Jorge Joestar (Light Novel)

Chapter 12: Rhinoceros Beetle

When I told him Joseph Joestar had died of cancer two years ago, Cars said,

"Oh... Luck always was on his side."

"If he was still alive, would you have sought revenge?"

I asked.

"He'd be an old man, nearly a hundred years old."

"I would indeed. After all, the man sent me into space thirty-seven times. I won't feel freed from that fate until things are settled between us. I've spent nigh eternity dreaming of placing a stone mask on that man, turning him into a vampire, having him devour other humans, and finally eating him myself."

"...........? Stone mask?"

"A tool that turns humans into a good source of energy and nutrition. Mere humans are hardly enough to satisfy our appetites. Turning them into vampires makes them far more appetizing, and drinking blood makes them young again, and much stronger. I'm sure Joseph Joestar would make a pleasingly delicious vampire."

Desperately trying to look calm, I listened to Cars' terrifying story...my mind reeling. A stone mask? That turned humans into vampires? Was that even possible?

"Humans are a life form with possibilities,"

Cars said.

"You can do almost anything if you simply tweak their brains a little. Changes to the brain change the electric currents. If the electric signals change, the blood changes. If the blood changes the bones and organs and skin and all the rest changes. Jorge Joestar, you are quite lacking in height compared to Joseph."

Lacking!? I wasn't lacking! Certainly I was shorter than my grandfather, who was over 190 centimeters, but I was taller than the average Japanese man. As I thought this, Cars reached his hand out to my head. I froze, and his fingers slipped into my head, as easily as an airplane slips into a cloud.

"Eeeek!"

I squealed, but I was afraid I'd die if I moved so I had to stay perfectly still.

"Don't worry, the brain has no capacity for pain,"

Cars said,

and pulled his fingers out of my head, leaving no holes or any sign he'd reached inside me. Just as I was starting to feel relieved a weird sound came from my throat and my head snapped sideways of its own accord and I thought maybe that sound wasn't me swallowing but my neck breaking and then snap crunnch craaack all the bones in my body started twisting in all sorts of crazy directions, one after the other. But it only looked horrible. I could feel the vibrations running through me, but no pain. My knees and elbows bent backwards and my wrists spun the wrong way and it seemed obvious all my bones were breaking but apparently they weren't and I was fine. And I was about twenty centimeters taller.

"...........!?"

"See? I know the human brain,"

Cars said.

"I can also make wings grow from your back."

He started to reach his hand out again but I ducked under it.

"I'm fine!"

"Heh heh heh. Humans are a fascinating species. They seem like they are constantly striving to become something else, but they resist actual change. Most likely they simply enjoy imagining things. That is what I like most about the human race. They are the only ones who imagine, who create. Who make stories. When I was living underground I gathered the stories human had written, and read them. Humans are the only species that enjoy things that happen to others of their kind. At first I had no idea how they were enjoying it. Our brains had no concept of emotional investment, of putting ourselves in other's shoes. It wasn't easy to do. My race was complete as it was, and satisfied with that. And as a result they lacked ambition, made no progress of any kind, and lived a life of stagnation. But there's a difference between being actually sufficient and simply not knowing that something is insufficient. I came to understand that we weren't perfect. We just hadn't noticed that we weren't. We lacked even the ability to realize this