Fral Island!
Flashing onto the shore was the figure of Zakzak, having lost his right hand. He rolled deeper into the island and gasped for breath, switching bodies to a healthier one as he began to recuperate while glaring at the three Gold Grade Pranic Beasts that had targeted him.
"If I hadn't been at the Life Stage, I would have died by now." He muttered, observing how all his bodies had serious injuries.
"Are you alright, Zakzak?" Nurnur leaped down from the mountain and approached him in a hurry, feeding him a couple of vials of medicine to hasten his recovery process.
"Wait, why are you at the 5-Life Stage?" Zakzak shrilled in response upon noticing a drop in Nurnur's presence, "Did you die?"
"Heck no," Nurnur pointed at Wittral's favourite spot, "I just left behind a body to look after Inala. I'm not comfortable leaving her alone with Wittral."
"Sheesh, you and the Settlement Leader are just needlessly worried." Zakzak sighed as he slumped on the soil and rested while his injuries began to steadily recover. It would take him a couple of days to heal a body. He would have to rest for a while before he could return to battle with all intact bodies.
"Anyway, what are they up to now?" Zakzak asked.
"Arm wrestling," Nurnur stated with a complaining tone.
Staring at her face in closeup for a moment, Zakzak figured out the reason for her foul mood, grinning as he spoke, "You lost to her, right?"
"I was holding back!" Nurnur shouted in anger, "That woman is built like a boar!"
"It would be embarrassing if word of this gets out," Zakzak teased, "A 6-Life Stage master losing to a Body Stage Free Human."
"I only wrestled her with one body, alright?" Nurnur snorted, "Had I stacked all my bodies, I would have wiped the floor with her."
"How did it go?" She changed the topic of discussion, "Has a team been sent to verify Inala's information?"
"Yeah, but it'll take eight months for the team to return." Zakzak said, "So, inform Wittral to take everything Inala says with a pinch of salt until then."
"I'm aware," A voice resounded from behind them as the duo turned around to stare at Wittral who had just jumped from his favourite spot to land nearby.
"Have you been listening in on us, Wittral?" Zakzak asked, "That's not a good habit, you know?"
"Forgive me, Uncle." Wittral smiled wryly and then glared at Nurnur for a moment, "I'm just a bit on edge because of her stares."
"I'm twenty-three years old, I know whether or not a woman is interested in me." He continued.
"Hmph! What do you know?" Nurnur snorted, "Inala is very different from the Free Humans you have seen. In these few days, I have tested her on many fronts. Not only is she smart, but she's also strong and has a sense of arrogance that only one with power possess."
"She definitely isn't anyone simple." She argued and pointed at Wittral, "With your lacking experience, you'll fall head over heels for her before you know it."
"That's impossible," Wittral waved his hand, scoffing with a hint of disdain, "I'm simply interested in Inala because of her experience. I'll never like a mere Free Human romantically."
"As long as you abide by it," Nurnur snorted, "But I'm still keeping watch over you."
"Fine," Wittral waved his hands in surrender. He then noticed the three Gold Grade Pranic Beasts swimming slowly at a distance three kilometres away from Fral Island and muttered, "They are after Inala."
"I can see their attention placed on the stone house she's living at." He said, interested, "There's definitely more to her than she lets on."
"I heard that the Princes and Princesses of the Brimgan Empire would set out on an expedition to prove themselves and become eligible for a fight to the throne." Zakzak said and pulled out a bunch of vials, "This is all the information I could find about the Brimgan Empire from our Clan branch."
"When I see Inala, I get the feeling that she's royalty. I don't know how to explain it, but the very air around her exudes that primal presence of authority." Zakzak concluded.
"Oh, you're sharp, Uncle." Wittral grinned, "I noticed that from the start. That's why I'm so interested in her. Besides,"
He displayed his reddened right hand, "I lost to her in an arm-wrestling match. She's very strong."
"Even you lost to her?" Zakzak was stunned, "How is that possible?"
"Well, it's not like my human form is that strong," Wittral shrugged, "Only when I become an Empyrean Snapper can I begin to truly exercise my power."
Even a casual touch from an island-sized being would possess earth-shattering power. Exhibiting the same level of power from a human figure was impossible. It was a sheer play of mass and momentum generated by said mass.
"There are twenty-two days left for the ship to arrive," Zakzak said and glared at the three Gold Grade Pranic Beasts, "We'll suffer unimaginable losses if we don't manage to drive them away before then."
"I have been trying," Wittral sighed, "But they are cowards. They attack from afar and run away if I approach them. It's very frustrating to think these three bear the same position as me as fellow Gold Grade Pranic Beast."
"Are they strong?" Zakzak asked next, "I can make another trip to ask for reinforcements."
"If I were to give my all, I can kill one of them easily." Wittral shook his head, "The problem is that they never fight head-on. I can't kill them if they continue to run away."
"This is indeed an issue. But," Nurnur stared at Wittral's favourite spot on the mountain, "Wouldn't they go away if we chuck Inala to them? She's their target, right?"
"Not yet," Wittral clicked his tongue, "There's a lot I can learn from her. All the information we have about the Brimgan Empire is very outdated. I want to keep up with the times. So, until then,"
"Don't think about harming her."
"So she's fair game after that." Nurnur nodded, relaxing in response, "That's reassuring to hear."
"Unless your brain is damaged, why would you think I would like a Free Human?" Wittral stared at Nurnur as if she were a retard, "Inala is merely a stronger servant with an interesting past. Nothing else has changed."
"Anyway," Wittral looked at the sky and leaped into the Dralh Sea, "The Death Hour is about to begin. I'll be training now."
"I'll come with you." Saying so, Nurnur leaped into the water after him.
"I'll take a rest," Zakzak dragged the floating ink-black cloud and headed towards a stone house where the rest of the Cooter Clansmen on the island were staying.
Once the coast was clear, situated a fair distance away from the spot where they conversed was a piece of rock, scattered amongst many other rocks similar to it. Suddenly, it cracked before splitting open into two halves, revealing an Empyrean Zinger Scout inside.
It inhaled air before letting out a screech at a frequency not audible to the ears of the Cooter Clansmen, doing so right after the Death Hour started.
Immediately after, it pulled the two halves of the rock shut. The inner surface of the rock was layered with the shells of its Prana Bomb. So, once it used Mystic Bone Art and healed them together, the rock shut perfectly.
Following that, a tiny hole appeared at its bottom, ready to be closed any moment. It was through this hole that it spied on their conversation.
Seated within the stone house on Wittral's favourite spot was Inala, his eyes subtly widening in response to the Empyrean Zinger Scout's shout. "I see,"
"I have my work cut out."