Catch Them Off Guard

In just a few seconds, Diavolo had completely seen through the true nature of the father and son in front of him:

Yoshikage Kira's Stand ability seems to turn anything it touches into a bomb.

This ability isn't weak, but this kind of pure, instantaneous physical attack, which can be easily dodged with just a 0.5-second Time Erasure, is exactly the type of attack that King Crimson fears the least.

Yoshikage Kira Sr.'s Stand ability does seem to pose some threat at the moment—at least, Diavolo doesn't yet know how to deal with an old ghost hiding in a photograph.

Unfortunately, this old ghost revealed his incurable "benevolent father" nature.

He made taking care of his son the entire meaning of his life; his son was his obsession and his everything.

This is Yoshikage Kira Sr.'s biggest weakness.

Diavolo, having ruled the underworld for over a decade, knew all too well:

Family ties, romantic love, friendship, and all sorts of other complicated feelings—these entanglements are a person's greatest weakness.

This human weakness is far more fatal than the weakness in the Stand's abilities.

Diavolo had no doubt that as long as he quickly captured Yoshikage Kira, and then used his extensive past experience to easily show off his skills against Yoshikage Kira—

The loving old father would do anything to make his son die a quick and painless death.

And that is exactly the case now.

Even though Diavolo coldly rejected his offer, the irritable old man still pleaded pitifully, desperate to save his son's life.

"Yes, I'm sorry, we were wrong before."

"Please take the arrow and leave."

"Think about it, you also hold our secrets in your hands, how dare we casually reveal your whereabouts?"

"Believe me, no matter who investigates later, my son and I will not say a word."

"That's enough, Father."

However, it was Yoshikage Kira who stopped his father's plea.

He had a clearer understanding of the situation than his dead father:

"That guy is right, ants have no right to negotiate with humans."

He had already made up his mind to kill.

"Then, son, you must escape quickly!" Yoshikage Kira Sr. said in a panic. "I'll take you out of the room, and I'll cover your retreat here."

As he spoke, he manipulated the photograph he was parasitizing to slowly fly to his son's side.

With a tragic feeling of wanting to live and die with his son, he manipulated the photograph to float in front of his son, as if to bid farewell to his son with a deep and affectionate gaze.

But Yoshikage Kira had no interest in having a sentimental farewell with his dead father.

"."

He lowered his head and fell into a deathly silence.

He had just been forced from the doorway to the center of the room in order to escape the King Crimson's deadly pursuit.

Despite being only a few meters from the exit, Yoshikage Kira had no confidence that he could safely make it that far given the enemy's formidable and unpredictable abilities.

Speaking of which, he does have a trump card called the Sheer Heart Attack, but if the enemy can remain completely unharmed and disappear without a trace, this so-called trump card will probably be difficult to use in his escape.

After all, it was just an automated bomb vehicle—if Diavolo could dodge the Atom Heart Father's sure-hit attack, this simple explosive attack would probably be even less effective.

"Damn it. Damn it."

No matter how hard he tried, Yoshikage Kira couldn't find a way to guarantee his safety.

If you really want absolute safety, then the only option is to eliminate Diavolo.

But how easy is that?

The thought that his ordinary life would end in blood and death made Yoshikage Kira bite his nails in despair.

Diavolo was no longer willing to give the father and son time to say goodbye.

He slowly approached with King Crimson, without using his Stand ability, merely provocatively forcing Kira and his son to take action.

The wounded Killer Queen was also completely defeated on the front lines, so Kira and his son naturally had to step in to stop her.

"Don't come any closer! Don't come near my son!"

In the photo, Yoshikage Kira Sr. is seen frantically stabbing Diavolo's heart with a kitchen knife.

In reality, even kitchen knives flew up.

But all of this is just a replay of what just happened.

Diavolo skillfully activated Time Erasure, rendering Yoshikage Kira Sr.'s attack ineffective, and then used the same trick to teleport behind Yoshikage Kira.

After being stunned and injured once, Yoshikage Kira reacted much faster this time.

He manipulated the Killer Queen, leading himself to dodge as he went, and in the end, he only narrowly escaped with some minor injuries.

The injury wasn't fatal, but it made matters worse.

Yoshikage Kira's body became even more broken and weak. He didn't know how much longer he could survive in front of that monster, or how many more of those incomprehensible attacks he could withstand.

Seeing his son beaten so badly, Yoshikage Kira Sr. was already in tears.

All that remained in his mind was despair.

But at that moment...

Yoshikage Kira, however, seemed to have thought of a way to defeat the enemy, and his expression suddenly hardened:

"Don't stop!"

"Keep attacking, don't stop for a second!"

"His ability to ignore attacks must have a cost. As long as we can hold out until he needs to rest, we still have a chance!"

