Time... it cannot be seen, cannot be touched. It is a fundamental law that constitutes the world.
One who masters the law of time is an emperor who reigns supreme over the world. In any worldview, time is, without a doubt, a pinnacle law.
And the true power of [The World] is the ability to manipulate time, to bring it to a complete halt. In this world of stopped time, Dio is the one and only emperor!
Across the myriad worlds, the audience of the light curtain fell into a deep, profound silence the moment they witnessed time stop.
---o---
[Light Curtain Comments]
[Iori Kitahara: "Time stop... Time stop! This, this, this... isn't this the ability that every young man yearns for!"]
In the Grand Blue world, Iori Kitahara's face was flushed as he threw his arms up in the air, clearly having had too much oolong tea.
[Kurumi Tokisaki: "Ara, ara. The power to control time. It's an ability similar to my Zafkiel. However... a complete time-stop is a power that Zafkiel happens to lack." ]
In the Date A Live world, the Time Spirit Kurumi Tokisaki mused. To halt time on a global scale—that alone was enough to be comparable to Zafkiel.
[Conan Edogawa: "This... this isn't scientific! Why would a vampire be connected to stopping time!"]
In Mihana, having witnessed the previous world, Conan thought his capacity for acceptance would have greatly improved, but he still couldn't hold it in. Time-stop! If a criminal with such a power existed in their world, wouldn't they be able to commit the perfect crime?
[Time-Stopping Maid: "It really is the same ability as mine. I just wonder if he knows how to use knives. A time-stop not combined with knives is a meaningless time-stop." ]
[Robert E. O. Speedwagon: "NANI?! What in the world happened during this past century?! Stopping time... with this power, no matter how strong JoJo's Hamon is, he would be no match for Dio!"]
[Muzan Kibutsuji: "This... this is impossible! Why would the light curtain allow such a powerful being to come to our world!"]
In the Demon Slayer world, within the Infinity Castle, the fear in Muzan Kibutsuji's eyes was palpable. The moment he realized Dio was in the same world as him, he had already fallen into a panic.
As the saying goes, it takes a villain to grind a villain. Could it be that Dio was sent by the Supreme God to put an end to him?
This thought reached its zenith when Dio demonstrated his time-stopping power. I can't beat him. It's impossible to beat him. He couldn't think of any way to defeat Dio. His Stand... was a truly 'invincible' existence!
---o---
[Light Curtain]
As the power of [The World] activated, a flash of golden light swept over, and time stood still.
Aside from Dio, everything in the world seemed to have been frozen by a pause button.
Clocks, air currents, sounds, and even the crescent-shaped sword ki generated by Upper Rank One's Moon Breathing—all lost their color in the world of stopped time.
As the camera pulled back, the entire world was rendered in monochrome; even the Earth had ceased its rotation.
And in this frozen expanse of time, only Dio, only the Emperor of Time, retained his original colors, moving freely within the temporal stasis.
Five seconds. Although the current Dio could only stop time for a maximum of five seconds, for a vampire, five seconds was more than enough time to move and attack.
Upper Rank One, Kokushibo—this demon would likely die without ever knowing how. He was still frozen in his sword-swinging posture, but he had already become a lamb for the slaughter.
Dio carefully examined Kokushibo's body, especially his eyes, and slowly exhaled.
"According to Old Woman Enya, a Stand is a manifestation of spiritual power. Was it his samurai will, combined with these six eyes, that caused [The World] to be exposed?"
Dio gradually approached Kokushibo, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"It seems I was just being paranoid after all. While his spiritual power is greater than an ordinary person's, he's only at a level where he can barely perceive the Stand."
Raising his right hand, Dio focused all his strength into his palm and, without hesitation, chopped down at Kokushibo's neck.
Swish!
Without any resistance, the head of an Upper Rank—normally so hard that even a sword couldn't cut it—was severed by Dio's hand-chop.
Then, with two seconds of stopped time remaining, Dio sidestepped behind Kokushibo, effortlessly dodging all of his sword techniques.
