Death Battle: Relius Clover vs Yoshikage Kira

Prelude here: Prelude: Relius Clover vs Yoshikage KiraSociopathy, a term used to describe someone who is antisocial and lacking in empathy toward others. This mindset has produced countless villains throughout fiction, and each time they usually possess a unique attitude when it comes to killing. Some see it as fun and prefer to play with their food, some prefer to get straight to the point and get it over with, and some are more devious, slowly gaining your trust before deciding to literally stab you in the back. And then there are those that will kill you not by using their own hands, but by having an some sort of assistant do their work for them, like with these gentlemanly, blond, abusive...

Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all! It's time for a Death Battle!

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Morioh, Japan; Noon

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To an outsider, the town of Morioh would have likely been written off as being nothing out of the ordinary, and for the most part they would’ve been correct. Outside of the occasional bizarre situation, the population lived relatively normal lives, but taking a deeper look into the citizens’ lives would reveal the depraved secrets that some of them kept hidden from the world.

One such example of this was a man currently walking down the street. The upper half of his body was covered by a long-sleeved green dress shirt that had gray stripes. Wrapped around his neck was a purple tie decorated with images of skulls that possessed upright, cat-like ears. A periwinkle jacket covered the green dress shirt, and a matching pair of pants obscured his legs. His feet were covered up by a pair of plain white shoes.

As if to contrast with this man’s unique clothing style, there was nothing about his facial structure that really stuck out. At best you could claim he had a vague resemblance to David Bowie, but otherwise he seemed to be completely mundane in terms of looks. To the outside world, he would’ve likely been seen as nothing more than an average salaryman, but this was nothing more than a front to hide his true desires.

In actuality, this man was the infamous serial killer of Morioh, Yoshikage Kira. Currently, however, he was not in the midst of committing any crime. Instead, he was busy making his way to a nearby park, keeping a paper bag clenched firmly in his grip as he walked toward his destination. After roughly another minute of walking he had made it to his spot: a clearing hidden behind a tree, situated near a beautiful lake. As he sat down, the sociopath opened up his bag and reached into his suit coat, pulling out a rather disturbing item: a severed hand. Keeping a firm grip on the detached appendage, the killer placed it into the bag and scooped out its contents: a fried chicken sandwich. As he began eating, using the hand as a means to keep it in place, Kira couldn’t help but take in the majestic sights of his hometown.

“Simply beautiful, isn’t it?” He asked aloud, seemingly to his severed hand. “There’s really no other place as wonderful as Morioh.”

Unbeknownst to the salaryman, his tranquility wouldn’t last for much longer. Walking along at a slow pace was a man who looked rather odd. He was tall, roughly six feet in height, with combed-back blond hair and stubble around his chin. His attire consisted of a purple shirt with black rimming, a cravat that had been tied around his neck, and baggy white tights that were tucked into a pair of stylized black-and-purple boots. The boots in question were adorned with golden toecaps and some sort of silver, nail-like fixture on top. Wrapped around his shirt was a large magenta cape, held in place by a golden X-shaped piece. Bizarrely, there seemed to be a ring clipped to the lower front halves of the cape, despite them not appearing to serve a purpose. One of the more striking details of his appearance came in the form of his face, as the top half was almost entirely obscured by a golden opera mask.

As he took in the sights of the land surrounding him, Relius Clover couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed. This town, its citizens... they were all so disappointing. After he had entered into the Boundary with his wife, Ignis, the scientist had hoped he might be able to find a new, more entertaining world, one that would perhaps allow him to progress further in his studies. Instead, he had only succeeded in entering a universe filled with monotony and primitiveness. While he had managed to succeed in purchasing a home and even set up a lab inside of it, there wasn’t much else for him to do. Not even reorganizing his bookshelves could alleviate his boredom, a sure sign that this new world had taken its toll on his mental status.

