The Broken Halo

Simon was able to understand a few things from the brief exchange.

The first is that the paper had never been hidden for the Fourth Shroud. It had been hidden for this inspector who seemed to be working for the Sleeping Commander of the Black Banner.

The slim official knew that someone connected to the Sleeping Commander was hidden inside Black Horn, so he left behind something suspicious enough to draw that demon out.

And it worked.

As for why two identical slim officials were currently in different places, Simon pushed that question aside. The demon in the backyard might be using a disguise, a racial ability, or some method of travelling that Simon had not noticed.

He did not possess enough information to decide which answer was correct.

For now, the conversation in the backyard was more important.

The Two-Horned inspector stared at the slim official with cold eyes.

"You went through all of this just to find me, Sorn?"

The name immediately entered Simon’s memory.

Sorn’s faint smile did not disappear.

"I already knew that you existed, Ossik. I simply did not know which Black Horn uniform you were hiding inside."

Senior Inspector Ossik released a quiet scoff.

"And now that you’ve seen my face, what exactly do you plan to do?"

"Nothing."

Sorn’s answer came too easily.

Ossik’s eyes narrowed.

The disguised demon glanced toward the closed apothecary door before continuing.

"I didn’t come here to expose you. If I report you to Black Horn, you’ll expose the Fourth Shroud. We’ll both lose more than we gain."

"At least you understand that much," Ossik scoffed.

"I understand more than you think."

Sorn opened the seventh locker, then he removed the folded paper from the grey-black robe and held it between two fingers. When he pressed his thumb against one of its creases, a tiny red rune appeared before fading again.

Ossik looked at the rune without any visible reaction.

"So, you found me. Congratulations. What now then?"

Sorn slowly returned the paper to the robe.

"You still don’t understand."

Something in Sorn’s tone caused Ossik’s expression to change slightly.

Sorn looked directly at him.

"I’m not doing all of these just to kill you."

His smile widened.

"I just needed to know who I had to lure out of Black Horn."

Silence fell across the backyard, and Simon’s eyes sharpened at those words.

Ossik stared at Sorn for less than a second before his hand moved toward the inside of his coat.

A small Black Horn token appeared between his fingers, and a dark red light was already spreading across its surface.

The moment Ossik saw this, his pupils contracted.

"The Fourth Shroud passed the western checkpoint six minutes ago."

Sorn said nothing, though his grin was still present.

Ossik’s gaze snapped toward the robe inside the locker, and he saw that the copper tag marked with four lines was still attached to its collar.

"Who entered as the Fourth Shroud?"

Sorn leaned against the locker as though the question did not concern him.

"Someone who knows what needs to be done."

"Who?"

"You already know I won’t answer that."

Ossik’s fingers tightened around the token.

"You used the robe to draw me here while another demon entered Lower Ward Three."

"Yes."

The simple answer made the coldness around Ossik deepen.

Simon understood what was going on now.

The Fourth Shroud was real, but the robe inside the locker had never been the only one. Another demon was acting as the Fourth Shroud, and this demon was in the Black Horn Office already.

The eastern faction had not only prepared an assassin. It had prepared a distraction for the member of an opposing faction who might try to stop that assassin.

But this led to Simon having some questions.

’Does the leader of the Black Banners know what the eastern faction plans on doing? Does he know about Operation Crownless Dawn? Or are there multiple factions among the rebels and this investigator is part of that faction?’

’If this ’Sleeping Commander’ knows about the plans of the Eastern Hand, then why has no action being taken against the Eastern Hand and his/her forces?’

’What’s going on exactly?’

While Simon was having all these thoughts, Ossik turned toward the backyard exit.

But before he could take a step, Sorn moved.

A thin black needle appeared between his fingers and flew toward Ossik’s neck.

The Senior Inspector raised his arm.

Clink!

A narrow metal thread emerged from beneath his sleeve and struck the needle aside. It buried itself in the apothecary wall, and the surrounding stone immediately became grey.

’Poison.’ Simon’s eyes flickered with the light of realization when he saw this.

Ossik glanced at the damaged wall before looking at Sorn again.

"You came here to delay me."

Sorn pulled another needle from his sleeve.

"It took you long enough."

"How much time does your assassin need?"

Sorn shrugged.

"Less than you’re about to give me."

Ossik moved.

His body crossed the small distance between them without disturbing the ground. Three dark threads spread from his right hand, each aimed at a different part of Sorn’s body.

Sorn twisted aside.

One thread passed beneath his arm.

The second cut through his coat.

The third wrapped around his wrist.

Black runes immediately spread along the thread, and Sorn’s smile disappeared the moment he saw these runes.

He had no idea what they were, but he was willing to wait and find out.

He drew a short blade with his free hand and severed the thread before the runes could touch his skin.

Neither demon released a large technique.

They were still behind an apothecary in the western district, less than two kilometres from the Black Horn Office. A violent clash would summon officials and guards before either of them achieved anything.

Their fight remained quiet.

Short steps.

Hidden blades.

Thin threads.

Poisoned needles.

Every movement targeted the throat, heart, or joints, or weak points of both demons.

Simon rose from the abandoned storage building.

He no longer had a reason to remain where he was.

While part of his perception continued watching the fight through Shadow Eye, he crossed two rooftops and moved closer to the apothecary. Wind gathered beneath his feet, softening every landing and preventing loose tiles from shifting under his weight.

By the time he reached the roof of the neighbouring storage house, Ossik and Sorn had exchanged more than a dozen attacks.

Neither had suffered a serious wound.

Sorn was not trying to defeat the Senior Inspector. He was only trying to keep him away from Black Horn.

Besides, he knew that he could not defeat Ossik easily because he and Ossik were both Half-Step Greater Demons.

Ossik knew that Sorn was trying to delay him, and the knowledge was making his attacks more dangerous with every passing second.

Simon looked through the upper window of the apothecary.

The owner and one of his assistants was still inside, searching through several stacks of supply records. If either looked into the backyard, the confrontation would end immediately as both rebels would sense their appearance.

Simon stretched one finger.

A thin current of wind entered through a ventilation opening above the window. It travelled across the room, curled around the leg of a narrow shelf, and gave it a precise pull.

The shelf tilted.

Several glass containers slid from its surface.

CRASH!

The sound tore through the quiet apothecary.

The owner shouted in alarm.

"WHO IS THAT?"

Footsteps rushed toward the backyard.

Ossik and Sorn froze, and for the briefest moment, both looked toward the door.

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