Seven years later, in 1888...
Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of London,
murdering women in the night and holding the entire city in his thrall.
However, he was nothing compared to the horror
that the feud between JoJo and Dio would unleash upon the world.
CHAPTER 2: A LETTER FROM THE PAST
Interception!
The ball is plucked out of the air by our hero, Jonathan Joestar!
Joestar, a gentle giant at 195 centimeters,
sprints for the try zone with a spirited roar!
Can he win this, the last game of his university career?
He's tackled from behind!
Wait! He's still standing tall.
Two more fly in.
It's three on one out there!
Incredible!
He's still making for the try line, undaunted by the men who dog his steps.
What power, what determination. He's Hercules reborn.
Another tackle!
Oh, the weight's too much for him!
He flings it away and...
Yes! There's the catch. The ball lands safe in the hands of Dio Brando.
It's still anyone's game!
Can he make it? He dodges another one!
He's done it! There's nothing left between Dio and the try line.
And still, he gives it his all. Yes!
They did it!
On the last play,
they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
What teamwork. When JoJo and Dio work together,
there's nothing they can't do.
Hell of a pass, JoJo.
It'd have been all for naught if you hadn't run it in like you did.
Watching you drag those defenders, I couldn't just let you down.
Having finished his studies,
Dio is set to graduate with top marks in Law.
JoJo, meanwhile, has set the faculty afire with his bold thesis on Archeology.
On and off the field, these two young men are giants.
They're the pride of our school.
JoJo, I think we should tell our father about this victory of ours at once.
It's been seven years now
since my father welcomed Dio into our home.
Seven long years.
I smile and treat him as a brother,
but, in my heart, nothing could be further from the truth.
He's nothing if not affable and smart as a whip...
but I just can't forgive him for his earlier villainies.
Dio, would you give us a quote about your friendship with JoJo?
-You seem quite close. -Write about the team, all of us.
Come on. Tell us how close you are.
Should I?
Friendship, huh?
The truth is, I despise that grinning imbecile.
I've spent seven years...
making nice to that Joestar brat.
But, now that I am of age, I shall bring my plans to fruition.
At long last, the Joestar fortune will be mine.
And may the devil take anyone who tries to stop me.
Father, how are you feeling today?
Except for this cough, much better since yesterday.
The doctors say, I should be in the hospital.
Why? I fear it would do you no good.
Hospitals only care about profit.
They'd measure you for a shroud if they saw you cured.
Then, I shall remain here.
The comforts of home are curative, like it or not.
My chest doesn't pain me so much and the swelling has gone down.
-I'm on the mend. -If it was just a cold.
Why has it worsened so much?
I heard of your victory. A stunning bit of teamwork.
Someone told you about it?
I got word straightaway from an old college friend.
Whoever he is, he's fast.
I'm glad he wasn't on our opponents' team, or we could have lost.
I'm proud of you, lads. You both turned out so well.
Providence is too kind.
Dio, I'm so glad you've thrived.
Pursue your ambitions, whatever they may be.
I will lend you aid in any way I can, my son.
You rescued me from calamity.
Already my debt is more than I can ever repay.
You've done me too much honor.
This secret is mine alone.
I can't imagine for what purpose
this mask may have been fashioned, or by whom,
but it belonged to my mother and so having it near is a comfort,
Strange as that may seem.
When I finally outwit this sphinx of a mask,
it will be the talk of the Archeological world.
My goodness!
Many thanks to you, Master Dio.
The years betray me.
Climbing the stairs is much harder then it was before.
This letter, having read it, all has been made clear.
Dio...
I think, he's...
Dio!
Wait. That's-- That's Father's medicine.
-He's due for his next dosage. -All this time,
you're the one who's been bringing it to him.
Yes. What of it?
This letter. Your father sent it to mine. Guess, what it says.
"Your Lordship, sickness has taken hold of me.
It's the end of me, whatever it is.
My chest hurts...
my fingers are all swollen up
and I can't breathe, because of all this coughing."
Those are the same symptoms as Father's, blow for blow!
No way is this mere coincidence. Dio!
What are you trying to say, JoJo?
I'm having a doctor look at this powder.
JoJo, if you think I would poison Father, then from this day forward, you and I...
are no longer friends.
Try as I might, I can't look Dio in the eye.
It's because I lack proof. All I have to go on are my suspicions.
Now, then, put that medicine back on the tray.
I'll be willing to forget about your lapse in judgment.
Dio,
there is only one way, you're going to convince me.
Swear to me that the contents of this are safe.
Do it in Dario's name.
Swear to me on Dario's honor as a gentleman.
Do that, and I'll never bring up this moment again.
If my hunch proves true, his father's honor
is the one lie that will catch in his throat.
Dio, say it! What are you waiting for?
I swea-- swear...
How can I swear on the honor of a man...
who didn't have any!
He deserved to die! How's that for the truth, JoJo?
You just gave me all the proof I needed, Dio.
At hearing his name, you lashed out.
I don't know what he could have done that moved you to such murderous rage,
but murder him, you surely did.
You hurt Father. Never again, Dio.
Damn your eyes.
Of course.
You've been planning to murder him for years now.
I knew it. I knew that you were playing with us.
But now your villainy is over.
Once, I've learned what this is, I'm taking it to the police straightaway.
Damn it.
Their fortune was within my grasp.
Was it fate that JoJo found out when he did?
No. It was that letter. He vexes me even now.
-You're weak, just like your mother! -He drove her to an early grave.
