Chapter 26: The Hanged Man
Seeing the stranger arrive, the hope that had died in Sherry's heart was suddenly rekindled. She couldn't see the tiny, shadowy creature, but she knew, with absolute certainty, that this man was protecting her from the monster.
Jonas strode to her side and pressed the flashlight into her hand. "Hold this," he commanded, his voice carrying an undeniable authority.
Sherry, startled, looked at the simple object. "This is...?"
"It's a flashlight. What does it look like?" Jonas said, his eyes never leaving J. Geil. "If you want to get out of this alive, you'll keep that beam locked on this piece of trash."
Ever since his battle with Enya the Hag, Jonas had learned a valuable lesson: where there is no light, there is no shadow to devour. He now came prepared.
Sherry didn't dare disobey. She raised the flashlight, and its beam cut through the rain, pinning J. Geil in a cone of light and throwing his dark shadow onto the muddy ground behind him.
Jonas Jourdan!
The name exploded in J. Geil's mind. This was the man who had been hunting him! This was the man who had crippled his mother! He had heard the rumors, that an attack from this man's Stand was a fate worse than death, a pain that never ended. He'd dismissed it. Now, as a white-hot explosion of agony flared from his hand, he knew.
It was an agony that defied description. A cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes.
At his feet, [Maw], having swallowed the first piece of shadow, opened its fanged maw once more, ready to strike again.
Run! I have to run! J. Geil's mind screamed. His Stand wasn't suited for a direct confrontation; it was a power meant for ambush, for striking from the dark. If that thing was allowed to feast on his shadow... the pain alone would kill him!
He turned and fled into the rain.
[Maw] let out a gleeful, hunting shriek and gave chase. Jonas didn't bother splitting it into smaller, faster forms. The damage would be too low. Only at its full, consolidated power could it unleash its true potential.
"Heh heh heh... that's it, follow me, you fool!" J. Geil shrieked as he ran. "You'll pay for what you did to my mother! That old hag is still screaming from what you did to her!"
Jonas's lips curled into a sneer of contempt. He calmly raised his revolver, taking aim at the center of the fleeing man's back.
BANG!
The gunshot echoed through the rain. A spray of blood erupted from J. Geil's left leg.
Jonas's brow furrowed. Tch. He'd aimed for the heart. Looks like marksmanship isn't my strong suit.
But it was enough.
His leg blown out, J. Geil lost his balance and crashed face-first into the mud.
Sherry, seeing Jonas produce a gun and fire it without hesitation, didn't scream. Her first thought was one of logic. "Are you... a police officer?"
Jonas glanced at her. "The name's Jonas. Just a traveler. The gun's for... pests."
Sherry heard the dismissiveness in his tone. "I don't care who you are," she said, her voice firm. "You saved me and Amelie. I will find a way to repay this debt."
"We can talk about that after I'm done with this trash," Jonas said, his attention snapping back to J. Geil.
The man was struggling in the mud, pushing himself up, his voice a choked, furious rasp. "YOU BASTARD!"
As he fell, [Maw] had been upon him. It pounced on his shadow, sinking its fangs deep into the shadow's chest. J. Geil roared in agony as a new, bloody wound spontaneously erupted on his torso.
I can't take this! he thought, clutching the new wound. The pain was unbearable. He'd observed the creature—it only needed five seconds between bites. At this rate, trapped and wounded, he would be devoured in less than a minute!
His only chance... his only chance... was to take out the Stand User now!
With a monumental effort, J. Geil forced himself to his feet, his body shaking, his eyes locked on Jonas.
Jonas kept the pistol trained on him, a look of pure mockery on his face. "What's wrong? You look like a drowned rat. Still not going to show me your Stand? Honestly, how does someone as hideous as you even have the will to live?"
J. Geil's ugly face twisted into a grotesque mask of fury. "You... YOU FORCED MY HAND!" he howled.
The rain poured, hammering the puddles on the ground.
"I am the wielder of the tarot's [THE HANGED MAN]!" J. Geil shrieked, his voice cracking. "And what makes you so sure... that I haven't already summoned my Stand?!"
Jonas's eyes narrowed. He took a cautious step back, his gaze sweeping the area, searching for the new threat.
He didn't see it. He couldn't. Hidden in a small, still puddle under a nearby tree, a puddle that reflected Jonas's image... [The Hanged Man] struck. Its mummified, bandaged form lunged within the reflection, plunging its wrist-blade not at Jonas, but at the reflection of his revolver.
At the exact same instant, [Maw] struck again, tearing another piece from J. Geil's shadow.
Blood burst from both men simultaneously.
"Mister Jonas!" Sherry screamed, her face pale with worry.
Jonas let out a sharp grunt. A bloody line had been gouged across the back of his right hand. The revolver he was holding had been sliced clean in two, the pieces clattering uselessly into the mud.
J. Geil, on the other hand, was in a far more wretched state. This time, [Maw] had torn a gaping hole in his abdomen, just centimeters from his heart. The veins on his neck bulged as he let out a strangled, silent scream, the pain so intense he nearly bit his own tongue off.
Jonas ignored the pain in his hand. He had to figure it out. How had he been attacked?
J. Geil, choking on his own agony, forced his Stand to move again. His eyes... they flickered, just for a fraction of a second, to a different puddle. A puddle that now held Jonas's reflection.
Jonas's eyes narrowed. He was sharp.
He had caught it.
...
...
...
Stand User: J. Geil
Stand Name: [The Hanged Man]
Destructive Power: C
Speed: A
Range: A
Stamina: B
Precision: D
Developmental Potential: D