The night was dark and overcast. By the look of the clouds, rain was about to fall.

Halo sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, meditating. The Chaos Eaters' new form troubled him deeply. He had to be careful and quiet his thoughts completely.

There wasn't time to go through everything Fade and Bridle had taught him, so he'd adapted the one thing every martial artist knew: disciplined meditation.

For nearly four hours, he maintained perfect calm and control. The sound of rain finally breaking through brought him back to awareness.

Downstairs, he caught the sound of Iris talking to someone. He drifted into the living room and found Light relaxed in a chair, with Iris sitting nearby, mid-conversation.

The moment Iris noticed him, she spoke:

"Apologies for not summoning you, Halo. I assumed you were occupied."

Halo shrugged and looked at Light pointedly. Three days were longer than anticipated. Aeliana should've been the easiest to surveil when alone, so he'd expected quicker results. Still, if Light had something significant, the wait was justified.

Halo lazily walked over and took his seat.

"Light detected loneliness in Aeliana, revealing that she isn't as exceptional as we once believed."

Halo raised an eyebrow.

"But is she at the bottom of the hierarchy, though?"

Iris nodded positively, and Light excused himself from the room.

"It seems like it. But I'm certain she was bought with something she desperately needed in return for Sin Fragments and protection as long as she took the blame for everything."

Halo's gaze sharpened. He recognized the pattern from other organizations he'd dealt with. There was always someone vulnerable, someone who'd ended up in over their head with no way out.

During his time as an assassin, such people were considered equally complicit. But a few pragmatic assassins would sometimes get what they needed from them and leave them alive.

But Aeliana didn't fit that mold. He'd watched her violently attack two men. That kind of boldness didn't come from someone who was merely a victim of circumstance.

"No. I'm sure she's fully aware of everything that's happening, and she's exploiting it to her benefit."

Iris stared densely at Halo for a moment.

"I'm working off theories, but you've lived through things that give you a clearer understanding, haven't you?"

He didn't reply. He would have if he felt like it, but there was no need to reply.

"Sorry about that…"

Halo wanted to smile, but his cold nature robbed him of that.

"Anyway, regardless of her level of involvement, I'm certain she has no direct connection to the one creating the Chaos Eaters."

Halo frowned.

"Why do you think that?"

Iris's expression darkened.

"They're no strangers to this game. I'm certain they knew the gods would send hunters eventually… if they haven't already, and those poor souls were simply erased."

She gave her words a beat.

"They operate by a chain of command… just not the kind we're familiar with. And I'd wager there's only a single person alive who knows the true maker of the Chaos Eaters, and it isn't Aeliana."

The logic became clear. They kept the mastermind's identity from Aeliana deliberately. When everything collapsed, she'd be left holding the bag.

She was expendable, then.

To get anywhere, they'd need to identify whoever was compensating Aeliana for being the scapegoat. That person would lead them to the true mastermind.

"What now?"

Iris took a look at a sheet, which entailed everything she had planned.

"Aeliana is isolated and afraid. She knows death could come for her at any time, and living with that fear every day is crushing. What she really needs is someone, a true friend, to hold onto."

Halo's face went carefully blank. He could tell her smiles were real, genuinely warm. But he refused to let any friendship develop. Friendship had already cost him his ability to taste. What would this one take? His smell?

"You will be doing that, right?"

Iris panicked for a moment, her eyes widening in terror.

The sight reminded Halo of what she'd told him a few days ago. She wasn't good with socializing, and since her Flaw was Self-Sacrifice, he could fill in the rest himself.

He let out a lazy sigh and spoke:

"Okay, continue…"

Iris gave him an energetic nod.

"We turn her own mind against her. Give her the one thing she longs for, a friend, and she'll open up."

Halo's expression grew indifferent as he leaned into his seat.

"But this approach has an expiration date. Once you become her friend, the person behind her will see you as a liability. And since they can use Silas's death against you, eliminating you becomes the simplest move."

That caught Halo's attention. If they pulled this off, it might force whoever controlled Aeliana to reveal themselves. Then again, they might choose not to appear at all.

"In essence, there are three outcomes: her leader handles your execution personally, they delegate it to someone else, or they gamble on Aeliana being the one to take you down."

He shifted uncomfortably. Aeliana seemed weak, but those four additional years to Halo's likely meant a considerable gap in power, more Sin Fragments, more experience.

Unless they could draw out whoever controlled her, confronting Aeliana directly would be suicide.

"Yes, but we must move first. We need to bait them. Even if the leader doesn't step forward, they'll respond somehow… and in that response, they'll expose a piece of themselves."

This was their only lead. They had to act on it. Waiting for something better could cost them their Purpose completely. They needed to exploit this slim opportunity while they had it.

His sudden reappearance after days away would arouse suspicion, though. He had to consider every angle and select exactly the right words to gain Aeliana's confidence. If only temporarily, before she tried to eliminate him.

"Okay… but I need something to hide behind. I can't stay here without a reason. My Purpose has to mean something while I'm on this land."

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.