Chapter Text
Asmoday: Derived from the supreme Archdevil Asmodeus, king of demons.
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Empyrean palace: Sleeping quarters.
The room of a certain mage…
There was a loud bang at Rui’s door. It was in some sing-songy rhythm from a certain someone who had way too much energy for the time of day. The birds weren’t even chirping, and the sky remained pitch black. But Rui couldn’t ignore that voice. He never could. Even if he smothered himself with a pillow, even Tsukasa’s voice would be able to penetrate through. Always full of energy before everyone else
He never hated hearing that voice. As loud and boisterous as it was, it sounded like music to his ears. It was a frequent occurrence that Tsukasa would wake him up if he happened to oversleep. Tsukasa himself went to bed and rose again like clockwork. The same time every single day unless duty called for something otherwise.
He knocked again, accompanied by the slight clanking of his armor.
“Ruii–!! Wake up!! Are you up? Rui!!!”
His voice would surely echo throughout the entire castle, it usually did. So if Rui didn’t put a stop to this cacophony soon, then the entire palace would be awake well before they had to. He had fallen asleep sitting up, a pillow supporting his back, and an array of books on his lap as well as the other side of the bed, the one on his lap open to a page detailing certain phrases or mantras for offensive spells. His finger remained slotted underneath the next page, ready to turn it until he had given in to exhaustion. Hell, at least he tried to sleep. He was in bed and everything. Rui moved the books that were immediately on top of him. His neck hurt.
Tossing his covers aside and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Rui made his way over to the oak door that separated him from the loudest man on earth. With a click of the lock and the twist of the doorknob, there he was in all his glory. Hands on his hips and a bright smile.
"Ah, Rui! I was beginning to wonder if I would have to wake you up myself." Spoke the Prince, with just a bit too much pep in his step before the sun even rose.
"I’m afraid you’ve woken me up with your voice alone. Speaking of which, you seem awfully energized today. What's the special occasion?" Rui leaned against the doorframe, feigning obliviousness.
"Seriously…? Don’t act as if you don’t know. We leave for the battlefield today– and for gods sake you're not even dressed!" Tsukasa rushed past Rui and into his room grabbing the taller's hand and dragging him right back inside. Tsukasa walked straight over to Rui's closet pulling out that special mage outfit of his and tossing it at him. Not to him, at him.
It was white with blue details and gold embroidery, a pair of heavy duty boots, and satin gloves to pair. Fine work of the seamstress Mizuki herself, although Rui supplied enchanted fabrics suitable for battle.
"Go get dressed, I'm going to make sure you're packed! You still haven’t learned to tidy up your stuff I see… I know you'll want to come back to a clean room, so I shall take care of it instead! I should get you a bookshelf installed for all of these spell books, and maybe a rack for your potions and ingredients.
Tsukasa, once again blabbering on... this time about Rui cleaning his room. Rui would have loved to listen except he was too busy examining his new outfit as if it were an ancient relic. He had never worn something like this. Something so emblematic of Empyria’s presence as an international superpower. It reminded him of where he was. In location, in life. How far he had come since he was a child– a child who the world had been far too unkind to. Such was the way of the world towards outcasts.
With Tsukasa distracted, Rui put on the outfit. It fit like a glove, and thankfully wouldn’t need much breaking in. Not that he would be doing anything physically taxing anyway, he was a mage. While being a mage and using magic took a fair amount of energy in the form of mana, he wouldn’t be swinging a sword like Tsukasa and the others.
Finally, he was almost ready. But he was missing something.
Rui stumbled towards his desk which doubled as a vanity. Moving his hands about, trying to find what he was looking for, knocking several trinkets onto the ground in the process. Tsukasa spun around as soon as he heard the clatter.
"Oh, Rui! Quit knocking stuff off your desk, I'll get your glasses." Tsukasa walked over to Rui's desk and picked up the eye glass which was coincidentally in the field of view that Rui had trouble seeing out of. The prince lightly placed his hand on the age’s cheek, gently guiding him to look towards him. Tsukasa carefully placed the eye glass over Rui's weaker eye. Rui blinked a few times, letting himself adjust to the sudden clarity.
“Thank you, Tsukasa-kun. I wonder what I would do without you.”
“I wonder the same thing myself sometimes… Now then, are you ready?”
“Mhm! I don’t have too terribly much to take with me aside from a few books. Ah– could you actually pass me that pouch to your left?”
