"In that case, I, Rudol von Stroheim, will take the first choice! JoJo, let me see whether you've truly grown into a worthy warrior!"
The Nazi officer Stroheim stepped forward first to issue a challenge, and the opponent he chose was none other than Joseph Joestar.
Joseph hesitated for a moment, then walked straight toward him.
"Stroheim! I'll make you realize just how wrong you are!"
"Human emotions are fascinating. They're the only reason we don't consider your species completely inferior."
Kars turned his gaze slightly. "Wamuu, go choose the opponent you desire."
"Thank you, Lord Kars. I've long been looking forward to this duel."
Wamuu twisted his neck and waist. His bones cracked in a series of sharp pops as he loosened up. When he finished stretching, his gaze slowly swept across the crowd—until it stopped on Ray Chu.
"Wait!"
A voice suddenly rang out from beside Ray Chu.
It was Caesar.
His eyes were fixed on the bone hook dangling from Wamuu's braided hair. His entire body trembled violently.
Then, in an instant, his expression went cold and calm.
He raised a hand and pointed straight ahead.
"I'll be your opponent."
"So it's you."
Wamuu clearly recognized the hot-blooded youth who had shouted earlier.
"If you fight me, you must be prepared to die."
At that moment, Lisa Lisa spoke up to caution him.
"Caesar, the aura surrounding this man is extremely powerful. You'll likely lose."
"When I was fifteen, I already died once."
Caesar didn't turn around as he spoke.
"I've lived ever since for one purpose—to completely eradicate the Pillar Men."
His eyes shone with unshakable resolve.
"Teacher, forgive my stubbornness this time. But this is my battle."
Lisa Lisa fell silent.
In the end, she chose not to stop him.
"Excellent spirit," Wamuu said. "You possess the resolve to kill me."
"Though I originally wished to challenge the strongest one there, it's clear you are also a formidable opponent."
He straightened, eyes gleaming.
"Caesar A. Zeppeli, was it? Today, I, Wamuu, will fight you to the death!"
Kars wore a faint, inscrutable smile at Wamuu's decision.
"An unexpected choice. But it is precisely because the future holds so many unknowns that it becomes interesting."
He glanced to the side.
"Esidisi, your turn. I suggest you choose that human woman."
"Yes! Lord Kars!"
Standing beside him with hands clasped behind his back, Esidisi suddenly opened his eyes wide and pointed across the hall.
"Though Lord Kars told me to pick the woman, I have my own pride."
His finger shifted.
"You, boy. I will kill you with my own hands and offer your life to Lord Kars."
"Oh? What an unexpected choice."
Kars chuckled lightly.
"It seems my predictions have failed every time today."
He turned his gaze toward Ray Chu.
"What will you choose? Of course, you also have the right to refuse."
Ray Chu said nothing.
Among the four Hamon warriors present, he was the strongest—and from the very beginning, the opponent he intended to face was Kars.
A hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.
Lisa Lisa.
She leaned close and whispered softly into his ear.
"Ray. Esidisi is the best choice. I need you to defeat your opponent as quickly as possible, then support the rest of us. Only that way can we ensure our final victory."
Without turning his head, Ray Chu replied quietly,
"Lisa Lisa, I can feel it. Among the three of them, Kars is the most dangerous."
"I know," she said calmly. "But don't underestimate your teacher."
"Though I don't have absolute certainty, I still have methods to hold Kars off until you come to support me."
"…Then, Lisa Lisa—please don't die."
After saying that, Ray Chu walked toward his opponent.
Amiens Cathedral consisted of three main halls, a vast cross-shaped transept, and a ring of seven small chapels forming the rear apse.
Ray Chu and Esidisi chose the cross-shaped central hall as their battlefield.
Silver moonlight streamed through the cathedral's stained-glass windows, scattering mottled colors across the floor. At the far end of the hall stood a statue of a saint, gazing down like a silent witness.
Outside the cathedral, bonfires roared to life with a booming whoosh.
Earlier that day, a group of Nazi soldiers who had arrived with Stroheim had refurbished the place. The space had been cleared and expanded; the tables and chairs that once filled the hall were removed, and braziers had been set up throughout the cathedral.
Now every one of them blazed with fire, illuminating the makeshift arenas like a gladiatorial ground.
Esidisi turned slightly sideways.
He raised both arms to shoulder height, flexing his biceps proudly.
"In my long life, I've encountered many who wield Hamon. Your kind's power is nothing special."
He grinned.
"You will be the two hundred and twenty-third Hamon user I've killed."
"Oh?"
Ray Chu tilted his head slightly.
"Then you'll be the second Pillar Man I've killed."
Esidisi snorted coldly, eyes narrowing.
"Human. I've heard you killed Santana in Mexico. You do have some skill."
"But perhaps that victory gave you the wrong idea."
His lips curled upward.
"That Pillar Men are nothing special."
"Do you have some other hidden ability?" Ray Chu asked casually.
Before a fight began, he had no objection to gathering a bit of intelligence.
Esidisi licked his lips.
Combined with his gleaming, oil-slick body, the gesture looked almost disturbingly flamboyant.
"You're about to die anyway, so I don't mind telling you."
"In our race, Santana was merely an infant. He hadn't even formed his own Mode yet."
"A Mode," he continued proudly, "is the true expression of a Pillar Man warrior's strength."
"Mode?"
"Exactly."
"It is a treasured art developed by our people over countless millennia. Only the most gifted warriors can master it."
Esidisi spread his arms slightly.
"And the Mode I wield… is the control of heat."
"Control… heat?"
As Ray Chu spoke, he suddenly sensed something wrong.
Though the braziers were burning, the surrounding temperature had clearly risen far beyond what the flames alone could explain.
"Wahahaha!"
Esidisi burst into loud laughter.
"Why do you think I wasted so much time talking to you? While we were chatting, I was already setting the net!"
"You have nowhere left to run!"
He roared:
"Face my attack—[ERRATIC BLAZE KING MODE]!"
In the next instant, countless transparent, winding blood vessels shot outward from Esidisi's legs. They burst from the surrounding walls like living whips and lunged toward Ray Chu with blinding speed.
There was no space to dodge.
Scarlet steam constantly billowed from the tips of those vessels. A mere touch would likely tear flesh apart instantly.
From the very start of their conversation, Esidisi had already been laying this trap in secret.
Despite his arrogant words, he had never truly underestimated a Hamon user.
But no matter how powerful a technique was—if it couldn't hit its target, it meant nothing.
Facing the storm of piercing blood vessels, Ray Chu brought his hands together sharply.
In an instant, countless Hamon bubbles surged forward.
The moment they collided with the vessels, violent sizzle—sizzle— sounds erupted. The blood vessels recoiled as if shocked, snapping back in retreat.
Meanwhile, the remaining Hamon bubbles continued forward without losing momentum.
Like a barrage of cannonballs, they slammed directly into Esidisi's body.
BOOM!
The Pillar Man was blasted backward.
At the very first exchange, the seemingly powerful Pillar Man Esidisi was utterly overwhelmed.
"My greatest talent is learning."
Only now did Ray Chu finally offer his "explanation."
"This is the Bubble Launcher my companion Caesar often uses."
He tilted his head slightly.
"So? Was it strong enough to make you feel some pain?"