The sceptre flew out of the headless entity's grasp and floated toward Aurora, stopping between her outstretched fingers.
"You don't have to worry-our entire conversation was truly us, using them as a dium," Aurora said, noticing the disbelief in Rihelm's gaze.
Suddenly, as though unable to contain his emotions, Rihelm threw his head back and roared with laughter, "HAHAHAHA!!" Unexpectedly, his antlers stretched out from his head, growing larger like twisting vines, and shot toward Aurora and Orion.
However, unlike previously, the barrier protecting them blocked the attack.
Whoosh!!
Whoosh!!
Bang!!
The antlers coiled around the barrier, attempting to constrict it until it shattered. Instead, they snapped, breaking into countless bony fragnts that fell to the ground below.
Seeing that his attack had failed, Rihelm's antlers shrank back, reverting to their original form as though they hadn't sustained any damage. Rihelm exhaled tiredly, lowering his head in defeat.
Orion and Aurora arrived before him.
"Can you read his mories?" Orion asked, shifting his focus to Aurora.
Aurora nodded, understanding his intent. She floated forward and placed her right hand on Rihelm's head.
"What are you doing?! Stop!" Rihelm shouted, fear creeping into his expression.
He realized they would do whatever it took to extract the needed information. As a demigod who had lived for 2,500 years, there were many reasons why he wanted to keep many secrets hidden. How could he accept such a fate? But his protests fell on deaf ears.
As Aurora attempted to gain control of Rihelm's mind, she suddenly encountered a powerful blockage that resisted her and forced her out.
"What is it? Did you discover anything?" Orion asked, noticing the solemn look on Aurora's
face.
"I encountered a powerful barrier protecting his mories. It's more formidable than I expected, and... it's strange, as though soone else placed it. This could be why he can't reveal anything. I'm unable to break through it to access his mories. I'm sorry," Aurora responded, shaking her head and glancing at Orion.
"There's no need to apologize. I understand," Orion said, his expression serious.
Rihelm exhaled in relief.
"Do you have any last words?" Orion asked.
Rihelm then raised his head and looked at Orion standing within the barrier's protection. "Since you've proven your capabilities by defeating , don't end up like . Whatever happens, I want you to see it through to the end," he said.
Orion wore a thoughtful expression. Just as he was about to ask what Rihelm ant, he stopped, realizing that Rihelm could not say more.
Orion nodded and swung his greatsword, severing Rihelm's head from his body. He then changed his trajectory, bringing the blade down from above-splitting the tendrils and Rihelm in half.
Rihelm's dissected and decapitated body floated lifelessly in the air before them.
"He's dead. No sign of resurrection. Let put him away for later," Aurora said, sensing that Rihelm's life force had vanished entirely, leaving behind only a corpse.
Orion nodded and floated backwards. At that mont, Aerialia erged, surrounded by a bright hue. Due to the battle's unpredictability, she had chosen to remain hidden in case the opponent had a way to target her divine soul.
Aurora sent her a detailed scene of everything that had transpired.
Aerialia stared at the corpse with a solemn, contemplative expression.
Aurora opened a rift in space and stored the corpse within it. She had considered experinting with the strange demigod's heart to see how it would interact with one of her spawns but decided it was too dangerous. At most, it would serve as research material for the Research centre before being discarded entirely.
Suddenly, Orion felt uncomfortable in his head and instinctively placed his right hand on it, massaging his temple. Monts later, his eyes widened in shock.
He snapped his gaze toward Aurora, noticing she wore the sa astonished expression. "What's wrong?" Aurora asked, her voice filled with curiosity as she sensed the sudden shift in their deanour.
"He wasn't lying," Orion muttered. He turned to Aurora and explained, "We both received the Strengthening Technique, built on utilizing Vylkr energy. The technique allowed him to fight with the physical prowess of a 6th-order demigod while being a 7th-order demigod."
Aurora's eyes lit up in realization. "We'll need to study it first to understand its effectiveness and decide whether it's worth learning," she said.
