Chapter 10: I will survive
Elsewhere…
Polnareff was still stuck in custody, under the direct watch of this 'Eden'. A naked woman with… definitive assets. While she certainly looked like an angel, she was not at all how he would've expected them to act.
In fact, most of Heaven was rather lewd in this new world he found himself in. Especially the significance placed on men and their reproduction efforts.
If he had to guess, she was eternally bitter about something. Given her short fuse and seemingly heightened insecurity around the number three.
"…Eden, as in the garden of Eden?" Polnareff inquired.
"Yes, I am the Garden of Creation… but don't worry about that. You are simply here to answer any questions asked of you." The nude Seraph answered.
"This Dio… He was once human, but changed into a vampire? How was that possible?" Ilias inquired, not quite understanding the machinations of such a process.
"The stone mask, the spikes which protrude stab into key areas of the brain and unlock the latent potential of the wielder." Promestein explained, annoyed at having been interrupted once more.
"How did humans create such a thing… To morph their own biology. It's disgraceful…" The Goddess scowled.
"It wasn't created by a human, it was created by a Pillar Man. A race of humanoids that operate similarly to those of vampires." Promestein corrected.
"Pillar Man? A monster?" Eden asked, pulling a face.
"His name was Kars, that's all the foundation knew. A few anecdotes provided by the founder of this company and a certain Joseph Joestar… The aim of this Kars was to become the ultimate thing." Promestein looked over to a chart of a depiction of the mask, a hint of admiration and excitement in her eyes.
"I must admit… Having a stand would certainly be of benefit to our cause. How can anyone hope to defend from something they cannot even perceive?" Ilias smirked.
'That old man was telling the truth? I believed the vampire stories… Not these Pillar Men.' Polnareff thought to himself, running the tales he so vividly remembered through his head once more.
It wasn't particularly difficult, those fifty days spent hunting down Dio would never fade from his mind.
'And now they have access to an arrow, as well as research on the stone masks… This is going to be a proper disaster.' The spirit shook his head, anticipating the worst from what appeared to be a room full of psychopaths hellbent on world domination.
"Now then… You need to tell us, what makes someone worthy of attaining a stand ability?" Ilias turned her captive, boring into his soul.
"There is no pre-requisite. I don't know what gave you that idea…" Polnareff answered truthfully.
"Impossible! The dozens of rejects and artificial creations have all died! Not a single one was worthy of gaining a stand! And yet in this crusade against Dio, you faced countless stand users! Hunting down Yoshikage Kira, a supposed serial killer with a stand was the same!" Ilias grabbed hold of the turtle, unhappy with his answer.
"Once again… The arrow chooses who is worthy. Those worthy are brought together by fate, it is an undeniable fact of life for a stand user." The spirit remained calm, having nothing left to lose.
"I want this power utilized, Promestein. I don't care how many rejects or chimeras you go through. I want a counter to that Giorno Giovanna when the time comes." The Goddess of Light ordered.
"I've been making some inroads into that avenue of research, and if that fails, I'm certain of our last gambit." The scientist answered, working on whatever her latest project was.
"Right… That. Eden, keep our guest safe until then." Ilias threw the turtle at her Seraph, before leaving the lab.
Somehow, Jean Pierre Polnareff felt like he would be going through another traumatic experience soon enough.
Luka awoke in a cold sweat the morning after their short journey to Witch Hunt Village, sitting up to find that he was the last to get up.
"My mother's death… that's a dream I haven't had in a while." He somberly said while helping to pack up their camp.
"…How strange, I had one too. A dream from when I lost my mother long ago." Alice remarked.
"I experienced the same phenomenon, but mine was with a close friend. One I owe everything to." Giorno added, looking off into the clouds above.
"Did you swear that you would do something too? In their final moments?" Luka inquired.
"I'd already made that promise long before… And I kept my word. He can rest easy knowing that no one will experience the tragedies he faced." Giorno answered, crossing his arms.
He'd successfully purged Passione of the drug trade and dealt with the remnants of the narcotics team with the help of Fugo and Sheila. His life's mission of turning the organization into one that could benefit the people and communities of Italy was going strong.
"That's good…I guess I'm just a failure then. I promised my mother I would be a Hero, yet I only managed to become a fake one." He kicked some dirt in frustration. "She's probably disappointed in me…up in Heaven."
"Luka…" Alice called out, feeling guilty for how she would often bring up that fact.
"Enough of this…" Giorno turned back towards Luka, glaring at him in what looked like disappointment.
"I understand how much that baptism meant to you. But your obsession with being titled a true hero is useless." He harshly pointed out, getting right up to the short boy.
