Sometime later…

Seventeen deaths.

Only seventeen people had died in three days. The number seemed strangely low given what Halo had seen before, multiple attacks with heavy casualties, including that one afternoon where fifty had been slain.

But as it turned out, this was perfectly normal. The Chaos Eaters could go days without killing anyone, then suddenly slay an unusual number in a short period.

Even so, Shadow of Death had his plate full to dwell much on those petty kills.

Ever since he'd encountered the humanoid Chaos Eaters, he'd realized his mental defenses weren't strong enough to withstand them at their current stage of evolution.

He'd condensed Fade's six brutal lessons into a more manageable routine. Less effective, certainly, but it provided benefits without the near-suicidal repetition the original demanded.

But beyond that, the day finally came for him to get himself in the open.

Aeliana's death was supposed to force a reaction from whoever controlled her. That was the gambit. But if she'd truly been nothing more than a disposable pawn, they'd probably have had someone ready to step into her role from the beginning.

The sun beat down with unusual intensity.

Halo left Boss's shop, this time walking the streets of StoneHaven openly, visibly. His destination was the tavern and the bartender who ran it.

Both Iris and Halo had registered the bartender's suspicious nature. Though they'd never discussed how to handle her, Halo had formulated his own approach.

Experience as an assassin had taught him the universal truth about masters, pride was everything. He remembered his last assignment before he died.

A rival organization had hit one of their bases, killed everyone, posed the bodies mockingly, and sent photos to Halo's boss as an insult.

This stung his best friend like a bee.

Four of them went for payback. Himself, his boss, and two women whose skills were second only to his own. With that lineup, it should have been effortless, a simple hit.

And everything went perfectly until he couldn't hold back a sneeze and inhaled a lungful of poison gas.

Even though his best friend had put him down before the poison could finish him, the mission itself provided the blueprint he needed. He understood now how to force a response.

After eliminating Aeliana and five of their people, he knew the bartender would take his presence as an insult. Walking into her bar, she sat down as if nothing had happened. If she truly held power, she couldn't tolerate that kind of disrespect.

Hence, the bartender's boobs weren't something to miss.

The tavern was packed compared to when Halo first came. Those occupying the space were far more battle-hardened than the usual useless drunkards.

Despite their loud voices and unmistakable stench, Halo was more concerned about the bartender.

Her dark hair and red eyes, combined with her striking appearance, made her wildly incongruous with the rundown tavern. She looked even more suspicious now than in his memory.

"You look familiar. Have you been here before?"

Halo was carefully seated. Unlike the last time, he was certain he couldn't ignore her now.

"Yeah. I think so…"

He said and requested the cheapest drink on board.

"I knew it. You were hard to please back then."

Halo furrowed his brow.

The fact that she remembered him was telling. Had they been surveilling him all this time? Weeks had passed since he'd last been here.

The woman slid him his drink.

His face darkened. For several seconds, he studied the foam atop his drink before looking back up at the bartender.

She flashed him a smile.

Halo let out a sigh.

The drink smelled funny.

Drinking wasn't really his thing. At eighteen, he should've just been discovering alcohol. Instead, he'd been drinking since childhood. He'd killed people… beer was nothing.

But something was wrong.

"What's the problem, boy? You don't seem pleased with your drink."

The woman asked, her expression darkened.

Halo stared at her, deadpanned.

He slid the woman the drink and wore a practiced smile.

"It's cheap, but that's all I can spare. Take it… and at least tell me your name."

He had no proof of poison. She'd prepared it normally, with no suspicious movements. Yet something was off.

The beer had fermented, but the smell diverged from what she'd given him before. Fermentation should smell sharp and distinct, this had a strange, wrong quality.

The bartender's expression didn't budge for a moment or two. Until she took the cup and smiled.

"You are good. You can tell, huh?"

Halo's body tingled strangely. He couldn't remember how many Sin Fragments he'd taken from psychopaths, but suddenly he felt an overwhelming urge to burst into laughter.

"So it is you…"

His smile widened.

"You're clever for your age… but I'm afraid your Purpose stops here."

She sighed deeply, her boobs bouncing in its wake.

"I thought you'd stay in hiding and attack from the shadows. Yet here you are, daring enough to sit right in front of me…"

She shook her head.

"I don't blame you. I blame that naive bitch."

Halo's expression darkened. His head tilted vertically as though her words hurt his ear.

"This has nothing to do with Aeliana. I only came because I suspected something, and you've set it straight. She took your identity with her to the grave."

She began laughing.

"That girl is unbelievably naive. I take it she did that to stop us from killing one another?!"

Halo's expression softened a bit. Indeed, Aeliana was naive.

"You shouldn't have told me your name. I bought you a drink after all."

Her laughter ceased and she turned to Halo.

The smile across her face was menacing and she raised the cup and gulped it down in a swift fashion.

Halo raised a startled eyebrow.

"Don't sweat it, kid. I'm immune to poison. But since you brought me a drink, I had to take it before I tell you my name."

Halo shrugged.

"The name is Mika. And you are Halo, correct?"

Halo's eyes narrowed. Aeliana had already mentioned him, but that wasn't his concern…

The men behind rose to their feet and began walking toward them.

He shot a lazy look over his shoulder.

"Those are some heavy men you got there."

"You think so?"

Right after Mika's words, pressure landed on his shoulder. The hand weighed as much as a full-grown person pressing down. Halo refused to give the person the satisfaction of looking.

He was surprisingly calm for someone in his situation.

"Do your men really want to do this?"

His gaze narrowed. The fury blazing there was enough to make Mika flinch momentarily.

"You look scary. That's cute…"

Mika spoke and gestured for the men to take their seats.

"Oh, I will kill you. That was set in iron from the moment you stepped your foot on this land…"

Her smile widened.

"But I serve the God of Torture, you see? Ending you here would be far too quick. I'd rather watch you plead, dragging yourself across the floor for mercy."

The sparkling eyes and drooling lips told Halo everything.

"Is that so?"

He said with a soft smile and rose to his feet.

"I will be looking forward to it. I'd love some torture."

Without another look at Mika, he stood and walked past the hostile glares of her guards and exited without a word.

Mika, however, kept drooling as though staring at her favorite meal.

He wasn't sure. He might die from this.

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