DISCLAIMER: I do not own JoJo's bizarre adventure or Rising of the shield hero

A large zombie-like creature rampaged through buildings that collapsed into rubble on top of it, but it continued, unfazed. It only stopped when it sensed the presence of a group of people in a building. It burst through the building's walls to reach them.

*GROWL*

It slowly got on its hands to charge forward and crush the panicked demi-humans who were all against a wall. With its mouth drooling blood, it pulled its arms back and jumped, ready to kill all life present, that was until it bumped into the tall frame of a muscular woman. The beast was knocked back by the collision, a small shockwave reflecting against the woman's back.

"Are any of you injured?"

The frightened people shook their heads collectively.

*ROAR!*

The zombie lunged toward her with its arms open. It grabbed air however, the woman disappeared in an instant. The creature looked at its arms to see whether it had caught its prey, but as it did, its arms fell off into small cubes.

"!"

Then its legs followed, leaving it on the ground, limbless. The monster watched as the red-haired woman walked up to the survivors, completely ignoring it. It wished to roar at her, but its jaw was dismantled before a web of slashes cut its entire body into cubes of lifeless matter.

"All of you must hurry, that zombie was claiming territory. With it gone, another will come."

The people stayed still, incapable of movement. Raphtalia paid closer attention to the room and a dark shadow befell her demeanour. A few sword swings and a split second later, the loud sound of chains falling to the floor was heard.

"You are free now," Raphtalia said to the slaves. However, they refused to move.

"There is no point, we may escape now, but we will be slaves all our lives."

Raphtalia remained silent and rolled up her sleeve to reveal scars of various sizes.

"You are only a slave of your own mind. There is a place near here, a safe place. One that welcomes all."

The demi-humans looked conflicted and hesitant.

"I know it's scary, but the first step to freedom is a big one."

CRESCENT SOUL

Raphtalia held her sword over her shoulder with both hands. She crouched before swinging her blade in the direction of the city centre. Her slash took the shape of a crescent moon that thinned from the centre and cut off the roofs of several buildings. The roofs collapsed to the sides, creating a pathway with walls of rubble.

"Follow that path until you reach the centre, then you will be safe. You have my word."

The slaves finally stood up and went on their way, thanking Raphtalia as they did. Raphtalia smiled and left, searching for more survivors. As she walked, a stinging pain hit her in the chest.

"Damnit, why won't it stop!"

She winced in pain, unreluctantly punching herself in the stomach out of annoyance. She took a vile of green liquid from her belt, stared at it with temptation, but quickly put it away.

"I don't need it, not now."

She was dressed in her newly made Noble Darkness armour. She sported a white long-sleeved blouse underneath a high-collared black waistcoat adorned with silver buttons. A short red side cape rested on her left shoulder, strapped down by a black belt with a silver buckle that wrapped over her shoulder, across her chest, and underneath her right arm. Her left hand was covered by a red fingerless glove, though her right was naked. She wore another belt around her waist that held a short red skirt. Black leather pants and red timberland boots completed her look. Pluck was strapped to her back by the belt across her chest.

"Hmm?"

Raphtalia heard a strange noise from under a piece of rubble, picking it up, she discovered a child.

"What are you doing here?"

It was a girl, she was an octopus demi-human of some sort, as atop her head was a purple bulbous shape hanging behind her head like an oversized beanie, with eight similarly purple tentacles. She wore brown shorts and boots and a long-sleeved white collar shirt, with two black and blue pens in her breast pocket.

"I come here for a few days and this happens, SHEESH!"

The girl pulled on two of her tentacles and her eyes became a continuous loop of red circles expanding outward. Raphtalia lost her train of thought looking at them.

"Oi, strong lady!"

Raphtalia snapped back into reality.

"Thank you. Now, I shall depart, TO SAFETY!"

She did it again randomly, pulling on her tentacles and her eyes shifting weirdly.

"How did you become trapped?"

"I came all the way here to find my grandfather, but an idiotic monster ran through a building! A piece fell on me, and now I am injured!"

The girl's tentacle pointed to her shoulder which had a blue liquid splattered on it.

"You're hurt? Is that your blood?"

"Yes, it is blue, NOT just ink from my pen!"

She keeps doing it whenever she emphasizes a word.

"That's very brave of you to look for your grandfather during a Wave like this."

"I know, statistically speaking, I should have died 5.9 times already!"

"And you still came?"