"Giorno?" Luka shrunk under the intensity of his imposing ally.
Alice too remained quiet, stunned into silence.
"I truly detest when people make me say things twice… Are you a fool? Hard of hearing?" He poked his Luka's chest.
"N-no…" Luka answered, taken aback.
"Do you believe your actions thus far have been worthless? All the deeds we've done have been for naught just because we haven't been baptized?!" He loudly asked.
"I…no." Luka shook his head, unsure of his answer.
"Holding the line against Granberia twice. Opening up the trade routes from Ilias Port by fighting Alma Elma. The defeat of dozens of monsters at this point including a seven-tailed kitsune. Achieving peace in the conflict between Harpy and Happiness Village. Even helping Sara in her quest to complete the Dragon Seal Trial. Are these small tasks?" Giorno aggressively asked.
"No…They're not." Luka admitted.
"Let me tell you something, Luka… No one cares about some pointless title. We are all our choices. Our causes and effects. Not what we are called." Giorno resolutely said, his eyes burning with passion.
"…" Luka kept quiet, taking in his advice.
"Your actions are born of righteousness. They are the effects of the goodness in your heart! Your resolve has guided you every step of the way, you even confronted a Heavenly Knight to defend your beliefs! I will not have you question yourself now…" Giorno gripped his shoulders, giving him a light embrace.
"Your actions alone prove you have the heart of a hero. As far as I'm concerned, you are a defender of the innocent. Someone who walks the path of justice. You are a hero!" He concluded, releasing Luka from his embrace.
"…" Luka was dead silent, his eyes filled with unshed tears.
"What are you?" Giorno asked.
"…" Luka finally let the dam burst, his tears flowing down his face freely.
"Are you going to make me repeat myself?" The blonde raised an eyebrow.
"I'm a hero… T-Thank you. I uh…really needed that." He sniffled, wiping his tears away with a handkerchief.
"And you… I can see past your fake mask. You feel the same shame he does, don't you?" He turned his attention to Alice.
"A-as if!" Alice scoffed, hiding her true feelings.
"Good… because you know your own mother. No matter what setbacks you've faced, or the flaws in your character… A true mother loves her child unconditionally." He glared at her as if piercing through her very being.
"… E-enough already! You're such an idiot with your motivational speeches! Let's just go…" She complained, refusing to let his words affect her but failing desperately.
'Wow… You're good at that stuff. Have a lot of practice doing speeches?' Sylph echoed in his mind.
"Something similar to that…I'm just good at reading people Sylph." He muttered, helping pack up the campsite in silence.
The rest of the trip had been silent, his little speech earlier greatly affecting his allies.
"We've arrived…" Giorno himself had to declare, stepping into the village proper.
The atmosphere was suffocating, perhaps even oppressive. The few people who walked in the streets did so in silence, keeping to themselves.
'Perhaps this was what it was like for those during the height of the Salem Witch Trials...' Giorno thought to himself.
'Huh? What's that?' Sylph asked him.
'…A similar situation to this. Religious prosecutions against those accused of witchcraft.' He explained, surveying the dull town with Luka and Alice.
"Are you travelers? You must not enter this village. Turn back right away. That silver-haired woman will be quickly caught. But it's not just women being accused… A flamboyant young man like you… You'd be a prime target as well." She exclaimed in a hushed tone, trying to shoo them away.
"Miss, I-" Luka tried to respond before two guards approached them.
"Travelers, don't move! I need to inspect you first!" The first guard ordered, looking at the colorful trio before him.
"Peasant! What are you saying to these travelers? Are you a witch?!" The second guard interrogated.
"Th… they were just asking for directions, sir!" The woman ran off, muttering apologies.
"Why have you come to this village?" One of the guards questioned.
"Already on our cases…" Giorno turned his head to face the guards.
"Your strange hair! Your clothes… He must be a witch!" The second guard accused, drawing his blade in anger.
"You! Witches don't bleed even when cut. Let me cut your hand so we can check, blood will come out if you're innocent. Understand?" The first guard ordered, drawing a small knife that caught Giorno's eye.
"Tch… How disgusting." He swiped the blade from the guard, summoning his stand to keep the blade outstretched.
"What are you doing?!" The guards questioned, before witnessing him plunge the blade straight into his hand.
Blood seeped out from his wound, confusing his interlopers.
"Impossible!" The first guard yelled.
"He's a real witch!" The second guard declared, running away in tandem like cowards.
"A false test… Using a knife with a hidden mechanism." Giorno explained, pulling the knife from his hand and demonstrating the deception for Luka and Alice to see.
