The Palace's End / Mai Sakurajima's Change

As she finished speaking, a beam of light appeared around her, eventually converging on Chizuru Ichinose's face and transforming into a white bone mask that completely obscured her features.

Then, like the other girls who had awakened their Persona, Chizuru Ichinose felt a low murmur in her ear.

"I am you, and you are me."

"I am the nineteenth and last Hassan al-Sabah, also known as the Hundred Faces. With us, the Shadows, by your side, you will surely win victory."

As Chizuru Ichinose learns about the origin of her Persona, she tears off the mask from her face and summons the new Hassan of the Hundred Personas behind her.

"Is this... my Persona?" She tried to communicate with her Persona, but found that although it could communicate, it seemed to have lost the memories of being her shadow.

"So, has Shadow Chizuru completely disappeared?" For some reason, Chizuru Ichinose felt a sense of loss.

After all, is there anyone in this world who understands you better than yourself?

She had originally wanted to have a good talk with her own shadow after all of this was over.

"Who knows? Maybe it will appear again in the future. After all, your Persona is Hassan of the Hundred Personas, which sounds like someone with many clones. Maybe a clone of Shadow Chizuru will appear in the future."

Miyauchi Hiyage said this, then reminded Chizuru Ichinose, "Although I am also interested in the power of Persona, I think we should leave now."

He handed the A Thousand Cranes in his hand to Chizuru Ichinose: "I have a feeling that this Mirror Theater is really going to collapse just as Shadow Chizuru said."

Chapter 317: The End of the Palace

Outside the illusion, Miyauchi Hiyage, who was multitasking, took the secret treasure hidden in the Mirror Space and then told the girls who were waiting in the theater and were almost dozing off to leave first.

In fact, after Miyauchi Hiyage took away the half-human-sized A Thousand Cranes, a tremor began to emanate from the Mirror Theater, giving it a sense of imminent collapse.

"I have found the key to this palace and helped Ms. Ichinose awaken her Persona ability in the illusion. I estimate that this Temporary Palace will collapse soon. You should leave the theater first, and I will teleport Ms. Ichinose out later."

Seeing the changes in the palace, the girls knew that the Miyauchi Hiyage, had probably already resolved most of the matter, so naturally they wouldn't stay behind and hold them back.

However, Shinomiya Kaguya and Kasumigaoka Utaha reminded Miyauchi Hiyage to be careful before leaving.

After the girls left the palace one by one and returned to the Impression Space, Miyauchi Hiyage also put away his Stand.

The power of calamity is indeed omnipresent. Although ordinary illusions are ineffective, the illusion created by Shadow Chizuru is itself based on the special power of Mirror Space.

The Mirror Theater is also affected by the calamity, and the Miyauchi Hiyage is thus able to gain some control over the palace. Otherwise, it would be impossible to directly make the palace its own. However, entering the Mirror Space is obviously not a problem.

Based on this, Miyauchi Hiyage can use his Wonder of U to enter the Mirror Space and then smoothly enter Chizuru Ichinose's illusion.

Chizuru Ichinose was escaping the illusion with the A Thousand Cranes that Miyauchi Hiyage had given her, before she could even react, Miyauchi Hiyage grabbed her arm again.

The next moment, her vision changed again.

By the time she came to her senses, they were already outside the Mirror Theater.

When she looked at the location of the Mirror Theater again, she realized that, just as Miyauchi Hiyage had said in the illusion, the palace had begun to collapse from the inside.

"If we had been a minute later, we would have been crushed to the ground by countless mirrors." Miyauchi Hiyage released his grip, allowing Chizuru Ichinose to witness the end of her palace.

At the same time, he reminded Chizuru Ichinose again, "It seems that I was right. This thing is indeed the core of the palace, and the most important thing in your heart. That's why your shadow showed such an anxious attitude after I took it out, and this palace will collapse after I take it away."

Chizuru Ichinose looked at the A Thousand Cranes in her hand.

Although the giant A Thousand Cranes was something she found most puzzling, she couldn't help but ask Miyauchi Hiyage with some concern, "But is it really okay for me to take this away?"

"What if I bring it back to reality, and then someone else steals it again?"

To be honest, even Miyauchi Hiyage hadn't considered the question that Chizuru Ichinose asked.

