Chapter 15: The Enemies Lurking on the Plane
Under the monetary offensive of the SPW Foundation, the private jet carrying Shirou Emiya and the others quickly completed all takeoff preparations. As the "old and young" duo—who had successfully blended into the craft—snickered at their perceived success, the plane soared into the sky, reaching an altitude of 10,000 meters.
This was exactly why Shirou had initially suggested a private jet to Joseph. Because private jets are much lighter than commercial airliners and carry far fewer passengers, their cruising altitude is typically much higher than that of heavy commercial planes. This allowed Shirou and the group to travel without worrying about "traffic jams" or overlapping flight paths, reaching Egypt with maximum speed.
However, there was a trade-off.
Once an enemy successfully infiltrated this private jet, Shirou and the others would find it nearly impossible to replicate those cinematic tropes where a passing plane offers rescue or a chance to jump mid-air. They were, in a very literal sense, imprisoned 10,000 meters above the earth. It was a matter of "give and take."
Unaware that the enemy had already slipped aboard, Shirou and the group felt only a sense of comfortable tranquility as the jet leveled out at high altitude. They believed that by the time they reached Egypt, they would be fully rested and in peak condition.
Armed with the UV light devices provided by the SPW Foundation—technology originally improved by Speedwagon that had shone brilliantly during the battle against Kars—they planned to follow the coordinates from [Hermit Purple] and give DIO a complimentary "sunbath."
Listen.
As they rested with their eyes closed, harboring these pleasant fantasies, they felt as if they were back in nature, enveloped by the clear, rhythmic dripping of water and the buzzing of passing insects... wait a minute?!
Water? Insects?
It wasn't just Shirou. Jotaro Kujo and the others noticed the anomaly at the same time.
The "Stardust Crusaders" of Part 3 were all terrifyingly strong. Aside from Polnareff, who hadn't joined yet and was prone to falling for traps, the group around Shirou was formidable: Jotaro was brilliant and calm, Joseph was clever and crafty, and Avdol was intelligent and cautious.
The moment they heard those sounds, a single question flashed through their minds simultaneously: How could the sound of flowing water and the specific buzzing of insect wings exist at 10,000 meters in the air?
Because of this doubt, and because Shirou had warned them that they might be attacked by DIO's Stand users along the way, Jotaro and the others didn't even wait for a signal. They lunged from their seats just as emerald splashes of light and a chain-like insect proboscis whistled past the spots where their heads had been moments before!
"Watch out! That's an enemy Stand... well, it seems you don't need my reminder. But Mr. Joestar..."
Everything happened too fast. From hearing the sudden noise to the group's evasion and the enemy's attack, the entire sequence took only a few seconds. By the time Shirou spoke, Jotaro and the rest had already summoned their Stands.
Shirou shifted his focus, asking: "Are you sure there's no problem with the pilots the SPW Foundation provided?"
"...I believe in the SPW Foundation," Joseph replied firmly after a brief silence. He trusted the Foundation, or more accurately, he trusted Speedwagon and the legacy he left behind.
"I see. Then this is the worst-case scenario," Shirou said, no longer pressing the point.
He looked grimly at a stag beetle Stand. After retracting its chain-like proboscis, the creature buzzed nonchalantly in front of them, seemingly unafraid of a counterattack.
"The pilot of this plane has likely been controlled by the enemy," Shirou noted. "That means the enemy has not only surrounded us but has also taken a hostage in the cockpit."
As Shirou finished speaking, the first reaction didn't come from Jotaro's group, but from the Stand itself.
Realizing that its slow, taunting flight hadn't lured them into a reckless charge, the stag beetle Stand stopped pretending and began to speak with a human voice: "Kekeke! What a sharp brat you are.
To guess so quickly that the pilot is under our control. But how did you figure out that you're 'surrounded' and that you shouldn't just rush into the cockpit to save the hostage? I shouldn't have exposed that yet, right?"
Seeing that the bait-and-switch tactic had failed, the beetle Stand stopped playing weak. Its tone remained arrogant and loathsome, as if it didn't view Shirou's group as a threat at all. It openly admitted to all of Shirou's deductions.
"But brat, you missed one thing!
I am the Stand user of the Tower Tarot card, symbolizing destruction, disaster, and the end of a journey—the Great [Tower of Gray]!
Setting a trap was only because waiting for the plane to take off was too boring, so I thought I'd play around with you. It wasn't because..."
Before the sentence could even end, its A-rank speed exploded. The beetle Stand, which had been drifting slowly, didn't just vanish from their sight—it flickered behind them.
With its disgusting, needle-sharp proboscis, it lunged toward the back of their heads with lightning speed!
"...It wasn't because I couldn't win without you stepping into the trap!!"