Yeah, decide to add the word "former" next to its title. Thought to differentiate this and the next chapter so I'm not calling each chapter "Part 1" or "Part 2". Felt tedious and repetitive to me, but only for this occasion. I'll resume the usual title naming in the subsequent chapters after the "Saga Rock Festival arc".
"Is that so? Well then, I just have to pick up where Ghiaccio left off and eliminate you all, including this woman…"
The last thing Junko ever wanted to see when she was unwillingly pulled into a Stand battle was for her to witness six of her companions who stayed behind in the mansion facing the enemy who had a tight grip on her neck that she could not move no matter how hard she tried pulling his arm off her. She has no idea where the masked man was carrying her after he took her hostage, jumping from raindrop to raindrop while getting chased by Aerosmith and its user. He has to make diversions to lure Narancia, as well as Sakura and Kakyoin, away from his intended path after he finds out where he's going. As far she knows, they could possibly stray far away so the masked man can breathe easy without two Stand Users pursuing him. If she was feeling frightened due to how high they were and Blackmore possibly killing her anytime soon, then she would be even more frightened looking at her companions who are all out for some reason.
Predictably, seeing another opponent take Junko hostage as lightning flashed took them all back into an alert state, with Lily shouting, "Junko-chan?!"
"A-Ah… Everyone…" Junko squeaked in a quiet voice, whether in fear or the enemy tightly grabbing her neck.
As the six still-vulnerable zombies stared at her and their next enemy in shock, Gyro squinted his eyes at him, wondering why he looked so familiar. Then, it hit him as he recognized his mask and hood.
"Johnny! That man… Isn't he the man who was chasing Lucy Steel back during the race in our world? What was his name again? Black…more?" He pointed to his mask, remembering he was wearing one during their short fight against him.
Displeased to see one of the many assassins who attempted to take their lives seemingly revived back, Johnny gritted his teeth, replying, "Tsk! No doubt he is! And the way I'm seeing this, we are not done yet, as we are up for a ｢second fight｣ against a new enemy."
Noticing their gazes filled with recognition of the enemy and listening to their conversation, Mamezuku asks, "You two know that guy?"
"Yeah. Johnny and I only met him for a short time, but we couldn't forget his face and his attempt on our lives during the race towards Kansas City," Gyro unbuttons one holster containing his singular steel ball. "If he is here, then it likely means he has already ｢activated｣ his ability."
"His ability? What is his ability then?" Yugiri inquired, planning to shield Lily again.
Gyro was about to answer her when someone rushed past him, who also dropped Johnny ungracefully to his displeasure. Upon seeing who passed them just now causes him and Johnny to let out a choke of surprise, as the latter exclaims, "Hey Tae! Get back here! It's dangerous to engage him in a close-up fight!"
"Eh? Why did you say that?" Lily asked, wondering what's got him so worked up. Running footsteps are heard in front of them, separate from Tae's own. "M-Mamezuku-san?"
"He better not think of attacking the enemy directly too!" Johnny hoped. "If he hadn't realized it yet, he and Tae would get attacked by ｢raindrops｣!"
"Raindrops…?" Yugiri muttered, feeling dreadful because of the weather.
"RAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!" Any form of rational thought in the unawakened brain of hers faded away as Tae went berserk when she saw her favorite literal chew toy taken hostage by the hooded, evil man. Running on four legs, Tae jumped in the air with her mouth open, shooting him an angry glare as she prepared to bite his arm that had a grip on Junko. Blackmore turned to her with a disinterested look, while Junko had a horrified one, knowing what would happen next.
"Tae-san! Don't-!"
"DOGGY STYLE!"
To her relief, a hand gripped Tae's right shoulder, stopping her from charging forward, and pushed her back on the ground. Thus, he managed to prevent Tae from almost getting her face and head pierced by stationary raindrops caused by Blackmore.
As the zombie plopped onto the ground with a splash, Junko had a double take when she noticed Mamezuku's arm seemed to have been severed, with strips of rope spiraling out from its stump. Following the rope led her to see Mamezuku standing in the rain with his right forearm seemingly missing at first glance. It didn't take long for her to realize it must be his Stand ability, especially made prevalent by Doggy Style manifesting behind him, on top of his body being coated in a light blue aura.
"Hmm…" Blackmore remained calm despite failing to inflict any damage on the feral zombie. The zombie attempted to stand up only for another arm to grab its head and force it back down onto the ground.
