Just as Jonathan and Erina parted ways.
Behind the stout trees, Dio watched the scene with an iron blue complexion.
He stared at Erina not far away, his fingers constantly caressing the notches on the tree, feeling the rough heart-shaped traces. A hint of sinister cruelty emerged on his face.
Yes.
He was very displeased right now.
He didn't know who this suddenly appeared woman was, but he could see that Jonathan had been noticeably happier lately and no longer appeared dejected and disheartened.
And she was the instigator of it all.
This blonde woman.
It was this detestable woman who had thwarted his plans.
Dio's goal had always been clear, from the moment he brought Dario's letter to find George, he had been plotting to take over the other's estate.
Of course, that strange magician called Steve made him very wary.
The other's methods were indeed very peculiar, whether it was the so-called alchemical potion or the magic stone that could absorb moonlight, Dio found it all very miraculous.
Actually, for a short time, Dio had changed his mind.
Like seriously following this strange magician to learn, believing that if he mastered those weird methods, plus his intelligence which far surpassed Jonathan's, given time, he, Lord Dio, would definitely become superior to others and earn more money than all of George Joestar's estate.
After all, that was a supernatural power.
There was nothing in the world more attractive than this.
But before long, Dio's thoughts changed again, especially after that damned magician always targeted him.
He had been through more in the slums than that fool Jonathan and understood the ways of the world better. In fact, Dio had a vague sense of something being wrong when he was bitten by the dog, and it became clearer after being 'educated' with a thrown stone by the other and being asked to visit him for lessons at night, Dio's conviction grew stronger.
Compared to himself, the magician perhaps liked that fool Jonathan a little more.
Dio suspected the magician was giving Jonathan private lessons.
After all, their lessons were separate, the mountain was full of strange things said to be ice sprites or something, and he, Dio, didn't dare to sneak up during the day to peek.
Sometimes at night, while holding the moonlight stone for practice, Dio would also think.
Even if he mastered supernatural powers, if the magician secretly taught Jonathan more skills, then even with his talent, he was destined to be suppressed by that damned guy.
Originally, Jonathan was the son of a noble, with a distinguished status.
Now, if he received the true teachings of the magician, mastering more supernatural powers, wouldn't Dio forever be trampled underfoot by that fool?
What would be the point of earning more money then?
Just the thought of someone in the world being better than himself made Dio unbearably irritable.
Looking at the moonlight stone in his hand, even the bright moonlight seemed to have turned dark and cold, just like the unlit dark side of the moon, as if reflecting Dio's current heart.
Even if it were someone else.
Any unknown person would do.
But Dio would never allow Jonathan to tread on him!
So he started to make small moves behind the scenes again, of course, due to the fear of being detected by the magician, Dio was initially quite subtle.
Nothing more than studying harder, learning aristocratic etiquette, and practicing magic day and night.
But after a while, Dio realized that the magician didn't seem to care much about these things, so he used boxing as an excuse to beat Jonathan up severely, ostensibly to vent his anger, but actually to test the magician's attitude. If the magician questioned him, he would just say that he couldn't control his strength during the match.
However, to Dio's surprise, the magician didn't react at all, as if he was immersed in his own mountains every day, not knowing what he was doing.
On reflection, it made sense since the other person was a true great wizard after all.
It was already quite remarkable for him to take on a disciple and provide guidance. He must be busy every day researching alchemy or studying new magic. It was said that he kept a giant dragon in the back mountain, but Dio had never seen it and didn't know if it was true or not.
In summary, after this probing.
Dio had a rough idea, it seemed that the magician didn't pay much attention to him and Jonathan. After a few more tests and finding no reaction, Dio began to grow increasingly presumptuous.
He didn't choose the most foolish physical harm but opted for mental bullying.
Dio intended to crush Jonathan on every level, whether it was magical talent, learning ability, intelligence, etiquette, social skills—he wanted the idiot Jonathan to lose everything. Whether it was pets, paternal love, or even friends and partners, Dio was determined to take it all away and destroy it.
