The Broken Halo

As Simon was being carried by Akaza on his back, he focused on healing his body.

At the same time, he also took a good look at his surroundings.

The destruction around him reminded him of his past.

It reminded him of the power he once wielded at some point in his life, and a reminiscent light could not help but flash in his eyes.

Blackwind Valley no longer looked like the same valley where the trial of the Shadowgrave Clan took place.

The thick forest that had once covered most of the area had been torn apart. Trees that had stood for hundreds or maybe thousands of years had been reduced to splinters, ashes, and broken trunks.

Several deep trenches stretched across the ground like scars on the body of the world.

Some were caused by Lilith’s sword slashes, while some were caused by Sunless’ shadows.

There were places where the ground had completely caved in, forming deep pits that were filled with broken stones, shattered roots, and traces of dark golden fire that still burned weakly.

A distant hill had been split in half.

Part of a mountain had collapsed.

And when Simon glanced behind to see the Shadowgrave Clan, he was not surprised when he saw several holes in the Shadow Veil which allowed him to see that the ravine walls of the clan had several deep cracks on them, and stones were still falling into the clan from time to time.

The bridges above the ravine, the trees, and the paths around the ravine were damaged beyond recognition.

Simon looked at all of this with an indifferent gaze that hid the pain he was feeling for turning his neck.

’Akaza and many others would do anything to attain this level of power. They believe that this is the peak of power or it’s very close to the peak of power, and I was the same too in my past life.’

’But now I know.’

’Now I know that this... is merely the beginning. And I’ll attain this level of power much faster than I did in my previous life.’

Just as he had this thought, he activated Sky Eyes to see the clan’s ravine properly, and then he realized that the demons who had lost their awareness because of Sunless’ Chaos Manifestation had regained themselves.

Some demons fell to the ground the moment their eyes regained light.

Some screamed.

Some touched their bodies as though they were trying to confirm that they were still alive.

’I guess I was hoping for too much by wanting none of the clan members to regain their awareness.’

’It would have been nice if the Shadowgrave Clan was destroyed as a result of Sunless’ ability.’

’Becoming a target of the Shadowgrave Clan is going to be so annoying and frustrating to deal with.’

Simon turned, then he looked to the distance.

He saw that the demonic beasts had also regained their awareness, but their reactions were worse than that of the clan members.

Some roared in panic, some fled without looking back, and some simply stood in place while trembling, as though their instincts were warning them not to move recklessly.

The entire Blackwind Valley was in chaos, and the source of the chaos was moving rapidly toward his destination.

Or... was being carried to his destination.

Every step Akaza took sent pain through Simon’s body, but Simon was slowly getting used to it.

After moving through a path filled with broken trees, shattered stones, and dying traces of shadow energy, they finally arrived at a quieter part of Blackwind Valley.

And there it was.

The withered tree.

It stood alone in the middle of a wide clearing.

The tree was tall, dry, and lifeless. Its bark was dark grey, its branches were twisted, and there was not a single leaf on it. It looked like it had died a very long time ago, yet it still stood as though the world itself had forgotten to make it fall.

But when Simon saw the tree, he narrowed his eyes.

What made Simon narrow his eyes was not the tree itself.

It was the barrier around it.

A crimson barrier covered the withered tree like a dome.

The barrier was smooth and faintly transparent, and strange crimson patterns slowly moved across its surface like flowing blood. Despite the destruction that had ravaged Blackwind Valley, not a single crack could be seen on the barrier.

The ground around the barrier was untouched.

No burn marks.

No sword marks.

No shattered stones.

No shadow scars.

It was as though the battle between Lilith and Sunless had never reached this place.

Simon was familiar with this barrier. It was present during the second trial and to enter it, one needed a condensed shadow essence.

He didn’t have a condensed shadow essence, and seeing the state of the barrier and how it was able to protect this area from the attacks of Sunless and Lilith showed just how sturdy it was.

Simon stared at the crimson barrier with cold eyes, then he shifted his gaze to a demon that was calmly sitting with his legs crossed in front of the withered tree.

The demon was familiar to Simon and the others.

It was the Veilmaster that was in charge of the second trial.

The Veilmaster stared at the five of them with cold eyes.

"Who would have thought that five mere First Years would bring so much destruction to the clan."

Simon did not respond to the Veilmaster.

He glanced at Sonya.

"Do you think you and Akaza can kill him?" Simon asked.

Sonya was taken aback, then she looked at Akaza who also looked at her.

"Is he strong?"

Simon nodded very slightly.

"He’s not bad."

Akaza frowned at Simon’s words.

Sonya raised a brow, then she glanced at Merath and Jorra.

"What about them?"

Simon also glanced at Merath and Jorra.

"I don’t trust them. And don’t worry, if they try anything funny, I’ll take care of them."

Merath and Jorra frowned behind their masks, and Sonya nodded.

Although she didn’t know how Simon planned on dealing with Merath and Jorra who were actually not weaklings, she had this strange belief in Simon that he would be able to do it if he said he would.

Especially after seeing him fight a Demon King... even if he was possessed by a ghost.

Sonya looked back at the Veilmaster who had an ugly expression behind his mask after hearing Simon’s words.

Simon was treating him like air, like a demon that was not worth mentioning.

And this angered him.

"And how do we pass the barrier, little kitty?"

Simon’s eyes flashed with a calculating glint for three seconds, then he spoke.

"Try placing your right hand on the barrier."

Sonya nodded and did as Simon instructed.

The Veilmaster scoffed, and was about to speak, but his eyes widened in sheer disbelief the moment the crimson barrier opened.

"What! How?!"