Halo briefly wondered why Liam needed help at all. His wings beat with such force they seemed to shatter the sound barrier, and the feathers they released moved with equal violence.
If it had been a normal creature, Liam's feathers would've shredded it instantly. Instead, while Seraph recovered before the castle, Halo and Liam were still fighting the damn thing on Rascal land. They weren't having an easy time of it.
The creature's size gave it a raw power advantage. Its speed remained overwhelming, Halo could barely track its movements, let alone Liam's. Worse, it negated Halo's strength completely. He had to fall back on his Dominant Skill, reflexes, and agility.
The tail struck with vicious speed, almost breaking his arms more than once. But except for its three lower limbs, the creature's hands moved relatively slowly.
This led to Halo exploiting that instead.
He changed weapons as needed, eyes on the tail, leaping through blind spots. The speed differential kept him sidelined mostly, but every time he engaged, it was high stakes, landing a wounding blow or taking a devastating hit himself.
The battle stretched far longer than anticipated. Seraph's absence was becoming a problem, they'd already laid waste to Rascal Land's frontier. The snow had melted away on their side, and the dead trees were reduced to splinters and debris.
Worse, Halo's legs trembled from fatigue, and from how light Liam's previously heavy beat sounded, Halo knew he was no exception either.
It was as though the Sinner wanted to verify Halo's thoughts. The moment he noticed Liam's tiredness, a bone-breaking sound tore through the distance. Halo watched as Liam was sent crashing into the ground, his wings mellowing as they trembled.
The creature's tail shifted, hardening instantly, its tip sharpening into a blade. Halo saw the intent immediately. Despite knowing the Sinner was faster, he sprinted toward Liam to intercept. But the moment he moved, the creature was already there.
It just needed a single shot, and that would be the end of Liam. But that wasn't something Halo could watch unfold.
Once he neared them, he transformed his blade into a scythe, and though it was lighter and probably less powerful than his conjoined blades would have been, he still managed to use it to his advantage as he severed the Sinner's tail with a single swing.
As soon as he did, Liam took the moment to put a distance between himself and the Sinner, panting heavily as though his life was being squeezed out of him.
Halo scoffed in frustration as he watched the Sinner's tail regrow.
"Tch… I will turn you into my clone. Bastard."
His legs buckled no matter how hard he tried to keep himself up. But a glimpse at Liam, who remained on one knee with his wings disappeared, he knew everything lay on him now.
He forced himself through the pain and rose to his feet and transformed his blade into a sword. Without forming any plan, he dashed forward, and the Sinner also met him with an unforgiving force.
Halo moved sluggishly beyond reason, but managed to stay in the fight. He considered calling Light for a moment, then discarded the idea. They'd win anyway, and more importantly, those Sin Fragments weren't cheap.
However, his bravado only lasted so long. Before he knew it, the Sinner's tail whipped into his gut slamming him into the ground.
The pain surged through every ounce of his body, draining even his drive to rise to his feet. His breath came in heavy gasps, and remaining on the dark soil was all he could manage.
Then, a tremor ran through the ground. The Sinner's malicious presence loomed over him. Halo squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for death. But what came was the thunderous collapse of the creature's body, hitting the earth.
His eyes shot open immediately with confusion etched across his face. He then forcefully turned in the Sinner's direction to take a look.
He smiled.
Beside him was Seraph, whose skin seemed darkened as though burned, panting heavily as she gripped Halo's sword. The Sinner lay before her, its head severed from its neck.
At that moment, the usual bronze screen popped before his eyes.
***
[ Congratulations! You've slain a Beast Sinner. ]
[ You've received a Sin Fragment: Pride. 29/10000 ]
[ Your speed has increased. ]
***
Halo frowned despite the cozy feeling that coursed through him for receiving the Sin Fragment.
He didn't understand what was happening. He wasn't the one who killed it, so why did he receive the Sin Fragment?
While his mind wandered, he watched Seraph approach the Sinner to burn it to a crisp, and Halo didn't wait a moment before speaking up.
"Wait…"
Seraph halted and turned to Halo with a confused look.
Halo sighed.
"It is dead. I received the Sin Fragment."
Seraph glanced at Halo's sword following his word.
"Is it because I used your sword?"
Halo wasn't sure, but that was the only logical explanation. The blade was a gift from the god of death, and though he didn't know it could do that, it was reasonable to assume that way.
However, Seraph tried to burn the Sinner anyway until Halo stopped her once again. His body had rested a little, and so he forced himself upright.
"I'm thinking of turning it into my clone. It's too strong to waste."
Halo muttered, but before he could get on his feet, Liam closed in and lent him a shoulder.
He needed to have this. Though he truly wanted the Sinner's strength at his disposal, he also wanted insight into his own ability. He was supposed to turn Dark Saint into a clone right after his Purpose came to an end. He needed to know the estimated price.
After the usual ritual of the bronze screen, it only took a thought for it to boil Halo's blood.
***
[ Would you like to summon the fallen as a clone? ]
Price: 8 Sin Fragments
| Yes | No |
***
Eight Sin Fragments? Even their outing hours ago didn't cost that much.
He let out a sigh.
This felt unfair to him, considering he only needed five Sin Fragments to restore Light's energy, yet had refused. Still, he found himself summoning the Sinner anyway.
As soon as the word echoed in his mind, they watched as a black orb emerged from the Sinner's corpse, formed on the ground, and instantly began to take shape.
In time, the malevolent creature they had slain stood before them. Its entire body was made of darkness except for the red energy around its tail, legs, arms, and crown, and its size had shrunk to about six feet.
It stood before them, staring intensely at Halo. But Halo was too worn out to consider anything much, and taking in how Liam's fatigue worked, he was only a few energy away from collapsing.
However, before he could issue any order to the Sinner, Seraph spoke up.
"Call it Tough. You were about to name it anyway, weren't you? It suits it… strong and simple."
Halo glanced at her for a moment and shrugged. Naming it would have taken days anyway, since he wasn't good with names.
"You heard her. Tough… now guard the castle."
The moment the words left Halo, Tough began walking in the castle's direction as if it was a puppet, and so did the others.
Halo had a lot of questions about the Sinner, but unfortunately, he was coughing up blood at that moment, so he needed to rest.