Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

But strangely, not only did he not control the water flow to attack Lan Ke, but he actually raised his right hand to block in front of himself, in the path of Lan Ke's attack! !

"Stab!!"

Without any pause, the sharp scalpel pierced the opponent's palm in an instant. Lan Ke could even feel the friction between the blade and the metacarpal bone, but at this time he could no longer care about so much.

Countless blood splashed from the wound onto Lan Ke (Shadow)'s face, and also splashed all over Lan Ke himself.

But the strange thing was that the 'Lan Ke (Shadow)' in front of him not only did not take the opportunity to attack, but instead revealed a crazy but twisted smile, followed by a 'wailing sound'.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

Along with the wailing sounds came increasingly heavy breathing sounds.

Looking at Lan Ke retreating in embarrassment, the other party finally stopped watching the show this time. Instead, he took a step forward without hesitation and then kicked Lan Ke in the stomach.

Suddenly, Lan Ke felt his stomach churning, but his opponent didn't waste any words.

Instead, he slowly pulled out the scalpel stuck in his palm and held it high in his hand.

Then——

“Puff~!!”

With the sound of leather being cut, countless blood gushed out from Lan Ke's waist.

The pain was more intense than the previous one when his palm was pierced, causing Lan Ke, who was already screaming in agony, to let out an even more shrill scream.

In the dilapidated subway station, a man in a bloodstained white coat stabbed a 'teen' with a scalpel in both hands, looking like a complete psychopathic murderer.

But what Lan Ke saw was a different picture.

In the blurry vision, I saw a middle-aged man in tattered clothes, holding a bloody fruit knife with a hysterical look on his face, and being pinned to the ground by countless people.

"Why am I always the one who's hurt?"

A familiar whisper sounded in his ears, but the person who spoke was sitting astride him.

But facing the abuser in front of him, although his body was twitching with pain, Lan Ke seemed to be oblivious to it and instead unconsciously thought about what the other person said.

Yeah, why is he always the one who gets hurt?

It was obvious that he had tried his best in that operation. The problem was not with him at all, but that the patient was seriously injured. When he completed the abdominal surgery, he was faced with a sea of ​​blood. Although he finally managed to complete the removal and transplantation of the damaged organs, the patient ultimately did not survive the rejection reaction in the ICU on the second day.

It can be said that there was nothing wrong with him during that operation, and it was even enough to be used as a teaching plan, but why did he want to take revenge on himself?

"Should good people be held at gunpoint?"

Yeah, should good people be pointed at with guns?

As the other party questioned him sentence by sentence, Lan Ke's expression, which was originally distorted by pain, became more and more calm, and the 'Lan Ke (Shadow)' who was sitting on top couldn't help but smile.

At the same time, his speech speed became faster and faster, and his voice became more and more excited.

"So now that the gun is in my hands, it's my turn!"

"I want to make the world feel the pain I've endured!"

As the other party finished speaking, Lan Ke felt endless anger surging from the bottom of his heart, and a pure white mask seemed to emerge.

But at this moment, another memory seemed to emerge.

Burning flames, stinging pain all over the body, and a complex face mixed with sadness and relief.

After going through untold hardships, he finally got into his dream university. After the opening ceremony, he stopped the professor who was giving a speech. The professor looked at him with a puzzled expression, but when he said his name, he showed a surprised but pleasantly surprised expression.

A middle-aged man was filled with satisfaction when he and his classmates swore an oath with determination under the red cross at the graduation ceremony;

The first time I stood in the operating room, the assistant's face couldn't be seen due to the hat and mask, but the only visible eyes gave me an encouraging look...

Lan Ke, whose expression was extremely calm, gradually became hysterical, and flames began to burn under him.

The raging flames even completely evaporated the water that bound his body, and Lan Ke grabbed the scimitar that pierced his waist and abdomen.

Blood continued to flow from his palm along the blade into the blood on the ground, making the flames burn more vigorously.

"I'm starting to believe you're 'me' now."

Lan Ke's voice was low, but it seemed to contain endless anger.

"what?!"

"Because I've thought about everything you said!"

