The Demon God grinned, for the first time in a while, he felt the warm determination from someone, and it wasn't even someone from his own planet.
"Good. Then get out of here. No point in sticking around on a dying planet. Leave for Aurora. The Goddess you're looking for lives in the World Tree. But if you want to get an audience with her... well, you'll have to prove yourself."
"That will be difficult. I heard portals between worlds were blocked," Lucas was oblivious when it came to spatial magic. Just like arrays, they just weren't his expertise. The field of space was also so complex and hard to understand that he didn't have the time to study it in the first place.
"Sure, but that serpent of a woman left a large hole for anyone daring enough."
Lucas stopped in his tracks as he knew what he was talking about right away. While the Goddess had retreated back then, the large hole in the sky was still open to anyone truly insane enough. "Truly walking into a lion's den."
"I would categorize her as a Dragon if I were you. But you're lucky, you have the correct skin type."
The old man started to laugh, he cared little if Lucas lived or not, but he certainly was entertaining. "Go back, boy."
Knowing that it was the right answer, Lucas still didn't want to move forward right away. This was for a simple reason, a reason he knew wasn't socially acceptable, but incredible chaining.
"Can I ask you something?"
The old man didn't respond. Taking his silence as approval, he sat cross-legged in front of the master.
"I would like to breach Rank 4. But I heard you can fail. So I would like to ask for your experience."
The Demon God sighed out loud. He had already given Lucas extremely valuable information about the Goddess of Life. There was no reason to entertain the brat in front of him. No reason at all. Well, there might've been something pushing him to take this rude and personal question serious.
He was old, he had forgotten to count the years, as it became useless. The Ranks were always a closely guarded secret, since they could shift the power balance so quickly. Taking a gamble, the God revealed enough.
"Isolate yourself in a mana rich environment and cultivate your core. If there's not enough mana, it might try to transform and fail. You will go into a hibernation state, it should take around a week or two. That's all I can say."
The Demon God regretted giving away such important information for free. But he knew this was the right choice.
It didn't take long before Lucas took off, procuring directions as he left, he flew towards the Duke's county as fast as he could, preparing plenty of spells for the angels that dared to cross his path. Because unlike before, Lucas was going to make sure he killed every single angel he laid his eyes on.
In the cave, the Demon God ordered his pupil to rest while he remained alone. He held tight on his cane and closed his eyes for a moment.
It didn't take long before a new demon appeared. Wearing a neat black suit and white gloves, the man was all smiles as he stood before the disgraced Demon God. His wide smile and almost perfect posture when he bowed to the man was respectable.
"Good day, Lord Demon God," his voice was light and friendly, an approachable man for certain.
The God in question grinned slightly, the visitor held not a single magicule in his body, just a normal demon, someone he could kill without even doing anything but releasing his aura. Yet he had to hold himself back, for it would spell the doom for all of Sabaoth if he did so.
"I suppose you're here because I didn't fulfill the deal?", despite their power difference, the Demon God truly was in a lower station in front of this mortal.
"Yes. Frankly, we pride ourselves on having very beneficial deals that no mage would want to pass up. If you simply followed our instructions, we would've healed your body back to it's peak," the man lost his smile as he stared at the forgotten God. "You're just a heap of bones pretending to be a God. Why didn't you give him the pill, Astaroph?"
The cold tone, the absolute boldness of treating a God like a failed subject, it all made the God snicker to himself. Were it anyone else, he would've killed the man in cold blood, but now, he wasn't in a position to do so. "If you're so interested in him having this, why not give it yourself?"
"The Master has commanded us to limit direct involvement, choosing a more subtle approach to aid him. Tell us the reason you didn't fulfill the deal. We need to make sure this doesn't happen the next time."
"Hehe," the almost senile man chuckled, "no matter what you offered, I wouldn't have done it. Is he so important to you? Is he the one you were looking for all this time?", the old man wondered as he placed an ornate box on the cave floor.
Picking up the box, the demon frowned down on the God. "We were planning on replacing you for disobeying us. But you gave him the key to the next Rank. So we have decided to let you stay here.
Don't bother involving yourself any longer, Astaroph. We've decided we simply can't trust you anymore with these kinds of deals. We hope you achieve the world you wish for without our aid," the man had little patience for his senior, "Don't die on us yet, your presence is still a useful tool for us. Rot here till you pass away."
And with that, the man vanished from his eyes, the Demon God was alone once more. The words spoken by the magicless man would be seen as pure blasphemy, death would be the lightest punishment he could've gotten.
And yet, the Demon God was surprised he was still breathing. His gamble of telling Lucas extremely valuable information paid off, barely. Grabbing the stump that was supposed to be his left arm, he regretted his choices no longer. He wasn't allowed to regret his actions anymore.
'So he's the True Heir they've been trying to get all this time? Would I be able to use him as a negotiation chip for her?'
Looking at the place the visitor stood for a moment, a few plans came up, but the massive threat that loomed over him brought it all down. The God sighed, retracting his plans and letting fate decide the end of his planet. 'Damn this powerlessness.'
Lucas had to fly for a week or two to get back to the Duke's lands. On his way, he killed tens of thousands of Angels, all were far below his powers. Not even the Rank 3 mages stood a chance against him if he bothered to try.
Leaving rivers of blood and mountains of corpses behind him, he eventually reached a place where he could tell the explosion from Harut's core had affected. The ground was completely destroyed, turned over as if a wave had uprooted everything. The further he looked the more bleak the world looked.
It was then that Lucas started to realize the truth behind the old God's words. Sabaoth was a world plagued with war. It never had the time to fully heal.
