Chapter 306: The Dark Emperor and the Cartoonist

April 5, 1999, 17:59 p.m.

Diablo appeared at the square in front of Morioh-cho Station one minute early.

Before this, he had actually been wandering quietly in the shadows for a long time. After confirming that there was no trace of Li Qing and others nearby, he carefully walked into the sunlight at the right time.

During the rush hour after get off work, the tram station is crowded with people and very lively.

Diablo actually doesn't like going to crowded places, but this meeting place is the best option he carefully selected.

The coming and going of the crowd just provided him with a shield, making his unique and exotic appearance seem less noticeable.

Once Li Qing rushes out, he can quickly use Time Slash to blend into the crowd and use the noisy crowd to interfere with Li Qing's hearing.

Even if he is too unlucky to escape, he can still take these ordinary citizens hostage and restrain those righteous people who are bound by morality and humanity.

Diablo has prepared everything.

But he was still a little nervous:

"Kirara Yoshikage..."

"I hope that guy won't play any tricks."

No matter how careful he was, he couldn't grasp all the variables.

Diablo could only try his best to raise his vigilance to the highest level, and then walked towards the agreed final location in a low-key and cautious manner:

That was the public bench in the square in front of the tram station, closest to the station exit.

He and Kira Yoshikage were both cautious people. Not only did they agree to meet here, but they also set up a secret alarm signal in advance:

Diablo must be seated on this bench before 18:00.

If Diablo is not seen near this chair, it means that the situation has changed and the meeting has been cancelled, and Kira Yoshikage will simply leave and not appear again.

So, at this moment, Diablo approached the bench with a purpose.

However, his brows soon frowned slightly:

"Anyone?"

There were already people sitting on the bench.

He was a young man with a gentle temperament, full of energy, fashionable and decent dress, and he looked quite artistic.

The "artistic atmosphere" in him is the easiest to see:

Because he had a paintbrush in his hand and a sketchbook on his knees, and was drawing on the paper with a focused expression.

Next to this young man, there were a few elementary school students in uniforms with childish faces chattering:

"It turns out to be the great cartoonist Rohan Kishibe!"

"The comic book you drew, 'Red and Black Boy', is our favorite!"

"I didn't expect to meet you in a place like this... It's really incredible."

The eyes of several primary school students were full of admiration for their idol.

They surrounded the great cartoonist enthusiastically, their young faces full of excitement and enthusiasm.

And Rohan Kishibe seemed to have long been accustomed to the enthusiastic attention from his young fans.

He stopped painting and smiled at the elementary school students:

"It's nice to meet you all. But, I'm a little sorry..."

"I'm sketching here right now, so it's not convenient for me to chat with you all."

"If possible, could you let me concentrate on finishing this painting?"

Although he was actually keeping people at a distance, Kishibe Rohan's tone at this moment was very gentle and calm, and it did not make people feel uncomfortable at all.

Sensing the meaning of Kishibe Rohan's request, several enthusiastic little fans immediately nodded obediently and said:

"Okay, Mr. Kishibe, we won't disturb you from thinking about your creation."

"Thank you for your understanding."

"I often sketch here, and we'll see you again someday."

Rohan Kishibe calmed the children down with a smile, then calmly watched the little fans leave.

As soon as these little fans left, he immediately lowered his head and focused on painting the unfinished painting.

"A cartoonist out sketching?"

"It seems to be okay..."

Diablo carefully observed Kishibe Rohan and relaxed his vigilance a little:

The enthusiasm and admiration of those elementary school students just now were very sincere. Unless they were all born movie stars, the young man in front of them should be the cartoonist they were talking about.

Diablo also observed carefully that when those elementary school students made the noise just now, many passers-by nearby also cast inquiring glances in the direction.

Judging from the surprised and excited looks in their eyes, the young man's identity as a well-known cartoonist became more certain.

"It's probably just a cartoonist who happened to be sitting here sketching."

"He shouldn't be a threat to me...but..."

As alert and sharp as a cheetah, Diablo soon discovered another suspicious point:

The station was busy, so it was not surprising to see other people on the benches.

But... a cartoonist would go to such a noisy and bustling place to sketch?

How can you paint in such a noisy place?

Could it be that he did it on purpose?

He is actually in the same group as Li Qing, so he ambushed here in advance?

Because of the psychological trauma caused by Li Qing these days, Diablo almost has paranoia.

