"If you're deceived, you'll surely die."
The cohort of examinees stood in silence — some letting out murmurs and cautious hums.
Grrnnk.
The heavy metallic stutter of a gate echoed through the chamber as the exit behind them slammed shut, sealing off the tunnel and preventing any straggler from crossing the threshold.
"These wetland creatures are not to be underestimated. They will use every trick in the book to fool their prey," the well-dressed man announced.
JoJo had already started to tune him out. He'd gotten the point. And to be honest? He'd rather die than let some weird abomination outsmart him — trickery was kind of his thing.
"Don't let him trick you!" a ragged, bloodied man suddenly stumbled out from the far corner of the tunnel gate.
JoJo turned, as did the other examinees. But it was obvious — this guy couldn't be the real examiner. Too many plot holes. Too many complications if he was. It didn't add up.
"The hell are you on about?" JoJo snapped, arms crossed. "You're clearly the fake."
The brown-haired man — the one now claiming he was the real examiner — looked flustered and protested, "You're being deceived! I am the actual examiner! Look—look at this creature!"
He pulled forward the limp body of a hunched, hairy ape-like thing with a disturbingly human face — one that resembled Satotz, the examiner who had led them here.
"This is a man-faced ape! A species native to the Milsy Wetlands!"
JoJo rolled his eyes and waved dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Shut it already. Your voice is like a buzzing fly over a pile of shit — and that's all that's coming out your mouth, mate."
He gestured to the so-called evidence.
"First off, that monkey's alive. So why the hell are you carrying it like it's dead? And if you're injured from this supposed 'fake examiner' over there, how'd you manage to fend off and kill one of its kind? You gonna say there were two of them? That they jumped you?"
JoJo stepped forward, voice gaining energy.
"See, that's where your little tale falls apart. If you were strong enough to kill one, then why does the other one — the one still standing — look untouched? Not a scratch. No bruises. Not even a hair out of place."
He shrugged dramatically.
"And another thing — I highly doubt a licensed Hunter, someone good enough to be an examiner, would get taken out and replaced by a bog-standard wetland gremlin. And just to hammer the final nail into this swampy coffin: if this 'beast' managed to subdue you, why didn't it kill you then and there? No loose ends, right?"
JoJo leaned back with a mocking grin.
"Nah. This swamp of trickery? Such a let down . Tech tech.huh what do i hear oh yes . next you're gonna say "How could you know that? That's impossible—you're just an examinee!" he"
He shrugged animatedly, leaving the ragged man blinking in disbelief.
"What? Huh? How could you know that? That's impossible—you're just an examinee!" the disheveled man finally cried out.
JoJo simply wagged his finger, grinning. "Knew you'd say that."
Just then — shwick — a playing card embedded itself deep into the man's skull. If anyone glanced at Satotz, they'd see that he had blocked two similar cards mid-air, effortlessly caught between his fingers.
"Well spoken," said a voice — smooth, theatrical, dangerous.
"Still, here's further proof for our skeptical friend here," the new voice continued, "as he himself said: only a licensed Hunter can be an examiner. If he couldn't even block those cards while off-guard, then he's no Hunter at all."
The voice belonged to a man with pink hair, white face makeup, and a star and teardrop drawn on his cheeks. He wore a white shirt and pants, with a strange orb-like corset — or at least, that's the best JoJo could describe it.
And he was dangerous.
JoJo, a man who had faced countless trials and adversities, could feel it instinctively — this guy was no ordinary man.
He exuded a presence — pressure, even — not unlike the ancient warriors JoJo had once faced.
"Could he be... a Pillar Man?" JoJo muttered under his breath.
"No... No way. We're in sunlight. He'd have turned to stone. Only Kars transcended that… yeah, not possible."
Still... the unease lingered.