Chapter 9: 9: Benefits of chaos.
The suffering Jonathan experienced had covered all other sensations and perceptions, leaving only an overwhelming feeling that spread throughout his body. He felt his being was being completely torn apart, but strangely enough, he could feel a strange power being born within him.
If this were a normal Jojo series, or rather, any generic anime, it was possible that the protagonist would see his will strengthened and even gain new abilities from this painful situation, but even if there were fictional materials, this was a real-world situation.
Perhaps it was the intention of a world that did not want to lose its current protagonist until he fulfilled his set "destiny", so the black clouds that had previously dissipated seemed to be attracted by a strange force that covered only that area.
The pressure of such a phenomenon was felt by Tonpetty and his disciples, but even when they looked up at the sky, they could only see the moon in the sky, they could never imagine the extraordinary sight that only a select few could see.
Selene, who observed this situation from the world created by Dio Brando, was fascinated. She knew some special things about what was going on, but a certain memory given to her by Paradise came to mind.
[The Hunter's ideas about the Reincarnation Paradise may differ from the truth, experience it for yourself].
Simple, but it meant one thing, the original material with over 4000 chapters could at best be a vague reference to what the Park was capable of, perhaps many configurations and 'mechanics' so to speak were different.
Selene had demonstrated some situations with her actions, and seeing the outcome brewing before her eyes, she could not blink like a cunning fox. She looked at the power the world itself was ready to use and felt a deep hunger.
Hunger! An almost uncontrollable desire surged from her body, from the depths of her being, from her cells, from her bloodline. She licked her parched lips, a little saliva fell from her mouth, and you could even hear her stomach growling.
She wanted to eat a piece of this world! But she felt that her nature was not that of an abyssal being, for she knew the attitude of the Reincarnation Paradise towards the abyss and its existence, and it would certainly not change.
But apart from hunger, there was a hidden desire, something we could call a perversion or a lustful need, something she had already accepted and thus disregarded, but it was there: she wanted to do real damage to this world, like a bug in a program, starting with something simple and then... getting worse.
Focusing on her main desire, in her mind, there were only two types of beings that 'hungered' for things related to the world, and considering the words the Park had said to her when she was reborn in this body, she already had a part of her nature in mind.
'Either I am a spawn of an Outer God, or I am a being of the Disformity', either answer was undoubtedly messed up, but she had no 'Psychic Power', so the answer lay in the first option.
Considering her affiliation with the Red Moon, she could be any kind of Outer God, Lovecraft wasn't the only one with enough inspiration to write about these beings, and while neither resembled the madness belonging to a certain mysterious world, at least the search range was narrowed down quite a bit.
Hunger wouldn't let her think clearly at the moment, but something seemed to be bubbling up in the back of her mind, maybe when she calmed down she would be able to figure it out and maybe get an answer to her situation.
But now she had to do something, she couldn't just let the world bless the protagonist, could she? She's not like a certain Saiyan with a broken head, she wouldn't let her enemies just fill themselves with benefits that they would use against her.
"Mr. Brando, if you would do me the favor of letting me out," Selene spoke, holding back the hungry trembling in her body, causing Dio to raise an eyebrow.
"With pleasure, Miss Mond, it will be my pleasure," Dio made an exaggerated bow, and with a wave of his hand, a white crack appeared in front of Selene.
Her arrival was noticed by the three Hamon warriors, who were unaffected, as well as the zombies present, only the latter remained still, following their master's wish, they would only be spectators of the theater that was about to take place.
"Hey, girl! What happened to that vampire?" asked Dire, who seemed to be quite comfortable with the presence he felt coming from Selene.
In his mind, it was obvious that the previous dark feeling was probably due to the disgusting feeling that vampires caused; how could a girl as beautiful as the one in front of him emanate such a sinister aura?
In his mind, Selene's current presence, along with her nun's habit, revealed the truth, the woman in front of him was not just a lady, she probably had some important status, and perhaps the Church had some hidden power they didn't know about.
