"Will be Time, stop! The World!"
DIO paused, his mouth still open. He had indeed been about to freeze time. It was not a surprising conclusion for Joseph Joestar to make; DIO had after all just demonstrated his powers to cut off his enemy's escape. But the confident smirk that lingered on Joseph's face even after being hit with an indirect attack from The World troubled him.
Jonathan's grandson was a troublesome opponent. With only a few companions, he had made a journey spanning nearly two months, crossed the ocean and several countries, faced numerous hardships and other Stand users and come out on top every time. Any man capable of that was not to be taken lightly. Furthermore, he was well-known for his ability to predict his opponents' moves before they made them and formulate plans in a matter of seconds. Was it possible that he had come up with countermeasures for even a Stand such as The World?
As it turned out, the answer was no. Joseph was bluffing out his ass. He knew there was no way he could face a Stand like The World headon. Even if the Hamon kept it from touching him directly, it could still do more than enough damage through indirect attacks, as it had just proved. Even though he had dodged the worst of the blow, the rubble it had smashed at him had probably broken two, no three, of his ribs. Any moment now DIO would take the initiative once again and finish him off.
But before that, Joseph had one last trick to play. In the few precious moments that DIO had been distracted, he'd discreetly used Hermit Purple to wrench a steel flagpole from the side of the building they stood on. It was by no means an ideal weapon, but thrown with enough force and infused with Hamon, it could at least deal some damage.
A sneer returned to DIO's face. "You're trying to trick me, aren't you, Joseph Joestar? You think I will hesitate before a pitiful Stand like-"
Joseph didn't wait for him to finish before he flung the ripple-infused flagpole straight at the damn vampire's wretched head. DIO barely even acknowledged the effort, cocking his head to the side and grinning as the makeshift spear soared harmlessly past his cheek. It hit the roof with a clang.
His grin evaporated when the flagpole bounced back and impaled him through the gut.
Joseph laughed and declared, "You haven't even seen half of what I can do with Hamon! Watch carefully now, DIO! You're about to witness my ultimate technique!"
DIO's face contorted into a feral snarl. It felt like molten lead was coursing through his body. The ripple ate eagerly into his flesh, spreading further with each passing second. He had underestimated Joseph Joestar, a mistake he would not make again. Whatever this technique of his was, DIO was not about to let him perform it. Gathering his energy, he prepared to stop time once more-
-only to see Joseph turn on his heels and take a running jump off of the roof and into the street below, much to the bewilderment of passerby. He hit the ground running, dodging and weaving through the crowded street with surprising agility for a man his age.
Wrapping his hand around the bloodied flagpole, DIO tore it out of his stomach with a grunt, his eyes still tracking Joseph's movements through the street. It would not do to lose sight of him now and allow him to contact Jotaro or Polnareff, the last surviving members of his group. But wait... up ahead of Joseph, was that... ?
Jotaro Kujo. A predatory grin spread across DIO's face. You won't even have time to warn him. The World!
The most powerful of Stands shimmered for a moment, the moonlight reflecting off of its body like water. It reached out a well-muscled arm and prodded the slowly widening hole in his gut. A sensation not unlike that of bathing in ice water radiated through his body from the point of contact, and the vampire repressed a shudder. The agonizing pain of the ripple vanished, followed quickly by the wound it had left behind. Even the threads of his shirt intertwined back together, covering up the now unblemished skin.
DIO ran a hand along his abdomen and chuckled. You underestimated me as well, Joseph Joestar. He strode forward confidently and swan dived from the rooftop, freezing time before he even hit the ground.
Around him, scenes of everyday life were captured as if in a photograph. A cat was caught mid-yowl, its body still airborne. Dining couples held silverware to their mouths, unmoving. Several men were turned to watch Joseph make his getaway, specks of saliva still floating in the air from their jeering. An ugly woman was in the middle of lighting a cigar, the flame glowing warmly in the night. Up ahead, just within his range, Joseph was only a few meters from reaching his grandson. There was a lot of fun to be had here.
Casually dismembering the cat, he tossed pieces of its corpse into the various overpriced dishes the lovebirds were enjoying, elbowing a waiter into the path of an oncoming automobile as he did. The smoking woman had her cigar replaced with a fork in her eye. The jeering men in his way were variously dismembered or crippled in increasingly enjoyable fashions. His personal favorite among these was the man he gave a wedgie with his own intestines. Finally, seizing a nearby waitress, he ripped open her throat with ease and guzzled the sweet blood within.
Carelessly dropping her on the ground, he smacked his lips with a sigh. It was time to finish this. He advanced unhurriedly, counting off the last two seconds of the time freeze as he pressurized the waitress' bodily fluids behind his eyeballs. When his count reached zero, his irises split apart and he fired.
"Jonathan's grandson, Joseph... dies here!"
Time resumed. Screams filled the air. Blood spattered against his back. The waiter's mangled body was thrown over his head as the car crashed into a lamppost beside him. But DIO continued forward, heedless of the carnage he'd caused. He only had eyes for one thing: The collapsing body of Joseph Joestar, slain by the very attack that had killed his grandfather.
Jotaro broke into a run, dashing forward to catch Joseph before he hit the ground. DIO wasn't close enough to hear their entire conversation over the screams behind him, but he heard enough.
"DIO... Stand... time... run... Jotaro..."
Jotaro shook his head, looking over Joseph's shoulder and meeting DIO's gaze unflinchingly. DIO smiled and gave a little wave. The expression on the boy's face never changed, but DIO could feel the hatred from his gaze intensify tenfold. The sensation was almost pleasurable enough to make him cackle like that decrepit hag Enya.
Joseph reached up and grasped his grandson's shoulder. Something seemed to transfer between the older to the younger, like an electric current. "... final gift... Hamon... take... run... find another way. You cannot defeat DIO!"
By this time, DIO had come close enough for his sensitive ears to pick up every word, and the tone of conversation pleased him greatly. He watched patiently as Jotaro clasped his grandfather's hand to his breast, gently placing his body on the cold cement. The old man was not breathing.
"Jotaro! You are next!" DIO said gleefully, stabbing his index finger at the boy.
Jotaro stood, his face set with a cold fury. "D-"
"Damn you, DIO!" the vampire said in a mocking voice. "Those were going to be the next words out of your mouth, weren't they?"
Jotaro didn't laugh. Evidently he had inherited Jonathan's sense of humor.
"Kakyoin is dead. Polnareff... he went into hiding, maybe? It doesn't matter. You're next, Jotaro."
"You bastard. DIO..." Jotaro clenched his fists and stepped over his grandfather's body.
"Oh? You're walking towards me?" DIO said, smiling wide enough to show off his mouthful of fangs. "Why aren't you running away? Why don't you listen to your grandfather, who gave his life to tell you the secret of my Stand?"
Jotaro walked closer, his face a stiff and expressionless mask. "I can't beat you if I don't get close to you," was all he said.
DIO laughed warmly. "Then come closer, Jotaro."
This was going to be fun.