The scarlet sunset lit up the city, where life was in full swing. Crowds of townspeople hurried somewhere, sometimes looking around, sometimes even in fear, while uniformed men stood at regular intervals, carefully examining the passers-by.
# In DIO's lair, night #
In a dark room, where all the windows were curtained, and the cracks that could let in the light were plugged, on a king-size bed lay several unconscious girls and a vampire who was staring at the ceiling.
# From Dio's perspective #
Turning my head, I glanced at the stand on which I placed the words needed to reach paradise.
" So close to completing the plan... And the ability to stop time has reached 40 seconds. While, the number of zombies is gradually increasing, increasing the panic and fear of ordinary people.
After dressing, I left the spacious room, walking slowly towards the living room to carry out the first part of the plan. There, 2 zombies were waiting for me - a foreman from prison and an alcoholic, when they saw me, they immediately knelt down.
" Hello, Mr. Dio / Greetings, Mr. Dio, — they both said, lowering their heads, while the wino blew with carrion.
— How many people are in prison? And you, — I pointed to the stinking zombie, — get away.
— Of course, Mr. Dio.
— Hmm, if my memory serves me right, then more than a hundred, Mr. Dio.
— Great. — I headed for the stairs to go down to the others and explain the simple plan to them so they weren't mistaken.
There were dozens of living corpses waiting for me on the first floor, some of whom were once pillars, as well as more intelligent subordinates, but all of them, regardless of intelligence, knelt down when they noticed me.
- Goo-.
— Let's skip the greetings and get straight to the point. You five, — I pointed to several pillars and the strongest demon slayer in the past, — go and destroy the remaining hunters and demons.
The four Zombie Pillars immediately set off to carry out the task while the gray-haired hunter stared at me, and then, hesitantly asked:
— M... Mu... Muzan?
— All demons.
I answered briefly, to which the strongest fighter nodded and immediately disappeared.
" What an impressive speed... and carelessness, — I thought, looking at the hole in the wall, which resembled a human silhouette.
— The rest are heading with me to the habitat of unlawful citizens.
— Jail, Mr. Dio? — the drunk asked.
— Of course, go to jail, you stupid head! — answered the foreman, when he blew off half the head of the drunk who asked.
" Um, can I be called crazy now?" the stinky alcoholic zombie thought.
# In prison #
It wasn't hard to get in here. The pillars that became zombies became much faster and stronger, faithfully obeying my commands as their souls left their bodies.
Now in front of me was a huge crowd, consisting of prisoners who trembled at the sight of living corpses, ready to tear them apart at any second.
— You have a huge opportunity to become a necessary victim to carry out Mr. Dio's plan! — shouted the zombie foreman.
— P-p-please don't/ I have small children/ Please, have a pity!/ I want to go home, — was heard from the pile, but no one paid any attention to them.
A purple, thorny vine wrapped around my hand, on which my attention lingered for a couple of seconds and I deactivated it, glancing at The World, which had an indifferent expression on its face.
" Go to the center of the pile." Hearing my mental command, he moved towards the prisoners, after which he stopped in the middle of the circle.
Turning to the zombies, I gave them the command: "If they start to go over the limit, cut off their legs and throw them back, understand?"
A few sentient zombies nodded while saliva dripped from the mouths of mere living corpses, due to the large number of people, but they unquestioningly obeyed my commands. I turned back to the cluster of prisoners, starting to say the cherished 14 phrases:
— Spiral staircase,
Rhinoceros beetle,
Street of devastation
Fig pie,
Rhinoceros beetle...
I looked at the people, their faces were still afraid, they understood that they could die, but they could not do anything.
— Ahhh, what's with the slime?!/ Fu!/ Disperse!/ Help! — the prisoners yelled as they saw a strange substance begin to appear from somewhere.
Turning my head, I saw The World slowly melting, spreading into the middle of a bunch of people, while there was a smile on his face.
— Aaaaaaaa! — shouted the prisoner, who stepped into the mucus and his leg began to disappear into it, from the outside it looked like a cruel trick, but his limb was simply corroded.
— Push them all into that liquid! — I commanded, continuing to pronounce the words, — Via Dolorosa,
Rhinoceros beetle,
Singularity point,
Giotto,
Angel,
Hydrangea,
Rhinoceros beetle...
— Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! / God save me! / Please don't! — the people were still talking while they were in the acid-like substance.
The stand had already completely turned into a golden liquid that was spreading across the floor, dissolving the prisoners.
— Singularity point,
Secret Emperor.
