Kakyoin's Pov:

The monster called himself DIO, and despite all pretenses, the moniker of 'monster' definitely held true for him of all people, at least in my opinion.

 

It wasn't the fact that he was an immortal vampire, or that he possessed indomitable strength, neither of those qualities were what truly made him a monster. The truly monstrous qualities could only be found if one looked below the surface. 

 

But before I talk about what lies beneath the mask, it's important to acknowledge the existence of the mask itself. The mask was what made him so captivating to begin with, and the reason for part of his great success.

 

Dio was a handsome man. So much so, that with regard to his physical appearance, it could be said that he had nearly attained perfection. He was tall with broad shoulders, had strong sturdy arms, chiseled abdominal muscles, and long muscular legs. His long golden hair almost seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, His face was flawless, attractive and youthful. It had not a single trace of age, despite him being well over a hundred years old.

 

All that combined to create a handsome, yet physically imposing physique. Yet despite his robust stature, the way he actually carried himself, showed an air of Intellect not found in the common populace. 

 

Yes, he was incredibly strong, but it wouldn't be right to describe him as brutish. 

 

He always maintained a dignified posture that seemed to radiate an aura of elegance. If one were to have dinner with him, one would find that his table manners were quite refined, almost like that of an English nobleman. 

 

Many men would be filled with envy at the sight of him, many women would find themselves helplessly enraptured by his appearance. 

 

He possessed a kind of charisma that would draw in all sorts of people, and an insatiable ambition that would inspire those who chose to follow him. 

 

At first glance, he might look like a heroic prince, almost as if he'd just hopped right out of some child's fantasy novel. 

 

However, all this was nothing, but a facade. It was merely the way he wanted to present himself to the outside world.

 

In truth Dio, the real Dio, was a vicious, paranoid, and cruel man. He was a psychopath with plenty of sociopathic tendencies, and had an ego that rivaled even the haughtiest of narcissists. 

 

One look at his past is enough to understand the kind of person he really was.

 

In the old world, He'd been responsible for the indiscriminate massacre of hundreds of innocents. Murder, theft, arson, human experimentation, and the rest was just the tip of the iceberg. He had gone far beyond the limits of what even the most hardened criminals could reach in terms of human cruelty and malice.

 

In fact, the very act of murder to him, was an experience almost akin to enjoying a fine meal. In Dio’s eyes, the worth of human lives only amounted to the value that a single slice of bread could provide him. 

 

This was certainly the case for him after having become a vampire, a being that literally feeds on human blood, but even before reaching that point, he had already become apathetic to human morals. The power he had gained only increased the scope of the damage he could do. 

 

By the time of his first 'death', many lives were already utterly destroyed as both indirect, and direct results of his actions. 

 

Even after he’d been trapped in a coffin at the bottom of the ocean, his influence never really went away. As a vampire, he possessed the ability to create and control hundreds of undead servants. The Foundation, in its infancy, had a difficult time eliminating all of them. It might even be possible that some still survived to this day… 

 

***

 

Although he had behaved in a much more restrained manner after his resurrection in the modern era, his ruthless, and callous nature was something deeply ingrained within him. Despite having a chance at a new life, he still behaved in the same way he always did.

 

The only thing that really changed was his methodology. Now, he was much more careful to avoid falling under the watchful eye of the governments and institutions that protected people. He was just as much of a monster as he always had been, but after having been wounded once, he had become much more cautious and secretive. 

 

Some might say that a man like that could have been saved if only society had reached out to him in time. That his evil was merely a reflection of the environment he grew up in, but I personally don't believe it. When I met him, he was a man with determination. If he had decided on something, nothing would change his mind. He'd never give up, he would not waver, and if he failed, he'd make damn sure that no one else could benefit from his failure. 

 

Still, it's not as if the idea holds no water. From what I heard among the researchers at the foundation, he was born and raised in the slums of old London, over a hundred years ago. In fact, Dio emerged from a place so poor and decrepit, that as he would describe it, 'Life in that wretched place could only truthfully be compared with hell itself.'

 

He grew up in a world where the strong preyed on the weak. Where justice was merely the guise that the powerful used to keep the powerless in line. 

 

A time and place where Ideas like nobility, common decency, and kindness, were nothing but propaganda to line the coffers of the church. The common people had nothing to look forward to but starvation and suffering, anything else was nothing but a dream.

 

In the slums, It was only natural that the shopkeeper paid protection money to the low life thug. It was only natural that his neighbors killed and stole from each other just to survive. And in Dio's case, It was only natural that his alcoholic father physically abused of both him and his mother when he didn’t have enough money to buy booze. All these relationships were predicated on the strength of one party, and the weakness of the other. 

 

The world he grew up in was vicious and unforgiving. One can imagine the kind of person an environment like that would produce. 

 

In fact, Dio's reaction to the state of affairs was a common one. He did not reject the environment he grew up in.

 

Instead, he embraced it and hoped to bend it to his favor. He didn’t wish to destroy the relationships that maintained the broken society in which he grew up. Instead, he wanted to rise up to the position at the top of the hierarchy. He wanted to be the one who decides. He wanted to be the one that ruled over the masses. He wanted to be the one that sold hope, at a ‘reasonable’ price.

 

That was why he craved power above all else. No, it wasn’t just a craving for power, but a desperate need for it. One that dominated and decided how he would handle any and all of his future relationships. 

 

For him, everything in the world was about gains and losses. If someone could be of use to him, then he'd bring him to his side, by any means necessary. If anything got in the way of his ambition, it would be swiftly eliminated without mercy.

 

***

 

Of course, one might find this mindset a bit mercenary, but not necessarily monstrous nor malicious. However there was a subtle  distinction that made all the difference in Dio's case.

 

The thing that separated him from most people, was that he had no moral scruples, or limitations. He would choose the most efficient path to power, even if it went against what most people would consider 'right'. To him, any and all lines could be crossed so long as they brought him closer to his goal. 

 

This subtle distinction was especially bolstered by his boundless ambition. In fact, his ambition was so great, that at one point, he even had plans to take over the world, and rule over all of humanity. 

 

One day, he'd be crowned king of the planet, no matter the cost, and it would be 'right' for him to do so, because he was strong. No, not just strong, but simply a better class of human being, one born to rule and stand above others, at least in his eyes.

 

In his mind, the only justice that the world had to offer, was one gained through strength and determination alone. If one wanted power, he had no choice but to become a monster.

 

He had the kind of mindset that allowed him to excuse any and every act of malice he carried out. As long as he won in the end, then the act had been 'done by the right side'. 

 

But he would not need to justify his actions to begin with. Because he was intelligent, charismatic, and above all, capable.

 

In the end, what truly made him a monster, was his unrestrained ambition, unrestrained morals, and an incredibly intelligent mind to see it all through.