Henry joins the Liberty Sons on the grandstand around the stadium.
"What's he doing?"
Preston says.
"I have no idea."
Henry shrugs his shoulders.
"Haha! That kid is so strong, Captain! We should recruit him!"
Batrick says. It was rather embarrassing for him to be caught by surprise by the Crisis. But he forgets it fast.
He underestimated the power of the Crisis. But no one blames him. Blaze was struggling at first with the Quarterback but after he transformed, the Crisis became rather weak compared to him.
Blaze's Sun Bird cutting through the Crisis is also misleading. This causes everyone to think the Quarterback has no durability enhancement.
They quickly learned the truth, though.
Preston shakes his head at Batrick's statement.
"The kid is what? Seventeen? His power rank is at least C3 or more. He will soon develop his power even further.
A talent like him won't waste his time with us. His playground is in the capital."
"Sixteen, actually."
Henry says. He is currently seventeen, and this is his last year of high school.
After that he will have to choose his next path. It's either the Academy, the Steel Legion, or the Underground Network.
Each represents a completely different approach to superheroes.
For example, the Pale Harpy belongs to the Underground Network, a group of superhero individuals working together.
Blaze is only sixteen, he still has another year to decide.
Batrick whistles.
"Sixteen? Another monster like you, Mister Colson."
Anya is squatting down on her knees and observing Blaze carefully.
"What is he doing?"
Blaze stands still, in front of the Quarterback. He puts the Sunbird inside the scabbard and rests his arms on its pommel.
The Quarterback is slowly getting bigger and redder, becoming much more dangerous.
If it were anyone else, they would strike down the Quarterback immediately, preventing the Crisis from gathering its strength.
But Blaze doesn't do that, and this puzzles Anya.
"I don't know. Maybe he likes a challenge."
[Sundown is imminent!]
[Sunrise Remaining Time: 9.99 seconds]
The Quarterback, in some sense, is evolving its power.
Previously, it only had its gigantic arms. But now its entire body has grown exponentially to match the arms.
The Quarterback's height increases from around three meters to five, maybe even six meters. Veins are popping off on its skin, and a hot steam covers its body.
[Sunrise Remaining Time: 5.00 seconds]
Its head starts to bulge and grow out a snout in the front.
Its humanoid eyes are slit in the middle and turn yellow, resembling those of an animal.
[Sunrise Remaining Time: 4.00 seconds]
Grey fur sprouts from its pores, lengthening quickly and covering its skin.
[Sunrise Remaining Time: 3.00 seconds]
The Quarterback stretches its spine. The bone in its lower back bursts out of the skin and becomes longer.
Flesh grows on the bone, and after it, the fur also appears.
[Sunrise Remaining Time: 2.00 seconds]
Anya steps back, her entire body is shaking like crazy.
"We need to go! It can kill all of us!"
Preston sterns his face. Anya only had a reaction like this once, and they were almost dead.
"Everyone gets back! If things get out of control, run for your life!"
Preston says.
[Sunrise Remaining Time: 1.00 seconds]
Sharp, white teeth burst out of its snout. Steam blows out from its mouth.
The Quarterback is now turned into a giant creature with both the characteristics of a wolf and a human.
"Werewolf? I heard about those movies before."
Fantasy is a popular genre in Ranas. Werewolves, vampires, or even demons and angels are something very familiar in their entertainment products.
"Sundown!"
Blaze taps the tip of Sun Bird into the ground.
The ground loses its color. And so is the sky. There is nothing more inside the stadium other than the shade of black and white.
And then, everyone's heart skips a beat.
The yellow barrier appears around Batrick.
Preston ducks down with his rifle in front.
Anya, Leon, and Dastan all jump behind Batrick.
Henry blinks away, no longer present on the grandstand.
The ground around Blaze crumbles. A mini ball of sun is floating at the tip of the Sun Bird.
And then, all the black and white are sucked inside the miniature sun. The color returns with a bang.
The sun becomes a black ball of darkness, resembling an eclipse.
First, a shock wave spread out, blowing the Pale Harpy away to god knows where.
Then the black sun consumes Blaze. Everything becomes a blank slate.
A shrieking sound of explosion fills the scene, everyone loses their footing. Some fall on the ground, others being blown away.
The school is only a few hundred meters from here. The students are all inside the conference hall, the place where the prom was held.
The ground shakes. Dust falls off from the roof.
The students stagger around like drunkards, trying to stand and not fall down.
It looks like an earthquake is hitting them.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Does the Void even have earthquakes?!"
"Mommy, save me!"
Henry appears inside the hall.
"Everyone calm down! It is only a tremor!"
The earthquake eventually stops, and the ground is once again returned to its peaceful state.
Back at the stadium, everything is in rubble. The grass field is completely destroyed, no longer recognizable.
The grandstand is mostly intact, with only the nearby structure being broken apart.
Preston digs himself out of the pile of dirt and rocks, his face as pale as paper.
"Motherfucker!"
He rarely curses, but he does for this event.
Batrick moves some boulders away, revealing him and the surviving Liberty Sons. No one was harmed, but they are all horrified.
"What the actual fuck!"
Batrick blurts out. Even a joker like him can't find a hilarious thing to say.
Anya lets out a breath of relief and falls straight to the ground, lying still.
"I want a long vacation, Captain!"
[You have gained 100 experience points!]
[Mission progress is updated!]
[Mission: Escape the Void
- (Optional) Eliminate all the power sources of the Voidgate. Progress: 66.66%
- Sub reward: Equipment Blindbox (Uncommon)]
[The Quarterback has dropped x1 Half Wolf's Core, x1 Berserker's Blood, x1 Diamond Skin]
[Detecting your Inventory cannot store all the items!]
[Stop delivering items to Inventory]
Back at the position where Blaze and the Quarterback once were, now there is a giant deep hole leading to the ground.
The explosion was so devastating, it created a straight tunnel leading down to the city sewer.
That was where Blaze and the Quarterback ended up.
But the Crisis is long gone now, disintegrating into three items on the ground.
A shiny pearl with the colors of red and grey, each taking up half the volume of the pearl, split down the middle.
A vial of blood with the liquid inside visibly moving on its own.
The last is a piece of leather.
The Solar Armor has disappeared, leaving Blaze with only his sport clothing.
The Inventory only has eight slots, six of them are already filled.
There are items that don't need to be kept inside the Inventory so he takes them out.
The Grappling Hook has always been staying on Blaze's wrist, hiding under his sleeve. He likes to keep it there. Blaze doubts anyone will connect him to the Wraith with this small device.
The Matchbox is rather small and can be kept inside a pocket, so he takes it out.
The Destruction Wand is also the same.
This frees up the space inside the Inventory, leaving four empty grids.
Based on William's memories, the Core is a common item that Crisis leaves behind, which can be used to enhance the power of an Awakened.
The people outside probably are going to question it, so Blaze has no intention of putting it in the Inventory.
So he only puts the vial and the piece of leather in, leaving two spaces free.
Blaze does wonder if he has no space in the Inventory, will the Blindbox just disappear or will it just materialize instead. A question for another day to answer.
Blaze reaches out his hand and recalls the Sun Bird to his hand.
[The Sun Bird has received a temporary effect (Recovering)]
[Sun Bird (Recovering)]
- Equipment Rank: Rare
- Hidden Power: Sunrise (lock); Sundown (lock).
- Recovering (temporary effect): All of the Hidden Power is locked until the item is fully recovered.
Estimated time until recovery: 693:23:76
[Recovery time can be decreased by charging the item with its respective energy]