"I can sense the resonance of battle over there."
"And another one over here."
Homura Akemi stood at a deserted intersection, her umbrella shielding her from the gathering gloom. She could feel the distinct ripples of conflict emanating from two different directions.
After a moment of cold calculation, she decided to head toward the position of the maid.
Regardless of the other Master, Sakuya Izayoi was the most dangerous obstacle on her path. She was a Master of time whose power directly countered her own.
If an opportunity presented itself, Homura was even prepared to deliver a finishing blow.
Once that maid was removed from the equation, she would face no significant resistance in this war.
"Hmph. Interesting."
"I, Diavolo, am truly blessed by luck today!"
Ignoring the steady rhythm of the rain, Diavolo looked at the young boy and the teenager before him with absolute confidence.
Though he had previously encountered a strange and unsettling Servant, the two figures standing at the bus stop didn't look like they would pose much of a threat.
"Goku, I think this guy believes he's already won," Subaru remarked.
"What do you mean by that? Is he hungry?"
"No, I mean he thinks we're easy targets."
"So he's strong?"
"I don't know. Why don't you try hitting him? He looks like a bad guy to me."
Subaru Natsuki stood under the shelter of the bus stop with Kid Goku, watching as the pink-haired freak walked toward them with a manic, delusional laugh.
The moment he saw the marks on the man's hand, Subaru knew his identity as a Master.
He didn't recognize the name Diavolo, but for someone to see Son Goku and not immediately turn tail and run... they were either possessed by a suicidal level of confidence or were simply ignorant of the legend.
Subaru had seen Dragon Ball magazines in the convenience store earlier, so he knew the manga existed in this world.
Initially, he had been worried that every Master would recognize Goku and refuse to engage him in a direct fight.
But seeing this arrogant fool charge in without even manifesting a Servant gave him a sense of calm.
Even if Toriyama's work was a global phenomenon, there were always those who had missed out.
The unfortunate soul before him was clearly one of the uninitiated.
"Okay! Then I'll be the one to knock him down!"
Goku dropped into the classic Turtle Hermit School's stance, his eyes fixed on the intruder.
'Wait... this brat?'
Diavolo's eyes narrowed. The stance wasn't a random pose. It was refined and carried the weight of a legitimate martial arts discipline.
As the boss of a powerful Italian organization, Diavolo had seen his fair share of combatants.
He could tell the boy's form was precise and functional, not something used by a mere child playing at being a hero.
'Hmph. It doesn't matter what kind of martial artist he is. No human can overcome me.'
'He's just a strange little boy. Even if he is a Servant, he can't possibly be a high-tier threat.'
Possessed by this absolute conviction, Diavolo's lips curled into a cold sneer.
And in the next heartbeat...
BOOM!
"?"
It was as if several seconds of his memory had simply been erased.
Before he could even comprehend what had happened, he found himself embedded deep within a concrete wall several yards away.
GACK!
He spat out a mouthful of blood. A massive, circular bruise in the center of his chest marked the point of impact. It was a horrific, life-threatening wound.
Diavolo's mind was a whirlwind of confusion.
What just happened?
Who could tell him why he had been standing in the middle of the street one second and was now bleeding into a pile of rubble the next?
Had [King Crimson] failed him?
He hadn't even seen the boy move.
The damage to his chest was severe. If he didn't stabilize himself soon, he was going to die.
"Goku, you didn't kill him with that one punch, did you?"
"Hmm... I just threw a normal punch. I didn't think he'd be that weak."
Hearing the conversation from across the street, Diavolo felt a surge of pure, primal terror.
He immediately triggered [Epitaph], peering more than ten seconds into the future.
"NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
"[King Crimson]!!"
His face went pale as the visions of the immediate future flooded his mind. He didn't hesitate for another second. He activated his Stand's ultimate ability and erased the flow of time.
Escape!
He had to get away from here!
If he stayed, that brat was going to punch a hole straight through [King Crimson] and him along with it.
How could a Servant possess such overwhelming physical power?
[King Crimson] had A-rank scores in both strength and speed!
Why was this child able to shatter his Stand with a single strike?
"Huh...?"
Subaru blinked in surprise. One second they were looking at the man in the wreckage, and the next, the rubble was empty.
"Bloodstains... did he run this way?"
"How is that even possible?"
Subaru and Goku walked over to the spot where Diavolo had been thrown.
Subaru looked at the trail of blood in confusion. He had no memory of the man actually leaving the wall.
'Time-Stop?'
'No... it didn't feel like that.'
He considered the possibility, but he could usually sense the ripples of a pause. This was something different.
"I don't know what kind of trick he used, but we can't let him get away."
"Let's go after him, Goku!"
"Got it!"
The pair followed the trail of crimson drops into the darkness.
In a nearby corner, Diavolo suppressed his breathing, his heart hammering in his throat. He waited until the footsteps of the boy and the teenager had faded into the distance before finally letting out a shaky breath.
He had used [Time Erasure] to facilitate his escape, but with his current injuries, he hadn't been able to go very far.
He had been forced to dummy a trail and hide himself in the immediate vicinity.
To ensure they didn't sense his presence, he had even held his breath until his lungs burned.
"Heh... you really took a beating, didn't you?"
The voice chilled his blood.
He looked up to see DIO standing in the shadows, looking down at his drenched, wounded "Master" with a cold, mocking smirk.
"You!"
Diavolo scrambled to his feet, his eyes darting toward DIO in a mask of suspicion. He hadn't expected the vampire to show up here.
"Don't misunderstand. A Servant and a Master are linked by an invisible thread. It wasn't hard to find your location."
"You used your ability. Naturally, I wanted to see what you were up to."
"Watching you charge into a fight and nearly get yourself killed was a truly pathetic spectacle."
"The fact that you still haven't grasped the sheer insanity of this war proves that you are ultimately just a limited human being."
"Shut up!"
"Hmph. A few scratches and you're already losing your composure."
"How utterly wretched."
DIO stood with his arms crossed, but he didn't have any interest in finishing Diavolo off just yet.
His obsession had shifted. He was thinking of the boy who had delivered that strike.
Even in his form as a Heroic Spirit, his vampiric instincts remained as potent as ever.
DIO had a powerful intuition. If he could manage to drink the blood of that brat with the tail, he felt he could achieve a level of power beyond anything he had ever imagined.
The feeling was undeniable!
It was a hunger far more intense than anything he had felt for the blood of the Joestars.
He had to have it.
Huff... puff...
"Josuke, are you okay?"
"Yeah... I'll live."
Josuke crouched on the wet pavement, ignoring the freezing rain as he and the others faced off against Accelerator.
"Is the playtime over?"
Accelerator's boots clicked against the stone as he slowly closed the distance. He was tired of these weaklings and their futile struggles.
The power of their invisible spirits was interesting, but it hadn't come close to touching him.
"Hey! Take another step and see what happens!"
"I'll beat you into the ground!"
Okuyasu shouted the threat as Accelerator continued his slow, methodical advance.
The Level 5 Esper's response was a dry, hollow laugh.
"Ha?"
"Try it if you can."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]