The Broken Halo

Chapter 960 - 959: Almost There (Magic Castle Bonus Chapter)

[A/N: This bonus Chapter is thanks to Tercel98. Thank you so much man.]

——

”You actually closed it.”

Enigma stared at the empty space before turning toward Simon.

The young Daemon was slowly descending. His chest rose and fell heavily, and his fingers still trembled. When his feet touched the ground, he remained where he landed, taking several breaths before straightening.

UnholyRegeneration healed the minor injuries caused by the strain of closing the rift, and Devour restored his spent energy.

Enigma lowered himself beside him.

”The Abyss will genuinely cherish you, Blackmoon. Even if you had nothing else to offer, that spatial affinity alone would be enough.”

Simon did not respond.

His gaze fell upon the severed upper half of the demon lying nearby. Blood had spread beneath it, darkening the dirt. Farther away, the demon who had lost an arm was being helped by another survivor.

Simon looked around.

Many of those who had escaped through the rift were still staring at the place where it had been. Others had turned toward him.

There was anger in some of their eyes.

Resentment too.

One demon’s jaw tightened when Simon looked at him. Another stood with both fists clenched, his gaze moving between Simon and the body on the ground.

But no killing intent rose from either of them.

They had seen enough to know what he could do. Whatever they felt about the rift closing, none dared entertain the thought of killing him.

The first demon lowered his eyes. The other slowly opened his hands.

Their anger would have to be swallowed.

Simon passed his gaze over them without stopping.

Sonya and Akaza had already returned to searching the bodies.

Akaza was pulling a gauntlet from beneath a corpse. He turned it over, brushed dirt from the damaged surface, and examined it closely. Nearby, Sonya moved a fallen slab aside and reached for something buried beneath it.

Virella and Ammor were searching farther along the wreckage.

They had not forgotten why Simon had left them there.

Enigma followed his gaze.

”Is there anything else you need to do here?”

”Nothing that requires me to stay.”

”Then, once your companions are finished, you can come with me to The Abyss.”

Simon’s breathing had eased, although the ache behind his eyes remained.

”Can they come too?”

He gestured toward Sonya and Akaza, then Virella and Ammor.

A strange expression crossed Enigma’s face.

”All four?”

”Yes.”

Enigma regarded the distant figures for a moment.

”The Abyss is an organisation of Daemons, but that doesn’t mean every person within it is one.”

Simon waited.

”There are demons who serve our members. They attend to routine duties, menial tasks, and work the Daemons cannot always perform themselves.”

He glanced back at Simon.

”Our numbers are small. Having other demons within the organisation is a necessity, not merely a convenience.”

”So they can accompany us.”

”They can. Whether they are allowed to remain is something the elders will decide.”

Enigma’s eyes returned briefly to Sonya.

”However, I have seen how talented your companions are. The elders would most likely agree to admit them as your subordinates or servants.”

Simon nodded.

”Then they’ll come with us.”

He offered no further explanation.

Enigma was making his judgement based on what Sonya and Akaza were now.

Simon had other plans.

He intended to help both of them become Daemons. He had no intention of bringing them into The Abyss only to have them treated as servants.

Besides, he could already imagine how they would respond to being told they had to become servants.

Neither had followed him this far for that.

For now, there was no reason to explain what he intended to do with their bloodlines. Enigma had already shown enough interest in his abilities.

The Daemon reached over and patted his shoulder.

”You and I have a great deal to discuss.”

Simon looked at the hand, then at him.

”But you should recover first,” Enigma added. ”And we should leave this place. There are better places to rest than the remains of an army.”

Simon nodded.

”Agreed.”

Enigma withdrew his hand.

For several moments, Simon remained silent. Then his attention returned to the place where the rift had been.

There was nothing to see.

No crimson rim. No dark passage. No glimpse of Earth through the opening.

Smoke drifted through the empty space without interruption.

To anyone without spatial perception, the rift had disappeared completely.

Simon knew otherwise.

His senses still found differences in the space he had forced together. The distortion was greatly reduced, but the boundary had not become identical to the undisturbed space surrounding it.

The wound was closed.

It had not healed without a trace.

A god or a sufficiently capable Demi-God might recognise those traces and force the passage open again. Someone with enough power and a sufficiently high spatial affinity could attempt it too.

But recognising the weakness would not be enough.

They would have to force the two realms into contact again and sustain the opening against the resistance that had helped Simon close it.

That would not be easy.

He had not made it impossible for someone to follow.

He had made it much harder.

For now, that was enough.

Simon let his perception withdraw before the lingering pain in his head could worsen.

Above the ruined camp, smoke thinned as it rose into the sky.

He watched it for a while.

”I wonder what some of my old friends have been doing.”

The words were barely audible.

Caesar.

Sunless.

Merath.

Other faces followed. Demons he had escaped, deceived, fought, or left with reasons to remember him.

Friends was hardly the right word.

But the thought brought a faint trace of amusement to his tired face.

He wondered what they would think if they saw him now.

There had been times when surviving an encounter with some of them had been an achievement in itself. He remembered measuring every word, every movement, searching for the smallest chance to stay alive.

He was not foolish enough to believe that all his old enemies had become harmless.

Still, he was no longer the demon they remembered.

Simon released a soft sigh.

Then he looked down at his hands.

They were still trembling slightly.

He slowly opened his fingers and closed them again, feeling the strength beneath the exhaustion.

”I’m getting close.”

Close to the power he had possessed in his previous life.

The thought felt unreal.

He remembered the years it had taken to reach that strength. The battles, the wounds, and the long war that had consumed so much of his life.

Now he was sixteen.

Sixteen, and already almost as powerful as he had been when that life ended.

His tired hands remained before him.

He had once used his strength to protect Earth.

Now he stood among the demons he had spent decades fighting, with the path back to his old world sealed by his own hands.

A bitter smile slowly appeared on his lips.

He was almost back to where he had been.

But nothing else was the same.

Simon lowered his hands.

And at last, he turned away from the place where Earth had been.