Dire

"I, Dire, will sink you into the depths of Hell!"

- Dire to Dio Brando

Dire (ダイアー) is a minor ally featured in Phantom Blood.

Dire is a Ripple disciple under Ripple Master Tonpetty and a very close friend of William Anthonio Zeppeli.

Appearance
Dire is a very muscular mature man who has chiseled features and has light hair and an oversized flattop. He wears a light leather armor over cotton clothes.

Personality
Dire is portrayed as a fierce but honorable Ripple User and fighter. Upon meeting Jonathan, he tests Jonathan's fighting ability at countering an imperfect Thunder Split Attack, and later asks Jonathan that he lets him fight Dio one on one to avenge his friend Will A. Zeppeli. Even in death, Dire is determined, taunting Dio one last time by sending a Ripple-infused rose into the vampire's eye.

History
Dire was a good friend of William Anthonio Zeppeli, who trained with him and Straizo to be Ripple masters under Tonpetty. When Tonpetty received a letter from Will revealing the location of the Stone Mask, Dire joined his master and Straizo on their way to help him.

Phantom Blood
Dire first introduced himself after suddenly attacking Jonathan, where Dire used his Thunder Split Attack. The Ripple user then revealed that he only attacked Jonathan to test his strength and see if he really was Zeppeli's friend. To prove he came to help, Dire gave Jonathan the letter Zeppeli wrote.

Before Dio Brando and Jonathan had their last fight, Dire fought Dio to avenge Zeppeli. However, even Dire's best attack, the Thunder Cross Split Attack, didn't stand a chance against Dio's Freezing Attack, which completely turned his body into ice and then shattered it. Dire, now only a head, was able to use his last ounce of Ripple energy to shoot a rose into Dio's eye. For that, Dire's head was turned into ice as well and destroyed.

Abilities
Dire has shown incredible mastery of the Ripple. He has complete control of his body and its speed, to the point of making enemies view him as blurred when moving. He manipulates his speed to look slower than he actually is, a technique to make enemies over-confident and eventually lower their guard. He also is able to infuse objects with the Ripple and can use it, oddly enough, after getting decapitated.


 * Thunder Split Attack: Dire jumps at his opponents and does a split with their arms. He then attacks their neck with a chop so fast he would even be able to put objects on them without anyone noticing. This attack's weakness is that it leaves Dire's guard open for a headbutt or another direct attack.


 * Thunder Cross Split Attack: Dire's best attack. This is an advanced version of the Thunder Split Attack that covers its weakness by making his hands form a cross. It is described as a perfect technique in both attack and defense, so no one, aside from Dio, has ever defeated it.

Phantom Blood (PS2 Game)
Dire appears as a playable character in some chapters and Extra Mode. His moveset consists of mainly normal punches and kicks, with his special Ripple move being Thunder Cross Split Attack (with two variations; one where he attacks only once if the Ripple gauge is not fully charged, and another where he follows with a flurry of punches.) He can also throw Ripple-charged roses and dodge attacks in a similar fashion to how he controlled his body speed in the manga.

All-Star Battle
Dire appears as a support character in the game's Campaign Mode, where he attempts his Thunder Cross Split Attack on the player's opponent, which will heavily reduce their health if successful. He is also available as an avatar image and quote for the player's profile in Campaign and Online modes.