"Accept my offer, and you shall become the king of all kings."
The crimson moonlight illuminated the courtyard and casted a reflection in the shocked eyes of a paralyzed Diavolo. Unable to make a coherent sentence, his mind reminisced of his life, the good and the bad, trying to wrap around the question and find any semblance of reason that could lead him to an answer.
"Answer me, Diavolo, what is your response to my offer? Will you join us in our revenge against those who casted this dreadful curse upon our fate?"
"This is madness, Boss!"
Doppio had understood the situation by that point, thought about what implication it might have had, and found within himself an immense repulse of that sentiment.
"We must let the past die! They promised us peace, why go back to such a dangerous way of living?!"
The Blind King was not amused by Doppio's statements, the bright scarlet eyes that formed the whole of what simple manifestation of what used to be his face expressing suspicion and anger.
"Nonsense! You shall become greater than anyone! None shall be able to defeat us if we unite our forces."
Doppio approached Diavolo and held him by his shoulders.
"Come on, Boss... it's not worth it. Shouldn't we just live a normal life from now?"
Diavolo now looked down with a somber expression, shadows bathing his eyes. He gently pushed Doppio aside and walked forward towards the Blind King, before stopping completely before him.
"...Boss...?"
"What have you chosen, Diavolo?"
After a moment of silence with his head down, Diavolo kneeled before the Blind King, before raising his head up to him.
"Very well, I accept your offer. I shall become your champion, and your vessel."
Delighted by those words, the Blind King opened his arms wide in a welcoming manner.
"I am glad you did. You are now officially one of us!"
Diavolo walked towards them as the others cheered and congratulated him. Yet Doppio did not move. He stayed silent in his place, standing still while looking to the ground. Diavolo noticed this and turned back.
"Doppio? Let's go, we are going to gain power again!"
Doppio looked up, more serious than ever before.
"No."
Diavolo was shocked, but not only he: the others around him had a mix of disbelief and confusion, while Jade seemed amused by Doppio's words.
"D- Doppio, what do you mean no?!"
"I said no. This is not what we were promised, and I will not take part in it."
"But Doppio! This is an opportunity within a million! A chance to reconquer everything we have lost, regain our influence and expand on it!"
Doppio clenched his teeth in anger.
"This is not what I wanted! I want peace, I want to stop all this fighting! This is not right, Boss!"
Diavolo seemed to get irritated with the last sentence.
"Not right?! Not right is what happened to me! I have suffered countless deaths without rest! I have known pain like no other, and now I want my chance to retribute it! Think about this, Doppio, a chance to get vendetta on Giorno Giovanna! Why wouldn't you want that?! Are you mad?!"
Doppio stood silent for a moment, looking fixedly into Diavolo's eyes. The irises which were beginning to heal now seemed more shattered than ever before. At that moment, Doppio could only think about one thing: something within Diavolo had been lost at that very moment.
"...you lied to me, Boss."
Diavolo was confused.
"I did what?"
"You lied to me. Said you were done with trying to destroy your past, said that you now looked beyond to the future, but I can clearly see that was a lie. You only care about the past, you only ever did care about the past!"
He pointed at Diavolo and then himself.
"And I..."
He then made a quick movement pointing to the ground, cutting the air.
"...want no part in this."
It was then that, some semblance of humanity dawned in Diavolo, and he fell to his knees, speechless. He had made his final decision to join the Blind King, yet he felt Doppio's decision fall down upon him as hard as possible, and somewhere in his conscience he felt heavy.
The Blind King, having watched the exchange finish, directed to Doppio.
"So you decide to not accept my offer?"
"I do not."
"Hm. So be it."
The Blind King snapped his fingers and waited a moment before showing a quick glance of surprise as nothing happened. Jade's smile immediately faded upon that happening, giving place to confusion and incredulity.
"So be it, Vinegar Doppio. Your insolence is unacceptable in my court. You are too dangerous to our cause, and so you shall be executed."
