But Allistair wasn't an idiot either. He felt the tide changing, and by now, the yawn had stopped having any effect on him. He dashed at an incredible speed toward Josh. As long as he took him hostage, he would be powerless no matter who or what his allies were. 

Josh wanted to flee, but he couldn't. He summoned his rat and threw him at the enemy. Allistair could be heard scoffing as he cleaved at it with a two-handed halberd, sending it flying away.

That is when a stringent and loud sound was heard. BEEEEEPPPPP!!!! It instantly woke up all the sloths in the surroundings. But, that only served to harden Allistair's resolve. By the time they yawned, it would be too late. 

"Wait, Allistair!" Markus cried out. 

"Wait a second!" Michael was unsteadily getting up. 

But both were too late. Allistair was now right in front of Josh. He slashed with all his power. He would kill his target and only bring back the brain with him to salvage information. It would soon be over. 

CLANG!

They all watched in shock as the youngster managed to block the head-on blow! How?! Then they noticed the cloak. It had to be it! But even that wouldn't do much. Allistair quickly attacked once more. Such an overpowered defensive ability would have a long cooldown for sure! 

But, the sloths were about to yawn and would do so before his attack could land. But Allistair was as confident as ever. In his head, he was convinced that victory would be his. The kid thought he had won thanks to the sloths' soul attack, but he was wrong. He smiled to himself and prepared to use his trump card. 

He focused on the timing and— then it hit him! Suddenly, he was in a sea of blood. No, the whole world was blood! Killing! Slaughter! Carnage! Massacre! A playdate on a war-torn battlefield would have been more relaxing! 

What was that?! He felt confused. He felt lost. What was happening?! No, he knew this. He had felt this before. This was killing intent! Pure killing intent, in quantity and purity he had never witnessed before! But it was fine, now that he knew what it was he could— 

𝓨𝓐𝓦𝓝!

𝓨𝓐𝓦𝓝!

𝓨𝓐𝓦𝓝!

𝓨𝓐𝓦𝓝!

𝓨𝓐𝓦𝓝!

𝓨𝓐𝓦𝓝!

𝓨𝓐𝓦𝓝!

Josh hurriedly stopped the dissonant and jarring music before the sloths turned crazy. With the noise gone, they happily ate the snacks he gave them before returning to their slumber.  He looked at the people in a coma, feeling a bit lost. He hadn't expected such a great effect!

He quickly brought a pair of handcuffs out: this was a souvenir from his time at Gene Corp.  He only had one pair, but he felt like Markus, Bennett, and Michael were trustworthy enough. The latter would help him just for his own benefit, but the outcome was what mattered. 

He promptly undressed Allistair before chucking him toward the sloth. Now the creature had a nice body pillow! Josh was truly a great guy. He gave them food, brought them back home when they were lost, and now this! 

Then, he rummaged through the others' possessions until he found some healing pills. He fed the others with them until they came back to their senses. 

"Josh, you're alright! How?!" Markus exclaimed. 

"This gotta be the most peculiar delivery job ever! Now I'm hungry!" Bennett commented. 

"You, are you really from Dimensional Legion?" Michael asked suspiciously. He had healed his arm with some medicine too. 

"Please, do you know a lot of level 18 able to beat that guy?" Josh pointed to Allistair. It's when they noticed the man's destitute state. 

"Oh my god! What happened to him?! Wait, you said level 18?!" Michael couldn't believe his ears as he stared in disbelief. 

It didn't make sense! How could a level 18 defeat a guy that was approaching level 60?!  Sure, there had been the sloths, but he had clearly managed to resist one hit and to stop him at the end with some skill. 

Michael could already picture the dazzling future he would have were he to figure out what made him so strong. Everyone would chant his name, and that asshole from Dominion would finally have to give him face! 

"Alright, how do we deal with this? Should I just kill him, or is there still an opportunity to negotiate? You know him best." Josh asked Markus inquisitively. 

"Negotiation should still be possible. Alright, I'll wake him up. Let me handle the talking this time." Markus offered as he moved toward the sloth. 

"Wait!" Josh suddenly interrupted him. 

Josh gestured to him that he needed a second. He then approached and began taking tons of pictures. "Oh yeah, this is going to be great! Now you can wake him up."

"Wait! Let me take a few too! I'll use this the next time Allistair reproaches me for being 'too flashy'" Michael happily joined the party. Bennett stayed far away, for he didn't want any trouble. 

Markus soon woke the leader of Metropolis-C up, and he somehow managed to regain his countenance even in that situation. They soon began talking in private. Honestly, the man's self-righteousness was quite pathetic, with Michael being better. 

"So, how does Dimensional Legion work exactly?! There is such a mystery surrounding it." The Lightbringer asked excitedly. 

"In summary: it's a worldwide guild that recruits the people with the highest potential. Our standards are a bit different than most guilds, and we tend to be low-key."

"Potential? What about me? Would I qualify?" Michael was akin to a young kid asking for a puppy, and he was so hopeful! 

"The current you? No way! Our members can solo clear Hellish, can clear a Floor in seconds, have met gods, have bullied the Tower Protocol itself, have entered other dimensions, and—  it would be too long if I listed it all." Josh sighed. 

"Seriously?! This is crazy! Wait, you said current, right?! This means there is still hope for me!" He exclaimed in shock. 

What made things worse was that he was confident in his ability to detect lies. Either Josh was truthful, or he was the most convincing braggart of all time! Either way, he wanted to learn! 

That's when the two leaders finally came nearby. Alistair wasn't restrained anymore, but he also didn't seem hostile. He uttered slowly grumbled: "You can have D-23 but on one condition." 

Oh well, look who had suddenly changed his mind! Objective accomplished, now only remained everything else. What should he begin with? 

Creator's Thought

Negotiation 101 (CA style):

1. Assert dominance by proving your self-worth (T-pose, violence, etc.)

2. Show that there is worth in collaboration.

3. Use the power of friendship (gang-up on dissatisfied members)

4. Use mystical backing to assert dominance once more. (One they know and respect like D.L. cause it's totally real!)

5. Profit!