“This one?” Tsukasa reached to his left, handing Rui a small purple pouch in which he could hear the sound of small metal vials clanking together.
“What’s in there?”
“Simply a potion I made. It’s supposed to increase strength and endurance for a set amount of time. I’ve made enough for all of you, and don’t worry, it’s safe. I tested it.”
“A strength serum? Doesn’t sound like something I’d pass up!”
“Right? Now, I think that’s everything. Shall we?”
“Are you sure you have everything…?”
“Yes, why?”
Tsukasa, with a half-way-disappointed look on his face, held up Rui’s dagger, attached to it was the strap he used to fasten it to his hip.
“Oh come on, I don’t need that thing. Why carry a weapon when I have a weapon of my own at my very fingertips? And besides, I’m not as skilled at handling physical weapons as you and the others are. My conjured weapons are much easier to handle and significantly more lightweight.”
“Just take it… If you run out of steam out there, I want you to be able to back yourself up in case I can’t make it to you.”
“Don’t worry, Tsukasa-kun. I won’t use too much mana, I promise. I’ve gotten better at pacing myself, have I not?”
“Please, Rui just– just take it. It’s just a precaution.”
That look in his eyes. It wasn’t a look of disappointment anymore. It was genuine worry, not because he thought Rui couldn’t handle himself, but rather because he would never get over that concern he had for him. Like an overbearing mother, still knowing that her child is perfectly capable of managing all by themself, but continues to insist on guiding them.
Rui sighed the world’s most exaggerated sigh as he took the blade from Tsukasa, fastening it onto his belt alongside various other small vials and the purple pouch. The two exchanged looks, Tsukasa’s now satisfied. He wrapped his arm around Rui’s shoulder and led the two of them outside, shutting the door behind them.
Today was the day that the head reinforcements were going to be sent to the front lines, including Tsukasa, Rui, as well as Akito, Toya, Shiho, Mizuki, Kaito, and Len. Of course there were other soldiers as well, but these were the so-called “necessary reinforcements.”
Walking down the palace halls alongside the prince, Rui often received odd looks from the castle’s other inhabitants. Not that he wasn't used to it by now. He had been the only mage put on the front lines since sorcery had been considered to be sinful and corrupting. Rui had told Tsukasa a while back that he felt that he was strong enough and wanted to fight alongside the Prince and his comrades, so he inducted him into the army, but not without a lot of pushback from the Council.
The Royal Council was a group of seven people who would help the king make any decisions regarding the kingdom of Empyria. That could be anywhere from planting prettier flowers in the town to changing and creating laws or even putting people to death.
The Royal Council has been around for far longer than Tsukasa. Dating back to when Tsukasa's great, great grandfather was crowned the first king of Empyria. The Tenma family have been the only heirs to the throne in all the years of existence, and everyone would rather keep it that way. After all, until war broke out, the kingdom had been the happiest it had ever been, now being under the watchful eye of Tsukasa.
He was still considered a prince though. To be a king, you had to be nineteen years of age. The young prince would soon be king, as he was to turn nineteen within a few weeks. May seventeenth. He was practically counting down the days. Tsukasa's father had died in battle when Tsukasa was fourteen, and his mother died during childbirth. So for four and a half years, the kingdom has been under Tsukasa's careful council, and soon to be under his rule.
Ruling the kingdom and having “main council” over it were two different but similar things. Being a prince gave one “main council,” or simply more power than average during council meetings. Having main council gave you a little bit more influence, but the older council members would never take you seriously anyway, not even in a time of war when those old bastards had never seen a battlefield a day in their lives. Only by being a king could one gain enough power to turn the council on its head, granted the king in question had enough backup.
One frigid winter’s day, when Tsukasa and Rui were sixteen, war broke out. Soldiers in full black armor and black masks invaded the kingdom, followed by all sorts of magical beasts. No one knew who this army was, where they came from, or why they were there, but the commanders decided that stopping the war was the first priority, and thankfully the council did too. They tried contacting their enemy to come to an armistice, but it was like they just appeared from thin air…
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Walking into the training grounds, Rui and Tsukasa were met with the sight of Akiyama and Len sparring, and Shinonome practicing on a training dummy with Aoyagi critiquing his moves in the background. Kaito was occupied with loading bullets into his gun and Hinomori was sharpening her blade to a fine, razor sharp. Almost all of the soldiers stopped to greet Tsukasa and Rui, well really just the former…
"Good Morning everyone! I apologize for our late arrival!" The blonde's voice was booming as always. Especially when he wanted to make an entrance.
