Chapter Text
Long ago, in the land of Gilverado, there were conceived two brothers. Each one would grow up to be proficient in the ways of magic, being prodigies of the art. These brothers, however, were two different faces of the same coin.
Gabriel, the kind and virtuous brother, spent his time studying the magic of angels, and always fought for good. But Pierre, the maleficent brother, he treaded down the path of evil, with a sordid fascination for demons and their ways of magic.
Although Pierre’s peers, his teachers, and his brother all pleaded that he stop pursuing the dark arts, his eyes had become full of malice and evil. He turned away from them all, studied alone, started a cult, isolated away. And with each passing ritual, this cult grew closer to summoning the demon that would give him ultimate control over Gilverado.
The bonfires blazed high and strong amidst the dark, open mountaintop. Cultists in black robes encircled ritual elements, displaying a black mass against angelic ways. Father Dahlia, the second in command of them all, stepped up the unsteady rock and kneeled before Lord Pierre.
“My Lord, permission to cross the South Sea into Holst Town.”
Pierre turned around, opening his wrinkly eyelids, exposing his crimson pupils, and removed the hood of his cloak off his head, exposing his long grey hair. He looked down at his loyal right hand man to acknowledge his presence.
“For what purpose, Father Dahlia?”
“The last offering has been made. We have no more requirement for heretic writings or loathsome sacrifice. What we need now is gold, to forge the Doom Scepter and Holst Town is the place that carries the most of it.”
Pierre turned his gaze to the water below, where he knew beyond it lay that fair community.
“Set a course to Holst Town, then. Sneak onto a passenger vessel. Bring with you some of our supplies and a few worthy Brothers of our cause.”
“It will be done, my Lord.”
As Dahlia turned away to prepare for the charter, Pierre turned his body back to face the sea and think of the town that laid beyond, grinning in anticipation.
“I can see the faces of the townsfolk now as we present the demon that will be under our command. They’ll be running and screaming for help amidst the smoke and fire…”
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Holst Town, alive with the hustle and bustle of merchants, markets, and traders. Casper, Windia, Follett, and Rosa were all out for a pleasant promenade, walking down the streets of shops, enjoying the environment and scouting for sweets.
“This way, girls.” Follett spoke to her friends. “I know of a magnifique place for sweet snacks.”
“Well, don’t keep us waiting, sweetheart! Lead on!” Rosa teased.
Windia looked over at Casper. “Isn’t it amazing how Follett knows so many good places around here?”
Casper smiled as she gave a snarky response. “I’m not surprised. Follett spends so much time by her loner self that she’d know the town like the back of her hand!”
They passed by a quiet homeless man as they chatted away, sitting by the wall, miserably looking at the hat with a few coins inside that he had laid down. Only Windia stopped to look at him with a gaze he silently returned.
Rosa broke the moment that befell between them. “Oh, pay him no attention, sweetie! It’s just a homeless bum. C’mon, let’s go!”
Seeing that her friends were walking away without her, Windia, still full of pity, caught up with them as the man looked back down. While they were in the midst of their conversation, however, Windia snuck a coin out from her dress pocket. Casually waving her hand at waist level, she looked back at him as she wielded her wind magic, floating the coin behind her and into the hat. He looked up and saw her smile at him, clasping his hands together in a grateful prayer gesture before she turned back.
The lady at the cafe’s front desk gathered three small square cakes of varying flavors. One for each of them, except for Windia. As her friends paid for their desserts, they all looked at her with concern.
“What’s the matter, dear?” Rosa asked. “Why aren’t you getting anything?”
Windia raised her shoulders and held her hands together in front of her, shyly rolling her gaze amongst her friends. “Oh, I… just decided I wasn’t hungry, that’s all.”
“Are you afraid you’re gonna get fat or something?” Rosa teased back.
Casper was slightly annoyed at Windia’s hesitance. “Is this really about gaining weight? Mein gott, you’re thin enough as it is! Treat yourself every once in a while!”
Follett tried to offer her reassurance. “If it makes you feel any better, Windia, I shouldn’t be eating this stuff, either. That didn’t stop me from planning this day out, though.”
