"You looking to go full cyborg ascension?"
Chris looked at Ryuuen Kakeru with mild surprise.
It wasn't like the cyborg-track items he'd filtered onto the menu had been scarce.
But he really hadn't expected that Ryuuen, instead of going for Sianweistan, had managed to gacha-roll himself the genuinely good stuff.
The alien-tech Shishigami template from Inuyashiki, no less.
Top-tier destructive power? Not exactly. But cost-effectiveness-wise, in the twenty-to-thirty S-Point bracket, there really weren't many that could touch it.
If he'd actually put it up for sale, sixty or seventy points would've been a perfectly reasonable asking price.
Its one and only drawback was the restricted upgrade path — it was only compatible with tech-side gear like mechanical prosthetics, or, somewhere down the road, you'd just have to scrap it outright and swap up to a Genos or Drive Knight modification card.
Not that Chris had any intention of taking it back, either.
By now, Ryuuen Kakeru had already slapped the modification card flat onto his own forehead.
"Back on the Uninhabited Island exam, what I used was prosthetics. Honestly..."
Ryuuen Kakeru cracked his neck. "I still prefer this whole cyborg-ascension setup. Flesh is weak."
"Speaking of which — that disc thing in your hand, the one called a 'Stand,' what the hell is that?"
Chris let his figure flicker back into view.
He casually pressed the disc into his own chest and answered:
"My baseline stats are plenty high enough already — what I wanted was a special ability. Wasn't expecting it to roll me a 'restoration' one... well, it's fine. Works as support."
In truth, Crazy Diamond was sort of a watered-down Horse Talisman — but since this was the JoJo world, going with a Stand was the better call.
'Speaking of which, if I'd gone with Weather Report, I could just whip up a vacuum environment like outer space and instakill the Pillar Men outright...'
Chris mused to himself.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke up:
"An extremely practical support ability."
"From a strategic value standpoint, it feels a lot more cost-effective than those Senzu Beans Horikita's shop carries as single-use consumables."
Ayanokoji continued his analysis. "And on top of that, with this ability in your hands — even with the limitation that it can't heal yourself, given your current defensive stats, there's barely a monster out there that could really wound you. That said..."
His tone pivoted: "For safety's sake, I'd recommend you go ahead and pick up a [T-Virus] to further bolster your baseline."
Chris spread his hands helplessly:
"You know perfectly well I dumped all my points into [Demon Possession] — where am I supposed to find spare S-Points to splurge right now?"
At those words, Ichinose Honami stepped forward at once, her voice gentle:
"Senpai, if you need them, I've still got some spare points here that I could lend you—"
But before her words could finish.
"No need to trouble yourself."
Horikita Suzune had already cut her off without the slightest hesitation:
"For this trial, we can collect 'Stone Masks' inside the arena, exchanging them at a 1:1000 ratio directly for item points to spend."
"And besides, that itself counts as part of the trial-ranking performance metric — there's absolutely no need to burn through precious S-Points."
At this, Horikita Suzune tilted her head slightly, avoiding Chris's gaze:
"And besides... if you really need it right this second, I can front the points to buy it for you first."
"As this round's 'Mystery Merchant,' I get a ten-percent kickback in item points on whatever you all purchase... no S-Points required."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, however, threw a wrench into her plans without batting an eye:
"The [T-Virus] is priced at 20,000 item points. Even adding in the Crimson Blade and Black Key, the item points you've got on hand aren't enough... are you planning on dipping into your own purse?"
"..."
Her motives laid bare, Horikita Suzune's pale cheeks flushed crimson in an instant, and she shot Ayanokoji a venomous glare.
Chris was a bit caught off guard, then smiled and stepped in to smooth things over:
"Yeah, there's really no need for that. I appreciate the thought, Horikita."
"But like you said, no point wasting S-Points. Worst case, we just walk a few extra steps later, grab some Stone Masks, and we're good."
