As soon as one of the Hybrids called out to Kazuichi, everyone else seemed to gaze in his general direction. It was clear that all of them had already seen the notice and they wondered whether their stronghold leader would do something about it.

It was a request from none other than the Tokyo Stronghold, a mobile stronghold that roamed around the entire city of Tokyo. Since they had a set course, Kazuichi had caught sight of them from time to time. He even had a chance to trade with them once in the past.

"They’re a moving stronghold.... why would they need this?" Kazuichi asked himself, confused. He wanted to ask the other Hybrids who were in the vicinity but then he realized it would be a hassle talking to people.

That’s when he noticed the name of the person who posted the notice. And he immediately turned around and headed back to his place. ’So he’s at the Tokyo Stronghold, huh? I hope they’re doing well.’ Kazuichi expressed in his mind.

Once again seeing a shift on Kazuichi’s usual demeanor, Arisu decided to tail him back to his place, only to find out that he was already packing. "Where are you going?" Arisu asked.

"To the Tokyo Stronghold," Kazuichi said, pursing his lips. It was clear that there was a hint of concern in his eyes, but Arisu assumed that there was someone Kazuichi wanted to teach a lesson, that’s why she didn’t ask anything else.

"Let me go with you." Arisu offered as she lightly skipped to her room, getting a small pouch bag with everything she needed in it. As it turned out, she was fully prepared for such situations when Kazuichi needed to leave in a hurry.

"If you really want to, I won’t say no." Kazuichi smiled.

In just a couple of minutes, Kazuichi was ready to go. Compared to Arisu who was traveling lightly, Kazuichi had a huge trekking backpack instead of his usual rucksack. This was twice as big, but he figured he wouldn’t have a hard time carrying it.

After all, he was a Hybrid, and the weight meant nothing to him. He could still sprint at full speed if he wanted to.

"Let’s go," Kazuichi said.

— — — — —

It was easy to locate an Omega Zombie, especially since there was already a network that enabled the scouts to share information with each other.

The notice board was just there to put all that information into writing, and it didn’t take long before Kazuichi located a notice that talked about a certain sighting of an Omega Zombie.

Compared to the Omega Zombies in the past, the Omega Zombies now have drastically increased in size, and because of their exposure to the meteorite, they have become more powerful, likened to speedy Aberrants— only with a greater size.

"And this one is near the Yamanashi Prefecture, right? We should be able to get there in a day or so... if we run fast enough." Arisu suggested, slinging her pouch on her shoulders as they exited the Kazuichi Stronghold.

Since Amaya and Tris were still sleeping, Kazuichi and the others didn’t bother waking them up. It was just going to be a quick quest anyways and they’d be back before twilight. As for Jurou, he was once again assigned to stay in the stronghold, overlooking it while the two of them were gone.

"Stay safe, young master." He said in his farewell just when the two Hybrids who were at the gate nodded along.

"We’ll be going," Kazuichi said with a soft smile on his face, fully aware that Jurou was more than capable of looking after the stronghold. After all, there was a time when he had been traveling with Amaya, and Arisu and Jurou basically built the stronghold from the ground up.

Now it’s self-sustainment was off the charts, they just had to get rid of the ever-looming threat that is the Gigantic Omega Zombie.

"Should we head over there right now? Or would you want to get more meteorite ores from the underground?" Arisu asked since it was always a random roll of dice when it came to Kazuichi. He could be sometimes impulsive whenever they go out.

"Let’s just hunt down the Omega Zombie and then present it to the Tokyo Stronghold. The rewards they’re offering are quite nice, and I’d probably meet some old acquaintances over there.

"How about we race? You’re a Dement, right? I should be able to go faster than you as a Hound."

Ever since their reunion, Arisu never failed to train Kazuichi when it comes to controlling his proficiency at controlling his Hybrid powers. Kazuichi steadily improved since then, but there was no way he could defeat Arisu in a contest of speed.

Then again, he had been secretly training and consuming meteorite ores these past couple of weeks and he wanted to see the fruits of his labor. With a resolute nod, he accepted Arisu’s suggestion and the two of them prepared for their mini-contest.

After all, there was nothing to lose and they could alwayss top over and rest before pushing through with the mission of hunting down an Omega Zombie.

"All right. On my marks... go!" Arisu let out a laugh as she dashed off.

Seeing that she was already reaching her top speed, Kazuichi activated his Synthesis Blood Arts in a split second before taking off. His strength, coupled with his speed, complemented each other and he instantly caught up to Arisu.

It was clear that Arisu was taking it easy since it wouldn’t have been easy for Kazuichi to catch up. As soon as they were even, Arisu doubled her speed, and she dashed through the scenery like a blur.

Even other Hounds would be envious of her top speed, since she was this close to breaking the sound barrier, which was humanly impossible.

"I guess it’s time to ramp things up a little bit." Kazuichi let out, showing off his newfound powers for the first time.