Rikiel

"I'm Apollo 11! (オレは「アポロ11号」なんだアーーーッ！)"

- Rikiel

Rikiel (リキエル) is a tertiary antagonist featured in the sixth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Stone Ocean, specifically the "Sky High" story arc.

Rikiel is one of DIO's illegitimate children with an unnamed woman. When he fatefully meets with Enrico Pucci, he awakens his Stand, Sky High, and battles Jolyne Cujoh and Ermes Costello.

Appearance
Rikiel is a young, decently built man with a long face. He has dark hair styled into several dreadlocks. He wears a sleeveless and hooded bodysuit patterned after the hide of a stereotypical cow with an opening on his chest, similarly to the suit of his brother, Giorno Giovanna. He wears an assortment of arm warmers with the same cow hide pattern.

Along with his brothers, Rikiel inherits the Joestar birthmark from his father.

Personality
Rikiel is initially a meek youth distraught by the numerous afflictions he suffers from, causing him to have no hope for his future and a damaged spirit. He spent his life disturbed by an unknown affliction with seemingly random symptoms: his eyelids would close, it'd become hard to breathe, and he'd start panicking as a result. Rikiel is riddled with anxiety and immediately breaks down in front of Pucci during their first encounter.

Rikiel becomes more confident after Pucci unlocks his Stand Sky High, and is seen evolving into an honorable and brave fighter during his fight with Jolyne. He holds human progress in high esteem and sees as a symbol of human growth. Rikiel is a man of honor and fights to repay his debt to Pucci, and when Jolyne defeats him, he congratulates her and reveals details about Pucci. He inherited his father DIO's determination and hardcore actions as well as a rare trait of acknowledging a worthy opponent.

Stand
Sky High allows Rikiel to control creatures known as flying rods which absorb body heat and create localized illnesses.

Background
Prior to meeting Pucci and obtaining a Stand, Rikiel suffered from what seemed to be constant panic attacks: his eyelids constantly fell and his knees gave out. He would attempt to take exams in school, only to suffer from his conditions, which caused him to stop attending school. These conditions were so severe that he wasn't even able to drive a car, and this dramatically decreased his self-confidence.

Stone Ocean (2011-2012)
Fate pushed him into meeting the priest in Orlando when, after driving against the traffic and colliding with the dividing rail, he was brought to the hospital and crossed paths with Pucci. Rikiel learns from Pucci that he is a son of DIO. He begs Pucci to open his eyelid, which closes for no apparent reason. Rikiel then begins to lament his whole life, which was ruined by his lack of confidence and his strange illnesses. Pucci listens, then tells Rikiel to think of his lineage, stating that he has a purpose in life and uncovers his ability to control organisms named rods, or rods. This allows Rikiel to regain control of his eye, and a confident Rikiel leaves the hospital to attack the Joestar Group.

Battle Against Jolyne Cujoh & Ermes Costello
Rikiel finds Jolyne, Ermes and Emporio flying above the swamps and sics his rods on their helicopter, forcing their eyes to shut. They are forced to jump out of the helicopter and Rikiel confronts them. Jolyne and Ermes approach Rikiel, ready to fight, although Rikiel knows it will be to his advantage. However, Jolyne and Ermes quickly work out why Rikiel is trying to lure them closer, and discover one of his weaknesses. Disturbed, Rikiel's bad luck begins to reappear as his bike is sinking in the mud and the loses his keys. Ermes uses Kiss to throw pebbles at Rikiel, but the rods redirect them. However, those pebbles where doubles Kiss created and Ermes manages to hit Rikiel's head from two sides when she detaches the stickers. Overwhelmed by the multiple rocks Jolyne and Ermes throw at him, Rikiel begins to lose his confidence: his illnesses come back and the rods stay still in the air, deprived of their master. Yet Rikiel finds his keys and manages to control the rods again, stopping Ermes from throwing any more rocks by manipulating her hands indirectly. Confident once again, Rikiel rants about Apollo 11 as a triumph of the human spirit and inflicts new ailments on the heroes. Rikiel's attack cause Emporio to urinate blood while Ermes's fingers begin to fall off. Jolyne rushes toward Rikiel, trying to punch the rods, but they effortlessly avoid Stone Free's strikes. Jolyne's ankle joint suddenly bends backward, immobilizing her. Rikiel then begins to toy with Ermes, forcing her to say thanks to the rods. However, Emporio deduces that the rods feed on body heat, causing illnesses and controlling the muscles from the outside that way. Rikiel takes Emporio and Ermes out of commission, making their eyes and throat swell while damaged tissues are spat out of their mouths. Rikiel plans to attack Jolyne's brain stem, where a temperature loss will be fatal.

A swarm of rods rush toward Jolyne's first vertebrae, but Jolyne decides to set herself on fire, protecting the brain stem from the heat-leeching rods. Stone Free lands a punch, sending Rikiel flying into his motorcycle, which also reveals Rikiel's Joestar Birthmark, to everyone's astonishment. Planning to interrogate Rikiel later, Jolyne runs forward to finish off the enemy, but Rikiel douses himself with gas, and sets himself on fire too. Out of sheer resolve, and determined to find a weakness, Rikiel stands in front of Jolyne as his body is burning. Rikiel's new condition allows him to see a new weakness, he sends his rods into Jolyne's mouth, targeting the hypothalamus near the inside of the upper jaw to disrupt the eye perception and cause afterimages. That way, he is able to induce hallucinations in Jolyne's vision and avoids her attacks for a moment. However, Jolyne decides to shut her mouth and simply stop breathing, trusting the mystic sense of the Joestar Family to detect Rikiel, and lands a kick. Jolyne, still on fire, has managed to strike Rikiel thanks to her determination. Stone Free violently pummels Rikiel but surprisingly, Rikiel catches Jolyne by her neck. Rikiel declares that he will be the most determined in this fight and severs his own nerves to not feel pain anymore, meaning he won't fall until he dies. In fact, he plans to finish the fight with in a draw, with both him and Jolyne dying. Rikiel directs out the rods to Jolyne's neck, where he has extinguished the flames with his hand. For her part, Jolyne continues to pummel Rikiel as the rods consume her body heat, and both eventually collapse. The rods, without their master, now leave in the sky.

Rikiel slowly stands up but feels defeated, having seen that his hand protected Jolyne's neck. Jolyne stands up too, while Rikiel finally falls to the ground for good. She reveals that she couldn't calculate that Rikiel's hand would shield her, and she won out of luck. Rikiel questions that dumb luck favored Jolyne, and also feels fulfilled for having gone beyond his limits. Rikiel announces that Jolyne will play a role serving Pucci's goal, as she is favored by destiny. Rikiel then reveals that Weather is Pucci's younger brother, but is interrupted when Kiss puts him out of commission and Ermes refuses to believe that Weather is linked to Pucci, violently punching his head against the ground. The rods leave Rikiel's side.

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Rikiel appears in Eyes of Heaven as a support. He has one voice line, performed by.

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