Standing off to the side, Karuizawa Kei watched the faint sparks of jealousy threatening to ignite between Horikita Suzune and Ichinose Honami.
Her instincts were telling her the atmosphere right now was a little dangerous.
After a moment's hesitation, she decided this wasn't really the time to throw any fuel on the fire — lest she end up setting herself ablaze.
So Karuizawa Kei opted to change the subject:
"Um... where exactly are the actual targets for this exam, anyway?"
Chris took the cue and raised his left wrist, tapping the controller open.
As the three-dimensional holographic map unfolded, the group gathered around.
On the map — aside from the three glaring red dots representing the 'Pillar Men' rapidly closing in on them...
On the far side of the ruins, there were two adjacent yellow dots, currently being hemmed in by dozens of red dots!
Chris curiously tapped open the info on the yellow dots.
His brow shot up:
"Yagami Takuya? Housen Kazutomi?"
"Did they get separated from the group, or did they just charge headfirst into the monster swarm to throw their lives away? That ballsy, are they?"
Nanase Tsubasa let out a sigh:
"Earlier we ran into an older vampire who's sympathetic to humans, and Katsuragi-kun asked him to help collect Stone Masks from the other passages."
"And the upshot... Housen and Yagami apparently weren't content with being ordinary. They wanted to turn into vampires too..."
Amanatsu Kazuha pressed her lips together and let out a small laugh:
"Not wrong, really. For newbies without a Combat Suit, turning into a vampire and gaining an immortal body really is the most immediately effective way to save your skin~"
But Ichinose Honami's delicate brows knit tight:
"But haven't they considered the scenario where they turn into vampires and can never change back to human?"
"I warned them about that too," Amikura Mako shook her head helplessly. "Maybe, in their eyes... winning this trial and gaining power immediately matters more than the future risks."
"After all, you've got to be alive before there's any 'future' to talk about."
Chris cleared his throat lightly, cutting off the group's musings.
"Everyone — the main attractions are here."
"If you want to go save them, we've still got to wrap up the work in front of us first."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded and reached out to tap open each of the three red dots that were unmistakably the Pillar Men, checking their detailed intel one by one.
Physical capability that far outstripped the vampires', the ability to merge with and devour humans through skin contact, and mastery of their natural-element-controlling exclusive 'Modes.'
Of them, Wamuu and Esidisi were both pegged at 35 points apiece — using the 'Wind Mode' and the 'Flame Mode' respectively.
And then there was the one at the end — Kars.
Beyond the 'Light Mode'...
Ayanokoji noticed there was an additional, eye-catching note tacked onto the bottom of Kars's profile:
[Note: Killing this target will GUARANTEE a Stand Disc · The World drop!]
'A Stand Disc?'
Ayanokoji turned his head to look at Chris.
'Chris's Crazy Diamond ability is restoration — so what's the ability of this Stand called The World?'
'For the Black Sphere to specifically flag this drop separately, on top of Kars being valued at a massive 55 points...'
'... could that mean this Stand is already on his person right now?'
Ayanokoji rapidly ran the analysis in his head.
"They're here." Katsuragi Kohei, on lookout duty, gave the warning in a low voice.
Ayanokoji raised his head at that, and was just about to give some kind of instruction to basically-non-combatant members of the team like Kushida Kikyo and Yotsuya Miko.
Only to find that, while he'd been thinking.
Ichinose Honami had already shoved her Leo Knight Belt — the one she'd bought during the previous exam — into Amikura Mako's hands.
Just as she was about to turn back, Chris spoke up: "Ichinose, take them and retreat first. This isn't really a place where you can play to your strengths anyway. Leave it to me, Ryuuen, and Ayanokoji."
Ichinose's footsteps paused briefly. With her back still to him, she nodded.
After that, under Ichinose's covering fire, Katsuragi Kohei immediately led the rear-support members in a swift retreat away from the area where the Pillar Men were.
Seeing this, Ayanokoji shelved whatever it was he'd been about to say.
