Wild Dio

"Lord Dio."

Polnareff jumped, quickly hiding his cigarette behind his back and bowing his head respectfully.

"I'm asking you, Polnareff, who is he?"

Dio walked closer and closer, stopping only when within five meters, his gaze sweeping over Polnareff.

"Ah... um..."

Polnareff scratched his head frantically. He didn't want to make a mistake in front of Lord Dio, and his hands behind his back began making frantic gestures.

"As you can see, I'm just an ordinary Stand user."

Dawn spoke neither subserviently nor arrogantly. So far, he hadn't sensed any killing intent from Dio, so he didn't want to fight.

Of course, it was also possible that Dio was a vampire and wouldn't show killing intent towards his food.

Just in case, Dawn calmed his mind and began to manipulate Diavolo.

"Diavolo, the guy in front of us is incredibly powerful. Even I would have a hard time beating him. If you don't want to die..."

In his mind, Diavolo scoffed.

"Dawn, so you remember me now."

Dawn ignored him, his gaze fixed on Dio.

"Oh? You're looking at me now... Young man, you're the second person to dare look me in the eye. You're quite impressive."

Dio couldn't help but praise Dawn's courage. As he spoke, he took a step forward, his tone sharpening, "However, how do I know you're not a psychic vampire? It would be troublesome if you managed to infiltrate the camp."

Seeing that Dawn didn't panic from his words, Dio's eyes flashed with thought, and he spoke softly.

"The World."

A strange sound effect rang out, and time completely froze. The World, Dio's Stand, clenched its fists and charged towards Dawn.

However, it didn't attack. It merely took the Stone Mask and performed a thorough search.

"Time, resume flow."

Dio held the Stone Mask in his hand, deliberately placing it in a conspicuous position, and looked at Dawn.

"There's nothing suspicious on him..."

"King Crimson!"

Diavolo's furious voice came from within Dawn.

Space shattered, and everything began to move according to its original trajectory, but Diavolo was completely unaffected.

"Something's wrong. Epitaph didn't see anything, and he took the mask in an instant. How did he do it? Damn it, I need more information."

Diavolo's gaze was grave as he watched Dio, who was still speaking. He rushed forward, snatched back the Stone Mask, and returned to his original position.

"Time Erasure, complete."

Dio suddenly felt his hand lighten. He looked down, and the Stone Mask had vanished.

His gaze quickly locked onto Dawn, his eyes changing slightly.

The words "This person is fine" that were about to come out of his mouth now seemed stuck, unable to be uttered.

"What did you do?"

Dio narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint brewing within them.

Dawn noticed the Stone Mask suddenly appear in his hand and helplessly clutched his forehead, knowing without a doubt that it was Diavolo's doing.

"Give it to me."

Dio's voice began to carry a sense of pressure. Seeing Dawn's lack of reaction, he prepared to activate Time Stop again.

"King Crimson!"

However, before Dio could activate Time Stop, Diavolo, who had detected the anomaly through Epitaph, activated Time Erasure first.

In the world of Time Erasure, even though Dio had no memory, his body still instinctively used Time Stop.

"The World!"

Diavolo was frozen in place. Dio walked forward, attempting to retrieve the Stone Mask according to his predetermined fate.

But his outstretched hand passed through. Dawn's body became untouchable, as if he didn't exist in this world.

When both abilities failed and time resumed, a storm of shock raged within both of them.

"My ability actually failed? Time Stop didn't succeed?"

"What kind of Stand ability is this? Why did Time Erasure end so quickly!"

Dio refused to believe it and used Time Stop again.

"The World!"

The world fell silent. Flowers and birds hung suspended in the air; this was Dio's unique world.

Dio's face finally showed a grave expression. Ever since awakening his Stand, he had never encountered such a situation.

Moreover, using his ability this time felt like a huge burden, as if he had used it twice in a row.

Nine seconds passed in the blink of an eye.

Time resumed its flow. Diavolo saw the Stone Mask disappear from his hand and already had a few guesses in his heart.

"Dawn, this savage's ability is somewhat similar to mine; it's very dangerous. After that brief test, it's likely related to time, most probably time stop."

Diavolo said in a deep voice, "I will use Epitaph to preemptively avoid it. King Crimson guarantees I will always have the initiative. However, unless it's a sneak attack, it will be difficult for us to eliminate him."

Dawn was a little surprised. Diavolo's insight was quite sharp to have figured out Dio's ability so quickly.

"You are the first Stand user to surprise me. I've already checked; you don't have a tracker on you. In that case, follow me."

The morning light was faint. Darby quickly pulled his cloak tighter. As a vampire, he would be burned to death by sunlight.

Dio extended his hand towards Dawn and said kindly, "Human life is so difficult. You and I should put aside past grievances."

The early morning sun fell upon Dio's marble-like body, making him appear otherworldly.

The three introduced themselves and immediately entered the jungle. Along the way, Dio led Dawn and Darby through the jungle, following the markers he had set beforehand.

Before long, Dio lifted a trapdoor and jumped in first.

Darby followed closely behind. Dawn summoned Cloud Dragon to his side from the sky and was the last to jump in.

The underground tunnel was dug wide and spacious, with green crystals embedded in the walls to illuminate the entire space, preventing them from tripping over the gravel underfoot.

Dio cast an interested glance at the appearance of Cloud Dragon but didn't probe further.

After walking for several hundred meters, they encountered a fat man holding a miner's lamp, waiting in place.

"This is Weasel. His Stand is called Steel Ball Run, and he dug this mine."

Dio introduced them briefly and said to Weasel, "This friend's name is Dawn. He is a powerful Stand user and a wild human."

Weasel smiled charmingly and nodded at Dawn before summoning his Stand.

It was a two-meter-tall mechanical humanoid figure, its eyes emitting a faint light, and steam puffed from its rusted chest, causing the surrounding temperature to rise slightly.

The mechanical humanoid prostrated itself on the ground, and with a grating sound, transformed into a three-meter-long vintage mining cart.

The head of the mining cart was equipped with a drill, and translucent ghostly tracks materialized for its wheels, while steam continued to vent from the exhaust pipes on top.

"Come on, I'll take you to meet our leader."

Dio got onto the mining cart first. Dawn muttered to himself, Who is this so-called leader who can suppress Dio?

He then hesitated no longer and flipped onto the mining cart.

"Let's go."

Weasel activated his Stand, and Steel Ball Run slowly started, picking up speed as it drove towards the dark, boundless depths of the mine.

In the blink of an eye, they disappeared.