‘Even here, these creatures seem content in living out their banal existences. Why? Are they so ignorant that they’re willing to continue living out these overly relaxed, uneventful existences without showing even a shred of interest in breaking out of their repetitive cycle?’ While these pessimistic, confused thoughts swam about in his mind, the Mad Puppeteer had continued walking forward when he felt a rather familiar sensation enter into his body. Perhaps it was born of his subconscious desire for entertainment, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but that didn’t change what he was feeling.

Although it wasn’t obvious to an outsider, Clover’s prior exposure to the Boundary had left him with the ability to sense the souls of other living beings, and this ability was currently showing him something intriguing. Despite it still being some distance away, Relius could still tell what it was: a body that held two presences within. The idea of this in and of itself was nothing new to him- he had even encountered such beings before- but it still piqued his curiosity nonetheless. From the extensive research he had conducted beforehand, there wasn’t anything to suggest that the people of this world had crafted Nox Nyctores, nor that they had managed to discover the existence of Ars Magus or even basic magic. This left the scientist wondering one question: how was it that such a person could exist here, of all places?

With his desire for information growing more aroused by each second, the former colonel of the NOL began making his way toward the source of this anomaly. His mind had already gone into overdrive, mapping out the various tests he would perform on this unique specimen. A small flicker of a smile appeared on his face as he continued forward, slowly drawing closer to his target with each step.

Back at the park’s clearing, Kira had taken the last bite of his katsu sandwich when something happened that caused his calm demeanor to shift. His ears picked up the sound of a series of footsteps, each one growing louder as their owner slowly drew closer to him. His eyes widened in panic as he looked toward the source of the sound, all the while hastily placing his recent “girlfriend” back into his jacket. A mysterious person, one who the killer had never seen before, had begun making his way toward his current position.

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Upon his arrival, something about this enigma caused a feeling of paralyzing dread to wash over the blond’s entire body. His hands started to violently shake as entire oceans of sweat began to drench his face. He couldn’t explain why this was, nor could he understand why this sense of terror was overcoming him. All he wanted to do at this point was leave the park as fast as he possibly could. Unfortunately, the fear was preventing him from doing so, as his legs seemed glued to the floor.

This paralyzing terror would spike even further when the new arrival emerged and almost immediately looked at Kira’s hand, which was still in the middle of hiding his object of affection. This only lasted for a moment before he shifted his gaze toward the sociopath’s face, but it was long enough for the salaryman to begin stressing out.

‘Dammit! How could I have been so careless? How did this man even find me?’ Yoshikage questioned as beads of sweat ran down his forehead. Quickly placing the severed hand into his coat, the Japanese businessman then took a deep breath and tried his hardest to remain calm. While this man might have caught a glimpse of his “girlfriend,” there was still a slim chance that he hadn’t noticed anything suspicious. Either way, the hand fetishist chose to keep his guard up, preparing himself for the moment this man said or did anything incriminating. The man simply stared at Yoshikage for several seconds, as though he were studying the killer down to the last minute detail.

Unbeknownst to the salaryman, Relius was looking beyond his physical appearance, instead choosing to peer into something further: his soul. Upon laying his eyes on the blue ball of light, the former colonel noticed an interesting creature residing within it, currently curled up in fetal position.

This inner being was visibly muscular, sporting light pink skin and a crown comprised of two triangular extensions that jutted out of its skull, bearing a vague resemblance to a cat’s ears. As if to further this comparison, the specter’s eyes contained vertical pupils and lightly colored sclera. It lacked a nose, and its thin mouth seemed to be perpetually closed. Its hands were covered by studded, forearm-length leather gloves, which was mirrored in style by ankle-high footwear and a garter belt-esque band wrapped around its waist. Its shoulders, belt buckle, the backs of its hands, a plate hanging in front of its crotch, both sides of its ankles, and the top of its feet all bore the emblem of a skull that possessed ears similar to its own.

