Taking flight without a second thought, Lucas fled from the group as he ventured towards the domain of the little girl. It was for a good reason Lucas fled, as the only human surrounded by demons of stations higher than him, he would rather not take any stupid risks. While Duke Astaroph seemed to be somewhat friendly, the others didn't didn't exactly have an approachable aura.
Perhaps they had lost someone dear to them or were tired from the fighting, but Lucas couldn't recognize any of them. Lucas wanted to offer his condolences since Yaldor was nowhere in sight, but this wasn't the moment.
As he flew through the quiet sky, Lucas saw the ravaged lands and thought back on what it all used to be. Thoughts of Bell popped up in his head and the chances of her survival were disastrous after his calculation.
She certainly wasn't in the group Lucas led to the south, and the undead that pillaged whatever bodies they could have been destroyed or ran to the west. The red sky started to look more and more like blood.
Rushing to her lands, Lucas didn't meet that many angels, only a few platoons which didn't stand a chance. Lucas didn't bother using spells since his physical prowess was enough to eliminate them. He was at the brink of Rank 4, and with the Rank 4 angels gone, there were little to none who were able to stand up to him.
Part of Lucas critiqued his approach, as he was lowering his guard against mages below his Rank. One might think it stupid, but Lucas was the very one that broke the general rule that mages couldn't fight someone above their own Rank. He knew he couldn't fall into such a trap and let himself be killed by something idiotic, but he did it almost without thinking.
Plunging his fist through a Rank 2 mage's shell and chest felt so easy, they didn't even feel like worth fighting. Simply releasing his aura already took care of the Rank 1 mages, spells were never necessary.
As he made some progress on his journey, clearing out the angels and surveying the lands revealed little to nothing. There was some damage from the blast Lucas and Asta caused, but that was about it.
There were no demons running around, and after Lucas passed, there were no more angels flying around. What was surprising was that the undead were unnoticeable. There was nobody left.
Lucas was used to seeing streets filled with blood, but there was nothing of the sort. Besides the bodies he recently caused, there was nothing else.
'Were they evacuated?'
'In such a short time? That little brat's got a good heart and all, but she ain't smart.'
'Then where is everybody? Did she have a shelter like that woman?'
'Nah, she didn't know shit about the invasion, let alone have any funds to do shit with it.'
Entering the mansion she used to rule out of, Lucas walked around familiar ground. Nothing seemed off, except for the lack of bodies and rubble. It didn't look like a fight happened nor was there any sign of people rushing out.
Getting to Agatha's office, it all looked like they vanished in thin air. Pieces of paper were still lingering on the desk. Stepping close, he picked up the one on top.
'Dear Astaroph,
If you reading this, then it means you've come out of hiding and searching for me. I'm sorry for not informing you earlier, but I have decided to flee from this battle.
My retainers said we couldn't fight them. So we have decided to take what we can and move towards the west. In the desert, nobody lives, so the chances of us being hunted should be lesser.
I pray you are well, dear brother.
Love
Agatha'
Staring at the letter, Lucas didn't know what to think. At first, he felt that she was moronic to leave behind evidence of her position during war. On the other hand, he realized that if he did find her, he would have to explain what happened to her brother.
His hand clenched the paper tight. Letting it go up in flames, Lucas removed any sign of the document.
'The angels never checked this place out.'
'Why the hell would they? They're just hounds looking for a rabbit to slaughter, why bother investigating some random old mansion?'
'I suppose, looks like they're the bigger fools here, luckily.'
Going back outside, Lucas decided to head west. If he was the one writing the letter, he would thrown of the reader by going in a different direction, though not opposite, but knowing Agatha, she wouldn't think that far ahead.
Taking to the sky, Lucas was ready to leave when he suddenly felt a stronger presence near his position.
'A Rank 3?'
'There's still angels with that much power flying around?'
'And here I thought I fucking killed them all.'
'Well, you clearly missed one.'
Turning to face the incoming threat, Lucas pulled out a weapon he had been working on for some time. A large greatsword appeared in his hand, one colored in a very dark tint. A metal so dense and powerful, it was close to becoming diamond.
Its blade was broad enough to reflect a man's face. The lengthy grip had enough room for two strong hands as this was more than necessary. The iron hooks above the guard resembled the fangs of a low Ranked Wyvern. It's serrated blade spoke of violence. It was too large for graceful fencing.
