Astaroth had been waiting in the tunnel that led from the back room to the throne room, preparing something he had been working on for some time. He could faintly hear Phoenix's speech from the opening before him at the end of the tunnel.
And regardless of all her tries to depict him as merciful and likeable, he still wanted to make sure he would assert some form of dominance over them. In his mind, a king ought to be the strongest person in a kingdom, or at least a close second.
So, as she prattled on, Astaroth prepared himself.
He was trying to reproduce a feeling, more precisely one he had felt when G?ap had taken full control. His goal was to reverse that feeling, into controlling the powers of his soul companions, without going through the transformations.
He had been trying to gain their strength simultaneously, previously, but it had always failed. But he was doing it differently this time.
He was trying to sap their power without taking over or merging into their souls. It took him a while to grasp how to do it, but Phoenix was taking her time, anyway, so he might as well.
Leon watched him with a curious look, as he could feel what Astaroth was attempting, from the movements of mana and Aether within his body. On the other hand, Coral just stood there motionless, only observing passively.
After a few minutes of fumbling around inside his own soul space, he finally managed to reach a point where he felt confident he had succeeded. And to confirm his thoughts, a notification pulled him back to reality.
*Spell learned*
*Your inquisitiveness has allowed you to gain mastery over a spell very few before you have. Spirit Melding mastery level 1 gained. Spell learned; Soul Sap. Congratulations, player Astaroth.*
He immediately opened his interface, curious as to what Soul Sap did exactly.
*Soul Sap*
For 3 minutes, you gain all the power of the souls under your command, sapping their strength for your own, but at a cost. For the next six hours, your soul companions must recuperate their power and cannot be summoned.
**
Astaroth was a bit disappointed about the massive cost of using the skill, but he felt like it could still be an enormous boon, in combat, if he ever needed it.
But right now, he was just trying to use it to make a point. It wouldn't matter if, for the next six hours, he couldn't use his soul companions, as he wasn't in a hurry to go fight just yet.
He felt the power coursing through him, like being injected with a massive dose of adrenaline, and he steeped near the tunnel exit. Astaroth messaged Phoenix, telling her he was ready.
As soon as he heard her present him, he unleashed all his magical aura, letting it rumble loose, as it exploded out of him, affecting everyone in the palace, from the bottom floor, all the way to the branches where the sentinels were on vigil.
It expanded out of the tree palace, washing over the guards and merchants that were near the tree, making some of the weaker citizens almost faint immediately. Even Leon felt pressured right now.
He looked at Astaroth, his mind barely registering how strong the young king had become. This wasn't just a simple step up.
Astaroth was currently rivalling him in power, all the while being under half his.
'Even if this is a temporary state, this man will someday rival gods, at this pace,' he thought.
Coral was feeling the pressure the most, as her proximity made it impossible to resist, and her finite amount of mana barely shielded her from the effect. Leon had to spare some of his magic to form a protective bubble around her, lest she fall unconscious.
After letting his magic run rampant for a few seconds, Astaroth grinned and stepped toward the front of the dais. His current speed made this one step travel the full distance in a mere moment, making him seemingly appear before everyone present.
He let his aura seep out for another few seconds, before retracting it inside him, easing the pressure. But it had already been enough for everyone to understand who it had come from.
Declan looked at him with squinted eyes, already knowing what effect Astaroth had been going for. But the Undead had come to know some of his Commanders well, in the last week, and he knew some of them would take this as a challenge.
Turning his head, he could already feel the re-mounting pressure inside the room, as three of his Commanders unleashed their own magic aura. He shook his head disapprovingly.
But Astaroth washed away the mounting pressure in an instant, closing his hand in front of him.
Astaroth was doing something he had seen Solomon use on the demons inside the ring. By sapping all the mana in an area, he could limit the exertion of power for people who weren't strong enough to keep their mana from being leeched away.
And in the current state of Astaroth, few could resist his pull on mana. In an instant, the three Commanders who had wanted to prove their mettle were sent to their knees, gasping for air as he took their strength away from them.
In these three, one familiar woman, whose position at the head of the sentinels made her the forefront of their defences, finally understood why Leon had bowed to this young Ash Elf.
'He's capable of exerting such power, at such a low level! No wonder Leon respects him…'
The two other Commander, a Human man dressed in mage robes, and an Orc woman with a greataxe strapped to her back, looked at Astaroth with fear.
To be robbed of your power instantly was not something so lightly done, and the ease with which he did so was enough to temper their outgoing attitudes instantly.
Astaroth could tell he had attained the goal he had set his mind on. Now the powerhouses in the kingdom knew who stood at the top of the totem pole.
He could now show them a more calm and tame side of himself, without fear that they would turn against him.
Retracting his control of mana, and taming his energy entirely, to the point his presence erased itself, Astaroth positioned himself at the center of the dais.
"Greeting to all of you. My name is Astaroth, and as you have guessed it, I am the king of this nation. I hope we get to know each other well and work to become the greatest nation of all."
Sitting down on his throne, next to Phoenix, some clapping started echoing amongst the representatives, before intensifying into a thunderous cheer.
Astaroth only grinned in response.
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