As if noticing it was being watched, the pink specter looked up from its position and locked eyes with the former Sage of Ishana. The two stared intensely at each other for a brief moment, with Relius muttering an amused “interesting” under his breath.

Quickly breaking off contact with the miniature being, the blond misanthrope refocused his gaze on Kira, noticing the man’s tense body language.

“Apologies for interrupting your lunch, but I just couldn’t help but feel an odd sensation residing in the air. And from the looks of things you seem to be the one responsible for this anomaly. I can sense an immense power within you, currently bound within your soul, but ready to be released at any second. If I might be so bold, would you perhaps be willing to show it to me?” Upon hearing Relius’ words, Kira blinked in surprise, only to quickly regain his composure.

‘So he can sense Killer Queen... is he another Stand user? I can’t sense one on him, but at the same time there seems to be something off about him.’ After thinking about it for a brief second, the serial killer chose to put any of his lingering thoughts aside. ‘It doesn’t matter what he is. Stand user or not, I can’t allow him to ruin my dreams of a normal life.’

“If you’re so eager to learn of its power, then I’ll gladly show you.” With that, the average-looking businessman grabbed hold of the paper bag that lay near him, crumpled it into a ball, and proceeded to utter two words:

「Killer Queen」

Once those had escaped his lips, the pink specter Relius had spotted earlier leapt out from its owner’s body, appearing directly behind the Japanese office worker.

“Interesting. So that is the power of your Drive, to summon a spirit to aid you in combat.” Upon hearing this, Morioh’s serial killer gave a confused look.

“‘Drive?’” He repeated in bewilderment before quickly returning to his normal demeanor. “Heh. You’re mistaken on both accounts. This is my Stand, Killer Queen, and as for its ability...” The spirit grabbed hold of the paper bag in its owner’s hand and proceeded to toss it like a baseball. Just when it seemed as though the ballistic sphere was about to make contact, Relius, using his superhuman reaction speed, casually stepped aside. The crumpled-up ball hit the ground behind him almost immediately, and then something odd happened. Upon contact, the ball produced a violent explosion, yet it didn’t leave a sound. Despite this, the power behind the detonation was enough to knock the scientist off his feet and send him crashing to the ground. With a slightly annoyed grunt, Clover pushed himself back up, visibly unharmed despite being within the explosion’s vicinity. Quickly brushing the dust off his outfit, the misanthropic sage looked back up at Kira and smirked.

“Truly remarkable. To think that someone so physically unimpressive could possess such a powerful ability. Whether it’s because of your Drive or Stand, whichever you call it, I’ve still got my hopes up either way. And since you’ve shown me your assistant, I believe it’s only fair I show you mine.” With that, the ex-colonel raised his right arm and proceeded to snap his fingers. “Ignis!”

In tandem with his command, a flash of violet light appeared behind Relius. Once it had faded, it revealed a massive robotic puppet in the shape of a woman. She had blonde hair, most of which was obscured by a massive violet hat. Said hat possessed golden rings on both sides as well as flaps that ran down its back. Her dress and collar possessed the same color. Her eyes were blue, with lines running down both sides of her face. The most notable feature among this summon, however, were her fingers, which consisted of long, curved hooks. This was Ignis Clover. Years ago, she had been Relius’ wife, but now she was nothing more than a Detonator, a lifeless metal puppet forever bound to his will.

‘So I was correct with my earlier assumption. He does have a Stand!’ Kira thought to himself as he noticed the scientist’s “Stand” enter a combative stance. Relius himself remained idle, keeping his right hand near his chin, with his index finger resting against his base. His other arm remained hidden within his cloak, giving off the impression that he viewed this as less of a fight and more a thought-provoking experiment. Noticing his opponent’s relaxed posture, Yoshikage scoffed.

‘He seems to be rather arrogant, though I shouldn’t expect anything less from a foreigner. Perhaps Killer Queen might be able to teach him a lesson in humility.’ As this thought entered into his mind, the salaryman gave a light smirk before adjusting his tie, with his Stand entering into a combative stance of its own.

