The Broken Halo

"Finally."

Simon continued absorbing the demonic energy inside the low grade hell stone.

The better his condition became, the faster UnholyRegeneration worked. The cracks in his demonic pathways closed at a visible pace to his inner perception, but the increase in speed came with an increase in consumption.

The first hell stone lasted for some minutes.

The second lasted less.

By the time Simon brought out the fifth, Devour was pulling the demonic energy out of it faster than before.

It was like the ability knew that Simon’s condition was better and it was like a beast that had not drank water for weeks.

Simon restrained it, but not too much.

The dense demonic energy moved through his pathways, entered every part of his body, and disappeared as UnholyRegeneration worked its magic.

His muscles tightened and relaxed. His bones released faint cracking sounds as tiny fractures he had not noticed disappeared. Even the damage hidden inside his organs was repaired.

Pain accompanied the entire process, but Simon did not stop.

Compared to what he had endured after Lilith controlled his body, this pain was nothing.

Hours passed.

One low grade hell stone after another lost its glow in his hand. Simon did not care about the amount he consumed. He had more than enough hell stones, and keeping them while remaining injured would be foolish.

At some point, his healing speed increased once again.

UnholyRegeneration became more demanding, swallowing demonic energy almost as quickly as Devour supplied it. The damaged parts of his body were no longer healing separately. Everything was being repaired together.

His flesh.

His bones.

His organs.

And most importantly, his demonic pathways.

Eventually, the last trace of pain disappeared.

Simon stopped using Devour and slowly opened his eyes.

A dull hell stone rested in his palm. He placed it to the side, then circulated his demonic energy through his body.

It moved smoothly.

There was no obstruction.

No pain.

No feeling of countless needles scraping through his pathways.

Simon increased the speed of circulation, then increased it again. His demonic energy flowed through his body like it had never been damaged in the first place.

His lips curled slightly.

He was finally back to full physical health.

Simon closed his eyes again and inspected himself more carefully. His muscles, bones, organs, and demonic pathways were completely healed. The damage caused by Lilith’s techniques and the power she forced through his body had disappeared.

Back then, Lilith had used the Chaos Wraps to tear open space with a body that was nowhere near strong enough to withstand it. His demonic pathways had been torn apart, his mind had been stretched and damged, and dark golden cracks had spread across his body.

Now, none of those injuries remained.

’My body is stronger than before but the difference is not massive. Unfortunately, I didn’t gain much from Lilith possessing me.’

’Well, if I did... I’ll probably be dead by now.’

’I should be grateful that I’m not dead.’

Simon shifted his attention to his sea of consciousness.

The black sea was calm.

The few and small cracks that had once spread through the sea and the space around it had closed. The seven stars containing his abilities remained above the sea, and their reflections could be seen on its surface.

His mental energy had also recovered.

UnholyRegeneration had passively devoured the fear, pain, killing intent, and negative emotions directed toward him. There had been no shortage of those things since he began his escape from the Shadowgrave Clan.

The demons who wanted him dead.

Those who feared him.

Those who hated him after seeing what he could do.

And the opponents he killed during the recruitment.

Their emotions had been purified by his Seven Stars Blessing and turned into mental energy. The process had been slow, but it had repaired the damage Lilith left in his mind and sea of consciousness.

Simon then inspected his soul.

His expression became more serious.

Before he obtained UnholyRegeneration and before Lilith told him, he had no idea that his soul was damaged.

But after obtaining UnholyRegeneration, he had a feel for the damage that was done to his soul by the Soul Eating Centipede.

It was similar to when one had an injury for a long time but had no idea about it.

When they eventually get to know about the injury is when it gives them a sharp pain, drawing their attention toward it.

Simon’s soul was better than before, but it was not completely healed.

The Soul Eating Centipede had damaged it, and Lilith had consumed even more of his soul energy when she controlled his body and created the spatial tear. UnholyRegeneration had been repairing the damage by passively devouring and purifying soul fragments from those Simon killed.

The souls of the demons he killed during his escape, Jorra, and the two Archfiends he killed during the combat test had all contributed.

The damaged parts of his soul were no longer as hollow and unstable as before. Some of the wounds had closed, while the edges of the deeper damage had begun to repair themselves.

However, a portion was still missing.

Simon could not tell how long it would take to heal completely.

He would need to kill more living beings, enter a region filled with death, or find a place where souls had not passed on.

’At least it’s healing... but would it be enough for me to not lose control when someone asks me to play a game?’

Simon opened his eyes.

His body and mind had recovered, while his soul was steadily improving. This result was more than enough for now.

He stored the dull hell stones, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

For the first time in weeks, Simon slept without UnholyRegeneration working on a physical injury.

The next day, he woke up feeling different.

There was no heaviness in his limbs and no pain when he moved. His body felt powerful, light, and completely under his control once again.

Simon freshened up, wore his clothes, and left Pipeline Inn alone.

He had three days before the final recruitment list was released. There were several things he needed to do in Velmora, but one of them had been on his mind since Mira mentioned it.

Rock gambling.

Simon was curious about it, and he did not believe looking around the rock gambling area would take much of his time.

He asked the demon behind the counter for directions and headed toward the eastern market.

When he reached the rock gambling district, he was surprised.

There were far more rock gambling shops than he expected.

Some were proper buildings with guards and protection arrays. Others were small stalls with abyss shells placed on cloths, wooden tables, or directly on the ground.

Merchants shouted about where their shells had been found.

"Hell hole shells! Freshly brought in!"

"Ancient battlefield shells! Artifacts guaranteed!"

"Sealed stones from an abandoned inheritance ground!"

Simon ignored the claims.

If artifacts were guaranteed, the merchants would have opened the shells themselves.

Demons crowded around the stores, lifting shells, tapping them, weighing them, and using strange appraisal artifacts. Some argued over prices, while others gathered around opening tables where purchased shells were carefully cut apart.

A demon cursed after spending hundreds of hell stones on a shell that contained a rotten bone.

Not far away, another demon shouted in excitement after finding a cracked Profound Artifact inside one.

The joy of one demon and the despair of another only made the surrounding crowd more eager.

Simon walked through the district without stopping.

He ignored the cheaper stalls and eventually stopped before the best-looking shop on the street.

It was a three-storey building made from polished black stone. Several expensive carriages were parked outside, and two Minor Greater Demon guards stood beside the entrance.

A silver signboard hung above them.

[Abyss Shell Pavilion]

Simon looked at the building for a few seconds.

It was definitely an expensive place, but he had money and there was no reason to begin with one of the cheapest shops.

He walked past the guards and entered.

The moment he crossed the entrance, a very subtle change occured in his Sea of Consciousness.