[King Crimson! Time Erase!]
The world began to decompose before his eyes, and Diavolo gained a hyper-dimensional perspective. For him, the people and objects before him became like scrolls.
"Die, Polnareff! You are within my range!"
But to his surprise, Polnareff suddenly threw the arrow directly into the sea—
Watching the arrow fall, Diavolo had no choice but to retract his attacking hand and commanded King Crimson to immediately jump to the metal railing, extending its hand to catch the falling arrow.
During King Crimson's Time Erase, the original objects could still move along their original trajectories, but Diavolo could rewrite objects without changing their original trajectories.
It was like watching an anime; he could see individual frames and change himself, who was also within those frames.
This was King Crimson's ability, his Stand, a Stand with a red and white pattern, a small face on its forehead, revealing a ferocious expression—
It stretched out its hand to catch the arrow that was about to fall—
"King Crimson! Now, let time flow!" he shouted.
The world reassembled. Polnareff, who was in mid-air, found himself still alive. At the same time, King Crimson had already reached the railing, grabbing it and extending its hand—
The arrow was about to fall into its hand.
At the same time, Diavolo habitually activated his other ability—
[Epitaph!]
He could see more than ten seconds into the future. This was his greatest hidden ability. With the augmentation of Epitaph, almost no one could kill him!
His bright pink long hair immediately scattered as Diavolo's eyes widened, looking at the situation more than a second into the future—
[Johnson Joffrey activated his ability the moment he caught the arrow. That golden and red intertwined Stand suddenly appeared behind its user, punching into his chest and pulling out a thread?!]
A thread?!
If he was caught by that guy's thread, he would be dead!
Diavolo subconsciously looked at Johnson Joffrey. His Stand, Reversed Hierophant, was already charging at him at an extremely fast speed. Only King Crimson could block it—
But... the arrow!!
Damn it! This bastard! Am I going to die here?!
I can only give up on the arrow—
"King Crimson! Time, leap!"
Diavolo once again used King Crimson's Time Erase, watching helplessly as the arrow slowly fell.
"Damn it, I must kill Johnson Joffrey first." He reluctantly gave up on the arrow, then circled behind Johnson Joffrey.
"Kill this kid first, no matter who he is! Prophecy dictates that I will achieve eternal life, and the arrow will eventually fall into my hands." He carefully observed Johnson, finding nothing on him that would allow him to test the time leap.
After confirming this, his Stand, King Crimson, reappeared behind him.
"Time, flow again!"
Reversed Hierophant's punch hit nothing.
"He actually gave up the arrow and disappeared... Hmm... Uh..." Johnson Joffrey's words abruptly stopped mid-sentence.
"Die, Johnson Joffrey!"
A sharp pain shot through his abdomen. Diavolo's King Crimson stood behind him, its white and red intertwined fist completely piercing through his abdomen.
"I don't care who you are, or what your purpose is—"
"None of that matters anymore. I sense a crisis from you; I must kill you first!"
Diavolo said calmly, then his gaze fell upon the arrow. The arrow, unstoppable, plummeted down below the lighthouse.
"Damn it!" Diavolo shouted, then pulled out his fist and quickly rushed towards the railing.
"Clang, clang—"
He ran too fast and hit the railing, making a clanging sound. He looked down at the sea below.
The arrow was completely submerged in the deep blue sea. The merciless ocean swallowed everything. The surface of the sea reflected the sky's azure, but the deeper one went, the darker and more terrifying the blue became, making one feel the cruel engulfment.
"Damn it!" Diavolo slammed his fist on the railing.
"Thud—"
The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground came from behind him. Johnson Joffrey had fallen to the ground.
King Crimson's right hand dripped with blood; it was Johnson Joffrey's blood.
"This brat..." Diavolo turned to look at Johnson Joffrey, who was sprawled on the ground. "He almost killed me, Diavolo."
"But it doesn't matter, fate is still on my side."
Polnareff's Silver Chariot could no longer hold on and fell from the air.
Diavolo glanced at Polnareff with disdain, then turned his head to look at Johnson Joffrey's corpse.
Ever since Johnson Joffrey, this teenage boy, appeared, he had been unlucky. He had never underestimated Johnson Joffrey from the start; there was something not to be underestimated about this kid. His easy death made him feel a little panicked.
"This is too simple." Diavolo looked at Johnson Joffrey with a suspicious gaze, then extended his hand, leaving a small gap between his index finger and thumb, measuring the distance.
"Two meters. This guy's range is only two meters. He's a close-range power type, and his speed is superior to my King Crimson."
He activated his Epitaph and saw the next dozen seconds. In those dozen seconds, Johnson Joffrey's corpse remained still.
He timed his walk towards Johnson Joffrey, not wanting a repeat of what happened with Illuso.
"You Assassination Team bastards are as hard to kill as earthworms!"
"Silver Chariot!"
Polnareff's Silver Chariot shot out instantly, leaving a brilliant silver streak and kicking up a circle of dust.
Diavolo was too focused on Johnson Joffrey's corpse and didn't notice the Silver Chariot.
"Rip—"
Diavolo barely dodged, leaping to the side, but his remaining right arm made a tearing sound as blood gushed out.
"I see, Polnareff, your fighting strength doesn't seem to have diminished…"
He lowered his head, watching the gushing blood flow from his right forearm.
"I have destroyed the very thing you dreamt of day and night," Diavolo said expressionlessly. "What are you still holding on to?"
"How many times do I have to tell you guys…?"
"Fate is on my side! I, Diavolo, am the Emperor!!"