Chapter 16

"We seem to be approaching a conclusion." Yu said. "We thought it would be wise to ask if you have any advice or if there's been any change in our powers."

"There has been some change." Theodore said. "The bond the two of you share has reached the point where I would consider it complete, yet you have not gained access to a new Persona as a result."

"Why not?" Ruby asked. "It worked that way with the others."

"I cannot say for sure." Theodore admitted. "Perhaps your future has more in store as it relates to the Wild Card."

"Is there anything you can tell us that will help us in the coming battle?" Yu asked.

"There is nothing I can say that you don't already know." Theodore said. "Work as a team, believe in each other, and give it your all. I warn you though, the fate of this world hangs in the balance."

"Well, this is it." Yang said, walking up the stairs to the large door at the far end of the courtyard. All five locks were finally open.

"Yes, we can finally bring that criminal to justice." Naoto added. The group walked up to the door and opened it, revealing a final portal. They entered the portal, ready for the fight of their lives.

Inside, a gigantic throne room awaited them. A man sat regally in an elaborately decorated throne at the far end of the room. He must have been the culprit. It would have had no meaning on Remnant, but Yu thought the man's attire resembled that of an ancient Roman soldier. He was clad in head-to-toe segmented metal armor, a red cape tied around his neck. At his left, a large rectangular shield leaned against the throne. It was painted red, about a meter tall, and curved back at the sides, just like an ancient Roman shield. At his right was a weapon that would not have been in a Roman's arsenal. It appeared to be a harpoon gun, the harpoon extending past the end of the barrel by at least two feet. The man appeared to be middle aged. His face was heavily scarred but they were hidden to some degree by thick stubble. It was hard to tell because he was seated, but he appeared to be quite tall. To fight in his armor and carry his large weapons, he would have to be very strong as well.

"Welcome!" The man shouted. "You've fought well and honorably."

"Who are you?" Naoto asked. "Why are you doing this? What do you hope to accomplish?"

"Please slow down with the questions." The man said politely. "I feel you've earned a full explanation, given how impressively you've fought to make it this far." The man stood up. He was very tall, almost seven feet. "I am Rosso Victrix. Before I found this calling, I worked as a Hunter, protecting my village from the forces of Grimm. It was a noble calling, one I still love, but it was not enough. I could not save him."

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"My brother." Rosso replied sadly. "He was trying to make a life for himself in Vale, but he was killed in the recent Grimm attack. It must be fate that you four would find your way here, I saw you on the news." His facial expression shifted from sadness to anger. "You could not save him either."

"We tried, but we're just students." Ruby said. "I'm sorry for your loss, but we did all we could."

"You're right." Rosso said, his anger suddenly gone. "My grievance is not with you, it is with the professionals who failed. In any case, my brother's death sent me into a deep depression. He was the only person I could truly call my friend. If I could not even protect him, why bother being a Hunter? Why bother going on living?" He sighed. "I went out into the forest to fight Grimm until they killed me. I would get what vengeance I could and be rewarded with the death I desired. While I was searching for Grimm, I heard a voice. I thought I might be going crazy, but I followed it. It led me to this place. It told me I could see my brother again, that everyone could see their departed loved ones again. All I had to do was gather powerful shadows. Then I could merge this world with the afterlife. Everyone would be freed from this wretched life. Everyone would get what they desired."

"You're insane, people don't want to die." Weiss accused.

"I was skeptical myself." Rosso continued calmly. "But I was shown the future that I would create. Sadness and pain would disappear from the world. Even your leader shares my desire. Ruby, don't you want to see your mother again? If you join me it can happen."

"No!" Ruby yelled. "I miss my mother but she wouldn't want me to give up living." Rosso frowned.

"How and why did you kidnap people?" Naoto asked.

"Shadows spring from the minds of people, so bringing people to this place was necessary to gather shadows." Rosso explained. "With my patron's help I sent out The Call. Dust amplifies the call, and I was expecting to draw in powerful Hunters. Unfortunately, the people I drew in instead were too weak. They could not create shadows that were powerful enough. Luckily you all found your way here. The shadows you created are quite extraordinary. You've even tamed them into Personas."

"Who's your patron?" Naoto asked.

"My patron?" Rosso said. "She is the one who lead me here. She gave me the power to send out The Call. Would you like to meet her? Tuonen Piika, please introduce yourself to our guests." A young woman materialized at Rosso's side. She had pale white skin and hair, contrasting greatly with her black dress. She was much shorter than Rosso and very thin.

