Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: A New Universe
Chapter 61: The Devil
Previous Chapter Next ChapterThe Devil
Forever was smashed through the wall of his own ship and wound up sinking in the ocean. As he died, his Stand quickly started to dissipate. Luckily for the Kujo group, the giant tree created by Fluttershy's Stand allowed them to get to the life boat before the large freighter completely sank. "I can't believe just one Stand user created such a ruckus," Avdol said, "To think he traveled the entire ocean just to find and kill us." "We were completely overwhelmed this time," Joseph admitted, "Luckily Fluttershy turned out to be even stronger." Fluttershy smiled shyly, blushing at the idea that she had saved everyone almost single-handed.
"Four days into their journey and the Joestars are almost to Singapore," DeKurliss noted, "It seems the girl they call Fluttershy is truly powerful when angered. Thanks to her they are a quarter of the way here with only so much time lost. Our efforts to either kill or slow them down are ineffective at best." "Forever seemed the best choice to overpower them," Enya said as DeKurliss removed the Strength figure from the map, "If Jotaro and Fluttershy had not figured out his Stand he would have killed them all. But I have two more agents waiting for them in Singapore, the Devil and the Temperance. Between the two of them they should easily dispose of the Joestars and their allies."
It's been four days since the Kujo group left Japan. Shortly after Forever's defeat, rescue arrived for the team and they made it safely to Singapore. By now it was clear that travel by sea and air would be impeded. As the group made their way to the hotel, a police officer approached them. "You there, wait a second!" He pointed to Polnareff and then a no littering sign. "You just threw that garbage on the ground! That's a five hundred dollar fine, to be paid immediately!"
Polnareff looked confused. "Garbage? What garbage are you speaking of? The only thing I tossed on the ground was my luggage." The officer looked at the cloth bag he thought was a garbage bag. Suddenly embarrassed, the officer apologized and left as the rest of the group started laughing. As they did, they realized Anne was laughing as well, having apparently followed them for some reason. "Anne weren't you supposed to meet your father?," Fluttershy asked.
"He won't be here for five days," Anne explained, "Until then I can go wherever I want." Fluttershy blinked. "So why hang out with us? I doubt we've seen our last assassin." "If that big ape was the worst these enemies of yours could throw at you," Anne reasoned, "I doubt I'll be in any danger. Besides, I got no money of my own, so my only choice is to hang around you guys until you either leave or my dad shows up, whichever comes first. And I get a cool big sister out of the deal." She smiled at Fluttershy, who looked embarrassed at being called both cool and a big sister.
The hotel where they checked into had only four rooms available, which suited the group's dynamic. Joseph and Avdol shared one room, Jotaro and Kakyoin a second, Fluttershy and Anne a third, and Jonathan and Polnareff had the fourth. These last two entered their room and took a look around. "Given our luck thus far," Polnareff said, "I'd wager DIO's men will try attacking us here in the hotel. Can't be too careful." He then noticed the refrigerator had a bunch of bottled drinks on top of it. "As I suspected. Come on out you! We already know you're here!"
Sure enough, the fridge opened and out of it climbed a heavily scarred Native American man. "Just who are you?," Jonathan asked. "I am Devo the Cursed," the man explained, "My Stand represents the Devil card, which symbolizes confusion and misfortune." "Rather sloppy job of hiding for someone who's supposed to symbolize confusion," Polnareff noted, "You left all the drinks you took out of the fridge to hide in it right in plain sight." Devo smirked. "Ebony Devil!" But he could make any further moves, Polnareff already had his Stand stab Devo multiple times in the face, some of the blood hitting a nearby traditional doll.
"I think Anne was right," Polnareff noted, "That ape was a much stronger opponent." However, Devo was just laughing like a maniac. "You've really done it now! This pain... It makes me hate you so much! My Stand only activates when I am injured, and can grow stronger by using the hatred I have for the one who injured me. That's why I made it so easy for you to find me, so my Stand could do its work." "That's enough of that," Jonathan said, "Ra!" The hawk-headed Stand flashed a light from its hands, blinding Devo and sending him hurtling over the balcony.
The two Stand users rushed to see where he landed. "I see a blood mark where he hit," Polnareff noted, "But no trail to indicate where he moved. He must be resilient to survive a fall from nine stories up." Jonathan nodded. "The scars he was covered in certainly suggest as much. If he wasn't lying about his Stand, then he's likely allowed plenty of victims to injure him just to activate it." Just then, Polnareff felt something slice through his ankle, causing him to collapse to his knees. "What the hell was that?"
