Fog

As Giorno approached the lone assassin, he knew this was his strike opportunity. He pushed all other distractions to the back of his mind and focused on his target, his spirit form allowing him to glide towards her unnoticed.

The assassin, seemingly oblivious to his presence, allowed him to materialize right behind her. But as soon as he did, he was enveloped in a thick fog that seemed to seep into his very pores, making it difficult for him to catch his breath. Could this be her Noble Phantasm?

"Sneak attacks won't work on me, mister," a sweet, childlike voice spoke in his ear, accompanied by a surge of deadly intent emanating from the petite figure in front of him. She spun around and launched herself at him, brandishing a strange knife in her right hand, wrapped in bandages. Giorno tried to dodge, confident that he could easily evade an attack of that speed. But then, a silver flash caught him off guard, slicing into his arm.

"Shit!" he cursed, narrowly dodging the strike and pressing his hand against the shallow cut on his arm. Another second, and he would have been seriously injured. The attack had been fast, but he shouldn't have had any trouble avoiding it.

He retaliated with a swift jab, but his hand moved sluggishly through the air, missing its target. What the hell was going on?

The girl gracefully sidestepped his attack, a fresh cut appearing on his wrist. He had endured worse injuries before, but this one was particularly deep. Something was off about this fight; he might have attributed it to an enemy Stand's interference in a different life, but that couldn't be the case here.

Only one explanation left: the girl's heroic spirit powers manifested in her Noble Phantasm.

Giorno couldn't believe how careless he had been. He had always been confident in his ability to win any battle, never considering that someone might catch him off guard. But his Stand, which had always been his most reliable ally, seemed powerless against this strange and unknown force.

He leaped back, trying to distance himself and his attacker.

If he hadn't been dragged down by an unseen force, this battle would have been over instantly. Giorno's opponent was no match for his usual quickness and agility. But he had no choice but to retreat, so he slammed his fist into the ground, causing a tree to sprout beneath him and launch him into the air.

As the smoke-like fog closed in on him, it seemed to come to life, writhing and lashing out like a living entity as Giorno desperately tried to escape. It chased him across the pier, its tendrils snaking closer and closer until he was surrounded again. The poison from the fog seeped into his body, sapping his strength and causing him to fall to the ground.

Just as the fog closed in around him, he saw the small figure of the real assassin of the war dart past him, their blades flashing as they released two quick slashes aimed at his vital points.

"F-Flowers?!" the young girl exclaimed, her eyes wide with alarm. Assassin sprang back, disappearing into the fog. Her blades had missed their mark, stopped at the last moment by a burst of vibrant purple flowers that seemed to be sprouting from Giorno's body.

"Cool trick, big brother," she giggled, her voice laced with unnatural malice. "Are you a magician?" Despite her childish laughter, there was a sinister edge to her words.

Giorno's vision was completely obscured by the thick, swirling smog, making it harder and harder to draw a breath. He had no way of knowing which direction the assassin would attack from next, and he knew that if he couldn't see her, he'd have to rely on his other senses.

Clenching his eyes shut, he focused all his attention on the sounds around him, trying to anticipate her next move. But he was caught off guard when he heard a sudden whoosh of air and felt a sharp pain as the assassin's blades sliced through his flesh, severing his middle and ring fingers on his right hand. He blocked a cut to his neck, his reflexes barely saving him from a fatal blow.

It was impossible – she had moved completely silently, and he hadn't even sensed a change in the air pressure around them. Giorno had no way of detecting her direction of attack until it was almost too late, but he knew he had to find a way out of this. He'd have to create one if there wasn't an easy solution.

He took off running through the fog, not knowing which direction he was heading in, but it was all he could do. At least if he were moving, he'd be a slightly more challenging target, even if the assassin was faster than him while they were both engulfed in this dense cloud. Her twisted, childlike laughter echoed through the mist, more fitting for an urban legend than a heroic spirit.

"It's no use, big brother; you can't escape my mist that easily!" she taunted him, but Giorno didn't listen. He just kept running, his plan slowly coming together with each step.

"Found yo~u!" The assassin's playful tone echoed around him, making it impossible to pinpoint her exact location. But it didn't matter anymore.

A golden glow surrounded his fists, but he held them loose at his side, taking no defensive stance. He waited, a single second stretched out for an eternity.

"Muda!" he spun to his right, throwing a left straight punch into the seemingly empty air. The sound of bones breaking and the feeling of impact told him he had hit his target, but he didn't have time to worry about whose bones he had broken. An unexpected metallic clatter followed the sound of the assassin's body hitting the pier, and the smoke-like fog dissipated, revealing the truth of what had happened.

"You might be accustomed to fighting in the fog, but it doesn't mean you can see clearly in it," Giorno said, posing as he spoke, his confidence returning with his victory over the fog. "I could tell by how you moved against me; you couldn't tell exactly where I was, just the general idea."

As the fog cleared, the Assassin saw that the pier was now covered in flowers, plants, vines, and grass that hadn't been there before. It was now clear what had happened; the Servant with the power over life had created plants with every step he took, creating a 'Barrier' of flowers. Because of his link to the life he makes, he can sense the change in the plants as the assassin runs through them and uses them to track her when both sight and sound fail him.

Panting heavily, the Servant Assassin clenched her teeth and jumped back, grabbing an antique lamp before returning to spirit form and disappearing from view.