Unable to escape under the influence of Gold Experience Requiem.
Both Green Day and Grateful Dead are area-of-effect, continuous-attack Stand types. The longer you stay within their range, the more damage you suffer.
What's more, they were also empowered by Dio's black light.
Uchiha Madara reacted instantly. He immediately activated Susanoo, protecting himself and the companions beside him within Susanoo's interior to isolate them from contact with the mold and aging poison gas.
At the same time, Madara clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence."
The ground split apart as countless tree trunks and branches appeared out of thin air, forming an entire forest in a short time.
Madara had no intention of using Deep Forest Emergence to attack. Even Ryosuke had to stop his thinking entirely to deal with this enemy, Wood Release alone was useless.
Madara simply wanted to muddy the waters and take the chance to withdraw from the battlefield.
However...
Reset to zero again.
Deep Forest Emergence and Susanoo vanished into thin air.
The mold and aging toxins invaded their bodies. Hot Pants couldn't help but cough violently. When she spread her hand, she saw that one of her teeth had actually fallen out just like that.
Using the blood in her palm, she saw that in such a short time, half her hair had already turned white. She now looked like an old woman in her fifties or sixties.
With Hot Pants' mental toughness, even if the enemy slashed her with a blade, she wouldn't be afraid.
But aging was different.
This was what women feared the most.
Hot Pants instinctively threw the fallen tooth away.
While the tooth was "falling," Green Day's mold activated. Before it could hit the ground, it was completely corroded midair and vanished.
The scene was far too horrifying. Hot Pants lost her footing and was about to collapse to the ground when a pair of hands gently supported her.
It was Ryosuke.
He halted his thinking.
On one hand, given the current situation, with Gold Experience Requiem present, the squad members couldn't possibly withstand the enemy's combo attacks.
The other reason was...
Hot Pants stared blankly at Ryosuke.
"You… are you glowing?"
It wasn't Ryosuke's charm attribute activating. Not only Hot Pants noticed, everyone did. Ryosuke's skin was emitting a soft, shimmering glow.
"Is this the power of the Saint's Corpse?"
A black sphere of light appeared once more in Giorno's palm as he carefully sensed it.
"No, it's different… this power comes from Ryosuke himself, from..."
Giorno suddenly twisted his head toward Grateful Dead and instantly understood. It was aging… or more precisely, the power of growth.
Ryosuke was an Ultimate Lifeform whose body and spirit had broken through biological limits, standing at the very pinnacle of all life.
Through reprogramming his genes, in theory, as long as he didn't step onto an incorrect evolutionary path, such as the "vegetative state" caused by Wonder of U, Ryosuke could evolve infinitely.
The upper limit of this evolution surpassed even the first Ultimate Lifeform, Kars.
Because even Kars had never obtained the genes of the Otsutsuki clan.
The only thing limiting Ryosuke was time.
Judging by an Ultimate Lifeform's lifespan, Ryosuke didn't even count as a child, he was merely a newborn, less than a few minutes old.
But Grateful Dead was accelerating Ryosuke's growth.
Ryosuke had advanced from childhood into youth.
Every single one of his cells was releasing endless change, while projections of the past continuously poured energy into him.
That was why Ryosuke was radiating light.
Ryosuke floated in midair.
Rings of light spread outward from him. The world seemed to dim in comparison, he alone stood at its center.
Ryosuke looked beyond the street they were on. The aging virus had a limited range and was confined to the immediate area, but Green Day's mold had already spread outward.
Screams and wails echoed from afar. Listening to them, Ryosuke felt both rage and sorrow.
Rage, naturally directed at Dio and his subordinates.
Sorrow, because if they truly defeated Giorno and restored his consciousness, with Giorno's kind nature, seeing this scene would fill him with unbearable guilt.
With that thought, Ryosuke looked at Giorno.
His gaze froze Giorno for half a second. Then black light flashed over Giorno's body as he regained his cold expression, raised his hand, and pointed at Ryosuke, about to activate reset.
The light rings behind Ryosuke flickered for an instant, like a faulty bulb, then stabilized again.
'Unable to reset?!'
'Again!'
Giorno couldn't understand it and blurted out instinctively, "What method did you use?!"
Ryosuke hadn't used any method.
Not long ago, he had already admitted that all his techniques had lost their effect against Gold Experience Requiem.
That was why Ryosuke resorted to "stopping his thinking," the dumbest, most brute-force method imaginable.
Now, Ryosuke was using another brute-force method.
His growth had indeed been reset to zero.
However, unlike normal organisms, the "growth" of an Ultimate Lifeform was evolution at the genetic level.
