The Broken Halo

The Chaos Blade and Shadow Blade screeched against one another as both females tried to overpower one another.

Dark golden light and deep black shadows clashed between them, and the ground beneath their feet could not withstand the pressure for even a few seconds.

Bang!

Cracks spread outward like a spiderweb, and in the next moment, the ground collapsed beneath Lilith and Sunless.

BOOM!

A massive pit was formed beneath them, but neither of them fell.

Lilith stood on empty air with the Chaos Blade in her hand while Sunless stood on a thick shadow that had spread out from her feet. The two stared at one another for a brief moment, then Sunless’ shadow suddenly rose behind her like a massive wave.

The wave of shadow was so large that it seemed like a portion of the night sky had fallen into Blackwind Valley.

Lilith’s expression remained indifferent.

Sunless swung her Shadow Blade, and the massive shadow wave behind her followed her movement.

It fell toward Lilith.

The trees beneath the shadow wave were crushed before the attack even landed. Rocks shattered, demonic beasts fled in terror, and the entire forest was swallowed in darkness.

Lilith raised the Chaos Blade with one hand.

Her golden eyes shone faintly, and a dark golden crack on Simon’s cheek spread slightly.

Then she swung down.

A thin dark golden line appeared in the air.

At first, the line looked harmless, but in the next moment, the massive shadow wave was split in two.

Chi!

The two halves of the shadow wave passed beside Lilith and crashed into the forest behind her.

The impact destroyed hundreds of trees and tore a long trench through the ground.

Dust, broken stones, shattered branches, and leaves rose into the sky.

Sunless vanished before the dust could settle.

Lilith’s golden eyes moved to the left.

Sunless appeared beside her and slashed at Lilith’s neck with the Shadow Blade.

CLANG!

Lilith blocked the attack without turning her head.

The Chaos Blade and Shadow Blade clashed once again, and sparks of dark gold and black light scattered between them.

Sunless vanished again, then appeared behind Lilith with her blade aimed at Lilith’s back.

Lilith twisted her wrist and swung the Chaos Blade behind her.

CLANG!

Sunless blocked, then her body sank into the shadow beneath her feet.

The next moment, a formless shadow appeared above Lilith, and Sunless fell out of the shadow with her Shadow Blade raised high.

Lilith looked up calmly.

Sunless swung down.

Lilith also swung up.

BOOM!

The two blades collided, and a circular shockwave spread across the sky.

The clouds above Blackwind Valley were split apart.

The ground below them cracked even more, and the pit beneath them became wider and deeper.

Sonya, Akaza, Merath, and Jorra, who were already far away from the battle, were forced to retreat even further as stones and broken trees flew toward them like arrows.

Akaza gritted his teeth and punched a flying boulder into pieces, but the force behind the boulder still pushed him back by several steps.

"What kind of battle is this?" Akaza mumbled with a pale face.

Nobody answered him.

Sonya’s blind eyes were wide open, and even though she could not see the battle the way others could, she could feel the world shaking with every clash.

It was not just demonic energy. It was not just strength. It was the feeling of two existences trying to erase one another from the same space.

She swallowed, and her hands trembled slightly.

"That is not little kitty."

Akaza looked at her, then he looked back at the battle.

"It’s not, but that’s Broken Halo’s body."

His words made the others silent.

Because that made everything worse.

Was Simon in control of what was going on?

Who was controlling Simon?

Were they safe from this being that was controlling Simon’s body?

They had so many questions, but first, they had to survive the shockwaves and debris coming at them.

Lilith and Sunless clashed dozens of times in the air.

Each clash produced a shockwave.

Each shockwave destroyed a portion of the valley.

If not for the fact that both of them were trying to control their strengths and power outputs, the Blackwind Valley would cease to exist from just one of their clashes.

Sunless moved like she had no real body.

She appeared from one shadow, vanished into another, then appeared behind Lilith, above her, below her, and beside her through another shadow.

Her movements were silent and extremely fast like an assassin, and every time she appeared, her Shadow Blade was already moving toward Lilith’s vital points.

Neck.

Heart.

Head.

Spine.

Eyes.

However, Lilith blocked every strike.

Her movements were not as fast as Sunless’ shadow teleportation, but her sword was always in the right place at the right time.

It was almost as though she already knew where Sunless would appear before Sunless appeared.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed across Blackwind Valley.

Sunless appeared behind Lilith once again, but this time, she did not use the Shadow Blade.

A massive shadow hand rose from the ground and grabbed Lilith’s legs.

At the same time, dozens of shadow hands emerged from the shadows of broken trees, shattered rocks, and even the cracks in the ground.

They rushed toward Lilith from every direction, covering the sky with arms and hands of shadows.

Lilith lowered her gaze.

The shadow hands tightened around her legs and arms.

For a brief moment, it looked like she had been captured.

Sunless appeared in front of her with her Shadow Blade aimed at her chest.

"Die!"

Lilith looked at her indifferently.

"Too slow."

The Chaos Blade disappeared from Lilith’s hand.

Sunless’ eyes narrowed.

The next moment, the Chaos Blade appeared below Lilith and spun violently.

A dark golden circular slash spread out from the blade.

SHIIING!

Every shadow hand around Lilith was cut apart.

The shadow hands exploded into black mist, and Sunless was forced to retreat.

But before she could fully sink into the shadow beneath her, Lilith raised her right hand and grabbed the air.

The space around Sunless distorted.

Sunless’ body suddenly froze halfway into the shadow.

Her expression changed slightly.

Lilith pulled her hand back.

Sunless was dragged out of the shadow like an insect being pulled out of water.

The moment she was forced out, the Chaos Blade returned to Lilith’s hand.

Lilith swung.

Sunless raised a shadow shield in front of herself.

The shield was thick, round, and black like polished obsidian. Several shadow runes moved across its surface, and the moment it appeared, the surrounding shadows rushed into it and strengthened it.

The Chaos Blade struck the shield.

Crack.

Sunless’ eyes widened slightly.

The shield split apart.

Slash!

Lilith’s blade passed through the broken shield and cut across Sunless’ chest.

Blood splashed into the air.