The Broken Halo

Commander Sorin Varga was no longer observing Simon and the rest from the summit of the watchtower. He was now watching them through a circular observation mirror suspended above the command table in the command chamber.

The artifact showed Ironcrest from above. Broken pieces of the divine shell still drifted through the air like silver dust, while nine demons stood within the watchtower’s outer grounds.

No.

Varga’s jaw tightened.

Five demons and four Runemasters.

They had crossed the defensive road of Ironcrest, slaughtered the Grey Pike squad, survived the collapse of the western path, and entered Ironcrest after cutting through a barrier bestowed by a god.

Now they stood beneath Ironcrest’s final weapon.

"Commander."

Chief Gunner Mirela kept both hands on a bronze control frame. Six miniature rings rotated above it, copying the movements of the enormous rings outside.

"Sunshear has finished charging. All targets have been marked."

One officer swallowed.

"They are inside the tower. If we fire-"

"We will kill them," Varga said with a cold tone.

"And damage Ironcrest in the process. Sunshear takes a lot of energy to activate and it overloads the formations and engine of Ironcrest. We can also hit our comrades while trying to kill the demons," Chief Gunner Mirela said with a worried and solemn tone.

Varga looked at the observation mirror, and his eyes settled on the four sealed cases carried by the Runemasters.

"If those objects reach the formation pillars, Ironcrest is lost anyway."

Mirela said nothing more.

Varga lifted one hand.

"Fire Sunshear."

Behind the watchtower, the six silver rings aligned.

The brightness inside the cannon’s mouth collapsed into a point so small that the barrel appeared completely dark.

Then faint crimson marks appeared on Assault Core Seventeen.

Rellis looked down.

Four tiny red specks hovered above his left chest where his demon heart lay, forming the corners of a narrow diamond. Similar marks appeared over Virella, Akaza, Sonya, and the four Runemasters.

They were so faint that they disappeared whenever smoke passed in front of them.

Simon saw them clearly.

His Sky Eyes followed the thin lines extending from every mark toward the cannon. The lines were not physical. They passed through armour, stone, and bodies, adjusting whenever their targets breathed or shifted.

Rellis stared at the long barrel aimed toward them.

"Are they planning to destroy their own watchtower along with us?"

"No," Simon replied.

The Chaos Blade rested in his right hand.

"The attack is concentrated. It will pass through us and leave little more than holes behind."

Rellis looked toward the weapon.

"For some reason, that sounds worse."

Simon nodded.

"It is."

The first ring flashed the moment Simon said those words.

Simon moved the Chaos Blade before the cannon fired.

A white laser crossed the summit.

SHIING!

It struck the flat of the black blade and changed direction, carving a perfectly straight hole through the ground beside Simon.

There had been no explosion.

No wave of heat.

Only a line of missing stone that continued deeper than anyone could see.

Captain Veyran’s expression paled.

"That would have pierced all the defenses I have on me."

"It was meant to," Simon said.

Three more rings flashed.

"Stand behind me."

The Runemasters obeyed instantly.

The next lasers arrived from different angles. Simon took one step, turned his wrist, and struck twice.

CLANG!

CLANG!

One beam tore through an empty weapon port. The other swept across the tower and sliced a human and a cannon cleanly in half.

The third reached Simon’s shoulder and Simon was not able to block it. He used his demonic energy to cover his shoulder before contact.

Puchi!

It pierced his shoulder and pale-gold runes appeared on his skin. The moment these pale gold runes appeared on his skin, Simon’s expression changed slightly.

’Just as I suspected... Divinity.’

The runes entered his demonic energy and attempted to pull it apart.

If it was an average demon with an ordinary demonic energy, that would have been enough for the demon’s circulation of demonic energy to be greatly disturbed and their demonic energy to even go haywire.

The divinity in the laser was very little, but mixed with the order runes that were used to create Sunshear, each laser beam was deadly.

’They would pierce through most defensive techniques made with demonic energy. Probably only a true Demon Lord can defend against this with their demonic energy.’

