"Scary Monsters, huh?"
We were surrounded by creatures that should have been extinct—dinosaurs. I wanted to believe some lab had resurrected them using DNA from fossils, but I knew it couldn't be that simple.
"Is one of those your friend, You?"
"Yeah. I think so... but when I saw him today, he told me to get away from here right away. But that's weird, isn't it? He shouldn't have to..."
Even after being turned into a dinosaur, his consciousness remained. The user of the Stand, Scary Monsters, must have transformed the animals living in this park into dinosaurs after You left yesterday and before we arrived.
I have no idea what their goal is, but there are too many possibilities to narrow it down. The three of us, excluding You, are at a loss.
"U-um..."
"Hm? What's wrong, Kirin?"
"C-could you please put me down...!"
"Ah, right."
I crouched down and set the two of them on the ground, but I didn't loosen the arm I had around their waists.
"...Huh?"
"Sho, are you harassing us even now?"
"No, I'm not. We can't move."
The creatures transformed by Scary Monsters only recognize things that are moving, so we'll be okay if we stay still. If they were to actively target us, it would likely mean the Stand user saw us.
"Looks like we're okay..."
"Yeah."
The dinosaurs, which had been surrounding us a moment ago, began to move in all different directions, as if they couldn't see us at all.
"What do we do? Just stay still like this?"
"I don't like that idea."
The nasty thing about Scary Monsters is that any creature injured by a dinosaur also turns into a dinosaur. Humans are no exception.
"It's still early morning, but if we just stand around and do nothing, people are going to get hurt."
When the sun rises, people will start coming to the park, and the dinosaurs won't overlook them.
"We have to defeat them before that happens."
I pulled out the Gashat Gear Dual. If I transform, at least those painful-looking fangs won't be able to hurt me.
"...You, is that okay?"
"...Yeah, it's fine."
I explained the situation and asked You for permission. You can hear the voices of animals. Even without that, one of his friends is in that group. It hurts to see animals killed, but for You, it's on a different level.
"This is troublesome, Yozuki Sho. Very troublesome."
I hadn't sensed his presence. Suddenly, he was just standing there. He wasn't human, but he was someone I didn't want to see.
"Whitesnake!"
"It's been a while, Yozuki Sho."
The unsettling aura of the Stand, Whitesnake, stood before us.
I had no idea why he was showing up at this exact moment, but I could guess a few things.
One, he might be the one who made someone manifest Scary Monsters.
Two, he might be working with the Scary Monsters user.
Three, we probably can't just stand here and do nothing anymore.
"Tusk!"
I changed my plan. I couldn't fight Whitesnake with Paradox, not a chance. I immediately fired my fingernail bullets in a preemptive strike.
"GYAAAAAAAAAA!"
My movement made the dinosaurs target me.
"Sorry..."
Kirin's swift slash severed a dinosaur's neck. Einhart and You also began to fight back, making sure not to get hurt.
"Hmm, a good position. This is where I want you."
Whitesnake took out several Discs and threw them at the dinosaurs.
Just then, a crack spread across the ground, starting from where we were standing.
"What?!"
In the next moment, the ground beneath us crumbled, revealing a massive hole. The pieces of earth were too neatly shaped to have broken naturally. He must have used the dinosaurs to activate some kind of mechanism.
We fell into the dark hole.
----------
"Where are we? Einhart, do you know?"
I called out to Einhart, the only one I could see. Some dinosaurs fell with us, separating us from the other two.
"I think this is the ballast area."
"Ballast area?"
"This is a Mega Float, so they use water as ballast to maintain balance."
"I see. In that case, there should be an entrance for inspections, right?"
I looked around the dimly lit, seemingly endless space.
Plop. I heard the sound of water.
"!"
We tensed up and got ready.
"Yozuki-senpai! Are you okay!?"
Kirin swam out from behind a pillar that was sticking out of the water. Judging by how she was moving her arms and legs, she wasn't injured anywhere. We fell from a pretty high place, so I was worried.
"Yeah, you look fine, too. For now, let's find a place to get out of the water."
"Okay!"
"Right."
