"Jonathan, yes, please fucking kill it…" Jeremy replied with an indifferent tone.
"Very well sir, on behalf of the Reds, I'd like to express my thanks," Jonathan replied on the other side of the call. "Well then, excuse me while I do my job."
The call was cut off a moment later and after a second, Jeremy let out a chuckle and looked at MC. They met each other's gaze in silence and with a scoff, he turned to the computer screen and pressed the button to unmute their mic.
"Hello, this is your commander-in-chief who appointed himself just now…" He continued before breaking into a soft laugh. "Know that there would be one of the Reds who would finish the job for us, so please, I'm looking at you snipers and my audience, don't fucking shoot him, please. Also, give me a live feed."
"Roger that, sir," one replied.
"On it… sir," another one added and soon, they were able to see the one of the camera angle shifting from the Dolphin waving the body of the Muse like a ventriloquist, to show a tall man walking towards them dressed in a dark red cloak.
Jeremy couldn't help but smile at the moment he saw him and then, with his voice sounding like he was teaching elementary students, he continued, "Oh, also, one of the shield heroes, please tell Dolphin to drop his toy and move away. Tell him properly, I'm telling you, properly enunciate it to him that the job is done, then give him all the cans of tuna you carried with you, and let him have his well-deserved snack."
"Got it, sir."
Both of them, still enclosed in the cold confines of the meeting room that was pestered with files and folders, looked at the stranger through the screen. They saw that through its cloak lay a layer of tanned skin that had scars, especially across the surface of his forearm and wrist that appeared as if it had been marked by chains. This was the same case for his legs that were left to walk the cold concrete ground with his bare feet. The man, who stood tall with his dark eyes and his thin hair fluttering with the wind, set his eyes on his target that was left on squirming on the ground. He tilted his head a moment after, letting out a pure smile as his weapon appeared in his hand as though it materialized out of thin air.
Seeing a nicked red katana that had a reddish blade appear in his hand, Jeremy glanced at MC with a smug smile. "I'll bet a drink on him being a weeaboo."
Mc responded with a laugh, that too fell short and after a second, she gave him a nod. "You're sure about this? I'm pretty specific when it comes to drinks."
"Oh please," Jeremy chuckled and pointed her at the screen. "I never make bets that I know I could lose."
The Muse growled and crawled back as a response, thinning the muscles that it had built up upon its legs and reshaping it until it looked like a pair of hind legs that of a beast. It grew a set of four arms not long after and stood its ground, appearing as though it was scowling at the man who took his time to walk in front of it. Its defiant eyes met his calm gaze that was only accentuated by his tanned, almost reddened skin, and dry smiling lips. To break the silence, Jonathan raised his blade that was soon accompanied by the sound of invisible chains, chiming as though it was an orchestra of little bells.
"To be fair, if that's what it looked like at the beginning of the fight, I would've said fuck it. That thing could demolish us. But still, things are getting interesting…" Jeremy continued, cupping his chin as he squinted. "Looks like our little target evolved itself because of that sudden appearance of our friend and can't decide whether to fight or run."
"Nah, judging from its looks, it's gonna try," MC smiled before it broke as soon as she saw the guy keeping his blade up to his side. "Though, that guy has a terrible stance, fucking weeb."
"Try to what?"
The Muse jumped back and using that to build up its momentum, it leaped back with a high-pitched roar that sounded as if its throat was about to break. At the same second, the man on the screen faded into a blur and what came next was a scene of the Muse's arms flying into the air at the moment it tried to swing it against him. They then saw Jonathan with his stance lowered and his blade raised towards the sky with his other hand glued to his side as though he was holding a scabbard. However, what surprised them the most was the fact that what was left of the Muse's arms appeared cauterized and did not regenerate.
"Well to fight," MC answered indifferently as she frowned at the man on the screen. "At least he's fast enough and his blade was sharp enough to pull it off... Hey, is he saying something to the monster? Tell me what it is."
Jeremy leaned forward after a moment, he let out a chuckle. He then raised his brows and followed, "All I could read was, 'Your only mistake, accursed demon, is not dying so quickly against my blade… and it appears that I would have to unleash the blackest demon that I have inside of me…' and he's still talking…"
"Goddammit…" MC groaned.
"Well sure, but at this point, if I were that demon I would…"
Jonathan lowered his stance once more and leaned forward as he held the hilt of his blade with both hands. He appeared to be screaming on the screen and the demon, who appeared to have recovered and in fear, disappeared from everyone's view. The next thing that they were able to see was the Dolphin jumping in to kick it back to the ground before Jonathan's blade came in and drove its edge into the back of its head. What came after was a moment of him pulling his sword out and bashing the Muse's mangled body like a maddened little girl with his weapon as though it was a hammer before he ran out of breath.
He fell back to the floor as he tried his best to fill his lungs with air and there, the Dolphin, once again with a can of tuna in hand, stepped in to give the man a thumbs up with its face that appeared to be smiling. MC and Jeremy saw them sharing a bit of a laugh and then, in silence, the mangled Muse raised its broken arm into the air in an attempt to crawl away but then, it just stopped and turned to ash that faded into the wind.
"Now, our guy is just showing off…" Jeremy heaved out a sigh of relief. He then let out a soft chuckle and at that moment, when he closed his eyes that seemed so exhausted, he raised his chin and faced the ceiling with a warm smile. "And with that, I believe the job is done and you owe me a drink, ex-boss."
"Sure, you did good, thank you very much," MC replied, opening her phone to make another call.
She pressed a button and soon, a familiar voice came in. "Hello, this is Jonathan from the Reds, again, thank you very much for your help and I would like to announce that officially, the demon that plagued this land at this moment has been defeated. I would very much like to consider repay—"
"Nice, give me your sword," Jeremy interrupted Jonathan without moving an inch from his spot. "Me wants it."
"I… I'm sorry… but I…" Jonathan mumbled.
"Yeah, a lot of people died and a cute girl got injured, she pretty much lost her hand and another arm because of it," Jeremy continued with his playful grin getting wider.
"Still…" Jonathan added, with his voice slowly turning as soft as a whisper.
"My ex-boss almost cried because one of her men almost died…" Jeremy continued with a chuckle. "Now, she's angry, really angry… because if he had one weapon like what you guys had, we wouldn't have to tear a wall off of her boat, have more than ten people killed, one of her crewmates crippled and had most of the neighborhood bombed because I'm pretty sure that that hot Dolphin-man with you right now would be able to take it down in less than two minutes or so."
The line fell silent and as if he was still hesitating, Jonathan replied, "I see your point but—"
The line was then cut off and MC's eyes widened in shock. It was as though a different yet denser sense of dread colored her face that seemed new even for him. Feeling a sting of defeat because of how his negotiation was interrupted, Jeremy furrowed his brows and while assuming a smug tone as an attempt to break the ice, he said, "So, you getting booty calls now, huh?"
MC didn't give him her usual response but with her eyes still fixated on the phone, the only thing that she was able to do was grit her teeth and clench her fist. "A distress signal, someone cornered Rei, and I will fucking kill him."