Both men looked each other in the eye, patiently waiting for the other to make a move. They waited for three seconds, as though daring the other to throw the first punch. Then, once those three seconds had ended, one of them chose to act!

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Wanting to end this quickly, Kira commanded Killer Queen to rush forward, with the Stand immediately throwing a right jab to Relius’ chest. Just when it seemed that the guardian’s fist was about to make contact with the scientist’s chest, Ignis suddenly appeared in front of her husband and grabbed his attacker’s wrist. Then, before the catlike spirit or its owner could react, the Detonator retaliated by swiping her claws. Her bladed fingers were poised to rake themselves across Killer Queen’s chest, but the Stand proved quick to react as it blocked the razor-sharp digits using its left forearm. As this occurred, Kira grunted in pain as several small nicks appeared on his arm, positioned in the exact same spots where the blades had brushed against his Stand’s limb. Upon feeling these newfound injuries, the businessman brought his arm up and looked at them. He then shifted his gaze for a moment, looking back up to see that Relius seemed deeply engrossed in watching their assistants fight it out. With this knowledge in mind, Morioh’s serial killer took the time to remove his necktie and quickly wrapped it around his wounds, using it as a makeshift bandage.

Back with Killer Queen and Ignis, the former had managed to push the latter off, delivering a left hook that sent the robotic puppet staggering back. She proved quick to recover, only taking a split second to regain her bearings before rushing toward the catlike Stand. Once she was close enough, her master spoke a command.

“Dentibus!” In tandem with this Latin phrase, Ignis’ appearance underwent a sudden shift. The flaps on her head suddenly wrapped themselves around her body, forming a massive ball around herself. A legion of spikes then emerged from the sphere of fabric, with their creator responding by pushing herself forward. The moment she did so, her spiked, balled-up form began to approach both Kira and Killer Queen at breakneck speeds. Just when it seemed that she was about to bowl over both the serial killer and his Stand, the Detonator suddenly found herself thrown for a loop when both of her targets suddenly dove toward the side, with the spirit throwing out a powerful kick that sent her hurtling across the street.

With his opponent’s assistant temporarily dealt with, Yoshikage decided it was time to end this before the scientist’s robotic wife could recover. He took a brief moment to look around, his eyes scanning the surrounding area for more makeshift explosives. Upon spotting a stack of three rocks laying a close distance away, the salaryman immediately took action. Using Killer Queen as what amounted to an extended limb, Kira grabbed hold of the stones and dragged them closer to himself. Then, using what little time he had, the Stand user proceeded to flick the closest rock toward his masked adversary.  The ballistic stone shot through the air like a rocket, approaching its target at hypersonic speeds. To an average person, they likely wouldn’t have been able to react before the transmuted explosive made contact with their frame, but Relius wasn’t an average person.

In fact, when he looked at the charged projectile, the scientist viewed its speed as being pathetically slow. With his enhanced speed, the ex-colonel was already thinking of several ways to handle the oncoming ballistic. Given the previous explosion that had occurred when an object had been launched by the “Stand,” as its owner referred to it, it was safe to assume that this would still be the case, meaning that physical contact was out of the question. After several milliseconds of contemplation, the masked sociopath had managed to come up with an appropriate response.

Just when the explosive was about to make contact with his body, Clover did something unexpected. With a shout of “Evader,” the violet-clad misanthrope suddenly began spinning in place, causing the rock to streak past him. Despite this, a light smirk still made its way onto Kira’s face as his Stand quickly pressed its right thumb against the middle phalanx of its index finger. At the exact moment this occurred, the charged stone suddenly burst open. A massive screen of smoke and fire then erupted out of the rock, somehow matching the size of Relius himself despite its container’s minuscule frame. This explosion sent its target hurtling forward by several feet, as one would have expected, but then something odd happened. Instead of dissipating and leaving scorch marks in the ground, as one would have expected, the detonation instead seemed to implode on itself, collapsing into nothingness. To make things even weirder, the environment seemed to be unaffected, as not even the grass beneath the explosion had been burned away.

