Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Why was Borus amused?

It was not just because he could very well take these two as his physical strength enhanced with his semi-Devil physique had long surpassed their capabilities, the real reason was that he genuinely found the situation funny.

He was merely to bide time so that every body on the battlefield of Gelread valley could be carted away by the beasts hurrying about behind him.

As for the Lieutenants, while they did summon their Armaments and charged Auroras, they did not attack immediately as they were still outnumbered.

Let it be mentioned now that it was not just the two vocal lieutenants that were present. There were others, they just declined to comment and followed the lead of the vocal duo.

Anyway,

Well aware that these beasts far outnumbered them and their capabilities were still relatively unknown, they were only waiting for reinforcements and that was when a phenomenon occurred on the side of the valley.

A phenomenon that caught their attention.

It was a dark fog that was sipping out of a manly figure in a sapphire blue robe and a mask.

This was of course Hal and the fog around him was his Devil shroud.

Anyway, the Lieutenants had no idea who this new arrival was or where he had come from but when he nodded his head at Borus, they knew something troublesome was about to happen, but they did not react fast enough to dodge the punch Borus threw out at them both.

*BAM*

A simultaneous blow with one single sound sent both Lieutenants flying back.

The others that had come with the Lieutenants frowned and summoned Armaments while tossing cosmic Auroras at Borus.

Reinforcements be damned!

They needed to act now.

Meanwhile, the masked man waved his hand and a portal opened right by his side. A portal that the beasts began to walk through to dump the bodies and then going back out to take more.

Then those who were not occupied with attacking Borus, who was doing a good job dodging all they threw at him and hitting back when faced with physicality, soon noticed what was going on.

They did not have the time to think about the fact that this mysterious fellow had a pocket dimension housing many unknowns, they were merely focused on stopping him from taking the bodies of their dead comrades.

"Stop that" yelled a female Lieutenant and dashed forward with B-class experts of her platoon to stop the carting.

Hal who was keeping his perception spread knew they did not have much time before the arrival of reinforcements. Reinforcements that were sure to include A-class experts who had originally refrained from clearing bodies.

Apparently, it was not 'befitting their class'.

The Beasts all divided into two groups with the smallest group dealing with the B-class experts while the other much larger continued carting off bodies.

The B-class experts soon realized they were out of their depth as the Beasts proved practically undefeatable.

As their evolution proceeded, the development of the beasts was getting more focused on their physical strength which was enhanced by them getting ever closer to being Devils.

Add that to the fact that they could still use their attuned elements and imbue them with as much cosmic energy they had inside their bodies and you get why the B-class experts were finding it difficult to be victorious.

Frustration began to set in as many of them got crippled while they were all ultimately held down and could do nothing about the bodies being taken away.

Suddenly, Hal's sense perked and he passed his order of retreat to all his Beasts through the telepathic connection he had with them.

It was the best time to retreat too as they had successfully cleared every single body on the battlefield.

The B-class could not follow as they had been beaten down well enough already.

When the last beast, which was none other than Borus, entered into the portal, it closed behind him right as A-class experts arrived at the scene.

They arrived quick enough to see the Portal close and the masked man beside the closing portal get shrouded completely in dark fog before he dashed away from the scene.

Needless, to say, they pursued...

Of course, by the time they reached the spot Hal had vanished at and faced the direction he had faced, they saw nothing. It was almost as though he had vanished into thin air.

Hal was invisible a few meters from where they were searching and took his time to walk away from the area entirely before going into his Harem space for a change of clothes.

When he came back out, he stayed invisible for good measure as he crossed Gelread valley over to the Haron camp where he became visible once again and joined Melinda who smiled at his return.

"You look like you enjoyed yourself" she told him and Hal nodded with a smile.

He indeed had enjoyed himself.

Watching his beasts cart away the bodies and watching them overpower B-class experts brought a smile to his face.

At the moment, he knew the beasts would be digging into feasts of dead bodies and then go into hibernation. From that point, he was not entirely sure what level they would attain but he was interested to see.

"I actually did" Hal told her and kissed her forehead.

News of the actions of the thousands of beasts whose escape had been aided by the mysterious masked man had spread all about the camp and it was at the time of circulation that Hal and Melinda were invited by Devon to have a little sit-down.

...

Devon's Tent...

A circular table that usually held maps and strategic plans for the Haronian general to look through was now only occupied by a wine jug and three wine glasses.

Devon then filled the wine glasses with wine from the jug before he picked up one and gestured to the two,

"Go on, it's good for you" he said.

It indeed was good for them as Hal was quick to realize after inspecting it and having Grimoire double-check, the beverage granted him a boost in his cultivation.

Once Hal had taken a sip, Melinda took one as well while eyeing her father in an 'I still hate you' look.

Devon smiled at his daughter,

"It will help you break through bottlenecks" he said.

Melinda eventually downed the whole Drink and Hal did the same while Devon was a tad bit surprised at the ease with which they had refined and absorbed the wine's effects.

Even after downing gulp, the two showed no signs of discomfort.

He refilled their glasses and then finally began to speak about non-wine related topics,

"So, I heard you two made quite the impression during this Expedition. Melinda in particular, you caused quite the storm despite just arriving." He started.

Melinda sneered,

"What? Are you praising me? 'Cause trust me, I can do without such false gestures" she said.

Devon smiled fondly,

"I am indeed praising you but it is not a false gesture. It's genuine." He said and then looked at Hal who was smiling lightly in amusement,

"As for you... I still don't like you! But you did well. You were quite capable, truly you are a one-of-a-kind genius, but... You can't be trusted" he said.

Hal fought the urge to roll his eyes.

This was so typical and expected.

It no longer struck a chord in him.

He really could not care less what Devon thought of him at this point.

Hal decided to play along,

"Really now. What have I done to deserve such a harsh assessment?" He asked with his amiable smile.

Devon was silent for a while and then said,

"You're hiding something"

This time, Hal rolled his eyes,

"Aren't we all?" He asked.

"Aren't we all... what?" Devon requested clarification.

Hal shrugged,

"Aren't we all hiding something? Do we all not have secrets to keep? I mean, even the Dane family has something to hide. After all, I really doubt you would want the Emperor knowing his General is plotting to overturn his rule"

Devon frowned,

"You are out of line" he said.

Hal shook his head with a mockingly musing expression,

"Actually, I don't think I am. I am involved in this plot now, am I not?" He asked with a relaxed expression.

"Certain things are for you to know but not speak about" Devon said with a scowl.

"Oh please, what are you going to do, kill me? You have too much self-control to let yourself lose control and kill your hope at an alliance with the Doxon family"

"You're pushing it kid. Don't test me. Don't test my patience" Devon said and clenched his fist.

Hal leaned forward, not backing down,

"Then don't go off raving about me not being trustworthy especially if you still hold thoughts of an alliance with the Doxon family, regardless."

Silence...

During which, Melinda had taken to serving herself glass after glass of wine and smiling at the whole conversation that was getting her father purple with rage while Hal remained as relaxed as ever.

Eventually, Devon calmed down and sighed,

"Okay then. I admit your trustworthiness is of no importance to our goals, at least not directly. Whatever you are hiding, whatever it is that makes me uneasy around you, I don't want to know until we have accomplished what we want."

'After that though, I will make sure I end you' he added in his mind.

Almost as though Hal had read Devon's mind, he thought with a bright smile as they both stared into each other's eyes,

'By then, it would be too late, Old Man'