Landing near the old man, Lucas spoke up, "I see you've survived the genocide by taking shelter here?"
"Hmm? Oh, I recognize your voice. You're that visitor from some time ago. But your words sound quite ominous, sir. Is the world being attacked again?", the old man couldn't help but smile as he felt the lightest friction in his rod, pulling his line quickly out of the water.
Tracing the line, he eventually got to the fish. Breaking its neck with a simple but clearly practiced movement, he placed it neatly in the bucket next to him.
"Yes, the Goddess of Light has invaded Sabaoth with a large army of Angels. Most of them should be dead though."
"Oh, hohoho, for once, it seems I know more of the outside world than my visitors. Good sir, the war with the Goddess has already been a few months ago. My last visitor told me the angels were driven back to Aurora."
"What? How long have I been here then? The transformation should only take a week or two?", Lucas was completely dumbfounded, he specifically chose this place for it's time altering properties. If he had to stay a few weeks unconscious, then it only meant that a couple of days should've passed in the outside world, not months.
"I don't often visit the Sanctuary, I have to guide the people inside. I only noticed you were here a couple of weeks ago. You have been in here for more than a year."
Lucas grasped his head as he felt extremely scared of what could've happened. He had taken the Demon God's words at face value. As a mage, it was a disgrace, a failure to place trust in someone he just met. He could've easily been taken advantage off. Checking his own body, he didn't notice any special signs or engravings. Still, his paranoia almost made him panic.
"Hey! Did anyone else come here?"
The man tried to raise his head, but failed. Coughing slightly, "No, sadly, the Sanctuary doesn't get many visitors nowadays."
Lucas almost wanted to slap himself in the face, how would this blind old man even be able to detect a mage that was after his life? Cursing himself from the inside, Lucas wanted to leave as soon as possible, but also wanted to take as much time as he could to prepare himself for the outside world.
Stuck in a dilemma, he chose to venture out. Taking flight, he moved towards the obelisk and noticed a foul stench in the air. With his senses even further improved, he chose not to experiment. Not long after, Lucas left the Sanctuary, letting the old man catch his fish for as long as he wanted.
Catching one more juicy morsel, he used his fishing rod to get up as he grabbed the full bucket of fish. As the rod served for a perfect walking stick, he slowly made his way over to a little hut in the woods.
Despite his lack of sight, he had absolutely no trouble finding his home. As he got close, he took a small break to wave a very powerful smell away. The stench of rotting fish permeated through the air.
Opening the hut, the old man stopped before a large hole inside the hut. Grabbing the bucket with both his hands, he dumped it out inside the hole. Flies circled around him and the new prey added to the nest. The ground inside and around the pit was covered in a red slimy substance filled with maggots and flies sucking the nutrients out.
The old man almost seemed to stared into the bottomless pit of the dead. As fish and the bodies of angels and demons with horrifying expressions were intertwined with the fish. Their Ranks were all over the place, but mattered little to their new occupants. The flies laid their eggs wherever they had space as worms savored the tasty meal. Most were already more than rotting, decomposing on the spot as their remains were used as nests and feeding grounds for the insects.
The stench of death filled the room, as thousands of insects and flies took more than advantage of the scene. The old man slowly grabbed his bucket and turned around.
In the doorframe, a silhouette of a large man stood still.
"Sir, if he leaves now, he'll arrive at that gathering. I can't follow after without being noticed."
The old man used his rod to continue his walk. The man made room for his senior to continue walking. "No worries. We have a few agents inside that place as well. They're informed of his coming."
The man nodded, but wasn't pleased, "I know that, sir. But if that man steps up, even if we sacrificed ourselves, we wouldn't be able to garantee his survival."
"Noir has no interest in mages unless they carry Darkness. Our True Heir will be noticed, that is unavoidable."
"Then why not delay his return? I can still catch up to him and send some brutes to make him question returning."
"No need. How many of our decoy are still alive?"
"The Demon Cult? About half of it's forces are gone, but there are plenty of idiots joining to this day according to Agent 83."
"Have all of them ambush the palace. It should attract Noir's attention enough to forget about our heir."
---
Getting out of the temple, the first thing Lucas did was search his surroundings with his willpower. Finding nothing, he looked to the sky to find the portal of the Goddess still in the air.
'The angels were all driven back, but the portal is still open?'
'Ain't it obvious? All demons are locked in here and it's a perfect training ground for new soldiers.'