The weight was more than usual, as even Lucas, who had upgraded his body to the best standard among his Rank, he still had to use both hands to use it properly. Grabbing it and letting it rest on his shoulder, he awaited his visitors as the spikes on the blade pushed into his skin. He had to turn his skin metallic to withstand the resting blade.
Once they got close enough to inspect them, Lucas let his eyes roam over them. The Rank 3 mage had a knight's shield of Light and a long sword. He could tell the shield was extremely condensed Light that should stop most attacks, especially those of Darkness.
Flashing a smile, Lucas had to grab his face to lower the corners of his mouth. He shouldn't be smiling, he didn't want to smile, but he couldn't wait to see how effective his weapon was against its natural enemy.
Lifting the heavy weapon with both hands, a layer of Darkness coiled around the sword before wrapping it entirely in pitch black. The power emanating from it was more than enough to scare the Rank 2's flying with their leader, who raised his shield almost instinctively.
"How dare a fellow human raise his weapon against Her loyal followers! We are here to purge the lands of villainy, why have you-"
Lucas didn't bother listening to whatever they were spouting. He had long given up on understanding their side or opinions.
Lifting his sword, he slowly turned his body as the massive blade caught up with his spin. The air crackled with power, as the blade's edge crushed the space it was occupying. Releasing his swing, a massive arc of Darkness shot out of the blade, covering the horizon before him.
The Rank 3 angel raised his shield as he let it glow with a strange power, lighting up his surroundings as the black arc split his shield and body in two.
"Hahahaha!", Lucas laughed out loud seeing how powerful his experimental weapon had become. Despite his current situation, he truly found joy in seeing a project come to fruition.
Only a few angels were fast enough to dodge in time, or were simply lucky enough to have been too high or low. Seeing how quick their leader succumbed to the blade. They didn't know whether to fight or not.
Lucas had to stop his laugh as he suddenly felt tired, his hands hurt as the darkness had started to eat his skin. Despite his control, during the swing, too much mana was released, making some of it disobey his commands.
Releasing the Darkness and putting the blade away, Lucas looked exhausted from afar.
"He's tired! Now's our chance!", rushing towards him together, a glint appeared in Lucas' eyes.
Landing on the ground, Lucas threw away the head of one of the angels. Covered in blood, corpses surrounded him as he tried to clean his clothes.
'The weapon worked. Now we just have to regulate the mana input and we'll have a more versatile Dark Beam that consumes less energy.'
'Yeah, it's nice and all, but I ain't fighting with that weapon buddy. That shit's way too slow. My Darkness Sword is way better.'
'What? It's one of the first offensive spells I developed, can't you at least be cheering me on or something?'
'Would that even motivate you?'
'I mean, yes?'
'Then get your approval from the bodies you're stepping on. We have to get that little girl, don't we? Get to it, you ass.'
'For once, you're setting me straight, huh? Damn, I've been... I just tried to forget... I mean...'
'I get it. It's fine. Just... go.'
'Yes.'
Moving forward, Lucas left the mansion as he ventured west. He felt happy from his successful experiment, but the joy he gained was stifled. Almost as if he didn't allow himself to feel something else other than sorrow.
He wanted to move on, but also didn't want to.
Flying towards the west, all there was were the endless dunes. He had been here before to meet up with the Undead. But this time, he would have to search for his friend's little sister.
There wasn't anything of note, not many things to see in the desert in the first place. Still, it didn't take long before Lucas found them due to his speed and wide range of willpower. They had found a cave system and lived mostly underground.
Entering the crack in the ground, Lucas descended down an artificial tunnel before arriving in a large undergound cave not too dissimilar to what Elionor had been governing. Only this time, there was nothing so grand.
His arrival was quickly noticed, but Lucas could see they weren't living well. They had water from mages, but food was limited to whatever they brought with them.
Lucas could see a few attempts at a farm using whatever dirt they could gather from back home, but seeing the state of the potatoes, and the fact that was the only thing they were trying to grow, it was clear they didn't think everything through.
Due to his powerful presence during the reconstruction period, most of the demon present were well aware of who he exactly was. Demons ran from their houses to celebrate and inform the leaders of the failing outpost.
It didn't take long before a young girl ran towards him. Seeing the little girl he remembered being stuck in either in her bed or behind her big brother's back, she was followed by a few loyal retainers.
