Don't be fooled by how lively and fierce Ryosuke and Dio were fighting, ripping out hearts and tearing off heads and limbs.
The one who had the biggest impact on the battle in front of them was actually Father Pucci.
The key was time stop.
Ryosuke's time stop was 9.99 seconds.
Dio's time stop was 9 seconds.
A difference of 0.99 seconds, in the face of Ryosuke who now controlled the power of faith, would be infinitely magnified. In that short moment, it was even possible to completely kill Dio.
So Dio absolutely could not let Father Pucci die.
He had to maintain the continuous acceleration of Made in Heaven.
Jotaro had already fought his way to Pucci.
Now past forty, Jotaro was no longer the eighteen-year-old boy he used to be. His muscles had shrunk, and his mental will was a level lower than when he was young.
But his resolve burned even hotter.
Jotaro was mentally prepared to kill any enemy for the sake of victory.
He clenched his fist.
At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, Jotaro saw a flash of blades flying out. He turned his head and saw Dio with a twisted expression, enduring Ryosuke's punch as he threw the knives.
The knives were heading straight for Johnny.
Under the acceleration of Made in Heaven, the knives moved incredibly fast and reached Johnny in an instant.
In the current situation, unless Johnny had mastered intangibility, the only way to save him was time stop.
But the cooldown time of time stop was slightly different for the three of them.
Ryosuke and Dio were on the same level.
One was the ultimate lifeform.
The other had rewritten reality to make his body unbelievably powerful.
But Jotaro was just an ordinary middle-aged man who had gotten out of a hospital bed less than a day ago.
His time stop cooldown was slightly longer.
During the recent fight, Ryosuke and Dio had each used time stop once, and they were still in cooldown.
Now only Jotaro could use time stop.
Just like history that had replayed countless times in parallel worlds, Jotaro had to make a choice.
Give up the victory within reach to save his teammate... Or throw the fist he had tightly clenched?
Father Pucci smiled.
He knew Jotaro too well.
With Jotaro's character, he would definitely, "ORA!!!"
Star Platinum's fist smashed into Father Pucci's face.
"What?!"
His skull shattered on the spot. His vision went dark and blurry, and he lost feeling in his body.
If Pucci's arm and the reins of Made in Heaven had not been tightly bound together, allowing him to escape at the last second, the second punch would have killed him instantly.
Even now, he was close to death.
Father Pucci's mind went blank. His life slipped away together with the splattered brain matter.
He could not understand.
Jotaro had actually chosen not to save Johnny, and instead attacked to kill him?
In shock and confusion, Father Pucci roared as if in a final burst of life, "Because she's not your daughter, you've become cold-blooded?!"
"Jotaro, you bastard!"
"What do you think your companions are?!"
As Pucci shouted, he controlled Made in Heaven and rushed toward Dio.
Only Dio's reality overwrite could save him. At the same time, he looked toward Johnny, wanting to personally witness the moment Johnny was killed by the knives.
At the very last second before the knives pierced Johnny's chest, it was as if a rewind button had been pressed. They flew back along their original path.
Not just the knives.
Even Father Pucci, who was rushing toward Dio.
Everything failed to reach the reality they longed for.
"Th-this ability…"
Father Pucci's pupils shrank. His body trembled slightly. He suddenly turned his head and saw that Star Platinum had withdrawn from its Requiem state at some point.
Now appearing in the sky was, "Gold Experience Requiem!"
Giorno stood in the sky looking down at Father Pucci, his expression cold and stern.
"The 'reality' you long for will never come true."
How could Jotaro and Ryosuke possibly watch a companion die just to kill a single Father Pucci?
They had already received Giorno's information through the Saint's Corpse earlier.
Giorno had been lying in wait in the nearby mist, just to ambush Dio and Father Pucci at a critical moment.
In terms of priority, Gold Experience Requiem's return to zero was indeed one level lower than Dio's reality overwrite.
But that was based on close-range combat, fists clashing head-on.
Dio's most terrifying weapons were his hands.
The knives he threw were not outside the range of being reset to zero.
Father Pucci felt a chill run through his body. Following their gazes, Giorno, Jotaro, Weather Report, and Johnny all looked at the severely wounded and dying Father Pucci.
They were determined to kill him first.
But it was not an easy thing to do.
Because Father Pucci ran too fast.
If Giorno wanted to force Pucci into a reality where he could not escape, the price would be resetting Pucci's injuries at the same time.
Either let Pucci run toward Dio.
Or trap Pucci in place, keeping him in a half-dead state.
Giorno chose the latter.
The other three launched their attacks at Pucci.
But one figure was even faster than them.
Dio...
He could not allow Father Pucci to die. He even turned his back on Ryosuke, letting the Shattering Great Blade slash across his back, just to rush over and save him.
Seeing Dio approaching, joy appeared on Father Pucci's face as he reached out his hand toward Dio.
As long as their fingers touched, all of Pucci's injuries would heal.
Suddenly, Father Pucci sensed something slightly wrong. He searched desperately, and finally saw a pair of cold eyes behind Dio.
Ryosuke...
Like a vicious ghost, Ryosuke was pressed closely behind Dio, following him silently.
"Wait! Don't, don't come over!"
Father Pucci shouted.
But his voice was too weak under the thunder that filled the sky, and there was no extra time to explain anything.
Dio arrived in front of him.
In the next second, Ryosuke punched straight through Dio's heart.
Gold Experience Requiem wrapped around The World.
Just as Dio's finger was one final step away from touching Father Pucci, on the left and right.
Two Star Platinums appeared beside Father Pucci.
Pucci looked left and right, his eyes filled with shock.
Was it Ryosuke's Star Platinum going to beat him?
Or Jotaro's Star Platinum?
It couldn't be…
Both Star Platinums grinned at the same time, clenching their fists one finger at a time.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
Hundreds of fists rained down like a storm. With the final punch, Pucci was blasted high into the air.
Weather Report, who had been waiting for a long time, looked coldly at this "brother," and slightly raised his right hand.
"Go to hell, bastard!"
Weather Report brought his hand down, and a bolt of lightning fell, completely blasting Pucci's body apart.
[Father Pucci: Completely dead]
[Corrupted soul +1]
Giorno took out the Saint's Corpse previously used to travel between worlds and handed it to Ryosuke. Inside it was also a corrupted soul.
It belonged to Funny Valentine.
Ryosuke did not ask what had happened in between. He nodded and put away the Saint's Corpse.
Total Saint's Corpse pieces: 8.
Corrupted souls: 35.
Ryosuke took a deep breath, glanced sideways at Dio, and said softly, "Next, it's your turn."
Dio subconsciously stepped back half a step. Since the battle began, fear rose in his heart for the first time.
He suddenly shouted toward the tree branches spread across the sea of mist, "Crash! Smash into it for me!"
"Don't worry about whether the Calamity Divine Tree is mature or not. Smash that damned world apart right now!"
As Dio spoke, he raised his right hand as if grabbing a kite string, and pulled hard.
The eight JOJO spaces scattered deep within the sea of mist slowly began to move.
Then came... Acceleration, charge.
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