Chapter Twenty One.Dio was perched atop the corner of a building in the midst of its construction. It was late in the night, hardly an hour after he had met with the so-called League of Villains, a dreadful name if ever he had heard one.
He tasted blood on his lips. Licking them, he picked out the subtle, bittersweet tang of his latest victims vitae. His victim lay slumped against the wall besides him, watching him, slack jawed and wide-eyed. He had died slowly. Exsanguination, messy, but Dio had been in need of amusement for some time now. His body had been drenched in the dead man's fear-sweat, just as his death-screams had been silenced by a thick, leather gag in his mouth.
A fortunate find, it was hard to find a self-gagging victim, though somewhat more common than in Cairo. He would have preferred a woman, a young virgin perhaps, they tasted better. Their blood also possessed a certain… potency, too it.
'If they kill him,' Dio said, voicing his thoughts aloud. 'Then they will do me a great service. That boy, Midoriya, for all his faults, he may prove to be a nuisance. He is inquisitive, in his own way. How he charts down everything to do with heroes. It disgusts me, such a single-minded devotion.'
He paused, sharing a look with The World. 'I know my flaws, I let my quest for the Joestar's final annihilation consume me, that is why I, Dio, failed. I will not repeat that mistake a second time.'
He turned back to regard the moon-bright city, hearing the clatter of a nearby party, perhaps a late-night snack. 'Of all the students of U.A. which I have encountered, only he analyses things in a way that concerns me. Iida, as bright as he is, lacks something. Either devoured by rationalism and duty, or clouded by emotion. I hope that if I and he ever come to blows, he has resolved that issue.
'Todoroki and Bakugou, two sides of the same coin. Todoroki, cold to emotion. If he continues to ignore that, then he will never truly grow. He will not be able to adapt, to innovate even. If he can not do that, then he is doomed to fall behind those who can change themselves. His ability to adapt is blunt at best, if not from Stain's own mistakes, he would surely be dead. Bakugou, he exemplifies my arrogance, what more must I say for him but this. He needs to be tempered, moulded into a better person, a better hero.'
He scoffed as he returned to Midoriya. 'But of the four greatest threats to me in Class-A, the four which I regard with anything more than chit-chat and quick glances, only he is capable of discerning that there is something more to me. It will not be long now, I think. As I consume more blood, Joseph's broad body becomes more lean. Perhaps whip-cord is a good description for how I stand now.
'Yes, One days, be it weeks or even years, this body will fit my old proportions, perhaps even the damned Star will disappear. No one, not even the teachers, have noticed these changes yet. But they will, long after Midoriya is gone. And by then, it will be too late.'
The World stood besides him, gazing at the city. 'Or perhaps, these are just the blood-drunk ramblings of a man with time a plenty on his hands. But be it the former or latter, there is indeed a nugget of truth in what I say this fine night.'
He came down from his perch and marched towards the corpse. He prodded his thumb with one of his throwing knives, letting it trickle down to meet the blades flat. Coming to kneel besides the dead body, he deposited the blood. 'In my prime, in the age in which I had stood with my old body, I had commanded an army. Chimera, zombies and vampires. An entire village at my disposal, now, in this strange land, I have but one follower, and a fool-named organisation on my side, even if the latter do not realize it.'
The body jerked, muscles twitched as veins thickened and darkened. 'But I will need an army. Hamon and Stands, these alone were all I might have once feared. But now, in this Japan, I must contend with Quirks. They are a threat removed from the other two. Hamon, used by but a few dozen in my time, was a rare threat, easily countered by my ability to cool my body. Stands, again, only a few were capable of wielding them. Fewer still, Jotaro being one I can admit, were able to contend with me.'
The body rose, groaning through clenched teeth. 'But these Quirks, they are widespread and varied. Like Thirteen, her black hole could be a threat. Though she will never use it in the way I would, that is their weakness! Yes, heroes!'
As Dio turned from the rising zombie, he looked down to the street below, a pair of heroes getting distracted by a pack of people. 'They are weak for their ideals are weak. They can not bring themselves to fight wholeheartedly. They fear death. A fool's fear of death is the result of life. It is not to be feared, but embraced. If they were to kill those they name as villains, then crime would fall sharply. But alas, they reject it.'
Dio turned to the zombie. 'But I do not. You my friend,' he said, cupping the zombies head. 'I, Dio, command you to unleash havoc upon this city. Spread death, sow into these peoples hearts that their heroes can not protect them. Do not falter, do not yield, spread death, grow my army this night. For when the time comes, I shall call upon you and your kin, then this city will taste despair. And I, Dio, shall bring salvation.'
The zombie trundled along, leaning on the low-wall as it re-learned how to walk. It disappeared at the lip of the staircase, its groaning followed soon after. 'When a river of blood drowns these streets, then and only then will I reveal myself as a true hero. With that newfound freedom, I shall be free to do whatever I deem fit to secure this country.'
He chuckled, a smile spreading across his face. 'Humans are a weak species. They will freely trade their freedom and rights for security. Upon this simple fact, there doom and my ascension has been born.'
Afterword, a somewhat strange chapter, I shall admit. Just want to say this, in all of Villain-Dio's appearances, it will be in the outfit of the Outer Heaven cover. Take Care.