Richard sat on the edge of the playground, arms crossed, watching as the others excitedly set up their little "battle".
Watching them, he couldn't help but scoff.
'Hero versus Demon King. What a joke.'
Ben then took center stage, holding his wooden sword high. "Demon King! In the name of humanity, justice and friendship, I will defeat you!"
Alice, playing the saintess, stood beside him, hands clasped together. "With the blessing of the heavens, I shall heal my allies and strike down the darkness!"
Beatrice, standing at the back with a stick she claimed was her "staff", grinned. "As the great sage, I shall support you with my magic!"
And then there was Reid, leaning on a tree with his arms folded, clearly disinterested. "I'm the Sword King," he muttered, rolling his eyes.
Meanwhile, Richard stood before them, unimpressed. His arms remained crossed, his crimson eyes dull with boredom.
"And I suppose I'm the Demon King? He asked dryly.
Beatrice nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Who else would you be?"
Richard let out a slow exhale through his nose. If only they knew.
With a reluctant sigh, he decided to play along. The children lunged at him, shouting dramatic battle cries.
Ben charged first, his wooden sword swinging clumsily. Richard easily sidestepped it.
Alice then waved her hands in the air, chanting imaginary spells. Beatrice pointed her "staff" at him with exaggerated flair.
Reid, to his credit, simply stood to the side, watching in mild amusement.
Despite himself, Richard dodged and weaved through their attacks. His movements were more refined, more calculated.
Heck, he wasn't even trying, yet it looked almost graceful compared to their childish flailing. If this were a real battle, he would have ended them in mere moments.
But of course, this was simply a "game", and naturally, the hero had to win.
Ben suddenly stopped, raising his sword high. "Now, with the power of my friends, we shall beat you!"
Alice, Beatrice, and Reid–despite his reluctance–all put their hands together.
Richard felt a twitch in his eyebrow. 'You have got to be kidding me.' He thought.
Ben lunged forward and tapped Richard on the chest with his wooden sword. "Demon King, begone!"
Richard froze, his expression blank.
Beatrice clapped. "You have to fall dramatically now!"
He let out a slow breath.
And then, with the most exaggerated, sarcastic movement possible, he clutched his chest and fell backward onto the ground with a deadpan expression.
"Oh no," he drawled, "I have been beaten. I guess even the Demon King can't beat the power of friendship."
The kids then cheered.
Richard simply lay there, staring up at the sky with one thought alone.
'This was humiliating'.
**************
After their grand "battle", they moved on to the other playground equipment. Beatrice and Alice played on the swings, laughing as they went higher.
Ben climbed onto a wooden structure, pretending it was a fortress. Reid, meanwhile, simply sat on a bench, arms folded, his expression unreadable.
Richard sat next to him, silent.
'This is ridiculous,' Richard thought. 'I'm the Demon King. The first Demon King. I forged an empire from the ashes of war. I commanded legions. Feared by the entire world.'
Yet, here he was, playing on a playground like a child.
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, the group sat on a wooden beam, talking amongst themselves.
The conversation eventually shifted to something that caught Richard's attention.
"The Awakening Ceremony is coming up soon," Ben said excitedly.
"I can't wait to be awakened! Once I awaken, I'll set out on my journey to become the strongest hero!" His eyes gleamed with determination. "Then I'll be just like Lucia the Great!"
Richard's ears perked up. He turned to Ben sharply.
Lucia the Great, huh?
The name was one he was familiar with.
As Ben continued, the others chimed in enthusiastically.
"Lucia was the strongest warrior in history!" Alice said. "They say she could split mountains with a single swing of her sword!"
"And she was a kind soul too," Beatrice added. "She was even willing to sacrifice her life for humanity."
"Yeah. If she hadn't killed the Demon King even at the cost of her life that day," Ben continued, "humanity–"
Richard cut in, his voice quiet. "Would've most likely gone extinct."
A silence settled over them.
Richard clenched his fists tightly.
Lucia Carson. The Hero.
The woman whom along with her party struck him down.
Who ended his reign.
She was now remembered as a hero. A legend.
And him? Nothing more than a cautionary tale. A monster that needed to be slain.
Alice quickly changed the subject noticing the sudden dull mood. "Well, I want to be a Saintess! I don't need to be on the battlefield –I just want to save lives."
"I want to be the greatest mage ever!" Beatrice beamed.
Reid, however, simply shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "In all honesty, it's my parents who want me to go for the awakening ceremony. I really don't care all that much."
"Oh?" Richard mumbles in curiosity.
Reid then goes on to explaining that his family were quite wealthy travelling merchants. So they moved around often, but they owned a mansion here in town–the second largest one, right next to the mayor's.
But at this point in his explanation, Richard's mind was already elsewhere.
"The Awakening Ceremony," he spoke out. "What is it?" He asked in a demanding tone.
The others stared at him.
Ben and Alice muttered to Beatrice, clearly annoyed. "Why is he so rude? Has he always been like this?"
Beatrice could only give them an awkward smile. "He's been like that since he...well became capable of speaking. Don't mind him."
Then, turning to Richard, she explained, "The Awakening Ceremony is an event held for every child who turns fourteen. It's how we gain access to our mana cores."
Richard frowned. "Why would you need someone else to unlock your mana core? Humans can activate then on their own can't they?"
Beatrice tilted her head. "Well... not anymore. People need help awakening their mana core now."
Richard's confusion deepened.
'Why?' He asked himself. He could vividly remember that a thousand years ago, humans didn't require assistance in unlocking their mana cores. So why all of a sudden.
He decided to ask more but before he could–
A loud rumbling sound filled the air.
Richard looked up and saw strange contraptions approaching. They were unlike anything he had ever seen before.
They had two large wheels, with a metallic frame connecting them. The riders sat atop them, their hands gripping strange handlebars.
And as they twisted their hands, the contraptions roared like beasts and surged forward, kicking up dust.
The men riding them were rough-looking, each one with a tattoo of a snake coiled around a staff.
Richard immediately noticed the fear that had crept up into his companions' eyes.
Ben muttered through clenched teeth, "Serpents."
The largest of the men–a man who was clearly the leader– stepped off his vehicle. He had light skin, a large beard, various earrings, and a strange spiked bracelet around his wrist.
His rugged grin just made his confidence all the more clearer.
He then ran a hand through his yellow hair, his green eyes gleaming as he smirked.
"Yo, brats."