Doppio took a step back and summoned Knight Watch by his side, covering his body with its shield. He had a determined and serious expression that showed no indication of fear. The Blind King turned to the others and nodded. They nodded back and began their advance, one by one.
Drie Gekijk went first, having summoned Three of a Perfect Pair by her side and began to run towards Doppio, who had made a small cut to his finger and was smearing it in his stand's blade. Three of a Perfect Pair luged at him, but Knight Watch protected with its shield, before bashing Drie as hard as it could.
"Without the perfect setting, your ability is useless in combat!"
Drie chuckled while coughing some blood.
"Perhaps, little Doppio... but not entirely! Three of a Perfect Pair! Model Man!"
The ground began to shake and morph into a strange space, similar to a Penrose triangle. Model Man began to run after Doppio, stretching its hand out to touch him. As it got closer, Knight Watch held the menequinn sub-stand behind its shield, while it violently flayed its arms trying to touch Doppio or his stand. The sword turned into a pen and Knight Watch's third eye opened, projecting the future on the back of the shield. He swiftly sketched on it with the pen before turning it back into a sword.
At this moment, Model Man stretched its leg under the shield and bent it in an impossible forward angle, touching Knight Watch's Leg. It then jumped back and began to run to Drie, who approached with Three of a Perfect Pair. Suddenly, as Model Man covered its eyes with both hands, both ears with its thumbs and sat down, Doppio's sight and hearing disappeared. He was also locked in place, standing still yet unable to move.
"Useless, you say? Hehe..."
Drie and her stand approached Doppio, ready to strike, when Knight Watch, despite blind, swung its sword in her direction, cutting her chest. The injury reflected in both Three of a Perfect Pair and Model Man, making the first flinch and the latter fall back and disappear. Doppio regained his senses.
"WHAT?!"
"I knew you would try this!"
Knight Watch sung its blade at her at full force. Three of a Perfect Pair tried to defend with its crossed arms, but the descending blade managed to cut through one of them and sever Drie's chest all the way down to the middle. As she gasped for air, Knight Watch bashed her away with its shield.
At that moment, a thick black fog started to form around the Blind King, concentrating behind him. As it took shape, it revealed a large head and shoulders. It was a faceless head with a crown holding a red jewel in the middle of the forehead. Its shoulders were covered with a silver piece of armor, and where the rest of the body was supposed to be, there was only black mist.
"Nightmare King Requiem."
Multiple long black arms stretched out of Nightmare King Requiem's back and reached for the severely injured Drie, dragging her back near the Blind King. While they did so, her injuries were filled with black mist and healed. When the arms let her go, she fell to the ground, exhausted. The Blind King rose his left arm by his side.
"Next."
Immediately, Ruche Caché began to approach Doppio. The courtyard had returned to its normal shape.
"As you wish."
He opened his cloak, revealing multiple green balls, which he then started to juggle. Without a warning, one of the balls in the air got launched straight towards Doppio. Knight Watch sung to strike the ball with its sword, when suddenly, multiple needles burst from inside the ball and covered its surface. Realizing what was about to happen, but not fast enough to avoid it, Doppio used Knight Watch's shield to cover his body, right after the blade cut the ball in half and prompted it to explode, launching all the needles in many directions. These needles seemed to disappear when getting close to Ruche or the others.
More of the balls being juggled by Ruche began to fly towards Doppio at high speeds. As Knight Watch protected with its shield, Ruche appeared to bring out endless amounts of projectiles from inside his cloak, launching them non-stop. Knight Watch projected a vision in the back of its shield once more, to which Doppio paid close attention. After a moment, he made a quick sketch over it and began to run towards Ruche.
"You fool! These needles are covered with a powerful poison, and will cover your entire path!"
"There is always a blind spot!"
Doppio continued to run while Knight Watch protected him from incoming needles. His running pattern was bizarre, yet somehow he avoided being hit by even a single needle. Ruche was starting to get desperate, as Doppio approached him unharmed. When he got too close, Ruche threw all the projectiles at once towards him, which were thrown out of the way by Knight Watch's shield.
