The Broken Halo

Simon remained inside the empty alley after the Murmur Bone disappeared into his spatial ring.

His finger continued tapping against his arm while the two missions settled into place inside his mind.

Black Horn wanted him to protect the convoy.

Black Banner wanted him to rob it.

Both sides were preparing traps. Both sides were hiding information. And both expected him to take the greatest risk while they watched from safer positions.

Simon looked at the dusty floor.

’If I choose Black Horn completely, the decision is simple. I can use the Voice’s request and information to help Korran crush the attackers, and collect the mission rewards.’

Seventy thousand low-grade hell stones were useful, but hardly important. The Profound artifacts that were not weapons or the resources from the treasury held more value, and the hundred war merits were even better.

The Earth campaign offered access to the War Treasury, military resources, instructors, restricted locations, and an entire invasion filled with opportunities. Strong humans would die. Demons would die. Demonic beasts would be killed along the route and around the rift.

Every corpse, bloodline material, heart, artifact, and secret could help Simon grow.

Black Horn was also giving him a legal path toward Earth.

That alone made the organisation too valuable to throw away for one Black Banner mission.

’However, helping Korran so blatantly and openly would be foolish. He already suspects me. If I interfere with every ambush, plan, and trap the Eastern Faction has in mind, his suspicion of me would not reduce but deepen.’

Korran would ask how Simon was able to accurately interfere with so many things and how he got all his information.

He would most likely ask about the Eastern Warden, the Vice-Eastern Warden, the Fifth Needle, Lower Ward Three, and the spatial escape from Black Horn. Even if Simon created believable lies, each answer would lead to another question.

Black Horn might reward him for interfering with the attack, but it would also place him under tighter control.

Worse, he would lose the eastern faction as a source of information.

The Voice was careful, but she had already given him knowledge he could not have obtained from Black Horn. Through her, Simon could eventually reach the Second Claw, the Chrysalis, the Seven Seats, the White Crown, and the deeper parts of Crownless Dawn.

Simon’s eyes grew colder.

’If I choose Black Banner completely, I will gain their trust and move closer to Crownless Dawn. I may also receive more information after the mission. In exchange, I would lose far more than I gain.’

Stealing the cargo successfully would damage Black Horn’s preparations and most likely place every recruit under suspicion.

Simon, Sonya, and Akaza were already confirmed members of the convoy. If the Outsider appeared during the attack while Blackmoon vanished at the wrong moment, the eastern faction’s uncertain theory might become certainty.

Black Horn would also investigate Assault Core Nineteen.

Sonya and Akaza knew nothing, but innocence did not always protect someone from interrogation, imprisonment, or execution.

Simon did not care about innocence.

He cared about usefulness.

Sonya and Akaza were powerful, loyal, and still growing. Both had rare bloodlines and abilities that would become even more valuable if he decided to invest in them. Allowing either of them to be dragged down by his actions would be an unnecessary loss.

’I will not sacrifice two valuable pieces merely to prove myself to a demoness who still considers me disposable.’

There was another problem.

If the spatial materials and stabilisation core reached the Chrysalis, Crownless Dawn would move closer to opening its reflected path to Earth.

That could create chaos, which Simon could use.

It could also allow the eastern faction to act before he understood its full plan.

An uncontrolled second crossing might interfere with Black Horn’s invasion, alter the battlefield, or place powerful rebels between Simon and the resources he wanted.

Helping Black Banner did not mean allowing it to become too strong.

Helping Black Horn did not mean allowing it to destroy Black Banner either.

Simon wanted both organisations alive, suspicious of each other, and willing to spend resources against the other side.

’The best result is not for one side to win. The best result is for both sides to believe I am useful while they continue weakening each other.’

He began walking slowly across the alley.

The convoy itself was only the first layer.

Korran had announced the route to hundreds of recruits after purging rebel contacts and sealing the Internal Duty Routing. The path curved toward empty hills instead of taking the shortest approach to the rift site.

It was too obvious for a man like Korran to be careless.

There would be hidden Black Horn units. There might also be false wagons, disguised commanders, or a destination prepared as a killing ground.

The Voice also had another plan.

She had refused to tell Simon which wagon carried the three cases, where the attack would occur, or how her people would be involved. She would only provide those details after the convoy left Velmora.

That was not merely caution.

It prevented Simon from warning Black Horn in advance, preparing a separate ambush, or reaching the cargo before her other pieces were ready.

’She wants me close enough to be useful and blind enough to be controlled. Korran is doing the same thing to the recruits.’

A faint smile crossed Simon’s face.

Neither side knew that he could already see part of both hands.

Still, that did not mean he had a complete plan.

Too many details were missing.

He did not know the true strength of the convoy guards. He did not know how many Black Banner cells would attack, whether the Voice intended to sacrifice them, or whether a more powerful Needle or another powerful executioner would appear.

He did not know if the three cases would contain the real materials.

And the road itself was dangerous.

Cracked ground, poisonous mist, Dread Beasts, and possible Calamity Beasts could ruin every arrangement before either faction acted.

Simon stopped near the window.

’I need a plan that gives me room to change sides without truly changing sides.’

As Blackmoon, he had to perform well enough to protect his position in Black Horn. He needed the war merits, the convoy reward, and a strong evaluation. He also needed Sonya and Akaza to remain clean.

As the Outsider, he needed to appear during the operation somehow, interfere with the cargo, and give the Voice a reason to continue their arrangement.

Those goals opposed each other only if he treated the convoy as a single battle.

The journey would last days.

There would be dangerous regions, many wagons, hundreds of moving demons, and at least one large attack. Confusion would create gaps. Gaps created separate scenes. And separate scenes allowed different identities to exist without being seen together.

Simon could also let Black Banner do most of the work.

If the rebels exposed the hidden guards, broke the convoy’s formation, or separated the cargo from the main force, he could act afterward rather than leading the attack himself.

The three cases did not necessarily need to remain with Black Banner forever.

He could steal them for Black Banner, allow them to move deeper into the eastern network, and then recover them later for Black Horn.

If he followed the carrier instead of the cargo, he might learn where they were being delivered to.

Perhaps even the location of the Chrysalis.

Then Black Horn could regain its materials, Black Banner could lose another hidden base, and Simon could claim rewards from whichever side remained ignorant of his role.

It was an attractive result.

It was also too dependent on events he could not predict.

’I should not fall in love with a plan before I see the battlefield. For now, I only need to create the conditions that will give me choices.’

First, he would train with Assault Core Nineteen and learn how Black Horn intended to use them.

Second, he would study the convoy, its guards, wagons, formations, and command structure during the final inspection.

Third, he would keep the Murmur Bone close and judge the Voice’s instructions only after she revealed the attack point.

Fourth, he would keep Sonya and Akaza near enough to protect their alibis, but far enough from his secrets.

As for the final choice, Simon would make it when the moment arrived.

He did not need Black Horn to win.

He did not need Black Banner to win.

He only needed to leave the road stronger, richer, and closer to evolving his bloodline than when he entered it.

The tapping against his arm finally stopped.

’I will protect the convoy when protecting it benefits me. I will attack it when attacking it benefits me. If both sides suffer while paying me for the privilege, that will be even better.’

Simon pushed away from the wall and left the empty building.

Sonya had threatened to eat his food if he took too long. Hopefully, she had not eaten it yet.

His thoughts were not yet a finished plan, but that did not matter.

By the time Simon returned to the restaurant and joined Sonya and Akaza, his expression had become calm again.

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