Sure, he still didn't know precisely how potent the Pillar Men's Modes were.
But if the enemy actually got their hands on regular people who didn't have Combat Suit protection... even with Chris's 'Crazy Diamond' backing them up, that would absolutely be a problem.
Leaving the battlefield to the elites now — few but refined — was actually the most perfect formation.
His gaze swept across the people who'd stayed behind:
Chris, Kouenji Rokusuke, Ryuuen Kakeru, Sakayanagi Arisu, and an Amanatsu Kazuha whose face was practically glowing with excitement.
A couple of them looked like they were just there to make up the numbers, but with heavy firepower and the Y-GUN in play, slotting them into a support role shouldn't pose much of an issue.
Ayanokoji thought this through, then turned his head to look forward.
At the far end of the dim passageway.
Three towering, ancient-Greek-statue-perfect men strode out of the shadows nearly shoulder to shoulder.
Looking at the paltry six people still standing in front of them — practically posed and waiting for them in formation.
Esidisi grinned wide:
"Realized resistance is futile, so you stayed behind specifically to bring up the rear?"
"What a truly touching, noble sacrificial spirit!"
Wamuu, meanwhile, fixed his gaze on the faintly golden-glowing combat blade in Kouenji's hand and gave a small snort:
"Hmph. A Ripple Warrior."
"So you are the ones who slew Santana."
Ryuuen Kakeru cocked an eyebrow and sneered:
"What's with this guy? Don't tell me he wants some kind of one-on-one knight's duel with us?"
Before Chris or Ayanokoji could pick up the thread.
Kars had already raised one hand to stroke his chin, and spoke in a low, ruminating voice:
"Don't misunderstand, humans."
"This is no duel. Rather, it is our way — as gods — of bestowing... a commendation upon you humans for the progress you have made over these few thousand years."
"Hmm... though I do not, of course, believe that any of this was truly accomplished through your own abilities."
Ryuuen Kakeru curled his lip.
Surprisingly, this didn't actually piss him off.
After all, what Kars said was unpleasant — but it also happened to be the truth.
Getting angry over a plain truth would just make him look like he was embarrassed-mad.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, on the other hand, couldn't be bothered with the chatter. He simply stepped forward.
The Parasyte on his right arm instantly transformed into bone blades:
"Save the talk."
"I'll go first, then — which of you... has the guts to fight me?"
Faced with the provocation, Esidisi — the most short-tempered of the bunch — beat Wamuu to the punch and lunged forward:
"Insolent brat!"
"I am Esidisi of the Flame — possessor of the Mode that manipulates blood at five hundred degrees of extreme heat!"
"Allow me to use my boiling blood to burn you — together with that pathetic Ripple of yours — to ashes!"
With that, his fingernails snapped open.
Thin, thread-like blood vessels shot out from his fingertips like venomous snakes erupting from their dens, blanketing the air as they lunged to strangle Ayanokoji!
Faced with this attack.
Ayanokoji merely swung the Parasyte blade with the same expressionless face he'd worn when facing Stroheim earlier.
"Slash-slash-slash——!"
Blade-light wove through the air.
The encroaching boiling blood vessels were severed in their entirety before they could even get close!.
The scalding blood spilled across the floor, corroding the tiles with a hissing sizzle.
Seeing that Esidisi's blood, when it landed on the Parasyte, hadn't drawn so much as a reaction.
Wamuu couldn't help but arch a brow:
"A truly flawless breathing rhythm... you, Ripple Warrior — you have earned the right to do battle with I, Wamuu."
He turned his head to look at his sour-faced comrade. "Esidisi, stand down. If you do not take this seriously, facing him... I fear you will truly die!"
Esidisi, written off so thoroughly by his comrade, was suddenly intensely displeased.
"Hmph! Shut up, Wamuu!"
"This brat is finally letting me stretch my muscles a little..."
