The Broken Halo

Two nights later, Simon sat alone inside one of Red Sand Hall’s private combat chambers.

The chamber was larger than an ordinary room but considerably smaller than the public arenas below.

Most of the floor had been left empty for training and sparring. Dark-red stone covered the ground, its surface marked by old scratches, shallow cuts, and several pale repair lines from previous battles. Reinforced walls surrounded the chamber, and thin formations had been engraved into the corners to reduce noise and prevent ordinary attacks from escaping and destroying the walls.

A long stone bench occupied one side of the room.

Opposite it stood a low table, four chairs, and a cabinet containing water, clean cloth, basic medicine, and several things patrons could request while renting the chamber.

The most interesting feature, however, was the rectangular formation occupying almost half of the front wall.

Its surface resembled dark glass.

At the moment, moving images could be seen within it.

The formation was connected to the public arenas of Red Sand Hall, allowing demons inside private chambers to watch ongoing matches without leaving their rooms.

Simon was currently watching Akaza fight.

The public arena below was enormous.

Rows of stone seats climbed around a circular battlefield covered in reddish sand. Demons filled a good portion of them, shouting, arguing, laughing, and exchanging hell stones while formations surrounding the arena prevented stray attacks from reaching the audience.

At the centre, Akaza stood opposite a two-horned demon.

Both were Supreme Archfiends.

The other demon was broader than Akaza and wielded a long black staff reinforced with metal rings. Pale-blue energy coated the weapon as he swung it horizontally toward Akaza’s ribs.

Akaza stepped forward instead of retreating.

His left arm rose.

Bang!

The staff struck his forearm, and the impact sent sand exploding outward, but Akaza barely moved.

His right fist followed immediately.

The two-horned demon twisted the staff down to block.

A strange pressure suddenly gathered around Akaza’s fist.

Gravity

The staff dipped several centimetres lower than its owner intended.

Akaza’s fist slipped over it and smashed into the demon’s shoulder.

BAM!

The two-horned demon staggered sideways.

Cheers erupted from the audience, but Simon watched without much interest.

Akaza had not used much of his real strength yet. Neither had he revealed most of what he had learned in the Shadowgrave Clan.

This fight was for pure entertainment and training for Akaza, nothing more.

Simon leaned slightly farther back in his chair.

He did not currently look like Blackmoon.

His white hair had become dark grey and had been cut short around the sides, while the face beneath it belonged to a demon Simon had seen several days earlier near Velmora’s western market.

The face was ordinary, and that was exactly why Simon chose it.

The demon appeared to be somewhere in his late twenties. His skin was dull brownish-grey, his jaw slightly broad, and a thin scar crossed the left side of his nose. His eyes were dark red with ordinary circular pupils.

Two short black horns curved slightly backward from either side of his head.

He also wore loose black trousers, dark boots, and a plain long sleeved grey shirt.

Nothing about him looked wealthy, dangerous, or memorable. Even his aura was more hidden compared to before. He was now more used to his Supreme Archfiend rank, so he could control his aura better.

Simon had entered Red Sand Hall separately from Sonya and Akaza, and neither of them knew which private chamber he had rented. They only knew that he was in a private chamber in Red Sand Hall.

In the arena below, Akaza’s opponent slammed one end of his staff into the ground.

Three blue rings expanded through the sand.

Akaza jumped, and the ground beneath his previous position exploded upward.

Before the two-horned demon could follow the attack, Akaza suddenly increased the gravity around his own body.

He dropped from the air far faster than expected.

BOOM!

His feet struck the arena floor, and the two-horned demon’s expression changed.

Akaza was already in front of him.

A fist stopped less than an inch from his throat, and the two-horned demon gulped with cold sweat on his temple.

Silence briefly swallowed the arena before the crowd erupted.

Simon gave a faint nod since it was a simple duel and he expected Akaza to win.

Suddenly...

Ding

A soft metallic tone came from beside the chamber’s door.

Simon’s gaze immediately moved away from the viewing formation.

A small red rune embedded beside the door had illuminated, signalling that someone was outside.

The chamber’s privacy formation prevented visitors from knocking directly against the door. Instead, touching the outer request plate caused the rune inside to sound quietly once as long as the demon inside the chamber allowed it.

Simon did not move immediately.

His ShadowSense spread outside the room then he sensed two demonesses standing outside his door.

No additional presence stood close to the demonesses and his room.

At least, none that he could detect.

He took another look at the formation that displayed Akaza’s match.

With a small pulse of demonic energy, the moving image disappeared and the dark surface returned to ordinary black glass.

Simon stood and walked toward the door, and for a moment, he simply stood there.

Then he opened it and saw the two demonesses.

Both wore the uniforms of Red Sand Hall’s private-chamber attendants.

Dark-red dresses stopped way above their knees, while fitted black jackets covered their upper bodies. Each carried a small tray containing a pitcher of water, three cups, and folded cloths- the sort of things an attendant could reasonably deliver to a rented chamber.

Their appearances were equally unremarkable.

The demoness on the left had shoulder-length black hair, light-grey skin, two small horns, and dull violet eyes.

The one beside her was slightly taller, with reddish-brown skin, dark hair tied behind her head, and narrow amber eyes.

Simon had never seen either demonesses and he didn’t recognize them, but he knew that faces meant very little in this scenario.

The woman on the left held herself too carefully like she was standing before her master and was in a battlefield. Meanwhile, the taller one beside her stood with a completely relaxed posture and a light smile.

Simon looked at them, and neither spoke immediately.

Then the shorter demoness’s dull violet eyes settled on him.

”Outsider.”

Simon smiled faintly.