"…The knife, I knew it." Luka's face was indecipherable.
"They're certainly acting arrogant because of their Lord." Alice scoffed, looking at the retreating forms of the guards.
"How many have been declared witches because of this?" The blonde questioned, pocketing the instrument of deception.
"Unforgivable…" Luka's fury rose, his blood boiling in his veins.
They gathered some more information from the various locals, receiving some heartbreaking tales in their search for answers.
Luka's fury had only risen during this time, the sorrow of the oppressed population moving his heart in ways he didn't think possible.
"I won't forgive her! Is that her house?!" Luka roared, looking at the central mansion of the village.
"Stop… We can't afford to go in there with our emotions in such a state." Giorno implored, forcing Luka to come to a halt.
"We need to stop her! She can't get away with this!" Luka argued back, fighting back against his strong grip.
"Argh!" Luka frustratingly relented, pacing up and down as he attempted to calm himself down.
"Your anger should never control you… But you are entirely justified to feel as you do. This Lily is nothing but a tyrant, with the blood of many innocents on her hands. We will stop her. But I need you at your best, understand?" The blonde inquired, calming his friend down.
"Understood…" Luka answered, taking some time to cool off before they raided the Lord's mansion.
"Be careful… That mansion is strange." Alice warned.
"We can deal with it… We have Sylph and Giorno's with me." Luka assured, leading the way to the large mansion as Alice vanished.
The pair of them strode up to the gate which was under watch by another set of guards.
"We want to meet the Lord of this village." Luka declared.
"Who are you? Lily wouldn't meet some outsider!" One of the guards shouted.
"You're suspicious… Are you witches? We need to test your innocence." The other guard stated.
"Sylph!" Luka called out, summoning a raging gust that knocked back the guards.
"What the hell?!" One of the guards yelled.
"A real witch?!" The other fearfully backed away.
"So, you've never encountered a true witch then? None of those you tested were guilty then…" Giorno surmised, glaring at the retreating guards.
"Deplorable… But steel yourself. I'm sensing a strange presence in this mansion." Giorno pat his ally's shoulder as they entered the home of this Lily.
"What is this?" Luka looked around the interior of the mansion.
The home was filled to the brim with odd materials and ingredients, as well as a cauldron of some liquid.
"…" Giorno had a very good idea of why this was the case.
Entering what looked to be the main room in the mansion, they came face to face with a green-haired woman, wearing a similarly colored dress.
"Hehe… How surprising." The woman chuckled, closing the book she was reading.
"Lily, I presume. Lord of Witch Hunt Village… and a witch herself." Giorno guessed, staring her down.
"I prefer sorcerer, but you're quite right. What an odd appearance…" She smiled, looking over Giorno with interest.
"The innocent people you took away! Where are they?!" Luka demanded.
"The women were used as experimental materials. The men… I squeezed out their seed until they were dry and discarded them." The green-haired woman calmly replied with a disgusting neutrality.
"This was just an experiment to you. A chance to gain power? This village must have opposed such things, given the name." Giorno interrogated.
"Yes, this village always rejected knowledge and magic. But ever since I took power five years ago, I've been fascinated by magic. Naturally, I used their prejudice against them." Lily almost proudly stated.
"You instigated this witch hunt… Manipulated them to turn on each other." Giorno understood very well the type of person they were dealing with. An almost Cioccolata-like individual.
"You two have magical abilities too… Why don't you join me? We could do so much together." Lily offered, triggering a visceral reaction from Luka.
"I'll never join you!" Luka yelled.
"A useless proposition…" Giorno agreed, similarly furious but hiding it well.
"Then I'll have to capture you and research your power… Especially you, Giovanna. You're a very valuable specimen." She locked eyes with the blonde, retreating into a hidden door.
"How do you know my name?" Giorno asked as Luka gave chase.
"Stop!" Luka ordered as they followed suit into the dark corridor.
Giorno's life sense abilities flared up, picking up the signatures of dozens of people in the large basement section they were in.
"… One less." Giorno muttered, feeling the cold embrace of death envelop one of the life forms before it stopped being picked up.
Picking up speed, they entered the first room which looked like a prison.
Inside it was a collection of cages and built-in jails, which housed humans and half-creature hybrids alike.
"No…" Giorno looked up towards the ceiling, watching an emaciated body fall to the ground. The culprit of the attack being some strange tentacle lifeform.
"How horrible… But what is that thing? A monster… There's so many of them…" Luka thought aloud in disgust, overwhelmed with the sight of misery and despair.
"…" The blonde attended to the body on the ground, feeling for any sign of life.
