Chapter Twenty Six.
Midoriya turned his head away from the wall, heart thumping as the masked-man spoke his name. He saw Iida, Todoroki and the others look at him, jaws set and eyes wide. He tried to pull himself free from the wall, but was pulled back by Iida. 'D-do not go, Midoriya. We don't know what he could do,' he begged, eyes manick.
'No matter,' said the masked-man. 'I will kill you later, I promise you that. I must leave you all tonight. But you should know one last thing, he whispered the last part, almost quiet enough to prevent Midoriya from hearing. 'All Might is approaching.'
Powerslave pushed himself free of the debris, cobalt lightning lashing out from the tips of his fingers. It was a defensive mechanism, similar to how a child ran to their mother when scared. He could not help it, it was just another part of his Quirk's effect on his mentality.
He saw, for a moment, a bolt fly over his head. For a second, he had believed he had heard it shouting. Dragging himself up, he took a look around him. All around him were civilians and heroes like him. Getting to work, he began helping those he could.
Dio recoiled under the thunderclap of All Might's arrival, staggering as he brought himself up. He found himself among a mound of debris and flesh, some of which still pulsated with the gentle beat of a heart. A red hum filled his head, deafening him to all around him.
'Hnngh.' He growled, lowering himself besides the closet piece of flesh, a hairless leg, a woman if he was correct. 'By your death,' he rasped. 'Am I made strong.'
Once more, his teeth pierced soft skin, puncturing muscle and drawing in blood. He found more flesh with his hands, drawing in blood through them like he had in days long since the past. He pulled himself from the now pulseless woman, searching for more food.
For a moment, his vision blurred, and he saw a different landscape, not that of Japan but a city of darkness, a sky choked by smog. People were twisted in loss and Panic the likes of which none could bear, and he saw a slump in works, men lined the streets and his eyes focused once more, returning him to the present.
'No,' he growled. 'Those times are gone, forgotten to me as they are to this new world.' He closed his eyes. Swallowed thickly. Opened his eyes. He looked down at the bodies before him, men and women, old and young. He felt nothing now, it had been long years since last he had felt true sadness. I am Dio Brando, Vampiric Lord, the master of The World, and master of myself. I am not flesh, to be swept away and moulded by ruinous actions, but iron. And iron does not yield to those fools or these new-born whelps, no matter their temper. The hum faded, giving way to clarity.
He picked his way through the debris, finding a fourth and fifth body, these two dead, their organs pulped by debris. He drank from them sparingly, hasty to face the newcomer and not over burden his body with a blood haze.
'You defil those peoples bodies,' bellowed a voice from behind Dio. He had heard the voice many times before, the first had been twelve years ago, when he had awoken in this new world. 'You are disgusting.'
'Perhaps,' allowed Dio. 'But they are dead, and I must feed to live. After all, due to you I had my head bashed in on a metal chair, that would have killed many men that I have met. Yet here I am, still kicking. And so I will live, as long as I can, I will live.'
All Might glared at him. His eyes, his voice, too, throbbed at the roots of Dio's mind, stirring to life ancient thoughts which were not wholly his own. Was this what the first vampire had felt, the man who he had shoved the old mask on in London?
'All Might,' came the voice of the masked man. 'Do not bother him, your fight is with me, not Worldbreaker.'
All Might disappeared in that moment, he was nothing more than a silhouette of hurricane-force fists.
'Tomura Shigaraki!' Dio called over the roar of the two warriors' battle. 'I must leave you this night. But fear not, for these two gentlemen shall aid in your escape,' as he spoke. Two zombies rose from the debris, lumbering towards the fight. 'Till next we meet, young Shigaraki. May we fight again!'
'The World!'
As time stopped, Dio took off with a powerful bounding leap.
This Chapter, oh boy, I struggled with it, sorry for any drop in quality you notice. Anyway, the little memories Dio had came from the Panic of 1873 (if my editing notes are correct,) so about when Dio was five or six. Seems that little chair-bump is shacking up depressed memories, wouldn't that be interesting? But don't worry, things will get back on track.
Well take care all, and remember, Dio is our World.