"Mmmphf!"
"Don't move. Any slight movement and the floating raindrops will penetrate your body, starting with your head," Mamezuku warned her, a displeased expression on his face even though he managed to prevent Tae from carelessly damaging herself. "*sigh* Good thing I made it in time. Who would have thought raindrops could become such a deadly weapon by ｢stabilizing｣ them to the point they become hard as ice? If I hadn't acted quickly and found a safe space between the stabilized drops, then Tae would have gotten sliced and even killed by the enemy."
Emphasizing his statement, Peel Planter eyes the many floating raindrops surrounding his body by a mere inch. It seems as though Blackmore has already halted many of the raindrops running towards him. It would seem that Blackmore was able to stop them from doing any significant damage to him, such as causing harm or drowning him, thanks to Mamezuku's quick thinking and analytical mind kicking in.
Seeing Blackmore seemingly distracted by Mamezuku and Tae, Johnny and Gyro move in to attack their former opponent from a distance. Aiming one finger from his damaged hand, Johnny decides to use it to suck his hand into the hole and properly aim his nail bullets at Blackmore's head, meaning he doesn't have to move close in order to deal significant damage. "Alright! This is our chance! Come on Gyro! Let's help them!"
"Right behind you, Johnny!" Charging up his steel ball with enough Spin energy, Gyro opts to repeat the same strategy he used in defeating Blackmore. Even with the ability to stop raindrops and let them float in mid-air, they are still watery raindrops, meaning any friction made will cause them to evaporate back into vapor and the thrown steel ball will continue its momentum due to the Spin.
Preparing his right arm to propel the steel ball, Gyro believes he and Johnny will end this fight before it can drag on any further and cause any more damage from the rain. "Here goes! OOOO-"
スヴァッ
"RaaaAAAGHHHH!"
"NNNNGHH-!"
Unfortunately, Johnny and Gyro didn't get to land an attack when their wrists were sliced by something sharp. Blood gushed out from their wounds as the pain made its way to their arms.
"Ooouughhh!" W-What the hell!?" Johnny cursed, seeing his hand has a bloody hole on his palm. The pain is enough to stop him from clenching it into a fist. He has to use his other hand to cover his palm and prevent blood from flowing out.
"Johnny-han!?" Yugiri called out in concern. "What on earth happened to your hand?"
"H-Hell if I know!" He exclaimed as he wondered who pierced his palm before he could attack. "Something stabbed my hand, that's for sure!"
"Then… What attacked us?" Gyro questioned, gripping his wrist to stem the blood flow. "It couldn't be the raindrops, right? The enemy is far from us, so how did…?"
Amidst the confusion, a watery tendril manifests behind Yugiri and Lily. With their backs turned, including Johnny and Gyro, the tendril is free to lunge at the two in their vital spots, preferably their head. Their bodyguards would be none the wiser when it moves in for the kill. Not delaying this any longer, the water tendril jumps up high aided by the rain, reaching to their heads for a swift kill without them knowing…
At least, it would happen if it weren't for a miniature plane appearing just in time to block the tendril's path to their heads.
"AEROSMITH!"
ドガガガガガ
Bullets ripped the tendril apart, who couldn't move away in time due to the element of surprise. The four hear bullets being fired and the propeller spinning behind them, prompting them to turn around and watch as Aerosmith finished ripping Catch the Rainbow's secondary ability.
Wary of the airplane's appearance, Yugiri and Lily went behind Johnny and Gyro as the latter asked, "What is that flying object? Another enemy Stand?"
"Oh come on! We are going to face a third enemy Stand?!" Johnny lets out in exasperation. He's definitely not looking forward to juggling two enemy Stands while they are pretty much unable to attack.
While they were thinking this, they were facing off against an airplane stand. Blackmore resisted grunting in pain as his left hand was wounded due to his water tendril being decimated by bullets. The wounded hand happened to be on the arm holding Junko hostage. Noticing his wounded hand, as well as hearing the sound of rapid fire coming from behind them, her eyes lit up in hope because Johnny, Gyro, and Mamezuku would no longer be fighting against Blackmore alone.
Her assumption is proven correct when Narancia's voice cuts through the splashing rain as Aerosmith flies above everyone with a single target in mind.
"I finally found you! Time for you to release Junko and get shot!"
