Tokyo Trickster

No one paid any attention to him.

Until a loud noise was heard beside me.

The bride named "Hekawa Tsubasa" slowly pulled out a pale dagger from her wedding dress and placed it against Amamiya Ren's neck.

Amamiya Lian's pupils shrank violently several times, "【Chronos】."

He was still slow.

The next moment, Hanekawa Tsubasa died suddenly without any warning.

Like an empty shell with its soul taken away, the plump, beautiful body that made people want to hug and greedily possess fell on Amamiya Ren.

"You guy, you're just afraid that I'm not angry enough, so you deliberately add fuel to the fire two days before the challenge starts." Amamiya Ren was ready to end this farce.

"Is this really an illusion?" Judas said the first words he had spoken so far. K's voice was vague and low.

Amamiya Ren was silent.

"Your personality mask should be able to sense this level of reality. My dear, respected, most talented tenant, this church, this wedding, and even the dead girl in your arms, all really exist in the physical world."

Judas' voice became excited. "People always regret their past choices unconsciously, remembering the pain caused by mistakes. This is an inescapable cycle. They grow in pain and progress in regret. The faster they grow, the more they lose... This pain, this helpless regret, is a necessary experience for humans to deal with the increasing desires in society."

"Trickster, do you see? This world was created because of your choice."

Many pale hands grew out of the ground, dragging the crying and escaping host into the muddy and blurry halo.

Judas' voice was like the devil's whisper, "This ending corresponds to what you did to the girl named 'Hekawa Tsubasa'..."

K's voice stopped abruptly.

The corpse in Amemiya Lian's arms twitched a few times, then stood up again, staring at the "God" in the void with an absolutely rational, indifferent, and inexplicably compassionate look.

"You shouldn't be talked about..."

"In a sense," Hanekawa Tsubasa's tone was like spring water flowing through bamboo leaves, liquid flowing through fine textures and smooth bast layers, gently, "I know everything."

She gently stroked Amamiya Ren's face, "If I hadn't let the 'curse' strangle my throat, you wouldn't have appeared, and you wouldn't have brought my favorite boy to me."

"This is the first time I've heard of someone as amazing as you." She smiled as always, "Now, it's time for you to leave."

Judas said nothing more. K remained silent. Countless hands grabbed Amamiya Ren and tried to drag him back to reality.

Hanekawa Tsubasa wanted to stop him, but after a moment of stiffness she chose to let go, and her smile turned bitter.

"As expected of you, you are the embodiment of regret. No matter what choice I make, I will regret it."

"You are so kind, God on earth."

"I don't deserve that title." Although Hanekawa Tsubasa said this, she took out a few Clow Cards from her pocket and said, "This is a trick that a friend I met when I was traveling in Finland taught me. I'll use you to try out the effect."

"Damn you, Sakura Kinomoto..." Judas cursed and almost ran away to disappear from Hanekawa Tsubasa's perception.

Hanekawa Tsubasa's expression suddenly turned cold and stern. "Come back." She shouted in a commanding voice. The entire church was sealed off in an instant.

"You really know everything." The sentiment of my former high school classmate suddenly became clear to me.

This is Judah's exclamation.

"I don't know everything, I just happen to know it." Hanekawa Tsubasa answered softly, then gently touched her wedding dress with her fingers, and it quickly changed into a black women's suit, looking like she was going to attend a funeral.

Judah smiled, "It's a choice I regret."

"You look like you're enjoying it." Hanekawa Tsubasa approached K leisurely.

"I understand this pain much more than humans do."

"As expected of a character who calls himself a god."

"Hahaha! Self-praise? You said it, self-praise?!" After being stunned, Judas burst into laughter, and it seemed that he was laughing until tears came out.

K kept repeating those fragments mechanically, "You actually succeeded? You actually succeeded? You actually took that step."

Hanekawa Tsubasa did not answer, she just reached out and patted Judas on the back. The blocked space was shattered in an instant, and the wall between the real and the impression space was penetrated until it reached the Velvet Room.

Under Lavenda's horrified gaze, a woman who finally revealed her shape fell heavily into the ground, and cracks quickly spread in all directions.

Hanekawa Tsubasa, who was wearing a black suit, stepped on the back of her head and slowly applied force. The cracks deepened and lengthened at an exaggerated speed.

She seemed to be nonchalant, nodded slightly to Lavenda and said goodbye with a smile, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Lavenda, and goodbye."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Velvet Room was pierced. She grabbed Judas's collar and threw him tens of thousands of meters into the sky in reality.

"Are you crazy?!" Judas screamed in pain.

Hanekawa Tsubasa just stared at K with a calm gaze, "You are crazy. You have taken away the existence of Amamiya Ren from one universe after another, tricking or forcibly sending them to a time and space on the verge of collapse to feed the growth of the 'clown'."

