Moon and the Six Heroes

"Stone Mask…?"

Jonathan stared at Dio in shock. "Why are you still wearing it, Dio? And what are those holes on it?"

"Since you’re all about to die, I’ll tell you."

A bone-chilling aura radiated from Dio’s entire body as he spoke in a flippant yet cruel tone. "Do you remember what I told you before, JoJo? I said that humans have limits… No matter how cleverly one schemes, one will eventually be defeated by the unexpected. So I sought to surpass humanity."

"Hadn’t you already surpassed humanity!?"

Jonathan could not help shouting.

"Of course!"

Dio suddenly raised both arms. "But… I discovered that even a vampire’s power has limits!"

"So you no longer want to be a vampire?" Speedwagon immediately said. "Then what do you want to become now? A madman? A devil? Or something even more disgusting?"

"It’s all thanks to you, JoJo."

Dio ignored Speedwagon completely and merely smiled at Jonathan. "After I became a vampire, that immense power made me somewhat carried away. The calmness and reason I had worked so hard to preserve over the past decade—every bit of it was obscured by power. It was that punch of yours that woke me up."

"Wryyyyyy!" Dio finally lost control at this point and burst into wild laughter. "JoJo, you should have punched me in the head back then! Hahahaha! I am invincible now!!!"

"What do you mean?"

Yet Jonathan only looked bewildered after hearing this. When had Dio become someone who spoke in riddles? "Dio, what the hell are you talking about?!"

"JoJo! Haven’t you realized it yet?"

Dio suddenly said, "This Stone Mask on my face… Why does it activate automatically when stained with blood? Why does inserting it into the brain turn someone into a vampire? I have figured out the principles behind all of it!"

"What!?"

Everyone was stunned by his words.

"This thing is not ordinary stone at all. It is a substance somewhere between ore and organic matter."

Dio pointed at the Stone Mask on his face. "It is ‘alive.’ Each time it feeds on blood, it awakens, driving those bizarre bone needles into a human brain and stimulating living creatures to evolve in a specific direction! Hehehe… You only worry about who might wear the Stone Mask and become a vampire, but… have you ever considered who made the Stone Mask in the first place?"

"Apparently, it was made by the ancient Aztecs of Mexico…"

Jonathan said instinctively.

"Is that how you learned archaeology, fool?" Dio, wearing the Stone Mask, said disdainfully. "How do you think those idiotic ancient people knew that piercing the brain with these bone needles would make humans evolve? And where did they obtain the materials to make the Stone Mask? Those bone needles do not look like simple minerals. Rather… they look more like the bones of us vampires!"

"What?"

Jonathan froze.

If the Stone Mask’s bone needles were made from vampire bones, then where had those vampires come from before there was even a Stone Mask?

At that thought, an intense sense of unease suddenly rose in Jonathan’s heart.

"Once I understood the Stone Mask’s principles, I realized something."

Dio said calmly, "This world is far more complex than it appears, JoJo. The extraordinary powers we have seen may only be the tip of the iceberg. Whether it is your foolish Ripple or my Stone Mask, there must be more secrets buried in that unknown darkness…"

At this point, Dio’s tone suddenly turned sinister. "That is why I must personally bury all of you, then spend my eternal life continuously uncovering and mastering these extraordinary powers. In the end, I, Dio, shall stand above heaven itself!"

With that, Dio suddenly waved a hand. "Kill them, vampires!"

"Roaaar!!!"

The vampires let out terrifying roars and immediately launched their attack.

Some of them burst their eyeballs and fired high-pressure streams of liquid, while others raised firearms and kept pulling the triggers. The scene descended into chaos in an instant, and Erina could only grit her teeth and endure the assault in order to protect Jonathan behind her.

"D-Damn it…"

Speedwagon immediately gritted his teeth and said, "That crafty Dio actually chose to attack while the mage was forced to treat Uncle Zeppeli’s injuries. He is truly despicable. Poor Lady Erina can only fend off the vampires’ assault alone. Look, even her delicate shoulders have begun to tremble…"

"If you keep spouting that bullshit commentary, you’ll be the next one to die."

Even Fang Mo, who had been standing there watching the show, could not stand it anymore. He turned to Speedwagon and said, "Can you show a little professional ethics?"

"Huh?"

Speedwagon was stunned as well, apparently unable to understand why Fang Mo had suddenly cursed at him.

"Crafty? Despicable?"

Before Speedwagon could react, Dio across from him burst into wild laughter. "I consider those excellent compliments! Speedwagon, how is it… are you already grinding your teeth with hatred for me, Dio? Where is that arrogant swagger you had at Joestar Mansion? Come on, show me the courage to face me, you worthless trash!"

