The Only Reason You Failed

Angelo is now just a stone statue, so Li Qing and Giorno will always unconsciously forget about him.

He remained safely hidden in Li Qing's blind spot and was never included in the candidate list for upgrading the sacrifice.

After all, who would think of killing a rock?

But there is no denying that this stone is indeed alive.

Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Angelo, who has become one with the rock, will likely outlive everyone else.

He could even stand safely near the Higashikata Family, watching Josuke Higashikata, who had turned him into this grotesque figure, grow old and become a corpse.

However, unfortunately

At that critical moment that determined their life or death, Li Qing and Giorno thought of him at just the right time:

"Angelo?"

"Angelo."

A brief moment of silence, then:

"Sonically Enhanced Wave! Echoes Act!"

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

Angelo Rock, a beloved community attraction and a close friend of the residents of Morioh, was reduced to dust.

Li Qing crushed the massive rock in less than three seconds, and casually scattered the lime as well.

Angelo is dead.

An immense power surged forth from Li Qing's body.

So, half a minute later.

At the entrance of Hongcun's home.

Red Hot Chili Pepper's body was pressed deeply into the ground by Li Qing.

It struggled desperately, but instead sank deeper and deeper into the hard soil under Li Qing's pressure.

Feeling the immense force emanating from those knotted arms, its eyes filled with shock and fear:

"H-How could this happen?"

"This power... this power is even stronger than mine?!"

Red Hot Chili Pepper growled in disbelief.

Hidden behind the scenes Akira Otoshi could never have imagined why Li Qing could become so strong in just half a minute.

He didn't know what had happened to Li Qing, but he did know that...

I'm about to die!

Red Hot Chili Pepper is a Stand with an extremely long range, so it can be remotely controlled, but it is not a remotely automatic Stand.

The damage it suffers will be proportionally reflected back to Akira Otoshi's original body.

The instant Red Hot Chili Pepper was slammed into the ground by Li Qing, Akira Otoshi, who was hiding in the shadows, fell heavily to the ground in the same manner.

He could feel an invisible, immense force squeezing his head, forcing his fragile skull into closer contact with the hard ground.

The terrifying pressure had caused his scalp to tear and blood to flow from his seven orifices.

If we don't retaliate quickly, his head will explode like a smashed watermelon.

That is, just as Akira Otoshi said a few seconds ago—to grind into mincemeat.

"Spicy red pepper!"

"Unleash your full power!"

Akira Otoshi didn't want to die, especially not in such a horrific way.

A strong will to survive surged from his heart, causing his innate and powerful mental energy to be brought to its fullest potential in that instant.

Red Hot Chili Pepper shone brightly, and electric snakes danced wildly around them.

The vast spiritual energy transformed into a powerful and deadly electric current at that moment.

This electric current, carrying the purest power unleashed by the Red Hot Chili Pepper, surged towards Li Qing like a tidal wave.

"Um?"

Li Qing frowned slightly.

The powerful electric shock just now was able to injure his already indestructible body, causing his flesh and blood to become slightly numb.

Taking advantage of Li Qing's momentary lapse in concentration, the Red Hot Chili Pepper burst forth from the ground and soared into the sky amidst a dazzling burst of lightning.

"Successfully broke free."

"Run for your life!"

The courage of the weak comes easily but also goes quickly.

In reality, the power gap between Red Hot Chili Pepper and Li Qing wasn't that vast, but Akira Otoshi never considered using his intelligence and willpower to bridge that gap.

He was ultimately just an ordinary person who stumbled upon this opportunity, not a qualified Stand User.

Having narrowly escaped death and discovered that his most prized strength and speed had been surpassed by Li Qing, all Akira Otoshi could think of was escaping.

"Run! Quickly, crawl into the power lines and escape!"

Guided by this philosophy, Red Hot Chili Pepper channeled all the immense power she unleashed into her legs.

It frantically broke free from Li Qing's control and instantly left a golden flash trail as it hurtled towards the roadside utility pole.

The distance between the utility poles is actually very short, only a few meters.

The Red Hot Chili Pepper can escape in an instant, and in the next second it can burrow into the wire and turn into a elusive current.

However, at this moment

Where do you want to go?

Li Qing's cold voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

A large hand tore through the lightning and gripped Red Hot Chili Pepper's shoulder firmly like an iron clamp.

The lightning phantom, so fast it was almost invisible, suddenly stopped, as if someone had pressed pause.

"We've been caught again!!"

Red Hot Chili Pepper looked horrified.

Hidden behind the scenes, Akira Otoshi's face was as pale as paper.

He tried desperately to urge Red Hot Chili Pepper to break free of her restraints, but all Red Hot Chili Pepper gave him in return was the excruciating pain of his shoulder being brutally crushed.

"Ah!" Akira Otoshi's scream was perfectly reproduced from the mouth of Red Hot Chili Pepper.

Hearing such a piercing wail, Li Qing felt neither pleasure nor pity.

It was a chilling calm.

Beneath the calm surface, however, burns a raging inferno of anger.

"You want to leave, is that it?"

"Then let me see you off!"

In this almost still moment, Li Qing's voice clearly reached Red Hot Chili Pepper's ears.

Then, the next second.

"Sonically Enhanced Wave!"

Li Qing's Sonically Enhanced Wave rarely hits the enemy directly.

But this time, he can guarantee a win.

Because Li Qing's Riot Games had already slammed heavily into Red Hot Chili Pepper's chest like a battering ram.

A vast, ocean-like force surged in without reservation, leaving a shocking fist mark on his lean yet hard chest.

Li Qing's right fist was deeply embedded in Red Hot Chili Pepper's sunken and broken chest, and in this zero-distance contact that could not possibly miss, he unleashed that Sonically Enhanced Wave.

The shimmering white light vanished in an instant, leaving an indelible, fatal mark on Red Hot Chili Pepper's chest.

And Li Qing made his move again:

"Dragon Tail Kick!"

Endless power gathered in his legs.

Li Qing leaped into the air, twisting his body to gather immense power, and unleashed an unstoppable spinning kick at Red Hot Chili Pepper.

This isn't actually a true Dragon Tail Kick, because Li Qing is only level 5 right now.

This was just a regular spinning kick he executed, mimicking the Dragon Tail Kick.

However, with the support of Li Qing's unparalleled strength, this ordinary spinning kick could unleash a terrifying power that rivaled any real skill.

"Aaaaaah!"

The screams of the Red Hot Chili Pepper rang out again.

Before the ear-piercing sound could spread, its body was propelled into the air by the immense force of the spinning kick.

It is now like a cannonball, a shooting star.

The meteor shot uncontrollably backward, leaving a dazzling golden trail in the air.

At the top of this dazzling star trail, Red Hot Chili Pepper's out-of-control body began to repeatedly slam against the wall.

Walls were smashed to pieces, and all the buildings along the way suffered terrible damage.

Finally, the Red Hot Chili Pepper crashed heavily onto a wide road.

Its body smashed through the solid concrete surface of the wide avenue with a single blow, creating a shocking human-shaped crater.

With this kick, Red Hot Chili Pepper flew nearly a hundred meters away!

The electric light swirling around Red Hot Chili Pepper dimmed, and her short, thin body was shattered and deformed.

"I... I have to run for my life."

Despite his severe injuries Akira Otoshi still instinctively wanted to escape.

He hadn't even thought about it.

If she had mustered the courage to face her enemy head-on from the beginning, Red Hot Chili Pepper would never have suffered such a humiliating defeat.

But Akira Otoshi was, after all, just Akira Otoshi. This nouveau riche, who had been terrified, had no courage to fight against the strong with the weak and to go against the tide.

He was desperate to escape, but just as he was enduring excruciating pain and maneuvering Red Hot Chili Pepper to climb out of the pit, he saw a rapidly approaching phantom:

"Echoes Act!"

Li Qing arrived like a rocket soaring through the sky.

The speed was so fast that it was impossible to react.

Echoes Act was already his most powerful attack, and now that Li Qing's attributes have increased dramatically after his upgrade, it has become even more formidable and deadly.

Guided by the location marker, the powerful punch landed squarely on the chest of the Red Hot Chili Pepper.

Red Hot Chili Pepper's body completely collapsed.

Akira Otoshi's chest caved in, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

His eyes were wide open, bloodshot from the pain.

Akira Otoshi knew that this time, he was truly going to die.

"How so."

"My power is clearly so great!"

"Why... why did we lose here?!"

That roar, brimming with resentment, echoed from Red Hot Chili Pepper's mouth.

The situation changed too quickly, and defeat and death came so suddenly.

Akira Otoshi simply couldn't accept any of this.

Li Qing gave him the final answer with his Riot Games.

His face was cold, and his expression screamed invincibility:

"There's only one reason you failed, Akira Otoshi."

"There's a very simple reason, and that is..."

"Because you angered me!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a violent gust of wind from his fist surged up like a tsunami.

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

The Red Hot Chili Pepper were submerged by the giant wave in an instant.

Its body was once again deeply embedded in the ground.

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

That vast and boundless power poured down continuously in the series of punches.

The Red Hot Chili Pepper sank inch by inch into the soil.

Spiderweb-like cracks began to spread along this sturdy road.

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

The Red Hot Chili Pepper's body had already rotted into a pulp.

The cracks in the road surface spread out from under it by 5 meters, 10 meters, 20 meters, and even further.

This is a wide avenue, with a surface that is paved with an extremely solid mortar.

But now, this wide avenue made of reinforced concrete has been shattered by a human Riot Games.

And the man's Riot Games were far from over.

The pain of separation by death, the anger of almost losing a companion, were all completely released at this moment:

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

The road surface was torn like paper.

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

Cement fragments flew upwards, shooting up hundreds of meters.

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

Red Hot Chili Pepper were ground into minced meat.

The cracks eventually covered the entire avenue.

"Ah, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit!"

The great path has been obliterated.