Although the laser was powerful and deadly, Simon’s demonic energy was not ordinary.

Ever since he obtained the Chaos Wraps and Chaos Wraps, his Chaos Flame and demonic energy had changed to something other demons do not possess.

A second after Simon’s shoulder was pierced, Unholy Regeneration began taking effect and his shoulder was healed in a heartbeat.

Inside the command chamber, Mirela stared at the mirror and watched as Simon rotated his arm with a calm expression.

"What in the world is he?"

Varga did not blink and his expression was ice cold as he stared at Simon.

"Fire again."

Mirela looked at him.

"But sir. He was hit by the severance runes but nothing-"

"Then increase the rate and power. Kill that Demon by any means necessary!!!"

Mireya obeyed, and the six rings began flashing one after another.

Lasers filled the summit.

Simon walked toward the cannon.

He did not create a barrier. A barrier would only offer the severance runes a broad surface to disrupt. Instead, he placed the Chaos Blade precisely where each laser would pass.

The edge met one.

The flat met another.

A turn of his wrist sent a third into the mountain.

Every movement was small.

Exact.

Simon never fought the full force of a beam if he could guide it elsewhere. He changed its angle by the smallest amount necessary, allowing Sunshear’s own power to carry the attack away from his companions.

The Chaos Blade rang repeatedly.

Sparks of white and dark light scattered around him.

Ten steps.

Twenty.

Thirty.

With every step, the distance shortened and the time between the crimson marks tightening and the lasers arriving became smaller.

One beam grazed Simon’s cheek.

Another cut through the side of his left chest.

A third struck the Chaos Blade too directly and forced his arm downward. The stone beneath his feet cracked, while a sharp pain travelled through his wrist.

He continued walking however.

Sonya listened to the weapon fire.

"You could leave some for the rest of us."

Akaza looked at her.

"You cannot see the marks."

"I can hear the cannon."

"That will not tell you where its attack will land."

Sonya clicked her tongue but remained behind him.

Akaza watched the Chaos Blade intercept another laser and released a low laugh.

"He makes it look slow."

"And I can barely follow the beams," Veyran said.

That was what frightened him.

The beams crossed the distance too quickly for his eyes to follow. He only saw the silver rings flash, Simon’s sword move, and a new hole appear somewhere across Ironcrest.

Yet Simon walked through them as though the weapon was announcing every attack to him.

Inside the command chamber, the mood had changed.

"Seventy percent firing rate!"

"He is still advancing!"

"The fourth focusing ring is overheating!"

Varga struck the table.

"Do not stop."

Mirela’s hands trembled over the controls.

"At this distance, a deflected beam could cause more significant damage to the tower.."

"Do not stop!"

Sunshear screamed.

All six rings spun faster, and the crimson diamonds on the nine targets disappeared, and a single larger mark formed over Simon’s heart.

The cannon abandoned everyone else.

White light flooded its mouth.

Only several metres remained between Simon and the weapon.

His eyes narrowed.

This laser was broader, but its power had been compressed even further. Pale-gold runes crowded inside it until the light carried the faint pressure of divinity.

Mirela stared at the one-horned demon approaching the barrel.

"Full execution ray ready."

Varga’s face twisted with rage.

"Erase him."

The summit turned white.

Simon raised the Chaos Blade with both hands.

The laser struck.

BOOOOOOM!

For the first time, an explosion shook Ironcrest.

Simon’s boots slid across the stone. His wrapped arms trembled, and the demonic energy coating the blade hissed beneath the severance runes.

But it did not disperse.

Simon twisted the sword, and the execution ray bent away from his body and tore across the sky, cutting through a distant mountain peak.

The officers inside the command chamber went silent.

Simon was no longer in the observation mirror.

Mirela’s eyes widened.

"Where-"

A shadow fell over Sunshear’s mouth.

Simon landed on the barrel, and the Chaos Blade moved once.

SHIIIINNNGGG!

The mouth of the cannon slid free.