Parasyte System

Just a few seconds after the spear penetrated Jared's chest, Jay's body also fell to the ground with a thud.

'Urgh... maybe... I overdid it...' Jay thought, trying to move futilely, his gaze hazy and feeling dizzy.

He had used everything he had when throwing the spear, not only did he activate Overload, but he also used the parasites separately at the same time as he activated his Wind Control to maximum.

Of course, it was also not to be forgotten that he used the fifth and sixth steps of Phantom Trace three times in a row, putting a heavy load on his body.

Although the result of that had been even better than what he had initially expected, it was time to pay the price for having exceeded his limits.

"Just...how...?" Said Jared, who was standing with the spear through his chest, blood trickling from the corners of his lips.

His surprise was to be expected, after all, he had seen the trajectory of the spear from the moment Jay threw it, even though it was going at a very high speed, it was nothing he couldn't intercept.

However, just as the spear was about to slam into his fist, it suddenly changed direction to embed itself in his chest, right where the other spear was, with the latter melting to leave the way clear for the spear Jay threw.

Normally, even for Garel in his best state, it would be incredibly hard for him to hurt Jared to such extent, however, thanks to the first spear opening a deep wound in his chest, this made the task quite easier.

"Damn... rats!!!" Jared shouted, gripping the spear tightly in his chest in an attempt to pull it out. "I'll kill you...!"

Unfortunately, at that moment, Jared's body suddenly trembled at the same time that his eyes rolled back, blood emanating from them.

"GAH...!"

The strong pressure coming from him also subsided almost immediately, as if it had never been there in the first place.

Right now, Jared, who had been using his body carelessly and dangerously until now, finally fell.

Of course, this was not just the effect of the spear in his chest, but was more the cumulative effect of many more factors, the spear had only been the last straw.

First of all, most of Jared's combat power was used in the battle against Garel and the rats of District 4, although he was able to replenish himself thanks to the immense amount of energy in his Core, his downfall began from the moment Jay infected him with his parasites, altering the functioning of said Core.

From then on, his body began to suffer due to the sudden lack of energy to sustain his strengthened state.

Despite this, Jared was able to manage to carry on using the "Unbridled" martial technique, literally turning his life force into a replacement for the missing qi.

While the martial technique did not give him enough energy to restore his strength to 100%, it was more than enough to finish Jay off.

Unfortunately for him, the latter had no intention of getting caught, so using Phantom Trace to its fullest, he managed to stay out of Jared's reach. Chasing after him also took a good amount of energy from his body, which was already having trouble converting life force into qi.

Finally, thanks to all of this, what Jay and Garel ended up facing could no longer be considered a rank (C+) pugilist, merely the vestiges of one.

Slowly, the metallic-colored liquid on Jared's feet began to reunite with the spear, taking the shape of a slim man.

After a few seconds, Garel's entire body appeared, except for his right arm, which was still transformed into the metal spear.

His condition was quite pitiful, with bruises all over his body and an extremely tired appearance.

However, his mood couldn't be better.

"Finally..." He said as he looked at Jared, a feeling of joy blooming inside him.

Of course, this was completely understandable, after all, the biggest obstacle to him being able to take control of the entire South Zone since he created Metal Body, Jared, was right now under his mercy.

He didn't know how many times he had fantasized about this moment, but seeing it happen in truth, he could only let out a relieved sigh.

The next moment, his left arm turned into an incredibly sharp blade and he moved it close to Jared's neck.  Even though he was unconscious, Garel didn't know how long it would take for him to wake up, so he had to make sure he finished him off while he could.

*BAM!*

"UGH!"

Unfortunately, before he could do anything, he suddenly felt a strong impact to his head that made him see stars momentarily.  Several shards of concrete then fell from his head, revealing what had happened.

Just at this moment, as he was about to secure his absolute victory, a considerably large chunk of concrete fell on his head!

That was it, Garel, who also had been holding strong, began to slowly fall forward, his arms returning to their original shape.

*Bam*

"N-no...not yet...damn." He said, a reluctant expression on his face.

But try as he might to get up, his body was no longer up to the task.

That way, even though he was resisting with all his might, he couldn't help but give in to the exhaustion he was feeling.

***

"W-well done..." Jay said looking at the drone that was flying above the now unconscious Garel and also was the culprit of what had happened to said person.

Jay's body was incredibly sore, but fortunately for him, that didn't stop him from being able to observe what Garel was doing, at least not much.

Then, he again decided to move a bit.

"Argh!"

However, as soon as he tried, he couldn't help but let out a small cry of pain, making it clear that his body was in no condition to move at all.

'Sh*t...' He thought, not quite knowing what to do in this situation.

