The Demon God had seen plenty of people in his life, hundreds of thousands of lives passed by him, but he outlived them all without a problem. Now, only a few people truly knew who he was, but due to his longevity, he was senior to all, which caused him to speak down to his juniors, to the ire of some who didn't know his identity. Seeing that Lucas had absolutely no reaction, the Demon God was a bit surprised.
"No remark on me calling you a boy? Not many like it."
"It's not that I like it, but if the rumors are true I've not lived even a tenth of your life. So it would make sense."
"Hah, make it a hundreth. You can call me Astaroph."
Lucas visible twitched, his eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head. Seeing him react so strongly, the Demon God could see what was going on.
"Looks like you ran into some of my predecessors? Don't worry, your relationship with them has no effect on our relationship. We should be lucky if he survives."
He felt like he had to say it, not to this old man, but to himself. "Astaroph is... dead," Lucas expected a long silence he could take to take a deep breath, but the Demon God didn't show any sign of sadness.
"Which one?", his almost bored way of asking made Lucas think twice on how stable this person truly was.
"The 52nd."
"Ah,", knocking his cane on the ground a few times, he had to jog his memory, "well, I never had high hopes for him in the first place," the old Demon God spoke without holding back his views on the world. Part of his bloodline passed away, yet he didn't even care in the slightest.
Lucas always assumed bloodlines protected themselves considering how hounded he was by Simon's family. Yet this proclaimed God who could practically do anything he wanted, simply nodded and even insulted his friend.
"He was a great man. A powerful demon as well," Lucas wasn't going to let this senior bismurch the name of his friend, no matter what position he held.
"He wouldn't use elements, he was destined to be weak."
"He killed a Rank 4 mage while being Rank 3."
The God turned slightly to look at Lucas, his eyes contained a fire he had long lost touch with. "Then I must've misjudged him. If I hurt your feelings, good, makes you feel alive, doesn't it?"
Lucas didn't know what to say, staring into the bamboo forest, he tried to think about his future.
He didn't want to die, but also didn't know what to do next. He was trapped on a planet filled with angels that are after his life and he couldn't escape from the planet through spatial magic. Staying with this Demon God seemed like the best choice, but on the other hand, he was completely isolated from the rest of the world. For all he knew, all the demons had been wiped out in the time he was asleep.
"What do we do?", a question posed to nobody. A train of thought that seemed to have no clear tracks to follow.
The old man didn't bother answering as he rested against the rock wall. Thanks to plenty of water riding down the wall, it was smooth to sit against.
"Are you not scared the demons are being eradicated out there?"
"Why would I be?"
"Aren't you their God?"
"Hah! A Cursed Title if anything, I knew it the moment I received it from my ancestor. Besides, the demons will survive one way or another. If they kill everyone on Sabaoth, I have plenty of demons outside of Sabaoth as well. Thanks to that little boy escaping before the invasion as well, we have another outpost."
The Demon God clearly knew more than he let on, and for once, Lucas prodded for something he had been curious about for the longest time. He couldn't even tell why it suddenly popped up in his mind, "How did he know it was going to happen so soon?"
Descartes was more than aware of what was coming, rescuing everyone dear to him, even trying to get Lucas with him. Lucas wondered for the longest time how he knew so much, how he got those contacts, but due to the invasion, his mind was quite occupied.
"How would I know? All the Dukes and the Demon King were informed about what was going to happen. It only made sense if they spread the word to some."
"Who informed you?"
"Hehe, best not to ask questions if you can't handle the answer boy," the old man got up, leaning on his stick to keep his balance. "Some things are best forgotten. Especially when you're this weak."
Slowly making his way to the forest, Lucas kept seated, "Are even you afraid of them?"
"Boy," his voice was low, he sounded tired, "I wouldn't have a planet left if I dared to go against them."
With that ominous line, the Demon God vanished into the bamboo woods. The God didn't show any fear in his movements, but it was clear he had absolutely no desire to defy the group that was running things in the background. The Black Hand behind the curtain, was it so hard to talk about them?
Left alone once more, Lucas felt like standing back up. He wallowed in his sadness for a long time, even now, he didn't want to think about what happened, but he couldn't deny his past.