It was like resetting both an athlete and a scholar back to kindergarten.
The athlete's bones and muscles would have to be rebuilt from scratch.
But the scholar's knowledge would always remain in the brain. The evolved genetic sequence was the most precious thing.
Gold Experience Requiem could reset results, but it couldn't reset memory.
The moment Gold Experience Requiem reset Ryosuke's physical body, Ryosuke could "take another step," using the unimaginable evolutionary speed of an Ultimate Lifeform to read genetic sequences, remodel his cells, and instantly return his body to its peak.
With such an overwhelmingly powerful body, and with enemy reinforcements present, Ryosuke had no choice but to fight again.
But this time, it would never be as powerless as before.
Clap! Clap!
White Snake appeared, clapping its hands.
"Brothers, get fired up! Kill him!"
With that order, within the range of the Civil War, mountains of corpses and seas of blood emerged. Endless dead, as far as the eye could see, charged toward Giorno under Ryosuke's control.
Among them, the most eye-catching were four white figures.
Otsutsuki Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Isshiki, and Toneri.
Toneri, who once sought to create absolute darkness and seal away humanity's light, had recently reached the sun and plunged straight into it, becoming a member of the Civil War's summoned squad.
Reset to zero.
All summoned dead vanished.
Thunder roared in the sky as hundreds of silver-white bolts struck down.
Reset to zero.
A steel ball flew in from behind.
Reset to zero.
Endless attacks, none could land on Giorno. Gold Experience Requiem's fists still struck Ryosuke as usual. It looked like Giorno was suppressing Ryosuke, yet…
Giorno felt as though he was slowly being suffocated.
Unease sprouted in his heart.
He couldn't understand where this unease came from, until he saw Ryosuke's eyes.
Pitch-black pupils filled with chilling calm.
Like a silent, abyssal deep sea.
Giorno suddenly threw a punch, blasting Ryosuke away. When he saw the wound left by that punch, he finally understood why he felt uneasy.
Even if Giorno could reset all of Ryosuke's attacks, defenses, and evasions, even if he could make Ryosuke "forever unable to achieve the reality of wound healing,"
With Gold Experience Requiem's power and speed, he still couldn't kill Ryosuke in a short time.
This was the Ultimate Lifeform in its youth form.
Purely in terms of physical defense, even without Hamon, the current Ryosuke already surpassed Otsutsuki Isshiki.
After all, Gold Experience Requiem's greatest strength lay in defense. Its destructive power couldn't compare to purely offensive Stand abilities like The World Over Heaven, Killer Queen, or Tusk Act 4.
Giorno abruptly turned his head and glanced at Prosciutto.
If black light weren't also coiling around him, Giorno would've thought he was a spy sent by Ryosuke.
Father Pucci had dispatched these two after careful planning. Through the calamity divine tree's surveillance, they knew Ryosuke possessed healing potions.
Those might counter mold, but they couldn't counter aging.
Because aging wasn't a disease or symptom; it was a natural biological process. Grateful Dead merely accelerated it.
No one expected Ryosuke to turn the enemy's ability against them and achieve a leap in power.
The more Giorno fought, the stronger the unease grew.
Suddenly, as if making a decision, he drastically increased his attack frequency. The two clashed repeatedly, constantly changing positions, until Gold Experience Requiem threw its final punch.
Ryosuke slammed heavily into a narrow alley.
Gold Experience Requiem appeared behind him half a second later, about to attack again.
But Ryosuke didn't move.
Gold Experience Requiem's fist stopped one centimeter from Ryosuke's neck, also failing to land.
Giorno asked, "Why didn't you dodge?"
Ryosuke asked back, "Why didn't you strike?"
The two understood each other without words. Neither answered.
Ryosuke looked at a mailbox ahead. Past it, a short distance forward, was the main road, with a convenience store on the right.
This wasn't the timeline of Golden Wind at all.
This was Morioh, from Diamond Is Unbreakable.
Because he'd been ambushed by Giorno the moment he arrived, and because Gold Experience Requiem was so terrifying, all his attention had been focused on the battle, causing him to overlook the surroundings.
No, maybe even noticing wouldn't have helped.
Mailboxes, convenience stores, the entire route he'd taken, there was no Japanese text anywhere, only Italian or English. Clearly, this was a trap set in advance.
Nearby residents had already been evacuated.
It was all to lure Ryosuke into a dead-end alley at a stalemate, trigger the rules, and cause death.
Giorno hadn't attacked earlier either, afraid that hitting too hard would knock Ryosuke out of the alley's range. So he feinted attacks, trying to lure Ryosuke into turning around on his own.