"OF COURSE, family and science are the foundations of existence!"

Raphtalia found this tiny girl amusing.

"My name is Raphtalia, what's yours?"

"DIONA, the smartest demi-human in Melromarc!"

"Really? How old are you?"

"My species have very short life spans, but I am nine, no TEN!"

"I'm ten too!"

"I don't believe you!"

"...AN IMMORTAL!"

Raphtalia's demi-human ears perked up, hearing a distant shout. This was accompanied by a bright glow of green energy, the sky shaking violently afterwards.

"DIO?"

"My old man?"

"What?"

"What?"

"You should stay safe here, I need to help a friend of mine."

She emptied her mind and focused all her thoughts in that direction. Often, human minds are filled with different information blending together, muffling any details. Raphtalia focused her hearing. Her demi-human ears picked up the familiar vibrations made by DIO, as well as the unfamiliar movements of Spiral.

"That pitch is high, he must be fighting someone. And judging by that speed, he's going all out!"

Raphtalia grabbed the hilt of her blade and vanished.


Spiral's fist travelled through the air like a canon ball, aimed at DIO.

*TEMPUS EST MEUM*

The vampire appeared above her, [The World] holding a building beside him.

"Be creative," DIO said in a bored tone, he waved his hand and [The World] threw the building down.

"Careful what ya wish for!"

Spiral drew another spiral, punching it. This time, the green spiral was converted to a white spiral. When the white spiral hit the building, the structure vibrated violently before crumbling to dust. The spiral continued its journey up to DIO.

"Vibrations? Sound."

*TEMPUS EST MEUM*

Spiral found herself in the air, in front of her own attack.

"Oh, shit, that's smart."

The vibrating spiral hit her at full force, her very molecules destabilizing. But Spiral put up two fingers and rotated her hand clockwise. Her entire body seemed to glitch out of existence in static and disappear.

"..." DIO stood silently, not sure if he just won or not.

"Surprise!"

Spiral reappeared in front of DIO, her hand rotating anticlockwise.

"My frequency was out of this dimension, crazy, huh?"

She punched him through his chest and his lungs and heart were gone, leaving a massive hole. He spat blood, she moved even faster than before.

"You're done for, DIO," Spiral held up her other fist to finish the job.

"Not in this time," DIO stopped time in an instant.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, reading her genetic code and attempting to mess with it, but this was ineffective as her body was too powerful, fighting against DIO's energy.

"I need her in a docile state."

DIO scowled in anger, he had no other option but to escape, though he did leave one more gift.

"SPACE RIPPER STINGY EYES!"

Once time resumed, DIO was gone and Spiral was in extreme pain.

"AHHHH!"

Spiral screamed, her eyes red from DIO's SRSE.

"WHY MY EYES!"

Hearing Spiral's screams, DIO smirked in satisfaction. He limped on the street behind the roof she was on. The injury he sustained was too gruesome to heal from without fresh blood.

"This street is in relatively good condition. Its buildings are barely touched and I see no corpses, only scorch marks and charred rubble."

He thought while taking a piece of red cloth as a cape to cover the hole in his chest. As he limped to an unknown location, he came across an old woman with a wounded leg. She was clearly bleeding out and unable to stand.

"Young man, please, give me my wand!"

DIO looked over to see a wand on the ground next to his feet. He was interested to see what the obvious witch could do, so he bent over to pick up the magical object when a hostile shadow engulfed him.

"NO!"

[The World]'s golden body flew out of DIO, his uppercut so strong it blew off the monster's top half.

"Fire magic, I presume?"

DIO presented the wand to the woman as if he did not one-shot a high-level monster, despite his poor condition.

"Uh, yes. Who are you? You look familiar."

DIO helped the witch up and supported her.

"She saw through my hypnosis. She must be quite powerful. She might prove useful in the future."

"Do not worry about me, we need to get you somewhere safe."

"THERE YOU ARE, FUCKER!"

The street they were on became illuminated by green energy as Spiral jumped into the air above them.

"You vampire dumbass, I knew you'd go looking for some blood!" Spiral shouted with a spiral glyph in front of her.

"Wait, heー"

"Do not waste your breath, it is useless. [The World], awaken."

"Yes, Lord DIO."

"How far is your range?"

"Ten meters, but it greatly diminishes my power."

"I am referring to your true range, at which you can physically not exceed."

"Undetermined, but a few hundred meters at least."

