The mysterious Pillar Men—
When the Pillar Men appeared on the screen, most of the viewers were somewhat confused.
But there was one thing they did understand: spatial distortion.
That stone pillar had appeared in the cave suddenly, without any prior warning.
Could it be that, besides DIO who could manipulate time, there was another mysterious existence who could manipulate space?
"That stone pillar… the men on it! MASAKA! This is impossible! How can this be!"
In the Stardust Crusaders timeline, Joseph Joestar, who was with the rest of the group, cried out in shock.
"Mr. Joestar, what's wrong with you? You scared the life out of me! It's just three barely-clothed men, isn't it?"
Polnareff, being the closest to Joseph, was the direct victim. Joseph's shout had nearly frightened him to death.
"This is… Mr. Joestar, could it be that you know the three men on that stone pillar?" The intelligent Noriaki Kakyoin thought for a moment and understood the reason for Joseph's shock.
However, even though Kakyoin hadn't known Joseph Joestar for long, he knew he wasn't the type of person who couldn't control his emotions. In other words… the three men on that pillar were absolutely extraordinary.
Joseph fell silent for a moment, then looked at Jotaro Kujo beside him. There was no doubt about his grandson's strength. Just as the light curtain said, he was the God of War bestowed upon the Joestar family by the heavens.
But even for a God of War, fighting DIO and that guy at the same time would be a tough battle.
No, no, no, I should think on the bright side. That guy is still on the stone pillar. Without the Red Stone of Aja, he can't become the ultimate lifeform. He would have no chance of winning against Jotaro's Star Platinum.
In that world called Demon Slayer, the Red Stone of Aja probably doesn't exist…
---o---
Light Curtain Commentary—
[Otto Apocalypse]: With the technology and abilities of that world, it's impossible for a power like spatial manipulation to exist. Has that being started to drop other characters into that world again?
[Eriri Spencer Sawamura]: My goodness, three of them right off the bat! And all of them are muscular men!
[Ishtar]: Gems! Those are gems! Embedded in that stone pillar are sparkling gems!
[Muzan Kibutsuji]: More beings from another world? Could they be Stand users too?
In the Demon Slayer world, Muzan Kibutsuji's expression was extremely grim. He already couldn't beat DIO or Jotaro. If three more Stand users appeared, he would completely lose his mind. However, Muzan also firmly believed that the light curtain wouldn't be so insane as to place five Stand users in their world. As long as they weren't Stand users, he had nothing to fear from these people…
---o---
On the Light Curtain—In the cave of the three Pillar Men.
The postures of the Pillar Men on the stone wall were all different, but none of them looked easy to deal with.
One of the Pillar Men was holding a strange mask. The mask appeared to be made of stone, and there was a conspicuous slot on its forehead!
However, the viewers weren't paying attention to the mask… they were curious about these Pillar Men. Why were they on a stone wall? Were they sealed there? Or was it for some other reason?
Just as the audience was lost in thought, perhaps by coincidence, or perhaps by the hand of fate, a few humans carrying lanterns entered the cave.
They looked frantic. They had just escaped the pursuit of a demon. If it weren't for the fact that the demon chasing them looked like it had been starving for a long time and was extremely emaciated, these humans would have already become its meal.
Having successfully escaped, they arrived in the cave of the Pillar Men and noticed the incredibly conspicuous stone pillar!
"Hey… you guys, look! There are gems embedded in this stone pillar!"
One of the middle-aged men exclaimed excitedly. As the saying goes, great fortune follows a great disaster. It must be because they escaped the demon that the heavens were granting them such a generous reward.
Seeing this, the other two men also joyfully approached the pillar. Under the light of the lanterns, the gems embedded in the stone glinted.
This sent the men, who had struggled their whole lives, into a state of ecstasy. If they took these gems to the city to sell, they might be able to cross their social class and become elites!
Just as one of them was about to touch the stone wall, a seemingly more rational young man grabbed his wrist.
"Don't be hasty! Look… there are three men carved on this pillar, and some strange patterns. This might be some kind of ruin. These patterns are very likely to be ancient script!"
"So what? Finders keepers! You… you're not thinking of taking it all for yourself, are you!" the man who wanted to dig out the gems said anxiously.
The young man just shook his head and explained, "What do you know! If these are really ancient ruins, they're worth far more than the gems! These stone walls with writing, and these three men—they're all priceless artifacts!"
"If you damage these patterns while digging out the gems, do you have any idea how much money we'd lose?!"
After the young man finished speaking, the gazes of the others changed instantly. Their greed was almost tangible. This was their chance to turn their lives around!
Just then, the sound of rolling pebbles was heard. A figure, silhouetted by the moonlight, slowly crawled into the cave.
"Heh heh. Are you scared stiff? Hiding in a cave… isn't that just seeking your own death?" The demon chasing them had followed their scent.
The moment they saw the demon, the men realized that the cave had only one exit, and it was now occupied by the demon!
They were in danger. The demon before them, though starving, was still a demon. No matter how hungry, it was far stronger than an ordinary human!
If the men present could cooperate, it might not be impossible to defeat the demon. But terrified as they were, they had already lost the courage to fight back!
Perhaps it was out of fear, or perhaps guided by some unseen hand, one of the humans kept backing away as the demon approached, backing away until…
His hand touched the surface of the stone pillar…
It moved… As if it were a hallucination, the sculpture of the three Pillar Men seemed to stir.
Under the watchful eyes of the audience, the demon, and the men in the cave, a sharp horn grew from the forehead of one of the Pillar Men!
Splat!
