"I, Jade Sinfield, will be your final trial!"
Jade stepped forward, standing confidently before Doppio and Diavolo. His arrogant eyes observed the duo in absolute dismissal. Diavolo turned to Doppio, who nodded as he watched Epitaph's vision through his bangs.
Doppio saw Jade, getting hit by King Crimson, falling to his knees and spitting blood as Diavolo stood before him, mocking his inability. He smiled diabolically, now looking at Diavolo, slowly nodding at him.
"Go ahead, Boss. You're safe."
He thought, safe in his assumption.
Diavolo found that rather strange. He thought to himself, questioning Doppio's vision.
"Wait a moment, this can't be right, something strange must happen after I hit him!"
He shot Doppio an inquisitive look, as to ask if that could possibly be true. Doppio gave him a thumbs up, manifesting Epitaph in his forehead to assure him that the vision was final. Despite remaining doubtful, Diavolo decided to trust him.
"I believe in Doppio. We are going to finish this quickly."
He carefully approached Jade, who stood still. However suspicious he was, Diavolo felt no killing intent or threatening aura from the man. As he got closer, another glimpse of Jade's stand appeared behind him, prompting Diavolo to summon King Crimson, who began attacking quickly.
"Take this! King Crimson!"
King Crimson's fist was about to hit Jade when something strange happened to Diavolo's vision. Although it remained intact in quality, his point of view suddenly changed. He could see Doppio, looking at him in excitement, before noticing a blue arm touching him and a sharp pain in the torso. Doppio's expression changed at the same moment to one of desperation.
King Crimson was no longer out, and Diavolo fell to the ground, on his knees, spitting blood on the floor. Jade stood before him.
"Poor Diavolo... Did you actually think it was gonna be this easy? Pathetic."
Confused, Diavolo summoned King Crimson once more, and with screaming rage, swang at Jade's chin. Once more, his point of view changed, as the same blue arm connected to his jaw and made him fall on his back. Jade stood before him, chuckling.
"BOSS!"
In a blind rage, Diavolo tried once more, summoning his stand for a third time as it had disappeared again, ready to hit Jade in the middle of the chest. His vision changed again, as he was pushed back with great pain in the torso. He spat more blood on the ground and cleaned his mouth, before staring terrified at the man.
"Wha- What the hell...?"
Jade was standing in front of him, cracking his knuckles as he stared back at Diavolo with a sadistic grin. Beside him, his stand took form. With the body like King Crimson, it was cobalt blue with a Teal wave pattern over it. It wore a matte golden piece of armor that covered both of its shoulders and the upper part of its chest, with a green gem in the middle. A mask covered its mouth, with three protuberating points forming a tall trident golden crown.
"What is going on?!"
"Your demise is final, Diavolo. Now it is only a matter of time. Let's see how long you last, shall we?"
Diavolo's face distorted in anger, as he summoned King Crimson once more, preparing to charge at Jade. Seeing this, Doppio attempted to stop him.
"WAIT, DO-"
His phrase was cut off as Diavolo reappeared behind Jade, having erased time to get an advantage.
He swung at the back of his head. As Doppio watched them from a distance, he saw Diavolo and Jade switching positions in the blink of an eye, and Diavolo fell face-first to the ground as he got hit on the back of the head by Jade's stand.
"NO, BOSS!"
Doppio ran towards Diavolo, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away from Jade as quickly as he could. Miraculously, Diavolo was still conscient and breathing.
"What... what was that? What just happened?"
"I don't know exactly Boss, but don't just attack him like that!"
"Your vision... did you not see me defeating him on your vision?!"
"I did, but something strange happened... what I saw happening to him happened to you instead!"
Jade began to clap slowly, hearing the conversation.
"Bravo, bravo, you observed quite well, Vinegar Doppio."
They looked at him, staring in raging silence.
"But you will need much more than simple observations to even have a chance of surviving me...
...and my Wake of Poseidon."
Diavolo stared at Jade with eyes wide open, terrified.
"Wake... of Poseidon... can we even beat this..."
He felt hopeless, having taken a beating almost as bad as the one from Gold Experience Requiem a long time ago. Doppio slapped his face, and he came to his senses.
