And so Inori and Yasuho made their pact—once Yoshikage Kira was defeated, they'd spend the following summer vacation traveling together to Italy. A proper holiday, with the minor side objective of eliminating Diavolo along the way.
Come to think of it, time-type Stands affected the entire world. With Inori using Time Erasure as frequently as she had, Diavolo had probably sensed it too.
—Right now, two King Crimsons exist in this world.
Just as Jotaro and DIO—those fated enemies—could both stop time, Inori and Diavolo were both Stand users capable of erasing it.
But so long as he didn't awaken some troublesome new ability the way Yoshikage Kira had, Inori was a hundred percent confident she could take him. The simplest approach: skip the fight entirely. Go straight to Polnareff for the Beetle Arrow, team up with Giorno, and let Diavolo face King Crimson's natural counter—Gold Experience Requiem.
Inori truly couldn't imagine what trick Diavolo could possibly pull to escape that fate. After all, even she didn't know of any way to defeat Gold Experience Requiem. An ability that reduced everything to zero. No matter what you did, it was all futile against that power.
Paisley Park burrowed into Inori's phone and began navigating. Her head was filled with visions of a beautiful world after Yoshikage Kira's demise, and she hummed a little tune as she jogged toward the park clearing around the corner where Jotaro had parked.
—You haven't sung in a while, Inori-chan.
Hearing the familiar melody, Mana couldn't help but comment.
—Five days counts as "a while"? I'm pretty sure I practiced my vocals at home the night before the Ivory Christmas Tree trip.
—Tch. You haven't hummed once these past few days.
Mana's tone turned distinctly sour.
—So that little girl agreeing to travel with you is all it takes to make you this happy, huh? Huh?
—I'm not happy because of her company. What's your problem?
Inori fired back inside her own head.
—Tch!
Mana gave a contemptuous sniff like a sulky wife nursing a grudge. She seemed to have cast Yasuho as a thieving cat sniffing around her territory.
—I'm happy because I have a chance to change tragedies that were supposed to happen. And to save this world from being erased and reset in an endless acceleration. It's just... looking forward to a better future, that's all.
—Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say~ And who was it that once declared, "Inori is the evil queen bearing the will of pitch-black darkness, and Mana is the angel liberated from chaos"? And now she spends her days plotting to save the world?
Inori stopped dead in her tracks. Her face flushed crimson in an instant.
Had she really said something that embarrassing? She couldn't even remember. And Mana—how did she manage to recite those lines without so much as a blush or a skipped heartbeat?
—Listen up, Inori-chan.
Mana's playful tone vanished, replaced by something entirely serious.
—I don't care whether you want to save the world or save some specific person. But after you rescued me from Eve's fate... and I followed you all the way to this world... there's only one thing I want to do.
—Make you fall in love with me!
—Are you serious? What about your brother?
Hmph. Sweet-talking schemer. The same tricks won't work twice on me. Did she think I'd blush and stammer like before?
—He's my brother!
Mana pressed on.
—Nonsense. You absolute brocon. It's been a while since I called you that, hasn't it? You think I'll believe you just because you put on a serious face?
—The one who wanted to marry him was Eve, okay? That had nothing to do with me! I just wanted him to live a good life, and now that wish has already come true. So, hehe~ you'd better watch yourself~
...Hmm?
Was she actually serious? Not teasing? Not scheming for control of the body?
Then what was Inori supposed to do? She was devoted to Hare and Hare alone!
No, no, no—she couldn't keep engaging with this woman. Whatever Mana's angle was, finding Yoshikage Kira's corpse came first!
...
...
Mana's antics had left Inori slightly rattled, but once she was back in the car, she pulled herself together quickly. They returned to the woods behind the Kira Residence—this time approaching from the rear, since police had already cordoned off the house and brought in a biologist to hunt down the escaped venomous snakes.
Following Paisley Park's directions on her phone, they located their target in no time.
"This is the spot."
Inori stood before a patch of soil, pointing to the ground beside a large tree ahead.
"Just like that... we found it?"
Josuke was dumbfounded. He hadn't even seen what the Stand looked like. They'd simply let it lead the way, walked a few steps, and arrived at the burial site?
"This is Koichi's older sister Yasuho's Stand—Paisley Park. Impressive, right?"
"Truly a terrifying ability," Rohan agreed, not stinting on his praise for once. "Requiring no leads whatsoever and simply guiding you to the correct answer on its own... in terms of intelligence gathering, it outclasses even my Heaven's Door."
"If that's the case, why didn't we just use this Paisley Park to search for Yoshikage Kira from the start?"
"Without a defined search area, Paisley Park can only provide usable leads for us to work with. Yoshikage Kira could reset time to erase every trace—perfect cleanup, every time. Using it directly would've been pointless."
"Ohhh... I see." Josuke nodded in sudden understanding.
Jotaro said nothing, but his mind was stirring. This Paisley Park seemed similar to the old man's Hermit Purple. The key difference: Hermit Purple had unlimited range but could only produce images of the target—you still had to figure out the route yourself. This Stand, however, provided the path directly.
—The old man's getting on in years. If we could partner with this Stand user, tracking down all the remaining Stand Arrows would be well within reach.
"Well then, gentlemen—digging in the dirt isn't exactly my thing~ I'll sit this one out."
"Heh, leave it to me, Onee-san!" Josuke stepped forward eagerly. "I got this!"
With that, he rolled up his sleeves and summoned Crazy Diamond, unleashing a barrage of DORARARARA on the ground. The loose soil separated on its own, opening into a wide pit—and there beneath it lay the body of a man, still dressed in the suit Inori had seen Yoshikage Kira wearing the night before.
"There really is one..." Josuke's jaw dropped. He whipped around to face the others. "What do we do?"
"Let me read it."
Rohan stepped forward. Though after all those times Yoshikage Kira had ambushed him, he was considerably more cautious than before.
"Inori, use your future prediction to check first—has this body been rigged as a bomb?"
"It's safe. Don't worry, I already checked."
Inori answered without missing a beat. Anything Rohan could think of, she'd thought of long ago.
But precisely because of that, her expression had grown heavy. The face on this corpse was unmistakably Yoshikage Kira's.
"Then I'll begin. Everyone, stay alert."
Rohan took a deep breath, held it, and fought to suppress the flood of agonizing memories. Then he steeled himself and crept down into the pit.
First, he turned the corpse over. Kira's condition was gruesome—soil seemed to have fused into his skin, and grass was growing from his mouth. Rohan understood immediately: the man had been buried while still in a softened state, and after Tamaki Damo's death lifted the effect, his body had resolidified—but the earth already mixed into it had become permanently embedded.
Then he called out Heaven's Door and activated its ability on the corpse.
"It's real... he really is Yoshikage Kira!"
Rohan's voice cracked with shock.
"He's truly dead! ...Yoshikage Kira, age thirty-three, residing in the villa district of northeast Morioh. Unmarried. Employed at Kameyu Department Store. Never smoked. Drank only in moderation..." Rohan read at lightning speed, scanning straight to the most critical pages.
"Severe hand fetish. First murder committed fifteen years ago. Awakened a Stand afterward—named it Killer Queen..."
A cold wind swept through the dense woodland shadows. Everything Rohan read aligned almost perfectly with what Inori already knew. This was Yoshikage Kira's life. This body... was it really him? Had Tamaki Damo actually killed him?
A chill crawled up her scalp, and goosebumps prickled along her arms.
She looked again at the ugly, disfigured corpse. Just last night at the cemetery, Kira had sworn with absolute conviction that he would defeat her. She could still hear that declaration ringing in her memory. And yet—he'd been killed by some nobody?