Opening Gambit

As the energy concentration on Ishigaki island kept increasing exponentially, the crowd surrounding the area increased as well. People from all around the world had gathered around the island this evening. Powerful abilities were everywhere.

However, an uneasy peace was maintained. Despite the high stakes, personal conflicts as well as palpable tension no one raised their head to make a sound. Why? Because of the Border Foundation. With them enforcing peace, any relic related incidents would risk catching their ire.

The 24 high schools as well as the universities having metahumans as students in Japan had sent their aces to camp outside the island as well. But they weren't alone, students and youth from all kinds of other countries as well as organizations were also parked there. An old man stood high in the sky, not far from the vortex. He was wearing a blazing yellow robe that caught the attention of all his surroundings. He flicked his finger and a ray of energy flew towards the vortex which trembled violently and unleashed a powerful wave.

"Get ready! The relic is opening!" The old man in the air announced with authority. Within a few minutes the entire island was suddenly enveloped by a fog that appeared out of nowhere. It completely obscured the island within seconds. "Proceed!" The old man said.

Soon all the people began rushing in towards the fog. Erica looked at Yui and Hikaru and nodded with determination. Their class as well as hordes of other youths went in, in an orderly fashion.

The moment they entered the fog it disappeared and they were transported to a new world. The students had entered the relic in a regiment but upon entering they had all been randomly scattered. Erica found herself on empty plane land that seemed to stretch endlessly in all directions. The ground was made of a chocolate colored fine clay. With every step Erica took, her foot print was etched into the ground. As far as she looked, there was nothing to be found, no sign of any life other than herself. She felt an instance of panic in her heart, but tried to calm herself down and tried to think.

---

Outside the relic the crowd had considerably reduced with everyone wanting to enter already inside. However, there were a few who kept a watch on the outside. A confident group from the Border Foundation kept watch. Reporters were covering the opening of the relic on television, and back in Tokyo, in his house Red was looking at the news but his mind was elsewhere as if he were waiting for something to happen. A few minutes later Red received a text on his encrypted phone and nodded.

---

The Chiba household was a powerful noble family that had for generations been keepers of a powerful inheritance and line of fire elemental and transformation ability users. They held considerable influence in governance affairs with several members in the bureaucracy, army and even politics.

This evening, with the opening of the relic, many of Chiba family members had been involved in various affairs regarding management, security and even participating in entering the relic. As such the usually heavily guarded Chiba mansion was relatively empty. As news of the relic opening began broadcasting everywhere, one of the guards took off his cap and chatted up the other accompanying guard to a corner before knocking him out. The guard then opened the main gate and three ordinary cars parked right in front of the gate and a dozen people in red masks simply entered the mansion along with that guard, who suddenly transformed into a member of the Chiba family.

"This is easier than I would've imagined." one of the masked men muttered.

"Benefits of a good planner." A masked woman who seemed to be leading the group gestured before making them split.

The sudden intrusion was undiscovered for at least 10 minutes which allowed the group to search for what they were looking for. Two of the group were sensory type ability users who could sense the presence of treasure that leaked energy waves.

"Chiba clan has been hiding a lot of treasures. Each of these young masters seem to have a good stash stored within their rooms." A man laughed as he rummaged through rooms with tremendous speed. None of these intruders were weak at all! "Be quick! What we came to find is in the treasure room, which is definitely guarded." The woman announced before she quickly moved, her speed was extremely astonishing.

Three people were guarding the treasure room and on the appearance of a dozen people in red masks they immediately sounded the alarm. "Intruders!" They screamed on top of their lungs as they began fighting valiantly. Those who were assigned to guard the treasure chamber of the clan were often younger inner members with higher status as a symbol of trust and responsibility. The sudden alarm shocked several of the Chiba members who were at the mansion and with haste they made their way to the treasure chamber.

A huge fight broke out without a moment wasted. Fire began swiveling as the Chiba members started blasting flames at their opponents but they were surprised and the opponents were ready. The ground underneath them shifted suddenly as they lost balance. Spikes suddenly grew out from underneath them impaling a few. "We aren't here to kill!" The woman commanding the group yelled and a bulky masked user shrugged before enclosing those defenders in a mound of earth.

"I've got the item. The sneaky clan had set up a secret locker, as f such things could be hidden from me! Empty the treasury!" Another masked woman, a sensory type yelled and the others got to work. However, the fights and yelling had suddenly led to a powerful aura suddenly spreading over the property. "Shit! It's the Chiba ancestor! Quick!" The woman in command yelled with urgency.

"How dare you sneak into the Chiba's land?" A powerful voice boomed as an old exploded through the door arriving on the scene with incredible violence. Intense flames that could scorch the earth raged around him and the air warped from the intense heat creating distortions. "Die!" He yelled as he launched into the group of masked intruders.

Two of the masked people suddenly jumped in together to counter him. Water started materializing in a huge wave as it clashed with the fire from one of them and the other transformed into a huge mound of toxic sludge that tried to engulf the the old Chiba ancestor. Each of them emanated a power that could compare to the fire blasting old man. "Geezer! It isn't that I'm urging to beat you up, but I have pending matters." One of them yelled as the two of them simply overpowered the ancestor and had him thrown into a corner. The ancestor wasn't fazed from the hit at all. He got up like nothing happened and suddenly exploded the room with a sudden burst of flames.

"Shit! He's going on a rampage!" The woman grunted while the Chiba ancestor laughed maniacally. "Did you think it was so easy to steal my family's heirloom? You must be out of your mind?" Suddenly a huge bird made of flames manifested in the air, it was made of lava. It's tail was melting and molten droplets fell onto the floor creating a sizzling sound of the ground melting apart. The two opponents were momentarily stunned, but soon made their moves as well. A huge sludge filled hand suddenly manifested from the ground and caught the phoenix, while the other created over thirty spikes of turbulent water around him and shot them like sharp arrows.

The fire phoenix flew towards the two and collided with the hand and the water spikes creating a huge explosion of poisonous steam. "Oh F***!" The woman cried out. The poison was now in the air and before they could react the the explosion had caused the poison to enter all of their blood streams. Soon all of them, Chiba ancestor included, fell unconscious due to the fast acting poison.

Without any announcement, a person in completely black attire, suddenly walked calmly into the room with steady steps. His face was obscured by a ninja balaclava that he wore but his eyes glinted in the dark and as if it were trying to accompany that glint, a katana hung along his waist glinted as well. His eyes had a tinge of surprise at the sudden turn of events, but cold calculations soon replaced his surprise as he unsheathed the katana with the experience of a master.

"It's time for the opening gambit. I suppose we could begin with a few rolling heads!"