A strange cold wind blew into the alley, caressing Giorno Giovanna's skin. He could feel the chill rising, raising goosebumps.
Giorno was somewhat puzzled, even finding Johnson Joffrey's actions quite perplexing.
"Hand her directly to me?"
"[As long as you guarantee her survival, that's all.]"
"Go see Diavolo's true face."
"Johnson Joffrey," Giorno Giovanna called his name and said, "You should know that not everything will go as expected. Are you not going to discuss handing Trish over to me with your companions?"
"No need," Johnson Joffrey shrugged. "You're my brother, you should know that."
"We both come from the same father," Johnson Joffrey said. Telling Giorno about DIO didn't really offer him any particular benefit; it was purely based on Johnson Joffrey's intuition.
He just found it interesting. If Giorno knew everything, how would the entire JoJo story change? After all, he was probably the one with the fewest connections to the other JoJos.
The reason might be his Gold Experience Requiem, which modifies human reality. It's like hands reaching out from hell, dragging people into an endless cycle of reincarnation.
Too powerful—
So much so that the story couldn't progress.
"But now it's another story," Johnson thought. This was a phrase he often said.
Because this was Johnson Joffrey's story.
"My father, do you know who he is?" Johnson Joffrey said indifferently, his tone carrying an indescribable coldness that made Giorno feel strange.
He was a guy who dared to make his own judgments, never influenced by external factors, but even in this situation, he was somewhat confused. A contradictory feeling gradually arose within him.
On one hand, there was the blood connection; on the other, Johnson Joffrey's inherent evil.
Perhaps Johnson didn't know that his [Best Villain Charm Unlimited] skill had a stronger Clash on more sensitive, meticulous people. People would, more or less, make unusual judgments and reactions due to this Clash.
Of course, when this feeling reached its peak, it would show the opposite effect.
For example, DIO's own charm first instilled fear, but when that fear reached its peak, the opposite situation would occur.
The outcome varied from person to person.
Johnson Joffrey no longer paid much attention to his [Best Villain Charm Unlimited] skill.
"Being a bad guy isn't so bad."
"Do you know? Our father, his name."
"That's also why I've been pursuing you until now."
"His name is DIO, a vampire, killed by a man named Kujo Jotaro."
Indeed, Giorno Giovanna's pupils widened slightly. He had imagined his father might be a complete villain, but he hadn't expected such a surreal answer.
Johnson Joffrey was definitely not joking. "I'm the son of a vampire?"
"That vampire died in 1989. I know almost everything about him; you can ask me anything." Johnson Joffrey shrugged, his tone carrying a smile and ease, without a hint of killing intent.
This was not quite what Giorno had in mind; he had already prepared for fratricide.
He pondered for a moment, then asked, "What year were you born?"
"1984. You were 1985. When we were born, DIO was not yet dead. We stayed at his base in Egypt until Jotaro killed him, and then our mothers escaped."
"Our two mothers might have known each other, but my mother is already dead."
Giorno held Trish, looking down at her in his arms, and said, "I think I understand. No matter who you are, I promise you this."
"While uncovering the Boss's true identity, I will not let him die," Giorno Giovanna said solemnly.
He still remembered playing the game eyes of heaven, where whenever Giorno appeared and encountered someone related to DIO, he would ask about DIO. Although games don't count, from Giorno's personality, he should indeed have some feelings for DIO.
Those feelings must have been complex yet simple.
Complex in not knowing how to face a devil-like father and the pain of having such a father; simple in that it was merely the yearning of a boy lacking a father's love for his father.
"I beg you, she is a very pitiful girl. She has never seen her father," Johnson Joffrey said, with a hint of regret in his tone, which was even more surprising than learning his father was DIO.
"By the way, just say you defeated me to get Trish. This is our agreement as brothers," Johnson Joffrey said, in a contradictory manner, exuding the charm of a villain but insisting on using the tone of a friendly older brother.
It seemed a bit awkward.
"Please, don't talk to me in that tone," Giorno said, frowning.
——
"Mista, did you hear me?" Bucciarati called out loudly, his voice echoing deeply in the slums.
Mista occupied a high vantage point, every movement on the ground visible to him. He checked the time, wondering if Johnson and Giorno had finished their discussion.
Johnson was too daring; why would he give Trish to them?!
"Mista, we're making our move," Bucciarati suddenly said.
A glint flashed in Mista's eyes, but he quickly calmed down. He clenched his left hand; it had been swallowed during the fight with BIG. After Johnson stopped the bleeding, Melone made him a new arm, and the captain personally used his ability to help him reattach it.
The sound of a zipper came from the alley below, and Mista immediately raised his revolver and fired two shots at it—
Moody Blues!
Abbacchio's magnetic voice rang out. As Mista fired, he simultaneously used his Moody Blues to reverse a bullet. This bullet rushed towards Mista's position as if it had a life of its own.
"Bucciarati! Where is he?!" Abbacchio roared.
Mista's pupils dilated, and he immediately reacted. Number 3 shouted "Mista!" and instantly kicked the bullet from under his backside towards Moody Blues—
Sticky Fingers!
Bucciarati summoned his Stand, which he had prepared earlier, pulling up a layer of ground to block Number 3's bullet outside the turf.