"Very sharp observation. Even while fighting me, you had time to observe architectural styles?" Giorno asked.
There were indeed differences between Morioh's buildings and Italy's.
Ryosuke shook his head slightly.
Architectural style… he truly hadn't had the spare attention for that.
He had heard the wails from afar.
"The people who died to Green Day's mold, their cries before death… were in Japanese."
Giorno, "..."
Grateful Dead allowed Ryosuke to evolve.
Green Day exposed the biggest trap.
Giorno couldn't help but wonder whether these two were really here to help him.
Ryosuke ignored Giorno's thoughts and stepped toward the alley exit. But just as he took one step, he sensed a familiar life signal behind him.
"Ryo… suke…"
The voice of elderly Joseph came through.
It was that seventy-nine-year-old Joseph who had ridden a motorcycle with Ryosuke and taken down Yoshikage Kira.
Giorno held elderly Joseph by the back of the neck with one hand.
"If I learned anything from the priest, from my father, it's that to achieve your goal, you must use any means necessary. Only then can you become an eternal victor."
"Turn around, Ryosuke, or else..."
Giorno pressed a hand atop Joseph's head, about to force him to turn around little by little.
At the same time, he whispered into Joseph's ear, "Quick, beg Ryosuke for help. As long as he turns around, you'll live."
"R-really? I'll live?" Joseph asked.
"Yes. Really. I promise."
A glimmer of youthful sharpness returned to Joseph's cloudy eyes. He shouted toward Ryosuke's back, "Come save me! You idiot! I'm about to die, hurry up and trade your life for mine!"
Joseph knew Ryosuke's personality well.
If he told Ryosuke to leave, Ryosuke would never go.
So he did the opposite, hoping Ryosuke would abandon him in disgust.
Joseph was already old, so old he needed a cane just to walk. Letting Ryosuke leave the enemy's trap was the last thing he could do.
Perhaps Ryosuke would see through his little trick.
But…
They were all adults. If there was a way out, they'd take it without saying anything.
No one would blame Ryosuke.
"Go, Ryosuke. Go," Joseph prayed.
The next second, Ryosuke suddenly turned and charged over.
Indeed, no one would blame him.
Except Ryosuke himself.
Pitch-black arms emerged from the void, grabbing Ryosuke's body.
A golden light erupted.
The Saint's Corpse was dispelling evil spirits.
"WRYYYYYY!!!"
Giorno let out Dio's signature mad laugh as Gold Experience Requiem tried to reset the Saint's Corpse's power, unable to fully reset it, but weakening it to the extreme.
Evil spirit arms and Gold Experience Requiem's fists fell together, dragging Ryosuke little by little toward the endless abyss.
At the final moment, Ryosuke grabbed elderly Joseph and hurled him far away.
In that direction, Uchiha Madara and the others were rushing over.
They had just killed Cioccolata and Prosciutto and were coming to reinforce.
"It's useless," Giorno said. "After you die, I'll kill them too. All of you will die."
In response, Ryosuke spread his hand.
A steel ball was spinning.
Cavalry Spin.
Giorno understood.
This was a Cavalry Spin Ryosuke created using Giorno's own power. One question stood before him...
If he reset it, his attack on Ryosuke would vanish as well, allowing Ryosuke to break free from the evil spirit arms.
If he didn't reset it, the Cavalry Spin would be fired.
Giorno hesitated for only half a second before choosing to give up.
At the final moment before being dragged into darkness, Ryosuke sent the Cavalry Spin flying toward Giorno.
Infinite Spin clashed with the impossible-to-achieve.
All of Gold Experience Requiem's abilities were nullified in that instant.
Giorno could only watch as Uchiha Madara and the others escaped with elderly Joseph, leaving his field of vision.
———
Josuke Higashikata was slung over Madara's shoulder, held down tightly as he shouted in dissatisfaction, "Why didn't you let me attack Giorno?!"
"Didn't you see Gold Experience Requiem's power get canceled by the Cavalry Spin? That was our chance!"
Madara said calmly, "You would've been beaten to death."
"How do you know?"
Madara lightly tapped his spinning Amenominaka. "I just know."
"Besides, with Ryosuke's methods, he has countless ways to save someone without turning around."
With the physique of an Ultimate Lifeform, Ryosuke could move his joints backward, or even pass his eyeballs through his brain to the back of his head.
Madara glanced back toward the battlefield.
"I was the one who made Ryosuke turn around."
"Because only there is there a chance to win, and to reclaim the real Giorno Giovanna."
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