801 Peak Talent Vs PEAK Talent
'It's not wise to fight them, irrespective of how many people are on my side. Uncle Orakha has repeatedly told me to maintain my neutrality. Otherwise, I'll be swept in a war way beyond my control.' Ruvva thought, recalling one of the conversations she shared with Orakha.
…
"I will soon before strong, very strong. And I've been spending most of my time in the Golden Giant's stomach, so my body has been strengthened to a whole other level." Ruvva said, patting her chest as she argued with Orakha, "With my involvement, you'll have an easier time killing Brangara."
"That may be true," Orakha nodded, leaning back slightly as he closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath as he focused his attention on Ruvva, "But you see, killing Brangara is no longer the endpoint."
"A century ago, he was an absolute existence, having never been in a compromising situation ever since he became the Empyrean Boar King. However, he had been through many of them ever since the seven of us came into existence." Orakha smiled wryly and patted Ruvva, "There are Clansmen on Brangara's side, following his ideology. Even if not immediately, one of them might figure out a way to follow Brangara's footsteps."
"If they were revenge-driven like Resha, they'd figure out the means to become the Empyrean Boar King and target you. If they were like Inala or Virala, they'd target your home and loved ones respectively." His expression grew weary, "You…don't have to face such a situation."
"Irrespective of what happens, you're special, Ruvva. Your identity allows you to be a perfect bystander. Both sides would never target you." He stretched his hand and parted Ruvva's hair, "From strength, longevity, identity, and status; you have everything."
"But…" Ruvva hesitated, "What's the use in living the life of a bystander? All I'd be accumulating in my long life are regrets."
"The Fourth Major Disaster will be absolutely brutal. It'll engulf everything and everyone. In that situation, where everyone is killing each other, I want you to be beyond the scope of hatred." He raised his hand and firmly patted Ruvva's shoulder, "Born with the greatest possible natural talent, I hope you'll become a leader who could recourse Sumatra from the chaos caused by the Fourth Major Disaster."
He grinned, "I believe you can achieve it. After all, I trust your capability and most of all, your kindness."
…
'I shouldn't fight, but if I remain defensive, things will go out of my favour. Then, there's only one option.' Ruvva analysed the situation and grasped what she ought to do next, stating as she stood before Yarsha Zahara, "You couldn't bother to save your own daughter. Isn't that the essence of a prideless bitch?"
Yarsha Zahara was pretty tall for a Free Human woman, reaching a height of 170 centimetres. However, before the figure of Ruvva who reached a whopping 240 centimetres, she looked no different from a dwarf.
"Prideless bitch?" Veins popped all over her face and neck as Yarsha Zahara clenched her hand into a fist, barely reining herself from attacking Ruvva, "I birthed you, dammit! Is that the way you speak to your mother?"
"Look from my perspective," Ruvva huffed once, unleashing a faint gale that fluttered Yarsha Zahara's hair, "My birth mother is acting like a fucking leech and inhabiting the body of the mother who raised me. And you're asking for my respect? For what?"
"For abandoning me?"
Yarsha Zahara was stunned for a moment, unable to retort. Using the chance, Ruvva glared at Brangara, "Do you know what I had to face after being birthed?"
"I was the second Mystic Human, born to a Free Human woman and left in the hands of the Mammoth Clan. The Mammoth Clan isn't friendly to any external parties, especially once they saw my appearance." She pointed at her face and uttered, "Tell me, what do you think was the Mammoth Clan's reaction after seeing me?"
"Tell me, Brangara."
"Do you think they accepted me?"
"Or do you think they vented their anger towards you on me?"
"Which of the two do you think happened?"
"…" Brangara fell silent, understanding the full picture clearly.
'He's hesitant.' Ruvva thought as she loudly thumped her chest, "Even as a newborn, I had to fight for myself. Also, seventeen times. Do you know what this number means?"
Before either of the duo in front of her could guess, Ruvva stated solemnly, "That's the number of times my memories were wiped out."
"What?" His eyes widened as Brangara stared in surprise.
"But you see…" Ruvva clenched her hand into a fist, "Mystic Humans are special in that we are immune to external influences. So, I don't inherit any hatred or the like from my ancestors. Whatever emotions and feelings I have are my own, those I cultivated upon egoistical choices."
"Born with the greatest talent of the Free Humans," Ruvva pointed at Yarsha Zahara and scoffed, "But the moment she saw a possibility of free power through you, she bedded you."
"You could have achieved your current level of power easily in a century or two and easily progressed beyond it, without any limits. But you took a shortcut." Ruvva clicked her tongue in disgust.
She then pointed at Brangara, "Do you know that when I was alone, fighting for myself, the one who came to support me was Orakha? He was the kindest individual I have ever seen. Unless absolutely necessary, he has never taken another life."
"He raised me," Ruvva placed a hand on her chest and uttered, her eyes moist, her voice choking, "He was pretty much my father figure and his only goal was to have a family. But he was forced into this shitty conflict with you. But even then, once he realised that all that awaited him was hatred, he was ready to abandon everything and flee with his family."
