"We should hurry to the village," Speedwagon said as the Joestar group finally left the fortress, "By now Dio will be making good on his intentions to destroy Windknights Lot. And with zombies making more zombies, it could be done within a week." Poco became worried. "My family lives out there. I hope my sister's all right, at least." They made their way to the road leading to the village, but stopped when Poco recognized someone coming up the road. "Hey, that's Adams!"

Adams saw the group and recognized Poco. "Poco! What are you doing out at this time of night?" "Nevermind that!," Poco said, "Is the village alright!? What about my sister!?" Adams looked confused. "She's fine, but she's really mad that you haven't gone home yet." Poco sighed in relief. "Then it looks like the village is alright." The group moved on, but Jonathan quickly grabbed a long tongue that had tried to attack Poco. "I thought there was something suspicious," Zeppeli noted, "Your reaction to Poco's panic was a little too mundane."

Sure enough, Adams had already been made into a zombie, which Jonathan destroyed in short order. "If he's already a zombie, then that means..." "That the town is already surrounded," came another voice. Jonathan whirled around to see another large man, dressed in oriental clothes. "My name is Dire," the man said, before performing a leaping kick at Jonathan. Jonathan quickly grabbed the man's leg and spread them apart to deflect the attack.

The man smirked, and brought his palms in to attack Jonathan's head. "Thunder Cross Split Attack!" Grunting, Jonathan countered the attack by headbutting Dire, causing the man to stumble back. "This zombie is much more clever than the others," Speedwagon noted. "That's no zombie," Zeppeli said, "Dire, it's been a while." Dire turned his head and recognized Zeppeli. "Zeppeli, Twilight. Good, you still live." "You know this man, then?," Jonathan asked.

"Indeed," Zeppeli asked, "Take a look on your shoulder." Jonathan looked and discovered that Dire had left a letter there. "I sent that letter to Master Tonpetty prior to our departure from London," Zeppeli explained. "Forgive the violent introduction," Dire said, "But I had to test the skills of Zeppeli's new student. From what I've seen, it's clear you've learned much." Dire was soon joined by a younger man in similar garb, as well as an old Tibetan monk smoking a pipe.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jonathan Joestar," the old man said, "I am Master Tonpetty. You've met my disciple, Dire. The other man is also my disciple, Straizo." Straizo bowed in respect. Tonpetty took a puff of his pipe. "Zeppeli, Twilight, good to see you both still in good health. We've already taken stock of the village. The one who wore the stone mask has created a legion by now. Most of the villagers are either dead or his undead minions. The only human among his forces seems to be a Middle Eastern woman who can somehow control mist."

"That would be Enya Geil," Twilight noted, "I caught her name when we had a brief scuffle with her and Dio's other major minion, Wang Chen. Her power is the same as mine, and may come from the same source. Right now she's my only lead to the arrow my birth father once had." "What about my sister?," Poco asked, "Is she still alive?" Tonpetty regarded the young boy. "There may be a chance she is. A few young women of the village still live, likely to be used as food for the undead horde. If we hope to save them, then we'd best act now."

Inside a nearby church, a woman was begging Dio, who had just crushed a crucifix in defiance of the myth that holy relics could harm a vampire, not to kill her child. "Why not give her what she wants?," Enya asked, "I could always raise the child myself." Dio chuckled. "I could never say no to you, Enya. I had planned to turn the woman into an undead and have her be the one to eat the child in a tragic irony, but if you wish to raise the child I see no reason why not. Besides, this city will be ours before the night is over, so why not indulge in some pleasures."

After Tonpetty showed Jonathan the Tibetan custom for greeting the group traded information. "So the one who put on the stone mask is named Dio Brando," Tonpetty said, "He is a truly terrifying and powerful life force. As an act of dominance over Windknights Lot, he has set himself up in the local church." "But shouldn't the church keep him away?," Poco asked. "Dio's not like the vampires of myth," Jonathan said, shaking his head, "I've seen the reality of Dio's power firsthand. Sunlight, or Hamon. Those are the only weapons we have to destroy him."

"We need to find ourselves a place to stay as well," Straizo noted, "There is a small spot in the village that has yet to be touched by the undead. We should be able to find lodging there." To Poco's relief, that area included his house, which he immediately ran to. "Father, Sister, I'm home." A middle-aged man, likely Poco's father, walked in and saw the group. "Poco! Why are you back so late!? Your sister's already gone out to look for you!" That got the group concerned, given the situation.

Dio was sitting in the attic of his mansion, Enya on his lap. Nearby was a young girl from the village. It was Poco's sister, Megan. Dio had a rose in his hand. "This rose would be a good analogy for your age," he said, "And when it blooms, what's left but to wilt? Of course, if becoming a full-fledge vampire isn't your desire, there are other options. Enya merely ingested my blood rather being injected with it, so she's still human, but will never age." A wicked chuckling could be heard from a nearby creature.

Megan recoiled in disgust at seeing it was a dog with a human's head attached to it. "She's just sixteen," the creature said, "So full of life. Doesn't she look tasty, Lord Dio?" Dio simply scoffed at the creature before stomping on it, killing it instantly. "Those with no manners are less than insects," he noted, "At least insects can be productive, and strong in large numbers. I thought he'd be more likable if I fused a dog with a human, but he's even worse..."

