The Broken Halo

The rebel’s head rolled to a stop beside the black rock.

Simon remained still for a few seconds, wearing the dead demon’s face while the blood beneath the body spread across the dry ground.

He ignored the corpse. Instead, his mind went to the information the dead rebel had given him. It had answered several questions.

But at the same time, it had also created new problems.

’The first handover point is the ruined building east of Velmora, and the split token and verification response should be enough to let me take his place. However, the route keepers may already believe that this demon died inside the Furnaceback Centipede once the word spread.’

Black Banner had eyes on the convoy. Everybody, including the rebels had seen the beast swallow Blackmoon, the rebel, and the three cases. If word had already reached the Voice and route keepers, they could abandon the ruined building before Simon arrived, believing that the mission was a failure.

And even if he went there using this dead demon’s face, they would definitely be suspicious knowing that he had been swallowed by a literal Half-Step Abyssal Beast.

There was another option though... calling the Voice.

Doing so could solve the problem and dilemma in his mind. However, it would also give her control over what happened next.

’If I contact her now, she may send me to another location that would be more prepared for me, demand for my side of the story as to what happened, or place more of her demons around the handover. If I go without contacting her, I preserve the initiative, but I may arrive at an empty site which could lead to a battlefield.’

Simon recalled the map Korran displayed during the convoy briefing.

The cracked lands lay north of Velmora. The ruined buildings described by the rebel were outside the eastern side of the city. From Simon’s current position, the handover point was not directly ahead or behind him. He would have to travel southeast, pass around several city-controlled roads, then continue toward the abandoned ruins.

It was not a short journey.

He could reduce the distance with spatial movement, but it might make Korran to assume or guess that the three cases were being teleported.

Simon lowered his gaze to the dull-grey ring on the rebel’s finger.

Another faint pulse came from inside it.

’Black Banner prepared a lead-lined box and isolation runes because it expected the cargo to be tracked. Korran must have expected them to prepare for that.’

Simon did not believe that Korran was foolish.

’Korran did not mark the cases merely because he feared losing them. He wanted the rebels to steal something and lead Black Horn toward the eastern faction.’

The deaths of the recruits, soldiers, and guards were part of the price for Korrans plans.

Black Banner believed its lead-lined box would suppress the tracking long enough to move the cases deeper along their route. Korran had likely prepared more than one method precisely because he knew the rebels would search for the first.

A tracking artifact.

A hidden rune.

Perhaps an imprint that transferred onto whatever spatial ring held the cases.

Simon was just guessing though.

That meant going directly to the handover point would be careless. He could deliver the road’s bones successfully and also deliver Black Horn to the route keepers.

’I need to inspect the cases before I hand them over. I can remove the trackers, alter them, or use them to create a false trail. Which option benefits me most will depend on what Korran actually placed inside.’

His thoughts briefly returned to the battlefield.

The faint Shadow Eye beneath WagonEighteen still showed movement through a blurred view. The battle had not completely ended, but the sudden appearance of the Furnaceback Centipede and the Biggest Kev had broken the flow of both sides.

The Biggest Kev had been the powerful aura Simon sensed awakening before the centipede swallowed him.

That was almost certainly not a coincidence.

’He was Korran’s hidden weapon. Korran expected the ambush to become dangerous, so he placed a Half-Step Demon Lord inside the convoy without allowing the rebels to know... or maybe he was Korran’s hidden weapon to use against the rebels once they carry the cases to their hideouts.’

Kev had stopped a Half-Step Abyssal Beast with one hand, fought it without appearing desperate, and used several pieces of equipment as naturally as Simon used his own limbs.

’I wonder who he is and what his relationship with Korran and the Black Horn Office is.’

Simon would eventually find out.

For now, the Armor King was another reason not to remain where he was. If Kev decided to follow the underground path or if Korran sent a pursuit unit using the tracker, Simon’s current position would become dangerous.

He touched the face copied by the Sword Daemon’s mask.

Wearing the mask before leaving the underground tunnel the Furnaceback Centipede created had been necessary.

The real danger was not inside the underground tunnel, where only the dying rebel could see him. It was the moment he teleported above the ground. Simon was not a hundred percent certain whether a scout, an observation beast, or a hidden Black Horn operative would be waiting on the surface.

If someone had been watching, the mask would have prevented them from seeing his real face.

Now it served a second purpose.

He possessed the rebel’s face, the matching token, his armour, and enough information to repeat the handover. Though their bodies were different and the mask could not change Simon’s body, this was where HollowSkyEye came in.

The mask could not change Simon’s body, but their builds were close enough for clothing, posture, and controlled movement to complete the disguise.

Simon looked toward the distant smoke.

’Calling the Voice may preserve the handover or bring about a different dropoff point. Going there without calling her may let me learn more before she interferes. Either way, none of these choices should be made while I am standing beside a fresh corpse and carrying cargo Black Horn can track.’

He spoke quietly.

”I’ll decide after I leave this place.”

Simon removed the rebel’s spatial ring along with the finger wearing it. He did not place it inside his own spatial ring. Instead, he wrapped it inside several layers of compressed wind and kept a thin spatial barrier around it.

However, the tracker continued pulsing.

’If the tracker is still working after all these, Korran and Black Horn might believe that its the Furnaceback Centipede moving. All the more reason to keep on moving before he sends the Biggest Kev or who knows, a Demon Lord in my direction.’

He quickly stored the severed head and headless body inside his spatial ring. He then swept his hand and a heavy gust of wind passed over the ground and scattered the scent of blood. Another current lifted the blood-stained dust and sent them flying, while Simon used Shadow Sense one final time to confirm that nothing had approached.

He turned southeast and disappeared between the black rocks.

His plans for the Voice, the handover, and Korran’s trackers were not complete yet. But inside his spatial ring rested something whose value required no further thought.

’I guess I am going to devour a Half-Step Abyssal Beast very soon.’