In the Court of the Blind King

Chapter 9 - Breaking the Nightmare

"That is if you can even touch me before I kill you."

   Diavolo and Doppio stared at the nameless foe at a safe distance, the first had an angry expression, and the latter displayed careful fear in his eyes. Doppio turned to Diavolo, whispering.

   "Can we even do it?"

   Diavolo was thinking of a way to do just that, landing a hit into Nameless, one that would win that trial for them. Yet he couldn't. No strategy made sense to him. Even if he had full control of Epitaph along with his King Crimson, the teleportation ability of Nightmare King was too fast for him to counter.

   "We have no choice."

   He stared at the red eyes, watching them with their disturbing presence, exerting its overwhelming dominance over the area. Then, Doppio remembered a detail.

   "Boss, I have a plan."

   They both whispered now.

   "What do you have in mind, Doppio?"

   "He can only teleport to a certain range, I think it was about 5 or 6 meters from his position."

   "Yes, but how does that help us? His reaction time is too fast to counter."

   "We need to predict his movent, Boss. Hit him where he teleports and at the same instant!"

   "He can gain time with his manifested stand, Doppio. What if we can't hit him!"

   "We must work in perfect coordination, give him no time to rest at all. I will distract him and indicate the position you have to move. When I give you the sign, you use King Crimson to get there before he teleports and hit him as he does."

   Diavolo stayed silent for a second, staring at Nameless, worried.

   "Do you think this will work, Doppio?

   Doppio had no idea. Perhaps it would be a terrible option, perhaps it would take him down for good, but the fact was, Doppio had no real idea if this would work. However, he was sure of one thing: if they did not try it with all their will, there was no chance for them at all. All they had at that moment, shining bright in the pitch-black darkness, was hope.

   "Yes. I'm sure of it."

   At that moment, Diavolo looked at Doppio, surprised by his confidence, and with that, his eyes filled with confidence.

   "Then I will trust you, Doppio."

   They approached Nameless, still at a safe distance.

   His coarse voice filled the air once more, a challenge to them.

   "So you finally decide to approach?"

   "Yes."

   "I figure you have found a way to defeat me, or at least try."

   They looked at him, serious faces, determined stares, silently confident.

   "Very well. I shall be the judge of your growth."

   "Let's go, Doppio!"

   "Yes, Boss!"

   They approached him, Doppio to his right, Diavolo to his left. Nameless did not move at all. Doppio looked at Diavolo and nodded. Summoning Epitaph by his side, he looked into the bangs of his hair, starting to play the events bound to happen in the immediate future.

   He saw Nameless standing there for a moment, still immovable; Diavolo starting to move to attack him, and at that moment, Nameless teleporting behind Diavolo and attacking; Himself jumping at Nameless's position; Diavolo getting hit by an attack.