Ambushing officers beforehand to get their hands on their uniforms, pretending to be a part of the Kilgen Police Force, only to unlock the doors from within. The enemies looking to claim [The Jay Family]'s territory did not shy away from any method, no matter how dirty they had to get their hands in the process. These schemes led to an optimal result, with the cold Jay now being alone with Jay, whose body apparently seemed too strained to move.
Gulping down his saliva, Jay glanced toward the closed door. The sound of the chaos from outside hammered against the door. Even outside the building, it sounded like a commotion was taking place.
"With all your friends busy, there's no one who can help you now." the colder version of Jay stated, slowly retracting his sword to execute a thrust that would finish Jay off instantly. He had previously entered the room by swinging himself in on a rope from the hospital's roof through the hole his men created in the window.
Erik, who suspected what was going on, was fighting his way through the wall of enemies that flooded the hallway. At the same time, Luna and her friends were about to clash with the enemies on the streets, who grew impatient.
"It would be pointless to stall this any further. You are me, and I am you, so any last words you want to utter are pointless for me to hear."
The veins on the other Jay's hand were bulging as he was about to thrust his sword right into the bedridden Jay's chest. However, before the sword could pierce him, the cold Jay widened his eyes as he shifted his gaze from his actual target.
As if time slowed down, he watched his right arm and sword flinging through the air, while a fountain of blood sprayed from the right side of his field of vision. At that moment, he did not feel the pain. He did so when his confused, shocked eyes focused back to the other person in the room—the Jay who should have been unable to move his body.
Contrary to the information he received, Jay was now standing on his bed, with a bloodstained sword in his hand. The room's short silence was broken when the other Jay's sliced-off arm bluntly fell on the floor.
"Surprised?" Jay commented, both cocky and stern.
"You...!" the other Jay grumbled before he noticed an enormous bag that Jay had hidden under the blanket.
From the bag, multiple empty bottles fell out and were scattered over the bed. They were bottles Erik had bought before the second night commenced—healing potions. Obviously, consuming a large amount of those potions would not help Jay recover completely since the damage caused to Jay's body was too great, but it was enough to make him able to move for a short amount of time.
"So you pretended to be bedridden to lure me out, all while secretly drinking those potions and even hiding a sword... I must admit, you've got me good." the cold Jay sighed, palming his face and lightly shaking his head in disappointment.
Knowing that this version of Jay was in the Tutorial Section, both Erik and Jay had speculated that he would take part in the quest and use it as an opportunity to not just claim their party's territory but also Jay himself. Therefore, the two planned a risky strategy.
Erik and Jay might have been suspicious about the two fake policemen, but they did not look into them further as they were not a big threat to them. If those two men had attempted to harm Jay, then Jay would have dealt with them accordingly without any problems.
"What...? Not going to finish me...?" the cold Jay scoffed, sharpening his gaze as he grabbed his bleeding wound.
Despite standing tall in front of this version of himself and having the advantage in this situation, Jay did not do anything for a moment. Staring blankly, Jay raised his sword. However, when he swung it at his target's neck, he stopped before the blade could dig into the flesh.
"Why are you stopping?" the other Jay asked with a heavy frown. Although he was about to accept his defeat, that feeling was washed away in an instant. With the cold blade pressing lightly against his neck, he could sense Jay's hand shaking.
He huffed for a moment before directing his cold glare to Jay's eyes, which were filled with hesitation. And for the first time, the corners of his mouth lifted, forming a mocking grin that would also give goosebumps to any other person.
"You damn hypocrite. You're hesitating on killing me because you're scared of turning into someone you don't want to be. You're scared of becoming a cold killer like me."
Instinctively, Jay jumped away from him, landing on the floor. Breaking into a cold sweat, Jay stared back, moments before retorting. However, no matter how much he wanted to deny his words, his lips were kept shut. He lowered his sword, realizing that his own body knew him better. No words escaped his throat because the other Jay's words were true.
As of now, neither Erik nor Jay knew how much a newly absorbed fragment would affect the current Jay. If he were to kill and absorb the cold version of himself, how cold would he become? Would he really turn into a cold and ruthless person like the one who was standing in front of him? Or would his personality get barely changed?
"You want to search for our other fragments so that you can become whole? Don't give me this crap! In reality, you only want to accept the good parts about you, denying the existence of your bad parts! If you truly believe that you could achieve your goal that way, then you are better off getting killed by me!" the other Jay reprimanded Jay. He did not raise his voice, but his anger and disappointment reached Jay's ears.
"I..."
Jay stumbled over his words. Multiple thoughts crossed his mind as he tried to put different ones together into an answer. However, he could not articulate his thought process, which earned him a heavy kick to the abdomen.
"Argh...!"
"The moment you hesitated is the moment you lose the right to hunt for our other selves." the cold Jay stated, his voice calm but also cold again.
"And to be honest, I'm also not that excited, knowing that something like you would become a part of me." he added, looking down at the crouching Jay.
He picked up the sword Jay had accidentally let go of after getting kicked and attempted to slash Jay without hesitating. Unfortunately for him, Jay still dodged.
Jay, in turn, was about to slam the door open, searching for Erik as the healing potions' effect was about to reach its limit. His hand almost reached the door, but Jay suddenly retracted it. Stopping in his tracks, he faced his other self with both a determined and nervous expression.
"What now? Go ahead and scream for help." the other Jay remarked, unfazed. Even if Jay were to seek help, it would be too late, as he would easily kill Jay before anyone else could interfere.
"I don't like you. Not at all...!" Jay stated, glaring back.
"Hm?"
"However, as much as I like to deny it... It's true that I've sounded like the biggest hypocrite just now." Jay admitted reluctantly, balling up his hands into fists.
The moment he opened the door for help would have also been the moment he had to accept everything the other Jay had said. However, he wanted to prove to himself that he was not a hypocrite, that he was not only hunting the good Jays, and that he had the right to continue his journey to become whole.
"I apologize to you." Jay confessed. Those words were not meant for a person, but for a part—a part of himself.
Without a weapon, he took up a fighting stance.
"Before completely rejecting something, I need to understand it in its entirety first."