Everyone got quiet as they stared at Alastor. With his hands behind his back, he looked slightly down due to his height to watch over them.
Lucas had been giving it quite some thought, but wrote most of his ideas of, since he didn't know anyone all that well. Even Asta had been hiding a lot from him during all the time spent together. Staring into the blackness of the corridor, Lucas came up with a few possible ideas.
"And? Do you know?", Alastor wasn't looking at Descartes or his other siblings anymore. It was clear they weren't worthy of his time. Instead, he had eyes for only two people.
Asta and Lucas exchanged a look before Lucas nodded slightly. "We do."
"Then you should realize we're not in any real danger."
"And you should know the impression we'll leave if we can't even escape this."
"For all we know, there are plans that require this misinformation. If the enemy thinks we can't escape, they'll know it's effective, and we can use it to our advantage."
Staring each other down, almost all the others had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Only Lucas was able to keep up, thanks to his inspections at the very beginning. Otherwise, he would as clueless as the others.
Descartes saw an opening and stepped in, "So you suggest we should simply wait here for some time."
"Exactly, have we been harassed by those ants during our conversation?"
Surprisingly, nothing had come to bother them the whole time. After hours of constant fighting, they never expected such a long break without any ambushes.
One of Isale's followers placed a carpet on the ground for her to sit on. Descartes followed soon after, flattening the ground before sitting cross-legged. Others joined, until only three people kept standing.
Lucas was aware he had nothing to say here, but staying here, wasting his time, didn't sit well with him.
Eventually, Asta conjured a chair from pure mana to sit on. Alastor copied him using a stone chair instead. Having the exact same form and look, Alastor had perfectly replicated the spell without even having heard the runes necessary. Grinning towards Asta, Alastor provoked him slightly, without success.
The odd one out left the cavern, Lucas walked into the darkness, leaving the group alone. Watching him stroll away, the demons stayed put, happy that he left.
'How smart is that fuck?'
'I can't tell, but he's leagues above us.'
'He knows everything about beasts and monsters, and can copy a spell just by seeing it once! Does the bastard keep a library in his mind or something?'
'Not only that, he was able to figure out who was behind it before us without the clues we had on hand. He's an actual genius.'
'Fucking prick.'
Lucas frowned, if he had the same answers as Alastor, that would be annoying, yet acceptable, but he also figured out how the room worked. Something that Lucas wasn't able to do. Luckily he had Asta with him, the idea that someone was smarter than him and Asta combined frightened him.
It didn't take long before noises appeared in the dark, the ants rushed towards him. Finding a great opponent to test his strength against, Lucas didn't use magic in the slightest. Purely exercising his muscles, he ripped the ants apart. Tearing their legs from their joints and crushing the head using his palms, Lucas slaughtered the first group that approached him.
His hands covered in green blood, he watched over the corpses.
'They eventually disappear and come back.'
'Question is, how?'
Waiting for something to happen, Lucas didn't blink as he stared at the carcasses. It didn't take too long before he heard approaching footsteps. A light was brought in the tunnel, making him cast a shadow over the corpses.
Not bothering to turn around, Lucas spread his willpower, fully ignoring normal customs. Seeing them flinch through his mind, Lucas almost laughed. There was no need to be cordial with them. The other half of Lucas had already shown that strength dictates all here, so no matter what he did, as long as he had the strength to back it up, it mattered little.
It didn't take long before his willpower was pushed back by their cooperation. Turning around, Lucas faced them.
"So you were hiding here?", the man seemed to carry an aura of nobility. Surrounded by a few followers, it was clear this was a candidate, but Lucas didn't know him in the slightest.
He didn't answer, saw no reason to as well. It was clear they were trying to provoke him, but Lucas couldn't understand why. He was certain that everyone cowered when he unleashed his aura, so why bite back now?
"Look, human, I am Protaris. Since you came with Astaroph, I assume you know nothing of this world. So let me tell you that among all the candidates, I'm the wealthiest. I've built a massive mercantile outside this space, and have wealth beyond your imagination."
Bowing slightly with a big smile, Lucas was almost impressed, he was willing to lower himself in front of a human. "And?", not that Lucas cared for him.
"I wish to forge a partnership with you. It's clear you possess great powers."
"Powers that should be at your disposal? Or simply not in the hands of others?"
