Chapter 254: Tuna: What’s with this ’I’m the only one left out’ vibe?!
The next morning, outside the Raiden Estate.
After a night of rest and preparation, Ren led his team to an open courtyard and pulled out his phone, firing up the Metaverse Navigator.
"Bronya understands bringing Kiana along," Bronya said, her head tilting slightly as she stood beside Ren. Her gaze swept past the visibly vibrating Kiana to land on the stoic Fu Hua and the elegantly smiling Rita. "But... why are you bringing those two, Ren?"
"Although they’re spies sent by Otto, they are also exceptionally rare Persona Users. It would be ideal if we could fully recruit them into the Phantom Thieves," Ren explained, his eyes scanning the app’s interface. "Even if we can’t, they’ll still be a massive help in exploring the Metaverse. I’ve decided to give them a chance to join us."
Judging by their recent behavior, turning Fu Hua and Rita was entirely feasible. Fu Hua even had Mobius—a Persona now deeply bound to Ren’s soul—acting as a guarantor of sorts.
As for Rita, while she carried the title of Overseer Otto’s spy, she had never actually directed any hostility toward Ren. Her true target from the very beginning had solely been Kiana Kaslana, and her brief clashes with Mei and Bronya were purely collateral damage over the white-haired girl.
And considering how Kiana was currently glued to Rita’s side, chatting animatedly with stars in her eyes, it was glaringly obvious that the actual "victim" didn’t mind Rita’s past actions in the slightest. Since Kiana held no grudge, Ren saw no reason to reject Rita’s integration into the team.
Furthermore, pragmatism dictated his move. The destination he was taking them to wasn’t a physical location in reality, but a Palace born of cognition within the Metaverse.
Without the Metaverse Navigator app, Fu Hua and Rita had absolutely no way of returning to the real world on their own. If they didn’t want to wander the cognitive realm until they starved to death, they had no choice but to obediently act as temporary Phantom Thieves and serve as Ren’s muscle.
"Please rest assured, Miss Bronya. Rita has been thoroughly captivated by Lord Ren’s grace. I would never dream of committing an act of betrayal against him."
Facing Bronya’s intense scrutiny, the smile on Rita’s face didn’t falter for a second. She met the Russian girl’s gaze flawlessly.
Only when Bronya finally looked away did Rita allow a tremor of excitement to show, her pale fingers tracing the Thorny Blood Covenant locked tightly around her porcelain neck.
Though she had never set foot in this so-called "Metaverse," a domain of unknown cognitive danger clearly wasn’t a place for an ordinary human.
If Rita was going to be of any use to the Phantom Thieves, the Schariac Blood Covenant suppressing her Honkai energy would have to be lifted. The anticipation was intoxicating.
After days of forced mundanity, she finally had the chance to shatter the suppression and reclaim her power. How could she not be thrilled?
"Kiana, mentally prepare yourself," Ren warned, turning to the only normal human on the roster. "An ordinary person’s stamina drains significantly faster in the Metaverse. While your physical specs should let you hold out for a long time, don’t drop your guard."
Receiving an eager nod from Kiana, Ren tapped the destination on the Metaverse Navigator.
Crimson ripples pulsed outward. The ground beneath their feet and the very space around them distorted, warping like a freshly smeared oil painting. By the time the spatial turbulence settled, Kiana blinked in shock—the environment had undergone a staggering transformation.
A howling, scorching wind blew past, whipping grains of burning sand against her cheeks with a faint but sharp sting.
"I-Is this the other world?! We just teleported from reality in the blink of an eye?!"
Kiana’s blue eyes sparkled as she took in her surroundings. They were standing in a boundless, sun-baked desert. The blistering heat caused the horizon to shimmer and warp, and the golden dunes shifted like water beneath her boots.
She knew Ren was taking them to another dimension, but she had expected some grand, magical light show or a dizzying portal transit. She hadn’t anticipated the shift between reality and the Metaverse to be so utterly seamless and silent.
Having cataloged the desert, Kiana turned back to Ren and the others—only to violently rub her eyes a second later.
A shroud of pale blue fire had suddenly engulfed Ren. When the spectral flames dissipated, he was clad in a sleek, midnight-black trench coat with bird-like coattails, his handsome face partially obscured by that familiar white avian mask.
Beside him, a flurry of glowing blue phantom butterflies swirled around Mei, outfitting her in her own distinct thief attire.
"So cool... Persona Users are so convenient. I’m definitely going to awaken a Persona too!!"
Kiana looked down at her own clothes: a skintight, skirt-style Valkyrie Ranger prototype suit. It had a black base with white accents and an orange strap hanging over her shoulder. Suddenly, her shiny new toy didn’t feel so cool anymore.
Sure, she had provided the design inspiration for it, and it was hand-cobbled overnight by the combined genius of Dr. Tesla, Dr. Einstein, and a reluctantly helpful Dr. Mobius. Its specs and performance rivaled the absolute best Schicksal Valkyrie armors.
But compared to Ren and Mei’s magical one-click wardrobe change? It felt lacking.
Worse yet, Mobius had explicitly warned her that because the suit was a rushed transitionary model, its durability was garbage. If she went all out, the armor would probably fall apart in a single day.
Tearing her envious gaze away from Ren and Mei, Kiana wiped a droplet of drool from her mouth and clenched her fists. Her resolve to awaken her Persona during this Palace infiltration burned brighter than ever.
"Seele, did you awaken a new Phantom Thief outfit too?" Bronya asked, her silver-gray eyes lighting up with pleasant surprise.
Seele was now dressed in a gown as pure and holy as a snow lotus. The hem of the blue skirt bloomed with delicate white floral patterns, and elegant silver chains and metallic keyholes adorned her bodice.