He turned a cruel grin on Ayanokoji: "Don't die on me too quickly, Ripple Warrior! This grand old man hasn't had his fill of fun yet!"
With that, Esidisi's muscles bulged violently, and countless tiny blood vessels burst out from every part of his body, piercing through his skin!
A portion of them, like high-pressure water cannons, spewed hot blood at Ayanokoji.
While another portion, hugging the shadowy corners, sneakily extended toward Ayanokoji's legs.
Faced with this full-spectrum coverage.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, rather than retreating, advanced.
He took the Stroheim disc he'd procured from Ryuuen Kakeru earlier and stabbed it backhand straight into his own chest!
"BOOM!"
Ayanokoji's already far-from-weak Ripple instantly intensified several times over!.
Golden life energy wrapped him from head to toe.
Facing the oncoming five-hundred-degree hot blood.
Ayanokoji simply let it splash across his body.
After being weakened by the outer layer of Ripple, by the time the blood penetrated through his outer garment, its temperature had already dropped dramatically.
By the time it landed on his Black Sphere Combat Suit, it was utterly incapable of inflicting any substantive burn damage.
"This... how is this possible?!"
Esidisi went pale with shock.
Meanwhile, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had already swung the Parasyte tentacle once more.
This time, with the Ripple intensity doubled over, the Parasyte's swing came faster, more vicious, more powerful than before!.
"Squelch!"
In the blink of an eye!.
Every single one of Esidisi's extended blood vessels, together with his hands, were sliced clean through!.
Just as the Parasyte was about to complete the decapitation.
"Divine Sandstorm!"
Wamuu finally couldn't hold back any longer and made his move!.
"Stay your hand, Ripple Warrior. His time to fall has not yet come."
But Sakayanagi Arisu and Amanatsu Kazuha, who'd been hanging back observing the situation the whole time, were hardly about to let Wamuu butt in unopposed.
The two of them raised their Y-GUNs almost simultaneously.
"Zzzt——!"
Two triangular laser cords shot out, aimed respectively at Wamuu and the still-unmoved Kars!.
At this moment, Kars.
Was looking down, reaching into his bosom to pull out a golden disc that had inexplicably appeared on his person the moment he had awoken — seemingly entirely oblivious to the danger descending upon him.
Now, Wamuu was facing a difficult choice.
Either blow away the incoming laser cord to save himself, or give up on saving the about-to-be-decapitated Esidisi.
Quite obviously.
The loyal-and-righteous Wamuu chose the latter.
Unfortunately, out of respect for a powerful warrior, his Divine Sandstorm was not aimed directly at Ayanokoji himself, but purely directed at the Parasyte tentacle slashing toward Esidisi.
And this, conveniently enough, fell right into the eyes of the lying-in-wait Kouenji Rokusuke.
"Heh-heh... openings on every side, my dear Monster-Boy!"
Kouenji Rokusuke channeled the Ripple onto his Black Sphere combat blade, and extended the blade's edge outright!.
At the very moment Esidisi was about to get his head blown off, and the laser cords were about to bind both Kars and Wamuu!.
"Click."
Kars pressed that disc into his own head.
"Let me see exactly what kind of surprise you have to bring me!"
"The World!"
Along with the chanted invocation.
A towering, all-golden Stand materialized behind Kars.
"Hum——!"
Everything around them — the color drained away, becoming a deathly still grayish-white.
Time — stopped flowing.
Dancing dust froze in midair. Kouenji's descending blade halted one inch from Esidisi's forehead. The light of the laser cords resembled frozen icicles...
In this absolutely still world.
It seemed only Kars could move freely.
"Hahahaha! Truly extraordinary! Truly magnificent!"
Kars laughed without restraint:
"Whatever the reason for your descending upon me, I accept you, The World!"
Still laughing wildly, Kars calmly severed the Y-GUN laser cords about to strike him and Wamuu.
At the same time, with a thought.
The World instantly flashed over to Esidisi's side and dragged him out of the danger zone.