"Hmph. So he made it. He's quite a stubborn fool," Blackmore stated in displeasure. "Well then, I'll just have to keep myself away from his Stand and bring a swift end to this girl."
Fear strikes her heart again. Seems like Blackmore is determined to keep himself alive as long as possible. But then, a thought came to her.
His hand got wounded thanks to Narancia's timely arrival. I assume the enemy has his ｢water tendril｣ out to strike everyone before they realize it was there, but Aerosmith shot it before it can do anything. I guess that is why this hand got wounded, which has something to do with Stands getting attacked that is reflected back to its user. So the enemy was hurt, even though he tried hiding it…
If I have to make it to the end of the fight alive, then perhaps I must take action so Narancia-san can attack the enemy without me in the way!
Aerosmith came into their views, flying between them and Mamezuku, who eyed the Stand with interest and knowledge it belonged to Narancia after hearing his voice. Johnny released a sigh of relief upon seeing the airplane Stand belonged to him, not an enemy. Said person enters the scene giving Blackmore a glare for not only taking Junko hostage, but also, involving his new friends, both Stand Users and not, in their fight. He has no idea why they are outside when they should be staying inside the mansion, but after taking a glance at Johnny and Gyro, he believes they have a fight against that enemy Stand.
But he has no time to think about that as Junko's life is on the line at the hands of the hooded masked enemy.
"Narancia-han!" Yugiri regards him with a look, equal parts worried and relieved to see him.
"Thank goodness you arrived, Narancia. We could really use some hand in dealing with this enemy," Gyro smiled at him, hoping he could turn the tide of battle in their favor. "As you can see, me and Johnny are pretty much sitting ducks because our hands got injured so much we can't use the Spin. Well, I do have one healthy hand, but it's busy stopping blood from flowing out of my wrist."
Narancia remained silent as he walked past them, and Mamezuku, who was still stuck due to the floating raindrops. He stopped next to him, wisely staying behind so he did not get injured from getting pierced by the raindrops while walking through them.
Miffed that he passed them by without bothering to reply, Gyro says, "Hey! It's rude to ignore someone who wants to talk with you. You could have just said even a short sentence!"
"Shush Gyro. Narancia is focused on the enemy." Johnny scolded him.
Aerosmith's propeller hovers dangerously close to Blackmore's face, threatening to slice his mask and face apart if he tries anything against Junko, who has a look of conviction instead of fear like he expected given her personality. As for Tae, she eventually relents to lying on the ground after repeated attempts to get up that Mamezuku's detached arms did not allow. She opts to watch Blackmore's and Junko's feet since her head is forced down by Peel Planter.
Pointing one finger and glaring daggers at Blackmore, Narancia warns, "You better release Junko right now, or else Aerosmith will slice your face apart with its propellers."
"…If you really want to set her free, then you should think of her well-being first before you go and attack me," Blackmore taunted, pointing out what would happen if Aerosmith didn't get him. "You wouldn't want her to get riddled with your bullets. If you attack me now while I have her, it could spell disaster not only to me, but to her as well, right?"
"Grr!" Narancia growled, wanting to just blow this asshole to kingdom come if Junko isn't in the way.
"Well, in any case…" Blackmore moves his mask above his head, revealing his face to him and everyone. As he has been wearing his mask the whole time, it's hard to gauge his expression even if his tone and body gestures are enough for one to read what he is feeling. Now, they are able to see what he's exactly feeling, which they guess that it's anything but pleasant for them. "I have to kill this girl before I move on to killing miss Ai, and to the rest of you. Don't worry though. I'll make her death as quick and painless as possible, and I'll apply it to all of you as well."
"NOOOO! Please spare Junko-san!" Lily protested with a horrified expression, not wanting to see her fellow friends die at the hands of a killer.
"Bastard… If you dare take her life…!" Johnny gritted his teeth in anger, cursing himself as he tried aiming his other hand despite the stinging pain.
As if understanding what Blackmore is saying, Tae lets out a growl as she then tries to stand up and attack Blackmore before he kills Junko. "Tae, please! You will get pierced by the rain if you try standing up!" Mamezuku urged her to stay put even though he wants to put an end to the enemy for daring to kill someone he is okay with through strangling him if not for the raindrops.
