Diavolo breathed slightly, his voice hoarse and deep, saying, "If I don't kill Johnson Joffrey, I will absolutely never achieve eternal peace..."
This is my intuition; my battle consciousness tells me.
He has become stronger... Johnson Joffrey.
Diavolo walked from the ruins, looking at Joffrey with a crazed expression, and said,
"That's right, today is the last day my name is Diavolo! After I kill you, I will be a new person!" Diavolo couldn't help but get a little excited, the blood that had been quiet in his heart for a long time began to boil.
"Diavolo, today I will definitely kill you!" Johnson Joffrey said bluntly.
"Johnson Joffrey!" Diavolo gave a hollow laugh, his face somewhat distorted, "My King Crimson's ability is invincible, did I hear correctly?"
—"Do you want to duel me alone?"
"Are you insane?!!!" Diavolo suddenly roared, his expression frantic, "I have the ability to manipulate time and change the future, and you think you can do it?! Where does your confidence come from?!"
Johnson Joffrey was not as frantic as he was, but calmly said, "Because fate will definitely make you die."
Hearing this, Diavolo paused, then burst into uncontrollable laughter: "What the hell do you know about fate?!"
"Fate is on my side! I will definitely gain eternal life! This is God's guidance!"
Johnson Joffrey frowned slightly, wondering what was wrong with Diavolo. Ever since he saw him, he had been extremely happy, constantly talking about eternal life. Where did he hear about eternal life?
Eh?! Wait!
Could it be that Diavolo read my notes? I didn't write about Diavolo's ultimate fate in my notes; instead, I jokingly wrote that Diavolo would gain eternal life, as a tease and a meme, right?
Forget it! Johnson thought. No matter what, today I must kill Diavolo, because this bastard has completely disrupted my goal of a peaceful life, destroyed the arrow I painstakingly tried to get, and killed my comrades... Any one of these reasons is enough for him to die ten thousand times. Even if I die here today, I will kill Diavolo.
Diavolo emerged from the ruins, sustaining only minor injuries, as he had been inside the now-destroyed lighthouse. He walked onto the beach.
Johnson Joffrey watched him expressionlessly.
Diavolo stood on the beach, aligned with Johnson Joffrey. The waves crashed, and the calm sea rippled slightly, with a clear horizon dividing the endless ocean and sky.
Polnareff maneuvered his wheelchair slightly to the side.
Diavolo roughly measured the distance: ten meters.
King Crimson's range was only two meters, just like Johnson Joffrey's Reversed Hierophant, but my ability to see the future is far more than that.
Diavolo looked at Johnson Joffrey, carefully considering how to deal with him. Rashly entering Reversed Hierophant's range was absolutely not an option, nor was it in his nature. However, Reversed Hierophant's speed was too fast; he would only be able to get behind him and kill him after deleting the end of time, but from that previous segment, Johnson Joffrey's speed was too great. Even if he got behind him, he might be counter-killed.
He had to shake Johnson Joffrey's willpower.
The vast blue sea resembled an endless plain, tempting one to step into it. The world seemed to begin to change, the air grew thick, and the place where the sea and sky met began to blur. The only thing that could be felt was—
There was a wind on the beach, a gentle sea breeze that was unusually mild, completely unlike the wind that should be present during a decisive battle.
The sun began to set from its highest point.
"You should know that my ability isn't just about leaping through time..." Diavolo intended to put some psychological pressure on Johnson before the fight, but Johnson interrupted him. "I know," he said expressionlessly, "Epitaph, right? It can see ten seconds into the future."
Diavolo's pupils widened slightly. How did he know?!
"Hmph, let's see now, let's see the certainty of your death!" Johnson Joffrey, on the contrary, smiled.
"You bastard..." Diavolo looked at him in disbelief, a flicker of anger in his heart.
I need to calm down. With Epitaph, there's no way I can lose to him... [Epitaph]
Diavolo gently closed his eyes, mentally reciting his ability. When he opened them again, his crimson hair was blown by the sea breeze—
[I sneak attack from behind. Johnson Joffrey's reaction time is superior to mine, and then, halfway through my punch...]
[I'm not moving?!]
Diavolo's eyes widened as he saw this future. To call it a future wasn't entirely accurate—
Because once it is seen, the future becomes merely a possibility.
Just like Schrödinger's Cat, you can see it as either dead or alive, but it won't truly happen until you open the box.
Is this Johnson Joffrey's ability? Why did I stop moving? I don't know the reason, but Johnson Joffrey must have awakened other abilities. From the intel Bucciarati previously gave him, he seems to control the transformation and connection of energy.
He's gotten stronger. I don't know why, but he didn't have that kind of control over the speed and power of bullets before... And how did he know about Epitaph's ability?!
Did he really read Heaven's Whisper? If he read Heaven's Whisper, he must know that I am destined to achieve eternal life, so why did he so earnestly respond that I would die?
Ultimately, whose vision—mine or his—is the true destiny?
If that's the case...
"Diavolo!" Johnson Joffrey suddenly yelled, interrupting his thoughts. "Why aren't you acting yet? Hurry and use Epitaph to see the future, then use King Crimson to erase time and get behind me to kill me!"
"Of course, that's impossible, because I'll blow your head off during your time erasure process."
"...Uh." Diavolo's eyes widened, and he roared in a low, hoarse voice, "What dream are you having?! You brat! I'll kill you in the next second!"
"Is that so?" Johnson Joffrey said calmly, then began walking towards Diavolo.
"Uh..." Diavolo took a deep breath, watching Johnson Joffrey approach him, cold sweat trickling down his temples.
If I get behind him to ambush him, he'll discover the time erasure and counterattack... These two things happen simultaneously. I must be faster than him, but from what I saw in Epitaph's future, he doesn't even need to turn around to stop my attack... Is this the ability of Reversed Hierophant?