"Dio, no matter what happens, live nobly and with pride. If you do that, you'll surely be able to go to Heaven"
Dio reflects on his mother, her behavior and her beliefs. He comments about the apparent foolishness of his mother's righteousness while they lived in the most miserable living conditions, and were surrounded by the ungrateful. Dio then reflects on his mother's fixation on Heaven, particularly the way to go to Heaven. Saying that during his youth, Dio rather admired his father Dario Brando's immorality, he then comments that his mother would always try to correct him even when her efforts resulted in a beating, the scorn of her neighborhood and finally her death. Unable to understand her behavior, Dio thus questions his earlier assumption about his mother's foolishness. He reflects on why she, a righteous and educated woman, would remain beside Dario, and theorizes that she was being "charitable" toward him. Finally, Dio wonders if his mother went to heaven, and denies the possibility.
Dio admits to having been thinking about Heaven ever since he's acquired The World and the possible way to attain it. He then thinks that he may be doing this in his mother's place, and diverge into diverging on his mother. He expresses that his mother's righteousness was akin to abuse and that his father was at least more honest. Therefore Dio speculates that his mother may have been emotionally distressed and that the idea of Heaven was a way to cope with her suffering. Finally, when his mother died, Dio admits to having felt somewhat satisfied for her since she was able to maybe not attain Heaven, but at least escape the hell her life was.
Dio acknowledges his inability to attain Heaven, even with The World in his possession, and says that he must acquire a friend who is "without desire for power, hunger, or for fame, or lust. He must hold God's laws in higher esteem than he does man's laws." Which is why he is recording his thoughts on a notebook. He then comments about the danger of the Joestar Family stumbling upon this book and decides to take the risk. Dio predicts that finding that friend then win him over will be difficult, and decides to keep the diary secret from his organization. Secretly Dio decides to veer his goal from mere domination to attaining Heaven, stating that the true winner is the one who has seen Heaven.
Dio reflects on his father. For all the scorn he had for his mother, Dio now scorns his father more. After Dio's mother's death, Dario soon began to beat Dio for, as he soon understood, no reason beyond affirming his dominance. Dio then thinks that his mother's beatings may not have been caused by her righteousness, but simply Dario's wickedness. To escape his father's beating, Dio says that he worked hard to earn money and give Dario liquor to drink. To do so Dio used the education his mother gave him and it was there that he first felt grateful toward his mother. He then tells how he foolishly thought that his father being nice meant his father not beating him, and foolishly worked hard for his father. Put off by the thought, Dio interrupts his writings.
Dio narrates his meeting with Daniel J. D'Arby, whom he could see he was a Stand user, a skill Dio finds strange. Dio initially wonders if Daniel will be his friend, but quickly retracts his idea, noting that gamblers do not have pure souls. However, Dio thinks Daniel will be a guidepost for the purpose of going to Heaven.
Dio tells how he decided to kill his father when he sold his mother's dress, having until that point hoped that Dario would change. Selling the dress convinced Dio that Dario was scum and that he was merely being exploited; thus Dio had to think of a way to kill his father without arousing suspicion on himself.
Dio confirms his doubts about Daniel J. D'Arby, saying that D'Arby's greed is indeed too great for his purpose, and he decides to think that he's already met that friend who will help him attain Heaven without realizing it. However, his Stand Osiris became a hint towards his goal. Osiris having no power whatsoever but the ability to manipulate souls, it may be possible to fuse souls, more precisely 36 souls that have committed sins. Dio diverges on the specificity of sinfulness as he thinks that the souls of sinners hold great power Dio notes that a certain Noriaki Kakyoin whom he won over commented that the losers are the evil ones. However, Dio reverses the logic by reasoning that the evil ones have a stronger drive to win and thus will be the winners.
Dio narrates his poisoning of his father, having killed Dario coldly as if doing a chore and having taken every precaution as to not arouse suspicion. Having at the time thought that murder enabled him to go to Heaven, Dio now says how foolish the thought was in comparison to his following life.
Dio is now addressing his hypothetical friend and tells that friend about his murders, notably all the lives he's sucked out of people. He recalls that his first murder wasn't fulfilling as he'd hoped, and reflects that he could have simply waited for the already ill Dario to die. However, Dio speculates that he may have sought the "relief" of ending his father's life by his own hands. Dio finally says that his murder gave him "hunger".