"Perhaps you shouldn't have chosen such a vulgar man for the fusion," Enya noted. Dio smiled at her. "Maybe you're right. But back to the current situation. What do you say, mademoiselle? Unlike the others, you will have a choice. Don't you wish to live forever with your current youth?" He and Enya got up and Dio approached Megan. Megan glared at him, then slapped him hard. "You're an eternally cursed monster." Enya sighed as she wiped off the blood with a handkerchief. "Well, she made her choice, my love."

"So it seems," Dio replied with a reserved sigh, "In that case, I'll let you become acquainted with one of my other servants, Doobie." He and Enya left as the large humanoid monster appeared from above the door they used. The creature cackled as he ripped off Megan's skirt, Megan screaming in horror at what was to happen to her. As if heaven answered, a large anvil suddenly fell through a hole in the roof and struck Doobie in the head, the point of the anvil piercing his brain.

"Who dares!?," Doobie demanded, looking up at where the anvil came from. His eyes widened when he saw the Joestar group staring down at him. "There's no need to share my prideful name with a zombie," Jonathan quipped. "Especially one who's as vulgar as you," Twilight chimed in. Poco's face broke into a smile when he saw Megan. "Sister!" Megan smiled in relief. "Poco! You're safe!" Jonathan and Twilight leapt down, but Doobie laughed as something broke out of the bag over his head.

The attack happened so fast Twilight couldn't perceive it, leaving her Stand useless. As a result, both she and Jonathan got struck by something biting them. Doobie cackled madly. "I bit ya! I bit ya!" The bag then tore away to reveal Doobie's face was covered in poisonous snakes. "Surprised!?" He then caused the snakes to shoot out at the siblings. Jonathan sighed. "We don't have time to indulge Dio's weird hobbies." Both he and Twilight caught Doobie off-guard by catching all the snakes in their fingers, then forcing the venom from the bites out of their blood.

"You've taught him well, Zeppeli," Tonpetty noted. Zeppeli chuckled. "Just passing forward the teachings you gave me." "He learned to control his blood flow so quickly," Straizo noted, "Perhaps he's another prodigy like Twilight." "To think we may have found two in so short a time," Dire said, "This monster's time is clearly over." Doobie looked on in horror as the siblings channeled their Hamon into the snakes, causing them to start eating him. He screamed in horror, and but no one would be coming to help him.

Poco and Megan embraced each other, happy to see they were both alive. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Twilight went through the door that Dio and Enya had earlier gone through. Dio noted their presence. "Ah, my siblings. It seems Morton was not up to the task. I suspected as much." "Lord Dio," one of the surrounding zombies said, "Give us a chance to kill them." Dio shook his head. "If they could beat Tarkus and Bruford, then you don't stand a chance. Enya and I shall deal with them."

"That reminds me," Twilight said, "Enya, just where did you get a Stand?" Enya raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I was born with this power. You should know that, since you're the same as me." Twilight said nothing, and gave no reaction. She could feel Enya wasn't lying, which meant she knew nothing about the arrow, at least not yet. And the longer that knowledge was kept away from Dio, the better. Dio and Jonathan glared at each other. "I'll be honest, Jojo, at first I didn't want to kill you. We grew up as brothers, after all. That's why I sent those knights first. But if I am to reign as emperor, then I must abandon such feelings."

"Same here," Jonathan agreed, "Deep down, I still saw you as family even after you put on the mask. But it's clear that I was too soft-hearted toward a monster like you." Dio smirked, then turned his attention to his minions. "Kill the others!" The four Hamon users formed a tight circle, Speedwagon keeping to the center near Poco and Megan. "Best not stray too far," he noted to them. Tonpetty took a puff of his pipe before charging it with Hamon, then throwing it at Dio, where it jabbed him in the eye. "Ah! My face! You dare to scar my face!?"

Wang came rushing in, catching Dire's attention. "You shall pay for injuring Lord Dio!" Dire dodged one of Wang's slices before coming in with a flying kick. Wang smirked as he grabbed Dire's legs, pulling them apart. "I saw you use this trick on Jojo," Wang said smugly, "So I know how to counter it!" Dire smirked. "Actually, what I used against Jojo was a variation of this attack that is meant to leave an opening." Wang's smile dropped. "Here's the real finishing blow!," Dire called out, thrusting his hands forward in the form of a cross, "Thunder Cross Split Attack!"

Wang cried out in pain as the attack hit home, pouring more Hamon into him as he crumbled to dust. Straizo smirked. "The form of this technique naturally leaves an opening for a headbutt if one is courageous enough to go that route. Knowing this, Dire made sure to include an attack to the technique that could also cover that opening. When testing Jojo, he simply didn't use that attack." Dio stared at Jonathan, the two putting up their fists. Meanwhile, Twilight and Enya summoned their Stands, Love is in Bloom glaring at Justice. The final battle was about to begin.

Naturally by sparing Zeppeli, I've also spared Dire, since he died trying to kill Dio to avenge Zeppeli. Here, there's no need to rush in to attack Dio. Still, I'm surprised no one told Dire about Dio's ability to freeze people's blood. He might have survived otherwise. Anyway, next chapter is the finale of Phantom Blood.