"No worries, Prince Tenma. We were all just getting ready to leave anyway." Aoyagi explained. He held great respect for Tsukasa, still addressing him as Prince Tenma. Tsukasa reminded him over and over again that he could just call him Tsukasa, but he still addressed him formally. Tsukasa got used to it after a while.
"Ah, I would like to apologize as well, as it was mainly a fault on my part~." Rui laughed a bit awkwardly. Most of his comrades simply blinked at his response. Shinonome even had an unfriendly look in his eyes. No matter how much Rui had wanted to connect with him, they were like oil and water. The others simply remained indifferent, skeptical at the most. The two exceptions were Akiyama and Len.
"Don't sweat it, Kamishiro!" Akiyama approached him, patting him on the shoulder in a friend-like manner. She began leading him away from the others, just walking and talking around the room, Len soon following close behind.
"Well... I know you must be nervous, but I look forward to seeing what you can do, Rui." Around her fellow soldiers and other nobles, Mizuki addressed Rui formally, and Rui did the same. But when it was just the two of them, they dropped their guard. Aside from Tsukasa, Mizuki was one of the first friends Rui made when he arrived at the castle.
It was during the early days, when palace life still proved suffocating for Rui. He had gone onto the highest balcony that the castle had to offer, basking in the best view of the kingdom, or really anywhere he had ever seen. Mizuki ended up coming up only a little while after him and the two clicked. She even made the golden frame for Rui’s glasses, while Mafuyu designed the lens.
Whilst Rui, Mizuki and Len were off chatting away, the rest of the soldiers were having a much different conversation.. Once Kamishiro was out of earshot…
"Tsukasa, I don't have any idea why you decided to induct him into the military..." The ginger grumbled.
"I dunno, he doesn’t seem all bad. Do you have some sort of grudge against magic?" Hinomori protested.
Shinonome pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers in frustration.
"There hasn't been a true mage in the army– let alone the kingdom, in centuries. Since light magic requires so much happiness and calmness or whatever... I don't think he fits the profile." Shinonome retorted.
"He seems pretty cheerful to me. Calming though a little bit eccentric." Aoyagi added.
Nobody could argue with that. Rui was undoubtedly unique. "I suppose you have a point, but that's what makes Rui such a great Rui!"
"Whatever you say, Tsukasa. But just know that I'll have my eye on him." Shinonome said before getting back to practicing on his training dummy while Aoyagi followed. Hinomori just sighed before walking away, leaving only Kaito and Tsukasa.
"Well, Tsukasa... You've made a pretty bold decision, but Kamishiro seems to have a better grasp at light magic than anyone that has studied or taught it since it was really just shut down. Let's just see how this goes. Just keep your options open in case he ends up holding us back." Kaito had usually been the one to diffuse whatever disasters Rui had created in the castle when trying different things, and in that time, he learned that he was actually quite the capable mage. More than capable. He was extraordinary.
"He won't, I promise. I trust him. Fully." Tsukasa patted Kaito firmly on the shoulder. "Worry not, dear Kaito! Rui is more than capable and amazing at what he does! Just wait until you see him in action, I watched him train, and it was quite impressive. He scorched a few dummies, so we had to replace those, but a win is a win."
Tsukasa looked around, surveying the space. Everyone was there and accounted for. The general morale of the room betrayed what their psyche was saying. Each and every one of them was more concerned than ever about whether or not they would return home. This was no ordinary battle. These were no ordinary enemies. But despite their fear and wariness, all blades were sharpened, all guns were loaded. All mana was restored, and everyone was ready to face whatever type of hell was waiting for them.
Tsukasa stepped forward to address the whole room, standing on a barrel to top it all off.
"Dearest comrades! Let us head to the heart of the battle and dispose of our enemies. Let us have the backs of our other comrades who have worked tirelessly, and let us avenge those who have lost their lives for this nation. For the families to sleep soundly at night, for the children to run in the streets, playing without fear. For the light that we have always kept illuminating our nation… Long live Empyria!" Tsukasa shouted, flooding with morale and adrenaline.
"Long live Empyria!" Stouted back his comrades, ready to fight for their home, future, and lives.