The Broken Halo

Akaza picked up the dark hide and read the crimson section again.

”Whether the Old Banner is Damar or not, there is a division inside Black Banner.”

”At least one,” Sonya said. ”The eastern faction wants to steal the road and abandon the others.”

”They might not be abandoning all of them,” Simon said. ”The letter only says the Old Banner and Sleeping Commander must receive false coordinates.”

Sonya looked at him with an irritated expression.

”You truly enjoy correcting every little thing.”

”An incorrect assumption involving a Prime Demon Lord can kill us,” Simon said calmly, causing Sonya’s lips to twitch.

She clearly wanted to reply, but she remembered what happened the last time Simon mentioned her carelessness and chose to remain silent.

Akaza’s gaze returned to the letter.

”If this eastern faction and Eastern Hand succeeds with their plans and betrayal, they gain their own road to Earth. If they fail, Damar’s faction might kill them before Velmora does.”

Sonya’s expression became thoughtful.

”And if both sides discover what the other is doing, they’ll start fighting.”

”Possibly,” Akaza said.

This time, Simon did not correct them.

That possibility was already obvious.

Black Banner survived for more than two centuries because its cells remained scattered and because its members shared a common enemy. An internal struggle over an independent road to Earth could destroy that unity.

However, a possibility was not yet a plan.

”A conflict inside Black Banner could weaken the Nails before the first raid. And it could make it less dangerous for us,” Akaza said with a calm and thoughtful expression.

Simon leaned back in his chair.

”For now, our concern is entering Earth and returning alive because of the oath.”

It was not a lie.

It was simply not the whole truth.

Sonya stared at him.

”I’m sure that is not everything you’ve been thinking of.”

Simon met her gaze without any change in expression.

”It is everything you need to know right now.”

Akaza glanced between them but did not ask further.

Sonya narrowed her pale eyes and stared at Simon despite not being able to see.

”You’re planning something.”

”I’m considering possibilities.”

”That is what you call planning before you tell us the dangerous part.”

Simon did not respond.

For several seconds, the only sound inside the room came from distant footsteps in the corridor. Eventually, Simon looked at both of them before shifting his gaze to the Murmur Bone, the command seal, and the letter.

”Both of you should leave.”

Sonya stared at him.

”You’re chasing us out?”

”I need silence.”

”This Honourable can be quiet.”

Akaza gave a flat look.

”No, you cannot.”

Sonya turned toward him with a dark expression. Before another argument could begin, Simon picked up the Murmur Bone.

”If I need you guys, I’ll call both of you.”

Sonya remained seated for a few seconds before standing reluctantly.

”Don’t do anything interesting without me.”

Simon shook his head with an amused expression.

”I won’t be surprised if you cause another scene after leaving my room.”

Sonya smiled brightly.

”Don’t worry. I promise to behave... for now.”

Simon’s lips could not help but twitch.

Akaza picked up his medicine box and walked toward the door. Sonya followed him while muttering something about little kitty planning something.

When they stepped into the corridor, Akaza looked back at Simon.

His eyes contained a complicated and wary light in them as he looked at Simon.

”Make sure not to put us in harm’s way with any of your plans.”

Simon gave a slight nod with a tinge of amusement in his eyes.

The door closed, and his room became quiet once again.

Simon remained still for several minutes as he pondered on everything.

Operation Crownless Dawn was dangerous, but what mattered was whether that danger could be directed according to his whims.

Black Banner’s eastern faction wanted to kill the Darkness Kingdom’s eastern leadership. It also wanted to steal a road to Earth and hide it from another faction inside Black Banner.

Velmora wanted the rift stabilized and the first raid to succeed.

The ruling clans would eventually send stronger demons if Velmora continued failing to stabilize the rift.

Damar’s faction, if the Old Banner truly referred to him, would destroy the eastern faction once it discovered the betrayal.

There were three layers of conflict, and every side possessed strength Simon could not confront directly.

Korran was a Superior Greater Demon.

Black Banner had Greater Demons and three Demon Lords.

The White Crown and Seven Seats were important enough to become the main targets of an operation prepared for years, and they would definitely not be weak.

Even the Chrysalis might be guarded by demons Simon could not kill.

A careless move would place him beneath the attention of beings capable of crushing him before he understood what happened.

But the benefits were just as clear.

Black Banner possessed more than a thousand ordinary Two-Horned Demons. They were scattered across the kingdom, and protected by different cells and commanders. Hunting them individually would take years and eventually expose his goal.

Crownless Dawn could change that.

The operation needed infiltrators, workers, guards, cells, and fighters. As the day of the first crossing approached, more of them would have to move closer to Velmora or communicate with the eastern faction.

The internal betrayal could also force Damar’s loyalists to move.

The Chrysalis was even more valuable.

If it could truly copy Velmora’s road to Earth, then it was not merely a passage. A passage decided where the demons entered, when they entered, and whether they could retreat.

Control the road, and he could control the battlefield.

However, Simon possessed only fragments of information.

He did not know where the Chrysalis was hidden.

He did not know who the Seven Nails were.

He did not know the Second Claw or Eastern Hand’s identity.

He did not know how many Two-Horned Demons belonged to the eastern faction, and how many would cross the copied road.

There was also the Black Horn War Oath.

Once Simon entered the rift, he could not knowingly allow the first raid to be destroyed. Whatever he eventually did with Crownless Dawn had to avoid violating the exact terms he dictated.

The oath was a restriction, but... it could also become an alibi.

If he protected the raid, followed every valid order, and returned through the rift, the oath would end. Velmora would have difficulty accusing him of betraying an operation he was magically bound to protect.

’If I find a way to dissolve the oath, then it would make things easier.’

Simon’s fingers slowly tapped against the arm of his chair.

The situation resembled a board covered in hidden pieces. Moving first without seeing the positions and possible movements of his enemies would only tell every enemy where he stood.

For now, the best move was no move.

He would wait for the Second Claw.

Listen to the Murmur Bone.

Learn how the command seal worked.

Discover what the coded names meant.

Only then could he decide whether Crownless Dawn should be stopped, allowed to continue, or changed into something its creator would never recognize.

As Simon reached that conclusion, a strange feeling suddenly appeared inside him.

His fingers stopped moving and he frowned.

The sensation did not come from his body.

No.

It came from his Sea of Consciousness.

Simon closed his eyes and sent his perception inward.

The black sea appeared beneath him, and it was calm and seemingly endless like it has always been. Seven stars floated above its surface, each containing the rune of one of his skills.

One of those stars was trembling.

Faint shadows leaked from it and spread through the space around it like dark smoke. Each pulse caused tiny ripples to move across the black sea below.

Simon recognised the feeling immediately.

He experienced it more than once in his past life whenever a skill reached the edge of its current form.

His sky-blue eyes opened slightly inside the Sea of Consciousness.

The star containing ShadowSense wanted to evolve.