An Uninvited Guest

"Ah?"

Hearing Fang Mo’s words, Speedwagon finally came back to his senses and stopped narrating. "Mr. Jonathan? Sir Mage?"

"Mr. Speedwagon, thank goodness you’re all right."

Jonathan also let out a slight sigh of relief. "I saw you passed out in the fountain just now. You must have been badly hurt, but you’re fine now. Master saved you."

"No wonder nothing hurts at all. Is this the power of magic? It feels like a dream." Speedwagon stared at his own body in disbelief, then hurriedly thanked Fang Mo. "Thank you, Sir Mage."

"After all, you don’t kill the commentator while two armies are fighting."

Fang Mo smiled and waved a hand. "Just remember to find somewhere safe before you commentate next time."

"I’ve been wanting to ask since earlier, but this ‘commentator’ thing…" Speedwagon could not help asking curiously. "Is that some kind of reference, Sir Mage? Why can’t I understand it?"

"It’s magical slang. It’s normal that you don’t understand."

Fang Mo said, "Anyway, it basically means you did a great job. Jonathan really does need someone like you by his side. I admire what you’ve done."

"So that’s what it means?"

Hearing Fang Mo’s explanation, Speedwagon scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. "I… I’m not as outstanding as you say. I was merely inspired by Mr. Jonathan’s courage and conviction, and sincerely wanted to help him. I know I still have many shortcomings. For instance, my strength is far inferior to yours."

"It’s fine. What does a commentator need combat power for? You’re invincible whenever you commentate."

Fang Mo smiled reassuringly. "And if all else fails, don’t you have that hat trick? Pull it off a few more times."

"That was merely a despicable sneak attack. Because it injured Mr. Jonathan, I already threw that hat away. From now on, I’ll fight by his side openly and honorably."

Speedwagon said.

"Oh, so you threw it away?"

Hearing that, Fang Mo nodded subconsciously.

The so-called hat trick was actually a special move Speedwagon had performed once in the original story. It was supposedly called the hat throwing knife: he replaced the brim of his top hat with blades, then hurled it at enemies like a boomerang.

Fang Mo had thought Speedwagon could only perform that special move once in his life.

Now it sounded as though he had thrown it away himself.

"Mr. Speedwagon."

While the two were chatting, Jonathan spoke up. "Since you’re awake now, let’s leave this place first."

"Where are we going?"

Speedwagon asked, "Are we going to find that Ebony Devil, Dio?"

"Not yet."

Jonathan could not help saying, "First, I need to wait for my father to wake up, then give him a proper funeral."

"Oh, then we should hurry… Wait, what?"

Speedwagon thought he had misheard and stared wide-eyed in bewilderment. "Wait for Mr. Joestar to wake up, then hold a funeral for him? Wh-what is that supposed to mean? A live burial?"

"How could that be!"

Jonathan immediately said, "It’s just a magical ritual to avoid Father’s fate of death. We need to place Father’s stand-in inside a coffin and hold a funeral to escape fate’s curse. Master told me this was the way."

As he spoke, Jonathan pointed behind Fang Mo.

"Hm?"

Because it was so dark, Speedwagon had not noticed George at first. Only after Jonathan pointed did he spot the two Georges behind Fang Mo. He froze on the spot. "Two Mr. Georges!? Good heavens… Aren’t you afraid of mixing them up?"

"Of course we are. How could we not be?"

Jonathan said, "That’s why we need to go to the hospital first. Once Father wakes up, I’ll tell him about this myself."

"So that’s how it is?"

Speedwagon finally relaxed after hearing that. "You really scared me. As expected of the legendary mysterious mage, you seem to challenge the limits of my common sense and understanding at every moment. Still, that’s good… With you involved, Dio should no longer be anything to fear."

"Sorry."

Yet, to Speedwagon’s surprise, Fang Mo suddenly shook his head. "I’m not planning to make a move this time."

"What!?"

Speedwagon was immediately startled and could not help shouting, "Sir Mage, wh-why would you say that? Do you know what Dio has become? He can drain a person’s vitality dry in an instant! That guy has turned into a complete monster!"

"You want me to make a move?" Fang Mo looked at Speedwagon and suddenly revealed a mischievous smile.

"Of course!"

The young Speedwagon had yet to realize the seriousness of the situation and immediately nodded. "Your magic… You could kill that monster in an instant, right? This is also a perfect chance for you to clean house!"

"…"

Fang Mo said nothing. He merely raised a finger and aimed it at the distant cliff.

The next second, ominous arcs of electricity flashed. A murky black-purple orb suddenly appeared at his fingertip, followed by a terrifying beam that shot straight toward a nearby mountain.

With a deafening boom, half the mountain vanished.

