Chapter 33: That Special Day
Part 2: Perfect Human
"WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!"
"Wallace-sama, you must understand that the presence of a driver can be quite unreasonable at this time."
Wallace scowled further as he glared at Adachi, who cowered behind his gaze.
"I-I'll get him here as soon as I can, sir."
Nodding curtly, Wallace looked at the vehicle that would carry him.
'Why the hell did it have to be a bus?' he pondered. 'I really should have learned how to drive in one of my timelines. Maybe even make one of the guys have learned to do so. Now there are no cars left here and these buses are all that's left.
'I can't even blame these guys. No one ever uses these buses, after all. Not with how dorky they look.'
Wallace had to suppress a groan at the disgusting yellow coloured van before him that he was forced to recognise once more.
"He's here, Wallace-sama!"
"Good." Wallace turned to the side to see Adachi, still wearing his classic trench coat, with a slightly bulky man trailing behind him. The kind of person one would judge to be an absolute pervert, not like Wallace cared who he was. Adachi took that moment to step into the vehicle himself, quickly bowing before Wallace before he could.
"Now, listen up," Wallace said as he manifested Radiohead and lifted the man up by the neck. Taking a moment to relish in the newfound fear brimming behind the man's eyes, he tossed him through the door of the vehicle. "You're going to drive me out of here. As fast as you fucking can. You don't get to say no."
Hastily nodding, the man dove for the driver's seat and quickly booted it up, revving up the engine as Wallace took his first step into the vehicle. He couldn't help but turn up his nose at the sour smell from the weathered seats and soiled floor.
"WALLAAAACE!"
Wallace grimaced as he turned back to see three people running behind him. Kamiya was flying in the air towards him while carrying MC and… Haku?
'I see. I've been betrayed once more.'
However, before the trio could approach him, blades of grass shot out of the floor beneath them and ensnared their whole bodies.
Wallace smiled as he looked at them, struggling in their trap as another group of his Stand Army approached the three of them. "Driver, hit the gas."
However, before the driver could take off, the ground shook once more.
'What the hell is with the earthquakes? Right, Elyssa somehow came back to life. How the fuck is that even possible? I deleted her!'
"W-What is happening… to the world…?" the driver sobbed behind his wheel, tightly gripping onto it as he laid his head low.
Wallace scowled at his remark, quickly punching him in the gut with Radiohead for it. "No whining. Just do your goddamn job."
Wheezing at the sudden punch, the man hesitantly started to drive the bus.
However, they were all interrupted by a sudden whiz in the air.
Looking out the window once more, Wallace paled as MC was soaring in the air towards them, clearly having been thrown forward by Kamiya while she and Haku turned to the other group to intercept them.
'Divide and Conquer. While I commend them for sending MC, their only weapon against me, it is still their mistake to think that I am alone.'
That doubt was quickly fixed for MC by Adachi jumping out of the door of the bus.
"I can't believe that you think that you can stop Wallace, honestly," Adachi grumbled as he straightened himself out, his mirror-like Stand standing beside him while the bus started to roll out from behind him. "You may have the same ability as he does, but you are not him. You are not God."
MC chose not to say anything in response, still keeping his jaws shut as he kept soaring through the air.
'Seriously, why the hell didn't Sachiko or Haku join me? I mean, yeah, they had a point about the army needing more numbers to fight against, but Wallace is what's important here, right?'
However, as MC kept soaring through the air, he immediately faceplanted onto an invisible surface in front of him.
"Lonely Dance is now in effect," Adachi announced. "And I am not pulling any stops here."
Quickly taking a moment to feel his surroundings, he paled as he was completely caved in. He was stuck within an invisible barrel of sorts. Where Adachi had actually stored his duplicate, he had no idea, but there were walls all around his body. He couldn't move at all.
'No. I'm just moving in the wrong dimension.'
"Rollback!"
Rolling back time by one second, MC found himself free of the barrel around him and ran up to him once more.
"Useless!" Adachi announced, trapping MC within the invisible barrel once more.
MC grit his teeth in frustration as he pressed his palms upon the invisible surface before him.
"Rollback!"
Going back by two seconds now that his entire cooldown was completed, he kept his location and kept running forward.
"How are you getting so close?!" Adachi announced as he dropped the ability of Lonely Dance around him once more.
'About 20 metres,' MC mentally calculated by looking at his distance from Adachi.
"Persistence, I guess," MC sneered at him. "Rollback!"
Running up to him once again, he winced as he got caught in the barrel once more.
"How are you getting so close?! Don't tell me, you're repeating your Rollbacks? How much of a toll will that take on you?"
MC merely chuckled for a moment, but then paled as he looked past Adachi once more.
The bus was still moving. It had long past gone beyond its original position, despite only about three to four seconds having passed since Adachi jumped out.
'No way… is Wallace using Rollback on the entire bus in tandem with me?'
"Rollback!"
This time as he rewound four seconds, MC paled as the bus didn't move back like everyone else. It held its position and once MC ended his Rollback, the bus took off from where it was previously.
'Shit. The more I Rollback, the further Wallace goes away.'
"How are you getting so close?! Don't tell me, you're repeating your Rollbacks? How much of a toll will that take on you?"
MC grit his teeth in frustration as he watched the bus going away further.
'It's gotten five more seconds of time. Time that I'm wasting by just sitting here, waiting for my cooldown to end. At this rate, Wallace is gonna leave far too easily! I can't keep doing this!'
"Rollback!"
MC scowled as he felt a slight wave of dizziness as he went back by another five seconds.
'10 metres left to reach Adachi.'
Running up to him once more as much as he could, he yelled out in agony as he was caught in the invisible barrel once more, forced to watch the bus go away further for another six seconds.
"How are you getting so close?! Don't tell me, you're repeating your Rollbacks? How much of a toll will that take on you?"
MC shook his head with gritted teeth as he glared at Adachi once more. Quickly catching his breath for those six seconds, he held out his arm once more.
"Rollback!"
Jumping forward by yet another three metres, MC grinned as he found himself only about four metres away from his enemy.
'Just one more.'
"Yeah, no. I'm not having that."