Words from someone he loved dearly came back to mind, the ghosts of the past may make and guide us, but they cannot bound you. It was up to Lucas to move forward, evermore.
Asta might've been happy with his end, but Lucas denied that entirely. There was but one thing he could do to make up for his mistakes, for his weakness, his inability to confront a Rank 4 mage alone or convince Asta fast enough.
'We're going to free this world from the angels.'
'And how are you going to go about that? If ya haven't noticed, those fuckers are in the millions. We can handle a lot, but not each and every single one. We should run away, escape from this planet. Asta would've wanted us to live.'
'He would've wanted nothing but the safety of his family.'
'Then how about we look for them and drop them in that woman's place?'
'It's an option, we can start with that, I suppose. But I think we should stay a bit longer.'
'To get the spell that old God is working on?'
'Yes.'
Lucas had a change to distract his mind with work, something he was better at then he knew. If he had a project to work on, he was capable of putting all his energy into completing it, not leaving any room for random thoughts to distract him.
Even now, Lucas was thinking if he would be able to use his emotional unstable state the Demon God witnessed to his advantage to get him to give him something out of sympathy. He didn't like thinking in such a way, but it was ingrained into his mind. He couldn't help himself.
Hours or perhaps days passed, as Lucas couldn't really tell the moment he went back to the small cave where he woke up. Using it as a temporary base, he found it to be the safest and most unsafe place on the entire planet. He was camping next to the Demon God, which meant that he would be left alone or a being so powerful that it was capable of killing a God would pass by.
Trusting in the God's hiding techniques, he took his chances and stuck around. Days passed where Lucas watched the student of the God carefully. But even after wasting as much time as he did, he couldn't see it.
There was nothing spectacular about the student. His magic control was slightly above average, his strength and powers were nothing all that special while his intelligence would be below average.
He was expecting something greater from a pupil of a God, but perhaps that was the entire point. The student only had a single task, to merge two rings of elements and not have them interfere with one another in any way.
While the task itself felt almost impossible, Lucas knew it had to be doable, because slightly letting them touch, it was possible to avoid interference by manipulating the magicules in such a way that they avoid the other ring's magicules. But having them occupy the same space either meant they both had to shrink in volume or he would have to employ space runes.
"What's the goal of this exercise?", Lucas asked one day, curious to know the end point.
"To win the war," his answer came without hesitation, as if he knew Lucas would eventually ask it.
"Will there be another war?", they were still in the aftermath of the current one, yet the Demon God was already looking ahead to the next one? Lucas understood planning and scheming to a great extent, but this went beyond his usual chessboard.
"Of course. It's as natural as the tide. There are as many wars between Aurora and Sabaoth as there are Astarophs. Did you truly believe the planet was always so dead and barren despite the lives that live on the surface? It only took three wars before our oceans were red. It didn't take long before the world adapted to it's bloody fate."
Lucas understood that a war was to be avoided, but a nagging question came to him, "How did you survive all this time if they got so many forces?"
"Planning, kid, like any leader would do."
"But her powers are...", thinking back on the ruthless display of power, Lucas couldn't imagine reaching that point ever.
"Hah! Kid, you're still too weak to know, but the universe is filled with an infinite amount of planets, some of which contain life. If any God flew around and destroyed societies, the universe would be in an uproar. The Council has strict rules to follow if you want to take over a planet. Direct involvement is never allowed."
"But she did get involved."
"And she sent more troops than what is legally allowed, but the Council won't do anything to her. She's too powerful for them to act."
"So what's the point of having the rules in the first place?"
"Because it's a great chain for all the others. She's an exception," the old man didn't want to talk about it anymore as it only made bad memories surface.
It wasn't hard to glean from his tone that continuing the conversation would be a foolish thing to do. He might've given him shelter, but for a God, Lucas' life was worth less than a single piece of dust.
"If he succeeds, what's the next step?"
The old man didn't bother looking at Lucas, not even shaking his head, "Spells and runes are so closely guarded, yet you expect me to lay it all out for you? You've already been given a chance to see my pupil train, figure it out yourself."
Lucas held back a sigh, knowing he took a step too far and needed a moment to think.
