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

Minutes until second Wave

Naofumi, Raphtalia, Jouta, DIO, Senshi, and Eli stood on the roof of the mansion, waiting patiently for the wave to hit. They were silent as they waited, battle ready. The secret military force of Riyute was stationed across the town. The people stayed in their homes, fear keeping them locked in. The stakes were high and tension grew every passing second. Time ticked painfully within the minds of everyone.

"DIO, I'm pumped, but I'm not sure what's going to happen."

Senshi went over to DIO, clutching his arm.

"Don't worry, even if you can't win, which I doubt immensely, I will never let anything happen to you."

Senshi had never seen a Wave, it wasn't a single entity or a person, so the challenge was less one-on-one, and more of a huge battle royale.

"And that goes for all of you!"

DIO proclaimed, looking toward everyone present. They looked to one another and then back at DIO.

"Why would we need your help!?"

Everyone shouted as if DIO had said the most offensive thing ever. Jouta in particular took issue with this.

"I literally kicked your ass just the day before yesterday!"

DIO sweat dropped, is that what he gets for being thoughtful!?

"I failed to protect my own home once; my parents sacrificed themselves to save me. But, now, I will protect Riyute and no one will have to die."

Raphtalia said with strength, while subtly scooting over to DIO.

"But I am worried for you all."

Ah, there it is, that feeling of hers made her scared for the others, her maternal side on display. She did not even consider herself, only concerned with everyone else. This Wave was definitely gonna be something special.

"Whatever comes, I'll punch it back to hell!"

Jouta proclaimed to ease her worry.

"You know, Jouta, you remind me of a friend I once had."

Eli couldn't hold back, the resemblance was striking.

"I'm from a different universe so that's impossible."

"You're from what!?"

"Another universe...like the one me and DIO come from."

"Jouta!"

DIO gave the Joestar an angry look.

"Oh, you didn't know?"

Jouta scratched the back of his head, feeling stupid. DIO jumped in to reduce the damage.

"We will discuss this later, for now think of us as 'additional cardinal heroes'."

Eli sighed, its always another surprise with this guy.

"Fine, I'll try not to think about it."

"I'm a rock!"

Senshi shouted, and at this point, Eli would believe anything.

"At this rate, I am going to become an old man by tomorrow."

"Tell me about it."

Naofumi and Eli looked to each other, and shared an understanding, both being ordinary men in comparison to the super potential children, and super old vampire in the group.

"The time is upon us! Everyone, remember your posts."

"I'm feeling pumped, but in a creeped out way!?"

Senshi's hands shook with an itch for battle.

"Tap into your emotions and focus them to a single goal."

Raphtalia advised, her foresight generating strong feelings in her soul.

"But never become one track, stay cool."

Jouta advised, his Hamon glowing brightly.

"Only way to control your emotions is to face them."

Naofumi spoke, his shield glowing with a new power.

"Burying them makes it worse."

Eli spoke from experience.

"Only then, may you understand them and evolve."

DIO finished off, his stand appearing by his side. Senshi still had a lot to learn, but with people like these teaching her, she'll become truly great. With that, they dispersed, Jouta and Senshi in the north; Naofumi and DIO in the west; Raphtalia in the town's center, acting as a general and ensuring the safety of the civilians. Eli remained at DIO's mansion, having a clear view of everything.

"And so it begins."

Eli watched as the sky twisted, becoming dark and chaotic, and from all that chaos, came demonic creatures, who's sole mission was to slay every living thing in their way. This were the Waves Of Catastrophe: relentless, merciless, and apocalyptic. A true sign of the end times.

Jouta and Senshi ran, fighting off any monsters along the way, keeping them from reaching the town.

"Where are we going exactly?"

"The mountains, there will probably be a lot of flyers and climbers, so its perfect for ranged fighters. Though, I'm not sure why you're coming, you only use your fists."

"Yeah, in my normal form."

"Excuse me!?"

"You'll see!"

Senshi ran faster and left Jouta behind, confused.

DIO and Naofumi stood near the coal mines, having reached there faster with the help of Naofumi's new Airstrike Shield.

"Smart use of an otherwise basic shield."

"I learned it since I would be working with other people now. The shield isn't all that helpful to me."

"I see. So before you met Jouta, you were alone?"

"Yes, pretty much."

"Such isolation must have been lonely, especially since the accusations."

Naofumi didn't like how DIO was approaching him, but he continued out of caution of what DIO may do.

