Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor-Chapter 48 - The Fiend, The Succubus, The Devil And The Mark

"This is because of the scoff, isn't it?" Hal sighed

"It is part of it" Tiberius replied with a grin as he spun Executioner

"Part of it?" Hal was skeptical

"Yes, part of it. I am really interested in finding out if the one who now wields the Devil's Executioner is not a sissy" Tiberius said still spinning the broadsword and slowly pacing around Hal.

"Wait, what?" Hal spun to face him but Executioner was already slashing towards his face and he quickly leapt back but not before the sword cut a gash on his face.

The wound did not bleed, it did not even scar but the pain was even more intense than if it had.

Hal doubled backwards clenching the side of his face

"Hurts, doesn't it. Every sensation here is increased five folds. For now. The longer you dilly dally, the more I will increase the pain"

"Rise for the blood of my foes, Executioner" Hal summoned the broadsword to intercept another strike from Tiberius

The strike pushed him back and finally revealed how much stronger the fiend was

"You are way out of your league kid. I am a god"

"Really?" Hal raised his brow and turned towards the smiling succubus who nodded in agreement

"Well, you don't look like a god"

"How do you expect a god to look like?" Tiberius asked

"Well, for one thing, you should look more godly, also a god won't be trapped in my soul right? And finally..."

Hal's head snapped up as he dashed towards the fiend who hurried to prepare himself but it was too late to completely avoid the strike, the most he could do was try to reduce the damage but Hal still struck him in the ribs causing him to double up in pain as he tried to hold his ground

"... a god would know when a 'kid' is trying to distract him"

*Clap*Clap*Clap*

Myra was bouncing and giggling as Hal took a bow.

"That is it right? I won"

"Not quite. We're just getting started" Tiberius spread his beefy arms and let out a strong pressure that threatened to suffocate Hal as he went in for the attack...

Hal raised Executioner to fend him off and succeeded but a dense red fog in the form of a dagger shot towards his side and he tried to sidestep it but the moment of distraction was enough for the fiend to kick his chest...

*Bam*

...and knock him backwards right to Myra's side.

Pain wracked his whole chest as he struggled to stand up. This fight was so unfair. While Tiberius did not look godly, his strength far outstripped Hal's. To make matters worse Hal had no connection to his body and as such he had no connection to Grimiore and his Astral sense.

All he could make use of was the abilities that existed in his soul and by extension, his body and that was his bloodline.

However, he and Tiberius were making use of the same bloodline armament, not to mention that Tiberius was not only more experienced but had more control of it.

The way Hal saw it, He had only one thing he could use and even that seemed impossible...

The fight grew more intense with Tiberius occasionally taking control of the fog that Hal released in hope for a counter attack. There seemed to be no hope for him and his body (apparition of his body) was completely aching.

*Bang!*

A blast of fog would knock Hal back, and Tiberius advanced

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I'm disappointed" he said with a mocking expression which soon made way for confusion when he realized Hal was not frustrated but was smiling

'Why was he Confident' Tiberius thought as the soul world began to tremble and a lullaby began to play. Suddenly the whole soul world came alive as Tiberius perked to the lullaby and soon became lost in it, when it stopped he was surprised to find himself unable to move.

Somehow Hal had wrestled control away from him. While he tried to regain control and by extension move his trapped body, Hal advanced and pierced through his chest with Executioner, marking the end of the duel.

"Oh shit" Tiberius groaned and laid down as soon as he was able to move again.

Hal dispersed of Executioner and went closer to him

"You really don't seem godly"

"How do you know? How many gods have you met?" Tiberius scoffed

"One"

"Really?" Myra asked as she moved closer to the duo

"Yeah, he tried to grab me. And I'm pretty sure he tried to kill me as well" Ham shrugged

"When?" She asked

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. My questions first" Hal said while he folded his arms before his chest

"We already know what you want to ask" Myra said

"No I've changed my mind" Hal said

"Go ahead and ask then?"

