"Cough!!"
Riko, who had just been pierced through the chest by an arrow, coughed up blood and crouched down. There wasn't a lot of bleeding from the wound because the arrow that pierced her was plugging the hole.
But Riko felt a heat she'd never felt before. It was like her soul was taking on a physical form and leaving her body—the feeling of gaining a new power.
Before she knew it, the pain was gone and the wound had healed. She could feel the tangible heat becoming her own flesh and blood. The dizziness she had been feeling was also gradually subsiding.
Even those around her who couldn't see Stands understood. A Stand was about to be born.
Vlad wasn't about to let that happen.
A small dinosaur leaped out from the tall grass and pounced toward Riko.
"Hah!!"
Aria quickly moved to cover her. Two sabers trailed in the air, slicing the dinosaur apart. The brilliant swordplay was something the dinosaur, with its superior dynamic vision, couldn't avoid.
"Riko!! Don't just stand there, get up already!!"
"Shut... up...!"
Riko shook her head, trying to clear her distorted vision.
Seeing this, Vlad tried to intervene directly, but...
"I'm your opponent!!"
"You again. Even if you can react to the speed, your body can't keep up!!"
You blocked Vlad. The battle between the two, both using the dynamic vision of dinosaurs, was a stalemate. A normal fight, where they would both attack while dodging, would never end. With no time to spare, Vlad decided to forcefully break the deadlock.
He used his incredible regenerative ability as a shield to block the attacks.
(What?!)
Vlad was a little surprised by the unexpected weight of the kick he received. A kick that would normally feel like nothing now had enough power to send a definite shock through his blocking arm.
You had instantly changed her body weight to that of the heaviest animal stored in her Stand's Genome Tree. That's how she was increasing her attack power.
(This girl, she's grown in such a short time.)
While she was still no threat to him, he admired her quick adaptability.
However,
"You should have waited until you had grown a little more before coming to me."
He could respect her, but she was no threat.
A hand-sword, moving faster than the sound it made, closed in on You. She stared at the sharp claws approaching, unable to do anything.
Fresh blood scattered. But it wasn't from You's slender body. However, You's clothes were sticky with something red.
"..."
"Ah..."
Vlad was also overcome by a strange sensation. The attack was at a distance and speed that should have guaranteed a hit, yet it hadn't connected.
That was because Vlad's finger was gone.
Vlad's mind went blank for a split second, but he quickly retreated and glared at Riko. Something humanoid was visible behind Riko. It was, of course, Riko's Stand.
Something that didn't belong there was floating in the air. It was the kind of thing children play with in kindergarten or elementary school. Transparent spheres were floating around.
(Are those... bubbles?)
It was hard to believe a child was playing with bubbles in the middle of the night and they just happened to drift over. It was clearly a Stand ability.
As a test, he sent a small dinosaur toward a bubble floating like a sea mine. The bubble burst, and the dinosaur was deeply gouged. It was clear its life functions had stopped. It was also clear that a transparent sphere floating in the air had caused it.
Vlad narrowed his eyes as he opened and closed his hand, which was perfectly restored.
"I see, they explode. So your Stand's ability is to throw explosive bubbles, Fourth."
"..."
Riko remained silent.
"And the explosions can, to a certain extent, ignore the durability of flesh... This Stand is completely meaningless against me... but I do respect you a little, Fourth. You managed to successfully manifest a Stand. I'm relieved that useful blood didn't go to waste. I'll have him retrieve the Stand for me later."
"What did you say?"
"It's obvious, isn't it? Stand abilities are very powerful. They must be properly collected and put to effective use. However, they don't hold a candle to my Familiar. Not that you are worthy of them. No, my own Stand is far superior."
Vlad spoke with an air of complete confidence, as if he had another ace up his sleeve. He looked like there was no way he could lose.
"No, it's enough. That last injury is enough. Enough to bring us closer to victory."
"What did you say?"
Vlad didn't understand. The wound had healed perfectly. He didn't think he was wrong about Riko's Stand ability. And based on his understanding, he had determined it wasn't a problem. With his dinosaur's hyper-senses, he wouldn't lose track of the bubbles. What was enough? Why could she say they were closer to victory?
"Sheer Heart Attack."
"...Is that the name of your Stand?"
"No, it's not. The name of this guy standing next to me is Killer Queen."
---------
Killer Queen (Part 8)
A Stand that appears in Part 8 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (JoJolion). It has a humanoid shape with cat ears. Its ability is to fire explosive bubbles. In Part 4 terms, it's like the state when Stray Cat was combined with Killer Queen in the final battle.
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"Then what is Sheer Heart Attack?"
"Ha... Seriously, the story's different, Shou. Weren't you supposed to have only one ability per Stand? I never thought I'd be the exception."
"What are you talking about, Fourth?"
Vlad was growing irritated with Riko, who wouldn't get to the point. However, he didn't carelessly charge in. Vlad himself knew the power of Stands well. And the intuition from his Scary Monsters told him that Riko's words weren't a bluff.
"It's no use being cautious, Vlad. You're already finished."
"That's enough—!!"
Vlad suddenly couldn't speak. But it wasn't because someone had covered his mouth or because he had instinctively tried to dodge a surprise attack.
"—!! Gah!! Cough!!"
It was because blood was gushing out from his stomach with incredible force. Not only that, a warm liquid was soaking his clothes underneath.
Vlad collapsed in a pitiful heap. The green grass was quickly stained red. Who had attacked him, and how? A new question formed before he could even think about the first one.
"W-why won't my body heal!!"
Unbeknownst to him, all of his Magical Organs, the source of a vampire's regeneration, had ceased to function. His face turned pale at the realization.
"The Magical Organ. The source of a vampire's regeneration. It's certainly incredible, but it's just an organ. It's still a part of the body that gets blood pumped to it from the heart."
Riko slowly approached.
"When you got hurt a moment ago, I sent a large number of Sheer Heart Attacks—small bombs—into your blood vessels. After that, the Sheer Heart Attacks traveled through your defenseless veins and went... boom! It doesn't matter where the Magical Organs are. It seems your dinosaur's reflexes didn't work inside your body."
---------
Sheer Heart Attack (Part 8)
A second Stand that is a part of Killer Queen. Compared to the one in Part 4, it can be controlled with much greater precision. Its power level has a much wider range, from exploding blood clots in veins without damaging the vessel to pulverizing a ship.
---------
"Im-impossible!!"
"And I can't believe one of your Magical Organs was in your tongue. With a mouth that runs so much, I'm surprised you were able to hide it for so long."
The dinosaurs that had been running wild, unable to maintain their Stand form, began to return to their original appearance. Vlad's subordinate vampires, sensing defeat, either surrendered or fled.
"You underestimated humans too much. If you had used your Familiar from the start instead of just your Stand ability, you wouldn't have lost so easily."
Aria, who hadn't doubted their victory for a moment, put away her weapons and approached.
Even though he was barely alive due to his vampire life force, Vlad had lost too much blood and no longer had the energy to summon his Familiar.
The battle was decided.
"And one more thing I want to say," Riko told the fallen Vlad.
"Don't ever call me 'Fourth' again."
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