Chapter 209 - Giving Up.
While San read the letter, Hal made his way to Holger Estate in a carriage. As he got closer to the Estate, he could detect with the use of Astral sense that there were a few Cosmic Pearl realm cultivators who were watching the Estate.
Clearly, San had finally deduced that the Estate purchase was not merely out of greed for territory but must be where Hal was training his Men.
An observation that was only given more credence when the Cosmic Pearl realm cultivators reported that they could not get very close to the Estate as every time they tried to, they were hit with a wave of fear.
When at first he had heard this report, San had finally being convinced that Hal and the Malevolent one were in league with each other as fear seemed to be something the Malevolent bastard wished to make his signature.
As Hal rode towards the Estate and the knowledge that the letter of declaration of war had been delivered to San Fidwud and it had been delivered by a Cosmic Pearl Realm Expert who gave it to the guard at the gate and left, he felt it was high time he ended the charade.
He snapped his fingers and the Array around the Estate faded and with it cane a complete view of what the Estate contained and it was not that much different from what could be seen before as the thousand men and women were cultivating inside the Estate.
However, there was one thing different and it was the Twenty Emissaries who were standing on the Estate fence.
The moment the Array faded and the Spies saw the Emissaries visible, they all stood and took a step back, however, the Emissaries did not give them a chance to retreat as they leaped towards them.
The Devil shroud around their body trapped the Cosmic Pearl realm experts in place so that their lives could be reaped easily with Shroud-blades.
Hal did not give it any attention as he continued into the Estate.
By the time he alighted the carriage, the Emissaries were already back and kneeling before him on one knee, the Devil shroud no longer around their form,
"Rise" Hal said as he walked past them "Dana" he called and a female Emissary caught up with him quickly before walking ahead of him to lead him to where she had placed Hector Edgar.
It was in one of the rooms in the Estate and once he was inside, she bowed and left him alone with the weakened Mayor.
Hector's face was pale and he looked close to taking his final breath.
While he only had a few months left anyway, the Siphoning Array had accelerated the process.
The truth was that it was most likely easier for Hal to simply let Hector die but he felt it would be a waste to just let Hector's powerful cultivation base go to waste, also letting San kill Hector would have allowed the Plebeian leader's plans to succeed with relatively no hitch.
Even if Hal had not realized it before, the fact that San's first aim was to get Hector out of the way showed just how threatened of the aged Mayor he was.
He might as well help the old man.
And if he succeeded, which would be more dependant on Hector himself, then seeing the look on San's face then would be quite worth it.
He rubbed his hands together and began to project runes on top of the bed Hector was lying on.
The runes came together to form a Rune Circle that began to absorb Cosmic Energy from the surroundings and fed it to Hector directly.
It took a few minutes but Hector's pale face began to gain a healthy glow and his Cosmic Pearl that seemed dried up, which Hal had been studying with Astral sense, began to fill up with Cosmic Energy again.
Hal turned towards the Door as he felt the process was going to take long when Hector stirred on the bed and Hal turned to see him open his eyes,
"Hal... Payne" Hector croaked.
"That was fast" Hal said.
"Sit... With... Me" Hector said.
Hal drew a chair to the side of the bed while he cautioned,
"You shouldn't strain yourself"
Hector chuckled,
"You are trying to save me... Why?"
Hal sighed,
"Who knows? Maybe I'm feeling sympathetic"
Hector eyed him as though he did not believe it but then he seemed to simply give up and take another deep breath.
There was something Hal noticed as he watched Hector. Now that the Mayor was awake, he should be working to absorb cosmic energy even more and once his body was strong enough, Hal would give him a Cultivation technique from Grimoire and he would then attempt to advance to the Cosmic Aurora realm which was his only hope at avoiding death.
And even if he could not advance to the next realm, at least he would have the strength to fight back against San and the Plebeians before he reached the end of his lifespan.
However, Hector did not attempt to absorb Cosmic Energy and if Hal did not know better, he would have thought,
"You're giving up" Hal said.
Hector looked at Hal as though he was offended,
"Giving up? That's harsh. I'm not giving up. I'm accepting the flow of things. I am accepting my fate. And after a long journey which is life, I believe I deserve to rest"
After which he turned away and looked towards the ceiling.
Hal cocked his head to the side,
"Bullshit!" He yelled.
Hector turned to face him again,
"How so?"
Hal looked indignant,
"You talk as though death is so homely and welcoming and a nice place to be after this 'Long journey which is life'. That's Bullshit because it's not. I've been to Hell and whatever you think it is, it's not"
'You haven't been to hell' Grimoire told him.
'That bridge was a close second' Hal retorted. 'A place where you just float and is called a 'Bridge to the Nether realm' can not possibly be leading to somewhere happy.'
Hector smiled,
"Maybe that's true. Even then, I would still like to see it for myself. My only worry is my Family and I feel like I can entrust that to you"
Now Hal looked shocked,
"Excuse me what?"
Hector grabbed Hal's hand,
"Consider this my dying wish. Please protect my family and help them survive this civil war"
Hal managed to pull his hand from Hector's death grip which was ironic as the old Man gave up the ghost soon after.
'Well, that's just great. Saddle me up with a promise and then die the next moment' Hal was disgruntled.
'Be a little sensitive. The man just died' Grimoire said.
'So? Does that give him a free pass and the right to be an Ass?' Hal retorted and stood up to cause the rune circle around Hector to fade.
As he watched Hector's lifeless body, he had to admit that he was upset. He hated the fact that his attempt to save Hector was futile.
Then again, he had already said that the success was completely dependant on Hector...
...and there was not much he could do for someone who had given up on life.
...
That Evening,
Hector's body was delivered to Edgar castle and funeral rites were performed.
The Ceremony was attended by those who had ties to the Edgar family.
Hal stood atop a tall building and looked down at the proceedings with Melinda by his side.
"Does his death affect you?" She asked.
Hal smiled at her,
"Why would it? You are not suggesting I care what happens to Hector are you?
I mean, he was probably the only decent man among the Great family heads but that also made him the dumbest.
He could have made use of his superior cultivation base to put down the others but he practically lay down and let them all walk over him.
He is the kind of person I feel does not deserve to have power.
So why would I care?"
Melinda smiled lightly and grabbed his arm,
"Because you tried to save him and he died."
Hal shrugged,
"Maybe"
They watched the proceedings a while longer. Alexander's tear-streamed face was clear even from the distance.
"So will you do it?" Melinda asked and Hal knew she was referring to Hector's request.
He shrugged,
"Might as well. I was going to focus my attention on the Plebeians anyway. Keeping the Edgars safe will simply be a result"