After all, the Phantom Thieves in the game handled these things rather casually after bringing them into the real world, and some even sold them for money.

After some thought, Miyauchi Hiyage gave his answer.

"This thing didn't manifest because of you, but rather it was caused by the shadows in your heart that led to its eventual formation. Or you could say that this thing can be seen as a manifestation of your shadow obsessions."

"Now that your shadow has returned to you as your Persona, it has lost its original power. Well... at least I don't feel any threads of fate connecting me to it anymore."

"So just treat this as a souvenir. I think there are probably very few people in this world who have had an experience like yours, fighting against your other side and taking your shadow obsessions as spoils of war. From now on, you have officially entered the realm of the extraordinary, although this extraordinary being can only exert power in the Impression Space at present."

Chizuru Ichinose looked at the A Thousand Cranes in her hand with relief, determined to keep it safe.

As the palace collapsed completely, even the space itself began to become unstable. Miyauchi Hiyage signaled to Chizuru Ichinose that it was time to leave.

As a flash of light traversing the world passed, the last two people to leave the palace witnessed the distorted spatial passage, which had been located in the Impression Space and emitted a red light, rapidly disappear before their eyes.

Only then did they realize that the end of this road was just a typical dead end.

"It really has completely disappeared..." Chizuru Ichinose sighed, and then the girls who had been waiting for them in the Impression Space quickly gathered around and asked Chizuru Ichinose about the situation.

After all, Chizuru Ichinose spent a full two hours in the illusion this time!

It's well past midnight now, and if Miyauchi Hiyage hadn't kept insisting that Chizuru Ichinose wasn't in danger, they probably wouldn't have been able to wait any longer.

Now, not only has Chizuru Ichinose successfully awakened her Persona, but she is also holding a huge A Thousand Cranes in her hand, which makes people very curious about the origin of this thing.

Chizuru Ichinose briefly explained her experience in the illusion, as well as how Miyauchi Hiyage entered the illusion to rescue her and threatened the Shadow Chizuru to return to herself, thus allowing her to successfully awaken her Persona.

"This is the core item of that Mirror Theater. Miyauchi -kun said that after the Shadow Chizuru returned to me, its power dissipated, and I can bring it back to reality as a souvenir."

Shinomiya Kaguya wasn't interested in souvenirs, and after realizing that the giant A Thousand Cranes was no longer useful, she turned her attention to Chizuru Ichinose's Persona.

"Your Persona is Hassan? That medieval old man of the mountains, the etymology of the word Assassin? No wonder that guy's methods all seem to be related to sneak attacks and assassinations."

Chizuru Ichinose scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly in response.

"After she became my Persona, I also gained a general understanding of her power... It's true that Hyakume isn't good at direct combat, but she can create many clones during battle to attract the enemy's attention. And she should also be very useful for reconnaissance in normal times. So in the future, I will help everyone figure out the surrounding situation in advance when you explore the Impression Space."

Although Shadow Chizuru can perform quite well when she is in the shadows, as the saying goes, she becomes weaker after being redeemed.

Chizuru Ichinose's Persona is currently in a weakened state due to its level being reset, and she cannot exert her previous strength.

Chizuru Ichinose's greatest role is to serve as the team's scout and Assassin, hiding among them.

Once the Persona level increases, it will probably only be able to exert some influence when facing weaker Persona.

The three people who have now awakened their Persona all have completely different styles of personas.

Sudo Ayami's Tomoe Gozen is her combat assistant, Ai Kisugi's Mata Hari is responsible for combat support and post-battle seduction and blackmail, while Chizuru Ichinose's Hassan of the Hundred Personas provides everyday assistance, enabling them to find the location of shadows more quickly and reduce exploration time.

After briefly examining the power of Chizuru Ichinose's Persona, today's expedition team's mission is considered complete.

It's already almost 2 a. m. After all, it's already the weekend and it's okay to sleep a little later, but they still need to wash up when they get back, and it will probably be 3 a. m. by the time they finish.

Shortly after they left the Impression Space and returned to reality, Chizuru Ichinose uploaded a disc of "A Thousand Cranes" to the group chat.

Mizuhara Chizuru: "After I returned to reality with A Thousand Cranes, I found that it had turned into this disc."

At this hour, quite a few group members who were keeping an eye on the latest news in the chat were still awake.

