Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Once Hal made them Blood Knights, Karmen led them out of the mansion to the Knight barracks which used to once be the Holger Estate. There was a longing in Lillian as she wondered when it was that Hal was going to bless her with his presence again.

She was not the only one who was thinking of that as it had now become a common wonder among the female Knights and their dissatisfaction was only made worse by the instigation of certain Knights such as the Fair lady.

Hal on the other hand felt they were not yet ready and while they truly were his, they happen to be a part of his force he wished to keep completely Combat focused.

At least for the time being.

He then left the lounge to head to the Alchemy room, in front of which Sassy was still coiled and \'napping\'. However, any movement matter how slight was going to alert her.

And sure enough, she raised her head the moment Hal was close by and he stroked her head as he walked past her and into the room. She slithered in after him.

There Arya was hunched over her cauldron and looking very exhausted. Hal used his perception to count the pills and was pleased to see that this amount, coupled with the ones he would purchase from Grimoire with Blue gems from Arya was bound to be enough for all the beasts in Tretch forest.

Arya opened her eyes wearily once she felt Hal\'s presence, 

"Master..." She said in a tired voice and tried to bow but only toppled over. Sassy caught her with her neck before she could hit the floor.

Hal pulled her up soon after and she leaned on him as he passed Cosmic energy into her body and rejuvenated her.

It was only going to stave off her fatigue for a while though, however, as Hal needed her to come along to Tretch forest with him, it was enough of a quick fix to keep her up for now.

Once this was done, she could then take some rest or simply absorb Cosmic energy and be good as new again.

Arya\'s eyes cleared up just as Hal actually surveyed the pills with his eyes and not his Astral perception before he put it all into a spatial pouch he handed to Arya.

"Good work" he said and Arya bowed deeply as she received the pills.

"Let\'s go" he said soon after and went out of the room with Sassy slithering by his side and Arya a few steps behind.

...

About 30 minutes later,

Their carriage stopped at the boundary of the Forest with Hal ordering Castor to remain in place while he, Sassy, and Arya went in ahead.

Hal had a destination in mind and his path was quite direct as he journeyed to the very center of the forest.

He had to admit that when he had first thought of doing this, he had been a little naive and unrealistic about how long it would take to lure all the Beasts closer and whether or not there would be some who would be averse to his Blood\'s energy.

However, during the battle with Arya when she had been displaying her considerable mastery of Demonic and Devil spells, he realized how to streamline and make things easy.

You see, it was kind of a given that he could also cast a Devil spell and not just any spell, but one of better quality than Arya\'s. 

He could cast an original.

Spells are different from skills.

Skills are Cosmic constructs given a grade according to their energy requirements as well as their effects but they still ultimately rely on Cosmic energy.

And while not many are adept at using them, all Cultivators could by theory still use them, however, Spells were different.

Spells required specific energies to be used. They required Bloodline energy and all Bloodlines with Primeval roots such as the Primeval Devil Bloodline and the Primeval Virtue Bloodline could make use of them.

As well as a few Unique status Bloodlines.

On that note, while Melinda might not be able to use them, there were bound to be spells that required her Bloodline Energy to be activated. Probably only the most important and elderly members of her family could make use of them.

Any way,

The Devil tribe on the Dystopian continent must have been able to acquire genuine Devil and Demon Blood from which they were able to synthesize pseudo Devilish and Demonic bloodlines and through which they were able to use Devil and Demon spells.

And they then use those spells to form rituals for various purposes.

That pseudo-Bloodline was what they had bestowed to Arya and from which she had also been able to create Pseudo demons of her own like Lillian and Borus.

Hal had purchased every information regarding the synthesis from Grimoire and was only using that information to make concessions. 

Concessions which Grimoire agreed were more than plausible.

Now, when it comes to spells, they are quite easy to create and also quite easy to mess up and hence cause irreversible harm.

While there were Demon and Devil spells within Grimoire or at the very least, the theoretical knowledge to create them, their mechanics did not really differ that much from the ones that Arya knew which Hal only found out after he spent thousands of gold coins to purchase one spell.

And yet, Grimoire had told him that it was the cheapest grade of spell within its pages.

Anyway,

Arya knew a Spell that was just right for this situation so he opted to learn hers instead.

\'I can\'t believe you\'ll go for what she offers over what I offer. Just because of a little bit of gold\' Grimoire snorted.

Hal sighed,

\'You know what they say, "once bitten, twice shy"\'

Grimoire was silent after that.

But Hal could tell it was being thoughtful.

"Alright Arya, show me" he said.

Arya nodded and began to instruct him with practical application and casting to make sure he understood.

Hal found her lectures quite tedious and convoluted. It was not that he did not understand the spell because he did. It was that he felt it was far more simple than she was making it out to be.

"Do you understand?" She asked once her demonstration was complete.

In response, Hal smiled and slammed his hands together, and channel Devil energy into those palms while drafting the spell mentally.

Almost as though he were drafting a contract.

Then again, a Devil contract was also a form of Devil spell, albeit an advanced one only open to real Devils.

In seconds, the spell was complete and Hal was raising the nightmarish black pentagram into the air where it released enticing scents that immediately began to draw beasts both wild and Demonic from all corners of the forest to the center of it.

Arya gaped at the speed and ease with which he cast his first spell and not a particularly easy spell.

He was a natural.

At this point, she nearly smacked herself. Of course, he was a natural. He was an actual Devil after all.

She shouldn\'t be surprised if Spell casting was ingrained in his very being.

Meanwhile, Hal was already casting another Devil spell which was the one he had purchased from Grimoire.

The spell\'s Pentagram slammed into his chest even though his hands remained locked in a symbol and soon he began to bleed. 

Except that the blood did not flow downward as it should have due to gravity, instead, it stuck straight out of his body like a Tentacle.

Nine more tentacles joined the first and they were all brimming with Devil Energy and stabbed into the first Demonic beasts to arrive and begin to force an Evolution.