Hearing the sound of the explosion, Noah and Colt also went to the window to see what had caused the explosion.
Like Jay, they also went into shock.
"That's the boss!" shouted Colt as he saw the metal man.
"Shhh!!"
"Ah, sorry..."
Despite Garel's appearance being totally different, Colt could still recognize him.
As for the other person surrounded by pugilistic flames, although Colt didn't recognize him instantly, simply judging by the pressure emanating from this person along with the fact that he was facing Garel, a rank (C+) esper, he could already get an idea of who it was.
"...And that's Jared, the boss of Wolf's Fang, it seems that he wasn't lying..."
Noah also recognized this person quickly, now that he could see him more clearly, there was no doubt, it was the person who had held him captive in the abandoned warehouse, the self-proclaimed boss of Wolf's Fang.
However, instead of fear or anything like that, the only thing Noah felt at this moment was hatred towards this person.
'...This is bad' Jay thought as he signaled Noah and Colt to crouch down and keep quiet.
Although at the moment the two men seemed to be focused on each other, Jay wasn't sure they hadn't been noticed by one of them, especially the pugilist.
After all, the senses of a rank (C) super were already quite acute, not to mention these two people who were obviously stronger.
'Just our luck...' Jay thought, feeling frustrated.
While they apparently hadn't been discovered, he didn't know how long it would stay that way.
The next moment, he turned on his smartwatch and set the shared view to the drone Jenny was operating. He had wanted to keep this feature hidden from Colt, but the situation no longer allowed him to keep this to himself.
There was also a message that Jenny sent just a few seconds ago, saying that two people were rapidly approaching, but thanks to the system's warning appearing faster, Jay was able to find out before he read it.
*BOOM!*
Another explosion sounded again, though this time, instead of looking out the window, the three of them looked at Jay's smartwatch, which was showing everything from the air.
The man engulfed in flames had lashed out at the Metal Body boss, sending him crashing into the interior of another nearby building before chasing after him and continuing to beat him savagely, the Metal Body's boss couldn't retaliate at all.
"I had heard that Wolf's Fang's boss was the strongest super in the South Zone, but I really didn't expect there to be such a wide gap..." Colt said as he watched the fight.
While it was obviously very frustrating for him to see his boss being pushed around time and time again, he knew that even if he got into the fight, all he would accomplish was losing his life.
'Fortunately, it looks like none of them noticed us...' Jay thought somewhat relieved to see that the two gang leaders were fighting against each other, while the battle seemed somewhat lopsided, Jay couldn't care less.
However, just as he was about to tell Noah and Colt to get out of here slowly, a new system alert appeared before his eyes.
_____________
New Mission: Such energy! Such vitality!
Description: Two great sources of energy had been detected in the vicinity, as the [Carrier] of the [Parasyte System], it would be foolish not to take advantage of this situation!
Requirements: Infect and assimilate the energy sources (Cores) of the two individuals.
First Reward: Total Recovery and Improvement of the [Carrier]'s Body.
Second Reward: (20) Parasites [Type Selectable].
Third Reward: (1) Incomplete Core [Adaptable].
Remark: Do your best, [Carrier]!
_____________
'!?'
After reading this announcement, Jay couldn't help but go into shock again.
It was not only because of the great rewards the mission offered, whether it was the recovery and enhancement of his body or the 20 parasites of the type he wanted, both were very good rewards, as expected from such a high difficulty mission.
However, what surprised Jay the most was the fact that the third reward in the system was actually an Incomplete Core!
His surprise was to be expected, after all, even for him, a person who was fascinated by and had researched the subject of supers extensively, he had rarely read or heard anything about Cores. Of course, this was not because he had not looked in the right place, but because information about them was extremely scarce, almost considered a secret subject.
In fact, he could only learnt about them after asking Sarah and James.
The Core, also known as the Second Heart of Supers, were a large source of energy which formed inside certain supers which were ready to advance to the (B-) grade.
The type and amount of energy in them varied according to the type and talent possessed by the super who developed a Core.
Among their effects were doubling the energy possessed by that super, slowly improving their physique, making them longer-lived than an average super of the same grade, and a lot of other beneficial effects.
While Cores were not necessary to advance to grade (B-), countless supers who were at the top of the rank (C+) dreamed of being able to form a Core as it would not only make their transition easier and give them a longer lifespan, but also make them much stronger than the average super of the same rank.
