The Broken Halo

’Who is this?’

Simon stared upward through the hair hanging across his eyes.

Dust drifted between the ridges, briefly concealing the figure above them. Then the wind carried it aside, revealing a tall man standing in the air with his hands resting loosely at his sides.

Two thick black horns rose from his head. They curved outward before turning upward, their sharp tips bending slightly inward. Beneath them, silver-white hair fell in heavy, unruly curls, spilling over his shoulders and far down his back.

’A Two-Horned Demon?’

Simon’s gaze moved lower.

A pale mantle covered the stranger’s broad shoulders, its long fur shifting around the dark clothing beneath it. Fine gold chains hung between ornate shoulder clasps. His black robes crossed tightly at the waist but left much of his chest exposed.

He was muscular without being bulky. Dark-grey skin showed between the folds, and overlapping black scales covered his throat, followed his collarbones, and spread down the outer edges of his chest.

More scales covered his forearms.

His fingers ended in long black nails.

Simon’s brows drew together.

Those were not decorations attached to his clothing. The scales belonged to his body.

The stranger lowered his chin, allowing Simon to see his face clearly. It was sharply defined, with high cheekbones, a straight nose, and a mouth that held the faintest suggestion of amusement. His eyes glowed a cold blue-green.

Narrow vertical pupils divided them.

The horns had offered one answer. Everything beneath them suggested something else.

’Serpentine features... A hybrid?’

The God of War’s grip had stopped tightening. Simon forced a shallow breath past his fingers, careful not to move the hand still holding the Chaos Blade.

The stranger had asked for his release, but the god had definitely not obeyed.

Above them, the pale mantle stirred. A faint teal light passed across the scales at the stranger’s wrists, and Simon finally caught enough of his aura to judge it.

A Supreme Demon Lord.

Simon’s expression grew more solemn.

Seven Demon Lords had died beneath Heavenfall Arsenal. This one stood higher than them, but rank alone did not explain why he had approached the god without a trace of hesitation.

Nor did it explain what Simon felt when their auras touched.

The pressure did not slam into the gully. It settled through the air quietly, making the wind around Simon’s face falter. The small living presences he had sensed beneath the grass became still.

The stranger had made no threatening movement.

Yet Simon became intensely aware that both sides of the gully were within his reach.

There was something familiar beneath that danger.

Not a scent he recognised. Not the aura of somebody he had met.

Something deeper.

’Why does he feel... familiar?’

His Sky Tiger Daemon bloodline stirred.

Warmth spread from deep within his body, passing beneath his bruised flesh and damaged pathways. His pulse quickened. The scales on the stranger’s arms seemed to draw his attention more strongly than before.

Simon frowned.

The response was not healing him, instead, a strained current of demonic energy passed through his shoulder, and pain reminded him how badly his body remained damaged.

But his bloodline was unusually active.

It had noticed the being above him.

And it did not respond as though it were merely facing a stronger demon.

Simon looked again at the stranger’s eyes.

’Not a demon...?’

The thought had barely formed when Lilith spoke.

[Unbelievable.]

There was no teasing in her voice.

Simon’s attention sharpened.

[What did you notice?]

[He is a Daemon.]

The answer confirmed his suspicion, but hearing it still left him momentarily speechless.

A Daemon.

One was standing above him, addressing the God of War as though the title did not require a lowered voice.

[And that bloodline...]

Lilith paused.

Simon could hear the change in her tone.

[You recognise it?]

[The World Serpent Daemon bloodline. One of the strongest Daemon Beast bloodlines.]

His eyes widened slightly.

For several moments, he had nothing to say.

He had spent so long learning how little the present demons understood about what they had lost. Now a living Daemon had appeared before him, carrying a bloodline that could surprise even Lilith.

’The World Serpent...’

The name remained in his thoughts.

Above, the stranger’s gaze briefly shifted from the god to Simon. His blue-green eyes paused over Simon’s horn, then settled on his face.

Simon could not tell what he had recognized or if he had recognized anything about him.

The warmth from his active bloodline beneath his skin strengthened.

He kept it from disturbing the demonic energy protecting his throat. Familiarity did not mean friendship, and being rescued from one powerful being did not guarantee safety with another.

Varen had already offered him protection.

He remembered the price he asked for.

Nevertheless, one question pressed through his caution.

[Which is stronger? The Sky Tiger or the World Serpent?]

Lilith did not answer immediately.

[I cannot say for certain. Those two beasts rarely fought in my time.]

Simon listened.

[But Sky Tigers fought true dragons. From what I know of those battles, I would place the Sky Tiger above the World Serpent.]

[You believe it is stronger.]

[I believe it. That is not the same as knowing the outcome of a fight between them.]

Simon looked at the scales bordering the stranger’s chest.

’True dragons...’

Just as he had this thought, the fingers around his throat shifted, and pain brought him back to the present.

’And here I am, unable to free myself from one hand.’

An extraordinary bloodline was not the same as having reached its potential.

The Sword Daemon’s sword art had already made that clear.

Simon returned his attention to the stranger. Unlike him, the being above possessed a Daemon’s actual constitution. The difference was more important than the Heart rank Simon had just sensed.

Whether it would be enough against the god remained another matter.

The God of War had been watching throughout.

His gaze moved over the black horns and the scales beneath the pale mantle. His expression was no longer one of casual irritation, though he had not released Simon.

”Who are you?”

The question carried clearly up the gully.

The stranger smiled.

The god’s brows drew together before he received an answer.

”Your presence is unpleasant.”

Iron-grey Aether stirred around his remaining arm. The faint teal radiance above did not withdraw.

”Why do I feel such a strong repulsion toward you?”

Simon kept still.

The god was not speaking with the contempt he had shown Varen. He was examining something that refused to fit what he expected to find.

The stranger’s smile deepened slightly.

”I am called Lord Enigma.”

He spoke without bowing or offering a title of reverence.

”As for the repulsion...”

His eyes met the god’s.

”That is because I am a Daemon.”

The change in the God of War’s face was immediate.

The amusement vanished. His iron-grey eyes widened, and the hand holding Simon became completely still. For the first time since the stranger appeared, the god looked past the visible horns and scales as though searching for something he had already decided could not be there.

Lord Enigma allowed him to look.

The God of War’s lips parted.

”That should not be possible,” he said softly.