"Don't be fooled by her appearance!" Rise warned. "She's incredibly powerful. She must be…"

"A god?" Tuonen Piika interrupted. She spoke with a soft, almost soothing voice. Something about it was unsettling though. "I am something like that. I am death's herald. I share the desire of the people of this world. They wish to end pain and sadness, and by merging this world with the afterlife, their desire will be accomplished. I understand that you wish to stop me. I cannot allow that to happen. I cannot allow you to depart either."

"Why not?" Yosuke asked. "Do we know too much?"

"That's not the problem." Rosso said. "It's your Personas. We need them in order to bring our plan to fruition. The constitute shadows powerful enough for our purposes. Since you cannot relinquish them willingly, only death will part you. I am truly sorry. You have shown yourselves to be honorable individuals, worthy of my admiration. We must kill you. If you do not resist, we will make your deaths painless. You will have the honor of being the first citizens of our new world."

"That's not going to happen." Yang said confidently. "We're taking both of you down."

"I thought you'd say that." Rosso said, picking up his weapons. "Allow me to introduce you to Scutum and Ballista. They will be the tools of your demise." He looked to Tuonen Piika. "Will you be joining in?"

"Of course I will." Tuonen Piika replied. "I will not sit idly while there is a threat to our new world." She raised her arms above her head and shadows flooded the area. Instead of attacking, the shadows surrounded Tuonen Piika, initially in a writhing mass, before forming into a gigantic and grotesque version of the goddess. Her fingers were replaced with metallic claws and blood flowed from her eyes, a terrifying visage indeed. The wall behind her melted and she floated outside, the towering monster the room to stand up straight. Below an ominous red sky, she awaited the coming assault.

"You guys take care of Rosso, we'll handle this monster." Yu said to Ruby. Ruby nodded and drew Crescent Rose, slamming it into the ground aimed at Rosso. The Investigation Team summoned their Personas and charged out of the throne room in pursuit of Tuonen Piika.

Rosso slung Ballista over his shoulder and it automatically snapped into place, hooked to the armor on his back. He crouched, covering most of his body with his massive shield. With his size, weapons and armor, he would be a difficult opponent. "I don't think we should fight him up close." Ruby said.

"Agreed." Yang said. "Turan!" She summoned her Persona and launched a fireball at Rosso. He ducked behind his shield and the fireball deflected around him. Rosso slammed Scutum down, planting it firmly. A small opening appeared in the shield and the barrel of a gun poked through. He hosed down Yang's Persona with bullets from a heavy machine gun built into the shield. Yang was hoping for something like this to happen. Her Persona absorbed physical attacks, and each bullet that hit it made her and Turan stronger. She launched an extremely powerful continuous blast of fire at Rosso who hid behind his shield and reloaded.

"We need to flank him." Blake said. "We're not going to break through that shield." That would be easier said than done. Rosso had backed himself up into a corner and was using it to limit his assailants' options. "Keep hitting him, I have an idea." Yang continued her fiery attack while Ruby took sniper shots and Weiss launched ice at Rosso. Blake rushed forward and leapt into the air, flying over Rosso and landing behind him. She slashed at him with Gambol Shroud but the blade glanced off his armor without even leaving a scratch. Leaving his shield standing on its own to protect himself from the others, Rosso turned to face Blake. She furiously slashed at him but could not penetrate his armor. She slammed her blade into his side but he caught it, grabbed her by the arm slammed her down onto her back. He punched at her head but she flipped out of the way at the last moment, leaving Rosso to strike her double. Blake retreated back to the others. "Fighting him up hand-to-hand was a poor decision." Blake admitted.

Yang's attack slackened as she exhausted the extra energy Rosso's attacks had given her. When the fire died down, Rosso opened the gap in his shield again and began firing on Yang's Persona again. This time he used ice dust bullets, riddling Yang's Persona with projectiles she was weak to. Yang dropped to a knee in pain and withdrew her Persona. Weiss slid forward using her glyphs, jamming Myrtenaster through the gap in Scutum. Rosso narrowly dodged the blade, but Weiss froze it in place. Rosso picked up Scutum and tried to shake Weiss off, but the ice held her securely in place. Ruby took the opportunity to slip in behind Rosso. "Summer Rose!" Ruby summoned her Persona and blasted Rosso with wind. The attack caught his shield like a sail and sent him flying across the room. He landed in the middle of the room, his flanks no longer protected.

