Living Things

by Yujin Zone

One Saga native man revived seven girls to form an idol group to save Saga. But when danger comes knocking as supernatural projections of a person's psyche, seven men with similar powers are revived as well, leading everyone into a bizarre adventure like no other. (All JoJo Parts except 9 are included, so spoilers abound)

33. Linkin Park Part 3

Greetings folks, and Happy Halloween! Welcome to the 33rd chapter of Living Things! Brace yourselves as our zombie heroes finally turned the tide of battle to their favor after exploiting his weakness and figuring out Linkin Park's ability! However, there is a surprise in the end that happens after the battle is seemingly over. All I can say about it is that this chapter is only the midway point of the fight.

You heard me right. This is not the end of the fight yet, as two more chapters will cover it.

Anyway, enough talk. Let's get on with the story!

---

ドドドドドドドド

No one made a move against the enemy who should have fallen against Rianima's combined attacks after capturing him. They made sure he wouldn't be able to command his Stand after Mamezuku captured him, depriving him of any options to get out of their trap. They and Franchouchou saw Xero and Linkin Park being seized within their grasps, surrounding him from every direction so that the two are trapped after they played right into the zombie Stand Users' hands by repeating the same tactic but in a different way. Consequently, the enemy would have no way of getting out of their grasps after apprehending his troublesome Stand.

So it beggars belief that the emeralds, blazing ankhs, bomb, Golden Spin-infused nail bullets, steel ball and drill fashioned out of disentangled arm disappeared just as when they're within an inch on hitting him. All it takes is Xero shouting Linkin Park's name and then… poof! The projectiles are gone like a snowflake melting on any warm surface like a person's hands.

It's so surprising that no one said anything to Xero, who is stretching his limbs and body after getting entangled by a rope for a second time to make sure he's still able to move properly and any tight joints are loosened. In that time frame, they should have attacked him again while he's seemingly distracted, specifically targeting Linkin Park, but they did not out of disbelief and shock that he has the audacity of evading some of Rianima's strongest attacks.

At the same time though, Xero doesn't seem to say anything, only deciding to glare irritatingly to everyone after fixing his body. This relates from his earlier statement about them prioritizing targeting ｢him｣ instead of ｢Linkin Park｣. But it didn't take long before the air of uncertain silence is broken by an aghast Lily.

"What… What just HAPPENED? How come this meanie didn't get killed!?"

Her question snaps everyone out of their trance like dominos, with Ai being the next one to speak. "As much I don't want to use that word, I agree with Lily-chan!" She turns to Rianima with a pleading look and asks, "You seven! You didn't miss your attacks, right? How the heck did this guy went unharmed and evaded your attacks even with him and his Stand immobilized?"

Hearing her question, Narancia didn't hesitate to answer her while he has Aerosmith on stand-by above Xero. "H-How should we know?! I mean, you and Lily have a point this bastardo should have been obliterated by our attacks! We did see them approach him when something… happened that… allowed him to remain unscathed without a single hair on him touched!"

"Could it be… the ｢work of his Stand｣?" Avdol speculated, albeit unsure because they do not know what limit their enemy's ability is yet. "Did Linkin Park has something to do with them avoiding getting hit by our attacks, as much as impossible it sounds?"

"Oh that's a load of crap!" Gyro doesn't agree with his assessment. This stems from him feeling irked, unhappy, and most of all, offended that his and Johnny's Super Spin technique was somehow brushed away like they were nothing to Xero. He has something more to say about that. "You're telling me this guy has found a way to negate our ultimate Spin techniques designed to wipe him out indiscriminately and potentially surpass whatever power he has like it was nothing?! Why Johnny and I would try again until our ultimate attacks succeed in overwhelming him after he's defenseless!" After spilling out his complaint to everyone, not caring they are looking at him when he said that, Gyro reaches out for the steel ball he thrown against Xero to try again. His angered state almost left him when he sees he's one ball short and that the steel ball isn't in his hands like it should after he threw it. "Huh? The steel ball… Where… where is it?" Gyro asked as he looks around almost frantically.

His question made everyone also see his steel ball is not in his hands. As such, they're unable to answer him as they copy his movement to see where it went. Much to their surprise however, Xero answers their question.

"Your steel ball is not in your hands yet Gyro… because it has ｢hit something｣."

Everyone looked back to the man still standing there in the center with all zombie Stand User surrounding him. Nail Jockey in particular proceeds to question about his statement. "What? What do you mean my steel ball ｢hit something｣?"

"Would you and mister Johnny, as well as everyone, care to look at that tumbled tree over there?"

Though wary and distrusting of him and his words, the two groups turn to where he's pointing at. Behind Avdol and Narancia is a tree becoming withered and wrinkled as yellow sparks of Spin energy coursed through its roots, barks, branches and leaves partly thanks to the steel ball embedded in a dent shaped like the ball.

"Huh!?" Franchouchou and Rianima shouted in surprise, Johnny and Gyro especially as they're seeing their strongest moves happening to that poor tree behind Fire Lord and Li'l Bomber, who backed away after seeing it.

It is hard to tell what age that tree is/was in due to its long life and aging slowly compared to other species, but the Golden Spin energy flowing through its whole body is causing its branches to drop slightly then falling to the ground next to the tree's covered roots, its leaves have lost its color, bordering on becoming gray and the tree's bark appears to be shaking from the sudden accumulation of age.

Upon laying eyes on his spinning weapon, Gyro immediately recognizes it to be his steel ball. "Hey, that's my steel ball!"

"What?" yelled out Saki.

"There's no mistaking it! I recognize its appearance!" Gyro pointed a finger to the spinning object with assured look. "It seems my own ultimate Spin technique is ｢accelerating｣ the tree's age from the infinite amount of energy being transferred into it! Or wait, now that I think about it, maybe it's accurate to say that it's the work of my… ｢Stand｣?"

"You mean the small, green creature floating near the steel ball, Gyro?" Johnny replied, directing everyone's sight to the sparking being returning to the steel ball after it's done imbuing the aged tree with as much Spin energy as possible before said ball bounces back to Gyro's hands after he quickly reach it out in a second he saw it made its return trip to its user.

"Whoa!"

"Okay, I stand corrected," he stated. He and everyone look back to the aged tree unfortunate enough to be on the end of Ball Breaker's senescence-inducing power born from the infinite Golden Spin energy…

…Only to see the tree's misfortune isn't over yet as its bark, branches and roots began splitting into many, thin parts of itself before it begins spinning rapidly.

They shout in surprise over seeing it splitting itself apart and spinning, but it's more prevalent to Johnny because he and Gyro realize Tusk went into the same tree together with Gyro's Stand.

"Chumimiiiiin…"

Tusk's shrill cry and it appearing out from the poor tree made it clear for them.

"Tusk?" Johnny blinked twice at seeing Tusk ACT4 finish attacking the tree before returning back to its user, disappearing within him.

"Huh? That was Tusk just now?" Junko asked, thoroughly confused again as to what is happening to the aged tree, a sentiment shared by the girls and some Stand Users. "What… What did it and Gyro's Stand do to that tree? And also," At this point, the tree disintegrates piece by piece, the spin not stopping until everything that constitutes the tree's existence is gone from this world due to it getting obliterated by the infinite Spin. "What had happened to the poor tree!? And why… Why did it disappear while it is spinning!?"

As everyone stare at the empty spot where the tree used to be planted on with varying reactions like surprise, intrigue and fear, Bucciarati remembers something after he understands from witnessing Johnny and Gyro riding on their horses before shooting and throwing their own projectiles that transformed into their Stands and their explanation on how the Golden Spin works that it must be the infinite Golden Spin that granted them that extraordinary and fearsome power. With this thought causes him to talk to the two about what he found out.

"Could it be…? That was the most powerful technique you two did that came from ｢mastering｣ your Spin techniques, Johnny and Gyro?"

Knowing it's useless to hide it from them and feeling the two can trust them, the two jockeys choose to explain or clarify what their own infinite Golden Spin abilities are and what they do. But Xero beat them first.

"Correct, mister Bucciarati," he began, getting everyone's attention back to him. "That was Johnny and Gyro's ultimate Spin technique they have cultivated during the Steel Ball Run race, where trials and tribulations molded their experiences that their Stand abilities reflect upon. ｢Ball Breaker｣, which I heard Gyro named it, is activated when he throws his steel ball using Golden Spin to greatly accelerate the aging of its target when the steel ball touches them. As for ｢Tusk ACT4｣'s Infinite Rotation done by riding on horseback, it causes every individual cells of its target it hit to separate and begin spinning, until the rotation disintegrates the affected target."

The amount of surprise everyone has after hearing him accurately explain what their Stands are and what they do must be greater than before. Johnny and Gyro numbly nodded to his explanation, finding themselves unable to rebut or interject because Xero is correct on every word spouted out of his mouth

Nonetheless, having witnessed Johnny and Gyro's ultimate moves in action and hearing their explanation of how their ability works, it serves to impart on them that perhaps, these two Spin users must be the most powerful Stand User among Rianima, if not, then among the zombies as a whole. Who could have imagined their seemingly weak but versatile Spin techniques was the groundwork for them achieving the supreme forms of the Spin created by the Zeppeli family from another reality. Most of them are impressed beyond belief that Kotaro had recruited two Spin users who had gained the almighty forms and moves of their Spin techniques, but some of them, mostly the sensitive members like Junko and Lily, cannot help but fear the two due to having abilities that can effectively end someone's life if their attacks connect.

Xero is not done yet, as he has something more to say regarding the Golden Spin. "Because Johnny and Gyro's ultimate techniques, Tusk ACT4 especially, are capable of surpassing everything that exists in our reality, including dimensions, even Linkin Park's power isn't immune against their might. It's because of this reason that I changed the Spin's trajectory to a tree that was disintegrated by the Spin instead of making the emeralds, fire, bomb, and all your Stand disappear. Just getting hit by the Golden Spin and I wouldn't survive, even with Linkin Park doing its best to remove the effects inflicted on me."