"Good, carry this woman to the nearest medical facility and..." DIO spoke to his stand silently.

[The World] nodded its head and picked up the old witch bridal style.

"I'm not sure I like this."

"You are in no position to be picky."

[The World] quickly flew away holding the old woman, its colour draining as it did. DIO turned to Spiral with a serious look.

"You realise without ya stand ya fucked, right?"

DIO remained silent and took on a classic boxing stance before motioning for Spiral to come at him.

"If ya say so!"

Her fist collided with her drawn symbol, the final result being a blue spiral.

*TEMPUS EST MEUM*

DIO moved to a rooftop for safety, but he soon understood why that spiral was blue.

"Gah!"

Jolts of electricity ran through DIO, as well as the street below and all its buildings. Spiral jumped onto the roof he was on, his body still stunned by the shock.

"Looks like the end of the road, DIO," She smugly walked up to him.

"People."

"Hm?"

"There were people in those buildings, that shock killed them. I can smell it."

"I am a Zelddei, killing you is the only thing that matters, so I will, no matter what."

"Such a pitiful existence, don't you agree, Raphtalia."

"Huh!?" Spiral turned to see a meter-long blade in her face. She tilted her head and launched a punch at the newcomer. The swordswoman disappeared once the punch 'landed' however, leaving Spiral confused.

"Was that a fucking ghost!?"

SLASHES OF DREAM

A web of sword slashes surrounded the mercenary, cutting strands of her hair and tearing the fabric of her clothes.

"Hahahaha, stop, hahaha, it tickles," Spiral laughed uncontrollably, her skin unscathed. And while she was distracted laughing, Raphtalia took time to charge her next attack.

"Heaven Splitter!"

Spiral saw this and was about to raise her hand to block, but

"MUDA!"

[The World] attacked from behind, its fist raised for a full-power punch. Spiral jumped to avoid both attacks, but

*TEMPUS EST MEUM*

She found herself upside down, Raphtalia's sword at her nape and [The World]'s fist hitting her face.

"USELESS!"

DIO kicked her in the stomach at the same time. [The World] and DIO's attacks supporting Raphtalia's slash. All three added their power together, pushing themselves beyond their limit.

"Wait!"

Spiral could feel their combined strength force the blade of Pluck into her nape. Blood trickled as it pushed deeper and deeper, cutting on a molecular level. The cut damaged the very DNA in Spiral's neck, meaning she would not be able to heal from it naturally.

"Raphtalia, one more push!"

However, just as they were about to finish the job, Raphtalia's heart stopped and she stumbled back. Spiral fell forward and kicked DIO, sending him flying across the roof. The force shocked him into withdrawing his stand.

*COUGH! COUGH!*

Raphtalia coughed blood into her palm, her eyes widened in shock.

"No, no, no, no!"

"Raphtalia?" DIO looked at the swordswoman with confused concern.

"Hahahaha, I've seen those eyes before. You're already dead! Hahahaha!"

Raphtalia heard the assassin's words and clenched her bloody hand.

"Excuse me?"

"Ya heard me, ya might as well give up now!"

Raphtalia had a blank expression on her face, looking as if she was contemplating Spiral's words.

"So, you're saying there's no hope for me?"

"Bingo, mate!"

Raphtalia gripped her blade tightly, despite her broken arms, and ran her bloody hand through her hair. She looked at Spiral with no emotion, her hair slicked back with two blood-tipped bangs.

"Then how about I take you with me."

She disappeared in a blink. Spiral looked shocked, frantically checking her surroundings.

*CLANG!*

Spiral's golden bracelet and Pluck collided with sparks.

"Look at that! You got me on guard, nice!"

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

Sonic booms filled the sky as they collided. Raphtalia fought relentlessly, uncaring for any injuries she received from the force of her own attacks. Spiral was practically fighting a ghost as every hit she landed was on Pluck. The sword stopped her punches before they could gain momentum. DIO watched on in sadness, he saw no difference between the fighters. Both were determined to achieve their goals regardless of what it took, unable to see further than that.

"Is this what happened with Naofumi? She is completely disconnected from everything around her."

*TEMPUS EST MEUM*

Spiral felt her body move in an instant, dropped in an inferno. She felt hot flames around her. This quick change in temperature combined with the fact she felt like she was just on a rollercoaster, resulted in one thing.

"Bloodyー"

She gagged painfully, holding her stomach before falling to her knees and vomiting.

"Hell."