Using the stands of Daniel J. D'Arby and Telence T. D'Arby, Dio plans to collect the souls of 36 sinners. He comments that Atum's ability to read souls needs special grooming, then says that they won't need flesh buds. Dio then diverges on the flesh buds, which were Enya's idea. He says that they have the unfortunate side effect of weakening the Stand power of Kakyoin and Jean Pierre Polnareff who were more formidable Stand users prior to being controlled. Dio then returns to his initial subject and says that in that peaceful age, he also must look for the souls of 36 sinners at the same time as his friend. Dio then writes the 14 following words:
- Spiral Staircase
- Rhinoceros Beetle
- Ghost Town
- Fig Tart
- Rhinoceros Beetle
- Via Dolorosa
- Rhinoceros Beetle
- Singularity
- Giotto
- Angel
- Hydrangea
- Rhinoceros Beetle
- Singularity
- Secret Emperor
Then intends to carve them into The World to never forget these words.
Dio comments that his father Dario didn't leave him anything, except a path. Doing the generous act to have Dio being adopted within the Joestar Family on his deathbed enraged Dio, as Dario may have gone to Heaven with that action. Dio then thought that he'd go to Heaven and kill that man again. Now merely looking at it as a side opportunity, Dio intends to go to Heaven for humanity's sake, giving them the opportunity to reach new heights. The young Dio took the opportunity Dario gave him, and thus began his connection with the Joestar Family.
Dio announces his trouble at the news of the existence of descendants of the Joestar family, who are moreover aware of his own existence. Dio tells that he has been feeling being watched since a certain time through "spirit photography", an ability he too possesses and was dubbed Hermit Purple by Enya. Hermit Purple is the Stand of Jonathan Joestar, whose body he took over 100 years ago. Somehow, this body has a connection to the Joestar descendants: Joseph Joestar, Holy Kujo, Jotaro Kujo. The descendants of his enemy now also have Stand power, and seeing that in one move, Dio strengthened himself and his opponents, Dio makes the first move and sends Kakyoin to his homeland in hopes he can kill the Joestars despite the flesh bud. Dio finally resolves to exterminate the Joestars.
Continuing from the previous chapter, Dio admits to not have thought about being watched by the Joestars at first, and assumed after the death of Jonathan, that that family was wiped out. Dio diverges into talking about Erina Joestar née Pendleton, who gave birth to Jonathan's son. He comments that she was strong-willed, and in several ways, was a great obstacle to his plans. Dio also likened Erina's character with that of his mother. Dio then recalls that the son of Jonathan, George II, was killed by a mere zombie, so that family may not be as dangerous as he suspects, yet Dio remains wary of them. He finally reveals that he ordered Kakyoin to take their blood, which he thinks will be accustomed to Jonathan's body.
Dio reveals that he had children. After awakening from his century-long slumber, he slept with a number of women and impregnated those that in his eyes, had potential. Thinking about a possible abortion or miscarriage from the mothers' part, Dio thinks that the eviler they are, the better mother they would be, and thus, let them go carrying his own descendants, certain that they will help him go to heaven in several decades. However, he expresses his fleeting concern about some of Jonathan's blood passing into these children.
Dio reveals that Dario despised nobles, and for that reason, he came to detest them too. He describes his meeting with Jonathan Joestar, who he met and immediately hated for being an "inheritor". Having until that only seen the Joestar Family as prey, his indifference became loathing and he took those emotions out on Jonathan's dog. Dio continues his rant about everything he hated about Jonathan Joestar and narrates that he decided to take everything from Jonathan.
Dio recalls the time when he took over Jonathan's body, and how he didn't feel anything, much like when he killed his father and asked himself why he did it. He then reasons that it was because he wanted to take everything from his life, not give or inherit. Dio interrupts his writing to announce that Kakyoin has located Jotaro Kujo and also Muhammad Avdol, whom Dio briefly laments the loss, as he wanted him to become a henchman as well.
