The Broken Halo

Korran stood at the broken entrance and allowed his gaze to travel across the chamber.

The poison had thinned, but its bitter scent still clung to the walls. Three corpses lay around the empty treatment frame, and the cleanly severed restraints reflected the white light from the ceiling.

His expression remained calm, but the pressure filling Lower Ward Three did not.

"Explain."

The single word made Rasken, Ossik, and the other guards straighten.

The Containment Captain stepped forward and began with the report from Malkir Apothecary. He described the containment unit, the Second Hazard Officer’s brief separation, their return through the western gate, and the breach that drew them below.

Ossik interrupted when Rasken reached the treatment chamber.

"The delay at the door-"

Korran looked at him.

Ossik stopped immediately seeing the deathly cold stare of Korran.

"Rasken will finish," Korran said quietly. "The next demon who interrupts will explain himself without a tongue."

No one doubted him in the slightest.

Rasken continued. By the time he reached the healer’s conclusion that the real Second Officer had been dead for more than an hour, the muscles along Korran’s jaw had tightened.

"So," Korran said when the report ended, "an enemy killed one of our officers, borrowed his face, returned in his uniform, passed our gate, and allowed his own captain to escort him to the prisoner."

Rasken’s face darkened.

Korran turned toward the guard captain near the door.

"Another enemy created a false Shroud position through Internal Duty Routing, entered a restricted ward, attacked two guards, and locked himself inside."

The demon lowered his head.

"And while both infiltrators moved through this Office, every demon responsible for stopping them could not do a single thing."

Nobody said a word, and Korran’s eyes became colder.

"If incompetence could be cultivated, this corridor would be filled with Demon Lords and Demon Kings."

Rasken clenched his fist.

"My unit responded according to the information we had."

"And your response delivered the intruder to his destination."

Korran’s voice never rose, but Rasken flinched as though he had been struck.

"Every living guard and official assigned to the western gate, Internal Duty Routing, and Lower Ward Three tonight will lose three months of pay and receive a black demerit. Anyone found personally negligent will lose their rank as well."

Several expressions drastically changed.

Korran did not care.

"Rasken, surrender your command ring. You are suspended from containment duty until this investigation ends."

Rasken’s head snapped upward.

"You cannot place all of this on my unit when Ossik—"

"Enough."

The pressure in the corridor increased. Rasken’s knees bent slightly before he forced them straight again.

Korran looked at Ossik.

"You will surrender your inspection token and remain inside Black Horn. Every step you took from the moment you left this Office will be reconstructed."

Ossik’s gaze sharpened.

"You are confining me based on his accusation?"

"I am confining you because you were connected to Malkir, knew about the Fourth Shroud before Rasken arrived, returned with a damaged coat you have not explained, and now stand beside an empty frame."

Metal threads shifted beneath Ossik’s sleeve.

Korran’s eyes moved toward them.

"Take them out, and I will have your hands removed before they reach the air."

The threads became still immediately and Ossik clenched his teeth.

Korran turned away from both demons.

"Seal every recording crystal connected to this ward. Freeze all temporary duty positions created during the last three days. Detain every official who touched the Fourth Shroud’s slate, including whoever approved it."

A records officer bowed.

"Yes, Vice Commander."

"Send another team to Malkir. Nobody there leaves, and nobody dies until they have been questioned. Search the side passage for blood, hair, scent, and fragments of the Second Officer’s equipment."

He glanced at the runemaster near the fading spatial residue.

"Give every city formation the remaining signature of that road. Do not close the city gates. The intruder used space to leave. If we seal the gates and roads, it will only announce our humiliation to Velmora."

The runemaster nodded.

"What do we tell the district?" another official asked carefully.

Korran’s gaze moved toward him.

"Nothing unless they ask. If they do, an unstable poisonous artifact recovered from the rebel nest triggered a temporary containment response. The threat was contained inside the Office."

He paused.

"Anyone who mentions a missing prisoner, an impostor, or Lower Ward Three will join the corpses in this room."

The official swallowed and lowered his head.

Korran looked once more at the empty treatment frame.

"Black Banner entered our home, killed our demons, and left with what belonged to us."

A quiet fury entered his voice.

"In the next forty eight hours, every known Black Banner contact in the western district is to disappear. Bring the useful ones alive. Hang the rest where their friends can find them."

No one objected.

Korran left Lower Ward Three after placing one of his field units in charge of the chamber.

As he climbed toward the upper floors, his mind returned to the impostor.

Several demonic races could alter their appearances. Faceless Demons could reproduce features after studying them. Blood Mimics could copy one’s appearance scent after drinking another demon’s blood. A few succubus bloodlines could alter their voices and bodies through illusions.

None explained everything.

The intruder copied a face, voice, scent, posture, and movements well enough to deceive the dead officer’s comrades. He also possessed a weapon capable of cutting restraints that could hold Greater Demons.

An artifact could explain both of them, but Korran had a feeling that there was more.

A face entered Korran’s mind.

A pale-grey demon with one horn, sky-blue eyes, and a background that seemed to become less believable every time Korran learned something new.

Blackmoon.

Sonya had deliberately extracted information about the prisoner. Simon had stopped her the moment she obtained enough. Earlier, he had questioned Korran about Black Banner, Damar, and the number of Two-Horned Demons within the rebellion.

However, none of that was proof despite his suspicion.

If Simon served Black Banner, Sonya exposing and slaughtering an entire cell made little sense. But a rebellion containing tens of thousands of demons was unlikely to think with one mind.

Korran reached the upper hall and called over a field officer.

"Find Blackmoon, Sonya, and Akaza. Quietly. Do not approach them."

The officer left.

He returned several minutes later with a communication crystal still glowing in his hand.

"Sonya and Akaza are at the Red Sand Hall. Several demons have seen them there."

"And Blackmoon?"

The officer hesitated.

"Pipeline Inn has not seen him since he left the Office with Sonya."

Korran narrowed his eyes, and the officer lowered his voice.

"No one knows where he is yet. But we’ll find him as long as he’s in the city."

Korran looked toward the windows to his left, where Velmora’s crimson-lit streets stretched into the distance.

The question was no longer whether Blackmoon possessed enough secrets to surprise him. It was whether one of those secrets had just walked into and out of Black Horn wearing a dead demon’s face.

’Or I might just be overthinking it. It’s still far fetched that he’s the one behind all of these.’

Korran released a soft sigh while rubbing the space between his brows.

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