As early as the fierce battle against Biwa Juzang and Hei Chu Lei Ya in the water, Logan had overcome the greatest limitation of the Ripple technique—air.
With the subsequent mastery of natural energy absorption and the integration of Orochimaru's genetic knowledge, Logan had fully mastered the "Qi" flowing within him.
Breathing—or the lack thereof—no longer affected his ability to use Ripple.
Heart? Throat?
Those weren't fatal injuries to Logan anymore.
Even though Dio had blocked Logan's punch with ice, limiting the ripple's spread, the sheer force still shattered Dio's skull, sending fragments and brain matter flying.
Dio's thoughts became disoriented—memories, illusions, and reality tangled together in his mind.
But his survival instinct roared to life, and he activated Time Stop.
Yet Logan kept moving.
He continued strangling Dio's neck, his right fist clenched once more. His calm eyes, touched with eagerness, bore into Dio.
As someone who had devoured people his whole life, Dio understood that look.
"You… you want to eat me?!"
A mere human dared to show hunger—appetite—toward him?
Wait… was this man even human?
An unkillable tenacity.
An ever-evolving power.
And now, the ability to move during stopped time.
No.
This thing wasn't a "man."
Logan was a monster—more monstrous and pure than Dio himself.
Logan's second punch came crashing down.
Dio instinctively raised his arms to block, but the force shattered them with two loud snaps. Logan's fist tore through flesh and bone and struck Dio's already broken skull.
"BUGAH!!!"
Dio's body twisted mid-air, spun 180 degrees, and then slammed into the asphalt with a deafening crash. The road caved in beneath him, cracks spiderwebbing outward.
Logan halted.
Still as stone.
Dio was left with only one functioning eyeball; half his head was gone. Encased in ice, he was clinging to life by the thinnest thread.
Once the time stop ended, he'd die.
"…World…"
Dio croaked.
His golden Stand—The World—manifested, showing cracks along its armor. Dio's weakening body reflected in it.
The Stand grabbed him and hoisted him onto its shoulders.
Time Stop countdown: 3 seconds.
Using its remaining strength, The World hurled Dio like a javelin into the crowd.
The arc of his body landed squarely among the spectators who had been mourning Joseph's body. Panic spread instantly.
Countdown: 2 seconds.
Dio crawled over and plunged his hand into Joseph Joestar's throat.
Countdown: 1 second.
He rose slowly.
His wounds healed.
His broken head regenerated.
A surge of immense power erupted from within.
"As expected… Joestar's blood is the most delicious."
Countdown: 0 seconds.
Onlookers screamed in terror as Dio reappeared out of nowhere. With a sweep of his hand, he turned them into corpses. Blood pooled, overflowing onto his boots.
He looked down at the crimson puddle, then back up at Logan, who was rapidly approaching.
And he smiled.
"I know how to kill you now, you immortal monster."
He leapt, bounding between buildings, with Logan close behind.
They tore through Cairo at lightning speed, reaching the city center in seconds.
It was only 8 or 9 PM. Cairo bustled with tourists and locals, unaware of the horror about to unfold.
Dio laughed wildly and dove into the crowd.
"To defeat a monster," he shouted at Logan, "a hero's effort isn't enough. Every civilian must contribute!"
Blood vessels in his right eye burst open. He activated the Sky-Splitting Eye. In an instant, hundreds of people were sliced in half, crashing to the ground.
The plaza turned into a nightmare.
Screams echoed.
Blood ran like rivers.
Dio kicked off his shoes, stepped barefoot into the gore, and absorbed life energy.
"That's… fair."
Logan landed silently in the crimson pool.
But he didn't strike.
He didn't even look at Dio.
His gaze fell upon the mangled limbs scattered across the ground—still alive, still suffering.
Young. Old. Children.
He heard his native tongue. Tourists from his homeland lay among the dead.
Logan closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
"I always saw this as a test," he murmured. "If I win, great. If I lose, I admit defeat. You're just stronger. I can always return again."
Death, to Logan, meant little. A wasted upgraded star core, at worst. He could regenerate and return.