'Or it's like the old man feared, and she's preparing a second wave.'
'Then she might as well just destroy Sabaoth entirely.'
Lucas used a few basic spells that formed an invisible shield around him. It was flimsy compared to any standard, but it would block the initial attack at least somewhat. Considering his Rank and current quality of mana, most attacks would have a hard time breaching it.
Steeling his nerves, he started his final flight in Sabaoth as he reached for the sky. Getting closer and closer, he looked back to the planet. He was high up enough for the atmosphere to grow thin, the oxygen in the air was barely present, making Lucas fill his lungs with his own creation.
If the fights between higher Ranks were done in open space, he wondered how they fought with all these restrictions as flight, oxygen and the lack of pressure all had to be dealt with constantly. He had no spells that would support it, but knew now to work on them whenever he had the time.
Sadly, he wouldn't have time any time soon as he stared in to the portal made by the Goddess of Light. It was time to go back to Aurora, his birthplace. If there was one thing he wanted to do, it was going back to Sabertooth mountain and honor Elam's sacrifice.
Lucas had thought about bringing him back alive as well, but the Demon God mentioned that only if the soul wanted to come back, they would be able. And Elam didn't look like the type to hold onto his past.
Inching closer to the portal, he felt a slight suction dragging him in. His hand reached out to the portal, it truly wanted to pull him to the other side, a side he knew not how to handle fully. Luckily, he knew Micheal quite well and was willing to place their relationship in the balance.
Either way, staying in Sabaoth wasn't something Lucas was willing to do. He had a goal, one that needed him to move back. And thus, nothing would stop him in his tracks. Having one final look on the red planet below, he faced the portal and went through it.
It didn't feel like anything he could touch and despite his heightened sense, not a scent or sound could be heard. Only Light seemed to move as lines of all colors zapped passed him until he reached a new location.
Landing on solid ground, a bright sun shone on his face. The familiar air and warmth he didn't know he lacked came right back. Just as Lucas was trying to get a grasp of what was happening he suddenly felt something exit his body.
Turning around, he saw an expanding dark red spiderweb attach itself to the portal. Lucas didn't need to turn around to listen to the shocked gasps and voices of surprise as the web shrunk, taking the portal with it.
Checking the energy from the web, he could only link it to a familiar God he had only recently met. Anger coursed through his veins after being tricked and taken advantage off. The God must've planted it before he woke up in the desert or during his breakthrough, which only infuriated him even more, but showing any aggression here would only spell his doom.
He was in unfamiliar and hostile grounds, making sudden moves would only arouse even more attention and suspicion towards him. His entrance instantly put him in the black book of the people here, with the closing of the portal, not even the Goddess would be willing to spare him. Yet he had to try, even the smallest spark could get him out, but he surely made a careful note to get back at the Demon God once he was powerful enough.
Lucas took a deep breath before raising his hands slightly. Slowly turning around, he quickly made his stance clear, "Excuse my interference, I was unaware of what would happen if I crossed the portal, the Demon God forced me back," Lucas didn't yell or appeal to their emotion, simply letting his face show enough worry for someone of his status.
He was a Rank 4 mage, and a human at that, if he played his cards right, they might think he was a surviving angel that only recently came back after the Demon God perfected his spell.
A large man that towered over him approached, his Rank equal to his own. It was clear he was the leader, so Lucas just had to convince him and he would be out of too much trouble.
"You're not one of our men. Who are you."
Lucas almost wanted to hit himself for thinking he could trick them with such a simple list. Secretly, he had hoped his yellow hair and eyes would be enough to prove he was on the side of Light and thus the Goddess, but the man in front of him wasn't impressed in the slightest.
'Then again, I don't feel any hostility.'
'He's got muscles for brains, don't get too cocky though, those fists will smash our bones in an instant.'
'I wasn't planning on it.'
Lucas was well aware of his own prowess and powers, his body was extremely durable, but the man in front of him clearly specialized in close combat. His spells on the other hand must've drastically suffered because of it, since Lucas couldn't feel that much mana inside him.
"People call me Lucas. I was on Sabaoth for some time for an experiment I wanted to do," taking the approach of a typical mage of his Rank, Lucas didn't dare truly explain what happened, "Sir Saint Micheal is aware of my presence there and has given me permission to perform said experiment. Sadly, the Demon God got angry with my actions and forced me back. I'm afraid I can't divulge any of my findings, but I'm sure you'd understand."