Suddenly, the barrel around him started to move back, carrying MC himself back by dragging him through the ground. When MC could lift his head once more, he dropped his arms to the ground upon seeing yet another twenty meters placed between him and Adachi.
'No, I can fix this! I just need to go back by another second… No, my cooldown isn't done yet, and I'll be handicapped when I get back as well. I'm going to get caught in this trap no matter what I do.
'Yet, I have no choice but to try. I owe that much to everyone else.'
"Rollba-"
The sound of footsteps suddenly filled his ears.
"Huh?" Adachi called out, turning around to find the source of the sound. "Who is-"
That was when he looked to the ground behind him and found a small glowing-blue pellet.
Suddenly, a pixie-cut grey-haired girl emerged from some pink mist that came out of nowhere near Adachi's new blindspot and socked him in the face.
MC blinked in surprise at the sudden arrival of one of the first people he had saved with the Literature Club. However, not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth anymore, MC quickly tested the space around him once again and was glad to find that the effects of Lonely Dance were lifted.
Lifting his head up once more, MC couldn't help but let out a pained whimper upon seeing that Wallace's bus was gone.
'I'll just have to catch up to him then. For now, I'll work with what's in front of me.'
"Glad to see you here, Takumi," MC called out as he jogged up to her. "What about Souta?"
"How the hell do you know our names?"
MC blinked in surprise as Souta emerged from another wave of pink mist from behind him. Quickly turning around, he smiled at her as well.
"Ah, I just remembered you two from a previous timeline," MC explained. "We've met before, you two just don't remember it because it isn't real anymore."
MC wasn't surprised to see Souta cross her eyes at him in response.
"It's my Stand ability, alright?" he clarified, hoping that it would be enough for them.
"Hm, I guess it makes sense when you put it like that."
"Heeey! MC, right?!" Takumi called out from behind him.
Blinking in surprise at the Chinen twins flanking him, MC couldn't help but quickly juggle his vision between the two grey-haired girls.
"Yeah, that's me."
Takumi's short-lived smile faded away once he responded. "Listen, were you serious? About when you said that we're free."
"As sure as I am when I freed you last time personally," MC replied without a trace of hesitation.
'Damn, only if I were this smooth when the other girls were around!'
"T-That's… That's good," Takumi gulped as she nodded. "We'll help you, then. Thank you for freeing us."
Souta, however, frowned. "Wait, am I the only one worried about how this guy said he freed us last time?"
"No time for that, Souta-chan!" Takumi yelled out with a quick smirk, quickly manifesting her pink Stand behind her. "We need to set the stage, already! We've got the guys who saved us as our guests, after all!"
Souta Chinen gazed at her sister once more, then lightly chuckled. "Sure, sis. Leave it to me to be your foley artist, then. This'll be our best show yet."
"Hazy Shade!"
"Winter!"
MC gaped in surprise as the familiar pink smoke and blue flecks started to flood the area around them. However, instead of reforming around MC's form, they seemed to wrap around every single Stand User from Wallace's Army.
"Sachiko! Haku! Come back here, quick!" MC called out as loud as he could, Souta briefly teleporting his voice to project it further as well.
"AAAAAHHH! Why am I everywhere?!" the familiar voice of Adachi sounded out from the spot near them, where another pool of pink smoke lay. In mere moments, the entire army around them was consumed by pink smoke and voices of people in terror at the illusion they found themselves in.
"I call this… Infinite Loop World… Ultimate!" Takumi wheezed out, sweating from the intensity of her Stand use. As she was being held up by Souta, who was concentrating on her own Stand effects as well, MC noted Sachiko flying over to him, Haku in hand.
"You three… go after the ex-director," Takumi groaned out.
"She means Wallace," Souta added with a slight grimace as well.
MC slowly frowned at the two girls. "Are you sure you two will be alright?"
"Peachy! We… We're good!" Takumi enthusiastically responded, even though her face was still highly strained.
"Don't worry, I'll wait here," Haku said the moment he landed with Sachiko, gently resting a hand on MC's shoulder. "I'm only good for info, anyway. Wallace is already gone, so I'll guide you and Sachiko to his location with my phone. If anyone breaks free here, I'll knock them out with Chaos Drive."
MC softly smiled at the red-haired boy. "Thank you, man. Sachiko, you can fly there, right?"
"Of course, I can, lol!" Sachiko cheered, onyx hair bobbing as she nodded. "Leave it to Supes!"
Curtly chuckling, MC looked past the school gate once more. "Wallace. We're ending this today, no matter what."
"Um, Wallace-san, aren't we going too fas-"
"Faster."
"Right!"
As the bus started to speed up enough to make the cars around them start to honk in irritation, Wallace found himself holding one of the bus handlebars while looking at the road ahead of them.
Suddenly, they heard the signature sound of police sirens.
"Wallace-san, we should-"
"If you stop, I'm driving my Stand's fist into your gut."
Not wanting to say another word, the driver quickly held his head low and kept driving ahead. Wallace could hear the noise of the sirens from behind them along with those assholes speaking through their megaphones, trying to make them stop.
'It seems that we're attracting quite a bit of attention,' Wallace pondered. 'No matter. What's important is that I escape MC. I've done far too much to simply get deleted.'
Poking his head out of the window, he quickly used Radiohead to rip out a fire hydrant sitting nearby from the concrete. Ignoring the fountain of water emerging as a result of this, Wallace quickly tossed the metal to the cars behind him, making them slowly scatter due to the projectile.
And then they started firing bullets.
"We do not have the time for this," Wallace muttered, gently resting his hand on the grimy floor of the bus. "Rollback."
Rolling back time only for the bus, all the bullet holes on the bus vanished. At that point, the cops simply looked at the bus in confusion, not knowing what was going on or how a metal object was instantly regenerating.
However, things were only going to get even more bizarre.
The convoy started to drive over a water bridge, Wallace's bus still speeding through. The cops managed to evacuate the roads to save civilians, but they still had no idea how to stop this behemoth before them.
And they thought that that was all they needed to worry about until they finally noticed a high school girl flying over the bus while bridal carrying a boy.
Meanwhile, Wallace distinctly heard a thud above their bus.
