As The World closed in on the Stardust Crusaders, even DIO couldn't help but feel a flicker of triumph.
As long as he had a hostage, escape was possible. As a villain, DIO had never believed in fighting to the death—survival always came first.
"I've won!"
His chosen target was, naturally, Jotaro.
Not only because Jotaro carried the Joestar bloodline, but also because he was still young.
Had DIO not witnessed Borsalino's terrifying strength, he might not have minded leaving a few Joestar descendants alive—just to stave off boredom in the future.
But now? Forget it.
If he let Jotaro live, who knew how many more would crawl out of the woodwork later. That would be far too irritating.
The plan was simple: seize Jotaro as a hostage, escape this nightmare, then drain his blood and grow even stronger.
"Troublesome…"
But what DIO never expected—
Was that just as The World reached for Jotaro, the man who should have been frozen in time calmly lifted his head, fingers brushing the brim of his cap.
Having already suffered once at Borsalino's hands, DIO felt his soul nearly leave his body.
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
That monster aside—even Jotaro could move in stopped time?!
In the next instant, Star Platinum struck.
A single, brutal punch tore straight through The World's chest.
Caught completely off guard, DIO was blasted backward as well, sent flying by the backlash to his Stand.
After learning that his enemy could stop time—and experiencing it himself—Jotaro's Star Platinum had awakened the same ability.
Though Jotaro could only move for an instant within stopped time, that instant was more than enough.
The surprise blow dealt catastrophic damage to DIO.
"DIO… huh? What just happened?"
Five seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
To the other Crusaders, their vision merely blurred—and suddenly, DIO, the source of all their suffering, lay on the ground with a gaping hole in his chest, staring at Jotaro in disbelief.
"Stopping time isn't exactly a rare skill."
Jotaro spoke flatly.
Faced with an enemy like DIO, he didn't mind saying a few extra words—if only to shatter the man's composure.
"Bastard! Impossible! This can't be! Za Wa—"
Having his greatest trump card fail against Borsalino was one thing.
But having it surpassed by Jotaro pushed DIO to the brink of madness.
Ignoring his still-healing wounds, he tried to summon his Stand again.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA—!"
But before DIO could act, Jotaro stopped time first.
Within the frozen world, Star Platinum surged forward at terrifying speed, seized DIO by the shoulders, and positioned him perfectly—
Then unleashed a storm of relentless punches.
Until now, the Stardust Crusaders hadn't suffered a single casualty. Their advance had almost felt like a leisurely outing.
But only Jotaro knew the truth.
Without the Dimensional Chat Group—without Borsalino's help—even if they won, several of his companions would have died.
"Truly frightening…"
Within a short time, Borsalino commented without the slightest guilt.
Had it not been for his earlier pressure, even with time stop, Jotaro wouldn't have been able to crush DIO so completely.
Jotaro's time stop couldn't last nearly as long as DIO's.
Soon, time resumed.
"No—"
DIO didn't even finish the word.
A violent barrage slammed him straight into the ground.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Jotaro showed no mercy.
The instant time resumed, dozens—perhaps hundreds—of punches landed all at once, pounding DIO into something barely recognizable.
His body was mashed into the earth like a slab of meat.
Even with a vampire's inhuman regeneration, he couldn't move for the moment.
Only the flattened remains of his face still hinted at resentment and terror.
"This ends here. Let me think… what should I call this move?"
Borsalino snapped his fingers lightly.
"Got it—Sunshine Upon All."
An endless radiance erupted from his body.
A brilliance so overwhelming that the pitch-black night sky was completely drowned in light.
Night turned to day.
It was as if the sun itself had risen over Cairo, purging every last trace of darkness and filth from the world.
DIO didn't even have time to scream.
He was erased—reduced to a wisp of smoke by that boundless light.
"..."
The Stardust Crusaders were struck completely silent.
Polnareff, who had stared directly at Borsalino, even shed tears of emotion.
"…The Sun God."
Avdol murmured softly.
As a native of Egypt, what he had just witnessed was far beyond belief. For a moment, the fortune-teller was convinced this man had to be Ra, the sun god of Egyptian mythology.
As for why the Sun God had descended in person?
That was easy to explain.
DIO's followers had dared to impersonate the Nine Egyptian Gods—of course the real one would come knocking.
"So strong… What was that just now?! What happened to you all… the light… the sun…"
Polnareff babbled incoherently, completely missing the fact that aside from him, Kakyoin and Joseph were very deliberately pretending nothing had happened.
Even Iggy gave him a look of pure disdain.
The great one—no, the god—clearly didn't want his identity exposed. He'd even used a fake name.
And you just had to keep talking?
At this point, DIO's death didn't seem unjust at all.
If Ra himself had descended, then dying to him was practically an honor.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Borsalino."
Jotaro didn't mistake Borsalino for a god—but even knowing who he really was, the sheer power on display left him shaken.
"No need to thank me. This wasn't volunteer work."
Borsalino casually produced several test tubes and gave them a light shake.
Inside were samples of DIO's flesh and blood—collected at the moment Star Platinum pierced his chest.
Though DIO himself had been completely erased by Sunshine Upon All, the preserved biological samples remained intact.
"Of course. Oh, and there's also this."
Jotaro nodded, then helped Borsalino thoroughly search DIO's mansion.
In the still-intact upper tower, they finally found the most important piece of loot.
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