The exterminator chronicles

Chapter 15: Joze Awakening

Joze collapsed onto the train, creating a clashing sound as he coughed up blood. “I can’t breathe,” he gasped for air, while the passengers inside the train murmured, “What’s that?” The Reaper leaped towards Joze, aiming to stomp on him. “I’ve got to move,” Joze thought, rolling slightly to the right. The Reaper missed, but his landing caused the train to clash and shake, alarming the passengers. Despite struggling, Joze stood up, determination in his eyes. “I’m not going to die here, not now.”

The Reaper dashed towards Joze, hurling a barrage of punches. Joze dodged and blocked some of them, his arms covered in a protective white aura. “Why don’t you just give up? Your fate has already been sealed,” the Reaper taunted, his arms bulging and becoming muscular like those of a gorilla. He charged at high speed, then leaped to crush Joze’s head with both hands. Joze narrowly avoided the attack, jumping back as the Reaper’s fists slammed into the train, causing it to shake violently. The passengers panicked.

Without wasting a moment, the Reaper charged again, screaming his move, “Machine Gun Barrage,” as he unleashed a rapid succession of punches. Joze tried to block them but ended up hurting his hands. “I can’t keep blocking them; I’ll end up losing my arms,” Joze realized, his reflexes slowing as the Reaper continued his assault. “Now for the final move,” the Reaper announced, concentrating his aura into his right hand for the “Continental Crush.” He aimed a devastating punch at Joze’s chest. In a split second, Joze instinctively concentrated all his aura into his chest, as there was no time to block. The force of the punch sent Joze flying off the train, crashing into a construction site and impaling on metal bars. He coughed up blood, losing consciousness.

Too injured to move, Joze lay helpless as the Reaper landed beside him, laughing. “You acted arrogantly, little boy. Where is all your energy now? I told you, didn’t I? Your fate has been decided.” The Reaper walked slowly towards Joze, who couldn’t move even a finger. “Oh yes, I remember the question you asked me. You deserve an answer since you’re dying anyway. The one who sent me was your old boss, and as for why I blew up the building, I was trying to kill you and your friends, especially this girl.” The Reaper pulled a picture from his pocket, showing it to Joze. “He told me if I kill her too, my payment will be doubled. So, I’ll kill her later.” Joze whispered something inaudible.

“What was that?” the Reaper leaned closer. Suddenly, Joze’s aura began to build up, enveloping his entire body. The Reaper laughed again, “It’s futile; you can’t win.” But Joze’s aura intensified, and he stood up, his voice firm. “Don’t you dare touch my sister. I will kill you.” His aura changed color to yellow, creating pressure that pushed everything around away and shook the ground. “What! Did he just awaken his power?” the Reaper exclaimed in shock.

Joze shifted into a fighting stance, channeling his aura into his right arm, creating a shockwave that shattered the ground. “Now,” he declared, glaring at the Reaper with fury. “I’m going to kill you.” He focused his yellow aura around his legs and launched himself towards the Reaper like a shooting star with a yellow tail. “I can’t dodge this; he’s coming too fast,” the Reaper thought, bracing for impact by focusing all his aura into his arms, which grew larger for defense.

Upon impact, Joze’s punch vibrated the air particles, creating a high-frequency shockwave that caused the Reaper’s veins to burst. A larger shockwave followed, sending the Reaper flying through the building, crashing through walls. The Reaper stood up, bewildered. “What just happened? My blood vessels were bursting even before his punch reached me.” He coughed up blood, realizing he had sustained more damage than he thought. Focusing on his body, the Reaper began to reattach his blood vessels, only those not too damaged.

Meanwhile, Max and Kite had just arrived, hovering in mid-air. “That was too fast,” Max exclaimed. “Are you trying to kill me?” Kite, analyzing the situation, observed, “Oh, did he just awaken his kin ability? From the looks of it, he must be an EssenceKin.” Max, looking at Joze in surprise, thought, “Did Joze just awaken his ability?”

Back to the battle The Reaper, assessing his condition, realized, “With one punch, I took this much damage.” He coughed up blood again. “Damn that kid. His ability must be dangerous. I hate to admit it, but if I continue using this form, there’s no doubt in my mind that I will lose. But it’s sad because even now that he has awakened his ability, he will still lose. I feel sorry for him.” The Reaper began to laugh, an evil aura building around him. “Now, second awakening!” The pressure from his aura pushed everything away, even stronger than Joze’s. His aura changed to orange as his body transformed into a giant, 8-foot-tall muscular figure with bones protruding to create an armored form. “I call this form ‘The End,’ because no one who has seen it has ever survived.”

Max and Kite watched from above. “By the looks of it, he must be a FormaKin,” Kite remarked. “This looks bad. Shouldn’t we help him?” Max replied, “No, let’s watch. Joze has just awakened his ability. Let’s see what he’s capable of.”