"It was."

"All that rage and anguish pent up inside you, driving you to grow stronger, and one day get your revenge."

Naofumi glared at DIO, but stood no chance at intimidation with the height difference.

"And so you lashed out on others, spreading viruses, threatening innocents, and robbing merchants to gain power."

Naofumi began boiling with anger, why was DIO bringing this up now?

"You were merciless, well, almost. There was something deep within you that stopped you from killing, from completely decimating settlements, from taking more than necessary."

Naofumi softened a bit hearing that, but still kept a scowl on his face.

"Everything was going smoothly, until JoJo came along, he made you tame with his breathing exercises and hard honest work. Now you bury your hate for the sake of the people around you, and to keep yourself righteous."

Naofumi had enough, this guy was pissing him off.

"What's your point!?"

"My point is...now you can let loose."

Naofumi knew DIO was right, this was his chance to truly go all out, no holding back, no casualties, no need to calm himself. Granted he won't be able to use Hamon, but that is a small price to pay. Naofumi gave DIO a mix between a smile and scowl as his shield emanated a dark vengeful aura.

"You sadistic prick."

"Hahahahahaha!"

Raphtalia sliced inter-dimensional bees and locust to dust. Her slashes reached the heavens with the insane force she put into them.

"Heaven Splitter!"

She shouted as she dispelled a large number of them in one go. The soldiers watched on in awe, her power was astonishing. As she cut down any monster that dared enter her range, she instructed the army on dealing with the surrounding zombies and beasts.

"Do not allow them to flank you! Pull them in to wider spaces to avoid being overwhelmed!"

They listened without a second thought, sensing that Raphtalia was not one to play around with.

"Jouta and Senshi should hurry, these insects are beginning to organize flight patterns to evade me."

A huge swarm could be seen from the mountains. The tears in space-time that allowed these creatures to invade, were growing bigger, as if something was forcing them open, or someone.

"I pray my feeling is just paranoia."

Jouta and Senshi climbed the mountains, hoping to reach the top before the swarm mobilized.

"[Charmy Green]!"

Jouta's stand was summoned, its body untangled, helping Jouta climb with emerald spider legs.

"Hey, a stand!"

Senshi pointed at the stand with sparkles in her eyes.

"You can see stands?"

"Yeah, DIO says its because of my latent potential. I'm shit at magic!"

"You're one quirky kid."

"Thank you!"

Senshi became hyper and climbed the mountain faster, her speed shaking it. Jouta followed close behind.

"Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda Muda..."

"Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless Useless..."

"Ari Ari Ari Ari Ari Ari Ari Ari Ari Ari Ari..."

DIO, [The World], and Naofumi were brutally destroying the monsters near the coal mines. Two-headed demon dogs, Chimeras, giant demon moles were nothing to this monster trio. It became so bad the monsters opted to run away, instead of face them. But this was to no avail.

*TEMPUS EST MEUM*

DIO appeared before them, annihilating them instantaneously. A large Chimera attempted to jump Naofumi, but he quickly turned and jammed his fist through its body, killing it. Naofumi wasn't done however, punching the corpse until it was nothing but a pool of blood on the ground. Suddenly from the sky, dropped a large manlike creature. It had black skin and white protrusions and armor on its body. Its head was armored in a white skull with red markings. Its red eyes stared at DIO and Naofumi, hungry for their blood.

"It looks quite grim."

"I really want to kill it."

"It is level 57, you'll need my help."

"Just don't get in my way."

The beast roared at the two and rushed at them, its fists clenched and ready to crush them. Naofumi stood with his shield up and he summoned a new shield.

SHIELD OF RAGE I

The creature punched the shield...and Naofumi held the beast back! DIO couldn't believe his eyes, Naofumi was pushing back against an opponent ten times stronger than him. Truly, his rage was on another level. DIO knew he made the right decision to recruit Naofumi.

"DIE!"

Naofumi pushed back the beast hard enough for it to lose its balance. The beast fell to the ground on its back and Naofumi didn't waste time. He straddled the monster and punched it with rage. He hit it so hard, he created a large crater that expanded the entire mine significantly. The beast laid there unable to do anything, large shiny crystals and ores beneath it.

"You're...strong."

A deep, distorted and growled voice came from the beast. Naofumi thought he was hearing things and ignored it.

"Shield...hero."

Uh, uh, that was real. Naofumi was shocked and relented his attack; the monster took advantage of this.

