Chapter 1 – A Bright Light
The light wind buffeted my scarlet cape, as I appraised the tremendous army that had amassed before me. Some of the soldiers were carrying weapons, though most of them could probably kill you in about ten different ways using only their bare hands. They covered the horizon, draped across the soft curves of grass-covered hills. Five colored flags dotted the army, their contrasting colors waving in the breeze and separating the army into distinct sections. The seemingly unending sea of soldiers gave of a sense of majesty, like some kind of almighty beast with its gleaming muscles rippling. And there, in front of it all, stood a man reading from an open scroll. Dressed from head to toe in silky purple robes, he was someone who managed to look both puny and imperial at the same time.
“Donnelius Conqaide.” The man spoke in an obnoxiously elegant voice. “In the name of the five kingdoms, our rulers have unanimously decided that you are a threat to the prosperity of human civilization. You are to be put to death, by the hands of the Royal Infantry.”
If I’m being honest, I didn’t really blame them for thinking they could best me, as the Royal Infantry was a force to truly be reckoned with. It was a military force made up of thousands of the kingdoms’ elites, with enough destructive power to wipe an entire island, maybe a small state, completely off the map. It would be a reasonable assumption to think that the Royal Infantry was the world’s trump card, something that could be used as a last resort to instantly solve any major conflict.
This infantry required all five kingdoms, who were all usually on bitter terms with one another, to simultaneously acknowledge a great danger and pool all their strongest mages into one unstoppable slaughtering device. It had only ever been called together a select few times since the formation of the kingdoms, and for every instance it was used, it would shake the very bones of this planet. Just as an example, it was summoned to suppress the great Pirate Clan, or to drive off a group of seven unbelievably powerful blue-haired mages and their hordes of fanatical underlings. It would almost be unthinkable to unleash it upon a group of less than a thousand. So, naturally, never in the history of this world had it been called down to stop a single person.
That was, until now.
I narrowed my eyes. “Look, I have a whole list of things I want to do today, so we can skip the grand opening. You going to start or what?”
The man curled his lip in distaste, and seemed to give a command. Slowly, I watched as hundreds of mages raised their hands in the air. Masses of glowing white energy coalesced around their palms, and as the man with the scroll gave the order, they spoke as one.
“Razing Energy!”
Countless streams of pure white erupted out into the air, twisting and turning to lock on to a single target.
I raised a single finger. “Crystalline Barrier.”
For a second the sky was filled with nothing but a blinding light, and then it all settled down. The earth around me in a roughly half-mile radius was scorched and blackened, with thousands of tiny cracks spiderwebbing over the decimated hills, glowing orange. All but the tiny spot of earth I was currently hovering over, where a tiny patch of grass still wavered to the wind. There was complete silence on the battlefield, as smoke and embers drifted aimlessly. Thousands of men stared at me in total shock, and I just had to crack a smile. It’s always so amusing to see their first reactions.
Dropping my finger, the faceted shield in front of me dissipated into the air. Giving them a smirk, I lifted my palm so it faced the army. “Nice effort. Now… I suppose it’s my turn, isn’t it?”