"Don't give up now, Boss! There's gotta be a way to overcome him..."
They stood in silence for a while, before Jade began to approach them, slowly.
"I can attack you myself if I need to, you know?"
Doppio was starting to panic but held his position. He began whispering to Diavolo.
"Boss, BOSS, look at me! You got to strike him as he comes!"
"But it won't matter, we will just switch anyw-"
"Just do it! I'll figure something out."
Diavolo looked at him with tired eyes.
"Trust me, Boss."
He closed his eyes and nodded.
Jade was getting closer, Wake of Poseidon by his side and ready to attack.
"Think, Doppio, THINK! How can we counter this?"
Jade was now two meters away from them.
"He switches places with others... how can we beat that, none of our stands can beat that! The two of us can't..."
Jade was a meter away.
"The two of us..."
Jade was now near them, ready to strike.
"THAT'S IT!"
Hearing confirmation from Doppio, Diavolo attacked, instantly, Jade used Wake of Poseidon to switch with him, turning the attack against Diavolo. Before the it could hit its target, Jade was immediately hit hard on the face by Doppio, who punched him while throwing all the weight of his body in the attack. Jade was startled for a moment and seemed confused, and Diavolo watched Doppio, also confused.
"He can't be in two places at once, so he can only switch with one of us! I just had to attack where you were in my vision, Boss!"
Jade took a couple of steps back, recovering his focus.
"Quick thinking, Vinegar Doppio, but I won't fall for that again."
Doppio gave him a challenging look.
"Let's see about that."
Doppio whispered to Diavolo again, trying to explain his strategy. Diavolo nodded in agreement. As Jade started to approach them, they began to stride towards him. As they were close enough, Diavolo began his attack, and Poseidon raised his arms to attack as well. Suddenly, Doppio had switched with Jade.
Much to Jade's surprise, King Crimson's attack turned to him, hitting him hard as he used Poseidon's arms to defend himself.
"WHAT?!"
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"Boss, he is definitely not going to fall for this twice. When you attack him, he is most likely to switch himself with me and make you attack me. When you attack, pretend to attack him, but aim your attack at me, got it?"
Diavolo nodded in agreement.
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Noticing Jade was unfocused, Diavolo began his assault, with King Crimson barraging him with punches. While defending with Wake of Poseidon, Jade switched with Diavolo, now being the one attacking. Suddenly, he felt pain in his back, as Doppio had jumped and knee kicked him from behind. Taking the opportunity, Diavolo attempted to hit him directly in the face, but Jade quickly switched to Doppio, and Diavolo tried to pull back as a weakened punch left Doppio with a bloody nose. Jade grabbed Doppio from behind and threw him to the side on the floor.
At that moment, something fell from the ceiling and managed to cut Diavolo on the chest. Standing between him and Jade, there was Cadence, who began to viciously attack Diavolo with her spear.
"GET. AWAY. FROM. MY. DARLING!"
She said, alternating words and thrusts of her spear.
Diavolo dodged some attacks while blocking others. She continued to attack him until he was pinned to a pillar.
"TAKE THIS!"
She lunged her spear towards his head with all her might, but Diavolo dodged his head just in time for the spear to hit the pillar and get stuck to it. Diavolo grabbed the spear with King Crimson's hand.
In a moment, Jade had switched with Diavolo again, and he looked at Cadence with disappointed eyes, while getting the spear out of the pillar with the arm of Wake of Poseidon.
"Cadence."
"...Darling?"
He violently smashed the staff of the spear in her face, making her undo her stand transformation and fall to the ground.
"Do not interfere with my fights."
She fell on her knees, her face bloodied. When Jade realized, Diavolo was running into his direction, with King Crimson ready to attack him. When the attack was about to hit, Jade switched with Cadence, and King Crimson's arm went straight through her torso. She stared at Jade with lifeless eyes, surprised. As Diavolo pulled his stand's arm from inside her chest, he was met with an uppercut by the kneeling Jade.
Jade looked at Cascade, with an emotionless expression.
"Thank you, lovely."
Her surprised face changed to a delighted smile.
"You're welcome, Darling..."
She fell lifeless to the floor before fading away.
Doppio ran to Diavolo and quickly dragged him away from Jade.
