JOJO: Bizarre Adventure

"Hello, Diablo, my friend."

Upon seeing the butler lead Diablo in, Virgil immediately stood up to greet him.

The butler left the room without a word, closing the door behind him.

"Please take a seat."

Virgil raised his hand and then sat back down on the single sofa.

"You've awakened your Stand. How's it going? Getting used to it?"

"so far so good."

Diablo looked at the well-dressed white man before him and couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

The man looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a handsome face and wearing a monocle. He exuded an air of nobility and elegance.

He had assumed that the leader of "Hell" would be a middle-aged or elderly man who looked dignified and shrewd, which would have been more in line with his impression of a gang leader.

However, the person in front of him did not give him the feeling of an emperor of the underworld at all, but rather a well-mannered classical European nobleman.

Diablo agreed and sat down on the sofa, looking somewhat reserved.

Virgil handed him a cup of tea, and picked one up for himself as well.

"Show me your double. Of course, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Diavolo was somewhat reluctant, as Loanke had taught him a lot along the way, and his understanding of Stands had become increasingly profound.

But he dared not disobey this king of the European underworld.

"This is my double,"

A red and white figure appeared beside him.

"His name is 'King Crimson'."

"Not bad, a very handsome stunt double."

Virgil was a man who had seen it all; what difference would a few words of praise make to the mere "Crimson King"?

"So what are your abilities?"

"The Crimson King's abilities are very complex. In fact, I don't fully understand them myself. I still need more guidance from the senior members of the organization."

"Is that so? It seems to be a very impressive ability."

Virgil took a sip of tea.

"From today onwards, you are a new officer of [Hell]."

His words caught Diablo off guard. After all, it was impossible for a normal person to make a newcomer who knew nothing into a leadership position.

"Isn't this too hasty? I'm just a newbie..."

"Don't worry, I believe you can do it."

Virgil didn't care about any of that, because it was Farinata's decision.

"I now officially appoint you as a cadre of 'Dis City'."

(Dis City is a dividing line between the fifth and sixth levels of Hell, and it is inhabited by fallen angels.)

Virgil's expression remained unchanged, maintaining his refined demeanor accompanied by a faint smile.

"By the way, you haven't met Farinata yet, right? Although I'm also very reluctant, you'll have to go see him eventually."

His words implied that he wanted the guest to leave.

“Propertius, arrange for someone to take him to see Farinata.”

Virgil picked up the phone beside him, but instead of dialing, he spoke directly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the room was pushed open.

The steward Propertius entered and bowed respectfully to Virgil.

Diablo also hurriedly stood up.

"Then I'll be going now."

He also bowed to Virgil.

Virgil nodded slightly, and Diablo and Propetius left the room together.

“Come with me, Mr. Diablo.”

Three hours later.

In front of an ordinary-looking house.

"This is Mr. Farinata's residence."

The man driving explained to Diablo.

"Okay, thank you."

Diablo was puzzled as to why an executive of the Hell organization would live in such a place.

He pressed the pager button by the door, and a man's voice quickly came through.

"Come in, Mr. Diablo."

After receiving permission, Diablo pushed open the door to the house.

No matter how you look at it, it's just an ordinary house, a single-story building with a small courtyard. The only thing worth noting is that there's a poplar tree planted in the courtyard.

Diablo didn't linger and opened the door in front of him.

What appeared before him was a black-haired man sitting upright in a chair in the living room.

“You’ve finally arrived, Diablo.”

His attitude was calm, but he spoke in a very unusual tone.

"So you are Mr. Farinata, the prophet who foretold that I would one day stand at the top?"

"Yes."

Farina raised her hand, gesturing for the other person to sit down and talk.

"However, there is one thing you said that is not accurate. I did not predict this, but I knew it for a fact, because this is the 'future' I have experienced, which is why I said it."

Farinata narrated calmly.

"I must inform you of my abilities and position in order to ensure my safety, because that is what my memory tells me."

As he spoke, a stone coffin appeared behind him.

"This is my stand-in, 'A Night at the Opera.'"

Inside the coffin, there was a faintly visible figure. Diablo looked closely and realized that it was remarkably similar to Farinata in front of him, only appearing to be a bit older.

"Contrary to your guess, my ability is not to foresee the future, but rather 'reverse memory aging.'"

Diablo was stumped by this.

“I don’t understand what you mean, Mr. Farinata.”

"Simply put, I only know what I will experience in the future, but I don't remember what I experienced in the past."

He pointed to the stone coffin behind him.

"From the moment I came into this world, I have all the memories of my life, and at the same time I have been given this stand-in called 'Opera Night'."

As time goes by, I will gradually forget the memories I have experienced; only the 'future' that I have never experienced will remain in my mind.

He said this without any personal emotion involved.

"My 'past' will be gradually sealed in this stone coffin. Today I will forget yesterday's memories, but of course I won't be completely unaware. Through reasoning and conversations with people, I can still learn some things, and these will also be memories of the future."

At this point, he paused.

"Until one day, I will lose all my memories, and then, having completed my mission, I will die as I remember."

He spoke these words with a slightly melancholic tone.

Diablo roughly understood what he meant, but he also found it difficult to imagine what exactly Farinata's abilities were.

"It's like this is the first time we've met, because you've never seen me before in your memory."

But for me, this is the last time I will see you, because in my memory, I will see you many times in the future.

"Uh... it's still hard to imagine, but I think I understand."

"Good that you understand. So, in my memory, you, Diavolo, became a cadre representing 'Dis City.' You possess the true ability to 'foresee the future,' as well as another superpower: 'time erasure.'"

Farinata's words convinced Diablo of his identity, as he had never spoken of his abilities to anyone.

"You must always remember what I am about to say. I will never tell this to a second person until I have completely forgotten it."

His expression was very serious.

"I will not be your enemy, nor will I harm you. My relationship with Hell is not one of mere subordination."

That's why I'm sharing this information with you.

He stared intently at Diablo:

"The first thing is that one day in the future, you will fake your death to escape, betray 'Hell,' and then lead your people to seize Italy and become the ruler of all of Italy..."

"The Emperor of Evil!"