The Crimson Marksman

Chapter 1: Beginning

My name is Berwick. I came from a family of powerful demons. My father was a respected scientist, my mother was a well-known botanic, and my grandfather was a fearsome fire mage. When I was born, it seemed that I had inherited the ability of my grandfather as I almost gave my mother a fourth degree burn if she didn't know anything about healing magic

Growing up, I was seen as a monster. Demons the same age as me didn't want to hang around me. Because I had a bad temper. If I lose control of it, I'd burn them alive. My family saw it as a gift, but I view it as a curse. Knowing that my power could harm those around me, I spend my days as a loner. But in result of that, I became socially awkward and quiet.

My grandfather was especially proud of me. At the age of 7, I was send to the most expensive academy in Granadia to learn how to control my fire magic. There, I met Rosetta, a mage who was equally good at magic, but she was talented in water magic. In contrast to mine. She was also quite the bookworm, always had her nose buried in a book and she was often the class representative. She was the only one who was willing to talk to me and approach me. I don't know why, but she particularly enjoyed teasing me, to which I find irritating.

There was also another girl at the academy to which I had a vague memory of. I think her name was Leone and she was said to be the princess of Granadia, the next in line of the throne. But to me, she didn't seem all that special. She was shy, very timid and said sorry a lot. She also annoyed me to a certain degree but not as much as Rosetta does.

I graduated from the academy when I was in my early twenties. I was quite young and arrogant, always confident in my own power. I would often look down on those who couldn't surpass me. On the outside, I was that one brat that everyone disliked. But no one knew how lonely I was deep down.

Everything changed after the day I met him.

It all started on a normal day. As usual, I would often leave and go to a secluded area to practice my fire magic. I even named one of my arts Flame Nova. While I was at the academy, I took an interest to astronomy and it fascinated me of how elegant their names were. So ideas came and I named the art Flame Nova. I was having trouble with one of the arts I was studying until I heard noises coming from the far distance. I was curious of what it was, so I snuck over. I made sure that no one could spot me before I peeked out to see what the ruckus was about.

By the riverbank, I saw a group of 3 fighting against each other. One of them was a girl. They had weapons in hand and the sounds I heard was the clang of the blades. They seemed to be sparring as they were careful not to hurt each other. I was amazed by the power they displayed in swordplay but none was as fast and graceful as one. He stood out so much for me to the point I couldn't move my eyes off of him. He had ocean blue hair, his amber eyes focused on the demon before him as he tried to parry the other demon's attack.

"Quick Draw: Brilliant Blade!" He cried as streams of water formed around him. My eyes opened wide as I saw his wounds and scratches were slowly healing as he dashed toward the other demon. He seemed to be caught off guard as he stumbled backward. Without warning, the water demon unarmed him.

"Man, your art is as powerful as ever Vox." The defeated demon wiped his brow as he laughed. "That was a tough battle for me to be put up against."

"You'll get better Duke." Vox said as he went to pick up Duke's boulder breaker and handed it over to him. He thanked Vox and left to take a break.

"Hey captain, duel me!" The girl pipped up, standing from the rock she had been sitting on. In her hands were two axes. "Riviera, you should really train on your stamina before you duel me you know?" Vox shook his head helplessly. Looks like stamina had been this girl's weakness. To which I can relate since I also have poor stamina.

"Besides," I heard Vox again. "Queen Juno may need you two at her palace. I believe she had something planned for you and Duke to do. You don't want to keep her wait."

Duke and Riviera nodded before taking off. I was about to leave as well, but something made me stop in my track. The water demon picked up his blade, got in a fighting stance and waved his sword in the air. No wonder why he was so strong, he continues to train himself even when training time was over. I marveled with admiration. He truly was fitting to be the captain of the Juno Templars.

That was when a wild thought popped in my head. I want to join the Juno Templars. I want to be part of the special guards that protect this kingdom. I know I was capable of it. My fire magic was exceeding that of my grandfather's.

I was going to come out of my hiding place, but I noticed that it was getting late and I should probably head back home now. I sighed with disappointment. Hopefully I'll get to talk to him tomorrow if they do come by again. I stood up, snuck away from my hiding place as quiet as I was able to and left the riverbank. On the way home, the path was dark and it was getting hard to see. I ignited a small flame on the tip of my index finger as a mean of light source for me to get a better idea of where I was going. A few feet away from me up ahead, I saw some eyes glowing in refection of the light. I groaned. Looks like I'll have to kill some monsters before I can enjoy my peace and quiet again.

I took a deep breath and kneeled on the floor. Small swirls of flame begin to form around me. I waited for the monsters to approach before I unleashed my art.

"Flame Nova!" I yelled. A pillar of fire tornado rose up in front of me and soon, the monsters screamed before the flame swallowed their demise.

Since Flame Nova takes time to charge, I had to use small magic attacks in between. By the time Flame Nova was ready again, I unleashed another powerful blow on the monsters.

However, more of them appeared and my poor stamina was starting to slow me down. Pretty soon, I had no strength left to use another Flame Nova. As more and more monsters closing in on me, my life flashed before my mind. Was I going to die here? Heh, of course I am. I was born alone, and I will die in the same way.

I closed my eyes, waiting for my fate. But it didn't come to me. It never did. Instead, I heard a male's voice yell "Quick Draw: Brilliant Blade!" Before I fade into unconsciousness.

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Author's Note

Hey hey hey! Thanks for reading this to the end! I really appreciate it!!!

Okay, so you might have noticed that Thetis was not in here. Well, I was told that he joined the Juno Templars after Berwick so I don't know. I haven't been a GS player for that long. I joined during the Shaman King crossover and Berwick was my first KoB unit. He had been super helpful to me and I grew attached to him. So yeah, you can see now why my name is Flame Nova XD

Also a few minor diffences. You might think it's strange that Berwick knows Leone and Rosetta before he became a Templar. I've heard older players say that they used to be in the same magic school learning magic together. I don't know if this is a fan canon, but I honestly think it makes sense.

Anyways, I think that's all I have to say. If you have any questions or anything you'd like to add, you're welcome to comment in the comment section. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed chapter 1 so far!!