Great, we're doomed now!

Avdol was completely focused on the [Void Miasma], but he didn't expect that two "hands" would suddenly emerge from under his feet and firmly hold his legs down, making him unable to move!

"What! This...this is a Stand attack! There's definitely something wrong with this house!"

"hateful!"

One end of a purple vine shot out and firmly bound itself to a pillar. The two Qiaos used this to steady themselves and took a deep breath—

"Ripple Dash!"

call!

A pull came from the purple vines, and Ye Shou took the opportunity to leap out with Bobo, but as soon as he stood firm, he saw Joseph's body being "swallowed" by the ground.

"This is bad!"

"Material activation, a Stand of the same type as [The High Priestess]?"

Ye Shou narrowed his eyes, summoned a cyborg humanoid clone, raised his longsword, and thrust it into the wall—

Clang!

"Awooohoo!!!"

A scream of an animal echoed through the mansion, and the walls and floor instantly returned to their original state, as Joseph and Avdol were "spit out" again.

No matter where it hides or who its true form is, Ye Shou's Flaming Sword treats everyone equally when weakening life energy!

"W-What the hell is that noise?"

As the ghostly wailing echoed through the space, Er Qiao felt a chill run down her spine.

Ye Shouze carefully observed his surroundings, wary of any sudden appearance of [sub-vacuum miasma], while casually remarking, "It's probably the Stand of [Power]. Its true form is a gorilla, an extremely rare animal Stand user, capable of merging with and manipulating substances like steel... but in any case, it's still just a beast."

"Watch out, the all-consuming Stand is nearby!"

"Damn it! This commotion has disrupted my fire formation, and now I don't know what to do..."

The long purple vine suddenly snapped and retracted from the pillar in an instant. At the last second, Qiao kicked Bobo away.

--call!

A small piece of the shoe sole vanished into thin air, and then a huge hole suddenly appeared in the wall in the same direction, startling everyone.

"They're here!"

"Scatter!"

Anubis!

Popo drew his longsword from his waist and, following his wild instincts, unleashed a powerful slash, sending out a surge of surging energy.

Disappeared halfway through!

"Here!"

Everyone quickly dodged, and the next moment a deep trench appeared on the ground, as if a layer of hard cement and steel bars had been dug away like ice cream!

Then a large hole appeared in the other wall, and the [Void Miasma] disappeared from everyone's sight again, making everyone's hearts jump.

"This is really... are we going to have to search for Dio's room under these circumstances?" Joseph wiped his sweat. "This is going to be torture!"

Bobo bluntly stated, "Ye Shou, quickly use your invincible [Prosperous Kingdom] to think of a solution!"

Ye Shou shrugged silently: If this kind of space-type Stand, which is like a black hole, is determined to stay hidden and just randomly bumps around here, there's nothing he can do!

"Oh dear? It seems you gentlemen are in trouble. May I be of some help?"

A light, airy voice came from the depths of darkness, followed by the voice's owner—a richly dressed man—who floated over like a ghost, his feet barely touching the ground, inspiring fear in all who heard it.

As he approached, he bowed gracefully like a gentleman, showing no fear despite being outnumbered. His smile even seemed quite confident: "I am Darby, the butler of this mansion. If you recognize this surname, the one you defeated earlier was my elder brother."

Hehe, no need to be on guard. I am not a gambler like my brother who likes to cheat, and I have absolutely no intention of avenging him.

Furthermore, if you are looking for Lord Dio's room, I can offer my assistance.

"you……"

"However, the condition is that you accept one of my little games—"

"[A Prosperous Nation]!"

Without warning, a loud shout rang out, followed by a flash of golden light. Darby's younger brother stared in shock at the fiery sword piercing through his body.

"Ye, Ye will protect you—"

"A rambling, nonsensical thing!"

With a swift motion, Darby, his eyes rolled back, was flung into the darkness.

"I don't have time to play your nonsense!"

At the same time, the cyborg clone punched Avdol again, and the bird-headed, human-bodied Vulcan phantom instantly solidified, with towering flames filling the entire space.

"Now that there's no [power] to hinder us, and we don't need to worry about [sub-vapor miasma], as long as we pose a threat to Dio, that guy will naturally show himself!"

In short—go all out! Burn Avdol!

"it is good!"

The fortune teller grinned, and scorching flames shot out from the large hole in the wall, burning the house like the breath of a dragon.

The commotion was so great that Polunarev began to worry that the house might collapse.

His fears were quickly confirmed—it had indeed collapsed!

However, it wasn't completely burned down. The repeated back-and-forth of the [Void Miasma] also damaged the structure of the house, which may have been an enemy tactic to bury everyone here!

