Chapter 180: The Demon’s Demon

Chapter 180: The Demon’s Demon

Kogen stands, confidently smiling as he gazes at Sasha now that his transformation is complete. “This is it, my final form, and one I have almost never used in a real battle.”

Despite her nerves, Sasha glares at Kogen as she thinks, “I hate to say it, but I can’t win against him now. Unless…”

Lightning strikes near them, making them look brighter for a moment. After the flash fades, Kogen makes his next move.

“You’re mine!” he shouts as he launches forward.

Sasha tries to jump out of the way but Kogen grabs her leg mid-jump and slams her down into the floor, cracking it further. She winces in pain just before kicking him in the arm with her other foot, causing him to flinch just long enough to free herself.

Numerous orange magic circles form on the floor around her. Hellhounds rise from all of them.

“You think your puppies will do anything!?” Kogen shouts.

Sasha points at him. “Go, my Hellhounds! Feast on his flesh!”

Every Hellhound makes a beeline for Kogen. He knocks a few away with his fists but the others pounce and bite down into scaly skin, including one that bites down into his neck. Kogen falls on his back, but grits his teeth in annoyance rather than pain.

Sasha quickly dashes toward Joe, who widens his eyes.

“Joe, give me that syringe!” Sasha demands.

“W-What?” Joe utters in a mix of shock and confusion.

“There’s no time! I must use that syringe!”

Joe trembles in terror. “But there’s no coming back from it…”

“I’ll be fine! Give it to me!”

Kogen releases a blast of magic and blows all the Hellhounds away. He takes note of the syringe in Joe’s hand. His eyes widen in realization. “Oh no you don’t!!”

He stands up and rushes straight for Sasha and Joe. “I won’t let you!!”

Sasha clenches her teeth, picks up Joe, and uses pure adrenaline to jump away just before Kogen fist slams into them. Instead, his fist collides with a wall, shattering it to pieces.

He turns his head toward Sasha’s landing spot, noticing she has put Joe down but now the syringe is in her hand. Joe looks up at her, still trembling in fear.

Zeth, Kurt, Emily, and Keith all stare with heightened nerves and an intense focus in their eyes.

“What are you going to do with that syringe, Sasha?” Zeth asks.

Sasha smirks. “This.” She jabs the syringe into a bulging vein in her arm, draining its red liquid.

Joe quickly has a flashback to Daykona’s syringe usage and her subsequent mutations.

“Sasha… Is this it?” he mutters.

After fully using the syringe, she drops it to the floor and begins laughing maniacally.

The other heroes watch her with concern.

“Sasha, please stay with us…” Zeth mutters.

“I will put you down first!!” Kogen declares as he starts rushing toward her.

However, Sasha angles her head back and starts screaming up at the sky. An intense pressure blows outward from her body, stopping Kogen in his tracks, forcing him to use his arms to shield himself as if a strong gust of wind is blowing against him.

As Sasha continues screaming upward, her eyes shade fully black with vanishing irises. Her ears becoming slightly longer and pointy. Her teeth become much sharper, including her canine teeth becoming fangs.

Kogen grits his teeth, witnessing her transformation.

Sasha’s hair turns blood red and her skin turns deep red.

“There’s no doubt that’s Blood Magic,” Emily says with concern.

“Yeah, Joe said that’s what the syringe does,” Kurt responds.

Two curved dark horns grow out from the top of Sasha’s head. Two demonic wings grow outward from her back.

Gido’s words echo in Joe’s head. “You see, Blood Magic isn’t just some random power-state that a person can obtain! It’s the beginning of a metamorphosis!!” He gulps as he continues watching her transformation.

Sasha’s muscles grow slightly and become much more firm, giving her a much more toned body, which includes a six-pack abdomen.

Zeth trembles as he shouts, “The power coming from Sasha is incredible!!”

Finally, Sasha’s red irises return, but have a much more predatory flare to them. With her transformation over, she stops screaming and turns her gaze back to Kogen. She smiles with predatory desire. “Sorry, for the delay. Let’s get back to it, shall we?”

She launches herself forward with impressive speed. She slams her fist straight into Kogen’s gut, pushing in his skin to the point that an audible noise is emitted from it. He coughs up blood.

She licks her lips. “That felt good. Let’s hear it again!”

Kogen roars, unleashing a large blast of magic energy from his body. It blows Sasha back but she quickly recovers and takes flight, using her wings to float in place above the ruined fortress. She looks down upon him with a predatory smile.

“Stop looking at me like I’m beneath you and inferior to you!” Kogen growls.

“You are a mere mortal with some enhancements,” Sasha replies. “Despite that, you act like you are on the same level as the goddesses.”