Being Rank 4, his words carried more weight compared to before. Beings of his Rank wouldn't appear from nowhere, most were already in existence for a long time. Experimentation was only natural, and it made for a perfect excuse. Blended with the fact he knew Micheal and angered the Demon God, it should make them see Lucas in a bit of a better light.
Yet the face of the man before him changed little to nothing. He suddenly took out a pair of cuffs. "If you're willing to put these on, I'm willing to let you prove your story by meeting with the young Saint."
Curiosity basically radiated from Lucas' eyes and it didn't go unnoticed, "These shackles will block your gateways, but if you use your willpower or aura, know that we will not simply stand back."
Lucas nodded, presenting his wrists to the man willingly. Going against the grain would only make their suspicions rise even more. There was no need to believe this man in front of him and he learned his lesson with the Demon God. Still, he was willing to take this bet for a simple reason.
Placing the shackles on him, Lucas indeed felt that the basic gateways of a mage were completely blocked, but for Lucas, it didn't mean anything, as his whole body served as a gateway. Not that he would give such a thing away.
Pretending to be stuck, he stared at the big man who moved past him. "You two, bring him to the Saint for questioning."
Appointing two Rank 2 mages as his escort, their faces didn't seem all that excited. "But sir, there's a ball going on... Walking through that would.."
"Are you disobeying my order?", the man's presence instantly brought them down to earth. They weren't in a position to argue, they were soldiers meant to obey and follow.
Shaking their heads, they suddenly had a lot of energy to grab Lucas by his arms and rush him out of the courtyard where the portal should've been at.
Being guided through a very long hallway, Lucas could smell a ton of different scents. Some from meals, others from strange herbs or incense, he couldn't tell them apart as they assaulted his nostrils without hesitation.
Walking to a pair of big doors, one of the escorts moved up to speak to the guards in front of the doors. Not bothering to listen to their conversation, Lucas was thinking on how to convince Micheal without lying too much since he would notice the slightest lie.
The noises and music being played from behind the doors were pleasant to the perceptive ear. It's clear a great ball was being held inside it, so interrupting it with his unwelcome presence, it might've been quite a disturbance.
'I guess our Rank isn't always good. If those are all the typical nobles, they'll think of us as an assassin or some sorts.'
'I'll just use our aura to make them shit their pants.'
'I'd rather you didn't.'
Lucas was convinced that he would have to be careful with his presence now.
The doors opened and Lucas was let inside. He wondered what kind of pompous nobles would be behind the doors. What acts of depravity he would witness, but the moment he entered, a chilling cold rushed past his body. One the escorts next to him didn't notice in the slightest.
The men tried to drag Lucas forward, but he stood perfectly still, eyes strained and heart rapidly beating. Inside the hall, at least a hundred mages were present, all between Rank 3 to something he couldn't even gauge.
A mere look from a mage up on a balcony made him freeze on the spot. He was capable of standing up and moving under the Duke's aura, but a basic look from that mage made him unable to move.
Tens of pairs of eyes stared ice cold dagger straight into his spine, the invisible pressure was enough for him to puke on the spot, but even his stomach was unwilling to move in the slightest.
Frozen in fear, the pressure suddenly let up, giving the men dragging Lucas a chance to pull him forward. Being pulled into the room, Lucas felt like retreating right away. The hungry eyes piercing through him gave him a fear had never felt before.
Whenever he felt scared, anger took over and adrenaline pushed his fears away, but now, not even that was possible. Fight, flight or freeze, Lucas never thought he would be so stuck in the latter he would be unable to move.
Bowing his head, he tried to make himself small, but he could feel their sights on him. The music and conversations had never stopped, but for Lucas, they were long drowned out by the silent pressure coming from a few distinguished guests.
One man stood out more than the others. A tall man with short black hair pulled back. His cold and calculating eyes made Lucas the most uncomfortable. But plenty of others were just as terrifying. For once, Lucas was scared they would figure out how his body worked for the amount of willpower that showered over him was enough to make him nauseous. The stress of them finding out his cuffs were useless and stepping in made his heart beat extremely fast. He was an ant walking through a garden of dragons.
As he tried his hardest to go unnoticed, he heard someone call out to him.
"Excuse me. I believe you're transporting something of mine," Lucas thought he recognized the voice, but wasn't expecting him to show up.