Persona: Tomoe Gozen / Teaching About Blackmailing Shadows

The people who actually talk the most in the group are the girls he mentions the most, like Hoshino Ai, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and others who were exposed at the beginning. They don't have any inhibitions in the group and simply communicate with others as they are.

Girls who weren't mentioned could fit in if they were more outgoing, but girls like Ayase Saki and Matsushita Ayami, who have special family circumstances, wouldn't be willing to explain their stories in the group since he didn't tell them, and they certainly wouldn't be willing to actively seek help from others.

Even if they are occasionally selected to comment on a diary entry, they will not proactively inquire about their future.

It was only today that he sensed the reward Matsushita Ayami received and appeared before her; otherwise, this girl would probably have continued to remain a quiet observer in the group as before.

"Haha, even in my past life, I wasn't the kind of otaku who spent all day glued to my phone watching anime. To be honest, besides you, there are three or four other girls in the group whose works I didn't remember before. They must have been animated after I transmigrated. If I ever win one of your works in a raffle, I'll definitely remember to send you a copy."

Miyauchi Hiyage waved his hand, indicating that he was not an omniscient deity.

"So, could I actually be a character in some obscure work that nobody has ever seen?" Matsushita Ayami thought pessimistically, feeling that this really did sound like the life he was destined for.

"There are advantages to niche works too. At least you don't have to worry about having a ton of fan works in other worlds. And someone like you, who plans to take action against your stepfather as soon as you get the Death Note, would probably be quite popular in a work."

Matsushita Ayami scrutinized Miyauchi Hiyage, whose face was obscured, and noticed a clear hint of pleasure in the other's tone.

"I think it will be controversial, after all, there probably isn't any girl in the group more twisted than me."

Miyauchi Hiyage waved his hand. "Yes, but you just can't tell under normal circumstances."

"?"

Faced with Matsushita Ayami's curious gaze, Miyauchi Hiyage casually explained, "Katsura Kotonoha, you know, she's actually quite yandere at heart. In many endings, her will is completely twisted. In the anime, she even directly confronts the mistress head-on and kills her single-handedly. After killing her, she even cuts open her stomach to check if she's pregnant."

Matsushita Ayami gasped in surprise; she hadn't really reached that point yet.

Katsura Kotonoha, of course, knew that Kotonoha was a gentle and delicate girl in the group, a typical Yamato Nadeshiko.

Because of the You Know Who's previous comment that she would be dumped by a scumbag in the future, many people in the group gave her advice. In the end, with the help of Shinomiya Kaguya, the other person was able to transfer to a school in Tokyo.

Then this morning, she successfully became a disciple of Miyauchi Hiyage and posted a video of her and Miyauchi Hiyage practicing the Breathing Swordsmanship in the group chat.

Who knew that girl had such a vivid inner world?

However, Matsushita Ayami quickly noticed that the You Know Who in front of her seemed to know a lot about their group chat.

But as soon as the You Know Who joins the group, a notification will automatically appear in the group, so how does the You Know Who know what they are chatting about in the group?

Matsushita Ayami had a rather bold idea.

Could it be that the You Know Who has already reached a cooperation agreement with a certain girl?

She was too embarrassed to ask, but she had basically confirmed it in her heart.

It's just unclear which girl the other party partnered with.

Is it also like hers, where for some reason, You Know Who took the initiative to appear in front of the other party and help them, and then a cooperation agreement was reached?

Could it be that the You Know Who appeared in front of her now also wants to recruit her?

After realizing this, Matsushita Ayami actually felt a little tempted.

Since she's always been invisible in the group, hardly anyone has paid attention to her. If she can actually make a deal with the You Know Who, she won't suffer any loss at all.

Throughout the entire process, Miyauchi Hiyage, who kept his Eyes of Destiny hidden, was able to clearly see the changes in Matsushita Ayami's heart.

It seems he doesn't even need to say anything; this woman has already won him over.