"Mhm! It’s all thanks to Big Brother Ren," Seele smiled sweetly. "After using the Keys of the Void he gave me, Seele felt her power unknowingly grow a lot stronger."
Ever since she attuned to the Herrscher-tier pistols, Seele felt her connection to her Shadow—"Veliona"—deepen immensely, as if stimulated by the weapon. This beautiful, blue-and-white lotus dress was the natural manifestation of that strengthened bond.
Dammit, I’m so jealous...
Hearing their conversation and realizing Seele had also recently upgraded her cognitive wardrobe, Kiana’s envy flared up again.
Taking a few deep breaths, she turned to Rita. Seeing the maid still in her standard uniform, Kiana felt a wave of comforting solidarity. At least I’m not the only one.
But in the very next second, Kiana’s eye twitched violently.
A bone-chilling frost abruptly exploded outward. Crystal-clear, ice-like armor materialized over Rita’s lithe figure, swiftly adopting the cold, silver-blue luster of moonlight. A gust of wind whipped up, sending the ethereal, veil-like cape of her battlesuit flapping backward...
SMACK!
The cape slapped directly across Kiana’s dumbfounded face.
"My transformation was delayed by four or five seconds. Is it due to the ambient interference of the Metaverse? A few more practice runs and I should be able to instantly equip it..."
Rita trailed off, her pale fingers gracefully tracing her flawless neck.
With the Schariac Blood Covenant erased by the cognitive world, her long-suppressed power was finally liberated. Utilizing quantum transfer technology, she had summoned her S-Rank Godsbane Battlesuit, Argent Knight: Artemis.
Feeling the sheer, intoxicating rush of Honkai energy flooding her veins again, she couldn’t help but stretch languidly.
Noticing Kiana’s dead-eyed stare, Rita pressed a delicate finger to her own lips, flashing a bewitchingly dark, blooming smile. "Miss Kiana, you’re staring so intensely. Do you have some troubles you’d like to confide in Rita?"
"...Nothing. I should have remembered you had a magic outfit too."
Kiana woodenly averted her gaze.
She turned her desperate, pleading eyes toward Hare and Fu Hua, the only two left in their regular clothes. A tiny spark of hope reignited in her chest.
"My situation is a bit different from everyone else’s. This outfit is already my combat gear," Hare chuckled softly, her violet-blue eyes melting with warmth as she looked at Ren. "But... this is a good reminder. I am no longer tied to my past. I should make a few changes to fit in better with the team."
A dreamlike, hazy purple light blossomed from Hare’s body.
When the light faded, her outfit had undergone a massive, aristocratic upgrade. The most striking additions were the massive pauldrons resting on her shoulders—pristine white on the outside and deep violet on the inside.
Her half-open sleeves now revealed a mesmerizing, starry expanse within their folds, and a regal purple-gold crown rested elegantly on her forehead.
"Once we’re done exploring the Metaverse today, I’ll take you shopping for clothes, Hare," Ren offered smoothly. "Always wearing your combat Stigma form in the real world isn’t exactly suitable."
Seeing her constantly in her combat gear had made Ren temporarily forget she literally didn’t own any casual clothes. Now that she could walk freely in reality, it was only right she got to properly experience the colorful, mundane world with her own eyes.
"...Fu Hua. You definitely don’t have some crazy power to suddenly change clothes, right?!"
Kiana clung to her final shred of hope. Ignoring the cacophony of Mei, Seele, and Bronya excitedly asking to join Ren’s shopping trip, she zeroed in on the silent martial artist.
If Fu Hua hadn’t changed by now, she had to be stuck in her base outfit like Kiana!
"Changing attire... If the sole purpose is to alter my physical appearance, I am capable of doing so," Fu Hua replied honestly. "However, I cannot fully control that power. If I use it recklessly, my mind will be consumed, and I will turn on all of you. Therefore, please forgive me for being unable to don a new uniform like the rest of you."
The strictly disciplined Fu Hua seemed to treat the outfit changes as some sort of required team-bonding ritual. Feeling slightly ashamed that she couldn’t safely enter her Active Honkai Reaction form, a rare flush of embarrassment tinted her stoic face.
What’s with this vibe?! Why am I the only one who can’t transform?! Kiana screamed internally, her soul leaving her body.
"You can’t control the power?" Ren’s interest was immediately piqued.
He already knew Fu Hua was the legendary "Celestial Jingwei." For an immortal deity to be unable to control a power without going berserk... exactly what kind of entity was it?
"Yes. It is the power of Garuda," Fu Hua confessed. "Not the Persona I simulated earlier, but the genuine, original authority of Garuda. I fused with it, but I cannot wield it freely. On the contrary... my sanity is easily usurped by its primal instincts."
Since Mobius was literally Ren’s Persona, Fu Hua naturally assumed he was fully aware of the MANTIS program and the fusion of Honkai beast genes. Thus, she made no effort to hide her identity as a Fusion Warrior, shamefully admitting her fatal flaw.
"I see. You devoured the power of Garuda itself. That explains everything."
Ren nodded in profound realization.
Though he wasn’t an expert on Hindu mythology, the name "Garuda" was universally famous. Compared to a local Shenzhou legend like "Celestial Jingwei," a supreme mythological deity like Garuda operated on an entirely different scale of conceptual power.
By the laws of cognition and myth, the true Garuda was absolutely stronger than Celestial Jingwei.
Even if the title "Jingwei" heavily implied an affinity for fire and birds—making it highly compatible with Garuda—forcibly assimilating the power of such a divine beast must have pushed her through a terrifying, near-death tribulation.
Looking at Fu Hua now, it made perfect sense. Even if she survived devouring Garuda’s essence, she couldn’t master its true might. She could only siphon fractions of its power by manifesting it as a simulated Persona.