This was why Jay was so surprised, if just the task of finding a super with a Core was incredibly difficult. However, it turns out that right in front of him the system was telling him that there was not only one, but two of them!
'...So by power source the system didn't mean them, but their Cores...' Jay thought.
He had originally thought it was because both bosses were one step away from (B-) rank, but thanks to the system's mission, he could understand why both the system and the parasites reacted this way.
"Something wrong?" asked Noah who had seen Jay's expression change.
"Oh, no, I was just thinking about how we'd get out of here." He quickly answered.
Noah's voice brought him back to reality.
'...Even though the rewards are really good, we're still talking about rank (C+) supers, and on top of that they have developed a Core...!' He thought, the very reason he was seriously considering completing the mission was at the same time a big deterrent for him.
In the end, he made a decision.
"Colt, I need you to take him to the South Zone exit, as for the bosses, they're too busy fighting each other to notice you." Jay said as he tapped Colt's neck, ordering 5 parasites to quickly enter his neck.
He probably didn't need to infect him anymore for him to agree to his request, but Jay didn't want to take any chances anyway.
Noticing the seriousness in Jay's tone, even though he wanted to refute, he could only nod his head.
"Okay, so Noah, I've noticed that you have advanced in rank, congratulations. Also, I need you to heal me as best you can, just my legs will be fine." He continued, pointing to his legs.
Jay had noticed this change as they walked towards this building because Noah's presence felt stronger than before. And also because he had seen the system interface.
"I'll do my best but... you're not coming with us?" Noah asked as he used his ability on Jay's legs, somewhat confused.
Thanks to the fact that he had advanced in rank, using his ability on others was no longer as difficult as before, however, the effect was still very limited, so he could only keep it up for about 20 seconds at most.
"I'll catch up with you later, and Colt, I'll stay here to monitor the location of the bosses and also to prevent them from discovering you, the moment you get him out of the South Zone, send me a message and I'll send you the location, then you know who to call for help, right?"
"...Yes, I do."
While he had a lot of confidence about his boss, he knew that his opponent could only be just as strong if not stronger, so he obviously wasn't going to let the battle continue like this.
After that short exchange between the 3 of them, they parted ways, with Noah and Colt exiting out the back of the building while Jay stayed behind.
'...I knew he wanted to make up for what he did to us, but I really didn't think he was willing to risk himself like this.' Colt thought, amazed at the determination Jay was showing by staying here to track the location of the fight..
As for Noah, he was thinking something slightly different.
'Even though we haven't really known each other for that long, and to think that he would do all this so I could escape...' Noah thought, feeling moved by Jay's actions.
They both had mixed feelings about it, and although they wanted to stay to help, one decided to trust Jay and hurry as much as possible while the other knew it would only complicate everything if he stayed.
In this way, without knowing it, Jay had once again improved the opinion these two people had of him.
***
"Well, let's see what my cards are then..." Jay said after Noah and Colt left, clenching his fists to test how much force he could exert with his unevenly distributed parasites due to infecting Colt with 5.
The reason he had told Noah to focus on his legs and not his entire body was due to the fact that they were what he was going to use the most, whether it was to flee, run, use the Phantom Trace or even attack, having his legs in an optimal state was necessary.
Fortunately for him, even though he had only been under the effects of Noah's regeneration for a few seconds, his legs felt much better than any other part of his body. Though of course, he was still far from 100%.
He then activated Wind Control to form his familiar wind gauntlet, "Against that guy's pugilistic flames, I'm afraid only using this along with the bandages will give me any chance of getting close."
He was aware of the force contained in the pugilistic flames of a rank (C+) super, so in the absence of better protection, he had to improvise.
'Finally, I have Overload, I really don't know what kind of consequences it will bring now that I don't have more free uses so I'll only use it as a last resort.'
Thanks to the fact that he hadn't had time to test the side effects, he was still quite cautious about using this skill despite the fact that it increased his strength to whole new level. Always leaving it in reserve.
"Hm, looks like they've already gotten farther away, they've already reached District 4, how fast...' Jay said as he looked at his smart watch.
Immediately, he began to look at the map of the District 4, his expression that of a person completely immersed in his thoughts.
***
Meanwhile, in the center of District 4, in a neighborhood whose surroundings had been almost completely destroyed.