Agatha looked young, but mature for her age. Perhaps due to the stress and responsibilities placed on her she quickly grew into the mindset of an adult. The blood of Duke Astaroph truly ran through her veins, making her a natural born leader.
"Lucas! You found us! Did my brother send you?"
Lucas stared at her wide hopeful eyes as the demons around her were all filled with relief. If a human that supported the demons found them only meant he survived the genocide. Just that slim possibility of survival grew massively now that they knew the demons had survived on the surface.
Checking the people out, Lucas knew what answer to give to the group, but not to Agatha herself. "Duke Astaroph and the other Dukes have fought off the powerful Angels in the sky. The Guardians and remaining demons are rebuilding the county right as we speak! You have survived!"
The crowd burst out in tears as they embraced one another. They had done it, despite the harshness of the desert, despite their poor meals and the fear of death outside, they had done it. Their gamble of running away worked out.
Only a single person stood still as she stared at Lucas who landed in front of her.
"How is my brother?", straight to the point, she didn't like Lucas' answer.
"I...", Lucas didn't know what to say. He tried to formulate a sentence during his search for her, and despite all the possible answers he came up with. When it was actually time to speak, he stammered, choosing silence over words.
Agatha started to get tears in her eyes, but unlike the others, for very different reasons. She turned away from Lucas and left.
Bringing the group back to the castle didn't take too long. A few platoons of angels were in the way, but they were nothing against their combined might.
By the time he got back, Protaris had also arrived at the castle, meaning all siblings of Astaroph were safe and sound.
Having succeeded in his task, Lucas was stuck between staying and helping out and leaving it all behind. He wanted to move on, and while Alastor could read it from his thoughts, someone else figured him out quite easily.
"Lucas. Thank you again for your help," the Duke didn't bow or appeared happy or glad despite his words of gratitude. "As a human that had only entered Sabaoth for a short time, I held no expectations for you, even if you were my son's friend."
"I would've helped Asta either way, and I wouldn't have gotten so strong were it not for you sending out Yaldor to that black pyramid," Lucas didn't feel an ounce of pride from the praise he got from the Duke.
"A matter of the past. Lucas. The Demon God has contacted me, and told me to let you leave our planet. So go before I change my mind."
Staring at the portal in the sky, Lucas wasn't going to charge right in, no, he had other plans. Nodding to the Duke, Lucas left them to rebuild their civilization on their own. Lucas had more than done his part in the war and the aftermath, even if his heart didn't agree fully.
Flying with purpose, Lucas went out to hunt a bunch of angels to stifle the doubts plaguing his mind. Despite some angels being on the same Rank as him, they were absolutely no match for his prowess as he slaughtered thousands of angels on his travels.
Heading towards a very specific place, Lucas held no mercy for the bastards that invaded Sabaoth, enacting revenge on them the best he could. And while the killing certainly relieved part of his anger towards them, he knew he was just throwing a tantrum.
Astaroph was gone, for now. He had to accept the cold reality that set him on this part of the path. He wasn't going to stop in his tracks, he wouldn't turn back, he couldn't. There was only one thing he was allowed to do. Move forward. Evermore.
After a few weeks had passed, Lucas arrived at a large black pyramid. Landing on the entrance steps, he spread his willpower wide to see if he could find the caretaker, but no living human was near the place.
'Perhaps he died in the purge?'
'Would those chickens bother to kill a random old man?'
'They were fanatic enough.'
'Oh, yeah, I guess they were pretty insane. Still, what a bunch of fuckers to kill some poor old fart.'
Entering the temple, Lucas traversed the maze like before until he arrived at the sanctuary.
Creating a fortress of compressed steel and installing plenty of arrays to shield him, he took place in the very center. Taking out a bloody bag, he threw the contents on the floor.
Dozens upon dozens of cores from the falling angels scattered around him. Letting the energy inside leak to the outside world, Lucas waited until the concentration of mana was strong enough to start his cultivation.
With the aid of Astaroph and Yaldor during his previous visit, it wasn't hard to slowly build the runes on his core to reach the next Rank. Things were close to advancing. So he didn't want to make any mistakes. Scanning his environment for one last time, he set up a few more defensive shields just to be certain.
Breathing a sigh of nervousness, Lucas closed his eyes and started to meditate, slowly taking in the mana from his environment.