The 3 officers stood straight, threatening. The audience fell silent again from their entrance but when the detective stepped forward, as if to come between them and Julian, everyone was chanting Julian's name again.
[JULIAN! JULIAN! JULIAN!]
The MC had been identified but this time, for the very first time, was supported by the public.
Nevertheless, the red-haired woman smiled.
[Hmph! Looks like the world is against us this week.]
[It's for a good cause, boss.]
[Oh, I don't hate being in the wrong role, it reminds me of prison.]
She advanced towards Julian, but the fear had dissipated this time, perhaps thanks to her smile. The detective was about to speak to her, but she waved her magnificent cane at him.
[Don't bother, I know. Ehem! So you're the target this time? Usually, people are in your state "after" our intervention but... Let's say you took the lead.]
She gave him an understanding wink and patted Cithara's shoulders, to balance the attention.
[Buuuuut good habits are the ones we keep so...]
She poked his head very gently with the titanium-solid ball of her cane, with the smallest force possible, like a friend. But Julian, probably too weak, moaned in pain. Everyone was exclaiming.
[Madam Officer!]
[How dare you?]
[You're going too far!!!]
[Heeeey I barely touched him!]
[We will be promoted to customer rank if you do this boss...]
[Sh-Shut up, or I'll give y'all a doping and alcohol test!]
The audience gasped as the Silver Space players began to walk away worried as Kate looked on.
[Really? Really?! Even with that you play like shit? I swear I will destroy you all! You'll never see the sun again!]
Those were Kate's fatal words, sealing his fate forever. He had fallen at the best time for someone who needed redemption. The latter's ears twitched as her sharp gaze turned to the young man.
[Oh-my-god is this life threatening? How horrible, how sad, how terrible... For you.]
[Eh?]
[Your last mistake was giving an officer a reason to pound you, your first was thinking you would only lose this game today.]
[Eh???]
[Don't worry, you won't need to think, to understand what's about to happen to you.]
[Damn, what's wrong with you? Go jail that fool and get the hell out of here!]
[Ooohhhhh, myyyyy~ First you were my diversion but now you have all my attention... HE INSULTED THE HERO!!!]
Voices rose in the audience.
[He insulted the Hero!]
[He insulted our Julian!]
[He played against the Messiah!!!]
[He looks evil! AND HE IS A THREAT TO CHILDREN!!!!]
[What?...]
(again in the audience.)
[Oh no, not the kids!]
[Protect the children!]
[Seeeiiiiize him!] The commentator shouted.
[As you wish. BRIGADE, ASSAULT!!!!!!-and don't aim for the head.]
The 3 of them jumped on poor Kate who only saw the light, this time maybe out of anger or experience, they performed their strongest moves first.
[OR-]
[DEAL-]
[LEGION!!!!]
And so they proceeded to destroy him meticulously. She then pointed to Moe, wandering aimlessly.
[Who let the gorilla out? BRIGADE, PUT THAT THING UNDER THE GROUND!]
[Uh?! Why me???]
[JUSTICE BITCH!]
They jumped on him and to the cheers of the audience. Meanwhile, Julian said goodbye to his comrades, the teammates of a day showed their support to him and to Cithara, still in tears.
[That's fine... If Mr. Luc says he's personally taking care of your treatment then... We can trust him. Right?]
[Yes and this is the first time I've seen the officer so understanding with an MC... Or anyone in general. I think you are in good hands.]
The smiling detective then had an interesting idea, given the lore of the MC's curse.
[Eh? Oh! Yes! I have an idea! Since you were in this situation due to the evolution of the curse, what about using it to our advantage? ]
Everyone else looked at him in astonishment.
[Since your curse is preventing you from achieving your dream of playing with Cithara and your condition is getting worse because your promise has become "win this match today", why not try again to make a promise to counter your illness ? Like "let's promise to play forever"? Or "reach a global tournament"?]
[Serious? Could this work?]
[Uh... Technically... I don't know, does it make sense...?]
The two concerned looked at each other, Cithara barely wiping away her tears.
[*sigh* There's always a way to make it harder, huh?]
[... Hope and dreams are always... Hard to reach. That's why... We fight for them.]
[You and your quotes... I think those are the only things I won't miss.]
[Haha... ha... Watch out, when I'll get out of jail I'll be a kingpin... Hehe... Get ready to fear me.]
[... You better... Ah... So that's it?]
[Yes, I'm ready... Like that day.]
They then held their hands together, their foreheads touching, and said those words at the same time.
