You call this a projection?

”Hahaha! I see, so that’s how it is!

Thank you, Emiya!”

Although he usually acts a bit dim-witted, the moment matters involving J. Geil are concerned, Polnareff’s IQ reclaims the high ground.

He quickly understood Shirou Emiya’s intention.

On the surface, this was naturally a method to quickly defeat DIO. But secretly, it was a lure. One only had to look at D’Arby’s abnormal defeat just now to know: there must be other Stand users under DIO hiding nearby. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for D’Arby to be so terrified—terrified to the point of fainting from the fear of being assassinated prematurely.

Furthermore, among these hidden Stand users, at least one must be absolutely loyal to DIO. Mere mutual interest wouldn’t be enough to drive them to take revenge on D’Arby—one of the masterminds behind this—after DIO’s soul had already been extracted.

Since D’Arby could be scared into a coma by this loyal Stand user, what about J. Geil?

Faced with the wager Shirou Emiya restarted using DIO’s soul as the stake, would J. Geil be forced to jump out alongside the other Stand users by that loyal subordinate? Polnareff felt a surge of anticipation at the thought that he wouldn’t even need to search; his nemesis, J. Geil, might jump right into the effective range of [Silver Chariot] on his own. He stood ready alongside Jotaro and the others, silently protecting Shirou and Joseph in the center.

—”Hurry up and jump out, J. Geil!”

—”The instant you appear, my [Silver Chariot] will definitely thrust its sword into your face first!”

Polnareff’s eyes constantly scanned the surrounding reflective objects as he silently encouraged himself. Even if J. Geil wasn’t that loyal to DIO—or if the other Stand users here weren’t as loyal as he guessed—it didn’t matter.

Why was Joseph’s [Hermit Purple] always unable to accurately photograph things related to DIO? Because of DIO’s interference! And what were Shirou and Joseph betting on now? DIO’s soul!

Even if J. Geil and the others didn’t rush out to stop them, once Shirou and Joseph completed this gamble, DIO—whose soul would be taken by Osiris—would no longer be able to block Joseph’s spirit photography.

Given the relationship between Polnareff and Joseph, Joseph surely wouldn’t refuse to help him find J. Geil later!

—”As expected, Emiya and the old man both realized it.”

Jotaro Kujo, using the precision of [Star Platinum], caught the faint flickering of lightning-like [Hamon] energy on Shirou and Joseph. Using [Star Platinum’s] speed, he quickly equipped several small gadgets Shirou had previously warned him to prepare, then began to watch the surroundings with intense concentration.

—”D’Arby is a gambling expert. Although I don’t know much about gambling, I’ve read Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s manga ’Atsui ze Pen-chan’.” (PS: Nobuyuki Fukumoto is the creator of ’Kaiji’; ’Atsui ze Pen-chan’ is another of his manga about Mahjong.)

—”I know that someone like D’Arby, who can become an expert in gambling and cheat without a single ripple in his emotions, would never be scared into a faint so easily.”

—”Even if DIO is truly powerful, it shouldn’t be enough.”

—”After all, once the wager succeeds, DIO’s soul would become his Stand’s chip, making it impossible for DIO to threaten him anymore.”

—”And those Stand users loyal to DIO would never kill D’Arby if they wanted to save DIO. On the contrary, they would have to protect him, lest DIO’s soul never return upon D’Arby’s death.”

Long before they decided to head to Egypt, Shirou Emiya had detailed the information of DIO’s various Stand users.

Jotaro was naturally no stranger to the ability of [Osiris]. Precisely because of this, D’Arby’s fainting seemed highly abnormal.

Afraid of being killed by loyalists during the gamble? With Shirou already holding [Paper], D’Arby only needed to quickly throw [Scissors] to seize DIO’s soul and use that ”hostage” to ensure the loyalists wouldn’t dare harm him.

Yet the reality was the exact opposite.

D’Arby didn’t do that; instead, he was scared into a coma, even scared witless. Clearly, the reason for this violation of logic was that in D’Arby’s perception, he knew that no matter how fast he threw [Scissors], he couldn’t be faster than the attack meant to kill him and end the gamble permanently!

And such an attack... such speed... in Jotaro’s understanding and cognition, there was only one:

”—[The World]!!”

The world seemed to lose its color in this instant. Every object, every living thing—everything in this world was easily dominated by the will of one man, or rather, one vampire, and frozen in place under his influence.

Time stopped.

”D’Arby... [Osiris]... it seems I still underestimated you and your Stand.

Your Stand [Osiris] is not a weakened version of [Atum]. Or rather, though you possess similar Stands, you ultimately chose different paths.

Terence T. D’Arby evolved the ability to see if others are lying through their souls, based on [Atum’s] ability to touch and see souls.

But your [Osiris] went deeper into the foundation of seizing souls. It utilizes bloodline connections, the trust between friends—those relationships that make a soul instinctively lower its guard—to seize connected souls along with them.”

With a single glance, DIO—who had studied the soul meticulously to complete his Stand’s evolution—saw through the truth of [Osiris]. He also realized that Shirou Emiya’s claim of using his soul as a stake without his consent was not a lie.

Therefore, he acted.

—One second, passed.

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