The Qualification to Negotiate

The Killer Queen's hand was still reaching towards the photograph.

In fact, its movements were very swift and fierce. When it started to explode, it did so without any hesitation, and it was so fast that it left a small afterimage in mid-air.

But looking at the large hand reaching out towards him, Yoshikage Kira Sr. felt that this last period of time was so long and so heavy.

"I see."

"So you have a way to survive, that's great, Yoshikage."

Yoshikage Kira Sr., tears streaming down his face:

"Dad, I won't be able to protect you anymore."

"You must live on, you must live on!"

In that split second, Yoshikage Kira Sr., with the feeling of entrusting a memento to someone, did his best to send the arrow out of the photograph.

An arrow peeks out from the photograph.

Killer Queen also touched the edge of the photo.

Yoshikage Kira Sr.'s face, radiating kindness, was forever captured in the photograph.

Boom!

Actually, nothing happened.

The Killer Queen can control the degree of the explosion, making the explosion silent and without light, without even a trace of extra flame or blast wave.

This tactic is extremely subtle and can be used to commit crimes with almost guaranteed success.

And now, it's proving equally effective on its own father.

The instant the Killer Queen touched the photograph, it seemed to disintegrate naturally, instantly turning into ashes.

It all happened so fast, so secretly, so unexpectedly.

This was definitely an attack that the enemy didn't expect.

Farewell.

Bathed in the ashes, Yoshikage Kira took the arrow his father had handed him before he died.

He firmly believed that at this moment, the unkillable monster must have turned to ashes along with his dead father.

And he, Yoshikage Kira, will soon be able to continue living that happy life of going to work, coming home, eating, sleeping, and doing flexibility exercises every day.

Yoshikage Kira thought to himself with such satisfaction.

However, at this moment

Slap slap slap

A burst of enthusiastic and powerful applause suddenly rang out behind Yoshikage Kira.

"Wh-what?"

Yoshikage Kira's smile suddenly froze.

He struggled to twist his neck, which seemed like rusted iron, turning his head inch by inch:

Sure enough, the demon was still standing there unharmed.

Diavolo did not turn to ashes along with the photograph; his body remained intact.

He was now standing not far behind Yoshikage Kira, looking him up and down with the mocking gaze of a king scrutinizing a court jester.

"Amazing, amazing."

"To be able to use such a tactic so decisively."

"In a sense, you are indeed a true powerhouse."

Diavolo praised in a lukewarm manner.

In fact, he did appreciate this approach, after all, he believed from the bottom of his heart that so-called "bonds" were the greatest weakness of human nature, and only those who could discard all useless emotions were qualified to become strong.

However, in this context, when these words reached Yoshikage Kira's ears, they sounded like utter mockery—

It was as if his enemies were laughing at him, both openly and secretly.

"Are you there? Why are you sending Dad here?"

"Damn it! How is this possible?" Yoshikage Kira simply couldn't accept this cruel reality. "How could you possibly have predicted this attack?!"

"Heh." Diavolo chuckled softly, offering no answer.

But the answer is actually quite simple: he used the King Crimson's second ability, Epitaph, and saw this part of the future.

The Epitaph is Diavolo's true trump card.

Although this move has a relatively long cooldown, and you won't be able to see the future for a short period after using it, it's still powerful enough.

It helped Diavolo see his own death countless times, allowing Diavolo to use Time Erasure the process of his death, leaving only an altered result.

There are no "surprises" when it comes to Epitaph.

"So, do you have any last words?"

"Or, take this opportunity to think carefully about what you want to say when you reunite with your father in heaven?"

With such a lighthearted and playful tone, Diavolo slowly approached his prey.

Those footsteps were like heavy drumsticks, each one striking Yoshikage Kira's heart with tremendous force.

"No, I don't want to die!"

He bit his fingers so hard that his nails almost bled.

Then, he didn't have time to think about anything else; all he wanted was to survive, to live no matter what.

So, without caring whether he could escape, Yoshikage Kira suddenly turned around and ran away like a madman.

Diavolo immediately got serious:

"King Crimson, let time fly!"

It was yet another Time Erasure.

As the Time Erasure ended, the King Crimson appeared like a ghost beside Yoshikage Kira.

It pounced on Yoshikage Kira with an unstoppable momentum, like a tiger descending from the mountain or a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey—of course, to be precise, its primary target was the arrow in Yoshikage Kira's hand.

"Killer Queen!"

Even knowing that Killer Queen is no match for King Crimson, Yoshikage Kira can only instinctively use his Stand to block him.

The already battered and bruised Killer Queen stood in her way, covered in blood.

The King Crimson, firmly in control, crushes in.

The moment their Riot Games collided in mid-air, the Killer Queen's body began to tremble violently like an old washing machine.

But then, something unexpected happened to Diavolo.

As the King Crimson and the Killer Queen faced off in a fistfight.

The skull-shaped protrusion on the Killer Queen's left gauntlet, which looked like a decoration, suddenly detached from the back of her Killer Queen and jumped out with a thud.

"Killer Queen— "

"Sheer Heart Attack!"

Yoshikage Kira finally used his last trump card.

And he used this trump card at just the right time.

