Capitolo Primo: Giovinezza (16)

This was the fifth meeting I took part of ever since I joined the Ghost Club, but differently from the previous ones the place of our rendezvous wasn’t the old building in which the Club’s reunions usually unfolded.

The abandoned sanatorium in front of the small group formed by Mr. Moses, Mr. Watts, Oliver Lodge, and I was discovered to be the place of some curious phenomenon. Two police officers were already waiting by the entrance as an assurance for any unpleasant developments.

It was Mr. Lodge himself that brought this interesting case up during the last convention.

Highlighting that some of the machine he was still working on would certainly ‘catch’ something about the mysterious noises and sights registered within the building, we were going to check the rooms of the former medical facility to see if it was safe from any criminals that could’ve turned it in their lair.

The government still owned it, but there was no genuine reason to keep the place ‘guarded’ without a genuine reason or complaint from the people. If this ‘stroll’ ended up positively, then the Club would’ve then spent money in buying the land and the facility itself for scientific purposes.

The money put aside by some of the members was enough to fill up with the price set up by the Crown, and I was particularly interested to see how ‘expanded’ the supernatural world was.

I knew that Ghosts existed. Not only because of what DiU shown thanks to Reigi Sugimoto and her deceased dog, but also thanks to the Dead Man’s Questions that gave some depth over what happened after Yoshikage Kira died.

Ghosts were surprisingly common, but a large majority wasn’t active and wandering about.

Spirits that weren’t attached to any moral compass, nor were they influenced by any demon or the Devil itself.

They could be studied with proper attention and mindfulness.

A ghost can’t enter a room without permission when there’s someone already occupying it.

A ghost avoids the living the best possible. The moment they touch something or someone that isn’t willing to be influenced they tended to be ‘rebuked’ by life energy. Generally the effects of said ‘response’ was the shriveling of a limb, or even of the entire spiritual body.

Which is why Ghosts tended to ‘reduce’ themselves by the shadows of people and avoid entering in contact with the living in general.

But while it’s true that they can’t interact ‘physically’ with the living, they were still able to toggle at their own leisure their tangibility. Reimi was capable of doing so, and so where the other spirits living ‘in the middle’.

Although I knew plenty of ghosts in the Jojoverse already, I was perfectly aware that there was so much more being kept a ‘secret’. An unknown degree of stuff that just waited for experts to be discovered by.

Once we caught up with the two ‘bobbies’ the local administration sent to guard our steps, we soon ventured inside the building and… I already could tell why this place was haunted.

The walls were rotting in mold, and the smell of decomposing corpses quickly hit the nostrils the moment we stepped inside.

I noticed Mr. Watts looking a little ill the moment he spotted a modest bloodstain on one of the previously white walls. And while he wavered, being held by the other gentlemen as an effort to assuage his nervousness, I kept staring at that strange stain.

The liquid was still… dripping. Fresh blood? This place was abandoned, and I know that ghosts can’t do this much impact on the real world. Not with this much precision at least.

“I wish to inform the esteemed gentlemen that… we might have to curt short this visit.”

At least until I was sure that the place was indeed forsaken by any dangerous monster.

“Lord Dio-”

“Now listen here, young sir,” One of the officers, the slightly chubbier of the two, aimed his finger in an accusing manner. “Your presence here doesn’t dictate that you’ve any right to interrupt an important visit that took precious hours from our patrols’ time. So you listen here and-”

I listened, but instead of being subjected to that lecture any longer, I found myself scowling at the most unpleasant of sights.

The policeman stopped in mid-rant as he felt a strange ‘itch’ coming from his right arm. He glanced away from me, confusion building up until he froze at the sight of his now missing limb.

Blood was now spurting out of the injury, and panic started to seep into the man’s mind as he realized that something was indeed wrong.

He screamed, trying to reach for his gun with his left hand but soon he was stopped by a sharp pain erupting from the back of his neck.

