The Broken Halo

The masks of the five demons concealed their expressions, but the tension in their movements was obvious.

"I still can’t believe that a Grave Lord assigned a bounty on a mere Fiend, and a million hell stones at that too."

"I know right. If we find Broken Halo, we’ll become rich."

"Don’t only think about the reward. We all know what that kid has done ever since he came to the clan. He’s dangerous... A child of chaos."

"You think too much man. What can a kid and a mere Fiend do?"

Their voices gradually grew closer to where Simon and the others hid.

Akaza clenched his right fist and began to slowly circulate his demonic energy.

Sunless remained completely still.

Even Sonya was quiet.

The patrol was only a few meters away, and one wrong movement and they would be discovered.

If they were discovered, it could lead to a chain reaction where other other demons nearby would also notice them.

The Veilmaster who had been silent suddenly stopped, then his gaze swept across the maintenance passage.

Simon’s eyes narrowed.

For a brief moment, it looked as if the demon had sensed something.

’Better to be safe than sorry.’

Simon’s eyes flashed with a calculating glint, then his dark silver demonic energy a quietly spread across the group.

A second later... The group vanished.

And the Veil Master’s eyes widened and his head snapped in the direction of where Simon and the others were previously located.

"Spatial fluctuations?"

The Veil Master didn’t think too much about it.

Without hesitation, he ran toward where he sensed the spatial fluctuation and the four other demons followed.

Unfortunately for them, Simon and the others were already gone.

They reappeared inside another section of the ravine.

This time around, they arrived beneath one of the massive bridges connecting two districts.

Simon looked around with a frown, and Akaza also had a deep frown as he looked around like Simon.

"What’s wrong?" Sunless asked after noticing their strange reactions.

None of them answered however.

Why?

Because a slave was supposed to be waiting for them. He should have arrived a long time ago.

But nobody was here.

A strange silence lingered in the air as the entire group knew that something was wrong.

Simon’s eyes immediately narrowed, then he looked in a particular direction with a sharp gaze.

Then...

Several powerful auras suddenly erupted from nearby buildings.

"THERE! HE’S THERE!"

The roar shook the surroundings, and in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen demons burst out from hiding.

There were Fiends, Archfiends, and even a Veilmaster who was a Minor Greater Demon was among them.

"Shit!" Sonya cursed.

Akaza’s fists immediately glowed with his demonic energy.

Sunless’ eyes flashed with killing intent and her shadow began to move ever so slightly.

However, Simon remained calm.

He recognized the voice that shouted.

It was the voice of the slave they were meant to meet.

Simon wasn’t sure if the slave was captured and was forced to betray him, or if the slave was tempted by the reward offered by Black Midnight... But it didn’t matter at the end of the day.

Although this was a trap, it was a trap that was poorly set up because they all believed that he was still a Fiend.

And most importantly, they had no idea that he had spatial affinity.

Just as the Veil Master was about five meters from reaching them, space distorted around Simon and the others once more.

The Veilmaster’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

However, she could only watch as the group vanished before her very eyes.

The demons crashed into empty air, and their expressions instantly darkened.

In a location that was not too far away, Simon slowly opened his eyes.

"Damn, little kitty. Didn’t you just become an Archfiend? How are you so good at manipulating space? And how high is your spatial affinity and energy reserves for you to be able to teleport all of us at a single go?"

Sonya could not help but ask these questions with an astonished tone and expression.

Simon looked at her.

He was not surprised that Sonya was not bothered or concerned about the fact that they were nearly caught two times in a row.

Simon was also not worried or scared about the slaves betraying him.

He had expected this from the very beginning.

Blind trust was for fools.

Such things do not bother her.

"Let’s go. We don’t have time for this. We can talk once we’ve settled down."

Sonya clicked her tongue in annoyance, but she chose not to say anything.

Fortunately, Simon had prepared multiple routes and he had contingency plans in order to escape the clan.

The journey continued.

Simon’s dark silver demonic energy covered everybody, then they vanished.

They met another slave who guided them through a hidden freight lift built into the cliff.

Another slave directed them through abandoned storage chambers.

Another informed them which routes had been compromised.

The entire clan was searching for them, but even with a few betrayals here and there, the slave network continued operating.

And when news of Simon giving every slave a hundred thousand low grade hell stones reached the slaves, those who had thoughts of betraying Simon instantly shut off those thoughts.

Because the entire clan was looking for them, it took Simon and the others more time than Simon planned to reach their final destination.

And even after all this time, there was still no sign of Black Midnight.

Now, the absence of the Grave Lord bothered Simon.

He didn’t know why Black Midnight stopped chasing after him, and he didn’t know what exactly the demon’s plan was.

However, he had to continue with the plan.

An old demon whose back was slightly bent, his body covered in scars, and his clothes were like dirty rags stood in front of them.

Despite his state his eyes remained calm.

He was the last slave that would guide them to their final destination, and without saying a word, he led them through a narrow pathway carved directly into the cliff face.

The path was dangerous.

One wrong step would send someone falling into the endless mist below.

The old slave walked slowly, then he eventually spoke.

"I never thought I would see this day."