As he struggled to push himself back up, the Mad Puppeteer looked up just in time to see another pebble rocketing toward his face. For a brief moment it seemed that death was imminent for the colonel, but this soon changed as he shouted two words.

“Unleashing barrier!”

Just when the stone was centimeters from his face, a green translucent circle suddenly appeared in front of Relius, protecting him from the explosive that was nanoseconds away from embedding itself into his forehead. Unfortunately, while this was able to serve its purpose in protecting the opera fanatic, it had also managed to detonate the very thing it was meant to protect him from. Upon making contact, the power behind the explosion was enough to shatter the barrier like glass, with the force sending its target skidding back.

While watching his explosion dissipate into nothingness, much like it had before, Kira’s smug expression suddenly shifted into one of surprise at what he saw. Relius was still alive, though the explosion had done visible damage to his body. His cape, shirt, and pants had entire sections eaten away, exposing his skin and covering it in major burns. His face had easily taken the worst damage, with portions of his exposed jawline having been horribly charred or scorched.

“Oh? Well, this is a surprise.” Morioh’s serial killer thought aloud. “I never thought it was possible for someone to survive one of Killer Queen’s bombs. However...” he quickly brought his hand up, revealing the final stone that lay in his hand. “I highly doubt that such an occurrence could happen twice.” He looked Clover dead in the eye before continuing to speak.

“And seeing how I have a schedule to keep...” Yoshikage took a brief moment to adjust his grip, placing the last rock in such a position that he’d be able to launch it just by flicking his thumb. “I’ll be sure to make this quick.”

“Caesoria!” Upon hearing Relius’ bizarre response, the Stand user’s eyes suddenly widened as he remembered something: the last time the scientist said something like that, that “Stand” of his, Ignis, had appeared out of nowhere and attacked.

As this realization hit him, a violet light suddenly flashed behind the killer, causing him to turn around. Before he even had a chance to attack her, Ignis slashed at his arm, knocking the rock out of his hand and sending it flying into the air. Upon hitting the ground, the stone immediately exploded, though there still seemed to be no visible damage to the environment.

As he grit his teeth, doing his best to fight back the urge to cry out in pain from his newfound cut, Kira prepared to do battle with the Detonator once again, but she quickly teleported back to her master’s side. Realizing this, the Japanese businessman looked back at his beaten adversary, expecting that he would still be vulnerable enough to take out. Much to his surprise (and annoyance), this wasn’t the case. Instead, the former colonel had managed to recover his bearings, as he was now standing up straight and even sporting a light grin.

“Very impressive. I never expected that someone would be able to keep me on my toes like that, especially one from this backwater town. For that I’ll give you credit.” Clover complimented the salaryman, only for his grin to shift into a more serious expression. “However, at the same time I feel that it only makes this battle all the more pointless. It doesn’t matter how much you continue fighting against me, because in the end you’ll only stave off the inevitable.”

“Is that so?” Kira asked, chuckling. “Because your struggles against Killer Queen’s power seem to prove that it’s you who’s fighting against the inevitable. Each time I’ve used its ability, you’ve just barely managed to dodge each of its bombs. Eventually your focus will slip, and in that moment your life will meet its end.”

“You seem to be rather confident in that assessment.” Relius noted as his smirk returned. “In that case, let’s see how well you can back it up!”