Choking on his own saliva and then blood, his body started shrivel up before our eyes. Finally his drained corpse collapsed onto the ground like a fleshy sack of frail bones.

The culprit behind this sudden death gave a quick lick at his fingers, his red eyes flashing maliciously back at me as I tensed up for what was going to be a dreadful fight.

“Gentlemen, this is no longer a request but more of an order born from common sense and a need to end any new homicide,” I sternly commented as I briefly glanced at the rest of the group. “Please, leave this place before he starts taking more victims.”

“W-What about-”

“Are you sure about this, Lord Dio?” Stainton pressed with some insistence. Perhaps it was correlated to the murderer growing impatient with this unwanted cast of witnesses. “Can you live through this terrible day?”

…

It was so amusing how dramatic this era was. Especially in the Jojoverse. Many still latched to the sense of romantic chivalry that easily brought one’s mind to the ‘golden era’ for the British Isles.

“Of course. For I, Dio, am not allowing some fool with a knife to even reach for me.”

That seemed to do the trick. It took just a couple more of seconds before we were left alone and…

Jack smiled.

“You really think so? You really expect me to believe you will dodge any attacks of mine?” The man muttered mirthfully, almost playfully considering how carelessly he was juggling his knives. “I’m not like I was before.”

“I can tell,” I remarked dryly. “You ended up becoming a slave to Wang Chan. I hope the bastard told you that you’re not longer capable of wandering outside under the sunlight or that you no longer have a soul.”

“I might have grown in the worst alley possible, but I know what kind of monster I ended up becoming,” He continued, surprisingly ‘calmer’ and more ‘focused’ compared than before. As a Vampire, Jack looked more humane than he was before.

How the heck does this kind of transformation actually works?!

“But you’re also wrong with your presumption I would tie myself to some old bat,” The killer continued, pulling out of his backpack an object I was quite acknowledged about.

The Stone Mask and… why was it in his own possession now?

“The old man tried to make me play a strange kind of game. He was crazier than I was with his own views of ‘fate’ and how you weren’t… you,” He continued to explain, and I had to school my features to not show panic at the second ‘madness’ he brought up about the Chinese man. “Ironic that I can’t see you any different, especially with how many times I desperately tried to accomplish your resemblance with my victims.”

“You’re plain insane. You and your demented obsession.”

“But the world needs people like us, Dio,” Jack remarked brightly. “We’re what makes this boringly unfair world into something far greater. It’s colorful, all because of our own deeds.”

“Let me take an educate guess then. I bet your color is blood.”

“Yes, but I think that is a color you’re also accustomed to use from time to time,” The young man added with a nod. “And yet you shy away from the role. You prefer the unnatural selection of a path that is as difficult as mirthful.”

…

“Why are you here then if you’re not under Wang Chan’s control?”

He chuckled, shaking his head in clear amusement about my question.

“You mentioned an obsession. The need of mine to find and fight you. It sounds simple… and yet it isn’t,” Jack explained. “At first my own thoughts only blocked me from reaching an understanding with what I felt about you- about your sudden interception in my life and in my plans.”

“And now that you don’t have any as a vampire? What drives you to commit to this cause?” I pressed on, sporting a degree of interest at that curious mindset. What was he trying to say with this large logic-born turn of events?

“I think the reason is fairly clear… if not incredibly shiver-inducing,” He mentioned while vibrating in anticipation. “You and I are made by the same mold. We both were created in poverty, we both were shaped by events surrounding our childhoods, and… then we split away from our common route out of your ambition and interest in making the world better.”

He started to laugh again, making me frown in sudden fury at that mockery of a reaction to the last bit.

“And what is funny of trying to prevent others from becoming ‘like us’?”

Jack shook his head.

“You can’t fix what isn’t broken. You can’t improve what is already perfect,” The man started to point out. “And, most of all, you can’t save what can’t be saved. Just like you did with that whore you’re currently housing as a friend. What a silly concept.”

