Thrown in at the Deep End

Baby Face struggled to get up from the pile of rubble.

As a special Stand with a physical body, flesh and blood, and an existence form almost indistinguishable from humans, it perfectly replicates the vulnerability of the human body when injured:

Its small, thin body was twisted into a knot like a pretzel under the intense pain, and blood kept flowing from the corner of its mouth like a faucet that couldn't be turned off.

Although the body appears intact on the surface, the gushing blood that flows down and forms a stream indicates that the Baby Face man's internal condition must be quite dire.

Fortunately, this is not a real flesh and blood body.

If Baby Face had vital organs, weaknesses, and internal organs like a human, that blow would probably have killed it on the spot.

"Ouch. This guy is terrifying."

A silent wail echoed in the Baby Face's heart.

And this wailing wasn't for its own ears, but rather a telepathic message sent to Melone—

Ordinary remote-controlled automated clones, such as Polpo's Black Sabbath, are completely unable to contact their original owner when performing missions far away from them.

Like a vicious dog let out of its home, even if it dies outside, its owner won't know.

But the Baby Face is different.

This stand-in can actually be divided into two parts: the original person and the child.

Its main body looks like a laptop, while the Baby Face child looks more like an intelligent robot being remotely controlled by this computer to carry out missions.

Through this "computer," Melone can communicate remotely and in real time with Baby Face.

Baby Face's thoughts would appear directly as text on the "computer" screen, and Melone could communicate with Baby Face remotely by typing on the keyboard.

To put it simply, the Baby Face can have remote text chats with Melone.

So.

As Melone anxiously awaited news of victory back home, the following words suddenly appeared on the "computer" screen in front of him:

"Dad, let me go back."

"I can't kill this person."

The message from the Baby Face- faced man was like a bucket of cold water poured over Melone's face, instantly extinguishing his enthusiasm:

"Can't kill him? What do you mean 'can't kill him'!"

"You were born to be a killing machine. Do you think a hairdryer can't blow air, or a meat grinder can't grind meat?!"

"If these things can't be done, then there's no point in having a 'machine'!"

Melone furiously typed out these words on the keyboard:

Ten seconds ago, the Baby Face reported that "the prey is about to enter the trap."

In just a few blinks of an eye, this person is no longer able to be killed?

This guy clearly chickened out!

"Bastard!"

"I should have drowned you in the toilet back then!"

Melone felt a pang of regret, regretting that he shouldn't have taken chances and fantasized that this naturally timid reject could be successfully trained.

In retrospect, his education of this Baby Face was a complete failure.

When it comes to actually fighting, this coward will expose its weakness.

"Dad."

The Baby Face's answer was one of deep grievance:

"It's not that I don't try, it's just that the enemy is too strong."

"Too powerful?"

Melone slightly tempered his temper and questioned:

"Just how strong is he? What is his Stand ability?"

No, I don't know.

"He didn't use his Stand ability at all."

The Baby Face continued to defend himself:

"But he saw through my disguise immediately and even used a stand-in to stomp on me, causing serious injury."

"Nonsense!!!"

Melone furiously pounded on the computer.

Because the force of the blow was too great, the damage reflected back from this "computer" stand-in even caused him some chest pain:

"You're saying he's strong without even seeing his Stand ability?"

"I saw through your disguise at a glance. How are you still alive?"

"I can tell you're clearly afraid to fight, which is why you lied about the military situation in an attempt to escape!"

Melone launched into a tirade against the Baby Face.

This series of insults and misunderstandings made the Baby Face unable to suppress his anger:

"If you're so good, then you do it!"

"If you think the enemy isn't strong, then don't just hide in the back and keep typing on the keyboard!"

"."

Upon hearing such rebellious words, Melone was so angry that he was speechless.

He didn't know how strong the enemy was, but he knew that his stand-in was definitely a complete coward.

"Shut up!"

Melone directly used his authority as the original body to issue an irresistible, absolute order to the Baby Face:

"Go and kill that guy right now—"

"Immediately! Right now!"

"I"

The Baby Face seemed to want to say something more.

But its body had already started moving on its own, beyond its control.

It had no way to resist Melone's orders and could only move its legs uncontrollably, watching helplessly as it got closer and closer to the "monster" in front of it.

"It's over."

The Baby Face relentlessly pursued Jotaro with fierce might, while pitifully streaming hot tears streamed down her face.

