The World

"What?" Li Qing was shocked.

It was as if he had suddenly pulled back the covers on a cold winter morning in the south without heating, and his hair stood on end, and he felt a chill from the inside out.

It wasn't until this moment, when "Dio" reminded him, that Li Qing suddenly realized:

He just now.

They actually took two steps back!

"How could this be? How could this be?"

"I was clearly taking a step forward, so how come I'm actually getting further away from 'Dio'?"

Was I subconsciously afraid?

"No, that's impossible! I didn't feel any fear towards this man at all!"

Li Qing was thrown into a huge panic.

In the almost frozen air, he finally thought of something:

"This is... a Stand attack?!"

Without a doubt, he had just been hit by the enemy's substitute attack.

Looking back now, that feeling was actually somewhat similar to when I encountered the King Crimson that morning—

In the blink of an eye, you can experience things you never even realize.

But

"Unlike King Crimson, time was not erased."

Li Qing listened intently to the ticking of the second hand on his watch:

The second hand did not jump abnormally, but moved normally.

Although his body had somehow completed the "backward" movement, time continued to run normally from the previous second.

Unless the other party adjusted the watch face for him while attacking, the Stand of "Dio" could not possibly be something like King Crimson.

"So what exactly is his Stand ability?"

Telekinesis? Spatial displacement? Manipulation of the ground?

"Damn it."

"I wasn't paying attention at all just now, so I have no way to analyze it now!"

A thin layer of cold sweat seeped from Li Qing's bald head, making him look like a freshly boiled egg from a distance.

The imposter phantom who called himself "Dio" stood there calmly, quietly enjoying the awkward and uneasy looks of Li Qing, Giorno, and the others.

As that silent fear slowly spread through everyone's hearts, he smiled wickedly again:

"Baldy, didn't you understand?"

"Actually, it's you who's wavering. Wavering is the same as being afraid, isn't it?"

"You may be thinking that you must go forward, but because you are too afraid, your body unconsciously backs away."

"Impossible!" Li Qing gritted his teeth.

"Although there are still many things I don't understand, the only thing I'm sure of is that I feel no fear whatsoever!"

"Stop talking nonsense! I will definitely see through your Stand ability and expose you, this fake, back to your true form!"

"Yeah?"

Dio curled his lip and swept his gaze, as cold as the Arctic wind, over everyone present:

Apart from Fugo, who couldn't help but shiver, none of the others showed any intention of backing down.

"In that case, there's nothing we can do."

"Everyone, just die!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a golden humanoid Stand suddenly appeared around "Dio".

This Stand, named "The World," was clad in a tight-fitting, golden suit of armor and wore a golden half-mask. Its muscles bulged out like inflated balloons, and its limbs were as strong and powerful as if cast from steel.

Judging from its size, it was two sizes larger than any humanoid stunt double Li Qing had ever seen.

To put it dramatically, its art style is unlike any other stand-in.

"So strong."

Just by sensing the outline of the other party, Li Qing inexplicably sensed the surging power emanating from it.

He exchanged a solemn glance with Giorno, Bucciarati, and the others beside him.

Without exchanging words, these seasoned Stand User quickly reached a consensus:

"We must be careful when fighting that kind of guy head-on. We need to find out the enemy's Stand ability as soon as possible."

Narancia was the first to act.

Close combat is extremely risky, and the Aerosmith, with its long-range attack capabilities, is undoubtedly the best choice to act as a probe.

Almost at the same moment that "Dio" summoned the golden Stand, Aerosmith appeared right behind Narancia.

"Fire!"

The Aerosmith engine, soared into the sky, its two miniature cannons immediately unleashing scorching flames.

A dense hail of bullets shot out amidst the flashes of fire, raining down from the sky onto the ground.

The bullets were not aimed at "Dio" and his Stand, but at the most crucial figure in this battle, Willy, the original body.

"Cut."

The phantom, who inherited the name "Dio," gave an unpleasant snort.

Clearly, the fact that Willy's useless self must be protected makes him very unhappy.

But he was ultimately just Willy's stand-in.

In the instant that Willy was gripped by fear from the bullets, "Dio" and his Stand vanished from their spot and teleported to Willy's side.