"F*ck, you're tough..." Jared said, looking at his opponent with even more interest than before without diminishing the terrifying bloodlust he was emanating.
Even though Jared had been attacking him non-stop, taking advantage of the fact that he was still processing the blood pill, he hadn't been able to kill him. Though of course, that didn't mean Garel was unharmed.
Right now Garel lay in a crater, his body covered in metal plates and spikes that had been broken all over, revealing his silver-colored skin from which a warm red liquid was pouring out.
But as if he didn't care, he just kept clutching his chest, as if what he was feeling right now inside him was much worse than the wounds made by Jared.
"Heh, how pathetic, if it was going to end like this then I wouldn't have stopped you. At least that way you would have been able to put up some resistance." Jared said as he approached the crater, the flames in his body burning even more than before.
He was feeling that each time the energy in Garel's body was increasing more and more, so even though he knew it was quite unlikely that he would be stronger than him even after he finished consuming the pill, he didn't want to take such a risk anyway.
"Eek!"
However, just at that moment, a shriek reached his ears. Causing him to turn his head slightly towards the direction where the sound came from.
More than a dozen meters away, stood a Gray Rat, watching everything with his deep red eyes.
"Ah, even though I told them they had to clean up all the districts from time to time, those idiots don't pay any attention... Apparently I'll have to do another cleanup in my gang after this. I hope you have obedient people in Metal Body, Garel, I'll need them later." Laughed Jared.
Deciding that he would clean up this district later, he reached Garel, the next moment, he lifted his foot and placed it on top of his head, applying pressure.
"Goodbye then, Garel, you weren't a good match at all."
*SPLASH!*
The sound a liquid being splashed could be heard at the same time as Jared crushed Garel's head.
Jared then stepped back to begin clearing this district of Gray Rats. However, when he moved his leg, he realized that he was feeling resistance and he immediately realized what was happening.
What was supposed to be Garel's blood and viscera had actually turned into a metallic colored liquid which was gripping his leg!
"You...!" shouted Jared before delivering a strong punch towards Garel's body.
*BAM!*
Unfortunately for him, his fist didn't touch anything solid, but the same metallic liquid that Garel's head had turned into.
Even though he withdrew his hand as fast as he could, it was too late, the liquid had already climbed up both his hand and his leg, slowly spreading all over his whole body.
"DAMN IT!!!" He screamed as he futilely tried to peel that sticky substance off his body.
But no matter how much strength he used or how much qi he used to boost his pugilistic flames, it was all useless in front of this metallic liquid, leaving the way free for this substance until it finally covered every corner of his body, only leaving his face free.
"You're...dead."
Suddenly, he could hear Garel's cold voice, which radiated an unmistakable killing intent. Immediately afterwards, all his senses warned him that he was in grave danger!
*CHACK!*
"ARGHH!"
Dozens of nails pierced every part of his body, going straight through to his muscles, causing him to feel indescribable pain.
Although this attack hadn't killed him, he knew that if it wasn't for the fact that he had used most of his qi to strengthen his body the instant he felt he was in danger, right now his body would be no different than a honeycomb.
"!"
However, just as he was thinking about what to do, he felt sharp teeth dig into one of his calves, taking a bit of skin off. While it wasn't serious by any means, it had been very annoying.
'How could it bite me if I'm coated in this stupid suit?' He thought, launching a kick towards this rat.
Grey Rats were especially resistant to brute force blows, however, their resistance had a limit, a limit that a rank (C+) pugilist was fully capable of surpassing.
Nevertheless, the kick stopped right in front of the rat, his leg shaking intensely as it dripped some blood due to the spikes piercing even deeper than before.
"I see..." Jared said, a vein in his forehead due to the rage he was feeling at the moment.
The "metal suit" he was wearing was not going to protect him in any way, but was even going to let the rats bite him as much as they wanted while restricting his movements and taking care of hurting him at the same time.
"Eek!"
Many more rats began to appear in the vicinity, attracted by the noise Jared was causing. If Jay or Colt saw how many rats were here, they would immediately flee without looking back, after all, it wasn't a matter of 8 or 9 rats, there were dozens of them right here!
Of course, Jared had sensed them long before they appeared in his field of vision, he had planned to deal with all of them after killing Garel. However, now that he was restrained, he regretted this decision.
"Garel... son of a b*tch!" He shouted as he lunged towards the rats, ignoring the multiple spikes digging into his skin.
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