The world is gray.
Time stops.
But...
Ryosuke and Star Platinum's fists did not stop.
"What?!" Dio shouted in disbelief.
He had never thought that there would actually be someone who could move within the time when The World had stopped.
Even more unexpected was that this person would be both a Ripple & Stand user.
Star Platinum's fist collided in mid-air with The World's fist, air currents surging, blowing Ryosuke's hair, revealing a pair of incomparably determined eyes.
Dio and Ryosuke locked eyes.
In the gray world, it was as if everything turned completely pitch-black. In Dio's eyes there was only a single fist approaching endlessly closer, and behind that fist was written the word, "Die!"
BOOM!
Ryosuke's punch landed on Dio.
Dio flew backward, smashing into a building, collapsing large amounts of bricks and stones, which under the effect of time-stop, hung in mid-air.
Ryosuke's ability to move within the time-stop ended.
The world was still in gray, the time-stop had not yet ended, all things frozen, deathly silent.
"Heh,"
A laugh appeared.
Appearing together with it were threads of cold air that, under Cairo's high heat, continued to escape.
BOOM!
Dio lifted away the rubble pressing down on his body and stood up again.
On his head was a thick layer of ice. Just now, it was precisely this ice, condensed out of thin air, that had blocked Ryosuke's Ripple energy.
"Vaporization Freezing Method."
Dio's famous special skill. A hundred years ago, it was precisely by relying on this move that he fought against Jonathan Joestar, that genius-level Ripple user.
"Weak! Weak!"
The fragments of ice on Dio's face fell off as ice crumbs. Looking at Ryosuke's arms gradually being frozen solid by ice, the corner of his mouth lifted into a smile, "That's why Ripple users were eliminated long ago, fool!"
He once again crossed his arms, shaking his finger, "Although I don't know why you can move within the time that 'The World' stops..."
"...the weak thing is still you, a human, only like a student who hasn't reviewed at all before an exam, and after writing their name, just sits fixed in their seat."
"Throwing out a weak punch, moving for 'an instant,' then hopelessly waiting for the exam to end, waiting..."
"For the arrival of death!"
The World once again charged at Ryosuke, its golden fist smashing toward Ryosuke's chest, bang bang bang, three punches.
Time began to flow again.
The full impact of The World hit Ryosuke, sending his whole body flying.
Dio knew Ripple users often had extremely strong vitality, so without hesitation he pursued the victory, controlling The World to smash down with another punch.
Star Platinum in mid-air fiercely traded blows with The World.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"
Two Stands of the same type, tall and powerfully built, threw punches with all their strength, and yet each punch was blocked by the other.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two deafening roars.
Star Platinum and The World's fists clashed together, the two Stands staring each other in the eye, their arm muscles bulging high as they began a contest of strength.
Just then, even more violent impact sounds came from the side, causing Star Platinum and The World to glance slightly aside.
They saw two Stand users, in a small space leaping up and down, ice and Ripple colliding in mid-air and then canceling each other out, under the streetlights shining with dazzling colored light.
"Boxers! Boxers!"
Dio laughed wildly, "Still using Ripple, in my eyes you are as primitive and weak as monkeys. Do you think monkeys can defeat me, who has long since surpassed humans?"
Ryosuke's arms and body were covered in a layer of ice, the flow of Ripple already affected.
It must be said, Dio truly was a genius in the field of combat, able to develop the Vaporization Freezing Method specifically to target Ripple.
But...
Ryosuke patted the ice apart.
"Hm?" Dio's smile faded, his brows furrowed slightly.
The brat in front of him, how did his movements suddenly become smooth?
The broken ice fragments fell away. Ryosuke casually tore off his sleeves, revealing his arms.
Dio's pupils contracted sharply.
Ryosuke's skin was undergoing changes.
First, to adapt to the cold, it transformed into scales like those of snakes or lizards, cold-blooded animals.
Then he judged that while transforming into a cold-blooded animal could indeed resist the cold without harm, it would affect the body's agility.
The scales changed again into golden fur like that of a Siberian tiger, but finding it still insufficient, finally fixed into white, fluffy fur.
The changes were not only in hair, but also in internal muscles, bones, and fat. Ryosuke's body became more robust, and he once again threw a punch.
Dio's gaze became dazed.
What was before him was no longer a human, but clearly, a polar bear living in the Arctic.
Dio habitually tried to use the Vaporization Freezing Method again, but found that the cold air simply could not penetrate Ryosuke's arms, being blocked by the white fur.
"What the hell is this power?!"
Dio could not understand.
Wearing the Stone Mask, surpassing human limits, who was that supposed to be?
'It's me, right?'
"Stop! Time!"
Dio spread his arms.
Ryosuke, without pause, smashed down another punch.
Crack!
The ice layer blocked his fist, stopping the Ripple from transmitting, but could not block the absolute power of the punch.
Dio spat fresh blood, flying backward.
If not for The World, if not for the ability to stop time, he would already be dead.
"The stronger your body, once I suck your blood, I will become stronger."
Dio wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth. In his chest was a huge dent, left there by Ryosuke's punch.
Though it was a mortal injury, Dio didn't care in the slightest.
"As long as I kill you and drink your blood, I can once again ascend, surpass the limits of the vampire… I can feel it, this power so completely different from mine, and now."
Dio reached both hands behind his back, pulling out over a dozen daggers, throwing them toward Ryosuke from all angles.
Even with Star Platinum's speed, it was impossible in the instant time resumed to knock away all the daggers.
"Not enough! Not enough!"
Dio's eyes turned crimson, his pupils bulging slightly.
"Haa!"
Two crimson beams shot toward Ryosuke.
"Space Ripper Stingy Eyes!"
One aimed at Ryosuke's heart.
One pierced toward Ryosuke's throat.
Dio took a deep breath, his shattered eyes recovering, straightened his spine, folded his arms, regaining his usual elegance, calmly waiting for Ryosuke's death.
"Time is starting to flow."
Star Platinum appeared.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
It quickly knocked away the incoming daggers, but just as Dio had planned, Star Platinum could not possibly knock away all of them, the most critical thing was...
Slash!
Two crimson beams precisely pierced through Ryosuke's throat and heart.
Ryosuke could no longer breathe.
A hundred years ago, Dio had used this same move against Jonathan, and a hundred years later today, he still used the same technique against Ryosuke.
"This is the frailty of humans!"
Dio charged forward, stretching out his fingers to stab toward Ryosuke's carotid artery.
"Ryosuke! Die, and then become my nourishment!"
Looking at the fingers stabbing toward him, Ryosuke stood unmoving, as if truly gravely wounded in the heart, on the verge of death.
Click!
Dio's fingers touched Ryosuke and melted like crushed ice meeting lava.
The wounds at his throat and heart healed at a speed even vampires could not match. Ryosuke raised his hand and suddenly gripped Dio's neck.
"Za! Warudo..."
Before the time-stop could be activated, Ryosuke's fist smashed down.
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