Hermione prepares to work hard quietly

Just as London has The Leaky Cauldron, Cairo naturally also has a hotel specifically for wizards to rest.

At this time, on the second floor of the hotel, Ron and Ginny escorted Hermione to her room door.

Ron wore a frown the whole way, and Ginny looked speechless seeing her brother's expression.

"Ron, it's just that George turned a jar into a spider in the tomb, you don't need to remember it all day."

Thinking of Ron's sharp screams and trembling limbs in the pyramid tomb, Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances, both suppressing laughter.

This only made Ron more displeased.

"That was a Pharaoh's tomb—who knows what curses and traps are inside? George's prank there was practically a crime!"

"The tomb they're taking us to visit is definitely safe, are you questioning Bill's professional skills?"

Bill, the eldest Weasley son, works as a Curse-Breaker at Gringotts in Egypt. They were here on vacation to visit him.

Hermione added fuel to the fire from the side.

"I didn't expect that after what happened last year, you're still so afraid of spiders."

Ron's face turned bright red. He knew Hermione was talking about the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, where he didn't perform well either—his legs so weak Harry had to drag him out.

Eager to change the subject, he said,

"Hermione, didn't Kai come with you? Where is he? It's been a whole day."

Hermione's smile stiffened, then slowly faded. Seeing this, Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically and stomped fiercely on Ron's toes.

"Oi! Ginny, what are you doing?" Ron cried, clutching his foot and glaring indignantly at his sister.

Hermione forced a smile.

"He has things to do here in Egypt. He'll come find us later."

"He's so mysterious all the time. He's only a second year—how can he have so many things to do?"

"You'll be a third year when school starts, Ron."

"Hey Ginny, whose side are you on?"

Watching the usual sibling bickering, Hermione blinked, took two steps back, and closed the door behind her.

Leaning against the door, she subconsciously reached for the necklace around her neck—and found nothing.

That guy—he actually secretly took the Soul Oath.

She bit her lower lip, thinking of his words before he left. She was a little angry—angry at him for not telling her anything, and angry at herself.

Even if Kai had told her everything honestly, she knew she couldn't help and would only bring him trouble.

She was just a third-year wizard at Hogwarts, but Kai Adler was a disciple of Grindelwald. How could she possibly keep up with him?

After a moment's thought, Hermione took out paper and pen and began writing a letter. When finished, she folded it and looked at the recipient's name on the envelope:

Professor Minerva McGonagall.

She would work hard in secret—and then shock everyone.

Well, not everyone. Just shocking that guy would be enough.

She wondered what he was doing now.

Meanwhile, in the ruined hall of Dio's mansion, as if swept by a hurricane, Dio stood firm. His posture was arrogant and confident, but the flickering light in his eyes betrayed the turmoil inside.

Too many questions flooded his mind.

Why could this person move freely within his The World, and why couldn't his The World kill this thin, small Stand standing before him?

Thump!

The sound of fists and feet clashing echoed again. Dio watched White Dragon, who had just taken a punch from The World, and finally could no longer suppress his doubt. He stared fixedly at the composed Oka.

"Why can your Stand move within The World?"

Oka raised an eyebrow.

"So you Stand Users don't understand Stands at all?"

"What do you mean?"

Oka smiled mysteriously.

"The battle of Stands is a battle of spiritual power."

When he gained a Stand under the effect of the Arrow, as a magician, he instantly understood the principle of a 'Stand'.

Everyone has spiritual power, and a Stand is the materialized image of spiritual power. Its special abilities and ability to interact with targets come from the Stand User's spiritual power.

In fact, Stands and Black Magic practiced by magicians have similar effects, just different approaches.

Magicians transform their spiritual power into Black Magic through systematic learning and training to create various magical effects, while Stand Users' abilities arise instinctively from their souls. Everyone's ability is unique and can only evolve within their own unique capacity.

Moreover, if someone becomes a Stand User first, they cannot learn Black Magic, because their spiritual power is solidified into their Stand's shape and cannot be shaped into other forms of magic.

But despite this, Stand Users and magicians still have a lot in common. For example, just like the power of Black Magic, the strength of a Stand's ability depends entirely on the User's spiritual power.

Oka took a step closer to Dio, smiling self-deprecatingly.

"When I learned about your ability from Endor's memories, I was truly scared."

"Stopping time—what a terrifying and powerful ability. When I realized it existed, my first thought was to avoid its edge and have the Vampires distract you to achieve my goal."

At that moment, he caught Selene's incredulous gaze and shrugged towards her.

"Don't blame me, Miss Selene."

Anyway, the Eber Family was finished. This Oka identity would be used for the last time. He didn't care if the 'conspiracy' was exposed.

"But when I gained a Stand, I realized I had misunderstood."

"Stopping time is just one function of a Stand, not its entire strength."

"It's like cutting a piece of paper. A bare-handed person might take decades to perfectly chop a paper in half, but anyone can do it easily with scissors."

Oka's gaze shifted between Dio and The World—the bare-handed man and the scissors were obvious.

"But now, this person who practiced for decades has gotten a steamroller."

Oka placed a hand on White Dragon's shoulder. The Stand's blood-red eyes shifted towards him as if saying, Why are you touching me?

"Although this steamroller can't cut the paper in half, it can crush, tear, and mold this paper into whatever shape it wants."

White Dragon's ability isn't stopping time. Instead, as Oka said, White Dragon is the materialization of his spiritual power as a Stand.

Though Dio is a vampire who's lived a long time, he never trained his spiritual power.

While the gap between Dio's spiritual power and Kai's isn't as huge as with ordinary people, it's enough for Kai—who possesses White Dragon—to break through The World's blockade and enter this static world.

Oka smiled slightly at Dio.

"Are you satisfied with this explanation, Mr. Dio?"

Veins bulged on Dio's forehead.

"Impossible. My The World is invincible."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes."

Oka tilted his head slightly.

"Warm-up's over. I have to fulfill my ally's request now. White Dragon, finish him."

White Dragon turned its neck in a human-like manner, loosening the bandages all over its body. Wisps of black mist escaped through the gaps, with flashes of red lightning within.

"The World!"

Dio instinctively activated The World, but in the static space, White Dragon's bloody light flashed, and black mist surged towards Dio, accompanied by a dragon's roar.

"Muda! Muda! Muda! Muda!"

The World's fists swung in afterimages, dispersing the black mist—but it couldn't stop the mist from heavily surrounding Dio.

"Oka!!!"

Dio's scream was swallowed in blue flames.

Time stop ended, and Selene looked in surprise at the man who suddenly appeared before her.

"Shall we talk?"