Everyone, including Li Qing, was watching intently.

They wanted to see how "Dio" would respond to Aerosmith's attack, in order to observe the Stand abilities he might activate.

However.

"No chariot! No chariot! No chariot! No chariot!"

"No chariot! No chariot! No chariot! No chariot!"

The Stand named "The World" had no ability to activate.

It stood there calmly, adjusted its posture, gathered its strength, and unleashed a barrage of punches as fierce as a storm against the torrential rain of bullets.

The Riot Games was swift and powerful, surpassing human comprehension in both strength and speed.

Although the roar of "Muda Muda" is reminiscent of Giorno's Gold Experience, the chilling killing intent that "The World" unleashed when he threw a punch is far beyond what the gentle Gold Experience could achieve.

The fists deflected the rain of bullets, and the "world" itself remained unharmed.

Meanwhile, Dio himself stood unharmed behind his Stand, chatting leisurely with Willy.

He reached out and touched Willy's forehead, like a king bestowing a knighthood upon him.

Willy knelt humbly on the ground, like a subject receiving a medal.

The crowd couldn't hear what they were saying, but they could clearly see that "Dio" was completely at ease.

"What."

Narancia's suppressed fear finally erupted:

"He deflected all the bullets with just his Riot Games."

"What terrifying power this is! My Aerosmith can't even force out his Stand ability?"

"Calm!"

"Maintain firepower!"

Abbacchio bit his bloodied lips, using the pain to strengthen his resolve:

"Let my Moody Blues lend you a hand; he'll definitely be overwhelmed!"

Despite his serious injuries, he insisted on doing his part for everyone.

As soon as he finished speaking, the blue humanoid stand-in reappeared beside Abbacchio.

Moody Blues is indeed not a Stand that excels at combat.

But there are no fixed forms in warfare, and water has no fixed shape. As long as you know how to use it flexibly, even a gentle stream can become a deadly weapon.

At this very moment, the seemingly "uncompetitive" Moody Blues is actually the most powerful force here:

"Moody Blues, replaying that Meat Chunk from half a minute ago!"

"Fast forward, 20x speed, play!"

The Moody Blues figure swelled up like an inflating balloon.

In the blink of an eye, a bloated and enormous Meat Chunk reappeared in the narrow alley.

It charged toward Willy and "Dio" at a speed twenty times faster than it had been half a minute earlier, following the path it had taken in the past.

"Oh?"

"That's quite an interesting attack."

Gazing at the Meat Chunk hurtling towards him like a speeding train, Dio's nonchalant expression finally turned serious:

"Since that's the case, then let me show you this power that's enough to dominate the world!"

"The World!"

Click—

The next moment.

The next moment in the truest sense.

In the eyes of Li Qing and others, there was not even a physiological reaction such as "a blur before the eyes" or "a moment of blankness".

Willy and "Dio" who were originally standing on the track where the Meat Chunk were moving were gone.

They were standing perfectly fine in the shadows not far away, while those who had appeared in their original positions and were directly hit by the Meat Chunk were...

"Narancia!!"

A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.

Narancia's figure had somehow traversed several meters, "teleporting" to the front of the Meat Chunk.

There was simply no time to react or provide assistance.

The "human bomb tank" replayed by the Moody Blues crashed into Narancia without reservation.

He couldn't even let out a scream as his body shot out like a high-speed cannonball in the incredibly violent collision.

Finally, Narancia flew all the way to the depths of the dead-end alley dozens of meters away, crashing into the hard, thick wall and creating a crack.

He coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground, too weak to stand up again.

"Narancia!"

Bucciarati was shocked and anxious to rush over to check on Narancia's injuries, but was blocked by "Dio" in front of him and unable to move due to his imposing aura.

"Oh."

"A fly has been dealt with."

The phantom named "Dio" watched them with a mocking expression:

"I've already given you two chances."

"So, have you understood my abilities, Dio?"

PS: Substitute Panel

Stand name: "The World"

The real body— DIO Brando (fake)

Destructive power: A

Speed: A

Range: C

Endurance: A

Precision of movement: B

Growth potential: B

Ability: Stop time, up to five seconds.