The Broken Halo

Devia watched the three of them leave, then released a breath she did not know she was holding.

”Finally.”

Mira glanced at her with slightly raised brows.

Devia immediately raised her hands.

”What? Don’t tell me you weren’t nervous.”

Mira did not reply.

She looked at Simon’s back as he disappeared into the crowd.

Her friend had not brought an ordinary child into this world.

That much was obvious.

For some reason, she had a feeling that Simon’s story was going to be legendary, and that he was going to cause some serious waves in Velmora.

No.

The Darkness Kingdom.

No.

The demon realm.

And maybe... just maybe... even more than that.

Mira’s eyes flickered with a strange glint as she stared at the backs of Simon, Akaza, and Sonya.

Meanwhile, Simon walked through the carriage yard with Sonya and Akaza behind him.

He did not walk fast.

Not because he couldn’t, but because there was no reason to.

His body was still healing, and rushing around would only waste energy.

Sonya looked at the streets with interest.

”So, are we going to this Stone Drum Inn?”

”No.” Simon replied.

Akaza looked at Simon.

”Why? You don’t trust her?”

Simon shook his head slightly.

”You already know the answer to that question. Besides, it’s not wise of us to stay in an inn she recommended. It’ll be easier for them and other demons to find us.”

Sonya scoffed while sweeping her gaze around like a child staring at toys all around her.

”It wasn’t wise of you to give her your name. If they trace our movements to her, they’ll know where we went to and that’ll put us in even more danger.”

Simon’s eyes moved from one building to the other as they walked.

”You’re not wrong, but I wouldn’t lie that my curiosity got the better of me. Besides, it won’t cause us much damage. They cannot hurt or kill us easily when we’re in Velmora... especially with the current situation of things in the city and in their clan.”

Simon came to a stop, and his gaze landed on a group of demons standing near a large stone board at the side of the carriage yard.

Several papers and wooden plates had been nailed to the board. Demons stood in front of it, reading, arguing, and pointing at different notices.

One of the wooden plates had a symbol of a horned beast’s head surrounded by three curved lines.

The same symbol on the guards’ armor.

Simon walked toward the board.

Sonya and Akaza followed.

There were many notices.

Caravan requests.

Guard requests.

Missing slaves.

Wanted criminals.

Beast hunting missions.

Material purchases.

And then Simon saw it.

A black wooden plate with red writing.

[Temporary Recruitment Notice]

[Fiends and Archfiends may register for preliminary evaluation.]

[Details to be announced at the Black Horn Office in the western district.]

[Rewards will be based on rank, contribution, and survival.]

[Recruitment starts tomorrow morning.]

Simon’s gaze remained on the notice for a few seconds.

Black Horn Office.

So the information was not hidden.

It was right there for everyone to see.

Sonya looked at the notice, then looked at Simon. She couldn’t read the notice, but she was able to hear the conversations of the demons around them and she put two and two together.

”Are you looking at the thing those demons were talking about?”

Simon nodded slightly.

”Yes.”

Akaza folded his arms.

”Are we going?”

Simon looked away from the notice.

”Yes.”

Sonya could not help but smirk with a wild and chaotic light flashing in her eyes.

”Good. I always knew that following you was going to be fun.”

Simon did not respond. He turned and continued walking.

Sonya and Akaza followed him, and when they were far away from the notice board, Akaza could not help but look at Simon with a slight frown.

”Are you sure it’s okay for you to go? Don’t forget that you’re still injured. I’ve never entered a rift before but I know that there are many other rifts in the demon realm. You can enter one when you’re fully healed.”

Simon understood Akaza’s concern.

The recruitment would most likely involve duels and battles, but he was still injured and was not close to being fully fit.

If he participated in the recruitment and his injuries got worse, would it be worth it?

Although this was an issue, Simon does not have a choice.

Unfortunately, the recruitment was going to take place the following day, so he could not completely heal himself before going for it.

”Like I said earlier, I’m injured but I’m not weak.”

Akaza looked at Simon with a frown, but he said nothing else.

Simon knew his condition and abilities better than him, and if he said he could still fight, Akaza had no other choice than to believe him.

Simon turned to a corner and continued walking.

A few minutes later, he stopped before an inn.

It was not as large or as flashy as some of the buildings they had passed, but it was not small either. The walls were made of dark stone, and a round metal signboard hung above the entrance with the drawing of a cracked horn on it.

The place was called Pipeline Inn.

There were two guards standing by the door, and both of them were Archfiends.

Simon glanced at them for a second, then walked in.

The inside of the inn was clean, but not luxurious. Several demons sat around wooden tables, eating, drinking, and speaking in low voices. Some glanced at Simon, Akaza, and Sonya when they entered, but after seeing their calm but sharp gazes, they looked away.

The demon behind the counter looked up.

”How many rooms?”

Simon nodded.

”Three separate rooms.”

The demon looked at the three of them from head to toe, then spoke.

”One hundred and twenty low grade hell stones per room for one night.”

Sonya’s brows rose.

”Are the rooms made of hell stones?”

The demon behind the counter remained expressionless.

”Because of the recruitment, a lot of demons have entered Velmora. Rooms are scarce. If you don’t want it, you can check somewhere else.”

Sonya’s lips curled slightly.

Akaza glanced at her.

”Don’t.”

Sonya clicked her tongue.

Simon did not bother arguing. He took out a pouch from his spatial ring and dropped it on the counter.

”Three rooms. We might be staying for a long time.”

The demon behind the counter opened the pouch, counted the hell stones, then his expression became a little more respectful.

He took out three black wooden tokens and placed them on the counter.

”Second floor. Rooms twenty-one, twenty-two, and twenty-three. Each room has a protection array. It’s nothing much, so don’t fight. If you damage anything, you pay double.”

Simon collected the tokens and gave one to Sonya and one to Akaza.

The three of them walked up the stairs while several hidden gazes followed them.

When they reached the second floor, Simon stopped before room twenty-one and looked at Sonya and Akaza.

”You can do anything you want but don’t cause any trouble.”

This time around, Simon’s gaze was on Sonya.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed.

”What do you take me for?”

Simon raised a brow and just stared at her silently.

Sonya clicked her tongue.

”Fine.”

Simon nodded, then he looked at Akaza.

”I’ll be attending the recruitment tomorrow morning. If you guys don’t want to go, then you don’t have to go.”

Akaza stared at him with a raised brow.

”And miss out on an opportunity to get stronger? I don’t think so.”

Simon nonchalantly shrugged, then he opened the door to his room and lazily waved at them.

”Do whatever you want to do. I’m going to be in my room till tomorrow morning.”

Simon closed the door, then Sonya and Akaza looked at one another before walking to their rooms.

Without another word, the two of them entered their rooms.

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