MHGA Chapter 268 — Celestial Sovereign Battle and Joseph's Stand!
That towering pale pillar of lightning—Night City's residents had seen it with their own eyes. A spectacle beyond human ability.
In fact, many citizens were now convinced this was divine intervention. That the lightning over Arasaka Tower was the wrath of the gods…
After all, just moments earlier, they had personally experienced their cyberware being rejected—expelled by their newly regrown flesh.
At that moment, both Kairo Retsu and Joseph were dragged back to camp by a dazzling rainbow Palico.
But Kairo Retsu looked deeply regretful, because once he was pulled away, it'd be almost impossible to get back in time to witness the battle between Himmel and Kirin.
Worse still—there weren't even many people left near Arasaka Tower now. Most of Night City's civilians and Arasaka employees had already fled due to the chaos. Only Naofumi Iwatani, Tanjiro, and Demon King Laios remained in the area.
"Damn it, I really wanted to see how powerful Himmel is in his complete form… I wanted to see how the Celestial Sovereign fights, dammit!!! He's gotta be insanely strong! Absolutely cracked!!! I'd catcart for a fight like that and still say it was worth it!!!!" Kairo Retsu wailed in frustration.
"As long as the mission's accomplished, isn't that enough?" Joseph replied. "By the way… Commander! I think my Stand has evolved."
"?!"
Kairo Retsu had still been thinking about whether he could sneak back and catch the tail end of the battle when he suddenly heard Joseph's comment beside him.
"What??!! Your Hermit Purple can evolve?!" Kairo Retsu looked dumbfounded. "Old man, doesn't your Stand have an E in Growth Potential?! That's the lowest rank possible!!!"
"HEY!!!!!! I told you I'm not old!! I'm a spry, lovable 19-year-old!! I haven't even married Suzie Q yet!" Joseph shot back indignantly. "Just look at me—I'm brimming with potential! There's no way my Growth rank is an E!"
He muttered, "Sure, maybe if I awakened my Stand in my old age it would've been E… but I'm a perfectly youthful 19-year-old right now!!!"
"So your Stand really did evolve?!" Kairo Retsu's eyes widened. "That can't be! Hermit Purple is already top-tier among the Joseph-type intel Stands!"
"To put it simply…"
Joseph was about to summon Hermit Purple to show Kairo Retsu—but then remembered that in the Gathering Hub, only he and Miko could actually see his Stand. So, scratching his head in annoyance, he came up with an idea.
He scraped a layer of paint from a nearby wall, rubbed it into white powder with his palm, and threw it at Hermit Purple, commanding his Stand not to evade.
And then, Kairo Retsu could just barely make out the silhouette of countless thorny vines in the air—rapidly twisting and forming the image of a muscular figure over two meters tall, even more brawny and imposing than Joseph himself…
"When I was controlling my Stand in Mikoshi, I pushed myself a little," Joseph flicked the hair from his forehead with a smug grin. "Now! My Hermit Purple can take human form!"
"By the way! I can also do multi-punches with my Stand—just like my grandson from Part 3! Isn't that a huge evolution?" Joseph beamed proudly.
"From vines to a humanoid form… Damn, no wonder Jolyne is your great-granddaughter," Kairo Retsu commented, eyeing the human-shaped Hermit Purple visible only thanks to the falling wall dust. "Genetic throwback, huh?"
"Ha? Jolyne's my… great-granddaughter? You mean that punk Jotaro's daughter?" Joseph, who'd only seen the first three parts of JoJo's, looked baffled. "Her Stand's like mine?"
"Her Stand is thread-based too—and it can take human form… As for her enemies…" Kairo Retsu scratched his head and waved a hand, "When we get back, I'll show you all six parts of JoJo. Then you'll understand what's coming in the future."
"But—is that really all your Stand's evolution amounts to?" Kairo Retsu asked, eyeing the dust-covered Hermit Purple humanoid. "Is that it?"
"What do you mean 'is that it'?! My Stand barrage is seriously strong now!" Joseph protested. "Even if it's just a body made of thorns… I can also use Ripple!"
"Like that's useful!!" Kairo Retsu shot back. "Why evolve for combat?! Do you even realize how absurdly strong your body is right now?! You could probably wrestle a Pillar Man to the ground in a fair fight! If you threw punches directly, you'd probably hit Power and Speed Rank A!!"
"If you were gonna evolve your Stand, you should've boosted its intel capabilities!!" Kairo Retsu shouted.
"Haa~?!" Joseph was clearly offended. "I didn't give up the intel side, okay?!"
As Joseph grumbled, Hermit Purple suddenly moved.
"Gimme your phone! I'll show you just how useful my Hermit Purple really is!" Joseph demanded.
Prompted by Joseph, Kairo Retsu reluctantly pulled his budget Xiaomi phone out of his Hunter's backpack.
The very next moment, Hermit Purple reverted back to its vine form and slithered through the charging port—activating its signature ability.
"Spirit Imprinting!!!"
The moment the Stand activated, a white current of static erupted across the phone screen. And amid that light—was the image of Himmel, racing forward at incredible speed.
"! wtf! A live broadcast!" Kairo Retsu's eyes widened as he stared at his phone. "Your Stand's already that refined?!"
"I've been training in the Gathering Hub and around Night City this whole time!" Joseph lifted his nose proudly. "I can even switch angles!"
Under Joseph's control, the camera angle on the phone changed again. This time, Kairo Retsu could see from behind Kirin—Himmel charging headlong toward it, radiating overwhelming pressure from every inch of his body.
In the next instant, Himmel unleashed a wave of slashing sword energy that engulfed a massive area. Alongside the sound of structures breaking apart, Kairo Retsu heard distant crashing noises—
He looked up… and saw that far away, Arasaka Tower had actually begun collapsing—demolished by Himmel's sheer brute force.
"Holy crap! That's a real Celestial Sovereign!! No wonder he's the Hero who defeated the Demon King!!"
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