The Broken Halo

Sonya weaved through Simon’s attacks with frightening fluidity.

Her tiny body moved like flowing mud between cracks, then her shoulder slammed into Simon’s chest as the earth rose beneath her feet.

Bam!

Simon slid backward, but this time he didn’t stop.

He pushed forward immediately.

Punch.

Elbow.

Knee.

Palm.

Feet.

The tempo intensified.

Dust exploded around them.

Shockwaves spread across the training ground.

Stone cracked beneath their feet repeatedly, and Sonya laughed excitedly the entire time.

“Yes! That’s it! Stop fighting like some elegant swordsman!”

Bam!

She punched Simon’s cheek.

Simon retaliated instantly with a hook.

Sonya ducked.

Her palm touched the ground, and the earth beneath Simon’s left foot instantly rose.

His balance shifted, and Sonya took advantage of the opportunity.

Her fist buried itself into his ribs.

Boom!

Simon flew backward across the training ground before skidding violently to a stop.

Dust slowly settled.

Sonya cracked her neck.

“Hahh… Now that was fun. You’re actually not bad at all. But you’re still a little kitty to me.”

Simon slowly straightened his body.

His ribs ached.

His cheek stung.

His shoulder throbbed.

But behind his mask… He was smiling slightly.

Why?

Because for the first time since entering the academy, someone was forcing him to fight differently and he was actually having fun.

Though he was limiting himself by a large margin and was not using his demonic energy most of the times, he was still enjoying his spar with Sonya.

“What’s with that smirk, little kitty? Don’t tell me you’re beginning to fall in love with me.” Sonya said while taking a step back and having a disgusted expression beneath her mask.

Simon’s lips twitched, but he decided to ignore the rubbish words of the runt.

“Are we done?”

Sonya blinked, then she slowly looked at him from top to bottom before shrugging.

“Well, you seem pretty fine to me. But if you want to stop, then I will definitely not force you. ”

“I’ll just tell master.”

Simon nodded, then he changed his stance and gestured with his four fingers.

“Then come. I still have a lot to learn.”

Sonya grinned beneath her mask.

“If you’re not master, then nobody has the right to tell this honourable what to do. But if the kitty wants to play, then I shall play and teach the kitty a lesson he shall never forget.”

Simon rolled his eyes.

“Just shut up and come.”

The instant he said these words, Sonya shot toward him like a cannonball and another battle began between the two of them.

As Simon fought against Sonya, he began to realize why Ormon told her to be his teacher.

Sonya was not the type to teach by starting from the basics of fist fighting or mixed martial arts.

No.

If Simon was a complete novice when it comes to fighting or fighting with his fists, Ormon would never tell Sonya to teach him.

Sonya herself would become truly angry and annoyed with her master if she was told to teach a novice, even if that novice had some talent in the fist path.

Her method of teaching was to fight and sometimes correct whatever problems she found in her opponent.

If her opponent lost too quickly or was not strong enough, she would become irritated, frustrated, and angry.

At the end of the day, she would quit and tell her master she was no longer interested in teaching and that it was a waste of her time.

Fighting Simon was very entertaining to her, and though she was overwhelming him because he was limiting himself, she was still learning a lot.

If there was one thing that frightened her about Simon, it was how quickly he was learning and the brief situations where he used his demonic energy.

She had never seen a demon that was so good at controlling their demonic energy like Simon, and she had gone to places outside the clan and battled some talented and powerful Archfiends and even Greater Demons.

But none came close to Simon’s level of control over his demonic energy.

She reckoned that if Simon was constantly using his demonic energy to reinforce his body, she would struggle a lot to defeat him and she might even lose.

She decided to ignore the fact that his physical capabilities were comparable to his when he was just a Minor Fiend.

She decided to ignore it for the sake of her mental health.

Their battle/training continued for over an hour, and both Simon and Sonya had no issues training for this long.

As they moved, sweat fell on the floor, and Simon was now topless.

Sonya was also topless, but she had wrappings around her breasts, covering every single bit of it tightly.

If they both removed their masks, the smiles on their faces would be visible.

Sonya had a wide smile while Simon had a little smile as they both fought.

Eventually, Sonya called for a break because her demonic energy reserves were running low.

Previously, she only needed to use little bits of demonic energy to manipulate the earth, but as Simon was becoming more and more proficient in fighting with his fists, she had to use more of her demonic energy to manipulate the earth and overpower Simon.

Using her chaos might seem like cheating, but one could not ignore the height difference.

Besides, she was used to fighting like that and it was beneficial for Simon because it helped him to not be so rigid when using his fists.

The training ground was silent, and the sound of their panting and sweat falling on the ground from their bodies were the only sounds that could be heard.

Sonya had her hands on her waist and she was looking at Simon with a complex expression.

’What a monster.’

A second after she had this thought, Simon spoke.

“Are we done training for the day?”

Sonya remained silent for a moment before she slowly sat on the ground and nodded.

“Yeah. I’m tired.”

Simon nodded in understanding.

He too was tired, but not as much as Sonya though.

’Compared to my battle with Blackblade, this training was more exhausting.’