'WOOOOOHHH!!!' Colt shouted in his mind as he frantically ran through the streets of the 29th district.
Judging by the look on his face, it was obvious that he was giving it his all.
The reason he had decided to run as soon as he could get to his feet was due to something very simple....
He didn't want to face the hooded man.
The battle he had had against him was still vividly imprinted in his memories, and it was not a pleasant memory at all.
On top of that, this guy even seemed to have gotten stronger in this short period of time!
Therefore, knowing of the methods the hooded was capable of using and not wanting to end up hanging like the Wolf's Fang member, he quickly tried to flee the place.
'Seriously, I had to say something, I couldn't just keep my mouth shut!' he thought, regretting the fact that he had said "Hey" earlier in an attempt to protect his pride a bit by appearing to be stronger than he actually was.
Although it wasn't something verifiable, he thought that if he hadn't spoken at all, maybe he would have been able to escape without the fear of having such a dangerous guy chasing him.
Just like now.
Turning his head, he could see the hooded man still chasing him, and he was getting closer and closer!
He knew that in his current state it would be incredibly difficult to lose him, but he was reluctant to let himself be caught anyway.
Just like that, a little cat and mouse competition began...!
"Ack!" shouted Colt after he had stumbled.
"..."
Unexpectedly, the competition ended in such an anticlimactic way before it had even started.
There was no time for him to recover either as the hooded man took that moment to greatly cut the distance, finally catching up to him.
'...God...I'm dumb...' Colt thought, feeling incredibly embarrased.
The next moment, he felt something wrap around his neck.
'I guess this is it...' He thought, closing his eyes, preparing to be choked until he passed out like the Wolf's Fang member...or at least that's what he hoped would happen, after all Colt didn't knew if that man was even alive right now.
'No, wait, I can't let him kill me!'
However, just when he was about to do something, the hooded man forcibly put him to a sitting position and cornered him against a wall, putting one leg on his chest and grabbing the ends of the long cloth around Colt's neck in case he tried to do anything.
"Easy, I won't do anything to you, this is just a precaution." Said the hooded man before continuing, "Besides, is that any way to treat someone who just helped you?"
The man's tone exuded a certain calmness and confidence, and while Colt couldn't identify exactly how old the man in front of him was, he certainly sounded young.
"M-maybe that's true, but that doesn't take away from the fact that you're an enemy of Metal Body!" Colt replied, feeling even more embarrassed by the fact that this man had saved him.
"Oh, but I'm not an enemy~"
Despite the man in front of him saying that, Colt refused to believe it, after all, he had attacked 2 members of Metal Body, himself and Mark, as for Taylor...he was willing to overlook that.
"So what are you then?!"
"Just someone who wants to help~"
'...Huh?' Colt thought, puzzled by what the hooded man had said.
Then, without giving him time to think of more, the man asked a question.
"Tell me, what rank do you have in Metal Body?"
While the man's first statement had puzzled him a bit, this question managed to do so completely.
After all, who asked about something like that in the middle of a situation like this?
"I'm a regular member..." Colt replied, judging that it wasn't really important information.
"And the person you just confronted was a normal member of Wolf's Fang, wasn't he?" the man continued, "I mean, it was a confrontation between normal members of both gangs...so why did you lose so embarrassingly?"
"..."
This statement seemed to have affected Colt as a bitter expression formed on his face.
"He...he was a rank-"
"But so are you, at least for now, come on, that's not the reason~"
The hooded man didn't let him finish and instead moved closer to him, as if he wanted Colt to clearly hear what he was about to say.
"You already know...don't you? Deep inside you, I'm sure you already know the answer..."
"..."
Faced with this, Colt could only duck his head as an unpleasant and bitter feeling formed inside him.
Just as the man had said, even though he really hated thinking that way, he couldn't help but end up thinking about it every time he compared his strength to some member of Wolf's Fang.
"I saw the fight, from start to finish, it's obvious you're under the effects of something that makes you stronger...' Added the hooded man, "But...he still crushed you, do you know why?"
Those words angered Colt, who was now clenching his fists tightly, ready to release all the anger he was feeling, even if it cost him dearly.
"...It's..."
However, even though he felt angry, he did nothing, because he knew he wasn't angry at the hooded man...but at himself, as those words were nothing but the truth.
"...It's...because I'm weak..."
As he finished saying that, his anger greatly diminished, being replaced by the same unpleasant and bitter feeling.
His gaze no longer held a hint of the usual determination seen in them, but he couldn't be blamed, after all this was a problem that had been plaguing him ever since he was little.
However, the masked man's voice was heard again, this time with a slight tone of reproach in it.
"Of course not!"
"...What?" Colt asked, again confused.
"The reason you lost is not because you're weak, but because you lack martial techniques!" Continued the hooded man, "Think about it, if in the battle earlier you too had the martial technique he used, would you really have lost so easily?"
