"Is it over just like that?" Jolyne couldn't quite believe it.
The guy who went to such lengths to frame her and get her into Green Dolphin Street Prison, and who stole her father's memories and Stand, just died like that?
Just in case, she decided to lie on the ground and listen for Father Pucci's heartbeat.
Stone Free's threads extended into the soil, and the other end of the threads was pressed tightly against Jolyne's ear.
All sorts of sounds reached Jolyne's ears: the hopping of insects, the croaking of frogs, the sounds of insects being eaten by frogs... but not Father Pucci's heartbeat.
At this, Jolyne finally breathed a complete sigh of relief.
Next, all she had to do was quietly wait for the Baby to crawl over to Kai Ishida, and then everything would be settled.
However... was it really over just like that?
On the ground, Father Pucci was extremely tense.
White Snake's palm was currently squeezing his heart, temporarily stopping it from beating.
"Ehh...?"
The Baby let out a cry, then lowered its head in confusion.
Father Pucci, who should have had no heartbeat, had surprisingly reawakened, one hand firmly gripping the Baby's calf.
"Indeed, the outcome is decided, but the winner... is me!"
White Snake's palm quickly squeezed the heart, like a pacemaker, causing the heart, which had been forcefully stopped, to resume beating.
Father Pucci... he stood up!
The blood-soaked Father endured the intense pain and climbed up from the ground, the Baby in his hand looking at him with curious eyes.
Suddenly, the Baby began to laugh eerily.
The next second, the Baby opened its mouth and began to gnaw on the Father's arm.
"Crunch, crunch—"
Blood flowed down the Father's wrist, yet the Father showed an expression of enjoyment.
The Baby also grew at a visible rate.
It was absorbing nutrients from the Father's body!
Upon realizing this, Kai Ishida rushed out almost instantly.
But the ability of Green Grass Enclosure activated again.
This made the distance, which was originally within reach, once again impassable.
Even Kai Ishida could only watch as the Baby grew.
Time passed bit by bit, and in a blink of an eye, the bright moon hung high in the sky.
Father Pucci's breathing had become very weak, and the Baby had absorbed enough nutrients.
The next second, something astonishing happened.
The Baby began to enter Father Pucci's body.
It actually merged with the Father!
As the Baby gradually disappeared, the Green Grass Enclosure also lost its power.
And Kai Ishida, the moment he returned to his original size, activated his ability to stop time.
"Time, stop flowing!"
Due to the influence of his will, this time stop seemed to be able to last longer.
First second.
Kai Ishida rushed to Father Pucci's front.
From the second second, a two-second barrage officially began.
"ora ora ora ora ora ora ora—"
"ora ora ora ora ora ora ora—"
Third second ended.
Kai Ishida's time stop reached its current limit.
"Time, resume flowing."
The Father's body instantly flew backward, yet in mid-air, Father Pucci's body absorbed most of the impact from the blows by twisting into one strange posture after another, minimizing the damage.
"Swoosh—"
White Snake's form constantly changed, and a centaur Stand flashed by.
And Father Pucci also made a new move at this moment.
"541, 543..."
"Although it's not yet complete, not yet mature, as long as I continue to follow Kujo Jotaro's memories..."
"But before that, I must send you all into the oblivion of complete death!"
"White Snake!" Father Pucci lightly called out, and then White Snake's figure reappeared behind him.
"Tch, in your heavily wounded state, let alone Star Platinum, even I could easily knock you to the ground!"
Jolyne Cujoh said, and Stone Free instantly disassembled into countless threads, wrapping around Father Pucci's body.
"Oh?" Father Pucci chuckled, "You want to take care of my main body, how naive!"
"White Snake!"
"Attack!"
As the Father gave the command, White Snake, along with Father Pucci's figure, disappeared from the spot.
"W-what's going on?!" Jolyne Cujoh was stunned, completely unaware of how Father Pucci had vanished without a trace.
"It's speed!"
Kai Ishida noticed the clue, then grabbed Jolyne's arm, "Stay close to my back; White Snake could attack from any angle."
Then Kai Ishida began to murmur:
"When a center fielder on a baseball field receives a baseball flying from afar, he must first spot the target within his field of vision to determine where the ball will land. On a highway, if a car driver wants to overtake, he must perceive the situation of nearby cars to determine if it is safe to overtake."
"This is dynamic vision, and once an object's speed exceeds the limits of dynamic vision, the naked eye cannot catch it, thus creating the illusion of disappearing into thin air."
"Star Platinum"
As his words fell, Star Platinum instantly appeared beside Kai Ishida.
Ready for battle!
For him now, Time Stop was not an ability he could use at will.
Once Time Stop ended, at least several breaths would have to pass before he could stop time again, and this intervening gap would be their most dangerous time, because Father Pucci could take their lives at any moment during this period.
So he now had to wait for the opportune moment.
A perfect opportunity for a decisive blow!
At the same time, he also firmly believed that the speed White Snake was currently displaying was merely a result of a mental power rampage caused by its recent fusion with the Green Baby.
It couldn't last too long!
On the other side, Father Pucci clearly understood this as well, and was lurking in the shadows, biding his time.
"I need to be faster..."
His gaze constantly swept over Jolyne Cujoh and Kai Ishida, finally settling on Jolyne.
"You're the one! Joestar's bloodline!" Father Pucci's eyes sharpened, and White Snake began to move at high speed again.
In an instant, it appeared before Jolyne Cujoh, immediately about to bring down a hand chop, intending to split her head in two.
But just then.
The descending hand chop touched a thread.
"Snap—"
The thin thread broke, and Father Pucci sensed danger, instinctively controlling White Snake to retreat.
But it was still a step too late.
The other end of the thread was wrapped around Kai Ishida's arm, and the moment he perceived the thread being touched.
The Time Stop ability was activated!
"Time, stop flowing!"
"Click—"
White Snake and the Father's figures instantly froze in place, and then Kai Ishida pushed Jolyne away and unleashed a continuous barrage of heavy punches at Father Pucci.
"ora ora ora ora ora ora ora—"