"…Oh? Really?" Kakyoin said, raising an eyebrow. "You're admitting that Tusk and Ball Breaker are more powerful than your Stand? In spite of your claim that it's on par with The World?"

Xero nods sincerely, much to Kakyoin and others' surprise and intrigue. "Yes. Funny Valentine is unable to escape from Tusk ACT4's effects no matter how many times he transferred his consciousness to other Valentines using D4C. At that point, he has been defeated. Such power is one that I must be wary of because I don't want to die that way."

Johnny flinches when he hears him exactly recount how the final leg of his fight against Valentine went. More than that, Xero seems to possess high amount of knowledge about them. Sure they heard from Blackmore that he knows who they are and what they did before their deaths but hearing him narrate parts of their story is nothing short of uncanny and puzzling. He is sure everyone feels the same as him, judging from their looks of bafflement, curiosity and surprise.

They want to ask him more on how much he knows about them, but for now, an important matter must be addressed: the manner of how Xero will die and why did he neutralized Rianima's attacks if he really wants to die by their hands.

Looking back at him again, they first see his brow is now slightly furrowed upon eye contact with him. The observant members caught that, so they stayed vigilant and ready. For an umpteenth time, Franchouchou hid behind a bush while Rianima surrounds Xero from every direction, with Hierophant Green and Doggy Style crawling close to his feet to entangle him if he makes a move to attack them.

Seeing everyone is sorely focused on him while glaring daggers, Xero brushes a stray bang out of his eye before taking a breath to steady his mind. Bucciarati steps forward to ask that on him avoiding their attacks.

"I am sure you know what we're all curious about related to signor Johnny and Gyro's mastery over the Spin," he began. "I will ask you once, and only this once… If you value your life, don't think of answering differently that will obviously not satisfy us."

"…" Xero looked at Bruno with narrowed eyes.

Folding his arms, he proceeds with the question, "How did you escaped from our attacks while you and your Stand was trapped within Rai's ropes? And is there a reason why you somehow changed Tusk ACT4 and Ball Breakers' trajectory to a lone tree even though it's a guaranteed kill for you considering your motive to be killed by any of us?"

Not needing to gaze at his eyes to see he wants to end this charade and end his life immediately, Xero readily answers him. "To answer both of your questions mister Bucciarati… it's through Linkin Park's ｢main ability｣."

Getting tired of hearing the same set of words repeated, Narancia chimes in angrily as Aerosmith lowers a few centimeters, indicating of his desire to drop a bomb on him again. "We already heard that! Do you expect us to understand you when we hear you say it's your Stand's 'main ability' or whatever? Just in case you forgot, we don't know how your ability works and what it is!"

"Regardless of how many Stands I've heard about or encountered, even the most mysterious Stands will eventually reveal what their ability is and their weakness," Avdol said, gestured hands spread apart with Magician's Red opening his beak to light a flame. "But your Linkin Park seems to like being enigmatic, almost the most enigmatic among the Stands I encountered. We know its other ability is to create portals using your hands, but every showing of your supposed 'main' ability seems to be non-existent or perhaps, convoluted. I speak for everyone that your Stand has only served to confound our heads without getting close to an answer we want."

"Our patience is running thin and we don't want to overstay here any longer. If you don't want to get wrapped around by my wires and Kakyoin's tendrils for the third time," Mamezuku began threatening him, drawing his unraveled wires close to touching the tip of Xero's shoes. "Answer properly."

"We shouldn't be saying this to an enemy like you but… you won't get a second chance." Kakyoin said with a similar tone as Mamezuku's.

Xero goes silent for a moment before he lets out a sigh. Shaking his head, he proceeds to remind the seven Stand Users on how they should kill him. "Believe me when I say this. I'm aware of how powerful my ｢main ability｣ is. However, it is my belief that Johnny and Gyro's infinite Golden Spin are the only abilities that can surpass Linkin Park because it defies the logic of our reality and lets them achieve impossible miracles."

"Huh?" The mentioned figures look on in confusion.

"If I were asked on what is the most agonizing death a human can experience," he continues. "I would say getting hit by Tusk ACT4 or Gyro's Ball Breaker and seeing your body age greatly or spun into oblivion until there's nothing left. I'm not lying when I say I want to die so badly, but I don't want to get struck by the Golden Spin. But since their powers are beyond the scope of my abilities, I had changed their trajectory to hit a tree instead of me, while the rest is negated by Linkin Park. And yes, what I said is precisely what happened. That is my proper answer."

"So you actually cause our attacks to disappear in thin air and free yourselves from Hierophant Green's grasps… Did I got that right, Xero?" Kakyoin remarked to his enemy.

Xero nodded again. "Why yes. You actually did, Kakyoin."

Kakyoin feels uneasy and still hesitant to accept Linkin Park did the disappearing and moving. Mostly because they haven't guessed correctly what his main ability is, if he's not talking nonsense.

"Ahem," Xero clears his throat to get their attention on him and the topic back on track. "I have stalled this intermission long enough. We must get back to fighting all of you. But just to be clear… All you have to do to kill me is target," Rainbow aura surrounds him as Linkin Park appears behind Xero. "Linkin Park only." Then after pointing to his Stand, it goes back to him and the aura disappears. "But you will have to make me call out Linkin Park because I will not use my Stand to physically attack you all. For the next part of this fight, I will use my ｢ability｣ to do the lifting for me. In fact, my ability doesn't need the physical presence of Linkin Park in order to use it," he tapped his temple as he finishes his statement. "My ｢mind｣ is all I need to allow me to accomplish impossible feats."

The zombies looked on with varying degrees of puzzlement and curiosity, but mostly dread for Franchouchou.

"I'm aware all of you has doubts about this specific way of killing me, but please you have to understand. Not everything you're seeing to me is what it seems. You will soon get to know why I want to die by your hands, but…"

Having enough of his rhetoric, Narancia decides to grant his wish of getting killed by any of the Stand Users. "If you want to die so badly, then stop defending yourself as I fill your body with as much bullets as you like! It's what you sorely deserved!" With Aerosmith's whirring rotors as it makes a hard drop towards Xero from above, Narancia exclaims with a ferocious anger. "Let's put this pretentious bastardo to rest, Aerosmith!"

"Narancia, wait! Don't-!"

"Too late!" Gyro stops Bucciarati from attempting to interrupt Narancia because he still wants to ask questions to him. "Our interrogation with him is over!"

Not needing to wait until Aerosmith is close to Xero, Narancia proceeds to start up his machine guns, looking forward to see him become a bloodied cheese.

When it looks like Aerosmith is about to fire, the plane Stand suddenly stops moving in mid-air. This sudden stop carries over to Narancia, who can feel his body become stiff and unmoving, only able to twitch his body in an attempt to move freely.

"H-Huh?! W-What… What is this…?" he grunted, gritting his teeth over him unable to even move so slightly. "I can't… m-move! M-My body! I feel… feel so… rigid!" He wouldn't think he's still able to speak in spite of his body becoming paralyzed. Too bad that's all he can do.

Concurrently, everyone's eyes are on Xero simply staring at Aerosmith with a focused look. For some reason, his stare is enough to stop the plane Stand and paralyze Narancia. The gothic man lets out a sigh as he shakes his head. He looks up to see the rest of Rianima is ready to retaliate to stop him and free Narancia. Kakyoin and Mamezuku in particular extends the wires and tendrils to ensnare him with prejudice, having warned him wordlessly not to make any move that they take it as a sign of attack.

"Capture him!" With Kakyoin's shout, the ropes tied him up. Or at least they should when Xero stops them from rising by only extending his left hand, specifically letting them remain still in the air. Naturally, this surprises the two. "What?!"

"Now, now. What did I say before in order to kill me, members of Rianima?" Xero questioned them. "You must attack ｢Linkin Park｣ instead of me, which you must force me to call it out. I know I have said this many times but…" Closing his eyes to take a deep breath, he swiftly opened them and declaration to his audiences. "Witness…! Linkin Park's ｢power｣!"

ゴォォォッ！

A third blizzard engulfs everyone in its harsh, freezing winds once again, seen coming behind Xero as he vanishes within the weather phenomenon after releasing Aerosmith, and in turn, freeing Narancia.

"Hnnngh! This… blizzard again!" Avdol grunted, Magician's Red releasing as much fire as it can to stave off the biting cold even a little.

"Arrrgghhh! I-I think this blizzard has b-become… intense t-than before!" Johnny exclaimed, struggling to keep his foot on the ground after quickly bringing Slow Dancer back to his mind. "I-It f-f-feels like… I'm gonna get b-blown away!"

"All of you! Huddle up close to Avdol!" Bucciarati didn't waste time issuing an order to his men. "We must stay close to each other! I don't want any of you to get lost in this blizzard!"

"But the girls, Bucciarati-san!" Kakyoin reminded him urgently, already sending out tendrils through the swirling gale of snow. "We must get the girls to us first! They were hiding in a bush when this blizzard happened!"

"Ah, right! I almost forgot!" He voiced his regret before he shouted their names to the wind. "Saki! Ai! Lily! Can you all hear me!? Kakyoin has send out Hierophant Green's tendrils to get you six! If you see it, grab them and Kakyoin will pull you to us!"

After ten seconds of waiting, Kakyoin feels a tug in Hierophant's six tendrils. He perks up in response and says, "Ah! The tentacles are being tugged!"

"Quickly Kakyoin!" Rai ordered him. "Pull the girls to us!"

"I will, I will!"

Hierophant Green pulls the tendrils back to it with Sticky Fingers assistance. After a tense moment, the current six members of Franchouchou are within Rianima's reach all holding on to Hierophant's tendrils for dear life. This is noticeable for Ai, Junko and Lily as they possess scared, pale-looking expressions due to the blizzard.

