Andrina seemed just as strong when she was within the three Boundaries of Death. There was no sign of weakness, fear or ageing. A bright, glowing radiance, even brighter than the sun, emanated from her chest, illuminating the area.
The oval spheroid at the centre of the energy crystal resonated with the bright radiance on Andrina's chest. It gave off a burning radiance as it shot towards Han Hao with tremendous power.
Seeing that Andrina was immune to the Boundaries of Death, Han Hao immediately changed his attack strategy. In an instant, he drew the Element of Death that powered the Boundaries into his bone spear and retreated abruptly to avoid the rolling crystal ball.
"You want to run?" Andrina sneered. She opened her palm and began to move her small fingers as if playing an invisible harp.
The crystal ball under Andrina's control was extremely agile. It manoeuvred like a fighter jet. It turned and followed Han Hao closely, giving him no chance to escape.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Han Hao's heart remained calm as still water. His bewitching eyes glittered with an eerie light. Then he suddenly stopped and stood.
Whoosh!
The seven bone spurs behind his back shot out violently, targeting the sneering Andrina. At the same time, he hurled the bone spear in his hand. The screams and wails of hundreds of thousands of tormented souls rang out as wisps of ink-dark smoke emanated from the bone spear. It spread and curled around the bone spear before transforming into a huge, malevolent, hideous face.
A cold wind blew out of nowhere. The bone spear, which was supposed to be lifeless, suddenly transformed into a terrifying, ferocious monster. It opened its huge mouth, lined with sharp teeth. A sinister killing intent condensed from hundreds of thousands of tortured souls erupted.
The sneering Andrina was startled and put on a shocked expression. She hadn't expected the normal-looking bone spear to contain such a terrifying amount of sinister power!
Before Andrina could react, the bone spear turned monster swallowed Andrina's crystal ball with its huge mouth and started chewing.
Crack... Crack... It sounded as if the energy crystal projectile, harder than diamond, was being shattered into pieces.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The seven bone spurs whistled, surrounding Andrina in an instant. They emitted a cold and sinister energy.
This shocked Andrina even more. She immediately turned her attention to the seven bone spurs surrounding her and abandoned the crystal ball, which was swallowed.
A most luminous light erupted from Andrina's chest, quickly transforming her body into a glittering and translucent living crystal. Soon after, a blinding light emanated from her. It was so luminous that even the structure of space-time was altered by it. The seven bone spurs surrounding Andrina could only stagger back and forth, unable to pinpoint her location.
"Who are you? Why does your aura seem so familiar?" the crystallised Andrina shouted with the same ice-cold face as she glared at Han Hao who had the bone spear back in his hand.
Han Hao was never talkative in battle. Without even acknowledging the question, he charged at Andrina.
As he moved, he violently swung his enlarged bone spear, causing hundreds of thumb-sized energy crystals to fall from the bone spear. These energy crystals were devoid of any energy and had become the most ordinary of rocks.
When the crystal ball was swallowed by the bone spear, it was cut off from Andrina, its power source. After the energy inside the Crystal Divine Weapon was depleted by Han Hao's energy, with nothing to replenish it, it crumbled and was destroyed.
"Identify yourself! I don't want to hurt the wrong person!" Andrina shouted again when she saw Han Hao ignoring her question and charging at her.
Han Hao remained silent. He hurled the bone spear in his hand forward.
The bone spurs that flew out of Han Hao's back were unable to catch Andrina and attack her. The bone spear that trapped thousands of tormented souls, however, seemed immune to the glowing light. It pierced through the layers of light shields and headed straight for Andrina's chest.
Andrina's face jerked again. The blinding shield of light around her suddenly vanished as she pulled out a beautiful astrarium, etched with various constellations and stars. It flew out as if it had a mind of its own.
Ting!
The astrarium shot forward to intercept the bone spear. Upon contact, a most bizarre energy surged into the bone spear. The tormented souls at the tip of the bone spear were annihilated into puffs of faint grey smoke.
Han Hao's eyes glistened. Without thinking, he raised his hand and retrieved his bone spear. He decided to activate the energy of the Quintessence Shard and the Demonic Art. He went all out.
Han Hao sensed that the Astrarium contained the energy of destiny. He had rarely encountered experts who cultivated in this energy. He knew that the Edict of Fate was the most abstruse and mysterious of the Twelve Fundamental Powers. The energy in the Astrarium was also extremely formidable, far too much for the tormented souls in his bone spear to withstand.
Having made up his mind, Han Hao took back his bone spear and charged at Andrina without hesitation.
This main body of his was extremely tough. He had spent far more time and effort improving his body than his bone spear. And recently, his body had successfully absorbed a Quintessence Shard of Death. It could even be said that the most terrifying weapon Han Hao had was his body.
