Chapter 37: Betting the Soul
To be a qualified gambler, one must never allow others to see through their hidden hand.
The reason D'Arby had been so panicked earlier was precisely because he didn't know where Polnareff's bottom line lay.
He only knew that Polnareff's sister had been insulted and murdered by J. Geil.
And for the sake of avenging his sister, Polnareff had not only honed his swordsmanship to the point where he could use a "blank slate" Stand like [Silver Chariot] to fight the time-manipulating [King Crimson] for an entire day, but he had also traveled the world day after day, following a clue that barely qualified as one—a man with two right hands—all just to find and kill J. Geil.
Given the determination and will Polnareff had displayed, D'Arby was truly afraid that Polnareff might kill him indiscriminately.
But the reality was that Polnareff hadn't killed him?
Even after knowing that he was very likely a companion of J. Geil and a Stand user under DIO, Polnareff hadn't chosen to kill him?!
Or rather...
"What's the matter? Do you want to kill me?"
Looking at [Silver Chariot] appearing once more beside Polnareff, D'Arby said calmly, "Fine. If you plan on never finding J. Geil's location for the rest of your life, then go ahead and kill me."
"Since you all know my identity, I might as well tell you a bit more.
Before you arrived, I made an agreement with J. Geil—the moment I am killed by you, or if you don't follow my requirements to obtain the location through gambling, J. Geil will flee immediately."
Yes, this was the source of D'Arby's confidence.
Through his earlier probing, he had seen through the weaknesses in Polnareff's character and his bottom line.
"And in India—a country with a land area of only 2.98 million square kilometers but a population of over 800 million people—trying to find an unrecognized person here is about the same as trying to find scorpion droppings in the desert."
This wasn't some whimsical metaphor. It was a statement of fact.
"So, Polnareff, do you want to bet with me? Is your [Silver Chariot] faster, or is J. Geil's escape speed faster?"
Polnareff did not respond.
He only turned a pleading gaze toward Joseph. "Mr. Joestar!"
Though D'Arby's threat was real, and after arriving in India, they had experienced how troublesome the country could be—for instance, even Kakyoin with his [Hierophant Green] didn't know when his wallet had been stolen—they still had the invincible [Hermit Purple].
As long as Joseph activated his spirit photography, everything would be fine.
However...
Joseph shook his head slightly.
Without interference, [Hermit Purple] was indeed invincible. But facing DIO, who could interfere with the results of his spirit photography, Joseph truly couldn't help much in matters related to DIO.
This caused Polnareff's expression to turn even grimmer.
Looking at D'Arby's malicious smile, Polnareff truly wanted to use [Silver Chariot] to poke ten thousand holes through this bastard.
But he held back.
Just as D'Arby's test had shown, faced with the possibility of being unable to get his revenge, Polnareff didn't dare to act out. He could only follow D'Arby's lead.
"Fine. I'll bet with you!
But if I win, how can I trust that you'll honestly tell me J. Geil's location?!"
Of course, before the gamble began, Polnareff asked this crucial question.
"GOOD!" D'Arby sat back down in his chair and gestured for Polnareff to take a seat on the other side of the table.
He calmly began to organize the gambling equipment that had been overturned by Polnareff earlier. "According to Lord DIO's intelligence, there is a Prophet among you, isn't there?"
At this point, D'Arby showed off a flash of technique, quickly shuffling and arranging the gambling tools before pointing a finger at Shirou Emiya.
"I assume that Prophet has already told you all about our appearances and our Stand abilities.
Then you should be aware that my Stand ability is two-way. I can win your souls through gambling, but you can also take my soul in exchange when I have no more chips.
So, to prevent my soul from being taken away, I choose to use J. Geil's location information as a substitute for my soul."
Is that so?
Polnareff and the others turned to look at Shirou Emiya.
They had never heard that D'Arby's Stand, [Osiris], had such a side effect. Even Shirou Emiya sifted through his memories of his past life with some doubt.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated in the original story, it seemed... that was actually the case?!
In the original work, when Jotaro Kujo gambled against D'Arby and faced Jotaro's continuous raising of the stakes, D'Arby eventually became unable to pay the stake of "DIO's Stand secret." In its place, [Osiris] treated D'Arby's entire fortune and all his soul chips as the equivalent value of that information (since snitching meant death) and lost them to Jotaro.
In other words, if D'Arby hadn't had so many soul chips to buffer the blow, he—unable to pay the stake of DIO's secret—would likely have been turned into a soul chip by his own Stand, just like those who lost to him. It wasn't as if he could lose and pay no price at all.
Thinking of this, Shirou Emiya nodded. "Based on the outcome, that is indeed true."
See? I didn't lie.
Wearing that expression, D'Arby pushed the gambling tools in front of him forward again. "So, Polnareff, what do you want to bet on?
Of course, if you don't like these, you can suggest a gambling method you are good at. I am a very generous person and won't mind what you choose to bet on."
"I..."
However, just as Polnareff made up his mind to use his soul as the stake, Shirou Emiya spoke up first.
"Let's play Rock-Paper-Scissors.
But it won't be Polnareff betting against you. It will be me. I will be the one to gamble with you."
Read ahead (100 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting