Rolling Stones

A few minutes later.

The taxi crashed by the roadside, blood splattered across the sidewalk, a corpse with a bloody head, onlookers discussing the scene, and traffic completely jammed

The street became even more lively.

A purple-haired young man with avant-garde clothing and a tall, straight posture slowly walked over to the taxi and casually pulled over a passerby to ask:

"Um."

The purple-haired young man asked with a complex tone, "Excuse me, did someone die here?"

"Does that even need asking?"

"The body is right there!"

The passerby glanced at the purple-haired young man subconsciously, then excitedly said:

"Listen to me."

"I saw everything that just happened!"

"God, I bet anyone who hears this will think I'm spouting nonsense."

His face was flushed red like a ripe apple, and his eyebrows twitched with excitement:

"Even though it was through the car window, I could see clearly. The attacker was a young man with pink hair."

"He fiercely grabbed the poor driver's head, like he was picking up a half-dead marmot."

"Then he slammed the head down, I don't even know what he hit it with."

"With just one hit, blood gushed out like a turned-on faucet."

"His nose was crooked to one side, his eye socket was split open, and his eyeball popped out, like the fruit salad my grandma makes, red, white, and purple all mixed together, inseparable."

"But that lunatic didn't stop."

"Half of the driver's head was smashed like a broken bottle of ketchup, and then he hastily got out of the car and ran. Yes, that lunatic is still on the run."

"It was truly terrifying."

The passerby spoke vividly, but the purple-haired young man who had approached to ask wasn't in the mood to listen.

He interrupted somewhat helplessly:

"Sorry, that's not what I wanted to ask."

"What I want to know is, did anyone die—quietly, like natural death?"

"Huh?"

The passerby was slightly stunned: "Who would suddenly die quietly on the street?"

"Even if it's sudden death, wouldn't they struggle a lot?"

"Oh."

"I understand, thank you."

The purple-haired young man perfunctorily bid farewell to the talkative passerby and turned to walk away alone.

It seemed like he had heard what he wanted to hear, or perhaps not.

"No one died quietly, which means..."

"The target 'Rolling Stones' chose this time refused to face their fate?"

The purple-haired young man muttered to himself as he walked, his expression becoming increasingly complex.

And just as he passed a small alleyway...

From the narrow, dim, winding alley squeezed between two buildings, a strong, muscular arm covered in strange red and white patterns suddenly reached out.

"Is— is that a human hand?"

The purple-haired young man's eyes widened in utter shock.

Before he could even react, he was easily pulled into the alley by the mysterious figure and pinned tightly against the wall.

"Don't look back."

Diavolo's voice sounded out coldly.

He carefully observed the purple-haired young man, whose head was almost pressed into the wall by King Crimson, and after a moment of silence, asked:

"You're the Stand User who attacked me just now, right?"

"That stone..."

"It can only act mechanically according to instinct, clearly, it's a 'long-range automatic' Stand."

This type of Stand can act independently without the user's control, and even if it's damaged, it won't affect the user as the main body.

Finding the main body of such a Stand is indeed troublesome, but...

Diavolo let out a disdainful snort:

"Because it acts independently from the user, the user has no way of knowing what happened to the Stand or whether the battle was won or lost."

"This way, even if they can hide in the shadows from afar during battle,"

"Once the battle is over, they still have to rush to the scene to confirm the results."

"So..."

He curled his lips slightly:

"After completely destroying your Stand, I've been hiding nearby, waiting."

"As expected, you, a guy who doesn't know his own limits, couldn't wait and came to the scene to confirm the results."

Hearing Diavolo's oppressive explanation, The purple-haired young man's reaction was:

"Stand?"

"What is a Stand?"

"You?!"

Diavolo's eyes widened abruptly:

"You still dare to play dumb with me?"

"Idiot. Do you think I'm blind, that I'll believe that stone isn't your Stand if you just fool around a bit?"

"Tell me quickly!"

"Who are you, why did you attack me, and do you have any connection to that bald guy named Li Qing?!"

"This way, I understand."

The purple-haired young man sighed deeply.