“Do you mind we start already then?” I snapped with some irritation. “I have places to be, and I really don’t want to be bothered in losing time to lead you right to hell.”

“Flattering words but… I’m waiting for-”

Before Jack finished that sentence, the entire building trembled altogether as an explosion echoed all over the place. My eyes were wide open in confusion, but instead of bothering and ask about what the bastard had done, my nostrils flared in alarm at the unpleasant smell reaching my nose.

Smoke.

Something was burning. The stingy odor was coming from numerous sides and… I grimaced.

“You want to burn the entire place? Is this what you seek? A ‘meaningful’ death?”

“I wish that was the case. But… it is not,” The killer denied with a grin. “What I want is to… deify your idea.”

“I think I will pass on that,” I refuted tiredly. “I think the idea itself is divine enough.”

“So arrogant- it doesn’t serve you well to be this overconfident before someone that can easily kill you.”

“The same applies to you,” I shot back with a grin. “But yes, I’m absolutely sure about my idea’s supremacy over yours.”

“Rude and uncouth, what would Mr. Joestar and his son think of-”

Before he had the chance of finishing that sentence, I proceeded to slam both my palms on the ground and unleash the Hamon I had been secretly channeling during our conversation.

Admittedly, I could’ve used ｢ACT 1｣ to keep him stuck before doing that. But in that moment of rage, I kind of forgot the order of attack and rushed without paying much attention on the simple fact that Jack wasn’t shy from dodging deadly attacks.

Especially with that monstrous speed of his.

In his zombie form, Jack was a high-tier speedster. But now that he was a vampire? Things were more complicated than I wanted those to be.

Jumping quickly to dodge the land-restrained assault, the murderer cackled. “That’s what I want! A true brawl- one to confirm our ideals. Which one is better than the ones?”

“Mine, Jack,” I chided dryly. “I think we already addressed that point.”

I tried to bring up my Stand and swiftly stop him mid-air, but the man eagerly pushed himself back on the floor by slamming his hands on the ceiling of the room.

Smoke exploded as he impacted on the ground, numerous cracks spreading across the entire place.

“Here I come~!”

Quickly shooting at him with three Spin-powered spheres, I grimaced as all attacks where easily dodged by the speeddemon.

I brought my arms up swiftly, tanking on the punch cocked by the vampire and, while the Hamon did its best to inflict some damage on the undead bastard, the knocking force of that fist sent me soaring almost instantly.

Gritting my teeth, I carefully moved myself through the unplanned flight, rolling on the ground as soon as I could to avoid any unneeded injury on myself.

My right arm took most of the damage with that hit, but the Ripple was already fixing the problem as fast as it could.

“That stings… and yet you didn’t do much but block my strike,” Jack mused as he stopped in front of me. He was a blur, one that I was having trouble keeping up with my human body.

But now that he was there and still, I decided to take this opportunity to put an end to that.

“｢ACT 1｣!”

My Stand materialized and properly stopped the confused murderer in his place. Like a strange statue, he was stuck in that precise position.

I stood up, quickly rushing and taking the opportunity to retaliate.

“WRYYYyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!”

｢The World｣ didn’t hold back anything he had in his spiritual body. All the strength, all the speed, all the vigor, all the determination, and all the hatred was materialized in that particular moment.

Jack’s clothes were ruined, with his cloak and robe getting shredded by the sheer sturdiness and swiftness of my Stand’s punches.

He coughed blood, with his body now rendered freed from time’s cruel hold.

“W-What was-”

I slammed both my hamon-infused fists on his elbows, crushing them and shattering his chances of ever attacking me with his arms.

Panic finally swelled in his face at how ugly the situation was turning for him.

I pressed forward, preparing one last punch to slam onto his ugly mug. It was a clear victory for me, one that I wasn’t going to waste for nothing in this world.

…

But just as Murphy loves to do, jinxes were never ignored by the quintessential karmic retribution. Especially in a life-death situation like this one.

