Josuke was gone.
Mana let out a breath of relief. Now she could finally cut loose.
As Inori had noted before, the only confirmed ability Mana could currently use was Epitaph—because she wasn't Inori. Her soul's eyes didn't burn with the pitch-black will. But Epitaph had been born because of her existence; calling it her Stand ability was entirely fair.
(③)
After the failed call to Jotaro, Mana had tried using Epitaph. Her Epitaph seemed to see further into the future than Inori's. She'd glimpsed a vision several minutes ahead: herself holding the greatsword, fighting her way out, and a different form of King Crimson awakening beside her.
...The sword. That sword.
Hadn't it vanished when King Crimson evolved? How could it still exist?
The Void Sword was a weapon born from Mana Ouma's heart. It had little to do with changes to Inori herself. That was the only explanation.
The Stand in that future vision was Everlasting Crown.
Inori's existence was that of a dual-souled sovereign—one body housing two souls. Each time King Crimson upgraded or evolved, two distinct ability branches unlocked simultaneously. As the sovereign who burned with the pitch-black will, Inori could access every ability. Mana lacked that aptitude; she could only use the branch that belonged to her.
So the powers currently at her disposal numbered three: first, Epitaph; second, Everlasting Crown's theft ability; and third, the sword that was hers alone.
...
...
"H-how... how is this possible?! You lost your Stand!"
The dwarf-like man's jaw nearly hit the ground.
He looked up at the girl floating in midair, then down at the chess piece in his hand. King Crimson's memory was right here. This—this made no sense! She shouldn't be able to use a Stand at all!
"Hmph."
She gave a cold, thin smile.
"Just now, you said some very interesting things."
"Something about making Little Inori yours? As if someone like you is worthy."
She didn't know why she was using that pet name out loud, but the dwarf-like man and the woman with the stone Stand had no mental bandwidth to notice such a detail. The dwarf-like man especially—his pupils wouldn't stop trembling, unable to comprehend how this woman had summoned a Stand.
"Don't get cocky! Attack her! Bring her down!"
He screamed loud enough, but in truth the man was already panicking. He'd gone to all the trouble of orchestrating this ambush against Inori precisely because he knew how terrifying her Stand was. But in this moment, none of that registered. Running was no longer an option either.
The middle-aged woman appeared to have a superior-subordinate dynamic with him. Hearing his desperate order, she obeyed without question, commanding the rocks, potted plants, and prepared snakes to fly at the airborne girl all at once.
"I was going to spare your life. Now I see I'll have to kill you!"
The dwarf-like man kept screaming.
"Listen—no matter what power you have, the objects I Am a Rock controls will not stop! If you smash them to pieces, those fragments will fly at you like countless knives burying themselves in your body!"
Hearing his threat, Mana considered it for a moment. Then she smiled.
"...That is a frightening power, I'll admit. By that logic, it would be practically invincible."
"But you seem to be confused about something."
"I don't need to attack those things at all."
Her smile vanished, replaced by a look of absolute resolve.
"I just need to attack you two."
King Crimson: Everlasting Crown. In Mana's form, its power output dropped, but the greatsword more than compensated—its destructive force actually increased, reaching a level on par with Star Platinum at its peak. After all, one fought with fists; the other had a blade. Speed fell, but in exchange, range expanded to B-rank, free to strike anything within a ten-meter radius.
"You think we're going to stand still and let you hit us?!"
The woman seemed to find her nerve. Reminded by the dwarf-like man's outburst, she remembered she possessed a powerful Stand of her own. She thrust out her hand, and a humanoid cactus bristling with spines materialized behind her—I Am a Rock. Every object within ten meters launched itself at Mana simultaneously.
The woman had put everything into this attack. Never mind the snakes—the rubble from the demolished garage sent razor-sharp debris hurtling upward. Even Josuke's iron-stone gate was dragged into the assault. Getting hit by that would mean full-body fractures at minimum.
Yet Mana met the tidal wave of projectiles with nothing but a disdainful smile.
The warrior clad in armor adorned with dark aura and crimson accents, silver greatsword in hand, swung a single slash. The blade carved a long, gleaming arc through the air—a metallic ring that hung in space. Every object that tried to cross that perimeter was deflected outward. Mana and Everlasting Crown stood inside an invisible shield, utterly untouched.
—This was a weapon that could blow up satellites and slice through mechs as easily as chopping vegetables. A handful of rocks was beneath its notice.
"Wh-what kind of Stand ability... that bastard Kira never told us about this!"
Watching their greatest weapon neutralized with casual ease, even the most delusional bravado drained from their faces. What remained was despair.
—Was she really just a Stand user?
—Was she even human?
"My name is Mana Ouma."
The girl straightened her back, standing on air. Her right index finger leveled at the two figures below, her voice ringing with the weight of a verdict.
"For ambushing and insulting my other half, Inori—for conspiring with Yoshikage Kira to eliminate my companions—now, atone with your lives!"
The dark crimson warrior raised its sword.
—Mana... Ouma? Her name isn't Inori?
"Run—RUN!"
A torrent of silver light intertwined with the dark aura burning across Everlasting Crown's body, carrying the fury of vengeance for its user's ambush. King Crimson: Everlasting Crown surged forward. The snakes, no longer under Stand control, could not withstand the sheer pressure radiating from Everlasting Crown and scattered in every direction. The Void Sword swept through the air like an enormous calligraphy brush, drawing one long, clean horizontal stroke.
Rrrip—!
A single decisive slash.
Their frantic, pathetic scrambling might have been comical under other circumstances—but the screaming that followed as Everlasting Crown cleanly bisected them both at the waist was deeply, thoroughly satisfying.
"Little Inori... I did it!"