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Chapter 39. The Soul of Zeppeli
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"You let others bully you again, didn't you?" The girl said with a hint of frustration in her serious expression. "Why do you alut up with it without fighting back?"
In Christian-dominated Europe, turning the other cheek when struck was a traditional virtue written in the Bible. However, believing in such a notion would be foolish.
For the Anglo-Saxon barbarians, pilging and plundering were ingrained in their DNA. They could even interpret Christian gratitude as a reason to kill those who helped them, so they could seize the nd of the natives.
Under such circumstahe doe was merely a tool to deceive outsiders. No oruly believed or followed it.
"Tomorrow... tomorrow, I will fight back," her brother said timidly, merely out of fear.
"Whely is 'tomorrow'?" the girl demanded.
"Just... tomorrow..."
"What are you most afraid of, Poco?" she asked, watg him stammer without a proper answer. Suddenly, she spped his face. "Are you most afraid of pain? If you tinue like this, you'll never aplish anything!"
"...!?"
"Don't you think that's even more terrifying?" she tinued, ign Poco's earful expression.
"Humph, ah, ah, ah..."
...
Just as viewers often unsciously identify with characters in a story, in the previous episode of "Phantom Blood," Sora found himself resonating not with JOJO or Zeppeli, or eveagonist DIO, but with Poco, the weak-willed boy hypnotized by DIO.
The reason? It was an unspoken e between a recluse and another recluse. Even though Poco's time did not have cepts like s or otakus, his fear of the outside world, disdain florified youth, and the solitary hero's mentality were familiar to Sora.
He almost saw himself in Poco.
Of course, unlike Poco, Sora felt he wasn't so cowardly as to not fight back when bullied.
Therefore, seeing Poco, initially weak and scared, gather ce to help JOJO and Zeppeli, inspired by his fear of his family being killed by DIO's monsters, was a signifit moment for Sora.
Poco's determination to unlock the iron gate despite his injuries resonated deeply with him. It made Sora feel like he, too, could face his fears... though maybe not leave his room just yet.
Naturally, Sora didn't want Zeppeli, who preached and embodied the "Human hymn is a hymn of ce," to meet a swift demise.
However...
"In an a, corpse-stenched chamber, a child opens the door. To free a young lion shackled in s and lead him toward the future, you will burn your wound and soo a brutal death."
"..."
How familiar.
As if the prophecy he tried tet came ba upoering the hall of the Two-Headed Dragon Prison, where JOJO and Tarkus stood ed and fag each other. The walls, stained dark red by years of bloodshed, painted a grim picture.
Zeppeli felt as if he could see his impendih, right here. His instinct made him stop before JOJO and Tarkus. Should he run?
If this was his destined death, did it mean that overing it would spare him?
If JOJO's sacrifice wasn't in vain, could he break his fate and avenge JOJO, perhaps eve DIO?
"Uncle Zeppeli?"
"...!?"
"Be careful, Uncle!!"
Speedwagon, unaware of the prophecy but seeing Zeppeli's cold sweat, urged him. Speedwago helpless, uo aid like JOJO or Zeppeli with their unique skills. He couldn't even do oco did, sneaking through the vent to open the door.
All he could do was cheer them on from behind, hoping to alleviate Zeppeli's tension even a little.
"..."
Zeppeli, snapped out of his thoughts by Speedwagoional outburst, cleared his mind of distras.
With a deep breath, his resolve returned. After all, he had prepared for this fate since he first learned of the prophecy.
The human hymn is a hymn of ce. Ripple breathing, born of ce, should never be disrupted by fear. This was what he taught JOJO. How could he, the teacher, fet it now?
"I'm going, JOJO!!"
If this was his destiny, then to free the young lion from s and lead him to the future, he had s.
This was he, Will A. Zeppeli, and the burning soul within him!
