After being thrown from his ship while attempting to sail the seven seas, Halo ended up in dire straits, stuck in a bizarre, incomprehensible forest.

He'd thought he'd seen it all until he encountered an invisible creature. Well, "encountered" was generous. 'Brutally beaten by an invisible creature' was more like it.

This wounded Halo's pride. He'd been many things, but never someone so thoroughly humiliated. Days later, as he lay recovering in his makeshift shelter atop a root, he couldn't stop thinking about that crystal, the one he'd been beaten for.

To make matters worse, he woke up to two giant wolf-like creatures, entirely conjured with entangled vines and leaves.

The creatures came to kill him. He'd killed one recently, but now they were the least of his worries. If the Sinners were so protective of those crystals, then he had even more reason to find them.

But this time, unlike before, he wasn't going to be beaten. He'd even grow a third eye if it meant finally seeing his opponent to fight back.

After all, he had nothing to lose.

He stood firmly on his feet as he summoned his clones. Tough and Spineless.

Tough was new to this environment, and the Sinners could copy him too, but the beast was just too excited to contain himself. He clashed his blades, his tail slammed repeatedly into the ground, and he eagerly awaited Halo's commands.

"Kill them all."

He didn't flinch as he spoke, showing not even the slightest hint of emotion. He was dry and cold, his pride radiating from his very presence.

Spineless and Tough immediately charged toward the creatures, the force of their clash making the ground tremble.

Halo, though, walked past them without a care.

The vine-like creatures imitated Spineless, and whatever injuries they sustained would be transferred to Spineless instead. But it wasn't like his clones could take damage anyway, they could only run out of energy.

Not that he cared. He was reaching his breaking point after all. He'd been trapped in this forest far too long, and nowhere looked like an escape route. Maybe this gave him a reason to be reckless. And even if it ended, he'd know he died trying.

However, before he could get near the crystal, he found himself surrounded by Sinners. He expected invisible monsters, but he had no intention of letting these bastards escape unscathed. After all, he'd struggled against one of them not long ago.

The appearance they took on irritated him even more: white hair and those trademark faded blue eyes. It was Seraphim's form. It wasn't the Child of Deceit's presence that unsettled him, but rather the fact that the Sinners kept using it.

Before long, their appearance changed completely as they assumed the genderless form, no hair, no features at all, just a ghostly pale body and a shining head.

Shadow of Death sneered.

There were a handful of them, and they surrounded him from every angle, but knowing firsthand that they could be endless if they wanted still didn't spark fear in him. He was rather calm and relaxed. Just angry.

Beelzebub burned deep on the blades of his daggers, tireless and determined. He assumed his stance while the creatures stared at him in confusion, perhaps taken aback by his audacity.

"Come at me with all you've got."

The Sinners instantly charged toward him like a swarm of ants, their bodies warping into blades sharper than swords and harder than steel. Halo stepped back and braced himself for impact.

The creatures launched land strikes at him in synchronized fashion, with no regard for whether their own allies were in front of them.

Halo immediately took advantage of the chaos, leaping into the air and barely avoiding their sharp blades. Even then, more blades grew from their existing ones.

They were so long and fast that Halo still got his boot torn after barely escaping alive to a safe distance. Only then did the weight of the predicament dawn on him.

These creatures had nearly infinite regeneration, and though they seemed dumb with unadvanced combat skills, one of them alone could spell trouble, he'd witnessed that firsthand the first time he fought one.

He now realized he might have been stupid for thinking he could take them on. Actually, he was stupid, but who could blame him? He'd been isolated with no sign of getting back to his crew for god knows how long, all while facing danger every day.

But he had Beelzebub. He just needed contact, and they would be done for. Unless…

He scowled.

Amidst his thoughts, the creatures charged at him once more, moving in a more aggressive and complex pattern as though their bodies merged. Halo couldn't read them.

Too fast.

He needed to act.

In the heat of the moment, he instinctively charged at them. One of the blades pierced through his gut, warmth coursing through him, followed by the pouring of warm crimson and unbearable pain.

But as he thought there was still something to celebrate, at least his blades had plunged into two of their heads, he saw all the Sinners retreat, aggressively ripping the blade from his body in the process.

Halo was confused. What was happening? Beelzebub was doing its job, but the other Sinners just stared at their injured allies as the coiled roots immediately opened up and dropped them into the water below.

Halo's legs buckled, his hand clutching his gut. The Sinner had missed his vitals, but that didn't make it any less painful. And worse, he was losing too much blood.

However, what happened next made his skin crawl.

Two more Sinners emerged from the water where the other two had disappeared moments before.

He couldn't tell whether the water had somehow healed them from Beelzebub's corruption or these were a new set entirely, but either way, he knew he was screwed.

Finally, fear set in.

His mind cycled through possible consequences. Flight? Would the Sinners even let him?

He couldn't be any more pathetic. He'd come for revenge, and not only did he not face the creature that stung his pride, but he was losing to the weaker ones.

More daunting, the bronze screen flashed up immediately, and he watched his clones attach themselves to him.

***

[ Your clone, Tough, has been exhausted. Would you like to give it energy? ]

Price: 10 Sin Fragments.

| Yes | No |

***

"…"

***

[ Your clone, Spineless, has been exhausted. Would you like to give it energy? ]

Price: 8 Sin Fragments.

| Yes | No |

***

He was done for.

The two vine-like creatures still lingered, but he was wounded, and his clones were gone.

"So this is how it ends. Fine. I'm not dying without a fight."

He muttered with a practiced cocky smile and a determined stance.

'Yes…'

For the first time in his life, he spent Sin Fragments on restoring his clones' energy. He should have been proud, but his heart only hammered violently, yet at a broken pace.

***

[ Would you want to increase the level of Beelzebub to level 3? ]

Price: 6 Sin Fragments.

| Yes | No |

***

'Yes.'

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.