"What's that?" he pondered, bringing out Radiohead to bust through the ceiling and inspect what was going on.
That would have happened if it weren't for him spotting a flash of colour from past the window that did not resemble the cop sirens in any way.
"Seems like you've attracted a bit of attention, eh, Wallace?!" Sachiko yelled from beyond the window, flying in pace with their vehicle.
Wallace grit his teeth in anger. 'They've already caught up?! What the hell is my army doing?'
"Oi, Driver! Speed up!"
"Sir, if we speed up anymore, then we will lose control of-"
Wallace grunted as he summoned Radiohead and smashed the driver's foot on the accelerator, making him cry out in pain as the bus started to go past 150 in no time flat.
However, a glint of red from Sachiko's direction make Wallace widen his eyes in shock.
And before he could even react, the whole back half of their bus was cut off with the help of Sachiko's laser eyes, making the middle of the bus skid on the surface of the street with a loud screech and forcing Wallace to grip onto the bars to keep himself stable, rendering him unable to see the back-end of the halved vehicle hitting the cop cars behind them. Since they were driving at such a high speed, the driver quickly lost control of the vehicle and couldn't help but swerve to the side, making the half-bus skew and break through the fence of the bridge.
As Wallace found the bus he was on falling into the water, he decided to use his Stand to jump off of the vehicle. However, it seems that he wasn't the only one with that idea.
Because as Wallace took to the skies after jumping, he found another form hovering over him and blocking the sunlight, having jumped the same way he did from the roof.
Mark Caulfield. He's here.
Wallace quickly changed his mind about jumping and couldn't help but grunt as he felt his shoulder pop as he made his Stand grab onto the blackened rim of the falling bus. Using all the strength that his Stand had, he hefted the half-vehicle over him and thrust it up to his enemy.
"There's a driver in there!" Wallace yelled out with a smirk, making MC's eyes widen in surprise. Sure enough, MC could even see the worried man inside, lightly hugging the glass of his bus in despair.
'Shit, he got me good! I can't bust through this thing, not when someone could get hurt by it!'
At this brink, with MC falling down and death rising up to him, he couldn't help but let his mind wander forth. His utmost desire for a solution to this situation resounded within him as a fusion between his wish to live and his requirement for vengeance, breaking through the limiters of his mind for that one moment. At that state of enhanced thought, only one train of thought could come into MC's mind.
'Wallace has reversed external objects on their own, and so have I. It is also true that space becomes unreal once I am inside a Rollback. In that case, what will happen if I localise my Rollback around my own body alone?'
Briefly regarding the fear in the man rising up to meet him, MC made his decision.
"Day One!"
Manifesting his green Stand on his side, he quickly clasped its right hand with his left. The green hologram signifying a Rollback shot out, filling the back of MC's left hand.
"Rollback!"
And so, MC found himself slowing down to a stop while mid-air despite the bus still rising up to him. Slowly, MC's body started to creep upwards at a snail's pace. But despite him having slowed down, he could not evade the still rising bus.
The bus tackled MC with its full upward speed, threatening to cut his torse in half with the rim of its floor.
And the still rising form of MC phased through it entirely.
The driver lied down bewildered at how this boy who looked so similar to the monster that ensnared him was passing through the floor and the seats of the bus like nothing was there. For some reason, the boy held a smile as he rose through the bus even though he was clearly unable to move in that state he was in. As he got closer and closer, the man couldn't help but recoil as his own body phased through the boy. But even then, he felt like nothing was there in the first place. He had to open his eyes to be convinced that he was phasing through another human being. And just as he had first encountered this new boy, he lost sight of him as the boy dropped away from the vehicle, completely unharmed.
MC had no idea how he had thought up of something as insane as this, but he was certainly glad that he did. By localising the effects of Rollback around himself alone, he was able to fully employ the extra-dimensional travel offered to him by the technique while the rest of the world carried on as normal. This ability essentially rendered him intangible for the period of his Rollback, but with him being a slave to his past motions as well. The moment that MC left the Rollback, he went tangible once more.
And not even a second had passed.
Once again having a clear focus on his goal, MC bent his legs up and pressed them on the metal surface of the bus before him. Enhancing his legs with Day One while ignoring the screaming from the man behind him, MC kicked himself into the water by shooting the bus behind him upwards.
Finding himself gaining in on Wallace much sooner than normal, he quickly reached out his hand for him. He had to touch him. That was the only way for MC to defeat him.
However, Wallace had another idea. Bringing out Radiohead, Wallace rewound time once more.
'That's it! MC just used… whatever that was… with the help of Rollback! That means that he is currently on cooldown, even if it is only for 1 second! If I Rollback my full 12 seconds, I will be able to send him back up to the surface of the bridge while I'll be free in this lake!'
"Rollback!"
Wallace grinned as he sealed his victory with the world coming to a freeze around him. As it all started to travel back, he got ready to witness MC go away from him once more.
Only to find him frozen in place as well, his Rollback timer counting down from the start.
If Wallace could yell within that dimension, he would have.
'What?! He just used Rollback! How the hell did he use it again? Doesn't he have the cooldown as well?'
Meanwhile, MC couldn't help but be mentally stupefied. 'I… don't need to recharge? Wait, I'm using Rollback on myself alone, right? Does that count my Stand as well? Then… would that mean that I Rollbacked my own Rollback? How the hell does that even make sense?'
No matter how odd the theory sounded, it seemed to work out in practice. Within those twelve seconds, when the two ex-brothers were so close to contact, MC couldn't help but feel grateful for everything and everyone that brought him here. Monika. Natsuki. Yuri. Sayori. JoJo. Everything that helped him finally win this fight.
The twelve-second timer ended, resuming the rest of the world and highlighting the blue water beneath them once more.
Wallace landed on the surface of the water, making his body rise upwards for the briefest of moments.
As a result, MC felt his outstretched fingertips lightly graze the skin of Wallace's cheek, being stained by a small teardrop that MC hadn't noticed earlier.
Despite the severity of that moment, MC couldn't help but wonder if Wallace was actually crying or if the drop was from the water body beneath them.
"Load Save."
Now that he was in the Breach once more, MC was able to finally take one good look at Wallace's true form.