However, he also knew that this was a subconscious feeling of wanting to rely on someone who had been without support and security for a long time, when they encountered someone as strong as him.

"Unfortunately, I'm not that kind of scumbag who takes advantage of others in their vulnerable state," Miyauchi Hiyage shrugged.

He already has many beautiful girls around him, and for the time being, he has no intention of getting involved in any more romantic entanglements.

"Alright, the location of your parents' shadow has been confirmed. Next is the most crucial step of Cognitive Change. Are you ready?"

Chapter 285: Persona Tomoe Gozen

Matsushita Kosuke's twisted desires are domestic violence and infidelity.

Matsushita Masumi's twisted desires stem from her dependence on Matsushita Kosuke and her possessiveness—preferring domestic violence to sharing her husband with others and refusing to divorce.

Two announcement letters were sent out, and Miyauchi Hiyage also attached an email with an untraceable source to remind the two individuals, ensuring that they could see the announcement letter as soon as possible.

Then Miyauchi Hiyage casually used the projected Soul Release Blade to beat up the berserk Matsushita Kosuke's shadow, making the other party realize his problem.

Even after his Cognitive Change, he still indicated before the shadow of his past was completely gone that his marriage with Matsushita Masumi was over. After his Cognitive Change, he certainly could not accept the things he had done in the past.

Judging from his plans, he seems prepared to leave with nothing.

I wonder if his lovers will still stay by his side after they find out about this.

Matsushita Ayami naturally had no objection to this; she wanted this man to pay a sufficient price.

On the contrary, Matsushita Masumi encountered some trouble.

She herself is no longer afraid of her husband's domestic violence and insists on staying with him, so her trauma is not the kind that can be solved by simply beating him up.

Moreover, if you really go too far, it could indeed cause psychological harm to the other person in real life.

Fortunately, shadows are much easier to communicate with than humans themselves, since they are the most authentic expression of human desires.

So Miyauchi Hiyage directly sent Matsushita Ayami up to talk to her mother.

"Anyway, these are her subconscious thoughts and negative emotions. If you can't argue with her, just slap her to calm her down. Your real mother won't remember these things." Miyauchi Hiyage Matsushita Ayami explained the process of Cognitive Change to Matsushita Ayami.

"And if you can face your own heart and successfully change your mother's Cognitive Change, you might also have the opportunity to awaken your own Persona here."

When bringing the other person to the Impression Space, Miyauchi Hiyage, who had noticed Matsushita Ayami's potential, had already told the other person about Persona.

Matsushita Ayami even asked him curiously if he had awakened his Persona.

Miyauchi Hiyage, on the other hand, said that his heart was too dirty and it was better not to awaken, otherwise he was afraid that he would not be able to control his own desires.

Of course, this was just his casual explanation.

The real reason is that the existence of Stands is already close to the essence of Persona. The evolved Yellow Temperance has the ability to transform into the other person by eating them, and becomes stronger the more it eats.

He himself couldn't tell whether he had awakened or not.

However, whether he awakens or not is not as bad as the damage to his own body, so he doesn't care about it anymore.

Shiina Mashiro, on the other hand, is too emotionally stable. Without any stimulation, it would be difficult for her to awaken her Persona in the Impression Space.

All things considered, it's quite possible that Matsushita Ayami could become the first person to awaken his Persona in the Impression Space.

After all, she had come to understand her own feelings, and the current situation required her to vent her emotions.

Watching Matsushita Ayami argue with her stubborn mother, who was on the verge of exploding several times, Matsushita Ayami was initially a bit awkward. However, after glancing at Miyauchi Hiyage a few times, the girl, who was the same age as Miyauchi Hiyage, didn't hesitate to slap her mother when she was emotionally agitated.

Incidentally, Miyauchi Hiyage gave the opponent a glove made of Black Rope beforehand. It might not be very useful for hitting people, but it's like a normal attack with true damage when used to hit shadows.