We're soaked, and our clothes are transparent, so we need to get dry. I can't help what I'm seeing.
It seems we need a small boat to get around this flooded area. There was a makeshift dock and a small shack nearby, like a relay station.
I'll have them wait here and go look by myself. I don't want to leave them, but they probably wouldn't be much help in a fight, and swimming would use up too much energy... wait, wasn't Kirin unable to swim?
"Einhart! Get away from Kirin!"
"Huh?!"
Einhart stood there, looking completely bewildered. At my words, Kirin's expression, no longer needing to pretend, became a cold, iron mask, a look I had never seen on her before.
"This Stand is quite useful."
Whitesnake pulled a Disc from his head and muttered.
----------
Whitesnake
A Stand that appears in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Part 6, Stone Ocean. Its user in the original story is Enrico Pucci, but in this story, the user is the Dangerous Zombie user.
The Stand's form is a man wrapped in bandages like a mummy. The bandages are covered in alphabetic sequences of nucleic acids.
It's a cheating Stand that can fight a Close-Range Power type but can also travel a long distance. On top of that, the Stand itself has a will of its own and can attack accurately without the user's commands.
Its ability as a Stand is to create "Discs." It can touch an opponent and extract their memories or abilities, turning them into Discs. It can also insert a Disc with a specific command into an opponent, forcing them to follow it. Of course, the person loses the memories or abilities that were taken. If a Stand Disc is inserted, the person can use that Stand if they have the aptitude for it. (In the original story, the Stand can perfectly mimic others' appearances, but in this story, we'll say it used a Disc from a Stand with a disguise ability, as its power is too different otherwise.)
"USHOOOOAAAAAHH!"
I instinctively shielded Einhart and stepped forward to block Whitesnake's barrage. At the same time, I used my dominant right arm to protect my body.
But such a flimsy shield was useless. The moment he touched me,
"I've touched you! Your Stand and memory Discs! They are mine now!"
Whitesnake's ability activated the moment he made contact.
If my Stand Disc is taken, I won't be able to use my Stand. If my memory Disc is taken, I'll be reduced to an infant-like state.
I knew that, of course. But this was the only way.
I feel weird saying this, but I'll say it anyway.
"Yare yare daze. You haven't touched me."
"Wha-what?! Y-you!"
I was holding the Space Caliber Super Cosmic Sword in my left hand. Its blade was covered in something sticky and red.
My blood. From when I cut off the lower half of my right arm.
I knew I couldn't let Whitesnake touch me. I'd known it before the fight even started. With him so close and having conveniently blocked my escape by targeting Einhart, he had cornered me.
To turn the tables in a situation like that, I had to do something he couldn't imagine.
No matter how skilled you are, once you achieve your goal, there is a momentary lapse in your focus.
Whitesnake's goal was to touch me and take my Stand Disc. The moment he touched me, he achieved half of his goal.
Whitesnake's barrage slowed. His ability wouldn't activate just by hitting my right arm, which I had cut off just before the attack landed.
"My Stand is still mine."
And in this desperate moment, I realized something else.
The rotation of the golden rectangle. Applying the rotation of a specific ratio found in nature to a Stand's ability.
Since I was given Tusk, this secret to rotation had been in the back of my mind, something I had been subconsciously using. Now, I finally understood it.
I burned the image of the golden rectangle from my memories into my mind, and carefully, yet quickly, I gathered the rotation energy in my fingertips.
My Stand's vision transformed into something mechanical.
----------
Tusk ACT2
An evolved version of Tusk's ability. It evolved after Sho fully understood the rotation of the golden rectangle. The fingernails now rotate like drills around his fingers, and their power has significantly increased. The rotational energy doesn't disappear immediately after impact but automatically tracks the target.
The disadvantage compared to ACT1 is that the fingernails regenerate more slowly, and he runs out of ammunition once he uses up the nails on both hands (and feet). The increased rotational energy also prevents him from using techniques like ricocheting off bullets to change their trajectory.
Drinking herbs speeds up the regeneration of his nails.
"Pay your respects, Whitesnake! This is a fingernail bullet from ACT2!"
