The night was perfect for what lay ahead: darkness thick and impenetrable, wind biting and cold. Silence covered everything, punctuated occasionally by quiet exchanges between Halo and Aeliana.

He'd prepared for interrogation or assassination. What he got was the companionable silence. She actually just wanted to share space while reading.

It didn't make sense, and so he refused to let his guard down.

His awareness remained razor-sharp. The smallest change in air pressure, the faintest sound, nothing escaped him. He stared at the book but absorbed nothing. Several times, he responded to Aeliana before she'd even finished forming her thoughts.

Then a shift occurred.

Aeliana became intensely focused on her reading, no longer sparing him any attention. The next few minutes passed with her completely absorbed, as though she'd ceased to exist.

That put him on edge. He forced his body to relax, his thoughts to quiet, reaching that meditative state where his heartbeat thundered louder than anything external.

He had no idea why she acted that way, but felt something in the moment.

He'd first noticed footsteps outside the building. Now they were approaching. It was minutes past midnight. If this wasn't a routine patrol, his theory was about to be confirmed.

After a few minutes, he sighed in relief.

No doubt about it, they were coming for him. The footsteps converged on the library, deliberate and heavy. Five people, he estimated. Men, most likely, or possibly very powerful women.

His eyes flicked to Aeliana. She still held the book, still appeared engrossed. But now, observing more carefully, he realized she wasn't reading at all.

Her hands shook against the book's cover. Pages remained unturned. Her brown eyes were fixed on the same spot, unseeing. She was trapped in her own paralysis, and Halo knew then, she wasn't orchestrating this.

Halo kept his approach simple: wait and watch. Maybe this was just meant to frighten him, to gauge his reaction. And honestly, fighting five people simultaneously wasn't a battle he was sure he'd win. He'd let the situation develop first.

His thoughts were interrupted by the gate slamming open. Both Shadow of Death and Aeliana stood to face the intruders filing in.

Five men entered, confirming his count. They were clearly veterans, scarred, brutal and their eyes promising violence.

Adventurers, by the look of them. The kind who treated their grace period within Purposes as a license for mayhem, challenging the gods themselves and leaving destruction in their wake.

Two of them looked quite familiar but Halo has no desire to spare his thoughts on them.

He looked at Aeliana. She seemed frightened to her core, shaking as she moved to stand behind Halo, seeking his protection.

'This bitch wants to stab me from the back…'

Halo thought and sneered.

"Ha! Doesn't he look familiar, Akon? Came all the way here just to make a mess, huh?"

One of them spoke, and murmurs began emerging among them.

"What do you want?"

Aeliana asked, her voice cracking.

The instant she spoke, one of the men casually walked toward them, past Aeliana, and slapped her across the face.

"Enough of the performance. Our target dies today, and if you get in the way, you will too. You were only ever a pawn."

They began to laugh.

Halo simply watched, trying to make sense of what was really happening.

"I told you not to kill him… he's my friend."

Aeliana's words were met with a strike again, harder than the previous one.

Something was off. Just nights ago, she'd been aggressive enough to shove armed men around. Now she was cowering? It didn't make sense.

Did he misunderstand?

Aeliana's behavior baffled him, but the broader picture was crystallizing. She didn't want him killed, this was probably meant to be an interrogation, a verification. But whoever controlled her had apparently decided on a different outcome.

"This is what you call a friend? He can't even protect you…"

The man said and finally left Aeliana alone to walk toward Halo.

Shadow of Death turned in his direction, their presence was tiring him already.

The man lunged suddenly. A single step was all Halo needed to evade completely, leaving his attacker overextended and nearly toppling from his own momentum.

"Whoa… he thinks he's a big shot, huh?"

One of the men said, but the one before Halo sneered violently.

"Leave him to me, guys. I can take care of him."

Halo gave him a disinterested look.

Now he understood the point of Fade's humiliating training methods. Under normal circumstances, their arrogance would've provoked him to immediate violence. Instead, he stayed composed.

Still, there was the three-minute target. He wouldn't waste more than that on these fools.

The moment the man closed in, Halo summoned his dual daggers. Faster than any of them could perceive, the man's limbs were already tumbling to the ground, his head cleanly separated. It happened so swiftly that he never had time to register the pain.

His warm blood splattered everywhere, soaking Halo's black shirt in crimson.

***

[ Congratulations! You've slain a Knight. ]

[ You've received a Sin Fragment: Egoistic. 1034/ 10000 ]

[ Your raw power has increased. ]

***

The room froze in horror for a moment. But instead of retreating, the four survivors grew more furious, reacting as though he'd wronged them somehow.

"He's just one person. Let's finish him off."

Halo's eyes squinted.

"Are you sure about that?"

Light and Tough rose from his shadow at his mental command. Tough's grip on his daggers was vice-tight, and while his featureless form showed no expression, his body language conveyed unmistakable anger.

Faint red energy pulsed through Tough's form. Meanwhile, Light stood with casual arrogance, holding out his hand expectantly for a weapon.

Halo commanded his blade, Magnus, to transform into swords before tossing one to Light.

"What are those?"

The men asked, their fear evident now.

But he was done with them. Without warning, he and his clones struck. Some turned to run, others fought desperately, but resistance was meaningless. Their rough skills and savage methods had determined this outcome before it began.

But when the final attacker dropped, something strange caught Halo's attention. He waved away the system notifications impatiently, focused on the anomaly.

Slowly, something emerged from each corpse. Ghostly shapes, almost ethereal, as if their souls were manifesting before his eyes.

He gulped.

Chaos Eaters. But that was impossible. They were supposed to be lab-created, and he'd never encountered a humanoid variant.

But he had no interest in seeing them complete their transformation. With a quick gesture, he sent his clones to eliminate them.

As soon as he did, a voice grabbed his attention.

"Behind you!"

Aeliana said.

Halo turned just as a Chaos Eater closed in from behind, positioned to shatter his skull. He destroyed it immediately, yet something felt wrong.

It had touched him. The Chaos Eater's grip had landed on his head for just an instant, but the force behind it was enough to make him certain it could have split his skull.

But the strangeness didn't end there. Every Chaos Eater gave him a Sin Fragment when destroyed, despite having emerged from corpses that had already rewarded him.

He massaged his temples for a moment. This was growing more complicated, and worse, his mind wasn't calm enough to protect him anymore. He needed more training.

Yet through all of this, one thing demanded immediate attention… what happens to Aeliana now?

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