So he treated this battle with Dio like any other—strategic, measured. Even Dio's cruelty didn't shake him.
But this?
Logan looked again at the bodies.
He tried to convince himself these were just NPCs, digital characters.
But…
"Dio Brando."
Logan raised his right hand. Ripple energy surged, reversing the flow of blood around him. It condensed into a blood-red sword.
His cold eyes locked onto Dio.
"This isn't a trial anymore."
For a heartbeat, Dio froze. The full-name invocation. That killing intent.
Then rage.
What was this arrogance?
He was Dio—the strongest Stand user. The World was invincible!
They clashed again.
Blood painted the night.
Star Platinum and The World collided with such force that shockwaves shattered glass across blocks.
"Time, stop!"
Dio hurled a car.
Logan sliced through it. Star Platinum burst forth from the wreckage and shattered The World's guard with a punch.
Time froze.
Dio didn't dare approach. He had The World grab a truck and smash it into Logan's chest instead.
"Six seconds… seven seconds…"
Dio cackled.
"My power grows! Let me see my limits!"
Nine seconds passed. Time resumed.
Logan didn't flinch.
He had only stepped back half a foot. He stomped down, grounding himself, and launched forward, fists blazing, to end Dio once and for all.
They battled across the city. Every building, every car, became a weapon.
Dio gasped.
Too fast.
Too strong.
He didn't dare get close.
Those punches… they could kill him.
But nine seconds wasn't enough to kill Logan. Not when he kept surviving Dio's strongest blows.
Soon, Dio realized something terrifying:
He wasn't using Time Stop to attack.
He was using it… to breathe.
Logan was different from Jotaro, who gradually awakened during battle and gained seconds of Time Stop.
Logan's time-stop was only "a moment."
But it was enough.
Logan didn't need to increase his duration—he only needed to force Dio to overuse his.
What good was a 9-second Time Stop if you could only use it to catch your breath?
Exhausted, Dio spotted a gas station nearby. Vehicles lined up. A tanker truck sat idle.
An idea sparked.
"That's it!"
He spread his arms wide.
"Logan! Victory's wind is blowing from behind me! The loser will be revealed soon!"
"ZA WARUDO!"
Time froze.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Dio emerged, carrying the tanker truck. Madness gleamed in his eyes.
"Die!"
He slammed the tanker into Logan. The crash flattened a nearby fuel station.
"Big tree! Big tree! Big tree!"
Four seconds.
Five.
Six.
"Wryyyy—!"
Seven seconds.
Dio calmly approached a bystander and stole a lighter.
Click.
A flame flickered.
He tossed it toward the leaking fuel.
Eight seconds.
He smirked and whispered:
"Let the fire erase you, you outdated monster."
Nine seconds.
He turned to walk away.
And froze.
"…Did I let you go?"
A voice echoed behind him.
"Your nine seconds are gone. But my moment… still remains."
Logan's voice rang out.
Time resumed.
A gas hose wrapped around Dio's ankle. With a sharp tug, Logan dragged him toward the wreckage.
"Are you crazy?!" Dio screamed. "You could've escaped with that moment!"
But Logan didn't answer.
He stepped under the ruined tanker as gasoline poured like a rainstorm. He extended a hand toward Dio.
"Come."
"Let's see whose life lasts longer…"
"Burn brighter!"
The flames ignited.
A massive explosion consumed them both.
The shockwave sent Dio flying—but his shoulder was impaled by a burning hand.
One hand?
Where was the other?
To strike, of course.
Dio's eyes widened.
He stared into Logan's firelit gaze.
The flames danced like stars.
Star Platinum stood behind him.
Logan and his Stand raised their fists. Together, they punched.
"The World! THE WORLD!"
Dio's Stand appeared. But it had just finished stopping time. It couldn't activate again. The best it could do… was lift a leg to block.
Star Platinum shattered The World's leg.
Logan's punch followed, slamming into Dio's skull.
CRACK—
The World broke.
And Dio Brando fell, consumed by flames.
He would not rise again.
> "The Star Platinum Trial Stage is complete."
"Unlock: Star Platinum World."
Øóffer going on for diamond tier
pàtreøn (Gk31)