I fired five fingernail bullets from my left hand. Kanzaki's gun-tech correction was applied to Tusk as well, and the bullets flew exactly where I intended.
A fingernail bullet from ACT2 can only be fired by applying the correct golden rectangle rotation while observing the scale of the golden rectangle. However, I have a perfect memory. I have a peculiar constitution where I never forget anything I've seen, no matter how insignificant. I can clearly recall the plants on the side of the road, and even the dogs and cats I've seen. Thanks to this, I can fire ACT2 anywhere.
"Gah, AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Large holes opened up in his arms, legs, and head. The rotational energy remaining in the holes moved toward the same target to finish it off.
"AAAAAAAHH!!!"
The rotational energy converged in the spot where a human heart would be, and Whitesnake disintegrated into pieces and disappeared.
The deconstructed Whitesnake also fell into the bottomless water.
"Phew... It really hurts!"
My right arm was gone from the elbow down. The cut-off part was lying there, but I wonder if I can reattach it. Kamijo's grows back, but I don't have Imagine Breaker.
"Yozuki-senpai! W-what did you do...!"
Einhart rushed over, her face pale.
To Einhart, I was just a crazy person who went wild and cut off his own arm out of nowhere. It hurt so much.
"Einhart, please don't hate me after this..."
"What are you talking about?!"
I was sure that when this was over, Einhart would never show her face in front of me again. That's what I'd do.
Stand battles look pretty ridiculous when you can't see the Stands.
"It's okay. You were fighting something, weren't you?"
"You don't have to lie to make me feel better."
"From Todo-san... I can't really describe it, but I felt there was something malicious. It's embarrassing to admit, but I was slow to realize it... I let them get behind me so easily."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You are a bit under-researched, Yozuki Sho."
"!"
Whitesnake was standing there, unscathed.
"What?!"
"Something's there!"
Einhart transformed into her adult mode and got into a fighting stance, but her posture was slightly off.
"In this world, a person who has reached a certain level of mastery can faintly sense the presence of a Stand. However—"
"HAAAAH!"
Einhart threw a punch, but it passed right through Whitesnake's body, and he didn't appear to take any damage.
"—they cannot see them or give them damage."
So this is this world's correction. Stands are a manifestation of strong willpower. It's not so strange that someone who can read killing intent or fighting spirit could sense them a little. Still, it's not that different from the original specs.
"Hmm. That woman, Einhart Stratos. To possess such power at her age that she can sense me... No wonder that man wants her."
"That man? The Scary Monsters user?!"
"Yes. A vampire named Vlad. He's a DNA freak. This time, he wants to collect the DNA of that girl and Todo Kirin."
"I see, it's all connected now. You talk a lot, don't you? Is this supposed to be my parting gift?"
"Exactly. You've already figured it out, haven't you?"
Indeed, the time he wasted by talking had given me the answer. The secret to Whitesnake being unharmed.
Damage to a Stand reflects on the user, and damage to the user reflects on the Stand. So, if that's the case...
"The user is immortal, so the Stand can't be damaged!"
Dangerous Zombie. That's the ability. An immortal ability with no limitations or drawbacks. A completely unfair cheat that nullifies damage.
It was, in effect, unbeatable.
"To evolve into ACT2 in this dire situation... and to cut off your own arm... You're a man who exceeds expectations. It's pathetic, really, that I've been so careless and suffered like this by acting separately from my user."
Whitesnake, who should have been dead, spoke with an air of complete composure. And why not? His user is immortal.
Even with ACT2's fingernail bullets, it's impossible to defeat him completely.
Checkmate. That's the only word for this situation.
"Hmm? What?"
Suddenly, Whitesnake started talking to someone other than us.
"What? Return at once? ...I understand. Has that vampire rebelled? I'll return immediately... Well, circumstances have changed. Quickly!"
I shot a bullet from ACT2.
"Quickly, what? Are you going to finish us off and return to your user? In that case, I'll resist for as long as I can."
"You... Fine, it's too much of a bother to displease that man. I'll follow his orders."
With that, Whitesnake disappeared, and I began to lose consciousness.
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