Chapter 436: Rainbow Catcher
[You couldn't tell whether the sudden appearance of the Devil's Palm here was a coincidence or if it had deliberately dragged you all inside. Moreover, when you approached the mountain wall earlier, you distinctly felt something merge into your left hand—yet, strangely, there wasn't a single wound on it.]
[Then, gazing at the raging icy rain before you, you realized that your injuries had somehow completely healed. Instinctively, you reached up and covered your face with the half-mask of the King of Lanling. In that instant, a strange resonance arose between you and the masked spirit floating behind you, and a name surfaced in your mind—Rainbow Catcher!]
[So this was the legendary power known as a Stand! The method of using it flashed through your mind—it allowed you to activate the Stand's ability by putting on the mask. You could halt the trajectory of falling raindrops, suspending them midair. Once under your control, these droplets became as solid as steel, strong enough to bear your weight and even let you step upon them. You could also forge the droplets into blades, and anyone attempting to pass through them would be torn apart and pierced through.]
[You could even merge completely with the rain, becoming as formless as water itself, slipping through or evading attacks at will. (You have acquired the special skill: Rainbow Catcher.)]
[Through the mask, you unleashed your Stand's power. The blue icy rain before you froze in midair. Then, with a light leap, you stepped onto the suspended raindrops, blending seamlessly into the downpour. Rainbow Catcher followed right behind you, its form concealed within the rain. When you revealed yourself again, a flash of brilliant sword light gleamed—your blade slid quietly back into its sheath, and the icy blue spirit in the air was cleanly pierced through, silently dissolving into nothingness! (You have earned the achievement: Invisible Dog.)]
[The storm subsided. Feeling the immense power coursing through you, you couldn't help but marvel. With your newly awakened Stand, your already formidable physique had grown even stronger—now, you were no weaker than the powerful Heroic Spirits you once encountered.]
[But then you noticed your left palm beginning to crack open. The wound was large, yet you felt no pain. Moments later, the skin and flesh split apart, and a mummified hand made entirely of bone fell from within your own, radiating a faint, holy light!]
[Soon after, your hand returned to normal. Beneath the skin, faint traces of bone shimmered for a moment before everything settled again. Yet you could clearly sense it—there was another left hand hidden within your own. If your instincts were correct, this mummified hand had granted you a strange divinity. Among Heroic Spirits, divinity meant access to various supernatural abilities and growth beyond mortal limits. You have obtained a Saint's Corpse (Left Hand).]
[Silently, you lowered your left hand. You noticed Bruce Wayne and George Washington both watching you closely. You could also sense that Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando—who had been dragged into this place as well—had each awakened Stand abilities of their own. Moreover, there seemed to be yet another Stand user lurking nearby.]
[Just as you expected, Jonathan Joestar and Dio reacted like born enemies the moment they saw each other, instantly drawing their weapons. A purple Stand appeared before Jonathan, while a golden spirit loomed behind Dio.]
[Meanwhile, the terrain within the Devil's Palm had begun to shift—mountains were rising, the ground was sinking, and the hoofprints left behind were vanishing rapidly. George Washington galloped up and urged everyone to move. He'd ventured into the Devil's Palm once before and knew how it constantly reshaped itself, with its climate changing every moment. If you didn't get out quickly, you'd soon lose all sense of direction—and perhaps never find the water source again.]
[On the way out, you found Wally West inside a wrecked vehicle, his body pierced by a sword—he was the Stand user who had been ambushing you all along!]
[After some hesitation, you decided to carry him out of the Devil's Palm. You could kill him later if you must, but to abandon a dying man—that crossed your line. Along the way, you encountered hundreds of other contestants who had also stumbled into the Devil's Palm, perhaps proving what Washington said: the Palm chooses people on its own.]
[Roughly 800 riders had taken the desert-crossing route, yet nearly 500 of them were eliminated inside the Devil's Palm. Hundreds more had perished there.]
[When you finally burst out of the Devil's Palm in first place, the northern Arizona state border and Monument Valley were less than 25 kilometers away. Wally West awoke in shock, but when he realized that you had actually saved him, he fell silent.]
[He confessed quietly that he'd joined this race on behalf of his church—to collect something… something like a corpse. They called it the Saint's Corpse. Its traits mirrored those of the Devil's Palm—it chose its own wielder.]
[Since there were so many participants, someone among them was bound to be chosen by the Corpse. To increase his chances, his church ordered him to eliminate as many rivals as possible.]
[The Saint's Corpse? Your mind immediately went to the mysterious hand that had fused into your left arm. It not only granted you divinity, but also awakened your Stand. Without a doubt, this must be part of the Saint's Corpse.]
[But what puzzled you most was—whose corpse was it? Why had it chosen you? As Wally West had said, if one could gather all the other pieces, it might be possible to reconstruct the full mummified body. What would happen then—to the one who possessed the complete, power-laden corpse?]
[Monument Valley lay ahead. To your surprise, you didn't take first place this time—Diana had taken a shortcut, crossing the finish line on foot to claim first. You arrived second, Bruce Wayne third. Behind him were Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando, who had chosen the same straight path as you. Joker Knight, unfortunately, broke his bicycle chain and lost precious time, finishing seventh.]
[Upon arriving at Monument Valley, you were granted a night's rest. That evening, the billionaire sponsor of the race, Lex Luthor, arrived once again and hosted a banquet, using the opportunity to inquire about what had transpired within the Devil's Palm.]
[Then it finally dawned on you—Lex Luthor's true purpose for organizing this grand race was also to obtain the Saint's Corpse. The question now was—would Bruce Wayne and George Washington help you keep this secret?]
[Faintly, you could already sense danger drawing near.]
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