That would explain the nun's clothes and her use of crosses to fight! Even though they were red, isn't red the symbol of blood, that's what Catholic doctrine is based on! Dire rushed over to help, ready to use his Hamon to heal her wounds.
'She sure beat that vampire already,' was the last thing Dire thought with a confident smile on his face before he saw a flash of red and then darkness itself.
"What the hell have you done?" shouted Straizo with anger and some fear in his voice.
Anger because he saw that damned woman murder his friend with one blow, slitting his throat and tearing off his head with her hands, using them as claws.
In his mind, he noted the resemblance of Selene's movements to those of a tiger, and the power hidden in her large but delicate body showed through.
Fear, because he felt that he could not stop those movements even if he was prepared, at he would have to lose an arm just to protect himself once, but it was obvious that Selene would not only incapacitate him, but the desire to kill in her eyes was more than obvious.
She wanted to destroy them here and now!
The fountain of blood caused by Dire's decapitation seemed to excite the zombies, some even wanted to get close to lick some of the wonderful liquid filled with so much life force.
Although the Hamon was harmful to them, it seemed that the blood of a user of this power was truly 'tempting' to the bloodsucking creatures, but the orders of their superior were rigid, and none of them moved, no matter how much they longed for it.
[You have killed the Hamon Dire Warrior.]
[You have obtained 1% of this world's wellspring.]
[The Hunter's talent: Essence Orb has been activated.]
[You have obtained: Hamon Warrior's Essence (Green)
Putting away the green treasure chest dropped by her first victim, Selene clicked her tongue and looked up at the cloudy sky, where golden thunderbolts were about to fall upon them, but that meant that the current protagonist, Jonathan, would not benefit, so they held back, or so the girl understood as she looked.
"Why so serious?" replied Selene to Straizo, after she had paid attention to him.
She calmly held a black cross in her hand, 2 red crosses and a black one floated around her, spinning as if they were little fairies, giving her a holy yet corrupt touch. Even though she looked innocent and pure, the visual impact made both Tonpetty and Straizo realize something.
Maybe there was something worse than vampires or those creatures trapped in stone, maybe those legends, those stories, that special book were right and there was something more dangerous in this world, something that wanted what was bad for humanity.
Maybe, just maybe, demons exist, because the two of them seemed to be facing one. Selene's holy image and her blasphemous acts, along with the constant emission of 'spiritual' pollution she emitted, made these veteran warriors unable to react in time.
It was a mistake, one they might not have made in normal times, but it happened, and it was the last mistake of their lives. Selene lunged at Straizo, her right fist covered in red light that quickly transformed into a crystal spike.
When he tried to react, the man could only watch helplessly as the spike went straight into his left eye, piercing his skull and cutting off all thoughts and ideas.
Bits of flesh, bone, and blood flew out as if a cannon had explored the poor man's head. She only had 6 points of power, but unlike other people, she knew how to use it fully and focus it on one point, ironically due to the training Zeppeli had given her.
[Hint: You killed the Hamon Warrior Straizo.]
[You have changed the direction of this world by killing a key element of this world's future, you have gained 3% of the world's source.]
[Hunter's talent: Essence Orb has been activated].
[You have obtained: Hamon Warrior's Essence (Green)]
There was no remorse on her face, his movements were fluid, she nimbly dodged the blood flying from Straizo's now lifeless body, after picking up a green treasure chest again, her head turned towards Tonpetty in one smooth motion, and her tall body seemed to rise like that of a snake.
The old man was already on his feet and had moved several meters away from the suffering Zeppeli, even if he was going to die, he did not want to endanger his pupil. He never expected this situation, in the things he saw, this did not happen at all, not even by approaching.
Even if things had deviated, the deviation should not have been so drastic, but here he was, in front of a woman who gave him an incongruous impression, his experience seemed to be invalid at this moment, he could only take a deep breath and let the Hamon flow through his body.
