Beneath the water barrier, Ray Chu slipped the capsule in his palm away.
Ever since the battle with Happosai, he had developed the habit of carrying capsules filled with hot and cold water. When he needed them, he simply opened one.
The water just released had come from those capsules, and when combined with his Hamon, the effect was perfect.
As for the so-called Water Breathing—it was something he had recently grasped during underwater training. Unfortunately, it was still only a rough prototype, capable of nothing more than basic control of water and its flow.
"Forcing me to use this move is something you should already be proud of," Ray Chu said calmly. "Now you can die."
He thrust both hands into the swirling water.
A massive sphere of water suddenly shot upward, engulfing the Esidisi suspended in midair. As the Hamon-infused water sphere spun at high speed, Esidisi's body began dissolving rapidly.
"No! I refuse to accept this! Lord Kars!" Esidisi struggled wildly, repeatedly slamming against the water sphere. But his strength grew weaker and weaker.
With a final, unwilling roar—
He vanished completely.
Esidisi of the Three Pillar Men, Esidisi of the Flame, was dead.
The moment Esidisi perished, a brilliant burst of light erupted. It was the accumulated energy stored within his body over tens of thousands of years, released all at once.
In the end, a mass of water wrapped around his clothing poured down from above, clattering onto the cathedral floor with a series of metallic clang-clang sounds.
"Other than their vitality, the Pillar Men really aren't that strong."
After finishing Esidisi, Ray Chu stood where he was, resting his right hand against his cheek, his body leaning slightly to the side as he pondered.
Though their Modes were powerful, to him they were simply unusual abilities—impressive, but far from unbeatable.
Even without returning to his Pikachu form, this human body was more than capable of dealing with them. It just required a bit of effort.
Of course, that was also thanks to the formidable Hamon he had mastered.
This body was naturally gifted in manipulating Ki, and Hamon shared many similarities with it. After grasping its principles, Ray Chu's Hamon energy had already surpassed Lisa Lisa's decades of accumulation in a very short time.
Lisa Lisa had understood that fact.
That was why she asked Ray Chu to eliminate the weakest—Esidisi—first, and then move to support the others.
Just then, Ray Chu suddenly turned his gaze to the left, as though he could see through the cathedral walls toward another battlefield.
"No matter what… I need to get there quickly. I just hope they're still alive…"
...
Golden bullets and spent casings littered the ground. Machine oil and blood were mixed together, and the battlefield looked as though it had been plowed over—craters and scars everywhere.
By the time Ray Chu arrived, the battle had just ended.
Through a combination of sharp wit and incredible luck—his usual protagonist's fortune—Joseph had narrowly secured victory, tearing Stroheim's body into scattered pieces.
"You truly are remarkable, JoJo," Stroheim said.
Only half his upper body and head remained. It was impossible to imagine what kind of ferocious battle they had just fought.
"Even reduced to this, I still couldn't defeat you. Someone like you… surely has the right to carry humanity's hope forward."
"Why did you help the Pillar Men?" Joseph grabbed Stroheim's shoulder and shouted.
"Perhaps… it is simply the fate of a soldier," Stroheim replied quietly. "No matter what happens, I cannot betray my country and my people."
He closed his eyes.
Then suddenly opened them again.
"Be careful, JoJo. Kars is not as simple as he appears. To obtain the Red Stone of Aja, he will stop at nothing. You absolutely must not let him succeed."
Joseph stared at him in shock.
"Stroheim… why are you telling me this?"
"Because no matter what… I am still human."
The moment Stroheim finished speaking, his head suddenly detached from his body and shot through the air.
The last thing his electronic eye saw was Ray Chu rushing into the scene.
A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Farewell… world."
The countdown on the bomb embedded inside his head reached zero.
An instant later—
It detonated, erupting into a brilliant burst of fire like a dazzling firework.
"Stroheim!" Joseph's eyes filled with tears.
One electronic eye survived the explosion, bouncing several times across the ground before rolling to Joseph's feet. He picked it up and gripped it tightly in his hand.
Ray Chu arrived just in time to witness the scene. He gently placed a hand on Joseph's shoulder in silent comfort.
"Looks like you won, Ray," Joseph said in a low voice.
Ray Chu shrugged. "Once you actually fight them, you realize the Pillar Men aren't all that impressive."
"That's right. Today will be the end of the Pillar Men."
Joseph clenched the electronic eye in his hand and looked forward with unwavering determination.
Rest easy, Stroheim.
Humanity will never be replaced by any other species.
One day, we'll build a world without war—without the smoke of battle.
But when they arrived at the next battlefield, the sight before them made Joseph's heart clench instantly.
Collapsed pillars. Broken walls and doors.
This secret chamber of Amiens Cathedral was riddled with deep, winding cracks, as if the entire structure might collapse at any moment.
Blood dripped slowly onto the floor.
A faint wind seeped through the fractured walls.
And at the center of it all stood the one responsible—
The Pillar Man, Wamuu.
"Caesar!" Joseph spotted him immediately.
Caesar was kneeling on the ground, unmoving, his life or death uncertain.
Beside him, Wamuu stood with his hand raised like a blade.
"Hmm. So it's the two of you."
Wamuu's voice was calm as still water.
"Then it seems Esidisi has already fallen."
Though his tone remained steady, Ray Chu sensed a faint trace of sorrow within it.
So even these seemingly cold and ruthless Pillar Men carried deep bonds with their comrades.
Joseph rushed toward Caesar.
Strangely, Wamuu made no move to stop him.
"Don't worry," Wamuu said calmly. "He is not dead. He merely lost too much blood and fainted. But if you had arrived one moment later, I would have granted him a warrior's honorable death."
Joseph finally let out a long breath of relief.
Then he turned toward Wamuu, his expression grave.
"Since Caesar can't fight anymore, I'll be your opponent!"
But Wamuu did not respond immediately.
Instead, he looked toward Ray Chu.
"Lord Kars is different from me. Among the three of us, he desires the Red Stone of Aja the most."
"At this moment, that woman has likely already been killed—and he has taken the Red Stone."
"Don't try psychological tricks on me!" Joseph snapped, twisting his body and pointing accusingly at him.
"Lisa Lisa isn't someone who would lose so easily!"
"Under normal circumstances, perhaps not," Wamuu replied quietly. "But Lord Kars… is not a warrior."
There was something else hidden in those words—something ominous.
A chill crept into Joseph's chest.
His gaze immediately turned to Ray Chu.
No words were needed.
Ray Chu nodded and instantly understood. He dashed toward the final battlefield.
And Wamuu did nothing to stop him.
"You're not going to stop us?" Joseph asked, surprised. He had been ready to block Wamuu at any moment.
Wamuu answered calmly.
"Before Lord Kars in his perfect form, that man will only meet death."
"For me, becoming the perfect being is unnecessary."
"What I desire is only the thrill of a magnificent battle."
"So come. Do your best to kill me."
"I await the most glorious fight."
Joseph settled into a fighting stance, his face solemn.
"Wamuu… you really are a true warrior."
"But for Caesar's sake, I'll defeat you with everything I've got…"
---
T/N: CAESAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was too focused on something elseeeeeeeeeeeee ive been playing 7daystodieeeeeeeeeee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl