On a deathly silent land, the ash on the ground suddenly gathered and adhered, then layers of flesh buds grew, continuously twisting and finally forming a human shape… Kira Yoshikage thus climbed up from the ground, his body intact, even his mutated limbs were undamaged.
Twisting his wrist, feeling the surging energy still within his body, Kira Yoshikage curled his lip in disdain.
His current regeneration ability was probably stronger than Kars; a mere nuclear bomb couldn't kill him, at most it could temporarily blast him into ash, but then the immense energy gathered by the deflagration would become useful.
That energy would reorganize him bit by bit, allowing him to fully recover; he wouldn't die until the energy was exhausted, unless he didn't want to recover or it was a mechanism kill.
"Hmph, you do have some skill. Just wait, in a couple of days I'll wipe you out. No, wait, maybe I don't need to go. That thing your plane took away just now, it should be it, right?"
Kira Yoshikage muttered to himself. He recalled that the first time he was hit by a nuclear bomb, he wasn't directly blasted into ash, only his body was extensively charred. At that time, he saw a plane carrying away a large chunk of flesh.
According to his memory, that was probably the infamous B.I.G. That thing would give the Americans a run for their money; it was probably originally placed there by Diavolo to ambush him, but it didn't turn out as expected.
The Americans didn't play fair, directly bombing the entire Rome.
Didn't they fear international opinion? Bombing and completely destroying a nation's capital, could the Americans bear such a huge accusation?
But feeling the scorching air around him, the almost nonexistent oxygen, and the powerful radiation, Kira Yoshikage knew it was all real.
He continued walking on the already crystallized ground. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to his prey, and the arrival of the nuclear bomb wasn't without its benefits; he conveniently dealt with Rolling Stone.
Rolling Stone was a Stand with a physical body, now completely destroyed by the nuclear bomb. He was lucky… right?
Moreover, it was almost like a sixth sense, he could feel that his prey, Diavolo, was nearby, perhaps even within Rome itself, having endured the nuclear blast with him.
But it was probably on the outskirts of the city. He was going to hunt him now, very soon, he would soon truly become Requiem. After that, he would go to America to snatch that arrow from the Americans.
Finally finding the lost arrow, he could complete his initial evolution. By then, he could completely eliminate the main characters, and then take out Kishibe Rohan.
He had also heard the news. He knew that Kishibe Rohan had probably changed, so he wouldn't return rashly. Instead, he would wait until he had fully assimilated the arrow, then crush the opponent with absolute power.
"Hey, insect arrow, are you alright? You weren't annihilated by the nuclear blast, were you!"
Kira Yoshikage shouted, and then heard a vibration. He immediately rushed towards the source of the sound, digging through the crystallized, vitrified ground and unearthing the perfectly intact sacred beetle arrowhead.
"Very good, you've started to acknowledge me, haven't you? Don't worry, I'll have my own Stand very soon, and now I need your help!
Rotate, insect arrow!"
Although he didn't get a response from the will within, Kira Yoshikage smiled more and more broadly. The fact that it could vibrate to alert him meant it had started to acknowledge him.
It seemed he really had a chance to ascend to godhood, but the most important thing now was to find that bastard Diavolo. He wanted to capture him and devour his Stand right now!
Thinking this, Kira Yoshikage placed the arrowhead in his hand, flicked it with his finger, making the arrowhead spin continuously in his palm. Finally, the arrowhead pointed east.
He knew that the insect arrow had a characteristic: it would point to a Stand User… Previously, he was worried about Diavolo's subordinates causing trouble, but now, besides the extremely lucky Diavolo, which other Stand User could there be within Rome?
So the result of the arrowhead's pointing was obvious; there, it must be Diavolo's hiding place!
"East… Hiding in that scorched earth, Diavolo…"
Kira Yoshikage licked his somewhat chapped lips, his eyes burning with a predator's excitement and cold killing intent. He gripped the insect arrow tightly in his hand and began to walk.
He took steps, treading on the still scorching, twisted, glassy ground, making crisp "crunching" sounds. There was no sign of life left here.
In the central area of the nuclear blast, everything had disappeared, leaving only an endless expanse of crystallized ground reflecting the pale sky light.
The further east he walked, some twisted, melted, and then solidified metal skeletons began to appear, along with occasional carbonized human imprints on the ground or walls.
The air was filled with the ozone and burnt smell characteristic of high-dose radiation; deadly rays silently penetrated everything. Normal organisms could not survive here; this place was probably many times worse than the Chernobyl nuclear contamination.
But for Kira Yoshikage, who was in an abnormal state and full of energy, this was merely annoying background noise, not worth mentioning at all.
His regenerative ability was enough to counteract the cellular damage caused by radiation, and his DNA would not be destroyed; even if it was damaged, it could be reorganized with the support of energy.
Every few hundred meters, Kira Yoshikage would use the insect arrow to reconfirm his direction. He was getting closer and closer.
The insect arrow's pointing remained stable, and as he approached, the direction indicated by the arrow shaft stopped changing.
Finally, after passing through an area that might have once been a plaza, now only with a few slanted metal poles, the scene ahead changed slightly.
A relatively sturdy ancient building stood resiliently. Although half of it had collapsed and the outer walls were blackened and peeled by high temperatures, the main structure had not completely shattered. This was a miracle in a nuclear blast of this magnitude.
Diavolo was indeed a man of strong luck; the fortune of the Two-Faced Emperor was truly formidable, but it was still too weak in the face of absolute power.
And the insect arrow pointed directly into the depths of that building. "Found you…"
Kira Yoshikage's face revealed a cruel smile. He subconsciously wanted to straighten his clothes to complete the final battle with a gentleman's demeanor.
But he found himself naked, his clothes long gone. Shaking his head helplessly, he lightened his steps and crept into the shadows of the building like a ghost.
Killer Queen silently emerged beside him, its pink feline pupils gleaming dangerously in the gloom. For him, killing Diavolo would be easy, but keeping him alive and completely subduing him would be difficult.
After all, in a disaster of this magnitude, Diavolo's condition was hard to guarantee. If he accidentally killed him, he would have come for nothing.