Yet the beam showed no intention of stopping. It continued slanting upward into the sky, carving a dazzling streak of white across the atmosphere before finally disappearing beyond the horizon.

"Uh… uh…!?"

Not only Speedwagon, Jonathan, and Erina, but even Danny, who had been squatting on the ground wagging his tail, was scared senseless. His tail tucked between his legs as he flattened himself against the ground and let out trembling whimpers.

"I’m guessing Dio is hiding in some little place nearby, right?"

Fang Mo rubbed his chin and deliberately muttered to himself. "Mm-hm, I’ll just fly over there and give it a blast. I guarantee Dio and that place will… Ah, no, I mean, I guarantee Dio and the Stone Mask will both vanish into thin air. What do you think?"

"Master, perhaps you shouldn’t."

Jonathan was the first to recover and hurriedly tried to persuade him. "Dio harmed my father. I intend to settle this score with him personally. Please, do not make a move. I can defeat him."

"What an absurd sight!"

Speedwagon could not hold back when he saw this. Trembling with excitement, he began narrating again. "It’s like an absurd scene that could only appear in a dream! Compared to this unbelievable sight before us… even that monster Dio has been reduced to something as insignificant as dust. He actually chose to betray his own master. What a foolish man! He has yet to realize that he has lost the greatest support of his life!"

"…"

Erina said nothing, but the violent trembling of her pupils said it all.

Honestly, only at this moment did Erina finally realize something. The truly terrifying thing was not vampires, not Dio, nor even fate. It was the unfathomable mage standing before her.

Whether supernatural beings or sinister schemes, everything seemed like a joke before him. Even the sword he had casually given her possessed the power to destroy the world. Erina had tested it over the years; that thing really could create hot springs like tsunamis, enough to submerge everything in this world.

No one knew how many trump cards he still held or how many secrets he hid.

So many years had passed, yet his appearance showed no sign of aging whatsoever. Could legendary mages truly achieve such a thing?

Or perhaps… only gods could do these things?

Erina suddenly thought of how he seemed to possess some kind of prophetic ability and had always been trying to prevent those futures from happening. But why did he do that? Honestly, Erina could not quite understand.

Could it truly be only because Jonathan was his disciple?

But Dio should be his disciple too.

Why was he always the one being persecuted?

"Hm?"

Fang Mo noticed Erina’s expression as well and smiled. "What, are you surprised by the strength I’ve displayed?"

"It truly is… astonishing…"

Erina nodded hesitantly.

"Then do you know my true purpose for coming here?"

Fang Mo smiled. He was not an idiot; naturally, he had seen the doubts on Erina’s face. He asked directly, "Do you think it’s strange that I keep helping you all without asking for anything in return?"

"I…"

Erina hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

"Actually, I deeply admire the Joestar family bloodline." Fang Mo showed a little more patience when facing a cute girl. "Not just Jonathan, but you and all his descendants as well. Though none of them are exactly respectable people, they all unexpectedly possess hearts of gold. It’s just that this thing called ‘fate’ is too damn annoying. Even I got pushed past my limit by it, so I decided to personally step in and confront Arak… confront that old bastard Fate."

"Is that so?"

Erina nodded subconsciously, trying to slowly process the information in Fang Mo’s words.

"All right, stop standing around thinking nonsense."

Fang Mo waved a hand. "Joestar Mansion has turned to ash now, and I blew up the mountain where my house was. Anyway, let’s find somewhere to rest first."

"…"

Everyone was somewhat speechless after hearing that. Hadn’t he been the one who blew up the mountain?

Still, considering the mage was ridiculously powerful, none of them said anything. Under Erina’s lead, they quickly headed toward the neighboring city.

Yes, Erina no longer lived in the town.

A few years ago, her father had made some money and planned to open a larger hospital in the city, so their entire family moved somewhere farther away.

In fact, the reason she had rushed over tonight was also because of Danny. Danny often ran near Joestar Mansion to look around. Though he did not dare go inside, he still missed Jonathan dearly. But tonight, he suddenly caught the scent of blood and immediately ran back to seek help.

Then, relying on her demigod body, Erina lifted her long skirt and ran all the way from the neighboring city in less than half an hour.

Erina had arrived in just half an hour.

Yet it took Jonathan and the others a full three hours to walk there.

Fortunately, Erina’s family hospital was quite large. After entering, everyone first greeted Erina’s father, then settled George Joestar down.

Speedwagon volunteered to watch over Mr. George, so he stayed in the same room with him.

As for Jonathan, he could not sleep.

He had indeed lost many things today, but he had also gained many things. So he especially wanted to talk with Erina for a while longer. After all, hardship revealed true feelings. The two had now bared their hearts to each other; it felt as though they could get married immediately if someone just prepared a red bridal veil.

But just then.

An uninvited guest suddenly arrived without invitation.