He didn't rush to defend himself, but instead calmly introduced himself first:

"My name is Scarlet. I'm an ordinary sculptor."

"I don't know any bald guy named Li Qing, and I absolutely had no intention of attacking you."

"After all..."

Scarlet, pinned to the wall and unable to move, said:

"I don't even know who you are, and I haven't even seen your face until now."

"As for that stone you're talking about..."

"I don't know what this 'Stand' you're referring to is. If you mean that stone, it's a special ability I awakened since childhood."

"I call it: 'Rolling Stones'."

"'Rolling Stones'?"

Diavolo frowned tightly: "In the end, it's still a Stand you unleashed!"

"No, no, no..."

Scarlet hurriedly denied: "Michelangelo, who shone brightly during the Renaissance, once said:"

"'When I sculpt marble, I have no thoughts in my mind, nor have I ever thought about what to carve the stone into. The stone itself already reveals the shape it should be carved into, and all I do is extract that shape from the stone.'"

"..."

Diavolo fell silent for a moment, then ordered King Crimson to grab the other man by the neck from behind:

"Speak human!"

"Cough... cough..."

Scarlet coughed, choked by the grip: "What I mean is..."

"I can't command 'Rolling Stones' at all. It acts entirely according to its own will."

"It's the Stone of Destiny!"

"It senses the fate of those who are about to die and carves itself into the 'shape of destiny' of that dying person – meaning, their death."

"At the same time, it continuously tracks that dying person."

"Once that dying person... that is, you, touches 'Rolling Stones', 'Rolling Stones' can let you accept your inevitable death in advance, dying peacefully without any pain."

"And the reason I'm here is not to check any battle results."

He paused for a moment, his tone carrying a hint of pity:

"I just sensed 'Rolling Stones' acting, so I wanted to come and see that poor fellow who is about to die."

"..."

Diavolo fell silent once more.

This time, his silence was brewing with endless rage:

"Damn it!"

"You insolent fool, what you just said was..."

"That I, the invincible Diavolo, the dark emperor who controls all of Italy, am about to die?!"

"That's right."

Scarlet's voice was very calm:

"Since 'Rolling Stones' went to you, it means you're going to die soon."

"This is fate!"

"All of us are merely slaves to fate."

"You must have seen it, right?"

"When it finds you, it will carve out your likeness at the moment of your death—"

"It could be a few hours, a few weeks, or at most a month, and you will die in the manner shown by that stone carving."

"Nonsense!!"

Diavolo roared furiously:

"A predetermined fate?"

"A carved likeness of death?"

"Your useless stone Stand was utterly destroyed by me long ago!"

"It was smashed into powder and scattered into the air before it could carve anything!"

"What carving?"

"What fate!"

"This..."

Hearing Diavolo's somewhat unhinged roar, Scarlet's expression changed drastically:

"You, you just said..."

"That after 'Rolling Stones' found you, it was destroyed into powder without carving anything?"

"That's right!"

Diavolo said hatefully:

"If you want to mess with my mind, you should at least come up with a better lie."

"What likeness of future death, what destined fate..."

"I don't believe it!"

Facing Diavolo's increasingly frantic shouts, Scarlet's tone surprisingly held a hint of pity:

"I'm sorry."

"I've never seen a situation like this before."

"But..."

"Since 'Rolling Stones' went to you, it means you will definitely die in the near future."

"And it being completely destroyed without carving your likeness of death... that's probably because..."

Scarlet swallowed and said:

"Your likeness of death is so tragic that it cannot be expressed through the art of 'carving'."

PS: Stand Panel

Stand Name: Rolling Stones

User: Scarlet

Destructive Power: None

Speed: B

Range: A

Durability: A

Precision: E

Growth: None

Ability: It appears as a stone with the character "凶" carved into it. The stone automatically transforms into the likeness of a person about to die and relentlessly pursues them. When the person touches the Stand, they experience a painless, peaceful death. If someone not about to die touches it, nothing happens. Classified as a fully automatic Stand, but it is "fate" that drives its actions, and even Scarlet cannot control it.