Hal leaped out of the way in an attempt to escape the swing of holy light that chased after him. Further confirmation (to his dismay) of how out of his league this opponent was.

*BEAMMMM!!!*

*BOOOOOOM!!!*

A beam of said holy light hit the spot he had just leaped away from. Annihilating the Rosebushes that beautified the courtyard.

Hal had to admit that the sight brought a frown to his face.

Melinda loved those bushes.

Further confirmation that she was not in control of her body, he was sure she would never destroy (according to her) what makes the mansion feel homely.

But of course, this was of no consequence, he knew all this already, any further confirmation did not help or worsen the situation.

The situation would simply remain the same.

And in this case, the same was a fancy word for trouble.

A barrel roll to escape debris brought him face to face with those dreadful Golden eyes that now seemed mildly amused.

"I know you are just stalling. But it does not matter. The fact that I've played along should be proof enough of my confidence to defeat any reinforcement you might have"

She said with a smirk and right on cue, Castor and the other guards in the Mansion finally rounded themselves up and made their way to the scene.

As soon as Hal sensed them, he communicates with them telepathically to stay away.

They were not a match for her anyway.

"Good Decision" 'Melinda' sneered, obviously able to sense their retreat, while she swung the sword at him, Hal was able to stop it's movement while the two patches of fog coiled around him in preparation of another assault.

'Myra, you seem to have recognized something, mind telling me what it is'

Hal called to Myra in his soul world.

'The energy signature seems similar to that of the Primeval Virtue Queen. The Devil queen's nemesis. But it can't be here'

Myra shook her head in denial while she turned to Tiberius with wide eyes in hope that he would buttress this hope of hers and help her cling to her sanity.

After all, there was no one else who could be more dangerous to a Devil than the Holy maiden.

Tiberius however looked back at her with a grave expression before he screamed at Hal,

"What is glorious Hell do you think You are DOING!"

The voice boomed in Hal's soul world and Hal winced at the intensity but Tiberius was not done,

"You are playing with your life. She's still 'playing' with you, and you're playing along like a fool. Attack her if you want to survive. Whether or not it's just a sliver of her will, it does not change the fact that she is dangerous enough to kill you.

"Strike her down right now. Without a body, the Will will disperse" Tiberius informed him but as he had heard almost the same thing from Grimoire Hal was about to ignore it but he made one Inquiry before he did so,

"What about Melinda?" He asked while trying to stop the Armament's blade from making contact by reinforcing his defense with shields of Astral Energy.

Tiberius snorted "Oh come off it, there are so many other women in the Cosmic realm. You are not seriously planning to die for the one you just met merely two weeks ago?"

"So you will have me kill her?"

Hal asked and froze. The lapse was enough for his opponent to connect a kick to his chest and slam him into the mansion fence...

*Crack!*

-Puchi-

...cracking it. He tried to hold back a blood spurt but ultimately the injuries were getting too grave.

But of course, Hal had a plan. It was just taking a little long for implementation.

"YES! Kill her! Don't you see, you're a Devil. Using anyone for the pursuit of ultimate power is a trait you must have. This bitch who's attacking you in your lover's body is incredibly vindictive. If she could put her will inside your lover's body then they have a connection.

" This is just you being suicidal. Kill her!"

Hal went silent while he extricated himself from the wall and fell to his knees as he bled from every opening on his head. Eyes, nostrils, ears, and mouth.

The Holy light she kept attacking him with was doing more than just blasting him. It snuck into his very being to rip him from the inside.

*Cough* *Cough*

"Is this what you think as well?" He asked Myra

Myra sighed "You should always do all you can to succeed. Everyone around you should be a stepping stone when necessary. Having a good time is fine but allowing these ladies who most likely have no chance at Godhood to become your weakness is... Insane"

Another silence...

The truth was that Hal knew that if he should assume his lesser Devil form, he could have a chance to injure and incapacitate Melinda's body enough to claim victory, However...

"Get up! Get up!" 'Melinda' Yelled "It's no fun when you're not even defending"

"Haha"

The laughter caught Grimoire, Myra, Tiberius, and even the Primeval will that had possessed Melinda off guard, but it did not stop,

Instead, it boomed louder.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA"

To Grimoire and the two demons he said,

"Good, very good. Now all of you listen to me. When it comes to my women, they are no body's stepping stone. To achieve my agendas I shall never hurt them!"

Tiberius frowned but said nothing.

Myra bowed her head and stayed quiet as well.

Hal took a deep breath and stood shakily to his feet and this time directed his words at his opponent,

"As for you. I'm sure you put My Baby girl in a trance. How dare you!"

"What if I did? If she knew what you truly were and what you truly represent, she'll naturally agree"

She began her slow confident pace towards Hal with a casual hold on her weapon. She had this won, there was no need to rush it.

There was nothing she detested more than Devils and Demons, She never thought to meet one here and not just anyone, the Devil's spawn himself.

She had heard the rumors but believed them to be just that. Rumors.

"I've done my fair share of possessions," Hal said with a smile

'Melinda' raised her eyebrows and Hal sighed deeply with false melancholy,

"Fine, you caught me, I've only done it once" He admitted but soon continued,

"But it was more than enough to know that it's next to impossible to take possession of all sensory nerves. And as such there are always touches that escape your senses. Certain light touches"

Hal said with a wide smile that despite his bloodied face remained captivating as he hobbled over to his opponent who seemed to have finally caught on...

"You... What did you do?" She asked with a slight stammer.

"Oh, I just projected some Runes on Melinda's body," He said and...

*Snap!*

...snapped his fingers as about Twenty Runes all at the 3rd rank lit up on her body. All runes were the same (Bind) and trapped her in place.

"Impossible!" She screeched

"And why is that?" Hal asked with his wide smile ever-present.

"I could not have missed this Astral Energy clinging to me, whether it's glowing or not. The rank is much too high for me to MISS!"

At the end of her speech, she was slightly hysterical.

"Well, I'm sorry but you missed it. Now stay still so I can wake my baby girl" Hal said as he finally arrived in front of her.

The truth was that it was not her fault that she missed it. Hal had only projected Rank one runes on her but he kept the connection between himself and the runes perfectly active so that he could keep feeding the runes Astral Energy to bring them to the 3rd rank.

A perfect stealth operation.

'See Grimoire? Not every Event requires brawn'

'That was risky' was Grimoire's comment

'I would rather take the risk than satisfy those vultures in my soul world and kill her'

'It won't hold her for long, she might free herself before you can jolt Melinda's consciousness' Grimoire continued

'You just can't help but ruin a good gloating moment can you, you Realist fuck. Be optimistic for once, it's good for you'

'Well done, you did good" Grimoire could not help but comment after a brief silence

'Of course, I did well. I"m the best remember' Hal said with a smirk while Gromoire ignored the narcissistic comment.

On the outside, Hal placed his hands lightly on Melinda's temples as he drove his Astral sense into her mind and did the one thing he had not dared to do when she was unconscious for fear of her safety.

He woke her from her dreamlike trance.