Killer Queen vs. Yellow Temperance

With the help of Star Platinum's microscope, they found a few traces left behind by either Kiana or the attacker.

They even discovered a few bullet holes in the walls.

The group followed the empty streets until they reached one where people could occasionally be seen.

"Kiana was probably attacked suddenly. She should still have been wearing pajamas."

Where there were people, there might be witnesses.

"Hello, have you seen a white-haired girl wearing pajamas?"

Compared to random passersby, the owners of roadside shops were clearly more likely to know something.

"A white-haired girl..."

This was a roadside teahouse. There were already a few scattered customers in the early morning. The owner stood behind the counter, wiping the cups in his hands. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking behind his forced squint, and he merely tilted his head to glance at the teapot beside him.

"Mm... Give us five cups of herbal tea."

Joseph slapped several coins onto the table. The owner swept the coins into the drawer with one hand while lifting the teapot with the other and pouring out several cups of herbal tea.

"Didn't see her."

"Hey! What do you mean by that?! Your shop is right here, yet you're saying you didn't see anything?!"

The obvious brush-off immediately set Polnareff off, and he slammed his fist hard against the counter.

"Polnareff!"

Joseph reprimanded him. "Then let's ask someone else."

Meanwhile, Qin Mo and Mei tried asking some pedestrians on the street, but naturally, they found nothing.

Well, it couldn't exactly be called nothing. Qin Mo successfully captured a wild cat.

"Qin Mo, we still don't know where Kiana is."

Watching Qin Mo pet the cat in his arms, Mei spoke anxiously.

"It's fine. Kiana should still be all right for now."

After glancing at the system, Qin Mo smiled. He gave the constantly struggling cat another hard rub before casually tossing it away. The cat twisted in midair, kicked off the wall a few times, and fled.

"Rather than that, we might be running into a little trouble."

When Qin Mo brought Mei to meet up with Jotaro's group at the teahouse, they indeed saw exactly what he had expected.

"My name is D'Arby."

"Daniel J. D'Arby. I'm a gambler, and the person you're looking for..."

The middle-aged man sitting in the chair rapidly shuffled the cards in his hands as he spoke. "I know where the person you're looking for is."

D'Arby?!

They instantly realized who the man before them was.

The user of Osiris Stand. Its ability was to seize the loser's soul through gambling and turn it into a poker chip.

"You bastard! Do you think we'll fall for that?!"

The hot-tempered Polnareff immediately summoned Silver Chariot. Silver Chariot spun its sword through the air and thrust straight at D'Arby.

Yet D'Arby made only one motion, stopping Silver Chariot in its tracks.

He raised a poker chip in his hand...

A poker chip printed with a human face...

"Kiana!"

D'Arby glanced at Mei, who had cried out upon seeing that familiar face, then continued.

"Oh, it seems you really do know my ability. Then I won't need to explain much. Your companion has already lost to me, and this is her soul."

D'Arby spoke without the slightest concern as he looked at the blade only a centimeter away from him. As a gambler, he possessed extraordinary mental fortitude under normal circumstances. Even with a blade pressed to his throat, he looked utterly unconcerned.

"Even if you kill me, her soul won't come back. But I can give you a chance."

"Gamble against me. If you win, I'll release her soul. But if I win..."

D'Arby smiled without speaking, but they all knew what the outcome would be.

"Fine! I'll compete with you! What do you want to bet on?! I'm not playing cards with you! And we don't have time to waste here!"

Polnareff dismissed his Stand and slapped the table.

At that moment, he thought that he already understood D'Arby and his Stand's ability. The other side was clearly just a gambler. As long as he did not gamble with him over cards, there was nothing to fear.

A Stand that could only act after winning a gamble was far weaker than his younger brother's Stand!

"GOOD! Now things are getting interesting."

D'Arby flicked his hand, then pretended to inspect the surroundings. "Since we're not gambling on cards..."

"Oh, there's a cat over there. See it?"

D'Arby grabbed a slice of smoked fish from the table and flung it onto the ground in the distance. Looking at the cat pacing along the rooftop, he said, "Let's bet on whether that cat eats the piece on the left first, or the one on the right."

The difference was obvious. The piece of fish on the right was much larger than the one on the left. Qin Mo had only told them everyone's Stands and had not described the methods those people used in detail, so Polnareff chose the right without hesitation.

"The one on the right is obviously bigger. If I were a cat, I'd take the bigger piece first!"

"Good, then I'll choose the left."

D'Arby said carelessly, "Then let's see when the cat notices those two pieces of fish."

"Oh? It seems it has already noticed them."

The cat on the roof jumped down and ran toward where the two fish slices had landed.

It was clearly heading toward the fish on the right.

The others frowned as they watched him seem about to win. Could D'Arby really be dealt with so easily?

Just as it was about to reach the fish, the cat suddenly kicked off the ground and leaped toward the fish on the left.

The Stand users present could naturally see its movements clearly, and their expressions changed. D'Arby, meanwhile, slightly curled his lips.

Unfortunately, D'Arby's delight did not last long. The cat, which had just pushed off the ground, was suddenly struck by something in midair and sent flying backward toward the fish on the right.

"What?!"

D'Arby abruptly stood up at the sudden turn of events and looked toward the others.

But none of their Stands had been summoned, nor were there any signs of a Stand attack.

