Glaring white streetlights illuminated the street. A biting chill rolled through the air as Onofre stood frozen in a punching pose, his body covered in white frost.
Yet, not even the layers of frost could conceal the pure smile on his face.
It is said that in extreme cold, one is prone to seeing beautiful illusions.
Aozawa exhaled a cloud of frigid air, his body remaining visible.
The roar of propellers echoed through the sky as a dazzling searchlight beam swept across the ground.
He looked up, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the light, and caught sight of a rope dropping straight down.
Two figures were rapidly descending on a single rope.
When they were still seven or eight meters from the ground, the tall woman released the rope, plummeting straight down.
CRACK! Her feet shattered the white frost on the ground.
The powerful impact surged through her feet, yet Katerina's expression didn't waver in the slightest. Her face, more masculine than any man's, was etched with gravity as she slowly rose and said, "Dio, we meet again."
"No need to rush."
The frost gradually faded, and Aozawa reverted to Dio's form. "It's been a while," he said. "You all seem as energetic as ever."
Emily quickly leaped from Katerina's arms, landing lightly on the ground. The chill in the air didn't dissipate immediately, even after Aozawa deactivated his Element Replacement ability; it still lingered.
Dressed in a spaghetti-strap dress, Emily shivered uncontrollably, her azure eyes sweeping over the man frozen like an ice sculpture.
Onofre.
Emily had already thoroughly investigated this man. The reason was simple: while monitoring Takeda Eijiro, she had discovered Onofre secretly arranging treatment for Mark of MI6.
A brief inquiry into Onofre's past immediately made it clear that such a violent, willful man was highly likely to cross paths with Dio. That was why the task force had been monitoring Onofre's movements.
This also explained how Emily had managed to arrive in Setagaya District so quickly.
"Dio, you failed to ascend to Paradise yesterday. How do you feel about that?"
Emily stepped forward, not allowing any other SAT members to descend. She wanted to converse with Dio as much as possible to gather more intelligence.
Aozawa blinked. They mistook my playing with clouds for an attempt to ascend to Paradise, he realized.
He didn't burst their bubble. Instead, a smile touched his lips. "Failure is the mother of success. It's precisely because of that failure that I now understand the conditions necessary to ascend to Paradise."
Emily desperately wanted to ask what those conditions were, but she refrained. Instead, she said casually, "I've been to the Different World and met Griffith.
He says Paradise is the island where the gods reside."
"Griffith doesn't understand Paradise." Aozawa shook his head, his voice captivating. "The Milante Ancient Scripture is merely a fabrication by rulers to legitimize their reign.
Paradise is a place of eternal happiness. But what happiness can there be in staying beside one person, even if that person is supposedly a god?
The so-called Paradise is not the Origin Island in the river of time."
Emily found herself agreeing with this statement. In her view, only religious fanatics would consider being near a god a source of happiness.
To a normal person, having an omnipotent god constantly by one's side, scrutinizing one's every move, would create an unbearable sense of oppression.
"What do you want to do after ascending to Paradise?"
"You'll know when the time comes."
Aozawa hadn't actually figured it out yet, so he had no intention of revealing anything.
Emily's heart sank. This completely confirmed that Dio's ascent to Paradise would affect all of humanity.
She took a deep breath and asked quietly, "How do you intend to ascend to Paradise?"
"Emily, don't act like a little girl pestering me for answers. If you want to know, find the answer yourself."
Aozawa didn't linger. He entered a state of non-existence, much like Schrödinger's Cat.
Staying any longer would mean violating Morimoto Chiyoda's curfew.
"Wait!"
Emily took a few steps forward, only to see the tall figure vanish before her eyes.
She stamped her foot on the thin layer of frost, her cheeks puffed out in anger. "Damn it! If I could find the answer myself, would I need to ask him?"
With this, Emily fell into deep thought, subconsciously biting her thumb. Could it be that the method to ascend to Paradise is hidden in human literature? Is that why Dio told me to find the answer myself? If so, such knowledge is likely concealed within religious texts or ancient mythologies. However, these texts might refer to Paradise by different names. In Taoism, it's becoming an immortal and ascending to the Thirty-Three Heavens. In Buddhism, it would be achieving Buddhahood on Spiritual Mountain.
Following this line of reasoning, Emily suddenly realized she shouldn't have dismissed those ancient records. Perhaps Dio came to this world specifically to find the method of ascending to Paradise within such texts.
This speculation reignited Emily's desire to delve into these books.
Of course, she had no intention of reading them all herself; that would be a foolish waste of time.
