Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Chapter 416 - Escaping By An Inch.

Just as he ran as fast as his legs and body could take him out of the sight of those super strong dudes who would definitely be able to see through his invisibility,

Brian Kruger and Pietro arrived at the scene and once Pietro who had sensed the disappearance of Ergo's energy beforehand saw that he was not there, he feared the worse and frowned deeply while releasing his pressure and unleashing a terrifying area of effect attack.

The thing was, despite this, his cultivation remained hidden from their senses as the attack spread out, 

*Boom!*

The attack was impressive and had Hal been closer it would have blasted him so hard he would hardly have any strength to defend himself. Especially since he was not making use of any energy in his invisible state.

Luckily, he was already far away (never underestimate his natural speed even without the use of energy as this was a part of him that was always improved and strengthened whenever he advanced to a new cultivation stage or another Bloodline stage) and the farther the attack from the source, the weaker it was and the easier it was to evade with a well-timed leap.

The same could not be said for the guards however as not only were they close to the source of the attack, they were also not powerful enough to defend against it like Brian and Xerx, although it was far more difficult for the latter.

Also, they had not been exempted from it as Cirk had been.

"He's still here" Pietro said in a low voice that seemed close to a snarl and then, 

*Bang!*

Something sounded but they had no idea where it came from and then it sounded again, 

*Bang!*

And this time, the sound came with a visible crack in the space before them, and through that space came to struggling deformed arm holding an Ax tightly in its fist which against all odds was actually still normal.

Soon, Ergo dragged the rest of his body out of the void, and the space imploded behind him along with a force that blew away all the guards who had actually remained standing.

Brian frowned at the treatment of his guards but said nothing while Pietro could not care less about them and focused on the bloodied and deformed Ergo.

His exit from the void should have been impossible but as Roxy had been working to weaponize Void space, it was not yet completely sealed and as such, once Ergo fought against the pain of deformity while it was taking his all to retain his head as well, he began attacking the little crack he noticed and forced it open despite the pain he was feeling.

That he had done so without losing body parts even though they were deformed was quite commendable but that was where it ended as he fainted while Pietro's frown deepened before his form shimmered and...

*Boom!*

He released an explosive sound as he went at the full speed of his cultivation and covered the distance that had taken Hal minutes in barely a second but then the energy signature he had been sensing vanished suddenly and he lost his sense of direction.

He did not stay there for long though as he went to search any traces of the thief who dared harm his companion and steal something his Master wanted.

Meanwhile, Hal was inside the Harem space...

He had sensed the super-fast super strong dude getting closer and Grimoire had also alerted and said the newcomer's cultivation was impossible to sense.

He made a snap decision to hide out in the Harem space.

However, there was a reason he had not done this from the beginning and that reason was none other than the Kruger family Array.

You see, the Harem space was a dimension but it was unique in the sense that it was not enclosed in anything. It was not in a ring, a bracelet, or a pouch. It simply existed in the space around Hal.

However, it was anchored and Hal was its anchor.

He kept it grounded and tethered.

He was the key to entering it.

It was why, even though he had given his ladies permission to exit and enter the Harem space when they wished, they could only do so when they were close to him.

No spatial ring, bracelet, or pouch could enter into the dimension it contained but Hal could enter the Harem space and leave at will which was already a unique privilege.

However, the Kruger family Array was sure to force him out should it be activated.

Before he left, Hal had asked Roxy about the Array while they planned for the worst-case scenario and the Runemaster had insisted that it was incredibly powerful and intricate.

Once he revealed the true nature of the Array to him (After fishing for a compliment by emphasizing how dangerous it was to get the information despite Hal knowing the truth which was that his urge to research all things relating to teleportation was what had led to discovery) Grimoire had pointed out that should the Array be activated, it would not only make it impossible to Teleport out it in, it would also make it impossible to hide in a pocket dimension.

Funny thing was, the Array had not been created with this in mind. This was just an unplanned advantage through an endeavor to make the Array stronger by boring down on Spatial runes and it ended up being a bane to Hal's entry of the Harem space.

While the Array could not possibly force the ladies in the Harem space out, it would still force Hal, the Dimension's anchor out. 

Of course, there was a way around this which was for Hal to surpass the array. Either in Astral sense or cultivation.

However, as the Array was Rank 7, that was impossible at the moment.

Hiding out and waiting for the Array to force him out was only going to spell trouble.

After all, once back outside, he could not be invisible forever. The ability drained his energy as well.

The best plan was to use the teleportation scroll and leave here soon as possible.

Time was running out.

Outside the Harem space, Brian had summoned the Rune circle that commanded the Array and had begun its activation.

Even retrieving thousands of Blue gems to power it.

There was no half-assing this. You either power the Array completely or you don't power it at all.

He groaned at the amount he was spending but satisfied himself with what he would gain once he had the map and could finally complete this transaction.

Fortunately, Hal was in the mansion and the time-warping Array gave him time to think up a plan.

And he really needed one.

The moment he went of the Harem space, he would be sensed by Pietro and with such a terrifying speed, he truly doubted he could have time to charge the Teleportation scroll before he was snatched off of it.

That said, it would only take the Kruger patriarch 6 seconds to power the Array, and that only gave Hal 60 seconds in the mansion to come up with a plan.

The plan he came up with was simple but needed accurate calculations.

He charged up the Teleportation scroll and then opened the portal of the Harem space and dropped it on the ground.

The scroll was ready to go and should it leave before him, that was the end, but Hal was confident.

He stepped out of the Harem space and immediately, Pietro's widespread senses picked him up. Even easier now as Hal was no longer attempting invisibility.

Just as his feet touched the scroll, Pietro was suddenly reaching towards him having noticed the scroll as well, 

"You're not getting away" he snarled and was an inch away from his long ponytail but Hal's calculations had been on point and he vanished into the void right as Pietro's hand tightened around nothing but air...