The Dimensional Codex of Destruction Chapter 24

With the help of Star Platinum's microscopic vision, the group found a few traces, though it was unclear if they were left by Kiana or the attacker.

They even discovered some bullet holes on the walls.

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

"Kiana was likely attacked suddenly, and she was probably still in her pajamas."

Since there were people, there might be witnesses.

"Excuse me, have you seen a white-haired girl in pajamas?"

The owners of the shops lining the street were more likely to know something than random passersby.

"A white-haired girl..."

This was a roadside tea house. In the early morning, there were only a few sparse customers. The owner stood behind the counter, wiping a cup in his hand. His squinted eyes were hard to read, and he just tilted his head to look at the teapot next to him.

"Hmm... Five cups of herbal tea for us."

Joseph slapped a few coins on the table. The owner slid the coins into the drawer with one hand and picked up the teapot with the other, pouring out several cups of herbal tea.

"Haven't seen her."

"Hey! What do you mean by that! Your shop is right here, and you're telling us you haven't seen anything!?"

Polnareff's temper flared at the clearly perfunctory response. He slammed his fist hard on the counter.

"Polnareff!"

Joseph reprimanded him. "In that case, let's ask someone else."

Meanwhile, Qin Mo and Mei were trying to ask some passing pedestrians on the street, but the results were naturally fruitless.

Oh, it couldn't be said to be completely fruitless. Qin Mo successfully caught a wild cat.

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

Mei said anxiously, watching Qin Mo pet the cat in his hands.

"It's fine, Kiana should be alright for now."

After glancing at the System, Qin Mo smiled. He gave the struggling cat in his hands a more forceful pet before casually tossing it away. The cat flipped in mid-air and, with a few quick movements, landed on the wall and escaped.

"Rather, we might be in a bit of trouble."

When Qin Mo brought Mei and Jotaro's small team to the tea house, they indeed saw the scene they had anticipated.

"My name is D'Arby."

"Daniel J. D'Arby, a gambler. And I know where the person you're looking for is."

The middle-aged man sitting on a chair said while quickly shuffling the cards in his hand.

D'Arby!?

The group instantly realized who was in front of them.

The user of Osiris Stand, whose ability was to steal the souls of losers through gambling and turn them into chips.

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

The hot-tempered Polnareff immediately summoned Silver Chariot. Silver Chariot twirled its sword in the air and lunged directly at D'Arby.

But D'Arby only made one move to stop Silver Chariot.

He raised a chip in his hand...

A chip with a human face printed on it...

"Kiana!"

Seeing Mei, who exclaimed upon seeing the familiar face, D'Arby continued.

"Hmph, it seems you already know my ability. Then I don't need to explain further. Your companion has already lost to me, and this is her soul."

D'Arby said without concern, looking at the sword blade just one centimeter away from his neck. As a gambler, he possessed extraordinary psychological fortitude under normal circumstances, appearing completely unfazed even with a blade at his throat.

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

"That is to gamble with me. If you win, I will release her soul. And if I win..."

D'Arby smiled without saying anything, but the group knew the outcome.

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

Polnareff retracted his Stand and slammed his palm on the table.

At this moment, he thought that he had understood D'Arby and his Stand's abilities. Moreover, the other party was clearly a simple gambler, and as long as they didn't gamble with poker, there was nothing to fear.

His Stand, which could only attack after winning a bet, was far weaker than his brother's Stand!

"GOOD! Things are getting interesting."

D'Arby flicked his hand, pretending to observe the surroundings. "Since we're not gambling with poker."

"Oh, there's a cat over there, see it."

D'Arby grabbed a piece of smoked fish from the table, tossed it onto the ground in the distance, and watched the cat pacing on the rooftop. "Let's bet on whether that cat eats the one on the left or the one on the right."

There was a clear difference: the fish fillet on the right was much larger than the one on the left. Furthermore, Qin Mo had only mentioned each person's Stand, without detailing the methods used when encountering specific individuals. Polnareff didn't hesitate and chose the right side.

"The one on the right is clearly bigger. If I were a cat, I'd snatch the biggest piece of meat first!"

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

D'Arby said nonchalantly, "Then let's see when the cat discovers these two pieces of fish."

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

The cat on the roof jumped down and ran towards where the two fish fillets had landed.

Its running direction was clearly towards the fish fillet on the right.

The others frowned, watching the situation unfold as they were about to win, and felt very confused. Was this D'Arby really that easy to deal with?

Just as it was about to reach the fish fillet, the cat suddenly pushed off the ground and leaped towards the fish fillet on the left.

The Stand users present could naturally see the speed and their expressions changed. D'Arby's lips curved into a slight smile.

Unfortunately, D'Arby's pleasure didn't last long. The cat, which had just pushed off the ground, was suddenly struck by something in mid-air and flew backward towards the right.

"Nani!"

Seeing this sudden turn of events, D'Arby stood up abruptly and turned to look at the others.

