Esidisi... had dragged Joseph out until dawn.
The audience, who had initially felt contempt and disgust for his methods, were stunned after hearing Joseph's words of respect.
That's right. From that perspective, Esidisi had essentially used his own life to hold Joseph off until sunrise. Regardless of his methods, in the end, he had laid down his life for Kars.
How could such a loyal subordinate not command the admiration of the audience?
"Villain"... it was a word that was not supposed to be associated with friendship and loyalty.
But Esidisi's actions had shattered that perception for some of the viewers.
---o---
[Light Curtain Commentary]
[Kars: "Esidisi... you went this far? Rest assured, the me in that video will absolutely not let JOJO get away!"]
[Yukino Yukinoshita: "Is this the 'Dark Determination' the screen mentioned? Say what you will, but it is undeniably moving."]
[Conan Edogawa: "However, even if his resolve is shocking, an evil man is an evil man. No matter how loyal Esidisi is to Kars, he is still a villain with the blood of countless people on his hands."]
[Sosuke Aizen: "Evil man? That is a child's way of distinguishing things. Humans do not feel remorse or sadness for stepping on an ant, and the Pillar Men do not feel they are committing a crime by killing a few humans."]
[Otto Apocalypse: "Humans believe they are the masters of nature, but in the eyes of the Pillar Men, they are the most perfect beings..."]
---o---
[On Screen]
As Esidisi's form dissipated in the sunlight, the screen returned to the dead of night, and the camera shifted its focus to Kars.
Kars was now on the streets of Asakusa. The passing cars were a testament to a city that was modernizing.
In a short amount of time, he had learned that the Red Stone was within the Infinity Castle. Relying on his intellect of over 200 IQ, he had come to understand the nature of Blood Demon Art and had devised a way to breach the fortress.
All that was left was to find Wamuu outside the Infinity Castle, wait for Esidisi to rendezvous with them, and then enter together to claim the Red Stone...
"Woof Ruff Ruff ruff..."
As Kars was lost in thought, a small dog began to tug at his trouser leg. On the dim street, the dog's small body looked pitiable and helpless.
It had not eaten in a long time, surviving only on the scraps given by the occasional passerby.
Its animal instincts drew it inexplicably closer to the man before it. It wagged its tail, showing its complete vulnerability to Kars without reservation.
It's over. That dog is about to lose its life!
This was the first thought that crossed the minds of the audience. Many covered their eyes, anticipating a bloody scene.
After all, Kars was the leader of the Pillar Men, respected to the utmost by even Esidisi and Wamuu. Proclaiming themselves to be perfect lifeforms on their way to becoming ultimate beings, they viewed humans as mere livestock.
From that perspective, a dog, being lesser than a human, was probably not even considered livestock in Kars's eyes. It seemed... the dog's chances of survival were slim.
On screen, Kars lifted his cold, merciless eyes, like those of a viper, and looked down at the small dog at his feet.
His chilling expression made the audience break out in a cold sweat.
Ignoring its barks, Kars silently removed the dog from his trouser leg and, without a change in expression, walked deeper into the street.
The little dog just wagged its tail and watched him quietly, no longer barking.
Animals have their own intuition. It could understand Kars's attitude. Although it felt a strange sense of closeness, the man was unwilling to help it.
With its head lowered, the dog, having failed to get food, prepared to cross the street to search the trash cans on the other side.
However, in its hunger, it failed to notice a small car speeding toward it.
It was a fancy automobile, the gas pedal floored. At this speed, the dog had no chance of dodging.
The driver was a drunk man. In an era where cars had only just been introduced to Japanese society, traffic laws were still incomplete. Drunk driving was not a rare occurrence.
One could not expect a dead-drunk driver to hit the brakes.
Especially when what was in front of him was just a harmless little dog, not a human.
Hearing the noise, Kars glanced back impassively at the dog, then at the car.
Shing!
A sharp blade, shimmering with a faint light, emerged from his arm.
Splurt! Blood splattered. The next moment, the drunk driver's wrist was instantly severed.
The steering wheel spun out of control. The car began to swerve wildly before finally crashing with a loud 'BOOM', exploding into a ball of fire.
Through it all, the little dog was completely unharmed. Even the final explosion didn't hurt it in the slightest.
The perpetrator of it all simply turned his back and walked away, as if nothing had happened.
---o---
Kars... he actually saved the dog's life?
The audience was utterly shocked. Wasn't he the one who had annihilated the Hamon clan two thousand years ago? Wasn't he the villain who, to achieve his goals, had killed his entire clan, including his own parents?
But now, for the sake of a small dog, Kars had attacked in the middle of Asakusa and cut off that drunk driver's hand.
[Light Curtain Commentary]
[Iggy: "This Kars guy, his actions are really hard to figure out. But since he saved a dog, I'll consider him a friend of dogs for now."]
In the world of Stardust Crusaders, Iggy couldn't care less about humans. Although Kars didn't give the little dog any food, he did save its life. That point alone was enough for Iggy to develop a favorable impression of him.
[Naruto Uzumaki: "Ugh!! What's the deal with this guy?! You can't say he's not a villain; he's got the blood of who knows how many people on his hands. But if you say he is a villain, why is he saving a small animal?"]
[Yukino Yukinoshita: "He's completely different from DIO. If DIO is a pure, natural-born villain, then Kars and the others are complex, indescribable villains!"]
[Saitama: "He might be complex, but a villain is a villain. Evil is destined to be destroyed by justice. That guy was wrong to drive drunk, but it wasn't a crime punishable by death. A dog's life is important, but so is a human's life."]
[Conan Edogawa: "That's right. From beginning to end, Kars has shown no regard for human life. This one small act doesn't change the fact that he has killed so many people."]