Internally, she was damn nervous, but externally, she put on a brave front and approached Brangara, towering over him greatly, "Tell me, why did you target him when he had zero intention to hurt you?"
"You could have targeted Virala. That bastard has happily destroyed your life. Heck, I would have cheered you on in that case. But what did you do?" Tears streamed out of her eyes as she pointed at Orakha, "You've reduced him to a state worse than death. Nothing I've done to treat him has worked."
"And that bitch is proudly strolling about in the body of my motherly figure," She said, grabbing Brangara's collar to shout, "Your hatred is so special, huh? Then, kill me too."
"Even if I claim otherwise, everyone thinks I'm your daughter anyway. So, come on. Why don't you kill me? I'm sure that would fuel your hatred further." Ruvva grabbed Brangara by the collar and lifted him until he was on her eye level, thinking as she stared into his eyes, 'Ok, he's visibly shaken.'
'Then, one more push!' She bellowed, "You know, I can transform into an Empyrean Tusk too. Doesn't that increase your hunger? Genetically, I'm pretty close to the Supreme Tusk, way more than all the Empyrean Tusks you have ever consumed. You wish to eat me, right?"
"Your daughter-lookalike that can satisfy your appetite for hatred! Take a bite, come on! I'm not strong enough to kill you, but I will damn sure curse you for an eternity…" Her eyes widened as she bellowed at the top of her voice.
Suddenly, her skin prickled rampantly as Ruvva felt Yarsha Zahara flash behind her, armed with the power of Internal Inertial Gravity. 'Her timing is perfect. This is exactly what I want to solidify my statement in the mind of Brangara.'
Ruvva let go of her hold over Brangara's collar and raised her hand upward to meet with Yarsha Zahara's fist, resulting in a powerful shockwave. Rhythmic sonic booms ruptured across the area, but as the dust cleared, Ruvva stood in the same spot as before, having not budged an inch.
'How is this possible?' Yarsha Zahara stared at her fist in shock, noticing that there was no sign of damage at the spot Ruvva had defended with, 'I used Internal Inertial Gravity!'
"Since it seems you haven't grasped what I meant before, let me tell it again." Ivory armour covered her hand as Ruvva's figure flickered with a series of Prana Shocks providing thrust to every joint at a specific magnitude and direction.
Yarsha Zahara moved in a similar fashion, using a series of Prana Shocks to engage in a series of punches and kicks with Ruvva. Both were using the same set of abilities. However, in a matter of seconds, Ruvva managed to go past Yarsha Zahara's guard and punched the latter in the face.
"That fighting style…" Yarsha Zahara skidded back by a few metres, her hair dishevelled as she stared at Ruvva in absolute shock, "How?"
"That's my style."
"The greatest talent on Sumatra…" Ruvva slowly retracted her fist as she proclaimed, "You lost that title the day I was born."
"That's a bold claim for managing to punch me once." Yarsha Zahara snorted and raised her fists up, deactivating Internal Inertial Gravity as Prana circulated throughout her body, gathering in her limbs, "I'll show you what the pinnacle of Free Humans could achieve."
"You were born with 99 units of Prana, right?" Ruvva chuckled all of a sudden.
"What if it?" Yarsha Zahara glared, turning into a flash as she attacked Ruvva.
"I was born with a hundred, you see?" Ruvva's voice resounded calmly, followed by a squeal of shock from Yarsha Zahara, after which her figure slammed into the wall.
"That's…impossible!" Yarsha Zahara broke free of the wall and glared. 'Don't let her rile you up. This is unlike you.'
She inhaled and exhaled twice, managing to calm down quickly as she focused on Ruvva, asking calmly, "So what of it? Nothing changes if you're born with a unit more."
17:43
"You've misunderstood me once again." Ruvva took a step forward and vanished, reappearing before Yarsha Zahara, her fist denting the latter's stomach, "You were born with 99 units of Prana because that was all you were capable of."
"Gah!" Yarsha Zahara grunted at the sheer impact of the punch and hurriedly activated Maroppa's Secondary Nature, assuming her Human Avatar form.
"I, on the other hand," Ruvva muttered calmly as after a short flurry of exchanges, she punched Yarsha Zahara on the stomach once again, at the exact spot, "Was born with 100 units because that was all there was to obtain."
"We're not on the same level." Ruvva retracted her fist, watching grey sand coat it. A Spirit Weapon slammed into her and broke down into grey sand that covered her body.
"Accept your defeat and I'll save you. Otherwise, you'll be consumed by the grey sand." Yarsha Zahara roared, completely offended by Ruvva's actions, forgetting that she was the one who was supposed to care about Ruvva.
In close proximity to Brangara, even after becoming a Major Treasure, she was steadily being influenced by the latter. After all, she was a part of the Astral World's creation.
"Grey sand?" Ruvva chuckled as she raised her hand and casually dusted the grey sand from her body, not in the least affected. "Is that supposed to hurt me?"