Raphtalia and DIO sat in an alley. DIO sat across from the injured demi-human in silence, a serious look on his face.

"Huh, what happened!?" Raphtalia asked, snapping back to reality.

"So, when were you going to tell me?"

"What do you mean?"

"About your illness."

"Oh, that. It's nothing, I swear!"

"Your heart stopped in the middle of a fight. That's no simple cold."

"I was just tired, it's really nー"

"Raphtalia, you could die! Do you want that?"

"I..."

"Raphtalia, are you afraid of me?"

"No! Please don't think that!"

"Then why didn't you tell me? I could have easily gotten you treatment."

Raphtalia remained silent, looking away.

"Please, tell me."

DIO gently took hold of Raphtalia's hand, trying to get her to talk to him.

"You know you are safe with me."

She sighed and looked toward DIO who had a soft look in his eyes.

"When we were trapped in the dreamscape, and you were attacked by that monster. I remembered my parents and their sacrifice for me. I remembered how powerless I was. That's when I made a promise, that no one would ever have to put themselves in danger for me, that I would protect everyone I care for."

"So that's why you hid it from me? You didn't want me to worry about you?"

"You were so busy with Riyute and I thought if I was strong enough, it would go away."

"She's obsessed with protecting those she loves. And when faced with the idea of being unable to do that, she goes into a very aggressive state as a defence mechanism."

"And then I met Naofumi," Raphtalia's tail wagged a bit as she said that. DIO narrowed his eyes in suspicion but quickly shrugged it off as she continued.

"He found out about it and I made him promise to keep it secret. He gave me medicine and told me to take it three times a day and not to overexert myself during the Wave."

"But you didn't take it, why?"

"He said it would slow me down and he thought it wouldn't be a problem since I was meant to stay at Riyute."

"That idea that you would be weaker scared you."

Raphtalia closed her eyes and nodded her head. DIO lunged forward and embraced her.

"Don't ever put that weight on yourself, because I am right here to carry it for you."

Raphtalia teared up and returned the hug.

"You are not some soldier to me, Raphtalia. You are my daughter."

Raphtalia's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat. She burst into tears, and for the first time since [Death 16], she let her guard down.

"I'm sorry, I should have trusted you."

DIO moved away from the hug and held her shoulders.

"It's my fault, I was too ignorant and self-centred."

DIO held Raphtalia as he stood.

"I want you to make me a promise. Live your life."

Raphtalia smiled cheerfully as DIO wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Promise?" DIO held out his pinkie to Raphtalia.

"Promise," She locked her pinkie around his.

"Good, now don't we have a score to settle?"

"Yeah!" She picked up Pluck with new invigoration, her wounds became nothing to her.

"But before we do that, we have a few stops to make first."

*TEMPUS EST MEUM*

An injured vampire and demi-human landed on the roof Rishia was on. Rishia could tell they had come from a brutal fight with someone ridiculously strong.

"I need your help, Rishia, but it won't be pleasant."

"Whatever you need, I can help."

"I thank you," DIO walked up to her, placing his hand on her neck. He rubbed gently while looking down at her with soft eyes.

"You're so brave."

He bent down and embraced her as his fingers slowly pierced her flesh. She winced slightly.

"So strong."

Rishia felt the blood leave her body and into DIO.

"So pure."

DIO's body restored itself, returning his golden aura of elegance. This was the greatest feeling DIO had experienced in his short time here. He threw off his impromptu cape(though it was kinda nice, he should probably get one later). His power increased dramatically, as it does after a gruesome fight.

*LEVEL UP: 60*

Rishia nearly fainted, she felt light-headed and dizzy. DIO placed his hand on her chest, a purple aura flowed through his arm and into her. She immediately felt better, much better, better than before even.

"I have healed you, as well as unlocked some of your latent power."

"Is it a class up?"

DIO had to pause and collect his thoughts, his mind going a million miles a second to provide a proper answer.

"Yes."

Rishia sweat dropped.

"But in any case, you need to evacuate as many people as you can. A woman named Spiral Zelddei has come to claim my head, with no care for collateral damage."

"W-wait, d-did you say Z-Zelddei!?" Rishia shuddered.

"Yes, do you know her?"

"The Zelddei family are the most powerful mercenaries in Zeltoble!"

"Zeltoble? You're referring to that nation populated by mercenaries."

"Yes, and the Zelddeis rule it. They own the greatest mercenary guild to ever exist; the Tarot guild!"

