Arachne, the Persona

Persona—Arachne

"Why, why are you stopping me?! My empire, my grand ambitions—why are you getting in my way?!"

Below them, atop the burning, collapsing buildings, Shadow Mio Tokiwa—adorned in gold jewelry and wearing makeup that made her seem inhuman—let out furious, terrified roars. All manner of ammunition rained down wildly upon the platform sheltering the Phantom Thief Troupe.

Combined with the alarms echoing through the sky and the cracking crashes of the buildings collapsing below, it created a metallic symphony of death within this world visible only to the Phantom Thieves.

"No, right now, you're the one..." Hirotsugu Morofushi rose to his feet and took two steps forward. His short silver hair was whipped into disarray by the gusting air. "...Getting in my way!"

"Senpai—" Asai Narumi raised a hand, intending to stop him from leaving cover, but her voice caught in her throat.

An invisible blast of air formed a pale golden shield before Hirotsugu Morofushi, stopping every incoming bullet in midair.

He planted one foot on the pointed edge of a protruding slab, raised the sniper rifle in his hands, and braced it against his knee as he aimed at Mio Tokiwa below, standing atop a golden throne shaped like a flower bud.

His finger brushed the trigger, and a melancholy, soft female voice with a hint of madness sounded in his ears.

"Mock fate, and raise a blade against the gods."

As the voice rang out, the golden shield before Hirotsugu Morofushi slowly revealed its true form.

It was a net woven from countless fine threads in a delicate fibrous structure.

Threads continued winding around his rifle, wrapping it up, golden strands seeming to form a golden cocoon around the weapon.

"If they mock your arrogance..."

With utter focus, Hirotsugu Morofushi pressed his eye to the scope