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Chapter 187. DIO's Faith
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DIO.
What kind of person is he?
If this were during the airing of "Phantom Blood", almost every viewer would say that DIO is something even more disgusting than vomit!
No, even now, after "Phantom Blood" has aired, this impression of him hasn't changed at all.
Many even feel that Speedwagon's description of DIO was too mild.
More disgusting than vomit? Even more revolting?
DIO is filthier than frog urine!
This is why, when the viewers were clued in by [White Snake] that the new OP for "Stardust Crusaders" might hold clues about DIO being the final boss, they all rushed back to watch it repeatedly.
It's not so much that they admire DIO.
It's more like they admire him by hoping he dies soon!
Of course, if during this process, DIO could be brutally tortured to death, that would be even better!
Considering all the things DIO did in "Phantom Blood", the highest praise the audience can give him is that he is a purely evil villain who is beyond redemption.
Other than that, refer to the admiration methods mentioned above.
Doesn't that sound unbelievable?
Or perhaps, how is this different from how DIO influenced viewers in Pucci's previous life?
Though he was just as much of a villain, just as wicked, it's clear that the DIO from Pucci's previous life was a bit more unique compared to this world's DIO.
Initially, Pucci didn't realize the difference between the two.
Because of his past life memories, he projected the DIO from his previous life onto the DIO here.
Naturally, he didn't sense any issues with this.
But Jotaro in "Stardust Crusaders" is different!
Even though he heard most things about DIO from Joseph,
And Joseph heard them from Erina,
Who, in turn, heard them from Speedwagon.
Through this cycle of storytelling across several people, much of the information about DIO should have been distorted by now.
But just seeing how DIO used his flesh buds to brainwash Kakyoin and the others, ruthlessly killing even innocent bystanders to achieve his goals, convinced Jotaro that DIO was indeed the pure evil Joseph had described!
An irredeemable scum who deserves to die!
With that understanding, Jotaro couldn't comprehend why N'Doul would worship DIO so fervently.
He incredulously asked, "Are you crazy? You used your own Stand to commit suicide!?"
That's right, even when Jotaro offered to spare N'Doul's life,
N'Doul chose to kill himself rather than reveal any information about DIO!?
"Why would you do this...?"
"Jotaro, you must be thinking... you're trying to get me to spill information about the eight enemies you'll soon face..."
With his brain pierced by [Geb], and due to its lack of precision, N'Doul was still alive for the moment, speaking haltingly to mock Jotaro: "Joseph Joestar's Stand—[Hermit Purple]... I know it can read people's thoughts, but I won't leak a single bit of information..."
"Not a shred of information that might harm "that great man"... heh heh heh..."
Despite facing his own death, N'Doul was laughing joyfully.
Witnessing this, Jotaro felt a kind of spine-chilling terror he had never experienced before, and he couldn't help but mutter that name.
"DIO…"
"Why are you all so loyal to DIO, so fearless in the face of death?"
This question was shared by the audience watching "Stardust Crusaders" as they saw this scene.
They couldn't understand it either.
After all, unlike the previous Stand users,
The battle between N'Doul and Jotaro, even for viewers already used to Stand battles, was incredibly thrilling!
Especially after learning that N'Doul was blind,
And that [Geb]'s stats, as displayed in the six-dimensional chart in the animation, were largely inferior to [Star Platinum].
The fire abilities of [Magician's Red] were its natural counter.
Yet N'Doul, using [Geb], still managed to push Jotaro and his team to the brink of defeat!
If it weren't for Iggy, a Stand user previously unknown, whose dog-like traits—being a Boston Terrier with keen senses—
And his Stand, [The Fool], being able to briefly fly in the air,
Which neutralized N'Doul's only advantage of surprise,
Leading to a heart-pounding battle of attack and defense between N'Doul and Jotaro after the latter found his position and blocked his hearing detection with high-altitude flying.
And even then, Jotaro almost lost!
Of course, the key was that Jotaro had found N'Doul.
For a long-range Stand user like N'Doul, being confronted by a close-range powerhouse like Jotaro should have spelled the end.
Yet N'Doul, unlike Hol Horse who tried to flee, or Alessi who begged for mercy, remained determined.
He was so resolute that he engaged Jotaro in a "shootout" duel with their Stands, just like a protagonist in a shonen manga.
It was utterly unreasonable, completely unlike the previous behavior of DIO's other Stand users.
Unknowingly, this gradually started to change the audience's impression of DIO.
And the tipping point of that impression was…
"Jotaro, as for death... I'm not afraid of it in the slightest!... heh heh heh, because of my Stand, I've been fearless ever since I was a child..."
N'Doul continued to laugh: "No matter who I faced, I always won! Crime and murder were everyday occurrences to me, and I never thought anything of the police..."
"That dog must understand my feelings..."
N'Doul pointed at Iggy.
When he saw Iggy, N'Doul immediately realized—this is one of his kind.
A Stand user with an elemental Stand, sharing the "I do whatever the hell I want" attitude.
"But for the first time, this fearless me had a thought sprout in my heart—"
"—'I absolutely don't want to be killed by him!'"