"Do you see him?" Yuki whispers.
"See him? It's impossible NOT to see him." Both of them speak in hushed tones. From the building they're on, they're still a couple of blocks away from the shopping complex where Gary is.
A towering gray mass of flesh and muscle. Its head can be seen peeking from a two-story building. Its huge hind legs step slowly, each sending a faint tremor through the corpse of the city.
What's more terrifying is the creature's head. It lacks a human eye, and a massive maw hangs below with uneven teeth the size of Azam's fist. Not only that, but Gary is fast. Faster than they thought.
While they were observing, they could see how the corrupted soul hunts its prey. It will step slowly, growling in the air as if echolocating.
Once it notices a poor soul, it's already too late. A dark gray blur moves at great speed. What is left of the poor soul is eaten by Gary.
Both of them went back inside their building, cursing under their breath as they slowly walked.
What was that idiot thinking, putting us through this hell? Yuki grumbled in her head.
"Where's Vivian anyway?" Yuki asked. She had not seen the C-ranker since she came back from her scouting mission. Azam just shrugs.
"He said he went back to the city."
"That lunatic! He really wants us to die isn't he?" Yuki curses as loudly as she can whispers. Azam just stays silent, sharing her frustration. Yuki sighed. "I don't even know if we can damage that thing, let alone kill it."
"Let's just scout it properly first, we might find its weak spot," Azam suggests. But to be honest with himself, even he doubts that such a thing even exists.
Even if it does exist, who would even dare to fight such a monster? It can crumble buildings and move as fast as a vehicle in an instant. Plus, it can get stronger, unlike both of them.
They retreated back into their first camp. The aftermath of their training against Vivian is still there, scarring the walls and floors. Yuki immediately slumps over an old sofa. Its rotting frame creaks as her weight falls upon it.
Azam enters the room with his eyes locked onto his screen. He doesn't sit down and instead keeps circling around the room.
Bonk!
Azam clutches his head. "Ow!"
"Dude, what are you doing?" Yuki chuckled as she saw Azam hit a wall. "That's what you get for staring at that damn phone all day," Yuki joked.
"Wow, I never thought I'd hear that again. But Yuki, I think I know what my Recollection does now."
"What?" Yuki gets up from her chair, her eyes glimmering with hope. The young man in front of her just grins.
"Hehe. Okay, don't get excited yet since I never do this." His grins grew wider. "Here we go." He takes a deep breath. Focusing, he musters the name of his Recollection.
"Boxer's Greed."
As the incantation escapes his lips, the air seems to sit still. From his body, a dark aura begins to emit. Without wasting a single second, Azam throws a jab at the wall beside them.
The punch connects; cracks form before the concrete wall crumbles. Yuki looks at it with wide eyes. Azam didn't stop there; he immediately assumes a boxer stance and begins shadowboxing.
His moves are fast, almost looking like a blur to the human eye. His punch cracks the air itself, and a black aura shoots out, extending the impact of the punch. The speed of those punches is no joke either; it is as if his hands were like whips, retracting and striking at a speed faster than the human eye can tracks. After a display of such power, he stops before turning around to Yuki.
"How is it? Cool, right? I got super strength. Although..." Suddenly, the black aura dissipates, and the world feels at ease again. Azam sighed.
"It drains my SP..." He opens his system screen and shows it to Yuki. And it's true; his [Souls] counter displays 0.
"So... a strength boost that requires money to maintain..." Azam nods at her observation.
Yuki sits in thought for a bit. An idea strikes her.
"Let's train to use your power first. I want to make an experiment. Give me your hand."
———
They now stand at a clearing just outside the building. Yuki stood at the steps leading into the building while Azam stayed just a few meters from where she is.
"Okay, now try to do it. Just like I said," Yuki instructs. Azam nods; he takes a deep breath before muttering his Recollection's name again.
"Boxer's Greed."
Once again, a black aura begins to coat Azam's body. At the same time, his [Souls] points begin to tick down.
"One second... Two seconds... Three seconds... Okay, stop!"
As instructed, Azam wills his power to stop. The black aura dissipates. Yuki smiles.
"First hypothesis: seeing if you can deactivate it willingly. Second hypothesis..." Yuki's words hang in the air, waiting Azam's confirmation.
"Three SP has gone down."
"I knew it. So each SP counts for one second." That means Azam can at most stay that way for 12 seconds now, after Yuki gave him all her SP.
A lightbulb lights itself in her head.
"Can you summon... more power?" Yuki suggests, rubbing her chin as she says it. Azam looked at her with a dumbfounded look.
"What?"
"Try to summon double your power. Instead of one SP per second, try to make it consume two SP per second. Can you do that?" Yuki explained. As she remembers, the Recollection doesn't mention it only consumes a set amount of SP.
Azam awkwardly stared at his own body. He sort of understands what Yuki meant, but he's not sure how to do it.
"How?"
"I don't know, just think of it, maybe?"
Azam nodded once before doing as instructed. He took a deep breath. Yuki had instructed him to only activate it for one more second, just to see if it can work.
In his mind, he thinks of more power exuding from his body. His muscles tensed, his posture rigid, his fists tightened before muttering.
"Boxer's Greed."
A burst of dark aura emanates from his body. The black mist enveloping his body becomes thicker and darker. And he can feel it. He's more powerful now; his body is light and his senses are more sensitive; it is as if the world itself had slowed down. In this moment, he felt like he could very well contest with the D-ranked corrupted spirit. But a voice wakes him up.
"Azam!"
Snapping back to reality, he turns off his Recollection. Frantically, he turned to look at his profile screen—
He had activated it for a whole four seconds and used eight SP. Now, there are only four left. Azam looks at his profile with a stunned expression.
"Dude, you're okay?" Yuki calls. She immediately runs towards his figure.
"Yeah... I was just— Sorry, I lost us eight SP."
"What? So it works?" Yuki's eyes light up.
"Huh? Yes, it does. But—"
Clap. She claps her hands in happiness as soon as she hears that singular "yes."
"Alright, that means my hypothesis is right," Yuki cheers. "Double high-five!" She holds both her hands up in the air. Azam chuckles as he sees her enthusiasm.
Clap.