Although tonight's exploration has ended, there are still quite a few active participants.

So after Chizuru Ichinose sent out this message, she quickly received a response.

Umaru: "Is this the movie that Grandma Chizuru made when she was young? To be honest, although I have heard of the name, it is too old and I have never seen the story. But the DVD looks pretty well made. You can't tell that it is an old movie from half a century ago."

Chizuru Ichinose sent a wry smile emoji in the group, "Actually, this is not the original A Thousand Cranes. It seems to be the version of A Thousand Cranes that I filmed after I replaced my grandmother in the final illusion."

"The female lead on the DVD cover has all become me."

Although she and her grandmother do look very alike, anyone who knows them even slightly can tell them apart very clearly.

It seems this thing can only circulate within the group. If this version of A Thousand Cranes were to spread, it would probably make those who have seen the old version of A Thousand Cranes suspicious.

Umaru: "Isn't this great? I already have a movie that I directed before I even debuted."

Chizuru Ichinose, who was still at the Miyauchi Hiyage Shinomiya Kaguya, "If you have this idea, I can help you figure out how to handle these things. I can take this new version of A Thousand Cranes and have it screened on a small scale. Maybe it can make you famous overnight."

Chizuru Ichinose quickly waved her hand, indicating that it was no need.

After all, her performance in this movie was simply a complete imitation of her grandmother.

Although she herself felt that this was enough, it was still a bit shameful to release it on screen.

"It seems Chizuru is still planning to start from the basics," Shinomiya Kaguya and Miyauchi Hiyage briefly explained the situation with Chizuru Ichinose. "But if she really decides to join your Asahigaoka Media, what are your plans for her?"

Miyauchi Hiyage shrugged in response. "Then let's make some low-budget films. With Ichinose's own qualities, her awakened Persona can directly help her improve her acting skills, like Hassan of the Hundred Personas. If she still can't make a name for herself in the entertainment industry, then either the entertainment industry has become so dark that it doesn't tolerate any outsiders, or the entertainment industry has become so corrupt that it's unimaginable."

But to be honest, the entertainment industry in this world is indeed quite turbulent.

Leaving aside the film and television industry, the music and Idol industry can certainly be described as a world of high-level martial arts.

Various campus bands and campus Idol projects are emerging one after another, and almost every once in a while, several super teams with professional-level arrangement and lyrics will appear.

Moreover, most of them can maintain an exceptional level of performance on stage, and their performance is at its peak throughout the entire show, so good that they don't even need to be edited when they're made into CDs.

In such a competitive environment, the works of those bands that were once breakout hits in Miyauchi Hiyage's previous life would only be considered ordinary in this world.

Even the naturally gifted Idol Hoshino Ai, who is favored by heaven, can only work hard as an underground Idol now.

If one were to actually enter this circle, and these circles weren't just those that relied solely on hype and boasted about their own merits while delivering utterly worthless Idol, then Miyauchi Hiyage felt that even with the music library and film and television resources from her previous life, it probably wouldn't be easy to create a superstar in this world.

However, while it's difficult to create a superstar, it's relatively easy to produce a well-known actor if they already have a solid acting foundation and a good image.

Moreover, his funds are increasing at an extremely rapid pace every day. Miyauchi Hiyage has more money than he can spend himself, and he also has investments from Shinomiya Kaguya.

Therefore, even though there is a high probability that Chizuru Ichinose and Mai Sakurajima will join Asahigaoka Media in the future, Miyauchi Hiyage still seems very relaxed at this time.

"Indeed, sometimes I envy your brain. I don't know why you can always come up with so many interesting ideas. If you need any help, just contact me," Shinomiya Kaguya said, and then suddenly asked Miyauchi Hiyage for his opinion on Sudo Ayami.

From the very beginning, Shinomiya Kaguya could sense that this girl seemed to be hiding some secret. Tonight, Miyauchi Hiyage had also spoken a few words with her, so she wondered if she could get a sense of Miyauchi Hiyage's attitude towards that girl from Miyauchi Hiyage.

Miyauchi Hiyage blinked, then said to Shinomiya Kaguya, "She probably knew beforehand that there was a core 'treasure' in the palace. If we could find the treasure and take it, we could solve the palace's problems. Moreover, she has remained silent and rarely speaks since entering the palace, and she has not actively entered the illusion. It seems that she is the kind of girl who is quite wary. I guess she wants to observe us in this way."