[I wish we could one day play together, like before, forever.]
The group had tears in their eyes again. Julian whispered something in Cithara's ear before turning to the detective.
[Thank you for everything Mr. Luc, you were also a star of this day.]
[It was an honor to play with you, and I don't think it will be long before we meet again.]
The detective turned to the nurses and motioned for them to accompany Julian. They then all walked out to cheers from the audience as Cithara burst into tears again. The A.M.B. (Anti-MC Brigade) noticed them.
[BRIGADE, HANGFIRE!... I am disgusted to beat you. Satisfied, but disgusted. We have to do something about this inner beauty bullshit. BRIGADE, TAKE THEM TOO, I'm not done with the other peasant.]
[Yes Ma'am!!!]x2
The 2 officers picked up Kate and dragged Moe with difficulty then followed their leader, all 3 exiting to the cheers of the audience. The match was over, the festival that seemed to last forever had finally ended on a bittersweet note.
Cithara was inconsolable and receiving support from her teammates, even Puella, no doubt reassured, allowed Marcia to cheer him up. Only the detective and his assistant stayed away.
[Are you not going to say anything, Mr. Luc?]
[No, for the first time, I regret my work.]
[Don't take it that way, in a way, without you Julian wouldn't have survived. Someone had to do the dirty work and that someone had to be smart enough to understand the situation... Don't be too hard on yourself, you saved it.]
[I guess... But no matter the circumstances, I'm the reason this situation happened, I took her longtime friend away from her. If I were her, I wouldn't forgive myself, so I refuse to let her do this. I feel too bad right now to deserve forgiveness... *sigh* Even if it saved him or not... How does it even save him? Who am I to do this kind of task?]
The young girl looked at him worried, for the first time since she knew him, the detective was showing a facet that was foreign to him. He smiled at his friend's intrigue.
[Don't worry too much, I'm just thinking out loud. I sometimes wonder things like this, what is an MC? And when did I start stalking them... Do you remember?]
[...Yes, I remember a weird but very reliable detective begged me to drop out of school and follow him on the craziest adventure ever. And I think he deserves a wake up call right now.]
She smiled at him and patted his head.
[Let's go, it was anyway another perfect case.]
They turned their backs and silently left the scene where an apocalypse was happening an hour ago.
[By the way, what do you think of Marcia?]
[Hm... Honestly, now I understand why I couldn't find any information on him. Whether it's him or Puella, those two look a lot like MC but...]
[They are not right ? A special person who is not an MC... Or maybe just special because I wanted to think that he is an MC? Anyway, sorry to say this, but I'm kinda relieved, I couldn't have endured imprisoning another great human... And I think Puella would kill me if I did hehe.]
[Yes, another "special" woman, right?]
[Haha... Yeah... Um? Oh! Shoot, I remember, we forgot to tell them your name.]
[Eh... Eeeeeeh????? Crap, let's get back! Why are you laughing? I'm serious, let's back up now!]
[Hm-hm don't think too much about it, it's a great way to motivate you for the next mission somehow, like your own purpose in life hehe... Do you realize that Puella was named before you?.. Hehehehe...]
[I'll punch you, I swear.]
They disappeared then on the horizon in this beautiful afternoon which was beginning.
Back at the stadium, a fight broke out between the spectators over a "Punch in the nose of someone who's ugly cam". In a special room away from everyone, a character with long black hair, a face with magnificent feminine features and seated on a luxurious armchair observed the giant screen which broadcast all the events of the match, from these sides, a tall nervous butler by his side. The butler, sweating with anguish as he stared at the screen.
[W-what a story! Who would have thought that Julian was an MC? It is so scary.]
[Probably someone with a dangerous scheme.]
[Uh? What do you mean, sir?]
The young man laughed softly and reassured his butler.
[Nothing, nothing, it was a very nice day, much better than on paper. The most important thing is that everything was perfect until the "Curse of the MC", hm~ It's not easy to hold back a laugh.]
[Sir... You sound like an evil man... You're not trying to take over the world behind my back, are you sir?]
[... What was the most important ingredient for a very long life?]
[Being an idiot sir.]
[So keep doing what you're so good at.]
[Yes sir, thank you sir.]
[Oh and I decided to make some changes to the weekend schedule: add two invitations for Marcia and Puella, I've seen enough, no more time to waste.]
He got up and walked to the door where a young blonde girl with two curvy braids and sky blue eyes in a blue dress was smiling at him as he whispered.
[Luc, Marcia, Puella, "Assistant"... The last characters for the rising action have arrived.]