A Terrifying Future

Diavolo he could change his destiny.

Because his King Crimson Stand ability, in a sense, is a divine power used to change fate.

The Epitaph allows one to see ten seconds into the future, which in fact reveals the fate that will befall Diavolo in those ten seconds.

If Diavolo sees that his fate will be unfavorable to him in the next ten seconds, he can directly use "Time Erasure" to delete that unfavorable future, thereby changing the already written destiny.

Every time you use an "Epitaph" and a "Time Erasure," you are actually changing your fate.

Diavolo believed he would not be bound by so-called fate, neither in the past nor now:

"King Crimson— "

"Epitaph!"

Because dialogue and thinking take virtually no time in this world, Diavolo didn't actually give Li Qing any chance to catch his breath.

The instant Li Qing was trampled under the feet of King Crimson, Diavolo could already picture the scene unfolding ten seconds into the future.

First second:

The King Crimson raised his arm high, forming a sword with his fingers, gathering all his strength, and slammed it straight at Li Qing's head.

The red and white arm transformed into a bolt of lightning, a gust of wind, and a gleaming, cold blade in mid-air.

Facing the "King Crimson's Guillotine," Li Qing suddenly tapped the ground lightly with his palm. "Heavenly Thunder Break!"

A visible white shockwave erupted from the ground, spreading outwards like ripples on water.

However, despite being called a shockwave, it actually looked more like a soft white light.

The light did not cause any damage to the surrounding objects; it only caused the King Crimson and Diavolo to shudder slightly as it passed through their bodies.

The impact and vibration did not cause significant damage, but what was truly surprising was what happened next:

After being hit by the shockwave, a white light suddenly flashed around Li Qing again.

Second second:

At the very moment that light appeared, the King Crimson's speed actually slowed down.

It seems that because of Li Qing's "stand-in ability", it is like a video character that has been slowed down by 0.5 times, with its movements and eyes slowed down by a full 100%.

The King Crimson was put into a "slow motion" state for 1 second, and his high-speed hand slashes, which were originally so fast that they were indistinct, became slow and easy to dodge.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Qing suddenly dodged to the side.

Because his hands were still pinned to the ground by steel bars and his arms were still being stepped on by the King Crimson, Li Qing's desperate attempt to dodge was actually just a slight turn of his head to the side.

His head was barely saved, but his right arm and shoulder were still exposed to the King Crimson's attack.

Although King Crimson's speed was slowed down by Li Qing's Stand ability, somehow the power of his chop was not diminished in the slightest.

Just like a hot knife through butter, the King Crimson's palm sliced open Li Qing's shoulder without any resistance.

Third second:

Something unexpected happened.

After Li Qing's shoulder was cleaved open with a hand chop, a spurt of scalding blood gushed out from the wound.

Bleeding is normal for ordinary people when they are injured.

However, this was quite unexpected for Li Qing, who could instantly heal his injuries and maintain his physical integrity forever in Digitization Mode.

Diavolo then noticed from the screen that Li Qing Sin's health bar was gone.

Yes

He himself deactivated the Digitization Mode.

Fourth second:

Li Qing deactivated his digital form and withstood the King Crimson's hand strike with his bare body.

The hand chop effortlessly cleaved his right shoulder, severing his entire right arm and shoulder.

Crimson blood gushed out, and the stark white bone fragments were exposed. Just by looking at the scene, one could tell what kind of pain Li Qing was experiencing at this moment.

But that's what he wanted.

Like a lizard cutting off its tail to survive, he used the King Crimson's hand chop to remove his right arm, which was nailed to the ground by steel bars.

Before the King Crimson could even pull his still-powerful chop from the pool of blood, Li Qing had already abandoned his severed right arm and nimbly rolled to the side.

Fifth second:

The King Crimson hastily adjusted his stance and pounced on Li Qing, who had escaped not far away.

Meanwhile, Diavolo, as the true form of Diablo, couldn't help but become somewhat lax.