Upon the news of Kakyoin's defeat, but also Jotaro Kujo's removal of Kakyoin's flesh bud in spite of the danger involved, Dio changes his plan. Seeing that his enemies have inherited Jonathan's will, he decides to focus his attention on them and include them in his plan.
Dio recalls his bullying of Jonathan. He used every means to isolate Jonathan and despised his target, who would cry himself to sleep every night. When Dio laid his hands on Erina, the bullying failed. Jonathan uncovered that explosiveness in his character and beat Dio, which made Dio cry as he saw that his hopes were illusions. Dio never forgot that humiliation.
Dio elaborates on Erina, finding her odd. He thinks that if it weren't for her, he would have taken over the Joestar Family. Erina also piqued Dio's interest by challenging him after he stole her first kiss, and he planned to observe her but Erina left the town soon after. Dio confesses having a high opinion of her, despite her continuous efforts to hinder him, much like his mother.
After consultation with the D'Arby Brothers, Dio is convinced that his plan lays on "souls". Based upon the idea that the number of souls on Earth is fixed, Dio reflects on the possibility of one organism possessing two souls, such as himself who possesses two Stands, two reflections of a soul. Dio wonders if one can take over a soul like he takes over bodies, and plans to use Atum to place extra souls in one body. However, Telence is still immature and unable to do that. Dio then suddenly thinks of Enrico Pucci.
Dio interrupts his trip to America in order to concentrate on Japan. Holy Kujo contracted what is called a Stand Fever, an affliction a Stand user without the strength to dominate their stand has. He deduces that again, Holy Kujo is one of these holy women who will hinder him and suspects that in order to save such a woman, her father Joseph and son Jotaro will head to Egypt to fight him, Dio. He decides to tread carefully, as he still possesses a fatal weak point in the sun, and decides to delay them until his plan comes to fruition. Dio decides to call for Enrico Pucci and sends Gray Fly to the Joestars.
Dio recalls how boring it was to spend seven years at the Joestar's. He easily kept fooling the Joestars and the servants into thinking he was an admirable man. The lack of struggle made him think that he was wasting his time, and desired deep down to feel again the excitation of fighting Jonathan. Dio comments that technically, he is Dio Joestar, but only thinks of it as a technicality, and never bothered to correct those who called him "Brando". Dio remarks that he disdained George Joestar just as much as his own father, for opposite reasons, and he feared to lose the ambition that defined him by cohabiting with him and his son. In the end, Dio concluded that killing George Joestar was another necessary step, who Dio acknowledged as an excuse for his hatred and anger against nobles.
Continuing from the precedent chapter, Dio says that he waited seven years to build the necessary trust, but failed because he used the same method of assassination. When George began to feel ill from an irrelevant affliction, Dio took the opportunity to slowly poison him and George thus displayed the same symptoms as Dario. George kept Dario's letter when he accepted, to Dio's own wonder, to adopt the son of the known thief. Returning to the subject, Dio narrates how Jonathan found the letter with the described symptoms, and due to the suspicion his early bullying instilled in him, Jonathan began to suspect Dio. Dio shifts the blame on his father, and the thought of the likeness between Dario's uselessness and his own blunder enrages Dio.
Dio announces Tower of Gray's failure to stop the Joestars but finds solace in the thought that his enemies won't take any air route afterward, giving him time to unveil his plan. Dio sends Jean Pierre Polnareff and Dark Blue Moon in order to stop the Joestars, and comments on the fact that Kakyoin beat Tower of Gray, a feat he would have been unable to do when he was enthralled by the flesh buds. As suspected, flesh buds weaken Stand users and speculate that only evil people will make good subordinates.
Dio tells that he met Pucci in secret in another hideout, yet didn't advance much. He comments on the usefulness of Whitesnake and theorizes that memories and Stand form together with a soul. Pucci has confirmed that he can put memories and Stands into other people, and the receptacles are able to use both. However, Pucci cannot put more than 5 Stands in the same person. Dio nonetheless thinks that Pucci is qualified to become that friend he has been looking for and shift his plan. If Pucci cannot accompany him on the way to Heaven, he, Dio, can accompany Pucci.
After Pucci went back to America, Dio laments that he, as a vampire could have resisted the insertion of more than 5 souls into himself, but quickly changes his opinion, having not yet the necessary strength. Lacking a Stone Mask, Dio is unable to make Vampires and thinks the Zombies unsuited, as they lack soul. Dio decides to call Pucci back at his side.