A moment later, the five seconds were up. Time began to flow again, and all things returned to life.
"Pshh—" Blood sprayed through the air!
Before Kokushibo's shocked and uncomprehending gaze, his head separated from his body. The astonishment in his six eyes was plain to see.
Dio stood behind Kokushibo and said coldly:
"I, Dio, am the only Stand user this world needs. Anyone who sees my, Dio's, Stand has only one path—death!"
An instant kill!
For the audience, there was at least a brief process to witness. But in Kokushibo's eyes, the speed at which Dio had killed him was comparable to Yoriichi Tsugikuni from a century ago.
No... if it was just a matter of speed, he was even more terrifying than Yoriichi. Although he hadn't been able to see Yoriichi's sword strike back then, he had at least lasted a few fractions of a second.
But with Dio, was it an illusion? He felt that from the moment Dio attacked to the moment his head hit the ground, a total of zero seconds had passed.
What level of speed did one have to reach to achieve such a feat? If it were Yoriichi, would he be a match for the man before him?
In that instant, countless thoughts flooded Kokushibo's mind. The figure he had always considered invincible was now, in terms of speed, inferior to Dio.
As for the "Stand" Dio had mentioned, Kokushibo completely ignored it.
Fwish—
A flash of cold steel, a blade moving too fast for the naked eye, slashed toward Dio's body from an incredibly precise and ruthless angle.
"Nani?" The swordsmanship and strength forged over a hundred years had, after all, slightly exceeded Dio's expectations.
Kokushibo's body, as if by reflex, had swung its sword at Dio behind it.
As his right arm was slashed, Dio leaped away. He hadn't expected Kokushibo's body to be able to move even without a head.
Dio's hand-chop was a purely physical attack; it lacked the sun-like power of Hamon or the demon-slaying properties of a Nichirin Blade.
Therefore, Kokushibo was merely injured. For the likes of Upper Rank One, such a wound was nothing.
"He can still fight even after his head has been cut off? What surprising resolve."
Effortlessly healing the wound on his right arm, Dio spoke with some surprise. He had originally thought that the cowardly Demon King's subordinates would likely be trash just like him.
But unexpectedly, this one had quite the fighting spirit.
"Your strength... is already comparable to his, perhaps even greater. So... here, I must... I must defeat you honorably! I absolutely cannot retreat a single step!"
Speaking words that sounded nothing like a villain's, Kokushibo picked up his own head and reattached it to his body like a stitched doll.
If a Nichirin Blade had been the one to decapitate him just now, he would already be dead.
It had been hundreds of years. He didn't know how much time had passed since Yoriichi had died of old age. Kokushibo had thought he would never have another chance to prove his strength.
But now... now the heavens had once again allowed him to encounter an existence on the same level as Yoriichi, or perhaps even greater. And, like them, he was a demon.
This pushed Kokushibo's fighting spirit to its absolute peak. Unlike Akaza, who simply enjoyed the pleasure of fighting the strong, Kokushibo's battle with Dio was to prove one thing: the meaning of his existence. He had to surpass Yoriichi. But Yoriichi was already dead. If he could kill this opponent who was on the same level as Yoriichi, then he could prove his own worth.
With this thought in mind, Kokushibo assumed a fighting stance. This time, he raised his vigilance to the absolute maximum. He had to see Dio's movements.
---o---
[Light Curtain Comments]
Kokushibo's thoughts were laid bare for the audience to see.
Putting aside who this "Yoriichi Tsugikuni" that he was so obsessed with was, just look at Dio's ability.
Upper Rank One hadn't figured it out at all. Dio had already used his ability more than once, yet he still naively thought it was just that his own eyes couldn't keep up with Dio's speed.
This was no longer a matter of speed. It was time-stop! Could any speed be faster than time itself?
[Yoriichi Tsugikuni: "How pitiful, my brother." ]
From the heavens, Yoriichi Tsugikuni watched the scene on the light curtain with a sad expression, lamenting his failure to kill Kokushibo back then, and grieving for the respected elder brother who had become this.
