A few months had passed since Alastor had his victory snatched from his hands before landing in his lap once more. There was absolutely no news of Astaroph resurfacing. It meant his own position was all but guaranteed.
He won, again, or as Alastor thought to himself, as expected. Dressing himself up in an expensive suit, he put on a dark red cape that barely touched the floor. Smiling to himself in the mirror, he noticed the frown of his companion.
"Morior, what's troubling you so?"
"Nothing, I'm just worried he'll show up."
"Hahaha, oh dear, you truly want to jinx my crowning, don't you?", with a slight smirk he stared at Morior, who simply looked back. Reading his thoughts, Alastor laughed to himself.
"Don't you worry about that. I checked with all the siblings, I even visited our good Lucas. They have nothing at all."
His confidence wasn't misplaced. While Lucas was making headway, the road was longer than he expected. Of course, bringing Asta back before the competition ended was only a bonus, an optional objective.
To Alastor, things were going fantastic. It didn't take long before they left for the Duke's castle. Arriving in a fancy coach, there was a neat red carpet placed for them with people from both sides applauding his arrival.
Waving to the masses, he quickly made his way to the entrance, where his closest followers and family waited. Even his own uncle was present, someone he looked up to for a simple reason. While he was an uncle, he taught and helped Alastor grow up, so perhaps he was more of a father than the Duke. Still, officially, they weren't directly related, not that it stopped them from seeing each other as father and son.
He was one of the few people who's thoughts he couldn't interpret. It was as if he thought in a strange code that only he knew, making it hard to parse through.
"Congratulations, son. I've already run the polls and you're in a massive lead. All you have to do now is accept the Duke's seat," a simple smile adorned his face. It didn't feel fake, but also not real.
Alastor never truly knew what his father thought, despite his powers. Nodding slightly, he entered the throne room of the Duke. Laying his eyes on the large figure that sat upright in his throne. To the side, many different demon nobles were present to see the transfer of position.
Even his own siblings were all present, only Lucas seemed to be absent, 'Most likely still searching for him, how pitiful.'
Isale, Agatha, Descartes, Klaro, Agares and even Pritoris stood next to each other as they applauded Alastor's appearance, reluctantly.
At the very end of the room was a large throne, upon which the illustrious Duke was sitting with a straight back. His eyes pierced through everyone in the room.
"Welcome, son of mine," the words contained an unusual warmth, one rarely heard from him. While he was his biological father, never did he hear him speak as if they were so close. Even the simply words of welcome and son were rarely mentioned.
His voice low but somewhat friendly. And yet, Alastor felt like running back, because while the front of the Duke looked extremely approachable, for once, his internal thoughts were anything but.
'Alastor, I know you can read my thoughts, so listen carefully. You don't deserve the seat when you lost to Astaroph.'
Hearing the Duke's inner thoughts, Alastor stopped in his tracks. The people who knew that piece of information was limited to only a few, 'Damn that human!'
"You have achieved many great feats and was even able to best Agares, known for her strength," waving his hand around, the masses applauded the Duke's speech.
'Before I announce the results of the vote, you will make an appeal to wait until Astaroph has been returned. Show your brotherly love and convince everyone here to wait and help in the search.'
The Duke words and thoughts flowed into Alastor, making it hard to differentiate between the two. Of course, he was more than capable of splitting the voices up, what made it difficult was the invisible pressure surrounding only him.
He felt like kneeling, collapsing to the ground, but doing so in front of all his followers would only serve as humiliation. To Alastor, there was absolutely no need to follow his father's commands. He was about to take the seat, and everyone present would agree with him, why stop now?
'If you don't follow my commands, I will kill you,' suddenly, Alastor's vision clouded over as his surroundings turned into a red landscape. Rivers of blood flowed everywhere as bodies covered the ground. Alastor felt like barfing seeing the scenes in front of him as his so-called father stood on a pile of bones with a sharp glint in his eyes. The bloodlust was so immense, he barely kept his conscious before it all vanished in an instant.
Back in the throne room, all the dead bodies were replaced with applauding nobles. The rivers of blood were simple carpets that covered the floor while the pile of bones that his father stood on was a decorated throne.
'Using your aura on your own son, you despicable bastard. If you think I'll play along because you ask, you're horribly wrong. I own that seat!'
The Duke had a light smile on his face, many present believed he was proud of his descendants, only a single person besides Alastor knew why he truly smiled.
"Now, we have held a poll to collect everyone's thoughts and opinions", the Duke stared right into the eyes of Alastor, who had to hold back a frown.
Holding up his hand, he tried to stop the Duke from speaking, "Hold on, father. While we all know the results, I want all my brothers and sisters to witness this moment. During my battle with Astaroph, I won in the end, but he vanished not long after. I don't know if he went into exile or has perished at the hands of some fanatics, but I want to know where my family is at.
Dear people of the court, listen to my request! I wish for us to find Astaroph, no matter the state he is in. Dead or alive, please find him."
Twisting the story to his advantage and making it clear he didn't care of Astaroph was alive or not, he hoped to help himself along the way.
Directing himself to the people standing around him, they looked at each other in confusion. There was no reason for him to delay the results, they could search for him after he had been metaphorically crowned.
Alastor's father figure stepped forward, "Son, are you certain about this?"
"Yes."
Nodding slightly, the man put on his serious face, "Everyone under my command, hear my voice. From this point forward, you will all search for Astaroph the 52nd. Any clue or piece of intel you find you will bring to me immediately! I urge the other families present to follow my example."
Everyone from the Alastor bloodline nodded as they pounded their chest once. It didn't take long before Isale's mother declared something similar, with the other families following suit. Only Agatha's parents stayed quiet, since they weren't even present in the first place.
With everyone following Alastor's will, the Duke closed the play. "Then I will hold the results for myself a bit longer. Everyone, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me find my son. I will reward the finders more than generously."
With a cause and now motivation behind their backing, they applauded themselves before leaving the throne room. Only Alastor stayed behind to face his father.
Not bothering to put on an act, Alastor didn't hold back. "You're the one who kidnapped him in the first place. Now you want everyone to search for him? What's you game here?"
What pissed Alastor off was the fact that he couldn't even discern it from the Duke's mind. Not a single thought about his reasoning came to the surface, which seemed impossible.
The Duke held not a smile or a frown, he wasn't angry or disappointed, he simply shook his head slightly. "It might be hard to believe, but all of this is to help you, Alastor. You have an important role, one I cannot throw away. I'm already telling you more than what you deserve, so just stay on the sideline for a bit longer. It will all become clear soon."
With that, the Duke left Alastor alone, in a large throne room, he stood at the very center. Dressed to perfection, there was nobody left to appreciate him any longer.