Having done all this, Kars elegantly strolled back to his original position.
"Time, resumes flowing."
"Whoosh——!"
Color came rushing back in.
Chris, who had been silently spectating with cold eyes the whole time, was counting the seconds in his head.
'Seven seconds.'
'The moment Kars gets The World, his starting Time Stop is already stronger than Dio's baseline.'
'But the reason Dio managed to develop it up to nine seconds was because of his innate obsession with evil — plus later absorbing Joseph Joestar's blood.'
'Wonder how many seconds Kars, purely as a Pillar Man, can develop The World up to.'
Chris rubbed his chin.
'For the sake of visual entertainment, action shows always seem to be stingy with how long they grant Time Stop.'
In terms of pure practical utility, it really wasn't a patch on his own Time-Stop Watch.
As his thoughts drifted.
Discovering that their attacks had somehow whiffed entirely, Kouenji, Sakayanagi, and the rest were all struck speechless.
And Wamuu — though he too didn't understand why the laser cord had suddenly vanished, nor how Esidisi had teleported sideways across the floor.
But for him, a warrior pure and simple, there were more important things to attend to right now.
He looked at Esidisi gravely and rebuked him sternly:
"As a warrior of the Race of Darkness, to be cornered to such an extent by mere humans — you have utterly disgraced us all!"
"Next, I take the field. Young one!"
Wamuu turned his stare onto Ayanokoji, his fighting spirit surging: "I am Wamuu of the Wind! I shall surely reclaim Esidisi's honor — prepare yourself for battle!"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, however, paid his declaration no mind.
He rapidly communicated with the Parasyte in his head to confirm:
'Zero — the laser cord being cut, and Esidisi's position shifting — did they both happen at exactly the same moment?'
'That's right. In my perception, there was no time difference.' The Parasyte replied.
Kouenji Rokusuke knit his brows tight, fixing his gaze on the faintly visible golden phantom behind Kars:
"Is this the work of Kars's Stand?"
Amanatsu Kazuha's expression was grim:
"In a single instant... I caught no trace of any movement trajectory at all. Is it just that he's that fast?"
Chris cut in at just the right moment:
"Even I didn't catch his movements just now. So we can rule out 'just plain fast.'"
Sakayanagi Arisu blurted out at those words:
"When you've eliminated all the impossible... whatever remains, however absurd, must be the truth."
"He just now... stopped time?!"
Ryuuen Kakeru clicked his tongue:
"Damn... an ability that nasty — no wonder his score is 25 points higher than his two buddies!"
"But going by how he's acting, the Time Stop duration probably isn't long. Otherwise he wouldn't have stopped at just a rescue!"
Hearing this line of reasoning, Kars looked startled, then clapped his hands in admiration:
"Oh? You actually figured out the ability of 'The World' after only one viewing."
"Clever humans... but that, too, is all you are."
He turned to look at the still-posing Wamuu and Esidisi, and said coldly:
"Wamuu. Esidisi. The time for you two to be playing your 'knight games' has passed."
"This is a life-or-death moment — all of you, together! Kill them!"
Upon hearing their leader's command, though both Wamuu and Esidisi felt unwilling at heart, in the end they both gritted their teeth and nodded.
While they had been talking.
Over on Chris's side, the tactical deployment was already complete.
"Move!"
At his single command.
Sakayanagi Arisu and Amanatsu Kazuha once again raised their Y-GUNs, performing cross-locked fire.
At the exact moment the laser cords shot out, Ayanokoji once more swung the Parasyte bone blade, and Kouenji extended his Black Sphere combat blade.
But this time, their attack target was no longer Esidisi — they all concentrated entirely on the Time-Stop-wielding Kars!.
And Chris and Ryuuen Kakeru flashed forward.
Completely ignoring Wamuu's gales and the swept-up scorching toxic blood, they tanked the damage head-on and sprinted directly in front of Kars, swinging their blades in a furious chop!.
