Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

While Hal welcomed Amelia into the harem through the the fine art of \'Pounding till she drops\', Marlon (A.k.a Mr Bogeyman) made his way to the first among the Plebeians since the Holgers had been destroyed, The Fidwud family.

He had been instructed not to sneak into the building...

"M-m-m-Master, you can\'t be serious" Marlon had said

"Oh, so your master\'s a joker huh" The smile Hal gave him, chilled him to the bones.

Not because Hal could now end his life with a thought, but instead, in those sapphire blue eyes, he could see the pain he could be subjected to, should he prove difficult.

"N-n-no no master" He said quickly, shaking his head hard

"Oh, so I\'m boring" Hal said, his expression the same

\'There\'s no pleasing him\' Marlon despaired before he panicked at the recollection that Hal could read his mind, which was even more transparent at the moment, because Hal was contacting him in Edgar castle from Melinda\'s mansion, making him if possible, worse than an open book.

Hal saw the thought, but he ignored it

"You\'re going there to represent me, I don\'t want to seem like a coward" He said in a forthright tone, but Marlon could tell that it was complete Horseshit.

While Hal had only become his Master the day before, he could still judge some of his characteristics and ideals and he was sure that as far as Hal was concerned, sneaking up on someone for the upper hand was not cowardice.

How could he not see that this was a punishment for him?

"That\'s right. I am punishing you" Hal nodded with another forthright tone as though all his previous lies for cover-ups seized to exist.

"Master please" Marlon sobbed mentally but Hal who was lounging in his mansion (It\'s high time we started calling it that, don\'t you think?) simply shrugged...

"As a reward for figuring it out, I shall allow you to use a Devil mark ability"

...and essentially ignored Marlon\'s lamentations.

However at the sound of a reward, Marlon sobered up and his whole mind radiated expectancy.

Hal rolled his eyes at this and transferred all information pertaining to the Devil shroud into his mind through the Devil mark.

All those with the Devil mark could not be made demons of any kind without a contract. So unofficially, Hal\'s men (\'men\' here is a general term. I am all for female empowerment by the way) were separated into three grades;

>The marked men- The lowest grade, because they were mostly subdued before they were marked and also because it did not allow administration of boons, such as making them demons and enhancing their battle strength.

>The Contracted men- The mid grade. They were those that surrendered to Hal and did not need to be beaten into submission. They could receive boons and would always be those he turned to first when he needed things done. Special circumstances excluded.

>The contracted and marked men- The High grade. They were the best of both worlds. Enough Said.

Hal\'s women, contracted or not stood in a league of their own and would always (Collectively) be second only to him.

As Marlon mulled over the Devil Shroud\'s abilities and advantages, his eyes brightened but they dimmed when he remembered he was only allowed to use the shroud to protect his identity and to help in case of conflict.

Sneaking into any house that did not have a Cosmic Phenomenon realm cultivator was going to be insanely easy, but his master would not allow.

"How could you have had the courage to attack me, if you are this much of a coward" Hal sneered

"Master, that was for love, no one is a coward when love is concerned\'

Hal snorted

"Once again Marlon, in case you\'re not listening. You shall show up at the Fidwud family Home forthrightly as a good representative of your master" Hal said in a cool voice

"Master, I could die"

"You wouldn\'t dare"

"I wouldn\'t dare to...die?"

"Exactly. Because if you die, I\'ll make sure to torment your soul afterward. You think death is a release? I\'ll show you it\'s a harness. And not the type used in bondage plays. I mean the type they most likely use in hell"

Marlon gulped. While he did not know if Hal would or could really torture him, he had no intention of finding out the hard way.

So here he was, shrouded by the Devil mark, not feeling particularly confident and facing the Fidwud guards who stared at the dark fog that was him with a mixture of dread and defiance.

"W-w-who, no what are you?" one of the guards asked shakily

Their fear was not out of cowardice or lack of proper criteria that make a good guard, it was due to the {Fear} that the fog radiated.

