"The entrance of the manor?"
Jonathan blinked, just for a moment — and then understanding settled across his face. His answer came without hesitation:
"No problem. Just tell me which way to go. I'll do everything I can to draw him there."
In the very next instant, The World behind him kicked the door clean off its hinges. Through the settling debris, it fixed its gaze on DIO — on the wounds that were slowly, steadily knitting themselves shut — and something deep within that golden silhouette's expression began to smolder.
"DIO Brando. You truly are beyond saving, aren't you?"
And then — without another word — a hand-blade came crashing down. DIO didn't even get a syllable in before a Stand charged with Ripple energy drove him back once more, and the suffocating frustration that had been building inside him grew another notch tighter.
Was there any logic left in this world? Ripple and a Stand — what kind of degenerate mind even comes up with a combination like that?
Have you no shame?
Fine, Joseph's old-man Stand was one thing — but this was The World.
But no matter how much indignation churned inside him, DIO had no choice but to swallow every last drop of it down, clench his jaw, and scramble for any possible exit.
Every time Jonathan landed a hit, DIO was forced to break away and hunt down another blood bag. He had no other option. A single clean blow from Jonathan left him in a state barely distinguishable from critical injury — if he didn't recover, he wasn't sure he could even withstand a second strike.
And at his heels, Jonathan gave no quarter. Following Anthony's directions to the letter, he shepherded DIO step by relentless step toward the predetermined destination.
............
At that same moment, at the entrance of the manor, Jotaro and the rest of the group made their way inside. Avdol led at the front, his voice grave and measured as he issued his warning:
"From here on — stay sharp. We've entered DIO's domain now."
"This place will almost certainly be guarded by the most dangerous Stand Users he has. And DIO himself is the greatest threat of all. One moment of carelessness, and we die here."
Behind him, everyone gave a collective nod. Jotaro tugged his cap lower and swept a look around the corridor.
However — roughly three minutes after stepping through the entrance, Polnareff furrowed his brow with a question he couldn't quite shake.
"Hang on a second — is the security here always this... lax?"
He scratched his chin and voiced what they were all thinking:
"We just waltzed right in, and not a single Stand User has shown up to intercept us?"
The implication hung in the air, unspoken but obvious: something about this is very, very wrong.
"Stay on your guard!" Joseph spun around and barked at them. "That bastard is probably just waiting for the moment we drop our defenses so he can hit us with everything he's got!"
And yet — as the staircase came into view right ahead of them, and still not a single Stand User appeared to block their path — a heavy, wordless silence settled over the group.
What... is happening right now?
After fifty days of relentless travel, this group had developed something that could only be described as Stand-User PTSD. Going a full day without some Stand User jumping out to ruin their afternoon now felt wrong — like the world was missing a piece. Like something vital had been ripped out of the natural order.
Even on the days there were no Stand Users, the old man had always found a way to manufacture some disaster out of thin air — a vehicle, an "accident," something.
And now, after all that — after fifty days of hell — they'd finally arrived at the final boss's front door, and someone expected them to believe there was nothing but clear skies ahead?
Pull the other one.
This was not how the last fifty days worked. Not even close.
Nobody was about to tell them: oh, don't worry, you see — every single Stand User inside this manor was just used as a juice box by DIO himself, so there's genuinely no one left to stop you.
While the group stood there completely at a loss, Kakyoin suddenly stiffened — as though he'd caught a sound that hadn't quite registered yet. He turned his head sharply. At the same moment, Iggy's eyes lit up with a feral gleam, and the dog erupted into furious barking.
"Is something... coming?"
Kakyoin muttered the question on instinct, Hierophant Green materializing at his back.
Jotaro narrowed his eyes. Through Star Platinum's vision, he caught a glimpse of something at the far end of the corridor. After a long, still moment, he raised one finger and pointed.
"What is that?"
"Hm? What's where?"
Joseph snapped back to attention a beat too late, twisted around, and followed the direction Jotaro was pointing — then his eyes went wide.
At the base of the staircase, a billowing cloud of dust and debris rolled outward, as though something of enormous weight had just come crashing down from above.
Only once the last of the dust had fully settled did Joseph manage to make out what had fallen.
— Golden hair. A powerful, sculpted frame. Joseph had seen this face more times than he could count.
If the person in front of him weren't dressed in rags — clothes that looked like they'd been flushed down a toilet eighteen times — Joseph would have recognized him immediately.
"DIO?!"
A beat later, recognition crashed over all of them at once. The group snapped into formation.
DIO raised his head. He looked at the Stardust Crusaders standing before him — and his jaw tightened.
Why the hell are these people here?!
...Oh. Because every Stand User he'd stationed to block them had been drained dry by him personally. So naturally, nothing was left to stop them.
Damn it.
Bare half a month ago, he — DIO — had arrived in Cairo, and this city had been alive with possibility, bursting at the seams with momentum.
And now... now this same place was poised to become his grave?
But the very next instant, DIO's expression shifted again — because a voice reached him from behind.
"DIO Brando!"
...Oh, for the love of—
____
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