"No, perish the thought, good sir. I simply wish to hire you for a fair wage so that you can assist me in certain projects."
"I'm afraid you won't be able to afford me," Lucas spoke plainly as he turned around again to focus on the bodies of the ants. They had changed in the slightest, parts were disappearing, slowly but steadily.
Protaris wasn't offended, despite his followers frowning, the man himself kept a light smile. "What do you have in mind?"
"Your candidacy coin, give it to Asta, and I'll help out in five missions of yours."
The smile vanished from his face. "You're strong, but I can easily get someone of Rank 4 on my side, I won't give something so valuable for someone of your standing."
"Then I guess negotiations have fallen through, you can leave now."
"Hahaha, it seems I wasn't understood correctly. This is an offer for you, human. If you don't take this... well, it would be hard to find you in these tunnels when you're all alone like that."
For once, Lucas didn't feel threatened at all. Sure, they were mages on his own Rank, powerful enough to hurt him immensely if he made a mistake. And yet, all he could do was smile. "Then I'll give you an offer as well, it's best you take a step back if you want to keep all your limbs."
"What? Are you threatening me? I don't think you realize your situation, slave!" Protaris's followers took a step forward, taking out their wands and swords, they all looked like prized artifacts. Only the candidate stood at the back, watching from a safe distance.
"Have you ever wondered where the corpses of the ants go? If we were walking in a circle, wouldn't we have found them all piled up?"
Protaris didn't answer as he looked behind Lucas, only to find that all the ant's corpses were gone. "My next experiment needs a body of a demon, and I'm glad you were so willing to help me out."
"Hah! Think you can take us out so easily!?", one of the followers readied his weapon as he charged forward. Flames shot out of his sword as he lifted it in the air. "I won't even have to move, will I?"
From the ground, fifteen ants shot through the rubble, piercing many of the demons simply standing around. Chaos ensued as the demons quickly tried their hardest to kill the ants that appeared around them. Even having shields, they were quickly ripped to shreds.
One of the ants jumped towards Protaris, jaws open wide, ready to shut tight. He looked on, almost in despair, before two hands clasped the jaws. Lucas stood in front of Protaris grasping them tightly. The ant tried it's hardest to shut its jaw tight, but got held back.
Spreading his arms wide, he ripped the jaws off the ant before stabbing it in the eyes with the mandibles. The ant scurried away into the wall, screeching incessantly. Green blood dripped from his hands as Lucas turned. The glow in his eyes made the candidate flinch before he even spoke.
Protaris had a dark look on his face. He wasn't in despair or frightened, he was just furious. All of his followers were being mauled to death behind Lucas, yet there was nothing he could do. Lucas' cold eyes stared right at him, Protaris had trouble looking away.
"Looks like I misunderstood you. I'll take my leave now," without waiting for his followers to finish the battle, he left them to die, an opportunity Lucas gladly took advantage off.
Seeing Protaris arrive alone back in the cavern, Asta had a satisfying smile on his face the moment he saw the boiling frustration on Protaris' face.
"How do you like him?", Asta mocked, yet Protaris only gave him a glare as a response.
"What is he doing?", Alastor didn't sound worried, though his face gave it away.
"I believe he's trying to figure out how the ants disappeared and regenerated after a while."
"Hmm, well, he won't be able to drain all the energy from the space anyway. It's a useless endeavor, I expected more from him."
"You shouldn't underestimate his powers to cause chaos."
"Can't you at least ask him to stop? The earlier we get out of here, the worse our chances."
"He's not my dog nor slave, he's a friend of mine."
Alastor was shocked for a moment, his eyes scanned the others, they didn't hear it, despite Asta not whispering in the slightest. "I couldn't have imagined someone of the Astaroph line befriending a human."
"The very first Demonic God was friends with a human."
"True, times have changed, but it's undeniable that humans aided us in the past. Frankly, even the whole betrayal thing is a minor conflict blown out of proportion in my opinion. Still, he must be exceptional if you are willing to befriend him."
"Hah, I thought myself special. I still am, but I've gotten a powerful peer, is all."
"How powerful are we talking?"
"Would you be able to take down three Rank 3's?"
"Of course, give me some time and-"
"While being Rank 2?"
"!?"
Alastor saw the confident look on his face and turned to look at the dark tunnel with a strange look. "Huh, no wonder you befriended him. Still, he's a newly Rank 3, I can tell. He'll have no wiggle room if he goes up against the seniors."