While I had done well by disabling Jack’s mean to stop me with his arms, I forgot to do something similar with his legs.

A strong kick reached my chin, pushing me away and back onto the ground. A concussion, my sight was spinning a little bit as I tried to stand up, I heard his footsteps quickly approaching.

Eager, amused, furious, and delighted. Jack was in a frenzy, one that was filled with grunts, half-cackles and humming.

But just as he was poised to end me over that silly mistake, he seemed to notice the little contingency I had left behind as I fell down to the ground.

Bubbles filled with dust to camouflage those with the ground. They were fluttering low, enough for the vampire to fail to take notice of those until it was too late.

Bursting as they were touched by his wobbly assault, the water and dust latched on his exposed skin. The liquid burned fiercely his flesh, the hamon within the dust tearing apart his footing.

His speed carried on as his feet disappeared. Jack flew over me, and ended up rolling for a couple more meters away from my proximity.

I proceeded to stand up, dusting myself as I started to approach the groaning bastard.

My right hand reached for my lips, checking on there if I was bleeding.

My grimace returned. “Yep, this is annoying.”

I stopped in front of the vampire, staring down at him with a malicious scowl.

“How does it feel to be close to death? How does it feel that all you gained from this is just a burned building and your very one-way trip to hell?”

He snorted. “A-Amazing.”

Cheeky, but I wasn’t in that mood.

“Any last words before I turn you to a pile of dust and crap?”

Jack seemed to genuinely ponder about it and then… nodded.

“Never forget about me. Remember my animosity, my curiosity, my maliciousness, and… my obsession.”

I blinked at this, staring coldly at him as my brain felt going numb for just a moment.

All of this- this bullshit. The pain, the deaths, the crimes committed by the killer-

I was supposed to remember those? To allow the memory to persist beyond his experiation.

…

“Hehehehe,” I started to laugh, and my reaction got the man to finally quiet up.

A surprised look adorned Jack’s face and I gave a long sigh before actually replying to him.

“No,” I muttered deviously. “No, Jack. I will never remember about you. I will also make sure your memory is permanently forgotten the moment I got enough money to quiet down newspapers and police officers.”

…

“W-What?”

“You sound confused, almost shocked,” I highlighted with faux confusion. “But you should know that you can’t just get an easy way out of the atrocities you’ve committed. You, dying like a simple criminal? That would be a crime against simple criminals themselves. You know, those that struggle at life and go through illegal ways to survive. It’s not their fault, and yet your mere existence disprove the change of bringing reform to these silly rules.”

“B-But-”

CRACK.

He howled a curse as I allowed ｢ACT 1｣ to slam both its fists down on his shoulders.

“I wasn’t done yet, Jack. And when people think they have the goddamn right to speak when I deny them so pisses me a lot,” I fiercely commented. “But now, where was I- Oh, yes. I want to do something for you, a punishment that will better fit with your evil doing. I want you to be forgotten, like the Romans would do with those dangerous individuals that should never be remembered. The Damnatio Memoriae. The Curse of Memory.”

“I-I killed people-”

“And their family will perish eventually. Deaths are surprisingly forgotten when you’re not much close to the deceased. Quite funny considering you hunted down children of people that will hardly live beyond a decade or two, just enough time for me to cement your complete erasure.”

“Y-You- why would you-”

I slammed my right foot on his face.

“You threaten my family, my friends- those that I not only consider worthy of my presence but also worthy of my compassion, love, and affection. And you ask me why I go this far, Jack?” My tone was just one touch off from unleashing the worst of me.

Here he was, hoping to get the classic ‘redeeming’ death that some Jojo characters ended up getting.

But not here, not now. Not with me present. I couldn’t just allow me.

“Perish at once, you bastard!”

Hamon rushed over to my leg and reinforced it as I started press more and more onto his face.