The boys are relieved to see the girls are unharmed from the blinding snowstorm. Gyro himself expresses it as he holds his hat down to prevent it from getting blown away, "Phew! You girls made it! We were worried some of you might be buried under dozens of snow thanks to this stupid blizzard!"

"And we were worried also that you guys may have forgotten us!" Saki replied, rubbing her shoulders and arms to warm her shivering body. Ai, Junko and Lily are hugging themselves from the cold while Yugiri and Tae gets close to them for warmth, which Saki is doing to Ai. "If we haven't seen Hierophant Green, we wouldn't know you are looking for us!"

"Enough talk, everyone!" Bucciarati cuts their conversation short. "Huddle up near Avdol and each other so we wouldn't get lost from this blizzard!"

Three rough piercing sounds were heard near the girls' position. The source of the sound is a big tree root rising up from the ground, which retreated deep back under in the created hole when it didn't get the girls.

"Waaah!" Junko screamed in fright for almost getting skewered by it.

"Especially when that could happen." Bucciarati finished in a cautious tone.

"Less talking, more moving please!" exclaimed Ai.

In three seconds flat, Rianima and Franchouchou gather together to Avdol, who is in the center of the assembled group to equally distribute the heat generated from Magician's Red's fire over its raised hands. The gathered group lined up circularly next to him is Franchouchou, who is trying to huddle up more to him as possible for the warmth and protection he's providing, and with the six Stand Users acting as the outer ring of the gathered group to further protect them, the girls are wedged within the boys. That, and with their heights, the girls can't see through them easily if the blizzard isn't making it hard for them to see through the blinding white winds as it is. They are not complaining however, as aside from the discomfort of getting squeezed tightly by each other, they really need their protection against the vanished opponent, who they believe are somewhere near them concocting another attack.

That thought is making the already anxious girls more distressed than they're feeling and the cautious Stand Users more wary and determined to bring Xero to his knees. They have to go through the blizzard to find where Xero is, but the strong wind and fierce cold brought by it means that option is impossible to carry out. What's more, more sharp roots appear from the ground, threatening to stab all of them if they weren't torn off by Bucciarati, Narancia and Johnny, the former sealing up the hole with zippers to prevent more roots from emerging.

Searching for Xero seems like it's not a viable option this time, and instead, Rianima shifts their efforts in protecting Franchouchou from all manner of attacks presumably done by Xero hiding behind the blizzard's veil. Each attacks serve to showcase what Linkin Park can apparently do that Xero didn't felt the need to bring out his Stand physically…and confound them more due to the partial randomness of his attacks.

Aside from the sharp roots, ice spikes or hail stones come raining down from above and would have stabbed or crushed their puny heads were it not for Magician's Red and Hierophant Green creating a shield above their heads, razor sharp leaves shoot out from outside the wind to slice their skin but Bucciarati, Narancia and Gyro intercepts them, and floating snowballs of varying sizes popping into hoarfrosts carried along with the wind towards them are warded off by Johnny and Mamezuku through shooting them or grabbing one or two snowballs and throwing them away.

So far, Rianima's efforts to protect themselves and Franchouchou from hail, leaves and snowballs prevented major injuries from striking them. Minor wounds are unable to be avoided because the attacks are occurring at the same time, making it difficult for the Stand Users to see them all and react accordingly, but everyone is safe within the gathered circle. However, they are not progressing much if they're only intercepting Xero's attacks on them, as their enemy is nowhere in their sights. What's more, the attacks are becoming sturdier and more frequent, meaning everyone are receiving more wounds and they would get aggravated if the freezing temperature didn't freeze the blood and seal the wounds, no matter how small. That said, they're getting uncomfortable as more injuries are inflicted, especially for Rianima aside Avdol.

Even worse, it appears the blizzard is actually intercepting Rianima's attacks too. It may suddenly change the wind's directions, how fast or slow, how visible their surroundings are, and how much it assists the projectiles to throw off their game and strike them hard. If they thought the sight of leaves, hail and snowballs exploding into hoarfrosts attacking them isn't weird, then experiencing the changing state of the gale is pushing how astounding it is. But the most peculiar of all… they were supposed to bear witness to Linkin Park's ｢main ability｣. Is this what Xero is talking about? Blizzard, spinning leaves, wooden spikes rising from the ground and snowballs becoming hoarfrosts to inflict intense cold or a slicing wound… Is he doing all of this through his ability? Franchouchou and Rianima are more perplexed of Xero than ever before.

Catching the hail spikes with Hierophant Green's tendrils, Kakyoin grits his teeth as a cold sensation spread through his hands and wrists, which has been inflicting him the whole time he and Avdol intercepts the ice projectiles from above. "G-Guys! We can't stand here and take all attacks Xero is throwing at us all day!" He told his companions. "I don't know how long our defenses will go on a-and we need to find and attack him to stop this!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Narancia exclaimed, feeling stressed out as his body shivered from having Aerosmith brave through the tough cold winds and shooting or ramming to the snowballs. "I want to face him so badly after we're done stopping his attacks and this stupid blizzard lets up! He's getting way overboard on hindering and forcing us to be sitting ducks!"

"Well if ya want to find him so b-b-bad," replied Saki, resisting the thought of clattering her teeth from the shivering cold out of pride. "Just SHOUT! Maybe he'll respond to our yelling and move to our position if he's feeling brave or reckless!"

"I'm afraid that's not a good strategy," said Yugiri, who continues hugging Lily and Junko for little warmth aided by Magician's Red. "The surging wind is too loud that it's hard for us to hear our voices. Our shouting would be drowned by this harsh snowstorm, and even if Xero might hear us somehow, he must be hiding behind this veil of white snow, letting his attacks come at us without needing him to get near us."

Bucciarati grimaces from Yugiri's statement as Sticky Fingers deflects more wooden spikes and seals the holes. His hands are bleeding from the strikes done to the sturdy wood as well as the surprise surfacing of the same spikes when he goes to seal the holes. He dealt worse than having his hands getting punctured, but he would be lying if he insists it didn't bothered him. "Unfortunately, we need to get close to him to stop his attacks. Kakyoin is right. We don't have much long before one of us is spent from deploying our Stands. We need to act now!"

"But how should we act, Bucciarati?" Johnny questioned, impatiently waiting for one nail to finish reloading before firing it to a snowball. He can feel his legs becoming stiff from all the cold he's accumulating, close to making him lose his footing. "As long as this blizzard is here, we won't proceed through it! I'm thinking Avdol could try use his Stand to ward off the cold winds, even a little!"

"Apologies mister Johnny but…" Avdol panted briefly before continuing, "I'm… close to reaching… my limit… I don't think… I can continue shielding us all with… Magician's Red! The hail and snowstorm is starting to… break through my flames!"

His lamenting words brought more uncertainty and fear to everyone. "Oh no! That's not good!" Junko said.

"Oooorrrggghhhh…" If someone like Tae is groaning, then they know it's becoming quite bad.

Not liking the outlook of their predicament, Gyro clenches his teeth in frustration as he stops more hoarfrosts from encroaching them with his steel balls, which is starting to crack from getting freeze almost to the core. Also, he's getting impatient from the lack of progress. "We can't let this go on any longer! We need to act now!"

Some of them opens their mouth to reply back, but all of a sudden, the snowstorm that had engulfed the zombies... dies down.

Before the zombies' confused but nonetheless relieved eyes, dense and tall trees have surrounded them next, reaching up many meters above Avdol, who's the tallest zombie among his group. There's no space between tree barks, blocking winds from going through and the hole above them is almost obscured so that few dim light could shine down to the abrupt clearing. Lastly, dozens of snow cover their feet, probably accumulated from the blizzard.

Everyone look at the dense trees that was somehow planted in the midst of the snowstorm in surprise. While there were trees planted on both side of the mountainous paths, they weren't this close to them and feeling crammed. Trees cannot move on their own, so it begs the question on how did they surround the zombies while they were enduring the blizzard attacks.

"…Huh? Did my words cause the snow to vanish?" Gyro wondered, blinking his eyes twice.

"Really?" Mamezuku turned to him and replied with little sarcasm in that one word. "Did Xero stopped the blizzard after he heard you, Gyro-san?"

"Well it couldn't be a coincidence," shrugged Gyro. "At least we wouldn't suffer under the blizzard's might anymore. And Avdol here gets to take it easy after pushing himself to a limit."

"I believe I'll be fine," assured Avdol. "The numerous projectiles and harsh cold is what nearly caused me to exhaust myself. While I'm feeling a little queasy, I'm still in good condition everyone. Please do not worry."

Everyone isn't convinced of his words, but they can take comfort that a snowstorm won't hound them again. Hopefully for the fourth time.

ガサガサッ

!

A faint sound of leaves rustling interrupts their short-lived relief as they turn to where they heard the sound. Franchouchou stayed close to each other and Avdol while Rianima stay vigilant and alert. Relieved they may be now, they're clearly not out of the woods yet.

ガサガサ ガサガサ ガサガサァッ

More rustlings are heard behind the trees, getting the zombies to be more wary of their cramped surroundings and look around. The rustlings were first heard to their right, then on their left, all once at a time. But these start getting more frequent and heard above them, and eventually, their ears are bombarded from all directions. They weren't normally loud, but now they are due to the rustling occurring and overlapping at once, annoying them all especially Kakyoin, Lily and Tae, who is being held back by Avdol and Saki so she wouldn't go charging at the sound.

Covering her ears, Lily shakes her head as the rustling is getting to her. "Uuuugh! Lily's ears are hurting from the noise! I-I'm losing focus!"

"Aaaarrrggghhhh! ! ! Is Xero messing with us!?" Ai exclaimed irritatingly, covering her ears too. "Why is he making this noise?!"