Emily knew she had to consult relevant scholars and experts to discuss Dio's method for ascending to Paradise.
With this in mind, Emily approached the ice sculpture. Looking at the frozen Onofre, she asked, "Is this guy still alive?"
"Impossible." Katerina shook her head, pointing at his chest. "See that faint redness there? It wasn't spattered on externally; it originated from within. If I'm not mistaken, an ice blade must have pierced his heart, causing that discoloration."
"Is that so?" Emily sighed. "The man known as Great Britain's strongest creature... so fragile before Dio."
"Mm." Katerina sighed. Since the advent of firearms, the decline of Martial Arts had become an unavoidable reality.
In terms of destructive power, even the strongest martial artist couldn't compare to missiles and machine guns.
A mere mortal body only needed to sustain a few gunshot wounds before becoming incapacitated or even dying.
Their only advantage lay in unarmed, one-on-one combat, but martial artists had lost even this edge.
The coming era belonged to Superpower Users.
Emily smacked her forehead. "Oh, I forgot to ask about the Tritium! Never mind. The most important thing now is why Dio chose to help Phoenix Academy Kochou."
As she spoke, she began biting her thumb again. Given Dio's personality, he should despise capitalists. Did he approach Kochou because of Onofre, or was he interested in Kochou herself?
Emily had previously investigated Phoenix Academy Kochou's affairs. There was no doubt she was a very astute leader.
She offered generous welfare benefits and high salaries to her employees, always paying them at the end of the current month, never delaying until the next.
This was the kind of boss every worker dreamed of.
But this didn't mean Phoenix Academy Kochou wasn't an exploiter. She simply had a more sophisticated method of bleeding her employees dry than other bosses, preferring to sugar-coat the bitter truth to deceive the public.
Emily didn't believe Dio couldn't see through Kochou's true nature as a cold-blooded, rational capitalist.
Or perhaps... is there something special about Kochou that makes Dio tolerate her?
It's useless to dwell on it here. I should go to the Phoenix Academy and speak with Kochou directly.
Emily stopped biting her thumb. She decided to use the task force's authority to speak with Kochou face-to-face and find out why Onofre had appeared at the Phoenix Academy, and whether any interaction had occurred between Kochou and Dio.
「 」
The Phoenix Academy estate was vast. The slight commotion in one bedroom couldn't possibly have disturbed Phoenix Academy Maggie's sleep.
Kochou had no intention of having her daughter informed.
She shed her nightgown, changed into a wine-red dress, and pinned up her tousled long hair.
"Madame, people from the task force are outside asking to see you."
"They're quick." Kochou wasn't surprised by their visit.
She was only surprised by the task force's speed; they had arrived before she could even report the incident to the MacArthur Family.
It was no wonder the task force had yet to pinpoint Dio's whereabouts, yet their authority continued to expand.
They were indeed relentlessly pursuing Dio, showing no signs of slacking.
"Show them to the living room and serve them good tea. I'll be right there."
Kochou didn't rush to meet them. She first reported the incident to the MacArthur Family, then made her way to the living room.
The Butler opened the door. Kochou entered with a smile, saying, "Apologies for keeping you waiting."
Emily set down her teacup and scrutinized the renowned businesswoman. Judging by her attire and makeup, she appeared perfectly composed, showing no signs of alarm.
This was to be expected. Given Kochou's capabilities, any sign of panic would have been suspicious.
"Madame Kochou," Emily began, "we're visiting at this late hour to understand what transpired between you, Onofre, and Dio."
Kochou sat down, a smile playing on her lips. "Team Leader Emily, I've heard of your reputation. You are indeed direct. So, I won't beat around the bush. Onofre snuck into my room, intending to... misbehave.
At that moment, Dio appeared. After a brief confrontation, Onofre realized he was no match for Dio and fled. Dio then pursued him."
"Dio didn't say anything to you?"
"No. To be honest, I was quite surprised he saved me," Kochou replied with a smile, careful not to reveal what Dio had said about her being different.
If others knew Dio considered me different, she thought, even as the Family Head of the Phoenix Academy, I wouldn't escape the fate of becoming a test subject.
Emily frowned slightly. It wasn't that she thought Kochou was lying; similar incidents had occurred before where Dio rescued someone, killed the aggressor, and left without a word to the person he'd saved.
However, Kochou's status was different. Emily had expected something more.
Or perhaps there was more to it, and she's concealing it, Emily mused.
Emily studied Kochou, whose smile was flawless, revealing nothing.
"Is that so? Well then, we'll take our leave."
"Take care. I won't see you out," Kochou responded with a smile.