"Monsieur Loyal!"
At that moment, Ruche disappeared from Doppio's sight. Looking through the bangs on his hair, Doppio predicted a barrage of attacks coming from behind him. He turned to defend it with his shield as the first few punches hit it.
"Cirkus Lizard!"
While defending from the attacks, Doppio tried a slash, but Ruche disappeared and reappeared by his side. He defended again, and tried another slash, prompting the same result. He prepared for another, more powerful slash with his sword, raising it high. As it descended, Ruche disappeared again. However, before he could even reappear, Doppio suddenly turned 180 degrees and redirected the attack, drawing blood from the air before revealing an injured Ruche. He drew the sword back and plunged it into Ruche's chest, before kicking him back.
More arms stretched from Nightmare King Requiem's back, grabbing Ruche Caché and healing him, before letting him rest on the ground near Drie. Doppio was still unharmed.
"Is that all you got?!"
"Not even close, Vinegar Doppio. Next."
Ganz Dämmer approached Ruche, grabbing a few projectiles from his cloak.
"Hey, Ruche, can I borrow a few of these?"
Ruche just smiled devilishly at him.
"Bien sur, mon ami."
"Danke Schön, mein freund."
He grabbed a few of them and began to slowly walk towards Doppio, before summoning his stand.
"Larks' Tongues in Aspic!"
Both him and his stand threw all the projectiles into the air, arching towards Doppio. As they did, both men and stand immediately disappeared. Doppio raised Knight Watch's shield, but as the balls fell down upon him, he felt a heavy weight over the shield. Ganz had taken back his original form and was now clinging on the shield. He summoned Larks' Tongues in Aspic by his side, as it attempted to hit Doppio's body by the left side. With a wide swing of the sword, Doppio superficially slashed Larks' Tongues in Aspic's arm, preventing it from going any further. Before he could think about it, Ganz materialized one of the projectiles in his hand and, from above the shield threw it directly towards Doppio's head.
"Didn't see this one coming, huh?!"
But Doppio tilted his head to the side, the needles almost touching his skin.
"Of course I did."
Knight Watch bashed its heavy shield into the ground, with Ganz still clinging to it. He fell on his back, struggling to breathe. Doppio looked at him from above as Knight Watch rose its sword to strike.
"Ha... gotta say you grew up a lot since my trial, kiddo."
Without replying, Doppio made a gesture as Knight Watch's sword descended towards Ganz. He tried defending with Larks' Tongues in Aspic, who crossed its arms trying to hold the blow, but the blade cut right through it, hitting the ground as it decapitated Ganz.
Black mist manifested on the ground and filled the space between the severed head and neck, joining them together as it carried Ganz back to the others. While it did, Ganz rose his hand to show a middle finger to Doppio. The Blind King was still unphased by all the commotion.
"Next."
Shisha Soshiki stepped forward. She gracefully approached Doppio. At this point, he was sweating, but still unharmed. He kneeled down and grabbed one of the projectiles Ganz had just thrown at him and handed it to Knight Watch, who transformed its sword down to its pen size and handed it for Doppio to hold, before throwing the ball at Shisha.
"Discipline."
She summoned her stand, who instantly caught the projectile mid-air and hurled it back towards Doppio with all its might. Knight Watch protected him with its shield, holding it up for an extra moment after, before Doppio peaked over it and put it down, handing his stand the pen as it turned back into a blade. Shisha was now much closer to him.
"Are you sure this is the best decision for you, Vinegar Doppio?"
Looking her in the eyes with no malice or evil intent, yet with glaring confidence and seriousness, he responded.
"Yes, I am."
She sighed of disappointment and closed her eyes for a moment.
"Then so be it. I'm sorry this couldn't have gone differently."
Discipline began its assault, throwing a sequence of punches at Doppio, who defended from them with Knight Watch's shield, until he noticed a breach in Shisha's defense, and risked a wide swing of his blade towards her head.