Not bothering to answer, Asta got up and visited Lucas in the dark tunnels. Using his willpower instead of a light, he made his way forward.
It didn't take long before he felt Lucas enter his willpower and he entered his. Taking a step forward, the corpses of the many ants and demons showed up in his willpower as well.
"Are you performing an experiment?"
His voice echoed against the walls. Completely in the dark, the two present felt completely at ease with each other, not being bothered that they were inspecting one another with willpower.
"If this subspace gathers the bodies to recycle the energy within, there is a clear path to the source of energy somewhere hidden."
Asta shook his head, "What if we get out too early?"
"I want that."
Frowning, Asta tried to figure out why Lucas would even desire such an outcome. Sure, they would be able to impress the others, but such a superficial reason was never enough for Lucas to make a move.
Besides, destabilizing the subspace would require runes they had no access to. Perhaps Alastor knew some, but that was it.
"If my assumptions are correct, this space won't simply open up."
"Why not?"
"We both know your father is the most likely suspect to put us in here," Lucas revealed who he thought the perpetrator was, but Asta was simply nodding in agreement instead of expressing shock.
"This is a test disguised as a trap. It's clear your father put us in here for a reason, most likely so they can fight the monsters present in the ballroom, since none of them appeared in this place."
"Hence the reason we need to stay here until the battle is over.", Asta reiterated the reason they had to be here. It was the reason Alastor was urging them to remain as well.
"You think a Rank 5 mage couldn't handle a few mages in a matter of minutes? This is your father we're talking about. Unless the opponents brought people on the same level, which I doubt, they must be waiting for us to free ourselves."
Asta thought it over and couldn't help but agree on certain points. "Alastor seemed to be pretty against it."
"Because he's in on it too. The moment we got in here, the man was relaxed and constantly hinted at who put us here," Lucas spoke with a strange disgust in his voice. Asta recognized it in an instant, choosing to stay quiet over it.
"Then how do you propose we get out."
"Not by destabilization, we'll use brute strength."
"By absorbing the mana in the energy source?"
"What? No, by breaking the container holding the mana."
Asta paused for a moment. Wrapping his head around the idea, he chuckled slightly. 'Truly a master of chaos.'
There were many things they didn't know or understand about spatial magic, in fact, one could say they knew next to nothing. It was a field of study so misunderstood and incomprehensible that barely any mage could make progress on it. Still, all things must follow basic laws.
Lucas grasped this more than others. If something has to be created, a certain amount of materials or energy was needed. One could not make something from nothing. All magic followed this, except Darkness, which evaporated everything it touched.
Staring at the ants, they were slowly losing parts again. Progress so slow, it was hard to catch by the eye, had Lucas done this once, he wouldn't have noticed it that well. Crouching down, Lucas focussed his eyes and willpower on a very, very tiny spot. Stoic and frozen in place, he studied seemingly empty ground until he finally understood.
"Let's go."
Placing his hand against the wall, Lucas started to build a tunnel. Asta followed along, since he saw no reason as to why he shouldn't. Grinding the earth, Lucas eventually removed hard stone, only to be faced by a bronze wall. Seeing his earth magic wasn't working anymore, Lucas pulled his arm back.
"Don't punch it," Asta spoke before Lucas could make any moves. It was clear that they had to go inside, and there was a very easy solution to that. "Just create a tunnel around, we don't know what's inside."
Lucas agreed after a small internal debate. Creating a path around the bronze sphere, they came across a door. Readying a bunch of shields on top of each other, Lucas forced the door open.
Entering, they found a massive glass sphere with mana concentrated at the center. It gave off a slight glow, overshadowed by the blue light coming from dozens of runes that ran over the inside of the sphere.
"Arrays. Asta, can you make sense of it?"
Carelessly walking into the sphere, Asta took his time observing all the different arrays. It was a lot more complex than a simple piece. Luckily, certain things were still obvious. "It's obvious the glass container holds all the energy to keep this space active. Breaking it will release us into the real world, but we might be shredded by the spatial distortions."
"I've heard better, what's the risk of that happening?"
"Frankly, I can't say. If I'm reading this correctly, there is an emergency procedure that activates when the space breaks though."
"Your father wouldn't want to see all of you dead, even if it broke. Makes sense to me, we should break it."
