"Tch!" Ruvva clicked her tongue as she sped across the Cooter-Brimgan Channel, her expression grim, ’One after another, dammit!’
She wasn’t sure of Brangara’s motives, for this was a version of Brangara from a time before she was born. She didn’t know enough about the other party, other than bits and pieces that Orakha had told her back in the day.
’If he truly does what Blola has warned me about...’ She didn’t dare think about the rest of that train of thought, for Blola was truly that terrifying of an individual.
If they were to fight, she has zero confidence in being able to harm the other party. The only means to even have a chance of harming Blola was a State of Unity. Nothing else could even come close. After all, this was an existence that could consume all of Sumatra Continent overnight.
If Blola so wanted, he could spontaneously consume the entirety of Dralh Sea, including all the Mystic Humans living in the region. The only reason he hadn’t done so was to avoid crippling the development of the Mystic Human Race.
This was a necessity to strengthen Sumatra Continent as a whole, in preparations against invaders from other continents.
Her mind sank through a spiral of depressing thoughts as Ruvva entered the Dralh Sea, speeding further upon seeing that the Death Hour was fast approaching. She intended to reach her destination before that.
Prime Skill—Prana Flash x8!
Her Prana reserves burnt faster as the flash—that Ruvva had formed—intensified. Her speed almost doubled as she was currently travelling at nine times the speed of sound. It was incredibly fast, so fast her skin was peeling off, despite her best efforts to reduce friction to a minimum.
She typically travelled at twice the speed of sound using Prana Flash, which was the limit of her reaction speed during a fight. Any faster, and she couldn’t react fast enough.
Three times the speed of sound was what she used to travel between the Brimgan Empire and the Dralh Sea. And even this wasn’t realistic, for she would need to stop from time to time to catch a breather.
Also, only certain locations allowed her to travel at such speeds without distractions.
Usually, she needed a bit less than a day to make the journey. Typically, if a message was sent from the Abode of the Mystics to the Brimgan Palace, and Ruvva makes a move, she would arrive at the Abode of the Mystics exactly two days after the message was transmitted.
But unlike usual, the message got a bit delayed in reaching her, thanks to the Cosmic Being’s attack. And then, Root’s attack, followed by the fake fight with Zhya, consumed a lot of her time.
Ruvva intended to make up for the lost time, which was why she was accelerating. After all, it was a necessity to arrive within the expected time, which, by the reports, was the limit of Brangara’s patience.
"Urgh!" Heat was rising up faster from the Dralh Sea as a plasma layer formed closer to the sea bed. Upon seeing it, Ruvva grumbled and stared forward, spotting the Abode of the Mystics in her line of sight, "Almost there."
"But..." Her skin prickled as she could already feel an overbearing presence radiating off the Mystic Human palace. This was different from the battles she had been in until now.
Her first real opponent was Yarsha Zahara. However, that fight was different, as Ruvva had all the means to dominate her opponent.
The fight against Gannala was tough, as the latter whooped her ass casually. Following it was the fight against the Cosmic Being, whose primary focus was on reaching the Body Stage and also obtaining the Major Treasure of Deity.
Root’s focus was Yamahara and to enter the Brimgan Empire. Finally, Zhya was just making a show. Her attacks didn’t have weight behind them.
None of these opponents came at her with the intention to kill her, directing all their killing intent at her. However, the moment she laid eyes on the Abode of the Mystics, her speed dropped to subsonic levels, instinctively slowing down as she felt a presence lock onto her.
’This...is Virala’s presence...kind of. Essence wise, it’s still the same, but the intent is completely different.’ She thought, feeling her heart race, while instinctively, she felt a bit scared already, ’Do I...have to head there?’
’To the centre of it?’ In her senses, concentrated at the Abode of the Mystics and radiating off it was an oppressive presence.
Virala’s presence was brash, slimy, and felt like it would get under your skin. ’This feels like...’
"I’ll be devoured." Her feet stopped moving as Ruvva halted abruptly. The lacerations covering her body healed as she instinctively touched parts of her body containing the Minor Treasures. She didn’t wish to move any further, for it felt like jumping into the maws of a dangerous beast.
"I...am a Mystic Human!" She grunted, stunned at how squeaky faint her voice was, "Even grey sand, a substance that eats through everything, cannot harm me."