"Child, how could you do such a thing, were you manipulated by that vampire, wake up! Your friends are suffering, we should..." Tonpetty's voice stopped abruptly when he saw that Selene covered her head and seemed to be in pain.
The old man's eyes shone with wisdom, maybe his words had an effect, for sure she was controlled, so he tried to keep talking to solve the girl's problem, he just hoped her will was strong enough.
"Zeppeli told me about you, even if you couldn't learn how to use the Hamon, he considers you his apprentice, not only that, but a close friend, and now he is suffering, you wouldn't let your master suffer like that, would you?" seeing that his words seemed to affect the 'control' over Selene, the old man slowly approached her.
The Hamon could remove that kind of control, especially if it was some kind of parasite, although there might be some damage, the main thing was to stop the woman's actions and not make things worse.
Only when he was five meters away did Selene's red eyes stare back at him, a smile with all her teeth on her face, and her lips moved in a silent dialog.
"You talk too much," red energy needles flew from Selene to Tonpetty, digging into his body and allowing her to get closer to him.
"I don't like soothsayers, I hate them with all my soul. Dio Brando gave me advantages and wasn't worth attacking, but you... you fell into my hands, old man," Selene laughed mockingly as she saw the bloody old man in front of her trying to touch her body with a handful of golden sparks.
She held her Hamon-covered hand, and the little expectation in the man's eyes disappeared when he saw that Selene didn't seem to suffer any change, he could keep fighting, but... when he saw the red crystal spike piercing his heart, he knew it wasn't worth it.
"Fate... will punish you" Tonpetty could see someone's future much better when she held their hand, so in her last moments she blinded something, just a small image.
A tall man, with a crown of purple thorns on his head, emitting sparks similar to Hamon's, but all red. The man seemed to scream in pain as his fist struck the dark figure of another being.
"Don't worry, old man, as long as the benefits are enough, I don't mind being punished a little," Selene whispered, pushing Tonpetty's corpse back.
[You have killed the Hamon warrior Tonpetty.]
[You have received 3% of the Fountain of this world.]
[The Hunter's talent: Orb of Essence has been activated.]
[You have obtained the essence of the Hamon Warrior (Green)
"Looks like the protagonists are suffering from being late, right, Jojo~?" After picking up the green treasure chest, Selene's voice was soft and delicate as she turned her body to look at the boy who had joined her with some expectation and some reluctance.
She wanted to get rid of him, but perhaps the conspiracy was too strong for Jonathan as long as he was not on a ship on the high seas, for there he was, standing a few feet away from Selene, his face distorted by pain, anger, and most of all, sadness.
The blood on his body seemed to be adorned by red sparks rising from his being, a crown of purple thorns adorned his head, and Selene couldn't help but think of something, so she smiled eerily.
"Come on, Jonathan, show me your Passion~"
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AN: First of all, I didn't put in the religious symbolism just because even though Selene wears nun's clothing and crosses, she won't go into that subject.
However, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a work that, like it or not, is full of religious symbolism, especially Catholic. Come on, literally part 7 is a fight over the remains of Jesus, and even Jesus appears to Johnny Joestar.
So what you see here is based on the original material, my intention is not to offend any group, but the religious elements are practically another narrative resource, at least those related to Catholicism and its derivative branches.
I admit that Selene's power may seem a bit over the top, but Hamon warriors are human unless they are powered by that technique, but in general, all the characters stand out more for their resistance to wounds than anything else.
As a bonus, this chapter gave me the idea to introduce a counterpart to Selene in my original story, mainly because her concept fits well, although due to the power system of my novel she won't be as 'buffed' as this version, but her background and even the being that appeared in the pictures of her lineage will have its reflection.
In fact, the concept of this being has been clarified and polished, a similar concept I had in mind but wasn't very clear, so it serves me quite well. Only, of course, its origin, power, and lore will be different.
Do you want to read my original story? Yes, the whole AN was a mega commercial! Hahahaha!