Thankfully, this was not the life signature that had died mere moments ago. But it was fading…
No physical wounds for Gold Experience to heal either, just the phenomenon of a human being subjected to the assault of a monster.
"Giorno, is he…" Luka asked, stepping beside him with Angel Halo drawn in case they were attacked.
But even if there was no physical wound, monsters ate the energy of humans. More specifically, the life energy of them.
'I can imbue life energy… Doesn't that mean-' Giorno thought to himself.
'That you're like the opposite of a monster? Yep!' Sylph added, curious to see where these events would lead.
"Luka… Please watch my back. I'm going to try something." Giorno requested, closing his eyes and concentrating.
"…" Luka did not respond but obliged anyway.
Slowly but surely, the room filled with a beautiful golden light. The man in Giorno's arms started changing, the almost necrotic skin changing back to a healthier pigment.
Luka felt the change in the wind too, the flow of the man's energy returning to a more stable level.
By the time Giorno was finished, not that much had changed. The man had lost a lot of weight from his time here being fed on, but his life had clearly been saved by Giorno's ability.
"Giorno…" Luka's eyes widened, watching the miracle before him.
"… Incredible. You somehow transferred energy into that man. It's true then, you can bestow life energy itself." Lily commented, stepping out to meet them.
She snapped her fingers, a signal to the nearest tentacle creature to engage Luka.
"Lily!" Luka shouted in anger, counterattacking the surprise attack and pushing the monster backward towards her master.
"This little child is one of my precious creations. It used to be a female villager." Lily smirked.
"Gold Experience!" Giorno roared, calling forth his stand to rush towards Lily who quickly stepped far, far back. Exactly past his effective range…
"No! I'll handle the tentacle monsters! Save as many people as you can!" Luka declared, stepping forth and taking on the horde of creatures surrounding them.
"I understand… Don't do anything reckless." Giorno nodded, running away to check on those in need of his help.
"Have fun, you two…" Lily walked off deeper into her dungeon.
Luka played defensively against the mass of Suck Vores, taking the fight seriously.
Though many in number, they were incredibly weak on their own.
Luka stepped forward and slashed at one who ventured too close to him, landing a devastating Thunder Thrust.
The creature was sent tumbling back, yet more took its place.
"Sylph!" Luka called out, summoning a gale of wind around him.
The gale lifted the mass of Suck Vores in the air around him, giving him the perfect opportunity to use his strongest move.
"Death Sword Chaos Star!" Luka proclaimed, slicing indiscriminately at every Suck Vore around him.
The cataclysmic attack sealed each and every Suck Vore, filling the room with pure white light.
Once the light had ceased, human girls took the place of the Suck Vores.
"…These girls. They were really turned into monsters." Luka moved their unconscious bodies to a central location, glad to see that they were alive.
"I'll need to move ahead, Giorno! Please catch up once you're done!" Luka yelled, before running in the direction Lily retreated to.
The process of imbuing life energy onto another person was painstaking and exhausting, certainly since Giorno had never had to do it on a grand scale like this.
By his count, dozens of people were in dire need of help.
Gold Experience and himself were only two people, and it wasn't like he could just rush the process.
Forcefully injecting life energy into someone could go catastrophically bad, he could end up overwhelming their nervous systems and killing them if he went too quickly.
That's not to mention the side effects of this, the reduction of their lifespan. Lily herself had been holding these people for years, some of them required amounts of energy that would accelerate their aging and metabolism.
Their lives would be shortened by a few months, in the most egregious cases even years. But surely that was better than dying here and now in some dark basement.
…
He'd lost track of time, that was for sure.
Most of the villagers had been saved, but that didn't make the pain of losing others feel any less bitter.
Some had perished in his arms, just enough life force injected to give him a last message for their loved ones. He'd remembered each and every one of those…
"Mister…" The little girl coughed; half her face covered in a growth of tentacles and unnatural flesh.
"I'm sorry. Please stay still." Giorno softly injected more life energy into her, restoring the imbalance of energy and stabilizing her.
"T-thank you." The child closed her eyes, falling asleep as he gently laid her down.
'You saved a lot of people. Good work, Giorno.' Sylph commented, but her usual chipper mood had long since vanished.
"Not all of them…" Giorno turned his head towards the bodies he'd covered up with the cloths and curtains he could find.
"Dying in such a way… Being experimented on. I can't believe this." The blonde felt his heart being ripped in two.
'Hey, I understand. This is… pure evil. Disgusting even, I can feel the pain in your heart. But please stay calm, Luka's going crazy out there. I can't imagine both of you going nuts…" Sylph pleaded.
