"No way!"
Josuke rejected the plan without a moment's hesitation.
"That would leave you in danger, Big Sis! You can't use King Crimson right now—I can't just let you face them alone!"
"Staying here won't help either. Go, Josuke. The sooner you get back, the safer I'll be."
Mana had already worked out how to deal with the two of them. But she still wanted Josuke to go ahead and back up Jotaro. There was another reason, too: she'd rather not let anyone from this world see her use her abilities.
This body belonged to Inori. Once the battle was over, Inori would take back the reins. Using that weapon recklessly might raise suspicions and make her unhappy.
—Mana loved Inori. She didn't want to do anything that would upset her.
"Absolutely not!"
Josuke wasn't easily swayed. He thumped his chest and spoke with iron certainty.
"I promised Mr. Jotaro I'd protect you! If I bail now, I'd be the kind of man who talks big but can't follow through!"
—Ugh, so stubborn. He was genuinely cool when he was shielding Little Inori earlier, but how could he be this short-sighted? If it were Jotaro or Rohan here instead, neither would waste time arguing—they'd already be moving. That was the only way to improve everyone's odds of survival.
"Their Stand's target is me."
"There are no other options left. Go, Josuke."
"...But—but!"
Josuke didn't want to abandon a single ally. But Mana was right—there was no other path to victory. He knew that staying here was just waiting to die.
—Damn it! Why am I so weak?!
Josuke squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. He looked again at the gentle, kind-eyed girl in front of him. Even now, in this moment, she was thinking of him. It felt rude to say it out loud, but if he were looking for a partner someday, he'd want someone exactly like her—steady yet tender, tender yet rational.
And that only deepened his self-loathing. He couldn't beat the enemy. All he could do was let her risk her life buying time.
"It means a lot that you feel this way, Josuke-kun."
"But you really need to go now. Not for me—for the bigger picture." Mana pressed one hand to her chest and smiled with quiet resolve. "I'll wait for you to come back. Don't worry."
—I've said everything I can say, so please just leave already! How am I supposed to deal with these two if you won't go?!
"...Big Sis, five minutes—no, three minutes. I'll be back for you, I swear!"
The ramming outside was growing louder, every impact like a death warrant hanging over their heads. Under crushing pressure, Josuke made his choice.
"Hide, Big Sis. Let me give you one more layer of insurance!"
"DORARARARARARA!"
Crazy Diamond unleashed another volley of punches—this time not at the ground, but at the small sedan Kira had left in the garage. A cascade of fist-shadows reduced the car to scrap metal, then reassembled the wreckage into a steel barrier that fused seamlessly with the stone wall.
"I'll bring Mr. Jotaro back to save you. I promise! I promise!"
"Mm. I'll be waiting, Josuke-kun."
Mana tilted her head and smiled softly.
...Josuke's heart was being torn apart. But all he could do now was move, and move fast. Not a single second to waste.
The boy scaled the window with nimble ease, dismantled the barrier blocking it, and vaulted out. The window faced the back side of the building, so the two Stand users hadn't noticed yet. Once he was through, Josuke quickly restored the barrier behind him.
...
...
"Ha ha! That Josuke kid actually ditched the girl and ran!"
The dwarf-like man caught a glimpse of a shadow darting past and disappearing into Kira's house. The snakes were locked onto Inori, so they wouldn't react to him. The little lady trapped in the garage, on the other hand, was a sitting duck.
I Am a Rock—the woman's Stand—locked onto a target through physical contact. Within a certain range, it could manipulate objects to fly toward the target. Speed was entirely up to the user. Even if the objects were destroyed, the fragments would still force themselves toward the target. The same went for liquids.
This ability feared no Stand with raw destructive power. Josuke's restoration ability, however, happened to work as a decent stalling tactic—which was the only reason he and Inori had made it this far.
But I Am a Rock's range was limited, so both the woman and the dwarf-like man had followed them into the yard.
"Damo seems to be inside?" the woman said, halting her barrage of snakes and debris.
"Ha ha, that kid's probably dead already."
"Damo's not the kind of man who goes easy on people!"
The dwarf-like man spoke as if he knew his colleague well. Imagining Damo's past interrogation sessions made him snicker. He squeezed the chess piece in his hand, a growing satisfaction blooming in his chest. So much for an invincible time-based Stand. In the end, you're kneeling before me just the same.
"Hey! Woman!"
He shouted excitedly.
"You're all alone now! This level of defense won't keep us out. Heh heh, I'll be coming in for you soon—you'd better brace yourself!"
No response.
"Ha ha, are you too scared to even speak? Relax, I won't make things hard for you—you're not a Stand user anymore, after all. But I'm going to kill your friends one by one right in front of you. That's how I'll create your 'guilt'—and steal even more of your memories! Ahaha!"
Ordinarily, California King Bed made the victim lose whatever they thought of. If he truly killed her companions before her eyes, she'd naturally think of those people and lose every memory tied to them—including any memory of this battle. All he had to do was keep Inori under his thumb, slowly tormenting her, and her memories would dwindle piece by piece until she became a loyal servant who remembered nothing but her "master."
He licked his lips in anticipation. Just imagining it filled him with unspeakable satisfaction.
Josuke's stone-and-steel gate was formidable, certainly. But before the two of them could even devise a way inside, an unexpected development arrived right on schedule.
Blinding white light erupted from the garage's cracks and windows. A deafening roar followed, and the small building collapsed in on itself, dissolving into rubble amid a cloud of thick, acrid dust. Only the barrier Josuke had built remained standing, stubborn and defiant amid the wreckage.
"Wh-what just happened?! What did she do?!"
The sudden collapse caught them completely off guard. Wasn't her Stand gone? Then what—what was this?
They scrambled toward the ruins, the woman parting the snakes to clear a path, desperate to see what had happened.
But as they pushed through the billowing dust, they saw something floating in the air above them.
Pink hair drifting like cherry blossoms, the girl stood suspended in midair, her body wreathed in crimson flames. Deep red eyes blazed with an edge as sharp as a blade. The sight was nothing short of majestic.
And at her side hovered a Stand they'd never seen before.
Tall and powerfully built, with dark crimson metallic skin. Dense black aura smoldered along the armor plating at its limbs and joints.
In its hand—a gleaming silver greatsword.
King Crimson ACT1: Everlasting Crown.