"Boss, are you alright?!"
"He is too strong Doppio, we can't beat him like that."
"Don't say that, Boss!"
Spitting blood as he did, Diavolo screamed back at Doppio.
"It's the truth, Doppio! We can't trick him forever..."
Still dragging him, Doppio looked at one of the pillars near them and had a sudden realization.
"Don't worry, Boss, I got a plan."
He dragged Diavolo behind the pillar, hiding them both from Jade's sight. Jade noticed it and started to slowly walk towards them.
"Hiding will get you nowhere. It's just a matter of time now."
As he approached the pillar, Diavolo started to sprint towards him with his head down and his eyes bathed in shadows. He was coming straight towards Jade, and as he got close enough, he raised his arm to attack.
"I can't believe you haven't got this yet..."
He switched with him, his arm now raised to attack.
"...IT'S USELESS, DIA-"
His opponent had his eyes clearly visible now, and Jade could perfectly see their light brown iris.
"...Doppio?"
He immediately felt the fist that hit him from behind, as an injured Diavolo did his best to strike despite his condition.
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As they hid behind the pillar, Doppio began to take off his sweater and untie his hair.
"What's your plan Doppio?"
"Boss, you forget that I am you. Our bodies are the same. Which means that if we can make him think I am you..."
"...He won't expect me to come for him while he focuses on you. Brilliant, Doppio!"
"Hiding will get you nowhere..."
"He is coming, are you ready, Boss?"
"Yes, Doppio."
"Be alert and wait for when we switch."
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"That's it, Boss!"
Diavolo prepared to strike again, when Jade grabbed his arm, before punching him in the gut.
"NO, BOSS!"
Wake of Poseidon then kicked Diavolo, who fall back a couple of meters away from them. Jade, now with a furious expression, turned to Doppio, and with a heavy stride quickly approached him. He grabbed Doppio by the neck and pushed him against a pillar.
"Vinegar... Doppio!"
Doppio was struggling, breathing heavily as the grip around his neck tightened.
"You insolent little aberration! You are nothing but a nuisance, a mistake!"
Doppio reached for Jade's hand, desperately trying to escape.
"What even are you? Nothing but a construct of a failing mind! A walking abomination!"
His grip tightened even more.
"Even the power you use... the bothersome Epitaph... a borrowed stand, you can't even claim it as your own!"
Doppio was slowly losing the strength to fight.
"You are a worthless shard from a broken mind! I will have to deal with Diavolo later, but first I shall make you suffer, and then..."
He summoned Wake of Poseidon by his side, holding a golden trident and preparing to impale Doppio with it.
"...I WILL END YOUR MISERABLE LIFE!"
Before he could continue, he heard a noise echo through the room.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He turned his head, only to see Diavolo, struck by a blind rage, running towards him as fast as he could. His face was distorted in a way that could never be described, channeling as much hatred as he had ever felt in his life. His King Crimson was by his side, with a face that imitated the user.
"LET GO OFF DOPPIO!"
He charged at him ready to strike. As his punch was about to connect with Jade's chest, he heard him say something.
"...bingo."
When he realized, it was too late, as Jade had switched places with Doppio. Diavolo tried to hold back his attack, but he had no time. King Crimson's fist hit Doppio, who with an incredulous face, flew back many meters before hitting the stone wall and falling to the ground, motionless.
"No... no! NO! DOPPIO!!"
Diavolo ran towards him, but even when he got near, Doppio was still immobile.
"No, Doppio, get up, GET UP NOW!"
Tears streamed out of his eyes as he kneeled beside a knocked out Doppio. Jade started to laugh loudly.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! And finally, the nuisance is dealt with."
Diavolo turned to him, his face contorted in hatred, his green pupils completely shattered and his exposed teeth closed shut.
"I will never forgive you..."
He left Doppio's side and took a step into Jade's direction, facing him directly.
"NEVER!"
Jade smiled malefically.
"Good to see you are determined to face me..."
Wake of Poseidon was by his side and pointed its trident at Diavolo.
"...because our fight has just begun."
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Stand User: Jade Sinfield
Stand Name:「Wake of Poseidon」
5 out of 6 trials completed
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