"Cough… cough… what kind of monster is this guy…?"
DIO glanced down at the two bloody holes in his chest as they rapidly healed. If he weren't a vampire, he would have lost his life several times over by now.
Faced with such overwhelming power, even DIO couldn't help but curse under his breath.
Speed so fast that even he couldn't react.
Strength that completely surpassed his own.
And a defensive body that all but ignored his attacks.
Even an immortal vampire didn't possess a physique this absurd.
"No… there must be a weakness! There cannot exist a being more perfect than me, DIO! What is it?!"
DIO stared fixedly at Borsalino, frozen within the stopped flow of time. If not for The World's time-stop ability, even someone as arrogant as DIO wouldn't dare imagine defeating him.
As the five-second limit of the time stop neared its end, DIO's superhuman intellect suddenly caught hold of a possibility.
That near-invulnerable defense… might not cover his entire body.
The moment this thought surfaced, DIO's eyes lit up.
But before testing that hypothesis, he would need another time stop—enough time to carefully prepare the battlefield that would end this monster once and for all.
—
"Hm? Where did he run off to?"
When time resumed, Borsalino casually scanned his surroundings, not even bothering to activate Observation Haki right away.
Given DIO's personality, unless he was truly cornered or facing certain defeat, that prideful vampire would never flee outright.
Yet minutes passed… and DIO still didn't reappear.
Just as Borsalino considered getting a little serious, that familiar sensation returned.
"Za… Warudo!"
Time froze once more.
DIO appeared in the corridor, arms full of weapons.
Looking at Borsalino standing motionless—an odd smile still on his face—DIO let out a cold laugh.
"Front… back… head, neck, heart…"
Moving leisurely through the frozen world, DIO hurled weapon after weapon toward Borsalino.
Knightly longswords.
Throwing knives.
Spears.
Each one was carefully aimed at a vital point on Borsalino's body.
The moment time began to flow again, all of these weapons suspended in midair would pierce straight through this so-called monster.
—
While DIO meticulously prepared his killing field above, the battle below had reached its climax.
The clash between Vanilla Ice and the Stardust Crusaders had turned white-hot.
Fighting six opponents alone sounded absurd—but if Vanilla Ice's Stand hadn't encountered its natural counter, even ordinary Stand users would find it nearly impossible to deal with him.
Unfortunately for him, Vanilla Ice was obsessed with personally annihilating those who dared offend Lord DIO's majesty—and chose to confront the Crusaders head-on.
"Iggy!"
At Joseph's shout, Iggy activated The Fool, spreading sand throughout the space and revealing the movement path of Cream's void.
"All who defy Lord DIO must die!"
Vanilla Ice paid no heed to his exposed position.
So what if they knew where he was?
Hidden within Cream's dark void, no one could touch him.
A sphere of devouring nothingness rampaged through the lower floors. Vanilla Ice's confidence was well-founded—if he caught a Crusader, their body would be erased outright.
"His perception is weak—use the moment he observes! Now!"
Relying on his uniquely suited Stand, Joseph lashed out with Hermit Purple, constantly probing, waiting for the instant Vanilla Ice peeked out to observe his surroundings.
In a head-on fight, Joseph wasn't particularly strong. But with a sharp mind and decades of combat experience, even the strongest enemies could be brought down.
"Go! Emerald Splash!"
Already prepared, Kakyoin followed up instantly.
Though Hierophant Green lacked raw destructive power, its flexibility was second to none. The moment Joseph caught Vanilla Ice exposing himself, Kakyoin's Emerald Splash pierced straight through his skull.
"Star Platinum!"
Jotaro wasted not a single second of their hard-won opening.
Before Vanilla Ice could retreat back into the void, Star Platinum seized him—and unleashed a merciless barrage of ORA ORA ORA, pounding the vampire into an unrecognizable shape.
"Finish him! Silver Chariot!"
Polnareff roared.
To prevent any accidents, Jotaro had warned them earlier—once Vanilla Ice's ability was revealed, there was a strong chance he had already become an undead vampire.
And so, even after his skull was pierced and his body beaten thin by Star Platinum, Silver Chariot flashed forth, slicing cleanly—severing Vanilla Ice's head and all four limbs in an instant.
"Be purified—burn away completely!"
Avdol delivered the final blow.
Magician's Red engulfed the shattered remains in roaring flames.
Even Vanilla Ice was utterly overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of the assault. By the time he was consumed by fire, only his severed head remained—and it was still screaming in agony.
To be honest, if this had been an unexpected encounter where neither side knew the other's abilities, Vanilla Ice would never have lost so decisively.
Before his Stand was exposed, he might have taken several Crusaders down with him using Cream's terrifying power.
But this battle had been unfair from the very beginning.
The Stardust Crusaders had no intention of politely revealing their own Stand abilities and engaging in honorable one-on-one duels.
"AAAAAH! I'll kill you all! No—no, I can't die yet! Lord DIO!"
Vanilla Ice continued to struggle even as a lone head, howling madly.
But even a vampire's immortality had its limits. No matter how resilient he was, Avdol's flames eventually reduced him to ash.
"…A terrifying man."
Joseph adjusted his cowboy hat.
It was unclear whether he meant the vampire who had just been burned to nothing—or the one whom Vanilla Ice had worshiped with his life.
"Wait—this is bad! Mr. Borsalino is still up there!"
Polnareff's face paled.
They all knew how strong Borsalino was—but DIO's time-stop was simply too broken.
If DIO attacked while Borsalino was alone… the consequences were unthinkable.
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