'I've spent all this time facing Moihala's power. My body has long since adapted and perfected its immunity to grey sand of such low potency.' Her expression of smugness widened upon seeing Yarsha Zahara's state of shock only deepen further.
With a raise of her hand, Prana surged into her palms as Ruvva slammed them together, unleashing a combined effect of Prana Shock.
Astral Chart—Prana Shock X2!
Ruvva didn't have Astral Chart. However, the effect she unleashed now was a direct mirror to what Brangara unleashed by activating two Natures of Prana Shock using Astral Chart.
'That's…mine!' His eyes widened as Brangara's body trembled. The fact that Ruvva could use Yarsha Zahara's talent for moulding and controlling Prana to emulate his power was testament enough to her statements, 'Even Yarsha can only emulate the regular Prana Shock and not my Astral Chart's stacked version.'
"Stop!" Brangara waved his hand and dispersed the shockwaves that were rapidly slamming into Yarsha Zahara, lodging her deeper into the wall.
"Dammit! I'll kill you…" Yarsha Zahara grunted, arriving at a stop upon seeing Brangara arrive before her, blocking her path, "What are you doing?"
"We're leaving, Yarsha. We've achieved our purpose." Brangara said, his voice oozing authority.
"I'm not returning until I teach that brat a lesson…" Yarsha Zahara roared, stopping upon being commanded through Astral World, "You dare…use it on me?"
"I'm sorry, but that's the only way I can get you to listen to me." Brangara sighed and stared at Ruvva, "Tell me something."
"Does Virala ever visit you to behave as a father?"
"With this face?" Ruvva chuckled, "No, he's too nervous to face me."
"I understa…" Brangara was about to say when he was interjected.
"And now that I have a daughter, he stopped making attempts to even approach me." Ruvva said, her eyes trailing upon Brangara, scouting the latter's reaction, 'Almost done.'
"You have a…daughter?" He almost stumbled as Brangara eyed Ruvva.
"Of course, why else I wouldn't?" Ruvva tilted her head, "I'm about to become 36 years old soon. And I'm not involved in any wars, so I would obviously start a family. Unless…"
She stared at Brangara and uttered with a tone of resignation, "Unless you treat me as your enemy."
Brangara's figure vanished as he turned into a Major Treasure and fused with Maroppa's body. He said nothing, but his expression was clearly aghast, devastated even.
Minor Treasure—Kinesis Beyblade!
A nail-sized sphere landed on the floor as Brangara piloted Maroppa's body. The upper half of the Kinesis Beyblade was a chakram, acting as a platform to carry Maroppa's body into the sky, reaching an altitude of 18 kilometres.
Like a spinning top with a long central shaft, it began to spin, gaining significant angular momentum in a matter of seconds. Hundreds of golden flashes appeared in the sky, targeting Maroppa's body.
However, before they could reach it, the Kinesis Beyblade catapulted Maroppa's body into the sky, similar to tying a rock to a string, spinning it rapidly and releasing it tangentially.
With the insane range of 18 kilometres acting as the lever arm, Maroppa's body was flung across more than a hundred kilometres, with the Minor Treasure of Kinesis Beyblade being retracted into the body right after the launch.
Moreover, the night sky darkened for a radius of 18 kilometres, perfectly camouflaging Maroppa's body as all the golden flashes in the Capital City flailed around without any results.
Whenever their momentum was slowing, a sphere appeared on the ground and the spinning action resulting in a catapult was repeated. Travelling across the Northern Lakes, Brangara avoided all attacks, as he was travelling beyond the target range of everyone.
Only a Brimgan Royal at the 10-Life Stage could reach him, but they were all at the Capital City. Moreover, the bottommost part of the Kinesis Beyblade—the spherical tip that's suspended from the chakram by a stream of psychokinesis—only appeared on the ground for a short few seconds before vanishing.
It was too quick for anyone in the vicinity—with a suitable detection means—to react, allowing Brangara to leap across the Lotus Range before dawn. Upon going far away, the Minor Treasure of Kinesis Beyblade was employed fully.
Brangara appeared beside the body of Maroppa, his expression a scowl as he sat on the chakram of the Kinesis Beyblade, at an altitude of 18 kilometres while travelling rapidly across Sumatra. 'This leaves a horrible taste in my mouth.'
He recalled Ruvva's face as twisted veins popped all over his neck, "Control…"
"That Empyrean Tusk…consuming that would cause me indigestion." He raised his fist and punched his face lightly, "She resembles me a lot, including her arrogance. She seems more like my child than the others."
He closed his eyes and massaged his forehead, "This is stressful. Forget her…forget her…forget…her…"
As he chanted, his eyes turned vacant. He habitually grabbed the Sumatra Gold in his possession, intending to use the Information Slip Skill. However, he hesitated a bit before deciding against recording Ruvva there, 'I'll regret killing her."
"So…" The Kinesis Beyblade travelled at a rapid pace towards the Kalahatra Desert as Brangara muttered, watching Yarsha Zahara regain control over Maroppa's body, "Out of sight, out of mind."