As Retholis and Orsethii argued far above, the crowds grew wilder down below. To the alarm of the numerous security forces posted up around the towers, the protest groups grew larger and larger in size. More and more Sanguine Fundamentalists poured into the lines and packed the streets.
More signs, more shouting, more guns.
But what was worse than the increased numbers was that those who joined all wore heavy dark red armor. Not only that, but the security forces’ sensors detected more and more military-grade weaponry, from charged slug repeaters to electrostatic throwers to shoulder-mounted launchers.
Tension filled each of the security force commanders as they watched the Fundamentalists’ numbers rise. Their nerves blew apart the moment the fundamentalists started shooting.
One of the commanders immediately raised the Red Zone’s alert levels, which caused extremely loud klaxons to echo up and down the streets surrounding them.