Refusing to let the noise get to him to make him cover his ears, Kakyoin and Hierophant Green look around him to try pinpointing the source of the rustling. "Probably obscuring his position as he's making his move on us!" He answered her.

"About damn time!" Aerosmith circled around the zombies, its buzzing sounding pleasant compared to the many rustlings leaves or bushes. "I sure hope he shows his face to us soon so we can arrange it! We've been exposed to his ｢ability｣ far enough and it's getting more irritating every minute!"

"…Ability? Oh, that's right! Xero did say he's showing his ｢ability｣ to us!" Gyro reminded himself and everyone of this, focusing the leaves above him for basing the Golden Ratio to his steel balls. Johnny does the same too to his nails and Tusk. "An ability that have yet to make sense! I mean, seriously guys! What's the deal with his ability? How did he created a third blizzard and moved six or seven trees to encage us with no way of escape, unless Bucciarati or Kakyoin use their Stands?"

From everyone's silence, they couldn't answer that question.

"Guess we are all still in the dark," sighed Avdol. "｢Linkin Park｣ exudesa lot of mystery. If we don't get out of this predicament soon, we won't find out its ability and what makes it so powerful that Xero compares his Stand to DIO's Stand."

"Well all we know is that he didn't need to call his Stand out of him to activate his ability," reminded Yugiri. "If you all remember what he said before he forced us in this mess, he said that he only needs to use his ｢mind｣ to use his power."

"His ｢mind｣?" Junko repeated.

Johnny has a feeling she's taking this conversation to a route that he suspects could clue them to how Linkin Park works. "Are you on to something, Yugiri?"

"I believe so," she nodded. "When I recall Xero's words, I cannot help but be curious on his choice of words when he said it. It's like… he's leaving a hint to us so pointedly."

"Using his ｢mind｣ to use his ability… Hmm," Bucciarati hummed, Sticky Fingers rearing its fists to punch the trees and open the zipper after he accurately pinpointed Xero's position. "He was willing to tell us his power until we interfered and continue fighting him. He's been using his ｢main ability｣ the entire time to fight us, and so far, we don't have a clue on how he's doing it. Just how in the world did he freeze Tae, cause three blizzards, separate the river as if it's not a liquid, and currently, put us in this tight clearing?"

His question lingers in the air above them as they focus back on Xero possibly doing an ambush from any direction. The rustling bushes have stopped and the last rustle is heard above them. If they didn't misheard it, then they must have possibly located his position.

Feeling like she needs to continue the line of topic, Lily adds something regarding Linkin Park's mystery ability. "I-It's like he only needs to let his thoughts or mind to wander and fantasize them!

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

Silence follows. Franchouchou and Rianima stay alert as Lily's words sink into their heads.

…

…

…

"Wait," Kakyoin speaks up, an epiphany forming in his head. "His mind wandering… to fantasize them…?"

"Fantasizing… his thoughts wandering…" parroted Ai, a similar expression present. "What… What does it-?"

She stops herself before a dawning look emerges on her face as her eyes widening. And like ripples spreading out from center in a pond, the others adopt the same expression and widening eyes, except for Tae who is looking up in anticipation their enemy will appear.

"…Ungh?" Then she noticed her fellow companions looking at each other. She stared at them all in confusion, wondering why they have that expression.

No one said anything for five seconds until Narancia, astounded, says, "You guys… Do you think… Linkin Park's ability is…?"

Junko numbly shakes her head no as she replies with this in a quiet, disbelieving tone. "There's… There's no way… It's… It's so preposterous…"

"But that's possibly the only reason how Xero is able to achieve those seemingly unrelated forms and displays of power to hinder and attack us," Yugiri disagreed, not hiding her surprise to her friends. "Please remember that he only needs to use his ｢mind｣ to use his ability. If what we're all thinking is correct then…"

"It's not out of the realm of possibility," Mamezuku finished. "Somehow, I have a feeling his ability is actually both complicated and easy to use. Thanks to Lily however, we may have finally ｢figured out｣ Linkin Park's ability."

"And from what we've seen of him and his Stand and account everything he said," Avdol stated, "He… He might be right. He could be on par with the likes of DIO and Valentine, perhaps even surpassing them."

Everyone didn't raise their voices to deny it. It may have took them long and required the opinion of a kid to lead them to a breakthrough, but Franchouchou and Rianima have figured out Linkin Park's ability at last. Some of them may have doubts over it but they didn't dare deny it because it now makes sense how Xero did all the impossible acts of parting the waters of a river and blocking their projectiles seemingly out of nothing. All they need is to have Xero confirm their suspicions… after they attack his Stand.

In fact, everyone unanimously agrees that attacking Linkin Park shall take priority.

Soon after Bucciarati told everyone this, his ears pick up some leaves rustling from above.

!

Looking up, he sees Xero falling towards them headfirst with a murderous glint in his calm eyes, both hands spread out.

"Above us!" He shouted, getting their attention to the falling enemy. In a scant three seconds, they stare at him with cautious but determined look, absolutely sure of what Rianima must do to draw Linkin Park out of him. They are not sure what kind of attack he will do next, but they will not let him have a chance again…

Because they will have their advantage for real this time after they strip it out of him.

"MAGICIAN'S RED!"

"STICKY FINGERS!"

"TUSK!"

Eyes widening a moment, Xero stops the lunging Stands thanks to Linkin Park swiftly punching and kicking their faces or chin after he called it out. "TAMA!"

"Ouugh!"

"Arrgh!"

"Gacck!"

The Stand Users let out in pain, which Xero didn't heed them as Linkin Park arches its fists to deliver a hefty dose of punches to the zombies. He will not be as merciful as he was before until Rianima kills him by hurting his Stand.

"Say your prayers, my friends." Xero said to them, his eyes seemingly regarding them now as mere pests acting as obstacles in his path.

Everyone looked at him with wide eyes. But those are not the looks of fear and dread Xero expected when he's about to punch them. They are those of surprise.

Then it changed into one full of resolve. Even Tae glared at him with determination, shared by her companions.

Huh? They are not scared? Xero thought worriedly. Why are they…? Ah!

He immediately realized the reason: he had Linkin Park out.

And Hierophant Green has finished charging its signature move, Aerosmith swooped in next to the Stand and Gyro has his steel balls prepared to be thrown. The three Stand Users are going to take advantage of Xero's lapse of judgment.

"EMERALD SPLASH!"

"AEROSMITH!"

"OOOOOORA!"

ドバァァッ!

Xero's eyes could only widen in shock he fell to a trap they silently agreed on as Linkin Park received plenty of emeralds, bullets and steel balls it couldn't hope to dodge in time

"Ngh!"

As soon as the attacks make contact, a strong sensation flowed through Xero's body. He recognizes the familiar feeling, one that all living beings feel in response to their body getting damaged and complying them to withdraw from whatever it is causing them damage. This time, however, the feeling has become anything but normal, as the emeralds colliding with Linkin Park feels like Xero himself is being stoned by rough rocks so hard it nearly ruptures his bones.

W-What…? This pain… What… W-What is this…!? This is not… like a… normal pain! ! !

With the point-blank ranged projectiles connected successfully, Linkin Park and its user were sent sailing through the air with blood gushing out from the user's new and open wounds. This sight wouldn't be complete without the screams of pain escaping his lips.

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"

ガシャァァンッ

At the same time Xero was finally hit, the narrow clearing the zombies were in is, for a lack of better phrase… shattered into dissipating glass pieces that reveals the snowy hiking path bordered by trees and bushes. Everyone would have remarked upon the background literally shattering before their eyes, but Xero's painful scream isn't ignored by them because Rianima has succeeded in hitting Linkin Park at last. Even Ai, Junko and Lily admit that his scream sounds like heaven to their ears.

"YES! They did it! They managed to hit him!" Saki bellowed uproariously, watching him go flying with a satisfied smile.

"About damn time someone knocked him down a peg!" Gyro shared her sentiment, pumping his fist.

It should come as no surprise all of them have wanted to see Xero eventually got hurt. As such, they are all happy Rianima got their first proper attack striking him and send him flying along with his Stand, and even more satisfied when he landed and skidded against the dirt and snow so roughly, reaching up to 2 meters until he stops. While some of the girls winced, they didn't complain and agreed he deserves a hard landing to rub salt to his injuries.

Throbbing and stinging pain pounded his body as Xero laid in the trough he created, forming a big lump of dirt near his head that serves as a pillow for him to rest his head. His limbs were spread out around the trough's linings with his hands dug deep in the dirt, as if he attempted to stop his momentum when he slid against the ground.

"Agh… N-Ngghhh, urrgh…"

Not wanting to lay down anymore, Xero pushed himself up off the dirt trough but he's having a difficult time rising up from his unintended rest spot because the stinging pain throbs intensely, causing him to stop and gasp when the pain becomes too much, almost losing his grip. "Gggkk! A-Ahhhh!" he grunted with clenched teeth, trying to endure the horrible pain circulating in his body.

W-Why… Why does it… hurt so… so much? Xero thought almost frantically, finding he's having a hard time thinking clearly. I-I expected the… the emeralds would hurt me when it collided with Linkin Park, but… not to this… extent! Aaaagh dammit… It… It's not gonna fade away, I think it's… slowly becoming more… ｢excruciating｣! !

The agony is badly affecting his body so bad that Xero is only able to sit up straight instead of standing back up. Then he got on one knee in an attempt to get up fully, but his aching leg flared up suddenly, almost making him fall back to the ground if he didn't threw his hands on the ground to keep himself steady. "Ahhhh!"

Facing down and sweating from the pain, some of which got mixed in with the blood, Xero panted in discomfort as he tries to keep his mind straight. The pain is really making it hard to calm his racing and frantic mind down, almost causing him to forget that, after what felt like an eternity, one zombie (Kakyoin) had struck Linkin Park after getting tricked to let it out. He's in so much agony that he didn't hear footsteps approaching him until he sees their shadows entering under his eyes.