Finally, when all the prisoners were dissolved in this substance, it began to accumulate at one point, forming some kind of high silhouette. As I finished forming, I was presented with the tall, muscular humanoid figure of The World. But there were differences, his headgear is much wider and the scuba tanks on his back are much larger, he also has a wheel on his shoulder.
While I was looking at him, the Stand smiled widely and evilly, looking at the zombies present and even me.
" This is an almost exact copy of The World, with the exception of a couple of external differences, but now it is already obvious that it is more evil than the previous Stand. I will try to voice 14 phrases again, if it does not work out, then I will have to destroy it.
— Get out of there! — I shouted, dispersing the zombies, who looked like that substance was disappearing for them, — A spiral staircase,
Rhinoceros beetle,
street of devastation
fig pie,
Rhinoceros beetle,
Via Dolorosa,
Rhinoceros beetle...
The Stand's predatory smile slowly began to fade, indicating that I was following the right path.
— Singularity point,
Giotto,
Angel,
Hydrangea,
Rhinoceros beetle,
Singularity point,
Secret Emperor.
Not a trace was left of the former mind, now there was indifference to everything that was happening on the face of the changed The World. While he was in this state, I decided to approach him to check that he accepted me.
Approaching, getting closer and closer, the stand's face did not change, while, as I felt a not so forgotten feeling, tension. With each step, it increased, and it began to strain, because my senses are more acute than those of an ordinary person.
Finally, I stopped when the distance between us was less than 1 meter, but there was no change in the stand's face, while I still felt it. I extended my right hand in an attempt to touch him, which I did.
" So it's okay. Phew, great. Then I'll try to activate the ability."
I thought, then threw my hands up, shouting:
— The World!!!
The zombies froze, some even retained an ugly grimace, the chirping of cicadas and conversations disappeared, leaving silence, the combination of these factors reported one thing ... Stopping time worked.
" 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10....
# Almost ten minutes have passed #
" 596, 597, 598, 599, 600.
Time continued its course, as if nothing had happened.
"So the stoppage of time has increased tenfold, but is it possible that this is not all.
The zombies were still silently waiting for my further instructions, standing to the side as the Stand headed towards them. Soon he found himself near a foul-smelling wino who did not see or feel a humanoid figure in front of him.
— MUDAMUDA!
Two powerful blows pierced the head and separated the torso from other parts of the body, after which the light ball flew into my body and I experienced an exciting feeling.
" I feel stronger than before, but what is this strange ball? Was it really a soul?
As I was thinking, the zombies that had their minds left were frightened when they saw their brother killed by something unseen.
"What was it? / What a strange ball ... / Ass itches, worms or something wound up - all the dead had different thoughts, but they were united by one feeling, fear.
I looked around at everyone present, while everyone was silent, waiting for further words, and then broke the silence that reigned:
— We're coming back.
I said as the zombies scuttled back into the lair, and the foreman of the prison looked at the already dead body of the alcoholic for a couple of seconds, heading away.
_______
# In Dio's lair, night, a few hours before dawn #
Around the table were several zombies, a human and a vampire, who were looking at the spread out map of the world.
— 28 d-degrees, 24 minutes server latitude, 80 degrees, 36 minutes west d-longitude.
The cartographer's voice trembled, which was not surprising, because being surrounded by not quite living beings, being an ordinary, living person was clearly frightening.
— I-if-if the coordinates are correct, then this is the Florida peninsula. W-will you let me go now?
— Ho, of course not.
— B-but you promised!
— Believing in a vampire was not the best decision, help yourself.
— Aaaaaaa!
The zombies attacked the cartographer's thin body, biting and sucking blood while he was alive, but soon subsided, and I headed to the first floor, sensing the arrival of the zombies.
It turned out to be pillars led by the strongest fighter, but there were 4 more zombies behind them.
" They came back faster than I expected, looks like I underestimated them. Hmm, those two old men behind may have been teaching the youths how to kill demons. And those 2 guys must have been learning from them."
— I assume you killed all the hunters and demons, even that Muzan?
# In the fortress of infinity, a few hours after DIO's order, before the above event #
" Not a single moon has appeared... Even Kokushibo disappeared yesterday, how is that possible, is that the bastard who did this?!
Standing among the stairs and glowing rooms was a man with wavy black hair and red eyes that gleamed as he turned towards the presence of the demon in charge of the fortress.
— Nakime?
Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. Slowly, he began to turn his head as he met the gaze of what he had always feared.
Behind him, he saw a man with gray hair in a red kimono. Several centuries passed, but he still recognized the Slayer, although his body became thinner and flabby. Muzan felt a mixture of fear and disbelief.
" It carries death-.
Before he had time to think, his body was subjected to hundreds, if not thousands of blows from the crimson-red nichirin blade, which burned the cells, not allowing him to regenerate.
