Creating Anime In A Fantasy World

Chapter 258: The Premiere of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure! (Part 20)

The tension in the theaters had reached its peak.

As the film’s deadly duel unfolded on screen, every viewer held their breath—their hearts pounding in unison.

When the young boy, Poco, mustered his courage and dashed into the Room of Dragon Decapitation, the audience felt their own blood surge. That small, trembling figure running toward certain danger struck something deep inside them.

And before anyone could even voice their admiration, Poco hurled himself forward—slamming his tiny body against the lever that opened the massive gate.

“P–pain isn’t what’s scary…”

The trembling words echoed through the theater, and even the stoic Zeppeli and Speedwagon couldn’t hold back their emotions.

At that same moment, Zeppeli looked upon the scene before him—and a distant memory stirred within. The words of his master, Tonpetty, rang once more in his mind: the prophecy of the future he had been destined to face.

“So… it’s finally come…”

“The moment the prophecy comes true.”

His eyes, however, were calm. There was no hesitation in them—no regret, no fear.

If this was fate, then he would accept it.

Because that was what it meant to walk the path of Hamon.

“JoJo…” he whispered. “This is where my story ends.”

Without another word, Zeppeli strode forward.

Tarkus roared in fury, charging straight at him. His massive frame moved like an avalanche, but Zeppeli—elegant, precise—evaded the strike with a graceful motion, like wind passing through sunlight.

And just as he prepared to counterattack, the giant’s foot lashed out. The heavy chain under Tarkus’s control coiled up like a serpent, ensnaring Zeppeli in an instant—and with it, the other end around Jonathan’s neck.

“No—!”

The chain went taut. A sickening crack echoed through the air.

Zeppeli’s body was torn apart, the weight of the chain crushing them both.

“Hahahahaha!”

Tarkus’s laughter filled the chamber, thunderous and cruel.

Speedwagon’s scream joined it—a sound of disbelief and anguish. He couldn’t accept it. None of the audience could.

In the theater, silence fell. No one moved. No one breathed.

Zeppeli—the man who had carried Jonathan forward, who had given him hope—was gone.

But then…

On screen, the dying Zeppeli’s trembling hand reached out, grasping Jonathan’s.

“JoJo… I will pass my final Hamon to you.”

“Inherit my will—my ultimate technique! Deep Pass Overdrive!”

In that instant, light erupted from Zeppeli’s body, streaming into Jonathan’s like a river of gold. His wounds began to close, his strength returning—while Zeppeli’s body, now lifeless, faded and withered away.

“JoJo… all my life energy… is yours now.”

His voice fell silent. His eyes lost their color.

The mentor who had once burned so bright was gone, leaving only warmth—and strength—behind.

Even before the audience could recover from the heartbreak, a heavy footstep echoed through the hall.

Tarkus approached, his monstrous frame casting a long shadow across Zeppeli’s fallen body.

Coldly, without emotion, he raised his foot to crush it —

Only for a chain to jerk violently.

Jonathan, his body blazing with golden light, pulled Tarkus upward with inhuman force—the chains snapping apart around his neck like paper.

“Your twisted spirit… your madness… you’ve sold your soul to Dio completely!”

His voice trembled with fury. The grief and rage within him ignited Hamon in his blood, turning it into a roaring inferno.

“Tarkus! I will not let you leave a single bone of your evil behind! May your soul be banished forever into the dark!”

With that roar, Jonathan charged. His fists burned with golden Hamon energy—pure, radiant power born of life itself.

One punch. Then another. Then another.

The giant’s roar was drowned in the light. His body disintegrated—turned to ash and scattered into nothingness.

. . .

In theaters everywhere, the audience was speechless.

What they had just witnessed was not simply a battle—it was faith made manifest.

The clash between courage and despair, between human will and inhuman cruelty, reached a scale that surpassed anything they had seen before.

It wasn’t a story of vast armies or world-ending stakes.

It was a story of people—of hearts that burned with conviction, of souls that refused to surrender.

When the scene faded to black, no one in the theater could speak for a long time.

Because they all understood:

What they had just seen… was the true essence of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

“Zeppeli… he really died just like that.”

“He knew what fate awaited him, yet he still chose to give his life without hesitation. That kind of resolve… it’s hard not to be moved.”

“Yeah. It feels like every hero in JoJo has such a strong presence. Whether it’s Jonathan and his father, Speedwagon who turned from darkness to light, Zeppeli who sacrificed himself to pass on hope, or even that small boy, Poco—they all have this incredible spirit.”

“I thought so too. Even among the villains, Bruford had his own kind of nobility. He was a knight through and through—his honor and faith were real. Compared to him, Tarkus just looked pathetic.”

“I don’t know about that. Not every villain needs to have the same kind of charm as the heroes. Personally, I think Dio has an undeniable allure of his own.”

“Dio? What’s so charming about him?”

“The allure of pure evil, maybe?”

“Hah, maybe so. Anyway, now that Jonathan’s inherited Zeppeli’s Hamon, he should finally be strong enough to fight Dio head-on, right?”

“I can’t wait to see it!”

“Me neither!”

. . .

The theater buzzed with excitement and hushed whispers.

All eyes were locked on the glowing screen, waiting for the next chapter of this bizarre tale to unfold.

And on that screen, the story once again took a dark turn.

Dio, having returned to his castle, revealed the full depth of his depravity. His cold, predatory gaze, his contempt for life itself—it sent chills down the spines of everyone watching.

Every gesture of his, every word, dripped with arrogance and evil.

He was no longer a man.

He was a king of monsters, reigning over a world of blood and despair.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Speedwagon pressed onward toward Windknight’s Lot, the village where Dio awaited them.

Along the way, they encountered a man known to Poco—a seemingly ordinary villager who greeted them with a friendly smile.

But just when their guard was down, the man’s face twisted into something inhuman, and he lunged at them with monstrous strength.

The audience gasped —but Jonathan’s Hamon flared like lightning.

“Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!”

In an instant, the vampire disintegrated into dust, his scream vanishing into the night.

The viewers exhaled—half from relief, half from awe.

Just then, two figures emerged from the shadows: a sharp-eyed man with a proud stance, and beside him, a stoic warrior radiating calm.

Dire and Straizo—Zeppeli’s comrades, Hamon users from the same lineage.

They had come because they had received a letter—the one Zeppeli had written before leaving, knowing he might never return.

And with them came another:

Master Tonpetty himself, the Tibetan master who had once taught Zeppeli the ways of Hamon.

Their sudden arrival shocked everyone—both the characters in the story and the viewers in the theater.

For the first time, Jonathan was not alone.

He had comrades who shared his resolve.

After a brief exchange of their experiences, the group reached a silent understanding: they would stand together against Dio—against the ultimate embodiment of evil.

Before setting off, they escorted Poco back home.

The boy rushed into his father’s arms, relief and tears mixing as he saw the man alive and safe.

But that peace shattered when his father revealed a horrifying truth—Poco’s older sister had gone out searching for him.

The boy froze.

Then, realizing what that meant—that she was walking straight into Dio’s clutches—he screamed.

Jonathan and the others exchanged grave looks.

There was no time to waste.

Without another word, they gathered their weapons, their Hamon burning bright, and charged toward Dio’s castle.