Lan Ke seemed to recall every night after he was injured when he sat alone in the dormitory and stared out the window in a daze. Looking at his trembling right hand in those dead silent nights, he asked himself this question more than once.

But——————he got the answer.

"Ignorance is no excuse for recklessness, and I don't intend to forgive the idiot who attacked me, but I've never forgotten the Hippocratic Oath. So instead of venting my anger or wallowing in self-pity, I want to—heal—this twisted society!"

Yes, his right hand was no longer able to hold a scalpel, but he did not intend to give up his identity as a doctor, so he chose another goal.

While his boss transferred him to the medical department, he also worked hard to learn "psychiatry" on his own, intending to become a psychiatrist.

Even the reason why he chose to play P5R was due to this reason.

After coming to this world, the reason why he decided to become a 'Phantom Thief' was not for revenge, nor simply for excitement, but to be able to 'heal' more people!

By 'stealing' their hearts, he eliminates the twisted desires of others, completing another kind of 'surgery' that belongs to him!!

At this moment, Lan Ke was no longer confused.

"Did you finally remember?"

"Broken wings, trampled dreams, no one can understand your persistence, the path you have chosen is destined to have few companions. Do you regret it?"

As the other party questioned, countless gossips kept echoing in his ears. It was obvious that others could not understand why Lan Ke, who had climbed to their dream position with the help of "compensation", would want to be an ordinary psychologist.

but------

"Regret? I never regret it!!"

At this moment, Lan Ke felt as if he was in a sea of ​​fire, but he still tried his best to grab the "mask" on his face that was burned in the flames.

"Then flap your wings. Even if they are twisted and ugly, they are wings that belong only to you!!"

"Ahhhhh!!!"

Unable to control his emotions any longer, Lan Ke roared hysterically. At the same time, the mask on his face, which should have been pure white, had already turned pitch black in the flames, and the "Lan Ke (Shadow)" sitting on him was also swept away by the invisible air wave.

But before 'Lan Ke (Shadow)' could get up, he saw that Lan Ke's face, who was lying on the ground, was surrounded by flames, which quickly spread to his body.

Lan Ke rolled around wildly on the ground, and even clusters of steam rose from the puddles on the ground.

Lan Ke rolled to the wall before he stood up with the help of the wall.

At this moment, his entire body seemed to be engulfed in flames, especially his face, which served as the 'source of fire', and his hands, which were holding the edge of the mask. They were completely black and cracked inch by inch, revealing the dark bones underneath, but he still did not let go of his hands.

"That's right! Be reborn in the flames!!"

"Let's sign a contract with a brand new attitude! I am you, and you are me—

Carve out your own future in this chaotic world! !"

As the original whisper turned into a roar, the originally cracked skin seemed to no longer be able to stick to Lan Ke's body, and the black mask was finally torn off.

Perhaps it was because the flames dried up all the moisture, so even though a hideous face like a skeleton was revealed, not a drop of blood fell.

But at this moment, the mask that had been torn off suddenly began to burn again.

The flames spread from Lan Ke's palm to his entire body at a speed even more ferocious than before.

The only difference from before was that this time the flames went out quickly after burning, and at the same time, his hands, which had been charred black, had returned to normal and were wearing a pair of special gloves.

The left hand is an ordinary leather glove, but the right hand is a metal glove;

The tracksuit covered in blood and holes also disappeared in the flames, replaced by a tattered white coat.

The closer the white coat gets to the end, the more tattered and darker it becomes, giving the impression that it has been set on fire.

Inside the white coat is a tight leather vest, and from the collar you can see that there is a shirt inside the vest.

As for the white coat below the elbows, it was almost completely burned, and the area between the gloves and sleeves was wrapped in countless blood-stained bandages.

He wore a pair of fairly loose overalls with the legs tucked into his riding boots.

But the most eye-catching thing is the strange mask.

The part above the eyes is an ordinary white mask revealing a pair of golden pupils, while the lower part is a huge metal bird beak.

The shadow cast by the huge hat on his head makes him look like a real "birdman".

