Chapter 97 The World

"What?" Li Qing was shocked.

It was like suddenly pulling back the quilt on a winter morning in the south without heating. His hair stood on end and he felt cold from the inside out.

It was not until this moment, when Dio reminded him, that Li Qing suddenly realized:

He just...

He actually took two steps back!

"How is it possible... How is it possible..."

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

"Am I subconsciously scared?"

"No... Impossible, I clearly don't have the slightest fear of this man!"

Li Qing fell into great panic.

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

"Is this... a Stand attack?!"

There was no doubt that he had just been hit by the enemy's stand attack.

Now that I think about it carefully, the feeling is actually somewhat similar to when I encountered the Crimson King in the morning -

Just by not paying attention, I have experienced things that I could not even feel.

but…

"Unlike the Crimson King, time has not been erased..."

Li Qing listened attentively to the movement of the second hand of his watch:

The second hand is not jumping abnormally, but moving normally.

Although his body had completed the "backward" action at some point, time was still running normally, connecting to the previous second.

Unless the opponent adjusted the dial for him while attacking, the stand of "Dio" could not be the same type of existence as the Crimson King.

"So what exactly is his Stand ability?"

"Telekinesis? Spatial displacement? Ground manipulation?"

“Damn it…”

"I didn't pay much attention just now, and now I have no way to analyze it!"

A thin layer of cold sweat oozed out of Li Qing's bald head, which looked like a boiled egg just out of the pot from a distance.

The fake phantom who called himself "Dio" just stood there calmly, quietly admiring the embarrassment of Li Qing, Giorno and others.

When the silent fear slowly spread among everyone's hearts, he smiled evilly again:

"Bald, don't you understand..."

"In fact, you are wavering... wavering is the same as being afraid, isn't it?"

“Perhaps you wanted to move forward, but because you were too scared, your body unconsciously stepped back.”

"Impossible!" Li Qing gritted his teeth.

"Although there are still many things that are unclear, the only thing I can be sure of is... there is not a single bit of fear in my heart!"

"Stop talking nonsense! I will definitely see through your Stand ability and turn you, the fake, back to your original form!"

"Yeah?"

"Dio" curled his lips and swept his eyes across the crowd with a cold look like the Arctic wind:

Except for Fugo, who couldn't help shivering, no one else showed any intention of retreating.

"If that's the case, then there's nothing we can do."

"Everyone, please go to hell!"

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

This stand named "The World" is covered in golden tight armor and wears a golden half-helmet. His muscles are bulging like inflated balloons, and his limbs are as strong and powerful as steel and iron.

Judging from its size, it is two times more muscular than any humanoid stand Li Qing has ever seen.

To put it an exaggerated way, its style is different from other stand-ins.

“So strong.”

Just by sensing the opponent's outline, Li Qing inexplicably sensed the surging power from it.

He exchanged a serious look with Giorno, Bucciarati and others beside him.

Without any verbal communication, these battle-hardened Stand users quickly reached a consensus:

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

The first to act was Naranja.

The risk of close combat is extremely high, and Aerosmith, who has long-range attack capabilities, is undoubtedly the best choice to act as a tester.

Almost at the same time that "Dio" summoned the golden substitute, Aerosmith emerged from around Naranja right behind him.

"Fire!"

The Aerosmith charged into the sky at full throttle, and two micro machine guns immediately spit out scorching flames.

Dense rain of bullets shot out in the flames, falling from the air to the ground.

The target of these bullets is not "Dio" and his stand, but the most crucial person in this battle, the real Willy.

"cut."

The phantom who inherited the name "Dio" snorted in displeasure.

Obviously, he was very unhappy with the fact that he had to protect Willy's useless self.

But he is still just Willy's stand-in.

At the moment when Willy was frightened by the bullet attack, "Dio" and his stand-in suddenly disappeared from the spot and teleported to Willy's side.

Including Li Qing, everyone was watching with full attention.

They wanted to see how "Dio" would respond to Aerosmith's attacks, and to observe the possible Stand abilities he might unleash.

However…

"Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing!"

The Stand named "The World" has no ability to activate at all.

It just stood there calmly, adjusted its posture, and gathered its strength, blasting out a fist shadow as fierce as a storm towards the rain of bullets.

This punch was swift and powerful, its strength and speed beyond human cognition.

Although the roar of "Muda Muda" reminds people of Giorno's golden experience, the fierce murderous aura that erupted when "The World" swung its fist was far beyond the reach of the gentle golden experience.

The fist shadow pushed away the rain of bullets, and the "world" itself remained unscathed.

The real "Dio" was standing behind his stand-in safely, chatting leisurely with Willy.

He reached out and touched Willy's forehead, like a king knighting him.

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

Everyone couldn't hear what they were saying, but they could clearly see that "Dio" was handling the situation with ease.

"What…"

The fear that Naranja had suppressed in his heart burst out completely:

"All the bullets were deflected with just my fists..."

"What a terrifying power this is... My Aerosmith, can't even use his Stand ability?"

"calm!"

"Keep the fire!"

Apache bit his bloody lips tightly, using the pain to strengthen his will:

"Let my Melancholy Blues help you, he won't be able to handle it!"

Although he was seriously injured, he still insisted on doing his part for everyone.

As soon as he finished speaking, the blue humanoid substitute appeared next to Abbaki again.

Melancholy Blues is indeed not a stand-in who is good at fighting.

However, the shape of the army is ever-changing, and the state of water is ever-changing. As long as you know how to use it flexibly, even a gentle stream of water can become a deadly weapon.

At this moment, the Melancholy Blues, who seems to be "not good at fighting", is actually the most powerful attacker here:

"Melancholy Blues, replay that piece of meat from half a minute ago!"

"Fast forward, twenty times the speed, play!"

Melancholy Blues' figure swelled up like a balloon.

But in the blink of an eye, a bloated and huge piece of meat reappeared in this narrow alley.

It rushed towards Willy and "Dio" in front of it at a speed twenty times faster than its "self" half a minute ago, following the traces of its past movement.

"oh?"

"What an interesting attack."

Looking at the piece of meat that was like a speeding train, Dio's nonchalant expression finally became more serious:

"In that case, let me show you... this ability is enough to rule the world!"

"The World!"

Click————

The next moment.

The next moment in the truest sense.

There was no physiological reaction such as "blurring eyes" or "being stunned". In the eyes of Li Qing and others...

Willy and "Dio", who were standing in the path of the meat, were gone.

They were standing in a shadow not far away, and the one who appeared in their original position and was hit head-on by the meat was...

"Naranja!!"

Everyone exclaimed.

Narancia's figure crossed a distance of several meters at some point and "teleported" in front of the piece of meat.

There was simply no time to react or rescue.

The "Human Bomb Chariot" played again by Melancholy Blues crashed into Narancia without reservation .

He couldn't even utter a scream as his body was like a high-speed cannonball, shot out in this incredibly tragic collision.

Finally, Narancia flew all the way to the depths of a dead end several dozen meters away, and crashed into the hard and thick wall, creating a crack.

He vomited blood and fell to the ground powerlessly, and he no longer had the strength to stand up again.

"Naranja!"

Bucciarati was shocked and wanted to rush over to check on Narancia's injuries, but he was suppressed by the momentum of "Dio" who was blocking him in front and could not move.

"Oh."

"Taken a fly."

The phantom named "Dio" looked at them jokingly:

"I've given you two chances."

"So, do you understand my Dio's abilities?"

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PS: Stand-in panel

Alternate name: [The World]

Original form: Dio Brando (fake)

Destructive power: A

Speed: A

Range: C