However, none of their Stands were currently manifested, nor were there any signs of a Stand attack.

The cat, struck back in mid-air, seemed to be hit by something again. It suddenly changed direction and charged towards the fish fillet on the right, its entire face smashing into the fillet, and the fish meat naturally entered the cat's mouth.

The cat then got up, fled from the two fish fillets in terror, and ran away at full speed.

"How is this possible!"

D'Arby froze, staring at the completely incomprehensible scene before him.

"Heh heh! How about that! I won, right!"

Although he didn't know what was going on, it didn't stop Polnareff from kicking him while he was down.

"Impossible! That cat already jumped to the left! It was hit back by someone!"

"But it wasn't us who hit it. It ended up biting the fish fillet on the right."

"You definitely cheated! I didn't lose!"

Jotaro Kujo took a step forward. "Since you say we cheated, then provide proof. Otherwise..."

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

D'Arby looked around at everyone in terror, but with the information he had, he couldn't figure out who could have done this.

Chapter 29: Killer Queen VS Yellow Temperance

I should be looking for Qin Mo and Mei, why did I end up here.

Kiana, who jumped out of the window, could only flee towards safety as Yellow Temperance landed right behind her. The window she jumped from happened to be the back alley of the hotel. To return to the main entrance for help from others, she would have to pass through Yellow Temperance's blockade. But judging by the other party's appearance, it was clearly impossible to let her through.

Moreover, Kiana's instincts told her that once she was touched by this Stand, she wouldn't be able to escape.

"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 bestowed upon me great power, I, Rabbaso! Am invincible!"

With Yellow Temperance as his armor, Rabbaso chased after Kiana.

Kiana, as a warrior capable of fighting Honkai Beasts and possessing innate divine strength, had great mobility. But surprisingly, Rabbaso's speed was also not slow, not at all like the speed an ordinary person would have.

Yellow Temperance wasn't supposed to be the type that enhanced the user's body either.

A street?

Kiana quickly rushed onto a street. Not far away, there was a teahouse with some customers inside.

No, I can't involve innocent people.

Kiana had no intention of escaping into the crowd for cover. This was because Dio's subordinates were people who didn't care about the lives of ordinary people. Even if she could use others to escape, Kiana was unwilling to do that.

Use Killer Queen?

No, Killer Queen's spatial cutting range was too small. Yellow Temperance was too large, and it wouldn't transfer damage to the user's body. With such a large volume, even if it stood still, it would take a long time to cut.

And once she was caught by the opponent, it would be very troublesome.

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

"Don't even think about running!"

Just as Kiana was desperately searching for a river, Yellow Temperance on Rabbaso suddenly erupted. A part of his body suddenly elongated and was flung towards Kiana's body using inertia, like snot flicked by a primary school student suffering from a severe 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 drew an arc in the air, and the attacking Yellow Temperance had a part of it erased.

After the attack failed, Rabbaso didn't continue the attack with the partially lost Yellow Temperance. Instead, he recalled it to his body's surface, maintaining the state of complete coverage of his body.

Finally…

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

"I remember this place. I stayed here yesterday too."

Kiana recalled that yesterday, while enjoying the cool water, she had found the river to be quite deep. The next problem, then, was how to force her opponent into the water.

"Nowhere left to run! You little brat, you're quite the runner. Once I digest you, I'll stuff shit up your nose!"

Rabbaso, along with Yellow Temperance, lunged at Kiana. A few bullets fired from dual pistols struck him but had no effect.

The moment Rabbaso began to mock her, Kiana leaped into the water. Killer Queen also grabbed the lunging Yellow Temperance, pulling it into the water with them.

This should do it…

Relying on her physical conditioning, Kiana could hold her breath underwater for a long time, as long as…

To her surprise, Kiana saw Rabbaso's mocking gaze.

"You think I, this great master, need to breathe like weak humans do!"

Even underwater, Rabbaso showed no signs of distress. The Yellow Temperance on his body spread towards Killer Queen, and he continued to mock her.

"Under Lord Dio's blessing, I have evolved into a higher being than humans, possessing immortality! Haven't you noticed! My Stand has become so large because it can continuously feed on flesh to grow. What's the easiest source of large amounts of flesh here! Isn't it humans! Hahahaha! I never expected human blood to be so delicious!"

Rabbaso was quite pleased with himself. Originally, his spirit had been twisted by Qin Mo's Stand ability, leading him to seek revenge against Dio.

However, Dio hadn't killed him directly. Instead, he had completely altered Rabbaso's brain with his flesh buds. Upon realizing Rabbaso was controlled, Dio injected his own essence into him, transforming him into a Corpse-Born.

As a Corpse-Born, he feared sunlight. However, his Yellow Temperance perfectly overcame this weakness for him.

Yellow Temperance and its user existed independently, so even if it was exposed to sunlight, the effect wouldn't transfer to the user. He could completely wrap his body with Yellow Temperance, making him immune to sunlight.