When you calm down and think carefully:

Li Qing's side clearly had an overwhelming advantage in combat power. If they knew where I was, they would have just pushed forward and there would have been no need to risk such unnecessary drama.

Diablo was feeling troubled, but Rohan Kishibe, who was sitting on a bench nearby, had already finished the painting with great swiftness.

He breathed a sigh of relief, put down his brush, and then looked up at Diablo and said:

"Sir...you seem to have been observing me for almost half a minute."

"Are you interested in my paintings?"

"If that's the case, I'd like to have someone taste it."

Kishibe Rohan held the painting with the ink still wet in his hands and spoke to Diablo very seriously.

"Hmm..."

Diablo hesitated for a moment, then answered without revealing any flaws:

"Yes, I am indeed very interested in the art of painting."

"But there is one thing that makes me wonder..."

"The environment here is so noisy, why do you want to paint here?"

He probed calmly.

“It’s kind of my personal hobby.”

"I like to sketch in crowded places, so I can observe all kinds of passers-by and get in touch with the real world."

"All of these can provide inspiration for my creation, and the noisy environment can also temper my state of mind for painting."

Artists have their own quirks, and Kishibe Rohan's reasons are very normal.

"Oh...I see."

"It seems that you are a very accomplished painter."

Diablo said a few polite words slowly, as if to put an end to the questioning.

However, at the moment when his expression relaxed, his spiritual energy surged like a huge wave:

"The Crimson King!"

Unexpectedly, the hideous-looking Crimson King appeared out of nowhere.

As soon as it appeared, it swung a sharp knife in front of it with all its strength, as if it wanted to split Kishibe Rohan's brain open with one blow.

But Rohan on the Kishibe did not move.

It was as if he didn't see the Crimson King at all, and his eyes showed no fluctuations.

Finally, the Crimson King's hand knife stopped dangerously in front of Rohan Kishibe, an inch away from his forehead. The strong wind caused by the slash made his hair flutter.

"Why is the wind so strong all of a sudden..."

Kishibe Rohan frowned in confusion.

Then, he handed the painting to Diablo without changing his expression:

“This is a painting I just finished.”

"Would you like to see it, sir?"

“…”

Diablo fell into a brief silence:

This guy didn't react at all to the Crimson King's temptation. It seems that he is not a Stand user.

Am I being too suspicious? No…

Think of it another way, if the other party is a Stand user but can still turn a blind eye to the Crimson King, that would be a truly terrible trouble.

Diablo's suspicious character has become more serious as the situation continues to deteriorate.

Although there have been countless indications that Kishibe Rohan is just an ordinary person who happened to appear, he still cannot let go of his lingering suspicion.

Faced with the painting handed to him by Rohan Kishibe, Diablo was hesitant and dazed.

“Let’s take a look at the future.”

"Today's meeting must not go wrong. All hidden dangers must be eliminated."

Finally, Diablo couldn't help but take out his best precautions:

"The Crimson King—Epitaph!"

Epitaph's ability was quietly activated, and the scene of the next ten seconds instantly emerged in his mind.

Diablo's expression suddenly became a little subtle:

It was not because he saw any danger, but because the future he saw this time was unexpectedly dull.

In the past, he could always see all kinds of strange ways of dying in the future on his epitaph, but this time...

In the first second, Rohan Kishibe handed over the painting.

The next second, Diablo began to appreciate it.

The painting was indeed very exquisite, allowing even an amateur like him who only had a superficial understanding of the art of painting to see the painter's profound painting skills.

In the third second, Diablo began to express his praise politely.

Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth seconds...

Rohan Kishibe and Diablo kept chatting about this and that painting.

In the tenth second, Diablo finally managed to get rid of Kishibe Rohan, who was overly enthusiastic about art, and made the great cartoonist calmly shut his mouth.

An Bian Lu Sui immediately picked up his brush and lowered his head, as if he was going to continue sketching.

"It seems I'm overthinking."

"I never thought that I, Diablo, would be pushed to such a point where I would be afraid of everything."

Diablo sighed softly, feeling very melancholy.

But he quickly calmed down, and according to the future he had predicted, he took the painting from Kishibe Rohan and began to appreciate it:

“It is indeed a painting that makes people’s eyes light up.”

“This painting should be…”

Diablo started chatting calmly.

Time passed second by second as planned.

At the ninth second, their brief chat was about to come to an end.

In the tenth second, Kishibe Rohan closed his mouth, picked up his pen and lowered his head, as if he was going to continue creating.

"Sure enough, there is no problem."