"Y-You bastard…"

Speedwagon trembled with rage from head to toe. "I may be a weak ordinary man, but do not ever underestimate my resolve and courage!"

"Courage? Resolve?"

Dio said disdainfully, "How laughable. You speak such lofty words, yet you only dare stand behind Teacher Steve. Is that what you call courage?"

"If I charged out in blind fury and got seriously injured or killed by you, that would only drag the team down. I, Speedwagon, can give my life for them, but I will never die meaninglessly, nor will I burden my comrades!" Speedwagon shouted. "But you… you talk so boldly. Aren’t you afraid of the mage!?"

"I… of course fear Teacher Steve…"

Dio hesitated unusually before slowly speaking. This time, however, he was no longer addressing Speedwagon, but Fang Mo directly. "Teacher Steve, there are indeed too many things about you that I cannot see through. In truth, I have always hoped to become your finest disciple. Whether in talent or intelligence, I surpass Jonathan by far. I truly wished to explore the essence of magic alongside you."

"But I also know that may be impossible."

At this point, Dio laughed at himself. "From the very beginning, your attitude toward me was distant. Later, I came to understand that you were Jonathan’s godfather and had intended to teach him magic from the start. I was merely an extra."

"Have you ever considered that if you had been willing to be a little kinder, things might have turned out completely differently?"

Fang Mo looked at Dio and asked curiously.

"Kindness? What is that?"

Dio suddenly laughed mockingly. "I, Dio, am certainly an evil man now, but Teacher, surely you do not think you are truly kind either? When I first…"

"So you found that out too."

Yet to Dio’s complete surprise, Fang Mo immediately admitted it. "That’s right! I really am a major villain. The people you’ve killed probably do not even amount to a fraction of mine…"

"What!?"

Speedwagon’s eyes widened. "H-How could that be!?"

"…"

Even Dio was slightly stunned.

"In 1945, I destroyed a military camp nearly the size of a city. During a war between civilizations, I also reduced an enemy interstellar mothership to ashes with a single strike. I personally wiped out the Dark Elves of Vanaheim as well. Countless lives have died by my hand." Fang Mo spoke calmly. "But so what if I did? Who could stop me? The entire world was shocked at the time, and after that, not a single person dared provoke me. Can you do that, Dio?"

"M-Mr. Steve…"

Speedwagon said blankly, "It is only 1890 now. Why are you talking about 1945… that is the future. What nonsense are you saying?"

"What?"

Fang Mo glanced at Speedwagon. "Is time travel too difficult for your brain to understand?"

"I see. That explains everything."

Upon hearing Fang Mo’s explanation, Dio nodded instinctively. Then he asked in confusion, "But since you are also an evil man… why can’t you understand what I do? Why have you kept targeting me instead?"

"Evil has ranks too."

Fang Mo wore a calm smile. "Small fry like you, who goes around shouting ‘I want to do evil’ every day, can at most be called lawful evil. As for me… sorry, I’m chaotic evil."

"I do things entirely according to my own preferences. When I want to do good, it is not because I am kind, but because I feel like it. The same goes for doing bad things. Have you heard of the Fourth Calamity?"

"You should be glad I cannot save and reload, or I would torment the entire myriad worlds until they collapsed."

"The little crap you do is like a child playing a game, while what I do is make the rules for the whole game. Just like a League of Legends designer: however I want you players to play, you have to obediently play my way. So? Does that make me utterly evil now? Hurry up and scream ‘League of Legends designer’ for me."

"So in your eyes, I am merely a child who refuses to play by the rules?"

Dio was stunned at first, then suddenly understood. "This is how you have always viewed me? I see… No wonder that dog suddenly bit me after I kicked it. And when I forcibly kissed Erina, she killed me with a single palm strike. And Sun Power can restrain vampires as well. So all of it was designed by you."

"Just because I committed evil, you punished me this way, trying to make me turn back from my mistakes and become kind…"

"What a joke! That is as vile an idea as toad piss!"

Without warning, Dio suddenly flew into a rage. "I, Dio, was born to trample others beneath my feet and seize every first place! Your desire to make me kind… is as nauseating as Jonathan’s foolish kindness! Zombie Humans, vampires, attack!"

Following Dio’s furious roar, waves of snarls immediately echoed through the entire castle hall.

The doors were kicked open violently, and two Zombie Human knights clad in medieval armor rushed in and began attacking everyone without a word.

"Dio is angry!"

