Different clothes, older face—but that steady voice and the fury radiating from it were unmistakable.
DIO would never forget.
"Ho ho..."
"Fate truly loves its games."
Jotaro.
No doubt about it. The man looked years older, but DIO recognized him instantly.
Running into his old nemesis in such an unrelated place felt absurd.
His gaze flicked to Jotaro's hand. No mark of the "chosen."
Relief washed over him.
Just as he'd thought—compared to DIO, Jotaro was still nothing more than a stepping stone.
A trial meant to elevate him to the pinnacle!
Neither Master nor Servant.
Which meant Jotaro was merely an "outsider."
A short-lived mortal, destined to vanish from this world—unlike DIO, who had descended as a Servant.
"I see. You've become a Servant?"
"Whoever summoned a scum like you can't be any better."
Even as rage simmered, Jotaro analyzed the situation with cold clarity.
Heroic Spirits, in essence, were "characters" from history and the future.
Famous icons and forgotten nobodies alike could be summoned.
Josuke and Rohan had explained as much.
Sakuya Izayoi...
Amber...
Jotaro hadn't heard of either name before.
But now—stepping out to reminisce about fallen comrades—he'd come face-to-face with the enemy he'd once destroyed.
He understood immediately.
DIO had been summoned as a Servant.
Even if the Master bore no direct connection to DIO, some "compatibility" must have linked them.
Just as Josuke, using Jotaro as a reference point, had filtered for "time"—and summoned that woman with overwhelming temporal mastery.
"Hmph..."
DIO retained his composed stance, hands spread and resting at his waist.
'Could that earlier time stop have been Jotaro's doing?'
'In eleven years, he's grown this strong...'
Inwardly, he was anything but calm. Yet he couldn't afford to show weakness.
*Tap...*
*Tap...*
Jotaro's footsteps echoed as he closed the distance.
Each one impossible for DIO to ignore.
'What do I do...?'
Fine sweat beaded on his forehead. Never had he felt so cornered.
Truth be told, DIO didn't want to face Jotaro.
Not out of fear—at least, not entirely. He was wary of a fact that once existed.
As a Heroic Spirit, his power exceeded his living self. But he was also shackled by his life's deeds.
And what were DIO's defining accomplishments?
Turning humans into zombies?
Creating vampires?
Stopping time to reposition people?
Stopping time to drop a steamroller?
Stopping time just to gloat?
All of those were mere footnotes.
The decisive factor: in life, he had died at Jotaro's hands.
More precisely—The World had been obliterated by Star Platinum.
Until DIO transcended his own fate and limits, he would be forever bound by that historical conclusion.
When DIO, as a Heroic Spirit, faced Jotaro... there was only one outcome.
Following history—getting destroyed!
An immutable truth.
That was why DIO hadn't summoned The World to attack.
If he dared close in, he'd die exactly as he had eleven years ago.
And Jotaro's current strength was an unknown. Confronting him head-on without intel was suicidal.
If The World got shattered by Star Platinum again...
That wouldn't even qualify as insurance fraud.
If Diavolo were here, DIO might actually feel safer.
With that man's Stand, killing Jotaro should be trivial.
But no—he'd encountered this "fated" nemesis alone.
Infuriating.
*Tap...*
Jotaro kept advancing. DIO could only stand his ground, expression dark.
His facade of control should have unnerved Jotaro. And it did.
'What's going on?'
'Based on his past behavior, he'd never let me approach this easily.'
Barely ten steps separated them. Jotaro stared at DIO—head tilted back, arms crossed, saying nothing—and halted.
Back in Egypt, after tasting Star Platinum's devastating force, DIO had almost never allowed anyone within striking distance.
Even under time stop, he'd only closed in after confirming the target was immobilized.
Yet now, letting Jotaro approach freely... it didn't fit.
'Did he gain abilities as a Heroic Spirit that I'm unaware of?'
That thought cooled Jotaro's anger. He forced himself to think.
He was no longer the reckless hothead from eleven years ago. Time had forged maturity into his core.
'!'
DIO couldn't see Jotaro's expression beneath the cap's shadow—but those halted footsteps made his heart sing.
"Ho ho. Jotaro—not coming any closer?"
"Just a little more, and Star Platinum's range would reach me."
"Why not step forward?"
Arms at his waist, tone casual, DIO's voice dripped with "temptation."
"Bastard... DIO!"
That smug confidence grated. Jotaro hated every syllable.
But the unknown gave him pause. He didn't act rashly.
The standoff stretched on...
*Tap...*
Then—despite DIO's darkening expression—Jotaro took another step forward.
*Tap...*
"Finally willing to approach, Jotaro!"
DIO spread his arms wide, feigning delight. His voice surged with madness.
"Star Platinum!"
"The World!"
Time froze. Star Platinum and Jotaro, mid-punch, locked in place.
'He reacted fast.'
DIO instantly retreated several paces.
"So you figured it out..."
His expression softened with resignation. His bluff hadn't completely fooled this man.
'As I thought... he's still terrified of Star Platinum.'
'That's why he let me approach—an empty-fort strategy.'
'Buying time?'
Jotaro could still move for two seconds within the freeze. But at this distance, DIO wouldn't waste them attacking.
Seeing through DIO's true intent, Jotaro scanned the surroundings.
Whoever could make DIO stall so desperately...
Probably his Master—or at minimum, allies among the other Master-Servant pairs.
Either scenario spelled trouble.
If DIO kept his distance, Jotaro couldn't catch him. As long as time wasn't frozen, DIO could stall until reinforcements arrived.