Chapter 54: [King Crimson]
Did their journey end once DIO was defeated? Of course not!
Shirou Emiya, who had initially chosen to act separately from Joseph's group, had struck down DIO.
However, Joseph and the others had not yet finished dealing with the Stand users under DIO's command who had come to India to corner them.
Furthermore, not all of DIO's subordinates had followed him to India.
This wasn't just because some of them were ill-suited for combat—like Oingo and Boingo—but because others were poorly suited for cooperation. For instance, N'Doul, whose Stand relied entirely on his exceptional hearing as a blind man, would likely have been unable to lock onto Shirou's group in a country with the world's second-largest population like India.
The same applied to Vanilla Ice and his space-attribute Stand, [Cream]. When Vanilla Ice enters the interior of [Cream], he possesses an invisibility that makes him vanish completely from the world, paired with an offensive power from spatial erasure that ignores all defenses. While terrifying, the cost is that he loses his sight during the process. Two "blind men" in a massive chaotic melee would essentially be useless.
Thus, without DIO's interference, they relied on the power of [Hermit Purple] to eliminate all the enemy Stand users who had followed DIO to India. They then traveled all the way to Egypt to mop up the remaining subordinates. Once Shirou arrived in Egypt—guided by the memories of his past life—his gaze naturally turned toward Italy, located just across the Mediterranean.
Whether it was to stop Diavolo's future drug trade, retrieve the "Arrows" in Diavolo's possession, or prevent the tragedy where Polnareff would be crippled and forced to live as a ghost in a turtle, Shirou brought out the "Prophet's" spoilers once again.
In coordination with Joseph's invincible [Hermit Purple], they not only found Diavolo's hiding place but also used the life-detection flames of [Magician's Red] to sense him. Sensing Diavolo activating his Stand, Shirou burst through the door first, shouting:
"—[Pseudo-The World]!!"
Time, stop!
"Diavolo. Stand Name: [King Crimson]. Its abilities are Epitaph, which can predict a future that will definitely happen, and Time Erasure, which can delete a segment of time—including futures unfavorable to himself.
Unlike Time Stop, while [King Crimson] is erasing time, Diavolo cannot actually interact with the objects within that deleted time. However, because time is erased, only Diavolo retains consciousness within that realm. It is yet another Stand that can be called invincible."
—One second has passed.
Thanks to the experience gained from fighting through enemies along the way, the duration of [Pseudo-The World's] Time Stop had gradually extended from a mere instant. Shirou took this time to explain the intelligence regarding Diavolo. He gave a standard demonstration to Jotaro Kujo, who could also stop time:
"Therefore, facing such an invincible Stand, the key to our victory is simply who can activate their ability first."
"MUDA————!!"
—Two seconds have passed.
As time resumed its flow, Diavolo—whose legs had been broken by [Pseudo-The World] within the frozen world—was sent flying by the delayed impact of the kick.
"GUA————!!"
Pain. Intense pain!
Diavolo had just summoned [King Crimson], intending to use Epitaph to glimpse the future. He had only just seen the vision of his legs breaking and being sent flying. Yet, in the very next second, after his door was violently blasted open, he hadn't even seen Shirou or the others move.
How was he hit? And judging by the complete lack of sensation in his lower body, his legs truly had been snapped without anything appearing to happen!
"Let's get acquainted, Diavolo. My name is Shirou Emiya."
Shirou did not advance further. Breaking Diavolo's legs first was specifically intended to maintain a distance outside the effective range of [King Crimson]. He pulled out a spirit photograph showing Enya the Hag holding several "Arrows" and spoke formally:
"Roughly two years ago, you sold the 'Arrows' you stole from Egypt to this old woman. Then, with the funds from the sale and the one 'Arrow' you kept for yourself, you returned to Italy and formed the mafia organization known as Passione.
Using the many Stand users created by that 'Arrow', you successfully drove the drug trade out of Italy."
In the memories of his past life, Shirou's impression of Diavolo was that he was the scum of scums. This wasn't just because Diavolo was the antagonist of Part 5; it was because Diavolo eventually sold drugs to minors. Compared to that atrocity, his desire to kill his own daughter or his other past misdeeds seemed like minor squabbles.
However, those memories were of the future. At this stage, Diavolo was still a "hero" who had purged the drug trade from Italy. Thus, at the urging of Joseph and the others, Shirou hadn't killed him immediately. It made his words feel quite awkward as he spoke them.
Judging Diavolo for crimes he might commit in the future was something Joseph and the others found difficult to do.
In fact, except for a few die-hard loyalists of DIO, Shirou and the group had fought their way to Egypt mainly to warn DIO's Stand users to stop their evil ways rather than simply executing them all.
After all, someone like Hol Horse—originally DIO's subordinate—successfully joined the protagonists to team up with Josuke Higashikata in the official spin-off Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak.
But while Hol Horse could give up being a villain, that didn't mean Diavolo could. Shirou didn't believe a natural-born evil like Diavolo, who was similar to DIO, was capable of change.
Thinking of this, Shirou continued: "And that is why we sought you out.
If you only want to be a hero—even if it means ruling Italy through the mafia to completely eradicate the sale of drugs—we will not stop you. On the contrary, we will respect Italy's unique national circumstances and even offer you a bit of help.
But if you intend for the 'dragon slayer' to eventually become the 'dragon' by getting involved in the drug trade—using a certain Stand user you know who can manufacture drugs to sell them en masse..."
Shirou didn't continue. But the current situation spoke for itself regarding what the consequences would be. The next strike from [Pseudo-The World] wouldn't just aim for the legs.
"So, Diavolo, what are your intentions?"
"I... I... I... I am the Emperor, Diavolo! [King Crimson]!!"
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