"Devo of the Devil card?," Avdol said. Polnareff had called him while getting his leg bandaged by Jonathan. "Yes, I've heard of this Stand user. He's a Native American shaman, or at least claims to be. He's a well-known lethal assassin. If he's attacking our group I've no doubt he's working for DIO. I'll contact the rest of our group about this. Meet us in our room in five minutes." "He should be fine," Joseph noted, "After all Grandpa's with him. Still, until we know how Devo's Stand works, we're at a disadvantage."
Polnareff finished calling hotel service to get some medical assistance to better patch up his ankle, then noticed the key to their room was no longer on the nightstand. "That's odd," Jonathan said, "I saw you put it there." Polnareff soon spotted it under the bed. "It must have fallen there during the battle." He tried to reach under the bed, but Jonathan stopped him. "Hold on. The battle was over too quickly and never even touched the nightstand. Something's not right. Let's approach the bed from both sides."
Unfortunately, something still managed to wrap a length of cord around both men's wrists and pull them under the bed, then started tying them under the bed. "What's going on here!?," Polnareff demanded. Before Jonathan could guess, something vaguely human-shaped and doll-sized squirted shampoo in both men's eyes, Jonathan getting an extra thick splash. Blinded, Jonathan heard the sound of a saw. "Polnareff I can't see! What's happening!?" Polnareff had managed to get some of the shampoo out his eyes by shaking his head, giving him a good view of the area around the bed, what little could be seen.
"Something's sawing through the legs of the bed!," he called out. Just then, the entire came crashing down on the men, trapping them. "I'm very upset...," Polnareff muttered. Just then a knock came on the door and it opened, a bellboy coming in with a medical kit. "Mister Polnareff? It's room service with the medical supplies you asked for." "You need to get out of here!," Polnareff called out, "You're life is in danger if you enter this room! There's someone dangerous lurking inside!"
But the bellboy was too concerned about the damage to the room and came to investigate. This turned out to be a fatal mistake, as something suddenly sliced his face off with a large razor, then dragged his corpse into the room and slammed the door, leaving a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it. The two men then heard a wicked cackling as something was heard running across the floor. Finally the mysterious figure made itself known, the doll from the nightstand that was now moving on its own.
"I really have a grudge against both of you," the doll said, "Polnareff, you sliced open my eye. And Jonathan, you nearly broke my legs because of that fall." "Devo!," Polnareff realized, "So this is your doing! I understand now, your Stand is controlling that doll!" "He must be on top of the bed!," Jonathan noted, "Quick, Stands out! Ra!" "Silver Chariot!" The two Stands appeared on top of the bed over the doll possessed by Ebony Devil. "Ha!," the doll said, "Like that'll help you! You, Polnareff, can't see through your Stands eyes! Jonathan certainly can, but I made sure to properly blind him to avoid that little issue!"
"Polnareff, can you really not see through your Stand?," Jonathan asked. "It's meant to evoke the image of a fencer," Polnareff explained, "What fencer needs to worry about an opponent he can't see?" Jonathan sighed. "You, for one." Ebony Devil made to attack Silver Chariot's leg, but suddenly got punted by Ra. "What!? But how!?" "I've had to fight opponents I can't see plenty of times," Jonathan explained, "Since a Stand is an extension of the soul, it's filled with life energy, which I can track with my Hamon! Blinding me was a futile effort!"
"I still need my own method of seeing," Polnareff noted. He then got an idea. As Ebony Devil danced around to avoid the two Stands, Silver Chariot wound up breaking a nearby mirror, while Ra made to scatter the glass while making its own attacks. Meanwhile, Ebony Devil was making its own plans, grabbing some of the liquor bottles and breaking them open, spilling the contents all around the bed, all the while taking potshots at Silver Chariot and Ra and managing to get a few sharp hits in, such as cutting into Ra's leg or biting into Silver Chariot's vulnerable neck.