At that critical hairsbreadth moment, Kars activated his ability once more.
"The World!"
Time, once again, sank into deathly stillness.
Kars, unhurried, first severed the laser cords flying at himself, then with a slight twist of his body dodged the Black Sphere combat blade sweeping in from Kouenji.
Finally, he came to a stop before Chris and Ryuuen Kakeru.
"What a swarm of insects, so very eager to throw their lives away."
Kars sneered coldly as he sliced at the two of their necks.
"Clang!"
The image of heads-separated-from-bodies that he'd been anticipating never appeared.
Kars's arm-blade slashed against Chris's [Demon Possession] — and somehow not only failed to leave even a white scratch, but the recoil actually left his own bone-blade numb!.
Refusing to believe it, he reached out again, trying to deploy his devouring-fusion ability.
Only to discover that whether it was Chris's armor or Ryuuen Kakeru's skin, both were entirely resistant to his cellular invasion!.
"You — because you're wearing that bizarre layer of armor — I can at least understand..."
Kars looked at Ryuuen Kakeru in stunned disbelief. "But this guy — what the hell is going on with him?!"
Realizing he couldn't crack their defense.
Kars immediately summoned The World and unleashed a 'Muda' combo-beatdown directly at Ryuuen Kakeru!.
He himself personally targeted Chris, frantically swinging his bone blades, hunting for cracks in the armor.
Soon enough, the seven-second Time Stop ended.
"Bang! Bang!"
At the instant time resumed flowing.
The group only saw Chris and Ryuuen Kakeru sent flying backward almost simultaneously!.
Among them, Ryuuen Kakeru's body was even shooting sparks, with bits of twisted metal fragments falling off.
Kars came to a sudden realization:
"So you've been modified into a mechanical lifeform... what marvelous technology."
"But this is the end of the line for you."
Before Kars could press his advantage and pursue.
Ayanokoji had already appeared at his flank.
As a top-tier tactical mastermind, Ayanokoji was certain — Kars's Stand ability absolutely had a cooldown; consecutive activations were impossible!.
"Die."
The bone blade, wreathed in golden Ripple, stabbed viciously toward Kars's eye!.
Meanwhile, Chris — still soaring backward through the air.
Felt the [Demon Possession] on his body transmit a furious will of 'I refuse to take this, I'm going to evolve and kill the bastard' from being passively battered.
Chris couldn't help but get a bit of a headache.
What could he do? Sure, Kars had acquired [The World].
But with his basic attacks, even adding in The World's combo barrage, breaking through Chris's Heart of Steel-empowered Combat Suit — comparable to Dragon-Form Tatsumi's Demon Possession — was pretty unlikely.
The only reason he'd been sent flying at all was because he'd deliberately suppressed [Demon Possession] and intentionally thrown the fight.
After all, a new boss's grand debut — you've gotta give the guy some face, right?
If he just stood there motionless and got the guy vibrated to death, how was the show supposed to go on from here?
That said, acting was one thing.
Before hitting the ground.
Chris still went ahead and summoned Crazy Diamond.
A towering Stand patterned in pink and blue materialized from thin air.
"DORA!!!"
Its hands flashed onto Chris himself, and onto Ryuuen Kakeru, who was about to hit the ground not far away.
The light of a miracle flashed.
Not only the wounds on Chris's Demon Possession, but also the damaged mechanical parts on Ryuuen Kakeru, in the instant they landed — were restored to their original state as though time had been rewound!.
"Thud!"
A completely unscathed Ryuuen Kakeru landed steadily on his feet.
He froze for a moment.
Then immediately broke into wild laughter:
"Hahahahaha!"
"You've got Time Stop — so what?"
"This man right here's got infinite regeneration now!"
Ryuuen Kakeru violently flung both arms wide, and every missile bay and laser launcher concealed within his body let loose every round at once.
"Come on, monster! Let's see... today, just who's going to outlast who?!"
——End of Chapter——
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