The Broken Halo

Chapter 354: 354: The Mission

The sight of massive boulders, metals, and a portion of a building falling from the sky is something very few could ever imagine.

Every single demon that was watching Simon or the battle was in complete shock and disbelief.

The shockwave and sound of the building and debris falling was so loud that it caused those who were kilometers to hear and even feel it.

The shadow blades and other Bulwarks had to protect their eyes and bodies from the flying debris and dust.

Eventually, the dust settled down, allowing everybody to see the result of the crash.

However, the first thing they saw was a one-horned, white haired demon pulling out his claws from the eye sockets of a Bulwark demon.

He stood to full height, then he turned, allowing everybody to see his complete appearance.

His clothes were tattered and stained with blood. His mask was also broken and barely half of it was left, allowing everybody to catch a glimpse of his handsome face.

As he stood on top of a pile of rubble and corpses with blood dripping from his claws, he looked like a demonic beast that had just clawed and fought his way out of hell.

It was a sight many of Simon’s classmates would not forget.

However, one demon was so furious to the point that the one thing they valued and preached a lot, was instantly shattered into pieces.

The female Bulwark captain lost all semblance of control and reasoning the moment she saw this, and before she knew it.

She saw red.

Boom!

Just like how the four Bulwark demons were shocked and unable to react to the sudden appearance of the building and large debris, Simon was also unable to react to the sudden appearance of the female Bulwark captain.

He was stunned and so confused.

He didn’t expect this at all.

This was completely out of his expectations, and he could not help but wonder if he had maybe killed a Bulwark demon that was important to the female captain.

Unfortunately for Simon, he did not know how right he was.

One of the Bulwark demons he crushed was one of her sons, and what made it worse was that the Bulwark he was seen removing his claws from was actually the son of the female captain.

She was a demon who loved to be calm, patient, and calculating. But this time around, every semblance of control in her snapped.

She was not new to one of her children dying.

No.

However, seeing how he died and how Simon was stepping on him like a piece of trash on the road side was what infuriated her.

An axe descended down on Simon, its descent akin to the fury of a god.

Simon could only look at it, but he could not react to it.

The female captain was a Greater Demon, and the difference between a Greater Demon and an Archfiend was extremely wide.

Even with his newfound knowledge on how he could use his vast reserves of mental energy to heal himself and become the strongest was not going to help him here.

It would take time for him to use his mental energy to strengthen himself, and this was time he did not have.

’A pity.’

If he could shake his head, he would.

Unfortunately, he could not.

However, fortunately for him, it was not yet his time to die… even in a simulation.

Bang!

Simon’s body jumped and he closed his eyes due to the sudden blood and rocks that flew into his face.

He was taken aback, and just as he raised his hand to wipe off the blood from his mask and eyes especially, he heard the sound of a massive object falling on the ground beside him.

He immediately knew that it was the corpse of the female captain, but he was taken aback.

What just happened?

His vision was better, so he looked to his left and he saw that he was right.

The corpse of the female captain lay on the ground, but in her head was an arrow that took her life.

“What’s your name, initiate?”

He heard a voice, and his eyes moved to the source.

He saw that the Veilmaster had appeared not too far away from him at some point and he had no idea.

He was not surprised though.

He knew just how powerful Greater Demons were.

His eyes lingered on the Veilmaster for a brief moment.

Up close, the demon felt… difficult to define.

His build was lean, almost unremarkable, yet nothing about him felt weak. His posture was relaxed, but there was a quiet control in the way he stood, as though every movement had already been calculated before it even happened.

In his right hand was a bow.

Simon only took a glance at it before he shifted his attention to the mask on the Veilmaster’s face.

The mask was what drew Simon’s attention the most.

It was smooth and pale, lacking any distinct features at first glance. But the longer Simon looked at it, the more he could not help but frown.

’Unlike the mask of Initiates, the mask of Veilmasters are artifacts. And this mask can affect one’s mind… just like Hollow Sky Eye.’

Because of how strong his mind was, the mask could not easily affect him. But out of pure curiosity, he allowed the mask to affect his mind so as to see what it did.

The moment he did this, he was instantly disappointed.

The mask did not change.

And yet, it did not look the same twice.

At one moment, it seemed completely blank. In the next, it felt like there was a faint curve where a smile should be.

Even the edges of the mask seemed slightly blurred.

’It’s only meant to cause confusion and that’s all?’

Maybe the mask could do something else, but Simon didn’t care.

He was extremely disappointed.

He placed his mental defenses back up.

“What’s your name, Initiate?”

The Veilmaster’s voice reached his ears again, asking the question for a second time.

“Broken Halo.”

A brief silence followed.

The Veilmaster observed him for a moment longer, his gaze—or what Simon assumed to be his gaze—lingering on the rubble, the corpses, and the Bulwark demons that had been crushed.

Then he spoke.

“I am Captain Heavy Sniper. You can refer to me as just captain. I have a mission for you.”

Simon’s eyes flickered.

“What mission?”

The captain pointed at the northern tower.

“Our mission is to destroy the cores of the formations and arrays in that tower. And if we can, we’re to also kill every Formation and Array Master of the Bulwark clan.”