"NO! LIAM! STOP!"
Inside one of the large rest areas for the participants, Maria Paxton screamed herself hoarse as she pounded on the barrier that stopped her from leaving the Ace Prep school team's area. Chloe stood beside her in silence, shaking and crying.
"M-mama..."
Maria flinched, then looked down at her daughter. At the sight of Chloe's tears, she quickly put on a mask of calm and went down on her knees.
"Oh, mi bebe, I'm so sorry."
Chloe nodded and hugged her mother tightly.
I'm still too powerless! Maria cursed to herself. I swore to Julius that I would protect our family in his absence, but here I am, useless!
It took all her willpower not to shiver, cry, or go back to kicking at the barrier that was separating her from her other children.
Maria blinked repeatedly in an attempt to hold back her tears, then she glanced to the side.
I... I have to be strong. Not just for Chloe...
The children who had taken part in the competition were scared stiff. Almost all of them were crying and shivering in fear, and all their eyes were fixed on Maria.
She took a deep breath, then smiled warmly.
"Don't worry, children," she said as she glanced at their coach. "We adults will protect you—"
"We?"
Maria froze.
The coach chuckled and pulled a white face mask from his pocket. "I'm afraid no one can protect you, Mrs. Paxton."
Maria stared at him in horror, then gulped and gritted her teeth together.
"Chloe, go to the children. Gather them into the farthest corner you can."
Chloe paused, then nodded.
The coach chuckled. "What, are you going to stop me?"
Maria glanced outside, then turned her bloodshot eyes to the man before her. He raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Hm? That's quite the expression for a mere housewife."
She wiped her nose and raised her fists, refusing to utter a single word.
****
"IS HE INSANE?!" Lee screamed, grabbing his hair.
"LIAM!" Lisa yelled.
"We have to—"
Raidou's words were cut off the moment Lee appeared right beside him, arm outstretched.
"What...!"
Lee gritted his teeth, then let go of the knife he had caught. He glanced up, and following his eyes, all the Dawn Academy students looked at the upper tiers.
Several mask-wearing people were watching them in silence.
No.
Lee turned away, then stared in horror at the sight of a massive battle taking place on the other side of the stadium.
Heroes?!
Suddenly, a thick white arrow exploded towards them.
"MOVE!" Lee yelled.
All eleven students jumped over the divide, and the white arrow exploded into countless others.
The arrows ignored the civilians completely, and instead charged at the attackers.
A few arrows landed, while most were either avoided or cancelled out.
"KIDS! RUN TO THE EXITS—!"
"Exits?"
The same chilling voice from before boomed out of the speakers, and for a moment, nobody moved.
"There are no exits. I've already made sure of that."
At that moment, the giant floating display exploded.
****
GAAHHHH~!!
Liam screamed internally, even as he pumped his feet and arms.
WHAT AM I DOING~?!
Liam blinked, and a knife appeared right in front of him.
"Guh!"
He threw his freezing body into a roll, and the knife grazed his cheek. The moment he got to his feet—
"Hey, this kid ain't half bad."
He came face to face with a mask-wearing woman, whose fist was already on the way to his face.
Wait—
The fist connected with his cheek, and Liam passed out as he was sent straight into the ground.
He bounced once, flipped over, and slid to a stop. Only then did he come to.
...What... ugh...
He grabbed the side of his face that had gotten punched, hacking and coughing.
Hopeless.
Liam glanced up at the approaching woman, absently noting just how far he'd been launched.
I can't beat... her...
Liam blinked, then glanced at Chad.
But I'm not trying to.
Liam got to his feet. His head pounded, and his legs shook, but he set his jaw and lowered his gaze.
"Oh?" the woman chuckled. "Are you actually going to—"
Liam burst to the left, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
Diversion! If I can create a diversion to get the kids to run...!
Liam paled after one glance to the side.
A total of nine masked people were preparing knives and grinning at him. Behind him was the woman who had punched him earlier.
The kids were behind the nine, and they looked terrified.
That... won't work.
The horror of the situation crashed down on him, and it was all he could do to stop himself from falling.
Am I... gonna die?
Fear crept into Liam's mind, and he barely registered the strange pressure that hit his thigh.
Liam ducked his head, and a knife went whizzing past. The woman behind him reached out a hand to grab his shoulder. His thigh began burning much more than it should.
All Liam could hear was the pounding of his heart.
If I keep thinking about it too deeply...
He jumped forward, then slammed a foot down.
I'll never get anything done.
He kicked off the ground.
"Wha—oof!"
