Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

With him not being able to use any form of energy, Hal was unable to make use of his Astral perception as even that contained Astral energy. However, being a Devil, his senses had been honed and heightened and while not having the wide range of his Astral perception, it was enough for him to be on the lookout and avoid all those who were above him in cultivation.

Of course, while his senses were heightened, it was impossible for him to know the cultivation of those who were not releasing their pressure or even showing off an inkling of their cultivation base but that was where Grimoire came in handy.

The Artifact could sense the cultivation of any cultivator as long as they were not taking deliberate steps to hide it and even then, as long as those steps did not surpass the Aurora grade, then it would still see through them.

An example of those measures was Emily's mask which was a Saint Rank artifact of concealment and blocked Grimoire's senses on account of the host's (Hal's) low cultivation.

It directed him in regards to the areas where he was to avoid and not to be but its range was not as wide as Hal's Astral perception.

He was still in the peripheral of the estate for now and pushed his speed which he was privy to by virtue of his body being strengthened by his bloodline to hurry to the main part of the estate where the dinner was going to be held.

Once he was in a location that was completely devoid of anyone who could see through his Invisibility, he spread out his Astral perception which in itself was still a risky endeavor as there could very well be a Runemaster on high alert with his perception spread in case someone like Hal was trying to snoop into the estate.

That was why Hal focused his perception on the hallway he and Roxy had decided on earlier which was where the Map was bound to be taken through in order to arrive at the dining hall.

Fortunately, it was free of any foreign perception and he was able to scout ahead before he reactivated his invisibility and snuck fully into the main building of the estate.

Once he was in, a couple of guards were patrolling the building but since they were only at the early stage of the Cosmic Aurora realm, they could not see him,

"The Patriarch is really hyper about this meeting, isn't he? I've heard he has had a nice spread prepared for the visitors" said one of the guards while the other looked at him with a scoff,

"What are you doing trying to be mysterious about the bit of information you got from your lady friend in the kitchens. As though I don't know about your little love affair.

Anyway, you can't blame the master when millions of blue gems are in question. 30 million for that matter" the second guard said with a smug smile on his face.

The first one's eyes widened,

"How can you be so sure of the price?" He asked in awe while the other crew himself up to his full height.

"What do you mean how? Just because we are both guards, don't think you know all there is to know about me. I am connected to someone who serves very close to the Patriarch." The second guard said with his hands folded in front of his chest.

"Really?" Asked the first guard.

Yes, you lowly one. Now bow to my awesomeness" the second guard said clearly being carried away.

At this point, Hal moved on deeper into the building.

If the visitors who wished to buy the map were already here, then the map was sure to be moving to the dining hall soon.

He needed to hurry.

All those he met were mostly at the Cosmic Aurora realm and the most powerful of all the guards and important members of the Kruger family he met were all at the Cosmic Pagoda realm so he was able to move unseen and eventually lie in wait in the corridor for the map.

The hall had arches that were way high up and disconnected from the ceiling so he climed the wall and squatted on one of the arches as he waited.

He did not have to wait long though as soon, the map arrived... In a chest that was being carried by four guards.

The chest he knew must contain the map had handles on its four edges and all handles were being grasped.

Hal's eyes narrowed.

Just how heavy was this map that it required this number to be carried.

He received his answer soon enough,

"This thing is incredibly light. Even with the chest, surely only one of us is required to lift it. Why do we have to be huddled in this manner?" one of the guards whined.

The one in front and was leading, frowned and said in an impatient voice,

"As I have already explained a thousand times already, the Patriarch insisted we lift it this way and so this is how we will lift it"

The whining guard continued to whine while Hal wandered along with Grimoire,

'If he insists they carry it together despite it only containing one map, there must be something to it' Hal thought and studied the chest even more and spotted something that caused his grow to furrow behind his mask,

'Runes'

'Runes'

He and Grimoire said at the same time.

He as a sudden discovery, Grimoire as an answer.

'The runes are way too intricate and attempting to decipher them and know exactly what they do will only give the map more time to get to the dining hall.

Except If you tell me what it is of course' Hal said to Grimoire and the Artifact taking the hint did not even attempt to be difficult.

'If one hand goes off that chest, it will release a pulse that will alert the whole estate'

Hal frowned and while that could very well be troublesome, he decided he could still deal with it if he was quick enough. While it would alert the estate, the first to actually show up would be those at the cosmic phenomenon, Cosmic Aurora and Cosmic Pagoda.

He could simply turn invisible and hide from their sights.

And so with a deep breath, his eyes turned Devil dark behind his mask and he condensed Devil energy into a blade.

Before the guards could begin to notice the appearance of a nefarious force above them, he leaped down and stabbed the whining guard in the heart.

"Ack" the guard only had time to groan in sudden pain before his eyes went lifeless and he let go of the chest.

Of course, before he let go of it, Hal was already grabbing it.

That was enough to stop the alarm from going off but that had never been the point of him grabbing the chest and it would have been pointless had that being the case as the other three immediately let go of it and summoned their cosmic Armaments.

"The Fuck... Who the hell are you?" Asked the leading guard just as the chest let off immense vibrations that reached all parts of the Estate while the guard's eyes widened in surprise.

The vibrations were then followed by blaring alarm sounds that Hal had to admit sounded very earth-like...

...

The Kruger Estate dining Hall...

Minutes before the alarms went off...

The visitors as well as Brian Kruger we're seared at the dinner table with a large spread of delicious meals rich in cultivation resources were laid on the table.

As this was a business meeting first and foremost, there were none of Brian's family members present, and the only one there with him apart from the visitors and himself was his right-hand man, Xerx who was at the late stage of the Cosmic pagoda realm.

Xerx was frowning at the blatant lack of respect for his master that these men were exhibiting. Especially the shirtless man who had been introduced as Ergo.

The moment they were in the dining hall, he made way for his Ax on the dining table before pulling all meals in reach of his hands towards himself without even one word of thanks to his master who made this happen.

Not to mention the uncultured manner in which he ate.

The other two were far more proper in their eating habits but the lack of respect remained evident.

"So where is the payment for the map? Not that I don't trust you of course, but I am old and my poor heart cannot handle the suspense" Brian said.

Ergo still stuffing his face scoffed at the nonsense while Pietro's smile remained the same.

"Of course you can" he said and withdrew a spatial ting from his spatial ring and presented it to the Kruger patriarch fit inspection and after the inspection, Brian's eyes widened at the sheer amount of if blue gems it contained.

He was already fantasizing about what he would use it for when it was snatched from his hand by Pietro,

"You'll get it after I get the map. Speaking of which, what us taking so long?" He asked.

"Please be patient. I have already sent for..." His words were soon interrupted by intense vibrations which were followed by alarm wails.

"What was that?" Pietro asked with a frown.

"I'm sure it's nothing. Just a mist..."

This time he was interrupted by a loud *Bang* that was surely not a mistake and surely demanded attention.