In just 10 seconds, the stately body of the strongest and primordial demon turned into ashes.
# End #
The gray-haired hunter slowly replied:
— …Yes…Now…When I…I got rid…of the burden…I…I want to die…
A little surprise appeared on my face, but soon a small smile appeared and I replied:
— Well, if that is your will, I will not torment you.
— MUDA!
The stand pierced the head of the fighter, after which the white ball flew into my body and I felt a powerful surge of strength.
" This... This feeling, it can't be compared to the soul of that zombie!
While I was busy thinking, other dead people stared at the soulless body, starting to disperse at my gesture.
— So Florida.
I went up to the second floor and went out onto the balcony, looking at the crowd of zombies that crowded into one heap.
— From now on, bring death and destruction to all living things!
# 3 days have passed, already in Florida, nightfall #
In a big country, in a big city, in a not very big building, in a very large room, where all the windows were curtained, a vampire was sitting on a very large bed, behind which there was a stand.
" In these days, I have absorbed more than twenty souls, but I had to stop because of one moment.
# Memories of Dio, 1 day ago, night #
Now I was standing in the middle of a deserted alley, in front of a man who had huddled in a corner, trying to somehow protect himself.
— MUDA!
With one blow, the whole body of a person became disfigured, and when it touched the ground, a white sphere flew out of it, flying into my chest, and I felt a surge of strength.
— Wonderful.
A smile appeared on my face, but after a moment it disappeared as the booth turned. The smirk on his face was the same as when he first appeared. He took a step towards me while I took a step back.
— Stop!
The Stand took another step towards me, although it hasn't shown any malicious intent yet, its smile doesn't bode well.
— Better not risk it.
Spiral staircase,
Rhinoceros beetle,
Street of devastation
Fig pie,
Rhinoceros beetle,
Via Dolorosa,
Rhinoceros beetle,
Singularity point,
Giotto,
Angel,
Hydrangea,
Rhinoceros beetle,
Singularity point,
Secret Emperor.
The smile on the Stand's face disappeared as it stopped at a distance of two meters, still staring at me.
# Back to the present #
"Maybe it's a limitation of ability... But there is no time to find out, tonight, I must get to Britton Hill and reach Paradise.
After some thought, I left the building, going to the highest point in Florida.
Everywhere the lights were on, there was a drunken buzz in the 24-hour establishments, and the people passing by did not even pay attention to me, which is for the best, because the problems before the last point, this is the worst thing that can happen.
"So calm... Very soon, I will become all-powerful and conquer this world! The zombies are probably wreaking havoc in Japan, although the information has not yet reached here, maybe they have even been destroyed already.
Having traveled several tens of kilometers, I landed at the stairs leading up the hill. When I reached the peak of the hill, the moon began to slowly rise up and the higher it was, the more I felt a strange energy that passed through the body. Finally, when the moon reached its highest point, I felt a force filling me. Beams of light began to shoot out from my body as the Stand began to fade away.
_________
In the middle of the city, a man with extremely pale skin with a slight purple tint sank down, he was tall and muscular, with hair that reached his waist and bangs that reached his chin. At the back, her hair is parted down the middle and flowed over her shoulders like wings.
On his forehead he wore a wide golden headdress in the shape of the upper half of a star. Beneath the eyes are diagonal gold facial markings with the word DIO engraved twice, which run down the cheeks.
He is wearing a white swimsuit and chaps, he also wears a golden useh with a golden D emblem in the center, and a white cape attached to his back. The word DIO is engraved in small letters around the entire perimeter of the collar. He had a gold belt over his boots and a white belt cape with gold trim. Along with the belt with the D emblem, as well as on the neck, there were gold knee pads with the same D emblems. However, on his right leg he has an inverted D.
Below his shoulders he has large golden handcuffs on which his name is written twice. On her wrists are five large gold bracelets. On her feet were golden shoes with turned-up toes, in the center of which a star was engraved. In addition, he had large golden star emblems on the backs of his hands.
And behind him was a creature invisible to ordinary people, a stand that had undergone changes. His color scheme changed to angelic white bases with gold accessories. The eyes are inverted, with black sclera, white iris and black pupils. On his belt, the motif of the heart has been preserved, but on his knees instead of a heart there is a large letter D, and on his chin instead of a heart there is now a circle.
Suddenly the man smiled and shouted:
— The World Over Heaven!
In the next moment, Dio rewrote all of humanity to worship him as their one true god.
_________
Dio's story isn't over yet...
_______
Another chapter will be released, where there will be my afterword and answers to some questions, so you can ask them in the comments, maybe I will answer :)