Because Li Qing's only arm capable of releasing the Sonically Enhanced Wave Ball had been severed, even if he escaped a few meters using this desperate method, it wouldn't change the overall situation.

Sixth second:

The King Crimson quickly caught up with Li Qing.

Covered in blood and with nowhere to escape, Li Qing had no choice but to grit his teeth, turn around, and face the attack head-on.

At this point, he restarted the datafication process.

The physical injuries were reflected in the digital body's health bar. When the health bar reappeared above Li Qing's head, it showed that his health was less than 50% remaining.

Diavolo's face lit up with the joy of impending victory, and the King Crimson pounced forward like a tiger descending from the mountain.

The seventh second:

Without Diavolo noticing, without any warning

Suddenly, a large hole appeared in the King Crimson's chest.

Unfortunately, the huge hole was located right in the crucial area of the heart. When the injury was simultaneously transferred to Diavolo's body, Diavolo's chest immediately gushed out large amounts of bright red arterial blood, like a high-pressure water gun with its valve turned on.

Eighth second:

He collapsed on the cold ground, suffocating in the blood that surged back up from his throat.

Consciousness blurred amidst the pain, and the King Crimson vanished without a trace.

At this moment, Diavolo could even clearly see the look of horror, confusion, and fear on his face eight seconds later.

Li Qing was very cautious and refused to stay there for even a second longer after successfully defeating Diavolo.

Without even checking Diavolo's injuries, he immediately turned around and unleashed a Sonically Enhanced Wave into the distance, as if he were about to fly directly into the sky.

Ninth second:

There are no more ninth or tenth seconds.

Diavolo's life was coming to an end; he didn't have a second left.

"This?!"

Diavolo was jolted awake from his vision of the future.

The way fate had killed him was so bizarre and sudden. The unexpected scene made him breathe heavily and cold sweat break out on his forehead. He couldn't help but instinctively cover his chest and search for his still-beating heart.

"Even the King Crimson's resilient body was powerless against him, yet that bald man..."

"They're still hiding this kind of attack method?"

Recalling the scene he had just witnessed, Diavolo suddenly realized:

The King Crimson possesses a strong physique that matches its immense power; if it were to block with all its might, it could even deflect bullets with its bare body.

But in the face of Li Qing's incredibly unpredictable attacks, its body was easily pierced as if it were a fragile piece of paper.

Not only that

Diavolo couldn't help but recall the white light that Li Qing had released in the very first second.

Anyone touched by that light, whether it's the original body or a clone, will enter a terrifying "slow-motion" state.

Just how many more abilities is this guy hiding?

"Has he grown to this extent in less than half a day?"

Diavolo felt a deep sense of apprehension.

Then

Without much hesitation, Diavolo commanded the King Crimson to raise his arm and deliver a powerful chop to the ground, just as the future scene showed.

Yes, even after seeing such a cruel future, he did not change his established attack strategy.

Because years of practice have taught Diavolo that:

Perhaps it was some kind of supernatural force at work, and no matter how hard he tried, the future would unfold as depicted in the Epitaph.

For example.

Even if Diavolo doesn't use his hand to attack, Li Qing can still pull out a dagger and cut off his own arm to survive.

Or, even if he had King Crimson switch targets to Li Qing's left arm, he might end up hitting Li Qing's right arm instead due to a ridiculous excuse like "slipping."

Li Qing will still escape; he will still die.

No matter how Diavolo changes his actions after seeing the future, his predetermined fate will unfold exactly as he saw in the "Epitaph."

Because fate cannot be changed by the power of mortals.

The only thing that can change this future, this destiny, is the King Crimson's "Time Removal," which transcends the rules.

"That's right, Rolling Stones's prediction of fate was correct."

"I am indeed a 'dying man,' and fate has already shown me the signs of my death."

"But so what?"

Diavolo watched intently as these familiar scenes unfolded:

Let the future unfold as fate has ordained.

"I will erase that fate along with time!"