Lord Alastor was trying to keep his nerves calm. After living for so long, he didn't expect his heart to still be so active. 'To think that I, of all people, am starting to get nervous... Dear oh dear, Asta's been rubbing off on me if I'm becoming so emotional.'
Breathing in deep for six counts, the lord held it for six before letting it out in the same pace. Placing his hand on his chest, he felt his old heart thump vigorously. Smiling to himself, he sat on the ground.
Enclosed in a small space, one could say this was one of the most protected locations in all of Sabaoth, yet it held but a single function. All it did was empower and spread one's aura as far and wide as the arrays in the room could handle.
Closing his eyes, he let his aura fill the room. He was a Rank 4 mage, capable of plenty of destruction and holding his own, yet he didn't bother aiding the Guardians in their fight. Just like the Dukes and the Demon King would battle the higher Ranked mages and the Guardians would go against the Rank 4's, there were still thousands of Rank 3 mages and hundreds of thousands of lesser Ranked mages.
The forces conjured in the battle would be enough to wipe out Sabaoth more than once. Of course, that was only the case if one were to compare the lower Ranked mages. To face against them in combat, they could only use every trick up their sleeves and this was one of them.
---
Lucas had hurried to the capitol despite his best judgement. The risk was the highest, yet it was also the most promising choice, not that he liked it.
Arriving at the place, nothing seemed out of the ordinary until the earth started to shake. Spreading his willpower, he sought for any kind of sign of an attack, assuming they were after him. After not finding anyone, he conjured up some defensive measures, only for the shaking to continue in it's incremental growth.
Realizing even the normal people walking down the street were being affected, Lucas was starting to doubt the attack was aimed at him. Hearing reality break above him, he stared at the massive hand of Light.
Letting the light sear his eyes, he cared little for the damage as he struggled to comprehend the power on display. He thought himself powerful, but in the face of the grand display, he felt insignificant. All the growth he had worked so hard for, was nothing.
'That's a spell?'
'No fucking way that's a spell!'
His strongest attacks could devastate entire cities if not an entire region, yet he instinctively felt that hand could crush the entire planet on a moments notice. Lucas froze in place, the hairs on his arms stood up as he felt fear in the deepest corner of his heart.
Rationalizing his situation, he scrapped running away and fighting almost instantly. But that only left him stuck in place, unable to act. The cold fear in his heart got stuck, incapable of turning into something he could use.
His mind searched for an answer, a solution, a way out, and found nothing.
Seeing the deformed hand appear and the subsequent streams of light after its demise. Lucas inspected the stream heading towards them. Letting his willpower run rampant over them, it was quickly pushed back.
But he was able to see what the stream of Light was in that very small moment. It wasn't a river of Light as it portrayed, it looked beautiful, even to Lucas. The stream was an army the size of hundreds of thousands humanoids carrying white wings on their backs and armor made from shining gold.
Their power was nothing to sneeze at, and after realizing what it was, it felt strangely relieving. Lucas wasn't scared or frightened by the hundreds of thousands of enemies flying towards his location. He didn't even mind the fact that a few Rank 4's were in the streams of Light as well.
For all that went through his mind was the relief, the joy, of knowing he would be faced against the corporeal beings serving that Hand of Light. He was free to ignore it and focus on the issue at hand. He was up against enemies of flesh and blood, perhaps powered up by their artifacts and armor, but mortal beings that still had to breathe to live.
The fear that settled in his heart was finally able to turn into a surge of adrenaline that boosted his lust for a fight. He wasn't going to stay stuck in place, he would let his negative emotions pivot to anger and rage as that was his greatest trait.
Despite the massive danger of doing so, Lucas rose to the skies, proudly displaying his power in front of the approaching stream of Light. Looking at the spectacle in front of him, there was only one thing floating around in his head. How much death would his Dark Beam cause.
It didn't take long before hundreds of Demons joined him. Turning to the side, he saw the massive smirks on the faces of the Demons, and despite the massive difference in strength, Lucas couldn't help but think of them as idiots as his own smile widened.
"Didn't think I would see you here."
A familiar voice came from behind him as Alastor floated neatly among his followers. He didn't have a large smile on his face, as he was busy sorting out the millions of thoughts floating around him.
"There's no point in hiding or running."
Alastor scoffed, "The Duke thought the same thing. And following that, I would suggest using that Dark Beam you thought off. Any damage we can do before chaos ensues would limit the friendly casualties."
Lucas didn't mind that he read his mind, there just wasn't any point in fighting with him any longer. Even looking for Asta was put on hold, for his own life would be snuffed out if he didn't perform well.
"I thought you more selfish than to fight on the front lines," not that Lucas wouldn't miss a chance to annoy him.
"That seat is mine, human. But without a populace, there's no point owning the land."
Lucas laughed out loud as he prepared his spell. The stream of Light was so long and thick, Lucas couldn't even grasp the amount of people flying towards them. Simply letting them flow over the capital would probably cause a lot of damage.
As Lucas calculated the best way to launch his attack, he suddenly felt an alien aura creep towards him. Looking down, he saw a sea of transparent purplish flames. Plenty of people were completely consumed by it, but didn't look like they received any damage. Lucas wasn't going to take such a risk, so he tried to stop it, but Alastor grabbed his arm. "Don't worry, it's my father's aura."
"That doesn't exactly inspire confidence."
Alastor chuckled, "Don't worry, it's not one that induces despair like yours, it's quite the opposite. All it does is boost your powers and desire for battle and victory."
Lucas frowned, in a world obsessed with power, why would one sacrifice their aura to help others? It didn't make sense, it didn't fit the image he had of the old demon.
