Hearing Higashikata Josuke's rhetorical question, the priest's devout and fanatical expression faltered slightly, then transformed into one of condescending pity and absolute confidence.
"My destiny? Heh... My destiny has long been ordained by Heaven! That is to fulfill Lord Dio's grand ambition, to open the door to a new world, and to lead the enlightened to eternal happiness!
This is my mission, my fate, and the only path the universe's gravity has guided me to! I am destined to succeed; this is absolute destiny, and for this, no amount of sacrifice matters!"
"Is that so?"
Higashikata Josuke sneered. The golden flames around him burned even more fiercely, and the golden hands suspended in the air tightened slightly, as if poised to strike.
"But what if you fail? And as for 'sacrifice,' what have you sacrificed? Aren't all those so-called sacrifices made by others?"
Higashikata Josuke still remembered the ordinary people he saw under the tree in the prison; they had all been sucked dry by Green Baby. This made the priest's talk of sacrifice seem quite ridiculous to him, and he hadn't even seen those who died due to the disaster.
"Stubborn fool! How could I possibly lose?!"
A flicker of anger crossed the priest's eyes; he felt a sense of humiliation.
He said no more, his figure blurring again. In the accelerated time, he appeared like a phantom behind Josuke, a dagger appearing in his hand at some unknown moment, thrusting directly at Josuke's back of the neck!
"Die, the Joestar Family bloodline must be severed in the old world! Depart this world with glory!"
However—
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out!
It wasn't the dagger piercing flesh; instead, the dagger flew from his hand. The priest suddenly felt a heavy pressure on his body, almost forcing him to his knees.
"What?!"
The priest's pupils constricted. The speed of this attack far surpassed his previous ones, and Higashikata Josuke should not have had time to react. But Echoes Act 3 had exerted its power. Once locked onto a target, it could apply pressure directly without needing to see the opponent.
The terrifying pressure intensified the moment the priest rushed towards Higashikata Josuke, an unbearable sound pressure.
Moreover, the key was that this pressure was not gravitational pressure; it was merely sound pressure, appearing as enhanced gravity. Made in Heaven had gravity attributes and could neutralize gravity attacks, but it could not neutralize this sound pressure!
"I told you..." Josuke didn't even fully turn around. His voice carried a cold killing intent, "You will fail! Burn, you demon!"
Instantly, dozens of other golden hands, as if possessing their own consciousness, converged and clapped from all directions towards the priest's revealed position!
They weren't attacking blindly but seemed to anticipate all possible trajectories of the priest's movement, forming a inescapable net!
But the priest's face only showed a brief moment of fear. After seeing these hands, he calmed down again, because they were too slow. In that short moment, his time had accelerated even further; he had already reached over 40 times acceleration.
When the priest was pressed down, he was not yet close enough to Higashikata Josuke to be crushed to death. After realizing what was happening, he could still move.
The priest exerted all his strength to create distance, successfully escaping 5 meters, narrowly weaving through the gaps between the hands, leaving a trail of afterimages, and darting away in an instant.
The priest stared intently at Josuke, especially at the golden flames burning around him and his eyes that also seemed to burn with fire. The priest gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"Damn it, I almost fell into your trap, but that was your only chance. Now everything is already decided."
Josuke, however, said nothing. The golden flames around him danced, as if singing, or perhaps judging. And the priest vanished, circling Higashikata Josuke at an extremely high speed.
He was so fast that Higashikata Josuke couldn't see him clearly, only countless afterimages. His punches hit nothing. The priest didn't attack either; he just kept staring at Higashikata Josuke, looking for any possible weakness.
He no longer approached easily, wary of that strange sound pressure. This ability indeed somewhat countered him, but as long as he didn't get close, nothing else mattered.
"Useless struggle, Higashikata Josuke! In the accelerated torrent of time, your defeat is only a matter of time. The Almighty Father in heaven will surely guide me to fulfill my destiny and lead all humanity to eternal happiness."
The priest's voice came from all directions, carrying the static generated by his high-speed movement, while occasionally a few bullets, terrifyingly fast, would fly towards Higashikata Josuke.
Higashikata Josuke stood his ground, his gaze sharp. He directly ignored the bullets. He now had a premonition that unless the priest attacked him at point-blank range, none of the priest's attacks would hit him.
At the same time, he knew that the naked eye and conventional reactions could not capture the priest, but he was not without a countermeasure. Jotaro's combat wisdom and his understanding of his own abilities were rapidly merging.
'Perhaps I could try using Weather Forecast? How about trying localized, ultra-extreme weather...'
Just then, the priest's circling figure suddenly disappeared. Simultaneously, a strong gravitational force abruptly pressed down on Higashikata Josuke, causing him to sway and lose his balance.
A nearby coconut tree bent, and the priest stood on it, launching himself towards Higashikata Josuke like a steel ball from a slingshot... Meanwhile, at an SPW Foundation research facility in Texas.
"What's going on? Everything seems to be speeding up! Our research can't proceed!"
"Exactly, these viruses are growing incredibly fast, we can't even detect them..."
The research facility was in chaos. This was originally a lab for studying special viruses, but now, under accelerated time, the viruses were reproducing at an incomprehensible speed.
These viruses could no longer be studied with the original methods, and due to the accelerated time, various operations in the lab were experiencing chaotic accidents.
And in the midst of this chaos, the door to the research building suddenly knocked.
"Ah, who is it?"
"Delivery. Someone set the address here. Please open the door to sign."
A magnetic middle-aged man's voice came from outside, his English carrying a slight Japanese accent.
"Ah, which delivery service is so polite? Wait, isn't there a guard room at the entrance? Wouldn't it be fine to leave it with the guard?"
Inside the research building, a researcher took up the conversation, but suddenly realized something was wrong. They had a parcel locker and a security guard; why was someone knocking on the door?
With confusion, he pulled open the door and saw a black-haired Japanese man with a bowl cut standing at the entrance, giving the researcher a friendly smile, especially after confirming there was no ambush inside.
"Who are you?! You're not a delivery person!"
Looking at the unfamiliar Japanese man, the researcher's expression instantly changed, becoming wary. He immediately pulled a pistol from his lab coat.
"Hello, I just wanted to ask if the Arrow is here? Also, sir, please don't shoot. It won't do any good and will only make your death more painful. And by the way, sir, your safety is off."