare's thinking was clearly deeper than that of a normal person.
"Perhaps the Treasure sealed in this Palace far exceeds everyone's imagination, possessing a terrifying danger that even you yourself, Ren, cannot foresee. The only reason that could make Raoul, already subdued as a Persona, make such a rebellious move is likely this."
Persona Raoul was loyal to Ren Amamiya. Hare had witnessed countless times the tacit understanding between Ren Amamiya and Persona Arsene in their past battles, as if they were one. Persona Arsene had never refused any command from Ren Amamiya.
Also being a Will of Stigmata, Hare couldn't possibly fail to see Persona Arsene's affection and trust for Ren Amamiya. There was no reason for it to rebel against Ren Amamiya after evolving into Persona Raoul.
Even if the foundation of the Path of Origion contained elements of Herrscher power, both the Herrscher of Thunder and the Herrscher of the Void had willingly given their power to Ren Amamiya. They couldn't have tampered with Persona Raoul's consciousness.
In fact, putting aside the personal thoughts of the Herrscher of the Void and the Herrscher of Thunder for now, the two Herrschers, who only existed as consciousnesses and were extremely weakened, simply didn't have the ability to shake Persona Raoul's conviction.
Since it wasn't a rebellion caused by external forces, Persona Raoul's reason for preventing Ren Amamiya from accessing the Palace Treasure could only be for the safety of Ren Amamiya, its Persona user.
"Rejecting my command for my safety…? Actually, it's very simple to verify whether Raoul has betrayed me. I just need to go to it and see for myself." Faced with the possibility Hare proposed, Ren Amamiya pondered for a moment before quickly making a decision. He decided to personally go to Persona Raoul's location and observe Raoul's current state with his own eyes.
Although a Persona and a Shadow were two sides of the same coin, just like the two sides of a coin would never be completely identical, if Persona Raoul had truly transformed into a Shadow, its current appearance would undoubtedly be completely different from its previous Persona state. Ren Amamiya would be able to discern its stance with a single glance.
"…Wouldn't that be too dangerous? Raoul is your strongest ace Persona, Ren. If Raoul has truly betrayed you, then we probably won't have much chance of winning against it." Raiden Mei frowned slightly, speaking to Ren Amamiya with a worried tone.
As a firsthand witness to the events in the Herrscher of the Void's Palace, Raiden Mei was well aware of Persona Raoul's absurdly high combat capabilities.
Cognitive Akechi Goro could easily suppress everyone in the Phantom Thieves, yet Persona Raoul, after its second awakening, could casually annihilate him as if sweeping away trash.
Even compared to Ren Amamiya's other Personas, Persona Raoul's strength was terrifyingly and overwhelmingly superior.
Even if they gathered the entire strength of the Phantom Thieves, they would likely struggle to contend with Persona Raoul in terms of power.
Not only Raiden Mei, but Hare and Seele also had the same worry in their eyes.
Although Bronya hadn't personally witnessed Persona Raoul's overwhelming power, she could sense its strength from Ren Amamiya's description of it as his ace Persona, thus revealing a cautious gaze.
Only Original Vill-V, who had always been asleep and knew nothing of Ren Amamiya's true strength, maintained a calm and composed demeanor.
"Our goal isn't to defeat Raoul, just to confirm its current state… With the MetaNav App and Hare, as long as we seize the right moment, we can instantly leave the battlefield and return to the real world, a domain Persona Raoul cannot reach on its own."
In this world, the person who understood Persona Raoul best was naturally Ren Amamiya himself, its Persona user.
Since Ren Amamiya, Raoul's Persona user, had judged the plan feasible, Raiden Mei, Seele, and the other teammates naturally chose to trust him.
"If the situation develops into the most dangerous state, then I will also offer what help I can." Vill-V clasped her hands in front of her abdomen, maintaining an appearance of silently listening.
Only after the entire Phantom Thieves team had approved the plan to go to the Treasure's location to confirm Persona Raoul's condition did Original Vill-V, with her gentle and intellectual temperament, slowly speak, stating her position to Ren Amamiya and the others.
As one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, Vill-V naturally didn't mind lending a hand to Ren Amamiya, who had gained the recognition of several Flame-Chasers.
After all, judging from the extremely serious atmosphere within the Phantom Thieves, Vill-V could easily sense that the so-called Persona Raoul must be a very powerful existence.
