"This is bad!"
As he felt his contract with his Servant snap, cold sweat poured down Rohan Kishibe's forehead.
He hadn't expected DIO's speed to be so absolute.
And with Amber gone, the Plan A they had so carefully constructed was now completely in ruins.
"Be careful! His movements are impossible to react to!"
Josuke stood in a defensive posture, his eyes locked on DIO. At the same time, he commanded Sakuya to release her remaining time-clones.
SWISH!
[The World Over Heaven] appeared instantly beside Josuke, but the boy managed to dive out of the way just as the fist whistled past.
"Hoho... you anticipated [The World Over Heaven]'s movement without even looking back?"
DIO looked surprised as Josuke vanished from the spot. He glanced at the ground as the survivors tried to put distance between themselves and the vampire.
Josuke was pouring all of [Caster]'s temporal acceleration into his own movements. In theory, as long as he knew DIO's position, he could move toward any space the vampire didn't occupy.
If one could perceive the attack, there was always a possibility of evasion.
But the problem lay in the difficulty of "Perceiving" DIO and his Stand in the first place.
This was why DIO was truly curious.
After absorbing Amber, he had retracted his Stand to launch a point-blank surprise attack from Josuke's blind spot,a strike that should have been a guaranteed kill.
And yet, Josuke had avoided it. DIO's suspicions began to grow.
'That was a close one... thank God for the warning.'
Josuke wiped the sweat from his face, his heart hammering against his ribs.
If he hadn't received the telepathic warning that [The World Over Heaven] was behind him, he would have been eliminated instantly.
"I don't know what kind of game you're playing!"
"But now that you've lost [Assassin]'s support, you've lost your only real leverage."
DIO threw his arms out and began to laugh, his voice filled with a booming, predatory confidence.
Rohan, Josuke, and Subaru all felt their chests tighten at the sound.
"THE WORLD!!"
'!'
'?'
'!!'
In the next instant, the vibrant colors of the world drained away, replaced by a dull, monochrome grey.
[Time Stop]!
And this was a different breed of temporal suspension,a divine version that Sakuya found herself unable to negate.
"Hoho. So... you are indeed the most peculiar Master of them all."
"A mere human... moving within a stopped world without the aid of a Stand or external power."
DIO turned his head to look at Subaru Natsuki, his voice carrying a note of clinical observation.
"Heh..."
Facing that gaze, Subaru felt an overwhelming, soul-crushing pressure.
The man was exactly as the legends described.
There was an inexplicable, charismatic malice radiating from him. Just looking at him felt like being held down by the throat.
This was undoubtedly the most dangerous moment Subaru had ever faced.
"Then I'll start with you!"
"I'll bury you myself!"
DIO lunged at Subaru, his massive hand reaching out to crush the boy's neck.
SWISH!
K-CHAK!
Subaru's vision blurred as he was yanked backward. A thin red line appeared on DIO's wrist.
Sakuya had grabbed Subaru by the collar and dragged him out of the vampire's reach. The silver daggers in her hand were stained with a dark, regal Crimson.
"Caster... you chose to prioritize another Master over your own?"
"In that case... I see no reason to be lenient."
DIO glanced at the scratch on his wrist and brushed it with a finger, [Overwriting] the injury into nonexistence. His voice turned cold and absolute.
[The World Over Heaven] reached out toward Josuke.
Sakuya immediately released Subaru, intending to use her temporal acceleration to close the distance and save her Master once again.
WHOOSH!
The Stand's hand closed on empty air. DIO watched as the girl moved, his eyes narrowing as he pieced together the logic.
"I see. Your so-called 'Time Clones' require the normal flow of time to manifest."
"Once time is stopped... you lose your ability to multiply. Your options are limited to what you can achieve as a single entity."
"..."
Sakuya didn't offer a verbal reply, but it was clear that DIO had seen through her current limitations.
Against such a god-like entity, a direct physical confrontation was a death sentence.
If she were touched even once, it would be the end.
And in a world where time was frozen, her signature throwing knives were nothing more than decorative toys. She had no way to deliver a meaningful blow of her own.
"This is nothing but a death-struggle."
DIO watched Sakuya's expression, reading her intent with ease.
Even at this terminal stage, she still dared to resist him. This stubborn, indomitable spirit reminded him too much of the Joestar bloodline.
It was the one thing DIO truly loathed.
It was this very connection to the Joestars that had kept him tethered to a cycle of fate for over a century.
To encounter such resistance even at the brink of his final victory... it was profoundly irritating.
"This is the end!"
"I won't allow you a single second of further resistance!"
DIO's growing annoyance manifested in a raw, booming declaration.
"A simple power of temporal acceleration..."
"It cannot hope to restrain a god like DIO!"
Before he had even finished the sentence, Sakuya had already grabbed the others and vanished into a blur of motion.
"Hmph. Fleeing is a futile gesture."
DIO glanced toward the space where Josuke and Subaru had disappeared. Instead of giving chase immediately, he reached out and grabbed Rohan and Koichi. He systematically absorbed their souls, his voice cold and final.
***
"That was too close. I thought we were done for."
Subaru patted his chest, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He finally felt a moment of temporary safety.
He knew this was only a reprieve, but it was better than facing DIO head-on in the courtyard.
"The situation is critical. [Assassin] is gone. The other Masters are incapacitated. Even if I keep carrying you both, we'll eventually be caught."
Sakuya spoke with a flat, analytical finality.
"Activity..."
"No... there might be a way."
"But I don't know if we can hold out long enough for it to work."
Listening to Subaru's words, Sakuya paused.
"The truth is..."
Subaru gave a quick, desperate explanation of his plan. They hadn't even reached the tenth second when DIO's shadow appeared behind them.
'!'
"Move!!"
Sakuya didn't even need to look back to know he was there. She shoved Josuke toward Subaru and shouted the command.
"Hey!"
Subaru caught the rigid, frozen form of Josuke. He looked back just in time to see [The World Over Heaven]'s hand lock onto the back of Sakuya's neck.
There was no time for grief. In that single, desperate instant, Subaru hoisted Josuke onto his shoulders and sprinted forward with every bit of strength he possessed.
It was as if the intervening physical space had been erased by his sheer desperation.
"Allowing two Masters to escape while you stay behind..."
"Are you truly serious?"
DIO lifted Sakuya into the air, his expression one of confusion.
If she had simply left the two boys behind, she likely could have put more distance between herself and his Stand.
And yet, she had chosen to sacrifice herself so that her Master and a total stranger could have a few more seconds of life.
Without their Servants, what could those two boys possibly achieve?
He could catch them both with a single step whenever he pleased.
Especially Josuke, who couldn't even perceive the world in its stopped state.
"Ugh..."
Even with his hand around her throat, DIO saw no terror in Sakuya's eyes. There was only that same, cold defiance and a sense of absolute purpose.
"Hmph."
He systematically absorbed her soul, his interest in her fading as the contract snapped.
He turned his gaze in the direction Subaru had fled, then glanced toward another part of the campus.
"The Master of [Berserker]... she is fleeing with the Dragon Balls while in her soul form?"
He sensed the anomaly, but he didn't give it much weight.
The girl's physical body was still back at the hospital. No matter how far her soul ran... it was a meaningless effort.
"Only [Archer] remains as an active Servant..."
"But first... I think I'll finish off those two mice."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]