The Broken Halo

"Who are you?"

Akaza’s question remained in the room.

His hands were raised, his body was slightly lowered, and one foot remained behind the other. He looked ready to attack or defend at the slightest movement.

When Simon saw Akaza’s reaction, he wasn’t offended and he understood.

He was standing before Akaza. His face, single horn, white hair, sky-blue eyes, and familiar presence all belonged to him.

However, Akaza’s instincts were screaming danger from the moment he stepped close to him.

It was not because he released any killing intent. There was no hostility or cold pressure coming from him either.

What Akaza felt was the depth and immensity of his current strength.

Before the convoy assignment, Simon’s physical strength and battle prowess had already allowed him to fight Greater Demons despite being a Minor Archfiend. That alone had been abnormal.

Now, the difference between the Simon who was swallowed by the Furnaceback Centipede and the one standing before Akaza was like the difference between the earth and the heavens.

An average Minor Demon Lord could die in Simon’s hands if he fought with everything he possessed.

Most demons would not understand such a thing from his aura alone. They would sense a Supreme Archfiend and perhaps recognise that he was unusually powerful, but nothing more.

Only demons who had survived numerous battles and repeatedly stood close to death could recognise the quiet danger hidden beneath Simon’s calmness.

That was one reason Korran’s instincts had warned him.

And Akaza possessed an even greater advantage than Korran.

He had witnessed two beings whose battle reached the terrifying level of Demon Kings... Lilith and Sunless.

He had felt the pressure of their power, watched the world around them become fragile, and experienced the helplessness of standing near a battle where one careless attack could erase him.

That memory had sharpened his instincts.

It did not tell him exactly how powerful Simon had become, but it told him one thing with absolute certainty.

The demon before him was dangerous.

Simon looked at Akaza’s defensive stance, then at Sonya standing beside the window.

He then raised a single brow.

"I’ve only been gone for two days, and you no longer recognise me?"

Akaza did not lower his hands despite his words, and Simon looked down at his burned clothes and the dried blood covering them.

"Is it the clothes?" he asked. "Or did spending two days inside a giant centipede make me uglier?"

The tension in the room weakened slightly, and there was a flicker in the eyes of both Sonya and Akaza. However, their expressions remained the same a fraction of a second later.

Sonya stared at him with her pale eyes.

"You know what we mean," she said, her pale eyes fixed in Simon’s direction. "How are you this powerful after only two days?"

Akaza slowly straightened, although he did not completely relax.

"You left as a Minor Archfiend," he said. "Your Infernal Heart was nowhere near its limit. Now, you are a Supreme Archfiend."

His gaze moved over Simon again.

"You crossed the Prime and Superior stages in less than three days while supposedly trapped inside a Half-Step Abyssal Beast."

Simon remained silent.

Sonya’s fingers moved away from the wall.

"That is not the only change."

Akaza glanced at her.

Sonya pressed her bare foot more firmly against the floor.

"He has an earth affinity now."

Akaza’s head turned sharply toward Simon.

"What?"

"A High B-grade earth affinity," Sonya continued. Her expression became increasingly solemn. "It is part of him. It is not coming from an artifact, a formation, or the surrounding earth."

Akaza stared at Simon in disbelief.

He knew that Simon had possessed wind, shadow, fire, and the extremely rare space affinity. But earth had never been one of his elements.

Sonya folded her arms.

"I know there are items, inheritances, bloodline changes, and rare encounters that can grant a demon a new affinity."

Her voice became quieter.

"But I do not believe you were simply fortunate enough to gain an earth affinity as high as High B grade while also crossing three minor ranks in two days."

Akaza’s suspicion deepened.

He looked at Simon’s wounds, then his calm expression, as though trying to decide whether the demon before him had truly returned from the Furnaceback Centipede or whether something else had returned in his place.

Sonya showed no hostile expression. She did not lower her body or raise her fists.

Yet Simon could feel the danger beneath his boots.

The tiny cracks in the floor seemed to close around his feet, while the earth surrounding the room responded to Sonya like an enormous body waiting for the smallest command.

Sonya herself was not showing any hostility.

The earth was.

For the first time since obtaining his new affinity, Simon felt Sonya’s earth element properly.

His High B-grade affinity allowed him to sense the stone, its hidden cracks, its weight, and the vibrations moving through it.

Sonya’s presence was completely different.

The earth did not merely answer her. It seemed to recognise her like how a mother recognized their child.

The floor, the foundation of the inn, the road outside, and the deeper layers beneath them felt connected to her through countless invisible threads. Her affinity spread through Simon’s perception like a landmass without an end.

His own earth element became quieter in her presence.

It had not disappeared, but part of it felt suppressed, like a flame forced to lower itself before a much greater fire.

Simon’s eyes flickered.

’So this is what her affinity feels like from the perspective of another earth user.’

He had known Sonya possessed a Peak S-grade earth affinity. However, knowing it and feeling it were two different things.

’Is this truly what a Peak S-grade affinity feels like?’

For the briefest moment, Simon wondered whether the grade assigned to Sonya had been accurate.

Perhaps her affinity had reached the absolute limit of S grade.

Or perhaps what rested inside her was something beyond the S grade.

Only a few seconds passed while Simon studied the sensation. Then he released a soft sigh.

He stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him.

Click

Then he turned toward both demons.

"I understand your suspicion," he said. His tone had lost its earlier humour. "Considering what you know and what you can sense, it is reasonable."

Sonya tilted her head slightly.

Akaza’s hands lowered, but his attention did not leave Simon.

"I will explain."

Simon paused.

He already knew what lie he was going to use.

It would answer their questions, fit everything they knew, and give them a reason not to search too deeply for an explanation they could understand.

Simon met their gazes calmly.

"The ancient being inside me is responsible."

Akaza’s expression changed, and Simon continued.

"She is the reason I became this powerful, and she is also the reason I now possess a High B-grade earth affinity."

Deep inside Simon, Lilith had been listening to everything in silence. But the moment she heard his words, she was shocked to the core.

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