Blood splattered. Like a spear thrust, the man's head was instantly pierced.
His blood splashed onto the surface of the pillar and was quickly absorbed, not a single drop remaining.
"AYAYAYAY…!"
A bizarre BGM suddenly erupted, instantly grabbing the attention of the audience.
The Pillar Man with the horn, whose body was previously like stone, suddenly took on the color of flesh. With a cold expression, he rapidly spun his horn, and in an instant, all the humans around him lost their life signs.
The horn fell upon them like a sharp blade, slicing them all in half at the waist as if they were tofu!
Countless streams of blood splattered inside the cave, leaving the demon at the entrance completely stunned and bewildered.
The Pillar Man, Wamuu, calmly stepped forth from the wall. With a crisp sound of his joints, he tilted his head, limbering up his body.
"What changes have occurred outside during my slumber? Hmph. Just by looking at these ignorant humans, I can see clearly enough."
After making his remark, Wamuu looked down with contempt at the humans who had died at his feet. As a warrior, he despised these cowardly humans the most.
He slowly walked over to the other two statues, and Wamuu placed his hands upon them.
"Awaken, my masters!"
As his voice fell, the two statues in the wall were instantly filled with the color of blood. Then, with two loud bangs, the remaining two Pillar Men also revived from the stone!
The unsupported stone pillar collapsed with a roar, and the falling dust covered the entire scene.
The demon outside the cave stared wide-eyed at this scene. An immense pressure bore down on it. It wanted to flee, but it was powerless.
As the swirling dust settled, the figures of three men gradually emerged in the dim cave!
The three ramrod-straight figures slowly advanced toward the terrified demon, their movements perfectly synchronized with the 'AYAYAYAY' of the BGM.
However, although they were walking toward the demon, the three of them never once glanced at the creature cowering on the ground.
Arriving before the demon, they ignored its existence without a second thought. One of the Pillar Men's feet passed right through the demon's body!
The next moment, as if squashing an ant, the parts of the demon's body that came into contact with the Pillar Man were mercilessly consumed.
Just by grazing past it, its body was instantly sheared away. Even with a demon's extremely powerful life force, how could it endure this level of pain!
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the sky!
Only then did the three Pillar Men glance back at the ant they had crushed underfoot. But all three remained silent, completely indifferent to the demon's howls.
None of them had intentionally stepped on the demon; it was simply its misfortune to be in the cave entrance.
They had no interest in this demon whatsoever, like a person thoughtlessly crushing an ant that happened to be in their path. If it got stepped on, that was simply the ant's own bad luck.
"It seems to be nighttime outside, Wamuu," said the Pillar Man who had crushed the demon, his face expressionless.
"Yes, Lord Esidisi. What shall we do now?" Wamuu replied respectfully. After all, he was the lowest in status among them.
The leading Pillar Man in the center took out the unique Stone Mask from his clothes, the one that had been on the pillar, and looked at the large hole in its forehead.
"Of course, we will search for the Super Red Stone of Aja that exists somewhere in this world."
"Once we embed it here, the Stone Mask will be complete. By wearing it, we can successfully overcome the sun and become the ultimate lifeforms."
"However… during our slumber, it seems the world has undergone some incredible changes."
The leading Pillar Man, Kars, closed his eyes, carefully sensing the flow of the air and the strange feeling of disharmony in his heart.
"Hmph. So that's how it is." With a light chuckle, the lead Pillar Man had completely figured out the current situation.
"Did something happen, Kars?" the Pillar Man called Esidisi asked.
But Kars just shook his head and continued, "It's nothing. Even if this is a different world, it doesn't matter, as long as the Red Stone of Aja is here."
"Our first priority is to go outside and learn about this world. I already know the location of the Red Stone of Aja, but there's no hurry. We have all the time in the world."
As he spoke, Kars began to walk forward. He urgently needed to learn about this new world.
However… "Splat!"
Just as Kars was passing by Wamuu, Wamuu suddenly kicked out, attacking him!
On the screen, Kars was injured, blood flowing freely. Although it was a very minor injury for a Pillar Man—Kars healed it in a second—
"What are you doing, Wamuu?!" Esidisi, seeing Kars being attacked, immediately roared at Wamuu, ready to attack him at any moment.
Wamuu was a child from their clan whom he and Kars had raised together. He was more talented and more favored by them than Santana, but that was no reason for him to attack Kars!
"Esidisi, wait!"
Kars stopped Esidisi from making a move and turned to look at Wamuu.
Before he could say anything, Wamuu, covered in a cold sweat, knelt on the ground and said preemptively, "I'm sorry, Lord Kars! I was rude, but I did not do it intentionally!"
"It is not your fault," Kars said with a wave of his hand, pointing to Wamuu's shadow under the moonlight.
"You hate it when someone steps on your shadow. If they do, you attack them as a reflex."
"These two thousand years of slumber nearly made me forget."
"It was my own carelessness. It's not your fault," Kars said, lowering his finger.
But Wamuu bowed his head even lower, almost touching the ground.
"No matter what, I am the one who harmed Lord Kars. Punish me as you see fit!"
But Kars was firm in his conviction.
"No. Why would I do that?"
"It was indeed my fault for stepping on your shadow. Forgive me, Wamuu."
"Lord Kars!" Wamuu was deeply moved, not knowing what to say.
"Then let's go, Wamuu," Esidisi said, no longer blaming him.
"Yes." Wamuu got up from the ground and followed beside Kars!
---o---
Author's Note:
PS: Kars-sama has made his debut! Only Young Joseph is left. At this faster pace, he should be appearing soon too!