Orion nodded in agreent, and Aurora did as well.
At that mont, the entire floating mountain range shook violently. The already destabilized fortress began to crumble, disintegrating into specks of dust that dissipated into thin air. Even the barrier began to crack, allowing water from the outside to start flooding in.
Aurora quickly stabilized the barrier around them.
They watched as the Harbinger's domain was continuously destroyed, vanishing beneath the tides until it disappeared completely.
They were left floating above a sunken hole on the ocean floor.
In the distance, the forces of the Bastion of the Wailing Gnarled continued their feverish battle against the tainteds.
They seed to have noticed the disappearance of the Harbinger's fortress, boosting their morale as they fearlessly attacked the tainted. With Aurora's support, the overwhelming number of tainted had dwindled to the point where the forces could easily overpower and
push them back.
Orion calculated that the battle should be over in about ten minutes.
At that mont, a bizarre phenonon occurred.
A massive water vortex, glowing with an inky black hue, erged from the imnse pit. It swirled violently, pulling water currents toward it. Yet no one was pulled in, as if the current had a mind of its own, ignoring their presence as it passed through them.
Only Orion and Aurora felt a faint suction, as though the water vortex was beckoning them, but it wasn't strong enough to force them in. According to the information they had received, this was the gateway that would lead them to the Mirror Realm.
They spotted a figure swiftly approaching the inky black swirling water vortex. It was none other than the mysterious water woman.
"I knew she was up to no good," Aerialia remarked, noticing her movent.
Just as the water woman reached out to touch the inky black water vortex, she was repelled backwards. She stood in a daze for a few monts before trying again, her expression filled
with determination.
But just like before, she was repelled.
After several more attempts, it beca clear to everyone that the mysterious water woman could not pass through the inky black vortex. She withdrew and turned her focus toward Orion
and Aurora as though waiting for them to make an attempt.
Aerialia clicked her tongue softly, shifting her gaze toward the water vortex, sensing a
foreboding from within it.
"Let's get them out of here first," Orion said.
Aurora nodded in understanding.
The battle had already ended, with the nymphs suffering no losses-not even a deadly or severe injury. It was like they had participated in a friendly spar rather than a fatal war. However, they didn't seem to have witnessed the mysterious water woman attempting to
enter the swirling vortex.
They stood in a daze, processing their victory, before regrouping silently, awaiting Orion and
Aurora's instructions.
Aurora turned to face the group, brought out the key, and swiftly opened the golden door. The door stretched out over the ocean's depths until the nymphs appeared as tiny dots in the
distance.
"There will be others waiting for you on the other side when you arrive, so listen to them and don't stir up any trouble. You have all pledged your allegiance to Paradise, so they are your fellow companions from now on!" Orion announced.
They stared at him in reverence, not daring to miss a word. Their purpose here was already
fulfilled, so they ignored the massive water vortex. After sensing Orion and Aurora's interest in it, they were eager to leave this wretched ocean, knowing it would likely be also dealt with
like the floating Harbinger's fortress.
Nadia nodded in understanding. Without hesitation, she swam into the golden door, with the
high advisors following behind her.
Soon, the entire force followed in an orderly manner. It took thirty minutes for them all to
pass through the golden door before it transford back into a golden key and landed in
Aurora's palm.
"Don't hesitate to inform if you sense any danger," Aerialia said, her solemn gaze resting
on Orion and Aurora.
"I will," Orion responded.
Aurora nodded in agreent, smiling lightly.
Orion unsummoned his Crimson Greatsword, and Aerialia disappeared along with it.
They both exchanged a nod before swimming toward the swirling water vortex. The suction around their bodies intensified as they got closer, though it still wasn't strong enough to pull them in, almost as if giving them the option to turn back.
They stopped in front of the inky black water vortex.
Aurora created a barrier around them.
Orion glanced at the mysterious water woman, who stared at them intently. After a mont,
he withdrew his gaze and focused forward.
Together, they plunged into the inky black water vortex. The vortex began to cool down when they went in, and the intense currents slowly subsided.
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