The cat that had been struck back in midair seemed to be punched by something again. It suddenly changed direction and charged headfirst at the fish on the right. Its entire face smashed into the fish, which slid straight into its mouth.

The cat then scrambled to its feet, fled from the two pieces of fish in terror, and ran away like lightning.

"How is that possible?!"

D'Arby froze as he stared at the completely incomprehensible scene before him.

"Hehe! So? I won, didn't I?!"

Though he had no idea what had happened, that did not stop Polnareff from kicking a man when he was down.

"Impossible! That cat had already jumped toward the left! Someone hit it back!"

"But it wasn't us who hit it. In the end, it bit the fish on the right, didn't it?"

"You must have cheated! I didn't lose!"

Jotaro Kujo stepped forward. "If you say we cheated, then show us the proof. Otherwise..."

Star Platinum silently emerged behind Jotaro Kujo and gave D'Arby a chilling smile.

D'Arby looked over everyone in terror, but with the intelligence he had, he could not tell who was capable of doing such a thing.

Chapter 29: Killer Queen vs. Yellow Temperance

I should be looking for Qin Mo and Mei. Why did I end up here?

After jumping out the window, Kiana could only flee toward safety with Yellow Temperance following close behind. The window she had jumped from happened to overlook the hotel's back street. If she wanted to return to the main entrance and seek help from the others, she would have to pass through Yellow Temperance's blockade. But judging by the other side's appearance, there was no way he would let her through.

And Kiana's instincts told her that once she was touched by this Stand, she would not be able to break free.

"Hahahaha! Run! Run!"

Rabbaso also jumped down from the building. Yellow Temperance covered his body like armor, completely concealing every inch of his skin.

"After Lord Dio granted me great power, I, Rabbaso, have become invincible!"

Using Yellow Temperance as armor, Rabbaso chased after Kiana.

Kiana was a warrior who could fight Honkai Beasts and was born with immense strength, so she was highly mobile. But surprisingly, Rabbaso was not slow either. He moved at a speed no ordinary human should possess.

Yellow Temperance was not supposed to be the type that enhanced its user's body.

A main street?

Kiana swiftly rushed onto a street. Not far away stood a teahouse with several customers inside.

No. I can't drag innocent people into this.

Kiana had no intention of fleeing into the crowd and escaping in the chaos, because Dio's subordinates were people who would not care about ordinary lives. Even if she could use others to get away, that was not something Kiana wanted to see.

Use Killer Queen?

No. Killer Queen's range for erasing space was too small. Yellow Temperance was too large, and its injuries would not be reflected on its user. With such a huge body, even if it stood still and let her erase it, it would take a long time.

And if she got caught by the other side, things would become troublesome.

Kiana had recalled some information about Yellow Temperance. Its weakness was its user. As long as she could force him to the water and make him suffocate, forcing him to drop Yellow Temperance's defense...

"Don't run!"

Just as Kiana kept searching for a river, Yellow Temperance on Rabbaso's body suddenly surged. Part of its body extended and swung toward Kiana with the force of its momentum, like a glob of snot flung by a grade-schooler with a terrible cold.

"Killer Queen!"

The blue-and-white Stand appeared behind Kiana. Even without looking back, she knew what was happening behind her.

With a hum, Killer Queen's right hand swept through the air in an arc, erasing part of the incoming Yellow Temperance with its right hand.

After the attack failed, Rabbaso did not continue attacking with the partially erased Yellow Temperance. Instead, he called it back over his body, maintaining its complete coverage over himself.

Finally...

After running at full speed for several minutes, Kiana spotted a river.

"I remember this place. We stopped here yesterday."

Kiana remembered that when she had played in the water here yesterday to cool off, she had discovered that the river was quite deep. The question now was how to force the other side into the water.

"Nowhere left to run, huh?! You little bitch can really run. Once I digest you, I'll stuff shit up your nose!"

Rabbaso lunged at Kiana with Yellow Temperance. Several bullets fired from her dual pistols struck his body but had no effect whatsoever.

Just as Rabbaso opened his mouth to taunt her, Kiana leaped into the water. Killer Queen grabbed the lunging Yellow Temperance and dragged it into the water as well.

This should do it...

With her physical abilities, Kiana could hold her breath underwater for a long time. As long as...

Then Kiana saw Rabbaso's mocking gaze.

"You think this great me still needs to breathe, something only weak humans do?!"

Even underwater, Rabbaso showed no sign of discomfort. Yellow Temperance spread across Killer Queen's body instead, while he continued taunting her.

"Under Lord Dio's blessing, I've evolved into a lifeform superior to humans! I have an immortal body! Haven't you noticed?! My Stand has become so enormous because it can constantly consume flesh to grow larger! And what large chunks of flesh are easiest to find here?! Humans, of course! Hahahaha! Who would've thought human blood was so delicious?!"

Rabbaso was extremely pleased with himself. Qin Mo's Stand ability had originally twisted his mind, driving him to seek deadly revenge against Dio.

But Dio had not killed him directly. Instead, he used his flesh buds to completely alter Rabbaso's brain. Once he had him under control, Dio injected him with his own blood essence and transformed him into a Corpse-Human.

As a Corpse-Human, although he feared sunlight, Yellow Temperance perfectly compensated for that weakness.

Yellow Temperance existed independently from its user, so even exposure to sunlight would not affect Rabbaso himself. He could completely wrap his body in Yellow Temperance and become immune to sunlight.