His glow was red, just like his Stand's aura. Familiar red strands were coiling around like snakes in the space around him, not knowing where to go now that their connections were all destroyed by Elyssa peering into this dimension.
Gently putting his own hand forward, MC manifested Day One and had its green strands slowly wrap around Wallace's aura. He made sure to cover up everything, including the red strands that he had around him. They seemed to writhe at MC's contact, but he eventually caught them and got them all to submit.
And so, the green mummified version of Wallace's soul sat before him.
'Now, it's just a simple thought. Delete him. Suck in his aura. That's it.'
Inhaling deeply, MC brought his hand up and rested it on the wrapping once more. Upon focusing, he could feel the aura beneath writhing and protesting against him, wanting to be set free no matter what he tried. At the same time, it was free for him to get rid of as well.
As he started to pull in the aura like he had seen Wallace do so many times already, he could feel it protesting even further. It wanted to live. It wanted to fight.
And MC couldn't rob it of that want. He didn't have it in him to do so.
MC loudly gasped as he withdrew his strands from Wallace's aura. Looking at his enemy once more, MC couldn't help but grip his birthmark in shame.
'This man killed everyone close to me! Am I so weak that I can't even avenge them? Can't I even keep the promise that I made? Is there… anything I can do about him? I can't kill him. And I sure as hell can't let him live. What can I do?'
Upon gazing at Wallace's form a little closer, however, MC found something that could possibly help.
Wallace's Memory Core. That singular spark of white within the aura of red around him, the star within a soul. The spark that lights up the world of the Breach, through the numerous stars seen around them.
Almost instinctively, MC reached out for the spark within him and made contact, turning the whole world white.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
MC blinked as he found himself in Memory. Looking ahead, he froze upon seeing Wallace's short stature, sitting down with a knee up, looking off into the distance. His jacket and tie were taken off and set beside him.
"Are you here to gloat or some shit? You won, good riddance. Just delete me already," Wallace further provoked, casting a dirty glance at the taller boy.
MC slowly shook himself out of his stunned stupor and geared himself up to respond. "I… can't delete you."
"HAHA! You can't delete me?! Holy shit, I should've seen that coming ages ago! That sounds so much like you, Markie!"
"Heh, are you trying to gloat or some shit?"
Wallace's snickers died down almost instantly once MC said that. "Way to turn my words on me, asshole," he commented. "Anyway, I need to ask. What's wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you know. I deleted your friends. All of them. Except for the ones you stole from me, of course."
"Yeah," MC scowled upon hearing that. "That is true."
"So, why aren't you deleting me?"
"I… don't know."
Wallace let out a humourless chuckle in response. "Sometimes, I know you better than you know yourself, Markie. You don't want to be like me, don't you? You think that deleting one guy will make you want to delete everyone else just so you can have your way?"
"…"
"I'll take that as a yes. Honestly, you'd be right. It's why this power belonged to the Perfect Human in the first place, and not to us. It's why I was so pissed that you kept using our power just to get yourself different girls in every run. Also why I was so glad when you decided to bail our union and let me keep Radiohead."
MC quickly recalled his freshly restored memories. The day that Elyssa had 'died', MC was grief-stricken. He didn't want anything to do with the power that Radiohead brought anymore, and he wanted to forget ever having known Elyssa. That's why he had asked the Perfect Human if he could depart from their united mind and live a normal life without a Stand. Wallace was quick to second the motion if he remembered correctly. And so, the Perfect Human was forced to accept his decision and set him free, letting Wallace be the wielder of Radiohead and making the Perfect Human vanish due to the imbalance formed. And despite his request to be free, he ended up acquiring a Stand of his own soon afterwards. A completely different Stand with the same abilities as his former one. Day One.
"Honestly, you were an asshole even back then," MC commented.
Wallace, however, didn't laugh. "I'm always an asshole. That's why you've got to delete me. Make me pay for everything that I've done. After all, that's the only choice you've got."
MC paused at Wallace's demand, looking off to the white horizon around them while Wallace played with the invisible ground they were standing on.
"Can you… tell me why? Why did you do all that?"
Wallace snickered once again as he picked at his fingernails. "It's actually pretty straightforward. I wanted to be a king."
"A king?"
"What are you, a parrot? Yes, a king. With Radiohead, I had the power to rule over reality itself. That meant that I had the power to do whatever I wished. I even became my own kind of God and slew anyone who dared to oppose me.
"Anyway, why do you care? It's not like you're gonna do that stuff anytime soon; you're too much of a goody-two-shoes for that. I had fun being a king, and that fun had now come to an end. Just kill me quickly."
MC stood still, gazing at Wallace for a moment.
"I'll be honest… I can't do it," he admitted. "I tried. I really did. I just can't even imagine taking a life."
Wallace sighed. "In that case, why don't you let me out? I'll follow your rules this time, and-"
"I don't think I'm the one who should make this decision."
Wallace's words faltered the moment MC said that. "…Huh?"
"Yeah, that's the only way," MC declared walking up to him and looking down on his seated form. "I need to consult someone else."
"So, what? You're gonna bring me to the outer world again? Ask someone there what you're supposed to do? I mean if you've got no choice, then-"
Warmth.
Wallace's words were suddenly interrupted by a strange warmth around him.
Looking to the source of it, he finally noticed two slightly muscular arms wrapped around his frame. Arms that belonged to MC, who was also kneeling down at his level.
'Markie… is hugging me?'
"Um, what's your game here, man?" Wallace couldn't help but ask. "Why are you doing this?"
"I'm calling someone else, of course?"
"Who the hell are you gonna call by fucking hugging me of all thi-"
Once again, Wallace found himself interrupted by a flash of light appearing before him.
"Wait, what?"
Suddenly, a golden light began to drift from the floor of the world of Memory around them and wrap around the two boys, bringing them closer to each other than ever.
"W-What's going on?" Wallace ended up asking. He tried to pull away to clear his throat; it felt a little raspy. However, for some reason, his body was glued to MC's.
One single look down told him what he needed to know.
The two were fusing.
