Chapter 202. [Cream]
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However, the fear lasted only for a moment.
Just like Iggy's pitch-black will to take on DIO, which genuinely scared them.
But that fear also revealed another message.
It made them feel so excited that they forgot the fear!
Because of DIO!
Ever since DIO was revived and awakened, he had been staying in the mansion for a long time. Now, finally, led by the vengeful Iggy, he appeared before them!
They had been waiting for this moment for far too long!
Was Iggy's awakened black will frightening?
It's good that it's frightening!
For a vampire like DIO, who isn't even human, they worried that Jotaro and the others might not be able to beat him to death!
So even when Jotaro and the others were about to step into this mansion…
Green Dolphin Studio and "Stardust Crusaders" knew exactly what their audience wanted to see and what they were eagerly waiting for. Immediately, they gave them an infamous "←—To Be Continued."
They dragged the storyline into the next week.
And even that wasn't enough.
One of the final Nine Glory Gods' Stand users stood in Jotaro and the others' way, blocking their path.
But is that really an issue?
No, it's not an issue at all!
Compared to the DIO looming right in front of them…
How could a mere Nine Glory God Stand user possibly make the audience feel impatient?
Not to mention, this Stand user followed a pattern the audience had already identified about the Nine Glory God Stand users:
As long as the Stand isn't based on elements…
The Nine Glory God Stand user, once their Stand ability is broken, would turn into a Teletubby-like figure. This pattern applied even to Darby, the final Nine Glory Gods Stand user!
Of course, as the last non-elemental Stand user among the Nine Glory Gods...
Darby's Stand ability, [Atum], was truly considered invincible.
It's not only similar to [Osiris], where winning a gamble would claim the opponent's soul…
It also came with the added ability to read minds.
Even if this mind-reading only gave "YES" or "NO" responses…
In games, as long as you ask whether the opponent will go left or right, defend or unleash a special move, charge or attack…
...knowing the answers to these questions would make you almost omniscient.
And since [Osiris] was once scared into losing by Jotaro's bluff…
Knowing this, Darby was absolutely not going to fall for the same trick.
So, after enduring a week, the audience…
Upon seeing Darby and his invincible [Atum], they truly believed Jotaro and the others could only defeat Darby by physically attacking the Stand user.
Otherwise, within the game world where Darby excelled, Jotaro and his team had no chance!
Until they saw, in the later episodes, just how absurd things would get when Joseph, the old trickster, wasn't plot-killed off…
A gaming expert?
A genius player?
A mind-reading ability that can predict your next move?
…
All of that? Muda Muda Muda!
The invincible [Hermit Purple] would show Darby what it means to cheat like a master!
Teaming up with Jotaro's bluffing skills…
They made Darby, who could only read one person's mind, with the limited range of "YES" and "NO," get so mentally broken that he had to admit defeat. In doing so, the souls Darby had collected using [Atum] to threaten Jotaro and the others were instantly returned to their rightful owners the moment he conceded!
And when they saw Darby, this manipulator of minds…
Seeing the sight of [Star Platinum] behind Jotaro, he cried out for mercy while being "Ora Ora" punched into the air.
His body, sent flying, revealed to Jotaro and the others that what looked like a seaside island was just a background, an illusion.
They had been in a single room all along. By following the large hole left by Darby's body, they could find their way out.
Seeing this scene, the audience…
Their hearts felt as refreshed as if they had just downed a cold soda on a hot summer day, cool and exhilarating!
"Satisfaction!"
Until…
"Avdol... he has already turned to dust."
On the screen of "Stardust Crusaders", picking up Avdol's fallen hands, the floating Stand calmly said, "My mouth is a tunnel to a dark space that even I do not know."
"He pushed you all away earlier. Now it's your turn. If you dare to think of defeating Lord DIO, such treacherous thoughts must be purged!"
Saying this, the Stand personally demonstrated what it meant to "turn to dust" and "a dark tunnel to nowhere," by swallowing those severed hands.
"I'll drag you in, one by one, into my Vanilla Ice's dark space!"
This was the ability of the Stand.
An unbeatable spatial ability.
Anything that came into contact with the Stand would be swallowed like falling into a black hole.
It was the MAX of both offense and defense!
Even his weakness of needing to breathe was eliminated after DIO turned Vanilla Ice into a zombie. He no longer needed to breathe.
He was an invincible force, only able to attack others while his opponents could only flee in despair!
And the most important thing about the Stand was its name – [Cream].
"That's not even one of the nine Nine Glory Gods!"
"It's not even remotely related to the Tarot cards anymore! This is the name of a band Clapton formed in 1969!"
This was the complaint about the name [Cream].
But since Stand names didn't necessarily have to follow the Tarot cards or the Nine Glory Gods, this was already well established.
So the complaint was just that—a complaint.
More importantly, the complaint was about another matter… or rather, it was a loud protest directed at Green Dolphin Studio—
"Av↗dol↘!"
"You @#&%! You %$#@! What the %@&$—! Bastard! Pucci!!"
"Beast! …No, I need a word more vicious than 'beast'!"
"Lies! There's no way Avdol could be dead! He hasn't even gone through the staircase scene!!"