The Broken Halo

”Send them.”

For several seconds, no one around the floating map spoke.

Then Tomas’s hand tightened around his sealed spear.

”No.”

The refusal came so quickly and firmly that Dorian looked toward him.

”They were kept in reserve for a reason,” Tomas continued, his voice low but tense. ”They are our hidden answer if the Demon Lords outnumber the B-ranks at the front.”

”And they are only two people,” Ilona added with a deep frown. ”If the demons recognise what they are and target them specifically, we may lose both before support reaches them.”

Pavel’s six lenses slowed around his head.

”Sending them against five Archfiends is excessive,” he said solemnly. ”We would be revealing one of our best hidden cards to stop a threat that has not yet reached Frostveil.”

”A threat that destroyed Ironcrest,” Mara replied.

Dorian folded his arms.

”What happens if a Demon Lord crosses after they reveal themselves? Two prodigies are still only two prodigies. Losing them here would cost humanity far more than one watchtower.”

Tomas looked directly at Mara.

”They should remain hidden until they are stronger. This battlefield is beyond their experience.”

There was more than military concern in his tone.

Everyone in the tent knew why.

Tomas had personally trained one of the pair for years. He had corrected his stance, broken his bad habits, watched him survive his first Advancement Trial, and stood beside both of them after battles that nearly ended their lives.

Mara listened until the objections ended, then she placed both hands against the edge of the floating map.

”If we continue keeping them safe until they become what we expect, they will never become it.”

Tomas’s expression hardened.

Mara continued before he could answer.

”Strength grown only in controlled hunts and prepared training grounds is fragile. They need a battlefield that can punish mistakes, opponents they cannot dismiss, and circumstances no instructor arranged for them.”

She looked toward the screen showing Assault Core Seventeen.

”This battlefield is the correct environment. Those five are the correct targets.”

Ilona’s pale-gold circle stopped rotating.

”You are calling the Three Calamities training partners?”

”I am calling them a better alternative than a true Demon Lord.”

Mara enlarged the image.

”The one-horned demon, the blind Kragh, and the Martial Demon possess Supreme Infernal Hearts. The wood and water users possess Superior Infernal Hearts. Not one of them has an Abyssal Heart.”

”Yet the one-horned one killed Varga,” Dorian said.

”Yes. Which is why the fight will force them to grow.”

Mara’s metallic eye moved across the five demons.

”The one-horned demon is the greatest danger. The blind Kragh controls earth and metal at a level that is truly frightening. The Martial Demon defeated a stronger martial artist while Earth resisted his gravity. The other two are less abnormal, but their coordination makes them dangerous.”

She turned toward Tomas.

”Dangerous enough to test the pair. Not so powerful that sending them is the same as placing them before a bona fide Demon Lord.”

Tomas remained unconvinced.

Mara’s voice became firmer.

”Both of them are at the peak of C rank. They are both Level 90, and they have been preparing to advance for a long time. They are stronger than Varga individually. Also, have you forgotten that this battlefield would immensely help their advancement and make the system to grant them greater rewards for their advancement if they accomplish great deeds in this battlefield.”

No one disputed the numbers.

”Darius killed a Minor Demon Lord during the Sibiu breach,” she continued. ”Elara killed another beneath the Red Forest after its bloodline ability separated her from her unit. Neither victory was easy, but both survived.”

Her gaze passed across the leaders.

”Our evaluations state that if they fight together, they can kill a Prime Demon Lord, provided its powers do not place them at a direct disadvantage.”

Pavel looked at Simon’s image.

”And provided the Demon Lord is not another monster like the three we are watching.”

”Correct,” Mara said without hesitation.

That admission made the tent quieter.

She was not underestimating Assault Core Seventeen. She was measuring the danger and choosing to use it.

”Sending an A-rank would create an obvious weakness at command,” Mara continued. ”Removing a normal B-rank unit would expose a strategic position. The pair have not been committed to take control of any position. Their movement creates no hole for Marek or the White Crown to exploit.”