Andrina could tell that Han Hao was going all out. All of Han Hao's previous attacks had been with ranged weapons, and he wore a very calm expression, almost as if she wasn't considered a threat. But now Han Hao was wearing a serious expression and he was obviously much more focused.
The awesome power that Han Hao had revealed so far made Andrina feel threatened and worried. Had it not been for the Astrarium her mother had given her, she would have been injured by the bone spear just then. So Andrina was worried when she saw Han Hao going all out.
"Who are you to Bryan?" she suddenly shouted when Han Hao was only a few metres away from her.
Han Hao, whose mind was focused on killing his opponent, was startled. He stopped just a dozen or so metres from Andrina, looked at her with a rather puzzled expression and asked, "Who are you? How do you know my father?"
Andrina was astonished and exclaimed, "What?! You are his son? How is that possible?!"
Han Hao slowly descended to the ground, looked at Andrina calmly and asked, "Are you his friend or enemy?"
"Friend, of course! I used to be his bodyguard! I happen to be looking for him. Why don't you take me to him?" Andrina replied with a giggling smile.
Han Hao did not answer immediately, but stared at her intently, as if judging if Andrina was telling the truth. After a while, Han Hao replied, "I'm busy. My father is in the Pandemonium of the Fringe. You can look for him yourself."
With those words finished, Han Hao turned and left without even looking back at Andrina. He could sense that Nestor was rushing to this place at full speed and he must not linger in the area any longer.
Although Han Hao was returning to the Fringe, he had to take a detour to avoid running into the Overgod of Death. Therefore, he cannot travel with Andrina.
Before Andrina could say anything, Han Hao had disappeared into the distance. She sulked and complained, "What an idiot! I know where the Fringe is and I know how to get there myself!"
Andrina continued to stare in the direction Han Hao had gone, her eyes glittering with strange lights. She muttered to herself, "The energy this guy deliberately released is clearly from the Quintessence Shard of Death. And he did not use his full power just now. Hmm, I heard that Nestor went to the Fringe. Could it be that Nestor is after this guy?"
After thinking for a moment, she grumbled, "If it wasn't for Bryan, I would definitely tell Uncle Nestor about you!"
Andrina made a face and let out a 'humph' in the direction Han Hao had gone before heading towards the Fringe.
***In the Goddess of Destiny's Shrine.
The figure of the Goddess of Destiny began to take shape and appeared in the shrine. "Andrina, I've brought you something - it's your favourite crystal!" a benevolent, graceful and melodious voice sounded through the shrine.
After a long time, the Goddess shook her head and laughed. She said to herself, "I guess I should have known, that girl could never stay put... But I don't think she would venture too far this time. She would be quite safe with her new power".
The goddess looked at the Fringe. Her eyes looked like a pair of astral telescopes with constellations slowly rotating. It was as if she was an extremely complicated automaton instead of a living being of flesh and blood.
"Oh, Han Shuo, I hope you would be able to unseal Aethernia with the energy he left you..." the goddess murmured as she looked at the Land of Chaos.
***
Over at the Pandemonium.
Han Shuo, who was in secluded cultivation, suddenly had an uneasy feeling. He couldn't help but leave his gymnasium, fly over the Pandemonium and look in the direction of the Destiny Dominion. He muttered, "Could it be that Han Hao had an accident over there?"
Han Shuo always trusted his soul's senses. He began to consider whether he should go to the Destiny Dominion to have a look.
"My Lord, I have news," Zovic came to him at that moment and respectfully reported to him.
Han Shuo smiled and asked, "Is it from the Omphalos?"
Zovic nodded and replied, "There was a small mishap, but things turned out exactly as Your Lordship predicted. The Overgod of Death did not attack Young Master Han Hao. He had left the Omphalos and most likely the Fringe," Zovic gave Han Shuo a brief summary before explaining everything in detail.
"The temptation of the Quintessence Shard was so great that it had destroyed every bit of rationality in Dagmar, driving him to do something as foolish as infiltrating the Omphalos. Huh, if Tyre and Logue hadn't deliberately stalled him, Dagmar would have died in there!" Even though Han Shuo hadn't been anywhere near the Omphalos when it happened, he easily figured out the truth from Zovic's account.
"Many of Dagmar's most powerful followers had their divine bodies destroyed. Even though Dagmar escaped with their divine souls, they still have a long way to go to regain their original powers. After this incident, Dagmar is no longer a threat," Zovic remarked with a smile.
"Never underestimate a man who has gone mad!" Instead of being as optimistic as Zovic, Han Shuo gravely instructed, "Take special care of Dagmar. An overgod who has lost his mind might do things we cannot foresee. Tell everyone not to leave the Pandemonium for the time being."
"Understood!" replied Zovic solemnly.
"Very well. You are dismissed," Han Shuo nodded and sent Zovic away. After he left, Han Shuo stared in the direction of the Destiny Dominion with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. He muttered, If Han Hao is fine, then what was that feeling about? Hmm... Andrina should be in the Destiny Dominion. Could something have happened to Andrina? That makes no sense. No one would dare touch her in the Destiny Dominion..."