Around the tenth slap from Matsushita Ayami, her mother seemed to finally be convinced by her daughter's verbal persuasion and the real slaps, and was ready to give up Matsushita Kosuke and take the money to be a happy rich woman.

Before her obsession dissipated, the other party even offered her daughter a necklace.

Based on the identification effect of the Otherworld Navigator App, this thing should increase the wearer's maximum Mana, and it also has some effect in reality.

It can be considered an extraordinary item, if you will.

However, what he needed to care about now was not these things. After successfully changing the fate of his parents, as he watched his mother turn into specks of light and disappear, a dark ghost mask appeared on Matsushita Ayami's face, and his consciousness became hazy, as if he heard some special sound in his ear.

"Other main characters are only forced to awaken their masks when they encounter danger, but you, on the other hand, only awaken your mask after you've already decided everything."

Miyauchi Hiyage muttered this to himself.

"But at this point, you shouldn't need my help anymore, right? Let me see your Persona."

This is a natural thing. At this moment, Matsushita Ayami realized through the voice that appeared in his ear that as long as he could tear off the ghost mask covering his face, he could obtain his own unique Persona.

She nodded slightly to the Miyauchi Hiyage.

"I am you... you are me, this is my Persona... come forth, Tomoe Gozen!"

As the words fell, the torn mask, along with the blood, coalesced behind her into a majestic silver-haired woman clad in samurai armor, her face obscured but with two black horns on her forehead.

Knowing the other person's name and seeing their familiar attire, even Miyauchi Hiyage's eyes widened slightly.

Holy crap, is this a Heroic Spirit invading the Impression Space?

Although Miyauchi Hiyage knew long ago that the Persona awakened by the main characters were based on famous historical figures and gods, the images of those Persona were artistically altered when they were summoned, making it immediately obvious that they were not Mahito.

He even remembered that someone in the main cast of Persona 4 had awakened Tomoe Gozen's Persona, and later awakened as Suzuka Gozen and then Fudo Ookami, but the image of that Tomoe Gozen... was completely unrecognizable from the image summoned by Matsushita Ayami.

Looking at the Persona image summoned by Matsushita Ayami, it is at least 70% similar to Tomoe Gozen from Type-Moon, only the helmet prevents the true face under the mask from being seen.

Miyauchi Hiyage was 80% certain that the face under the mask was the one he recognized.

So, is there some kind of collision between the Impression Space and Valhalla?

"It's really surprising. It makes me want to awaken my Persona and see which Heroic Spirit I can pull over," Miyauchi Hiyage exclaimed, then asked Matsushita Ayami, "Does your Persona still have its own will and can communicate freely with people?"

Image: "Matsushita Ayami (Sudo Ayami)", Location: "Images/1745446279-100380620-113272351. jpg"

Image: "FGO Tomoe Gozen", Location: "Images/1745446584-100380620-113272351. jpg"

Chapter 286: The Shadow of Extortion - A Lesson

After a few simple tests, the final answer was still somewhat disappointing.

Matsushita Ayami's Persona does indeed possess a certain degree of self-awareness, but it only knows her own identity; over 80% of her inner self is still a manifestation of Matsushita Ayami's own personality.

"And he's so weak, probably barely even at level two," Miyauchi Hiyage commented on Tomoe Gozen before him.

Of course, this is not Tomoe Gozen's full strength. If judged by the standards of Type-Moon, a normal Heian-class Servant would already be at least a Special Grade Servant.

However, the strength of the Persona is determined by the holder's mental will.

While it might not be at level 1 when first summoned in the game, given Matsushita Ayami's will, it's at most level 20 or 30, still far from the maximum level.

I wonder if Matsushita Ayami, if she could level up her Persona to 99 and max out all her stats like in the game, would be able to fully unleash her Heroic Spirit-level power.

"Check your phone. I've already installed this app on your phone. If you want to come in later, you can just tap it from your phone," Miyauchi Hiyage reminded Matsushita Ayami, asking her to confirm.

"If anyone asks about it later, just say that this was the reward you received from the beginning, and don't go around talking about the Death Note."

