PSEUMINO | VENTO AUREO

34 | diaphanous.

═ ☆. MISTA!" NARANCIA SHRIEKED. "What the hell!?"

Mista didn't react. He only squinted down the length of his revolver, lining it up with the fleshy thing on Risotto's arm. It was a good thing he was already drunk or he would've blasted the thing by now.

You grabbed Formaggio's sleeve, whose face had gone deathly white. "Go find Bruno. Or Giorno. Just go get someone!"

Formaggio rushed away, slipping on his shiny loafers. You slung large lengths of White Satin across both sides of the hallway leading to the infirmary. The gaps in between were large enough that any Stand users could duck under them, but to ordinary people, they wouldn't be able to pass without seeing them. The last thing you needed was a tipsy freshman stumbling upon the scene.

"Put your revolver down, Mista," said Fugo, stepping one foot into the infirmary. "We don't know what that thing is. Do you want to mangle Risotto's arm?"

"Just get it off," said Risotto weakly, the wrappings around his nose muffling his voice. Looking closer, the fleshy growth was even worse than you had thought. It grew larger by the minute, shifting and moving grotesquely as though it had a mind of its own. If you waited any longer, it would overtake Risotto's entire body.

As soon as you thought this, Risotto slumped forward, his body going lax.

"It's sucking out energy from him," said Fugo, a harsh scowl on his face. "That's why it's growing."

"Why do you have pieces of White Satin everywhere? And have you guys seen Mis—" Bruno had stepped over your barricade, but stopped when he saw the scene inside the infirmary.

"There's something growing on Risotto's arm," Fugo told him. "It has to be a Stand."

"We need to shoot it off!" shouted Narancia.

"My thoughts exactly," said Mista, hovering a finger over his revolver trigger.

"Don't!" snapped you and Bruno together. With quick, ginger steps, Bruno entered the infirmary. He took a moment to study the growth before Sticky Fingers appeared, unzipping Risotto's forearm and the growth in one quick movement. It fell to the ground with a smack.

Mista wasted no time in firing his Pistols into the thing. The little Stands shrieked shrilly, the bullets shredding the fleshy mass and sending bursts of blood into the air.

Mista lowered his smoking revolver, staring at the unmoving mass.

"Did you get it?" Naranicia asked, eyes wide.

Blood gushed from multiple points on Mista's body in response. He staggered, his words coming up in a wet garble. "It caught my Pistols. It's eating them."

When you looked again, four of the Pistols were trapped in the fleshy mass, slowly being digested.

"You need to stay away from it—" Mista choked out before collapsing heavily to the ground.

"Narancia!" Fugo failed to grab Narancia's arm as he rushed into the infirmary, Aerosmith zipping through the air. Bruno dove for cover behind one of the cots as Aerosmith's bullets tore into the growth and Risotto's arm.

"Aerosmith doesn't need to get close to blow you to bits!" Narancia shouted.

To your horror, parts of the growth stretched out to absorb the bullets. When Aerosmith ducked closer to it, it reared up, wrapping itself around the Stand. It ripped off one of Aerosmith's wings and Narancia screamed as chunks of his arm flew off. He crashed to the ground, his head making a sickening crack.

"Bruno!" you screamed. "Get out of there!"

Bruno scrambled to his feet, running to the door. The fleshy mass threw aside Aerosmith's fuselage and launched itself after Bruno. White Satin stretched out a whip, you having every intention to rip the mass apart.