The Broken Halo

For several seconds, Ironcrest forgot the battle.

The severed mouth of Sunshear slid along its barrel, struck one of the rotating arms beneath it, and fell.

BOOOOM!

Stone split beneath the enormous piece of metal. The six silver rings shuddered around the remaining barrel, their light flickering as the energy flowing through them lost its direction.

No one moved.

The humans closest to the weapon stared at Simon standing upon it. Some still held their weapons against their shoulders, but their fingers had gone still around the triggers.

Inside the command chamber, the silence was worse.

Chief Gunner Mirela’s hands remained suspended above the bronze control frame. Three of the miniature rings had stopped rotating. The others turned unevenly, releasing sparks that crawled across her fingers.

"The mouth..." an officer whispered.

Another stared at the observation mirror.

"He cut it off."

Varga heard them, but he could not tear his eyes away from Simon.

Sunshear had reached a seventy percent firing rate.

It had struck him.

The severance runes had entered his demonic energy. The trace of divinity inside every laser should have disturbed his circulation, weakened his control, and left him vulnerable to the next attack.

Instead, the wounds had closed.

Even the Full Execution Ray had failed.

It had been redirected across the sky as though Sunshear were nothing more than an inconvenient torch.

"What kind of monster is that?" someone asked.

"His shoulder was pierced."

"So was his chest."

"Neither shot touched his heart."

"That does not explain how he healed!"

"Or why the divinity did nothing!"

The frightened voices overlapped.

Varga’s face tightened.

Anger burned through him, but fear sat beneath it. Confusion followed both. Then came the humiliation of hearing his subordinates question the weapon he had ordered them to fire, while the demon who had defeated it stood on top of the severed weapon.

"Silence!" he shouted.

The chamber obeyed.

However, the emotions in their eyes remained the same.

Outside, Virella stared at Simon with her mouth slightly open.

"I knew he could use a sword," she said, "but I didn’t know he was so good at using it. He seems... better with the sword than with his fists."

Rellis slowly lowered the arm he had raised to shield his face from the final collision.

"I could barely see the lasers, and he blocked them while walking."

Captain Veyran said nothing.

His gaze moved over the marks Sunshear had left behind. Narrow holes pierced the stone. A cannon and one of its gunners had been divided cleanly. Farther away, a mountain peak now possessed a straight, glowing wound where the execution ray had passed.

Yet none of the four cases had been touched.

None of the Runemasters or members of the unit had suffered even a scratch.

Veyran looked at Simon again.

Every laser had been fast enough to kill before an ordinary Archfiend understood it had been fired. Even when Simon failed to block one, it struck his shoulder, cheek, or the side of his chest.

Never his head.

Never his Demon Heart.

Never anything that could stop him from advancing.

It could no longer be called luck.

"His reflexes are absurd," Osra said.

Namis shook his head.

"Reflexes alone cannot do that."

"It..." Drevik muttered. "It looks like he knew where every attack would land."

Sonya looked at Simon with a light smile.

"Little kitty keeps becoming more monstrous."

Akaza wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and gave a quiet laugh.

"He was already a monster when I met him."

Sonya remained silent, and her eyes held a complicated and thoughtful light.

"A monster huh."

Akaza glanced at her, then his gaze moved to the Chaos Blade.

Simon turned on the damaged barrel and raised the Chaos Blade again while coating it with his demonic energy.

The moment everybody saw this, their eyes widened slightly.

One slash had already severed Sunshear’s mouth. There was no need for another unless Simon intended to make certain that no artisan and runemaster inside Ironcrest could repair it during the battle.

The black sword descended.

SHIIIINNNGGG!

A line appeared across the cannon behind its focusing rings.

For a heartbeat, Sunshear remained whole, then its upper half leaned to one side.

Metal screamed.

The enormous barrel separated completely and crashed into the stone below. Mechanical arms snapped beneath its weight, and two silver rings struck each other before breaking apart.

Sunshear had been cut in two.

Again, no one spoke.

Even Akaza stared toward the blade, while Sonya tilted her head toward the metallic scream.

Virella’s eyes moved from the ruined cannon to the Chaos Blade.

"What is that sword made of?"

Rellis released a slow breath.

"I was about to ask the same thing."

Akaza narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had seen Simon use the Chaos Blade against Sunless and he already knew how impressive it was. Sunshear’s attacks carried Order runes and a trace of divinity, and the final ray had possessed enough force to send its light through a distant mountain.

Yet, the sword had not chipped, it had not cracked, and it did not even look hot.

Sonya tilted her head, listening to the two halves of Sunshear collapse. She wanted to speak, but her mind was elsewhere.

Simon heard everything they said, but he ignored them.

What he had done was difficult, but it was to expected considering his capabilities.

Although he was only a Supreme Archfiend, his physical capabilities were already comparable to those of a Supreme Greater Demon. When he reinforced his body with a large amount of demonic energy, his strength, speed, and reflexes could temporarily reach the level of an average Minor Demon Lord.

That did not make his Infernal Heart equal to an Abyssal Heart.

It only meant his body could perform feats that should have been impossible for his rank.

His Sky Eyes had revealed Sunshear’s faint marks and targeting lines. His experience with the sword allowed him to intercept the lasers with the smallest possible movements. Whenever he could not block completely, he shifted just enough to protect every vital part of his body.

The wounds that remained were left to Unholy Regeneration.

The severance runes had also met a demonic energy unlike anything their creators had expected.

And Simon had never doubted the Chaos Blade.

He knew the weapon would not shatter beneath Sunshear’s lasers. He knew its edge could cut the cannon once he reached it.

All that had remained was execution.

Inside the command chamber, Mirela looked at the dead control frame.

"We’ve lost Sunshear."

Varga’s jaw trembled.

He wanted to shout another order. He wanted to send every soldier in Ironcrest toward the demon and bury him beneath bodies. But the observation mirror showed Simon stepping down from the ruined weapon.

Then he stopped.

Simon closed his eyes.

His awareness sank into the shadows covering Ironcrest.

They stretched beneath broken walls, inside weapon ports, along narrow corridors, and through chambers hidden within the tower. Hundreds of human shapes appeared through Shadow Sense.

Most were soldiers.

Some were Runemasters.

Then Simon felt a cluster of unmoving shadows gathered around a circular table deep inside the watchtower.

One stood at its head.

Simon opened his eyes and turned toward the command chamber.

Varga’s breath stopped.

Even through layers of stone and metal, it felt as though the demon was looking directly at him.

A faint smile appeared on Simon’s face.

"Found you."