In this way, Jonathan would sink into endless pain and become worthless.
As everyone knows, the worthless are useless.
Whether Dio wanted to take over the Joestar family's fortune or inherit everything from the magician, Jonathan, a worthless person, couldn't stop anything.
Dio believed that the magician wouldn't like a worthless person either.
Even if the magician indeed had a soft spot for the Joestar family, if Jonathan completely gave up and became a worthless scum like his own father, the magician would have no choice but to choose him, Dio.
Dio's plan was well-conceived.
It was going smoothly, and Jonathan indeed was depressed for a long time.
But recently, Jonathan suddenly became happy because of this woman in front of him. The idiot must have fallen for her. The two developed feelings, and the power of love is very strong, enough to be a pillar of strength for someone. If Jonathan became strong because of this, it would be troublesome.
Thinking of this.
Dio's expression suddenly turned cold.
He, Dio, would never allow Jonathan to fall in love with this woman!
"You two, come with me."
Thinking this, Dio immediately said to his two henchmen, "I'll show you a big scene soon. The things you dare not do... I, Dio, will do them for you!"
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Erina was still immersed in the wonderful sweetness of love.
In fact, with her current strength, she could hear the noises not far away, but her mind was full of JoJo, she even started to fantasize about which wedding dress to pick, so she couldn't hear anything at all.
Touching the Azurite redstone on her neck.
Erina unconsciously showed a shy smile.
But just at this moment, three figures suddenly emerged from the shadows in front and stopped her in her tracks.
Erina looked up subconsciously and immediately got startled. The blond, red-eyed fellow in front of her was none other than Dio, the bastard mentioned by JoJo. Why was he blocking her way all of a sudden?
"Yo, you're called Erina, right?"
At that moment, Dio also showed her a sneer that wasn't quite a smile: "I see you... have been getting along quite well with JoJo lately."
...
Seeing the hypocritical Dio in front of her and the two guys who always bullied her, now looking at her with sneers, Erina suddenly felt scared.
Her instinct as a girl made her realize something, and she subconsciously took a step back.
But at this moment, Dio kept talking, his eyes aggressively fixed on Erina, and his tone became dangerous: "Hehehe, JoJo should have been sulking, but recently he's been very happy... It's because of you, huh."
"What... what are you going to do..."
Erina felt a pang of fear in her heart and almost instinctively wanted to run away, but remembering the prediction of 'Mr. Magician' from yesterday, she suppressed her fear and couldn't help but ask: "Why... Why do you always have to bully JoJo?"
"Because I want that idiot to know all the 'firsts' in his life..."
As Dio spoke, he slowly walked towards Erina, and when they stood face to face, he suddenly pointed his thumb at himself: "They all belong to me, Dio!!!"
"What?"
Erina was stunned.
However, Dio didn't plan to give her a chance to react.
"Did you kiss JoJo? Hehehe... I guess not yet?"
Dio suddenly revealed a smug, cold smirk, then suddenly reached out and grabbed Erina's wrist, and with his other hand grabbed her shoulder, preparing to kiss her forcefully without explanation.
"!!!"
However, perhaps because JoJo was mentioned, Erina suddenly got startled.
Seeing Dio coming unannounced, she was really frightened, her mind went blank, but her body instinctively moved.
"Don't!!!"
Erina suddenly screamed.
Then, instinctively, she kicked towards Dio's groin.
The kick was as swift as a startled swan, so fierce that the two onlookers hadn't even reacted yet. The mere wind pressure from her leg caused the grass around to lay flat.
The crisp sound of breaking bones mixed with the squishy sound of something bursting, Dio's whole body was like a wretch hung on the gallows, his eyes bulging, his pelvis and tailbone shattered into countless pieces in an instant, his eyes almost protruding out of their sockets, his mouth wide open, drool uncontrollably spraying out.
Before he could scream in agony,
Erina had already struck her second blow in terror.