"Our souls, they touched," Wallace began to reason as he watched his skin meld with MC's, widening his eyes in shock. "No, you can't seriously-"
"Yes, that's what I thought of," MC replied with a smirk. "Wallace, we're bringing the Perfect Human back to life."
"NO!" Wallace shrieked, trying to wrench himself away from the fusion as much as he could. "We can't! Don't bring him back again! Please, don't!"
"It's my decision," MC said as the gold wave began to envelop them, slowly bringing them out of the world of Memory. "My decision to summon the best decision-maker."
"No!" Wallace shrieked as the gold light began to cover his senses entirely. "NOOOOO!"
Sachiko, still hosting the power of Superman, quickly stopped the still running bus by pushing against it on the road.
'Seriously, where the hell did MC go?' she couldn't he but wonder. 'I was carrying him here, and he suddenly vanished! Even with my Kryptonian vision! Did he use his Rollback?'
Just as he freed the wailing man from within the vehicle ('He was pretty hefty and sweaty, honestly') and proceeded to hand him over to the cops behind them, a wave of gold light began to emerge from the river below them.
Alarmed by the strange light, Sachiko quickly placed the man safely on the road then looked back down at the water.
Even with her enhanced vision, Sachiko couldn't help but shield her eyes from the intense light that was being emitted from the river.
'Wait, MC and Wallace disappeared! Is this because of them?!'
Forcing herself to ignore the way the light hurt her eyes, Sachiko dove down into the source of it.
And that was where she saw Him.
He looked like both MC and Wallace, in a way. Moderate height, while Wallace was short, and MC was tall. The two of them already looked similar, so this new form had their appearance as well. However, he seemed to inherit the slight shadow to his eyes that MC had, and the slightly angular jawline that Wallace had. He was standing atop the water like Jesus wearing only his white shirt, both his blazer and vest missing. His tie was tucked into a new article of clothing he was wearing. A Golden Toga, like those robes that ancient Romans used to wear. The toga wrapped around the fusion's torso like a sash and covered his brown pants from the waist.
"Who… who are you?" Sachiko found herself asking, slightly mesmerized by the golden aura that this man was emitting.
The man turned to the girl and smiled at her. "You may address me as the Perfect Human. And yes, I am the fusion between MC and Wallace."
Right as Sachiko raised a finger, the Perfect Human interrupted her.
"And no, we did not perform the fusion dance. I apologize for not entertaining the idea."
Sachiko couldn't help but pout a little. 'That was the perfect opportunity! Why the hell didn't you?!'
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some people I need to check up on. I'll be at the top of that bridge."
And in a flash, he was gone.
Sachiko blinked in surprise. Looking back down at Imagine Dragons, she reconfirmed that she was Superman at that moment.
'Then why couldn't I track him? Could it be like MC's Rollback as well?'
Quickly flying to the top of the bridge, Sachiko froze mid-air at what she was seeing.
The Perfect Human was leaking a golden aura, enveloping the people and objects around him. In mere instants, all the damage that was done due to their previous fight vanished. The bridge was back in order. The injuries on all the people around them were healed. The ruined cop cars were fixed, and one of the cops even mentioned that their fuel was filled to the brim as well. Even more, the bus that she had crushed to try and stop was now restored once more.
"I sincerely apologize for everything that happened due to my arrival," the Perfect Human said with a smile. "I do understand that I will need to come in and speak to you all, but I have some matters that I need to resolve before I do so. That is why I request to meet with you tomorrow. I will be fixing all the damage that I made on my way, as well as any lives I may have accidentally claimed. I hope that this satisfies you for the moment."
While the cops around him murmured in soft acceptance, still baffled at what was going on around them, Sachiko warily drifted towards him.
"Sachiko, you are a Stand User, yes?"
The girl blinked as the man suddenly twirled to meet her eyes. Finding herself tongue-tied, the girl loudly gulped before she could answer.
"Um, yes."
"Do you still wish to keep your ability?"
Sachiko went quiet. She had absolutely no idea what to say.
"Let me rephrase that."
Before she could react, the Perfect Human placed a finger on her temple, sending a warmth racing through her body.
And suddenly, she could remember.
Every time she had tried to fly away with Superman active, a short pink-haired girl would fly after her, a silver-and-pink Stand pulling her along. No matter what Sachiko had done, Natsuki wouldn't give up and wouldn't let her give in to Wallace's demands.
And then their last promise…
"Yes," Sachiko firmly concluded. "I'm going to keep it. I still need to beat Natsuki once she comes back, after all."
The Perfect Human gently smiled at her, seemingly amused by her answer.
"Very well. I will be heading to the school. Do you wish to follow me?"
"Um, sure!"
And suddenly, she was right outside the gate of the school, the whole population of the school defeated before three incredibly exhausted figures.
"Takumi Chinen. Souta Chinen. Reiko Haku."
The three turned to the fusion, immediately widening their eyes in confusion at his appearance. Except for Haku, however; for some reason, he simply raised his eyebrows in recognition.
"Oh, he's friendly, don't worry!" Sachiko reassured them.
"I thank you for the trust, Sachiko," the Perfect Human said. "Now, you three. Please address me as the Perfect Human. I will quickly grant you the memories of your alternate lives."
And in mere moments, the Chinen twins were bawling on the ground while Haku was scowling.
"T-They went t-t-through so much f-for us!" Takumi loudly cried on her little sister's shoulder. "W-W-Why?!"
"That's the kind of person that Mark is," the Perfect Human said in response. "Ultimately, he cares for everyone. Maybe a little too much. Although, he is still human, and has psychological limits just like anyone else.
"Now, for the reason as to why I'm here. I would like to know if you would like to keep your Stands. I wish to remove the Stands of every single person in this school. But for those of you who could shift to the right side in time, I offer the choice to retain your abilities, for you are truly worthy of them."
"Before you do that, Mr Perfect Human," Haku interrupted with a slightly raised hand. "MC, was he truly right? I mean, he was a womaniser when he was with you. Wasn't that wrong of him?"
The Perfect Human slightly hummed. "I see why you imagine that, but you have the wrong perception of him. Mark truly loved every single member of his club. That was why he couldn't decide who to go after, so it was me who offered the idea to him. I asked him to keep repeating time over and over again, all so that he could keep living with those girls. And he willingly did so. His love for the girls helped him understand the true necessity of general love, unlike his counterpart Wallace."