"You can't stop it, you can't stop it..."

"Indeed, I can't even kill you. Even with Kuro's power, I can only kill Judas who exists in this world."

"You're done. Remember this, I will kill Ren Amamiya..."

"But at least I can cut off your arm that is no longer able to move."

She looked at Judah, holding the Sword of Craw card.

Symbol: The search for truth, reward, and sometimes destructive power.

This is magic whose power depends on the user's heart.

17-year-old Ace: 187. Grass/Python/Phantom Thief (two in one)

"Ding-ling-ling." The sound of the wind chimes swaying is crisp and ethereal.

The smell of moist earth mixed with the dense forest.

This is an unnamed shrine located near Naoetsu. It has been abandoned for many years and has been gradually forgotten by people. It is only occasionally heard from various ancient legends: the god once enshrined in the Kitashiro Snake Shrine was sealed by an Onmyoji a thousand years ago, and its power was restrained in runes and kept by experts who are good at using rumors and strange stories.

"Hey, Xiaolian," the man lifted a primary school boy above his head and paced back and forth unsteadily under the torii gate of the shrine, "Hurry up! Your dad can't hold on any longer!"

"Left! Left!" shouted the 11-year-old Amemiya Ren. He held an iron awl and nails in his hands and was nailing two wooden plaques with the words "dedication" on them on the repainted torii.

The original building of the Kitashiroji Shrine is already in disrepair and is rarely visited. There are a few rusty coins in the moldy donation box caused by moisture.

Amamiya Ren was out on a picnic with his parents when they came across this legendary shrine. The child, who had just made some progress in his woodworking skills, was eager to show his skills to his parents. (For details about "woodworking skills", see Chapter 177.)

Together they renovated the outermost torii gate of the shrine, made a new offering box, threw a dozen 100-yuan coins into it, and then the sky darkened.

Perhaps the wishes made at the Kitashiro Snake Shrine were very effective in the past, but gradually became less effective, so fewer and fewer tourists visited, until it became completely deserted.

Most Japanese citizens always subconsciously regard faith as a tool. They have no loyal sect and try to worship Buddhism, Christianity and various gods fabricated by the local people whenever they encounter them.

Perhaps it is for this reason that the saying “eight million gods” gradually emerged, meaning “everything has a god.”

......

There are still 2 hours left until Judah's challenge day.

The current overall status of the Phantom Thieves: Perfectly tuned (100%)

Judas's current overall status: Absolutely evil (30%) (hit by Lavenda's Megadragon, wounded by Ultraman Amamiya Ren's full-strength punch, right arm cut off by Hanekawa Tsubasa.)

The Phantom Thieves, who had been caught by their leader in the Amemiya family villa in Naoetsu and had been cramming physics and mathematics for three days, finally walked out of the room.

Ryuji Sakamoto and Vsuke Kitagawa had looks of relief on their faces. Morgana was so excited that he jumped onto the ceiling and started to squirm and crawl darkly, making an indescribable cat-like scream.

"Have you brought all the props?" Lavenda stood on the sofa and straightened Amamiya Ren's collar.

Amamiya Ren hugged Lavenda's slender waist, feeling the girl's warm breath hitting her chin, and scratched the back of her furry head like stroking a pet cat.

The secretary's face was flushed, and her amber eyes were filled with a thin mist. She hugged Amamiya Ren's neck and kissed the corner of his mouth softly, "Be careful."

"I will definitely win." The thief made a promise that he himself didn't quite believe.

He groaned for a few seconds, "Don't worry, I'm not the character in the JUMP comics who claims to be invincible, beats up the strongest villain for dozens of chapters, and then inexplicably gets beheaded in one page..."

"I'm reading the latest episode of Jujutsu Kaisen!"

"Isn't it? Gojo Satoru's death was so unjust. He died, but he also elevated Sukuna to a level that broke the plot setting. The whole process was inexplicable and without any signs."

Amamiya Ren complained, "If we compare the current Sukuna to Majin Buu in Dragon Ball, then the three Krillin are about to challenge him. I can't think of how they can win. Unless the three Krillin combine into a two-star Krillin, and then in a life-and-death crisis, they awaken their magnetic field and soar all the way to the million-horsepower realm, and blow Sukuna and the entire world apart with one punch, rush out of the comics, and slap the author in the face."

Lavenda comforted him, "The Phantom Thieves are four people and a cat."

"Great, we can also form the 'Phantom Thief' bond, the 'Totoro' bond, and the 'Tarot Card' bond." Amamiya Ren talked nonsense about the game terms in "Teamfight Tactics", and the anxiety in his eyes eased a lot.

Even though I have become much stronger than I was before spring break, I still have no confidence of winning.

