Envy stares at the structure with awe when she steps into the clearing. She thought that the gatekeeper would be lying to bring her here but now that very thing is right in front of her.

It is the gate of Creation - one of the two gates that the Un-Seven are unable to locate.

She tries to decrease her distance between herself and the gate but the journey is halted when Howon steps in front of her. She snarls at the boy and attempts to push Howon away, to only get pushed back harshly away.

“You honestly think I brought you here just to let you have the gate?” Howon says in an amused tone. Envy scoffs as she picks herself up.

“What’s the point of you protecting it when you’re going to lose the fight anyways?” Envy taunts.

“I admire your courage but if I remember correctly, I pretty much won the last fight against you.” Howon exclaims while tapping his chin as he recalls the events through his memories. Envy scrunches her face with anger and clenches her fist tightly.

“Wait a minute there. How is it possible that you remember all that? You all, the Seven of you lost your lives cowardly to save that mistress of yours. Your memories should have been wiped when you reincarnated.” Envy questions in a low tone, one that reflects the similarity to a growl.

“Well, I suppose I have to thank you for that, Envy.”

“What?” Envy replies with confusion.

“That drink you gave me at the backstage? You drugged that beverage with something, didn’t you? Thanks to that, I’m able to be awakened.” Howon exclaims.

“Awakened? That means your powers…!” Envy gasps.

“That’s right. That drink of yours has a negative effect on Howon’s body, in which causes me to awaken as a protection to protect Howon’s life. As of now, I, Hoya am controlling Howon’s body and as a part of his powers, I retain my memories as his darker personality. During our last fight, the knowledge of me having dual personality is not known, not even amongst the Seven.” Hoya exclaims.

“So that’s the reason why the concoction didn’t work on you. Your resistance to magic is simply disgusting however…” Envy pauses as she charges swiftly towards Hoya and throws a punch towards the male, only to have her fist grabbed by Hoya. “I don’t have all day to have a long conversation with you.”

“Well, I thought you should know the reason for your failure since I’m pretty sure that you screamed and pulled your hairs out in agony because your plan failed.”

“I don’t really think so, Gatekeeper. I’m pretty sure your friend is –“

“Dead? You have the nerve to aim for things that is precious to me, Envy though I guess that’s what being evil means. However, your plan won’t succeed.” Hoya interrupts her.

“That’s not possible. That building is six levels high! Even if he survives, he’ll be crippled for the rest of his life!” Envy corrects him. Hoya chuckles slightly before a full fledge laughter erupts from his lips. Still holding onto Envy’s first, he tightens his grip around the female’s hand, causing Envy to wince in pain slightly.

“He did fall, and he did die. For that, I’ll make sure you suffer a death worse that what he has gone through. However, like I said – your plans will not succeed. After picking him up, I sent him to someone Superbia would love to see again and you know perfectly well of his powers.” Hoya explains with a tone mixed with anger and taunt.

Envy widens her eyes in fury and lets out a battle cry, forcefully pushing Hoya away from her. Her breath starts to become heavy as adrenaline surges within her system. She could not possible to fail right now when the gate is right in front of her. Envy refuses to lose to the likes of Hoya and is certainly not going to fail, just like Sloth and Lust.

With the cry signifying the start of their battle, Hoya stabilizes his footing after being pushed back by the force. Channeling strength to his calves, Hoya pushes himself off the ground and launches towards Envy. As he gets closer to her, Hoya forms a fist and tries to land a punch on Envy however the female dodges it skillfully. Hoya tries to connect hits after hits but only to fail as his punches and kicks seems to miss just inches.

Frustrated by his misses, Hoya fails to notice an incoming punch from the woman. The force from the punch causes Hoya to fly backwards and collide onto the gate. He groans out in pain as he tries to get back up onto his feet.

“Have you forgotten that I’m a master in combat just like you? I can read your movements as easy as reciting the alphabets. You’ve gotten dull, Gatekeeper.” Envy teases as she goes forward once again onto the offensive. Sensing Envy approaching him, Hoya channels his power into his right hand and lands an implosive blow onto the ground, causing a wide spread devastation. The area around Hoya is wrecked apart.

The wide spread force cause Envy to fly backwards and lands on her bottom. Before she could recover, a hand forcefully wraps itself around her neck and strangles her. The strength of the grip is strong, effectively cutting her of oxygen. Her vocal cords are yet to be crushed as bits and pieces of inaudible words escapes from her lips.

“So… tell me, Envy. What does my action tells you now?” Hoya whispers in her ear as his grip on Envy’s neck tightens. Envy finds herself on the verge of losing conscious and attempts to struggle out from the grip. Letting her hands wander about, Envy feels for Hoya’s face and with a sharp stab, she pierces Hoya’s right eye with her fingernail, making the male scream out in pain. Unaware of the input of his strength, Hoya crushes Envy’s neck and the sound of bone snapping echoes audibly. Hoya retreats as immersive pain surges throughout his head as warm red liquid streaks his face. With his mind now occupied with the thoughts of pain, it soon becomes unbearable and the muscled male soon falls into lost consciousness.

-

Silence takes over as the sounds of grasshoppers and crickets hums with delight, adding music to the quiet environment but soon, an uninviting sound forcefully joins the fray, destroying the peaceful silence.

Envy slowly writhe her body upwards, with the signs of her snapped neck still visible. She drags her heavy feet towards the gate. The journey is a long and painful one for her however she has a job to complete and she will not fail her master. Lifting up the fingers that is stained with the gatekeeper’s blood, she smears it on the stone structure and watches it spring to life as the sound of the stones rumbling to open can be heard from a distance.

Envy smiles painfully at the completion of her mission and sends out a mental signal to her underlings to pick her up. Her neck may be snapped but she isn’t human to begin with and is able to recuperate once back at Red Dawn. As she is about to send, Envy feels someone hard poking the back of her head. The sound of the tool clicking into place helps her determine the tool’s identity – a gun.

“You… won’t… be able… to kill me… for I’m… not your… opposite…” Envy manages out.

“There’s no need to lecture me about the rules, Invidia. I know them very well. However, would you like to see if the ammunition within this gun will not kill you?” The stranger questions with dare. Envy releases a painful and rough chuckle as she is able to see true the guy’s bluff.

“Go… on and… try… because… you’ll… never… succeed.” Envy taunts.

The sound of the gun being fired echoes loudly. The bullet penetrates and engraves into Envy’s skull as the woman falls towards the front from the impact. Almost immediately after the bullet enters her, she ignites into a blazing flame, signifying the end of her life.

“Not… possible… how?” She screams out as the fire eats her part by part. The screams slowly descend in pitch as her body soon lay there by the grass as ashes. The stranger exhales out a sigh as he approaches Howon and hulls him over his shoulder.

“It’s getting awfully late. I hope they don’t mind a late dinner.”

To be continued in Chapter 31: Gathering

A/N

If you're still unsure what Howon's power is, his power is like a split personality. One is the good one (Howon) while the other is the bad one (Hoya).

Howon is powerless but Hoya has the power. However, Howon has to maintain his strength on his own virtue so that Hoya has strength to fight. 

As for now, Hoya appears because of the drink that Howon drank from Envy. As an act of self-protection, it triggers Howon's power to awaken, thus Hoya.

(Hope these will clear up your doubts!)