"I see," Haku sombrely nodded. "I will admit, I don't truly understand. But I do understand that true Truth is difficult to understand within a moment. And no one understands the truth more than you.
"Which is why… I'd like to keep chasing the truth of the world myself. I understand that you may not see this as a good decision, seeing how easily corruptible I can get, but I want to keep working on it. If… If I could have your blessing to chase the truth behind everything, then I would ask you to bless me by letting me keep my Stand."
The Perfect Human slowly nodded. "I will admit, I was truly worried about you. The concept of letting you keep your Stand was a conflict that I had been working around for a while. However, I believe I have a way to make it fulfil your requirements."
Putting his hand forward, the Perfect Human let some of his light wash over him.
"I've reduced the scope of your ability. You will no longer be able to acquire any truth, but only the truth that is known to any mind. Since you wish to chase after truth, it would be cruel of me to take the journey away from you by leaving you with that ability."
"I see. Thank you, Perfect Human. I shall cherish this blessing for the rest of my life."
"Now, you two. Takumi and Souta Chinen. What is it that you wish for?"
"We, um…" Takumi ended up drifting off, gazing away in awkwardness.
"We want to give our Stands away," Souta answered for them, gently resting a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Honestly, we just want to live normal lives. Takumi wants to become a theatre director, and I want to become a foley artist for her. There's no need of our Stands for that when we can do everything we need to do ourselves."
The Perfect Human beamed at the duo. "Truly a courageous choice. Very well. I shall graciously take your Stands from you."
With a quick wave of his hand and a wash of golden light, Takumi and Souta Chinen found that they couldn't see the gold light around him anymore.
"That light… that's a Stand?" Takumi ended up asking.
"Yes. Its name is All Seeing Eye. I have all of the abilities that Day One and Radiohead have, with none of the limits."
"Oh, huh." Slowly, Takumi turned to her little sister and hugged her once more, tearing up into her shoulder once again. Souta merely smiled and rubbed her back, gently soothing her.
"Now, I must proceed with the general purge," the Perfect Human began to explain. "All of the people that Wallace had given Stands to, I will now take them away."
"Wait!"
The group of five paused as another man stumbled up to them, clearly having woken up from the pile that was attacked.
"You…" Kei Adachi began to speak, gazing up at his God. "You… are the true form of Wallace-sama?"
"Wallace is merely one half of who I am. The other half is Mark Caulfield. The one that you had deemed your enemy."
"A-Ah, wow," Adachi murmured, collapsing to his knees. "I… was worshipping a false God…"
"A word of advice, Adachi-san. It would do you good to never place any regular person up to the pedestal of a God."
"W-What? T-Then who am I supposed to serve? Who am I supposed to worship?"
"The one true God that there is. Humanity."
With a wave of golden light, Kei Adachi's Stand was taken away.
"I may have taken your ability away, but Wallace had indeed restored your life. Your life is your own, so I will not interfere with that gift. However, I beseech you to worship humanity instead of anyone in particular. A good place to start would be your role as a teacher. Give your all to your students, and be the best teacher they could have ever asked for."
"Y-Yes, sir!" Adachi yelped out, furiously wiping the tears from his eyes. "I-I will!"
Nodding, the Perfect Human then took his time to remove the Stands of every other student there. Similarly, with another wave of his hand, those that were once deleted were brought back as well.
And so, all of the work that Wallace had done was brought to naught. Everyone was restored from deletion, no one other than the select few had Stands of their own and no one else would remember what had transpired that day. The same memory conditioning was given to those who were caught up in the fight as well. Finally, everyone's injuries were healed, and the school was restored back to its original glory, with no more sign of ruin from the previous battle.
By the time it was all over, it was finally sundown. Illuminated by the orange glow of the sun, the students started to head back to their homes, all under the impression that nothing happened. The Perfect Human even took the time to work out a Global Memory Shift, making every instance of this event forgotten by history.
But now, there was only one more person to meet.
Elyssa Libitina was still on the rooftop. She had felt him ever since he had first appeared; The Perfect Human was alive once more. However, being a God herself, she understood that the people are more important to him than her, so she was willing to wait on the rooftop bench.
She had been sitting there for the entire day, made even longer with the Perfect Human's Time Manipulation, and she knew that if she were mortal, then her patience would have worn thin. She had certainly hoped to be of more use to MC and the general process of rebirth of the Perfect Human, but she knew that the best contribution of hers would be to keep her infinitely destructive Stand out of their way.
But then, she felt time returning to normal as a few footsteps sounded from behind her.
"Sure took you long enough," she chided, slightly turning her head to face the man who teleported to her, even though she could peer into his path there.
"My apologies, I was rather busy. Wallace had made far more of a mess than I had imagined."
"So, you had expected all of this to happen."
"Of course, I had. I knew ever since you protested against us that day."
Elyssa frowned. "If only I hadn't gotten so upset that day…"
"That does not matter, Elyssa," the Perfect Human said, gently rubbing the white-haired girl's back. "What has happened has happened. Everyone has gotten better and grown stronger because of it."
"I see. Well, you're the God, after all."
"About that. Elyssa, I know that this is far too much for me to ask, but could you please take over my duties again?"
"Well, I'm not thrilled, but I'll do it. For how long?"
The Perfect Human stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. Elyssa sighed upon hearing his silent words.
"You're not going to come back again, aren't you?"
"I'm afraid not. What I'm about to do right now is the equivalent of suicide. We will never meet again."
"I'm guessing that this is something you have to do, no matter what?"
"Yes, it absolutely is."
"Very well. I'm… I'm going to miss you, my Lord."
The man gently craned his neck to her, letting him closely observe the tears falling from her concealed eyes. "Chin up, Elyssa," he gently chided her with a smile. "My legacy will be carried on by you, of course."
"B-but can I do it? C-Can I be a-as g-g-great as y-you?!"
"You are already great in your own way, Elyssa. Everyone is. You just need to see it."
Elyssa began heaving with her head low, tightly gripping onto her cane before her. "I-I don't know if I'm r-ready."
