After three days without incident regarding Nava's betrayal or the Northern Mist's movements, something finally shook the silence.

Delilah called the team to the living room. Leto was missing, but that was par for the course, so they counted themselves complete.

Delilah was clearly forcing a demeanor change. Forced smiles and awkward attempts at friendliness that landed somewhere closer to creepy. Even White, the friendliest of them all, seemed a bit uneasy.

Halo had to step in and promise her a lesson next time. Still, even though her spirits were low, she managed to lead the group as though nothing had happened.

"White's attempt to cause commotion among the Northern Mist worked. Which is quite unusual because I expected it to fail."

White cleared her throat.

"I did what I could. I created a misunderstanding between them and pushed them to get mad over trivial things. Nobody interfered when I activated it, so I'm pretty sure it worked."

Delilah frowned.

"That's the problem. Nava knows your True Ability could annihilate them at any second, so why didn't he say anything?"

Brave leaned in his seat, hands folded across his chest.

"Nava might be a bit dumb, but he's not stupid. Reckless decisions are off the table."

Omega smiled.

"Oh, mine… I never thought the brute Brave could actually reason."

Brave sneered, and Omega's teasing intensified.

"Whatever the case, we can't let White use her ability again. For all we know, they could counter it and kill her in the process." Delilah said.

"What do you suggest we do?" White asked.

Delilah locked eyes with Halo for a moment. This whole thing barely concerned him. He hadn't known any of them long enough to die for them, and, frankly, he believed they could handle themselves anyway.

"What do you think, Halo?"

He didn't expect the burden to be dropped on him at a whim, but he paused to weigh his options.

"I don't know much about the Northern Mist, but knowing your enemy is key. We should act before they get the upper hand."

Delilah weighed her thoughts for a moment.

"The leader's True Ability is unusual, he absorbs Sin Fragments with every hit. Leto could handle that, but there are four strong men with him. With Nava, that makes five."

Brave frowned.

"I told you, I'd kill Nava myself. He isn't anything formidable."

Delilah sighed.

"It doesn't make him any less of a problem, but the situation's unclear."

Halo frowned. They had impressive quirks. Why the hell weren't they using that?

"Uh, Delilah… why not use your Mind Break to confuse them? That could give us a solid opening."

Delilah motioned negatively.

"I can't use it unless they make the first move. Once they do, I can mess with their strategy."

Halo's eyes squinted. He stroked his chin slightly.

Whatever they were cooking wasn't good. Nava knew all their counters perfectly, which meant they were probably hoping to catch NeverLight off guard or setting something up to provoke NeverLight into attacking first.

They sought to render all their godlike abilities useless.

However, while the meeting seemed flawed, Halo sensed Light's presence. In the next moment, he watched him materialize.

His presence lifted the dense atmosphere a little.

"You are back, Light. What did you find?" Delilah hurried her words, but White immediately hurried to get him an ink and a sheet.

Light was surprisingly quiet today, with none of his usual dramatic poses or cocky words. He got straight to writing.

It read:

"White's intervention lasted less than ten minutes. The commotion erupted, but it stopped when two people teleported in. And now their leader, Rigo, is back. Something's off about their movements, definitely not right."

As soon as Delilah read it, Light motioned for another sheet.

It read:

"Nava has been an Assassin all along. According to him, he became one not long after the NeverLight cohort was formed. I didn't want to be caught up in any attacks you might throw at them, so most important details never reached me. But I'm certain Nava joined the Northern Mist because of promised Sin Fragments, a legendary sword, and a guaranteed position at their headquarters."

Brave sneered.

"Wait… so he was only here with us, just waiting for Rigo to come back?"

Light nodded positively.

The rage in Brave's eyes wasn't one to reckon with.

Delilah cleared her throat.

"As I suspected, they have a countermeasure for White's attacks. They want us to face them head-on. And I don't think Nava can claim all those promises unless we're completely wiped out."

Halo frowned. This still didn't sound correct in his ears.

"Why would Nava act so recklessly? He must know how strong Jihriel and Hazard are. Something feels off."

Omega leaned into her seat, hands folded across her chest.

"I get it now. After we finished our Purpose as Knights, Nava seemed keen on joining a cohort. He didn't say much, but it was clear he wanted to."

Brave's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, I remember. He claimed Northern Mist wanted NeverLight eliminated because we weren't fit to be a cohort."

Everything started clicking for Halo. Maybe spending months with some of the greatest minds had rubbed off on him, because suddenly everything was crystal clear.

He got to his feet and joined Delilah and Light on the podium.

"Ah, I see now. So he's the one who started the story that Northern Mist hated you? Huh, interesting."

He sighed.

"So their goal must be something else entirely. Nava wouldn't be stupid enough to have you all killed. That could backfire on him too."

Brave abruptly rose to his feet.

"We all have Purposes to fulfill. As Assassins, killing is ours. Northern Mist wants us dead, so the logical response is to eliminate them."

The fury radiating from Brave spoke volumes. He wanted them to attack head-on, but it wasn't Delilah's style.

"We hold. No attacks until I say otherwise. Until we know their goal, acting now would be reckless."

Delilah's words left no room for negotiation.

"This meeting is over."

Halo sighed.

'Jeez, this guy will be a pain.'

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.