You call this a projection?

DIO is a Stand user, but he is also a vampire.

Although the DIO who fought the final battle against Jotaro Kujo in the original story never used a single vampiric skill, it wasn’t so much that he didn’t want to use them as it was that vampiric skills were simply useless against the invincible [Star Platinum]!

The Vaporization Freezing Technique can freeze a person’s body in just two seconds.

However, the price is that DIO’s body must touch the opponent first. Facing the invincible Power/Speed A-tier stats of [Star Platinum], DIO had already given up on close-quarters combat. If he could stay within arm’s reach of Jotaro for two seconds without being beaten to death by [Star Platinum], why bother with freezing? He could just have [The World] punch Jotaro to death directly.

Similarly, as a noble long-range skill, Space Ripper Stingy Eyes has a side effect: DIO loses his eyesight the moment he uses it. Furthermore, its speed... when Straizo tried to ambush Joseph with it, even a young Joseph—who hadn’t yet been specially trained by his mother—could dodge it. Under such circumstances, DIO naturally wouldn’t rely on those vampiric skills for offense.

However, if used for utility rather than direct attack, there is much DIO can do. Flesh bud brainwashing, absolute control over muscles to perform ”plastic surgery” on others, and five seconds of stopped time provide DIO with plenty of opportunities. For instance, he could use Spirit Photography to find a European man of similar height, brainwash and surgically alter him to look like a double, and use him to divert Shirou Emiya’s attention.

Everything currently happening was following DIO’s plan perfectly. Until...

—”Something is wrong.”

Watching the ”DIO” that had just recovered, Shirou Emiya—though he hadn’t yet realized it was a fake—halted his next attack. He observed this fake ”DIO” with suspicion.

—”Time definitely stopped just now; ’DIO’s’ legs recovered during that interval.”

—”But why didn’t I feel the activation of Stand energy from this ’DIO’?”

—”Even if DIO is consciously avoiding summoning [The World] in front of me because he knows I can project and copy Stands, he shouldn’t be able to mask the fluctuation of energy required to trigger the ability.”

Of course, he couldn’t rule out the existence of a Stand capable of hiding such fluctuations. Take Vanilla Ice’s [Cream], for example: because both the Stand and the user hide within a pocket dimension, the life-detection flames of [Magician’s Red] can’t perceive them. But DIO’s [The World] is clearly not that kind of Stand.

Shirou, who had kept ”DIO” within his 15-meter radius and maintained his detection flames the entire time, was certain. Unlike the previous instances, he felt no Stand energy from this ”DIO.” It was as if ”DIO” hadn’t stopped time at all.

—”A shadow dancer? A Stand? Or something similar?”

—”To counter ’Time Acceleration’ and effectively catch me while I’m moving at high speeds, has DIO chosen to use a decoy?” Shirou hypothesized.

The deciding evidence came from the [Pseudo-Hermit Purple] projected in Shirou’s hand. After performing Spirit Photography in all four cardinal directions to see if DIO was escaping, he found only one direction was jammed and impossible to photograph. That direction was exactly opposite to the way the fake ”DIO” was fleeing.

It was obvious.

—”I really can’t keep waiting.”

—”Facing a guy like DIO, I have to be prepared for the possibility that Jotaro won’t make it in time...”

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Elsewhere, an emotion called [Panic] was spreading through the local populace. No matter how much the people of India possessed a mysterious self-confidence, they couldn’t ignore the bizarre phenomena: temperatures rising for no reason, ice appearing out of nowhere, and surrounding machinery seemingly gaining sentience—merging with the earth to form a massive mud-and-gear giant. Even a giant freighter had appeared on dry land.

Loud explosions rang out, and anyone entering certain zones would be sent flying by invisible attacks or have their blood sucked dry. Not knowing what ”Stands” were and unable to see them, the first thing that came to the minds of the locals was...

—Divine Punishment! The ”feng shui” of this place must be bad, and they had angered the gods!

Consequently, as Shirou drew closer to DIO—or rather, as DIO circled back toward the spot where Shirou and Joseph had originally parted ways—the crowd fleeing from ”Divine Punishment” actually made it easier for Shirou to pinpoint DIO’s location.

—”Does DIO want to suck Mr. Joestar’s blood to extend his Time Stop?” Shirou mused.

That won’t do. Allowing DIO to heal or regroup with his other Stand-using subordinates would make the situation far more troublesome. Shirou made a firm decision.

—”Though my Hamon is still inferior to Mr. Joestar’s, the ultimate technique he practiced so hard isn’t that complex for me.”

—”Or rather, this ultimate move only requires aiming. As for the rest...”

Shirou channeled Hamon into his flames, raising the temperature of [Pseudo-Magician’s Red] and increasing his own speed. However, the majority of the Hamon in his body wasn’t used for heat. Instead, it was all poured into a specific object.

Just as a Super Aja Stone can reflect Hamon internally hundreds of millions of times, boosting its power thousands of times over, Joseph had brought along a similar ”cheat-code” prop to compensate for his years of neglected training.

Shirou projected it. He funneled every bit of Hamon he possessed into this projected amplifier, aiming it squarely at the position locked on by his life-detection flames!

—”...I just need to let a miracle happen through sheer force and fire it off!!”

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