With that, the ex-Immortal Breaker and his wife suddenly rushed forward, the former thrusting his arm forward and delivering a cross punch that struck Kira directly. While the serial killer staggered back, a mechanical arm suddenly emerged from his adversary’s cloak and rammed itself into his gut, forcing him to lurch over and cough up spittle. Immediately following this action, Relius crouched down, letting out a shout of “scatter” as a green-and-gold mechanical hand shot out from his tattered cape and delivered a chop that knocked Kira’s feet out from under him. The Japanese salaryman nearly hit the pavement below, but his masked opponent proved quicker to act as he crouched down and summoned the green hand once more. Unlike before, this time the mechanical limb was now in the shape of a fist that sent Yoshikage into the air with an uppercut.

With his opponent now airborne, Clover stood up straight and thrust his arm toward the murderer, sending out a longer version of the green arm that nailed his suit-clad adversary in the chin and sent him further through the air. Just as Kira had hit the peak of his ascension, the masked sociopath reeled him back in as he pulled out a massive Swiss army knife and activated the blade, forcing it to catch the aerial businessman and strike him in the back with enough force to fling him forward. Refusing to allow his opponent a chance at recovery, the Mad Puppeteer then called forth two metal fists, commanding them to crush Yoshikage in their grip for a brief moment before tossing him back into the air. Then, not wasting a single moment, the researcher proceeded to summon a green fist and delivered yet another uppercut, sending Yoshikage further into the air.

All too eager to follow after him, the Sage of Ishana then leapt through the air, using two mechanical fists to each deliver a low punch that, in a blatant defiance of the laws of physics, somehow juggled Kira further into the air. Quickly repositioning himself over the prone serial killer, Clover then ejected a massive saw blade from his cloak, eliciting a cry of pain from his opponent as the blade sliced against his back. Before the battered and bloodied serial killer could fully recover, Relius suddenly gave a shout of “Manus!”

In accordance with this call, an enormous green-and-gold arm shot out from the madman’s cloak, slamming into Yoshikage’s entire frame and sending him hurtling even further through the air. This trip would only come to an end when the self-proclaimed Ultimate Architect gave another command, this time to his wife.

“Cruoi!” Once these words had left his mouth, Ignis suddenly appeared above Kira and dropped down, her legs morphing into drills as she slammed into the serial killer. Upon making contact, the Detonator’s drill-legs began rapidly spinning as she slammed her prone target into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust in the process. As it began clearing up, Ignis looked down at Yoshikage Kira’s bloodied and battered form for a brief moment before returning to her husband’s side. Just as she had, the Stand user managed to get back to his feet, letting out a grunt of pain in the process. Looking down, the salaryman found that he was now sporting two bloody holes where the puppet had drilled into him. Quickly shifting his gaze back up, the murderer found that Relius was slowly approaching him, his mask obscuring an otherwise neutral expression.

“How pathetic. I’d sensed great potential within you, yet you proved to be ill-suited for combat even when I was pulling my punches.” He then stopped in front of the serial killer, using the mechanical hands within his cloak to grab the prone body and lift it up. “Of course, that’s not to say that your performance hasn’t left me intrigued. I’m quite curious as to how one like yourself could have obtained such an impressive ability.”

The mechanical hands began further constricting themselves around the businessman’s body, tightening themselves to the point where their captive would be unable to move. Unfortunately for the former Immortal Breaker, it seemed that Killer Queen had other plans.

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Just when it seemed as though the metal restraints were about to leave the Japanese man in a bind, his Stand suddenly leapt forth from his body, its arm extended outward to touch Relius at any second. Just when it seemed that the spirit was about to end the combatants’ struggle early, something happened that caused the cat-like creature to reel back with an expression of visible surprise on its face.

Somehow, through some unknown means, the scientist had managed to end the Stand’s assault prematurely, grabbing hold of its wrists and forcing it back. Its eyes narrowing in determination, the guardian suddenly brought its knee upward and delivered a powerful strike to Clover’s face. The violet-clad misanthrope was sent stumbling back, momentarily losing his focus and causing the hands binding Yoshikage to loosen their grip.