After thinking for a long time, Han Shuo still could not come up with a possible scenario. He decided to stop thinking about it and go back to preparing his defences against the Godhunter Alliance that would be invading very soon.
Now that the Overgod of Death had left the Fringe, the Godhunter Alliance would have no reason to delay their invasion, and his Pandemonium would come under fierce attack.
***
The next day, on a misty, bald mountain on the outskirts of the Fringe.
All twelve Hegemons of the Godhunter Alliance were gathered at the top of the mountain, their armies of Godhunters scattered around them. These ferocious-looking Godhunters, numbering in the tens of thousands, had completely occupied the mountain.
Although the Godhunter Alliance had existed for eons, this was the first time that all twelve hegemons had gathered. It was also the first time they had attacked an enemy on a united front.
There, an old man with a compassionate face, wearing the bright white robes of a Church of Light priest, smiled and asked for the Hegemons' attention.
But he was interrupted before he could begin his speech. "Judas, why are you still wearing that stupid white priest's robe? Haha, don't tell me you still want to return to the warm embrace of the God of Light?" teased Dhaka as he looked at the Hegemon of Light with a mocking expression.
"If he could return to the God of Light, I would have been summoned to the Shrine of Ice long ago!" sneered Tuckamore, the Hegemon of Water.
Judas seemed a little embarrassed. He grimaced and explained, "It was the God of Light who abandoned me. But deep in my heart I still hope to serve him. If He could forgive my sins, I might even return to His side."
"Hahaha, return to His side? To do what? Betray Him again?" Dhaka laughed without the slightest scruple. He extended his hands to Judas in greeting and remarked, "I have nothing but absolute respect for you, Judas. Not only for the fact that you were once a Lightkeepers, but for the fact that you are still alive after committing such a heinous act. Truly, you are the most treacherous and strongest of us Hegemons.
"You flatter me," Judas said humbly. Then he turned and bowed to an empty space and said piously, "Praise be to the God of Light! I will try to live as long as possible, until the day the quintessence leaves your body!"
"That is enough. I have no interest in listening to your chatter. Let's get on with it," Dagmar said in an annoyed manner, after he had let out a cold groan from his white bone throne.
"Oh, Dagmar, Judas may be the strongest, but you are without doubt the most heroic among us! To infiltrate and strike at the centre of the Fringe all by yourself - that is indeed a boost to our morale. Haha, if we win this war, it will all be thanks to this meritorious deed of yours!" said Regis, the Hegemon of Thunder, with a mischievous grin. He added, "But it would have been even more admirable if you had killed Tyre, Logue and the other Sovereigns instead of running away. Then we can just swoop in and pick up the pieces. Don't you think?"
"Regis, do you want to fight?" Dagmar's face turned dark and he challenged Regis, "I defeated you four hundred years ago and I can do it again today!"
"Let's see!" Regis grinned and stood up. It seemed that he really wanted to duel with Dagmar.
Throughout its existence, the Godhunter Alliance had been fractured mainly by the animosity between the Hegemons. They mocked and ridiculed each other, rubbing salt into each other's wounds.
"Wait, not now. Let's destroy the Fringe first. After we have defeated our enemy, you may fight as much as you wish," Judas said, smiling. He raised his voice and said, "Alright, let's all get back to business. How do we divide the forces?"
"I'll take Bryan!" Dagmar let out another groan and leaned back on his throne. He had suffered enormous losses in the Omphalos, but had failed to get the Quintessence Shard from Han Hao. He was determined to force Han Hao to reveal the location of the shard and kill him.
Unlike the Overgod of Death, Dagmar had seen Han Hao use the Quintessence Shard with his own eyes. So even though Dagmar couldn't find the shard on Han Hao in the Omphalos, he still had his eyes on Han Hao. He will never stop until he gets the shard and kills Han Hao.
"Asser and I are near Dagmar. We will join him in attacking Bryan and the Pandemonium," Dhaka said as he glanced at Asser.
Asser nodded as Dhaka finished. They seemed to have agreed earlier.
"Really? Do you need three Hegemons to defeat the House of Han?" asked Tuckamore, the Hegemon of Water. He felt that Dhaka had the least workload and disagreed with the arrangement.
"Um... The House of Han is very strong. I know this because I have fought Bryan before. Besides, Dagmar's strength has decreased now. So it's only fair that the three of us take Pandemonium together," Dhaka answered Tuckamore's question, but his eyes were on Judas.
Judas thought for a moment before beaming and saying, "I guess that makes sense. Tuckamore, considering Dagmar's misfortune, let them go together".
Although Tuckamore had just made sarcastic remarks about Judas, he still seemed to have some respect for him. Tuckamore nodded and said nothing more.