At this time, a card was stuffed into his hand by Lavenda.

"The [power] that Margaret gave you?"

He looked at the card, which showed the burly figure of "Amamiya Ren" wearing a red and black battle uniform, and asked, "How should I use it?"

"Just crush it," Lavenda added. "It's just a legacy of 'Amamiya Ren' from some other world. It's a good use of it if it can be used as a disposable consumable to temporarily increase combat power."

Philemon really tried his best to help Amamiya Ren defeat Judas. K interfered with Judas's crossing and contacted those who were willing to help Amamiya Ren. Finally, before the challenge day, he weakened the "Consciousness of Regret" to... about the strength of ten perfect forms of Sakata Kinnin.

According to Margaret's idea, this [Strength] card was originally intended for her own use, but under the influence of Philemon, it was eventually handed over to Lavenda. (See Chapter 169 for details)

All preparations have been completed.

So next...

The four people and the cat took steps in unison and walked into the door leading to the impression space.

The Phantom Thieves of the Heart, the stealth begins――

Morgana turned into a van, and the roar of the engine broke the atmosphere that had been hard-earned.

Shiomi Kotone sighed, "It really is the Mind Bandits."

Kitagawa Vsuke pulled his bangs and said, "If we must change the name, we might as well try a new name like 'Amamiya Group' or 'Spirit Group'."

Ryuji Sakamoto, who was the last to get on the car, caught a glimpse of Amamiya Ren's expression as she opened the car door. He turned his head and whistled, forcing himself to hold back a long string of complaints.

Amamiya Ren got in the driver's seat and glared at them fiercely, "If you really transform into a gang, the first thing I will do is throw you into the basement and make you write a 10,000-word haiku praising the organization's achievements."

The atmosphere in the car froze instantly.

The only sound left was the whistling sound from the severe air leakage.

Amamiya Ren looked at Sakamoto Ryuji and asked, "Have you whistled enough?"

Sakamoto Ryuji covered his mouth.

The carriage finally became quiet.

Morgana, transformed into a cat car, trembled as it drove along the cobblestone sidewalk.

This is the shallowest layer of Naoetsu's impression space, a small town near the sea.

Compared with the urbanization outside, Naoetsu in the impression space seems backward and old, but it has a film texture unique to movie and TV drama shots, outlining the atmosphere of life in its simplicity. This is a small town full of life.

The scarlet, turbid waves hit the rocks, making a sticky, irritating sound.

The shadows of this city show a cheerful emotion. Different from the hunched bodies of Tokyo and the dizziness of Dochi Town, they have clear goals but their backs are straighter. When you get close, you can hear them muttering slogans such as "work hard, live seriously" and occasionally chaotic insults.

Amamiya Lian rolled down the car window and looked at the mottled sky. "This place is really weird."

"Those shadows have shackles on their bodies." Shiomi Kotone was playing with her personality mask summoner in her hand.

"This rainstorm imprisoned them in Naoetsu," Kitagawa Vsuke analyzed.

Sakamoto Ryuji looked at the scene behind the car in shock, "Stop! Look at the lighthouse over there!"

He pointed at a tall tower on the edge of the vast sea of ​​blood. A sea snake more than ten meters long was entwined around it. Its thick tongue was probing back and forth inside the tower, but it couldn't find its desired prey, so it climbed to the top of the tower. Its pair of vertical pupils scanned the entire town...something terrifying happened.

The moment its sight touched a certain mountain, the whole world went dark.

The neon sun and the psychedelic sky were all obscured in an instant.

That huge body covered the entire Naoetsu, and the lines between its pale scales looked like a city highway with thousands of gullies and ravines. The snake's eyes, like replacing the scorching sun, slowly reflected the shape of the sea snake.

The sound of the spitting sound is like a storm approaching the coastline.

This is an ancient legend that permeates the entire Naoetsu. It is the deity enshrined in the "White Snake Shrine" outside the town. The shrine is in ruins and almost no one goes there to worship. When Amamiya Ren was in elementary school, he drove to the mountain with his parents for an outing. He happened to have good carpentry skills, so he used local materials to repair the shrine's offering box.

Maybe it was the 100 dollars I put in the box when I was a kid.

After the White Snake devoured the sea snake that had invaded K's territory without permission, it turned its attention to the Phantom Thieves in the cat car.

There was obvious curiosity in those deep red snake eyes.

K slowly lowered his round head, as if a huge depression appeared in the sky, and light seeped out from the gap.

Kitagawa Vsuke's breathing in the car stagnated, Sakamoto Ryuji's face was pale, and Shiomi Kotone tightly grasped Amamiya Ren's sleeve. Her first reaction was to protect Amamiya Ren... "Hey, where are you going?!"