This Is My Escape Route

Diavolo felt humiliated.

He had killed so many people, yet no one had ever been as calm and composed in his presence as Li Qing.

It was as if his prideful, invincible ability, his supreme authority as the Emperor of Darkness, had been utterly disregarded.

"Damn it!!"

Since the narration and dialogue didn't take time, Diavolo had no pause when time resumed.

He immediately went for the kill against Li Qing, whose health was at a mere 12%:

"King Crimson, kill him!"

At this very moment, Li Qing's head was only a hair's breadth away from King Crimson's palm.

With a gentle, gentle squeeze from King Crimson, his head would shatter like a watermelon accidentally dropped on the floor, turning into a sticky, red pulp.

But Li Qing's movement was even faster.

This was the most crucial moment of his escape plan, and he was prepared to act first:

"Golden Bell Shield!"

At this instant, a semi-transparent shield emitting a faint glow suddenly appeared on Li Qing's body.

It was like a large bubble that had suddenly inflated, covering him on all sides.

This was the second skill he had learned after leveling up to 2:

"Golden Bell Shield / Iron Cloth Shirt."

[Golden Bell Shield]: "Li Qing dashes to a friendly target, granting himself and the target a shield that absorbs a small amount of damage for 2 seconds. After casting Golden Bell Shield, Li Qing can cast Iron Cloth Shirt within the next 3 seconds."

(Range: 100 meters)

(Cooldown: 12 seconds)

[Iron Cloth Shirt]: "Li Qing gains 25% life steal for 4 seconds."

Golden Bell Shield was Li Qing's second mobility skill, but he had no "friendly targets" nearby, so he couldn't use it to dash and escape.

Therefore, he could only use this Golden Bell Shield skill to grant himself a somewhat useful shield.

"This..."

"Another new Stand ability?"

Seeing the semi-transparent shield appear on Li Qing's body, Diavolo couldn't help but be surprised.

However, in the very next instant...

The seemingly powerful and magical film of light shattered.

King Crimson had only slightly increased its strength and effortlessly crushed the troublesome white light shield.

"Hahaha."

Diavolo laughed:

"A gaudy bubble like that, and you thought it could stop my King Crimson?"

"You underestimate my power too much, bald—"

He taunted Li Qing wantonly, but then suddenly realized something was amiss:

Something's wrong.

That bald guy had personally experienced King Crimson's power. If his trump card was only this much, he wouldn't be this calm.

So, was he bluffing, or did he have another trump card?

What ability did he possess that allowed him to escape certain death in front of King Crimson?

Diavolo's heart was filled with uncertainty and suspicion.

And Li Qing immediately gave him an unexpected answer:

"Echoes Act!"

With a loud shout.

Li Qing, like a rocket being launched, suddenly shot diagonally into the sky with an unforeseen momentum.

He was flying so fast that it was difficult for King Crimson to catch up.

The Golden Bell Shield that had barely blocked King Crimson's attack also bought him precious time to escape.

And so, Li Qing successfully ascended into the sky.

King Crimson's "range" was only two meters, meaning it could only operate within a two-meter radius around Diavolo.

Diavolo himself was merely a physically strong mortal, unable to stop Li Qing, who had suddenly shot into the sky.

"How is this possible..."

"How can this be possible!!"

Diavolo, uncharacteristically, fell into shock:

"Why is he flying? Is this another new Stand ability of his?"

"No."

"This isn't some new Stand ability."

Soon, Diavolo gleaned something from Li Qing's excessively straight flight trajectory:

"This is his original long-range charge ability, the one he calls 'Sonically Enhanced Wave, Echoes Act'."

"It's just..."

He carefully recalled the information about Li Qing's abilities:

"Doesn't this ability require him to first mark a position with a light orb before executing the second stage of high-speed charge?"

"I was specifically guarding against his escape..."

"So when exactly did this bald guy fire that positioning orb?"

"Could it be..."

A flash of inspiration struck Diavolo's mind: "Was it then?!"

"Hahaha."

Li Qing, not yet far away, mimicked Diavolo by initiating his 'Stop Time Commentary' in the sky:

"Diavolo, you guessed right:"

"That Sonically Enhanced Wave you dodged at the beginning of the fight is my true trump card!"

"Because that Sonically Enhanced Wave wasn't aimed at you at all—"

"It was aimed at a seagull perched on the eaves about 100 meters behind you!"

"I had already locked onto that seagull's position with Sonically Enhanced Wave, just waiting for it to fly higher and farther so it could carry me away to safety."

"As for the subsequent surprise pistol attack and the protective light shield, they were actually just misdirection."

"I never expected the surprise attack to succeed, nor did I expect to defend myself with the Golden Bell Shield. I just wanted to use these little tricks to divert your attention, making you think I had used up all my trump cards!"

King Crimson's speed was incredibly fast.

The only ability Li Qing possessed that could match that speed was the second stage charge of Echoes Act.

And the danger was that his fragile body couldn't withstand King Crimson's rapid iron fists.

Therefore, he not only had to precisely locate his target with Sonically Enhanced Wave but also desperately make Diavolo complacent.

Fortunately, Li Qing succeeded.

He perfectly played the part of a desperate man on the verge of death, using a series of minor tricks to make Diavolo lower his already not-very-high guard.

"Damn it..."

Upon hearing this, Diavolo's expression became somewhat contorted:

"I couldn't see this future!"

The ability to predict the future sounded invincible, but it actually had limitations.

Firstly, Diavolo's Epitaph could only see ten seconds into the future.

Secondly, as a Stand with an E-rated Stamina, King Crimson's domineering future prediction ability couldn't be used continuously without limit.

There was always a short period of unpredictable future between every two uses of Epitaph.

Finally, and most importantly, his Epitaph was like watching a movie; it could only show "partial scenes" from a third-person perspective, centered around himself.

A single scene could contain very limited information, and it was even highly likely to mislead the observer.

Therefore, when Diavolo had used his ability before...

He only saw Li Qing attacking him with Sonically Enhanced Wave, but he didn't see the light orb of Sonically Enhanced Wave hitting a seagull a hundred meters away after flying over his head.

"Damn it, damn it..."

"My King Crimson's invincible Stand ability was actually broken by this bald guy through sheer luck?!"

Diavolo was uncontrollably enraged, but he was powerless.

At this moment, Diavolo could only watch as Li Qing, with a seagull as his positioning coordinate, flew higher and higher into the sky.

Li Qing's escape was a done deal; even his "Time Erasure" invincible ability couldn't stop this situation.

"Hahahaha."

Diavolo, standing frozen on the ground, was furious, while Li Qing, flying away in the sky, continued to rub salt in the wound:

"Bet you didn't expect this—"

"This is my escape route, Diavolo!"