The Broken Halo

The shattered ice sculpture of the Winter Monkey floated briefly on the surface of the freezing sea before cracks spread across it and pieces of frozen ice slowly separated from one another.

First Blade stood in the air silently.

Water dripped from his robes.

His pale hair danced slightly with the cold winds while his black eyes slowly swept across the battlefield beneath him. The frozen sea had become chaotic after their clash. Massive cracks spread across the thick layer of ice while shattered glaciers floated on the dark waters below.

Dense mist drifted through the surroundings.

And a tense and uncomfortable silence filled the air as First Blade looked for the Winter Monkey.

To be fooled by a monkey left a bitter taste in his mouth, and it was a shame that none of his peers must ever learn of.

However, he was slightly baffled by how the Winter Monkey had fooled him.

He clearly felt his swords pierce the Winter Monkey’s flesh, not a block of ice.

’A substitution technique?’

Just as First Blade had this thought, his expression suddenly changed when he felt his instincts scream at him.

Boom!

The frozen sea below him exploded, and a massive pillar of water erupted upward.

A white blur shot out of the sea, and its speed was fast.

Too fast for First Blade to react to.

His eyes widened.

BANG!!!

A fist covered in transparent ice armor smashed violently into his face.

The impact distorted his features.

Blood exploded from his mouth.

His beard bent.

Hid head snapped sideways.

And shock rippled through the old demon’s entire body.

“You-!”

He couldn’t even finish his words before a hand covered in transparent ice armor suddenly held his face.

“Hehehehe. Too weak!”

The mocking laughter of the Winter Monkey echoed in the frozen environment, and the world seemed to respond to the Winter Monkey’s riled up aura.

Simon, Lucien, and First Blade saw the Winter Monkey’s new appearance, and they were surprised.

The Winter Monkey was now wearing a monkey ice armor, and on this ice armor were glowing chaos runes.

It was a beautiful sight to see, but the aura he radiated was nothing short of dangerous.

However, it was obvious to Simon, Lucien, and First Blade that the Winter Monkey was burning through his reserves of demonic energy.

“Hehehehe. Down you go!”

First Blade could barely react as the Winter Monkey held his face more tightly and plummeted into the frozen sea like a meteor.

Simon and Lucien immediately sensed the danger and they ran away as quickly as they could.

But the descent of the Winter Monkey was still too fast.

BANG!!!

The frozen sea shattered, and a massive wave rose and fell, further causing more destruction in the environment.

Simon and Lucien were nearly swept away by the wave, but Lucien quickly froze the wave just as it was about to descend on them.

In the next moment, another explosive sound shook the ground as the Winter Monkey flew out of the ice cold sea with First Blade’s face in his hand.

“Now you…”

Boom!

“… Fly!”

The Winter Monkey threw First Blade into a massive glacier, and the power behind his throw caused a massive shockwave in his surroundings.

“Hehehehe!”

The Winter Monkey laughed madly and wildly as he was having fun, then he vanished.

BANG!

Just as First Blade crashed into the glacier, the Winter Monkey appeared in front of him and gave him a solid dropkick on his stomach.

Crack!

Cough!

Bang!

Shatter!

Blood spurted out of First Blade’s mouth, and the sound of bones breaking and ice cracking resounded in the air.

The First Blade lost consciousness for a fraction of a second, but the moment he regained his consciousness, he found himself flying through a glacier.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The old demon tumbled several times but the Winter Monkey did not give him any second to rest.

As First Blade was tumbling, the Winter Monkey suddenly appeared in front of him and grabbed his face again.

Bang!

He stumbled a few times, but then he ran at an extremely fast speed with First Blade’s face in his hand.

As he ran, he left behind an icy blur, then he reached a glacier and slammed the First Blade’s face into the glacier.

BANG!

He paused for a fraction of a second, then he dragged the face of First Blade across the glacier.

SCRRRRRRRRR!!!!

His face scraped across the glacier, and if not for First Blade’s quick reaction where he coated his head with his demonic energy, his face would have been completely disfigured.

As the Winter Monkey ran across the glacier with First Blade’s head in his hand, the old demon finally reacted.

Boom!

Flames suddenly exploded from his body and the Winter Monkey was thrown far away.

The Winter Monkey spun once in the air before landing and skidding on the frozen sea.

“Damned monkey!”

Boom!

First Blade appeared in front of the Winter Monkey like a raging meteor, then he swung his flaming blades down in fury.

His four hands held flaming swords, and the Winter Monkey could only block the attack by crossing his arms in front of him.

Boom!

Although he blocked it, his ice armor was cut by the flaming swords.

If not for now sturdy the armor was, the Winter Monkey’s arms would have been cut off.

“I’ll make you regret being born.”

First Blade growled with an utterly mad and murderous expression despite his bloodied, swollen, and multicolored face.

Cough

Cough

The old demon suddenly coughed a mouthful of blood due to the internal injuries he suffered at the hands and legs of the monkey.

The Winter Monkey saw an opportunity, and he took it.

His right leg shifted, and a pillar of ice rose from below First Blade.

“Tch.”

First Blade was thrown into the air by the ice pillar the Winter Monkey formed, but the old demon quickly jumped off the ice pillar and floated in the sky.

He looked down at the Winter Monkey who easily mended the cracks and cuts in his ice monkey armor.

The Winter Monkey looked back at First Blade, then he grinned.

First Blade frowned.

Clap!

The Winter Monkey suddenly clapped, and over three dozen mirrors made out of ice appeared all around First Blade.

First Blade’s expression remained calm despite seeing this, but in the next moment, his eyes could not help but widen in disbelief.

Numerous ice sculptures walked out of the ice mirrors, and these ice sculptures were carbon copies of the Winter Monkey.

Dozens of Winter Monkey ice sculptures surrounded First Blade, and the situation became even more grim for the old demon.