"Basing a decision on a hypothesis?", Asta felt a bit perplexed, yet the more he checked the emergency procedure, the more it looked like a reasonable way out. Giving him the time and space, Asta was able to somewhat decipher a small part of it, revealing that they would be thrown out of the subspace in case it broke down with certainty.
Heaving a sigh, it would be natural for the Duke to plan something so intricate. "You win. Break it."
"And kill myself in the process? Let's do it from afar," creating a new tunnel that led to the entrance, Lucas made sure there would be enough defenses when the glass sphere broke.
Where the ballroom was supposed to be, nothing but craters and rubble remained. All that luxury buried under stone and dust. The Duke stood upright with a few people beside him, all had not a single scratch on them despite the surrounding wasteland.
Agares, the final candidate who wasn't trapped, was there as well, covered in wounds.
"Sir, I believe we have succeeded in removing them all from this place."
"Good. Agares, come here."
Not bothering to move to the girl himself, he let the wounded woman slowly make her way towards him. Staring down from his height, his eyes scanned Agares once more. "You have proven your strength in battle, well done."
"Thank you, Duke," resting on her right knee, she bowed before him. There would be no reward, this complement would be all she got for this.
The Duke swiftly turned to his side to see a small fracture in the space before him. Waving his arm, all the people standing in the way were blown to the side. The crack in the open space grew large before a small explosion blasted the ground to bits.
Groans came from the dust cloud, as the people trapped in subspace all fell on each other. The Duke waited until the fog cleared up before taking a step forward.
"I'm glad to see you all safe. We've been looking for you. The banquet was ambushed by forces of the Undead Legion. They've trapped you in a small subspace. Seeing some of you have not come back, I assume they sacrificed their lives to save yours. I'll reward the remaining family members of the ones that disappeared."
The loud and oppressing voice of the Duke left no room for interruptions.
"Now make yourselves scarce, there's no telling when other forces might arrive."
With swift movements, the members of the Duke's guard quickly brought certain candidates out of the way, transporting them somewhere safe. Being forcefully dragged away, many simply followed the orders. The Duke had remained completely calm, his leadership never questioned.
Only a few remained, not willing to listen to the guards. The Duke watched over them with a cold stare. Agares, tattered and bruised next to him, had a cocky grin on her face.
"Why have you not followed my orders? Your safety cannot be guaranteed," the low, cold voice washed over them, almost freezing them in place.
Alastor, Lucas, and Asta stood surrounded by the Duke's men, each one imposing enough on their own.
"Father, why bother putting up a play? We know you were the one who put us in there," Asta spoke up, not fearing the potential repercussions.
"What makes you say that?", there was an increase in the pressure, as if gravity started to pull them all down. The Duke clearly wasn't amused.
Lucas wasn't affected as much as the others due to his improved body enhancement, Alastor was also handling it fine due to his Rank. Taking a step forward, Lucas looked into the blackness of the Duke's eyes.
"How strange that the forces of the undead know spatial magic and were so nice to provide us with an emergency escape if the space collapsed. Seems a bit counterproductive to their goals."
"So you think I would put up an act just because of that?", the Duke stood in front of Lucas, staring him down, yet he didn't relent, not backing down in the slightest. They all clearly saw through his persona, even now, there would only be a single reason to be so aggressive.
"Weeding out the weak, what a demonic thing to do," the pressure intensified, making Asta bend his knee. Lucas barely held himself together, luckily, he was in a much better state now.
Raising his head, he stared the Duke down before it all suddenly vanished in the wind. "Good. You three have passed as well. Agares, your strength is great, and an important part of you, but you also need to gain intelligence and wisdom. Whoever becomes the new Duke will need to be strong enough to handle the dangers of Sabaoth, but also rule over its territory."
Asta got back up, looking at the Duke, who stepped away. "Alastor and Asta have proven their intelligence, but just being smart is only half of the true requirements. Prove to the others you have both and you will truly receive my seat. Even if you collect all the candidacy coins, if you fail in either department, I'll make sure you'll never get my position."
Leaving, with his soldiers in tow, the Duke flew to the sky. Agares was tattered, making her fly away as well, making the trio stand alone. Alastor flashed a big grin before stepping towards Asta.
"It's told that a Dragon can sniff out its kind so well that not even the strongest of illusions would work on them."
Asta and Lucas turned around to stare at the man. "Welcome back home, brother."