Manifesting a sharp blade from melded raindrops, Blackmore raises his hand as he says, "All of you will repent for your collective sins! Have time to repent… in another world where you living corpses belong toooooooo!" He then swings his hand to plunge the watery knife to Junko, thus ending her undead life and bringing her back to the afterlife…
"Junko-chaaaan!" Lily cries out, tears flowing out from her eyes as she realizes she's about to die.
Instead of screaming in fear that her second life is about to be forfeit, Junko, in an uncharacteristic deep tone, has this to say to Blackmore.
"…I'm very sorry for what I will do next, but you leave me no choice!"
ガブゥッ
"AAAAGGGHHH!"
Blackmore screamed in pain when Junko made an unprecedented move of biting his wounded hand hard enough that he let go of the water blade as pain occupied his mind for a moment. Feeling the grip on her neck loosen, Junko then elbows his stomach as she lets go of his hand, leading her to run free away from him, pulling Tae off the ground and rushing past Narancia, who is left surprised at her bold move.
"Narancia! DO IT!"
"Gotcha! Aerosmith!"
Seizing the window of opportunity, Aerosmith flies toward Blackmore, who manages to recover enough for him to realize too late Aerosmith is about to crash into him, propeller first.
ドゴォォォォォォ
"Bugyaa-!?"
Blackmore lets out, feeling his torso and abdomen getting sliced by the propellers painfully as he is carried up in the air, away from the mansion's gate as Aerosmith swerves in a U-turn up high above everyone.
Bearing a piercing glare directed at the enemy, Narancia has this to say in a loud voice. "You're gonna pay for injuring and attempting to kill my friends! If you thought you could survive this because you can blend with the rain and plug holes in your wounds, think twice! You were already sliced apart by the propellers, and next, I'm gonna fill your body with lead!"
Narancia's next action is unleashed before everyone's eyes as they witness his fiery will through the sound of machine guns riddling Blackmore with holes.
ドガガガガガ
"VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA VOLA…! VOLAAAAAAAAA! VOLARE VIAAAAAAA!"
"GYAAAAAHHHHH!"
Blackmore's apparent dying scream reverberated in everyone's ears as he fell on the ground with a splash. Since it is dark, they are unable or barely see blood flowing out from his wounds mixing with the rain and puddle.
Staring at his still form, being cautious if he's gonna stand up after taking the full brunt of Aerosmith's attack, seeing he hasn't made any move for about five seconds lets them breathe out a sigh of relief. "So… The fight is over." Yugiri said.
"It is over. There's no way he survived getting ripped apart by bullets," Johnny hoped, holding his wounded hand with a grimace. "For all I know, he was already half-dead by the time he got here."
"Uh huh. That's exactly what happened when we fought him," Gyro reaffirmed Johnny's statement, kneeling before him to inspect his wound while ignoring his own. "Just one steel ball to his face and he's gone. From what I can remember, he was riddled with bullets before he confronted us, right Johnny?"
"Yeah. I think so."
"A-Ah! T-Tae-chan! Please don't bite my head!"
Everyone turns to Junko trying to pry the feral zombie off her head. Tae either doesn't mind her trying to pry her off or ignores her protest as she continues chewing her head lightly. She turns her pleading eyes to Narancia and Mamezuku and asks, "Y-You two. Please, get Tae-chan off me!"
"Right! Hey Tae! Can't you see she's uncomfortable biting you! I wish you stop doing that and-"
"Actually, leave Tae be, Narancia," Mamezuku suddenly told him, extending his now-whole left arm to block his way. He and Junko looked at him like he just told them a rather controversial opinion.
"What are you saying!? The last thing Junko wanted was to have Tae bite her!" He tried to protest, only for Mamezuku to quickly give him and Junko a good reason.
"I believe that's the first thing Tae ever wanted to give Junko. She might have been concerned for her when she saw her locked in the enemy's arms, causing her to charge ahead without thought. My guess is Tae wanted to comfort Junko through the only thing she knows how: chewing her lightly."
Predictably, Narancia and Junko, including the four, look at him with incredulous looks. While they do find his reasoning to be absurd, seeing Tae hugging her and lightly chewing her head in an oddly affectionate way seems to dispel any thought of pulling Tae off Junko. In fact, now that they are looking at her with the knowledge that she is likely concerned for her, it appears she is not being rough on her and Junko herself isn't really feeling uncomfortable at all.