Due to their close proximity, the woman had no way of slowing herself down. Taking that into account, Liam aimed his jump backwards, and he angled his body so that the crown of his head slammed into the woman's chin.
Fear filled him, yes. But he did not regret his decision in the slightest.
I... I have to do this somehow...
Liam glanced down at his burning thigh in irritation at the pain, then flinched in shock.
Buried halfway in his thigh was one of the knives the nine had been playing with.
"Is this fun?"
Liam flinched at the deep voice, and he looked up from his injury to look at the giant standing behind the kids.
The giant clicked his tongue. "I didn't come here to fight some half-baked brat. How come you Pawns get to fight Top-Class Heroes and I don't?"
Liam stared at the man in surprise, then gulped.
The Pawns seemed embarrassed, then one spoke up.
"Sorry, sir Superstar. We'll get rid of them right now."
Superstar shrugged, then glanced up at the display.
"Seems like the boss is gonna make his entrance."
He looked down at Liam, then smirked. "Hey, kid. I'll give you a chance. If you can run while avoiding these guys' knives, you get to keep your life."
Liam stared at Superstar in shock.
Then the shock collided with his fear.
Both emotions made Liam sick to his stomach, but the pain in his leg kept his head clear.
Somehow, that pain managed to rein in both emotions. His mind settled, becoming increasingly clear.
Then he made eye contact with Chad.
Tears were in his brother's eyes, and he opened his mouth and said the words that finalised Liam's decision.
Even though the speakers around them drowned out all other sounds, Liam heard—or thought he did as he read Chad's lips—the words:
Save me...
And at that moment, a huge explosion rocked the stadium.
Liam shouted as the heat and shockwave slammed him into the ground. The Pawns themselves hit the dirt to avoid getting too injured.
Superstar chuckled as the pieces of the display fell towards the ground. "Seriously, what a show-off... hm?"
He looked down, then raised his eyebrows in surprise.
The bloodied brat who had charged at them like an idiot had dashed forward despite his injuries and grabbed a kid from the group.
Superstar stared in silence as a giant beam fell towards him.
"Huh—"
He raised both arms and caught the gigantic beam.
"What an idiot."
Superstar threw the beam to the side. If this debris doesn't kill him, his wound will.
He glanced down at the rest of the children, smirking. Not my problem. These rats will be my bait. I'll be sure to catch a strong Hero—
He was cut off by a powerful blow to his ear.
He leaned to the side and grabbed his head in pain. When he looked back at the ground, the children were gone. Then he looked up to see several pieces of debris falling towards him.
...Ugh.
****
"What a sight."
The man traced the black lines on his face with a chuckle and surveyed the destruction beneath his feet.
Partially melted and completely obliterated. The pieces of the previously floating display formed something similar to a wasteland in the middle of the football pitch.
Hm... were there Pawns here?
He paused, then shrugged.
"Much like that commentator, their deaths are simply drops in a raging river—"
A shield of dust spiralled into existence beside him, and a green and black blur slammed into it.
He glanced to the side as the blur zipped off to the top of a half-buried crossbeam.
"Ah, Spirit. Fancy seeing you here."
The only reply he got was the wavering afterimage of Spirit's figure.
He clicked his tongue. "Right. That speed of hers."
Right behind him—midair—was Spirit, her foot drawn back as much as possible.
Before he could even register her presence, Spirit's leg snapped forward in a devastating kick. The attack connected with the man's head, and he went flying several metres away into a pile of debris.
Dammit, Spirit thought as she looked around hurriedly. I managed to stun that giant and save those children, but this situation—!
Spirit hopped to avoid the sharp tips of four spikes that sprouted out of the ground, then landed on one of them.
"He's still conscious..." she sighed.
The tall man walked out of the rubble, then raised a hand to his neck.
Crack.
He levelled his gaze at Spirit, then smiled.
"Fine."
The earth shook, and Spirit stumbled back. She immediately jumped off the spikes and landed on the ground, then zipped from side to side to avoid several more smaller ones.
She slid to a stop and grimaced, then frowned as her surroundings got darker.
She burst to the side, avoiding a huge slab of grass-covered earth.
"Imagine my surprise when I found out that this soccer field had actual soil."
Spirit clenched her jaw as dust, soil, and the slab of earth that had almost killed her began to float.
"Think about it. The grass would be upside down at some point in time, so how did the earth manage to resist gravity? Hm... a pointless thought. I digress."
The dust and dirt converged beneath the man's feet, turning into a small platform.
"The name's Terra, a Rook of the Chess Royalty."
The stone slab split into hundreds of pieces, and together with the remaining dust and dirt, turned into a giant warhammer.
"Nice to make your acquaintance, Spirit."