---o---
[On Screen]
After Kars rendezvoused with Wamuu.
The two waited for a long time, but Esidisi never arrived to report.
As if sensing something, Kars looked up at the sky and quietly closed his eyes.
A moment later, his body trembled slightly. He opened his tightly shut eyes.
"Esidisi... is dead."
His tone was complex as he spoke to Wamuu.
He did not betray much emotion, stating it coolly, as if it were a simple fact.
This attitude disgusted the audience. No matter what, Esidisi had been Kars's companion for ten thousand years. Yet, in the face of his companion's death, Kars showed not a hint of sadness, and he did it right in front of Wamuu.
Seeing Kars's attitude, wouldn't Wamuu feel a chill in his heart? Esidisi was someone Wamuu respected as well.
Just as the audience felt it was unjust, Wamuu, on screen, only flinched for a moment. His expression shifted, but quickly returned to its usual calm.
"Lord Kars, please do not grieve. Lord Esidisi would not want to see you like this."
Walking before Kars, Wamuu knelt on both knees, bowing his head.
Grieve? Does this man have any grief in his eyes?
The audience felt that Wamuu's loyalty was blind. Where was the grief in Kars's eyes? He was perfectly calm.
Aside from a flicker of shock upon learning of Esidisi's death, he showed no signs of sadness whatsoever.
But Wamuu on the screen did not see it that way. If Kars had been overcome with grief, or had broken down crying, or flown into a mad rage over Esidisi's death, then Wamuu would have doubted if that was truly his Lord Kars.
In the shadows, Kars looked at the kneeling Wamuu and clenched his fists. "We cannot waste the opportunity Esidisi left for us."
"The gate to the Infinity Castle is already open. We must get the Red Stone before that Hamon warrior arrives!!"
Hamon warrior? Kars knows about Joseph? Before the audience could wonder, Kars made his next move.
From the bones in his arms, blades had extended at some point.
The blades seemed to be a part of Kars's body, shining brilliantly in the night.
Wamuu rose to his feet and stood to Kars's left, quietly awaiting his next command.
"My Mode is Light. An extradimensional space formed by Blood Demon Art is nothing. Before me, Kars, it is utterly fragile!"
Extending his arms, the blades on them shone with the brilliance of diamonds. Then, he swiped them rapidly through the air.
SHIIING!!
As if slicing through tofu, the Infinity Castle, its location now pinpointed, was exposed before Kars and Wamuu.
"Let's go, Wamuu. Eliminate those useless ants and take back the Red Stone!"
Without pausing for a moment to mourn his companion, Kars quickly embarked on his new path.
This was not because Kars was heartless. In his eyes, Esidisi had died so that he could obtain the Red Stone. What he had to do now was ensure that Esidisi's blood was not shed in vain.
---o---
The extradimensional Infinity Castle!
It was much larger than they had imagined. Both Kars and Wamuu felt this.
But soon, they had no time to admire the scenery.
Because the enemies meant to stop them had arrived.
"Kill them, and Lord Muzan will grant us more of his blood!"
"Heheheh, they look like two ordinary people. There's no sun in the Infinity Castle, and they don't have Nichirin Blades. They're dead for sure!"
Demons... countless demons, in all shapes and forms, appeared before Kars and Wamuu.
Some crawled, some stood upright, and some even flew using Blood Demon Art.
A visual estimate put the number of demons at several hundred, most of them elites. Nearly half of them possessed Blood Demon Art.
It seemed Muzan Kibutsuji had made considerable preparations for his showdown with DIO.
At the very least, this many demons, while not enough to defeat DIO, would be sufficient to deal with a human army.
Unfortunately for them, they were not facing ordinary humans. They were facing Pillar Men.
But... even if someone told them, they probably wouldn't understand the difference between a Pillar Man and a demon.
Against such a number of demons, even all nine Hashira combined would have to spend an unknown amount of time just cutting them down. Factoring in the demons with Blood Demon Art, casualties would be certain.
Even the invincible Jotaro Kujo, faced with such a situation, could only wear them down with Star Platinum.
But the Pillar Men were different. Their very physiology made them the natural predators of vampires and ordinary demons.
"Wamuu, it seems you are being underestimated."
Hearing the chatter of the cannon fodder, a slight smile touched Kars's lips as he spoke to Wamuu.
Wamuu simply nodded with a sigh. "It would appear so, Lord Kars."
"Please give me three minutes, Lord Kars. In just three minutes, I will have them all on the ground."
As the leader, Kars would naturally not act rashly before seeing the Red Stone. With Esidisi gone, the task of clearing out the trash fell to Wamuu.
"Three minutes?" Kars glanced at Wamuu, then shook his head. "No, Wamuu. you don't even have one minute. Finish them as quickly as possible."
"You can do it, Wamuu. To you, these mere brats are like frogs you can crush in your hand."
Kars said, pointing at the demonic horde, his tone filled with confidence in Wamuu's strength.
Both he and Esidisi could win against such a force, but it would not be easy. Wamuu was different. He was a natural-born warrior. His talent for combat was enough to accomplish almost anything!
"One minute? I understand, Lord Kars. Please wait a moment and witness my victory!"
Wamuu accepted Kars's seemingly harsh condition without a moment's hesitation.
Then, in the windless Infinity Castle, a gale began to stir. Wamuu's powerful body stood firm within the raging wind.
The slaughter... had begun...
---o---
Author's Note:
PS: The subscription drop is a bit scary. Did I write a 'poison point' (a plot point readers dislike), or are people just 'raising the book' (stockpiling chapters to binge later)...
Translator's note: same man. same