The Broken Halo

On the fourth day, the road changed.

It became wider and smoother, and more travelers began appearing.

Merchant wagons.

Beast carriages.

Small clans.

Lone demons with weapons on their backs.

There were also more guards on the road, but they did not belong to Vashar City. Their armor was darker, and the symbol on their chest was different.

Mira noticed Simon looking at them and spoke.

"Velmora’s outer patrols."

Simon nodded slightly.

"Then we’re close."

"Not that close." Mira replied. "But close enough that bandits will think twice before attacking."

Sonya sighed.

"How unfortunate."

This time, even Akaza glanced at her.

The fifth and sixth days passed faster than Mira expected.

Maybe it was because nobody dared to disturb them.

Maybe it was because the road became safer the closer they got to Velmora.

Or maybe it was because the carriage had become strangely quiet.

Mira had thought that traveling with Simon would be tense from beginning to end, but it was not exactly like that.

It was uncomfortable, yes.

It was dangerous, yes.

But it was also strangely peaceful.

Simon barely spoke.

Akaza cultivated most of the time.

Sonya slept, complained, or teased Akaza and Simon whenever she was bored.

And yet, the three of them felt like a storm that had decided to sit quietly in a carriage.

Mira did not know why, but the closer they got to Velmora City, the more she felt that the city was about to become less peaceful.

On the morning of the seventh day, the driver suddenly shouted from outside.

"Velmora!"

Mira’s eyes brightened, and Devia immediately moved toward the window.

Brukk and Orven also looked out.

Simon opened his eyes.

In the distance, beyond the wide road and the moving line of carriages, a massive city stood beneath the crimson moon.

Its walls were taller and darker than Vashar’s. Large towers rose from different parts of the city, and several flying beasts circled above them.

Even from far away, Simon could see the number of demons moving toward the city gates.

Merchants.

Travelers.

Wanderers.

Guards.

Carriages.

Beasts.

Velmora City was alive in a way Vashar City was not.

Mira released a soft breath.

"We’re here."

Simon looked at the city with calm sky-blue eyes.

After everything that had happened, after the Shadowgrave Clan, Sunless, Lilith’s possession, and three weeks of hiding in Vashar City, they had finally reached a larger stage.

His lips curled slightly.

"Not bad."

Sonya opened one eye and looked outside.

"Is that Velmora?"

Mira nodded.

"Yes."

Sonya stared at the city for a few seconds, then smiled.

"Good. I was starting to hate this carriage."

Akaza looked outside silently.

The carriage continued moving toward the city, joining the long line of travelers heading for the gate.

Simon leaned back slightly, but his gaze remained on Velmora.

He still needed to heal.

He still needed information.

He still needed strength.

And somewhere in that city, there might be something useful.

Maybe it might be rock gambling, encountering stronger demons, better resources, and more opportunities.

Maybe even accurate and current news of the Shadowgrave Clan.

The carriage moved closer to Velmora City.

And Simon silently watched the city that would become the next step of his journey.

The closer they got to Velmora City, the slower the carriage became.

The wide road had been divided into several lanes by tall stone pillars. Carriages and beast wagons moved on one side, while lone travelers and smaller groups moved on the other.

Even then, the road was crowded.

Compared to Vashar City, Velmora felt different before they even entered it.

Vashar was noisy and crowded, but it had the feeling of a city that was merely surviving. Its roads were rough, its walls old, and its guards looked more interested in collecting fees than maintaining order.

Velmora was also noisy, but its noise felt more organized, richer, and more dangerous.

Its walls were dark and smooth, as if they had been carved from a single enormous stone. Strange runes could be seen glowing faintly on different parts of the wall, and from time to time, Simon noticed pulses of demonic energy moving across them like blood moving through veins.

The guards were also different.

The guards of Vashar looked tired and impatient.

The guards of Velmora looked cold.

Their armor was dark, and the symbol on their chest was shaped like a horned beast’s head surrounded by three curved lines. None of them were laughing. None of them looked bored. Their eyes moved from carriage to carriage, demon to demon, weapon to weapon.

Simon watched them silently.

"They’re stricter than Vashar’s guards." Mira said softly.

Simon nodded slightly.

"I can see that."

"They check goods, beasts, and sometimes spatial rings. Velmora is larger than Vashar, but it is also more controlled."

Sonya raised a brow.

"They check spatial rings?"

"Sometimes." Mira replied. "It rarely happens, and it is usually for demons they find suspicious. If they checked every spatial ring, this queue would not move for days and there would be an outrage cause a demon’s spatial ring contains secrets."

Sonya glanced at Simon.

Simon remained silent.

His spatial ring contained too many things that could not be seen by random guards.

The mountains of hell stones in them, some random items from the Shadowgrave Clan, Jorra’s corpse, and many other things like the Hydra’s blood.

If the guards insisted on searching him, then things would become troublesome before they even entered the city.

Mira seemed to understand a little of what he was thinking, so she quickly added,

"Don’t worry too much. They’ll most likely not search you guys. Since you guys are still Archfiends, they won’t be too wary of you guys."

"At the end of the day, Velmora wants money, hell stones, not trouble."

Simon looked at the gate.

"We’ll see about that."

Mira could see that Simon was not completely convinced. She glanced at Akaza and Sonya from the corner of her eyes.

"If they also see both of them, they’ll most likely not disturb you guys too much."

She didn’t go into details, but Simon and the rest understood.

Simon’s lips curled up slightly.

"Or it might lead to an even more troublesome situation."