Realizing it now had a chance to free its master, Killer Queen returned to his side and began rapidly throwing forth a series of swipes that pushed the binds away. Within the span of a few nanoseconds the spirit had already succeeded in freeing its user, who quickly walked out from the pile of limbs just as his captor had begun recovering. As he watched the puppeteer push himself back up, the gears within Kira’s head had already begun turning as he thought of a way to end this fight before it could escalate any further. It would certainly be difficult with that robot of his, but if he could just get rid of her...

A devious grin made its way onto the blond’s face just as Relius had fully recovered from the surprise attack.

“The secret of how I obtained Killer Queen will be one that remains forever beyond your grasp.” The serial killer taunted. “But I’ll be glad to show you another of its abilities!”

At the exact moment these words had finished leaving his mouth, Killer Queen suddenly appeared in front of its master once again, though this time its abdominals had split themselves open to reveal a strange creature inside. It appeared to be a fusion between cat and plant, with a body consisting of a thick stem and limbs comprised of massive leaves. Its head consisted only of two gargantuan petals sporting a pattern of long, dark spots. A pair of yellow eyes were situated in the middle of these petals, resulting in an animal that was rather unsettling to look at.

As the sunlight hit its face, Stray Cat opened its eyes and gave a violent hiss. With this hiss came a bubble of air, one that was nigh-invisible and moved toward Clover at a snail’s pace. Its target, unable to see the projectile, chose to keep his guard up just in case. Given what his adversary had tried beforehand, it was safe to assume that the killer had some tricks up his sleeves. The scientist waited for the moment he saw any suspicious activity, mentally preparing to call for Ignis’ aid. After several seconds of waiting, the colonel noticed a vague distortion in the air, several feet away from his current position.

“Come forth!” The misanthropic sociopath commanded his wife, who responded immediately. Upon appearing in front of him, the Detonator went to work as her ribbons shot forward, unleashing purple blades that were set to pop the invisible sphere at any second. Unfortunately, she proved to be a bit too slow as Killer Queen acted first, once again pressing its thumb against the index finger’s phalanx. The moment this occurred, the air bubble suddenly began bloating and swelling in size before suddenly bursting open in a massive cloud of flame and smoke. This explosion reached outward, consuming Ignis and her husband in the process before just as quickly dissipating into nothing. Once it had cleared up, two things were revealed: the first was that both were still alive, though the second was where things got interesting. The explosion had left even more burns on the puppeteer’s skin, with a majority of his clothing having been reduced to tatters. In contrast, his wife had been completely unharmed physically, but now she was slumped over and unable to move. With his wife temporarily out of commission, Relius was now forced to fend for himself, and he was more than prepared to do so.

As Killer Queen threw its hand forward, no doubt to use its power on him, the scientist suddenly leapt into the air, causing both the Stand and its owner to look up in surprise. From the moment he had ascended into the air, the former colonel brought his arm forward, summoning a small array of gears from his cloak. The catlike spirit raised its arms, using its forearms to block the bladed cogwheels. While this was successful, the blades were quickly digging into the guardian’s limbs. As this occurred, several scratches appeared on Kira’s limbs, but the serial killer quickly put that aside. He had other matters to worry about.

Back with Relius, he had landed on the ground and immediately delivered a karate chop that threw Killer Queen off its feet. As his assistant hit the ground, Yoshikage proved quick to rush forward, throwing out a punch that struck his masked opponent in the face and sent him reeling back for a brief moment.

Before the misanthropic scientist had a chance to recover from the attack, his suit-clad adversary continued his assault by using Killer Queen to throw out millions of punches, all of them striking hard enough to break multiple bones in its target’s body. In addition to this, these blows were all moving at speeds too fast for the human mind to keep up with, easily surpassing the speed of light by at least 100 times. After several seconds of using the leader of the Sages of Ishana as a glorified punching bag, the Stand threw out a final strike that nailed itself directly into Clover’s chest, cracking the madman’s ribs and sending him flying through the air. His trip would only end once he slammed back-first into a tree, eliciting a small grunt of pain from the ex-Immortal Breaker.

