Chapter 7: "I Will Help You"

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To their credit, they did not run when Nidhoggr's gargantuan form materialised into existence. Thick and heavyset, the dragon's body was draped with jagged spikes and horned obtrusions, a mass of serrated spines that started from its shoulders and ended with the tip of its whip-like tail. Claws twice the length of a man's arm clutched at the earth, carving deep, winding fissures in the dirt with the barest of movements. A long, serpentine neck carried the menacing skull, the scaled snout filled to the brim with wicked, curved teeth. Crimson pupils glared at them, and as the dragon extended to its fullest height, those eyes fastened on to Rias and her group in malicious delight.

And then it spoke, and the voice that entered his mind, all of their minds, was akin to the rumbling tremble of a small earthquake.

Nidhoggr: So. This is What You Have Chosen for Your Replacement Brood.

Those words were meant for him.

He frowned.

It was an unfair assumption, in his opinion. He hadn't chosen at all. He was not sure what they were to him, but they certainly weren't replacements. Nothing could replace the bonds he had made with SEES.

Nidhoggr knew what his thoughts were before they even finished forming. The Persona might have manifested, but the source of its power was still rooted within his psyche. Its eyes flickered to him, and there was a dark, taunting amusement hidden behind them.

Nidhoggr: You Could Have Chosen Better. Then Again, it is an Improvement Over the Last Bunch.

He wanted to argue that. Mentally, at least. The dragon didn't give him a chance to. Its heavy body moved with deceptive grace, and though the ground trembled with every step, the ease at which it took those steps was utterly inhuman. It stopped only when it reached its destination, the group of clustered figures dwarfed by its immense size. A snarl of contempt ripped from its jaws as it gazed down.

Nidhoggr: Where is the Substitute for the Cap Wearing One? His Mind May have been Empty but His Antics were Amusing.

That... was an interesting depiction of Junpei.

Nidhoggr: At Least There is no Dog. That Mutt and its Incessant Barking Made Me Want to Kill Something.

Ah, Koromaru. He hadn't realized how much he missed that pup. The dragon let out a deep snarl.

Nidhoggr: I do Believe I Wanted to Eat Him.

Well, that did explain why the canine would tuck his tail between his legs and whimper whenever Nidhoggr was summoned. Sometimes animals knew more about Personas than humans ever could.

The dragon's head lowered, its long neck brunching as coiled muscles did their work. Its snout stopped bare centimetres from the chests of Rias and her peerage.

Nidhoggr: Devils. Every Single One of You. Perfidious and Treacherous by Nature. Yet I Sense No Evil Amongst You. How Curious.

It sniffed at Rias. The sudden intake of air caused the devil's hair to flap wildly about her face.

Nidhoggr: This One Smells of Fear and Desperation, and is Perhaps a Bit Deluded.

The dragon turned its attention to the black-haired girl by Rias's side. Both were commendably stoic as jaws the length as they were tall swayed from side to side in front of them.

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