"I shouldn’t be afraid," She punched her chest and slapped her cheeks, warming her muscles that were going cold, "I didn’t even flinch when I barged into Unlimited Predator. This guy is nothing when compared to the Celestial Boar."
Subconsciously, she intended to exercise safety and hence, using her Minor Treasure of Spirit Puppet Slip, she created a dozen puppets of herself. She fished a metre-long Mystic Ewworm from her stomach and placed it in the stomach of one of the puppets, after ensuring it was unconscious and would remain in that state for as long as she intended.
"Keep it safe." She said and watched the puppets go into hiding on one of the islands. She then double-checked her Minor Treasures before retracting her Spirit Puppet Slip, "I hope I don’t have to use them."
As she uttered, the Death Hour progressed further, which dispersed and weakened the radiating presence. It allowed Ruvva to rush through the remainder of the distance before the plasma layer exited the water surface.
Abode of the Mystics!
All the councilmen were seated in their respective seats, engaging in their usual discussions while occasionally shooting glances at the man who sat in their Chief’s seat.
Yoribu seemed pretty excited, judging by the chirpiness in her voice. She was seated closest to the Chief, as her status implied she was pretty much the second in command.
In the future, at least half, if not most of the Mystic Human Council would be occupied by people like Yoribu, Mystic Humans serving as Kings and Queens of Free Human Kingdoms.
"So, I suggest we use these measures next to increase the number of Free Humans that can successfully become Mystic Humans..." A councilman was about to conclude his report when all of a sudden, he stopped speaking.
There was absolute silence in the council as all eyes were plastered on the Chief’s seat. Having exercised silence until now, Brangara slowly sat up, causing everyone to flinch in response.
His eyes shot open and turned to face the entrance. "Are you the Chief?"
The entrance opened as two Mystic Humans who served as guards knelt on either side. Standing in the centre was Ruvva, her gait poised while her breaths were riddled with composure.
"Hmm?" A mere glance at Ruvva and a tinge of drool leaked down Brangara’s mouth. Spontaneously, a tremor rang through the spines of all the Mystic Humans as they all sprang into action without pause.
The table, on which Brangara had been resting his legs on, shattered as he retracted them with force to get up. And then...
Boom!
A heavy presence, filled with an obsessively excessive greed for avarice, blasted upon everyone. The Mystic Humans had already reacted promptly, and hence didn’t freeze up due to Brangara’s presence. They were releasing their own too, which protected them somewhat.
"There were things I wanted to talk to you about, based on my memories, due to how much you resemble me. However," Prana rushed to his feet and swelled them due to how much they flexed from his psychokinesis. A shockwave blasted from his spot as Brangara rushed to grab Ruvva, "You smell a lot like her."
"The Supreme Tusk!" His hand, poised like a hook, approached Ruvva’s neck. Goosebumps appeared on the latter’s skin along the neck section as Prana blasted out of her head and propelled her upper body to the side.
Prime Skill—Prana Flash x4!
She tilted so much she crashed into the floor. Before she could even make the next move, she watched Brangara turn around and stomp her feet.
Secondary Body Sage 2—Exoskeleton!
An exoskeleton made out of the Empyrean Tusk’s tusk covered her body as her right leg was stomped on by Brangara. There was a crack as Ruvva spiked the power behind her Prana Flash and skid away, gasping a moment out of shock to see her leg bones sustained multiple fractures.
As for the exoskeleton covering her right leg? They splintered off as pieces and bombarded across the council room as shrapnel.
"Haah..." Ruvva regenerated the exoskeleton and got up on her feet. She just finished the motion and was about to focus on Brangara when the mouth of an Ewworm was before her face, fully opened to have a bite. "Aahh!"
Prime Skill—Eddy Blade x3!
She fired off all her reserves to hack the Ewworm into pieces, only then noticing that it was Brangara’s arm that had transformed into an Ewworm, ’Not his...head?’
The severed pieces flew back towards Brangara, restructuring themselves into parts of an arm as they attached themselves together during flight. The whole piece that affixed itself to Brangara’s arm as he waved it once, "Body part Spirit Weapon? Convenient."
Brangara then picked up one of the exoskeleton pieces lodged into the wall and sniffed it, commenting a second later, "Yupp, it’s a heavy scent of Gannala."
His mouth drooled while rage filled his eyes, "Oh! This scent makes me..."
His neck twisted like an owl’s to glare at Ruvva while his mouth curled until the ears, "...ABSOLUTELY INCENSED!"