Rosso finally managed to dislodge Myrtenaster from his shield and slammed Scutum into Weiss, sending her tumbling away. He pulled Ballista off his back and fired it at Ruby. The shot missed, the harpoon embedding itself in the wall behind her. Blake began shooting Rosso from the side, her bullets ricocheting off his armor. Rosso's harpoon was on a tether, and he retracted it rapidly, sending him flying toward Ruby and the corner he had come from. Ruby tried to dive out of the way, but Rosso caught her in the legs with his shield as he sailed past and she went tumbling to the ground. Rosso planted Scutum again and took aim at Ruby with his machine gun. Weiss summoned her Persona and put it between Ruby and Rosso, taking the burst of fire. With Rosso still shooting ice, the attack had no effect on Weiss's Persona. Ruby scrambled to her feet and regrouped with the others.

"My weapons don't do anything to his armor." Blake said. "Personas are a bad idea too because they're an easy target for his gun. If he's got different types of bullets it's only a matter of time before he finds which ones our Personas are weak to."

"I've got an idea." Ruby said. "Weiss, block his gun with ice." Weiss did so and Ruby charged at Rosso with the full speed of her semblance. She slammed her shoulder into Scutum and managed to push Rosso off balance. She hooked the shield with Crescent Rose and managed to pry it out of his hands. She spun around, firing to increase her speed, and slammed her blade into Rosso. He blocked the attack with his arm, but it crushed the armor on his forearm, causing it to drop off. Ruby spun around for another attack but Rosso dodged it. Ruby overextended and Rosso grabbed her by the head with both hands. He violently slammed her into the ground. Rosso picked up Scutum and lifted it to slam it down on the injured Ruby.

Yang charged in and slid under the shield, catching it as Rosso brought it down. She kicked his legs out from under him and he crashed to the ground. Yang turned her attention to Ruby. "Blake, catch!" She yelled. Yang picked up Ruby and threw her toward Blake. Blake caught her and set the dazed Ruby down on her feet. Yang turned back to Rosso, but he had recovered and he swatted her with a tremendous blow from Scutum. Yang went flying across the room and slammed into the wall. She quickly scrambled to her feet. She let out a primal yell, her eyes turned red and her hair burst into flames.

Rosso was not impressed. He swung Ballista around, took aim at Yang and fired. The harpoon hit its mark, impaling Yang just below the right collar bone and pinning her to the wall. The flames in Yang's hair died and in a daze she struggled to free the harpoon from the wall. She did not have the strength or the leverage to pry the harpoon free. Rosso retracted the tether, launching himself at Yang with a gauntleted fist aimed at her head. Rosso's fist slammed into the wall, hard enough to bend the metal of his gauntlets. Yang had moved her head to the side just enough to avoid the attack. Her eyes turned red and her hair burst into flames. "You made a mistake." She said angrily. With her right hand she grabbed the main body of Ballista and with her left punched Rosso as hard as she could in his unarmored face. Rosso went tumbling backward, leaving Ballista behind. Yang jerked the harpoon out of the wall and ripped it out of herself. Then she dropped to her knees in exhaustion and pain.

Rosso clambered back to his feet, Scutum at the ready. Blake charged at him, slashing at him with Gambol Shroud. Rosso deflected the attack with his shield and then swung it at her. She dodged, leaving a frozen double behind. Scutum hit the double and became stuck in the ice. As Rosso struggled to free his weapon, Blake leapt over the shield and kicked him in the face. He tumbled backward leaving Scutum stuck in the ice. Weiss charged at Rosso, stabbing at him with Myrtenaster. Rosso drew a short sword from a sheath on his belt and parried the attack. He tried to counter attack but Weiss caught the blade with hers and disarmed him. She froze his feet in place and acrobatically dove away as he punched at her. Ruby raced forward, propelling herself with backward shots from Crescent Rose. She leapt into the air and spun, slamming the blunt side of Crescent Rose into Rosso's face with tremendous force. Rosso went tumbling across the room, landing on his back motionless.

Team Ruby approached aggressively and surrounded their downed foe. He did not look like he was in any condition to fight. "Are you happy?" Rosso coughed. "Now that you've defeated me are you happy?" They did not respond. "I just wanted to give people what they wanted. I wanted to end their suffering. Is that so wrong?"

"It's not your end, it's your means." Blake said. "Death is not the answer."

"Not for you maybe." Rosso said weakly. "Hurry up and kill me. Give me what I desire."

"Nope." Ruby folded up Crescent Rose and slung it on her back. "We're taking you back home so you can face justice."

"I should have known." Rosso groaned. "I hope my patron succeeds where I failed, then all will be saved."

"We should go see about that." Ruby said. "Yu and his friends might need our help." She looked at Rosso. "We can't just leave him here though."

"The three of us will keep an eye on him." Weiss said. "You go help." Ruby nodded and ran off to help the Investigation Team with their battle.