View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1WeimmTGF4&t=16s
The explosion of Megidolaon was targeted, and precise: unlike the malice of the Angels (and the Acolytes, by proxy), the cognitive landscape was untouched, without blemish. Its only purpose was to harm the enemies of Minako.
As such, there was still a roof for Kurosawa to leap upon, taking aim with Häyhä. The other adults had quickly split apart to handle different Personas: Sakamoto and Seiten Taisei for Trumpeter, Katsuragi and Tokoyo for Mother Harlot, and Amada and Iori for Pale Rider. This left the other children to handle this 'Minako'.
If she's the one who killed Saori Hasegawa...
He wanted to take her in for questioning.
Another part wanted to kill her and end the threat.
As Mayumi's Persona hovered towards the roof to gain a greater vantage point, he asked, "do you have a plan?"
The young girl yelped, as if surprised he would talk to her. "Oh. Um..." Looking through a scroll, she explained, "there's so many possibilities branching out...I was going to focus on the Persona-user-"
"Do it. I'll cover you." He took position in front of her, keeping an eye on the ground and the skies as attacks began to rip and roar with abandon.
xx
Ryuji knew that mobility would be needed to take down Trumpeter. Trismegistus was faster, but Junpei worked better as a team with Kenny anyhow. Besides, he and Seiten Taisei were a wily sort; it was why he wasn't affected by the Monkey King's crazy dives, loops, and swerves as he dodged the attacks from the skeleton angel.
"
Maragidyne!"
It also gave him time to think.
"
Mabufudyne!"
Because the elemental storm that Trumpeter was exhibiting...was not normal.
"
Magarudyne!"
As Seiten Taisei wove around the swirling cyclones, Ryuji pondered.
I remember facing a Trumpeter on a mission in the Middle East once...and it did NOT have this array of skills.
"
Mafreidyne!"
Okay, THAT one's the same. Seiten Taisei dove underneath the crackle of bursting atoms (creating a distinct charge in the air that tickled his nostrils); gripping tightly to his gun-cane, Ryuji tapped the side of his Persona's leg.
Seiten Taisei grinned. "
Charge," he whooped. With a sudden reversal, Seiten Taisei whipped around, aiming his right hand at Trumpeter. "
God's Hand!" Like a rocket, the empowered fist of gold smashed into the skeletal fiend, erupting in a blast of smoke and flashy force.
"Hell yeah," said Ryuji with a grin.
Trumpeter flew threw the cloud: scuffed, but no worse for the wear.
"Aw,
hell no!" said Ryuji with a grimace.
"
Megidolaon!"
The blast of Almighty energy was barely dodged, yet carried enough force to send the Persona-user and the Monkey King hurtling through the sky.
What's UP with this thing?!
xx
Misato and Tokoyo slowly circled Mother Harlot. "Well...you're certainly a creepy one," she joked, watching as the numerous heads glared with malice at her.
Mother Harlot sipped from her goblet. "
Death Lust."
"
Heat Riser," retorted Tokoyo, empowering herself (and Misato by default). The duo quickly split apart, avoiding the eruption of Almighty damage; the aura accompanying the blast — symbols of the two sexes — only solidified its nature. "An attack with a chance of Charming its victim?" observed Misato with a frown.
Does Mother Harlot have that skill normally? The observations of that Archetype that
she could recall hadn't mentioned-
"
Maziodyne."
No time to think! Lightning erupted from the fanged jaws of the many-headed dragon, scarring at the ground with wild bolts; as Misato and Tokoyo were forced to dodge again, the swordswoman unleashed
Rising Slash-
CLANG!
The blades both rebounded, and the residual force
slammed into Misato. "SHIT!" she cried out impulsively, nearly dropping her gun.
It reflects Physical Skills?! Since when?!
Mother Harlot cackled, snapping her fingers. "
Trisagion." An orb of fire manifested above the wretched thoughtbeast's head, looking like a miniature sun. With a dainty flick of the finger, Mother Harlot sent it crashing towards her.
Misato could
feel heat coming off of it; even as she and her Persona were forced to evade, that knowledge elicited concern from her.
Tokoyo resists Fire Skills; does that thing actually Pierce through affinities?! What a load of bullcrap! Out of frustration, Misato shifted tactics; Tokoyo reared her blades as an orb of green energy manifested in front of her. "
Garudyne!"
The torrential cyclone blasted against the dragon, eliciting a howl of irritation from Mother Harlot.
