"Crawler or not, a Beast Sinner rarely meddles in another's Purpose. And since this castle isn't tied to any land, something isn't adding up."

Liam's concern about the Crawlers forced them to take their seats, and Halo didn't bother to let his concerns be known.

He would've advised them to avoid the Crawlers due to their overwhelming abilities, and the others would have done the same.

However, the castle was the Crawlers' target, which meant that unless they got rid of them, not only would they fail their Purpose, but the Crawlers might kill them before that could happen.

"What if every Crawler's Purpose is to attack the castle? Ha… no, that can't be right, can it?"

Liam reasoned out loud, and Halo leaned slightly into his seat.

True, it couldn't be possible. Toddler and Perverted Sinners didn't have Purposes, and that wasn't something any breed could change. Yet all these Crawlers came after the castle. It had to be something about the castle itself rather than a flaw in the world's mechanics.

Halo couldn't shake off how dreadful this was becoming. He had less reason to believe Liam was indeed the hero, and if he truly wasn't, then the hero was growing stronger as they spoke, pushing toward the doom of their world.

He knew the truth, and sitting around watching it happen would feel like suicide to him. He wasn't that kind of person. His principles were firmly against that. But each day, their Purpose grew more exhausting. This meant he would take longer to finish, long enough for the hero to actually rebel against the gods.

"You really don't see it? The gods set us up to die! They're the ones drawing the Sinners here!"

Halo said with a frustrated tone, and Seraph giggled.

Halo gave her a lazy look. His words came from a place of dread, not something he expected her to laugh about.

"That's exactly why we're here. Purposes are just trials. They don't kill, but the world around them sure tries to. So, yeah… the gods have nothing and everything to do with it."

Seraph said with a noble smile, but Halo wasn't having it. His god, Death, was capable, and the name spoke loud enough.

However, the moment Seraph's words settled, she spoke again.

"Halo, what about Tough? Since it's your clone, can't you question it about the Crawlers?"

Halo's expression shifted.

Tough, the Beast Sinner they'd killed two days ago was his clone now, but that wasn't very helpful. As a Crawler, Tough should be able to know something about the Sinners.

However, since Halo's clones didn't have any facial features, and it wasn't as though Tough had any before it died, Halo wasn't sure how they could confirm anything.

He was intrigued by the idea, though. If Tough had any intel, they might be able to finish their Purpose sooner than expected.

He let out a sigh.

"My clones think and reason like humans. Light can't speak, but it can write. Tough might know something, but unless it can express it, that knowledge is wasted."

Both Seraph and Liam said nothing. They only stared at Halo bluntly as though they were waiting for something.

The moment Halo realized what was going on, he let out a silent grunt and called for Tough.

The instant its name echoed in his mind, a dark circle appeared on the floor and started taking shape. Within it emerged Tough, its long tail resting on the floor as the red energy radiated from its shadowy body.

Halo didn't wait a moment before throwing a question at it.

"You are a Crawler, right?"

Tough nodded gently, which made Halo frown for a moment. If Tough was born and grew as a Sinner, then how did it understand human language? Unless…

After glancing at the others, he decided to press on with the questions. He didn't want to ask his confusion in front of them. If there was more to his ability than he knew, he had to figure that out alone, just as they were all secretive about their own abilities.

"What do you know about the Crawlers?"

Tough's head snapped in all directions for a moment, but then it grew hesitant, as though it wanted to communicate something but couldn't.

Halo stared at it in confusion for a brief moment until he finally understood what was happening.

"Do you want us to follow?"

Tough gave them a gentle nod.

Halo smiled, and without another word, they all rose to their feet and began following Tough outside of the Grand Hall.

Tough's careful hesitation made him realize how much of a bastard Light was. Tough wanted to gesture for them to follow, but was terrified the action might be considered rude by Halo. Yet Light would have done it without a second thought.

The clone brought them in front of the castle, picked up a stick, and began drawing something on the ground.

Tough spent minutes circling while everyone waited with restrained patience, but the moment it finished, Halo's face started twitching with annoyance.

Whatever it drew was too rough and misguided, impossible to tell. It seemed as though it was mocking them.

But Seraph immediately began walking toward it.

"Don't worry, I should be able to tell."

She watched toward it, crouched beside it, and began analyzing it as if deciphering a code. But it didn't take long before her eyes lit up with excitement.

She turned to Tough. "Were you trying to draw a horse?"

Tough stood frozen for a moment before finally giving her an energetic nod.

Halo and Liam's mouths parted in confusion. They both drew closer to the sketch, which even made their heads explode because what Tough drew was more of a worm than a horse.

Staring at their confused expressions, Seraphim couldn't help but smile.

She shrugged. "I am an artist…"

"This means nothing, though? What does a horse have to do with Crawlers?"

Liam asked, studying the atmosphere for a moment.

Tough, however, simply gestured at Halo.

"Do you mean whoever this horse person is, is the master? So the person responsible?"

Tough motioned positively.

Halo watched as Liam and Seraph began chatting about their discovery, and his mind drifted elsewhere. He needed to understand why Tough could understand human language.

'Vanish…'

Tough immediately turned into a black orb and abruptly attached itself to Halo. He glanced behind him to see that he had two shadows now. This gave him a brief understanding of what was truly happening, but he couldn't help but verify his thoughts.

'Status.'

***

[ Name: Halo D. Tenebris

Title: Shadow of Death

Rank: Knight

True ability: Death Clone - - - Description:

Flaw: Coldness

Only Sin: Death

Nemesis:?

—

Sin Fragments: 27/10000

Dominant Skill: Reflexes

Clones: 2 ]

***

'Description.'

The bronze screen disappeared, popping back into existence barely a second later.

***

[ Death Clone: Description:

You may summon clones of yourself, of others, and of all who have fallen by your hand. You become one.

Yet know this, what you wield is only a gift on loan, never a truth you possess. When Death comes to gather its belongings, it will reclaim them, and all you believed was yours will vanish like dust in your grasp. ]

***

He smiled.

'You become one, huh?'

After reading the description, he understood something about his ability. Anyone who became his clone would become one with him, meaning they might share some of his human traits. He hadn't explored this much since his first clone had been of himself. Light.

But something else nagged at him. If they truly became one, then why didn't he receive any of the creature's memories? Something that could've helped prove their oneness.

He considered this for a moment but shrugged it off, summoning Tough back to attend to its duty.

He didn't have enough mental energy for that. He had enough to deal with already.

"What if this 'horse' person is also one of the legends tied to the castle?"

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.