Divine Celebrity 152

“Run faster. No pain, no gain!” I shouted as I looked at more than three hundred athletes filling the football field, running despite their exhaustion, following my orders. “Last lap! We need to be ready for the next matches! We don’t want to lose the game!” 

No player complained. Football players were already used to my unique training method, and while the other players had been shocked at first, they soon learned that complaining didn’t help. Not to me, not to their own coaches… 

After all, it had been three days since the first group training session, even the slowest one had learned about the truth of the matter. 

It was a bit hard to believe it had been almost a week since Coach Juana requested me to handle the physical training of the students … with great benefits, each team showing incredible improvement. Social media was already filled with my training, some admiring my success while others fought against the idea.  

Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to complete even a quarter of the repair process. 

[Repair Progress 22.3%]

Worse, I could feel that the training was responsible for only a fraction of it, and the rest came from the marketing campaign about me — which was getting more and more extensive. 

Megan gained some more notoriety on her own, particularly her rather noticeable lesbian relationship with a famous model, but even that wasn’t enough to push the repair process any higher. 

I couldn’t wait until tomorrow. I had a football game in the morning, one that I would be able to play on both sides of the ball, followed by a basketball game. Together, they should be enough to push the repair process to the halfway point … maybe even more. 

Of course, I was still worried about the possibility of an attack against me and Megan, but it seemed that the responsible parties were not too enthusiastic about following up, likely discouraged after their latest failure. 

Just as I was planning to handle it, I noticed Arthur suddenly rushing away, his expression even more grim than the basketball game. Something was wrong. 

“Take five,” I called the team as I moved back, following Arthur from a distance, careful to stay hidden … but close enough that I could hear the other side. 

“Emergency code eight, the third guardian has fallen, and the fourth guardian is already trying to run away. Quickly, retreat to the safe house,” the voice on the phone said. 

“How is this possible?” Arthur said as he retreated toward his car. Curious, I followed him as well, especially since he was going toward his car. My car was nearby as well. “We expected the great guardian beasts to last for another decade at least.” 

“I don’t know. Just retreat,” the voice on the phone said before ending the call … and I found myself facing a dangerous dilemma. 

Whatever that was going on, it was not good news. Tense, I quickly sent a message to Megan, warning her that something was going on, and that she needed to hide and trust my pet to protect her. I would contact her again once things had been calmed down. 

Then, after some thought, I sent the same message to Coach Juana and Laura… But, it was just a generic message, one that barely managed to warn them. Anything else, I couldn’t explain. At the same time, I rushed inside, pulling a fire alarm. 

It was the easiest way of triggering that. My next aim was to go and take my car, ready to move … but before I could do that, I felt something. 

A wave of energy, thick, almost suffocating. 

Magic, I recognized it, but it was far more wild than the one that I created based on Intent. The moment it surrounded me, I felt like trying to swim for the first time, the panic impossible to suppress. Damn, I thought as I shivered, however even as that happened, I could see several students at the field, suddenly floating, surrounded by some kind of glow…

I didn’t need to see that to understand that something extraordinary was going on, but it just pushed the absurdity to the next stage. Whatever that was going on, it was good exactly good news. 

I wanted to run away, but at that moment, I had a problem. 

A very unwelcome problem. 

My guide. 

The sudden rush of magic infused the cage I had been keeping contained as well, too intense for me to prevent. It might have been different if I had intervened on time, but without it, keeping her down was impossible. I tried to push her down … but it was impossible. 

Her magic continued to grow inside me, accompanied by the worst pain I had ever felt, pressing against the system. 

“Fortune favors the bold,” I murmured as I reversed the flow … and rather than trying to keep her inside, I pushed her as strongly as I could manage. 

As I pushed her, she appeared out … but for once, she wasn’t ethereal but physical. 

And completely naked, beautiful enough for me to appreciate despite the terrible pain. A pain that didn’t get any better as I felt a sense of tugging, like a metaphorical chain between her and the System. 

A chain that shattered a moment later … and she continued flying up, for once not restricted by the distance, breaking the ceiling as she rushed up. 

“Fuck,” I murmured as I dodged the falling pieces of concrete, ignoring the giant gap in the ceiling. Unfortunately, the rocks continued to fall. The stadium had been built strong … but not strong enough to handle an angel bursting out of the ceiling in near-terminal velocity. 

More and more rocks fell around me. Worse, the pain was horrible enough to prevent me from running. Even crawling was an achievement. 

I wrapped my arms around my head as I crouched near a large piece of rock, hoping that it would be enough to protect me until someone could dig me out…

As the pieces of concrete rained around me, the pain continued to increase … and soon, I fell unconscious.

***

Waking up with the most horrible headache I had ever felt was not a nice experience … and the fact that I was still buried didn’t make things any better. 

However, I decided to look on the bright side of it. 

I actually managed to wake up … it was far better than the alternative, especially since I was buried under a thick layer of rubble, the weight unmistakable. 

I had no idea just how long I had been underground, but considering no one had managed to dig me up, it shouldn’t be particularly long. I couldn’t even hear any sirens, meaning no firetrucks or ambulances. 

Good enough. 

Even a couple weeks ago, I would have been panicking, but luckily, my Divine Traits helped me to resist the weight far more effectively than I expected. With my supernatural resistance, the layer of rubble didn’t feel any heavier than a thick blanket, and the little gaps were enough to allow me to breathe. 

I could slowly dig myself out, but I stayed put. After all, there was no doubt that many students surrounded the place with their phones out, ready to record the show. And, as much as I loved my fame, bursting out from a thick layer of rubble without any visible damage was too suspicious. 

So, rather than making an immediate move, I stayed put, waiting for the emergency services to arrive. 

A minute passed … then two. “Okay, maybe I should be more proactive and help them find me,” I said as I reached for my phone, which was hardly an easy achievement considering I was still being squeezed by rubble. 

Luckily, my strength was enough to allow me to wiggle and reach for my phone. “Don’t be broken, don’t be broken, don’t be broken,” I murmured as I managed to drag it … only to see a blank screen. “Fuck.” There was no visible damage, but it didn’t turn on. 

Not exactly a convenient situation. 

Helpless, I continued to wait. Another minute, but there was still no movement. 

“What the hell is going on,” I said as I closed my eyes, trying to expand my senses. Not my hearing, but my magic. Hopefully, whatever damage my bitchy guide had created didn’t prevent me from using magic. 

Luckily, it did not. 

Unluckily, I failed to sense anyone in my immediate surroundings. I continued expanding, covering the stadium … yet once again, there was no one. 

“Maybe they evacuated,” I thought as I continued expanding the area. Surely, as I expanded, I could sense more. 

I failed again, even as I expanded the radius to a mile. 

“Maybe my System was damaged somehow,” I thought as I reached into my system, and met with three notifications. 

The good news, my System was still working. 

Bad news … I might be under the rubble more than I expected. 

[Repair - Emergency Repair - Complete]

[Repair - Phase Two - Complete]

[Recovery in Progress…]