Jasmine Everhart, codenamed Blood Red Jasmine. Despite her name being derived from a delicate white flower, she was a jasmine with thorns and blood, dancing amidst fallen soldiers, soaking up the blood and blooming within their flesh.
She was Blood Red Jasmine.
She had earned this nickname not only because of her fighting style but also due to her merciless nature. Unlike other members of the Everhart family, who enjoyed the thrill of battle, she did not. Instead, she took pleasure in killing.
When the name Everhart is mentioned, the first things that come to mind are blood-red locks and a battle-hungry maniac. It was said that every single member of the Everhart family had a loose screw, and the stronger they were, the madder they became.
They would stop at nothing to enjoy their battles, making them as fearsome as the Warburn family.
But just as there are always black sheep in a flock, there were unusual Everharts too. Emerald was one, and Jasmine was another.
Emerald valued her teammates above all else. She loved battle, but she loved her comrades more. She enjoyed combat only because it allowed her to fight beside them. This was why she had forsaken everything after learning of their deaths.
Jasmine was well aware of Emerald's personality, which is why she had guessed Emerald was most likely dead the moment she found the corpses of the Libra Squad in the tunnel.
Jasmine had her own peculiar personality: her cold-heartedness. Jasmine loved killing, and this was why she was one of the most feared Majors in the special squad.
But at this moment, this fearsome and terrifying individual had a look of absolute horror in her eyes when she saw the tattoo etched on the shrunken piece of skin in the bag.
"Impossible!" she muttered, making the other soldiers beside her exchange confused glances.
The soldier examining Emerald didn't seem to notice; he continued his analysis.
"She used the release mode. A captain can only last five minutes in release mode, but judging by the condition of the armor, her skin, and the strange blood vessels in her eyes, she seemed to have lasted at least twenty minutes before dying."
The soldier couldn't hide his shock. Everyone knew that surpassing the maximum time of release mode in the Spartan armor meant instant death, which was why five minutes for Captains was actually four minutes and fifty seconds.
But Emerald had not only surpassed that, she had doubled the time. They couldn't even begin to imagine the will, determination, and pain it had cost her.
"It cost her her life," Marcus spoke solemnly, as if reading the minds of the soldiers. "What you should be wondering is why she lasted that long."
Marcus walked around the area, his eyes scanning the bodies of mutants piled around.
"If her goal was to kill the enemy, then considering we can't find the body, the enemy definitely survived and escaped."
"Captain, you can't possibly mean…"
"Yes. This means even with release mode, twenty minutes wasn't enough to kill the enemy."
A tense atmosphere immediately descended upon the area, the whole space seeming to grow darker. Most of the soldiers found themselves looking around, worried the enemy might pop out at any moment.
"Major, there's something I don't understand… This doesn't make any sense. This mark symbolizes an organization, this skin is human. What does it have to do with mutants?" Marcus asked Jasmine. But before Jasmine could reply, his eyes widened as he began to piece together the puzzle.
He looked at Jasmine, fear and horror filling his eyes. His mouth opened and closed multiple times, but no words came out.
"Impossible…" he finally managed to mutter.
The soldiers looked at the duo, their fear increasing. A Major and a Captain had just uttered the word 'impossible!' with fear in their eyes.
They couldn't even begin to fathom what could make such figures so fearful. It made them worry they might die at any moment.
Jasmine finally snapped out of her thoughts, her gaze clearing. She gritted her teeth before grabbing the coffin-like case that had been following her and Marcus around.
The eyes of the soldiers, including Marcus, widened. The case contained their weapons but was originally made to house the weapon of a Major.
The weapons that could fully bring out the strength of a Major were special and thus had special casing. Most of the soldiers under Jasmine had never seen her weapon before.
"Take Emerald's body and that of the other members of the Libra Squad back to the base. Give the skin to another Major, or if possible, the Commander herself," Jasmine ordered as her hands moved, pressing a code into the case.
Pssshh!
The case suddenly released a wave of fog that soon filled the area. A chill ran down the soldiers' spines—not just from fear and excitement, but because the temperature in the space had dropped.
A thick scent of blood soon followed as the case opened, revealing the weapon housed within.
It was a pitch-black scythe, made of a material reminiscent of obsidian. It was so dark that the rest of the tunnel seemed brighter in comparison.
It was simple and unadorned, with a blood-red chain running down its shaft, intertwining with it like a python wrapping around its prey.
The malevolent weapon seemed to have a presence of its own, its dark blade gleaming. With the scent of blood in the air, it was almost as if the Grim Reaper itself was before the team.
Jasmine reached out her hand, her fair and delicate fingers wrapping around the shaft. Suddenly, it was as if she became complete, as though a hidden part of her had been revealed.
"You are to remain at the base," Jasmine finished her order to the soldiers, who were stunned into silence. She looked at Marcus, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
Marcus recognized that glint; he had been seeing it for the past ten years since he became a Captain under Jasmine.
It was the same glint Jasmine had whenever she stepped onto the battlefield. It was a hunger for blood!
"Get ready. It's time to hunt."