As he rose to his feet, albeit with some difficulty due to his new wounds, Relius noticed another of Stray Cat’s bubbles slowly approaching him. Remembering how destructive the last projectile had been, he decided it would be best to intercept it before it proved to be any more trouble. A metal scorpion tail suddenly emerged from his cloak, spearing through the tree behind him. Then, with little effort whatsoever, the Mad Puppeteer ripped the plant from the ground and chucked it as hard as he could, hurling it like a massive javelin.

‘I didn’t think he’d be this strong!’ Yoshikage thought in surprise as he summoned Killer Queen once again, using it to throw out thousands of punches that quickly chipped away at the giant plant. As his guardian rapidly destroyed the massive obstacle, Morioh’s serial killer gave a light smirk. ‘But when compared to Killer Queen’s speed and power, raw strength means nothing!’

While he watched this from where he stood, Relius took a brief moment to shift his gaze toward his wife. She was still in the process of rebooting herself, and from the looks of things it appeared that she was seconds from finishing.

‘Excellent. Just a few more seconds and I can call an end this extended trial.’ He thought to himself, looking back at Kira with a light smirk.

Just as he had finished these thoughts, his opponent managed to finish destroying the massive tree, leaving his surroundings coated in thousands of minuscule splinters. Despite this, the salaryman chose to pay it no mind. With the obstacle out of his way, there was nothing separating him from Relius, and now he’d be able to put an end to this! He prepared to rush toward the scientist, intent on using Killer Queen’s power once he was close enough to the puppeteer. Just before he could do so, he noticed the smirk on his opponent’s face and immediately stopped.

‘What is he planning? Did I walk into a trap of some kind?’ The Stand user thought to himself.

“Well, it’s been fun, but I do believe it would be appropriate if I took my leave now. I’ve seen more than enough from you to arouse my curiosity.” As he turned around, the scientist snapped his fingers, ushering Ignis to his side. “Perhaps our paths will cross again in the near future, once I’ve obtained more information on these ‘Stands,’ as you refer to them. Until then, I must bid you adieu.”

“Hold on!” Kira called out.

“Hm?” Clover looked over his shoulder, an uninterested expression on his face.

“Do you really think I’d be willing to let you escape so easily? After you attempted to disrupt my day and ruin my otherwise perfect life?” The killer asked, his voice having a dangerous edge to it.

“I’d expect that you know when you’re beaten.” Relius clarified, his tone sounding like that of a parent scolding a misbehaving child. Turning his gaze back to the front, the scientist then began walking away at a leisurely pace, leaving his annoyed opponent behind. “Now, assuming there are no further questions, I shall bid you adieu.”

At hearing this response, Kira clenched his fist in anger. Did this man have no limits to his arrogance?

Yet as he watched the former colonel depart from the area, something seemed to click within the mind of Morioh’s serial killer, something that caused him to smirk.

‘So he thinks he’s won this battle so easily?’ He chuckled. ‘That arrogance is going to be his downfall, especially once I use the second bomb.’

As these thoughts echoed through his mind, a skull-shaped mark appeared on the salaryman’s left hand, symbolizing that he had just deployed Killer Queen’s second bomb, Sheer Heart Attack. 

Part 2 can be found here:
Death Battle: Relius Clover vs Kira, Part 2Part 1 can be found here: --Meanwhile, Relius and his wife were still in the middle of trekking through the park, with the former using his mastery of the science/magic hybrid known as Ars Magus to heal and regenerate from his multiple wounds. By this point he had succeeded in removing a majority of the burns and shattered bones that adorned his body, though he wasn’t focusing on this. His mind was busy thinking of the encounter he’d just been through. ‘It seems this world isn’t as wretched as I’d imagined. Unimaginative title aside, these “Stands” seem to be quite powerful. Do all of them have abilities like that pink one, and are they al...