Chapter Text
"Hey, have you heard of the Coffee Criminal?"
"Oh, that? The one who's infamous for killing Light Magic soldiers?"
"Yup, I heard they only kill Light Magic soldiers and nobody else! Strange, isn't it?"
"Who knows? Maybe they have a hatred for them."
"Either way, I hope I never cross paths with the Coffee Criminal. They sound so scary!"
"Pfft, you're overthinking. You're not even learning Light Magic!"
"Hey, leave me alone! I can dream!"
~~~
"Here, my buddy! A toast to celebrate!"
"Gee, thanks!"
The men clinked their mugs and chugged down a relatively large amount of their mugs of beer.
"'Ey, when's it starting?"
"Soon, soon! Oh, look, His Majesty is here!"
There was much chatter and commotion in the large hall as the King made his way up to the front, people scrambling to their feet and bowing as their leader walked past.
And as soon as the king reached the front, the commotion in the hall died down instantly. Everyone listened as he cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Fellow citizens of the Light Kingdom! As all you folk know, most of the people that belong here not have been wiped out. And to celebrate our victory, you may have noticed this sad man up here," he gestured to where a body hung right beside him, "and his wife," he gestured to another body beside the first one.
"I believe we have all been informed enough, that darned Coffee Magic practitioners do not belong in our glorious kingdom. They cause nothing but problems, and are invasive vermin that should not even be in our land! Therefore, I take pride that we have their leaders here, reduced to nothing but limp, lifeless corpses. And now before we make the grand sacrifice, I hereby invite all citizens present to rise! Rise, put your hands together, and celebrate with your King!"
At once there was a huge mass of chair legs screeching against the sugar marble tiles, and within a moment everyone had risen from their seats and were laughing and clapping and cheering as thunderous applause and shouts of triumph filled the hall.
From a corner of one of the back walls, two small figures stood watching in horror. Neither of them were able to speak a word.
~~~
"Men, follow me!"
"Yes, your Highness!"
The bright sun shone in the sky above, almost blinding the soldiers that were currently out and about.
Every week, the Light Magic soldiers headed out to the nearby grass plains for group sword practice. Today was no different. Lead by the majestic and gleaming Prince Madeleine of the Light Kingdom himself, the soldiers clad in their golden armour followed their prince as they did every other week.
Prince Madeleine was no ordinary Light Magic practitioner. He was the son of the King and Queen of the kingdom. He grew up respected and loved by all, with servants to take care of his every need and his parents always spoiling him with love and riches. He was determined to be the best Light Soldier in the kingdom - no, in the entirety of Earthbread!
So as usual, there were a dozen soldiers crowded around him noisily, bickering about trivial matters like they always did.
"Your Highness, please allow me to spar with you this fine day!"
"No, Your Highness, allow me!"
Madeleine cared not about these issues. He would always group them into different groups to practice, so everything was fair and everyone had a chance to be in his group at least once. As a good prince should, he thought. (He took pride in this.)
It was a fine day that day. It was sunny with no clouds, with warm weather, and the prized sword of the prince himself was in perfect condition.
Of course, Madeleine would believe it to be a great start to the day. A day where nothing could possibly go wrong.
And of course, with that thought, he was already wrong.
~~~
About an hour in, just as the soldiers were about to head back to the palace, sudden frantic shouts could be heard in the distance.
That was most definitely not a good sign.
For when they rushed to where they heard the shouts, they were greeted with a strange sight. A lone stranger stood there, cloaked in dark brown robes and standing still as a statue.
Madeleine glanced around in terror at the many bodies of Light Soldiers fallen at the stranger's feet. Light Soldiers that had been brave and active and living just moments before.
There was no way a single person could have wiped out all these trained strangers all by themselves. Either this was some attempt at a sick joke on the prince, or this was an extremely powerful individual.
Madeleine wanted, no- needed to speak, but he couldn't. So the stranger spoke first.
"My, my, it seems like you're all here now. Dear me, what should I do, now that I've been surrounded by a bunch of ever-useless Light Soldiers?~" The stranger's tone was very obviously dripping with sarcasm. They spoke in a rather formal way, and there was a certain mocking air in their voice that was just a big turn-off for the prince.
"Don't move! Who are you?!" Madeleine demanded, pointing his sword towards the haughty stranger. The stranger didn't move, or even flinch, which in turn made Madeleine flinch a little for no reason.
"I asked you a question!" Madeleine raised his voice as he took a step forward. The stranger still didn't flinch. They just scoffed.
"I heard you the first time, dearest prince. Worry not," their lips curled into a smirk, "you'll find out very soon."
Madeleine was about to retort, but before he could do so, there was a bright flash of light and the stranger was gone.
He blinked one, two, three times, eyes readjusting to the sunlight. Several soldiers rushed over immediately.
"Your Highness! Are you okay? Did they do anything to you??"
"Worry not, I am fine!"
Well, physically at least. To say he was still perplexed about the strange person was an understatement. Who were they? What were they doing here? Did they kill all the soldiers here by themselves? He had so many unanswered questions.
But he figured he'd get back to the palace first.
So he did that. Commanding his men to go with him, they slowly made their way back to the palace, bright sunlight shining on their backs, contrasting to their current moods.
Despite staying silent, Madeleine had a strange feeling - no, multiple feelings rising up in his chest. But he definitely knew what he wanted to do.
Find that stranger.