Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Let us backtrack a tad bit to the point when Melinda first entered the monument and found that the only member of Hal's party that was with her in the hall was Emily.

The two shared a look before glancing around at the other Haronians who were arriving and the fact that they all had three eyes of the Haron Imperial family was worth nothing.

The two were not exactly worried... it was just that they both would have preferred to be with those that they could trust and could gladly fight alongside.

That said, they decided to focus on the plus side which was that, at the very least, they had each other.

"Been what- A year?- Since we last saw each other?" Melinda said to Emily with a mild smile and Emily nodded,

"Yeah, it's been about that long... I've been treated to bits and bits of your accomplishments. You've been doing well for yourself," she said.

"Well, I try," Melinda said with as much modesty as she had which was quite a fair bit.

Among the Harons present was the Eldest Prince of the Haron Empire, Creten Haron and while he had a serious expression on his face, it did not stop him from gazing at Melinda.

The gaze was not exactly hidden and was actually quite brazen and without any attempt at hiding it... That said, it was quite mild and not in any way, lascivious.

If anything, he seemed to only have admiration in his eyes.

Creten had been present during the Royal Academy entrance exam not only as a member of the Imperial family who many believed would eventually be named the crown Prince but also as an alumnus of the Academy.

In regards to the best of the Imperial family prodigies, the title was between Creten and his sister Tanya.

Anyway, if there was anyone that Creten considered to be a break-out star during the entrance exams, it was Melinda who had displayed prowess that surprised the spectators.

Creten had decided back then, while not yet doing anything to pursue it, that Melinda might just be right as his Empress once he was Emperor.

The decision made by Creten was not entirely because of Melinda's looks, which he could clearly view as incredible and quite hard to beat, but because he believed her to be more than fit for the role.

Yes, he was aware by now that Melinda was in a relationship with the Doxon boy, but honestly, how much of a contest could it possibly be if and when he made his intentions known...

After all, it would be a choice between a future Emperor and a Future Duke (Supposing Hal did decide to take over from his mother that is).

That was the highest height that Hal could ever hope to achieve...

No one, besides a Haron could rule over the Human continent which was made even more evident by the by hundreds of thousands of years that Harons have reigned supreme over the continent.

Creten was quite confident of his bloodline's superiority and he was quite confident that, if he wanted Melinda, he could have her.

H watched Melinda converse with the Antonov beauty that was Emily for a good while before he took a step forward to officially introduce himself,

"Melinda Dane, I am Creten Haron," Creten said to Melinda while stretching his hand towards her to request hers.

Melinda placed her hand in his and Creten kissed it quite like a perfect gentleman.

Did Melinda know who he was... Yes, more or less.

She had not exactly met a lot of Imperials but she could very well spot the authority and luxuriousness that was evident in Creten's movement and behavior while also being practically woven into his robes.

"Hello," she told Creten just as one of the Harons a few steps away took one step forward to say,

"Prince Creten is the first son of the Emperor" 

That introduction was a little on the nose and seemed to have been a pointed effort at elevating the Prince's status in Melinda's eyes but it was not really out of the ordinary.

It was more or less common for Imperials to have people introduce them... Elevating an Imperial Prince's status was quite a big deal and a necessary big deal.

That said, Melinda did not exactly have a response to the grand introduction and just said,

"Um, Okay" as she spoke, she pulled her hand back a bit to indicate to the Prince that he had held on long enough and Creten let her hand go almost immediately.

While Creten still looked as confident as ever, he still felt that what just happened had been a bit embarrassing.

He was the first Prince of the Haron continent and even if that name alone was not enough to sell his importance, he was also a Cosmic Semi-Saint who had already comprehended an Elemental Ordinance and expected Melinda to have made a bigger deal about him than she did.

No matter though, this was only their first interaction... He had hope that things would go better henceforth.

Melinda had not actually meant to be cold, she just did not consider it a big deal that she was meeting a Prince.

If it was about the hype of meeting a member of the Imperial family, then she had spent most of the past year in the presence of the Empress who was also her tutor so there was really nothing so big about meeting a Prince... Are least not for her.

And if it was about the hype that it was actually him, Creten Haron, the dashing first Prince of the Emperor, then Melinda had long been desensitized from the so-called good looks of other men.

How could she be with Hal for as long and for as many times (in the sexual sense) as she had been and they swoon because of a pair of green eyes and a mild and dashing smile masking a calculative mind?

Creten Haron was handsome, of that there was no doubt... He had good looks... 

He was no Hal though and unfair as it might be to compare any other man's looks to that of Hal's- that any woman would unabashedly proclaim had surpassed perfection-, it was impossible not to do.

Anyway, looks aside, Melinda had no real idea what Creten was after following his introduction and was not so self-involved to automatically believe he was interested in her... That said, she still did not feel like he had anything to offer her that Hal had not already given and would not still give in surplus.

Creten turned his eyes to Emily to introduce himself to her as well and the Antonov mother of two had to try hard not to chuckle at what she could see was going on right now to accept the Prince's introduction.

The Prince had only just kissed the back of her hand in another gentlemanly display when the Dystopians drafted for this hall arrived.

As they arrived and instantly turned their faces of animosity on all Haronians present, one of the Dyatopians, a tall lady with black hair and eyes, looked over at Melinda and smiled widely as she said, 

"Well, Lookey here, we meet again..."

Melinda's eyes widened a bit before she said,

"Reyna, back for a definitive rematch?"

At the forefront of the bunch of Dystopiana that had arrived in the hall was Reyna Gord who Melinda remembered fighting against alongside Hal during the war at Gelread Valley more than a year ago.

Beide Reyna was a young man only a few inches taller than her and he had similar features that made it clear that he was a Gord as well and had dragon blood.

In fact, the majority of those who had arrived in the hall were Gords.

"You know them?" the Gord-looking man asked while he eyed Melinda and the gathering of Haronians with an animosity that looked to go past simple love for battle.

"Not all of them, I only know her," Reyna said while indicating Melinda,

"I fought her during the war. I won" Reyna added.

The Gord man had just made an 'O' shape with his mouth while nodding in understanding when Melinda chuckled and shook her head,

"You didn't win... That woman- I forgot her name- took you away. No one will be taking you away this time though" Melinda said with a small cock of her head to the side as she summoned her Cosmic Armament.

Creten was surprised at how cavalier Melinda was to the point where she was actually having a conversation and even cracking inside jokes with a Dystopian... She was laughing with the Enemy!

Creten's blood boiled and while he continued looking calm, the anger indoctrinated within him against the Dystopians who were a threat to the Haron Empire arose within him...

He stepped in front of Melinda as though to interrupt her Conversation with the Dystopian woman called Reyna and summoned his cosmic Armament with his attention on the Gord man beside Reyna,

"Prepare yourselves for death, you Dystopian bastards," Creten said with a serious tone and a calm voice and maybe it would have been seen as authoritative but Melinda placed her hand on his side a second later to push him aside before saying in a clearly annoyed tone of voice,

"Don't stand in front of me! Who the fuck do you think you are?!"