Chapter 573 - A Thing Of Beauty...
***
Of the three groups formed by the tomb's entrance Separation tactics, the group of Karmen, Olivia and Harold had the smoothest entry.
First off, their obstacle had not made a move as fast as the others and thus gave Karmen enough time to put the fear of the Devil into Harold's heart.
Like his second, Jared, Harold was ready to put down the ladies due to their lower cultivation as well as the fact that he was not familiar with them and had only come along to offer Andrei support and useful backup.
However, before he could get the word out, Karmen's eyes became intense and while there was no color change, she exuded the blood-curdling fear effect that had Harold shivering in seconds.
Harold would have probably been capable of shaking off the feeling but had not only had been blindsided which allowed the fear to sink even faster and deeper into his psyche, but Karmen was also not the only one exuding Fiendish fear...
... Olivia was following her Commander's lead and together they had Harold putty in their hands, primed and ready for the planting of suggestions.
Fiends, by nature, are diabolical beings whose acts are more violence and brute force driven but when they need or want to, are quite capable of ensnaring their prey.
Of course, their ensnaring methods were more of the intimidating kind as opposed to the seductive kind Lust demons are capable of.
Anyway,
With Olivia offering support, Karmen began,
"Let's get a few things straight... I AM in charge... Not you. When I say look away, you will look away... You will act absolutely clueless to any of I or Olivia's antics... You will keep your opinions to yourself"
Harold nodded,
"Absolutely"
There was no subservient look in his eyes.
He had not been brainwashed... Neither was he completely at Karmen's mercy to only do her bidding.
He was just made to think, after getting his mind muddled with fear, that all that Karmen said was true.
This was also not permanent and was bound to wear off eventually as it was nowhere on par with Hal's contracting.
In Paradise, suggestions, very potent suggestions, were usually the go-to method for Demons and Devils to have someone do your bidding for a limited amount of time rather than contracts which, when not used as punishment, was a much too important a resource to toss out everywhere.
With powerful Demons and Devils being capable of renewing and strengthening their suggestions according to their whims, this was even more true.
Once Harold had successfully understood the status quo, neither Karmen nor Olivia needed to hide their trump cards.
Letting loose the fury of their fiendish selves on the obstacles the tomb sought to put before them.
As per the suggestion, Harold acted clueless to their antics which was the overwhelming Demonic presence they were exuding but could not help but appreciate the cohesion the two ladies showed as they worked as one to clear the obstacles.
Taking a more active part than even Harold whose fighting spirit never wavered as he fought as he normally would...
***
-The Group of Rita, Lillian, and Jared-
Jared felt he was on to something with his question but neither Rita nor Lillian actually cared about his question.
So what if the use of the Dome was suspicious?
It had done what it was supposed to do and that was all they cared about.
Rather than answer Jared's (in their opinion) stupid and intrusive question, they might as well continue their exploration of the tomb... An exploration that had not even really begun yet.
However, while the two ladies ignored and continued walking, Jared kept making comments that were clearly meant to make him seem intuitive and knowing but only came across as stupid.
Eventually, Rita turned back and smiled a dangerous smile as she placed her hand on Jared's shoulder, not only swarming him with mind-numbing pheromones but also heating his body slightly with lust flames.
"Jared, Let it go" she said.
Jared pulled away from her and shook his head.
He quickly inspected his body with his senses and found nothing out of place... Other than the increase in his inner temperature and a rousing attraction to Rita.
This thing was, his attraction for her was one intricately tied with a sense of reverence and fear.
Like he was supposed to worship the very ground she walked on and would be happy as long as her eyes were on him.
It was a scary feeling that Jared really hoped he had pushed away from his mind.
He had considered her beautiful before now just like he considered every single one of the ladies Hal had come along with to be attractive and more than worth a second look...
... but he had not really observed her or any of the others all that much since his mind was focused on why he had been brought along as well as returning to Andrei.
A dual cultivator he might be but a horny idiot with no sense of priority, he was not.
That said, he did indeed drop the matter of Lillian and Rita's secrecy dome.
Why?
Well, it just did not feel all that important in hindsight.
His main thoughts shifted to how he could reunite with Harold and Master Andrei as well as remaining alert for all traps that would definitely target tomb raiders such as themselves.
His senses were being repelled and he couldn't sense more than a few meters ahead but he did not need to sense as he, Lillian, and Rita were now in front of thick metallic doors with runes etched on them.
They were not the only ones here either... Other raiders were here as well.
Raiders whose excited murmurs had long exposed their presence.
The news of the tomb's presence in the Doxon Duchy had only really become widespread three days before.
Just one day before Hal arrived at the Doxon Duchy and it had been more than enough for all curious as interested people to make the way down here.
Taking a day or for some, even two to come here fully prepared to take the tomb on and reap all it had to offer.
Only Semi-saints and below were really eager to explore the tomb as past that cultivation, there was not much to gain.
At least that was what they thought.
The raiders present all faced the door with excited expressions.
Surely, such security must be hiding a lot of riches within it.
Or even better, cultivation-important resources.
They had banded together in an alliance to get through the doors through a combined effort and only then decide how they were to split the loot.
When they decided to make a move though, the tomb prepared its retaliation which was heralded by the trembling of the tomb floor and the appearance of a teleportation circle right in front of the double doors.
***
Meanwhile,
At the sound of the familiar laughter, Hal walked with quick steps that Emily and Andrei were quick to follow.
After a partial bend in the hallway, it led out to thick metallic double doors by the side of which there was a broken puppet whose chest had been ripped open as though someone had ripped something out of it.
There were about Ten others in front of the door who eyed a battling pair.
A man whose upper torso was naked and exposed his bulky physique that rippled as he wielded his large ax Artifact was battling a lady whose large chest was covered by a chest piece Cosmic armament that extended to large claws coming out of her gauntlets.
She was none other than Lucile whose graceful movements were still a thing of beauty to Hal's eyes.
(Hal met Lucile in Black Lagoon. She is the owner of the Paladin Trade union in which Hal has a claim)
Hal smiled to himself as he watched the shirtless and ripped man attempt to hit Lucile who never stayed in one place long enough to be hit.
Speaking of the man, Hal realized now, why he thought he had recognized him as he was the one he had seen in the Kruger Estate during his mission to steal a map for Princess Tanya.
This man had been in the same company with Cirk and the Seni saint that Hal only barely escaped.
This was the man Hal had trapped in the Closed space back then.
He did a quick look around for Cirk who he expected to find here and sure enough, there he was...
... Holding his sword Cosmic Armament and looking to be ready to join and offer support whenever he was needed.
Although considering his weaker cultivation, Hal doubted there was much Cirk could offer.
He could not help but sneer... He still very much wanted to kill the Dane scum after all.
Cirk eventually looked over the newcomers as well and when he saw Hal, it will be an understatement to say he was unhappy.
In fact, he was quite afraid.
And how could he not be?
Hal had once instilled fear in him just by talking and staring at him and while he believed himself much more capable now, thanks to the people he was now moving with, somewhere in his mind, he was still afraid of that blue-eyed bastard.
Anyway,
In frustration, The shirtless man struck at Lucile with a Cosmic Aurora that Lucile effortlessly intercepted with a smile as her opponent yelled,
"Damned woman, Give me that key!"