The Broken Halo

Chapter 1026 - 1025: A Member Of The Abyss

”I believe you’ve punished the boy enough,” Grand Elder Dread Crown said.

Severin looked up at the gallery.

The gigantic hand remained pressed against the clear barrier. Its fingers bent, but the protection around Simon showed no sign of weakening.

”He killed Joren,” Severin replied. ”Then he drained his corpse in front of me. You consider this enough?”

”Blackmoon won the duel fairly. The council approved it, and the terms were clear. He wasn’t to be punished for killing his opponent.”

”The duel didn’t give him the right to-”

”You might not know this but your nephew asked us to kill him and use his remains to strengthen others. I believe if Blackmoon used his corpse to strengthen himself and returned it to you, then he has done nothing wrong.”

Severin’s jaw tightened and he clenched his fists tightly.

Grand Elder Dread Crown leaned back.

”The Abyss isn’t a place where we raise children who threaten anyone they please and expect their families to save them when they lose.”

His voice carried beyond the arena, reaching the highest benches.

”A member with no powerful family must be able to win an authorised duel without being hunted by the loser’s relatives. Otherwise, why would anyone without a backer agree to fight?”

Severin said nothing.

”Joren had the greater cultivation. He had the blessing. He challenged Blackmoon and lost. We value strength here, Severin. A family name doesn’t make up for being the weaker fighter.”

The little face inside Severin’s left eye socket closed its eyes.

”Remember that.”

Severin looked down at the barrier.

He wanted to break it.

He wanted to finish the boy before those crimson eyes looked up at him again.

But neither desire changed the fact that his cursed spirit couldn’t even dent the protection Grand Elder Dread Crown had placed around him.

Another attack would accomplish nothing except turn the council against him. He might die without reaching Blackmoon, or survive to face a punishment House Voss couldn’t overturn.

And the family would have to answer for his behaviour in front of this entire audience.

The patriarch would definitely not thank him for that.

Severin lowered his head.

”I understand, Grand Elder Dread Crown.”

”Then withdraw your cursed spirits.”

The huge hand lifted. Its mouths closed as the fingers folded inward and disappeared.

Beside the barrier, the tooth-caged beast stepped backward before fading from sight.

The weight pressing upon the spectators eased. Several demons drew sharp breaths, and Enigma straightened near the edge of the fighting ground.

Sonya, Akaza, Virella, and Ammor all heaved sighs of relief.

Grand Elder Dread Crown watched Severin.

”Your past service to The Abyss is the reason I allowed this to go as far as it did. Don’t let your anger make you waste that consideration.”

Severin kept his head lowered.

”Besides,” Grand Elder Dread Crown added, ”you’ve recovered what mattered most.”

Severin’s expression barely changed.

Of course the elder had noticed.

Giving Joren a proper burial had only been part of the reason he demanded the remains. He also hadn’t wanted his nephew’s body to be used by a stranger, but there had been something more urgent to recover.

The ring.

An Abyss Blessed’s ring had several functions. Storage was one of them.

Joren had kept valuable items inside it, along with records and teachings belonging to House Voss. Those couldn’t remain in Blackmoon’s hands.

Now the ring was back with the family.

There was no sense risking his life over what had already happened.

He had cared about Joren. But his nephew had chosen the duel despite being warned, and Severin wasn’t going to follow him into death because he couldn’t bear to back down.

Though, it was unfortunate he hadn’t killed Blackmoon.

He had expected the blows to finish a Greater Demon without needing to use his full strength. Instead, the boy had endured them until Grand Elder Dread Crown intervened.

Severin knew he had held back more than he wanted to admit.

Even while striking, he had been conscious of the elders watching. He had threatened to accept the consequences of killing Blackmoon, but committing all his power to it after recovering the ring was another matter.

At least the boy would spend some time remembering what had happened and he would need time and lots of resources to heal his injuries.

Severin looked toward him.

Simon lay in a depression filled with broken stone, with his left arm missing and his torn clothes soaked with his sweat and blood. Cursed energy from the bite clung to the wound, resisting his attempts to heal.

Severin felt a small measure of satisfaction seeing this.

Those injuries wouldn’t disappear simply because someone had stopped him from making them worse.

But just as he had this thought, a wound along Simon’s side began closing.

Severin frowned.

A sunken section of his chest rose back into place. The cuts across his face narrowed, and the blood flowing from his shoulder slowed down.

