Persona: Devil Summoner

(Miaomiao always compares me to a little white mouse, and today I really became a little white mouse.)

He said this to himself with a hint of sarcasm.

"Hey, are you okay? Why are you still laughing? Did you get hit and become stupid?"

It was obvious that Akechi Goro didn't know Jiang Tianwei well enough. In his eyes, Jiang Tianwei was a person who said he would give up just now, but suddenly attacked the next second, and was beaten back in the middle of the attack, and then sat on the ground and laughed...

It’s not Mingzhi’s fault. Anyone who hears this description will think that Jiang Tianwei is crazy.

"Hey, what are you talking about..."

Niijima rolled his eyes at Goro Akechi in dissatisfaction, and Akechi immediately realized his mistake: Isn't it as if I am just trying to boost others' morale and destroy my own prestige? It's normal for the Phantom Thieves to be uncomfortable with this...

"Our captain would be stupid not to fight."

Shinjima sighed deeply and added helplessly. In response to this point of view, Togo Ichimi and Kitagawa Yusuke also nodded vigorously.

"Hiss—you know I can hear you when you talk, right?"

Jiang Tianwei looked back in astonishment: "How am I stupid? I am at least at the level of a normal male high school student! If I were in "The Daily Life of a Male High School Student", I would at least be at Zhongbang's level!"

Jiang Tianwei regretted what he said as soon as he said it. Fang Zexia was not around and there was no one to pick up the conversation for him.

No one picked up the meme, which was a cold reception for the people who were making the meme, so uncomfortable...

"You ungrateful thief, let go of the princess. Give up resistance and be executed on the spot."

Outside the house, Yasukami Mizuno Mikotomasa spoke four words at a time, and his tone sounded as cold as inorganic matter.

It is a tall giant figure, looking like a Japanese samurai in armor, with a Japanese helmet with a Warring States style on its head. However, there is no flesh or cloth on its body, and its body looks like a building.

The brick and stone structure formed his armor, and the finely carved stone pillars were his limbs. It was like a huge Buddha statue with an armor-shaped wall built outside.

At this moment, he was using his huge finger to pass through the hole where Jiang Tianwei fell, preparing to crush all these little things to death with his fingers.

Jiang Tianwei frowned, and poked the giant's finger with the spear in his hand. His strength was already very strong, but at this moment, he couldn't even hold up a finger. Jiang Tianwei tried his best to step on the ground, but was pushed back by the enemy's strange strength, leaving two deep grooves on the ground with his feet...

"This, this is too big..."

As Goro Akechi said this, Robin Hood behind him had already begun to gather strength, and a universal magic spell, Megiddo, was cast, and a purple ball of light landed precisely on the giant's finger joints.

Regardless of whether it is a living thing or not, joints are the most vulnerable part of the body.

That’s why there is a strange saying circulating in the animation industry: “Strike techniques are just fancy moves, while joint techniques are the real skills.”

For living things, reversing a joint can cause them great pain.

And with things like statues, the joints are often the easiest things to break.

People who often assemble models and make figurines should have a deep understanding of this, right? Unless your joints are straight, otherwise, as long as there is a little bend, this is the place where it is most likely to break.

The powerful force of Megiddo dug out a large piece of the giant's finger. No blood flowed out, and the cross-section of the wound looked like a broken stone.

"Go, Xiang Yu!"

It was only at this moment that Jiang Tianwei used the power of persona again. The huge metal giant flew out of the air and landed on the place where Mingzhi had just been injured. The metal giant raised his arms high, just like the "Platinum Star" in "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure". He punched alternately, and his powerful metal fists kept hitting the enemy's fragile knuckles. The metal and stone collided, and the sound of fierce fighting was accompanied by sparks that kept popping out...

Kitagawa Yusuke swung his sword in the air, and persona Gouyoumeng immediately condensed the power of ice on his blade. Although the sword was swung in the air, the icy aura flowing out of the blade formed a sharp ice knife in the air and cut towards the giant's fingers!

Under the joint attack of the three, the giant Yasukami Mizuno finally - had a finger broken!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 575 Where is the secret treasure? !

A huge size will bring advantages in various aspects.

For example, in the history of biological evolution, most of the creatures that can become dominant in a certain era are huge creatures.

A large physique often means more speed, strength, and stamina.

Some people may think that big means slow, which is wrong.

Please think carefully, isn't it true that ants move their legs much faster than humans? Then, can humans outrun ants?

The advantages brought by the huge size are multifaceted. Usually, when such a giant is defeated, it is either because the protagonist is gifted and possesses some magical skills, or because he is swallowed by the giant monster and the enemy is eliminated from the inside.

Unfortunately, Yasukami Mizuno no Mikoto objectively ignored the second point.

He was something like a building, with no internal organs at all.

If a living creature had its finger broken, it would probably feel a lot of pain, but Yasukami Mizuno-no-Mikoto didn't react at all. He just silently changed another finger and continued to poke it in, chasing everyone.