For what seems to be the first time while he's fighting against many Stand Users, Xero feels dread creeping on his mind, compelling him to not look up and see his opponents' face. But he must look up because he is committed to accomplishing his mission for Saga, even if it may end up in him losing badly.

Slowly, he raises his head up to see, as he suspected, three Stand Users standing before him with their eyes glaring down on him like he's a litter on the road, just an object that must be forgotten and doesn't amount to much. Bucciarati stands between Johnny and Avdol, who is primed and ready to inflict more damage and kick him while he's down and reeling from pain.

Xero pants as he attempted to ignore the pain gushing with blood as he returned their glares with his own, trying not to look intimidated by them, of which the pain is making it hard for him to focus. Other than his panting, they stayed quiet, only staring each other without any of them making a move.

Then Xero sees Bruno's left hand twitched slightly and a vague silhouette of a Stand's left arm manifests from him.

Panic rising in his throat, he stands up quick with Linkin Park called out of him. "LINKIN PARK! STOP-!"

"ARI!"

Unfortunately, he made the second mistake of summoning his Stand again, as when it appeared and Xero is about to take action, Sticky Fingers punches the Stand's face, and by proxy, Xero's too which has an excruciating fist-sized mark on his cheek. "GOOOUGGH!"

Bucciarati couldn't suppress the smile that appeared on his face when Sticky Fingers' punch connected. He had waited long enough to see his face caved in by him after he inflicted an agonizing punch to him reminiscent of his fight against Giorno before they became partners. It's an ample time for payback, he thinks, and didn't hesitate to do it.

"ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI ARI! ! ARRIVEDERCI! ! ! !"

"UGYAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! ! !"

Finishing with a side blow, Bucciarati sees Xero got flung away from them again, who is covered entirely in zipper openings that pours more blood out of him and crippling him more. He landed on the ground face down, but he thankfully didn't landed on his face after holding out his hand to the ground. But compared to the intense throbbing pain circulating around his body, stopping his face plant is the least of his concerns.

A-A-Aaaaggghhh! N-No good! The pain…! T-There's that ｢pain｣ again! Xero thought more desperately, his hands giving up after wobbling under his weight before he falls down with wide eyes and twitching irises. I-I… I don't understand… W-Why does it h-hurt when… when Linkin Park g-gets… i-injured? W-Wha… What trickery is this…!?

Pretty much everyone shared their joy and satisfaction in seeing Xero squirming in agony. Even the ones who are less likely to find satisfaction in watching others in pain or too good-hearted to even feel it like Junko and Lily are smiling at the schadenfreude done on Xero by their bodyguards.

"Ha ha ha ha! Look at him writhing on the ground in a pool of his own blood!" Narancia made this statement with a smile, pointing his finger at him. "That's what you get for toying with us with your Stand like we're nothing!"

Yugiri cannot help but giggle at her companion's response to the writhing enemy, which she's not an exception. "It may have took long for us to hit him, but at last, karma has caught up to him."

"And unfortunately for him, we are not done with him yet!" Kakyoin remarked as Hierophant Green's lower body entangles.

Apparently not hearing them clearly since he's in so much pain, Xero sees he's going to suffer like this more if he doesn't make an escape and recover somewhere. In spite of this thought, he's yet to deem his plan as a failure or delay it for another day just because he needs to recover from his injuries. He only need to get away from them even if it's only for a brief time and have Linkin Park heal his body. For some reason, he's unable to work his magic on the spot, not even getting to call out Linkin Park. When he tries to do so, his head throbs suddenly and intensely, making him lose focus. His agonizing injuries doesn't help as it amplifies the pressure.

Ugh! M-My head! He grasped his head when the nauseous feeling pop up after trying but failing to summon Linkin Park. Come on! Need to… heal myself…! Must… get away… from them…! I… I need… Linkin Park…! P-Please! I need you!

Since his back is turned to them, Xero is in a position to crawl away from them after Sticky Fingers' last punch sends him five meters away, out of its range. His body loses so much blood and aches so intensely he's liable to give up from the pain and energy lost alone, but he must get away at all cost to recover, quickly if he must. He couldn't afford to call off his mission, especially when Rianima is on a right track to really bring him down without having to attack him directly.

Nnngh! Have to… crawl away… first!

In full view of the zombies, Xero drags himself with his left hand, which is still working even after getting pulverized, emitting groans of pain and discomfort of feeling the cold ground scratching his front body and his injuries making it harder for him to move. They couldn't let him attempt to escape so the rest of Rianima joins with Bucciarati, Avdol and Johnny to stop him and finally killing him.

"So he's trying to crawl away from us now? Never thought we would see him become so pathetic that he's willing to escape and get away from us," Mamezuku said, untangling his right arm to pull Xero back to them by his ankle.

"Yeah well why do we care about him if he's resorting to escape, huh?" Gyro held a spinning steel ball with the intent of throwing it against him. "Me and this steel ball isn't satisfied not striking him properly even with me calling out Ball Breaker for the first time. Let me have at him and make him feel what the Spin can do, huh? You're all okay with that, right?"

"I don't want to rain on your parade but… Xero has become too injured that your simple attack could possibly kill him," Avdol replied with two fingers raised in each hands while in a stance. "You may not get a satisfaction in watching him be in more pain, Gyro. But that doesn't mean I'm against him having to suffer more before he bites the dust."

In the midst of their conversation, they see Linkin Park appearing out of Xero's back but it struggles to maintain its form since it flickers in and out of existence that glass particles can be seen falling out from its body. Like its user, its back is facing them, making it appear none the wiser they are looking at it appearing.

"Heads up guys!" Kakyoin exclaimed. "Linkin Park has emerged again!"

"Gkkk! Nnnngggghhhhh! ! !" Curiously, Xero stopped dragging with his left arm to clutch his head along with his other arm (that is severely injured) and, unseen from them, furrowed his eyebrows with clenched teeth as a massive headache spread out upon summoning his Stand. Everyone didn't paid attention to his grunts, with Bucciarati eager to kill him at last.

"Well he won't be needing to use his ability again when he's dead! Time for you to die!"

Sticky Fingers is about to rip his body to shreds with zippers when three bullets whisked past him. "Huh?" Bruno stopped advancing just as the bullets hit Linkin Park's back. No sooner they hit, the Stand swiftly disappeared.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! ! ! ! !"

And Xero howled in pain, arching his back with a genuine distressed expression before he falls to the ground, twitching and trying to barely endure the stinging injury. Or not.

Everyone, including Franchouchou watching behind them, has witnessed three bullets hit Linkin Park's back and causing Xero to shout in agony. They turn to the one who fired those bullets with questioning looks, intending to ask why he shot at him.

"Johnny, why did you shoot his Stand's back?" It was Narancia who asked the blonde JoJo, with his aimed finger being proof of his exploit.

Peering Xero's back of his coat stained by his blood, Johnny didn't let everyone waiting for his answer. "It's because I want to see why Xero insisted to us that we must target his Stand instead of him, so I test it out. However, his insistence is not the only reason why I shoot his Stand on his back. If you guys remember when Linkin Park got struck by Kakyoin's emeralds, you would have noticed it disappearing after the emeralds hit it and its user visibly going through a ｢lot｣ of pain. More pain than he should be feeling then despite the emeralds having average strength. Is that right, Kakyoin?"

"Err, right." He answered.

Listening to him, Bucciarati makes a reply to him since he's the second one who dealt a major blow to Xero. "What about when Sticky Fingers pummeled him? Did you noticed what kind of pain he was feeling after I'm done pummeling him?"

Johnny rubs his chin in thought before he replies. "I'd say based on his scream earlier, it must have really hurt him. While Sticky Fingers possesses incredible strength as a close-ranged Stand, I…" He eyes Xero for a moment before continuing, "…can't help but think Xero must have felt a different kind of pain after you were done punching him mercilessly. I mean, his first instinct is to try crawl away from us with one arm instead of retaliating, which appears to be in response to your attack usually at first but… my gut feeling tells me it could be more than just that."

"With my instinct guiding me, I shot three bullets to Linkin Park's back. I did it under Tusk ACT1 by the way, meaning the bullets I shot are ｢weak｣," he added. "I expect he would be further inconvenienced by my attack, but I, or we, certainly didn't expect to hear him scream so loudly before he twitched in intense pain. Remember, I shot Linkin Park using ｢ACT1｣ and we heard him shout like he was in ｢immense agony｣, so I can't help but be curious why he screamed like he's in so much suffering."

Everyone processed his info, turning to Xero making slight movements in his limbs to raise his body up, albeit gently and unevenly, and only able to go on all fours instead of sitting up at best. They heard him groaning achingly, shaking his head mildly possibly from a headache by the look of it. Remembering Johnny's words as they watch their enemy trying to get himself together, they become curious to know what is really happening to him after his Stand got attacked by Hierophant Green's emeralds and Sticky Fingers. Even for seasoned Stand Users, the way Xero is enduring untold amount of pain judging by his body gesture and amount of blood lost is unnatural. They did expect he would be suffering in pain when they managed to pull one over to him, but not like this. This doesn't look like an effect of having their attacks hitting his own Stand, even if they are weak or average at best.

Xero is hiding a lot of secrets that they must pry out of him, through force if necessary, and getting to know why it looks like he's struggling to keep his body together has been added to the list.

As Rianima's leader who's predisposed to hearing any info from his members no matter how irrelevant or small it is, Bruno decides to bite and asks Johnny. "Can you tell us what you found out regarding Linkin Park and why Xero wants to have his Stand be our targets rather than him? Or… have you already found out?"