The changes were happening quickly enough to watch.

The cursed energy was weakening too.

Inside the barrier, Simon had used the period of the conversation between Grand Elder Dread Crown and Severin to work on his injuries.

He kept what he had taken from Joren sealed away while forcing the contamination from Severin’s attacks out of his damaged pathways. The bite had left stubborn traces, and clearing them consumed considerably more power than removing Joren’s cursed energy.

But nothing was striking him now.

For the first time since the hand descended, his regeneration could repair an injury without having it immediately torn open again.

Simon planted his right palm against the ground.

A low crack came from his ribs as he pushed himself onto one knee.

Severin watched him stand.

Simon exhaled, then bent forward with a cough.

Splat!

Black blood splashed onto the stone.

He spat again, wiped his mouth, and ran his bloodied right hand through his white hair, pushing it back from his face.

His breathing steadied.

Across the terraces, the spectators who had begun talking fell quiet once more.

Simon glanced calmly at Severin.

Then he looked toward the gallery.

”Grand Elder Dread Crown, could you remove the barrier? I’d like to get my arm.”

Grand Elder Golden Tyrant’s eyes moved toward the limb lying several paces away.

Ancestral Elder Bone Prophet leaned forward with interest.

Grand Elder Dread Crown regarded Simon for a moment, then lifted a finger despite the thoughts and questions in his mind.

The clear barrier vanished.

Simon raised his right hand.

His severed left arm rose from the rubble and floated toward him. No wind carried it. The power around it obeyed his Seed of Pride, holding the limb steady as he brought it beside his shoulder.

He caught the upper arm and pressed it against the wound.

For a moment, nothing appeared to happen.

Then flesh reached across the torn edges like roots.

The joint settled into place. Muscles tightened around it, and the damaged pathways joined beneath the closing skin.

Unholy Regeneration worked through the connection, fed by the demonic energy Simon directed into it. Reattaching the limb was easier than growing another, but the healing drew steadily on his reserves.

His left fingers twitched.

He bent the elbow carefully.

A few remaining drops of blood ran down his side as the last opening closed.

Simon rotated his shoulder, then opened and closed his hand. He moved each finger beneath the black wraps before giving a small nod.

”Not bad.”

Severin stared with an expression of disbelief.

He had expected Blackmoon to spend a long time recovering. Even restoring the arm should have required help once the cursed energy had settled into the wound.

Yet the boy was standing before him, testing the hand he had lost moments ago.

”How did you recover so quickly?”

Simon looked toward him with a slight tilt of his head, then a smile appeared on his lips.

He shrugged.

”Who knows? Maybe I’m just that talented.”

Severin’s stomach dropped.

He could feel the boy’s power. Blackmoon hadn’t suddenly become capable of defeating a Supreme Demon King.

But there was no fear in that smile, and Severin doubted there was any forgiveness.

He remembered the way Blackmoon had looked at Joren before driving the sword into his heart.

His instincts warned him with an urgency he hadn’t felt when the boy first spoke back.

This young Daemon would become a problem.

He had watched him seize control of a cursed spirit, drain a corpse, and now recover from injuries that should have left him helpless. What would happen when he possessed a Demon King’s cultivation?

Severin’s fingers twitched.

The barrier was gone.

For a fraction of a second, he considered striking before Blackmoon could react.

Then his gaze caught Grand Elder Dread Crown’s.

The elder was watching him.

Severin closed his hand.

He had recovered the ring and he had his nephew’s remains. Attacking now would accomplish nothing worth the consequences.

Without another word, he turned and vanished.

Simon watched the space he had occupied, then rolled his recovered shoulder.

”What a wonderful welcome.”

He shook his head lightly.

Above the arena, Grand Elder Dread Crown rose.

The movement drew the attention of the entire colosseum. Conversations stopped, and those standing along the aisles turned toward the gallery.

Simon lifted his gaze.

”Blackmoon has defeated Joren of House Voss in the duel approved by this council.”

Grand Elder Dread Crown’s voice reached every seat of the colosseum.

”He has fulfilled the condition set for his admission. From this moment, Blackmoon is a member of The Abyss, with the rights and obligations that come with that status.”

His silver eyes passed over the terraces.

”His victory stands. No house may punish him for it. Anyone who wishes to dispute that will answer to this council.”