The Broken Halo

"Stage Five. Winner, Rovan."

The official’s announcement spread across the compound, but for a few seconds, nobody reacted.

Akaza had lost.

The Martial Demon who produced Half-Step Greater Demon physical strength without demonic energy had been choked unconscious by a Superior Archfiend. More importantly, the demon who defeated him had no affinity and no chaos.

Rovan slowly loosened his arms and pushed Akaza’s unconscious body away from him. His breathing was heavy, blood flowed from his nose, and several bruises had already appeared across his ribs where Akaza’s elbows had struck him.

He did not look like an untouched victor, but he had won.

The silence in the compound broke apart.

"How is he that strong?"

"He’s only a Superior Archfiend!"

"He pushed Akaza backward with raw strength..."

"Didn’t he only produce three rings during the strength test?"

The last question caused several demons to look toward Rovan with even more shock.

They remembered his result now.

Three rings without demonic energy.

Three rings with demonic energy.

An ordinary result for a Superior Archfiend.

But nothing about the battle had been ordinary. Rovan’s physical strength had been close to that of a Minor Greater Demon. His movement, timing, throws, and joint attacks were also far beyond what most demons in the compound could perform.

He had hidden himself, and he had done it well enough that almost nobody noticed until he fought Akaza.

Some demons looked at him with admiration. Others looked wary, while a few with connections to some powerful organizations stared at him with greed and calculation. A demon with no chaos who could become this strong through his body and martial skill alone was rare.

Very rare.

Korran Veyl’s gaze remained on Rovan. The Iron Examiner’s expression did not change much, but the coldness in his eyes had been replaced by deep interest.

He had watched countless demons hide techniques, weapons, and certain abilities before, but hiding one’s physical strength from the Impact Crystal to this extent was different.

The crystal measured the force that entered it. For Rovan to produce only three rings while possessing strength close to a Minor Greater Demon meant he had controlled the force of both strikes with frightening accuracy.

Korran glanced at one of the officials.

"Mark him. Find out everything you can about him after the test."

The official quickly nodded and wrote beside Rovan’s name.

"Yes, sir."

Korran shifted his gaze toward Akaza.

The loss did not reduce Akaza’s value much. If anything, revealing his ability of gravity manipulation made him even more valuable. However, the way he lost told Korran something important.

Akaza was skilled, powerful, and talented, but he was also reckless when he found a battle he enjoyed.

That could make him dangerous to his enemies.

It could also make him dangerous to himself.

Not far away, Sonya stared at Akaza’s unconscious figure with a dark and extremely disappointed expression.

There was no playful smile on her face and no amusement in her posture. Her arms were folded tightly beneath her chest, and the pressure around her felt heavier than before.

She had watched the entire fight.

She saw Akaza enjoy himself. She saw him refuse to manipulate gravity even after learning that Rovan had no chaos. And she saw him wait until he was trapped, bleeding, and close to losing consciousness before finally using it.

To Sonya, the result was not unfortunate.

It was deserved.

Simon stood beside her with an indifferent expression, but his thoughts were similar.

He remembered asking Akaza why he had not used gravity in his first match. Akaza had said that he wanted to see how he would do without it.

At the time, Simon had understood his reason, even though he considered it foolish. Akaza wanted to test his fists, his body, and his techniques. He also wanted to hide gravity until it became necessary.

But his first battle had left him with wounds on his arms, calf, thigh, and shoulder.

They were shallow.

However, shallow injuries were still injuries and Akaza does not possess a healing skill.

His calf failed him when he tried to recover his balance. His wounded forearm slowed his punch. Those tiny delays had given Rovan the openings he needed.

A battle between two demons of similar skill could be decided by less than that.

Simon looked at Akaza’s unconscious face.

’He knew he was injured and his injuries were getting worse with every strike he took.’

That was the part Simon found the most foolish.

Akaza had one victory. If he won this match, he would pass immediately. Yet when he found an opponent he enjoyed fighting, he allowed his excitement to control him.

He asked Rovan to use chaos because he wanted the battle to become even better. When Rovan admitted he had none, Akaza continued fighting without gravity.

He wanted to prove something.

Perhaps to himself.

Perhaps to Rovan.

In the end, he waited until the chokehold was already secured before using gravity manipulation. By then, his breathing was restricted, blood had been lost, and his concentration was fading.

His ability had been used too late to change anything.

Simon did not believe Rovan’s victory was luck.

Rovan earned it.

But Akaza had helped him earn it.

’Love for battle is useful. Losing yourself in it is not.’

The red barrier around Stage Five disappeared. Two guards entered immediately, and one crouched beside Akaza to check his breathing.

"He’s alive."

The guards lifted Akaza and carried him off the stage. Rovan stood slowly and wiped the blood from beneath his nose. He looked at Akaza for a moment, but there was no mockery in his eyes.

Only respect.

He had defeated Akaza, but he knew how close the match had been.

The guards brought Akaza toward Simon and Sonya and placed him carefully on the ground. Sonya’s expression became even darker when she sensed him in front of her.

"When will he wake up?" Simon asked.

"In a short while," one guard replied. "He was choked unconscious. His injuries are not fatal."

Simon nodded, and the guards left to prepare the stage for the next match.

Sonya remained silent.

That silence was more unusual than anything she could have said because she was the type to make snarky remarks all the time.

Simon crouched and briefly checked Akaza’s neck, breathing, and reopened wounds. The choke had not damaged anything permanently. Most of the blood came from injuries Akaza already possessed.

He would recover.

The question was whether he would learn.

Around them, the combat test continued. The next group entered the stages, barriers rose, and attacks began, but several demons still glanced toward Rovan and Akaza.

A Superior Archfiend had defeated one of the most frightening demons in the recruitment.

That result would not be forgotten quickly.

Almost a minute passed.

Akaza’s fingers moved. His breathing changed, and a low groan escaped his lips before his eyes slowly opened.

The first thing he saw was Simon looking down at him.

The second was Sonya’s dark and extremely disappointed expression.

Akaza remained still for a second.

Sonya stared at him coldly.

"You lost."

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