[God's Design]

"They're just kids...," Regis, the Divine Emperor was surprised when three teenagers wandered into his throne room. "...and only one of them is a boy," he mumbled to himself as he sat up straighter to intimidate them. The boy had bright blue, almost white hair pulled back in a ponytail and he wore dark blue plate armor. The girl to his right had short dark hair framing her pale face and she wore dark red leather armor with a white quiver on her back and a white bow at the ready. The girl to the boy's left was the strangest by far. She had spiky, bright orange hair and her face was covered with white makeup. She wore a black and orange outfit that reminded Regis more of a court jester than an adventurer.

"It's fine," the boy said as he looked to his right. "I'm sure your mom has a reason for leaving Riot and me out of the match," he said.

"Yeah, you don't need to keep apologizing," the girl with white makeup added. "I wouldn't want to be on Spider's team anyway," she said. The three of them were so distracted with their conversation they apparently didn't notice they were in Regis' presence. He decided to remind them he was there.

"You are in the presence of a god!" his booming voice echoed around the room. The three teens stopped walking and looked at Regis. He rose from his throne and the boy drew a nearly transparent, icy sword from his sheath. The ranger nocked an arrow and the other girl readied her own weapon; though, Regis did not understand what it was. It had the same basic shape as a sword; but, it was rounded and bulging and made from a bright orange material. The 'blade' part looked like an orange sausage with two small yellow corn-cob-like bulbs forming the cross-guard. Regis couldn't help but notice the faint squeak when she readied it. It was obviously a toy, which meant this poor group of innocents did not know what they were up against.

"Why have you children come here?" Regis asked as he stepped closer to his challengers.

"It's just nice to spend time together," the boy answered with a chuckle. Both girls giggled at his comment, but it only confused Regis. He was a god and did not enjoy the feeling that they were mocking him.

"I see you children have yet to learn any manners," Regis said. "Allow me to teach you," he snapped his fingers. A plume of dark smoke revealed six skeleton guards between Regis and the teens. They were armed with swords and shields and wore heavy plate armor. He could have summoned five times as many; but, he only wanted to frighten them. He did not expect them to move so fast.

The boy charged forward with his icy sword and the orange-haired girl followed with her own 'weapon'. Meanwhile, the ranger raised her bow and took aim at Regis.

"Defend me!" Regis instructed his soldiers. He was still concerned about them, although he wondered if maybe he was the one underestimating them. The skeletons braced their shields as the boy lunged forward and sliced with his sword. Regis felt a blast of cold air at the same moment he heard a loud, disembodied voice fill the room.

[Glacial Smite] the first skeleton exploded into pieces of bone and armor and went flying. The two skeletons closest to it were frozen solid and unable to move.

"What?" Regis was surprised by how powerful they were; but, he still had more surprises on the way. The orange-haired girl attacked the group of skeletons from the other side.

[Mimic Sword] the voice filled the air again. She swiped with her ridiculous weapon. The skeleton she aimed for exploded as another wave of frigid air washed past Regis. It left the last two skeletons trapped in ice.

"What??" Regis panicked. They were more powerful than any kids had a right to be. They weren't ordinary and he now knew he could use his full power on them. But, as he had that realization, he briefly forgot about the third member of their team. He looked up in time to see her release her arrow.

[Shadow Point] the voice said. Regis summoned another army of skeletons as he kept focused on the arrow. But, it vanished after flying forward for a moment. He felt something pass through him and yet felt no pain.

"Enough!" He yelled. "I AM A GO-," he took a step forward to approach his intruders; but, he couldn't complete the action. He found himself unable to move even a single step. A sudden insight caused him to whirl around to check behind him. A single arrow shaft was sticking out of his shadow.

"You know...," the ranger said. The close voice startled Regis enough to turn around. The ranger stood next to him with a smile on her face. His second wave of skeleton soldiers was already defeated as the other two surrounded him. The boy with blue hair readied his sword as he stared Regis in the eyes. "...even an NPC god is still just an NPC," the ranger grinned.

"Wh..what?" Regis stuttered. He was afraid for the first, and only time in his life. His only answer was a deep voice filling the room.

[Glacial Smite]

***

Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1830 in a row. (Story #020 in year six.). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place at a high school in my universe. It began on August 22nd and I will be adding to it with prompts every day until May 26th. They are all collected in order at this link.