Dio bounded nimbly through the hall, heading straight for the stairs to the second floor.
Stray bullets from the firefight filled the first floor. Staying there would not have mattered to him, but it would have been dangerous for Mumuzawa.
So,
the safest place right now-
was the restaurant's second floor!
Dio darted and dodged his way through. Thanks to his earlier scan with his Ripple radar, he now knew the restaurant's layout inside out.
The second floor is one enormous, separate banquet hall. There should only be an old woman drinking coffee up there, with no guns...
As he reached the second floor and the automatic doors slid open, Dio suddenly froze.
A pair of aged eyes stared into his with a trace of indifference.
The silver-haired old woman was impeccably dressed and carried herself elegantly. She leisurely sipped her coffee while fixing her gaze on Dio's eyes, as though trying to find something in them.
"My name is Carl. What's yours, young man?"
The old woman introduced herself as Carl, ignoring the gunfire downstairs as though she really were just an elderly customer here for coffee.
Dio said nothing. The Ripple coursing through him was vibrating, its sensory feedback warning him of the danger posed by the enemy before him.
The aura around her was forcibly held close to her body. There was no doubt she was a Nen user.
He slowly set Mumuzawa down, letting her stand on the floor, then addressed the still-bewildered Twelfth Prince.
"Your Highness, please close your eyes and stay here. I'll deal with the enemy right away!"
Dio said nothing more, and Mumuzawa obediently closed her eyes.
The old woman frowned at the sight.
Dio slowly approached her, gun in his right hand, his expression blank as he stared at the space between her eyebrows. His Ren suddenly erupted.
The air seemed to freeze.
Her Ten is weak. She doesn't look like an Enhancement user... She hasn't attacked first. Is she a counterattack type?
Dio silently analyzed his opponent instead of immediately charging in.
Judging by the strength of her aura, Dio had the advantage in a head-on fight, yet she showed no fear whatsoever.
Either she had a death wish, or she possessed some kind of counterattack ability.
Does her ability have something to do with eye contact...?
Dio had told Prince Mumuzawa to close her eyes because he had noticed that his opponent kept trying to meet his gaze!
Since he had been carrying Mumuzawa in his arms, she had never made eye contact with Carl.
That was why he suspected it was one of the conditions for activating her ability.
"You're very clever. That's right-eye contact is the activation condition for Puppet-String Black Hole..."
"But it's too late. One look is all it takes."
Carl looked impressed by Dio's reactions in combat. Then she set down her coffee and stopped looking at him.
Instead, she took out a gleaming, polished handgun and spoke as though to herself.
"You're an expert in one of the Upper Three Categories, aren't you? It must be nice to have a natural gift for combat... Why was I born a Manipulator?"
"Ever since someone stole my Hunter License and broke my leg all those years ago, I haven't had the courage to fight anyone head-on... The reason is simple-I'm afraid of pain."
"But this time, I really can't get out of it. That old bastard Qi Peixin has helped me too many times... He told me to kill the child behind you, so I have no choice but to obey."
The old woman raised her handgun-and pressed it against her own heart!
A trace of sorrow crossed her face as she said,
"I'm sorry, child... You're still so young. My orders weren't to kill everyone. If you go downstairs now, I can kill only that girl..."
Mumuzawa trembled at those words, but she soon seemed to think of something and calmed down again.
Dio, meanwhile, remained unmoved throughout. He said nothing, his icy gaze fixed on the old woman.
He silently raised his gun, as though showing Carl his resolve.
Carl understood. She put away her sorrowful expression and spoke with renewed indifference.
"Then I'll kill you first."
With that, she unhesitatingly placed her index finger on the trigger. Just as she was about to pull it-
Bang!
A bullet wreathed in Silver Current pierced her gun hand. Its terrifying power easily tore through her Ten, shredding two fingers and the half of her palm attached to them.
The gun in Carl's hand was sent flying as well!
It was one of Dio's Light Steel Bullets. These specially made bullets carried his metallic Ripple Nen-the silver current surrounding them.
Bullets imbued with this Ripple Nen far surpassed ordinary aura bullets in both speed and power. They also had a special ability to dissipate aura!
Dio had developed these powerful bullets specifically to counter Nen users. Their speed alone, far beyond that of ordinary bullets, also made them devastating against normal people!
Dio had fired first, but he had not emptied his magazine. That was because his opponent had appeared to be attempting "suicide."
If she possessed an ability like Million-Reincarnation Cat, a reckless attack could have serious consequences.
Although Carl claimed to be a Manipulator, an enemy's words obviously could not be trusted completely.
"AAAAAAHAHA-!!"
Unsurprisingly, Carl screamed. But in the next instant, her scream turned into laughter mixed with sobbing.
"Good! Good! Such power! You've done me a huge favor, boy!"
The indifference vanished from Carl's eyes, replaced by madness and excitement. She laughed wildly.
"Puppet-String Black Hole!!"
"Hm?"
Dio immediately concentrated aura in his eyes, activating Gyo!
Through his enhanced vision, the aura on Carl's right hand instantly erupted into a furious boil, like water poured into hot oil.
As the boiling reached its peak, a round bullet hole appeared on the back of her right hand!
And her right hand had returned to its pristine, undamaged state.
Dio inwardly cursed. Her ability was not meant to take them both down-it was probably some kind of damage reflection!
The bullet hole seemed alive. Its outline flattened and bulged, and it crawled forward like a wriggling leech, moving from Carl's hand onto her body!
The bullet hole was astonishingly fast. In a flash, it crawled off Carl's body and onto the floor.
Ken!
Seeing the bullet hole rush toward him, Dio immediately switched from Ren to the more defensively powerful Ken.
An ability triggered simply by being shot could not possibly be more powerful than the bullet that had struck its user. That was
the fairness of Nen!
At the same time, he bent his knees and launched himself at Carl like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"You can shrug off bullets, but what about a fist?"
Yet the bullet hole on the floor swerved at an impossible angle, nimbly bypassing the now-airborne Dio and charging toward Mumuzawa behind him!
What?! Mumuzawa never made eye contact with her!
Dio's pupils contracted. He forcibly abandoned his attack, wheeled around, and kicked off the floor.
He had determined that eye contact was the condition for activating her ability, leading him to mistakenly assume the bullet hole could only pursue someone who had met Carl's gaze. Clearly, that was not the case.
He shot through the air toward Mumuzawa like an arrow, roaring,
"Get out of the way!"
At the same time, Carl struggled down from her chair and crawled toward the handgun that had been knocked away.
But the bullet hole was too fast!
Mumuzawa had only just heard Dio's words when the bullet hole reached her!
I won't make it!
The World! Stop time!
Dio roared inwardly, and the golden figure of The World burst into existence.
Within stopped time, The World punched the airborne Dio, sending him flying even faster!
Outside stopped time, Mumuzawa heard Dio's voice and instinctively opened her eyes. Then she saw-
Dio hurtling toward her, spreading his arms to shield her, as though he meant to embrace her!
Mumuzawa's mind went blank.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and a tremendous impact knocked them both backward!
A few drops of blood...
splashed onto Mumuzawa's pale face.
"Mr. Dio... was shot..."
Before you continue