The world turned gray and white.
Time stopped.
But—
Linto and Star Platinum's fists didn't stop!
"What?!"
Dio shouted in disbelief.
He never thought someone could move during the stopped time.
Even more surprising, this person was a Ripple and Stand user!
Star Platinum's fist collided with The World's fist in the air. The air stirred, blowing Linto's hair and revealing a pair of extremely determined eyes.
Dio and Linto looked at each other.
The gray world seemed to turn completely black. Dio's eyes were filled with a fist getting closer and closer, and the word behind the fist—
"Die!"
Bang!
Linto's fist hit Dio.
Dio flew backward, smashing into a building. A lot of bricks and stones fell down, hanging in the air under the effect of stopped time.
A moment, a punch.
The time Linto could move in stopped time ended.
The world was still gray and white, and time was still stopped. Everything was frozen and silent.
"Heh—"
A laugh appeared.
Along with it were wisps of cold air, constantly escaping in the high temperature of Cairo.
Boom!
Dio threw off the rubble pressing on him and stood up again.
His head was covered with a thick layer of ice. It was these suddenly formed ice that blocked Linto's Ripple power.
"Freezing Vapor Method"
Dio's famous trick. A hundred years ago, he used this move to fight Jonathan Joestar, a genius Ripple user.
"Weak! Weak!"
The ice on Dio's face turned into ice chips and fell. Looking at Linto's arm, which was gradually being frozen, he smiled:
"So, Ripple users are outdated! Fool!"
He crossed his arms again and shook his finger:
"Although I don't know why you can move within The World's stopped time.
But the weak, human you, are just like a student who hasn't studied for an exam. After writing your name, you're stuck in your seat.
You throw a weak punch, move for 'a moment', then wait desperately for the end of the exam, waiting—"
"For the arrival of death!"
The World charged at Linto again, and its gold fist hit Linto's chest three times.
Time started moving again.
Linto took all of The World's impact. He flew backward.
Dio knew that Ripple users often had very strong life force. Without hesitation, he pressed the attack and controlled The World to smash down with a punch.
Star Platinum fought fiercely with The World in the air.
"Ora ora ora ora!"
"Muda muda muda muda!"
Two Stands of the same type, tall and powerful, threw punches with all their might, but each punch was blocked by the other.
Bang!
Bang!
Two loud booms.
Star Platinum and The World's fists collided. The two Stands looked at each other, their arm muscles bulged, and they began to wrestle.
Just then, a louder impact sound came from the side, causing Star Platinum and The World to look slightly to the side.
Two Stand users were moving up and down in a small space. Ice and Ripple collided and disappeared in the air, emitting a beautiful glow under the street lights.
"Boxers! Boxers!"
Dio yelled, "You're still using Ripple. In my eyes, you're as primitive and weak as a monkey. Do you think a monkey can defeat me, who has already surpassed humans?"
Linto's arms and body were covered with a layer of ice, affecting the flow of Ripple.
It has to be said, Dio is a genius in the field of combat, being able to develop the Freezing Vapor Method specifically for Ripple.
But—
Linto patted off the ice.
"Huh?"
Dio's smile faded and he frowned slightly.
The boy's movements... seemed to become smoother?
Broken ice fell. Linto casually tore off his sleeves, revealing his arms.
Dio's pupils suddenly shrank.
What did he see?!
Linto's skin was changing.
First, to adapt to the cold, it turned into scales similar to those of snakes and lizards, who are cold-blooded animals.
Then he judged that turning into a cold-blooded animal could resist the cold and avoid damage, but it would affect his agility.
The scales turned into golden fur similar to that of a Siberian tiger. After discovering it wasn't enough, it finally settled on white, fluffy fur.
It wasn't just the fur that changed, but also the internal muscles, bones, and fat. Linto's body became stronger. He threw another punch.
Dio's eyes glazed over.
This wasn't a human, but clearly...
A polar bear living in the Arctic!
Dio, accustomed to using the Freezing Vapor Method again, found that the cold air couldn't penetrate Linto's arm at all, as it was blocked by the white fur.
"What kind of power is this?!"
Dio couldn't understand.
Who was it that wore the Stone Mask and surpassed the limits of humans?
It was me, right?
"Stop! Time!"
Dio spread his arms.
Linto didn't stop and threw another punch.
Crack.
The ice blocked his fist and blocked the transfer of Ripple, but it couldn't stop the absolute power of this punch!
Dio spat out blood and flew backward.
If it weren't for The World, if it weren't for being able to stop time.
He would've died!
"The stronger your body, the stronger I'll become when I suck your blood."
Dio wiped the blood from his mouth. There was a huge dent in his chest, which was made by Linto's punch.
Just a small fatal injury, Dio didn't care at all.
"As long as I kill you and suck your blood, I can rise again and surpass the limits of vampires... I can feel this power that's completely different from me, and now."
Dio reached behind his back, took out a dozen knives, and threw them at Linto from all angles.
Even Star Platinum's speed couldn't knock all the knives away the moment time stopped.
"Not enough! Not enough!"
Dio's eyes turned bloodshot, and his pupils bulged slightly.
"Drink!"
Two red beams shot towards Linto.
"Space Ripper Stingy Eyes!"
One aimed at Linto's heart.
One aimed at Linto's throat.
Dio took a deep breath. His broken eyes recovered. He straightened his back, crossed his arms, and regained his usual elegance, waiting calmly for Linto's death.
"Time starts moving."
Star Platinum appeared.
"Ora ora ora ora ora!"
It quickly knocked away the flying knives, but as Dio had imagined, Star Platinum couldn't knock all of them away. The most important thing was—
Stab!
Two red beams accurately pierced Linto's throat and heart.
Linto couldn't breathe anymore!
A hundred years ago, Dio used this move to deal with Jonathan. Today, a hundred years later, he was still using the same trick to deal with Linto.
"This is human weakness!"
Dio charged over and reached out his finger to stab Linto's carotid artery.
"Linto! Die, and then become my nourishment!"
Looking at the finger coming towards him, Linto stood still, motionless, as if his heart was really badly injured and he was on the verge of death.
Click.
Dio's finger, as it touched Linto, melted like crushed ice encountering lava.
The wounds on his throat and heart healed at a speed that Dio, even as a vampire, couldn't reach. Linto raised his hand and suddenly grabbed Dio's neck.
"Smash! Za Warudo—"
Before time could be stopped, Linto's fist crashed down.
---
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