"Fine. Who is the one who sings that lullaby?" Hal asked, he had after all noticed Tiberius' attitude towards it

The two paused and then sighed

"What did you want to ask before?" Tiberius sat up

"I wanted to know who my parents were and by extension, find out more about my bloodline. But that and this lullaby singer seem related. So spill it" Hal sat and crossed his legs prompting the two to speak.

Myra took a deep breath and for once, her sultry smile was mussing

"The 'lullaby singer' as you call her is one of the primevals, the progenitor of demons and devils and once upon a time, the most powerful of them all. She was called many names;

"Mistress of Evil, Embodiment of destruction and supreme overlord. But the name she relished the most. the name she picked for herself stemmed from her bloodline; f𝘳𝚎𝐞we𝐛𝑛𝐨𝘃e𝘭.co𝘮

The Primeval Devil Queen"

"So basically, my mom is the devil" Hal said scratching his philtrum

"Yes" Myra said

"Cool" He shrugged and as Myra had expected a more volatile reaction, she was completely thrown off by this composure

In truth, Hal couldn't care less what label his mother decided to give herself. What truly mattered to him was how he could use it to his advantage.

Tiberius looked at him closely, the face, while attractive looked nothing like the queen's, his eyes however had the very same look. 'I do what I want and I don't give a damn'. He respected that look.

"So, who is my father?" Hal asked

"Don't know. Her majesty never said"

Hal raised his eyebrows in skepticism.

"You can't take a guess?"

"The queen was definitely not virtuous, she had a lot of sexual partners, she had whoever she wanted, whether they were a part of her harem or not" Tiberius said in a candid tone

'A whore. Now this seems promising. Seems the apple never fell far from the tree'

"Were you one of her partners"

"I had little to no interest in sex. Her majesty used me for other matters" Tiberius replied

"I was" Myra groaned in reminiscence

Hal smiled "Good for you"

"Oh it was good. You think you've awakened your bloodline?. Pfft, you don't know the half of it" Myra giggled

Hal raised his eyebrows but said nothing

"Hem Hem, as I was saying, the queen never wanted children, and while she was quite active sexually, she never conceived" Tiberius explained

"She never wanted to pass her bloodline to anyone. Making use of her contracts to create demons and lesser devils to bolster her forces.

" Then she had you after which she sealed Tiberius and I, her two strongest generals into your soul where we could survive because of the Primeval Devil bloodline you got from her" Myra said

"And where is she now" Hal asked

"Don't know. We can't sense her, and that does not bode well" Tiberius said

"She did leave her inheritance inside you"

"You mean the lullaby"

"That is one of it, it could help us understand her reasons"

'She's missing and for some reason, her bloodline is redacted from the Primordial Cosmic Grimiore. This is fishy'

"Before I leave, Tiberius what name did did you want me to call"

Tiberius blinked

"He was trying to use his voice to prompt you to use his armament first" Myra giggled

"And why?"

"The queen never told us who she liked best. We wanted to use you as a basis of a final decision. The first armament you use would settle things. But he decided to do a little cheating"

"Why don't you finally settle things?" Tiberius said to Hal who looked back and forth between the two and tried to hold his laughter.

The two were acting like idiots, but staying here with only each other as company was guaranteed to create issues

"Myra wins" Hal declared, Myra cheered and Tiberius frowned

"This is because of the duel isn't it?"

"Absolutely"

...

Hal opened his eyes to the to see Melinda, Rita, Castor and Eugene watching him carefully.

Eugene seemed less guilty looking so Rita must have calmed him.

"Master, what would you like to do with the servants of the Holger Estate" Castor asked

"Take me to them" Hal said, he needed to test something and they would be perfect.

On the way, Eugene excused himself and left the group which considering what Hal was about to do next was a good idea as he was still out of the loop.

When they arrived before the servants, Hal looked at them all kneeling.

They all began to beg for their lives but Hal saw killing them as a waste as their death wouldn't help him. Most of them couldn't even cultivate.

His eyes turned pitch black as a thin black fog began to slither among them, branding them one by one with the Devil's mark. All except one...

"What's your name?" Hal asked the one he had omitted

"Marla" she replied

"Come with me"