Jiang Tianwei knew that he couldn't just force his way through here - you can't hit them one finger at a time, right?

Moreover...the Phantom Thieves' approach is not to directly eliminate the opponent's distortion, but to steal the secret treasure.

The question now is...

What is a secret treasure?

Generally speaking, secret treasures are kept in the most secret places and will only appear after you send a notice.

Although there have been no special cases so far, Jiang Tianwei believes that there are some.

Why do you send a warning letter? Because in many cases, the other party will not be particularly aware of the source of their distortion, nor do they know that they are being targeted, and will not be particularly concerned about their own secret treasures.

Using the example I gave before, you don't notice your breathing when you are normal. Only when you have a cold and find it difficult to breathe, you will start to pay attention to your breathing rhythm. However, if you suddenly start to pay attention to your breathing, such as when you watch a battle animation that focuses on breathing, or someone talks to you about breathing. In this case, you don't have to have a cold to realize that you are breathing.

Similarly, if a palace is newly formed and the source of its distortion is very clear and obvious, then the secret treasure can be seen without a warning letter.

But the current situation is that he did not see anything that looked like a secret treasure in the palace, nor did he see the twisted white ball of light before the secret treasure took shape...

So where do we start?

What is a secret treasure?

Before, most of the secret treasures that Jiang Tianwei had seen were specific things. The most bizarre one was Oyamada Shoichi's secret treasure, which was [Reputation]...

But, but... but this palace is full of weirdness. What does "the entire Sakurano Group" mean? This kind of goal is unheard of! In this case, what exactly is the secret treasure?

(The first thing that comes to mind is probably people.)

This is Jiang Tianwei’s idea.

After all, the original purpose of the castle was to protect the ruler. On the one hand, it was to establish prestige and maintain rule. On the other hand, it was to provide strong enough fortifications to protect the city lord in times of war.

So from this point of view, since the Sakurano Group regarded their mansion as a castle tower, then the things inside must be secret treasures.

The person inside is Sakurano Ei himself.

That's why Jiang Tianwei tried to take her away just now.

But... Jiang Tianwei was a little confused again.

Because... you see, under normal circumstances, when you take the secret treasure out, it will return to its original appearance.

For example, the secret treasure in Mr. Kamoshida's cognitive space is a crown, which actually corresponds to an Olympic medal in reality. But the important thing is that the medal in Mr. Kamoshida's home did not disappear, but the crowd got an extra medal out of thin air.

Similar things include Sayuri who was stolen by Madarame.

But...what about people?

If you take away the Sakurano Ei in the cognitive space, won't there be two Sakurano Ei in reality?

It was this muttering that made Jiang Tianwei act a little slower and confused in his actions.

Moreover, he was not sure whether his actions could save Sakurano Ei.

This is the first time that the Phantom Thieves have encountered a collective target. There is no precedent to refer to.

(Should we retreat first? What should we do after retreating? Should we go to the Sakurano Group in person? Or, should we kidnap Sakurano Ei in real life? That’s not possible, right? The target this time is not a certain person, but the entire Sakurano Group. If we kidnap her, it will be difficult for everyone to realize anything…)

While commanding everyone to retreat, Jiang Tianwei was thinking about a solution.

Of course, the shadow Ying Ying was not abandoned by him. He forced the Ying Ye Princess to retreat while listening to the woman's constant words like "I can't leave, I am the team leader". Jiang Tianwei was annoyed by it.

Because the enemy is reaching in with his fingers, people who have had experience in picking their noses should know that in this special situation where your fingers are inserted into a small place, your behavior is affected by, on the one hand, the state of the hole, and on the other hand, the parameters of your fingers themselves. This is why most people use their little fingers and few people use their thumbs.

So, in this special case, the attack range of Yasukami Mizuno-no-Mikoto is only the direction that can be swept by the length of his fingers. As long as everyone sticks to the wall, there will be no problem.

But the problem now is that as a leader, I must finalize the policy.

"How to do?"

Togo Ichiraku asked, her brows furrowed and her expression anxious, probably projecting her own past onto Sakurano Ei. She felt that Sakurano Ei was similar to herself, so she wanted to save him.

This is a kind of compensation psychology, which exists in all people, the difference is more or less. Basically speaking, if you are sure that you can't get something you don't have and want, you will project this emotion onto other people or things, hoping that they can get it.

A common example is the Togo family, where the mother wanted to be a star but couldn't, so she forced her daughter to be a star. Or when many people play games, they project their emotions onto the protagonist and give him the best and the greatest.

In particular, there are many players who play games that pay to play. They often cannot be the protagonists of their lives in reality, so they pin their hopes on their virtual images in their mobile phones.

Therefore, there is an educator who deliberately goes against tradition and says that if a child is addicted to games, it must be because the parents did not educate them well. Although the essence of it is to make you pay for lessons, it is still a business in essence.