Dio writes of the defeat of Polnareff and Dark Blue Moon, and also of Polnareff joining the Joestar Group. He wonders what could push Polnareff to cooperate, speculating on anger about being taken over by the flesh buds, and decides not to use them in the future. He also says that he intended to meet the Joestars personally, but Enya stopped him, having sent seven other assassins and dismissing the idea of him, Dio, making the personal effort of disposing of his enemies. For now, Dio considers the situation suitable but begins to think of her like an inconvenience.
Dio announces that Pucci is the one friend he has been looking for, being convinced of it when he agreed with his plan. He plans to carefully groom Pucci, but never interfere with his faith, and to also give him a bone from his body.
Dio asks himself what is the fundamental difference between man and animal. Talking about the question with Pucci, the latter answered that humans have the desire to go to Heaven. When Dio heard that answer, he felt the influence of Gravity, a fated connection with Pucci as he had with Jonathan Joestar. Planning to share information with Pucci later on, Dio thinks about the potential threat of the Joestars, having never truly won against Jonathan in the past either, despite the latter's weakness.
Dio writes about the Stone Mask, presenting it formally, and its ties with Jonathan Joestar, who decided to study it, and Will Anthonio Zeppeli, who uncovered it from some ruins. Dio heard that the Mask caused a sinking, and then Jonathan's mother bought it from an art gallery in London. Dio never met the woman but speculates that she must have been like his own mother: noble, proud, saintly. He wonders what would have happened if she lived and how he and she would have interacted. Dio then comments about George keeping the Mask as a memento, and Jonathan studying it led to Dio wearing the Mask and become a Vampire, discussing the strange Fate that ties him to the Mask.
Dio elaborates on the Stone Mask's mechanism: when it enters in contact with blood, needles sprout from the mask and pierce the wearer's brain, transforming him into a Vampire. Jonathan tried to decypher the Aztec writings carved in it, and Dio remarks that he himself uncovered the Mask's true function by accident.
Dio notes that the seven Stand users sent by Enya are being defeated one by one, the latest being Yellow Temperance. Dio is annoyed to have 3 of his 36 sinners being defeated and doesn't want to arouse suspicion by calling them back, however, he deems the situation recoverable. Dio mentions the use of The Fool, seemingly by a dog. Dio returns to the Stone Mask and tells that when Jonathan beat him, some of his blood splashed on the Mask, and both noticed the sprouting. He kept that information in mind for later use, and initially thought of murdering George with the Mask, but thought that a murder would only deteriorate the worth of the Joestar name, which he intended to use. However Dio realizes that the true mistake was not to kill Jonathan Joestar first, and it was only when he was exposed that he decided to commit the deed.
Of the remaining Stand users, Dio praises J. Geil's wicked nature and Hol Horse's neutral personality and thinks they are the most suited to defeat the Joestars. Wicked Stand users are reluctant to reveal their strengths and weakness to one another, Dio himself revealed The World's power to a scant few; but Hol Horse's humility makes him a good partner. Dio comments that Stand users willing to act as a group are rare, and the only other team Dio has are the Oingo Boingo Brothers. He predicts that Polnareff will act alone and will be the first to die.
Dio notes that Enya proposed a move worth listening to. Eliminating Holy Kujo to break the Joestar Group's spirit. He praises how devious Enya is, but remembers how attacking Erina backfired, and prefers to stay his hand.
Dio continues reminiscing his youth; he also wanted to kill Jonathan as a "necessity" for his plans, and never thought much of it. Dio wonders briefly about his own humanity, defined by his desire to go to Heaven, as Pucci said, but returns to his story. He remembers walking in the streets with a bottle of liquor, a reminder of his father's alcoholism which infuriated him along the possibility of his efforts fail. Dio then met two men who he attacked the moment they mentioned his mother.
As Hol Horse and J. Geil attack the Joestar Group, Dio mentions that he hasn't felt disturbed for a long time. Dio stabbed the first man and used the Stone Mask on the second one, and reflects that in hindsight, it was fortunate that he tried the Mask on someone else than Jonathan. The second man turned into a Vampire, and by coincidence, Dio was saved by the Sun. With so many twists of Fate in his life, Dio thinks that the events that happened were meant to happen.