"I… I think you are right, Mamezuku-san," conceded Junko. "Maybe… Maybe this is what I needed after getting caught by the enemy. Some sense of normalcy. Well, as normal as our zombie lives can be."
"Mmmmmm…" Tae mumbled happily as she continued chewing her.
"Hmm, I guess we sort of needed this," Lily admitted. "We were attacked by some guy with a Stand that can freeze anything it touches. I did not expect another enemy to go and attack us when we thought we could rest."
"Huh? You were attacked by a separate enemy Stand?" Narancia asked her, not expecting to hear they were engaged in a separate fight.
"Correct," Yugiri sighed. "Our opponent gave Johnny-han, Gyro-han and Mamezuku-han a bit of trouble due to its freezing ability. Thankfully, they managed to find his weakness and use it against the enemy to kill him off. As to who our opponent is, he might be Italian and his Stand's name is White Album."
"An Italian enemy? And his Stand is White Album? Hm, I wonder…" Narancia has a contemplative look, as if something about White Album piqued his curiosity.
"Say Narancia, I have to ask," Junko spoke up after managing to get Tae off her, albeit gently, that the zombie surprisingly compiled once she saw her okay. "Where is Kakyoin-san and Minamoto-san? Did you… leave them behind when you pursued our enemy?"
Realizing Junko is right, Narancia lets out a chuckle and a sheepish smile, feeling everyone's eyes drilling on him after they realize Sakura and Kakyoin are not present with him. "Errr, weeeeell… I guess I… did?"
"Did what, Narancia?"
If he didn't become nervous thanks to Junko's question, then hearing Bucciarati's stern voice would. Turning around, Narancia tries to keep up a calm front as he regards Bucciarati with a nervous smile. "Ah, Bucciarati! You finally arrived! We were, err… w-wondering why you and Avdol are taking so… long…?"
Any thought of relief that Avdol, Bucciarati and Saki came back after they found Ai is dispelled when they see the two Stand Users' battered states. Their clothes are ragged and torn apart, with Bucciarati not wearing his shirt and Avdol missing his red robe. Bucciarati's body, in particular, seems to cause Yugiri and Junko to blush upon seeing his well-toned upper body, but they quickly brush it off as they want to know what got them so debilitated.
As for Zombie #2 and #3, they didn't pay heed to their concerned looks, as Saki says, "Hm? Why's everyone outside at this hour?"
"…Shouldn't you all have stayed inside and waited for us?" Ai pointed out.
"Yeah, about that…" Gyro rubbed his head before he revealed why they were outside, "We were attacked by an enemy Stand that appeared in our home, which we led him out before we fought him."
"An enemy Stand?" Avdol repeated in concern. "All of you were attacked and fought off an enemy Stand?"
Recognizing this is a serious matter, Narancia nodded, stating, "That's right. Johnny, Gyro, Mamezuku, Yugiri, Lily and Tae got attacked by White Album, while Junko and I dealt with a hooded guy Johnny and Gyro apparently knows, using his Stand called ｢Catch the Rainbow｣.
Surprised to hear each group were attacked by two enemy Stands, Bucciarati reveals his group have fought against an enemy Stand too, which takes the form of a tornado that relentlessly pursued the four. Mimicking his reaction, the uninformed group did not contain their surprise when they heard a separate Stand battle occurred.
"…So all of us were engaged in three Stand fights where two enemies are disposed by us and Johnny, while Narancia has to deal with a masked enemy named Blackmore who pounced on Johnny's group after they defeated their opponent, before he managed to kill him," Bucciarati summed up what they have been doing during the search for Ai and Junko. "To think our main enemy would be so bold enough to sic three powerful enemy Stands on all of us, even not letting Johnny's group some rest before they deal with another opponent… It appears after this is over, Rianima will have to contend with powerful and dangerous enemy Stands."
"If I may, Bucciarati-san," Mamezuku spoke up to offer him words of advice. "If Avdol stayed with us instead of going with you and Saki, he would have defeated White Album thanks to his Magician's Red being an ideal counter to his ice ability. And if Narancia stayed with you, I believe Aerosmith can deal with the tornado Stand through dropping a bomb as it was sucked in. The wind is fast enough to give it cutting power, so the moment the bomb is near it, the explosion will surely severely hurt it."