"Now, let's have a combat meeting - let's talk about how to steal the secret treasure. Sorry, I'll leave the analysis to you guys."

Jiang Tianwei looked at the opposite side. At present, the big finger of Yasukami Mizuno-no-Mikoto was not able to attack everyone, which was a good opportunity to explain.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 576 Can you give me an analysis?

Jiang Tianwei doesn't think he is a very smart person.

But, what does it matter? Just use your staff to make up for your own shortcomings. Who has ever heard of the Minister of Land and Resources going to work on a construction site? Who has ever heard of the Minister of Agriculture going to the market to sell vegetables? Who has ever heard of the Minister of Railways driving a train? Such professional matters can be handed over to subordinates with professional skills.

So, he told them what he had thought of so far, and Shinjima Makoto and Akechi Goro lowered their heads together. Both of them were very smart, so the decryption-like thing could be left to them.

Although Kitagawa Yusuke and Togo Ichizo were also thinking, their professional directions were different. Yusuke was not very good at reasoning about the overall situation of conspiracy and intrigue, but as an artist, he had a very unique thinking mode. Togo Ichizo was better at specific tactics and strategies than conspiracy and strategic things.

"I think the most likely person is Princess Sakurano."

Goro Akechi raised his right hand like a good student, just like a student who tried hard to show himself in front of parents and leaders during parent visit day or open classes.

"I agree with Actor's idea. Since this is the castle tower, the secret treasure must be inside. Since we haven't found the secret treasure, then it stands to reason that this Princess Sakurano is the secret treasure, right? Moreover, you see, since the target of this change of heart is [all members of the Sakurano Group], I'm afraid this Princess Sakurano does not exist objectively, but is a princess recognized by everyone. The real Sakurano Ei should be among this group."

Goro Akechi's analysis makes sense, especially the last sentence. Since the target is all members of the Sakurano group, there is no reason why Sakurano Ei is not among them.

Therefore, Sakurano Ei's location is not in the castle tower, but in the palace owner who has not been discovered by everyone. No, maybe the huge monster outside, Yasukami Mizuno Mikoto, is the palace owner?

"...No, I think the opposite. I don't think this Princess Sakurano is a secret treasure."

Shinjima bit his lip, looking very serious.

"I agree with your conclusion in the second half. Princess Sakurano is probably a product of cognition, not a shadow of herself. Her existence is more like everyone feels that [Sakurano Ei should be here as a vase]. Her existence doesn't seem like a secret treasure. Because, we don't feel that the secret treasure is being strictly protected, right?"

What Niijima said is indeed correct.

Previous experience has taught us that as long as you try to steal the treasure, the palace owner will definitely protect it.

"Moreover, from a logical point of view, it is hard for me to believe that a person can have such a great personal charm that everyone regards her as a secret treasure."

"That makes sense..."

Hearing this, Akechi Goro also nodded, and then he changed the subject: "So, what do you think the secret treasure is?"

"Is it possible... that it's this castle tower? I, let me make it clear first, I know very little about the mafia, so I'm not sure what they value so much, but isn't that how it's played out in the movies? The mafia values ​​their family and honor so much. If that's the case, then isn't this Sakurano mansion their secret treasure? Everyone is working hard to maintain the family, so if that's the explanation, then it also explains why we can't find the secret treasure, because we're already inside it."

If you think about it carefully, what these two people said makes sense.

Jiang Tianwei suddenly found himself becoming Yuan Shao! Yuan Benchu ​​had a group of very capable advisers, but the advisers were not harmonious, so the strategies proposed by everyone were varied and focused, and no unified conclusion could be reached. Unexpectedly, the pressure now came to him.

When he was watching Teacher Yi's comments on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he also joined the barrage in mocking Yuan Benchu's "talent" of being able to accurately choose the wrong strategies. As a result, he himself was pushed to the forefront today.

"...I, I want to interrupt..."

Togo Ichiraku asked the question timidly, like a good kid.

"what happened?"

"That, that giant seems to be going crazy..."

Togo Ichimi-san's slender fingers were wrapped in black silk gloves, pointing at the huge fingers of Yasukami Mizuno-no-Mikoto opposite him. The composition was unexpectedly similar to the famous fingers of God and Adam, but the difference in the physique of these two fingers... well... you know it without me saying it, right?

Everyone looked in the direction where his finger was pointing, and sure enough, the huge finger of Yasukami Mizuno-no-Mikoto had already been inserted deeply into the crack in the wall. He was fiddling with it quickly left and right, and the wall was split apart by its fingers, accompanied by earth-shaking vibrations and deafening noises!

Then, Yasukami Tsuno-no-Mikoto stuffed all ten fingers in! Just like opening an iron box with force! The giant used all his strength to forcibly open the upper part of the castle tower!!!

The cold wind blew in and everyone shivered involuntarily.

Under the moonlight, the Titan was looking at this side with an expressionless face and slapping his hands downwards.

This action was undoubtedly a strong blow to Niijima's speculation.