But calling it an attack was a bit of a stretch; in fact, Erina was so scared that she didn't even open her eyes. To protect her chastity, she just instinctively raised her right hand, hoping to push away the villain before her with all her might.
However, the real problem was this 'with all her might'.
Just like in the third part, where Dio uses The World to attack Kakyoin Noriaki, as Erina's palm struck out, there was a 'puchi' sound, and Dio's left chest was pierced through, all its contents turning into a pile of mush.
"?! "
Dio's pupils shook violently, his whole body filled with immense fear.
It was an indescribable terror and despair, every pore stinging like it was being pricked by needles.
His expression was twisted and comical, and his body was rapidly growing cold, he even lost the strength to speak. He looked at the woman before him in disbelief. He couldn't believe that he would die here for the trivial reason of trying to force a kiss on her. How could this be? This... How could this...
How could he, Lord Dio, possibly die in such a manner!
He hadn't even lived to adulthood... to die here like the ridiculous idle chat of peasants after a full meal!?
"Um...?"
Maybe it was the wet and sticky feeling that seemed a bit off, Erina also froze for a moment.
Then she instinctively opened her eyes, only to see the horrifying scene before her: Dio was spitting blood, looking at her unwillingly, the light in his eyes rapidly fading.
And her palm was inserted into the left side of his chest.
"Eh?"
Erina was so shocked that she couldn't even react, completely stunned.
"Cough... Ugh..."
At this moment, Dio coughed, and a drop of warm blood splashed onto Erina's cheek. Feeling the real warmth, the stickiness in her hand, and the pervasive, rust-like stench of blood around her, Erina's nerves finally reacted.
"Yiya!!!"
Erina screamed in terror and reflexively pulled back her arm.
However, this only increased Dio's bleeding. His coccyx and pelvis were shattered, and he couldn't stand, falling into the mud pit like a broken sack, letting the dirty water soak his chest, dampen his cheeks and hair, making him look utterly wretched.
But to be honest, he was already no different from dead.
His heart was blown to bits by a punch, and with the massive blood loss, all the organs in his body had already ceased to function, even his brain was gradually nearing death due to lack of oxygen.
The cold, terrifying darkness gradually enveloped Dio.
"Dio! Diooooo!!!"
It was only at this moment that the two stunned lackeys behind him came back to their senses, tears streaming down their faces as they ran away: "Murder! Crybaby Erina has committed murder!"
"Plop."
Erina was also scared out of her wits, and she fell right into a muddy pit.
"I... I've killed someone..."
Erina looked at her hands in a daze. She didn't know how she had done it, nor why Dio had crumbled to the touch like paper, but the fresh blood on her hands was telling her that she had killed someone.
Thinking of this, Erina couldn't help but cry out in fear.
She wanted to use the first aid knowledge she had learned from her father to save Dio, but the guy didn't even have a heart anymore, how could she possibly save him? Now she was really done for, she was sure to die...
"Who... who will save me..."
Erina hugged her head in fear and trembled as she spoke.
However, just when she was at a loss, suddenly a warm, large hand was placed on her head.
"!?"
Erina shuddered and instinctively looked up at the newcomer.
The figure stood against the light, and she couldn't see his face, but she could see his straight back and broad shoulders. The afterglow of the setting sun cast a pale golden silhouette around him, as if he could hold up the entire world, giving her an immense sense of security.
"Don't be afraid, I've come to save you."
The calm voice came from the figure, causing Erina to be momentarily stunned.
But before she could relax, she saw the figure slowly walk over to Dio, then squat down, stroking his chin while making a thorough assessment: "Tsk tsk, Dio, I never thought you'd have your day, how does it feel to be pierced by a fist with both A-rank power and speed? After saying this, the figure also took out an emerald and threw it onto Dio: "Haha, Kakyoin Noriaki..."
"...Huh?"
Erina was also baffled, and then upon closer inspection, she realized that the person was actually JoJo's godfather, Mr. Steve.
~~~
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