"...You think so...?"
While what he said might have sounded like words of consolation, they actually made quite a bit of sense to the now emotionally shaken Colt.
"I know so, and as a pugilist, I'm sure you know about the difference in power between pugilists because of martial techniques, don't you?"
Hearing that, Colt couldn't help but agree with him.
Unlike espers and mages, which had different methods of strengthening themselves and various ways of using their abilities, pugilists could only rely on 3 things.
Their bodies, the amount of Qi they possessed and finally, martial techniques.
Although the popular belief was that neither was more important than the other and that they had a synergistic relationship, the reality was somewhat different.
After all, there was a big gap between two pugilists of the same rank but with a different amount of martial techniques.
"From the look on your face I can tell you've already noticed~" He said, loosening his grip a bit on the cloth surrounding Colt's neck. "Now then, the question would be what does that have to do with me wanting to help?"
That was true, even if Colt agreed to what this man had said, that didn't explain how he was going to help him.
"Very simple actually, I'll help you get more martial techniques!"
"...Huh?"
Without a doubt, tonight was turning out to be surprise after surprise for Colt.
***
A few hours earlier, at Jay's house, Jenny and Jay had both finished making the appropriate preparations and were now in the living room talking about the plan they were to follow.
"S-So...you weren't planning on going in and beating your way in until you find him...?" Jenny asked, with an expression on her face that showed she truly believed that Jay could do that.
'...Just what do you think I am?' Jay thought as his eyebrow rose repeatedly due to his accomplice's statement.
"While I would love to do something like that, just taking on all the thugs in the South Zone is an incredibly difficult and exhausting task, not to mention the fact that we still have to find the place where he's being held captive, so that option is out of the question." Jay said, showing her the map of the South Zone he had on his smartwatch.
"O-oh, yeah, makes sense." Jenny said, trying not to look too disappointed.
She would have loved to see Jay wipe out all the crooks in the South Zone in a stunning display of might and heroism, but Jenny couldn't deny that what Jay said was completely true.
"Fortunately, we won't have to deal with many people due to the fact that they'll be busy with their own problems, and that will give us a head start on taking care of what's our true goal, saving Noah."
"Hm." Nodded Jenny.
While Jenny didn't know all the details of what was going on in the South Zone, she knew enough to understand what Jay was talking about.
"However, for that we need 3 essential things..." Jay said, holding up 3 fingers to emphasize the importance of what he was saying as he began to explain to Jenny.
The first of those essentials was to find a way to be able to get rid of the enemies as quickly and with the least amount of effort possible.
This would have been a hard thing to accomplish normally, but thanks to Jenny's skill, the incredibly strong magical bandages and the new way of using the parasites that Jay had discovered just today, this had become a simple matter.
Secondly, in order for Jenny to use her ability plus the fact that this would give them an undeniable advantage in terms of real-time information, they would have to use the drone.
"I see, so...I'll have to...c-choke them, right?" Jenny asked, feeling a bit nervous and gripping the edges of her skirt again.
She knew that by offering her help in rescuing Noah might involve doing dangerous things, however, despite the fact that she wouldn't be taking any risks and that she wouldn't be there directly, she still couldn't help but feel scared and nervous by what Jay had just said.
At that moment, Jay stood up and put a hand on Jenny's shoulder, looking her straight in the eyes.
"Jenny, I know you're scared...to be honest, I am too..." He said, making a bitter smile, "But I just can't abandon Noah...you're the only one who I can ask for help, so I'm begging you, please help me."
After saying that, he prostrated his head against the ground, showing his sincerity.
Seeing this, Jenny went silent for a few seconds, she had already decided to help him, so seeing Jay do something like this apparently gave her a little surprise.
However, the next moment, a huge smile formed on her face at the same time her face blushed at an extremely fast pace, her eyes radiating indescribable happiness as she looked at Jay.
"Don't worry! No matter what I have to do, you can count on me!" She declared, standing up from the couch as she placed a hand on her chest to emphasize her seriousness.
The nervousness and fear she felt moments ago had already disappeared to be replaced by a fervent confidence.
Hearing her words, Jay stood up as well, a relieved smile on his face as he once again said, "Thank you."
"D-d-don't worry!" Jenny said, returning to her usual shy attitude. "Oh and...you only mentioned 2 points...sorry for interrupting you earlier."
"It's fine, and well, the last point has to do with finding out where Noah is..."
Jenny started to think about how they could do that, but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't come up with anything.
Maybe they could use the drone to be able to see the South Zone from the air, but the South Zone was too big, that way of searching would definitely take too long, so curious, Jenny again asked another question.
"And how will we do that...?"
"We just need to find a guide...and as for how we will do it, just leave it to me~"
Instead of resolving her doubts, Jay's response only made her even more curious.