Without a doubt, this time he had really overdone it. In fact, it was already a miracle that he had been able to stay conscious so far despite the exhaustion he was feeling.

'For some reason, I think I'm getting used to being like this...'

Without much else to do, he opened the system interface, selecting Jared's status.

_____________________

[Jared Rowe]

Body Grade: (C+) (Currently C)

Trait - Union (Passive) (Linked to "Qi Core"): The user has an incredible facility at the moment of merging with certain special objects, allowing him to squeeze the maximum potential of said object. +30% of maximum energy, +30% to energy recovery rate.

Available Cores: Qi Core (Extremely Damaged) (Unusable)

Condition: Unconscious, Extremely Weakened, Seriously Injured, Qi deviation...

Parasites: 5

Core Assimilation Status: 90% (Unstable Progress)

Assimilation Status: 0% (0.4% per day per parasite)

(Warning: As the difference in energy and Body Grade between the [Carrier] and the [Host] is too big, the assimilation process has a high probability of failure).

_____________________

Jared's status window was somewhat similar to that of the other Wolf's Fang member, although it had distinct differences, mainly the appearance of new options with respect to his Core.

As for his Trait, Jay didn't think it was particularly good, instead, it was quite convenient for Jared, who had developed a Core.

Unfortunately, that had also been one of the causes, if not the main cause of why Jared's power had suffered such a sharp decline.

Instead, if his Trait had been something different, even the more common type of effect like "Strength Enhancement", Jay had no doubt that things would definitely have ended differently.

At that moment, the drone lowered until it was level with the ground, with the camera pointed at Jay.

'Fortunately, I also planned about what to do in this situation...' Jay thought as he watched the drone on the ground.

Immediately, he felt a certain cold sensation envelop his whole body, making his body become much lighter, as if something was pushing him upwards.

Taking advantage of this, Jay gritted his teeth and began to move much slower.

"Argh, f*ck!" He shouted after he moved his arm a little, stopping instantly, even for him, the pain was too much, "Haa... this will take some time..."

After saying that, he gritted his teeth and tried again.

***

*Tap tap tap tap tap*

A person's footsteps could be heard deep in the South Zone, specifically in the district bordering District 4.

Due to the speed at which this person was running, it was clear to see that he was in quite a hurry.

It took him only a short time to reach the center of District 4, where the sight of dozens of Gray Rat bodies next to the completely destroyed neighborhood startled him, causing him to stop momentarily.

Suppressing his astonishment as he shook his head, he continued on his way, observing the trail of destruction that seemed to end at the very place he was headed.

After several minutes of non-stop running, he managed to reach the abandoned high school whose entrance had also been affected by the same trail of destruction.

Entering the high school, the man could not help but notice the sizable crater in the middle of the large courtyard, as if something had used a great deal of force in that specific area.

Of course, what caught his attention the most was not that, but the hole that was on the second floor of the only building separated from the main school building.

Approaching this hole, he saw a crater much larger than any he had seen before in the South Zone, and in the middle of it all, there were 3 people.

On the left was Garel Cranyne, the founder and boss of Metal Body, the largest gang in the entire South Zone as well as one of the only two rank (C+) supers in the whole place.

His appearance was normally that of a neat, cold and calculating man who seemed to have everything under his control, always wearing a white shirt along with dress pants that went very well with his serious attitude.

But at this moment, the image of a neat man was nowhere to be seen, with bruises and dirt all over his body, he just looked like a poor beaten man.

A few meters away lay a large and stocky person, upon seeing him, even the man could not help but feel momentarily intimidated, although he managed to recover seconds later.

The person who had caused this reaction was none other than Jared Rowe also known as the strongest super in the entire South Zone, the founder and boss of Wolf's Fang, the only gang capable of standing up to Metal Body.

Although his appearance was even more pitiful than Garel's, with wounds all over his body and a sizable hole in his chest, his body was still imposing.

Finally, there was one person who did not seem to fit into this scenario at all, a man wrapped completely in bandages wearing only a pair of sweatpants and just like the two people mentioned before, he also had apparently lost consciousness.

If there was one thing to highlight about this person, it would definitely be the fact that for some reason, he was firmly holding the heels of both gang leaders.

Seeing this, the man began to hesitate, his gaze alternating between the bandaged man and the Metal Body boss, it seems that he was having a heated internal discussion in his head.

Finally, he came to a decision and approached the crater to take a person in his arms.

Then, as quickly as he arrived, he retreated, leaving behind two people in the crater, a thin but intellectual looking man and a large man with muscles all over his body, better known as the bosses of Metal Body and Wolf's Fang respectively.