Honestly, Shin felt his own actions were pretty questionable.
Think about it — what kind of winner hands their opponent a chance to turn the tables? Only the most frustratingly slow villain would do something that catastrophically naive.
But this follow-up fight clearly had a purpose.
It wasn't only an opportunity for Shin to collect the remaining non-humanization traits and claim the bonus reward from the group task.
It was also a farewell to the past — to everything tied to the Clan of Darkness he had once been a part of. Because toward Wamuu alone, his motivation was not "revenge."
The Stone Mask inlaid with the perfect Red Stone of Aja had reshaped them both — two Pillar Men, transformed into Ultimate Beings, engaging in one final clash.
The fight, naturally, produced no real suspense.
Even if Shin had chosen not to use any of his other abilities, the power granted by the "Perfect Human" system was simply too overwhelming.
So Shin won the fight, and gave the last surviving member of his former people a permanent rest.
— What? You ask about Santana?
Shin found himself in complete agreement with Kars on that one. He would never acknowledge an existence of such negligible quality and strength as being of his people.
[New bloodline detected in Host. Evolution Points +200.]
[Host: Shin]
[Age: 16]
[Race: Human (?)]
[Bloodlines: Pillar Man (Ultimate Being), First Witch, Lands Between Demigod (Vestige)]
[Remaining Evolution Points: 367 → 67 (+0.04/day)]
[Spinal Dragon (Lv.2 → Lv.3) — Points required for next level: 400]
[Level 3 Skill: [Blood and Bone Regeneration] (Your blood and bones will possess a supernatural vitality. As long as a single drop of blood remains, your body can regenerate. You may also use your blood and bone to heal others.)]
[Scarlet Sea (Lv.0 → Lv.1) — Points required for next level: 100]
[Level 1 Skill: [Essence Refinement] (You can absorb external energy sources to accelerate Evolution Point growth. Current internal energy reserves: none. Natural growth rate +100%)]
[Defiled Temple (Lv.0 → Lv.1) — Points required for next level: 100]
[Level 1 Skill: [Spirit Sanctum] (You can store up to N benign, pure souls within the 'Defiled Temple.' You may use their abilities and appearance, or directly command them as allies. N equals the current level of 'Defiled Temple.')]
"Sob, big brother — that was so reckless, why did you have to do something so dangerous on your own..."
"If something had happened to you... sob..."
After winning the fight with full dignity, the light injuries Shin had sustained had already healed on their own. He sat there letting Meruru fuss over him between her tears — casting healing spells on him with total disregard for whether he needed them — while he looked over the system panel.
He felt better than he had in his entire life. What he had gained in this JoJo world alone far exceeded the sum of everything he had acquired over the past decade-plus.
Not only had he become an Ultimate Being capable of freely reshaping his own form through the Red Stone Mask — he had also gained a large number of evolution points, leveling up [Spinal Dragon], [Scarlet Sea], and [Defiled Temple] by one each.
The Saint's Corpse eyeball — which could awaken a Stand in its holder — was in there too. Oh, and the full-collection bonus points from completing all the traits. Shin checked: 1,500 points. Equivalent to finishing another C-rank task.
A combined 3,000 points now sitting in the account — the Great Witch's profile had just rocketed to the second wealthiest in the group.
"Not much to spend it on though..."
Shin browsed the store on the Great Witch's account — she had already told him to spend freely before he left. With that kind of permission, he ironically found himself at a loss for what to buy.
The store was mostly game consoles and screens — all apparently high-tech versions from some future era, but none of them particularly useful to him.
The supernatural items section was still mostly locked. Shin suspected it was tied to the group's level. For now, the points would have to sit in the Great Witch's account.
[System Notice: [Spreading Witch Factors] has sent an exclusive points gift to [Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human].]
[[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human] has claimed the gift — 500 points received.]
[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human]: Thanks, boss — you're too generous!
[Spreading Witch Factors (Temp Account)]: ?
[Spreading Witch Factors (Temp Account)]: Shaya, what are you doing?
[Spreading Witch Factors (Temp Account)]: Nothing, mother. [Aspiring] helped me earlier — this is my way of saying thank you.
[Spreading Witch Factors (Temp Account)]: Oh, and mother — the task on my end has been completed perfectly. Meruru and I will be back soon.
Shin congratulated himself on his own ingenuity. He had just made a completely justified, perfectly motivated transfer of 500 points from the Great Witch's account to his own.
After all, he wasn't always going to have the Great Witch's account in hand — if the store refreshed with something worthwhile and he missed it, that would be a real loss.
A few more carefully orchestrated duets down the line, and he could legitimately cycle all the points from the Great Witch's account into his own.
...No, wait. That didn't feel right. Why did he feel like he was doing something shady? These were points he earned!
"Alright, alright, Meruru — I really am not hurt. Stop healing me!"
"Sob, big brother..."
Extracting his arm from Meruru's impressively cushioned embrace, under her reluctant gaze full of concern that he might have been left with some scar from the fight, Shin got to his feet.
The Pillar Men threat had been eliminated. The 48-hour window on the [Temporary Transfer] had mostly run down.
Now Shin intended to use the Saint's Corpse to try to send old Joseph back to his own time — and then close out the task and return home. The Saint's Corpse was absolutely coming with him. It was his spoils of war, and he still hadn't managed to awaken a Stand through it.
He planned to bring it back for the Great Witch to study thoroughly. He was curious how Kars and the others had awakened Stands from it — he'd already tried holding it up to himself and Meruru but gotten no response from it at all.
"Mr. Joestar — are you sure the temporal light trail appeared here?"
"Yes! Please, young man, go ahead and open it with the Corpse. I have a feeling Jotaro already snuck back on his own, the little — sigh..."
He came to the training ground on Supplena Island with Meruru — old Joseph had said this was where he had appeared when he arrived.
Shin produced the Saint's Corpse eyeball. Sure enough, a web of light traces spread across the ground in front of them — a path through time. According to Eyes of Heaven, stepping through these light traces would allow a person to travel between different points of JoJo's timeline.
Shin had no plans to follow through this time. His stay here was almost at its limit.
The Saint's Corpse glowed in his hand. Shin watched old Joseph step into the light traces...
Step into the light traces... hmm?
Shin suddenly had the nagging feeling he had forgotten something. Why had he brought Meruru with him to come here and open the path?
"Big brother? You brought me alone to this spot — are you perhaps trying to...?"
Looking at the deserted surroundings, the nun-dressed girl's face had gone a deep red. She was already his, after all — was her big brother looking to try something outdoors?
"Meruru, I..."
Shin opened his mouth to say something.
And in the next instant, an ultimate-being's crisis instincts sent every alarm in his mind screaming.
"[Boundary Breach Talisman], return —!"
In that fraction of a second, Shin's hand snapped shut to crush the [Boundary Breach Talisman] — but in the very last moment before it shattered —
[Heh heh...]
[What a wise choice. Your very first instinct upon seeing me is to run — I'll acknowledge your will to survive, boy.]
As though the world itself had been stopped by some external force, a tall male figure — golden-haired, pale-skinned — materialized at the edge of Shin's field of vision —
Shin's pupils contracted sharply.
To be continued…