"I can tell what you're thinking, and no, it's not a mistake. I saw the Duke with the Guardians, and he revealed more than what I'd like to know. But they have been preparing for this for their entire lives. My father knew he wasn't a fighter to begin with, so he focused on creating the plans and finding away to strengthen the existing mages."
Hearing Alastor talk to openly about things threw Lucas for a loop, even if he perfectly realized why this was the case in the first place. They weren't in a situation where obstructing each other would lead to any potential benefits. The true mages they were, they instantly became companions facing a greater threat.
Lucas let his thoughts race as he didn't bother speaking them aloud, knowing Alastor would pick up on them in the first place.
"You could at least try to engage in a normal conversation, you know?"
"Frankly, I don't see the point. Have you read my idea?"
Alastor nodded slightly, "Yes, but it won't work for long and you'll have to manipulate your powers perfectly or you'll end up damaging our own forces."
"It's better than nothing, no?"
"Considering the situation? It's not half bad, I'll hold the others off for as long as I can."
Lucas let the aura envelop him. At first, the purplish aura didn't seem to do much, it moved around his limbs and abdomen, wrapping him in the see-through flames. It didn't take long before Lucas felt an inexhaustible pool of energy attach itself to him. His battle crazed half started to get restless. His doubts vanished, victory seemed inevitable.
Despite the impossible odds at survival, Lucas felt like jumping headfirst into danger. He had to slap himself to get out of that state. He was willing to fight, but he would do everything in his power to survive. The realization that he had to fight made all his previous risk analysis turn to dust as a strange giddiness overtook him. The flames took a hold on him.
'I'll leave this to you.'
"Hahaha, oh I've been waiting for something like this!"
As the river of Light got closer and closer, Alastor suddenly raised his arm, "Now!"
Lucas raised his hands to meet the front of the oncoming wave and unleashed his own aura to the fullest, letting it fuel his attack. The skin on his arms bulged and pulsed as his skin split open to let bloody tentacles pave a way through his flesh and skin, coiling around his palm. Accompanied by a stream of blood, it all fused to create a massive Dark Red Beam that split the very sky.
The entire river of soldiers was split in two.
Many of the angel-like soldiers raised their shields made from Light and conjured up attacks of Light to disrupt the Dark Beam, but to no avail. The beam bore a way through the river until a Rank 4 mage stepped up and stopped it. Using a combination of a radiance of Light and a shield that mirrored the light he shone, he was able to stop the beam in it's tracks.
But the damage was more than done. The entire river that was supposed to come down like a tidal wave, destroying everything in it's path was divided.
"Hahaha!" Lucas burst out in laughter. His life was done for if he fought against that Rank 4 mage, but the fact that 2 Rank 3's were badly damaged made him more than happy. Because goal for the spell wasn't the initial damage at all, it was all a bonus, a grand one at that.
His beam carried a ton of his aura and blood with it, splattering it among the angels. Being infested with his aura, some of the angels started to see visions of their worst nightmares or memories. Lucas was used to it, but many of the so-called angels were far from prepared.
The infighting began not soon after Lucas' laugh traversed over the battlefield.
"What a crazy..," many of the demons who weren't sure whether to fight or not suddenly felt extremely invigorated. The power they held wasn't something that a few angels could destroy, they were better, they were with more, they were going to be the victors! The purplish flames covered them, emboldening them.
"Follow the madman!", many demons took to the air, the ones who couldn't fly started to conjure up spells that would at least reach high enough.
It didn't take long before the Guardians arrived as well. "You've outdone yourself, Lucas. I didn't think you had such a spell up your sleeve."
"Hahaha, we're just getting started, Yaldor, better get your ass up there cause I ain't fighting those tough sons of bitches!", pointing to the brightest lights in the river. "You can leave the rest to us."
Yaldor had a smile on his face, it was hard to tell if he was happy, relieved or ready to face his own end, perhaps it was all of that and more. Either way, he knew Lucas was boasting. Considering the forces, even with their combined efforts, it would be far from enough.
The river that was cut in two was already starting to group together as more forces flowed downwards from the hand of Light. Healing spells were shot up everywhere to calm the mad angels down, the damage was definitely there, but minimal.
"Then I hope you can protect the land until we get back," as Yaldor and his fellow Guardians followed, Lucas noticed the Space Guardian he met wasn't among them, but they were all present. The numbers in front of him didn't lie, Lord Alastor did, once more.
At this point, there was no point in hating him or scheming to get back at him. They would have to both survive if he wanted that.
Turning to face the river once more, they were getting close enough for him to smell their sweat, and in turn, fear. They were high on battle and adrenaline, especially having such a grand entrance, they would be fueled with passion, but the one move from Lucas turned their unbeatable aura into a flimsy defense.
Alastor quickly gave Lucas a small device, "You'll hear my voice through it. I have to face one of the Rank 4's, but I'll be able to guide you through the battle."
"Why not help your buddy?"
Alastor wasn't alone, his close aide, Morior, was right next to him. His power wasn't to be underestimated, but Alastor wasn't doing such a thing. "I will only have the time to help a single person, if that's the case, it's only logical for me to aid to the person who will bring the biggest damage to our opponents."
Morior didn't feel humiliated or shamed in the slightest. 'After seeing that attack, I would be a fool to come between them. At this point, I will have to survive first.'
---
Lord Alastor sat on the ground, feeding the arrays around him with his aura and power. Grasping something in his hand, he closed his eyes as he started to see through the flames he scattered around the capitol.
"For every man, there is a cause which he would gladly die for. To defend a place for which he can belong to. Every man will fight with his bare hands in desperation. To shed his blood to stem invasion."
"..."
"You were right. I'm sorry, friend."