Beyond the two mountains that StoneHaven crowned lay a boiling river. It streamed slowly between the peaks, releasing a metallic smell as the scalding water dissolved every mineral in its path.

Halo positioned himself in the open, where catastrophe had cleared the land. The skull of a massive Sinner had dragged across the ground, face grinding into the earth, ripping away flesh and obliterating everything in its path. Craters and blood pools covered the terrain.

Halo spun his dagger between his fingers, watching a figure lounging casually atop the monster's corpse, radiating calm confidence.

"You've really got some nerve. In hindsight, I didn't expect such an outrageous request from you."

Spector said and leaped off the corpse.

This was quite the insightful welcoming gesture for Halo.

Spector had killed a Perverted Sinner, but not a common one. The sheer size suggested it had been on the verge of becoming a Beast Sinner.

But Halo was calm. He didn't feel even the slightest edge of panic.

"You've accomplished something remarkable… but I expected you to face me sooner."

Spector closed the distance, wearing a disarmingly warm smile while he fixed his ponytail.

"I couldn't let this pass me by. If I can avenge Ren, nothing else matters right now."

Halo's eyes narrowed.

Pure white clothing, except for boots and trousers. Not a speck of blood. Spector had massacred that creature without getting dirty. It was both impressive and unsettling.

This was what Halo needed. His intention was correct.

Spector's expression darkened.

"I knew how strong you were the moment we crossed paths. I've been observing you ever since. But… are you really sure you don't need any help?"

Halo chuckled.

"Don't worry about me. Three minutes is all I'll need."

He struck a pose and clenched his daggers tightly.

Between one heartbeat and the next, a sword appeared in Spector's hand. The blade glowed azure blue, its surface a spiderweb of cracks, as if it had been shattered into pieces and fused back together.

In the next instant, the azure blade simply vanished, leaving Spector holding nothing but the black hilt.

Halo's mind blanked in panic. His body moved on pure instinct, twisting to block the incoming storm of azure fragments. The force drove him back, his boots scraping across the ground.

His teeth clenched in frustration. No time to recover, the shards struck again. He moved to intercept them all, but his eyes went wide. In the instant before impact, the fragments doubled, tripled.

Halo's knees buckled from exhaustion. He couldn't react fast enough. The blades sliced into him, shredding flesh while his new shirt soaked up the blood.

He clenched his teeth.

The blades returned to Spector and formed a sword once more.

"Surviving Mika's torture proves you're far from ordinary. Even so, you won't win by yourself."

Spector said with a cocky smile.

Halo sneered.

The blade was dangerous enough, controlled by thought alone. Worse, Halo hadn't even seen Spector's True Ability.

He needed to keep up with Spector's blades until he finally figured him out.

Halo's eyes squinted, and a smirk played on his lips.

Halo was meant to be the composed fighter, but Spector's serenity unsettled him. That kind of calm suggested the God of Destruction or Despair. Fine. Halo would meet tranquility with chaos and violence. See what that dragged out of him.

His daggers rang together in eager challenge. Then he launched himself at Spector, all his strategy was abandoned.

"You don't listen, do you?"

Spector said with a smile, and his swords departed once more.

The fragments attacked with relentless force, pushing Halo past his normal limits. He couldn't land solid hits, so he used his daggers' flats to deflect them. But every deflection spawned more shards. Spector controlled every fragment, no matter how small.

Despite himself, Halo laughed his lungs out.

He was fighting blind, abandoning his analytical style. No time to study Spector's technique. But pure aggression was what this fight demanded, so that's what he'd unleash.

Before long, his body was drenched in sweat and blood. The overwhelming speed forced his movements to grow sluggish from time to time, sending sharp pains through his limbs.

Spector, however, yawned as though he was bored with the scene. He was on the verge of sleep.

The moment Halo registered Spector's boredom, a genuine grin spread across his face, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

He planted his feet and surged energy into his limbs, stamina flooding his system. His daggers transformed with a thought, becoming a massive sword. The dark blade was so huge it could tower over five men standing side by side.

Channeling every ounce of power he possessed, he swung the massive blade through the incoming shards.

Spector panicked at the sight of Halo, forcing him to retract his blades.

Halo turned Magnus into a sword.

He massaged his neck.

"Disappointing. I expected strength, but you barely offered resistance. Ren at least made me work."

He said with a cold and smug tone.

The fear in Spector was evident as he began to take backward steps.

The massive swing tore something in Halo's shoulder. He couldn't move it, couldn't even rotate it.

But something was evident now. Spector claimed to want revenge, but his behavior was all wrong. No rage, no urgency, just calculated intimidation and bored superiority. He was using his ability.

Halo pieced it together. Spector's True Ability must feed on his own calmness or his opponent's fear. By intimidating enemies into believing defeat was inevitable, Spector maintained the emotional state his power required.

All that remained was showing Spector the truth, his confidence was unfounded. He was the one who'd already lost.

Halo stretched his body.

"I even gave you three whole minutes… and you've already burned through most of them. That's less than two left."

He said with a calm expression and rested his fractured arm behind his waist.

Spector sighed, the anger in his eyes evident.

"Cocky little thing. I could slit your throat with my eyes shut."

Halo's smile widened as Spector closed the distance. Playing right into his hands.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.