"As for her other motives, I haven't discovered them yet. But if you're worried, then continue to observe her. I think one day you'll be able to see what she's really up to."

Chapter 318: Mai Sakurajima's Changes

Although she stayed up until 3 a. m. because of Chizuru Ichinose's situation, Miyauchi Hiyage still got up early the next day.

After all, he had already made an appointment with Miko and the Miko at the Jujutsu High a few days ago to finish up the matter of Mai Sakurajima.

Given his current physical condition, losing a few hours of sleep a day won't affect his performance at all.

When he arrived at the Jujutsu High, not only had Yotsuya Miko and the others arrived ahead of time, but even Satoru Gojo had made a rare reappearance.

"Hey, Miyauchi- kun, you're here! It's been over half a month since I last saw you. I heard you seem to have developed quite a few new tricks up your sleeve?"

Upon seeing Miyauchi Hiyage's arrival, Satoru Gojo Miyauchi Hiyage greeted him casually, without any pretense of formality.

During this period, Miyauchi Hiyage did not visit the Jujutsu High very often, and the requests he received were not particularly difficult.

However, he also cooperated with Shinomiya Kaguya to complete several first and second level missions. Judging from Shinomiya Kaguya's mission records (with the consent of Miyauchi Hiyage, Shinomiya Kaguya wrote Miyauchi Hiyage's ability development into the mission records), Miyauchi Hiyage's level of ability development is already quite high. Not only can he directly control those low-level Vengeful Spirit, but his fate ability can also directly exert a great suppressive power on first-level Vengeful Spirit.

Coupled with the fact that the opponent had repeatedly and easily defeated Maki Zenin in close combat and melee combat, many rumors had already spread in the Jujutsu High that Miyauchi Hiyage was the second Yuta Okkotsu.

He even felt that Miyauchi Hiyage became a Special Grade faster than Yuta Okkotsu back then.

Originally, Satoru Gojo hadn't taken this seriously, until Masamichi Yaga mentioned the ambiguous attitude of the higher-ups in the jutsu towards Miyauchi Hiyage, which made him somewhat interested in the matter.

He came here today not only because of Mai Sakurajima, his future student, but also to see how well Miyauchi Hiyage has fared.

In fact, when he first met Miyauchi Hiyage half a month ago, he could sense that Miyauchi Hiyage was hiding something.

Now, about twenty days have passed, and Miyauchi Hiyage, as an ordinary person, has shown a historically great talent. The high-ranking members of the sorcery faction not only did not want to completely control this young genius, but even showed him special favor.

It should be noted that when Yuta Okkotsu rose to power, the higher-ups in the sorcery initially wanted to kill him to prevent him from posing a threat in the future, and later tried to control him in various ways.

On Miyauchi Hiyage's side, it became our duty to protect the growth of outstanding juniors in the Jujutsu Society.

This alone makes people very curious about Miyauchi Hiyage's background.

In response to Satoru Gojo's greeting, Miyauchi Hiyage maintained his persona, nodding amicably at the other party. "It's just some simple use of power, nothing special."

Hearing this, Yotsuya Miko's lips twitched.

This week, she accompanied Mai Sakurajima to many places to relax, helped her resolve many of her inner conflicts, and enabled her to control her abilities more easily. She didn't have much interaction with Miyauchi Hiyage.

Although she had never met Miyauchi Hiyage, his name was widely known in the Chat Group.

Especially after Miyauchi Hiyage recounted the scene in the illusion she experienced yesterday, Chizuru Ichinose stood still without moving an inch while her army of Shadow Chizuru's clones vanished into thin air with a laugh, Miyauchi Hiyage became one of the most untouchable figures in the group.

After all, it's one thing for a seemingly seasoned Assassin to trip and fall on the street for no reason, but to break his leg like that—just how unlucky must he be?

According to Miyauchi Hiyage, because he is favored by fate, even just calling out Miyauchi Hiyage's name might be noticed by the other party and affect him with the other party's power.

It's like someone cursing Miyauchi Hiyage at home, and the next moment they drink water and end up in the hospital.

This insidious power is precisely what prevents the girls in the group from having any thought of standing against Miyauchi Hiyage.

However, she also had a little bit of expectation in her heart.