Halo sat on top of one of the castle's towers, sweat seeping off his bare torso as his limbs trembled from sheer exhaustion.

Fade of Bridle's body remained intact. Two days had passed since they'd discovered it, yet Halo still hadn't managed a proper conversation with either of them about what to do with it.

Seraphim had been acting strange ever since. No matter how many times Halo and Liam tried to get something out of her, she just flashed her cheerful smile and brushed them off.

This was strange to Halo. Seraphim's Flaw was deception, and based on his understanding, she had to wear masks to please others. So why was she putting on such a shallow act? Something even he could see through?

He couldn't afford to dwell on it. With Fade of Bridle's body still here, Sinners would come eventually. He needed to prepare. Seraph would open up when she was ready.

He sighed and relaxed in a seat.

He has up to forty-eight Sin Fragments now, thanks to Light, Tough, and Sunday. The weaker Sinners were nothing to his clones, they barely left anything for Liam and Seraph to fight.

But something bothered him though…

"Still training are you? Slaying a Perverted Sinner with a single strike wasn't enough?"

Liam's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Liam… I wasn't expecting you here."

Liam sighed and joined Halo on the seat. "You need to take a break… you might wear yourself out."

Halo glanced at his trembling hands.

He'd grown stronger. He'd known it even before killing that Perverted Sinner in one strike. But something still felt off. He should be stronger than Seraph and Liam, he'd consumed two Sin Fragments from Crawler-class Beast Sinners. Those alone should have made him formidable.

When he'd killed his first Crawler, he was told he'd match Noah's strength if the creature had completed its metamorphosis. But now, with over a dozen Crawler fragments and two from Beast Sinners, he still didn't feel nearly that powerful. Noah could take down a Beast Sinner alone. They weren't Crawlers, true, but something felt off.

"What are you thinking about, Halo?"

Halo turned to Liam and exhaled deeply.

He needed to calm down.

"Did you come here to train with me?"

Liam turned to Halo.

"Not really… I'd like to have a duel with you but now, I want us to talk."

Halo tried to smile but he couldn't. Liam's endless chatter was teaching him what real friendship felt like, something he'd never cared about before. But his Flaw had progressed too far. He couldn't even show he was grateful anymore.

"You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Liam locked eyes with Halo.

He was able to smile this time.

"Of course, I haven't. We will get to the end of the world… together."

Halo couldn't claim that luxury. His predicament with Death would likely steal even that brief happiness from him. But he looked forward to it anyway.

Despite his words, Liam seemed somewhat grim.

Liam's head sadly dropped to the ground.

"But above all, we have to survive this Purpose, and the next, and the next… until we become OverKings."

Halo watched as Liam's Flaw, anxiety, kicked in. His legs repeatedly bounced off the floor in nervousness.

He patted him on the shoulder.

"In my world, only the fittest survived."

Liam turned in his direction.

"My work embodied that principle. Others followed it too, whether they realized it or not. But I took it further than anyone else ever dared."

Halo gave his words a beat.

"Everyone in my world was extraordinary. Maybe yours was different, but I think we'd all understand this… in that world, there were no gods to rival. It was just us, bound by unbreakable physics. And yet, I danced with death for eight years… some for far longer."

He exhaled.

"So what if this world is built on survival of the fittest? You and I came from a world full of limits, and we still survived."

He tried to smile but he couldn't manage it.

"We can survive this Purpose, Liam, and the next, and all that will follow. I know we can."

Liam smiled.

"Yes, because we need to get to the end of the world."

Halo nodded.

"Exactly…"

He'd never thought about his past life like this. His own words hit him hard. He was starting to understand himself. People feared him because he seemed superhuman. But that was the point, he wasn't. He was just as human as they, and he'd still become what he was.

Amidst his thoughts, Liam spoke.

"You said you worked in your past life… you didn't go to school?"

Halo ruffled his dirty-white hair.

He went to school when he was a child. Even when his parents died and his training as an assassin began, he held onto that normalcy for another year before finally leaving to train full-time. But this wasn't something he'd share anytime soon.

They were killers here too, but being an assassin was different. He was methodical and cold-blooded. He couldn't be sure they'd understand. The friendship was too new to risk it.

"Tell me about your school experience…"

The moment the words left Halo, Liam began talking. He listened with an open ear and was truly interested in hearing them though his expression said otherwise. He jumped from his boring school life to abuse.

"I was always surrounded by people and yet felt completely alone. Some wanted to drain me for what I knew, others clung to me because of my parents. I was there, but no one ever really looked at me."

Halo understood this too well. People had only been around him for his reputation. His best friend too, probably. But this was hardly noticeable to him since he hardly cared about it.

He was glad for his Flaw to some extent. But beyond his coldness, something else lingered within. It was faint but he could feel it slowly emerging as if waiting to devour him.

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.