"We will never know if we are. The only way is for us to actually do it and bear the results that we get."
"I see. I-I'm going to make you proud! N-No matter w-what!"
Softly nodding, the Perfect Human looked at the setting sun. The orange waves washed over him, basking him in its temporary warmth. Only for the cold to set in mere moments soon after.
"It's time."
Elyssa slowly gulped as she nodded. "I… I don't know what to say. Goodbye seems… too simple."
The Perfect Human beamed at the blind girl once more. "But that's enough for me. Goodbye, Elyssa Libitina."
Elyssa swiftly stood up and set her cane aside, turning to face the Perfect Human. She pristinely bowed down to him, doing her best to ignore the way her tears dripped down her cheeks and hit the floor and the surface of her glasses.
"Goodbye, my Lord."
Nodding in satisfaction, the Perfect Human slowly closed his eyes.
The world was black. There were no stars because there was no one else here. This wasn't the world, after all. This was the space within a soul, one that held three fragments. Three contenders, only one to live.
"Hello. Both of you," the Perfect Human greeted. MC simply nodded at him.
"H-Hey, PH! Great to meet you again, bud!" Wallace nervously responded, pressing the tips of his fingers in front of him.
"Wallace," the Perfect Human turned to him in response. "To be honest, I had expected everything that would happen here. And yet, I am highly displeased with your actions."
Abruptly freezing the motions of his fingers, Wallace grit his teeth in anger. "So what? You just want Markie to live? What, aren't I capable of making my own choices, instead of your perfect ass coming after me every time?!"
"You must understand that the matter is not due to bias. It arose due to your greed getting the better of you, a move that forced you to commit several unforgivable crimes."
"Yeah, but you fixed them all, right?" Wallace retorted. "You've pretty much destroyed everything I've built. Is that fun for you or something?"
The Perfect Human stayed silent. Not because he had no idea what to say, of course. It was because he knew that his words wouldn't be heard with Wallace's stubbornness in the way.
"Um, Perfect Human?" MC ended up asking, making the two beings turn to him. "You should know, I actually brought you here because-"
"I am familiar, do not worry, Mark. I am you in a sense, after all."
"Uh, right. So, w-what's your decision? What do you think we should do about Wallace?"
The Perfect Human lightly hummed for a moment, then turned back to face Wallace once more.
"I support your decision, MC. Wallace must be deleted."
"Hey, hey, can't we talk about this?" Wallace interrupted, body starting to shiver and sweat in fear. "I mean, I can get better! I can… um… learn from my mistakes! That's a thing with you guys, right?"
"I… I actually have to agree with Wallace," MC added, making Wallace flinch in surprise. "Don't get me wrong, I do want to delete him. But if we actually delete him, then won't you die too?"
"Idiot," Wallace chided from nearby, turning to MC. "It doesn't matter if only this guy vanishes. There's an infinite number of us as well!"
"Huh? Then… why haven't we met them?"
"That's how time works. I don't really understand it, but time always displaces people into worlds where another version of us just leaves. And that is only for the worlds where we have Stands as well. Time is finicky like that, just like how it hates changes that deletion makes. My point is that it doesn't matter if this guy dies because of me. There's an infinite number of him on standby as well. Funnily enough, there's even an infinite number of me as well. It's why I've always preferred to have you stay away from me more than anything. Because other versions of you will still be there, even if I could somehow delete you."
"Well said, Wallace. However, I regret to inform you that this won't be the case for me anymore."
That phrase ended up earning MC's and Wallace's attention. "What do you mean?" Wallace asked.
"Wallace, I'm sure that you know about the ability that All Seeing I independently possesses."
"Yeah, it – wait, are… are you serious?"
Seeing the growing horror on Wallace's face, MC couldn't help but wonder what the Perfect Human was talking about. What was this ability?
"Unreality," the Perfect Human responded. "While it is true that the world moves in different dimensions due to the different choices made, I can make it so that any decision has a 100% or 0% chance of happening. Basically, I can make it so that anything I wish for will happen in every dimension at once, instead of leaving remains behind like your Stands. Once I delete Wallace with this technique, I will completely erase his presence across the multiverse. MC, through this process, you will not be able to restore him via book transmogrification."
"Wait, wait, wait, let's talk about this, okay?" Wallace pleaded, visibly sweating before the man. "You're committing suicide here, man! You're a God, this world needs-"
"I have already made up my mind, Wallace."
"Actually, I agree with Wallace again," MC said. "Isn't this excessive? You've brought back everyone who's deleted, so everything that Wallace had done is gone. He can start fresh, and you can stay alive."
"I've been dead for years already. And if I do follow your wishes, what direction do you believe Wallace will undertake?"
MC was about to respond with the potential of Wallace getting better or even growing, but in a mere moment, he held his tongue. He didn't need to think twice to know how absurd that theory was. Not for someone who had already engrained this nature into themselves like a way of life.
"So, you see," the Perfect Human sombrely nodded as waves of golden mist began to waft from his body. "That is why I have no choice but to kill myself.
"Wallace. It is time for me to end what Mark started."
Despite a shrieking Wallace attempting to run away from them, the gold aura of All Seeing I effortlessly caught up to him. Quickly enveloping his body, the golden aura violently pulled out Radiohead from within him, making the Stand also seem to scream in agony as the aura began to tear it apart.
However, that wasn't all.
Waves of the same aura started to travel across the blank space they were in, suddenly lighting up certain segments of the place. MC couldn't but wonder if they were truly alone there, but then he remembered. Those weren't other people. They were them, from different dimensions.
As the moans of agony began to fill the space around them due to the multiple forms of Wallace becoming unreal, MC took one last look at the man who tormented the past few weeks of his.
Wallace was currently neck-deep into the aura, screeching into the shining blankness of the world around them. MC couldn't help but tear up at the sobbing form of Wallace. Once again, MC couldn't help but wonder if he had truly learned his lesson at that last moment or if he was crying because of how he had lost all that he had won.
But then, Wallace went silent. Twisting his head back out to MC, he seemed to reach out for him with a gold-shrouded arm.
"Live… like… a king."
The aura around him climbed up to his crown, fully consuming him.
