Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

"A map huh, where does it lead?" Hal asked.

"That is none of your concern. You are required to steal it from the Kruger family and that is what you should be focussed on." Ehrlich said.

Hal smirked, 

"In other words, you don\'t know" he said.

"What did you say, Bastard! The point here is that it is going to be incredibly dangerous. For reasons that cannot be revealed to you, the princess cannot go and get it for herself, especially since she cannot arrive at the Doxon Duchy in time to stop the Organization she is against from getting their hands on it.

Which they are likely to do by tonight"

Hal frowned, 

"This seems very urgent so why doesn\'t the princess just contact her contacts in the Doxon Duchy. I know she must have them" he said.

"Oh quite smart of you, idiot. Am I not contacting you now? Are you not one of her contacts?

Anyway, she realizes this is a dangerous task and tells me you are free to say no. Especially if you have no ways of accomplishing this"

Hal grinned, 

"Are you kidding me? A chance to rob a family of such importance, of course, I\'m going to at least try" he said.

To be honest, he did not need reiteration on how dangerous this was bound to be because he was well aware of the danger. But he felt he could probably accomplish it.

Besides something of this importance was bound to attract a lot of wonderful rewards. 

The Blue gems he stood to earn were his focus but the merits were not too bad either.

Also, he already had the {Invisibility} ability he had gotten from Grimoire which could render him untraceable to anyone two realms above him as long as he did not make use of any abilities. Be it cosmic or Bloodline. Or even Astral energy.

He also now had the Shadow demon Bloodline abilities which were going to be perfect for a mission such as this.

Then there was the map itself which he found intriguing. He wanted to know what it led to. Who knows, it might very well lead him to another rare resource for the further increase of his cultivation and swift overcoming of his stagnation.

Ehrlich paused, 

"I was hoping you would say that. I feel this mission is perfect for you, if you succeed, the princess will be happy and if you fail, you die which will be a definite plus.

But I can\'t say I like your enthusiasm. It\'s a tad bit eerie.

Well, the princess is not just going to let you go without any support, and even though she cannot make it in person and neither can I, there is a contact of hers in the Doxon Duchy capital that can help. 

He has already been contacted beforehand. His name is Roxy and he is a Runemaster incredibly skilled in the making and mechanics of Teleportation circles.

His location details are as follows..."

Once he was done telling Hal how to meet Roxy, Ehrlich came to the end of his message with an eerie warning, 

"And Hal, should you be caught, you never met the princess and she has absolutely nothing to do with this. You only went after the map out of your own greed.

That is all..."

With that, Ehrlich cut off the communication with Hal\'s frown deeper than ever.

-At the other side of the communication-

Ehrlich had actually spoken to Hal with Tanya right beside him and the princess smiled while her green eyes flashed, 

"Good work, Ehrlich. Though I feel you were a tad bit intense."

Ehrlich frowned, 

"Thank you for the praise. But your highness,  there are others you could call to your service in the Doxon Duchy. Your influence reaches that far so why this punk?" He asked.

Tanya chuckled, 

"You are right, there are many who I could call but I want him. I want to use this to know just how capable he is.

Of all who I have my service, I what to make him my most valuable pawn. He clearly has the potential... As well as many secrets."

"But he could very well fail. That is much more likely than him succeeding"

"Well, I gave him a chance to say no. I gave him the chance to turn me down and as he does not work for me out of loyalty and instead for his own selfish needs, then he should always vie for his own survival.

But yet, he said he would do it. He was even enthusiastic about it before I told him of Roxy which means he is confident in his thieving skills.

And if it turns out he was bluffing and is actually incompetent, then he does not deserve to be in my service.

Someone who does not know his own limits does not deserve to be in my corner as I set out to accomplish my goals.

Now let\'s just wait. I feel this will all be over in the next few hours or so."

...

Emily and Amelia\'s joint residence...

"My my. I guess it\'s going to have to be now." Hal said and stood from his seat.

Emily and Amelia were not in the residence at the moment and he contacted them through the telepathic link to inform them that he would be heading out for the night and he would return as soon as he could.

He told Rita and Karmen as well and the two immediately offered to come with him even if it was just a casual stroll which they knew it was not, but Hal told them to stay behind.

\'It\'s better they sit this one out. If things get hairy, I\'ll just have to resort to my Devil beasts\' He thought just before Sassy made her presence felt.

As though he could forget her clinging to his arm.

"And you have me" she said.

Hal nodded and patted her lightly through his sleeve, 

"Yes, I have you" he said.

He brought out the golden chariot, got inside, and drove himself out of the Sensual palace. His Astral senses guided him the whole way.

Even though he was going at full speed, or at least the full speed he was permitted by his cultivation, it still took him quite a while to get out of the immense structure and even more time to make his way to the shop of Runemastering expert called Roxy.

He stopped outside the shop who\'s streets were quite deserted and put the golden chariot back into his Inventory before walking to the door and giving it a knock.

However just one knock after and the door swung open, 

"Roxy?" Hal called as he walked into the store which was completely dark apart from the glow of the lights outside the shop that were casting a glow through the doorway.

"Is anyone here? Roxy?" Hal called as he spread his Astral perception to check for any other occupant in the shop beside himself, 

"Arrgghh" he yelled in pain as he felt an attack on his Mind space. An attack coming from a collision of his Astral sense with a much more powerful one.

And then...

*Bang!*

The door slammed shut just as a purple Rune circle shone on the floor right where Hal was standing.

His eyes widened and he tried to leap away just as it exploded beneath him, 

*Boom*