Why pick a fight with Jotaro Kujo?
The logic was simple: it would accelerate Jotaro’s mastery over his Stand, while allowing Horne to test the limits of his newly acquired demonic biology.
Horne was genuinely curious about how terrifying a demon’s physical attributes really were.
Utilizing the system’s stacking feature, Horne could graft the superhuman traits of his demon body onto this human vessel.
Reaping the monstrous strength and regeneration of a demon while completely ignoring the fatal vulnerability to sunlight.
“Are you even human?!”
Jotaro squinted, unable to get a read on this bizarre individual.
“Of course I’m human.”
(At least, this specific body is.)
“Just like you harbor an extraordinary power, I possess my own unique gifts.
Jotaro, if you don’t want to hurt people by accident, you’d better master your Stand immediately!!”
With that, Horne launched another punch; the phantom fist struck again, but this time Horne’s muscles swelled violently, bracing with raw demon might to halt the blow dead in its tracks.
The sheer resistance forced the muscular, violet-hued phantom arm to materialize clearly before Jotaro’s eyes.
“See that, Jotaro?!
That is your [Stand]!!
A Stand is the physical manifestation of your spirit, your soul, and your destiny!!
In other words, your Stand is an extension of yourself!!”
A demon’s flesh vastly outclassed standard humans, but it was still pushed to its limits against Jotaro’s nascent Stand.
Stopping that blow demanded almost everything Horne had.
“There are generally four ways a person awakens a Stand.
First: natural awakening from birth.
Second: honing an earthly skill to its absolute pinnacle until it materializes as a Stand.
Third: being pierced by the artifact known as the Stand Arrow.
And fourth: being triggered by a blood relative awakening their own Stand.
Your case falls squarely under the fourth category—the inexorable manifestation of the Joestar bloodline’s destiny!
Come on!
Harness that blazing fighting spirit!
Awaken and command your Stand—take hold of [Star Platinum]!!”
Horne lunged forward once more, this time aiming a strike directly between Jotaro’s eyes.
“Yare yare daze…
dumping all this nonsense on me at once.
Try not to get yourself killed, stranger.”
Jotaro’s eyes narrowed, his fighting spirit boiling over.
A towering, immaculately muscled purple silhouette burst forth behind him.
“ORA!!”
That massive fist struck with blinding velocity and sheer catastrophic force; Horne couldn’t even register the motion before he was sent flying through the air like a ragdoll.
An ordinary human would have been pulverized on impact, but for Horne, it was far from lethal.
A caved-in facial structure, fractured skull, snapped cervical vertebrae, and massive concussion were merely minor setbacks that demanded a few seconds to knit back together.
“You still want to fight?”
Jotaro asked grimly.
“Hell yes!
I want to find out where my absolute limits lie.
Don’t worry about me.
Treat me like a punching bag and go all out.”
Horne snapped his crooked neck back into alignment as his handsome face rapidly smoothed out and reformed.
“Yare yare daze.
If you insist on having a death wish, I’ll indulge you.
[Star Platinum]!”
“ORA!”
Star Platinum unleashed another strike; completely unable to see the Stand, Horne could only take the brutal punishment head-on.
“Lesson time!
Lesson One: Normally, as the physical embodiment of spiritual energy, only Stand users can perceive other Stands!
Likewise, only a Stand can harm another Stand!”
Having taken the blow, Horne swung his fist toward Star Platinum, only for his hand to pass harmlessly through the phantom’s torso like smoke.
“Lesson Two: In a battle between Stand users, always keep track of the user’s position!
No matter how invincible a Stand may be, the user’s mortal body is almost always vulnerable!!”
With a roar, he charged straight for Jotaro, but he couldn’t even graze the young man’s coat.
Star Platinum’s supremacy was comprehensive, leaving zero openings for Horne to exploit.
“Hahaha!
Now that’s what I call Star Platinum!
Absolutely terrifying!!”
Sent crashing into the gravel once more, Horne pulled himself up with a manic laugh.
“Lesson Three: Your Star Platinum boasts Rank A Destructive Power, Rank A Speed, Rank A Precision, Rank A Durability, and Rank A Growth Potential—but its Range is a measly C!
Meaning it can’t stray more than a few meters from your body!
To unleash its devastating close-quarters carnage, you must close the gap at all costs!
Out in the real world, snipers and long-range Stand users are everywhere; with your limited reach, you risk getting kited to death if you aren’t careful!”
Horne had intentionally used Star Platinum’s kinetic knockback to put distance between them, standing just beyond its striking radius.
“See that, Jotaro?
When facing an enemy you can’t obliterate in one punch, you have to pin them down.”
Seeing Horne retreat out of range, Jotaro did not pursue, his mind swimming with burning questions about this bizarre man.
“Who the hell are you?
Why are you telling me all this?
And what is this Joestar family destiny you keep babbling about?”
Horne merely took measured steps, closing the distance back to Jotaro.
“Let me answer your questions one by one.
First: I am Horne, an outsider who came to shatter predetermined fate.
Second: I’m doing this to hasten your awakening, tutor you in Stand warfare, demonstrate my goodwill, and earn a massive favor from you.
Third: The destiny of the Joestars stretches back to your grandfather Joseph Joestar and his grandfather Jonathan Joestar—an ancient grudge too long to unpack right now.
But right now, Jotaro, it’s time for me to cash in that favor.”
“Fine.
As long as it’s within my power.”
“Don’t sweat it.
With Star Platinum at your beck and call, this will be child’s play.”
Horne stepped directly into Star Platinum’s lethal zone, raised his left hand, and used his right hand to brutally snap his own index finger backwards.
Yet this time, the mangled finger did not regenerate in the slightest.
“I have deactivated my special power.
Right now, I’m nothing more than an ordinary flesh-and-blood human.”
Horne tapped the center of his forehead.
“Use your Star Platinum to kill me.”
Horne’s gaze was dead serious, chilling Jotaro down to his spine.
“Are you out of your damn mind?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?
No, Jotaro.
This is my resolve!
The unyielding resolve to leap off a cliff just to awaken my own Stand and evolve beyond my limits!”
Seeing Horne’s brazen confidence, Jotaro assumed he would reactivate his healing factor at the very last second.
Yet, as Star Platinum launched its blow, its microscopic precision instantly alerted Jotaro that the broken finger remained entirely unhealed, causing him to instinctively pull the punch.
Star Platinum’s fist cracked across Horne’s temple, sending him rolling across the dirt instead of splattering his brain.
But as Horne staggered back to his feet, an aura erupted from him that made even Jotaro’s breath catch in his throat.
“Jotaro!
Are you trying to mock and insult me, you bastard?!!”
Even with half his handsome face sunken and bruised, Horne’s furious glare exerted a suffocating, terrifying pressure.
“Are you insane?!
You’re going to die!!”
Jotaro snarled back, genuinely furious at the thought of watching someone waste their life for nothing.
“Die?!
Maybe!
But if I can’t even transcend petty death, then my so-called resolve was nothing but a cheap joke!!
Jotaro, here is Lesson Four: Only pure resolve can conquer all!
True resolve means carving a bloody path toward hope straight through the blackest despair!!
Even if it kills me, I will awaken my Stand!
I’ve already embraced the resolve to cross death’s threshold!!
Now tell me, Jotaro—do you have the resolve to kill a man?!!”
Willpower!
Horne’s sheer presence didn’t dim in the face of his wounds; it exploded exponentially.
Deeply moved and shaken by this raw grit, Jotaro took slow, deliberate steps toward him.