NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 2: 2:A Joestar's Resolve
Chapter 2: A Joestar's Resolve
Yojun couldn't see it—but he felt it. A chill like thunder crawling down his spine. Something divine. Something dreadful. Another presence in the garden.
He felt it even with blood leaking from his eyes. A burning aura that almost pierced through the madness infecting his body. It was another Stand. But it wasn't his.
It was Johan's.
Across the scorched yard, Johan stood, face splattered with ash and tears, staring at what remained of his father. His mother lay limp behind him, the flowers she loved now wilted and crushed. Red Velvet was no longer humanoid. It was a towering, 23-foot abomination, a living jungle of twisted vines, blooming teeth, and bleeding bark. It pulsed like a heart.
Johan whispered, "Sorry, Dad... I don't know what I'm supposed to do..."
He had imagined many things for his eighteenth birthday. Parties. Maybe a new jacket. Maybe his dad would joke about how much taller he was now. Maybe his mom would cook his favorite dish.
He didn't imagine this.
He didn't imagine blood and smoke, death and guilt.
But that was the life of a Joestar.
Red Velvet screamed, a sound like a thousand trees cracking at once. And from within its chest, the fading voice of Yojun Joestar echoed.
"Jojo... remember who you are... a Joestar... Never... stop believing in yourself..."
Yojun spat out more blood. His body hung like a puppet inside the mutant vines. Johan looked up, fists clenched, tears refusing to fall now. His body trembled.
"Jojo... only Liberators have the birthmark..." Yojun cried. "Liberate the needed...!"
Johan opened his eyes. Something ignited behind them.
"Ahh... Dad. I'm sorry..."
He reached his hand to the sky, his voice cracked but commanding:
"DEAD STAAAAAAR!!"
A humanoid figure materialized behind him—a radiant titan cloaked in black-and-white vertical stripes, four arms flexing like gods, golden crown glinting in the smoke. Each of its four hands bore distinct symbols. It was regal. It was monstrous. It was justice.
Yojun groaned in defiance as Red Velvet surged forward with a scream.
Dozens of venomous, spike-covered vines lashed out, whistling through the air. Johan screamed back, charging forward.
"RAHHHHHHHH!"
Dead Star intercepted the onslaught.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!"
A storm of fists met the jungle of death. Thorny vines snapped like sticks. In the midst of the brawl, one spike grazed Dead Star's body.
Suddenly, one of the needles on Dead Star's golden crown turned dark, soaked in red.
Stand Ability Copied: Venomous Vine.
Johan grinned.
"WORLD OVER-RUN, ASSIST!!"
A second Stand appeared, smaller but radiant, hands glowing with ethereal energy. The luck around Johan bloomed like a flower in spring. His footing became perfect. The earth beneath Red Velvet cracked and buckled.
World Over-Run amplified Johan's and Dead Star's luck by 500%, while cursing Red Velvet with 500% misfortune.
Johan stepped forward. No hesitation. No fear.
Dead Star's arms extended, now armed with venomous vines, and closed the distance. Johan put everything he had into his right arm.
One final blow.
BAAAAAAAAAAAM!!
A shockwave exploded across the garden.
Dead Star's punch ripped straight through Red Velvet's chest.
Through the Stand.
Through Yojun Joestar.
The mutation cracked apart like dry bark. Yojun fell from its heart, lifeless, a hole punched through his body. Red Velvet disintegrated into a pile of wilted vines.
It was over.
Johan fell to his knees. His Stands vanished in particles of gold.
He crawled beside his father's body, pushing away the vines with shaky hands. His forehead slumped against Yojun's chest.
He cried. He blamed himself.
Three Months Later...
The ocean outside shimmered, blue and endless.
A sleek underwater train cut across the Mediterranean trench. In one of its luxury compartments, a boy stared out the window.
He was no longer just a boy.
His dark red hair had golden highlights at the ends. His eyes were deep red, touched with blue and reflecting green in the light. A single earring dangled from his ear—a photo of his mother and father encased in crystal.
His shirt was blood red, emblazoned with bold white letters:
★JOJO★
He wore a black suit with vertical golden lines, clean but battle-worn.
Behind him, the television played the news:
"There have been 307 deaths in City Z alone within the past 24 hours... all linked to the mysterious phenomenon known as... Unnatural Cause."
Johan Joestar didn't blink. He kept staring at the ocean. His reflection looked older than it should.
The path of a Joestar had begun again.
To be continued→