With a nod, Johnny goes to answer him. "I think I may have. Maybe the reason why Xero is in so much pain when his Stand got hit is because-"

"Oi, can that wait!? That asshole is about to stand up and retaliate against us at any moment!" However, Saki isn't going to learn more from Johnny. Becoming impatient and anxious, Saki points at Xero struggling to go on a crouching position and angrily exclaims, "You seven must kill him right now before he either escapes or attack against us back! Or worse!"

"Hold on Saki! Johnny is about to tell us-"

"I believe you should wait," what Rai said as he extends his wires untangled from his right arm towards Xero. "Killing him and protecting Franchouchou should be our priority instead of discussing and learning something new about our enemy. We already weakened him and so, we must take our chance and put an end to this fight, and his life!"

"But, Mamezuku-san!" Ai protested. "It must be a valuable information Johnny-san is givi-!"

Like a water rippling again, everyone aside her, Bruno and Johnny become fixated on defeating Xero once and for all, starting with Mamezuku using Doggy Style in aiming his disentangled left arm into a long wire rope and grabbing the enemy via neck first.

グンッ

Xero flinches upon feeling something coiled around his neck. Huh? What's… What's grabbing on my neck? He reached his hand to touch it just as he heard Avdol exclaims this.

"You caught him easily! Quick, before he reacts!"

"What?"

He turns his head around to see Mamezuku's arm stretched out towards him, before feeling a tugging sensation as Peel Planter begins pulling his arm back to him. It took two seconds before he realized what he's going to do once he's barely recovering from their attacks.

!

No, no, no! They're still thinking of killing ｢me｣ instead of targeting my Stand! I must… I must stop him!

Attempting to maintain a calm demeanor even with panic filling his mind, Xero summons Linkin Park's arms, albeit barely, to grab the wire before, with an aching grunt, he pulls the wire with all its might, carrying Rai in the air, surprising him and the others.

"W-Whoa!"

"Mamezuku-san!" Everyone shouted.

Snapping quickly from his surprise, he maintained a calm mind as he is flung up in the cold air. Looking around with his eyes, he was about three meters above Xero, maybe reaching past the trees. In any situation that involved someone getting pulled up in the air, their first instinct is to try get down and turn the tables upon their opponent. But Rai is not going to do that. He must push forward their advantage that was given to them by luck or else, Xero will recover and attack everyone with his ability again and he didn't need to see their faces to know they are not looking forward to another beating by Xero. They want to end this fight and they must do it now.

With fast tracking eyes, Rai sees a space between two trees to Xero's right. He believes he could extend his other arm between those two trees and grab a tree behind them. As to what he is doing to bring Xero to his knees, well… it's not going to be anything but pleasant.

He expects Ai, Junko, and Lily wouldn't like what and his teammates would do to Xero next, but they feel he must suffer an agonizing defeat at their hands after all the things he'd done to them, both then and now. Or maybe they'll find satisfaction in what he will do to Xero too. Who knows?

Adjusting his body in mid-air, Mamezuku lengthens his right arm to the open space between the trees. Not forgetting to change the length and strength of both his peeled arms during the process, he zooms toward the trees after he felt his left hand grabbing a tree bark, and when he goes past the two specific trees, he shortens his right arm that was holding Xero's neck, who is watching him go through the trees wondering what he's doing.

It's not until he was pulled along that Xero, to his increasing horror, realized that what Mamezuku will do to him will very much be an excruciating experience to him. And there's nothing he can do about it because he can't call out his Stand at all, lest he suffers another major headache.

"Aaaah!"

ズシィィィン

With his hands on the rope, Xero crashed against the trees before he began feeling the rope around his neck tighten its hold. Gasping with wide eyes, he thrashed his feet around as he started pulling the rope with his bare hands, visibly struggling against Mamezuku's hold on him, who had unpeeled his left arm back to its original form before he holds the rope with it. He expects Xero would put up a resistance against him, which could include using his Stand to assist him in pulling the rope.

Rai only has to tighten the rope further, but he believes he wouldn't accomplish killing Xero via strangulation alone. If this happened when he first awakened, he wouldn't think of calling for their assistance due to them being total strangers to him. But now, after months of living and being in their company most of the time, he doesn't feel like deeming them as not his friends.

"All of you! Some of you must hold and pull the rope and intercept him and his Stand!" Mamezuku shouted to the distracted zombies witnessing Xero struggling to stop his strangulation. His words help snap them out of their stupor as he says more. "We can't let him overturn this after so much hard work was done to stop him!"

Seeing he and his team are about to accomplish their main objectives here and now and pay him back for having his face get clobbered twice, Narancia swiftly gets into action. With a determined smirk, he says, "No need to repeat, Rai! I will help pull the rope and let Aerosmith fire at him!"

"Oi oi! Count me in!" Saki didn't hesitate to accept, doing an elbow grease before following Narancia. "Can't miss the chance to trounce that bastard and put him in his place!"

"This is an unexpected way of killing him, but I ain't complaining." Gyro shrugged before he followed.

"No, stay here everyone," Bucciarati swiftly raises his arm to stop them from moving. He's standing with Kakyoin as he says, "Kakyoin and I will assist Mamezuku. There's no need for all of you to go to him and pull the rope."

"I don't want the girls to be stained with the blood of someone after they were killed," Kakyoin expressed his reason. "Even if they deserve it."

After telling them, Kakyoin and Bucciarati gets behind the trees toward Mamezuku's position to grab and pull his arm rope, with Sticky Fingers joining in to further strengthen the hold on Xero's neck, who is really panicking when he saw them move behind the trees. While everyone decides to watch from the sidelines (and watch Xero closely while their Stands are out) Ai, Junko, Lily, and even Avdol and Johnny believe that his soon-to-be death of getting strangled is harsh, thinking that strangling him is too cruel even for the likes of him as his life ebbs slowly. Sure they decided to stand by and watch their enemy struggle to remove the ropes by himself and he must be put down which they will feel happy to see him gone, but they believe killing him quickly and be done with it is a different and, well, quick option.

Realizing he cannot pull Mamezuku's wire off his neck by his own hands, Xero hurriedly summons Linkin Park's hands again and grab the wire and starts pulling it. This works as the wire barely but significantly expands to free his neck and give him some room to breathe. His relief is cut short however when a white tendril wraps around his neck and the sudden act causes him to lose his grip on the wire rope and forces him to stay lying against the trees, now with two threads coiling around his neck. Oh and another tendril scratched Linkin Park's hands, hurting Xero's hands more.

"Hnnngh! Gccckkkk!" Xero grunted.

"Whoa there, can't have you easily escape from our grasps," There's a hint of smugness in Kakyoin's tone when he said it. Hierophant Green floats beside him, its arms having unraveled similar to Mamezuku in response to noticing the wire rope appearing to losing its grip on his neck.

"Ngggrrrkkk! G-Ggkkk!" Xero raised his head up, tears and saliva trickling out from his eyes and mouth from the pain. He's feeling his air getting cut off from the tightness in his neck, threatening to crush his throat or windpipe agonizingly. Now acting on instinct to try something, anything, to survive, Xero returns to pulling the ropes with his hands and try rising up this time to pull their ropes along using his body strength alone. Unfortunately, it doesn't work since his energy and strength is steadily depleting and all he can do to "resist" is flail his legs around.

Seeing the enemy who had carried such confidence and bravado in the beginning of the fight and easily overwhelmed Rianima and Franchouchou with Linkin Park become panicked he is slowly dying from strangulation after he fell from Rianima's trick is nothing short of gratification and pleasure for the zombies. No matter how powerful their enemy seemed to be, there is bound to be a weakness that they must use against him if they must land sure direct hit on him. The minor hits he received to his hands and back were not counted for until Hierophant's emeralds hit Linkin Park at last, wounding Xero in turn. Sticky Fingers and Tusk followed, further injuring him without any respite spared for him. And now he's going to die a slow and painful death of asphyxiation. They wouldn't wish this for anyone, regardless if they are allies or enemies, but this time, they make an exception after everything he did to disturb their undead lives and Saga's population.

The only ones who have reservations, if only a little, regarding how Xero must be killed are Ai, Junko, Lily, and even Johnny. Narancia, Gyro, Saki and Tae are outright cheering to see the color on Xero's skin drained further and Bucciarati, Yugiri and Avdol are patiently waiting with bated breath to witness him dying, but the aforementioned figures don't share their feelings. That's not to say he didn't deserved it, but witnessing Xero pitifully thrash around with a profound fear and delirious look on his face doesn't sit right with them. For Johnny though, he's a bit irked mostly everyone agreed to hold him while Xero is down and didn't listen to him first. He believes something about Xero and Linkin Park is very important and he would like to tell them first before they go for the killing blow.

Watching with hesitant eyes, Junko is not liking how Xero is struggling so hard. "…Isn't this… too much? Can he be… killed by something other than strangulation?"

"Maybe… Maybe there is," agreed Lily, wishing to avert her eyes off Xero. "Even if I want him to be stopped, this is too cruel and unnecessary."

Avdol sighs after hearing them. "I know this isn't a dignified death Xero will get, but he must be restrained so he wouldn't use his Stand to impair us once more. Thankfully, we now have an idea how he's able to shoot out leaves from the trees, form water from nowhere and teleporting from one place to the next. All without Linkin Park floating by his side."

"Yeah! All thanks to Lily!" Lily exclaimed with a nod.

"Oh? You sure 'bout that?" Saki inquired with a smirk but nevertheless curious as her eyes and everyone's excluding Xero, Kakyoin, Bucciarati and Rai turned to her.

Lily nods. "Uh huh! I believe Linkin Park's main ability iiiiiisss…! To use his ｢imagination｣ and make them ｢reality｣!"

This answer astonishes the gathered zombies. "What? Imagination?" Narancia parroted.