Windia was getting quite embarrassed. “No, no! It’s not that at all! I just–”
Her attempt at an excuse was interrupted by the distinct smell of smoke making its way inside the building. She raised her nose and gave a couple curious whiffs before asking, “Does anyone else smell that?”
“Oui, I smell it too.” Follett confirmed.
“What’s going on?” asked Casper before they all stepped outside and saw the jewelry shop just down the street undergoing a sabotage and robbery.
The staff and customers cried out and escaped as the cloaked servants of Pierre rushed from showcase to showcase, grabbing all the gold their greedy hands could get. They stuffed their spoils into sizable sacks before one of them shouted, “That’s enough! Let’s go!”
They bolted out the door to be stopped in their tracks, greeted by the four friends, the angels who smiled in the face of death.
“Get outta here, angels, and we’ll let you go peacefully!” One of the cloaked figures declared.
Rosa looked upon them with great disgust at what they did. “You clearly know us, then, but just who the heck are you creeps?”
“Servants of Lord Pierre! That’s all you need to know.”
Follett sternly questioned them. “And who, might I ask, is this Lord Pierre of yours?”
“‘That’s all you need to know,’ I said! Now, it’s your choice. Leave us be or die!”
Windia stepped closer to Casper, nervous to fight. “Goodness… What do we do?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Casper retorted. “We beat the crap out of them!”
“So be it!” Announced one of the servants before they all threw out their hands at the angels. Out burst a flurry of magical purple projectiles from their palms. Windia let out a frightened scream as she and her friends were flown backwards into the building behind them. The cloaked men took this advantage to run out of the scene towards the harbor, their loot grinding against the cobble road. It didn’t take long for the angels to fly up over the rooftops and pursue the partners in crime. Noticing them flying overhead, the runners raised their free hands to the sky in rushed attempt to shoot at them. In return, Casper began to fling her death magic at them, which they did their best to weave through.
“I’ll crush you all to pieces! No trace of you shall be left!” Screamed Casper.
It was when she almost hit a bystander trying to flee the scene that Follett stopped her. “Mise en garde, Casper! We’ve got to make sure we don’t hit any innocents!”
“And preferably keep the jewelry as undamaged as possible!” Added Windia.
Despite the conflict, the calm and collected Follett cast a burst of flame from her palm, landing squarely on one of the jewelry sacks. Before long, the sack ripped apart, dropping all the gold it once held. The cloaked man carrying it stopped to nab as much as he could when a near hit of spirit magic from Rosa made him run again, realizing stopping wasn’t such a good idea.
“Way to go, Follett!” Windia happily exclaimed.
Follett kept her sincerity despite the compliment. “We’re not done yet! There’s still two more bags!”
With both the runner’s hands free, however, he could run through a series of magical hand gestures. Before the angels realized it, he had summoned five flying demons, circular in shape with one eye. They swarmed around the angels and intercepted their attacks.
“What the devil!?” Follett cried out as they messed with her flight pattern.
“Get off of me!” Casper angrily shouted, wildly flailing her arms.
Distracted by the demons, but still managing to maneuver their way through the purple bullets, they realized they would have to get rid of those flying nuisances first before they could chase after the culprits any further. Those culprits took the opportunity to get away from the angels. They could see Holst Port, the harbor, just up ahead.
“Hand me your sack!” Exclaimed one of them to the other.
They made eye contact with each other. “What?”
“Hand me your sack of gold! You use your free hands to help our brother summon more demons!”
He agreed, and while dragging two sacks slowed their pace down, they could create more distraction for the angels as they caught up. The culprits pushed their way onto a passenger vessel where they forced its crew to have it leave as soon as possible. By the time the angels were done fighting off the demons, they had flown to exhaustion, and the ship had sailed too far off for them.
“So long, angels! Ahahaha!” One of the men tauntingly shouted to them. Casper looked on with anger in her veins. Windia, on the other hand, felt shame for not being able to defeat them.
Rosa was quite frustrated herself. “Those stupid creeps got away! Not cool, creeps! Not cool!”
“We’ve got to tell Mr. Dior what happened. He’ll know what to do.” Directed Follett.
She began leading them away from Holst Port. Rosa looked down in disgust, Casper quietly clenched her fist in rage, while Windia looked like she was about to cry. It all made for a tense and awkward walk home…