Dio says that he at first didn't think of using the Mask on himself, which awakened parts of the human brain. He then was cornered by Jonathan who brought Wang Chan as a witness and remembers that Jonathan's brotherly word hurt him. Dio's writing is interrupted.
Dio just received the news of J. Geil's defeat and Enya heading to the Joestar Group for vengeance. Dio considers the battle a draw, as Muhammad Avdol was killed, but Enya going mad is a huge loss for his organization. Dio concludes that he must dispose of Enya.
Dio reflects on his writings, which are becoming a memoir. The situation becomes more urgent, Dio considers postponing the plan to get to Heaven and concentrate on the Joestars, however, he continues to focus on his story and the plan to get to Heaven. Dio recalls that when Jonathan cornered him, he was prepared to stab him, but Jonathan brought a police squad and also a certain Robert E. O. Speedwagon, who saw through his innocent act. Dio speculates that it was maybe Speedwagon who pushed him over the edge and made him put on the Mask when he exposed how evil and irredeemable he truly was.
Dio mentions having pierced Enya with a flesh bud and plans to use it. He also has received news of Empress and Wheel of Fortune's defeat from her. Enya's Justice being able to overcome their number of disadvantages, Dio thinks she is perfectly able to beat the Joestar Group but remembers how the flesh buds weaken a Stand user.
Upon reminiscing the last words George Joestar said to him, Dio wonders if he did suspect that Dio was poisoning him but chose to swallow the poison every time, hoping that he would have a change of heart. Dio thinks that this behavior would have been insane. In that case, George may have gone to Heaven as Dario did.
Upon being cornered by Jonathan, Dio decided to "cease being human". Pushed to the edge by the events, Dio became something that in his mind surpassed humans. However, he remarks that even when he was a Vampire, his schemes kept falling apart because of the Joestars.
Dio received a report from Steely Dan saying that Enya was defeated. Dio ordered him to kill Enya, out of necessity but even he worries about what will happen without her.
Dio elaborates on the transformation into a Vampire, saying that what remains of the person's psyche largely depends on the individual. Dio reasons that he was able to retain his sanity because he was already in a way, insane, and had the necessary ego, calling himself DIO. Anyway, Dio was still utterly defeated by Jonathan.
Embarrassed by his earlier poetic depiction of his defeat, Dio chooses to list facts. Jonathan used the Statue of the Goddess of Love to skewer him and hoped that the flames would finish him off. Dio thinks that Jonathan subconsciously used the whole mansion to his advantage, and despite his willingness to sacrifice himself, he survived. Dio blames luck for Jonathan's victory and wonders if everything truly comes to that luck. Thus he questions his belief in being able to go to Heaven. Jonathan was lucky to be born into a wealthy family, Dio was unlucky to be born into a poor and abusive family. Dio may be doing something futile.
Despite the probable futility of his efforts, Dio chooses to continue writing. Dio continues to record the defeats of his Stand users, the latest being Death Thirteen. The last two Stand users overstepped his authority and went on the move alone while the Speedwagon Foundation secured Iggy, the user of The Fool. Dio briefly thinks of Speedwagon, wondering if he was a giver as well, before planning to gather the Egypt 9 Glory Gods.
Dio asks: "What is Heaven?"
Despite losing to Jonathan, Dio survived under a stone pillar. For a time he had to hide, drinking blood to heal himself and gathering minions. yet he was ultimately defeated by the power of the Ripple. Remembering that Jonathan was taught the Ripple by Will Anthonio Zeppeli, Dio rages at the fact that Jonathan was still inheriting something. Dio then thinks of his story as a battle between the "takers" and the "inheritors", and though the latter has repeatedly won, the fight is not over.
Dio gathered the Egypt 9 Glory Gods, and Hol Horse, in his mansion. He commanded them to ambush the Joestar Group to buy him time to recover and meet Pucci. The Speedwagon Foundation spies have learned of the meeting and have alerted the Joestar's group, thus he calls Kenny G. and Vanilla Ice to his side.
