Death Rewind

"See you next time."

Mista pulled the trigger, and in the second before the shot, Dawn's heart leaped, sensing a great terror was about to descend.

With no time to react, Dawn's mind raced, activating his ability a moment before Mista.

[Stand · Beyond Imagination · Wasting Time]

BANG!!!

The gunshot rang out!!

Dawn's consciousness blurred, as if eons had passed and stars had shifted, leaving him with the urge to vomit.

Disabling the ability again, the familiar scene before his eyes filled Dawn with surprise and uncertainty.

High in the sky, a Cloud Dragon.

Joestar gazed into the distance, then turned back to the group and spoke, his tone slightly relaxed.

"We're almost there. The target is about ten kilometers ahead."

Dawn subconsciously looked, seeing the low buildings of Italy, with ant-like people scurrying within.

"This... is a time reset? Did my ability fail?"

Dawn observed everyone else's reactions again and quickly confirmed that Wasting Time had not failed.

Everyone here, except for Dawn, had lost their memories.

To them, Mista had not appeared, nor had they fought him.

The invincibility effect of [Stand · Beyond Imagination · Wasting Time] had caused Dawn to lose external perception, but it had also made him immune to this reset.

"Time reset, truly interesting. Requiem lives up to its name. But what did Mista mean by his last words?"

"Bearing the consequences, that sounds rather ominous."

Dawn's mind raced, Mista had said they would die on their journey. Could this be another ability of Requiem?

Joestar, standing beside him, opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, Dawn, sensing it, blurted out, "Joestar, your next words are..."

"Purple Hermit never makes mistakes."

Joestar stumbled, forcibly swallowing the words that were about to escape his lips.

The others heard this and looked at Dawn.

"Friends, we've encountered a bit of a problem."

Dawn explained the general situation to everyone, emphasizing Mista's potential ability to manipulate causality.

Of course, shielding them from Diavolo was a necessary precaution.

"Although it's hard to believe, I trust you, Dawn."

Dio crossed his arms, appearing very composed.

"Father's judgment has never been wrong, including when he discovered my weakness."

Hewitt blindly supported Dawn.

"In that case, let's proceed with the original plan and see what changes."

The group continued forward. Before long, Joestar exclaimed.

"The target's location is moving rapidly, heading further away from us."

Joestar frowned, his expression becoming increasingly complex, eventually settling into one of distress.

"The target took one minute to reach South America, stayed for a dozen seconds, and then instantly traveled to the Arctic Circle."

Dio rolled his eyes.

"Old man, you're getting senile. Let me see."

Dio took the phone and soon fell silent.

"Dawn, Mista's Stand seems quite formidable. In the blink of an eye, he's already in outer space."

Dawn listened, utterly bewildered, and subconsciously looked up at the sky.

Seeing that words weren't getting through, Dio showed the phone screen to everyone.

On the screen, a small red dot flickered across the globe as if teleporting, occasionally appearing in outer space.

"The ability of Sex Pistols · Requiem, it seems to be interfering with Purple Hermit's reconnaissance."

Dawn handed the phone to Joestar. Ordinary Stands truly had no chance against Requiem.

Joestar gave a sheepish laugh and took the phone. Not long ago, he had boasted that Purple Hermit never made mistakes.

He hadn't expected it to be proven wrong so soon...

"If the opponent had also reset time, they would definitely still be in the human settlement area. Let's go look for them."

Dawn controlled Cloud Dragon to descend. No one objected; they had no better plan at the moment.

Human Sacrifice Zone.

The moment Dawn and the others appeared, they felt unseen eyes peering at them.

"Hey~ Look at these guys, don't they resemble the old Punisher Squad?"

"Weird clothes, and someone's all wrapped up. I bet it's them!"

"Let's go, let's go, quickly tell the Vampire Lord. Maybe we can even get this week's survival tax waived."

Dawn's group quickly arrived at their original location, only to find the remains of vampires who had died of sun exposure on the ground.

"The other party has already left. Perhaps we can ask the human sacrifices here. It will only take a small reward."

Joestar took out two pieces of black bread, clapping them together with a "bang bang" sound.

These were hot commodities. Money in the Human Sacrifice Zone might be looted, but food, once eaten, was gone.

"Let's try."

Dawn took the bread and began searching for a target. The surrounding human sacrifices gulped, but none dared to step forward.

"Um... I might be able to help you."

A short boy walked over, completely wrapped up, not exposing a single bit of skin. He smiled shyly at Dawn.

Dawn looked at him suspiciously.

The short boy was petite. Dawn tilted his head slightly to get a better look, and sure enough, a fishing rod was tied to his back.

Combining this with Mista's earlier words, Dawn's eyes turned dangerous as he stared intently at the short boy.

"Pesci?"

The short boy froze, his mind going blank.

Dawn understood.

"Say thank you."

Before Pesci could figure out what was happening and ask, Diavolo, in Dawn's mind, was too startled and jumped out first.

"King Crimson!"

Time Erasure activated, space shattered, and all things began to operate according to their original trajectories.

King Crimson, familiar with the routine, walked behind the short boy Pesci, raised his hand like a blade, and his eyes flashed with scarlet killing intent.

"Pesci, even in a parallel world, you haven't grown at all..."

"Time, resume."

The short boy Pesci felt a moment of disorientation, this extremely familiar feeling making his heart tremble.

"Boss, are you nearby?"

King Crimson did not reply. The moment Time Erasure ended, his hand chopped down, nearly splitting Pesci's upper body in two.

Ahhhhhhhh!!!

Pesci fell to the ground screaming, his resentful gaze fixed on Dawn.

He didn't understand why he had been exposed. He had only intended to gather some information, but he hadn't expected to be attacked directly.

"Cough~ Boss, why are you mixed up with these guys?!"

Pesci coughed up blood, looking at King Crimson with confusion and fear.

"Pesci, my loyal subordinate, I have been with Dawn all along."

King Crimson finished speaking and was about to deliver the finishing blow when Pesci unexpectedly threw out his fishing line, hooking a human sacrifice and flying away.

Pesci bit into the human sacrifice's neck, greedily sucking fresh blood, his severe injuries visibly healing.

"Boss, no, you talk too much. You're not the Boss."

Pesci stood up, gripping his fishing rod tightly, his gaze subconsciously sweeping over several hidden locations.

"Idiot, in future battles, keep your eyes in check and don't expose your companions' positions."

Prosciutto, dressed in a suit, walked out of a house, scolding with a tone of helplessness.

"Yes, Big Brother."

Pesci nodded in agreement, a cruel smile appearing on his lips.

"No matter who you are, if you've become a Stand User but haven't joined us, there's only death."