The Third Mark

Only then did Anthony realize with horror that the continuous groans of pain beside him had disappeared.

Because the moment Bucciarati's severed arm vanished into thin air, the true owner of that arm, the severely injured drug addict, was swallowed up along with his arm into the alternate dimension inside the black toad's belly.

"We were completely fooled."

Anthony pressed his lips together, his heart churning with turbulent emotions:

He thought he had placed three marks on Bucciarati, but in reality, all three of his attack opportunities had been wasted on that useless addict.

Bucciarati himself no longer has any fish-shaped markings on his body.

Steel Chain Fingers, the main damage dealer, now only has a layer of fish-shaped markings left from before that haven't disappeared yet.

Bucciarati's eyes were full of determination.

He believed he would win.

The clever trick of substituting one thing for another bought them invaluable time to advance, allowing them to break through what should have been a fatal defensive line without suffering any casualties.

At this moment, the two of them had simultaneously closed to within a meter of Anthony.

The next instant, the Steel Chain Fingers will launch a fatal attack on Anthony's body.

The black toad's attack speed was indeed extremely fast, but in that brief moment, even its long, swift tongue could only attack once at most.

So, here's the question:

There's only time to brand one mark yet, while Bucciarati has zero marks and Steel Chain Fingers has one mark. So, who should Anthony brand to save himself?

In that split second, Anthony gave his correct answer:

"Of course it's myself—"

"King of Rivers!"

Facing the blue fist that was so close at hand, Anthony surprisingly did not show any panic.

The thick, long tongue suddenly tightened in mid-air, and like a dark red lightning bolt, it passed over the Steel Chain Fingers and Bucciarati who were sprinting forward with all their might, and pounced straight at Anthony, who was further away.

"What?"

Bucciarati's pupils contracted.

His usual composure was subtly broken, and a hint of surprise welled up in his bright blue eyes:

"He actually had his stand-in attack him with his tongue?"

In this almost frozen moment, to Bucciarati's astonishment, Anthony slowly raised his arm to meet the oncoming dark red tongue.

On the wrist exposed by the slipped sleeve, two dark red fish-shaped marks were glowing.

"Do you think I would come out to fight unprepared, Bucciarati?"

"Before the battle even began, I had already branded myself with two layers of marks!"

Before the words were even finished, and before the blue fist shadow of the Steel Chain Fingers could strike with full force, the tough yet soft long tongue very restrainedly licked Anthony's arm lightly.

The third fish-shaped mark was instantly imprinted.

The black toad opened its blood-red maw, and an invisible spatial force was instantly activated.

Anthony vanished without a sound, leaving only air in front of Steel Chain Fingers and Bucciarati.

His Riot Games missed its target.

Bucciarati's final, desperate attack, achieved through sheer wisdom and the sacrifice of his life, ultimately failed.

"Miscalculation"

Bucciarati's face darkened:

"I never expected that such spatial abilities could be used on the Stand User himself."

"If he can control the reappearance of vanished objects at will, that ability would be a perfect protection for him."

He slowly turned around and looked warily at the tall, black toad.

After its owner disappeared, it seemed to lose its purpose and just stood there blankly.

But this situation only lasted for a brief moment.

While Anthony, who had hidden in the alternate dimension, was indeed unable to observe the outside world or control the King of Rivers in battle, he could at least control the black toad to spit him out.

That's all.

Just as Bucciarati turned around with a solemn expression, Anthony, who had almost lost his life to the Steel Chain Fingers fist, appeared unharmed next to the black toad.

The distance between the two sides increased to two meters again.

Everything has returned to the beginning, back to the moment when Bucciarati decided to attack Anthony's true form.

But this time, he no longer had a second "fake hand" available.

"Ha ha ha ha."

As Anthony stealthily hid behind the black toad, he burst into laughter in a voice trembling with excitement from the life-or-death struggle:

"My boss taught me that the most important thing in Stand combat is to plan ahead and have a backup plan."

"It's a pity that you had an extra trick up your sleeve, but you didn't anticipate my move."

He laughed so lightly, as if the victory of the battle had already been his.

But it must be said that Anthony certainly has the right to laugh out loud now:

With that prosthetic hand, Bucciarati no longer has any "shield" on his body to help block the tongue.