Dio records the defeat of Judgement and High Priestess, and the revelation of Avdol's survival. Dio notices that he has been accepting this bad news easily. He recalls that Joseph and Jotaro are very different compared to Jonathan in their ungentlemanly manners. Seemingly, the inheritors didn't inherit everything from Jonathan, thus Dio hopes that the Egypt 9 Glory Gods will defeat them.
Dio comments on Boingo's Tohth, which has the ability to predict the future. Before Boingo's absolute certainty of his Stand's reliability, Dio reflects on the power of predicting the future, considering that it is useful to predict a desirable outcome, but undesirable ones are unavoidable, thus what was the appeal of this power? Boingo then commented that at least, one could prepare for the undesirable outcomes. Intrigued by these words, Dio concludes that being prepared for bad events is also part of one's happiness. Yet Dio thinks that Tohth's power is not enough to prepare oneself, and wishes for a better resolve about facing the future.
Dio recounts the steps to go to Heaven: the souls of more than 36 sinners, the 14 words, a trustworthy friend, and The World. He reassures himself with the undeniable progress he's made toward his goal. Dio then focuses on the number of souls involved in his plan, commenting that there is a certain balance between good and evil in each soul; Daniel J. D'Arby being able to split souls into ten chips, Dio seeks souls that are entirely evil, amounting to 360 evil chips. Dio then reveals that what is next required is the "courage" to temporarily destroy The World and absorb the souls to create something new.
Dio confides to the reader that it annoys him that Jonathan could master the Ripple, the one power able to defeat him, in such a short time and came to fight him in Windknight. He comments that the prison in the town was the reason he chose it as a lair, as the corpses of evil people made for a great zombie army, which he used to think would bring him "happiness": standing at the top. Now, Dio thinks otherwise.
Dio recalls a conversation he had with Enya about the meaning of life. Enya claimed that it was to obtain what one desires, but Dio questions the logic, stating that this hunger is endless and only leads to "fear". When Dio exposed that living meant conquering one's fear, an answer which Enya didn't understand. The Joestar Group now in Egypt, Dio confesses his anxiety, something that unquiets his life. Listing all of one's possible goals in life, Dio speculates that these goals come down to acquire peace of mind. From where did that anxiety about the Joestar bloodline come, Dio tells that it was out of unreadiness. "Preparedness is Heaven", says Dio.
Dio reports N'Doul's death, again lamenting the luck of the Joestar to have a Stand of sand in the desert at the exact moment N'Doul attacked them. He is however satisfied to have Kakyoin disabled. Dio then praises N'Doul and his mentality, being strong enough to live on even with the isolation his power provided and evil enough to commit horrible crimes without a second thought. For the sake of these evil people, Dio comments, he must find a way to go to Heaven.
With Pucci in Egypt, Dio wonders if the priest will be able to fulfill his plan. He nonetheless chooses to trust him and has already revealed the existence of the notebook to him. Anyway, Dio directly writes to Pucci and asks him to carry out his plan if he is killed.
Dio is annoyed at his earlier sentimentality and narrates how he sent Pucci away in order to protect him, adding to that a bodyguard in Johngalli A.
Dio laments next to the loss of the Oingo Boingo Brothers, noticing that Oingo misread Tohth's predictions. Dio is unsatisfied that Tohth's predictions are not as reliable as he wishes but plans to team Boingo up with a more capable Stand user than his brother, thinking of Hol Horse.
Dio reminisces having "borrowed" a watch from Jonathan that he intended to give back when it would break, yet it was destroyed when the Joestar mansion was burned to the ground. He theorizes that the power of The World was born at that moment, the idea of stopped time forming as the watch was destroyed. However, Dio is unsatisfied with merely stopping time and forms the idea of accelerating time. He stops thinking among "givers", "takers", and "inheritors", and plans to become a "discarded".
Dio reports that Anubis, Bastet, and Sethan have been defeated as well. He remarks to have begun to anticipate the defeat of his minions and laments that the Stand users he personally scouted are being defeated. Dio comments that Sethan in a way has many similarities with his goal, as giving youth makes one able to redo one's life. Still unprepared to face the Joestar Group, Dio waits in his mansion and turns his writing to Hol Horse, praising the Stand user's resolve at the moment Hol Horse wanted to shoot Dio, forcing him to use The World. He sent Hol Horse to fetch Boingo, confident that the duo will attain some result.
