"No!" Speedwagon instinctively tried to stop Ray Chu, but the words reached his throat and died there.
"Ray, you—" Joseph began, only for Ray Chu to raise a hand and cut him off.
"Joseph. Did you forget what I told you? The Pillar Men are nothing more than obsolete relics of an ancient age. Even if he becomes this so-called perfect life-form, I'm confident I can still fight him."
Joseph nodded firmly.
"You're right, Ray! Whether he's a Pillar Man or some perfect creature, the great Joseph Joestar's fists will smash him flat without mercy!"
"Ahahahaha! A wise choice!" Kars laughed, though despite his excitement, his mind remained perfectly calm. "Then for the sake of fairness, we'll each send one person to make the exchange. However—not that crafty brat."
He pointed at Joseph, clearly wary of him.
"That black kid over there will do. He's just an ordinary human. And on our side, we'll also use an ordinary human for the trade."
"Me?" Smokey blinked in surprise. Then he quickly steadied himself. "Don't worry. I'll risk my life to finish the job."
Speedwagon opened his mouth to protest, but after a moment's thought he could only sigh. Smokey was just an ordinary boy—there was only so much one could expect of him.
A moment later, Smokey and a human Nazi soldier stepped forward from their respective sides. Under everyone's watchful gaze, they approached the center of the square.
Neither of them carried weapons.
The exchange point was simple: Lisa Lisa for the Red Stone of Aja.
They traded places.
Then each turned and began walking back toward their own side.
On the way back, Smokey seemed to bump the Nazi soldier accidentally.
A flash of triumph had just begun to appear at the corner of his lips—when Joseph suddenly came sprinting toward him from the distance, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Smokey! Run!"
Smokey didn't even look back.
He grabbed Lisa Lisa and hurled her toward their side with all his strength.
In the next instant, a bolt of pain tore through his right arm. His severed arm—and the ruby necklace still clutched in his hand—was lifted into the air and seized by a powerful grasp.
Joseph arrived at the same moment, throwing a punch straight at Kars, who had suddenly appeared and stolen the Red Stone.
"Out of my way!"
Kars's leg shot upward at an angle no human body should be capable of, colliding violently with Joseph's fist. Clearly uninterested in fighting, he used the momentum to leap backward into the ranks of his vampire army.
At that moment—
A terrifying sense of danger erupted from the left.
Kars's expression changed instantly. Without thinking, he swung his bone blades to meet the attack.
"[SUN BREATHING—GREAT EXPLODING FLAME]!"
The name was pure bravado. In truth, Ray Chu had compressed his breathing to the limit, unleashing every drop of Hamon in a single explosive burst—its power blazing like a miniature sun.
At the instant their attacks met, Ray Chu's fist melted straight through Kars's bone blades.
The blow slammed directly into Kars's chest.
A roaring surge of energy erupted.
Hamon flared across Kars's body like living fire, burning violently across his skin as the torrent of power swept through him at astonishing speed.
Kars screamed as he was blasted away.
He flew across the square, smashing through his bone throne before collapsing to the ground, his body curled in on itself. His flesh was scarred everywhere by Hamon's corrosive power, and he lay face-down without moving.
"Yes! That did it! He's finished!" Joseph helped Smokey to his feet, his face lighting up with excitement. "Just what you'd expect from the strongest Hamon warrior!"
"Lord Kars!"
The remaining vampires rushed toward their fallen master in desperation.
"Destroy those vampires! Don't let any of them escape!" Speedwagon shouted, leading his forces forward.
Then Joseph noticed something.
Kars's finger twitched.
Joseph's mind flashed back to the Red Stone of Aja Kars had snatched earlier—and a horrifying realization struck him.
"Stop! Stop right now! Don't shine the UV lamps on him!"
Too late.
Kars suddenly lifted his head.
A grotesque Stone Mask, now set with the perfect Red Stone of Aja, covered his face. As ultraviolet light struck it, dozens of razor-sharp spikes shot out, plunging deep into his brain.
Ay-yah… ay-yah…~
An ancient song seemed to echo from the void.
The Stone Mask blazed with blinding light, spreading from Kars's skull across his entire body.
Ay-yah… ay-yah…~
His body turned translucent beneath the rainbow-colored radiance, as if illuminated by X-rays—bones and organs visible beneath his skin.
Ay-yah… ay-yah…~
Kars reveled in the sensation.
A dream he had pursued for twenty thousand years had finally come true.
From this moment onward, he would become the perfect life-form—an Ultimate Life Form never before seen on this planet.
Ageless. Deathless. Flawless. Supreme above all.
Kars rose slowly from the ground.
All his injuries vanished as if they had never existed. Before everyone stood a flawless, powerful body—the embodiment of perfection.
"Oh… my God…" Speedwagon stared in horror.
Had a god truly been born?
But this was no savior who pitied mankind.
This was a god of destruction—one who would wipe humanity out and remake the world.
"Kars!" Joseph stared in disbelief. The scale of Kars's transformation was beyond imagination.
Had he truly evolved into the perfect Ultimate Life Form?
The Stone Mask shattered.
The Red Stone of Aja embedded within it clattered to the ground.
Now that he had completed his evolution, Kars no longer cared about it.
"You're wondering whether I've successfully evolved, aren't you?" Kars said calmly.
With an intellect surpassing 400, he had already guessed the thoughts in everyone's minds.
"How can he read my mind…? He guessed it again…! It's over… it's all over!" Joseph muttered in shock.
Kars continued talking casually, and with each word, cold sweat spread across everyone's faces.
Because every thought they had—he predicted perfectly.
"After evolving, my brain feels sharper than ever," Kars said, placing his hands on his hips. Tilting his head slightly, he looked toward Ray Chu.
"Hmm. You're the only one whose thoughts I can't read. What a strange man."
"But compared to intelligence… raw power is far more awe-inspiring."
"So—come."
Kars raised his right hand.
In the next instant, it transformed into countless thin, horrifying tendrils. They shot across dozens of meters, piercing straight through the chests of nearby vampires.
Several Allied soldiers who failed to dodge were impaled as well.
"L-Lord Kars… why…?"
"We've always been loyal to you…"
Kars didn't bother answering.
To the Pillar Men, vampires had always been nothing more than food.
And now that he had evolved into the Ultimate Life Form, his appetite had only grown.
In the next second, their bodies shriveled into empty skins.
All their flesh and blood had been drained completely.
The hollow husks fluttered to the ground like discarded masks, their twisted faces silently accusing the monster who had devoured them.