Derek stiffened while the crowd applauded the new president of the NFL Player’s Association. His Survival Instincts warned him that this was suddenly a very bad place to be. A glance around confirmed that there weren’t any large movements amongst the crowd behind them. In addition, the guards from the Order Valorem were in place.

But my instincts haven’t let me down before, Derek thought grimly. Surreptitiously, he looked over at his son who was obviously bored with the speeches about the future of the sport. “Hey Tim, you need to go to the bathroom? This is a good chance-”

But Derek fell immediately silent as one of the men behind him put his hand on his shoulder. Then the man leaned forward with a serious face and whispered. “Running now won’t help. They’ve sealed off the exits to the stadium. It’s best for you and your son to wait and see how they make their move.” Then the man twisted in his seat and Derek could still hear him talking in a low voice to his companions. “Kiersty and Tykes, stay here. I’ll go find Nathan.”

“Good,” The man named Tykes said with obvious relish. “I was worried that the Red Revival would chicken out. Time to see if Decklan really flipped sides or not.”

Quietly, the man who had spoken to Derek slipped away. He took a step away from his seat and it was like his presence faded into a note so feeble it could be easily missed in the packed stadium. The crowd chattered excitedly around them about what had been just announced for the football season, but Derek’s blood was ice cold.

Muscle by muscle, he began flexing his body to prepare for the worst. The edge of anxiety that was present because of Tim being here with him remained present in his mind, but those years of fighting in the dark places around Zone 1 quickly stabilized his emotions. If worrying to save someone, it would be the kind who ruled the Earth, not the strong.

With a casual flick of the wrist, Derek produced three Mana Bombs from his interspatial watch and began to steadily allow his volatile Mana to flow into the tools. They wouldn’t be all that powerful if there was only the bare minimum amount of Mana, but if Derek had some time they would become a real threat to anyone who didn’t have a powerful Fate. The familiar sensation of the cool metal of the bombs rolled across his palm in an even motion.

Gradually, the crowd’s excitement calmed down as there was a strange lull in the halftime show. Yet just as soon as the crowd seemed to notice the absence, the emcee of the halftime show walked back to the podium with long strides and wide smile. Although it seemed strange, the crowd probably thought nothing about the pause after the representatives from the Player’s Association had left. But Derek did miss how the emcee’s eyes were dyed completely red as he grinned out toward the waiting people.

Derek turned to look at Tim with a strange twist at the corner of his mouth. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. The man behind him had been right; if they controlled the emcee, it was too late to run away. “Hey buddy, you have the Hide Skill right? How high is your Skill Level?”

Tim rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Dad, hide and seek is a game they make kids play. These days, I-”

“Buddy,” Derek said gently. Faster and faster, his fingers rotated the three fully charged Mana Bombs across the palm of his right hand. The skin tingled as though it was charged with electricity. His Mana continued to flow into a tight coil at the center of the three bombs in preparation for their use.

It seemed like he had revealed some of the seriousness of the situation in his voice because Tim looked up at him with sudden confusion and worry in his eyes. Derek did his best to keep his voice calm. People began to mutter as the emcee just stared silently out at the crowd without saying anything. Movement could be seen in the backstage area. “Somethings going to happen today. Here. Our world… it’s not an easy place any longer. People might die. So when things start, I need you to hide, alright?”

The emcee finally reached forward and gripped the podium with gusto, “Sorry to keep you waiting. To finish off our time here today, we have a special surprise guest to finish off the halftime presentation during this, the inaugural game of American football. Please join me in welcoming… the leaders of the Red Revival, Straud and Decklan Hyde!”

Even as the emcee continued to clap enthusiastically, the rest of the stadium froze. A few people who were completely not paying attention clapped along with the emcee, but soon solemn-faced neighbors silenced them. Everyone’s gazes turned to the backstage area.

Two men strode confidently forward to the stage, their crimson cloaks billowing around them. Behind them followed an eclectic group of bloodbeasts and strange monsters that Derek recognized from a description he had read. A woman twirled a hammer in her hands and was followed by a flaming undead bear the size of a bus. A large serpent floated forward with a few light flaps from its undersized wings. A man with golden teeth sauntered forward while chatting quietly with a man whose body was covered in flowing liquid obsidian. Finally, a corpse releasing grey ash with every step sedately brought up the rear of the process.

