The Broken Halo

Simon walked forward and stopped beside Akaza.

The Grey Pike captain remained on the road before them, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Her silver spear lay near one hand, while the last fragments of pale-white Aether left behind by her Martial Spirit faded into the air.

Akaza continued staring at her corpse.

Blood ran from his shoulder, thigh, and side. His breathing had become steadier, but the cuts covering his face and the slight tremble in one arm made the difficulty of the battle obvious.

After a few moments, he spoke.

"I was hoping to learn her name before I killed her."

Simon gave no response.

"She was the first human I have ever fought," Akaza continued. "More importantly, she was the first human with a Martial Blessing I encountered."

His gaze moved to the place where the Martial Spirit had disappeared.

"She fought well. Her movements were refined, her spear was not bad, and that thing behind her understood how to complete every opening she created."

The satisfaction in his eyes faded.

"Then she lost once and broke apart."

Akaza clicked his tongue.

"She had a terribly weak Will."

Simon remained silent.

There was nothing for him to say. The captain had fought with discipline while victory still seemed possible. The moment she saw the corpses of her companions and understood that she had lost, her emotions had swallowed her judgement.

Grief had turned into fear.

Fear had turned into rage.

And rage had made the final moments of her life pathetic in Akaza’s eyes.

Akaza finally looked away from the corpse and glanced at Simon.

Then his eyes shifted farther.

Hundreds of tiny wind blades surrounded the road.

They flowed through the air in overlapping layers, almost invisible unless light struck their edges at the correct angle. Beyond them lay the bodies of the humans who had attempted to interfere with the battles.

Some had been killed before they could cross.

Others had taken only a single step inside.

Akaza’s gaze remained on the wind blades for several seconds.

"I thought you were only protecting the Runemasters."

"I was."

Akaza raised a brow.

"You were protecting us too."

Simon glanced at him.

"No one was allowed to interfere with your fights."

"That sounds like protection."

"It was preparation."

"For what?"

"For all of you to win."

Akaza stared at him, then released a short laugh.

The answer was arrogant enough to sound ridiculous.

However, Simon had watched every battle without moving from the Runemasters. He had maintained hundreds of separate wind blades, controlled their paths, killed approaching humans, and prevented even stray bullets or techniques from entering the enclosed area.

At the same time, he had kept track of Sonya, Virella, Rellis, and Akaza.

Simon’s exceptional control did not apply only to the energies within his body.

It extended into combat, onto the battlefield.

Akaza had known for a long time that Simon was abnormal, but knowing something and experiencing it were different.

While fighting the captain and her Martial Spirit, he had forgotten about the Runemasters. He had not considered the soldiers around Ironcrest, the artifact cannons, the other Demon Slayers, or the possibility of an attack reaching him from outside his gravity field.

He had focused on one thing.

His opponent.

With Simon behind him, it felt as though he could forget a million dangers on the battlefield and trust that none would reach him without warning.

The thought made Akaza’s expression become slightly strange. He was not accustomed to placing that kind of trust in anyone.

"Did you already know?" he asked.

Simon looked at him calmly.

"Know what?"

"That her Martial Spirit hated me before I did anything to it."

Simon nodded.

"Yes."

Akaza’s eyes narrowed.

"You knew Martial Spirits hated Martial Demons?"

"I did."

"And that is why you chose her for me?"

"It was one of the reasons."

Akaza glanced at the corpse again.

The disgust in the Spirit’s gaze remained clear in his memories. It had not hated him as an individual. It had looked upon his tattoos, his bloodline, and his existence as though all three offended it.

The hatred had stirred something equally unpleasant within him.

Not fear.

Superiority.

Anger.

Disgust.

Even now, with the Spirit gone, those emotions had not disappeared completely.

"Why?" Akaza asked.

Simon knew what he meant.

He wanted to know why Martial Spirits and Martial Demons hated one another.

"Your clan and your family would have the best answer."

Akaza’s expression changed.

"Are you saying I’ll have to go back there?"

Simon indifferently nodded.

"Yes."

The battlefield continued roaring around them, but Akaza was silent.

His gaze lowered slightly, and a thoughtful, solemn look replaced his earlier dissatisfaction.

He had left his clan behind for several reasons. There were questions he had never asked and things his family had never explained because of his situation back then. In the past, he had not cared enough to search for knowledge related to Martial Demons or humans in the Shadowgrave Clan.

Before meeting Simon, he was lazy.

And after meeting Simon, all he wanted was to become stronger through battle. But the reaction of the Martial Spirit had not felt like the hatred between ordinary enemies.

It had felt old.

Instinctive.

As if both sides had inherited it before they were born.

Simon turned toward him.

"I wanted you to experience it."

Akaza looked up.

"The hatred between a Martial Spirit and a Martial Demon," Simon continued. "Hearing about it would not have been enough."

"Is there another reason?"

Simon nodded again.

"There is."

He paused.

"Fighting a human with a powerful Martial Spirit and defeating that human can benefit your Martial Path."

Akaza’s eyes sharpened.

"What do you mean?"

Simon shrugged.

"That is something you will have to figure out yourself."

"You know the answer."

"I know enough to point you toward it."

"Then tell me."

"Go back to your family. Ask the Martial Clan."

Akaza frowned.

Simon had already begun looking toward Ironcrest.

"You can be annoying sometimes, you know," Akaza muttered.

Simon chuckled softly.

"I guess so."

Footsteps approached from behind.

Sonya arrived first, followed by Virella and Rellis. Captain Veyran, Osra, Drevik, and Namis came after them with the four sealed cases secured against their bodies.

Sonya stopped near the captain’s corpse.

Her blind eyes faced Akaza, and her lips curved upward.

"I can’t see you, but I know that you look terrible."

Akaza glanced at the blood covering him.

"She was stronger than me."

Sonya chuckled softly, then she patted Akaza’s lower back causing him to grit his teeth in pain and anger.

"You did well. This Honourable is proud."

Akaza cursed her and Sonya chuckled.

Virella looked from Akaza’s injuries to the corpse and quietly chose not to join the discussion.

Rellis examined the wind blades surrounding them.

"We should leave," he eventually said. "More humans are watching us."

Sonya tilted her head toward Ironcrest.

"They have been staring for a while."

Simon followed the wind carrying their movements and heartbeats.

Soldiers gathered behind the higher trenches. Several Demon Slayers had moved toward the road, and one of Ironcrest’s artifact cannons was slowly turning in their direction.

Simon’s wind barrier had protected and prevented any interruption, but it had not hidden their result.

Grey Pike had fallen, and more humans were coming.

Simon nodded.

The tiny wind blades shifted, opening a path toward Ironcrest while remaining between the core and the gathering soldiers.

He stepped forward.

"We keep moving."