She swoops down toward Kogen, who yells, “Calling me a mere mortal shows that you completely lack an understanding of my entire existence!!”

Kogen releases a blast of magic energy in the shape of a boomerang toward her but she quickly changes direction and flies around it to keep moving.

“You just don’t get it!” Sasha shouts as she reaches him and starts attacking with rapid punches and kicks. Kogen is able to block a few hits but Sasha overwhelms him, pummeling him without remorse.

However, Kogen’s energy boomerang turns around and heads for her back.

“Sasha, behind you!!” Zeth yells.

“Huh!?” Sasha gasps, widening her eyes in surprise.

She looks behind her but it’s too late as the blast hits her and explodes, heavily damaging her. Kogen immediately kicks her to knock her back a bit. He then speeds toward her and punches her into the ground.

“I am humanity’s greatest weapon!!” Kogen yells. “I will—!!”

Before Kogen can finish yelling or do anything else, Sasha pushes off the ground and kicks him in the chin. She begins backflipping to distance herself.

“You are nothing!” Sasha responds.

Sasha charges her magic energy and then rushes toward Kogen. She throws a punch, but he blocks it. However, she is too fast and punches him in the face right after, pushing him back somewhat.

She dashes and spins around him to get to his backside, where she releases a black energy wave. The wave hits his back and starts pushing him up in the air. She flies above him and holds out her fingers. Sharp black edges form at her fingertips.

“Death Pierce!”

The sharp dark energy shoots from her fingertips and pierces Kogen in five different spots in his upper back.

“Gahh!” Kogen groans in pain.

Sasha flies down toward him as he falls.

“Now you die,” she says in a sadistic tone.

As she reaches Kogen, he uses a charged magic punch and pounds her in the chin, knocking her back at an arched angle. Blood leaks out from her mouth.

Kogen lands on his two feet and begins yelling, “Everything I have said is the truth! With me, we all stand a better chance at defeating the Dark Goddess!”

Sasha, after being knocked back at an arched angle, lands in a pile of rubble. She holds on to her chin in pain as she lies in the rubble. “Grrr… A good hit, I admit.”

The storm’s intensity rises with the winds picking up. Flashes of lightning once again lighten them both briefly.

Kogen wipes his hand across his upper back, smearing blood over it. He looks at the blood covering his hand. “Damn you… You really have dealt me damage and pain like no one else ever has.”

He walks over to Sasha. “Tell me… Is death really better than working for me?”

Sasha finally lets go of her chin. “It’s not working for you. It’s becoming a slave.”

“The alternative is death by the Dark Goddess.”

“Tch. You’re getting all you can handle from undeveloped raw power even when you’re at 100% strength. The Dark Goddess would tear you apart in a second.”

“At the moment, yes. But I can get stronger and can tap into the power of the Enigmus army I create. Adding you and Zeth would be the biggest asset to my army.”

In a split second, Sasha pushes off the pile of rubble and smashes her fist into Kogen’s chest, which sends him flying back into a large pile of rubble on the opposite side.

Kogen quickly pulls himself out of the rubble and grits his teeth in rage. “You little…!”

Sasha holds out her fist. “Listen! We don’t need to become some enhanced slaves to take on the Dark Goddess!”

“Humanity was almost wiped out in the Great Chaos!” Kogen yells. “I have nothing against the Light Goddess but we can’t put all of our faith in her to protect us!!”

“We will do it! Just watch!”

“Don’t say anything more!! You will never understand what this battle means to me!!”

Sasha and the other heroes stay silent as they listen to him rant and scream.

“I will realize my grandfather’s goals!! I am the grandson of the great thinker, Nairo Drogen!!!!! I am Kogen Drogen!!!!!!!!!”

All the heroes open their eyes wide in shock.

“Nairo Drogen was the radical that wanted to change the world in insane and unrealistic ways!” Emily shouts.

“Not in insane and unrealistic ways!!” Kogen roars in response. “He was going to change the future for the better!! He was going to pave the way forward for humanity!!! The next step!!! The next evolution!!! My grandfather was going to take us there!!!! I will finish what he started!!!! I will lead humanity to greatness!!!!!”

“He’s gone off the deep end!” Kurt shouts.

“Yeah! He’s absolutely insane!” Joe adds.

“I don’t know much about Nairo Drogen, but what you have described is the not right path for humanity!” Sasha shouts.

“I will show you all that he was right!!” Kogen screams. “And with his books in my possession, I will do just that!!”

The fight continues to get more intense as a new revelation about Kogen is revealed!

Chapter 180 END

To be Continued in Chapter 181: Kogen’s Rising Fury