"…I won't." Giorno assured, rushing ahead to meet with Luka.
He quickly reconvened with his ally, who had only just finished a battle against some sort of coffin.
"Giorno… There was- there was a soldier here. He…" Luka pointed towards another such coffin, where a puddle of mucus was spreading through the slits under the large box.
"That life signature. He's…" The blonde grimly spoke, noticing the last remnants of a life being extinguished inside.
"I could have saved him… I was too late." The short boy faltered.
"You're not the one to blame for this. The deaths of those in this lab fall onto one person's shoulders only." Giorno spoke out, holding his shoulder.
"Hah… You're right. You're right." The shota breathed in deeply, steeling himself for the final confrontation.
"In there, no more tricks. Just Lily. Be aware, who knows what she's capable of." Giorno warned.
Luka slammed his boot into the door with a surprising amount of force, breaking through the wood with ease.
"Really? Shouldn't you knock before opening the door?" Lily asked, annoyed at her home being damaged.
"How pointless, but don't worry. Your face will end up just as broken as this door soon enough." Giorno threatened.
"I'll never forgive you! Killing and playing with humans as if they were mere objects…" Luka furiously shouted, ready to fight.
"You just don't understand. My experiments are a noble endeavor for valuable research." Lily claimed, arguing for her twisted sense of morality.
"I don't particularly care for your valuable research, you abuse and kill your own people. You make me sick." The blonde argued back, scowling at his enemy.
"There's nothing more valuable than life!" Luka agreed.
"What a shallow sense of justice. This world contains things you cannot comprehend. This village contains a policy of exclusion against outsiders. While living here, I was able to catch a glimpse of the ugliest humanity had to offer. This research… Is just my gift to repay them for that." Lily scoffed.
"Stop your brutality this instant. Free your prisoners, or else…" Luka pointed his blade at her, making it obvious what the alternative would be.
"Otherwise, what, exactly? Do you two really think you would be a match for Meister Lily, the Seeker of Truth? You're the conceited one… You actually think your pathetic magic can hold up to mine." Lily said arrogantly, revealing her true nature once her arms transformed into tentacles.
"The same as the female villagers…" Luka realized, stepping back.
"No… They were only the test subjects. You're the finished product." Giorno corrected his ally, feeling even more disgust for her.
"Finally… You said something intelligent. Correct, my experiments yielded the ultimate organ! I'll show you the beauty of my research!" Lily declared.
"Beauty? Ultimate power… You've culled your fellow kin like livestock. All for the sake of your own benefit. You've broken the hearts of many innocent lives; you will suffer for it." Giorno squared up on her.
"I'll show you the anger and sadness of the lives you destroyed!" Luka yelled, summoning Sylph and delivering a Thunder Thrust right into Lily's chest.
Giorno strode up the green woman who was pushed back, silently summoning his stand to pummel through any tentacles sent his way.
"Useless…" Golden Experience grabbed a hold of her tentacle arm, throwing her into a wall. The impact shook the foundations of the home and left his target winded.
"Agh! You at least have a modicum of power… I wish I had a way to deal with you." She looked at Giorno intently.
Lily forced her tentacles into the floorboards, feeling desperate enough to destroy her own home.
The appendages burrowed through the wood, blasting out from underneath the two men foolish enough to attack her and coiling around them painfully.
"Gah!" Luka struggled in her grasp, fighting with all his strength to escape her bind.
"Don't waste your energy, Luka! Gold Experience!" Giorno punched the offending tentacle wrapped around him with his stand.
Time slowed down to a crawl for Lily, whose strength vanished in the instant she was hit by the unseen force.
"Let go!" The shota yelled, breaking free of her weaker grip and delivering a Death Sword Chaos Star against the vulnerable and defenseless foe.
"Impossible… I can't be beaten here!" Lily staggered back, feeling an intense pain after her senses returned to normal.
"It's the end for you! You'll pay for all the things you've done to this village." Luka yelled resolutely.
"Horrible things…? To the village? You're wrong! The village did horrible things to me!" Lily yelled back, halting her attacks.
"…My mother was a dancer born in Sabasa. She was a mistress of the Lord of this village, and I was eventually born. Of course, I was viewed as nothing but a hindrance. The daughter of some foreign prostitute… The villagers despised me." Lily recounted.
The battle all but ceased at this point, with Giorno and Luka listening closely.
"On top of that, my mother died when I was young of sickness. She worked herself to death trying to provide for me… After that, the harassment only grew. The church even refused to hold a funeral for her." Lily continued, biting her lips as the rage inside of her festered.