Letting out a strained breath, MC wiped his own dripping eyes as he watched the golden aura carry the body up to the space above them, along with the rest of the Wallace's from across the multiverse.
However, they weren't the only ones leaving.
"Mark Caulfield," the Perfect Human muttered, his form slowly disintegrating into the same golden aura that he caused. "I hope that you live the rest of your life fruitfully. Don't worry about the lack of a God; I have already entrusted that task to Elyssa Libitina."
"No, that's not it," MC gulped as he turned back to the evolved being. "The past weeks… they've been the most eventful of my life. I just want to know, what am I going to do from now on? Can I return back to normal just like that?"
The Perfect Human smirked.
"There is no need to worry, MC. I am not going to take Day One from you, or even mitigate its abilities. After all, I haven't brought the girls from the Literature Club back into this reality for a very good reason."
MC widened his eyes in shock as the aura consumed the last remaining parts of the Perfect Human, carrying him to the same space where Wallace was headed.
MC had to squint as he followed their presences to the sky; it has too bright. The Golden Light flooded the entire multiverse, claiming its victims and their effects all along the way.
And as the light burst into a supernova, MC couldn't help but reach out for it as the light swathed him entirely, illuminating his surroundings once more.
"MC…" another incredibly familiar voice spoke up from behind his left shoulder. MC couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock as he recognised who it was.
"JoJo! You're here!"
Sure enough, as turned back, he could see the golden aura taking up JoJo's shape, making him seem to originate from the birthmark on his shoulder.
"No, I'm not," Geoff Joster said with a sad smile. "I asked the Perfect Human to leave me deleted, and I'm going to ask that of you as well."
"Huh?" MC blinked in surprise, not understand why he had done that. "Why? You can live again! What about your legacy?!"
"My legacy is now fulfilled because of you, MC." JoJo smiled at him as he spoke his next words. "You finished what I couldn't. Thank you for working so hard for all of us, MC."
Those words managed to strike a chord in MC's heart. A chord strong enough to bring out all of the emotion that MC forced himself to suppress from the very beginning. From the very first day that he had manifested his Stand after witnessing Sayori's suicide, all the way through the various deletions, the threats, the agony, the terrible experiences. The tears he shed and the cries he cried within that world of gold managed to fill it to the brim with thick emotion, as the first member to help him with his Stand began to fade away from existence, the only form of remembrance for him in the shape of a star-shaped birthmark on Mark Caulfield's shoulder.
"So. It is all over. You survived your battle."
Now that MC was looking at the moonlit sky on that bench on the rooftop with Elyssa by his side, he couldn't help but feel free. Elyssa was crying next to him as well, although she cried for the loss of the Perfect Human instead.
"Can I ask you what you're going to do now?" she continued to ask. "Now that there is no one trying to kill you."
MC smiled at the moon before him despite the tears on his cheeks. "The Perfect Human left me a message before he left. He hadn't restored the girls yet."
"Pardon me, what? Why?"
"Book transmogrification," MC explained. "I discovered with you that I can bring back anyone who was deleted by using their books. That's my next goal. I'm going to finish what the Perfect Human started and bring back the girls of the Literature Club."
Elyssa gazed at MC's general form for a moment, then smiled. "I see. The Perfect Human makes the best choices even in the very end."
"Yeah. Well, he is the Perfect Human."
"That is true."
Slowly, Elyssa Libitina raised herself onto her feet, supporting herself with her cane.
"I can't stay here for long, MC. I have responsibilities as a new god."
"Of course," MC nodded as he stood up as well. "It was truly fun with you around, Elyssa. I'm going to miss you."
Elyssa smiled back at him as she raised her hand before him. "And I'm going to watch over you at all times. I can't have the number one deviator of time doing as he wishes, after all."
Humming in amusement, MC graciously accepted her hand and shook it. "Yeah, of course, you will. I'll try my best to make it fun for you."
Nodding, Elyssa turned to face the night sky once more.
"I'm sure it is a great night tonight," Elyssa said as she took off her glasses and dropped her cane. "I hope that I will be able to see it from up there."
Elyssa gently palmed her eyes to cover herself. Within the shadows of herself, Elyssa finally opened her eyes once more, activating Third Eye Blind.
And since the Stand could not see, it tore the next closest dimension that Elyssa knew. Time.
It happened in a flash. Elyssa's body began to warp in the space around them as the same space began to compress around her, quickly filling in the area that she had left behind once she disappeared. However, one lone object was formed from within the space where Elyssa stood. A purple book with an ominous red eye on the cover.
"Goodbye, Elyssa," MC finally hummed out, gently picking up the fresh copy of The Portrait of Markov. "I hope we can meet again someday."
"WAIT!"
MC flinched in surprise, almost dropping the book, as a group suddenly shot up from beyond the wall. Looking closer, MC smiled upon seeing Sachiko flying to him while carrying Reiko, Takumi and Souta.
"We're coming with you!" Sachiko Kamiya said. "Reiko told us about the Perfect Human's plan for your club! We want to help!"
"Sis and I won't be of much help without our Stands, but we can help anyway," Souta Chinen said, Takumi Chinen eagerly nodding beside her.
"You're not leaving us here, alright? Not after everything that happened," Reiko Haku finally spoke as they touched down onto the roof. "We can help you find them."
"Yeah, and I've still gotta beat Natsuki!" Sachiko cheered.
MC chuckled in surprise as he held the book in his hands close to himself. "You guys… thank you. For everything."
"MC, let me tell you this once more," Reiko said, stepping forward and gripping his shoulder. "You're not letting go of us so soon. Not after everything you did for us."
"Y-Yeah!" Takumi added. "We're gonna help you, dammit!"
MC looked at the four before him once more, then nodded. "Let's get going, then. Day One."
Manifesting his green Stand beside him once more, MC's smile grew even further. He willed his Stand to touch its first save slot, activating it and keeping it ready for activation. Turning to the rest of the group, he wrapped them all in a group hug, carefully making sure that he was making contact with every single one of them.
'This is it,' MC swore to himself. 'I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing from the very beginning of this journey.
'I'm going to save the Literature Club.'
"Load Save."
THE END