Chapter 156: Fear of the Syringe

Chapter 156: Fear of the Syringe

Joe keeps his gaze on the syringe grasped within his hand, his eyes narrow with concern.

“Could I really use this? Should I use this? He could have been bluffing about Kogen’s power to discourage me, but what if he was telling the truth?”

The memory of Daykona injecting herself with multiple syringes flashes through his mind once again.

“But her changes…”

The memories of Daykona’s six-arm mutation flash in his mind.

“Would that happen to me?”

The memories of Daykona’s eye tentacle and crab-like claw replacing her arms flash in his mind. His arm trembles.

“I…”

Daykona’s declaration spreads in his mind. “I will be the martyr that slays the children of the goddess and show humanity that we can rebel!!”

“Martyr…” he mumbles to himself as his trembling becomes more significant.

More of Daykona’s words echo in his mind. “Unfortunately, my mutations are becoming too much. Once I destroy all of you, I will have to kill myself. But I will die happy knowing I killed two divine beings! Hahahahaha!!”

Joe drops to the floor as his eyes widen. His arms tremble violently as he shouts, “Would I become a mutated freak that has to die!!?”

He gulps as he continues freaking out. “But one of us might have to do it! Could I stand to just let one of the others do it instead!?”

In his mind, he imagines what it would be like to inject himself with the syringe. In his vision, he sees himself screaming in horror as his clothes rip, revealing new arm-like appendages, each with a different end. These ends include organic scythes and weather-based tentacles that include lightning, ice, and wind. He rushes toward Kogen with a maddening expression. However, Kogen blows him back with a blast of orange energy. He screams in agony as his body mutates further, transforming into a quadrupedal monster covered in thick scales. His face extends out into a short reptilian snout. He roars with uncontrollable fury.

Joe snaps out of the thought in his mind. He breathes heavily as he stares at the syringe, still in his grasp.

“That would be the end of me, wouldn’t it?” he mutters. “It would be my responsibility…”

Now, Gido’s words echo in his mind. “Master Kogen has a plan. Meanwhile, you and your friends are just fools trying to play hero.”

“Does he have a point?” Joe asks himself. “Kurt, Emily, and I are just humans. Sure, we’ve fared well up to this point, but how can we handle powerful demons?”

He glances around, seeing the unconscious people around the lab. His fear and widened eyes shift into determination and narrow eyes.

“No! We can help! These people need us to win!”

He glances down at the syringe in his hand once more.

“But how would the others react to this thing?”

He envisions himself confronting Zeth with it, who mocks him for holding it out. “What are you thinking, man!? Get rid of that thing! We don’t need Kogen’s crap to win!”

Joe’s thought ends, and he sighs.

“Yeah, that’s probably how Zeth would react.”

Next, he envisions himself bringing it up to Sasha, who glares at him in disgust. “Kogen is a scumbag! I would never stoop so low as to use his experiments to fight! Get that thing away from me!”

Third, he envisions himself bringing it up to Emily, who slaps him across the face and yells, “You have got to be kidding me, Joe! After what that creepy scientist put us through, you would be willing to use more of his junk!”

Fourth, he envisions himself bringing it up to Kurt, who facepalms and shakes his head while simply uttering, “Seriously? Come on…”

Lastly, he envisions himself bringing it up to Keith, who grins as he says, “I could see myself using that. After all, I’ve already permanently turned into a demon before.”

Joe’s thoughts end, and he mutters, “Keith is probably the only one who wouldn’t want to kill me for bringing this up. But would he really be willing to become a martyr?”

“Regardless of what I do with it, I wouldn’t want it to fall back in the enemies’ hands, so I will keep it with me.”

He places the syringe within his pocket.

Even with fear grasping Joe, the syringe is coming with him.

Chapter 156 END

To be Continued in Chapter 157: RAG vs Bethro