If the fighting continues, he will really have to use his own body to fight the enemy.

And that sprint just now has already proven it.

In that short distance of two or three meters, the time it took to break through the defense and rush to Anthony's front was enough for the black toad to launch up to four attacks.

Four attacks mean that four layers of marks can be stacked.

This means that before Bucciarati successfully breaks through the defenses, the enemy can guarantee that either Bucciarati or Steel Chain Fingers will disappear.

"That's enough!"

Bucciarati's eyes burned with a fierce fire.

He knew he had nowhere to retreat, yet he managed to fight his way out of this extremely perilous situation:

"I truly no longer have a 'shield' to stop my tongue."

"But you've already used up the marks that were previously imprinted on your body, and it's too late to replenish them now."

"Neither of us can use the same tricks as before, now..."

"That's when the real battle will begin!"

Bucciarati tensed all his muscles and suddenly charged towards Anthony.

He didn't hesitate for a moment, or pause for a second, otherwise Anthony would have had time to re-mark himself.

If he launches an attack now, the other party must decide whether to prioritize self-defense or attack.

Anthony's choice is:

"Kill them!"

He believed he would win this final battle.

The dark red giant tongue suddenly shot out, slashing rapidly towards Bucciarati and the Steel Chain Fingers.

"Steel Chain Fingers!"

Without hesitation, Bucciarati pushed the Steel Chain Fingers against it.

This is a multiple-choice question that requires no answer. If he and his substitute must be devoured, then the one sacrificed cannot be his vital original self.

If the original body is gone, the existence of the substitute body becomes meaningless.

So, as the dark red tongue hurtled towards him, Steel Chain Fingers immediately raised his Riot Games to meet it head-on.

It tried to grab the tongue with both hands.

But the long tongue was like a slippery eel; it merely touched the Steel Chain Fingers and left a fish-shaped mark before disappearing in a flash.

"The second layer."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Anthony's eyes:

Including the marks left before, the marks on the Steel Chain Fingers have now been stacked into two layers.

The next attack will devour the Steel Chain Fingers, leaving him with only a "severed-hand" Bucciarati as his enemy.

"Again!"

Everything was happening just as Anthony had imagined.

The giant tongue shot out again, creating a phantom effect as it flew through the air.

From the perspective of an ordinary bystander, Bucciarati seems to be fighting a shadow.

He had no way to avoid it and could only let his Steel Chain Fingers, which were already marked with two layers of marks, continue to block the attacks for his main body.

Finally

"The third floor!"

Bucciarati had barely broken through a meter when the swift, shadow-like giant tongue launched two attacks in quick succession.

Three marks were simultaneously branded onto various parts of the Steel Chain Fingers, instantly activating the invisible spatial abilities.

In that instant, the Steel Chain Fingers disappeared.

Bucciarati was completely unaware of his Stand's existence; at this moment, he was all alone on the battlefield.

Anthony grinned smugly at him, his nightmarish tongue striking out again without pause.

But Bucciarati still did not give up:

"There's still a chance. There's still a chance!"

He clenched his teeth, raised his only remaining arm, and Riot Games Anthony with all his might.

At this moment, Bucciarati is indeed very close to Anthony.

But now he has no substitute, no "shield," and nothing can help him stop the onslaught of that swift, gigantic tongue.

"The first floor!"

Anthony counted silently in his mind.

The dark red giant tongue struck Bucciarati mercilessly, causing him to stagger.

"The second floor!"

Bucciarati still refused to give up.

He braved the onrushing giant tongue and used his life to break through that final inch of distance:

Bang!

The moment after the giant tongue struck for the second time, the punch landed heavily on Anthony's face.

Taking advantage of the situation, Bucciarati pounced and knocked Anthony to the ground with a punch.

But Anthony just laughed.

Ignoring the blood that suddenly spilled from the corner of his mouth, he stared intently at Bucciarati, who had pinned him to the ground, with his bloodshot, agitated eyes.

"Your Riot Games aren't hard enough, Bucciarati!"

"If you don't knock me out this time, you'll never have another chance—"

"Third layer of markings, complete!"