"After she died, I was sent to my father. But even just that turned into another hell. Do you understand? How everyone looked at his illegitimate child in his own house!?" She continued yelling, her fragile mental state now clear to see.
"Yes… I do." Luka replied, his response too quiet to hear.
Giorno didn't bother with any form of acknowledgment, but he felt exactly the same. He knew what it was like to be considered everything she had just described.
"…I wanted revenge on them. That's why I studied magic in the prohibited books! I killed my father and brothers by squeezing them all to death using that power! After I got rid of them, I took over the Lord's eat. Hahaha! The prostitute's daughter they despised so much was now their Lord!" Lily laughed madly, despite the tears freely flowing from her eyes.
"I would never forgive them. They despised me… They ridiculed me… They tossed stones at me. They were the reason my mother died… Can you even begin to understand the pain my mother and I went through?" Lily concluded; her breathing ragged after her final desperate rant.
"Are you finished with that drivel? Your pathetic justification is just that, useless reasoning for scum." Giorno coldly answered, unleashing Gold Experience to barrage her with a flurry of punches.
"Gah!" Lily was forced up into the air, stuck in place from the continued stand rush.
"You knew first-hand the pain that persecution from others can bring!" Luka yelled, slashing at her while Gold Experience continued its assault.
"Such w-whitewashing! How could you two ever unders-" She tried to scream back before the unseen entity punched her face again.
"I know it well… I know it way too well!" Luka yelled.
"You are not the only person in this world to be wronged, Lily. We don't dispute your pain, but you're no better than those who hurt you. In fact, you're even worse." Giorno called off his stand, allowing Lily to stand weakly, covered in slashes of light and bruises.
"How could some heroes whom the people adore ever understand my pain!?" She repeated before Giorno himself punched her in her abdomen, infusing his punch with an excess of life energy.
"Useless! Your suffering did not give you the right to inflict that upon others! You've fallen, Lily. In taking revenge, you've become a greater evil than those before you. You're nothing but a twisted individual now…" Giorno spat, looking down on her.
"Ugh!" Lily collapsed on her knees, coughing up blood and bile.
"You were lucky! You were able to get revenge on those you had a grudge on! But I'm different! I wasn't even allowed to hold a grudge! Because… I had to become a fine Hero! That's what my mother wished! That was the promise I made to her on her deathbed!" Luka roared, bringing his blade down over her exposed head.
"You're the one who can't understand us. What it's like to move on from our pain." Giorno finished, as her power was finally sealed.
"No… My power…My magic power… Without this…I." Lily stammered, her tentacles vanishing and returning to mere human arms once more.
"Without that, you are nothing more than your actions. You will not be remembered kindly." Giorno kicked her abdomen, before pressing his shoe into her neck.
"Gah!" She wheezed; her airway being restricted. Lily tried to claw her way out of his hold but failed miserably.
"You are the worst form of evil… The one who believes they are righteous, the one who takes advantage of the innocent. This world would be better off without you." Giorno pressed his foot even harder against her windpipe, eager to snap her neck and end her pitiful existence.
"Giorno! Stop! She's finished…" Luka pulled him back, freeing Lily.
"Right, I suppose you want to let her fate be determined by the villagers, then?" He reasoned.
"Yes… We can't just execute her. That isn't justice." Luka pleaded.
"You do realize that she may be executed for what she's done? Are you certain of this?" Giorno asked, restraining Lily with his stand.
"Yes… But maybe I can convince them to not do that." Luka sighed, full of conflicting emotions.
"Very well… Get her out of here, Gold Experience." Giorno commanded as they exited the home through the basement, bringing along the captives who had survived their ordeal.
"Ahh! Mary! Thank Ilias you're alive!" A man embraced his young child.
"Erika… I thought you were dead!" A mother hugged her teenage daughter, both of them wailing in each other's arms.
The village was covered in sights like these, of families, friends, and even lovers reuniting.
But not everyone would be given a happy ending in the aftermath of these events.
And it was Giorno's duty to pass on their final messages, from the fallen husbands, fathers, mothers, and daughters to those they left behind.
"No! Lucy… Sister…" A young woman called out, sobbing into her hands at the loss of her sister.
"Eri!" A man wailed after Giorno broke the news of her passing, anger, and grief overcoming him.
"I'm so sorry… But they were too far gone." Giorno apologized, looking down at the pavement. "I was at least able to leave them in a presentable state."
Luka struggled to keep stoic over the events playing out.
"What do you want? Here to gloat? Laugh in my face?" Lily harshly asked, sulking in her prison cell.
"No… I'm here to finish that conversation." Giorno corrected, glaring at her.
"…" Lily shrunk under his intense eye contact.