"Fool."
With a quick and swift movement, Discipline intercepted Knight Watch's right arm, hitting it hard and making its blade go flying meters away and getting its tip stuck to the ground.
"Now you fight like us, no weapons."
"Knight Watch!"
Doppio pointed forward as Knight watch directed a punch at Shisha. Discipline caught its fist, but Knight Watch swung its shield at its arm, which Discipline also grabbed, before kicking it away.
"No weapons, I said."
A visibly angry Doppio let out a shout of rage as Knight Watch let out a barrage of punches at Discipline, who tried its best to defend itself. After about 10 seconds of non-stop attacks, Doppio stopped for a moment because of the exhaustion, and that is when Shisha got ready for her attack. Thinking quickly, Doppio dodged to the side and got behind her. She immediately turned as he was about to strike, blocking the first few attacks with ease.
"It's no use, Vinegar Doppio! I have already memorized your patterns!"
For the first time, Doppio smiled, as a direct hit to the face took Shisha Soshiski by surprise.
"Then I just have to change it."
She took another hit, then another one, and another. The pain filled her body but the confusion was far overwhelming.
"How did he... when..."
Until she remembered the moment he threw the projectile at her.
"Disguising the use of your ability by pretending to defend from an attack... Quite ingenious, Doppio..."
Her thoughts were serene, yet her body suffered. As Doppio's barrage stopped, Shisha fell to the ground. He turned his back on her and tried to locate Knight Watch's equipment.
While running to grab his stand's sword and shield, a couple of knives were thrown into his path and hit his feet. Shisha Midare rose up and shot him a grim look.
"Not over yet, big boy..."
He grabbed his shield in a hurry and rushed towards the sword while avoiding the knives being thrown in his direction. Shisha's hand was broken from the beatdown, but she kept throwing with as best precision as she could in her state. When he was about to reach the blade, he noticed he was unable to touch it.
"Indiscipline! That's a forbidden spot now!"
He turned back to Shisha and started to sprint towards her. As he got near, Doppio attempted to strike, but once more found himself unable to do so, as his body was forced to make an almost impossible move that redirected his fist away from her, making him turn his back on her and expose himself for an attack.
Without thinking twice, she reached for some knives inside her robes and threw them at Doppio's back. In a quick movement, Knight Watch pushed its shield against the incoming knives, launching them back at Shisha and making her lose her balance and fall back. It then threw its shield at the ground where the sword was, making it fly into the air, where Doppio grabbed it and immediately descended into a stab towards Shisha's chest, too quickly for her to do anything about it.
The long black arms of Nightmare King Requiem grabbed Shisha's body and brought her back to the rest of the group. Now, only 3 of them remained in condition of fighting: Jade, who looked at Doppio with caution and a slight hint of reluctancy; the Blind King, who at the moment had yet to show any semblance of emotion beyond annoyance at the events that unfolded within his mind prison; and Diavolo, who remained incredulous about Doppio's decision and actions.
The Blind King turned to Diavolo.
"I can give you this chance of proving your loyalty. Fight your former self and defeat him."
Diavolo was shocked by those words. He felt helpless. Despite his decision, he could never see himself going against Doppio, not before, and especially not now.
"I... I... I can't. I just... can't."
He fell to his knees. The Blind King put his arm on Diavolo's shoulder.
"I understand you, and respect your decision. I could have never risen against Angelus even if I tried. I shall grant you this benevolence and not force you to fight him. But still..."
He looked at Jade, who nodded.
"Jade. You have been my servant for many years now, and I trust you won't fear this man. Will you carry out this task?"
Jade cracked his knuckles and smiled sadistically.
"With pleasure, my King."
Doppio had recovered Knight Watch's sword and shield, and now walked towards Jade, slowly, and likewise, Jade did the same. They stopped at 5 meters away from each other, looking eye to eye.
"I've killed you before, and I can do it again."
