PERSONA 3 DEVIL'S HERALD

...06/08/2009 Thursday; Dark Hour...

...FULL MOON OPERATION...

While Akihiko, Minato, and Mitsuru furiously charged at the Justice Arcana, Aigis prepared to face the Chariot Arcana once more.

Junpei, without hesitation, ran toward Hiro. He sheathed his greatsword and knelt beside his friend.

"Hang in there, man. You're not dying on me," Junpei said desperately as he turned Hiro onto his back.

Hiro's condition was horrifying; his chest was completely torn, and blood had stained everything red—a sight that made Junpei's eyes sting.

"My god..." Junpei whispered, feeling helpless at the state of his friend.

As he searched frantically for a solution, something fell out of Hiro's coat pocket—a syringe filled with a blue liquid.

Junpei picked it up, examining it with a look of confusion.

"What's this? Some kind of medicine?" Junpei asked aloud, staring at the syringe in his hands, then back at Hiro.

He glanced at his companions battling fiercely, then at Hiro's pale, almost lifeless body.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Junpei fought against his uncertainty. "I don't know what this does, but if Hiro was carrying it... it might be something that can help."

With a resolute expression, Junpei decided, "Here goes nothing!"

He gripped the syringe with both hands and forcefully injected it into Hiro's abdomen.

The blue liquid coursed through Hiro's body, and slowly, its effects began to manifest.

The dark energy corroding his soul started to recede, and suddenly, a chill ran through Hiro's body.

Inexplicably, the wounds on his chest began to close.

Even unconscious, Hiro let out a deep gasp and coughed up blood.

"It's working..." Junpei murmured in disbelief, watching his friend's condition improve.

Minato, narrowly dodging an attack from the Justice Arcana, shouted, "Junpei! We need you over here!"

Still stunned, Junpei quickly stood up and ran to join the group.

In the black void of Hiro's mind, he found himself once again, but this time, he wasn't alone.

Before him, a figure with its back turned and white wings emerged from the shadows.

"Lucifer...?" Hiro asked, confused, as he cautiously stepped toward the figure.

However, he stopped abruptly, a chill running down his spine.

Lucifer let out a small, sinister chuckle and responded without turning around, "So, to try and change your fate, you decide to suppress me?"

"What? I didn't do anything..." Hiro replied, bewildered.

Lucifer raised a hand, still facing away from Hiro, and continued, "Oh, but you did. Carrying a Persona suppressor in your coat."

Finally, Lucifer turned to face Hiro, revealing ruby-red eyes and pale skin.

His wings spread menacingly, exuding a suffocating presence.

"You're here because your life is hanging by a thread, and I'm the blade that can cut it. Didn't you want to end it all? To abandon your life? To leave behind all your pain and anger?" Lucifer spoke, examining his nails with disinterest.

Hiro stared at him, his voice trembling as he responded, "I... I don't want that anymore."

Lucifer smiled, but cruelty lingered in his expression. "You don't? Why not? Because you found a reason to fight? Because you have friends to protect? No, Hiro, you have nothing to lose. Everyone you trusted has abandoned you."

Hiro, now irritated and confused, shouted, "You're wrong! Everyone in S.E.E.S. helps me keep going, and—"

Before he could finish, Lucifer vanished and reappeared behind Hiro in an instant, his voice a mocking whisper tinged with malice: "And taught you how to live? They're your friends, but your greatest friend didn't abandon you, right? A father is supposed to be a son's best friend. So, what did your father do?"

Lucifer's words hit Hiro like a sharp blade.

Deep down, Hiro knew Lucifer was right. His own father had called him a monster and left him behind.

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Hiro shouted, his voice a mix of anger and pain.

"Don't know anything? Oh, how terrible." Lucifer laughed—a chilling, melancholic laugh that echoed through the void.

He pretended to wipe away a tear from laughing so hard, his tone dripping with irony. "What a great joke. But remember... I am you."

"What?" Hiro asked, confused.

Lucifer spread his wings, walking slowly around Hiro: "I'm inside you. I've been here since the very beginning. I know everything you've done. After all, I am you. And you will be the reason everyone dies."

Lucifer began to laugh uncontrollably as Hiro stood in shock at the revelation.

The harsh truth was laid bare before him: Lucifer was indeed a part of who he was.

Back in reality, the group continued their desperate battle against the two Arcana Shadows.

Mitsuru struggled to her feet despite being struck by the Justice Arcana.

"I'm running out of energy... Junpei could collapse at any moment," Akihiko shouted as he ran to Mitsuru.

"I won't stop... until these two are dead," Mitsuru responded, her determination shining through her exhaustion.

She charged toward the Justice Arcana and, with a leap, drove her rapier into the spot where Hiro's broken scimitar blade was embedded.

"You're going down!" Mitsuru shouted, forcing the rapier deeper into the helmet of the Shadow Arcana.

With a colossal effort, she pierced through the helmet, causing black liquid to gush out as the Shadow collapsed and dissolved into black mist.

"Finally..." Mitsuru murmured, pulling out her rapier.

"Mitsuru, behind you!" Minato shouted, leaning heavily on his sword.

Mitsuru barely had time to react before the Chariot Arcana slammed into her, sending her flying.

She hit the ground with a heavy thud, every muscle in her body screaming in pain.

Her body can no longer endure, but her resolve remains unbroken.

Lying on the ground, Mitsuru looks to the side and sees Hiro, still motionless, uncertain if he's alive or dead.

"Hiro..." Mitsuru murmurs, forcing herself to rise.

Meanwhile, Aigis, still in Orgia Mode, charges at the Arcana of the Chariot, latching onto its top and pummeling its structure, trying to create an opening.

"Come on, open up..." Aigis murmurs, a flicker of worry creeping into her voice.

Inside Hiro's mind, he faces Lúcifer, fear and anger swirling within him.

He clenches his fists tightly. "I won't kill anyone."

Lúcifer observes Hiro's hands and responds sarcastically: "Really? Not killing these Shadows? Oh, you wouldn't believe it. You could avoid all this. I can he—"

Before he can finish, Hiro lunges at Lúcifer, throwing a punch, but his hand passes through Lúcifer's body as though he were intangible.

"Oh, I didn't expect that," Lúcifer says, mildly surprised.

"I told you, I won't die. I'll... I'll fight and protect them!" Hiro declares, his voice resolute.

Lúcifer smirks, but his gaze remains dark. He walks slowly toward Hiro, placing a hand on his head, a sinister smile etched on his face. "Good, you want to kill, want to protect. Isn't that right? Let me help you. After all, it's what you do—you make the final decision."

Suddenly, Hiro's mind is flooded with visions: someone taking a bullet, the cold texture of a wedding ring in his hands as he slides it onto someone's finger, and an open field of flowers, white and red petals dancing in the air.

In the middle of this field stands a woman, gazing at the scenery.

She slowly turns toward Hiro, a gentle smile gracing her face.

She seems familiar, in an inexplicable way, though Hiro knows he's never met her before.

"You can do this," the woman's soft voice, like a whisper, resonates in Hiro's mind.

The name "Sophia" surfaces in his thoughts, as if it were a distant memory.

Hiro begins to pant, gripping Lúcifer's head with both hands.

His eyes blaze with an intense red light, a tidal wave of resolve surging within him.

"I want... I want to save them. I want... TO KILL THEM!" Hiro roars, his voice trembling with rage.

Lúcifer, satisfied, gazes deeply into Hiro's eyes, his crimson stare piercing into the boy's soul: "And if you die trying to protect or save them?"