His head ultimately collapsed under the pressure, no sound leaving it except for a chilling squish dignifying his final moments.

I paused for just a second to recollect my feelings and… I crouched down to pick the Stone Mask from his back-pack. The rest of the content there was made up by knives of various kind.

‘A pity he didn’t have a chance to use those...’ I joked about as I started to walk out to the entrance.

The building was still burning, and the presence of growing flames and trail of smokes turned in good incentives for me to leave this place at once.

And I, Dio, really needed a nap after this frustrating day.

-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d---------d-d-d-d-------

But sadly enough, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon even as I had returned to the Joestar Manor a few hours later.

Convincing the surviving police officer to not say anything about the strange encounter proved to be far easier than expected. The man was shocked and, given the display of ‘loyalty’ from the members of the Ghost Club to support my version of the story ended up pushing him to reluctantly agree to my truth.

Jack the Ripper had set up his lair on the place, a firefight ensued between the officers and the assassin with the building catching on fire because of some odd mixtures being mistakenly combining during the exchange of bullets and knives.

Eventually the ‘heroic’ police officer gave his life to put an end to Jack’s tyranny and kill him for once.

The story was simple, but the entire event was already as confusing as it was for others to think otherwise. And even if the man decided to speak up what really happened, nobody would’ve listened to the rambling of a distraught ‘bobby’.

A sad reality I was pretty sure he knew already the moment we shook hands about it.

Once this was done, I decided to bring up to date the entire group of what vampires were. Bram Stoker’s Dracula had yet to be released, and thus bringing up to the table the existence of a nightly creature that lived eternally, soullessly, and with a thirst of blood was enough to introduce renewed curiosity from the rest of the ‘Club’.

A questionnaire ensued over various details concerning vampires, and I quickly offered a detailed response to each of their queries.

I knew some would be interested over the matter for a reason beyond mere precautions, but I was clear to mention that the only way a vampire could be made was thanks to the mask that was now under my possession.

Despite the greed, I’ve already cemented myself as a legitimate monster ‘hunter’. Someone that knew enough of deadly creatures beyond the common tales that had to be respected out of the fact that I was the ‘only one’ to know how to counter each and all of these beings.

With this topic completely wrapped up, I found some relief when I arrived at the Joestar Manor without finding obstacles or issues along the road.

Jonathan was still out for his own lectures, while George was drowning in some paperwork as I decided to check on him by his office.

The room was still as humongous as I remember it being, and the man found my presence to be a good distraction from the maddening amount of documents that had yet to be checked on and signed.

“Dio, I didn’t expect you to return home this soon.”

His surprise was met with a tired sigh and a calm smile.

“The lecture was interrupted short because of a firefight between Jack the Ripper and the police,” I politely explained. “We were far from the building when it happened, but the place was burned to the ground because of some risky chemicals in the killer’s hideout.”

At the mention of the renowned murderer, George tensed up instantly. But as soon as he learned about the fate of the dangerous criminal, his tension turned in relief.

“At least you were nowhere close to harm’s way,” The man pointed out happily.

Nodding, I finally decided to bring up the second reason as to why I was visiting him during a busy hour. “Also, I found this while earlier this morning,” I said as I showed the Stone Mask. “The thief was trying to sell it around, but nobody was willing to buy something this… ‘hideous’. I mentioned the store keeper about the truth over the mask and the knave ran away before I had the chance of calling on the police.”

“So I was correct in thinking that someone entered the house uninvited,” The nobleman added with a dreading tone. “It’s a good think you managed to recover it, Dio. But if it was easy for a lowly thug to enter the house completely unnoticed...”

“Then it would be prudent to buy new locks at the gates and front door,” I suggested carefully. “I don’t think he will try again, but it’s best to avoid having others trying their luck at entering the manor.”

George nodded, but just as I finished saying this, I resumed talking about a correlated topic.