"I'm dead!"

Jotaro didn't notice what was happening behind him.

He was simply pushing himself forward at high speed in the direction Polnareff might appear.

During this process, he had to concentrate all his attention, because the power of the Star Platinum was simply too great. The acceleration load of high-speed movement and the reaction force of stomping on the ground were far beyond what a human body could withstand.

If one is not careful in adjusting their posture, controlling the force and direction, even someone as strong as Jotaro could get injured.

But now, in order to get to his best friend's aid as soon as possible, Jotaro can't worry about anything else.

Fortunately, his little adventure didn't last long.

Because Jotaro had only walked a few hundred meters from the station when he saw his dearest friend in front of a wide bridge.

Polnareff is on the bridge.

Blood was flowing continuously from his body, and he appeared to be seriously injured.

But instead of heading towards the station, he turned his back to Jotaro and staggered toward the other side of the bridge.

By this time, the enemy had vanished without a trace.

There was only a car that was abruptly parked across the bridge next to Polnareff, and a few passersby with expressions of fear on their faces.

These passersby were all leaning over the railing with horrified expressions, pointing and gesturing at what was happening below the bridge, seemingly watching something.

Jotaro paid no attention to the passersby, but hurried to catch up with them on the bridge:

"Polnareff?"

Where are you going?

"Um?"

Polnareff was slightly taken aback.

He turned around and looked at his best friend who had suddenly appeared in front of him:

"Jotaro, what brings you here?"

"I went back to the shop to get more ice. The ice I just got was kicked into the river by the enemy. You know, I would never go back empty-handed."

Polnareff briefly explained his situation.

Jotaro, on the other hand, breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It seems Polnareff is alright.

Although he looked badly injured, the fact that he still had the strength to turn back and look for more ice meant that the injury was clearly still within Polnareff's tolerance level.

"No more ice is needed."

"That young man named Li Qing is stronger than we imagined."

"The enemies inside the station have been defeated by him and me working together."

Jotaro said crisply and clearly.

"That's great!"

Polnareff breathed a long sigh of relief.

He instinctively wanted to lean on something to relax.

But seeing the car parked not far from him, Polnareff thought for a moment and then took a few more steps to lean against the iron railing a little further away.

"Cough cough. It's been a long time since I've experienced such an intense battle, and my body is still a bit too much for it."

"Now that everything is alright over there, I can finally rest easy for a bit."

Polnareff sighed with relief.

Such a scene should have been relaxing and comforting, but just as he was celebrating his victory, a series of agonizing screams came from the sea below the bridge, ruining the atmosphere.

The screams had actually been going on for a while, but Jotaro had been too busy worrying about his best friend to notice them.

Now, looking down from that scream, we see...

Jotaro immediately realized what those passersby had been looking at while lying on the bridge:

In the azure sea, a humanoid ball of fire, its body emitting smoke, was struggling desperately.

He seemed to be trying to extinguish the flames on his body with seawater.

But after realizing that such behavior would only make his death more painful, he tried his best to swim to the shore.

However, even passersby could see that such a struggle was completely futile—burned to such an extent, he was absolutely beyond saving.

"This is... the enemy?"

Jotaro roughly guessed what was going on:

Clearly, he arrived at the perfect time.

The battle on Polnareff's side had just ended, while the enemy was still stubbornly clinging to life.

"That's right, this guy's name is Illuso."

Polnareff said with a sigh:

"This is a very difficult enemy; it took me a lot of effort to defeat him."

"And he seems to have his own 'dignity' too."

Looking at the humanoid ball of fire still struggling desperately to get ashore under the bridge, his tone became complicated:

"After I set him on fire, I gave him a 'dagger' so that he couldn't take it anymore and would end his own life."

"Now it seems like I was meddling."

"This"

Jotaro's expression turned somewhat strange:

He had seen this kind of drama before.

However, it was Polnareff who was lying in the fire at that time, while the one who gave him the dagger was another long-deceased close friend.

Thinking of this, the glorious past inevitably resurfaces in my mind.

"It's been so long."

Jotaro was also slightly moved by the scene.

The screams from under the bridge continued intermittently.

The two close friends reminisced about the past and sighed over the old days while standing on the bridge.

Of course, none of them noticed.

On the bridge surface, a raised piece of "cement" is silently and slowly approaching.

The Baby Face is here.