'What would you even accomplish by having the same mana occupy the same space?'
'A better explosion.'
'Yeah, I guess, but that's not going to affect the war. Besides, he trains with water and fire, even if they can exist in the same place, the moment it's used as an attack, they'll just fuse anyway and it'll be useless.'
'It's impossible to have them occupy the exact same space. So what the hell is he trying to do?'
'Is it just training the mind?'
'There are better ways than this.'
Ruminating over it for some time, Lucas stared at the pupil trying it over and over again. After a while, Lucas noticed something off. The man who kept at his training had two smaller horns, but the Demon God didn't show any sign of horns. Not that he ever saw his entire face since it was always covered by a hood, but nothing poked through the cloth.
Thinking about the horns, Lucas started to think about how they worked and what they stood for. Eventually, small theories and hypothesis were being created in his head. None made any sense or could be easily used in practical scenario's.
Breaking his head over the possibilities and the goals and wants of the Demon God that when accomplished would help in the war. Not many things came to mind except for a single theory that stood on a pile of garbage ones.
"You're trying to use the Demonic Powers but without consuming lifeforce?", a question posed to no-one but himself, wondering if he got it right or was just babbling to his delusions.
The old Demon God didn't respond as he slowly turned to face Lucas, who was still stuck in deep thought, almost unaware that his thoughts were leaking to the outside world.
'He's pretty good for someone so young.'
"Kid, if you know one of the Astaroph's bloodline, you were in Duke Astaroph's county. What happened when the war started?"
Pulled from his deep thought, he tried to push away the thoughts drowning his mind. Lucas recounted what happened from the beginning, even pointing out how a decrepit hand appeared and was instantly destroyed. Knowing now who that hand belonged to, Lucas wondered why he even tried to fight in the first place.
"Why did you appear knowing her strength?", the Demon God pointed out that the Goddess of Light was an exception among Gods due to her overwhelming strength. So if she decided to act, what could you even hope to achieve?
Lucas couldn't help but stare at the place the Demon God's hand should've been, and he knew right away what question sprung up in the young man's mind.
"No, I can't heal it back, that vile woman made sure of that," if he bothered pulling up his robe, Lucas would've seen the blackened veins that ran across his arm, stopping any kind of regeneration.
"I was never going to win against her, that much was clear when she first appeared. All I wanted was to remind everyone that we Demons don't have to take things laying down. We can struggle and fight back.
That's the way it's always been. If a simple sacrifice can achieve that, I'll gladly give my body."
Hearing that, Lucas elevated the God's position in his mind. He was willing to sacrifice himself to save others, something he started to understand, but hated.
Lucas continued explaining what he did and how things move forward. He eventually revealed the sanctuary of Elianor and the battle between Asta, Harut and himself. He didn't divulge any of his spells or techniques, but kept things as accurate as possible.
"I see," was all the Demon God had to say after hearing it all, caring little at first glance. The Demon God stared into the eyes of Lucas, who were downcast from recounting it all. Knowing the potential of the young man and his abilities to fight back against a Rank 4 mage, driving them to suicide, the Demon God revealed something.
"Listen kid, if you truly want it, you can always just revive him."
"What? No, I'm not making an Undead of him," thinking of an Undead Astaroph almost made him shudder. No, bringing a lost soul back in a rotting body wasn't the way Lucas wanted Astaroph to live.
"You think that's the only way to bring someone back? There are plenty of ways, some dubious and partially effective, and a few that result in a full revival, but those're all out of your reach."
Hearing that, Lucas suddenly felt a surge of energy coursing through his veins. Getting on his knees and kneeling till his forehead head the ground, he pleaded, "Please teach me!", he felt not an ounce of shame. Not a cell in his body didn't agree with his behavior.
The Demon God had plenty of experiences with mages begging for spells. Some convinced him with monetary gains or promises, others demanded. But rarely did he do so, for what he was the most interested in, was the will of the user.
"I don't know the spell you're looking for myself. But I know of a Goddess that achieved Perfect Resuscitation. I can tell you where to find her, but you're far too weak to get an audience with her."
Lucas slowly got up, fire in his eyes, "Then I'll just grow strong enough."