So. Weak to Wind, eh? Firing her pistol and
immediately dodging, Misato was pleased to see that her bullet
didn't reflect back at her.
So Gun Skills still do damage. "Alright then, we've got a game plan!"
"
Makajamaon."
Tokoyo's Skills were promptly sealed. "Oh COME ON!" snarled Misato, firing her pistol as she and her Persona were once again forced to dodge the lightning bolts of
Maziodyne.
xx
Pale Rider's horse galloped upon an ethereal cloud, rendering it capable of flight.
Junpei, holding tightly to Trismegistus's back, dueled with the scythe-wielder with nearly reckless abandon; his metal bat clanged loudly each time it smashed against the sharp blade of Pale Rider's scythe. With each hit that came too close, Trismegistus would rocket away before
immediately charging back in to engage. "Come
on Ken, what's the holdup?!"
Far below, Kala-Nemi unleashed
Hamaon and
Kougaon with relative abandon; no matter how much the holy light smashed against Pale Rider, it seemed to shrug it off with aplomb. "I don't get it," he yelled. "The Pale Rider is supposed to be weak to Bless Skills!"
"Well this one didn't get the
memo!" roared Junpei.
"
Deathbound," hissed Pale Rider, swinging his scythe rapidly to the point where Junpei was forced to retreat. With a wicked hiss, Pale Rider opened its mouth wide — screaming "
Toxic Cloud!" — to unleash a massive volume of poisonous miasma that threatened to cover the entire battlefield.
"
Oh no you don't!" yelled Junpei as Trismegistus howled "
Agidyne!" A bolt of fire smashed into the cloud, vaporizing the fog before it could spread any further; the fact that the Pale Rider impulsively backed away didn't escape Junpei's notice. "Weak to fire, eh?!"
"
Mabufudyne," snarled Pale Rider, unleashing sprawling orbs of ice that tried to consume both of his opponents.
Kala-Nemi awkwardly jumped away, whilst Ken focused on dodging.
Trismegistus
smashed through the ice. "Sorry pal, the cold
ain't my weakness!" challenged Junpei as Trismegistus unleashed another
Agidyne at the cloaked skeleton.
Ken recognized the shift in tactics immediately.
Okay then; this Persona seems resistant to my light elementals...so we'll switch to Ziodyne and see if we can't get in a Primal Force while its back is turned...
Kala-Nemi made a nondescript noise of agreement as it fired numerous bolts of lightning into the sky, aiming to restrict Pale Rider's range of motion so that Junpei's Persona could keep landing blows.
xx
For some reason, the fact that Minako was currently outnumbered four-to-one didn't seem to bother her.
"...I'm getting
real creepy vibes from this girl," said Kensuke with a gulp.
"We have her surrounded...why ain't we attackin'...?" wondered Toji aloud.
Mana said nothing, merely snarling at the stranger.
...why aren't we moving...? wondered Shinji, keeping his newly-formed Monk's Spade at the ready.
Is she...really that dangerous...?
(July the 28th. Misato, being bedridden in the hospital, made no attempt to hide how serious she was. "...I don't know if you'll end up running into that odd Persona-user...the girl in the black cloak with the naginata...but if you do...don't hesitate. Not for a second. Use all the power you've got, without mercy.")
It was different, face-to-face. Despite the high-level attacks being demonstrated by the girl's three Personas...somehow,
she felt more dangerous than all of them combined. How was that even possible?
"...a
re you going to j
ust sta
nd there?" she quietly asked.
'
Everyone,' echoed Mayumi's voice within his head (and, presumably, the other three as well). '
Get ready to attack when Kurosawa fires.'
...okay. It was a plan. A plan was better than nothing. "Guys...get ready!"
xx
Upon the roof, Kurosawa held his right rifle-arm steady. "...
One-Shot Kill."
Boom, fired the ivory Mosin-Nagant, its silver barrel smoking from the bullet.
xx
Minako shattered the oversized bullet with one swing of her naginata. However, it was enough to divide her attention, for just an instant.
Toji wasted no time. "
Speed Buster!" howled Gilgamesh, charging at the cloaked girl with all his might.
xxxx
/I'm taking a lot of inspiration for Minako's Persona variants
//from their SMT V affinities and skill sets
///because let's remember, that as far as timelines where Personas were an active feature
////Minato had his one life; Yu had his one life...and Ren had two (perhaps three)
/////Minako was forced to relive the P3P timeline anywhere from a hundred to a thousand times, maybe more
//////so as far as aggregate experience goes
///////she outpaces every other Persona-user in existence
)