Magimin's smirk fell off her face as the solidified space she gathered to trap Illia simply shattered. It looked as if the surroundings were stitched together mid-air, but for beings who could see the true nature of the world such as the Dukes, they could clearly see what was going on.
Illia's voice was heard from behind Magimin, "Cute."
The Dukes reacted quickly, as Magimin commanded her Authority over Pride to attack Illia.
An external force began compressing Illia from every side as every dimension she was in began shrinking.
Magimin's Pride ability dictated that what she did not want to exist, would not exist.
Illia was blinked out of existence.
Magimin, who had been on the verge of panicking, paused.
"Wha- That was it? Hey, old fart! Look, this is the so called threat we were preparing for!"
Magimin began laughing, until she noticed that Vassagos wasn't replying.
"Old fa-" She cut herself off as she saw Vassagos' remains.
The Duke had been mangled, his body split into different layers, like an illustration in a biology book.
Illia, evidently not dead, studied the layers, "I see, I see. But this part here doesn't make sense..."
Magimin and the other Dukes watched, horrfied as Illia examined Vassagos' physical structure.
Duke Eligor, one of the two who had been preparing the trap, leapt into action, as his hand seeked to grab Illia from behind, his Authority over Greed raring to go.
He realized a horrifiying truth mid-air. He wasn't moving.
Space wasn't bending to his will.
He looked around frantically, and saw everyone frozen in place. Everyone but Illia.
Her presence seemed to be larger than life, as she waved a hand, causing Vassagos' remains to combust.
Eligor felt his physical body start turning into demonic essence under Illia's gaze.
'T-This was a suicide mission!'
Eligor died without even being able to use his Greed.
While the other Duke began activating the trap, Magimin stalled Illia, or at least, tried to. Her attacks did not affect Illia in the slightest, the human not making any offensive moves towards Magiin either.
Suddenly, the Demon Duke of Pride felt a hand grab her shoulder from behind, "You're cute. Be my pet, and I'll let you live."
Illia's Authority began rampaging within Magimin's body in every plane, making her spit blood as her organs tore apart and mended in the same breath.
Even on the verge of death, Magimin still had enough Pride to refuse the humiliating offer, "N-Never! Your judgement will arrive sooon, human! Lord Beel will slaughter and devour you!"
Illia just looked bored, "Then why hasn't 'Lord Beel' done so yet?"
Just in time, the final Duke, a demon of Wrath, activated the trap. It was a much larger version of Magimin's own Pride ability, made from the Lord of Pride's fingernail clippings.
Illia finally felt a bit interested, as she noticed existence itself shrinking around her. The Astral Plane shrank, the Physical world shrank, even her soul began compressing.
Magimin gasped for breath as she smiled widely, "This, This is our victory!"
Magimin froze as she noticed that her fellow Duke wasn't moving anymore.
"Bathin?"
Magimin's eyes widened in horror as Bathin began turning into demonic essence, already dead.
She turned to where Illia was, or should have been, dying.
One singular, floating eye was looking down on her. From that eye, muscles, bone, tissue, nerves, all grew back. Even her hair and clothes matched how she looked before the trap activated.
Magimin wasn't willing to go down without a fight. Her human form began molting off, as spindly legs erupted from her back.
As Illia regenerated within a split second, Magimin had completed her transformation and swung a bladed leg at her.
Illia caught the leg, her arm glowing with copious amounts of mana and hints of something else, "You're not cute anymore. Pity."
...............................................................................
After an enthusiastic welcome, Alastor officially rejoined the group.
"Is this really necessary?" Alastor asked, as his friends surrounded him, ready to fight him all at once.
"It is indeed absolutely crucial."
"Yes."
"Definitely."
"Come, my rival!"
"They forced me. I was sleeping before this."
Axel stayed out of the fight this time, opting to watch and learn.
Alastor sighed, before erupting into a bloodthirsty smile, "Fine. Come at me, all of you!"
Karna's burning arrow arrived first, and Alastor deflected it towards the approaching strings from Tori's sword, slowing them down.
A quick dodge let him survive a construct of flame shaped like a bird, which flew back towards him after missing.
Hundreds of such birds filled the area, with lightning sparking within their flaming bodies, sharp wind blades forming their wings. The birds avoided everyone but Alastor, as Alicia controlled them perfectly.
A's thunderous fist arrived next, as his Great Stone Ape form brushed the birds aside without a care.
Even those within the Academy felt the tremor when he slammed the ground, massive fissures forming as Alastor leapt onto his back.
Alastor dodged just as the elemental bird constructs slammed into where had been on A's back.
A ignored them once more, his defense increased exponentially. Alastor dodged the birds, A's strikes, Tori's now unoccupied strings, as well as Karna's occasional lazy arrow.
He remembered what the Spear Hero had told him, during their training, about his style.
'You think too much with your mind. Just let your body dodge for you, while you focus on avenues of attack. The spear is your body, as well as it's own entity. It sings to you, as does the universe. You must listen.'
Alastor contorted his body through the Rune of Change, slipping through gap between two strings and under a bird, then leaping over A's fist.
'It's not automatic yet. My body doesn't dodge on it's own because I know these strikes won't hurt me enough.'
'Wait....am I missing someone?'
Amber appeared behind Alastor, right in the middle of his dodge, her twin blades heading right for his neck.
The Rune of Change activated within his soul, as another set of arms appeared from his shoulders, grabbing Amber's daggers.
Alastor chuckled menacingly, "You have all grown. I believe it is my turn to show you how much I have evolved as well."
The air became saturated with Spear Aura. 'The first step to a Domain.'
A metallic lustre spread across Alastor as his newly formed Battle Aura covered his body.
He could almost hear the hum of his spear, but not enough.
'So this was the music the butler meant. How strange.'
The rest retreated, as the elemental birds bombarded Alastor. They all landed, and Alicia turned them into a compressed storm of wind, lightning and flame, rotating extremely fast.
A counterforce emerge from within, the storm dissipating as Alicia found herself losing control over her mana.
Axel looked on happily from the sidelines, 'This is the difference between the strongest of the generation, and the others.'
...............................................................................
A maid was cleaning Illia's room when the Grand Sorceress herself appeared, startling the lady.
Illia calmly returned to her couch, sleepi- pondering upon the mysteries of life.
The maid, who was quite well acquaited with Illia's nature, asked, "Another demonic incursion, My Lady?"
Illia drawled, "No. Just some ugly bugs in the North."
The maid looked at the small droplet of blood on the floor that Illia had brought through the portal with her, an immense concentration of demonic essence within the blood. She sighed and began cleaning the still dissipating drop of blood, thinking to herself,
'This is the difference between the strongest of humanity, and the others.'