"!"

Naofumi was stabbed by meter-long spikes that hoisted him in the air. He bled profusely, his heart and vital organs having been struck. DIO was horrified at the sight. To him, the shield hero was surely dead, but before DIO could intervene, he witnessed as Naofumi's aura became red hot, his blood boiling, literally. The blood spilled onto the intelligent demon and burned through its flesh.

SHIELD OF RAGE II

Naofumi was alive!? He grabbed hold of the spikes piercing his body and pulled himself back down to the beast.

"All that time, his rage festered within him. Hamon had calmed him, but now there was nothing stopping him from releasing his anger, not even death could hold him back!"

Naofumi continued his beatdown with more ferocity than ever before seen. His level skyrocketed to 70, enough to obliterate the monster beneath him and then some.

"Naofumi! Stop!"

DIO called his companion to halt his onslaught, flexing an authoritative, yet comforting aura over the shield's wielder. Naofumi snapped back to his senses and his new shield disappeared as he realized what that was left of his opponent.

"A human!"

Naofumi leapt away from the man, the spikes having disappeared. It was a man, bruised and battered, likely soon to see the other side. He appeared like a normal guy, bland clothing and typical black hair and brown eyes.

"That man was the beast? This man is weaker than an infant Raphtalia, yet he had such a grim form?"

Naofumi ignored DIO, more focused on the middle-aged man before him.

"Who are you?"

"Me...just...a farmer...with nothing to lose."

"Where did you come from?"

"My...world...I just...wished to save it."

DIO sensed this man's despair, feeling remorse for the man.

"I can save you."

DIO proposed.

"No...I have already committed treason by coming here. I accept my fate."

"How does attacking us save your world!?"

Naofumi was reasonably disturbed by this man's words.

"Your world...is colliding...with mine...one of us must fall...for the waves to end.

DIO felt the man's life drain and so he went over and touched the man's forehead.

"What are yoー"

"I am not healing you, I am simply disabling your ability to feel pain."

Naofumi watched on, he never thought DIO was capable of genuine compassion. Naofumi slowly walked over, he could tap into this man's mind with Hamon like he did with Raphtalia.

"No, Naofumi, show some respect!"

The shield hero backed down, annoyed, but a bit impressed.

"Can you tell us how you came here?"

"I used your writings, DIO."

The man reached for a ripped-out page from his pocket...with DIO's hand writing, but in a language from his world, meaning this was from...

"My book!? That page is from my book! Where did you find it!"

"It was after...my daughter passed. I found it as I buried her."

DIO thought of Senshi in that moment, and how devastated he would be to have to bury her.

"How did you decipher it?"

"I didn't. I relied on interpretation, and found a way to reach this world through the Waves Of Calamity."

"Calamity? He is from a different universe so its not that surprising."

"Does your world not have heroes?"

"It does, but their power pales in comparison to yours. Fortune tellers and prophets say your world has more heroes than its supposed to."

DIO recalled how his situation was similar to a hero, so maybe he is registered as one in a way.

"Where did you gain such power then?"

"From the thing the shield hero absorbed from me. A Dragon Emperor Core I had stolen."

DIO looked to Naofumi, gesturing to his shield that still had a striking red aura faintly emanating from it.

"Thank you for telling me all this, despite us being enemies."

"If my world is not worthy to survive, then at least yours can be."

The man died moments after, his wounds too severe. DIO took the page and stood up from the body, and he and Naofumi climbed out of the crater.

"[The World]."

DIO's stand punched the earth, and fallen dirt covered the man's corpse, burying it. Naofumi collapsed, his wounds catching up to him.

"Naofumi, they will be coming to chase after this man. I've heard of the power of Dragon Emperor Cores, and once they find out you have it, they will kill you."

Naofumi could not speak, let alone move, his body riddled with holes.

"You now hold the one thing that will decide the fate of both worlds. We must find the others and regroup."

DIO picked Naofumi up bridal style.

"I know its hard, but you must control your breathing, and try to slow down your bleeding."

Naofumi weakly nodded in response.

"I am sorry, Naofumi. I have burdened you greatly, but Jouta has taught me the value of others. I shall save you, no matter what."

Naofumi heard this as he slipped in and out of consciousness.

"What does DIO mean by that!?"

"Clearly, DIO was using you!"

"Who are you!?"

"Your new friend, Naofumi Iwatani."

"What do you want!?"

"To help you drench the world in BLOOD."