"I see… You are wondering that if we have someone who can counter the enemy's ability, then it would make our fights a lot easier," he replied. "I understand that we must learn something from our fights, but just to be clear, we were all caught off-guard or ambushed by our opponents and have to take damage before we can land a serious hit on them."
"Do not worry Bucciarati-san. I do not mean to discourage and admonish you and everyone," Mamezuku added so they do not have a wrong idea of his intention. "What I'm saying and hoping is that we must strategize first so we do not get caught off-guard by future opponents."
"Okay. Thank you for offering me advice," he smiled at him in appreciation, which he returned with a nod. "Now then, back to what I was about to ask you, Narancia…"
"Alright, alright, look. I didn't want to leave Sakura and Kakyoin behind," Narancia started speaking once he saw everyone might interpret him leaving the two behind in a wrong way. "With Junko being taken hostage and not wanting to lose sight of him, I have no choice but to give chase. It just so happens that bastardo really took a long way in an attempt to make me lose sight of him before I found him near our homes."
"I believe you do not need us to explain how the fight went." Saki said.
"Uh huh. All it matters is that Junko broke free from the enemy, by biting his hand before leaving me to freely shoot him down with bullets before dropping a bomb on him. If she hadn't made that move, Blackmore would have killed her before I could act. With him gone, I believe this is a perfect time for us to return to being our zombie selves."
"Well, about that…" Lily sounded unsure when speaking. "Why is it taking so long? It should've happened a minute ago!"
Her statement makes them realize that they still remain human even though the fight is over. Johnny, Gyro, Bucciarati, Avdol and Narancia still have their injuries dripping with blood, so why hasn't they been healed?
ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ
"…This is… This is not right…" Junko stammered, feeling nervous all of a sudden.
"We defeated our last enemy, right? We all saw Narancia shred and shoot Blackmore without stopping and is lying in the pool of his own blood over…" Gyro turns to where Blackmore's body lay…
…only to find just a dirtied puddle.
"…there?" He finished the sentence in a confusing tone when he saw nothing.
!?
Predictably, the absence of Blackmore's body put everyone on high alert, as they assumed he had somehow survived Narancia's attack and was likely up for another round of fighting.
"What the hell!? Where is the enemy?! Don't tell me… he is still alive and kicking!?" Narancia frantically exclaimed, summoning Aerosmith again and a radar to detect the enemy's presence.
"This is bad! Every girl but Sakura are accounted for!" Bucciarati stated, motioning Franchouchou to huddle up together with him, Avdol and Mamezuku. "It's hard to imagine that the enemy recovered despite its fatal injuries, but if we are not getting turned back into zombies, it means the fight is still far from over!"
"So then, where is the enemy? Where did he go?" Lily asked, looking left and right for any signs of the enemy.
A cut appeared on her cheek, making her notice as it dripped a small trinket of blood. Eh? My cheek has a cut? How did I get this?
"Ow!"
"Ai!?"
The kid turns to Ai grimacing in pain because her left foot got wounded when something pierced it, causing her to drop on the ground. Everyone who is with her kneels before her in concern, with Yugiri and Bucciarati inspecting her wound. "Ai-han, how did you get this wound? You were standing all the time, so why did it got wounded?"
"I… I don't know," Ai replied. "I felt something wet ｢drop｣ on my foot and before I knew it, ｢pain｣ traveled through my body as I dropped down."
Something wet? Gyro thought of Ai's choice of words. Her foot was struck by water before it got wounded? Why does that thought sound familiar…
...Crap! I have to warn them before it's too late!
Unfortunately, Gyro didn't get the chance to warn them because a barrage of heavy raindrops fell upon the group, showering them all and inflicting a number of cuts and wounds on their skin and clothes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH! ! ! !" Everyone screamed as their bodies got pierced, causing wounds both big and small to appear, as the heavy rain and burning pain forced them to fall to the ground. Those who are lying are Ai, Junko, Lily, Johnny and Mamezuku while the rest are crouched or still standing, albeit with difficulty. The one who is not struck by slicing rain is Narancia, who has watched them wounded from many cuts in horror. On his radar, he sees a small blip in the center, directly above him, leading him to look up in anger as Aerosmith flies toward the enemy.
"Found you, cazzo! AEROSMITH!"
Unfortunately, Aerosmith didn't get that far up high to reach Blackmore when he was next in getting pelted by the rain.
"GYAAAAAAHHHH!" Narancia screamed in pain before he immediately crouched on the ground, clenching his teeth.