At the same time, the scattered sparks and ashes slowly took shape behind Lan Ke. A strange man wearing a feather robe, his face hidden in the hood, and holding a cane in front of him slowly raised the scepter in his hand towards Lan Ke.

Lan Ke instantly felt that his tired body was full of strength again!

Then he looked in another direction, and at this time 'Lan Ke (Shadow)' was also staring at him.

"It seems that the offense and defense have switched."

Perhaps because of the mask on his face, Lan Ke's voice sounded a little low at this time.

On the other side, the smile that had always been on Lan Ke (Shadow)'s face finally disappeared, replaced by an extremely solemn look.

"We're just being pulled to the same starting line. Do you think you can definitely beat me after awakening your 'Persona'?"

As the other party finished speaking, countless streams of water turned into chains and swept towards Lan Ke, and the "weirdo" behind Lan Ke raised the scepter in his hand again, and countless feathers swept towards the water.

The feathers not only blocked the chains made of water, but also blocked Lan Ke (Shadow)'s sight.

The opponent, who was also 'Lan Ke (Shadow)', seemed to have guessed Lan Ke's thoughts. He stared at the 'feather' that blocked his view.

Sure enough, just a few seconds later, a figure passed through the feathers, and a sharp scimitar flashed with cold light and pointed directly at his throat.

Faced with the "unexpected" situation, "Lan Ke (Shadow)" decided to use the same trick again.

He tried to use his palm to block the sharp but not too long scalpel again.

The sharp tip of the knife instantly pierced his palm. As expected, Lan Ke, who had awakened his own "personality mask", was no longer shaken by the splattered blood. But what he didn't expect was that Lan Ke, who had lost to him in the wrestling match before, seemed to burst out with even more terrifying power.

Unable to control his arm, Lan Ke (Shadow) only saw a silver star carrying his palm piercing his throat...

Chapter 11 The wind is blowing, it’s time to set sail

"Ding!!"

With a crisp sound, the tip of the knife, which had not even scratched the ground before, pierced straight into the wall. Lan Ke (Shadow) looked at Lan Ke in front of him with surprise. Lan Ke, who had also gained a pair of golden eyes, was in front of him.

"You won't kill me?"

"Didn't you intend to kill me before?"

Facing the question from 'Lan Ke (Shadow)', Lan Ke asked back.

At first it was because of nervousness, then it was because of PTSD, and finally it was because of the awakening of the "personality mask" that the whole person was in an excited state. Lan Ke didn't think too much about it.

But now that he has calmed down, he has thought a lot.

Why is his assistant so sure that he can awaken his "personality mask"?

The other party had several opportunities to kill him before, but he chose to torture him... No, a more accurate statement would be to stimulate him, rather than kill him directly.

This is obviously unreasonable!

But to his surprise, the other party didn't seem to want to say anything more, but just stared at him silently, but the strange thing was that he felt that the other party was not looking at him?

When Lan Ke was wondering what was going on, the other party's body suddenly relaxed, and then Lan Ke felt a sudden drop in his hand, and the other party almost slipped against the wall.

It was only then that the other party looked at Lan Ke and spoke again.

"Sure enough, I am you..."

As Lan Ke (Shadow) muttered to himself, his body began to gradually fade away, until it finally turned into countless points of light and merged into Lan Ke's body.

Feeling as if his body was filled up, Lan Ke finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then he suddenly felt dizzy and his 'personality mask', which could no longer support him, also turned into a point of light and disappeared. He held on to the wall and kept gasping loudly.

Whether it was the initial hysterical fight or the subsequent awakening of the "personality mask", they consumed too much of his energy.

What he wanted to do most at this moment was to have a good rest.

What Lan Ke didn't know was that while he was leaning against the wall to take a nap, the drizzle outside the subway on the other side gradually became heavier.

This is nothing. After all, although the 'cognitive world' and the 'material world' correspond to each other, they do not easily affect each other. For ordinary people, today is still a clear and cool autumn day.

But in a cave somewhere in the deep forest of Hokkaido, a strange ritual is taking place.

Countless people in robes gathered in a strange cave.