The Broken Halo

The Furnaceback Centipede charged down the broken and ruined ridge.

Every movement of its hundreds of legs broke more black glass and sent burning stones rolling into the narrow road. Its Half-Step Abyssal aura pressed against Simon from the front, while the screams of demons and beasts filled the air behind him.

The wounded Prime Calamity Crag Hound was trying to turn away.

The false guard carrying the three cases was also looking for somewhere to run.

Simon remained between them and the convoy.

To anyone watching, he appeared trapped.

In Simon’s eyes, however, the sudden appearance of the Furnaceback Centipede had created the first true opportunity he had seen since the ambush began.

His War Tag moved against his chest as the wind of the battlefield and approaching giant centipede approached him.

The War Tag performed a lot of things, and one of these things was that it kept records.

It recorded his position, the orders given to Core Nineteen, and how far he moved from Wagon Eighteen. Even if he escaped the battlefield and changed his face, Black Horn could follow the tag until he removed it.

And removing it without a believable reason would immediately place suspicion on him.

Simon lifted his gaze.

Far above the cracked lands, the Glass-Eyed Demonic Eagle circled through the smoke. Sky Eye caught the faint reflection of the observation crystal beneath its body. He also noticed several Black Horn officers carrying recording crystals around the battlefield.

He was being watched from the sky and the ground.

’If Blackmoon simply disappears, Korran will know that I chose this moment to hide.’

If Simon returned to Wagon Eighteen and helped Black Horn recover the cases, he would damage Crownless Dawn, lose the chance to follow the eastern faction deeper, and ruin his goal of evolving his bloodline.

If he openly chased the thief and allowed him to escape, the Voice and Korran might become suspicious of Blackmoon.

And if Simon vanished while the cases vanished, both sides would begin connecting Blackmoon to the Outsider.

The Furnaceback Centipede changed all of that.

A demon swallowed by a Half-Step Abyssal Beast did not need to explain why his War Tag suddenly stopped working... Right?

A corpse inside a creature of that size could not be recovered quickly.

More importantly, the centipede’s body would hide Simon from the observation crystals, the eagle, and the demons watching from the road.

It would also swallow the thief carrying the cases if Simon moved correctly.

’Blackmoon can die here while the Outsider continues the mission.’

The thought was insane.

The Furnaceback Centipede’s jaws could crush Greater Demons. Its body carried enough heat to burn weaker demons alive, and whatever existed inside its stomach would be worse.

But Simon did not need to remain inside for long.

He had UnholyRegeneration.

He possessed wind and spatial affinities.

And unlike everyone watching, he already knew exactly where he intended to enter.

The four jaws were closing toward the Prime Calamity Crag Hound first. The wounded beast was the largest source of blood and movement in front of it.

The thief stood only a short distance behind the Crag Hound after running away from his previous position.

Simon stood behind both.

A powerful aura suddenly began awakening somewhere among the convoy, and it was much heavier than that of the Greater Demons currently fighting.

Simon’s eyes flickered with a slightly surprised light.

Black Horn still had another hidden piece.

If that demon interfered before the centipede reached them, the opportunity would disappear.

Simon moved.

He released wind behind his body and shot forward.

The false guard saw him approaching and misunderstood immediately.

”You-”

He thought Simon intended to recover the stolen cases.

The thief turned toward the right side of the road, but a subtle current of wind struck his ankle at the moment he pushed off the ground. His foot slipped across loose black glass, ruining his first step.

The Prime Calamity Crag Hound roared and attempted to leap past him.

Simon reached it first.

He drove his heel into the joint Sonya had already damaged.

Crack!

The wounded leg collapsed.

The enormous Crag Hound lost its balance and crashed sideways into the false guard. Both of them rolled across the broken road and stopped directly beneath the Furnaceback Centipede’s open jaws.

The thief screamed and tried to crawl free.

Simon landed beside him.

From the convoy, it looked as though Blackmoon had risked his life to stop the thief and recover the stolen cargo.

That was exactly what Simon wanted them to believe.

The centipede’s shadow swallowed all three of them.

Hot saliva fell around Simon and burned holes through the stone. Its four jaws spread apart, revealing rows of black teeth and a throat glowing with dark-red heat.

The false guard looked up.

His face became pale.

”Move!”

Simon grabbed the back of his armour as he shouted.

The thief thought Simon was pulling him away from the beast.

Instead, Simon held him in place.

The Prime Calamity Crag Hound struggled beneath them, roaring wildly at the approaching jaws. Simon planted one foot against its stone-covered back and bent his knees.

The centipede struck.

The outer jaws closed first.

One passed across Simon’s shoulder and tore through his coat and flesh. Blood sprayed into the air.

Pain shot through his body, but not a single bit of fear could be seen on his face.

His eyes were deathly cold, calculating, and calm.

Fearless mixed with his experiences made him to be this calm.

At the same moment, Simon formed a thin blade of wind beside his neck, and the blade cut through the cord holding his War Tag.

The dark metal tag fell with a piece of his bloodied collar.

Then the inner jaws closed around Simon, the thief, and the wounded Crag Hound.

The world became heat, darkness, and crushing force.

Simon wrapped compressed wind around his body and the impostor. A thin layer of spatial energy followed, preventing the closing teeth from completely crushing them during that single instant.

The Prime Calamity Crag Hound was not as fortunate.

Its roar became a wet crunch!.

From outside, demons saw the black jaws close around Blackmoon.

They saw his blood scatter across the road.

They saw the War Tag fall from his neck and strike the fractured stone.

One of the centipede’s hooked legs came down a moment later.

Crack!

And the tag shattered beneath it.

The red writing across its surface flickered once and disappeared.

The Furnaceback Centipede raised its head and swallowed. Simon, the thief, and the stolen cases vanished into its body.

Akaza saw Simon disappear between the creature’s jaws.

Sonya felt his footsteps vanish from the road beneath the centipede’s crushing weight.

For a heartbeat, the battlefield seemed to become silent around Wagon Eighteen.

Then two voices tore through the chaos at the same time.

”LITTLE KITTY!”

”BLACKMOON!”