Speedwagon immediately shouted, "His nature, darker than that of any villain in this world, has been exposed! All of his calmness and gentlemanly manners were merely a disguise. His true nature is filthy and short-tempered! This is his first taste of the humiliation known as Justice!"

"Dio! I will stop you!"

At that moment, Jonathan finally could not hold back any longer.

Though his body was covered in wounds, he adjusted his breathing rhythm. Ripple and Sun Power combined, causing him to erupt with waves as blazing as the sun.

"Do you think I was merely bluffing!?"

Dio was genuinely enraged now. He raised a hand. "Vampires, shoot him…"

But before he could finish, Jonathan roared and unleashed a streak of golden light. Blazing Sun Power intertwined with thunderous Ripple, instantly annihilating nearly half the vampires with overwhelming force.

Even the ancient knights who had just been revived turned to ash again in an instant.

At the same time, Erina rushed forward and began savagely attacking the remaining vampires. The situation seemed to turn against Dio in an instant.

Yet Dio remained exceptionally calm in the face of this.

"It seems a mere vampire army can no longer stop you. With that combination of Sun Power and that foul-smelling Ripple… ordinary vampires cannot even touch the corner of your clothes."

As Dio spoke, he suddenly waved a hand. "But I, Dio, came prepared!"

With that wave, countless hidden doors around the hall suddenly opened, and another group of vampires rushed out. However, they did not attack the group. Instead, they grinned viciously and raised the women, elderly people, and children in their hands.

"This… this is…"

Speedwagon was instantly shocked. "Hostages! Dio’s evil has once again refreshed my understanding. He actually plans to use hostages to threaten us!?"

"All the men in this town have been turned into vampires by me!"

Dio laughed wildly. "As for the weak women and children, some were eaten by us, while the others are being used as hostages to threaten you. Jonathan, if you dare move again, I will kill them all!"

"Dio!"

Jonathan’s face was filled with icy fury. "You bastard… you have completely lost the right to be called human!"

After saying that, perhaps because he was too agitated, the wounds on his body began spurting blood continuously. His body went limp, and he dropped to his knees.

"JoJo!"

Erina cried out worriedly at the sight.

"Are you so furious that you have begun spurting blood?" Dio, on the other hand, became delighted. "Hahaha, good. Then let yourself be angered to death by me, Dio. Vampires, bite off one of the hostages’ arms first and let him enjoy the sight."

Yet the vampires did not respond.

"Hm?"

Dio froze.

"No, that’s not it!"

Speedwagon noticed something was wrong and hurriedly said, "JoJo is not bleeding from anger. He deliberately sprayed out his own blood! Look… strengthened by Ripple and Sun Power, that blood mist has actually temporarily suppressed the vampires’ ability to move!"

"Erina! Now is the time!"

Jonathan suddenly shouted. Erina immediately rushed forward like lightning and struck Dio’s left chest with a palm.

The scene from seven years ago repeated itself. With a wet crunch, a huge hole was blasted through Dio’s chest. He screamed as he flew backward, smashing through a wall and tumbling inside.

Jonathan braced himself with his sword and stood up as well, staggering toward the hole Dio had smashed through.

Yet when he climbed inside, he was shocked to discover that it was an armory. Wooden barrels of all kinds were everywhere, with black gunpowder scattered in the corners, along with a chaotic assortment of flammable materials such as kerosene and gas.

"You fell for it, JoJo!"

Dio, whose chest had been pierced through, slowly climbed to his feet. He was in poor condition, but he still smiled smugly. "This is my escape route, JoJo! Look at all this flammable gunpowder around us. You cannot use that damned Sun Power here, can you!?"

"JoJo!"

Erina wanted to rush over as well, but Dio suddenly roared.

"Vampires! Wake up!"

With Dio’s roar, the vampires outside, who had been restrained by the blood, began moving again.

They had merely been numbed by the blood mist. The Vaporization Freezing Method could rapidly freeze blood, and once the blood froze, it could no longer transmit Ripple. Thus, the vampires once again seized their hostages and threatened everyone.

"Dio…"

At that moment, Jonathan suddenly seemed to have made a decision. He began speaking sincerely. "Just as you once said, perhaps the two of us really are one…"

"What?"

That inexplicable sentence stunned Dio. "What foolish nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and come let me kill you."

"We spent our entire youth together. We grew, fought, and opposed each other. I could even feel a strange sort of friendship." Jonathan’s expression gradually calmed. "Now, the fates of the two of us shall become completely one, and then…"

"We shall vanish together in this endless explosion."

After saying that, Jonathan’s body suddenly ignited with sunlight-like radiance.

All the surrounding gunpowder was ignited in an instant.