"Tarot? JoJo mentioned my minions' stands are based on the tarot cards of our world."

"Interesting, do you know anything of their abilities?"

"Not much, they only accept hire from government officials. Though rumour has it, their names are like enchantments that give their powers!"

"So the key to her power is her name? Spiral...spirals, they represent an infinite cycle of change. Hmm...I see now."

"Raphtalia, quickly. That fire won't keep her for long."

Raphtalia pulled out the vile of green liquid and chugged all of it down. DIO then placed his hand on her shoulder and accelerated her natural healing, speeding up the effects of the medicine.

"Better?"

Raphtalia answered by throwing Pluck, flipping into the air and catching the blade, then coming down with a powerful downward slash.

"Let us depart then."

As the duo were about to leave, they were stopped by Rishia.

"Are you going to fight her!?"

"Yes."

"Are you two insane!?"

"She has killed innocent people, we cannot just let her be."

Before Rishia could say anything in response, a bright green light appeared in the sky.

"DIO, DON'T BE A BITCH ABOUT THIS!"

"And there she is, we will return soon," DIO vanished using time-stop.

"He's right. Don't let fear stop you from doing the right thing," Raphtalia leapt from the roof, leaving Rishia to contemplate her words.


"COME HERE SO I CAN KILL YA!"

Spiral shouted, hovering in the air, a bottle of beer in her hand.

"Drinking at a time like this?" DIO asked as he walked on the roof behind her.

"Ya know, just a cold one to freshen up."

"Judging by the way you are holding it, you seem experienced."

"Yeah, there is a great place I know nearby. I'll go over there after I kill you!"

Spiral casually threw the bottle and rocketed towards DIO at full speed.

*TEMPUS EST MEUM*

DIO was able to react in time, 'teleporting' behind her. Spiral spun around with her fist. Her punch fazed through DIO as he faded out of existence.

*POW!*

Spiral was suddenly punched in the face by a golden fist. She swiped her hand across the air to hit nothing.

*POW!*

She was kicked in the back by a tall figure, but as she kicked back there was no one to be found.

"What the heー"

Spiral was hit from multiple angles at the same time, the force destroying the building she stood on. She was buried under the rubble.

"Is she still conscious?"

"Definitely."

The rubble began to glow green, and the pieces of rock scattered in all directions as Spiral burst from underneath them.

"Ganging up on me!?"

She drew another spiral, this one was bigger than usual. She activated it with a strong punch, the spiral going from a green one to a grey one that hit a nearby building. The bricks of the building shook and moved around, reshaping the structure.

"Fine, let's see how ya like this."

Spiral faced her palm towards the shifting building, then clutched her hand into a fist. The bricks began reshaping the building into a giant wheel that rolled over to Spiral before dismantling and reshaping around her fists.

"What is she doing?" Raphtalia asked DIO as they hid within the shadows.

"From what I have observed, she transformed the kinetic energy of her punch into mechanical energy, then sent it into the building. Now she can restructure it as she pleases with simple hand motions."

Just as DIO explained, Spiral forged the building into giant grey gauntlets.

"I'll smash ya to dust!"

She punched the ground, creating small earthquakes and crumbling the buildings nearby. DIO and Raphtalia leapt from the building they were on and confronted her.

"Stop before you destroy the city!" Raphtalia shouted to Spiral.

"Then face me, demi-human!"

DIO and Raphtalia got into their respective stances, Raphtalia still not quite comfortable with hers. Spiral smiled maniacally with bloodshot eyes, her feet cracking the ground beneath her before she dashed forward, her gauntlets did not slow her down in the least.

"Together, let us show her why we are number one!"

Spiral was immediately overwhelmed, the three's combined might outclassed her completely. They were fast enough to prevent her from drawing any spirals. And after enough time, Spiral became slower and weaker, the wound at her nape only worsened, burned and unable to heal, leaving her in a lot of pain. The three took advantage of this, going all in with full force. [The World] punched her as DIO dive-kicked her to the ground and Raphtalia used Heaven Splitter to send her back into the air.

"SPACE RIPPER STINGY EYES!"

The beams hit Spiral's gauntlets, destroying them and launching her through empty buildings. Before they could follow her, a flash of golden light forced them to cover their eyes.

"21, 13, 8, 5ー1.61803398875."

Spiral spoke distantly, walking on air. Her tattoos emanated a golden glow.

"Golden...ratio."