Dorian’s eyes narrowed.

”And after the demons realise who they are?”

”They will hesitate before sending a Demon Lord after two humans because they are just C ranks. Sending a Demon Lord would mean risking the Demon Lord’s life for just two Half-Step Demon Lords in their eyes,” Mara replied. ”Especially when their current opponents are only Archfiends. A Lord sent merely to save five Archfiends would reveal more fear than strength.”

Tomas looked down at the map.

”And if they send one anyway?”

”I will order Stefan to keep watch over them.”

Tomas raised his head sharply.

”He is already fighting a Demon Lord.”

”His battle line is the closest B-rank position to Frostveil,” Mara said in a reassuring but uncompromising tone. ”He will not interfere with their battle. But if another Demon Lord turns toward them, he will delay it and signal us immediately.”

”That is not complete protection.”

”No battlefield offers complete protection.”

Tomas’s jaw tightened.

Mara’s expression softened by the smallest degree.

”You taught Darius to walk the Martial Path. Trust what you taught him. Trust Elara to stand beside him.”

The command tent remained silent.

Eventually, Tomas released the grip he had around his spear.

”I want their War Systems connected directly to mine,” he said heavily. ”No delayed reports.”

”Granted.”

”And Stefan receives the order before they move.”

”He will.”

Tomas closed his eyes for one breath, then opened them.

”Fine.”

Ilona still looked troubled, but she gave a reluctant nod. Dorian exhaled through his nose and lowered his arms. Pavel’s lenses resumed their rotation.

One after another, the remaining leaders agreed.

Mara touched the symbol positioned away from the main lines.

”Send the order.”

Meanwhile, on the road that lead to Frostveil Watchtower, a demon controlling the earth cursed.

”Damn it.”

The ground beneath Ammor’s feet felt like it hated him.

He dragged both hands upward, and a wall of stone rose across the split ridge just as Frostveil’s artifact cannon fired.

BOOOOM!

The front of the wall vanished.

Broken rock struck Ammor’s chest and shoulders. He stumbled, forced his feet deeper into the earth, and pushed more demonic energy into what remained.

Under ordinary conditions, his Low S-grade Earth affinity would have repaired the wall without effort.

On Earth, every stone resisted him.

Order arrays surrounded the ridge. Silver runes crawled through the ground, locking sections of the mountain away from his control. Each command required more demonic energy, more concentration, and more force than it should have.

His reserves had fallen below a quarter.

His assault core was worse.

One combatant had died beneath the cannon’s third shot. Another knelt behind Ammor with a ruined shoulder. One Runemaster limped while carrying his case, and blood covered the side of another’s face.

All four Chaos Bellows remained intact, but it was only for now.

”LEFT!” Ammor roared.

A C-rank Demon Slayer descended from the second terrace inside a shell of orange Aether.

Ammor twisted his wrist.

The ridge opened beneath the human, but three silver formations flashed and forced the earth shut again. The Demon Slayer landed and released a burning arc that tore through two demons beside Ammor.

Screams filled the narrow passage.

Ammor clenched his teeth.

’We are not reaching that tower.’

Another cannon shot began gathering above, then someone shouted behind him.

”Ammor! Reinforcements are coming!”

He was immediately relieved, and the pressure in his chest was reduced by a lot.

He struck the ground and raised another wall.

”Which unit?” he demanded, his voice strained beneath the roar of breaking stone.

The demon checked the crimson message glowing across his War Tag.

”Assault Core Seventeen. The core that captured Ironcrest.”

Ammor froze.

For a moment, the cannon, the screaming humans, and the pressure of Earth itself seemed to disappear.

A short blind Kragh with a cheerful smile entered his thoughts.

His face slowly paled.

”Damn it,” Ammor muttered.

Then his expression twisted.

”Why did it have to be them?”