"But now you don't have your precious Boss on your side. Let's see how well you do without him."
He summoned Wake of Poseidon by his side, wielding its golden trident, standing around him in an unsettling yet royal pose. They stared at each other in dead silence for a moment, before advancing.
"Wake of Poseidon!"
Jade and his stand jumped forward, lunging the trident at Doppio's head. Knight Watch led it off the way with the edge of the shield, before lifting Jade up the air with it and throwing him. Jade switched with Doppio, who fell to the ground crouching, before running towards him again, Knight Watch holding its sword to the side and ready to slash.
Getting near Jade, he let out its upward angled slash, which was intercepted by Wake of Poseidon's trident. As he pulled the blade back, they switched, and Jade's stand lunged its trident at Doppio, who defended with the shield before attacking once more with a thrust. Jade switched again, and as Knight Watch put its shield between Doppio and the trident, they were sent back flying by the force put on the attack. Jade was breathing heavily.
"I know... that I can't... defeat you..."
He pointed at Doppio and Wake of Poseidon mimicked his pose while pointing with its trident.
"But it doesn't mean... I won't try!"
Doppio hid behind Knight Watch's shield and scribbled on its back with the shrunk pen-sword. Jade let out a war cry and ran as fast as he could towards Doppio. Wake of Poseidon was by his side, following with the points of the trident ahead. Doppio got behind Knight Watch, who assumed a defensive stance with its shield in front of its body and its sword high up, above and behind its head. They braced for impact, with Jade quickly approaching at a fast pace.
As they collided, the trident met the shield, producing sparks as they did. Doppio pushed it aside to a safe spot and descended the blade towards Jade. At that moment, Jade switched with him, and was now in a position of advantage, with his trident descending fastly towards Doppio's undefended chest.
"This is it! It's over!"
Before he knew, his trident hit the ground and Doppio had disappeared.
"What the-"
"You are right. It is over."
Jade felt the pain and wetness of blood on his clothes as the blade slashed his back, and he fell to the ground on his knees. Without being given any extra second to think, Knight Watch's blade fell upon his head, splitting it vertically in half. He finally fell to the ground in a pool of blood, before the dark mist carried him away while healing his wounds.
Doppio stepped forward, exhausted yet unharmed. He stood triumphantly, Knight Watch behind him and pointing the sword at the Blind King.
"I won't fall in servitude by your whim! Let me go and deliver to me what you promised!"
For the first time, the Blind King stepped forward and began to slowly approach. His approach seemed to instantly intimidate Doppio who flinched for a second and took a step back.
"You insolent little insect. You come into my court and think you are fit to make me demands? You were never part of the promise, never a factor in my deal."
He seemed to grow larger with each step, his darkness increasingly somber with each inch closer. Doppio assumed a defensive stance with Knight Watch.
"I will put you in your place."
The red jewel on his stand's forehead started to glow and the dark fog now covered almost the entire courtyard.
"Prepare yourself, Vinegar Doppio!"
Multiple long pitch-black arms covered in dark mist appeared all around the courtyard, surrounding the castle. They each had a faint red glow in their palms. The Blind King's voice was now deeper and unsettling, as it appeared to echo all around the castle.
"NIGHTMARE KING REQUIEM!"
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Blind King's Offer: Accepted by Diavolo;
Rejected by Doppio
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Stand User: Drie Gekijk (Defeated)
Stand Name:「Three of a Perfect Pair」
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Stand User: Ruche Caché/Monsieur Loyal (Defeated)
Stand Name:「Cirkus Lizard」/「Lizard Cirkus」
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Stand User: Ganz Dämmer (Defeated)
Stand Name:「Larks' Tongues in Aspic」
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Stand User: Shisha Soshiki / Midare (Defeated)
Stand Name:「Discipline」/「Indiscipline」
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Stand User: Jade Sinfield (Defeated)
Stand Name:「Wake of Poseidon」
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Stand User: Vinegar Doppio
Stand Name:「Knight Watch」
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