The Broken Halo

The Biggest Kev stood in the doorway, and Simon’s already damaged room seemed to become smaller around him.

His black armour nearly brushed both sides of the entrance. The Blood Jaguar helmet concealed his face, but the dull-yellow eyes behind its narrow openings remained fixed on Simon.

Sonya and Akaza said nothing.

Simon could feel the Armor King’s Half-Step Demon Lord aura gathered beneath layers of metal. It was not being released as a threat, yet its weight was impossible to ignore.

Kev lowered his head slightly and stepped inside.

The floor groaned beneath his boots.

”Blackmoon,” he said. His deep voice came through the metal jaws of the helmet. ”I wanted to personally see the demon who entered a Furnaceback Centipede as a Minor Archfiend and returned alive.”

His gaze travelled over Simon’s burns, bloodstained clothes, and calm expression.

”How did you survive?”

A slight frown appeared on Simon’s face.

”I have already explained everything to Korran and Guard Commander Tarvak. I gave them my report, demonstrated the technique I used, and answered more questions than I cared to answer.”

He gestured toward the corridor.

”If you want the same information, meet either of them.”

Akaza’s eyes flickered.

Very few demons would dismiss a Half-Step Demon Lord so directly, especially one who had stopped a charging Half-Step Abyssal Beast with one hand.

The Biggest Kev stared at Simon for a moment. Then a deep laugh rolled from behind the Blood Jaguar helmet.

”I am not surprised you are bold enough to say that despite the difference in our heart ranks.”

The plates around his shoulders shifted faintly as he folded his arms.

”For some reason, my instincts are warning me about you. So are several of my artifacts.”

His tone lost some of its amusement.

”Tell me, how did you become this dangerous and raise your heart to the Supreme stage in two days?”

Kev tilted the helmet slightly.

”What are you?”

Simon released a frustrated sigh.

”Why does everyone keep asking who or what I am?”

He spread one hand.

”I am Blackmoon for fuck’s sake.”

Simon turned toward Akaza and raised his brows.

”Or do I look like a monster?”

Akaza examined him with deliberate seriousness, then he shook his head.

”No.”

Sonya stepped closer and patted Simon’s side.

”You look like a small kitty.”

Simon’s lips twitched.

”Yeah. Thanks Sonya.”

Sonya smiled. ”This Honourable is glad to help.”

Simon’s lips could not help but twitch slightly.

However, the remaining tension in the room eased slightly.

Simon faced Kev again.

”If you want answers to everything you just asked, Korran and Tarvak already have the answers. Meet them.”

Kev stroked the lower metal jaw of his helmet with one gauntleted hand.

”Korran told me part of it.”

His voice became more interested.

”And one detail caught my attention more than the others.”

Simon already suspected what was coming.

”The Abyssal Tortoise Shell Bead,” Kev said. ”I have studied, collected, repaired, crafted, and broken more artifacts than most demons will ever touch. I have never heard of an artifact bearing that name.”

Simon’s expression did not change despite Kev’s words.

’Of course you have not. It was an artifact I encountered only once in my previous life. It is not surprising that you do not know it.’

The bead itself had existed. Only Simon’s claim that he possessed one had been false.

”I doubt even a god knows every artifact that has ever existed,” Simon replied. ”How could you?”

Kev nodded without offence.

”You are right.”

He took another step into the room, and the floor gave another faint groan beneath his weight.

”That is why I came to learn.”

The enthusiasm in his voice sounded almost inappropriate for a demon wearing armour capable of wrestling a Half-Step Abyssal Beast.

”What was the shell bead made from? Was its barrier purely physical, elemental, spatial, or layered? Did it use the shell of an actual Abyssal Tortoise? Who forged it? Do you still possess any fragment after it broke?”

Simon remained silent, and Kev continued before he answered.

”And the artifact that suppressed your heart rank. What is its name? How did it restrict your power without damaging your pathways? Did the creator bind it to your heart, blood, or Chaos Flame?”

His dull-yellow eyes brightened behind the helmet.

”If either item left fragments, I would like to examine them.”

”No.”

The answer came calmly from Simon’s lips, and Kev’s questions stopped.

Simon folded his arms.

”They are my secrets. I have no reason to tell you how they were made, who created them, what materials they used, or whether anything remains.”

Despite Simon’s refusal, Kev did not become angry. He merely studied Simon in silence before asking.

”How much?”

Simon’s expression became strange.

”How much for what?”

”For the information. Everything and everybody has a price, so how much for the information on those two artifacts?”

Before Simon responded, Sonya faced Kev and folded her arms.

”You are quite rude for someone standing in little kitty’s room as an uninvited guest.”

Kev turned toward her properly for the first time.

”Oh. You must be the Kragh who calls herself Honourable Sonya.”

Sonya raised her chin proudly.

”You are not wrong. It is I.”

Kev studied her small frame then he chuckled softly.

”You are much smaller than I expected.”

Sonya’s expression darkened immediately.

”And you are much uglier than I expected.”

The fact that she could not see him did not appear to matter to her in the slightest.

The Biggest Kev blinked, then he slowly turned toward Simon.

”I like her. She is quite a character.”

”She was not trying to entertain you,” Akaza said from beside the bed.

”I know. I like her confidence and how funny she is.”

Sonya’s heel shifted against the floor, but Simon gave her a brief glance before another section of his room became a casualty.

He returned his attention to Kev.

”My answer remains no. There is no price. I am not selling information about either artifact.”

Kev became quiet, and the playful interest around him faded into something more focused.

His gaze moved from Simon’s face to his hands.

It stopped on the Miser’s Ring resting on one finger. Then it travelled slowly over the black Chaos Wraps covering Simon’s fingers and disappearing beneath the burned sleeves of his coat.

The Artifact Channels within Kev’s body stirred faintly, and a flicker of surprise entered the dull-yellow eyes behind the Blood Jaguar helmet.

”What if,” Kev said slowly, curiosity deepening his voice, ”I give you information about that ring and those black wraps instead?”