Feeling his body filled with many wounds dripping with blood, Narancia forces his head up as he turns to his companions, who are all trying to push themselves up despite the pain or remain on the ground trying to resist the pain coursing through their bodies. Lily, Junko, Ai and Johnny are the ones in the latter category while the rest are in the former. It's a miracle their heads weren't affected, as that would've been an instant kill.
Before anyone could do something, they heard a chilling voice above them, filled with venom being spat upon them because they hadn't been slayed by his hands. "I guess I have dragged this one-sided fight long enough. It's time for all of you to die, with the rain being the last weather you will ever see in your pathetic lives!"
Rumbling thunder is heard before the rain increases in number, hitting their bodies hard. Realizing what will happen next, everyone tried standing up but their wounds made it hard for them to steady their body, with Saki, Yugiri, Avdol, Bucciarati and Mamezuku almost making it before their body gave in.
"T-This… This is bad! We have to take cover from… t-the rain!" Ai warned, holding her right shoulder that was bleeding profusely.
"G-Goddammit! Come on… MooooooOOOOVE!" Saki gritted her teeth as she forced herself to get up despite her knees being wounded.
"Ma… Magician's Red…!" Avdol called out his Stand, intending to create a fire shield that is hot enough to evaporate the rain. He fears however that it might not be enough because the rain is pouring heavily.
Not willing to let Blackmore get his way, Narancia aimed Aerosmith at him again, only to be met with a stabbing wound in his abdomen, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Narancia!" Bucciarati called out in concern, recognizing he's deeply hurt. Sticky Fingers came out to retrieve him when everyone heard Blackmore's shout.
"Now, time to repent for your sins! In this world and in another world!"
Looking down upon them as he stands on stabilized raindrops high above them, Blackmore extends his arm as he commands the rain to give it cutting power. Since they are made powerless by his sneak attack, he is sure they will be dead in no time.
"HIEROPHANT GREEN!"
! !
Blackmore hears a certain man call out his Stand's name and before his eyes, multiple green and white tendrils slithered out from the humanoid Stand's chest below him quickly, who hovered in between the injured group beforehand. The tendrils proceed to latch on anything as long as it has something to grab on, before all tendrils grab one end of each rope or the rope itself to create a cover that prevents any rain from entering. This process repeated for every space and tendril until eventually, a dome-shaped barrier covered all of his targets.
"…So he tried protecting his friends by creating a barrier to cover the rain. Hmph, how touching... and foolish." Raising his hand, Blackmore made the rain sharper above and around him, before exclaiming, "Let's see if your barrier can hold up against the rain…"
The rain fell against the barrier and Blackmore could only just stand and watch as the barrier was torn apart, killing the occupants inside…
ドバァァッ
!?
"What?!"
Emeralds shot out from the barrier's exposed green skin to deflect the rain and give the barrier extra protection. Blackmore was certainly not expecting him to come up with this strategy. But he composed himself before declaring, "So you thought the barrier would just shoot out emeralds in vain hope of keeping the rain off of it?! Let's see if it can produce enough emeralds against a thousand raindrops! Catch the Rainbow!"
Blackmore never let up the barrage of rain targeting the barrier, and so, raindrops and emeralds continue to slice and deflect each other, with the barrier only has a minor damage from stray raindrops whole Blackmore dodges or deflects stray emeralds hurled in his way.
Inside the barrier…
"Everyone, are you all right? I apologize for taking so long to arrive!"
Kakyoin tried not to wince at the sight of his friends' wounded states inflicted by Blackmore. He never thought the enemy would get so far in manipulating the rain to slash their bodies by giving them a shower. If he had taken so long to get here, then they would all be dead
"Oh no… I didn't expect he would hurt you all so badly."
Sakura has a sympathetic look on all of them, wanting to avert her eyes off of them so she does not see the blood flow from their many wounds. She can tell they are barely enduring the pain, with Bucciarati, Gyro, Saki, and Yugiri nursing or comforting everyone to slightly ease their pain. She never declined a chance to ease anyone's pain; she looked after Junko and Ai, both of whom were happy for her attempt to comfort them.
Instead of answering Kakyoin, everyone aside from Junko turned to Sakura in surprise, confusion and wonder because she's the only one who didn't turn human. Some of them, like Gyro, Ai, Lily and Saki, seem to envy her because she is lucky to only feel pain but not get fatally injured at all.