"What do you mean Xero uses his imagination for his power, Lily?" Ai asked. "What does that relate to everything we saw him…did…earlier…" A thought came into her as her voice trailed off, then she lets out a gasp. "…Could it be? Is… Is that why…?"

Gyro is in the same boat as her and Lily and the rest followed soon after. "Ah! I see now! Him parting the river, teleporting himself or us to a different place, freezing Tae here-"

"Hungh?"

"-blocking the projectiles by an invisible barrier, changing the trajectory of my and Johnny's Golden Spin attack so they wouldn't hit him, and everything he did without having his Stand out after all of that…"

"…It's all because of his ｢active mind｣!" Yugiri finished with a disbelieving look. This is also shared by them. "No wonder none of us can't figure Linkin Park's ability out due to how outlandish and unrelated they all are! On hindsight though, with the knowledge he's able to do all that using his ｢imagination｣, it actually makes sense!"

"Imagination huh?" Johnny has a thought occur to his head. "If Xero only needs to use his imagination and make them reality, there's a possibility that he may have used his mind to make us lose this fight or even have us die on the spot, without any of us touching him…" He gasped upon seeing the implications. "Oh shit. He actually have that power to do that?"

A chill crawls their spine up as dread clouds over their heads. "That's, that's… That's so unfair! How come he got that kind of bullshit ability that allows him to end this fight so soon after it started!?" Narancia exclaimed.

"Only he knows since Stands are based after a person's psyche," Avdol replied, turning back to the still struggling Xero. "I guess he's not really exaggerating it when he compared his Stand to the likes of The World. He's telling us the truth all along. He would easily put us on a disadvantage through his mind alone."

"Except he's not because he's getting strangled," After saying it, another thought came to Lily's head. "Ah! That also means he won't be using his power to free himself from their grips without difficulty! And this is right after Linkin Park got hit!"

"Ha ha! We sure are lucky we attacked his weak point!" Saki exclaimed. "And now, look at him getting strangled by Kakyoin and Rai!"

"G…! G-G-Gkkk!" At this point, his windpipe became too narrow and constrained for air to flow freely, causing more energy to deplete. He is in danger of dying as Kakyoin and Mamezuku maintained their grips on his neck, giving him no mercy. They're going to kill him for good and free themselves from his sights.

But even with losing more and more energy, Xero still puts up a good resistance against them as Linkin Park's hands joined again to widen the ropes and at least stop his windpipe from getting compressed to allow little of oxygen to enter his lungs. However, it won't be long before they and Bucciarati are done with strangling him and cutting his life short.

He can't doing this forever. And once he inevitably fails, they're going to find his secret that is related to his need to have his Stand be killed first before him. With this thought pushing his body at this point, he must salvage this somehow.

"K-K-Kakyoin…! M-Mame…zuku…! B-Buccia…rati…! Stop, p-please…! Stop for a..moment!"

?!

Kakyoin and Mamezuku perked up when a plea is heard coming from their mind. "Huh? Who… Who had spoken to us just now?" Kakyoin asked.

They look at each other and once they see neither spoke, they turn to Bucciarati, who has a confused as them too. Rai questions him next. "Bucciarati? Did you say something to us?"

He shakes his head. "No. The words suddenly… popped into my head. Is that a right phrase to describe how it felt?"

The two agreed. "I think it feels like it. And you know, the voice sounds like…"

"Stop! I said STOP!"

A gasp escaped from his lips when it popped up a second time. "It happened again! And I'm sure the voice belongs to…!"

They find out soon it's not only them who's hearing a familiar voice. They can hear Gyro, Avdol, Narancia, Ai and Yugiri talk among themselves to see who is speaking to them.

"Are you guys hearing a voice in our heads?" Junko looked to her friends in confusion. "It feels like the voice is not picked up by our ears."

"Having a same thought," Johnny has his nails ready to be fired as he studies his surroundings. "For some reason, it sounds familiar."

"That's because it is! I am speaking to you all in your heads!"

"Huh!?"

Everyone recognized the voice actually belongs to Xero. Perplexed and surprised, they all turn to him, who is still resisting against the ropes with his and Linkin Park's hands. Their surprise are doubled because with his throat wrapped tightly, there's no way he could communicate with them through his mouth.

"Huh? It was you!?" Narancia pointed his finger. "You're talking to us?!"

Being incapacitated, Xero could only get to move his eyes at them so they can see he's conversing with them. Panic has been written on his face for a while, and if few of them didn't see it first, then his next words certainly would. "Through… telepathy! Since my throat is being choked, I knew I have to talk to all of you in your minds…using ｢Linkin Park｣!"

Hearing (or maybe appropriately thinking) him mention his Stand and reminding Lily's hypothesis that imagination is what allowed Xero to use his ability to influence reality, they go wide-eyed that he possibly confirmed what Lily and Mamezuku considered about how Linkin Park works. If the act of telepathy still didn't convince them, then his next words again should. "And… And yes! Lily-chan is ｢correct｣! Linkin Park allows me to use my ｢imagination｣ to ｢manipulate reality｣ and let me do impossible feats that seems unrelated to when my Stand is scrutinized, like the telepathic conversation I'm doing now! There! There is your answer!"

The group watching him turn to each other with surprised looks. From their expressions, they couldn't believe his imagination was how he did all those deeds that felt unconnected and randomized to each other. Even if they understand the reason behind it, they are trying to wrap their heads around it due to how… actually complicated using one's imagination can be as a Stand ability. This goes double also for Bruno, Kakyoin and Rai, the latter nodding to himself after seeing his Stand ability in action and forming a hypothesis based on his analytical mind. He silently congratulates Lily for guessing it right, albeit on her own way.

Naturally, they have questions over it, but Xero is unwilling to give them a straight answer, especially with his life on the line. "I-I don't have much time to extend my telepathy as my head is becoming dizzy from the… the lack of… oxygen. So please listen well! You have to… choke my Stand instead of… me!

There it is again. His claim of having his Stand be on the receiving end of their attacks instead of its user. They are becoming irritated he's still bringing that up even when he's about to be killed. Groans are heard coming from Saki, Narancia, Ai, and Gyro and Kakyoin makes his and everyone's discontent clear to him.

"You're still hung up with that? Me, Bucciarati-san and Johnny-san were done attacking your Stand like you requested, so would you quit saying that and accept your defeat?"

"N-No! Attacking… Attacking my Stand is not enough!" Xero attempted to clarify. "You have to ｢kill｣ my Stand, which would kill me accordingly! Killing me wouldn't work due to my… specific biology!"

"Specific biology?" Gyro quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'specific'?"

"I… I can't tell. Apologies for this, but I really don't want to tell you. Being reminded of it brings me shame and fear. It is because of this that I made a decision a long time ago that I would give my life out to be snuffed by any of you except Franchouchou. Believe me, you will do Saga a favor by extinguishing my life through Linkin Park and once you're done with me, all your worries will be protecting Franchouchou as they partake in more concerts to bring attention and fame to Saga Prefecture, whilst possibly occasionally encountering new enemy Stands!"

They hear his telepathic voice faltering as Xero reaches the end of his frantic conversation to them. "Do you understand at last? I've been saying it many times hoping it will be embedded in your minds, so I implore you, Kakyoin, Bucciarati and Mamezuku! Release me and finish Linkin Park off first so that I will truly die! P-Please! I'm… I'm starting to lose… a-a-air…!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I'm very sorry for saying this Xero, but…" Bucciarati speaks up with a sigh, after everyone went silent once the telepathy is cut off. "We couldn't trust your words even if you're compliant to us and your demise. Since you have been captured by Kakyoin and Rai and that your imaginative powers are too dangerous for us to risk letting you go temporarily… I'm afraid ｢we refuse｣."

ジィィィー

"Kakyoin! Mamezuku! Do it!"

"Okay!"

"On it!"

"NOOOOO! ! !" What Xero screamed before he, out of desperation, pulls his body up, almost putting up little strength to resist the ropes' pull. Unfortunately, it's not enough.

Not giving Xero a chance to retaliate, Kakyoin and Mamezuku fall through the two zipper holes with Hierophant Green's tendrils and arm rope still tied up to his neck. Their combined weight instantly pulls Xero nearly through the trees, threatening to squeeze his body uncomfortably. But that is the least of his worries as his neck, thoroughly strained or injured, is starting to crack as little bits of blood fills the inside.

"A-Acckk!" It was at this moment he's going to die from asphyxiation as his eyes widen in shock and fear.

"We're done here!" Bucciarati exclaimed to Xero before he and Sticky Fingers pulled the rope as hard as they can.

べギョォ

At long last, the ropes tightly break Xero's neck, specifically his windpipe while simultaneously snapping it hard, making his back and head arch from the pain and his left hand reaching out to the air as if trying to find something to hold on.

"A-Akk…! A-A-Agh! Guuuuuuuuuggggggghhhhhh…" A series of disturbing gurgles are heard from him as his right hand futilely pried on the rope. Not wanting to see this terrible sight, Ai, Junko and Lily avert their eyes from him and cover their ears to ignore his choking wet sounds.

While Saki, Yugiri and the rest do not shy their eyes off of him, they are very disturbed by how… brutal his death and gurgled sounds are.

After what it felt like hours, the sound stops, and so too Xero's body as he went limp with blood flowing out from his mouth. A moment later, the wires and tendrils unwrap off his mangled neck, which now has marks lining around it similar to Yugiri's stitched neck. Seeing it on him makes her unconsciously raise her hand to her neck, making her uncomfortable.

Once the ropes are recoiled back to Kakyoin and Mamezuku, they and Bucciarati come out of the trees and see Xero's lifeless body sitting against the tree. Oddly, they have solemn looks and try as they like to deny it, they can't help but feel a little bad they chose to strangle him until he's dead. Nevertheless, they didn't need to check his neck pulse as his opened blank eyes, gaping mouth filled with blood and, interestingly, gray pale skin that used to be tan-colored tell them that Xero is dead. No way can he survive past getting strangled to death.