Dio recalls that during his time in Windknight, he performed several experimentations resulting in grotesque abominations, although he never used the Stone Mask on anyone else. However, these experimentations enabled him to learn that he could fuse a head with a different body, resulting in him taking over Jonathan's body. Dio comments that he wanted absolutely to possess Jonathan's body, respecting in his own way his archenemy.
Dio feels distraught at the news of Daniel J. D'Arby's defeat, as he was one of his soul-manipulating Stand users. Despairing at the Joestar's prowess at stopping his minions, Dio only finds solace in the Joestar's effort to stop him which confirms that he is on the right path. Dio wishes to send Telence T. D'Arby away from the mansion to secure him as well but knows that he is too stubborn to leave, and Dio does not want to use the flesh buds on him. Dio is ashamed to confess that he can only hope that Hol Horse and Boingo will stop the Joestar Group.
Lacking time, Dio focuses on the Bow and Arrow, still remarking that the only important part in these items is the Arrowhead. He explains that whoever is shot by the Arrow can acquire a Stand, as long as they have the talent. Anyone else dies. Dio himself was shot and he acquired both The World and Hermit Purple, encouraged by Enya to try being pierced. Dio now reconsiders his true gains, as the Joestars also acquired Stands, at a minimal risk at that. Without his Stand, Dio would have gone unnoticed but also wouldn't have found the way to Heaven, thus he speculates that advantage and disadvantage are two faces of the same coin.
Dio comments that Enya acquired the Arrows through a boy named Diavolo, who he wishes to investigate later.
Dio can now sense Jotaro and Joseph approaching, and considers his options. Fleeing is out of the question, since it will undermine his authority, and anticipates that his mansion will become a battlefield. Thus, Dio thinks of hiding his notebook so that the Joestar Group cannot find it.
Dio reconsiders if truly the Joestar mustn't find the notebook. Dio reminds himself that Jotaro and Joseph are considerably different from Jonathan and that even though Dio's existence is killing Holy and he has sent assassins to them, there is still the possibility of a truce. Dio considers that even though they must have a sense of justice, their love for Holy should be stronger and that securing Holy's life could be a way to entertain a truce. Dio even considers that they could help him go to Heaven.
However, Dio sees the many reasons why a truce wouldn't even be considered. He thinks of his relationship with the family as a whole, and since both sides now consider each other's existence as "evil", peace is unthinkable.
Dio surprisingly feels relieved at the news of Hol Horse and Boingo's defeat. Having learned of the circumstance of their defeat, Dio theorizes that they were meant to lose and thinks that the Joestar's resolve made them the victors. Dio knows that at least Boingo grew during that fight and is recoverable, thus Dio plans to bring him to his side later.
Dio recalls how timely Jonathan and Zeppeli's arrival to Windknight was, as he had yet to fully heal or take control of the town. Dio recalls having felt some joy when Jonathan said that he was fighting to avenge his friends, as his gentlemanly demeanor always irritated him. He comments that surely his resolve was at the time lesser than Jonathan's and that in a way, Dio didn't want to kill him. Anyway, Dio lost and was reduced to a head.
Dio reports Pet Shop's disappearance, suspecting Iggy to have killed it. He briefly considers using the Arrowhead on every animal, but sets aside the idea, as the Joestar's arrival to his mansion is imminent.
Dio recalls Pet Shop's ice power and his own past Freezing Technique, even if he is unable to perform it as he is not fully synchronized to his body, he now considers it a technique of the past, like the Ripple. Dio has learned of Kakyoin joining the group with uncanny timing, suspecting that gravity is at work. Dio now estimates his forces against that of the Joestar and finds himself at a disadvantage.
Dio recalls the existence of the Ripple warrior Dire, who pierced his eye with a Ripple-infused rose. Weren't it for that blind spot, Jonathan would have lost, thinks Dio, and Dio thinks again about how timely it was for Jonathan to gain allies just before fighting him. He remembers how connected his and the Joestar's fate is, and thinks of gravity which makes people meet each other. Dio asks himself, how can he control gravity like he controls time?