After thinking for a moment, Miyauchi Hiyage granted Matsushita Ayami another teammate permission, allowing her to bring up to three more people to team up for dungeons, and then restricted their current activity area to the first five floors.

"When you come to the Impression Space in the future, there will definitely be a lot of shipping. Money is one thing, but if you get too many extraordinary items, it will easily make people envious. So I'll give you a small team's permission first, and bring a few more people over to distract them. If it works well, I'll give you a few more slots later."

Unlike games, where the Impression Space is divided into seven or eight large areas, each containing multiple smaller areas.

In this world, each floor of the Impression Space is roughly the size of two or three wards of Tokyo. Basically, each floor is equivalent to a large area in the game, and it refreshes randomly every day. Only a few stations that serve as save points do not change much.

After returning to Tokyo, Miyauchi Hiyage Himekage and Tohru spent several days traveling to the seventh level of the Impression Space, which is currently the deepest part of the Impression Space.

Although Miyauchi Hiyage and Tohru both felt that there were definitely more core areas that hadn't been unlocked yet, such as the deepest part of the game where the main boss was hidden, they guessed that some kind of trigger was needed to open it.

The strongest shadow that the Miyauchi Hiyage was only level one, which was enough for those girls to practice on.

The remaining two floors are extremely dark, and the girls would probably have no chance of escaping if they encountered them, so they are not open to them for the time being. It just so happens that Miyauchi Hiyage can use the last two floors as his training ground, and he doesn't have to worry about them meeting in the future.

"It would be a waste to just take care of those shadows blocking your way. Let me show you," Since Matsushita Ayami has successfully awakened his Persona, he'll probably become a regular at the Impression Space from now on, so Miyauchi Hiyage is generous with his experience.

He randomly found a loitering shadow by the roadside and, from about ten meters away, instantly killed it with a single move of the Hundred and Eight Styles: Dark Sweep.

This move is a relatively rare ranged attack technique in the Kusanagi Style. It throws flames at the ground, causing the flames to spread forward for dozens of meters.

After getting rid of that unfortunate shadow, Miyauchi Hiyage led Matsushita Ayami over and picked up a few coins of different denominations and a dirty old piece of clothing that had fallen to the ground.

"650 yen plus a useless piece of white equipment, and sometimes some broken stones with a little Mana, that's about the price of the shadows on the first floor. Anyway, a single haul rarely exceeds 1,000 yen."

Miyauchi Hiyage casually stuffed the coins into his pocket, then tossed his dirty clothes into Unlimited Blade Works.

"But with a little skill, you can squeeze all the remaining value out of these shadows."

As he said this, Miyauchi Hiyage found another shadow.

This time, he used the Yellow Temperance to slowly devour his opponent.

While devouring it, it tortured the passing shadow like a villain. "Do you want to live? If you want to live, take everything out of your body."

Matsushita Ayami's eyelids twitched at this action. Could bullying and extortion really be done in this place?

As the shadowy figure then respectfully pulled out a 1000 yen note and handed it to Miyauchi Hiyage, Matsushita Ayami felt that this development was a bit too avant-garde.

But what's even more outrageous is that after taking the money, Miyauchi Hiyage actually manipulated Yellow Temperance to pat the poor shadow on the shoulder. "Is that all? You must have something else hidden on you, right?"

This was the same process, but Miyauchi Hiyage went through it three times, extracting over three thousand yen and a pile of broken stones from the other person. It seemed that the shadowy figure was being driven crazy by Miyauchi Hiyage.

Seeing that this guy really couldn't produce any more rice, Miyauchi Hiyage scoffed disdainfully. "Fine, then go and call over all the Shadows you know. As long as you can call over just one, you can leave."

Then Matsushita Ayami watched as Miyauchi Hiyage took turns extorting money from three or four unfortunate shadows. Finally, when he could no longer squeeze any more money out of them and could no longer summon any other shadows, he let them go.