Kakyoin looks up to the sky with a sigh, shaking his head before he says this with relief in his voice. "Finally… It's over."

Right after saying it, everyone's human skin shattered back to their zombie forms, ending their time as vulnerable humans. The relief in them is immense as most of them let out sighs of relief similar to Kakyoin, with the others who didn't pointing out that their makeup are gone.

"Must have washed off when we were on the river, or when Xero controlled the water through his Stand," Lily suggested.

"Through his imagination like you said and confirmed by him," Rai added. "Which I have to say… I'm impressed you found out during the whole chaos when Xero let his power loose and showcase how powerful he could be if he has a reason."

Noticing his smile looking at her, Lily bashfully rubs her head, having never thought someone so quiet like Rai would praise her for analyzing and drawing up a sensible hypothesis. "Oh? Well, thank you, Mamezuku-san." After thanking him for his words, they joined up with everyone surrounding Xero's corpse to look at the man who proved himself to be a formidable opponent and perpetrator only to die to an agonizing death of strangulation ending in a crunched neck.

No one said something as they look down on his corpse. They feel immense relief and satisfaction the man who endangered their lives through sending out familiar enemy Stands and kept himself in the shadows until this fateful evening has died. His body rotting out in the cold is all that remained of him, and since Rianima had accomplished what Kotaro told them to do in order to protect Franchouchou and save Saga, it is reasonable they should do something with this corpse, like burying it somewhere or burning it using Magician's Red.

That's what Rianima is thinking of doing. This would deviate from their usual routine of leaving their opponent's defeated or dead body behind after emerging victorious against them but they are not complaining when they are asked if they can get rid of the body. Their answer will be an absolutely yes.

While Franchouchou shares their thoughts, they couldn't help but regard Xero's lifeless body with pity and condolences. In fact, Lily, Ai, Yugiri and Junko want to mourn over him while Saki can feel a pang of little sympathy in her chest due to the way he died. Sure she was looking forward to watching him squirm around in pain when the tables are turned to him, but even she's not sadistic enough to picture him getting strangled to death. Also, Tae is not glaring at him hatefully anymore, instead having a hint of slight melancholy in her blank eyes as she stared at him along with the girls.

Clutching both her hands in front of her chest, Junko shed little tears in her sorrowful eyes looking at Xero. "He… He didn't have to die so… horribly," she meekly protested after thinking on what she should say to them. She felt their eyes drilling on her as she says more. "I didn't like how he spent his last seconds struggling to breathe as the rope coiled more tightly around his neck. Is there… another way he could have… *gulp* died?"

"You mean… if we can possibly kill him quick and painlessly?" Kakyoin clarified. Founding herself comfortable discussing the matter of Xero's death while near his body, Junko nodded.

"Maybe we could," Bucciarati replied. "A quick snap of his neck or swift punch to his head should kill him without needing for him to suffer in agony and gradually loses his life, but because we learned he can use his power without calling his Stand out, our thoughts changed from attacking him to stopping his concentration on using his power somehow. It's not until his Stand was directly hit by Hierophant Green and assisting Mamezuku in binding his neck that we managed to stop Linkin Park."

"I thought of having Avdol, Johnny, Gyro or Narancia kill him while he's down," Rai interjected. "But out of concern choking his neck might not be enough, I continued choking him until his neck was crushed when he made a move to retaliate." Shaking his head, he turns to Junko and other concerned girls and says, "I know it's not a pretty sight so you averted your eyes off Xero, but stopping his breathing and restraining him intensely seemed like an only way to prevent using his Stand or ability. If Bruno here told me to let him go in exchange for a quick death, I would obliged, but as you saw, he didn't."

"Well I was so focused on finishing him off that I didn't consider a different option at a time," shrugged Zipper Man.

Once Junko becomes quiet, she, Lily and Yugiri look back to Xero's corpse, mourning him in their heads in spite of him having threatened their lives without hesitation. This goes for three seconds until Saki clears her throat to announce an important statement she's been meaning to tell after the fight is over.

"Aaaaanyway, with this prick gone from this world, I think the obstacle that's preventin' us from walking some meters away from this specific area should be gone because Linkin Park is active no more. I'm sayin' this in case you forgot about it due to the confusion this fight wrought."

Just as she thought to her amusement, some of them nearly forgot. Kakyoin in particular looks like he was caught doing something bad, emphasized by his almost panicked response, "Ah, that's right! Sakura! We… We must find her, Kotaro and Romero! Quick everyone, let's go!"

Without hearing their responses, Kakyoin sprints ahead, his worry for Sakura nearly overwhelming his rational thought.

Also worried for Sakura, Romero, and to a lesser extent, Kotaro, the zombies follow Kakyoin, subsequently leaving Xero's body behind. Avdol, Bucciarati and Gyro would have stopped Kakyoin from running, but Tae, Ai, Saki, and Lily soon followed. Since few of them are far ahead, they didn't get to shout at them to stop, so without needing them to speak up, they chase after the others. They hope the three are safe somewhere like Xero told them. If he's not lying.

Speaking of Xero, Junko stop for a moment to look at his corpse with a doleful look. Even though he tried to kill her and her friends, she can't help but feel remorseful of how helpless he was when he got seriously hurt before dying via crunching his neck. She thought of closing her eyes out of respect and to give him a sense of closure but she doesn't have time for that when her friends will get too far ahead of her. Also, Sakura, Kotaro and Romero's safety must take priority instead of giving respect to an enemy.

With closed eyes and a deep breath, Junko follows after her zombie friends, leaving Xero's body lying against the tree behind.

---

…

…

…

…

…

"…Ugh…"

A groan escaped from his lips as his vision slowly vanished the darkness clouding his eyes which he instantly regret it because his neck is really hurt. His head lulled, feeling unresponsive like his brain is filled with cotton. After a while, his arms and legs are able to be moved, feeling his fingers wriggling and hand twitching. Slowly but surely, control of his body returns.

His mouth tasting like metal and feeling his neck in intense pain that any form of speech he makes will aggravate it, he raises his left hand shakily and rests against a tree bark, using it for support as he stands up. His legs wobbled, almost giving in but with his left hand on another tree bark, he stops himself from falling back to the ground on his rear. After struggling to steady his body once he removes his hands from the tree, he's now standing, his posture almost slouching.

While his body is functioning normally, he's feeling weak and a little dizzy. Remembering his crushed neck that is slowly being healed, he's having difficulty breathing due to his windpipe being squeezed tightly so it likely contributed to the weak feeling he's having, not to mention being unable to say anything except little groans. He should stop groaning though since it aggravates the pain regardless if it's only one word.

Not once in his paradoxical existence does he feel so weak and low on energy. His unnatural "heart" is doing its function to provide reparation and energy to his recovering body, and in turn, his ｢soul｣. He has been through this many times, specifically having his body parts both external and internal damaged. No matter how grievous the injury he got and how much his body endured high amount of pain in an attempt to die by his lonesome, they would always get repaired. No ifs or buts. It's all thanks to his "heart", or actually, the ｢blood｣ that's circulating his body.

A lot of things regarding himself is so extraordinary compared to humans or even Franchouchou and Rianima. It's the reason why he's still living even after death had him, and he hates it.

No time… to stand here and… be lost in my thoughts… Need to… go after them… and have them finish me off… ｢properly｣. Unfortunately, Linkin Park… Linkin Park is…

Shaking the thought off, he calls out his Stand before he starts moving down the path Franchouchou and Rianima had run on. He starts out walking at first, then it becomes a brisk walk, then finally, with Spatial Rifts assisting him, he moves quickly at last.

They may have killed Xero wrong, but he's willing to give them a second try once he confronted them. It's all for the sake of ｢saving Saga｣… and his beloved protecting this prefecture. He can only hope the... ｢entity｣ inside him hasn't got to him yet after Rianima failed the first time.

He is losing much of himself already.

To be continued

---

Current Status/Whereabouts of the characters:

Rianima and Franchouchou sans Sakura and Kotaro - Now searching for their missing companions.

Sakura, Kotaro and Romero - Still far away from them, but won't be no longer.

Unknown character - About to meet the zombies as they're some meters away.

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Xero - Somehow still alive despite his neck snapping.

---

Surprise! Xero is actually not dead yet! As I said above, we are midway through the fight, so with Xero somehow barely alive in spite of his injuries, the battle between him, Rianima and Franchouchou will continue to the next chapters! In the very next chapter however, an unknown character will join with the zombies as well as Sakura, Kotaro and Romero. You should know this character already. She was properly introduced about 3 chapters ago.

As confirmed by Xero himself, Linkin Park's main ability is all about imagination. Using only his mind, Xero is able to manipulate reality with his imagination alone. This allows him to do a simple move like walking on water, freezing someone and seemingly teleporting, or perform a complex action like moving trees apart or close, creating blizzard, and project an invisible barrier to block projectiles. Basically, anything Xero can imagine, he can use it to manipulate reality with just a thought.

But it's not without a weakness or two. As demonstrated, attacking Linkin Park will cause the imagination to shatter like glass, bringing reality back after being played within Xero's hands. What's more, it appears that it caused an intense amount of pain that renders Xero immobile, mostly getting bombarded by a massive headache if he tried using Linkin Park while recoiling from damage.

Since Xero is making a big deal of having Rianima target Linkin Park only, it seems like from the start he's telling them his weakness to his imagination power. However, that is not what he meant when he says "kill me through attacking Linkin Park". As to what reason, it will be revealed in the next chapter, which will offer us not only a glimpse behind Xero's motivation even a little, but also of himself. Specifically, not everything about him is what it seems, including his name.

That's all I can say to you all. Happy Halloween everyone, and hope you have a spooooookyyyyyy~ day... I bid you adieu, my readers!