You call this a projection?

Straizo once evaluated DIO in such a way: had he not excessively enjoyed his own abilities and sought to constantly explore the limits of his power through experimentation, he would never have given Jonathan enough time to grow.

It was like a game of ”The Hero vs. The Demon King,” where the hero cultivates and levels up all the way to DIO’s front door before successfully defeating him.

Therefore, during Part 3 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, when facing Jotaro Kujo and the others who intended to challenge and kill him, DIO—having learned his lesson—actually considered whether he should strike early and eliminate them himself.

After all, given the stats and abilities of [The World], it wouldn’t even be accurate to call it a ”crush” against an early-stage, underdeveloped [Star Platinum].

It would be a complete victory! Even without stopping time, it was a Stand that could surpass [Star Platinum] through sheer strength and speed alone!

The only uncertainty was this: just as [Star Platinum’s] ”Speed: A” evolved from being unable to catch [Tower of Gray] at the start to stopping time at the end, was DIO’s [The World] also not yet at its peak because his body had not fully fused with Jonathan’s?

It’s like Jotaro Kujo in Part 6; because his Spirit DISC was stolen by [Whitesnake], his body fell into a state of suspended animation and atrophy for a long time, causing [Star Platinum’s] stats to drop from 5As and 1C to a C in Developmental Potential and a staggering E in Persistence.

Coupled with the assistance offered by Enya the Hag, DIO eventually dismissed the idea of eliminating Jotaro’s group prematurely. In other words, DIO didn’t avoid killing them early in the original story because he was merciful; he simply believed the power of [The World] was invincible.

Once that invincibility was breached, no matter how much Enya insisted they weren’t worth DIO’s personal attention or that his loyal subordinates would solve the problem, DIO would never leave Jotaro’s group alone.

Without a doubt, Shirou Emiya’s appearance was the variable that made DIO lose his confidence. If Shirou was truly a Prophet, did he already know that [The World’s] ability was time stop? And if Shirou and the others dared to challenge him despite knowing this, did it mean they had a counter-strategy?

These were things DIO had to confirm. And they were things he had to resolve!

However, looking at it now...

”I see. This is likely your trump card.”

DIO’s eyes swept past D’Arby, who was frozen in time. He casually inserted a finger into D’Arby’s terror-stricken skull, draining every drop of his blood. Only then did he turn his gaze to Shirou Emiya and the [Pseudo-Osiris] standing beside him.

—Two seconds, passed.

”Is it a Stand similar to Pucci’s [Whitesnake] that can seize... no, rather, it’s a Stand that can copy the Stands of others.”

From the [Pseudo-Magician’s Red] Shirou used initially to the current [Pseudo-Osiris], DIO, having witnessed many Stand abilities, found it easy to guess how this ”Stand ability” worked.

”Powerful Stand abilities like this usually have specific limiting conditions. For [Whitesnake] to obtain another’s Stand, it must first seize the person’s Stand DISC; presumably, this Stand is similar. That’s why, after prophesying that I would send D’Arby to ambush you, and prophesying [Osiris’s] ability in advance, you chose to turn the ambush against him. You used some unknown activation method to copy [Osiris] and intended to use its soul-seizing power to defeat me, DIO!

You were truly only a step away from success... Unfortunately, fate is still on the side of DIO!”

In this world of stopped time, DIO had guessed most of Shirou’s plan. However, he didn’t immediately rush to Shirou to kill the man who wanted to—and could soon—kill him. Instead, after estimating the distance, he raised his arm.

Using the standard form of a javelin thrower, he violently hurled D’Arby’s drained corpse toward Shirou!

—Three seconds, passed.

Because D’Arby’s corpse was no longer considered an object on DIO’s person once thrown, it was quickly frozen back in place by the power of time. Naturally, it did not actually hit Shirou, let alone use the impact and destructive force of a flying collision to stop the upcoming game of Rock-Paper-Scissors between Shirou and Joseph.

But for DIO, the flight distance of D’Arby’s corpse was already sufficient. At the same time he had drained D’Arby’s blood, DIO had also implanted his vampire flesh buds into the corpse.

—Four seconds, passed.

And now, those vampire flesh buds already under DIO’s control, having been transported to this distance via D’Arby’s body, suddenly transformed into a mass of tentacles. Following DIO’s will, they launched a charge toward Shirou Emiya’s brain.

Then, they were annihilated by the Ripple/Hamon covering Shirou’s entire body.

”As expected, this Prophet has also learned Hamon and has pre-circulated its power throughout his body to defend against any attack I might launch.”

DIO nodded, unsurprised. But did Shirou and the others really think that covering themselves in Hamon would stop his assault? They truly underestimated DIO!

—Five seconds, passed.

Feeling the time stop nearing its end, DIO—though having lost much hope of keeping [The World’s] secret after realizing the weight of Shirou’s ”Prophet” title—still didn’t intend to be an exhibitionist. He wouldn’t casually expose a Stand ability (which was as private as certain parts of the human anatomy) for others to see.

After all, besides Shirou’s group, there were many Stand users here who belonged to him. DIO would never trust those mercenaries, many of whom served only for money, with the secret of his ability.

”I’ll let you live just a little bit longer.

—Time, resume its flow.”

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