"Then thank you. But let me ask, Vill-V, are you perhaps… split right now? I mean, did you intentionally split your personality and have this calm and gentle part follow me into my Palace?" Vill-V, a being at the level of a divine creation, offering her help was undoubtedly a powerful reinforcement that calmed Ren Amamiya's heart considerably.
However, considering the gentle and intellectual temperament this Vill-V in his Palace displayed, completely opposite to the Vill-V in the Velvet Room, and recalling Lavenza, another Velvet Room resident, Ren Amamiya couldn't help but wonder if Vill-V's mind and personality had also been split in two.
Moreover, judging from Vill-V's own attitude, she was clearly aware of her own condition, perhaps even having reached a state like Lavenza in P5D, able to split herself in two and then merge back together at will depending on the situation.
"…I didn't expect you to see through it. Yes, I am indeed in a state of mental division right now. The one who entered this Palace is only a part of Vill-V." Original Vill-V's usually calm voice finally wavered. A hint of surprise appeared in her pinkish-white gradient pupils. After glancing at Ren Amamiya with slight astonishment, Vill-V didn't deny it but gently nodded in affirmation.
As a Trickster, Original Vill-V could tell that Ren Amamiya, at the beginning, truly didn't know that [Vill-V] possessed the ability of mental division.
As a Trickster, Original Vill-V didn't directly tell Ren Amamiya that she was the main personality of the individual [Vill-V], but instead disguised herself as one of the many personalities.
"So, you only have about half of your original strength now…? That should be enough." Hearing Ren Amamiya's murmur, Original Vill-V's pupils widened again.
Although she had always been asleep in the deepest part of her consciousness, as the true main personality, Original Vill-V naturally possessed the power to forcibly command her other personalities.
Vill-V, who loved to leave various backdoors in her inventions, was no exception when it came to herself.
The most direct manifestation of this was the power distribution when Vill-V divided her mind.
Even if all the powers of Vill-V's sub-personalities were added together, including the [Evil] personality, which theoretically would never collude with others, Original Vill-V, as the main personality, still held power and authority that completely overshadowed them.
Therefore, it was perfectly accurate to say that Original Vill-V possessed half of her strength; in fact, to be more precise, it should be more than half. (51/49)
Not only did he see through the nature of the mental division ability, but he could even discern the level of power allocated to each personality…
Original Vill-V gave Ren Amamiya a deep look. She felt as if she already knew why Ren Amamiya had been able to gain the recognition of multiple Flame-Chasers.
Following the previously sensed direction, Ren Amamiya and the others left the lounge area and returned to the museum plaza they had passed through earlier.
"Huh? There seems to be someone new in the plaza?" Seele felt her vision blur for a moment. The instant her gaze refocused, the familiar figure in the center of the plaza made her exclaim in surprise.
"That person's appearance—it's Big Brother Ren!!"
Messy, ink-black hair; a handsome, almost bewitchingly fair face.
Wearing a black suit jacket and red and black checkered trousers.
Except for the clothes and the glowing golden eyes, the person who had appeared in the center of the plaza was like another Ren Amamiya reflected in a mirror!
"I see. So that's a so-called Shadow… the Shadow of a Palace ruler?!" Bronya swallowed lightly. She discreetly moved closer behind Hare, her silver-gray eyes never leaving the Shadow Ren Amamiya in the distance for a second.
Another Ren Amamiya appearing in the Palace, and with the iconic golden eyes… such conspicuous features! Bronya, having been educated by Ren Amamiya about cognitive psience, how could she not know that this was a genuine encounter with a Shadow!
Although she had seen Shadows in the Herrscher of Reason's Palace before, this was the first time Bronya had seen a Palace ruler-level Shadow… especially since this was Ren Amamiya's Shadow, its strength was imaginable!
Aware that she was a half-baked Persona user who had barely made it from the reserve team, Bronya very consciously retreated to the back of the group, preparing to only provide some fire support from a distance if a battle broke out.
"Why are you refusing to let me approach the Treasure? Answer me, Raoul!"
Returning to the plaza, although he still couldn't sense the presence of the hidden Treasure, Raoul's appearance undoubtedly proved that a Treasure existed here.
So, Ren Amamiya took a deep breath and then loudly questioned Raoul, who was slowly revealing a wanton smile in the distance.
"Have you truly betrayed me?!"