Thinking about the oceans of blood, Lucas could only imagine what the Demon God had gone through. The lives and connections lost in a seemingly endless war. He didn't want to hold any sympathy for the man, but he didn't have full control over his heart.
Moving deeper into the destroyed land, sings of life were rare, barely any plant or being was capable of surviving the blast.
Eventually, there was nothing to find. The earth had turned bleak, dead. Only by continuing his flight did he eventually find signs of life. Other mages. They had been rebuilding the castle of the Duke at a rapid pace.
Landing close nearby, one of the mages approached him. "Looks like you survived the blast after all," the man was dressed in neat-looking clothing that contrasted the broken landscape around them.
"Alastor," the war was mostly over so Lucas thought they would be on bad terms again, ready to fight each other to death. But staring one another in the eyes, neither held any intent on fighting. They might've been opponents in the past, but they didn't hold any grudges.
"You can start calling me Lord Alastor, I've inherited the title of my father."
"Not Duke?", Lucas was surprised at the sudden change in name, for it would only mean a one thing. Someone of a higher station had returned to grant such a title.
"The Duke has decided to not ascend yet. So for now-", Alastor was about to continue until he felt a powerful presence step up behind him. The Duke approached them in silence. His appearance still looked regal, but the left horn on his head was completely broken. His body would've been covered in scars were it not for the healing spells.
"Alastor told me you took care of a Rank 4 mage, bringing victory to the battles among the Guardians. What happened to my son?", his voice was low, stern, but Lucas could feel the emotion hidden behind it.
Lucas sighed slightly, but wasn't going to avert his eyes, "He sacrificed himself to save me."
The Duke's stare felt painful, but Lucas couldn't avoid it. He had to face the father of his friend. A silence drifted between them as Alastor kept quiet. The Duke's eyes closed before he turned around. "Thank you for your aid. If you're willing, we can use your support," not waiting for an answer, the Duke left.
In the distance, the Guardians were visible. They were in bad shape, but alive, which was more than what most could hope for. They were building back the castle and infrastructure. Rebuilding the entire thing would take a long time, but more frighteningly was the fact that the Duke was alone and harmed.
The Duke was a bastion of strength, and combined with other Dukes, they ventured out to fight against a group of mages of similar strength, yet only Duke Astaroph was around the castle.
"I assume the others have passed?"
Alastor took a quick look in his mind to understand his question before shaking his head slightly, "Not exactly, three Dukes have survived the battle. Ours, the Duke of the Northern Planes and the Duke of the Ocean City."
Lucas didn't know them, but he remembered there were 13 Dukes in total, but now less than half came back. But it also meant they defeated the angels ready to destroy the world. It must've been a bitter victory, but a victory no less. The Duke was already working to get infrastructure back and one of the Guardians was tasked with finding demons who were hiding or running away.
It didn't take long before Lucas could tell the Duke was already forming plans to rebuild his kingdom and prepare troops for the next potential war. 'Being Duke means sacrificing your life for Sabaoth.'
'What a pitiful existence.'
"Yes," Alastor nodded in response to his thoughts. "The title is a burden, nothing else. The Duke said that my father didn't want me to inherit the title. So he stayed behind to fulfill his wish."
"He was a wise man. To think he thought so far ahead."
"Hah, he had nothing else to do but think. He couldn't develop his strength since he was crippled entering Rank 4."
Many of his actions suddenly became more than clear to Lucas. If he had no power to fight himself, he chose to develop a method of making other stronger. He didn't aid the Guardians since he would just be a burden, he sacrificed his life to give everyone else a fighting chance.
Truly, the Lord was a better strategist Lucas gave him credit for. It was a shame he had to pass away. But if he clung onto his own life, even Lucas probably wouldn't be standing here.
Now, it was up to the Duke and his Guardians to prepare again. With most of the population either dead or hiding, manipulating the information for the next couple of years would be easy. The world would move forward once more, not knowing what happened except a for the survivors who would pass away after a couple of dozen years.
The world was in the hands of the Dukes and the Demon God. The only missing piece was the Demon King. He had not heard anything about it since the start of the battle. His presence here would've been noticed, but there was nobody that powerful besides the Duke.
"He took out his opponent but at the cost of his own life," Alastor commented after hearing his thoughts once more, "He failed his ascension to become a God and was stuck in his Rank. Killing his assailant was already the best result he could accomplish."
"Wait, if the Duke's are Rank 5, then the Demon King has to be Rank 6."
"Yes?"
"Then..."
Alastor's eyes widened for a moment as he saw the images pass through Lucas' mind. Holding his head, he shook it side to side, "Incredible. You actually found the Demon God and acted so disrespectful towards him? You never change, do you?"
'Shut it, you voyeuristic bastard!'
Lucas didn't have to say anything as his other self quickly complained enough to fill Alastor's book of insults in an instant. Laughing it away, Alastor felt the pain in his cheeks from smiling so much. It was a smile he wasn't going to have for long as an arduous journey was ahead.
"How are the other siblings doing?"
"Hmm? Oh, Agares is fine, she's a tough one, even for me. Descartes has disappeared, so most likely dead....or I guess not," Alastor sighed, "You should really work on not letting your memories and thoughts run around so haphazardly in your mind."
"I'm not exactly in control over every thought in my head."
"Well, I guess not. Either way, most of us are fine. Only Agatha and Pritoris have gone missing. We assume Pritoris has passed since he had a large flock of angels to deal with. Agatha's lands were only slowly blossoming thanks to your help, but there's barely anyone living there. So the information we're getting out of it is also scarce."
"I'll go there first."