Pompeii, an ancient city destroyed by a volcanic eruption, maintained its original appearance after being excavated.
Broken buildings and cracked ground were everywhere.
Before arriving, Takatsuki had already memorized the terrain of the Pompeii ruins.
Although it was called ruins, it wasn't a precious site; there wasn't even a ticket booth. It was like a park at the doorstep, allowing people to enter and exit freely.
As he walked towards his destination, Takatsuki saw a somewhat damaged mirror installed on a wall.
"..."
In that mirror, Takatsuki clearly saw the figure of a man with many small braids hiding behind a stone pillar.
As if he didn't know what had happened, Takatsuki directly turned his head to look at the stone pillar behind him.
But there was nothing there, no one at all.
Turning back again, the man was already walking towards Takatsuki with a sneer.
[As expected, I can't feel anything, not even with Observation Haki.]
Takatsuki communicated with Ai in his mind.
[Of course not, after all, he's hiding in the mirror world. But Dad, don't you need to make some preparations? You can't use Stand abilities in the mirror. Is just Haki enough?]
[Of course.]
Although Ai was a little worried, Takatsuki was very confident.
And just as he watched the man in the mirror unleash his Stand on him, he felt a strange fluctuation suddenly strike.
Takatsuki glanced at his right hand; the watch that was originally on his left hand had moved to his right hand.
At the same time, in these ruins, which should have been empty, Takatsuki felt another fluctuation.
Takatsuki suddenly tilted his head, dodging a punch from behind.
"Huh? He actually dodged it."
The man's voice sounded behind Takatsuki, and at the same time, his Stand kept throwing punches at Takatsuki, but not a single punch landed.
"How can this be?"
The man frowned slightly and pulled out a piece of paper from his body: "Pannacotta Fugo, with an IQ of 152, entered university at 13, but clashed with a professor at the end of his studies, beating him severely with a 4KG dictionary. Since then, you've fallen all the way to this point."
"You don't seem surprised at all."
Illuso put away the documents in his hand and frowned at Takatsuki. The power and speed of his Man in the Mirror were not strong, but its special ability to pull enemies into the mirror world allowed him to engage in unfair battles with other Stand users.
Because he could pull only the user into the mirror world, not allowing the Stand to enter.
And a Stand could only be harmed by another Stand, so he was almost invincible in the mirror world. His assassinations had always been like this: pulling the target into the mirror world and killing them, even if the opponent was a Stand user and no match for him.
But what was wrong with this guy in front of him!?
He was actually able to dodge the attacks of Man in the Mirror with just his own speed.
"That's because..."
Takatsuki, who had only been dodging the attacks of Man in the Mirror, stopped in his tracks: "I've been waiting for you, Illuso!"
"You know me!?"
Illuso's movements paused.
The names of their assassination squad and their Stand abilities were kept secret. After all, they were assassins; if the information leaked out, how could they assassinate?
But this person in front of him clearly knew his name, so did he also know his Stand ability!?
It was no wonder Illuso was so suspicious, as Takatsuki's performance from the beginning had been overly confident.
And because of his pause, the Stand's movements also paused for a moment.
And it was this moment that gave Takatsuki an opportunity.
Pfft!
"Puh-ha! How is this possible!"
The sound of flesh being pierced and Illuso's painful cry sounded simultaneously.
He widened his eyes, looking at the hand blade that had pierced his Stand.
"How did you do that..."
It wasn't the first time Illuso had pulled someone with strong combat abilities into the mirror world.
But even if those people had strong combat abilities in their main body, they couldn't harm Man in the Mirror.
In his understanding, only a Stand could harm a Stand.
"What is that on your hand!? Is that your Stand ability? I shouldn't have allowed your Stand to enter the mirror world..."
Illuso looked at the black aura on the arm that had pierced Man in the Mirror's body.
"No, you still don't understand Stands, after all."
He kicked Man in the Mirror, sending him flying directly, and at the same time, pulled his arm out of him.
"You say I don't understand Stands..."
Because his Stand was severely injured, Illuso also fell to the ground. Attacks suffered by the Stand would also be reflected onto the user's body. If Man in the Mirror was sent flying, Illuso would also be hit by an equivalent attack and sent flying.
"That's right, although you use Stands, do you know what a Stand truly is? Why it comes into being?"
Putting down his bleeding palm, Takatsuki looked at Illuso.
"Why it comes into being... the organization members all know it's because of the arrow..."
"Yes, but also no."
"The so-called arrow is made from a meteorite from outer space, and this meteorite from outside the heavens contains a dormant virus. These viruses, after entering the human body through a wound, will begin to screen. Those with aptitude will awaken a Stand, and those without will die. But the Stand is not bestowed by the virus."
Takatsuki recalled experiments he had done in the past as he spoke: "A Stand is the materialization of the soul. It only gains a special form and ability after passing a trial. Therefore, as long as an attack can harm the soul, it can harm a Stand."
"Harm the soul..."
Illuso widened his eyes, looking at Takatsuki in front of him. He realized the abnormality of this person, who was talking about being able to harm the soul, and without relying on Stand abilities.
"This energy is called Haki. Its essence is a kind of aura produced by the combination of the body's stamina and mental energy. Even the soul... can be grasped."
Haki could even grasp Logia-type Devil Fruit users. With a special method, even the soul could be grasped. This was a result Takatsuki had researched in the past.
However, Haki could only "attack" it; it couldn't perform operations like the Sheep Talisman, which could extract the soul.
"You also know why you're not my opponent, right? Then... you can rest in peace!"
Walking to the side of Man in the Mirror, Takatsuki heavily chopped down towards Man in the Mirror.
Boom!
But this seemingly fatal attack landed on the ground, and a section of Man in the Mirror's body, which Takatsuki should have hit, was suddenly missing.
"Hahaha! Since you already know that Man in the Mirror is not your opponent, then you'll be trapped in the mirror world forever!"
Man in the Mirror's body continuously disappeared, and Illuso's body also began to slowly dissipate as if disintegrating.
But Illuso, who had been laughing, thinking he had trapped Takatsuki, saw a mocking smile at the corner of Takatsuki's mouth just before he disappeared.
"What's going on? That smile just now... he should be trapped and never able to get out."
The next moment, Illuso returned to the real world, but he couldn't forget that smile.
And just as he was agonizing, a hand gripped his neck.
"Crack..."
Illuso struggled to turn his head and saw a Stand shimmering with a mechanical feel.
"Did he... ambush me in advance..."