"Josuke Higashikata, first of all, this slime-like Stand has nothing to do with me. If you really want to deal with it, you should go find this person."
Josuke Higashikata looked in the direction Kira Mufeng was pointing. On the ground lay a corpse with a hole through its palm. When had this person died? And if he was already dead, why was his Stand still here?
"A-A dead body!"
"You bastard! You even killed someone? I'll never forgive you!"
Koichi Hirose cried out in horror, while Josuke clenched his fists and shouted at Kira Mufeng. He had clearly mistaken Kira Mufeng for the one who had killed the ordinary man.
"What a pain! I really should've moved away from Morioh back then."
But it was already too late. Kira Mufeng had exposed himself by attacking Yoshikage Kira and the others earlier. A pervert like Yoshikage Kira would never let someone who might threaten his peaceful life keep living. Even if Kira Mufeng ran, could he keep running for the rest of his life?
Since he had already made his move, he couldn't let Yoshikage Kira and the others get away!
"Help! Is anyone there? Mufeng, are you still here?"
The voice belonged to Miki. Kira Mufeng turned toward its source and saw his wife, Miki Kobe, unable to move. Shards of glass had accidentally pierced her legs.
Kira Mufeng had only just started toward her when Josuke reached Miki first. He summoned Crazy Diamond, smashed her legs to pieces, removed the shards embedded in her flesh, then immediately used Crazy Diamond's ability to restore everything to its original state.
It happened so quickly that Miki Kobe was healed before she felt a thing.
"Miki, where are you hurt? Does it hurt? I'll take you to the hospital right now."
Kira Mufeng was so nervous that he could barely get the words out. Miki Kobe giggled and gently tapped the tip of his nose with her finger.
"You silly thing, I'm fine. Look how scared you got."
"Ahem. You don't look like someone who'd hurt his own wife, so this slime-like Stand really isn't yours. Sorry, I misunderstood."
After spending a moment with his wife, Kira Mufeng quietly urged her to leave. He chose to stay behind.
"I don't like owing people. Since you saved my wife, I'm willing to stay and help you deal with this Stand, Soft & Wet."
That was his principle: never owe anyone. It was precisely why, after the people in Trans-Dimensional Space had helped him awaken Soft & Wet, he'd set his sights on obtaining a Stand Arrow so he could strengthen Soft & Wet and repay them.
"Hey, hey, can you handle all this liquid by yourself? Let us help, too."
Summoning Soft & Wet, he began analyzing the puddle of blue slime on the ground. It had already spread onto the walls, writhing like a worm. The strange liquid had clogged up buildings and other parts of the city, including walls, woods, and sewers.
He couldn't tell anything just by looking, so he immediately released his Aura to investigate.
"Some kind of plant? I just bought this car, and this weird stuff's ruined the whole thing!"
"The car door fell off! Wait, that blue snot is melting the car!"
From the complaints of the people still trapped in their cars, it was clear that this Stand grew by devouring objects. It had no intelligence and spread purely by instinct. Could lightning hurt it?
"Lightning Release: Earth Flash!"
Kira Mufeng planted a foot on the ground, and lightning spread from his sole. The slime rushed away from him in every direction. The next instant, it began to shrink, contracting into smaller and smaller shapes.
"Whoa! The liquid's shrinking! Hey, how'd you do that?"
"Don't call me 'hey.' My name's Kira Mufeng. Just know that I can handle this Stand by myself."
As soon as he finished speaking, the liquid slime began to gather together under everyone's astonished gazes. Gradually, it took the shape of a giant made of water.
"A slime giant! That thing's already over nine meters tall, isn't it? We can't beat it!"
"That's one big guy. Watch me pulverize it with Crazy Diamond!"
Faced with such a huge water monster, Koichi Hirose was already having second thoughts. Josuke, on the other hand, looked excited. He summoned Crazy Diamond and eagerly cracked his knuckles, itching to fight the Water Giant.
"Punches won't work on that monster. You need electricity."
Kira Mufeng offered a helpful warning. At the same time, he spread his thumb and index finger into the shape of a pistol. A bubble formed at the tip of his index finger as he used Lightning Release: Earth Flash, steadily gathering lightning inside it and charging it up.
"Electricity is what hurts it? That's easy! Just watch!"
Josuke punched the ground, sending chunks of stone flying. Crazy Diamond grabbed a raised stone plate with both hands and hurled it at the Water Giant, pinning it down. The stone slowly merged into the Water Giant's body.
"Come on over here! I'll beat you to a pulp!"
Crazy Diamond reached out and ripped the wires from a utility pole, then wrapped the still-live wires around its fist.
Ora, ora, ora—
Crazy Diamond rained down punches on the Water Giant like a storm. Sparks flew, and lightning flashed, but the Water Giant shrank by only a millimeter a minute. To it, the attacks were nothing more than a Tickle.
"No—huh? Why isn't it working? Oh no, glug glug—"
The enraged Water Giant didn't give Josuke a chance. It pulled him into its body in a loving embrace. Now he was like a drowning child, struggling helplessly inside the Water Giant.
"Josuke! Don't be scared, I'm coming to save you! Echoes ACT2, come out!"
Three large characters landed on the Water Giant. It only shuddered slightly, then bent over as if about to spit Josuke out.
"Great! It's working!"
Koichi Hirose clenched his fists, his eyes shining as he stared at the Water Giant.
But the next second, the Water Giant suddenly straightened up and swallowed Josuke again, just as his head had nearly emerged. Then it patted its stomach, showing how satisfied it was with its meal.
Josuke couldn't help cursing, but the moment he opened his mouth, a rush of water poured in. He choked, clutching his throat and unable to breathe. His life was in danger.
"Josuke! What should I do? No, Echoes ACT2, Encore, come out!"
"Stop, Koichi Hirose. Leave the rest to me."
The bubble at Kira Mufeng's fingertip shot out like a bullet and merged into the Water Giant. The lightning he'd charged for so long burst out the instant the bubble entered.
Rumble—
"Kira Mufeng, you son of a—"
"Josuke! Are you all right? You even smell nice now."
The violent lightning completely destroyed the Water Giant. Josuke was caught in the blast. His pompadour had been singed into a wild frizz, and his skin had turned black with soot.
"He's still alive. Hurry and get him to the hospital. We don't want him left with any lasting injuries. This is taken care of, so I should go."
"Good grief. Kira Mufeng, I need to talk to you. Stop right there."
Looking up, he saw the invincible man—Jotaro Kujo.
Kira Mufeng hesitated. Jotaro Kujo had actually set his sights on him. Should he stay?
"Relax. We mean you no harm. Perhaps we have the same goal. I want you to stay because I'd like to talk about your cousin, Yoshikage Kira. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"
After a moment's thought, Kira Mufeng decided to go with Jotaro Kujo. After all, joining the main cast would give him a better chance of getting the Stand Arrow and defeating Yoshikage Kira.
Just as he'd said, the enemy of his enemy was his friend.
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