“I wish to also add that I’ve eavesdropped from the thief that the mask was… cursed,” I commented with a serious tone. “At first I was skeptical, but I tried with the strange instruction of adding a drop of blood on it.”

At the mention of this, the man frowned and gave me a worried look. “And?”

“I was careful enough to dodge the spikes that emerged from it,” I replied dryly as I stared down at the mask. “Sir, I know this might sound impudent but… I wish for this- this tool of death to be hidden away as soon as possible. If something happen where blood is spilled on it… then I don’t wish to know the name of the unfortunate fool that ends up killed by this horrible device.”

“Your concern is legitimate, Dio,” George muttered with a tired nod. “And I will certainly do something to properly seal it away from causing harm to anybody.”

I felt relief at that. The only advantage Wang Chan had in stealing the Stone Mask had been that the thing was left on display by the entrance lounge. Not exactly a secret place where to keep a dangerous object of that caliber.

With this last topic dealt with, I left the nobleman to deal with what was left of his job for today.

I knew that the activity was thought, and so I didn’t want to restrict him from catching up with his schedule and be there for dinner.

My room was my next stop. Closing the door behind me, I settled by my desk in an effort to spot something to distract myself with as I waited for the others to return.

I started my long process of killing some time by writing a quick letter to Hannah to report on what happened today.

She was going to be thrilled at the news that Jack was dead, but she was also going to ask for details. Some of which I didn’t feel comfortable to bring up to her.

I had given so much of myself to tone down any malicious reactions in front of others. I was slightly afraid of falling onto the flaws that ended up spelling the original Dio’s demise in the Jojoverse.

What happened with Jack… I knew that it wasn’t going to be the last time I reacted this fiercely to something or someone.

The man had warranted that ugly aspect of my personality to come out and rain on his parade. That degree of arrogance just disgusted me, especially when I was the one that really won and the one that validated my ideals.

And yet Jack had hoped for a kind reaction to his defeat, almost expecting me to just regard him as some ‘brave and misunderstood soul’ that just had to go through for moral reasons.

…

But that wouldn’t have been right. It wouldn’t have made things right for those that died because of his madness.

He expected recognition, like a dog.

But at least a dog was known to love first before hating on strangers. My mind moved to Danny and… I realized that the dog had indeed opened the door of my room to rest on my bed.

I glanced around, giving a quiet look at the calm puppy. Danny looked tired himself, but the doggo was doing a better job in actually finding rest for that long day.

Maybe I should actually catch some rest now that I could. Technically speaking, I was free from any work for today and I really didn’t have a reason to burden myself with other stuff.

Jojo was going to be out to study for a few more hours, and so there was no reason to turn in a zombie all because I couldn’t find peace and rest for once.

Was I this much angered by Jack’s last words to bother catching some shut-eye?

Maybe. Just… maybe.

Continuing to sit by my chair, I resumed my staring over the wooden surface as I started to scribble around. Boredom is a tough beast I sure learned to despise one way or another.

Drawing followed soon after as I doodled around in an effort to get an idea going in my head.

Nothing popped up and I wasted a piece of paper left and right. I was feeling particularly childish, but rightfully so with how little way I had to waste my free time without doing something stressful.

Finally, I decided to test my luck with the Spin. Again.

I was really losing hopes of getting it mastered in less than a year, but then again I was going quite fast with my other abilities that maybe some ‘obstacle’ in some of my skills was just legitimate at this point.

Maybe I was… looking wrongly at the process?

I remembered when I noticed how Hannah’s spin was slightly different from mine.

And from there I started to experiment the various ways I could’ve used the Spin up until it was dinnertime.

Not much of a success in getting the Golden Spin, but I still got amused over the little experiments I did with life creation.

Leaving the room together with Danny, I decided to leave around just the last of my results during that lengthy session.

It was a tiny violet rose. The shade was a byzantine purple, a sign of imperial supremacy and dominance.

And I, Dio, started to address the important matter that was… should I start putting more purple on my clothes?