"Allen, I see you as an intelligent and wise fellow. But it would be sheer foolishness to touch a member of the Bruce family. No one harms my sons and gets away with it." Jeffery threatened, the sarcasm in his voice clear and unhidden as he said the first sentence.
Clinton could feel in the increase in the man's aura but yet he didn't flinch, he already knew Jeffery was powerful and had never expected him to take the news lightly. He had come prepared for anything that happened and he wasn't planning on leaving without what he came for.
He was already confident of the fact that Carlos would succeed in capturing the boy. All that was left was for Jeffery to hand over the book to them, and if he wasn't willing to do so in a peaceful manner, then he would have to take it by Force. Defeating Jeffery would definitely put him above Manuel in ranking, and he would have the book all to himself since he was the person that acquired it in the first place.
He was second in command after Manuel, and even though his position brought him all the respect and resources he might ever need, he wasn't comfortable being number two.
He had been second in command ever since the tenure of Jeremiah Hardwood. He had served under Hardwood, and had carried out his work judiciously without complaints. But before Hardwood passed away, he had passed power down to Manuel.
Clinton was sure Manuel was stronger because he had made a contract with the strongest prince of hell, but that wasn't his issue. His problem was that even as second in command he wasn't even considered for the position of leader.
He had carried out many successful missions, and a whole lot of sacrifices. But no matter what he did, Manuel still remained on top. He envied the man so much that leviathan had sought after him and had willingly become his familiar. That was how envious and desperate he was for the number one seat, and he would go to any length to get what he desired.
Jeffery tilted his neck sideways, trying to make out what the mocking smile on the Clinton's face was for. Could he be laughing at his threats or was something else amusing him? Jeffery didn't really care, he had made his point. And if this man decides to defile his words and touch any of his son's including Alexander, he would be coming for the whole Infernal Judgement faction.
Jeffery didn't care if he was going to die, any harm to his son's will mean the end of half of the Infernal Judgement. Even if he was to die, he would die knowing that he took more from them than they did him.
He would make sure that more than half of them were slaughtered and doing so would weaken them making them vulnerable for other factions to finish off.
"Why don't we take this conversation to your place so you can hand over the book" Clinton suggested.
Jeffery remained still, it seemed that this man hadn't heard his words, or had chosen to remain adamant. He had suddenly lost the zeal to use this man as his guinea pig, what he wanted now was to beat sense into the man and send him back to the Infernal Judgement to give them his warning.
"Allen, I advice you return to the council of elders and inform them to keep their hands off anything that concerns my sons. If as much as a single strand of hair goes missing from their head, then you will pay with your own head" Jeffery finalized and turned away to leave, but got restrained by the desperate Clinton.
"What is this Allen?" Jeffery questioned. His voice now a bit condescending and his tone, one that depicted rage. Clinton had crossed the lines by making the first move against him. He had planned on sparing him just for the sake of the information he had relayed to him. He wanted to make sure the man would still be able to speak when he reached the elders, but it seemed Clinton was desperate to get a beating.
Jeffery turned around while still trying to break free from the chains that bound him. The smile on Clinton's face seemed to have gotten even brighter, and broader and it angered him. It seemed Clinton was pretty confident in his own skills, and had failed to understand the depth of power he wielded at the moment.
Straining himself a bit further, Jeffery finally broke free from the chains, and without even saying a word had moved their location from the alleyway into a more secluded area. A valley to be precise.
"Wouldn't it be more advantageous for you in the forest of death?" Clinton questioned mockingly.
Jeffery didn't speak much, an energy blast out of the blue was enough to tell the man that he was already tired of hearing his voice. He slipped out a dagger from his pocket and carved himself. Pain was nothing to him now, his healing capabilities were now on another level even though it took a little more mana.
He watched Clinton tumble and rise, before sending another blast at the recuperating man who cancelled out his attack without a word. Jeffery was impressed, he hadn't expected Clinton to be able to keep up with the attack, but his expectations had been proven wrong.
Clinton stood properly and prepared to make his own attack. The first attack had taken him unaware and he knew why. Jeffery was suppressing the energy and presence of his attacks making them almost undetectable. And with the speed they travelled, it was almost impossible to dodge or block at the last minute. He wasn't surprised, he had never for once expected Jeffery Bruce to be an easy cake, the man was living up to his expectations and he was thrilled about it.
He returned an attack but he noticed something was off.
"Impossible" Clinton gasped, he was loosing power and mana with every attack he threw at Jeffery, and this was something that never happened.
As an Infernal Judgement, he has never really learnt how to manage his mana since it was considered infinite. They had only one weakness when it came to mana related issues, and only the clan elders knew of this weakness.
He was doing his best to regulate his mana, at the rate things were going, he couldn't possibly summon leviathan. Sharing his mana with the Demon in his current condition was suicidal, and wouldn't get him far or even get him close to victory. He was at serious disadvantage here and he was losing terribly. What was going on?
'could it be? No it's impossible, no one knows but the elders' Clinton assured himself inwardly while desperately trying to figure out why he was loosing mana and also a way to stop it.
Jeffery laughed at the man. He had also lost a very large amount of mana just by summoning them to this place. He was fighting with his emergency reserves, and that was why he hadn't pulled out any dangerous or powerful attacks yet.
He never imagined that such a place existed. He had read about it in the Maledictio Caelum et Infernium, and the place had piqued his curiosity. A place where the Infernal Judgements were as good as a blood sorcerer when it came to mana. A place where hell had no power over, Valley of the undead.