The Broken Halo

[Yes. Just switch your soul with mine, and I’ll be able to help you.]

The moment Simon heard these words from Lilith, he frowned.

[You didn’t mention this in our agreement. I thought you’d be able to fight on your own.]

[Well, that was before I got to know that our enemy is a Shadow Walker. I can’t fight a Shadow Walker in my current state.]

Simon’s frown deepened.

[How strong are you now after devouring the soul of the Soul Mirror Demon elder?]

[Hmm... Comparable to a Half-Step Demon King.]

Simon’s eyes flashed with a dark and calculating glint, then his attention shifted to the shadows that were slowly approaching Sunless.

[And how strong is she?]

[I don’t know.]

Simon’s brows jumped in surprise. That was an answer he didn’t expect from Lilith in the slightest.

[What do you mean you don’t know? Your senses should be better than mine.]

Lilith let out an annoyed sigh.

[First of all, her soul is not in the body you’re currently seeing. I don’t know where it is, but even if you destroy this her physical body, you won’t truly kill her.]

[She’s like a Lich. Her soul is somewhere else, and the physical body you’re seeing is disposable. Basically... she’s somewhat immortal.]

[Shadow Walkers are not easy to kill.]

Simon’s expression instantly became dark.

[So how do we find her soul?]

[Leave that part to me.]

Simon nodded slightly, then he asked another very important question.

[Can you win?]

[Hmm... It depends.]

Simon’s lips could not help but twitch.

This was not the response he expected from her.

Wasn’t she an ancient and powerful daemon?

Where was the confidence?

The pride?

The arrogance?

[It depends on what exactly?]

[First of all, I don’t know what her true heart rank is, and it also depends on how much your body can handle.]

Simon’s frown could not help but deepen. He wanted to ask what she meant, but he already knew.

He didn’t know what her abilities were, but the fact that she was comparable to a Half-Step Demon King meant a lot.

Would his body be able to bear such power?

The answer made Simon’s expression darken.

The only thing that alleviated the concern in Simon’s heart was UnholyRegeneration.

Without it, Simon would be extremely worried about his life.

[Don’t worry. Even if I can’t kill her, I should be able to preserve your life... Unless you want me to escape with your friends without fighting.]

Simon’s eyes flashed with a cold and calculating glint.

[No. Try to kill her or at least, severely injure her. I don’t want a Demon King breathing down my neck.]

[I would not be safe in the entire demon realm if that happens.]

[No problem at all.]

Clap!

Clap!

Clap!

Simon was about to speak, but Sunless suddenly clapped thrice, and her clap was very loud.

He looked at her.

"Why are you spacing out? What is going on in that mind of yours?"

Simon looked at her.

Although his conversation with Lilith was a lot, it had not taken up to one minute.

Mayeb thirty seconds at most.

An advantage of communicating through the soul and mind.

Simon did not respond to Sunless.

He looked at his right arm, and he saw that about sixty percent (60%) of his arm was healed.

And to his surprise, the Chaos Wraps had appeared around his healing arm.

’When?’

He looked back at his severed arm that was pinned to the tree, and his eyes flickered when he saw that the Chaos Wraps were absent on it.

’Interesting.’

The moment he had this thought, he perceived a change in the wind.

When he turned, Sunless’ face was right in front of him.

"Are you treating me as air, Blackmoon?"

Simon remained silent for a moment, then he removed the broken smile mask and smiled.

He glanced behind Sunless, at three Grave Lords who were now standing and the vast shadow that was behind Sunless.

The shadow felt like the sea, and Simon’s instincts warned him about it.

He then looked back at Sunless with the same smile.

"You should have stabbed me in the back twice or you should have stabbed me in the heart."

Sunless raised an intrigued brow, then Simon vanished from where he stood and appeared on the branch of a nearby tree.

Everybody looked at him in confusion.

Simon’s lips parted open as he stared down at every single demon with his sky-blue eyes and broken dark ring gleaming with a bone chilling coldness and heaven numbing indifference.

"Switch."

A second passed, then Simon’s eyes became blank and his head fell, making it seem like he was asleep.

Everybody’s confusion deepened, but in the next moment, their eyes widened slightly when Simon’s appearance and aura began to change.

Sunless’ expression beneath her mask became solemn but also curious at the same time.

The fist change that occurred was in Simon’s eyes.

The sky blue color faded as though somebody had poured liquid gold into them.

The golden colour spread through his irises and swallowed every trace of blue. Even the pupils changed, and Simon’s feline slits became sharper, narrower, and more draconic. Only the broken black ring around his pupils remained unchanged.

Then his hair began to change.

His white hair gradually darkened from the root, and black spread through it like ink flowing through snow.

The change was slow but impossible to miss.

Withing seconds, his hair became a mixture of white and black. Strands of darkness intertwined with strands of white, creating a strange contrast that seemed both beautiful and unsettling at the same time.

The wind around him suddenly became still.

Then came the third change.

Dark golden cracks appeared beneath his skin.

One crack emerged beneath his left eye.

Then another.

Then dozens.

The dark dark golden cracks spread around his eyes, crawled down his jawline, disappeared beneath his collar, and reappeared around his neck.

Then more cracks surfaced on his hands.

They looked like molten gold trapped beneath flesh.

They looked ancient, beautiful, and dangerous.

But these cracks were as a result of Simon’s body struggling to contain Lilith’s power.

The power of Lilith’s soul was so immense that if not for Unholy Regeneration, his body might be permanently damaged and his future would be ruined.

Sonya, Akaza, Merath, and Jorra unconsciously held their breaths and stared at Simon in disbelief.

Why was Simon so powerful now?