Because Diavolo has just used his Epitaph once, and after changing his fate once, he can no longer see the future during this short cooldown period.

And now, the Killer Queen is unleashing the Sheer Heart Attack right next to the King Crimson.

Diavolo certainly hadn't expected this, nor could he have imagined it.

The little car in the big cat's paw could actually be detached?

In the blink of an eye, the automated bomb vehicle called Sheer Heart Attack leaped onto the King Crimson's chest like a facehugger.

Then, the next second... Boom!

A flash of fire appeared, and bursts of flame and shockwaves erupted from within arm's reach of the King Crimson.

"What?!"

Diavolo was taken aback.

At this moment, he could already feel the pain brought on by the blazing flames scorching the King Crimson.

But Time Erasure is indeed powerful enough.

Even though he was a little slow, Diavolo still managed to activate King Crimson's Time Erasure ability just in time, before the blast's impact could fully spread.

He instantly entered an invincible state.

Yoshikage Kira's trump card, the so-called Sheer Heart Attack, was like a flamethrower in a butcher's hand; even at full power, it only managed to burn off a layer of pig bristles.

"Is it a long-range, automated attack Stand?"

Diavolo quickly recognized the skull-shaped car as it was.

Because this thing continued to lock onto Diavolo and act even during the time it was removed, which was clearly not something that was subjectively controlled by the original body.

Logically speaking, this should indeed cause Diavolo some trouble.

But

"It's too slow."

"At that speed, it can't catch up with a person if they run a little faster, right?"

Diavolo watched the car slowly approaching him, his heart unmoved.

For the first time, he luxuriously maintained a prolonged Time Erasure, calmly taking a few steps back to lure the automatic bomb car a little further away, and then...

"King Crimson!"

Diavolo used King Crimson to carry him as he leaped out, instantly creating distance from the Sheer Heart Attack, and also leaped to Yoshikage Kira's side.

The Sheer Heart Attack is still a few meters away, and it will take at least one second to turn around and cause trouble for Diavolo.

Diavolo was confident that he could defeat Yoshikage Kira's true form in just 0.5 seconds, thus ending this battle with no suspense whatsoever.

Unfortunately, with the main body's vital point so close, this kind of mindless and slow automatic Stand is not very effective.

And so, "Time Erasure ends!"

The King Crimson once again brought down that simple yet deadly hand chop.

However, at this critical moment:

"Stop!"

"Otherwise, I'll destroy the arrows!"

Yoshikage Kira roared desperately in despair.

"What?"

Diavolo's pupils contracted, and the King Crimson's killing move faltered for a moment.

Only then did he realize with horror the shock he had felt during that brief moment of chaos caused by the unexpected explosion of the Sheer Heart Attack.

Yoshikage Kira managed to find a gap in the King Crimson's impenetrable offensive and quietly delivered an arrow to the Killer Queen!

"You've seen the detonation speed of Killer Queen."

"An arrow or a photograph, the Killer Queen can detonate anything in her hands in an instant, in a single instant!"

Yoshikage Kira used his recently deceased father as a vivid example:

"You might be able to kill me, but could you stop such a rapid explosion?"

"You can't do it!"

"Your aim is the arrow, not my life, isn't it?"

"If you kill me but don't get the arrow, it'll definitely be a losing proposition, won't it?"

"."

Diavolo's face immediately turned ashen.

He felt an unprecedented anger:

It's happening again; someone else is trying to destroy his dream that's so close yet so far.

"Kid, do you know what you're doing?"

Diavolo's voice was chillingly cold:

You'll regret this.

"Don't think that just because you're dead you can do whatever you want. There are many ways to die. I hope you can choose the easier one."

"I just want to live."

Yoshikage Kira clutched his bleeding shoulder, his voice weak but firm:

"I, Yoshikage Kira, only want to live a peaceful life."

"And didn't you say that you need qualifications to negotiate terms?"

The Killer Queen gripped tightly the arrow that would decide their fates:

"I've obtained this qualification."

PS: Substitute Panel

Stand name: "Sheer Heart Attack"

Body—— Yoshikage Kira

Destructive power: A

Speed: C

Range: A

Endurance: A

Motion precision: E

Growth potential: A

The small Stand that separated from Killer Queen's left hand. It looks like a remote-controlled bomb car and can track targets based on "body temperature". Its abilities are basically the same as Killer Queen's, but it is a long-range automatic Stand.

Kira has extremely strong defense, but its weaknesses are also obvious: Kira cannot designate a target for its Sheer Heart Attack, so it is very easy to accidentally injure and waste time on non-target objects; at the same time, its movement speed is not fast, and the target can easily escape the attack range of the Sheer Heart Attack by running.

One update today. I'm genuinely feeling unwell; after all, I'm a seasoned procrastinator—I always skip updates directly, never making up excuses. I think I caught a chill; I felt dizzy, lightheaded, and chilly all day. I was planning to skip the whole thing, but considering how long I've missed updates before, a full skip would be too embarrassing, so a partial skip would be more dignified. In the end, I stayed under the covers and forced myself to finish one chapter. That's all for today. I'm taking my medicine and getting some rest; hopefully, I'll feel better tomorrow.