The Joestar group has arrived at the mansion practically unscathed while Dio has lost over 25 minions. Telence has separated the group in two and is fighting Kakyoin. Hoping that Telence's confidence won't work against him. Dio takes a nap, preparing himself for the ultimate outcome.
Dio has been woken up by Vanilla Ice and has learned that Telence has lost. He speculates that Telence's lack of resolve compared to the Joestar Group was his demise. Now, Pucci is his most precious piece in his plan. Dio then asks himself if Pucci feels loyal to him, diverging on Vanilla Ice whose fidelity is abnormal even among his servants. Having transformed Ice into a Vampire and sent him to the enemy, Dio asks himself if Ice can prevail.
Dio has learned from Nukesaku that Kenny G. has been defeated, but Vanilla Ice killed Avdol, a small victory after the long string of defeats. Dio focuses his attention on Nukesaku, the latest of his experiments on bodies and souls and for Dio, a useless minion. He recalls his experiments from 100 years ago, which ironically resulted once in a zombie with two right hands. This reminds him of Enya whom he met after being pulled out of the ocean. Even after feeding on the treasure hunters, Dio could do little stranded in the middle of the sea, but Enya came to him. Enya then became his right hand on purpose, wishing to be by his side. Dio's experiments having enabled his control over Jonathan's body, Dio intends to make good of his minions' sacrifice.
Dio questions briefly the fact that he is writing in his notebook while his enemies are in the mansion, but he feels that his mind is clearer, maybe due to his proximity with the Joestars awakening his body, and he intends to write as many ideas as possible before disposing of the Joestars.
Dio recalls how Jonathan's determination won over his own might. Now surviving as a head, Dio waited for the perfect opportunity to steal Jonathan's body, thus following him on his honeymoon, luring him into the lower deck and giving him a fatal wound. Yet when Erina entered the cabin, Jonathan yet again demonstrated his explosive power and managed to transform Dio's victory into a draw. Dio now considers that his mistake was underestimating such women as Erina, who was the deciding factor in Jonathan's growth. Jonathan managed to manipulate Wang Chan and make the boat's boiler explode, sinking the ship, and Dio witnessed Jonathan and Erina's last moments, Erina wishing to die beside Jonathan.
Nukesaku has reported the news of Vanilla Ice's utter defeat. Polnareff exposed him to sunlight and killed him, making Dio's decision of transforming him into a Vampire an ultimately detrimental one. Dio is now practically alone against the Joestar Group and prepares himself for the battle. He deems that Vanilla Ice must have inflicted significant damage to Polnareff and decides to confront him, and also try to convert him back to his side.
To Dio's surprise, Polnareff has refused his offer and theorizes that his dear sister Sherry Polnareff must have been of the same caliber as his mother and Erina. Dio comments that he has been repeatedly defeated by "love", but thinks that he isn't defeated yet. Dio now formulates the last part of his plan, a "location".
Out of time, Dio tries relaxing by counting prime numbers. Jotaro, Joseph and Kakyoin have joined Polnareff and are using Nukesaku as a guide, but Dio can still count on a certain amount of time to write down his ideas. Again Dio compares Erina with his own mother. Jonathan asked Erina to save a dead mother's child, a noble last request for him. Dio remembers having latched onto him with blood vessels but doesn't remember what happened afterward.
Dio knows that Nukesaku is falsely guiding the Joestar Group, buying time for Dio, who uses that time to write in his notebook. He tries to recall the last moments before ending up in the coffin, but his memory is hazy. Despite having surely entered the casket, Erina had survived with the child. Dio suspects that the four of them were in the same coffin, but Dio admits that he would never have shared the casket with someone. Yet he did lose consciousness, so who put him into the casket? Saving someone she hated would indeed be in accord with Erina's character. Dio is now sure that Erina took pity on him and pulled him into the casket to protect him, and put him to rest at the bottom of the ocean. Dio's memories increasingly become hazier and he ends up confusing Erina with his own mother.
Dio has calculated the location, and time: 28 degrees 24 minutes North, 80 degrees 36 minutes West; and wait for the new moon. His way to Heaven is now clear, but the Joestars are arriving, thus Dio lays down his pen and prepares to fight them, planning to continue writing the next day.
