Chapter 24: The Password is Correct Once More

The beams released by JOJO naturally possessed a certain disintegration effect.

Wherever Mezzard was struck by the Spacium Ray, his body began to crack open continuously.

As the beam faded, JOJO lowered his arms and finally spoke: “There is only one reason for your death—a very simple reason.”

His gaze fixed on Mezzard, and seeing that his opponent’s body was completely shattered, he slowly turned to face the desert ruins where countless had perished.

“Because you pissed me off.”

At that moment, behind JOJO, the cracks in Mezzard’s body erupted with white light, and in the next instant, he exploded into a myriad of radiant fragments.

These points of light, caught by the wind, drifted down to the sand-covered ground. The lingering power of the Ripple brought forth new life, causing green shoots to sprout and bloom rapidly, as if in tribute to those who had died.

Such was the power of Ripple Overdrive, whose effects were even greater when augmented by light energy.

In the world of JoJo, when Jonathan healed his arm, the residual Ripple energy could make withered flowers bloom anew.

The motes of light that had just settled on the ground had a similar effect.

In a hidden corner of the desolate ruins, Fujimiya was left dumbstruck by what he saw.

He had never left, remaining concealed in the shadows to witness everything.

“Why does JOJO’s power bring new life to these ruins?”

This was completely at odds with the answer Fujimiya had deduced.

In his view, JOJO was someone sent by the Invaders of Destruction, who had deceitfully seized Earth’s power by underhanded means.

Under normal circumstances, Fujimiya believed JOJO would never do anything beneficial for Earth.

“Is he still pretending? But the cost is too great…”

The metallic lifeform destroyed last time, and now the hyperspace lifeform—both had been sent by the Invaders to invade Earth.

Yet JOJO had annihilated them both.

The first time, one could argue that killing his own kind was for the sake of infiltration, but twice—killing his own again?

As Fujimiya wrestled with these contradictions, he sensed another strange aura.

The blooming flowers on the ground did not bring JOJO any relief; his heart remained unsettled.

Unintentionally, this state resonated with the Ultraman spirit, allowing his soul to grow.

[Light Factor: 91% → 92%]

[Darkness Factor: 9.1% → 9.2%]

His power had risen once again, leaving JOJO slightly surprised and momentarily unable to understand the reason.

Now was not the time to ponder it deeply; instead, he turned his gaze to the members of XIG.

After an Ultraman nodded, he leapt into the sky and disappeared in an instant.

Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, Fujimiya’s expression shifted between light and dark. “Again, this dark presence—it’s even stronger this time!”

He glanced up at a few fighter jets high above; the human host of Gaia was hidden among them.

With Mezzard destroyed, Lightning Squad regrouped and returned to the airborne base.

This time, Okawara didn’t crash, giving the team a better overall performance.

I Dream piloted the EX back to the Peace, and, far from reprimanding him, Director Tsutsumi assigned the EX to I Dream for future missions.

If Leo saw this treatment, he’d probably challenge Seven to a sparring match—just look at how good the leadership is here!

With the battle over, the Peace also began its return to the airborne base.

In the command room, Commander Ishimuro sent Advisor Chiba to the disaster area to oversee rescue efforts.

After returning to the base, I Dream recalled the matter of Jojo.

First, he called his mother, then used an excuse to explain to Takayama Shigemi that Jojo temporarily had nowhere to stay.

Takayama Shigemi had no objections to Jojo staying with them.

I Dream’s father, Takayama Yui, was a warm-hearted man and readily agreed as well.

Next, I Dream went to the logistics department to borrow a communicator for modification.

As for buying materials—there was no money.

Besides, I Dream was reluctant to spend any, so the tools and materials for modification were all borrowed from maintenance.

It was frugality woven into his very character.

But as long as no money was involved, I Dream was easy to persuade.

XIG’s communicators had a tracking function, which needed to be altered to prevent Ishimuro and the others from discovering Jojo’s location.

The tracking would remain but only I Dream would know, so he could find Jojo in case of any emergencies.

Come to think of it, I Dream really had a lot to deal with; now that he finally had the EX, he needed to find a way to modify it himself.

Elsewhere—

A streak of light soared from the sea and landed near the reefs. Jojo returned to his human form and opened his panel to check his status.

[Host: Jojo Joestar]

[Species: Human/?]

[Light Factor: 92%]

[Darkness Factor: 9.2%]

[Skills: Ripple Overdrive, Spacium Ray]

[Plugin 1: Stand (Inactive)]

Raising the Light Factor to 92%—though it seemed only a 1% increase, it now took a whole year’s worth of Ripple training to achieve such progress.

The resulting overall power growth was comprehensive.

Jojo carefully sensed his body: strength, defense, energy, stamina, speed—all had improved.

Reflecting on the earlier situation, he more or less understood what had happened.

It must have been another accidental “password correct” moment, leading to a mind-over-matter boost.

Now, trying to mimic that state again, it was just like the first time—no effect.

The Darkness Factor remained unchanged; at such low levels, it was useless, and Jojo didn’t want to tamper with it for fear of losing control.

He had only just learned the Spacium Ray today; it came with a built-in disintegration characteristic—remarkably effective.

As for Ripple Overdrive, all related Ripple techniques he’d developed were included within it.

Having sorted out his status, Jojo closed the panel and returned to the Takayama house.

Having missed lunch while dealing with Mezzard, he would at least make it back for dinner.

At the warm invitation of Takayama Shigemi and her husband, Jojo dined with them.

After dinner, the matter of rent and food expenses came up. Though he was staying at I Dream’s house, he didn’t like freeloading.

Even though the couple said it wasn’t necessary, Jojo insisted.

One should not take advantage of others’ kindness; besides, he hardly lacked money.

He could turn into Ultraman—surely he wouldn’t still be short on cash?

With Ultraman’s vision, which extended over vast distances and even had penetrating power, he could easily search the sea for valuables in sunken ships and solve any money problems.

Seeing Jojo’s resolve, Takayama Shigemi and Takayama Yui could only accept, albeit a bit helplessly.

The room had long been prepared; Takayama Shigemi had set it up as soon as I Dream called.

As night deepened, Jojo lay on his bed to rest his body while his mind entered subspace.

The old hermit was nowhere to be found in subspace, likely still asleep and recovering.

Today, Jojo once again felt his own lack of offensive techniques and how weak he was.

If he had a skill like the Meta Field, Mezzard would have died the moment he appeared!

“Too weak! Far too weak! Orewa is still not strong enough!”

Jojo looked toward the training ground. This time, without any hesitation, he strode into the portal...