Hewitt channeled the Ripple and lunged forward, slamming his palm toward Dawn's chest.
"My Stand earned Lord Kars's praise. You think someone like you can take me down?"
The blow came with tremendous force, and the air itself crackled. The gust whipped Dawn's hair wildly, cutting off every avenue of escape.
"You still don't understand anything. Diavolo was right. Fate favors the Two-Faced Emperor."
Dawn drew Anubis God, and his hands swung the blade without his control. In an instant, it severed Hewitt's wrist.
King Crimson took Anubis God and charged forward, beheading Hewitt once more. His mangled body fell to the ground and thrashed.
"You understand nothing..."
Hewitt struggled to his feet and leaned against the wall. His eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down his face.
"Fierce resistance will only make things worse. Only by quietly accepting fate can we secure a sliver of hope for humanity.
"Going on and on about fate favoring us is nothing but a comforting lie. Fate chose Kars. Otherwise, Kars would never have become the Ultimate Lifeform, and I would never have chosen this path."
Hewitt stood up once more, speaking of all the hardship he had endured over the years.
"Is freedom really that important? What's the difference between being raised in captivity and living in the wild?
"As long as humanity can survive, then even if we have no say over life and death, at least we won't be swept away by the tide of history and betray the tens of thousands of years our ancestors spent evolving."
Hewitt stepped forward, pale flames rising around him once more.
He fell silent, his gaze lowered, most of his body hidden in shadow, making it impossible to see what he truly felt.
"Death Race."
Hewitt spoke the name of his Stand, raised his head, and let a cunning glint flicker in his eyes.
"You insolent fool. You're already on the verge of withering away."
Dawn frowned slightly. He sensed a noise behind him and abruptly turned, slashing with his blade—but found nothing there.
The rubble beneath his feet cracked open, and the hourglass Stand sprang out, clamping tightly around Dawn's waist.
"Now this is a real attack! Idiot!"
"Death Race!"
Hewitt shouted frantically, raising both hands as he unleashed his Stand's power with all his might.
"Dawn, hurry! Attack the Stand with your sword!"
Diavolo cried out in alarm.
Hewitt charged forward, slashed his wrist again to unleash the Ripple, and aimed straight for Dawn's throat.
"Too slow, too slow! Die!!!"
Diavolo gritted his teeth and activated Epitaph again, but saw that Dawn was completely unharmed, showing no signs of aging.
"What?!"
Diavolo was stunned. After a moment's thought, he decided to ignore the Stand clinging to Dawn. Epitaph's predictions had never been wrong.
"King Crimson!"
Time Erasure began.
Diavolo sidestepped the attack and ripped off his shirt to wrap it around his fist. When Time Erasure ended, he threw a punch.
Bam!!!
Hewitt flew through the air and landed inside the unfinished building, entering a state of death once more. He wouldn't be able to get back up for a while.
Dawn raised Anubis God high and slashed down the middle of the hourglass Stand.
"AAAAAAAH!!!"
Hewitt screamed and crawled out of the rubble in a sorry state. When he saw Dawn completely unharmed, his pupils shrank sharply.
"Why?! How is this possible?! Why wasn't your lifespan taken!!!"
Dawn kept hacking away, answering in the brief moment he could spare.
"It's your Stand. How would I know? Why don't you ask it?"
Hewitt endured the pain and urgently recalled his hourglass Stand. As he looked at its countless sword marks, his heart seemed to bleed.
"Death Race, why isn't your ability working?"
Death Race clearly possessed its own will. It stretched out a trembling hand and scratched a few words into the ground.
"The enemy feels no guilt. It cannot take effect."
Hewitt's eyes widened as he fixed his gaze on Dawn.
Even he, its owner, had never known about this prerequisite.
Ever since awakening his Stand, he had always believed that all it took was a touch to steal an enemy's lifespan.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! In this despairing world, no one could have lived this long without feeling even the slightest guilt—unless you're Lord Kars!"
"Guilt?"
Dawn approached with his sword in hand and said, word by word, "Your Stand only seems to need contact to activate. What it really needs is for the enemy to feel guilty?"
In Diavolo's mind, the pieces fell into place.
He understood why Epitaph had shown him that scene.
"Dawn's only been in this world for a few days. He hasn't met many people. How could he feel guilty? This guy lost because he didn't have enough information."
Diavolo had already pronounced Hewitt's death sentence in his mind.
"What a shame. Someone this talented—if he joined the Passione Organization, I'd at least make him a capo."
Diavolo began sizing him up.
At this point, he still didn't know that after Dawn sold off his Past Life, his position as the organization's boss had become an empty title.
Dawn pressed forward step by step, and Hewitt finally understood fear.
He crawled backward until his shoulder hit the stairwell.
"I can't die yet! Don't come any closer! Stay away from me! If I die, humanity will lose another path forward. You have to let me go!"
Hewitt looked back toward the stairwell, his eyes blazing with a desperate yearning to live.
He climbed the stairs on all fours, but just as he was about to reach the top, he suddenly found himself back at the bottom.
"What?"
Hewitt froze. Then, refusing to believe it, he climbed again on all fours.
Just as he was about to reach the top, he found himself back at the bottom once more.
"What the hell is going on?! Bastard! Why is this happening!!!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Footsteps sounded as a towering figure emerged from the shadows.
Wild, muscular build. Defiant eyes. A flowing mane of golden hair.
And... the faint, sharp glint of fangs at the corner of his mouth.
Dio!!!
Hewitt couldn't help taking a few steps backward, but light footsteps sounded behind him.
As space shattered, his mind faltered for a moment, and a figure appeared before his eyes.
Dawn!!!
Hewitt's eyes went blank. He clung to the wall, barely managing to stay upright.
At the top of the stairs stood Dio, who had successfully become a vampire and could stop time.
At the bottom stood a demon who could erase time and was born without guilt.
At that moment, Hewitt finally gave up all hope.
His Death Race, the Stand he'd been so proud of, no longer worked on either of them. He felt like a clown.
"My path has failed. If humanity is destroyed, it'll all be your fault."
Hewitt turned back, hatred burning in his eyes.
"Dawn, admit it! You were born evil. You put on a humble, easygoing act, but inside you're dark and hideous! You've never felt even the slightest guilt toward humanity, or even small animals. Your existence is humanity's greatest tragedy. It's all because of you..."
Dio spoke from the stairs. "Dawn..."
Dawn's eyelid twitched. He raised his sword and unleashed a flurry of attacks, stopping the accursed Hewitt from spreading any more lies.
The hourglass Stand was instantly covered in sword marks. The cracks widened, and golden sand spilled across the ground.
Hewitt, its user, was gravely wounded as well. He spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to utter another word of his curse.
"I can't be bothered to listen to him ramble."
Dawn lit a cigarette and offered Dio a brief explanation.
Before you continue