"Ripple Dash!" Ye Shou's eyes lit up with golden light, and powerful ripple energy was released from his fist, turning the flames into a skyward spiral that pierced through the falling ceiling.

"Um?!"

Avdol sensed something was wrong and quickly withdrew the flames, while Joseph, as if sensing something, raised his head and looked at the sky through the large hole... Raindrops fell on his face.

It turned out that a heavy rain had started at some point, and the sun had long since disappeared from the sky.

Click—!

A clap of thunder sounded, drawing Ye Shou's attention, and then, in the instant a flash of white light—

On the edge of the ceiling two stories above, a half-naked blonde body stands proudly in the shadows!

"...Dio!"

Chapter 149 Ripples Like the Sun

In that instant, time seemed to stand still.

But this was undoubtedly just an illusion. Hearts were still beating, countless raindrops kept falling, and everyone's bodies were gradually soaked. The heat was constantly taken away by the cold rain, and the flashes of lightning illuminated scene after scene.

From France to Japan, from India to Egypt, this perilous and incredibly long journey has finally come to an end!

—No one moved.

Just like the cowboy duel in a Western movie, both sides know that the outcome will be decided in an instant, no, even more briefly, in a "frame" where time stands still!

No one can gain the upper hand in a battle against Dio. The truly terrifying aspect of the Stand [The World] lies in its ability to truly "dominate all things in the world." Even if ordinary people cannot perceive it, at that moment everything in the world is under Dio's control!

"Don't move, Abudel."

Joseph said, enunciating each word clearly: "And Polnareff... Stay calm, be as cautious as a virgin on his first date!"

"Gulp!" Polnareff swallowed hard, then glanced at the figure above through the occasional flashes of light.

Dio Brando

"No attack... What is he waiting for?"

"No, he's scared. Don't be fooled; he's actually been driven into a corner!"

Ye Shou spread out his right hand, feeling the impact of the raindrops, and explained to the inexperienced Bobo: "Water is a good conductor of Ripple. He is both a Stand user and a vampire. Even if he stops time to ambush us, he can only kill one of us in two or three seconds at most. Moreover, he cannot leave the water. He will struggle painfully in the Ripple energy of the survivors, like a fish being electrocuted!"

"Humph~"

Upstairs, Dio, hidden in the shadows, let out a soft snort, tacitly agreeing with the statement despite his disdain.

Upon hearing this, Polnareff suddenly realized that the water surface beneath Ye Shou and Er Qiao's feet was unusually regular, not disturbed by the raindrops, but rather radiating outwards from each of them, with a radius of about two meters.

That is undoubtedly Ripple energy!

'I heard Avdel say that Ye Shou even gathers ripples under his feet for training in his daily life... I see.'

Polnareff couldn't help but marvel at Ye Shou's superb skills, but then his gaze shifted to Joseph, who was doing the same thing as Ye Shou:

Judging from this old guy's past words and actions, he is definitely not a very hardworking person. He probably only picked up his training again after learning about Dio's situation... But it has only been a few days, and in terms of skill alone, he seems to be no weaker than Ye Shou.

A gap of at least several years, or even more than a decade, was made up in just half a month...

Bobo's heart skipped a beat: Could this old guy be a genius?

Huh? Am I the worst candidate among the Ripple Messengers?

"At least ring the doorbell, and only take action after you hear 'please come in'."

Dio stepped forward and stood at the edge of the void, looking down at the crowd. Although his expression was obscured by shadows, his scarlet eyes proved his identity.

"They dress like idle adventurers. Have the descendants of Joestar really fallen this low?"

"Dio!"

Joseph met his gaze fearlessly: "It's time for you to pay the blood debt you owe!"

"Ha... Joseph Joestar, even if you find this place, what can your weak Stand do?"

Ultimately, if it weren't for the blood connection to this body, I wouldn't even bother to look at you properly!

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Ye Shou, his eyes narrowing dangerously: "But you... are more interesting to me."

"..."

For some reason, Ye Shou remained silent from the moment Dio appeared, gazing upwards with a complex and unfathomable look. He couldn't quite describe his fear or excitement; instead, he seemed somewhat... puzzled.

"Today is a good day to put an end to things."

Dio stretched out his pale hand and reached into the rain curtain, then ran his thick, sharp nails across his body.

“Joseph, your grandfather—Jonathan Joestar, I used his body to be reborn, but even after a hundred years I still can’t completely control him. Do you know why?”

Joseph clenched his fists, and before he could answer, Dio replied to himself, "One day I suddenly understood that the reason this body is so unruly is because 'Jostar' is destined to be my enemy."