"Damn it!," Polnareff called out as he felt the bite, "Chariot's armor only protects so many vital areas! We need to cut these cords so we can get the bed off us!" "Have Chariot cover his eyes!," Jonathan said, "I'll shed some light on the situation!" Silver Chariot did as suggested while Ra unleashed a blazing light which blinded Ebony Devil. The two Stands then started cutting apart the cords in an effort to free their users. Ebony Devil recovered quickly, however, and used a broken bottle to slash Ra's arm, while using a spear in its other hand to stab through the bed, barely missing the two men.
Silver Chariot quickly grabbed the sheet and used it to try and restrain Ebony Devil, breaking the spear in the process. But Ebony Devil was able to get free by using the razor to slice through Silver Chariot's hand. Luckily, Ra was able to finish the process of cutting the cords. "Don't move the bed yet," Jonathan warned as he rubbed the shampoo out of his eyes, "Devo spread that alcohol around for a reason." Sure enough, Ebony Devil had made its way to the fridge and swiveled its head around. "Now, I'll be sure to bite your balls off!"
Polnareff growled as he sent Silver Chariot to attack, but Ebony Devil leapt onto the nearby ceiling light. Laughing, it said, "Jonathan wasn't wrong when he thought I made the floor wet for a reason. The bed as well. Now I have this electric dryer with me. Guess what I'll do with it?" His smiled dropped. "Now my revenge is complete..." He dropped the dryer, but Polnareff smirked as Silver Chariot speared the dryer with its sword, followed by the doll's head.
"But how!?," Ebony Devil demanded, "Even if Jonathan had wiped away the shampoo, you were in no position to signal each other without me hearing it!" "Did you think we spread that glass around at random?," Polnareff asked confidently. "We knew we needed a way to allow Polnareff to see you," Jonathan explained, "And then we remembered the mirror, which was in a fixed location that Polnareff couldn't have missed if it was pitch black in the room. A few good blows to scatter the shattered glass liberally..."
"Et voila!," Polnareff called out, "A perfect panoramic view from which I could observe the top of the bed from a number of angles!" Silver Chariot threw the doll aside and it and Ra helped their users toss the bed off them. "At last we meet, Devo!," Polnareff announced. "And for the last time," Jonathan noted, "Because even though you have a remote Stand, I'm guessing its nature means that if we destroy it, it will have a profound effect on you."
Now terrified, Ebony Devil tried to escape, but Silver Chariot cut the doll's legs off. "Non non, mon ami," Polnareff said, "You're not going to escape so easily. But before we finish you off I have a question. I seek a man with two right hands that we suspect to be working for your boss. Tell me, just what is the secret to the Stand of the one I seek?" "Like I'd tell you that!," Ebony Devil replied, "A Stand user should never reveal the secret of their Stand, unless they are about to die or about to kill their target!"
"How cynical," Jonathan noted, "That may be fine and dandy for those of you who use your Stands for assassination. But not every Stand user is so dark in their actions. Take the Steel Ball Run, for instance. There were just under fifty Stand users there, and from what I've heard most of them weren't shy about revealing their Stands' powers." "That's just idiotic," Ebony Devil said, "The fact that they let their powers be known means their weaknesses are easy to spot, just like how we know all your groups weaknesses."
"Do you really?," Polnareff scoffed, "You may know our limitations, but not necessarily our weaknesses. Our Stands have simpler powers that are more varied in their use. Tell me, what if we decided to kill you outright when we first encountered you? Your Stand would be useless if you died from the injuries you received." Ebony Devil growled when he realized the duo had a point.
"Now come on," Polnareff said, "Didn't you say something about wanting to bite our balls off!?" The doll leapt at the two men, but Polnareff was ready. "I'll slice up everything but your balls!" As Silver Chariot sliced the doll into powder, Devo's scream could be heard from the bathroom he was hiding in. When a janitor heard the scream, he was shocked to discover Devo's mangled corpse. There was now one less enemy for the Kujo group to face.
"What happened to you two!?," Fluttershy called out when she opened to the door to Joseph's room, revealing Polnareff and Jonathan, still injured from the fight. "Devo's been dealt with," Jonathan explained, "He ambushed us in our hotel room a second time using his Stand, which can possess an object that gets hit with his blood. That's how he turns his hatred into power." "We destroyed the doll he used," Polnareff continued, "I don't think we need to worry about him anymore." The two men then fainted from exhaustion. "I'm getting too old for this...," Jonathan muttered.
Next Chapter: The Temperance Estimated time remaining: 23 Hours, 37 Minutes Return to Story Description