The Broken Halo

Merath’s scream was much louder than before, and Jorra froze when he saw her arm fall to the ground.

He instinctively moved in order to attack Simon, but Simon tightened his grip around her throat, his claws drawing even more blood from her neck.

"Do you really have so little care for your teammate, Jorra?"

Jorra froze, his circulation of demonic energy and cursed energy paused after hearing Simon’s words.

As he looked at Simon and Merath who was clearly in pain, he didn’t know what to do.

This was something he never expected and never planned for.

From the moment Simon appeared in the restaurant he and Jorra were eating at, everything was just progressing at the speed of light.

Simon’s attack was sudden, quick, ruthless, and relentless.

He overpowered both of them in less than a minute, then he brought them to this hidden and unknown place.

After bringing them here, he didn’t even give them the time of the day to think about everything that happened.

He asked them a question, and he wanted the answer as quickly as possible.

It was obvious to Jorra that Simon was in a hurry for some reason, but everything was happening way too fast for him to put two and two together.

Sigh

A deep sigh suddenly reverberated across the room, and Jorra looked at Simon.

"Where is the Herald’s corpse, Jorra?"

Just as Simon asked this question, Merath shouted.

"Don’t tell him! No matter what he does to me, make sure you don’t tell him!"

"The Abyss comes first no matter what! Do not choose me over the Abyss!"

Jorra’s pupils shook beneath his mask, and Simon indifferently looked at Merath who forced herself to speak despite the pain she was going through and despite the tip of his claws in her neck.

He shook his head, then he snapped his fingers.

A vial containing a crimson liquid appeared in Simon’s free hand, and if Brama the slave of the Obsidian Thorns was here, he would instantly recognize the liquid.

It was a liquid he feared to the core.

Simon uncorked the vial, then he removed Merath’s face and poured it on her eyes.

He let go of Merath and indifferently waited for what was going to happen next.

Merath and Jorra were baffled for a moment until Merath started screaming and writhing like Brama did.

Jorra could not believe what he was seeing.

Even when Simon cut off Merath’s ears and arm, Merath only screamed once and gritted her teeth after.

She held the pain and rage she was feeling.

Her pain tolerance might not be as high as Simon’s, but it was still high.

For her to be rolling and screaming in pain, it meant the pain she was feeling was immense.

He looked at Simon with a tinge of horror and disbelief in his eyes.

"What did you do?" He asked, his eyes taking a subtle glance at the vial in Simon’s hand.

Simon tilted his head slightly.

"Give me what I want or I’ll take my leave. You’ve wasted a lot of my time."

Jorra remained silent, not knowing what to say or do.

He looked at Merath who was now crying and screaming at the same time.

The pain she was feeling in her eyes was unimaginable, and despite wanting to claw out her eyes, she could not.

The Chaos Wraps bound her arms to her body.

When Simon saw that Jorra was absentmindedly looking at Merath, he shook his head with a disappointed expression and turned to leave.

He walked toward the door, then he turned the door handle.

Just as he was about to open the door, Jorra suddenly spoke.

"Wait! I’ll tell you."

Simon paused, meanwhile, Merath vehemently shook her head.

One might believe that she was shaking her head cause of the pain she was feeling in her eyes, but Simon and Jorra knew that she was trying to tell Jorra not to do tell Simon anything.

However, Jorra could not bear to see Merath in such pain anymore.

First, it was her ears, then her arm, now her eyes.

It was too much for Jorra since deep inside his heart, he respected and also had feelings for Merath.

He always ignored this feeling, but seeing her in so much pain, he decided to choose her over the clan.

Besides, if she eventually died, it would make the mission a lot more difficult for him and it would be a big blow to the Abyss since she was talented.

Unfortunately for Jorra, he did not ask himself why Simon wanted to go through the door when he had the ability to teleport.

If he did, he would have come to the realization that Simon was not completely serious about leaving if he did not receive the information on the location of the Herald’s corpse.

Despite the repeated shaking and grunting of Merath, Jorra ignored her and looked at Simon coldly.

"Before I tell you, you have to give me the antidote for whatever you poured in her eyes."

Simon scoffed.

"I’ll give you after you give me the location of the Herald’s corpse."

Jorra was about to speak, but Simon raised a finger.

"If your next words are not the location of the Herald’s corpse. I’m leaving. So choose your words carefully."

Jorra’s mouth closed, then he released a deep sigh that contained anger, hatred, unwillingness, and so many more negative emotions.

Then he finally spoke.

"We believe that the Herald’s corpse is where we were given the details of our second trial."

Simon’s eyes instantly flashed with the light of realization.

He looked at Jorra with slightly raised brows.

"The withered tree and the Veilmaster?"

Jorra nodded.

"Yes."

The gears in Simon’s mind spun furiously when he heard Jorra’s words.

’If he’s right, then it’s not surprising that I could never find the location or a hint of the Herald’s corpse despite having so many slaves subtly looking for information about it.’

Simon wanted to ask another question but he stopped.

He sensed Black Midnight, and without hesitation, he ran toward Jorra and Merath.

He took Merath’s severed arm and ears, and threw them into his spatial ring.

"What are you doing? I’ve told you the location already. Fucking give her the cure to whatever you did!"

"Why are you keeping her body parts you fucker?!"

Simon ignored Jorra’s furious shout.

He held Jorra’s shoulder, then he held Merath’s shoulder and vanished from where he stood.

Three seconds later, the door to the building opened, and Black Midnight entered.

He looked around, then his eyes landed on the blood on the floor.

"Hmm. Gone again." The Grave Lord said with a calm and indifferent tone.