"Uhhh Sakura, why did you remain as a zombie? I expected ya to become defenseless as a normal human." Saki asked her.
"Well, I wish I had an answer for it, but I'm as stumped as you are," Sakura sighed. "I don't know why I was excluded while all of you became humans, but I believe finding that out will be difficult considering we are in the middle of a fight here."
"Tsk! Yeah… Dealin' with an enemy Stand? Sure, I can handle surviving or escaping from it. But having to confront a second one? No thanks! I have enough Stands for one night!"
"…Second enemy Stand?" Sakura repeated.
"Are you saying… Bucciarati's group and Johnny's group got ambushed by separate enemy Stands?" Kakyoin guessed.
"That's right, Kakyoin," Avdol nodded, bearing a large bleeding wound on his chest as well as small ones in his hands, face and legs. "Bucciarati and I faced and defeated a tornado Stand. It gave us a chase before we killed it."
"And I have to deal with an angry Italian man with a suit that freezes anything he touches!" Johnny told him, holding a large wound on the side of his abdomen. He is lucky to not get stabbed on the main body part, otherwise he would be in agonizing pain. "We have just defeated him when Blackmore appeared to take his spot and forced us into a fight against him!"
"I see. I never expected three fights to occur all at once," grimaced Kakyoin. "Me and Narancia should've killed off our opponent and not let all of you share our struggle against him. And because of that, it caused you all to get seriously injured."
"Your concern is touching, but don't blame yourself, Kakyoin. What mattered most of all is we have to stop the enemy," Bucciarati reassured him, standing up slowly with the intent of seeing this through to the end. "I can see you are now struggling to keep the barrier stable as it is continuously getting attacked by Blackmore's raindrops and you yourself are getting small wounds on your hands."
He's not wrong, as Kakyoin looks at his hands, which are getting slowly riddled with cuts. It is not painful for him, but it will be uncomfortable if this continues. "I have used Hierophant Green to create a barrier of membranes that can shoot emeralds against the rain. It is a desperate move to cover and protect all of you from the enemy's attacks, but we have to act now before the rain becomes too much for my Stand."
"That's right! We have to defeat the enemy before Kakyoin is overwhelmed!" Sakura said. She knows she's not gonna enjoy not getting soaked from the rain as long as the barrier is up. At this moment, they are rendered sitting ducks under the enemy's might.
"There is one problem though," says Gyro, forced to sit on the ground because his feet got wounded. "As long as there is rain for Blackmore, any attack we do to him will be nothing because he will just heal himself back up and continue. When Johnny and I defeated him back when we were in the race, the storm had let up, therefore Blackmore stayed dead for good."
"Oh? You two encountered him before?" Kakyoin inquired. A nod from Johnny confirms it.
"So the rain will nourish him again and again regardless of the damage we inflict on him? Dammit…" Narancia punches the ground in frustration, which only aggravates the wound on his hand, not that he cared. "It doesn't seem like the rain will stop anytime soon, continuing for the whole night, so my best bet is that we have to find a way to prevent the rain from falling on the enemy. Probably a cover placed on top of him could work."
A cover… Wait, that's it!
"Narancia! Thank you for proposing a strategy to us!" Kakyoin thanked him. "I think we do have a way to put Blackmore in the corner!"
"Huh? Really?" Narancia turned to him with a surprised look, certainly not expecting his idea would be accepted.
"Hmm… The rain does not fall upon us because of his barrier…" Yugiri noted, having received many large cuts on her arms and legs because she protected Lily earlier. "Ah! I believe Kakyoin-han's timely arrival is what we ｢needed｣!"
"Urrrrgghhhh…?" Tae groans in a confused tone, ignoring her bleeding hands and back.
"A-Are you sure the plan will work?" Junko asked, feeling tears threatening to spill from her eyes because of the stinging pain on her waist and ankle.
"It is a desperate move, but it's the only choice we have to stop Blackmore from using the rain to attack," admitted Kakyoin, determination steeling his eyes in anticipation of finally defeating Blackmore. "If I may, we have to discuss how the plan will go. Is that okay with you, Bucciarati-san?"
Zipper Man nodded in approval, as well as the rest of Rianima. "Very well. We will tell you what the other's Stands are and how they work. Now, what is your plan?"
To be continued