"You certainly stirred something within Luka… I've never seen him like that." He commented.
"He… he really was like me?" She asked.
"He was… I don't know the exact story, but I've heard about it from a family friend. His mother moved to Ilias Village with him, much more radical than this place. Treated like an outsider, dare I say even a subhuman…" Giorno explained.
"Tch…" Lily bit her lip in frustration.
"Yet he was so different from you, would you like to know why?" Giorno offered.
"You really believe you're better than me?! I'm tired of this holier-than-thou attitude you have!" Lily yelled.
"His early life was a test. He accepted his test to stand victorious against the past. A person grows once they are able to defeat their weaker self. Something you failed to do." Giorno said, leaning closer to the bars that separated them.
"…If that's all you came to say, then leave. I'm finished anyways, I'll probably be executed for what I've done." She huffed.
"Maybe, maybe not. However, your methods are familiar to me." Giorno touched the bar of the holding cell.
"My…methods?" Lily confusedly asked.
"Your creations… They certainly remind me of something. Perhaps you've taken some inspiration? And that title you called yourself, Seeker of Truth?" Giorno explained, silencing her.
"…" Lily backed away, refusing to engage with him now that she realized how much she'd revealed in their battle.
"You know what I'm getting at, don't you? Would you perhaps know of a red-haired woman? She wore a lab coat the last time I saw her…" Giorno inquired, visibly making her sweat bullets.
"…No. I-I don't." She meekly lied.
"You knew my name… And certain parts of my capabilities. You and that woman are in cahoots, yes? I recognized some of the technology a necromancer named Chrome was using in your mansion." He guessed.
"…" Lily refused to answer, having dug herself into a grave.
In the end, her silence was louder than any words she could have used.
"I understand." Giorno withdrew from her and left the prison, debating transforming the bar he'd touched earlier into a venomous snake.
At the end of it all, their prisoner dying of a supposed random snake attack would draw attention to himself. Luka and Alice did know his ability well enough to make an educated guess.
"Are you really okay with leaving Lily's punishment to the villagers?" Alice questioned as they meandered around.
"I'm just a stranger to this village… They had to go through the horror for years. They deserve to finish the problem with their own hands." Luka explained.
"Since she's the main offender, they will surely kill her. The only way she can compensate is by death." Alice commented.
"Even so… Her death won't bring back the ones they lost. Only time will ever heal such a festering wound." Giorno said, reading some of the notes Lily had left strewn about.
"But still, you did well. That's quite the feat for a Hero. A true Hero, might I add." Alice commented, adding that small compliment to raise his spirits.
"Alice…" Luka blushed, elated to hear that from the usually negative lamia. "But… Giorno should probably be the one getting the praise, he saved so many people."
"Don't discount your efforts. You're just as much responsible for their safety." Giorno shook his head.
"Speaking of that… You managed to restore men who were suffering from a lack of energy? That isn't exactly healing." Alice pointed out.
"Gold Experience doesn't exactly heal naturally… It imbues life energy. Life energy which I injected to supplement the loss those in that basement suffered from." Giorno said, explaining the situation.
"Monsters feed off of that, yet you can produce it… You're like a power source for humans. Is Gold Experience some sort of Spirit of Life energy?" Alice asked.
"I wouldn't know anything about that, I just realized he was with me one day. I wouldn't hesitate to use this new gift, even if I didn't know where it came from. I used Gold Experience to escape my old life." Giorno elaborated.
"Giorno… You… lived a life like mine? I just wanted to ask about it, but you don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable." Luka asked, rubbing the back of his head.
"I… was not welcomed into the community. Much like you and Lily, I was the outsider. My mother didn't die, she just didn't care. My stepfather only bothered enough to feed me so I wouldn't starve." Giorno neutrally recalled.
"Oh… Iliasburg was just as bad then." Luka sadly trailed off.
"Right… Iliasburg. But growing up without any other frame of reference, I thought everything they said was true. I was a freak, that I would amount to nothing. That I was destined to be scum." Giorno continued.
"What changed?" Alice asked, curious as to how the blonde overcame his struggles.
"… I saved the right person. And he returned the favor. It was a learning experience, having someone I could trust. His ideals became mine, and I vowed to be someone like him." He concluded.
"What happened to the person?" Luka curiously asked.
"I…haven't seen him in years. He was my Hero. Much like how you're a Hero to many in Witch hunt village." Giorno proclaimed.
"That brings up old memories… That word... My mother… Ilias village." Luka wistfully recalled.
"Painful memories?" Alice asked.
