In the Court of the Blind King

Chapter 11 - Order of Demise

"...the real challenge of this trial will now begin."

   Shisha Soshiki stood in the middle of that room, with her stand by her side. Her confident look challenged Diavolo and Doppio to come closer and fight her.

   "Doppio..."
   Diavolo leaned towards Doppio, whispering.
   "Take a look at Epitaph's vision."

   Looking into the bangs of his hair, Doppio foresaw what was about to come.

   "Her attacks seem to be standard Boss... nothing unbeatable or unexpected."

   Diavolo looked at her with suspicion, then spoke once more to Doppio.

   "I don't like the sound of this, but it seems like we don't have much of a choice. Keep an eye on her for me."

   "Yes, Boss."

   He then started to walk into her direction, as King Crimson began to form behind him.

   "Come closer, Diavolo."

   She seemed to disdain him in a polite and discreet manner, ready for his assault.

   "If you wish."

    Without giving a moment to breathe, Diavolo entered the broken space of erased time, slowly circling the woman in traditional Japanese robes, coming behind her. Time resumed to normal as Diavolo had disappeared before Shisha's eyes. Quickly, she turned with her stand, Discipline, crossing its arms above the head to block as King Crimson's hand descended full force into a chop, and the imminent attack was stopped.

   "I commend your reflexes."

   "Your fighting patterns are widely known among us already, Diavolo."

   The stand retracted its hand, which then formed into a fist and began a barrage of punches towards Shisha.
Her reflexes were remarkable, as she blocked as many punches as she could, but they were too many for all to be avoided, and so a few passed through her defenses and hit her body.

   Diavolo smiled confidently. The trap corridors were a tough predicament, but the user of that stand did not seem to be any better than him at fighting and combined with her frail body and Doppio's vision, fate seemed to tilt in his favor.

   "You talk too much for someone who struggles just to defend!"

   At that moment, she laughed softly, before her stand counter-attacked, hitting King Crimson on the chest and pushing it and Diavolo back. Discipline was not a strong stand compared to King Crimson, but the attack had nevertheless surprised him.

   "You won't be able to kill me only with weak surprise attacks."

   "I beg to differ, Diavolo. In fact..."

"...I have already won."

   Diavolo was confused and even considered that she might have been mad or bluffing.

   "What are you talking about?"

   "I have already won this fight, and your perfect attack patterns have won it for me."

   He looked to Doppio, who nodded and once again looked into the future with Epitaph. He quickly turned to Diavolo.

   "It's a bluff, Boss! You can still defeat her!"

   Angrily, Diavolo turned to Shisha, dashing towards her to attack again. Without moving from her spot, Discipline quickly blocked the first attack. Another barrage immediately followed, but this time, much fewer attacks went through. As he let his guard down for a split second, an attack hit King Crimson's face, making Diavolo spit some blood, and more punches succeeded to hit him in the chest, throwing him to the floor as he fell on his back.