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Chapter 23. Superego, Id, Ego
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DIO roared in fury.
He lost his temper, rushed up to Erina, and slapped her to the ground, where she continued to look at him with unyielding eyes.
As DIO screamed, Erina's intention was unmistakable:
DIO, you are no better than the filthiest mud water, which even animals wouldn't drink and only step on.
No! Even this mud water is cleaner than you!
There's no need to go to the river to clean it; this clean mud water will suffice!
"Damn it! I, DIO, am angered by a mere woman..."
Undoubtedly, Erina's act, which DIO deemed a pointless display of pride, provoked him, who also valued his pride highly at that moment.
Especially now, with Erina lying on the ground, her gaze and actions unchanged.
His impulsiveness and rage intensified.
This was practically telling everyone that he, DIO, had lost in terms of pride to a mere woman!?
A woman who had been helplessly bullied by him!?
This was intolerable, absolutely intolerable!!
"Enough! Let's go!!"
DIO forcefully snapped a branch off a tree and led his gang away in a fit of rage.
When Erina decided to wash her mouth with mud water and DIO slapped her, it was no longer a mere act of pride or a scheme to isolate JOJO by driving away everything around him.
It gradually transformed into a battle of dignity between him and Erina.
"A trial of their inner strength, the Superego, Id, and Ego."
"Sister, you must have heard of Freud's theory of personality?"
Sora explained to Shiro, "A person's personality is composed of the Superego, Id, and Ego, each with its characteristics and functions. They influence each other and control individual behavior differently over time."
"DIO is currently showing the Id, representing the life and death instincts."
"The desire for survival, the craving for money, and the willingness to use anything to achieve these needs are part of the life instinct. The primal urge to destroy something is the death instinct."
"Therefore, when facing Erina, symbolizing the Superego like an angel, DIO exhibits extreme aggression, wanting to destroy her. Only by overcoming those childish pasts can one truly grow..."
The Superego represents morality.
Because of her inner morality, Erina used mud water to wash her mouth.
Similarly, DIO, awakened to morality by Erina, couldn't accept the fact and hit her.
Not long before this scene, DIO called his father a scum and spat on his grave.
Now, what difference was there between his actions and his father's?
Had he become the person he hated most!?
"Given the events, whatever DIO chooses to do next, it's useless. With no other options, DIO is left with failure as the only outcome."
"As long as DIO admits his father was a scumbag..."
Sora mused.
As a gamer who studied psychology to better understand opponents and win games, especially in the area of human behavior, Sora was very familiar with the psychological battle between DIO and Erina.
-- Psychological warfare!
Even if Erina didn't do it intentionally, her pride found a perfect answer.
After all, DIO could never acknowledge Dario Brando, who caused his mother's death, as a good person.
Naturally, he couldn't counterattack Erina's mud water washing.
"In simple terms, it's a disgraceful escape, pretending the confrontation doesn't exist if I can't see it."
Of course, not everyone is as hardcore as Sora, pulling out professional terms from a two- or three-minute story like doing a reading comprehension exercise.
For other viewers watching this scene, the complexity was too much to understand.
Without DIO's explanation, they wouldn't have grasped Erina's true intention behind washing with mud water or imagined it as a counterattack against DIO.
But not understanding didn't stop them from seeing DIO's misfortune!
Indeed!
Thanks to DIO's superb performance, he had already gained a loyal following before reaching Pucci's previous life levels of popularity...where everyone liked DIO and also wished he'd die quickly!
Moreover, DIO losing to Erina was just the prelude.
When JOJO learned of what happened from the bystanders who witnessed DIO's infamous scene, this always kind and patient man, who had never gotten angry at DIO's excessive actions, finally ignited the golden flames of rage within him!
"——DIO!!!"