"Is that so?"

Yoshikage Kira Sr.'s eyes began to light up.

He believed his son completely, and his son's words immediately gave him hope.

So Yoshikage Kira Sr. began frantically stabbing Diavolo in the photograph.

Judging from his impassioned demeanor and blood-pumping expression, it seemed as if he wished he could be fully equipped with attack speed items and unleash five attacks per second.

But in reality, this old ghost's movements were extremely slow, and his stabbing speed was outrageously slow.

Diavolo scoffed at the reaction of Kira and his son:

"You want to wear me down to the point where I can't activate Time Erasure abilities anymore? Can you hold out until then?"

Without saying a word, he started the Time Erasure again.

It was another Time Erasure to dodge the flying knife, followed by a maneuver to close in behind him, and finally, a stiff yet deadly hand chop.

This time, Yoshikage Kira's injury became even more serious.

It was so bad that it looked like it was about to collapse.

"Son?"

Yoshikage Kira Sr. couldn't help but have serious doubts about the plan his son had just proposed.

He never questioned his son's decisions, but this time, with Yoshikage Kira's life at stake, he had to think more carefully:

Does this really work?

"Your injuries are so severe, how are you going to hold on until you can wear down the opponent to the point where they can't use their abilities anymore?!"

"Continue--"

"This is our only option, let's continue!"

Yoshikage Kira, like a rebellious teenager, responded to his father's questioning in such a cold and sharp tone.

Yoshikage Kira Sr. didn't quite understand:

Clearly, the son's tactics were not working.

His injuries were already very serious, and he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

Besides, who knows how many times the enemy will need to use their abilities before they become exhausted?

If they continue fighting like this, they have no chance of winning.

So, what exactly was Yoshikage Kira thinking?

Was he so desperate that he decided to take a gamble, or was he hiding some real killer move?

Yoshikage Kira Sr. manipulated the photograph to float beside his beloved child, looking at Yoshikage Kira with a worried expression.

And just then...

Killer Queen moved, in a way that Yoshikage Kira Sr. never expected.

With a subtle gesture that Diavolo could hardly detect, it carefully pretended to protect its true form while quietly, quietly...

He reached out towards the photograph of the body that Yoshikage Kira Sr. had possessed.

"."

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

Yoshikage Kira Sr. wasn't stupid; he was just often distracted by his excessive worry for his son.

But now, in this instant, he felt his mind, which had already transformed into a spirit, become unusually clear.

He could even see through the problem he didn't want to see through in an instant during this almost frozen time—

What is the Killer Queen trying to do by reaching for the photo?

The answer is definitely not that Yoshikage Kira wanted his Stand to get intimate with his own father.

The answer is actually quite simple:

1. The Killer Queen can instantly detonate anything she touches, and the explosion is so fast that no one can react in time.

2. If the photo is destroyed, everyone in the photo will disappear along with it—whether it's Yoshikage Kira Sr. or Diavolo.

"I'm sorry, Father."

Yoshikage Kira remained silent.

But Yoshikage Kira Sr. could read what his son wanted to say from his cold yet complex eyes:

"You're right, I simply can't survive using the stupid methods."

"Those so-called tactics were just something I used to lower the enemy's guard."

There is actually only one way to break this deadlock—

"The enemy's invincibility must be actively utilized."

"So, as long as my attack is so unexpected that it leaves no room for reaction, I have a chance to seize that one moment and blow up the enemy."

Ultimately, his goal was to catch the enemy off guard and launch a surprise attack.

However, the Killer Queen's abilities have a clear "pre-cast animation".

Those contact mines that explode upon impact need to be thrown, making the action extremely obvious.

The kind of detonating mines that are actively detonated do have the "accidental" nature of landmines, but the Killer Queen has to make an unnecessary action of "pressing the second joint of her right index finger" when detonating them, which gives the enemy time to react.

But directly detonating the photo is different.

It only takes a moment to blast the photo in your hand, and it only takes a moment for Diavolo to turn to ashes as well.

Diavolo knows very little about the Atom Heart Father's abilities; he probably doesn't even know that destroying the photograph would kill everyone in it.

Even if he could know

Could he have imagined that Yoshikage Kira would even blow up his own father?

There's no trick more "surprising" than sacrificing one's own father.

By the time Diavolo truly realized what was happening, he probably wouldn't have had the chance to activate that so-called "invincible" ability.

This was Yoshikage Kira's entire idea: a cruel, but extremely effective tactic.

"I'm sorry, Father."

"If we don't do this, we will all die."

In the Yoshikage Kira bids farewell to his father with a cold gaze:

"You can go without worry."

"I will live a good life, and live a happier life than anyone else!"