Knowing that cur's blood flows through my veins,
it's enough to drive me mad!
Sir Joestar lives, for now.
I'll be back from London in a few days, Father.
Until then, accept medicine only from the hands of these doctors
and no one else.
Master JoJo said he doesn't want me to bring it up?
Yes. We will do as JoJo has instructed us.
His reasons are a mystery to me, but I trust the boy with my life.
Thank you, Father.
His illness is getting worse.
If it is a poison, he may need an antidote.
Whatever you may learn in London about the poison,
I'll see you take the truth of it to your grave.
Your death will be the perfect crime.
Seven years ago, this mask reacted to my blood.
The spikes hidden within will make short work of JoJo's brain.
His injuries will be so unique,
there'll be nothing at all to tie it back to me.
JoJo, your curiosity will lead to your destruction.
The university couldn't identify this so-called medicine.
Though, they did speculate that it was a compound from the orient.
-Therefore... -Young master,
that stretch of road there is Ogre Street,
the most dangerous alleyway in all of London.
Yes, I know, but this is the one place I will be able to find what I came for.
You're more than welcome to leave.
Dio grew up in London.
Where else in England could he have acquired such a toxin?
I shall have my evidence…
and Father's antidote.
Another dead end.
That cat, it was eating a puppy.
-You do the honors, Tattoo. -Right!
Use that shiv of yours to slice him open. I want his guts for garters!
Ogre Street. It is aptly named.
Check out this idiot. He grabbed my blade! In all my days, I've never seen the like.
Stuck, ain't ya? One quick yank of the knife and they'll be
picking your fingers out of the snow for a fortnight.
Try it, then. The moment you pull, my foot will kick out at your groin
with all the force of a sledgehammer.
I'm willing to see our transaction through.
Are you, Sirrah?
I'm fighting to protect my family from those who wish it harm.
I doubt very much that your resolve is equal to mine.
That's quite enough. Now, one of you tell me,
-where can I find an Asian apothecary? -Tough talk.
If you're looking to lose body parts, do stick around.
Observe.
I'll mince you right finely with a tip of the hat.
And now, we dance.
I have to find that apothecary, no matter the cost.
Here's your first proper dust-up.
If you mean to block like that, it'll be your last one, too.
It cut you straight to the bone, looks like.
Granted, I didn't think you'd hoof the shiv at me like that,
but my hat still hit its mark.
Now I know why he wasn't defending himself better.
Fingers, hands, legs, he doesn't care one whit what he loses.
It's as if his resolve runs deeper than pain or fear.
I took the lad for an easy mark.
Guess I've been thoroughly disabused of that notion.
What? JoJo went to Ogre Street on his own?
I told him it was perilous.
Keep this to yourself.
-Sir Joestar is still unwell. -Yes, sir.
I guess I won't need to use the mask after all.
There, alone, his fate is sealed.
That's enough, lads!
I won't let anyone of you lay a finger on that gentleman there.
-But why? -Tell me something.
You're strong as a bull. It's plain to see.
You could've stomped my head in with that foot of yours,
but you went easy on me, didn't you?
I came here for the sake of my father.
You have a family,
people who expect you to return from this dark business.
It is not my place to cause them grief.
He means it, doesn't he? How'd this fella survive so long?
Wait.
He spared my mates' lives, just like he did mine.
I like the cut of his jib. Sure, he's naive,
but he's a gentleman through and through.
I want to know the name of the one who spared me.
Jonathan Joestar.
Well, pleased to make your acquaintance.
If it's Asian concoctions you're looking for, mind your back.
That druggist is one sly customer.
Sir Joestar, JoJo's been gone three days.
Whatever his errand, he'll accomplish it.
Where have the years gone, I wonder? He's grown into a fine man.
I cannot help but wonder if, growing up, I was too hard on the boy.
I'm sure JoJo's lying dead in some alley by now.
Did he find the apothecary?
Look at me, guzzling it down.
Nothing but a drunken fool, just like my bastard father.
Damn it!
Watch yourself! Have you no respect for your elders, boy?
Look at the baby toddling around past bedtime,
sucking on a bottle like it was his mother's teat.
Look at the man when he's talking. Didn't your old man teach you right?
My God.
Just for that, I'm going to take your face clean off.
Your threat has me quaking in my boots, you old guttersnipe.
How will I escape this moment of mortal peril?
How about...
we use this?
It's meant for JoJo,
but you'll make a fine guinea pig.
Just die already!
Let's see what you can do!
Wha-- What is that light?
All of that spectacle for nothing?
Useless.
That was boring.
I expected more from you, mask.
Impossible.
He's alive.
That face, those teeth. No!
What incredible strength.
Even now, he advances.
But his hand, does the pain mean nothing?
He shattered my shoulder with just a glancing blow.
The river. I must jump in.
It's odd.
I was drinking through the night, but suddenly I got such a brutal thirst.
My blood, he's draining it.
What the...
So this is the secret of the mask.
I'm dying.
No! I had such plans!
Must my last sight on earth be this damnable sunrise?
The sun destroyed him.
What's the meaning of this? Why's it so bloody dark?
-JoJo. -You're a poisoner, Dio Brando.
I have all the proof I need and then some.
NEXT EPISODE
JoJo, I've been a devil, but grant me this one wish.
This fellow reeks of brimstone and blood.
You see, I am about to become so much more!
Dio!
CHAPTER 3: YOUTH WITH DIO