The beast's claw was razor-sharp—if it landed, it would've carved Joey's skull open like fruit.
But it never got the chance.
A fist collided with the claw mid-air.
A thunderous punch knocked the limb off trajectory, slashing harmlessly through the empty air.
Ratatatat!
Gunfire lit the trees.
Joey, rifle in hand, unloaded on the stunned Chimera Ant as Killer Queen's punch broke its ambush.
Bullets tore through its body, splintered the branch it perched on.
Before both predator and perch hit the forest floor, Joey dove—rolling away from the crash radius.
In that fleeting glance, he got a good look at the attacker's face.
A snarling monkey-faced Chimera Ant.
Even as it died, plummeting from the canopy, its eyes burned with animal malice. It made Joey's skin crawl.
But it was already dead—head shot clean through. No need to look twice.
He twisted mid-roll, rifle swinging toward a second flash of light.
A dog-headed Chimera Ant—blown apart mid-lunge.
Boom.
Sheer Heart Attack roared into the deeper forest, tracking another heat signature.
There were more. Hidden.
Joey's bullets chewed through the falling dog-ant's body, but he saw nothing else—until—
A blur.
From the side.
Fast.
Too fast.
A Chimera Ant launched out of the underbrush like a bullet, zigzagging straight for him.
Killer Queen saw it—but too late to strike.
All it could do was raise its arm and take the hit.
CRASH.
The impact was brutal.
Killer Queen staggered backward, smashing into Joey and knocking him off his feet.
His rifle slipped from his grip—only the shoulder strap kept it from flying away.
Pain lanced up his right side—ribs bruised.
His arm throbbed.
A hot, burning ache.
Killer Queen had taken damage.
And damage to the Stand meant damage to the user.
Not fatal—but not ignorable either.
As Joey hit the ground, he caught a glimpse of the attacker.
A roly-poly Chimera Ant.
Its body curled tight like a tire—pillbug-style—built for high-speed rolling assaults.
It hadn't seen Killer Queen.
When it crashed into the invisible barrier, it paused, confused—hesitating in its deadly rhythm.
But not for long.
Its shell cracked open.
Dozens of tiny limbs shot out, scraping the ground—pivoting, repositioning.
Killer Queen threw a punch—
But the bug rolled away just in time.
BOOM!
Another Sheer Heart Attack detonation echoed deeper in the woods.
Joey, teeth clenched, pushed himself up.
The pillbug wheeled around, aiming for him again.
He whipped out his pistol.
Emptied the clip.
Several shots missed.
But a few struck true, punching into its spinning carapace.
It didn't stop.
If anything, it got faster.
More aggressive.
BOOM!
Sheer Heart Attack exploded again—its second detonation in the background.
Something wasn't right.
Its target must be unusually evasive—or unusually tough.
But Joey had no time to think.
The pillbug was closing in.
He ditched the pistol, dove sideways.
Killer Queen met the rolling insect with a direct punch to its flank.
CRACK!
The Stand's strength was immense—close-range A-tier power.
The pillbug reeled from the blow, its momentum shattered, its shell tumbling sideways before crashing down.
It uncoiled—legs twitching—trying to rise.
Right as it did…
Thunk.
A round object rolled into its grasp.
Joey's grenade.
BOOM!
A deafening blast sent the insect flying.
Its underbelly shredded.
Limbs torn.
Entrails spilling.
But even in that ruined state, it twitched.
Screeched.
Tried to crawl.
Joey stood now, eyes already turning toward the source of Sheer Heart Attack's latest fireball.
Fourth explosion.
He narrowed his gaze.
One more enemy. Hidden. Dangerous.
He made a choice.
Screw the crawler. Screw the tank.
He turned and ran—toward a less dense part of the forest.
As he left, his fingers brushed against a tree trunk.
Just a light touch.
But enough.
Another bomb. Planted. Silent. Waiting.
Then—Joey vanished into the shadows.
In truth, when he'd been checking his ammo earlier, Killer Queen had already warned him:
Two enemies.
They'd approached from blind angles, trying to outflank him.
One had gotten close.
He didn't have shared vision with Killer Queen—regrettable, since some Stands in JoJo did allow that.
But Killer Queen wasn't mindless.
It understood him.
Responded.
Warned.
That gave Joey time to prepare.
He subtly shifted his rifle angle for quicker draw.
Released Sheer Heart Attack early.
That was how the monkey and dog-head ants had died so fast.
Preemption. Traps. Strategy.
The pillbug and the hidden one—those were unexpected.
Not totally, but enough to complicate things.
He'd assumed more were hiding.
What surprised him was how fast the pillbug moved.
And how elusive the final ant was, even against Sheer Heart Attack's relentless assault.
Still—
Joey was confident.
Only four ants.
Two down.
One crippled.
One… being chased.
If there'd been even one or two more?
That roll-hit might've been his last moment.
But now?
Joey gritted his teeth.
Eyes forward.
Running full speed into the darkening trees.