The Broken Halo

The moment the two-horned demon appeared, several demons stiffened.

The tall demon walked forward with slow and heavy steps, and the moment he stopped walking, the entire compound became quiet.

His aura was heavy.

Very heavy.

It pressed down on the Archfiends in the compound like an invisible mountain, causing a lot of them to subconsciously straighten their backs.

Someone could not help but whisper.

"Korran Veyl."

Another demon sucked in a deep breath.

"The Iron Examiner..."

Simon heard the whispers and looked at the demon calmly.

’Korran Veyl... A Superior Greater Demon.’

From the reactions of the demons around him, this two-horned demon was not an unknown figure in Velmora.

A demon standing not too far from Simon whispered to his companion,

"I heard he crippled a Supreme Archfiend last year for trying to bribe his way into a caravan protection post."

"That’s nothing. I heard he once killed two Greater Demons who tried to cause trouble in the western district."

"Shut up. He’ll hear you."

Korran Veyl stopped in front of the Archfiends and swept his gaze across them.

Nobody spoke.

Then he smiled.

It was not a friendly smile.

"Congratulations."

His voice was not loud, but every demon in the compound heard him clearly.

"The preliminary evaluation has ended."

A few demons blinked in confusion.

One Archfiend could not help but mutter,

"Ended?"

Korran’s gaze moved toward him.

The Archfiend immediately lowered his head in fear.

Korran continued.

"Some of you seem confused, so I will make it simple. The preliminary evaluation was never meant to be difficult. We checked your heart rank, obtained your names, and verified your identity tokens."

He raised one finger.

"If your identity token was fake, stolen, or tampered with, the verification plate would have marked you."

He raised a second finger.

"If your heart rank was below Archfiend, you would have been thrown out."

Then he raised a third finger.

"And if you were stupid enough to cause trouble at the gate, you would have been beaten before even entering."

Korran lowered his hand and remained silent for a second, allowing his words to sink into the minds of the gathered Archfiends.

"The main recruitment begins now."

The atmosphere changed again.

Some demons became excited.

Some became nervous.

Some remained silent and still had indifferent expressions like Simon.

Korran spoke calmly.

"There are three tests. An elemental affinity test, strength test, and a combat test."

He looked at the Archfiends one by one.

"The first test will measure your affinity and affinity grade. The second will measure your physical strength. The third will measure your ability to fight and survive."

He paused for a moment.

"The combat test is the most important. The other two are important, but it is the combat test that determines who would join the campaign."

A few demons smiled when they heard that.

Korran saw their expressions and his smile widened slightly.

"Each demon will fight three battles against other demons. Win at least two, and you pass. Lose two, and you fail."

The compound became noisy for a moment.

Three battles.

Two wins needed.

That sounded simple, but everybody knew it was not.

Nobody knew who they would face.

A Minor Archfiend might face a Superior Archfiend.

A Prime Archfiend might face a Supreme Archfiend.

And a demon could fight two battles and leave the third with half his body broken.

Korran allowed them to whisper for a few seconds before his aura pressed down on them again.

They all became silent.

"Killing is allowed."

The words caused several demons’ eyes to shine.

Although some, especially the Minor Archfiends were worried, they didn’t complain.

Killing was a normal thing in the demon realm.

"But listen carefully."

Korran’s voice became colder.

"If your opponent surrenders and you still kill them, you would be punished."

A demon raised his hand carefully.

"What is the punishment?"

Korran looked at him with a cold and stoic expression.

"That depends on my mood."

The demon’s face stiffened.

Korran continued and looked across the demons gathered in the compound.

"I might take an arm. I might cripple you. I might kill you. It depends on how annoying I find you at that moment."

Nobody laughed or smiled, and Korran looked satisfied.

"If you are afraid, leave now. If you stay, then don’t complain later."

No one moved.

Greed, pride, ambition, and desperation held them in place.

Korran turned around.

"Good."

He pointed toward the far end of the compound.

"First test. Elemental affinity."

The ground trembled softly.

Several stone pillars began rising from beneath the compound floor.

There were thirteen pillars in total, and each pillar represented the twelve elements.

Fire. Earth. Wood. Water. Wind. Lightning. Ice. Metal. Darkness. Shadow. Space. Time.

The thirteenth pillar was at the center of the twelve pillar, and unlike the other pillars, it had no symbol of any element carved on it.

It was completely black, and several thin silver lines moved across its surface like veins. The pillar was also shorter than the rest, but the pressure it gave off was much stronger.

The twelve elemental pillars surrounded it in a wide circle, and each pillar had the symbol of its element carved into it.

The fire pillar had flame-like runes.

The wind pillar had swirling lines.

The lightning pillar had jagged marks that looked like lightning bolts.

The earth pillar was rough and heavy-looking, with deep cracks carved across its surface like broken ground.

The wood pillar had root-like patterns that twisted around it from bottom to top, and some of the carvings looked like branches stretching outward.

The water pillar was smooth, and its runes flowed in curved lines like waves moving across a river.

The ice pillar was pale and cold-looking, with sharp crystal-like markings carved into it.

The metal pillar looked the hardest among them. Its surface was grey and polished, and the runes on it were straight and sharp like blades.

The darkness pillar seemed to absorb the light around it, and the symbol carved on it looked like a sun that had been swallowed whole.

The shadow pillar was darker than the others.

The space pillar looked slightly distorted, as if it was not completely there.

As for the time pillar, it looked old and ancient, and a strange feeling surrounded it.

Simon looked at the pillars with calm eyes.

Sonya cracked her knuckles.

Akaza’s gaze sharpened slightly.

The recruitment had finally begun.