The oval object Hakera threw was a Force-Field smoke grenade called a Deterix, designed to repel anything within its maximum radius. The extent of the repulsion and smoke emission depended on the size of the Deterix, while the damage it caused was influenced by the toughness of the surroundings and its occupants.
Five seconds before the explosion, Hector and Aeron, running at full speed, were midway to the player tunnel.
The explosion sent shockwaves throughout the entire stadium, followed by a smoke screen that slowly crept onto the football pitch from the player tunnel. Hector and Aeron were stunned and fell from the shockwave. After a few seconds of recovery, they approached the smoke screen slowly and cautiously.
As they neared the smoke screen, the air grew tense.
The door of the player tunnel came flying at great speed from the smoke screen, hitting Hector and Aeron and sending them flying back to the middle of the pitch.
The flying door cleared the smoke screen to some extent, revealing the silhouette of a massive figure becoming gradually clearer.
Standing behind the fading smoke screen was a brutally damaged 6'6" fellow with a muscular build and a buzz cut—Fortis, the Starfall Reach's trump card. He had been in the dark room, standing in the shadows with Veda. He was the one who opened the door for Hakera.
When Veda screamed his name, Fortis quickly moved from the shadows to shield Veda from the Deterix and the explosion's aftermath.
"Arghh... I think I cracked my ribs," Aeron groaned, clutching his right hand to the left side of his abdomen.
"Who the hell is that? How come we don't have any info on that guy? Tch, screw Corsair. He had one job but missed the important part. Damn it, my legs are wobbly," Hector whined as he struggled to stand.
"Let's gather our thoughts and prepare for a counter-attack. He could charge at any moment," Aeron said, struggling to rise.
As Fortis pulled off his torn jacket, his entire body started emitting a steam-like gas, and his wounds began to heal gradually. He threw the shattered jacket on the ground and took a step forward.
He's huge! Aeron and Hector thought to themselves.
"Here he comes!" Hector exclaimed, eyes shining in anticipation.
As they reached for their pockets, Fortis dashed towards them like a bullet, shocking them both.
"Sh-" Before Aeron could finish his statement, Fortis launched him into the air with a massive uppercut, causing his brain to bounce around his skull. Aeron became unconscious mid-air, his eyes rolling back.
In that split second, Hector pulled something from his right pocket and threw it toward the player tunnel, where the smoke screen was still thick. Their plan had been executed at that moment.
Immediately after, Fortis grabbed Hector's arm, sweeping his feet off the ground and punching him into the ground, creating a crack in the spot. Hector became unconscious.
As Aeron was about to hit the ground, he forced himself back to consciousness, pulled something from his right pocket, and clenched his fist. A strange ray of light shone from his fist, followed by a smoke screen. A spear from the east called Yari, with a chain attached to it for long-range combat, appeared in his palm.
He performed a mid-air recovery and swung the Yari at Fortis with a slight roar. The Yari pierced through Fortis and even penetrated the ground, pinning Fortis down.
Blood splattered forcefully from Fortis' chest. The Yari landed very close to Hector's head. Upon hearing the clanging sound of the Yari's iron tip, Hector regained consciousness, gritted his teeth, and got up immediately. He pulled something from his pocket and swung his fist toward Fortis' neck. The same ray of light and smoke emerged from his fist, and a battle axe appeared in his grip.
As Fortis saw the incoming axe, he caught it with his fingers before it touched his palm.
Seeing the danger Hector was in, Aeron, upon landing, pulled the Yari from Fortis' chest with the chain. The Yari hit the axe, giving Hector time to retrieve it and back off.
Fortis stood straight, his chest started emitting the same steam-like gas from earlier, and his wounds began to heal again.
In Etern, the average human possessed the remarkable ability to heal or regenerate both internal injuries, such as toxins and broken bones, and external ones, including wounds or lost limbs. The speed of regeneration, however, varied depending on the injury's severity.
For the least severe injuries like a bruise, it took approximately two hours to heal completely with no scars. For the most severe injuries like a lost limb, it took approximately 24 hours to regenerate fully with no scars.
But for Fortis, it was different. Fortis had taken damage 20 times more than the average human, causing his body to adapt by increasing his regenerative-healing factor's speed up to 10 times more than the average human's.
However, this massively depleted his stamina. Perhaps, that's why he could only regenerate quickly while being stationary. The regenerative-healing factor was fully functional when one was asleep.
Fortis' upgrade began when he was placed in the boarding world at age 15, two years before any faction existed. The boarding school was an "every man for himself" environment, with brutal struggles for food and resources among the students. Fortis had to escape the pangs of hunger, accumulating many injuries.
He would take from others, and others would take from him. His hellish days lasted for two years until factions were established.
At 17, on a fateful full moon night, Fortis had acquired a significant amount of food and resources. However, this drew the attention of four young struggling students who planned to gang up on him and share the loot.
At 5'11", Fortis appeared intimidating, prompting them to use numbers. They had broken metal pipes, iron rods, long cables, and heavy metal discs for ranged attacks.
"Drop the resources and flee, or we'd hurt you," one of the students threatened. The four were younger and far shorter than Fortis.
Fortis dropped the bag of resources and dashed toward them. Shocked by his audacity, they fought, but Fortis emerged victorious, though injured. He realized he needed to eat immediately, fearing another ambush.
As he ate, a stranger approached from the darkness. Fortis guarded his resources, knowing he couldn't win a fight against this stranger. The stranger looked at the beaten students, who were from his faction.
"You handled them single-handedly, right? Which hall of residence are you from?" the stranger asked.
"Atlas'." Fortis replied.
"I'm from Hestia's Hall," the stranger added. "Give me your name."
Sensing no hostility, Fortis felt comfortable answering. "Argard."
"Come with me, Argard, and I'll put your strength to the best use. I'll make you stronger than you can imagine, and in return, you'll help me. Good deal, right?" the stranger said with a grin.
"Your name... you haven't told me your name." Argard said.
"Oh, pardon me. I'm Vion Klause, but people call me Sleavetry. You can call me Klause. I'm the one who will end your struggling days." Klause said.
"Klause," Argard repeated, looking at him.
"I've just come up with a fitting alias for you. From now on, you will be known as Fortis, since you'll be the stronghold of Starfall Reach."
Back in the present, Fortis stood amid the chaos of the football pitch, his body emitting that distinctive steam-like vapor. Wounds that would have put anyone else to sleep were closing before Hector and Aeron's eyes.