All of the sudden, another beam of blue light rose. It clashed against the other laser that threatened to destroy the stadium. The red laser continued to beam out of like a torrent. Eventually, it disappeared as did the blue beam. From the sky, three individuals descended like Gods – two men and one dwarf.
"Amazing! The hat's power was much greater than before!" One of the men spoke.
"Yeah, the modification were a complete success. It's at the level of an Ascendant now." Another added.
They finally touched the floor. All wore black robes that had a red stripe circling their upper torso. Beneath, they wore a simple dark shirt, pants and boots. But most strange of all, their faces were covered by a black stone mask. The leader of this group glanced around the stadium. There was one word to describe its state – empty – utterly empty. The other man glanced around and spoke to the leader.
"Judas, it looks everyone's been wiped out."
Judas didn't respond. He simply looked forward and spoke one word.
"Wrong."
As those words fell, two individuals flashed ahead of them. A man with silver hair with blue streaming through, crystal-like blue eyes who wore a blue overcoat with silver accents, a grey silk shirt and black pants with leather boots – Chris. Another with dark hair, mustache and goatee of the same color who wore a dark shades, an unzipped black jacket, a light grey sweater that had a blue streak across the middle with a white core, light cream pants and white sneakers – Dante.
Both men stood opposite of the invaders. The two parties stared each other down. Chris frowned, noticing the immense darkness swirling around all the masked men. Suddenly, Judas asked a question.
"Where are the people?"
Dante drew a deep breath, tucking his hands into his pockets.
"Outside." He replied.
***
Outside Rush city, over two hundred thousand civilians appeared out of thin air. They all looked around in confusion.
"Weren't we just in the stadium?" Kairos inquired.
"Yeah, what happened?" Saul spoke.
In the distance, Missio grouped together with his friends.
"There's an attack on Rush city." Missio stated. "Brother got us out of Rush city but we have to evacuate the civilians, understand?"
Henry, Eira and Mary nodded.
"Good. Relay this to the other lieutenant generals and get out of here. Until you reach the border."
"Where are you going?" Henry furrowed his brows.
Missio sighed heavily. "Back in."
***
Back in the arena, Dante couldn't make out Judas's expression from behind the mask but something made him think that Judas was relieved.
"Who are you?" Chris crossed his arms.
The trio of invaders looked at each other. Then, they bowed and introduced themselves.
"Archbishop of the Anarchy Church. Codename – Caesar." The other man spoke.
"Archbishop of the Anarchy Church. Codename – Octavius." The dwarf spoke.
Finally, their leader presented himself.
"Pope of the Anarchy Church. Codename – Judas."
Chris frowned, shouting in anger.
"What are your real names? Answer!"
Caesar laughed., raising an arm.
"Apologies but wouldn't that negate the idea of us having codenames?"
Octavius nodded viciously.
"Yeah…why would we reveal our real names? Are you stupid?"
Right then, Dante interrupted them.
"What do you want? Why did you try to attack the stadium?"
Judas responded to his inquiry.
"Simple. This is our debut but more importantly…we're here to summon one of our lord's minions."
Chris frowned, his hand itching to punch the adversary in the face. Dante remained calm and inquired further.
"What do you mean by summoning your lord's minion?"
"A demon like the ones from 18 years ago." Octavius laughed.
Dante and Chris froze, remembering the incident that had scarred humanity. An immeasurable level of rage arose in both. But just then, Caesar asked them a question.
"Now, answer me. Why isn't the stadium destroyed?"
"I blocked it." Chris answered, squeezing his hand.
"Oh, so that was the force that stopped the hat." Caesar stated.
"The hat?" Dante and Chris said together.
Abruptly, they heard a strange noise from above. They lifted their eyes. Their jaws dropped to the floor. Reflecting on Dante's glasses, a massive hat shaped object floated above the city. It descended, passing the circle and stopping just before the stadium.
'Are they gonna detonate it again…?' Dante pulled his hands out.
"Don't worry." Judas's voice echoed. "It can only be used once a day."
Dante heaved a sigh of relief but didn't let his guard down.
"In one hour, the hat will finish recharging and the electromagnet within it will generate a counter-polarity field strong enough to neutralize the local magnetosphere. Without that shield, the barrier will thin, creating a 'magnetic vacuum' through which the demon can pass." Octavius explained.
Judas spread his arms as his voice echoed throughout the city to all those who could hear it. The hat sparked with electricity as the hat's rotation increased at a rapid pace.
"Now… Let the Hour of Red…begin!"
Both Caesar and judas vanished from sight, leaving Octavius behind. Dante snapped his head towards Chris.
"Can you take care of him?"
"Of course." Chris uncrossed his arms and stepped forward.
Dante nodded and flashed away himself, leaving behind a spark of electricity. Octavius approached his enemy as well.
"Well, it seems it's just the two of us." Octavius laughed.
"Yes, it is." Chris went into a fighting stance. "Now, you'll regret ever thinking to attack rush city.
"Will I?" Octavius entered a stance as well.
Then, the next moment, an immense aura erupted from both that shook the earth and covered the stadium.