"I wonder. There are some painful memories, but I like Ilias village now. Even that village was able to change after my mother's death. Now I'm friendly with all the villagers…" Luka explained.
"Oh… Is that so? Did they repent after seeing your mother die, and turn over a new leaf?" Alice guessed.
"Hahaha… Now who's being unrealistic, Alice? Shortly after she died, the epidemic spread to the rest of the village. All of the elders died, and the number of villagers drastically lowered. Without enough people, they were forced to rely on immigrants. Because of that, the vast majority of Ilias village is made up of immigrants. Suddenly I, a previous outsider, was one of the most senior villagers." Luka elaborated, with the remnants of bitterness on his face.
"Despite all that… You never strayed from your heart." Giorno commented.
"One wrong step and I would have ended up like Lily." Luka grimly spoke.
"No, you're different. You overcame your grief; you used it to fuel your resolve to do better than those who wronged you. It's something I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you, you're a good person." Giorno pat his ally's shoulder as they walked.
"I can't speak for the dead… But I'm sure your mother must be proud of what you've done here." Alice concluded, refusing to look Luka in the eyes.
"You guys…" Luka's blush deepened.
"You weren't forced to be a hero either… You wish to defend the weak and achieve your goal of coexistence, even without your baptism. You were prepared to push on." Giorno pointed out.
"Yeah… Titles mean nothing. My actions are all that count. I won't forget that. Thank you, Alice… Giorno." Luka acknowledged, smiling for the first time since they entered the village.
Before they could leave the village for good, they were stopped by a village girl with a ripped-up dress.
"Thank you, heroes… Thanks to you, we were able to return to normal." The girl bowed graciously. "Everyone you saved wanted to thank you, but they're all too weak to move at the moment. So, they entrusted me to do it."
"I'm glad I could help… You all have a tough time going forward, please don't lose heart." Luka pleaded.
"We know the reason Lily acted the way she did. Her intense hatred of us is what caused her to curse our bodies like that. We won't continue the cycle of hate." The girl declared.
...?
Giorno turned his head towards the middle of the village, directly at the entrance to the mansion.
That same red-haired woman from Chrome's hideout stood, looking at the chaos around the settlement.
She met his gaze with a neutral stare, before walking out of sight.
"Please come visit us again, heroes! We will always welcome you!" The young woman offered, waving her now tentacled arm.
"That woman from Natalia was there too…" Giorno revealed as they walked back towards the desert.
"She was? Why do you think?" Luka inquired.
"She said something about delivering new technology to Chrome back then, perhaps this was the same." Giorno reasoned.
"But why? What does she get out of that?" Alice asked.
"Yet to be determined." Giorno sighed.
"Let's just get Gnome…" Luka advised.
The return back to Sabasa was uneventful, and they split apart to gather supplies and other helpful trinkets to help with the trek.
Giorno encountered Luka at the Mermaid Pub, drinking a cup of juice.
"…Luka? Are you okay?" Giorno asked, spotting a suspicious-looking bag underneath the table.
"I think I hate orange juice now…" The shota finished the glass.
"What makes you sa-"Giorno asked as he pulled the bag from underneath the table, before opening it up.
Both Luka and his eyes widened upon seeing a bundle of explosives, miniature balls packed tightly together.
"No way!" Luka shouted before Giorno covered his mouth.
"Shh… Don't cause a panic." Giorno said as he transformed each and every device into harmless flies.
"Phew… That was close." Luka slumped back in his chair.
"That would have been a disaster…" Giorno sat back down.
"Tch… Right in front of the guy and I didn't even notice." Luka scoffed.
"The bomber from the Mermaid School? We could pursue him if you wanted…" Giorno asked, sitting down in front of him.
"No, let's just move on. Who knows how far away he's gotten, Gnome's the priority now." Luka rested his chin on his arms, waiting for Alice to get back with the group.
AN:
Surprise early update!
Thus concludes the Witch Hunt village section, Lily's excuse does not slide with Luka in canon and it certainly wouldn't work with Giorno. Probably the first character to get a proper beatdown in this fic, but there's at least one more I can think of.
Like I said, the three of them are the results of their very similar upbringing. Lily just never had a chance to develop good qualities, unlike Luka who developed his selfless attitude or Giorno's resolve and sense of justice.
This was probably a top 5 things I was looking forward to writing, and I still have some crazy ideas for the later sections of Chapter 2. Once again, Polnareff will be going through another crazy event on par with the Vanilla Ice fight or Diavolo encounter. (Dude can't catch a break)
Also, I took that line of Giorno eliminating the drug trade of Passione from Purple Haze feedback. Since canonically, we don't know what he did after becoming the boss.