GDK 968: End it Yourself!
As Ossora dealt with Asser’s desperate attacks, he carefully observed the pillars near him in fear of them emanating even more energy beams to freeze him. He was feeling utterly helpless as he wondered how in the world he fell into that area and encountered Asser in the first place. His plan to deal with Han Shuo had been completely ruined by now.
The two of them were heavily restricted within this odd formation. As they fought to their deaths, the sky-piercing stone pillars next to them would send out beams of odd energy that would freeze anyone who was hit, causing them to be hit by the one not frozen.
After a while, the evenly matched two were covered in wounds all over, half of them thanks to their opponent while the other half from the beams the pillars shot out. Ossora didn’t want to continue fighting Asser. From the very beginning, he had been looking for a way out, but the attacks from the formation and Asser’s incessant pursuit sapped all his attention. Hence, he was unable to leave even though he wanted to.
“Asser, I don’t want to keep fighting you! Stop pestering me!” Ossora said as he shot out a beam into the ground, causing a gigantic earth golem to rise and block in front of him.
Asser, who was hiding in the dark, chuckled. “Ossora, you are a Sovereign of the Fringe and are on good terms with the owner of Pandemonium, Bryan. The moment you get out, you’ll join up with him to fight me. Do you think I’m an idiot?”
Ossora smiled bitterly and wanted to explain that he no longer had ties with Han Shuo, but felt that it wasn’t too appropriate to do before he had backstabbed him properly first. Not to mention, it wasn’t like Asser would believe him if he told the truth anyway, hence his hesitation.
Seeing Ossora stay silent, Asser intensified his attacks. The energy of darkness attempted to grab hold of Ossora like tentacles. He was doing everything he could to wound Ossora before leaving this darned place.
Meanwhile, the ghastly pictures on the dozen pillars nearby seemed to come to life and wail from the dense negative aura, letting out an ear-piercing cry. Both of them noticed the change in the pillars and immediately grimaced. Ever since the beginning of their fight, the stone pillars had interfered but didn’t seem nearly as threatening, so the two of them continued to fight.
But now, the wailing ghost pictures seemed to be letting out an incredibly cold aura of evil which caused Asser and Ossora to shudder from the threat. They looked at each other, seemingly having picked up on something, and immediately backed off from one another without continuing their fight. Soon, a long shadow emerged behind one of the pillars. The energy the pillars gave off seemed to be attracted by something and gathered on that blurry shadow.
“Great! You’re finally here!” Ossora exclaimed with joy, “It’s great that you’re fine. I was under pursuit from Isaiah and the rest and had to retreat here. Little did I know I would fall into this place and encounter this fellow!”
He knew that person was Han Shuo. Asser’s expression changed from the implication. He knew he was in deep trouble for having to deal with both the master of the place and Ossora at the same time.
As expected the figure revealed himself to be Han Shuo. “Ossora, are you alright?” he asked, looking worried as he did so.
Ossora was obviously happy about Han Shuo’s apparent attitude, thinking that his whole shtick hadn’t been exposed yet. “I’m fine, you came at just the right time. Let’s wipe Asser out together!”
“That was exactly what I was planning to do!” he said as he charged towards Asser, who was hiding in darkness.
The beams of light the pillars shot out were like sharp weapons that tore through everything that stood in their way. Even Asser’s Divinity Domain of darkness was torn open from the blasts, exposing his body within. Ossora was growing even more elated. He looked at Han Shuo with a well-concealed malicious intent.
“Coming!” Ossora laughed loudly as he swerved, causing the sands on the ground to gather to him. Now, he was as heavy as a mountain as he approached Asser domineeringly.
Asser sighed at his bad luck and predicament. If he wasn’t in the darned formation, he could’ve had a chance to escape. He knew how hard it was to leave given his experience and that he wouldn’t be able to do it without sufficient time. He watched as Ossora and Han Shuo approached him from front and back. He then abandoned every lingering thought and turned to Han Shuo all of a sudden.
Having fought Ossora for quite some time, he knew the rough extent of his abilities. He believed he would be able to take Ossora’s strike. Han Shuo, however, was far more terrifying, and he wasn’t sure he would be able to take the hit.
“Haha, Asser, you should’ve known this would happen from the day you wanted to wipe Pandemonium out,” Han Shuo said as he suddenly disappeared.
Asser noticed that he could no longer sense Han Shuo’s presence, causing him to panic and give up on attacking, choosing instead to surround himself with darkness once more.
A thud could be heard from behind him, followed by an ear piercing cry. “Bryan… Why… Why did you attack me?!” Ossora was covered in blood.
Asser was stunned. He watched as Ossora bled out and turned to the smiling Han Shuo, completely flabbergasted.
A weird energy swam about in Ossora’s body, causing countless explosions in the process. Eventually, blood seeped out of all of Ossora’s orifices. He desperately avoided Han Shuo’s attacks as he cursed the unfair treatment he had gotten.
“Ossora, I’ve always respected you as a guide. Yet, you didn’t know your place!” Han Shuo’s expression was one of utter coldness. “You dared to bring Isaiah, Regis, and Miller into Pandemonium, so you should’ve seen this coming! Hehe, I just did what you wanted to do to me all along!”
“You… You knew?”
Han Shuo nodded. “You don’t have to keep hoping for Isaiah and the rest to save you. They can’t even save themselves.”
“Impossible!” Ossora cried in a high-pitched voice, his wounds making him far more distraught compared to his usual calm demeanor. “There’s no way you’ll be able to hold off the three of them!”
“I guess there’s nothing else for us to say.” Han Shuo sighed. “Ossora, you’ve helped me before, so I don’t want to kill you myself. You better end it yourself!”
“Hehehehehehehe…. End it myself?! Bryan! Do you really think everything is under your control?!”
“Oh? Is it not?” Han Shuo smirked and looked at Asser, who was trying to bolt away. “Are you talking about him? Haha, do you think he can help you?”
As he spoke, two more figures appeared from behind two pillars, namely, Wasir and Salas. The moment they appeared, Ossora’s face turned ashen. “Wasir and Salas… Bryan, oh Bryan… You truly are ruthless! I didn’t think you’d not only work with Wasir, but also that crook Salas!”
Asser stared at Salas with disbelief. “You! Why are you helping him?!”
Even though he wasn’t from the Fringe, he knew that Salas held a huge grudge against Han Shuo. Otherwise, Dhaka, Dagmar, and Asser wouldn’t have allowed him to join the fight against the Fringe. Yet, now, they were standing on the same side.
“Didn’t you already know?” Salas feigned surprise and mocked, “Weren’t you convinced I was the one who caused you to suffer that loss at the three mountains? Why are you acting so shocked now?”
When he said that, Asser shook with anger. “So it really was you!” Back then, although they had blamed Salas for the loss of their men, they didn’t really think that he had betrayed them.
“Haha, of course it was me! Otherwise, you never would’ve lost half your men before even entering Pandemonium!” Salas laughed with utter joy as he watched the look on his face. Back then, the trio had wanted to make a scapegoat of him, but now, he was having the last laugh.
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