"My name is Polnareff. My purpose today is to take the cat-eared girl out of your hands and offer up the Joestar family's blood while I'm at it."
The attacker was a French man in a black top, standing a hundred and eighty-five centimeters tall—a hundred and ninety-three if you counted the hair.
"Cat-eared?" All three of them looked at Yimi, who'd already been scooped up by Joseph.
This was already the second pursuer whose primary objective was her. If that DIO fellow didn't have some kind of contemptible fetish, she must possess something special that they didn't know about.
"You dare let your guard down when death is staring you in the face? Have at you!"
Silver Chariot—that was the attacker's Stand. Its appearance was a knight wielding a Western rapier. Like Star Platinum, it was a rare blank-slate Stand with no special ability; even the swordplay was purely Polnareff's own skill.
Saying it had no special ability wasn't entirely accurate, though. Silver Chariot could voluntarily shed its armor to increase its agility. Already a speed-type Stand by nature, that boost pushed it even further, fast enough that its rapid movement created the visual impact of several afterimages.
All of the above Stand information had been volunteered by the man himself.
"This guy... how do I put it? He's bizarrely straightforward."
Not only had he laid out his Stand's abilities upfront, he hadn't even waited for the little girl to be separated from the group—like, say, when she needed to use the restroom and would inevitably have to split off from a bunch of grown men. Instead, he'd charged straight at them when they were at full numbers.
Like the knight his Stand resembled, he seemed to be following some code of chivalry, which made them feel almost guilty about ganging up on him.
"Let me handle this one, Joestar-san. Magician's Red!"
The flame Stand with its birdlike head warped the very air into a visible heat shimmer. Fire that made you instinctively want to back away surged toward the silver Stand—only to be flicked aside as the rapier curled into a spring-shaped coil along its blade and flung the flames away.
"Hrgh—"
And right at that moment, a skeletal fist shot out from under a piece of burlap and sucker-punched Polnareff square in the face. Even though he'd sensed it coming, the fire's interference had kept him from pulling his Stand back in time to block a fist with the same A-rank speed.
"What?!"
That cry of shock came not just from Polnareff but from Avdol and the others too.
One punch wasn't enough. Another followed right behind it, slamming into his face and sending him flying.
"What are you doing?!"
Yimi looked up at the rather loud Avdol with innocent confusion, grabbing a fistful of Joseph's coat.
"Avdol, don't be so harsh with a child."
"Yes, I'm sorry, it's just..."
Joseph scratched the stubble on his chin. "Hmm... going by movie logic, this would be the part where we give Avdol room for a proper one-on-one duel. I mean, he's an enemy, but somehow we're the ones who look underhanded. Can't say it's wrong, exactly, but I think we'll need to have a little talk with you when this is over."
He turned his attention to the skeletal Stand, trying to glean something from its appearance. Every DIO-affiliated Stand they'd encountered so far corresponded to a Tarot card.
A Tarot card with the element of scales—Justice, was it?
Did that sucker punch from a moment ago count as a just sneak attack?
"You think you can defeat me with cheap tricks like that? I'll never accept it." Polnareff struggled to his feet after taking two solid hits, glaring furiously at them.
"Now we're being treated as the underhanded ones."
"More importantly, Avdol-san, I believe someone like this shouldn't be one of DIO's subordinates. I know it's underhanded, but forgive us. JoJo!"
Kakyoin, who'd been watching for his moment, suddenly extended several green tendrils from his Stand to seal off Polnareff's position.
"Worthless tricks!" Polnareff directed Silver Chariot to slice through them in one stroke—but what followed was a barrage of emerald projectiles raining down like a hail of bullets.
In the instant he swung his rapier to parry, Jotaro—having read Kakyoin's intent—closed in with Star Platinum and seized Polnareff's body directly.
Joseph, who'd already extended Hermit Purple's tendrils, wore an embarrassed look. That call of "JoJo" had made him instinctively think he was the one being addressed. He'd been about to wonder since when Kakyoin had gotten so familiar with him.
"Just as I thought." Jotaro spotted a tiny Flesh Bud nestled between Polnareff's brows and tossed the man at Yimi's feet.
"Hey. Fix him."
He figured Star Platinum's precision and speed could probably strip the Bud before it damaged the brain, but with a safer option available there was no reason to be rough about it.
"Mm."
Yimi pressed her hand against Polnareff's chest and twisted the Flesh Bud out of his forehead.
As a self-protective reaction, Polnareff still blacked out the instant it was removed.
"What on earth did I just do?" Polnareff stared mournfully at Yimi, who was off to the side playing with a kendama.
"Well, it's not like you did anything that can't be taken back." Kakyoin patted him on the shoulder, showing he understood how the man felt.
"The process was somewhat unpleasant, but I'm grateful you freed me from DIO's curse, Joestar-san. I know this is probably a long shot, but would you mind if I took a look at your hands?"
Polnareff—a man searching for the killer who'd violated and murdered his sister. He didn't know what the bastard looked like, only that the freak had been born with a deformity: two right hands.
"Ah, that's no trouble at all." Joseph removed his glove, revealing the prosthetic on his left hand. "This one's a souvenir from a glorious injury fifty years ago."
"I see. Forgive me for asking." Polnareff closed his eyes. "I know it's presumptuous, but please allow me to travel with you."
His sister had been killed three years ago. He himself had encountered DIO one year ago.
That man had projected the face of the deformed killer from the anguish in Polnareff's heart. He hadn't told him who it was—only said that if Polnareff would deliver the Joestar heads, DIO would help clear the shadows from his soul. Then came the Flesh Bud.
DIO had found his enemy. And knowing DIO's temperament, the bastard might have even recruited the killer as one of his own.
Polnareff didn't know whether he would've been swayed by DIO's words without the Flesh Bud, but the thought that he'd raised his hand against an innocent child for his own personal vendetta—that was a different kind of shame entirely.
"I will take his wretched soul as the price for my sister's eternal rest!"
"Hmm... what do you think?"
"I've got no objections."
"Welcome aboard, Polnareff. But first, I have a question of my own—about Yimi." Joseph posed the question that had been on everyone's mind.
"Yimi?" Polnareff blinked.
"As you can see—this child." Joseph hoisted Yimi over and studied her for a moment, then combined his own reasoning with what Yimi had told them earlier:
"Her Stand corresponds to the Justice card—'Justice Geezer.' I'd like to ask why DIO was so intent on hunting her down..."
Justice what?