The Broken Halo

"But how do you know that?"

Korran’s eyes narrowed slightly at Simon’s question.

Simon continued in the same calm tone.

"You already know the formation would have caused more destruction if Sonya had not interfered. You also know the convoy route was compromised, and one of the rebels entered your recruitment."

The two officials’ expressions changed.

"If this becomes a public judgment, the families will ask why rebels lived beneath Velmora for years. They will ask how they obtained the convoy route, forged city tokens, copied guard uniforms, and entered the Black Horn recruitment without being discovered."

"They would judge the security of Velmora and the capabilities of its officials and guards."

Silence filled the room.

Sonya glanced at Simon, and a slow smile appeared on her face.

This was why she came to Simon first and told him everything. She knew that she could trust him with something like this.

Korran wanted to use the dead civilians as pressure, but the same deaths could turn the attention of Velmora’s residents toward the officials responsible for the city’s security.

Sonya destroyed the street.

Velmora allowed the danger to grow beneath it.

Neither side was innocent.

The Iron Examiner studied Simon with a colder gaze.

"You want to threaten the Black Horn Office with public anger?"

"No," Simon replied. "I’m reminding you that blame can move in more than one direction."

Korran’s fingers moved once beside his robe, then became still.

"I still cannot let this go without giving her some sort of punishment. So what do you suggest?"

Simon did not answer immediately.

Korran revealed his objective first. There was no reason for Simon to rush and reveal his own.

He also understood that the Iron Examiner could not leave without Sonya facing some sort of punishment.

"A war oath for the first raid only," Simon eventually said. "Not the entire campaign."

The official beside Korran frowned.

"That is too short."

Simon ignored him and kept on staring at the Iron Examiner.

"The oath begins when we enter the rift. It ends when the first raid returns to the demon realm or is confirmed dead. No loyalty to Velmora. No orders unrelated to the first raid. No power to extend it without our agreement."

Korran rejected it immediately.

"The city will not accept responsibility for over a hundred metres of destruction in exchange for one mission."

"Then calculate both sides properly."

Simon’s tone remained indifferent.

"The value of the convoy. The extra unwanted expenditure she prevented. The delay Sonya prevented. The rebel cell she exposed. The recruitment infiltration she discovered. The lives that would have been lost if the explosives detonated together."

He paused.

"Subtract the damage from that."

Sonya nodded firmly with a light smile.

"That sounds fair."

Korran looked at her.

"You do not get to decide what is fair after killing over a dozen residents, and then choosing to disguise yourself and escaping the guards."

Sonya shrugged.

"I came back to my inn. I didn’t leave the city."

"You changed your footsteps and joined the injured civilians," Korran said coldly.

Sonya shrugged once again.

"This Honourable did not feel like talking."

One official looked ready to speak, but Korran stopped him with a glance.

Korran stared at Simon again.

His original plan was to use Sonya’s debt to bring all three of them beneath Velmora.

Simon cut away the unclear length of the oath and turned the city’s failure to discover the rebels into a weakness. He also forced Korran to weigh Sonya’s merits against the damage instead of treating both matters separately.

However, one raid was not worthless.

The first force sent through the rift would face the greatest danger. They would enter hostile land without a secure path of retreat and fight humans who already knew where the passage was forming.

Velmora needed powerful demons who could survive long enough to destroy the human defences and secure a foothold.

Sonya and Akaza were both Supreme Archfiends whose physical strength had reached the level of Half-Step Greater Demons.

Simon’s displayed strength was lower, but Korran did not believe that was everything he possessed.

Once the three demons crossed to Earth beneath Velmora’s banner, there would be other chances to draw them closer through merits, resources, enemies, and benefits.

A chain did not always need to close around the neck at once.

Sometimes, the first link was enough.

"The first raid," Korran said slowly. "The oath will contain only orders connected to establishing the first foothold on Earth."

Simon’s eyes remained calm.

"And it ends the moment the surviving raid force returns through the rift or is confirmed dead."

Korran’s lips curled slightly.

"You do not leave many openings."

"Openings are dangerous."

"Fine."

Korran turned toward one of the officials.

"Tell the Black Horn Office to prepare a blank oath tablet. The terms will be carved in front of all of us. Nothing will be added after their blood touches it."

The official looked reluctant, but he lowered his head.

"Yes, Lord Korran."

Korran looked at Sonya again.

"You will still give a complete statement, and your merits will be compared to the damage. The city will not pretend fourteen deaths never happened."

Sonya clicked her tongue.

"As long as nobody expects this Honourable to beg."

"No one wants to hear you beg," Korran said with a tinge of irritation.

Sonya nodded with satisfaction.

"Good."

Korran looked between the three demons.

He failed to bind them to Velmora for the entire campaign, but he secured their strength for the most important first raid.

Simon also obtained what he wanted.

Sonya would not be arrested, no endless oath would bind them to Velmora, and the city would count her merits before demanding payment.

Neither side received everything.

Neither side left empty-handed.

Akaza looked between Simon and Korran, then slowly picked up his medicine box.

"So, I leave for medicine and return to find out we are joining Velmora’s first raid because Sonya could not stop herself from causing chaos?"

Sonya’s face darkened.

"This Honourable saved the city."

Akaza gave her a calm look.

"You destroyed part of it first."

"I will destroy you too."

Korran turned toward the door.

For the first time since entering the room, a faint trace of amusement appeared in his eyes.

Three demons.

Three different kinds of trouble.

And soon, Velmora would send all three to Earth.

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