Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Fenrir's eyes widened as the rune shield spun towards him and the action was mostly born out of his surprise that Hal still had enough to pull that off.

With commendable grace, he managed to evade the shield just so it could slam against the wall and dissipate.

Then he grinned in Hal's direction and ducked to slam his palms against the ground which Hal took as him activating his laid down traps.

And sure enough...

From the point his hands touched the ground, Green astral energy flowed to form a circle around both him and Hal.

This explained the grin. Fenrir had been ecstatic that he would not need to herd Hal into the trap as Hal was already inside the trap.

Seeing how wide the circle's range was, Hal had to admit he was actually impressed but also knew it was far from over.

After the appearance of the circle came that of numerous runes that swam around within the circle and especially where Hal was standing.

When he made to step back, he found that he could not as the circle also served as a boundary line for a semi-transparent rune dome.

Once again, he was impressed.

And so apparently was the Sheik and his guests who nodded appreciatively at the display as Fenrir put on a gloating expression, 

"I got this idea from your little show by the way" he said to Hal as the runes came alive and formed different large weapons that locked into Hal in a second.

'Oh, this has to be a joke' Hal groaned in annoyance.

'Look at it this way, if you slip up, you won't need to throw the match' Grimoire said with a nasty smile.

Although Grimoire was not exactly being supportive, it was actually right as this was no longer a situation where Hal could afford to be cavalier.

It would appear that this 'born for the corporate life' opponent of his was not averse to killing him or at the very least incapacitating him badly to earn the Sheik's favor.

And while Hal had indeed gained the Sheik's approval and would most likely have the fight called off once things looked to be getting too far, he doubted he would be able to do it in time before he got skewered.

The fact that he could still see the young Sheik and his advisor smiling down into the combat grounds only gave this thought more credence.

With the deadly-looking weapons pointed at him, Hal began to do all he could to defend himself without involving cosmic energy which would get him disqualified in which case Fenrir would win by default...

But wait, what if that was the answer...

'Hey Grimmy, what if there was a way to punish this idiot for even entertaining the idea of defeating me?'

Grimoire sighed, 

'We were so close. You were about to do a selfless deed and now you are entertaining the thought to throw it all away." The artifact said.

Hal rolled his eyes mentally,

'First off, it was not a selfless act as I was not really sacrificing anything. A young man losing to a more experienced fellow just shows that talent and youth are not everything.

And second, I am still going to help him cause technically he's still going to win since I just want to make hurt him.

And third, which is just a point I decided to add, you will definitely not like it if I start to perform random selfless acts of good deeds and quite frankly, rather than do 'good deeds', I'll just kill myself.'

Grimoire sighed even more heavily,

'True, True, True and finally disturbing but true. That third point was a sort of two in one'

Hal began to project multiple shielding runes that were well up to the task of holding back the projectiles...

*Bang*

... and once they made contact, they destroyed each other and all that was left was flakes of Astral energy as well as the cloud of dust that had been unearthed by the colliding astral attacks.

Fenrir's grin, If possible, grew even wider as he planned to put an end to all this when his hair suddenly stood on end as he felt something moving towards him at an incredible speed.

The attack contained two distinct energies one of which was undoubtedly cosmic energy while the other was... Evil?

There was no time to be precise about what it was as he unleashed his late-stage Cosmic phenomenon realm cultivation and quickly condensed a Cosmic attack of his own and tossed it at the attack from Hal.

*Booommm!*

His cosmic attack canceled out Hal's with an explosive sound but it did nothing to the other energy which looked no more than a thin thread but a thread that was so versatile, it did not attack with a frontal assault.

But in a wily fashion that even if he could damage or cancel it out, Fenrir could not get a good enough hit.

However when that thread-like attack hit, it was with a force that far surpassed any cosmic attack he had ever felt, 

*Smack!*

It hit him right in the face and in the process, Fenrir felt immense fear that caused him to reevaluate the young man before him but the attack was not done and...

*Smack* *Smack* *Smack* *Smack* 

... only after four more consecutive hits did it dissipate.

At which point the Sheik and his advisor, Gavin were on their feet as the Sheik called out, 

"That is enough. I might not be well versed in the ways of Runemastering but I still believe I am knowledgeable enough to know this is a violation of the rules.

Master Fenrir wins this duel!" He announced.

Hal shrugged with a -if you say so- expression before he bowed slightly and everyone turned towards Master Fenrir who looked like he was close to a mental breakdown and looked nothing like a winner.

While he only received five hits from Hal's Devil attack, it looked like a thorough thrashing from the look on his face.

Not to mention that he was wide-eyed as he faced Hal and wondered what the hell he was just smacked around with.

It was a vicious attack though.

The spectators were puzzled as well. 

Hal had kept the attach a mere thread so he could keep its devilish effects between him and Fenrir, such that those watching had no idea what the attack was.

'Think you overdid it a bit?' Grimoire asked.

'Nah, this is just right. If the Sheik still does not want him then that is not on me' Hal said with a shrug even though he knew that in that scenario it would still have been his fault.

He raised his head, 

"My lord, I got lost in the moment and in my bid to defeat my opponent, I flout the rules. I hope you do not rescind my invitation to the auction for this little mistake of mine." He said with a deep sigh worthy of someone who regretted his actions.

'Here we go again with the bulshit' Grimoire said with the mental appropriation of an eye roll.

'Shh, I'm trying to sell it' Hal cautioned just as the Shiek chuckled and shook his head.

"Of course not. We all make mistakes. We are all slaves to our bodies. I will not hold that against you.

In fact, before the auction tomorrow, I will be holding a gathering at the residence and all those who visited the lagoon for the auction will be present.

I would like you, Master Hal to be present as well" 

Hal took a chance and decided to be bold, 

"What about today, was that not a party?" He asked with barely a glance at Lucile by the Sheik's side who caught his glance and rolled her eyes at him before turning away.

"No, it was more of a private gathering. I will see you tonight. And Master Fenrir, let us talk. When you can... stand upright again of course" The Sheik said as he led the way out of the arena.

'What are the chances that by private gathering, he means 'party with Lucile'?' he asked with a mild chuckle.

'Oh gee Hal, if it's not one hundred percent then I don't know what is' Grimoire said before adding, 

'Dude is completely smitten'

Hal sighed,

'As am I Grimmy. As am I"