Nemesai, Derek gritted his teeth but continued to speak softly to Tim. As soon as the representatives from the Red Revival appeared, Derek’s Survival Instincts informed him that the danger around them abruptly grew to the point where he might die. The other side was beginning to move and they didn’t have much more time. “No matter what, run when someone comes for you. I’ll try to protect you, but-”

“Dad-” Tim’s eyes shouted that he didn’t understand what was going on. He had been too young during the early days of the System. During those brutal few months before Villages were founded and humanity ran from monsters to stay alive. He hadn’t known fear then like he saw in his dad’s face now.

Behind them, the teenage girl and the remaining man were talking as well. “Tykes, how many can you handle?”

“Heh, all of them!”

“...now is really not the time to joke. How many?”

“Eh…. I can overpower them in quick succession if I only need to worry about protecting myself… but if I’m defending you, probably only two.”

“That’s better. Seed of Arbor. Seed of Arbor. Calm Before the Mana Storm… excuse me?” What Derek had been about to try and say to Tim was interrupted as the teenage girl poked him in the back. She smiled shyly at Derek and then looked at Tim. She held out her hand toward Tim and in her palm was a tiny ruby that glittered as though it was alive. “I hate to ask, but I really hope you will take this and hide it somewhere safe. It’s really important… that they don’t find out that this is here. Can you protect it?”

Tim’s eyes glazed over and he nodded confidently as he took the tiny ruby. Derek could only shake his head, but then cast a gratitude-filled look at the teenage girl. She smiled at him again. And then, as Derek watched aghast, she hopped up onto the back of his seat and then leapt forward out onto the football field.

The group from the Red Revival and the Nemesai accompaniment immediately noticed her movement. Derek couldn’t understand what she was trying to do. “She-”

“Is starting things,” the man said coolly. He cracked his knuckles. “Better not let the other side set the tempo of the engagement, especially when we are already surrounded by bloodbeasts. And still, we need to figure out what trick they have to survive the blowback.”

“Trick?” Derek asked. But almost immediately, he understood. Even if the Red Revival group was powerful and had bloodbeasts squirreled away within the stadium, the government of Zone 1 had known that this might be coming. The immediate area around the stadium was clear, but they had troops waiting for the slightest sign of trouble just a little way beyond that. Whole swarms of drones were kept in warehouses, ready to blow to pieces any bloodbeast with enough gall to show themselves.

Either this group had a way of escaping that threat or whatever they were about to do would take no time at all. They would act and be smacked down otherwise.

“But she’s just-” Derek said unwillingly. The Red Revival group had ascended the stage and stood before the podium. The leader in a crimson robe reached for the microphone while looking over toward the teenage girl. She swung her arm as she traveled midair and a ray of red light shot forward into the ground in front of her. The turf in the area surrounding the impact point began to tremble.

“She’s the Priestess of Arbor.” Tykes grunted.

The man who called himself Straud spoke into the microphone. “I’ll keep this brief; all of you here will die, so-”

The ground where the teenage girl had thrown the object exploded. In a split second, a tree with burning leaves erupted from the ground with its branches twisting and writhing as it rapidly grew to a height of five meters. The teenage girl landed on top of the tree and jabbed her finger forward toward Straud. “Divine Branch of Arbor.”

Straud’s mouth twisted upward. “-so you might as well struggle.”

One of the branches swelled to double its original size and slithered forward like a snake. The man next to Straud produced a dagger and leapt forward in the air to meet the sudden attack. A terrible aura of blood and killing started to swirl around the man as he rushed to intercept the powerful branch. Yet right as the two attacks met, an oppressive phantom of a vast flaming tree appeared in the sky above the stadium.

Rather than a true tree, the phantom was a treant; on its trunk was a face. The eyes of that face were twisted with malice as it stared down at the group who had taken the stage.

Cursing, the man with the dagger was smashed to the side and the attack rushed forward to Straud. But rather than being intimidated, Straud’s smile slowly widened. “Heh. Your enthusiasm is admirable… but thanks for flushing yourself out so early. You were one of the ones we were worried about hiding and making trouble later.”

The branch continued to shoot forward. Straud raised his fist and smashed it directly into the attack. Again, the huge treant with the baleful expression appeared over the field, but this time it was joined by a vast monster of blood and pain that stared at the treant with empty eyes.

BOOOOOOOM!

The wood of the podium was smashed to splinters by the intensity of the clash. The stage beneath Straud cracked and groaned. The Nemesai leapt backward off of the stage, avoiding the reverberations from the attack. But Derek knew that although the conflict looked like a draw, the girl had been on the losing end.

With a sharp palm, Straud deflected the branch as it twisted around to strike for a second time. With his robe billowing around him, he raised both of his hands. “Worry not, ye sinful masses. This place will be the altar where God may descend… and then he can lead us to paradise.”