Not being as strong as Hal\'s {Fear} ability was actually an advantage, because it allowed the shroud to radiate it rather than use it as a one hit strike.

Anyway...

Marlon stared at the two guards from within the shroud and their look of barely controlled fear gave him the confidence to speak

"I need to speak to San Fidwud" The voice that came out of the fog was deep and menacing

\'Awesome\' Marlon yelled in his head at the sound of his distorted voice

"Who are you to speak out our lord\'s name with such candor" Said one of the guards that seemed to be better settled but still trembled slightly

"That\'s for him to know" The fog replied in a cool tone

The two guards glanced at each other and in their eyes, a determination was found as they readied themselves.

The truth was that this guards could not pose a threat to Marlon in any way as they were merely at the Early stage of the Cosmic Pearl realm. The trouble lay in the commotion an altercation could cause and how quickly things would spiral out of control and he did not want that.

While most of the Fidwud forces were still in the cosmic pearl realm at most, it still remained a fact that their lord could be at the peak of the cosmic armament realm, his close lieutenants were most likely in the same realm, albeit weaker.

So as you can tell, there are several reasons why Marlon should do his best to avoid altercation...but then again, looking at the fearful but resolute eyes of the guards, he was on quite a rush.

The moment the guards looked to be readying themselves, he was on them in a flash. He grabbed both of their necks in a strangling hold that they could not break away from and also hindered them from saying a word. Soon they were out of breath and unconscious and he laid them down and made his way speedily into the Fidwud Large home.

Why not kill them? Simple. He wasn\'t here for genocide so why bother?

Hal had told him not to sneak in. That he should go in without trickery, However, Hal had never said he was not allowed to sneak into the house once past the gate.

Marlon dashed into the building. Making use of his keen senses common of someone in his realm, he searched the house for San Fidwud.

He did not need to search for long.

He was in a large Hall when, out of five doors burst out guards with cultivation at the Cosmic pearl realm. They surrounded him and cut off any possible means of escape. The men directly in front of him parted ways and out of their midst came an effeminate man with delicate features. His shoulder length black hair was sleek and his pearl black eyes were cold as they nailed the intruder. The intimidating effect of the fog apparently reduced on him. He was the Head of the Fidwud family, San Fidwud.

Looking into those eyes made Marlon jittery and he was thankful that the shroud hid his true expression from view.

Mustering up his courage and cursing his bad luck Marlon greeted first

"Fidwud"

Aware that his bow would go unnoticed within the fog, he did not bother despite every fiber of his being wanting to.

San merely stared at the fog with an expressionless face while the surrounding guards gasped at the fog\'s ability to communicate.

Security had been tightened such that there were lookout to alert them should someone or something gat past the Entrance guards.

"Who sent you?" San finally decided to ask

"My master did. I mean you no harm, quite the contrary, I have valuable information for you" The fog replied

"If you have any information to give, you ask to meet you, you don\'t break into my home" San said with the same expression while he stared at the fog as though to view the one within.

"It was a split second decision and my Master did not want to wait"

"Okay then, what is it?"

"For long the plebeians have been dissatisfied with the Great family\'s treatment. Case in point, this auction. An auction you are almost completely guaranteed to lose and yet, should you win, the gold becomes the property of the Great families" Marlon, the fog began and San frowned.

All this was true but to hear it spoken out to him by this strange \'creature\' did not make him feel better.

Seeing that all was still going accordingly, Marlon continued

"My Master has a way for you to get it back and spit in the face of the \'Great families\' at the same time"

"Okay. What do you want in exchange?" San asked with a slight smirk

"Exchange?" Marlon seemed confused

"I\'m not naive. Tell me what you want in exchange and if it does not please me, you will get out of my home or for intruding into said home, I will find out just how solid you are"

When Marlon heard this, he swallowed his fear, somehow drew courage and straightened himself in dignity, then he sneered and boomed out of the fog...

"Who gave you the audacity to speak to the Malevolent one\'s representative in such a manner!!!"