Of course, there was also a sense of pity that Kokushibo hadn't even gotten on the right track yet. He saw Dio as an opponent on his level, but in Dio's eyes, he was merely a tool to intimidate Muzan.
[Time-Stopping Maid: "The information gap is too vast. It seems that 'time' as a concept does not exist in that Kokushibo's perception. He was no match for Dio to begin with, and now the gap is even wider." ]
[Robert E. O. Speedwagon: "So this is the power of a Stand! It seems even stopping time has its limits. A five-second time-stop proves that Dio is not invincible!"]
[Otto Apocalypse: "Five seconds may not seem long, but in battle, a single moment's difference is enough to change the entire outcome." ]
[Elysia: "Time-stop... If I had this power, I could play pranks on Kevin. It's just... such an interesting and powerful ability is in the hands of a scumbag." ]
---o---
[Light Curtain]
The camera's perspective shifted, now looking through Kokushibo's eyes to another location.
It was the same room where Muzan Kibutsuji had been before. The Demon King, in his female form, was using Kokushibo's vision to watch the situation unfold.
As the progenitor of all demons, he held supreme authority over them all. Not only could he see through their eyes, but he could also perform invasive acts like reading their minds.
"Kokushibo, Akaza, what are you two doing?! Why can't you even defeat one demon?"
A deep voice rang out, Muzan's tone trembling, the fear in his eyes no longer concealable. If any of the demons infatuated with him were here now, they would probably be silenced on the spot.
"This is impossible! How can there be another Demon King in the world besides me!"
Dio's existence had deeply shaken Muzan's fragile psyche. This wasn't a runaway demon like Tamayo who had escaped his control; this was a Demon King, an existence similar to himself.
It was common knowledge that Muzan Kibutsuji was the source of all demons and the only Demon King in the world. Now, that common knowledge had been ruthlessly shattered by reality.
"Kill him! You must kill him! There can only be one Demon King in the world, and that is me, Muzan Kibutsuji! All others must be eradicated!"
Muzan muttered to himself, his mind already somewhat unstable due to fear.
In terms of actual combat ability, Kokushibo's strength was definitely not inferior to his own. A swordsman who used Moon Breathing, and the elder brother of that legendary swordsman at that.
Muzan might have higher stats, but in terms of combat experience, resolve, and technique, he was no match for Kokushibo.
And since Dio could instantly kill Kokushibo, did that not mean he could instantly kill him as well?
For a moment, Muzan wanted to run. Run into the Infinity Castle and only come out after Dio was dead, just as he had with Yoriichi.
But the situation was different this time. Dio was a demon, possessing an infinite lifespan just like him. Waiting for Dio to die in the Infinity Castle... when would that ever happen?
"Kokushibo, it's all up to you! I believe in you! You can definitely overcome the fear brought by Yoriichi Tsugikuni! You can definitely defeat him!"
With no other options, the current Muzan Kibutsuji could only place all his hopes on Kokushibo on the front line.
He was terrified of death and would never dare to fight himself. If Kokushibo could defeat Dio, he would be overjoyed.
However... he was destined to be disappointed. This battle would not have a conclusion, at least not for now.
Because at this moment, dawn was approaching. The sun was about to rise.
The sun was the natural enemy of demons, and also of Dio. If exposed to the sun, even Dio with the power of his Stand wouldn't last more than a few seconds before disintegrating.
Originally, after Kokushibo's head was cut off, Dio should have left the scene. After all, he needed to avoid the sun, and the incapacitated Kokushibo would be burned to death by it.
But now, it seemed that Kokushibo and Akaza were lucky. They had managed to keep their lives...
Just as the sunlight was about to shine upon them, both Dio and Kokushibo spontaneously stopped their fight and chose to retreat...
---o---
Author's Note:
PS: Based on the order of appearance, Jotaro will be showing up in a few chapters. The battle of fate will eventually arrive. You can all look forward to it.